Premium Video Game Book Publisher Announces The Arcade 1971-1999: The Stories Behind Classic Coin-Ops

London, UK - September 24, 2026 | Bitmap Books, the premium video game book publisher, announced today their latest title, The Arcade 1971–1999: The Stories Behind Classic Coin-Ops, Told by Their Creators, a stunningly comprehensive deep dive into the games that changed an industry forever.

Renowned video game journalist Paul Drury (Edge, Retro Gamer) has spent his illustrious career interviewing hundreds of game developers, artists and musicians, bringing an encyclopaedic knowledge of Arcade culture to this latest publication.

The Arcade 1971-1999 features no less than 120 classic coin-ops, where readers will uncover fascinating insights into the favourite titles. From how Ms. Pac-Man was once a man called Otto, to who actually created Donkey Kong, how Q*bert learned to swear and what really happened on the night when the very first Pong machine was placed in Andy Capp’s Tavern, each title tells its own story in a book that gamers of all ages will find hard to put down.

Along with these firsthand accounts, rare personal photos, design sketches, coding notes and all manner of ‘behind the scenes’ material are beautifully detailed, giving a unique insight into the creativity, imagination and ingenuity that brought these legendary games to life. Discover early concept art, licensed from The Strong National Museum of Play, showing the original plans for such Atari classics as Star Wars, Paperboy, Gauntlet and many more.

The author of The Arcade 1971-1999, Paul Drury, highlighted his feelings about the creation of the title, "Arcade games, like so many of my generation, are what introduced me to video games. Being able to talk to their creators has been such a privilege and this book is a culmination of hundreds of conversations with my heroes."

With a foreword written by Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell and an Afterword by Eugene Jarvis, creator of Defender and Robotron, The Arcade 1971-1999 delivers the definitive text on the first thirty years of the arcade industry. 

Dedicated to Arcade collectors and video game historians alike, the giants of arcade gaming have offered their thoughts on this must have history of Arcade gaming:

“Hearing the OG story is always fun. Going from nothing to something feels a bit like magic, and Paul has captured that magic in all these stories.”  Nolan Bushnell, Founder of Atari.

“A very well researched account of how a new industry was created.” Al Alcorn, creator of Pong.

"Hear how legendary digital alchemists turned a blank screen into videogame gold, all in their own words.” Eugene Jarvis, creator of Defender and Robotron.

"Relive the stories behind our favourite games, together in one place." Ed Logg, creator of Asteroids and Gauntlet.

Printed on high-quality paper, thread-sewn binding and with each copy shrink-wrapped, The Arcade 1971-1999 features a hardback cover with a foil blocked illustration, and inside readers are treated to a series of arcade cabinet illustrations by artist Adam Rufino. 

The Arcade 1971-1999 is available for global purchase now for an MSRP of £34.99 / $48.00 / €41,95.

For more information and to register your interest, please visit Bitmap Books:

• https://www.bitmapbooks.com/products/the-arcade-1971-1999-the-stories-behind-classic-coin-ops-told-by-their-creators

Specifications:

408 pages. 250mm × 250mm. Gold foil blocked cover. Edge-to-edge high quality lithographic print. Hardback. Sewn binding for enduring quality and the ability to lay flat for ideal double-page image viewing. Shrink-wrapped. Free PDF for viewing on the go (when purchased at www.bitmapbooks.com).

Includes Contributions From:

Abiko, Akira Fujita, Akira Nishitani, Akira ‘Akiman’ Yasuda, Al Alcorn, Alan Gray, Alan McNeil, Andy Walker, Betty Ryan, Bill Adams, Bob Flanagan, Brian Colin, Dave Sherman, Dave Staugas, Dave Theurer, Dave Thiel , Dennis Harper, Doug Macrae, Ed Logg, Ed Rotberg, Eric Ginner, Frank Gasking, Franz Lanzinger, Fukio ‘MTJ’ Mitsuji, Gary Goldman, Gary Vincent, George Gomez, Hirohisa Komanome, Hiroshi ‘Hiro’ Kawaguchi, Hiroshi ‘Onijust’ Tsujino, Hiroyasu Machiguchi, Hisao Oguchi, Howell Ivy, Jack Haeger, Jamie Fenton, Jeff Lee, John Newcomer, John Ray, John Salwitz, John Szczepaniak, John Tobias, Jonathan Hurd, Kazuma Kujo, Kazunori Sawano, Kenichi Yokoh, Kenji Kataoka, Kenzo Tsujimoto, Kevin Bayliss, Koji Mitsunaga, Koji Obata, Kouichi Yotsui, Larry DeMar, Lyle Rains, Makoto Uchida, Mark Pierce, Mark Turmell, Martyn Carroll, Masaaki Kukino, Masamoto Morita, Masanobu Endou, Matt Householder, Michitaka Tsuruta, Mike Hally, Minoru Kanari, Nolan Bushnell, Owen Rubin, Peter Robinson, Professor Yoshihiro Kishimoto, Robert Weatherby, Ron Milner, Roy Ozaki, Ryuichi Nishizawa, Scott Morrison, Scott Tsumura, Seiichi Nakakuki, Shigeru Yokoyama, Shinichiro Okamoto, Steve Mayer, Steve Wozniak, Takashi Oda, Takeki Nakamura, Tim Skelly, Tokuro Fujiwara, Tomohiro Nishikado, Toru Iwatani, Toshihiro Nagoshi, Toshinobu Komazawa, Warren Davis, Wendi Allen, Yasuhiko Tanaka, Yoshihiko Ota, Yoshihisa Kishimoto, Yoshiki Ooka, Youji Ishii, Yu Suzuki, Yutaka Kounoe, Yutaka Sugano.

Games Featured:

1942, 720°, After Burner, Altered Beast, Area 51, Arkanoid, Asteroid, Asteroids, Battle Garegga, Battlezone, Berzerk, Bomb Jack, Breakout, Bubble Bobble, Cannon Dancer, Canyon Bomber, CarnEvil, Centipede, Chiller, Circus, Computer Space, Cruis’n USA, Crystal Castles, Dance Dance Revolution, Darius, Daytona USA, Death Race, Defender, Die Hard Arcade, Dominos, Donkey Kong, Double Dragon, Dragon’s Lair, Fantasy Zone, Final Fight, Food Fight, Gain Ground, Galaga, Galaxian, Gauntlet, Ghouls ’n Ghosts, Gorf, Gotcha, Gradius, Gran Trak 10, Gun Fight, House of the Dead, Hunchback, I, Robot, Ikari Warriors, In the Hunt, Joust, Killer Instinct, Klax, Krull, Kung-Fu Master, Lunar Lander, Major Havoc, Marble Madness, Marvel vs. Capcom, Metal Slug, Missile Command, Monaco GP, Moon Patrol, Mortal Kombat, Ms. Pac-Man, NARC, NBA Jam, NHL Open Ice, Out Run, Pac-Land, Pac-Man, Paperboy, Pit-Fighter, Point Blank, Pole Position, Pong, Primal Rage, Puzzle Bobble, Q*bert, Quantum, Qwak!, R-Type, Raiden, Rainbow Islands, Rampage, Rampart, Return of the Jedi, RoadBlasters, Robotron: 2084, S.T.U.N. Runner, San Francisco Rush, Satan’s Hollow, Shinobi, Silent Scope, Sinistar, Smash T.V., Solomon’s Key, SoulCalibur, Space Harrier, Space Invaders, Spy Hunter, Star Wars, Street Fighter II, Strider, Super Bug, Tank, Tapper, Tekken, Tempest, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Tetris, The Pit, The Tower of Druaga, Tron, Venture, Warrior, Wonder Boy, Xevious, Zaxxon.

