When looking at the shifting tides of the gaming industry, few topics spark as much fiery passion and anxiety as the ongoing battle over physical media.
For decades, collecting physical cases, sliding a disc into a console drive, and proudly displaying a game library on a shelf has been a fundamental part of the core gaming identity for many players (including myself). However, as digital storefronts continue to dominate sales charts and corporate executives push for more streamlined ecosystems, the threat of an all-digital future has steadily evolved from a distant corporate dream into a looming reality.
And this was literally confirmed by PlayStation, as they dropped a midweek bombshell announcement revealing that it will completely halt physical disc production for new PS games starting in January 2028. Naturally, physical media lovers and collector’s edition enthusiasts from all around the world experienced a collective meltdown.
However, while social media platforms quickly snowballed into a chaotic frenzy of outrage and confusion, a deeper look into the technical fine print of Sony’s corporate message reveals a slightly more complicated scenario – one that came with a very specific, rather bittersweet catch.
The Corporate Loophole for Legacy Titles
As it turns out, the messaging behind this historic digital transition was delivered slightly differently behind closed doors to PlayStation’s extensive array of global development and publishing partners (thanks for the info, Game File!).
While the headline gave the distinct impression that factories would permanently shutter and lock their doors come 2028, Sony made a point of explicitly clarifying a major exception to the rule: games originally released or planned prior to the January 2028 deadline will still be legally eligible to receive physical disc printings after that date.
“This transition has no impact on games that already released, or will be releasing, prior to January 2028 in disc format,” Sony noted in a follow-up post on the PlayStation Blog shortly after the main announcement, assuring publishers that older catalog titles won’t abruptly vanish from retail store shelves.
Basically, this means that if an acclaimed RPG or a modern multiplayer shooter launches in physical format during late 2026 or 2027, the publisher can comfortably request subsequent retail restocks and additional disc manufacturing runs well into 2028 and beyond.
Sony made a point of explicitly clarifying a major exception to the rule
The strict manufacturing shutdown applies purely to entirely new software projects embarking on their initial market releases after the cutoff date. While that technicality provides a small silver lining for game availability, it does very little to calm the rising nerves of creative teams inside the industry, serving as a clear setup for the slow death of physical media starting in 2028.
Either way, it seems that the countdown to PlayStation’s all-digital era has officially begun, and the physical medium’s days are now numbered for any future generational blockbusters. Personally, I’m definitely saddened by this entire corporate shift, especially since it truly forces us to cherish every single physical copy we can grab from now on before the industry changes forever – I mean, I’m already hugging all the steelbooks and collector’s editions on my shelf really hard. Whether you love the tactile feel of a physical case or simply care about keeping history alive, the next couple of years are going to be a crucial turning point for how we buy and hold onto our favorite games.
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REANIMAL Review
Tarsier Studios proves no one can outmatch their creepiness.
Where does one of fantasy’s most prolific authors see the industry headed 20 years from now? Brandon Sanderson — author of the Mistborn Saga and Stormlight Archive — recently sat down with fellow writer Joe Abercrombie for a lengthy conversation about everything from industry trends to Sanderson’s ongoing work adapting several of his works. One of the final questions in the video posted June 26 posed by a fan asked specifically about the future of the industry. Sanderson offered a surprising theory about “20-year nostalgia cycles” that helps explain why The Empyrean romantasy series, which began with the release of Fourth Wing in 2023, has exploded in popularity.
“Fourth Wing with the 20-year dragon nostalgia cycle is another one I feel like we should have seen [coming],” he said. “Because the early 2000s are when Eragon and How to Train Your Dragon came out right at that 20-year nostalgia cycle for those millennials who had grown up with those. Now, here’s a mature book about fantasy dragon riders for them.”
Since its 2023 debut, Fourth Wing has spent months on bestseller lists, sparked a publishing frenzy around romantasy, and turned Rebecca Yarros into one of the biggest names in fantasy fiction. In May, Amazon’s Prime Video ordered a live-action TV series adaptation. Fourth Wing follows 20-year-old Violet Sorrengail, a bookish young woman forced into an elite military academy where aspiring dragon riders compete in deadly trials to bond with dragons, survive brutal training, and prepare for war. It’s also unabashedly smutty at times.
Millennials were born between 1981 and 1996, so the oldest of us were 22 when Christopher Paolini’s Eragon hit wide distribution in 2003, and the youngest were only seven years old. The first How to Train Your Dragon movie was released seven years later when millennials were between 14 and 29 — the ideal age range for an audience watching an animated movie with surprisingly mature themes. I remember watching it with a friend via the terrible Nintendo Wii Netflix app during my senior year of college, and we were floored that a kid’s movie had that much depth to it. That friend and I were also big fans of Eragon at the time. The fact that I do consider myself a fan of Fourth Wing just proves Sanderson’s point (even though I couldn’t get through Onyx Storm). Dragon-focused fantasy stories were popular two decades ago, and now they’re back in vogue.
