Pages

▼

Fall Guys sold over 2 million copies in its first week

Fall Guys has been an absolute sensation for the team at developer Mediatonic and publisher Devolver Digital, with the companies revealing that they've sold over 2 million copies on Steam in the game's first week. That's before you take into account however many people have been playing via PlayStation 4, where it's free on PlayStation Plus in August.

Thankfully, the game has overcome the serious server troubles that they encountered as the game launched. Last Wednesday, Mediatonic revealed that the first 24 hours had seen over 1.5 million players ran headlong into walls of doors, spinny hammer and swinging balls, and it's this sheer demand that overwhelmed the company's servers. That was obviously helped by the game being dropped in the laps of PlayStation Plus subscribers, but it was always going to be a streaming darling, and shot to the top of Twitch as well.

This led to an entire daw being effectively wiped out on Friday, as they attempted to shore up the servers and add capacity, only to have the servers overwhelmed every time they tried to turn them back on. Thankfully, they were able to put all the fixes in place, add capacity, and by Saturday morning, the game seemed to be running smoothly through the rest of the weekend.

Considering the downtime, Mediatonic promised that, once the servers were improved, they would start working on some free DLC to show their appreciation for players' patience. We wouldn't be surprised if there's some other DLC on the way, give how gleefully their social media has been teasing a The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 collaboration.

 

We posted our Fall Guys review last week, saying:

Full of cute and cuddly jelly beans bumbling into each other in a race for the crown, Fall Guys is just about the most wholesome battle royale imaginable, and a whole lot of fun.

Fall Guys is out now for PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam.

Fall Guys guides & more from TheSixthAxis

F1 2020 Keep Fighting Foundation DLC honours Michael Schumacher

Codemasters have followed the Michael Schumacher inspired DLC and premium edition of F1 2020 by releasing DLC for the Keep Fighting Foundation that was inspired by the legendary driver after he suffered traumatic brain injuries in a skiing accident in 2013.

The premium DLC will include a car livery, podium emote, helmet, gloves, suit and badge, and will be available from 11th August on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Google Stadia. Proceeds from the sales will go straight to the Keep Fighting Foundation.

Lee Mather, F1 Franchise Game Director at Codemasters said, "It was an honour for the studio to focus on Michael's record-breaking F1 career for the F1 2020 Deluxe Schumacher Edition. We are equally proud to support the Keep Fighting Foundation. Many of our players regard Michael as the greatest of all time, and we know the exclusive items will prove incredibly popular."

F1 2020 released earlier this month with a new My Team mode the biggest addition for this year's entry. In our F1 2020 review, Tom said:

If it wasn't for the addition of My Team, F1 2020 would go down as being great for newcomers, but past the best before date for those who have enjoyed recent iterations. Some elements are now very tired, but being able to oversee the running of your own team proves to be incredibly satisfying and just enough of a distraction – for now. F1 2020 highlights just how much of a team sport Formula 1 is, and that can only be a good thing.

At the start of this month, Codemasters updated the game with the Mercedes W11 black livery. While it's a few weeks after the game's release on 10th July, the timing was great to emphasise the reason for the livery change, with Mercedes making the change from their traditional silver livery in a statement of support for the Black Lives Matter movement, alongside a commitment to improve diversity within the team and sport.

Source: Codemasters

Superliminal Review

As you wander around solving puzzles in first person in Superliminal, you'll be guided through the experience by a robotic woman's voice. This fairly generic description might well sound like you've heard of it before, but if there is anything that Superliminal isn't, it's familiar.

Set in Somnasculpt, a dream therapy program ran by one Doctor Pierce, the fundamental truth in Superliminal is that "perception is reality." The game uses optical illusions and forced perspective to constantly and relentlessly subvert the most basic functions, like moving objects. The size of objects is reliant on how you're perceiving them. When you put an object on the floor directly in front of you, it's smaller than if you shift your gaze up and place it at the wall opposite, because it would have to be bigger for it to take up that much space in your view from that distance. For example, you can pick a model house up off a table, turn and place it on the other side of the room, and then walk through the door of the model house.

This is one of the earliest mechanics to appear in the game and as far as I'm aware it is completely unique. It's also capable of stumping you pretty early on, as it's difficult to wrap your head around. This feeling of bewilderment this causes is furthered by the constant subversion of just about everything around you. There's doors that, once you get near them, turn out to be a stretched out piece of textured geometry that only looks like a door from the other end of the corridor, or objects that only pop into being once viewed from the right angle to use the same forced perspective trick.

 

It sounds frustrating and confusing, but I found it to be a constant delight. Every time I tried one thing and something else happened I'd swear aloud in surprise and grin to myself like an idiot. There's just something very satisfying about being tricked in such a clever way. More importantly, the mechanics that it relies on to do so are not only unique, but they are subverted themselves. Just as you get used to one particular trick, it'll change subtly, and be used in a way that you couldn't have thought of beforehand, or the game will just move onto a new mechanic without mentioning it and things suddenly start to clone themselves when you try to pick them up.

I won't go into later mechanics in the game as discovering them is part of the fun, but by the final levels you can never be sure that anything you're looking as it what it seems. The walls might not be walls, the floor could disappear at any moment, doors can open to brick walls, and are you sure that's the ceiling up there? It's like being in a severely malfunctioning version of the Matrix… but in a good way.

This is all tied together by a narrative that's delivered by the omnipresent voice of the orientation guide and occasional messages from Doctor Pierce himself, both of whom seem to grow increasingly more perplexed that the dream therapy is going off the rails. It culminates in a surprisingly introspective message that felt genuinely meaningful alongside the gameplay.

There's a couple of issues though, the first being occasional drops in frame rate on PS4 when around particularly complex puzzle concepts, which gave me a small sensation of motion sickness – this doesn't ever happen to me in other video games. There's also some aliasing as there's a lot of fine lines and details in the environment.

Outside of that, the game is very short – there's a speedrunning trophy for finishing it in an hour and another for finishing in 30 minutes. This might be to the game's advantage, as stretching it out out might have resulted in repeating more mechanics to the point of overfamiliarity. There is some replayability such as collectibles to find around the levels and a few mysterious trophies to figure out, but the delight of discovering all the tricks isn't quite the same the second time.

Metamorphosis might just change your view of creepy crawlies

"As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect."

So begins Franz Kafka's novella, Metamorphosis, a story of alienation and self-discovery that speaks to the outsider within us all. Kafka's stylistic treatment of the layers of absurdity and bureaucracy that confine and control the modern world are perfectly suited to gaming, as players are well used to carrying out menial tasks and jumping ridiculous hurdles. In adapting the story into a game, developers Ovid Works have taken a few liberties, most notably changing Samsa's insectoid form into a regular sized bug.

During a disorientating and surreal opening played out in a first person perspective, you awake to discover that you, as Gregor, have undergone the titular metamorphosis and are now an insect. At first, this change seems superficial as you explore a room and find a key to unlock the door. So far, so normal, but upon leaving the room, you shrink and must attempt to navigate an identical copy of it from a very different perspective. This tutorial works well to introduce you to the very different movement set available in your tiny six-footed form. Desks become environments filled with platforming puzzles, table-edges are perilous cliffs, and pencils bridges between areas.

It isn't just the bugs-eye perspective that stands out here, as you also have a movement set that fits your insectoid form. Scuttling along at high speed and taking impressive leaps of faith between household objects quickly becomes second nature, although taking the speed of travel for granted can often lead to a sickening death – accompanied by a suitably unpleasant squishing sound. It takes a little longer to become accustomed to the traversal opportunities available through your new body, as you are able to climb up some surfaces; and even scale vertical walls after coating your feet in sticky fluids (cough mixture, honey, ink, etc.). This mechanic offers a verticality that is rarely seen in first person games outside of the Aliens vs Predator franchise. At first, this approach leads to some confusing paths but as the game develops it really opens the levels out.

FHGVJHBKJN

In his novella, Kafka left instructions that no illustrations of Gregor's changed state were to be made, as he intended the result to be left open to interpretation (instructions that have been consistently ignored since the earliest critical editions) and true to this, you never get to see your own insectoid face, or at least not during the early sections available in this preview. I played the first hour or so and found myself exploring drains and vents as well as rooms, whilst trying to make my way to The Tower – a sinister destination that promises to offer a potential cure. Similar to the underrated Deadly Creatures from the Wii, the humans in the background carry some of the narrative burden, with incredibly authentic Kafka-esque dialogue around the aforementioned bureaucracy and labyrinthine regulations within which Gregor's best friend becomes entrenched.

My early impressions of Metamorphosis are really positive and I can't wait to see how Gregor's quest to return to his human form progresses. Without wishing to venture into possible spoilers, I certainly hope that the videogame version has brighter prospects than his literary forbear. We'll be sure to bring you a full review when the full version scuttles out this week on 12th August.

Xbox Series S leaks on new Xbox Series X controller packaging

The long rumoured Xbox Series S, the cheaper "Lockheart" variant of Microsoft's next-gen console, has been leaked from a handful of different sources that have got their hands on the updated Xbox controller designed for the Xbox Series X.

Twitter user Zak S was able to purchase the controller, with its subtly modified form factor, redesigned D-pad and new Share button. However, most interesting is that the packaging for the controller reveals that is it compatible with "Xbox Series X | S".

Bingo.

The Xbox Series S is expected to be a lower powered version of the Xbox Series X, keeping many of the same attributes, such as the ultra-fast SSD storage and Zen 2 CPU, but compromising on the GPU side of things. Where the Xbox Series X is expected to deliver a native 4K resolution, higher frame rates and ray tracing, the cut back "Lockheart" could sacrifice these to reach a lower price point for those buyers without a 4K TV or without as exacting demands from their games graphics, while retaining the minimal loading times and enhanced game worlds that the CPU could provide.

The availability of an Xbox Series S also helps to explain why Microsoft ceased production of their current most powerful console, the Xbox One X. While the Xbox One S remains in production, it will eventually be left behind by next gen game designs, the weakness of its CPU likely to be a key factor in this. That CPU weakness would have remained on Xbox One X.

Not only will this be a future proof option, it will also allow Microsoft to aim for a lower entry price to the next generation, potentially helping to bring more players into their next-gen plans by aiming $100 or more lower than what Sony can manage with the PlayStation 5.

As a reminder, Microsoft's studios are not developing Xbox Series X exclusive titles for at least the first year of the console's time on the market. Halo Infinite and anything else that comes out also having versions for the Xbox One, with Smart Delivery meaning you can buy the game once and own optimised versions across Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Windows 10. Additionally the new controller will be backward compatible to the Xbox One, and Xbox One peripherals forward compatible to next-gen. However, that message was muddied through their Xbox Series X showcase, which largely showed first party games that will not be coming to Xbox One.

Source: Zak S

Fae Tactics Review

Fae Tactics knows you've played a tactical RPG before. It knows you're going to go all wobbly with nostalgia at a jaunty, stirring soundtrack; at a main theme that evokes Wild Arms and Fire Emblem. It knows you're going to crack a wide smile at saucer-eyed, headstrong protagonist Peony and her pet companions. It knows that when it introduces, over a series of tutorialised intro stages, at least a dozen interplaying systems – buffs and debuffs, opposing elements, party synergy – you're going to lap it up like the dehydrated genre aficionado you are.

