This Week in Games

Sony State of Play 2026: Just Don't Call It "Goddess of War"

Welcome back, folks! At the time of writing, I'm quite close to finishing the first entry in .hack//GU. I'm looking forward to jumping into a shorter game once I'm done. I've been considering Gravity Circuit as it had a sequel announced recently. On the other hand, I could stand to try out Gravity Rush...

LEGO Pokémon Sets Incorporate Smart Bricks

Folks detached from LEGO might not know this, but LEGO has recently developed what's called a Smart Brick: a large 2x4 brick with lights, a synthesizer, and a motion detector built in. By putting the Smart Brick near specific Smart Tags (usually on panels or Smart Brick-compatible minifigures), the brick generates corresponding sounds and lights. The Smart Bricks were introduced with a variety of Star Wars sets, where they brought life to iconic ships like the Millennium Falcon or Darth Vader's TIE fighter. They also allowed you to do neat things like stage lightsaber duels with actual sounds, or "shoot down" each other's ships with "lasers" (activated by pulling a lever on the model). It's all very neat stuff, and the bricks will be incorporated in a wave of Pokémon models now.

If you're expecting me to drop the hammer and point out major flaws with this, I'm flattered that you know me so well. Anyway, the Smart Bricks have... not been the best. For starters, they're maddeningly expensive, with most sets that include them starting at US$70. And while you'd expect the sets to be big... they're not. The Star Wars ships compatible with the Smart Bricks are rather small, with very compromised designs to accommodate the bricks and their play features. (Seriously, the TIE fighter is practically hollow from the back.) Second problem: not all Smart Brick-compatible sets include Smart Bricks, so if you go for a "cheaper" set, you'll find the set not featuring the thing the set is designed around. Also: Smart Bricks have terrible battery life, requiring about two hours of charging for 45 minutes of continuous playtime.

Eagle-eyed readers might have also noticed that the Pokémon LEGO sets revealed in the teaser above don't show off any of the features. This is presumably by design on behalf of The Lego Group... because I've heard the Smart Bricks. To be fair: our first introduction to the Smart Bricks was through Star Wars sets, and Star Wars has some rather iconic sound effects. We all know what TIE fighters and their blasters sound like, we know what the Millenium Falcon sounds like, we know what a lightsaber sounds like. Bless their hearts, the Smart Bricks don't make those sounds: just really vague approximations of them. (And forget dialogue—the best they can do with "characters" is a weird robotic mumbling.) The reason is simple: Smart Bricks don't actually contain any sounds, because storing all that audio data would be way too much for a 2x4 brick to contain. So the best they came up with was having a tiny 8-bit synthesizer inside the brick that generates "appropriate" sounds according to whatever it reads from the nearby Smart Tag. It's a neat idea in practice, since you can whoosh a ship around and the little LEGO minifigure will react to how you hold the ship (even crashing and mumbling if you place the ship upside-down). Just not "US$70 and up"-neat, and especially if they can't get a TIE Fighter to sound like a TIE Fighter.

I wanted to be hopeful that the Smart Bricks would have a harder time generating the iconic cries of Pokémon, but that doesn't seem to be the case; a recent teaser on Twitter reveals that none of the cries really sound all that "authentic" at all (and if anything, some of them sound recycled from the Star Wars sets). The ideas in place for Pokémon Battles between sets are... interesting, if rudimentary. But ultimately, this is an otherwise poor showing. A real shame, considering that these Pokémon models are actually rather nice; if you could just replace the gaps in the models where the Smart Brick would go, these would be perfectly fine sets.

Cost is also going to be an issue, and more so than usual for LEGO. Remember: US$70 for a shrunken TIE Fighter. (For comparison, the LEGO Imperial TIE Fighter set #75300 retailed for US$36.) At any rate, the sets will release on August 1 and are available now for pre-order.

Kohei Ikeda Leaves Tekken

It's been a rough few months for Tekken 8. While Yujiro Hanma's announcement was definitely a source of excitement for folks, the loss of Katsuhiro Harada still looms over it all. The game had been left in good hands... but what happens when the replacement director also leaves? This is the problem the Tekken project now finds itself in, as Kohei Ikeda announced his departure as director of Tekken 8. Much like Harada, Ikeda also had upwards of 20 years of experience with the franchise.

I'm not one to be doom-and-gloom about major million-dollar titles, but Bandai Namco is not in the best position at the moment. Tales of... fans are still waiting for new games, and even some of the games chosen for remakes have fallen flat with them. The new .hack game has simply been given to Cyber Connect 2 to handle on their own, and it doesn't seem like the IMOQ games are coming back anytime soon. Tekken fans have had something of a rocky time with the games. And Harada's parting words with Tekken paint a picture of a lot of mismanagement.