Sanderson believes these trends aren’t random. Looking back, he even argued that his 2023 novel Tress of the Emerald Sea arrived just ahead of the cozy fantasy boom, suggesting publishing tastes don’t simply change — they cycle. In a similar fashion, his Mistborn: The Final Empire from 2006 combined fantasy with a heist-focused plot was released right around the same time that Scott Lynch’s The Lies of Locke Lamora came out. Just days ago — almost 20 years to the day — Random House Worlds published The Feywild Job by C.L. Polk, an official Dungeons & Dragons novel that focuses on a heist with cozy romantasy elements woven in. Sanderson’s theory sounds more legitimate the longer you interrogate it.
Sanderson also sees these cycles play out as specific franchises re-emerge.
“We’ve just got a new Hunger Games,” Sanderson also pointed out. “That’s the 20-year nostalgia cycle on The Hunger Games.” The first book was released in 2008. Suzanne Collins went on to publish two prequels in 2020 and 2025. The film adaptation of Sunrise on the Reaping is due out later this year. In the same vein, How to Train Your Dragon got a live-action feature film last year. Eragon also has a live-action series in development with Disney Plus. The cycle begins anew.
Publishing trends are notoriously difficult to predict, but Sanderson argues they aren’t as random as they seem. The biggest fantasy hit of the next decade may not come from inventing something entirely new, but from reimagining a story readers loved in the 2010s.
Related
Brandon Sanderson explains the fantasy mistake that tripped up Game of Thrones
Sanderson shared some of the pitfalls common to epic fantasy like Game of Thrones
SAND: Raiders of Sophie is the new extraction shooter developed by two studios, Hologryph and TowerHaus, and published by tinyBuild. When tinyBuild initially revealed this project back in 2023, it showcased something unique to the extraction genre of the gaming industry. Giant mechs walking in a land of desert dunes- I’m all for it. After three years of development and multiple closed and open playtests, it is finally here. As the extraction shooter genre has grown so much in the past few years, uniqueness holds great value for a title. Apart from that, it should fulfill the core aspects of the genre to attract new players and keep them engaged. The following review is of the current state of SAND: Raiders of Sophie, explaining whether it is for you.
NOTE: The review copy of SAND: Raiders of Sophie was provided by the publisher.
Story and World
Honestly, there is no in-depth narrative for SAND: Raiders of Sophie, nor does the game provide a deep lore directly for the world and the raiders. The main overall plot for the game is that it takes place on Planet Sophie, which was once colonized by the Austro-Hungarian Empire in an alternate history in 1910. After an environmental disaster, the Empire left the planet, which became home to Upiors, hostile creatures. Planet Sophie is now covered in sand with desert dunes everywhere. It is home to deadly sandstorms and Upiors, requiring players to explore the ruins and structures to find any resources.
Gameplay
SAND: Raiders of Sophie is a first-person PVPVE extraction shooter with giant mechs. The walking giant mech is what makes this game unique from other extraction shooters. The giant mech is known as Trampler in the game, and every player gets one. Trampler is more than just a walking mech. It is your fortress and base that you control and manage throughout the raid. Players can customize their Trampler through the editor with numerous options. Moreover, better components for the Trampler can be unlocked from the Tech Tree. Acquiring these advanced parts requires Crowns and other resources you find in the raid.
Currently, SAND: Raiders of Sophie includes two game modes: Voyage Mode and Storm Dive. The Voyage Mode is the casual extraction experience with no time-limit. Players can freely join and extract as they please to gather crucial resources for upgrades. Storm Dive is where all the good stuff is, and it is more chaotic. It is more of a battle royale extraction game mode, where you have to survive the closing sandstorm while looking for loot and extract at the end of the match. This game mode can go on for like an hour and usually ends in a chaotic way, with survivors looking to gun down others.
Keeping your Trampler repaired throughout a match is crucial. Fixing the Trampler after every player or AI Trampler encounter is recommended for survival. Although there are gunfights at close range, it can be jarring with slow reload times. Moreover, limitations like carrying 2 weapons at a time can slow you down in a raid. Apart from the main game modes, there are no in-game merchants or quests to follow for lore or extra resources. A few of the crucial things that this game is missing are bosses and events.
Sound and Visuals
The sound quality of SAND: Raiders of Sophie is great, keeping the overall tension with eerie silence and blazing cannon shots. Moreover, the 1910s-designed firearms have great sound effects, which complement the overall environment and atmosphere. The overall visuals of SAND: Raiders of Sophie are great, highlighting the dangers of a deserted planet. The forts and ruins on planet Sophie also enhance the overall history. Other than that, the textures and combat animations are all great. However, during sandstorms and intense fights, it can cause stutters and performance issues, especially on low- and mid-tier PCs.
