Genshin Impact: Klee Introduction, Gacha Banner Event Guide

Genshin Impact Klee Banner gacha

On October 18, Genshin Impact (PC, PS4, Mobile, soon on Switch, PS5) revealed its second time-limited gacha banner, with Klee as the featured character. Klee is part of the Knights of Favonius, but is often locked in solitary confinement for blowing things up. In Japanese, the best dub, Klee is voiced by Misaki Kuno, who also voiced new character Sophia in Persona 5 Scramble, one of the best games of 2020.

Klee is a five star Pyro user, and a Catalyst user. Klee most notably has a special skill which makes Mondstadt local specialties appear on the mini-map.

The Klee banner in Genshin Impact, Sparkling Steps, will begin on October 20, 1800 (server time). The banner will last till November 9.

Needless to say, the banner will have the same pity count system as existing banners. You'll get a guaranteed 5 star at 90 pulls, with a 50% chance for it to be Klee. Three 4 star characters will also have an enhanced probability rate: Xingqiu, Sucrose, and Noelle.

It's important to note miHoYo already confirmed the ongoing pity counter carries from one time-limited gacha banner to another. For example, if you already did 50 pulls on the Venti banner without getting a 5 star, your pity counter for the Klee banner will start at 50.

Getting enough Primogems to do 90 pulls is quite hard as a free player if you haven't been saving up since the game launched. I wouldn't recommend aiming for duplicates of Klee, unless you're a whale, and getting her just once would make you a pretty lucky player.

A new weapon banner, Epitome Invocation, will be launching too on October 20, 1800 (server times):

If you're a f2p, don't spend your Primogem on weapon banners and focus on character banners. Similarly to constellations / characters duplicates, weapon banners are whale-oriented.

A story trailer introducing Klee's troubles was published. (In Japanese, Chinese and Korean only). An in-depth Klee gameplay video is out too:

Lastly, I wouldn't recommend putting money into Genshin or any gacha game specifically to pull the gacha. Because ultimately there's no guarantee you'll get what you want. If you do want to spend money on Genshin Impact, there are way better alternatives, like its Battle Pass and the monthly blessing.

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DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part 1 Launch Trailer Features a Hell of a Lot of Demon Killing

With its release this past March, DOOM Eternal brought us back into the folds of Hell as the Doom Slayer fought off hordes of demons to reclaim Earth from their clutches. Naturally, despite his best efforts, there is more demon killing to be done, and that's clear from the get-go with the launch of the game's The Ancient Gods DLC today.

Publisher Bethesda Softworks has released the official launch trailer for DOOM Eternal: The Ancient Gods – Part 1, which is the first of the game's two-part story DLC expansion. As you can expect based on the campaign from the base game, The Ancient Gods features more demons to kill alongside plenty of new enemies to dismember, with an extra added dose of badass heavy metal music to rip and tear to.

You can check out the full trailer for the DLC's launch below:

The Ancient Gods DLC was announced earlier this year by Bethesda, with the first act of the two-part story DLC debuting today, and Part 2 coming at a later date. Notably, the entire DLC expansion is a standalone release and does not require that players own the base game in order to play it. Part 1 is available now on its own for $19.99 on every platform, while players can also purchase the DOOM Eternal Year One Pass for $29.99, which will include both parts of the campaign DLC.

With the "Year One" tag tied to it, it's clear that Bethesda and id Software will have more in store for DOOM Eternal down the line after its release this past spring. Specifically, it was confirmed by the publisher that the game will be coming to next-gen consoles next year as a free upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X/Series S for those that own the game on current-gen platforms.

DOOM Eternal is available now on PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC, with the game also coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/Series S, and Nintendo Switch at a later date.

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Borat is Facing Off with DrLupo Today on Twitch for "Global Supremacy"

It's been a busy week for Twitch when it comes to high-profile public figures making their debut on the platform. Yesterday saw New York congressional representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez reveal that she is planning to play and stream Among Us to motivate voters ahead of the US election, while another (in)famous figure from Kazakhstan is also making his debut on Twitch tonight.

Over on Twitter, Twitch announced that Borat (the parody character played by actor Sacha Baron Cohen) will be streaming in "a battle for global supremacy" against famed streamer DrLupo. The grudge match between the two will be airing on Twitch today, October 20, starting at 3pm PT/6pm ET on DrLupo's official Twitch channel.

Presumably, the stream is being aired as a promotion for the upcoming Borat sequel, which is officially titled Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. The new film, which comes 14 years after the original's release in 2006, is premiering on Friday, October 23 on Amazon Prime, so it only makes sense that Twitch (which is owned by Amazon) would want a promo stunt ahead of the film's release by pitting Borat against a well-known streamer.

