Samson: A Tyndalston Story

Growing up is never easy, yet there’s a bittersweet feeling in returning to your childhood town, older and wiser. Not for Samson, though. His goal in Tyndalston is to pay off a debt that increases each day. Time is money, literally – you have limited hours to choose different jobs, whether it’s a getaway driver for a bank job or tuning up some local thugs. With a combat system that’s more about fighting dirty and vehicular mayhem that would make Mad Max proud, Samson promises a lot for its $25 price when it launches on April 8th.

DarkSwitch

Think Against the Storm, but expanding vertically – that somewhat explains Cyber Temple’s DarkSwitch. With a giant tree as your base and a malevolent fog slowly creeping in, you need to build, construct defenses and sometimes venture into the unknown to survive. It probably isn’t a coincidence that Akira Yamaoka is composing the soundtrack, probably hearing the word “fog” and asking nothing more. But with a full-fledged story mode that promises over 20 hours of thrills, DarkSwitch could end up a dark horse when it launches on April 9th.

Replaced

AI trapped in a human’s body, an alternative United States under the thrall of megacorporations, post-nuclear panic – all of this and more await in Replaced, Sad Cat Studios’ long-in-development cinematic platformer, which launches on April 14th. It also features stunning 2.5D graphics and a Free Flow combat system akin to Rocksteady’s Batman: Arkham franchise. Over its eight-hour runtime (11 to 12 if you stay and smell what’s left of the roses), there’s a harrowing, unpredictable experience with more than its fair share of bleak commentary on the world as we know it.

Starfield (PS5) and Terran Armada

Bethesda’s new – and not at all controversial – IP is finally coming to PS5 on April 7th alongside the latest story DLC, Terran Armada. At $49.99 for the base game ($10 for the new DLC), it’s the best time for PlayStation players to explore the Settled Systems, especially with the Free Lanes update. Besides expanding on space travel, it introduces new companions, outpost improvements, new points of interest, more upgrade systems, and more. Meanwhile, Terran Armada promises a more interesting story, its own exclusive Incursions, new ships, and even an HK-47-style companion in Delta.

Regions of Ruin: Runegate

As intriguing as the pixel art style and sheer number of systems could be, I never expected 2018’s Regions of Ruin to get a sequel. Runegate is out on April 14th and follows pretty much the same premise – venturing out into a ruined world, helping your Dwarven brethren, obtaining resources, and ultimately, establishing a place to call home. With more varied locations, sleeker visuals and much more to do, it promises to be the definitive Regions of Ruin experience.

Road to Vostok (Early Access)

If you can’t wait for S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2’s first story DLC to hit this Summer, Road to Vostok may tide you over. Entering early access on April 7th, it tasks players with exploring the post-apocalyptic areas between Finland and Russia, ultimately culminating in Vostok. You’ll need to loot supplies and build a formidable arsenal, dealing with changing seasons, rough weather, bandits, and even the military, with death in Vostok causing you to lose everything. It’s a ways off from full release, but those looking for another challenging survival FPS may find it worthwhile.

Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred

Vessel of Hatred was a steaming hot pile of whatever, but Lord of Hatred, Diablo 4’s next expansion, looks more promising. Available on April 28th, it sees the world in peril once more because Mephisto. You’ll likely be the one to lay the smackdown on him after venturing to Skovos, a scintillating new region full of new points of interest and plenty of demons to scour. Two new classes, the Paladin and Warlock, bring even more unique playstyles and build variety than before, while Blizzard is reworking the Skill Tree, bringing back the Horadric Cube, and more. Maybe this will be the release that finally elevates Diablo 4 to the next level. We can only hope.

