The GameCube library will be joining the Switch 2’s online ‘Expansion Pack’ tier this June and one of three launch titles for this particular collection is Link’s cel-shaded adventure The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.
Nintendo’s new app ‘Nintendo Today!‘ has been sharing some additional footage of this title in action on the Switch 2 and earlier this week it featured more gameplay footage. This includes Link using all his gear to overcome various obstacles and you can even see him conduction some music.
Doug Bowser: There’s no specific time you “must launch video games”.
Nintendo has confirmed the Switch 2 will be arriving on 5th June 2025, but why exactly did it choose this specific month?
Speaking to NPR recently, Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser revealed some of the reasons behind this decision – explaining how there is really no specific time frame as to when you “must” launch video games, or a console in this case, and both the hardware and games were “ready to launch”.
There isn’t a huge list of things that’ll immediately sell me on your game, but there is one that’ll draw me in without fail pretty much every single time: you can drive around in a kei truck. Now, admittedly, there are very few games where you can actually do this, the delightful Promise Mascot Agency being the most recent one. There’s the yet to be released Honcho from the devs behind Landlord’s Super and Jalopy, you can bet your bottom dollar I’ll be playing that one. And now, there’s Easy Delivery Co., a game with a kei truck that isn’t exactly what it says on the tin.
I’m sure like me, some of you would really like another Nier game. A Nier 3, if you will, except I won’t, because it already came out and it was called Nier Reincarnation. Unfortunately it was also a free-to-play mobile game, and as most mobile games are destined for, it shut down last year rendering it completely unplayable. Nier celebrated its 15th anniversary this year, so far with no big announcements, though there is a new website that’s slowly sharing bits of a special novel. And curiously enough, it appears to be teasing something Nier Reincarnation related.
The weekend is officially here, and we’ve rounded up the best deals you can find! Discover the best deals for April 20 below:
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition for $49.99
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition brings the long-requested Wii U game to Nintendo Switch with numerous quality-of-life updates and features. There’s also even an added epilogue story chapter with a new ending for the game, which likely will directly lead into the future of the series. With a soundtrack by Hiroyuki Sawano and a massive world to explore, Xenoblade Chronicles X is a game you can easily spend hundreds of hours in.
Razer Huntsman V2 TKL for $74.99
Best Buy has the Razer Huntsman V2 TKL Mechanical Keyboard for just $74.99 today. This keyboard features clicky optical switches that feel much lighter than most other mechanical switches out there, as you can get up to true 8000Hz polling rate for lower input latency. The Huntsman V2 TKL features doubleshot PBT caps, which are more durable and sturdy to ensure longer life. Another key offering of this keyboard is the detachable USB-C cable, so you won’t need to worry about wrapping your cable around when moving.
Persona 5 + Persona 5 Royal: Official Design Works for $57.31
If you’re a fan of Persona 5, this is the ultimate item for you. This Official Design Works contains 544 pages of artwork across both Persona 5 and Persona 5 Royal. You’ll find character illustrations, promotional art, rough concepts, detailed creator commentary, and even an interview with Shigenori Soejima.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 for $30
You can score Capcom’s massive RPG for just $30 this weekend at Amazon. We gave the game an 8/10 in our review, stating, “It is a retelling and reimplementation of all of those wonderful ideas from the 2012 cult-classic, including an awesome dynamic world and some of the best combat in the genre that integrates a subtle but amazingly complex physics system.”
Resident Evil 3 for $19.93
You can save $10 off the PS5 version of Resident Evil 3 this weekend at Amazon. In our 9/10 review, we wrote, “Resident Evil 3 is a wonderful continuation of Capcom’s latest remake efforts. Although its just-okay multiplayer mode falls short of the bar set by its magnificent single-player campaign, the latter does such a good job at balancing 2020 gameplay and a classic Resident Evil tone that I recommend it without reservations.”
Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii for $49.99
The latest Like a Dragon game stars everyone’s favorite ex-yakuza, Goro Majima, on an adventure to sail the seas as a pirate. When Majima wakes up unable to remember anything about himself, he embarks on a quest to regain his memories, and of course, in true Like a Dragon fashion, things get crazy. This is the lowest we’ve seen this game so far, so be sure to pick up a copy while you can.
Star Wars Outlaws Limited Edition for $29.12
Finally, Star Wars Outlaws for Xbox Series X is on sale for $29.12 at Amazon. We gave the game a 7/10 in our review, writing, “Star Wars Outlaws is a fun intergalactic heist adventure with great exploration, but it’s hindered by simple stealth, repetitive combat, and a few too many bugs at launch.”