About Bitmap Books:

Founded in 2014 by Sam Dyer, Bitmap Books is a design-led publisher dedicated to producing the highest quality, most visually splendid gaming books ever produced. Renowned for their attention to detail and collaboration with influential outfits, like SEGA, SNK and Atari, as well as industry veterans, including: Mark Cerny, creator of Marble Madness and chief architect of the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, legendary developer siblings Ste and John Pickford, point-and-click trailblazers Tim Schafer and Ron Gilbert, esteemed SNK producer Yasuyuki Oda, and many more, Bitmap Books celebrates the software, hardware, developers, and studios that shaped the games industry and is committed to preserving and sharing the rich history of video games through exceptional design and storytelling. For more information, please visit: https://www.bitmapbooks.com/pages/our-story

Article by: Susan N.

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Nivalis Nights - PC Review

Nivalis Nights by developer ION LANDS and publisher 505 Games—PC (Steam) review written by Mike with a copy provided by the publisher. 

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes 

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“Anyone can paint garbage, it takes true Artistry to paint garbage beautifully”

Nivalis Nights is an experience that gives a strong sense of what a talented team of visionary minds can create. Nivalis Nights crafts a living breathing painting of neon basked splendor with a futuristic new art style of game that is both beautiful and urban futuristic.

Nivalis Nights is a slice-of-life simulation set in the cyberpunk city of Nivalis where you will spend time growing your future business. Your story begins with you waking up in Lowtown, traveling to Meridian Market sector and taking over "Ramen Noir" from Thaddeus the old owner. He hands over the business to you happily, along with the debt attached to the business. After meeting your first and only employee, Banor, you start setting up the seating area, shopping for ingredients, furniture, and adding to your overall menu thereby increasing the quality, comfort and popularity of your Noodle Bar.

AVA, a digital automata assistant communicates frequently with the player to steer them in the right direction when all seems lost, or new information needs addressing. Conversing with certain residents and customers can lead to a pleasant outcome of improving your reputation with the locals.

As you begin to collect staff and ingredients in order to begin your management of this restaurant, recipes will need to be learned by word of mouth with the city's citizens and rival food vendors. It doesn't just stop there, though. You also need to buy tables and chairs. Purchasing machines, such as a drink machine, food chopper, extra stoves, and various other upgrades will keep you wanting to return to make the noodle bar of your dreams.

I started exploring off to the side after a few shifts and discovered the docks. After talking it up with a few locals, they handed me a boat. Different areas on the water presents optimal fishing locations for different varieties of fish. There are also Loot zones that allow the player to fish up treasures such as Jewelry, Garbage, or even ancient technology scrap to sell off. A fishing rod is a great way to make easy cash when the restaurant is running low on funds.

So not only am I chasing fish, I'm also chasing profit at the restaurant. Once you hire a manager as well as wait staff and another cook you can start to accumulate a far greater profit. Things become less stressful with more cash flow. Be cautious on giving the staff a raise right away though, if you don't have enough money to pay them, they might not return and just outright quit.

The city is filled with Neon lights and massive mega structures housing the citizens, their personalities ranging far and wide. I found myself discussing with a social influencer whether her band deserves a 10% discount at my restaurant. The next moment I was running dirty mugs to the sink to ensure the area of operation remained clean and tidy.

There's danger in the town though. Due to a serial killer stalking the regions, a curfew is put into place, so time management is a key factor in running your potential enterprises. Yes that is a plural. You have a large list of potential shops to purchase in the many outer areas as you grow your monopoly on the major sector. Many NPC's are wandering the environments, allowing for a living breathing city utopia filled with citizens. I found myself often times looking at every moment of this game exuding a picturesque beauty with the smallest details taken into account in a successful immersive environment.

I did find myself at times a bit overwhelmed with the number of side quests and objectives flowing in at me in the beginning of the game. Discovering how to manage and multitask will ease off any stress this may present. It seems every single patron that has something to say has a want or need of your assistance. Being a people pleaser will have you charming the masses by offering restaurant discounts, pleasant conversation or appealing to the persons better nature. You must also keep in mind to keep the rent paid on your apartment or you might encounter an early eviction or a visit from the landlord. There is a loan shark that can help you with a bit of interest, but I have a belief that if the player avoids taking out loans, it might save them additional pressure for their business's success. The interest may just outweigh the earnings. 

Everything from the user interface to the controls is very clean and feels natural. The team clearly put a lot of time and effort, as well as energy, love, and care in crafting this wonderful experience. The animated skyline of the mega structure apartments and skyscrapers dance with light amid the sorrowful and downtrodden street life bustling below. Contrast is a key player in this moving painting of a city. The musical score is a fine blend of synth-wave mixed into an ambient saturated living world. The game comes with a Photo Mode as well, allowing the player to admire and explore the areas highs and lows in leisure without losing valuable money-making hours in game. If you are not a big fan of Store management, gardening, fishing or exploring, this title is still a great addition to anyone's game collection for the presentation and delivery of this polished creation.

Controls: 9/10 - Managing staff, keeping track of social influence, adjusting menu item costs and movement feel proper and flow nicely. Collision with NPCs is non-existent and it works well with the flow of the games population.

Audio: 9/10 - The music and sound effects are placed accordingly further saturating the player into the environments and overall emotion breathed into this game. Spending hours with the music playing in the background and never noticing time flow away fluidly is a true skill in musical arts.

Graphics: 9/10 -  A voxel graphics style captures a spectacular presentation of this game that every scene is meticulously made with time and care. A UI interface clean and organized that takes little to no hand holding.

Overall I personally could count this as a top 5 contender for game of the year in 2026. The team has been hammering away at this title for a while and the end resulting presentation is well worth the wait.

Score: 9 / 10

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Don't Fling Your Friends off the Edge in Upcoming 2 Player Co-op Platformer!

October 6th, 2026 | OFF BOX Studios today released a new gameplay trailer for FLING UP TOGETHER, the upcoming 2-player co-op physics platformer built around a single rope tying two friends together. A free demo is available now on Steam.

