Latest Reviews of Bandai Namco Games
Review Unknown 9: Awakening (PS5) - Brand New IP Shows Plenty of Promise
Step into the Unknown
Unknown 9: Awakening is the debut game from studio Reflector Entertainment but not the first entry into the Unknown universe; so far there are novels, comics, and even a dramatised podcast. Thankfully, Awakening is a standalone experience and so you don’t need to delve into any of the other cross-media releases to understand...
Zero hour
Close to two decades after its release, beloved PS2 arena fighter Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 has been handed a sequel in all but name. Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero is a throwback of epic proportions — the kind of all-out, franchise-encompassing brawler that's been sorely missed beyond the Naruto Ninja Storm series. Zero's biggest...
Mini Review Gundam Breaker 4 (PS5) - An Impressively Addictive Return to Form
Break it back down
How do you follow up on the disaster that was 2018's New Gundam Breaker? Well, in the case of Gundam Breaker 4, you simply return to the basics, and remind yourself of what made the series so much fun in the first place. This sequel goes out of its way to keep things focused: you grind out missions, collect parts, beef up your...
Slime to grind
Aside from being a total pain in the arse to type, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime: Isekai Chronicles is an action RPG based on the popular anime of the same name. The adaptation offers a brief introduction to the source material, before plopping you into one of the property's later story arcs. Those unfamiliar with the...
Mini Review Spy x Anya: Operation Memories (PS5) - A Cute But Repetitive Slice of Life
Elegant?
Mercifully, Spy x Family was never going to work as a cut-and-paste anime arena brawler. Tatsuya Endo’s laugh-out-loud slice-of-life manga sensation is effectively a comedy, and while it does have its fair share of spy action, you were never going to see expressive infant Anya flying across a 3D environment performing Kamehamehas –...
Review Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (PS5) - Familiar FromSoftware Brilliance
Into the Shadow Realm
In the past couple of years, developers have attempted to reclaim the term "expansion". Arguing there's a difference between traditional DLC and fully-fledged add-ons, the likes of Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty and Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores have been used as poster childs for the movement. Whether there really is...
Mini Review Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2 (PS5) - An Insane Amount of Stuff in an Ageing Game
Not quite super
Still being updated and still being played by plenty of people, Dragon Ball XenoVerse 2 is a prime example of Dragon Ball's seemingly eternal appeal. The fighting-RPG is almost eight years old, and has just been handed yet another shot in the arm through this native PS5 port. It's even getting a brand new, four-part DLC saga over the...
Review Sand Land (PS5) - Open World Adaptation Is a Demonic Delight
Tanks for the memories
Originally published all the way back in 2000 as a standalone manga, it's strange, but not unwelcome, to see Sand Land be revived as both an anime series and a video game almost a quarter of a century later. Authored by the late and legendary Akira Toriyama, Sand Land is an incredibly charming story about a post-apocalyptic...
Mini Review Dragon Ball FighterZ (PS5) - Anime Fighter Is Still Godlike, Despite Dodgy Online
Your wish is granted
When Dragon Ball FighterZ first released in 2018 for PS4, it was hailed as one of the greatest anime fighting games ever made — and rightfully so. Crafted by the genre experts at Arc System Works, FighterZ was and still is a masterclass in how to adapt an existing franchise. The team-based brawler is both highly accessible on...
Review Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash (PS5) - Cursed Trash Solely Exists to Grab Your Cash
Salmon woe
As arguably the biggest anime and manga franchise on the planet right now, all publisher Bandai Namco had to do was put together a serviceable adaptation of Gege Aktusami’s modern-day sensation and reap the rewards. Regrettably, the dismal Jujutsu Kaisen: Cursed Clash is the worst kind of tie-in: a vapid cash grab clearly developed on a...
Latest Bandai Namco Articles
News As Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Explodes, Bandai Namco Is Reportedly Cutting Staff and Projects
Apparently pressuring employees to resign
Video games publisher Bandai Namco has been culling both projects and staff due to "lackluster demand". That's according to a new report from Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources "familiar with the matter". According to the report, Bandai Namco's approach to reducing staff is not to make them redundant, but...
News Netflix Animated Series Tekken: Bloodline Gets Ready for Battle This August
Check out the new trailer
Netflix has announced its animated series Tekken: Bloodline will hit the service on 18th August 2022. To go along with the announcement is this new story trailer, which reveals a little more about Jin Kazama's journey. To recap, this is an origin tale of sorts for Jin, who is trained up by Heihachi Mishima after his mother...
