Obviously, we don’t know just yet what Behaviour has in store for fans, but that’s part of the fun, isn’t it?

Meanwhile, Jason, known in the game as The Slasher, will be arriving in Dead by Daylight on June 16. Currently, he’s available to play as part of the Steam public test build.

The post Special 10th Anniversary Livestream Event for ‘Dead by Daylight’ Set for June 14 [Teaser] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Routines, rituals, and relationships may define us, but T.W.I.R.L. asks: what’s your deepest, darkest secret? Stay silent as a nine-year-old boy creeping out of his bedroom at 3:00 a.m. while everyone’s asleep. Feel the weight of every step forward while being followed by a demon…? A Person? Or is it something else?

Tiptoe through the haunted nostalgia of 2006, where a presence beyond evil draws players through P.T.-inspired loops, changing the environment to unveil the life story of a boy who grows up hiding a deep, dark, and potentially sinister secret.

In the new demo, players will roam through a 30-minute-long experience introducing a family, their house, and the unspoken mystery hiding within.

“Of many things, T.W.I.R.L. is a challenge to look fear in the eye, and see it for what it is: nothing,” said Ben Escobar, founder of Genie Boy Games. “Through our story about childhood secrets, the loss of innocence, and growing up in 2006, we hope that our game inspires you to embrace a rediscovery of self, and an acceptance of your lifelong fears.”

The post Demo Released for ‘P.T.’-Inspired Psychological Horror Game ‘T.W.I.R.L.’ [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Initially launching for PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG, and Humble Store on last June, System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster eventually made it to the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Switch the next month. The Switch 2 version of the game offers enhanced resolution, higher fram rate, and support for mouse control.

Set 42 years after the events of the first game, it’s the year 2114. As you awake from cryo sleep on the FTL ship Von Braun, you are unable to remember who or where you are… and something has gone terribly wrong. Hybrid mutants and deadly robots roam the halls while the cries from the remaining crew reverberate through the cold hull of the ship. SHODAN, a rogue AI bent on the destruction of mankind has taken over and it’s up to you to stop her.

Delve through the corridors of the derelict ship Von Braun and immerse yourself in the story rich atmosphere and environments. Explore deck by deck and unravel the horrifying fate of the Von Braun and her crew.

The post ‘System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary’ Now Available on the Nintendo Switch 2; Free Upgrade Available appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Focusing on the idea that you’ll never see Jason coming, the trailer touches on one of his abilities in Omnipresent Evil—a stealth-based ability that encapsulates the Killer’s knack for popping up in unexpected places to catch his victims off guard. Activating Omnipresent Evil causes Jason to vanish from the Map entirely, allowing him to move at increased speed while giving Survivors zero clues as to his whereabouts. While invisible, Jason can track his prey through faint visual cues like footsteps.

Jason’s other ability taps into his signature creativity when it comes to kills in Improvised Carnage. Scattered throughout the Map are containers filled with makeshift projectiles. Jason can pick up and throw these items with devastating force. Unlike other ranged Killers, each projectile must be gathered individually and will only be replenished the next time Jason enters Omnipresent Evil, adding a layer of strategy to their use.

Jason, known in the game as The Slasher, will be arriving in Dead by Daylight on June 16 for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch.

The post You’ll Never See Jason Coming in New ‘Dead by Daylight’ Teaser [Watch] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Silver Pines, the upcoming title from Swedish-based indie developer Wych Elm, is the latest in the lineage of Lynchian games, this time presenting survival-horror-style gameplay from a 2D perspective. While I’m not traditionally as hot on 2D games, after spending time with the demo, available now on Steam, I can’t wait to see more of this intriguing new world.

It starts out simple. After a brief, narrated dream sequence, you wake up in an empty diner in the small American town of Silver Pines. There’s a quick tutorial sequence that teaches you the game’s mechanics as you escape from the diner, followed by a phone call that sets up the premise of the game. You play Red Walker, a private investigator on the hunt for a missing musician named Eddie Velvet. It’s an elegant bit of exposition that’s delivered with a slightly dreamlike vibe, setting the tone for what’s to come.

As you begin to explore the titular town, you find it eerily abandoned, thanks to an evacuation order that’s caused the majority of the residents to take the ferry out of here. Empty streets and vacant buildings bring to mind Silent Hill, which is a great start in my book. There’s something really unique and special about small town horror like this, and Silver Pines is able to capture it immediately without feeling too much like a tribute act.

Navigating the Unique 2D World of Silver Pines

One of the things that impressed me immediately was how easy I found it to navigate the 2D space. Much like the indie classic Lone Survivor, you have a map that represents the space, and you turn down streets and hallways by pressing up or down at certain openings in the background to “turn” on the map. It seems like it should be incredibly difficult to follow directional shifts like this, but it becomes immediately intuitive, especially with the addition of diegetic signage that guides you without feeling out of place and handholdy.

I usually associate 2D games with more dynamic jumping and movement mechanics, but Silver Pines keeps things grounded, managing to find ways of creating navigation challenges without resorting to platforming tests that would feel out of place in a narrative like this. The map is particularly excellent in this game, as you can use a camera to add photos to it to help remind you what’s there. I love it when main characters mark up maps with locations of puzzles or items, and putting that power in the player’s hands was an interesting mechanical wrinkle that felt helpful and unique.

The other thing that gripped me from the start was the art style, which uses a slight cel-shading technique for the character models that makes them look hand-drawn. They really pop when compared to the backgrounds, which have a slightly different, but complementary, style to them. Wych Elm also shows off a masterful understanding of lighting, creating a shadowy look that’s never too dark to understand what’s going on.

The way the various layers of background and foreground give a parallax effect as you walk adds so much depth to every moment, making the imagery feel more dynamic. This game is treading familiar ground, with abandoned hotels and empty small town streets, but the unique look sets it apart enough to justify it among its peers.

Puzzles Balance Logic and Surrealism

Aside from just navigating the spaces, you’ll need to solve a variety of puzzles in order to progress. Many of them are just finding keys to open doors or figuring out which item is helpful in which situation, like an adventure game, but there were a few in the hour-long demo that gave me a level of satisfaction in actually figuring something out. Like the best survival horror games, the puzzles are an equal bit grounded in reality and slightly surreal, adding to the tone of the game. One of them gave me a Silent Hill vibe with its logic, asking me to win a BB gun shooting range mini game to get a pool key (which also teaches you how to use weapons).

While the game isn’t crawling with enemies, there are more threats scattered throughout the levels than I expected. Early on, you get a blade to defend yourself, which also acts as a key to cut through doorways blocked by cloth, and it’s just the right balance of effective and clumsy. There’s a surprisingly useful dodge that lets you slip past enemies. With the right timing, it’s not too difficult to survive one-on-one encounters, but it’s also not so easy that you can go on autopilot. Once multiple enemies get into the mix, it starts feeling more desperate, forcing you to make smart use of your stamina and weapon durability to survive.

A pistol gets introduced late in the demo, and that also felt surprisingly punchy, but its power was balanced smartly by limited ammo. One of my favorite gameplay elements of survival horror is ammo management, and it seems like Silver Pines is going to make that a core part of its combat experience, asking you to think carefully about which enemies are worth your precious bullets. This is further complicated by the fact that your gun can also be used to shoot padlocks to access previously locked areas, making it an even more valuable resource.

Enemy Design is the Demo’s Biggest Question Mark

Ammo and tape will be crucial to the continued use of your gun and knife, respectively, and there’s a quick little minigame for reloading and repairing that adds some tension to encounters. In addition to scavenging for resources, there was a vending machine I ran across where I could spend money to buy ammo or health kits. Be careful, though, the money is what you use to save at the payphone save points, so you don’t want to spend it all. It’s a clever variant on the classic Resident Evil-style ink ribbon system that makes your resource for saving a more abundant currency, but one that is used for more than just saving.

There were a couple of mementos that I ran across while exploring, and these can be equipped to provide specific character modifiers. I’m not entirely sold on the system yet, as there weren’t enough in the demo to really be able to craft a meaningful build, but with the surprisingly fun combat I’ve seen so far, I’m hoping that they will allow you to shape your playstyle in a way that’s tuned to how you like it. Any new wrinkles on combat are welcome, as it will need to find ways to keep fresh if it wants to stay compelling throughout.

As much as I think the combat is responsive and interesting, I think the enemies might be the weakest part of the game’s identity. This could also be a symptom of just seeing the early game, but so far, they are a bit more indistinct than I’d like, consisting mostly of shadowy people and bugs that didn’t have much going on. There was a boss fight that had a bit more of a menacing design, but I don’t know enough about the full shape of the narrative yet to see if the enemy design is in sync with the tone it’s trying to achieve. Right now, they just feel a bit generic, but I’m hoping things improve as it goes on, because they are pretty fun to fight for a survival horror game.

A Strong First Impression

Back to the opening thoughts about Lynch, the part that has me most interested in this game is the narrative. It’s simple so far, but there have been some surprisingly effective surrealist sequences that make me think this story is going to be something that will sink its hooks into me. One of the coolest moments of the demo involved turning off a light switch and being transported into an entirely different space, one dripping with dreamlike vibes. Even the choice to have the person you’re searching for be a musician adds a nice bit of texture to the narrative, putting a thematic focus on the game’s music in an important sequence involving a performance.

The cutscenes shift to a distinct painterly style, making them stand out without having to animate them, and it’s all brought to life with great voice acting. There’s even a little show you can watch in bits on TVs you pass, feeling a bit like a nod to Alan Wake II’s “Night Springs”.

I’m going to be honest, watching the initial trailer for Silver Pines had me feeling a bit sceptical. Not everyone can nail that Lynchian vibe, and when you try for that tone and miss, it can leave you with a narrative that’s either confusing or pretentious. Based on my hour with Silver Pines, I’d say they are on the right track, ready to deliver a surrealist narrative that draws from its inspirations while still carving out its own identity.

No word on the release date yet, outside of a vague 2026 timeframe, but I’ll be there day one to check it out.

Silver Pines is scheduled to release on the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

The post ‘Silver Pines’ Preview: David Lynch Surrealism Meets Survival Horror appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Set in an abandoned 1930s animation studio, Bendy and the Ink Machine cast players as the retired animator Henry. wOnce the lead animator during the studio’s golden age, Henry thought his days drawing cartoons were long behind him. However, decades later, a cryptic invitation pulls him back to the studio, and into a twisted world of living ink, broken memories, and something that should’ve stayed forgotten.

Meanwhile, Bendy and the Dark Revival sees players aid Audrey, an animator who was unwillingly pulled into the inky abyss of Bendy’s cartoon world, as she escapes the studio. Audrey will have to combat the dark monsters lurking around every corner and require the aid of allies like Allison, the battle hardened veteran, and the titular Bendy.

Bendy and the Ink Machine and Bendy and the Dark Revival are also available on the Xbox Series and PC via Steam. A third entry in the series, Bendy: Lone Wolf, is also available for PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and the Nintendo Switch. You can also pick up the game in a physical edition for the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch.

