We start with her and a friend navigating the Minotaur’s Island thanks to a special notebook. It quickly jumps to the duo taking the fight to a gang, which is where the hack-and-slash combat, parrying and dodging come into play. Chaining attacks on enemies builds stagger, and executions come into play when they’re stunned.

However, you can also toss knives or pull them with grappling hooks (with hints of picking up an enemy’s dropped weapon, potentially for throwing). In another scene, Sophia refers to the symbols in her notebook to illuminate a chamber and find the way forward, but perhaps most curious are her flashbacks.

Resonance doesn’t just play out across one era – it also sees you controlling Theseus, the hero who went on to slay the Minotaur. Of course, this particular sequence is more of a coliseum battle than anything else. But when returning to Sophia’s perspective, it’s for a stealth sequence where something monstrous is breathing in from its surroundings.

As usual, Asobo Studio’s presentation is on point, especially the music. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy launches on August 27th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, so it won’t be long before we can go hands-on with it.

Contrary to the previous titles, which focused on Amicia and Hugo de Rune, this time you’ll control Sophia, a smuggler who assisted them in Requiem. However, she’s 22 years old here and a lot more headstrong, so when she discovers a mysterious island, she wants in.

The problem? It’s the Minotaur’s Island, and fighting is only one part of the job. Players will have to deal with treacherous traps, puzzles, and…well, that one entity who’s at the center of the island. Sophia’s agility and expertise lend to a more action-heavy approach as she can strike, parry and more.

It’s certainly a different pace than we’re used to from the previous game – more fantastical but dark in its own way, especially with the sheer number of trials to undergo. For more details on Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, check out this development blog with more to come in the next few months.

The news follows the release of the game’s Purgation Update, which brought the very welcome addition of the Battle Simulator to accompany combat squad Veridian’s investigation into a mysterious facility. Speaking of welcome news, we now know that Year 3 of the popular shooter is bringing a new Class to the table. It’s the source of all the excitement over at Focus and Saber, and we’re not surprised that the identity of the said Class has been under wraps. Perhaps it’s better that way, as it builds the scope for more excitement and reveals in the run-up to Year 3’s beginning.”

“Lots of exciting things are coming in Year 3, and today we’re too excited to keep them under wraps, so here are a few spoilers!… a new Class is on the way, planned for the first half of 2027!”

Of course, the developers always hinted at exciting additions to the game, and this recent class is no exception. The rest of the update focused on all the new additions to the game in the wake of Purgation’s release, and a lot of it is probably stuff you already know. It’s still worth a look to see if there’s anything you might have missed.

We can’t wait to learn more about the new Class, which is apparently one that the lot of you have been quite emphatic about. “We can’t reveal which one just yet, but we can say it’s been highly requested by the community. As we did with the Techmarine, this new Class will receive its own special Champion Skin after its release.”

Year 3 will have five major updates, adding new weapons, missions, and more with bug fixes and other improvements. You’ll have to wait until the Second Anniversary Update is revealed to see the roadmap, so stay tuned for updates.

Starting things off is a new Operation. Aptly titled Purgation, it involves Combat Squad Veridian investigating the mysterious cessation of communications from the Mechanicus facility, which houses key research and must hence be reclaimed at all costs.

Next up is the Battle Simulator, which lets you train and become a Marine like no other, with options to configure enemy combinations and weapon loadouts so you learn to get the most out of gear no matter the situation. That training is probably going to work well with a new approach to perk loadouts on your weapons, letting you switch things up freely depending on what you’re trying to deal with in the moment. Of course, perk loadouts are tied to weapon loadouts, so you might want to check all your gear before you head out to battle.

There’s also the new Wargear feature, which lets you equip several of them at once, with further additions promised in the near future. New Siege content and a bunch of different weapons and heroic items round out the list of additions, and we’re particularly interested in the One-Handed Bolt Carbine.

This one’s quite the update in our book, and the trailer below is a good indication of why. It makes it easy to see why Space Marine 2 has 12 million players, and why it continues to be a very potent shooter.

