Video games

Video games

Steam is currently running its "Steam Scream IV" sale and while it's a little light on big AAA headliners (don't expect any Resident Evils on sale, or the recent Silent Hill f), there's a solid chunk of older titles you might've missed, as well as dozens of cool indie games available for pocket change (actual pocket change, mind you). The criteria for the "Scream" sale is also quite wide, so not all of these are horror games strictly speaking, but hey, a discount's a discount.

Amazon has dropped the price on the Arcade1Up Class of '81 Countercade to $150. This was the original price for the countertop arcade machine, but for the past few months the retailer has listed it for $168 more often than not. This combo Ms. Pac-Man and Galaga machine was restocked in late August after being sold out since last holiday season. At the end of September, Amazon restocked Arcade1Up's Pac-Man Countercade for $150; this model had been sold out since early April.

Game director Greg Hermann said during a roundtable interview attended by Polygon, that "Every asset has been touched or modified or reviewed in some way as we brought it forward." Many wondered if Halo Studios employed some kind of artificial intelligence tool to help with this, but Microsoft has not confirmed one way or another, stating only that there was no mandate that the studio needed to use AI.

In its last few levels, 2001's Halo: Combat Evolved virtually turns into a survival horror game as you battle your way through hordes of twisted, undead enemies in dimly lit corridors, pressed to make every shot count and desperate to preserve your health as you press forward. Perhaps no level in Halo 's storied campaign presents such a sudden change of tone and intensity as "The Library," a long set of spacious corridors in which you first meet the sentient undead lifeform known as the Flood, and must face an almost inexhaustible supply of them while equipped with the game's most powerful weapons.

Set in the final days of October 1897, The Séance of Blake Manor puts you in the shoes of Declan Ward, a detective sent off to a manor in a remote part of Ireland to solve a missing persons case and getting drawn into much darker dealings along the way. Developed by Spooky Doorway, creator of the excellent point-and-click adventure Darkside Detective, The Séance of Blake Manor merges point-and-click mechanics with first-person puzzle solving, time management, and some clever Obra Dinn-inspired deduction.

Seven years after the release of Octopath Traveler, HD-2D has been such a success for Square Enix that it feels like the company's strategy has shifted to focus on it. Octopath is on the cusp of getting a third game, we've had offshoots likeTriangle Strategy, HD-2D has been used for three Dragon Quest remakes, and almost every single one of these titles has been well-received by fans and critics.

At a Tokyo event for journalists, Sony revealed that the PlayStation 2 would be backward compatible with all existing PlayStation games, and offer a substantial performance boost for next-generation titles. At the core of the PlayStation 2 was the Emotion Engine, a Sony-designed chip that PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi said would allow games to not only render substantially improved graphics, but simulate emotion - a claim that was hard to believe then, and whiffs of hubris today.

Fortnite's worst kept secret--the upcoming Simpsons-themed season, which leaked back in the spring--is fast approaching, and at this point, Epic is officially teasing it. But there's still a little bit of time left in Chapter 6 Season 4, and the final full season of Chapter 6 is going out with a bang. That is, we're getting a live season finale event in Fortnite Battle Royale this weekend that will usher in the all-Simpsons season.

November is upon us, and to celebrate, Fanatical has revealed its Movember Game 'Stache Charity Bundle. Themed around the Movember mustache movement--an annual event encouraging the growth of moustaches in an effort to raise awareness around men's health issues--this bundle offers a curated selection of PC games for $20. Proceeds will go to charity, and each game in this bundle will be delivered as a Steam key that can be redeemed on your account.

One of the three games coming to PlayStation Plus Essential tier in November seems to have been leaked. Cat lovers, rejoice, because Stray, the action-adventure cat simulator, is reportedly coming to PS Plus next month. According to the leak, the game will join the subscription service on November 4. The information comes from reliable leaker Billbil-kun, who has a track record for accurate scoops on games and gaming hardware.

Fanatical just launched a new Fall 2025 Edition of its recurring Build Your Own Shooter Bundle deal, and this latest version features a refreshed list of PC games from various shooter subgenres, including first-person shooters, immersive sims, twin-stick shooters, and more. Like Fanatical's other build-your-own-bundle deals, pricing scales with how many games you pick, starting at $4.95 ($1.65 per Steam key) for the base bundle. At five or more games, the price drops to $1.60 per key, and if you pick seven or more games, you'll pay just $1.45 per key.

The October spooky season might be over, but there's one last jump-scare with the realization that 2025 is almost over. As we head into the endgame of the year, we're also looking at a month full of big releases like a pair of exclusives for the Switch 2, mind-bending puzzle-adventures, and novel indies that put a new spin on familiar ideas.

The game's name had been localized to Kuso Dungeon, which translates (in the tamest language) to "Crap Dungeon." While kuso is a term that, throughout Asia at least, can broadly denote campiness or parody--making its usage here incredibly appropriate--it can also be misinterpreted to mean any number of Japanese curse words. You see where this is going now.

Dragon Quest I & II HD-2D Remake launches tomorrow, October 30. If you haven't preordered a copy of the two-game remake collection, there's still time to secure release-day delivery from Amazon if you're a Prime member. The physical edition is available to preorder for Nintendo Switch 2, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X. You'll also unlock the Trouble-Free Travel Kit preorder bonus, which comes with the following stat-boosting items:

Much like Half-Life: Alyx, Thief's long-awaited return is a VR exclusive. The game was announced in June, but now we know when it will arrive. You can play the pioneering stealth franchise's new chapter, Thief VR: Legacy of Shadow, on December 4. Thief VR takes place about halfway between the events of the original trilogy and . You play as Magpie, a cunning thief (duh), who discovers a legendary eye artifact with a mysterious connection to the past.

In Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio poked fun of Pokemon, creating a spoof of the iconic scene in which Professor Oak asked the hero to choose a starting pocket monster before venturing out in the world. This Sujimon minigame nudged players to find all the different enemy types in the world and beat them all. With its latest entry in the series, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, Game Freak seems to be returning the favor.

Then you have , a more straight-faced collection of digital escape rooms, but with a much bigger focus on involved puzzles and deep mystery. Both are excellent, but only one of them has a sequel just released. Escape Simulator 2 came out this week, offering even more elaborately themed rooms and even more complex challenges to solve. I spoke to developers Pine Studio to find out more about how to find the balance between emulating real-world rooms, and embracing the impossibilities afforded by video games.

Halloween's around the corner. Got plans? No? I'm not much of a costume party person myself, so I'll be staying in to play a bunch of spooky games, and one that has recently caught my attention features a lovely injection of PSX-style retro grunge that I struggle to not just stare into for hours as I contemplate the grim realities of existence. Sound up your alley? Good.

Resident Evil Requiem preorders are now live at multiple major retailers, including Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. The $70 physical version for PS5, Switch 2, and Xbox has an Amazon Exclusive Edition with a free double-sided poster. Console and PC players can preorder the $90 Deluxe Edition to get an exclusive steelbook case, lenticular card, and a bunch of digital extras.

Don't Nod has a long history of making memorable narrative games, and it looks like the studio's next project will come from Netflix programming. In the company's half-year financial report, Don't Nod noted that it has signed "a development agreement with Netflix for the creation of a new narrative video game based on a major IP." Its Montreal studio is helming the project, while Netflix will publish the game.

YouTube is overhauling its community guidelines to more strictly moderate gambling and violent gaming content. The massive Google-owned video platform will soon ban links to online skin casinos and other cosmetic gambling sites. It'll also age-restrict videos featuring certain violent imagery like the kind you might see in any standard playthrough of blockbuster video games like the upcoming Grand Theft Auto 6.