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RedOctane, reformed 15 years after Activision shut it down, is bringing plastic instruments back with Stage Tour: Gibson-backed guitar controllers, drums, mics and a 16-song setlist, out late 2026.
Cygnus Cross' pixel-art blend of Diablo-style combat and Stardew-style town rebuilding gets an early access date and a frankly absurd voice cast, from Matthew Mercer to Doug Cockle.
First hands-ons with Evil Empire's Castlevania are in and they are glowing: Rose Belmont, 1499 Paris, seven weapon types and a tarot Arcana system, launching 15 October across platforms.
Melbourne's Gameclaw Studio built a side-scrolling RPG about rebuilding a dwarven home one rescued kinsman at a time, and I lost a string of evenings to it. Gorgeous pixel art, a compulsive settlement loop and honest jank in the combat. Recommended.
I bounced off Palworld hard in early access. Version 1.0 fixed the jank, killed the worst of the grind and bolted a real endgame onto the catch-shoot-build loop. Two and a half years later, the meme game became one of the best survival crafters on PC.
Season 2 kept my Friday-night tea ritual alive for ten weeks, and I loved being back on the road with Frieren, Fern and Stark. But this season is a bridge, not a destination: gentle, lovely, and clearly saving its biggest feelings for what comes next.
Ubisoft's Black Flag remake is a genuinely lovely rebuild of the best pirate game the series ever made, and a case study in souring your own launch with nine day-one DLC packs. The ship is great. The gift shop can walk the plank.
MAPPA returns to the well with Culling Game: Part 1, and the action animation might be the best the series has produced. The trade-off is a season top-loaded with rule explanations that test even seasoned shonen viewers.
Netflix's live-action One Piece stops grading itself on a 'good for what it is' curve and becomes just good television. Season 2 covers five manga arcs in eight episodes, introduces a showstopping Chopper, and sets the stage for an Alabasta season that might be one of the biggest TV events of 2027.