Sony could change how fast (and quiet) the PS5 fan is with system updates

Sony could modify the behaviour of the PlayStation 5's cooling fan over time via system updates, tuning how fast it spins based off data collected from end users playing the game

Speaking with 4Gamer.net (translation via Eurogamer), SIE's VP of mechanical design Yasuhiro Ootori explained that they can collect information on how the PS5's APU behaves in each game, and use that to tune how fast the fan spins to potentially stabilise system further.

Ootori said, "Various games will be released in the future, and data on the APU's behaviour in each game will be collected. We have a plan to optimise the fan control based on this data."

It's an interesting statement to make, and seems to tie in with the power philosophy of the PlayStation 5. As announced back in March, the system will dynamically shift the clock speed of both the CPU and GPU to share a fixed power budget. In theory this provides a steady amount of power consumption and waste heat output for the cooling to deal with, and allow for a much steadier fan speed compared to the very variable fan speed of the PS4 and PS4 Pro. However, cooler can run more efficiently and potentially unlock slightly more boost performance within the same power budget, so there's a tradeoff between fan speed, noise and cooling.

The PS5 teardown video published earlier this month – with Ootori carefully taking a console apart and explaining the various design considerations – revealed an intriguing double-sided fan that's 120mm in diameter and 45mm thick, to blow air through the rest of the console. The fan is intended to be near silent, though it can change its speed based off temperature sensors inside the APU and a trio of sensors in other parts of the board.

Sony will have put tens, if not hundreds of thousands of hours into testing and optimising the PlayStation 5's cooling system over the last half decade, all of that testing will be eclipsed once there are millions of consoles in the hands of consumers, and with modern data harvesting from electronic devices, they will be able to tweak the workings of the console to try and optimise it further.

It will be fascinating to see how this plays out, though I'm sure some are worried the console won't provide the same near-silent operation a few years down the line. Will Sony sacrifice a few decibels to unlock a fraction of additional performance? Will they find that they can actually reduce the fan speed? Could they monitor the microphone in the DualSense or detect if your wearing headphones and let the fan run higher in general?

Source: 4Gamer.net via Eurogamer

Mario Kart Live Review – A magical mix of real-world and digital play, but it's not quite perfect

Like Link's Tri-Force, or the Transformer's Matrix of Power, you can rely on Nintendo to light up your darkest hour. Times might be grim, with real world struggles that few could have fathomed twelve months ago, but here's the Japanese company with a Switch-controlled augmented reality Mario Kart, that might just melt all of it away. Until it needs charging again, that is.

Karting remains the plumber's most beloved pastime beyond jumping on turtle's heads, and when you pull the WiFi controlled kart out of the box for the first time that love will be manifest in eight inches of moustachioed vehicular wonder. It's a chunky, sturdy-feeling recreation of Mario's kart, boasting some lovely visual touches like actual tread on the tyres, while a camera housed in the rear cowling is the window to Mario Kart Live's reality-augmenting magic.

There actually isn't all that much in the box, but you'll soon find that that's part of the magic. Alongside the kart, instructions to download the MK Live software from the eShop, and a standard USB-C charging cable charging cable, there are four cardboard gates to put together and a pair of cardboard directional markers. They feel like a direct extension of Nintendo's Labo creations; easy to set up, and perfectly functional in their simplicity. It's nice to see them remaining committed to a more recyclable package, even if it's as much a cost-saving exercise as an environmental one.

The truly magical moment comes from creating real-world Mario Kart tracks that you can physically race around, with a sprinkling of augmented reality that brings it all to life on your TV or Switch screen. Here's how it works: you build a track using the four cardboard gates as markers – and whatever else you want to use to define the track – and you fire up the MK Live software on your Switch. Once you've connected your Switch to the kart with a bit of QR code wizardry, you then need to define the track, and prove it's viable by driving the kart around. Once you've done that, you're ready for a race.