The post ‘Bendy and the Ink Machine’ and ‘Bendy and the Dark Revival’ Get Two-for-One Physical Release for PS5, Switch appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Details on the game are still to come, but the story has you stranded in the middle of a blizzard upon a “frigid corpse-planet” known as C9 CRPSE-19. Making matters worse, you’re not alone. “They” seek your warmth from the darkness, which as one might guess, is not a good thing. Along with avoiding “them”, you’ll also be uncovering the mysteries of the planet’s abandoned infrastructure.

Sporting a character-driven psychological horror narrative that sees you fighting off grafted monstrosities, THERMOCLINE features turn-based battles that are described as an”expansive, challenging take on the classic style” of turn-based strategy games with “modern sensibilities.”

Seeing as this is also a survival horror title, you must also manage your fuel and temperature in this freezing wasteland. Speaking of which, the game features hand-drawn environments which “forbode your impending doom,” as well as sports a soundtrack by Fear & Hunger composer Chilly Makes Music.

And as mentioned, THERMOCLINE will be 100% free to play, as according to the devs, it’s being done “for the love of the artform.”

The post Escape Chilling Monstrosities in Survival Horror RPG ‘THERMOCLINE’, Coming This Winter to PC [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“There was never a question that our 10th Anniversary Chapter couldn’t just be big – it needed to be something really special,” says Behaviour Interactive Senior Creative Director, Dave Richard. “When we started to see a path to finally making this partnership a reality for our 10th, we knew then the perfect Jason moment had come. We’re just thrilled the stars aligned and we were able to work with the great folks at Jason Universe to deliver this for our players on such a major milestone for Dead by Daylight.”

As we already know from the weekend trailer, Jason, known in the game as The Slasher, will be arriving in Dead by Daylight on June 16. Prior to that, he’ll available on May 26 as part of the Steam public test build.

As for Jason’s abilities, his Power is split into two distinct components, the first being Omnipresent Evil—a stealth-based ability that encapsulates the Killer’s knack for popping up in unexpected places to catch his victims off guard. Activating Omnipresent Evil causes Jason to vanish from the Map entirely, allowing him to move at increased speed while giving Survivors zero clues as to his whereabouts. While invisible, Jason can track his prey through faint visual cues like footsteps.

To reappear, Jason targets key environmental points such as Pallets, Vault points, and breakable walls—bursting back into action with explosive force. For added effect, these sudden appearances can destroy breakable obstacles around him and trigger screams from nearby prey. Survivors will have to contend with the tension that comes from suddenly losing track of Jason, and knowing a vicious attack could be waiting.

The second half of Jason’s Power taps into his signature creativity when it comes to kills, utilizing the items available in his environment. Scattered throughout the Map are containers filled with makeshift projectiles—fragments of Lockers, broken Generator parts, shattered Pallets, even Hooks.

Jason can pick up and throw these items with devastating force. Unlike other ranged Killers, each projectile must be gathered individually and will only be replenished the next time Jason enters Omnipresent Evil, adding a layer of strategy to their use.

A successful hit will stagger Survivors, but under the right conditions, Jason can also score some welcome style points. If an injured Survivor is struck near a wall, they’ll be pinned in place—left helpless and suspended until Jason strides up to claim them.

Launching alongside the Chapter is the Jason Collection, featuring a range of Outfits that pay homage to his legacy while being reimagined in ways only The Fog could shape. Jason’s default Outfit presents the unmistakable icon from Jason Universe, originally designed by horror legend Greg Nicotero: a 13-holed hockey mask, machete, and weather-beaten clothing worn through countless kills.

Additional outfits include Backwoods Terror, which trades Jason’s jacket for flannel and suspenders, and his machete for a heavy axe. Death Forsaken offers a more grotesque incarnation with decayed features, exposed bone, and a shovel in hand. Lastly, Jason’s Depths of Despair Outfit sees him emerging from the depths; a vision of terror covered head-to-toe in barnacles, coral, and seaweed.

Dead by Daylight: Jason will be available on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch.

The post Behaviour Interactive Details Jason’s Arrival in ‘Dead by Daylight’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

With Dead by Daylight celebrating its 10-year anniversary this year, what better way to celebrate than to finally land the big guy himself?!

Jason’s impending arrival in The Fog was revealed as part of the Dead by Daylight 10th Anniversary stream this morning in a brand-new trailer.

No details on just what Jason’s appearance in the game entails, but expect more soon.

Jason enters the world of Dead by Daylight on June 16, 2026.

Jason Voorhees has a long history in the world of video games, dating back to his unique purple & blue look in the Friday the 13th NES game. He returned in Friday the 13th: The Game, and he’s also been featured in Fortnite, Call of Duty, and Mortal Kombat over the years.

This is a big year for Jason Voorhees, with A24 and Peacock’s television series “Crystal Lake” set to premiere this coming October. The prequel series premieres on October 15, 2026.

The arrival of Jason Voorhees to Dead by Daylight is made possible by the Jason Universe, a multi-platform expansion of the Friday the 13th franchise from its original owners.

What else can we expect from the Jason Universe this year? Stay tuned…

The post Jason Voorhees Is Coming to ‘Dead by Daylight’! [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“We’re excited to finally bring Chapter 5 to console players,” said George Krstic, Senior Director of Creative at Mob Entertainment. “This chapter pushed us creatively in a lot of ways, both narratively and atmospherically, and we can’t wait for a whole new audience to experience what’s waiting inside the factory.”

In Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5, players descend deeper than ever into the depths of the Playtime Co. factory to confront the deadly puppet master orchestrating the horrors that have unfolded. As the truth behind The Prototype’s madness comes into focus, survival hinges on solving devious puzzles, navigating dangerous environmental obstacles, and mastering new GrabPack tools and abilities. Hunted relentlessly by Playtime’s security system, Huggy Wuggy, and separated from their only allies, players must explore a chilling new layer of the facility where tortured experiments lurk in the darkness and may not be what they seem.

Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5 is also available on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Meanwhile, fans can also look forward to the film adaptation of Poppy Playtime, which is currently in development.

The post ‘Poppy Playtime: Chapter 5’ Comes to Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch May 27th [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Set directly following the events of the previous game, Amanda the Adventurer 3 returns players to the world of Riley Park as they work to uncover the secrets surrounding the oddly interactive children’s show, “Amanda the Adventurer”. Having survived their Aunt Kate’s attic after being left a stack of VHS tapes of the 90s-era kid’s program, Riley followed the mystery to Kensdale Public Library, where new secrets and dangers awaited them. Now, after barely escaping the library intact with the help of an enigmatic masked woman, Riley must explore the abandoned Hameln Entertainment facility and put an end to the Adventure, once and for all.

As the final entry in the series, Amanda the Adventurer 3 aims to take the best elements from its predecessors to offer a satisfying and exhilarating experience for players everywhere, whether longtime fans or interested newcomers. Join Riley as they take on thought-provoking puzzles and uncover hiding secrets within the Hameln facility, on their way to discovering the ultimate truth.

And for the “try before you buy” crowd, you can check out the demo for the game, which is still available on Steam.

The post ‘Amanda The Adventurer 3’ Comes to Consoles Next Week [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Also like Slender Man, many video games adapted this concept to varying levels of success. One of those games, released the same year as the viral post that defined much of the accepted mythology of the Backrooms, was from indie developer Puppet Combo, the creator of games such as Nun Massacre, The Glass Staircase, and Stay Out of the House. Originally titled “Day 7“, it was distributed via their Patreon, but with the impending release of A24’s Backrooms film, Puppet Combo has decided to rebrand the game simply as The Backrooms for release on consoles.

Initially, this felt like a strange mismatch to me. Puppet Combo is really known for a grindhouse aesthetic, focusing on scuzzy, violent slasher games. Would that gel with the eerie liminal horror vibe that had been established?

While there definitely are some more gnarly elements in the final act of this hour-long game, I found that their signature style actually worked to give everything a found footage aesthetic, one that brought to mind the YouTube shorts that the feature film is based on. The PSX graphics style works perfectly to heighten the feeling of unreality, making you wonder if that thing you’re seeing in the distance is merely a trick of the low-fi filter.

Retro Style Held Back By Retro Mechanics

The retro look does a great job of setting the mood right off the bat, but unfortunately, the retro controls do not. Playing from a first-person perspective, I expected to be able to control with the traditional dual joystick layout people have used forever, but instead of left and right on the left joystick strafing, it turned my character. I understand that it’s meant to evoke the feeling of an older era, like many Puppet Combo games, but this took a bit for me to get used to.

There also appeared to be a bug that prevented me from inverting the y-axis, which I do for all games, making it take even longer for me to acclimate to the game’s controls. I saw a post from the studio’s account saying both these issues would be fixed in an upcoming update, but they were definitely barriers for me starting out.

The game’s prologue does a nice job of setting up the main character, Terrance, another thing I wasn’t really expecting from the game. It’s not the most in-depth personality, but it was nice to see some dialogue of him interacting with his coworkers or people on the subway, where he finds himself in the titular labyrinth. Dialogue sequences are charmingly low-fi, with characters popping in and standing static in front of you, only to disappear immediately when they finish.

Their models aren’t even in the world as you’re navigating, making for a slight jump scare when they start speaking. It may look pretty janky, but the old school charm works on me in a way that makes it feel endearing rather than unfinished.

While I enjoyed the vibe that these interactions set up in the beginning, I did not enjoy getting through it. Before you get to the titular location, you spend some time going from your office to the subway, and this location felt really easy to get lost in. It was not clear where I was supposed to go, and I felt like I only stumbled upon the subway entrance by happenstance. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be a thematic feeling, prepping me for the feeling of getting lost in the Backrooms, but I found it more frustrating than interesting, especially with the slow walk speed. I was holding the run button the entire time, and even that didn’t quite feel fast enough.

A Liminal Walking Simulator

It should go without saying that most of the game is about exploring the Backrooms, navigating the seemingly endless space to progress to different story beats. It does a good job of creating the illusion that there are lots of different ways for you to go while actually being pretty linear. Branching paths quickly lead to dead ends, ensuring you stay on the critical path to keep the story rolling. That’s not to say you can’t get turned around given the intentional sameness of the environments, but there’s just enough landmarking that you can keep moving forward even if you get lost for a moment.

That’s mostly it as far as gameplay goes. It fairly firmly sits in the genre of spooky walking simulator, forcing you to wander from beat to beat. Eventually, you find a purse that allows you to drop coins like breadcrumbs, which are crucial for being able to backtrack when the story asks you. This mechanic is a fun little twist that feels thematically in line with the lost-in-a-liminal-space vibes it’s going for. It’s a welcome addition that gives you at least a little bit of agency, something that the game lacks by design.

Despite having a mostly repeating set of environment pieces, the game finds clever ways to have things break down as you explore further. The uncanniness of the Backrooms itself is played up when things start glitching, again taking advantage of the retro aesthetics to give you a feeling of reality falling apart at the seams. Needless to say, you’re not alone down there, leading to some creepy encounters and strange happenings. These are the strongest elements of the game, with a good understanding of what makes the premise work.

