Translating Bond to a video game was a job that the studio was then quite prepared for, with both men relying on meticulous investigations, shadowy stealth, deceptive disguises, guile, and the ability and freedom to make things up as they go along in games that support that kind of thing. Well, folks, 007 First Light is here to scratch all those itches and more. It’s also an excellent and faithful take on Bond, too.

The story is probably the best place to start, and an area where I was eager to see how IO made the switch from the brooding and often sullen personality of Agent 47 to the reckless, and effortlessly charming man that Bond is. Patrick Gibson has brought a lot of heart and personality to the role to make his take on the iconic operative one that stands out in a long list of big names. There’s a bubbling confidence to this younger version of Bond, but also hints of the iron will and discipline that make him such a cool head in heated situations.

He’s backed by a supporting cast that includes comfortingly familiar names like Miss Money penny, John Greenway, M, Q, and Dr. Seline Tan, among others. Bond and his buddies at MI6 have been handled very well, and work as characters in a story that brings a very strong narrative with just the right amounts of scale, drama, and payoff, all wrapped in a stylish cocoon that makes the entire thing a pleasing sight to behold.

Man, those cutscenes are a polished bunch. IO could have easily taken things easy on that front and we might not have blamed them given that their expertise has largely been in areas other than heavily cinematic storytelling. But First Light makes it look like they’ve been at it for years, with outstanding attention to detail punctuating a level of polish very well. Step into Q’s lab for the first time, and you’re going to feel like the whole damn thing is alive. There are smatterings of dialogue choices too, along with NPCs that are quite chatty, making the world come to life in a way that makes it special.

"If you’re the type of fan who knows about Stephen Fleming, you’re going to like how Bond’s introduced to the agency that eventually becomes the stage for his legend."

It’s a good thing, then, that the gameplay is just as competent, making you feel like a younger Bond with his whole life ahead of him: confident, capable, and occasionally reckless in exactly the way you’d expect. The narrative framing fits the format with which your objectives are handed to you. You’re a new recruit at MI6 and, as such, you’re briefed on missions before heading to a loadout section that expands as you play. Which makes sense within the larger story, and is also a great way to give you a reason to prepare for each mission in a way that lets you interpret what the legend would do. It feels like you’re learning with him, and that makes things quite engaging.

It’s all quite Hitman-ish, if we’re being honest, but the intersection between IO’s past and present is a welcome presence when it’s all presented so well. That feeling only exacerbates when you drop into levels that immediately feel like they’re built to encourage a creative approach with large spaces facilitating multiple approaches to an objective, and a lot of freedom in how you choose to get there.

While some of you might find the tutorial a tad too long, I kind of appreciated how it felt like a very cool intro to a Bond movie, one where I was controlling the main man on the beginnings of his tryst with MI6. I can’t spoil anything for you, but if you’re the type of fan who knows about Stephen Fleming, you’re going to like how Bond’s introduced to the agency that eventually becomes the stage for his legend.

Things open up with the main story missions, and you’re going to be looking for every opportunity you can find as you explore massive levels. It’s a loop that’s built around discovering new ways to be cool, and then mixing and matching stuff to see what happens. That’s a really good way to encourage you to eavesdrop, bluff, find disguises, and generally play it cool. Things get even better when your gadgets come into play, and that’s especially true if you’re trying to keep a low profile.

"Bond is just agile in a way that Agent 47 could never manage, his attacks feeling fluid while their animations convey the unbridled aggression of a younger Bond who is yet to gain the efficient precision of his older, more experienced self."

You’ve got ways to make enemies sick, deploy electric shocks, use smoke bombs, plant explosive traps, and even use the environment to get the drop on unsuspecting foes. You’re encouraged to use everything you have, gathering intelligence and then acting on it as you see fit with results that are always interesting. It comes together beautifully, and is a very satisfying part of the experience.

It’s also where any similarities to Hitman end, as the combat system on offer acts as a solid differentiator. Bond is just agile in a way that Agent 47 could never manage, his attacks feeling fluid while their animations convey the unbridled aggression of a younger Bond who is yet to gain the efficient precision of his older, more experienced self. The resulting combat is brutal while still being grounded, and you can use punches, kicks, and grabs to give your enemies hell. Slamming them into walls or smashing stuff that I grabbed from around me was all very ‘free-flowing’, if you catch that reference to the Arkham franchise.