I think to properly convey my severe dislike of always online games I’d probably need more space and time than what an average RPS news article provides, but I’ll try to contain myself on this one. You see, EA’s just started up this new thing it calls The Grind (like what you do on a skateboard, get it?), which they describe as their “platform to talk directly to you, the community.” The first volume had quite a few questions from expectant skaters about the upcoming Skate reboot, one of the first being whether or not it’ll have an offline mode. Can you already guess from my tone so far that it won’t?
The thing about computers is that they’re just really annoying, actually. They’re massively complicated, constantly changing machines, and despite the fact the hardware is technically better now, they can sometimes struggle to run older games because of… reasons. Those reasons often being software issues I won’t even attempt to understand. So, it always brings a smile to my face when I see another game back from the dead through the efforts of GOG’s preservation program, the most recent entry being the classic CapcomJRPGBreath of Fire 4.
Earlier this month Nacon did something unthinkable, completely unpredictable with Dune: Awakening… they delayed it. Alright, fine, generally the opposite is true for big games these days, but it did come down to the wire in the greater scheme of things as it was due out this coming May 20th. Now the MMO is slated to be released on June 10th (or June 5th for those with early access), just three weeks extra. That “meh” news did come with some “oh that’s cool” news though, as a large-scale beta was promised. Now, following a snazzy new story trailer, a date for said beta has been set!
Buying a new console on or close to its launch date (or, in some cases, at any point during its lifespan) can be exceptionally costly.
It’s often a good option, then, to flog your current-gen console and get a discount off your next hardware purchase, especially if the new one is backwards compatible. In the case of the Switch 2, GameStop has confirmed that it is offering a pretty reasonable deal in the US if you trade in your old Switch towards the new system.
This article contains spoilers for the Until Dawn movie.
I’ve been racking my brain over the conundrum that is adapting Until Dawn. Supermassive Games’ deconstruction of horror cinema through choice-based butterfly effect mechanics is essentially a 10-hour playable movie—a damn fine one written by indie horror staples Larry Fessenden and Graham Reznick—so a film adaptation couldn’t just be the same thing. But a film that isn’t indebted to the game and its “choose your own adventure” method doesn’t feel appropriate either. Sony’s desire to release an Until Dawn adaptation seemed misguided upon announcement, and after viewing the film, it’s still a headscratcher.
That’s because David F. Sandberg’s Until Dawn movie betrays the core hook of Supermassive’s Until Dawn.
Writers Gary Dauberman and Blair Butler chose to adapt Until Dawn as its title reads. In this case, “Until Dawn” translates into a time-loop-like horror scenario where five young adults find themselves hunted by various baddies, and they only escape if they can survive … until dawn. Should anyone die, they’ll wake once a gigantic hourglass fixed to an ominous, skull-adorned mount drops its last grain of sand. Die enough times, and you become a wendigo lost to Dr. Alan J. Hill’s delirious experiment. The core impetus of a missing sibling is still there—Ella Rubin’s protagonist, Clover, is hunting for her missing sister—but otherwise, you’re not on Blackwood Mountain aka Mount Washington (er…yet), and certainly not similarly punished for choices that alter narrative paths.
That’s… not Until Dawn.
Death Shouldn’t Be An Afterthought
In the game, death matters. It matters so much, in fact, that killing a single character sends ripple effects felt throughout the remaining storylines. There’s no regeneration or second chances. Like, famously. That’s the point of Until Dawn. The stakes are so astronomically high, the slightest nervous twitch of your controller during a “stay still” Quicktime event could doom multiple characters. Dauberman and Butler fail to translate the nerve-wracking experience of playing Until Dawn, landing on quite the opposite concept.
If anything, Until Dawn is a beginner’s attempt at Cabin in the Woods. Glore Valley is drenched by a thunderstorm, except for a perfect circle of sunshine over the welcome center location, like some all-powerful horror movie god is controlling the rain—once again resembling Cabin in the Woods in terms of the “influencing environment” effect. The all-seeing overlord (Dr. Hill), the meta nature of characters joking about horror movie rules, and the different creatures unleashed each rewind? Despite countless plot configurations, the game’s powerful storytelling is far superior to this random assortment of scary scenes tied to an hourglass clock. The game pulls players deeper into a web of intrigue, where the movie’s Mad Libs nature drags viewers through a jumbled rotation of clowns-and-kooks randomness.
