The Tuesday letters page struggles to understand the Xbox exclusivity policy, as a reader encourages more games to go head-to-head with GTA 6.

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

Direct assumption
So the Nintendo Direct we’ve all been waiting for is finally here. 50 minutes of pure Nintendo showcase, ready to disappoint us all!

Will the Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake be there? I have no idea, but I do know that Nintendo will hate the idea that it leaked and that if there’s anything they can do to shuffle it around the schedules, and not make it this year’s game, they will. But yeah, overall I think it’s likely.

I just hope they don’t waste too much time on Splatoon Raiders and Fire Emblem and other things we already know about. That quote from the boss seems to prove they know they need to impress but I’m not convinced, Nintendo hates to do the obvious and they did say it was only games for this year.

Personally, I’m guessing maybe a couple more Switch 2 editions (Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, anyone?) and maybe this rumour about a new Wario Land game, or something else small scale. That and The Duskbloods and you’re doing okay, although I really don’t see 2026 being a classic year for Nintendo overall.
Bagul

Small hopes
I’m excited about the idea of a Zelda: Ocarina Of Time remake as anyone but at the same time, does it not seem a bit disappointing that the biggest game of 2026 from Nintendo is going to be a remake? We’ve had virtually nothing from them so far this year (even their best game, Pokémon Pokopia, they didn’t actually make themselves) and Splatoon Raiders and Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave are hard to get that excited about.

And what else will we have other than Zelda, if that is true? Probably not much else. Maybe some smaller games but I can’t imagine them suddenly pulling two or three triple-A games out of the bag, that are all going to be released this year. I agree with GC’s summary of the Switch 2’s first year, it’s not been a disaster, but it’s certainly been a disappointment.
Cubit

Just as you remember
Anyone a bit disappointed by Persona 4 Revival reveal? I was left feeling silly for expecting the graphics and character models to be a bit more lifelike; I mean of course it’s anime style (duh). But I’m therefore wondering what the point of it is. In fact, the graphics themselves still look last gen at best.

Meanwhile, I think Fumito Ueda’s new project looks very exciting. I recently played through ICO again on the PlayStation 2 and it has aged so well, even the graphics. There’s an example of perfect art direction.
Owen Pile (NongWen – PSN ID)

GC: Persona 4 is also a PlayStation 2 game, so there are improvements in the remake. But we agree, it doesn’t look any different than you remember it, especially as it’s clearly using the Persona 5 engine.

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

The only way is up
Yes, good bring back exclusives. Either people want Xbox to have exclusives or not, which is it? Seems to me they can’t win either way, people will complain regardless. Besides, the only annoying thing about that showcase for me, as a Xbox Series X owner is that I know I don’t have the time or money for all those games.

I haven’t played Gears Of War and Halo since the sequels, but I will go back to Game Pass for those two games.

I was kind of hoping Xbox would announce a price cut, no matter how modest. Or perhaps £25 off the Xbox Series X25, which would be clever marketing, I think.

Also, I have to mention Metro 2039. Wow, it looks incredible. Metro Exodus, in my opinion
had one of the best campaigns for a first person shooter I have ever seen, with such well written characters. So I’m really looking forward to that one.
Stephen

GC: Thanks to the memory crisis, hardware prices are never coming down, for anything.

The long haul
I hate falling for the rumour bandwagon.

There is some great stuff coming out in the next year, but as nostalgic as I am, I was excited to see a new WipEout game from Sony, but I think they do not realise how important the original games sold the PlayStation in Europe, and helped establish the brand they are today.

Also, another gripe. Where are the PS5 Pro official console covers already?
GarBo

GC: If the rumours are correct – that Sony is only now looking to bring back some of its older brands – that would mean any new entry is many years away from actually coming out.

Logical decision
I have been struggling to come up with an explanation for Microsoft’s exclusive announcements and I just can’t do it. Nothing about it makes any sense, including everything they’ve said to try and explain it.

