In last week's episode, we played through the opening moments of Shadow Hearts: Covenant, a PlayStation 2 RPG by Nautilus that moves to the beat of its own drum. We were so impressed by the opening that we wanted to see what came next. We dedicated the entire episode to this fascinating gem of yesteryear, and walked away even more in awe of it.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant uses World War I as a backdrop for a strange story that features vampires, gods, and even a strange puppeteer that may not be using puppets. The jury is still out on that last one. Sit back, enjoy the episode, and we'll be back in seven days (with maybe even more of Shadow Hearts: Covenant).

In last week's episode, we played through the opening moments of Shadow Hearts: Covenant, a PlayStation 2 RPG by Nautilus that moves to the beat of its own drum. We were so impressed by the opening that we wanted to see what came next. We dedicated the entire episode to this fascinating gem of yesteryear, and walked away even more in awe of it.

Shadow Hearts: Covenant uses World War I as a backdrop for a strange story that features vampires, gods, and even a strange puppeteer that may not be using puppets. The jury is still out on that last one. Sit back, enjoy the episode, and we'll be back in seven days (with maybe even more of Shadow Hearts: Covenant).

Nintendo and Intelligent Systems finally provided some concrete details about the upcoming Fire Emblem entry, Three Houses, during the latest Nintendo Direct. A lot of interesting stuff was revealed, but arguably the biggest tidbit of info is the July 26 release date. Here is the most notable information we gleaned from the presentation.

The Game Is Harry Potter As Hell Back when Nintendo revealed Three Houses, the fact it took place at a school and had its student body separated into houses resulted in many people noticing similarities between the game and the popular Harry Potter franchise. The latest video has only doubled down on those similarities. As a professor at the Officer's Academy, you training your students with exercises and exams while building your relationship with them as their teacher. Interiors for the academy show in the Direct echo the stone design castle of Hogwarts as well.

Nintendo and Intelligent Systems finally provided some concrete details about the upcoming Fire Emblem entry, Three Houses, during the latest Nintendo Direct. A lot of interesting stuff was revealed, but arguably the biggest tidbit of info is the July 26 release date. Here is the most notable information we gleaned from the presentation.

The Game Is Harry Potter As Hell Back when Nintendo revealed Three Houses, the fact it took place at a school and had its student body separated into houses resulted in many people noticing similarities between the game and the popular Harry Potter franchise. The latest video has only doubled down on those similarities. As a professor at the Officer's Academy, you training your students with exercises and exams while building your relationship with them as their teacher. Interiors for the academy show in the Direct echo the stone design castle of Hogwarts as well.

Anthem is breaking the mold of what we expect from BioWare. With its focus on cooperative multiplayer, flight-based movement, and long-term player investment, it’s safe to say that that the game stands apart from projects like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Nonetheless, the studio’s penchant for world-building and deep lore remain in full effect; Anthem is a rich treasure trove of fiction ahead of its launch. Independent of any storytelling that might happen in the actual game, there’s a lot to get excited about in the universe that BioWare has crafted around Anthem.

In advance of the game’s full release, we spoke with Anthem’s lead writers, Cathleen Rootsaert and Jay Watamaniuk. They explained the history of the Anthem world, the nature of the Anthem of Creation, the big threats facing the player characters, and more.

Read the full interview below.

Anthem is breaking the mold of what we expect from BioWare. With its focus on cooperative multiplayer, flight-based movement, and long-term player investment, it’s safe to say that that the game stands apart from projects like Dragon Age and Mass Effect. Nonetheless, the studio’s penchant for world-building and deep lore remain in full effect; Anthem is a rich treasure trove of fiction ahead of its launch. Independent of any storytelling that might happen in the actual game, there’s a lot to get excited about in the universe that BioWare has crafted around Anthem.

In advance of the game’s full release, we spoke with Anthem’s lead writers, Cathleen Rootsaert and Jay Watamaniuk. They explained the history of the Anthem world, the nature of the Anthem of Creation, the big threats facing the player characters, and more.

Read the full interview below.

Metro Exodus takes Artyom and company out of inhospitable Moscow subway tunnels and into the...inhospitible Russian countryside. Between the dangerous levels of radiation waiting to suck the life out of you in certain zones and the fearsome cast of mutant predators, you need to keep your gas mask at the ready and your head on a swivel. With roving gangs of cannibals, slavers, and religious fanatics thrown into the mix, Artyom has his work cut out to make it across the continent.

To help ease your burden, you can learn from our mistakes with these valuable tips for getting the most out of the game. 

One of Metro Exodus' biggest shortcoming is the wooden acting that robs emotional scenes of any weight. Do yourself a favor when you boot up the game and head into the options to turn on the Russian voiceover and English subtitles. Trust us, it's worth it. 

Metro Exodus takes Artyom and company out of inhospitable Moscow subway tunnels and into the...inhospitible Russian countryside. Between the dangerous levels of radiation waiting to suck the life out of you in certain zones and the fearsome cast of mutant predators, you need to keep your gas mask at the ready and your head on a swivel. With roving gangs of cannibals, slavers, and religious fanatics thrown into the mix, Artyom has his work cut out to make it across the continent.

To help ease your burden, you can learn from our mistakes with these valuable tips for getting the most out of the game. 

One of Metro Exodus' biggest shortcoming is the wooden acting that robs emotional scenes of any weight. Do yourself a favor when you boot up the game and head into the options to turn on the Russian voiceover and English subtitles. Trust us, it's worth it. 

The Outer Worlds is full of different possibilities, and depending on the choices players make, their experiences with the story and gameplay could vary greatly. That’s a foundational element of the game’s design; co-directors Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain have been iterating on how to accommodate player choice since their days working together on the original Fallout. We talked to the duo about why this concept is so important in The Outer Worlds, and the kinds of decisions players can expect during the journey.

Broadly speaking, Obsidian wants you to play The Outer Worlds your own way, including everything from the narrative to the gameplay. “I don’t remember how we came to this formula back when we started working on Fallout, but we just looked at a bunch of games that were out at the time, and it didn’t seem you were given a lot of options in terms of playing however you wanted to play,” Boyarsky says. “There was some player choice, but it was ‘You can be the good guy this way, or you can be the good guy that way.’”

The Outer Worlds is full of different possibilities, and depending on the choices players make, their experiences with the story and gameplay could vary greatly. That’s a foundational element of the game’s design; co-directors Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain have been iterating on how to accommodate player choice since their days working together on the original Fallout. We talked to the duo about why this concept is so important in The Outer Worlds, and the kinds of decisions players can expect during the journey.

Broadly speaking, Obsidian wants you to play The Outer Worlds your own way, including everything from the narrative to the gameplay. “I don’t remember how we came to this formula back when we started working on Fallout, but we just looked at a bunch of games that were out at the time, and it didn’t seem you were given a lot of options in terms of playing however you wanted to play,” Boyarsky says. “There was some player choice, but it was ‘You can be the good guy this way, or you can be the good guy that way.’”