MOUSE: P.I. For Hire

What if you combine the rubber-hose animation of Cuphead with boomer-shooter-like gameplay? You get MOUSE: P.I. For Hire, a hard-boiled noir adventure focused on Jack Prepper, as he investigates a missing persons case and ends up discovering more than he bargained for. The slick hand-drawn animation is undoubtedly the appeal, as it brings Mouseburg to life in astonishing detail. Of course, this is a shooter as well, with weapons ranging from the grounded – pistols, shotguns, machine guns – to the wacky like freeze rays, corrosive turpentine and more. It’s out on April 16th and promises 12 to 20 hours of gameplay for $30.

Pragmata

Moon’s haunted, but instead of ghosts, there are homicidal robots out to get you. Launching on April 17th, Pragmata isn’t a Resident Evil-style survival horror – it’s the journey of Hugh, investigating a lunar base after lost contact and becoming swept up in the robot uprising. Together with the android Diana, he seeks a way out, providing the firepower while she hacks through an enemy’s defenses. The twist is that you have to do both simultaneously, creating a mix of puzzle-solving and tense shooting. It’s unlike anything we’ve seen before, and after the demo, we only want more.

Saros

Death is only the first step in Housemarque’s latest, and protagonist Arjun Devraj has miles to go before he can sleep. Investigating Carcosa for any sign of previous Soltari expeditions, he and his crew are caught up in the Eclipse, which twists the planet’s surface, culminating in the sun’s death. And yet, death won’t let them escape. Cue close encounters with tentacled monstrosities, discovering new weapons and clues that could help. And while Saros leans much further into rogue-lite progression than Returnal, it’s also expanded on the bullet dodging with a new shield that lets you absorb some damage and send it back with a vengeance. Saros arrives on April 30th, and even if you haven’t played its predecessor, it’s looking like another killer PS5 exclusive.

Invincible VS

Seemingly addressing the lack of 3v3 fighters, Quarter Up’s take on the brutal superhero epic packs 18 playable characters – including favorites such as Invincible, Omni-Man, BattleBeast, and of course, Conquest. And if the prospect of different classes, active and counter tags, and rollback netcode for online play doesn’t interest you, there’s a story mode to experience every bloody skirmish. It’s available on April 30th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Spark in the Dark (Early Access)

As typical of a dungeon crawler as Stellar Fish’s latest title appears, there’s an inherent charm and grittiness to Spark in the Dark. Maybe it’s the isometric perspective or more methodical pacing, coupled with how inherently dark the endless Dungeon appears (which makes it all the more scary when monsters show up). It’s available on April 7th via early access and only includes the initial tiers of the Dungeon, but we’re keen on plundering its depths.

MotoGP 26

Credit where it’s due to Milestone, as this will be its third consecutive racing game in three months. MotoGP 26 is all about the thrill of competitive bike racing at the highest level, although you can opt between Arcade and Pro Experiences to determine the difficulty. With an in-depth career mode, cross-play between all platforms (Nintendo not included, sadly), and new disciplines like Minibikes, Flat Tracks, Production Bikes, and more, this could be the series’ most feature-packed entry yet.

WILL: Follow the Light

Cropping up more than once during Steam Next Fest and impressing with its visuals, WILL: Follow the Light is a hard-hitting adventure focused on a seemingly simple goal: Returning home. It’s far from easy, however, as Will must brave islands, mountains and even the sea to reach his hometown and save his son. Puzzles and environmental storytelling abound, but it’s all about the atmosphere and how deep you’ll go to learn the truth. WILL: Follow the Light launches on April 28th for PC.

Kiln

Listen, I’m not saying this is exactly what I expected from Double Fine, which has delivered some of the finest platforms to date. But Kiln is…curious in a way that fits the developer’s profile. After all, what other multiplayer title invites you to become a pot, finely sculpted by your hands and scuttling off into an arena for some ceramic destruction? The fact that a pot’s design influences its playstyle is even more intriguing. Whether it figuratively blows up or not, Kiln is out on April 23rd for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

In a recent interview with various organizations reported on by Eurogamer, game director Colin Finer elaborated on a revised approach to levelling your characters that’s going to help players better familiarize themselves with their chosen classes.

