Of all the big games coming out this year, I didn’t expectBaldur’s Gate 3of all things to get me so damn excited. I’m normally a fickle bitch when it comes to western fantasy, with many of my colleagues often badgering me for never playingDragon Ageor seeing all of theLord of the Ringsfilms. I’m getting around to them, I promise, it’s just taking me several decades. With its full release acrossPS5andPCcoming in a matter of weeks, hype around Larian’s fantasy blockbuster is reaching fever pitch....

Diablo 4 has a surprisingly strong hold on me, considering it’s my first Diablo game and I’ve never really been into the ARPG genre at all. I was pushed to finally wrap up the campaign by the fast approach ofDiablo’s first season, so I could dive head-first into the Season of the Malignant.Speaking to the developers about the seasononly made me more interested in jumping in, but since I did, I’ve been finding myself getting more and more annoyed....

This article contains spoilers for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3does something I thought was impossible at this point: it looks really good. Not ‘good for anMCUmovie,’ straight-up good, with expressive use of color, great CGI work, interesting production design, and blocking that makes it look like the characters are navigating a real space. It’s a credit to directorJames Gunn— who was, at one point, fired from the project — that he’s managed to make a movie that feels like the work of an artist more than the product of a factory line....

Tears of the Kingdomhas naturally dominated video game headlines for the whole weekend, and that’s probably not going to change as we begin a new week. Players continue to find details big and small in theBreath of the Wildsequel, including the realization that Link now hums tunes from throughoutThe Legend of Zelda’s 37-year history while he’s cooking. If you listened closely to Link while he was cooking in Breath of the Wild, they would always hum the same, non-descript tune while waiting for their food to be done....

Wizards of the Coast has announced it will be extending the rotation period onMagic: The Gathering’sStandard format, meaning cards will remain legal in the game’s ‘premiere’ ruleset for a year longer than they once did. This means that, for this year only, Standard rotation will not happen with the release of the Autumn set. Instead, the sets originally scheduled to rotate out of the format will instead leave it in Autumn 2024....

Naruto x Boruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Connectionshas a surprisingly deep reference in one of its new team Ultimate Jutsus, one that has the whole Uzumaki family teaming up. Over the past few months,Bandai Namcohas been revealing more of Ultimate Ninja Storm Connections and showing that it’s not just the Storm repackage that we all thought it was at first.Not only has it revealed four brand-new characters being added to the game, but it’s also seeminglyshowcased some gameplay mechanics that haven’t yet been talked about....

Baldur’s Gate 3tries to make taking a long rest a painless process. Little does Larian know that I like a very specific kind of pain. My wife often makes fun of the way I Google things. If someone else saw a woman who looked like a young Jennifer Coolidge on Seinfeld, they might search, “Was Jennifer Coolidge in Seinfeld?” I tend to take a more circuitous route, searching “Jennifer Coolidge” then going to her IMDB page, scrolling back to the mid ‘90s, and seeing if the credit showed up....

Studios that own an array of IP have been trying to fill the vacuum left bySuper Smash Bros. Ultimateever sinceNintendoconfirmed its roster was complete andthe fighter reveals ended with Sora.Nickelodeonwas one of the first to create a Smash-like game with its own universe of characters, pitting the likes ofSpongeBob Squarepantsand Reptar from Rugrats against one another. Less than two years later,Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl is getting a sequel. RELATED:Super Mario RPG Pre-Order Guide Announced almost out of nowhere, Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl 2 launches this fall....

Just like D&D is the undisputed king of tabletop RPGs, Diablo is the undisputed king of isometric hack-and-slash action RPGs. And just like D&D,Pathfinderhad decided to strike out at Diablo for a piece of the action RPG pie. You might recall Pathfinder: Kingmaker and Wrath of the Righteous as classic RPGs along the lines of the original Fallout games or Baldur’s Gate. Pathfinder publisher Paizo has partnered with Quebec-based Bkom Studios to bring Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults, which tosses away turn-based combat for good old clicky action....

Call of Dutywas a huge sticking point for the Microsoft-Activision deal in the lead-up to the CMA’s decision, with Sony arguing that it being an Xbox exclusive would cause Microsoft to dominate the industry with a near-monopoly. This led to Microsoft making promises to bring the series to Nintendo platforms, Sony claiming it believesMicrosoft would make CoD buggy for PS5 on purpose, andMicrosoft telling Sony to make its own competitor. But allegedly, Sony CEO Jim Ryan was never scared of losing Call of Duty....

Redfallis Arkane Austin’s latest game, and if there’s one thing that every one of its titles has gotten a ton of love over, it’s the weird peculiarities that it adds to every video game it creates. Fortunately, Redfall is no exception to this style. Arkane has brought its signature enigmatic game design back in force. RELATED:Redfall: Things To Do After You Beat The Game Redfall has a lot of things that you only find out about after playing it for a while....

Mortal Kombat 1stress test codes are being sent out today, so make sure to check your emails if yousigned up for this early access period. However, as many of us unfortunate souls are finding out right now, just putting your email address down wasn’t enough to guarantee you a place, so only a lucky few will be able to play Mortal Kombat 1 this weekend. Of course, given all of this demand, scapers are doing what they do best, and absolutely ripping us off....

The next game from the team behindSonic Maniawas announced at this week’sNintendo Direct, and it looks just like what you would expect the Sonic Mania team to make without access to the Blue Blur. Penny’s Big Breakawayis a colorful 3D platformer starring a brand new mascot, a girl named Penny who wields a living yo-yo weapon. From the brief trailer, the game seems to have a lot of ideas and, given the critical and commercial success of Sonic Mania, it’s a shame that the team is using those ideas in a game for Private Division instead of Sega....