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November might not be in the rear-view mirror yet, but Nintendo's already feeling festive with its new range of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in-game Christmas jumpers (or sweaters, if you'd prefer). If you want to deck out your New Horizons avatar in the holiday gear, you can pick up all three custom designs by heading to the company's official Ninten Island via Luna's Dream Address service (Island code: DA-6382-1459-4417), or by using the kiosk at the back of the Able Sisters' shop and entering the following Design-ID codes: Jingle Sweater: MO-T2XL-S43L-9JTW Image: Nintendo Bells Sweater: MO-5KL7-989R-MTP5 Image: Nintendo Wreath Sweater: MO-DP24-0WP7-6D2J Image: Nintendo Once you've saved the designs, you'll be able to bosh them on a sweater of your own via the Custom Designs app on your NookPhone. It sounds like the perfect way to ease yourself back into Animal Crossing: New Horizons before the game gets all manner of additions next year. As a reminder, the New Horizons - Nintendo Switch 2 Edition will arrive via a £4.19 / $4.99 upgrade path on 15th January, adding mouse mode and higher resolution alongside the chance to play online with more friends at once. On the same day, the free ver. 3.0 update will drop for Switch 1 and 2 users, including crossover content, a new hotel resort and more. View full article

Update #2 [Fri 28th Nov 2025, 7am]: We now have a release date for Rigel Gameworks' BioMenace remaster. According to the developer and publisher, the game is now scheduled to launch on December 18th, 2025, and will be available to buy across both Steam and GOG. To coincide with this piece of news, a new trailer for the remaster has also been released, going over again what folks can expect from this new version of the 1993 Apogee title. This includes a better look at its newly improved graphics, parallax backgrounds, and controller support. You can watch the trailer below: Update #1 [Thu 10th Jul 2025, 2:30am]: Dosgamert has announced on social media that a demo for BioMenace Remastered is scheduled to drop tomorrow (Friday, July 11th). According to the trailer, the demo will include four levels from the finished game, allowing you to get "a feel" of what BioMenace Remastered is like, while the team continues working behind the scenes, producing Episode four of the game. This will be available to download from Steam, and interestingly, doesn't seem to be the only piece of news we've had about the project over the last two weeks or so. That's because the developer Rigel Gameworks has also recently produced a Q&A video and an FAQ, answering some of the common questions it has been getting about the project, such as why Apogee Entertainment aren't involved at all. In both of these, the developer states that they did approach Apogee to get involved, hoping to utilise the publisher's resources to bring the project to life, but that Apogee was simply too busy focusing on new IP. Nevertheless, Apogee did the team a solid, putting them in touch with the BioMenace creator Jim Norwood and agreeing to spread the word if he approved of the project. Norwood is the person who owns all the rights to the game today, and, according to the devs, has licensed the rights to the BioMenace Remastered team to go ahead with the project. The game is currently only scheduled for a Steam release, but Rigel Gameworks is also reportedly considering publishing on GOG, as well as other platforms like Nintendo Switch. The latter, however, will depend on the success of the PC release, as the team will need to invest in a devkit. Original Story: Apogee Software is a company that will probably be best known to most people for creating games like Duke Nukem and for publishing early Id Software titles like Commander Keen and Wolfenstein 3D. But that isn't all it had to offer the world of gaming. A fairly good example of this is 1993's BioMenace — a fun and colourful run 'n gun platformer that was built in Commander Keen's 'Keen Dreams' engine for MS-DOS and focused on a CIA operative, named Snake Logan, saving a city (and its residents) from an evil scientist named Dr. Mangle. Created by one of the future designers of Shadow Warrior James Norwood, and featuring music from the legendary composer Bobby Prince (of Wolfenstein 3D and Doom fame), the game has largely been confined to history in the decades since its release, becoming a footnote in the careers of those who worked on it. But that hasn't stopped a small cult following from developing around the title, especially among those who continue to fly the flag for the MS-DOS era of gaming. This likely explains why it was recently announced that the game is getting a remaster for Steam later this year. Images: Rigel Gameworks The new remaster was announced yesterday on social media by Dosgamert and is being developed by Rigel Gameworks. It will reportedly launch in Fall 2025 and will feature enhanced graphics and various other improvements, with the option also being included to switch between the original and remastered graphics for the purists among you. Here's are the features listed on its steam page: • Enhanced graphics including widescreen support, smooth scrolling & movement (60 FPS or higher), • and parallax scrolling backgrounds • Modernized HUD & UI • Switch between original and remastered graphics at any time • Controller support • Full Steam Deck support • Rebalanced difficulty • Gameplay tweaks and new mechanics, including weapon/grenade type switching and infinite lives • Mid-level saves and quick saving • Completion and stats tracking • Includes Bobby Prince's Original Soundtrack from the DOS version • Steam achievements If you want to wishlist the project ahead of its launch, the game is already has a Steam page, which you can visit here. View full article