So, what's going on at Bandai Namco? It'll be a while before we find out; these major Japanese companies tend to be very cagey when things go south right up until the house of cards. We do know things aren't great, as recently as 2024, whistle-blowers at Bandai Namco were reporting the austerity measures being taken, such as encouraging certain developers to quit as "they had no future at the company." Someone with 20 years of experience is likely better served finding greener pastures elsewhere. But the story continues; we can only hope that Tekken doesn't suffer too much or too hard from the loss in leadership, and that Ikeda lands somewhere better.

Sony State of Play 2026

It's been a bit rough for Sony for a while, so this State of Play was rather needed. And hey, they announced it with ample build-up, so it's not like it was dumped on us out of nowhere. While the cynicism surrounding these streams tires me ("Nothing got announced!"), I still furrow my brows at this week's State of Play. There was plenty that was announced, to be sure. And a lot of this stuff even got release dates! But worryingly, everything seems to be coming out this autumn. So it looks like a rather dry summer for anyone with a PS5... especially after they made such a big deal about keeping their single-player games exclusive going forward. It would've been nice if there were an actual game folks could play to stave off the dog days of summer. Go through more rounds of Marathon?

That's another thing that loomed over the State of Play; a lot of chatters were really insistent upon wanting Destiny 3. I have very little context with Destiny; I know that fans of the series really love it, and that its highs were high... but I also know its lows were low, and at any turn it felt like any average Destiny fan had nothing but complaints about the game. That they'd be demanding a new Destiny so soon after the announcement of Destiny 2's shutdown also feels a bit unrealistic of an expectation, especially with Bungie putting their weight behind the aforementioned Marathon.

Another issue that stood out: cost. The bugbear of the PlayStation 5's price loomed over every game announcement, since almost every game announced featured a prompt that it was running on PS5 Pro specs. Y'know, the PS5 Pro that costs US$900. Not that Sony should've been drowned in annoying "DROP THE PRICE" chants, but that factoid makes one really re-evaluate a lot of these titles. So let's go through some of them!

Insomniac's upcoming Wolverine title was first debuted, and we got to enjoy all of the gruesome violence that ensues when Logan shows off why he's the best at what he does. Emphasis on "gruesome;" while the camera doesn't quite linger on the effects of Wolverine literally shoving his claws into someone's face, damage does show on his body. There's a section where I noticed Wolverine just had a huge gaping hole in his spine, presumably from getting shot at so much... which naturally healed over time, because Wolverine is Marvel's poster-boy for healing factors. Also revealed: Jean Grey tagging along and offering some support to Wolverine (it wouldn't be X-Men without the Logan/Jean/Scott love triangle); glimpses of giant Sentinel robots; a tease of Wolverine fighting a rather-stringy-looking Deadpool; Sabertooth's reveal. It looks great; it'll be nice to finally have a good Wolverine game, since his older titles didn't tend to do him justice (or were X-Men Origins: Wolverine).

Sticking with the Marvel trend, we had some reveals for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls, revealing a new "team" of characters: the "Knights of Doom." As you'd expect, Dr. Doom headlines the group (played by SungWon Cho, absolutely dominating the role). He's backed up by Magneto, which works pretty great—they're both brilliant dictators with ambitions of changing the world, so it figures they'd be besties. Then there's... the Green Goblin. I mean, he's voiced by Steve Blum; that's neat, but Green Goblin feels like a bit small-potatoes compared to Doom. And the hits keep coming with the team rounded out by Carnage, of all people. Now, I get why they went with two of Spidey's rogues: Spider-Man is one of the most popular superheroes ever, and his villains are some of the most iconic villains around. I can get Green Goblin. Carnage feels like he was chosen because they didn't want to bring in Venom and invite too many comparisons to Marvel Vs. CAPCOM. Sure, Carnage is great, but what in the world would possess Dr. Doom to work with Carnage, of all people? Norman Osbourne, sure, he's rich, and he's passably smart. But I guess you've got to take what you can get when you're forming an all-villain team and your headliner is Dr. Doom.

Ubisoft is finally doing something with Rayman, and it's... another Rayman Legends title, Rayman Legends: Retold. Now, Rayman Legends is a gem of a game, honest. It's one of the best platformers you could get your hands on. Rayman Legends is also about 14 years old; Ubisoft moving from its original 2D aesthetic to adapting it into 3D instead of making a wholly new look puzzles me, especially given the departures from the Legends mainstays. There are now 3D stages mixed in with the 2D ones. I'm happy for more Rayman, the poor guy's had it rough for a long time. Look forward to this one on October 1.

