New Game Preview

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Get a sneak peek at the most anticipated games of the year. From action-packed adventures to mind-bending puzzles, we've got something for everyone. Stay ahead of the game with our exclusive previews!

Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream Teases Weddings And Babies, Releases In April Nintendo dove deep this morning on its upcoming simulation game, Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream. The Switch game (notably not Switch 2, though Nintendo reminds that you can play it on Switch 2) is a sequel to the 3DS game Tomodachi Life that released in North America in 2014 for 3DS. You can read our review of that game here . Tomodachi Life: Living The Dream releases April 16.   In the game you create Miis and watch them live out their lives on Yoomian Island as you interact with them and create scenarios for the characters to meet and interact. The original game was renowned for being bizarre, and though Living the Dream's reveal teased some of that strangeness, today's presentation focused on the more typical parts of the game. You create the characters using familiar Mii creation tools and can dictate their gender (male, female, or nonbinary) as well as their dating preferences. Unlike previous Mii creation tools, you can now create elements like face paint, and that customization seems to extend to nearly every facet of the game. You can design the exteriors of buildings, the ground, clothing, and even draw pets for the Miis to have. The presentation showed one Mii walking with a hand drawn dog. Once you have Miis you can select elements of their personalities, gift them quirks like the animations they use to eat, and even dictate familiar phrases they will use. You can also play god and place your Miis next to each other to force them to interact and hopefully become friends. You can even choose what they talk about by typing in topics, which an automated, robotic voice will dictate. You can also push characters to become roommates with up to eight characters being able to live together in one large house. You can also witness elaborate romantic scenarios. Miis can develop crushes on each other, profess their love, and even be turned down. A scenario in the presentation showed one character being confronted by multiple suitors and having to choose. The way the game works is the Miis are meant to be characters with their own agency so even though you choose elements like where they go and how they do something, like profess their love to their crush, it will be up to the characters to make the final decisions. At the end of the presentation, Nintendo showcased a wedding scene, and even showed a baby crawling on the ground. It's unclear if those elements will just be performative visual moments, or if there will be opportunities to create families that birth children who grow up to become their own Miis. The game happens in real time (meaning your Miis will be living their lives even when you're not playing), so it remains to be seen how that part of the game will work. Alongside all the character interactions, Nintendo also showed off how much control you have over the design of the island. It feels very Animal Crossing in this way. Different stores sell food, clothing, offer photo gallery opportunities, there is a news station that gives frequent updates, and you can also build and relocate everything on the island, and even change the land mass. In a complimentary way, it looks like Nintendo is trying to merge elements of The Sims (creating and watching characters live out their lives) and Animal Crossing (living on and designing an island while witness to interpersonal character interactions). We will see if the game can live up to the reputation of either of those franchises when it releases on April 16.

Game Informer PreviewsJan 29

Going Hands-On With Aniimo—Gotta Catch ‘Em AllWe got a hands-on look at Aniimo, the upcoming free-to-play creature capture game from Kingsglory and Pawprint Studio.

