When Harmonix's music-creation/blending game Fuser launched last year, I was delighted by the diverse song library and the intuitive gameplay that enabled me to create unique soundscapes made up of parts from popular songs of the last several decades. The foundation Harmonix laid with Fuser is strong, but today, the music-centric studio announced its 1.3 update, a list of artists for future downloadable content, and a free demo for players to check out.

The new 1.3 update adds new Live Set events. This new recurring in-game event gives players a new challenges to strive for with leaderboards and prizes for reaching higher tiers. The new update also adds additional options for Freestyle co-op, including the ability to adjust how many rounds and the length of rounds for public sessions. 

Fuser is also adding a new Hot Clips tool, which lets you preview a disc before dropping it onto your turntables. This new mechanic is said to essentially add a fifth loop to players' mixes. If you're overwhelmed by the amount of music options already in Fuser's library, Harmonix is adding new sorting functions, as well as the option to browse mixes that players have liked through their profiles.

In addition to addressing various bugs players have found, the 1.3 update also adds separate calibration profiles for Switch players in docked and handheld modes, several U.I. improvements, and other quality-of-life updates. On top of those improvements, Harmonix is throwing streamers a bone by allowing sharing through the native console share functionality, as well as a way to select only monetizable songs for streaming to avoid getting strikes against their accounts.

Harmonix also announced some of the artists of the next wave of downloadable content players will be able to add to their libraries in the near future. The next wave includes music from 24kGoldn, Bebe Rexha, Bell Biv DeVoe, BLACKPINK, DaBaby, David Guetta, Doja Cat, Dua Lipa, iann dior, Imanbek, Jason Derulo, Marshmello, Shaggy, Shawn Mendes, Sia, Usher, and more. 

Fuser launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC on November 10, playable on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S through backward compatibility. For more on my thoughts on Fuser, check out my review. If you'd rather figure out if Fuser is for you on your own, Harmonix today released a demo on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and Steam. The demo gets you up to speed on core gameplay mechanics and allows you to make mixes using eight of the full game's songs including Billie Eilish's "Bad Guy," Smash Mouth's "All Star" and Cardi B's "Bodak Yellow."

Magic: Legends graced the cover of Game Informer a while back, and now we have the date when all aspiring wizards and summoners can get into the mix. On March 23, PC players can jump into an open beta. On console? No worries, the game is still launching on Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC later this year.

If you're on PC, you can get in on March 23 and start whacking away at classic Magic: The Gathering adversaries, make friends with planeswalkers, and craft yourself a powerful deck of summons and spells! One of the coolest things we had a chance to check out during our cover story trip was an overarching artificial intelligence "Director" that changes the pace of the game as you go to create intensity. Crushing the enemies too hard? Expect things to get harder as elite spawns come to ruin your day, but there are added rewards for the challenge. The ever-shifting risk-reward cycle that this director can conjure up based on how you and your friends are playing is an ambitious and interesting addition to the ARPG space, and I can't wait to try to break it in a bunch of different ways.

But before you go about trying to game the system, you'll need a deck. Yes, Magic: Legends utilizes cards from Magic: The Gathering to bring the action, but it's much more fast-paced than a cerebral tabletop face-off. Your deck constantly cycles through options, and you can build it any way you like, forming synergies with your selected planeswalker. There's even PVP if you want to take on other players for rewards, but much of what we have seen so far boils down to open-world style maps, campaign experiences, and bite-sized "ordeals" which give the players a quick goal that leads to a boss battle. Ordeals are gameplay-oriented get in, get loot, get out runs which are perfect for small blocks of time solo or with your crew.

Never played Magic: The Gathering? Interested in how the classic card game translates into the fervor of the ARPG? Check out a new deckbuilding video from Cryptic that helps explain just how deckbuilding works in this new take on Magic: The Gathering.