Quick Links If you’ve been enjoyingStar Warscontent for a while, you might have come across mention of a certain language called Galactic Basic, Galactic Basic Standard, or simply Basic. While not exactly as prevalent as droids or the phrase “I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” this language is arguably as integral to the Star Wars universe as any of them. But whether you’ve seen it mentioned in a book, comic, or other material, you may have left with more questions than answers....

Summary Every year I live, every week, every single day, I learn about myself. I am constantly learning that, no matter how excited I get about big triple-A releases, they inevitably disappoint me. There are big,Baldur’s Gate 3-sized exceptions to that rule, but I constantly find myself enamoured with indie games, whether they bestrong narrative affairsor thegamiest games you can imagine. Indie games can take more risks, can push the powers of storytelling further....

Summary It’s that time of the year again, when all the annualized sports franchises release their latest game. Next week, Madden 25 will be released, then in early September NBA 2K25 will come out. After that, EA Sports FC 25 will round out that month. EA’s annual NHL title is expected to release around that timeframe, too. And while thousands of gamers are gearing up to play as their favorite teams and athletes in their game of choice, NBA 2K25 fans have a major concern....

Quick Links With so many islands to visit inFarewell North, it’s easy to get lost in the beauty of Orkney. However, things have changed a great deal since Chesley last visited the Highlands, and not everything is as peaceful as it once was. While paddling the canoe past a few skerries, you’ll find that a whale has been trapped in a net. There are two skerries you’ll need to visit to free the whale and return it to its pod, but you may get turned around while trying to do so....

Summary AsOh Deertrucks along in its development in Early Access, there’s been a lot of great content added to it over the months. One of the most sought after requests was more maps because when it launched there just wasn’t enough variety, or balancing, in the play areas and it got stale pretty quickly. Now there are eight maps in total, but around six of them are probably the best to use for a multiplayer match that are fun, fair and don’t drag rounds on into tedium for the Deer, or frustration for the Hunter....

Summary While almost everyone else hadPokemon, I didn’t. Growing up in a somewhat conservative household meant that Pokemon was banned in my early years, but I heard about the pocket monsters from friends, yet never latched onto the series like they did. My first Pokemon game wasPokemon Sword and Shield, long after the childhood ban had been lifted, but my first real Pokemon experience was withPalworld. The so-called “Pokemon with guns” game took the world by storm in early 2024, and I’ll admit I dove head first into the Palpagos Islands for weeks collecting materials and crafting Pal Spheres to catch everything in sight....

Summary Frontier has just revealed Planet Coaster 2, a long-awaited sequel to 2016’s Planet Coaster, and it looks like we’re in for a thrilling ride once more. Water parks are now an integral part of park design, management and build options have been expanded, and the team are pooling all their experience together to create a truly in depth game. Game director Rich Newbold and senior executive producer Adam Woods, walked me through a hands-off preview of some of the game’s features and highlights, and answered some key questions....

Summary An officially licensedPlayStation action figure of Aloy from Horizon Forbidden Westappeared on Amazon this week, available to buy right now ready for its release on Jul 17, 2025. Turns out Amazon may have jumped the gun a little asPlayStationhas since confirmed Aloy is part of a new collection that has turned multiple characters from some of PlayStation’s biggest games into action figures, pulls fromGod Of WarandGhost Of Tsushimaamong them....

Summary Borderlandshas been an absolute disaster for both Lionsgate and developer Gearbox Studios, no matter which way you slice it. It made backbarely any of its whopping $110-120 million budget, it wasoutperformed by the theatre re-release of Coraline, and it wasbrutally roasted by Uwe Boll, one of the most infamous directors of video game adaptations out there. Borderlands 4 was announced at Gamescom Opening Night Liveearlier this month, which was a brief reprieve from the criticism, but Gearbox quickly found itself back under the microscope thanks to the dodgy release of Risk of Rain 2’s first expansion after its developer was acquired....

Indiana Jones and the Great Circlelooks like a worthy addition to Steven Spielberg and George Lucas' Nazi-whipping canon. The split between first-person shooting and third-person climbing seems like a good balance for a modern adventure game like this to strike, too. The concept of the Great Circle is cool and perfectly befitting of the series, whileMachineGames is no stranger to making great games about fighting the Third Reich. We’ve never had a modern triple-A Indiana Jones game and I can’t wait to play as the Man in the Hat, so it’s a shame Great Circle has zero chance at winning Game of the Year....

Summary Everyone’s favorite sandwich-eating anthropomorphic dog might be returning to the world of video games. No, we’re not talking about PaRappa the Rapper. We’re talking about Scooby-Doo and his band of friends. According to Matthew Lillard, who has been the longtime voice of Shaggy, Scooby’s partner-in-crime, he’s currently working on a new Scooby-Doo “experience” that isn’t a cartoon. That information comes via an Instagram post, where Lillard also notes that “we need some fans to playtest it....

Summary Sonic The Hedgehog 3’s first trailer dropped last week, not only confirming that the third movie in the Sonic cinematic series is still on track to hit theaters by December, but also that Keanu Reeves really will be the voice of Shadow.Segahas been shining a long overdue spotlight on Shadow in preparation for the movie’s arrival throughout 2024. So much so thatSonic fans have dubbed it the Year Of Shadow, and you can now expect some of those fans to be dressed as the brooding black and red hedgehog when they go see the movie this December....

Summary The Esports World Cup kicked off this weekend withLeague of Legends, one of the biggest esports in the world. The tournament was won by League megastar Lee ‘Faker’ Sang-hyeok. The sole inductee in the LoL esports Hall of Legends took T1 to a decisive victory live on Twitch in front of nearly 100,000 online viewers. So why are esports commentators suggesting that the Esports World Cup might already be a failure?...