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Eric Frederiksen

Eric Frederiksen

Eric is a freelance writer specializing in games, technology, film, and television. He's written previously for GameSpot, Playboy, IGN, Batman-News, The Tech Report, TechnoBuffalo, Syfy, and others. Disclosure: No crypto holdings.

Stories by Eric Frederiksen

  • Mario Tennis Fever. Image: Nintendo

    The Biggest Games Releasing in February 2026

    This month, Japanese games are dominating the charts, with games coming from most of the most-beloved publishers, including Nintendo, Enix, Capcom, Tecmo, RGG Studio, and Grasshopper Manufacture. In addition to these notable games arriving, this month will also see the arrival of High On Life 2, the PS5 release of Avowed, the Switch 2 release of PGA Tour 2K25, Tokyo Xtreme Racer, and more. Dragon Quest VII Reimagined Release Date: February 5 Platforms: PC (Steam/Microsoft Store), PlayStation 5,...

    NewsGaming
    4 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Rightfully, Beary Arms. Image: Daylight Basement Studio LLC

    The Biggest Games Releasing in January 2026

    Very few times of the year are truly dead for games anymore, with former doldrum months like July and August, or February and March, now often being filled with killer games.  This year, though, January actually earns the label. It’s not empty, but the release slate is light enough that you can be selective, or finally chip away at that ever-growing backlog without feeling like you’re missing out. And if you stocked up on holiday deals the last couple months, now's the time to turn your attentio...

    NewsGaming
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Grand Theft Auto VI. Image: Rockstar Games/Decrypt

    The Most Anticipated Games of 2026

    This year is already shaping up to be a killer one when it comes to games, and not just because that one game we've all been waiting for is probably going to come out, finally. There's a ton of other stuff already on the docket for 2026, and this list, for obvious reasons, doesn't even cover the stuff we don't know about yet.  If we get even two-thirds of this list in our hands by the end of the year, then we have a lot to look forward to. Editor's note: All of the games on this list are traditi...

    NewsGaming
    7 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • A screenshot from Assassin's Creed Shadows. Image: Ubisoft

    This Was the Year of the Ninja Video Game—These Were the Best in 2025

    If you're a gamer who also loves ninja-themed stuff, 2025 might've been the best year ever. It seems everyone and their dog were releasing ninja and samurai games this year, as if they'd discussed it beforehand.  Including a remaster and a new platform for an older game, we count eight ninja and samurai games released this year alone, and nine if you're willing to include a Ninja Turtles tactics game.  Let's talk about the plethora of katana-centric games that hit PC and consoles this year. Assa...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Artwork from Wanderstop. Image: Ivy Road

    Can’t-Miss Indie Games You Should Play From 2025

    People have been debating the meaning of the term "indie game" for years. What is an indie game? On paper, Hades 2 and Hollow Knight Silksong are both indie games, as they're games self-published by developers that are not connected to a larger publisher. But they're also both huge sequels to huge games—essentially guaranteed success, to some degree, unless things go spectacularly wrong. (They didn’t.) Compare that to something like Blue Prince, an original puzzle game that barely anyone had hea...

    ReviewsGames
    7 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Hollow Knight: Silksong. Image: Team Cherry

    The Best Games of 2025 That You Can Snag for Under $20

    If rising hardware prices and $80 software weren’t enough proof that gaming’s getting pricier, the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Mario Kart World price tags should seal it. But you don’t need a high-end console or premium release to have a good time. Dig into the indie scene, and you’ll find a stack of great games that cost next to nothing. Every title here costs $20 or less, and many drop even lower during sales. Better yet, they run on just about anything; some barely need a GPU at all,...

    ReviewsGames
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Donkey Kong Bananza. Image: Nintendo

    The Best Co-Op Games of 2025 to Play With Your Pals

    Gamers love competitive shooters—that much is obvious from the popularity of games like Battlefield, Call of Duty, and Fortnite. Cooperative games are often overlooked, though. They aren't quite as popular and can get washed away in the mix of ultra-popular competitive shooters and high-profile single-player games. But they offer an alternative to either staying offline or going online and getting stomped by people who have much more time to get good at the game than you do. They offer the conne...

    ReviewsGames
    7 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Artwork from Promise Mascot Agency. Image: Kaizen Game Works

    7 Under-the-Radar Gaming Gems You Might Have Missed in 2025

    Back in the early days of gaming, it almost seemed like it would be possible to play every game, provided you had the money.  Not only that, but games were gatekept by console makers and publishers. These days, though, there are too many games to play, and not nearly enough time to play them. That means that there are hidden gems all over the place—games you don't even know about that could easily land among your all-time favorites.  These games can be tiny little games that simply didn't have...

    ReviewsGames
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Artwork from Metroid Prime 4: Beyond. Image: Nintendo

    The Biggest Games Releasing in December 2025

    Once upon a time, December was an incredibly dead month for games—an opportunity to catch up on your backlog, since all of the year’s big games had already come and gone. Well, that's no longer the case. There are a bunch of killer games releasing this December. December brings us strong options across a bunch of genres, from psychological and survival horror to side-scrolling beat-'em-ups, a classic RPG, a long-awaited sequel to a legendary franchise, and even an abstract art game about skatebo...

    NewsGaming
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Artwork from Call of Duty: Black Ops 7. Image: Activision

    The Biggest Games Releasing in November 2025

    When it comes to game releases, November can sometimes be a slow month. When it is, there's a reason for it: There's a heavy hitter coming and everyone wants to get out of the way. Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 hits this month, which is why September and October were pretty jam-packed this year. Even so, there's a bunch of stuff hitting aside from Call of Duty—puzzle games, VR games, racing games, and more. There are also some updated versions of pretty great games coming: Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2 are...

