Critical Hit, formerly Soundtrack Sunday, explores video game music and audio design, highlighting titles like Neverwinter Nights, which has a dedicated fanbase. The first expansion of Neverwinter Nights 2, Mask of the Betrayer, is noted for its mature narrative and impactful music, which plays a significant role in the game's atmosphere. Brandon, the audio director at Obsidian during the late 2000s, discussed the development of Mask of the Betrayer and its soundtrack, which he collaborated on with Womb Music's Rik Schaffer and Margaret Tang. The main theme of Mask of the Betrayer is described as mysterious and epic, with a darker reinterpretation for the DLC. The theme for Mulsantir captures the city's duality, blending inviting and sinister elements. Brandon aimed to encapsulate the medieval sound of Dungeons & Dragons, resulting in a soundtrack that enhances gameplay and leaves a lasting impression on players.
Humble Bundle is celebrating its 15th anniversary by offering a collection of 15 curated games for a total price of £7.41, with a retail value of £118.46. The games have positive ratings between 72% and 98% on Steam and support Comic Relief, a UK charity. Notable titles include:
- Rocket Rat: A whimsical game priced at £4.99.
- Necroking: A turn-based tactics game with an 84% positive rating.
- Kingsgrave: A dark fantasy RPG with a 72% positive rating.
- Janosik: A retro-style action platformer with a 96% positive rating.
- Pile Up! Box by Box: A 3D puzzle platformer with a 95% positive rating.
- Lunark: A cinematic platformer with an 86% positive rating.
- Distraint Deluxe Edition: A psychological horror game with a 93% positive rating.
- Distraint 2: A sequel to Distraint Deluxe Edition with a 96% positive rating.
- Orten Was The Case: A puzzle/adventure game with a 98% positive rating.
- The Invisible Hand: A game about stock market manipulation, normally priced at £9.99.
- Technotopia: A city-building and deck-building game.
- Dropsy: Warm Damp Hug Edition: A point-and-click adventure game.
- ION Shift: A first-person shooter.
- Undead West: A bullet-hell game with a supernatural narrative.
- Janosik 2: A sequel to Janosik with enhanced gameplay.
- Glitchhikers: The Spaces Between: A meditative journey game.
The bundle is available until April 15, and all game keys must be redeemed before April 15, 2027.
Bloodborne fans are celebrating the game's 11th anniversary by revisiting its world, despite no news of a remake or remaster due to disagreements between Sony and FromSoftware. The game, released in 2015, has achieved cult status for its unique Victorian fantasy setting. Fans have organized a two-week event called Return to Yharnam, starting on March 24 and ending on April 7, encouraging players to create new characters and engage in multiplayer experiences. The community's enthusiasm highlights a potential market for a PC port, which could attract new players to the game.
The Maw consumed the narrator but they have returned to the waking world. The narrator successfully escaped through one of the Maw's mouths. New PC games highlighted include:
- Bonnie Bear Saves Frogtime: A strategy game with grid-based battles alongside frogs.
- Deadline Delivery: A fast-paced adventure involving errant apes and exploding mail trucks.
- Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War: Players embody bugs to understand and combat foes.
- The Ratline: A game about tracking Nazi fugitives in the 1970s.
- Everwind: An early access first-person survival RPG set in a world of floating islands.
- Opus Magnum DLC: A new addition to an engineering sim with fresh content.
- Crawling Angels: A game where players navigate a carnival to satisfy a character's whims.
- The Cube, Save Us: An early access melee extraction game focused on loot in a sky cube.
- In Their Shoes: A slice-of-life game reimagining visual novel mechanics.
- Death Stranding 2: On The Beach: Now available on PC.
- Crimson Desert: An action-RPG from the creators of Black Desert Online.
- Briar Flame: A 2D dark fantasy action-platformer.
The team is currently engaged with Crimson Desert and reflecting on classic games, while also dealing with cooking and food-related thoughts.
In March 2026, a selection of free PC games includes:
- Novel Haven: A management simulation where players transform a lighthouse into a bookshop and engage with villagers.
- DJ Bunny: A 2D music-puzzle adventure where players craft tunes to help DJ Bunny perform at a music festival.
- Metal Goose: A retro first-person shooter where players battle robotic birds as the MG-1 super soldier.
- Vampire’s Fall 2: A 2D RPG where players rise as a vampire amid a civil war between humans and vampires.
