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Marvel’s Midnight Suns is a new Avengers tactics game

Marvel’s Midnight Suns was announced today at the Gamescom 2021 Opening Night Live. Developed by Firaxis, Midnight Suns will be a tactics game where players will play as a newly created character known as The Hunter. It was revealed that this character was created for this game by Firaxis with approval from Marvel.

The Hunter will be a fully customizable character who will fight alongside iconic Marvel characters. Some characters revealed in the trailer were Wolverine, Doctor Strange, Ironman, The Gloom, the Robert Reyes Ghost Rider, and Blade.

The trailer showed off the various Marvel characters resurrecting The Hunter, who they need in order to help fight their mother, Lilith, the Mother of Demons. Midnight Suns will also have an emphasis on character relationships. Which characters you bring to battle and who you talk to in the game will shape the relationship you will have with them.

The trailer also showed off the iconic Marvel characters wearing costumes with magical runes on them. This might be a nod to the Original Sins comic crossover event from 2014. The title for the game itself, Midnight Suns, is a reference to a group of magical heroes in the Marvel Universe.

Midnight Suns is being developed by Firaxis, a company known for its iconic tactics series XCOM. The trailer did not show off any gameplay content, but players can expect something similar to the XCOM games. During the Opening Night Live event for Gamescom, it was announced that a gameplay trailer will be released on September 1.

Marvel’s Midnight Suns will be released on March 22.

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Andrew Zucosky
Andrew has been playing video games since he was a small boy, and he finally got good at them like a week ago. He has been in…
The best video games of December 2022: Midnight Suns, High on Life, and more
Hulk shouts at an enemy in Marvel's Midnight Suns.

