Video games are more expensive than ever nowadays, and even a small sale can make the world of a difference. With the recent release of Nintendo Switch 2, many players are jumping into the Nintendo Switch ecosystem for the first time, and there are dozens of amazing games waiting for them. There is no bigger Nintendo franchise than Super Mario, and the Nintendo Switch received many of the plumber’s best entries to date. Today, you can save on select Mario games like Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury, and more. It’s not every day that Nintendo games go on sale, especially from the Super Mario series, so don’t miss your chance to save with these limited summer deals.
The Best Deals on Mario Games for the Switch Today
Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury brought one of the best Wii U games to Switch, and it’s better than ever with a brand-new expansion. The base game has 12 different worlds to explore, with both local and online co-op available for up to four players. New to this version of the game is Bowser’s Fury, an entirely unique experience that features 100 different Cat Shines to collect.
Even at $41.99, Super Mario Odyssey is well worth the price of admission. It’s still arguably the best Mario game to date, featuring a giant sandbox to explore, hundreds of collectibles, and an unbelievable soundtrack. For 3D platformer fans, Odyssey is nothing short of a masterpiece, and it’s a game you can replay time and time again.
Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD is another game that was given a second life on Nintendo Switch, having first released on Nintendo 3DS in 2013 as Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon. Finally, there’s also the Ubisoft-developed Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. This sequel to Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle improves on nearly everything from its predecessor, with all sorts of humor and chaotic battles awaiting.
If you’re buying for your Nintendo Switch console, the eShop will be your best bet. However, if you wish to purchase a key to either gift to a friend or redeem on your console, Humble Bundle has the same Mario games on sale for similar prices.
The Steam Summer Sale Is Also Live Now
In addition to Nintendo’s sale, Steam has also launched its annual summer sale on PC games. If you’re looking to find some discounts outside of Nintendo, this is one of the best times of the year to do so. Below is a quick roundup of some of the best discounts in that sale as well.
Noah Hunter is a freelance writer and reviewer with a passion for games and technology. He co-founded Final Weapon, an outlet focused on nonsense-free Japanese gaming (in 2019) and has contributed to various publishers writing about the medium.
Find out how to master the game through arguments.
Seven playable characters with unique ability cards and combinations.
Be Kind. Be Clever. Be Radical.
I started making KreatureKind because I wanted to tell a different kind of story – one where kindness prevails, and where changing the world means not only rolling up your sleeves but also opening your heart.
In a world that sometimes feels too loud and too cynical, I hope KreatureKind offers a space to slow down and play with purpose. The game offers an optimistic outlook on activism, sustainability and building a better future together, as well as provides you with a toolbox for how to approach people with which you disagree.
There’s definitely a challenge to be found in the game – plenty of tough choices, synergies to discover, and high-stakes showdowns. But underneath it all is a message I believe in: Kindness is powerful. And sometimes, it’s radical.
Emotional, Rational, or Factual
To maximize your success in KreatureKind, you first need to understand how the HP bars differ slightly from those in other games you may have played.
Since KreatureKind is about debates rather than physical fighting, HP stands for Hypothesis Points. The bars are divided into segments, individually called Hypotheses, which come in three colors – pink for emotional, green for rational, and blue for factual. They represent what is stopping the character from agreeing with and joining your cause. Pink means that they are currently vulnerable to emotional arguments. They are also resistant to factual arguments for the time being, and rational arguments made by the characters have increased effectiveness (it’s their current Focus). Think of it as a rock-paper-scissors situation.
Keep an eye on your own current Focus, and which type of argument your opponents are Vulnerable and Resistant to. It’s important to plan the order of the cards you play, because their effect normally doesn’t pass over between hypotheses. In the example below, Riley is trying to convince her brother Ricky that she has to leave their home town in an effort to save magic. You can finish the encounter in two rounds, but you have to play your cards in a specific order. (Please note that this is early in the game, before Resistance and Focus have been introduced. The card order is scripted in this encounter, to introduce the mechanics in a controlled way.)
