Reading List
The most recent articles from a list of feeds I subscribe to.
Crocs And Xbox Partner For A Controller-Inspired Shoe That's Available Tomorrow
Crocs is no stranger to teaming up with video game companies, having released shoes inspired by Animal Crossing and Pokémon in the last couple of years. This time, the popular shoe brand has partnered with Xbox for a clog modeled after Microsoft’s flagship console.
Although this collaboration is meant to coincide with the Xbox 360’s 20th anniversary, this special edition Croc clog appears to be modeled after the Xbox One/Series X/S controller. The black shoe is adorned with the Xbox face buttons, d-pad, the white Xbox button, and even pairs of analog sticks. The interior of the shoe sports the Xbox brand name with the Xbox logo adorning the heel straps. The shoe also comes with a limited-edition five-piece Jibbitz charm pack inspired by series such as Halo, Fallout, Doom, and Sea of Thieves.
You can purchase the shoe beginning tomorrow, November 25, from the Crocs website for $80.
To read more recent Xbox news, check out some of these announcements from last week's Xbox Partner Preview for games such as Tides of Annihilation, Reanimal, and Vampire Crawlers, the next game from the creator of Vampire Survivors.
Star Fox-Inspired Wild Blue Skies (Formerly Wild Blue) Gets Extended Gameplay Trailer
The Star Fox-inspired Wild Blue has a new name and gameplay trailer. Now re-christened as Wild Blue Skies, the upcoming retro throwback has over four minutes of new gameplay footage.
Wild Blue Skies was first revealed in March, and this homage to Star Fox has some authentic expertise behind it; Giles Goddard, a former Nintendo programmer who worked on the original Star Fox, leads the development team at the Kyoto-based Chuhai Labs. The gameplay trailer shows off an unedited dogfighting sequence through the ancient ruins of a stormy planet.
Wild Blue Skies centers on ace pilot Bowie Stray and his team taking on the forces of the evil Grimclaw. The flight combat, along with the comms chatter of your dorky anthromorphic animal comrades, certainly captures the spirit of Nintendo’s oft-neglected rail shooter.
Wild Blue Skies is currently confirmed for Xbox Series X/S and PC, but it does not have a release window.
Yuji Horii On The Secret Sauce That's Kept Dragon Quest Going For Nearly 40 Years
Dragon Quest will celebrate its 40th anniversary next year in 2026, and with Dragon Quest VII Reimagined launching in February, the occasion is off to a good start. I visited Square Enix's Tokyo, Japan, offices to play two hours of Reimagined, interview the team behind it, and speak to Dragon Quest creator Yuji Horii about the series' long-running history, and more. There's plenty of Reimagined content to read here, but I also took this opportunity to ask Horii about the secret sauce behind Dragon Quest.
According to Horii, it's two things: warmth and ease of access.
"The key concept that I really try to prioritize, or keep important to me, for Dragon Quest is that, you know, older computer games didn't really have a sense of warmth," Horii says on the games he played preceding his work creating Dragon Quest. "But [warmth] was something that I really wanted to bring for the Dragon Quest titles. That, and accessibility for the players."
Horii tells me that when developing Dragon Quest, he specifically wanted to launch it on the Nintendo Famicom, recognizing its ease of access for players compared to home computers, which still carried a hefty price tag comparatively.
"I think [warmth and accessibility] are pretty important in terms of what makes Dragon Quest, Dragon Quest," he continues. "But one thing that I also have in mind, one potential reason why it's been beloved for so long, for almost 40 years, is that the Dragon Quest series also serves as a sort of communication tool for players. A lot of people might have memories of playing the Dragon Quest games with friends; they might have a memory of playing the game with their older brother [...] who they might ask to play the game on their behalf so that they can grind and skip the [leveling process challenges].
"So I think that for a lot of people, Dragon Quest games just have a special place in their heart, and that's why it's been so successful for so long."
An image from the Dragon Quest re-release on Nintendo Switch
Seated beside Horii during this interview was Reimagined producer Takeshi Ichikawa. In my time playing it so far, Reimagined retains the warmth of the original island-hopping Dragon Quest VII adventure, and the new visual aesthetic lends itself well to those feelings. That's one of the bigger takeaways from my preview: it's cozy, warm, and invites adventure. I asked Ichikawa the same question I posed to Horii, curious about his takeaway.
"I think all the RPG elements the series has to offer are the biggest strength of the Dragon Quest series, and I like to call it part of the Horii-esque elements," he says. "All the humor, the jokes in the narrative, the dialogue, and the expressions and the portrayals; It's just so adorable at times, and when you look at the story, it's an epic story but also somehow feels relevant to you at the time."
Dragon Quest VII Reimagined launches on February 5 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch 2, Switch, and PC.
In the meantime, check out this article breaking down everything in the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined issue of Game Informer, and be sure to subscribe here if you haven't yet to access the Dragon Quest VII Reimagined cover story, our deep dive into Dragon Quest history with creator Yuji Horii, and so much more.
What do you think the secret sauce of Dragon Quest is? Let us know in the comments below!
