Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 – A Holy Warrior of the God-Emperor Joins the Battle Against Chaos

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 – A Holy Warrior of the God-Emperor Joins the Battle Against Chaos

Summary

  • Sister of Battle Nyra Veyrath joins the fight as a second playable character alongside returning Ultramarine Malum Caedo.
  • See the never-before-seen key art for Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2.
  • Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 will launch on Xbox Series X|S in 2026.

One of the most requested features from fans of Boltgun was to add a second playable character to the game, in addition to Malum Caedo. Right from the start, we knew we wanted to do this for Boltgun 2, especially as it aligned so well with two of our goals for the game: adding more variety and replayability.

Today I’m excited to share more about our new player character: Nyra Veyrath, a battle-hardened Sister of Battle Celestian who loves nothing more than bathing heretics in righteous flames.

A Wild Torrent of Flame

To make for a truly different experience, it was important to us that Nyra had her own unique set of weapons. When it comes to Sisters of Battle, their “holy trinity” of guns are bolters, flamers, and melta weapons, so we knew we had to do these justice.

We’ve spent a lot of time during development making sure her flame-based weapons are as gratifying as possible to use. For these weapons more than most, visual and audio feedback can make or break their feel. They’ve got to be convincingly destructive – as befits a wild torrent of flame – whilst still clearly communicating to the player where and how damage is being applied. My personal favourite is the Heavy Flamer — our internal goal was to make a weapon that feels like the end of the world, and I’m very happy with (and slightly terrified by) the results.

Enhancing Mobility with Fervent Slide

For a breakneck-paced shooter like Boltgun 2, mobility is key when creating a new character – especially for Nyra, who we wanted to feel even more agile than Malum.

One of Nyra’s core abilities is Fervent Slide, a rapid means of getting around levels, with the bonus that it’ll tear right through any cultists in your path. By pressing jump during the slide, Nyra uses her momentum to perform a special Leap – an effective way of reaching higher areas.

Immediacy is a central pillar for Boltgun 2, and part of that means creating abilities that are instantly understandable and satisfying to use. Onto that straightforward base we add optional layers of functionality, expanding the ability’s utility in the game.

As such, Fervent Slide is a great way to both enter and escape combat, whilst the Leap is not only a handy means of reaching high ground, but also – as you can slow time by holding jump – can be used to take stock of the battle around you, or to take some precision shots with your current weapon.

Melting the Enemies of the Emperor

We really wanted to ramp up grenades for Boltgun 2 and make them a unique part of each character’s arsenal. To suit Nyra’s affinity for righteous flame, she has a devastating Melta Bomb at her disposal.

Again, the ability is straightforward to use: simply lob the bomb at an unfortunate heretic and watch the explosion. But there’s added depth to play around with: Holding throw will

slow time whilst priming the grenade, allowing a more precise throw, whilst pressing it again after it’s thrown will detonate it early. The latter allows high skill play such as exploding the bomb over a group of enemies. Or, if you really want to impress the Emperor, you can shoot the bomb in midair…

Adding a Cutting Edge

Anyone who has played Boltgun will know Malum Caedo’s Chainsword is an integral part of his gameplay. When it came to Nyra, we needed her Power Sword to feel equally important to her character.

We wanted her first ranged weapon in the game to be a one-handed Bolt Pistol partly because it allowed us to show the Power Sword on screen at the same time. That way we’re immediately encouraging the player to get in the faces of your enemies, performing vicious combo slashes with the Power Sword.

And for enemies just out of reach, holding the melee attack button performs a forward thrust with the sword, causing increased damage and often showering the screen in gore.

Reinforcing the themes of mobility and extra utility, the thrust attack can also be used as a means of moving around. For this and Nyra’s other abilities, we’re really looking forward to players’ creativity in how they use and combine them.

Boltgun 2 Key Art Reveal

As you may have noticed at the top of the post, we wanted to share the brand-new key art for Boltgun 2! This was created by the supremely talented Johan Grenier, who also created the key art for the original Boltgun! In the new key art for Boltgun 2, Nyra naturally takes centre stage alongside Malum on a battlefield of chaos factions.

This is only the start for Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 and we’ll have even more exciting reveals to share over the next few months! Be sure to add Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 to your wishlist to be notified when it releases later this year, and follow Auroch Digital on X, TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube for all the latest updates.

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2

Devolver Digital, Big Fan Games

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 is the brutal and fast-paced sequel to retro FPS Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun.

Following directly on from the end of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, your duty takes you to new locations in a branching, single-player campaign that effortlessly blends the grimdark Warhammer 40,000 universe with a fast-paced first-person shooter.

A New Champion

Lock in as one of two playable characters, each offering their own unique abilities, weapons, and play style.

Dominate combat as the unrelenting force that is Malum Caedo, a formidable Sternguard Veteran with a reputation for purging heretics. Or quickly take control of the battlefield as the swift and nimble Sister of Battle, Nyra Veyrath, torching enemies and leaving only ashes in her wake.

Discover New Worlds

Take the fight to never-before-seen worlds and vanquish the foes that lurk there. From the colossal heights of a hive city to the impenetrable mangrove swamps of a jungle, you’ll need to overcome the challenges of each biome to complete your mission.

Bloody Action-Packed Combat

Built on the explosive combat of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, charge headfirst into glorious battle armed with an arsenal of deadly Space Marine weapons. Shred enemies with your lethal chainsword or blast them into an explosion of pixels and blood with your Shotgun!

Never-Before-Seen Foes

As your arsenal improves, so do the enemies! The ferocious Bloodletters and their daemonic Juggernauts are a near unstoppable force as they charge into battle hungry for blood!

Features

Two Playable Characters – Play as the formidable Malum Caedo or battle-hardened Nyra Veyrath, each with their own playstyle.
Explosive FPS Gameplay – Obliterate foes in high-octane combat.
Branching Campaign – Choose your own path through the campaign with each branch featuring unique levels.
NEW Enemies – Face never-before-seen foes from different factions.
NEW Weapons – Eviscerate hordes of relentless heretical scum with devastating weapons.
NEW Locations – Discover a range of worlds and biomes.
Navigation Guide – Effortlessly navigate the battlefield so you’re always at the center of the combat.
AND MORE!

The post Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun 2 – A Holy Warrior of the God-Emperor Joins the Battle Against Chaos appeared first on Xbox Wire.

ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program Celebrates Games from Across the African Diaspora

DAP BHM Hero Image

ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program Celebrates Games from Across the African Diaspora

Black artists have had a tremendous impact in art forms such as film and music, with Black culture and stories reaching audiences around the world in record numbers. This interest in diverse content and perspectives is not exclusive to those industries, but the barriers faced in game development are very real. The good news is that Black developers, despite the challenges, are now finding more ways to create and share games that celebrate their culture, uplift their stories and are simply fun.

The impact of Black developers in gaming dates back to Gerald Lawson and his role in designing the Fairchild Channel F and pioneering the first video game cartridges. In many ways, Black developers today are part of Mr. Lawson’s legacy and represent an inclusive future for our industry, where more stories make more players feel seen and included.

As the Director of the ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program, I have been fortunate to visit, speak to and partner with developers from around the world in places like Nigeria, South Africa, Brazil and here in the United States, including cities such as Detroit, Oakland, Atlanta and Houston. The passion, stories, culture and gameplay experiences that are being created are the fresh perspectives and new voices that our industry needs to bring the joy and community of gaming to everyone on the planet.

The Developer Acceleration Program is dedicated to empowering developers across the globe, enabling them to share their unique stories and perspectives with a broader audience. Since its inception, the Developer Acceleration Program has provided support to more than 300 developers spanning six continents. This commitment has already resulted in the launch of over 100 games, each benefiting from the program’s guidance and resources.

As part of the celebration of Black History Month, the Developer Acceleration Program is proud to shine a spotlight on DAP Partners and their games from across the African diaspora.


Relooted

Please give us a brief description of your game.

Reclaim real African artifacts from Western museums in this Africanfuturist heist game. Recruit crew members, plan escape routes, acquire the precious cargo, and bounce out of the joint as fast as you can.

What sets your game apart?

