While details are a tad too scarce for our liking, the team has announced further improvements to stability, gameplay, further polishing, and responses to player feedback in the second patch. Information on the third patch will also be available as we approach its scheduled release.

If you haven’t been keeping up with this title, it’s otherwise been a rough but fairly entertaining romp through Tyndalston. The city and its various consequences managed to offer enough to keep us interested. Still, it’s one that clearly needed more time in development (even despite various circumstances). We’re hoping that Liquid Swords manages to pull off a strong recovery, given how this one can really click when all of its systems come together.

Samson is currently exclusive to PC on Steam and the Epic Games Store, but console versions have been considered. As always, stay tuned for more updates on them in the coming weeks and months.

The performance improvements largely revolve around PSO-related issues, including misses, such as one that fetches materials from the wrong LOD (level of detail) levels, even for Nanite-enabled meshes. Speaking of which, misses related to NaniteLumenCard and NaniteShading have also been addressed, along with ray tracing-related misses for dynamic geometry.

As for general gameplay, the update has brought in a failsafe for NPCs dying to fall damage, as well as fixes for issues with AI running onto busy roads to inspect dead bodies, and police sirens sometimes not working. The update has also brought in some more polish to the game, like improved lean-on-wall alignment, higher volume for NPC vehicles, and separate dialogue buckets for police vehicles and remote dialogue. For a complete list of everything in the update, check out the patch notes below.

Samson is currently only available on PC. For more details, check out our review. Also, take a look at the studio lead’s opinions on the current state of the industry.

Samson update #1 patch notes:

Performance

• Several performance fixes focusing on PSO related hitches (Fixes stuttering related issues)
• Fixed some misses with Slate
• Fixed landscape RayTracingDynamicGeometry misses
• bIgnoreMaskMateria & bRequireRTDynamicGeometryUpdate was not set correctly from landscape PSO precache dispatch since 5.7
• NaniteLumenCard & NaniteShading misses
• Fixed PSO misses due to FStaticMeshComponentHelper::CollectPSOPrecacheDataImpl fetching materials from LOD levels depending on MinLOD even for Nanite-enabled meshes which will render with LOD 0 materials

Crash fixes

• Crash fix for clearing UseDestructionHelp for vehicles with a timer
• Fix for potential case where attempting to update a failed dispatch when losing warp governance could clear the callback lambda as it was being executed, causing a dangling this pointer and crash
• Fixed various audio-related crashes, including one when closing the game
• Avoid race conditions caused by writes to bIsCachedRayTracingInstanceValid and bDynamicRayTracingInstanceCachedDataDirty from parallel tasks
• Force separate storage unit between ray tracing and non-ray tracing bits
• Force separate storage unit between bIsCachedRayTracingInstanceValid and bDynamicRayTracingInstanceCachedDataDirty

Physics

• Fixed issue with Physics destructables behaving like solid objects and not getting destroyed when playing on high framerates.

Mission

• Ice Fish – NPCs spawned in the Beatdown are no longer only Level 1
• Thrill of the Fight and Running on Fumes – now functional after save/continue
• Suzy Red no longer gets multiplied during “Stitches for Snitches” mission completion
• Hit 16 (No Return Fare) – passenger now gets into the cab at the pickup location
• Dave Shultz Tailing Job – Dave now spawns close to player, avoiding near-instant fails for being too far away
• Story Chapter – No Whisper Dealers – no beatdown triggers when eliminating enemies, preventing mission failure
• Hot Iron – fixed issue where the fail radius for the reach dealer objective was too small
• Day 3: Oonagh Welcome Home – call now comes after story mission Blood on Tap rather than Dirty Scripts
• Fixed issue with the “Hot Iron” not being replayable after failing and retrying the next day.
• Improved traversal and removed collision traps by White Whisper stash close to the priest’s house in Park Avenue.
• Fixed the Cumberland barge wall

General Gameplay

• NPC fall damage added as a failsafe for dropped NPCs
• Day 3 Pickups – raised interact range to allow easier pickup if an item is dropped under a body
• Let outsiders check if the driver can be pulled out of the vehicle
• Fixed issues where enemies were not advancing towards you in group encounters
• Fixed issues with AI running onto roads to inspect dead bodies
• Fixed issue where police siren sometimes did not work

