Subnatica 2 will be going into early access soon and the developers want players to be part of the journey with the developers, giving them feedback on what they are liking and what they don't. The developers have released the first in what will be an ongoing series of developer blogs as they get closer to the release of early access later this year. We get to see a bit of gameplay here including some of the new co-op gameplay as well. 

The first Subnautica game is one of the best survival games I have ever played and it was incredible just wandering around and discovering the various mysteries of the island, none of which I will spoil here if anyone hasn't played the game yet. The sequel however I did enjoy but I felt like it got away from what made the original great. I'm hoping Subnautica 2 goes back to basics of keeping the game mostly underwater instead of on land. 

Subnautica 2 enters early access later this year.

Solo developer ML Media has announced that Rooftops & Alleys: The Parkour Game will leave Steam Early Access and launch 1.0 on June 17^th for PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch. The under-the-radar title is somewhat of a cult hit, selling over 150,000 copies and sporting an “overwhelmingly positive” user rating on Steam.

Rooftops & Alleys full release will introduce new content and enhancements, including a new online game mode, a new map, new challenges, a full progression system, customization options, and a photo mode. Playable either solo or with up to three friends online, you will explore massive maps while completing time trials, trick challenges, or just free roam. Online you can take part in competitive modes such as TAG, Capture the Flag, or Trick Battles.

Additionally, there are numerous parkour tricks to learn and master as you rack up combos, over 100 customization options for both you and your pigeon – yes, a pigeon – which is used to discover new areas, plan your routes, and fast travel around maps.

Check out the new 1.0 launch announcement trailer below – it looks dope.

Like the rest of the gaming universe, the gang at Gaming Nexus freaked out yesterday and immediately scrambled to download The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered. And of course, this means that we all had to create new characters to launch into Bethesda's Picard sewer.

So let's take a look and see where we all landed, shall we?

Let's start with GN Copy Editor Randy Kalista, who went with this very generic "default White Jesus-looking Imperial." The lack of creativity shown here is jaw-dropping, but hey, you like what you like, I guess. 

Let's all join together in booing Randy. Booooo, Randy! Booooooo!

Next up, we have Games N Moorer's resident streamer (and erstwhile Forespoken defender) Joseph Moorer. Joe went with this appealing/terrifying fluffy kitty, whom he dubbed "Joe Necrotic". Joe hopped into the GN Slack chat to see if anyone could assist him in making his character's hair black, but then never followed up with whether he was successful or not. He was last seen sleeping in the opening dungeon.

Very regal. Very preppy. Very demure.

Sim-fan Jason Dailey went with this very depressed looking orc, whom he cleverly named "Orxon Orxoff". Jason was the only one that followed the assignment - which was to try to make an unholy freak with the Oblivion character creator. Not terribly freaky, Orxon just ended up looking like he needs a quiet evening in a bubble bath.

"I've got feelings. I'll punch you, but I'll be the one crying."

And finally, we come to my character Snarf. Clearly the best character of the bunch, Snarf is a sneaky kitty who enjoys creeping around in shadows, sniping fools from above, and gobbling up delicious apples. That cold ping of fear in your heart? That's the thought of those eyes staring at you from the darkness at the foot of your bed.

There were rumors and speculation aplenty leading up to the current "worst-kept secret in gaming." That worst-kept secret, at least this time, was that The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered would be shadow dropping Soon (TM). Well, after weeks of false starts, the remastered edition of 2006's Oblivion did indeed hit online store shelves today, April 22, 2025.

I didn't lose money on a bet, but I definitely lost a bet stating that Oblivion Remastered wouldn't launch this year. I figured that the game is only 19 years old. Surely Bethesda would wait until 2026—on Oblivion's 20th anniversary—before launching. I was so confident that I even made it my #1 counterpick during this year's Fantasy Critic draft.

You wholeheartedly win this round, Gaming Nexus Staff Writer Jason Dailey. And I couldn't be happier. Even if I'm going to be sacked with -20 points on the season for being so naive as to disbelieve the rumors that it would, indeed, launch this year.