News Bandai Namco Reportedly Subjected to Ransomware Attack
Elden Ring publisher's data held hostage
Bandai Namco, the major Japanese games publisher, has apparently fallen victim to a cyber attack. That's according to vx-underground, a group reporting and gathering information on malware and cybercrime (thanks, VGC). Little is known about the alleged attack, but it's reported that the publisher has...
Feature Bringing Elden Ring's Best and Worst Boys to Life
We speak to two of the game's most memorable voice actors
FromSoftware games are memorable for a myriad of reasons but in their hostile, melancholy worlds, the small number of NPCs that players can befriend are precious and memorable. So are those villains whose reputations precede them. As its biggest title to date, Elden Ring has a cast far larger...
News Tekken: Bloodline Is a Netflix Animated Series Coming Later This Year
Keeping Up with the Kazamas
If you've been wondering what's going on with Tekken, it seems Bandai Namco's next move is not a new entry in the storied fighting game franchise. Instead, a freshly announced animated series from Netflix has surfaced, named Tekken: Bloodline. As you can see in the above teaser trailer, this is an anime focusing on the...
Guide Elden Ring: All Summon Spirits and Where to Find Them
That's the spirit
What are all Summon Spirits and where do you find them in Elden Ring? Summon Spirits, also known as Spirit Ashes, are allies that you can call to aid you in battle, and are similar to multiplayer summons. Spirit Ashes can be collected and then added to your quick item inventory so you can call them during gameplay. In order to...
Guide Elden Ring: How to Two-Hand and Dual-Wield / Power Stance Weapons
Handy to know
How do you two-hand a weapon in Elden Ring? If you're keen to maximise your offensive potential, then two-handing a weapon is the way to go – but if you've played Souls games like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls,
News Bandai Namco Reveals New Logo, Everyone Hates It
Welcome to the internet
Whenever a company reveals a new logo, it's common practice to then hate on that new logo until everyone gets tired and moves onto something else. The latest victim of this fruitless cycle is Bandai Namco, a games publisher that has had the same red/orange/yellow blob of a logo since the two entities merged in 2005. Now, the...
News Development Takes Off on a New Ace Combat Game
Bandai Namco and ILCA join forces
Ace Combat is a series that's just been quietly brilliant for years. Like any franchise, it's had its ups and downs, but the core games are largely great. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown on PlayStation 4 was the last entry, and it's a fun, cheesy aerial action game that's well worth your time, especially if you have...
News Bandai Namco Teases Horror Game Announcement via Mysterious Website
What could it be?
A teaser website has popped up online for a supposed new game from Bandai Namco. The site gives away almost nothing, with just a looping, found footage style video of a Japanese house and a murky sky. The details in the bottom right suggest the game could be called Domas, and that news in some form will be shared on 30th August at...
E3 2018 Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition Is Coming to PS4 This Year
Tales of Joyfulness
Tales fans, rejoice! What we once thought would never happen no matter how much we cried has become a reality: Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition is definitely happening. We sniffed out rumours of it only this week, when an official site for the game was discovered. Given Bandai Namco's resistance to re-releasing...
Interview Slightly Mad Discusses Project CARS 2's Early Reception
Hints at future content, too
Since the 22nd September, drivers everywhere have had the chance to grab Project CARS 2 and live the real-life racing experience (or as close to as many of us will get). Already off to a strong start with rave reviews critically, Slightly Mad Studios now hopes to replicate the success sales wise. Building from...
Interview Flying High with Kazutoki Kono and Ace Combat 7 on PS4
The sky's the limit
One of the coolest uses that we've seen for PlayStation VR yet is the experience of Ace Combat 7. The series has always been about high-octane, sky high dogfights, and now it's taken to a whole new level by placing you inside the cockpit for the first time. We recently got to sit down and have a chat with Kazutoki Kono to talk a...
PSX 2016 Ace Combat 7 Takes to The Skies With New Trailer
Soarin'
We haven't heard much about Bamco's sky-high flight series in some time. After being announced at last year's PSX, details were scarce until Ace Combat 7 appeared on the list of playable games at Sony's end-of-year bash. Unfortunately while this trailer confirmed that Ace Combat 7 still exists, we didn't much past that. Barely a minute of...