Two players are bound by one rope, pulling and flinging each other up a vertical world of sky islands, floating ruins and monumental bridges. There's no climbing alone and one player's fall undoes the whole team's progress, exactly what the new trailer puts front and centre.

Where most co-op climbers link players with a passive chain, FLING UP TOGETHER makes the rope an active tool: launch a teammate across a gap, catch them mid-fall, or doom the run with one bad pull. Anyone can pull at any moment, so every rescue and every disaster has an author and every session becomes its own story of communication, blame and shared triumph.

"We wanted a co-op that you can't autopilot through. The rope means you're never just playing next to someone, you're constantly deciding their fate and they're deciding yours. That's where all the shouting and the laughing comes from," said Ammar at OFF BOX Studios.

Colour-coded platforms push the teamwork further. Each player can only stand on platforms matching their colour, so one player opens a route and then has to physically haul the other across it with the rope.

A single run swings between careful coordination and total collapse. One minute you're timing a fling perfectly, the next someone mistimes a pull and you're both watching the climb undo itself. Every session ends up somewhere between a team victory and a shared disaster and never plays out the same way twice.

Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3986580/FLING_UP_TOGETHER/

KEY FEATURES

• Rope-and-fling mechanic: Pull the rope to launch your partner across gaps or catch them mid-fall, or accidentally ruin the whole run. Every success and every disaster has an author.
• Forced interdependence: No solo progress, no separate checkpoints, one fall that resets everyone. Tension, communication and payoff, manufactured automatically.
• Color-coded co-op puzzles: Each player can only stand on platforms of their colour, forcing constant coordination beyond the rope.
• Comedy through failure: Ragdoll physics, silly characters and moving obstacles keep every mistake funny rather than punishing, built to be watched as much as played.

AVAILABILITY

FLING UP TOGETHER is coming to Steam. A free demo is available now, so co-op and party-game fans can jump into the chaos before launch and wishlist the game today.

Play the Demo: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3986580/FLING_UP_TOGETHER

About OFF BOX Studios

OFF BOX Studios is a small independent game studio, recently selected for NEOM's Level Up gaming accelerator. FLING UP TOGETHER is their debut title.

Article by: Susan N.

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Fallen Tear: The Ascension - PC Review

Fallen Tear: The Ascension by developer and publisher CMD Studios and publisher Holysoft GmbH—PC(Steam) review written by Richard with a copy provided by the publisher. 

Estimated reading time: 15 minutes 

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Welcome to an adventure across the land of Raoah! Help guide Hira on this metroidvania quest across a land that is being choked by corruption. Can you help Hira return peace to Raoah with the help of the companions he meets along the way, or will the world fall into desolation? Only you can help out in Fallen Tear: The Ascension!

Fallen Tear is a beautifully crafted metroidvania title filled with a lot of character. From pretty graphics to solid soundtracks, it’s obvious that a fair amount of care was put into Fallen Tear. Fallen Tear has an interesting combat system directed by how you assign upgrades. It also features a fairly unique bond system where you can bring different allies with you to provide both passive and active effects. Combine these two and there’s a lot of customization for your combat and exploration.

Let’s start out talking about the world of Raoah and our protagonist: Hira. Hira has grown up in a small village with his mother and brother. One day, when he is taking the test to become a hunter, a profession of monster slayers, his town is attacked by demons. Hira then comes across a woman named Runa who tells Hira his fate is to seek the gods to ask them for answers to his questions. Needless to say he has to reach them first, which is easier said than done.

As a metroidvania title, Fallen Tear is very exploration heavy, and there are a number of abilities and upgrades to earn to help you reach new places, as well as one of the better systems to incentivize exploration. Ability upgrades are primarily earned through Ascension skills. These skills can be earned by exchanging points in your main hub area. When you first check out the upgrades you can select between different moves. I’d suggest unlocking from left to right if you aren’t confident in your abilities, but you can choose whichever you wish. As you get more points you’ll be able to unlock more abilities. These points are earned every time you meet a new companion and recruit them to your cause.

Now is when I’d like to introduce you to an interesting core mechanic of Fallen Tear: fated bonds. Basically, as you explore the world of Raoah, you’ll come across NPCs who you can ask to help you out. Sometimes you just need to ask, and sometimes they have a task for you to fulfill. Once recruited they show up in the Temple of Oras, your de facto base of operations, and you can bring them along with you on your journey. Each time you recruit someone to your cause you earn one of those points needed for ascension skills.

But that isn’t all that they’re useful for! See you can equip up to three friends to bring with you. These friends can be swapped out at the fast travel nexus points, but they all have an active and passive affect. Active consumes SP and will generally be a form of attack to enemies nearby, while the passive effect can be a number of different things, some helping with exploration. I will bring your attention to my favourite partner: Altapi. Her active skill is really useful in combat, which I will cover a little later, but her other abilities light up dark locations (yes you’ll definitely want that) and you will have a glowing pulse when near a hidden passage. Super useful for exploration, and competent in battle is a great combo. Some other characters may give you stat boosts or an increase to damage from certain attack types.

Bonds can also be upgraded, improving the bonus from their passive and permanent abilities as well as increasing the damage of their active skill, or the affect it has. Bond level increases are earned by hitting certain benchmarks for in-game goals. Some may be tied to map exploration and combat goals, some could be for acquiring a certain number of collectible items, visiting a set number of locations, or even one greedy bugger that just wants all your money. Once you meet the upgrade criteria you can fork over a grand in currency to upgrade their bond.

Fallen Tear gives you a lot of freedom with what you can do. Basically after the tutorial-like areas you’re told “here are your main goals, now go do whatever while achieving those”. I often bounced between different areas while exploring and didn’t really go straight in one direction. I’d head left on the map and clear an area, then head back to the temple and go right and clear an area, maybe I’d go up on the map next. I think this is probably going to be a sticking point for some people, but you’re literally given free reign over what order and how you want to complete your tasks with very little direction other than knowing where the gods you are looking for are. You don’t HAVE to make it through the super rough area that you’re probably underequipped for, but you still probably can. You almost assuredly won’t be able to collect everything on your first go, but you can still get through the area.

A really handy thing they’ve done for exploration is the ability to take screenshots and attach them to your map as self made markers. They appear as little nodes and when you hover over them a picture appears. This is so incredibly useful for remembering areas of interest and what you needed to do there that I’m willing to overlook some of the other minor exploration hurdles in the game. I’ll warn you now, while I did thoroughly enjoy the environments and the exploration, it wasn’t always…super cohesive. I have a particular umbrage with the wind city. No, not the underwater segment surprisingly—that I didn’t hate—but the wind city of spinning blades of migraine inducing platforming certainly wasn’t great. So what is my issue you ask? Well, it turns out that the camera will sometimes zoom out to give you a better view, or move in a direction to help prepare you for future platforming. In an area where touching a spinning blade sends you back to the start of the platforming segment, you can imagine my frustration when the camera is too slow to keep up with you in a spinning blade maze. I literally had to time it and jump and dash off-screen and hope I made it. Was not amusing.

