The new expansion for 'Diablo IV,' 'Lord of Hatred,' which is set for official release on April 28, has taken the top spot in this week's weekly top game rankings. It is highly anticipated for its two new classes, as well as its new story, endgame content, and quality-of-life updates. As a result, 'Crimson Desert,' which had held the number one spot for consecutive weeks, has slipped to second place.
There was also high interest in 'Imjin War: Counterattack of Joseon,' the new title from director Kim Tae-gon, a developer familiar to many for games like 'Imjinrok' and 'Gersang.' It is worth noting that the final test, running for five days from April 13 to 11:00 AM on April 17, is open to everyone without restrictions. In particular, the opportunity to 'pre-claim a character name' that can be used after the official launch is expected to draw in gamers interested in historical strategy games.
'Monster Squad= STAR DIVE,' scheduled for release on the 15th, maintained its fourth-place position from last week. Last week, the developers revealed various details, including the game's world and combat, through an online Game Showcase, and also shared future update plans. Pre-registering before launch allows players to obtain rewards such as the beast-tribe healer Francis, character summon tickets, and the mutant monster Sorapyong.
Notable New Releases, Events, and Update News
Several games were released last week, including the Steam version of 'Legend of Ymir,' but the reception was somewhat lackluster. 'Musical Protagonists,' published by Annapurna Interactive, received the highest marks among last week's releases with a Metacritic score of 80, while 'The Occultist' and 'Samson' only managed to score 66 and 50, respectively.
The 'Triple-i Initiative,' which billed itself as a high-quality indie game showcase, was a fairly significant event held on the 10th. The 45-minute presentation focused on gameplay footage without hosts or advertisements. Eight high-quality indie games were introduced, including 'Risk of Rain 2' and 'Castlevania: Curse of Darkness.'
'Monster Squad= STAR DIVE,' which is set to launch on the 15th, revealed key in-game information during an online Game Showcase last Wednesday. It was revealed that the first pickup character after launch will be 'Esde,' and events will be held to allow players to obtain the character's hidden story, 3D cutscene live backgrounds, and growth materials. Various online and offline events are also planned around the launch.
This Week's ISSUE: Adorable Diana, Let's Go Meet Her This Week!
More new games are preparing for release this week. 'Monster Squad: STAR DIVE' and the famous indie game 'Hades II' are finally set for official release. However, I think the most highly anticipated title is Capcom's new game, 'Pragmata.'
'Pragmata,' which depicts the adventure of a human protagonist named Hugh and an android robot named Diana, has garnered significant attention since its first reveal. That wait is finally set to end on the 17th. How will the unique gameplay, which involves 'simultaneously' performing Hugh's gun action and Diana's hacking, be received?
A playtest for Wargaming's new title, 'World of Tanks: Hit,' is scheduled from the 16th (Thu) to next Monday. Unlike the original 'World of Tanks,' players can expect to encounter intense, fast-paced battlefields. In particular, it features elements of a 'hero shooter' where different types of ultimate abilities can be used depending on the tank commander character, making it one of the titles whose test results are highly anticipated.
What Were Last Week's Metacritic Scores?
Let's take a look at the Metacritic scores released last week. 'Musical Protagonists' was the highest-rated game among last week's releases with a score of 80; it is a music-themed turn-based RPG depicting the adventures of pop singer Cadence. While its original world and combat system were highly praised, some pointed out that the story pacing felt rushed and the depth of the gameplay mechanics was lacking.
'Minos,' published by Devolver Digital, claims to be a unique genre: a maze-building roguelite. The name might suggest exploring a labyrinth where a Minotaur awaits, but the player is actually the one designing the labyrinth. The goal of the game is to freely place traps and mazes to stop intruders, and it recorded a Metacritic score of 77.
'The Occultist,' which follows a supernatural detective searching for his missing father, stalled at a Metacritic score of 66. While it was generally well-regarded for its atmosphere and narrative structure, it was criticized for its lack of utilization of core mechanics, the absence of a map, and the lack of a chapter selection feature.
'Pokemon Champions,' an F2P game focused on Pokemon battles, received a score of 64. While its direction as a free-to-play title to lower the barrier to entry for new users was viewed positively, it faced controversy over the monetization of major content, bugs at launch, and an excessively small number of Pokemon. Some critics even pointed to it as an 'unfinished platform' that requires future updates to be supplemented.
'Samson,' an open-world action game from Liquid Swords, led by Just Cause co-creator Christofer Sundberg, neared the lowest score range for 2026. Its current Metacritic score is 50, with widespread criticism regarding its excessively small open-world scale, repetitive mission structure, and severe input lag. However, some users consider it 'reasonable' given its affordable price for an open-world game.
New Game Popularity Poll
This week's poll covers games released or scheduled for release between March 13 and May 13. Accordingly, games released in March such as 'Marathon,' 'Slay the Spire 2,' 'Subnautica: Below Zero,' and 'The War of Genesis: Idle' have been excluded from the poll, while games like 'Mixtape,' 'Celestial Return,' and 'Meg's Monster' have been newly added.
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