I love how the environment has been worked into combat, though. Both Bond and his enemies can use the environment in all the ways we described, and it’s a facet of the experience that reminds you that Bond is only human, and that his body has limits. It’s what grounds the combat, and does it so well, you’re going to find yourself wanting to improve and relishing new skills when you get them. The sheer physicality that the environment brings to each fight is hard to ignore because it’s prominent, and very welcome.

It’s just short of perfect, though, with a slightly high learning curve on the controls and a clunky camera in certain close-quarters fights but things click for the most part, giving you a stylish layer of action on top of the exploration and stealth bits. There are also quite a few QTEs that I could have done without. It’s 2026, for crying out loud. Of course, your Licence to Kill is going to come into play, and the gunplay on this one is solid. It’s not trying to be The Division 2, but First Light has a nice rhythm to its cover-based shooting.

"The visuals are a stunning showcase of graphical finery, working well with the voice acting to make this one a very immersive experience."

I’d say the enemy AI was a tad too inconsistent for my liking, though. They’re not the brightest tools in the antagonist’s shed, but it isn’t a major flaw as the AI is serviceable. It would have been nice to see this one shoot for something like Metal Gear Solid 5 but maybe that’s just wishful thinking. The set-pieces more than made up for it, though, and they’re genuinely memorable. We’re going to be talking about many of them in future articles, and they honestly had us thinking of Uncharted. First Light might be an attractive option if you’re on the fence and part of that particular fan base.

The level of production on the set-pieces is present across the board, and it’s among this one’s best features. The visuals are a stunning showcase of graphical finery, working well with the voice acting to make this one a very immersive experience. Detailed character models, strong atmospheric effects, and an excellent level of art direction make this one truly feel like a Bond game.

That praise extends to the audio design, with sound playing a big role in controlling the rise and fall of tension in scenes. It was especially great in stealthy sections, with the game using sound so well, I found myself breathing very quietly in my chair. The game performed quite well on our RTX 3080 Ti, AMD Ryzen 9 5950X, and 16 GB of RAM, sustaining a consistent 4K resolution with DLSS set to Quality. All settings were at Ultra with the exception of shadow quality, volumetric fog, effects quality, and global illumination, which were set to High.

I got 35-50 fps out of the aging RTX 3080 Ti, with drops whenever there were massive explosions. I encountered a weird moment when the game slowed down drastically when all I did was bring up my gadget selection interface, but it wasn’t anything a restart didn’t fix. I’d say your mileage may vary depending on your system but performance does feel like it’s under strain in the game’s more demanding moments.

"The few minor gripes I had melted away in the face of a game that’s as confident as its protagonist, while being a highly enjoyable trot around the globe"

You’ve probably guessed what we think about this one by now. 007 First Light is a fantastic Bond game that truly understands its source material and translates that into a great stealth-action experience for a modern audience. IO has avoided the pitfalls of making young James feel like a Hitman reskin while integrating excellent stealth, combat, and emergent mechanics that all give the game its own identity.

Its mechanics work very well with a story that puts them to use, especially during the more curated set-pieces that are brought to life by truly stunning production values and a level of polish that even a younger Bond would appreciate. It isn’t flawless but the few minor gripes I had melted away in the face of a game that’s as confident as its protagonist, while being a highly enjoyable trot around the globe, with British humor in my pocket at all times.

007 First Light sets a strong foundation for a potential franchise, and I must say that as far as origin stories for that purpose go, this one’s a hell of a start!

This game was reviewed on PC.

Note: Varun Karunakar contributed to this review.

The combat felt punchy, the graphics looked absolutely stunning, and the story seemed like something that might be right up my alley. And all of that at a price point of 25 USD? The whole combination felt almost unbelievable. Something had to give, right? Well, after playing the game, things are not always smooth for our protagonist Samson.