Seeing your home on the Switch screen while a diminutive Mario tootles around it is remarkable. The kart's camera feed links directly to the console, and you can marvel at your own feet, the lost toys underneath the sofa, and the underside of your kitchen cupboards all from the comfort of your chair while Mario zooms around you. At first though, he will pootle past you instead. Just like the mainline games, Mario Kart Live starts out at 50cc, a nice and sedate pace for you and the small people in your house to get used to before your expensive real-world kart starts repeatedly slamming into the nearest wall.

You can access 50cc and 100cc from the off, while the faster settings are locked away behind success in previous cups. That's right, just like 'real' Mario Kart, there's a full range of cups to race through, each made up of three races. Brilliantly, the different gates change in appearance depending on the race type, while various other effects like rain or underwater ripples, and a change in soundtrack, serve to make each race more unique.

The more active part of that is that you can build a new track for every race. It's not mandatory – it certainly serves to slow the whole process down – but it's very very cool taking everything apart and having a go at track building with chairs, boxes and plastic dinosaurs. My favourite stand of the day saw Pando, Mr Todd and Marty Mcfly cheering from the sidelines while a T-Rex quietly watched Mario whizz by. I loved it, and both of our boys loved it. Our youngest even had his wooden tool kit out to act as pit crew, carefully tapping at the kart's wheels with a tiny hammer. It's been an utterly wonderful day of real-world and digital play.

I have to admit that those expecting it to be quite as refined as Mario Kart 8 will be disappointed. Drawing your track is quick and easy, but you have to be careful that it does actually fit properly into the space. Our household became annoyed when the AR competitors could travel straight through a sofa leg when we, quite obviously, slammed straight into it, and the edges of the AR track markers can easily be too close to objects that are going to get in the way.

It's also very much the case that space is of a premium. The kart is fine on regular carpet, though lino and wooden floors are undoubtedly nippier, so that's one potential issue done away with, but if you live in a smaller home you, or your children, aren't going to get the most out of it. That's a core barrier to play; Mario Kart Live simply won't be able to offer very much to you if you have a smaller home.

The main problem though is connectivity. Mario Kart Live uses a WiFi signal to connect the kart with the Switch, with a recommended range of five metres. That proves most effective when you're playing in handheld mode and you're sat in the midst of whatever track you've created. Our lounge heads straight into the kitchen, and we set our first track up to go between the two rooms, but originally we tried to play with the Switch docked. With the dock tucked away behind our TV it soon became apparent that it just doesn't work, suffering from both the physical barrier and the likely mess of WiFi signals spewing from behind there.

The result is that the camera feed cuts out, and you lose all control of the kart. Things are greatly improved by using it undocked, but then you can't have it blown up on the TV with the music blaring out, which is a real shame when there's so much fun to be had as a family or group with it in that format.

If you have the opportunity, you can play real-world multiplayer with four karts (there's both a Mario and Luigi flavoured option at the moment, with more surely on the way) but at £99.99 a throw they're a big investment for most households to even consider having one, let alone the four Switch consoles you'd need for a full roster. Sadly, when combined with the need for as much space as possible, Mario Kart Live is going to be reserved for the wealthier households out there.

Stardew Valley 1.5 update will add splitscreen multiplayer

More than four years after the game's original launch on PC, Stardew Valley is getting even more free content.

The game's sole developer, Eric Barone (who goes by ConcernedApe online) has revealed a big new feature for upcoming title update 1.5.

We don't have a timeframe for when 1.5 will launch but when it does, it will be adding splitscreen multiplayer co-op to Stardew Valley on PC. Barone posted a screenshot of the new two-player feature in action.

Of course, this won't be the only addition made to Stardew Valley in update 1.5. We've yet to see a full breakdown of changes and new content though there are likely new activities, items, and other quality of life improvements in the pipeline.

Fangamer recently unveiled their physical collector's edition of Stardew Valley for both PC and Nintendow Switch.

Launching on November 6th. Stardew fans can secure either a standard of swanky collector's edition physical version of the farming game on PC and Nintendo Switch with prices ranging from $29-69. For those who live outside the US, don't worry – the Nintendo Switch cart will be region free as well as the Steam activation key provided with the PC disc version.