While December is historically a quiet month for the video game industry, that was not the case in 2022. Delays caused several AAA games to launch in the final month of the year, while some charming indie titles also tried to carve out a spot for themselves in what would turn out to be a surprisingly busy month. While a couple of this month's releases were hit-and-miss, the December 2022 game lineup featured a diverse array of experiences that will please players of all kinds across all platforms. 
In particular, seven titles stood out to us most throughout December. From an ambitious Marvel RPG to a simulator 20 years in the making, these are the games released in December 2022 that you should check out. 
Marvel's Midnight Suns
Marvel’s Midnight Suns - Release Date Trailer | D23 Expo 2022
Superhero games aren't a rarity nowadays, but few are as ambitious as Marvel's Midnight Suns. Created by the former XCOM team at Firaxis Games, this is a full-blown Marvel RPG where players can spend a lot of time getting to know characters from the Avengers and beyond. On top of that, battles are fun turn-based strategy affairs where cards are used to perform special abilities, and players can explore a large open world around their Abbey home base in-between missions. At 40-plus hours, it's a long game that takes a while to get going, but any Marvel fan will appreciate the solid worldbuilding and deep gameplay once they get into its rhythm.
"Even at a time where Marvel is more popular than ever, Marvel’s Midnight Suns finds a way to stand out by going the extra mile," I wrote in a four-star review of Marvel's Midnight Suns. "The boring level design and issues with Abbey exploration can dampen an otherwise fantastic experience, but my appreciation for these characters and the well-thought-out nature of the card-based combat encouraged me to play until the final hours."
By finding a middle ground between XCOM 2, Persona 5, and Slay the Spire, Firaxis created a game that has all of the hallmarks of a solid Marvel experience, but in a way that still feels fresh. It's worth checking out if you are a fan of Marvel, card games, strategy games, or RPGs. Marvel's Midnight Suns is available now for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S, and is in development for PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. 
Need for Speed Unbound
Need for Speed Unbound - Official Reveal Trailer (ft. A$AP Rocky)
Need for Speed Unbound's launch earlier this month might have been muted, but that has no bearing on the game's quality. While its trying-way-to-hard-to-be-hip dialogue will get on your nerves after a while, this is a fun street racing game with a wide selection of cars, lots of customization, and tough AI opponents. Those latter three elements always make for an entertaining racer, and Need for Speed Unbound sticks out even further thanks to its distinct cel-shaded art style. 
"The racer eventually hits its limits due to sometimes cringe-inducing writing and repetitive objects, but the ride there packs in a lot of fun," my three-and-a-half star Need for Speed Unbound review explains. "Need for Speed Unbound is surprisingly challenging, making each race important and engaging, and it has a lot of style. During this gap between Gran Turismo 7 and next spring’s Forza Motorsport, this open-world racer refuels a series that has been running on fumes."
While you'll get the most out of Need for Speed Unbound in single-player, it also features an open-world multiplayer mode for those who want to race around a city based on Chicago with their friends. There haven't been any major racing game releases this fall, so this game thankfully fills that void quite nicely. Need for Speed Unbound is available now for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. 
High on Life
HIGH ON LIFE - Official Game Trailer - Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase 2022
Rick and Morty creator Justin Roiland's game studio Squanch Games just launched High on Life, a Metroid Prime-inspired sci-fi shooter where every weapon can talk (and spout quips). It's a comedy game first and foremost, so your mileage will vary depending on your sense of humor. Thankfully, it's also fun to play. 
"Like Rick and Morty’s Pickle Rick episode, High on Life doesn’t build to a grand punch line," Giovanni Colantonio writes in his three-and-a-half star review of High on Life. "It’s more focused on those immediate hits of fun that’ll keep players entertained in the moment — you probably remember “I’m Pickle Rick!” clearer than any actual plot details of that episode. Satisfying combat, smooth traversal, and a smattering of hilarious vignettes make for an admirable adventure game whose individual parts are more memorable than the full picture."
If you enjoy watching a good episode of Rick and Morty or playing Metroid Prime, High on Life is one of the more novel and refreshing releases this month. Comedy games are inherently divisive, but it's nice to see Squanch push the boundaries of what humor in a video game can look like. High on Life is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S via Xbox Game Pass. 
The Callisto Protocol
The Callisto Protocol - The Truth of Black Iron Trailer
The Callisto Protocol, Glen Schofield's spiritual successor to Dead Space, finally released this month. While reception has been mixed due to some tech issues and divisive combat, it still provides lots of scares, gross gore, and top-notch visuals on current-gen platforms. It's a fairly short experience, so you should see everything the game has to offer in under 10 hours. It also features a star-studded cast featuring the likes of Josh Duhamel, Sam Witwer, and Karen Fukuhara.
"The Callisto Protocol does more than enough to scratch the Dead Space itch that’s been lingering for a decade," Colantonio claims in his three-and-a-half-star review of The Callisto Protocol. "It’s familiar without feeling like a rehash, putting its own creative stamp on the horror genre. It’s not without its fleshy weak spots though, as overworked combat and performance instability leave room for the new IP to mutate into something more powerful down the line."
For those looking for one more solid horror experience before the year ends, The Callisto Protocol provides that in abundance. Although it doesn't seem like it will outright replace Dead Space in horror gamers' hearts anytime soon, playing through the game seems like a nice way to whet your appetite ahead of the Dead Space remake's release in January 2023. The Callisto Protocol is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Chained Echoes
Chained Echoes - Launch Trailer
Retro-inspired JRPGs aren't a new concept, but the games that get it right can be just as fun as the classics. Thankfully, Chained Echoes is a nice throwback RPG. Solid pixel art backs up interesting worldbuilding that blends fantasy and sci-fi, and the battle system centers around an Overdrive meter. Using attacks will fill the meter, and moving into a certain sweet spot will buff your attacks; use too many though, and you'll overheat and get debuffed, forcing you to use attacks that move you back down the meter.
It's a clever way to balance the risk-and-reward systems seen in RPGs like Bravely Default, but it also keeps things engaging as players aren't locked to just one attack or battle option with Overdrive. Of course, lots of other gameplay elements, as well as a hefty amount of story and overworld exploration, keep this RPG experience fresh over time. For an RPG mostly made by one person, it's quite impressive. Chained Echoes is out now for PC, Mac, Linux, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. The game is also available via Xbox Game Pass. 
Dwarf Fortress
Dwarf Fortress Steam Edition - Launch Trailer
Dwarf Fortress is a 20-year-old game that's never looked this good. It's hard to explain in its entirety, but in essence, Dwarf Fortress is a fantasy simulation game where players build and manage a colony of dwarves. Its open-ended nature makes it a great simulator for emergent fantasy storytelling. Previously, Dwarf Fortress was a freeware game with minimalist ASCII graphics that gained a cult following as developer Bay 12 Games slowly updated it over the past 20 years.
This month, a version of the game with more contemporary graphics hit Steam and itch.io, making Dwarf Fortress more accessible than ever. It's a very daunting game to get into because of its complex systems and overwhelming UI, but once you get the hang of it, it's really hard to put down. Dwarf Fortress is available now for PC via Steam and itch.io. 
Aka
Aka - Announcement Trailer - Nintendo Switch
Aka is the best chill and wholesome game of this month. Players control a red panda living its life in a tropical archipelago after fighting in a war. The game can get quite somber in tone at times, but it typically has a positive, reflective outlook on life. It balances relaxing exploration with crafting and gardening to create an experience that might not be groundbreaking, but is always entertaining. This is a cute little indie game that's not getting that much attention, but it should be on your radar if you enjoy wholesome games, life and farming sims, or red pandas. Aka is available now for PC and Nintendo Switch. 

