Author: Zach Barbieri

There has been a term used both with a negative and positive connotation when referring to games that focus on the core of exploring a small environment with no combat, some minimalist narrative, and specifically walking from interactable object to interactable object. That term is a Walking Sim. I understand some of the apprehension that some can feel towards playing these games, but when they hit their apex in 2012, they offered a shocking argument for video games as an artistic medium, and a radically different experience to that of the big developers at the time. This, for me, culminated…

Star Wars: Zero Company, the debut game from Developer Bit Reactor and Publisher EA Games, was officially showcased during the Star Wars Celebration in Japan. It received a narrative-driven trailer that ended with some gameplay, showcasing its tactical gameplay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcxnRaZ6slU Star Wars: Zero Company will be set during the “twilight of the Clone Wars,” and will put players in control of Hawks, a former Republic officer who is now in charge of an elite unit of operatives taking on clandestine missions with high risk. A single-player experience, the upcoming title will feature tactical turn-based gameplay with “meaningful outcomes from player…

Among the many games showcased when the Nintendo Switch 2 was announced, a large emphasis was placed on recent releases being ported to the platform, as a showcase of its increased hardware. One such game was Star Wars Outlaws, the Ubisoft open-world title that sees players traversing across both new and returning planets as they take part in a heist with major ramifications for the galaxy far, far away. As it turns out, Star Wars Outlaws will not be releasing alongside the Nintendo Switch 2 but will be arriving on the system on September 5th, according to Ubisoft. This shouldn’t…

Starting South of Midnight, I was brought back to purchase my PlayStation 4 in 2013; obviously, several games were bought along with it. Sitting there with a stack of new games on a big console box that I can never bring myself to throw away, I found myself with all the possibilities overwhelming me, as one might expect. This brought me to the PlayStation Plus monthly games while wandering through all the settings on the flashy new homescreen. I remembered seeing this cute little indie title that interested me; lo and behold, it became the first title to boot up…

Nintendo has announced an update to its plans for releasing the Nintendo Switch 2 in the United States. Originally, the new console was slated to be up for pre-order on April 9th, however, this was changed following President Trump’s implementation of tariffs on most countries around the world, including Japan, Vietnam, and China, which all play pivotal roles in the manufacturing process of the upcoming console. Now, the Platform will be made available for pre-order on April 24th for the US market. Nintendo additionally noted that the console will see no additional spikes in price, remaining $449 for the console…

Indie handheld Playdate Developers have earned an amount of over $1 million dollars thus far through the storefront catalog for the platform since the system launched back in March of 2023. Panic, the company behind the handheld, shared this news via email, explaining that 289,305 titles total have been sold through the curated marketplace, leading to a profit of $1,043,186, which has been paid out across all the people who have developed for the platform. An official statement from Panic said: Playdate might be an indie platform, but seeing numbers like this makes us realize that even an indie platform…

Well anticipated survival MMO Dune: Awakening has been delayed, developer Funcom has announced. Initially planned for release on May 20th, a little over a month from now, the studio has announced that it will now release on June 10th, being delayed by 3 weeks. The developers have stated that this will give the team more time to polish the upcoming title. As posted on the game’s official social media account via X: We will be moving the release date of Dune: Awakening to June 10, with head start launching on June 5. This is not a decision we take lightly,…

After a slight leak last week, EA has officially unveiled the title of their next Star Wars game, as well as the studios involved with its development. Entitled Star Wars: Zero Company, development is being spearheaded by Bit Reactor, with support from Lucasfilm Games and Star Wars: Jedi Survivor developer Respawn Entertainment. There isn’t much known at this time about Star Wars: Zero Company, outside of it being a “single-player turn-based tactics game”. There isn’t long to wait for more answers, however, as EA has stated it will give its first look at the game on April 19th during the…

Sony has announced they will be raising the recommended retail price of PlayStation 5 Consoles across Europe, Austrailia, and New Zealand. The company has stated that “a challenging economic environment, including high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates,” is at the forefront of the decision to do so. These price increases were confirmed via a PlayStation Blog post concerning them in which the company went over the price increases. Starting on April 14th, the prices for each version of the console will be as follows in these regions: EuropePS5 Digital Edition – €499.99 (No pricing changes for the standard PS5 with Ultra…

Zenless Zone Zero, the latest gacha game from the developers behind Genshin impact, miHoYo, has been announced to be coming to the Xbox Series platform. It was originally released on PlayStation, PC, and Mobile in July of last year, marking another popular Live-Service title to be making the jump. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=An23yVkUdlQ An official announcement via miHoYo states: Zenless Zone Zero will officially launch on Xbox alongside its Version 2.0 update this June. In addition to Xbox Series X|S, Zenless Zone Zero will also be available via Xbox Cloud Gaming, enabling Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play the game seamlessly across devices without downloads. With…