After the release of the near universally acclaimed Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter back in September, it was revealed that developer Falcom was already well into making another full-on remake with Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter. Although we don't have an official release window for it, the remade sequel is expected to launch next year — and expectations are sky high (pun intended) given how beloved the original title is. But what happens after 2nd Chapter? Well, you'd think that Falcom's most obvious course of action would be to then remake the third game in the Sky trilogy — Trails in the Sky The 3rd. The name basically fits with the remakes and everything! Apparently, though, the situation isn't quite so clear cut. In a new interview with Dengeki Online (as translated by Automaton), Falcom CEO Toshihiro Kondo admits that the studio is actually divided on which classic Trails title they want to remake next. "We’re not sure whether to do Trails in the Sky The 3rd or Trails from Zero next – opinions are divided among us," he states. "Some of the members are saying that it would be better to do a remake of from Zero before The 3rd." Trails from Zero is the game that, chronologically, takes place after the Sky trilogy. It introduces a mostly fresh cast of characters and a different setting. At first glance, you might think that it makes zero (pun intended, again) sense to jump straight to the next saga in the franchise — but it sounds like the issue lies with The 3rd being a very unconventional Trails title. Without spoiling anything, The 3rd wraps a nice little bow around the Sky games and many of its surrounding plot points, but its unorthodox, dungeon-based structure makes it a bit of a black sheep. "I think we have to do a remake of The 3rd at some point, but there are many possible ideas for what form it could take," says Kondo, alluding to the possibility of reworking the game's design. And of course, these remakes aren't the only Trails projects that Falcom's cooking. The next game in the Daybreak saga — the title that comes after Trails beyond the Horizon, which launches in the West in January — is deep in development at this point. Falcom's only getting busier, then, and so it'll be fascinating to see how it tries to balance things out between these full-blown remakes and the titles that'll define the future of the series. What do you want next from Falcom? Is The Third the one? Would you want a remake to tweak its unique design? Overcome some barriers in the comments section below. View full article

Ever since Assassin's Creed Origins, Ubisoft has pushed the series towards a live service model, opting to support each game over a long period of time with free updates and DLC. And to be fair, it's a model that's proven to be successful; Assassin's Creed Valhalla ended up being the franchise's most profitable instalment to date off the back of two whole years of support. But these major updates and DLCs do, of course, have a cost in terms of resources — and that's what Assassin's Creed Shadows director Simon Lemay-Comtois gets at in a new interview with YouTube channel Access the Animus. Ubisoft has explained its methods in the past, but Lemay-Comtois reiterates: "Microtransactions, for all the flak it gets, it allows us to do the Isu stuff, the quest stuff, the parkour updates, all of it." The idea is that each Assassin's Creed titles funds its own ongoing support through paid content. Shadows, for example, gets premium equipment packs on a regular basis, featuring themed weapons, armour, and cosmetics. We wouldn't call them microtransactions given that they're actually rather expensive, but again, it's apparently a model that works well for the franchise. It's not without issue, however — particularly in the case of Shadows. Just this week, the title received a new update that introduces an Attack on Titan crossover quest, of all things. The quest is entirely free for all players — but the rewards are meagre at best. Indeed, the update's marketing showcases cool Attack on Titan-themed outfits, but they're actually locked behind an accompanying paid DLC pack. The same thing happened with Shadows' Dead by Daylight crossover quest a few months back. So it's certainly not all sunshine and rainbows for dedicated players, but in a different interview with YouTube channel JorRaptor, Lemay-Comtois assures fans that bigger updates are in the pipeline, and the dev team's definitely not done with Shadows yet. "[We're working on] chunkier updates that shake things up," he says, although he does state that there are currently no plans to release a second, Claws of Awaji-style expansion in 2026. "As of now, at this moment for Year Two, there is no expansion on the size of [Claws of Awaji] that is planned, currently [...] We're still working on content for post-launch and supporting it, but it's not a full-on DLC the way a season pass would have had in previous years." So there you have it. It looks like Shadows will be getting a second year of support, and there's scope for larger content drops — but don't go expecting any big story-driven DLCs. What do you think of the modern approach of Assassin's Creed? Are you okay with microtransactions as long as they continue to fund free updates, or is Shadows leaning a little too far into the model? Equip some better gear in the comments section below. View full article

