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The Duskbloods, being that it's a FromSoftware joint and all that good stuff, is certainly high on our list of things we're very excited about arriving on Switch 2 in the near future. However, given that it's a multiplayer-typed deal in the same vein as the studio's divisive Elden Ring: Nightreign, we understand that there's a little more trepidation surrounding it, or at least that's how it's felt. Solo FromSoftware efforts get a big thumbs up very quickly, it seems, but words like 'multiplayer' or even 'online' might make you feel it's not a full-fat adventure from the Dark Souls studio, perhaps. It's understandable. And yet, according to a new leak surrounding the game (as reported by Vice), The Duskbloods has been cooking longer and having more consideration put into it than any of FromSoft's work thus far. The leak in question comes from a Chinese journalist who gained credibility after leaking correct Elden Ring info before it launched back in 2022. As translated by Ziostorm, they report that: They go on to claim that the game, which sees Hidetaka Miyazaki on directing duties, lest you forget, could be more influential than the likes of Sekiro (which launched in 2019) and its great big red mark that it paints on baddies for you. So it seems as though there may well be some big new mechanic at work here that we are yet to find out about as you get down and dirty as one of the game's vampire-flavoured Dusksworn combatants. You can check out the full quote in Ziostorm's time-stamped video: As to why it's been so quiet on the news front regarding the game thus far, the same leaker says that all Elden Ring Nightreign DLC will be wrapped up (something which occurs on 7th December) before FromSoftware turn their full attention to revving up their Duskblood engines. Oooh, we're quite excited, actually. With no confirmed release date beyond "2026", plus not a whole lot of info about the PvPvE online adventure to sink our teeth into and the Switch 2 port of Elden Ring delayed into next year, let's hope we're in for a little pre-Xmas info drop. Or even just a tease. Come on, lads, give us something! Check out the reveal trailer below for a reminder. Are you looking forward to The Duskbloods, or does the online aspect cool your desires in some regards? Make sure to let us know your thoughts on this one!

Following Embracer Group's and Free Radical Design's failed attempt at a TimeSplitters revival, things have been looking pretty bleak for the future of the beloved first-person shooter series, originally made famous on the PS2. Not only has Free Radical Design once again been put to rest, but the studio's co-founder, Steve Ellis, has also commented publicly that he may now be done with the series for good, calling the recent revival attempt a "big letdown" and expressing sympathy for the younger members of the team who didn't get to "see through their first game." Because of this, it doesn't look likely that an official continuation will happen anytime soon, but what we do have in its place is an ambitious new fan game for PC, called TimeSplitters Rewind, which should hopefully go some way to easing the pain. TimeSplitters Rewind has been in development since 2013 and has been a rare source of optimism inside the community, especially of late. It is designed to be a greatest hits collection "of maps, modes, leagues, challenges, and story content across the original trilogy of TimeSplitters games" and has just been released in Early Access for the very first time, as of last Sunday (November 23rd). As outlined in the trailer, which was released alongside the announcement, the early access version of the game contains the full campaign for TimeSplitters 1 (available to play in co-op), as well as 28 maps, 32 challenges, 96 characters, 41 weapons, and a ton of modes to work through, with the caveat being that, if you check it out now, you may encounter some bugs and missing features that are still to be implemented. Amazingly, the game has all been created entirely for free, and even has the backing of Free Radical Design co-founder and TimeSplitters designer/director, David Doak, who is lending his support by boosting the project to his followers on Twitter/X. You can download the game here, if you want to give it a try yourself.