Previews – CGMagazineJan 28

How IO Interactive Crafted Its Young Version Of James Bond You know his name. Bond, James Bond. But who is the man behind one of the most infamous three-digit numbers in the world? That is the question IO Interactive needed to answer going into the development of 007 First Light, a game that tells the origin story of Agent 007. During our trip to IO Interactive's Copenhagen headquarters for the latest issue of Game Informer 's cover story , we sat down with the team to learn how they went about crafting a young version of James Bond. 007 First Light development took place during an unusual time for the James Bond film franchise; it's been nearly 14 years since the last James Bond game, and there is currently no live-action James Bond actor, giving IO Interactive the opening to do what they wanted to do: craft their own original story starring their own original Bond. "It’s very important for us to have part of ourselves in the story and in the characters that we create, yet still being very respectful to the source material, to the IP," game director and IO Interactive CEO Hakan Abrak says. "I don’t think we would have necessarily had the same energy and the same vision and the same results if we were to do a gamification of a movie. That freedom of creativity was very important to us, and we are so, so grateful for our partners that we’ve been given that opportunity." In adapting a new version of the iconic superspy, IO Interactive needed to walk a fine line between creating something new and distinct while honoring the legacy of one of the most iconic characters in pop culture. "Everyone knows Bond," narrative and cinematic director Martin Emborg says. "It's a generational thing by now: 63 years of movies, books from the '50s… it's huge. Everyone knows how he takes his drink, everyone knows what he drives, and what he wears. So, it’s really interesting to do an origin story. 'Who is the character? Who is the man behind all this stuff?'" But rather than drawing inspiration from iconic depictions like those of Connery, Brosnan, or Craig, IO wanted to examine the consistent attributes across all media, not just the films. Emborg tells me that as soon as he learned IO was making a Bond game about six and a half years ago, he went out and bought the box sets of the movies, books, and even read the comics. "Bond is a character where there's been versions of him through the decades," Emborg says. "I think it's not particularly helpful to look at how other people have interpreted the character. It's better to look at the DNA and then say, 'How are we making a contemporary version of this character?' Obviously, yeah, you look at the movies [and books] – how could you not?" Through this process, IO successfully drilled into what makes him James Bond, regardless of age. Then, the tricky part: How do you create an inexperienced version of a man whose experience defines him? IO Interactive tried to find what his most defining traits are and then envisioned how those would be expressed through youth. "I think his core traits that he's born with are he has a lot of wits, he's a very smart guy, he has guts, obviously," Emborg says. "All these qualities are changed by the virtue of him being a young man. Wits, in this case, he’s a hungry mind. He’s whip-smart, but he doesn’t have that kind of experience. Yet, in terms of guts, you can definitely say, as a young man, he skews more reckless, whereas with a more seasoned 007, it’s a calculated risk. Yes, he will jump out of an airplane, but this guy does it just because that seems like the next best thing to do to catch the bad guys." Another quality IO Interactive identified in James Bond is a coldness that permeates many of his interactions. Though I get a glimpse of how IO's Bond remains cool and collected under pressure during my hands-off demo, he doesn't yet have a full grasp on how he comes across. "Our guy isn’t there yet, so I think, if anything, he has more heart in this version than he might have as a seasoned man," Emborg says. "Charm – the quintessential Bond quality – he has in spades, but it’s not weaponized yet. An older Bond will use that tactically, and I think a younger Bond, maybe isn’t even aware that he’s projecting all this charm." To depict this version of Bond, IO Interactive cast Patrick Gibson, who most recently played a young version of Dexter Morgan in the Dexter prequel series, Original Sin . "He has a great youthful energy to him," Emborg says. "He has a kind of built-in impatience, which is perfect for the character. Like, 'Okay, what’s next? What are we doing now?' But he also has a great gravity that he can tap into. He can get really insanely focused at the drop of a hat, which is really, really impressive. And then he has great comedic timing, and he’s just a lot of fun to be around. I think he checks all the boxes." We'll have to wait and see how well IO Interactive's version of James Bond pans out, but in our demo, he felt like a fitting transposition of the famous Bond attributes to a younger version of the character. Thankfully, we don't have terribly long to wait, as 007 First Light arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, and PC on May 27. For more on 007 First Light and our other most anticipated games of 2026, be sure to check out our latest issue. If you're a Game Informer subscriber, you can read the full issue right here .