Update [Thu 27th Nov 2025, 5:30pm]: SHUTEN ORDER's Switch 2 Edition and upgrade is now available today. Once again, it supports a higher frame rate, including variable frame rate between 60 to 120 fps in docked and portable modes. There is also Joy-Con 2 mouse controls in areas of the game where it's supported. The Upgrade Pack for existing Switch owners will set you back $2.49 (or your regional equivalent). And the Switch 2 and Switch versions of the full game are currently on sale in select locations. Original Story: Following the release of SHUTEN ORDER on the Switch in September, a Switch 2 Edition has now been officially announced. It will arrive later this month on 27th November 2025 for the launch price of 6,579 yen. This 10% discount is available until 4th December 2025. Local pricing for the full game hasn't been confirmed just yet, but there will be a paid Upgrade Pack for existing Switch owners. Thankfully, it's only a small sum of 330 Yen (about $2). As for what you can expect, the Switch 2 Edition will support a higher frame rate, including variable frame rate between 60 to 120 fps in both docked and portable modes. There will also be Joy-Con 2 mouse controls in areas of the game where it's supported. Will you be checking out the Switch 2 version of this title? Have you already got the Switch version? Let us know in the comments. View full article

All the way back in 2019, before the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S were even fully revealed, there was skepticism that Xbox would be ditching consoles and/or turning into a third-party publisher. The more things change, the more they stay the same! Xbox boss Phil Spencer was asked about this at the time in an interview with Kotaku, and as pointed out by the interviewee (Stephen Totilo) on Game File this week, it's a fascinating look back at a strategy that still remains very relevant here in 2025. For example, Phil spent a lot of time discussing the idea of playing "the games you want, with the people you want and on the devices [you want]", mentioning the team was "driven by that". He went on to explain that a lack of crossplay support between consoles was driving him "crazy" and he felt it needed to change to "grow gaming". Phil then talked about console and how "having the world’s most powerful console" was a "critical component" for the brand and growing the platform, but that ultimately the profits would come from selling software and services. Interestingly, he made a point that measuring console sales wasn't all that useful either: As part of this, he advised that the focus for Xbox was on the player and not the device: Phil was also asked multiple times about whether we could see the likes of Gears of War on the PlayStation 4 at some point, and he certainly didn't outright deny it. Instead, he chose to focus on how Xbox games needed to have a "connected ecosystem with the players, where people’s save game and their state and their friends list and their entitlements move seamlessly from every ecosystem", which wasn't possible on PS4 at the time. Nevertheless, he highlighted how Xbox valued its relationship with other companies and that everyone could assist with adding "cross-play, cross-buy, cross-progression" facilities in order to enhance that "play anywhere vision". There's a lot more in the full Kotaku interview if you want to check it out. From our standpoint, this is a fascinating look back at a vision that still rings very true six years later, despite all the changes we've witnessed at Xbox. This whole idea of "Play Anywhere" and "This is an Xbox" feels like it's only just been implemented, but it's actually existed for a long time now, and the marketing behind it has significantly ramped up over the past year-or-so. Some of the things Phil Spencer has said in the past have obviously changed a little bit to align with the modern-day strategy, but this is an important reminder that there's been plenty of consistency in Xbox's messaging as well. Go and have a look for yourself, and let us know your thoughts down in the comments below!

It's been an ambitious year for Xbox Game Pass in 2025, with so many incredible games joining the service over the past 11 months, and it's about to deliver another amazing slate of titles in 2026 as well. In fact, Microsoft is promising 75+ "day one" games on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate per-year moving forward, which is a massive step up on what we've been getting to date - it apparently represents a 50% increase altogether. With that in mind, they're going to need a lot of developers and publishers to remain on board. Fortunately it sounds like that's the case, as explained by the Xbox GM of Portfolio and Programmes (Chris Charla) in a recent interview. Chris, who's known primarily for his work with the ID@Xbox team, advised in the interview with GameReactor that "enthusiasm for game developers for Game Pass has never gone down", and the fact that many are returning for their second, third or even seventh games on the service shows that Team Xbox is doing something right. Now, to be fair, we have heard pockets of disgruntlement about Xbox Game Pass over the years and how it's potentially a bad deal for developers and even players, but we've also heard how it's been a massive benefit for other developers and publishers, particularly in the indie space. It's very true that some publishers have repeatedly put their titles on Game Pass as "day one" launches, to the point where basically everything in their catalogue is on there! And again, that figure of 75+ "day one" games per-year suggests that plenty of developers are on board with Xbox Game Pass going into 2026, which is set to benefit subscribers in a major way. We've already seen multiple Game of the Year candidates join XGP in 2025 alone, and we're expecting many more to land on the service next year. Is it worth the money now that prices have gone up? That's another question entirely, but you can bet that Team Xbox will be working extremely hard to bring as many quality titles to Xbox Game Pass throughout the next calendar year.