On your first round, you are given the choice between a defensive healing card and three offensive ones – one green and two blue. Since Ricky’s current hypothesis is blue, the two blue cards are most effective against him. Saving the green card for last will take 3 HP off the next hypothesis rather than two.
Next, while still in a green hypothesis, starting with the green card and using the pink and blue ones after that will bring down the rest of Ricky’s HP to 0. Starting with a blue or pink card, on the other hand, will leave one HP in the segment and forgo part of the following card’s effect.
The goal is to always give you interesting choices – even with simple cards. Should you receive a hand that isn’t particularly useful in the current situation, you still need to consider if you want to play them anyway. Discarding playable cards decreases that character’s Attention, meaning opponents are less likely to target them. Great in some situations, less desirable in others.
Ability Cards – the Core of Each Activist
Each of the seven playable characters in KreatureKind has a unique balance of offensive and defensive argument cards. Offensive ones affect opponents’ HP, and defensive ones may return HP to your own characters, or add Block or Prep. Block shields incoming effects, and Prep deals removed HP right back to the casting opponent.
Argument cards are not the only types of cards in KreatureKind, however. What truly makes each playable character unique is their set of yellow Ability cards.
In the screenshot above, Luca’s two Ability cards use “Curse” cards (in keeping with his love of pranks). If you go all-in on this tactic, you can all but make the opponents work for you. The other characters take on roles akin to a tank, healer, a DPS character, etc. Most of their Ability cards are cast just like any other, and their unique effect is clear on the card.
Other Ability cards have 1-3 Slots on them, which can be filled by other cards. Typically, the card’s effect will be boosted based on how many slots you fill. In the example above, the selected card goes from a single-target to effectively becoming an AOE, depending on how many other cards you use. In some cases, the sacrifice may seem far too great, as the effect may not be enough to justify. However, the same card can be invaluable during another turn. Choose wisely!
A World Worth Saving (and Hanging Out In)
Beyond the cards and the tactics, KreatureKind is an optimistic game about activism and good vibes.
Along with an amazing cast of freelancers, I have filled the game with vibrant, hand-drawn art, a flow-inducing lofi soundtrack, and a cast of lovable weirdos who bring the world to life. You’ll meet cryptids, mythological creatures and barely copyright-dodging fantasy monsters, as well as a few good old dorky humans. They all belong to one of the seven magical factions (who cast spells through the means of for example cooking, programming and dancing), and each gives you a unique dialogue before and after the encounter.
Oh, and some drink Human energy drinks. Because they are monsters.
Play KreatureKind on Xbox
Whether you’re a card game veteran or just here for the vibes, we hope you find a faction you love, a monster you want to hug, and maybe even a cause worth fighting for – with words.
Magic is disappearing forever, unless your brave group of activists can save it!
After centuries of increasing magic use, the world’s mana well is running dry. If entirely depleted, magic will be gone forever.
This does not go unnoticed by Riley and her friends Mitra and Yui. They set out from their hometown, trying to convince people and monsters to use mana more consciously. Along the way, they meet and team up with other like-minded people. Who could resist Tau the cook’s warm hugs, Quinn’s epic role-playing sessions, or Finley’s thought-provoking games? Perhaps they will even befriend the world famous rockstar Luca! Each of the activists contribute to the cause with their unique sets of debate skills, which they hone along the way.
Easy to learn, hard to master
KreatureKind offers unique gameplay, which is approachable to beginners while still giving seasoned players a proper challenge. If you’re new to this kind of game, you’ll figure it out. Played every card battler on the market? These monsters will still give you a run for your money!
Discover, unlock, upgrade
Supercharge the seven playable characters by unlocking and upgrading cards! The mysterious former activist’s shop may just have the card you need to succeed. For a permanent boost to your team member’s debate skills, plushies give you the edge that will tip the scales in your favour.
Go on campaign
Win the game by convincing KreatureKind’s seven magical factions to join your cause! Enjoy exploring vibrant villages, forests, and cities filled with troubled creatures and charming NPCs. Debate your way through the randomly generated maps and persuade each of the faction leaders to support you.
