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In Falsus Launches 9 September on PC — From Arcaea’s lowiro

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Singapore’s rhythm game community has been waiting for lowiro’s next move since Arcaea carved out its own lane in the genre. That wait ends this Tuesday — In Falsus, the studio’s first all-new original IP since Arcaea, launches on PC via Steam on 9 September 2026. It’s not just a rhythm game: it blends a visual novel story, a card deck-building loadout system, and a soundtrack stacked with names that Arcaea fans will recognise immediately.

In Falsus – Demo Trailer — via lowiro on YouTube

What Is In Falsus?

In Falsus visual novel scene: Nia and another character read documents, dialogue reads 'Wait, it's called AARC?'
Image courtesy of lowiro

In Falsus is set in a near-future world built on a stark premise: no lies are permitted. Emotions are made visible at the neck, and deception is physically impossible. Five high school girls — Nia, Mei, Ayame, Iris, and Story — find their lives upended when they are selected for the mysterious AARC government programme. The story unfolds from each protagonist’s perspective, told through fully voiced visual novel scenes with full Japanese voice acting.

This is lowiro’s first original game since Arcaea (2017), and the shift to PC and a premium release model marks a clear step up in scope.

Rhythm Gameplay on PC — Keyboard, Cards, and Four Difficulties

In Falsus rhythm gameplay showing purple and red note lanes on a dark futuristic track
Image courtesy of lowiro

Unlike Arcaea’s mobile touchscreen formula, In Falsus is built for mouse and keyboard from the ground up. Notes cascade down split lanes tied to keyboard keys — A, S, D, F and Shift/Space for the outer columns — across four difficulty tiers, rising from 4-KEY beginner modes to demanding 6-KEY configurations. An aerial “Field” adds a sweeping layer of incoming notes above the main highway for an extra challenge.

Longer runs are further shaped by a card deck-building system: collect materials during play to craft cards, then arrange them into Blueprint grids before each encounter to set your stat boosts and bonuses. Characters each carry Spectral Skills and Character Skills that interact with your loadout, giving returning chart-clearers reason to experiment beyond raw score-chasing.

In Falsus character selection screen showing Nia with her Spectral Skills and Character Skills panels
Image courtesy of lowiro

70+ Songs — Camellia, PSYQUI, and the Arcaea Circle

In Falsus song selection screen showing tracks including Cryogenic by Camellia ft. Petra Gurin and Be There by PSYQUI
Image courtesy of lowiro

The soundtrack spans more than 70 songs, with over 40 original compositions commissioned for the game. Artists from the rhythm game underground are well represented: Camellia (whose “Cryogenic” featuring Petra Gurin appears in the demo), PSYQUI, aran, USAO, Nhato, and ak+q — many of them regulars in Arcaea’s catalogue — sit alongside newer names from the international chiptune and electronic scene. For listeners who have spent years farming Arcaea charts, the song list will feel like a reunion.

Play the Demo Now — Full Release 9 September

A free demo is live now on Steam, giving players a taste of the rhythm mechanics and the opening chapter of the story before Tuesday’s launch. The full game releases on 9 September 2026 with no regional restrictions, so Singapore players can pick it up at the same time as the rest of the world.

For more game news, check our latest coverage — and if you want to warm up for 9 September, the Arcaea community Discord is already buzzing about In Falsus chart previews from the demo.

Game News

Mewgenics Hits PS5, Switch 2 and Xbox on 8 September — The Cat Roguelite Goes Console

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Six months after its PC debut, Mewgenics — the cat-breeding turn-based roguelite from The Binding of Isaac creator Edmund McMillen — is finally arriving on consoles. PS5, Nintendo Switch 2, and Xbox Series X|S players can download it starting 8 September 2026. The Steam launch in February moved over one million copies in its first week, so this console port has been one of the more anticipated indie arrivals of the year.

What Is Mewgenics?

