Developer Rusty Lake has released 14 games under the Rusty Lake and Cube Escape banner to date - some fully fledged premium offerings, others free-to-play companion pieces - each delivering a deliciously surreal, narratively interconnected slice of casual point-and-click puzzling with a room escape slant. The Past Within is Rusty Lake’s first attempt at a co-operative adventure, expanding the series’ familiar formula, both spacially and temporally, as two players work together across different timelines - one located in the past, the other in the future - to solve the mysteries surrounding recurring series character Albert Vanderboom....

The Acer Predator Triton 500 SE is packed with top features in nearly every aspect, and it’s currently available at the Microsoft Store for £1499. That’s a huge £500 saving on the usual retail price. One thing everyone will love here is the display and its 16:10 aspect ratio. That extra vertical space will be precious for when you’re in non-gaming modes, and the 2560 x 1600 resolution is still going to deliver a crisp image regardless of the game you fire up....

With it comes another mainstay of service games, a battle pass - which is free for all players - with some additional non-exclusive Pirate Emporium items up for grabs as part of a Plunder Pass. This page outlines the estimated Seas of Thieves Season 1 release time and some of what you have to look forward to in the new Season. On this page: ORIGINAL STORY: The Sea of Thieves Season 1 release date is Thursday, January 28th, with the season likely going live sometime during daytime hours in the UK / GMT....

The console will release on 27th October and the included 60 titles from both the Mega Drive and Mega CD consoles have now been fully revealed, including two that were previously unreleased. As reported last month, the console will have a tenth of the supply compared to the previous retro console in North America, so stocks are expected to be limited. Watch on YouTube Mega Drive Mini 2 | Full Game List That’s of course in line with modern consoles, due to the ongoing shortage of semiconductors....

In an interview with Sega Japan’s recruitment website and translated by our friends at VGC, several Sega executives explained that to qualify under the Super Game banner, the new projects must be “multi-platform, global multi-language development, simultaneous worldwide release, and AAA titles”. “In other words, you can imagine that the scale of game development will be that of a global blockbuster,” Sega explained. “Sega offers a wide range of game content, including hardware and arcade content, which is made possible by its diverse range of technologies,” executive VP Shuji Utsumi added....

The news was reported this morning by Japanese newspaper Mainichi, and comes a day after two other men were reported to have been charged with insider trading connected to Final Fantasy publisher Square Enix. Naka, you may recall, worked with the company for a brief stint, creating platformer Balan Wonderworld. Naka, 57, is accused of purchasing shares worth 2.8m yen (around £16.8k) in Aiming, a Japanese developer which Square Enix partnered with to make a Dragon Quest mobile game, before the company’s involvement was public knowledge....

Last November, former PlayStation IT security analyst Emma Majo claimed Sony “wilfully violated” labour laws by “intentionally, knowingly, and/or deliberately paying women less than men for substantially equal or similar work”. As well as “lower pay levels”, women were “denied promotions”, Majo alleged, saying that these “discriminatory employment practices, policies, and procedures are centrally established and implemented at the highest levels of Sony”. In response, Sony has said it “categorically denies” the allegations made in the proposed class action suit, and has filed for it to be dismissed (thanks, Axios)....

There’ll be three figurines going on sale next month: a yellow Inkling, a blue Octoling, and Smallfry. Take a look at the announcement video below to get a closer look at them. If you decide to get one, make sure you get your squid’s worth and scan them into the game in Splatsville. In-game, the Amiibos will unlock exclusive gear, some of which is teased in the video. That includes new outfits and a rather fetching Smallfry helmet....

All this comes via a special 20th anniversary developer roundtable video, culminating in a look at the future of the franchise. There’s a brief mention of the Netflix animated series - which was announced last June and is still in the works despite radio silence since then - and, of course, a bit on the eagerly anticipated Splinter Cell reboot. Ubisoft announced its reboot - described as a ground-up remake - last December, with producer Matt West saying, “We’re going to update it visually, as well as some of the design elements to match player comfort and expectations, and we are going to keep it linear like the original games, not make it open world....

The game is set to launch on Xbox and PlayStation’s last-gen and current-gen consoles, and now its developer has said its “vision” is to bring Splitgate to Switch. In a developer Q&A earlier this week (thanks, GameSpot), developer 1047 Games said it plans to expand its platform support. “We haven’t started on it, but it’s absolutely part of the vision,” 1047 Games boss Ian Proulx said. “Part of the vision is we want to be available on everything....