Polish

• Fixed smoker alignment in Double Tap and Suzy’s
• Fixed vehicle voices
• Added a dedicated “remote dialogue” bucket for voice lines without a visible speaker (e.g. phone calls or police radio chatter)
• Added separate dialogue buckets for police vehicles and remote dialogue
• Fixed door kick spam
• [Audio] New day stinger now plays before dialogue
• Increased volume for NPC vehicles
• Prevented corpses from popping back up or being launched into the air after takedowns, hazards, or railing interactions
• Improved lean-on-wall alignment
• Blocked bark gestures or one-offs during ranged combat
• Fixed Vivian holding a folder in the doctor’s office instead of nothing
• [Audio] Added “outside vehicle” dialogue lines to NPC non-combat efforts
• Fixed several grammatical errors
• Removed the facility marked on the map for no reason.
• Improved French localization, adding a whole lot of strings that were missed in translation.

Combat

• Fix for unreliable combat barge. If you tried to do a combat barge during the 4-second cooldown, it would just drop you out of combat stance instead.
• Fixed issue with Enemies failing to pull the player out of a vehicle if misaligned even slightly.
• Balanced Police escalation detection ranges to make it fair to the player.
• Fixed issue with player falling through the floor, dying.

Usability

• New “Controls” screen for showing game input from the pause menu
• Correct text for Carpe Diem: First Job costs 0 AP.
• Added Heal to combat hints
• Fixed so we toggle Grab / Throw when you pick up an item in the combat hints
• Fixed issues with changing the Deadzone setting not changing the way sticks respond
• Fixed issues with turning off vibration in the settings.

Sundberg said that Samson: A Tyndalston Story was made because he was essentially tired of “swallowing all the c*** that the industry feeds us,” and went on to talk about how leaders of the business are “just flushing it all down in the toilet.” He went on to note that, by making Samson, he would “rather go down screaming, than haven’t at least tried to get us back on track.”

Sundberg has been quite outspoken about the state of the gaming industry in the past as well. Back in February, he referred to the state of the industry as being “cowardly,” and spoke about how difficult it is these days to get a game made.

“I’ve been making games for over three decades and never experienced such a desperate, cowardly (they call it ‘risk averse’) and confused state of the business,” Sundberg said. “After the acquisition / over-investing party during ‘21-’23, we are dealing with the hangover, and it’s been going on for three years.”

He also made a note about Liquid Swords being “careful” with its budget planning, and having to lay-off half of the team to ensure that the studio would be able to have a better budget to work with in 2026.

“We have very careful cash-flow planning as we are on a limited budget,” he explained. “Last year, we made the tough decision to lay off (I don’t call it ‘restructuring’ or any other BS term for what it actually is) half the team, to buy us a longer runway into 2026. We made a bet, and we do everything we can to deliver a fun $25 experience to lay the foundation for the future. I hope our future players will see the potential in our work and follow us on our journey to make something bigger.”

Leading up to the release of Samson: A Tyndalston Story, Sundberg had spoken about how players shouldn’t expect the game to be completely bug-free on release. Rather, the studio is “making it the best it really can be; we can’t do more than that.”

“I made a promise to the team that I couldn’t keep a year ago, and now I’ve made a new promise to the team that is just working their asses off to finish this game.” That new promise was that Liquid Swords would “get this game out,” he explained.

In the meantime, the studio has already confirmed that Samson: A Tyndalston Story will be getting an update on April 10th, bringing in several bug fixes and addressing performance issues. The team is also working on fixing animated-related issues for future updates.

Samson: A Tyndalston Story is available on PC. For more details, check out our review.

Thankfully, if you held off on purchasing until, say, April 10th, a major patch is slated to go live with numerous fixes. These include addressing performance issues based on PSO, crashes related to audio and animation, and progression blockers. It will even add the ability to have eight separate save files.

“We are committed to the future of both Samson and Tyndalston, and this game will grow over time on all fronts; quality, gameplay and content,” said the developer. “We will continue to keep our ears to the ground and improve the game with your support.”

Aside from this update, the team will focus on fixing gameplay and animation-related issues, addressing additional performance problems and further polishing the experience. Check out some of the patch notes below and full details here.