Patch 13 will include a new PvE mission, a rework of the Siege mode, a new secondary weapon, 3 Heroic weapons, 6 Heroic cosmetics, new equipment, new ordeals, a practice arena, and an update to the Wargear system. Players who own Season Pass 2 will also get their hands on the Iron Hands Chapter Pack alongside the patch’s release. It will be followed up by Patch 14 in Q3, which will bring in 2 new PvP arenas, a new Terminus enemy, 6 Heroic weapons, new Heroic cosmetics, and another update to the Wargear system. Season Pass 2 owners will then get the Raptors Cosmetic Pack and the Salamanders Champion Pack 2.

Going into more detail about the Wargear rework, after Patch 13, players will be able to use Class-specific Wargear on other classes. This includes things like equipping Iron Halos on the Tactical class. However, players will still have to go through the effort of unlocking the ability in the game. While Patch 13 will focus on Capes and Iron Halos, Patch 14 will add Tabards and Robes.

Patch 14 will also mark the end of the original 2-year post-launch support plan, and Focus Entertainment has confirmed that “everything that didn’t make it into the updated Year 2 roadmap will now roll over into Year 3.” While the company isn’t yet ready to reveal more details about it, postponed content will continue to be part of free updates.

The new PvE map coming with Patch 13 takes place on Kadaku, where players are tasked with investigating Chaos activity near a Cadian base. Things will escalate, and players will also have to ensure that they are able to stop an unholy ritual from being completed.

As for the rework to the Siege mode, it includes adding new items to the Siege shop, and players will also be able to earn Accolades for doing a complete run through the mode. There are also going to be new modifiers that include both Blessings and Atonements, leaving it up to players to figure out the ideal option. One Blessing can be picked between every 5 waves, while one Atonement is applied at the same frequency.

Players keen on testing out their loadouts before heading out into a mission can make use of the new Practice Arena. Available only in single-player, the mode lets players test out their weapons against their choice of enemies at the difficulty of their choosing. It will also show interesting stats, like how much damage the player has dealt.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is available on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.

Sophia, whom we last met in A Plague Tale: Requiem, has been described as “a child of the sea, a fierce fighter, and a free spirit haunted by the secrets of her childhood.” Her story will kick off shortly after she is cast out by her old mentor, with much of the plot focused on her childhood and early adulthood.

The main story itself will take place with Sophia being 22 years old, setting Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy‘s events around 15 years before the events of the other games in the series.

“Sophia evolves in a particularly violent environment where she learned to fight from a very young age,” explains lead writer Cara. “By seeing where she comes from, we better understand how she developed that fighter’s mentality we know her for. And most importantly, it gives meaning to the quest for emancipation she’ll go through in the game.”

Discussing the experience of writing Sophia, Cara noted that the studio explored concepts like abandonment, grief, and collapsing pillars for her core themes, which “felt essential for a character her age, evolving in such a violent environment.” The writer also praised the fact that few details about Sophia had been revealed in her previous appearance, giving the writing team plenty of freedom.

When it comes to her character design, associate lead character modeler Adonia discussed Sophia’s outfit in the upcoming game being “a compromise between Sophia’s carefree attitude” that has been “tamed by the more somber ingredients of her reworked outfit.” This means that design blends her loose, wild hair and accessories with worn leather and tattered fabrics.

“Medallions, beads, strings, coins and scarves are evidently eye-candy material, and also defining visual language for Sophia, so we tried to incorporate them as much as possible. Her coat was also a good excuse for us to add even more simulations, in order to add fluidity and movement to her base animations: the bottom part was split into gladiator-styled strips that made crouching, fighting, climbing more visually enticing,” explains Adonia.

More devblogs are slated to come out later, with episode 2 featuring an interview with Anna Demetriou and episode 3 being mysteriously dubbed “Into the myth.”

Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy is coming out later this year on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The title is also slated to get a day-one release on Game Pass. For more details, check out the official trailer that Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy was unveiled with. And while you’re at it, take a look at our review of the previous entry in the franchise, A Plague Tale: Requiem.

Aside from its addition to Game Pass last January, it helps that the third-person shooter continues to receive significant content updates. Patch 13 is next, focusing primarily on Siege Mode. Players can expect more items for purchase, shorter sessions courtesy of a revamped difficulty, and accolades.

It also adds a new PvE mission, weapon, Techmarine customization options, the Iron Hands Chapter Pack and equipment. A new customization feature is also teased, and you can also play with three new Heroic weapon variants. There’s even more to look forward to with Patch 14 in Q2 2026 as it adds two new PvP arenas, PvP Stratagems, the Redacted Champion Pack and Raptors Cosmetic Pack.

Space Marine 2 hasn’t been completely devoid of controversy, though. The Chapter Voice Pack DLC, sold for $5 and promising 450 re-recorded lines, received significant backlash for misleading advertising. Saber and Focus would apologize for the same, refunding purchasers and making it free going forward.

As for even further into the future, Saber confirmed that Space Marine 3 is in the works, though it won’t be out any time soon.

However, the game has been at the center of a storm surrounding its latest voice pack DLC, a $5 pack advertised as including 450 re-recorded voice lines, which had fans quite excited to dive back into Demetrian Titus’s explosive adventure. However, things haven’t really gone according to plan, with the pack’s implementation drawing fans’ ire since the number of re-recorded lines applies across all available languages, which comes across as false advertising.

Saber and Focus have clearly recognized that they’ve dropped the ball on this one and have put out a tweet promising refunds to those who purchased the pack while making its content free for affected players and those interested in checking it out.

“We heard your feedback regarding the Chapter Voice Pack DLC and wanted to address it. It’s obvious this DLC has failed to meet your expectations, and we are sorry about that. Delivering quality content – free or not – is a priority for us. This is why we’ve decided to offer a refund to all owners of the DLC, and to make it free from now on. We are currently setting up the refund with platform owners and will come back soon with more info. Always grateful for your dedication to our game.”

That’s a step in the right direction towards earning back the goodwill the game has lost, and is probably going to be helped along by the recent addition of the Techmarine as a playable class. Of course, there’s even more content coming to Space Marine 2, so here’s hoping it can remain on the straight and narrow, perhaps even carrying these lessons into Space Marine 3.

https://x.com/Focus_entmt/status/2034678665632436501

Your mileage will vary on that, but one thing that it probably isn’t worth delving into is the story. For a game that shouldn’t have to focus all that much on narrative, Toxic Commando certainly tries. In a nutshell, you control the self-proclaimed squad as they take on a mysterious job to deliver a mysterious container. All hell literally and figuratively breaks loose, and after ending up infected, they work together with their new benefactor to take out the very source of the infection. Sounds simple enough, yet it’s dotted by horrible dialogue (“Is there a Mr Gallagher?” Really?), awkward humor and non-existent chemistry between the cliched characters. Why Saber constantly insists on it, especially with the sheer number of cutscenes, is bizarre, but you can mercifully skip them.

"Still, at least the shooting is responsive enough – the number of options to customize in that regard is also great – and you’ll get very good at sweeping the hordes aside. That’s usually when the game will ramp up the challenge."

Where Toxic Commando ultimately delivers, even if it doesn’t massively shine, is in the action. If you’ve been hankering for some Left4Dead-style action with minimally intrusive gimmicks, then you’re more than covered. You’ve got wanderers roaming out on their own, seemingly waiting for you; mobs that appear as tensions rise, forcing players to deal with them or risk getting overrun; and, the usual favorite, swarms spilling over themselves in waves upon waves, like a barely contained undead ocean. It’s all you can do to stay out of the way, unloading everything and hoping it buys enough space before the next tide rolls on in.

All the usual weaponry is on hand – shotguns, assault rifles, submachine guns, etc, which can be customized with attachments. You can only carry one primary at a time, with a secondary slot reserved for pistols, and a melee slot for crowbars, bats, machetes, etc. Then there are the special weapons discovered on each map, ranging from two types of grenade launchers to an ineffective LMG and a railgun that’s excellent against heavier targets.