To break things up, there’s a dream sequence in the game that once again gives us a glimpse into the character while also providing some liminal horror of its own. Taking place at a funeral, it shows Terrance interacting with family members as a child, getting lost while playing an ill-advised game of hide and seek at the funeral home. The concepts of the Backrooms bleed into this setting, creating some of the more effective parts of the game both narratively and tonally. This takes place pretty early in the runtime, and I wish they had found more space for these types of sequences, as they offer a good break from the monotonous location.

The Final Verdict: An Atmospheric but Slight Creepypasta Experience

While the build is solid, I feel like the ending is very abrupt, especially given the extremely short runtime of the game. The climax does a good job of paying off some elements, but it escalates so quickly that it doesn’t feel natural to me. There’s a strange confrontation at the end that all takes place via menus, which technically works fine but doesn’t really feel all that satisfying.

I literally exclaimed “that’s it?” at the end of the game, as it felt like it had just gotten going at the moment it ended. I don’t really know much about the production of the original game, but I’m a little surprised Puppet Combo didn’t go back and add a bit more to the end to make this console version stand out more.

I’ve seen a lot of people online say that this release feels like a cash-in on the upcoming film, and it definitely is, albeit one that was created about three years before the Kane Parsons short films came out. I don’t begrudge Puppet Combo for spending resources on a console port of this and timing it with the film, but I wish there were more care taken with the package.

While I’m glad to hear that the control issues are being addressed, it feels like a little extra work to extend the game would have helped it fully take advantage of the concept. I enjoyed the atmosphere created in this version of the Backrooms, with the low-poly graphics enhancing the vibe, but it feels like it never has a chance to fully get going.

Review code provided by publisher. The Backrooms is out now on PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and Xbox Series.

The post Puppet Combo’s ‘The Backrooms’ Exudes Atmosphere, But Ultimately Feels Lacking [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The game focuses on Terrence, your typical office guy who’s having a typical day at the office. However, while traveling home, he inexplicably falls down to the Backrooms. A journey chronicling 7 days… Can Terrence escape this liminal horror phenomenon? Or will he be trapped within this place forever?

The Backrooms is a horror adventure game where you explore the liminal space of the Backrooms while you interact with strange and creepy characters. Explore the Backrooms, find the unexpected as you go into impossible spaces and see things you shouldn’t have seen.

Puppet Combo brings the liminal horror phenomenon from obscure corners of the internet to console players looking for exploration-based atmospheric horror.

Meanwhile, Kane Parsons makes his feature directorial debut with his adaptation of the Backrooms on May 29 with (you guessed it) Backrooms. Starring Academy Award nominees Chiwetel Ejiofor (Venom: The Last Dance) and Renate Reinsve (A Different Man), the cast also features Mark Duplass (Creep), Finn Bennett (“True Detective: Night Country”), Lukita Maxwell (“Shrinking”), and Avan Jogia (Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City).

The post Puppet Combo Brings ‘The Backrooms’ to Consoles Today! [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Guns didn’t need to be reloaded because that would get in the way of the action. Demons were hanging out in this space because that’s where the designer wanted to challenge you. The Mars base was laid out like a maze because it was fun to get around. There was no concern for anything beyond the most basic of narratives, which was only there to provide a pretense for you to turn demons into pixelated corpses using a range of great feeling weapons.

It was a simpler time, and that simplicity allowed them to be laser-focused on making it fun.

For a while, this model of games dominated, with DOOM clones popping up everywhere. Despite getting DOOM II and Final DOOM, the franchise fell off the map a bit. In 2004, we saw id try to reboot the franchise, but it looked very different from its predecessors. In the intervening years, Half-Life had shown the world a template for making first-person shooters more story-focused, and DOOM 3 tried to move a bit in that direction. There was more narrative, with actual NPCs delivering plot information, as well as a new focus on atmosphere and horror. This was divisive at the time, though history has mostly vindicated this approach, as it felt like this was a reconceptualization of what DOOM was rather than an evolution of what people liked about it.

Following this, the DOOM franchise would go on a long hiatus as it figured out what it looked like in a modern landscape. Call of Duty came out, and that franchise, particularly the Modern Warfare games, redefined the first-person shooter genre as one that was about linear spectacle, throwing you into bombastic setpieces that evoked action movies. These games focused more on a sense of realism, set in grounded locations with conventional weapons.

This was also the era of the third-person cover shooter, which trained gamers to be a bit more passive, hiding behind waist-high walls as their health recharged before popping up to take more shots at enemies. It seemed like the world had left behind the style of DOOM, leaving its future uncertain.

It took a long time for the franchise to figure out what it wanted to be. The game known as DOOM 4 was stuck in development hell for a long time, conceived of as a Call of Duty-style game that featured a focus on cover, scripted cinematics, and passive health regeneration, casting you in an epic struggle examining the impact of Hell’s invasion of Earth. As time went on, they decided that this direction was out of touch with the original games, and development was restarted essentially from scratch.

Slick Design Unleashes Stylish New Vision of Hell That Still Holds Up

This ended up being the right call, as it resulted in DOOM (2016), a perfect combination of retro sensibilities and modern design, evoking the feeling of the original two titles while still setting itself apart with an identity all its own. Heralded as one of the best games of the year, it was praised for its propulsive single player campaign that managed to give a different kind of thrill than the Call of Duties of the world, challenging the player with snappy combat that didn’t pull its punches. While the multiplayer and map creation tools were not as well received, it was hard to deny that DOOM was back in a big way that still resonates now, on its ten-year anniversary.

The story wastes very little time, mocking the idea that the Doom Slayer would have any patience for exposition. Like DOOM 3, there are other characters that move the plot forward, but you play as a man of action who smashes screens that monologue at him. It’s the perfect way to pay homage to the no-nonsense attitude of the originals while also still being at least somewhat narrative driven like a modern action game. All the Doom Slayer needs to know is he’s on a Mars base and some corporate idiots unleashed Hell in the name of profit, and that’s all we really want as the player, so we’re right alongside him when he’s brushing off any notion of plot.

The level design also reflects this mentality of being classic and modern at the same time. The spaces you traverse feel more grounded, like something you expect to see in a science lab on Mars, but they also feel fun to traverse and explore. Rather than feel beholden to being completely authentic, they put an emphasis on making the space playable first and foremost.

Arenas are well laid out, with changes in elevation and cover that make them perfect for the game’s exciting firefights. As you progress through the levels, there are plenty of secrets hidden throughout, rewarding you for going off the beaten path or doing extra platforming challenges. There’s even a modern version of the original’s extremely game-y colored keycard system that shows up as a fun callback.

All Hail the Glory Kill System

When people talk about DOOM (2016), the thing they still bring up, even a decade later, is the combat. Compared to the Call of Duties of the world, it was fast. Really fast. You don’t even have to hold down a run button to be moving quickly. Very frequently, you’ll be locked in arenas with enemies that need to be killed to move on, and these scenarios can get lethal quickly if you’re not careful. Standing still was frequently a death sentence, forcing you to constantly be on the move to dodge enemies and line up your shots. There’s no regenerating health, so you heal the old-fashioned video game way: glowing powerups.

Weapons don’t need to reload, but you’re limited in how much you can carry for each weapon. Ammo is replenished through pickups around the level, though it’s rare that it will be able to keep up with your rate of consumption. This creates an interesting rhythm that requires you to switch between weapons on the fly as you run out, changing tactics in the moment as the intensity ratchets up.

At some point in the game, you’re given a chainsaw that will make an enemy explode into ammo, making you think about how low you need to be before using up precious chainsaw fuel to restock on ammo. These weapons can all be upgraded, with alternate fire modes and stats that can be unlocked as you explore. Upgrades like this are another concession to modern game design, but it feels like it fits into the classic DOOM ethos because it’s all about giving you more tools to turn demons into piles of gore.

And boy, will there be gore.

The biggest change to the combat is the Glory Kill system, which allows you to do brutal executions on stunned enemies. The hyperviolent animations could be considered reward enough, but these Glory Kills also send health pickups flying, contributing to the core loop of the game. Despite the Doom Slayer being a killing machine, enemies can do quite a bit of damage to you very quickly, so this creates the “push forward” feel of the combat.

In order to heal, you need to get up close and personal with the enemies. It’s a simple concept that forces you to take calculated risks when you need to, but it truly elevates combat into something that’s both tactical and reflex-based. Some people argue that the overly animated kills break up the flow of combat a bit by bringing you to a complete stop, but even that becomes a tactical decision because you get a moment of invincibility that can be taken advantage of.

You’ll need all the advantages you can get, because classic DOOM enemies were remade in high definition glory. Instead of the darker color palette of DOOM 3, enemies are a bit brighter, saturated with reds in a way that leans more cartoony than realistic. When stunned, they get a very artificial glow to them so that they stand out, once again putting emphasis on game design over verisimilitude.

Each enemy has a different type of threat that they pose on the battlefield, and their extremely distinct visual styles not only make them easy to tell apart at a glance, but also convey what they do effectively through how they look. It feels like id figured out the exact number of enemy types and systems that they would need, creating a lean and mean combat system that’s simultaneously challenging and empowering.

The Revitalized Series Ensures No Rest for the Living

DOOM (2016) was such a successful revamp of the franchise that it spawned two sequels, each of which further attempted to evolve the formula. DOOM Eternal pushed the mechanic complexity even further, adding all sorts of tools to the Doom Slayer’s arsenal, but losing some of the streamlined nature of its predecessor. This was a divisive direction.

On one hand, it made things feel more game-y than ever, with platforming challenges and intricate weapons, and on the other hand, it complicated things too much, taking you out of the flow state that DOOM (2016) was so good at putting you in by giving you too many things to think about. There was also a strangely large emphasis on narrative, with longer cutscenes and more demonic lore, which never really landed with me.

DOOM: The Dark Ages followed Eternal, this time heading to the past for a medieval war against Hell. Narrative was clearly a core pillar of this entry, but thankfully, they pared back some of the more complicated mechanics of Eternal. In their place was a new shield, which allowed you to block and parry enemy attacks. Instead of leading to a defensive playstyle, it gave you the tools to be more aggressive, pushing forward as you shrugged off projectiles or sent them flying back at your foes.

Even the signature Glory Kill system was pared back a bit, removing the synced animation to keep you in the action. The relative simplicity of The Dark Ages worked better for me than Eternal, but I still think the medieval setting and narrative focus put it a step behind 2016 in my book.

In an industry where so many games are chasing a cinematic feel, DOOM (2016) was a great reminder that sometimes you just need to let a video game be a video game first and foremost. There can be a thrill to leading the player through bombastic, scripted setpieces that feel ripped from Hollywood blockbusters, but very often, I just want to run through a well-laid-out space and use fun weapons to rip and tear until it’s done. I need just enough pretense to justify the demons-on-Mars premise, not the entire history of Hell and all its generals.

I think the Boomer Shooter revival we’re seeing among indie games, highlighted by games like Dusk and Prodeus, shows that id was onto something with their franchise revival, and I hope that more AAA games start thinking about ways to capture that retro charm with a modern edge.

