The Blog

Ahead of its May 23rd, 2024 release, Nintendo has been sharing various trailers and promo videos for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door via social media. Today brings us another of those snippets, and this one gives us a look at the kind of crazy action you can expect during the heat of battle!

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the nefarious X-Nauts are after the treasure behind the Thousand-Year Door! With a map from Princess Peach, and the help of a few locals, Mario journeys through a colorful world made of paper to find them first.

To prevail in this quest, you’ll have to level up Mario and his friends, master timing-based attacks and badges to impress the audience on the stage of combat, and make use of all the abilities that come with being cursed—er, conveniently made of paper—like folding into a plane to cross big gaps or turning sideways to slip through narrow openings.

The moment that many Trainers have been waiting for is finally here! Niantic is excited to announce that we’ve added Latin American Spanish–language support to Pokémon GO!

Starting today, you’ll be able to set your in-game language to Latin American Spanish. Whether you’re just starting your adventure or you’re a seasoned Trainer, Niantic is delighted to embark on this journey with you as they continue work to make Pokémon GO available to even more people. The devs plan to offer regular improvements and updates to the Latin American Spanish–language version of Pokémon GO.

During a keynote speech at CCXP in Mexico City on May 5, key personnel from Niantic and The Pokémon Company International announced the launch of support for Latin American Spanish as well as other updates relevant to the region, including a month-long in-game celebration across Latin America to commemorate the occasion. To see the full scoop on this event, check out the official blog post.

Vampire Survivors continues to expand through all different kinds of DLC, and the next collab is drawing near. Vampire Survivors dev Poncle previously announced that the game is getting Contra collaboration DLC come May 9th, 2024, and today brings us a sample of one of the new music tracks.

The VS version of: Battle in the Jungle was composed and arranged by Filippo Vicarelli. The tune was originally composed by Hidenori Maezawa and rearranged in Contra 4 by Jake Kaufman. Filippo Vicarelli takes us back to where it all began with this reimagined version of Contra 4’s arrangement from the classic Jungle stage theme (only heard when the game is set to hard mode). Positively exploding with riffs, “Battle in the Jungle” has more 80s action energy than Arnold Schwarzenegger locking hands with Carl Weathers.

The President’s cousin’s sister’s dog has been kidnapped by Red Falcon. Are you bad enough to come to the rescue? Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns embraces the visceral simplicity of classic Contra, with build-focused Characters that encourage min-maxing and stat manipulation, a tonne of weapons (we’re talking 20 including evolutions!), and a difficulty curve that combines quintessentially arcade-hard gameplay with the original Vampire Survivors formula.

Vampire Survivors is a time survival game with minimalistic gameplay and roguelite elements. Hell is empty, the devils are here, and there’s no place to run or hide. All you can do is survive as long as you can until death inevitably puts an end to your struggles. Gather gold in each run to buy upgrades and help the next survivor.

UPDATE: Another soundtrack sample from the Contra DLC has been shared, and this time we get to hear the Vampire Survivors version of “The Hard Corps,” which was was arranged by Filippo Vicarelli and originally composed and arranged by Hiroshi Kobayashi, Michiru Yamane, Akira Yamaoka, Hirofumi Taniguchi, Aki Hata.

Scorched earth. Blood and bone. Homelander is coming to Mortal Kombat 1, and today we get a new video showcasing just some of what the character has to offer. It’s the perfect time to see Homelander in action, too, as The Boys Season 4 premieres June 13th, 2024 on Amazon Prime.

While you’ll be able to purchase Homelander as a standalone DLC character later this year, you can also pick him up as part of the MK1: Kombat Pack. The Kombat Pack includes the following characters:

DLC Playable Characters

• Omni-Man (Invincible)
• Quan Chi
• Peacemaker (DC’s Peacemaker)
• Ermac
• Homelander (The Boys)
• Takahashi Takeda

DLC Kameo Fighters

• Tremor
• Mavado
• Janet Cage
• Ferra
• Khameleon

Pokémon Co. has released a steady stream of content updates and distributions for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet since they first launched, and that cadence continues today with the announcement of yet another drop for fans.