Verdict 7/10
SAND: Raiders of Sophie is a good and unique extraction shooter that grants a Trampler to each player. The ability to customize, control, and manage your Trampler while surviving the desert dunes on planet Sophie gives a unique taste to the whole extraction shooter genre. Although the game fulfills the overall generic rules of extraction shooters, there are still many crucial features missing at launch in Early Access. However, if you are in the mood for a unique extraction experience, SAND: Raiders of Sophie provides great value for $24.99.
The legend that is JOTD, who has done many conversions such as Double Dragon, Ghosts’n Goblins, and Xevious, is bringing Capcom’s classic vertical shooter Commando to the Amiga as an enhanced AGA edition. The upcoming conversion leverages the Advanced Graphics Architecture of the Amiga 1200 and 4000, hopefully bringing an arcade-faithful experience that aims to surpass previous home ports. While Elite Systems originally released a well-received ECS/OCS port for the platform back in 1989. JOTD has acknowledged that the classic Elite version remains a quality conversion, noting that the architecture of the game wasn’t overly complex to adapt, making an upgraded, arcade-accurate AGA version an enticing challenge he couldn’t pass up.
JOTD’s updated version
The prominent developer, renowned for high-quality arcade-to-Amiga transcodes like Double Dragon and Ghosts’n Goblins, revealed that this project marks a return to his specialized porting techniques. JOTD explained that he selected Commando specifically to kickstart his Z80 assembly-to-68000 binary conversion efforts again, utilizing the project to fine-tune and perfect his custom-built code translation tools. Just beware however, that JOTD has stated that the conversion is still in its early stages. The current software framework has visual glitches and some bugs, but early previews successfully convey the definitive direction and high potential of the final release.
Original Version
[UPDATE] Great news for a Saturday as JOTD has released another downloadable build with the following being said ” Playable version available (whdload/HD only)! New fixes include blocked paths and buggy scrolling titles, optimizations, awesome albeit incomplete music by IM76, and second button usage for grenade throws. Just be aware there’s missing end level music, highscores are not saved, sprites disappear too soon on the bottom and sometimes missing sprites (palm trees) in the center.
Extra Info :
I needed a simple yet properly coded & reversed game to test my new Z80 converter. Game was disassembled by Scott Tunstall (who also did a few other Z80 ones and which helped me a lot). It was incomplete and I completed it a little bit to be able to convert the code. I wanted to do that game not because I like it (I never played it in the arcades, or even on amiga), also not because the amiga conversion is bad (it is awesome for OCS) but it seemed fun and doable, with a hardware close from Ghosts’N’Goblins. Capcom code has good quality like Konami & Sega but unlike Namco shit, so it seemed easier to do that starting with DigDug or others.”
And that’s all there is to say, so for now check out the beta below
It’s the heights of the British sporting summer with Formula One returning to Silverstone, Wimbledon swishing rackets through its middle weekend, and pubs needing funny opening hours to account for the World Cup.
True to form, it’s also time for another heatwave, so I hope you’re not overdoing it under the clear skies and blazing sunshine.
In the News This Week
Do you like 4.7 inch discs? Well, I’ve got bad news for you.
Games in Review & Featured Articles
Just a couple reviews in the pile for this week:
Away from that, we also had deep dives into Early Access releases for the ambitious open world RPG Fatekeeper and the magical survival game Witchspire.
Things got much darker with the atmospheric Polish folklore feeding into our Dziady preview, we ripped and tore through a look at the ‘flying tank’ action of Doom: The Dark Ages – Revelations, and hands on with the single player focussed Splatoon Raiders.
And we had a couple of blogs and features as I wrote up my experience in getting SteamOS to run and dual boot on my gaming PCs, and Tuffcub shared some hard truths about the announced demise of physical PlayStation games.
And we wrap up for the week with What We Played featuring Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Beastro & Silent Hill 2.
Trailer Park
Dawn of War IV Battlefield Report shows off a full multiplayer battle
Space Marine 2 dev shows off new Turok: Origins gameplay
Virtua Fighter Crossroads new trailer shows the villain of the piece – haven’t we seen him before?
Your Achievements
What have you all been playing through the sweltering conditions?
Andrewww has let his PS Plus subscription drop, and while he’s waiting for the value to improve, he’s realised that was where he was getting access to almost all of his current games. But this has nudged him back to tackle his backlog, starting with Kona 2. And he’s been out and about to see Linkin Park in the pouring rain in Zurich!
And fresh off a trip to Belfast to see The Cure – “awesome gig!” – TSBonyman has been playing Neon Abyss and Deadzone Rogue and having fun with both.
