Julius

So yeah, I guess it's official now.

Pretty big news via the PS Blog for PS VR2, which says PlayStation are currently testing the ability for owners to have access to additional games on PC. Could be huge for the platform, considering that it launched without backwards compatibility for original PS VR titles and the funding just hasn't been there to really draw newcomers in when it comes to new titles. Good stuff, looking forward to any updates on this.

More details on Vengeance: These details are a summary of yesterday's Vengeance Spotlight stream: Essentially - and it's not exactly a new perspective to have if you've followed their releases over the last couple of years - if you don't want the least definitive version of an Atlus game, don't pick it up at launch and be willing to wait 2-3 years for a definitive version. Which absolutely sucks. At least for Persona 3 Reload they had the decency to add that stuff as DLC (that's not confirmed but leaked, mind you, so that's not been communicated yet), but SMT V and Persona 5 have both now had definitive editions with content not made available through other means.

Reviews are starting to drop, and while it's very early on and these numbers will probably come down a little in the coming days as more reviews release, currently sitting at 93 on OpenCritic and 94 on Metacritic! Obligatory Digital Foundry tech breakdown: Seven Days till the End [of this nearly four-year wait!]

Kyle Bosman delivering on yet another Easy Allies bet...nearly three years on. By walking around a park dressed as Batman. A true man of his word

Announced during today's Direct!

Megalovania in the style of Persona 5 is S-tier stuff

No Mother 3, but here are your Earthbound Beginnings icons To make matters worse/funnier/waaaaaaaaaay more cruel, icons for Earthbound are due out for a week from the 29th, and for Mother 3 for a week from the 7th (March)...at least in Japan, don't think we've had full confirmation of what's going on over here just yet (at least at the time of writing), but I would assume it's the same deal. Which makes it potential even worse/funnier/way, way more cruel; are we really about to see Mother 3 icons drop in the West in 2 weeks' time, despite the game having never released over here?

Felix the Cat drops March 28th! And Rocket Knight Adventures: Re-Sparked is coming...sometime in 2024?

From Polygon: I don't know who decided to wake up at Konami over the last couple of years, but damn, this is shaping up to be one hell of a window we're in now for their back catalogue. Suikoden I + II, Silent Hill 2 Remake, Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, and now this all seemingly taking aim at 2024 releases, after recently releasing the Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Vol. 1 (to mixed reception, but it's being patched, which is...something?). And a new announcement for another Carbon Engine collab with LRG a month and a half from now. Did we swap timelines?

Limited Run have confirmed plans for a physical release of the game for both Series X|S and PS5: Yeah, for me Pentiment is more of a curiosity, but this is the one which has grabbed me and that I really want to play. Grounded I couldn't care less, and Sea of Thieves, just by it's very nature, really depends on how willing my friends are to check it out. Certainly a level of irony here that after all of Xbox's acquisitions, the game produced by their only studio in Japan (I'm pretty sure?) is the only one of real interest to a lot of people not already on their platform

@Hero-of-Time trophies confirmed on PlayStation per the PS Blog: The Death Star map seems like the obvious choice for that one I kind of want to see if I can get all the trophies in this just based on their descriptions much as I love the game I hope they don't get too silly with, say, separate trophies for winning Galactic Conquest with each faction. Anyways, my pre-order is in (there's a 10% pre-order discount incentive), so roll on the 14th! ...after the 29th and Rebirth, of course

That suit on the right looks beautiful. The one on the left and these atrocities (even if for a good cause?) are something else, though...

See, I totally get that, and also I imagine it's likely a case of already having handed off materials, the Direct cut likely being mostly if not 100% complete, etc. With how much Xbox leaks these days, though, they seriously need leak clauses in those contracts if that is the case – "if this news gets out ahead of time, we get to pivot it". The hype for and their control over these announcements has been torn from their hands and, as with all leaks, I feel like the announcement/s have been majorly blunted as a result. But even if we say that it's the case that there were arrangements already in place, which there likely were...you let Nintendo hype up your ancient legacy titles going to their Online platform but basically give no lip service or great fanfare to your modern, piecemeal offerings? That's just bad marketing. They need a new team, seriously, because it was thrown out there so carelessly that Pentiment and Grounded were coming to Switch that it felt like an afterthought. You could argue we already knew about it, but that doesn't change the fact that you're trying to sell the game to an entirely new and separate audience to your own! Completely blew their chance to make a splash with those announcements from my POV.

