Gears 5 Will Be Getting New Updates and Content for Next-Gen

Gears 5

Like a lot of current generation titles, Gears 5 is the latest game to announce they it too will be bringing new things for fans to enjoy for the Xbox Series X, Series S, and PC.

Starting on November 10, the launch date for new Xbox consoles, Gears 5 will be adding a New Game+ along with two new difficulties. Inconceivable is the new hardest difficulty for the campaign and on top of that, there is an Ironman difficulty where you play the game on inconceivable, but if you die you must restart the entire game. Skins that players have earned for Kait, Del, and JD previously will be useable in the campaign along with weapon skins. For those who play New Game+ all of the upgrades, Jack had from your previous save will carry over.

Arguably the weirdest yet coolest feature that is being brought in the next-gen update is the ability to turn Marcus Fenix into WWE Legend Bautista. The wrestler turned actor was a part of Gears 5 earlier in its life cycle in multiplayer and now The Coalition is adding him to the campaign as a skin. Bautista is known for wanting to play Marcus Fenix in a live-action Gears of War film and according to Principal Lead Producer Zoe Curnoe, this was to try and make that dream a reality the best way the development team could. Not only is he a skin, but there is also a complete voice over from Bautista in the role of Marcus Fenix. It is a little jarring to watch in the trailer, but still pretty cool to see The Coalition do.

Both the Xbox Series X and Series S will support 120 frames per second in multiplayer while cutscenes in the campaign have been upped to 60 FPS from the original 30. Lastly, and most excitingly, Gears 5 will be releasing a story DLC known as "Hivebusters" later this year in December. The DLC will seemingly feature the three members of Team Scorpio in Gears 5's escape mode, but nothing has been confirmed as of yet.

For those who aren't planning on upgrading to either new Xbox hardware don't fret, all the new content will be available to Xbox One owners as well. The only perks that will be absent are the FPS increases in the campaign and multiplayer.

The post Gears 5 Will Be Getting New Updates and Content for Next-Gen by Cameron Hawkins appeared first on DualShockers.

Pokemon Sword and Shield: Get All Ash Hat Pikachus For A Limited Time

Pokemon

Today is the launch of the second DLC for Pokemon  Sword and Shield The Crown Tundra giving players new content, area, and story to look forward to but all players for a limited time will be able to grab Pikachu wearing one of the many iconic hats that Ash has worn throughout the Pokémon anime.

Until November 30th, you can obtain Pikachu wearing the original, Hoenn, Sinnoh, Unova, Kalos, Alola, and Partner caps by using different codes. Regardless if you get one or all versions of Pikachu, the Pokemon will be level 25 with the static ability, hardy nature, and the same move set. Each Pikachu will also be able to learn Volt Tackle from the Move Relearner, a move that Pikachu usually cannot learn.

Here are the following codes needed to get each Pikachu:

  • Original Cap – P1KACHUGET
  • Hoenn Cap – P1KAADVANCE
  • Sinnoh Cap – V0LTTACKLEP1KA
  • Unova Cap – P1KABESTW1SH
  • Kalos Cap – KAL0SP1KA
  • Alola Cap – ULTRAP1KA
  • Partner Cap – 1CH00SEY0U

Each Pikachu has been releasing one at a time through September and October, but with today's release of Alolan Hat Pikachu, all of them are now available. To enter the code, go to "Mystery Gift" followed by "Get With Code/Password" and enter each code to get your very own Pikachu(s). You can only use a mystery gift code one time per game so be sure to save your game and keep them as long as you can. There's no telling when an event like this will happen again.

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Phil Spencer Teases Microsoft TV Streaming Sticks With xCloud Support

Xbox Game Streaming

With Microsoft pushing its new streaming service, it is possible to hop into the Xbox ecosystem without ever owning an Xbox or a PC by using xCloud. It sounds like Phil Spencer wants to make that step even easier by introducing Microsoft streaming sticks that can plug into a TV.

In an interview with Stratechery, Phil Spencer hinted at the idea of a streaming stick similar to a Roku device or Amazon Firestick. He stated: "I think you're going to see lower-priced hardware as part of our ecosystem when you think about streaming sticks and other things that somebody might want to just go plug into their TV and go play via xCloud. You could imagine us even having something that we just included in the Game Pass subscription that gave you an ability to stream xCloud games to your television and buying the controller."