Buying the standard edition will net you a physical copy of the game as well as a manual. Meanwhile, the pricier collector's edition comes bundled with the following Fangamer exclusive extras:

  • Deluxe six-piece wooden standee made from responsibly sourced birch and cherry wood (measures 4.5 x 4 x 4 inches; some assembly required).
  • Wooden lapel pin made from the same eco-friendly wood as the standee
  • 14-page Junimo comic by Chihiro Sakaida, the artist of the Before the Farmer comic
  • Deed to your farm featuring gold-foil details on paper made from 30% recycled straw (a byproduct of actual farming!)
  • Collector's Edition box made from sturdy, high-quality materials featuring artwork by Kari Fry, the artist behind the Stardew Valley Guidebook
  • Physical copy of the game on your choice of platform with 18-page, full-color illustrated instruction manual and double-sided cover with Joja theme on the inside
  • Soft polyester-nylon blend cleaning cloth designed by Chihiro Sakaida
  • For a limited time: Bonus poster for preorders until August 15th (measures 10″ by 16″, folded)

Source: Twitter (ConcernedApe)

2K adds unskippable adverts to NBA 2K21 loading screens

2K have decided to add unskippable adverts to NBA 2K21's pre-game loading screens across PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC. This addition comes around a month and a half after the game's initial release and well after the review window for the game.

You can see this, as captured by Stevivor over the weekend:

The advert is triggered by the pre-game loading screen, and is inserted into the game's take on a pre-game TV broadcast. While authentic to US sports programming, it cannot be skipped and runs in full before players can press a button to continue. What isn't entirely clear is if the loading screen is lengthened to accommodate the advert, though Stevivor reported that it still played in full when testing this on an SSD-equipped PC.

It comes just a month after EA pulled a similar move in UFC 4, inserting adverts into the transitions around replays, before removing them after backlash from players.

It also adds to the criticism of 2K's efforts to monetise their dominant sports franchise beyond the initial sticker price. NBA 2K has long had microtransactions that have gone beyond cosmetics and can tie into the player and character progression across all modes through the overarching Virtual Currency. Some years strike a decent balance between earning VC though play and pay, and others fail to do so.

2K were also the first to announce a price hike for their game series while heading to the next generation, and decided not to offer players an upgrade path from the current generation, paid or otherwise. Instead, the only way to get the next-gen upgrade included with your current-gen game was to buy the Mamba Forever edition at £84.99. It should be acknowledged that the next-gen version has been rebuilt from the ground up and offers significant changes to the game's visuals, animation, presentation, and more. 2K might have to work a little bit harder to integrate adverts when loading screens will be so much shorter, though.

NBA 2K21 is out now for PS4, Xbox One, Switch, PC and Stadia. It's coming to Xbox Series X|S on 10th November, and PlayStation 5 on 12th or 19th November depending on your region.

Source: Stevivor

Earning PS5 trophies can unlock in-game rewards

Last week, Sony finally gave us an in-depth look at the PlayStation 5's UI and since then people have been picking the lengthy explainer video apart for more details.

Once interesting tidbit comes from Twitter user Tidux who has dug up some more information about PS5 trophies and the console's new "activity cards" system.

According to them, PS5 users will be able to redeem in-game rewards when unlocking trophies, a feature that is bound to excite PlayStation trophy hunters out there.

Two images from the PS5 UI reveal show separate trophies for exclusive launch title, Destruction AllStars. Unlocking the bronze trophy titled "Rookie" will reward you with a profile banner item while the gold trophy "Wreckognised" will land you a profile avatar. We assume that both of these are for use in Destruction AllStars as opposed to being a PSN avatar and banner. We're waiting for official clarification on this via Sony.

As also noted by Tidux, this is similar to how Ubisoft handles rewards via their Uplay extension. This was originally introduced in 2009 with the launch of Assassin's Creed II giving players in-game bonuses for completing certain trophies and achievements. This has expanded over the years to include daily and weekly challenges with points earned being spendable across most Ubisoft titles.

