This Week in Games

Sony State of Play: The War of the Dead Man

Welcome back, folks! I had the pleasure of working on a Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma review earlier this week. The Rune Factory games are routinely some of my favorite titles to cover; I am ashamed to it that I never got around to playing Rune Factory 4 (which is the high mark for the series), but it makes me proud to help cover these games. While news has been slow lately in anticipation of the Switch 2's release this week (best of luck to everyone getting one!), we still have some news...!

A lot of studios have gone under in the past few years, and few studio shutdowns were as infuriating as that of Tango Gameworks last year. Tango Gameworks was started by industry figurehead Microsoft—while Microsoft initially claimed the game underperformed, they later threw their lot behind the game, referring to it as "one of the most successful launches for Bethesda and Xbox in recent years."

Mikami would go on to leave Tango Gameworks, but it was likely he saw the writing on the wall; in 2024, Microsoft would go on to shutter Tango Gameworks, even while Hi-Fi Rush was in the process of being ported to other consoles and while rumors abounded concerning a possible sequel. Most humiliatingly, Microsoft representatives would go on to claim they needed more games like Hi-Fi Rush... the day after shuttering Tango Gameworks.

The good news is that Krafton snapped up Tango Gameworks shortly afterward. And now, Tango Gameworks is back, with a new website and everything. Currently, they're even hiring for a new action game. It's an opportunity few studios are ever granted and should be fully celebrated. There's a lot of valid concern over Krafton having acquired Tango Gameworks, but I'm willing to count my blessings for now. It's romantic and all to talk about developers, down on their luck, pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and making a hit that puts them on the map, but the reality is that not many can pull that off. While the story of gumption is nice, in the here and now, game development requires money and not entrepreneurship: people need wages, your studio needs to be in a building and not under a bridge, and your colleagues need health insurance and other benefits or else they'll wish being bored at their old job was the worst of their problems. A studio with a proven success to their name getting a second chance after being unfairly shut down is not a story we hear often in the industry.

No word yet on the game Tango Gameworks is working on. But I think we'll all be happily anticipating it.

We've looked at Shueisha's video game output lately; the manga publisher had a hand in publishing Captain Velvet Meteor: The Jump+ Dimensions a few years back. They've got a new title coming in the pipes, and this one has my eye...

Bakudo, produced by Sayil Games, is described as a "boss rush" game: you play as Yuria, a new transfer student to a science-fiction school, as she takes on the student body in the advanced sport of Bakudo. The whole thing is dodgeball, only with floating mecha arms for serving the ball. While the perspective is third-person over-the-shoulder, the experience brings Windjammers to mind—only you're trying to smack your opponent with the ball, not necessarily score goals.

While the trailer mostly focuses on Yuria's game against a large robot (it looks like the first Sp//dr from the Spider-Verse movies, doesn't it?), the trailer also teases at several fights against the other of the student body, including a teleporting boy named Flash who spikes the ball with a staff, and a tall girl named Aria who seems to be using soccer kicks. How very Kill la Kill!

If I'm name-dropping a lot of other media, don't take it as criticism on my behalf—I appreciate the energy on display. Even if the "boss rush" angle leaves Bakudo with little to do outside of the matches themselves, it has the style and energy needed to carry itself. The stylism on display alone is stellar; it's nice to have an arcade-style game like this. Hopefully, it has co-op too...! There's no release date for Bakudo yet, but it'll be available for pre-order on Steam.

By now, you've likely heard the news of Tatsuya Kando's departure from Square Enix. Best known as the series director for the The World Ends with You, Kando's 29 years career started from doing character animations for classic titles like Final Fantasy VII or Parasite Eve.

Kando's involvement in The World Ends with You was immortalized through the in-game character Ken Doi, whom Kando uses as his avatar on Twitter. Kando did not offer any explanations for his departure, but promised he would continue to deliver fun experiences for fans everywhere. Sadly, this may well mean the end of the The World Ends with You games, but after two games and an anime series, it got way more than anyone could have ever hoped for.

We wish Kando the best, but we also hope he ends up somewhere where his talents won't be wasted.

