Daire Behan
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Articles by Daire Behan
God of War Laufey Delayed to May 2027
Over the summer an unexpected new addition to the God of War saga was revealed during Sony’s State of Play showcase – a new mainline entry not starring Kratos, but his wife we only met briefly in God of War Rangarok, Faye. Since the announcement, we’ve received a steady steak of updates and details regarding the game including the release date of February 16, 2027.
Thief: The Dark Project Remastered Sneaks Onto Modern Platforms Next Month
Nightdive Studios has been responsible for some of the best modern remasters, including its excellent revival of the System Shock series and re-releases for cult classics such as Blood, The Thing, Heretic, and Hexen. Earlier this year, the studio announced that it was remastering one of the most influential PC games of all time, Thief: The Dark Project, while also bringing the game to consoles for the very first time. Today, the studio announced that the game will arrive digitally next month.
Suda51 Teases The Return of Travis Touchdown for No More Heroes’ 20th Anniversary
Last month, Grasshopper Manufacture split from its owner, NetEase Games, to become an independently owned studio for the first time in over a decade. There has been plenty of speculation about what the studio will do with its regained independence, and in a recent interview with Famitsu, CEO Goichi ‘Suda51′ Suda teased some potential plans, including something for No More Heroes’ 20th anniversary next year.
GSC’s Halloween Playlist 2026 – 10 Spooky Indies to Play This Halloween
Halloween is finally upon us and 2026 has had no shortage of weird and unsettling games to indulge in for the scariest time of year. While we’ve had the pleasure of covering many such games here at Gamer Social Club, this time of year also coincides with the influx of huge AAA releases, meaning that some imaginative indies have gone under the radar. So if you’re looking for something to play this Halloween and are on a budget, we’ve got just the list for you.
Nintendo Announced Indie World Showcase for October 28
Nintendo has announced that a new Indie World showcase is set to air tomorrow, October 28, 2026. The showcase will air at 7am PT/10am ET/2pm GMT, and will feature new games from independent developers slated for release on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. The showcase will be roughly 15 minutes long. No titles have been teased as of yet. Given that there’s always a slew of exciting new indie games coming to Nintendo Switch platforms so there are plenty of possibilities.
Virtue and a Sledgehammer Review
Living in the future is terrifying. It’s not uncommon, especially in online spaces, to feel that the idea of the human soul itself is being senselessly chipped away at by algorithms that encourage hate for profit and corporations that are eagerly hand-waving the fruits of humanity’s creative labour into destructive, unthinking programs. Imagining that simply parsing our collective lived experiences as data is enough to manufacture something even moderately comparable.
Virtue and a Sledgehammer
Players who want a thoughtful story, who want to feel things, who are mad at AI, who just want to smash stuff will really love Virtue and a Sledgehammer. Others might be turned off by the game’s narrative and what it chooses to focus on. I personally felt the game did something unique with its three- to five-hour runtime. For its commentary on humanity, relationships, and technology, Virtue and a Sledgehammer might be one of the most important video games of the year. I hope people play it.
Publisher Pantaloon Launches ‘Playbill’ Subscription Service of Rotating Experimental Indie Games
Indie publisher, Pantaloon has announced and launched a platform titled ‘Playbill‘ which it claims will feature “an evolving library of bold and bizarre games accessed via subscription.” The publisher, which is responsible for releasing titles such as OFFBEAT and It Takes a War, claims that the platform is not a Game Pass-like or bundle, but a rotating library of games from various independent developers and publishers.
Danganronpa 2×2 System Requirements Updated to No Longer Recommend 32GB RAM
Last month Spike Chunsoft revealed the system requirements for its upcoming visual novel remake Danganronpa 2×2 and the performance targets for PC and console versions. While the console specs were reasonable for the Unity engine remake of the PSP/ Vita mystery adventure game, the PC requirements listed a shocking 32GB RAM requirement for the recommended performance. Today, Spike Chunsoft have amended the specs.
The Apothecary Diaries: The False Imperial Brother Concocts A March 2027 Release Date
One of the strongest trends in gaming in the last decade has been the increasingly imaginative approach to licensed video game adaptations. From turning Indiana Jones into an immersive sim or giving One Piece’s Sanji the stage for a restaurant business simulator, developers have been taking more imaginative approaches to adapting a broader range of licenses. One such case is developer Gust’s upcoming take on The Apothecary Diaries.
