Hitman 3 – Cloud Version Announced for Nintendo Switch
Remember when Resident Evil 7: biohazard and Assassin's Creed Odyssey saw cloud-based versions releasing for the Switch? Other developers are giving this method a spin with IO Interactive unveiling Hitman 3 – Cloud Version for the platform. Check out the announcement trailer below.
The cloud version will be available via the Nintendo eShop. It's worth noting that a release date wasn't provided so it could very well launch after Hitman 3 comes to other platforms next year. Given the Nintendo Switch's general Wi-Fi capabilities, it should be interesting to see how Agent 47's latest adventure runs.
Hitman 3 releases on January 20th 2021 for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC (which is a timed exclusive for the Epic Games Store) and Google Stadia. It marks the end of the World of Assassination trilogy and features locations like Dubai, England and more. Those who purchase the title for current-gen platforms can avail of a free upgrade for next-gen consoles. Stay tuned for more details, including more extensive gameplay and other location reveals, in the coming months.
No More Heroes 1 and 2 Out Now on Switch
Much like Bravely Default 2, Grasshopper Manufacture's trippy action sequel No More Heroes 3 was slated to release in 2020. A delay was announced last month, which was reiterated in a new trailer from the recent Nintendo Mini Partner Showcase. However, there's some good news – No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle can be played right now on the Nintendo Switch.
As HD remasters, both titles have been discounted at launch to $17.99 each. The first game sees Travis Touchdown fighting his way through the top 10 of the United Assassins Association to become number 1. The sequel sees Travis down on his luck and having to battle vendettas to survive. New playable characters include Shinobu and Henry, Travis's brother.
Check out release trailer for both Switch versions below. As for No More Heroes 3, its development faced hurdles due to the COVID-19 pandemic which caused "unforeseen delays." Things are back on track with creator Goichi Suda promising to put "every effort" into its development. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity Demo is Now Available
Nintendo has confirmed that a demo for Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is now available on the Nintendo eShop. Developed by Omega Force, the demo will provide fans a taste of the Musou-style hack and slash combat. Check out the latest trailer below.
In terms of content, one can play through all of Chapter 1 in the demo with progress transferring over to the full game. One of the cooler aspects of the trailer sees the player commanding a Divine Beast and raining down destruction below. Whether this segment is playable in the demo or not remains to be seen.
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity releases on November 20th for the Nintendo Switch. It's set 100 years before the events of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as Link, Zelda and the four Champions battle against the forces of evil. This includes the Yiga Clan who are in league with a shadowy foe. Stay tuned for more details on the title in the coming weeks.
Bravely Default 2 Delayed to February 26th, 2021; Demo Feedback Trailer Released
Team Asano finally provided an update for Bravely Default 2 in the latest Nintendo Mini Partner Showcase. It released a trailer with new gameplay footage while also confirming a delay. Instead of this year, the RPG will now be releasing on February 26th 2021 for the Nintendo Switch.
Another video was also released, detailing the feedback that players received from the March 2020 demo. The development team goes over several issues like the controls and difficulty while also outlining the improvements that have been made for the final release. If you were on the fence after the recent demo, it may be worth checking out what's changed below.
Bravely Default 2 was recently rated in Australia so information on a release date was to be expected, sooner or later. There may be a second demo before launch containing the recent improvements and changes. Stay tuned for more details and updates in the meantime.
Sony Expects PS5 Hardware Sales to Initially Have a Negative Impact on Profits
If Sony keeps on doing things the way it has been doing these past few years, it's more or less a guarantee that the PS5 will turn out to be hugely successful for them. However, that doesn't necessarily mean major profits for the company- at least not initially.
Speaking during the company's recent quarterly financial meeting (via Twinfinite), Sony's chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki said that Sony expects its profits in the coming months to be negatively impacted by the PS5's sales. This isn't surprising, of course, since consoles are often sold by manufacturers at a loss, especially in their early years, which seems to be the case for the PS5 as well.
However, Totoki says that more market penetration of the PS5 will lead to more software sales, which will help recoup the losses, and that in the long-term, the PS5's hardware sales will, of course, be profitable for Sony.
The PS5 launches on November 12 in some regions of the world, and everywhere else on November 19. Sony recently released a launch trailer to hype up the console's upcoming release, while several media impressions and unboxing videos have also gone up recently.
Cyberpunk 2077 Plays Well on PC and Next-Gen, Currently Being Optimized Further for PS4 and Xbox One
Recently, the highly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 was hit with another delay, with CD Projekt RED confirming (not long after the game went gold, in fact) that it will release three weeks after its planned November 19 launch. The primary reason cited for the delay was needing a bit more time to properly optimize the game for every single device it's releasing on, and recently, the developer elaborated that on a little bit.
Speaking in a teleconference held after the delay's announcement (via PAP Business), CD Projekt CEO Adam Kicinski said that the studio could have released the game on November 19 as planned, but decided to delay it to make various fixes.
"The decision was not easy but we know there is just one release and the first impression is crucial," Kicinski said. "Better initial reaction to the game always works in favor of more sales. That is why we are delaying, we don't have to but having this extra time gives us more certainty that everything will be in the game when we release."
He added that the game is currently ready to go on PC and plays well on next-gen consoles (on which it will be playable at launch via backward compatibility, with proper next-gen versions coming next year).
However, optimization work on the game's PS4 and Xbox One versions is still being done, which would suggest that CD Projekt RED weren't happy with how the game was running on current-gen consoles and needed additional time to get it up to snuff.
CD Projekt RED are a studio that have been notorious for their issues with crunch, and those issues have emerged once again with Cyberpunk 2077. Prior to the delay, the developer mandated crunch until the game's launch, while just recently, we have heard reports that some employees at the studio are even working 100-hour weeks.
Cyberpunk 2077 is out on December 10 for PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Stadia. Dedicated next-gen versions will be releasing some time in 2021. Recently, it was confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 won't be eligible for The Game Awards 2020, with the game's new release date being past the cutoff date for this year's show.
No Man's Sky: Next Generation Revealed – 4K/60 FPS, Ultra Visuals and More
No Man's Sky from Hello Games is the latest title to hop aboard the next-gen train. No Man's Sky: Next Generation will be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC as a free upgrade for current players. Along with save game transfer, it will offer cross-platform play, support for up to 32 players online and improved visuals. Check out the trailer below.
The Xbox Series X and PS5 will run at 4K/60 FPS. However, along with PC, these versions will have denser, lusher environments with more flora and fauna, higher resolution textures and improved geometry. Ultra settings also provide improvements to animations, volumetrics, shadows, lighting and more along with more extensive draw distances.
Base building on next-gen platforms will also be improved, allowing for larger and more complex structures. Faster load times courtesy of SSDs, support for DualSense haptic feedback and 3D audio on the PS5, and PlayStation VR support are also promised. For more details on what to expect from No Man's Sky: Next Generation, head here.
Xbox Series X/S Unboxing Videos are Now Available
Following in the footsteps of Sony's PS5, various publications have released videos unboxing the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. Easy Allies, Game Informer and GameSpot all have coverage of the same, showcasing the box art, packaging, size of the console and what comes in the box. Check them out below.
Speaking to the Xbox Series X, the packaging is definitely evocative and even more so when opening it up to see the "Power Your Dreams" sleeve. Along with the usual cables and papers are two batteries for the controller, instructions on setting the console up and so on. When examining the console, there's a nice little "Hello from Seattle" message at the bottom.
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S are out on November 10th worldwide. The former costs $499 while the latter will retail for $299. Microsoft has released a pretty big list of playable titles at launch, which you can see here. It's also outlined what can be expected from Xbox Game Pass in November. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.
Baldur's Gate 3 Patch Improves Cinematics, Adds New Combat Tutorial Messages
Larian Studios has detailed the next big patch for Baldur's Gate 3 early access which sees in-game cinematics receiving more polish. Along with fixes for certain scenes, the developer has also revamped others. Certain scenes, like a particular song, have been re-composed and look even better than before.
Other fixes and changes include optimizing sound settings for better performance on systems with lesser hardware; new tutorial messages for combat; better timing of some of the tutorial messages; and much more. You'll also find that the Attack of Opportunity indicator will be hidden when dealing with invisible foes. The list of improvements can be seen below.
Baldur's Gate 3 is currently in early access for PC and Stadia. The first act is available, providing some 25 hours of content to play through, and the developer is looking to stay in early access for about a year. However, it's also adamant on releasing the game when it's done so it's possible that the full launch could happen even later. Stay tuned for more updates in the meantime.
Improvements
- Optimized overall sound settings to improve performance on lower spec machines
- Added polish to several in-game cinematics
- Attack of Opportunity indicator is now correctly hidden for invisible enemies
- Improved timing of some tutorial messages
- Improved usability of skill selection in character creation
- Added new tutorial messages related to combat
- Listening to other players' dialogs now correctly shows the other players' dice rolls
- The reason for a waypoint being unavailable is now displayed on the map
- Party members now correctly cancel their spell prepare state when switching to another character
Godfall Developer Details DualSense Implementation On PS5 Version
If there is one game you can't criticize for showing too little it's Godfall. The game was one of the first next generation titles revealed, and we've since seen a very steady amount of information about it come in from a recent deep dive into the game's progression and loot to its challenging endgame content. We're far from over, though, as today we got details on how the PS5 version will use the DualSense.
The game's developer said that the DualSense was incredible in the past, though didn't go into details about how the game utilized it. Now in a post on the official PlayStation blog, Technical Producer Dick Heyne fleshed out a few details. It seems the core of the DualSense implementation is how the haptic feedback changes based on what weapons you use, with examples given of how different it feels to wield a hammer versus dual blades.
"Not only have we been tuning the haptic feedback on a per weapon class basis – we've dug into the individual attacks and tuned them to get the feel just right. We really wanted to challenge ourselves to push the limits of this system, aiming to have the players feel each and every swing. We all know the rhythm of combat in action melee games can make or break the experience. Prior to working with the DualSense controller's haptic feedback, you could see the rhythm of Godfall's melee combat. But thanks to SIE, you're now able to feel it as well.
"Since players can have up to two weapons in their loadout at any time, there is a thrill in switching from one weapon class to another and feeling the difference in the palm of your hands. The Dual Blades might feel quick and nimble, whereas the Warhammer will feel powerful and weighty. This feature alone makes playing Godfall on PS5 feel like a whole new experience."
Godfall will release on November 12th for PlayStation 5 and PC.