Summer's approaching, so it's time to figure out what kind of wacky character development you're going to have during the scorching months. If you hadn't come up with a plan yet, you can always go with one of the classics: going on a cross-country road trip with a con man to somehow save your mom's video store from mobsters. That's what local sarcastic 90s teen Ali is doing in The Big Con this summer, anyhow. I hope she makes some lasting memories, because I've got bad news for her about the eventual longevity of her mom's VHS store.

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Sometimes you want to write about two things, but don't quite have enough for either. I've noticed mech games, for example, are having a bit of a moment these last few years. It's not huge, and I don't see them absorbing everything like survival games or bloody roguelikes, but they're definitely picking up. It's a bit of a thin premise for a whole article though, right?

And then there's simultaneous turns. I want to cheer them on, to bewail the lack of games that dive into that rift between turn based and real time tactics and scheming. But so few games do it that I haven't found the champion I need. Thank goodness, then, for Phantom Brigade.

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It's been just over a week since Apex Legends' ninth season started, and Respawn have already had to tone down one of its new additions, the Bocek Bow. Unfortunately, it just did a bit too much damage, so its numbers are being brought down, and its charge time increased. It's not a huge surprise. Most people I've played Apex with over the last week or so have all had a moment where they've stopped to say: "Huh, this feels a bit too strong".

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Blizzard will be putting a bandage over Jeff Kaplan’s departure from Overwatch by showing off a heck of a lot of Overwatch 2 next week. In the first post-Jeff Overwatch talking head, new game director Aaron Keller made a brief announcement detailing the May 20th stream, which will focus on PvP.

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What if monsters were a kind of weather? That is the question Scarlet Nexus asks, in the form of an anime hack 'n' slash featuring swords and psychic powers. In this future, wub wub music gives way to smooth jazz as you control a crowd of militarised teens who struggle to flirt effectively, yet are entrusted with the future of humanity. Think Nier combat with a Persona 5 palette and some light friendship management. I had the chance to play the opening hours as one of its two playable protagonists (startled boy swordsman Yuito or straight-to-business mind ninja Kasane). I chose Yuito, because he too seemed not to know what was going on around him at any given moment.

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PC players will soon be able to experience some of that Animal Crossing-esque village life without having to shell out for a Nintendo console. The cosy sim Hokko Life will have you start fresh in a new town called Hokko, where you can make friends with loads of talking animal pals, catch bugs and fish, work on your interior design skills, and live a lovely peaceful life. It looks delightful, and it comes out in early access on June 2nd.

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Readers will know that I love city building games, dating back to spending a lot of time as a child playing titans of the genre Zeus and Pharaoh. But because these were my introductions to the genre, I don't really go in for the big town-planning-paloozas like SimCity, because I find having to efficiently place sewage systems a bit stressful. I like chill things that e.g. definitely involve having to build a bakery supply line (see: Foundation).

Distant Kingdoms is an early access city builder - a little feature-light in some places right now, but with an imaginative angle I am enjoying a lot. It's a fantasy setting where you can choose from four standard fantasy races (human, dwarf, elf or orc) and, eventually, will have a bustling city where they all mingle together. And my favourite thing about it so far is that there isn't some tortured allegory for real life racism. All the races are basically described as, like, "a great bunch of best pals! :D" but with different hobbies. And my most favourite thing is that also applies to the orcs. They are chill hippies who like meditation and farming and I love them.

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I know Stargate is a massive long-running series, but I have only ever seen the film (and maybe one or two random episodes). It's bad and cheesy but in the most entertaining way, so naturally I think that's how a Stargate game should be. I sure hope Stargate: Timekeepers is going to be like that, at least. It's an upcoming real-time strategy game coming to PC, developed by CreativeForge Games (who made Phantom Doctrine), and published by Slitherine (who previously pubbed Starship Troopers: Terran Command).

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A new monster emerges from the Resident Evil Village mod scene every day. Every. Single. Day. I’m still shaking at what they did to Lady Dimitrescu in the demo, but the newest, and possibly darkest, assemblage of assets flips came earlier this week when baby Rosemary was replaced with the model of the very adult Chris Redfield. Now, though, that same modder has reversed that flip to create something even more abominable. Instead of the adult Chris masquerading as the baby, the baby has become the man.

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Destiny 2 launched its new season last night, and it's simultaneously reminded me of why I loved Destiny, and why I don't think I want to ever play it again. The Season Of The Splicer has a lot going on: cool new alien threats and allies, a new six-person fireteam mission, a needlessly complex transmogrification system, as well as some old and new places to explore.

It also magically has crossplay now, because the launch went a bit haywire and Bungie managed to turn it on early.

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