The Binding Of Isaac Card Game Hits Lowest Price Ever
Binding of Isaac is one of the most popular indie games in recent memory, featuring a uniquely dark art style and a narrative unlike anything else in gaming. It seems Isaac couldn’t be contained to just the world of video games, as the sacrificial character is also the star of a tabletop card game. And right now, you’ll find The Binding of Isaac: Four Souls Ultimate Collection Card Game for just $99 (down from $117).
$99 (was $117)
That’s the lowest price we’ve ever seen for the game, and it’s among one of the few discounts we’ve seen over the past year. The collection includes everything you need to start playing, and since it comes with the base game and both the Requiem and Four Souls+ expansions, you’ll have plenty of quirky ways to change up your experience.
Once you’re done playing, everything can be stored in the large collector’s box.
The goal of the game is to collect treasure and defeat enemies as you attempt to acquire four souls. Do that, and you’ll win. But with hundreds of cards in the deck, there are plenty of things that’ll get between you and victory. All 700 plus cards in the collection look great, as they boast the same striking art style as the video game.
If you’d rather not pick up the ultimate edition, you’ll find the standard Four Souls game on sale for $39 (down from $45) and the Requiem expansion for $35. Aside from the card game, a bit of Isaac merch is also available. This includes a Youtooz Blue Baby Vinyl Figure for $35, a set of custom dice for $25, and an Isaac plushie on sale for $19 (down from $20).
New GameFly Pre-Played Sale Includes Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 For Only $40
A selection of pre-played PS5 and Xbox Series X games are on sale at GameFly right now. GameFly’s used games are already cheaper than buying full price, but these limited-time deals can save you up to an extra $10 off the pre-owned price.
One cool thing about purchasing used games from GameFly is that you get the original case and any inserts that are included with new copies. In our experience, the discs are in really great condition, too. We’ve bought a few games from GameFly that looked fresh out of the warehouse.
While only a relatively small batch of pre-played games are included in the sale, there are some notable recent releases, including Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5, which is down to just $40. That’s a great price on one of the best PS5 exclusives. Ubisoft’s open-world shooter Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora only launched back in December 2023, but you can grab it in GameFly’s sale for just $40. Another Ubisoft game, the excellent metroidvania, Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, is just $30.
You can also grab used copies of Warhammer 40K: Darktide for just $13, Persona 5 Tactica for $40, and Lords of the Fallen for $25. We’ve listed even more of our favorite deals below, and you can check the full list at GameFly’s online store. Be sure to grab any that catch your eye. Since this is a pre-played sale, stocks are limited, and some deals may sell out. Note that these discounts are available to everyone, and you do not need to be a GameFly subscriber to purchase them.
GameFly Pre-played Sale – March 2024
Alone In The Dark Dev Talks Edward’s Mustache And Why You Need To Play The Game Twice
The upcoming reimagining of Alone in the Dark that releases next week brings back series protagonist Edward–played by David Harbour–but in the new game, he doesn’t have a mustache. What gives? Creative director Pikael Hedberg of developer Pieces Interactive has explained why the studio chose to depict Edward as clean-shaven. The studio also discussed how players will need to play the game twice to get the full story.
In a FAQ, Hedberg said Edwards in the new Alone in the Dark is “pretty close” to who he is in the original series, but without his glorious mustache. He said the “magnificent mustache” from earlier games made sense when Edward was just beginning his career as a private detective. But later games made him into more of an action hero. With the new Alone in the Dark going “back to the original” in terms of his character design, many thought Edward might get his iconic mustache back. But Pieces decided to go a different direction.
Now Playing: Alone in the Dark | Into The Madness Gameplay Trailer
“When paired up with Emily (Jodie Comer) he seemed a little uninteresting. Emily was this tormented character with a family connection to our story catalyst Jeremy Hartwood, so she came more naturally. The question then was, who was Edward to her,” Hedberg said. “Turns out she hires him to help her. And she certainly wouldn’t hire just anybody. He had to be at least a little capable. To avoid the action type he fell into the reluctant hero slot and suddenly we had gone all this way to kind of wind up with a classic noir detective. I think with as little we actually knew about Edward in the original game, I feel like our Edward is pretty close. Except for his majestic moustache, of course.”
The FAQ touches on more than Edward’s mustache, though. It also confirms that a “main story” playthrough should take around eight hours, though everyone plays games differently and your own playthrough could be longer or shorter. Additionally, the developer said players will “need” to play the game at least twice to see the whole story because they can choose to play as Edward or Emily, and there are additional story elements to unravel with each character.
Head to the full FAQ to read up on other elements of the game, like how it has no microtransactions and can be played completely offline, among other things like how the studio is made up of only 40 people.
