Hogwarts Legacyis an immersive action-RPG experience that is made more immersive in a sprawling open world spanning much more than just the titular castle. Players can fully explore the castle andHogsmeade inHogwarts Legacy, though the Highlands are teeming with as much adventure and activities as players could possibly want in a single playthrough. That is perpetuated further with subsequent playthroughs, where players can select a new Hogwarts house or create a new character, and that is currently the only way players can start a new game save file....

Game Freak’sPokemon ScarletandVioletand Luminous Production’sForspokenhave been two of the more recent entries to step into the AAA fray toward open-world settings. Though the titles have differed in approach, their design constraints share a similarity in their lacking elevation ofopen-world games. Pokemon ScarletandVioletandForspokenboth used their open worlds as a core selling point in their advertising, instilling players with the hope of expansive and compelling lands. InForspoken’s case, the fantastical world of Athia fit the scale, though its land, while beautifully rendered, failed to capture the sense of liveliness that fans were hoping for....

The Strong has announced this year’s 12 candidates to be inducted into the National Museum of Play’s World Video Game Hall of Fame. This year’s candidates are an eclectic assortment of titles, ranging from a 1970s handheld, an “edutainment” game, and a musical title with one of gaming’s most recognizable peripherals. Based in New York, The Strong is a museum that houses, “The world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of historical materials related to play,” which includes plenty of video games....

TheYakuzaseries is easily one of the most entertaining yet underrated franchises around. Each game in the seriesserves up a delectable storycoupled with a massive amount of side content in a small yet densely packed world that will keep fans occupied for quite some time indeed.Yakuza 0is one such title that is one of the best entry points in the seriesand allows gamers to experience the magic of this series firsthand....

We often get to see plenty of information about games before they’re even released, with companies giving us a sneak peek behind the curtain at the development process and building the hype for the forthcoming title. However, having seen what the game would have been like makes it even harder for fans to take the news that the game has been canceled. Related:10 Things You Didn’t Know About The Canceled Jak and Daxter 4...

At the latest Nintendo Direct event, Nintendo confirmed that its hit gameAnimal Crossing: New Horizonswould be getting a big update in November. Nintendo didn’t have much to share in the way of details at the time, teasing that the fan favorite NPC Brewster and his Roost cafe would be making their debut inAnimal Crossing: New Horizonsas part of the update, but not revealing much else. Nintendo promised that more information would come in a specialAnimal Crossing: New Horizons-focused Nintendo Direct in October, and now we know when exactly that Nintendo Direct will air....

PlayStation fans have discovered thatAstro’s Playroom, the game that comes free with every PlayStation 5 console, has the potential for some very impressive speedrun exploits. Top speedrunners have found ways to finish the game’s speedrun levels far faster than seemingly intended, clocking in times drastically lower than those of the average player. At first glance,Astro’s Playroomis a simple (albeit charming) 3D platformer starring Astro, the hero of well-received VR titleAstro Bot Rescue Mission....

Summary Choosing a class is one of the most important steps in the process of creating a character to be the protagonist role-playing game. The choice of subclasses is one more layer of customization that gives every build a unique detail, andBaldur’s Gate 3has several interesting options. During the Early Access phase of the game, which lasted several months, some classes were unavailable, and others had fewer choices for subclasses or none at all....

Poppy Playtimeis one of the most popularindie horror gamesto come out recently, having caught the eye of many players desperate to scratch the itch that games likeBendy and the Ink MachineorFive Nights at Freddy’shas left behind. Many people have taken toPoppy Playtimenow, especially now that the second chapter of the game has recently been released to the public. RELATED:Poppy Playtime: How to Get the Red GrabPack Hand As such, there are many people who, of course, would end up getting stuck along the way during the first chapter....

Plenty ofvideo games have been inspired by board gamesso it should come as no surprise that anime has taken inspiration from them as well. There are several shows that focus on board games that have gotten critical acclaim for their unique premises. These anime focus on a way of playing and connecting to other people that is older than we could ever imagine. Just like the games in question, some of these shows are far more fun to experience than others....

Summary TheGrand Theft Autofranchise is undeniably one of the most influential IPs in gaming. Spanning over a dozen games,GTAhas managed to solidify itself as a gaming behemoth while helping to shape the open-world crime genre. As fans eagerlyawait the release ofGTA 6, it’s worth taking a look at some other games that were inspired by, or share many similarities with, Rockstar’s flagship franchise. Grand Theft Autois the standard that audiences and critics will often measure a game against, if it takes place in an urban environment or hits similar gameplay or story beats....

Video games have always been a way for game designers to express how they view the world, or at least theiralternate version of the world. And while planet Earth seems to be the most popular canvas to showcase a video game, some other games have gone beyond the stars to tell an epic story. Games likeNo Man’s SkyandStar Citizenhave set the benchmark of interstellar storytelling. Titan (the largest moon of Saturn) is one particular celestial body that some game designers have used to tell the story of their video games,especially the ones set beyond the 22nd century....

When it comes to theXbox Series X, gamers don’t typically think of the twin-stick shooter; despite the brand’s established action-shooter pedigree. It makes sense on one level, as the genre itself isn’t near as prominent as it was in the heyday of the 80s or 90s. However, there are quite a few examples of great efforts that are playableon Series X/S, which are a blast to burn through. RELATED:Best Twin Stick Shooters On The Nintendo Switch, Ranked And despite most of these existing as backward compatible games via Xbox One, a number of them are given the optimization treatment for Microsoft’s latest machine....