Gaming news website Kakuchopurei and Twentytwo13 have teamed up to provide the latest in the gaming sphere.
In our weekly round-up, we will recap the best gaming news from all over Asia and the rest of the world. We also list the games that are out in the week, as well as highlight videos and feature pieces that are worth tuning into for Asian gaming audiences.
The Big Picture
The Xbox Developer Direct 2025 livestream will take place on Jan 24 at 2am (Malaysian time), with a slew of announcements and game release date reveals for all to see and anticipate. While that is all well and good, it may not be enough to pull them back from their funk over the past year.
After spending an absurd amount of money on acquiring Activision Blizzard, the company’s major step moving forward is making its exclusive titles accessible on all platforms and sharing the love via Xbox Game Pass.
It’s good news for players who want free and new games from a minimal monthly subscription service; it may, however, be bad for the loyalists who might not like to share their toys.
Microsoft chief executive officer, Satya Nadella has stated that the company is aiming for 100 million Game Pass subscribers by 2030. It remains to be seen how deep Microsoft’s pockets can go, considering they have USD75 billion to cover up.
Call us old school, but in the console and game-making race, the ones with the best and most games, win. How long has Nintendo been around again, doing the same thing over and over?
Short Beats
Nintendo has officially announced the Nintendo Switch 2 after many, many rumours and leaks. More information will be revealed later in April, but for now, we know there is a new Mario Kart game exclusive to the Switch 2. The Nintendo Switch 2 will also be playable in specialised kiosks in the following Asian regions: Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taipei. We will know soon enough if Southeast Asia will get some hands-on playtesting love.
After 31 long years with Sony PlayStation, Shuhei Yoshida left the company on Jan 15. If you look closely at one of the pictures in the link, you can see PlayStation Studios Malaysia’s Head, Hasnul Hadi Samsudin, on Yoshida’s left.
Assassin’s Creed Shadows has been delayed to March 20. Previously, the open-world action-adventure title was set to be released on Feb 14.
Indonesian indie game studio Toge Productions celebrates its 16th anniversary with a slew of announcements.
Street Fighter 6 will add a new guest character on Feb 5: Mai Shiranui. She is an iconic fighting game character from SNK’s Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series for two very big reasons: her fast-paced rushdown gameplay with flames aplenty, and her bubbly personality.
Xbox is laying off more of its employees.
Op-Eds
We go through Tesla chief executive officer and ‘X’ owner Elon Musk’s dubious history in video game achievements, while Kakuchopurei content director & co-owner Jonathan ‘MrToffee’ Toyad talks about his Top 10 games of 2024 on BFM 89.9.
Games Out This Week
Blade Chimera is a 2D search action game (classified as a Metroidvania) with lovely animated pixel artwork, a dystopian sci-fi setting, and a unique combat mechanic. How unique? Well, you brandish a rifle while also commanding your magic demon sword to attack for you, defend you, and also act as a platform and restore objects and relics from the past.
While not exactly a long game, its combat and in-depth aesthetics are worth experiencing if you need an indie gaming fare for the week.
Dynasty Warriors: Origins is a 3D action game where you play a nameless hero knee-deep in the Three Kingdoms saga from Chinese literature. After the series went through a rough road design-wise, developer Omega Force has gone back to basics and improved the gameplay and combat better than before. Your lone hero controls great and can mow down enemies with awesome swordplay and combat skills, as well as deflect attacks with counters and parries.
If you were disappointed by past Dynasty Warriors games, Origins will make you fall in love with the Three Kingdoms adaptation again.
Tales of Graces F Remastered is a re-release of a 2009 Japanese-exclusive Nintendo Wii role-playing game (that was ported to PlayStation 3 in 2013 with an English dub) that focuses on a more personal tale of a noble’s child who fled responsibility to become a knight, and the emotional consequences of that choice. Don’t worry, as this Tales of game still has the action-packed trademark, real-time battle, arena-style combat with special moves galore and lots to do. There is even a game modifier option in the form of the Grade Shop that lets you adjust parameters for a faster or easier/harder challenge when you start up this version for the first time.
Donkey Kong Country Returns HD is a remaster of a Nintendo Wii-exclusive Donkey Kong Country sequel, complete with tricky tropical levels and old-school challenges that will test your platforming mettle. While it’s great that this generation of gaming gets to experience a sublime 2D platformer title, the port may not be as accurate and sharp as the Wii original.
Recommended Viewing
While Southeast Asian media covered the Brandoville workplace abuse saga last year, the YouTube channel People Make Games has published a video to amplify the story further, in hopes of getting other Western media to bring it up.
