Developer Team Ninja and publisher Koei Tecmo announced that the first major DLC for their action RPG Nioh 3 will release on August 19.

The Hell Rising DLC continues following the game’s protagonist Takechiyo, but this time we see him traveling through time after encountering a mysterious yokai. This results in him exploring a new explorable region set in Edo during the Keian era in 1651. This DLC also adds two new weapon types: Hoko & Shield and Ninja Hoko & Shield, a new difficulty, and new enemies, plus new equipment and Soul Cores to collect.

The DLC also includes the Hundred Demon Realms Picture Scrolls system for both solo and multiplayer, as this allows players to customize battle conditions, enemy combinations and more to create unique and repeatable challenges for players. Doing so will earn unique scroll equipment with unique effects as a reward.

This DLC is part of the game's season pass, so if you own it, you'll have access to Hell Rising when it launches in August. This is the first of two planned paid DLCs with the second DLC called 'Bloody Insurrection' planned for a 2027 release.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Film Concerts PH partners with SOHO Live to bring you the UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony World Tour, the game's first-ever international concert tour, celebrating its 10th anniversary. The concert is coming to the Philippines on October 17 at the Proscenium Theater in Makati City.

The concert will feature the game's fan-favorite music, performed by the 25-piece Filharmonika Orchestra conducted by Thanapol Setabrahmana, with each performance paired with gameplay footage displayed on a big screen.

UNDERTALE: The Determination Symphony Ticket Costs

There will be four ticket tiers covering each section of the theater. Here's how much each tier costs; you can see the location of each tier in the image above.

• Tier A (Yellow) - PHP 5,999

• Tier B (Blue)- PHP 4,999

• Tier C (Purple) - PHP 3,999

• Tier D (Red)- PHP 1,999

When do tickets go on sale?

Pre-sale access begins on August 4 at 10 AM PHT, exclusive to members of the Film Concerts PH community. Those hoping to get early access to tickets and other exclusive offers can register at th Film Concerts PH website.

Public ticket sales begin on August 11 at 12 PM PHT via Ticketmelon’s website.

Who's Behind the Undertale Concert?

Developed by Lambert Jackson with Materia Music, the concert features sweeping new arrangements by Adam Hoskins, created for the game's 10th anniversary and expanded with additional scoring for the world tour.

The conductor of the UNDERTALE concert, Thanapol Setabrahmana, isn’t new to game concerts. His achievements include the sold-out Stardew Valley: Festival of Seasons world tour (2024–2026), the global Symphony of Seasons series, the pioneering Symphonic Anime, and the introduction of the Evangelion Wind Symphony to North America with original singer Yoko Takahashi.

If you're a big fan of UNDERTALE, attendees are even encouraged to join the concert in their best cosplay to celebrate the game's anniversary.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Developer GSC Game World announced that S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl's first major expansion, called Cost of Hope, is set to launch on August 20, 2026 on PC and consoles.

The expansion still revolves around Skif, the game's protagonist, and it starts when the player picks up a mysterious PDA signal. This leads to new locations, enemies, and weapons, along with a new story said to add "dozens" of hours.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl Update 2.0

The whole game is also getting a major update, as Update 2.0 will launch alongside the new expansion. According to the developers, the update will add "a variety of new content and improvements," and it will be free for all owners of the base game. The devs plan to share more about what to expect from Update 2.0 in the coming weeks.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

I'm still focused on Palworld as the world keeps me invested the more I explore each area. It's massive, but I did squeeze in some time with Marvel's Tokon: Fighting Souls open beta. Some thoughts.

Palworld continues to impress

I'm now over 80 hours into Palworld, and it's a game that keeps on giving. The reward for exploring and capturing new Pals in each new location refreshes the gameplay loop, and I still have a long list of things I want to accomplish.

I've established three bases, each with its own specific role: a mining base, a ranch base, and a main base that mostly grows food to sustain all three while housing the upgrading tools that fuel my explorations.

Despite having three bases fully operational, I still don't have enough materials for my next batch of upgrades. A grind is forming as dungeons and certain encounters start to feel similar, and the requirements for items are mostly tall orders. It's not all bad, though, since the Pals and bosses I'm encountering are getting tougher too. I find myself preparing more often: bringing specific Pals to exploit elemental weaknesses, and more.

The bosses are no longer dying in a few hits. They're sponges with attacks that require chaining multiple dodge rolls together just to mitigate the incoming damage. My go-to Pal lineup had to be upgraded: stronger attacks, higher defense, and a bit of management on my part, being their trainer and all. When a Pal gets focused down, I noticed you can mitigate damage from something like a long beam attack simply by recalling it. I also realized it's better to keep switching Pals during a boss fight to maintain a constant stream of skills being cast. With skills going on cooldown, I can cycle through my whole roster and come back to my first Pal with everything ready to go again. it’s a bit more complex, which is something I appreciate considering how much time I’ve spent on the game so far.

I see issues the closer I get to the end of the game, but none are game-breaking enough to kill my urge to keep playing. Pocketpair did a fantastic job here considering the game's scale. Some things could have been handled better, but the evolution from a wooden crafting bench to full assembly lines feels satisfying to progress through. Highly recommended for anyone who loves survival crafting games.

Marvel's Tokon: Fighting Souls Open Beta

The open beta for Arc System Works' Marvel's Tokon: Fighting Souls ran last weekend, and I spent a full day with it, learning the new systems through casual online matches. It's a fun and accessible fighting game.

Newcomers will get confused despite the game's best efforts. There's no way around it: the tutorial (which you're forced to go through) does its best to explain everything, but not all of it sticks. Most players will have forgotten most of it after a few online sessions.

Players new to fighting games, or new to Tokon specifically, can mash buttons and still find success thanks to the auto-combo system. Pressing the same attack button repeatedly triggers a combo string that usually leads into a team-up attack or a character's super, dealing respectable damage. Spam buttons and you might even look cool doing it. Fighting game enthusiasts won't love that you can't turn auto-combo off, but I appreciate the inclusion. The genre has always been intimidating because of its complexity, and this at least lets a newcomer pull off a few cool moves in their first hours with the game.

But there's real depth underneath. Auto-attacks only get you so far against someone who knows what they're doing. I've already seen the potential for extended combos, assist tech, and solid bread-and-butter setups to keep the pressure on. It's only been a few days, but players are already finding these lines, and it was fun slowly discovering what's possible in the game's Training mode while waiting for online matches.

