Even if you don’t own one of Nintendo’s new hybrid handheld/home consoles, the Switch’s very existence has given a few studios a solid excuse to go back and revisit their earlier titles, polishing them up for a re-release on the new platform. While not all> of these trickle back to the PC (I’m looking at you, Cave Story… longingly>), sometimes we get the benefit of the additional development time.

The latest game to undergo a Switch-fueled spit n’ polish cycle is Mercenary Kings, the charming-but-flawed platform shooter from Tribute Games. Relaunching early next month with a ‘Reloaded Edition’ subtitled, it’s getting a small expansion’s worth of extra content; two new playable characters and some surprisingly major quality-of-life improvements, all free.

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I’m not good at most fighting games. I can hold out in the bottom 20% of players in any given Street Fighter, but it’s not my scene. Soul Calibur is different, though; intuitive and weighty enough to play decently on instinct and reflex alone, without needing to remember complex input chains.

As such, I’m happy that Bandai Namco’s continued commitment to the PC extends as far as bringing the next game in the series to our humble platform, although new character Gr h may lead to some rolled eyes, as you can see in the new gameplay trailer within.

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Sundays are for, I hope, lounging on the couch in front of the TV and occasionally stuffing your face with roast potatoes. But we can also read the week’s best games writing on our phones.

At the Guardian, Keza MacDonald argues that the games industry isn’t ready for its #MeToo moment, and speaks out against the habit of journalists pestering women for their traumatic stories. I have spoken to many women in the industry who have the same complaint. (more…)

Arcen Games have had a trying few years, but the plucky, quirky studio have always seemed to bounce back when you least expect it. They’ve seemingly found their footing again after their initial attempts to fund a sequel to AI War (arguably their best game) fell through, when we last heard about Starward Rogue the company was facing layoffs, after the game failed to sell nearly as well as hoped.

Two years later and Arcen believe that the time is right for a second debut. Accompanying a steep discount on the original Starward Rogue, they’ve rolled out a major expansion that aims to flesh out the twin-stick shooter/dungeon-crawler hybrid with all the content you’d expect from near-full-priced expansion.

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Developed by the team formerly known as Press Play (makers of the Max & The Magic Marker games and Kalimba), Trailmakers (itself formerly known as Pioneers) is yet another of those> things. In fact, it’s two of them, blending the survival sandbox and physics tinker-toolset subgenres.

Flashbulb hope to offer a pleasing blend of open-world exploration and creative problem solving using whatever nuts, bolts and conveniently cuboid construction blocks you can gather, and the fruits of their labor will be available to play – albeit as a work-in-progress – this Wednesday, January 31st.

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I’d always gotten the impression that Paragon – Epic’s hybrid third-person shooter/MOBA hybrid – was maintaining a decently sized playerbase, even if it wasn’t keeping up with the likes of Smite, so this comes as a bit of a surprise.

Epic Games have announced their plans to close down the game on April 26th, and are offering full and direct refunds to anyone who put money down on it.

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Dreams, nightmares, strange worlds created in your mind. You might have heard of Yume Nikki years ago, or like me you might have only discovered it recently as it found its way onto Steam. Maybe you’re hearing about it for the first time right now>, in which case you should skip down and start reading the first entry in this week’s roundup of free games.

If you have played Yume Nikki already, don t worry. I ve got plenty of other free games to recommend. Some of them are about dreams! Others are slightly creepy! And for good measure, some that are just fantastically fun to play (more…)

After a traditional slow start to the year, video games have picked up and pelted a whole load of great games at us all at once. This week has brought Celeste, Subnautica, Iconoclasts, and The Red Strings Club, and Total Warhammer 2’s new expansion – and those are only the ones we’ve reviewed so far. A good time for good video games.

What are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’re clicking on.

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Rainbow Six Siege might be Ubisoft’s rising star in the multiplayer scene, but they’re not quite ready to let go of For Honor yet, despite technical troubles and dwindling player-counts.

Due this February, the Season 5 update for the game (dramatically named ‘Age Of The Wolves’), brings a lot of tweaks and changes to the game, including some heavily reworked move-sets. Most importantly, though: it’s adding dedicated server support.

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Rainbow Six Siege might be Ubisoft’s rising star in the multiplayer scene, but they’re not quite ready to let go of For Honor yet, despite technical troubles and dwindling player-counts.

Due to start this February, the Season 5 update for the game (dramatically named ‘Age Of The Wolves’), will bring a lot of tweaks and changes to the game, says Ubi, including some heavily reworked move-sets. Most importantly, though: it’ll be adding dedicated server support.

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