Following in the jet trail of futuristic racing games like F-Zero and Wipeout, Fast Fusion’s blistering speed has all the hallmarks of what has made the Fast series so fun since its 2011 debut. Every muscle in my body tensed up as I blazed through its handful of sci-fi courses, boosting my way to the finish line while using the new jumping mechanic to find shortcuts. As one of only a very small handful of current Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives, this is a dazzling technical showcase for the power of Nintendo’s newly minted system – but annoying progression choices and minimally inventive changes to a well-worn formula dull some of Fast Fusion’s shine.
If I had a dollar for every racing series that added the ability to jump as part of its arrival on Switch 2, I’d only be two bucks richer, but it’s still weird that it happened twice. That jump option is also just about the only thing Fast Fusion and Mario Kart World have in common: where the latter takes things in a bold new direction with its open world, here developer Shin’en sticks to what it’s done well since Fast Racing League on Wii. There are a few new bells and whistles to mess with as you tear through its fifteen courses ( three of which were added in its first update on June 26), but this flavor of hypersonic speed will largely be very familiar to anyone who has played past entries.
Fans of F-Zero or Wipeout will also know the drill: Fast Fusion is set in a distant future where the only speed is fast and every road is dangerous. High-tech racing machines careen through obstacle-laden courses at blinding speeds. The Fast series sets itself apart with a unique boost system, where driving over boost pads or through other elements of the course will give you an extra push as long as you switch your vehicle to the corresponding orange or blue color. Making that swap only takes the press of a button and rewards you with a satisfying burst of speed. Fast Fusion knows how good it feels to go faster than the speed of sound, and it leans into it as its highly detailed, staggeringly impressive environments melt into a blur as you carve through them.
You can also collect orbs to fill up an independent boost meter, and switching as you weave between tight turns before boosting through a straightaway to shave nanoseconds off your time adds just enough to focus on without becoming overbearing. But that has always been true of the Fast formula, and Fast Fusion’s jump button breaks from tradition in a smart but ultimately not too impactful way. Shin’en used this change to add more complexity to its courses with alternate paths stacked on top of each other, but I wish the Munich-based studio had leaned into the change even more, as it doesn’t amount to much more than adding small shortcuts and an extra way to dodge some obstacles.
These are still fun, but I feel like there’s just a bit too much rigidity in how and where you can use the jump to put yourself ahead. It has a ton of range, and you can cover some massive gaps with the right timing, but I never felt rewarded by pushing these mechanics to the absolute limit or mastering them beyond jumping where it felt natural or obvious.
This is easily one of the most impressive-looking Switch 2 games available right now.
The mechanical changes from 2017’s Fast RMX on the original Switch to Fast Fusion mirror the similarly incremental jump in graphical power between these hardware generations, leaning into one or two specific improvements rather than attempting a complete overhaul. This is easily one of the most impressive-looking Switch 2 games available right now, with incredible lighting and gorgeously smooth visuals while playing in 4K docked, but it’s missing some of the initial wow factor that Fast RMX had. Don’t get me wrong, it still looks stunning, but the generational jump just isn’t nearly as exciting or surprising.
Thankfully, Fast Fusion does at least offer a decent selection of different graphics settings, making it easy to favor framerate, graphical quality, or a balance of both. I usually went for the second-best quality setting that promised 4K output and some high-fidelity lighting while maintaining a consistent 60 frames-per-second, but then opted for a higher framerate choice when playing in splitscreen. I love that Shin’en decided to include this option, really letting me juice my Switch 2 for every last drop of processing power it has.
Just like Formula 1 or NASCAR, futuristic corporations have a mechanical horse in the race. Instead of racing bounty hunters and samurai clashing on the track, you’re controlling faceless cars made or sponsored by different manufacturers. That sterile, far-flung futuristic vibe has the same somewhat empty, tech-demo-like feeling you see in those videos of Unreal Engine fan mockups where a beloved character runs around a grey box and the comments are begging some publisher to, “Please hire this man.” But Fast Fusion moves so quickly that you hardly have any time to pay attention to those basic-looking spiky balls rolling around the course unless you’re doing your best to steer around them.