Mewgenics is the result of Edmund McMillen and Tyler Glaiel — the duo also behind The End Is Nigh — spending years building a deeply strange tactical game around one deceptively simple idea: breed a better cat army. You assemble squads of cats by class (Fighter, Tank, Mage and more), equip them with items, and send them into turn-based grid combat. Survivors return home and can breed, passing down skills and mutations to the next generation. Through careful pairing across runs, you slowly shape a lineage of increasingly capable — and increasingly weird — warriors.

Mewgenics animated intro — the eccentric scientist character ponders next to a cat in a cluttered lab
Image courtesy of Nicalis

The depth on offer is genuinely staggering. Over 1,000 unique abilities are spread across 75 per class, with more than 900 items to collect and equip. Mutations cut both ways — powerful perks can come bundled with genuine handicaps — so every breeding decision carries real weight. An 82-track original score by Ridiculon (the composer behind much of The Binding of Isaac‘s iconic soundtrack) ties it all together.

Watch the Gameplay

Mewgenics gameplay reveal! (feat. Edmund McMillen!) — via Edmund McMillen on YouTube

Combat That Grows With Every Run

In battle, positioning matters as much as your cat builds. Terrain interacts with abilities, enemies scale in challenge, and the tile-based grid punishes poor placement. Each class has its own tactical niche — Mages can hit multiple tiles, Fighters close distance fast, and Tanks absorb punishment that would shred the squishier cats in your party. Across runs you’ll encounter wildly different biomes, each with its own enemy roster.

Mewgenics combat — cats engage enemies on a desert battlefield in turn-based tactical play
Image courtesy of Nicalis

The meta-progression through breeding gives Mewgenics a shape quite unlike most roguelites. Rather than permanent unlocks, the legacy lives in your cats themselves — every generation of kittens reflects decisions you made in earlier battles, good and bad alike.

Mewgenics graveyard biome — a cat faces skull enemies in a dark, purple-lit cemetery stage
Image courtesy of Nicalis

How Singapore Players Can Get It

Mewgenics launches on 8 September 2026 at US$39.99 across PS5 (PlayStation Store), Nintendo Switch 2 (Nintendo eShop) and Xbox Series X|S (Xbox Marketplace), all of which are accessible in Singapore. The Nintendo eShop and PlayStation Store Singapore storefronts will carry the game; check the respective stores closer to launch for local SGD pricing. Those already on PC can play via Steam right now — the console version brings the same full game to your couch.

For more upcoming releases and game news, keep an eye on our full coverage.

Game News

1000xRESIST Switch 2 Edition Is Out Now, With a Free Upgrade

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One of the most acclaimed narrative games in years just made its way to Nintendo Switch 2 — and if you already own the original Switch version, you won’t pay a cent more. 1000xRESIST: Nintendo Switch 2 Edition is out now, brought to Nintendo’s latest hardware by sunset visitor 斜陽過客 and publisher Fellow Traveller with enhanced framerate and resolution throughout.

A Story That Doesn’t Let Go

Three clones in sci-fi suits in 1000xRESIST
Image courtesy of Fellow Traveller

Set in a post-apocalyptic world where an alien pandemic has reduced humanity to a handful of clones, 1000xRESIST puts you in the role of Watcher — one of several “Sisters” living under the rule of a centuries-old goddess called ALLMOTHER. Through a mechanic called Communion, you dive into memories spanning a thousand years of buried history, piecing together a reality that has been deliberately hidden.

What elevates it beyond the sci-fi premise is what those memories are actually about. Developed by a four-person Vancouver studio whose roots span theatre, dance, and performance art, the game draws directly from the lived experience of the Chinese diaspora — the weight of intergenerational displacement, the grief tied to the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, and what it means to belong to a community shaped by migration and loss. For players in Singapore, where those stories run through many families, 1000xRESIST lands with unusual specificity.