Oblivion's story is intact. But the Remaster, handled by Virtuous Studios, has approximately 120 GB of Unreal Engine 5 pushing the pixels around the screen now. The video and screenshots already prove that they're gigabytes well spent. Oblivion is gorgeous once again, even if it wholly resurrected the Oblivion Abominations subreddit, in which people push the character creation sliders to their horrifying limits.

If you haven't already forked over $50 on Steam for Oblivion Remastered, or if you aren't subscribed to Game Pass, then you can wait for our review, out in two weeks. Why is it two weeks away? All of us at Gaming Nexus have day jobs. Oblivion is between 60 and 10,000 hours long. And it really did shadow drop today out of seemingly nowhere—at least as far as official channels were concerned.

Check out our review of the 2006 OG Oblivion if you want a taste of a game that extracted a rare 9.1 review out of former GN Editor-in-Chief Chuck Husemann.

I'm not great with copyright law. I'm not a lawyer. But I do know that the Dungeons & Dragons System Reference Document (SRD) is of vital importance to third-party creators.

SRD 5.2 allows creators to utilize the updated core rules to publish their own TTRPG content and keep full ownership and control of their creations.

Basically, it allows creators to publish their own adventures, supplements, settings, and other game materials without infringing on Wizards of the Coast's intellectual property. It outlines what mechanics, rules, and terminology can be used.

How ability checks work, how combat is structured, how spells are cast, and what appears in stat blocks for monsters; these kinds of things are all included in the SRD, and gives creators the means to build new content that is compatible with official D&D, making the third-party creator's content instantly familiar to D&D players and Dungeon Masters such as myself.

This updated SRD 5.2—which is mostly D&D 2024 Monster Manual stuff, but also contains 2024 Player's Handbook and 2024 Dungeon Master's Guide stuff—is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License which, if I understand correctly, means that it will always be available free of charge. This is how you can visit online shops like the Dungeon Masters Guild, DriveThruRPG, or even Kickstarter, see hundreds of D&D supplements, and know that if it says it's "compatible with fifth edition" or "5E compatible," then you can slot it into your 5e D&D game with relative ease.

All of this is boring but important. It keeps Wizards of the Coast on good terms with players and content creators after the Open Gaming License (OGL) scandal/controversy/debacle sparked outrage across the D&D world in early 2023. Some of us are still recovering. While others will never have their faith restored in D&D publishers Wizards of the Coast, or WotC's parent company Hasbro.

Suffice it to say, the D&D SRD 5.2 being updated under the Creative Commons License is a very good thing for the entirety of the D&D ecosystem. Keep playing.

You can download the SRD 5.2 right now, if you want. It's not beautified with WotC's incredible stable of artists. But it's got the guts of D&D 5e all up in it.

I'm feeling extra crabby today, so like a moth to a flame, let's talk about crabs!

Crustacean fans will be delighted to know that yesterday Another Crab’s Treasure's Year of the Crab free update released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch. 

Something to NOT be crabby about is that this upgrade is completely free and jam packed with new features and challenges. We're talking new soulslike combat, more underwater territory for you to explore, over 50 shells that you can try on the shield you from enemies, Umami Magic, and I mean a TON of crabs.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL! If your interest is piqued (because how could it not be?), Another Crab’s Treasure is this week’s Steam Midweek Deal (now until May 5). So skuttle on over if you haven't already.

If you're new to the Another Crab Universe and you want to learn more, or if you're a seasoned pro digging through the sand for more information, you can check out the game's site here.

Or, if you're ready to witness the official update trailer, you can click play right here...

Note: I am not a carcinologist.

As a fan of beat em ups, I have played my fair share of games in the genre. The majority of them are just time wasting fun, but some of them I won't ever stop playing. Streets of Rage 4, TMNT: Shredder's Revenge, and even the original coin-op Turtles game had me obsessed for the longest time. The latest was Phantom Breaker Battle Grounds Ultimate, and though I'm late to the party, I might be a little addicted.

