Though it may look like a mess of blood and gore, theMortal Kombatfranchise is a big dumb martial arts epic that drags in inspiration from all over the world. The story is ostensibly about a fighting tournament, but the fine details unfold into a war between realms and deities. The franchise will be enjoying a new film adaptation, and it has a chance to capture that massive scale. On the big screen,Mortal Kombatis a mixed bag....

Summary The Final Shape expansion forDestiny 2introduces a ton of entertaining new weapons and exotics to play with, but players have found that one of the new Titan exotic gear pieces is actively suffering from a technical issue that restricts its potential damage output. The considerable variety of new buildcrafting options now available inDestiny 2have considerably shaken up the meta already, though the anticipation of several crucial bug fixes and the addition of even more exotic gear pieces with the launch of Episode: Echoes means that players have much yet to look forward to....

After months of wait, Deep Silver Volition has finally revealedSaints Row’s post-launch roadmap. Players can expect a slew of new content throughout the next couple of months that should expand the game in exciting ways. It seems like the studio is really trying to improve the controversial game, but it might not be enough to win the playerbase back, TheSaints Rowreboot has been controversial within the community ever since it was first announced, and its launch state did not help at all....

Summary The July 2024 “Summer Nights” Splatfest inSplatoon 3has concluded, and Team Beach, backed by Deep Cut’s Big Man, claimed victory with a score of 410 points. With Team Beach’s victory in the latest event, teams backed by Big Man have won every seasonalSplatoon 3Splatfest since the game’s 2022 launch. Held every one to two months, Splatfests in theSplatoonseries are team-based competitions based around specific themes. Taking part in the Splatfests grants players currency to trade for various cosmetic items such as clothing and weapon skins, with the winning team receiving the largest share of the prize....

Summary Among the games revealed at the State of Play on May 30, the trailer for the upcoming open-world dress-up fantasy gameInfinity Nikkihas racked up over 2 million views on YouTube, making it the most watched game trailer from the PlayStation livestream event. Fans got afirst look atInfinity Nikkiwith the Gameplay Trailer, and many may be surprised to see just how popular the title has already proven among audiences. The fifth installment in Papergames and Infold Games' dress-up franchise,Infinity Nikkioffers players a brand-new open-world adventure starring the stylish Nikki, as she journeys across the lavish fantasy realm of Miraland....

Summary Warning: The following contains spoilers forThe Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic, Episode 5, “Usato, into the Forest Again!,” now streaming onCrunchyroll. The Wrong Way to Use Healing Magic’s storyline is slowly moving towards the overarching war againstthe Demon Lord’s army, and every single event seems to be adding on to that premise. To prepare for war, the kingdom has decided to send Hero Suzune into a forest teeming with monsters, and accompanying her is the healer himself, Ken Usato....

Summary AnOverwatch 2fan came up with their own design of an Aboriginal Australian character, and the presentation looks like the real deal. It fits perfectly with developer Blizzard’s initiative to expand the franchise’s diversity even further, which was exemplified in the addition of the game’sfirst Samoan hero Maugain December 2023. Overwatch 2has been going strong since its official launch back in August 2023, with millions of players active every month. Despite a few issues popping up occasionally, its devoted fanbase and Blizzard’s steady stream of new content have kept the game healthy....

Summary Part one of the Atlantic City update and Season 15 are still very new forFallout 76, but they are far from the end of what fans can expect from the game’s ongoing support going forward. With the Atlantic City part two update, Season 16, and much more just around the corner, 2024 is already on track to be one of the biggest years forFallout 76throughout the game’s long history. Whether players will be joiningFallout 76for the first time this year or will be returning for yet another year, players arguably won’t want to miss whatFallout 76has in store for 2024....

Summary At the start of the year, Ubisoft delayed itsinfamous pirate gameSkull and Bonesonce again, and soon after, it was reported that the publisher had axed a slew of in-development projects. It’s no secret that Ubisoft’s recent output hasn’t been bringing in the same revenue the company is used to, and in an attempt to course correct, the publisher is doing some extreme reallocation of resources, choosing to pump most of its studios into its biggest franchises....

Summary TheWorld of Warcraftdevelopment teams announced their successful unionization with help from the Communication Workers of America (CWA). Called theWorld of WarcraftGamemaker’s Guild (WoWGG-CWA), the new union is the largest wall-to-wall union under Microsoft, consisting of over 500 Blizzard developers across departments such as quality assurance, art, and engineering. However, the formation of theWorld of WarcraftGamemaker’s Guild is not the first attempt at unionization that Activision Blizzard undertook. In 2022,QA testers at Blizzard Albanyand Raven Software became the first Activision Blizzard studios to unionize despite various delays and union-busting efforts that happened during the process....

Summary The r/AssassinsCreed subreddit has bannedAssassin’s Creed Shadowsdebates about Yasuke’s status as a samurai. The mods of the largestACcommunity on Reddit characterized the move as a response to an influx of “bad faith” arguments that have been pouring onto the sub ever sinceAssassin’s Creed Shadowswas revealed. Some vocal social media users have previously taken issue with the upcoming game’s inclusion of African samurai Yasuke as one of its two leads. Even though he’s the first-everAssassin’s Creedprotagonist to be based on a real person, those opinions painted his inclusion as detrimental to the game’s “historical accuracy” and robbing Japanese audiences of additional representation in a feudal Japan-era setting....

Summary The horror video game genre is a fascinating one, filled with many ideas about humanity and what true horror really constitutes. While the horror genre has continued to grow and change in video games, the idea of morality and many philosophical ideas have made their way deep into the narratives of some of the best games in the genre. From survival horror games with psychedelic styling that makes players question things about morality to futuristic horror that deals with what or who humanity really is, the horror genre has more recently been engaging players’ brains in fascinating ways while also scaring them....

The marketing ofDeadpool & Wolverinefocuses squarely on the two heroes in the title. Dragging Hugh Jackman back into the role he’s occupied for two decades and finally letting him play with Ryan Reynolds' beloved take on Deadpool will guarantee fan excitement. However, they can’t spend the whole film’s runtime fighting each other. Something has to bring them together. That something will be Emma Corrin as Cassandra Nova, but where will the first MCUDeadpool’s antagonist fit alongside her stablemates?...