GameCentral examines the current state of the extraction shooter genre and what sort of impact Arc Raiders’ success could have on it.

The games industry loves to chase trends. That’s always been the case, but it’s never been more obvious than since so many of them started pumping out live service games, with Sony and Ubisoft in particular trying (and failing) to release a mega multiplayer hit.

Any time a new video game manages to prove even marginally successful, you can count on other publishers eventually releasing their own alternative, just as Fortnite helped spark a surplus of battle royale games.

As such, the recent success of Arc Raiders has made it, and extraction shooters in general, the hot new genre to copy, but whether Arc Raiders will become a trendsetter or a one hit wonder remains to be seen.

What is an extraction shooter?

Since there aren’t that many of them, and they’ve only recently come into the spotlight, there’s no strict definition of what an extraction shooter is, but put simply it’s a game where you have to escape a map rather than shoot anything, or anyone, in particular.

Typically, the games are shooters (often first person) with PvPvE gameplay, which means player versus player versus environment. Or to put it in actual English, you have to combat, or avoid, both human-controlled opponents and computer-controlled enemies.

There’s typically resources and/or loot involved too, which you can take back to your extraction point with you. If you’re playing in a team, and depending on the game, this can sometimes be used to determine who won a match. Although often merely escaping is the only achievement you need.

When did the extraction shooter genre start?

Despite feeling like a new concept, extraction shooters are much older than you might think. One of the most famous examples, Escape From Tarkov, has been around since early 2017 but it was by no means the first.

It is the one that helped to popularise the genre, though, resulting in similar military themed extraction shooters, like 2024’s Gray Zone Warfare and 2025’s Delta Force.

Curiously, there doesn’t seem to be a common consensus on what the first extraction shooter actually was. There’s arguments in favour of Ubisoft’s The Division from 2016 (which has an extraction shooter style post-game in its Dark Zone mode), elements of 2012’s famous DayZ, and even 2008 zombie shooter Left 4 Dead.

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None of these games explicitly advertise themselves as extraction shooters, but then this list of extraction games available on Steam includes many other titles that don’t either.

We wouldn’t call Helldivers 2 a dedicated extraction shooter, but it does involve reaching an extraction point once you clear a mission in order to reap any rewards, which is apparently enough for it to count.

Similarly, Dark & Darker is billed as a fantasy dungeon crawler, but despite the lack of guns, it too is counted as an extraction shooter since you form a squad with other players to gather loot, and you don’t get to keep it unless you successfully escape from the dungeon.

What are the best extraction shooters?

Although there have been a lot of extraction shooters over the years very few examples have come from any of the big name publishers, with most being indie titles.

There was Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Extraction from 2022, but that wasn’t much more than a professionally made mod and didn’t have much impact.

Instead, publishers have tended to include extraction modes in already existing games. EA had something like that in Battlefield 2042, with its Hazard Zone mode, and its current Battlefield Redsec battle royale spin-off has extraction missions as part of its Gauntlet mode.

Activision, meanwhile, added its own extraction shooter mode, titled DMZ, to 2022’s Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It was only ever labelled as a beta and effectively abandoned just a year later, but DMZ’s influence can be felt in Call Of Duty: Black Ops 7’s PvE Endgame mode (one of the few enjoyable things about the game). Plus, insider TheGhostOfHope previously claimed DMZ will be brought back for this year’s instalment.

2019’s Borderlands 3 received a battle royale mode as DLC, where you need to use a loot extractor to keep any loot you obtain, while 2024’s Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has a squad-based Operations mode that requires you to reach an escape ship upon completing missions.

How popular can extraction shooters get?

It seems many publishers feel there’s merit to the extraction shooter genre, but not necessarily enough to warrant full games.

The only noteworthy exceptions are Arc Raiders (developer and publisher Embark Studios is a subsidiary of South Korean company Nexon), Arena Breakout (which comes from Chinese conglomerate Tencent), and Bungie’s upcoming Marathon reboot.

