Today in Gaming News – February 14, 2025

The gaming industry has delivered some more interesting gaming news today, including the return of a legendary visual novel and an extensive look at the newly revealed Tides of Annihilation.

Here at Simulation Daily, we publish roundups with more gaming news that couldn’t be covered in individual articles, to keep you up to date with the work and games from a wider variety of developers than we otherwise could.

Before we get into the news here are handy links to gaming news that did get its own separate coverage.

You can check out all the news below. Incidentally, if you’re interested specifically in flight simulation news, we have a dedicated roundup.

Legendary Visual Novel Air Coming to Steam Next Month with Steam Deck Support

Visual Arts is releasing a new Steam version of Key’s legendary visual novel Air, a seminal game in the genre that has made generations cry since its original release in 2000.

It’ll be released on March 5, 2025, with voiceovers in Japanese and subtitles in English, Simplified Chinese, and Japanese.

The feature set of this new release is quite rich, including the spin-off “First Sky Chapter,” retouched HD visuals and CG coloring, full Steam Deck support and controller support, on top of touch controls.

Tides of Annihilation Shows Extensive Gameplay

Following the reveal of Tides of Annihilation during the latest PlayStation State of Play, today we get to see plenty more gameplay.

The game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, but Eclipse Glow has not revealed a release date just yet.

City Tales: Medieval Era Gets New Demo

The medieval city builder City Tales: Medieval Era just got a playable demo on Steam. It includes the following features.

Build and grow your city from a small village into a bustling kingdom.
Freeform, hand-drawn district system.
First map.
Complete demo tutorial.
Construct up to 41 different buildings, including:
- Upgrade your houses up to Tier 4 by catering to their dwellers’ needs.
- Build, upgrade, and manage 10 civil buildings, each with its own influence area system.
Meet 8 of our 12 Companions.
- Their storylines remain a mystery, but they will offer their skills to help you with the Perks and Progression system.
Build your first Creation—the Castle!
Original soundtrack.
Procedural building generation: each structure is unique, which brings more life to your city.
Localization: switch between English, German, Simplified Chinese, French, Russian, and Ukrainian.

The developers also revealed a gameplay trailer and provided an update on what they’re going to add next.

Expanded economy & more buildings—new resources and structures to deepen end-game economy system.
- We know gold can be scarce, so we’re working on improving economic balance.
Decorations, balconies, and decorative elements will enhance buildings, houses, and even roads.
More Companions & improved specialization system.
Narration and storyline.
- You’ve only met them briefly, but each Companion has a story to tell. We can’t wait to share it!
More mid/late-game challenges & features: decorations, exploration, the Castle, fortifications, and more.
More maps and landscapes.
Improved radius and Influence area system:
- We know the current system can feel unclear, especially at higher tiers or when areas overlap. We’re working on visibility, activation mechanics, and UX improvements to make it clearer.
Better UI/UX based on your feedback:
Improved visualization of the Influence area system.
Zoning control rework.
Polished, more intuitive UI.
- We’re also working on improving the Influence area’s visual mechanics that don’t rely only on colors.
More life in the city: better population design, more variety, and improved animations.
Enhanced color palettes & environmental storytelling.
…AND MUCH MORE! We’re keeping some surprises for Early Access!

The game, which looks quite promising, releases in early access in 2025.

Norland Update Shifts Latest Features from Beta to Main Branch

The developer of Norland at Long Jaunt have been adding interesting features to the beta branch of the game, but now that they have been tested, the latest patch (#33) brings them all to the main branch of the early access game.

According to the full patch notes, the patch includes Walls, Towers, and Gates, 3D Landscapes, the Guest System Overhaul, Puppets, Local Map Intrigue, and bug fixes.

We also get features that weren’t in beta at all, in the form of bodyguards and sudden attacks, which make the new walls much more relevant.