Character Iris confronts Watcher with a blade in a tense scene from 1000xRESIST
Image courtesy of Fellow Traveller

Critical response to the original 2024 release was extraordinary. Metacritic scores reached 86 on PC and 87 on Switch, OpenCritic pegged it at 100% recommended, and it took home the Peabody Award for Interactive & Immersive Work — a distinction usually reserved for documentary and investigative journalism. Dozens of outlets named it their best game of 2024.

What the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition Adds

Watcher walks through the futuristic Orchard hub in 1000xRESIST
Image courtesy of Fellow Traveller

The original Switch version worked within tight hardware constraints — a file size of just 5.9 GB that required the team to compress and cut corners. The Switch 2 Edition opens those up. The build now weighs in at 21.3 GB and runs at enhanced framerate and resolution, which Fellow Traveller says delivers the game as it was originally intended to look and feel.

Owners of the original Nintendo Switch version get the Switch 2 upgrade for free. If you already have 1000xRESIST, it will appear as a free update on your Switch 2 — no repurchase needed.

Watch the Trailer

1000xRESIST Out Now Trailer — via Fellow Traveller on YouTube

40% Off on the Nintendo eShop This Launch Week

A Communion memory sequence in 1000xRESIST showing floating figures in a red atmospheric sky
Image courtesy of Fellow Traveller

New buyers can pick up 1000xRESIST on the Nintendo eShop at US$19.99 (regional pricing applies in the Singapore eShop), with a 40% launch week discount bringing the price down for new Switch 2 purchases. The game is also available on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

If you’ve been watching 1000xRESIST from the sidelines, this Switch 2 launch — better performance, free upgrade for existing owners, and a launch discount — is about as good an entry point as it gets. For more Switch 2 launches and game news, check our games section.

Game News

Wild Blue Skies Is Out Now — From the Original Star Fox Team

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If you grew up barrel-rolling through Corneria on the SNES or the N64, here is some news worth sitting up for. Wild Blue Skies, a modern on-rails shooter from Chuhai Labs — the studio founded by Giles Goddard, one of the original programmers on the SNES Star Fox — landed on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Steam on 13 August 2026 for US$14.99. It is already playable right now for Singapore fans on all three platforms.

Wild Blue Skies aerial gameplay over a colourful harbour city
Image courtesy of Chuhai Labs / Balor Games

What Is Wild Blue Skies?

Wild Blue Skies drops you into the cockpit of Bowie Stray and the Blue Bombers on a mission to stop the villainous Grimclaw’s forces from tearing apart their world. The action unfolds on rails — you are always moving forward, weaving through a rich stream of enemies, obstacles, and branching routes — in exactly the way that made Star Fox 64 feel electric.

The game offers four playable pilots, each with distinct playstyles, and branching mission paths that keep runs feeling fresh. A scoring and mastery system gives speedrunners and high-scorers plenty to chase. The visual style leans fully into anime-inspired aesthetics: vivid colour, chunky ships, expressive character portraits, and biomes ranging from glittering coastal cities and sun-baked desert dunes to icy caverns and lava-filled volcanoes. It looks great on a big screen.

Wild Blue Skies canyon flight sequence at sunset
Image courtesy of Chuhai Labs / Balor Games

Watch the Gameplay

Wild Blue Skies: Official Re-Reveal Gameplay — via IGN on YouTube

The Star Fox DNA — and the Switch 2 Timing

Giles Goddard worked at Nintendo’s Kyoto headquarters in the 1990s, where he helped develop the 3D engine that powered the original Star Fox on SNES. He later founded Vitei Inc. in Japan, a studio behind a number of Nintendo-platform experiments. Chuhai Labs and the co-developer VITEI BACKROOM Inc. carry that lineage forward.

The timing is hard to miss. Nintendo’s official Star Fox remake for Switch 2 launched on 25 June 2026, ending a decade-long drought for the franchise. Wild Blue Skies arrives just weeks later — a parallel on-rails adventure from the people who helped invent the genre. For fans on PS5 or PC who are still waiting for a Switch 2, this is the closest thing to a new Star Fox they can play right now.

