Key Note Gaming

Any game built around gacha mechanics needs to have a certain hook to keep things interesting in the long term, especially if there’s potential to invest your hard-earned dollars into it. For all their systemic sins, Game of Thrones: Kingsroad and Persona 5: The Phantom X at least piqued my interest by expanding on already-revered lore, allowing me to intertwine myself in their beloved worlds. The much more enjoyable Zenless Zone Zero , on the other hand, pulled me in with a mix of high-octane combat, endearing character development, and Y2K flair. Arknights: Endfield is the latest competitor in this genre’s fierce attention economy, offering not only an engrossing sci-fi open world to explore, but another mechanically moreish addition: base building and automation. After approximately twenty hours of Endministrating, it’s clear there’s a lot more to uncover here beyond its sticky login loop, but crucially, I’m keen to expand my horizons in search of character motives, upgrades, an...

Fortnite appears to be getting The Office content in Chapter 7 after rumors suggested Epic Games was working on a crossover. Fans of TV and video games were thrown for a loop earlier today when Epic shared a not-so-cryptic tease on social media. It’s the kind of thing that would seem completely nonsensical to the uninitiated, but those who are even peripherally aware of the NBC comedy will recognize “Build. Beets. Battle Royale.” as a reference to one of the most memorable quotes from The Office. Build. Beets. Battle Royale. pic.twitter.com/erCDcS0ZSS — Fortnite (@Fortnite) January 20, 2026 A meeting between Fortnite and The Office, though never considered to be impossible, is unexpected, but some recent rumors had players believing confirmation was only a matter of time. Popular Fortnite content creator Shiina said they heard The Office could soon show up just last week. At the time, they suggested a rumor about “ a nostalgic duo from a live-action TV series ” was tied to th...

Anime is awesome. Board games are also awesome. Put the two together, and you get tabletop fun that not only shows off some of the hottest anime series out there, but can also capture the wild nature of the animated media and their associated tropes. While there are plenty of games that have animed-themed versions like Naruto Monopoly or Dragonball Z Yahtzee, this list instead focuses on games that use the IPs they feature as a theme rather than simply being an anime reskin, and games that do a great job in replicating the look, feel, or tropes of this beloved art form. Featured in this article Just as a side note before we get into the list itself, this will only feature board games and won’t go into the plethora of solid anime TCGs that exist, like Digimon and One Piece, or TTRPGs either. Those are out there, and I recommend seeking those out, too, if that is more your style. Re;ACT - The Arts of War Players : 2 Time : 20-40 min Ages : 13+ Fast-paced matches with ho...

Last month’s announcement of Divinity has sparked a significant increase in sales of Baldur’s Gate 3 and Divinity: Original Sin 2, developer Larian has said. Divinity, announced at The Game Awards in December with a much-discussed trailer, is the next role-playing game from Larian following the enormous success of its 2023 Dungeons & Dragons-themed role-playing game. And it’s Baldur’s Gate 3 that has shown remarkable staying power, particularly on Steam where it is still seeing peak concurrent player numbers above 100,000 despite being two-and-a-half years old. 2017's Divinity: Original Sin 2 , meanwhile, has also seen an uptick in players following the Divinity announcement, with peak concurrents in the tens of thousands rather than thousands in the weeks since. ( If you're wondering what Divinity is, check out IGN's handy explainer .) According to Larian boss Swen Vincke, it’s not just that people who already own Baldur’s Gate 3 or Divinity: Original Sin 2 are...

CD Projekt has confirmed it issued a DMCA strike on a paid Cyberpunk 2077 VR mod, after its creator refused to make it free for everyone upon the studio’s request. The R.E.A.L. VR mod for Cyberpunk 2077 was created by Luke Ross, who, according to a 2022 report by The Verge , makes $20,000 a month modding PC games to run in VR headsets. His mods are locked behind a Patreon, which sparked CD Projekt’s concern. In a tweet , Jan Rosner, VP, Business Development at CD Projekt Red, said the company issued the DMCA strike because Cyberpunk VR was a paid mod, which violates its fan content guidelines. “We never allow monetization of our IP without our direct permission and/or an agreement in place,” Rosner said. “We were in touch with Luke last week and informed him that he needs to make it free for everyone (with optional donations) or remove it. “We are big fans of mods to our games — some of the work out there has been nothing short of amazing, including Luke’s mod for Cyberpunk 2077...

Free-to-play dark fantasy action RPG Dark December from developer Needs Games has officially launched on PC, Android, and iOS with crossplay and cross-progression. It marks a return to the world of Undecember, this time with more streamlined gameplay built around three core character classes. If you’re not already familiar with the series or need a little refresher, Undecember was a quarter-view hack-and-slash game with no classes. It introduced a world created by 12 beings who shared their powers and brought peace and prosperity to the land. In time, they came to be worshipped as gods. But then a 13th being arose, who introduced evil to the world and corrupted mankind. Dark December brings you back to that world, but many years before the events of Undecember and in an alternate timeline. The camera can now be moved freely, and it also marks a departure from the complex progression systems of its predecessor, instead focusing on timing, skill use, and streamlined growth in three ...