PS5 trophy rewards is another way Sony can enrich the player's experience with yet another engaging hook, adding more value to trophies than a simple *ping* noise and notification pop-up. However, just like previously mentioned activity cards, we're interested in just how well spread this feature will be. Will it only apply to first party games? What will Sony be doing to encourage other games to use its more in-depth set of PS5 features?

We've posted a handy breakdown PlayStation 5 user experience for those wanting more info on the main menu, parties, trophies, and more.

The PS5 officially launches next month, arriving in the US and other select territories on November 12th, then everywhere else (including the UK) on November 19th.

Source: Twitter (Tidux) via PSU

Rainbow Six Siege is coming to Xbox Game Pass this week [Updated]

Update: Microsoft have now confirmed that Rainbow Six Siege will be added to Xbox Game Pass for console and streaming on 22nd October.

In probably one of the most obvious teases of all times, it looks like Rainbow Six Siege is coming to Xbox Game Pass sometime soon.

Let's see if we can work out the cryptic clue that the Xbox Game Pass Twitter account dropped over the weekend:

Let's see… so there's a medieval castle siege going on, but the sky above is being grace by not one, not two, but six rainbows. Either that's R6 Siege, or there's a very fabulous Total War announcement coming soon.

Let's just say it's Siege, though, and the timing feels pretty much perfect for Microsoft to snag the popular online tactical shooter for its subscription service. Ubisoft announced that the game will be getting free upgrades to the next-gen PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S consoles sometime later this year, promising to bring resolutions up to 4K and with 120fps gameplay for ultra-responsive first person shooting. Despite persistent rumours, they've resisted making the game free to play, but with the new generation of consoles, now's obviously a great time for them to try and lure in new and returning players, and what better way than putting it on Game Pass, where it has much of the allure of being free?

It's already been a pretty big year for the game, with the latest big update being Year 5 Season 3 Operation: Shadow Legacy, which added the very familiar Clancy-verse face of Sam Fischer is sneaking his way into the fray, and they're currently testing a major rework of Tachanka, one of the original set of Operators in the game

You can find all the Year 5 Season 3 details in our report, but here's a brief summary:

Rainbow Six Siege Year 5 Season 3 summary

  • New Operator: Zero (Sam Fisher)
  • Map ban feature
  • Match replays
  • New weapons: SC-3000K and 5.7 USG
  • Contextual ping system
  • More scope attachment options
  • Improvement accessibility
  • Reinforcement pool
  • New equipment: Hard Breach Charge
  • Thatcher rework
  • Stats tracker
  • SquadFinder

Source: Xbox Game Pass Twitter

Amnesia: Rebirth Review

Horror can take many forms and work in many ways, but in video games we see the same handful of approaches appear time and again, from the action horror of Doom to the helpless terror of Alien Isolation. More broadly, we can think of horror being split between the fear of some outside unknown and the fear of the self. Amnesia: Rebirth promises to focus on the latter, whilst also allowing some good old fashioned monstrous jump scares along the way.

This is appropriate given the almost legendary status of the first Amnesia game, Dark Descent, and how it was responsible for launching a host of YouTube reaction videos (and spurring on sales of clean underwear). Developers Frictional Games are back in full control, having handed duties over to The Chinese Room for the slower paced A Machine for Pigs, so have they brought the horror back with them?

 

Amnesia: Rebirth is a brand new story set within the Amnesia world rather than a direct sequel, but it still contains the trademark combination of dread and danger that fans demand. Set in the Algerian Desert during the 1930s you play as the pregnant Tasi, part of an archaeological dig that goes very wrong. The intro sees your plane crash and you waking up under the hot sun with no idea where your companions have gone. The first thing to strike me here was the unexpected use of bright light as a threat. Amnesia is a series renowned for its use of darkness, so to have to take refuge in the shade from the burning desert sun was a real surprise. It isn't long, though, before you venture into more traditional darker environments.