You can also read our review of Samson, which we gave a seven out of ten. While console versions haven’t been officially announced, Liquid Swords will “get cracking” on them after the PC release, presumably after it’s ironed out the majority of issues. Stay tuned for updates in the meantime.

#1 Samson Game Update

Performance

• Several performance fixes focusing on PSO related hitches (fixes stuttering related issues)
• Fixed some misses with Slate
• Fixed landscape RayTracingDynamicGeometry misses
• bIgnoreMaskMateria & bRequireRTDynamicGeometryUpdate was not set correctly from landscape PSO precache dispatch since 5.7
• NaniteLumenCard & NaniteShading misses
• Fixed PSO misses due to FStaticMeshComponentHelper::CollectPSOPrecacheDataImpl fetching materials from LOD levels depending on MinLOD even for Nanite-enabled meshes which will render with LOD 0 materials

Crash fixes

• Several crash fixes related to audio, animation and GPU
• Crash fix for clearing UseDestructionHelp for vehicles with a timer
• Fix for potential case where attempting to update a failed dispatch when losing warp governance could clear the callback lambda as it was being executed, causing a dangling this pointer and crash
• Fixed various audio-related crashes, including one when closing the game
• Avoid race conditions caused by writes to bIsCachedRayTracingInstanceValid and bDynamicRayTracingInstanceCachedDataDirty from parallel tasks
• Force separate storage unit between ray tracing and non-ray tracing bits
• Force separate storage unit between bIsCachedRayTracingInstanceValid and bDynamicRayTracingInstanceCachedDataDirty

Mission

• Several fixes for mission and progression related issues
• Ice Fish – NPCs spawned in the Beatdown are no longer only Level 1
• Thrill of the Fight and Running on Fumes – now functional after save/continue
• Suzy Red no longer gets multiplied during “Stitches for Snitches” mission completion
• Hit 16 (No Return Fare) – passenger now gets into the cab at the pickup location
• Dave Shultz Tailing Job – Dave now spawns close to player, avoiding near-instant fails for being too far away
• Story Chapter – No Whisper Dealers – no beatdown triggers when eliminating enemies, preventing mission failure
• Welcome Home 4 – fixed issue where the fail radius for the reach dealer objective was too small
• Day 3: Oonagh Welcome Home – call now comes after story mission Blood on Tap rather than Dirty Scripts

General Gameplay

• Several fixes for gameplay related issues
• NPC fall damage added as a failsafe for dropped NPCs
• Day 3 Pickups – raised interact range to allow easier pickup if an item is dropped under a body
• Let outsiders check if the driver can be pulled out of the vehicle
• Fixed issues where enemies were not advancing towards you in group encounters
• Fixed issues with AI running onto roads to inspect dead bodies
• Fixed issue where police siren sometimes did not work

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.

It’s rather unique, especially as the city of Tyndalston changes and responds to your actions. However, you shouldn’t expect it to launch completely free of bugs. Speaking to PC Gamer, Sundberg said the team is “making it the best it really can be, we can’t do more than that.” It also isn’t crunching because “We’re too old for that. So, we’re super effective during our work hours and then come back the next day. It’s like the game, almost.”

Given the high-stakes situation that its titular protagonist is in, however, there’s still plenty of pressure, though Sundberg said it’s “more up here than anything else,” referring to his own brain. “I’ve never been this nervous for a game launch, ever, in 33 years. It’s too much at stake. I put my chin out pretty far for the studio and for this game.

“I made a promise to the team that I couldn’t keep a year ago, and now I’ve made a new promise to the team that is just working their asses off to finish this game.” That new promise was that Liquid Swords would “get this game out,” and honestly, in this industry where cancellations and studio closures are becoming far too common, that’s all you really can do at times.

Of course, Samson: A Tyndalston Story isn’t a triple-A release or priced anywhere near the same, instead costing $24.99. Despite this, Liquid Swords promises an experience that “truly punches above its weight” with about 10 hours of gameplay required for its main story. It’s available exclusively on PC tomorrow, but it may also launch for consoles afterwards. Check out our feature for everything you should know before buying.

For those of you who haven’t been keeping up with the action-adventure, it takes a unique approach to debt traps, with the titular Samson forced to pay off mobsters for a botched heist, his sister’s life functioning as collateral. That’s quite the pickle, and it only gets worse if you fail to meet the payment deadline, with the interest threatening to overwhelm you. That’s the kind of desperation that could allow a real hero (and a real human being) to rise from the ashes, or for a lesser one to crumble under its weight.