Outside the hall, in an ominous show of forbearance as well as an example of how ill-conceived some of Google’s ideas were, was assembled some of video game’s most famous failures, with four plinths displaying a Dreamcast, Nintendo’s Powerglove and Atari’s ET with the final display left empty with a simple ‘Coming Soon’ for the soon-to-be-announced Stadia. Amidst all the bluster that would follow, it was the one thing from that event that would ring true....

As spotted by The Gamer, the description of the game on the Xbox store has recently been updated to include the “approximate” 180GB storage space on Xbox consoles. If true - and it’s always possible the download size will be optimised and shaved closer to launch - that means Stalker 2 will take up half of the space available on Microsoft’s compact system, Xbox Series S. It’s also weighing in at a hefty size on PC, too; there you’ll need around 150GB to get the game installed....

Speaking to IGN about the upcoming game, de Fondaumiere shared that, while with each new title the studio does “try to innovate” and “explore new ground”, Quantic Dream will always retain various aspects of their games in future releases. “With Star Wars Eclipse we’re certainly going to keep the fundamental elements of a Quantic Dream game,” he explained. These fundamentals will include “[a] very strong story, very strong characters, multiple playable characters, and of course, giving the players the possibility to change, through their actions and decisions, how the story unfolds,” de Fondaumiere said....

Speaking to investors in a financial briefing last night, EA said it had a “major IP” due to arrive before 31st March next year - but that it was holding off on its big reveal until nearer the time. The sequel to 2019’s popular Jedi: Fallen Order is really the only thing on EA’s slate this “major IP” without a release date could be. We already know the launch dates of EA’s upcoming Need for Speed return, its Dead Space remake and its collaboration with Koei Tecmo on Wild Hearts....

Although the new chapter - titled Sadako Rising and based on the cult Japanese horror Ringu - isn’t out until 8th March, some members of the Fog Whisperers are already playing as the iconic well-loving killer. The Fog Whisperers are streamers selected as Dead by Daylight partners to support content in the game. They’ve been given early access to Sadako. It’s not even during matches that she’s freaking players out....

Joining me this time was two more of our resident Pokémon experts (we have a few), Eurogamer’s deputy editor Tom Phillips, who’s been abreast of all the many leaks around launch, and senior guides writer Lottie Lynn, who’s already put together a massive amount of guides that you can find over in our lovely, dedicated Pokémon Legends Arceus walkthrough and guide hub. It’s been a busy week of prepping coverage here, so expect a casual chat about my experiences with the game for review, Tom and Lottie’s impressions from what they’ve seen, and a few predictions for what The Pokémon Company might be up to this year....

She holds one of the most coveted kinds of jobs in video games - a role I know many young people look towards as they map their futures out. But there are misconceptions about what video production jobs entail, and what the responsibilities are associated to the recognition it can bring. It’s with this in mind, I sit Aoife down to find out how she found herself working in games, what it has been like for her in the industry, and what the lessons are she’s learned along the way....

Tales from the Borderlands originally released in 2014, and, for my money at least, is easily the best thing Telltale ever made. It smoothes off the mainline Borderlands series’ more abrasive edges to deliver a genuinely funny, and surprisingly touching, five-episode adventure focusing on Hyperion employee Rhys (played by Troy Baker) and Pandoran con-artist Fiona (Fiona Bailey) as they attempt to locate and open a Vault. It follows Telltales’ usual cinematic narrative adventure formula, but nails it on just about every front, with bags of style and wit, a surprisingly gripping plot, an immensely likeable cast of characters, brilliant set-pieces, and, oh yes, not one but five of the most joyously memorable intro sequences ever committed to video game....

It’s the feeling I got when I recently replayed Nier: Automata on Switch. Mostly, I was playing to test the port, and I didn’t have time to play more than the opening. But what an opening it is! Narratively, the stakes are high given 2B is the sole surviving android on a suicide mission against the enemy machines, but from this epic prologue, you get a taste of its combat that’s more like a feast, the way it changes between genres and perspectives, culminating in a multi-stage boss battle that could be the final boss in any other game....

Let’s quickly talk about the basics of what we offer. The DF Supporter Program has three tiers: the $5/£5 supporter tier gives you access to our Discord - where the team regularly participate in discussions and answer questions - along with early access to DF Direct Weekly, the ability to pose questions for the show along with a weekly update from me that keeps backers fully up to speed with what projects each staff member is working on and what else is in the pipeline....