Operation Backlog Completion 2026

Donkey Kong Bananza Direct Announced for Wednesday

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Jun 162025
 

I was a little disappointed that we got through “Not-E3” week without a Nintendo Direct, and while we still don’t have a general Direct announced, we do have a game-specific one.

Nintendo has announced a 15-minute Donkey Kong Bananza Direct for this Wednesday, June 18, at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET.

Of all the games shown when the Switch 2 was announced, Bananza interested me the most (just not enough to drive me to buy a Switch 2 at launch). I’m looking forward to learning more about it in the Direct and hopefully seeing more of the gameplay loop beyond destroying things to find collectibles.

That was my one concern about it from what they showed so far, that the gameplay looked like it could get repetitive. I’d like to see more of the platforming, for example.

Meanwhile, I also have my fingers crossed that we’ll get a general Direct after this. In the past they’ve sometimes done a game-specific presentation and then a full Nintendo Direct a week or two later, so I’m hoping that happens again. (Although… with all the games I have in my backlog, I’m not sure why I’m so eager for Nintendo to show me games I’ll want to buy a whole new system for.)

What are you hoping to learn from the Donkey Kong Bananza Direct?

Details on Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian Revealed

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Jun 132025
 

We last talked about Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist and the White Guardian back in November, when it was officially confirmed to be an offline, non-gacha game despite being set in the same universe as the mobile game.

At the time, fans speculated that it would be also have turn-based combat as a contrast to the more action-oriented Atelier Yumia, which came out earlier this year.

Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist and the White Guardian has now been revealed to have a September 26 worldwide release for the PS5, Switch, and PC (plus PS4 in Japan), and the speculation was correct. It looks like it has a more traditional turn-based combat system.

In addition to exploration, crafting, and combat, this game is also adding a new feature into the mix – shop management. Players will sell items at their shop and then invest the money in town development to progress the story.

It looks like a fun game, and it’s interesting to see them releasing two very different types of Atelier games in the same year.

Of course, I’m still nowhere near caught up on my Atelier journey, but I’m excited to see this nevertheless. Will I have played another Atelier game by the time this one comes out? …We’ll see.

(In completely unrelated news, it was announced yesterday that Bloober Team is remaking the first Silent Hill game. Maybe I called an end to Not-E3 season too soon!)

Anyway, what are your thoughts on Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist and the White Guardian?

Not-E3 2025 Part 7: Miscellaneous Highlights

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Jun 092025
 

Table of Contents

State of Play
Summer Game Fest
Ball x Pit: The Kenny Sun Story
IO Interactive Showcase
Wholesome Direct
Future Games Show
Xbox Games Showcase
PC Gaming Show
Miscellaneous

Miscellaneous

We’ve pretty much come to the end of the showcases, so all that remains is to cover a few miscellaneous highlights from the other showcases throughout the weekend. First up, I only mentioned Blighted in passing during the Summer Game Fest post, but after getting a closer look at it later on, it interests me more than I expected. The devs also said it has metroidvania elements, so I’m curious about that.

Then there’s Death and Faeology, which looks like an intriguing murder mystery.

Prison of Husks also seems interesting. Yes, we’ve seen a lot of souls-likes, but this one has a old PS1 sort of aesthetic that makes it stand out.

Wander Stars looks interesting, and I was excited to see a new trailer for Tormented Souls II. I loved the first game, and the sequel looks excellent so far.

And speaking of horror games, Shadow Sacrament: The Roots of Evil caught my attention as well.

A.I.L.A. is another horror game that stood out to me from the showcases.

And while not horror despite its spooky aesthetic, the action-adventure game Nightmare Circus looks like it could be a lot of fun.

I also enjoyed seeing the 3D platformer Junklands and the delightfully titled Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar. Schrodinger’s Cat Burglar describes itself as “a puzzle heist adventure with a quantum flavour” and “Portal with cats,” and if that doesn’t say it all, I don’t know what does. It looks pretty neat.

Finally, I enjoyed watching the trailers for Ayasa: Shadows of Silence, which reminds me a lot of Little Nightmares, and also the puzzle adventure game Ascend. Both of those look like games to keep an eye on.

So while there weren’t a lot of big-name titles that stood out to me from this year’s showcases, it’s nice to have some indie highlights here and there as well.

Meanwhile, that brings us to the end of this year’s Not-E3 (although Konami is having a showcase later this week and Koei Tecmo is hosting a live stream about Atelier Resleriana: The Red Alchemist & the White Guardian) unless Nintendo decides to hold a Nintendo Direct this week after all. What were your biggest highlights from the event?

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