Soapbox Subtleties of the Souls Series That Make It Special
The secret in the souls
Who would have guessed that FromSoftware would go on to make a dent on the global game development scene when it dropped Demon's Souls? A seemingly inconspicuous title upon release, it spawned a game formula that has evolved and enthralled more and more with its sophisticated sequels. The games test your resolve with a blend...
PSX 2015 Ace Combat 7 May Finally Sell You on PlayStation VR
It's also exclusive to PS4
While PlayStation VR is certainly an interesting idea, we've yet to see a game that really sells the concept. Luckily, during today's PlayStation Experience Keynote, Bandai Namco revealed that a new title in the Ace Combat series – Ace Combat 7, to be precise – will be coming exclusively to PlayStation 4, and will
News The Witcher 3 PS4 Patch 1.08 Promises Performance Fixes, Is 2.8GB, and It's Out Now
Taming the hunt
Here we are downloading yet another update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Available now on PlayStation 4, the patch promises dozens of performance, quest, and bug fixes. It's perhaps not the most exciting update that the game's ever received, but it sets the stage nicely for the upcoming New Game Plus downloadable content, which we...
Gamescom 2015 Dark Souls 3 Looks Deadly in Its First Slice of Gameplay
Top goth
Dark Souls fans will already know what to expect from Dark Souls 3, and as such, the action role-playing game's new trailer is probably exactly as you'd imagine it to be. Featuring plenty of gothic imagery and big bloody monsters, it's 100 per cent From Software. It's the gameplay that's the real draw of this clip, though, even if it does...
News Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Delays Its Ninja War Into 2016
Here's a cool trailer, though
The writing was on the wall but we didn't want to believe. Last week, it was confirmed that Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 was to be delayed into 2016 in Japan, and as expected, the delay has hit us here in the West, too. Originally scheduled to launch at some point in the autumn, Bandai Namco has revealed...
News The Witcher 3's PS4 Patch 1.08 Fixes Potential Performance Issues
Geralt rides again
CD Projekt Red's only gone and dropped some details on The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt's upcoming patch 1.08, which is set to release in the near future. The update fixes a ton of stuff, but most notably, it supposedly helps with any performance loss that the last patch brought about. There's not much more to say this time around, so...
News Digimon World: Next Order Looks Set to Be Another Good Digimon Game for PS Vita
Digimon are the champions
Not to be confused with Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, which has been confirmed for a Western release on PlayStation 4 and Vita next year, Digimon World: Next Order takes cues from certain PSone title that some of you 90s kids may remember. Launching in Japan as a Vita exclusive at some point in 2016, we've got our first...
News Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm PS4 May Be Delayed into 2016
Sharingan tears
Uh oh, Naruto fans won't be happy to hear this one. According to the latest issue of Jump Magazine, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 has been delayed into next year in Japan. There's no confirmation on whether this will be the case for the West, but we reckon that it looks likely, especially since the brawler was due to...
News Dragon Ball XenoVerse PS4's Online Functions Haven't Been Shut Down
Don't believe the hype
Whether it's a weird error message or a bit of a daft prank, don't believe the rumours going around that Dragon Ball XenoVerse has shut down many of its online services. One rumour in particular suggests that the multiplayer lobby, timespace delivery, and auto patrols have been abruptly and permanenty taken offline, but we've...
News Here Are Some Details on The Witcher 3's New Game Plus Mode
What will carry over?
As always, CD Projekt Red community coordinator Marcin Momot has delivered some juicy info regarding what's next for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. If you didn't know already, the game's final slice of downloadable content will be a new game plus mode, so that you can restart the title with some bonuses from your previous run - but...
News The Witcher 3's Getting New Game Plus as Free DLC
Return to the hunt
Great news for fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the title's getting a much requested new game plus option as free downloadable content. Given that the release features so many varying story and quest paths, many players have been asking for a way to replay the adventure without having to start...
News As Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero Explodes, Bandai Namco Is Reportedly Cutting Staff and Projects
Apparently pressuring employees to resign
Video games publisher Bandai Namco has been culling both projects and staff due to "lackluster demand". That's according to a new report from Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources "familiar with the matter". According to the report, Bandai Namco's approach to reducing staff is not to make them redundant, but...