Maybe they’re doing it to please hardcore Xbox fans but you’re talking about a noisy minority there, that’s never going to be happy with anything you do. You have two exclusives they’re going to demand four and more until they’re not satisfied with anything but all of them.

The obvious problem with doing it, is that you’re not making as much money, because you’re not selling on PlayStation 5 and less people have an Xbox nowadays. Plus, you’re not getting people into the Gears Of War franchise, which is especially going to annoy those who bought last year’s remaster and planned to get E-Day as well.

But at the end of the day the question that cuts through all the nonsense is why those two games? Why are Gears of War: E-Day and Clockwork Revolution exclusives but others aren’t? Either they made that decision based on logic that they can explain to us or they just picked them at random, which is it?

What worries me is that the answer is likely to be closer to the random explanation, because I really don’t have any confidence Xbox knows what it’s doing anymore.
Focus

Counter-programming
I think it’d be neat to see more games going up against GTA 6 this November that are completely different to it. A collection of Barbie games is pretty extreme but I’m sure there are plenty of other games that are nothing like GTA and would interest people that are not interested in the game.

I mean, statistically, there’s got to be far more people that don’t care about GTA 6 than do, so I don’t see why you can’t release some cosy games, strategy games, maybe even some horror games, since it will be dark out by that point. GTA 6 isn’t going to cover any of the angles and some people are going to prefer that kind of thing to just another gangster sim.
Taylor Moon

Don’t miss Gaming news! Add us as a Preferred Source

As a loyal GameCentral reader, we want to make sure you never miss our articles when searching for gaming stories. We have all the latest video games news, reviews, previews, and interviews, with a vibrant community of highly engaged readers.

Click the button below and tick Metro.co.uk to ensure you see stories from us first in Google Search.

Add us as a Preferred Source

Advertisement

Wrong audience
It’s been obvious for a while now that the average age of gamers is skewing very old (in comparison to the stereotype of what a gamer is). As someone in their thirties this should please me, as it should mean that companies will try to design games more to please people like me.

However, I do not find this to really be the case. We are seeing a slight turn towards more single-player games at the moment but mostly publishers seem frustrated that the average age is creeping up and that young people are not buying their games, and so they target them even more.

Sony and Ubisoft aren’t making these endless live service games to appeal to thirtysomethings. Coming up with the new Fortnite is not something that’s going to excite anyone that’s 37.

It makes me think of The Mandalorian and Grogu movie, which was made primarily for younger audiences. Except they weren’t interested in it and since older fans never wanted it in the first place it ended up being a movie for no one.

I think there’s a danger of a lot of games falling in the same category, because at the end of the day companies prefer to have younger fans, because then they can get their claws in early and keep them spending for decades.

They know that anyone approaching their middle age and beyond is going to have less time to play games and probably won’t fall for microtransactions gimmicks as much, so we’re not really the audience they want.
Gaston

Inbox also-rans
The big Nintendo Direct we’ve all been waiting for is Tuesday? You better have that Mario peaking from behind a curtain photo or it won’t be tradition!
Onibee

GC: You betcha!

It was so weird to see the Activision logo come up and it wasn’t for Call Of Duty. Even better that it was Spyro. Let’s hope it’s Prototype next!
Stoz

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

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

You can also submit your own 500 to 600-word Reader’s Feature at any time via email or our Submit Stuff page, which if used will be shown in the next available weekend slot.

You can also leave your comments below and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

MORE: Games Inbox: Why is Gears Of War: E-Day not on PS5?

MORE: Games Inbox: Will Summer Game Fest 2026 be worth staying up for?

MORE: Games Inbox: Did Marvel’s Wolverine make a good impression in the State of Play?

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Progressive city council member Nithya Raman has advanced to a November runoff against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, setting up an unexpected matchup between two Democrats and former political allies to run the struggling city of nearly 4 million.

