SmashPad
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We cover games with reviews, previews, streams, and videos to give you our honest impressions on the latest games out there. Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/smashpad YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/smashpad Biz / Pitch: dvictorio@smashpad.com
David Rodriguez takes a deep dive into the latest season of Apex Legends!
UPDATE – Season 30 of “Apex Legends” reinvigorates its world and gameplay in bold ways
A total rework of a classic Legend, big map changes for World's Edge, and much more in Season 30 of Apex Legends!
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"Cyber Rail is a fun time, easy to pick up for shooter fans, hard to put down for those who get sucked into its roguelike gameplay loop." Check out our preview, and download the demo on Steam!
HANDS-ON – Shooter “Cyber Rail” bets big on epic, invigorating parkour
From Torn Ace Studios comes a parkourpunk™ shooter from the future where speed is survival and style is the cream on top. You play as a cool robot cowboy with an arsenal of goodies used to jettison yourself from platform to platform, rack up your kill quota, and escape on your flying train to live and hunt another day. It rewards reflexes, yes, but also an acute awareness of your surroundings so you know just how to enter, leave, and perhaps even stunt all over a given situation. Fans of ULTRAKILL and Echo Point Nova need to try this out.
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"Beast of Reincarnation just has too many problems to recommend it. Beyond the game's stellar graphics and combat, its exploration leaves much to be desired, and it suffers even more from a weak story and a weaker cast of characters." Our review:
REVIEW – “Beast of Reincarnation” is bland outside of great combat
Obviously known for the mainline Pokémon games, Game Freak has its fair share of games outside Pokémon and the Nintendo ecosystem. Unfortunately, whether it's Tembo the Badass Elephant or Giga Wrecker, Game Freak usually doesn't have it all together when it comes to gameplay, presentation, and plot. Beast of Reincarnation is very much in the same boat.
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I enjoyed my time with Big Walk, but I don't ever want to play this kind of game ever again. It's an easy recommendation if you have more than one friend down to play with for the more than 15 hours it takes to beat it, but to many people, those are few and far between.
REVIEW – Not everybody is built for a “Big Walk”
I usually jump at the chance to play and review cooperative games. I absolutely love everything that It Takes Two and everything Hazelight has come out with, my girlfriend and I really enjoyed LEGO Voyagers, and Orbitals is one of my most anticipated games of the year. Big Walk is a much different breed, though, and while I don't dislike the game, it's not for everyone either.
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Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?! - SmashPad Plays youtu.be/I3qNQfixYqk?...
Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?! - SmashPad Plays
YouTube video by SmashPad
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This is a fantastic Splatoon game, and that's exactly what millions of other fans and I were looking for. If you've been wanting to experience this series but wanted a single-player focused experience, this is where you'll want to start. Our review:
REVIEW – “Splatoon Raiders” is the funnest single player experience in the series
If you don't like Splatoon, you won't like this game. That's quite literally the only real criticism here. With the exception of the looting mechanic, this game is essentially just more of the Splatoon formula. If you're looking for innovation here, you won't really find it.
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We're back for another stream as we check out the silliest indie game of the week in Truck-kun is Supporting Me From Another World?! Join us! www.twitch.tv/smashpad
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Truck-kun! Let's crash into a bunch of stuff to save somebody in another world! | Streaming truck-kun is supporting me from another world?!.
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Halo: Campaign Evolved really needed to put out a strong showing to make revisiting this for the third iteration worth the time. What Halo Studios has done is just that.
REVIEW – “Halo: Campaign Evolved” is a nostalgic, but still legendary, adventure
So, with not much changing, and The Master Chief Collection already providing a remastered experience (with multiplayer), Campaign Evolved had a lot to prove as a campaign-only experience. Well, most concerns fell by the wayside, even with the removal of nostalgia lenses. They nailed it. The title speaks for itself: Halo Studios evolved the campaign.