Another highlight of the beta was a few chapters of the story mode, which follows each of Tokon's major teams. We got a handful of episodes following Spider-Man's team and how it formed, told through comic-strip panels with limited animation to bring each character to life.

I can already see this format struggling to land. There's a lot of story building leading up to a single fight that barely lasts a few minutes before the game moves on to more panels. Hopefully later chapters bring more challenging and interesting fights, since the one episode available in the beta left a stale taste thanks to its cheesy writing.

It'll take weeks before the community gets a full grasp of the game. With only a few days of access so far, most online matches feel like 1v1s with assists tacked on, since few players are switching between characters mid-match while they're still learning. Understandable this early on, it's hard to learn all four of your characters in one weekend, but that versatility will matter a lot for how inviting this game feels to the casual crowd once it fully releases.

Respawn Monday #04: Valor Mortis, Witchfire, and Dead by Daylight

Respawn Monday #05: Silent Hill 2 and the Dead by Daylight Addiction

Respawn Monday #06: Diablo IV, Dead by Daylight Sweats, and Sony going Discless

Respawn Monday #07: Palworld 1.0, and the Black Flag Open Seas

Respawn Monday #08: Palworld has taken over my life

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Garena announced Monster Hunter Outlanders, a new mobile game coming to Southeast Asia. Currently being developed by TiMi Studio Group and supervised by Capcom, this game is aimed at delivering the experience you would expect from the franchise.

This isn’t another Monster Hunter Now, as Outlanders is going to feature classic monster hunting with parties of up to four players, plus new buddies that can join you in hunts. The Palico buddy returns, but this game features two new buddies: Rutaco and Trillan, each with their own distinct personality and skills. You will play as Adventurers

In Outlanders, players will be able to construct field tools like ziplines, launchers, and what they call "gliding facilities," to assist players in traversing the different biomes found in Aesoland, where the game is set.

They mentioned the ability to track monster behavior, where players get to observe how each monster hunts, taunts, and interacts with others to get an advantage. They didn't really specify how that's going to be translated in-game.

Monster Hunter Outlanders Pre-Registration

Pre-registrations for Monster Hunter Outlandersare now live, as once the game reaches certain targets for pre-registrations and social followers, registered players will earn rewards (x20 Standard Contracts, SR Adventurer Raya, and more) when the game launches. More details on this will be announced at a later date.

Currently, Monster Hunter Outlanders is planned to release in Southeast Asia, specifically the Philippines, Singapore, and Malaysia.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Developer Red Hook Studios has revealed that a new DLC for Darkest Dungeon will launch on August 18, marking the first DLC for the original game since 2020. It adds two heroes from the sequel: The Runaway and The Duelist.

Here’s how the devs describe the two heroes:

“The Runaway is a position-flexible damage dealer utilizing a unique Burn damage type with high synergy for teams that like to utilize Stuns and Pull/Knockback/Shuffle effects.”

“The Duelist is a complex damage dealer that dances between the party’s ranks, able to freely maintain Riposte while alternating between her two combat stances, Defensive and Aggressive. Proper planning of the Duelist’s future turns is key to mastering her playstyle and maximizing her potential!”

The new DLC will launch on August 18 on PC, Mac, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch. The DLC will release on Xbox on a later date.

It’s great seeing the first game getting a bit of love years later as it’s still one of the best rogue-like games out there. The sequel had a different tune but just as punishing and is still worth a shot if you haven’t given it a chance.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Last week was Palworld 1.0, all day, every day. While I did spend a few hours on other titles, Pocketpair's open world survival game, where you explore, build a base, and capture creatures called Pals, has taken over my life. And for good reason: this is such a solid title compared to what it was at its early access launch. Some thoughts.

Palworld is no fluke

I'm currently 60 hours into the game and still have a long laundry list of things I want to do. As I move up in material quality and unlock new items, the world continues to expand, and the more I explore each area, the more I find new Pals worth adding to my party or base.

Each of these creatures comes with its own unique set of passives and skills that can be useful to a player. I have a specific Pal I bring along to lessen the weight of all ores in my inventory by 80%, a perfect companion when I'm mining materials. There are even Pals that are best kept at the base to help craft items or cook food, Pals good for combat and traversal, Pals that cool your food ingredients, and Pals best used for herding to generate specific items.

There's a lot to manage, but it's not intimidating, it's actually addicting. I'm now sitting on two fully built bases, each with its own purpose and role, and I'm about to unlock the ability to build a third. Bases run more or less automated: I come back to drop off loot and make sure Pals are fed and ready to keep the fort running. It's a system I built myself, and it's satisfying to watch it run effectively. It's never boring either, even once you reach automation, there's always room to be more efficient.

Bosses can be tough when the difficulty is set to hard, and I love how each dungeon (despite slowly starting to look like it only has a handful of layouts) refreshes eventually and gives you a reason to come back. Each new area is filled with things to gather and capture, new schematics to unlock, and unique rewards. The longer I play, the more I keep getting rewarded. I haven't been this engrossed by a survival building game in a long time, and this is even just me playing solo on my own world.

I have yet to try the game from the start on an online server, living alongside other players. Will it be chaos? Or an opportunity to play together? Hopefully a mix of both.

You'll probably hear more about Palworld even next week, since I don't see myself stopping anytime soon. Technical issues and bugs are at a minimum, and I now fully understand how the building system works, which has sparked renovation plans for both of my bases. It's going really well.

When Palworld was first revealed, it was deemed "Pokémon but with guns." Given what Pocketpair has delivered, that's probably the worst way to describe the game, since it's so much more than that. If Pocketpair plays their cards right, in a couple of years we just might have a serious competitor in the business of catching them all.

Respawn Monday #04: Valor Mortis, Witchfire, and Dead by Daylight

Respawn Monday #05: Silent Hill 2 and the Dead by Daylight Addiction

Respawn Monday #06: Diablo IV, Dead by Daylight Sweats, and Sony going Discless

Respawn Monday #07: Palworld 1.0, and the Black Flag Open Seas

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Last weekend (July 17 - 19, 2026), Bandai Namco Entertainment treated Filipinos visiting Glorietta's Activity Center to an event called Bonus Level that let them try some of their biggest lineups and earn chances to grab freebies, take photos, and meet local cosplayers and content creators. We simply need more like it.

