The Tomb Raider reboot has been about building up Lara Croft from a determined but inexperienced explorer to the hero we know today. During our E3 demo of Shadow of the Tomb Raider, we got to play her as a full-on predator, culminating in a chilling scene that shows her confronting – and dismissing – any remaining fears or lingering insecurities.
Unlike , which featured a gunfight that didn’t end until either Lara or her Trinity adversaries were dead, today’s demo was more flexible. It’s set in a Peruvian jungle, with multiple routes and paths to explore. Lara moves through a dirt trail, as a radio crackles to live with a warning that “Croft is heading to your location.” She climbs a tree, and sees a trio of enemies below her. Jumping down and taking them out with her knife would be a dangerously stupid thing to attempt, so I draw my bow and fire a new fear arrow into the neck of the closest goon.
The projectile hits its mark with a satisfying “Thwack!” and the victim looks around. He begins firing wildly at his comrades, clearly under its spell, taking them both out. A few seconds later, his panic turns to distress as he finally succumbs to the poison and hits the ground dead. It’s reminiscent of the berserk darts and similar toxins from the Assassin’s Creed games, but that familiarity doesn’t make the effects any less enjoyable. Ahead, I use the same tactic to eliminate a cluster of four enemies. The fear arrows are a limited resource, and they’re also not effective on armored enemies, so I take advantage while I can.
Lara is agile as ever, and climbing trees and getting the drop on enemies remains a solid approach. When a Trinity soldier gets too close to me on a patrol, I use a stealth kill that has Lara fire a rope arrow at him, drop from the tree, and string him up. I’m doing so well that I start to get a little cocky; I try to deactivate a generator while a guard is coming back, and he notices me – even though I stopped by a puddle a bit earlier and covered myself in mud.
The fighters are aggressive and relentless. I try to juke their attacks, but it’s hard to avoid bullets with fancy footwork alone. I do manage to scramble away and backtrack to a vine-covered wall, where I can hide in its greenery. It’s enough to fool the guards into thinking I’m gone for good. That was a mistake. I find a gas can in an elevated spot, and throw it on the ground near several guards. They react the same way they do when I chuck bottles at them: firing blindly at the sound. It’s a fatal error, as their shots detonate the container and the explosion clears out the stragglers.
Lara radios for her friend Jonah, and hears an unfamiliar voice. Jonah’s dead, the voice taunts, and his body can be found in the refinery. “I’m coming for you,” she replies.
Lara moves past a gate, and the jungle gives way to a dustrial setting. Steel drums and vehicles are scattered along the path, which leads to the refinery. She’s midway across a bridge when a spotlight blasts on face, mounted on a helicopter. Stealth is no longer an option. An army of Trinity thugs open fire, and an extended platforming sequence begins. We’ve all seen the basic elements here before – collapsing catwalks, rails that bend and swing when grabbed, and death-defying leaps – but the graphical fidelity and effects from the now-flaming refinery keep it exciting.
The demo ends with Lara falling into the water, and her body is limp as it sinks. A montage of audio memories plays; people from her past and Lara herself doubt her resolve. But she refuses to give in. Her eyes open, and she slowly rises from the water, standing tall as walls of flame flicker behind her. A wounded guard is on the dock, and Lara methodically bears down on him, knife ready. It’s a powerful moment, and the screen cuts to black before we see how it ends. I can only imagine it’s not going to be good for him, for Trinity, and possibly for Lara herself. 
Look for Shadow of the Tomb Raider on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC on Sept.  14.

At a behind doors demonstration during E3, we got to see some more of the sequel to Ori and The Blind Forest in action. The original game with its Metroid-like gameplay and beautiful graphics. From what we saw Will Of The Wisps, a sequel due out on Xbox One in 2018, will give fans of the first game even more beauty to gawk over while also adding a surprisingly in-depth combat system to the mix.
The demo we watched was short, focusing on Original explore a desert area called The Windswept Wastes. A new burrowing mechanic let Ori dive in and out of sandpits to tangle with nasty, fanged worm enemies. While on the surface, Ori had a whole suite of abilities to take on baddies, including a magical spear, bow & arrow, hammer, and self-healing ability. 
Perhaps the most impressive thing about Will of the Wisps, like the original game, is the fluidity of movement. Ori's movements recall an almost 90s Disney-like animation style, with the little fella zipping back and forth, launching volleys of arrows before bouncing out of a pit with two well-placed jumps. The speed and beauty of Ori's attacks and evasive maneuvers is lovely to behold and, just as it did with the platforming in the original game, gives Will Of The Wisps' combat its own unique identity.
We came away impressed with Will Of The Wisps. Though the game's release window is still a bit away, the offerings that Moon Studios showcased are a promising sign of where this platforming-action series will go.

"My experience with the NieR franchise is mostly limited to the release of NieR: Automata when it launched on the PlayStation 4 last year. I did play a few hours of the original NieR back on the Xbox 360 some 7 years ago, but I would be surprised if I played more than 4 or 5 hours of it. While not much has changed for this Xbox One release, at least in any substantial way, Xbox One gamers finally have the chance to play this wonderful action masterpiece. " Jeff Young - Analog Stick Gaming

Forza Horizon 4, the fourth installment of Microsoft's popular racing video game, is now available for digital pre-order and pre-download for Xbox One and Windows 10. Forza Horizon 4 arrives globally on October 2! In Forza Horizon 4, players will be able to experience a shared open world where...
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Activision announced today that "United Front", the third DLC Expansion Pack for Call of Duty: WWII, is now available on PlayStation 4, and will be coming to Xbox One and PC next month. Call of Duty's United Front DLC includes three new Multiplayer maps: Market Garden, Monte Cassino, and...
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Life is Strange 2's free prequel chapter, The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, will be available to download next Monday, 25th June at 5pm UK time.
So that's 6pm in Western Europe, or 9am Pacific and midday Eastern if you're in North America.
Overall, it's a day earlier than planned - and the exact same timing for all platforms: PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

Minecraft's Better Together version finally launches today for Nintendo Switch, and a new trailer has dropped to play up its cross-platform capabilities.
Xbox One and Nintendo Switch owners can now play Minecraft as if they were on the same platform but notably - as the trailer hammers home - it is just Nintendo and Xbox on board. Not Sony.
Minecraft's Better Together Update (which is in fact an entirely new game, although free to existing owners) is also compatible with Minecraft on Windows 10, iPhone, iPad and Android devices.

Pining for a new Burnout? EA doesn't seem interested in having Criterion make a new one just yet. But we may soon get a couple of spiritual successors from the founders of the famed UK studio.
Three Fields Entertainment, which is led by Criterion founders Fiona Sperry and Alex Ward, has announced Danger Zone 2 (the sequel to the studio's 2017 game ) and Dangerous Driving, both for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Danger Zone 2, due out in July, takes the crash testing of Danger Zone and puts onto real public roads. It's set on the freeways of the USA, the motorways of the UK and the autovias of Spain. There are 26 single-player levels set across 17 locations.

Warhammer: Vermintide 2 will launch for Xbox One on 11th July, developer Fatshark has announced, with an Xbox Insider open beta available from today.
Vermintide 2 will also be an Xbox Game Pass game, so if you pay the £8 monthly sub, or regional equivalent, you'll be able to play the game from 11th July for free.
But what about PlayStation 4? "Yes, the PS4 version is coming," a Fatshark spokesperson told me this morning. "We don't have a date for it yet, but will communicate that soon. We don't expect it to be too far away, but we want to do one system at a time to be able to maintain the highest quality of the releases."