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Rhythm Heaven Groove is a game with tremendous value, no matter how much time you put into it. Our better late than never review:
REVIEW – If “Rhythm Heaven Groove” is the Switch’s swan song, it offers a bow worthy of the loudest applause
If you're the type of person who doesn't mind randomly playing a video game with a friend, family member, or loved one present, they probably already know that you're someone into the medium and will likely won't bother you for the rest of the session. Every once in a while, though, there's a game that'll get the attention of such people, likely to a point where they'll want to join you or at least ask "What are you playing?" To me, that's one of the best feelings in the world, and it's a feat that I think Rhythm Heaven Groove will accomplish whenever it's being played. That's part of why this series is so great.
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Danreb was only in San Diego for one day, but he was lucky enough to try Nintendo Switch Sports Resort while he was there. Check out his preview from SDCC!
[SDCC 2026] HANDS-ON – Two thumbs up to Thumb Wrestling and more in “Nintendo Switch Sports Resort”
Nintendo showed up to San Diego Comic-Con in a big way last weekend. In addition to wraps on San Diego Metropolitan Transit System trolleys, Nintendo Switch Sports Resort took over the bayside area of the Hilton Bayfront that overlooks the San Diego Convention Center. With a huge inflatable arch and a stage that would eventually host creators Dinocornel and The Rizzler, the Hilton was a nice quick getaway from the SDCC madness.
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We’ve been getting a decent amount of Crazy Taxi clones over the past few years from various indie studios trying to find the hook that makes them stand out, and Truck-kun Is Supporting Me From Another World?! seems like the best of them all so far. Our review?!
REVIEW – “Truck-kun Is Supporting Me From Another World?!” brings Crazy Taxi chaos to an isekai
Strange Scaffold has stepped up with Truck-kun is Supporting Me from Another World?!, which brings isekai concepts into a Crazy Taxi-style game where you’re frantically accomplishing goals while your buddy in the other world is fighting monsters based on how well you’re crashing into things.
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Splatoon Raiders - SmashPad Plays youtu.be/iLFAadRmhsM?...
Splatoon Raiders - SmashPad Plays
YouTube video by SmashPad
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Kusan: City of Wolves is kinetic, deliberate, bloody, and fun. There are many ways to play it, which is commendable for individual expression and replayability. I hope it finds an audience and a tight community to show us how the game can really be played. Our review.
REVIEW – “Kusan: City of Wolves” revels in astonishing, kinetic violence in an animalistic world
One-hit deaths, no difficulty or assist options, ridiculous gore, fast reflexes required. Kusan: City of Wolves is about as hardcore as it gets.
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The story mode can provide a challenge for the most hardened shmup vets, the heartstopper mode can offer a casual entry point into the genre for new players, and the arcade mode is there for players who want to experience a little more. Our review of Truxton Extreme
REVIEW – Despite some misfires, “Truxton Extreme” is good at its core
For the first time since 1992, the Truxton series returns with its newest title, Truxton Extreme. With high-octane and vertical shoot’em up action, just how extreme does Truxton Extreme get?
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Our queen of MTG, Marie Ablaza, interviewed Head MTG Designer Mark Rosewater at #SDCC, talking about finding community as a new player, favorite mechanics and best sets for new players, hidden design decisions, learning MTG today, and the question Mark wishes more new Magic players asked!
[SDCC 2026] INTERVIEW – Magic: The Gathering head designer Mark Rosewater talks design for new players, community
As someone who’s only been playing Magic: The Gathering for about two years, getting the opportunity to talk with Head Designer Mark Rosewater at San Diego Comic-Con was both exciting and a little surreal. I didn’t want to approach our conversation as someone trying to sound like a longtime expert; instead, I leaned into my own experience as a newer player still discovering the game.
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While it can be on the shorter side if you're not aiming to crack open every treasure chest, Fading Echo is a fantastic action-adventure game with some simple RPG mechanics for upgrading your combat and traversal skills.
REVIEW – “Fading Echo” is a fluid action-adventure experience
Integrating elements into games is usually an interesting time. Whether it's one of the various types in Pokémon or Persona, or if it's something that enhances your combat abilities like materia in Final Fantasy, elemental features can be fun to mess around with. Fading Echo is a game that allows the player to become one with the elements and use them to their advantage, all while playing as a girl-blob hybrid.