There was a time when brands like Bandai Namco made an effort to showcase their titles and products like in major conventions or other events, but in recent years it has become a rare sight. If you look hard enough, though, the effort is still there as it feels like most of them have realized doing their own thing is more effective, and last weekend gave us a simple but effective concept for exposing a wide variety of titles to the public.

A Weekend Pop-up

When I visited the event on a Friday, I realized one thing: this isn't for me. It's for the players who don't keep tabs on the latest games, or on what their favorite studio is working on next. It's not for the over-informed. Bonus Level felt more like a launch point for games that might catch your attention.

The event featured playable demos for Echoes of Aincrad, Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition, Hello Kitty Party Land, Dragon Ball Xenoverse 3, Tekken 8, and the upcoming Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve. There were also booths for other upcoming titles like The Blood of Dawnwalker, One Piece: Grand Gourmet, Gundam Rogue Orbit, Taiko no Tatsujin, and Square Enix's Final Fantasy VII Revelation, though none of these had playable demos, just spots to grab some freebies, with a trailer playing on the side.

Maybe you're a Sword Art Online fan who didn't realize Echoes of Aincrad was set in the same world. Maybe you're a parent who felt Hello Kitty Party Land was perfect for a child going through their Hello Kitty phase. You might not be a gamer at all and were just hanging out with friends when you saw Tekken 8 was free to play, good for a short burst of fun together. Content creators like KingFB and cosplayers Myrtle Sarrosa and Katiecakey also showed up at set times for quick meet and greets with their fans, which is genius as they have their own pocket communities that are obviously showing up to meet them in person, but will likely stick a bit longer to check out what games are featured.

It's all about the experience, brief or memorable, because the brand and the games are now attached to it, and it was completely free.

Getting People Curious Is Enough

As I checked out the event, I kept noticing how little detail there was about the games, with no playable demos for several of them, which struck me as odd at first. But thinking it through, events like Bonus Level don't need to hard-sell you a game. Being curious enough to wonder what it's all about should be enough in a world where almost everyone has a smartphone that can look up the answers on the spot.

The Blood of Dawnwalker drove this home. Its booth activity required visitors to recreate a key visual from the game, found at a mirror altar inside the closed booth, with hooded cosplayers guiding them through it. There was barely any information about the title itself; it was all about guiding people through the activity to earn their freebie.

While checking out the setup, I came across an elderly group who stopped, thought it looked interesting, and started taking photos by the entrance of the structure. They had no idea it was tied to a video game. They just thought it looked cool and wanted a photo. Moments like that felt powerful, and it's what stuck with me most from the weekend. At first glance the concept seemed strange, but among everyone who took part, a handful will likely search up The Blood of Dawnwalker out of curiosity, or discovered something new, like Bandai Namco working on a new Gundam game. And that curiosity beats any forced pitch.

In today's world, that's all you need, really as the hard part is getting people at the door. People aren't dropping by to learn more about the games; they're there to earn some free stuff, and chances are they've already seen the latest trailers and updates online.

It's small but effective, and it's something Bandai Namco has been running across Southeast Asia. Bonus Level isn't exclusive to the Philippines as similar events was recently ran in Indonesia, Singapore, Bangkok, and Jakarta. It's a tour that works well with minimal effort for both parties and I do hope we see more of it in the future as video games is pretty big in the Philippines, despite recent decisions making it more expensive.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Bethesda Game Studios published a new post on their website detailing the roadmap of games fans can expect from the studio going forward. The update confirms Fallout 5, remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, an official Obsidian Entertainment collaboration on a new Fallout project, continued support for Starfield, and the ongoing development of The Elder Scrolls VI.

Bethesda Game Studios Roadmap: 2026 and Beyond

The post arrives just over a week after sweeping layoffs hit Xbox's divisions and studios, reportedly affecting over a thousand employees across the company. Bethesda Game Studios did laid off dozens of programmers, artists, designers, and testers during this ‘Xbox reset”, as this new message is more of a reassurance to their fans of their franchises.

The message is pretty straightforward as The Elder Scrolls VI is their primary focus but reassuring fans that Fallout isn’t left in the dust.

Fallout Series

Fallout 5 is confirmed to be in active development, though it's currently in pre-production while the bulk of the studio's team is focused on The Elder Scrolls VI. Both titles are reportedly being built on the new Creation Engine 3. Given that The Elder Scrolls VI takes priority, it's safe to assume the next mainline Fallout game won't arrive until well after that game ships.

There's more happening in the Fallout series in the meantime. Bethesda has confirmed remasters of Fallout 3 and Fallout: New Vegas, following the same approach as the Oblivion Remastered. No release dates or windows were shared, though the studio did confirm a Fallout 76 story expansion called Raven Rock, a prequel to Fallout 3, targeted for 2027.

Starfield Support

Starfield is still getting some love despite The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 being the studio's main priorities. Bethesda says it plans to keep expanding the Settled Systems with new stories and gameplay improvements while preparing new "Starborn" content, targeted for 2027. It's not yet clear whether that content will arrive as paid DLC or free updates.

Obsidian Entertainment working on Fallout

The bigger news is that Obsidian Entertainment, the studio behind The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed, is officially working on a new Fallout title in collaboration with Bethesda. Bloomberg broke the news in early July, reporting on Obsidian's layoffs, the cancellation of an Avowed sequel, and talks around the studio taking on a Fallout game. This post makes the collaboration official.

It's exciting to see everything Bethesda has in motion, but it's also a lot to track. There's still no clear sense of how far along The Elder Scrolls VI actually is. It was first revealed back in 2018, and eight years later fans have seen little beyond a logo. Given that timeline, it wouldn't be surprising if Fallout 5 doesn't show up until 2030 or later, which makes the remasters, the Amazon tv show, and the Fallout 76 updates look less like a bonus and more like a bridge to keep fans engaged in the meantime.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Street Fighter 6 is entering its fourth year, which will introduce four new characters, starting with Yasmine, the series' first Filipino character, launching on August 3. To celebrate her launch, Capcom is hosting a community tournament in the Philippines.