Relooted features very unique non-violent puzzle/action gameplay – the puzzle comes in figuring out the plan for your heist, and the action comes in executing it. Nyamakop is a South African team primarily but, working on Relooted, we’ve been lucky to have people from over a dozen African countries contribute to the project! That was important because the game’s core theme – African artifact repatriation – is one that affects all African countries. A final favorite fact about the game is that all the artifacts in the game are real! These artifacts have such great stories and history to them that it’s easy to think they were made up, but they are real objects that you can see in museums (maybe not the right museum though).

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey? 

The Xbox team has been so amazing to work with! The program has given us the space to enhance the game and make it better. I think without the support from the Developer Acceleration Program team it’s quite possible we wouldn’t have been able to even finish Relooted – so in some ways the impact of DAP was fundamental to us.

What’s ahead for your game?

The game is out now! Stop reading and start reclaiming – it’s out on Xbox Game Pass & it’s Xbox Play Anywhere.


Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator

Please give us a brief description of your game. 

Space Warlord Baby Trading Simulator is a sci-fi day trading sim where the stock market, deprived of other speculative goods, decides to go all-in on alien babies. Buy low and sell high as your trade interface simulates their adorable, dystopian lives in this arcade satire of real-life economics!   

What sets your game apart? 

We are the only game in history to let you short a baby, and for that, I am sorry. You can also hire consultants from across the galaxy to help you deal with fluctuating market conditions like time randomly changing, the market flipping up-side down, and a spate of powerful births producing babies that live 150% longer. 

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey?  

We make games that run the gamut from fast-paced revenge thrillers (I Am Your Beast) to absurdist lo-fi sandbox comedy (An Airport for Aliens Currently Run by Dogs). ID@Xbox – and the Developer Acceleration Program – has supported us in each part of that journey, and trusted us to bring worthwhile experiences to players, even when those projects were unusual, or didn’t follow a trend. That belief is why our studio is still here today, 6 years after our founding, and why we can feel confident making a game where you short a baby – because we trust that to be something unique and cool our players deserve to see.    

What’s ahead for your game? 

We’re currently available on Steam, but you can expect a fully-featured Xbox Play Anywhere port in the very near future, including all the features and content we’ve been adding in the game’s post-launch cycle, including a daily challenge! 


Aerial_Knight’s DropShot 

Please give us a brief description of your game.

Aerial_Knight’s DropShot is a high-speed, stylized FPS / Race where you play as Smoke Wallace. As a kid, he was bitten by a radioactive dragon, turning his skin purple and giving him the power to fire bullets from his fingertips. Thrown into deadly sky battles for revenge, you race rivals, fight dragons, move fast, shoot smart, and look cool when you land.

What sets your game apart?

Unmatched style, wild story, and unique gameplay that mixes racing, gunplay, and ducks.

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey? 

Without the Developer Acceleration Program, this game most likely doesn’t get made. I’m really grateful that funding like this exists for gamers to get a lot of different options in new games to play made by devs from many different backgrounds.

What’s ahead for your game?

My game just launched with Xbox Game Pass and Xbox Play Anywhere. It’s something I’m really proud of, and all I want is to keep making games that people enjoy that highlight different types of characters and cultures that many games don’t offer.


Beatdown City Survivors

Please give us a brief description of your game.

Beatdown City Survivors is ‘Escape from New York’ meets Dead Rising with “survivors-like” gameplay, filled with environmental destruction and over-the-top weapon crafting.

What sets your game apart?

In Beatdown City Survivors,players explore a procedurally generated post-apocalyptic city where everything in your environment can be destroyed – which will help or hurt you. Hydrants, cars, streetlights, air conditioners, and more can be used to drench things in water, light things on fire, send electricity through everything, and freeze everything in its path. There’s also a lot of toxic waste. Stay away from that. Because it’s a city, players get weapons like knives, folding chairs, fireworks, chanclas, legally distinct construction boots, pigeons and more. But wait!

Have you ever wondered what would happen if you gave a flock of bloodthirsty pigeons a set of knives? Or if you strapped a giant construction boot to a bunch of fireworks and just let it loose? Or, and I know this sounds out there, what if you shoved a giant pipe into a soda bottle, creating a makeshift fire extinguisher? You can get the answers to these questions, and more. And I want to emphasize the morepart. Every weapon can combine with any other weapon to make a long list of more powerful (and funnier) weapons.

Plus, Beatdown City Survivors has a banger of a soundtrack, harkening back to games like NBA Street and Tony Hawk, with a plethora of underground hip-hop tracks from some of the best rappers and producers on the planet.

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey? 

In the uncertainty of the industry today, I have the great honor of being supported by the Developer Acceleration Program. The funds are why we can make the game at the level of execution we’re able to.  

What’s ahead for your game?

Beatdown City Survivors is looking to be out not too long from now, so keep a look out! You can follow shawndoublea on Bluesky and Instagram for more updates!


Black Spades

Please give us a brief description of your game.

Black Spades is a card game rooted in the African American community’s heritage of classic card game, Spades. Yep, that’s right! Spades the way your friends and family play at home, college, reunions, and holiday get-togethers – with Jokers, Wild Deuces, Reneg calling, and more!

From the beginner playing at home, to the expert playing across the nation, Black Spades was created to get you straight to the action with no gimmicks. Designed with authentic rules, realistic gameplay, and heavy social interaction, Black Spades has become a standout offering for Spades enthusiasts.  

What sets your game apart?

Black Spades is the first and only game published on any platform that features Spades rules and terminology found in the African American culture. Our mission is to help preserve and extend the history of Spades within African American culture, and to become the only digital entity to house the most comprehensive collection of African American Spades rules. 

Black Spades is a cross-platform online multiplayer game. Xbox users can play against other players on various devices, such as mobile phones, computers, and handhelds.

Here is a list of our key features:

  • Reneg Calling (Play the wrong suit and kiss those 3 books goodbye. If you get caught.)
  • Live Voice Chat (talk yo’ stuff in realtime!)
  • Partner Play (Choose or find a partner to play multiplayer matches with you)
  • Locations (Play in different locations to win exclusive tables, coin jackpots, and become the mayor!)
  • Leaderboards with bonus prizes! (Daily, Weekly and Monthly)
  • Goals (Flex your skill, and luck, to win the big jackpot)
  • Smack Talk!!! (Choose from over 20+ phrases.)
  • Custom soundtrack (Featuring an original track by “David Banner”)

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey? 

As an indie developer and publisher, the Developer Acceleration Program has been instrumental in helping us bring Black Spades to Xbox. Their belief in the game –combined with their extensive resources and financial support – made it possible to successfully transition Black Spades from mobile to console.

Konsole Kingz took a nontraditional path to Xbox game publishing, and DAP ensured that path was not only viable but achievable. Through their monthly Green Room sessions, they consistently demystified the Xbox development and publishing process, clearly outlining the tools, requirements, and best practices needed to launch successfully on the platform. It’s a ton of information to take in, but they deliver it in bite-size chunks.  

What’s ahead for your game?

Black Spades has joined the Xbox Insider Program to help us test, refine, and polish the game before we launch in the summer. Please reach out to us via Black Spades’ social media handles to request access to the demo and give us your feedback on X, Instagram, or Facebook.  

Wishlist Black Spades on all Xbox platforms. Lastly, download Black Spades on your mobile device now, create an account, and play a few games. You’ll be ahead of the game and launch day ready!


Blind Frontiers

Please give us a brief description of your game.

Blind Frontiers is a premium, single-player RPG blending survival mechanics with a road-trip structure. Players follow Niuma, a gifted mechanic, pursuing the elusive Golden City to escape increasingly harsh living conditions in a post-conflict world shaped by scarcity and shifting social norms.

What sets your game apart?

In Blind Frontiers, survival is not about combat, but about how the world chooses to see you. The game features two interdependent gameplay phases: road survival and city interactions. Each city has its own social norms, traditions, and expectations. Navigating them is key to progression, while choices made on the road shape the resources, opportunities, and constraints players carry into those cities.

Meet the griots, who transmit knowledge through oral storytelling, uniquely revealing the mysteries of the Blind Frontiers universe.