That’s the round up for this week. Hope you have a great weekend and we’ll see you back here on Monday!
Halo’s long-rumoured multiplayer project, commonly known as Project Ekur, has reportedly been cancelled, bringing an end to one of the strangest ongoing mysteries surrounding the future of the franchise.
The report comes from Rebs Gaming, who has spent the past few years investigating the project and its connection to Tatanka, the long-rumoured Halo battle royale project that was reportedly being worked on by Certain Affinity. According to Rebs, multiple Halo Studios employees have now told him that Project Ekur is no longer in development.
As always with Halo rumours, it is worth stressing the obvious: Microsoft and Halo Studios never officially announced Project Ekur, which means there is technically no official cancellation either. This is a cancellation report for a game that was never publicly revealed, because apparently Halo development lore now requires its own forensic department.
Still, there has been enough smoke around this thing for years that it is worth going through what Project Ekur was supposedly meant to be, and how it apparently evolved from one thing into another before being shelved.
The story really begins with Tatanka. Back in January 2022, Windows Central reported that Certain Affinity was working on a new Halo Infinite mode codenamed Tatanka, described at the time as something designed to appeal to players who might not usually jump into traditional Halo Arena or Big Team Battle. Certain Affinity later confirmed in April 2022 that it was “deepening” its relationship with 343 Industries and had been entrusted with evolving Halo Infinite in “new and exciting ways,” although it did not publicly name Tatanka.
Over time, Tatanka was understood to Halo’s battle royale project, or at least something battle royale-adjacent. Reports and leaks suggested drop pods, large-scale maps, squads and a more accessible multiplayer structure. But like many things attached to Halo Infinite’s post-launch era, the project’s direction appears to have changed repeatedly.
By early 2024, reports claimed Tatanka had been cancelled. Game Developer described it as an “open secret” Halo battle royale project from Certain Affinity and 343 Industries that was now reportedly dead, while other reporting suggested the idea had not simply vanished but may have evolved into something else. That something else appears to have been Project Ekur.
According to Rebs’ more recent reporting, Ekur began after the cancellation of the Tatanka battle royale concept, when Halo Studios started looking seriously at how to move the franchise to Unreal Engine. That official move was eventually announced in October 2024, when 343 Industries rebranded as Halo Studios and confirmed that future Halo projects would use Unreal Engine 5, with multiple new games in development.
That is where Ekur becomes especially interesting. Based on Rebs’ source, Certain Affinity was given the go-ahead to prototype Ekur as a way of answering two very important technical questions: could Halo assets from Slipspace and Blam be imported into Unreal Engine 5, and could Unreal be made to actually feel like Halo?
Rebs claims both goals had been achieved by June 2023, with Halo Infinite’s play space and Tatanka’s map imported into Ekur for Live Fire gameplay tests featuring AI. His source also believed September 2023 was the deadline for a full prototype and a decision on whether Ekur would be greenlit as a full project.
That makes Ekur sound less like a simple “new Halo mode” and more like a bridge between old Halo and new Halo. If the report is accurate, the project was partly a technical experiment designed to test whether Halo could survive the jump away from its own technology and into Unreal Engine 5 without losing the feel of Halo itself.
Gameplay-wise, Ekur also appears to have changed shape. In an earlier report, Rebs described it as an extraction shooter project being developed by Certain Affinity. However, in a follow-up video, he clarified that this description was outdated. According to his newer source, Ekur had explored extraction-shooter ideas, but eventually moved closer to what sounds like a “Super Big Team Battle” concept.
The alleged pitch involved players, teammates and a squad of friendly AI exploring a large map, gathering resources and battling other teams. Rebs’ source compared the project’s conceptual foundation more to Halo 5’s Warzone mode than a traditional extraction shooter, though some extraction elements were apparently still present.
That detail matters because it changes the entire flavour of the project. “Halo extraction shooter” sounds like Microsoft chasing whatever genre is currently fashionable. “Large-scale Halo multiplayer with AI squads, resources, Spartans, Elites and Warzone DNA” sounds far more like something rooted in Halo’s own history.
One of the more eye-catching details from Rebs’ report is that Certain Affinity was allegedly pitching playable Spartans and Elites, complete with face, body and armour customization. The armour system was reportedly similar to Halo 4’s customization. If true, that alone would have made Ekur notable, since playable Elites have been one of those features Halo fans have been asking to see properly return for years.
There was also some confusion over who was actually developing Ekur. Rebs initially said Certain Affinity was developing it, but later suggested the studio may have only prototyped the project for Halo Studios. Another source cited by Rebs, Technical Halo, claimed that Certain Affinity was not developing the next Halo multiplayer game, while a dataminer known as Grunt API had reportedly discovered a test server connected to Ekur. Rebs said that server was referred to as a Thunderhead server and was evidence that Ekur still existed at the time.