Street Fighter 6 'Yasmine' Community Event

The event will take place on August 9, 2026 at Salud! by Primera Bar & Restaurant in Makati, Metro Manila. Doors open at 2PM, featuring a Street Fighter 6 tournament followed by community giveaways, photo ops with cosplayers, free play sessions with the game and a space for the local fighting game community to hang out and connect.

Here’s what you can expect from the event:

• 2:00 PM: Doors Open, Player Check-in, Controller Button Checks, and Free Play Warmups

• 3:00 PM – 3:15 PM: Welcome Speech & Official Street Fighter 6 Yasmine Gameplay Showcase

• 3:15 PM – 5:00 PM: Tournament Pools

• 5:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Top 8 Finals (Main Stage Broadcast) & Prize Presentation Ceremony for Champion, 2nd and 3rd Placements.

• 6:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Premium Community Giveaways, Group Photo Ops, and Closing Remarks

• 7:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Free Play and Community Networking

As for the tournament itself, it will follow a double-elimination bracket format, with matches played best-of-3 until the top 8, which will shift to best-of-5.

Admission is limited to venue capacity and will be strictly first-come, first-served.

The event will also be live-streamed on Capcom Asia’s official Youtube channel and Enduins, a local channel in the Philippines.

Yasmine will be the first Year 4 character released, followed by Arjun, Bosch from Street Fighter 6's World Tour mode, and Final Fantasy VII's Tifa.

Here’s how Capcom describes Yasmine:

“Hailing from the Philippines, Yasmine learned how to fight alongside her Kuya (older brother)under the guidance of her Lolo (grandfather). Following the sudden disappearance of her brother, Yasmine put down her Karambit knife until FooTube videos of a certain French supermodel inspired her to cut a path to her lost sibling. On her journey of discovery, Yasmine will use various high-speed Eskrima techniques.”

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Developer FromSoftware will host a closed network test for their upcoming action RPG The Duskbloods from August 21, 2026 to August 23, 2026. Sign ups go live starting July 22 at 7 AM PDT through July 28 6:59 AM PDT.

Closed Network Test Date and Time

Each day will contain time windows as to when the network test will be live. Each session will be four hours long with August 21 and 23 featuring two sessions, while August 22 only has the one.

August 21, 2026

• 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. PDT (6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. PHT)

• 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. PDT (Aug 22, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PHT)

August 22, 2026

• 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. PDT (Aug 23, 2:00 a.m. – 6:00 a.m. PHT)

August 23, 2026

• 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 a.m. PDT (Aug 23, 6:00 p.m. – 10:00 p.m. PHT)

• 7:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. PDT (Aug 24, 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. PHT)

Players that are selected for the test will be notified on August 7 and will be given a download code for the Closed Network Test. A Nintendo Switch Online membership will be required to join the test.

The network is mostly to test PvP features but the goal of the test is to test the multiplayer performance, testing game server load tests, multiplayer tests, and game balance.

This test of The Duskbloods will allow for up to eight players in each multiplayer match.

The Duskbloods is a Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive from the Elden Ring and Dark Souls developers. So far, it’s slated for a 2026 release with no exact date revealed so far.

FromSoftware never stated if this will have an NDA attached to the closed test.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Last week was mostly focused on Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced, but I was able to squeeze in some time to check out Palworld 1.0 over the weekend. Some thoughts.

Black Flag remake was fantastic, but…

You can read my full thoughts on the Black Flag remake here, as I gave it a 4/5, but why not a perfect score despite the game nailing the objective of giving a modern spin to a beloved title? Bugs and missing polish aside, the remake exposes the weakest point of the earlier games: combat.

The Ezio trilogy was a fantastic open world game overall, Black Flag had naval combat, and the first Assassin's Creed game was something we'd never experienced before at the time. But the combat was always the pain point that ruined it for me in the earlier games. The first two games were okay, but as you watch the series try to refine and change combat with each release, the results rarely land. I never had a great time when I was caught and forced to engage with enemies, and the Black Flag remake (even Mirage) reminded me of this.

In the Black Flag remake, they simplified combat so that perfectly timed parries become the turning point in a fight. But in reality, you're just spamming the attack button until the enemy dies. When they attack, press parry to deflect, or time it right to expose them for a takedown. This shift made combat dull, and the lack of enemy variety didn't help.

The move to a more action-RPG approach starting with Assassin's Creed Origins did improve things. Those titles had their own set of problems, but at least combat was a better experience.

This made me appreciate the Ghost of Tsushima series, whose combat system made each encounter something I actually wanted to engage in. Both games in that series capture a satisfying combat system that makes you think. Stances in the first game counter specific enemy types, and the different weapons in the second game work similarly: a rock-paper-scissors system that requires you to cycle through playstyles to succeed.

The Black Flag remake is already a huge success, having reached over 2 million units sold. That makes another remake project very likely to get greenlit. If it does, I hope they take a risk and experiment with the combat system, not just enhance it, but completely rework it for the better.

Palworld 1.0 doesn't disappoint

For the weekend, I opted for a more relaxed gaming session, one without embargo dates or worries about meta builds, so I revisited Palworld as it left early access last week with its 1.0 update.

I'm not much of a survival-building player, but the idea of catching monsters that can fight alongside you and also handle the chores needed to keep you fed and stocked on materials caught my attention when it was first revealed years ago. Setting up a base that operates automatically, churning out key materials while you're out exploring, is a satisfying concept, and Palworld pulls it off well. There's real depth in maximizing different Pal perks and stats to keep your base running at peak efficiency.

Everything is explained clearly and is easy to understand. I started a new campaign, and before I knew it, six hours had gone by. My Sunday afternoon disappeared into this Pokémon-esque open-world survival game. The controls feel completely different from the early access build, and the added polish is noticeable, since I didn't run into any distracting bugs this time around.

It's a massive open world with over 200 Pals to collect, boss battles, main and side quests, and dungeons packed with loot and schematics to earn. It's a monster of a game, and I'm genuinely fueled to see it through to the end, something I rarely do with base-building survival games. I haven't even touched the online side yet, sharing a world with up to 20 players, since I've been playing purely solo so far.

I'll have a full review out hopefully next week or so, but after just one weekend, I can already highly recommend the game.

