Nintendo has released a brand new The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom trailer all about traversing the land of Hyrule. 

The next game in The Legend of Zelda series launches on September 26 for Nintendo Switch, but ahead of time, Nintendo has offered an in-depth look at how traversal will work from the perspective of Princess Zelda.

We were first provided a look at the many regions of Hyrule, which might be familiar to fans, including the vast landscape outside of Hyrule castle and Gerudo desert, as well as the Jabul Waters, Eldin Volcano, and the Faron Wetlands. 

Each area will feature a number of characters you can meet, along with respective side quests that will reward the player for their good deeds.

In Echoes of Wisdom, you won't have to rely on walking on foot around the kingdom, as there will be many ways to travel.  

For instance, there's Travel Waypoints which, when attuned, will be accessible for fast travel. In other areas, however, there'll be obstacles in your way and that's where Zelda's horse comes in.

When mounted, you can gallop over weaker enemies and instantly defeat them, hop over smaller obstacles, like fences or cliffs to make getting around much easier and quicker. Using Zelda's powers, you'll also be able to recreate carrots that you can use to call your steed from distances. 

The game will also feature a system similar to cooking. With the right ingredients, you can visit shops manned by Business Scrub's and blend them into different smoothies, each with their own unique effects. Outfits and accessories will also enhance Zelda's abilities. 

The trailer also introduced two brand-new powers called Bind and Reverse Bond. With the help of a creature called Tri and Zelda's Tri Rod, you can create echoes – imitations of objects found in the environment - that will help you overcome a variety of obstacles. 

However, as the trailer shows, some obstacles won't be as simple. By utilizing Bind and Reverse Bond, you can make objects follow Zelda’s movements and similarly allow Zelda to follow a creature’s movements. For example, with Bind, you can move boulders out of the way by simple walking in the direction required, uncover treasure chests from the ground, and also push enemies off cliffs. 

Using Reverse Bond, you can also attach Zelda to moving objects like platforms and even bond to birds to give her the ability to fly.

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom was revealed during June's Nintendo Direct and will follow Princess Zelda on a quest to save Link and the people of Hyrule from a mysterious void. 

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The prison management simulator game Prison Architect 2 has been delayed indefinitely. 

Paradox Interactive announced the news in a recent forum post, where the published explained that it will be delaying the game ahead of its September 3 release in order to make improvements to both performance and content.

"Our continuous internal reviews and beta test groups have highlighted areas that we need to focus on more, mainly performance and content, which we need to address before launch to ensure that you, the players, get a good experience in the game," Paradox said. "We need to raise the quality a bit more to meet the standards we'd like to achieve with this sequel.

"We are confident that the sequel to Prison Architect will be great, and we're looking forward to showing you all the new ideas brought into it: the switch to 3D, multi-floors, and the new behavior system that all bring a new dimension to the game and open new gameplay possibilities for the players. However, we want to make sure the game lives up to the franchise’s legacy and is released in a state that satisfies both you, our players, and the Prison Architect 2 teams at Kokku and Paradox Interactive."

After it was announced in January, the sim game was initially set for a March 26 release before it was delayed to May 7. At the time, Paradox said it was "confident in the quality of the game" but needed extra time to identify bugs and optimize the game for all platforms". However, Prison Architect 2 was then delayed once again in April, and received a new September 3 launch date.

Following the latest announcement, the publisher was unable to share a new release date, meaning the Prison Architect 2 has been delayed indefinitely until Paradox can "re-assess the scope of the work needed to be done before the game is release-ready." 

The post continued, with Paradox saying that over the next few months it will focus on improving the game and building a "more robust release timeline", but that it will be limiting communications with fans until it has one its comfortable with.

Due to the indefinite delay, pre-orders on all platforms - including PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and Steam - have been refunded, and pre-order items will instead be added to the base game.

"We are confident that delaying Prison Architect 2 is the best path forward for the game, allowing us more time to deliver a high-quality experience that honors the legacy of Prison Architect," Paradox added. "This is not the announcement we hoped to make, but it is necessary, as we believe this will result in a better game for you."

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A Santa Monica Studio developer has confirmed that the studio is currently working on a new intellectual property.

As spotted by a ResetEra user, God of War developer Glauco Longhi recently took to LinkedIn to share that he has been acting as a supervisor at the Sony owned studio looking at character development on a "new IP".

"Santa Monica Studios presented the opportunity of coming back as Character Supervisor, looking after the entire Character Development pipeline, on their new IP, so here I am, thrilled to be back, working again with the crew and pushing Characters in videogames together," the full post reads.

According to Longhi's "about" section on his LinkedIn profile, he has worked as a senior character artist on Naughty Dog's Uncharted 4, as well as on Santa Monica Studio's 2016 God of War. 