Points are awarded for at least using wendigos. In the game, Fessenden’s “Stranger” character reveals that a 1952 mining cave-in led to cannibalism, and said cannibals turned into wendigos that now haunt Blackwood. Here, Clover and her friends start turning into wendigos due to Dr. Hill’s experiments on Glore Valley from his sanatorium hideout (resembling his dingy in-game office). It’s not a one-for-one translation, nor does it need to be, but the wendigos are overshadowed by a slasher villain vaguely costumed after Josh’s psycho getup. There are also witches, porcelain doll-looking masks, creepypasta demons, and water that makes your entire body explode Scanners-style if you drink it. It’s a hodgepodge of dangers that have nothing to do with Fessenden and Reznick’s straightforward creature-centric game, outside of a few Easter eggs.
The most obvious connection is Peter Stormare as Dr. Hill, Josh Washington’s (Rami Malek) hallucinated psychiatrist who runs players through rigorous psychological tests that influence future in-game details. However, even Dr. Hill features stark differences in the film vs. the original game. In the movie, he’s seen as a gas station attendant, but it’s not long before he’s outed as former game character Dr. Hill—who’s in control of experiments on Glore Valley. It’s here where we have the only direct reference to the game’s most well-known character, Josh Washington. After Clover discovers Hill’s “office,” we see her patient profile alongside Josh’s.
There’s some exposition about Hill’s experiments as we watch prisoners cannibalize bodies and then turn into wendigos to highlight that connection to the game, but the reveal is followed by Clover defeating Dr. Hill pretty easily.
Except she doesn’t. Probably.
As the film ends, we return to the dirty sanitarium office where Dr. Hill explodes after ingesting some ‘splodey water, and on surveillance monitors, we see Blackwood’s lodge. We then hear Dr. Hill speak, suggesting he was Clover’s hallucination, much like Josh’s in the game. But, that’s right before the credits because I guess Sandberg’s movie is an offshoot prequel that, for some reason, has nothing to do with the actual events of the Until Dawn game? If there is a sequel, presumably it’ll be about Josh’s case of vengeance paid unto the Blackwood group except based on the film’s rules … somehow.
Cheap Easter Eggs Aren’t Enough
It’s just all so generic. Turning Dr. Hill into the baddie removes intrigue and becomes a cheap cop-out, torn from the game but improperly refitted. Then the stinger of Blackwood hits, which again is confusing because in interviews, Sandberg insists his film takes place after the game’s timeline—but Blackwood’s reveal suggests it’s not a sequel, but a prequel. Inconsequentiality plagues Sandberg’s film in a way that makes you wonder why it’s even tied to Until Dawn (*cough* intellectual property reasons *cough*), which only causes Blackwood’s tease to be even more spoonfed and underwhelming. For so long, Until Dawn (the movie) bears no resemblance to Until Dawn (the game)—why pivot back toward the game at the last minute?
The reason is simple: to appease us fans. There are choice moments that attempt to help us relive the game, but they’re crammed in like afterthoughts. Ji-young Yoo’s spiritualist character Megan has everyone hold hands in silence, mimicking the game’s quiet “hold your breath” Quicktime events. There’s a shot bathed in red lighting where a wendigo is right by a frightened Clover, and that’s a direct reference to the “Don’t Move” instructions. But the game’s cinematic nature doesn’t yield many other level-based opportunities to recreate, nor does the film try. The adaptation’s biggest issue is it never fully comprehends how best to honor Supermassive’s inspiration while telling a fresh horror tale.
What else might you recognize? The wendigo audio files are plucked from the game, reusing the same noises. There’s also Abe’s first death of being chopped in half, which could be respect paid to Josh’s fake death in the game, or maybe that’s just a lucky coincidence. Are the werewolf sketches in the witch’s cabin a possible reference to The Quarry? Is the radio in the basement the same radio in the game where characters find out they must survive until dawn? Chances are yes, but these Easter eggs feel forced.
Look, I’m all for a “spiritual successor.” But to do so, there has to be some resemblance to the thing you are named after. While I don’t think Until Dawn is a terrible movie, it’s a bad Until Dawn movie. It’s a far cry from the urgency and invasive dread that Supermassive so easily conjures, speaking to what makes the playable horror movie such a blast to complete (over and over).
As is, the Until Dawn movie doesn’t make much sense in context. The events of Glore Valley are a grab bag of ideas from other horror movies that would be nothing but a clip show without Dr. Hill’s inclusion. But even with Stormare’s reprised role, it’s only Until Dawn at face value, nothing deeper. I get the interpretation of the gang’s choices forcing them to keep restarting, but it’s still too far off-base to consider this adaptation anything more than unfaithful. In the end, Until Dawn is a missed opportunity to bring Supermassive’s smash-hit game to life.
