Features

18Apr

By PaulNo Comments

Game Pass Games – April 2025 Wave 2

Like our PlayStation Plus Games Catalogue update this month, April's second Game Pass update includes 2 Day One releases. Alongside those, we have a few great indie titles, and the return of one of the best-selling video games of all time. As usual, there are a few titles leaving Game Pass, make sure to check those at the end of the article. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 Genre: RPG Available: April 24 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) Tiers: Ultimate & PC Each year, The Paintress paints a number, and each year everyone of the age turns to ash. Every year, an expedition sets off with the goal of killing The Paintress to end the cycle. In this stylish turn-based RPG, join voice actors Ben Starr and Jennifer English as their characters set off on Expedition 33. Clair Obscur look...

PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue – April 2025 Update

17Apr

By PaulNo Comments

Features

PlayStation Plus Game Catalogue – April 2025 Update

A little later than usual, here's our summary of the PlayStation Plus Games Catalogue update for April 2025. This month, users are treated to not one, but two Day One releases. As usual, there's a decent mix of genres to chose from, so have a look at what's on offer below and check them out with your PS+ Extra or Premium subscriptions. Blue Prince | PS5 Genre: Puzzle, Roguelike Longevity: 15+ Hours | Trophies: 17 (incl Platinum) Metacritic: 93 | OpenCritic: 89 A game that I am currently losing many hours to, Blue Prince is a magnificent puzzle game that has staggering depth. Each day, you must enter the Mt. Holly estate and decided how to lay out the many rooms available to you, all in an effort to reach the secretive Room 46. Along the way, you'll uncover additional mysteries ...

LEGO Beauty and The Beast Castle Preview

15Apr

By CharlotteNo Comments

Features, LEGO

LEGO Beauty and The Beast Castle Preview

It's no secret we love Lego here at Thumb Culture. We have a whole section of the website dedicated to it after all. Recently we got sent the biggest set we have to review yet. But what could it be? Be Our Guess I know the article title gives it away, but indulge me here. Followers over on our TikTok got a sneak peek into this mysterious new review set. We even gave viewers a chance to guess which set it was. Would you have been able to guess it? https://www.tiktok.com/@thumb_culture/video/7492015115676437782 Sacré Bleu Of course we have very smart followers and people guessed it rather quickly. What else could it be but the LEGO Disney Beauty and the Beast Castle?! This is one of my favourite Disney movies and even just looking through the instruction booklets got me emot...

10Apr

By Kyle McGrathNo Comments

Features, Previews & Early Access

Crimson Desert PC Preview Event

I was luckily enough to be invited to London by Pearl Abyss to play their up-coming game Crimson Desert. There I watched a video explaining the game’s combat and some information about each of the four bosses. Afterwards we got to get hands on with the game, and what a treat it was. Warning! GIFs in this article contain flashing lights. Skill is the key Within this preview event I got to play as the main character Kliff in a small segment from the game. In the full launch we will get to venture into the large continent of Pywel, but sadly I didn't get to see this, this time! I’m looking forward to checking out the various towns and biomes we might get. If you’re looking forward to Crimson Desert, why not check the Steam Page here and give it a wishlist! Gameplay The focus of the...

Omniplex Cinema Birmingham Press Event Roundup

7Apr

By CharlotteNo Comments

Features

Omniplex Cinema Birmingham Press Event Roundup

Thanks to the team at Nox Lumina, we got invited as guests to the Omniplex Cinema Birmingham for a Minecraft movie event. I say it was a Minecraft movie event but really we were there to experience the swanky newly refurbished venue. And experience it we did! Please Switch Your Mobile Devices Off If you're in the UK and unfamiliar with the Omniplex Cinema brand, that's not a surprise as it's cinema chain that originated in Ireland in 1991. Fast forward to 2023 and that same chain bought out the Empire Cinemas beginning their UK Cinematic journey. Now here we are in 2025 with Omniplex now being a 3rd generation family owned company, with a 14 million pound refurb behind them. I'll hold my hands up aside some video footage, which you can see on our TikTok, I don't have anything to sho...