You can pick up DOOM on PC via Steam, PlayStation 4, the Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch.

The post A Decade of Ripping and Tearing: How ‘DOOM’ 2016 Revived The Series appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Details on the gameplay are still to come, but the story for Curse of the Crimson Stag centers around a teenager named Brit, who feeling stuck in her backwater hometown, jumps at the chance for a life-changing adventure: to assist in the making of a documentary about the derelict Whiteroot Hotel. The once luxurious hotel stands abandoned in the American Northwest, with local folklore spinning tales of ghostly hauntings and of angry spirits being the reason for its desertion.

The people of the area tell of an entity known as the Crimson Stag – a protective spirit of sorts – which supposedly inhabits the dark woods of the area. Once Brit starts her exploration of the hotel, it quickly becomes clear that she is in over her head. The Whiteroot Hotel does not surrender its secrets easily and, whether it is supernatural forces or dark machinations, the Curse of the Crimson Stag soon threatens to claim her as well.

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Additionally, customers who have purchased an eligible Mortal Kombat II movie ticket will receive a promotional code to obtain 750 Dragon Krystals (in-game currency) for use in Mortal Kombat 1 game. For more information, head on over to the code redemption website.

This all comes after series co-creator Ed Boon hinted in an interview with Collider that NetherRealm was in the process of developing another Mortal Kombat game, though he didn’t offer much more than that. One would hope that NetherRealm take their time with this next entry and address fan criticisms, given that Mortal Kombat 1 sold just half of what Mortal Kombat 11 sold (8 million versus 15 million).

Mortal Kombat 1: Definitive Edition is available now digitally on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Mortal Kombat II (read Meagan’s review here) is out now in theatres.

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The Darkest Dungeon II: Anniversary Edition is packed with nightmarish extras to accompany players on their journey for redemption. Along with the base game and three DLC released to date (The Binding Blade, Inhuman Bondage, and Infernal Supporter Pack) the set includes meticulously designed collectible items and digital bonuses that deepen player’s connection to the world of corruption and fragile hope created by Red Hook Studios:

• Collectible Steelbook: safeguard your journey with a steel game case adorned with Darkest Dungeon II key art
• In-Game Combat Pop-Up Diorama: a tangible tribute to the game’s brutal, turn-based encounters
• Stagecoach Papercraft: recreate the vessel of your desperate pilgrimage
• Playable Deck of Cards: a full standard deck featuring in-game characters reimagined across every suit
• Original Soundtracks: experience the sound of a world undone with over 20 haunting tracks, including the newly released Kingdoms OST

In addition to PlayStation and Switch, you can also grab Darkest Dungeon II on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, and the Xbox Series.

The post Unbox The ‘Darkest Dungeon II: Anniversary Edition’ Today [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Rebirth Mode, which you’ll unlock after completing the game, is all about survival of the fittest. The enemies you’ll face this time around come equipped with new abilities and increased health, while Realmless cards are transformed with new names, effects, and visuals. As you continue your journey as Ro through a more dangerous-than-ever Spirit World, you’ll also take on a new look, donning a blue robe.

And if Rebirth Mode wasn’t enough content for you, Custom Mode raises the stakes even further. Unlocked after completing Rebirth Mode, it lets you tweak a wide range of settings: adjust the health of both enemies and Ro, choose which cards are available, add restrictions, modify penalties, and more.

On top of that, the core game has also received the expected balance changes, bug fixes, and quality-of-life improvements.

Death Howl casts players as Ro – a hunter from a small tribe – who is overcome by grief following the death of her beloved son. Guided by voices from another world, she transcends into the realm of spirits, in hopes of bringing him back. You’ll meet strange spirits and help them with quests and challenges that affect your deck – although not all of them may have your best interests at heart.

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If for whatever reason you’ve never jumped into Blood, Blood: Refreshed Supply is Nightdive Studios’ remaster of the 2019 original Blood: Fresh Supply. This new remaster features additional technical enhancements for modern platforms, including up to 4K resolution at unlocked frame rates, local split-screen and online co-op for up to 8 players, a Vault with behind-the-scenes content from the development of Blood, and more. As well as including the original Blood campaign and the Plasma Pak and Cryptic Passage add-ons, Blood: Refreshed Supply features two new mission scenarios: Marrow and the recently-released Death Wish.

Death Wish — with four episodes, totalling 48 levels — begins years in the future after the events of Blood expansions Cryptic Passage, Post Mortem, and Marrow, where the specter of Tchernobog still looms after his defeat, having regained strength as protagonist Caleb fought other battles. When his growing power can no longer be veiled, Tchernobog’s forces face off against his foe as the moment of the Dreaming God’s ascension draws near. All maps have been upgraded from their previous mod versions, while the entirety of episode 4 and other levels are entirely new. All maps are co-op compatible and feature custom music from Noelle Amelie Aman (Speedy) and Sjellos (Silentsphere Studios).

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On the official Alien: Isolation X account and posted to YouTube, the devs posted a teaser entitled “False Sense of Security” that shows doors opening to a colony reminiscent of LV-426, complete with rain. It’s only about 5 seconds before it snaps to black, the Creative Assembly logo appears, and ends on a shot of an “EMERGENCY” sign.

Obviously, not a whole lot to go off of in the 25 second clip, but it’s safe to assume that this is teasing the Alien: Isolation sequel.

Back when they first announced work on the Alien: Isolation sequel, Creative Assembly Creative Director Al Hope stated that the team was overwhelmed with fan enthusiasm for the game. “It’s been nothing short of incredible to witness [the fans’] passion for the game over the years and see it reach so many players around the world. It was a dream project brought to life by a brilliant team, and the reception you have given it over the years is extraordinary.”

And if for whatever reason you haven’t played Alien: Isolation, you can grab it today, along with many other Alien titles, with a generous discount on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch.

The post Creative Assembly Teases ‘Alien: Isolation’ Sequel Reveal? [Teaser] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As an added bonus, those users who already own The 7th Guest VR on PlayStation VR2 or Steam will receive the remake at no additional cost at launch. Likewise, players who purchase The 7th Guest Remake on PlayStation 5 or Steam will get free access to The 7th Guest VR.

The 7th Guest Remake features reimagined puzzles, newly realized environments, and newly recorded volumetric video performances, bringing the classic haunted mansion and its mysteries to life for a new generation of players.

The story sees six guests arrive at a foreboding mansion, but something sinister is at play. The wealthy recluse and toymaker Henry Stauf lurks in the shadows, and a dark power hangs over the house, shrouded in mystery. Who is the seventh guest? What does Henry want with them? And who will live to tell the tale?

As players explore the eerie mansion, the puzzles grow increasingly challenging, with dangers lurking around every corner. Every shadow, distant creak, and flicker of light builds tension as the house slowly reveals its secrets.

The post ‘The 7th Guest Remake’ Comes to PC, Xbox and PS5 on June 4 [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The Well Dweller Steam demo opens with the game’s full opening sequence, along with a selection of major environments and boss encounters. These elements highlight the early chapters of the game’s experience, building towards the moment when the world opens up and players are able to explore.

Well Dweller sees players take on the role of Glimmer, a tiny bird armed with a matchstick who must burn the wicked queen to save his family. To do so, players will journey through a dark fairy-tale landscape and befriend the charming characters who reside in the kingdom’s underbelly. Go camping with Ilda, a tiny mouse who is on the run from the queen’s grasp. You’ll also explore an abandoned castle with Looter, a mysterious scavenger who searches the kingdom for the best wares to steal.

As you’d expect, you’ll also be facing off against monstrous beasts, who after defeating them, Glimmer gains new abilities in order to further progress. You’ll also be solving puzzles, uncover secrets, and unravel the mysteries that lie in this rotted kingdom.

Using your matchstick, you’ll be able to illuminate the world around you, as well as use it to aid you in combat. Collect trinkets to upgrade your abilities, and mix-and-match them to customize your game play.

The full version of Well Dweller is set to release in 2026 for PC via Steam and the Nintendo Switch.

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Running for a limited time from April 28th to May 19th, this latest iteration will grow and refine the Dead by Daylight 2v8 experience, all the while delivering a some much-requested series of new Outfits inspired by the acclaimed anime.

Debuting in 2022 with a Collection of 10 Outfits, Attack on Titan cosmetics will expand to include the fearsome Attack Titan Legendary Outfit for The Trapper. Other notable additions include a trio of Very Rare Survivor Outfits that see Jake Park embody Cleaning Levi, Yui Kimura don Mikasa’s Dark Uniform, and Thalita Lyra step into Sasha’s Uniform.

Meanwhile, Survivors Renato Lyra, Adam Francis, Mikaela Reid, and Haddie Kaur will also all receive the Queen’s Ball Attire Outfit, while Feng Min and Meg Thomas get the Heart of Freedom Outfit. Players can also look forward to the return of the Attack on Titan lobby.

Getting back to the 2v8 Mode, this round kicks off with two Killers receiving some 2v8-specific buffs and nerfs to hone their experience. The Deathslinger’s buffs aim at improving his overall effectiveness, including reduced penalties when reloading and missing shots, allowing for smoother more consistent gameplay. Meanwhile, The Oni sees a slight nerf, with an increased uptime reduction after successfully downing a Survivor in Demon Mode.

The new Cage system updates are also being introduced to improve the 2v8 Survivor experience. The bleed-out timer now pauses for a short time when a Cage relocates, giving Survivors more space to coordinate rescues. Cage relocation time has also been reduced to maintain match pacing and encourage more active teamwork.

As for maps, the rotation now includes the Temple of Purgation, and Ironworks of Misery. Both Maps have been specifically adjusted to accommodate 2v8 gameplay.

Lastly, in keeping with the Attack on Titan theme, players will of course be able to complete a series of Quests to unlock some must-have loot  that includes an Attack on Titan Badge, Banner, and Charm.

Still not enough? Even more cosmetics are coming your way on April 28, with Darkest Dungeon joining the mix, along with more costumes joining the Alien Collection. The latter even includes a new skin that will swap Ellen Ripley for Bill Paxton‘s legendary Hudson character!

Dead by Daylight is available on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch.

The post ‘Attack on Titan’ Returns to ‘Dead by Daylight’ Next Week [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

It’s a crowded space, especially with the recent release of the runaway hit Slay the Spire 2, but it finds fun and surprising ways to both stand out from its peers and stay true to the vibes of the original.

The first thing that’s apparent with the game is its change of perspective. Instead of looking at the action from a top-down view, you’re in first person, moving square by square through dungeons. Even with the switch-up, it still retains the same nostalgic pixel-art style that made it famous. It’s really cool to see these creatures and environments up close, presented like 2.5D-style Doom monsters. It’s wild how well it translates, being extremely familiar while also feeling completely new.