That being said there weren’t a whole lot of issues I came across that really dampened my playthrough other than this. There were a few camera issues here and there, and dropping down the stairs in Purist Isle is nigh impossible, but otherwise I found the majority of the platforming to be reasonable. There are a few areas that are rather sparse in fast travel points, so be aware that returning to certain places may be a little frustrating if you’re collecting everything like I did.

Speaking of collecting everything, you may be asking yourself “why would I want to do that?”. Well, turns out there’s actually a reason for you to explore everywhere, not just for completion sake. Hira has “tasks” assigned to him that are listed as “fated goals”. These goals include discovering certain landmarks, finding all the items of one type in an area, or defeating a set number of each individual monster type. Upon meeting these requirements, you can receive the rewards as a sort of point resource. This resource can then be spent on a skill tree for Hira called “Masteries”. There are four “tiers” of Masteries and each tier has six common masteries and two “capstone” masteries. You can have three common and one capstone mastery equipped per tier and they all provide different effects, as well as permanent unlock bonuses. They can be mixed and matched to suit your playstyle and swapped out whenever you need. For example, generally speaking the six common masteries would include two attack based ones, two defense based ones, and two ‘other’ ones that are usually some sort of supporting effect. Similarly the capstones tend to be either offensive or defensive focused. Going up a tier requires purchasing the current tier Masteries. While I’m not certain on the particular requirements, unlocking three common Masteries and a capstone was enough for me to unlock the next tier.

I’ve talked a lot about exploration and upgrading abilities, both exploration based and combat based, but I haven’t talked about the actual combat yet. Combat is, for the most part, pretty dang smooth. You have your standard combo hits, a dodge, and a counter as your basic moves to get you started. A counter is performed by dodging an attack at the last second and then attacking. Both enemies and you have a guard gauge, and depleting it causes a stun effect and increased damage on that target. For bosses, they regain their guard gauge after recovering from the stun but most small enemies do not. You have a souls-like healing mechanic that is based on mana rather than set uses, and you regain mana through hitting an opponent or countering attacks.

Mana is also used to summon the teammates you brought along to do their attacks. By exchanging enough blows with enemies you can also build up a sort of super move that summons all your equipped teammates to attack in front of you. This attack also slows down time while being used so enemies don’t move out of range…usually. The last boss and one particular boss is a little egregious for this, but by the time you fight either of them chances are you’ll be overpowered enough not to really care other than mere annoyance. In addition to this, You can also parry most enemy attacks by attacking them at the same time they attack you, but there are a decent number of unparry-able attacks, so take that at your own discretion. A cool thing to note is that any Ascension skills acquired after the first three can also be used in combat. Furthermore, you can customize these skills with certain unlocks you get, but how you get them is a little spoiler-y, so I’ll let you discover how on your own.

Getting in fights is a weirdly diverse feeling, as common enemies, bosses, and the routine gauntlet challenges you come across all feel very different. For normal monsters you can usually get them by themselves or as a group of two, and you can use the terrain to your advantage. It’s always a good idea to practice the dodge and parry on the enemies the first time you see them. The reason for this is that there are numerous gauntlet challenge “rooms” you usually have to go through. As the name implies, these gauntlet rooms require you to beat a number of enemies before being able to leave, and this is almost always in flat ground rectangle rooms where you can’t hide or use the terrain to protect yourself. While I understand most people tend not to be fans of this, I actually like the gauntlet style rooms because it feels like a little bit of spice added to the combat every so often. Bosses tend to have unique mechanics or aspects to their fights and will usually throw some pretty interesting attacks your way. Breaking their guard to get the big damage in is always a good idea, but figuring out when to heal and when to be less aggressive is also important. While some bosses are basically just larger versions of smaller enemies, none of them felt particularly stale to me. Other than the one bonus boss in Lilac Mire and the last boss I didn’t have too difficult a time playing on normal difficulty, but your experience will change based on your normal playstyle, whether you’ve been exchanging the collectibles for health/mana/damage upgrades, and your Mastery and teammate load out.

While you’re out and about, or even in combat, there is a world mechanic that is a Blood Moon. During this period monsters become much tougher, demons can spawn in, but enemies drop a lot more money. Resting at a camp or fast travel point ends the Blood Moon, so you can always “turn it off” if you’re struggling. Fair warning, a blood moon can happen during a gauntlet challenge, so halfway through if the enemies get super tough you know why. Contrary to what you may hear, there is actually a plot relevant reason for the Blood Moon, and I don’t actually hate the mechanic. It’s easy enough to end if you aren’t confident in exploring while it’s going on. It increases money generation while it’s happening, and it spices things up if you’re re-exploring areas for collectibles.

So let’s talk a bit about the aesthetic design here. I absolutely love the visual design taken for Fallen Tear. The animations on characters and enemies seem well thought out, the background designs are really great and are unique to each area you visit, and the NPC character designs all have their own individuality. Couple this with a very well fitting soundtrack that accompanies the theme for the area you are exploring without being either overshadowed or obtrusive and you have a great package to present Fallen Tear. Hidden areas are reasonably indicated by differences in design that are subtle enough to be tricky but not so invisible you need a guide. A cool design choice involves the use of foreground art. There can be creatures moving in either the background or foreground to give a dynamic feeling, and whenever you pass behind something that would obscure your vision it goes see-through so you’re never left in a bad spot.

Area design is also mostly really good. One of the few underwater segments I didn’t hate in a game, and there were only three areas that really caused me grief, one of which was reasonable enough to give a shortcut once completed, and wasn’t too awful to begin with. The Golem Ruins and Zapana were quite rough however. Golem Ruins could really do with an unlockable shortcut after the “dark room you need to push switches in” but was otherwise rather reasonable for the nature of the area, at least comparing it to similar styled areas in other games. I’ve already outlined my frustration with Zapana’s spinning blades and camera, but you also need to make sure your computer doesn’t lag in this area. While I admittedly played this on an older machine, I did have some stuttering which caused me to restart a platforming section because I touched the blades. That being said, almost every game I’ve played, especially metroidvanias, tend to have a few zones that are awful to get through. Sometimes this is due to challenge, sometimes it’s developer oversight, but it’s really rare to find games without them. Fallen Tear’s case is fairly tame compared to some other titles out there, and the developers are very open to feedback so it might not even be as bad when you play.

As a pre-closing segment before we wrap up here, I would like to be clear that the game is currently experiencing some glitches and issues here and there, and there is a FREE DLC planned for the future that expands the world story. My personal issues apart from the lag in Zapana include: 

• crashing when viewing the tutorial for enhancing the Ascension skill that happens after a certain boss fight, 
• being unable to upgrade a particular teammates bond because their dialogue for the final boss overrides the option, 
• and not playing a cutscene after beating the last boss. 