You are a waiter. Fae Tactics is your manager. Fae Tactics is going to keep placing plates piled high with steaming hot systems onto your quivering arms, and just when you feel like a stray hair would send you crashing to the floor, it's going to slap you on the back, never once fearing you might topple. As I said, Fae Tactics knows you've played a tactical RPG before. At least, it assumes you have.

Here's the basics, champ; each character and enemy acts once per round based on an initiative system. You can choose to delay turns if you want. They move, then can either buff another ally, buff themselves by resting, or attack. If you attack an enemy that's next to one or more friendly melee characters, those melee characters will attack straight afterwards, allowing you to set up powerful combos. There's approximately sixty thousand additional systems that build on this, but that's the core of it.

The line between engrossing complexity and unnecessary complication may seem like a thin one, but I can't help feel that many of Fae Tactics design priorities are simply in the wrong place – stacking middling percentage modifiers where it really could have done with more overtly meaty choices. I still haven't fully mastered a good third of what the game is doing enough to consistently make fully informed decisions, but much of this is down to me not feeling the need to. Regarding challenge, Fae Tactics seems to have two polarities. You'll play through two or three trivially easy stages – maybe with the odd NPC you have to babysit or get autofailed into the sun – then get thrown into a war of attrition with a spongy boss that can one-shot multiple characters every few turns.

Here's the thing though: I still quite enjoy it all, just not really for the same reasons I was expecting. It's got a weak plot, sure, but likeable characters, and a heap of charming creature designs and great pixel art. The basic approach of setting up formations of melee, ranged, and buffer characters, augmented by cooldown-ability spells, is really quite compelling in small doses. Plus, as I said, it's impossible to hear that soundtrack and not be transported back to a simpler time of PS1-era JRPG classics.

That's not to say Fae Tactics doesn't attempt to modernise either. There are no menus in combat, instead having you choose character abilities through placement, movement, and whether or not you attack that turn. There's still a big stat and ability overlay in the top right for every character and enemy though, complete with a dizzying array of icons to display buffs, debuffs, and abilities. So, less menus doesn't necessarily mean less reading, and it certainly doesn't mean keeping track of less variables if you want to play optimitally.

That modernisation is also present in the art, which skews retro in sensibilities but with distinctly modern detail and dynamism. A core mechanic involves you collecting monsters – the titular Fae – to bring into battle alongside your core party, and thanks to the imaginative design work, it's a real joy to collect some of the odder ones. Fire-puking salamanders, horned-squirrels, and Jim Henson-esque Gremlins are all there to augment your force. It's always fun to experiment with new builds, even if they often end up feeling boxed in to quite restrictive categories in terms of applicability.

Oh, I'd better mention those Gremlins again, because one of them was pretty indicative of a real issue I have with Fae Tactics' storytelling. I love a good David Bowie reference as much as anyone else, but when I'm fighting a boss swirling a crystal orb and quoting labyrinth before the game has bothered to really establish any of its own characters, the whole homage slips into pastiche. There's some tantalising glimpses into the world and the lore, but much less focus into the characters or the plot itself. I'm getting weary of games that just shove a dog at me instead of working to get me invested in the characters. It is, admittedly, a very good dog though.

Fight Crab Review

There have been a slew of cinematic blockbuster games coming out in recent months, from the debut of samurai epic Ghost of Tsushima to the massively anticipated The Last of Us Part II and even the surprising PC release of Hideo Kojima's masterpiece Death Stranding. These are games that revel in developing a realistic, dramatic world rife with intricate character stories, big-budget visuals and finely crafted game mechanics. They're massive, Hollywood-level experiences and they're well worth experiencing, but not every game has to be like that.

Sometimes, games can just be simple and silly little experiences. Sometimes, they can just be a colorful and flashy afternoon of dumb, childlike fun. Sometimes, a game can just be about two crabs flinging crowbars and shuriken at each other in an absurd and addictive duel to the death. That particular kind of game is Fight Crab, and it's one of the most delightful and charming games I've played all year.

You play as a crab. You fight other crabs. The first crab to be knocked onto their back in three seconds loses. That's really the long and short of what Fight Crab is. Of course, the challenge comes from just how dang difficult it is to engage in bloodsport as a simple crab.

The game is built on dynamic physics gameplay, with your left and right sticks controlling the direction your claws are pointed in while the shoulder buttons and triggers punch, pinch and grab. Add in the slow crabby movements and ability to walk along walls on the D-pad and face buttons, and it's an awkward control scheme that might result in you holding your controller in the all-too-appropriately named "claw grip".

Much like the incomprehensible physics mayhem of Gang Beasts or Human: Fall Flat, there's a learnable yet slightly unpredictable charm to the controls and physics of Fight Crab that constantly kept me engaged in battle. I definitely may have resorted to wild button mashing and stick twirling in times of duress, but if I played smart and timed my punches and claw-swings to land speedy swinging hits or flip over a wounded foe, I could always manage to deliver exactly what I was hoping to dish out.

The main campaign mode doesn't present any kind of deep story or quest for vengeance, although new levels are often complemented by flavor text describing the events of the stage. My favorite line of text? "The crab has obtained the holy sword."

So much of the charm and fun in Fight Crab comes from how much ridiculous stuff is just tossed into the game with little explanation. When it happens, the game immediately expects you to comprehend the fact that you are a giant crab fighting through a destructible city, swinging cars and trees at your foe by grabbing them with your pincers. A couple of levels in, you're suddenly fighting a lobster holding a knife and a revolver, but that's nothing compared to the spider crab equipped with tonfas who summons a giant dragon, or the horsehair crabs jumping around wildly and swinging lightsabers at you. There's no rhyme or reason to the crustaceans and weaponry you'll come up against as you play, and the surprise of seeing what sort of foe came next always left me hollering with laughter and screaming in surprise.

The stupid and unexpectedly hilarious energy of Fight Crab is complemented by the high-octane soundtrack and silly sound design. Moments like hearing triumphant Spanish guitar music while a mitten crab swung nunchaku at me or hearing the bassy and overblown reload sound effect on a coconut crab's sawed-off shotgun left me speechless.

Similar to how your foes grow in variety and strength as you progress, your own crab can also grow and evolve by spending money on a variety of upgrades in-between missions. Perhaps you want to swap out the species of crab you're playing as for something with a lower center of gravity or wildly larger arms. You could also stick with your current crab and simply upgrade your stats to ensure you're harder to knock down or quicker to land hits. You could also do what I did and save up your money for most of the game to unlock the holy sword Excalibur that fires waves of raw energy whenever you enter Hyper Mode.

Sorry, did i forget to mention your crab's Hyper Mode? The mode that lets you fire the Crab Ball, a devastating projectiles like the Kamehameha? Yeah, that's a thing too.

You don't have to experience the absurdity of Fight Crab alone. You can take the battle online and duke it out with other crabby combatants across the globe, or even load up a split-screen battle on any map in the game and play with whichever crabs and weapons you so please. If there's a single thing missing from the game that truly bums me out, it's the lack of local co-op. You can create a lobby to play the game in online co-op mode, but the fact that local versus made the cut, but local co-op didn't is a disappointment.

Yoshinori Ono announces resignation from Capcom, "new generation" will take care of Street Fighter

Yoshinori Ono has announced he is resigning from Capcom after nearly 30 years with the video game developer. Yoshinori Ono is perhaps best known for his role as the Street Fighter series executive producer, and is synonymous with the franchise. He took to Twitter today to announce his resignation, and released a statement about his time with the company, and what will be next for the Street Fighter franchise. You can read Yoshinori Ono's full statement below.

Dear Street Fighter series' players & Fighting Game Community members

There have been many unexpected events occurred globally in 2020. Especially the COVID19 has been significantly affecting many people's life and health all over the world. I'm praying that all of you and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. Since Capcom Cup in 2013, the Capcom Pro Tour has become an annual event because of the continued tremendous support from the players and Fighting Game Community members in the world.

We at Capcom had many internal discussions about the format for the CPT 2020. It took a long time for us to decide the format for this year, but we believe that conducting the event itself would repay those who has been supporting the CPT, regardless of what the format is. Needless to say, I understand there has been some criticism about this particular format. However, I'm fully convinced that it is important to shed light on various hopes by keeping the event even in this way.

Additionally, I'm extremely grateful that so many players and Fighting Game Community members and its related individuals have been supporting us so that we can make the CPT happen this year. I've been with the Street Fighter brand for a long time, experiencing good times, bad times, and even non-existent times.

My heart is filled with appreciation to those players who've been giving warm and kind support on the brand especially little over the past decade or so as all the activities on the Street Fighter brand regained sunshine and grew its liveliness. And now, after serving almost 30 years at Capcom, I am leaving the company in this summer. This means that I will resign my position as the brand manager for Capcom's various titles including Street Fighter.

Capcom staff in the new generation will continue taking care of the Street Fighter brand and leading the World Warriors. And, I do believe that they will continue making Street Fighter extraordinary. I will look forward to seeing the new Street Fighter brand and how it's going to be expanded, as just one of regular gamers next time around.

I've been trying to contact those whom I've gotten to work with in the past about my resignation. However, it's quite difficult to reach out to all of people I've associated with throughout my career for almost three decades, so I'd like to humbly ask your kind understanding. When the opportunity comes, I'd like to extend warm greetings and my appreciation to those individuals and companies I've had a chance to work with.

Again, to many players, FGC and its operation staff, and all of Street Fighter fans, thank you so much for your continued support. I regret that I as the Street Fighter series executive producer, wasn't able to do "SHORYUKEN" together with you all at each event in 2020, so please allow me to shout as my closing statement in this message to you.

3 2 1 SHORYUKEN!

Street Fighter Series Executive Producer Yoshinori Ono 

Just a few days ago Capcom held its Street Fighter Summer Update, and during that announced five more fighters would be added to the Street Fighter V roster over the next year, along with new stages and costumes.

Source: Twitter

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment (Rocksteady, NeatherRealm etc) is not being sold

After months of speculation with Activision and Take Two looking as likely buyers, it turns out that parent company AT&T is not selling their gaming division after all, at least not yet. On August 7th CEO Jason Kilar sent an email to all staff explaining how the company was to be restructured but specifically mentioned that the gaming arm was staying put.

The Warner Bros. Motion Pictures Group continues to be led by Chairman Toby Emmerich. Warner Bros. Television Studios group continues to be led by Chairman Peter Roth. Warner Bros. Interactive remains part of the Studios and Networks group, along with our Global Brands and Franchises team including DC led by Pam Lifford, and our Kids, Young Adults and Classics business led by Tom Ascheim, all focused on engaging fans with our brands and franchises through games and other interactive experiences.

The message also explains that the HBO Max streaming service will be expanded globally, good news for those who want to watch the four hour Snyder cut of Justice League when it debuts on the service.

