I love a good franchise as much as the next player, but in 2024, enough might be enough. This goes for all forms of media, be it films or TV shows, but regardless the feeling remains the same. Content feels like it’s been slowly stagnating and growing stale as sequels and reboots overshadow new AAA IP.

How Many Sequels Is Too Many?

When I say “IP,” I’m referring to Intellectual Property. Any given franchise is considered IP, from Peggle to Mario to Wuthering Waves. While there is certainly no shortage of new IP hitting the market, more often than not, AAA game studios aren’t funding them like they fund their tried-and-true IP. Understandably for business, many studios would rather fund what’s made money in the past than take risks on something new.

XDefiant launched to positivity and constructive criticism from players, but no release is without flaws. The r/XDefiant Subreddit has had plenty of comments regarding some of the mechanics, but one of them certainly needs to be addressed by the developers.

User creepy-uncle-chad posted a meme on the r/XDefiant subreddit that poked fun at something many players are taking issue with. They titled the post “Most of my deaths in this Game,” accompanied by a gif from the movie Wanted, where a character curves a bullet around a corner to hit their target.

Mojang has just given players their first official look at Minecraft’s next update – Tricky Trials. Along with the rundown on what to expect, they also gave us a release date of June 13th. With such a short window between now and when we can play it, here are the five changes we anticipate the most for Minecraft’s Tricky Trials update.

Tricky Trial Chambers

The Trial Chambers are brand-new structures that can be found throughout the world. Not only will they be visually striking being built out of copper blocks, but there will be plenty to do. They’re home to two new mobs and some other challenges, although they didn’t explain what these are. The Trial Chambers will also be filled with traps designed to get in your head and lead you astray.

It’s the grim reality of every new gaming release for players to feel hesitant at launch. You never know which bugs you may encounter, server issues you might run into, or what account you’ll have to make just to get in a game. So often, games launch with high promises, and with XDefiant finally here, it’s fair to have some of the same concerns.

A Tough Past

While that might sound pessimistic, you’ve got to consider some of the reasons these concerns are valid. Take Payday 3 for example. The first two games in the series were bangers in the eyes of the players. Their cutting-edge features created unique gameplay, so hearing about a third game was exciting.

The players who enjoy first-person shooters generally scrutinize them the most, and Warzone is certainly no different. Users on the r/CODWarzone subreddit frequently discuss the strength of aim assist for console players, but one user took to setting the record straight.

u/LTFC_Dangerous posted a video to r/CODWarzone showing all the kills from one of their exciting Warzone wins. In response, many people weren’t thrilled to see it in action and attributed the 31-kill victory to aim assist.

When it comes to the element of surprise, the sound of a UTV in Warzone might give you away. A Warzone player on Reddit has shown off their compilation of proving that point entirely wrong. They got quite the showreel from their UTV in the place you’d least expect.

The UTVs in Warzone are great for getting you and your squad across the map as quickly as possible. They’re quick, nimble and can protect you from a few stray shots. However, there are some places on the map that you simply wouldn’t expect to find one, like in a stairwell.

The birds are chirping and the air is getting warmer, but unfortunately, it’s raining. Even though the weather outside is on the uptick, it’s not quite there yet. Here are 10 Xbox Game Pass games to get you excited for the warm weather.

A Short Hike

If there’s one activity that’s perfect for the turn of the seasons, it’s got to be hiking. Whether you’re watching the leaves bud or the animals stretch their legs, there’s hardly a bad time to hike. A Short Hike does a perfect job of capturing that feeling in a game that you can play regardless of the weather. Whether you’re looking for a quick few achievements or in it for the experience, you’re in for a good time.

Rise of the Ronin got audiences excited for large-scale games in a Japanese setting. With Assassin’s Creed Red on the horizon, it’s the perfect time to look at things Rise of the Ronin did that excite us for the newest AC installment. Here are 10 reasons why Rise of the Ronin has us excited for Assassin’s Creed Red.

1. Diverse Japanese Weapons

Combat in Rise of the Ronin is one of the most interesting things the game explores. Each weapon has different combat styles that can be used to gain the upper hand on enemies, but that’s never been the way Assassin’s Creed has approached combat. Assassin’s Creed is generally simpler, but many of the installments like Origins or Syndicate had the characters using a variety of weapons. Ideally, Assassin’s Creed Red will continue that trend with more than only a katana and hidden blade.

By the time of its launch, Rise of the Ronin is joining a staggering lineup of open-world RPG-style games. With games like Assassin’s Creed and Elden Ring setting the standard for this genre, Rise of the Ronin has had to shift from the norm to stand out. Some of that was successful, while some seemed to fall flat.

The comparison between Ghost of Tsushima (GoT) and Rise of the Ronin (RotR) feels unavoidable. However, it’s also entirely unfair to only view RotR exclusively from the lens of GoT. That being said, if I saw someone playing RotR two months before launch, I’d think it was GoT until I was told otherwise. That is until you get to the combat.

Now that Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update has dropped, there are plenty of new features for players to uncover. Those changes range from dialogue to NPC outfits to a whole new farm. Every change made affects the game in valuable ways, so here are 7 new features that bring Stardew all together.

Dialogue Improvements

One of the features that used to get old in Stardew Valley was talking to the NPCs. This isn’t to say that they’re no fun to chat with, but eventually, the responses begin to get a little predictable. The new update changes this, giving the villagers new responses to various interactions you have with them. This ranges from general daily interactions to the way they react when being given a gift.

Even though GTA 6 feels far away, excited players are already throwing out ideas for in-game features, like the phone. The GTA 6 phone apps will certainly be an improvement from GTA 5, but Redditors already have plenty of input to contribute.

Given GTA 5’s release in 2013, phones in the real world have changed drastically, so that should come across in-game. The phones in GTA 4 and GTA 5 corresponded with their setting, so the trend should continue with GTA 6.

Since its launch, Infinite Craft has taken the world by storm with the near-infinite amount of combinations you can make. With that, plenty of combinations that were beyond my wildest dreams were suddenly being generated before my eyes, so I figured it would be best to compile those that struck me the most.

10. Radioactive Kanye West

“What was I doing combining Chernobyl and Kanye West?” you might ask. The answer isn’t quite as simple as the results, but it expanded my horizons and showed me that you can do quite a bit with only a little in Infinite Craft. Getting Kanye West was the hard part, mainly because I can’t remember how I got my way to Kardashian. However, getting the string of “Divorce, Husband and Marriage” meant I could pull the rapper from the weeds of wherever he hangs out nowadays.

Over the years, as the Harry Potter IP grew in popularity, the franchise has had its run in all forms of content, including video games. The most recent title Hogwarts Legacy has been a major success since its launch, but the games haven’t always been such smash hits.

There have been game releases for at least every movie released, with some being more enjoyable than others. The games have branched into almost every aspect of the wizarding world, so here are all of the Harry Potter games, ranked.

Games based on existing IP are always worth a small dose of skepticism, whether for canonical reasons or maybe different actors breaking the continuity, so I was unsure about Hogwarts Legacy when it was first released. I’ve always loved the Harry Potter IP, so while I was excited about the game, it hadn’t been at the top of my list of priorities.

Over the rest of the year, Hogwarts Legacy was in the back of my mind as something I knew I would play, but I also knew about the sheer scale of it and told myself I wouldn’t have time. However, after I missed out on it the last time Hogwarts Legacy went on sale, I told myself that I’d pick it up the next time it did.

As of the past year or so, every time a new game launches, I can never get as excited as I want to. My expectations have been hindered by broken launches, server issues and straight-up scams, so it’s safe to say that I awaited the launch of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League with trepidation.

Even just the fact that the game relies on a server gave me cause for concern, given the trainwreck that became Payday 3 in October of last year or The Day Before in December. As someone who prefers to play this style of story-driven game solo (at least for the first playthrough), I was worried I would need a full squad to make any sizable progress.

Palworld’s early-access release has been a widespread success with over six million downloads on Steam so far, but there’s still plenty to be fixed and added. The game is certainly deserving of praise, however there’s also work that should be done, so here are five things Palworld got right and five things that still need work.

5 Great Things About Palworld

You Can Sort the Inventory

When it comes down to games where you’re inevitably going to be inundated with loot, one of the most frustrating things to have to do is sort through your inventory and chests. While it’s nice to be able to manually set things where you want them to be be in your hotbar, having to do it manually can add such a drag to the feeling of the gameplay.

When I first saw the name Turnip Boy Robs a Bank, I had no idea what to expect. I hadn’t played or seen anything about the first game, Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, so I didn’t even know what genre or art style to anticipate.

As soon as I opened the Game Pass page I was intrigued. Although I’ve never played Hotline Miami myself, I could immediately recognize the inspiration while still clearly seeing the humor that was going to make this game unique right off the bat. After all, I couldn’t expect anything other than humor for a game named Turnip Boy Robs a Bank.

Sure, Palworld has some seriously impressive Pals like Mammorest or Grizzbolt, but those just don’t speak to me. In truth, none of the Pals in the game really speak to me quite like Depresso. Ever since I first laid eyes on them, I knew that there was no other Pal for me.

Take a good look at Depresso. Seriously, what’s not to love? From the slight slouch to the drooped ears to the “perpetually grouchy look on its face,” Everything about Depresso reaches the part of my soul that just needed to be reached — and the memes seem to agree. Seriously, they’re physically blue — meaning that the blueness inside runs so deep that it had no choice but to come out.

The highly anticipated launch of Payday 3 was turned sour quickly as the game was plagued with issues in the eyes of the players, with problems like server failures, features missing and no offline mode.

Now, four months after its launch in a post titled “Our Plans Going Forward,” the developers of Payday 3 have made a statement regarding the struggling game’s future.

While the Steam Deck’s mobile platform isn’t one that caters to every player and game, one user on the r/SteamDeck subreddit has had more of a positive experience than many other people who have purchased the device.

User Motherhazelhoff made a post on January 16 detailing how they had previously been a frequent user of marijuana prior to having purchased their Steam Deck. They explained how they had been smoking heavily partially due to the fact that they had their gaming computer next to where they would smoke, but the Steam Deck changed the habit for them.