In other words, the project’s trail seems to go something like this: Tatanka began as a Certain Affinity-led Halo Infinite multiplayer experiment, apparently with battle royale elements. That version was cancelled or abandoned. Ekur then emerged as a new Unreal Engine prototype, potentially using pieces of Tatanka as a foundation. It explored extraction-shooter ideas before reportedly drifting toward something closer to Halo 5 Warzone or a much larger Big Team Battle-style experience. Certain Affinity may have prototyped it, while Halo Studios may later have taken over or folded it into its own internal plans.
And now, according to Rebs, it is dead.
In his latest video, Rebs says multiple Halo Studios employees told him Project Ekur is no longer in development. He says he does not know exactly when it was cancelled or the exact reason why, but he claims some developers from the Ekur team were moved onto Halo: Campaign Evolved last summer because that project was allegedly facing major development problems. Rebs is careful not to say this directly caused Ekur’s cancellation, only that it may explain part of what happened.
That is an important distinction. The safe read is not “Campaign Evolved killed Ekur.” The safer read is that Ekur may have lost staff while Halo Studios focused resources elsewhere, and was cancelled sometime after.
If accurate, it leaves Halo’s multiplayer future in a strange place. Halo Studios has confirmed that multiple Unreal Engine 5 Halo projects are in development, but it has not properly explained what the next major Halo multiplayer experience will be. Rebs speculates that because Halo Studios has said fans can expect an update on the return of the Halo Championship Series, some kind of classic multiplayer experience must still be planned. But even he admits that is only a guess.
For now, Project Ekur sounds like another fascinating Halo project players may never actually get to see. What reportedly started as a way to test Halo inside Unreal Engine 5 became a large-scale multiplayer experiment with AI squads, resource gathering, playable Elites and Halo 5 Warzone influence, only to apparently be cancelled before it was ever officially revealed.
Recentely, it has been reported that a big reason for Xbox’s upcoming culling of its studios is to refocus resources into its biggest teams and franchises, with Halo being one of them.
There’s this funny little Nintendo DS RPG called Contact, developed by Grasshopper and inspired heavily by Earthbound. Its Metacritic score is hmm, and most people I speak to have never heard of it. But I have profoundly fond memories of this silly little game, and it’s all thanks to a jumbled-up used video game bargain bin at a GameStop where I found it at random one day over a decade ago. It cost $5.
Man, I miss those big, disorganized bins of unbelievably cheap, usually mediocre, used video games.
For no reason whatsoever, I’ve been thinking a lot about physical media since yesterday. Specifically, I’ve been thinking about my own physical game collection, and how I’ve slowly moved away from physical games to digital over the years. There are a lot of reasons for that, most of them related to sheer convenience, but it occurred to me that one factor which has contributed to the dwindling of my physical game collection is the decreasingly frequency with which I encounter such bins out in the wild.
They’re not gone entirely. A few GameStops still have used video game racks, and local game stores are often far more fruitful. But as our consumption of everything has slowly become more digital, there is a growing scarcity of the kind of bargain bin I really love: a big, square vat that just has a bunch of stuff thrown in seemingly at random. I used to love digging through these. You’ll start at the top, which is mostly all the sports games no one wants and whatever Call of Dutys are oldest/least popular at the moment. But the deeper you dig, the more interesting things you’ll find. Treasures I manifested from such bins in the past include Evolution Worlds, Ar Tonelico, and several different Art Academy games. I’m pretty sure this is also how I ended up playing the most underrated Tales game, Tales of Legendia. I have incredibly fond memories of all of these, I definitely paid less than $20 for each one back when their respective systems were still relatively current, and I probably never would have encountered them if not for the bargain bin.
With Sony ditching disc games in 2028, I can only assume that the good ol’ used game bargain bin will only continue to fade into memory. Not only will physical games be a far more precious commodity, but deep discounts like GameStop’s classic 4 for $20 are almost certainly gone for good. It hurts my heart to know that the next generation will never have the joy of sifting through about 100 copies of a several-year-old Madden game just to, surprise! find the Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers game and experience its joys for themselves.
Anyone find any good bargain bin games back in the day? Or even now? Tell me about them, please. Let’s keep the memories alive.
Catching common and rare fish in Palia is a crucial step in leveling up the Fishing Guild. It unlocks advanced versions of the Fishing Rod as well as new items and crafting recipes at the Fishing Guild Store. One of the new Epic fish that players can catch is the Dart Eel. This guide will walk you through where to find and catch the Dart Eel in Palia.
