Shanghai, China — March 17, 2025 | Exciting news for Go Go Muffin adventurers! The highly anticipated Class Change 3 is now live, giving players the ultimate power boost and, on March 19, the mischievous Bugcat Capoo officially joins the adventure! With new skills, talent paths, quests, and exclusive crossover content, now’s the perfect time to log in and start exploring.
Class Change 3 Now Available!
The Third-Class Change is a major milestone, allowing players to upgrade their existing class, unlocking powerful new skills, enhanced attributes, and a brand-new talent path to further customize their playstyle.
New Powerful Skills – Each class gets advanced abilities that redefine combat.
Bugcat Capoo Joins the Adventure – March 19 Event Start!
A huge celebration is about to begin! Bugcat Capoo is officially invading Muffin’s world with an exclusive event, bringing adorable outfits, themed accessories, and exciting challenges.
The fan-favorite Bugcat Capoo collaboration is set to begin on March 19, bringing the mischievous and lovable Capoo into the Muffin universe. During the event, players can complete special missions to earn exclusive Bugcat Capoo-themed items, including: Capoo Avatar Frame, Capoo Headpiece, Capoo Transformation Outfit.
In addition, players can dive into Black Bugcat’s Journal, where they can complete loops to claim rewards such as: Capoo-Form Outfit Bugcat Capoo Stickers Collab Accessories (Unlocks after clearing Main Story 11-1; Event runs from March 19, 5:00 – April 2, 4:00).
Other exciting event features include:
Black Bugcat Family Outfit & Bugcat Capoo Mount Paint Series – Available for direct purchase from March 19, 5:00 – April 2, 4:00.
Login Event: Luminous Odyssey – Players can claim The Black Bugcat Family Background & Capoo Stickers for free!
Fishing Event: Time to Fish – Returning event where players can fish for the lucky koi to earn Capoo’s Meat Feast (March 26, 5:00 – April 2, 4:00).
Players can also join Capoo on an exciting Dragonhold Isle adventure, rolling dice to move across 24 tiles packed with rewards, including the exclusive Capoo-Form Outfit, Capoo Collab Avatar, and special fashion pieces. Collect Capoo Mileage Coupons to progress and exchange Capoo Coins for limited-time shop items like the Black Bugcat & Muffin Background.
Even More Fun Awaits!
Players can also enjoy the Baking Oven feature, where they can craft unique Cat Buns to earn buffs and special bonuses, making their journey through Muffin’s world even sweeter. Additionally, the Mount System allows adventurers to collect and customize different mounts, including the Bugcat Capoo Mount Paint Series, giving players a stylish way to traverse the world of Muffin.
Don’t forget, loads of events are happening now, including the Monthly Check-In, where logging in every day grants valuable rewards, and Operation Paper Wings, a special event that rewards players for playing more frequently!
This limited-time crossover lets players transform into Bugcat Capoo and embark on an exciting new adventure filled with surprises!
Developed by the team behind RO: Ragnarok Idle Adventure, Go Go Muffin is a relaxing yet thrilling idle RPG that blends adorable visuals, strategic gameplay, and engaging storylines. Players embark on an adventure-filled journey with Muffin and their companions, exploring mystical lands and uncovering legendary treasures.
XD Games
Founded in 2003, XD Games. is a global video games developer and publisher with extensive experience across development, publishing and operations. As of 2022, XD has 38 free-to-play and paid games with over 50 million monthly active users worldwide. In addition, TapTap — a mobile games community and app store — was launched by XD in 2016 and is estimated to currently have 44 million monthly active users.
XD’s mission is to assemble like-minded talented games industry craftspeople with a common goal of touching the hearts of players around the world. XD produces games of the finest quality with passion, offering a pure gaming experience, and encouraging players of all ages to embrace the unique joy of video gaming.
Fight enemies inspired by D&D and other beloved fantasy worlds in this strategic deckbuilder, launching on PC & consoles in 2026
RALEIGH, N.C.— March 17, 2025 — Villain Games HQ is thrilled to unveil Hero’s Hand, a genre-bending roguelike RPG fueled by poker-inspired puzzle combat, coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam in 2026. Travel through beautiful hand-drawn environments, gather cards to build a poker hand, and take down enemies inspired by Dungeons & Dragons as you level up, collect items, and grow stronger with each run.
“When we first scribbled ‘poker-based RPG’ on a whiteboard back in 2019, we never expected it to spark such hilarious chaos,” said Randy Greenback, Creative Director at Villain Games. “But once our prototype had the team howling over insane card combos, we knew Hero’s Hand had to become a reality. Getting to relaunch Villain with the passion we have for this game is definitely next level!”
When darkness takes over Cardunia, it’s up to you to solve its mysteries, confront the evil, and find a way to bring back peace to the world. Along the way, you’ll explore the lands, meet new friends, find ancient weapons, cast spells, use potions, and die in combat… a lot! With each run, you’ll grow stronger, master your skills and eventually tear through monsters to take on the Dark Wizard.
Poker Meets Dungeon-Crawling
Hero’s Hand challenges you to strategically move across each board, grabbing cards to form flushes, straights, or four-of-a-kind combos for massive damage. Whether you’re using overpowered Fortune Items, upgrading your loadout, or weaving together synergy from potions and spells, you’ll forge your own path through random encounters and ever-tougher enemies.
Key Features
Roguelike Adventure & Narrative: Journey across eight uniquely themed worlds, battle your way through Death’s Tower, and grow stronger each time you fall. A layered story unfolds through comedic encounters and sub-boss showdowns.
Poker-Based Combat: Build your poker hand on the fly by moving about the board to collect cards for devastating combos. Cleverly use spells, potions, and the wheel of Fortuna to amplify your poker hands and tip the odds in your favor.