Duff already gave you his thoughts and feelings about the game, so I won't drag this out. I wasn't privy to the previous games, and didn't know there was a fighting game series based on it. There are 48 characters in this game. Some are different variants of the same character. The boss is also here, and you can even be a truck. Yes, you can be a truck. The replay value here, is the fact that you have to level up all the characters individually. And if you take them online to battle, all your levels go with it. It's pointless to be in a 8 player battle royal with a level 1 character, when someone is at 100. This is a disadvantage, and you don't want to be at a disadvantage, do you? No. You don't. 

The last thing that makes this beat em up different, is the game is played on two playing fields. While you have to push a button to navigate between the lanes, pushing up makes you jump, instead of helping you navigate the battleground. While you can avoid physical attacks by changing lanes, you can't always avoid supers. You block damage by tapping nothing at all, and sometimes get a perfect block. This is great for your overpowered foes, who are relentless, or have been playing this game forever. Either way, the best way to play this game, is in the harder difficulties. Nightmare mode where the screen just fills up with enemies, is organized chaos, and I wouldn't have it any other way. 

If you're a fan of the series, you should definitely check it out. If you're a fan of mindless fun for hours, you should also check it out. Lobby making was seamless, and you can get through the game in no time flat, depending on how many people you gather.  If you're a fan of the genre, you should definitely grab this. But now, I want to know where the other games are. And yes, I changed the dialogue audio to Japanese. What kind of a monster do you think I am?

As enamored as I was in my recent review of Indiana Jones and The Great Circle, there was one game mentioned in the intro that I am even considerably more excited for - Doom: The Dark Ages. Releasing in less than a month the latest trailer has dialed my anticipation up to 11. What’s immediately evident in this installment is the increased use of melee abilities with the incorporation of the shield throw and some mace bashes and that some of the enemy encounters are dialing it up to 11 along with my anticipation with giants to slay and mounts to well… mount. 

This looks to be another epic chapter in an already iconic series that has gone from strength to strength in its last two releases, Doom and Doom Eternal. The game seamless blends wall to wall action, over the top narratives, and incredible metal music design into what is, in my opinion, one of the most just plain old fun gaming experiences of this current age. Can’t wait to jump into the Dark Ages on May 15th. 

Empyreal, a new action RPG from indie studio Silent Games, shared a new trailer at yesterday’s Twitch Galaxies showcase, offering a new glimpse at that the game ahead of its launch. Coming to PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on May 8^th, Empyreal is a complex and challenging third-person action RPG that poses big existential questions to players. You play as the member of an expedition to an unknown planet where you enter a mysterious ancient monolith to understand how it got there, and what power it still holds.

Empyreal’s cast of characters has their own personal questlines with multiple endings for each one, three weapon classes with unique abilities, and lots of loot to upgrade your weapons and armor. A demo for the game is available now, and it comes with a surprisingly low barrier-to-entry of $29.99, with a 10% launch discount on Steam.

I was off the grid most of the day yesterday and, much to my surprise, the video game industry did not grind to a halt in my absence. Far from it, in fact, as developer VOID Interactive announced that its acclaimed tactical first-person shooter, Ready or Not, is making its way to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Epic Game Store, and the Microsoft Store this Summer. No firm date was given, but pre-orders are live now on some platforms for three versions of the game: Standard Edition, Day One Edition, and Deluxe Edition. The Standard and Day One editions are the same package, except for pre-order bonuses, and both cost $49.99. The Deluxe Edition is $69.99 and includes the Home Invasion, Dark Waters, and another unannounced DLC.

Ready or Not is a spiritual successor to the old SWAT games from Sierra, which I cut my tactical FPS teeth on back in the day. You play as a Los Suenos Police Department SWAT team member across 20 missions that can be played either solo or with up to five players in online co-op, featuring deep tactical gameplay and authentic SWAT equipment to use in the field. You will need all the tools at your disposal to defuse hostage situations, active bomb threats, barricaded suspects, and more, in addition to the DLC missions that add six levels to package.

A Gaming Nexus colleague has been trying to get me to play Ready or Not on PC for a while now, so as a console-leaning gamer, I suppose I’m running out of excuses. Honestly, the former me that took SWAT 3 way too seriously back in the day is beyond stoked to play Ready or Not. Check out the new console announcement trailer below.