Mars Needs Cheerleaders Following a fortnight ofrun ‘n’ gun actionandtop-tier puzzling, we’re going back to the stars with Hamster’s favorite genre, the shmup — Available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, it’s the Arcade Archives’ newest entry, Taito’sMegablast! Released to the coin-op market in 1989,Megablastis one of a tidal wave of (admittedly forgotten) shmups that filled out smoky arcade centers up and down the country. While the action is fairly typical of the era, the storyline is one for the ages....

That’s the Spiricle There’s a double dose of news forSakura Warsfans today, or at least those currently enjoy the latest PS4 entry over in Japan. Sega has dropped the first update for the soft reboot, which features balance tweaks, quality-of-life adjustments, and a fresh new mecha for lead gal Sakura Amamiya. The new mech unit – or “Spiricle” – is known as “Mugen”, and will be featured in the upcomingSakura Wars the AnimationTV series, which begins broadcasting in Japan on April 3....

But not a pizza in sight Revealed at the EVO tournament last month, Jubei, the redemptive, twin-tailed, feline warrior will be arriving to raise hell in BlazBlue: Central Fiction on August 31. As stated on the Aksys Gamestwitter, Jubei will be arriving alongside update 2.0, bringing a host of balance changes and tweaks to the popular anime fighter. These system changes were recently fan-translated into a Google Doc, which can be foundright here....

For theindie board gamer set,Settlers of Catanis a staple — the equivalent of Mario to the console gamer. Introduced by German board game wunderkind Klaus Teuber in 1995, the game has gone on to be translated into twenty five languages and won the 1996 Origins award for Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Board Game. The announcement ofCatan’sadaptation for XBLA caught the attention of many a gamer, but for a while there was no confirmed date on the release of the title....

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swordwas released today, and the game is already buzzing with controversy. Specifically, some reviewers and players are insisting that the game’s motion controls are fantastic while others are reporting that they are “clunky” and intermittently unresponsive. That’s part of the reason whyI gave the game a 9.5, though I personally felt that the game’s controls were just about perfect. I thought that Nintendo was going to potentially alienate a lot of players by preventing them from playing the game with standard controls....

Sonic Maniawas confirmed very early on for the PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One platforms, but it just had one holdup — a lack of a physical edition. Sure it had a special edition, a rad one in fact, but that comes with a download card. We do have hope though, as a GameStop Italy posting showcases a very convincing physical version on the Switch, which we can only assume will head to other platforms....

The survival sequel is being delayed “one last time,” and it’ll cost $30 It’s been hard for fans ofThe Forestto pin down Endnight Games’ next mutant survival horror title,Sons of the Forest. After initially looking like alate 2021 release, the sequel was bumped toMay 2022, then pushed back again, toOctober 2022. Things happen. Now, there’s another delay — but Endnight says it’s the last time, and the new release date forSons of the Forest, July 31, 2025, should stick....

In aGamasutra articleabout the preservation of game history, Junction Point Studios’ Warren Spector commented on both the importance of saving the industry’s past for posterity and what’s holding us back. “Where the early history of film and television has been largely lost thanks to industry indifference and academic ignorance, we have a chance to preserve our history, before our pioneers pass away, our design documents, marketing materials and beta builds disintegrate or get trashed, and our hardware deteriorates to the point of inoperability....

Starfieldmodding has already begun. If you thought the PC community was going to rest on its laurels and just play the vanilla release (the very idea!), think again. Some people have been waiting in the wings for this day, and now we can enjoy the start of something quite special. A quick look onNexus Modsreveals that theStarfieldcommunity is already hard at work. At the time of writing, there are currently 59 mods for the game....

Starfieldis the first new IP from Bethesda Game Studios in a quarter-century, and it’s understandably taking the gaming world by storm. As if to help get you in the spacefaring spirit, Microsoft has made aStarfield“dynamic” background available for Xbox Series S and Series X users, and …it’s effectively a JPEG. It should be said that the dynamic backgroundlookscool — it’s the cover art ofStarfield— but “dynamic” isn’t the first word that comes to mind....

Hardcore Will I ever get sick ofMario 64fan projects? Probably not. It’s an absolute classic. You know it.Nintendo knows it. It has a banger of a soundtrack and timeless level design, in a digestible format. From launch to the current era, it’s one of the easiest 3DMariogames to just pick up and play “for a few stars.” The modding community knows all of this too, which is why they try and keep the spirit of the game alive on a constant basis....

It’s Friday afternoon here at The Destructoid Show, and that can only mean two things: gallons of booze and a smattering of news! Preferably in that order. With emphasis on the former. On today’s show, Max talks aboutSWTOR‘slatestcontroversyand gives some details on the new turn-basedXCOM: Enemy Unknown, while I congratulate Steam on their seven long years ofsuccessand then take it upon myself to rage againstentitled gamerswho think their opinions are the only right ones....

Be kind, please rewind My Switch sure is filling up with cool indies.The Gardens Between, “a story about friendship, childhood and growing up,” is atime-rewinding puzzle adventurewith beautiful diorama-like islands. The game was slated for just PC and PlayStation 4 this year, but now it’s also coming to Nintendo Switch. “We took inspiration from our own childhoods when building the narrative,” said Simon Joslin of The Voxel Agents. “We wanted to tap into something relatable, familiar and nostalgic....