Endless Replayability: Explore procedurally generated maps, face unpredictable events, and discover secret portals teeming with new challenges. No two runs are ever the same.
Menagerie of Mayhem: Brace yourself for an outrageous cast of Dungeons & Dragons-inspired baddies — from trollish brutes to flamboyant dragons. Each monstrous misfit boasts unique attacks and cunning board effects guaranteed to keep your hero on his toes.
Fortune Favors the Overkill: Defeat enemies to earn XP, gold and items, and gather rare equipment to outfit your hero for bigger and bolder combos on subsequent runs.
Hero’s Hand is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam in 2026. Wishlist it today on Steam!
About Villain Games HQ
With roots dating back to the acclaimed iOS shooter Archetype, the team at Villain Games HQ has consistently aimed to surprise players with innovative mechanics and memorable art. Today, Dane Baker and crew are reawakening the Villain moniker and the ethos, to push the boundaries of ‘play’ on PC, console, mobile and VR. https://www.villainhq.com
This update comes alongside the game’s recently launched Kickstarter campaign, featuring both digital and custom physical rewards.
Angouleme, France, March 17, 2025 | Indie development studio Headbang Club has pushed a major update to the demo of their JRPG-inspired tactical roguelite, DeathTower, introducing an in-game hub town for all your preparatory needs. The game has plans to release on Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 5. With their Kickstarter campaign ongoing until April 8th, the studio invites new and returning players to experience a taste of what’s planned for the game through the updated demo on Steam.
A Tactical Roguelite for All
In this 2.5D isometric roguelite tactical RPG, join Ikarus, a humble machine operator, on his journey to uncover the mysteries behind the Megaryon—a never-ending megastructure tower plagued by a deadly parasite outbreak. As you climb the tower, combine stealthy infiltration and an arsenal of devastating weapons to reach your objective. A combative approach uses weapons, grenades, and ammunition to clear floors, while stealthy players can use environmental structures and resources to avoid notice. Four diverse biomes compose this tower, with numerous floors scattered throughout. Fight through each floor’s threats, use hacks in the tower’s programming to amplify your abilities and summon assists, or fall in battle and restart your run from the beginning.
New Demo, New Allies
In the demo update, players will unlock the new Erebus Game Hub after completing the tutorial, which features pixel-art venues and a fresh cast of characters, ready to share helpful hints. Within the Hub, players can visit the Starter Shop for items and weapons, or crimp upgrades to power themselves up between runs. Highly customizable, the demo showcases over fifty different weapons, thirteen unique tower hacks, and two fluid class trees, less than half of the total options planned for the full game. Headbang Club is excited for everyone to experience the world of possibilities in DeathTower and encourages curious players to give the demo a try! Experience the first hour of DeathTower’s opening act, explore the initial few floors, and try out a fraction of what’s to come in the demo’s first epic boss battle.
Don’t Miss Out on Exclusive merch!
The DeathTower Kickstarter campaign is live, and interested players are invited to participate. Headbang Club aims to reach its fundraising goals to allow them to self-publish the game. Backers can support the launch for as little as $9 USD for exclusive DeathTower HD wallpapers and emotes. Additional rewards are available for those who wish to contribute more, including digital rewards such as art books, the OST, and keys to the game. Physical rewards include T-shirts, Vinyls, physical editions, and more. The Kickstarter will end April 8th.
Planned Full Game Features:
6 playable characters are waiting to be unlocked as you ascend the tower and explore the game’s different biomes.
30 enemy types boast unique characteristics depending on their environment and class type.
10 mini bosses necessitate skill expansions and combat expertise to defeat and climb to the next level.
120 unlockable weapons, ranging from grenades to laser guns, let each player hone their perfect kit.
75 hacks in the megastructure’s operations system can be programmed to attack, defend, manipulate the battlefield and summon terrifying creatures.
10 fluid class trees, comprising a total of 75 skills, can be combined to create a well-rounded party.
Players can discover the beginning of Gust’s upcoming JRPG ahead of launch on 21st March!
Hertfordshire,17th March 2025 – Today, KOEI TECMO Europe and developer Gust announced that a public demo for their upcoming JRPG Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Landis now available ahead of its planned launch on 21st March 2025 on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Windows PC via Steam® and, for the first time in franchise history, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.
Fans wishing to explore the Aladissian Empire in Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land alongside alchemist Yumia Liessfeldt can begin their journey with the public demo, now available. From the beginning of the prologue to the start of the main quest “Pioneering the Ligneus Region”, the demo will introduce players to Yumia and her companions, as well as the new synthesis and combat systems. Players will also be able to explore the open field of the Ligneus region, gather ingredients, build their own base and much more. The save data from the demo can then be carried over to the full game upon purchase.
Discover the gameplay trailer on YouTube
In addition to the standard edition, players can pre-order two special physical editions; the PREMIUM BOX that includes the base game*, an artbook, a B3-size cloth poster with original illustration, a CD with extra tracks, and an exclusive early access costume for Yumia, “Alchemist of her day off”. The SPECIAL COLLECTION BOX includes all of the content from the PREMIUM BOX, as well as a handkerchief in the style of the Aladiss Research Team bandana, an A1-size tapestry with an original illustration, a set of six decorative keychains, a set of six special clear file folders, a special sticker sheet, Yumia’s precious stuffed animal, an official short story, and accompanying translation booklet.
Everyone who purchases either a physical or digital edition up to two weeks after release will receive the “Athlete of Memories” early purchase costume for Yumia, the “Floating Object of Memories” costume for Flammi, and the exclusive “Training Wrist Weight” equipment.
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & the Envisioned Land will be available on 21st March 2025 on Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Window PC via Steam®. The game will include Japanese voices with English, French, German and Spanish texts.