Let’s focus on the story first. You play as Samson McCray, a former driver who returns to his hometown of Tyndalston carrying a huge debt after a heist gone wrong. His sister Oonagh made a deal with the bad guys, and if Samson pays back the debt, their lives will be spared. Much of the plot has a serious, dark tone, as you take on jobs (more on that in a bit) to slowly pay off what you owe. Along the way, you meet quite a few characters, each with their own twists to the tale.

"There is pretty much every kind of job you could imagine here, whether it is tailing an NPC, chasing down a convoy and crashing it out, taking out bad guys, delivering items, tackling time trials, or escaping the law in a chase."

Without revealing too much, this is a grounded urban crime story very much in the vein of Sleeping Dogs, and although it never reaches those heights, Samson still has a decent tale to tell. The voice acting is decent overall, though Oonagh’s performance can be pretty corny. Samson, on the other hand, kept me curious enough to see the story chapter by chapter. So overall, the plot is decent, and while it does not do much that feels fresh, it stayed engaging enough in my experience.

The core of Samson revolves around taking on jobs, earning money for the day, progressing the story, and paying off your debt. There is pretty much every kind of job you could imagine here, whether it is tailing an NPC, chasing down a convoy and crashing it out, taking out bad guys, delivering items, tackling time trials, or escaping the law in a chase.

It is all the sort of stuff that many open games have explored in the past. As such, these missions do not bring much novelty to the table, even if they are generally serviceable. If you are interested in Samson, chances are you have already played missions like these before. That is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes simplicity and a sense of familiarity are all you need, and Samson generally does an okay job with its mission design. However, if you are hoping for something truly remarkable like the standout missions you find in GTA, no, that is not happening here.

Once you complete jobs, you earn cash and action points, with the latter being used to complete or retry missions. Cash, meanwhile, can also be spent on repairing your vehicle, refilling petrol and nitro, and changing tyres.

Once you are out of action points, you return to your apartment. If you hit your daily debt targets, all is well, but if you keep missing them, you receive a strike, and the next morning enemies will show up at your place to beat the socks off you. It is an interesting system because it makes missed targets feel consequential and gives players a real sense of urgency as they try to stay on track.

"Speaking of that lack of polish, the game clearly has its share of animation and bug related issues. Samson climbs over fences awkwardly, his jump feels clunky and can sometimes leave him stuck between objects, and there is clipping here and there."

Combat forms the core loop of the experience, and when it works, the game does pack a punch, no pun intended. The combat itself is simple. You can dodge, throw light attacks, land heavy punches, use objects to lay the smackdown, and even make use of the environment to take enemies out.

The enemy AI is acceptable, but nothing special, and at times foes would just stand there and do nothing. The camera can also become hard to deal with, sometimes putting me in situations where I could not efficiently track multiple enemies at once. This kind of inconsistency does hurt the flow of fights, but when everything clicks, the combat system could be brutally satisfying.

The vehicle handling is on point, but its combat sequences are no Burnout. These are simple chase encounters where you just keep ramming enemy vehicles until they go down. There is no real sense of style to them, but they get the job done.

There is also a compact progression system where you earn XP and skill points to unlock abilities such as seeing police patrols on the minimap, carrying more painkillers, or making your vehicle deal more damage to targets. Overall, the combat system is solid, but there’s a clear sense that the game needed more time in development, as the inconsistent level of polish is hard to ignore.

Speaking of that lack of polish, the game clearly has its share of animation and bug related issues. Samson climbs over fences awkwardly, his jump feels clunky and can sometimes leave him stuck between objects, and there is clipping here and there. NPCs feel stiff, both visually and from a technical standpoint. Many of them simply stand around doing nothing or engage in random animations, nonsensical activities.

Their AI is fairly basic, and most of them feel like background filler more than meaningful parts of the world. Although some of them offer Stories, which serve as the game’s side lore, most interactions with them are bland or just lead to brawling. I wish Liquid Swords had done more with them, but it is clear they were never much of a priority. It all adds up to a game that feels like it needed more time to cook.