The new Alone in the Dark releases on March 20 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
Fortnite Festival Is Getting An Unexpected Crossover
Fortnite Festival has already given us massive collaborations with The Weeknd and Lady Gaga since it launched in December, and now it’s introducing a whole new type of collab for Fortnite: real-life musical instruments, with Fender up first.
This Fender x Fortnite collab is bringing the Fender Stratocaster Guitar and Fender Precision Bass to the Item Shop, and you won’t have long to wait–both instruments will be available to purchase today, Wednesday, March 13, when the shop resets at 5 PM PT / 8 PM ET.
The Stratocaster comes with three different color options–black, fiesta red and Lake Placid blue–and so will the Precision Bass, which comes in black, buttercream and tidepool.
Fortnite Festival is primarily a rhythm game from Harmonix, the creators of Guitar Hero and Rock Band, but it’s not just a separate, walled-off mode that happens to be inside Fortnite. On top of the rhythm game, players can “jam” with their purchased songs on the Festival Jam Stage or even during battle royale matches, and multiple players jamming together can come up with awesome mashups on the fly by playing tracks from different songs together.
Players can choose what instruments their character will be playing during the rhythm game or while jamming–if you buy and equip the Fender Stratocaster, for example, you’ll see your character hold it when you’re playing the guitar track on any song. While these Fender guitars may not be as eye-catching as, say, Zeus’s lightning-infused guitar or Hades’s smoky bass that you can earn from Fortnite’s battle pass, not every instrument needs to be wacky or weird — class is good too.
Call Of Duty: Mobile Isn’t Leaving Once Warzone Mobile Launches, Dev Says
Activision apparently will see how Call of Duty: Mobile and Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile can coexist together after the latter launches later this month. There have been some questions about what would happen to Mobile since there seems to be direct overlap between the two games, such as battle royale and team deathmatch modes.
The official Call of Duty: Mobile account on X (formerly known as Twitter) stated outright that “there are no plans to change the breadth of content” the game includes for new players. The post adds that “new content” will continue to come out through 2024.
Call of Duty®: Mobile will continue to get new content every season and there are no plans to change the breadth of content we bring to COD:M players. Stay tuned for more info on exciting new content we have coming this year!
— Call of Duty: Mobile (@PlayCODMobile) March 12, 2024
Last year, Activision responded to reports that Call of Duty: Mobile would be “phased out.” The company said the game would be supported “for the long haul,” which seems to be validated currently. Call of Duty: Mobile will see the launch of Season 3: Vintage Vigilance today, which introduces a new operator skill and multiplayer map. The game–developed by TiMi Studio Group–launched in 2019.
Meanwhile, Call of Duty: Warzone Mobile will officially release on March 21. The game–developed internally at Activision–offers shared progression with Modern Warfare 3 and Warzone on consoles and PC. Coming to Android and iOS, Warzone Mobile will offer 120-player matches on Verdansk and 48-player battles on Rebirth Island when it debuts next week. Other modes include Domination and Kill Confirmed.
Nicolas Cage Has Some Bad News On National Treasure 3
Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage starred in two National Treasure movies for Disney that made huge amounts of money and helped to catapult the actor to a new level of mainstream fame. But the most recent entry in the series is 2007’s National Treasure: Book of Secrets. Fans have been eagerly awaiting new installment ever since, but according to Cage, it’s not going to happen.
“No, there is no National Treasure 3. If you want to find treasure, don’t look at Disney, okay? It’s not there,” he told ScreenRant.
The National Treasure series did continue, in a way, through the Disney+ TV series National Treasure: Edge of History. Justin Bartha and Harvey Keitel reprised their roles from the film series, but the TV show didn’t catch on, and it was canceled after just one season.
The franchise debuted in 2004, telling the story of a historian, Cages’ Ben Gates, who needed to steal the Declaration of Independence before a group of mercenaries could do so. The sequel upped the ante further and saw Gates kidnapping the President of the United States. The plots were absolutely absurd, as you can tell, but made for fun viewing.
In addition to Cage, Bartha, and Keitel, the franchise featured a range of big-name actors, including Diane Kruger, Sean Bean, Jon Voight, Christopher Plummer, Ed Harris, Bruce Greenwood, and Helen Mirren.
Together, the two National Treasure movies earned close to $1 billion at the box office, not adjusted for inflation. Jerry Bruckheimer produced the series, as well as the recent TV show.
In 2020, it was reported that Disney was moving ahead with National Treasure 3 and had hired people to work on it. This never happened, of course, and Cage’s recent comments suggest it may never, though nothing is ever certain in Hollywood.
Producer Jason Reed explained that Disney never succeeded in turning National Treasure into a bonafide franchise that spanned merchandise and theme park attractions. Moviemaking is a fickle and uncertain business in terms of revenue, and many franchises rely on ancillary revenue sources. But National Treasure never succeeded in that respect.
