Today marks the 10th anniversary of the launch of the first Layers of Fear, and for fans, developer Bloober Team is celebrating in the best way possible: by announcing a new entry. Layers of Fear 3 is officially on the way. 

A live-action teaser trailer features a man reciting William Blake’s poem The Sick Rose, which is all fans have to decipher meaning from regarding what Layers of Fear 3 entails. The trailer did not reveal gameplay, a release window, or platforms, but we did at least get a logo for the game. Some might say that’s something.

“Layers of Fear is a franchise coming straight from our hearts and a beloved Bloober Team story,” says Bloober Team CEO Piotr Babieno in a press release. “The one that we keep on narrating since decade, it was the project that shaped our studio’s identity and set us on the path of crafting unforgettable psychological horror experiences. Ten years have passed, but we’re far from saying the last word - now we are revealing something new in the franchise. We hope it will plant a seed of excitement for the fans of this title.”

Bloober Team revealed more 10th anniversary goodies. For starters, the Layers of Fear games are being discounted. The first game is 90 percent off right now, and on Friday, the 2023 reimagining will be discounted by 60 percent (but those who own the 2016 game can get this in a bundle for 70 percent off). A series of novels based on the franchise is in the works; the first is written by Marta Bijan and will be released at the end of the year. Fans will also be treated to digital and physical soundtracks for Layers of Fear and other Bloober Team games like The Medium and Cronos: The New Dawn. 

In addition to Layers of Fear 3, we also know that Bloober Team is making a remake of the first Silent Hill game. It'll be interesting to see which game arrives first. In the meantime, be sure to check out our review of the original Layers of Fear for the 10th anniversary and read our review of Bloober Team's most recent release, Cronos: The New Dawn. 

Welcome to Friday the 13th – the spookiest day of the year! In honor of the occasion we're playing mostly... not scary games. Unless you consider failing a nongram puzzle scary. Or you don't like cats? The new God of War game has some monsters in it. That's something right? Crisol, actually, is pretty dang creepy, so that counts. There you go.

In any case, it's time for the weekend and our usual recommendation of games and things you should check out! But before that, here's a recap of the biggest stories of the week:

• Everything Announced At The February PlayStation State Of Play
• Castlevania: Belmont's Curse, Made By Konami And The Dead Cells Devs, Launches In 2026
• Santa Monica Studio Is Remaking The Original God Of War Trilogy
• Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 Finally Frees Guns Of The Patriots From Its PS3 Prison
• Blizzard Is Bringing The Warlock Class To Diablo IV: Lord Of Hatred, Diablo II, And Diablo Immortal
• Highguard Developer Wildlight Entertainment Confirms Layoffs At The Studio

The Games You Should Check Out This Weekend

Crisol: Theater Of Idols

Wesley LeBlanc

Crisol: Theater of Idols is, so far, a pretty decent time. It’s what I would lovingly describe as Double-A, and if you’re a fan of the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era of games and gameplay feel, I think it’s a horror adventure you should check out. I’m only a few hours in, so I reserve the right to change my opinion when I play more, but it’s a Resident Evil-like survival horror game with a unique spin on it. That spin is that your guns use your blood as ammo, so in order to reload your weapons, you’ll need to sacrifice some of your health, creating a fun push and pull of tension between your survival and the life-like puppet in front of you swinging a blade. Its story is… well, it’s there, and things are happening, but it hasn’t drawn me in just yet. Part of that is because the voice acting feels a bit all over the place and is pretty much always over the top. Still, Crisol: Theater of Idols riffs on a Spanish-Gothic style of Catholicism that has been interesting to look at in the opening hours. I look forward to seeing what else it has in store for me.

CiniCross

Kyle Hilliard

I was not following CiniCross prior to release, and frankly, I was a fool! It merges a genre I love (nonogram a.k.a. Picross puzzles) with a genre I like (rogue games), to create something that I don't want to stop playing. Basically, you complete nongram puzzles as quickly as possible to acquire upgrades that you must choose between to improve yourself so that you can survive until the final floor. It has some faults. I have hit some consistent game-crashing bugs (which are particularly painful in a rogue game), and I don't love the music and sound effects, but I adore the core mechanics and dark aesthetic. I have been playing on my Steam Deck and haven’t had this much trouble putting the device down since it was my Vampire Survivors machine when I first acquired it. I don't know that this is the game that will convince you love nonogram puzzles, but if you do love nonogram puzzles like I do, I hope I've convinced you to check it out.