We have some exciting news for N64 fans. Another build of Sammy Corporation and Racdym's cancelled Star Fox-style shoot 'em up Viewpoint 2064 has been dumped and preserved online. This time by the YouTuber and video game preservationist Hard4Games. Viewpoint 2064, as the name indicates, was a 3D follow-up to the Neo Geo top-down isometric shooter from Aicom and Sammy, which was also subsequently ported to the Sega Genesis, FM Towns, Sharp X68000, Sony PlayStation, and Windows computers. It was in development in the late '90s and is believed to have been shown off at Nintendo SpaceWorld in 1999, as well as Tokyo Game Show, with the original plan being to release the title on November 11th, 1999. However, despite garnering some enthusiastic previews from members of the media, such as IGN64, who praised its "polygonal graphics", "lock-on system", and "impressive... boss battles", it would eventually end up missing this date, being delayed several more times throughout 2000, before quietly being cancelled in 2001. Following that, it then pretty much faded into obscurity until a prototype cartridge of the game surfaced on eBay in 2015. This then led to a group of video game preservationists tracking down a copy of the game, which resulted in a dump by GamingAlexandria in 2020. As noted by Hard4Games in his recent video going over the latest dump, the earlier version of the game dumped by GamingAlexandria in 2020 was incomplete, featuring issues with collision detection, a different UI from the advertised screenshots, missing boss fights, and a developer debug menu. This new build, however, appears to be final, fixing many of the above issues, and being referred to as a "Master" on the cart itself. You can download the game here, but we highly recommend checking out Hard4Games' video for a full breakdown of the differences between the two builds.

We've seen so many emulation handhelds provide robust GameCube and PS2 performance lately that it seems almost pointless to devote time to a device that doesn't have the power to replicate those consoles to a satisfying degree. However, the Mangmi Air X – which retails for $90 – proves to be the exception. It will run GC and PS2 games, and, if you're willing to do some extra work, it will play some of them to an acceptable standard – but the dated Snapdragon 662 chipset found at the heart of this handheld really isn't up to the challenge. Instead, I think the Mangmi Air X shines when you focus on earlier hardware; it's comfortable playing Dreamcast and N64 titles, for example, and is even capable of emulating the PSP to a decent level. Going backwards in time, 8 and 16-bit games run brilliantly, as do PS1 titles. In terms of design, the Mangmi Air X has a real advantage over its budget rivals, in my opinion. While it doesn't sport metal bodywork, it looks great and feels well-made. The 5.5-inch 1080p LCD screen is also excellent, even looking respectable when set against OLED panels. The controls are equally good, despite first impressions. Mangmi got the placement of the D-pad right (in my opinion, at least) by placing it above the left-hand analogue stick. While this might not be to everyone's taste, I love playing 2D games on devices like this, so I need my D-pad to be as easy to reach as possible. The pad looks large and has a glossy texture, which is something I initially thought would be a massive mistake. However, I found it to be a joy to use; hitting diagonals is easy, and flowing motions aren't a problem, either – so, if you like one-on-one fighting games, you'll be right at home here. Sure, some texture on the top of the pad would have been welcome, but it's not as slippery as it looks. The dual analogue sticks utilise Hall Effect sensors and are approximately the same size as those found on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Con. They have LED lighting around the base, which I really like, but others might be less enthused about (you can disable this if you wish, or select another colour – the default is orange, which matches the Mangmi logo). The Mangmi Air X comes with Android 14 installed, which means you get access to all of the Android apps and games you already own. Compatibility is excellent thanks to that Snapdragon chipset, and while this handheld isn't a processing powerhouse, it's capable of running most 3D games on the Google Play store. With around five hours of battery life, expandable storage via MicroSD and a super-portable design (I even got a carry case with my review sample), the Mangmi Air X certainly comes as a breath of fresh air. In a sector of the market dominated by the likes of Anbernic and PowKiddy, this is an alternative option that looks great, plays great, feels great to use, and – best of all – won't break the bank.

Mario Kart: Super Circuit is one of the games I remember most fondly when thinking about the Game Boy Advance. The console was still fresh and new back in 2001, and soon after launch it was playing host to a portable version of one of my favourite SNES games of all time. It felt too good to be true. I still enjoy Super Circuit, even after almost a quarter of a century, so it amazes me now to hear that the game has been "fixed" by fans to make it even better. As reported by Video Game Esoterica, Super Circuit is, in fact, hiding a dirty secret. While the game runs at 60fps, the track itself is rendering at half that frame rate. Thankfully, a new patch created by antimattur solves this issue. "This patch modifies the map rendering code in mksc to update at 60fps," explains the developer. "This has no impact on performance as the map scaling parameters were already being updated at 60fps, but were only being read at 30fps." You can grab the patch here, but you'll need to supply your own ROM.

