Clair Obscur Is Our Latest RPG Obsession

What a year for games (so far).

Author

Robert Scarpinito
April 25, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 9 minutes

RPG fans are eating good this week. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is a surprise hit from Sandfall Interactive, giving turn-based RPGs a whole new vibe and feel. With a gorgeous art direction and modern twists on a classic formula, this game is one you don’t want to miss this year—in fact, 500,000 people have already purchased it.

And not to add to the game fatigue, but Bethesda also shadowdropped the Oblivion remaster this week. And it definitely seems like there’s upgrades than you’d think for a remaster.

It should be no surprise to anyone, but this wave of unnecessary tariffs are an existential crisis for many businesses, especially smaller and mid-sized ones. Stonemaier is joining a giant lawsuit that includes multiple companies from various industries, all of which have been negatively (and again, unnecessarily) impacted by these tariffs.

It really is no joke how much this is rocking the tabletop community. CMON, the developer behind Massive Darkness, is outright pausing all game development amid the tariffs.

The next big PlayStation game just got a release date, less than six months away. It’s looking like another revenge story about hunting down masked enemies in Japan, which sounds familiar. But the latest trailer also looks gorgeous, like most first-party PlayStation games.

Ubisoft Has Some Highs & Lows This Week

Speaking of revenge in Japan, Assassin’s Creed Shadows has topped the U.S. charts for March, selling exceptionally well, according to analysis firm Circana. This accounts for all formats, physically and digitally.

However, Ubisoft also announced Might & Magic Fates, a free-to-play trading card game that works off the blockchain and features Web3 elements. What is this, 2022?

To round things out though, Mantic Games, the tabletop studio behind Halo: Flashpoint, has partnered with Ubisoft and is working on a new tabletop game called Assassin’s Creed: Animus.

Nintendo may be the most family-friendly of the Big 3, but never forget that it’s also a very litigious company that protects its IP. In this case though, it does make sense—the Teraleak was huge, and pursuing legal action makes sense. I wonder if that person was also able to secure a Switch 2 this week.

The European Commission has fined Apple for not complying with the Digital Markets Act, which requires Apple to inform consumers of alternatives outside of the App Store—alternatives to, for example, get Fortnite V-Bucks.

What Are the Wizards of the Coast Up To?

Wizards of the Coast has updated the ban list for Magic: The Gathering Commander format play. In addition, it’s given more information on the Game Changers bracket system, which is essentially a tiered system that helps you identify just how competitive (or “broken”) a card might be, depending on how casually you’re trying to play.

If you’ve been waiting for more Universes Beyond sets for Magic: The Gathering Arena (and Magic Online), you’re in luck. The Through the Omenpaths set will bring some of them to digital formats—with some caveats.