Mewgenics

Charles Harte

I've spent about 90 hours with Mewgenics at this point, and I still have no clue how much longer it will take me to reach the ending. It's a massive game, but its stellar combat is worth your time (though it's up to you whether you want to invest as many hours as I have). It's a turn-based, grid-based roguelike where you command a squad of four cats through various wacky environments, from the sewers to the surface of the moon. Cats are each equipped a collar at the start of the run, which assigns them a class like Tank, Cleric, or Hunter, and abilities are so randomized that each experience is not only very different, but fun in a new way. The way two cats' passives might interact or the way an equipped item can completely transform a build is consistently engaging. It's also just tough enough to keep you engaged, as any battle can go sideways quickly if you lose focus. It also has a fantastic soundtrack that continues to expand the further you progress. I don't love the humor (too many poop jokes) and I find the cat-breeding mechanics in need of some quality of life upgrades, but most of the game is combat, and that combat rocks enough that Mewgenics is worth playing.

God Of War Sons Of Sparta

Kyle Hilliard

I am on the review for God of War Sons of Sparta, so look out for a proper scored review the game soon. As of this writing, however, I am about an hour in and I am so far enjoying the experience of getting a glimpse into Kratos' childhood. I have played every God of War game at release (even God of War: Betrayal, the pre-smartphone mobile game) and at this point I feel like I have lived his life alongside him. He's been through hell (often literally) but I like this chance to see him before it all went wrong. I also appreciate the framing of him telling his daughter, Calliope, a story. She is crucial to his life, but we've really only seen how she affected Kratos in God of War: Chains of Olympus for PSP.  Turns out he doesn't really like to talk about the most devastating event of his entire life. The action has a few shortcomings and some stiffness, but I am eager to get a better handle on it and see all the game has to offer.

Overwatch

Brian Shea

Seven years ago, this would have been my weekly recommendation of what to play – after all, I did put over 1,000 hours into the original Overwatch – but if you told me coming into 2026 that I'd be back into it, I would have laughed at you. But here we are; Overwatch's recent complete overhaul, which saw the game stripped of the "2" in its title, made me curious enough to jump back in. As a regular player from 2016 to 2019, Overwatch sits near the top of my personal favorite games of all time, but following the announcement of Overwatch 2 back in 2019, the title fell off hard. Content slowed to a drip as the team focused on Overwatch 2's story content, most of which never saw the light of day. Then, when Overwatch 2 arrived, I still enjoyed it (I gave it an 9 out of 10, after all), but it was a far cry from the novelty and excitement surrounding the original game during those first several years.

This reworking of the entire game is so much more than just a simple title rebrand; in addition to a more prominent story, complete with Blizzard's famously great cinematics, it's also refocusing on what players love. A permanent 6v6 mode is there for those who favor the original Overwatch team compositions. A ton of new heroes are joining the roster this year (including five heroes just this week), completely flipping any existing Meta on its head. And speaking of Meta, the new Conquest Meta Event has you pick a faction and fight for it over the course of a five-week event, earning rewards every step of the way. As someone who hasn't played the game for several years now, I'm struggling to not only rewire my rusty muscle memory, but also relearn my favorite heroes, as many of them have received reworks in my absence. It's a little overwhelming, and many of my old strategies now fail, but I'm having a blast dipping my toe back in. And when I am able to go on a run as one of my old favorites, I'm reminded precisely why I fell in love with this game in the first place.

It's another jam-packed week of The Game Informer Show! Sony stepped onto the virtual stage this week to lay out its roadmap heading into this summer, so Kyle, Wesley, Charles, and Eric got together to talk through all the big announcements.

After the break, stay tuned for Charles' impressions of Pokémon Pokopia, a very chill take on Pokémon life. Then, we have review impressions of the haunting Reanimal and Romeo Is A Dead Man, and even a little surprise indie recommendation at the end!

The Game Informer Show is a weekly podcast covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for chats about your favorite titles – past and present – alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry.

Watch the video version here:

Follow our hosts on social media:

• Kyle Hilliard (@kylehilliard)
• Wesley LeBlanc (@wesleyleblanc)
• Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
• Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)

Jump ahead using these timestamps:

00:00 - Intro

00:50 - State of Play Reactions

58:06 - Pokémon Pokopia Preview

1:20:29 - Reanimal Review

1:35:07 - Romeo Is A Dead Man Review

1:44:22 - CiniCross

Warhorse Studios has surprise-dropped a free Kingdom Come: Deliverance update on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S that brings the game up to Ultra Quality-like PC visuals on consoles. That includes 60 FPS performance, 4K resolution upscaling, improved textures and assets, and more. 

