Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. After the family emergency (surgery), we’re getting back into the swing of things with Geekly News. We have plenty of new releases for board games and video games, but first, let’s cover this week’s headline. And Sony makes yet another headline. Sony Interactive Entertainment just can’t stop making news, can they?
Sony Ends Physical PlayStation game discs in 2028
I know. I know. I’ve mentioned Sony numerous times during this year. When I first learned Sony had made the news, I wondered what they did this time. You may tire of Geekly covering Sony and PlayStation news, but we’re tired of the company making news. We’ll begin by being as objective as we can and then editorialize a little bit.
In a blog post this week, Sony Interactive Entertainment announced it will end production of physical game discs in January 2028. Sony cites gaming trends as the chief reason for making this change. Games released before January 2028, along with existing physical titles, will not be affected. Players will still be able to purchase and play those games as they do today. Sony said the move will allow the company to “align more closely with how most of our community prefers to access and play games today.”
In a separate announcement, Sony stated that they will close the PlayStation Store for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita in July 2027. The digital storefront will shut down even earlier in some countries across Latin America and the Middle East. Sony claims the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita can no longer support their updated payment processing standards. Players will still be able to re-download games and other content they have already purchased for the “foreseeable future,” the company said.
Some of that may ring true. The PS3 and PlayStation Vita are aging systems. But the fact that Sony can cut off the digital libraries of those gaming systems proves why physical media matters. Players don’t own games they “purchase” digitally. Sony can yank player access to games on their digital store at any time. And while I do believe more gamers “purchase” their games online, “purchasing” games online is more like renting them. Players will need to pay full price for a game they don’t even own.
I know I’m in the minority here, but I hate the direction video games are headed. I may purchase older systems and get back into retro gaming. One may believe the PS3 is an old system. Who cares? But the PS4 and PS5 aren’t backwards compatible with the PS3. When those games disappear from the PlayStation store, some may vanish forever. That’s the thing about retro gaming and why I’m considering buying some of those older systems. I don’t have to worry about Sony (or some other video company) clicking a button and deleting my access to those older games. I own those games. Isn’t just big business to deny customers to own anything.
Okay. I’m done ranting. Let’s get to the fun stuff. New releases. Yay!
Sprout Launches on KickStarter
Sprout is a cozy, yet thrilling push-your-luck strategy game for 2-5 plant parents. Players take the role of roommates trying to sprout their newly adopted houseplants.
Choose how long to stay in your apartment collecting nutrients including Sunlight, Water, Plant Food, and even Love! The longer you care for your plants, the more nutrients you add into your pot.
Use nutrients to sprout your plant babies by meeting their picky needs. Every plant you sprout not only earns you bragging rights, but they also have unique sprout effects that help you further grow your plant family.
But be careful! If the same nutrient shows up too many times, you overwhelm your plants and wilt them! You’ll then need to give a little Love to bring them back to life.
You can also use Love to adopt new plant babies from the nursery. And with over 100 unique plants to choose from, there are infinite plant collections waiting for you to sprout.
Sometimes you’ll lend your roommates a helping hand by playing Roommate Cards. But other times, you’ll have to do what’s best for your own plants. Because at the end of the game, only one of you can claim bragging rights to the best plant collection!
Thank you for the description, Rabble. Nature-themed games have dominated the tabletop space. Sprout has plenty of competition. I’ve even recently played Verdant with a similar theme. But I like Sprout’s inclusion of push-your-luck and semi-cooperative game mechanisms. Semi-cooperative games are difficult to pull off. Believe me. I’ve tried. I’m interested in seeing how Sprout tackles the balancing act of players working together but having a reason to go against the good of the group. Rabble has a short but strong history of delivering solid games. Sprout looks charming. I’ve heard great things about the game’s player interactions. I’m keeping an eye on this project. Pledge levels range between $39 – $127. If you’re interested in Sprout, check out its KickStarter page.
Rolling Deep Launches on KickStarter
Rolling Deep is a Balatro-inspired roguelike dice-building adventure featuring a cornucopia of unlockable content, addicting challenges, and delicious combos. Each round, you roll dice representing your team’s daring actions as you push deeper underground. Decide when to act (scoring a roll) and when to try your luck (rerolling individual dice in pursuit of a stronger outcome).
When you score a roll, its value advances your progress toward a target score, the difficulty required to overcome the current stage of the journey. Each set of 3 rounds is called a chapter. Each chapter raises the challenge, and the final round of every chapter features a boss — a dangerous encounter that alters the rules for that round.
Between rounds, you visit the shop, where you spend coins to acquire upgrades and consumable gear. Some upgrades permanently alter the sides of your dice, changing their values and allowing them to generate coins or reroll potions when scored. Others boost your score, either every roll or when you score specific result ranges, rewarding careful control over how boldly (or cautiously) you push forward.
Your most valuable resources are time and reroll potions. Time determines how many opportunities you have to score your dice and accumulate a total score for the round, while reroll potions allow you to take a chance and — you guessed it — reroll individual dice before committing to a result.
Your goal is to survive 5 chapters and reach the volcano’s core. If you can overcome the final boss, you claim the treasure of the deep and escape, winning the game (and possibly discovering more mysteries to pursue in another expedition). If you fail to meet a round’s target score, you lose. Better luck next expedition!