Fortunately, Samson’s world looks amazing, and it feels like most of the game’s budget went into the streets of Tyndalston and the sheer amount of detail they pack. Made up of several districts, Tyndalston is extremely well designed, with its drab, dark, and sad aesthetic standing out in all the right ways.

Thanks to the developer’s attention to the game’s art style, the city tells a story of its own. Finding points of interest and collectibles does add a welcome sense of exploration while free roaming. The visual quality of the world is easily one of the game’s biggest strengths, and although there is no dynamic day night cycle with time changing automatically as you take on jobs, the lighting and the overall charm of the city are still impressive.

On the technical side of things, Samson is a fairly demanding game. We ran it on an RTX 3080 Ti, Ryzen 9 5950X, and 16 GB of RAM, with every setting cranked up to Ultra and DLSS set to Performance. Frame rate stability was solid. We were not necessarily aiming for 60 FPS and above given the genre, but I can confidently say that dropping a few settings likely would have pushed it to that mark.

"At times, Samson does feel built around familiar mission templates, with the developers leaning more on proven ideas than bold ones."

Perhaps Samson’s biggest selling point is its price. At 25 USD, you are getting a largely functional game, and although there are noticeable issues across several areas, the price point and what the game gets right are definitely its biggest strengths. I doubt the AI problems can be fixed through patches, since that would require considerable effort, but the technical issues I mentioned certainly could be, if Liquid Swords intends to address them.

At times, Samson does feel built around familiar mission templates, with the developers leaning more on proven ideas than bold ones. That feeling is not entirely misplaced, as Samson does not take too many risks. On the other hand, it knows what it wants to do, and it does that in an acceptable manner. Its world design, hand to hand combat, visuals, daily debt paying system with consequences, and decent story do enough to make it worth that 25 USD asking price.

This game was reviewed on PC.

However, Anthem was dragged down by rote mission design, limited enemy and content variety, and a boring opening stretch padded by heavy content-gating, while constant visual bugs, long loading screens, and restrictive, sluggish Fort Tarsis management, having to return just to equip gear, moving slowly, and even being teleported back if you stray too far, making the whole experience feel needlessly frustrating.

However, there was hope. As our reviewer mentioned, “That’s not to say that Anthem is unsalvageable. I think it can be saved, and I hoped that it will be. Because the good stuff is really good. There’s mounds of untapped potential here. It just needs work. Serious work, to fix the game’s core problems before BioWare begins the ceaseless content drip that defines games like this. That shouldn’t be their focus now. Getting this right should be. Right now, Anthem is the music of creation that inspired its name. Left alone, it’s unstable, flawed. But with the right hand to shape it, it could be something wonderful.”

And it seems that BioWare took that feedback to heart. In 2020, it announced that it would be overhauling the game’s many core systems. Dubbed Anthem Next,  Christian Dailey– who was looking after Anthem back then – stated in a BioWare blog post that the team will be making several changes to experience.

“The Anthem incubation team has kicked off and we are starting to validate our design hypotheses,” Dailey said back then. “Incubation is a term we use internally – it essentially means we are going back and experimenting/prototyping to improve on the areas where we believe we fell short and to leverage everything that you love currently about Anthem. We are a small team – about 30-ish, earning our way forward as we set out to hit our first major milestone goals. Spoiler – this is going to be a longer process. And yes, the team is small but the whole point of this is to take our time and go back to the drawing board. And a small team gives us the agility a larger one can’t afford.”

“We really want this experience to be different for the team and our players, but we know we have some tough challenges to tackle,” he wrote back then. “We want to include you as we go and be open and honest with where we are at and what the expectations are with where we are going. The reality is you will see things that look awesome but end up on the cutting room floor or things that you might think suck that you feel we are spending too much time on – but in the spirit of experimentation this is all OK. We really want to provide you all the transparency we can because of your passion and interest in Anthem. But, with that comes seeing how the sausage is made – which is not always pretty by the way.”

