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This Week (May 24 - May 30) |
May comes to a close on a high note for gamers, following a packed week of surprise reveals and updates. CD Projekt Red stunned fans by announcing Songs of the Past, the third DLC expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Meanwhile, Nintendo is bringing Donkey Kong 64 to Switch Online next week. We even got to talk to Beehive Studios’ CEO for the release of LumenTale: Memories of Trey. And that’s just a taste of what this week laid down for the months ahead.
Complementing these are reviews from big-name titles and promising indie releases. All of them share a common thread: strong ideas carrying games with varying levels of polish and ambition. Several titles impressed with memorable writing, but also struggled with repetition and pacing issues or systems that needed more time to fully come together. Even so, many of the games covered here showed potential, especially the early access releases.
Here’s a quick look at some of the week’s biggest gaming headlines.
Gaming News At A Glance
LumenTale: Memories of Trey is Not Your Typical Creature-Collector RPG, Says Devs
Tides of Annihilation Partners With NVIDIA and Unreal Engine for Hands-On Event This Summer
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Songs of the Past Prematurely Announced Because of Fans
Dragon Quest XII Rebuilt From Scratch, Release Date To Be Announced
Wuthering Waves and Tears of Themis Fans Debate New Marius Card
Other News and Developments This Week
Review Roundup: May 24th to May 30th
Connecting With Others, in Myriad Ways
⚫︎ 007: First Light
⚫︎ LumenTale: Memories of Trey
⚫︎ Schrödinger's Call
Other Reviews This Week
Flipping Genres on Its Head as Early as Now
⚫︎ Colossus: Eternal Blight
⚫︎ Paralives
⚫︎ Romestead
Other Early Access/Previews This Week
Gaming News At A Glance: LumenTale Interview, Tides of Annihilation Hands-On Event, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt 3rd DLC, Dragon Quest XII Delayed
LumenTale: Memories of Trey is Not Your Typical Creature-Collector RPG, Says Devs
We recently got the chance to sit down with Beehive Studios CEO Paolo Lella to talk about LumenTale: Memories of Trey and how the team is approaching the creature-collector RPG genre differently. Instead of completely reinventing the formula popularized by games like Pokémon and Digimon, Lella explained that the team wanted to modernize it by borrowing ideas from MMOs and classic JRPGs. According to him, the goal was to "provide freshness in a stale genre" by refining familiar systems rather than replacing them outright. That philosophy can be seen throughout the game.
They also modernize the JRPG formula by streamlining complex systems into more accessible experiences. They do so by taking inspiration from MMOs and even the Persona series. While Lella remained secretive about future updates and DLC plans, he teased that players can expect plenty more adventures with the Animon after launch.
Tides of Annihilation Partners With NVIDIA and Unreal Engine for Hands-On Event This Summer
Epic Glow Games has revealed that Tides of Annihilation will receive its first public hands-on event sometime this summer. The announcement came through a new behind-the-scenes developer video, where the team also discussed the technical philosophy driving the upcoming dark fantasy action-adventure. While specific details regarding the event’s schedule and location have not yet been announced, the developers confirmed that more information will be shared through the game’s official social media channels soon.
The new developer update also highlighted Epic Glow Games’ ongoing collaboration with Unreal Engine and NVIDIA to improve the game’s technical performance and visual fidelity. According to Unreal Engine China Technical Director Wei Liu, the teams worked together to identify CPU and GPU bottlenecks while refining animation and gameplay logic pipelines to reduce computational overhead.
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Songs of the Past Prematurely Announced Because of Fans
CD Projekt Red has officially announced Songs of the Past, a brand-new DLC expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt scheduled to launch in 2027 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S. Developed alongside Fool’s Theory, the expansion will once again follow Geralt of Rivia despite The Witcher 4 already being in development.
The reveal was originally planned for a future REDstream presentation, but fans discovered the announcement early through CDPR’s REDLauncher before it was quickly taken down. While details about the DLC remain limited, the developers confirmed that more information will be shared later this summer.
Dragon Quest XII Rebuilt From Scratch, Release Date To Be Announced
Series creator Yuji Horii and Game Director Yosuke Saito announced that Dragon Quest XII has effectively been rebuilt from scratch under a new title: Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams. During the franchise’s 40th anniversary update video, the developers revealed that internal team reshuffling and a shift in creative direction led to the decision to restart development to better capture what they believe a mainline Dragon Quest game should be. As a result, the game will now take longer to release than originally expected.