Famed million-dollar "indie game" published by Nexon, Dave the Diver, is getting a prequel based on and named after its chef character: Bancho the Chef. Players will explore Bancho's first steps into the culinary arts through a variety of mini-games; it looks charming. We also had a new look at the upcoming Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis, which posits a return-to-form for the Tomb Raider series. To wit: Lara's got her twin handguns, and she fights honest-to-god dinosaurs as she prowls through ruins. Pity about the generative AI. Speaking of dinosaurs, Annapurna has an upcoming game about dinosaurs set loose in the modern day, titled The Lost Wild. Little else is said about it—but my dinosaur-loving heart appreciates that the dromeosaurids shown in the trailer are covered in feathers and move like large predatory birds.

Remember Ikumi Nakamura? That bubbly developer who worked on The Evil Within at Tango Gameworks? She sure remembered us! She also showed up during the State of Play, bubbly and peppy as ever! She even showed off some of the cute fan-art she's received! She was proud to show off her own little labor of love, Kemuri: a sprawling action game where you play a modern yokai hunter in a massive lived-in city. The trailer is very energetic, showing off all kinds of shonen anime-esque stunts like scooching up a building with your hands in your pockets all Killua-like, or whacking tengu over the head with baseball bats. The idea is that you play a yokai hunter who trapezes over the city hunting yokai, acquiring their powers. This changes your appearance somewhat, as well as your abilities. And stemming from the three basic skill sets you start off with (Shamans, Katana Hunters, and Bow Hunters), that's a lot of variety. We also saw huge bosses like a massive gashadoruko (a towering building-sized skeleton). I was unsure at first, given the game's emphasis on co-op... but the game is too stylish to ignore. Nakamura promises to "deliver chaos—and laughter," and God help me, I believe her. I'm excited for Kemuri and look forward to its release in 2027.

Let's see here: Dune: Awakening, that survival-crafting game set in the Dune universe, gets a new single-player mode for its upcoming console release. No Rest for the Wicked, from the Ori and the Blind Forest devs, promises "a world that evolves, even when you're offline," pretty, but it's another multiplayer survival game. Along those lines is Runescape: Dragonwilds, coming soon to PlayStation+; it looks nice, and a survival-crafting game is a good extension of its MMORPG roots, but how many survival games do we need? Speaking of PS+: Gitaroo Man is coming back! Gitaroo Man is a PS2 classic, a rhythm-action game where your garish guitar-themed superhero faces off against mariachi-skeletons and other threats. It's a great time with great music, don't let the guy's costume scare you off. PS2 cult-favorite Psy-Ops: The Mindgate Conspiracy is also joining the PS+ collection; it's a great B-movie of a shooter, and one that's stuck in my mind for a long time, even though I've never played it. I look forward to getting my hands on it! Speaking of the undead: we were teased with the gruesome-looking Ill (that's "ill," not the Roman numeral for three). There's precious little to say about it: it's a zombie apocalypse game that really loves showing off bodily harm, and it comes out in 2027. We're getting a new Stuntman game, which is wild in the best of ways; we haven't seen one of those since 2007, and it's promising to re-create stunts from stuff like Knight Rider and Back to the Future. If there was any justice in the world, it'd feature a Ryan Gosling cameo from The Fall Guy.

We're getting a new Control title, Control: Resonant. It's still got the goofy live-action PSA skits; I expect great things from it. Firesprite is making an honest-to-god sequel to Until Dawn, and it's set at the legally distinct Beach That Makes You (not) Old™! Some dumb Scooby Gang of teens find some real spooks on a tropical island; I do have to wonder what the supernatural dealings are this time, given the setting. Marathon's second season promises new zones and shells; the Destiny crowd was a bit mad at this one. But even I, someone doubtful of Marathon being turned into a team shooter (especially after the plagiarism) have to hand it to Bungie. Phantom Blade 0 has been pushed back to an October release date.

Let's focus on some Japanese games! Dynasty Warriors 3 Complete Edition Remastered (whew!) is due out this October. It's a remaster of a PS2 Dynasty Warriors title, and possibly the quintessential one. I mean, Wang Yi isn't playable in this one (she wouldn't be until the seventh-ish entry), but most everything people love about these musou games came from here. Remember, the first Dynasty Warriors was a fighting game!

