The month of April continues with more low-key releases and this week's major release is a somewhat new take on the MMO genre which focuses on players being nice to each other. As for the rest of this week we have a VR Western, a gigantic game, some roads in need of repair, a zone free of infection and turn-based tactics game involving mutant animals.

Sky: Children of the Light / This week's major release / Wednesday 10 April
Sky: Children of the Light is a peaceful, award-winning MMO from the creators of Journey. Explore a beautifully-animated kingdom across seven realms and create enriching memories with other players in this delightful puzzle-adventure game. Steam Link

A Survival Shooter Like No Other. Innovation often comes from blending distinct genres to create a new, engaging experience for players. Geometry Survivor is a testament to this creative process, merging the fast-paced shooting action of Geometry Wars with the addictive progression and survival elements of Vampire Survivors.

The Origin of the World of Geometry Survivor
The idea for the game originated from a desire to combine the high-adrenaline gameplay of classic arcade shooters with the strategic depth and character progression found in modern survival games. Geometry Wars provided the perfect template for the game's intense shooting mechanics, renowned for its vibrant visuals and dynamic enemy patterns. Meanwhile, Vampire Survivors offered a blueprint for incremental progression and survival against overwhelming odds, where players enhance their character's abilities over time to withstand hordes of enemies.

One of the key features of Helldivers 2 is The Galactic War. Super Earth's territories are under siege on all fronts by monstrous enemies hell-bent on destroying humanity's way of life. From the war table aboard your ship, your team can watch as the conflict unfolds and take part in battles across the universe. You will do your part to advance the frontlines in the name of Freedom and Managed Democracy.

The Helldivers
Helldivers are the true heroes of Super Earth. As an elite soldier, you have the full might of Super Earth's arsenal at your disposal. Use your lethal array of stratagems and weaponry to defend its colonizers and liberate planets from enemy forces. Rise through the ranks and take on increasingly difficult missions to solidify your place in Helldiver history - and if one Helldiver should perish, that's just an opportunity for another Citizen to realize their dream. Prosperity and liberty are your core values and it's your privilege to spread them.

Today, Ubisoft announced that BattleCore Arena, a free-to-play competitive platform shooter, is under development at Ubisoft Bordeaux and coming to PC via Ubisoft Connect and Steam. Playing as a spherical core, players will enter multi-tiered maps and contend with gravitational forces as they roll, dash, jump, and double-jump to outmaneuver their opponents with physics-based movement. Players will also be able to eject (or be ejected by) their opponents as they wield a multi-faceted arsenal, featuring ranged weapons for close-range impact or mid-distance power, as well as perks to help them evade danger, knock out enemies, or aid their allies.

BattleCore Arena is a PvP game with competitive modes including Backup, a 3v3 team deathmatch; Golden Core, in which possession of the eponymous Core is the path to victory; and Free-for-all, a fast-paced way to test your solo skills or warm up before climbing the ladder in ranked matches. Players can customize their core with cosmetic options for armor, lights, banners, elimination explosions, and more so they can show off their style while zipping around the arenas. If you live in Europe, you can register to participate in the BattleCore Arena tech test running from February 1 through February 5. Stay tuned to Ubisoft News for more on BattleCore Arena.

As we enter the month of August, July still has a couple of new gaming titles to offer of which both obviously are launching on the same day. That said, August starts with a bang and brings a highly anticipated AAA title. The rest of this week's releases is as always a mix of games that will hopefully appeal to at least one of you, since the past polls suggest that the TPU readership is a picky crowd to please when it comes to games.

Baldur's Gate 3 / This week's AAA title / Thursday 3 August
Gather your party and return to the Forgotten Realms in a tale of fellowship and betrayal, sacrifice and survival, and the lure of absolute power. Mysterious abilities are awakening inside you, drawn from a mind flayer parasite planted in your brain. Resist, and turn darkness against itself. Or embrace corruption, and become ultimate evil. From the creators of Divinity: Original Sin 2 comes a next-generation RPG, set in the world of Dungeons & Dragons.

Today we showed Bungie fans worldwide a glimpse of our future at the PlayStation Showcase, in the forms of two major game announcements. First up, we officially announced Marathon to the world! This is the first completely new project from Bungie in more than a decade. Marathon is a sci-fi PvP extraction shooter where players will embody cybernetic mercenaries known as Runners. Exploring a lost colony on the mysterious planet of Tau Ceti IV, Runners - working solo or as part of three-person crews - will fight for survival, for riches, and for fame.

We're incredibly excited to announce the game and to share our vision for the future. We know that you are curious to know more, and we will have much to say in the future. For now, know that Marathon is currently in development on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, featuring cross save and cross play. Check out the Marathon site to learn more about the game and follow Marathon on social media (Twitter, Facebook, YouTube) to stay up to date. Below, don't miss a Q&A with Marathon General Manager Scott Taylor and Game Director Christopher Barrett, where they discuss debuting Marathon to the world.

Exoprimal is an online, team-based action game that pits humanity's cutting-edge exosuit technology against history's most ferocious beasts - dinosaurs. Exosuits are grouped into different roles, and players will pilot these exosuits to hold firm against overwhelming dinosaur swarms in online-only, team-based action game modes. The year is 2040...Sudden dinosaur outbreaks have engulfed the globe in a crisis that threatens humanity's very existence. Dino Survival, the main game mode, sees two teams of five players competein a variety of PvE and PvP missions. Players will be transported to the scene of the latest dinosaur outbreak and follow the new generation AI known as Leviathan's guidance to complete objectives. The team that completes the mission first will emerge victorious.