Alongside the announcement, the team unveiled a new logo, subtitle, and trailer teasing the game’s new direction. Beyond Dreams will follow a young hero haunted by mysterious visions, though Horii and Saito kept most story details under wraps aside from describing it as "fantastic." The game will still feature character designs by Akira Toriyama and music from Koichi Sugiyama. The anniversary presentation also teased Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World, the next entry in the spin-off series, with a short reveal featuring Dragon Quest V characters Bianca and Nera.
Wuthering Waves and Tears of Themis Fans Debate New Marius Card
Fans of Wuthering Waves and Tears of Themis started online discussions after players noticed similarities between Brant and a newly revealed Marius card for the otome game’s upcoming "Edge of Brilliance" event. Many pointed out the shared pose, hat design, and blue-and-magenta color scheme between the two characters, leading to memes, side-by-side comparisons, and jokes about a possible crossover or Brant rerun.
The Marius card features the character in a fairy tale-inspired swashbuckler outfit reminiscent of Puss in Boots, which fans compared to Brant’s theatrical pirate aesthetic in Wuthering Waves. Some Tears of Themis players defended the design by noting that the game launched years before Wuthering Waves and that the event had already debuted on the Chinese server back in 2025.
Other News and Developments This Week
⚫︎ Just Cause Developers Avalanche Studios Confirms New AAA MMO
⚫︎ Path of Exile 2 Free This Weekend for Return of the Ancients
⚫︎ Pikmin Bloom Midsommar Festival Event Starts June 1
⚫︎ Fire Emblem Shadows Reveals Three Houses' Claude for Uniting Wind Season Pass
⚫︎ Paralives Enters Early Access With Free Outbound Camper, Among Us Costumes, & More
⚫︎ Dragon Quest 40th Anniversary Livestream Starts May 27
⚫︎ Gears of War E-Day, Persona 4 Revival, and Unannounced LEGO Skylines Game Rated in Korea
⚫︎ Street Fighter 6 Outfit 3 for Ingrid, Sagat, C. Viper, and Alex Releases May 28
⚫︎ Petit Planet Wraps Up Stardrift Test, Addresses Player Feedback
⚫︎ Street Fighter 6 Free DriveTech Wear Outfits Available on Ingrid's Release
⚫︎ Resident Evil Requiem Demo Suddenly Released on All Platforms, And Fans Are Baffled
⚫︎ Pokémon x Anker to Release Pikachu Chargers and Eevee Earbuds in July 2026
⚫︎ Donkey Kong 64 Comes to Nintendo Switch Online This June 4
⚫︎ Persona 5 Royal Infiltrates Call of Duty: Mobile
⚫︎ Overwatch x YOASOBI Collab Starts June 30 with New Kiriko Skin, Music Video, and Story
⚫︎ Kingdom Hearts King Mickey Keyblade Replica Showcases 3 Gameplay Modes
⚫︎ Pokémon and Target 30th Anniversary Celebration Drop 2 Arrives in June
⚫︎ Neverness to Everness x Beard Papa's Collaboration Starts June 12
⚫︎ Light and Night SEA CBT Ends With Translation Issues, Teases Open Beta
⚫︎ Azur Promilia JP Closed Beta Test Details To Be Announced on June 1st
⚫︎ StarCraft 2 Drops Biggest Patch in 10 Years
, and Fans are Hyped
⚫︎ Pokémon 30th Anniversary Goes High-End With ANA Plane and Rimowa Collabs
Review Roundup: May 24th to May 30th
Connecting With Others, in Myriad Ways
This week’s reviews were all about identity and connection, through espionage, monsters, phone calls, late-night conversations over coffee. 007: First Light and LumenTale: Memories of Trey rework familiar genre formulas with a better focus on character growth, while Schrödinger’s Call introspects through its surreal approach to storytelling. Coffee Talk Tokyo, meanwhile, finds warmth in everyday encounters, grounding its stories in conversations and the relationships formed between strangers. Despite their wildly different settings and genres, each game this week explored how people navigate the role they’re given and the connections they choose to hold onto.
007: First Light
007: First Light reimagines the early years of James Bond, following a younger and more reckless version of the spy before he earns his 00 status. After a botched mission in Iceland leaves Bond as the sole survivor, he is forced to ascertain the situation under M16’s guidance. It explores Bond’s early trauma and interactions with fellow aspirants Cressida Bright and Lennox Monroe.
The game is part Hitman, part Uncharted. There is an immense amount of player freedom to tackle objectives through multiple avenues. Patrick Gibson’s performance as James Bond gives him that charming attitude the character is most known for. However, the game suffers from a few notable flaws, specifically the long load times and moments where the game’s more scripted sequences limited player freedom compared IO’s previous stealth sandboxes. Nonetheless, it is still one of the strongest Bond titles in years and a promising start for a new era of 007 games.
