Today's Nintendo Direct revealed a new adventure game called The World's End Club. It comes from the minds of Kotaro Uchikoshi and Kazutaka Kodaka, both known for some of the more twisted and entertaining narrative-focused adventures with the Zero Escape and Danganronpa series, respectively. And they aren't abandoning their talents of making you fight for survival with World's End Club.

However, for this adventure, you're trapped in an underwater theme park and forced to play in "The Game of Fate." Getting out of the theme park may seem like your biggest worry, but if you do escape and get a glimpse of Japan, you'll have a bigger mystery brewing as everyone has vanished. This takes you on a trip across the country with a group of 12 eclectic characters. The game blends side-scrolling action with its intense narrative, forcing you to go solo and at times team up with your group members to fight baddies and figure out how to survive harrowing situations.

World's End Club hits Switch on May 28. 

The Plants vs. Zombies franchise has undergone several transformations over the years, going from an approachable tower-defense franchise to the series of third-person (third-plant?) hero shooters we've seen over the last several years. The most recent entry, Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville, took the PvE and PvP elements of the Garden Warfare games and expanded them out in myriad ways. Now, that 2019 release is coming to Switch via the Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville Complete Edition on March 19.

One of my chief complaints of Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville was in its overly complicated economy. This Complete Edition seems to minimize the impact of the competing currencies of the base game, delivering access to all 23 fully customizable characters and all cosmetic items ever released through offline or online in-game unlockables with no premium store or currency required.

You can zap zombies or pick off plants either solo offline, up to four-player cooperative play, or in 8v8 multiplayer matches. The Switch version also gives players the opportunity to take advantage of the console's motion controls if they so choose and will be the first game that uses Electronic Arts' Frostbite engine on Switch.

"We are excited to bring everyone's favorite Plants vs. Zombies characters to Nintendo Switch for the first time, giving players the ability to play in their homes or on the go, however they choose," producer Melvin Teo said in a press release. "The Switch's motion controls allow us to try a fresh new take on Neighborville, and with its docked and portable play, we have the ability to bring the game and its characters to life in ways that weren't possible before."

Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville originally launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in October 2019. For more on that version of the game, check out my review. 

Aspyr Media has announced the return of Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse. The cult hit came out on the original Xbox in 2005 before jumping to PC and Mac later that year. Now, the publisher is bringing the zombie title back from the dead, giving players a chance to check it out on modern platforms.

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Set in 1959 in Punchbowl, Pa., Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse puts you in the rotting shoes of Stubbs as you munch your way through the idyllic town. You can use zombie moves like sputum, but grenades, and flatulence to weaken your prey before turning them into zombies to fight alongside you. The title includes single-player gameplay as well as couch co-op.

While Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse originally launched on Xbox more than a decade and a half ago, it is not currently one of the original Xbox titles available in Xbox Series X/S or Xbox One backward compatibility. Also, while the title was available on PC (including Steam, beginning in 2007), it has since been largely delisted. That means this re-release is the only official way to play the title on modern platforms.

You can check out the announcement trailer below.

We were fans of Stubbs the Zombie when the debut title came out in 2005, awarding the zany zombie title an 8 out of 10. A sequel was planned a few years later, but was eventually canceled after development studio Wideload shuttered.

Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse comes to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC (via Steam), playable on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S via backward compatibility, on March 16. To see Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse in action, check out this 2012 episode of Replay.

During the Nintendo Direct today, Legend of Zelda producer Eiji Aonuma had some news to relay. Sadly, that information is that there is nothing new to share on the Legend of Zelda: Breath of The Wild sequel today.

With an apology, Aonuma says that development is proceeding smoothly and that more information will be available to share later this year.

Unfortunately, such development delays are expected in today's COVID-19 world. Development pipelines and processes across the entire industry have been ravaged not only by the deadly disease and work-from-home shake-ups, but by having procedures turned on their heads as they adapt to new conditions.

The original Breath of the Wild hit in 2017, with a score of a perfect 10 from Game Informer. "Breath of the Wild is an achievement in the design of a living world. Hyrule is massive, with multiple environmental systems layered on top of a grand adventure. The only technical issue I encountered was one related to the framerate when fighting multiple enemies in busy forests. Despite the massive scope of the game, Breath of the Wild retains Nintendo’s knack for polish without any major technical hiccups to disrupt the experience," said Kyle Hilliard. "I was entranced by this version of Hyrule, and it surprised me at nearly every turn, from its wealth of discoveries to the way it shuns the established tropes of previous Zelda games. It represents a profound new direction for one of gaming’s best franchises and a new high point for open-world interactive experiences."

The only real information on the Breath of the Wild sequel happened at E3 2019. You can see the reactions here.

After finally settling down and playing Breath of the Wild this year, I'm also looking forward to the sequel. That said, the reality is that there are likely to be a number of high-profile delays across the board this year as the effects of COVID-19 continue to impact the world over.