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey? 

Joining the Developer Acceleration Program has been a game-changer for Blind Frontiers. The program provides us with unparalleled support, from funding to hands-on guidance, as well as access to dedicated conferences that help us fully understand and leverage the resources and opportunities offered by DAP.

As a Black woman in game development, being taken seriously can be a challenge, and DAP’s backing has made a tangible difference. From our first meetings to pitching the game, we truly felt heard, which has given us the confidence to navigate the industry and advance Blind Frontiers toward release.

What’s ahead for your game?

Blind Frontiers is in active development! We’ll be updating our content across social media soon. In the meantime, you can follow us on Instagram @BlindFrontiers and join our Discord community here to stay up to date on our next big announcement and events.


High Elo Girls

Please give us a brief description of your game.

High Elo Girls is an esports-themed visual novel where you play as the latest recruit for an all-women’s MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) team.  Your instincts as a recruit will be tested though through multiple choice matches, and your sensitivity as a teammate and friend through dialogue options with your team.  Both will define what type of player you become, and whether or not you’ll reach your esports ambitions.

What sets your game apart?

High Elo Girls is an approachable, story-focused introduction to the world of esports for newcomers, but with an attention to detail for those who are already longtime fans of the scene!  We let players take part in a narrative-heavy game inspired by both slice-of-life and sports dramas, meet distinct and charming characters, take part in low-stakes hangouts and high-stakes rivalries, all with a breezy, nostalgic summer vibe.

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey? 

We’re a very small team who started this project with limited resources. The program gave us the opportunity to make High Elo Girls much closer to our vision and bring on additional talented creatives to help us bring our game over the finish line. We’re so excited to be able to bring our game to a wider audience than we could have imagined!

What’s ahead for your game?

We’re looking to release High Elo Girls on Xbox and PC in the first half of 2026. You can learn more about the game and keep up to date with the release date on our Bluesky here.


One Beat Min

Please give us a brief description of your game. 

One Beat Min is an explosive 2D rhythm-fighting game about beatbox battles. Players step into the shoes of an up-and-coming musical master in a hip-hop world moved by the beat, fighting stylish rivals while managing Cred and Hype. Mechanically, the game unites the strategy of versus combat with the energy of rhythm: players create attack sequences where the beat boosts the impact of the sounds. It is a dynamic system where the opponent must read the movement and counterattack with style to dominate the battle. 

What sets your game apart? 

The innovative fusion between two beloved genres excites us, but the soul of the project lies in the characters and their identities. The universe is vibrant and culturally rich, offering a fresh Afro-diasporic perspective where music and beats drive the combat. Each character brings a unique sound and visual style to the arena, showing that everyone has their own way to shine. 

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey?  

The Developer Acceleration Program has helped us understand the best strategy for our game and allowed us to break down barriers that often prevent our stories from reaching a wider audience. Programs like DAP are essential to support more and more developers in telling narratives that, due to a lack of support, would end up forgotten. We feel proud to be part of this and are immensely grateful! 

What’s ahead for your game? 

We are currently fine-tuning the beat! As we refine our game, we invite everyone to Wishlist One Beat Min on the Xbox Store to be the first to know when the battle begins. You can also follow Sue The Real Studios on social media for behind-the-scenes updates and character reveals. Get ready to drop the beat! 


Hit-Em-Up Highrise

Please give us a brief description of your game.

A brutal neo-retro brawler, set in a futuristic prison with a dystopian ’90s game show theme that incorporates slick combos, drip customization, and roguelike randomized paths, weapons, enemies, and rewards so every run is a new experience.

What sets your game apart?

Hit-Em-Up Highrise is a run-based experience where the player must start at the bottom of a high-rise prison as a newly admitted inmate and fight their way to the top, floor by floor, to earn their freedom. To progress, the player must perform in action-based physical challenges to unlock randomized gear, defeat bosses, and manage their cash winnings to upgrade their drip (sneakers and hats) to define a build that will help them progress, as well as customize their cell and save money to purchase new items each run.

How has the Developer Acceleration Program impacted your game creation journey? 

The Developer Acceleration Program helped us push from prototype to development rapidly, and provided morale boosting inspiration to push past barriers in production to get us closer to completing the game.

What’s ahead for your game?

The game is close to complete, we will have a solid, polished build soon, and hope to announce the release date, features and have more gameplay locked in to share with the people.

The post ID@Xbox Developer Acceleration Program Celebrates Games from Across the African Diaspora appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Backrooms Level X – A Liminal Horror Descent into the Infinite Void

Backrooms Level X – A Liminal Horror Descent into the Infinite Void

Backrooms LX key art

Summary

  • Out now for Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
  • Inside the creative process behind Firenut’s handcrafted liminal horrors.
  • Expanded dual levels boost replayability through art and code mastery.

No-clip into the abyss. Backrooms Level X, Firenut Games’ chilling take on liminal horror, arrives on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One on February 19, 2026. At the heart of this infinite nightmare is lead developer Jose Manuel Conesa Hernandez, whose creative vision transformed a viral creepypasta into a deeply immersive survival experience. Jose Manuel guided the artistic process from initial mood boards to final polish, drawing inspiration from real abandoned spaces to craft decaying yellow mazes that evoke uncanny dread. “The creative spark came from late-night sketches of warped rooms under flickering fluorescents,” says Jose Manuel. “We iterated through hundreds of concept art rounds, blending analog horror vibes with intricate entity behaviors that feel alive and unpredictable.” His hands-on approach shaped Level X‘s core loop: evade sound-hunting monsters, decode environmental puzzles from faded lore scraps, and question if escape is real or another illusion.

The creative journey was a tapestry of collaboration and iteration. The standout evolution came from programmer Fernando Fernandez and artist Jaime Jimenez, who expanded the game with two massive dual-level designs. Fernando shares: “Levels 12 & 13 form interconnected twins, dark flooded basements mirror glitchy offices. We hand-coded stealth paths and puzzle chains, layering variety through environmental interactions that reward exploration.” Jaime adds: “Artistically, Level 12 and 13 drips with darkness and environmental puzzles. Custom textures and lighting passes create moody contrasts, ensuring every room tells a fresh horror story.” Their work extended playtime by 40%, turning runs into epic voyages of discovery.

No release skips rigorous testing, and Backrooms Level X gleams thanks to QA tester David Cabrera. “We ran exhaustive playtests on every maze segment, entity patrol, and puzzle flow, dozens of full runs until I knew every shadow and safe spot by heart,” says David. “A tricky entity pathing glitch took 150-plus sessions to perfect; now it’s flawless.”

Backrooms Level X is a labor of creative obsession, a void that stares back, born from sketches and sweat. Get it now on Xbox Store for and join our Discord for art breakdowns. Ready to wander?

Follow @FirenutGames for more.

Backrooms Level X

Firenut Games


7


$9.99

$7.99

In a place in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, a strange accident occurred on October 27, 1986. Everything was recorded on a VHS tape.

Enter the eerie world of Backrooms Level X, a first-person horror game that immerses you in an endless labyrinth of desolate and surreal spaces. After a freak accident, you find yourself trapped in the Backrooms, a place where logic and reality vanish. Explore endless corridors of yellow carpet, empty rooms and areas of flickering light as you try to find a way out. But beware: you are not alone. Mysterious entities lurk in the shadows, and every sound may be the last you hear.

Immersive Exploration: Navigate an immersive environment made with unique level design. Discover hidden secrets and an immersive narrative that will draw you into the story.

Atmospheric Horror: Immerse yourself in an oppressive atmosphere with immersive sound effects and haunting graphics that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Challenges and Puzzles: Solve riddles and face challenges that will test your wits as you try to escape from the Backrooms.

Varied Environments: Backrooms Level X consists of more than 13 levels to explore. Discover the intricacies of the story and enemies, keeping each game a fresh and exciting experience.

Defiant Bosses: Get out unscathed from huge final enemies. Throughout the exploration, we will encounter gigantic bosses that we will have to defeat with our wits.

Do you have what it takes to survive in the Backrooms? The only way out is to face your fears and discover the truth behind this terrifying place. Download Backrooms Level X and begin your journey into the unknown!