Wild Blue Skies ice level with crystalline blue scenery
Image courtesy of Chuhai Labs / Balor Games

Critical Reception

Reviews have been mixed-to-positive: Wild Blue Skies sits at 61 on Metacritic (PS5) and 68 on PC. Critics who love the genre — tight arcade controls, branching paths, satisfying score-chasing — have responded warmly. Those expecting a longer experience or deeper narrative have found it thin. At US$14.99, the price point largely answers that criticism.

Wild Blue Skies desert level with enemy formation over dunes
Image courtesy of Chuhai Labs / Balor Games

How to Play and What Singapore Fans Should Know

Wild Blue Skies is out now on Steam (PC / Steam Deck), PlayStation 5 (via the SG PlayStation Store), and Xbox Series X|S at US$14.99. A Nintendo Switch version is confirmed for Autumn 2026, no exact date yet — published by Balor Games.

There is no region lock. Singapore players can purchase and play on all three current platforms without restrictions. If you grew up with Star Fox and have been itching for that on-rails fix, Wild Blue Skies is the most direct route to that feeling you can take right now. Check our game news section for the Switch release date when it lands.

Wild Blue Skies lava cave level with glowing enemies
Image courtesy of Chuhai Labs / Balor Games

Game News

Dave the Diver Hits iOS and Android on 17 September — DLC Included from Day One

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Mark 17 September on your calendar — MINTROCKET and Nexon have confirmed that Dave the Diver arrives on iOS and Android on that date, giving Singapore mobile gamers their first proper shot at one of indie gaming’s most beloved recent releases. The game was previously targeting August 2026; the short delay was used to polish mobile-specific controls and optimisations.

Dave the Diver mobile launch September 17 2026
Image courtesy of MINTROCKET

September 17 — the Full Game on Your Phone

Dave the Diver on mobile is a complete port of the original PC experience — the same open-water exploration by day, the same chaotic sushi-restaurant management at Bancho Sushi by night. The app is free to download on the App Store and Google Play, with the full game unlocked via a single in-app purchase priced at USD 8.99 (SGD pricing via each regional store at launch). If you’ve been waiting for a legitimate, full-featured port rather than a slimmed-down mobile spin-off, this is it.

Dave the Diver – Official Gameplay Overview Trailer — via GameTrailers on YouTube
Dave the Diver underwater exploration gameplay
Image courtesy of MINTROCKET

Day-One DLC: DREDGE Pack and In the Jungle Both Included

The base game isn’t arriving alone. From day one, mobile players can also purchase the DREDGE content pack — the eerie maritime horror crossover that has been a fan favourite on PC — and the In the Jungle expansion, which trades the Blue Hole for a freshwater jungle biome complete with new creatures, taming mechanics, and the multi-function Jungle Gun. As we covered when In the Jungle launched on PC, the expansion runs roughly ten hours and adds a Cut the Rope crossover baked into its story.

There’s also a bonus for early buyers: the Dave the Diver Digital Extra — which currently sells for USD 10 on Steam and includes a unique boat skin, a full art book, and the game’s soundtrack — will be given free to any mobile player who purchases the base game.

Dave the Diver Bancho Sushi restaurant management
Image courtesy of MINTROCKET

Built for Handheld — Gyro Controls and Mobile Optimisations

The short push from August to September was used to implement mobile-specific quality-of-life improvements. The most notable is gyro tilt control for the tea-pouring minigame at Bancho Sushi — one of the PC version’s more fiddly sequences, now designed around the way you actually hold a phone. MINTROCKET says the overall touch interface has been reworked to reduce friction across the game’s most control-intensive sections.

Dave the Diver gameplay scene
Image courtesy of MINTROCKET

Heartopia × Dave the Diver Is Live Right Now

If you already play Heartopia, the cosy life-sim mobile game, there’s a timed crossover event running until 7 September — the “No Bubbles Lost!” collaboration adds Dave the Diver-themed outfits, accessories, furniture, and recipes to the game. It’s a neat soft launch for the franchise on mobile ahead of the full game hitting in September.