Stupid Never Dies Review
When I previewed Stupid Never Dies last month, I came out of the demo intrigued by its approach to character action combat in a rogue-like structure. In a roughly three hour container, these ideas were introduced with plenty of space for further mechanical exploration alongside the game’s quirky, oddball love story. Having finished the full game, I’m disappointed to say that the intrigue I felt about Stupid Never Dies’ systems and combat flow did not endure past its opening.
Big Walk Won’t Release On Xbox Due To BDS Boycott
Big Walk released on PC, PS5, and Nintendo Switch 2 in August and has gone on to become one of the year’s most critically acclaimed games. The four-player co-operative puzzle game comes from Australian developer House House, which previously received huge success with its breakout debut Untitled Goose Game.
Silent Hill: Townfall Update Reworks The Game’s Most Frustrating Enemy
Silent Hill: Townfall launches just over two weeks ago, and since the game’s launch there has been some debate regarding the game’s approach to first-person horror. While some fans love developer Screen Burn’s approach to slow-paced, stealthy enemy encounters, others have criticized areas of the game’s design, specifically regarding a one-hit kill enemy known as ‘The Weight’. It appears the studio has now addressed the criticisms with a new update for the game.
Silent Hill Inspired Indie Horror BECROWNED Confirms Console Release In New Trailer
While there’s no shortage of fantastic horror games to play now, including title’s we’ve recommended such as Silver Pines and Silent Hill: Townfall, there’s still plenty for fans to look forward to beyond this Halloween season. One such title is publisher Top Hat Studios’ BECROWNED, a new psychological horror debut from 13th Street Studio, which received a new trailer during the Horror Game Awards. BECROWNED is inspired by PS1/PS2 era survival horror games and 1970s grindhouse cinema.
Silent Hill: Townfall Review
Last year’s Silent Hill f felt like a bold move for the franchise, one that was desperately needed after the success of Bloober Team’s Silent Hill 2 remake. Lifting the series from its titular American town to instead explore the societal trauma of a young girl in 1960s Japan proved that the series’ spirit could endure even beyond the familiarity of its iconic setting, even when stripped down to its bare essentials.
Grasshopper Manufacture Announces Split From Owner NetEase Games To Become Independent
Grasshopper Manufacture CEO and founder Goichi Suda has announced that the studio has gone independent for the first time in over a decade following its split from Chinese technology company NetEase. Earlier this year the team released its first self-published title Romeo is a Dead Man. We enjoyed the game and even got to chat with the punk auteur Suda51 himself, but it seems that the experience has inspired the studio to split off on its own once again.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Demo Arrives Next Week
While Konami’s Silent Hill franchise is set to receive the fourth installment in its comeback era later this week, its other horror-tinged franchise is gearing up for its big return as Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse is set to arrive next month. With many eagerly anticipating Dead Cells creator Evil Empire and Motion Twin’s take on the series, Konami has announced that a demo will arrive next week, allowing fans to transfer their save to the full game.
Cult Classic JRPG Terranigma Returns in January 2027
Before merging with SquareSoft in the early 2000s, Enix was known in Japan as a publisher of a broad range of Japanese RPGs alongside its massive Dragon Quest series. One of the studios it partnered with was Quintet, which went on to release underrated classics like ActRaiser, Illusion of Gaia, and the Japanese and European only release Terranigma. After a lengthy search for its rights, Clear River Games has confirmed that the Terranigma remaster will arrive in January 2027.
Level 5 CEO Responds To Generative AI Use Criticism Following Showcase
If you’ve been wondering how Level 5 has so many games in development despite suffering studio closures and financial difficulties only a few short years ago, you may not be too thrilled to learn the answer.
Muramasa: Revenant Blades Slashes Onto Modern Platforms in February 2027
Earlier this year, a modern remaster of Vanillaware’s cult action RPG Muramasa: The Demon Blade was announced by publisher Marvelous for release early next year. Today, the studio has revealed the release date for Muramasa: Revenant Blades alongside a lengthy new trailer. Muramasa: The Demon Blade was originally released for Nintendo Wii in 2009.