The post Backrooms Level X – A Liminal Horror Descent into the Infinite Void appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for February 23 to 27

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for February 23 to 27

Resident Evil Requiem

Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox on PC, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!


Resident Evil Requiem Deluxe Edition

CAPCOM CO., LTD.


224

$79.99

Resident Evil Requiem

CAPCOM CO., LTD.


232

$69.99

Resident Evil Requiem – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

A new era of survival horror arrives with Resident Evil Requiem, the latest and most immersive entry yet in the iconic Resident Evil series. Experience terrifying survival horror with FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, and dive into pulse-pounding action with legendary agent Leon S. Kennedy. Both of their journeys and unique gameplay styles intertwine into a heart-stopping, emotional experience that will chill you to your core.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Towerborne

Xbox Game Studios


221

PC Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass

Towerborne – February 26
Game Pass / Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere

Towerborne is an exciting side-scrolling action RPG brawler. Rise again as an Ace, an immortal warrior reborn to defend the Belfry against the darkness beyond its walls. Journey across a crumbling world, uncover the mystery of the fallen City of Numbers, and push back the corruption threatening humanity’s survival.


Tales of Berseria Remastered Deluxe Edition Pre-Order

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.

$59.99

Tales of Berseria Remastered Pre-Order

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.

$39.99

Tales of Berseria Remastered – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Engage in the ultimate quest for self-discovery, remastered for the first time. The sacred kingdom awaits the arrival of its savior, and a lone woman named Velvet is marked by traumatic deceit. Join Velvet on her journey for vengeance, along with her cast of eccentric companions, as they sail through the archipelago which comprises the kingdom of Midgand.


Bread & Fred

Atari, Infogrames

Bread & Fred – February 24
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Bread & Fred is a challenging co-op platformer where two players must cooperate to jump and climb to the top of a snowy mountain. Play as both Bread and Fred in their exasperating and sometimes maddening climb that requires precision with every jump. Each time you land you’ll be closer to the peak and one step closer to mastering the platforming, but your fall down the mountain will be even farther.


Capy Spa (Xbox Series)

Afil Games

Capy Spa – February 24
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Grab your towels because the chillest capybara in gaming is ready for a soak! In Capy Spa, you help Pipa, a relaxation-loving capybara, push herb buckets into hot springs to prepare the perfect bath. With 30 carefully crafted levels, two charming biomes (Savanna River and Forest Onsen), and a soothing soundtrack that blends with the rising steam, every stage invites calm and thoughtful moves.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Dark Farts: Parody Smell Edition

GamePoc LTD

Dark Farts: Parody Smell Edition – February 25
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

Emotional Damage Incoming! The most ridiculously epic Souls-like parody ever created meets outrageous humor in this absolutely insane action-RPG! You’re no chosen one – just a blacksmith with questionable bean-eating habits who accidentally gained ancient dragon powers. Now, you’re humanity’s last hope, and it’s time to show these evil corporations what REAL power smells like!


Deep Space Shooter

Valkyrie Initiative LLP

Deep Space Shooter – February 25
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Again you are alone against the hordes of hostile spacecrafts where you can only rely on yourself. It is the victory or the death! An automatic station deep in space has sent an alarm signal and then the connection is disrupted. Your spaceship set off there to carry out reconnaissance. But all of the sudden you encounter huge forces of an unknown enemy. Now there’s no way back – you either defeat them or die. This game is a vertical scroll-shooter with numerous enemies and a gradually increasing level of complexity.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Ghetto Zombies: Graffiti Squad

Nuntius Games

Ghetto Zombies: Graffiti Squad – February 25
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

A squad of mutant kids from the hood is humanity’s last hope in this colorful, humor-packed zombie apocalypse. Blast freaky zombies with ridiculous guns, spray wild graffiti across the city, and face a monstrous Zombie Boss at the end of every mission. Each hero in the squad offers a unique playstyle: choose yours, dig the weirdest guns out of dumpsters, and enjoy the insane headshot animations.


Journey of Johann: Castle Crusade

Xitilon

Journey of Johann: Castle Crusade – February 25
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Journey of Johann is an action-adventure platformer with puzzle elements. Make your way through levels and a boss with different challenges and obstacles. Collect goblets and secrets and beat time trials. Use your weapons as tools such as climbing, blocking hits, and defeating enemies. The game was designed with speedrunning in mind.


One Button Games 5-in-1 vol. 4

Xitilon

One-Button Games 5-in-1 Vol. 4 – February 25
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Challenge yourself with these 5 fast-paced one-button games: Ball Bombs, Baroll, Bamboo, Two Faced, and Light Dark.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Pogui

Eastasiasoft Limited

Pogui – February 25
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

Safely guide a lovable pup through crazy platforming stages so he can get back to his naptime! Pogui is just a little dog who wants to take a nap, but crazy stuff keeps happening around him! Guide the lovable pug through dreamlike worlds and help him get to bed. Pogui is a side-scrolling precision platformer presented in retro pixel art style. Run, jump and dash your way through colorful but hazardous levels!


Xbox Play Anywhere

UFOPHILIA

JanduSoft


$12.49

$9.99

UFOphilia – February 25
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere

UFOphilia is a first-person psychological horror game where you explore areas marked by alien phenomena. Use specialized equipment to detect, identify, and photograph aliens, but do so at your own risk… They are watching you too. Equipped with advanced tools, your mission is to detect, identify, and photograph extraterrestrials, each encounter involving unique behaviors and unpredictable dangers.


Xbox Play Anywhere

ChildStory

Stamina Zero LLC

ChildStory – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

A small town in the far north goes about its life: preparing for the Festival of the New Star, decorating streets, celebrating. The festival is inseparable from a cycle that repeats month after month. And Sonya stands at its center. She’s part of a story she’s still trying to understand. A kind girl with a sharp mind and countless questions, she searches for answers among snow and lights. Sonya helps friends, makes new ones, explores hidden corners, fights spirits, and solves puzzles. She acts, hoping her actions will lead to understanding.


Corner Kitchen Fast Food Simulator

Ultimate Games S.A.

Corner Kitchen Fast Food Simulator – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Buy cooking equipment, prepare delicious meals, and serve hungry customers. Upgrade your setup, read customer reviews, and expand your business to become the top fast-food joint in the city.


Golfing Over It with Alva Majo

Mameshiba Games

Golfing Over It with Alva Majo – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Golfing Over It with Alva Majo is a discouraging game about climbing a surreal mountain with a golf ball, a different take on 2017’s hit Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy. Experience the challenge of climbing an unyielding mountain without infuriating controls being part of that challenge. Bennett Foddy has played this game and granted it his blessing.


Hunt the Night

DANGEN Entertainment

$19.99

Hunt the Night – February 26

Hunt the Night is a retro-style action-RPG that blends fast, skillful combat with dark fantasy lore. Play as Vesper, a member of the Stalkers, and traverse the ruined world of Medhram on a mission to save humanity from a deadly cycle of annihilation. Endure nightmarish overworlds, slash through horrific dungeons, face brutal bosses, and wield an arsenal of powers in a relentless struggle against the Night itself.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Manairons

JanduSoft


$24.99

$19.99

Manairons – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

Unleash chaos, control magic, and save the village… with a flute. Manairons is a 3D action platformer game inspired by the legends of little creatures living in the Pyrenees. Help Nai face off against the landowner who has taken control of a charming village using the power of the “canut,” with magic, flute, and plenty of chaos.


Mole Cart Mining (Xbox Series)

Afil Games

Mole Cart Mining – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Get ready for an underground adventure full of charm and strategy! In Mole Cart Mining, you guide a determined little mole riding a mine cart while rotating tracks on a hexagonal grid to create the perfect route. The goal is simple and satisfying: collect every mineral and reach the exit in style.


No Sleep For Kaname Date – From AI: THE SOMNIUM FILES

Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.