Moving through the space in the new way definitely changes the pace of the game, allowing you to take on encounters at your own pace rather than being bombarded and constantly moving. You’ll select a specific area and be dropped into a small map that’s marked with several enemies, including a boss that is your final goal for the stage. Each area has a specific number of stages that make up that run, which are all procedurally generated. Since treasures are marked on the map, there’s an interesting risk-reward element of trying to figure out how thoroughly you want to explore the map before taking on that final challenge and moving on. It’s helpful to be able to collect things and level up by taking on all the enemies and collecting every power-up, but it puts you at risk of losing valuable hit points.

Familiar Weapons Translate Into Card Mechanics

While the exploration is solid without being too innovative, the card mechanics are where the game really sings. The subtitle for the game is “The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors, and it definitely earns the turbo. Roguelike deckbuilders sometimes suffer from analysis paralysis, slowing you down to think about all your card options with each hand, but Vampire Crawlers does an amazing job at keeping up the pace.

Each of the cards is based on a power-up from the main game, like garlic, whip, or cross, translating their concept into standard card archetypes. Most of the weapons attack slightly differently, but it’s not complex enough that you’re ever going to have to puzzle over it for too long, and hovering over a card shows the amount of damage it will do to the enemies as a preview, so you’re able to make your selections quickly without being too hasty.

During each battle, you will face waves of enemies that come at you in various rows. Only the front row will attack you, so killing them or pushing them back will help negate incoming damage, which is all telegraphed in the UI. Blast through all the waves of enemies, and the encounter ends. Each time you kill a creature, you get the same blue gems that would pop out of monsters in Vampire Survivors, filling up your experience bar. Upon filling your bar, you’ll level up and be able to select a new card to add to your deck. It’s a super simple system that cleverly allows you to power up in the middle of the fight. The card you add to your deck is free to play for that first round, so your choice can have consequences for both the long and short term, making for complex decision-making.

In addition to attacks, you’ve got cards that buff your stats and cards that add armor. Armor has a base level that you’ll get each turn, but it will go away if not used up by the end of your current hand. Damage numbers can get pretty high when the waves build up, so if you don’t have the firepower to take them all down, you’ll need to lean on armor to help out, as healing is fairly rare.

There are two categories of stats in the game: those that build up within an encounter and those that are built up throughout the whole run. Stats like might and hand size can be upgraded, but will always be set back to a base value at the beginning of a fight. Other stats like XP gain or money gain are persistent, slowly building as you explore. The base values of the resettable stats can be upgraded, but moments like that are rare treats that feel like you’re really powering up.

Crawler Combat, Character Abilities, and Build Strategies

While most of this is pretty basic deckbuilder stuff, there are a few systems that add some complexity to the mechanics. The first, and more revolutionary for me, is the combo system. Like many games of this type, you’ll have a specific amount of mana you can spend per turn, and the cards each have a mana cost associated with them. In a standard deckbuilder, you’re looking at your cards and figuring out which ones you can play within your limit, trying to chain them together to take advantage of synergies. Vampire Crawlers does that, but you’ll also get a multiplier if you play them in ascending mana value.

If you start out with a zero-cost whip attack and follow it up with a one-cost garlic attack, that garlic card will do double damage. Follow it up with a two-cost axe, and that’s triple damage. This doesn’t just apply to attacks; it will also multiply armor or stat buffs, adding lots of flexibility to how your hand goes.

This extra layer really makes the combat sing. Instead of just looking at the effects, which are important, there’s another vector on which to consider your choices, making optimizing even simple turns really fun. It never feels overwhelming to do, even with all the extra math it creates, but you always feel like a genius when you’ve set yourself up with the perfect sequence. It feels extra great when you mix in cards that refresh your mana, because playing them higher in a combo will yield greater mana gain, allowing you to get through more and more cards per turn.

Order of operations becomes so important, and figuring out when it might be better to break a combo in order to play a stat boost is a good challenge. It’s also a consideration when you’re picking your new card, as having a strong spread of different value cards helps make sure that each hand you draw will be fertile ground for combos. I’m not sure if this is something that other games in the genre have done, but it feels like a great hook that made every encounter something that tickled the numbers-go-up part of my brain the same way that Vampire Survivors so perfectly tapped into.

When you start a run, you pick a crawler, which is your character. They have a starting deck, as well as a unique crawler card. When you play that card, it will have a one-time effect, but they’ll also stick around in play with a specific trigger-effect combo. For example, one of them does bonus damage any time you play a red attack card, making this crawler perfect for an offensive deck build. Another heals you if you’ve played blue cards during that encounter, making them good for keeping your character’s health topped off. It’s a subtle mechanic at first, but as you unlock later characters, you see just how valuable it ends up being and how timing it well can be crucial to your run’s success.

Cards also have gem slots on them, and adding gems that you find in the level or select from a level up augments the card in an important way. A double power gem makes a powerful card even more powerful, while an armor gem will give you armor every time you play it. Some gems allow you to put the card back in your hand or make a single-use copy of it. More and more gems unlock as you progress, and the variety of strategies that emerge from them makes it tantalizing to play over and over again.

Between runs, you’re able to spend coins earned during your runs on all sorts of different upgrades. Just like the original Vampire Survivors, you can upgrade your base stats in substantial ways, helping you power your way through the more difficult later levels. New characters can be purchased after you meet their unlock conditions, and you can even alter cards by adding more gem slots. There are also over 150 achievements to hunt down, each of which will add something new to one of the shops. If Vampire Crawlers is anything like the original, I’m sure more options and achievements will be added post-launch, giving you plenty of reason to return over and over again.

Why Vampire Crawlers Keeps You Coming Back

Much like the original game, Vampire Crawlers succeeds at being a real dopamine generator, tickling the right part of your brain through flashy VFX, crunchy old-school sound effects, and amazingly satisfying power scaling. Seeing the big damage numbers you’re inflicting on the enemies before they pop into a shower of pixels as you hear the ding of the gems getting added to your experience bar feels incredible, which only makes the clever card mechanics feel that much better.

I find myself questioning if the game is great or just addicting, but after about 15 hours, I’m still unlocking new cards or gems or upgrades that change the way I play, so I’ve landed on the great side of things. The combo system adds a great layer on top of already compelling card gameplay, activating my brain in the way only the best card games can. There were times when I would finish an encounter with the first card of a hand, and I would feel disappointed because I had a perfect combo lined up that I didn’t get to unleash.

Vampire Crawlers finds a way to distil the essence of Vampire Survivors into a completely different genre, and succeeds with flying colors. I almost always have at least one roguelike on my Steam Deck for when I want to play a quick run of something while I’m winding down for the day, and Vampire Crawlers has just earned its way into the category.

Review code provided by publisher. Vampire Crawlers launches April 21 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

The post ‘Vampire Crawlers’ Replicates The Addictive Fun of ‘Vampire Survivors’ in a New Genre [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Anthology of the Killer is a collection of nine horror-comedy games in the “…of the Killer” series (which includes Blood of the Killer and Heart of the Killer). Set in a hand-drawn, frazzled art style, players take on the role of new-wave zinester BB as she attempts to document the strange happenings around a city where giallo-style serial murder is a way of life. This anthology comes complete with additional features like joypad support and bonus rooms.

Including the previously-mentioned Blood of the Killer and Heart of the Killer, the collection includes the following games:

• Voice Of The Killer
  BB joins a call center on the edge of the city, but a horrible noise can be heard from the sea. Does the voice of the Killer sound out this far…?
• Hands Of The Killer
  A strange sound is heard from within the walls of the apartment block – they say the hands of the Killer are roaming around.
• Drool Of The Killer
  Beneath the tiles of the swimming pool complex, a new world is striving to be born. This is the TAMMY show, coming soon to a city near you.
• Eyes Of The Killer
  It’s the hit of the season and applause rings out night after night. But why do all the people that come to see it disappear? What does “immersive theatre” mean… and will BB survive to tell anybody else?
• Flesh Of The Killer
  BB and her friends sneak into a tax exempt freeport on the edge of the city. What kind of animal has been evolving underground in the forbidden Museum Of Moral Art?
• Blood Of The Killer
  In the quiet country town the drinky birds lie dreaming and severed heads roll slowly down the street. BB must discover the terrible secret of the lost zine distro, or fall prey to its curse…
• Ears Of The Killer
  A new music scene is forming – it’s known as “Crime Wave” and all of the songs are about killing people. Can BB and her sister ZZ outrun the New Wave, or is it true nothing can change the shape of things to come?
• Heart Of The Killer
  At the Dream Resort the days slip by quietly in the murmuring pines. At night a dreadful vision of desire stalks the halls.
• Face Of The Killer
  All the dogs in town are laughing: there is talk of a new play. As fireworks burst over the city, BB finds herself looking into the face of the Killer.

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The playable prologue invites players to about an hour of the game, including the opening, which explores how Fiona gets to her new island home. The prologue then drops you into a mind-boggling midgame segment of Neverway that reveals that nothing is truly as it seems, transporting you into a simulation where you’ll try to piece together what is happening around you and fight your way deeper into Fiona’s memories.

In Neverway, players step into the shoes of Fiona, who, after quitting her dead end job, starts over with a farm. However, she quickly finds herself the immortal herald of a dead god, unraveling a new life of psychological horror. As a result, you must now not only keep your life from falling apart, but must also search for Neverway, a nightmare reality that is slowly leaking into your own.

Throughout Neverway, you’ll meet up with multiple characters, each with their own unique routines and storylines. As your relationships with these characters develops, Fiona will unlock buffs and combat abilities that make her journey a little easier. However, you’ll need to deal with the immortal herald thing. Will you lie to them about your current situation, or will you tell them the truth?

The post Nightmarish Life Sim RPG ‘Neverway’ Aims For October Release; New Prologue Demo Available Now [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse takes place in Paris in 1499, set 23 years after Castlevania: Dracula’s Curse. Paris is engulfed in flames as monstrous creatures suddenly emerge from the shadows. Armed with the legendary holy whip, the Vampire Killer, Trevor Belmont’s successor ventures into the burning streets and the looming castle to hunt down the beasts.

The whip is not the only tool at your disposal. In addition to your sword, sword, as players move through Paris toward Dracula’s castle, they’ll unlock new tools and powers to better aid them in the fight against Dracula and his minions.

True to the roots of the series, you will encounter colorful characters and powerful foes, stumble upon many secret chambers, dig up numerous hidden items, and whip your way through challenging areas.

Due out later this year for PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series, the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse also marks the series’ 40th anniversary later this year.

The post Whip Into Action in the New ‘Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse’ Gameplay Trailer [Watch] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Just in case you’ve not played the three-chapter epic, FAITH: The Unholy Trinity is a pixel-based action adventure game inspired by classic Atari games and the “Satanic Scare” of the 1980s. The game takes place appropriately in the 80s, when on September 21, 1986, two priests arrived at the Martin Family home in rural Connecticut to investigate an apparent case of demonic possession. Only two people would leave the house alive.

Meanwhile, Alanah Pearce recently announced the launch of Charred Pictures, an independent production company with the goal of adapting video game intellectual property for film and television, with FAITH: The Unholy Trinity being one of the properties.