News Netflix Animated Series Tekken: Bloodline Gets Ready for Battle This August
Check out the new trailer
Netflix has announced its animated series Tekken: Bloodline will hit the service on 18th August 2022. To go along with the announcement is this new story trailer, which reveals a little more about Jin Kazama's journey. To recap, this is an origin tale of sorts for Jin, who is trained up by Heihachi Mishima after his mother...
News Bandai Namco Reportedly Subjected to Ransomware Attack
Elden Ring publisher's data held hostage
Bandai Namco, the major Japanese games publisher, has apparently fallen victim to a cyber attack. That's according to vx-underground, a group reporting and gathering information on malware and cybercrime (thanks, VGC). Little is known about the alleged attack, but it's reported that the publisher has...
Feature Bringing Elden Ring's Best and Worst Boys to Life
We speak to two of the game's most memorable voice actors
FromSoftware games are memorable for a myriad of reasons but in their hostile, melancholy worlds, the small number of NPCs that players can befriend are precious and memorable. So are those villains whose reputations precede them. As its biggest title to date, Elden Ring has a cast far larger...
News Tekken: Bloodline Is a Netflix Animated Series Coming Later This Year
Keeping Up with the Kazamas
If you've been wondering what's going on with Tekken, it seems Bandai Namco's next move is not a new entry in the storied fighting game franchise. Instead, a freshly announced animated series from Netflix has surfaced, named Tekken: Bloodline. As you can see in the above teaser trailer, this is an anime focusing on the...
Guide Elden Ring: All Summon Spirits and Where to Find Them
That's the spirit
What are all Summon Spirits and where do you find them in Elden Ring? Summon Spirits, also known as Spirit Ashes, are allies that you can call to aid you in battle, and are similar to multiplayer summons. Spirit Ashes can be collected and then added to your quick item inventory so you can call them during gameplay. In order to...
Guide Elden Ring: How to Two-Hand and Dual-Wield / Power Stance Weapons
Handy to know
How do you two-hand a weapon in Elden Ring? If you're keen to maximise your offensive potential, then two-handing a weapon is the way to go – but if you've played Souls games like Demon's Souls, Dark Souls,
News Bandai Namco Reveals New Logo, Everyone Hates It
Welcome to the internet
Whenever a company reveals a new logo, it's common practice to then hate on that new logo until everyone gets tired and moves onto something else. The latest victim of this fruitless cycle is Bandai Namco, a games publisher that has had the same red/orange/yellow blob of a logo since the two entities merged in 2005. Now, the...
News Development Takes Off on a New Ace Combat Game
Bandai Namco and ILCA join forces
Ace Combat is a series that's just been quietly brilliant for years. Like any franchise, it's had its ups and downs, but the core games are largely great. Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown on PlayStation 4 was the last entry, and it's a fun, cheesy aerial action game that's well worth your time, especially if you have...
News Bandai Namco Teases Horror Game Announcement via Mysterious Website
What could it be?
A teaser website has popped up online for a supposed new game from Bandai Namco. The site gives away almost nothing, with just a looping, found footage style video of a Japanese house and a murky sky. The details in the bottom right suggest the game could be called Domas, and that news in some form will be shared on 30th August at...
E3 2018 Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition Is Coming to PS4 This Year
Tales of Joyfulness
Tales fans, rejoice! What we once thought would never happen no matter how much we cried has become a reality: Tales of Vesperia Definitive Edition is definitely happening. We sniffed out rumours of it only this week, when an official site for the game was discovered. Given Bandai Namco's resistance to re-releasing...
Interview Slightly Mad Discusses Project CARS 2's Early Reception
Hints at future content, too
Since the 22nd September, drivers everywhere have had the chance to grab Project CARS 2 and live the real-life racing experience (or as close to as many of us will get). Already off to a strong start with rave reviews critically, Slightly Mad Studios now hopes to replicate the success sales wise. Building from...
Interview Flying High with Kazutoki Kono and Ace Combat 7 on PS4
The sky's the limit
One of the coolest uses that we've seen for PlayStation VR yet is the experience of Ace Combat 7. The series has always been about high-octane, sky high dogfights, and now it's taken to a whole new level by placing you inside the cockpit for the first time. We recently got to sit down and have a chat with Kazutoki Kono to talk a...
