If you haven't been paying attention to Lithic Entertainment's Scaravan 66, you ought to. The car combat-focused roguelike is a fast and frenetic ride through a version of hell informed by 1950s greaser aesthetics and 1980s British punk rock, and it feels fantastic. I've only played a demo of the game, but the explosive and high-octane combat already has its hooks in me and I'm eager to jump into the full experience. Admittedly, the narrative elements of the game haven't quite wowed me yet, but what's there potentially sets up something that could be interesting in the context of the full game.

In Scaravan 66, you play as Lucky D, a leather jacket-wearing, pompadour-rocking Road Reaper condemned to harvest mortal souls for the Devil. But you're tired of it, and so you've opted to escape the seemingly endless highway of the underworld. The Devil sends her minions to stop you, ranging from explosive barrel-throwing zombies to gun-wielding lycanthropes. During her escape, Lucky D can pull off at exits to speak to other Road Reapers and denizens of Hell, each of which has unique perks to purchase and a personal story to tell. As a roguelike, Lucky D is forced to start over after each failed escape attempt, learning more about Hell and her fellow Road Reapers, as well as permanently upgrading her weapons and car with each subsequent loop.

"Scaravan 66 features the classic roguelike gameplay loop, complemented by the thematic drudgery of cycles," Lithic Entertainment co-founders Al Bellemare and Andy Wood emailed me in a joint response. "Cycles we feel trapped in, cycles we want to break free from. Life circumstances that we did not choose, but must continuously face every day."

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In a similar way to how Obsidian's The Outer Worlds played very closely to a space-faring Fallout, Avowed sticks closely to the sensibilities of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Its fantasy world isn't as expansive and seamlessly stitched together, but you'd be forgiven for confusing the two at a glance, especially when you're engaged in its first-person combat. Avowed lifts some of the best aspects of the seminal RPG and improves them, especially when it comes to its refined combat. These changes extend to a move away from traditional leveling in favor of a gear-focused approach, as well as the option to experiment with wild weapon combinations. But not all of Avowed's experiments are successes, leading to an uneven role-playing adventure that surprises as much as it frustrates.

Washing up on the shores of the Living Lands, you play as one the Godless: a select few kissed by the grace of a god at birth and left with some distinct (and sometimes frightening) facial features to show for it. On a mission from a distant monarch whose influence within the Living Lands has many of its inhabitants up in arms, your job is to track down the source of a plague that's turning the land's people into mindless, bloodthirsty creatures, before it manages to make it back home. Although it is set in the same universe as Pillars of Eternity, Avowed does a good job of immediately siloing you into an area that requires little knowledge of what is happening across the ocean, but does reference some historical events from time to time. A glossary of important names and places is available as they're brought up in conversation, providing a handy guide that contextualizes some attitudes characters have to certain factions and events around you.

Avowed makes a strong initial impression, quickly establishing your Godless status but with the odd quirk of being the first not to know which god chose you. This isn't the main purpose of your mission, but that changes after a surprising event in the early hours of the game that sets the stage for a more intriguing answer to the plague ravaging the Living Lands. This setup is ultimately squandered, however, with the two big narrative hooks coalescing with one another in routinely expected and uninteresting ways, making the broader strokes of the story largely forgettable. The conversational writing does have its moments of charm, with equally serious and snarky retorts letting you inject some levity into otherwise dire situations with great comedic effect. But the severity of the plague you're trying to stop and the personal journey of finding out why you're the only Godless without a god is not as captivating as it could be, taking steps along a narrative path that rarely deviates into surprising avenues.

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After a nearly two-year hiatus between seasons, The Last of Us is set to return soon to HBO and Max with the beginning of its adaptation of The Last of Us Part II. While the show has been a massive success among audiences and critics, HBO drama EVP Francesa Orsi doesn't believe that The Last of Us will run any longer than four seasons.

"We don't have a complete or final plan, but I think it's looking like four seasons," Orsi told Deadline. "I wouldn’t want to confirm that, but it's looking like this season and then two more seasons after this and we're done."

Co-creator and showrunner Craig Mazin previously indicated that The Last of Us could run between three and five seasons. The story from The Last of Us Part II will also take multiple seasons to finish, especially since Season 2 will only be seven episodes long. Presumably Naughty Dog will release The Last of Us Part III at some point in the future. But that project has yet to be formally announced and there are currently no indications that Mazin and co-showrunner Neil Druckmann have planned far enough ahead for the show to include the events of that game.

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Earlier this week, Sony set the stage for the rest of this year and beyond with the first State of Play for 2025. But while looking to the future, Sony didn't forget about the past. During the onslaught of announcements and reveal trailers, Sony noted From Software's 1997 PS1 mecha shooter, Armored Core, is coming to PlayStation Plus Classic Games in the near future.

Armored Core Project Phantasma and Armored Core Master of Arena are also slated to hit PS Plus Classic Games "soon," although Sony didn't set a specific date for either of those titles to arrive. The most recent game in the series was Armored Core 6 in 2023, and there hasn't been any concrete word yet about any additional sequels on the way.

