News:: Steel Division: Normandy 44 discount explodes onto the scene

Fans of RTS and WWII should enjoy next month's release from Eugen Systems, Steel Division: Normandy 44. Just yesterday it became available for pre-order on Steam, starting at $39.99 for the standard edition and $59.99 for deluxe. Discount hunters can find two authorized digital retailers with deals on both the standard and deluxe editions -- and the deals are accompanied by closed beta access before the full release in May.

Steel Division: Normandy 44 Deals

• Standard Edition at GMG (Steam) — $35.99 (list price $40)
• Standard Edition at DLGamer — $35.99  (list price $40)
• Deluxe Edition at GMG (Steam) — $53.99 at GMG  (list price $60)
• Deluxe Edition at DLGamer — $53.99 at DLGamer  (list price $60)

While there are pre-order bonuses, we suspect the main reason people are pre-ordering right now (#5 top seller on Steam at the moment) is that you'll receive instant access to the closed beta. Buying from either GMG or DLgamer will get you your Steam key instantly, and thus instant access to the beta for a few bucks cheaper.

The closed beta is live now and doing well in the early bird user reviews on Steam. As of writing, over 85% of reviews are in positive territory. That's still early, but if you're a fan of R.U.S.E., WWII, or real-time strategy titles in general, this may be worth checking out.

Pre-Order and Deluxe Edition Content

Pre-ordering allows you to deploy two Panzer aces in battle: Michael Wittman in his Tiger E and Francis Gabreski in his P-47D fight-bomber.

The Deluxe Edition is for fans looking for a little extra content and includes the Art Book and Tactical Guide (both digital books, of course) plus six additional in-game aces:

• Ernst Barkmann (Germany, Panther A tank)
• Joseph Priller (Germany, Bf109A fighter plane)
• Dick Winters (USA, Paratrooper battalion ... BAND OF BROTHERS)
• Wilfred Harris (UK, Sherman Firefly tank)
• Leo Major (Canada, sniper scout)
• Kurt Knispel (Germany, Tiger II)

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News:: Gearbox hilariously gives G2A an ultimatum after sidling up for a partnership

G2A is one of the most toxic brands in the video game industry right now. In recent years, G2A has been outed as a key reseller that conveniently does little to combat fraud. Many developers have accused G2A of buying games that were originally purchased with stolen credit cards. When those charges are inevitably reversed, the developer ends up the victim as two other parties take all of the profit through nefarious means.

That's why it struck people as odd when Gearbox announced a partnership with G2A for the collector's edition of the upcoming Bulletstorm remaster. [Disclosure: Years ago, Destructoid had a brief advertising agreement with G2A.] How can a fellow developer support someone who enables theft from other creators? There was immediate backlash. The most notable example was probably YouTuber TotalBiscuit swearing off any future coverage of Gearbox titles.

G2A's business model isn't a recent development. Mike wrote a fantastic investigative piece in January 2016 about how the graymarket site retains just enough plausible deniability to stay off the hook for any legal infringement. Still, everyone in the business of video games knows exactly what G2A is. Its reputation precedes it.

Gearbox is acting like it's the last to find out. According to a report from Waypoint, Gearbox has given G2A a hardline ultimatum: Either change your ways or we're done with you. Here is Gearbox's list of demands, verbatim as published on Waypoint:

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News:: Don't worry, Activision has plans for tons Call of Duty films

With how popular Call of Duty is among children, you'd think Activision would want to capitalize on that success with some films. If Michael Bay can repeat the same made up military nonsense for all of his movies, why not take the gaming equivalent and blow it up on the big screen? It looks like our nightmares are about to become real, as Activision Blizzard Studios has announced that they have plans to expand the franchise beyond gaming.

Speaking with The Guardian, the co-presidents of Activsion Blizzard (Stacey Sher and Nick van Dyk) detailed that they would like to start their plan with a single film to gauge success. If that movie proves profitable, then follow-ups can be made. They "have plotted out many years" of Call of Duty films; I feel sick even typing this.