At the moment, it's unknown what games will be played between Borat and DrLupo, who is popular for streaming battle royale titles like Fortnite, Fall Guys, and Escape From Tarkov. However, the real draw will clearly be seeing Baron Cohen in character as Borat, and seeing just how skilled of a gamer that his character truly is.

The Borat sequel will officially debut on Amazon Prime this coming Friday, October 23.

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Risk of Rain 2 1.0 Update Hits Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One Today

Risk of Rain 2, Hoppo Games, Gearbox Publishing

Risk of Rain 2 finally dropped out of early access with its 1.0 update on PC back in August. It was immediately met by high praise by players and critics alike. However, console players were still left waiting. That all changes today. The developers at Hopoo Games announced that the 1.0 update comes to Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One today. Give the announcement a watch below.

As PC players know, the 1.0 update for Risk of Rain 2 adds a ton of new content to the game. Most notably, the game finally has a real ending with credits, a cutscene, and everything. That's far from the only addition though. You'll encounter a new stage, enemies, items, and, of course, a brand new boss. Plus, there's another survivor for you to test out called the Captain. And, as you'd expect, there are tons of updates, tweaks, and changes for stuff already in the game. It's quite the package.

Risk of Rain 2 joins the crowded list of great roguelikes to come out in 2020. From Hades to Spelunky 2, fans of the genre have never had more excellent choices to get their fix. RioR2 brings a deep multiplayer mode that makes it perfect for players looking for something to hop into with a group of friends.

Risk of Rain 2 is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One. I know your game calendar is already full of exceptional roguelikes, but consider giving RoR2 a shot. It's certainly something a bit different, and, if you can get a few friends to play, quite the multiplayer experience.

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The Jackbox Party Pack 7 Review — What's In the Box?

The Jackbox Party Pack 7

The Jackbox Games formula is tried and true at this point, but playing any entry in The Jackbox Party Pack franchise online with friends via Discord or Zoom has given me a feeling I haven't had since March, when I felt comfortable hanging out with groups of friends. They're the kind of games that, like a good kart racer or fighting game, need to feel evergreen to be good. Hell, my most-played entry in the series is from about four years ago, and I'd still be happy to boot it up today. What makes The Jackbox Party Pack 3, or any other good Jackbox game for that matter, so replayable are the ways the individual minigames can stay fresh while not alienating any of the players. The Jackbox Party Pack 7 handles this tightrope walk with poise, balancing different kinds of games for different situations and groups by bringing back classic Jackbox games and mechanics.

The pack itself comes in the pretty standard wrappings of any Jackbox game, as you have five games to choose from; Quiplash 3, The Devils and the Details, Champ'd Up, Talking Points, and Blather 'Round. Each game sets itself apart from the others in the pack fairly well by drawing from different ways to balance player-controlled content. Across the five minigames, each allows for its own unique brand of chaotic fun, while also never encroaching on another's territory.

Of all the games, only one of them is noticeably worse than the others, with the rest being arguably some of the best in the franchise. When I played through each game in the pack with my roommates just to learn the ropes, The Devils and the Details stuck out like a sore thumb. It's not necessarily bad, it's just the least fun to me. The game sees you and the other players assume roles in a family and work on tasks that fill a meter, and whoever contributes the most by the end of a set time period gets extra points. The challenge comes in when team members are allowed to do tasks that can risk lowering the meter and cause catastrophic events so that they get points for themselves. As a game that boils down to communication and frantically tapping or swiping on your phone screen, it's fun and has its moments, but easily the worst game in the pack overall.

The three other new games in the pack–Champ'd Up, Talking Points and Blather 'Round–are all fantastic. In fact, I'd argue that all three deserve to be on the tier of games like Quiplash or Drawful. Champ'd Up gives players a prompt to draw a couple of characters before pitting them against other creations. It feels like Champ'd Up takes the best elements from past Jackbox games like Drawful and Tee K.O. and combines them. Creations we made like "Dora the Scary Explorer" or "Guile Shitting Himself" were instant classics, and feeling your grip on the real world loosen as you scream at your roommates to vote for a big, burly army man with loose stool is an indescribably funny experience.

Talking Points takes all the fun parts of the recent (admittedly ridiculous) Tik Tok trend that involves friends getting together to give PowerPoint presentations and gets rid of the boring stuff. Mainly, it takes out the prep time, knowing what you're talking about, and the illusion of control over the PowerPoint (and your life), as another player assumes control over what your audience actually sees. Delivering stream-of-consciousness presentations and entering a state of suspenseful flow between slides is as often a trainwreck as it is hilarious – and perfect. Talking Points is the sleeper hit in this pack, and honestly, it's becoming my favorite Jackbox game.