“What the curve is going to look like is today, you get through one to 20, one to 25, really quick. It’s almost over in a second. What we’re doing is front-loading a lot of the monster cleaning you do early, so it’s slower early, but then in the later levels, it’s much less…The thought is you’re going to have a lot more skills at your disposal, you’re going to be killing way more monsters, and we want that to be snappy and more evenly paced throughout.”

It’s a solid way to ensure that you get to spend time with a class while gradually accruing more skills in a way that lets you commit them to muscle memory and truly embody them in a way that’s uniquely yours. The new level cap ensures that you keep evolving even as you go higher up the ladder. If you’ve been thinking about taking the Paladin or Warlock along for your journey through the expansion, you’re probably going to enjoy getting to know them better than you would have before this change.

The announcement follows the studio potentially mulling over further additions to Diablo 2: Resurrected if the Warlock manages to make enough of an impression among fans. Either way, it’s looking like a very good time to be a Diablo fan, and we’re itching to take the fight to Mephisto when Lord of Hatred drops on April 28th.

Perhaps even more surprising, however, is that it’s not just coming to the next paid expansion. Diablo Immortal players can go hands-on this June while Diablo 2: Resurrected fans don’t even have to wait – it’s out today in the paid Reign of the Warlock DLC. Three paths are available – Demon for using hellspawn against their own, Eldritch for harnessing psionic forces, and Chaos to inundate foes in an elemental inferno.

Of course, there will also be new items, Runewords, and sets for every class. The DLC also updates Terror Zones, adds a new end-game challenge in The Ancients, and introduces a new loot filter. If that wasn’t enough, Stash Tabs have received a much-needed quality of life update, as you can now store gems, runes, and other resources in their own dedicated spaces.

As for Diablo 4: Lord of Hatred, it’s out on April 28th. Pre-purchasing it now grants immediate access to the Paladin class. Head here for more details.

“For 35 years, Blizzard has been shaped by the worlds we build and the players who bring them to life. You’ve fought through World of Warcraft, battled in Diablo, played your cards in Hearthstone, and held the line in Overwatch. We’ve come a long way together. And now, the next chapter begins.

“Over the next few weeks, each world will showcase what comes next. If these games mean something to you, we’d love to see you there. These aren’t updates in isolation. They’re part of where Blizzard is heading—together with the players who’ve been here all along.”

It kicks off on January 29th at 9 AM PT with World of Warcraft’s State of Azeroth, followed by an Overwatch Spotlight on February 4th at 10 AM PT. Hearthstone is next on February 9th at 9:30 AM PT, and the Diablo 30th Anniversary Spotlight wraps things up on February 11th at 2 PM PT.

Regarding this series of reveals, Blizzard Entertainment president Johanna Faries said, “Our extraordinarily talented teams have assembled a stellar line-up for our players across our universes. This major showcase event comes at a significant moment in time as we reflect on three and a half decades of Blizzard history and our big ambitions for the future. This is only the start of what we’ll share around our games this year, and we can’t wait to bring it to life.”

We already know about what’s coming to some of the above games, from the new Midnight expansion for World of Warcraft to Diablo 4’s Lord of Hatred. However, based on the trailer’s ending image, Blizzard could have something in store for StarCraft as well. A teaser for the shooter rumored back in 2024? Maybe not in the coming weeks, but a reveal at some point this year, even before BlizzCon, is certainly possible.

As for Overwatch, it wouldn’t be surprising to see its mobile version, reportedly developed by Nexon, receive an announcement. We may also hear about the “huge” something that director Aaron Keller teased for Overwatch 2 to start the year.

A new cinematic release date trailer debuted alongside the announcement, showcasing the darker tone of Mephisto’s return and the looming threat to Sanctuary.