The outcome means Spencer Pratt, a Republican and former reality television personality from “The Hills,” is out of the running. His candidacy had drawn national attention because of his celebrity and willingness to challenge liberal governance in a city dominated by Democrats, but the buzz did not translate into enough votes to make the runoff.

Raman made a last-minute entry into the race, after she had endorsed Bass for reelection. She was elected to the council with the support of the Democratic Socialists of America, and the election will test whether voters in the heavily Democratic city want to move further to the political left to address long-running problems of homelessness, buckled streets and sidewalks and climbing rent and home prices.

The race also has historical markers. Bass is the first Black woman to hold the post, and Raman could be the first South Asian woman in the job.

“If you’re as frustrated by the broken status quo as I am, I hope you’ll join our movement to build a city that works for everyone,” Raman said in a statement. “For too long, City Hall has prioritized giving political advantage to powerful interests that fund elections. Meanwhile, working people pay the price in higher rents, depleted services and a city that has stopped working for them.”

“A campaign against Nithya Raman, who allows encampments near schools and cuts the police force, is one Mayor Bass looks forward to winning,” said Bass campaign strategist Douglas Herman.

The mayoral matchup sets the field in one of the state’s two marquee races. In the other, the California governor’s race, Democrat Xavier Becerra has advanced to the general election but it’s not yet clear if he will face Republican Steve Hilton or fellow Democrat Tom Steyer.

The mayoral race was technically nonpartisan, so the candidates appeared on the ballot without party identification next to their names.

The election was not a vote of confidence in Bass, who according to incomplete returns received under 35% of the vote, a vulnerable position for an incumbent.

Raman had been running in third until Sunday, but she gained more votes with every update provided by election officials in Los Angeles since June 2, primary day.

Bass represents the Democratic establishment as the incumbent mayor, and she’s backed by Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, along with influential labor unions. She served in the state Legislature and Congress before becoming mayor in 2022 and was under consideration to be former President Joe Biden’s running mate in 2020.

Raman — in her first run for citywide office — has promised to speed up housing construction, bring back entertainment industry jobs and improve services in a city known for dirty streets, gridlock and homeless encampments that are commonplace in many neighborhoods.

“What we are doing right now is just not working,” Raman says. “LA’s primary strategy for homelessness has been to move encampments from one block to another, from your block to your neighbor’s block and back again. … It’s political theater.”

California’s vote count takes a long time

It took nearly a week to determine who would face Bass in November due to California’s notoriously slow vote-counting process. Ballots are mailed to every eligible voter and they are counted if they are postmarked by Election Day and arrive at an election office within seven days.

Los Angeles, like other counties in California, processes and counts mail ballots in roughly the order they are received, so the last ones returned are the last ones counted.

On Tuesday night after polls closed, Los Angeles released results from mail ballots that had been returned early and already processed as well as votes cast that day. Those votes put Bass in the lead with Pratt running in second and Raman behind in third. Since then, the county has been processing and releasing results from mail ballots that arrived later.

Election data shows that large numbers of Democrats held onto their mail ballots and returned them in the race’s final days, which helps explain why Bass and Raman have been doing better than Pratt in the votes counted since primary day.

Raman’s political positions have shifted

Born in India, Raman moved to the United States as a child and earned degrees from Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she studied urban planning.

She has opposed efforts to prohibit homeless people from setting up tents within 500 feet (152 meters) of schools and daycare centers. However, she appears to have softened her opposition to no-camping zones, which were intended to curb the spread of encampments and clear streets. She voted against dozens of them on the council but later said she would not block them if elected mayor.

Raman’s positions on policing in the city have also changed.

She once talked of a department that would be much smaller and posted “defund the police” on social media in 2020. She did not support the mayor’s 2023 police contract, which she said was too expensive for the financially strapped city.