There's some excellent architectural design and impressive vistas to take in through the game. The standard PS4 took everything in its stride, though obviously not as technically refined as it would have been on a high spec PC. As so much of the game takes place in darkness, however, the difference between platforms less obvious than for other titles. Facial animations are fine (albeit infrequent given how much time you spend alone) and creature designs are well in keeping with the series. I wasn't as scared by these creatures as I was expecting to be, but whether that is down to the design or my being desensitised by too many horror games I couldn't say.

As with most horror games, I'd highly recommend playing Amnesia: Rebirth with headphones, as the audio design plays a huge role in conveying the terror of Tasi's situation. Voice acting is well handled and I felt as though I really got to know Tasi through her scattered memories and reactions to what was happening around her. She is a great protagonist and her portrayal is a large part of the success of the game as a whole. Playing as a pregnant woman is a bold choice for any game, let alone one where the player will be put in as much peril as they are here. While the more picky might complain that Tasi's condition would prevent her from running and climbing as she must here, the framing helps to show demonstrate how desperate her situation is. As the game progresses, the status of her pregnancy begins to blur into the horror too as well.

Tasi's backstory is slowly revealed through a combination of notes, recalled memories, and her own dialogue. This works especially well in ensuring that you come to identify with her without having to endure any lengthy exposition. Of course, the resultant unanswered questions also contribute to the unsettling atmosphere. Completionists will find plenty of replayability in scouring the various environments for all of the notes and memories. I was taking things pretty slowly and still missed out on loads of collectable.

Amnesia: Rebirth feels like a hybrid of the earlier titles, with elements of sneaking, hiding, and running feeling a good deal like Dark Descent, but then seeing this mixed up with more slow paced, almost walking sim sequences. These combine to give the game a more dynamic range to the tension, a factor that many competing titles overlook.

The effect here is that the chase sequences don't ever become a chore, as is so often the case. Death will happen but you are pretty swiftly returned back to the fray and there aren't lengthy periods of backtracking. There were a couple of moments when dying continued the narrative, but I would need to replay to see if there were ways around these instances. Making your way through the game requires you to solve a myriad of environmental puzzles, ranging from moving obstructions from doorways to manipulating strange power sources, and some of these are challenging enough to give a sense of achievement upon completion.

You have no defence against the creatures that stalk the darkness so you must hide or run from them. While most of your time is spent without light, you have the trademark matches to offer a brief respite (or to light candles and torches in the environment) and also a lantern that must be refilled from hidden jars of oil. Running out of these light sources isn't game breaking though, as your in-game eyes adjust to the lack of light and give you enough of a view to navigate by, albeit at the cost of your sanity. Encroaching madness is visually represented through subliminal hallucinations and black tendrils obscuring the screen, as well as appropriately unpleasant sound effects.

Space Crew Review

Both the shield generator and O2 generators have broken and need repair. One gunner is currently in med bay, the allied fighters have retreated due to low fuel, and the comms officer is now dead. It is at this point you are wondering whether you've bitten off more than you can chew as more enemies fly in, and the enemy champion taunts you. You assess the situation and then give the order: abandon ship. The survivors get to the escape pods just as the Phasmids start boarding. So ends the story of the UDF ship TSA, but that is not the end of this war in Space Crew.

The follow up to the WW2-themed Bomber Crew, Space Crew can be ruthless. It starts off relatively straightforward, giving you a basic ship and some simple missions to tackle as you fight in a war between Earth's UDF and the invading Phasmids. Initially these missions will see you going into an area and clearing enemies, escorting transports, or rescuing people. They provide a bit of a challenge and test you, but you can handle it.

Stepping up to the medium risk missions with some upgrades in tow, they have similar objectives, but immediately feel a bit more dicey. Enemies are stronger and you have to really pay attention to what your crew is doing. You have six crew members in total: the Captain who navigates the ship, the Comms officer who plots routes and can scan area for enemies or points of interest, the Security officer who can do things like purge parts of the ship, which is helpful when getting rid of unwanted guests, the Engineer who is the fastest at fixing things, and two Gunners whose main job is to shoot enemy ships.

