Can you handle Shadow of the Erdtree?

The first and only expansion to Elden Ring released last week. See why critics and players differ on the game. Also, Nintendo holds a Direct plus much more. Let’s go! 

Nintendo gets Direct

Fans waiting for a still unannounced sequel to the Switch will have plenty of games to keep them occupied while they wait. 

Nintendo held their latest marketing event last week, and showed off a slew of new titles coming to the aging console. You can view everything announced, but here are some of the highlights:

Mario and Luigi Brothership

A new game in the Mario and Luigi series, and the first since Paper Jam in 2015. Brothership launches on Nov. 7.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

A remake of the early Dragon Quest series is in the works, with Dragon Quest III being the first to release on Nov. 14. Remakes of I & II in the series are scheduled for 2025. 

The Legend of Zelda: Echos of Wisdom

The first Zelda game to actually have Zelda as the protagonist. Try and save Link by using magic instead of might. The game has already inspired a ton of fan art, and releases Sept. 26.

Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

Metroid Prime 4 was first announced in 2017, with very little shown of the game in that span. The new trailer gives a brief preview of the game, and announces a 2025 release date. 

Which game are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments.

Enter the Erdtree, if you dare!

The greatly anticipated DLC for Elden Ring launched last week. Critics loved Elden Ring:  Shadow of the Erdtree, making it the highest reviewed expansion on Metacritic and knocking The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine from the top spot. The folks from CD Projekt RED congratulated the champion through their Twitter account.

Fans of the game were excited to jump back in, as the number of concurrent players rose 200% on Steam. However, many of those playing Erdtree found it extremely difficult, leading to review bombing of the game on Steam. As of the time of this writing, reviews are “mixed,”with over 23,000 positive reviews compared to over 14,000 negative. Negative reviews can also be attributed to the most recent patch causing errors on the Steam Deck. 

Elden Ring’s director Hidetaka Miyazaki says he knows the game is difficult, but that is part of what makes it unique. In an interview with The Guardian, Miyazaki says:

If we really wanted the whole world to play the game, we could just crank the difficulty down more and more, but that wasn’t the right approach. Turning down difficulty would strip the game of that joy, which, in my eyes, would break the game itself.

Shadow of the Erdtree is Bandai Namco’s “most ambitious” expansion launch so far. Have you played it? Is it too difficult? Let us know in the comments.

Side quests (more stories worth reading)

🐉 Dungeons & Dragon stamps will be released the week of Gen Con by the U.S. Postal Service to celebrate the game’s 50th anniversary. 

🥽 Sony made major cuts to PlayStation VR development, and currently only has two new titles planned. 

📉 Virtual Reality struggles continue for other companies, as Apple halted development on its next high-end Vision Pro headset to create something cheaper. 

⛔ Bethesda head Todd Howard ruled out remaking Fallout 1 and 2. 

👋🏼 Valve drops Mac support for some of their older games, including Team Fortress 2, Portal 2 and more. 

❗ Black Myth: Wukong is on over 4 million Steam wishlists. 

👎 Xbox's Matt Booty suggests leadership change was a factor in Tango Gameworks closure.

🧍‍♂️ The word “meeple,” which board game players will recognize as a wooden game piece shaped like a person, is being trademarked in the U.S.

🤖 Embracer Group says AI will “empower” game developers.

🕰️ Original Fallout producer Timothy Cain discusses why Interplay’s original Fallout 3 was canceled over 20 years ago.

🍌 A game called Banana is now more popular than Hogwarts Legacy and Baldur's Gate 3 on Steam. 

✖️ Xbox is refunding players who purchased the now-canceled Redfall DLC. 

🚓 The Grand Theft Auto games surpassed 30 million downloads on Netflix. 

🖥️ An upcoming Lords of the Fallen sequel will be an Epic exclusive on PC.

👍 After leaving Xbox last year, Larry Hryb, aka “Major Nelson” has joined Unity. 

🛜 Sony’s PlayStation Portal received an update that adds public Wi-Fi support.

🚫 Twitch banned one of its biggest stars, Dr Disrespect, after viewing messages sent to a minor.

😢 Embracer has closed Pieces Interactive, the studio behind Alone in the Dark.

😢 Paradox Interactive canceled their in-production game Life by You and closed the studio making it. 

🎥 A second Uncharted movie is officially in the works.

New Releases this week: 

Check out our article on 12 New Games to Play in June.

6/24: Anchored Hearts: A Tale of Destiny (PC)
6/25: Super Monkey Ball: Banana Rumble (Switch)
6/25: Riven (Remake) (PC and Quest)
6/25: Until Then (PlayStation and PC)
6/27: Bureau of Contacts (PC)
6/27: Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD (Switch)
6/27: NeoSprint (PlayStation, Xbox, Switch and PC)

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