AT&T have been looking at ways to cut costs and it seems rather than sell off a specific group they going to perform a major restructure and cut staff numbers instead. That doesn't mean Rocksteady, NeatherRealm, TT Games and the other studios are safe, but it does seem the sale is off for the moment. There may have been complications in negotiations as many of the games from the studio are based on Warner Bros. properties such as the Lego movie or DC comics.

That's not to say a sale may occur in the future, AT&T still need to raise a lot of cash to cover a $200 billion debt, but Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment always seemed an odd choice for sale when everyone knew Rocksteady had a major title in the works and the pandemic has seen demand for video games surge. The near future of video games looks positively rosy when compared to that of movie studios.

The news comes just days after Rocksteady Studios confirmed that it is working on a Suicide Squad game, and that it will be releasing more information on August 22nd at DC Fandome. The news came via a tweet on the official Rocksteady Studios Twitter with a poster showing the Suicide Squad logo acting as a target placed squarely on Superman's head. It seems the Suicide Squad will be battling the Man of Steel, and it could also mean the rest of the Justice League is involved in some way.

Source: WarnerMedia

Something for the Weekend – 08/08/20

Another heatwave has hit the UK, bringing with it sweltering heat and an unhealthy craving for ice cream! Elsewhere, F1 returns to Silverstone again this weekend for the 70th Anniversary GP, and with these temperatures let's hope the tyres hold up better than last time – unless you want a bit of excitement of course!

Anyway, let's start our recap of the week:

In the News This Week

Games in Review

We crammed as many reviews in as we could in this week, check 'em out below:

Featured Articles

Aran kicked off the previews with some impressions from the Marvel's Avengers beta. Overall he's moderately impressed, although has some complaints about the door sounds! Stefan also got to have a chat with some of the folks at Crystal Dynamics about the game and the recent Spider-Man backlash.

Elsewhere, Stefan tee'd off with a look at PGA Tour 2K21, which is HD Studios' first outing in the licensed world for their indie series that was The Golf Club. After that, he wrote about how he fell in love with Windbound, a survival game with strong Zelda vibes as you can see in his video below.

Finally, What We Played featured Fall Guys, Ghost of Tsushima & Marvel's Avengers.

Trailer Park

FIFA 21 gameplay trailer describes the new creative dribbling and agile runs systems

A gorgeous new gameplay trailer for The Pathless is here

New Vader Immortal trailer confirms August PSVR release date

Godfall combat trailer gives an extended look at the game running on PS5

Bugsnax gameplay trailer gives a tour of Snaktooth Island

Your Achievements

Here's what you in our community has been up to this week:

  • Plenty of you such as Crazy Del and MrYd have been enjoying Fall Guys (when it works). Del's also enjoyed Skater XL (1 trophy away from the Plat) and NFS Heat. MrYd meanwhile has dabbled into games here and there as usual, including sessions with RDR2, Death Stranding, GreedFall and Warhammer.
  • hornet199's completed the Battlefield V War Stories and now moves on to Battlefield 1, which has been less buggy.
  • And last up, due to an arm injury (get well soon!), TSBonyman didn't get much gaming in, but has been getting his fix by watching streamers and the State of Play reveals!

I hope you have a good week and I'll see you again soon!

This week's free Epic games are up, Remnant: From the Ashes coming

Epic have confirmed that two more games will be joining its long list of freebies next week. These will include Remnant: From the Ashes, as well as the upcoming The Alto Collection.

Meanwhile, this week's free game is now live: the brilliantly inventive puzzler, Wilmot's Warehouse. Alongside this is the first episode of "3 out of 10" a new cartoon series about the world's worst game development studio.

Remnant: From the Ashes is a weird mix of melee action and looter shooter from the same team that brought us the Darksiders games. Meanwhile The Alto Collection brings the endless sledging games to PC and consoles, having been a huge hit on mobile.

If neither of those tickle your fancy then make sure you fire up the Epic Games Store on Thursday August 13th anyway – you'll have 24 hours in which to claim a free copy of A Total War Saga: Troy.

You can check out the full list of Epic free games below which started with Subnautica in December 2018. Click on the game titles to read our reviews:

The Alto Collection August 13-20, 2020
Remnant: From the Ashes August 13-20, 2020
A Total War Saga: Troy August 13-14, 2020
Wilmot's Warehouse August 6-13, 2020
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP July 30 – August 6, 2020
Barony July 30 – August 6, 2020
20XX July 30 – August 6, 2020
Next Up Hero July 23-30, 2020
Tacoma July 23-30, 2020
Torchlight II July 16-23, 2020
Lifeless Planet: Premier Edition July 9-16, 2020
The Escapists 2 July 9-16, 2020
Killing Floor 2 June 9-16, 2020
Hue July 2-9, 2020
Stranger Things 3 June 25-July 2, 2020
AER Memories of Old June 18-25, 2020
Ark: Survival Evolved June 11-18, 2020
Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection June 11-18, 2020
Overcooked June 4-11, 2020
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection May 28-June 4, 2020
Civilization VI May 21-28, 2020
Grand Theft Auto V May 14-21, 2020
Death Coming May 7-14, 2020
Crashlands April 30-May 7, 2020
Amnesia: The Dark Descent April 30-May 7, 2020
For the King April 23-30, 2020
Just Cause 4 April 16-23, 2020
Wheels of Aurelia April 16-23, 2020
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments April 9-16, 2020
Close to the Sun April 9-16, 2020
Gone Home April 2-9, 2020
Drawful 2 April 2-9, 2020
Hob April 2-9, 2020
Totally Reliable Delivery Service April 1-8, 2020
World War Z March 26-April 2, 2020
Torment x Punisher March 26-April 2, 2020
Figment March 26-April 2, 2020
Watch Dogs March 19-26, 2020
The Stanley Parable March 19-26, 2020
A Short Hike March 12-19, 2020
Mutazione March 12-19, 2020
Anodyne 2 March 12-19, 2020
Gonner March 5-12, 2020
Offworld Trading Company March 5-12, 2020
Inner Space February 27-March 5, 2020
Faeria February 20-27, 2020
Assassin's Creed Syndicate February 20-27, 2020
Aztez February 13-20, 2020
Kingdom Come: Deliverance February 13-20, 2020
Ticket to Ride February 6-13, 2020
Carcassonne February 6-13, 2020
Farming Simulator 19 January 30-February 6, 2020
The Bridge January 23-30, 2020
Horace January 16-23, 2020
Sundered: Eldritch Edition January 9-16, 2020
Darksiders Warmastered Edition January 1-9, 2020
Darksiders 2 Dethinitive Edition January 1-9, 2020
Steep January 1-9, 2020
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair December 31, 2019
Hello Neighbor December 30, 2019
The Talos Principle December 29, 2019
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun December 28, 2019
Hyper Light Drifter December 27, 2019
FTL: Faster Than Light December 26, 2019
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator December 25, 2019
Celeste December 24, 2019
Ape Out December 23, 2019
Little Inferno December 22, 2019
Superhot December 21, 2019
Towerfall Ascension December 20, 2019
Into the Breach December 19, 2019
The Wolf Among Us December 12-19, 2019
The Escapists December 12-19, 2019
Jotun: Valhalla Edition December 6-12, 2019
Rayman Legends November 29-December 6, 2019
Bad North November 21-29, 2019
The Messenger November 14-21, 2019
Ruiner November 7-14, 2019
Nuclear Throne November 7-14, 2019
Costume Quest October 31-November 7, 2019
Soma October 31-November 7, 2019
Layers of Fear October 24-October 31, 2019
Q.U.B.E.2 October 24-October 31, 2019
Alan Wake: American Nightmare October 17-24, 2019
Observer October 17-24, 2019
Surviving Mars October 10-17, 2019
Minit October 3-10, 2019
Metro 2033 Redux September 26-October 3, 2019
Everything September 26-October 3, 2019
Lego Batman Trilogy September 19-26, 2019
Batman: Arkham Collection September 19-26, 2019
Conarium September 12-19, 2019
ABZU September 5-12, 2019
The End is Nigh September 5-12, 2019
Celeste August 29-September 5, 2019
Inside August 29-September 5, 2019
Fez August 22-29, 2019
Hyper Light Drifter August 15-22, 2019
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden August 15-22, 2019
GNOG August 8-15, 2019
For Honor August 2-9, 2019
Alan Wake August 2-9, 2019
This War of Mine July 25-August 2, 2019
Moonlighter July 25-August 2, 2019
Limbo July 18-July 25, 2019
Torchlight July 11-18, 2019
Overcooked July 4-11, 2019
Last Day of June June 27-July 4, 2019
Rebel Galaxy June 20-27, 2019
Enter the Gungeon June 13-20, 2019
Kingdom: New Lands June 6-13, 2019
City of Brass May 30-6, 2019
Rime May 23-30, 2019
Stories Untold May 16-23, 2019
World of Goo May 2-16, 2019
Transistor April 18-May 2, 2019
The Witness April 4-18, 2019
Oxenfree March 21-April 4, 2019
Slime Rancher March 7-21, 2019
Thimbleweed Park February 21-March 7, 2019
Axiom Verge February 7-21, 2019
The Jackbox Party Pack January 24-February 7, 2019
What Remains of Edith Finch January 11-24, 2019
Super Meat Boy December 28, 2018-January 10, 2019
Subnautica December 12-27, 2018

The Epic Games Launcher also hosts to a variety of free-to-play games including Dauntless, SMITE, Magic The Gathering Arena, and of course, Fortnite.

Source: Epic Games

Fall Guys is back online, Mediatonic promise rewards for server downtime [Updated 3:30PM]

Updated 3:30PM 08/08/20: Fall Guys servers are officially back up and running, and "things are looking good." Here's hoping the game manages to survive the big weekend rush that's expected heading into the evening and when the US is awake.

Update 1:50PM 08/08/20: There's no official Tweet saying the servers are back back we can see people playing online so give it a try!

Update 12PM 08/08/20: Well that did not last long, servers are back offline again.

Update 9AM 08/08/20: The Fall Guys Server Owl has not tweeted any any further updates, but I managed to get in to a game on PS4 in seconds, so things seem to be back up and running, huzzah!

Mediatonic shifted the game back into an official maintenance mode overnight, citing the ever-increasing number of players throwing up more problems. Obviously it's not been great for people wanting to play, and the team have promised to create some extra rewards as a sign of their appreciation for everyone's patience and support.

Update 11PM: This update is to let you know there is no update, it's still down, sorry.

Update 8PM: Finally an official update! The servers are effectively still down, with Mediatonic hoping to stabilise things in preparation for the weekend.

Update 6PM: We're back online and playing a game! After a lot of downtime and connectivity issues, Fall Guys seems to be working. Sometimes. You will need patience while matchmaking in order to get a game, that's for sure. There are also still no updates from the Mediatonic team about how things are performing as we head into the evening, but things are "working" right now.

Update 3:50PM: We're seeing connection errors during matchmaking with the message, "Connection to the Server timed out. Please check the settings and try again." There are no settings to check on PS4, though!

No updates have been posted about the matter on either of the Fall Guys Twitter accounts since 1:39PM, but we're sure the Mediatonic team are working hard to resolve the issues.

Update 2PM: Uh oh, the servers are still struggling, because people rushed to play too quickly…

Update 1PM: Fall Guys' server maintenance has finally ended after over seven hours! It sounds like it's been a big job for Mediatonic as they've added capacity and enhanced the servers ahead of the weekend, while also fixing a few exploits with regard to Steam player names and hacking crowns and kudos from the store. However, note that the servers are "slowly" coming back online, so be patient while trying to matchmake for the next hour or so.

The original post follows.

Mediatonic have taken the Fall Guys servers offline this morning to perform maintenance and add capacity ahead of the game's first weekend after launch.

Trying to play the game this morning will see the following message pop up.

The Matchmaker is currently down for maintenance whilst we add more capacity, please check back soon for updates.

There's no word on when they expect to have the servers back online – Update 12:30PM: maintenance has been ongoing for over 7 hours at this point – but in the meantime, they've been having more social media fun times with a few polls.

While the main Fall Guys twitter account has been keeping people updated, there's also the Fall Guys Server Owl account, which has no less silly nonsense on it, despite supposedly being more technical and informative.

So, what do you think to see-saw?

As you can see, very little has changed in their social media approach since yesterday's The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077 love in, where they teased or joked about some kind of future collaboration.

On Wednesday, Mediatonic revealed that the first 24 hours had seen over 1.5 million players ran headlong into walls of doors, spinny hammer and swinging balls, and it's this sheer demand that overwhelmed the company's servers. That was obviously helped by the game being dropped in the laps of PlayStation Plus subscribers as one of August's free games, but it was always going to be a streaming darling, and shot to the top of Twitch as well.

It's no surprise that the game has been struggling, and with all of that attention, this weekend is sure to be peak Fall Guys time, and therefore quite critical for the game's servers to hold up.

We posted our Fall Guys review today, saying:

Full of cute and cuddly jellybean dude bumbling into each other in a race for the crown, Fall Guys is just about the most wholesome battle royale imaginable, and a whole lot of fun.

What We Played #462 – Fall Guys, Ghost of Tsushima & Marvel's Avengers

It's horribly sunny, muggy and warm in the UK about now. It's almost too hot to actually do much of anything right now, beyond sit with a fan pointing at your face or with the AC cranked up. With that in mind, we've also asked our writers what they've watched in addition to what they've played.

I have been playing games this week though. Obviously there's been some Fall Guys, which is great despite its rocky start, but I also got to preview PGA Tour 2K21, sample the gorgeous survival game Windbound, and be disappointed by the optimisation (or lack thereof) of Horizon Zero Dawn on PC. I've accompanied my gaming with occasional episodes of Snowpiercer, which has helped cool me down.

Aran's been watching The Good Place (which is something I should really come back to for the final season!), and finished off the story of Yakuza 3 with a side of Fall Guys.

Meanwhile, it was Lost Wing and Void Terrarium reviews for Ade, to compliment his EDF 4.1 with his girlfriend and Lego Ninjago with his son. They're trying to unlock the Golden Ninja, with a daunting 152 Golden Lego Bricks to collect! Oh, and the decidedly un-PC early seasons of Midsomer Murders, as they've started watching the long running murder mystery series from the very beginning.

There's been a mishmash of Ghost of Tsushima, Dauntless, Fall Guys and Marvel Ultimate Alliance for Jim, who's looking forward to Marvel's Avengers, having got to play it early last weekend. Meanwhile, Reuben has been reviewing Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, playing Final Fantasy XIV ahead of next week's patch, and used Rise of the Tomb Raider as a palette cleanser after all those JRPGs.

Nic's Netflix-ing has taken him to the darkest depths of reality TV with the "surprisingly watchable" Selling Sunset. That's helped him get through the process of packing for a house move this weekend, which has meant putting his PS4 away in a box. Luckily he finished off The Last of Us Part II just before he did that!

A different kind of darkness from Tom Lord, who's been watching The Salisbury Poisonings in lieu of playing Fall Guys. Apparently it  "Makes you paranoid," which maybe isn't the most ringing of endorsements…

The other Tom fell head over heels for the psychadelic speed-running roguelite FPS Post Void this week, which also ended up on Miguel and Steve's playlists. Speaking of Steve, he thoroughly enjoyed The Last Guardian despite its wonky controls, and got to vent while playing through Carrion. His week of telly has featured Doom Patrol on Starzplay, but he's having to wait for his daughter to catch up on Umbrella Academy.

No problems with slow children for Nick, who's finished off Umbrella Academy season 2, and cannot wait for season 3. His gaming has been dominated by Ghost of Tsushima, where he's just reached the second act.

Next we come to Miguel. He played Fall Guys for a bit, kept up with Animal Crossing, played Tetris 99 for the Paper Mario theme, and dipped into COD Warzone. He also picked up a cheap Xbox One X, where he's hopped into Forza Horizon 4 and Halo 5, and when his internet died after a tropical storm hit NYC, he decided to watch Kaiji, Arakawa Under The Bridge, and Girls Und Panzer to name a few shows.

And finally, Tuffcub played (not watched) Fort Boyard, for some reason. His internet went down as well for a bit, so he played The Last Guardian and got lost with a complete lack of waypoints until he could play Destiny 2 again.

Right. Now it's over to you. What have you played and watched this week?

Fall Guys Season One rewards – when does it end?

Fall Guys has gracefully waddled its way into our shortlist of favourite multiplayer games on PC and PlayStation 4. Picking up a plucky 8/10 in our review, we love the game's cheeky simplicity even if we have been butting up against server issues during launch week.

Even when you don't win in Fall Guys the game still rewards players with Fame, feeding into a progress bar tagged with various unlockable rewards. Think of it as the Fall Guys battle pass. From faceplates and emotes to costumes and Kudos, aiming for these prizes is what will keep many coming back.

Each season your progress bar will be reset and the track restocked with new rewards. If you miss some of the costumes and other bits from season one they will be lost though it's likely they will return via the in-game shop.

Fall Guys Season One rewards full list

Below you'll find a complete list of unlockable items, leading all the way up to rank 40.

Rank Unlock Category
2 500 Kudos Currency
3 Bubblegum Colour
4 Cells Pattern
5 1 Crowns Currency
6 Pigeon Costume (Lower)
7 Raspberry Colour
8 Squiggly Camo Pattern
9 Pigeon Costume (Upper)
10 1000 Kudos Currency
11 Coo-ey! Emote
12 Topology Pattern
13 Rookie Costume (Lower)
14 1500 Kudos Currency
15 Citrus Blast Colour
16 Rookie Costume
17 Yeller Faceplate
18 2500 Kudos Currency
19 Hot Dog Costume
20 1 Crowns Currency
21 Steel Color
22 Hot Dog Costume (Lower)
23 3500 Kudos Currency
24 Rainbow Water Colour
25 Chicken Costume (Lower)
26 Paint Dipped Pattern
27 Night Sky Colour
28 Chicken Costume (Upper)
29 4500 Kudos Currency
30 Pirate Jig Emote
31 Hunter Pattern
32 1 Crowns Currency
33 Hunter Costume (Lower)
34 Ocean Dreams Colour
35 Baby Blue Faceplate
36 Hunter Costume (Upper)
37 Zebra Stripes Pattern
38 6000 Kudos Currency
39 Pirate Pattern
40 Jack in a Box Celebration

In summary, here's a quick rundown of everything you can rinse from the season one pass:

  • 19,500 Kudos
  • 3 Crowns
  • 2 Emotes
  • 1 Celebration
  • 5 Lower costume parts
  • 5 Upper costume parts
  • 2 Faceplates
  • 7 Colours

When does Fall Guys Season One end?

Fall Guys season one will end on October 6th. Your progress will be reset for season two though Mediatonic have yet to confirm how long fans will have to wait for this second season to kick off.

Fall Guys guides & more from TheSixthAxis

7 Fall Guys tips & tricks to help you win more Crowns

It feels a bit weird writing up a tips guide for Fall Guys. Unlike a lot of games we cover here at TheSixthAxis, there isn't a great deal to learn beyond the base workings of this cuddly battle royale contender. Fall Guys doesn't have much of a skill curved, but it's still there and through patience (and a hefty heap of luck) you can improve your in-game performance.

If you're already fairly decent when it comes to 3D platformers then you're likely to always clear those first couple of rounds either in the top 50% or 20% and earning yourself a little extra Fame.

In the meantime, here are some tips and tricks to get you off the ground with some advice on how to improve your Fall Guys performance to grab yourself more wins!

Fall Guys 101

Fall Guys only makes use of the two sticks (to move your bean-like buddy and rotate the camera) and three buttons. One to jump, one to dive, and the other to grab. These are three basic functions used in every Fall Guys round though, in truth, you can get away with just using the left stick and a series of well-placed jumps for most rounds

Before you focus on anything else, you need to understand how a Fall Guy moves. This means memorising the height and distance of their jump as well as the game's physics. Colliding with or even just brushing any surface or object can slow, stop, or even knock your bean down depending on your speed and the collision angle.

Win, or Dive trying!

Learning how to dive in Fall Guys is another big one. You can mostly get away with a simple jump though this can be extended ever so slightly with a well timed press of the dive button – Square on PS4. By leaping forward you can clear wider gaps while also clumsily vaulting over objects of a certain height. However it will leave you prone and getting hit when diving can often send you flying with a longer recovery time to get back up.

Show those name tags

In competitive rounds such as Jinxed and Tail Tag you will need to try and either avoid or chase down your opponents. One simple trick can help you here: switching on the name tags. This will force the usernames of each player to appear above their heads, exposing everyone's location. There are a number of blind spot where players can hide during these rounds, completely unseen unless their hunters rotate the camera or, indeed, spot their name tag.

What's luck got to do with it?

This should probably have been our first bit of advice, but oh well! There will be times when playing Fall Guys where your 3D platforming skills mean next to nothing. You'll occasionally get blindsided by other players or perhaps struck down by obstacles that have glanced off them and directly into your path. Then there are the team games, of course. It doesn't matter how well you've kept your tail, how many goals you've scored, or how many hoops you've dived through, you may occasionally get lumped with players who either aren't as good as the other team, or they're having a run of bad luck.

Prey on the weak

Speaking of team games in Fall Guys, you will often find opportunities to sabotage your opponents. It doesn't matter how your team performs when it comes to completing the objectives, as long as you're not last. So, in games where there are more than two teams, you may have better chance of winning by trolling those who have the lowest number of points.

Grab on!

At first you might think the grab is completely useless and it is to an extent outside of levels which require you to carry objects or push giant balls. However, the more you start to play Fall Guys, the more you should be trying to grab your opponents. A quick tap of the grab button can yank a player back ever so slightly, while holding it will cause you to latch on and bring you both to a standstill until they've broken free. Most players won't expect a grab, so it can be particularly useful when attempting to eliminate opponents in Tip Toe and Slime Climb.