The developer has also worked as a lead character artist on God of War Ragnarok, which launched in 2022, but left the studio later to work on The Calisto Protocol as a character and art director at Striking Distance Studios.

He re-joined Santa Monica Studio earlier this year after working for less than a year as an art director at the Subnautica developer Unknown Worlds Entertainment. 

At the moment, we don't have any information about this "new IP", however, there have been rumors that the studio is potentially looking to produce a space-themed game following cryptic posts from Santa Monica Studio's creative director, Cory Barlog back in 2019.

Although currently unannounced, a third God of War game is also a possibility. Following Ragnarok's launch, the Santa Monica went on to release the free Valhalla downloadable content (DLC), an extended epilogue roguelike that takes place after the events of the sequel. 

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The content roadmap for Star Wars Outlaws has been revealed.

Ahead of the game's release later this month, Ubisoft has shared a post-launch roadmap, providing details on upcoming Season Pass content. 

First things first, at launch Season Pass owners will obtain the Kessel Runner character pack with outfits for Kay and Nix, and also gain access to an exclusive mission called 'Jabba’s Gambit'.

Ubisoft confirmed that all players will meet Jabba the Hutt in the main game, but Season Pass owners will gain an additional quest from the crime lord.

"Just as Kay is putting together a crew for her big heist, she receives a job from Jabba the Hutt himself - ND-5 owes the Hutts a debt from years ago, and Jabba has come to collect," the publisher teases. 

In addition to these Season Pass exclusives, Star Wars Outlaws will receive two story packs included in the Season Pass, but will also be available to purchase separately.

The first expansion is called Wild Card, which is set to arrive in Fall 2024, and will find the game's protagonist Kay Vess infiltrating a high-stakes Sabacc tournament as she crosses paths with the iconic character and gambler Lando Calrissian.

When this story pack is released, Season Pass owners will also get access to the Hunter’s Legacy and Cartel Ronin bundles, each with additional outfits for Kay and her companion Nix, along with cosmetics for Kay’s speeder and her ship, the Trailblazer.

Coming in Spring 2025, players can expect the second story pack: A Pirate's Fortune.

"The Trailblazer’s reputation precedes Kay as she runs into veteran pirate Hondo Ohnaka, who is looking to settle old scores with a ruthless gang of pirates," the description reads, confirming that players will once again meet the fan-favorite character, known for his appearances in the animated shows The Clone Wars and Rebels.

Star Wars Outlaws launches on August 30 for for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. 

Pre-orders are now available and will reward players with three days early access to the game on August 27 if they purchase the Gold Edition or Ultimate Edition, or play with a Ubisoft+ Premium subscription. 

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It looks like the existence of Final Fantasy 14 Mobile has been confirmed by the Chinese government.

The news was reported by Daniel Ahmad, director of research and insights at Niko Partners via X / Twitter. Ahmad writes that China has "approved a new batch of import games" with Final Fantasy 14 Mobile among them. The upcoming title is joined by an as of yet untitled Rainbow Six game, a Dynasty Warriors title, and Marvel Rivals.

A breakdown published on the Niko Partners website goes into further detail, stating that Final Fantasy 14 mobile is in development at Tencent's Lightspeed Studios and Square Enix with the Japanese publisher's approval. Ahmad adds further context in a follow-up post, writing that the game is "expected to be a standalone MMORPG" that will be a separate experience to the main game.

And that's all we know about Final Fantasy 14 Mobile so far. While the mobile version will likely share assets with the popular MMORPG, it's probably not going to be the full experience you'd get on console or PC. It's easy to imagine the game's cooldown-based combat system being somewhat streamlined for mobile devices, though.

Still, having a mobile version of the MMO makes a lot of sense. Player counts continue to rise following the launch of Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail. The latest expansion is a transformative one, kickstarting an all-new story arc and introducing a graphical update that massively improves lighting, shadows and texture work. 

The game has also recently been released on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles, allowing more players than ever before to take up the mantle of Warrior of Light.

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Two-dimensional side-scroller The Eternal Life of Goldman was just announced as part of the THQ Nordic Showcase, and for many it'll no doubt be the standout game of the show.

Coming from Weappy Studio, developers of This is the Police and its sequel, The Eternal Life of Goldman debuted with an utterly jaw-dropping trailer showcasing the game's hand-drawn animations and gameplay. 

The opening cutscene, which follows a simian creature attempting (and ultimately failing) to escape a burning forest, seamlessly transitions to gameplay where we discover the game's protagonist is an elderly gentleman who's part Sonic the Hedgehog, part Scrooge McDuck, with lightning quick running speed and a cane that can be used in combat and platforming.