More recently, she said the Los Angeles Police Department should remain at its current size, about 8,600, down from about 10,000 in 2020. The police union has taunted her in ads, calling her “Flip Floppin’ Raman.”

In diverse Los Angeles, mayors are elected by building coalitions, ethnically and geographically. And to surpass 50% of the vote and win, Raman will need to find more supporters.

“I don’t think it’s impossible, but she is going to have to expand beyond her ideological base,” said Democratic consultant Bill Carrick, who sees Bass as vulnerable.

“The people who didn’t vote for Nithya weren’t voting against her, they were voting for somebody else. Karen (Bass) had a good number of people who were voting against her,” Carrick added.

Though Raman and Pratt are political opposites, both have attracted voters who aren’t happy with the city’s status quo.

Tanika Vickers, who works for a housing nonprofit in Los Angeles, said that she felt like she was part of a group of people who work and pay taxes but have been “forgotten.” She said she was frustrated with the way tax dollars were being spent, especially “throwing” more money toward homelessness without results.

She said she voted Raman for mayor because she was most qualified to execute her plans and fulfill what the city needs.

“I think that we are all looking for change,” she said.

Police were called to the scene of a stabbing in Kinnaird Avenue, north Belfast, at around 10.30pm on Monday – a man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries and a suspect has been arrested in connection with the incident

A man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries following a stabbing – with video footage capturing the moment hero bystanders stepped in to wrestle the attacker to the ground.

Police were called to the scene in Kinnaird Avenue, in north Belfast, at around 10:30pm on Monday, 8th June, after reports of the attack.

A local resident described the “chaos” that unfolded, as disturbing videos circulating online appear to show a man being stabbed multiple times in the head. In the footage, two bystanders appear to step in to try to help the injured man on the ground, before telling police officers who arrive ‘he’s trying to cut his head off’.

The Police Service of Northern Ireland [PSNI] confirmed that one man has been arrested in connection with the incident, as a significant police presence remains in the area with cordons in place.

An eyewitness told the Belfast Telegraph that “three men, one armed with a hurl, got the fella with the knife off the victim.”

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Police in north Belfast are currently in attendance at Kinnaird Avenue following the report of a stabbing incident shortly after 10.30pm on Monday 8th June.

“A man has been arrested in relation to the incident and is in police custody while a second man has been taken to hospital with serious injuries.

“Officers will remain in the area to conduct their enquiries and would ask anyone who witnessed this incident, or who may have captured dash-cam or CCTV footage from the area which could help with their investigation, to call them at Tennent Street on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 1654 08/06/26.”

The new restrictions surrounding children and dangerous dogs are due to come into force on November 1 and will become part of the legal conditions for keeping an exempt dog

Children under the age of 12 will be banned from being left alone with dangerous dogs including XL Bullies under new rules due to be announced later today.

Owners who leave children unsupervised with banned breeds could face prosecution and even have their dog seized.

The new restrictions will come into force on November 1 and will become part of the legal conditions for keeping an exempt dog. The changes are designed to prevent children being attacked but to also allow responsible owners to keep their pets, The Sun reports.

Animal Welfare Minister Baroness Hayman said: “No child should ever be left alone with a dangerous dog.These rules are about putting safety of children first.”

A Statutory Instrument bringing in the change is due to be laid before Parliament today. It comes after dog attacks have nearly doubled since the pandemic with more than three occurring an hour on our streets and in our homes.

In 2025 alone, new data obtained by the Mirror reveals, at least 29,400 out-of-control dog attacks causing injury offences were recorded by police, equivalent to 81 a day, or 3.4 every hour. The massive number is a significant five percent increase on the already high number of attacks recorded in 2024 – the year violent XL Bully dogs were banned – when police logged 28,000 attacks. Pre-Covid just over 16,000 were recorded.

The fresh numbers show attacks have almost doubled since the pandemic began, painting a grim picture of a booming trend that has left people dead, disfigured, and permanently disabled.