The post ‘FAITH: The Unholy Trinity’ Possesses PlayStation 5 Today [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In the last few years, there’s been a surprising streak of announcements for the franchise. We’ve had remasters of Soul Reaver 1 and 2 as well as Defiance. There’s even been a tabletop RPG that ran a crowdfunding campaign. Even with all my nostalgia, the only one of these projects that actually drew my attention was the announcement of a new entry in the series, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance. I was even excited by the shift into the 2D action-platformer genre, one that usually doesn’t resonate with me. Unfortunately, the game we ended up with does not feel like the highly anticipated return to the series my 15-year-old self would have been looking for.

Legacy of Kain is known for its overwrought stories of time travel, magical swords, elder gods, and vengeance-seeking vampires, and Ascendance aims to continue that tradition, but not nearly as elegantly as I recall from others in the series. The story, which is apparently based on a recent comic called the Dead Shall Rise, introduces Raziel’s sister Elaleth, who is positioned as one of the main narrative forces in the series. Filling in the gaps between Blood Omen and Soul Reaver, Ascendance swaps between different protagonists to tell a story of time-hopping revenge and manipulation.

New characters and clashing art styles plague the return to Nosgoth

It definitely stays true to the gothic sensibilities of the series, but the level of writing doesn’t really reach its ambition. Right off the bat, there are a lot of characters to keep track of, and mixing that with time travel makes it a bit hard to onboard. Prequels are challenging to write, and it feels like so much of the story is just about moving the pieces on the board towards a natural conclusion, oftentimes in convoluted ways that bring the focus to Elaleth at the expense of the series regulars.

Aside from the new character, there are huge changes to the series in both gameplay and visual style. As I mentioned, we’ve now shifted to a 2D perspective, focusing on platforming and combat challenges. In addition, the game now features a retro pixel art style that brings the classic characters to life in a new light. This combination is one of the most successful parts of the game for me. Maybe it was just the vampire focus, but it really gave me a Castlevania vibe, specifically the more linear early Castlevania rather than the sprawling map style made popular by Symphony of the Night. If they aren’t going to do a full-scale new entry in the series, this feels like the perfect way to keep the scope in line while still delivering style in spades.

In addition to the pixel art, there are a few more styles that they mix in to provide variety. During the fully voiced cutscenes, we’re given cartoon-like character portraits that provide more detail than the pixel art, bringing life to the performances. For a couple of key sequences, it switches to a classic PS1-style low-poly look, which helps ground it in the past, even if it doesn’t gel with the rest of the game. Other cutscenes are animated using a more hand-drawn anime style, creating dynamic action that feels more in line with the main game than the low-poly elements. It’s ambitious that they tried to use so many different styles in the game, but it felt like that lack of focus made the final product feel less cohesive.

Gameplay mechanics are draining

I’m glad that Ascendance didn’t chase the Metroidvania trend and attempt to make a labyrinthine map, instead opting to do a very linear level-based approach. Unfortunately, the core gameplay just doesn’t do much to distinguish itself, doing the bare minimum for the genre without the crisp game feel that defines its strongest competitors. Without having navigation to worry about, it needs to rely on the strength of the jumping challenges and combat encounters, and neither of them finds interesting ways to feel unique. The basic jump feels stiff, and the challenges the level design provides never feel compelling. None of the three playable characters has combos, just a normal sword slash repeated over and over, preventing combat from ever getting into a satisfying flow.

That’s not to say they don’t each of them doesn’t have their own vibe and feel. You’ll play as Elaleth, Kain, and Raziel (both as a human and as a vampire), which offers a decent bit of variety. The vampires all share a gimmick of having to drink blood to heal, which gives you a power fantasy of tearing through hordes of humanoid enemy soldiers and ripping them apart to gain strength. This is also accompanied by a constantly draining health bar, adding a bit of urgency to your combat, at least in theory. For the most part, the health drain never really caught up to me, except when I was explicitly taking my time to try to track down some of the game’s secrets.

At different times throughout, some of the vampire characters will be able to fly, which takes up stamina, a resource also used by the dodge roll everyone has access to. Flying often feels a bit janky and inconsistent, with each flap of your wings propelling you upwards slightly in a manner that never quite feels like you have precise control over. Most of the time, it just allows you to get a good angle for a dive attack on enemies, but some levels use it extensively. These stages have long areas with no ground where you are guided through by orbs that will recharge your stamina. These were the areas where I died most, and it never really felt like my fault when I did. It’s a cool gimmick, and the wings surprisingly have narrative importance, but the execution never reaches their design intention.

Enemy AI gets in the way of Ascendance‘s combat

When playing as the human version of Raziel, it’s noticeably more challenging. Instead of drinking NPC’s blood, you have to do an execution that lights your vampire enemies on fire to finish them off, or they will rise again. Having parts where you feel underpowered is a great idea to change up the tone of the gameplay, but the pacing of the game never really knows how to alternate this to make it feel meaningful in some sort of overall challenge arc. Human Raziel comes off as a less fun version of the other characters, which makes those sections feel more like a bummer than a tense challenge.

Even with the full suite of combat options, the enemy AI is so baffling that it almost never feels satisfying. There were so many times throughout the four-hour runtime that I would run across a pair of enemies where one would attack me while the other stood there doing nothing. I couldn’t tell if this was a bug or if their awareness range was just set extremely short, but either way, it really hampered the combat experience. Some of the more mobile enemies would move around so much that they would jump off cliff edges, killing themselves.

This wasn’t a reward for me smartly maneuvering around them to trick them into doing it; they just did it themselves with little interaction from me. The only time the fights felt good was during some of the boss fights, particularly ones where I’m fighting player characters that I’m not currently controlling, but I think that mostly came down to the novelty of seeing an NPC use the same player kit I’ve had access to. I hear so much about how the combat in games like Hollow Knight and Blasphemous feels great within the 2D platforming genre, so it’s disappointing to see it so poorly implemented in Ascendance.

Not only is the combat not particularly compelling, but the level design doesn’t provide spaces for very good platforming. It’s not just the stiff jump I mentioned earlier; it’s an overall lack of care and creativity in the layouts of the level. There are no moments that find clever ways to challenge your dexterity, no standout sequences of jumps that stick in your memory. It’s just boilerplate maps that never find interesting ways of escalating the complexity or adding variety as they go on, either within the level or throughout the overall structure of the game’s 12 chapters. They tried to make it a little more compelling with lots of fire-based environmental hazards to stand in the way of the vampire characters, but it ends up looking weird when it doesn’t affect the NPCs.

Two levels stood out to me: one that was fully dark, presenting everything in black and white with small splashes of lighting that break it up, and another where you’re on horseback being chased. Both of these were notable for their visual variety, and I wish they were able to back that up with clever gameplay gimmicks.

Ascendance doesn’t quite live up to Kain’s legacy

Aside from all these gameplay issues, there are so many little polish issues with Ascendance that really ended up wearing me down. There’s no mid-level save, so if you have to stop in the middle of the chapter, expect to start over from the beginning. Also, the cutscenes aren’t skippable, making it a chore to wait through them again. Occasionally, there were sections of the level where you were ascending throughout, and if you fell off a cliff, you’d end up going way back toward the beginning of the level. It’s a baffling design decision not to just make falls like that a death, because the first thing I did was look for an enemy to kill me so I could respawn at a reasonable checkpoint.

Speaking of enemies, if you ever killed them while they were in the air, they would often just finish their jump normally, then die on the ground, which was laughable. If they were in the middle of a line of dialogue, they would finish that up even if their death animation completed. Even if the core gameplay was solid, this would feel like a death by a thousand cuts situation, but instead, these polish issues added even more annoyance on top of an already shaky foundation.

I wish my return to the world of Nosgoth was worth the decades-long wait, but there just isn’t a lot here. The move to 2D was great in theory, echoing the gothic vibe of Castlevania, but the execution was as lackluster as it could have been. Narratively, it’s all over the place, presented with a combination of visual styles that makes it feel incoherent, if occasionally sharp-looking.

Given the recent remasters, I’m really surprised we didn’t see a more traditional Legacy of Kain game, and I hope this game doesn’t hurt our chances of getting one. I’d love it if this series had more life in it, but Ascendance may have proved it’s already been sucked dry.

Review codes provided by publisher. Ascendance launched March 31 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

The post ‘Legacy of Kain: Ascendance’ Disappoints with Lackluster Return to Nosgoth [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Additionally, if you’re at PAX East today, you can check out the first player-facing demo for Grave Seasons at Booth #19049! As for a wider Steam Demo, Perfect Garbage has plans to launch one, but you’ll need to stay tuned for more info.

“Perfect Garbage cannot thank you all enough for following us on this journey,” reads a message from the devteam. “The game has grown so much over the course of its development and the love you’ve shared with us has pushed us to do our very best!”

Grave Seasons has you relocating to your new home in Ashenridge after a treacherous escape from jail. While trying to establish your new farming life and embed yourself in the neighborhood, murders start to occur in the town, putting your new peaceful life at risk.

In amongst growing crops, fishing, mining, and participating in the local economy by selling your goods in town, you’ve become wrapped up in the sudden murders plaguing this cozy town. You’ll need to search for clues and investigate the unique townsfolk to uncover the dark truth. That may involve a little bit of breaking and entering, but let’s just keep that between friends.

The post Cozy Horror Title ‘Grave Seasons’ Haunts Your Farm on August 14 [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

In this sequel to the 2020 original, you play as the immortal Princess of the Underworld. You’ll explore a bigger, deeper mythic world, vanquishing the forces of the Titan of Time with the full might of Olympus behind you, in a sweeping story that continually unfolds through your every setback and accomplishment.

New locations, challenges, upgrade systems, and surprises await as you delve into the ever-shifting Underworld again and again. Reveal the mysteries of the Altar of Ashes, tame witchy familiars, and gather reagents using Tools of the Unseen to get closer to your goal.

Infuse your legendary weapons of Night with ancient magick, so that none may stand in your way. Become stronger still with powerful Boons from more than a dozen Olympian gods, from Apollo to Zeus. There are nearly limitless ways to build your abilities.

Thanks to a variety of permanent upgrades and the return of God Mode, you don’t have to be a god yourself to experience what Hades II has to offer. But if you choose to become one, you can brave escalating challenges for greater rewards, and prove your godhood.

The post ‘Hades II’ Launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series on April 14 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a fast-paced 2D action platformer published by Crystal Dynamics, and developed by Bit Bot Media in association with FreakZone Games. Set prior to the adventures of Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver, storytelling and narrative are woven directly into the gameplay, cutscenes, and world design. Retro pixel art and anime-influenced cinematics bring the world to life, telling a new story set in a familiar world of collapsing kingdoms, haunted ruins, and shattered timelines.

Featuring multiple protagonists, players will overwhelm the battlefield with Kain’s vampiric powers, play as Raziel before his fall as a human Sarafan knight, then take flight for the first time in his vampiric form. Meanwhile, the Vampire Elaleth introduces an aggressive playstyle focused on fast relentless offense.