Thank you to everyone who participated in the Exoprimal open beta test. Our team gained a great deal of data from exofighter survey responses and social media. We'll put this feedback to good use and make Exoprimal the best game it can be! While the open beta allowed players to experience some of the missions available in the Dino Survival mode, Exoprimal's full release will feature the following content for players to enjoy.

Hello everyone, Antoine here, those who recognize me know that I used to work on Humankind during the last few years. I'm now working as a Producer on Endless Dungeon, which means I'm helping to coordinate the Endless Dungeon team to make sure we can deliver a high-quality experience for you. We have some news to share regarding the release date of ENDLESS Dungeon.

We have decided to delay the release of the game to the 19th of October of this year, this includes all the versions: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox One, and Xbox X/S. The Nintendo Switch version will have a release date announced later. After all the feedback we've received we believe that it's important to spend extra time working on the game. We hope that you understand that decisions like this are never easy to make.

Supplice has just been released in Early Access - today you get a chance to get your hands on the game, which has evolved tremendously over the years. Supplice is the best example of what an engaged and hard-working community can do. As you probably know, this project started as a Total Conversion mod for DOOM and evolved into one of the most anticipated RetroFPS stand-alone games. We want to thank everyone who shared their feedback with us on our social media channels, but most importantly, we would like to give a massive shout-out to the Doomworld.com and Zdoom.org communities! You guys rock!

As you know, Supplice has started as an ambitious Doom megawad and evolved into the idea of a stand-alone game that would not only be a total conversion mod, but would firmly stand on its own feet. At its core, Supplice is the fruit of the passionate Doom modding community, and as such it has community-driven development written in its DNA. The initial vision and formula have been re-imagined and revisited as the concept, its aesthetics, and the GZDoom tech itself evolved over the years.

In the far future, armadas from surrounding systems have suddenly waged war on Earth. You are a pilot from the Ares Squadron, flying the fastest, most dangerous crafts ever made. You're outgunned, outmanned, and strapped into a flying coffin.

Terminal Velocity : Boosted Edition runs the original Terminal Velocity natively on modern systems with the Infernal Engine, rendering the original graphics with an improved HUD for widescreen displays!

Ghost Story Games, the development studio led by game creator Ken Levine, today announced that Judas, an all-new single-player, narrative first-person shooter is in development for the PlayStation 5 computer entertainment system, Xbox Series X|S console systems, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. The new project was revealed at The Game Awards 2022 as a world premiere unveiled by Geoff Keighley. In conjunction with the project reveal, Ghost Story Games has launched the official pages for Judas on Steam and the Epic Games Store where fans can now add the game to their Wishlist.

"We founded Ghost Story Games to build upon the legacy of System Shock 2, BioShock, and BioShock Infinite," said Ken Levine, President & Creative Director. "With Judas, we've created an entirely new world and set of characters while exploring different approaches to single-player, narrative first-person shooters."

Fast Travel Games today announced a publishing deal with VirtualAge Games for Guardians Frontline, a strategic VR shooter set in a sci-fi setting. Featuring powerful weapons, structural crafting, and an in-game map editor, Guardians Frontline allows players to take on the role of both soldier and commander. Originally released as Guardians on Oculus App Lab, Guardians Frontline will launch for Meta Quest 2 and SteamVR in early 2023.

In Guardians Frontline, players must defend the federation from an enemy onslaught as they attempt to extract a mysterious energy source. Battlefields can be strategically secured with a blend of brain and brawn, including tactfully spawned buildings, mechs, spaceships, heavy weapons, and more. The game can be enjoyed solo in single-player mode, four-player co-op, or with up to eight friends in PvP.

Leading video game publisher and developer Bandai Namco Europe S.A.S. today announced SYNDUALITY, a new game that is part of a recently announced transmedia Sci-fi franchise developed by Game Studio. SYNDUALITY is a Sci-fi Shooter set in a dystopian futuristic world where humans and AI must co-exist and cooperate to survive. The game will be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

SYNDUALITY takes place in 2222, years after a mysterious poisonous rain called "The Tears of the New Moon" wiped out most of humanity and birthed deformed creatures that now hunt the population. Amidst the calamity, humans are forced to build an underground haven named Amasia, where they discover and begin to collaborate with forms of artificial intelligence called Magus.

Researchers at the University of York have discovered a link between young people's ability to perform well at two popular video games and high levels of intelligence. Studies carried out at the Digital Creativity Labs (DC Labs) at York found that some action strategy video games can act like IQ tests. The researchers' findings are published today in the journal PLOS ONE.

The York researchers stress the studies have no bearing on questions such as whether playing computer games makes young people smarter or otherwise. They simply establish a correlation between skill at certain online games of strategy and intelligence. The researchers focused on 'Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas' (MOBAs) - action strategy games that typically involve two opposing teams of five individuals - as well as multiplayer 'First Person Shooter' games. These types of games are hugely popular with hundreds of millions of players worldwide.

Croteam and Devolver Digital have launched Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE to complete an unbelievable run of premiere VR releases this year including Serious Sam VR and The Talos Principle VR. The VR remaster of Croteam's best-selling shooter is available on Steam with a 10 percent discount for all users plus an additional 10 percent off for users that own the standard Serious Sam 3 [store.steampowered.com/app/567670/].

Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE is a virtual reality action shooter, a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person with true VR locomotion support, online cooperative mode, and versus deathmatch. Serving as a prequel to the original indie and Game of the Year sensation, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Serious Sam VR 3: BFE takes place during the Earth's final struggle against Mental's invading legions of beasts and mercenaries.