Samus Is Back For More in Metroid Ravenous, Launching in January 2027
It’s not even been a year since the release of Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, but Nintendo is already ready to tell us when Samus will be going on her next adventure as Metroid Ravenous, the sixth mainline 2D entry in the series, will be arriving on Nintendo Switch 2 in January 2027.
Professor Layton and the New World of Steam Releases This December
One of the biggest mysteries behind Level 5’s long anticipated revival of the Professor Layton series has been deciphering when the game will release. The game was originally slated to arrive in 2025 but was delayed to 2026 during last year’s Tokyo Game Show. Now, Level 5 has finally given us the solution to this puzzle as it’s confirmed that Professor Layton and the New World of Steam will arrive on December 10, 2026.
Stupid Never Dies Preview
Stupid Never Dies is the debut game from GPTRACK50, a NetEase owned developer composed of ex-Capcom veterans who previously worked on some of the studio’s most influential action games, including Devil May Cry and Dragon’s Dogma. As one of the titans of the industry, it’s no surprise that many well-known creatives have cut their teeth through the walls of Capcom and gone on to deliver fresh, unique takes on the action genre once they’ve moved on.
Double Fine’s Kiln Receives ‘Bisque Update’ Including New Maps, A Massive Price Drop, and More
Double Fine Productions has hit the ground running following its independence from XBOX following Microsoft’s massive “reset”, with its Amnesia Fortnight Kickstarter campaign close to reaching its $400,000 funding goal only three days after its launch. Despite already funding experimental new projects, Double Fine is not done supporting its multiplayer brawler from earlier this year, as Kiln has received a massive update today and a steep price drop.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Review
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles sure have had a lot of video games. The history of the comic book-turned media franchise phenomenon has run almost concurrently to the lineage of the interactive medium itself. From the NES all the way to the Nintendo Switch 2, from arcade beat-em’-ups to fighting games and countless crossovers, Peter Laird and Kevin Eastman’s vigilante reptiles have become as synonymous with video games as they are with film, television, and comic books.
Castlevania: Belmont’s Curse Voice Cast Includes Netflix Show’s Dracula
As the seasons begin to change and the nights become longer, it’s hard not to begin to anticipate some of the spooky games gearing up for release this Halloween. 2026 is a special year, as it is the first in over a decade that fans will have a new Castlevania game to dig their fangs into.
Double Fine Announces Amnesia Fortnight Kickstarter to Fund New Independent Projects
During last month’s massive round of Microsoft layoffs and the CEO Asha Sharma’s “Xbox reset”, it was revealed that developers Double Fine Productions and Compulsion Games would be let go and return to independence. There has been some confusion over the last month as to when the transfer of IP and publishing rights for the studios’ games would be complete, but now Double Fine has confirmed the situation and outlined its future plans.
Silent Hill: Townfall Shares 19 Minutes of Atmospheric Horror Gameplay
Fresh off of last year’s excellent Silent Hill f, Konami is making the jump from J-horror to S-horror (that’s Scottish horror) with another stand-alone entry in the psychological horror series, Silent Hill: Townfall. With this first-person take on the franchise by developer Screen Burn gearing up for release next month, Konami has released a hauntingly atmospheric 19-minute gameplay trailer showcasing the puzzles, stealth, and combat.
Guitar Hero Spiritual Successor Stage Tour Confirmed for Gamescom Opening Night Live
Last year Harmonix and its new parent company Epic Games announced the end of Rock Band 4, bringing an end to the legacy of the plastic peripheral rhythm game genre that dominated the early 2000s. This hasn’t stopped the newly reformed RedOctane Games (its namesake the original publisher of the Guitar Hero series) from announcing Stage Tour earlier this year. Today, the studio announced that the game will take the stage during Gamescom Opening Night Live next week.
1000xRESIST Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Arrives Later This Week
While not a major breakout upon its release in May 2024, Sunset Visitor and Fellow Traveler’s 1000xRESIST has gone on to become a modern cult classic. While the game arrived on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S last year, Nintendo Switch owners have only had access to an admittedly compromised port that, while a commendable effort, has a fair number of technical issues compared to the other console and PC versions.