$39.99

No Sleep for Kaname Date – From AI: The Somnium Files – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Iris has been abducted by aliens?! Finding herself on board a mysterious UFO and tasked with completing a bizarre escape game, Iris knows there’s one person who she can always count on for help: Kaname Date, Psyncer! As Date, conduct investigations, solve escape game puzzles, and Psync into the dreams of potential suspects to help Iris escape and unravel the mystery behind The Third Eye Game!


Sands of Aura

indie.io

Sands of Aura – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Sands of Aura is an open-world action adventure with a fantasy setting of a realm in its twilight–a world buried beneath a sea of sand. Sail across the sandseas to return life to a dying world in an unforgettable experience that is equal parts engaging story and unrelenting, souls-like combat.


Sudoku Relax

RucKyGAMES


$4.59

$3.67

Sudoku Relax – February 26

A total of 300 questions with easy, normal, and hard difficulties have been included. Complete problems to unlock background effects and BGM tracks. There are 3 background effects and 3 BGM tracks. Sudoku allows you to use your brain while also being soothed by the effects and BGM.


Trials of Olympus

EpiXR Games


$14.99

$11.99

Trials of Olympus – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

The gods of Olympus seek a mortal champion to fight against a rising darkness. Only those who endure their trials may be chosen. In Trials of Olympus, you journey through the realms of Ares, Artemis, Hades, Poseidon, and Zeus. Each god’s domain holds three great trials — vast platforming levels filled with traps, enemies, and divine essences to recover. You cannot fight, for no weapon is yet yours. Instead, rely on agility and wit.


WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom Deluxe Edition

althi Inc.

$45.99

Xbox Play Anywhere

WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom

althi Inc.

$29.99

WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom – February 26
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

What if you could freely choose another life? WorldNeverland – Elnea Kingdom is a sandbox life simulation game where you can move to a fictional kingdom you’ve always dreamed of and enjoy a carefree life. Why not weave a grand story spanning generations with your own hands?


Xbox Play Anywhere

Aquamarine: Explorer’s Edition

Dolores Entertainment

Aquamarine: Explorer’s Edition – February 27
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Xbox Play Anywhere

Aquamarine is a turn-based playable comic book about surviving in an alien ocean. Inspired by the psychedelic sci-fi of the ’70s & ’80s, Aquamarine combines the mystery of old-school adventure games and challenging roguelikes with elements of survival, exploration, and puzzle solving. Journey across a water world reclaimed by nature. Overcome survival and navigational challenges as you discover the planet’s lost history. Master your pod’s controls, study the ocean wildlife, and solve environmental puzzles to help you find your way home.


Xbox Play Anywhere

“Buy The Game, I Have a Gun” -Sheesh-Man

Kimulator’s Films inc

$9.99

“Buy the Game, I Have a Gun” -Sheesh-Man – February 27
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

This game is worth every penny, and you should buy it right now, why? Firstly because the whole story was written during a livestream, which makes the story totally nonsensical! If this doesn’t convince you remember that not only do I have a gun, I also know all your secrets. This is of course a joke, I do not know your secrets, yet.


Emoji Battlefield – Island Warfare

EpiXR Games

$6.99

Emoji Battlefield – Island Warfare – February 27
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

You’ve washed ashore on a mysterious island where ancient emojis have awakened — and they’re not happy to see you. This rogue-like first-person shooter throws you into wild, fast-paced combat against tiki emojis wearing carved masks and wielding primal powers. Before each run, customize your experience with crazy modifiers: make enemies bounce, wear funny hats, or unleash volcanic chaos for maximum challenge. Choose your arena — from overgrown jungles and hidden beach ruins to ancient temples filled with deadly traps — each location has its own hazards, secrets, and surprises.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Mini Racer Car Shop Simulator

PlayWay S.A.

Mini Racer Car Shop Simulator – February 27
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Manage your mini racer car shop, sell mini cars and spare parts, and unleash your creativity with custom builds. Test drive your creations on the racetrack before putting them up for sale. Transform your shop into a haven for mini car enthusiasts and build a thriving business in the process!


Xbox Play Anywhere

Shopping Mall Girl

QubicGames S.A.

Shopping Mall Girl – February 27
Xbox Play Anywhere

Showcase your style and become a supermodel in one of the best shopping games! No matter what your fashion style may be, this shopping mall has exactly what you’re looking for! Get a fabulous new hairstyle at your favorite hair salon Chic Cuts, and dress up in the latest hot trends from our stylish shops! It’s Black Friday! The excitement is real as you race to grab the clothes you need before they vanish from the shelves! Dress up in shirts, skirts, shoes, and accessories, or get expert advice from your personal shopper!


Solar Machina (Xbox Series X|S)

2dragontails

Solar Machina – February 27
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Solar Machina is a vibrant 2D pixel art platformer where you control a robot on a colorful journey through tropical landscapes filled with traps and enemies. As you progress, your robotic suit evolves, granting new movement abilities that transform how you play. With smooth controls, distinct biomes, and a nostalgic chiptune soundtrack, Solar Machina offers a satisfying blend of challenge, rhythm, and exploration that keeps engagement from start to finish.


Soulshard

Ratalaika Games S.L.

Soulshard – February 27
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

In a realm between life and death, a confused soul seeks redemption and freedom from a past life filled with misguided choices. Playing alone or together via co-op multiplayer, command a soul in search of the exit from this dark and desolate realm. Use the environment to your advantage and avoid treacherous traps to clear 30 challenging levels of hauntingly morose pixel art.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Wild West Tycoon

MagicPro

Wild West Tycoon – February 27
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery / Xbox Play Anywhere

Welcome to the untamed frontier! In Wild West Tycoon you are tasked with transforming the rugged Wild West into a thriving economic powerhouse. This low-poly style simulation game invites you to master the art of frontier entrepreneurship where every decision counts and every enterprise takes you one step closer to building a legendary empire.


The post Next Week on Xbox: New Games for February 23 to 27 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

How Soulslinger’s Indie Team Brought Custom Mocap to Xbox

How Soulslinger’s Indie Team Brought Custom Mocap to Xbox

Soulsinger hero

Summary

  • Hungarian indie studio, Elder Games, employed an at-home mocap setup.
  • Hundreds of animations performed by the studio’s founder and his wife.
  • Arrives today on Xbox Series X|S.

Hey, I’m Ede Tarsoly, the Founder of Elder Games. I’ve been the vision keeper and main developer on my roguelite FPS Soulslinger: Envoy of Death – and what may surprise you, I’ve also been one of the two motion capture actors in it as well. In the game, all the male characters are played by me, while all the female characters are played by my wife. Today, I’d like to tell you about our setup, our process and how we were able to create custom animations with a mocap setup as an indie developer.

How my Childhood Curiosity Became my Studio’s Strength

I’ve been fascinated with motion capture ever since I was a kid, I always watched the extras on DVDs. The behind-the-scenes stuff was sometimes more exciting to me than the films themselves. I saw motion capture first being used in “The Lord of the Rings” and I knew right away that I really wanted to do this sort of stuff. However, the setup that needed to be involved was unattainable for a very long time. I continued watching a lot of content about the topic, and my passion never really faded away.

By the time the technology had become more available, and I finally had the opportunity to buy a motion capture suit, thanks to my publisher Headup, I was prepared. I’d basically been preparing for this my whole life!

We use a setup, where you put straps around your wrists and your head, and wear a suit on top, that marks every joint with a sensor. The gloves are put on separately and are much more sensitive.

Through a custom router all the data is fed into the computer. In a nutshell, as soon as you move, there’s a real-time representation of you on the screen that moves with you. I hit record, and it immediately captures the motions.

From Weeks of Preparation to One Day of Performance

The preparation phase always takes the longest. I usually know six months in advance what’s likely coming up, unless things change during development. It’s “develop, develop, develop” until a cutscene comes up, and I’ll do nothing else for two or three weeks except that one cutscene. Then it’s back to development, which is of course still the biggest part of my work. We’re still making a game, not a movie.

Especially for longer prerendered cinematics, I need to know well in advance. The 3D models, scripts voice lines all need to be ready.

Our writer, Michelle Clough, creates a very detailed script right out of the gate. She usually adds little notes like “make this cool,” which then is up to the voice actors and me. It’s always a collaborative effort, where we try to come up with something to make the script shine.

