It’s not often that games immediately impress with the combination of their animation and presentation, but#BLUDis a straight-up stunner. Humble Games and developer Exit 73 Studios have locked the ’90s cartoon-inspired action-RPG in for a June 18 launch on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. In#BLUD, it’s not just the slick animation that looks better than most of the cartoons that inspired it. It’s the way that character animation seamlessly melds with both the cinematics and the dungeon-crawling gameplay....

The audio work inAlan Wakeis fantastic. It’s probably one of the best aspects of the game. If you set up a good surround system it sounds like you’re actually lost in a real forest. It sounds that way because that’s where they actually recorded the game’s audio. Audio team member Peter Comley had that honor, though he sounds kind of creeped out about it, even now. Comley, an avid hiker and nature recordist, lives in Washington, where you can find many of the actual locales the game is based on....

No, it wasn’t Super Mario 64 [Update:And I’ve just been informed that Mario was voiced inMario Teaches Typing, which predates evenHotel Mario. The original 1991 DOS version used a different actor, but a 1995 CD-ROM re-release replaced him with Martinet. However, I’m not sure whether that orGame Gallerycame out first.] Super Mario 64introduced the world to Charles Martinet, voice actor extraordinaire who continues to lend his vocal talents to Mario and many otherMariouniverse characters to this day....

The AMES 85 is one of the first assault rifles you’ll unlock inCall of Duty Black Ops 6, and it’s fantastic for mid to long-range scenarios. Here’s how to make the most out of this weapon in the game with your loadout. What is the best AMES 85 loadout in Call of Duty Black Ops 6? The best way to go about this AMES 85 loadout is to increase the weapon’s accuracy and firepower....

NPCs, the thing that should have been in at launch WhenFallout 76arrived back in November of 2018, it didn’t come with NPCs. It was also unbelievably broken, but folks couldn’t believe that Bethesda, the madmen, actually did it, and released a Fallout without fully featured NPCs. At launch I was like many players: slowly meandering around looking for more direct story content, before quitting and occasionally coming back to see how the updates fare....

Normally on this month of November, we give thanks for all that we have in spite of the endless obstacles life throws at us: a home of some sort, food in a fridge, or the knowledge that Platinum Games continues to work today and give our bleak, meaningless lives direction and purpose. But this time let’s give a backhanded compliment to some of our favorite games with maddening sections you must slog through in order to progress in a game you’d otherwise love....

More wacky concepts done well, please Someone made a video game about leaping across a stampede of trucks, and they cleverly named itClustertruck. Does that name sound familiar? It’s out this week onSteamfrom Landfall Games. While I don’t yet know if the game isfor me, I believe it’s worth commending for its unusual premise. That, and the simple fact that you get a grappling hook. We can never have too many of ’em....

Win one of 10 copies! The lovely folks atGamious, have been kind enough to give away 10 copies of their gameTurmoil! Turmoil is a simulation inspired by the oil boom in the 19th century. I really like the humor and the adore the art style in this one, plus it’s a good game to boot! What do you have to do to win?Simple stuff. Simplyand 10 winners will be randomly chosen!...

Go on a slay ride Nintendo has released a new trailer for their popular mobile-battle title Fire Emblem Heroes, showcasing the new Gifts of Winter event, bringing festive cheer to the free-to-play fantasy warfare game. Three particularly festive new heroes will be joining the battle; Fae fromFire Emblem: The Blazing Bladeand Eirika and Ephraim fromFire Emblem: The Sacred Stonesare all getting into the Holiday spirit with new outfits and new yuletide skills, raining pain down on anyone daring to go “bah, humbug” this season....

TheDisney Dreamlight Valley: Storybook ValeDLC is a delightful adventure in the worlds ofHerculesandSleeping Beauty,but it has one major flaw that has plagued the game since its release. The inventory system has to change. An annoying mechanic that is compounded further in The Storybook Vale TheDisney Dreamlight ValleyStorybook Vale DLC has been fun over the past week or so as we meet new friends likeFlynn Riderand create statues for the mighty Hades....

Atlus vaunts successful figures for contentious PS3 and Vita brawler Atlus has announcedDragon’s Crownshipments and digital sales have climbed north of the 800,000 mark since Vanallaware’s PlayStation 3 and Vita brawler ventured out into the wild this summer. The controversial title also cleaned up at the Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia’s PlayStation Awards, winning both a “Gold Prize” and a “User’s Choice Award.”In celebration of the breakthrough success, Atlus will be offering the game at a discount for a limited time in Japan this month, dropping the asking price from 6,980 yen to 4,980 yen....

For free! If you’re findingDying Lightto be a bit too much on the easy side, then Techland has heard your zombie screams and announced that they plan on releasing a free content update that will add Hard Mode. We weren’t given an exact release date yet — just that it will be released “around the start of March” or possibly sooner. In the added mode, the following changes will be made:...

If you love Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, the Nintendo press conference just had an announcement that ought to excite you: brand new footage from the newest game in the series, calledThe Crystal Bearers. This game was originally teased to audiences at E3 2005, but since then there hasn’t been too much info about the title. Even theofficial websitedoesn’t have too much to tell … at least, yet. We didn’t hear word on a release date just yet onThe Crystal Bearers, butKingdom Hearts 358/2did get one: September 29th....