Separated by standard racing stats like top speed, acceleration, and boost, Fast Fusion’s garage has a great selection of vehicle configurations that cater to tons of different playstyles. Maybe you’ll aim for a high boost stat, which rewards you for precisely switching between blue and orange when driving over boost pads or through color-coded zones. Alternatively, a high acceleration stat makes it easier to get your zero-G legs, allowing you to catch up to the herd more quickly as you contend with Fast Fusion’s somewhat punishing wipeouts. I usually went for a blend of high top speed and boost once I got used to each course, dodging obstacles and nailing hairpin turns while optimizing routes that allowed me to boost as much as possible.
Finding that perfect build isn’t easy at first because you start with a paltry three vehicles, and are forced to use the in-game currency won by completing races to expand your stable of zero-gravity racers – and eventually fuse them together. Fusing vehicles results in goofy corporate merger names and better vehicles with improved stats. You’re all but required to unlock higher-grade vehicles and fuse them to compete at the highest speeds and difficulties Fast Fusion will throw at you.
Each fusion is nebulously graded on a lettering system, which I still haven’t completely deciphered even after a dozen hours of racing. But as far as I can tell, it rewards saving up cash to unlock the most expensive vehicles you can and kit-bashing two high-ticket rides together more than anything else. Frustratingly, fusing racing machines removes the option to use either of the original, pre-fusion vehicles. I get this from a flavor perspective, but it doesn’t make sense within the context of an arcade-y racing game where you want to unlock many different options. Fusing and de-fusing cost in-game currency, making its artificial scarcity all the more annoying; this wouldn’t be as much of a problem if you didn’t also need to use that currency to unlock new cups to compete in. To make things even worse, Fast Fusion forces you to unlock the second, third, and fourth cups in each speed class, which doubles as a difficulty setting.
What it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality.
I understand that Fast Fusion isn’t meant to be as forgiving or easy to pick up as a kart racer; gating higher difficulties behind reaching the winners’ podium in every cup would make sense. But obscuring cups I’ve already completed by making me unlock them at every difficulty – while also making me buy nearly every car and then additionally pay to fuse them into better ones – unnecessarily stalls Fast Fusion’s economy. It’s like putting training wheels on a Harley.
Side modes can at least make for fun alternate ways to earn extra cash beyond just repeating the same cup over and over again, like the sudden death-style Hero Mode where your vehicle’s boost and health are linked. That’s neat, but I wish the challenges offered in these other modes had a little bit more going on. Instead, they’re mostly just slight tweaks to a normal race with no change to the courses themselves, which doesn’t alleviate the repetitive grind of unlocking everything.
Compared to 2015’s Fast Racing Neo, Fast Fusion is smaller – but what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. Most courses offer clever designs that had me white-knuckling my controller, from a fun series of shortcuts on Yama Crest to dodging tornadoes on Tempesta. This laser-sharp focus on great levels is probably the best and most interesting part of Fast Fusion. Every time I’ve booted it up, I’ve found a new, satisfying way to shave a few seconds off of a lap I thought I’d mastered. Boost orbs make for compelling breadcrumbs in that pursuit, encouraging you to find new ways to approach a turn or hinting at a hidden path or more efficient way to handle an obstacle.
Steam’s Summer Sale is legendary, but it doesn’t always mean you’re getting the lowest price. As much as we all love watching our wishlist light up with discounts, some of the best deals are actually happening off-site. Fanatical and Green Man Gaming have been busy undercutting Valve’s storefront with bigger savings on the exact same Steam keys.
A quick one to end the day. While Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has done a fair-to-miraculous job of reviving enthusiasm for the despised QTE, players remain suspicious of minigame-style mechanics in combat systems – and when I say players I mean you, the people who fretted in the comments for my recent article on Pragmata.