Proposals include wider pavements and better cycle parking

New plans to transform a popular Cambridge area have been revealed by the Greater Cambridge Partnership (GCP). Riverside is used daily by thousands of pedestrians and cyclists, according to the GCP.

It forms part of the Bottisham Greenway. A GCP spokesperson said: “The GCP wants to enhance Riverside to create a safer, more accessible and more enjoyable route into the city and surrounding areas.”

Riverside stretches from the Elizabeth Way bridge to Stourbridge Common. The GCP’s proposals include:

• Wider, more consistent footways;
• New resting spots with planting and accessible seating;
• Clearer signage and improved pedestrian crossings;
• Safe, secure cycle parking.

Jonathan Camp, GCP Project Manager, said: “Riverside is already enjoyed by many people. These proposals aim to make it safer, greener and more inviting — a place where you can move easily, meet friends or simply enjoy being by the river.

“We’re asking everyone who uses Riverside to tell us what they think so we can create something that reflects what the community needs.”

A consultation on the proposals is running until Monday, July 13, at 11.59pm. It can be accessed at this link.

In-between all the big name reveals from Sony, Microsoft, and the rest there are plenty of upcoming indie games worth keeping an eye on.

Although we’ve still got a new Nintendo Direct to get through, the big Summer Game Fest week of gaming showcases has wrapped up and there has been an overwhelming amount of new game announcements.

We’ve already covered the biggest ones from Sony’s State of Play, the Xbox showcase, and Summer Game Fest itself, but with the likes of God Of War Laufey and Final Fantasy 7 Revelation hogging the headlines, it’s easy for smaller indie games to fall through the cracks.

2 Fights In 2 Tight Spaces

The original Fights In Tight Spaces was a novel blend of turn-based tactics and deckbuilding, designed to emulate tightly choreographed action movie fight scenes.

Almost five years later and developer Ground Shatter is back with a sequel that promises more of the same, but it has a new system for transforming cards into more powerful versions and, intriguingly, online co-op.

2 Fights In 2 Tight Spaces is technically available right now in early access on Steam and is aiming to properly launch in 2027.

Among Us Story: On Guard

The explosive success of Among Us completely nixed any plans for a sequel, but developer Innersloth did announce a brand new Among Us game during Summer Game Fest and, surprisingly, it’s purely single-player.

You’re still trying to uncover an imposter hidden among the crew of a spaceship but, as the title suggests, this is a more traditional, story driven mystery game, making it a neat companion piece to the original Among Us. There’s no release date, but this is bound to come to every platform under the sun.

Bad Magpie

We’re not sure what developer Milktooth’s problem with magpies is, but Bad Magpie was certainly one of the more interesting announcements to come from the Xbox showcase.

You control a one-winged magpie who can only hop around a non-linear open world, pinching anything shiny it can get its beak on, to appease a mysterious talking star.

It looks like it could provide the same kind of slapstick comedy as Untitled Goose Game (we even mistook it for the same developer) although it promises to have more of a plot when it launches next year for PC and Xbox.

Carcass Clad

After releasing 2024’s indie hit Mouthwashing, developer Wrong Organ is already back with another disturbing horror game with PlayStation 1-esque graphics. Unlike Mouthwashing, though, this is a co-op experience.

Three players must work together to operate a tank as they explore a war torn city. The trailer doesn’t make it clear exactly what you’ll need to defend yourself from, but there sure are a lot of gruesome animal corpses littered all over. It’s only confirmed for PC and currently lacks a release date.

Cassette Beasts 2002

Cassette Beasts is easily the best of the Pokémon clones out there at the moment and we always hoped it’d get a sequel that would refine its rougher edges. So, we’re very pleased to see Cassette Beasts 2002 be announced.

Developer Bytten Studio hasn’t detailed any new mechanics or improvements yet, but there are far more monsters to acquire this time (more than 250), which means even more unique fusions, and you can import your character from the previous game.

