SmashPad

Ubisoft dropped a blog with a bunch of Assassin's Creed news, including more or less confirming the existence the Assassin's Creed: Black Flag remake.

www.ubisoft.com/en-us/news/i...

"Those who enjoyed the original titles will certainly have a good time replaying these classics, while allowing for new audiences to give these spinoffs a shot if they missed the memo back in the day."

Here's our final preview of #MegaManStarForceLegacyCollection

REVIEW — “Planet of Lana II: Children of the Leaf” Is a Quiet Masterpiece of Curiosity and Consequence Planet of Lana II is studio Wishfully’s second attempt at crafting a visually charming and puzzle-heavy platformer. Three years after the success of their first game, the second entry to the series does a delightful job at expanding on its story, with several twists and turns.

Towards the end of my journey, I stayed curious as to what happens next. There's a lot more to discover here, and discoveries to be made. A short but sweet game like this often has players longing for more, but I can safely say that Planet of Lana II is worth every minute of your time.

Our review:

REVIEW – “Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties” is both an improvement and a downgrade with some solid new stuff mixed in The Yakuza Kiwami games have always been a bit of a mixed bag. The first two felt like their cutscenes were simply slapped into existing games with some unnecessary systems, leading to them failing to actually feel like their original counterparts. The awkwardly titled Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties, conversely, manages to mostly feel like its own game, but with an almost shocking amount of the original's extra content completely replaced.

"Despite the controversy and the plethora of missing content, I still had a pretty great time during my nearly 40 hours with Yakuza Kiwami 3 & Dark Ties."

Our review:

Metaphor: ReFantazio Orchestra Concert Official Site | Performers Metaphor: ReFantazio Orchestra Concert will be held on Saturday, June 6, 2026, at Bunkyo Civic Hall (Main Hall).

Fantasy is NOT dead!

@sega-west.bsky.social and ATLUS are bringing the #MetaphorReFantazio tour to the United States!

10/9/26: Dallas
10/11/26: Chicago
10/13/26: Los Angeles

Presales begin Thursday. metaphorconcert.com

REVIEW — “Legacy of Kain: Defiance Remastered” is a gothic relic worth revisiting As an original fan of Blood Omen and the franchise in general, I’m happy to admit that this remaster is going to bring a lot of joy to fans. The traces of an old classic remain, polished with a modern touch that keeps its essence alive. Part of me wanted a remake, but the remaster shall suffice! 

"Even if you have never played a game in this franchise before, I urge you to give this a try, since it’s now more accessible. Between all the exploration, combat maneuvers, and Kain and Raziel’s stories, there’s a lot here to find fascinating."

Our review of #LegacyOfKainDefianceRemastered

REVIEW – “Scott Pilgrim EX” is another fun beat-em-up that could’ve been something legendary with its open world approach When Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game came out in 2010, it was a breath of fresh air despite being a callback to video games several generations before it. Fast forward over 15 years, and while the feeling isn't quite as fresh since beat-em-ups have more or less made a return, Scott Pilgrim EX presents an impressive follow-up that both old-school gamers and Scott Pilgrim diehards should enjoy.

#ScottPilgrimEX is a great game, and I like that it takes some chances to bring its foundations up a notch with the intention of making it even better than great, but it falls short of that because it also feels like the game rests on its own laurels as a great multiplayer beat-em-up.

Our review:

We’re still gonna review it though.

Let’s Weekend #505 – Flavor Flav to the Rescue In this episode of Let’s Weekend: We talk about the latest Trump attack on Iran, the latest news on the WB Discovery acquisition competition, and how Flavor Flav seems to be the only high profile person wishing to celebrate the US Women's Hockey team. Intro What Are We Up To? C: Asteroid City, Bond movies, ETS2, Vampire Survivors B: DK Bananza, MIO, books, cleaning out the fridge.