As Sher notes, "We put together this group of writers to talk about where we were going. There’ll be a film that feels more like Black Ops, the story behind the story. The Modern Warfare series looks at what it’s like to fight a war with the eyes of the world on you. And then maybe something that is more of a hybrid, where you are looking at private, covert operations, while a public operation is going on."

Van Dyk adds, "It’s going to have the same sort of high-adrenaline, high-energy aesthetic as the game, but it’s not a literal adaptation. It’s a much more broad and inclusive, global in scope ... a big, tentpole Marvel-esque movie." As the article notes, Van Dyk was one of the key players in Disney's acquisition of Marvel and Star Wars and helped push plans for future development of those franchises forward, so he obviously knows what he is doing.

As with anything popular, there are inevitably copycats who will try to repeat it. Marvel found wild success with their "Cinematic Universe," so now most Hollywood studios are trying the same thing. More power to people who actually enjoy The Fast and the Furious, but I was never clamoring to have those films all linked together. I also don't care about Universal Monsters or anything DC Comics is doing.

I also don't know how Call of Duty can even work as a film. Sure, big budget spectacle is always a thing that is good for a laugh, but the reason interconnected universes work is because there is something to care about. People don't watch a Marvel film solely for the action (mostly because it sucks); they come to see the drama between Iron Man and Captain America and how it is impacting the characters they've grown to love. Call of Duty has none of that personal involvement.

If you're interested in reading more about this new Call of Duty film series, you can check out the interview on The Guardian. There is also talk of a TV series (like Marvel has with Netflix) and the overseas success of Warcraft's film adaptation.

Could the Call of Duty franchise be the next Marvel? [The Guardian]

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News:: Trailer for one of two new Naruto games, Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, leaked

The weekly print of Famitsu magazine announced two new Naruto video games: Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Trilogy and Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker. Appropriate to its name, the trilogy will only contain the first three Ultimate Ninja Storm entries and will release for PlayStation 4 on July 27, 2017 in Japan.

Naruto to Boruto is a Soleil-developed action game for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The trailer was leaked, so the embedded video may go down at some point. If it does I'll try to find another.

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News:: Don't Starve Together's 'A New Reign' update brings new foes

After months of beta testing, the meaty Don't Starve Together update "A New Reign" is ready for a full release. It's out today on Steam for free, bringing with it more giants like the Toadstool and Bee Queen, a desert oasis, and a nasty surprise awaiting spelunkers deep inside the ruins.

Besides bug fixes and another coat of polish, you can expect these changes:

• Search the desert for new surprises shrouded by the Sandstorm in summer.
• Pay tribute to the Antlion to prevent Sinkholes above ground and Cave-ins underground, as well as earn other rewards.
• Added Desert Goggles, a must have when walking into a Sandstorm.
• Added The Lazy Deserter, a magical device used for teleporting players to each other.
• Added /sit and /squat emotes.
• Discover the secret entrance to the new Atrium zone inside the Caves and unlock the mysteries lying deep within the Heart of the Ruins.
• Ornate Chests can no longer be destroyed, and the Large Ornate Chest now contains better loot, including an Ancient Key.
• The Shadow Atrium can now be used to resurrect Odd Skeletons. Results may vary, depending on where you attempt this dangerous ritual!
• Ruins music is back!

Klei also has a word of warning: "Please note that all the new content added as part of A New Reign will be automatically retrofitted into existing Worlds, but we cannot guarantee that this will be exactly the same as using a new Save Slot to generate a new World."

After watching the trailer, I'll go out on a limb and suggest that starving is the least of our concerns.

Don't Starve Together: A New Reign [Steam]

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News:: Splatoon 2's Li'l Judd is too good for this world

Even though I only played a few rounds of Splatoon 2 during the Global Testfire -- enough to get a sense of the similar-feeling sequel with the limited content available -- I felt like the demo was worthwhile.

