Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geekly News. This week saw plenty of new releases for board games and video games, but before we get into those, let’s get into this week’s headline. Obsidian Entertainment made a sizeable announcement this past week. The Fallout: New Vegas developer announced that they may need to go in a different direction with their games. Obsidian cancelled any plans for The Outer Worlds 3 and an Avowed sequel.

Obsidian Entertainment at a Crossroads

Honestly, I may be more in tune with Obsidian Entertainment because I just finished an Obsidian Entertainment Video Game History, slated for a May 2026 release. Thank you, Obsidian. I may need to alter the final two segments of that piece. But Obsidian Entertainment dropped a bombshell this past week. Obsidian President Urquhart announced that Obsidian Entertainment needs to reduce the development time of their games, which means titles like The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed will not receive sequels.

Obsidian Entertainment has a penchant for developing brand-new game engines with each of its large titles. Despite The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed releasing within months of each other, both games have different game engines. This increases the development time for games that will already have massive development times. The Outer Worlds 2 took six years to develop, while Avowed had a development time of seven years. Yikes! Less-than-expected sales for both titles has led Obsidian Entertainment to cancel plans for any future games in these series.

Several factors led to The Outer Worlds 2 and Avowed selling fewer copies than expected. The Outer Worlds 2 suffered backlash with a proposed $80 price tag. Obsidian/Microsoft reverted to a $70 price tag before launch, but the damage was done. Gamers lost faith in the series. And then there’s Avowed. Avowed is more of a straight fantasy open-world RPG, and that is a tough market to crack into with a new title. Yes. Avowed is set in the popular Pillars of Eternity universe, but it functions as a new game in a new series. It also doesn’t help that Obsidian wasted a couple of years trying to turn Avowed into what Urquhart dubbed “Skyrim meets Destiny 2.” Obsidian could never get the multiplayer gameplay (the Destiny 2 portion) to work and turned Avowed into a single-player RPG experience. But that led to Avowed’s seven-year development window.

Video games work a lot like films. Many modern films flop even when they earn well over $500 million at the box office because producing them costs so much. A video game, like Avowed, that has a seven-year development will need to bring in a lot more money than a video game that takes three to four years to develop, like Obsidian’s other 2025 release, Grounded 2, or even Obsidian’s 2022 indie-like Pentiment. Even though Pentiment had a niche market, it didn’t cost Obsidian much to make the game, and smaller games like Pentiment and Grounded 2 may become the developer’s new business model. I don’t think we’ve seen the last of large open-world RPGs from Obsidian, but the developer may reduce the number of those games it releases.

Bitewing Games Launch Gold Country and Totally Human on KickStarter

Bitewing Games delivers one heck of a one-two punch this week with Reiner Knizia’s Gold Country and Kasper Lapp’s Totally Human. Gold Country is a new California Gold Rush strategy game created by Reiner Knizia and gorgeously illustrated by Beth Sobel, the same Beth Sobel who provided Wingspan’s art. While the design is inspired by a cult-classic Knizia game called Spectaculum, it has undergone extensive redevelopment by Reiner Knizia (closely collaborating with Bitewing Games) to become the ultimate stock market manipulation game. It features a completely reworked core game, all-new maps, exciting tactical abilities, and the lush landscapes of California.

Gold Country looks great on the table. I’ve never played Spectaculum, but heard great things. And this is a Reiner Knizia game. Knizia has been on a roll. And then there’s Kasper Lapp’s Totally Human. Lapp had a hit with Magic Maze. In Totally Human, players are given hidden identities (human or alien) and must answer three multiple-choice questions as “human-like” as possible, but aliens don’t understand human culture completely and face restrictions on how they can respond.

Totally Human gives me strong Spy Fall and Ferret Out vibes. Players take on hidden roles and must try and figure out who’s an alien in disguise. When done well, this concept can be a ton of fun. I’ve had more fun with Ferret Out than Spy Fall because players (including the ferret) don’t know who’s the odd one out. Based on Totally Human’s description, I don’t know how exactly the game plays. But I’ll give it a try. You can back Gold Country or Totally Human separately, but backing them both gives gamers a discount. If you’re interested in Totally Human and/or Gold Country, check out their KickStarter page.