Well, here's a welcome surprise! Hot off the back of Silent Hill 2 and Cronos: The New Dawn, Bloober Team has shared with us the next project that it's working on for Switch 2, and it's none other than an all-new Layers of Fear package. Layers of Fear: Final Masterpiece Edition will arrive on Switch 2 on 19th December, bundling together Layers of Fear, Layers of Fear 2, every DLC expansion, and brand-new chapters into one spooky edition fully optimised for the new system. There are the added bonuses of HDR, ray tracing, and dynamic lighting, too, and you have the option to play with motion controls or touchscreen inputs if you see fit. Here's the official blurb from Bloober Team and a handful of screenshots: Images: Bloober Team It all sounds like a pretty strong way to experience these psychological horror titles. The full Final Masterpiece Edition will be available on the eShop for $39.99 (or your regional equivalent) next month — because the holiday season really needs some more scares, right? For those curious, we had a perfectly good time with Cronos: The New Dawn when it arrived on Switch 2 back in September, describing it as "a celebration of survival horror, paying homage to all the genre greats effectively. View full article

If you like your retro first-person shooters to be colorful, gory, and feature extravagant, larger-than-life characters, then Captain Wayne - Vacation Desperation could be exactly the game you're looking for. Released earlier this month exclusively on Steam, the "fast-action" shooter has previously been described by its creators as "half game, half cartoon" and features detailed hand-drawn graphics, gallons of blood, and a charismatic "cigar-huffing", "hot pink-wearing" ship captain as its lead. It is the creation of a small studio, called Ciaran Games, and was built using GZDoom, a fork of the ZDoom source port of the original Doom games. As you'll see, though, from looking at any of the screenshots or trailers that are already available, the Doom resemblance is pretty much non-existent, with Captain Wayne instead featuring a much more humorous and far less hellish take on the popular genre. Images: Ciaran Games The story of the game sees players step into the shoes of the titular sailor, as he is attacked by mercenaries and marooned on Orca Isle. Shipless and hunted by the merciless mercenary group, the Killer Whales, he finds himself turning to his trusty shotgun arm, Ol' Reliable, and his personal stash of explosives, to get him out of the jam, blasting his way through the waves of enemies that dare to get in his way. In total, the game features 8 humongous areas to explore, from a picturesque resort to ancient ruins, which will end up taking players all across Orca Isle, in their quest to defeat the Killer Whales and get back their ship. Here are some of the features you can expect: If this sounds like something that is up your street, you can grab it now for £6.74 (as part of an introductory offer lasting until December 7th). View full article

A new ROM hack adds full 60FPS support to the GBA classic Mario Kart: Super Circuit. While the game has always rendered at 60FPS, Nintendo originally updated the track rotation at only 30FPS, causing a mismatch between the sprites, backgrounds, and the Mode-7-style track. This new hack updates the track rotation to 60FPS as well, creating a fully cohesive gameplay experience with no extra performance hit. Source MKSC60fps.zip