Capcom’s upcoming space-me-daddo-shooty-doo has a debuff mechanic whereby the android girl riding on your back hacks the robots you’re fighting – a process of moving a cursor around a grid of glyphs to deactivate shields and so forth.
June 5th marked the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, but that very same day (or the day before on other consoles), the highly anticipated continuation of Deltarune, in Chapters 3 and 4, also hit digital shelves.
If you’ve had the chance to catch our review, you’ll know we fully believe this Undertale “follow-up” is worth the new price of entry too, even if there are three more chapters to go. With big games like Mario Kart World and Cyberpunk 2077 ready and available for play, I’ve instead chose to sink more time into the indie darling that is Deltarune. It’s silly yet simultaneously serious world and characters have their hooks in me and it’s all I find myself thinking about night after night.
How Dying Light: The Beast Combines Open World and Survival Horror To Maximize Player Freedom
Tymon Smektała, Dying Light Franchise Director
Summary
Dying Light: The Beast launches August 22 on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox on PC. Dying Light hero Kyle Crane returns – but not as you previously knew him. A culmination of more than 10 years’ experience in open world survival horror, Dying Light: The Beast aims to deliver.
Summer Game Fest earlier this month was an absolute whirlwind, and I’m still buzzing from the incredible energy we felt in Los Angeles where more than 100 journalists and content creators got their hands on the very first Dying Light: The Beastgameplay demo. The cheers when they beat the giant Behemoth, the screams when they walked into a jump scare in the dark, and the joy when they ripped heads right off of zombie shoulders – it’s music to my ears!
We’ve shown a glimpse of what’s coming: a raw, brutal return to the roots of what makes Dying Light so special, but with a monstrous twist. And this experience was not just available to the few lucky people at Play Days, but to everyone who enjoys the thrill of an open world survival horror action game!
The Return of a Hero, Reimagined
Yes, you saw correctly. Kyle Crane – the legendary hero of the original Dying Light – is back. But he’s different from the Kyle you remember. He’s been through unspeakable horrors. Years of painful genetic experiments at the hands of the Baron have changed who he is – what he is. He now carries both human and infected DNA, a furious inner conflict that fuels his new abilities but also brings him to the brink of humanity.
We’ve designed Dying Light: The Beast to let you truly feel that struggle. One moment, you’re the agile survivor, relying on parkour and precision. The next, you’re unleashing raw, beast-like power, tearing enemies apart with primal brutality. In the beginning of Dying Light: The Beast you won’t have full control over your powers but once you do, it’s pushing the brutality of our combat system beyond anything you’ve experienced before.
This visceral brutality was among the best received elements from people who played the game. Whether they were expertly chaining parkour into a dropkick that sent an infected flying, or one-handedly crushing the skulls of an enemy with brute force – the reactions were priceless. We constantly heard shouts of “Oh, hell yeah!” and naughty chuckles as players pulled off those over-the-top, bone-crunching finishers.
Fear the Nights!
One of the most vocal pieces of feedback we received from Dying Light 2: Stay Human was about the night. Many players told us, quite rightly, that we had perhaps made it a little too accessible. We heard you loud and clear. With The Beast, we are taking the night back to its terrifying glory. For me, one of the most terrifying sounds in the demo was when Kyle’s wristwatch beeps and marks the end of a day. That “golden hour” moment when the sun dips below the horizon – that’s when the world completely transforms.
With the environment in Castor Woods so dramatically changed, the night offers a completely different challenge. The sense of dread, the urgency, the feeling that every shadow hides a new horror… it’s all dialed up to eleven. When you turn off the flashlight in the woods, it’s truly pitch black and leaves you easily disoriented. Surrounded by our apex predators – the Volatiles – every shadow makes you question “was it just a bush or one of them?” We even play with that primal fear systematically: Don’t be surprised if we spawn a zombie right behind the tree you just checked a few moments ago…
Your Open World Playground
The mission that is shown in the gameplay demo is a great example of how any given day in the decaying, post-apocalyptic world of Castor Woods might look like: You start in the parkour-paradise that the old town offers you, climb and jump the rooftops, loot through the beautiful, hand-crafted interiors. Then you find yourself in the middle of a forest at night, fight off biters to secure a safe house, solve parkour puzzles to get to places that otherwise would be hidden, and plow through hordes of zombies in a 4×4 truck.