    NewsGaming
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Donkey Kong Bananza. Image: Nintendo

    The Best Nintendo Switch 2 Games to Play Right Now

    So you just spent $450 on a Nintendo Switch 2—or maybe more, depending on how the market behaves in the near future—and you want to play something new on it. Technically, there are thousands of games to play on your Switch 2, thanks to backward compatibility, but a slightly better framerate isn’t a very enticing reason to dive back into a game. No, you want it to feel new. It should be a Switch 2 exclusive game, ideally, but there aren't many of those just yet. If it can't be an exclusive, then...

    ReviewsGames
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Ghost of Yotei. Image: Sucker Punch Productions/Sony Interactive

    The Biggest Games Releasing in October 2025

    When it comes to game releases, the fall months have typically been a brutal gauntlet of big releases.  Despite the significant changes in the game industry, this remains true. This month features ninjas, science fiction, an 8-bit mouse, and more. There will be something for just about any gamer. One of this month's releases, Ninja Gaiden 4, is the fifth major ninja-centric game this year, and the third Ninja Gaiden game specifically.  So far, we've seen Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ninja Gaiden 2...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Borderlands 4. Image: Gearbox Software, 2K Games

    The Biggest Games Releasing in September 2025

    Fans have been eagerly awaiting the arrival of the new entry in their favorite franchise for years, and it's finally here.  With Grand Theft Auto delayed into next year, that can only mean one thing: Hollow Knight: Silksong is coming, and it's coming in just a few days.  For those who have been patient, this news is almost unbelievable. Developer Team Cherry has been nearly silent since the game's announcement, to the point where entire communities of memes have emerged, with some focusing on tr...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater. Image: Konami Digital Entertainment

    The Biggest Games Releasing in August 2025

    August is the month of "Remember that Franchise?" Aside from the annual Madden game, a lot of the games we're looking forward to this month are returns to older franchises—one of which hasn't seen a new entry in almost 15 years.  There are a few remake/remaster-type games on this list, but our first entry, Mafia: The Old Country, is a return to the series' roots.  The new Dying Light game takes us back to the original protagonist, but in a new environment and with new powers. What's old is new a...

    NewsGaming
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Donkey Kong Bananza is arriving this month. Image: Nintendo

    The Biggest Games Releasing in July 2025

    It's July, and we're living in a post-Switch 2 and Death Stranding 2 world.  We're in the doldrums of summer for real now, and while the game release calendar is anything but empty, it's not quite so packed with high-profile releases as it is in other parts of the year.  This month brings us Nintendo's second big release for the Nintendo Switch 2 in Donkey Kong Bananza, fresh remakes of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 and 4, as well as Super Mario Party Jamboree, and a bunch of smaller new games worth...

    NewsGaming
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Artwork from Super Smash Bros. Melee. Image: Nintendo

    7 Classic Video Games That Defined Their Consoles

    Since the days of games like Pitfall on the Atari 2600, every console released has some kind of new feature—a giant leap in graphical power, analog sticks, controller haptics, and so on.  Along with those features come games that take full advantage of them.  Super Mario 64 wasn't the first game to use an analog stick, but it announced to the world that analog sticks are here and gave the Nintendo 64 a firm place in video game history.  Sonic the Hedgehog showed us that Sega could—at least for a...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Artwork from Wanderstop. Image: Ivy Road

    7 Games That Prove Indie Studios Are Outshining AAA Publishers in 2025

    Spending $300 million on a game is one way to set that game on the road to success; ultra-detailed, immersive games like Assassin's Creed Shadows and next year's Grand Theft Auto 6 appeal to gamers looking for a cutting edge experience. But $300 million doesn't promise you a good game—just a big one. We're not even six full months into 2025, and indie developers can't stop dropping great games on us, from genuine all-timers to zeitgeist-catching games that we all can't resist picking up and chec...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Mario Kart World. Image: Nintendo

    The Biggest Games Releasing in June 2025

    It’s officially Nintendo Switch 2 month, and the hype is real. Over 20 games are set to drop at launch, from shiny “Switch 2 Editions” of existing games to brand-new titles built for the upgraded hardware. But let’s be honest—we’ve got our eyes locked on Mario Kart World, the ambitious open-world reimagining of Nintendo’s iconic kart racer. After years of perfecting the formula, Mario Kart is finally shaking things up in a major way—and we’re more than ready to hit the gas. But Switch 2 isn’t th...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Doom: The Dark Ages. Image: Bethesda

    The Biggest Games Releasing in May 2025

    This month's release calendar isn't quite as explosive as recent months, which had titles like Kingdom Come Deliverance II, Civilization VII, Assassin's Creed Shadows, among others. And some of those are big enough that you might still be playing them. But that doesn't mean May doesn't have some interesting releases. There are a few high-profile ones in here, along with some smaller games that shouldn't be missed. The biggest game this month is Doom: The Dark Ages, which bridges the gap between...

    NewsGaming
    5 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. Image: Image: Bethesda/MachineGames

    The Biggest Games Releasing in April 2025

    April continues Microsoft's impressive list of releases.  After years of watching the company flounder when it came to getting critically-acclaimed games out the door, the company is on the rampage.  Indiana Jones in December, Avowed in February, and now South of Midnight in March. We know Doom: The Dark Ages and Ninja Gaiden 4 are still coming, and rumors continue to mount of Xbox studio Bethesda releasing a remake of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, in the near future. There are tons of games c...

    NewsGaming
    6 min read
    Eric Frederiksen
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