Being a "complete edition," this game will collect all of the content from the original PS2 game, and then some: Ziulan from Dynasty Warriors Origins also joins as a playable character. Heads up: this had a Switch port, but that's been cancelled. It will be coming to the Switch 2 as well as all other major consoles and platforms.

Heeey, that's not Aoi Yūki! What kinda Mickey Mouse Shuten Doji is that? Our newest look at Onimusha: Way of the Sword showed off our intrepid hero Musashi facing off against the famed oni. It also pulled off the ol' "Because you were fighting with a chainsaw..." bit from Chainsaw Man when a disembodied voice tells Musashi, "Then get going, Onimusha." Because, uh... he's a musha(warrior) fighting oni. We also get a bit of angst from Musashi, represented as he is by the effortlessly charming (and incrediby dreamy) Toshirō Mifune, even he finds himself tempted to wield the energy of demons to survive against the monsters he fights. We're teased at a possible super-mode made up of demon's souls, as it were. The jury's out if I have the dexterity to handle this one (I love Nioh, but those games drive me to literal tears), but man, do I want to play this come September. Also, speaking of Onimusha, its final PS2 entry, Dawn of Dreams, is joining the PS+ catalogue. I'm a bit worried; it wasn't very well-received back in its time, but I have to wonder if time has made people softer on it. Still no sign of Onimusha 3, either—come on, I need a Jean Reno fix!

We got a new look at Ace Combat: The Wings of Theve, which promises a layered story about a pilot granted the, er, titular title of "The Wings of Theve" to serve as a source of morale for their fellow soldiers. As usual for the series, there's a lot of postulating about the nature of fighting in these big, multinational wars up in the sky, where borders don't exist. I've never actually played an Ace Combat, but The Wings of Theve could change that this October 2. All it needs is Dog.jpeg. Also, this one includes Ace Combat 0: The Belkan Waras an early purchase bonus or as a bonus for the digital deluxe set. It would be nice to see more of the Ace Combat games brought back.

I really wish they gave us more to go off of with Silent Hill: Townfall, but it doesn't feel like the trailer revealed much more than the original game's reveal. We have a protagonist, we have the town of St. Amelia, and we have some nasty fog hiding some gruesome monsters. And... that's about it. It seems we can use handheld radios or televisions to detect signals that might expose some monsters, which is a neat concept, and by no means does Townfall look bad, but they're rather short on tantalizing us with this one. Still, this one looks worth waiting until September 24.

Finally, we had an extensive 20-minute look at an upcoming God of War title—curiously, not starring Kratos, but rather his belated wife, Laufrey. Taking place immediately in the wake of the intro to the first game, where Kratos and Atreyu cremate Laufrey at a funeral pyre, Laufrey wakes up in a realm called the "Everwhen," a sort of graveyard for deities. There, she battles the forces of the goddess Sekhmet, who is trying to control supernatural entities, Lord Farquaad-style. The tone is a bit off for a God of War; while Norse God of War isn't above chatty party members like Heimdall, the likes of Phranque (read: "Frank") the talking gelatinous cube is a bit too "MCU" for a God of War game, for my tastes (apologies to Jack Quaid). Still, Laufrey cuts a mean figure; I appreciate her unique battle style compared to Kratos, combining magic bursts with quick swordplay. To rub salt into the wound: she not only jumps, she has a double-jump. Jeez, Kratos, get some Icy Hot for your knees. I think God of War: Laufrey might be a departure for the games, but I think it's still going to be a worthy entry. We've seen a lot about Kratos' dealings with grief and trauma; it's interesting to see grief handled from the other side of the equation. What does grief look like for a dead person in the afterlife? There's a moment where Laufrey has to "assert" herself by letting go of her connection to the world of the living, yet she's confronted with images of Kratos; how much do we have to let go of our loved ones in the name of moving on? I have faith in Santa Monica Studios in answering that question. No word yet on this one's release date.

Let's wrap up with some quick tidbits:

That'll do it for this week. Join us next week as we figure out what I'll play next and whether we'll actually get a Nintendo Direct or not! Folks have their hearts set on that rumored Ocarina of Time remake, but nothing's stopping Nintendo from just dropping the announcement on its own... Be good to each other, I'll see you in seven.

This Week In Games! is written from idyllic Portland by Jean-Karlo Lemus. When not collaborating with Anime News Network, Jean-Karlo can be found playing Japanese RPGs, eating popcorn, watching VTuber content, and watching tokusatsu. You can keep up with him at @ventcard.bsky.social.