But Dying Light: The Beast is a true open world game at heart. And that means not everyone sticks to the same path. We saw some truly hilarious and ingenious approaches during Play Days. Roughly a third of all players just bailed the basement after putting the fuse back in – refusing to fight the horde we deliberately put there so they learn about their Beast-like powers.
Two separate journalists were so obsessed with dropkicks that they ignored most of the other combat options. I swear, they tried to kick every single enemy off a rooftop! We practically had to hold them down and beg them to finish at least one of Baron’s soldiers the traditional way to loot a rifle for the boss fight at the end!
Another was so fascinated by the firecracker decoys that he decided to lure a horde of biters to the encounter with the soldiers. Instead of getting his own hands dirty, he watched from a far how zombies and human NPCs fought it out – and just sneaked past the chaos.
This is what Dying Light is all about for us: player freedom. We set the stage, we provide the tools, but how you navigate that world, how you approach its challenges, is entirely up to you and sometimes your creativity even surprises the people who make the game.
For us, Dying Light: The Beast is the most important game we’ve ever made. It’s a culmination of more than 10 years of experience in the open world survival horror genre – the best Dying Light game so far. But it’s not just for players who know the other games of the series. The nature of Kyle’s story is the perfect entry point to the franchise – after more than a decade in captivity, the world is as new to him as it is to newcomers.
See you in Castor Woods when Dying Light: The Beast launches on August 22, 2025 on PC and Xbox Series X|S. And good luck. You’re going to need it!
**Important: Anyone who purchased the Ultimate Edition of Dying Light 2 Stay Human will receive Dying Light: The Beast at no additional charge.**
Pre-order the Standard Edition now to get the exclusive Hero of Harran Bundle, which contains:
– Ultimate Survivor Outfit
– Harran Combat Knife (+ Upgradable Blueprint)
– The Follower Crossbow (+ Upgradable Blueprint)
– In Jade’s Memory Pistol (+ Upgradable Blueprint)
– Castor Woods Patrol
You are Kyle Crane. After being captured by the Baron and enduring his painful experiments for years, you escape. But the scars remain. Left on the edge of humanity with both human and zombie DNA, you struggle to control your inner beast and the conflict that comes with it. But you’ll need to, if you want to get your revenge on the man who did this to you. A unique blend of open world and action survival horror, Dying Light: The Beast is set in the beautiful, yet dangerous valley of Castor Woods that’s now overrun with zombies rather than tourists. To take your former captor down, you’ll need to form fragile alliances, as well as utilize all the combat and traversal options in your arsenal. But be careful: out here, each step is a fight for survival, especially once the sun sets and the tension heightens as the true horrors come out at night!
Half Beast, Half Survivor
Become Kyle Crane, a unique hero with DNA of a survivor… and a beast. Switch between two playstyles and experience a fierce inner conflict between man and monster, leading to the ultimate embrace of unstoppable strength.
Primal Brutality
Take the raw savagery of Dying Light’s combat to the extreme and push brutality beyond human limits as you crush skulls, rip heads off, and tear enemies in half struggling to control the hero’s constantly evolving, rage fueled, beast-like powers.
Own the day, fear the night
A signature of the Dying Light series – two vastly different experiences of day and night merge into one unforgettable whole. Scavenge and explore by day, mindful of the constant tension of the moving clock – as when the sun sets, the night unleashes horrors that leave you with only three choices: run, hide, or fight for your life.
Run the Rooftops, Rule the Roads
Feel the rush of best-in-class first-person parkour as you jump from rooftop to rooftop and climb over any obstacle using a movement system accessible to all, yet rewarding those who master it. Then take the wheel of an off-road vehicle and plow through hordes of zombies enjoying unparalleled freedom of open world traversal.