Thankfully I ended up joining the game’s Discord and could see the final cutscene that way, but I do hope this gets fixed in the next major patch. I would also like to say that the game felt a little lacking in terms of the NPC teammates and their stories. I realize it’s tough getting 20+ different fully fleshed out character arcs into a game like this, especially since doing that for every character would also feel like a drag on the player as well, but a little more into all their backgrounds and such would be really nice to see. 

Furthermore, the game ends on a really weird note. It feels like there is more that was supposed to be there, but stops just shy of reaching the real conclusion. It’s kind of like getting to the final area of an RPG, beating the miniboss at the halfway point, and then the game says “ok, we’re done”. Maybe this is meant to be addressed in the free DLC planned, or maybe it’s supposed to be set up for a planned sequel, but it does end on a bit of an anticlimax. Still better than ending poorly, but it did leave me feeling a little disappointed. Good news though is that the devs are super active in the discord and steam discussion threads and are looking into all the issues and suggestions players are sending them. Chances are by the time you read this review many of the issues others have had will have been resolved.

In conclusion, Fallen Tear: The Ascension is a lovingly crafted metroidvania with rewarding exploration, plenty of unique biomes, a colourful cast of characters, and some pretty fluid combat. While there are a few issues currently being worked through, and the storyline does feel a little lacking or incomplete at times, you can still be drawn in to a fantastically crafted world both visually and auditorily. Despite a few hiccups here and there, Fallen Tear: The Ascension is definitely on my list for recommended metroidvanias. 

 

Score: 9 / 10

 

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Sci-fi Survival Adventure ATMOSFAR Launches into Early Access on October 29th!

Tokyo, Japan – October 7, 2026 | Take off for an interstellar adventure set among the skies of a remote alien planet in ATMOSFAR, a sky-high sci-fi survival adventure launching into Early Access on Steam and Epic Games Store on October 29th.

Uncover the fate of humanity’s furthest outpost in an aerial odyssey set high among the clouds of Tycos. Pilot a fleet of flying vessels and master intuitive physics-based flight mechanics in a survival adventure that combines aerial exploration with resource management, mobile base-building, and ground-based expeditions. 

Soar across the horizons of a distant alien world, discovering uncharted islands as a solo adventurer or navigating the planet with friends in 2-4 player online co-op. Deploy a mobile camp with the Utility Wasp, airlift heavy scrap with the Hauler Wasp, and soar the skies at speed with the Fighter Wasp. 

Discover new lands, expand your camp, and scavenge resources to survive. Take command of the Cloud Cruiser, your colossal, fully customisable airbase, and discover new technologies to soar into unexplored territory. Explore and survive diverse biomes across Tycos, encountering extraterrestrial flora and fauna, and enduring turbulent thunderstorms, ferocious jetstreams, and extreme weather phenomena.

“We’re so excited for players to discover the world of ATMOSFAR this October,” said Olof Kindblad, Head of Studio at Apog Labs. “We have huge ambitions for ATMOSFAR to become a survival adventure that stands proudly alongside other greats in the genre, and our Early Access launch on October 29th marks an astronomical step in our journey towards 1.0. Whether taking off as a solo adventurer or squadding up with players in online co-op, we can’t wait for players to take flight among the clouds of Tycos later this month.”

Add ATMOSFAR to your Steam Wishlist today and prepare for take off on October 29th. For the latest info, follow ATMOSFAR on TikTok, YouTube, Bluesky, Instagram, and X, join the community on Discord, and visit the official ATMOSFAR website.

About Apog Labs

Apog Labs is a growing indie studio situated in Malmö, Sweden, and are the developers of ATMOSFAR, a sky-high odyssey. The studio previously developed Airport CEO, the world's biggest airport tycoon game.

About Shueisha Games

Shueisha Games, founded in February 2022 and headquartered in Tokyo, is an enthusiastic and experienced team responsible for the planning, development, and sales of many titles for consoles, PCs, and smartphones.

| Shueisha website | X (Twitter) | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube |

Article by: Susan N.

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Serafini Productions Presents BrokenLore Miki-Chan Headed to Console and PC in January 2027

October 7, 2026 | Tokyo-based horror publisher Serafini Productions and Singapore-based publisher Soft Source announced that BrokenLore: ASCEND, a first-person psychological horror game set on an officially licensed recreation of Tokyo Tower, will launch on January 7, 2027 for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. The news also brings attention to BrokenLore: MIKI-CHAN, the next chapter of the BrokenLore series, revealed last week.

In BrokenLore: ASCEND, players follow Ren and Yui, two rooftop climbers who live for views and likes on their channel, SKYLIMIT. Looking for the stunt that will top everything they have done before, they sneak into Elysium Tower, the tallest building in Japan, for a forbidden climb at night. Halfway up, the stunt turns into a fight to survive.

In the game, Tokyo Tower becomes Elysium Tower, the tallest building in Japan. Something is waiting on its steel beams: the Rokurokubi, a yōkai from Japanese folklore who looks like an ordinary woman until her neck starts to stretch and twist like a snake.

Every step counts. Players climb along exposed ledges, stay out of the Rokurokubi's sight and think through each move before they make it. For Ren and Yui, a fall is not only the end of the climb. It is the end of the fame and attention they have built their whole identity around.

KEY FEATURES

• First-Person Free Climbing: Hold on to ledges and beams high above the city. One careless move and the climb is over.
• Stealth on the Edge: Hide from the Rokurokubi as she hunts you across the tower, with nowhere to run.
• Fear of Heights: Height, wind and darkness turn the climb itself into a source of fear.
• A Real Tokyo Landmark: An officially licensed Tokyo Tower, reimagined as the cursed Elysium Tower.
• Part of the BrokenLore Saga: A standalone story that also adds new pieces to the wider BrokenLore universe.

AVAILABILITY

BrokenLore: ASCEND launches on January 7, 2027, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Players can wishlist the game today.

• Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4051470/BrokenLore_ASCEND
• PlayStation Store: store.playstation.com/en-us/concept/10016943
• Epic Games Store: store.epicgames.com/p/brokenlore-ascend-3a6cd3

ALSO FROM BROKENLORE: MIKI-CHAN

Revealed last week, BrokenLore: MIKI-CHAN is a first-person psychological horror game set in a Japanese high school, coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S and PC. Kazuaki is a student preparing for a tough university entrance exam. When he plugs in a mysterious thumb drive, he finds a study program and MIKI-CHAN, a cheerful AI anime assistant who promises to help him succeed. Soon she becomes jealous and possessive. The world around Kazuaki starts to fall apart. His only way through is the Rewriter, a strange tool that can change the reality of the simulation.

Players may recognize MIKI-CHAN from BrokenLore: DON'T LIE, where she first appeared as a helpful AI companion. Her own game shows a much darker side of her and explores trust, emotional dependence and our relationship with AI.

• Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/3975870/BrokenLore_MIKICHAN
• PlayStation Store: store.playstation.com/concept/10018738
• Epic Games Store: store.epicgames.com/p/brokenlore-miki-chan-177d32

About Serafini Productions

Serafini Productions is a video game studio based in Tokyo, founded in 2022. The studio focuses on narrative-driven horror experiences with a strong emphasis on atmosphere and character psychology. Its main saga is BrokenLore, a series of interconnected horror games that explore contemporary themes and social issues. Each chapter features a different story and style while contributing to a shared narrative universe.

serafiniproductions.com

About Soft Source

Soft Source is a game publisher based in Singapore. With a penchant for home-grown, Southeast Asian titles, we’re just excited to work on bringing engaging games with standout, stylized visuals to life.

softsourcepublishing.com

Article by: Susan N.

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The Final Instalment of Philosophical Puzzle Game Series The Talos Principle Slated for 2027 Release!

Austin, TX (Oct. 8, 2026) | Croteam and Devolver Digital have revealed the first gameplay of The Talos Principle 3, the grand finale of their award-winning trilogy of philosophical puzzle games, ahead of its launch next year on PC and PlayStation 5. (https://store.steampowered.com/app/3703630/The_Talos_Principle_3/)

The Talos Principle 3 will take players beyond the infinite to dozens of new worlds, each with their own unique stories, puzzles, and characters – some of which you can get an early glimpse of in this new gameplay, revealed at the Triple-I Initiative showcase (Trailer below). 

As if awakening from a troubled sleep, you find yourself in a strange, contradictory world of crumbling temples and abandoned science outposts: the Anomaly, the only place in the universe where the laws of physics don't work as they should. Your memories are fragmented, but you know you came here for a reason.

Tasked with solving a series of increasingly complex puzzles, you will relive your life as an explorer, and with it, the history of the world that humanity built. Some say the Anomaly is Heaven. Some say it’s Hell. All that’s certain is that judgement awaits.

Mind-bending new puzzle gameplay systems, radical new environments, and a truly epic generation-spanning story await. Visit thetalosprinciple.com for more information.

Article by: Susan N.

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Amazing Lineup for SAGA Barcelona 2026 Beginning on October 9th!

Barcelona, ​​October 6, 2026 | SAGA Barcelona Game Fest (2025 after movie, press kit, website) will hold its inaugural edition from October 9 to 11 at Fira Barcelona Montjuïc venue, featuring a lineup that combines the presence of major international companies and leading creative talent with an extensive professional program designed to generate new business, funding and collaboration opportunities for the video game industry.

Japan will be the event's guest country, reinforcing its international scope across various areas. A key highlight will be the presence of Nintendo, which will host an official booth to showcase its latest releases to the attendees.

The Japanese presence will also feature a significant cultural component, with the participation of Miki Higashino and Manami Matsumae, two composers who have played pivotal roles in video game history. Higashino is renowned for her work on Konami soundtracks such as Suikoden, Gradius, and the early Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles titles, while Matsumae created the original music for Capcom’s Mega Man and Final Fight and later collaborated on titles like Shovel Knight. Both composers will take part in interviews and meet-and-greet sessions during the festival.

A professional zone featuring 29 publishers and a strong international presence

A key feature of SAGA Barcelona Game Fest will be its professional zone, bringing together 29 publishers—22 of them international—thereby ensuring broad representation from various markets within the global industry.

The participating international companies hail from countries such as Japan, the United Kingdom, France, the United States, Germany, Poland, Sweden, Norway, and Finland, among others. The lineup includes companies such as 11 bit studios, Bandai, Bandai Namco, Bright Gambit, Curve Games, Devolver Digital, Fireshine Games, Focus Entertainment, Forklift, Funcom, Game Dev Fund, Green Man Gaming, Joystick Ventures, Kepler Interactive, Marvelous!, Maximum Entertainment, New Tales, Serenity Forge, Super Rare Games, The Yogscast, Untold Tales, and WINGS Interactive.

 

This lineup is rounded out by seven Spanish publishers: Entalto Publishing, Erebor, Hidden Trap, JanduSoft, Kando Factory, Meridiem Games, and Tesura Games.

This mix will enable participating studios to connect directly with publishers from diverse markets and backgrounds, creating opportunities for project publishing, financing, distribution, and international expansion. International companies account for over 75% of the participating publishers, marking a cornerstone of SAGA’s commitment to linking the Spanish ecosystem with the global industry.

MeetToMatch and 1500 Business Meetings

The event's professional networking will be powered by MeetToMatch, an international platform facilitating 1-on-1 meetings between developers, publishers, investors, and distributors. With nearly 400 participants and 350 meetings already booked, the goal is to reach 1,500 business sessions across the three-day event to drive international deals and partnerships.

Larian Games, Funding, and Independent Development

SAGA Barcelona Game Fest focuses on emerging development through "Mentorships for the future", a program sponsored by Larian Games pairing indie teams with experienced mentors. Additional highlights include pitch and investment sessions coordinated with Madrid In Game, funding support from WINGS Interactive for women-led projects, and the IndieDevDay Awards recognizing excellence in art, design, narrative, and tech.

Japan and New Perspectives in Gaming Culture

Beyond Nintendo and composers Miki Higashino and Manami Matsumae, the cultural program features Tokyo’s My Famicase Exhibition with 250 artist-illustrated cartridges, interactive installations from the Glitch Collection, and live entertainment like a musical performance by Elesky and a soundtrack trivia contest.

Barcelona as a Meeting Point for the Global Industry

Networking extends beyond Fira Barcelona through off-site events, including a Scopely-hosted gathering, a Devolver Digital meetup, an ICEX women in gaming cocktail session, and an after-party co-hosted by Brainwash Gang and Raw Fury to connect international delegates with the local ecosystem.

14,000 m² Dedicated to Gaming and Entertainment

Spanning Fira Barcelona Montjuïc, the public area offers over 200 indie games, 150 retro arcades, esports tournaments, VR experiences, and simulators, positioning SAGA Barcelona Game Fest as a major bridge between the Spanish gaming ecosystem and the global industry.

Article by: Susan N.

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Frogwares Launches a Free Update for The Sinking City 2 with Over 150 Fixes

Kyiv, Ukraine – October 6, 2026 | Today Frogwares has released Update 1.1.0 for The Sinking City 2, bringing a major round of gameplay tweaks, new technical features and improvements, and over 150 fixes.

Alongside the update, the Steam demo is returning after the game's launch. This time, players can carry their save from the demo directly into the full game. Players on PlayStation Plus and Xbox can also try The Sinking City 2 through newly available trials.

Most notably, Update 1.1.0 adds changes and tweaks to certain combat encounters that some players found overwhelming, with fewer enemies and lighter wave compositions across several key fights.