As you complete these missions you earn research points that unlock equipment for the crew and the ship, and the money to buy this new equipment. Your crew members will also gain experience and learn new skills, but if they die then you lose them for ever. The same goes for your ship, and while you can always get another ship and can recruit more crew mates, you'll quickly get attached to your little group.

As missions get more difficult, you have more and more choices to make, balancing between finding the right time to activate abilities and moving crew members to taking care of different tasks. For example, if the Engineer is currently boosting power they can't just run off to put out a fire, you'll need to send someone else like the Security officer, as I soon started doing. Similarly, when enemy fighter numbers increase you'll need four people on the guns, deciding who you can divert from their regular job. Willy you forego the Comms officer's ability to (hopefully) call in back up?

You might get through one tense battle, but missions do not just have one encounter. Some will give you two routes to choose between on your way to the objective. One is the safest route, which takes longer and has fewer enemies, or there's the fastest route that will likely see you battling more enemies and could see an enemy champion show up at random. These are essentially boss fights that can strike at any time, whether it's near the start of your ship's run or when you are stronger. They're tough battles as they are joined by waves of their allies. In this situation the best bet is to just target the boss, because if you can defeat them or make them retreat then the other enemies will retreat too.

You will need to grind in Space Crew to make progress through the missions and the story. Your first loadout just will not cut it and you will not be able to afford the upgrades from the start. Those upgrades include better weapons that are either energy based, which are great for taking down shield but require reactor power, non-energy, which will damage enemy hulls, or a combination of the two. You will need some overlap of the two types to be effective. Other upgrades then include better shields and better armour to help you stay in the fight for longer.

The grind is okay, but the missions can get repetitive. Some of that is by design, as you will repeat missions to get to get the same rewards, but every mission boils down to going into a sector and clearing out enemies. There are some other elements, like when taking on a mothership, but even that doesn't differ too much. It's still entertaining, but it is grind.

Sony are "looking into your feedback" after dissatisfaction over party chat changes on PS4

Sony caused quite a stir last week with the release of PlayStation 4 System Software 8.00 and a subtle but significant change to the way that party chat works on the current console. Moving to the PlayStation 5, Sony have changed parties to now be more permanent, tying together with a text chat to be a more social and communal space for defined groups of friends, and it's necessarily rolled that back to the PS4 for cross-generational functionality.

However, with new moderation and reporting tools sending a worrying notice to all PS4 users, PSN errors affecting friends lists on the day the update went live, and people generally disliking change, Sony have annoyed a fair few of their users. Thankfully, they say they're listening, they already apologised for not giving enough clarity over the incoming changes, and it sounds like they're open to revisiting the form and the function of parties in future.

While it's extremely unlikely that the new model for Parties and group messaging will be rolled back, we could see some of the previous functionality return. In particular, the ability to create a private party without inviting any other users can be used to blanket block in-game voice chat, while a permanent parties model doesn't gel with the need in some games like Destiny 2 to create temporary gaming groups for LFG, or to invite friends of friends for a single gaming session.

 

Of course, part fo the frustration that some users have felt has been about the lack of communication. In their apology and explanation of the new voice chat recording and reporting feature on PS5, Catherine Jensen, Vice President of Global Consumer Experience at Sony said, "We should have more clearly explained why this function was being rolled out," and detailed how only a few minutes of chats would be recorded locally, and that they would be sent to Sony only if a player wishes to report inappropriate behaviour.

Sony have been generally quite secretive over the system software and functionality of the PlayStation 5, waiting until less than a month remained before the console's release before they reveal how it looks, the new card-based interface, Activities, and more. There's still other features that have yet to be revealed, as well, and we're left guessing about the existence of a Quick Resume feature to hop between games without restarting them. They're also making a number of changes to their online infrastructure through October to prepare for the PS5, such as the browser PlayStation Store hiding all content from before the PlayStation 4, the PS Messages app is being discontinued, and more.