Respawn Monday #03: Guild Wars 3, and Destiny 2’s Final Update

Respawn Monday #04: Valor Mortis, Witchfire, and Dead by Daylight

Respawn Monday #05: Silent Hill 2 and the Dead by Daylight Addiction

Respawn Monday #06: Diablo IV, Dead by Daylight Sweats, and Sony going Discless

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

For Ubisoft Philippines based in Metro Manila, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced was their chance to take full ownership of key sections of the game, and show what the team is capable of. They did just that and it's still hard to believe that parts of a game I just played recently were built in the same city I reside in.

It must have been an exciting time for the team, learning they'd have such a heavy hand in a title fans consider one of the franchise's best. When I finished the game, I was first met with the names of the Ubisoft Philippines team, quickly making me realize that they had a bigger role in this project, and based on what Ubisoft shared with us, it's true.

Led by Ubisoft Singapore, Black Flag Resynced is a remake of the classic 2013 title during the era of yearly Assassin’s Creed releases, and Black Flag is a clear fan favorite, which makes the remake an obvious choice when announced. It’s a joint effort as Ubisoft studios from Barcelona, Belgrade, Bordeaux, Bucharest, Chengdu, Da Nang, India, Kyiv, Montpellier, Montreal, Quebec, Shanghai, Sofia, and of course the Philippines.

Ubisoft Philippines contributions to the Resync

In the Philippines side, the project was led by Associate Producer Alfonse Angliongto, and has marked this as the studio’s largest undertaking for the team.

“Our fans come first. Before working on Resynced, we looked at all the fan feedback and suggestions to see what parts of the game that they liked and the parts that needed improvement. We spent a good chunk of time reading through online forums, watching game reviews and fan walkthroughs to understand what the players enjoy in Black Flag,” said JP Tan, Art Director of Ubisoft Philippines and a developer in the original title.

What was the focus for team Philippines? They shared their talents to help recreate key locations across the game, reimagining Kingston, Port Royale, Long Bay, and other iconic settings central to major quests.

“Looking back at the time when we worked on the original Black Flag, the art direction pillars were to introduce the vibrancy of the Caribbean and to showcase the grittier side of the pirate's life. Fast forward to today, we wanted to be faithful to those original intentions together with the modern advancements of the Anvil engine,” Tan further explained.

There were limitations the original team faced back in 2013 as certain tech wasn’t simply there yet at the time as limited hardware support and technical constraints making it difficult to implement certain features in the game’s scale.

Not in today’s world as visual fidelity and animation have greatly improved without sacrificing performance, especially when it comes to building living and believable worlds. More accurate lighting, shadows, and indirect illumination are now possible, with visual fidelity also improved and sustained even in long viewing distances. As players explore populated areas like Kingston, the team recreated the city to make it feel like those that reside are going about their daily routines while enhancing the look and feel of the environment, plus the audio that completes the immersion.

Another focus for the team are the forts scattered around the Caribbean.

“In the original, the Fort side activity ended once a fort is captured. In the remake, we enhanced player expression and the narrative aspects to give players a more satisfying conclusion for the gameplay loop. In the original, Edward easily opens the Fort's war room, and the commander raises his arms in surrender, waiting for Edward to deal the killing blow.

In the remake, we fleshed out the narrative with the Fort Commander barricading himself in the war room. Edward's crew now helps him force the war room door open, after which, the Fort Commander would hurl threats and attack Edward and his crew as a final act of defiance. After going through all this, the player will be rewarded by seeing the crew celebrating and looting. This communicates to the player that they did something that affected the world,” says Choogs Tan, Lead Game Designer for the Philippines team.

Another section the studio was responsible for was the game’s harpooning segments, where Edward and his crew go shark hunting by throwing harpoons at the creatures.

“We wanted Harpooning to be more physics driven. In the original, once the harpoon hits the target, the rope is immediately taut until you capture the animal or the rope breaks. In the remake, it responds dynamically to player input and movement: when you aim the harpoon, when it’s thrown, when it hits the target, when the boat moves closer or farther. It seems very simple, but there’s a lot of things happening to make it just right.” says Lead Programmer Dennis Li.

Quality Assurance (QA) was also another part of the development process they contributed, as the team ensured that the remake remained true to the spirit of the original Black Flag. Doing quality assurance in this project wasn’t their first experience with the franchise as the studio has contributed to the franchise as far back as Assassin’s Creed 3 Remastered.

“The most memorable moments were the bugs that became memes, and the memes that became milestone markers. Because as we laughed at the absurdity of the bugs we hunted, those moments would eventually become reminders of how far we'd come, milestone after milestone,” shared Joven Falcon, who led the QA team into setting a high bar for release quality.

The team has some expertise when it comes to assisting in the development of an Assassin’s Creed title as Black Flag Resynced marks the eighth title Ubisoft Philippines has contributed to so far.

Ubisoft Philippines is now 10 years strong

Ubisoft Philippines has contributed to 13 AAA titles since its establishment in 2016, and is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary. A fitting year for the Philippine team as they closed an important project that highlights where they are as a studio within Ubisoft’s global collaboration among their many studios.

The growth of the studio is a sight to behold. Years ago, when Ubisoft found their footing in the country, you’ll see the company make appearances on the country’s biggest local video game conventions, but their focus wasn’t to highlight the company’s most recent games, they were there to tell the community that they are looking for talent.

Cultivating and finding talent was always the focus whenever I spoke to them. Years later, it’s good to see those efforts resulted in unique opportunities for Filipinos who entered their fold, as it’s rare for Filipinos to have an opportunity of contributing to big projects like Black Flag without leaving the country, and it’s good to see that despite the ups and downs of the industry as a whole Ubisoft Philippines continues to welcome new talent to their BGC, Taguig studio.

Curious on what I thought on Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced? Read on as to why I gave it a 4/5. The remake is now available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Activision has announced that the classic Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 are now available on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, with a special launch price for PS Plus subscribers. These are ports of the original games with no major updates or improvements, and the DLC isn't included in the base purchase, you'll need to buy the season pass separately.

Black Ops and Black Ops 2 Prices

Both ports are priced at $39.99, but PS Plus subscribers can grab them at $19.99 during the limited-time discount running until August 6. The season pass for each game is priced at $29.99, also currently discounted to $9.89.

No Crossplay Between PS4 and PS5

Again, these are ports with no major changes, just the original games. Meaning, PS4 and PS5 players don’t even get to play with each other on either Multiplayer or Zombies.

