When you think of Disney Villains, you picture wicked blue flames, deep purple tentacles, sinfully red and black serpents, and a fire-breathing dragon engulfed in tangled thorns – some of the most iconic images of evil sorcerers and witches in recent decades. They scream malevolence with a mere glance, andDisney Dreamlight Valleydelicately balances these villains’ malice with giving them a second chance at a do-gooder’s life. However, with this comes the real struggle: someone has to be the villain, and it’s hard to make the traditional bad guys fill that role when this is supposed to be their chance at a fresh start....

After months of us all pretending that we hadn’t seenthatpiece of artwork,Nintendohas finally confirmed thatDonkey Kong Bananzais bringing back Pauline. As great as Mario Kart World is, the most exciting launch window game for the Switch 2 isunarguably Donkey Kong Bananza. We’ve been waiting for the big guy to get a new game for some time, and Bananza looks to be a massive evolution for the character, whichmakes sense since it’s seemingly made by the Mario Odyssey team....

Donkey Kong Bananzaisn’t aMariogame. I know, it takes place in the same universe and is happily using the same iconography as part of this new presentation, but there are a number of things that make it feel distinctly DK. Its character designs, level layout, atmosphere, and mechanics fly in the face of what we expected from traditionalNintendoplatformers during a time when we’ve all been wishing for one more than ever....

Donkey Kong Bananzalaunched last week and, unsurprisingly, a lot of people think it’s a pretty good video game.While not as highly-rated as Super Mario Odyssey- the last game that this team of developers made - it still managed to hit a Metacritic and OpenCritic score of 91, making it one of the best games of the year andleaving Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 fans sweating bullets about game of the year season....

Donkey Kong Bananza’sfirst sales numbers are in, and they’re early evidence that our favourite gorilla’sSwitch 2debut is hardly monkeying around. Even so, they aren’t apingthe development team’s previous project, coming in at under half of whatSuper Mario Odysseyachieved in the same market and relevant modifiers. But there are a lot of asterisks attached here, the kind that ultimately paints the picture of a strong showing for DK’s first big adventure in far too long a time....

Dragon BallGekishin Squadra only just started its open beta, but that hasn’t stopped fans from saying that it does one thing much better thanDragon Ball: Sparking Zero- customisation. Despitehow much it seems like Dragon Ball fans have turned on Sparking Zerosince it launched last year to rave reviews andrecord-breaking sales, it’s hard to argue that it’s one of the best games in the whole franchise.Even as a staunch Sparking defender, there are a few things that it definitely could have done better....

It’s been a while since we’ve heard from Ravensburger about anyDisney Lorcanaupdates, but during today’s The Next Chapter livestream, new director of communications Greg Tito showered us with a year’s worth of updates in just a matter of minutes. During the livestream, we got information on the World Championship,Reign of Jafar,Fabled, and the reveal of two new rarity types. We also learned about an upcoming card rotation, the next set comingafterFabled, and the reveal of a few highly anticipated Disney franchises coming soon to the game....

Fantasy Life i: The Girl Who Steals Timeis the last thing I expected to sneak atop my current Game of the Year list.Level 5has crashed the party with a sickeningly delightful gem that will sink its claws into you and refuse to let go. It’s a compelling combo ofStardew Valley,Animal Crossing, and myriad other JRPGs, all while putting its own unexpected spin on things. Cosy games of this ilk are usually moreish, encouraging players to settle into a nice routine of farming crops, chatting up villagers, and diving into dungeons in search of treasure....

After announcing it two months in advance for some reason, the latest rendition of Pokemon Presents has come to an end. It was a relatively shallow showcase as it revealed small updates forPokemon: Legends Z-A,Pokemon Champions, and additions coming to theTrading Card Game. If you were expecting some sort of surprise announcement, you were not going to find it this time around. But hey, at least we saw a sick Pikachu DJ set!...

Supposedly, that long-rumoured Final Fantasy 9 Remakeis in trouble. If true, that’s a real shame. I love FF9,and I’m hardly alone. ButFinal Fantasyfans are nothing if not multifaceted, and for as long as I’ve pined for more from Zidane, I’ve had it lodged in my head that a Final Fantasy 8 remake would be just as rad. Evidently, I’m far from alone. Thanks to the PC version of last year’s phenomenalFinal Fantasy 7 Rebirth, fans are modding the ever-loving heck out of it, and now, a Redditor with unyielding loyalty to a certain gunblade-toting, card-playing, hero is bringing Balamb Garden’s best and brightest all the way to Nibelheim and Kalm....

Quick Links Date Everythingis an interesting mash-up. Partially a dating sim visual novel, and partially an exploration-puzzle game, you will be spending a lot of time at home seeking out the many dateable objects in the game. This makes up the bulk of the game, and while your house is already plenty cluttered, it is in places pretty bland. That doesn’t have to be the case, though. Any house becomes a home with a little bit of personalisation, and Date Everything offers you....

Quick Links A lot of older players complain that new legendary creatures made withMagic: The Gathering’s Commander format in mind are all upsides, with none of the drawbacks they enjoyed building around. So why not pick a commander with a big drawback, like not being playable until you’re almost dead? The Last Ride is exactly that commander: the higher your health, the weaker it gets, and it can’t even survive attacking until you’ve lost almost 75 percent of your life....

Quick Links As you traverse through the map of Mexico and Australia inDeath Stranding 2: On The Beach, you’ll spend most of your time picking up cargo from the ground and taking it to a specific station. While on your journey to deliver an item, there are a bunch of side bits that you can interact with to help yourself in the long run. One of these mechanics is the collection of Chiral Crystals....