Kirby Air Riders, Morsels, and The Game Awards Nominee Reactions | The Game Informer Show
We're nearing the month of December, which means Geoff Keighley's The Game Awards are soon upon us! The nominee list is out, and Marcus, Charles, and Eric are here to react and provide some insight into what the voting is like for The Game Awards.
Before all that, though, Charles shares some early impressions of the zany, speedy Kirby Air Riders and a new indie rogue-like called Morsels. Plus, we close the show out with another edition of GI Oughta Know, this time all about the history of The Game Awards!
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:
Listen to "Kirby Air Riders, Morsels, and The Game Awards Nominee Reactions" on Spreaker.Follow our guest and hosts on social media:
- Marcus Stewart (@marcusstewart7)
- Charles Harte (@chuckduck365)
- Eric Van Allen (@seamoosi)
Jump to a specific discussion using these timestamps:
00:00 - Intro
10:11 - Kirby Air Riders
28:45 - Morsels
41:57 - The Game Awards 2025 Nominees Reactions
1:34:16 - GI Oughta Know: TGAs 2025 Edition
The Video Games You Should Play This Weekend – November 21
Devil's Night. Christmas Eve. July 3rd. So many holidays have names for the days that occur before them, but what about the Friday before Thanksgiving? It has no name, sadly, and I don't have a good suggestion for one. But I do have suggestions for some video games that might be worth playing this weekend.
Also, head here to vote for your favorite games of the year! I recognize it's a little early to choose, but such is the burden of working in print. We don't mind, though. We like magazines.
Anyway, it's Friday and 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:
- Vampire Crawlers Is The Next Game From The Vampire Survivors Team
- Yuji Horii On Early Days In Game Dev: 'I Would Just Do Everything Myself'
- Ghost OF Yōtei Patch Adds New Game Plus And More Next Week
- Yuji Horii's Journey To Making Dragon Quest, As Told By The Man Himself
- Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 Review - Good Luck, Have Fun
- Marvel's Deadpool VR Review - Mileage May Vary
The Games You Should Check Out This Weekend
Lumines Arise
The recent release of the new Lumines game isn't one you should let slip past you. Arise gives the long-running block-dropping music game a similar treatment to what Tetris Effect back in 2018, adding some flashy new gameplay mechanics and community features, while holding on to the core of immersive play the series has always had. The result is a mind-bending puzzle experience that induces "flow" more than almost any other game you might think of. It's a long road to master Lumines, but this new installment helps you along the way with multiple difficulties, tutorial-style challenges, and more. Just make sure and bring headphones.
You can read Game Informer's Lumines Arise review by following the link.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Aiming to shake up the formula, Black Ops 7 veers into weirder territory with its newest explosive campaign, offering hallucinogenic experiences that explore warfare and violence through the lens of a mind-warped perspective. Of course, the short but bombastic campaign is only one small part of the larger package, which this year includes a wealth of updates to the multiplayer experience, a new approach to Zombies, as well as a reworked approach to movement to lean into fast, agile traversal through play spaces. As part of an ever-renewing formula, it's hard for Black Ops 7 to completely break the mold, but developers Treyarch and Raven have done an impressive job this year providing some new twists on what we've come to expect.
You can read Game Informer's Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 review by following the link.
Kirby Air Riders
Kirby Air Riders is not a game I was expecting or hoping for, but now that it’s here, I’m very grateful for it. Masahiro Sakurai is best known for his work directing the Smash Bros series, and if you’re a fan of those games, Air Riders will feel shockingly familiar. From its flashy presentation to its dizzying number of achievements and unlockables, there’s a level of style here I didn’t know I was missing. Even the menu design, with its floating shapes and bright colors are reminiscent of past Sakurai games. I admittedly haven’t had as much time to play as I’d like, but the vibes alone are off the charts.
Morsels
Roguelike can mean a lot of things nowadays, with so many genres crossing over with it in an (exciting) attempt to innovate. But what I like about Morsels, an indie twin-stick roguelike from developer Furcula, is how it feels like a “classic” roguelike. In a run, you collect little creatures called morsels, each with different abilities and attack styles. If they die, you lose that creature from your roster, and you’ll only ever have three — it’s sort of like a game where your weapons are also your lives. It stands out, however, because there’s relatively little macro progression (at least in the opening hours), meaning the only way to progress farther is to just get better. Couple that with a smattering of secret objectives and a general drought of explanation, and it almost reminds me of Spelunky. You learn by doing and dying. Some runs are just unlucky. But when you get a good run with the right amount of skill, the game feels awesome.
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 is back. Again! Bloober Team's excellent remake of Konami's 2001 psychological horror game is available on Xbox Series X/S. The game released on PlayStation 5 and PC last year and I liked it quite a lot. I can't imagine the Xbox version of the game will bring anything new or novel to the experience, but I am glad it is on a new platform so that more people can check it out. And if you finish that game wanting more, Bloober Team's 2025 horror game, Cronos: The New Dawn, is pretty solid, too, and definitely has some Silent Hill 2 vibes.