Call of Duty: Black Ops first launched in November 2010, and Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, my personal favorite of the series, launched November 13, 2012. Great games in their own right, but not worth the asking price considering there's nothing new about them.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

In a new report by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier, Obsidian Entertainment is going through a major shake-up as The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed studio will be working on a new Fallout title. The studio also laid off a quarter of its staff (52 employees), and has cancelled multiple projects, one of them was going to be an Avowed sequel.

The new Fallout title will be led by Josh Sawyer, who worked on Fallout: New Vegas and directed Pentiment, and is being developed in collaboration with Bethesda Game Studios, naturally, since they own the Fallout license. This marks the first news of a new title in the franchise since the last entry, Fallout 76, released back in 2018. Bethesda has been busy with other franchises, and despite Amazon's live-action Fallout series performing well (it's currently two seasons deep), there's been no new game to capitalize on that momentum, though Fallout 76 has ridden that wave as there was new content added that featured The Ghoul.

As for Obsidian, the last time they worked on a Fallout project was Fallout: New Vegas, released in 2010. Their next major project was set to be an Avowed sequel (reportedly on track to be revealed) but it didn't fit into Xbox CEO Asha Sharma's overall plans.

Obsidian staff will continue working on the Avowed sequel despite its cancellation, as they wait for concrete plans on the new Fallout title, and any other projects that get greenlit. The staff is also still working on DLC for The Outer Worlds 2 and the multiplayer survival game Grounded 2, Schreier reported.

Obsidian Entertainment is one of the more busier studios under Xbox Games Studios as the studio shipped three titles last year, The Outer Worlds 2, Avowed, and Grounded 2 on early access. The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed sadly didn’t meet sales expectations.

The Xbox reset is brutal

This is rather painful to see as Obsidian has always been a talented studio with the means to step outside its comfort zone and try something unique. But under this Xbox reset, no one is safe: 3,200 employees have been cut (roughly 1,600 already laid off, with the rest following through fiscal year 2027), and four studios have parted ways with Microsoft. Id Software, best known for Wolfenstein and Doom, was also hit hard, losing roughly half its staff.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

In 2013, the world was introduced to the adventures of Edward Kenway, as Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag soon became one of the best-received titles in the franchise. There was a lot to love about that game, and the remake simply modernized what we adored about it. Despite a series of inconsistencies and stale combat holding this new iteration back, Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced delivered, making me appreciate the age of piracy and the old open-world Ubisoft formula. 

Pirate First, Assassin Second 

Black Flag was a nice surprise when it came out as the 4th mainline entry, as we weren't thrust into another main character born from the never-ending conflict between the Assassins and the Templars. We just stumbled upon it. Edward Kenway was a simple pirate that saw an opportunity for a big payday. This is more of a pirate game first, Assassin's Creed second, which works well for the pacing and story of Black Flag. 

At the start of the game, Edward was all about riches and glory, wanting to make a name for himself so he could return to his wife all accomplished after being away for so long. Over the course of the game, he eventually captains a ship called the Jackdaw and slowly gathers friends and crew members at his side. Tensions grow as he helps build a community around his crew, fending off governments  resisting the presence of piracy in the seas, all while having this obsession to uncover what the Assassins and Templars are searching for convinces him it's a treasure that will set him for life. There’s character growth as his definition of treasure and fame evolves into something more endearing through the course of many years.

In 2026, it still stands as an entertaining narrative, and Edward Kenway remains a likeable and, I'd argue, one of the better protagonists in the franchise. I could comfortably place him beside Ezio Auditore, who I think is the best protagonist the series has produced. The great thing about the remake is that it's mostly a 1:1 retelling of the original story. Cutscenes played out just like the original, with the only major improvements being the environments and character models, as Black Flag Resynced is a game built from the ground up on Ubisoft's Anvil engine. 

The original always looked dark and gritty thanks to how they used the game’s shadows. In the remake, character models are more detailed and evoke clearer emotions. The shadows are no longer too exposed and the improved lighting does elevate certain shots. The game’s musical score is still fantastic but altered without removing its original tone and purpose, and the environments and set pieces look fantastic and its quality can even rival Assassin's Creed Shadows. 

Even the voice acting was redone with most of the original cast, and for the most part, they seemed to use the exact same script, as I revisited the original in preparation for this review. Matt Ryan (Constantine) returns as Edward Kenway and does a fantastic job in his second time around with the material. Most of the core cast does well, invoking a likeable (or hateable) personality through their voice work alone. From the infamous Blackbeard to Charles Vane's descent into madness, it's all done so well in both voice and animation that the conclusion of the third act still emotionally hits hard. 

The big change in the storytelling is that all of the modern-day segments have been removed. No talk of Abstergo. No sections pulling you out of the era of piracy. It's just focused on Edward's story, with nothing else detaching you from it, which is a blessing since I was never a fan of those segments. Animus segments are still tucked away in the game for those looking for them, but nothing is forced and now serves as added context with what-if scenarios for fans to explore. 

Still the Same Old Ubisoft Formula 

The funny thing about Black Flag is that it came out during Ubisoft's yearly Assassin's Creed release era, but it was well-received because it can be taken as simply a well-made pirate game. The beauty of the original was its nice balance between the Assassin's Creed segments (stealth, assassinations) and its fun naval combat loop (ship combat, boarding, etc.). It's then bridged together with exploration, whether in major cities or the vast ocean filled with pocket islands and their own secrets. 

If one activity starts to feel stale on land, I can do something else on the Jackdaw, liberate forts, plunder ships, or visit an island or two for some money to spend on upgrades. Then I can return to the mainland and do Assassin's Creed stuff. This remake perfectly retains that, simply modernizing it through stellar visuals with lush flora and detailed structures that let you stop and appreciate the view while synchronizing with a viewpoint. 

Black Flag Resynced has the typical Ubisoft open-world formula, one that eventually got stale due to it feeling similar, especially for players jumping in each new game every year. They didn't change the formula in the remake, so if you're still not a fan of that style of open-world gameplay, this won't change your mind, as this isn't a reimagining. It's still packed with activities: picking up assassin contracts, collecting floating musical notes atop buildings, and climbing tall structures to find more of the same nearby. 