We see that the cane has multiple functions, such as being used to defeat enemies like a giant octopus, and performing feats like pulling out objects to be used as platforms.

While certainly looking fun to play and featuring a very novel protagonist, The Eternal Life of Goldman is seriously impressive in terms of its visuals. The world itself here seems to be quite harrowing, with a mixture of spike-ridden caves, trap-filled dungeons and industrial cityscapes. Enemy design is particularly macabre, too.

I'm also greatly impressed by the soundtrack so far, which layers a violin with strong percussive beats, and I can't wait to hear more in the full release.

On that note, however, there is no confirmed release date for The Eternal Life of Goldman as of yet. You can wishlist it right now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

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Disney's Epic Mickey: Rebrushed just received its first gameplay trailer.

Revealed at the THQ Nordic Showcase 2024, the latest trailer gives us our first look at the return of Mickey Mouse in this enhanced remake of the of the 2010 Nintendo Wii game, which was announced earlier this year.

Equipped with a magic paint brush, paint and thinner, Mickey can be seen exploring a number of different zones in the Wasteland inspired by classic Disney stories as he uses his powers to restore color to the world, and even alter his environment to uncover hidden secrets.

The trailer also provided a look at a variety of enemies players will encounter in this 3D platformer, including a glimpse at the first boss fight, The Clock Tower in a large scale area. Mickey can be seen utilizing just some of his brand new abilities adapted from the original title on these enemies, including new movement skills, such as a dash, ground pound, and a sprint. 

Players will get to meet other Disney characters along the way, including Oswald the Lucky Rabbit - Walt Disney's first creation - as well as experience multiple different endings "based on your unique playstyle and decisions."

THQ Nordic calls the came a "faithful remake of the beloved classic" featuring updated graphics and other quality-of-life improvements that will send Mickey Mouse on a journey "that requires creativity and a spirit of discovery."

Epic Mickey: Rebrushed is set to launch on September 23 for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC. 

Pre-ordering now will also give players 24-hour Early Access before release - excluding PC and Steam - as well as access to an exclusive costume pack free of charge, which features outfits inspired by classic Mickey looks. These three costumes include: Boat Willie, Football, and Brave Little Tailor. 

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Titan Quest 2 has finally received its debut gameplay trailer as part of the THQ Nordic Showcase 2024.

First teased during last year's showcase, the Greek mythology-inspired hack 'n' slash sequel can be wishlisted now on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC. Though sadly, neither THQ Nordic or developer Grimlore Games have announced a release date for the anticipated title just yet.

The Titan Quest 2 gameplay trailer showcases a gorgeous world map which, like the original game, is presented from a top-down isometric viewpoint. The player character is seen exploring the map, visiting towns and combating mythological creatures across the world map. Also noteworthy here is the excellent soundtrack which hits similarly Greek-inspired notes as Assassin's Creed Odyssey and Supergiant's Hades series.

As you might expect from a game of its kind, Titan Quest 2 will feature what appears to be a robust skill tree system, allowing players to unlock new abilities separated by an escalating number of tiers. Presumably, the higher the tier, the more potent the skill or ability will be.

We also get to see a selection of detailed, thematic armor sets. While there's nothing too fantastical here, at least in this trailer, hopefully there will be potential for players to transmog gear to add some flair to their build, just as you can in Diablo 4.

We expect that Titan Quest 2 may still be a ways off yet. A combat showcase against a larger enemy towards the end of the trailer does have some choppy animation, so there's likely some polish left to implement before the upcoming game goes gold. Still, it's great to see that Titan Quest 2 appears to be coming along nicely, especially for fans of the 2006 original.

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Nintendo has partnered with OTL Technologies to produce a set of true wireless earbuds based on The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

At the time or writing, they appear to only be available in the UK and Republic of Ireland at the online My Nintendo Store. They cost £34.99 / €39.99. The earbuds are available to purchase right now in three distinct colorways: white, black and green. In the UK, it looks like the green pair has already sold out, though.

The whole package is aesthetically quite pleasing, with each of the three colorways featuring a distinct secondary color. The Tears of the Kingdom game logo is emblazoned on the front of the charging case, and the iconic Triforce symbol is etched onto both earbuds.

The buds are described as delivering "a full, rich and clear audio experience with deep bass, smooth mids and crystal-clear highs" according to the store page. They feature Bluetooth 5.0 connectivity, meaning they should pair wirelessly to your Nintendo Switch or mobile device without issue.

As we'd expect from gaming earbuds at this relatively low price range, battery life doesn't seem particularly impressive. They come in at six hours on a single charge with "three further charges" being provided by the charging case - implying you'll get a total of 24 hours before needing to juice up the case again via USB Type C.