KOEI TECMO EUROPE LTD. is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for current generation consoles, handhelds and digital download content based in Letchworth, Hertfordshire, UK. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of KOEI TECMO HOLDINGS CO., LTD., headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. KOEI TECMO’s best known for their signature ‘one versus thousands’ Warrior’s series, the fan-favourite NINJA GAIDEN and fighting entertainment title DEAD OR ALIVE. Through collaboration with strong existing franchises, such as A.O.T. Wings of Freedom (Attack on Titan), has brought fan-favourite shows to life in video game form. The company’s desire for innovation and diversity has seen the creation of the critically acclaimed dark-samurai action title Nioh, which takes on new and unique gameplay styles. The company’s acquisition of Gust, developer of a variety of heart-warming titles, has seen their flagship Atelier series span generations of consoles and fans alike. More information about KOEI TECMO EUROPE LTD and its products can be found at www.koeitecmoeurope.com
Kentucky Route Zero dev and Witcher composer join the team as details on mechanics, story, setting, and limited-time pledges revealed
London, U.K. – March 17th 2025 – Longdue today launched the Kickstarter for its debut title, a ‘psychogeographic’ RPG called Hopetown. The studio is also pleased to announce that Ben Babbitt, one of the trio behind the critically acclaimed Kentucky Route Zero, and Pawel Blaszczak, music composer on the original The Witcher & The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt soundtracks, has also joined the team and composed the music for the Kickstarter video.
With the launch of the Hopetown Kickstarter, Longdue delves deep into the game’s mechanics, story and setting, as well as introducing players to the mix of industry veterans and upcoming talent working on the game. The campaign features a quantity and time limited (48 hours) pledge to allow early backers to have their name featured in an in-game memorial and design in-game objects. A further quantity-limited pledge will allow backers to get a copy of the game, or two copies, at a discounted price.
Hopetown is set in a mining town decades after a coronal mass ejection wiped out electronics and global communications. Here, they found the quicksilver, a substance that’s changed everything. Since the incident five days ago, people are dead, others are missing and mining operations have screeched to a halt.
Enter you: middle child of one of the richest men on the planet (voiced by Lenval Brown, narrator of Disco Elysium). You’ve drifted through life knowing only luxury and power, shielded by privilege and surrounded by sycophants. You’ve just stepped off an impossibly long train ride, wheeling an overpriced suitcase across the muddy cobblestone and nursing a four-star hangover. Your mission, or punishment, seems simple enough: figure out what happened, cover it up, and spin a better story. You’re a journalist, after all.
Different schools and methods of journalism will be your RPG classes: Gonzo. Investigative. Gossip. Conspiracy. Words will be your weapons, and you’ll make your own truth. In Hopetown, the actions you take, the friendships you make and destroy, the change you bring — these things don’t just live in your head, trapped in consciousness and fading into memory. They take shape in the physical world around you, real in every sense of the word. Just like the connection between you and your environment, which is enabled by a unique gameplay mechanic dubbed ‘psychogeography’.
The environment all around you — the town above and the mine below — will change during the game, based on the choices you make. Wasn’t that postbox at the other end of the street? Wasn’t this road uphill two days ago? Wasn’t that gambling hall a pub when you woke up this morning? Things will change under your nose and under your heel. Make surprising new connections between characters, break longstanding friendships, and see what happens.
Hopetown is being created by a team that includes a mix of industry veterans and fresh talent, drawing expertise from the RPG-space, as well as writers with experience in games, theater and screen. Team members include ex-ZA/UM founder Martin Luiga, Narrative Director Grant Roberts, Technical Lead Piotr Sobolewski, Disco Elysium narrator Lenval Brown, Kentucky Route Zero developer Ben Babbitt, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt composer Pawel Blaszczak and Art Director Astri Lohne.
“I was in the ZA/UM cultural movement from the offset, and recruited key team members that went on to make major contributions to Disco Elysium, such as the Art Director and Writing Lead.” said Martin Luiga. “I will be helping Longdue expand the team in a similar way with local Estonian and international talent to build something more than Disco Elysium 2 – we want to push boundaries, not just meet expectations. I call upon the fans of the RPG and adventure genre to back the Kickstarter to help us make the game.”
For more detail on Hopetown’s story and systems, as well as Longdue’s plan for the game, check out the Hopetown Kickstarter page.
Key Points
Kickstarter live now: The first video and key details on the project are available now on the Hopetown Kickstarter page, along with a number of time and quantity-limited pledge types.
Continuing the legacy of legendary RPGs: Hopetown carries forward the thoughtful, narrative-first approach of titles like Disco Elysium and Kentucky Route Zero.
Psychographic mechanics: The game explores the intricate relationship between mind and environment, offering players a story-driven experience where their choices shape both the world and its characters.
Gonzo, Investigative, Gossip or Conspiracy?: Play as a journalist with different schools of journalism being your RPG classes.
A world that burns bright: You arrive as a spoilt nepo-baby journalist five days after an incident in a Northern English mining town. Find out what happened and choose how to tell the story.
Veterans and fresh talent: Longdue’s team includes ex-ZA/UM founder and Disco Elysium writer Martin Luiga, Narrative Director Grant Roberts, Technical Lead Piotr Sobolewski, Disco Elysium narrator Lenval Brown, Kentucky Route Zero developer Ben Babbitt, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt composer Pawel Blaszczak and Art Director Astri Lohne.
Longdue is an independent studio founded focused on creating psychologically deep, narrative-first experiences. Longdue is here to make its mark as a meaningful and consistent voice in the cRPG space. It is currently developing its debut title, Hopetown.
Top U.S and Japanese Fighting Game Community content creators battled it out live in epic fashion to decide which country reigns supreme in Tokyo, Japan
London (March 17, 2025) During a legendary showdown live from Tokyo, Japan, Team Tokido prevailed through ten rounds of competition and was named the winner of the REJECT FIGHT NIGHT × Sajam Slam: Street Fighter™ 6 International Championship! In a fierce battle for national pride, U.S qualifiers Team Diaphone and Team Nephew competed against Team Daigo and Team Tokido from REJECT, a popular Japanese professional esports organisation in the Grand Finals. After months-long training and coaching, top creators from both countries showcased their skills and fought for bragging rights in a legendary battle for the ages.
In case you missed it, you can watch the full stream of the Grand Finals here on Twitch.
Fans at the Shinjuku Somitomi Building witnessed history as Team Tokido from Japan took down Team Diaphone hailing from the USA in a hard-fought battle in their home turf of Japan. Despite a successful run in the qualifiers, Team Diaphone struggled to counter Team Tokido’s aggressive playstyle in the Grand Finals match. Diaphone prevented the sweep in an electric final against Tokido to make the final tally Team Tokido 4, Team Diaphone 1.
About Street Fighter 6
Street Fighter 6, having sold more than four million units since launch, is available now and represents the next evolution of the Street Fighter series with a combo of unique fighting game innovations, brimming with content across three brand new game modes – Fighting Ground, World Tour, and Battle Hub. Players around the world can get their hands on all the hard-hitting Street Fighter 6 action now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.
About Capcom
Capcom is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment for game consoles, PCs, handheld and wireless devices. Founded in 1983, the company has created hundreds of games, including groundbreaking franchises Resident Evil™, Monster Hunter™, Street Fighter™, Mega Man™, Devil May Cry™ and Ace Attorney™. Capcom maintains operations in the U.S., U.K., Germany, France, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Tokyo, with corporate headquarters located in Osaka, Japan. More information about Capcom and its products can be found at www.capcom.com or news.capcomusa.com.
Capcom, and the Capcom logo are registered trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd. in the U.S. or other countries. Ace Attorney, Devil May Cry, Mega Man, Monster Hunter, Resident Evil and Street Fighter are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of Capcom Co., Ltd. and/or its subsidiaries, in the U.S. and/or other countries. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.
Adapted from the manga by Naoya Matsumoto, the omnibus film features a thrilling recap of Season One and an exclusive never-before-seen original episode – Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment Set to Release the Action-packed Film in Cinemas in Australia from April 10
Crunchyroll, the ultimate home for anime worldwide, announced today that it has acquired the Australian theatrical rights for the monster-sized omnibus film Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon. Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment will bring the film to cinemas in the Australia on April 10. It will be available in both Japanese with English subtitles and dubbed in English.
Adapted from the original manga created by Naoya Matsumoto, the anime series debuted in April 2024 and is centred around a group of characters living in a world where giant kaiju (ormonsters)attack humanity and the creatures’ destructive aftermath.
Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon features a high-action condensed recap of Season One and gives fans an exclusive new original never-before-seen episode,”Hoshina’s Day Off,” coming to cinemas. The film also debuts a new ending theme song, “Invincible” by OneRepublic.
Official Film Synopsis:
In a Kaiju-filled Japan, Kafka Hibino works in monster disposal. After reuniting with his childhood friend Mina Ashiro, a rising star in the anti-Kaiju Defense Force, he decides to pursue his abandoned dream of joining the Force… when he suddenly transforms into the powerful “Kaiju No. 8.” With help from his junior colleague Reno Ichikawa, Kafka hides his identity while striving towards his life-long dream of passing the Defense Force exam and standing at Mina’s side. But when a mysterious intelligent Kaiju attacks a Defense Force base, Kafka faces a crucial decision in a desperate situation…
The omnibus film Kaiju No. 8: Mission Recon features an action-packed recap of season one and a new original episode, Hoshina’s Day Off.
(Hoshina’s Day Off) A day off… a rare day of peace for the Defense Force. After spending so long training, Reno has forgotten what he’s supposed to do with free time. He sees that Hoshina is up to something with his own day off, and decides to go on a mission to tail him with Iharu! But then things go in an unexpected direction…
Kaiju No. 8 is adapted from the original manga created by Naoya Matsumoto. It is animated by Production I.G (GHOST IN THE SHELL), with kaiju artwork and design supervision by Studio Khara (Evangelion: New Theatrical Edition, Shin Godzilla Pre Visualization Development).
CREDITS: Original Manga: Naoya Matsumoto (Serialized in “MANGA Plus by SHUEISHA”). Director: Shigeyuki Miya & Tomomi Kamiya. Series Composition & Screenplay (Season 1): Ichiro Okouchi. “Hoshina’s Day Off” Original Story: Yuto Tsukuda. “Hoshina’s Day Off” Screenplay: Yuichiro Kido. Character Designer & Chief Animation Director: Tetsuya Nishio. Kaiju Supervision (Design & Artworks): Studio khara. Animation Studio: Production I.G
Crunchyroll, LLC is an independently operated joint venture between U.S.-based Sony Pictures Entertainment and Japan’s Aniplex Inc., a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc., both subsidiaries of Tokyo-based Sony Group. Films distributed and marketed by Crunchyroll—domestically and internationally—have a proven track record of both box office and critical success. Crunchyroll’s theatrical team has been behind 10 of the Top 20 best-performing anime films in U.S. box office history, including Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train, Suzume, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Dragon Ball Super: SUPER HERO, One Piece Film: Red, and more. Not only have Crunchyroll films seen box office success, but have also been recognized with numerous awards and accolades and been accepted and screened at international film festivals around the globe.
Now that Konami has brought these two classic JRPGs to modern consoles we take a dip into the start of both of them and witness the touched up graphics, redrawn character portraits, and other quality of life improvements made in Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars.
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars – Gameplay
Experience the timeless tales of Suikoden I and Suikoden II like never before with the Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars. This remastered collection brings enhanced graphics, updated sound, and modernized gameplay to these classic JRPGs.
Join a cast of over 140 characters, gather your 108 Stars of Destiny, and embark on an epic journey of war, friendship, and betrayal. Whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the series, this remaster offers an unforgettable adventure.
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars is set to release on March 6, 2025, for Nintendo Switch™, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store.
Suikoden I&II HD Remaster Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars Developer: KONAMI Publisher: KONAMI Platform: Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4|5, Xbox Series X|S Release Date: 6 Mar, 2025 Price: $49.99 USD
Recommended – “Suikoden I & II HD Remaster touches up two classic JRPGs and adds just enough QoL improvements to work out some of the antiquated systems while leaving a few annoyances intact.”
Every trilogy of Gust’s Atelier franchise takes new and different takes on the franchise and over the last few iterations we have seen some of the most significant changes in the form of no longer requiring a time limit to modifying the combat system and the way alchemy works, to finally delivering an entire trilogy focusing on a central, extremely popular main character. This character, who anyone familiar with the franchise knows is Ryza, brought the relatively niche RPG to a broader audience and now Gust and Koei Tecmo are taking things a step further now that Ryza’s story has concluded. This time around nearly every aspect of the franchise has undergone a change, be it item synthesis, combat, exploration, to even the storyline itself.
To top all that off, Koei Tecmo is marking the beginning of this likely trilogy with an unprecedented step for the franchise, releasing the game, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land, on the Xbox Series X, the first time it has ever been playable on an Xbox console. With so many revisions to the formula and an entire new audience to tap into, does Atelier Yumia make a successful debut on the console?
Story
Now it is worth noting that players do not need to have any prior knowledge of the Atelier franchise up until Atelier Yumia to get the most out of the title. In fact even the signature “barrel” joke was almost thought lost until a certain gameplay element was introduced. Each trilogy takes place in an entirely different setting, almost always featuring completely original characters as even longtime guest characters including the ghostly Pamela appear to have been left behind this time. That means that newcomers can jump into this version no problem other than possibly missing out on some of the classic items and enemies players will gather and fight.
Atelier Yumia takes place in a world where the strongest civilization, known as the Aladissian Empire, was destroyed long ago by an unknown and extremely powerful force that many claimed was the result of alchemy. This led to the practice of alchemy being seen as taboo and often completely outlawed throughout parts of the world and this only grew worse when three years prior to the start of the game, the town that Yumia Liessfeldt and her mother lived in was involved in a catastrophic explosion that cost the lives of countless civilians, including Yumia’s own mother. When it was found that Yumia’s mother was an alchemist, all blame fell on her and she has spent the last few years living in isolation trying to learn more about the taboo practice.
As such, when Yumia is approached to venture out on an expedition into the fallen empire as part of the research team, she readily accepts, both to prove her own usefulness as well as find out more about her mother’s true skills and the reality of what actually happened with alchemy in this world. Met with side-eyes, snide remarks, and skepticism by her fellow expedition members, it doesn’t take long for Yumia to prove just how useful she fan be and even make a few allies along the way as the investigation slowly proves to be the darkest the franchise has ever seen. While various parts of the Dusk trilogy featured darker themes and alchemy taken to the extreme and most feature some type of dangerous threat that the title character must stop, this one happens to feature dark themes throughout, both in terms of its villains, world set-up, and even many of the side-stories alongside the core storyline.
In many ways this already feels like a departure from Gust’s usual formula as they rarely delved beyond slice-of-life elements and solving simpler quests and tasks or repairing things all while trying to uncover a mystery with good friends. For Yumia however, almost everyone she meets, including all of her allies, distrust her at first, with alchemy seen as taboo and the initial party members, a pair of siblings, being the most outright distrustful thanks to the events that tore apart their family. Of course, throughout the story and side-quests, with character specific side-quests featuring that character’s face as an icon, Yumia will grow closer to her allies and they’ll also come to understand her as well. In many ways, this harsh starting ground serves as the best way to develop these party members and Yumia herself, as seeing her grow to become friends with her party all while struggling to survive the countless dangers and threats that arise and how hard they fight for her as well makes for some truly wonderful moments. It is also nice to note that, outside of a certain annoying Rutger, the small playable cast is all incredibly likable with Lenja being a personal favorite of mine that I wish would have joined the party as early as she was teased.
Anyways, outside of the party members being solidly written, the core storyline is as well, thanks to how dire the situations end up being and the threats posed by the villains. It is also worth noting that in the world of Atelier Yumia, mana used for things such as alchemy comes from memories and while most of this is from memories from those that have passed on, there are far darker implications from this as players will find out as we won’t spoil them here. It is a bit of a shame that it does feel like the primary villains feel a bit underutilized, especially given their outstanding designs and performances, but given what players will be left with and where Gust can take the story from here, Atelier Yumia sets some outstanding ground work here if it stays true to Gust’s usual formula. Now it is worth noting that while this is a darker storyline from what Gust is used to writing, that doesn’t mean everything is still doom and gloom. There is still some signature Gust humor spread throughout and plenty of charming and cute moments between the cast, but don’t expect quite as many slice-of-life moments as usual.
Gameplay
As we mentioned in the beginning, Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land makes changes in almost every regard to its various mechanics though they all still remain intact even if they have been expanded, limited, or completely evolved. The biggest of these happens to be exploration. Once players finish off the initial tutorial, they can hit the ground running with Yumia and find that nearly all of the first area in the game can be explored right away. Ironically, if players venture into a story locked location or near the boundary to the next zone they’ll be told they have to gather the rest of the team first and reset their location. What this means is that Atelier Yumia is almost entirely free roam with an open world filled with question marks that players can travel to to find out what they happen to be. They could be shrines with little puzzles that reward Yumia with skill points and special items that can be used to enhance her skills or expand her mana core’s capabilities, mini altars that can be activated or shot with Yumia’s rifle-staff, campsites, ruins, ziplines that can either already be used for quick traveling or repaired, and even simple quick travel landmarks that make navigation even easier.
To adventure like this Yumia will make use of her agile legs and alchemically-enhanced heels to triple jump up walls, eventually zip around on a motorcycle powered by mana, and even trek through poisonous manabond locations protected by her mana core that slowly drains in locations, is used to protect Yumia whenever she falls a significant distance, craft items like healing bandages, fishing lures, and bullets in her travel bag, or even revive the party if they fall in combat if they have enough mana stored up. The mana core, as mentioned before, can be upgraded at shrines using crystal cores but players will need to balance how they use them as these cores are also required to unlock certain higher tier skills in Yumia’s skill tree, which is also leveled up by taking part in various open world aspects such as solving puzzles, completing shrines, synthesizing items, slaying large monsters, or even taking on randomized quests that can appear.
This means that open world exploration is highly incentivized beyond simply going from mission location to mission location, as players will often find tons of ingredients and monsters to fight along the way and rarely does it feel like a reward is useless, beyond the occasional “blueprint” hidden away in a treasure trove but more on that later. There are also various “missions” that are considered side-objectives and part of the investigation into a region that can provide various rewards as well and these generally revolve around many open world aspects such as exploring ruins and solving the puzzles inside that range from simplistic to a bit complicated, slaying specific monsters, synthesizing items, etc. that will reward Yumia with blueprints, materials, skill points, and other bonuses if certain percentage markers are reached. It is worth noting that not everything can be explored immediately, as the title does feature a few somewhat annoying metroidvania style aspects where certain walls cannot be destroyed or locations explored fully until players obtain a specific tool later on in the game.
Now, while exploring Yumia will run into plenty of enemies to fight and combat is similarly something that has undergone a radical transition. First, while it is possible to simply smack an enemy or run into them in the field, players can use bullets to stun an enemy and begin a fight with their opponent already stunned and weakened. Battles will be fought with three characters in the frontline and eventually three in reserve that can be swapped in on a cooldown system and while players can only control Yumia out in the field, they can choose whichever party member they want to actively initially control in combat through the party system or swap to another party member in the middle of a fight. Fights happen in real time with enemies being weak to either physical or magical attacks that, when hit enough times, will leave them stunned and open to powerful elemental attacks, including team-up attacks once players unlock that ability and equip allies with matching attack items that target the foes weakness. Attacks are done by pressing one of the four face-buttons depending on if the character has them unlocked and each attack has a certain number of uses and will be on cooldown after they are exhausted, but this mostly makes it so players try to focus on combo attacks.
Combat on Normal difficulty is almost always an easy affair against normal enemies, in more than a few cases with fights ending in seconds, as long as players know what they are doing and players can choose to block incoming attacks or dodge out of the way of them. Some foes can unleash AoE style blows that display an attack radius that players can run out of or swap from the inner attack ring to the outer attack ring. It is also worth noting that characters will have different attacks depending on their ring placement. As players unlock additional combat abilities they’ll find that they can pull off attacks that swap in allies to counterattack and other powerful magic attacks. It is only really through boss battles and late game locations that proper planning is required as even fighting against enemies below your level in these areas may be challenging if players aren’t properly equipped. That being said, while strategy is required for most late game boss battles and major encounters with stronger foes near the end of the game, it is easy to see that the chaotic combat is something of a drawback at times especially with how quick most encounters end on Normal without any strategy and simply mashing combos.
The alchemy system has also undergone a rather unique change and not just cosmetically. Since alchemy uses the mana from memories, Yumia can only learn non-plot related recipes once she has obtained some of the recipe’s ingredients and then unlocked it using mana particles obtained from fights or exploring the world. As a result, there appear to be far fewer actual recipes that players need to worry about crafting throughout the game, though there are still plenty, it pales in comparison to even the Ryza series. That being said, there are two different kinds of alchemy in Atelier Yumia, simple alchemy that can be performed out during exploration such as using gathered materials to craft bullets, bandages, etc. and complex alchemy used to craft everything from weapons to healing items and of course, other ingredients.
In interesting fashion, the actual synthesis mechanic in Atelier Yumia is quite complex and only gets more detailed and intricate the more players power up Yumia’s skills and progress through the game. Each recipe has separate “cores” that generally require a specific ingredient or type then have extra locations players can put other optional items into that, if high enough quality or meet certain criteria, will reach untapped subcores that provide extra bonuses to the item such as giving it a slot, providing extra uses, stat boosts, and more. The level of customization is very deep and players can spend a lot of time finicking around with proper items and making a recipe exactly how they want it but it is also worth noting that some of this is entirely optional should players choose to go the easy way. The easy way is simply pressing the “auto-fill” option and then selecting a category to aim for, ranging from highest quality, most effective, and bare minimum. Thankfully, should players select this option, the final combined set of ingredients will be shown to players before actually crafting the item, giving players the option to still tweak things if needed or remove a rare item that was accidentally added in.
Another brand new aspect that makes use of Yumia’s alchemical skills is the ability to build things. Literally. As players clear out larger dungeons or discover campsites throughout the world they will find that they can craft and build things on these designated lots, with each building site having a limited amount of total items that can be placed within and a comfort level that can provide various boosts if it reaches a certain level. This means that players can choose to simply drop down their ingredient collection box and mana core recharging station and simply move on, or decide to build a small home from the ground up, choosing the wall styles, flooring, rooftop and all that and then filling it with decorations, furniture, and of course, the signature joke barrel. Building items does require ingredients but it is simple root level stuff such as wood, stone, water, etc. Simple things that make customization and building in locations completely viable if players want. Of course, there is always the option to once again, have pre-built buildings placed down and customize these at will or drop down a valuable greenhouse that can replicate ingredients, a warehouse that increases Yumia’s storage box size, and more.
Our time with Atelier Yumia on the Xbox Series X was mostly flawless but it did have its fair share of bugs though a lot of these seemed to come from trying to navigate the environment. On multiple locations Yumia would find herself stuck in-between a set of rocks, perpetually falling and unable to move but thankfully players can quick-travel out of these situations. Unfortunately, the game also happened to crash to the Xbox Home screen on multiple occasions, completely randomly too. Thankfully, the title does feature a fairly solid auto-save system as well as the ability to save anytime during expiration so even when the title did crash, little progress was lost.
Audio & Visuals
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land is also a solid step in a more intricate direction for their character models as well. While the main characters in the party aren’t anything too special outside of Yumia herself as well as Nina and Linja, the real character designs that shine here are the villains of the game, featuring some of the most standout designs the series has had. The enemy design for standard foes is fairly predictable, especially with many signature enemies making their return. The various environments that players explore are nicely detailed with plenty of little outcroppings to jump up to, caves to explore, and various hidden secrets to try and uncover though it must be said that the first two locales are the best of the bunch, leaving the last few areas a bit disappointing. As mentioned before, combat is fast and frantic with some fights lasting barely a few seconds, so players will either need to pay close attention to what is happening or simply mash away to victory most of the time, though, as mentioned, boss battles do require an extra level of thought and trying to make things out through the noise.
As one would expect given their last few releases in the franchise, Atelier Yumia continues Koei Tecmo’s tradition of only releasing the Japanese voice track to accompany the English subtitles for the game. Thankfully not only does the Japanese voice cast perform extremely well here, with Yumia being an easy standout among the colorful cast, but everything is subtitled, be it in-battle dialogue to random exploration chirps from allies and even Yumia’s alchemical flying lamp assistant Flammi. The soundtrack features some solid background music that works well both during standard field exploration and the brief combat encounters but some of the best music comes from both boss battles as well as the mesmerizing dances that Yumia performs to purify a manabound location from time to time.
Overall
Atelier Yumia: The Alchemist of Memories & The Envisioned Land take the Atelier franchise forward with a fairly significant first step here, delving into open world waters while mixing in almost complete action combat while also offering both complex and simplified item synthesis, offering a little something for everyone. Combine this with a darker storyline that still has hints of humor and plenty of character growth and Gust has managed to break some new ground here with Atelier Yumia. The combat system may leave a decent amount to be desired at its core but exploring the world in a brand new manner all while keeping the “feeling” of the Atelier franchise alive is a great accomplishment for a title that changes so much while retaining many of the aspects that make the franchise memorable for longtime fans and newcomers.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
2K and Visual Concepts have done a lot to bring their WWE video game series back to the forefront of the market. While the last few titles had a few snags, most have praised them well enough for being good enough to satisfy the masses, seeing a few new features and refinements every year. This year, we have finally been given a new mode on top of the new roster and list of improvements and general fare, so the nervous excitement from fans has been able to build a good bit as they await their yearly entry. How does WWE 2K25 square up? Let’s find out.
WWE 2K25 Gameplay
Story
There is a lot of lore to chew on this year with WWE 2K25. MyRise acts as the main “story” mode for the game, and I honestly like it more than the last few years as it does a bit extra to sell this circus to the consumer. While players still create a Superstar, they now have a lot more to do in MyRise as a whole. This isn’t much of an origin “start from NXT and to the moon” tale that we usually get, but instead features you as a promising star that just happens to already be on the main roster. After a draft, things change quickly as you work to now establish a top spot, dealing with narratives that feel closer to the actual product on television, with a lot more emphasis on bringing actual WWE talent into the mix in a closer way.
I am sure some may enjoy the generic MyRise modes from the past, but I really felt those were getting tiring. This one isn’t going to shock or leave the player..not bored, as there are some tedious moments that slog, but the mode just feels a bit more inventive this year and more in tune with what we would see on Raw, Smackdown, and so on. That said, I really wish WWE would just let us pick a stock Superstar again. Creating a Superstar is fine, but it takes so long to do due to how deep this system is. Appearance alone can take close to an hour and then you have moves and so on. If we were able to just select someone like Finn Balor and just go it would be a lot better and I think would be the ideal way to continue these modes. Customization is always fantastic in this franchise, but combining it with MyRise and making it mandatory makes it hard to want to just jump in.
MyRise has some neat things such as the ability to get branching storylines based on choice as well as the returning inter-gender rules now affecting match types, and Visual Concepts should be proud that they have improved the wheel here. That said, I am an old fashioned player that likes to just jump in and out of stories like this, and it’s really hard to get launched due to the customization wall that players have to climb over out of the gate. This problem also is here on The Island, a brand new mode built on a very intuitive gimmick. Think of this like WWE’s closest thing they have gave us to a MMO. Players go to The Island, create yet another Superstar, perform “quests” (which are mainly assigned matched), and level up enough to impress The Tribal Chief, Roman Reigns. Roman and Heyman assign you tasks of creating allies, gaining fanfare, and further customizing your character to have a “spot at the table”. I really love the concept, but there are a few hiccups in this debuting mode.
First, customization does feel natural and needed here, despite MyRise already utilizing the same entry. The mode is basically being dropped into an area that feels like a giant city, where WWE have branded everything. This mode is online, so players can interact with each other as they level up, and even find each other for matches which can increase experience. It is all great on paper as exploring at first can be exciting. When you start looking through the many shops that feature licensed brands, you can really see the most monetized effort WWE games have ever put out. Everything costs a hefty amount of “VC”, and that VC is used to get new attires and take advantage of the unique offerings within the shops. I get it, vanity is part of wrestling, but it also feels like it lurks behind something to buy at every point. Seeing your own achievements compared to others is great and you can do this mode without paying a penny, but the high costs of almost everything makes it hard not to itch to spend, making this mode unravel before it gets a chance to impress. MyFaction ties into this a bit this year to curb some of that potential spending with other ways to earn VC, but honestly the stories here are just not very interesting and a little disappointing, leaving the online interaction at the core of what this mode is about. When you add in VC, it kind of seems like a popularity contest for those with the biggest wallet or an empty time schedule. Again, it is a great idea, but one that was created in order to further monetize the game as a whole.
MyFaction and GM Mode rounds out the lot, and feel about like last year. MyFaction wasn’t bad this year, as I like going from match to match with a purpose and unlocking cards is fun, but this is another VC time-buster that just doesn’t do it for me much. GM Mode feels about the same at first, but the addition of online multiplayer is kind of a nice thing to see as you can battle with your friends. Having the ability to set up your own choices while others are doing the same saves time and greatly assists this year, and the additions of more GM choices as well as plot points keep the mode feeling fresh for this year’s entry. I’ll be honest, Showcase mode here has a great Samoan dynasty theme, but it really feels archaic with the same, unnatural “DO THIS MOVE, NOW THIS MOVE, NOW THIS” mechanics that bogged it down before. It really is time to remove this mode or improve it, as it’s just a chore to play.
Gameplay
I know that is a lot of modes, but gameplay still matters, right? Mostly, Visual Concepts have improved well on the same engine from last year. Characters control the same, but feature new animations in some ways and a couple of new match types to change things up. It has been years since players could use anyone inter-gender matches, and this re-addition adds it back as if nothing ever changed. You want females in Rumbles with men? Fine. Females in any match type – including Mixed tag and fatal four ways with someone like The Rock? Not a problem. Sure, the blood is turned off for these moments, but it really feels like this function was never gone. 2K don’t re-invent themselves a lot with gameplay, but adding inter-gender really allows for creative freedom in almost every way, and I applaud them for adding this function yet again.
Most matches function fine. The last couple of years it felt like the exhibition one-on-one matches were the only ways you could truly have fun outside of online as the AI was really bad. It still isn’t perfect, but I had a lot better results dealing with special match types this year. Even tag matches were decent, as Superstars rarely get stuck in loops and that whole “lets roll out” when the ring gets to cluttered with chaos isn’t really an issue this year as at least of this writing, I have yet to have it appear. Refinement really shows with cutting some of the forced animations of yesterday, making match types feel more fluid and enjoyable. There still are some glitches and annoyances, don’t get me wrong, but I really didn’t get bothered too much and nothing really felt intrusive.
I feel like over the past few years, Visual Concepts have been building this engine around the shackles that were already in place. They fixed the submission system with tap breaks, but had stamina meters and silly mini-games still forced in other areas. They allowed players to do a lot of moves through tables, but required set-ups that made special moments feel “scripted”. Now, it seems like most of those hindrances have been addressed, and as someone who has played every entry of this franchise to date and lost a lot of faith over the years, I am kind of happy with how enjoyable the main modes are. Creation suite is about the same, but the complexity does make it feel like a beast, and for the sake of accuracy, that is fine. I just wish there was a little less forcing it into other modes as a requirement. The roster continues to grow, and that is great to see. If we could separate the corporate monetization and random, forced in licenses, this would almost feel like the ultimate WWE game since maybe 2007, but there is still a lot of work to do to get there. We are now moving in the right direction, however.
Audio
The audio is fine. Commentary calls out things as they should, and even though it is a bit odd having Byron Saxton, Corey Graves, and Cole calling Showcase matches with Hogan and Yokozuna, but at least we have better commentary due to the mass amount of voice lines added and kept for this entry. WWE 2K25 does most of its other audio well. Not a big fan of the original soundtrack, but the themes are great, and the other audio for match attacks and so on works well to bring us some satisfying knee slaps to sell the moves themselves. The Superstars within the game who talk a lot during their matches are getting more voice lines during their matches, but the audio is super low for this. Sure, it’s still a sim, but why not up that audio where we can hear the shouts and efforts attempted in the recording booth?
Visuals
As you would have guessed, this is the best looking wrestling game to date. The game looks like it deserves to be running on modern consoles. Some models still look better than others, but there is far less glitching and more polish on animations, making the experience at least appear more fluid. I really want a moment to talk about how amazing The Island looks. I wasn’t sold on the execution with the monetization, but those custom arenas, built for Undertaker, Damage Control, and so on look spectacular and really give us some eye candy this year. Exploring that island is also a blast due to how great the buildings and designs are. It’s rare when I stop and admire things in a mode like that, but seeing the respect for the current product located in murals and little easter eggs goes a long way to show where we are now, which is a great place for wrestling games to be.
Overall
WWE 2K25 is a beast of a game, and despite the natural shortcomings that come with every entry, this is where we need to be at. Maybe the years have made my own perception cynical, as every year I go in, start to like the game again, and slowly gain disappointment as features become a handicap to my own enjoyment. There still are some chains to break through, but more and more things are losing those little annoyances, making for a much more entertaining product as a whole. There is more polish and attention to detail this year, and maybe it is just the inter-gender roles returning, but there is something about 2K25 that just feels more accessible for this year’s version. Praise aside, monetization and random, out of place licensed deals add a film of tackiness to the final product, and that is a shame considering how great this game is under the hood. If you are looking for the best modern wrestling sim you can get, this isn’t exactly it, but it is finally in a place where you can see this franchise start to shine again.
Capsule Computers review guidelines can be found here.