PSX 2016 Ace Combat 7 Takes to The Skies With New Trailer
Soarin'
We haven't heard much about Bamco's sky-high flight series in some time. After being announced at last year's PSX, details were scarce until Ace Combat 7 appeared on the list of playable games at Sony's end-of-year bash. Unfortunately while this trailer confirmed that Ace Combat 7 still exists, we didn't much past that. Barely a minute of...
Soapbox Subtleties of the Souls Series That Make It Special
The secret in the souls
Who would have guessed that FromSoftware would go on to make a dent on the global game development scene when it dropped Demon's Souls? A seemingly inconspicuous title upon release, it spawned a game formula that has evolved and enthralled more and more with its sophisticated sequels. The games test your resolve with a blend...
PSX 2015 Ace Combat 7 May Finally Sell You on PlayStation VR
It's also exclusive to PS4
While PlayStation VR is certainly an interesting idea, we've yet to see a game that really sells the concept. Luckily, during today's PlayStation Experience Keynote, Bandai Namco revealed that a new title in the Ace Combat series – Ace Combat 7, to be precise – will be coming exclusively to PlayStation 4, and will
News The Witcher 3 PS4 Patch 1.08 Promises Performance Fixes, Is 2.8GB, and It's Out Now
Taming the hunt
Here we are downloading yet another update for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Available now on PlayStation 4, the patch promises dozens of performance, quest, and bug fixes. It's perhaps not the most exciting update that the game's ever received, but it sets the stage nicely for the upcoming New Game Plus downloadable content, which we...
Gamescom 2015 Dark Souls 3 Looks Deadly in Its First Slice of Gameplay
Top goth
Dark Souls fans will already know what to expect from Dark Souls 3, and as such, the action role-playing game's new trailer is probably exactly as you'd imagine it to be. Featuring plenty of gothic imagery and big bloody monsters, it's 100 per cent From Software. It's the gameplay that's the real draw of this clip, though, even if it does...
News Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 Delays Its Ninja War Into 2016
Here's a cool trailer, though
The writing was on the wall but we didn't want to believe. Last week, it was confirmed that Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 was to be delayed into 2016 in Japan, and as expected, the delay has hit us here in the West, too. Originally scheduled to launch at some point in the autumn, Bandai Namco has revealed...
News The Witcher 3's PS4 Patch 1.08 Fixes Potential Performance Issues
Geralt rides again
CD Projekt Red's only gone and dropped some details on The Witcher 3 Wild Hunt's upcoming patch 1.08, which is set to release in the near future. The update fixes a ton of stuff, but most notably, it supposedly helps with any performance loss that the last patch brought about. There's not much more to say this time around, so...
News Digimon World: Next Order Looks Set to Be Another Good Digimon Game for PS Vita
Digimon are the champions
Not to be confused with Digimon Story: Cyber Sleuth, which has been confirmed for a Western release on PlayStation 4 and Vita next year, Digimon World: Next Order takes cues from certain PSone title that some of you 90s kids may remember. Launching in Japan as a Vita exclusive at some point in 2016, we've got our first...
News Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm PS4 May Be Delayed into 2016
Sharingan tears
Uh oh, Naruto fans won't be happy to hear this one. According to the latest issue of Jump Magazine, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4 has been delayed into next year in Japan. There's no confirmation on whether this will be the case for the West, but we reckon that it looks likely, especially since the brawler was due to...
News Dragon Ball XenoVerse PS4's Online Functions Haven't Been Shut Down
Don't believe the hype
Whether it's a weird error message or a bit of a daft prank, don't believe the rumours going around that Dragon Ball XenoVerse has shut down many of its online services. One rumour in particular suggests that the multiplayer lobby, timespace delivery, and auto patrols have been abruptly and permanenty taken offline, but we've...
News Here Are Some Details on The Witcher 3's New Game Plus Mode
What will carry over?
As always, CD Projekt Red community coordinator Marcin Momot has delivered some juicy info regarding what's next for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. If you didn't know already, the game's final slice of downloadable content will be a new game plus mode, so that you can restart the title with some bonuses from your previous run - but...
News The Witcher 3's Getting New Game Plus as Free DLC
Return to the hunt
Great news for fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as CD Projekt Red has confirmed that the title's getting a much requested new game plus option as free downloadable content. Given that the release features so many varying story and quest paths, many players have been asking for a way to replay the adventure without having to start...