On top of the streaming stick, he also teased a top tier Xbox Game Pass membership that would guarantee access to new Xbox hardware. Microsoft has already played around with bundling subscriptions and hardware together. Xbox All Access includes access to Xbox Game Pass and an Xbox Series X or S.

Per The Verge, A streaming device like the one described above wouldn't be a first for the company. It did toy around with a lightweight Xbox streaming device all the way back in 2016, but the hardware was canceled.

With Microsoft wanting to put Xbox games on every device, this doesn't come across as a very surprising thing to me. I wouldn't be surprised if they took it a bit further and released apps on Rokus or other similar streaming devices. Phil Spencer has made it crystal clear that as long as people are buying into the Xbox Game Pass ecosystem, Microsoft will be very happy.

The post Phil Spencer Teases Microsoft TV Streaming Sticks With xCloud Support by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.

FIFA 21 Goes Outside the Box With New Rulebreakers Promo

FIFA 21, EA Sports

In recent years, FIFA 21 has used the Halloween season to run their Halloween scream promo in Ultimate Team. However, this year the team at EA is changing things up in big ways with their new Rulebreakers promo. This year, the team has implemented a new stat upgrading system, which lets them play around with players in fun new ways. They've fully taken advantage of that system with Rulebreakers. Some of the game's best players have been transformed and will allow you to fill new holes in your squad. Check out the first team below.

https://twitter.com/EASPORTSFIFA/status/1319685196510334976

As we've come to expect in FIFA 21, the top tier players from Rulebreakers mostly come from the Premier League. However, while that's a little less exciting, it's awesome to finally get a meta, Harry Kane. He's one of the best strikers in the world but has always been lost in the FIFA meta due to his lower-end pace. Now, he's a devastating player that will make England proud.

Sticking with the EPL, fans can also pick up an 88-rated Aymeric Laporte. Like Kane, Laporte has received a massive pace increase while taking a slight decrease to his defending. Fortunately for those of us who don't run a Prem team, every other player in the squad comes from another league.

The other three big-ticket players are Douglas Costa from the Bundesliga and Dries Mertens and Radja Nainggolan from the Italian Serie A. Costa gets a massive boost to his shooting, which is a year too late to stop the memes. Mertens, on the other hand, lost a bit of his dribbling, while getting his shooting boosted. And Nainggolan is yet another player with a new injection of pace at the expense of most of his defending.

Manuel Lazzari rounds out the Serie A piece of the squad. His shooting has gone up by a whopping 21 points, which is just unreal. Meanwhile, La Liga fans can look to pick up either Lucas Ocampos or Marcos Llorente. Llorente, in particular, is probably going to be pretty popular.

Rounding out the squad are the Eredivisie's Denzel Dumfries and Ligue 1's Benjamin Andre and Hassane Kamara. But the fun's not over. In objectives, players can earn an absolutely disgusting version of the Bundesliga's Nordi Mukiele. Expect to see him in a French hybrid squad near you very soon.

However, the most interesting player in the whole promo so far is Inaki Williams. He's in SBCs, but it's a little different than usual. Your reward for completing is a player pick between two different versions of Williams. One boosts his dribbling, while the other sees his shooting jump up. It's a very interesting addition that I hope EA continues to explore throughout the year.

FIFA 21 is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The Rulebreakers team one is in packs now.

 

The post FIFA 21 Goes Outside the Box With New Rulebreakers Promo by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.

Nintendo's Treatment for the 30th Anniversary of Fire Emblem is Frustratingly Lazy

Fire Emblem

Alongside 2020 being the 35th anniversary of the Super Mario Bros franchise, it is also the 30th anniversary of Fire Emblem. To celebrate, Nintendo has announced that it is bringing Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light to western audiences for the first time with an official English localization. Additionally, there is a 30th anniversary Limited Edition that includes a bunch of fun goodies. It may sound good so far, but the game will only be available for a limited time until March 31, 2021, similarly to Super Mario 3D All-Stars.

Previously, I thought that the direction that Nintendo was going was to bring all the 3D Mario games to Switch following the release of All-Stars. But after seeing the way they are handling Fire Emblem's 30th anniversary, I'm worried that Nintendo is doing the bare minimum for those who have supported these franchises and Nintendo as a company for several decades.