LumenTale: Memories of Trey
LumenTale: Memories of Trey is an indie creature-collector RPG that places players in the shoes of Trey, an amnesiac protagonist who awakens in the peninsular region of Talea. Guided by the Animon researcher Kapan and joined by his nephew Ales, Trey sets off to uncover the mystery behind why legendary creatures called Animon are reemerging and causing havoc.
Though built on familiar creature-collector foundations, it revitalizes the genre with 4v4 team battles where players manage a shared energy pool and earn extra turns by exploiting type advantages, similar to a Shin Megami Tensei game. This is elevated by rewarding exploration and great player autonomy. However, the game suffers from an unforgiving learning curve. It locks combat tutorials away for hours and leaves players at a severe disadvantage against the AI. Moreover, even though its HD-2D visuals deserve praise, they ultimately mask a forgettable narrative and repetitive soundtrack that lack the punch needed to match the excellent gameplay.
Schrödinger's Call
Schrödinger's Call is an indie visual novel about a teenage girl named Mary, who awakens in a dark room with amnesia. Accompanied by a black cat named Hamlet, she learns that the moon is only 21 nanoseconds away from crashing into Earth. As the world’s last "Confidant," Mary must answer phone calls from lost souls trapped in limbo to help them confront their grief and accept their deaths before the apocalypse strikes.
The narrative arcs are emotionally charged. It brilliantly explores grief and human connection while adding profound atmospheric weight. However, the flashbacks can feel repetitive, often spoon-feeding information that could easily be gleaned at a glance. Furthermore, the game creates an illusion of choice that initially misleads players; dialogue options only lightly alter the conversation's flow before ultimately forcing everyone down a single path toward a long, definitive ending.
Other Reviews This Week
⚫︎ Coffee Talk Tokyo Review | Familiar Brew with a Strong Aftertaste
⚫︎ Poppy Playtime Review Chapter 5 [PS5] | Strongest Chapter So Far
⚫︎ STARDUST: Wish of Witch Review [First Impressions] | I Wish More Games Looked Like This
⚫︎ Mina the Hollower Review [First Impressions] |
Flipping Genres On Its Head as Early as Now
We’ve also reviewed titles that each attempt to re-energize familiar genres by weaving unexpected systems into established frameworks. Whether it is Colossus: Eternal Blight introducing permanent narrative consequences to pixel action-RPGs, Paralives introducing deep choices into life-simulation live modes, or Romestead anchoring survival crafting with mythology, each title attempts to push past standard genre tropes… while working through the usual bugs and limitations that come with pre-release builds.
Colossus: Eternal Blight
Colossus: Eternal Blight starts with Lucian, a young boy training relentlessly to achieve his dream of knighthood. The comfort of his world is shattered when his idolized older brother, Lance, returns from defending the kingdom of Eireos, only to reveal that he has been infected by the "blight."
The game’s greatest strengths lie in its atmosphere and world-building. Players can see this almost instantly through its interconnected map. The puzzles and combat’s parry system also exceed expectations. However, these promising elements suffer from sluggish movement speed and a clunky dodge mechanic that leaves Lucian briefly frozen and vulnerable to lingering enemy hitboxes. Compounding these issues are frustrating input reliability problems, where skills and the special "rage" ability frequently fail to register or fire unpredictably.
Paralives
Paralives is dubbed as a "Sims Killer" due to how similarly it plays to the long-dominant franchise. Players command customized "Parafolks" through their daily routines. They can guide up to eight characters per household from infancy to old age as they build careers and form relationships. See, like The Sims.
The game’s greatest triumphs are its incredibly extensive character creator and gridless Build mode, which functions as a borderless canvas with free resizing and custom hex-code recoloring for all furniture. However, the game still shows its early development state, marred by a lack of character autonomy that leaves uncommanded Parafolks lifelessly glued to their phones or ignoring critical needs.
Romestead
Romestead is an action-adventure RPG built directly onto the framework of a traditional city-builder. Channeling the historical allure of the Roman Empire, the game drops players into a randomly seeded world where they must plan, resource, and engineer a civilization completely from scratch.
It is at its best when its main mechanics synergize, especially regarding a state-based resource loop where everything from swords to magic spells can be used to harvest materials. The combat feels exceptionally fleshed out, as it cleverly allows players to fight hordes of enemies or clear dungeons by weaponizing building supplies. It is held back, though, by physics bugs; thrown building materials frequently fail to register within construction sites, and demolished farmlands leave behind un-despawning assets that clutter screens.
Other Early Access/Previews This Week
⚫︎ Silver Pines Review [Demo] | It Lives Inside a Dream