Sony and Bungie obviously settled on turning Marathon (an otherwise single-player series of shooters) into a multiplayer extraction shooter long before Arc Raiders dropped, but after years of only half-attempts, perhaps the tides have shifted and made publishers less hesitant to commit to the genre.

A success like Arc Raiders is undeniably going to have turned heads. As a reminder, it has sold at least 14 million copies since its October launch (proof that such games don’t need to be free-to-play) and has remained consistently popular, currently sitting among the top 10 most played games on Steam at sixth place.

Most importantly, Nexon is happy with Arc Raiders’ performance, bragging that it has maintained six million active players weekly across all platforms. What’s more, Embark’s CEO Patrick Söderlund was recently given the new role of executive chairman so he can help spearhead Nexon’s entire games business.

‘Patrick and I are fully aligned on transforming Nexon,’ said Nexon CEO and president Junghun Lee, ‘He’s built studios, attracted the industry’s best people to work with him, and shipped massive global hits. That’s exactly what Nexon needs right now.’

Arc Raiders’ success could also be to the benefit of Marathon since it has helped introduce the extraction shooter genre to a wider audience. Few have seemed confident in Marathon’s chances, given Sony’s track record with live service games, the troubles within Bungie, and Marathon being a niche IP, but it looks like it might start off strong after all.

Not only was its free open beta popular, but the game shot up Steam’s best sellers chart in the US to the number three spot, ahead of its full launch this week (Thursday, March 5), overtaking Arc Raiders and only losing to Valve’s dominant multiplayer shooter Counter-Strike 2 and the recently released Resident Evil Requiem.

If Marathon manages to at least rival Arc Raiders in popularity, that’s not only a win for Sony but a sign to the rest of the industry that a lot of people enjoy extraction shooters. And if they remain popular over a long period of time, publishers will be encouraged to not just make extraction-lite modes in their shooters, but whole games.

The 9 best extraction shooters you can play right now

Arc Raiders

PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC

The obvious first choice, Arc Raiders’ current popularity means there’s no shortage of people to play with, but you are free to scavenge the ruined future Earth and fight giant robots solo.

The PvP can be annoying if you’re not looking to fight other players but developer Embark has made efforts to downplay that aspect, with no plans for competitive leaderboards and the like. The AI generated voicework may be a dealbreaker for some though.

Escape From Tarkov

PC

Although it’s technically been around for almost a decade, Escape From Tarkov has spent most of that time in beta and only saw a full launch last November, when it became more widely available via Steam.

Aside from the core multiplayer, it has a story campaign, but its more realistic military sim style approach to combat means the whole game is considered brutally difficult by even ardent fans and thus hard to get into for newcomers.

Arena: Breakout Infinite

PC, iOS, and Android

Another one for the military sim sickos, Arena: Breakout Infinite’s high learning curve makes it a hard sell, but it’s one of the more technically impressive examples of the genre, boasting strong visuals and good performance.

It was previously decried for being pay-to-win, since you could obtain better weapons with a premium currency you could buy for real money, but that currency has since been removed.

Delta Force

PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, iOS, and Android

Like Marathon, Delta Force was a series of single-player shooters that vanished for years until suddenly coming back as a multiplayer game. It only launched last year and is a solid, if uninspired shooter, but it must be doing something right to be the seventh most played Steam game at the moment. Being free-to-play probably helps.

Hunt: Showdown 1896

PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC

A personal favourite of ours, even if we haven’t played it much lately. This one’s unique not only for its supernatural setting, but for its premise of gathering clues to locate and hunt one of six ferocious bosses.

Even if you fail to hunt the boss, you can kill the player who did and steal their bounty, making for a more novel and oftentimes unpredictable experience compared to other extraction shooters.