Logic & Lore Launches on KickStarter

In Logic & Lore, rivals race to be the first to align their hidden stars, numbered 1-9. Each player has dragons and mice working together to organize the cosmos: they send their dragons out to gather information and the mice stay back to take notes and make conclusions based on the knowledge brought back by their dragons. Players each start with their set of cards face-down and shuffled. The game ends when either one player aligns all of their cards correctly OR a player chooses to reveal all of their cards. If the cards are correct, they win; otherwise, their opponent wins.

I like Logic & Lore’s description of a competitive logic game that stays cozy. And I think Logic & Lore gains its cozy designation based on its theme. What could be cozier than aligning the night sky? I dig the theme and the game’s look. Logic & Lore has a great score on Boardgamegeek. If you’re interested in backing Logic & Lore’s second edition, check out its KickStarter page.

Astra Imperium Launches on GameFound

Covering the monthly Solo Game of the Month has become a tradition for Geekly. This month’s title, Astra Imperium, sounds incredible. Astra Imperium offers the complexity of a Euro game in a ten-minute playtime. That’s perfect for a solo game. Usually, I can’t justify long setups and plays of solo games. I don’t need to worry with Astra Imperium.

As usual, Solo Game of the Month offers great production value. Astra Imperium’s resource management has me intrigued, and as you can tell with the picture above, there’s minimal setup and tear down for what looks to be an engaging solo game. Perfect! If you’re interested in Astra Imperium, check out its GameFound page.

Jump Masters! Launches on GameFound

Publisher Chip Theory is known for their amazing production value. At the time of writing this post, we have few images of Chip Theory’s latest game, Jump Masters!, but the game sounds fun. Jump Masters! combines dice placement (where the dice are unique characters with abilities) with Chinese Checkers. I love this concept.

Taking advantage of their character abilities, players try to dominate the board. Take advantage of positioning and terrain to best your opponent in this light-hearted, cute-throat game. Not gonna lie, I favorited Jump Masters! while researching it. Again, we have few images, other than the ones above. But I trust Chip Theory to produce a fantastic-looking game. If you’re interested in Jump Masters!, check out its GameFound page.

The Void Unveiled: Echoes of Arkham is a story-driven Lovecraftian board game of investigation, madness, and cosmic horror, designed for 1–4 players. Fully cooperative, rich in narrative, and steeped in creeping insanity, it invites you to descend into a world where every choice matters—and madness is never far behind. Step into the role of investigators unraveling a series of eerie mysteries in 1930s Arkham, each told through branching narrative chapters filled with meaningful choices, unique events, and escalating dread. As you read the story, your decisions shape the course of the game, leading to different outcomes and consequences. Each creature you encounter is governed by its own distinct set of rules and behaviors—not a single generic AI system in sight. Every monster feels unique, each one changing how you fight, think, and survive.

The above description comes from The Void Unveiled: Echoes of Arkham’s publisher. It is tough to stand out in the Cthulhu board game space. The phrase “not a single generic AI system in sight” must be a knock against Mansions of Madness. Honestly, The Void Unveiled: Echoes of Arkham reminds me a lot of a streamlined Mansions of Madness. But while Mansions Second Edition features an app that helps build the world, The Void Unveiled: Echoes of Arkham goes old school with an included storybook. From what I’ve seen of The Void Unveiled, it strikes me as a mixture of Mansions of Madness and Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective. If that’s the case, I’m interested. Since The Void Unveiled is another GameFound campaign, we have little information during its prerelease. But if you’re interested in The Void Unveiled: Echoes of Arkham, check out its GameFound page.

The Stone of Madness Dicefall Launches on GameFound

The Stone of Madness Dicefall is a cooperative tactical stealth board game for one to five players. Players jointly control five prisoners confined within an isolated monastery ruled by the Inquisition. Each prisoner has distinct abilities, restrictions, and mental conditions. The game is played in structured rounds where players assign actions to the prisoners, move them through the monastery, and interact with rooms, objects, and objectives. Actions are resolved using dice. Dice represent uncertainty under pressure and are tightly linked to the character performing the action and the current situation.