Where to Find Dart Eel in Palia
Players can find Dart Eel in the Royal Highlands Rivers at night (9 PM to 3 AM) in the Royal Highlands map region. It is a brand-new fish and can only be found on the Royal Highlands map. There are several spots in the Royal Highlands where players can fish in the Royal Highlands Rivers. One of the best fishing spots to find Dart Eel is the Kestra River. Another great spot for finding Dart Eel is Amber Lake.
How to Catch Dart Eel in Palia
Upon reaching the fishing location of Bahari Bay, you need to start catching fish in the deep area of the lake while equipped with a Glow Worm Bait.
NOTE: Glow Worm Bait is mandatory for catching the Dart Eel. Make sure to equip a Glow Worm Bait on the fishing rod before casting the line into the water.
Cast the line as far as you can with your fishing rod and wait for the bobber to shake three times. As the bobber starts to move after the third shake, reel in the fish by holding the Left-Click Button and moving the mouse to keep the fish inside the brackets to catch the fish.
NOTE: If you spot Amber on the fishing spot, use the arrows to break the Amber. Catching Dart Eel from the Amber spot will give you some Amber Echo as additional loot.
However, if you do not have the Echo Tracker, you will not get Amber Echo from catching Dart Eel or any other fish. Echo Tracker is a special relic that Eshelon gives during the “A Stitch in Time” quest.
Uses of Dart Eel in Palia
The main use of the Dart Eel is to use it for crafting Belafontine’s Blessing V Relic. Other than that, players can sell Dart Eel fish for 940 Gold (Base) and 1,410 Gold (Star-Quality) to Zeki or at the Shipping Bin. Moreover, you can also gift it to certain villagers who like it or who need it as a weekly want. If you catch any Dart Eel fish, store them in the storage so you can give them to villagers who need them. The needs of villagers change every week, so keep your eyes on them. Lastly, you can use Dart Eel as an ingredient to cook various fish dishes.
When God of War Laufey was unveiled a few weeks ago, the titular late wife of Kratos was supposed to be the star of the showcase. Things turned out differently, however, as much of the online discussion was centered around one of Laufey’s sidekicks: a square of goo by the fancy name of Phranque. The sludgy sidekick–voiced by Jack Quaid in one of the funniest mo-cap setups we’ve ever seen–quickly stole the show, whirling and twirling as he helped Faye mow down a mob of foes with shocking agility. The consensus is clear: We stan the cube.
It’s the boy!
Phranque, however, is just part of a long-running legacy of slimes in gaming. These slippery characters have been friend and foe, obstacle and companion, and sometimes even playable heroes. Let’s step back and take a look at the trail of game history our bubbly buddies have left behind.
Slime monsters have been a staple in pop culture for eons, but the creatures’ continued presence across gaming comes primarily from an analog source: the great Dungeons and Dragons. Slime creatures have existed in D&D since its genesis in 1974, but one particular muck-monster has endured in popularity throughout the years: the Gelatinous Cube. This 10-by-10-foot carrion-feeder sweeps dungeons to consume the remains of living things that have perished in the depths.
The famous Gelatinous Cube, now in pinball machine toy form.
The Gelatinous Cube’s appeal is understandable–there’s something fascinating and morbidly humorous about a massive, mindless cube of toxic jelly that feeds on dead adventurers–and the recent uptick in popularity for all things Dungeons and Dragons has given the cube a fresh fanbase (though I wonder if Minecraft’s slimes taking a cubical form has also bolstered the AD&D OG’s profile). Heck, the Gelatinous Cube even occupies prime real estate on Stern’s recent Dungeons and Dragons pinball table. So while Phranque’s relatives may lack intelligence, they’re certainly not lacking in prestige.
D&D would go on to inspire the first wave of computer RPGs, including the legendary Wizardry, which featured slimes as some of your party’s earliest enemy encounters. Other early adventure games, like Namco’s Tower of Druaga and Hydlide, also featured enemy slimes. But it was Wizardry’s success and direct influence that led to the creation of gaming’s most famous slime.
Dragon Quest owes much of its early inspiration to Wizardry. Creator Yuji Horii wanted to make his own game with similar ideas–including the sorts of monsters that appeared. Wizardry had slimes, so it made sense for them to be in Dragon Quest as well. That’s when famed manga artist and illustrator Akira Toriyama worked his magic to create a gaming icon.”Originally when we thought up the slime, it was a pile of goo,” said Horii in a 2007 interview. “We had imagined…an icky pool of slime, but when (Akira Toriyama) came back with that perfectly shaped tear-drop monster, we thought it was perfect.”
Fear them
The baby-blue monster was different from the popular image of slimes. Instead of being a gross, messy pile of sludge, the simple design oozed with charm, greeting players with a big, goofy smile that almost made you feel bad about grinding levels from them. The Dragon Quest slime quickly became the face of the series, becoming even more iconic than many of the human cast members. Through sequels, minigames, and spin-offs, players became able to interact with slimes in ways beyond battle. The slimes even got their own spin-off series of games–only one of which, the excellent Rocket Slime for the Nintendo DS, was released outside of Japan. To this day, the Dragon Quest slime remains an icon, decorating all manner of merchandise with its eternal grin.
After Dragon Quest, video game slime design took a notable turn away from realistic, nature-inspired molds, algae, and snottites to gradually embrace round, jiggly cuteness. You definitely still had old-school slime designs, like the recurring early-game demon recruit in the Shin Megami Tensei series, and creatures like the Final Fantasy series’s Flan monsters mixed anthropomorphic features like big googly eyes with toothy snarls. But mass appeal and marketability for slime characters was definitely in–and a surprise puzzle hit was poised to capitalize on that.
Puyo Puyo from the Switch Sega Ages collection
Puyo Puyo was originally a spin-off of developer Compile’s RPG series Madou Monogatari–a game in which the wobbly, squishy Puyos appeared as enemy mobs not unlike Dragon Quest’s slimes. First released for MSX and Famicom Disk System in 1991, Puyo Puyo would find massive success with an arcade release in 1992 that emphasized a fast-paced versus mode. The rules of Puyo Puyo were simple: Link Puyos of the same color together to erase them, and set up big chains to rain a hail of garbage on your opponent’s playfield. Puyo Puyo played faster than Tetris and was just as easy to grasp, plus it featured a charming cast of delightful weirdos that fans ate up. But the Puyos themselves were the crux of the gameplay, and they became iconic in their own right. Puyo Puyo continues to be one of the most popular falling-piece puzzle games out there, and rights-owner Sega markets the cute little blobs in a variety of ways–including continuing a decades-long tradition of making Puyoman, a sweet treat based on the blobs.
With the newfound popularity of slime monsters in media, it only made sense for a game about critter collecting to feature a globular representative. While Pokemon’s original lineup of 151 beasties drew design inspiration from all manner of sources, Ditto stands out from the pack. It’s a surprisingly basic-looking concept–a somewhat lumpy blob with two beady eyes and a laid-back smile–but its ability to morph into other Pokemon and use their abilities is entirely unique. Despite not being a headliner Pokemon like Pikachu, Ditto has lots of fans–particularly those invested in Pokemon husbandry, as it is a universal mate. And recently, Ditto got to assume the spotlight in Pokemon Pokopia, a building/simulation title where Dittos assume humanoid form to create a lively living space, but are able to utilize their transformation capabilities to learn and use other Pokemon’s skills.
The recent success of Pokopia raises a question: there are lots of games where you interact with slimes in some way, but are there other titles where you are the goo? Perhaps unsurprisingly, it can be difficult to make a game focused on a creature who lacks traditional limbs and movement. That hasn’t stopped developers from trying, however.
One obscure gem in the slime-protagonist genre actually comes from a pre-Pokemon Game Freak. In the early days of the Super NES’s life, Game Freak produced Smart Ball–known as Jerry Boy in Japan–a game about a boy turned into a slime creature. The game has some interesting ideas for how the player character attacks and moves, as you’re able to stretch and cling to walls, as well as absorb (and toss out) items into your gelatinous mass. It’s a charming, colorful platformer that also serves as a good look into what Game Freak was doing before its mega-success–but sadly, the sequel got canceled before it ever released.
Another more infamous example of player-controlled slime is The Ooze, a Genesis/Mega Drive exclusive developed by Sega Technical Institute. Hero Dr. Caine is transformed into a puddle of bubbling green slime as he’s preparing to expose a nefarious plot by his former employer to poison the planet. Not only must he foil the plan, but he also needs to find a way to become human again. Like many Sega Technical Institute games, The Ooze is unique and ambitious but not all that fun to play–controlling the slime-ified Caine is awkward, and managing your supply of goo (which increases your size, and thus, your hitbox) is a messy, frequently frustrating affair. The Ooze is mostly remembered for being a very late console release and having some interesting physics for the time–and, well, being a game starring sludge.
If there’s one section of gaming where slimes are getting plenty of love nowadays, it’s the indie sphere (or cube). One of modern indie gaming’s first breakout hits, 2008’s World of Goo (and its 2024 sequel), has you building structures to solve physics puzzles using a supply of slimes. Slime Rancher 1 and 2 are cozy nurturing sims where you raise, feed, and breed oodles of adorable slimes on colorful planets far away from Earth. Indie developers are embracing slime protagonists. The cutesy co-op souls-like Slime Heroes is available across multiple platforms. Former Epic Games artist Asher Zhu has been showcasing development on a 3D slime game with beautiful visuals.