But since I hadn't played an Assassin's Creed game since Shadows, I actually enjoyed everything about it. I wanted to 100% Havana, leaving every activity completed. I wanted to build my hideout, send other crew members on missions of their own, and build structures to unlock new upgrades and items. I'm still working toward the armor locked away in our hideout, which needs a series of keys hidden throughout the world. If you're not already burnt out on the Ubisoft formula, you'll be reminded exactly why so many love this series. 

The remake also adds new content to a decently sized open world that doesn't feel as overbloated as Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla. New side quests and endgame quests and other new naval officers with their own personal story were added.

Not Everything Aged Well

Combat is simplified in the remake, and it's probably my least favorite part of Resynced, since it's really just pressing the attack button until the enemy is taken out. If the attack is paired with a blue glint, you parry; if red, you dodge. That's really all there is to it. It's not satisfying or deep, and I found myself spamming the attack button without much thought, then pressing the execute button when prompted to get it over with. It’s so simple that weapons with unique perks provide little value as I don’t feel the urge to explore each one available.
Assassin's Creed has always struggled to deliver a satisfying combat experience consistently, but since this remake is about bringing a classic into modern times, sadly, not all of its worst qualities were left behind. 

Even stealth can be comical, as with almost every Assassin's Creed game, luring multiple guards toward a pile of haystacks to assassinate and stash them away one by one remains possible. It's easy to manipulate the AI, but some sections demand real finesse and proper use of Edward's tools to complete objectives without alerting everyone nearby, so it’s not a complete loss. I take stealth seriously because I don't want to get caught. If I do, I'll have to fight, which feels like a major punishment for being spotted.

The free climbing works similarly to recent Assassin's Creed titles, but it feels less polished and not as fluid as I'd hoped. I'd occasionally struggle to climb a fallen tree because I hadn't approached it at the right angle to trigger the climb. I'd unintentionally leap off a building or cliff because climbing near bodies of water apparently triggers a leap of faith jump. I'd climb one branch when I meant to climb the other nearby. These are small frustrations, but they break the flow, especially during a chase. 

But there’s a lot of improvements under the hood. The UI is completely overhauled, and the climbing (despite its inconsistency) has been modernized to match recent titles. Underwater stealth is no longer just resting below the surface as you can now dive deep into most bodies of water, a great change that felt like a feature the original engine couldn't support at the time as it was limited to just diving activities. It’s a hefty amount of great additions and improvements that easily gave me the impression that the remake was well thought out and wasn’t a project that’s all about giving a game a visual uplift.

It’s Jackdaw's World 

What feels perfect is naval combat. Black Flag's pride and joy, and the reason Skull & Bones exists at all. Everything about naval combat is pure bliss: casually sailing the seas with your crew singing to you, battling multiple ships, firing different weapons depending on which side you're facing, then boarding once they're disabled and reducing their morale until they surrender their spoils. The game looks best when you're at the helm of the Jackdaw, as heavy weather can randomly appear in your path. Strong gusts of wind forcing you off course, giant waves you have to take on head-first, and tornadoes that are no joke when they show up. Everything Jackdaw-related remains the game's biggest highlight. 

Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced is a success in my eyes when it comes to modernizing one of the franchise's best entries for today's expectations. Frame rates are rock solid at 60fps on PS5 base models, with barely any visual pop-in or slow rendering to pull you out of the experience. Loading times are fast. After the credits rolled, I felt eager to keep sailing toward everything I hadn't finished yet. 

This remake eased my worries about Ubisoft remaking older Assassin's Creed titles, but it also puts a spotlight on the series' weaknesses, like combat. Black Flag's naval gameplay carries it, but the older titles don't have as strong a partner to complement the rest of the game. So if Ubisoft does venture into another remake, I hope they don't treat it as a guaranteed win, as Black Flag is just one of those gems that deserve this type of treatment.

Verdict: 4 / 5 (Fantastic)

PROS

• Fantastic re-telling of Edward Kenway’s story, and still holds as the series best

• Visual improvements across the board with little to no performance issues seen on a base PS5

• Naval combat remains as the game’s best highlight

• Modern-day segments are gone

CONS

• Combat feels stale due to its simplicity 

• Inconsistencies in certain terrain when attempting to climb smoothly

What I’ve Played 

• Finished the main story

• Experienced most of the new content like new side quests and naval officer stories

• Upgraded the hideout to near-completion, and the Jackdaw is now capable of handling anything

• Spent over 30 hours with the game so far, with more to do

This review is based on a PS5 review copy provided to the reviewer

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

The free-to-play RPG Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis, will shut down on October 7, 2 AM E.T / October 7, 2 PM PHT.

Players can no longer buy premium currency starting today, and the game will remain playable until this October. Refunds for unused premium currency won’t be offered to players in the Philippines as it’s currently only offered to Taiwan players.

Here’s what devs have said on the closure:

“We regret to inform you that we will be ending service for Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis on October 6, 2026, at 11:00 p.m. PDT.

We understand that this news may be disappointing, and we sincerely apologize for the abrupt nature of this announcement.

Since the launch of the App Store and Google Play versions on September 7, 2023, and the Steam version on December 6, 2023, we have worked to provide the best possible experience for our players. After careful consideration, however, we have determined that it will be difficult to continue doing so and have made the decision to end service.”

Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis first launched on IoS and Android on September 7, 2023, then later released on PC via Steam on December 6, 2023. Since then, content was released on a regular basis but has failed to attract a reasonable player base.

The biggest pull for fans of the series is that this game contains a story of a young Sephiroth, giving more context to one of the franchise’s most famous villains.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

The weekend, or rather, the entirety of last week, was focused on a title I can't say thanks to embargo, but I did spend a bit of time in a few things as Diablo IV's season 14 is now live and the Dead by Daylight addiction has slowed but not entirely dissipated. Some thoughts.

Diablo IV is really in a good state

Diablo IV has room for improvement, but if you compare how it was when it launched, then soon after the season that followed, this action RPG is in a good state. Jumping into season 14 is exciting not because of the new seasonal content, but because of the new ways to build characters and me jumping into a class I have never experienced - the Paladin. Mythic unique items have been changed to be customizable (not fond of this change), and there's a new event that shows up mostly in the open world.

I can't say from experience yet how big a difference the added build potential is now that one of the rarest item types in the game can be altered, but the journey to get to that point remains just as entertaining as when I jumped back in for the Lord of Hatred expansion, which I highly recommend.