It’s also set in London, which means it will deliver on the cheesy British voice-acting that Pokémon Sword & Shield crucially lacked. There’s no release date but it’ll launch for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.

El Paso, Elsewhere 2

El Paso, Elsewhere was enough of a hit in 2023 to land itself a still-in-production movie adaptation, but fans are probably more excited for the actual sequel that’s been announced.

It’s still a Max Payne-esque supernatural shooter (complete with slow-mo dodges) although protagonist James Savage now boasts new vampire powers, such as diving off thin air and feeding on enemies’ blood.

There’s no release date and it’s currently only scheduled for Xbox Series X/S and PC.

Hack ‘95

Billed as a ‘card-based computer hacking voyage,’ Hack ‘95 looks endearlingly nostalgic, harkening back to a time when the internet was new, social media hadn’t yet poisoned our brains, and RAM didn’t cost an arm and a leg.

This looks to be the debut title of the London based Village Studio and sees you play as a hacker in the 90s who finds themselves uncovering a governmental conspiracy with the assistance of a virtual pug. It’s only scheduled for PC and there’s a free Steam demo available.

Into The Wind

The first game to be released by Swedish studio Bloom & Gloom Games, Into The Wind is a charming looking adventure game about you taking over a delivery business from your missing uncle.

Your primary mode of transportation is a sentient motorcycle capable of flight and it looks like there’s a lot of emphasis on physics as you need to take into account the weight of your cargo, the terrain, and the weather while making deliveries. Not to mention sky pirates who you’ll encounter in airborne gunfights.

The plan is to launch the game via early access on PC, although no date has been set yet.

Ithaca

French studio The Pixel Hunt has consistently released very story heavy games and Ithaca is no exception, as you control an environmental rights lawyer named Penelope who embarks on a road trip with a hostage tied up in her boot.

Unlike the studio’s previous work, though, Ithaca has some role-playing game elements where you can upgrade Penelope’s stats to pass interaction skill checks when conversing with other characters.

The Pixel Hunt is looking to raise funds through Kickstarter and while there’s no public demo, you can register for a playtest via Steam.

P.O.N.

Co-op horror games like Lethal Company and R.E.P.O. are nothing new, but P.O.N. does offer a novel hook in that the ‘monster’ you’re trying to avoid is a superhero while you play as an average criminal.

Many have already described it as the closest thing to a Batman horror game from the perspective of the common thugs he regularly beats up, although the darkly lit trailer suggests P.O.N.’s superhero antagonist is far less merciful and, unlike Batman, might actually have powers.

The game’s currently only slated for PC and it’s listed as ‘coming soon,’ so it’ll hopefully be out before the end of the year.

Prove You’re Human

We came to 1000xResist later than others but it wound up being one of our favourite games of 2024, so we’re quite excited to see what developer Sunset Visitor delivers next.

There’s no release date or confirmed platforms beyond PC, but Prove You’re Human looks like a very different flavour of sci-fi than 1000xResist, opting for more of a horror vibe as you confront an uncanny looking AI and try to convince it that it’s not a real person.

Red Kiss

One of two vampire themed role-playing games that caught our eye, Red Kiss is only the second release from Wisp Fire, a small team of three developers based in the Netherlands.

Set in Berlin during the Cold War, this is more akin to Citizen Sleeper than Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 as you play as a newly turned vampire and manage your organisation by using telepathic powers to dispatch vampiric agents throughout the city. It’s slated for PC but has no release date.

Signet City

After two Citizen Sleeper games, solo developer Gareth Damian Martin is mixing things up with his next release, Signet City, which he describes as a fungalpunk role-playing game.

That’s because you play as a fungal parasite as it takes control of multiple hosts living in the titular Signet City, which is inspired by northern English industrial cities of the 1980s.

It’s also played in first person though Citizen Sleeper fans can rest assured there’s still copious amounts of dice rolling involved. It’s only scheduled for PC and is said to be ‘coming soon.’