The game will also feature returning series voice actors Simon Templeman, Michael Bell, Anna Gunn and Richard Doyle, alongside a soundtrack composed by Celldweller.

Ascendance will launch March 31 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

The post Delve Into The Development of ‘Legacy of Kain: Ascendance’ With New Behind-The-Scenes Video [Watch] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

From the “somehow triple-BAFTA‑winning creators” of Vampire Survivors, Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors turns the snowballing thrill of Vampire Survivors into a turbo turn‑based deckbuilder with roguelite elements. Build busted decks, explore familiar dungeons from a new perspective, and unleash world‑ending combos. Either take your time and be tactical, or play turns as fast as you humanly can: the outcome is always accurate.

Play cards in ascending mana order to land combos, with each step multiplying the next card’s effect. Use Wilds to extend the stack and keep going to 10, 20, 30… Can you reach infinite? Accumulate experience and level up to gain new cards, headbutt chests for customization gems and power‑ups; chase weapon evolutions and summon survivors to trigger cascade of effects and break the game.

Explore dungeons packed with something seldom seen in Vampire Survivors: functioning walls. And then all sorts of unique treasures and interactions. Find the shovel to dig into the next floor, that will most likely take place in the clouds!

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Music has always been a central theme of the All-Kill lore, and All-Kill: Comeback takes that connection to new levels. In addition to consulting on content for the horror multiplayer’s latest release and lending his voice to the game’s new Survivor, Kwon Tae-young, Woo also composed and recorded an original track titled “No Escape” specifically for the launch. The track, accompanied by an animated lyric video takes viewers inside the Trickster’s Delusion Map, exploring character dynamics while blending neon visuals and a K-pop aesthetic with Dead by Daylight’s signature atmosphere, tension, and dread.

“Creating music for All-Kill: Comeback was a chance to bring everything full circle, in a way,” shared Woo, who recently also provided the singing voice for Mystery Saja in the Academy Award winning K-Pop Demon Hunters. “All-Kill has always lived at the intersection of K-pop and horror, and writing a song for it let me explore that contrast in a really fun way that fit well with the game’s themes. Getting to be first a consultant, then a voice actor, and now a musician on this release has been a blast.”

Beyond its stand-out visuals and compelling characters, All-Kill: Comeback also delivers on some highly requested updates designed to make a tangible impact on The Trickster’s gameplay. The K-pop Killer will benefit from some focused refinement aimed at reestablishing him as a fast-paced, high-pressure Killer while rewarding skillful, expressive gameplay in exciting new ways.

Players can look forward to mastering The Trickster’s new Style Rank system that encourages them to build momentum, creativity, and precision, escalating the action towards the Killer’s special Main Event ability. The payoff? A more dynamic playstyle designed to thrill anyone who can embrace his rhythm.

The long-requested Trickster’s Delusion Map will also be released as part of the update, giving players their first opportunity to explore an urban setting in Dead by Daylight. A reflection of The Trickster’s twisted mind, the Map drops players into the shadowy, neon-lit streets of South Korea, featuring locations that include a marketplace, a night club, and more.

One of All-Kill: Comeback’s most intriguing arrivals comes in the form of MiNA, now available as a Legendary Outfit for The Trickster. A female virtual idol created in his image, MiNA brings a new personification of The Trickster’s themes of fame, violence, and show(wo)manship to Dead by Daylight. More than just a visual transformation, the Legendary Outfit features all-new voice lines, giving MiNA her own presence and personality in The Fog.

All-Kill: Comeback in Dead by Daylight is available now on PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox Series and Nintendo Switch.

The post K-pop Horror “All-Kill: Comeback” Chapter Available Today in ‘Dead by Daylight’ [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

For those that never played the original, the story concerns six guests who have been welcomed to the foreboding Stauf Mansion, but something sinister is at play. The wealthy recluse and toymaker Henry Stauf lurks in the shadows, and a dark power hangs over the house, shrouded in mystery. Who is the seventh guest? What does Henry want with them? And who will live to tell the tale?

Unlike the mostly-static visuals of the original, the remake’s mansion comes alive with high-end visuals and carefully redesigned, all-new handcrafted puzzles. Every puzzle is woven into the story and rooted in the mansion’s lore, with recognizable elements that pay homage to the original game.

The haunted mansion shifts and transforms around you through high-end visuals and clever optical illusions. You’ll need to investigate every creepy nook and cranny. Unlock new rooms, uncover hidden secrets, and keep your wits about you.

The post ‘The 7th Guest Remake’ Announced, Coming Later This Year to PC and Consoles [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Available in both a retail version and iam8bit Exclusive Edition, each copy includes a collectible 12” x 18” poster, while the iam8bit Exclusive Edition also features a special O-Sleeve that is described as a “must-have” for physical media fans and horror fanatics.

Also available for PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series, Xbox One, and the Nintendo Switch, Fear The Spotlight is an atmospheric third-person horror adventure described as “a creepy love letter to classic 90s teen horror stories.” When Vivian enters the deserted corridors for a seance with the rebellious Amy, she suddenly ends up alone, and at the mercy of the monster who wanders the halls. Vivian must avoid its gaze, find her friend, and uncover the disturbing, murderous truth of a decades old tragedy.

Players must sneak to avoid detection from this monstrous entity as Vivian explores the ominous darkness of the school corridors. You must solve highly tactile puzzles that pay homage to classic genre favorites as you explore the derelict Sunnyside High with a flashlight, screwdriver, wrench, and more to uncover a web of mysteries.

And if you’re on the fence regarding whether to pick up the game, check out Aaron’s review.

The post Physical Version of ‘Fear The Spotlight’ Now Available on PlayStation 5 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Silver Pines concerns one Red Walker, a private investigator who finds himself in the town of Silver Pines, a place half-abandoned, half-forgotten, in the middle of nowhere. Walker’s job is to track down Eddie Velvet, a musician who has vanished. As the case begins to reveal a dark past, Walker soon slips into a strange and nightmarish descent beyond his control.

Steeped in atmosphere and a creeping dread, Silver Pines sees players embark on an atmospheric and haunting journey as they unearth unsettling revelations and battle nightmarish terrors. All the while, they’ll need to manage their scarce resources to uncover mysteries that could hold the key to the most important case you will ever undertake.

Filled with locked doors and hidden paths at every turn, each holds an uncovered clue, a resource, or something waiting in the dark. As is the case with Metroidvanias, you’ll need to be doing a bit of backtracking and exploring to uncover better tools and weapons in order to open up more areas of the town.

Look for Silver Pines on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

The post ‘Silver Pines’ Gameplay Trailer Shows off Mystery, Action and Relentless Horror [Watch] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

As one would expect from Nightdive, this long-awaited remaster of the 1998 cult classic FPS boasts enhanced remastered visuals, modernized control schemes, and includes the Wages of SiN extra mission pack. In addition, players can swap between remastered visuals and the original SiN Gold version, experience the higher-resolution score mixed/engineered by Chris Mock, and dive into a vault filled with exclusive, behind-the-scenes material.

Set in a near-future dystopian world, SiN: Reloaded puts you in control of security consultant Colonel John R. Blade as you take on the seductively evil Doctor Elexis Sinclaire. When Elexis, CEO of SinTEK Industries, begins injecting the streets with a DNA-altering drug, it’s time to reassess the laws of morality by facing off against Elexis’ unholy army of genetically-engineered mutants.

SiN:Reloaded wasn’t the only news Nightdive had in store, as they also debuted a new trailer for the upcoming Death Wish expansion for last year’s Blood: Refreshed Supply. Releasing as a free game update later this month, Death Wish features four episodes featuring all-new content exclusive to Blood: Refreshed Supply and acts as a sequel to the game’s events.

Death Wish — with four episodes, totaling 48 levels — begins years in the future after the events of Blood expansions Cryptic Passage, Post Mortem, and Marrow, where the specter of Tchernobog still looms after his defeat, having regained strength as protagonist Caleb fought other battles. When his growing power can no longer be veiled, Tchernobog’s forces face off against his foe as the moment of the Dreaming God’s ascension draws near. All maps have been upgraded from their previous mod versions, while the entirety of episode 4 and other levels are entirely new. All maps are co-op compatible and feature custom music from Noelle Amelie Aman (Speedy) and Sjellos (Silentsphere Studios).

Blood: Refreshed Supply is available now on PC via Steam, GOG, and the Epic Games Store), PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One and Series, and the Nintendo Switch. A Nintendo Switch 2 version will launch later this year.

The post Nightdive Reveals Long-Awaited Remaster of Cyberpunk FPS ‘SiN: Reloaded’, Coming This Year [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The key word is “had,” as they’ve now gone back and done a bit of revision after the “reveal”.

Originally, the website listed the protagonist as none other than Sonia Belmont, who fans last saw in the 1997 Game Boy title Castlevania: Legends. Coming out just after Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Legends is infamous for its original intention to be the origin of the Belmont bloodline…with Alucard being involved. Needless to say, once Koji Igarashi took over the series, he declared the game’s happenings non-canon, as it conflicted with the main series’ plot.

However, it now appears that Sony may have jumped the gun, as they’ve now updated the listing, removing all reference to Sonia. The listing now refers to the character as “Trevor Belmont’s successor”. The question is, did Sony spoil what Konami was intending to reveal themselves? Until Konami puts out their own statement, we’re left to speculate.

Co-developed by Evil Empire and Motion Twin, Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is due out later this year to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, the Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam, marking the series’ 40th anniversary later this year.

The post Sony May Have Potentially Spoiled the Protagonist for ‘Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse’ appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Just when you thought he’d finally caught a break, the POSTAL Dude gets yanked out of vacation mode by a full-blown nationwide ginger purge. The new President is an old-news flag-humping lunatic, redheads are officially public enemy number one, and a tech-nerd Vice President just ran off with The Dude’s personal arsenal.

With a fruity cocktail still in hand and nothing but rage in his heart, the Dude must now punch, piss, and blast his way through a sunbaked swarm of brainwashed fanatics under the heat of a regular manhunt to get his guns back. And while he’s been stripped of his beloved boomsticks, the POSTAL Dude’s will just have to be more improvisational in his offence.

Along with a brand new chapter that expands the story after Brain Damaged, players will be ruining the holidays with five brand new offensive weapons  (literally and metaphorically). They’ll also be making use of the convenient and weird sweaty stick hand, allowing them to get into new places.

You’ll need all of these new abilities, as you’ll be facing off against new enemies to rain on your parade – from the attention demanding xtitch streamers, to the dangerously-chiselled chads. Luckily, you won’t be alone, as there will be familiar faces from the base game returning in this sun-stroked new adventure.

The post ‘POSTAL: Brain Damaged’ DLC “These Sunny Daze” Launches March 16 for PlayStation, Switch [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is the definitive version of the dark fantasy adventure, originally released back in 2003 for the PlayStation 2, original Xbox and Windows. Return to the world of Nosgoth as you control both the vampire Kain and his betrayed lieutenant, Raziel, two mighty beings bound by the conflict between fate and free will.