Let’s Weekend #505 – Flavor Flav to the Rescue

In this episode of Let’s Weekend: We talk about the latest Trump attack on Iran, the latest news on the WB Discovery acquisition competition, and how Flavor Flav seems to be the only high profile person wishing to celebrate the US Women's Hockey team.…

Day 0 Update #568 – My Son Is Also Named Browt In this episode of the Day 0 Update: We talk about the Steam Next Fest demos we've played, some big games getting announced, and more bad news for the industry. All this and more, up next! Intro What Are We Playing? C: Blossom: The Seed of Life, Pokemon FireRed, Marathon Server Slam, Truckful demo, Denshattack! Demo, Wild Blue Skies demo, Vampire Crawlers demo, Zero Parades demo…

Day 0 Update #568 – My Son Is Also Named Browt

In this episode of the Day 0 Update: We talk about the Steam Next Fest demos we've played, some big games getting announced, and more bad news for the industry. All this and more, up next! Intro What Are We Playing? C: Blossom: The Seed of Life,…

The Legend of Zelda: SmashPad’s Favorite Games Nintendo seems to have forgotten about The Legend of Zelda's 40th anniversary, but we haven't. SmashPad staffers and contributors were asked to provide their Top 5 Zelda games. We've taken those lists and turned them into the staff's Top 10.

Unlike most of the gaming world, we didn't forget about the 40th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda.

Here's SmashPad's Top 10 Zelda games!

Win PAX East 2026 Tickets! PAX East 2026 is right around the corner, and we're working with our Penny Arcade friends to give away five (5) tickets to the show in Boston! Find out how!

Wanna win a 4-day badge to PAX East? Here's how, and it's easy!

SmashPad - Twitch This is the official Twitch account for SmashPad.com. We will occasionally stream ourselves playing games for or with the community while also taking questions and talking with you.

We're back to stream as we check out Marathon to see how bad we are at these sorts of games. Join us!

www.twitch.tv/smashpad

[Steam Next Fest] Hands-On: “inKonbini: One Store. Many Stories” is a cozy title that got me all nervous This demo only gives you this one shift, and it doesn't take long at all. You're tasked with taking stock out of the back and putting it on the konbini sales floor, making sure everything at the store is in order, and then opening up shop. Simple, right? Oh, if you only knew.

In these hands-on impressions of inKobini's #SteamNextFest demo, our Executive Editor talks about how this cozy game gave him a big rush of anxiety.

👋

[Steam Next Fest] Hands-On: “Vampire Crawlers” deals a wickedly irresistible hand early on Put bluntly, Vampire Crawlers chokeslams boredom through a glass table. The demo is impressive in its simplicity, but requires a hell of a lot more of you than Vampire Survivors did. In that sense, poncle could be on track to deliver a follow-up worthy of its still budding name and elephantine reputation. Can their lightning strike twice?

"It wasn't enough for Vampire Survivors to have a crossover DLC with Balatro, they had to go and make their own twisted card game that has burned a hole in my eyes with all the excitement and lights you'd expect."

Check out our hands-on impressions of the Vampire Crawlers demo!

YouTube video by SmashPad Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Vampire Crawlers: The Turbo Wildcard from Vampire Survivors Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

youtu.be/HdukVOP8pGg?...

YouTube video by SmashPad Wild Blue Skies Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Wild Blue Skies Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

youtu.be/YtHWzaKZp3s?...

[Steam Next Fest] Hands-On: Is “Cleaning Up!” really fun? The Steam Next Fest demo of Cleaning Up!, which you can play now, features four levels that provide just enough to get your feet wet. There's an apartment, a castle, a museum, and a cafe, each providing a new gimmick to differentiate itself enough. Only one of these levels qualifies as challenging, but again, it's a demo.

Too many cozy games are about farming and building cities. Unbound Creations' "Cleaning Up!" lets you clean in places both dull and dangerous.

Our #SteamNextFest hands-on:

REVIEW – The return of “City Hunter” is welcome and historically meaningful, but lackluster for what’s on offer With all this in mind, I can't generally recommend City Hunter, but if you do want to see what TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine gaming had to offer by means of a cult product and you have a surplus of disposable income, have at it.

REVIEW – The return of “City Hunter” is welcome and historically meaningful, but lackluster for what’s on offer

With all this in mind, I can't generally recommend City Hunter, but if you do want to see what TurboGrafx-16/PC Engine gaming had to offer by means of a cult product and you have a…

REVIEW – “Super Bomberman Collection” is one of the most explosively joyful shadow drops in recent memory When Super Bomberman Collection was unveiled during this month's Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, I got wide-eyed. Ever since I got my hands on Mega Bomberman on the Sega Genesis during the unfortunate but memorable days of the Sega Channel (yeah, I'm that old), I've been a big Bomberman fan. Little did I know that game would end up being the high point of the series for me until now, more than three decades after I was introduced to it.