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Every video game delay that happened in 2022
A space explorer stands in front of a mountain range in Starfield.

Ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, video game release dates have become less and less certain. While developers have had time to adjust, working from home still has its challenges, and sometimes release dates are just too ambitious for development teams to meet. We saw plenty of delays in 2020 and 2021, and 2022 turned out to be no different.

Like the years prior, dozens of games were pushed back throughout 2022. Some got delayed by just a couple of months, while others fully slipped into 2023 and beyond. If you're curious about every game that has been delayed throughout 2022, we've been keeping track. Now, we have a comprehensive list of every video game delay that happened this year, sorted by their final release date or window.
King Arthur: Knight's Tale (April 26)

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Marvel Snap’s Winterverse event introduces new cards, variants, and more
Marvel Snap art highlights Winterverse variants for Rogue, Ebony Maw, Patriot, and Rockslide.

The latest Marvel Snap update kicks off the Winterverse event, bringing many holiday-themed variants and brand-new cards to the mobile card game.
The two new cards coming to Marvel Snap this week are Darkhawk and Sentry. Darkhawk is a superhero who first emerged in the 1990s and has a techno-organic body with glider wings. In Marvel Snap, he's a 4-Cost, 1-Power Ongoing card that gives +2 Power for each card in the deck of your opponent.
Meanwhile, Sentry is a hero that was introduced in 2000 that has Superman-like abilities, but is connected to an evil entity called the Void that's just as powerful. In-game, that translates to Sentry being a 4-Cost On Reveal card with 8-Power that can't be played at the right location, as playing Sentry will cast a -8 power Void card there.
https://twitter.com/MARVELSNAP/status/1605269381176758272
We don't know if Sentry and Darkhawk are Series 3, Series 4, or Series 5 cards yet. It will take some time for Marvel Snap's meta to evolve and really prove whether or not Darkhawk and Sentry are all that useful, but they do both have interesting abilities. Regardless, keep an eye out for them in Collector's Reserves and in the Token Shop.
They're not the only part of the Winterverse event, though. From December 20 until January 2, Second Dinner is giving away in-game awards for logging in each day. These range from 100 credits to a special Nick Fury card variant featuring Samuel L. Jackson's signature. Five new winter-themed card variants will also start to show up in the shop and Collector's Reserves. You can now find Winterverse cards for Abomination, Ebony Maw, Patriot, Rockslide, and Rogue.
A Winterverse bundle that includes a Sunspot Winterverse Variant, Avatar, 2000 Collector's Tokens, 8000 credits, 100 Sunspot Boosters, and a "Tacos After This?" title will be added to the shop in the coming days as well. 
Marvel Snap is available now for iOS, Android, and PC, and it even made Digital Trends' best games of 2022 list.

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