6Apr

By PaulNo Comments

Features, News & Updates

Silksong Will Release This Summer?

It's been 84 over 6 years since Hollow Knight: Silksong was first revealed by Team Cherry, way back in February 2019. Since then, the journey to release has been a tumultuous journey for fans. However, 2025 has begun with a flurry of small, but hopeful, titbits of news. Taking this burst of news, and some older quotes from people close to the game and Team Cherry, we can speculate on a summer release. There Has Been Yes NewsPrior to the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, Silksong fans had been enjoying an uncharacteristically busy period of updates. Most of what the community were using to cling on to hope though, was borderline insignificant, such as metadata updates to the Team Cherry website, or a confirmation via a Twitter reply that the game is indeed real and progressing. In March, however, t...

27Mar

By PaulNo Comments

Features, News & Updates

Nintendo Direct – March 2025

In the lead up to the big Switch 2 Direct on April 2nd, Nintendo have deemed it important to give the Switch one final Direct, focusing on games coming out in the rest of 2025 and beyond. Today's showcase delivered updates and announcements on upwards of 20 games. I've picked out a few of my highlights below. One Last Hurrah For The Switch With the Switch 2 update around the corner, it was good to focus on some yet to be released Switch titles, and some surprising ports. What was your favourite game shown off in today's Nintendo Direct? Shout them out in the comments. I've picked out some games to highlight based on my interest in them so let's take a look at them first. Metroid Prime 4: Beyond Metroid fans finally got a better look at Prime 4: Beyond. Samus is transported to a str...

PlayStation Plus Monthly Games – April 2025

27Mar

By PaulNo Comments

Features

PlayStation Plus Monthly Games – April 2025

PlayStation has revealed the PlayStation Plus free monthly games for April 2025. This month's games cover a good range of genres, so there's quite possibly something for everyone. These games are available between April 1st and May 5th. Remember that even if you don’t plan to play these games immediately, you should still add them to your library when they become available. That way, you can check them out at any time — as long as you have an active sub. RoboCop: Rogue City | PS5 Genre: FPS Longevity: 10hrs+ | Trophies: 28 (incl Platinum) Metacritic: 72 | OpenCritic: 73 Legendary actor Peter Weller returns as RoboCop in this shooter-adventure set between the events of RoboCop 2 and 3. TC's Vinno gave RoboCop: Rogue City a Thumb Culture Gold Award, saying “There will be plenty fo...

20Mar

By PaulNo Comments

Features

Game Pass Games – March 2025 Wave 2

We're already past the midpoint of March, so that means more Game Pass news. This month, alongside additions to the Standard, Ultimate, and PC tiers, Xbox are also expanding the offering on the Game Pass Core service. We've got realistic a hyper-realistic transport simulator, a deep JRPG, a collection of arcade games and more. Train Sim World 5 Genre: Simulation Longevity: 11–16 hours | Achievements: 81 Available: Now Tiers: Standard Released: 17 September 2024 Our very own EIC Stu checked out Train Sim World 5 when it released on PC last September and said “Dovetail Games has done it again, they have brought another fascinating train simulator onto the track… …It’s glorious!”. Alongside the usual train driving action, TSW2 adds a new mode where you can take on the role of a...

5 Rift of the NecroDancer Tracks You’ll Have On Repeat

18Mar

By Rowen CameronNo Comments

Features

5 Rift of the NecroDancer Tracks You’ll Have On Repeat

It’s been just over a month since Cadence and friends were sucked into the modern world in a blaze of musical glory and I'm still not quite over it. Rift of the NecroDancer brought the best of Crypt of the NecroDancer and a Guitar Hero-like mechanic today and mixed it all up with a first-class roster of composers, because—in the words of Raul Julia’s M. Bison—of course! Danny Baranowsky assembled the best of best of musical talent, both Crypt mainstays and newcomers, and got them to work their magic on the soundtrack. And let’s just say, you’ll be hard-pressed to get it out of your head! A soundtrack like this makes choosing highlights a mammoth task, but if you’re playing this game, a challenge is par for the course. So, here are five of my favourite tracks I’ve been listening to on re...