Earlier this month, I got to play a few hours of the limbless legend's return in Rayman Legends Retold to see how Ubisoft has taken the past 13 years since Legends to put together Rayman's most whimsical journey yet. From the drastic change in visual style to the funny gameplay gimmicks, I had a lot to enjoy in my demo session.

It's easy to look at Garfield - Escape from Monday and assume it's a meme. Back in the day, it seemed every remotely popular children's character got its own confusing shovelware platformer (or two), so you might be expecting something like that. Plus, Garfield as a property is simply not taken seriously, so this can't really be helped. However, don't be fooled, as developer OSome Studio has delivered an engaging collectathon platformer with plenty of content, great controls, and lots of food to collect. The lasagna is ON!

In this episode of the Day 0 Update: We talk about the many layoffs and shutdowns of this week, Rayman Legends Retold's weird delay, and what's going on at Bungie. All this and more, up next! Intro What Are We Playing C: Wolverine, RuneScape: Dragonwilds, Mega Man X: Command Mission B: Fire Emblem, Ghost of Yotei D: Trails in the Sky 2nd Chapter, Madden NFL 27, CONTROL Resonant…

In this episode of Let’s Weekend: We talk about the incident that nearly started a war, what's going on with Macklemore, and a new cat that was discovered. Intro What Are We Up To? C: Coyote vs Acme, Stranger Things: Tales from ‘85 S2, Fallout 76 B: Fire Emblem, Ghost of Yotei, books, Asshole Summer almost over Brandon’s Random Factoid…

Accessibility maestro, Steve Saylor (whom many know as The Blind Gamer) talks about and opens up a Magic: The Gathering x The Hobbit bundle!

YouTube video by SmashPad

What the heck is Mega Man X: Command Mission?! (GenAI OptOut) | Streaming mega man x: command mission.

YouTube video by SmashPad

I don’t want to experience the sport I know and love only in a video game. I want something wacky and silly—something I would never see on TV—that still captures the essence of the sport. Freestyle Football 2, developed by WOORE and published by JOYCITY, aims to deliver exactly that: the core of soccer fused with the whimsy of video games.

Stranger than Heaven is a game that's been making waves and has our attention, but not just for its gameplay. From the studio behind the Yakuza and Like a Dragon games, we get instant Kamurocho vibes. But after seeing footage of the game showcasing various Japanese prefectures over 50 years, dating back to 1915? That's interesting in its own right. Oh, and Snoop Dogg and Tupac are gonna be in the game too. Totally weird and, in most cases, revolting, sure, but that's not what I'm here to talk about.

Checking out RuneScape: Dragonwilds! (GenAI OptOut) | Streaming runescape: dragonwilds.

As I grow older, I’ve fallen in love with games that feature Full Motion Video (FMV). There’s something so jarring about playing a video game and, all of a sudden, having a real person deliver lines while still in that game’s universe. At first, I found this technique cheesy. Now, I see the beauty in it, adding a bit of narrative and adding to the immersion of the game’s story.

As usual, Polish developers and teams were strongly represented at this year’s PAX West. Indie Games Poland Foundation brought 14 titles to the showroom floor, showcasing the country's abundant talent. With 800+ developers, Poland hosts a vibrant, thriving indie gaming scene. Although it was only a small slice, I had an excellent time during a quick one-hour hands-on preview of three of the 14 games, spanning all sorts of genres.

A new, expanded trailer for the first big expansion of Monster Hunter Wilds, Ascendance, debuted moments ago at Tokyo Game Show. While we weren't there to react live, we did get a chance to try out a couple hunts when Capcom invited us to their San Francisco HQ to get my hands on their TGS 2026 lineup.

Unfortunately, nobody at SmashPad could make it to Tokyo Game Show this year (maybe next year!). Luckily, Capcom invited us over to their headquarters in San Francisco to check out their TGS lineup. While there was a lot to show, only one game was a new release -- Mega Man: Dual Override, and even though we just previewed it a few weeks ago, it felt fresh. And yes, it was quite difficult.

Nowadays, it’s rare for a development studio to get the chance to remaster one of its original games, especially in this climate where studios are shut down for all sorts of meaningless reasons. That’s why I consider this an amazing success: Pipeworks Studios, the original developer of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee (2002), has partnered with Atari to develop this remaster.

Since every Trails game is connected and lengthy, starting the series fresh is an arduous task for even the most dedicated players. Last year's release of Trails in the Sky 1st Chapter, a remake of the original game, gave players the rare opportunity to do just that, while also giving fans a modern way to relive the game's memorable moments in 4K with a pristine new art style.

YouTube video by SmashPad

YouTube video by SmashPad

What's up with Wolverine? (GenAI OptOut) | Streaming marvel's wolverine.

Digital Eclipse bringing all the old Toy Story games back in one package is definitely something to take note of.

While I consider myself a huge Persona fan, I haven't actually played through Persona 4 or Persona 4 Golden in its entirety. Again, as a fan, I know how important this release was, and it's actually my younger brother's favorite game in the series, so I've definitely heard my share of "dude, come on" and "wooowwww" regarding me not playing this one, and the reactions I got were the same as someone who never played through all of Persona 3 (or FES, or Portable) until the release of Persona 3 Reload last year.

I love RPGs. I love Disney (yes, I’m a “Disney Adult” who loves the theme parks). And yet, I have never played past the first Kingdom Hearts. How or why did this happen? For starters, hearing that the lore/story is so convoluted that you’d need to watch hours-long YouTube videos just to make sense of it all is just a bit off-putting. That, plus some of the obscure titles, made me unsure what order I was supposed to play the games in. It all felt so daunting. That is until I heard about Kingdom Hearts Collection [I~III]. Having all the games perfectly packaged together was ideal for someone like me, a bit of a noob to the franchise.

In this episode of the Day 0 Update: We talk about the absurdly late release dates for Blizzard's announcements, the Nintendo Direct reveals, and what's up with Star Fox Adventures. All this and more, up next! Intro What Are We Playing C: Crazy Taxi World Tour CNT, Pragmata, Hitman WOA B: Ghost of Yotei, No Man’s Sky D:  PAX West - Final Fantasy VII Revelation, Final Fantasy Resonance, Stranger than Heaven, Persona 4 Revival, Remaining Grace…

In this episode of Let’s Weekend: We talk about the death of Gloria Steinem, Tupac’s killer finally being found guilty of murder, and the UN’s new map that more accurately represents Africa’s size. Intro What Are We Up To? C: Supergirl, The Paper S2, Pragmata, Hitman WOA B: Ghost of Yotei, No Man’s Sky, books, Disney Trip planning continues. Brandon’s Random Factoid…