Three free PC games are available to claim and keep today, including a classic immersive sim and a historical railway strategy game.

There is something immediately appealing about Barbarian Saga: The Beast Master. A hand-drawn sword-and-sorcery world filled with creepy creatures, dark magic, cursed weapons and interconnected environments is a pretty good foundation for a Metroidvania. Instead of going down the increasingly familiar gothic fantasy route, Dormidin Studio looks toward the pulpy fantasy adventures of the 1980s, giving Arboria a colourful Saturday morning cartoon aesthetic while still filling it with plenty of monsters, blood and other unsettling imagery.

If you hate losing your best units, then you'll probably want to avoid these brutal Fire Emblem adventures.

MAIN EPISODE - The year is 2455 and Jason Voorhees has been frozen solid for nearly half a millennia.

Absurd, slime-coated, bone-cracking, vomit-inducing body horror designed to disgust the viewer in a similar fashion to Xtro, peppered with influences from Demons and especially Ghoulies. Surprisingly ...

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Here's how the liminal horror could continue.

If you want to get in the right head space before Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, you owe it to yourself to play all of these Metroidvania adventures.

HPP demos Super Cucumber, a precision platformer with cartoony style from Cubicorn Games. A game bursting with 16-bit retro style coming to PC in 2027.

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The NES is filled with great hidden gems in its library. Among them is the awesome action game Shatterhand, which initially made its debut in 1991, bringing with it some hard-hitting excitement. But if you somehow missed it the first time around—or are having trouble tracking down a physical copy—Jaleco has some good news. It’s returning, this time on Nintendo Switch!

In just a few short weeks, we’ll see the return of the legendary Castlevania franchise with Belmont’s Curse, coming to us from Evil Empire and Motion Twin. But before then, players will get a taste of what’s to come from the latest Konami adventure. The official Castlevania X account has confirmed that a playable demo of Belmont’s Curse will launch on all consoles and PC on October 1, two weeks before the game arrives on October 15!

Tearscape is a game of contrasts, and it shows them off within seconds. Its 8-bit pixel art looks like something pulled from a Game Boy Color cartridge, yet the gothic dread and tangled, interconnected world have more in common with Bloodborne. NERDS TAKE OVER makes no effort to disguise either influence, which raises an obvious question. Can a game that looks this nostalgic carry a design this dark, or does one side end up undermining the other?

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HPP drops by the indie.io booth at PAX West 2026, and gets utterly throttled by Dunebound Tactics. A rogue-lite tactical adventure that's coming to PC tomorrow.

HPP tries out Madjack vs Magic at the Indie Incubator, and plays one of the best games at PAX West 2026. A gloriously ambitious hybrid game from String Team.

Barbarian Saga: The Beastmaster Review: Dead Ends and Curvy Wenches   As a huge fan of the Metroidvania genre, I also admit that not every adventure will be a home run. But I still harbor endless, per...

Josh heads to SEGA's booth at PAX West 2026 and gets some hands-on time with Persona 4 Revival. A gorgeous new vision of one of the most iconic JRPGs ever.

HPP spends time playing Portentum at PAX West 2026. A game where every cryptid is part of your deck, and strategy and RNG are both key to your success.

HPP demos Dragon Quest Monsters: The Withered World at PAX West 2026. A zany and engaging JRPG monster collector adventure coming to PC and consoles soon.

HPP learns to love platforming without a jump button in Ladder Lad. A crazy, hilarious and absurd platformer from BUCK Games coming next year to PC and Switch.

HPP demos FINAL FANTASY RESONANCE at PAX West, and comes away excited for this October release. A stunning mix of old and new in this deep JRPG adventure.

HPP's Josh takes a run at fighting zombies in a water park in Lazy River. A wild FPS survival simulation game with cartoony graphics and very angry robots.

HPP checks out WOLFHOUND at PAX West 2026. Although a nearly identical build to the last demo, it's still shaping up nicely as a retro Metroidvania adventure.

HPP demos The Pink Robot at the JOYCITY booth, and comes away pleased with this colorful, cute and emotional rogue-like about a cat saving her human.

HPP's Josh benefits from true Canadian excellence demoing Maximum Thunderness with Berzerk Studio. A wild, fun, multiplayer, rogue-lite arcade adventure.