While the variety is all well and good, you’ll have to stick with one option for extended periods of time to level it up and unlock the ability to equip certain attachments. Over time, you can increase a weapon’s tier, which increases its ammo and certain stats, like penetration, or prestige it, resetting the progress for the sake of some unlocks. It would be all well and good if the currency gains on Normal and below didn’t feel so lackluster, but even if you can get past that, this is a fairly standard, by-the-numbers weapon upgrade system that sadly lacks any imagination.

At least the skill trees for each class are slightly better. I focused mainly on the Strike, and delighted in turning my palm blast into an eye-in-the-sky that obliterated those below. However, once again, there are several other nodes devoted to unexciting options like “extra grenade” or “faster reload speed,” which is a shame.

Still, at least the shooting is responsive enough – the number of options to customize in that regard is also great – and you’ll get very good at sweeping the hordes aside. That’s usually when the game will ramp up the challenge. I definitely noticed mobs becoming more frequent, even on the earlier stages of Normal difficulty in co-op, not to mention the imminent arrival of special infected. Unfortunately, Toxic Commando doesn’t really do much to innovate on the same, right down to the Tank that barrels towards a person and grabs them while constantly slamming them into the ground.

"If you’re content enough to weather the storm without any tools like mortars, traps and turrets, then by all means skip those Spare Parts, but they can serve as a neat distraction, especially when trying to gather additional currency for unlocking attachments (and even cosmetics)."

Nevertheless, they each have unique roles – I especially liked how a blast from the stalker would tangle your vehicle in roots, requiring you to manually shoot them to continue. It’s a nice “Why aren’t we moving?” which quickly turns into “Why aren’t the rest of you dealing with this?” if you’re the driver before pre-emptively stepping out and taking care of the issue yourself (not projecting, of course). However, aside from spawning the team on different points of the map at the start of each mission and changing up the optional objectives, don’t expect much more in terms of “randomness”, which definitely impacts the replay value.

The option to drive around the map before heading to the next objective, gathering supplies like Spare Parts, special weapons, ammo and whatnot, is also intriguing. Driving can occasionally become an issue, especially if you’re in a vehicle without a wench and get stuck in the mud, but at least they each have unique functions, like the Ambulance’s healing, and the controls are on point.

If you’re content enough to weather the storm without any tools like mortars, traps and turrets, then by all means skip those Spare Parts, but they can serve as a neat distraction, especially when trying to gather additional currency for unlocking attachments (and even cosmetics). It is a little egregious that Spare Parts are also required to refill on ordinance (the special weapon caches are at least higher rarity), and that not all locations for the climactic fights provide at least one of the resources for each team member. But, as tedious as it can sometimes be to go out of your way to a location for the same, especially with how lackluster the different points of interest can be, it is worth it.

Except when sometimes playing solo, and that’s purely due to the knockdown system. When you or your teammates are downed in co-op, there’s a limited time to revive you. It can be extended by slaying zombies around (and shortened as they deal damage), but once you’re out, a teammate must find you in a sludge cocoon or whatever to bring you back. Special seeds, which offer bonus rewards if carried until the end of the mission, can serve as a self-revive in this state.

But if you’re solo and taken out without having a seed on hand? Thanks for coming – now repeat the whole mission. No checkpoints, nothing. I can’t even blame my AI teammates in such circumstances because the bosses and special infected hit hard enough that I don’t have time to wait for their revives. And best of all, the timer to extend your downed state is based on kills, not on, say, damage dealt. So if you’re surrounded by special infected, not even a fully upgraded magnum will save you.

"All in all, Toxic Commando should be taken at face value – as a dumb, arcadey shooter that you can spend the weekend with other people and maybe waste some time on solo (just beware that there’s no offline option). Nothing less but certainly nothing more."