That's due to one thing, and one thing only: Li'l Judd.

Ahhh, that plump face. Those precious eyes. He's so dang cute! Can we keep him can we keep him?

As mentioned on the Squid Research Lab blog, "he's gunning for Judd's spot as premier Turf War judge like a bloodthirsty tiger crouching in the jungle underbrush." To that I say "out of the way, you!"

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News:: Can you actually, like, push a person into a volcano?

I recently realized that I know next to nothing about volcanoes. All my Volcano Knowledge is based on pop culture, certainly the sexiest possible take on volcanoes. I'm not sure the portrayal is accurate, though. Can I walk up to an active volcano -- probably under the guise that I'm just going to throw my magic ring in -- and push my best friend to his fiery doom? Can we peer cautiously over the edge together as I say "It'd be a shame if one of us slipped, huh?"

This is a question I plan to pose to Darren on Podtoid today. Darren is our resident scientist in the same way that you might give a toddler a plastic toy cell phone and then laugh "Look! He's a business man! Buy! Buy! Sell! Sell!" After he's done jabbering, me and Steven will have a reasonable discussion and we'll come to a definitive conclusion about how volcanoes work.

The information train doesn't pull into the station there, though. We're the conductors and you're the, uh, whatever powers trains. Steam? Coal? A giant extension cord? Shit. I don't know how trains work either.

The point is: Ask us questions in the comments and we'll answer the good ones on this week's Podtoid. Or tell us a funny story. Or draw us a picture even if that's nearly impossible to convey in an audio-only show. Or just pander to us and tell us how handsome and smart and witty we are. Be our giant extension cord.

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News:: Persona 5 quickly eclipses 1.5 million shipments

Just a few days after the worldwide release, Persona 5 has moved over 1.5 million copies. For context, the only single Persona game that has reached over one million worldwide lifetime sales so far is Persona 4: Golden. Atlus added that they will continue to create non-video game Persona content such as concerts.

Atlus has given the series tremendous support over the years, creating multiple reiterations with loads of extra content, concerts, stageplays, anime, movies, merchandise, and spin-off games that explore the existing characters and worlds in new genres. I'm looking forward to seeing what Atlus has in store for the Persona 5 universe as well as playing the game itself...even though I've been spoiled already (which had nothing to do with screenshots or streaming). 

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News:: DICE is moving to monthly updates for Battlefield 1

Every few days I'll run across some wild gif from Battlefield 1 and think, "Hey, I should get back into that at some point." It hasn't happened, in part because I don't own the expansion pass, but it might soon.

In a blog post, DICE laid out its plans for the game's immediate future. Most notably, we can expect to see more frequent updates as the studio shifts from seasonal patches to a monthly schedule. With the incoming Spring Update, for instance, Platoons (clans) will be introduced.

There's also a short tease for the May Update, which is planned to focus on quality-of-life changes in Battlefield 1. "This includes streamlining the flow into matches (especially Operations) and improving many gameplay grievances that will hopefully make the action feel more balanced and fair."

And, yes, there are expansions to sell. Next up is In the Name of the Tsar, "where you will fight alongside the Russian army and witness the brutality of combat and the bitter cold of the Russian winters."

The Road Ahead for Battlefield 1 [Battlefield]

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News:: Action-RPG The Surge really wants you to lob off limbs

Deck13 has garnered interest from Dark Souls fans, myself included, with The Surge. It's an action-RPG with a near-future-Earth twist that has you dodging, whittling away at your enemies, and striking with a finishing move to slice off specifically-targeted limbs to earn pieces for your exosuit.

Given its focus on those finishing moves above all else, this trailer perhaps isn't the best introduction to the game -- for that, I'd recommend this much more in-depth developer-narrated gameplay video -- but I liked seeing some of the armor possibilities in the montage toward the end.