Slap Out Of It!

After only making VR games, developer Turbo Button is breaking away to create something more traditional, although in-keeping with the visual style and puzzle solving gameplay of its previous work.

Described as a comedy sandbox, Slap Out Of It! revolves around you slapping anything and everything to solve puzzles, which sounds perfect for those who enjoy hitting and/or breaking things in games just to see if they can.

The game launches in 2027 for PC, as well as consoles, although Turbo Button hasn’t specified which ones yet.

Tenebris Somnia

Anyone looking for a new horror game to play for Halloween season will want to keep an eye on Tenebris Somnia, which launches on October 16 across PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 1 and 2, and PC.

While it’s directly compared to Resident Evil and Silent Hill, Tenebris Somnia goes for a retro pixel art aesthetic, but also throws in live action cut scenes that bring to mind classic FMV games… although developers Andrés Borghi and Saibot Studios claim that these were made by an award-winning Argentinian film crew.

Vampire: The Masquerade – Eternal Whispers

After the more action-focused Bloodlines 2, Vampire: The Masquerade – Eternal Whispers promises to feel much closer to the original World Of Darkness tabletop games.

It’s also borrowing a lot from Disco Elysium in terms of both presentation and gameplay, complete with dice rolls that determine whether you succeed at certain actions. Although developer Flyos (which typically makes board games) says that failure does not block progression and only influences the flow of the story.

Vampire fans will need to be patient as it has no release date and is currently only scheduled for PC.

Virtue And A Sledgehammer

Virtue And A Sledgehammer’s trailer is deliberately abstruse, but what’s abundantly clear is that you’ll get to utterly demolish a town full of robots with nothing but a sledgehammer.

There’s obviously a far deeper narrative behind this premise, though, as said robots are described as ‘android ghosts of your digitised neighbours’ and their destruction will unearth traumatic memories for the protagonist.

It’s only coming to PC, but it will be out before the end of the year and there’s a free Steam demo that covers the first 30 minutes of gameplay.

Vivarium

Another interesting indie from the Xbox showcase, Vivarium boasts a delightful 80s anime inspired art style and cosy summer vibes as you live out a life inside an actual vivarium.

Whether or not you’ll be able to interact with anyone outside of the vivarium is a question the trailer doesn’t answer, but your days will be spent tending a garden, cooking new recipes, and hanging out with your fellow inhabitants.

Vivarium is scheduled to launch next year as an Xbox console exclusive.

Email gamecentral@metro.co.uk, leave a comment below, follow us on Twitter.

To submit Inbox letters and Reader’s Features more easily, without the need to send an email, just use our Submit Stuff page here.

For more stories like this, check our Gaming page.

MORE: The average age of US gamers has risen to 37 reveals new study

MORE: Solarpunk review – cosy and sustainable survival

MORE: GTA 6 has a major new launch month rival and it’s Barbenheimer all over again

Egglestone Abbey is free to enter, managed by English Heritage, open every day until 6pm, and dog friendly.

It is also, for reasons that are difficult to explain, one of the most peaceful and overlooked heritage sites in the whole of the North East.

What you will find there

The ruins that survive today are substantial enough to give a real sense of what the abbey once was. Much of the 13th-century church remains standing, including a large lancet window that frames a view of the Tees valley beyond.

The east range of the living quarters is also partially intact, and English Heritage notes that traces of the monks’ ingenious toilet drainage system are still visible if you know where to look.

The site is an official Scheduled Ancient Monument and Grade I listed building. Inside the ruins, the tomb of Sir Ralph Bowes of Streatlam, who died in 1482, was removed from the abbey during the 19th century and later returned — it now stands in the church crossing where it originally belonged.

The abbey was never especially powerful or wealthy.