“I think part of what happened … even though the movies themselves were extremely successful, and had a really strong fanbase; it’s a movie that gets brought up all the time, particularly the first one. Unfortunately, the company was never able to capitalize on it as a franchise,” Reed said. “It makes it look harder to a company like Disney to focus resources on something when they can go make Toy Story or go buy a cruise ship.”
Venom 3 Release Date Moved Up, Gets New Title
Venom 3 is coming sooner than anticipated, and it has a new title. Sony Pictures has announced that the third Venom movie has moved up from November 8, 2024 to October 25, 2024. It’s going to release in theaters under the title Venom: The Last Dance.
In The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns once again to play Eddie Brock/Venom, alongside Ted Lasso’s Juno Temple in a leading role and Chiwetel Ejiofor reportedly as the main villain.
Kelly Marcel makes her feature film directorial debut with The Last Dance. She also wrote the screenplay and the story, alongside Hardy. Marcel wrote the first two Venom movies as well. Outside of that series, Marcel wrote the movies Saving Mr. Banks and Fifty Shades of Grey, two films that couldn’t be more different in terms of storytelling and tone.
2018’s Venom was a box office smash, earning more than $850 million worldwide, despite a middling reception from critics (audiences, however, liked it more). The 2021 sequel earned more than $500 million worldwide, meaning the franchise has so far has banked more than $1.3 billion at the box office after just two releases.
Venom is a Spider-Man universe character just like Madame Web, which is why Sony Pictures is producing the film and not Marvel. Sony is no doubt hoping Venom: The Last Dance will perform better than Madame Web, which tanked at the box office earlier this year.
Oh No, Helldivers 2 Has Flying Bugs To Deal With Now
Helldivers 2 players have a new threat to watch out for following this week’s patch, as a new breed of Terminid enemies have been introduced to the game. While the Terminid ground forces live up to their name and terrain, these new bugs are an airborne menace that have begun appearing in the game.
Are they even real? Helldivers 2 director Johan Pilestedt took to X/Twitter to rubbish these claims, rejecting the reality of flying bugs and substituting his own Ministry of Truth-approved spin on the claims. “I’ve heard rumors of flying bugs in Helldivers 2,” Pilestedt wrote. “I want to officially refute such preposterous claims. Everyone knows that ‘Bugs can’t fly’. And I’m not alone in thinking this. The Ministry of Truth agrees that this is propaganda from bug sympathizers that want to brainwash good people.”
What makes the sudden arrival of these airborne assault units–called Shriekers–surprising is that Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead left them out of the patch notes. While the lengthy list of tweaks and fixes mentioned things like making Chargers significantly more susceptible to explosive trauma to the face, the stealthy arrival of Shriekers made for a fun–and horrifying–surprise. As noted by Windows Central, Shriekers will only appear in missions where they have their own lairs, so you won’t need to constantly keep an eye on the sky.
In other Helldivers 2 news from the front, a new community event has kicked off this week and could see big changes to the galaxy if players are successful. Four planets close to Super-Earth are ready for planetary fumigation, and if the Termicide-dispensing towers go online, those worlds will be forever safe from the giant bugs.
System Shock PS5 And Xbox Series X Preorders Are Live
System Shock, one of last year’s sleeper hit games on PC, is making its debut on PlayStation and Xbox consoles on May 21. You can preorder the atmospheric first-person shooter for $50 on PS5 and Xbox Series X at Amazon right now.
System Shock remake console preorders
Developed by Nightdive Studios, this remake of System Shock is a fascinating blend of the old-school gameplay of the ’90s filtered through a modern design lens. It has the same aesthetics as the original, but developer Looking Glass Studios had access to Unreal Engine software. Anyone who played the original System Shock will be at home with this remake, as this version of the game will awaken some nostalgic muscle memory with its emphasis on stealth, inventory management, and keeping a low profile when dealing with homicidal cyborgs guided by a malevolent AI.
System Shock had a storied development cycle, as Nightdive Studios began work on the project in 2015. A successful Kickstarter campaign raised over $1.3 million for the game in 2016, but several delays, a switch from Unity to Unreal Engine 4, and a complete overhaul of the gameplay to make it more faithful to the original followed that success. The game even has the original voice of SHODAN, the killer AI looking to turn you into a meat-puppet, reprising her role for an added touch of authenticity.
Finally arriving on PC in 2023, the remake received positive critical acclaim for retaining the spirit of the source material while giving it a nuanced sense of modernization. “Thanks to its remake, we can point to System Shock, almost 20 years after its release, and recognize that it has always been an incredible game, rightfully deserving its place in video game history,” Jean-Luc Seipke wrote in GameSpot’s feature on the best PC games of 2023.
If you have a PC capable of running it–the game is also playable on Steam Deck–System Shock is available for only $22 during Fanatical’s Spring Sale. That’s nearly 50% off its $40 list price on PC. Plus, you’ll get a free game for spending over $12 during the sale.