Helldivers 2

PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC

Helldivers 2 is the one live service game success Sony has and it didn’t even make it, only publish it. While it’s long past its honeymoon period, Helldivers 2’s consistent content updates have kept things fresh and interesting, and the extremely chaotic nature of its harder missions, combined with friendly fire, lend themselves well to unintentional comedy.

It’s also an extremely rare instance of a Sony published game being ported to Xbox, with strong word of mouth leading to it selling new copies faster than it did on PlayStation 5.

The Division 2

PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC

It may not necessarily be billed as an extraction shooter, but The Division 2 is one of the best examples thanks to its very well thought out Dark Zone mode and endgame content.

You do need to beat the main campaign to access it, but it’s arguably the best part of the whole game and worth reaching. It’s seen years of updates since launchand will likely be keeping fans occupied until The Division 3 eventually comes out.

Escape From Duckov and Zero Sievert

PC

While the extraction shooter genre is tailor made for multiplayer games, there have been some attempts at catering to those who like the formula but don’t want to deal with other players.

Escape From Duckov, despite its status as an Escape From Tarkov parody, is one such example, being a top-down shooter where you play as a cartoon duck trying to build a spaceship and escape a hostile planet.

Alternatively, there’s Zero Sievert, which offers pixel art graphics and some roguelike DNA in its randomly generated maps. Its numerous weapons and items help keep each playthrough fresh, although it may be too challenging for some.

Marathon

PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC

Technically this isn’t out until March 5 but the beta (or *Server Slam* as developer Bungie call it) has made a strong first impression, with Marathon fans on Reddit praising the gunplay and visuals.

The one downside is that the game won’t be free-to-play and is being sold for £34.99, but it’s already charting well on Steam, purely on pre-orders, so it looks like Sony doesn’t need to worry about another Concord level disaster.

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The former Durham Light Infantry (DLI) Museum at Aykley Heads, Durham, has been renamed The Light as part of a major redevelopment project. 

It previously housed the collection of historic DLI artefacts but closed in 2016 as part of cost-cutting measures after falling into a state of disrepair. 

Durham County Council said the new site will be a multi-purpose cultural space and serve as a hub for creativity and innovation.

Cllr Karen Allison, cabinet member for leisure, tourism, regeneration and high street, and Cllr Joe Quinn, cabinet member for planning, investments and assets, at The Light. (Image: Durham County Council)

A new café and retail space will open alongside exhibition areas, galleries, studios and teaching spaces. 

Between 80,000 and 100,000 visitors are expected to visit each year. 

During the extensive renovation work, the building was stripped down to its basic structure and almost completely rebuilt. 

Ben Kelsey, the council’s senior manager for projects and performance, told an economy and enterprise scrutiny committee that the project has faced challenges but is on track to open later this year.

He said: “Supply chain pressures and challenges in the construction sector have affected the construction in key stages of its delivery. 

“The existing building, when it was stripped back, had a number of challenges and issues which added pressures in terms of cost and time. 

“The Light is due to open this Summer; it’s down for practical completion in March.”

The new venue will be a sister site to The Story at Mount Oswald, which provides the permanent home to the DLI collection. 

The local authority said: “We want to shake up the traditional view of a museum and gallery, by listening and collaborating, utilising technology and developing innovative partnerships across cities and sectors, ensuring we are on people’s ‘must visit’ bucket list. 

“Artists and scientists will be encouraged to create, experiment and collaborate. Communities will gather for events, learning and participation.”

Celeriac doesn’t normally fall into my top five vegetables, but it works brilliantly as a mash, and with buttery leeks and fish completes a fantastically tasty trio. Any leftover mash mixed with extra cheddar or feta and the Syrian-style spice mix makes for a delicious sort of potato cake/fritter! I like the eggs in this, but if you’d rather not include them, up the quantities of fish from 250g to 300g.

Police believe the crash happened the night before the van and its driver were found

A man has been seriously injured after a crash that saw a van crash into a tree. Emergency services were called to a crash on Huntingdon Road, near Fenstanton, on Sunday (March 1) at around 9am.