To put it simply, at $20 ($25 on the Switch 2), #SuperBombermanCollection a fantastic value for fans new and old.

YouTube video by SmashPad Denshattack! Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Denshattack! Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

youtu.be/w1Lnhw2B2t0?...

YouTube video by SmashPad Truckful Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Truckful Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

youtu.be/p4d9DyTjkNE?...

REVIEW — “Resident Evil Requiem” is a thrilling and chilling dual-sided romp With grotesque scares as potent as its pulse-pounding action and puzzle-box level design as engaging as any given combat scenario, Resident Evil Requiem is an engrossing thrill ride throughout that hooked me from the start, and in true Resident Evil fashion, has kept me on that hook long after the credits rolled the first, second, and even third time.

"#RERequiem is a reconciliation of the series’ roots with what it grew into, and the end result is the series as it exists today. Sometimes it’s a pure horror game, sometimes it’s a horror-themed action shooter. It never tries to be both at once, and I think that is for the better."

Our review:

REVIEW – “Disney Afternoon Collection” is out again for people who are Bonkers about having these games on Switch Two new games, Bonkers and Goof Troop from the SNES, headline this release of Disney Afternoon Collection. Is it worth potentially double dipping if you already own this compilation on another platform just to get these two additional games? That depends on your nostalgia for the cartoons these games are based on. For everyone else, Disney Afternoon Collection is a great compilation of classic 8-bit games.

Two new games, Bonkers and Goof Troop from the SNES, headline this release of #DisneyAfternoonCollection. Is it worth potentially double dipping if you already own this compilation on another platform just to get these two additional games?

Our review.

REVIEW – “Avowed” on PS5 is still a magical RPG to despite initial reception I’m glad I was able to ignore the overall negative sentiment around the game and play the PS5 version of Avowed, which now has the anniversary update. The reason? Avowed is a unique RPG with thrilling combat and an intriguing storyline that features a God in your head.

"I’m glad Xbox decided to port Avowed to the PS5. While the combat can be repetitive in parts, and there are some bugs here and there, the overall experience is stellar and the anniversary update adds a decent amount."

We didn't review Avowed when it first came out, but now we have one:

SmashPad - Twitch This is the official Twitch account for SmashPad.com. We will occasionally stream ourselves playing games for or with the community while also taking questions and talking with you.

We're back to stream as we check out some of the new Steam demos to find the wildest games we're interested in like Truckful, Denshattack, and others. Join us!

www.twitch.tv/smashpad

A selection of most publicated reviews Demon Tides has received since launch.

The reviews for Demon Tides are in and they are HOT!

I'm so glad everyone is having a grand time exploring Ragnar's Rock with Beebz and her crew! ♥️

Day 0 Update #567 – The Industry’s Very Bad Week In this episode of the Day 0 Update: We talk about the numerous indies coming out soon, Nintendo's upcoming Pokémon release, and a bunch of bad news stories from around the industry. All this and more, up next! Intro What Are We Playing? C: Easy Delivery Co, Re:Fresh, Blossom: The Seed of Life, Titanium Court demo, Akatori demo, Replaced demo…

Day 0 Update #567 – The Industry’s Very Bad Week

In this episode of the Day 0 Update: We talk about the numerous indies coming out soon, Nintendo's upcoming Pokémon release, and a bunch of bad news stories from around the industry. All this and more, up next! Intro What Are We Playing? C: Easy…

Let’s Weekend #504 – The Only Good Nazgul In this episode of Let’s Weekend: We talk about the SCOTUS shooting down most of Trump's tariffs, the great successes at the Olympics for US women, and the deaths of Jesse Jackson and Robert Duvall. Intro What Are We Up To? C: My Hero Academia S8, The Smashing Machine, LOTREE Trilogy, Is This Seat Taken?, ME LE, DQ7 B: DK Bananza, Splatoon 3, The Hunting Wives, Prepping for Florida trip.

Let’s Weekend #504 – The Only Good Nazgul

In this episode of Let’s Weekend: We talk about the SCOTUS shooting down most of Trump's tariffs, the great successes at the Olympics for US women, and the deaths of Jesse Jackson and Robert Duvall. Intro What Are We Up To? C: My Hero Academia S8, The…