We've been keeping a close eye on what players and reviewers have been saying since launch, and we wanted to act on that feedback. Update 1.1.0 tackles some of the biggest points we've seen raised, while also bringing features players have been asking for. - Sergiy Oganesyan, Publishing Director, Frogwares

Update 1.1.0 Notable Features

Combat and Encounter Rebalance

• Several encounters have been reworked to reduce enemy pressure and make fights more manageable without removing the challenge. Fewer enemies and lighter wave compositions have been introduced in the encounters players highlighted as particularly overwhelming, including those in “The Wake-Up Call,” “A Sight for Sore Eyes,” “Time and Tide,” and “Cold Comfort.”
• Explosive props have also been adjusted to read more clearly and cover more ground, giving players additional options when dealing with groups of enemies.

HDR, Including HDR10+

• HDR support has been added across all platforms, including HDR10+, allowing players with compatible displays to experience The Sinking City 2 with expanded contrast and a wider range of brightness.

AMD FSR 4.1.1 and NVIDIA DLSS Legacy Mode

• PC players can now find AMD FSR 4.1.1 among the available Video settings. A new Legacy mode has also been added for NVIDIA DLSS.

PS5 Pro Support with PSSR

• The Sinking City 2 now supports PlayStation 5 Pro, including PSSR. Quality Mode benefits from strand-based hair, improved Lumen lighting, and higher-quality reflections, while Performance Mode now renders at a higher internal resolution.

Ex Oblivione Reworked

• The game's post-completion mode, Ex Oblivione, has been reworked. Inventory slot and weapon upgrades now carry over, while Pure New Game has been added for players looking for a completely clean run after finishing the game.

Two New Free Outfits for Calvin

• Players can also unlock two new outfits for protagonist Calvin Rafferty: The Warlock and The King in Yellow.

Over 150 fixes and Improvements

Update 1.1.0 also includes more than 150 fixes and improvements covering performance, stability, puzzles, visuals and localization, addressing a wide range of issues reported by the community since launch.

Get Your First Taste of Arkham | Steam Demo + Trials

The Sinking City 2 Steam demo is officially returning alongside Update 1.1.0. Players who try the demo can now carry their save directly into the full game, allowing them to continue their progress if they decide to purchase.

Trials are also available on PlayStation Plus and Xbox, giving players additional ways to step into the flooded streets of Arkham to test the waters.

First Discounts for the Game

The launch of the update lines up with the game’s first official discount since launch and are available on all platforms:

PLAYSTATION 5

• 23 Sep - 7 Oct | 10% off (Standard edition)
• 7 Oct - 21 Oct | 15% off (Premium edition)

STEAM

• 1 Oct - 8 Oct | 20% off (All editions)
• 17 Oct - 31 Oct | 20% off (All editions, Steam Scream Festival)

XBOX X/S

• 29 Sep - 5 Oct | 20% off (Deluxe edition)
• 8 Oct - 14 Oct | 20% off (Standard edition)
• 22 Oct - 4 Nov | 20% off (Premium edition, Shocktober)

The Sinking City 2 is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

ABOUT FROGWARES

Founded in 2000, Frogwares is an independent game development studio based in Ukraine and Ireland. We are behind the Sherlock Holmes series and a Lovecraftian detective-horror game series, The Sinking City. Thanks to the work of our talented team of artists and programmers, our games are available for all major platforms, including PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Article by: Susan N.

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Serafini Productions Developing New Anime Survival Horror Game Coming Soon!

October 2, 2026 | Tokyo-based horror publisher Serafini Productions and Chilean independent studio Time Hunters announced Signal Veil, a third-person survival horror game with a strong focus on psychological terror, emotional storytelling and a 90s anime-inspired aesthetic. The game is in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. The reveal is accompanied by the game's first announcement trailer, offering a first look at the haunted halls that await players.

In Signal Veil, players take on the role of Aki Mizuno, a teenage girl whose mother vanishes without a trace, leaving behind one final gift: an old cellphone that reacts to spirits no one else can see. Inside the seemingly ordinary halls of Nishikawa High School, a series of disappearances begins to unfold. Through tense exploration, ritual-like encounters and an increasingly fragile mind, Aki must uncover a past buried under false memories and silence.

Visually, the game blends the tension of classic survival horror such as Resident Evil and Silent Hill with a 90s anime aesthetic inspired by psychological horror series like Another and Jujutsu Kaisen.

Nishikawa High School is a place where every hallway hides a threat and every resource counts. Medicine, ammo and mystical weapons are scarce, so each fight against the school's spirits demands strategy over brute force. Aki's sanity adds another layer. As her mind slips, the world around her shifts, enemies grow more unpredictable and her own fighting becomes more desperate.

KEY FEATURES

• Classic Fixed Camera: Explore tense environments with preset angles that limit vision and heighten suspense, inspired by Resident Evil and Silent Hill.
• Spiritual Phone: Detect supernatural entities through vibrations, static or distortions. Use the flash to stun and the camera to reveal hidden objects or imprints.
• Spiritual Purge: Enemies require ritual-like sequences: detect, provoke, stun, expose essence, then purge permanently.
• Limited Tactical Combat: Scarce ammo and improvised weapons. Each entity has unique behaviors, demanding observation, strategy and environmental exploitation.

AVAILABILITY

Signal Veil is currently in development for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Players can wishlist the game today and follow future updates as the secrets of Nishikawa High School come to light.

• Steam: store.steampowered.com/app/4528010/Signal_Veil
• PlayStation Store: store.playstation.com/concept/10020814
• Epic Games Store: store.epicgames.com/p/signal-veil-80c9fe

About Serafini Productions

Founded in 2022, Serafini Productions is a video game publisher and studio based in Tokyo, Japan. The company focuses on publishing, developing, and bringing distinctive titles to PC and consoles, working with developers and partners in Japan and internationally.

Serafini Productions is also the creator and publisher of the BrokenLore franchise, an expanding series of interconnected psychological horror games exploring human fears, trauma, and contemporary social themes.

For more information, visit the official website: serafiniproductions.com

Article by: Susan N.

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Become an Unstoppable Battlemage to Defeat the Necromancer King in Legion Breaker

October 1st, 2026 | Independent solo developer Baffled Engineer (Alfred Baley) and publisher Level Up Gaming are proud to announce that Legion Breaker, a 2D Incremental auto-battler with army building mechanics inspired by Mount and Blade and Total War and the visuals of Kingdom, is launching on Steam this October 13. The players control a novice wizard to become an unstoppable battlemage and defeat the Necromancer King and his army. Defeat skeletons, earn gold, unlock new spells across a massive skill tree and recruit a holy army. Each upgrade makes your wizard and troops stronger as the battlefields become larger and more dangerous.

Legion Breaker drops players into a losing fight against the undead legions of the Necromancer King. Starting with a single spell and a single defender, players cast, summon, and upgrade their way from a lone wizard into the commander of a full holy army, holding the line across battlefields that grow larger and more chaotic with every wave. Every victory feeds a deep skill tree, letting players shape their own path through elemental spell arsenals, distinct troop compositions, and build styles that change how each battle plays out. Boss fights punctuate the climb, testing whatever army players have built by that point.