Not only is Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light a limited time title, but it is only getting a digital release, unlike 3D All-Stars. Nintendo's first-party titles are notorious for physical copies going up in price over time, making this situation even more frustrating for those like me who are physical collectors. I can see from one angle as to why Nintendo did not do a physical release for Fire Emblem by selling the game for only $5.99, and since it won't take up enough space to warrant a physical cart. But then why make it available for only a limited time? 3D All-Stars' physical release made sense to a degree because they released three 3D Mario titles for only $59.99, and it is rare that we see ports–let alone a three-pack bundle–of classic games like this. But this is the first time the original Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is coming to the west. Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon released back on the Nintendo DS as a remake that was generally well-received at the time, but even then: why not just port Shadow Dragon as a proper release instead?

Super Mario 3D-All Stars is also not the only part of celebrating 35 years of the Super Mario franchise. Last month, the anniversary got its own dedicated Nintendo Direct, multiple new games like Super Mario 35, Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit, and the upcoming Game & Watch handheld. By comparison, the release of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light feels underwhelming to celebrate the milestone for Fire Emblem, even if it's brand new to the west. It is true that Mario is Nintendo's mascot, but surely they could have done much more for Fire Emblem as another one of their longtime first-party series. Simply put, it makes it look like they don't care.

Fire Emblem as a series was introduced to many in the west for the first time through Super Smash Bros Melee with the addition of both Marth and Roy. Even though there were many entries in the series leading up to Fire Emblem: Awakening–which saved the series from dying outside of Japan–Nintendo could have used this opportunity to bring those older titles that very few have played to the Switch. This especially feels like a missed opportunity after the series' most recent entry, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, which has expanded its popularity even more. Since its release on the Switch last year, Three Houses has become the second most successful entry commercially in the entire franchise and still has the ability to become the highest in due time.

In general, it is great to see that we're getting something new from Fire Emblem on Switch, but there were definitely better choices that could have been made to honor the series for its 30th anniversary. Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance was one of the first entries in the franchise to make it out west back on the GameCube. The title starred Ike, who is probably best known to western audiences when he was a new character in Super Smash Bros Brawl on the Wii. He received a sequel on the same platform called Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn, and since then, neither title has been ported to a newer system despite fans' requests for it. Even if it was a limited-time release, it seems crazy to think that Nintendo wouldn't release a dual-pack of Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn with how much of a success the Switch has become in recent years. Both of those games are hard to find and even if you do find them, they're more expensive than the cost of current Nintendo first-party titles.

I don't want to sound ungrateful, because we who are in the western audience are getting a new Fire Emblem game for the very first time, even if we already had access to its remake. But there are still titles in the franchise that haven't been released outside of Japan at all, and a few that require a much-needed port. With both Zelda and Metroid having significant anniversaries next year as well, my expectations have dimmed on what Nintendo will have to offer once the time comes around. I understand that Fire Emblem is one of Nintendo's more niche first-party franchises in the U.S., but I think there have been enough examples in the past to show that whatever Nintendo gives us, we will not hesitate to take it.

Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light releases for Nintendo Switch on December 4, and will be available for a limited time until March 31, 2021.

The post Nintendo's Treatment for the 30th Anniversary of Fire Emblem is Frustratingly Lazy by Cameron Hawkins appeared first on DualShockers.

New Fallout 76 Trailer Offers a First Look at the Brotherhood of Steel in Appalachia

Fallout 76

The Brotherhood of Steel has finally reached Appalachia. A new trailer released by Bethesda today shows Fallout's iconic faction moving into the beautiful countryside Fallout 76 players call home in the game's latest expansion, Steel Dawn.

This is the first trailer released for Steel Dawn, the sixth expansion for Fallout 76. Originally named Fractured Steel, the expansion is set to release this December, despite the "coming soon" at the end of today's trailer.

While it's not entirely clear what players will be able to do with the Brotherhood of Steel besides stamp out mutants and trudge around the wasteland in badass armor, the trailer's description on Youtube does provide some clues. Players can look forward to meeting Brotherhood of Steel Paladin Leila Rahmani and her troops, sent to Appalachia all the way from California. Their goal is to establish a new chapter, a mission that players can either assist the BoS with or thwart. Steel Dawn will also scatter new NPCs throughout the game's settlements, along with new weapons and armor from the Brotherhood's vast energy-weapon arsenal.

Besides those tidbits, it's not entirely clear what interactions players will have with one of Fallout's key factions. That being said, players shouldn't expect anything too revolutionary. This expansion seems explicitly content based – it won't be changing up any of Fallout 76's systems like the Wastelanders expansion did.

Today also just happens to be the day the bombs drop in the Fallout universe, October 23. To celebrate the day the bombs fell, Bethesda has put together a week of excitement that includes free access to Fallout 76. If you want to try the game out, now's the best time.