Dave the Diver in-game fishing and crafting
Image courtesy of MINTROCKET

Preorders for Dave the Diver mobile are open now on the App Store and Google Play. Check out our other game news coverage for the latest across PC, console, and mobile.

Game News

Five Indie Games to Watch From the Kinetic Publishing Showcase

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Kinetic Games — the studio behind Phasmophobia — has been quietly building a publishing label, and on the morning of 13 August (4am SGT) it held its first major showcase: Kinetic Publishing Showcase 2026, revealing five upcoming indie games across PS5, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch 2 and PC. Here is everything that stood out.

Crescent County — Motorbroom Life Sim (Summer 2027)

Crescent County key art showing protagonist Lu on a motorbroom with companions on the Isle of Mor
Image courtesy of Electric Saint / Kinetic Publishing

The standout for anime fans: Crescent County, a cosy-but-sharp slice-of-life adventure from developer Electric Saint. You play Lu, delivering parcels by motorbroom across the magical Isle of Mor by day and street racing by night — while getting tangled up in local gossip, fixing leylines, herding sheep, and pursuing romances. The visual style is painterly and warmly saturated, described by the team as Kiki’s Delivery Service meets the bikes of Akira, with narrative nods to Night in the Woods and Life is Strange. It is one of the more distinctive aesthetic packages of the year. Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PC. Release: Summer 2027.

Crescent County Xbox Announce Trailer — via ID@Xbox on YouTube

Shellbound — Parasitic Metroidvania (Summer 2028)

Shellbound gameplay screenshot showing the parasite character exploring a warm glowing interior world inside a giant snail
Image courtesy of Fake Lobster Games / Kinetic Publishing

The most unusual pitch: Shellbound, from Fake Lobster Games co-founders Eric Frantzen and Nils Klatt. You play as a parasite clinging to the back of an enormous divine snail, exploring its organs as labyrinths. The defining mechanic is possession — you can take control of enemies and NPCs, with each host providing different movement, combat and traversal abilities that unlock new areas. Killing off enemy species causes them to evolve into tougher variants, which in turn unlocks new parasite powers. The art direction is striking, and the concept earns its Metroidvania classification through genuine exploration design rather than just borrowing the genre label. Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PC. Release: Summer 2028.

“With Shellbound, we were inspired to create the sort of game that we love to play ourselves, full of secrets and exploration, and with our unique parasitic twist,” co-founder Eric Frantzen told Gematsu.

Aether Wizard Life — Cosy Wizard Life Sim (Autumn 2028)

Aether Wizard Life key art showing an elaborate wizard tower under a crescent moon
Image courtesy of Vonder Games / Kinetic Publishing

For anyone who has ever wanted Stardew Valley to have better combat and magic: Aether Wizard Life, from Vonder Games. Set in the haunted town of Starfall, you play an apprentice mage unravelling a string of wizard kidnappings — freely mixing cosy life-sim activities (growing magical crops, tending exotic creatures, befriending and romancing townsfolk) with dungeon raids and town-building. The art draws explicit Ghibli inspiration and the lore draws on the real history of witches. It looks the part. Platforms: PS5, Switch 2, PC (Xbox status unconfirmed). Release: Autumn 2028.

Aether Wizard Life — Announcement Trailer via Vonder Games on YouTube

Contact Protocol — Starship Security Sim (Spring 2027)

Contact Protocol, from Cold Zephyr Games, might be the most cognitively demanding game in the showcase. You are a security officer on the starship Pale Horse, a mining vessel bound for Jupiter’s largest moon, and your job is to assess every approaching ship against company records to determine if it is friendly or hostile. Fire too early and you have destroyed an innocent vessel; hesitate too long and you have let a threat through. Meanwhile the company threatens legal action for administrative errors. Lead designer Mick Hunter described it as deliberately maximising player cognitive load at exactly the moment of the hardest moral decisions. It is part of a funded Kickstarter campaign. Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PC. Release: Spring 2027.