Stealth is the core of the experience. Many actions create noise, which increases tension and causes Inquisition patrols to react and reposition. Patrol movement and behavior respond to player decisions and accumulated alerts, turning the monastery into an active threat rather than a static board. Avoiding detection requires coordination, timing, and restraint.

I love it when a publisher includes a good description for their game (like the one we included above). The Stone of Madness Dicefall is a cooperative stealth board game? Count me in. That’s an amazing premise. There aren’t enough stealth board games, and most of the ones that exist are hidden movement games, where players take opposing sides. I have no idea how The Stone of Madness Dicefall intends to make stealth cooperative. Color me intrigued. If you’re interested in The Stone of Madness Dicefall, check out its GameFound page.

Ancient Empires Launches on GameFound

Ancient Empires is an action-programming, area-control, civilization game of expansion, conquest, and cunning decisions. In just a small box, it packs the feel of an epic empire-building experience. Players take the role of rising civilizations, competing for dominance across a modular map divided into regions rich with resources, settlements, and natural wonders. Through clever programming of action tokens, players expand their armies, establish cities, harvest resources, and challenge rivals for control of key territories. The game is divided into three Ages. During the Stone Age, the players will play as roaming tribes, establishing villages and expanding their reach. In the Bronze Age, the players will choose one of the available Civilizations to play with, gaining unique abilities. Finally, in the Iron Age, the players will be able to construct their Wonders.

We are three for the last three with great publisher descriptions of their games. Seriously, it makes covering games a lot easier. I love the tightness of Ancient Empires’ board. The three ages intrigue me. Transitioning from one age to the next could get intense. I’m unsure if players draft which empires they may choose, or if they gain an empire during the Bronze Age if they achieve certain benchmarks during the Stone Age. Either way could be fun. Ancient Empires looks to pack a lot of game into a small box. Most 4X (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) games take up a much larger footprint. And 4X games tend to take copious amounts of time. Ancient Empires suggests it plays in 1-2 hours. That’s lightning fast for a game with three distinct ages. If you’re interested in Ancient Empires, check out its GameFound page.

Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Releases

Dragon Quest VII doesn’t get a remake. It receives a reimagining. This is an important distinction. The original Dragon Quest VII was unruly. It didn’t hold players’ hands and show them where to go next. In short, it was easy to get lost in the original Dragon Quest VII. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined makes the classic JRPG approachable.

The graphics look stunning in Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. And this title may be a great place to start for gamers who never played the original, but fans of the original may be a little disappointed. SquareEnix streamlined the heck out of Dragon Quest VII Reimagined. It truly earns the title Reimagined. Similar to games like Ni No Kuni, you won’t even need to battle overworld enemies if your level far exceeds theirs. That’s amazing. If you’ve played JRPGs, you know how much of a time sink grinding can be. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined fixes that issue.

Despite cutting out islands from the original, Dragon Quest VII Reimagined improved on the game’s formula. I just wished another version of the game was available with the Reimagined version. Players could begin with Reimagined, the most approachable variant of the game, and progress to one of the other versions. But that’s a nitpick. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is a must-play if you’ve never played the original. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined is available on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.

Nioh 3 Releases on PC and PlayStation 5

While Nioh 2 functions as a prequel to the original game, Nioh 3 takes place after the events of the other two games. A true sequel at last. Yay! Unlike previous installments, gamers will have large spaces to explore. And players will have the option of playing as a samurai or ninja. The samurai playstyle resembles gameplay from previous Nioh installments. It has a focus on parrying. But the ninja playstyle is faster and features evasion and aerial attacks. This should increase Nioh 3’s replay value.

Nioh 3’s graphics look incredible. The game has received stellar reviews. I can’t wait to get my hands on this title. I’ll most likely play the ninja playstyle first and then play a second round as a samurai. How about you?

That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.