When previously playing a three-hour Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 preview build back in March, we became quickly enamoured with Sandfall Interactive RPG’s distinct mix of turn-based combat blended with real-time mechanics, great-looking graphics, well-put-together soundtrack, and intriguing story. 

Be that as it may, we had to avoid getting too excited at the time before going into the full version. After all, the aforementioned sneak peek was a mere tenth-sized sliver of the full game that has a minimal playtime of 30 hours total.  Sometimes, gameplay or story elements that feel thrilling in a short demo can quickly become repetitive within the scope of a campaign that’s dozens of hours long. 

At the time of its review cycle, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has two metaphorical weights on its shoulders. One is its feudal Japan setting. Throughout the hit Ubisoft franchise’s 18-year run, the premise of a secret worldwide league of assassins hiding and striking in the shadows has always seemed like a match made in heaven with the Land of the Rising Sun’s shinobi warriors — stemming a fan demand that has almost as been as long as the series itself. 

The other is the form of Ubisoft’s recent releases and the pressure for Shadows to turn that around. However, I’m pleased to report that despite some caveats, Assassin’s Creed Shadows is more than worth your time and money. It’s established itself as a strong entry in the series by combining its classic stealthy gameplay with a superb setting. 

In the current landscape of the games industry, where publishers are increasingly looking to do more of the same, only investing in the safe bets of big ongoing franchises to offset high development costs, it’s going to take a cunning mix of innovative gameplay with new and interesting ideas in storytelling to keep the single-player market growing and not just surviving.

Enter Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 developer, Sandfall Interactive—a French studio led by ex-Ubisoft developers dedicated to crafting exactly those single-player stories since their founding in 2020.

Known for its unique and signature twists on existing game genres and titles, Obsidian Entertainment’s Avowed makes for its most ambitious title yet. While it only feels like yesterday when the Irvine developer was making the best South Park game in the form of The Stick of Truth, or even further back arguably the best Fallout game in New Vegas, Obsidian has been building momentum over the years with newer hits like The Outer Worlds and Pentiment. 

While not without its issues along the way, Avowed is new territory in the form of an immersive first-person fantasy RPG. Thankfully, the game benefits from the studio’s experience and the lessons it’s learned along the way. Avowed is a fantastic culmination of the Obsidian games that came before, even if it’s still imperfect. 

Wondering what the PS5 Pro price is? The new version of Sony’s signature console, the PS5 Pro has been officially revealed at last with some of its special features, but its price is the biggest takeaway of all and not in the best way. Let’s get into the console’s price and why all of X (formerly Twitter) seems to be reacting the same as us.

PS5 Pro Price & Reaction

The price of the PS5 Pro will be $699.99 / £699.99 / €799.99 / ¥119, 980 – as revealed at the end of its Technical Presentation by Mark Cerny. If we had to sum up our general feelings about that, we’d mirror the below X post in absolute astonishment at such a high price tag:

Star Wars Outlaws on PlayStation 5

Star Wars Outlaws marks a couple of recent milestones for the legendary sci-fi franchise that are impossible to overlook. To start, this is the first mainline console and PC release in recent generations not to be developed by an EA studio, as the Jedi series is. Instead, Outlaws is developed by Massive Entertainment – who’ve made the Division games and 2023’s Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora – and published by Ubisoft. 

Secondly, this is the first modern single-player action-adventure Star Wars game to not have a Jedi as a playable protagonist – instead putting gamers into the shoes of Kay Vess: a scoundrel who’s landed herself in hot water. 

Dustborn on PlayStation 5

The power of language is at the core of everything Dustborn is about, making it an incredibly unique game. Exploring a time where the weaponization of information and how it is expressed can bring people together or sew even greater division between them, Red Thread Games’ single-player action-adventure aims to tell a relatable tale with a story-driven narrative in an alternate near future about hope, love, friendship, and robots.

With noble intentions and some fun ingredients on paper, most of what Dustborn sets out to do on paper is pulled off, making for a unique, heartfelt time overall. 

Announced three and a half years ago alongside a couple of trailers, and met with criticisms over special editions, my hype for Star Wars Outlaws was simmering until just over a month ago – but time seems to have worked in its favor ahead of its latest preview. 

With it being the first open-world game with Star Wars as its unique selling point, it’s also the Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry publisher’s first ambitious undertaking into the criminal elements of the Galaxy Far Far Away. As far as first impressions go, some of the typical Ubisoft tropes are at the forefront, for better or worse, but what’s unique about it stands strong enough that it should get fans excited for what’s to come.