Game Informer PreviewsJan 28

'Pay Attention To Kyoto' Says Onimusha: Way Of The Sword's Director Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Capcom Developer: Capcom Release: 2026 Rating: Mature The Onimusha franchise has been mostly dormant since the release of Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams in 2006. The series was born during the PlayStation 2 generation, and it basically died there, too. The first two games have since been remastered and released on contemporary platforms, but it has been a long time since we went on a new adventure in the often bizarre, demon-infested reimagining of feudal Japan (and modern Paris, but we don’t have to get into all that here). The gap since a new release has certainly given Onimusha more than enough time to catch its breath, but we’re eager to finally slice up some demons again in 2026. We spoke with the game’s director, Satoru Nihei, over email to learn what will make Way of the Sword feel like a proper Onimusha game all this time later. “Action is absolutely essential when discussing what makes an Onimusha game,” Nihei writes. “Iconic elements like soul absorption and Issen counters are very much present in this game and we’ve taken a lot of care in crafting them. That said, it isn’t just about cutting down the enemies in front of you. There are still particular systems and moments that will require deeper thinking.” If you have no connection to the originals, though, Nihei points out that it won’t be an issue. “There’s no direct story connection, so characters from previous entries won’t appear in Onimusha: Way of the Sword,” Nihei writes. “However, we’ve included elements that pay homage to earlier titles.” The original games felt as close to classic Resident Evil as they did to action sword games. Onimusha 1 and 2 had pre-rendered backgrounds and were structured similarly to the Capcom horror franchise, but the action required thoughtful blocking and sword strikes rather than counting bullets. They also had a very satisfying downward thrust that could be used on demons who weren’t destroyed quite yet, which Nihei confirms you will be able to do here. “Under certain conditions, yes!” Nihei writes. “There is an action where Musashi plants his blade into a fallen enemy.” The series also took some surprising science-fiction swings. The third game had time-travel elements, and the second had technology like TV screens, but Nihei says you probably shouldn’t expect something like robots, which also made an appearance in 2. “If you’re looking for surprises, I’d encourage you to pay attention to Kyoto, where the game takes place.” Nihei writes. “While Kyoto is often seen as a beautiful, elegant city, it’s also home to many eerie legends and folklore that goes back centuries. By weaving these stories into the narrative, we’ve created a fusion of folklore and fantasy that players should find exciting. Even our team in Japan discovered myths we never heard before – so you may uncover a side of Kyoto you didn’t know existed.” Overall, Way of the Sword does look and play differently than what someone might define as classic Onimusha gameplay, but it’s worth noting that after the first two games were released, the series was flexible in terms of its defining gameplay features. It’s a series that isn’t afraid to try new things, especially when you consider there was an Onimusha strategy game on Game Boy Advance and even a Smash Bros.-style fighting game featuring its wide cast of characters as playable fighters. I particularly like the first two Onimusha games, and though Way of Sword does look fairly different from those titles, I am eager to explore its world and meet its new protagonist, Miyamoto Musashi.

Game Informer PreviewsJan 27

Clockwork Revolution Preview – How InXile Is Making Your Choices Feel Personal Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Xbox Game Studios Developer: inXile Entertainment Though we still don’t know when Clockwork Revolution will launch, it remains one of my most anticipated games. Its reveal trailer promises a fun, steampunk city to shoot my way through, but the subsequent details we’ve learned about the game have continued to pique my interest. Developer inXile Entertainment’s best-known series, Wasteland, isn’t my particular cup of tea, but it’s a kettle I admire from a distance because of its mechanics, the way its systems interact, the worldbuilding, and more. Now that inXile is brewing something that aligns with my preferences in Clockwork Revolution, this studio has my attention. Morgan Vanette is the customizable protagonist and a member of the Rotten Row Hooligans gang. This group is just one of many in the bronze-tinted city of Avalon. Vanette reminds players in a trailer, “You either got a gang at your back, or a knife in it,” and inXile has made clear that it wants you to feel like all of Avalon has its eyes on you, from those in the slums to the nobles and businesspeople in the golden mansions, presumably like Lady Ironwood. After some time travel manipulation at the hands of this mysterious villain, Vanette and their allies set out to turn back time (and the tables) and stop her from taking over the city. Clockwork Revolution game director Chad Moore tells me, “Right now, we’re very focused on making sure the game responds to player choices in a natural way. We want every choice to lead to moments that feel personal, surprising, and true to the story they’re shaping.” He adds that inXile’s priority is to make Avalon feel alive and responsive so players can sense the city shift around their decisions “in ways that feel intuitive, immersive, and uniquely theirs.” He describes the narrative of Clockwork Revolution as dark, humorous, and brutal, with player attributes, skills, dialogue choices, and weapon crafting all rounding it out in player-specific ways. Plus, there’s Vanette’s ability to time travel like Lady Ironwood, thanks to a special glove. Perhaps it’s a faux pas to mention BioShock Infinite, but I swear I’m getting at something here that’s beyond the visual similarities between it and Clockwork Revolution, though those are delightfully apparent. The former’s initial premise involved a lot more universe-tearing (and subsequently, time manipulation shenanigans) than the final release, and I can’t help but see some glimmers of Bioshock Infinite’s revealed-then-cut (or at least toned down) time mechanics. Trailers for Clockwork Revolution show Vanette using their time travel glove to reshape the environment, platforms, and tools around them in-real time to help them overcome foes or progress forward through Avalon; that, to me, when combined with what looks to be some great gunplay, is the most exciting aspect of this game, and I can’t wait to see how deep it goes. “The biggest thing for us is the depth of the visual reactivity,” Moore says. “When you go back in time in Clockwork Revolution and change something, you’re not just opening a new branch; you’re coming back to a present that’s been physically reshaped around those choices. Avalon has been handcrafted to reflect those changes in ways that feel surprising and earned. It reacts to what you’ve done in ways that you just don’t see in many other games.” That’s a lofty statement, but I look forward to seeing if Moore and the inXile team back it up when I finally play Clockwork Revolution.