In the more immediate future, the PSP game Patapon 3 is making the leap to PS4 and PS5 when it joins PlayStation Plus Premium on February 18. This adventure/rhythm game will feature newly enhanced visuals as well as rewind and quick save features as players lead their Patapon followers into 80 different quests.

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The first Lies of P expansion was announced during the February 2025 State of Play, and it'll arrive in Summer 2025 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Overture is a prequel that'll take players back to the beginning of the Puppet Frenzy, revealing how the city of Krat fell into ruin.

As Geppetto's Puppet, P, you'll come into contact with a strange artifact that allows you to travel back in time to Krat alongside the legendary Stalker Lea and uncover the dark secrets that led to its destruction. Developer Round8 Studio says that players can expect opulent locations to explore, mysteries to uncover, and of course, cunning enemies to test your skills against. P will be able to make use of new weapons and an additional combat style to help him survive against overwhelming odds.

"Through Lies of P: Overture, we aimed to fully refine, forge, and complete the story as we originally envisioned it. There's a term in movie making known as a director's cut," game director Ji Won Choi said in a blog post. "This version differs from an initial theatrical release and usually includes additional footage the filmmaker believes perfects the work. With Lies of P: Overture I wonder if we subconsciously aimed to create a developers cut of Lies of P."

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Monster Hunter Wilds doesn't release for another two weeks, but Capcom isn't letting that get in the way of revealing the game's first major post-launch update. The studio has revealed that Mizutsune will be the first monster added post-launch, teasing the dancing Leviathan in the game's launch trailer.

The first major update doesn't have an exact release date yet, but Capcom has said it will release sometime in spring-- so not long after Monster Hunter Wilds' initial release. The update will see the return of Mizutsune, a Leviathan-class monster known for its dance-like movement and use of bubbles to ensnare its prey.

Even though the update is still a while away, Mizutsune has been teased in the launch trailer for Monster Hunter Wilds, showing off the monster's ethereal appearance. Capcom has also teased that additional content will be coming with the free update, but details are pretty scarce at this point.

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A retired samurai (主) is entrusted with saving the world from intelligent, language-devouring "Akuma" alongside an eccentric fox (人) freed from a cursed abode and an astute princess (公) with her own ambitions. Shujinkou is a dungeon-crawling JRPG that offers a unique opportunity to learn Japanese as you play. It features thousands of Japanese words, phrases, kana, kanji, and grammar elements that players can master through focus, diligence, and consistency. The language content spans from JLPT N5 to N1 standards, accommodating learners at any stage. However, learning Japanese is entirely optional—for those more interested in the adventure, Shujinkou delivers a rich JRPG experience. Players can immerse themselves in hundreds of skills, items, deep forging, cooking, fishing, quests, achievements, records to break, and minigames. Explore a vast world, engage with a riveting story, meet multifaceted characters, enjoy stunning artwork, and lose yourself in hours of dynamic music.

Journey with your fellow slimes to save the ancient guardians from a mysterious corruption taking over the land. Explore a whimsical world filled with secret passageways, challenging puzzle dungeons and forgotten treasures. Consume special gems and dynamically combine them to create unique magical skills. Level up and fight back against the corrupted minions to restore the land.

What could have caused Tommy Lin, a smart considerate boy, to suddenly disappear? One day, Yonny discovers a toy phone receiver that she used with Tommy when they were children. The mysterious phone receiver connects Yonny and her friend, Phoebe, to the Gallery of Empty Wishes, where they find themselves able to enter the memory echoes of people connected to Tommy. Using the receiver, they delve into these people's deepest desires, and ultimately seek to uncover the truth behind Tommy's disappearance. Follow Yonny and Phoebe as they relive the memories of five key players surrounding Tommy's disappearance. Each chapter delves into the memories of one character, revealing the character's deepest wishes and secrets. By interacting with characters, collecting items, making choices and investigating in 2D side-scrolling scenes, players will piece together the truth regarding Tommy's disappearance.

In 4373. Kevin was once hailed as a war hero. Now an old and sick veteran, he is living a peaceful old age on a nursing spaceship with his beloved dog 'Andy'. Until the nursing spaceship exploded due to an invasion by the alien "Golida", losing his beloved dog 'Andy' and most of his body... It is a side-scrolling run-and-gun action game set in the future. The main character, Kevin, who lost everything and was reborn as a cyborg, begins to take revenge on Golida, an alien who took everything from him.

In the near future, the world is in an energy crisis. When all hope has been lost, world famous scientist Dr. Klaus makes a surprise announcement: the discovery of the "Tetra Cell". It’s incredible energy-producing properties could be used for the good of mankind. However, 24 hours later, he mysteriously disappears and his lab is destroyed in an explosion. The industrialist A. Easton, President of Easton Industries is suspected to have kidnapped Dr. Klaus and that he intends to use the Tetra Cell to create a new type of super weapon. You assume the role of Vincent Fury, a special operative on a mission to infiltrate the top secret research facility of Easton Industries, rescue Dr. Klaus and recover the missing Tetra Cell before it’s too late! Guns of Fury is a retro-inspired action platformer that combines the run & gun and Metroidvania genres. Explore a vast interconnected world, gain new abilities and weapons, battle epic bosses and stop the plans of an evil corporation before it’s too late!