A Vauxhall Vivaro van had crashed into a tree. Police believe the crash happened the night before on Saturday, February 28.

A man in his 30s from Sawtry, the driver of the van, was taken to Addenbrooke’s Hospital with serious injuries. He remains in hospital.

A police spokesperson said: “Officers are appealing for information and dashcam footage from anyone who was travelling along Huntingdon Road, near Fenstanton, in either direction on the evening of Saturday, who may have witnessed the van in the moments leading up to the collision.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101 and quote incident 126 of February 28. Alternatively, they can report it online.

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Major employment fears have been raised with claims that 70% of vessels in NI have overseas crews that now face a visa barrier to working in local fishing waters

A Northern Ireland council is to urge the Isle of Man to reverse its new visa rules on fishermen as concerns a “centuries” old Co Down industry has been put on “life support”.

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council has now also called for the British-Irish Council, an institution of the Good Friday Agreement to weigh in on the Irish Sea fishing crisis.

Major employment fears have been raised with claims that 70% of vessels in NI have overseas crews that now face a visa barrier to working in local fishing waters.

READ MORE: Concerns NI wide medical App released ‘serious condition’ to patient before consultation with doctors.

READ MORE: DUP councillor ‘horrified’ by Sinn Fein proposal to bulldoze United Irishmen heritage link in Co Down.

Bringing forward a motion, Mournes DUP councillor Glyn Hanna said: “This council is deeply concerned that the changes by the Isle of Man government to legislation where fishing vessels from NI operating with crews using a transit visa, or a UK Skilled Worker Visa cannot fish commercially in Manx waters.

“The new legislation requires that an Isle of Man work visa is obtained and to use these visas the business must be an Isle of Man business.This will be difficult.

“This legislation will damage a large number of Northern Irish fishing boats who fish within the Isle of Man 12 mile limit.

“NI fish processors will also suffer, along with the fishing industry throughout Co Down.

“This council should write to the Manx government highlighting the damage to the NI fishing industry, and asking the Isle of Man government to reverse the legislation or delay it for more consultation.”

The new Manx rules, which came about on 10 Feb, mean vessels’ crews now need an Isle of Man visa, which are only available to Island businesses.

It could mean long-established fishing vessels will be shut out of Isle of Man waters because of the new visa rules.

Killkeel Harbour in south Down considered the biggest fishing fleet in NI, has previously been linked to a potential £73m investment that would see it become an Irish Sea Hub.

However, further visa regulations on crews has caused concerns for the future of the fleet

Councillor Hanna added:”This Manx law will be extremely damaging to the North of Ireland fishing fleet particularly.

“For many years fishing fleets have found it difficult to recruit local crews resulting in 70% of the working vessels in NI with overseas workers from the likes of the Philippines and African nations.

“There are thousands of jobs and a large amount of money involved in all of this.

“Nobody can understand how this was missed, whether the DAERA Minister was asleep at the wheel, I just don’t know.

“This motion is so important to the people of Co Down with a tradition of fishing going back centuries and we do not want to lose it.”

Mournes Sinn Fein councillor Michael Rice said:”These legislative changes by the Isle of Man will have real socio-economic consequences on fishing operators in Co Down.

“It is about livelihoods, families and sustainability of our coastal economies.

“A significant amount of vessels from Killkeel and Portavogie rely on Manx waters.

“The new requirements will create a barriers to local family run boats that they simply cannot over come.

“This a potentially business ending policy. There has been no consultation or prior warning about this and has put the local fishing industry on life support.”

An amendment by Crotlive SDLP councillor Declan McAteer was approved to write to the secretariat of the British-Irish Council in Edinburgh to address the matter.

Rowallane Alliance councillor Tierna Howie added:”We have been in touch with Minister Muir and he shares the concerns other councillors have expressed.