There's a potentially cool game in here, I think. I'll need more convincing, but with the PC, PS4, and Xbox One launch not happening until May 16, there's still plenty of time for that.

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News:: Explore Japanese gaming culture in 360 degrees with MatPat

Matthew Patrick is best known as the guy on YouTube who uses math, science and rabid curiosity to build intense, unexpected narratives from the stray plot threads of movies and video games. As the Game Theorists' MatPat, he asks if Mario is secretly a sociopath and questions if Sega's blue hedgehog really is the fastest mascot in gaming -- and then backs up his allegations by covertly teaching viewers about actual psychology and the speed of sound. Now he's expanding his passion for making entertainment educational with a travel show called The Global Gamer. Oh, and he's doing it in 360-degree virtual reality -- and you can watch the launch exclusively right here on Engadget.

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News:: See which games made the cut for Summer Games Done Quick 2017

Speedrun marathon Summer Games Done Quick has shared its game schedule for this year's event.

That's not something I'd normally be super into seeing this far in advance -- we're still months out! -- but considering some of the high-profile games to launch recently, I was curious this time.

There's a lot of Zelda this year, as you'd expect, but Breath of the Wild isn't on this list. Dang. I am very much into the one-handed, Ending-A-on-Normal-difficulty speedrun for NieR: Automata, though.

Summer Games Done Quick 2017 is set to run from July 2 through July 9. Total runtime? "194:02:30."

Games Done Quick [Twitter]

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News:: EVE: Valkyrie is getting its first big update, Groundwar, next week

Today during their EVE Fanfest keynote in Iceland, CCP announced that EVE: Valkyrie, their VR combat spinoff, is getting its first big update on April 11 across all platforms (Vive, Rift, PSVR). It adds in a new ship type, more wormholes, a better tutorial, expanded co-op, and a better ranking system. The most notable update however is an additional  map, which will bring ground-based ship battles to the EVE universe.

CCP CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson joked that this is basically fulfilling a promise they made back in 2006, when they showed ground flight in the original EVE Online. "Same concept, differen game," he retorted.

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News:: EVE Online shooter Project Nova is still alive as of this moment

What you see above is confirmation that Project Nova, CCP's EVE Online-based shooter, is still alive.

Today during the opening keynote for the developer's fanfest, CEO Hilmar Veigar Pétursson stated that they are in fact still committed to making the game a reality, even if it's not playable in any form (even for press) this week. 

Pétursson shed some light on some recent developments, mostly spurred by the negative reception from fans last year during Fanfest. "It wasn't EVE enough," was the chief complaint, so in response, the company moved the development directly to Iceland. "What's more EVE than Iceland," he said -- true enough!

I think CCP has a lot to prove with this one, but they likely don't want to give up a second time following Dust 514. Based on the phrasing used today, this could actually come out. Eventually.

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News:: 'EVE: Valkyrie' takes space battles to the ground in new update

CCP has revealed that it's bringing ground-level skirmishes to EVE: Valkyrie for the first time. Announced during a Keynote at CCP's annual EVE Fanfest, new map Solitude sees players battling it out on a remote planet as they weave their way through tight-knit passageways. Thankfully, the new map won't cost players a penny, coming as a part of the game's fifth free update : 'Groundrush'.

Aside from Solitude, the patch will also add more variety to Valkyrie's Weekly Wormhole events as well as making previously competitive-only modes Carrier Assault and Control, co-op. PC owners will be pleased to hear that the patch also adds in Steam Controller support.

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News:: Permaband, CCP's over-the-top in-house music group, is heading to Rock Band 4

In case you haven't noticed, in-house development studio bands have been a popular practice as of late. Square Enix has the rock group The Primals, and CCP, developer of EVE Online, has the slightly less conventional group "Permaband."

While debuting their new song at EVE Fanfest's opening ceremony, it was revealed that the group will officially be making the cross over to Rock Band 4. Since they've covered everything from dance, to rock, to rap, they should be a great fit for the game in terms of song variety.