However, in early 2021, all plans to revamp Anthem were scrapped. On the BioWare blog, Dailey stated that, “2020 was a year unlike any other however and while we continue to make progress against all our game projects at BioWare, working from home during the pandemic has had an impact on our productivity and not everything we had planned as a studio before COVID-19 can be accomplished without putting undue stress on our teams. ”

Dailey revealed that BioWare will now choose to focus all its resources on Dragon Age (eventually released in 2024 to disappointing sales and critical reception) and Mass Effect sequel (which is still in production as of 2026), as well as focusing on Star Wars: The Old Republic.

“Game development is hard. Decisions like these are not easy. Moving forward, we need to laser focus our efforts as a studio and strengthen the next Dragon Age, and Mass Effect titles while continuing to provide quality updates to Star Wars: The Old Republic.”

Interestingly, despite being a critical failure and EA letting it die for a few years, Anthem reportedly sold pretty well, at least on paper. In December of 2023, the LinkedIn profile of ex-EA employee mentioned that Anthem sold 5 million lifetime sales and 2 million in its first week. However, for the publisher it was a different story.  Anthem’s sales failed to meet EA’s expectations, so overall, it was a failure. I mean imagine selling 5 million and still termed as a commercial flop. Sigh.

The entire situation surrounding Anthem has been pretty sad. I won’t go in what kind of development problems the game went through, those have already been documented on the internet, but my mind goes back to 2017. It was E3 and BioWare first revealed Anthem with an absolutely insane demo that showcased the potential of the new IP. It was unreal in so many ways and took the internet by storm. Unfortunately, a large portion of that experience never got translated into the final product.

After the revamp got canceled, Anthem still lived on through a small but passionate community, and now that the game is no more, that group is now looking for PC custom servers so that it could live on. Whether they will be able to achieve that is something that remains to seen.

Anthem is dead and buried, and has now joined numerous other live service games that squandered their potential. The truth is that the game, despite having some really good parts, didn’t do much above the required minimum. And simply put, that is not enough.

It’s a shame that, for most of us, Anthem won’t be remembered as a game worth our money or our time; rather, it’ll stand as a reminder of how poor management, weak planning, and troubled development can doom a game in a matter of weeks.

Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.

Three Iconic Characters

NO FATE switches control between Sarah Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 as they battle the relentless T-1000, while stopping Cyberdyne edging toward human annihilation. The explosive, no-holds barred campaign spans a future timeline too, where you’ll command John Connor as he leads The Resistance in a desperate future-war against The Machines.

Memorable Scenes and Setpieces

Terminator 2D: NO FATE delivers fifteen high-octane levels lifted straight out of the movie, featuring every memorable scene and setpiece: from Arnie’s brawl to the menacing T-1000’s tow-truck spillway chase and helicopter freeway pursuit, ending with the searing steel mill finale. Studio Bitmap Bureau captures the heart-racing energy that flows through T2’s most memorable moments, where desperation underpins every pushback against the T-1000’s nonstop assault.

Future War Levels Tell Untold Story

John Connor’s battles against the full force of Skynet’s robotic army take place in an imagined future. Greyscale, dusty, and derelict, beyond seeing its visuals The Resistance’s war was a story untold in Terminator 2. So, NO FATE puts you right into the middle of the conflict, undertaking missions unique to the game. John’s scenarios push the game beyond homage, fleshing out the series’ renowned lore to something fresh and underexplored.

NO FATE’s Story Follows the Movie

Future War levels aside, Terminator 2D: NO FATE’s story follows the movie almost beat-for-beat. Yet, this isn’t a straightforward, pixel-scratched retelling – there’re multiple endings available, providing divergent outcomes dependent on decisions made and paths taken. These climaxes won’t re-write canon; they’re likely designed to support multiple playthroughs. Yet, it’ll be intriguing to see how deeply Bitmap Bureau explores new conclusions; will you simply push through alternative escape routes or will showdowns against the T-1000 play out differently? Maybe, even, the fate of humanity will be shifted.

Gameplay Brings Variety

Faithfully following the movie’s plot allows Bitmap Bureau to inject unique gameplay mechanics into each level: the T-800’s fracas through the Corral plays like a beat ‘em up; Sarah Connor’s escape from Pescadero State Hospital incorporates stealth and silent takedowns; John Connor’s Future War mixes run ‘n gun action with skillful platforming. Chase sequences blend driving with shooting, while boss battles demand timing, patience, and pattern recognition. It’s more than keeping gameplay fresh – by fusing genres, NO FATE reframes T2’s iconic moments with real authenticity, confidently distilling the movie’s cinematic onslaught into crisp, pixel precision.

