Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Not-E3 2026 Part 1: Schedule and State of Play

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with:
Jun 032026
 

This year’s “Not-E3” snuck up on us without warning (that is, I forgot it was so close), so I’ll be covering the schedule and State of Play recap in the same post!

Not-E3 2026 Schedule

State of Play – June 2 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
Summer Game Fest 2026 – June 5 at 2 PM PT / 5 PM ET
Wholesome Direct 2026 – June 6 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET
Xbox Games Showcase 2026 – June 7 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET
Nintendo Direct* – (*rumored for June 9)

Now, there’s also a ton of smaller showcases in there two, like the Latin American Games Showcase, the Story-Rich Showcase, and others. I’ll cover any miscellaneous highlights from those separately at the end.

You’ll also notice I didn’t list the Future Games Show and PC Gaming Show on the schedule this year. That’s because I realized that I treated them like the smaller showcases, only pulling out a few highlights here and there. By covering them as part of the miscellaneous highlights, I think it’ll make these blog posts a better experience this year.

(The one exception I made is for the Wholesome Direct.)

Now, let’s get started with yesterday’s event, the State of Play.

State of Play

Yesterday evening was the hour-long State of Play, and like most States of Play, it was a little low-key for me. I’ll just be covering my personal highlights here, so be sure to check out the full showcase to see everything.

The first game to sort of catch my eye was Kemuri, the yokai action game from Ikumi Nakamura’s new studio. It doesn’t really look like my sort of game, but it did catch my attention.

I also felt a mild interest in Tomb Raider: Legacy of Atlantis when it was shown again… until I learned AI was used early in its development. That dampened what little interest I had.

The Lost Wild, a dinosaur survival horror game looks like it has a lot of potential, and I’m moderately interested in Phantom Blade 0. No Rest for the Wicked is also leaving Early Access and coming out in October.

Now onto a game that I’m much more interested in. Onimusha: Way of the Sword got a September 25 release date, as well as a demo that’s out now! I haven’t tried the demo yet, but I might check it out later. I’m a newcomer to the Onimusha series, but I enjoyed the remasters of the first two games, so I’m hopeful for the new one.

Silent Hill: Townfall also got a new trailer and a release date of September 24.

Meanwhile, Control Resonant’s new trailer revealed that it will be out on… September 24.

The PS Classics catalogue is getting new titles, including Onimusha: Dawn of Dreams. I’m not sure why they skipped to that. Maybe it’s a sign that they intend to remaster Onimusha 3, but not Dawn of Dreams?

One big surprise was Until Dawn 2, announced for 2027, although it’s not from the same developer as the original.

And finally, the showcase closed with the announcement of God of War: Laufey, the next game in the series. A game starring Faye was rumored for a while, but everyone assumed it would be a prequel. I wasn’t expected to play her after her death, but it seems to be expanding on some of the lingering questions from Ragnarok, with the setting being an afterlife for gods. We’ve already seen gods from multiple pantheons, and the action looks like it could be a lot of fun!

The only thing I’m not sold on is the cube. I’m really not sold on the cube. The rest looks interesting, but… the cube…

No release date was announced at all, so at least it’s not coming out on September 24-25. Seriously, why are the three games I’m most interested in from this State of Play all coming out within those two days?

Anyway, those were the highlights for me. What stood out to you the most from the State of Play?

Nine Sols is a (Very) Challenging, Rewarding Platformer

 Reviews, Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: ,
Jun 012026
 

It’s been over 4 years since we talked about the demo for Nine Sols, the most recent game from Red Candle Games.

It came out in 2024, and since I backed the crowd-funding campaign, I got a copy at launch.

But since my backlog is large and terrifying, I put it off and put it off (aside from briefly starting it)… until this year I finally started it properly and played it through to completion.

And you know what? It’s a hard game.

Nine Sols is a 2D action platformer. I’m not sure if it strictly meets the definitely of being a Metroidvania, but it’s definitely got some of those elements as well. There’s a lot of exploration, with upgrades to find and items to return for later.

Combat, meanwhile, has a strong emphasis on parrying. You will learn how to parry. Especially for bosses, learning the timing to parry each attack and then countering with a talisman attack often became the core of the fight. And it’s quite a challenge; I quickly got used to dying over and over.

(Nine Sols uses the Souls-like system where you lose your exp and money upon death and need to retrieve it from the spot where you died or the enemy that killed you, but fortunately, once you’ve gained enough exp to earn a skill point, the point stays even if you haven’t spent it yet.)

The gameplay is fun and challenging, and just like I noticed from the demo, there’s a good amount of story here, too. Early in the game, you reach a hub area, and a few different characters join the hub as you progress. Different conversations with these characters unlock as you give them gifts, and I loved returning whenever I had a new item to give someone (especially Shuanshuan, whose interactions with the main character are adorable).

There are a lot of bittersweet moments in the story, but also many heartfelt ones. The ending even made me tear up. I’ll probably be thinking about these characters for quite a while.

My one criticism is that I wish it was just a little shorter, since right about the point where I felt it had been a good length for this sort of game, I realized I still had a few more areas left to go. Still, that’s a minor complaint.

Overall, I’m happy I backed Nine Sols, and I’m happy I finally played it. I’ll be looking forward to whatever Red Candle Games makes next!

New Witcher 3 Expansion Announced

 Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
May 292026
 

What year is it? I’m not sure, but CD Projekt RED announced a new expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Titled “Songs of the Past,” it will be out in 2027 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

This expansion has actually been rumored for a long time. It felt hard to believe when the rumors first came out. A 2015 game getting story DLC over ten years later? But the rumors kept circulating, and now it’s official.

There’s no word yet on what the expansion will be about, but more details will be out this summer. It feels plausible that it will connect to the upcoming fourth game in some way, but that’s still just speculation.

You know, now it doesn’t seem quite as bad that I haven’t played The Witcher 3 yet. See, I was just waiting for all the DLC to come out first!

What do you think about the new Witcher 3 expansion?

 Older Entries