Founded around 1195 by the de Multon family for a community of Premonstratensian canons — the White Canons, named for their distinctive white habits — Egglestone was always a modest house, frequently in financial difficulty, shaped by prayer and the rhythms of Teesdale farming rather than political influence.

What visitors say

Egglestone Abbey has a 4.3 rating on TripAdvisor from more than 310 reviews.

One visitor from Surbiton wrote: “We did not know this was here and discovered it through the English Heritage app. It is a magnificent ruin with loads of access allowing you to explore. It stands on a good plot in a good position. Our experience was made the better by a rainbow that created a form of hallow across it.”

A visitor from Yorkshire described it as “a wealth of history and free to visit”, adding: “Set next to a river where we took a picnic, sitting on the pebble beach it is in beautiful countryside. Well worth a visit.”

A couple visiting in February 2025 called it “a hidden gem”, writing: “The architecture is amazing and you can imagine the scale of the Abbey and its history if it was complete. It’s well worth a visit.”

The walk from Barnard Castle

Egglestone Abbey is connected to Barnard Castle by a riverside walk that takes around 40 minutes and partly follows the Tees.

The full circular route from Barnard Castle to Abbey Bridge and back covers approximately 3.75 miles and passes through woodland and riverside meadows as well as the abbey itself. It is suitable for families and dogs, though the terrain around the ruins includes uneven paths and historic stone surfaces.

For those arriving by car, there is a small car park directly beside the abbey on Abbey Lane, DL12 9TN.

Parking costs £2 for non-members, payable by text, and is free for English Heritage members.

There are no facilities at the site, but Barnard Castle town centre is a short drive away.

Practical information

Egglestone Abbey is open daily from 10am to 6pm.

Entry is free.

Dogs are welcome on leads.

Have you visited Egglestone Abbey? Let us know in the comments

HAVANA (AP) — A 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck near western Cuba on Monday, shaking buildings in Havana and beyond.

No injuries or damage were immediately reported.

The quake struck at a depth of 6 miles (10 kilometers) in waters just west of the capital, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

Flavia Pupo, a manager at the Pinar del Rio hotel in western Cuba described how the building shook and caused some fear.

“Everyone here is OK,” she said by telephone. “The people on the street are a little bit scared.”

The latest earthquake was felt as far away as Florida. The National Weather Service in Miami said in a tweet that it received several reports of shaking in the southwestern part of the state. A flood of social media posts Monday afternoon indicated that people felt shaking even north of Orlando.

Maria Moncayo, who works at a law office in downtown Fort Lauderdale, said she had been quietly working at her desk when she started to feel a vibrating sensation. She compared it to someone doing construction in another part of the building, and it lasted about a minute or so.

“I have a little pendant dangling in my desk, and it was moving,” Moncayo said. “That’s why I realized that it’s actually not me or my chair or anything.”

Moncayo said she had experienced several earthquakes while living in Ecuador, including a 7.8 magnitude earthquake that left hundreds dead in 2016. But she hadn’t experienced one since moving to Florida seven years ago.

“Since I moved here, it kind of left my mind, but when I felt my desk moving, I thought it was going to be like Ecuador,” Moncayo said. “It kind of gave me flashbacks, but then I realized that it’s not bad, it’s just a little one.”

Miami-Dade County officials announced that they were evacuating several buildings out of an abundance of caution, including the county’s main government office building, a 28-story high rise in downtown Miami.

Officials also temporarily suspended service for two elevated commuter train services that run through downtown. No injuries or major property damage have been reported.

The Oriente fault zone is located just off Cuba’s southeast coast and has unleashed damaging earthquakes in recent centuries, including a 7.7 magnitude quake in January 2020 in open waters that caused damage in Cuba and the Cayman Islands.

___

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

She outlined existing provision for new parents, including the Healthy Babies programme which “supports new parents and families by offering integrated preventative and universal support, including perinatal mental health, parent-infant relationships and infant feeding in the 1,001 days from pregnancy to age two.”