“He has been particularly disappointed by the lack of prior engagement on these matters given its potential to have such a significant and detrimental impact on the Northern Irish fishing fleet.

“The Minister has asked to meet with the Manx ministers for fisheries and immigration on the Isle of Man to act quickly and explore practical solutions.”

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Laura Liddle was diagnosed with vulval cancer in July last year and now she is spreading the message of what to look for

A woman is urging others to “know their normal” after she discovered the intense pain and itch was cancer. Laura Liddle, 31, was diagnosed with vulval cancer in July 2025 after spending months suffering with uncontrollable pain, itchiness and swelling.

Despite numerous trips to her GP over three months where she was tested for thrush and STIs, which all came back clear, she was left in agony. After being referred to a hospital gynaecology department, a biopsy revealed Laura had pre-cancerous VIN 3 (Vulval Intraepithelial Neoplasia).

The hospitality worker underwent surgery to have part of her labia removed in July 2025 and later that month received the devastating news it had developed into vulval cancer. Laura then underwent another surgery to remove the lymph nodes in her groin in December 2025.

Now healing at home after being declared cancer-free, Laura is bravely sharing her story to encourage women to regularly check themselves and get anything unusual looked at. Laura, from Bristol, said: “A lot of young girls don’t touch their vaginas, they don’t look at their vaginas, it’s a taboo thing to do.

“You have to know what it feels like, you have to know what is down there for you to know if something’s not right. I think it [vulval cancer symptoms] really needs to be talked about and be advertised everywhere.”

Laura was first alerted there may be an issue with her vulva in March 2022, while recovering from groin abscess surgery. While cleaning the wound, Laura became concerned that part of her vagina ‘didn’t look right’, due to a swelling in her left labia.

As it wasn’t painful, and was simply a little more swollen than the right-hand side, Laura brushed it off as ‘just her anatomy’. Laura said: “I didn’t worry about it at all, I just thought it was my anatomy. No one vagina is the same as the other. None of my partners have ever mentioned it, to me it was just normal, I just put it off as nothing.

“At the beginning of last year I was getting increasingly even more sore, to the point where I couldn’t wear underwear, I couldn’t walk and I couldn’t sleep. I was in proper agony.”

She told how she had suffered with thrush her whole life and said the doctors kept putting it down to that. she added: “Everything they tested me for – thrush, STIs, you name it they were testing me for it down there – all results said I had a clean bill of health.

“It was unbearable pain and I couldn’t get rid of it. They [doctors] gave me local anaesthetic gel to numb it, but even that wasn’t helping.”

After being referred to a hospital gynaecology department in April 2025 a biopsy revealed she had pre-cancerous VIN3, before surgery results revealed it had developed into vulval cancer. Laura said: “[When they told me I had vulval cancer] I was more concerned about how it would affect my family.

“It’s a very rare cancer and it normally shows up in women over 70. I’m only 31, they’re saying it’s probably down to my immune system and that HPV could be a factor.

“I do think about it and it does get me down. I’m only 31, I shouldn’t be having this happen to me. I like to work, I like to be busy and the fact I can’t do anything is driving me insane. Going to the toilet is very painful, it burns, and they’ve said it will affect my sex life.”

Laura, who was told she was cancer-free on December 24, is now sharing her experience to encourage people to regularly check themselves. She said: “I’ve posted it everywhere I could. I’ve been speaking to everybody, everyone down my local shop, any women I speak to [about it]

“Even men I’m like ‘listen, check your missus out’. Even my little nieces I’ve said to them ‘look I know this is something you don’t really want to discuss but you need to’.

“I think they should be testing you for that when you go for your smear, just checking it looks ok and if it doesn’t, getting a biopsy from the area.”

What is vulval cancer?

According to the NHS vulval cancer is cancer that’s found anywhere in the vulva. The vulva is the area around the opening of the vagina, including the inner and outer lips around the vagina (labia) and the clitoris. Vulval cancer may be caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV), or by skin conditions that affect your vulva.