Pokémon Co. has announced that Pokémon Scarlet & Violet fans can soon grab a Flutter Mane, but this isn’t any old Flutter Mane. This happens to be a Flutter Mane based on the Flutter Mane used by the Senior Division Champion Shin Yeo-myeong!

Those interested can snag Shin Yeo-myeong’s Flutter Mane will be able to due so on May 5th, 2024, as a code for the Pokémon will be distributed via the Pokémon Trainer Cup in South Korea. This Flutter Mane will be Level 50 with the moves Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Moonblast and Thunderbolt. We’ll make sure to share the code as soon as it’s available.

UPDATE: This Pokémon distribution is now live. Fire up your copy of Pokémon Scarlet or Violet and use the code 987W1THSPECS to get the Flutter Mane detailed above. You have until May 7th, 2024 to use this code before it deactivates.

ATLUS has started off what will be a very lengthy video series for Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. This series is going to offer up a video a day to showcase every single monster you’ll find in the game. Today starts up the line of videos with a look at Nahobeeho. You can learn all about the monster above, and we’ll keep updating this post with subsequent videos as the series continues.

Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance delivers a full-fledged RPG that can be enjoyed by existing and new fans. At the start of the game, players will choose between two paths: the story told in the original Shin Megami Tensei V, the Canon of Creation, or the brand-new Canon of Vengeance. This dramatic new tale of revenge introduces brand-new characters, an enigmatic cohort of demons called the Qadištu, a new dungeon and a new map to explore. Additionally, the original Shin Megami Tensei V battle system, demon merging and field exploration have been evolved and expanded in this newest entry in the series.

UPDATE: The second video in this series has been released and you can check out the latest monster profile below. Today’s video spotlights Glasya-Labolas.

UPDATE: The third video in this series has been released and you can check out the latest monster profile below. Today’s video spotlights Pellaidh.

UPDATE: The fourth video in this series has been released and you can check out the latest monster profile below. Today’s video spotlights Amabie.

UPDATE: The fifth video in this series has been released and you can check out the latest monster profile below. Today’s video spotlights Artemis.

UPDATE: The sixth video in this series has been released and you can check out the latest monster profile below. Today’s video spotlights Kaichi.

The live-action Knuckles spin-off series officially premiered on Paramount+ a week back. This series bridges the gap between the Sonic The Hedgehog 2 and Sonic The Hedgehog 3 films. You can get yet another peek at what the series has to offer in the new promo clip shared above.

The new live-action series follows Knuckles (Idris Elba) on a hilarious and action-packed journey of self-discovery as he agrees to train Wade (Adam Pally) as his protégé and teach him the ways of the Echidna warrior.

Each episode of Knuckles is roughly one hour, giving fans of the echidna plenty to dive into. It’ll no doubt be interesting to see how this series leaves things as we lead into Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which is set to arrive Dec. 20th, 2024.

New week, new releases. Let’s dive into the upcoming slate of Switch titles to see not just what’s heading our way but also how much space it’ll take up digitally.

• Cupid Parasite: Sweet and Spicy Darling – 5.6GB
• Morbid: The Lords of Ire – 2.9GB
• My Little Pony: A Zephyr Heights Mystery – 2.7GB
• Capes – 2.4GB
• Star Wars: Hunters – 2.0GB
• Hotel Hustle – 2.0GB
• Doug’s Nightmare – 2.0GB
• The Night of the Rabbit – 2.0GB
• C.A.R.D.S. RPG: The Misty Battlefield – 1.6GB
• Toon Toon Racing – 1.5GB
• Tokyo Cooking – 1.2GB
• Pummel Party – 1.2GB
• Express Courier Pro: Urban Bike Delivery Simulator 2024 – 1.1GB
• Qualia: The Path of Promise – 1.0GB
• Blade Jumper – 1.0GB
• Construction Simulator 4 – 908MB
• Gearhead Karting Simulator – Mechanic & Racing – 802MB
• Hand in Hand – 749MB
• Chronicles of Magic: Divided Kingdoms – 747MB
• Pool Party – 742MB
• Adrenaline Rush: Highway Extreme Traffic Racer – 737MB
• Pine Hearts – 710MB
• Undemon – 667MB
• Roman City Tycoon – 448MB
• Dark Fantasy Epic Jigsaw Puzzle – 412MB
• Echoes – 402MB
• Mars Farming 2034 – 394MB
• Monster Outbreak – 343MB
• Read Only Memories: Neurodiver – 301MB
• Please Fix The Road – 273MB
• Dungeon Arsenal – 242MB
• Awesome Pea 3 – 221MB
• Spot the Odd – 191MB
• Internet Generation – 186MB
• MergeZ – 153MB
• King of Pyramid Thieves – 152MB
• Oniko Kororin Game – 135MB
• Coconut Farm 3D – 110MB
• Mysterious Adventure of Michael 2 – 80MB
• Eggconsole Wanderers From Ys P-8801mkIISR – 75MB
• Battle Minesweeper Online – 70MB
• Kinduo 2 – Frostbite – 45MB