Kingdom Hearts IV D23 Panel Delivers Extended Trailer, New Gameplay Details, and Development Updates
D23’s opening panel offered perhaps our best look at Kingdom Hearts IV yet, revealing a world based on Coco’s Land of the Dead and teasing new story details while confirming a “late 2027” release window. Well, it seems that Square Enix had even more to show us, as Kingdom Hearts’ 25th anniversary panel featured an even longer version with new gameplay reveals, alongside some commentary on the game’s development progress.
Kingdom Hearts IV Reveals First Disney World and Late 2027 Release Window
Disney’s D23 Expo has kicked off in Anaheim, and while the Kingdom Hearts anniversary panel is slated for later today, Square Enix’s JRPG franchise made a surprise appearance at the opening Disney Entertainment Showcase panel. Disney revealed that on top of receiving a newly announced anime coming to Disney Plus, Kingdom Hearts IV’s first world will be based on Pixar’s 2017 film Coco. Better yet, the game is slated to release in late 2027.
Her Story and Immortality Director’s Next Game, PRECOGNITION, Arrives in Spring 2028
If you’re a fan of horror games there’s a good chance you recognize the name Sam Barlow. He is the Director of modern cult classics such as Her Story and Immortality. He was also the writer/designer on Silent Hill: Origins and Shattered Memories. Barlow’s studio, Half Mermaid Productions, has revealed its previously teased “Project C” as a sci-fi FMV horror game PRECOGNITION. It will be published by Phasmaphobia studio Kinetic Games in 2028.
Splatoon Raiders Review
Even amidst Nintendo’s vast pantheon of iconic game franchises, I’ve always had a soft spot for Splatoon. It’s one of the few series I’ve had the pleasure of watching grow since the day the Wii U game was announced, all the way through to its most recent Nintendo Switch incarnations. Being one of the company’s more iterative (as opposed to innovative) titles though, my interest in the series has waned over time, especially since the release of Splatoon 3 arrived a lot sooner than I expected it to.
Monkey Island Creator Announces Murder Mystery Adventure Thimbleweed Park 2
Point-and-click adventure games have been having a great 2026 so far, with standout titles such as Perfect Tides: Station to Station, Crushed in Time, and The Mermaid Mask among some of the highest-rated games of the year. Well, looks like the future is also looking bright for the genre as LucasArts veterans Ron Gilbert, Gary Winnick, and the rest of the Terrible Toybox team will be returning to Thimbleweed Park in 2028.
Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?! Review
Despite coming of age as an anime fan in the early 2010s, I’ve never had much love for the Isekai genre. Even in parody, stories of average everyday humans being transported to fantasy worlds have rarely appealed to me despite my entrance into anime culture at the zenith of popularity for franchises such as Sword Art Online and Re:Zero. It’s perhaps because of this disposition that ‘Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?!’ caught my attention.
Broken Sword – The Smoking Mirror: Reforged Physical Release Coming Early 2027
With controversy still stirring around Sony’s recent decision to discontinue PlayStation physical disc production in January 2028, any announcement of an upcoming physical release is welcome as fans prepare for what could be the final year of physical collecting on the platform. Adventure game fans may be happy to learn then that Red Art Games will be releasing a physical version of Revolution Software’s Broken Sword – The Smoking Mirror: Reforged in February 2027.
Denshattack! Review
When it comes to influential games, there are many names that get thrown around as pivotal historical points that have had a huge impact. Super Mario Bros., Doom, Resident Evil, Grand Theft Auto III. All of these games have gone on to define fundamental principles of game design that persist today. For every game that’s had huge ripples throughout the medium, there are a dozen titles that have had very specific effects on certain genres and subcultures within gaming as it’s grown over time.
Kingdom Hearts 25th Anniversary Panel Planned for Disney’s D23 Expo
Kingdom Hearts IV’s appearance during the June Nintendo Direct marked the conclusion of a prolonged drought of new information regarding the game since its announcement in April 2022. It seems like Disney and Square Enix aren’t quite ready to step back into the darkness yet though, as a panel dedicated to the series has been confirmed for Disney’s D23 Expo this August.
Summer Games Done Quick Concludes With $2.4 Million Raised for Charity
While it has been a tumultuous period in the games industry for both workers and audiences, Summer Games Done Quick has once again proven that this medium is capable of wonderful things. The annual gaming marathon ended earlier today (July 12) with $2.4 million raised for Doctors Without Borders.