- Snowbot: A third-person adventure featuring a robot navigating snowy mountains and solving puzzles.
- Witch You Want: A game where players create a witch character, engage in potion-making, and explore romance.
- Another Day With You: An adventure game filled with mini-games set in a quaint city corner.
- Where Winds Meet: A game that launched in November, returning with a free expansion titled Hexi, adding new maps, enemies, and quests.
- D1AL-ogue: A cyberpunk game where players repair androids using a circular puzzle mechanic.
- Hackinal: A browser-based hacking game with various difficulty levels for cracking passcodes.
- Faehnor Online: An MMORPG developed by a solo creator, encouraging exploration with real paper maps.
- A Date With Chester 2: A standalone story reflecting on memories while celebrating an anniversary with Chester.
Vampire’s Fall 2 is a free-to-play 2D dark fantasy RPG developed by Early Morning Studio, launched on Steam. It is a sequel to Vampire’s Fall: Origins, set hundreds of years later and designed to be accessible for newcomers. The original game is priced at £9.99, while the sequel includes microtransactions and pay-to-win elements. The PC version offers enhanced graphics and audio, a tailored user interface, and is free of ads or paywalls. The game features turn-based combat, nine weapon types, and four skill trees, allowing for customizable combat styles. Players can explore an open world, engage in PvP mode, and have reported an 85% 'Very Positive' review rating.
Humble Bundle is offering the 'Love You to Death' bundle, which includes nine horror-themed games for a minimum payment of £10.53, with a total estimated value of nearly £100. The games included are:
1. Have a Nice Death - A 2D action roguelike where players control Death in a whimsical world.
2. Ghost Watchers - An online co-op horror game focused on ghost hunting in abandoned houses.
3. Devour - A co-op game where players must stop possessed cultists.
4. Iron Lung - A short horror experience set in a submarine adrift in an ocean of blood.
5. Lunacid - A dark fantasy dungeon crawler with retro aesthetics.
6. Faith: The Unholy Trinity - A pixelated horror game where players confront demons and cultists.
7. The Bridge Curse 2: The Extrication - A first-person survival horror game based on Taiwanese folklore.
8. Life Eater - A controversial horror fantasy kidnapping simulator.
9. Without a Dawn - A visual novel horror about a woman in a remote cabin.
The bundle is available exclusively on PC and supports charitable causes.
Aerial_Knight's DropShot, Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, and Avowed are available today on February 17 through Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Death Howl and EA Sports College Football 26 are coming soon on February 19, along with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt - Complete Edition. TCG Card Shop Simulator is in Game Preview and will be available on February 24, followed by Dice A Million on February 25 and Towerborne on February 26. Final Fantasy III and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II will be released on March 3. Menace and Diablo II: Resurrected were released on February 5 and February 11, respectively, while High on Life 2 was released on February 13. Overwatch: Season 1: Conquest launched on February 10, introducing new Heroes and events. Microsoft Mahjong will have in-game benefits on February 24. Titles leaving Game Pass on February 28 include Monster Train, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, Injustice 2, and Middle Earth: Shadow of War.
AerialKnight’s DropShot is available on February 17 for Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC via Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass. Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora is also available on February 17 for the same platforms, featuring a first-person action-adventure experience. Avowed receives an update on February 17, introducing new playable races, a New Game Plus Mode, and a Photo Mode. Death Howl will launch on February 19 for Cloud, Xbox Series X|S, Handheld, and PC on Game Pass Ultimate and Premium. EA Sports College Football 26 is available on February 19 for Cloud and Xbox Series X|S, allowing players to represent 136 FBS schools. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt – Complete Edition launches on February 19 for Cloud and Console. TCG Card Shop Simulator enters Game Preview on February 24 for multiple platforms. Dice A Million will be available on PC on February 25 with Xbox Game Pass. Towerborne releases as a complete game on February 26 for Console, Handheld, and PC. Final Fantasy III and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II are set for March 3 on multiple platforms. Menace entered Game Preview on February 5 for PC, and Diablo II: Resurrected was released on February 11 for Console and PC. Overwatch: Season 1: Conquest began on February 10, introducing new heroes. Microsoft Mahjong will feature in-game benefits on February 24 for PC. Titles leaving Game Pass on February 28 include Monster Train, Expeditions: A MudRunner Game, Injustice 2, and Middle Earth: Shadow of War.