Narratively, Lord of Hatred pushes the story toward its climax. Mephisto’s design is finally coming into focus as Hell’s forces begin pouring openly into Sanctuary. As the Pools of Creation draw the Prime Evil closer to full manifestation, humanity faces an existential crisis. To stand a chance, the Wanderer is forced into an uneasy alliance with a returning figure, with the partnership framed as one of necessity rather than trust.

On the class front, Blizzard is leading with one of Diablo’s most iconic archetypes. The Paladin, described as a radiant, sword-and-shield warrior, becomes playable immediately for anyone who pre-purchases the expansion.

A second, still-unrevealed class will join the roster when Lord of Hatred officially launches in April. The expansion’s campaign takes players to Skovos, a new region described as the birthplace of Sanctuary’s first civilization. Lord of Hatred introduces a fully reworked skill tree with expanded caps and fresh class-defining variants, a long-requested Loot Filter for more targeted farming, and enhanced crafting powered by the return of the Horadric Cube.

A new Talisman system promises build-defining set-style bonuses, while “War Plans” are pitched as a way for players to chart their own endgame progression. Echoing Hatred offers an endless gauntlet-style activity for high-end players, contrasted by a quieter diversion in the form of fishing across Sanctuary’s dangerous waterways. Pre-purchase incentives include early access to the Paladin class, an extra stash tab, two additional character slots, and three décor items for World of Warcraft.

All editions of Lord of Hatred include immediate access to Vessel of Hatred, Diablo IV’s first expansion, while Deluxe and Ultimate tiers add exclusive pets, mounts, armor bundles, cosmetics, Platinum, and other digital bonuses.

While Schreier was sparse with details in his post on ResetEra, he did note that he is aware of what exactly the statue is teasing, and that he has no plans to reveal what this might be because he thinks “it’s a good one”.

“This statue is not teasing the Diablo 4 expansion,” wrote Schreier. “I don’t currently plan on reporting what it is, sorry, but it’s a good one.”

Gaming YouTuber and Streamer Luke Stephens has also taken to social media, having noted confirmation that the statue doesn’t have anything to do with God of War either. In his post, Stephens said that Cory Barlog had showed up in his recent stream’s chat, where he denied a connection with God of War. “Cory Barlog was just in chat on my stream and confirmed this is NOT God of War related,” posted Stephens, who also went on to joke that, since Barlog said that “no, it’s not gow,” he could have been referring to Gears of War.

With Schreier having confirmed that he will not be revealing what exactly it is, while also going on to deny the report by Windows Central’s Jez Corden who said that it is going to be a teaser for Diablo 4’s next expansion “but also, more,” speculation has continued to run rampant.

If we take Barlog’s word that it isn’t about God of War at face value, most speculation has ended up at it being related to The Elder Scrolls 6 in some way. Short of Bethesda’s official confirmation, however, these are also difficult details to ascertain. Schreier referring to this tease as being “a good one” also lends credence to the idea that it has to do with a major announcement.

The Game Awards 2025 is slated to take place on December 11, and going by tradition, will feature a host of new game reveals and other announcements intermingled with the various awards that will be handed out over a range of different categories. While confirmations are few and far between, there have been rumours about the a new game in the Control franchise slated to show up at the event along with a new trailer for the Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time remake.

CD Projekt RED, on the other hand, has confirmed that The Witcher 4 will not be making an appearance at The Game Awards 2025. Co-CEO Michał Nowakowski made this announcement in a social media post where he wrote about being happy to see the title be an option for the Most Anticipated Game category. Along with this, rumours have also indicated that Half-Life 3 is “not supposed to” be unveiled at The Game Awards this year.

That’s according to Jez Corden of Windows Central, who replied to another user about whether it would really be an expansion teaser. “Yes, but also, more,” he responded, which is perhaps the more intriguing part. Is there another overhaul for Diablo 4 incoming? Maybe it’s going free-to-play to compete with the likes of Path of Exile 1 and 2?