I usually choreograph an entire scene from start to finish. For example, I’ll note that a character comes in from the right while another comes from the left, so I have to walk a certain number of meters. Practicing the movements before recording usually takes three to four very intense days, repeating it over and over until it’s perfect. For example, the intro scene of the pirate character – I could tell you the entire conversation of it by heart, I’ve listened to it so many times – is an uncut two-minute scene that needed to be meticulously prepared, down to the last motion.

But it’s not just the script and stage directions that need to be good to go. One thing I learned early on from the extras of old Disney DVDs, is to send the script to the voice actors, record their performances, and then animate to the voice performance afterwards. That way, actors can perform freely instead of lip-syncing to pre-made animations. The actors already embody the characters so well, that listening to their recordings on loop while performing really inspired my motions during mocap.

Additionally, I also developed a distinct motion style for each character. The villain is very upright and calculated. The main character is closer to my natural movement. The pirate is very animated and expressive. I’m not an actor, but I try to make each character as unique as possible. Zombies and skeletons are my favorite though, with their twisted, exaggerated motions.

After all the preparation and practice, recording day is just one day. Thanks to all the preparation, I usually have the perfect recording after two or three takes. Then, I import everything into Unreal. From there, it’s about placing the camera and characters, which usually takes another two days.

Making the Invisible Visible

During motion capture, weight matters. If you pretend to hold a gun, the motion feels artificial. This is why I worked with a metallic replica of the revolver in the game. It’s heavy, so when you move with it, your body compensates naturally, and the motion looks real. Another character has a huge knife, so we tried to find something in the house that matched it and ended up using a big bread knife.

For the scenes where props can’t help you, we had to be creative to make non-existent things exist. For example, there was a scene where a spell pulls the character backwards. My wife tied ropes around my arms and pulled me while I resisted. In mocap, it looks like magic pulling the character. In another instance, for a floating enemy, I simply stacked boxes and acted on top of them.

We also did some stunts. I put a mattress on the ground for scenes where a spell knocks the character back. As it turns out: falling looks quite silly until you try to do it correctly. Of course, you instinctively try to protect yourself, but that looks bad in-game. While the end result looks great in the game, I don’t think I’d recommend this method to anyone – and I probably wouldn’t do it again!

Doing It for the Game

Overall, even while it takes a lot of time, effort and organizing, I really did enjoy every second of it, because it is something I deeply care about. A lot of people ask how I can do so much programming, writing, choreographing, and acting and I always just tell them: “It’s easy, because it’s for my game.”

I’ve only used my setup for Soulslinger: Envoy of Death so far but having a remote capture kit has already influenced what kinds of projects I’m thinking about next. It’s a strength of our studio, and I really want to plan even more projects around it. I’m so excited that Soulslinger: Envoy of Death is finally launching on Xbox Series X|S today. It is truly a work of passion, from the code to the self-recorded animations. I hope you will enjoy my wild west roguelite FPS experience and have as much fun with the game as we had creating it

Soulslinger: Envoy of Death

Headup

DEATH IS CALLING – WILL YOU ANSWER?
Become an Envoy of Death, able to unleash the incredible powers that will make you the most dangerous soul in Limbo. Upgrade your character’s abilities to become the ultimate Soulslinger and take on thrilling challenges in a bloody war against the criminal cartel of the afterlife!

MEET STRAY SOULS AND MAKE ALLIES OR ENEMIES
Step into the rich and immersive world of Haven, filled with mysterious NPCs who hold the secrets to its dark history. Be wary of the allies and enemies you make as every encounter might shape your journey ahead. In this mesmerizing western-fantasy world, you will experience a tale of despair, loss, and one man’s obsession with cheating death itself.

CRAFT YOUR WEAPONS AND RISE TO VICTORY
Forge your own destiny with every run by crafting powerful weapons and unlocking permanent upgrades in Haven. Grow stronger with every new challenge and become an incredibly deadly gunslinger. Get ready for a fast-paced rogue-like FPS experience you won’t ever forget!

KEY FEATURES:
• Fast-paced, story-driven roguelike FPS set in random sequences of rooms built in a unique western-fantasy world
• Customize Soulslinger through a deep upgrade system
• Experience a tightly written story filled with loyal allies and charismatic villains. The story adapts to what you do in the roguelike gameplay
• Tons of gun fodder creeps that attack in waves, spiced up by challenging elite mobs

The post How Soulslinger’s Indie Team Brought Custom Mocap to Xbox appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Love Eternal’s Uncanny Mix of Precision Platformers and Psychological Horror

Love Eternal’s Uncanny Mix of Precision Platformers and Psychological Horror

Love Eternal key art

Summary

  • Run, jump and flip gravity to escape the mind of a selfish god.
  • Themes of isolation and childhood struggles in a treacherous world.
  • Experimental narrative channeling influences from Silent Hill to Satoshi Kon’s filmography.

Love Eternal, releasing on Xbox One today,is a psychological horror platforming game set in a mysterious and ancient dilapidated castle, which serves as the prison of our abductee protagonist Maya. The predicament of Maya, an American teenager who gets spirited away in the middle of dinner from her suburban family home by a callous and jealous god, is quite the emotional whiplash for anyone, but to what end must Maya endure these trials?

Today I’ll dig into the diverse influences and ingredients that the developers of Love Eternal, brlka, mixed together in order to serve up an unsettling journey with an experimental narrative where you truly won’t know what next to expect.

For starters, brlka, comprised of siblings Toby and Sam Alden, conceived of Love Eternal as an evolution to an older platforming game they made together, simply titled Love. The original Love, made almost a decade ago, shares mechanical roots with Love Eternal in that both are platformers in the vein of masocore (a portmanteau of masochism and hardcore) inspired from the 2000s freeware era of games like Jumper, an early platforming game by Maddy Thorson long before the likes of Celeste, and the Knytt series from Swedish developer Nifflas.

These masocore challenges – and the effort required to overcome your initial apprehensions at seemingly insurmountable platforming arcs – traditionally serve as a meditation on a rhythmic cycle of failing, observing one’s mistakes and mental lapses, and returning to the breach. With Love Eternal, however, brutality in platforming is the scaffolding for Toby, the game’s principal programmer and designer, to hang the quiet terror of the game’s narrative dressing.

Love Eternal’s influences gel together with considered curation – yet it’s also accurate to say, “These are just the movies and TV that Toby was watching at the time of development!” Either way you see it, the influences that run in Love Eternal’s blood include significant works from the esoteric works of Kiyoshi Kurosawa, particularly Pulse”  (2001); the fever dreams of “Twin Peaks” season 3 and “Paprika” (alongside all of Satoshi Kon’s other animated movies); and the inimitable 1998 anime “Serial Experiments Lain”.

The common thread is how these pieces of media parlay psychological horror, even though horror wouldn’t be considered each work’s principal genre. As it appeared to Toby, psychological horror was seemingly underrepresented in precision platforming, and they decided to use horror to express the narrative in deeply uncanny ways.

Toby has described the essence of the Love Eternal experience as the feeling that one gets after experiencing a nightmare that, when described to another person, that other person would not find immediately apparent as to what was scary about the nightmare, even though one’s direct participatory experience of the nightmare is charged with a curdling unease.

To my eye, having seen the Aldens repeatedly discuss their development journey, the themes of Love Eternal have emerged organically during development, rather than being explicitly designed into the game. For example, the theme of isolation stands out through the visual design and structural composition, with the cavernous environments of the god’s castle imposing upon the miniscule Maya who is comparatively only a few pixels tall.

The juxtaposition of Maya – who is still a child – and her isolation in the vast castle ruins viscerally convey how children often lack physical and mental autonomy, and must submit to the whims and mercies of higher powers, parents or otherwise. Taken from the view of an adult – and likely worsened if a player has the experience of parenthood – Love Eternal’s lens of childhood is abstractly horrific.

There’s horror even in the experience of a child learning to inhabit and occupy their own body as it grows and contorts in unexpected ways, though that horror isn’t explicitly violent. Even simple experiences like losing your baby teeth as new ones push out, or the awkwardness of reconciling with the image of one’s rapidly morphing body during puberty can be strange and unnerving markers of growing up.

Such is the flavor of unusual, lightly grotesque expression of body horror conveyed by Love Eternal’s gorgeously expressive pixel aesthetic and animation. This is all crafted by Sam, a professional animator and artist whose experience spans across work like the aforementioned Love to well-known franchises like “Adventure Time”.

Through character animation, Sam pushes how characters’ bodies can be depicted in pixel art, forming a sense of the uncanny with his subtle explorations of how even mundane things might move and writhe. As an example, not too far into Love Eternal’s introductory stages, Maya will come face to face with a distorted version of her father with freakishly elongated limbs, and even in the confines of pixel art, watching this man creep around like a spider (and not like your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man) tended to raise some hairs amongst those who’ve already experienced the demo of Love Eternal.

This uncanny aesthetic dovetails into Love Eternal’s mechanical and narrative pillars for  an experience that careens from somber, melancholic and ominous to bizarre, spine-chilling and occasionally unhinged. Ultimately, the team at brlka and I are confident that just about no one will be able to predict the ways in which the experience of Love Eternal unfurls its twisted tendrils.

We’re excited for players to gear up for the unrelenting challenges and eerie narrative of Love Eternal, now that the game’s out on Xbox One today!


LOVE ETERNAL

Ysbryd Games


$9.99

$8.49

Wander a castle built of bitter memories in LOVE ETERNAL, a psychological horror platformer with devious trials and an unsettling, experimental narrative.

Run, jump, and reverse the flow of gravity itself to escape the mind of a selfish god in this challenging precision platformer. Play as Maya, a child stolen from her family on the whim of a lonely, forsaken deity, and make your way through over 100 screens filled with spikes, lasers, switches, and traps as you unravel the horrifying secret of your new prison.

Will you find your way home, or wander these halls carved of memory forever?

The post Love Eternal’s Uncanny Mix of Precision Platformers and Psychological Horror appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Death Howl: Building a No-Mercy Deckbuilder That Doesn’t Feel Unfair

Death Howl: Building a No-Mercy Deckbuilder That Doesn’t Feel Unfair

Death Howl key art

Death Howl launches –today, available Day One with Xbox Game Pass. Step into a spirit world that shows no mercy. And honestly? That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be.

But here’s the thing: despite being brutally difficult, Death Howl doesn’t feel unfair. At least, that’s not how I experience it, and I hope you won’t either. Let me explain why.

The Open World

Most deckbuilders follow a familiar loop: start a run, die, start over from the beginning. It’s effective, but it can feel repetitive – especially when you hit a wall and keep banging your head against a particular encounter. Death Howl takes a different approach. Because it’s set in an open world, when you stand next to a battle you can’t win, you have options. You can wander into a different biome, hunt new spirits, craft stronger cards, experiment with fresh deck synergies, and then return when you’re ready.

We tried to avoid grinding in the traditional sense and instead aimed for exploration with a purpose. At the same time, the world doesn’t reset. Your progress persists. You’re not starting over; you’re adapting and learning.

A Fair No Mercy

Death Howl earned its “no mercy” reputation honestly. Enemies respawn when you rest at Sacred Groves. Every mistake gets punished. Common encounters, not to mention Boss fights, demand pattern recognition and tactical precision on a grid where positioning matters as much as cards and decks tailored to match the given enemy type.

But the game is fair. When you die – and you will die a lot – you respawn right before the encounter that got you. You keep your deck. You keep your knowledge. You drop “Death Howls” (our version of well-known souls), but you can retrieve them, just like in… well, you know what I’m talking about.

But you’re not locked into one path. If a particular enemy type is giving you trouble, you can experiment. Start with the battle itself – position yourself differently on the grid at the start, or, in some cases, walk around the location and approach that group of foes from a different side. But you can also pivot entirely. Explore further, build a poison deck instead of a strength-based one. The spirit world and the challenge are yours to navigate, however you choose.

How We Accidentally Made a Soulslike

I’ll be honest – we never set out to make a soulslike. We wanted to create an open-world alternative to traditional roguelite deckbuilders, something inspired by Dream Quest, Magic: The Gathering, Final Fantasy Tactics, and Breath of the Wild.

But as the design evolved, soulslike elements emerged organically. Testers kept telling us, “This feels like a soulslike.” At first, I was confused – I wasn’t even that familiar with the genre. But they were right.

The Sacred Groves that heal you but respawn enemies. The emphasis on learning enemy patterns – dodging a boar’s frontal charge, or positioning yourself behind foes with an exposed back to deal more damage. The way death teaches you rather than punishes you. It all clicked.

So we leaned into it. We embraced the tension, the deliberate pacing, the rewarding loop of observation and adaptation. But we did it our way – turn-based, tactical, card-driven.

A World Born from Grief

Underneath all the mechanics is Ro’s story. She’s a mother who’s lost her son, and she’s willing to walk through the spirit world itself to bring him back. It’s a deeply personal narrative about grief, resilience, and unconditional love.

The world reflects that sorrow. And the minimalist, woodcut-inspired pixel art uses shadows and negative space to create a realm that feels haunting, ethereal, and alive. We wanted the gameplay to mirror Ro’s internal struggle. The punishing difficulty isn’t arbitrary – it could be perceived as the weight of her journey. Every victory feels earned because it is.

Whether you’re a deck-building veteran, a soulslike enthusiast, someone who just loves tactical combat with meaningful stakes, or enjoys bold genre blends, Death Howl has something for you. And with Day One availability in Xbox Game Pass, there’s never been a better time to step into the spirit world.

Our small, three-person team poured everything into this game – art, music, design, emotion and a lot of love. It’s a reflection of our creative journey as indie creators. We hope you’ll find something here that resonates.
See you in the Spirit World.

Xbox Play Anywhere

Death Howl

11 bit studios


1


$19.99

$15.99
PC Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass

Step into the myth-shrouded lands where the hunter Ro begins her journey to bring her son back from the dead. Immerse yourself in the depths of the Spirit World, fractured into 4 realms and scarred with 13 distinct regions. Confront over 30 enemy types and harness the potential of more than 160 cards, forging unique archetypes and a multitude of powerful combinations. A dark journey awaits you, spanning 25+ hours of gameplay, with numerous enthralling side quests and grim boss battles.

Master Your Deck-Building Skills
Craft over 160 cards and fashion synergistic decks that focus on poison, strength, sacrifice, retaliation, backstabbing, blocking, movement, and more. Discover shamanic totems with unique effects to enhance your deck. Each new element allows you to tailor your tactical style as you prepare for your next deadly encounter.

Engage in Grid-Based Combat
Face a host of restless spirits – Skulldogs, Crackle Bursts, Woeful Seashrooms and more – in grid-based battles where each move is crucial. Test your wit by fighting unique enemy types, powerful bosses, and mini-bosses, all while taking into account environmental hazards and boons. Grow stronger, adapt your deck, and choose your battles as you explore a vast world filled with dangerous challenges.

Journey to the spirit realm
In forgotten lands shrouded by myth, Ro – a hunter from a small tribe – is overcome by grief following the death of her beloved son. Guided by voices from another world, she transcends into the realm of spirits, in hopes of bringing him back. Meet strange spirits and help them with quests and challenges that affect your deck – although not all of them may have your best interests at heart. Discover a mysterious world of forgotten lore, where darkness whispers secrets and invites you to unearth buried memories.

The post Death Howl: Building a No-Mercy Deckbuilder That Doesn’t Feel Unfair appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Available for Xbox Insiders on PC: Postgame Recaps

Available for Xbox Insiders on PC: Postgame Recaps

Starting today, Xbox Insiders in the PC Gaming Preview can try postgame recaps in the Xbox PC app on Windows. After you finish a play session, you may see a quick recap that highlights moments from that session—like captures you took, achievements you unlocked, and relevant in‑game events—plus an option to share feedback so we can keep improving the experience. 

Postgame recaps are designed to show up only when they’re useful—not after every game. You’re most likely to see a recap when you take a capture through Game Bar or unlock an achievement. On your first time playing a game (and occasionally after that), you may also see a short check‑in and recommendations for other games you might enjoy. 

You’re in control of what you see. You can turn individual recap types on or off in Settings > App > Postgame recaps to tailor the experience to your preferences. 

To support postgame recaps, the Xbox app may run in the system tray while you play so it can show the recap after you exit your game. We’ve optimized this to minimize memory and performance impact. If you opt out of all postgame recap types, the Xbox PC app will no longer start in the system tray when you launch a game. 

We’d love your feedback—tell us what you found helpful, what felt unnecessary, and what you’d like to see after future gaming sessions. 

How to Get Xbox Insider Support and Share Your Feedback

We want to thank all the Xbox Insiders for the feedback you share with us. If you’re an Xbox Insider looking for support, please join our community on the Xbox Insider subreddit, where official Xbox staff, moderators, and fellow Xbox Insiders are there to help. We recommend adding to threads with the same topic before posting a brand new one. This helps us support you the best we can! We’re grateful to our Insider community for the helpful feedback you provide, it continues to shape the future of Xbox.

For more information on the Xbox Insider Program, follow us on Twitter at @XboxInsider and keep an eye on this blog for all the latest news.

Other resources:

For more information: follow us on X/Twitter at @XboxInsider and this blog for announcements and more. And feel free to interact with the community on the Xbox Insider SubReddit.

The post Available for Xbox Insiders on PC: Postgame Recaps appeared first on Xbox Wire.

New Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition DLC Available Now: The Last Chieftains

Age 2 DLC Hero Image

New Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition DLC Available Now: The Last Chieftains

The post New Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition DLC Available Now: The Last Chieftains appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Avowed Celebrates Anniversary with Massive Update – and Comes to PlayStation 5

Avowed Celebrates Anniversary with Massive Update – and Comes to PlayStation 5

Avowed Screenshot

Summary

  • Three new playable races and customization options added, allowing you to make your ideal envoy.
  • New Game+ mode and custom game options extend the game beyond the ending.
  • Photo Mode, a brand-new weapon type, and a host of quality-of-life improvements add to Avowed’s largest update yet.

A year after the initial launch, the Avowed team is capping its post-launch roadmap with a special anniversary update that goes live for all today. This update, for which full details can be read over on the Obsidian site, brings with it a variety of community requested features, a host of quality-of-life fixes, and a few extra additions that the team wanted to get in just for the fans. Avowed is also launching on PlayStation 5 with the past year of updates included, allowing more players to get in and explore the Living Lands.

New Faces with New Races

To top the list of big new features being added to Avowed is the ability to choose from three new races during character creation. Joining the pre-existing human and elves are the stout and well-traveled Dwarves; the two-toned skin, hairy, and big ear having Orlans; and the large and uniquely strong Aumauan. Players will be able to choose as one of the five when starting off their adventure and bringing their envoy to the Living Lands.

If you are in the middle of your journey and want to try the new races, a new Magic Mirror has been added to the Party Camp that allows you to change your character at any time. With it you will be able to change to a new race, check out the new godlike feature variants, or—if you want a quick change of appearance —use one of the new character presets that have been put in, all without needing to create a new character.

And for those who may have completed the game but want to hop back in and try out one of the different races, you don’t have to start entirely from scratch…

Retake the Living Lands Again with New Game+

When you’re ready for another journey into the Living Lands, you can now do so with the New Game+ mode that has been added. Once you have completed the game after the anniversary update has gone live, you will get the chance to create a New Game+ save. This feature will allow players to bring over all unlocked abilities (with the exception of godlike abilities), unique weapons and armor, and unlocked enchantments. Everything else for the player goes back to a new game slate; however, that does not mean danger is minimized. Enemies have their stats increased so they will be tougher, but to balance that out, the player gets an increase to their attribute points cap – things like Might, Constitution, Dexterity, etc. – from 15 to 30 so they can bring the hurt to stronger foes.

Offering even more options, you can try out the custom game difficulty modifiers to make enemies hit harder (or softer), have more (or less) health, or even be faster. Modifiers can also be adjusted so that the player can do more damage, have more health, magic, and stamina resources, and even allow them to carry more items. The game can truly be played your way.

But That’s Not All!

Rounding out the anniversary update is the addition of a Photo Mode so you can capture all the best angles of your envoy, as well as your companions or just the Living Lands, and share them with your friends. A brand new weapon type – the quarterstaff – lets you fulfill your archmage dreams. Plus, there are a host of quality-of-life updates like improved lighting, the ability to skip previously unskippable conversations with a certain god, and some enemies respawning to keep areas lively.

For those who are making their return to Avowed to check out the anniversary update, welcome back. If this is your first time in the Living Lands, you are about to enter a world of wondrous flora and fauna, exceptional exploration, and satisfying combat. The team has added a ton to the game since its initial launch, from community requested features like more abilities for the fighter and ranger skill trees, arachnophobia mode, enemies being able to use player abilities, and a host of other changes. The fate of an island is up to you; forge it to your will.

Avowed is available now for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox on PC, ROG Xbox Ally handhelds, Xbox Cloud, PlayStation 5, Battle.net, and Steam for $49.99 for the standard edition and $59.99 for the premium edition. It is an Xbox Play Anywhere title and available with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Avowed Premium Edition

Xbox Game Studios


858


$59.99

$41.99

Premium Edition includes:
– Avowed base game
– Up to 5 days early access
– Two Premium Skin Packs
– Access to Avowed Digital Artbook & Original Soundtrack

Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger.
Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands – an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a personal connection to the Living Lands and an ancient secret that threatens to destroy everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?

The Weird and Wonderful Living Lands
The Living Lands is a place that feels foreign yet somewhat intrinsic to you as it feels the island itself is calling out to you for help. Explore an island home to many different environments and landscapes, each with their own unique ecosystem.

Visceral Combat to Play Your Way
Mix and match swords, spells, guns, and shields to fight your way. Dig into your grimoire for spells to trap, freeze or burn enemies, bash them with your shield, or use range bows to attack from a distance.

Companions as part of your journey
Companions from a spread of species will fight alongside you, with their own unique set of abilities. From a former mercenary to an eccentric wizard, they will be part of your journey with your choices shaping them as you help them with their quests.

© Microsoft 2025. All Rights Reserved. Microsoft, Obsidian Entertainment, the Obsidian Entertainment logo and Avowed are trademarks of the Microsoft group of companies. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. Acceptance of Microsoft Services Agreement and Privacy Statement required to play. Microsoft account registration required for cross-platform play. Internet connection required. Features, online services, and system requirements may vary by country and are subject to change or retirement over time.


Xbox Play Anywhere

Avowed Standard Edition

Xbox Game Studios


1306


$49.99

$34.99
PC Game Pass
Xbox Game Pass

Welcome to the Living Lands, a mysterious island filled with adventure and danger.
Set in the fictional world of Eora that was first introduced to players in the Pillars of Eternity franchise, Avowed is a first-person fantasy action RPG from the award-winning team at Obsidian Entertainment.
You are the envoy of Aedyr, a distant land, sent to investigate rumors of a spreading plague throughout the Living Lands – an island full of mysteries and secrets, danger and adventure, and choices and consequences, and untamed wilderness. You discover a personal connection to the Living Lands and an ancient secret that threatens to destroy everything. Can you save this unknown frontier and your soul from the forces threatening to tear them asunder?

The Weird and Wonderful Living Lands
The Living Lands is a place that feels foreign yet somewhat intrinsic to you as it feels the island itself is calling out to you for help. Explore an island home to many different environments and landscapes, each with their own unique ecosystem.

Visceral Combat to Play Your Way
Mix and match swords, spells, guns, and shields to fight your way. Dig into your grimoire for spells to trap, freeze or burn enemies, bash them with your shield, or use range bows to attack from a distance.

Companions as part of your journey
Companions from a spread of species will fight alongside you, with their own unique set of abilities. From a former mercenary to an eccentric wizard, they will be part of your journey with your choices shaping them as you help them with their quests.


The post Avowed Celebrates Anniversary with Massive Update – and Comes to PlayStation 5 appeared first on Xbox Wire.