If you’re thinking about embodying the former, you’ll have to get good with the rugged melee combat and hazardous vehicular chases. Survival isn’t guaranteed, though, and you’re going to have to take each day as it comes in Tyndalston’s vicious streets.

We think that it could catch you by surprise, and while it’s only for PC players right now, Liquid Swords hasn’t fully ruled out the possibility of console versions coming later down the line. In the meantime, Samson: A Tyndalston Story launches April 8 on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

We were able to glean some interesting details from it all, starting with a look into Samson’s personality. He’s definitely an interesting protagonist, but what’s surprising is that he finds the time to help people in need despite the desperate circumstances he’s in. His sister Oonagh seems to be a driving force in his life, and we also learned that he’s in debt thanks to a heist gone wrong (perpetuated by his brother Louis), a situation for which he’s being blamed and forced to rack up some serious cash towards setting the record straight.

We also got a good look at the game’s supporting cast, who seem like the kind of ride-or-die pals any of us would want to have in our real lives. Samson’s definitely going to need their support on the unforgiving streets of Tyndalston in an experience we think we might not be fully ready for when it drops in less than a week for the PC. Check out our feature for everything you need to know.

A Vehicular Combat, Street Brawling Hybrid

The core of Samson’s gameplay experience is a hybrid of high-octane vehicular combat and brutal, hand-to-hand fist-fighting. Yes, these are two disparate mechanics, perhaps, but each share a need for muscle, speed, and technique, so we expect you’ll be tackling both sides of Samson’s work with equal parts stubbornness, perseverance, and gusto. Developer pedigree matters – Just Cause and Mad Max are two titles known for their chaotic sandbox energy and tactile combat systems, and their DNA bruises knuckles and crumples bumpers throughout.

Brawler Combat is Built on Momentum

Samson’s hand-to-hand fights aren’t glamorous. They’re primal and pragmatic, leaning on momentum and situational awareness. Look – brawling here has consequences: damage is visual, effort is extolled, and impact carries weight. You’ll be slamming enemies into walls, using nearby objects as weapons, and adapting to the environment mid-fight. An adrenaline meter adds more intensity, rewarding aggressive play with heightened damage once the gauge is full.

Weapons are Temporary

In addition to his fists, Samson can grab whatever detritus lies scattered around the scuffle to use as a weapon. Pipes, bats, blades, a wrench, whatever he can get his hands on in the moment. Most can be retained for a while, even stowed in the trunk of his car, but they’re not intended as long-term sidearms. No, to survive Tyndalston’s many skirmishes, you’ll need to master Samson’s brute-force fisticuffs, and learn to utilise what’s around you to stay alive.

Vehicles are Also Weapons

On the vehicular side, driving in Samson is designed to feel just as deliberate as street brawling. The game’s cars feel physical, responsive, and impactful, with different vehicles feeling distinct from one another. This makes some more ideal for destruction, others perhaps for getaways. Throughout the campaign, you’ll experience high speed chases full of satisfying collisions, handbrake turns, and side-slams, all enhanced by nitro speed boosts (which can be charged by knocking down sandwich boards, of all things). This is definitely more spectacle than simulation, mirroring the approach that made Mad Max’s car combat so memorable.

Skill Trees Shape Your Playstyle

Samson’s skill trees unify strength in brawling and weaponised driving alike, with over twenty-five upgrades to shape your style across four fighting categories: Tactics, which govern health, Aggression your power, Instinct is your adrenaline, and Cunning which refers to your finesse. XP is earned through completing missions and, of course, pummeling bad guys.

A Story Driven By Debt

Peel back the brashness, and Samson tells a surprisingly emotional story. Samson’s a classic antihero who, after a failed heist, has fallen into crushing debt with the wrong people. These dangerous figures keep Samson pegged, using his sister as leverage until he’s paid them every single penny that he owes. Clawing his way out entails taking on daily jobs, but there’s a constant sense of pressure as the debt spirals alongside Samson’s morals.