Multiple Enemy Types

NO FATE’s enemy roster is bigger than you expect – drunken punks, security guards, cops, machines, and the ever-looming T-1000 with its shapeshifting form and liquid metal armblades keeping your adrenaline pumping. John’s skirmishes through future apocalypse sees him take on standard T-800’s like Arnie, hovering Skynet drones, and the giant spider-like HK Centurion Hunter Killer – a colossal quadrupedal bot never seen in the movies, whose design originates from the early 90s machine.

Each Character Brings Distinct Playstyles

NO FATE’s trio of playable characters aren’t simple skin swaps for the sake of narrative, but impactful gameplay transformations: the T-800’s raw power brings heavy chainguns and pummeling shoulder charges to the fray, while Sarah and John showcase swift agility, sliding attacks and barrel rolls, grapple holds and pipe bombs. Sarah’s a melee specialist, while John favours mid-to-long range firepower. Both of their movesets are more tightly woven than the Terminator’s, demanding quick thinking and reflexes over brute force.

Levels Hide Secrets

NO FATE is a side-scroller which rewards curiosity. Resources are scarce, but scattered throughout are hidden weapons, items, throughways, and checkpoints, extra lifelines to restore your nerve, evade your hunter, and survive the level.

Classic Arcade Style is the Game’s Story Mode

The main way to play, NO FATE’s classic arcade style is a brisk, momentum-building mode like a long-lost coin-operated unit. Each level has its own ranking system: meet the required criteria – stealth takedowns or full-tilt bombast, for instance – to summit the high score table. Cinematic cutscenes splice between levels, developing characters and providing a complete narrative experience.

Customisations Tailor the Experience

Whether you’re chasing a retro challenge or more forgiving playthrough, NO FATE can be bent to your desire. Numerous difficulty modes – which we’ll expand in the next section – plus remappable controls, deadzone adjustments, and thumbstick bias can reinforce an arcade-like experience by tweaking out abstruseness and configuring actions to face buttons. The CRT filter introduces analog scanlines, making NO FATE look like a time capsule brought from the past inside an old TV.

Difficulty Modes are More Than Easter Egg Namesakes

Starting with Easy Money, then No Problemo, to Hasta La Vista, NO FATE’s difficulty modes read like a list of John Connor’s favourite catchphrases, but they run deeper than their name. For one, Easy Money has no time limit and infinite continues, making this the best for novice platformers eager to absorb the narrative without smashing controllers. For an old-school coin-op experience, No Problemo and Hasta la Vista up the ante, with environmental hazards, smaller targeting reticules, tighter invincibility windows, and shorter time limits testing skill, precision, and patience. If you’re hungry for punishment, Judgment Day difficulty is unlocked by beating one of the game’s non-story modes – more on that next.

More Game Modes Mix Up The Action

Arcade Mode follows the beats of Story Mode but strips away the cutscenes while remixing levels for a streamlined, score-focused experience. Boss Rush Mode shouldn’t need explaining – a gauntlet of consecutive boss battles. Infinite Mode presents endless waves of enemies to survive against for as long as possible. Level Training gives you the chance to take on individual levels to hone your tactics or practice speedrunning strategies. And speaking of speedrunning, Mother of the Future is a fast-paced compendium of Sarah’s stealth-leaning story missions, and this mode is the one you’ll need to beat to unlock the ultra-challenging Judgment Day difficulty.

Cheats Menu

This is a proper throwback: clear NO FATE’s story on its hardest difficulty and you’ll unlock a cheats vault. While details are limited, we’d expect to see modifiers such as infinite ammo, infinite lives, autofire, become accessible.

Soundtrack Respects Original Score

Brad Fiedel’s original T2 score gets the respect it deserves, with Dice Ryu Sykes reconstructing the film’s recognisable themes and motifs into something symphonic and industrial. Frenetic music perfect for blasting into the cacophony of the arcade, or your own home.

Release Date, Platforms, and Physical Editions

After a handful of delays, Terminator 2D: NO FATE is finally set for global release today. Coming to Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo Switch platforms, plus PC via Steam, the game is available to pre-order in three physical editions: the Day One Edition, the Collector’s Edition, and the Online Exclusive Edition available only from publisher Reef Entertainment’s online store. Reversible sleeves, posters, tokens, and steelboxes are some of the extras you can nab depending on which edition you plump for.

Though light on specifics, the reveal sets up The Imperial Palace as the next major step for a game that has rapidly grown since launch. Where Winds Meet recently crossed nine million players within its first two weeks and is receiving updates, including a new zone, several extra bosses, a raid-style activity, and a fresh sword trial to tackle for high-level martial artists.

Where Winds Meet is available as a free-to-play release on PS5, PC, and mobile, and The Imperial Palace Expansion is positioned to build on that growing cross-platform audience when it arrives next year.

Progress made in the demo won’t go to waste. Save data can be carried over into the full release, letting players keep the results of their early grinding and experimentation once the finished game launches. The demo also supports online multiplayer for up to three players, allowing players around the world to team up and put Nioh 3’s evolved combat to the test ahead of launch.

Early purchasers of the full game will also receive bonus armor sets inspired by previous protagonists: Youngblood Armor (Samurai) based on William from the original Nioh, and Lone Wolf’s Armor (Ninja), worn by Hiddy in Nioh 2, unlocked via the Hellfrost Armor Set bonus. Nioh 3 itself is scheduled to release on February 6, 2026.

The game is also putting its most chaotic mascot back in the spotlight with the return of Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival, a limited-time event centred on a brand-new map called Jeffland. Designed as an all-new three-way brawl, Jeffland pits players against three distinct Jeff builds, each with its own skill set, turning every match into a messy, slapstick showdown.

The mode leans into variety and replayability: different Jeff variants bring different tools to each fight, encouraging teams to adapt on the fly as the battle swings between the map’s arenas. Jeff’s Winter Splash Festival is scheduled to kick off on December 18. For Marvel Rivals, it marks a seasonal break from standard competitive play in favour of something louder, and stranger.

Rather than casting players as a traditional human hero, The Free Shepherd puts the dog front and center. Your role is to sprint across open landscapes, rally and steer large groups of scattered sheep, and guide them toward a hidden refuge. As you work to protect the flock, you begin to uncover hints of a mysterious calamity that only your actions can ultimately prevent.

The tone leans heavily on mood and atmosphere: serene vistas contrasted with a sense that something is fundamentally wrong in the wider world. Exploration and herding are tightly linked, encouraging players to read the environment, learn routes, and gradually piece together what happened as they move from one endangered flock to the next.

Order of the Sinking Star drops players into a strange realm of curious magic, dangerous contraptions, and vicious monsters, built around more than one thousand hand-crafted puzzles. You explore four distinct worlds, each introducing its own mechanics, characters, and rules, then watch as they begin to collide and interlock, turning separate systems into a single, dense web of challenges.

Progress is non-linear, encouraging players to revisit areas, experiment, and tackle puzzles at their own pace. Blow describes the game as his biggest and most collaborative work, a “game design supercollider” that fuses ideas from multiple noted puzzle designers. Arc Games CEO Yoon Im calls it an ambitious, innovative puzzle adventure for this generation, and frames the announcement as the start of a broader, game-changing year for the publisher.

Each run tasks players with pushing deeper into hostile zones, combining abilities and gear to create powerful synergies. As the alien threat escalates, survival depends on managing positioning, rescuing downed teammates, and making the most of limited opportunities to escape or press the attack.

Structurally, players work to disrupt an alien mining operation across multiple missions in order to draw out and eventually destroy a massive Mothership. Completing missions upgrades gear and builds out a unique loadout for the climactic boss fight at the end of each Act, with three Acts standing between the squad and saving the world. Layered meta-progression and world-specific knowledge, like learning how different plants or enemies behave, are intended to give players an edge on subsequent attempts.