Of course, the more likely possibility is that this is a shadow drop of the Nintendo Switch 2 version, which Blizzard expressed interest in last April. It’s hard to say, but the previous expansion, Vessel of Hatred, released in October 2024 and received middling reviews. You can check out our impressions here.

Fergusson joined Blizzard in 2020 after working at The Coalition and leading Gears of War: Ultimate Edition, Gears of War 4, and Gears 5. His role involved overseeing the Diablo franchise, which heavily involved Diablo 4’s development, release, and post-launch support.

As for the future of the action RPG looter, Fergusson said the teams are “set up for success” and that fans could look forward to an “exciting slate of releases ahead.” Diablo 4 launched in June 2023 and received strong critical acclaim. Sales were also very positive, with over 12 million players in just two months. However, it also received extensive criticism from fans due to its lackluster endgame, build variety, crafting systems and combat mechanics.

Blizzard sought to address all of this in subsequent patches and seasons. It also launched the first story expansion, Vessel of Hatred, last year. Whether it can fulfill Fergusson’s ambition to remain around for several years remains to be seen, especially since there’s no word yet on the next expansion.

Diablo 4 is an interesting addition since its newest season, Sins of the Horadrim, goes live on the same day. Alongside a new seasonal questline, it adds Horadric Spells that can be customized with different Catalysts, Infusions and Arcana. Nightmare Dungeons will also get permanent upgrades, and the new Escalating Nightmares activity allows for tackling three in consecutive order.

The King of Fighters 15 is the latest in one of SNK’s fighting game franchises, with a launch roster of 39 different fighters, rollback netcode, and new mechanics. It’s no Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves, but depending on who you ask, that’s probably a good thing.

Finally, there’s Jusant, DON’T NOD’s climbing adventure title that took many by surprise with its art direction, world-building and narrative. It’s a short but enjoyable experience – check out our review here. All three titles will be available until August 4th.

According to Fergusson, Blizzard definitely notices an opportunity to bring the action RPG to the Switch 2. This is further evidenced by the company having previously brought Diablo 3, as well as Diablo 2 Resurrected to the original Switch as well.

“I think there’s opportunity there for sure,” Fergusson said. “I mean, we have Diablo 3 and Diablo 2 Resurrected already on the Switch, and with backwards compatibility it’ll be playable on Switch 2.”

Fergusson believes that, thanks to the more powerful hardware in the Switch 2, performance isn’t an issue when it comes to a Diablo 4 port for the platform. Rather, the hurdle for the studio is figuring out the live-service elements of the online-only game, and how these features could be brought over to the Switch 2.

“It’s nice the Switch 2 has the performance that can run a game like Diablo 4, so yeah, it’s something to look at for sure,” he said. “I think the challenge is less around the hardware and just about how we… you know, live services on Switch have been a little bit challenging in the past.”

“So I’m hopeful that as they launch this June and as we look to the future, that becomes easier and easier, so it makes more sense to put a live service on that platform.”

For context, while the Switch 2 will be perfectly capable of connecting to the Internet in order to play online-only game, the console’s handheld features are also a big part of its feature set. A big selling point for several Switch owners was the fact that it could also work as a portable console that could be taken along on trips or commutes.

Diablo 4, while potentially playable on the Switch 2 as long as it is connected to the Internet, will likely not work when a player decides to take the Switch 2 out with them. Even with the use of modern technologies like Wi-Fi tethering through smartphones, the connection would be too spotty to ensure a pleasant playing experience for an online-only title like Diablo 4. Previous rumours have also indicated that Blizzard has been working on a Switch 2 port of the game.

Earlier this month, Blizzard had revealed its roadmap for Diablo 4 in 2025. A host of new content is planned for the game, including the return of Belial between April and July, as well as future content like Sins of the Horadrim from July to September, and Infernal Chaos from September to December.

Diablo 4 is currently available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Blizzard has committed to developing more content for the game moving forward, and back in March, a developer also spoke about wanting the game to “be around for years”.