Precognition — Sam Barlow’s Sci-Fi Horror FMV (Spring 2028)

The prestige name in the lineup: Precognition, from Half Mermaid Productions. Sam Barlow (Her Story, Immortality) is leading a non-linear sci-fi horror FMV in which the protagonist Diana receives an experimental brain implant that shows her visions of the future — which Barlow calls “unlivable memories.” Committing specific visions to memory alters the future, creating the cause-and-effect structure the gameplay is built around. Brandon Cronenberg (Possessor, Infinity Pool) has joined as a writer, bringing his particular brand of body horror to the project. Barlow traced the initial idea back to daydreaming about making an FMV Metroid game — which then “got way darker than anything my beloved Nintendo would be able to carry,” as he told Kotaku. Platforms: PS5, Xbox Series, Switch 2, PC. Release: Spring 2028.

All Five Are Coming to PS5 and Switch 2

Every game in the showcase is confirmed for Nintendo Switch 2 and PlayStation 5 — all of them relevant to Singapore players without region-locking or import concerns. The two nearest releases are Contact Protocol and Crescent County in 2027; the rest follow in 2028.

Kinetic Publishing is the new label from the Phasmophobia studio and this is its first major showing — it is worth watching their catalogue as it develops. Full details including trailers are on the PlayStation Blog recap. For more game news, bookmark GameTrader.SG.

Game News

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 Comes to Switch on 20 August

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If you have ever wondered why certain Japanese apartments rent for suspiciously low prices, part of the answer is a very specific legal category: the 事故物件 (jiko bukken). Japanese indie developer Loxarc has been turning that concept into survival horror gameplay since late 2025 — and publisher G-MODE Corporation is now bringing the second entry, Japan Stigmatized Property 2, to Nintendo Switch on 20 August 2026.

The Switch version has received almost no coverage in English-language gaming media, and the 事故物件 concept itself is largely unknown outside Japan. That combination makes this one worth knowing about.

What Is 事故物件 (Jiko Bukken)?

A 事故物件 — pronounced jiko bukken, literally “incident property” — is a Japanese real estate term for any property where an unnatural death has occurred: suicide, murder, or a fatal accident on the premises. The formal legal name is 心理的瑕疵 (shinriteki kashi), meaning “psychological defect,” and under Japanese law, agents are required to disclose this status to the first tenant or buyer after the event.

The cultural weight behind the term runs deep. Shinto and Buddhist traditions treat death — especially violent or distressed death — as spiritually polluting, and Japan’s rich kaidan (ghost story) tradition reinforces the idea that sites of unnatural deaths can be haunted. The result: jiko bukken typically rent at 20–50% below market rate, and they carry a real social stigma that some landlords try to offset with formal Shinto purification ceremonies.

Loxarc takes the concept seriously. All four locations in Japan Stigmatized Property 2 are described as based on real Japanese stigmatized properties with real histories — which gives the game an unsettling authenticity that a purely fictional setting could not replicate.

How Japan Stigmatized Property 2 Plays

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 surveillance camera footage showing an anomaly — a crouching figure and bloody text on the wall
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

You play as a field agent for the titular Japan Stigmatized Property Surveillance Association. Your job: monitor multiple surveillance cameras inside a jiko bukken from midnight (00:00) to 5:00 AM, identify anomalies as they appear, and report them without triggering a false-alarm failure state.

The camera system has two modes — standard and infrared/night vision — and some anomalies are only visible in one. Each playthrough randomises the anomalies, so no two sessions are identical. The game tracks two failure conditions: missing too many real anomalies, and filing too many false reports.

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 — surveillance cam view of a kitchen with a figure pressing hands against the frosted glass window
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

Two difficulty modes are available: Normal (standard anomaly frequency) and Special Allowance, which pushes anomaly occurrence so high the game itself includes a content warning about the psychological strain. Streaming is fully permitted — including monetisation — without any prior application.

