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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.

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[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

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

Wild Blue Skies Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

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[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

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YouTube video by SmashPad Truckful Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Truckful Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

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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…

REVIEW – “MY HERO ACADEMIA: All’s Justice” doesn’t do a meaningful series much justice I really enjoyed my time with this. On the other hand, I’m not sure if I’d be able to recommend this if it wasn’t a game based on one of my favorite anime. It’s definitely for the diehard fans that know the source material and have been keeping up with the series for years. If it weren’t for some of the balancing issues, I wouldn’t have minded some of the painful flaws. Sadly here, if you remove one issue, another two grow in its place.

"MY HERO ACADEMIA: All’s Justice had a lot of potential with opportunities to make the game spectacle worth the price of admission, but it just doesn’t get there."

Our review:

[Steam Next Fest] Hands-On: “Akatori” still needs polish This feels like a demo for a game that still has a lot of work to go before it's ready for launch, so I hope the developers get the time this demo needs to fulfill its potential.

Akatori feels like it still has a lot of work to go before it's ready for launch.

[SmashPad Demo Fest] SP Plays – “Titanium Court” Demo Out Steam Next Fest demo let's plays continue with Titanium Court!

AP Thomson is bringing out the weirdness in Titanium Court. Join us as we spend 30 minutes playing the demo as part of Steam Next Fest.

Our Steam Next Fest February 2026 Highlights This virtual festival of sorts on Steam has been going on forever, but this year, we'll cover it in ways we've never done before. Over the past couple years, we've bolstered our staff a bit to put out more content, and this year throughout every Steam Next Fest event, we'll bring you hands-on impressions for the games that really speak to us.

It's the first Steam Next Fest of the year! All of our pieces on the site featuring our favorite games will be published here.

Which game would you like to see featured?

[SmashPad Demo Fest] SP Plays – “Blossom: The Seed of Life” Chris Selogy spent some time on the demo for Blossom: The Seed of Life

Checking in with that Blossom: The Seed of Life demo.

[SmashPad Demo Fest] SP Plays -“Replaced” Let's spend the next half hour trying out this demo of Replaced.

Come join us as we spend half an hour trying out the demo for Replaced.

[Steam Next Fest] Hands-On: “Wax Heads” captures the communal connection music has through a slice-of-life narrative sim As someone that prides himself on being able to recommend new, cool music to my pals, Wax Heads just hits all the right buttons so far.

"Wax Heads" is a beautifully charming indie game based on deduction about music and everything it encompasses and represents. There's a new demo out for it now on Steam and if you love music enough to still have a physical collection, you're going to want read on.

Hands-On with Wax Heads:

YouTube video by SmashPad Replaced Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Replaced Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

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YouTube video by SmashPad Akatori Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Akatori Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

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YouTube video by SmashPad Titanium Court Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Titanium Court Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest youtu.be/vHRdIqzEtDA?...

YouTube video by SmashPad Blossom: The Seed of Life Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

Blossom: The Seed of Life Demo - SmashPad Demo Fest

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