Which is a shame because, solo or with teammates, the greater difficulties are where Toxic Commando really shines. Swarms become far more common; healing and other resources become rarer; and you’ll actually need to train hordes, if not coordinate with teammates, to take out special infected faster, rather than face-tanking or simply accepting that oversized death grab. It’s tense, and the rewards are much more satisfying – it’s a shame that the lack of checkpoints in solo doesn’t make it worth the risk if you’re trying to farm currency for attachments and upgrades. Then again, it may be a worthwhile challenge for those who have mastered co-op and want something a little more challenging to really feel something (especially since there isn’t much more content on offer).

Performance Mode served me well enough on PS5, even if I had to ignore image quality at longer ranges to save my eyes. The frame rate stayed mostly stable, which is saying something given the sheer amount of chaos happening on screen. Overall, fidelity is nothing to shout about, and the odd few bugs can be seen, but nothing too crazy.

All in all, Toxic Commando should be taken at face value – as a dumb, arcadey shooter that you can spend the weekend with other people and maybe waste some time on solo (just beware that there’s no offline option). Nothing less but certainly nothing more. Whether Saber deigns to build on this further remains to be seen, but hopefully it focuses on more content and less awful storytelling.

This game was reviewed on PlayStation 5.

For most of us, Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 was the game that defined this particular brand of co-op carnage last year. Players would fondly remember the familiar feeling of slashing through hordes of enemies, teammates going down at the worst possible moment, and clutching through crucial moments with nothing but a sliver of health left. And if you are looking for a new game to satisfy that very itch, look no further than John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando.

Set to release on 12th March, Toxic Commando is all about creating and maintaining the rhythm of shared carnage. The clutch revives, the desperate reloads, the last-second saves that turn into stories you retell the next night. Space Marine 2 delivered that feeling with a sense of discipline and weight as players had to choose between different functioning classes and play out a specific role in the heat of chaos. But if you’re looking for the next obsession to simply keep your squad busy, John Carpenter’s Toxic Commando might be aiming at the same dopamine loop from a completely different angle. Where Space Marine 2 is controlled brutality, Toxic Commando looks like personality-driven chaos, and that contrast is exactly what makes this game worthwhile.

Space Marine 2 also hit so hard because of its weight. Every step felt heavy, and every swing was purposeful. Beneath the very inviting veneer of an ultra-violent game was a movement system that was purposefully heavy, which urged players to hold their ground and build micro-level strategies about handling waves of pressure. That feeling of being purposefully heavy also extends to the feedback loop where the sound design reinforced the fantasy of being an unstoppable war machine with heavy weapons kicking back and enemies staggering hard to melee strikes. Even when you are sprinting into a swarm, there is a sense of mass and momentum that makes every encounter feel grounded.

Then there is the co-op glue. Space Marine 2 is great at creating a state of constant pressure, with waves of enemies forcing squads to hold ground together. Priority threats demand focused fire, revives require taking risks. The game rarely allows one player to carry everything solo; survival depended on awareness and coordination. 

There is a very careful balancing act as you carry out roles and responsibilities in the heat of battle, and the journey of achieving that can be really addictive. The cycle of dropping in, smashing through a mission, extracting by the skin of your teeth and running it back rarely stops being so interesting. Space Marine 2 understood that great co-op isn’t just about kills – it’s about moments. It built encounters that escalated, peaked, and released in a rhythm that made you want another round. The missions felt authored without feeling restrictive, which meant every run had room for improvisation.

That’s where Toxic Commando enters the conversation. On the surface, it’s a tonal opposite. Instead of gothic war chants and disciplined formations, it leans into B-movie chaos with all the corny over-the-top personalities proudly hanging on its sleeve. You play as a crew of misfits rather than genetically engineered super-soldiers, but beneath that tonal shift lies the same formula – survive overwhelming odds together and enjoy the rollercoaster of laughs and screams along the way.