Symptoms of vulval cancer can affect any part of your vulva, but they’re most common on the inner and outer lips (labia) around the opening of your vagina. Symptoms can include: a lump, a sore, bleeding from your vulva, or blood-stained vaginal discharge, that is not related to your periods, itching that does not get better, changes to your skin, such as red, white or dark patches, a mole that changes shape or colour, burning pain when you pee.

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The popular initiative – which sees diners enjoy some of Teesside’s best restaurants for less – is returning to the region from today, Monday, March 2. 

The event, run by James Watson of hospitality business consultancy Over Ice, takes place four times a year with several popular restaurants taking part.

Some of the venues offer two courses for just £20 and others three for £25 – with the likes of Redcar bar and restaurant Koha, Noir Dior and Vadah in Stockton, and the Delhi Lounge all taking part this week.

James said the week gives diners a chance to try some of the best offerings on Teesside at a snippet of the price: “Get out there and enjoy yourself at the fantastic places – it all helps.”

Here is a full list of all the restaurants taking part: 

• The Treebridge Hotel, Stokesley Road, Middlesbrough
• Vane Arms, The Village Green, Thorpe Thewles
• The Copperstone, Stonehouse Street, Middlesbrough
• Delhi Lounge, Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough
• The Glass House Restaurant, Wynyard Hall
• Vadah, Gate Mill, Riverside, Stockton
• Noir Dior, CastleGate Mill, Riverside, Stockton
• G&Tea House, off A173, near Great Ayton
• Whinstone View Bistro, Middlesbrough
• Pangea, Norton Road, Norton
• Little Lotus, Sunningdale Drive, Eaglescliffe
• Impeccable Pig, Front Street, Sedgefield
• Chapters Deli, Market Place, Stokesley
• The Keys, High Street, Yarm
• Café Sapore, Harper Parade, Stockton
• The County, The Green , Newton Aycliffe
• Macy Browns, Linthorpe Rd, Middlesbrough 
• Koha, Station Road, Redcar
• The Crathorne Arms, East Villa, Crathorne
• Carpaccios, Dovecot Street, Stockton
• Sergio’s Italian Restaurant, Guisborough
• The Old Poste House, Sporting Lodge Inns, Middlesbrough
• Milk and Grind, High Street, Stokesley
• The Brickyard, High Street, Brotton
• The Mill, Springfield, Stokesley
• Il Mulino, Church House, Stokesley
• Tomahawk Steakhouse Potto, Cooper Lane

• Tomahawk Steakhouse Yarm, High Street
• Tomahawk Steakhouse Acklam, Hall Drive
• Tomahawk Steakhouse Saltburn, Saltburn Road, Saltburn

To see what each restaurant has to offer, and for individual prices, head to the Facebook pages of participating restaurants or go to the Teesside Restaurant Week website.

The Toby Inn, in Edgworth, thanked their customers for their support over 40 years in business and said they understood the news “may come as a shock”.

In a post to Facebook on Monday evening (March 2), they said: “This has been an extremely difficult and heart-breaking decision, and whilst it’s no secret that we had been looking to retire, we understand the news may come as a shock”.

The Broadhead Road restaurant said they close their doors “with enormous pride” and said 40 years in hospitality is “no small achievement”.

“And we feel incredibly fortunate to have shared that journey with such a wonderful community,” they continued, “Over the decades we’ve had the privilege of hosting birthdays, anniversaries, first dates, family gatherings and countless everyday meals that turned into special memories.

“40 years of laughter. 40 years of friendships. 40 years of memories that we will carry with us forever.”

They thanked their customers for choosing The Toby Inn, adding: “Many of you have become more than customers; you are friends.

“We feel incredibly lucky and deeply grateful for every visit, every conversation and every memory made within these walls.”

They also thanked their staff, past and present, for their “dedication and hard work”.