Customise

As you earn Fame and rank up during each season you'll unlock new appearance options for your Fall Guys including faceplates, patterns, and costumes. These confer no in-game bonuses whatsoever but it's still a worthwhile part of the game to interact with. The reward of unlocking cosmetics adds to the game's replay incentive. If you're all about pimping out your character then make sure you swing by the store every day to see which new items have cycled in and out. Keep a reserve of Kudos and Crowns in case a hot new look drops on the marketplace.

Bonus: Bee the best at Hex-A-Gone

Hex-A-Gone is one of the three final rounds in Fall Guys. It's pretty straightforward, tasking you with staying above the slime as you hop between honeycomb of tiny vanishing platforms. There's a rhythm to this mode you'll need to learn if you want to maximise your winning potential.

Don't run over platforms, but hop between them one by one and you will quickly find that there is a specific rhythm you can jump to. Using your camera you'll want to survey the current layer you're on (as well as the next one below) and draw a path in your mind, trying to stay away from other players that might cut off your path by running around where you want to go. Also keep in mind that platforms further away can be reached using a dive, though your timing needs to be sharp.

DOOM Eternal's campaign DLC is The Ancient Gods, first teaser released

Bethesda and id Software have confirmed the name of the DOOM Eternal campaign expansion and it is called The Ancient Gods. The Ancient Gods will be split into two parts, and the first look will occur on August 27th at gamescom's Opening Night Live event. It looks like the expansion will take place on both Earth and Urdak, the home world of the Makyrs. It also seems that The Ancient Gods happens after the events of the main campaign following Doomguy's trip to Urdak. A teaser is posted below.

Recently DOOM Eternal received an update that brought back weapon quick switch for both the campaign and battlemode. You can check out the rest of the DOOM Eternal patch notes below.

DOOM Eternal 2.1 update patch notes

New Game Improvements for ALL platforms

  • Weapon Quick Switch has been enabled again in both Campaign and BATTLEMODE (Thanks again for all of your passionate community feedback!)
  • Made further improvements to networking latency in BATTLEMODE
  • Added the ability for the Mancubus to shoot after starting a double jump in BATTLEMODE
  • Maykr Drones have been added back in to some loadouts in BATTLEMODE bonus loot drops have been removed from headshots against the Maykr Drone in BATTLEMODE

New BATTLEMODE Balance Updates for PC Only

  • Reduced The Slayer's Precision Bolt damage in BATTLEMODE against player demons from 400 damage to 300 damage
  • Reduced The Slayer's starting bullet ammo in BATTLEMODE from 84 bullets to 72 bullets

Fixes for ALL platforms

Campaign

  • Fixed an issue with the Gladiator failing to drop health while staggered
  • Fixed an issue with the Khan Maykr failing to drop health when Blood Punched
  • Fixed a rare issue where AI became invulnerable after a failed Glory Kill
  • Fixed an issue with Zombies ragdolling incorrectly when killed
  • Fixed Baron of Hell leg animations displaying incorrectly in certain circumstances
  • Fixed a graphics issue with the gibs that display when Glory Killing the Archvile from the front
  • Fixed an issue in Extra Life Mode that caused extra lives to be removed during the Revenant gameplay sequence in Cultist Base
  • Fixed an issue causing notifications for rewards to display repeatedly
  • Fixed an issue where challenges would display on screen for an extended period if another challenge was completed while being displayed

BATTLEMODE

  • Fixed a crash in BATTLEMODE when backing out of a private match
  • Fixed a crash in BATTLEMODE on the Round Upgrade menu
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where selecting a demon simultaneously would display podiums incorrectly
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where the Marauder's wolf didn't always deal damage and explode when attacking The Slayer
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE with the Damage Report displaying incorrect damage numbers
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE that would cause health/ammo loot visuals to persist when Loot Block was used while the slayer was chainsawing AI
  • Fixed several descriptions for BATTLEMODE Round Upgrades to more accurately reflect current functionality
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where level progress would sometimes display incorrectly to other players in the lobby

BATTLEMODE Fixes for PC Only

  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE that would cause the title to crash when loading into a match with HDR enabled on some graphics cards
  • Fixed a rare crash when the Archvile teleported while the BFG was equipped in BATTLEMODE
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where enemy hit sound effects would revert to default after installing a new game patch

Known Issues

  • Demon Players may fall through the floor at round start in BATTLEMODE in rare circumstances (Players are teleported back into the map after the countdown timer ends or if a new round begins)
  • Demon Players may observe a dark screen in BATTLEMODE persisting during the countdown timer on the Torment map
  • The Demon Player HUD only displays the first two digits of the cooldown timer for instant resurrect and team heal
  • Unlock notifications for event and series unlock content only display when entering the Rewards menu or when restarting the title

Source: Twitter

 

Marvel's Avengers Interview – creating endgame content, diverse heroes & Spider-Man's exclusivity

Today sees the first of three beta weekends for Marvel's Avengers, first giving those that have pre-ordered the game a chance to glimpse what they're buying, and then opening the gates for all and sundry to rush through and see if this super hero online action RPG is for them.

There's plenty to see in the beta – read our hands on impressions here – with a handful of story missions, an introduction to the War Table, Drop Zone missions and more, but as we chatted to Shaun Escayg, Creative Director and Writer, and Vince Napoli, Lead Combat designer in a roundtable interview – we were joined by Rich Walker from Xbox Achievements and Alessio Palumbo from Wccftech – we were reassured that there's much more to the game.

"We wanted to include as much of a sample as we could for the beta," Vince said, "but it was also like, what are the introductory levels so we don't spoil too much, what are the ones that we're not giving away other tiered content, so yeah, there's absolutely bigger ones, there's more grander spaces and more interesting biomes that we wanted to save and didn't want to spoil for the beta."

OK, but… let's address the elephant-sized spider in the room a second. What's the deal with that Spider-Man exclusivity?

Shaun explained, "The Spider-Man [backlash] is very delicate. It's above us in terms of the relationships – it's a Marvel and Sony relationship and we really don't have much say in that.

"We are excited about putting out our version of Spider-Man and having that Spider-Man live in our world. That's crucial for us, that this Spider-Man belongs to the Marvel's Avengers world and the world dominated by AIM. Other than that, I can say that Spider-Man will have he own story, his own story arc, villains that accompany it and live in this world. For the time that's probably all I can say on it."

Spider-Man is not a part of the game on day one, but planned for early 2021, and whether he's exclusive, timed exclusive or not, that means that he simply cannot take a leading role in the main game's story. Instead, alongside Avengers mainstays like Iron Man, Hulk and Black Widow, the fresh-faced youngster on the team gets to be Kamala Khan, the first Muslim character to headline a Marvel comic book back in 2014 as the new Ms. Marvel.

Featuring her so heavily, as the assembling force for the Avengers is a fantastic spotlight for one of the few characters that breaks the rich white guy genius mould that so many Marvel heroes fit into. Can Crystal Dynamics go further to push diversity within their own spin on the Marvel universe?

"We're all for diversity in general. I love Kamala Khan, what she represents, what she brings to the table, how she reunited the Avengers and how she's a fan just like us and idolises these heroes," Shaun told us.

"One of the things that is important to know about the way we approach the stories, and this is what Marvel is very good at in terms of opening up that 80 year history the the game, is that as long as we can ground those heroes and place them within our universe, within our world and story, every hero is on the table.

"So the opportunity to see much more diversity of heroes, of storylines, everything is what we're trying to set up in this sort of living organism that is the AIM dominated world that sort of happens after the campaign. That's the foundation where we can now create these new stories and hero arcs, and yes, the goal is to open up the entire Marvel universe and use that as a palette to draw from to place and situate in our world."

Without committing to anything specific, it sounds like they're aware of the opportunities, and we really hope that they can follow through. There's plenty of other opportunities to take advantage of though. There's been a vast number of characters that have been a part of the Avengers, or at least teamed up with them for a decent amount of time. Even if you discount the sub-groups that splinter off to form things like the West Coast Avengers, you've got some villains turned goodies, and even X-Men like Beast and Quicksilver who've joined their ranks. There's an 80-year history to tap into, and precedent for just about anything.

As long as Crystal Dynamics can make a solid case for their inclusion, it sounds like Marvel are happy to sign off. The one criteria is that each new hero must come with their own story to tell, and can be used to push the game's world and overarching narrative forward.

With so many characters, all with varying levels of super-ness, who was the most difficult one to make fit into the game so far?

Vince replied, "I would say Black Widow was maybe the most interesting and challenging, and we wanted to tackle it first, just because we had a lot of people, even internally questioning how Widow competes with Hulk, with the God of Thunder, and stuff like that. So we decided to right away set the bar with her and go from there, starting from sort of the opposite end of the spectrum.

"I think Widow actually ended up being the favourite currently, or at least in playtests she ends up getting the highest marks, because people aren't expecting her to be as dynamic as she is. She plays very distinctly from the rest of them, with a combination of her speed, agility and gadgetry, we've just leaned into all those aspects, and the result is you wouldn't expect her to be able to compete at that level, but she does."

We can expect similar emphasis on mobility and gadgetry for the post-launch addition of Hawkeye, who's famously just a guy with a bow and arrow – "If a strategy works, I'm definitely a fan of continuing that," Vince said.

And it's definitely not just new characters and new stories, but also new endgame content and styles of gameplay. Vince explained some intriguing modes planned to be fed into the game regularly through the months after launch – expect more War Table streams to explain these in greater detail.

"Some of the missions might resemble a Villain Sector," he said, "where it's that boss challenge culminating in those kinds of fights. We've also got an endgame content that'll be out shortly after launch, which is the Hive and Mega Hive that utilise your entire roster in a single go. They're really designed around the idea of how far you can get with a single character before they're sort of extinguished for use, and then you switch to the next character and see how far you can get.

"That one really challenges your full team and is a very very different style of endgame content. We actually have a group version of that, where you plan your roster in an order, and team up with other players who've planned theirs, and see how far you can get.

"We also have other mission types that are in this time shard frequency, where you're constantly taking damage. It's a very short interval loop, so these are almost intended as rapid high intensity, high pressure missions, but they're only open for a short interval before they refresh on a couple day timeline.

"We have a breadth of that kind of endgame, high tier challenge stuff, and then of course we do have more traditional missions that you might refer to as a raid, which is, you know, larger than life and multi-tier objectives."

It certainly sounds like Crystal Dynamics have been sitting up and paying attention to the wider world of looter games, whether it's Destiny, Borderlands or more traditional action RPGs Diablo. Combining a rapidly expanding range of things to do while playing with a steadily growing roster and evolving super hero story, Marvel's Avengers could be set to captivate comic book and movie fans for years to come.

Final Fantasy VII Remake has reached 5 million in shipment and sales, sets new record

Square Enix has announced that Final Fantasy VII Remake has reached five million units shipped and sold when combining physical and digital sales. This has led to Final Fantasy VII Remake being the best selling Square Enix title on the PlayStation Store in Square Enix's history. Currently, Final Fantasy VII Remake is on sale so that number will keep climbing, with record breaking number increasing for the foreseeable future.

A couple of months ago, Square Enix released the Tifa PS4 theme for free on the PS Store and that is still available. Download links are below.