Source: Twitter

Remothered: Broken Porcelain Review

The Remothered series has a complex and troubled history. Starting off as a 2D tribute to the oft-neglected Clocktower games, that initial iteration was scrapped and morphed into a more cinematic survival horror trilogy. The first part of this, Tormented Fathers, was a sleeper hit amongst horror fans, and I was really pleasantly surprised by its convoluted storyline and effectively scary atmosphere. Fast forward two years and it's time for a follow up. Could this be an early Halloween treat or a devious trick by the publishers to pre-empt other big scary releases like Amnesia: Rebirth? Read on, if you dare…

First things first, the initial release build of Broken Porcelain was widely criticised for being unfinished and buggy. My first playthrough was littered with annoying bugs, non-functioning mechanics and a lack of polish. However, by the time of writing there have been several patches for both PC and console versions – this review is based off the PC version – and given the goodwill I had from the first title, I immediately began a new game post-patches to see how much they improved matters. Thankfully the biggest issues are now mostly fixed, though there are still a number of rough edges.

Continuing on from the events of Tormented Fathers – a handy story overview is there for newcomers and those who may have forgotten – Broken Porcelain fills in many of the larger gaps in the background of that game's narrative. It functions as both prequel and sequel, with the playable events taking place in the past while the present events are largely delivered through cutscenes and dialogue. It's an interesting approach, and one that works for the most part as it successfully maintains an air of uncertainty and suspense.

Both cutscenes and gameplay benefit from decent graphics, albeit not on the cutting edge. Faces are pretty realistic, but lip synching is not great and there were still a few anomalies like floating cushions and upside-down chairs in my patched up playthrough. That being said, on a suitable PC, Broken Porcelain is a good looking indie game.

Audio is a key aspect of any horror game and Broken Porcelain certainly has the eerie music, threatening ambient noises, and unsettling bodily effects to fit, although there is still room for some improvement here. Some noises didn't trigger properly every time, and the panic-inducing chase music was an unreliable guide as to whether you were still being pursued or not. Given the game's focus on stealth and hiding this was a bit of a shame. Too often I emerged from a wardrobe thinking the danger was passed, only to walk right into my pursuer who was just out of sight.

The voice acting has a slightly hammy quality to it that suits the low-budget horror feel, whether deliberately or not. There is a surprising amount of swearing given the child protagonist and this didn't always have the desired effect but the writing is mostly pretty strong for the genre.

Playing as a mysterious young girl named Jennifer, you have been placed in the care of the owners of a Hotel and must work as a maid. Things quickly unravel, however, and you soon have to escape from the horrors of the drug-induced nightmares that straddle the line between reality and hallucination. The series' name is a convoluted pun on REM sleep, mother, and othered, focusing as it does on family bloodlines, nightmares, and trauma, and this game certainly continues those themes. In the more narrative sections, you continue as Rosemary Reed, the protagonist from the first game, as you discover the mystery behind that game's events. Gameplay largely revolves around stealth, with a few puzzles and some combat sections.

Audio cues aside, the stealth aspect of Broken Porcelain is fairly well handled. Jennifer can sneak and hide with hiding places well spaced out across the various locations. In this sense it was more successful than the recent Maid of Sker, but lacks that title's overall polish. The puzzles and combat were more reminiscent of the outstanding Song of Horror, a game that should be high on everyone's Halloween playlist. That being said, the combination of these two approaches works well in distinguishing Broken Porcelain from its most obvious comparisons. Add in a strange ability to control moths later in the game and there is certainly enough here to stand on its own.

The focus here is on survival horror rather than action, so your offensive capabilities are highly limited. You can only carry a single use defence item at a time (although this can be upgraded) so the boss fights insist on you hitting and running to collect another whilst making good use of the hotel's layout to stay safe. There are also distraction items to give you some respite and, more importantly, to set the enemies up for a sneak attack. Initially rather wonky, the patched game is much improved with enemy alertness and damage being much more balanced, especially with the various upgrades now working.

God of War update 1.34 makes minor fixes

Sony Santa Monica have quietly released a new update for their smash hit 2018 kind-of-a-reboot sequel, God of War. Those PlayStation fans currently tucking into the latest instalment will have noticed a prompt asking them to download and install God of War version 1.34 when trying to boot the game.

