tldr videogame curation
melbourne, australia

Platform: PlayStation 4

As far as non-FromSoft soulslikes go, this is the real deal. It’s not doing anything revolutionary, but it has enough compelling new ideas, and a level of polish that elevates it beyond its otherwise decent contemporaries. It also commits so hard to Timothée Chalamet Pinocchio Bloodborne that you kind of forget how silly that actually is.

Really clever deduction point-n-click puzzler that has you deciphering languages across a pretty world for around seven hours. Not a new concept, but manages to strike a simple, satisfying balance between intuitive and challenging. Wish it didn’t give away so much sometimes, but still very cool.

An interview with Bandai Namco EU CEO Arnaud Muller might hint that the upcoming Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree, is set “to release soon”. No release date has been provided - ‘soon’ could mean anything - and it might just be presumptuous phrasing by the author, but… let’s gooo!

The fundamental mechanic is clever and jaw-droppingly pulled off. The visuals are lovely, puzzles mostly fun, never too challenging and satisfying to complete. It doesn’t matter much, but the characters & story aren’t particularly memorable (unless you count some pretty cringey dialog). Overall a pleasant and worthwhile experience.

Experimental food sandbox with ridiculous graphics and a focus on a e s t h e t i c s. The lack of significant objectives, and at times unintuitive controls certainly won’t be for everyone, but if you’re up for messing around, it’s a satisfying & delightful time.

FROM reinvigorate mecha gaming with their masterfully honed pedigree, elevating the genre to new supreme heights. The world is enthralling, the garage deep and addictive, and the combat tight and impactful. What can one say - they’ve done it again.

Just a few hours out from release, FROM and Bandai pull the hypetrain into the station with the Armored Core VI overview trailer. Let’s gooooo!

A new trailer for the Phantom Liberty expansion to Cyberpunk dropped, and in spite of the base game’s flaws (and not to encourage the same hypetrain mistakes again), this looks pretty fun! Credit to CD Projekt for reworking fundamental stuff, not ‘just’ expanding the world: all players will get the Cyberpunk 2.0 stuff, whether they purchase the expansion or not.

With only four days left, From and Bandai have given us the official launch trailer for Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.

Between Baldur’s Gate, this and Starfield shortly thereafter, we’re truly spoiled for choice!

A new Armored Core IV showcase from Bandai Namco and FromSoftware revealed new lore, gameplay and offered a first glimpse of its PVP Online Mode.

Armored Core IV launches August 25 (next week!) - can’t wait.