Note: the Steam release carries Mixed user reviews (68% positive from 176 reviews), so the game will not suit everyone, and it uses AI-generated assets as disclosed on its store pages. Manage expectations accordingly, especially if you found the first entry divisive.

The Four Locations

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 — surveillance camera exterior view of the abandoned Hotel Celine with glowing neon katakana sign at night
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

JSP2 features four properties to monitor, each drawn from a distinct real-world jiko bukken archetype:

  • Kurotake Drive-In (Shizuoka Prefecture) — an abandoned roadside rest stop associated with unexplained group behaviour
  • K Residence (Tottori Prefecture) — a private home where a lonely death occurred, featuring a mysterious altar
  • Hotel Celine (Nagano Prefecture) — a shuttered budget hotel linked to pregnant-woman imagery
  • K Animal Hospital (Shikoku) — a closed veterinary clinic

On Nintendo Switch from 20 August

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 — night-vision infrared surveillance camera footage showing a face looming above a low table in an abandoned room
Image courtesy of Loxarc / G-MODE Corporation

Japan Stigmatized Property 2 arrives on the Nintendo Switch eShop on 20 August 2026. The Japanese eShop price is ¥800 (with a 10% launch-week discount down to ¥720 through 30 September). The PC/Steam version — which launched globally in December 2025 and includes English localisation — is available now at $7.99 USD: that is the safest route if you want to play before the Switch version’s regional availability is confirmed for Singapore.

The original Japan Stigmatized Property launched on Nintendo Switch in July 2026 and is available on the Nintendo Singapore eShop; assume JSP2’s Switch version will follow, but check the Singapore eShop directly around the 20 August launch date before purchasing. Developer Loxarc has also released a third entry in the series on Steam and mobile as of early August 2026, so this is an actively expanding series if the concept clicks for you.

For more game news and releases, keep checking back at GameTrader.SG.

Game News

Big Walk Hits 1 Million in Six Days — Already Free for PS Plus Subscribers

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House House’s cooperative open-world adventure Big Walk has crossed one million sales in just six days — and if you’re a PS Plus Essential subscriber in Singapore, there’s a good chance you already own it.

One Million Walkers in Six Days

Publisher Panic announced the milestone on Bluesky on 10 August, stating: “In just six days, over one million of you have bought Big Walk, our co-op adventure all about talking and walking. We are so grateful that so many of you are spending time with our game.”

That figure includes copies sold across PS5, Switch 2, and PC — and also encompasses PlayStation Plus downloads. Big Walk was one of August 2026’s PS Plus Essential free games, so a portion of that million came from subscribers grabbing it at no extra cost. Still, the speed is remarkable: House House’s previous title, Untitled Goose Game, needed three months to clear the same mark.

Two Big Walk characters silhouetted against a sunset on a beach
Image courtesy of House House / Panic
Big Walk is out now! — via House House on YouTube

Six Years in the Making — and the Reviews Show It

Big Walk is the third game from Melbourne studio House House (after Push Me Pull You and Untitled Goose Game) and took six years to develop. It’s a cooperative open-world adventure built for 2–12 players exploring a richly detailed island environment together: solving puzzles, using proximity voice chat, walkie-talkies, binoculars, and fireworks to communicate and navigate across day-night cycles.

Critics have responded warmly. The PC version sits at 92/100 on Metacritic (Universal Acclaim), making it the highest-rated game of 2026 on the platform so far, ahead of major releases like Resident Evil Requiem and Forza Horizon 6. The PS5 version scores 88/100. Switch 2 reviews are a notch lower at 75/100, which is worth noting if you’re deciding which version to buy.

First-person binoculars view of Big Walk characters exploring a wildflower meadow
Image courtesy of House House / Panic

Already in Your Library If You’re on PS Plus

For PS Plus Essential subscribers in Singapore, Big Walk is part of the August 2026 monthly lineup and can be claimed until the games rotate out next month. Once claimed, it’s yours to keep as long as your subscription is active.