The seasonal content is interesting from a lore perspective as it is teasing a significant figure returning to Sanctuary . So far, I've only spent a day with the game, but it was enough to get my Paladin character to max level. As many would say: the real grind starts now.

Dead by Daylight sweats

Dead by Daylight is still a blast and I'm starting to prefer the Killer role over the Survivor, something that also happened when I was playing the game daily a couple of years back. To expand my roster, I picked up the Killer The Ghoul, from the hit anime Tokyo Ghoul.

He's an interesting Killer, and I had fun learning how his unique abilities work, but doing so made me realize how painful it is for Killer players to learn a new character, since I'm always matched with the most skilled Survivors in Asia.

It's an interesting experience, because with a Killer I'm not familiar with, I'm bullied constantly by Survivors who want to be chased. This put a lot of stress on me, since I wanted a more balanced experience, but what I got instead was the kind of tension I'd expect from an esports match. I went through it, I won some, I lost most, but man, was I mentally spent. You get more anxiety from this game at a higher matchmaking pool, and this video from content creator SpookyLoopz explains this perfectly.

I also realized the mentality that grows in Dead by Daylight players. For newcomers, it's an online survival horror game, but once someone has spent over 5,000 hours on the game, either as Killer or Survivor, that description disappears and becomes a game that tests your ego.

You feel the need to get the 4 Kills as Killer or get the thrill of wasting a Killer's time by looping them as a Survivor. Succeed with a unique perk build built around stunning the Killer multiple times, or become a Killer who only benefits from not using their unique power. Players naturally progress toward setting personal goals to test their skill, which is also encouraged by how content creators make content for this game.

Cheating is also apparent in Asia, as I've experienced a couple of matches with unnatural speed boosts that look subtle at first. Many take this game too seriously, which is fine, but it feels more apparent on the Asia servers, as it's rare to play with someone new to the game, or at least be in the same level as someone returning.

After more than two weeks since I returned, it becomes clearer than ever that returning players get it rough. It's still a fantastic and thriving game, but players coming back have to learn quickly, as it's tough out there. Players you're paired with won't wait for you to get your bearings again.

Sony stepping away from physical games

The biggest surprise from last week was Sony's announcement that it will stop producing physical copies of games starting in 2028. The whole world is talking about it, as many are opposed while some accept the inevitability of digital-only. But I worry about what it means for those of us in the Philippines, since we still don’t have a dedicated PlayStation Store.

For Filipinos, there are two purchase options: buy physical PlayStation copies through local retailers, or buy online through the PlayStation Store by making an account in a different country. Once physical copies are gone, we'll likely be left with digital codes and purchases on the PlayStation Store, which can be more expensive since we'd be paying for a digital game in a different currency. Here, it's either you have a US account, a Hong Kong account, a Singapore or Thailand account, or whatever other Southeast Asian account works for you. Whatever you choose, you succumb to their regional pricing.

Physical games and the preservation of ownership over what you buy are important, and overall the biggest issue with Sony's announcement, but I find it just as troubling that countries like the Philippines could end up with fewer and less viable options in the future. Video games are already an expensive hobby, and making them harder to obtain is like adding salt to a wound that doesn't want to heal.

Sony has been quiet since the announcement. We'll see what they have planned, but it's not the best first half of 2026 so far, all things considered.

Respawn Monday #02: Marathon Season 2, Game Shows, and Darktide

Respawn Monday #03: Guild Wars 3, and Destiny 2’s Final Update

Respawn Monday #04: Valor Mortis, Witchfire, and Dead by Daylight

Respawn Monday #05: Silent Hill 2 and the Dead by Daylight Addiction

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Capcom is now releasing Onimusha: Way of the Sword on September 4, 2026, on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Switch 2, and PC. That's two weeks earlier than its previous release date of September 25, 2026.

No real reason was given, but an earlier release is better than a delay.

Due to this change, the pre-order bonus for the digital version of the game will be changed to an Early Adopter Bonus, available during the distribution periods specified below:

• PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X|S / Windows / Nintendo Switch 2: Until 24th September 2026, 11:59 pm local time

• Steam / Epic Games: Until 26th September 2026, 07:59 pm GMT+8

Pre-orders for the Switch 2 Version Affected

Thanks to the game now releasing a few weeks earlier, pre-orders for the Nintendo Switch 2 digital version will be automatically cancelled, so those who pre-ordered the game will have to set up a new pre-order on the Nintendo eShop.

Capcom also announced that the game's playable demo will receive an update to address the change (showing a new release date, etc.), but no new content will be added, so don't get excited if you have the demo installed and see an update downloading. Players who have save data from the demo will still receive the bonus in the full game.

If you haven't played the demo of Onimusha: Way of the Sword, you should give it a go. It's less than 30 minutes of your time, but more than enough to give you a good idea of what type of game it is, as I enjoyed what little time I had with it.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.

Bandai Namco Entertainment revealed that their soulslike action RPG Code Vein II is getting its first paid DLC, titled "Mask of Idris," which adds two new Partners to the game.

Code Vein II paid Story DLC

The paid DLC will feature Liv Voda, Valentin Voda's half-sister and the original guardian of "The Temporal Rift." This DLC features an additional story where "multiple timelines and worlds collide." It also has requirements, as it's set before the base game's ending:

• Reach the ending "Luna Fraterna".

• Advance "Valentin's Request".

Valentin's questline is optional, but with his half-sister involved in the DLC, it's understandable that the devs would want a requirement like this, as players would need a bit more context before diving into the DLC.

Free Update Version 2.0

A free 2.0 update for the game will release simultaneously with the Mask of Idris DLC. Bandai didn't go into detail on what this update will feature, only mentioning that "We will implement several updates, including additional content that allows you to explore the post-main game world with your partners." There's also no release window yet for the paid DLC, so we'll update this post when that becomes available. There was also no price mentioned in the announcement.

We played Code Vein II at the start of 2026 and wasn’t the best iteration of the souls formula, and the lack of polish and a convoluted storyline didn’t help either.

About the Author - Carlos Hernandez

Carlos Hernandez is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Too Much Gaming, where he writes about video games, reviews, and industry news. A lifelong gamer, he would do anything to experience Final Fantasy Tactics for the first time again and has a love/hate relationship with games that require hunting for new gear to improve your character.