Three songs are confirmed "this summer," and they'll be free.

Read more...

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News:: How much is too much for The Xbox Scorpio in terms of price?

Well, we're one step closer to knowing what Project Scorpio will entail when it hits later this year, but there's still a fair few unanswered questions -- most notably, the price. Although Microsoft quickly folded into PR speak by saying "at the end of the day we are still a consumer product...we want to hit the price-points where consumers want to purchase this," we still don't know how much the damn thing will cost.

I mean, Microsoft packed quite a bit into its box, but I don't see it hitting above $400, the current price of the PS4 Pro. At at least, if it does hit for more than that, I don't see it doing particularly well, especially in regions where the OG Xbox One has bombed, like Japan. Eurogamer, who revealed the new console's specs, speculates that it'll be around $500, which could obviously happen -- the Xbox One did launch at that pricepoint after all.

Either way Microsoft is in a corner. If they release this amazing system that beats the PS4 and Switch combined, hardware-wise, it won't mean much if no one buys it and developers have no incentive to keep creating games for it. Then there's the issue of 4K -- right now good HDR-enabled sets range from $600 at their lowest (and even then, you probably won't get a good refresh rate), and $1000 as a median. The future of gaming is expensive, and Nintendo is riding high with a non-4K system and a $300 price for its Switch.

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News:: First 'Hearthstone' expansion of 2017 adds dinos and adventure

The long-awaited first expansion of 2017 for Blizzard's Hearthstone is finally here. Journey To Un'Goro adds 135 cards (gallery here) to the game with fun new functions, but the first content of the year will also retire all of 2015's cards out of the main Standard format. That means saying goodbye to some old frenemies (adios, Ragnaros) and hello to a refreshed meta, a Wild West of untested deck concepts and synergies. A digital cardscape where dinosaurs rule.

Source: Hearthstone blog

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News:: Gorilla Grodd throws a monkeywrench into society in newest Injustice 2 story trailer

I've been enjoying the story teases in Injustice 2's ad campaign. The first game had a fun story (if albeit contrived in some areas because comics), and the sequel looks to follow suit. The fourth part of the "Shattered Alliances" series introduces Gorilla Grodd's "society," which is most likely a reference to the Secret Society of Super Villains from the comics. Taking advantage of the war between Batman and Superman (at the Dawn of Justice), Grodd's society is going to wreck the joint. 

Revealed also was a full gameplay trailer for Captain Cold, who is definitely a zoning type full of Sub Zero-esque techniques meant to keep foes at bay. I'm most interested in his weird frost circle thing, the ability to create platforms to jump off of (to give him a double jump, essentially). Given the moveset you could probably give Captain Cold a Mr. Freeze skin and no one would mind. I mean, if you needed yet another Batman character anyway. 

Too bad about those Source Crystals though. 

Injustice 2 is out on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One May 16.

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News:: Initial BlizzCon tickets sold out instantly, but there's another batch to grab on Saturday

If you attempted to snag some BlizzCon tickets late last night (at 10PM ET), you probably missed out.

Year over year spots go within minutes, and this year was no exception. Multiple fans I've spoken to have stated that after logging in to prep and waiting in a queue, they were still unable to get one. At the moment several tickets have gone up on eBay for upwards of $1,000. There's still hope though -- a new batch of tickets goes on sale on Saturday at 10AM PT. Plan accordingly if you want to go!

At my first BlizzCon last year it was crazy to talk to people who had been annually since the start -- it's still one of the most dedicated fanbases out there.

Blizzcon [Battle.net]

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News:: Nintendo Download: Graceful Explosion Machine

Oh hey, it's a new Switch game -- today we're getting Graceful Explosion Machine, which is a timed exclusive. Also on Switch is LEGO City Undercover, Vroom in the Night Sky, and ACA Neogeo Alpha Mission II. while the 3DS gets Pinball Breakout and Animal Sinker. Animal Gods, a PC port that had a tepid reaction back in 2015, is hitting Wii U, as is World Sports Competition and Super Star Soldier.

