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The Walking Dead Onslaught Launches on September 29th

The Walking Dead Onslaught

Originally slated to release last Fall, Survios' The Walking Dead Onslaught will now be releasing on September 29th. The VR title will be available Oculus, Valve Index, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. Check out the latest trailer below courtesy of IGN to see the game in action (and admire Norman Reedus).

Unlike The Walking Dead: Saints and Sinners, this title is based on AMC's The Walking Dead. It promises some pretty visceral combat based on real-motion as players dismember foes in brutal fashion. You can lop off undead arms, legs and heads or impale them. There are some interesting physics at play as well as players might experience some resistance when trying to remove a weapon from a hacked corpse.

The Walking Dead Onslaught will feature two modes – a campaign with an original plot and a survival mode where weapons and loot are randomized. Overall, it looks decent and the shooting appears to be fairly responsive. We'll see how it pans out next month at launch.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales Tells "A Full Story", Features New Mechanics and Abilities

marvel's spider-man miles morales

That we're getting a new Spider-Man game so quickly after Insomniac's debut with the series came out two years ago is surprising- pleasantly so, but surprising nonetheless. That's something that's being made possible thanks to the game's smaller scope, with it being a standalone, more contained successor to it, similar to how Uncharted: The Lost Legacy followed up on Uncharted 4– but that won't mean that Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales will have nothing new or interesting to offer.

Speaking recently in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Brian Horton – creative director on the upcoming PS5 launch title – said that Insomniac are ensuring that the game tells a complete story, and wraps up the coming-of-age arc for Miles that they kicked off in 2018's game. Horton says that thanks to Miles Morales' more compact storytelling, it will be able to tell a much more emotionally resonant tale.

"This is a full arc for Miles Morales that started in Spider-Man," Horton said. "We really are completing this hero's coming of age in our game. It is a complete story."

"When we started crafting it," he added, "we realized that, with a little bit more of a compact storytelling style, we could tell a very emotionally impactful story that would fit really well as an experience that would take Spider-Man 1 and [Miles Morales] and do justice to this character."

Horton also says that Miles Morales as Spider-Man isn't simply going to be a reskin of Peter Parker's webslinger, saying that Miles is going to be "his own Spider-Man." According to EW's article, the game will give him his own animations, movements, mechanics, and his own unique powers, including the likes of bioshock and invisibility- which we saw a glimpse of in the game's reveal trailer.

Additionally, the article also includes a new screenshot from the game, which you can view below. All the PuddleGate fans out there will probably immediately notice the ray-traced puddles front and center.

Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales will launch for PS5 this Holiday. The game will feature an optional 4K / 60 FPS Performance Mode as well.

marvel's spider-man miles morales

A Total War Saga: Troy is Free Today on Epic Games Store

Troy - A Total War Sgaa_01

The Creative Assembly's A Total War Saga: Troy is releasing on the Epic Games Store today and unlike previous games in the series, there's a twist. For its first 24 hours of release, everyone with an Epic Games account can claim it for free. After that, it will retail for the regular price.

Announced back in June, the initiative is meant to "reach new audiences and have as many people as possible experiencing the thrill of Total War for themselves." While future titles in the series won't necessarily be exclusive to the Epic Games Store, The Creative Assembly is interested in making them available on "as many store fronts as possible" at launch. A Total War Saga: Troy will be a timed exclusive on the Epic Games Store, releasing for Steam in 2021.

As for what fans of the series can expect, it takes place during the Iliad as the kingdoms of Troy and Mycenaean Greece battle it out. Along with heroes like Hector, Paris and Achilles, players will command realistic versions of mythical beings like the Minotaur and Cyclops. There will also be new terrain types, changing the ways players strategize. Stay tuned for more details on A Total War Saga: Troy as it launches on the Epic Games Store later today.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits Will Support Free PS4-to-PS5 Upgrades

kena bridge of spirits

Kena: Bridge of Spirits isn't the most high profile game launching this year, but it's got a lot of people intrigued with its visual style, its premise, and the promises its making in terms of combat and exploration mechanics. And though the game will be launching on both PS4 and PS5 at the same time, you won't be locked out of the latter if you purchase the game on the current-gen console first.

Responding to a question on Twitter, Kena: Bridge of Spirits developer Ember Lab confirmed that their upcoming action-adventure game would indeed support free upgrades from PS4 to PS5 versions. Their tweet mentioned that they don't have details to share yet on the time limit for these upgrades – which, of course, means that there will be a time limit – but we do know for sure now that next-gen upgrades will be supported.

Given yesterday's news that Control's PS5 and Xbox Series X versions wouldn't support free next-gen upgrades from current-gen versions until you purchase the upcoming Ultimate Edition, this comes as a welcome respite.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits is out later this year for PS5, PS4, and PC. If you plan on playing it on PC, you can check out the system requirements through here.

Cyberpunk 2077 Screenshot Comparisons Show Noticeable Visual Improvements Over 2 Years

Cyberpunk 2077_08

Cyberpunk 2077 has been no slouch from a visuals perspective since CD Projekt RED started showing more of the game a couple of years ago, and every successive showing has come with some impressive and noticeable visual improvements. While those might not be so easily apparent at first glance, comparisons with the game's early showings make these upgrades abundantly obvious.

Over on Twitter, @SoSnake13 recently shared a collection of screenshot comparisons showcasing the game's recent showings against some of its earlier ones, and the images do a great job of how far Cyberpunk 2077's visuals have come over the course of two years. The game's lead quest designer Pawel Sasko responded to this as well, saying that it's still a work in progress, and that CD Projekt RED will continue to make improvements until the game is out.

Cyberpunk 2077 launches on November 19 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC, later in the year for Stadia, and next year for PS5 and Xbox Series X. Of late, CDPR have been talking about various aspects of the game, promising a deeper roleplaying experience than The Witcher 3 and emphasizing a focus on destructible environments during combat. They also spoke about melee combat, stating that they're not 100% happy with its current state and will continue to hone it in the coming weeks as well.

Apex Legends Will Launch On Steam With Exclusive Limited Time Portal And Half-Life Charms

Apex Legends Season 5 - Loba

Earlier this year, it was announced that the popular battle royale shooter, Apex Legends, would be expanding it audience and coming to both the Switch and Steam. As of now, there's still no concrete date for either, but today we found out that when it does come to Steam, there will be some neat charms for you.

As announced by publisher EA, to celebrate the game hitting Steam, they are doing some crossover with Valve franchises with three gun charms based on the Half-Life and Portal series. One is potato GLaDOS, the second is Wattson enamored with a Companion Cube, and the third is Octane with a Headcrab. You can see a short video of all three below. All three will be limited time login rewards.

Apex Legends is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC via EA's Origin. It is set to release for Switch and Steam this Fall. The game's next season and Legend are slated to come on the 18th, and you can read more about that through here.

GDC 2021 Planned To Be Hybrid Physical And Virtual Event July 19-23

gdc 2020

One of the first major conference cancellations this year due to the COVID pandemic was the Game Developers Conference (GDC). It was one of the first indications that the virus was going to have a pretty major impact on the industry. Ultimately, they did end up holding a digital event earlier this month, and for next year the plan is to mix a bit of both.

The event's organizers, Informa Tech, announced the plans in a press release. The plan is to do a physical event alongside what they are call a "robust virtual offering", though it's unclear what exactly that means. It will take place in San Francisco.

One thing to note is that the event will take place much later than usual, running from July 19th to the 23rd. This is much farther out then the traditional March time frame it's held, most likely trying in hopes that things will be more normalized then as opposed to the relatively early month in March. Let's all keep our fingers crossed that will be the case.

"Nintendo Have the Strongest First Party Pedigree," Says Phil Spencer

Nintendo logo

We're finally at a point where all three platform holders in the industry can be confident in their portfolio of first party studios, thanks to Microsoft's concerted efforts to catch up to their competitors over the last couple of years. But even with stuff competition from all fronts, it's fair to say that with the likes of Zelda, Mario, Metroid, Pokemon, and so many more, Nintendo have the sort of cache in the market that nobody else does. Someone else who definitely feels that way is Xbox boss Phil Spencer.

Speaking recently on an episode of Animal Crossing-based Twitch talk show Animal Talking (via Nintendo Life), Spencer had a lot of high praises to give to Nintendo and the way the Japanese giant does things. After talking about their strategies for building consoles and games around singular ideas and the incredible results they get from that, Spencer went on to say that Nintendo are "masterful at what they do" and have "the strongest first party pedigree out there."

"In entertainment business, you know, most things don't turn out to be huge successes so there always has to be some amount of surprise, but Nintendo is just masterful at what they do," Spencer said. "And I've said it before, I think they have the strongest first party pedigree out there and strength, and they're a jewel for us in the games industry and something we should protect."

With the likes of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and so many more having come from Nintendo these last few years, it's hard to disagree with Spencer's point of view- which is really saying something, especially given the impressive lineup of games Sony's first party studios have made this generation. Here's hoping it continues, and that Sony and Microsoft continue to strive to match that kind of output.

Dragon Ball FighterZ Show Announced For August 16

Dragon Ball FighterZ - Kefla

The Dragon Ball franchise is no stranger to fighting games. For a time period, that's pretty much literally the only type of game the license was used for. While that's changed somewhat nowadays, last year's Dragon Ball FighterZ was something special. Not only was it developed by Arc System Works, it had such a different and special look, it hooked fans. It passed over 5 million sales earlier in the year, and support for it is still coming, and we'll probably see more of it this weekend.

As announced via publisher Bandai Namco official esports Twitter, there will be a show focusing on the fighter this Sunday. It seems we'll have information on the competitive roadmap, newest updates and an exclusive trailer. There are still more characters slated to come to the roster, so it's very probable that this could be a reveal trailer of the next one.

Dragon Ball FighterZ is available now for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch and PC. The show will be held August 16th, and you can see more information and a link to the Twitch channel below.

Gamescom Opening Night Live Will Feature New Song From Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda

gamescom openig night live

Like almost every other major gaming industry event this year, the annual Gamescom conference in Europe was canceled. Instead of a physical event, it will be a fully digital one, though it's unclear at this point how it'll play out. But we do know that Opening Night Live, the event's kickoff show, will also be held this year, and it looks like it'll be getting some rock tunes to start things off.

As announced via The Game Awards Instagram page, Linkin Park's Mike Shinoda will be writing the theme song to go along with Opening Night Live. You'll even be able to watch him compose it via Twitch. You can see more information via host's Geoff Keighley's Twitter below.

It's definitely a bit out of nowhere, but hey, it's 2020. Anything can seemingly happen. The Gamescom digital event will begin on August 27th, which will be the day of Opening Night Live.