Again, at this price point, we wouldn't really expect a premium audio experience no matter what the store page says. But, if you're a portable Switch player in need of a budget-friendly pair of wireless earbuds, these Tears of the Kingdom models might just be for you especially if you dig their aesthetic.

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Nintendo Switch hardware and software sales now seem to be firmly on the decline as the handheld hybrid console passes 143 million units sold.

That's according to Nintendo's recently-published financial results for the first quarter of the 2024 - 2025 financial year. The results reveal that as of June 30, 2024, the Switch has shifted a grand total of 143.42 million units across the original model, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED.

There are signs that hardware sales are firmly on a downward trajectory now, though. Nintendo reported that it had sold 141.32 million Switch consoles back in May. So, from April 1 to June 30, the company shifted 2.1 million systems, representing a 46.3% compared to last year's results in the same timeframe.

It's a similar story for Nintendo Switch games, with 30.64 million units sold between April 1 and June 30, 2024. Similarly, that's a 41.3% decline compared to performance from last year. 

That said, the Nintendo Switch family is still comfortably the Kyoto-based company's second best-selling console of all time, sitting only behind the Nintendo DS which reached roughly 154 million sales. The Nintendo Switch only sits behind one console from its competitors in sales terms - the PlayStation 2, which is reported to have sold between 155 - 160 million units in its lifetime.

Declining sales are a natural part of a console's lifecycle, particularly when we're on the cusp of its successor. In this case, the tentatively-named Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to launch in 2025, though Nintendo itself is yet to reveal any official details about the upcoming console. Nintendo has confirmed it'll be skipping Gamescom 2024, too, so it's likely we won't get any news on the system within the next month or two.

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Elden Ring players might be experiencing framerate issues on PC because of their mouse.

That's according to developer FromSoftware, who said in the most recent patch notes for Version 1.13 that it had discovered an possible unstable performance issue affecting PC players' FPS, due to third-party applications that may be running in the background (via PC Gamer).

"In the PC version, unstable framerate may be caused by third-party applications that control mouse behavior," FromSoftware explained. 

It's unclear if the developer is planning on introducing a fix in a future patch, but it did offer up a work around that may stabilize the issue temporarily.

"Deactivating these third-party applications may improve performance," it said. "The version number of this update shown at the lower right corner of the Title Screen will be as follows: App Ver. 1.13. Regulation Ver. 1.13.1."

When Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree expansion was released in June, some players were experiencing similar performance problems. At the time, FromSoftware offered a similar resolution, saying, "In the PC version, the frame rate may not be stable when playing the game while running a mouse-control related app. In that case, please try playing the game after stopping the mouse-control related app."

It looks like the issue has persisted for over a month now, however, given the latest patch notes. In response to the possible solution, one user said, "Your game runs poorly on all devices. From consoles to ultra high-end PCs. And you lack Ultrawide support or DLSS/FSR/XESS. Things modders implemented."

Patch 1.13 went live across all platforms earlier this week and was largely aimed at introducing much-needed balance fixes for weapons, spells, and summons. While the majority of Spirit Ashes saw significant nerfs across the board, the update also changed the default selection that shows up when trying to summon Torrent after it the Spectral Steed has died, making things less overwhelming during boss fights.

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BioWare has confirmed that it will share Dragon Age: The Veilguard's release date this month.

For 10 years, fans have been eagerly awaiting the next game in the Dragon Age series. In June, we received the first official look at The Veilguard with an exciting extended gameplay demo and BioWare was able to confirm that the game will be launching in "Fall 2024" PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S and PC.

The studio has been reluctant to share any additional looks in the form of teaser trailers ever since the game's big unveiling. However, the developer has now confirmed that players can expect brand-new details this August, which includes a release date and a roadmap.

"We’ll have more to share next month – including a new roadmap, more looks at the game, and our official release date," BioWare said in a new blog post following its panel at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC).

BioWare publisher EA also narrowed down the game's release window in its latest financial results calendar. Although initially missing from the line-up, EA now lists Dragon Age: The Veilguard with a Q3 launch window. 

This means that players can expect the game to launch this fall, after October 1, and could potentially launch either that same month, November, or December. 

BioWare hasn't confirmed if The Veilguard will receive any post-launch downloadable content (DLC) at this time, however, at the mention of a roadmap, it's likely an announcement of one or more playable expansion packs could drop at a later date, just like the previous Dragon Age entries. 

A roadmap typically includes other updates aside from DLC, such as additional features that may be implemented into the game down the road, for instance a photo mode or more quality-of-life improvements. We'll just have to wait and see.

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