Since the dawn of time, mankind has reckoned with one overriding question: how do I get in that building and kill everyone in it?

For almost as long, the Stronghold series has grappled with both sides of this conundrum, placing you in the mailed shoes of both defender and attacker in medieval siege after medieval siege. Now, 15 years (would you believe it?) after Stronghold 3, Stronghold 4 is here to put things in trebuchets and launch them at you, and we just caught sight of it at the PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct.

It all looks quite swish—that good old, down-home Stronghold fun with plenty of refinements to make it all sing. Firefly's promising battles both big and varied, with stuff like seven-CPU skirmishes and 14 (count 'em) battlefields serving as the big bullet points for the trailer.

Me, though? I'm most enamoured of the eight distinct sickos who will serve as your enemy lords. We've got an old guy, essentially doing a medieval and elderly version of the old 'You can't cut back on funding!' character from Sim City, you've got a man with a profoundly punchable face and a zoomer haircut, you've got a fellow who seems to not quite be all there, and, my favourite, a goth lady who promises to break you apart piece by piece.

We also see a whole buncha, well, strongholds, which range in design from simple to labyrinthine and range in material from wood to stone, and which it looks like you can really go to town on, design-wise. I must say, I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the game's stronghold-making tools and building me a castle that will last generations. Or at least until someone puts several flaming holes into it.

Stronghold 4 is coming later this year. You can wishlist it on Steam.

It's always vampires versus werewolves. In games like Skyrim, you can be one or the other, but not both. In Twilight, you had to choose team Jacob or team Edward. Now we're all grown up, it's team Charlie and Carlisle all the way. In Vaewolf, you don't have to choose, you play an elf who's half werewolf and half vampire.

Vaewolf is an action game where you hack and slash your way to vengeance. The PC Gaming Show Tokyo Direct just debuted a story trailer that gives us a good look at the events that led to our protagonist going down the path of violence.

Werewolves destroyed their village, leaving them as the only survivor. They must have been nicked by a claw or tooth, because they can transform into a devastatingly powerful werewolf form and smash through enemies.

I'm not too sure where the vampire form comes into things, though. Maybe they got bitten later? Or maybe they were always a vampire and that's how they survived the doggo attack? I don't know. All I know is switching between the two forms looks fluid and awesome, and I'm a fan of the isometric view and drawn art style.

Even the standard elf form looks pretty sick. You've got a bow, obviously, and can do cool tricks like firing multiple arrows at once to make it more like a shotgun. The game promises the ability to quickly change between all of these forms, leading to brutal combos as you play.

Vaewolf is coming out sometime in early 2027, so for now, wishlist it on Steam.

Konami is ushering in the spooky Halloween season with a free demo for Castlevania: Belmont's Curse launching on October 1st.

Castlevania has been slumbering like a sleepy vampire for far too long, but publisher Konami and developer Evil Empire (the Dead Cells support studio and The Rogue Prince of Persia maker) plan to shake the classic series awake, fangs bared, on October 15th of this year.

Konami today announced that fans can get a little taste test early. The upcoming demo contains the opening chapter of Belmont's Curse, and you'll be able to carry your progress over to the full game upon launch, as long as you buy Belmont's Curse on the same platform that you played its free demo.

"Certain features and content may be restricted in the demo version," Konami's announcement notes. "The full version must be updated to the latest version when transferring save data."

The Castlevania: Belmont's Curse demo will apparently run at a smooth 60fps on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S - the base Nintendo Switch version is instead running at 30fps, according to the publisher. There's currently no word on a potential, native Nintendo Switch 2 port, which I imagine the Metroidvania would be right at home on.

If you want a better look at the vampiric revival before its demo and full release, Konami hosted a lengthy livestream from Tokyo Game Show 2026 that dove deep into Belmont's Curse.

The developers have previously said Belmont's Curse is for people who love Metroidvanias, but are new to Castlevania, specifically. All you Hollow Knight fans may have something to tide you over until the Sea of Sorrow DLC, then.

Castlevania: Belmont's Curse brings on the Netflix show's Dracula and 1 other star from the TV series as part of the new game's English cast