It's been my long-held belief that many of Sony's decisions result from them looking over Nintendo's shoulders. So the news that Sony had a State of Play planned for this week felt like it was trying for a quick score before the Switch 2's drop. But—credit to Sony—the State of Play rocked. And thank goodness, because people with PS5s needed the good news.

One major theme here was the abundance of Japanese games. Prior State of Plays were pretty heavy on American games, which brought an overabundance of live-service shooters. Those were seemingly Sony's big strategies for a while. It took five years, but Sony finally realized that people only really have time for one or two of those (and most of them are already playing Fortnite). So we get news on titles that mostly come from Japanese developers or titles that we already knew about, and we finally get release dates. Good on Sony, because the surprises on tap are pretty boss. (I had seen a tiny bit of concern, given the state of Marathon, but it looks like the concerns were premature after all.) A lot of these games might not be exclusives, but screw it: they're games you can play on your PS5.

Big stand-outs: First Light: 007 appears to be an origin story starring a young James Bond. The young spy's design feels like a curious amalgamation of previous Bonds: a little Brosnan, a bit of Moore, a cheeky bit of Dalton's accent. Kudos to the designers, but he looks like James Bond Jr. That's either a completely accidental twist or a cheeky reference by someone who went rogue. I like both outcomes.

Digital Eclipse is working on Mortal Kombat Legacy Kollection, which archives a ton of the Mortal Kombat games, including their ports (like the Game Boy versions and such). It includes rollback netcode and is likely the most loving tribute to the fighting series we'll ever get. I appreciate the love being put into the games, including the interviews with the actors and developers, but that sound clip of a dev claiming "there was no template for what [they] were doing" is some hogwash. Street Fighter was right over there, dudes.

Thief is getting a VR spin-off, which reminded me that Thief is a series of games that exists and serves as a foundational immersive sim. Cairn looks to be a dramatic take on rock climbing; I dig the vibe. Tides of Tomorrow combines a lot of high-flying sci-fi with a flooded world; I can't shake the Waterworld comparisons. NetEase's Sea of Remnants combines charming puppetwork characters (think Book of Life with a turn-based RPG system. Interesting—but it's F2P... The Game Kitchen's Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound still looks awesome and intense, and its release date is July 31. Sword of the Sea looks beautiful, and I love the idea of flying around on a magic sword—how very Daicon IV!

Sony announced their home-grown fightstick: Project Defiant. Made with fighting games in mind (, Sony owns EVO, the biggest fighting game tournament worldwide), the Defiant is also unique in its wireless capabilities. Sony is making claims about its latency, courtesy of PlayStation Link. Much as I love fighting games, I don't play enough of them to have a stance on this one. I do hope it can be customized with some killer art.

Now we can talk about the good stuff! This one goes out to that reader from last week who asked for a release date for this specific title. I didn't know about Angel's Egg, and that can't be a coincidence. Good work on that, honestly, but I'm just not sold on the whole "soldier-teamed-up-with-a-winsome-little-girl" combo. I've read Newbery Award books with dogs in them. We all know someone will die by the end of the game in a "tragic" scene. I'm sure the storytelling will be effective, but I've seen the puppet show, and I've seen the strings. Still: love the designs in Pragmata. Also, CAPCOM is very aware of the schedule slip for this one; their little card with the prior 2022/2023 release dates were erased (they even had a little "I'm sorry" note under them) with a "2026" release date (complete with a cheeky "It's real!"). Look forward to it!

Silent Hill f finally got a release date: September 25th! The game looks gruesome and tense as it should, I'm excited for it. Meanwhile, Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater also revealed a release date: August 28th! More to the point, we have confirmation that the remake will include the Ape Vs Snake mini-game (wherein Naked Snake is forced to track down a horde of monkeys from the Ape Escape series). It also teased more online content. Fitting: Metal Gear Solid: Subsistence (an enhanced remake of Snake Eater on the PS2) also included online multiplayer.

Digimon: Time Stranger has been slowly plugging away in the background. The social media for the game has done a neat job of making clips featuring some of the new Digimon that'll be appearing in the game, along with their special attacks. The new trailer serves as a sizzle reel illustrating some of the cast and cutscenes from the game. It looks great, but I appreciate a bit of vocal fan service in the game: listen closely, and you'll hear good ol' dub for Digimon, including the Elvis-inspired Etemon and the insidious Myotismon. It's great to hear the big guy come back! Sadly, Angela Anaconda is still at large to this day. Look forward to Time Stranger this October 3.