GOG is working hard at bringing back a lot of great titles, be it classic or modern, into their library, and not only that, they are also adding them to their own Preservation Program, which aims to make titles released on their service available for posterity, with the buyer having complete ownership of the product that they buy. One of the most recent additions to the GOG Preservation Program is the title "Cold Fear", a third person survival horror title published by Ubisoft for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and PC back in 2005, amidst the craze of the original Resident Evil 4, with many people comparing Cold Fear to RE4, even though both titles were released during the same year. Cold Fear sees a US Coast Guard, Tom Hansen, take on a rescue mission to during a heavy storm, only to find out the vessel is abandoned with no humans on sight, with something still lurking on it. This re-release of Cold Fear on GOG brings the following features: Full support with Windows 10 and 11. Included all 7 localizations: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Russian and Polish. Added native support for 16: 9 widescreen monitors. Added native support for high resolutions including HD, Full-HD, Quad-HD and 4K. Added native support for high refresh rates. Added support for integrated graphics cards. Implemented resolution select fallback mode for uninterrupted reconfiguration. Optimized default graphics settings. Fixed game speed issues without locking framerate. Fixed broken alpha blending after Alt+Tab task switching. Fixed brightness/contrast sliders in graphics options. Added support for modern controllers (including Sony DualSense / DualShock 4, Microsoft Xbox Series / Xbox One / Xbox 360, Nintendo Switch 2 Pro / Switch Pro, Logitech F, Amazon Luna) with same button layout regardless of hardware. Added support for controller wireless mode and hotplugging. Added support for controller D-Pad and trigger buttons. Added support for Force-Feedback controller vibration. Optimized default controller button bindings based on Playstation 2 scheme. Fixed incorrect mouse button state after switching tasks with Alt+Tab. Fixed mouse cursor clipping on multi-monitor configurations. Fixed music playback on the title screen. Fixed game window responsiveness during video playback. Added support for Cloud saves. Added support for Galaxy overlay. Cold Fear is just one of the titles that GOG recently re-released and added to their Preservation Program, with the other titles being the following: I Am Alive Rayman 2: The Great Escape Eternam Syndicate Plus™ Epic Pinball: The Complete Collection Alien Rampage Screamer Dangerous Dave Pack Wing Commander™: Academy If you are interested in Cold Fear, or any of the other titles listed above, be sure to visit GOG.com and purchase the title you're interested on, as this also helps to support GOG's efforts towards videogame preservation with their program. Source Cold Fear on GOG

Fireproof Games, the British studio behind the acclaimed puzzle series The Room, is soon to release its latest title on PSVR2. It's called Ghost Town, and it's set for release on Sony's virtual reality hardware on 1st December 2025: You play as Edith Penrose, a witch who turns her talents to ghost hunting in this supernatural thriller. You'll use her magical abilities to solve puzzles and track down clues to the whereabouts of her missing brother. Here's the Steam version's launch trailer to put you in the mood: The Room series is held in high regard, so there's every reason to be hopeful about this new title. Ghost Town was very well received when it launched for PC VR formats earlier this year, so PSVR2 and puzzle fans should definitely take note. Are you interested in this one? Tell us in the comments section below. View full article

Two legendary developers have joined forces once again, and it's a game that's a teensy bit outside what they're best known for. From Steve Ellis and David Doak, two of the minds behind renowned shooters GoldenEye 007 and TimeSplitters, comes Beyond Words, a strategic, roguelike word game. Coming to PS5 in early 2026, the easiest way to describe Beyond Words is that it's a combination of Scrabble and Balatro. You'll be spelling out words in a similar vein to the legendary board game, and it seems combos, alongside hundreds of gameplay modifiers, will help you reach enormous scores. Each board will challenge you in different ways, and there are even bosses, seeded runs, time attacks, and "negative scoring" challenges to overcome. Published by PQube and developed by the pair's new studio Mindfuel Games, it looks like the kind of thing word game fans, as well as fans of numbers getting bigger, will certainly love. What do you make of Beyond Words? Tell us in the comments section below. View full article

Techland has unveiled update 1.4 for Dying Light: The Beast, an enormous update for the action title that incorporates brand new features and hundreds of improvements. Largely based on feedback from the community, update 1.4 brings fixes, improvements, and features requested by players. Here's a quick rundown of all the major additions in the update: New Game + mode: New Game + is added to the game, meaning you can replay the adventure while keeping all your gear, weapons, and character progression from your first playthrough. Each time you start New Game +, the level of challenge increases, but so does the power and rarity of the weapons you find. Legend Levels: This is an endgame progression system that allows you to continue building your character beyond the main skill tree. After reaching level 15, XP you earn converts to Legend XP, which allows you to invest in passive upgrades like more health and better stats. Visual improvements: The update fixes "over 70 graphical issues", with improvements and fixes to textures, clipping, misaligned architecture, and more. Refined gameplay: There are "over 200 parkour and environment navigation" fixes, according to the press release, based on input from the community. On top of all this, Techland is offering an exclusive in-game item, the Bloody Bowie Knife, to anyone who logs into the game between now and 2nd December. There's also a double XP period happening between now and 30th November. We really enjoyed Dying Light: The Beast at launch, but it sounds like Techland has delivered a meaningful update here that makes some serious improvements to the experience. Will you be hopping into the game to check out this big new update? Tell us in the comments section below. View full article