The Soulslike genre is one that’s grown exponentially in the past few years, with many successes such as Black Myth Wukong, Lies of P, Sekiro, and most notably – Elden Ring. Each game brings something new to the table, and The First Berserker: Khazan is no different. Khazan stays true to the genre while being more accessible and forgiving than its predecessors.

The story kicks off with Khazan imprisoned and on his way to his exile when suddenly an avalanche wipes out the men transporting him. A phantom notices his power and exploits his weakened state to try and take over his body. Khazan overcomes the phantom and the two strike a deal to help one another on their respective quests.

No Assassin’s Creed title is complete without a hideout for the protagonists to strategize, rest and recover. While the games have varied in what these locations look like, none of them have even come close to what Assassin’s Creed Shadows has in store.

From the hold of your ship in Black Flag to the Assassin’s Bureaus of Mirage, the Assassins always need some place to use as a home base. Shadows’ development team decided to go above and beyond, allowing players to dive in and fully design as much of their hideouts as they so desire.

The gaming landscape in 2025 is filled with simulation games for just about everything it seems. If you want to design a zoo, you can play Zoo Tycoon. If you’d rather make a theme park, Roller Coaster Tycoon and Planet Coaster are classic options for fulfilling that desire. However, if you wanted to curate a museum, you’d have been fresh out of luck — until now. Finally, Two Point Museum is here to fill that void.

The “museum simulator” segment of the market is a lot quieter than others, so Two Point Museum is entering the landscape when it has the best chance for success. While simulation games can fall into various pitfalls, Two Point Museum manages to avoid those and create a delightful, creative experience.

For Call of Duty’s close-quarters combat, nothing does the job quite like an SMG. Well, maybe a shotgun, but that won’t get you anywhere at mid-range. Black Ops 6’s open beta only has two SMGs to choose from, but by launch, there will be much more variety. Here are the best SMGs in Black Ops 6, ranked.

C9

As far as Black Ops 6’s SMGs go, the C9 is the better choice. While they’re similar as of the beta, the C9 is more accurate than the Jackal, with the rest of the stats being about the same. That accuracy is enough to give you an edge at slightly farther distances, although it still shines best at close range. The iron sights aren’t the best, but with a good optic or at least a laser, it’s a solid SMG.

One of the staples of Call of Duty’s weapons has always been the Assault Rifle category. ARs can deal lots of damage across medium distances, but start to lose their accuracy at long and close ranges. As of the open beta, there are only three assault rifles to choose from, so here are the best Black Ops 6 Assault Rifles ranked.

AK-74

Of Black Ops 6‘s assault rifles, the AK-74 has proven to be the best option of the three. While the rate of fire is slower than the other two, the firepower that it brings to the table is more than enough to compensate. Making sure to get the first shot off in an encounter becomes the main priority, and as long as you’re hitting your target, you should be able to get the kill.

With the open beta of Black Ops 6 comes a sample of some of the multiplayer maps coming at launch. There are confirmed to be 16 maps at launch, but the beta will only be featuring six of them. All six aren’t available from the start, with Treyarch rolling them out slowly. Here’s a ranked list of all the Black Ops 6 multiplayer maps.

1. Scud

Topping the list for the first beta weekend’s maps is Scud. Set in Iran, this war-torn field has great opportunities for all different types of playstyles. There are great sightlines for snipers that can be countered easily, as well as plenty of buildings for close-quarters combat. Whether you’re playing Hardline, Domination or Team Deathmatch, there are plenty of opportunities for points on Scud.

With an entire franchise leading into Assassin’s Creed Shadows, features have come and gone over the years. All good things learn from their predecessors, so it’s important to highlight some of what should and shouldn’t be included, so here are 5 features we hope to see in AC Shadows and 5 we don’t.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Features We Want to See

It’s easy to look at any feature in the franchise now and say it’s good or bad in retrospect. Some things made sense for the games and their titles, while others improved their games from the ground up.

Nintendo had plenty of announcements for its June Nintendo Direct, notably a new free DLC for Nintendo Switch Sports. Basketball is coming to the roster of sports playable with motion controls, and it’s available as a free download to those who have the game.

Basketball is Coming to Nintendo Switch Sports

In time for the 2024 Summer Olympics, active Switch players can play basketball on Nintendo Switch Sports. You can keep the game fresh with a few different ways to play. You can face off in 2v2 matches against another duo or hone your skills with various training modes. These 2v2 matches can be played locally or online with an active subscription.

When you think of Xbox exclusives, there are only so many you can list before getting to Halo. It’s been one of Xbox’s flagships for over 20 years, but what if that were about to change? With rumors circulating that Halo: Combat Evolved could be coming to PlayStation, what might this mean for the rest of the industry?

There is plenty to consider before reaching a conclusion, but there’s no telling for sure until it happens. Game companies have been particular about their exclusives for as long as there have been different companies, but the landscape has been slowly shifting over the years.

Like most great live-service online games, Grand Theft Auto 5 frequently releases updates for GTA Online that alter and add to the overall experience. These updates have brought anything from heists to races to even snow in the wintertime. Here are five things we want to see from GTA Online’s 2024 Summer update.

5. New Summer Cars

Starting with something we already know about, the GTA Online Summer Update should bring a few new fancy cars. Vehicles are the most common additions to GTA Online, with good reason. They’re versatile, fun, and customizable, allowing everyone to interact with them differently. The Rockstar Newswire dives into some of what is to be expected so far.

I love a good franchise as much as the next player, but in 2024, enough might be enough. This goes for all forms of media, be it films or TV shows, but regardless the feeling remains the same. Content feels like it’s been slowly stagnating and growing stale as sequels and reboots overshadow new AAA IP.

How Many Sequels Is Too Many?

When I say “IP,” I’m referring to Intellectual Property. Any given franchise is considered IP, from Peggle to Mario to Wuthering Waves. While there is certainly no shortage of new IP hitting the market, more often than not, AAA game studios aren’t funding them like they fund their tried-and-true IP. Understandably for business, many studios would rather fund what’s made money in the past than take risks on something new.

XDefiant launched to positivity and constructive criticism from players, but no release is without flaws. The r/XDefiant Subreddit has had plenty of comments regarding some of the mechanics, but one of them certainly needs to be addressed by the developers.

User creepy-uncle-chad posted a meme on the r/XDefiant subreddit that poked fun at something many players are taking issue with. They titled the post “Most of my deaths in this Game,” accompanied by a gif from the movie Wanted, where a character curves a bullet around a corner to hit their target.

Mojang has just given players their first official look at Minecraft’s next update – Tricky Trials. Along with the rundown on what to expect, they also gave us a release date of June 13th. With such a short window between now and when we can play it, here are the five changes we anticipate the most for Minecraft’s Tricky Trials update.

Tricky Trial Chambers

The Trial Chambers are brand-new structures that can be found throughout the world. Not only will they be visually striking being built out of copper blocks, but there will be plenty to do. They’re home to two new mobs and some other challenges, although they didn’t explain what these are. The Trial Chambers will also be filled with traps designed to get in your head and lead you astray.

It’s the grim reality of every new gaming release for players to feel hesitant at launch. You never know which bugs you may encounter, server issues you might run into, or what account you’ll have to make just to get in a game. So often, games launch with high promises, and with XDefiant finally here, it’s fair to have some of the same concerns.

A Tough Past

While that might sound pessimistic, you’ve got to consider some of the reasons these concerns are valid. Take Payday 3 for example. The first two games in the series were bangers in the eyes of the players. Their cutting-edge features created unique gameplay, so hearing about a third game was exciting.

The players who enjoy first-person shooters generally scrutinize them the most, and Warzone is certainly no different. Users on the r/CODWarzone subreddit frequently discuss the strength of aim assist for console players, but one user took to setting the record straight.

u/LTFC_Dangerous posted a video to r/CODWarzone showing all the kills from one of their exciting Warzone wins. In response, many people weren’t thrilled to see it in action and attributed the 31-kill victory to aim assist.

When it comes to the element of surprise, the sound of a UTV in Warzone might give you away. A Warzone player on Reddit has shown off their compilation of proving that point entirely wrong. They got quite the showreel from their UTV in the place you’d least expect.

The UTVs in Warzone are great for getting you and your squad across the map as quickly as possible. They’re quick, nimble and can protect you from a few stray shots. However, there are some places on the map that you simply wouldn’t expect to find one, like in a stairwell.

The birds are chirping and the air is getting warmer, but unfortunately, it’s raining. Even though the weather outside is on the uptick, it’s not quite there yet. Here are 10 Xbox Game Pass games to get you excited for the warm weather.

A Short Hike

If there’s one activity that’s perfect for the turn of the seasons, it’s got to be hiking. Whether you’re watching the leaves bud or the animals stretch their legs, there’s hardly a bad time to hike. A Short Hike does a perfect job of capturing that feeling in a game that you can play regardless of the weather. Whether you’re looking for a quick few achievements or in it for the experience, you’re in for a good time.

Rise of the Ronin got audiences excited for large-scale games in a Japanese setting. With Assassin’s Creed Red on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to look at things Rise of the Ronin did that excite us for the newest AC installment. Here are 10 reasons why Rise of the Ronin has us excited for Assassin’s Creed Red.

1. Diverse Japanese Weapons

Combat in Rise of the Ronin is one of the most interesting things the game explores. Each weapon has different combat styles that can be used to gain the upper hand on enemies, but that’s never been the way Assassin’s Creed has approached combat. Assassin’s Creed is generally simpler, but many of the installments like Origins or Syndicate had the characters using a variety of weapons. Ideally, Assassin’s Creed Red will continue that trend with more than only a katana and hidden blade.

By the time of its launch, Rise of the Ronin is joining a staggering lineup of open-world RPG-style games. With games like Assassin’s Creed and Elden Ring setting the standard for this genre, Rise of the Ronin has had to shift from the norm to stand out. Some of that was successful, while some seemed to fall flat.

The comparison between Ghost of Tsushima (GoT) and Rise of the Ronin (RotR) feels unavoidable. However, it’s also entirely unfair to only view RotR exclusively from the lens of GoT. That being said, if I saw someone playing RotR two months before launch, I’d think it was GoT until I was told otherwise. That is until you get to the combat.

Now that Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update has dropped, there are plenty of new features for players to uncover. Those changes range from dialogue to NPC outfits to a whole new farm. Every change made affects the game in valuable ways, so here are 7 new features that bring Stardew all together.

Dialogue Improvements

One of the features that used to get old in Stardew Valley was talking to the NPCs. This isn’t to say that they’re no fun to chat with, but eventually, the responses begin to get a little predictable. The new update changes this, giving the villagers new responses to various interactions you have with them. This ranges from general daily interactions to the way they react when being given a gift.