Slime Rancher
With Phranque soon to be making his mark and an illustrious legacy of gooey glory, one thing’s for sure: as friends or as foes, as blobs, cubes, or slithering piles of mucky mass, Slimes will forever be one of gaming’s greatest monster archetypes.
For those of you who stick by your guns and only go for Native Linux games – here’s some gems that you should be looking to pick up.
All of these games should work on SteamOS machines including Steam Deck / Steam Machine, since they’re actually built for Linux. Not just that, but everything on this list has at least a Very Positive overall rating on Steam – so they should all be great picks. And, everything is under £15 too for those of you watching your budgets.
For this list I’ve also gone for more modern games, only those released in the last few years to keep our listicles like this a bit fresher.
Until Then
60% off – £5.69
A fateful meeting sets off a chain reaction, upending Mark’s life. People disappear and memories prove unreliable. Uncover a hidden truth with Mark and his friends in this narrative adventure and race to unravel the mystery before it’s too late.
shapez 2
40% off – £14.99
Dive into a factory-building game with the focus on just that – building huge space factories! Design sprawling multi-level factories and satisfying production lines without limits. Tackle progressively challenging automation goals at your own pace, without the threat of enemies.
The Drifter
20% off – £13.40
A Pulp Adventure Thriller – A murdered drifter awakens. Alive again, seconds before his death. Hunted and haunted, help him untangle a mad web of conspiracy in this fast-paced point ‘n click thrill-ride.
Halls of Torment
25% off – £4.11
Slay hordes of terrifying monsters in this horde survival roguelite. Descend into the Halls of Torment where the Lords of the underworld await you. Treasures, magical trinkets, and a growing cast of heroes will grant you the power to vanquish these horrors from beyond. How long can you survive?
Two Point Museum
33% off – £14.23
Curate and manage incredible museums! Explore to discover amazing artifacts. Design and refine the layout, keep staff happy, guests entertained, donations plentiful… and children off the exhibits.
OFF
36% off – £7.36
“I’m the Batter. I’ve been entrusted with a sacred mission.” — One of the most influential RPGs of the last 20 years is finally on Steam. Take control of the Batter as he seeks to purify an uncanny and hopeless world haunted by specters, guided by a cryptic, grinning cat called The Judge.
Core Keeper
30% off – £11.19
Explore a vast cavern of creatures, relics and resources in a mining sandbox adventure for 1-8 players. Mine, build, fight, craft and farm to unravel the mystery of the ancient Core.
Selaco
30% off – £14.69
Selaco is a brand new original shooter inspired by classics, featuring thrilling action set pieces, destructibility, smart enemies and a fleshed out story taking place within an immersive game world.
Chapter 2 that’s upcoming sounds awesome – and much bigger. Exciting!
Hollow Knight: Silksong
25% off – £12.56
Discover a vast, haunted kingdom in Hollow Knight: Silksong! Explore, fight and survive as you ascend to the peak of a land ruled by silk and song.
Old Skies
25% off – £12.56
A time travel adventure spanning two hundred years! Dive into the past with time agent Fia Quinn as she embarks on seven trips through time. History is up for grabs, from the speakeasies of Prohibition to the vicious gangs of the Gilded Age to the World Trade Center on September 10, 2001.
Rogue Voltage
30% off – £9.44
The engineering roguelike. Construct your combos by wiring circuits. Build crazy machines to zap the monsters and trigger satisfying chain reactions. Discover devastating synergies and create overpowered builds.
Granvir
25% off – £9.59
Granvir is a 3rd person action roguelite mech-builder with co-op multiplayer. Scavenge the battlefield for parts to replace and upgrade your Granvir and weaponry. PIlot your Granvir and manage your campaign between battles to find the best equipment and stay supplied while fighting a guerilla war.
Cleared Hot
20% off – £10.23
CLEARED HOT is a nostalgic helicopter shooter with satisfying physics and light tactical elements. Shoot, dodge, move your squad around the battlefield, and pick up almost anything with your rope and magnet.
What Native Linux games have you picked up? Feel free to recommend some in the comments.
![Commando – 1980’s military shooter by Capcom is getting an Amiga AGA edition via JOTD [UPDATE]](https://i3.wp.com/blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJhPWEWTRE-l_rPTh6hYlpcKesLvQKztCWtf24EC2PvzIBYFPZBZ3iLWjfGDHNZilIaNb0WDZ9R9L2juZnwLttmqgtIHp5refYDMvUJPPhpMEhCA5fFIhkjbLFWt0D2NiBNjZ5hegLmRqDOp6BIyhll7Kt64hwEHnNM69YQ5txnzEhCB0WTeAW9CMnXZU/w1200-h630-p-k-no-nu/commando.jpg?w=640&resize=640,0&ssl=1 "Commando – 1980’s military shooter by Capcom is getting an Amiga AGA edition via JOTD [UPDATE]")
