Gaming

Pretty Metroidvanias, free Bomberman-style chaos and other new indie games worth checking out

• Gamescom week has brought a broad wave of indie-game announcements.
• Fatal Claw and Divinum offer new Metroidvania options.
• Viral search games turn tedious tasks into playful challenges.

A Gamescom-week indie-game roundup highlights several newly announced and recently released titles, alongside a trend for deliberately tedious “needle in a haystack” games. The selection matters as it points players towards smaller releases across genres, including Metroidvanias and multiplayer action games, while showing how novelty concepts are finding…

The Switch 2 Is About to Face Its Toughest Challenge Yet

• FromSoftware’s Switch 2 debut is a major third-party test.
• Elden Ring is well received, despite lower performance.
• The Duskbloods has prompted divided early reactions.

Nintendo’s Switch 2 is facing an important test as FromSoftware arrives on the platform with Elden Ring: Tarnished Edition and the Switch 2-exclusive multiplayer game The Duskbloods. Their success could strengthen Nintendo’s long-running effort to secure major third-party support, particularly after the original Switch missed out on Elden…

Playdate maker Panic is passing tariff refunds on to customers

• Panic is refunding Playdate buyers affected by US tariffs.
• Eligible customers should receive an email and original-payment refund.
• Nintendo disputes that its customers deserve comparable rebates.

Panic, the company behind the crank-powered Playdate handheld, is returning tariff refunds to customers after the US Supreme Court ordered the government to reimburse affected import fees. The move means buyers who paid more for a Playdate during the tariff period should receive money back, contrasting with Nintendo’s…

Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is aiming to be the “definitive” game for the setting, and I think it might be exactly that

• A hands-on demo suggests an ambitious, faithful 40k strategy adaptation.
• Cover, sightlines and destruction reshape Total War’s combat.
• Campaign systems combine familiar management with Warhammer-specific mechanics.

Creative Assembly’s Total War: Warhammer 40,000 is presented as an ambitious attempt to create a definitive strategy game for the tabletop setting. A hands-on demo impressed the reviewer through its faithful audiovisual presentation and its adaptation of Total War’s large-scale battles to a science-fiction world centred on firearms,…

Talking Point: What Are You Playing This Weekend? (29th August)

• Nintendo Life recaps Switch 2-related gaming news.
• The Witcher III remaster upgrade is free for current owners.
• Readers are invited to share weekend gaming plans.

Nintendo Life’s weekly discussion post invites readers to share what they will be playing over the weekend, while recapping a busy week for Nintendo fans. It highlights announcements including a free Switch 2 remaster upgrade for existing owners of The Witcher III, debate over alleged generative-AI use in…

A ‘Landman’ Star Goes Full ‘Watch Dogs’ in This Techno-Thriller Officially Streaming Now

• Eagle Eye leaves US Paramount+ on 1 September.
• The thriller shares surveillance themes with Watch Dogs.
• It was commercially successful but poorly reviewed.

Shia LaBeouf’s 2008 techno-thriller Eagle Eye is currently available to stream on Paramount+ in the United States until 1 September. The article presents it as a possible alternative for viewers awaiting the long-delayed Watch Dogs film, as both centre on surveillance technology and an individual pursued through an…

Heat breakthrough as Seattle mayor recall collapses

German-Japanese researchers unveil waste-heat cooling technology; Seattle’s mayoral recall campaign ends. Carlos Alcaraz reveals injury fears, while Paramount weighs a Star Trek prequel.

Xbox respawns IKEA furniture with gaming range

• IKEA launches nine-piece Xbox furniture range in October
• Items include a thumbstick stool and D-pad cushion
• Xbox hardware prices have risen sharply since 2020

IKEA has announced YXSTABY, a nine-item Xbox-themed furniture and accessories range, extending Microsoft’s merchandising efforts into home furnishings. The collaboration matters mainly as a lifestyle branding exercise for Xbox, arriving while the console business faces pressure from stronger rivals and rising hardware costs. The range includes a thumbstick-shaped…

What we’ve been playing – “Forget the classics: remaster the duds”

• Elden Ring runs promisingly on Switch 2, with some caveats.
• War in the North’s remaster proves older imperfections can still charm.
• The column argues remasters should revive overlooked games.

Eurogamer’s weekly games column highlights three recent play sessions, led by a positive early impression of Elden Ring on Nintendo Switch 2. The writer says handheld and docked play make revisiting the game feel fresh, despite occasional frame-rate drops and small on-screen text, while another contributor finds unexpected…

Netherlands Rout Scotland as Duffer Brothers Name New President

The Dutch women take a 1–0 ODI series lead; Josh Stern joins Upside Down Pictures, while Joe Satriani recalls a dramatic festival exit.