Backlog: The Embiggening – April, 2026
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/28/26 at 02:56 PM CT
Welcome back to another look into the near future! The most foolish month of the year is almost upon us, once again. So I guess we shouldn’t expect the Games Industry to act in any other way as it continues to destroy itself through greed, overreach, and bandwagoning. Let’s look at the crap we are being so graciously offered for consideration.
At least there’s not a ton of shovelware coming in April. In Licensed Swill releases, there’s a new ‘Winx Club’ game for little girls, based on a a Nickelodeon TV show that started in 2004 (when today’s little girls’ moms were little girls) and ran until... wow! 2019? So maybe there are still a few little girls who are both old enough to remember this IP and young enough to want to buy this game... maybe. There’s also a 3v3 Fighting game based on the Amazon streaming superhero deconstruction show, ‘Invincible.’
The other April shovelware all comes in the form of Noteworthy Ports... and saying these compilations of …
nVidia Reveals DLSS5 Tech: Civil War Ensues
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/22/26 at 03:20 PM CT
It seems that the massive AI investments are starting to bear their first fruits in the realm of videogaming. nVidia recently revealed the brand-new, bleeding-edge 5.0 version of their DLSS upscaling software. DLSS has been around for a few years, mostly as a frame-generator or resolution upscaler, with functionality that “fudges” game visuals on low-end PCs or in games set to “low” in order to stabilize frame-rates and smooth-out low-end visuals on large, Ultra-High-Definition displays. DLSS5, however, aims to use AI for much deeper image analysis, allowing it to enhance the lighting and textures in a game to be closer to “photorealistic” than they actually are.
Unsurprisingly, in our idiotically-polarized world, the Internet has already drawn a line and chosen sides in a civil war over whether or not the results of DLSS5 look good or not.
For the record: They DO look good!
We have seen several examples of DLSS5 in action that were shown off by nVidia, and older …
Tenth Gen: It Looks Like We’re Doing This... Again.
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/15/26 at 03:36 PM CT
All of the news last year was pointing to a final winding down of the long-running console wars, with PC and Mobile gaming as the ultimate winners. With Sony allegedly cooling on hardware sales and wishing to pivot into developing “community,” Xbox seeming to throw all of its resources into the “Everything is an Xbox” campaign, and even Nintendo’s Switch 2 sales cratering after a strong Launch Window, it looked like all of the major players in console gaming (and Xbox – LOL, Xbox) were ready to disappear into the long night.
Alas, those of us who were looking forward to Unified Gaming may have counted our chickens before they were laid, as early 2026 has seen a spate of bad news that seems to have reversed everything we thought we knew was coming.
First, in a surprise move, Xbox fired both Phil Spencer and his presumed successor and protege, Sarah Bond, only to replace them with an executive with no gaming experience who used to be part of Microsoft’s AI …
He’s Everywhere X!: MOAR Yu-Gi-Oh! Edition
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/07/26 at 07:37 PM CT
It’s that time of year, again! The coming of March means that MeltedJoystick’s very own Resident Evil (and Biohazard), Chris, is another year older and another year more irredeemably corrupted. Last year, it was Time to Duel, as I revealed 10 different forms of Chris that were resident in Konami’s Yu-Gi-Oh! Trading Card Game, Duel Monsters.
Well, I’ve still been playing a LOT of "Master Duel," and it turns out that the game’s late creator and original artist DEFINITELY had Chris on the brain, as there are EVEN MORE of them than the ones I looked at last year.
10. Soitsu"A vaguely-abstract representation of an out-of-shape naked man daydreaming about his hidden potential by flexing while riding on the back of a paper airplane just feels too familiar to anyone who deals with Chris on a regular basis."
9. Goblin of Greed"Known internationally as ‘Greedy Goblin,’ this character has his own riches-to-rags story arc told through the variety of support cards …
Review Round-Up: Winter 2025
Nelson Schneider - wrote on 03/01/26 at 02:27 PM CT
Welcome back to another installment of the MeltedJoystick Review Round-Up. Here’s what our staff has reviewed since last time:
Nelson’s Reviews:
Erg, my Winter gaming wasn’t particularly inspiring. I mostly played mediocre games, and most of them cooperatively. The “Next Big RPG” I was excited about turned out to be a major dud, while Sony’s first-party PC ports did nothing to restore my faith in their ecosystem. Let’s hope 2026 manages to be better.
LEGO: The Hobbit – 2.5/5
Sackboy: A Big Adventure – 3/5
Dad of Boy – 3.5/5
Zoria: Age of Shattering – 2.5/5
River City Girls – 3/5
Chris’ Reviews:
Chris finally posted some late reviews of coop games, so that’s good. He also got done with “The Outer Worlds”... then immediately started “Greedfall,” so his Sandbox addiction is still in full effect.
The Outer Worlds – 3.5/5
Baldur’s Gate 3 – 4.5/5
It Takes Two – 4.5/5
Nick’s Review:
Nick’s only Winter review was his …
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