If you want to buy Retro Game Challenge 1 + 2 Replay for the Switch, you can do so right now…but only through the Japanese eShop. If you were holding out hope that the title would end up getting localized, Bandai Namco has unfortunately put the final nail in that coffin.

In Japan, the Retro Game Challenge line of games is known as Game Center CX, sharing the same name of the TV show it’s based on. The first game in the series, which debuted on the Nintendo DS, did get localized as Retro Game Challenge, but the two titles that followed never made their way outside of Japan. That makes it less surprising that Retro Game Challenge 1 + 2 Replay for Switch won’t get localized, but it’s nonetheless disappointing.

In a Famitsu feature with members of the Retro Game Challenge 1 + 2 Replay dev team, it was stated that there simply isn’t much of an audience for the game outside of Japan. Again, this is likely due to the TV show not officially airing stateside. Along with that, the devs also pointed to challenging localization elements like graphics that would have to be altered, and design aspects that don’t exactly translated to other regions 1:1.

The game industry and its fandom has played host to all sorts of memes and jokes over the years. Some of them are fleeting, while others have staying power. Without a doubt, the “Can it run DOOM” meme is one of the longest-running and beloved memes out there, and it’s going to stay that way for decades to come.

For those who don’t know, “Can it run DOOM” is exactly what it sounds like. Whenever any new piece of tech comes out that has a screen, someone out there aims to see if it can run doom. The Playdate portable, refrigerators with TV screens, pedometers, the list goes on and on. Now we’re seeing a new twist on the DOOM meme, as someone has crammed the timeless FPS into a completely different game.

Persona 5 Royal lets you buy a retro game console to play videogames as a side activity. Yes, it’s all a bit meta, but this latest DOOM meme has taken things even deeper. DOOM isn’t actually part of Persona 5 Royal, but thanks to some dedicated modders with a sense of humor, it’s now possible to play the shareware version of DOOM within the confines of Persona 5 Royal.

Is it the best way to play DOOM? Well, it’s not a perfect experience, but it’s certainly better than many of the “Can it play DOOM” mods that are out there. Truthfully, having DOOM inside of Persona 5 Royal might be a perfect compliment, as sometimes you might want to take a break from the role-playing action in order to take on something a bit more frenetic!

Nintendo UK has shared a new trailer for Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD titled “A rude awakening”. The two and a half minute long trailer is basically the entire opening cut scene that players will experience when they first start the game. Check it out now to see how far the new version’s graphics have come since the original on 3DS! Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD will be available on Switch on June 27, 2024.

For an even better look at how this Switch revamp compares to the original, you can see a video below that puts today’s trailer side-by-side with footage straight from the 3DS version. You might be surprised with just how much has changed!

It’s time to clean house! Join the faint-of-heart hero Luigi on a spooky quest in Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD for Nintendo Switch.

In this visually enhanced adventure, you’ll visit the chilling locales of the eerie Evershade Valley, a place where until recently, the peculiar Dark Moon hung in the sky. According to ghost researcher Professor E.Gadd, it pacified the ghosts of the valley…that is until one night when the Dark Moon mysteriously shattered! Now, the place is screaming and teeming with troublemaking ghosts! Can Luigi recover the missing pieces of the Dark Moon and restore peace to the valley?