When the State of Play started with a phantasmagoria of imagery, I figured it was just Sony making a presumptuous intro. "Ooh, we're all about play, look at all of our IP—all two of them! I hope you like The Last of Us and The Last of Us 2!" The joke's on me! I overlooked the beat in the background. That beat was important: the reveal was for Luminies Arise, the newest entry in Tetsuya Mizuguchi's line of fantastic puzzle games.

The Luminies series started on the PSP, where it quickly became a killer app on the console: a combination of block-matching puzzling with rhythm. The real kicker was the amazing presentation, a combination of phenomenal music and constantly shifting backgrounds and patterns. It's mesmerizing and puts you into a flow state. It is a small wonder Mizuguchi would later get tapped for Tetris Effect. Luminies Arise promises to be just as spectacular for the eyes and ears. If you've never played a Luminies game, pick this one up; it's due out this autumn. (It'll also be out on Steam.)

We're getting a new Nioh! Team Ninja's Nioh series combines the Ninja Gaiden series' intense control schemes and combat with Souls-like mechanics. They're a cut above the Dark Souls games in of style and difficulty, but once those games click, they click. Great stuff, but I fully it to not having the manual dexterity to play them well. As it turns out, we're due for a third one in 2026; in the meantime, Team Ninja has a nice demo for the game up on the PlayStation Store.

Hirogami looks fascinating: a 3D game set in an origami world where your character can fold themselves into different forms to overcome obstacles. I love the aesthetic, even if I'm not a huge fan of the "3D models moving on 3s" aesthetic. Look forward to it this September 3.

Koji Igarashi is back at it again! Finally finished with Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night (and taking a breather from the Bloodstained: Circle of the Moon spin-offs), we finally have a brand-new Bloodstained game! This one serves as a prequel to Ritual of the Night, featuring Leo from the Black Wolves as they lay siege to the Ethereal Castle. The big twist here: co-op! Leo appears to be teamed up with a spunky French woman dressed as a knight (she has Ivy Valentine vibes). I love the design and the aesthetic; I've yet to do much with Bloodstained, but this one looks great! Look forward to it in 2026.

I don't say this kind of thing often, and I try not to, but Jesus, Mary and Joseph-H-f*cking-Christ—Romeo is a Dead Man looks so freaking awesome. We go from a cartoonish family eating tonkatsu curry to a poor shlub getting his face eaten off by a zombie to his Rick Sanchez-esque grandpa injecting him with nanites that (in a sequence done in a completely different art style) turn the poor shlub into a kickass cyborg ready to tear through armies of aliens and the undead. Gōichi Suda is firing on all cylinders.

Romeo is a Dead Man combines Suda 51's love of American and Japanese superheroics with constantly shifting art styles and some pumping beats—and lots and lots of good ol' ultraviolence. Chainsaws, brutal punchings—we reach Hammer Film Productions levels of gallons of red goo splashing everywhere. I missed the boat on No More Heroes, I missed the boat on Lollipop Chainsaw, I missed the boat on Shadows of the Damned and Killer7 and Killer Is Dead—I don't want to miss Romeo is a Dead Man. Also, I saw someone point out that it's cute that Romeo has his name, considering the name of Lollipop Chainsaw's starlet is Juliet Starling. Considering Suda 51 is not above cheeky references like that (like with how No More Heroes 3 takes numerous pot-shots at EA Games), I'm curious if there's anything there... Romeo is a Dead Man comes in 2026.

This was a surprise during the stream: Marvel is gearing up for another fighting game starring the Marvel superheroes—but it's not with CAPCOM; it's with Felipe Smith's Robbie Reyes. Dr. Doom, Spider-Man, Kamala Khan (a.k.a. Ms. Marvel), and Captain America are also there.