They continued: “You have been at the centre of everything we’ve built, and we could not be prouder or more grateful of the team that made this place what it is.”

The restaurant said that for anyone with future bookings, they will be in touch with you directly or you can contact them on thetobyinn@outlook.com.

The Tuesday letters page is surprised by all the positive reviews for Pokémon Pokopia, as one reader has had enough of God Of War.

Games Inbox is a collection of our readers’ letters, comments, and opinions. To join in with the discussions yourself email gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Super Nintendo plan
So I’m guessing I’m not the only person to be annoyed that there’s still not going to be a full Nintendo Direct anytime soon. The Switch 2 is sitting there with almost nothing on its schedules and while it’s nice to hear Pokémon Pokopia is good it’s out next week and then that’s it, nothing else with a confirmed released date and hardly anything else of any kind at all.

I’m not going to bother trying to predict what a new Nintendo Direct may or may not annouce but I really hope it contains at least a hint as to the next Legend Of Zelda. It’s nearly six years since Tears Of The Kingdom, so they should be able to say or show something, even if it’s just a bit of artwork – which is usually how they start the hype.

I really don’t know how we’ve gone this long without any hint of a 3D Mario or a new Zelda. And in a year with a Mario film and a Zelda one next year! If there’s a secret plan Nintendo is following I’d love to hear about it, because at the moment it just feels like they’re asleep at the wheel.
Molston

Direct troll
I guess you could predict that Nintendo would do an Indie World next but, like another reader said, do they realise they’re trolling fans with how they’re handling this? I doubt they’re doing it on purpose, but the trolling is happening whether they intended it or not.

So now we’re looking at a proper Nintendo Direct being mid-March at the absolute earliest, and probably later. I think that’s the latest Nintendo has ever done it in an ordinary year and yet the need for it seems like the greatest it’s been in a long while.

It’s interesting that Pokémon Pokopia has got such surprisingly good reviews, but I don’t know how much that’s going to satisfy people who want to know when the next big game is arriving. Apart form anything Pokopia barely has anything to do with Nintendo, since it’s mostly an Omega Force joint. So I wouldn’t count it as first party.
Sonicer

Surprise hit
Really did not expect Pokémon Pokopia to be getting such good reviews. Its Metacritic is above Resident Evil Requiem now, which I would not have betted happening. I guess sometimes you just have to make a good game and it’s great to have two good ones come out so close to one another.

I’m not convinced it’s something I’ll like personally but I’m very tempted, just because it seems weird and all the praise. It’s exactly the sort of game that I’d wait a few months for and pick it up when it’s cheap but since it’s a Nintendo game we all know that’s not going to happen. Oh well, maybe I’ll convince my girlfriend to half it with me.
Korbie

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Artwork of Vengeance
Just a heads up for anyone who would like to get Shinobi: Art Of Vengeance on Switch 1, you can currently get it from the Limited Run Games website while stocks last. The version they have has different cover artwork to the UK version and it contains a region free cartridge that
contains the whole game on the cartridge.

Please read the terms and condition on the page, which is not very long before buying. If you buy Shinobi UK version on Amazon UK it is a code in the box, so getting it from Limited Run Games mean you get an actual cartridge. It’s currently $39.99, not including postage and tax, which is a lot cheaper than going on eBay. I know a fellow GameCentral reader was interested in the Switch version of Shinobi.
Andrew J.
PS: Will Game Central be doing a review of the Talking Flower from the Nintendo Store when it releases? As I am thinking of getting it.

GC: Not unless Nintendo send us one, but its features seem fairly clear cut so we doubt they will.

Catching a feeling
I am delighted to see the widespread good reviews for Pokémon Pokopia. I have played all of the recent Pokémon games, as I continue to chase in vain that feeling of wonder and joy the series held in my childhood with the Silver and Ruby versions.