God of War Laufey Confirms Disc Release, Narrowing Down Release Window
The response to PlayStation’s recent announcement that it is ending the production of physical games has not gone down well to say the least. Fans have taken to social media to make their voices heard very loudly regarding their frustration over the decision, specifically towards posts on PlayStation social media channels.
90s Anime Inspired Co-Op Adventure Orbitals Reveals Voice Cast
Kepler Interactive and Shapefarm’s Orbitals is one of the most promising Nintendo Switch 2 exclusives slated to launch for the rest of the year, promising to add an adorable anime flair to the genre-bending co-op madness of games like It Takes Two and Split Fiction. With the game gearing up for launch in less than two months, the teams have announced some of the game’s voice cast. Orbitals is a co-op only sci-fi game inspired by classic anime such as Dragon Ball and Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Persona 4 Revival’s Anime Expo Trailer Is All About Rise
New details for Persona 4 Revival have been steadily trickling out since its reveal during the Xbox Games Showcase last month, with the latest news drop coming from Anime Expo. During the Persona 4 Revival panel, Atlus debuted a trailer focused entirely on supporting party member Rise Kujikawa and revealed some details on which studio will be providing animation for the game’s cutscenes.
Soma Studio’s Sci-Fi Horror Ontos Delayed to 2027
After a Summer Game Fest season no-show, it’s perhaps not terribly surprising to hear that Frictional Games’ upcoming science fiction horror game Ontos has been delayed to 2027. The news was shared in a teaser video featuring the admittedly ironic caption “Time is a construct.” Ontos is Frictional Games’ spiritual successor to its 2015 sci-fi psychological horror game Soma.
Grand Theft Auto VI’s Physical Release Is A Code In Box Releasing a Week Early
With the looming launch of Grand Theft Auto VI hanging over the entirety of the games industry, one question has been hanging over everyone’s mind – how much will Rockstar charge for the game? Well, with the opening of pre-orders tomorrow, the answer has become clear.
Vanillaware’s 2D Action Cult Classic Muramasa Returns in 2027
During the Nintendo Direct for June 2026, we got the announcement of Muramasa: Revenant Blades, bringing Vanillaware’s cult classic to PC and modern consoles. Check out the Muramasa: Revenant Blades announcement trailer below. Vanillaware’s Muramasa: The Demon Blade for the Nintendo Wii and its PlayStation Vita port, Muramasa: Rebirth, are often regarded as two of the most underrated titles for their respective platforms.
Xenoblade: Genesis Revealed for Nintendo Switch 2, Releases 2027
Monolith Soft has revealed a new entry in its Xenoblade series, a soft reboot titled Xenoblade: Genesis. The game is set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch 2 in 2027. Check out the Xenoblade: Genesis reveal trailer below. Monolith Soft’s Xenoblade series began in 2010 on the Nintendo Wii, with the first game originally released as a Japan-only release before eventually arriving in Europe in 2011, and later in North America in 2012 following a viral campaign known as Operation Rainfall.
Kingdom Hearts IV Debuts New Trailer and Confirms Nintendo Switch 2 Release
Four years after its announcement, Kingdom Hearts IV has received its second trailer as a surprise appearance at today’s Nintendo Direct. While a date or release window was not announced, it was revealed that the game will now launch on multiple platforms, including the Nintendo Switch 2. Kingdom Hearts IV was originally revealed during a 20th anniversary event for the series in April 2022.
Thief: The Dark Project Remastered Announced From Nightdive Studios
Legendary thief Garrett is stepping out from the shadows once again, as renown remaster studio Nightdive has revealed Thief: The Dark Project Remastered, an enhanced re-release of the iconic Looking Glass Studios game set to release later this year. Thief: The Dark Project is a stealth game released by Looking Glass Studio and publisher Eidos Interactive in 1998 for PC.
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee Remastered Announced
A challenger has finally stepped forward to release in November alongside Grand Theft Auto 6 – and it’s none other than the King of the Monsters. Atari has announced that developer Pipeworks Studios is remastering its classic kaiju fighting game Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee, which is set for release this November. Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee was originally released for GameCube and Xbox in 2002 and was a 2D fighting game set in the universe of Toho’s franchise.
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