The post New Fallout 76 Trailer Offers a First Look at the Brotherhood of Steel in Appalachia by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.

The State of PlayStation Coverage at DualShockers

PlayStation Network Online ID Change DualShockers Blacklist PS4 PS5

Update: Hey all — over a year later, and we are within striking distance of next gen and the future of PlayStation. As you might expect from this article, we also are not in the tranche of gaming outlets that have received a PS5. While we can't say for sure why this continues to be an area of conflict between us and the Sony PR team, we want to acknowledge it and remind our audience exactly what the problem is.

With that said, keep your eyes on DualShockers for a full review of the consumer-builds of the launch lineup and PS5 hardware, free from any burdens of pre-release embargo rushes or unseen launch issues.

Original story follows:

Good morning all, and Happy Thursday! This is Lou Contaldi, friendly neighborhood Editor in Chief over at DualShockers. Many of you all are undoubtedly keeping your eyes peeled for Days Gone reviews that should surface within the next hour — we are too. Unfortunately, you won't be finding pre-release review coverage for Days Gone at DualShockers, and we'd like to offer a quick explanation and glimpse into our relationship with PlayStation.

We've had a few discussions in the past about the transparency of DualShockers and content creation — we want to be upfront with our readers in our successes, flaws, accomplishments, and shortcomings. This includes our move to using affiliate links (and the transparency that comes with it), our stance on editorial freedom, and freely requesting help in shaping the future of website design. We are as much a part of the DualShockers community as we are content creators here (many of us starting off as readers ourselves) and think that honesty is the best policy.

days gone review

Many readers and third-party partners alike have been asking about our review and preview coverage on PlayStation titles. With a name like DualShockers, we obviously attract a hefty PlayStation following — even though we definitely cater to all consoles in the market — and pride ourselves on often exhaustive coverage of upcoming PlayStation-exclusive titles like Death Stranding, The Last of Us: Part II or Persona 5 The Royal. So it's almost natural that a lot of community members and friends have been asking where our preview coverage is. Especially when other outlets get hands-on time with Days Gone or MLB: The Show 19.

The Main Points

In full transparency, you likely won't be seeing any pre-release preview or review coverage for Sony published games at DualShockers. (Sorry!) That is, not unless something majorly changes in our existing relationship with PlayStation, and this isn't anything new.

The good news: this isn't going to shift our current depth and breadth of PlayStation coverage. For the better part of a decade DualShockers has maintained limited (if any) access to PlayStation events and titles.

We aren't changing how we have been operating day-to-day and we will be reviewing both Days Gone and future PlayStation published titles as soon as they release commercially. However, we hope this will definitively answer past, present, and future questions from our community and partners on why Sony-published reviews, previews, and interviews come so far after standard press embargoes.

Why Discuss PlayStation Access Now?

This is perhaps an unusual message from DualShockers. We normally dodge industry talk that dive into the politics of games press. Also, we don't intend to make these open-air addresses for all games that we don't get in the future. However, given how many of our readers come to DualShockers for our PlayStation news coverage and how many questions we tend to get on this, the Editorial Board believe that quick clarification is necessary. Hopefully, it will even cut the rumors that we are on PlayStation's payroll. [Narrator's voice: We aren't.]

This isn't a column to point fingers at a publisher or their PR department. We aren't trying to cause a backlash, nor are we under the grand belief that we could. We are first and foremost PlayStation enthusiasts and we certainly don't know where our media blackout with PlayStation originates from. It existed far before my tenure on the DualShockers team roughly five years ago. In fact, it's been the biggest mystery of my editorial career. We've speculated on a million different reasons: did we insult the PlayStation Vita? Did we cover a rumor or leak that landed us firmly outside of PlayStation's good graces? Had an editor accidentally shoulder-checked Shuhei Yoshida on the E3 show floor?

Put plainly… we just don't know. Despite reaching out to PlayStation for some clarification, trying to remediate our relationship, and everything short of couples counseling, we are in the dark when it comes to anything related to our relationship with PlayStation. And we've largely exhausted our efforts to fix this. With a new console generation slowly peeking over the horizon, we wanted to keep you in the loop on what you can expect to see (and more importantly not see) on DualShockers.

PlayStation Pros and Cons

Please note, this isn't us griping over early access to games and events. We fully believe that every developer and publisher, including PlayStation, can pick and choose the publications they choose to work with. It is often strategically necessary and prudent to make sure sites and influencers with the largest readership or providing more favorable coverage get priority. It's the nature of the industry. We similarly do our own share of picking-and-choosing on what games we choose to cover. Sometimes, it's strictly business.