Game Informer PreviewsJan 27

Control Resonant Preview – The First Game Was A Stepping Stone Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, Mac Publisher: Remedy Entertainment Developer: Remedy Entertainment Release: 2026 Remedy Entertainment has finally revealed the sequel to Control, and despite calling it Control 2 in financial earnings reports, it’s called something else: Control Resonant. Though formally revealed during The Game Awards in December, I got an early look at the game behind virtual closed doors ahead of that premiere with creative director Mikael Kasurinen, who is also co-director of the studio and the director of 2019’s Control. The reveal trailer begins with a man sitting in a glass cage within The Oldest House, the setting of Control and the New York City-based headquarters of the Federal Bureau of Control. Soon after, we see Manhattan morph into a dizzying mix of skyscrapers and streets reminiscent of Inception or Spider-Man: No Way Home . After a quick look at bloody bodies adorning the Oldest House’s steps, teasing that something has gone very wrong in the Bureau’s HQ, we see Jesse Faden, the protagonist of Control, stab someone on a slab with a strange metal object. That someone is Dylan Faden, Jesse’s brother, and that metal object might just be the Aberrant, the shapeshifting melee weapon he’ll be using as the new player-controlled protagonist. “Control is the story of two supernatural siblings separated as kids,” Kasurinen tells me in the virtual preview. “They live two very different lives. Dylan was taken at age 10 by a mysterious organization, and Jesse, who was 11 at the time, managed to escape.” Control takes place 17 years after this event, and Jesse managed to find Dylan inside the Oldest House, but it was too late: the Hiss had already taken over. Jesse, however, resisted the Hiss and became the new FBC director. She then saves Dylan from certain death and cleanses him of the Hiss. It left him in a coma, and Control ends in a quiet stalemate: the hiss is stopped but contained only within the Oldest House. Fast forward seven years after Control, and Jesse has mysteriously disappeared, the Hiss lockdown has fallen apart, and this corruptive supernatural force has spilled into Manhattan, turning the once vibrant city into a kaleidoscope of psychedelic nightmares. Dylan awakens from his coma, though the reveal trailer teases this might be less of a medical miracle and more the work of otherworldly forces, and determines he must save Manhattan. To do so, he’ll use the Aberrant, which, similar to Jesse’s Service Weapon, can shapeshift to match his needs, going from a dual-wielded melee weapon to a massive hammer (and presumably more). Kasurinen describes this “open-ended” game as distinctly not open world, and one with “fast-paced traversal, warped environments, [and] mindbending powers and weapons.” “I think our way of handling traversal is going to be something that will stand out [and] I also believe we have a unique take on how we blend melee with forward-facing momentum and supernatural abilities,” he tells me in a separate email Q&A. In this open-ended Manhattan, you can expect secrets, side stories, and more. Kasurinen says none of it is filler and all of it is integrated into the larger world of Control and the golden path, stopping short of discussing any ties to the wider Remedyverse. He adds that Control is an action-adventure game, and that Resonant is an action-RPG with “more meaningful progression and real choices,” alongside “distinctive builds” that complement various gameplay styles. “It’s not a question of just entering a genre that is new to us, but discovering what the Remedy interpretation of it is,” Kasurinen says. “Control was a great first stepping stone. Now, we’re ready to leap further.”

