RimWorld artwork for the Ideology expansion without logo

[Update]: RimWorld's Biotech expansion is adding children, player-controlled mechanoids and gene editing.

After being suddenly announced and going through a brief round of public testing, RimWorld's second expansion Ideology has now been unleashed. As the name would suggest Ideology allows you to create your very own belief systems and then enforce them upon your colony, with this covering everything from nudist hippies to technology obsessed cannibals. There's also brand new roguelike-styled quests to spice things up, alongside new creatures, improvements, and perhaps most excitingly, a brand new ending to uncover!

You can get a pretty good idea of how all of this translates into actual gameplay, as well as how insane the whole thing can get, through the freshly posted launch trailer. Have a peek:

Cris Tales screenshot of a battle against wolves

Just like many of the JRPGs from which it draws a great deal of inspiration, Cris Tales is all about wondering across the world in search of adventure, befriending and recruiting a variety of over-the-top characters, and then teaming up with them to face off against a whole host of enemies in turn-based combat. That said, things don't stay that simple for very long as Cris Tales heavily focuses on time-traveling and allows you to visit individual locations in the past, present and future!

You can get a little bit of an idea of what this looks like in actual gameplay, as well as what Cris Tales looks like in general, through the rather handy overview trailer. Have a peek:

Streets of Rage 4 Mr. X Nightmare DLC artwork

A full year has gone by since Streets of Rage 4 first arrived, so if you're looking for some sort of excuse to give it another whirl, you'll be happy to hear the very first DLC has now arrived. The aptly titled Mr. X Nightmare will have you enter a simulation created from the remnants of Mr. X's brain, in which you will encounter three new playable characters, a brand new Survival mode, a new character customization system, as well as new arenas, traps and enemies to toy around with.

You can get a pretty good idea of what all of this nonsense looks like in action through the recently posted launch trailer. Have a gander, it's a rather straightforward one:

Voidspeed Outlaw official artwork and logo

While it once commanded a great deal of respect, the F-Zero series has sadly completely disappeared over the course of the past twenty years. While that doesn't seem to be changing any time soon, I am pleased to say that an indie studio is currently working on a spiritual successor - Voidspeed Outlaw.

As you might expect given its inspiration, Voidspeed Outlaw is a retro-futuristic racing game that will have you zoom across a whole bunch of tracks set all throughout the Solar System. Along the way you'll be able to upgrade and customize your speeder, switch between a variety of different models, as well as mess around with several game modes.

RimWorld official artwork for the Ideology expansion

[Update]: The Ideology expansion and its accompanying free Update 1.3 have now arrived alongside a pretty positive reception.

It may have taken well over a year since RimWorld's Update 1.2 and Royalty expansion, but I'm happy to say a brand new batch of content is nearly ready to be unleashed! Much like before the upcoming patch will be separated into two parts: the free Update 1.3 and the paid Ideology expansion.

Despite being free, Update 1.3 will be a rather chunky one. Expect to see a new AI system to make base raids a more dangerous affair, a pens-and-fences system for animals, a reworked faction goodwill system, combat formations, improved mod support, better visual indicators for things like wounds and body modifications, new beards, a whole bunch of quality of life tweaks, and the list goes on for a while.

Streets of Rage 4: Mr. X Nightmare DLC artwork

[Update]: Mr. X Nightmare DLC has now arrived and so far it's looking like it's quality stuff!

If you're looking for a reason to dive back into Streets of Rage 4, you'll be happy to hear that a brand new DLC is set to arrive this July 15th - Mr. X Nightmare. The rather appropriately titled expansion will have you enter a simulation created from the remnants of Mister X's brain, in which you will find a brand new Survival mode, three new playable characters, a character customization system, and naturally, a whole host of new weapons and enemies to test your toys against!

The way the Survival mode will work is fairly simple, though it does also promise a decent chunk of replayability. As you push through increasingly stronger waves of enemies you will be granted a choice of perks. These perks can be either purely positive or a offer a 'give and take' sort of deal, with the end goal being for you to create synergistic builds with which you can bulldoze straight through the toughest enemies Streets of Rage 4 can throw at you.

Death's Gambit: Afterlife official artwork without logo

[Update]: Not only has Afterlife arrived, but Death's Gambit is also getting its very first paid expansion on February 10, 2022!

Given the fairly positive reception the Souls-like, action-platformer Death's Gambit enjoyed ever since it first launched back in 2018, it should come as little surprise to hear that the developers have now announced a massive new expansion. What might come as quite a shock, however, is that the Afterlife expansion will be entirely free!

Afterlife will bring with it 10 new levels to drastically increase the size of the world map, all the while bringing in plenty of new items and secrets to make exploring and re-exploring the existing areas more exciting as well. You can also expect to see 6 new bosses, 22 new weapons, a whole bunch of new talents and customization options, and naturally, a brand new storyline that will culminate with multiple new endings!

Ender Lilies official artwork and logo

Only a few months have gone by since the Souls-like Metroidvania Ender Lilies launched into Early Access, and already the devs have managed to finish up all of the content and release it in full. The launch version brings with it an additional five areas, a whole assortment of new bosses and secrets to uncover, the ability to fully upgrade your spirit companion, and naturally, the conclusion to the whole story. A pretty chunky update, all things considered!

As for what exactly all of this looks like in actual gameplay, that you can find out through the recently posted launch trailer. Have a gander, it's a rather stylish one:

Biomutant artwork showing off the main character

After being mercilessly teased for nearly five years, the post-apocalyptic Kung-Fu RPG Biomutant finally arrived onto PC and consoles back in May. Unfortunately it did so alongside a somewhat mixed reception, with most of the complaints focusing on the numerous and annoying bugs, somewhat janky combat, and an overall lack of polish.

While some of these issues still remain, I am pleased to say that the freshly released Update 1.5 seems to have addressed many of the more pressing concerns. Combat has undergone a variety of improvements aimed at making it feel smoother, item drops have been made more exciting across the board, and even the level cap has been increased from 50 to 100.

V Rising official vampire artwork without the logo

[Update]: V Rising has now landed into Early Access, and so far things are looking quite good!

After developing two highly competitive arena games with a focus on non-stop action, Stunlock Studios will be taking their next game V Rising in a completely different direction. Instead of everything taking place in a tiny arena where two teams battle it out to the death, V Rising will be an open world vampire game with plenty of room for both cooperation and hostility among players.

As you would expect from any vampire game, in V Rising you'll have to hunt for blood in nearby villages in order to survive, avoid the scorching sun and the endless pursuit of vampire hunters, and naturally, try your best to remain on friendly terms with your blood-sucking neighbors lest they decide to make your unlife a bit more... interesting. Along the way you'll be able to gather resources and learn new abilities, build up a bastion of power or simply move from town to town in order to avoid pursuit, as well as uncover a variety of dungeons and points of interest throughout the world.