Only Legends: Arceus has come close since the DS era, but between the re-release of FireRed and now Pokopia’s imminent arrival, maybe I will finally recapture some of that feeling. I can’t wait to get stuck into both in the coming weeks! I am dubious that Winds and Waves can return the main series to its glory days but at least Pokopia is carrying the torch for them regardless.
Pigfish2 (PSN ID/NN ID)
Now playing: Mario Tennis Fever on Switch 2 and Resident Evil Requiem on PlayStation 5.

Are you a god?
A God Of War spin-off starring Kratos’ wife was not something on my bingo card and I’ll be honest, I’m already having trouble getting excited about it. She was in Ragnarök for 10 minutes, collecting berries, and didn’t make any impression on me at all. But now she’s going to be the start of a more action-based game?

God Of War might not have been non-stop but it was still an action game, so I’m not sure I understand. The mention of Devil May Cry was weird too. So she’s going to be dancing and spinning around like Bayonetta? That does not seem like something she would’ve done or anyone would have done in the God Of War games.

I’m also still confused as to whether giants in God Of War are actually giants? They seemed to be at the end of the first one and then there was some kind of retcon that they were normal sized? Mind you, I don’t really understand what a god is meant to be in this universe. Just someone that’s hard to kill but not impossible? I mean, it’s not like Kratos has any powers or is omnipotent or anything.

I really think it’s time to admit the God Of War story is over. There was no need for a prequel, there’s no point going back to the Greek games, and there doesn’t seem to be any sort of vision for the future. After the success of the last game they could’ve made anything they wanted and the idea that they’ve gone for some weird spin-off, rather than pushing anything forward, says a lot to me.
Hoofton

Adult response
I’ve been trying to figure out the logic of why Call Of Duty players are so much more likely to cheat than anyone else. You would’ve thought it’s because they’re all kids, but Fortnite was actually quite low down that list. I think the sad truth is that it’s probably because there’s more adults playing Call Of Duty and they can’t bear to lose to kids, so they show them how grown-ups handle a problem like this and… cheat.

I’ve pretty much given up playing any online game nowadays because of the amount of cheaters. I tend to lose anyway, because I’m not very good at them, but knowing I haven’t got a chance anyway, because of the cheats, just completely puts me off.
Corvey

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Mega music
The Sega Mega Drive is a console remembered from the 1990s, not only as one of the best consoles ever released for that time period, with its incredible library of games still enjoyed by fans today, but also because of the sound chip. Not only was this great competition for Sega’s competitor but it was also responsible for amazing games music. The Yamaha YM2612 was an impressive FM synthesizer which also worked alongside the Texas Instruments SN76489 PSG chip to ensure amazing audio.

You only have to look at classic games and the soundtracks for Streets Of Rage, Sonic The Hedgehog, Road Rash, Golden Axe, ToeJam & Ear and countless more to see just how incredible the music was for games of that era.

In 2026 we are still seeing fans create music using a Sega Mega Drive synthesizer and software to make new music, as well as many fans creating new Sega Mega Drive titles.

If that’s not enough to convince you that the Sega Mega Drive had the best soundtracks for its era just take a look at the hundreds of games released for this system and the top 10 soundtracks for it and hear for yourself why this console inspired gamers to make incredible music for future games consoles.

When you take a look at the new Mega Drive music being made it still sounds good. While the Yamaha YM2612 was limited at the time it still remains one of gamers’ most remembered sound synthesizers.

The Mega Drive’s sound was amazing and even today people still remember it and don’t forget about the amazing memories and times that were had with this awesome 1990s console.
gaz be rotten (gamertag)

Inbox also-rans
I appreciate you still reviewing VR games, but it feels like a losing battle. VR is dead as far as anything but low budget indie games go, and it’s a real shame. Thanks for nothing Sony.
Limpton

So now that Overwatch is popular again does that mean we’re never getting a story campaign for it? I was actually really looking forward to that.
Mick

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