A promising bit of alternate history sci-fi with a Russian twist, Atomic Heart has been one of my most anticipated releases for quite some time, as per the headline you can probably guess that the end result didn't come close to living up to that promise.

The Diablo IV Open Beta is scheduled for March - check out the full details on that here - and with that announcement Blizzard has revealed the full in-game cinematic that serves as the game's opener. Featuring the character you create, and their voice, it's a very cool and moody introduction to the dark and gothic world of Diablo IV.

The next Season of Diablo III, Season 28: Rites of Sanctuary, is set to go live on February 24 at 5pm PST (which is Saturday at noon AEDT), and it’s shaping up to be an epic send-off for the game as Diablo IV’s launch draws closer. With a new endgame progression system and several class reworks that all sound fantastic, it will be a lot of fun.

Indie early access survival game Valheim was one of the most talked about games of 2021, and one of the most played. Next month it makes its console debut on Xbox Series X|S with Valheim also coming to Xbox Game Pass on March 14. Like the PC version, the game is still in early access but has been receiving substantial updates since its 2021 debut.

We're loving this continual run of old-school styled games. Be they homages to games past with fresh ideas and modern sensibilities, or revivals of older franchsies either by new teams, or the OG studios keen on taking back on the world. Or sequels to earlier Indies that helped with the old-school revival at all, as is the case with Punch Club, a fan-favourite released back in 2016 which is now getting a sequel.

Blizzard has finally announced its Open Beta plans for the highly anticipated Diablo IV, with two beta periods planned. First, Early Access to the Open Beta will be available for those that have pre-purchased the game on the weekend of March 17-19, with the free-for-all Open Beta running over the weekend of March 24–26.

In a continuation of both ego and nostalgia, we managed to drum up scans of our original Metroid Prime reviews from back in our print gaming magazine days. Specifically for Nintendo Gamer and the seminal Hyper magazines. This is a great little look at how things used to be done and a nice trip down memory lane.

South Australian-based indie studio Melonhead Games has launched its neon-soaked hoverblade runner Rooftop Renegade today - with the game available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. With simple and intuitive controls, vibrant visuals, and an engaging soundtrack, it's a great option if you're looking for some fast-paced arcade thrills.

"The best way to describe Shadow Warrior 3, for those well-versed in the ways of the FPS, is to liken it to a loud, colourful and inviting arcade cabinet you simply cannot walk past."

That's a line from our review of Shadow Warrior 3 from way back in 2022. And now a definitive edition of the game has been dropped which features enhanced visuals, new modes and is also a free upgrade for anyone with the original game. It's also now available on Game Pass.

An all-new The Settlers is on its way to both PC and console -- the first time in the series' 30-year history that it will be available for console owners. The Settlers: New Allies, which releases this coming March, maintans the series' RTS foundations with a new setting built on the powerful Snowdrop Engine that is used for The Division and will also power upcoming games in the Avatar and Star Wars universes, respectively.

Positioned as a traditional real-time strategy with hero characters, Age of Darkness: Final Stand (out now via Steam Early Access) from Aussie studio PlaySide is edging ever-closer to a full release, and as part of its hype the team has been sharing snippets of info, today sharing a short video on the hero charater, Aelis -- Queen of Nothing. And she's a badass.

We live in an age of the notable remaster or re-release, but few have been so wanted, so demanded, so sought than Metroid Prime. And as a remaster of an absolute classic, we're here to tell you, right off the bat, this is as good as it gets -- this is why the Remaster model isn't broken and this is the reason you need a Switch.

The MSI Trident X2 is an all-in-one gaming desktop that features some of the most powerful hardware on the planet. With a GeForce RTX 4090 GPU and a Intel Core i9-13900KF CPU it's certainly packing heat, but it's backed up by one of the most stylish (and luxurious) PCs we've ever laid hands on.

Janet De Mornay is a Slumlord (and a witch) is an upcoming game from Sydney-based Fuzzy Ghost who is encouraging people to submit their horror rental stories right here or on Twitter with the hashtag "#renterhorror". The game, billed as a horror-comedy in the vein of Beetlejuice and Poltergeist, sees players solving puzzles while managing their landlord who has traveled with them into an alternate dimension.

It's kind of hard to describe Corpse Keeper from Melancholia Studio. Upon first glance it looks a bit like a 2D fighting game, but with demonic, medieval fighters set against a deliberately dank castle dungeon backdrop. But after closer inspection it reveals itself as a unique action-roguelike that absolutely lives up to its title.

An all-new 4K DLC-clad version of Aussie expat Alex Hutchinson's (and co) Journey to the Savage Planet is now available. The new release, which adds in the Employee of the Month DLC as well as new visuals for new-gen consoles, is now live on each console's respective marketplace. And if you owned the game before, it's a free upgrade to the better version.

A physical table top recreation of the seminal sadness simulator, Frostpunk is now available at brick and mortar retailers across Australia and New Zealand. The board game, which features the videogame's iconic and survival-centric furnace, utilises cards and other board game elements to capture the systems of the OG game in ways that shouldn't work, but do.

As the game's central hub for kicking off hunts and meeting fellow hunters, Minato Village in Koei Tecmo and EA's forthcoming Wild Hearts -- from the awesomely-named Omega Force studio -- is an important place for gamers to become accustomed with. As such a new trailer has dropped highlighting the hub that is definitely worth checking out.

Microsft's planned acquisition of Activision Blizzard is getting messy, and with the UK Competition and Markets Authority looking into the deal we got some insight into game sales and how they are affected by Xbox Game Pass. As expected, adding a game to the subscription service negatively impacts sales.

Pizza Tycoon is a classic PC game from 1994, where you were put in charge of a pizzeria (coming up with fancy new slices) that was part cooking game part business sim. But it also leaned into mob movie stereotypes, so there was a crime element that added a lot of fun. I have fond memories of playing it back in the day, so the news of this remake has made my day.