Rounding out the offering of new games introduced in Jackbox 7, Blather 'Round brings a new spin to Charades. Rather than acting things out until someone gets something related to what you are and using that as a clue, Blather 'Round gives you a prompt and a fill-in-the-blanks sentence with a pair of vague descriptors for the other players to throw guesses at. As answers roll in, the player with the prompt is allowed to keep clarifying based on a combination of more vague descriptors that the game gives them and the answers other players give. It feels like a fun innovation on the formula of Charades that makes it harder, but also funnier.

Rounding out the pack is a classic known well to Jackbox aficionados, Quiplash 3. The third iteration of what is arguably the most popular Jackbox game pretty much does what it does best: it lets players fill in the blanks to various prompts, like a crowd-sourced Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity. For the most part, players won't find anything new in this edition of Quiplash aside from the slightly tweaked third round, which offers a much better alternative to the variants offered in Quiplash 2.

With four great and unique party games and one okay one wrapped up in one stellar party pack, The Jackbox Party Pack 7 offers a fun, dynamic party experience with a few of the best new games in the franchise to date, like Talking Points and Blather 'Round. It also features the triumphant return of the stone-cold Jackbox classic in Quiplash 3. Given the strong individual parts, and especially in the current state of the world right now, Jackbox 7 is probably the best entry in the franchise yet. I've enjoyed older versions of Jackbox while reconnecting with friends over Discord or Zoom–or just playing with the people I live with–but this year's party pack feels like a consistently fun and hilarious diversion from the stresses of 2020.

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Halo: The Master Chief Collection Will Run at 120FPS on Xbox Series X

Halo: The Master Chief Collection Crossplay coming to Xbox One and PC

It's not Halo Infinite but it's the next best thing. When it arrives on the Xbox Series X / S, Halo: The Master Chief Collection will receive a meaningful boost in performance that aligns with the power packed into next-gen consoles.

According to a tweet from the official Xbox account, Halo: The Master Chief Collection will run at 120 FPS, and that's in both the game's multiple campaigns and multiplayer. The game will also be "optimized for the Xbox Series X / S," meaning load times should be vastly improved compared to the Xbox One, although it's not clear what other improvements the game will have from this optimization. There will also be a number of split-screen improvements for fans of couch co-op, including 4K during split-screen play on the Xbox Series X.

But, the absolute best part is that existing players on the Xbox One won't even have to worry about how they'll play the game. Halo: The Master Chief Collection won't just be free for existing owners of the game, but will also be available to Xbox Game Pass subscribers on November 17, a week after the launch of the Xbox Series X / S.

For those still waiting for Halo Infinite, I have to recommend Halo: The Master Chief Collection. It's a wonderful way to revisit some of the most renowned games of the 2000s, and with the improvements coming for the Xbox Series X / S, the experience will be even better.

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Sword Art Online Crossover Event Announced In Phantasy Star Online 2

Sword Art Online PSO2 crossover feature

On October 20, Sega revealed on the latest PSO2 Station＋stream that Phantasy Star Online 2 is getting a crossover event with Sword Art Online. Only the Japanese version of the game though. Maybe it'll come over one day in the global version, but nearly all of the collab events that happened since its launch didn't make it. So I wouldn't get my hopes up if I were you.

The Sword Art Online crossover in PSO2 will be happening in December 2020, it'll add avatars for Asuna and Kirito, weapon camos, and Lobby Actions. Asuna and Kirito will also appear in the game. The crossover was teased with a short trailer, featuring a key visual with Asuna and Kirito, and Matoi and Ash from PSO2:

Note that it looks like SAO illustrator Abec / Bunbun drew the key visual, but there's no official confirmation yet.

PSO2 has been out for eight years now, and SAO has been one of the most popular Japanese franchises since the early 2010s. It's actually surprising this didn't happen yet. Especially seeing pretty much every other popular anime thing has been in PSO2 already, from Evangelion to KonoSuba.

Another trailer has been shared as well with upcoming updates to JP PSO2. The Halloween 2020 event, new costumes etc. If you're actually playing JP PSO2, I'm sure you've already checked everything anyway or read translations on a certain bumped blog, so I'll just leave you with the trailer:

As a side note, new collab events with Hatsune Miku and Senran Kagura were announced too:

Additional details on the PSO2 x SAO collab event will be coming on the next PSO2 Station stream.

In 2021, Phantasy Star Online 2 will get a huge update called New Genesis. It's pretty much a new game within the game. The latest information on PSO2 New Genesis was revealed at TGS 2020, with new gameplay.

The Japanese version of PSO2 is available on PC, PS4, and Switch via Cloud. In the west it's on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Windows 10, and  Steam. PSO2 NGS is coming to the same platforms on each respective territory, seeing it's accessible ingame and not a separate entity. PSO2 graphics will be enhanced to match PSO2 NGS too.