Luckily, Professor E. Gadd has equipped Luigi with the right tools for the job, like the enemy-stunning Strobulb and the trusty Poltergust 5000, which can vacuum up ghosts, objects or interact with the environment. Luigi’s paranormal escapades will take him to all sorts of places, including a former plant research lab, a broken-down clock factory and an icy, snow-covered mine, just to name a few.

Up to four players can team up to take on the challenges of the ScareScraper, a haunted building teeming with ghosts and challenges not found in the main adventure. Recruit your fellow ghost hunters to scale the terrifying tower via local wireless play or online.

First 4 Figure recently opened up pre-orders for their statue of Isabelle from Animal Crossing: New Horizons. That statue won’t be available until later this year, but the company is already promising more Animal Crossing statues in the future.

In a recent Facebook post, First 4 Figures shared an image of their Isabelle statue alongside two mysterious silhouettes. In the post, they wrote, “Here’s Isabelle with the rest of the Animal Crossing crew! We’ve covered ‘em up for now, but we’ll unveil them when the time is right! Can you guess who the others are?”

Of course, any Animal Crossing fan worth their salt can easily tell that the figures in question are Tom Nook and K.K. Slider. Better yet, it looks like the figures’ backdrops go together when all three statues are placed next to each other. We likely won’t see Nook or Slider released until sometime next year, but it’s exciting to know there’s more on the way! Stay tuned as we wait for First 4 Figures to share more details.

The Resident Evil franchise has had a checkered history when it comes to live action film adaptations. Paul W.S. Anderson made seven Resident Evil movies starring Milla Jovovich, which most fans rejected for their lack of loyalty to the source material. More recently, Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City rebooted the series with a more traditional take, but it still wasn’t very well received. Now, rumor has it that yet another attempt is in the works.

According to a report at Insider Fandom, Screen Gems has almost finalized a script and will begin production on a new Resident Evil movie soon. Screen Gems is a Sony owned studio, the same production studio that worked on the previous film, Welcome to Raccoon City. Whether or not this new film will be a direct sequel or take things in an entirely new direction remains to be seen.

Encouragingly, the source indicates that Sony is interested in spending more money on this new entry than the previous one, although budget talks are still ongoing. Of course, budget isn’t necessarily an indication of quality, but it could mean they’re taking the production more seriously. After so many Resident Evil movies (and TV shows), it doesn’t seem like we’ll ever stop getting new attempts at adaptations. If this rumor turns out to be legitimate, let’s hope this one is the one that finally satisfies everyone!

Donkey Kong is one of Nintendo’s most popular mascots, and yet, we haven’t had a brand new Donkey Kong platformer since Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze in 2014. One possible reason we haven’t seen any movement on this front, is that there was a Donkey Kong game in the works from developer Vicarious Visions, but it was canceled. However, there’s never been any confirmation on this front one way or the other.

In a new deep dive video from Did You Know Gaming, they examine all the possible angles of this rumored Donkey Kong game. According to at least one source, it was a 3D platformer known as Donkey Kong Freedom, which included Pauline as a playable character. Vicarious Visions was the game’s original developer, but it was eventually given to Nintendo EPD in 2018, and hasn’t been heard of since.

Did You Know Gaming managed to get a hold of multiple Vicarious Visions employees who were able to confirm that a Donkey Kong project of some kind was once in the works with the developer. That said, the details may not be the same as what was reported online. To get the full story, you’ll need to watch the above video, which also includes a section on Activision Blizzard and some of their other cancelled projects.

The next Japanese set for the Pokémon Trading Card Game has been officially revealed. The set will be titled “Night Wanderer”, and will become available on June 7, 2024 in Japan.

The cover of the booster pack art features Pecharunt and the Loyal Three. Pecharunt is a Poison/Ghost Mythical Pokémon that debuted in the Indigo Disk DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. The Loyal Three are a trio made up of Okidogi, Munkidori, and Fezandipiti, that Pecharunt leads.

It remains to be seen how and when this set will show up on American soil. Click here to see a breakdown and translation of all the cards revealed so far, courtesy of Serebii.