Looks like it's been made private now but seriously, the more we see of their plans for other consoles, the more I'm questioning my own sanity. Why exactly couldn't they reveal the names of any of Grounded, Pentiment, Hi-Fi Rush or Sea of Thieves last Thursday, but then they've had two officially announced today - in the weirdest and most nonchalant way possible, mind you - and had one leak out and confirm it 100%, when it was already 99% confirmed anyways from previous datamines and the like? I guess you'd maybe have deals in place but plans change all the time and they were suffering some major PR blowback, why didn't you wrest your own announcements back? You fools! And you don't even make any big deal out of it in the Direct? No Phil cameo? This is insane. There's no connection there to tell me these games are also on Xbox other than a small logo in the corner. Come on, guys. Do better than that. The fact that we're getting Pentiment tomorrow, Hi-Fi next month, and Grounded in April makes me think Sea of Thieves drops in May...at which point, does anyone believe they aren't planning more with potentially four consecutive months of drops on other platforms? Also, respect to Bethesda LATAM for jumping the gun. It was the smart move. Muchas gracias mi amigos I'm not too surprised by this, I remember questioning if this thing could even run on Switch back when we were talking about GOTYs/TGAs and that Xbox should've got this on everything else and taken a real crack at the big awards with a For Your Consideration-like campaign for the game. Really seems like it depends on a super solid and high frame rate because of the style of game and it's mechanics. Switch 2 for sure.

Some more details on this release, which looks to be astronomically priced - I've seen £31.49 flying around? I mean I'm in at whatever price, but come on, that seems far steeper than it needs to be Adding (copying?) maps to Battlefront II is great, as is the inclusion of Kit Fisto and Ventress. Hero Assault on any ground map is awesome. So pumped for this

May 24th, and now confirmed for Switch, too, as revealed in today's Direct! @Ashley any chance you could move this across to Nintendo Gaming now that a Switch version has been confirmed please?

Some more details and a separate trailer (without the countdown): The expansion will be priced at $39.99 USD. There will be a Collector's Edition. Really digging just how distinct the environmental design is compared to the base game! And that Gatling crossbow (and that guy's armour)!

Shadow of the Erdtree arrives 21st June! What a trailer. Oh my goodness.

Honestly? I wonder if their logic is just that they've shadow dropped five different Rare games across NSO's various consoles, and that got priority over Pentiment purely because, well, those were originally games on Nintendo consoles and will surely have a more positive reception (in terms of the Direct). Not sure I agree with that logic, though. Totally could've dropped it today, anyone interested in Pentiment is going to pick it up as and when, and same for the NSO games I feel

...and the second of Xbox's offerings on other platforms, as announced in today's Direct.

That was a surprisingly solid Partner Showcase. I'd need to go back and check the others they've done but with those all being Minis, this definitely felt like a step up in terms of lineup and just general pacing. Anyways, as for what tickled my fancy: • Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance. I'll get to it...eventually, but sure, it's the Year of the JRPG, why not add another to the list and make it multiplatform while we're at it? Some day. • Battlefront Classic Collection. The only thing I paused the Direct for. My jaw dropped. This is one of my favourite games of all-time. This is going to be very bad for my backlog. Day 1. • Pepper Grinder. Not sure if I'll pick this up on Switch or Steam Deck, but I've been keeping an eye on this game for a little while now. I expect a lot of noise around it at release, I mean, assuming that it's any good. I won't be playing the demo (like we have the time for demos in the year of gaming that is 2024?!), but appreciate that there is one. If I'm not busy, Day 1. • Pentiment. Heard way too many good things about this to just let it slide. Another one where I'm not sure if I want it on Switch or Steam Deck, but I've seen little else besides the art style and a few seconds of gameplay out of context, so it is purely curiosity and the hype around it which has me interested. I am busy, so not Day 1, but, some day soonish I hope. • Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On! Man, I've been meaning to get to this forever. I have it on 3DS. But I just haven't got around to it. Some day. I do agree with @EEVILMURRAY that calling out H1 2024 as the focus then having games with dates in the latter part of the year and just general "some time this year" is a bit weird, but hey, at least they didn't start talking about 2025! With all of that in mind, I'm going to give it a Totally Official Event Score (or TOES, because...these money-guzzling, coin-licking, cheque-hungry companies are all little piggies?) of 7.5/10. Got that little Battlefront bump, baby

Switch exclusive!

Well, there's the first of Xbox's upcoming offerings on other platforms.

Snake Rattle 'n' Roll and R.C. PRO-AM both join the service today: