Now, there are some snarky people on the internet oohing and ahhing at the New Season 2 balance changes trailer for Capcom's Street Fighter 6. So much so, that they're taking shots at people like us who only found a difference or 2. As I try not address the internet so much, they can be a little unforgiving. And of course I was one of those people looking at the trailer like "what am I looking at?" These changes won't be available until Akuma's May 22nd release. All the DLC characters got a 3rd outfit too, if you're into that sort of thing. 

Thankfully, there are people who make a living doing this stuff. And my favorite short and sweet version is by Youtuber Rooflemonger, who with their variety content, broke down what they saw in the trailer. It may not be as in depth as others, but I think that's the beauty of it here. Nice and easy. 10 minutes of your time. The trailer is below, and Rooflemonger's breakdown is below that one, you know, for people who need clear cut instructions like myself. "Hello and Welcome".

As promised, Ubisoft revealed the next entry in the Assassin’s Creed franchise today – Assassin’s Creed Shadows – and it’s launching November 15^th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Amazon Luna, the Ubisoft Store and Epic Games Store. Players who purchase the Gold Edition or Ultimate Edition will get three days early access to the game.

The team behind Assassin’s Creed Odyssey – Ubisoft Quebec – is the lead studio behind Shadows, and they’re finally taking us to feudal Japan, a location that fans have begged to visit in the AC universe for years now. You will play as Naoe, a shinobi, and Yasuke, a samurai as they work for the brotherhood during a tumultuous time in Japan’s history.

Naoe and Yasuke’s playstyle complement each other, with Naoe favoring stealth and Yasuke open combat. Each character has their own progression, skills, and weapons, allowing you to approach situations however you choose. Of course, it wouldn’t be a modern AC game without a sprawling open world, and Shadows is no different. This rendition of 16^th century Japan has been built on the latest version of Ubisoft’s Anvil engine exclusively for current-gen consoles, which is music to this shinoburai’s ears.

Shadows will also tap into some other familiar franchise features, but in its own way. You will be able to establish a network of spies to provide you information on targets and parts of the map. Additionally, some allies can be recruited to help you execute missions. All of this is coordinated at your customizable hideout where you can alter the layout, accessories, and decorations to make it your own.

Pre-orders are available now across storefronts, and include the typical Standard, Gold, and Ultimate Editions for $69.99, $109.99, and $129.99, respectively. The latter two include the Season Pass, in addition to the three days early access to the game.

We still need to see gameplay, which is no doubt coming at Ubisoft Forward on June 10^th, but it would have to suffer a massive blunder at that event for me to not pick up Assassin’s Creed Shadows later this year.

The first DLC pack for WWE 2K24 is available now and it's one that a lot of people have been anxiously awaiting as it includes the return of CM Punk to the franchise. Rounding out the rest of the pack are ECW legends.

Here is who is included in the ECW Punk Pack...

• CM Punk
• Bubba Ray Dudley
• D-Von Dudley
• The Sandman
• Terry Funk

Also included is new My Faction content including cards for all the wrestlers in the pack and a Paul Heyman manager card. 

Spanish indie developer Straynus today announced that Cronela's Mansion, an open-world adventure game intended as a spiritual successor to the Lucasfilm classic Maniac Mansion, will be headed to Nintendo Switch in 2025. However, Straynus is not stopping there. Classic gaming fans will be happy to hear that the game is also coming to NES, SNES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, and PC. (What? No Virtual Boy?)

The above trailer shows Cronela's Mansion running on a variety of these systems, which instantly tickled the nostalgia areas in my brain. According to a recent press release, the different versions of the game are "are designed to take advantage of the different platforms' strengths to create a unique and exciting experience, no matter which platform you're playing on."

While the game is nearing completion on all systems (each programmed from scratch independently of the others), Straynus is starting a Kickstarter to be able to release the title physically. Backers will have the opportunity to fund a a variety of levels for various rewards, including a big box version of the PC/MS-DOS game on DVD and floppy disk (limited to 500 copies worldwide). For the latest updates, check out the Cronela's Mansion Kickstarter page. 

It has been the better part of a year since I dabbled in Wayfinder. I walked away from the Early Access period hopeful for its future, and today, we have a clearer picture of what that future will look like. On June 11^th, the Echoes Update will launch for the Steam version of Wayfinder, with it coming to PlayStation 5 later in the year. It will also be available for purchase once again on June 11^th, after previously being removed from the marketplace. Existing Steam Early Access players will gain access to the Echoes update on May 31^st. In late 2024, Wayfinder will also make its debut on Xbox Series X|S consoles for the first time, which will coincide with its 1.0 launch.

The Echoes Update brings with it massive changes to the structure of the game. For starters, it is shifting away from being a service-based game, as well as dropping all online requirements. Players will now be able to play entirely offline, either solo or in three-player co-op, with no account requirements, logins, or other in-game purchases necessary. In lieu of this, Wayfinder will become a more traditional premium title, costing $24.99 during Early Access, with a price increase coming alongside its Xbox release. All of which are rare, but necessary changes, according to Airship Syndicate CEO and Creative Director Joe Madureira:

“To our knowledge this hasn’t been done before - taking an online-only game fully offline, fundamentally changing all aspects of it. We’re in uncharted territory, and it’s a big risk for Airship to make this change, but it’s one we believe in. We’re incredibly proud of the work our crew has done in such a period of time to make it happen. Our players have loved the world and characters, and with their continued support, we can keep expanding the game in the future.”

One other major note of housekeeping – PlayStation 4 support will be dropped once the Echoes Update hits PlayStation 5 later this year, but the developer will upgrade all PS4 versions to the PS5 one at no cost to players.

Beyond the structural changes, the gameplay itself is getting notable changes as well. There will be four difficulty settings, random weapon drops, collectible armor sets, streamlined acquisition of new characters, a new user interface, and a more traditional RPG talent system. Wayfinder will continue to receive content into the future, including new weapons, armor, new map areas, new quests, and more.

This is a seismic shift for both Wayfinder and Airship Syndicate. I respect the studio’s courage to make these sweeping changes, and I look forward to checking out the Echoes Update later this year on PS5.

Nintendo Switch Online has added more games to the Nintendo Switch Online Gameboy app. Originally released in 1989, and oddly missing from the original lineup, launch title Super Mario Land has finally been included. This is Mario's adventure in Sarasaland, and also marks the first appearance of Princess Daisy, before she became a pallet swap with Peach.

With it comes another 1989 title Baseball, which is just baseball, and Alleyway, which looks a LOT like Arkanoid. You get access to these titles with the regular Nintendo Switch Online subscription, and I can only believe they will just carry over to Nintendo's Switch successor. With all these games available at launch with backwards compatibility, it'll be a day one purchase for me for sure. These are all available now. So fire it up. 

 Do you feel as if you have mastered the perils of purgatory? Well, Valheim’s new biome plans on raising the temperature on you. Those strong enough to claim what is theirs by right of might can now lay siege to Ashlands and its dreadful master. An inferno of new enemies, weapons, crafting recipes and resources await for those brave enough to enter.“After conquering the Mistlands and learning how to wield magic, you will now have to fight tooth and nail to establish a foothold in the Ashlands. Treacherous cliffs and slithering dangers await in the boiling waters that only the sturdiest ships can navigate, and even arrival to the new biome will prove to be a challenge.”

The Ashlands biome is unrelenting and redefines what difficulty means in Valheim. While a large portion of the enemy forces consists of the reanimated dead known as Charred, even more lethal foes await. Aside from the Fallen Valkyrie and Morgen, the new biome is filled with other foes such as the new kind of Necks called the Asksvin or the winged Voltures that lie in wait to ambush. Worry not a horde of new enemies calls for a plethora of new weapons to combat foes. New weapons, such as the Slayer greatsword, Splitnir spear and Ripper crossbow can further be enhanced by upgrading them.

“We didn’t want to just release another biome but with fire instead of mist,” said Andreas Tomasson, Valheim producer. “Ashlands is supposed to feel like a struggle, and players should expect a challenge. Every inch of territory you claim has to be earned, and every outpost has to be reinforced before you venture deeper. We’re entering endgame territory here, and players need to be ready for what comes in the Deep North.”

You can play Ashlands right now. If you feel the need to read about every change that has recently come to Valheim you can head over here and check out the press kit for Ashlands. There you can read about Mistlands and Hildir’s Request, the previous updates that are live.

Like many of you, I  get inundated with spam emails daily on my Gaming Nexus email address, please feel free to add to it. Every now and then somethign pops up that does interest me. Today it was the title The world’s highest earning Warhammer 40k players - revealed in new report! First rule of writing is you probably don’t need the exclamation mark, but I digress. I find being able to live off of your winnings from a video game to be a dream goal. Who wouldn’t want to do that? The team at Casino.com has analysed each player’s total earnings to reveal which Warhammer players are really cashing in. The first thing I noticed was that I live in the wrong country to try and make a living this way; the top three earners all hail from Brazil, the fourth dude is from the Russian Federation. Ryoo Kyung Hyun tops the leaderboard as the highest-earning Warhammer 40k player in the world - with total earnings of $45,000. Hailing from the Republic of Korea, the professional gamer also goes by the name “SeleCT”. Ryoo has also been crowned the World Cyber Games champion twice over for his success playing Dawn of War. After him though, it does take a bit of a tumble to see wat the top five have made.

Overall the whole article was interesting to say the least. It covers not only Warhammer but other games, like Rainbow 6, shows you how much they’ve made from winning. The part I enjoyed the most was the information about games like Chess, something I never think of as a game, but might be considered the best board game around. You can follow this link to the site and read for yourself. The biggest takeaway is pretty simple: don’t quit your day job.

Behavior Interactive, developers of Dead by Daylight, and Supermassive Games, developers of Until Dawn and The Dark Pictures Anthology, have revealed a gameplay trailer for their collaboration game, "The Casting of Frank Stone". Much like other Supermassive Games this plays out like an interactive movie where you will have plenty of choices to make throughout the game. Said choices will lead your cast escaping or most likely suffering horrific deaths.

The cool thing about this trailer is Dead by Daylight fans will notice a number of easter eggs in the trailer. The main portion of the game looks like it's going to take place in the mill or the "ironworks of misery" from the MacMillian Estate map and I noticed a quick shot of The Huntress' mask near the end of the trailer.

I absolutely love these kinds of games and the Dead by Daylight universe is perfect for this and cannot wait to play this when it's eventually released. 

No release date yet, just that it's coming in 2024. 

I find it’s rare to talk about mental health. Even more rare, when a video game developer wants to talk about mental health, time to head for the door. On May 21 Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II will release on Xbox Series X|S and PC. Dom Matthews the Studio Head at Ninja Theory has just posted a blog and video on the Microsoft page, talking about, “the contribution of our mental health consultants, with the release of ‘Senua’s Psychosis’, a feature video that details how, by way of collaboration, Senua’s experiences of psychosis in Hellblade II are rooted both in neuroscience and in real lived experience.” This seems like one of those times that someone is trying to do right to the people who purchase their game to be as truthful and true to the source and experience as they can be. You can watch the entire video below.

If you are looking for more information you can head to Hellblade II mental health page. Hellblade II will relase on May 21. They also revealed that it will cost $49.99, not have a physical edition, and be a similar length to the predecessor.