There is also often benefits to us acting as consumers, without concern about our access. Buying games out of pocket at launch often gives us the time for more comprehensive deep dives into games and the material, free from rushed embargo deadlines or strict review conditions. Additionally, we have managed to deep-dive more fully into shifting controversial policies and coverage that other press sites are more hesitant to embrace.

Even still, limiting access to review, preview, and event coverage often ends up hurting our audience. For that we apologize. Perhaps sometime soon we will be able to give pre-release analysis and coverage to help fans, consumers, and enthusiasts (much like us) make decisions on what games best serve their time and hard-earned dollar.

At the end of the day, we hope to shed a light on our coverage. Specifically, why we can't provide our often most-anticipated PlayStation-published reviews with other Metacritic approved outlets. Or why our coverage sometimes skews to preview other publishers' titles and interviews more prevalently. Either way, we will still be doing our same exhaustive news coverage of PlayStation exclusives that we have been doing over the past half-decade.

Looking To The Future

We hope that we can continue to build and repair our relationship with PlayStation. We are huge fans of the company, products, content creators, and everyone we've had the pleasure of working with across all branches of the studio, especially in PR. Until that happens we will do our best to continue navigating around a lack of access to games, events, and personnel — the same as we have over the last five years.

Finally, thank you again everyone reading this for your continued support of DualShockers. Thanks in part to our new website design, our tenth anniversary is shaping up to be our strongest year ever. We wouldn't be here without the constant support of our community and readers. And at the end of the day, we are just happy to connect and create content gamers like us.

The post The State of PlayStation Coverage at DualShockers by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.

Genshin Impact Version 1.1 Improvements Include Artifact Menu Filters, Portable Teleport Waypoint

genshin impact liyue characters official key visual crop feature version 1.1 improvements story

On October 23, miHoYo announced several improvements for Genshin Impact (PC, PS4, Mobile, soon on Switch, PS5). These improvements will be implemented with Version 1.1 of Genshin Impact, scheduled for November 11. Let's take a closer look at these upcoming changes.

First off, miHoYo again addressed players feedback concerning the lack of key bindings/controller setup in Genshin Impact. Key bindings/controller setup will be added to a certain extent in Version 1.1. However, these functions are still in development, and will be fully implemented in a later version.

Next, version 1.1 of Genshin Impact will add new filters for Artifacts based on their basic attributes. This is crucial and a great addition. Moreover, small character avatars will appear on the weapons and Artifacts, to show who is equipped with what.

Next up, players will be able to set up Teleport Waypoints at places they frequently visit with a new item. This item will be available for free.

Last but not least, the maximum of Original Resin players can store will be raised from 120 to 160 in Version 1.1. The Original Resin requirement for the Weekly Battle Pass mission will also be decreased from 1600 to 1200.

That's all the new improvements listed for the Genshin Impact Version 1.1 update. It's interesting to note Chinese and Beta Test players have been asking for months for several of the improvements listed above. However miHoYo only addressed this feedback now. We brought up several hypotheses explaining why.

A new Genshin Impact event, "Adventurers, Assemble!" was also teased for October 27, 2300 UTC-5. (Click here for a table with other time zones).

Be sure to check the beautiful photos of the Genshin Impact x Huanglong National Park collab. We have a guide for the ongoing Klee gacha banner. Version 1.1 launches November 11, Version 1.2 with Dragonspine on December 23. Version 1.3 is scheduled for February 2021. You can read in detail about each update here and here.

The post Genshin Impact Version 1.1 Improvements Include Artifact Menu Filters, Portable Teleport Waypoint by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Minecraft Will Require a Microsoft Account to Play Soon

Minecraft Bedrock update

Years after acquiring the bit-based phenomenon, Microsoft is finally shoring up Mojang and its title Minecraft by making Microsoft accounts mandatory to play.

Announced in a blog post on the official Minecraft site, the switch to Microsoft accounts is akin to "moving house" for developer Mojang. "When you outgrow one place, you move on to the next," reads the post.

So what benefits will players actually get from playing their games with Microsoft accounts attached? There are actually a few decent ones. Enhanced security for accounts that comes with two-factor authentication is at the top of that list. Players will also have all their PC Minecraft titles tied to the same account. So far, that's just regular ol' Minecraft and Minecraft Dungeons, although the developer coyly adds "who knows what we'll do next?" The last two new features are also the most innocuous: improved parental controls and chat and invitation blocking, which are more of a standard requirement for games with massive online potential like Minecraft.