If you thought seeing Super Mario 64 on PlayStation was weird, well, we're not through yet. That's because Frogbull, the homebrew maverick behind demos of Metal Gear Solid and Crash Bandicoot on Sega Saturn and Metal Gear Solid 2 on Dreamcast, has just shared some incredible new footage of an "old project" he was once working on — a proof of concept of Insomniac's 1998 platformer Spyro the Dragon running on the N64. According to Frogbull, the project has been around for quite some time and represented the first-ever steps he took into the world of N64 homebrew. However, it is now abandoned, with the developer stating in the video description that he has "learned that a very promising and advanced decompilation project has been started by Altro50", meaning that "an actual port" (his words, not ours) could one day end up coming to the console instead. With his homemade attempt, therefore, no longer serving "much purpose", he's decided to share some of the footage from it online, posting an almost 4-minute-long video of what he was able to achieve. This video sees Spyro exploring the opening Artisans area of the game, and is presented "as it is", which Frogbull states means it is "raw, full of missing textures, [and] animations that are implemented but not yet tied to actions (like gliding, charging, etc.)". Nevertheless, it still looks impressive to us as a demo of what potentially could have been, giving us a brief window into what the original Spyro may have looked like, had Insomniac developed the game for other machines, as well. If you want to find out more about how it was made, Frogbull has posted a behind-the-scenes breakdown on his Patreon, though this is currently locked behind a paywall.

Nintendo dropped a major Switch 2 and Switch firmware update earlier this month, and it's now followed this up with a much smaller patch. Although this firmware update isn't a big one, it does appear to address some important issues. This includes an issue where a few Error Codes would repeatedly occur when attempting to perform a transfer between the Switch and Switch 2. There are also some fixes for connection issues. Apart from this, is some general system improvements on both platforms. They're focused on making both devices super stable. Here's the full rundown, courtesy of Nintendo's official support pages: Switch 2 Update Version 21.0.1 (Released November 24, 2025) Switch Update Ver. 21.0.1 (Released November 24, 2025) If there is anything else revealed about this latest updates for the Switch 2 and Switch, we'll be sure to let you know. Once again, this follows the rollout of Version 21.0.0 earlier this month, which included updates to the HOME Menu, GameChat, Game Card-related updates and more. Nintendo upgraded the Switch 2's controllers as well earlier this month.

If you've enjoyed the beats in Super Mario Party Jamboree and want to be able to listen to them wherever you go, the game's soundtrack has now been added to the Nintendo Music app. This one is an absolutely huge soundtrack, featuring a whopping 296 tracks with a runtime of 6 hours and 30 minutes in total. Nintendo also notes how this includes music from the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Jamboree TV. In case you missed it, Super Mario Party Jamboree got a major update in July for the Switch 2, adding Jamboree TV. This includes new minigames supporting the camera, Joy-Con mouse controls and more. You can find out more about this new content in our review:

Assassin's Creed Shadows is on its way to the Switch 2 this December, and ahead of the big release, Ubisoft has announced a new collab with the popular manga and anime series Attack on Titan. Assassin's Creed Shadows x Attack on Titan event begins on 25th November 2025 and runs until 22nd December 2025, so it will still be live when the Switch 2 version is released. Here are the details via Ubisoft's official website: Images: Ubisoft Ubisoft has also announced its free-to-play title Brawlhalla will be getting an Attack on Titan crossover on 3rd December 2025. Assassin's Creed Shadows launches for Switch 2 on 2nd December 2025. Will you be checking it out on Nintendo's new hardware? What do you think about this crossover? Let us know in the comments.

A week out from the release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond on the Switch 2 and Switch, the Entertainment Software Rating Board has shared its official rating summary of the game. It once again highlights the title's 'T' for "Teen" rating, as the game features "animated blood and violence". Here's the official rundown. This same rating was originally spotted on Nintendo's US website in September. Here's the summary in full: As previously mentioned, this age rating is consistent with the main Metroid Prime games before the fourth entry. And once again, here's ESRB's basic summary of this particular age rating, describing what a game under this classification may contain: "In-game Purchases" are also specifically mentioned for the original Switch version of the game, which appears to be for the game's Upgrade Pack. In other Metroid Prime 4 news, Nintendo has also recently revealed the eShop file sizes of the game on the Switch 2 and Switch. A demo for the game has also been spotted at Switch 2 kiosks over the past week.