Featuring updated HD visuals, players can experience Nosgoth like never before with a new camera, as well as upgraded character models, textures, and environments, with the ability to switch between classic and modern presentations on the fly. You can also play the game with the original fixed camera or a new third-person camera built for modern platforms.

There is also a slew of bonus content, including a photo mode, alternate character skins, a comprehensive lore reader, unreleased content and ‘lost levels’ from the original game.

Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is available today in multiple editions, including the Standard Edition, featuring the full base game, and the Deluxe Edition, which includes the base game, a comic book reader (with three classic comics) and a demo of the unreleased sixth game in the series: Legacy of Kain: The Dark Prophecy.

The post ‘Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered’ Out Now on PC, Consoles [Trailer] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Speaking of costumes, PC, PlayStation and Xbox owners of Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP will be getting the “Die Hard Patriot” costume next month. Obviously, Switch and Switch 2 owners will be getting the costume after the game’s launch on the latter platform.

Originally released back in 2024, Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is the remastered version of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 cult classic. San Romero High School has been overrun by zombies, and it’s up to cheerleader Juliet to save the day. But Juliet isn’t just any high school cheerleader: As part of a legendary family of zombie hunters, she’s more than equipped to fight the undead hordes! Using her acrobatic cheerleading skills, zombie-slaying expertise, and a seriously powerful chainsaw, she’ll face down an army of the living dead and the evil forces behind them!

Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is currently available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, as well as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The post Nintendo Switch 2 Edition of ‘Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP’ Launches May 28 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

The reasoning for the delay is due to “the need for significant updates” to the Switch 2 version, but also for the original Switch version. No revised release date has been announced, though Dragami will announced the new date “as soon as preparations are complete”.

Dragami didn’t include any update regarding the physical version of RePOP for the Switch 2, which was announced last year, and was also the reason for the game’s initial delayed release.

The Switch 2 Edition of Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP will sport “significant improvements to graphics and frame rate” over the original Switch version that was released in 2024. At the time of the original announcement, if you already owned the original Switch version of the game, Dragami stated that owners would be able to pay to upgrade the game to the Switch 2 version.

Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP is currently available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam, as well as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

The post Switch 2 Version of ‘Lollipop Chainsaw RePOP’ Delayed Again appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

Rather than introduce a new Killer, All-Kill: Comeback will instead focus on long-standing player feedback. Working once again with artist Kevin Woo, the release will focus on the K-pop themes, while also incorporating improvements to the Dead by Daylight player experience

Since the release of the original All-Kill Chapter back in 2021, players have been wanting an urban Korean-themed map after the environment was initially teased in the game’s lobby. The result is The Trickster’s Delusion Map: a shadowy, atmospheric, neon-soaked sprawl. Woven by The Entity from The Trickster’s twisted subconscious, the new map features shops to browse, a marketplace, and a two-story nightclub to go along with scattered details reflecting the Killer’s erratic state of mind.

Joining the roster of Survivors is Kwon Tae-young. Charming, brilliant, and quietly aloof, Tae-young’s story unfolds behind the scenes of the K-pop industry. A tech designer, he’s hired by Mightee One Entertainment to lead the creation of MiNA – a virtual idol created in the very image of The Trickster himself. Tae-young is voiced in-game by Kevin Woo, who also reprises his role of consultant from 2021’s All-Kill.

“I had the great pleasure of working with the talented team at Dead By Daylight again for this second chapter of All-Kill“, says Woo. “Consulting on the Korea and K-Pop inspired All-Kill world has been a fantastic experience. It was all the more exciting this round as I was involved in the building of the world, the characters, and even voicing the game’s latest Survivor, who I thought was a special character.”

And while the chapter won’t featuer a new Killer, All-Kill: Comeback will include a focused update to The Trickster’s gameplay and refining his playstyle. At the core of the update is the new Style Rank system designed to push players to “remix their approach” to the character, rewarding creativity, aggression, and momentum as The Trickster builds towards unleashing his Main Event and a barrage of blades.

Other features added to the game include the new Aura Accessibility feature, allowing players to change the colors of the various auras in the game – an extension of the Scratchmark accessibility update already in place. Perk descriptions are also getting an overhaul, becoming simplified and streamlined by roughly 50% for better readability. A new feature will also allow players to hover over a status within the description for additional details and information.

The post ‘Dead by Daylight’ Announces “All-Kill: Comeback” Chapter, Coming March 17 appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

A mundane family dinner becomes a waking nightmare for teenager Maya. One moment, she’s feuding with her parents over yet another fish dinner, and the next, her family has vanished, her home lies in ruins, and the world around her has been reshaped into an eerie, desolate realm. Abducted by a powerful, ancient god, Maya must navigate this hostile domain resembling an Iron Age castle, uncover the truth behind her captor’s motives, and fight to reclaim her reality before she, too, becomes another forgotten relic within its walls.

As mentioned, in order to survive, Maya must master the impossible by bending gravity at will, flipping between floors and ceilings mid-leap to traverse the crumbling chambers of the maze-like castle. Carefully plan jump arcs, trigger environmental mechanisms, and chain precise springs and flips together to clear various hazards. Each room presents a tightly crafted platforming puzzle that demands momentum, timing, and spatial awareness. All the while, the god’s watchful presence threatens to shift reality beneath Maya’s feet.

Beyond the castle’s deadly trials lies a desolate and atmospheric world of uncanny reflections and neglected histories. Explore towering ruins, submerged caverns, and distorted echoes of Maya’s own suburban home, all underscored by haunting ambient soundscapes. Encounter other prisoners and monstrous doppelgängers of Maya’s loved ones who present unnerving takes on what has transpired within the god’s castle.

“LOVE ETERNAL is, to my knowledge, the first game to combine precision platforming with psychological horror; but even beyond this obvious novelty, the game unfolds in a way I think no player will be able to fully anticipate,” said Toby Alden, designer at brlka. “I’m very excited to finally reveal the moments and characters and world we’ve created, and I think anyone who rolls credits on this game will be able to say they had at least one entirely new experience.”

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Published by Crystal Dynamics and developed by Crystal Dynamics and PlayEveryWare, Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered is the definitive edition of the classic adventure, launching for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, Xbox Series and Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on March 3, 2026, and is available to pre-order today. Those who pre-order the game will receive Kain and Raziel character skins inspired by the “Shifter” game concept, the inspiration for the entire Soul Reaver saga.

Meanwhile, Legacy of Kain: Ascendance is a fast-paced 2D action platformer published by Crystal Dynamics, and developed by Bit Bot Media in association with FreakZone Games. The game introduces a brand-new gameplay style to the franchise, and features original voice actors reprising their iconic roles: Simon Templeman as Kain, Michael Bell as Raziel, Anna Gunn as Ariel and Richard Doyle as Moebius, plus a soundtrack from hit recording artist Klayton. Ascendance will launch March 31, 2026 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

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Medieval Paris, where the tolling bells herald the end. 1499, Paris is engulfed in flames as monstrous creatures suddenly emerge from the shadows. Armed with the legendary holy whip, the Vampire Killer, Trevor Belmont’s successor ventures into the burning streets and the looming castle to hunt down the beasts.

As expected, the iconic whip of the series is back, now more important than ever! Taking a cue from Super Castlevania IV, players can use their whip to move around freely. Master the whip mechanics and be creative to pounce on your foes in fast-paced combats!

The whip is not the only tool at your disposal. You will need to strategically plan your next move in combat and make full use of all the weapons and abilities to stand a chance! Dracula’s castle is expectedly packed with secrets, traps and puzzles.

Expanding further the series-classic gothic style, this Belmont’s Curse sports a unique colorful art style will let you discover the world of Castlevania like never before. True to the roots of the series, you will encounter colorful characters and powerful foes, stumble upon many secret chambers, dig up numerous hidden items, and whip your way through challenging areas.

And as one would hope, Konami mentioned on their official site that seeing as Castlevania turns 40 this year, fans can look forward to “numerous new products” centered around the franchise.

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Fans who pick up the special Nintendo Switch retail edition will also receive an exclusive 12”x18” fold-out poster and a bonus digital download code for the game’s soundtrack.

Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic takes players through the abandoned workshop of Murray’s Costume Manor, where a new secret and hints of an ever-present threat lie around every corner. Along the way, players must uncover the dark mystery left behind by reclusive inventor Edwin Murray as they evade encounters of The Mimic, a prototype endoskeleton that aims to terrify by adapting to any and every character imaginable. Through wits, a few gadgets and a heavily redacted corporate briefing, players will need to retrieve Fazbear’s prized prototype technology while making it out safely on the other side.

In addition to the Switch, Five Nights at Freddy’s: Secret of the Mimic is also available for the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

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The Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred expansion sees players return to Sanctuary to confront Mephisto’s growing influence. In addition to the previously-announced return of the Paladin class, the Warlock will also be joining the fight, bringing with it metal chains, flames, and destructive power that turn the wrath of Hell against itself.

The expansion will also include a brand-new area in Skovos. The new region brings will it new characters, quests, and monsters as players explore Mediterranean-inspired landscapes where humanity first emerged in Sanctuary.

The endgame for Lord of Hatred has also seen a revamp, giving players greater control over progression and challenge. War Plans introduces customizable activity paths that allow players to shape their experience, while the Echoing Hatred encounters have players tackling escalating waves of increasingly difficult enemies.

As for Diablo II: Resurrected, “Reign of the Warlock” adds the Warlock class, which is focused on demon summoning, binding and transformation. Like Diablo IV, Resurrected has also been given new endgame challenges. Players can earn consumables and choose which acts are Terrorized, which ratchets up the difficulty and the resultant rewards. Conquering Terrorized Act bosses in Hell difficulty has a chance to unveil one of five mystical statues. Combine the statues to unlock a new boss battle, the Colossal Ancients, which will further stretch your skills and builds.

There are also new quality-of-life updates in the DLC, adding loot filters, advanced stash tabs, and an all-new Chronicle system to track your treasure-hunting, and gain new rewards after completion.

Diablo IV: Lord of Hatred will launch April 26 for PC via Steam and Battle.net, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 4. Diablo II: Resurrected is also available on Xbox Series, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and the Nintendo Switch.

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In addition to the digital release, eastasiasoft will also release physical editions of Incantation for the PlayStation 5 and Switch. Pre-orders are available via Play-Asia. The standard edition will be available for both platforms, while a limited edition will only be available for the Switch. The latter includes the game, manual, acrylic standees, Joy-Con stickers, mini case, a lucky charm, and a numbered certificate in a collector’s box. Physical editions will ship simultaneously alongside the digital release. The Nintendo Switch release will also have enhanced features for Nintendo Switch 2, including improved resolution and framerate.

Originally released on Steam back in 2024, Incantation is a horror-themed adventure presented in cinematic 3D first-person perspective. Adapted from the Taiwanese found-footage folk horror film directed by Kevin Ko of the same name, players assume the role of a mother who is searching for her missing daughter. She is led to a place called the Chen Family Village, which is haunted by an evil deity and inhabited by cultists. The player must guide the mother through the village, solving environmental puzzles by interacting and finding key items as well as picking up clues to lead them from area to area.

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