Mission Variety Will Be Key

Samson’s mission structure spans a wide range of activities: extortion jobs, getaway drives, targeted hits, surveillance, high-speed chases, and good old-fashioned beatdowns. The big question is whether this variety will hold up over the game’s purported ten-hour campaign. On the surface it’s diverse enough to sustain interest, but the game’s tighter, semi-linear design implies objectives which evolve along with the narrative. Samson’s success, it seems, may hinge on how engaging its missions prove to be.

Action Point System Enforces Tension

Rather than letting you tackle everything freely, Samson introduces an Action Point system that forces prioritisation. With your daily actions restricted due to a limited number of Action Points, you’re forced to pick and choose your missions strategically. You’ve a daily quota to earn, which may take the decision away from you. Either way, there’s one crucial bit of info you need to know: once your points are spent, there’s no second chance. Whether success or failure, you must live with the outcome.

Tyndalston Offers More Than a Backdrop

Samson’s fictional city plays an important role in shaping both gameplay and tone. It’s the greyscale proving ground for your nefarious deeds, of course, but there’s also plenty of opportunity for unscripted interactions, especially with the town’s denizens. NPCs won’t like being bumped into, whilst other pedestrians will tend to the injured. Like we’ve alluded to with Samson’s other systems, Tyndalston reacts with consequence. Likewise, a place with spirited citizens that look out for each other cements your status as an outsider.

Law Enforcement Reacts to Your Actions

And on that note, your nefarious dealings don’t go unnoticed by the city’s police force either. Law enforcement will react to your behaviour, with their response escalating based on your actions. If you steal a parked car, for instance, they’ll pursue you. The more you try to shake them off, the more effort they’ll put into catching you. In these moments, your knowledge of Tyndalston’s layout will prove crucial, as will knowing when to disengage entirely.

Tyndalston Isn’t a Traditional Open World

Despite its scale, Samson’s city isn’t a full sandbox. In developer Liquid Swords’ words, Tyndalston sits somewhere between fully open, and curated, semi-linear design. You’re free to explore, and there certainly are “open zone” neighbourhoods with areas to discover, but the world’s design is focused. This, purportedly, is Samson’s quiet strength, where tighter design brings pace and purpose rather than aimless wandering.

Vehicles Require Maintenance

Samson’s cars won’t be disposable, but vital tools on which progression hangs. As such, you’ll need to maintain the structural health of your vehicle by fixing upgrades that’ll bring improved performance, durability, and combat effectiveness. While preview coverage suggests this system may be somewhat limited in scope, it still adds a layer of investment. Your car becomes an extension of your playstyle, not just a means of getting from one objective to the next.

Mission Details

Samson: Tenleston Story seems built around the idea that every day in its world is a negotiation with pressure. Instead of treating missions as isolated content drops, the game ties story chapters, side jobs, and exploration into a single survival rhythm where making money is just as important as uncovering what happens next. Much of the tension comes from the fact that progress is fragile, because the more cash you carry, the more exposed you are to losing it before you make it home safe. That gives even routine activities a layer of danger, turning each decision into a risk between short-term gain and long-term stability. More than a straightforward crime action game, it feels like a system-driven urban grind where momentum, caution, and risk management are constantly at war.

PC Brings Strong Technical Settings

On the technical side, Samson looks to be well equipped with raytracing and DLSS 4.5 confirmed for PC users. The game is certainly good looking, with visual fidelity and performance optimisation clearly a priority for the developer. With Liquid Swords operating in the AA sphere, the community has been outspoken in their concern surrounding performance, but the studio has specifically addressed this via an FAQ published to the game’s website. Here, they say that optimisation has been a focus from the very start, and that they’ve leaned on their experience with open world games to ensure Samson performs as smoothly as the visuals promise.

Release Date, Platforms, and Price

Samson: A Tyndalston Story is set to release April 8th, and it’s coming to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Consoles aren’t ruled out, but it likely depends how well the game sells on Windows machinery first. Pricewise, you’re looking at $24.99, which feels about right for a game of this scale.

PC Requirements

To run Samson with minimum PC specs, you’ll need an Intel Core i5-10505 or AMD Ryzen 5 3600 CPU and Nvidia 1070 GTX or AMD Radeon RX 5600 GPU. Recommended hardware includes a GeForce RTX 3060Ti or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT GPU and Intel i5-11400 or AMD Ryzen 5 5600 XT processor. 16GB RAM, an SSD hard drive, and 15GB storage base is also required.

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.