If Space Marine 2 sells the fantasy of elite soldiers executing a grim campaign with precision, Toxic Commando appears to sell the fantasy of barely holding it together in a world drowning in mutant chaos. Where Space Marine 2 thrives on structure and weight, Toxic Commando seems poised to thrive on unpredictability and personality. The fun may not come solely from perfect execution, but from figuring things out on the way and improvising strategies.

At their core, though, both games share the same pillars that define great co-op shooters. Firstly, we have a combat system that starts off strong and rarely lets its foot from the gas. Toxic Commando’s gameplay appears to follow a similar philosophy, and its chaotic swarms and environmental hazards are all about being mobile in large arenas. Staying still is a surefire way to get killed, so maintaining a forward sense of momentum is essential for survival

The second aspect is readable chaos. Co-op breaks down when players can’t parse the battlefield. Space Marine 2 excelled at clear enemy silhouettes, obvious priority threats, and clean visual feedback. Even at peak intensity, you knew where to hit and who to hit first. Toxic Commando appears to share that same clarity, and it’s a lot more important because the game thrives on runaway chaos. For co-op to feel right, players must instantly recognize danger, coordinate targets, and understand their role in the chaos.

Lastly, there’s the element of generating clutch stories; emergent narratives that are personal to the player. Space Marine 2 was brilliant at creating those “you had to be there” moments – the last magazine you emptied into a charging brute, the desperate revive while another player body-blocked a swarm, or the final stand at extraction. These weren’t scripted cutscenes; they were systems interacting with one another and creating dynamic stories. Toxic Commando’s operates on the same pillars, so it should also produce similar stories. 

The element of game juice is rarely talked upon, but it silently carries the utmost impact on how the game feels to play and how enjoyable it remains on a moment-to-moment basis. Space Marine 2 set a benchmark for weight, and while Toxic Commando doesn’t need to mimic that exact heaviness – it looks to be delivering that same punch in a different way. Enemy reactions, readable hit confirmation, and satisfying weapon handling should carry the same intensity to really sell the feeling of being stranded in a never-ending battle.

Mission flow is equally critical to creating a great co-op game, and Space Marine 2 worked because encounters escalated with rhythm. Toxic Commando can’t rely solely on throwing more enemies at players, but needs to put together varied objectives and environmental twists that keeps players engaged run after run. 

Progression is obviously the final piece of the puzzle. One of Space Marine 2’s quiet strengths was its accessibility. You could jump right in and have fun without feeling buried under the pressure of having to unlock upgrades to have fun. Sure, having a few upgrades enhanced the experience but didn’t dampen the core thrill. Toxic Commando should take note, and make efforts towards making it a game that’s drop-in friendly. 

All of this is why the pairing makes sense. For players that have spent hours grinding through Space Marine 2’s structured brutality, Toxic Commando could become the alternate game – the same thrill but louder and lighter. Think of it as a rotation of sorts, where one week, you might crave disciplined power fantasy but the next you are soaking knee deep in chaos and B-movie tropes. If your group loves Space Marine 2 for tight teamwork and high-stakes revives, Toxic Commando offers a space to test that coordination under a different kind of pressure. Instead of armored stoicism, you get frantic improvisation. 

For Space Marine 2 squads watching from the sidelines, there’s a simple checklist to keep in mind when Toxic Commando finally lands. Does the weapon carry weight and personality? Are threats readable even in the thickest chaos? Do missions evolve beyond simple extermination? Can friends drop in without friction and immediately contribute? While there’s no way for us to know that for sure right now, all signs are definitely looking pretty positive.

Ultimately, the appeal isn’t about replacing Space Marine 2, but rather enriching it through the luxury of choice. After all, you don’t just want one experience forever but clever spins on the same formula. You want new arenas to re-establish the same sense of camaraderie, and new battlefields for the same inside jokes. 

Space Marine 2 proves how powerful disciplined co-op can feel when it’s firing on all cylinders, and Toxic Commando appears to be chasing the same co-op dopamine loop with a different kind of chaotic flair. If it nails impact, mission variety, and time-respecting progression, it could absolutely become the next obsession for squads that loved Space Marine 2.