If you’d rather own it outright — or you’re on PC or Switch 2 — Big Walk is priced at US$19.99 on Steam, Epic Games Store, and the Nintendo eShop. No SGD pricing has been confirmed at time of writing; check the Singapore PlayStation Store and Nintendo eShop for local pricing before buying.

House House is also running a Reddit AMA this week featuring developers Jake, Stuart, Nico, and Michael for anyone curious about what six years of making a walking game actually looks like. Browse more game news here.

Small group of Big Walk characters gathered by a campfire at night
Image courtesy of House House / Panic

Game News

ZHAI Reveals Elemental Combat and Memory Skill Tree for Its PC Open-World

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The story behind ZHAI begins not in a studio but in a hospital. After a near-fatal motorcycle accident left The Orange Giant’s founder in a coma, they experienced what they later described as a remarkably vivid other world — and when they woke up, they drew it. That sketch eventually became a full game universe, and this week the studio shared the first real look at how it plays.

What Is ZHAI?

ZHAI is a third-person open-world action-adventure in development for PC, targeting both Steam and the Epic Games Store. Players take the role of Zhai — a warrior who awakens in the fractured realm of Il’Navir with no name and no memories. Divided tribes, an ancient threat, and a vast landscape of forests, frozen mountains, floating islands, and towering rock formations stretch out ahead. Somewhere in all of it lie the answers to who Zhai was.

The studio, The Orange Giant, confirmed the title entered full production in late July 2026 — moving from pre-alpha into an active phase focused on combat refinement, traversal, and the visual presentation of Il’Navir.

ZHAI — bioluminescent river and floating rock islands in Il'Navir
Image courtesy of The Orange Giant

Elemental Combat Built on Tribal Bonds

Today’s reveal focused on how ZHAI’s combat system actually works. As Zhai forges bonds with Il’Navir’s rival tribes, he gains access to their elemental powers — abilities that can be layered into chains, combos, and crowd-control sequences. Japanese gaming outlet 4Gamer (Japanese) — which published its own breakdown of the reveal today — notes the system includes gravity manipulation alongside elemental attacks, and that each ability can be upgraded to alter its damage profile, utility function, or synergy with other skills.

The design intent is a personalised moveset drawn from multiple tribal traditions, adjusted to your playstyle as the world opens up — closer to an action-RPG than a straight brawler.

The Memory Skill Tree

ZHAI — the warrior Zhai surveys a snow-covered mountain landscape of Il'Navir
Image courtesy of The Orange Giant

The most distinctive system on paper is the Memory Skill Tree. Rather than earning skill points through conventional levelling, you unlock new abilities by recovering fragments of Zhai’s lost past. Reclaiming a memory restores a forgotten technique — and reveals something about the person you used to be. It is a narrative-progression loop that ties every power-up directly to a plot beat, which should appeal strongly to anyone who gravitates toward story-driven open-world RPGs.

A World Born from a Real Near-Death Experience

ZHAI — a twilight landscape with fire-lit trees and floating rock formations in Il'Navir
Image courtesy of The Orange Giant

What makes Il’Navir unusual is that it is not pure fantasy invention. The Orange Giant’s creative director sketched out the world’s geography and atmosphere directly from the visions they experienced during their coma — snow-covered ridges, sky settlements, bioluminescent rivers, and towering rock formations with endemic plant life that reads as genuinely alien. It is a design process with no real precedent in game development.

“Entering full production marks an important step for ZHAI and for The Orange Giant,” said Kevin Grunder of The Orange Giant, as relayed via GlobeNewswire. Today’s gameplay reveal is also the first press release the studio has distributed in Japan — a sign they are actively building an audience in a market that has historically rewarded narrative-driven open-world games.

On Steam Now to Wishlist

A release date has not been officially confirmed — the Steam store page currently lists the date as TBA. No price has been announced. Singapore PC gamers who want to keep tabs on ZHAI can add it to their wishlist on Steam now; the Epic Games Store page is expected to follow. For more on upcoming PC game releases, check back as the studio shares more of Il’Navir.