The Digital Insider | Category: Electronic Games

Free Illusion Island Update, Mystery In Monoth, Launches Today

Disney Illusion Island was one of our favorite platformers from last year, thanks to its charming visuals, engaging combat-free design, and toe-tapping soundtrack. If you haven’t checked it out yet, today is a great day to do so, thanks to the free update that adds a brand-new chapter of gameplay.

Mystery In Monoth sees Mickey and friends lend a helping hand to Monoth’s greatest detective, the trench coat-clad Dash Dolphin. In addition to what appears to be new levels packed with platforming challenges, players will get to experience some mystery-solving as well by collecting clues and evidence and connecting them using a classic bulletin board with thumbtacks and red string.

You can return to the land of Monoth to snoop and sleuth when the Mystery In Monoth update drops later today.

Metroid Prime 4 Reemerges With New Gameplay Trailer And Beyond Subtitle

We finally have a look at Metroid Prime 4 outside of just a logo. The game is releasing in 2025 and is officially titled Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. The game has had its various tribulations since its announcement in 2017. It was originally being developed by Bandai Namco, but was later restarted and moved over to Retro Studios, the developer behind the the first three Metroid Prime games.

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Finally seeing the game is action is exciting, but in a way, not surprising. The action is reminiscent of Retro’s other Metroid games (which is a good thing). We see Samus land on a planet clearly in the middle of a battle in a new ship, she moves around, scans elements of the environment, attacks monsters, and turns into a Morph Ball. We all see a tease of a new enemy who has a pair of Metroids floating over their shoulder.

For our review of the recent Metroid Prime remaster, head here.

Super Mario Party Jamboree Revealed

Nintendo has announced the latest installment of the Mario Party series. Super Mario Party Jamboree is a brand-new entry in the franchise, but it’s looking as if the general thrust of play remains mostly intact, with a few notable additions.

The reveal trailer shows Mario and friends descending on a small archipelago of islands that make up a massive resort. Across the many boards, players can encounter 110 different minigames.

Jamboree includes five new boards – Mega Wiggler’s Tree Party, King Bowser’s Keep, Roll ‘em Raceway, Goomba Lagoon, and Rainbow Galleria – plus returning boards from earlier games, including Mario’s Rainbow Castle (From Mario Party) and Western Land (from Mario Party 2). We got to see a bit of how the board games play out in a couple of these locales. Roll ‘em Raceway includes a turbo dice item that allows player Karts to zip forward up to 40 spaces with a good roll. In Goomba Lagoon, a changing tide adjusts the path across the board.

The most surprising addition is the new Koopathlon game mode, which allows up to 20 players to jump in together online. The early gameplay on offer here calls to mind other online party titles like Fall Guys.

Nintendo is touting Jamboree as the largest game in the series. We’ll see how true that is when the game launches for Switch on October 17.

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Marvel Vs. Capcom Collection Wants To Take Us For A Ride Later This Year

In addition to the critically acclaimed Street Fighter 6, which arrived last year, Capcom has been mining its fighting game history with various collections. While collections focusing on series like Street Fighter and Darkstalkers have proven popular, today’s announcement might be the most anticipated collection Capcom can put out, as it is bringing back seven of its beloved Marvel-focused games in one package.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics is a bundle headlined by the iconic Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, but six other titles join the collection, dating back to 1994’s X-Men: Children of the Atom. The full collection includes X-Men: Children of the Atom, Marvel Super Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, X-Men vs. Street Fighter, and side-scrolling beat-’em-up The Punisher.

Marvel Vs. Capcom Collection Wants To Take Us For A Ride Later This Year

Every fighting game in the collection features online play, including ranked, casual, and lobby matches with rollback netcode plus global high-score leaderboards, plus a training mode and spectator mode. The collection also includes a music jukebox, in-game museum, display filters, and more.

Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics arrives physically and digitally on PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC later this year.

The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy Is A New Strategy Game From The Makers Of Danganronpa

In The Hundred Line you are Takumi Sumino, a student who is suddenly enrolled at the The Last Defense Academy when an outbreak of monsters threatens his life and the lives of his fellow students. Takumi is part of a group of students at the school who must defend it against monsters in grid-based strategy encounters for 100 days. The academy is apparently very secretive and you will lose classmates over the course of the game, which is not surprising considering this game is from the creators of the Danganronpa series. In the Danganronpa games, the mortality of nearly every character is always on the line.

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The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy is coming to Nintendo Switch in 2025.

Metroid, Perfect Dark, Zelda, And Turok Come To Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack Today

We recently learned about five Mega Man games arriving on Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy catalog, but Nintendo has recently focused an increasing amount of its catalog efforts on more obscure titles or those that never came to the West. With many of the most classic titles already on Nintendo Switch Online’s various catalogs, the output has decreased significantly. However, during today’s Nintendo Direct, four of the most requested games were announced for release today.

Metroid: Zero Mission, the excellent Game Boy Advance remake of the original Metroid, and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords, the Game Boy Advance remake of the classic SNES title but with a separate co-op campaign, come to Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy Advance catalog. On top of that, Nintendo announced the Nintendo 64 catalog is getting two M-rated entries: Perfect Dark, the GoldenEye 007 spiritual successor from developer Rare, and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.

