Combat
Ongoing coverage on Combat.
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"We nailed it": Resonance A Plague Tale Legacy's designer on pairing "brutal" tone with the "fun of killing five or six soldiers"
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy shifts focus from Amicia to Sophia, a companion from A Plague Tale: Requiem, set 15 years before the previous games. This spinoff emphasizes action-adventure gameplay with puzzles and combat over pure stealth, featuring Sophia's combat prowess and a new island setting. Developers Asobo Studio aim to balance the series' signature dark tone with more dynamic gameplay, notably removing the rats from previous titles.
Tinker Islands Announced
Headup Games and Goon Squad have announced Tinker Islands, a new multiplayer sandbox game. The title features exploration, crafting, and combat elements within a large ocean setting. Further details are available on Steam.
Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle Review
Veritas Tales: Witch of the Dark Castle offers a fascinating story with numerous options for exploration and combat. However, it suffers from minor balance issues between its two characters.
I didn't expect Stranger Than Heaven to have such deep, satisfying combat
A hands-on demo of Stranger Than Heaven focused exclusively on its unique combat system, which utilizes a dual-controller scheme for precise limb control. This intricate combat, combined with intelligent enemy AI and challenging boss encounters, has generated significant excitement for the game's release, despite limited information on its story and world.
Where Winds Meet: Hidden Mountain Trailer Details Even More Gameplay and Spectacular Sights
The "New Wuxia" expansion for Where Winds Meet, titled Hidden Mountain, is set to release on July 23rd. A new trailer showcases impressive traversal mechanics through diverse environments, challenging combat against doll-themed bosses, and serene spots for players to regroup.
Planted! – Beta Sign Up | Alpha Beta Gamer
Planted! is a chaotic combat party game for one to four players where players claim territory, sow seeds, and grow crops to use as weapons against opponents. The game features strategic planting decisions, fertilization timing, and combat involving launching produce for points across eight diverse biomes. It supports online, offline, split-screen, and cross-play modes, with a solo campaign and twelve unique gardening rivals.
What Each Gakuran Nameplate Color Means
This guide explains the meaning behind the different colored nameplates in the Roblox game Gakuran. The nameplate color indicates the player's current grade, with Blue for First Year, Purple for Second Year, and Yellow for Third Year. These grades are purely cosmetic and do not affect gameplay.
Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced Guide – 15 Best Tips and Tricks
This guide for Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag Resynced offers 15 tips and tricks to master pirating gameplay. It covers advanced parkour, utilizing Eagle Vision and combat mechanics, improving the Jackdaw, and customizing difficulty settings.
Doom: The Dark Ages - Revelations Review So Far
The combat encounters in Doom: The Dark Ages are highlighted as the best the game has to offer in this review. The DLC promises to deliver top-tier action for players.
Evening Previews
After a four-hour hands-on preview of The Blood of Dawnwalker, the game shows promise for being a breakout hit in 2026. The preview highlighted elements of combat, romance, and intrigue within the game.
Bellwright Review
Bellwright is a survival game that attempts to differentiate itself by incorporating elements of Mount & Blade, allowing players to eventually avoid direct combat by raising armies. The game suffers from significant early-game issues, particularly with its inventory system and slow progression through the tech tree, making resource gathering a chore. While the ability to recruit NPCs to handle tasks improves the experience later on, the initial grind and clunky mechanics can be a major deterrent.
Palia: How to Craft and Use Royal Arrows
This guide explains how to craft and use Royal Arrows in Palia, a new item essential for breaking Amber in the Royal Highlands adventure zone. Players must first purchase the crafting recipe from the Amber Echo Store using Amber Echo currency, then gather materials like Lantern Ashwood, Jadium Bar, and more Amber Echo to craft the arrows at a Worktable.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Combat and Exploration Gameplay
This article provides a look at the combat and exploration gameplay mechanics featured in A Plague Tale: Requiem. It details how players will navigate the world and engage with enemies.
Story-driven action game Blood Message is a cinematic showstopper, and after 20 minutes hands-on, it plays great too
Blood Message is a story-driven action game set in 9th century China that aims to deliver a highly cinematic experience with fluid, choreographed combat. A hands-on preview revealed seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes, environmental interactions during fights, and a grounded, human-scale approach to action. Developed by 24 Entertainment, the game is slated for PC and consoles with a TBA release date.
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy balances puzzles and engaging combat
Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy, a spin-off focusing on Sophia, is set 15 years before A Plague Tale: Requiem and features a blend of unique puzzles and engaging combat. Players will navigate mazes and solve light-based puzzles, while also engaging in melee combat with blocking, parrying, and grappling hook mechanics. The game is scheduled for release on August 27, 2026, for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Stranger Than Heaven Second-Take Preview: Stranger Than Heaven’s Combat Seems Harder Than Hell, and that’s a Good Thing
A preview of Stranger Than Heaven suggests its combat system offers a greater challenge than the typical Like a Dragon brawling, indicating RGG Studio's intent to innovate with the new series prequel. This second look features editor Tristan Ogilvie's impressions after an earlier hands-on by Michael Higham.
Constance Review
Constance, a 2D metroidvania originally released on PC in 2025, is now available on consoles. The game features smooth traversal, challenging platforming, and visceral combat against robotic foes, all set within unique, hand-drawn environments. While praised for its difficulty and art style, the game's demanding nature may lead to player burnout, with limited accessibility options.
Blood Message Hands-on Preview - Blood of War
A hands-on preview of Blood Message, developed by 24 Entertainment, reveals a polished third-person action-adventure with cinematic flair and punchy combat. Set in 848 AD during the Dunhuang uprising, the game features a single-player story with a camera that seamlessly blends cutscenes and gameplay, similar to God of War. Blood Message is slated for release in 2026/2027 on PC and consoles.
Every Top Blade Ranked (and Where to Get It) – Expert Game Reviews
This guide ranks the best swords in Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2, detailing their stats, locations, and crafting requirements. It highlights that crafted 'masterclass' swords, particularly the Reforged Radzig Kobyla's Longsword and the Sword of Sir Valentine, surpass found weapons. The article also explains sword types, combat mechanics, and offers recommendations based on player preference for one-handed, two-handed, or shield-based combat.
Collapsing floorboards, vaulting over tables, and dodging arrows — Blood Message is a cinematic adventure that looks like it could have been developed by Naughty Dog
Blood Message, a new single-player, story-driven game set in Ancient China, was a standout at Summer Game Fest 2026. Developed by 24 Entertainment, a subsidiary of NetEase Games, it features cinematic presentation, slick stealth, and brutal combat reminiscent of the Uncharted series. The game is built on Unreal Engine 5 and will be released for PC and consoles.