It's a very interesting time for Japanese RPGs — and not just because Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 has sparked all sorts of arguments amongst genre enthusiasts. Indeed, it feels like we've been hitting some serious highs with JRPGs of late, with critically acclaimed titles like Metaphor: ReFantazio and Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter making big waves recently. It goes without saying that Metaphor developer Atlus remains at the forefront of this modern JRPG push — and that makes director Katsura Hashino's new comments all the more interesting. Hashino, who's spearheaded the Persona series and the aforementioned Metaphor, believes that the genre is now on the cusp of evolution — something he calls "JRPG 3.0". During a recent talk about artistry in media (as reported by 4Gamer and translated by GamesRadar), Hashino explained that he views the genre in three distinct stages: old school, classic JRPGs are "1.0", modern and current JRPGs are "2.0", and future JRPGs are "3.0". He suggests that modern JRPGs are defined by being "higher quality due to how much more responsive they are to the player", setting them apart from older adventures. In other words, aspects like more accessible design and increasingly involved gameplay mechanics are now the norm. But what about the "3.0" era? Well, Hashino says we're almost there, and he wants to be part of this new wave. "There will be a greater dimension to these games and they'll change the genre's structure and presentation at a fundamental level," Hashino claims, without going into too much detail. It's a fascinating subject, we think, especially since current JRPGs are already trying new things For example, action-based mechanics seem to be seeping into the genre more and more; Metaphor and the latest Trails games both utilise action combat as a part of their overall battle systems, while the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series adopts a full-on hybrid between action and command combat. While Hashino appears to be talking about evolution on a more general level, increasingly popular trends like action-based gameplay will contribute to how future JRPGs present themselves. What do you think the future of JRPGs looks like? Is Hashino right? Are we about to behold the next step? Level up in the comments section below.

It's been an unusually rocky ride for Call of Duty: Black Ops 7, which has been widely panned and appears to be selling below the series' usual pace. While Activision has yet to provide any official sales information itself (which is kinda telling on its own), some data has begun to emerge, including a weak UK launch and, now, a very weak Japanese launch. As shared by Zuby_Tech on X, Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 has had the worst Japanese physical launch sales in the franchise's history: According to the above table, the new game has sold 12,311 copies at Japanese retail, fewer than any other entry, dating all the way back to 2007's Call of Duty 3. Now, Japan has never been a huge market for the series, and we should remember this is purely based on physical sales data. However, the sales figure is less than half of last year's Black Ops 6, and again, this trend downward is reflected in other markets. Speculation about why the game is struggling comes down to other games capturing people's attention, like Battlefield 6 and ARC Raiders, as well as a general lack of enthusiasm for the new CoD. Whatever the case, it's another bump in the road for this year's game.

We just had a pretty chill weekend amidst Xbox 360 celebrating 20 years of age over the last few days, and while I was personally relaxing with YouTube on Sunday evening, I came across this awesome Digital Foundry video unboxing a brand-new launch Xbox 360 from 2005. As you can see in the above video, hosts John and Rich get all nostalgic while getting stuck into an Xbox 360 Core model that had been left untouched for 20 years. Everything's here - from the original inserts and green packaging bags to the console itself and that gloriously pristine controller. As the quote above notes, this of course means that the iconic 'Blades' dashboard is present and well; looking typically sleek and snappy as the team navigates this time machine back to 2005. Honestly, take us back - what a console and what a time to be gaming with Xbox! John hooking the machine up to a classic CRT TV was also a nice touch and typically on-brand for the DF Retro host; once he'd stuck that in PAL-60 mode it was running a dream on there. It's also genuinely quite nice to see Rich grinning through the entire video as the nostalgia poured in - we felt similar just watching it to be honest! The Xbox 360's 20th anniversary has now come and gone, and while Microsoft has been rather subdued with it, fans and the press have been lapping up the console's big birthday. That includes us at Pure Xbox of course - we'll link to some of our other recent 360 content down below.