Beautiful Zombie Apocalypse
Breathtaking next-gen visuals bring the handcrafted zombie apocalypse to life, where every detail tells a story of survival. Get lost in the majesty of Swiss-Alps inspired valley of Castor Woods with various biomes – tourist town, industrial area, national park, farm fields, swamps – full of beauty… and decay.
Share the adventure
Band together in up to 4-player co-op to take on the dangers of Castor Woods, where every fight, every discovery and every twisting step of the story can be faced as a group. Use shared progression to conquer the entire adventure side by side, as you face relentless enemies, scavenge for resources and save each other from the brink of death.
Last week, we asked you to share maximalist moments from the game of your choice using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
JarrinWasHereshares Jesse from Control standing in a sea of yellow sticky notes.
call_me_xaviishares the humans of Humanity all bunched together
JULY_AA_0510went all out with the sticker pack for Cyberpunk 2077.
secondcaptureshares a giant finger-shaped building in Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess
Fabricioevmshares the massive landscape of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 with a mountain-sized Nevron in the distance
AkiraAoyama_VPshares an onslaught of rats from A Plague Tale: Requiem
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on July 2, 2025
Next week, deliver shares as you trek through Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. Share moments from Sam’s latest journey using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Resident Evil Requiem will feature a return to the series’ “overarching narrative” begun 30 years ago, Capcom has said, following the launch of more recent games such as Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village which focused on events set elsewhere, with fewer connections to past titles.
Requiem not only features the return of Raccoon City, but will also apparently pick up on the current status of the shadowy Umbrella Corporation. The last we heard of that, the company had gone bankrupt. But is it back now, somehow — or did it ever really go away?
Speaking in a interview published on the PlayStation blog, Resident Evil Requiem producer Masato Kumazawa said the game was being designed to to commemorate the franchise’s 30th anniversary next year, when it releases on February 27, 2026, three decades on from the March 1996 launch of the original Resident Evil.
“In recent mainline titles like Resident Evil 7 and Resident Evil Village, the series has explored the broader world of the Resident Evil universe by focusing on incidents involving the Winters family,” Kumazawa said.
“With Resident Evil Requiem, however, we wanted to return to a story that continues the overarching narrative rooted in Raccoon City and the secret machinations of the Umbrella Corporation. As the series celebrates its 30th anniversary, we believe Raccoon City is the most fitting setting.”
While Resident Evil 7 is relatively recent in terms of the series’ overall timeline, it still arrived back in 2017. Think back to when we last saw classic Resident Evil characters outside of remakes, and its clear the series has plenty of fan-favorites ripe for a return.
Another classic Resident Evil story thread that Requiem will link back to is that of spin-off series Resident Evil Outbreak, with new protagonist Grace Ashcroft the daughter of Outbreak’s Alyssa.
“When creating a story set in the ruins of Raccoon City, we felt it was fitting to have a character with a personal connection to the city itself,” Kumazawa continued, referencing Leo- sorry, Grace.
“In this title, which aims to focus on horror, we introduce Grace as a new, relatable protagonist, who is unlike previous protagonists Leon or Chris,” he added.
Kumazawa went on to reiterate what have we heard from other Requiem developers previously, that Grace was specifically chosen as the game’s protagonist because she was someone who still “jumps in fright” when an enemy appears.
But again, Capcom has also stated that Requiem will feature more action-heavy sequences. And perhaps it’s here that fans will get to play as someone like Leon — someone also with a personal connection to Raccoon City — if he is also in the game, as many fans still believe.
“We always thought about making Leon the protagonist,” Requiem director Koshi Nakanishi said during the Capcom Spotlight 2025 broadcast last night, before saying he was a “bad match for horror” gameplay. In a separate developer diary, Capcom confirmed it had experimented with plans to make Resident Evil: Requiem an open-world game, and for it feature online elements, before realising this wasn’t what fans wanted.
Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
Riot Games are going to let their top League Of Legends and Valorant esports teams receive sponsorship from gambling companies, in a bid to snaffle up some of the billion dollar unofficial sports betting scene that surrounds both games.