As a reminder, the NES, SNES, and Game Boy libraries are included in the base Nintendo Switch Online subscription, while Nintendo 64, Game Boy Advance, and Sega Genesis catalogs require you to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscription. As such, to access all of the games announced and released today, you’ll need to subscribe to that premium membership. The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past Four Swords and Metroid: Zero Mission join the Game Boy Advance library today, while Perfect Dark and Turok: Dinosaur Hunter join the Nintendo 64 catalog today.

Nintendo Switch Sports Adding Basketball In Free Update

Hot off the Boston Celtics’ NBA Finals victory last night, we learned of a new way we can step onto the court this summer. Nintendo Switch Sports, the successor to the overwhelmingly popular Wii Sports series, arrived in 2022. While the initial offerings lacked depth and sometimes left us craving more than the base game was able to deliver, Nintendo has stuck with the title and has improved the offerings through free updates. A few months after launch, the title added golf at no additional charge, and during today’s Nintendo Direct, we learned that another free update is coming to the game this summer to add basketball to the mix.

Nintendo Switch Sports’ implementation of basketball uses motion controls to dribble, pass, and shoot. You can participate in two-on-two matches locally, or compete in Five-Streak Battle matches and Three-Point Contests. You can also take part in a solo Three-Point Challenge, where you need to make as many baskets as you can before time expires.

Nintendo Switch Sports’ basketball free update arrives this summer. For more on Nintendo Switch Sports, be sure to read our review of the base game here.

The Dragon Age: The Veilguard Digital Issue Is Now Live!

If you subscribe to the digital edition of Game Informer, you can now learn all about our trip to BioWare for Dragon Age: The Veilguard! Following the cover reveal our digital issue is now live on web browsers, iPad/iPhone, and Android devices.

Alongside our 12-page Dragon Age: The Veilguard cover story, you will also find big features on our trip to Warsaw, Poland to play The Alters, a deep dive on SFB Games the creators of Snipperclips and Crow Country, a look back at Silent Hill with with the developers it has inspired, a feature about how Sony and Microsoft created its specialty accessible controllers, reporting from Summer Game Fest, and lots more! We’ve also got previews for Assassin’s Creed Shadows, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Black Myth Wukong, Star Wars Outlaws, Undermine 2, Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail, and reviews for Senua’s Saga: Hellblade 2, XDefiant, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Crow Country, Minishoot’ Adventures, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, and much more!

If you love print as much as we do, you can subscribe to the physical magazine:

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You get 10 issues for $19.91, or two years and 20 issues for $34.99. Individual issues are also now available for purchase at this link or in any GameStop store.

You can download the apps to read the issue by following this link.

The Plants Vs. Zombies-esque Metal Slug Attack Reloaded | New Gameplay Today

Metal Slug Attack actually began as a mobile tower defense game for iOS and Android devices many years ago, but today, as part of Nintendo’s Summer Direct presentation, it was revealed the game is getting “reloaded” for just about every platform. Also, of note, this game is not to be confused with the other tactical Metal Slug game, Metal Slug Tactics. You can learn more about that game here.

Join Kyle Hilliard and Brian Shea for a look at some early gameplay from the game and learn why it is scratching their Plants vs. Zombies itch.

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Head over to Game Informer’s YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.

Zelda Is Finally The Protagonist In The Legend Of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Out September

For years, fans of the Legend of Zelda have clamored for the titular princess to star in her own game, but even as she’s become a more prominent character in recent entries, the Zelda-led Zelda game has yet to appear on store shelves. In today’s Nintendo Direct, that wish was finally granted; in The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it’s up to Princess Zelda to save Hyrule when Link is captured.

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While the game takes its art style from 2019’s Link’s Awakening remake, this title is not a remake of any kind, and there’s no clear indication that it is connected to Link’s Awakening. In this adventure, Zelda uses a new magic item called the Tri Rod to journey across Hyrule. The Tri Rod can create “echoes” of items, like tables, beds, or boxes, to climb and explore the overworld and its dungeons, but it doesn’t stop there. Echoes of water blocks can be used to swim up and over certain obstacles, while trampolines allow players to easily leap across gaps.

Throughout the gameplay demonstration, Series producer Eiji Aonuma explains that players can also make echoes of enemies, and that these enemies can be used in combat on your side. Zelda captures a moblin to fight some slimes, then uses meat to lure in some bird enemies and summons a deku baba to snap them up. Aonuma goes on to say that there are so many echoes in the game and that he hasn’t even counted them all – we’ll have to learn what the limits of echoes are, if any, some other time.

As the trailer continues we get more glimpses into who Zelda will be interacting with throughout the game, and it includes two kinds of Zoras, some Deku shrubs, a Sheikah person (potentially Impa) and the Great Deku Tree. It also features some 2D platforming and underwater sections, as well as Zelda using birds and plants with helicopter-like leaves to glide.

The game launches alongside a golden Hyrule-themed Switch lite, which you can view in the gallery of images above. Luckily, you won’t have to wait long for either of them: the handheld and The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom will be available later this year, on September 26.