Tōkon immediately looks awesome, so I'm not too worried about it living in Marvel Vs. CAPCOM's shadow; it immediately has its own identity. But it'll need an adjustment period, seeing as certain characters will behave and function completely differently than they did in MvC. Spidey not having his Maximum Spider, Cap not having his Charging Star, Iron Man not having his Proton Pack (or his infinite). Marvel Vs. CAPCOM is a pillar of the fighting game community with years of legacy, impact, and love among fans. If anything, Tōkon makes me miss MvC. Also, how a 4v4 set-up works in practice remains to be seen. Look forward to Tōkon in 2026 on PS5 and PC.

This one hit the hardest in a State of Play loaded with phenomenal news: Final Fantasy Tactics is finally freed from PSP Jail. The seminal strategy game, considered by many to be one of the best Final Fantasy games, is coming back with enhanced visuals and systems—and it brings with it the seminal War of the Lions translation.

Final Fantasy Tactics is a game with a broad scope, courtesy of Yasumi Matsuno's writing. The framing device is that of a historian reading through ancient documents regarding a war of succession from the land of Ivalice: the so-called "War of the Lions." While history looks upon the knight Delita as the hero of the war, the truth of the story involves a soldier-turned-mercenary named Ramza. While Ramza's name was stricken from history, we come to see Ramza's world-changing actions in a complicated war, filled to the brim with major political themes of class warfare, oligarchy, religion, and the corrupting effects of power.

Final Fantasy Tactics went on to establish the setting of Ivalice, which would later be revisited in Vagrant Story (which also needs a port!). The other Final Fantasy Tactics sequels would later revisit Ivalice—or rather, an illusion of it. But Ivalice would later on become a domain of the mainline Final Fantasy games like Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy XIV. Characters from Final Fantasy XII would even retroactively get added into Tactics as guest characters, such as famed malewife Balthier.

Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles, as this remake is being called, features two versions of Final Fantasy Tactics: the original version of the game, with the War of the Lions translation, and an "enhanced" version with voice acting, a new interface, new graphics, and new mechanics. There is some consternation over the visuals in the "Enhanced" version: the sprites... don't look the best. But then you miss out on the improvements on the original version. Also, in honor of Final Fantasy Tactics featuring cameos from Cloud Strife and Aerith Gainsborough from Final Fantasy VII, The Ivalice Chronicles will also maintain the cameos—complete with their corresponding voice talents, Cody Christian and Briana White.

Yasumi Matsuno shared some choice words regarding The Ivalice Chronicle, underlining the political message behind the game and its meaning to the audience. Matsuno refers to the original context that led to Final Fantasy Tactics's creation, how that mirrors today's era, and his hopes that Ramza's story could inspire the people of today. "The will to resist is in your hands," he reminds us. Matsuno's games have never shied away from political themes, be it racial oppression or the call to do what is right by your fellows. His Tactics Ogre games underline the humanity behind every person struggling under the yoke of oppression and war, and even Crimson Shroud illustrated the politically-motivated oppression of the Qish people. A lot of the disappointment with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance stemmed from the writing being a step down from its predecessor; I imagine The Ivalice Chronicles is going to hit us today like an atom bomb.

Sony blew the lid off The Ivalice Chronicles, but it's not only arriving on PS4 and PS5: it'll also launch on Xbox Series X|S, Switch, Switch 2, and Steam. Look forward to it this September 30.

For folks worried about the fortunes of Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Time, good news: the game has broken 800,000 copies sold in 10 days! This is your reminder to check out Fantasy Life i.

wrote a review of the game a while back.

Sony Interactive Entertainment will be hosting an event this June 8, all about the Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. In the meantime, look forward to an in-game appearance by VTuber Usada Pekora.

The Anima: Gate of Memories I and II games are set to receive remasters! Both games will be compiled into a singular package, along with a bevy of graphical improvements. Look forward to it on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Steam, and Nintendo Switch 2 in Q4 2025!

That'll do it for this week, I think. We'll live in a post-Switch 2 world when I see you guys next week. I still won't have mine, but oh well, my work continues! Hopefully, folks are excited for what's to come. Be good to each other; I'll see you in seven.

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This Week In Games! is written from idyllic Portland by Jean-Karlo Lemus. When not collaborating with Anime News Network, Jean-Karlo can be found playing Japanese RPGs, eating popcorn, watching v-tubers, and tokusatsu. You can keep up with him at @ventcard.bsky.social.

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