As a bit of non-Nintendo news, Shovel Knight: Specter of Torment ended its Switch exclusivity today, and is now out on PC (with other platforms rolling out later).

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News:: The EVE Online monument: same as it ever was

This is not my beautiful house!

No, I'm in the hamlet city of Reykjavik, Iceland for my first EVE Fanfest and coincidentally, my first visit to the country. I've seen the myriad pictures for the monument before, but it was fascinating to get some context around it.

Iceland is a strange place. My first real experience in the country involved getting some breakfast after a redye flight, only to hear the restaurant blaring 1950's rock and roll. Just up the street is a bar dedicated to Chuck Norris and any number of innocuous US pop culture references. Credit cards are widely accepted, English is widely spoken, and you can basically just roll up and acclimate instantly.

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News:: Xbox One now supports Dolby Atmos and DTS:X audio

Just as Microsoft promised last fall, the Xbox One finally has support for next-generation audio formats like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X -- provided you have a recent home theater receiver that supports them. You just have to flip on the "bitstream passthrough" feature in the console's Blu-ray settings to get things going, which lets your receiver do all the audio decoding work.

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News:: Are you playing Drawn to Death? Not many people seem to be

I was right there on launch day with Drawn to Death. Sure, David Jaffe has had some misses in his career, but the idea of a free PS4 shooter (with Plus) sounded pretty sweet.

I'm wondering though, is anyone else aware that this game even exists? I had some trouble finding a multitude of people to play, and it seemed like I was rolling with the same crew on a consistent basis. It's kind of a shame, as Drawn to Death does a lot of things right.

Although some microtransaction based concepts (read: keys, which unlock weapons) do seem a little scummy, most of the economy is based around cosmetics,built around a fairly solid shooter base. I don't have enough experience to truly render a verdict as to whether or not I actually like it (Jordan will have something for you soon), I'm definitely conflicted.

But really, mainly just wanted to know if you're playing it, and what you think about it.

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News:: ESPN's Drone Racing League returns with faster, bigger races

Last year, I asked a simple question: Can drone racing become as big as eSports? While we wait to find out, one of the leading race organizers -- the Drone Racing League -- is making all the right moves this year to make that answer yes. One of the keys to achieving that, the DRL hopes, is the introduction of the Racer3 drone, which will be the standard craft all pilots in the DRL race with. Unsurprisingly, it's more powerful and agile than its predecessor (the Racer2, obviously) and could be the shot in the arm the sport needs to go mainstream. The Racer3 should make races -- which air on ESPN starting June 20th -- even more thrilling, luring more fans (and, by association, lucre) to the game.

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News:: Xbox Project Scorpio specs revealed, plays 4k at 60fps

Finally we have some hard data on Microsoft's Project Scorpio, a more powerful version of the Xbox One. Digital Foundry reports that the system will be able to run games in 4k resolution at 60 frames per second and feature eight custom x86 cores clocked at 2.3GHz, a GPU with 40 customized Radeon compute units at 1172MHz,  12GB GDDR5 memory, 326 GB/s of memory bandwidth, and a 4K UHD Blu-ray drive.

Scorpio will of course employ HDR, and if you don't have a 4k television then the games will down-sample to 1080p. Additionally they have moved to Direct3D 12 for API, will use HDMI 2.0 for output, and added support for Dolby Atmos

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News:: Review: Graceful Explosion Machine

Another week, another Switch indie game to be reviewed that falls in a niche genre.

This time it's the timed exclusive Graceful Explosion Machine -- a colorful score-driven space shooter that many people have compared to Geometry Wars upon seeing it. Those people are wrong, as it has more in common with Defender or Fantasy Zone. Plus it isn't a twin-stick shooter at all.

If the popular boy band Smash Mouth made a space shooter, I'd imagine it would turn out something like this.

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