Key Features

• Command a Growing Army: Start with one spell and one defender, and build toward a full holy army capable of holding the line.
• Army Progression: Recruit and strengthen troops that will fight beside your wizard.
• Massive-Scale Battles: Fight across battlefields that expand with every wave, filling the screen with enemies and allies alike.
• A Deep Skill Tree: Shape your own build through spell arsenals, troop compositions, and upgrade paths.
• Boss Encounters: Face powerful bosses that put your growing army to the test.
• Complete campaign: grow from a novice wizard into the ultimate battlemage.

About Baffled Engineer

Built by a solo UK developer, Alfred Baley (Baffled Engineer), with active devlogs shaping development in the open. Baley has been making and designing games all his life but Legion Breaker will be his first commercially released game.

Article by: Susan N.

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Dinosaur Polo Club Launches Merlion's Marina Free Update!

Mini Motorways, the award-winning minimalist strategy traffic management sim with more than nine million players from Dinosaur Polo Club, puts the player in charge of Singapore’s traffic flow on Apple Arcade, PC and Mac via Steam, in addition to Nintendo Switch, in the free ‘Merlion’s Marina’ update launching today at 3:00 pm: PT.

Dinosaur Polo Club is a studio proud to be from Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Wellington, Aotearoa, New Zealand. This update introduces New Zealand’s indigenous language, Te Reo Māori, to the game!

Chosen via a community vote in May, Mini Motorways now weaves through lush landscapes and glistening waterways in the cultural melting pot of Singapore.

Orchestrate elaborate urban road networks for 6.1 million residents as they travel through the sustainable city center, down Orchard Road through Pagoda Street, across the tranquil Singapore River, and into the famous Marina Bay, guarded by the beloved Merlion!

As a studio based in Aotearoa, New Zealand, Dinosaur Polo Club is honored to include te reo Māori, the indigenous language of New Zealand, in Mini Motorways. This update coincides with New Zealand’s annual celebration of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori, which calls for support of both the language and culture - te reo Māori and Te Ao Māori.

The studio worked closely with Accredited translator and interpretator, Kristin Smith from Kūwaha Ltd to bring this translation to the game. To celebrate the addition of te reo Māori to Mini Motorways, the studio engaged local artist Huriana Kopeke-Te Aho to help celebrate with a piece of artwork commemorating the translation.

Redesign Singapore’s roadways with new achievements, daily challenges, weekly challenges, city challenges, and construct to the fullest with zero stops in ‘Continue in Creative Mode’!

Dinosaur Polo Club remains committed to its ongoing support of free map and content updates for Mini Motorways throughout 2026. Stay tuned for the fourth map update just around the corinthian!

The ‘Merlion’s Marina’ update and te reo Māori Language support are available today for free across all current platforms, including Apple Arcade, PC and Mac via Steam, and Nintendo Switch.

Mini Motorways is available for $9.99/€8.57 on PC via Steam, free for Apple Arcade Subscribers, including language support for English, French, German, Spanish, Russian, Japanese, Portuguese, Korean, Italian, Turkish, Arabic, Dutch, Vietnamese, Simplified, Traditional Chinese and, Te Reo Māori. Learn more about Mini Motorways by visiting Dinosaur Polo Club’s official website, Bluesky, Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram pages.

About Dinosaur Polo Club

Dinosaur Polo Club is an independent game development studio based in beautiful Wellington, New Zealand. Founded in 2013 by brothers Peter and Robert Curry, the studio first made waves with their award-winning and BAFTA-nominated debut Mini Metro. Created in collaboration with Disasterpeace and Jamie Churchman, Mini Metro explores relaxed and minimalist subway design. The second game developed by Dinosaur Polo Club introduces a brand new type of city management with colorful road-building and resource management found in Mini Motorways. Combined, Mini Metro and Mini Motorways make up two parts of an expanding Mini Collection. 

With an inclusive and supportive culture that believes in giving back to its creative community, the studio has grown and is now home to nearly 35 dinos as it works on new titles with relatable simplicity.

Article by: Susan N.

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RibCage Games Releasing Alpha Nomos on October 12th

September 24, 2026 | Independent studio RibCage Games today set a release date for Alpha Nomos, its rhythm-action roguelite where music is the law of the world. The game locks in a launch date of October 12 on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. A release date trailer is out now.

A run of Alpha Nomos is a fight through room after room of corrupted puppets, each arena harder than the last. Clear one and you move up, picking upgrades that shape how the next stretch plays. Fall and the run ends, but you start the next one sharper, pushing a little further into the ruined world each time.

Everything in Alpha Nomos is tied to the beat and hitting your timing is what separates a clean run from a messy one. Every attack, dodge and ability only lands when you play it in time and a room can turn on you the second you drift off tempo. Cello swings instruments as weapons, all of them recorded live so you hear a real player behind every hit, while audio powerups like Reverb, Flanger, Delay and 4 more reshape her moveset and the track as you go.

The launch build carries the full puppetcore world: abandoned cities, a corrupted circus and enemies stitched from things that used to be whole. Behind the clown faces and empty streets are the two questions Cello has been chasing all along: what silenced the music and what happened to her friends. October 12 is where those answers start to arrive.

“Picking a date is terrifying and it’s also the best feeling in the world. We’ve spent this whole project asking players to trust that rhythm could carry an entire game, not sit on top of one. On October 12 they get to hold the whole thing and hear what we meant,” said Emil Lager, CTO  at RibCage Games.

KEY FEATURES

• Beat-Synced Combat: Every attack, dodge and ability locks to the beat, and landing your hits on rhythm is what makes them hit harder.
• Live Instruments: Each weapon sound is a real studio recording rather than a sample library, so you can hear a person playing behind every strike.
• Audio Powerups: Reverb, Flanger, Delay and 4 more reshape both how Cello fights and how the soundtrack sounds while she does it.
• Roguelite Runs: Fight through advancing arenas and build out upgrades that carry across each run into the next.
• Puppetcore: Explore ruined cities and a corrupted circus filled with enemies that were once part of something whole.
• Original Score: The soundtrack comes from Totem Warriors, recorded live to sit inside the game's rhythm systems.
• Accessible: A timing offset lets players of every skill level tune the game so it feels rewarding rather than punishing.

AVAILABILITY

Alpha Nomos launches on PC via Steam, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on October 12. A free demo is playable now on Steam. Wishlist and follow to catch everything ahead of launch.

• Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2529960/Alpha_Nomos/
• PlayStation 5: https://store.playstation.com/en-gr/concept/10019243
• Xbox Series X/S: https://www.xbox.com/en-us/games/store/alpha-nomos/9n5n4xjwq312

About RibCage Games

RibCage Games is an independent studio founded by four developers who left mobile gaming to build the immersive PC experiences they grew up loving. Alpha Nomos is their debut commercial release, a rhythm-action roguelite built on the belief that music isn't a backing track, it's the rulebook. We create, we don't generate.

Article by: Susan N.

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