Thank you, Bitewing Games, for the description. Bitewing has a strong history of delivering strong games. Rolling Deep looks to be another great game for their catalogue. Look at those components (pictured above). They look amazing. Rolling Deep allows players to modify dice. This concept has been tried with varying degrees of success. If anyone can pull off this feat, it’d be a publisher like Bitewing Games. I also like that Balatro serves as the basis for Rolling Deep’s DNA. I stink at Balatro, but I love how much strategic depth the game possesses. I wouldn’t mind if a board game attempted to adapt Balatro at face value. Adding the twist of a dice builder makes Rolling Deep an intriguing game combination.
And I love the Cuphead-inspired art. Yes. It may be a little overplayed, but Rolling Deep’s visuals look amazing. Bitewing Games is known for its production value, and Rolling Deep is no different. This is definitely a game you should have on your radar. Pledge levels range between $59 and $149. If you’re interested in Rolling Deep, check out its KickStarter page.
Artifox Launches on GameFound
Step into the bustling city of Artifox Famous for it’s beautifull Artifacts. As a fox living on the street, life is tough, but your cunning and courage can take you far! You dream of more, and you know that by perfecting the art of stealing, you can amass great wealth. Do you dare to take on the challenge?
Artifox is a strategic and interactive card game for 2 players that takes you on a whirlwind adventure full of cunning and deception. Start with a base deck and traverse the city to steal from various shops. Each card stolen will be added to your hand and eventually your deck. Use these tools, tricks or traps to manipulate the field and steal valuable loot. Guards are on the lookout so be carefull!
However, you are not the only one eyeing the city’s treasures. Your opponent is after the same loot and will do everything possible to outsmart you and steal your findings!
Have you gathered a Trick, Tool & Trap? Then it’s time to steal Mayor Silverfang’s treasures! These valuable artifacts are added to your deck and can be stolen by your Opponnent. When no Artifacts are left at Silverfang Manor, the fox with the most Artifacts wins!
Thank you, Octo Push Games, for the description. At first, I thought Artifox would include deck building. It does not. It’s more of an open drafting card game with plenty of hand management and a healthy dose of take that. If you know me, you know I don’t typically care for take that games unless they have a short run time. Artifox takes about thirty minutes to complete, which is on the long side of short. But Artifox is also a two-player only gaming experience. I don’t mind a longer take that game if it’s two-player only. Yes. I target you with all my nasty abilities, but since the game is two-player only, it feels less like I’m picking on someone because I choose to pick on them. They’re my only opponent. Great!
I love Artifox’s theme of sneaking through a bustling city and stealing items. Not enough board games include stealth. I’m interested to see how Artifox expresses this idea. My guess is that players will “push their luck” and journey deeper into the city. It also looks as if Artifox may have workers, but their write-up doesn’t include “worker.” I wonder if the meeples (pictured above) are guards. If so, neat. We have a healthy collection of board game new releases this week. If you’re interested in Artifox, check out its GameFound page.
Council of Serpents is a manipulative tug-of-war game with hidden objectives. Three noble Houses are vying for power, but you are not one of them… You are a member of the Council of Serpents, and manipulate these Houses to achieve your own ambitions.
You scheme to orchestrate the triumph or collapse of one of these great Houses by manipulating their three attributes; the strength of their army, the amount of gold in their coffers and their popularity with the people. If one of these attributes ever reaches the top of its track, the game is immediately over, and that House triumphs. Whereas if an attribute reaches zero, the game is also immediately over, and that House collapses.
You achieve this by playing Influence cards to cause Conflicts, escalate Conflicts into Wars, prepare for these Wars by playing facedown Intrigue cards, make Peace and orchestrate support from powerful Guilds. After playing an Influence card, you enact the top card of the timetrack, often causing the Houses themselves to act. When the timetrack runs out of cards you collectively build it anew, shaping the plans of the Houses for the turns to come.
Thank you, Wulfhorn Games, for the description. Council of Serpents sounds like a variant of a party game like We’re Doomed with more political intrigue. It features multiuse cards (always a favorite mechanism of mine), hidden roles, and negotiation. I’m not the best with negotiation, but I love it when a game uses the mechanisms. I can’t wait to see how I’ll screw up this mechanism. Council of Serpents’s production value looks amazing. That’s to be expected, most board game that launch on GameFound tend to have higher quality production values. Council of Serpents sounds like one of those games I’d love to play but wouldn’t be very good at. Still, color me intrigued. If you’re interested in Council of Serpents, check out its GameFound page.
Star Fox Releases on the Nintendo Switch 2
The original Star Fox gets its glow up with a brand new release on the Nintendo Switch 2. While I would’ve loved a new entry into the series (Nintendo has put Star Fox on the back burner for far too long, and his appearance in the recently released Super Mario Galaxy movie should’ve been accompanied by a new game, in my opinion), I’ll take a remaster or remake. The graphics look phenomenal.
Star Fox for the Nintendo Switch 2 is more of a remaster. It doesn’t take long to finish, but finishing the story is only part of the game’s joy. Star Fox’s multiplayer modes offer extensive replayability. Players can play cooperatively to complete challenging missions, or they can challenge each other in a competitive mode. I don’t know if I care for Star Fox’s more “realistic” graphics. The game loses a little bit of its charm by deviating from its cartoon art design. Still, it’s Star Fox. If you’ve always wanted to play the original, the Star Fox remake on the Nintendo Switch 2 may be a great way to experience this classic.
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.
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