Game Informer PreviewsJan 27

Judas Preview – New Details From Director Ken Levine Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC Publisher: Take-Two Interactive Developer: Ghost Story Games Release: TBA It’s rough out here for fans of BioShock and/or Ken Levine games. Infinite, which launched in 2013, was both the last BioShock game and the last Ken Levine game released. With every video game showcase, whether it’s something from PlayStation or Xbox, or one of Geoff Keighley’s various productions, I sit waiting, wondering, “Is this when I’ll see what’s next for either BioShock or Judas?” The former belief has left me feeling like a holy fool, as BioShock 4 seems no closer to release than it was this time last year; The latter, however, has provided me with morsels over the years. Now that we’re in 2026, I feel renewed knowing I am one year closer to finally playing Judas. Judas will apparently be Levine’s most reactive game yet. Given how linear his stories have been thus far, I’m excited to see how I feel about Levine and Co.’s narrative style when I’m able to directly influence how it plays out with my gameplay choices. But I want to know more. So, I asked the man himself. “It’s our first game where you truly inhabit a character in a way you didn’t in… say BioShock,” Levine tells me over email. “When we began, we didn’t want to just make a first-person shooter. We wanted to make a Judas simulator where you not only get to decide how she proceeds through the story, but also who you should trust and how you should deal with the consequences of your choices. The most important thing is really placing the player inside the character and letting them feel a little bit of what it’s like to be on that ship as the sun is setting on the human race. “In addition, what sets it apart from other games is the way we’re building it (and the reason we spent five years in just R&D). We wanted the characters to not only respond to major choices, but to also recognize and respond to your sequence of actions, down to the smallest details.” Levine says being able to realize the macro and micro levels of decision-making from players is very important to Ghost Story Games. When I ask what the team is most excited for players to experience when Judas launches one day, Levine says, “Villainy,” a feature revealed late last year. He says Judas’ Villainy feature will allow players to feel the pressure and stakes of building relationships with other major characters in the game. Depending on how you act with those characters, they might hate you or like you or hate you and then like you again. “It ultimately comes down to a plate-spinning exercise that reflects relationships in real life.” However, don’t expect to game this system for a perfect run. Levine promises the Villainy feature gets to a point in Judas where you can’t please everyone, and one of the characters will turn into your antagonist. “We’re really eager to see players experience that and see which of our characters become fan favorites,” he says. To close my discussion, I ask Levine what Ghost Story Games’ biggest priorities are in the coming months of development. He says the team is heads down on its next big milestone and that Judas is progressing really well. “We’ve gotten to a good place to start keeping our community more in the loop, so we started a series of development updates earlier this year,” he adds. “We’ve got two of them up so far, with more from us to share coming soon. Then, as we approach launch, you can expect trailers among other announcements.” Here’s hoping it’s a game I see in the next showcase I watch (I’ll certainly be waiting and wondering if it will appear).

Game Informer PreviewsJan 27

Highguard (PC) Preview — Facing An Uphill Battle with GamersWildlight Entertainment's debut free-to-play FPS hero shooter, Highguard, hopes to redefine the genre.

Previews – CGMagazineJan 26

After one final extensive hands-on, Resident Evil: Requiem's formula mash-up has me utterly convinced Resident Evil 9 (aka Requiem) is all about the swings. After three hours with a clearly more-or-less final build of the game, one rather gets the impression that the entire game has been built around the idea of a pendulum swinging back and forth. Exhilarating highs and stomach-churning lows (of the good sort). What surprised me the most about the hands-on, however, is how quickly Requiem sets that ticking and tocking cadence. Read more

Eurogamer.net Previews FeedJan 26

Resident Evil Requiem Hands-On Preview: The Duality Of EvilIn the small time I've played, Resident Evil Requiem is shaping up to be one of the best titles in the series.

Previews – CGMagazineJan 26