Previous themes that have been given away include the group Final Fantasy VII Remake theme which was given to anyone who played the game's demo. PlayStation Plus subscribers also have the opportunity to download the Final Fantasy VII Remake Cloud theme as part of the subscription.These added bonuses will probably not tide you over until the next part of the game is released, and even then it is not yet clear how many parts Final Fantasy VII Remake will be split into.

In our review for Final Fantasy VII Remake, Tuffcub wrote:

How do you remake one of the most beloved video games ever made? Why would you even risk it? It would be like remaking Jaws, Casablanca, or the original Star Wars film. Final Fantasy VII was a sprawling saga spanning eighty hours of memorable characters, lengthy battles, and tearful heartbreak. There is no way Square Enix could do it justice… and yet they have.

An utter joy to play from start to finish, packed with memorable scenes, moustache-twirling baddies, and epic battles. The first part of Final Fantasy VII Remake isn't just polished, it's opulent.

You can read the full Final Fantasy VII Remake review here. If you have the game and fancy tackling it on hard difficulty then help is at hand. Go and check out our guide on how to beat Final Fantasy VII Remake on hard mode.

Source: Press Release

Suicide Squad confirmed by Rocksteady Studios

Rocksteady Studios has confirmed that it is working on a Suicide Squad game, and that it will be releasing more information on August 22nd at DC Fandome. The news came via a tweet on the official Rocksteady Studios Twitter with a poster showing the Suicide Squad logo acting as a target placed squarely on Superman's head. It seems the Suicide Squad will be battling the Man of Steel, and it could also mean the rest of the Justice League is involved in some way.

Last month, domains were registered for Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights by Warner Bros. One of the websites registered was called Suicide Squad Kills The Justice League. If we are to take that and the poster above as signs then it does appear that the two groups will be pitted against each other for some reason. Considering the Suicide Squad is a force used by Amanda Waller and the government it could be that the Justice League has gone rogue, or the Suicide Squad itself is now out of control.

Rocksteady's next title has long been in the making. The studio has been quiet since releasing Batman: Arkham Knight and its DLC in 2015. There had been rumours the studio was working on both a Suicide Squad game and a Justice League game, and those rumours have proven almost correct. Instead of two games, we will be getting one big game that features the Suicide Squad and the Justice League. It is not yet clear which of the core characters will feature in the game aside from Superman, or if it is set in the same universe as the Arkham series. If it is we do not know whether the events of the Arkham games took place before Suicide Squad, and if that is the case then maybe Batman will not feature.

Source: Twitter

Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath update 08/06 patch notes are here

Warner Bros. have released the latest patch notes for Mortal Kombat 11 Aftermath, there doesn't seem to be a version but these are for all formats and the patch should be ready for you to download now.

General Gameplay Adjustments

  • Move list corrections
  • Adjusted the minimum health requirement for many Brutalities that have that as a requirement

Kombat League / Online

  • Forever King Lobbies will no longer sometimes prevent users from joining after the room been full but now has open slots
  • The Reward Screen after a Kombat League Season has ended no longer has an additional confirmation prompt when dismissed

Character Specific Adjustments

  • Cassie – Fixed a rare issue with drone moves could become disabled if BL-118 Energy Bounce was interrupted at a specific time during certain circumstances
  • Cetrion – The Smoked Flesh Brutality now has the requirement "hold Down during hit"
  • Cetrion – Deadly Winds & Deadly Winds Amplify visual effects no longer sometimes linger after they have been projectile destroyed
  • D'Vorah – Fixed a rare issue which could cause her Ovipositors to disappear during gameplay under certain circumstances
  • Erron Black – Fixed issue with hat using an incorrect animation if time out loss occurs at specific timing as forward throw connects
  • Geras – The Break Down Brutality now has the requirement "hold Down during hit"
  • Jade – The Looking Good Brutality now has the requirement "hold Away during hit"
  • Jax – The I Said Sleep Brutality now has the requirement "hold Down during hit"
  • Johnny Cage – The And The Award Goes To Brutality no longer requires the Say Cheese Gear Ability
  • Kano – The Bonzer Brutality now requires "hold Away during hit"
  • Kitana – The Punished Brutality requirement is now "hold Down during hit"
  • Kitana – Edenian Fade is no longer throw immune when she has landed and now displays Punish instead of Kounter when hit during its landing frames
  • Kitana – Arcing Sai (Edenian Fade) now displays Punish instead of Kounter when hit during its recovery frames
  • Kollector – The Slice Slice Slice Brutality now has the requirement "hold Towards during hit" and no longer requires first hit
  • Kollector – Adjusted visual effect location for the Relic Lure impact effect
  • Kung Lao – Fixed issue with Hat using an incorrect animation if a time out loss occurs at specific timing as Toward Throw connects
  • Raiden – The Brutal Bolt Brutality now has the requirement "hold Up during hit"
  • Raiden – Power Discharge (Away + Front Punch, Back Punch, Front Punch + Front Kick) now has an adjusted hit region while the opponent is in a kombo
  • Skarlet – Bloodshot Amplify can no longer not have a projectile spawn when done with specific timing
  • Skarlet – Fixed issue with Dagger disappearing during gameplay if her throw is interrupted at specific timing
  • Sub-Zero – The Big Leg Brutality requirement is now "hit 4 Brutal Kicks during match" (was 6)
  • Sub-Zero – The End of Round Taunt Ice Clone Teleport will no longer sometimes cause Sub-Zero to become invisible in rare circumstances
  • Sub-Zero – Fixed (Air) Polar Axe using an incorrect animation in a Tower match when done immediately after the match has begun
  • Shao Kahn – The Charging Through Brutality now has the requirement "hold Away during hit"
  • Shao Kahn – The Head Kabob Brutality no longer requires first hit
  • Shao Kahn – The Nothing Left Brutality now has the requirement "hold Down during hit"
  • Shang Tsung – The Inclement Weather Brutality now has the requirement "hold Down during hit"
  • Shang Tsung – Fixed a rare visual issue when morphing into Raiden that could causing his cape to use an incorrect animation
  • Nightwolf – The No Leg to Stand On Brutality now has the requirement "hold Down during hit" and no longer requires first hit
  • Nightwolf – Fixed Razor's Edge (Away + Front Kick, Back Kick, Front Punch + Front Kick) now does the correct chip damage on block
  • Joker – The Head Case Brutality requirement is now "perform 'C C D D E G E C' 3 times" (was 5)
  • Terminator – Terminate armor is no longer sometimes removed when his Fatal Blow misses or is blocked
  • Terminator – Terminate visual effects will no longer linger after a Mercy is performed
  • Fujin – Wind Barrier is now able to parry Liu Kang's jump & hop attacks, Frost's Hop Kick, and Kollector's Hop Kick
  • Fujin – Wind Barrier will no longer sometimes have lingering visual effects when it is interrupted
  • Fujin – Fixed some rare audio issues when Whirlwind (Away + Back Punch, Front Punch + Front Kick) and Tailwind (Towards + Back Punch, Front Punch + Front Kick) are interrupted
  • Fujin – AI can now perform the attack followups to Sky Wakka
  • RoboCop – Missing with various attacks under certain circumstances will no longer enable autoblock when opponent is in the Cheval Trap Amplify or Electric Grenade Amplify hit reactions
  • RoboCop – Fixed a visual issue with Cobra Cannon using an improper animation for the first few frames in certain circumstances
  • RoboCop – Active Patrol and Reactive Patrol now displays Punish instead of Kounter when hit during its recovery frames
  • Sheeva – Fixed an audio issue with Untamed Fury Amplify sometimes missing sound effects

Source: WB Games

Control AWE world premiere gameplay will be shown next Thursday

Last night during Sony's State of Play, Remedy Entertainment confirmed that Control's second expansion AWE would be released on August 27th. AWE stands for altered world events and the trailer confirmed that this expansion would include Alan Wake, bringing the two franchises together. Last night, Remedy also teased a Remedy Connected Universe implying all of its games are connected and that there will is some kind of plan to continue this going forward. Remedy has also confirmed that the first gameplay premiere for Control's AWE expansion will be taking place on Thursday 13th August, two weeks before the expansion's release.

The description for Control's AWE expansion reads:

"As Director of the Federal Bureau of Control, Jesse Faden must enter the Investigations Sector and confront the creature lurking within this long-abandoned part of the Bureau. This threat has haunted the sector for years, waiting on the other side of the sealed Firebreak. In order to reclaim the Investigations Sector from its clutches, Jesse will need to explore the numerous Altered World Events investigated here, including one from the town of Bright Falls."

Bright Falls is where the events of Alan Wake took place, so it will be interesting to see how it all ties together. Control features lots of evidence that The Bureau had some presence in Bright Falls, and that it was aware of the events that occurred in Alan Wake's story. In our review for Control, I wrote:

Control is one of the best story-focused single player games in years. Its unique mix of surrealism, sci-fi and mystery draws you in, but doesn't give everything away, and the combat is fantastically varied and provides just enough challenge. A culmination of everything that went before, Control is Remedy's magnum opus.
You can read the  full Control review here.
Source: Twitter

Borderlands 3 is free to play this weekend, but PS4 players need Plus to take part

Gearbox has started a free weekend for Borderlands 3 across all platforms, which includes PS4, Xbox One, PC via Steam, and Stadia. You can access the game on any of these platforms for no extra cost. Well, except on PS4 where the free to play weekend is limited to PS Plus subscribers. If you do not have Plus then you are not getting that chance to play. To access the free weekend players will need to find the Standard edition of Borderlands 3 on the platform of choice, and download that. You cannot access the free content through the deluxe editions.

The times for when the free play weekend will take place is divided by platform below.

XBOX ONE FREE PLAY

Starts: August 6, 12:00 AM PT / 3:00 AM ET / 8:00 AM BST / 3:00 PM UTC+8 / 5:00 PM AEDT
Ends: August 9, 11:59 PM PT / August 10, 2:59 AM ET / 7:59 AM BST / 2:59 PM UTC+8 / 4:59 PM AEDT

PLAYSTATION®4 FREE PLAY (PLAYSTATION®PLUS REQUIRED)

Starts: August 6, 9:00 AM PT (SIE America) / 5:00 PM BST (SIE Europe)
Ends: August 9, 9:00 AM PT (SIE America) / 5:00 PM BST (SIE Europe)

STEAM FREE PLAY

Starts: August 6, 8:00 AM PT / 11:00 AM ET / 4:00 PM BST / 11:00 PM UTC+8 / August 7, 1:00 AM AEDT
Ends: August 12, 10:00 AM PT / 1:00 PM ET / 6:00 PM BST / August 13, 1:00 AM UTC+8 / 3:00 AM AEDT

STADIA FREE PLAY

Starts: August 6, 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM BST / August 7, 12:00 AM UTC+8 / 2:00 AM AEDT
Ends: August 10, 9:00 AM PT / 12:00 PM ET / 5:00 PM BST / August 11, 12:00 AM UTC+8 / 2:00 AM AEDT

In our review for Borderlands 3, Jason wrote:

I've got very mixed feelings about Borderlands 3. Overall I like it and it's fun to play, but it could have been so much more and the writing feels like time traveling back to your high school days and being surprised and a little disappointed at how immature everyone is. Few things in life are as embarrassing as the person you were five years ago. If you're not embarrassed, then I'm sorry to say that you may well be the Borderlands 3 of your friend group; stuck in the past unable to grow or change in any meaningful way, relying on fart jokes as a stand-in for your personality.
You can read the full review here. 
Source: Gearbox

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Review

If you haven't heard of Fall Guys by now, then you've been living under a rock for the past week. With millions of people grabbing the game free on PlayStation Plus and it shooting up the Twitch viewership table, this family friendly battle royale contender has been getting a lot of attention since launch. So, is it worth all the server troubles, or is Takeshi's spirit waiting for you in another castle?

The Fall Guys themselves look like less terrifying little Mr Blobbys. Rotund and jellybean-shaped, there's a squidginess to their appearance that makes all their arm waving runs and clumsy stumbling through the levels look adorable. Add to that the ability to slap a patterned skin on them, change the two-tone colours of their design and then dress them up in all manner of costumes, and you have the recipe for the kinds of quirky unlockable cosmetics that every battle royale seems to need.

Don't worry though. While Fall Guys is a battle royale, weeding out the weak/unlucky round by round until one player is crowned the champion, this is not a blood sport. The endless comparisons to Takeshi's Castle and Total Wipeout have already been made, and they stick. The presentation feels like a slapstick TV show with each round finishing by punting the losers off the screen.

You really only need to know a few basic controls in order to play: movement, jumping and diving, and grabbing. On an even more fundamental level, you just need to be able to run and jump for the vast majority of the game modes.

Each Episode (as Fall Guys calls its matches) starts off with sixty players, whittling them down across five rounds to find the winner. There's a fairly wide set of modes to do so, from obstacle course races that throw boulders at you and make you try to avoid spinning hammers, to puzzle rounds that test your memory or task you with finding the safe route across a bunch of wobbly platforms – easier said than done when there's 20 other players all jostling for a qualifying place! Those that survive or cross the finish line in time move on to the next round.

Then there are the team games, splitting everyone up into two or three groups and giving some players the lurgy to spread to the other team, eggs to frantically hoard in your corner of the map, or a game of giant football. They act as a kind of leveller in Fall Guys, throwing in an element of randomness and taking away the benefit that individual memorising of the game modes and skill can provide. Of course, that can also make them feel unfair and frustrating if you're on the losing team, but a new game after a loss is always only moments away.

It doesn't take long for a bit of repetition to kick in. The randomisation of how rounds are picked in Fall Guys does mean that there's still new modes to see after a few hours, but you'll have seen the see-saws several times, got to know the obstacles courses and more. Some of the original spiciness disappears at that point. Once you'e learnt the trick for how to quite painlessly get across the see-saws, for example, you can regularly get through in the top 10 (so long as you aren't bumped off in the early rush!).

Cross the finish line and you'll be waiting and watching other players as they bungle their way through, and if you're playing with friends you'll be cheering them on, but on your lonesome you'll likely be reaching for your phone to scroll through social media in silence until the next round has loaded. The absence of local split-screen multiplayer feels notable as well, with the game's atmosphere feeling perfect for some couch play.

Thankfully, there's some bonus replay incentive beyond simply hunting that coveted number one spot. Fall Guys touts a battle pass like system with players unlocking new cosmetics, emotes, and other items as they earn Fame (XP) from matches and level up. Currently there are some sixty-odd days left in season one with the promise of more to follow complete with new levels, features, and ways to dress up your Fall Guy. You never know, we might even see a Geralt skin from The Witcher III or V from Cyberpunk 2077.

Unfortunately, Mediatonic have struggled with the popularity that Fall Guys has (rightly) seen over its first few days. Their servers have struggled to keep up with demand, which isn't terribly surprising when the game has been dropped into the laps of millions of PlayStation 4 players as part of PlayStation Plus. When it works though, we've found it to be pretty solid and robust.

There's a little bit of lag at times, most noticeable in the football team game and a degree of imprecision when grabbing another player in other modes, but the bounciness of the game's visuals and physics help diminish that factor. Unless, that is, you're on the receiving end of a last gasp defeat, as someone grabs your tail to knock you out with seconds to go, or you think you've managed to leap and grab the game winning crown, only to smack your head and watch someone else take the win.

Dreams update 2.17 addresses some crash and complex parent issues, read the patch notes here

Media Molecule has released update 2.17 for Dreams, and it is a small update. This one addresses issues such as incorrect thumbnails and photo being shown for creations, sorting the publishing element failed error situation, and reducing instances of crashes when certain unexpected events happen during Dreams, like not being able to access your own content. The rather brief notes can be read below.

Updates & Improvements

  • Fixed: Addressed an issue where the incorrect thumbnail or photo for creation was displayed.
  • Fixed: Addressed an issue where, in complex parent creations, the user was required to manually release certain elements the creation contained, even if you had permission to release them. This would display an error message "Publishing element failed".
  • Fixed: Stopped crashes happening following unexpected behaviour, such as vanishing imps and players being unable to access their own content.

This update follows 2.15 and 2.16 which added VR support for Dreams. You can read some of the patch notes for those updates below, or follow this link for the full patch.

Dreams 2.15/2.16 patch notes

  • All Aboard VR – An introduction to VR in Dreams, highlighting the different settings and controls used to play in VR.
  • VR How Tos – Four new How To videos, featuring tips for creating VR experiences and exploring the new gadgets you'll find in Edit Mode.
    • 10 Top Tips: Creating VR Dreams – 10 great best-practices tips to think about when designing VR experiences in Dreams.
    • How To… Use the Head/Camera Tracker – Learn how to use the new Head/Camera Tracker, a brand new gadget which, in combination with the Look Cursor Sensor, allows you to track a player's head movements to get even more out of your logic.
    • How To… Use the Hand/Imp Tracker – Learn how to use the new Hand/Imp Tracker, which lets you keep track of the location of your player's imp, what it's pointing at and what it grabs. You can even replace the imp with something else!
    • How To… Create 3D Audio in VR – Learn how to use 3D sound within VR, to make your games feel even more immersive, when playing with headphones plugged into the VR headset.
  • Head/Camera Tracker – A gadget that makes it easy to track, and attach objects to, the game camera.
  • Hand/Imp Tracker – A gadget that makes it easy to track, and attach objects to, the imp.
  • Look Cursor Sensor – A sensor gadget that detects where a player is looking, with associated tweaks on supporting gadgets.
  • Dreamiverse Screen Size – Control how large Dreamiverse screens appear when in VR.
  • Allow Low Frame Rate in VR – Control what happens when frame rate drops below our performance standards.
  • VR Filtering Options – Specify whether you want to see VR content in the Dreamiverse.
  • Flip Menu Buttons – If using the left-handed setting and swapping often between motion controllers and wireless controller, turning this on keeps the ordering of buttons in the create menus consistent.
  • Comfort Mode – For VR users. When enabled, camera motion is reduced or removed.
  • VR Experience Ratings – Allows players to rate the level of VR experience for which they feel creations are suitable. This rating will appear on a creation's thumbnail in search.
    • 1 – For those new to VR
    • 2 – For those with some experience of VR
    • 3 – For those experienced in VR
  • VR Compatibility Labels – Allows creators to specify the suitability of creations for VR.
    • Non-VR: Only enterable in non-VR; not visible to VR players with default filters.
    • Not Sure: Enterable in non-VR or VR, but will issue a warning for VR players upon entry; not visible to VR players with default filters.
    • VR Compatible: Enterable in VR or non-VR.
    • VR Only: Only enterable in VR; not visible to non-VR players with default filters.
  • Imp Beam – Allows player to interact with objects from a distance in VR.
  • Reel – Once you've grabbed onto something with your imp beam, you can use Reel to easily move it toward or away from you.
  • Camera Change – VR only: Right stick moves the camera up and down, rather than rotating it. Useful for VR players to preserve the horizon line for orientation.

Other Improvements

  • Grab Sensor – New tweak for existing gadget: Set Grab Point. Used along with Follow Grabbed Item on the Hand/Imp Tracker, this means you can specify exactly where an item is grabbed.
  • Imps – No longer transparent when cover pages are used as background.
  • Paintings – New tweak for paintings: Stretch. Stretches flecks in the direction they are pointing.
  • Ambisonic Panning – New tweak for channel gadgets: Audio will sound like it's above/below and in front/behind the player (headphones must be plugged into VR headset).
  • Blank Puppets – New tweak for puppets: Camera follows the puppet when sliding down a surface.
  • Updates to Zip – Zip allows users to zoom in to objects in edit mode. In VR it can be used multiple times on the same object to get progressively closer to it. It can also be used on open space to teleport forwards by a fixed amount.
  • Directional Button Controls – These controls are disabled when in VR.
  • Menu (Wireless Controller) – In VR, instead of the menu opening at the top of the screen, it opens in front of the player. It can be dragged up and down to a position where they find it most comfortable. Some elements of the UI, such as the contextual buttons on the right hand side, or the mode icon/thermometer on the left, are now docked onto panels to the left/right of the player, which can also be dragged in/out.
  • Various other additions, fixes and improvements to support VR in Dreams.

Source: Media Molecule

Ghost of Tsushima collectibles guide – using the Traveler's Attire

Ghost of Tsushima isn't exactly a short video game. Like many of Sony's recent heavy hitters, this is another PS4 exclusive that will take some 30+ hours to beat, perhaps double that if you really want to get stuck in an explore Tsushima. There's also the platinum trophy to consider.

Developer Sucker Punch Productions (who also brought us the Sly Raccoon and inFamous series) have been very proactive in responding to the Ghost of Tsushima player community. We've already see a string of post-launch patches bringing new features to the game.

In Ghost of Tsushima update 1.06, the team added a particularly useful tool for those who are currently hunting down the game's gallery of collectibles. We've put together a quick guide explaining the changes and how they could help in tracking down those trophies quicker.

Thankfully, the game's trophy list doesn't task you with collecting every item in the game. You'll only need to uncover 5 Singing Crickets, 20 Mongol Artifacts, and 20 Records – the Sashimono banners don't contribute to a particular trophy though you can get new cosmetic items the more you collect.

Even if you aren't a trophy hunter there's value in seeking out these items as they help fill in some of the game's backstory and historic setting. Here's the easiest way of tracking them down without reaching for a guide.

You won't need to have played much Ghost of Tsushima in order to unlock the Traveler's Attire, your first armour set. Like all armours, this one comes tagged with some perks – specifically, the ability to clear more fog of war shrouding the world map, as well as getting a prompt when collectibles are close by.

Before update 1.06, this would work by triggering the vibration function of your DualShock 4 controller, the time between vibrations shortening as you draw closer. Now, Sucker Punch have made it even clearer with a visual aid (which can also help those gamers with certain accessibility needs). A firefly will now hover slowly towards a collectible within your proximity, its green light pulsing quicker as you approach.

The images above show Jin stumbling upon the firefly, then following it into a hut where he finds a Records scroll on the floor. The visual prompt won't highlight exactly where a collectible is hidden though it definitely helps.

Ghost of Tsushima Guides from TheSixthAxis

Neversong Review

We've all experienced guilt in our lives. That feeling of remorse and responsibility over events that we may or may not have caused. Some of us have moments in our memory, tangible flashes that recall those moments of guilt and grief, when you first realise that your actions had consequences, ones that weren't always necessarily good. Neversong is a game built on that feeling of consequence, and that loss of innocence.

The backstory for Neversong is initially told through a nursery rhyme, which is revisited throughout the game as a way to advance the narrative.When the protagonist's best friend, Wren, is kidnapped, you fall into a coma from the sheer shock. Upon waking, you find that a fair amount of time has passed, discovering that the parents and adults of your town left to look for Wren, but never returned. It's up to you to rescue everyone and save your town.

The artwork in Neversong is undeniably gorgeous, and reminiscent of Tim Burton's style, with muted, warm tones inviting you into the world, only to shock you with the darker storyline and the creepy main antagonist Dr Smile. This is complimented by the soundtrack, with its mellow and somewhat calming vibes that can lull you into a false sense of security within the narrative.

Throughout the game you meet the other children that were left behind when the adults went in search of Wren. Each has a distinct personality and is voiced, creating a depth to NPC's that I rarely find within games. I thoroughly enjoyed talking through every option with all of them, not only to ensure I completed the narrative as best as I could, but also to enjoy the childish insults they threw my way. As you can imagine, with the parents all out of town, the children take over, creating a Lord of the Flies-esque atmosphere where chaos reigns.

Throughout this dystopia, you can find a collection of trading 'Coma Cards' that can be equipped, giving you elements of other characters or your environment to help you along the game. These can also affect your appearance, adding a certain hairstyle from a character and giving you a trait of theirs, for example. Some of these cards also directly aid you in progressing throughout the world, making it easier to jump from platform to platform, or completely unlocking areas that were previously inaccessible.

The world of Neversong is 2D, and explored through puzzles, platforms, and adjacent rooms, creating what can feel like a maze. Without a map to aid you, it relies on memory for areas that require backtracking. There are four main boss battles, however these are fairly easy to overcome. Most enemies take between two and five hits to defeat, and the all of bosses can easily be defeated within five minutes.

The gameplay greatly remind me of The Legend of Zelda series, especially within the world exploration. Each boss battle leaves you with a song, which once played on the piano in Wren's house unlocks a new piece of equipment that allows you to explore the next area. This includes a skateboard that allows you to skate and jump between platforms of greater distance, and a pair of magnetic gloves that enable you to swing to higher areas.

Another element greatly reminiscent of The Legend of Zelda is Bird, a sarcastic fairy that accompanies and aids you on your quest. While Bird is certainly useful for the progression of the game, I loved them mostly for their sarcastic nature and commentary, bringing an element of light to this otherwise dark world.

The game is fairly accessible, with controls that are easy to master. This simplicity makes it very easy to progress in the game, however some of the puzzles can be finicky, leaving the possibility to need to repeat the same platforming tasks several times before getting it. Furthermore, the game had moments of the screen lagging on Switch, starting to jump forward every few seconds. This was easily remedied by saving and restarting the game, however was frustrating that I had to it at all, as it interrupted the flow of the gameplay.

Auto Chess is coming to PS4 this year

One of the more surprising announcements to come from Sony's latest State of Play broadcast was a PlayStation 4 edition of Auto Chess.

Launching later this year on October 31st, it will be the first game from this strategy subgenre to make its way onto a PlayStation console.

Developed by Chinese studio, Dragonest, Auto Chess was originally a mod for the mega popular MOBA Dota 2 before becoming its own standalone game.

For those completely new to Auto Chess, it's a tough one to explain. Eight players go head to head, spending resources on units during prep phases, then watching them auto battle NPCs and the warbands of other players that spawn onto your chess board.

As players go from round to round they'll earn more money from their victories, purchasing more units as well as combining pairs and triples to create upgraded versions of these characters. Auto Chess units come tagged with certain colour-coded abilities, adding plenty of strategic depth for those who enjoy tactical competitive play.

Auto Chess is a huge deal, in case you didn't already know. Although it hasn't eclipsed the MOBA genre, Auto Chess now has plenty of imitators looking to muscle in on its turf. Funnily enough, Valve were quick to launch their own take on the game – Dota Underlords – which continues to receive regular updates.

Leaping on PlayStation 4 is a strange choice. It's likely that Dragonest will make this version free-to-play as with the mobile and PC editions with microtransactions enabled. However, Auto Chess lends itself to touchscreen and mouse controls though a gamepad could definitely work.

That said, many play Auto Chess passively, quickly purchasing their units then opening a tab/looking away from their phone as battles commence before they go to the next prep phase. Again, there's nothing stopping this from taking off on PlayStation 4, it just seems like a strange pairing.

DOOM Eternal update 1.06 enables weapon quick switch, full patch notes here

A new update for DOOM Eternal has arrived with update 2.1 (aka 1.06) bringing back weapon quick switch for both the campaign and battlemode. There have also been a number of new fixes which includes issues where enemies would not lose health while staggered, and zombies rag dolling incorrectly. There are a ton of changes and you can view all of the patch notes below for DOOM Eternal update 2.1 below.

DOOM Eternal 2.1 update patch notes

New Game Improvements for ALL platforms

  • Weapon Quick Switch has been enabled again in both Campaign and BATTLEMODE (Thanks again for all of your passionate community feedback!)
  • Made further improvements to networking latency in BATTLEMODE
  • Added the ability for the Mancubus to shoot after starting a double jump in BATTLEMODE
  • Maykr Drones have been added back in to some loadouts in BATTLEMODE bonus loot drops have been removed from headshots against the Maykr Drone in BATTLEMODE

New BATTLEMODE Balance Updates for PC Only

  • Reduced The Slayer's Precision Bolt damage in BATTLEMODE against player demons from 400 damage to 300 damage
  • Reduced The Slayer's starting bullet ammo in BATTLEMODE from 84 bullets to 72 bullets

Fixes for ALL platforms

Campaign

  • Fixed an issue with the Gladiator failing to drop health while staggered
  • Fixed an issue with the Khan Maykr failing to drop health when Blood Punched
  • Fixed a rare issue where AI became invulnerable after a failed Glory Kill
  • Fixed an issue with Zombies ragdolling incorrectly when killed
  • Fixed Baron of Hell leg animations displaying incorrectly in certain circumstances
  • Fixed a graphics issue with the gibs that display when Glory Killing the Archvile from the front
  • Fixed an issue in Extra Life Mode that caused extra lives to be removed during the Revenant gameplay sequence in Cultist Base
  • Fixed an issue causing notifications for rewards to display repeatedly
  • Fixed an issue where challenges would display on screen for an extended period if another challenge was completed while being displayed

BATTLEMODE

  • Fixed a crash in BATTLEMODE when backing out of a private match
  • Fixed a crash in BATTLEMODE on the Round Upgrade menu
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where selecting a demon simultaneously would display podiums incorrectly
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where the Marauder's wolf didn't always deal damage and explode when attacking The Slayer
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE with the Damage Report displaying incorrect damage numbers
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE that would cause health/ammo loot visuals to persist when Loot Block was used while the slayer was chainsawing AI
  • Fixed several descriptions for BATTLEMODE Round Upgrades to more accurately reflect current functionality
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where level progress would sometimes display incorrectly to other players in the lobby

BATTLEMODE Fixes for PC Only

  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE that would cause the title to crash when loading into a match with HDR enabled on some graphics cards
  • Fixed a rare crash when the Archvile teleported while the BFG was equipped in BATTLEMODE
  • Fixed an issue in BATTLEMODE where enemy hit sound effects would revert to default after installing a new game patch

Known Issues

  • Demon Players may fall through the floor at round start in BATTLEMODE in rare circumstances (Players are teleported back into the map after the countdown timer ends or if a new round begins)
  • Demon Players may observe a dark screen in BATTLEMODE persisting during the countdown timer on the Torment map
  • The Demon Player HUD only displays the first two digits of the cooldown timer for instant resurrect and team heal
  • Unlock notifications for event and series unlock content only display when entering the Rewards menu or when restarting the title

Source: Bethesda

Bugsnax gameplay trailer gives a tour of Snaktooth Island

Young Horses has released the first look gameplay trailer for Bugsnax and it gives a quick tour of the home of the creatures, which is Snaktooth Island. On top of that it the trailer shows some gameplay which includes being told off by the newspaper editor who is threatening your job, finding Bugsnax, and getting to know the team that has travelled to Snaktooth Island. They are known as Grumpuses. There will be quite a lot of things to do in the game and you can check out some of them in the trailer.

We recently spoke to Young Horses about Bugsnax and learned some more details about the game. Here's Young Horses' John Murphy about eating those Bugsnax and why the strawberry was eaten:

So the characters in the game are these sort of like fuzzy, Muppet-like creatures called Grumpus', and when you feed a Grumpus a Bugsnak, part of their body turns into the food that Bugsnak was made of. In the trailer, someone eats a Strabby, which is the name of the strawberry Bugsnak, and her arm turns into the strawberries.

It's mostly narrative and aesthetic like it's just like fun and silly to transform them. It's kind of like a dress up mechanic, there's just like billions of combinations of these transformations that you can get, and a lot of them are just very funny. That ties into the narrative in ways that I don't want to get into yet, but there's some interesting surprises related to that.

I don't know if the strawberry had to die; I guess the answer is because it's irresistibly delicious. I guess it's the same reason that animals die in real life, that people can't help but eat them.

Bugsnax will be released later this year for PS4, PS5, and PC via the Epic Games Store. You can stream the catchy theme tune now too.

Source: Press Release

Control's second expansion AWE will release on August 27th

Remedy has confirmed during Sony's State of Play that Control's second expansion AWE will be released on August 27th, and there is a warning to stay in the light. Hmm, I wonder what other Remedy game had light as a key focus? AWE stands for Altered World Events but there is a lot of speculation that it will have some focus on Alan Wake. There is already in game confirmation that the events of Alan Wake are part of the same universe as Control and there is more than a little bit of evidence that the Bureau had some interest in Alan.

The description reads:

"As Director of the Federal Bureau of Control, Jesse Faden must enter the Investigations Sector and confront the creature lurking within this long-abandoned part of the Bureau. This threat has haunted the sector for years, waiting on the other side of the sealed Firebreak. In order to reclaim the Investigations Sector from its clutches, Jesse will need to explore the numerous Altered World Events investigated here, including one from the town of Bright Falls."

For those keen observers you will remember that Bright Falls is where the events of Alan Wake took place. Basically, expect Alan to pop up in AWE when it launches on August 27th. In our review for Control I wrote:

Control is one of the best story-focused single player games in years. Its unique mix of surrealism, sci-fi and mystery draws you in, but doesn't give everything away, and the combat is fantastically varied and provides just enough challenge. A culmination of everything that went before, Control is Remedy's magnum opus.
You can read the full Control review here.
Source: State of Play