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We played 45 minutes of Phantom Blade Zero and could not get enough of its stunning graphics and engaging sword combat. Check out our preview!
[SGF 2026] HANDS-ON – “Phantom Blade Zero” could be the big action fantasy gamers have been waiting for
When it was announced at the tail end of 2023’s PlayStation Showcase, I had a good feeling Phantom Blade Zero was going to be a title worth watching. As time passed, and journalists, like those at SmashPad, got their hands on the game, I was hoping my chance would come. Well, Summer Game Fest offered the perfect opportunity, and I jumped at it. After playing 45 minutes of the upcoming action RPG, I can say that Phantom Blade Zero is worthy of the hype and, yes, plays just as well as it looks.
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EARLY ACCESS REVIEW – “Tears of Metal” is a thoroughly humbling experience disguised as an invigorating hack and slash roguelike Tears of Metal is the world's premier roguelike haggis and slash. The action is tight, the style is Cool with a capital C, and the progression is intriguing if a little…
EARLY ACCESS REVIEW – “Tears of Metal” is a thoroughly humbling experience disguised as an invigorating hack and slash roguelike
Tears of Metal is the world's premier roguelike haggis and slash. The action is tight, the style is Cool with a capital C, and the progression is intriguing if a little front-loaded. But to enjoy its fruits, you need to have turnips the size of the stones in Machrie Moor.
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We're back to stream as we check out the new Splatoon Raiders to get some loot, upgrade our base, and kill a bunch of Salmonids. Join us! www.twitch.tv/smashpad
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Splatoon Raiders seems cool! | Streaming splatoon raiders.
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OP-ED – Star Wars games are better when they have a point of view Star Wars can support almost any kind of video game. It has sword fights, space battles, military campaigns, criminal underworlds, racing, survival stories, slapstick comedy, and enough unexplored planets to keep open-world…
OP-ED – Star Wars games are better when they have a point of view
Star Wars can support almost any kind of video game. It has sword fights, space battles, military campaigns, criminal underworlds, racing, survival stories, slapstick comedy, and enough unexplored planets to keep open-world designers busy for decades. That range is one of the license’s greatest strengths. It is also a trap.
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We got a chance to play with the newest character from Street Fighter 6 year 4's lineup, and this Filipina is going to be an absolute demon. Check out Danreb's thoughts and his take on her Tagalog moveset!
[EVO 2026] HANDS-ON – Pinoy Pride: New character Yasmine is going to put “Street Fighter 6” back in my regular rotation
I got a chance to play 30 minutes of matches during Evo, and while Street Fighter has never been my forte, I'm eager to jump back in for some more Yasmine fun. In this piece, I'll go over that experience while discussing her known moveset, which is entirely in Tagalog (the primary language of the Philippines).
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The best thing about Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game might be the fact that, first and foremost, it's a good fighting game. All fans of the Avatar have to do is watch it in action to see that it plays great homage to the series. Our review:
REVIEW – “Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game” demands discipline in a fast and intricate FGC experience that exceptionally uses source material
Avatar Legends: The Fighting Game is a little less concerned about catering to casuals and beginners overall and is just a good game first.
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Despite this version possibly being the best one, Final Fantasy X | X-2 Remaster is a buyer beware. Find out why in our impressions that pretty much doubles as an unscored review.
IMPRESSIONS – “Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster” on Switch 2 feels like the definitive way to play, but it comes at a price
Final Fantasy X celebrated its 25th anniversary since its original release on the PlayStation 2, and since then, we've seen it re-released on just about every platform over the next three console generations. Tomorrow, Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster will also be available on the Nintendo Switch 2's eShop, and it feels like the best way to play each of these two classic titles.
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I would highly recommend OPUS: Prism Peak, but not the Switch 2 version, at least not until they iron out the bugs with more patches. Get it on PC instead.
“OPUS: Prism Peak” is extraordinary, but it’s extraordinarily not good on Switch 2
I originally wanted to write and finish this review much earlier than you are reading it now. However, I was forced to wait for a simple reason: the Switch 2 version out of the box was virtually unplayable.
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