The shift to a Microsoft account is mandatory for all Mojang games, and if you don't like it and decide not to migrate your account, you could lose access to your games. "If you don't make the move, in several months you won't be able to log in anymore – which means you won't be able to play either" reads the blog post. While moving to a Microsoft account isn't mandatory yet, it will be be sometime early into 2021.

This change also only applies to players of Minecraft Java edition, not its cross-platform focused Bedrock edition. If you need an extra bit of encouragement to switch your account over sooner rather than later, players that get the change done and log in with their Microsoft account will get access to a special cape, a little bit of fashion to go with all the extra functionality.

The post Minecraft Will Require a Microsoft Account to Play Soon by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.

Video Game Characters + Photoshop 2021's Neural Filter: What's the Worst That Could Happen?

Recently, Adobe pushed out its 2021 version updates for a number of its Creative Suite programs. These yearly updates include brand new features, significant updates for tools, and more. One such addition with Photoshop this year is the cloud-based AI Neural Filter.

With this new filter, a simple adjustment on a slider bar can make someone in a picture smile, look angry, surprised, and even turn and look in another direction. It's pretty wild stuff, but it also can result in some hilariously freakish abominations (it's still in beta). So what better way to play with this new feature than trying it out on some popular video game characters!

Using the new AI Neural Filter in Photoshop 2021, you can take a look at our various video game creations below.

JAX from Mortal Kombat 11

The buff, burly, and partially cybernetic powerhouse may look serious, but thanks to the filter, his frown is turned upside down, and he looks younger by a couple of decades. Not even Shang Tsung has that power!

 

Jin from Ghost of Tsushima

Jin went through a lot in Sucker Punches' latest game, to say the least. With the power of artificial intelligence, we can peer into the future and see what Jin will look like as a happy old man! Truthfully, this adjustment is one of the better ones of the bunch, I think.

 

Creepy Italian Guy from Assassin's Creed 2 Remaster

The nightmare-inducing meme king himself, Creepy Italian Guy's only hope of salvation now is Photoshop…it's kind of an improvement? I guess?

 

Lara Croft from Tomb Raider

Puberty is very kind to some people, just look at Matthew Lewis who played Neville in the Harry Potter movies! Apparently, Photoshop's Neural Filter believes that the Tomb Raider herself underwent a similar majestic transformation during those years.

 

Aloy from Horizon: Zero Dawn

Looking once more towards the future, Aloy is known to take down monolithic robo-dinos with ease. It looks like this exercise routine will serve her well into old age, leading to a happy life as a matriarch elder. She may need some dental work done, though.

 

Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII Remake

Sephiroth has always been known as a pretty boy, but I'm pretty sure the Neural Filter legit thinks that he's a lady. Thickening his hair, taking off some years and some toggling with the happy and surprised sliders, and Sephiroth looks a bit like a model. Behold, Ladyroth!

 

Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2

The rootin'-tootin'est man in the West gets the AI treatment too. The filter doesn't play nice currently with headgear, confusing it with his hair. Trust me, you don't want to see the pictures from when it thickened his hat thinking it was his hair (*shudder*).

 

The Peter Parkers from Marvel's Spider-Man

Whether you fall into the camp of preferring the original model or the new model in Marvel's Spider-Man, both are impressive. Myself; I'm more of an original guy. But with the power of the filter, it reveals that maybe Insomniac should hold on getting rid of the model completely.

If the filter is anything to go by, just age it up a bit, tweak the hair, and you have a pretty good Uncle Ben. The new model though is still a little upset that people aren't a fan. He appears to be rather shaken by the whole experience.

This new AI-driven filter is fun to play around in, but is still very much a work in progress (as you can probably tell). It doesn't do so well with non-human characters, as it failed when I tried Ratchet from Ratchet & Clank, Crash Bandicoot, and even Joker from Persona 5. Hopefully as this feature continues to develop, it will eventually allow anthropomorphic creatures to be tweaked or new options overall get added. Until that time comes, we will just have to entertain ourselves with human characters.

Photoshop 2021 is available now to anyone that owns a license to the Adobe Creative Cloud.

The post Video Game Characters + Photoshop 2021's Neural Filter: What's the Worst That Could Happen? by Scott White appeared first on DualShockers.