Out now, this update is free to all existing owners of Kingdom Come: Deliverance on PlayStation and Xbox, and if you don't already own the game, you can pick it up on digital storefronts for $29.99. In a new "Next-Gen Update" trailer highlighting the game's PS5 and Xbox Series X/S enhancements, Warhorse reveals Kingdom Come: Deliverance has surpassed 10 million copies sold, which is more than double the 4 million copies sold of its sequel, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II (which was my Number Two game of the year in 2025). 

Check it out for yourself in the trailer below: 

My Quick Kingdom Come: Deliverance Next-Gen Update Impressions

As you can see, Kingdom Come: Deliverance is looking better than ever. I adored Kingdom Come: Deliverance II last year, but I had actually never played its predecessor. With how much I enjoyed Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, I'm happy to report that in my early hours with this updated version of the first game, I'm having a great time. Something I especially appreciate is that Warhorse seemingly held great restraint when essentially remastering this game – it looks very much like the original release, but is just a bit easier on the eyes. The artistic vision of that first game remains intact, and based on comparisons I've been seeing, there aren't any major changes that disrespect what the original developers accomplished more than half a decade ago. 

To me, that is an ideal enhancement update: make it run better, increase the resolution, and lightly touch up the other areas of the game. It's okay if that knight still kind of looks a little wonky – it's the knight your original players of the 2018 came to enjoy seeing on their screen, and I like that this update upholds that. Even the gameplay matches that of the original game, and while that's for the worse when compared to the across-the-board improvements made in Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, it's nice to experience this game with a new coat of paint and come to understand the context in which its fans came to enjoy it. 

It's why, when I watched Dragon Ball Z for the first time in the late 2010s, I chose the original version– not Kai, which essentially trims the filler and remasters the visuals. Dragon Ball Z is a beloved anime, and I wanted to see it the way its long-time fans originally did; I appreciate Goku's adventures more because of that. I imagine I'm going to roll credits on Kingdom Come: Deliverance on my PS5, feeling the same. 

In the meantime, read my Kingdom Come: Deliverance II review to find out why it was one of my favorite games of 2025, and then read Game Informer's review of Kingdom Come: Deliverance to learn what we thought of it in 2018. 

For more information about this update, you can check out the full patch notes here. 

Are you excited to check out this update for Kingdom Come: Deliverance? Let us know in the comments below!

An unexpected publisher stepped into the spotlight during yesterday's PlayStation State of Play presentation. That publisher was Konami, a once-prominent developer and publisher of video games that, in recent years, has come under fire from gamers for largely neglecting its multiple iconic franchises. Yesterday's State of Play served as a reemergence party of sorts for the publisher, as the company announced multiple projects, including the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2 and Castlevania: Belmont's Curse. Fans expressed excitement after learning these iconic franchises still have pulses, and today, it would seem Castlevania may not only have a pulse, but potentially a new lease on life.

Following its block on the State of Play, Konami updated its Castlevania Portal Site with the following message regarding Castlevania's 40th anniversary:

The doors of Castlevania open once more.

This year marks the 40th anniversary since the original ‘Akumajō Dracula’ first saw the light of day. In this commemorative year, “Castlevania” will be revived.

First up is this title: ‘Castlevania: Belmont's Curse’.

We couldn’t think in other studios to work together rather than Evil Empire and Motion Twin, studios brimming with talent and passion, to deliver a new exploration-based 2D action game that captures the essence of Castlevania while bringing fresh innovation.

This is the beginning of numerous new products around Castlevania.

Look forward to the return of the magnificent “nightmare” lurking in the darkness.

- Castlevania series Production Team

In addition to this message, Konami also released a YouTube video featuring the official Castlevania 40th anniversary logo, which plays off the key art from the original Castlevania. It also features a ton of Castlevania imagery, which could potentially hint at what's next for the franchise. You can view that video below:

The last true Castlevania release arrived in 2014, with Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2. Since then, Castlevania has crossed over with Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Vampire Survivors, and Dead Cells, but the series has been largely dormant outside of retro collections, re-releases, and cameos in other games. That will change later this year when Castlevania: Belmont's Curse arrives on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC.