Fishbowl is a story about grief during a big life transition, and it just so happens to take place at a time when almost everybody was hoping things would go back to the way they were.

Homura Hime is a great detour as we wait for bigger and better character action games to release. It’s refreshing to play an action title that isn’t a Soulslike yet still offers stunning, visually impressive boss battles. While the lack of English voice acting is disappointing, the characters are likeable despite a weird storyline that goes too crazy for its own good.

I’ve been playing the MLB The Show series for nearly 20 years at this point–since they rebranded their MLB series to MLB The Show on the PS2. It’s been impressive to watch the series evolve into a top-tier licensed sports…

A quick Q&A with Game Director Koji Oda and Producer Shingo Izumi about Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection, and it was great hearing about what why the Star Force games got the Legacy Collection treatment, along with who its for, how it’s been improved, and what kind of nuances we might expect to see in the upcoming Mega Man: Dual Override.

omodachi Life: Living the Dream Welcome Version is a demo of the upcoming Nintendo Switch life simulator that gives you a little sample of what the game is like. It’s about an hour long and starts you out with creating your Mii, getting your island set up, and starting relationships with other Miis on your island. It doesn’t get too in-depth into what makes this game special, but it gives audiences a little taste of what’s to come.

Mega Man Star Force Legacy Collection serves as a blueprint for how developers can bring DS titles to modern systems. The collection, which comprises multiple versions of the three Mega Man Star Force games, is a unique time capsule of a very different type of Mega Man game that’s a bit of a continuation of the Battle Network series while also changing things up for the DS. It’s definitely a mixed bag and not for everyone, but there’s directions here that developers can take when rescuing their lost DS libraries and bringing them to current audiences.

Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown will go down as a “forever game” and a true icon of the end of the arcade era, but perhaps due to said end of the arcade era, Sega didn’t seem to care to follow up on it, leaving it as the main Virtua Fighter title throughout the entirety of the 2010s.

One of my favorite media events during GDC is the Xbox Play Anywhere Showcase, formerly known as the ID@Xbox Showcase (but something makes me think they’ll go back to the old name next year, assuming they’re back). On top of the awesome games on the floor, normally with a developer or two alongside them, there’s a bunch of food, an open bar, and it presents an opportunity to network with other people in games media. It’s a reunion of sorts with unreleased games and great vibes, but once you get through all that, the real joy is uncovering a gem here and there. That’s what I think I might have done with Nomori.

SmashPad attended The MIX + Kinda Funny’s Spring Game Showcase during GDC. To be honest, while walking around the venue, I was very overwhelmed and didn’t know what to play and almost didn’t play anything. It was technically day two…

This whole game’s existence has been an exercise in expectation management. When Arc System Works and designer Daisuke Ishiwatari announced this game during the ArcSys Showcase in the middle of last year, people were expecting maybe a new Guilty Gear game, something Blazblue related, or just another cool-ass property that carried similar edge or oddball swagger of those games. Instead, we got DAMON and BABY with a bunch of RPG stuff.

In 1995, a small studio from Milan took a risk, trying to bring a fast, well-playing Ridge Racer-inspired game to the PC. Screamer was the result, and it launched a franchise that earned itself a loyal fanbase. The series evolved with the technology of the day, adopting early 3D acceleration to achieve a smooth framerate. It went from pure road racing to rally and off-road, looking poised to become something long-lived. But publisher Virgin Interactive fell on hard times; the IP was sold off, bounced between companies, and became entangled in red tape before going dormant for nearly two decades.

These days, it can be hard to make a game stand out among the thousands released every year. Whether it’s a title requiring an elaborate marketing campaign or a solid pitching strategy, getting a game noticed becomes more difficult by the day. Mr. Sleepy Man, a dreamy 3D platformer from the mind of solo developer Devin Santi, challenged that narrative with its fascinating visual design and frankly absurd trailers. It absolutely stays true to the game’s world as a lucid dream of an experience.