The latest SAO game is Sword Art Online Alicization Lycoris, available on PS4, PC and Xbox One. An anime adaptation of the spinoff Sword Art Online Progressive was announced in September as well.

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Monster Sanctuary Launches on PC and Consoles December 8

Monster Sanctuary, Moi Rai Games, Team 17

Monster Sanctuary has been slowly working its way to full release since it launched in early access in 2019. The game is a mix between Pokemon monster battling and classic Metroidvania exploration. That mash-up is quite the combination, and Monster Sanctuary even takes it a step further by giving each monster you catch its own skill tree. And now we don't have to wait much longer for the full release. Today, Moi Rai Games and Team 17 announced the game is launching on December 8 on PC. Plus, it's adding Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One  support on day one.

I've been following Monster Sanctuary since its early access release, so this news is pretty exciting. Of course, I've only played the demo so far as I prefer to wait for a full release. So, I can't give too much first-hand experience on the game's quality. That said, the Pokemon/Metroidvania combo is an incredibly enticing prospect. Especially if, like me, you've kind of fallen out of love with the Pokemon series over the last few years.

Like Temtem, Monster Sanctuary is giving the monster hunting genre a much-needed shot in the arm. Meshing in-depth monster-catching with fun exploration seems like a match made in heaven. And now the whole thing is coming to Switch? Sign me up.

Monster Sanctuary is coming to Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and Xbox One on December 8. If you just can't wait, you can pick up the early access version right now on PC. You can also grab the demo on Steam if you just want to see what the game's about before deciding to purchase.

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Yakuza: Like a Dragon Has Next Gen Crustacean A.I. on Xbox Series X

Yakuza: Like a Dragon Release Date

If you're still looking for reasons to get excited about next month's Yakuza: Like a Dragon release, Sega has some great news for you. In their latest video, the team gave a look at all the next-gen enhancements coming to Xbox Series X on November 10. For the most part, they're pretty standard; however, the trailer also mentions "next-gen crustacean A.I." and "optimized protagonist optimism" as new features. Both of which sound incredible. Check it out below.

Okay, so obviously most of this Yakuza: Like a Dragon trailer has its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. I mean, I'm sure the faster loading times will give you "lighting-fast party support", but I really doubt they've made the crabs smarter. Who in their right mind would do such a thing? It sounds terrifying.

Jokes aside, Yakuza: Like a Dragon continues to look like an absolute dream on Xbox Series X. It also has me incredibly excited for whatever comes next. I'm imagining a Kamurocho (or whichever city they choose to use) that feels even more open and lived in after devs have more time with the new systems.

Given how great the series' open worlds already are, that future game could be jaw-droppingly dense. Obviously, we'll have to wait and see, but if any developer is going to go over-the-top in building their world, it's Ryu Ga Gotoku.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon comes to PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on November 10. It will then come to PS5 on March 2, 2021. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go finish Yakuza 6 before November.

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Cyberpunk 2077 Has Some Advanced Facial Animation Tech

Cyberpunk 2077

CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is obviously a massive game. Players will be able to explore a vast city and its surrounding areas and fill a multitude of roles, but with that scale and setting comes people, people that don't just talk, but do so in different languages. To keep players immersed and push themselves forward the developer has partnered with JALI Inc., a tech company based out of the University of Toronto, to create realistic lip-sync on a wide scale without the need for facial capture.

The drive for better facial animation and lip-sync techniques came from the already impressive job CD Projekt Red did on The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. In a video demonstrating the new tech, Mateusz Popławski, the lead character technical director for Cyberpunk 2077, said that a large goal for this upcoming title was creating realistic facial animations without spending hundreds of hours actually animating. For Cyberpunk, the developer didn't just want to improve animations past the quality of its previous title, it wants to bring those improvements to every single character in the game's open-world – including NPCs that players will regularly walk past. That task is already monumental, but then CD Projekt Red threw in the additional challenge of animating faces and having lip-sync for 10 different languages, all with no facial motion capture.

This task brought the developer to JALI, and it ended up being a perfect collaboration. Specifically, JALI's tech is a procedural, heavily customizable way to animate faces in a realistic manner. It takes into account all the things that we often overlook when we're speaking to someone else – eye movement, brow movement, neck movement and the changes in our facial muscles when we speak. It also accounts for the different ways people produce phonetic sounds to create distinct profiles that match characters.

Here's the progression of a face animated with all the tools JALI has at its disposal:

That slow evolution from completely robotic to somewhat human motion was created without any animators, exclusively through procedural animation. In some ways, it doesn't stack up to the standard of extensive facial motion capture, like in The Last of Us 2, but achieving this level of detail without hundreds of hours spent animating is impressive.

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