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Pokémon Champions Producer Acknowledges Visual 'Limitations' Amid Ongoing Fan Scrutiny of Series' Graphics

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The Pokémon Company technical director Masaaki Hoshino has acknowledged continued fan scrutiny of the series' visuals, seen most recently in criticism for Pokémon Champions . Hoshino is a veteran of the Pokémon series, who worked on Pokémon Yellow before a long stint at Japanese fighting game developer Bandai Namco. This then led to him returning to work on Pokémon as producer on its more traditional fighting game spinoff Pokkén Tournament, developed by Bandai Namco, before its MOBA spinoff Pokémon Unite, and finally Champions itself. Champions launched earlier this month to a wave of feedback that expressed disappointment for the game's relatively basic feature set and small Pokédex roster . And, yet again, there was criticism of the game's visuals — as there has been for various mainline Pokémon game entries over the past decade. "Yes, as a Pokémon fan, I naturally understand the various discussions currently taking place within the fan community," Hoshino...

Blast Blade Brings a New Dimension to Platform Fighters

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Blast Blade from Silent Bark games is a 3D platform fighter that puts you behind the wits and weapons of warriors and magic users. You and up to four contenders face off in one of many dynamic arenas, but unlike traditional fighting games, there are no hit point bars for you to chip away at. The only way to win is to build up your opponents’ damage percentage until they’re vulnerable enough to be blasted out of the ring and over the horizon by a powerful attack. Blast Blade's mechanics are simple and easy to grasp. There’s no need to memorize complex character moves that require on-the-dime execution. You can move freely on the land and in the air, which lets you dodge your foes' hard-hitting attacks while taking advantage of openings to get your own hits. As you pummel your opponents, you build up an Ultimate gauge. Once it’s full, you can unleash a massive attack that sends them flying. One strategic hit is all it can take to turn the tables when you’re inches from defeat....

Epic Games Confirms Fortnite Refunds for D4vd Cosmetics, Plans Further Changes

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Epic Games has confirmed it will refund D4vd cosmetics to any Fortnite player who makes a request via player support, with further changes to come. 21-year-old U.S. singer D4vd, real name David Anthony Burke, was charged with the murder of a 14-year-old girl, Celeste Rivas Hernandez. It is alleged that he killed her on or around April 23, 2025, after she threatened to report their relationship. Burke pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, lewd and lascivious acts with a person under 14, and mutilating a dead body. Fortnite players had for some time called on Epic Games to remove D4vd emotes and jamtracks from the game, with some saying they would rather not own the items. The D4vd items include the Feel It and Trophy Drop emotes, and the What Are You Waiting For and Locked and Loaded Jam Tracks. Today, after players reported success in getting a refund from Epic via player support, a tweet from the Fortnite Status account confirmed the news, and noted that further changes we...

The Best Deals Today: Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Splatoon Raiders, AMD Ryzen 9 9900X, and More

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A new weekend has arrived, and today, you can save big on Dragon Quest VII Reimagined, Apple AirTags, 4K Movies, and more. Check out our top picks for Sunday, April 26, below. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined for $49.99 Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is one of the biggest RPG releases of the year so far, and this weekend you can score a copy on any platform for $49.99! This is a great entry point if you've never played a Dragon Quest adventure before, or if you're keen to explore more of the series after the HD-2D Erdrick Trilogy Remakes! Refurbished Sony 4K OLED BRAVIA 8 TV for $1049.99 Woot has a great deal on this Sony 4K OLED BRAVIA 8 TV, with refurbished units available for $1049.99. Sony's Bravia line is well respected and usually more expensive, making this TV well worth a look if you're in the market for a new one. If you're aiming for the best picture quality and rich colors, you cannot do better than OLED, and these units are often still like new. Fin...

Assassin’s Creed Hexe Game Director Benoit Richer Exits Ubisoft Just Months After Departure of Previous Creative Director

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Ubisoft’s mysterious Assassin’s Creed Hexe project seems to be going through a rough patch, as game director Benoit Richer has announced his departure. An update on the latest for the history-hopping stealth franchise came from a LinkedIn post published by the former Ubisoft Montreal developer. In his message, he stated that he left to join Quebec-based indie studio Servo Games as co-founder and game director. This is the second major departure for the Assassin’s Creed game, which is in development with the Hexe codename, this year. The last saw creative director Clint Hocking exit the project in February, with Assassin’s Creed head of content Jean Guesdon filling the role in his place. Richer first joined Ubisoft Montreal back in 2000 as a level designer for games like Rainbow Six Vegas 2 before leaving the company for the first time in 2008. He eventually found his way to WB Games Montreal in 2010, where he served as game director on Batman: Arkham Origins, before returning ...

Alien: Isolation 2 Seemingly Teased in New Video Posted by Sega and Creative Assembly

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Publisher Sega and developer Creative Assembly have posted what appears to be a teaser trailer for Alien: Isolation 2 . A mysterious video titled “A False Sense of Security” was posted by the franchise’s official YouTube account today, April 26, which also happens to be Alien Day. It’s little more than an atmospheric teaser that features a rainy, outdoor location and a familiar emergency phone save station. The teaser trailer doesn’t outright confirm that it is for the long-awaited Alien: Isolation 2, but given that Creative Assembly announced it was working on a follow-up back in late 2024, fans are already expecting an impending announcement. The only text included in the video’s description says, "A feeling of being safer than one really is." pic.twitter.com/1FIsqfnWON — Alien: Isolation (@AlienIsolation) April 26, 2026 Alien: Isolation originally released for PC, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One all the way back in October 2014. It’s since be...

Star Wars: Galactic Racer Release Date Seemingly Leaked on Steam

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Star Wars: Galactic Racer, the upcoming arcade racing game featuring podracers, speeder bikes, landspeeders, and more fast rides from the Star Wars universe will apparently be released on October 6. The release date was posted to Steam and quickly removed, but not before eagle-eyed storefront watcher Wario64 spotted it. "STAR WARS: Galactic Racer will release on Oct 6, 2026 according to Steam. Deluxe Edition contents revealed (Steelbook included with physical purchase)," Wario64 noted in their post. A check of the Galactic Racer Steam page an hour later showed a generic "2026" release date. Galactic Racer was announced at the 2025 Game Awards, and it's being developed by Fuse Games, a team comprised of a number of former Burnout and Need for Speed developers founded in 2023. It was last seen at Sony's State of Play broadcast back in February. Regardless of whether or not the October 6 release date holds, we've still got new Star Wars to look f...