Don't get too excited, though. According to the patch notes for update 1.34 it only includes "various bug fixes" so yeah, false alarm. No new content or significant features so put those Leviathan Axes away.

With the next instalment in the PlayStation exclusive franchise having recently been announced during the PlayStation 5 showcase, it's easy to see why fans are so eager for news on Kratos, Atreus, and their odyssey across the nine realms. We know very little about God of War: Ragnarök, the teaser below only giving us a glimpse of the sequel's logo with an ominous bit of voiceover from Kratos, played by the sublime Christopher Judge.

If you're interested in learning more of God of War: Ragnarök then you can read Ade's theories on what will happen to Kratos and Atreus on their next journey as he probes into Norse mythology and what Ragnarök actually meant to the Vikings. Here's an excerpt:

Ragnarök means, when translated from Old Norse, "fate of the gods" or "twilight of the gods." It is both an apocalypse but also a rebirth, for, from the ashes of the old world, a new world is born. At the closing moments of the epic battle so long foretold, most of the Norse gods have ended up catching a severe case of premature death. Thor, Odin, Freya, Heimdall and many others will die in battle against the three children of Loki; Fenrir the giant wolf, Jörmungandr the Midgard serpent, and Hel, ruler of – unsurprisingly – Hel. Few will survive facing these formidable beings. In one of the original tellings, Thor's sons Modi and Magni do make it to the end of Ragnarök and beyond. Which would be a tricky feat to occur in God of War, on account of them being very dead. So straightaway, we know that God of War will vary significantly from the traditional myths.

One way it will likely run parallel to the original mythology however, is with the gathering of the children of Loki in order to strike against Asgard. All Loki's kiddie winks were either introduced or name-checked in God of War VIII – Jörmungandr played a significant role in the game, whilst Fenrir and Hel were alluded to – so it could be the case that the structure of Ragnarök will revolve around Kratos and Loki tracking down these 'children' and teaming up with them to prepare for the final assault.

In other God of War news, Sony Santa Monica have confirmed that both God of War (2018) and God of War III Remastered will be backwards compatible on PlayStation 5 when the console launches next month.

Ghost of Tsushima – how to play Legends co-op mode

If you're picking up a copy of Ghost of Tsushima, chances are you're diving into Sucker Punch's samurai sim for its gorgeous open world and a desperate tale of survival. However, since the game's launch there is now a free major new multiplayer expansion titled Ghost of Tsushima: Legends.

So, what exactly is this new multiplayer mode and how do you access it? Ghost of Tsushima: Legends allows you and up to three other allies to tackle a series of co-op gauntlets. These come in three different flavours including the story driven Legends missions, the round based Survival, and tougher Raids.

In order to access Ghost of Tsushima: Legends you need to make sure you've installed version 1.1 or later. This update introduced the new co-op mode as well as New Game+ and other features/improvements.

Naturally, you're going to need an internet connection as well as an active PlayStation Plus subscription in order to play, as well as a copy of the base game. While it's possible Sony will later release Legends as its own standalone title, for now it's an expansion for the core game.

You can dive into Ghost of Tsushima a numbers of ways, the easiest being via either the main menu (or the pause menu if you're already playing the story mode). Alternatively you can seek out a new character who appears in the campaign called Gyozen the Storyteller. He has his own map icon and when talking to him as Jin Sakai you can jump straight into a multiplayer mission. Finally, you can access Legends by receiving a party invite from friends.

We'll be explaining more about Ghost of Tsushima: Legends in our upcoming review and guides coverage but here's are some quickfire impressions. Ghost of Tsushima really doesn't feel like the kind of game that would lend itself to multiplayer but the result is both fun and challenging even if it doesn't elevate the core game's battle mechanics. Each of the four playable classes will feel familiar in terms of the base melee/ranged/stealth mix though they all come tagged with unique abilities to help set them apart. For instance, the Samurai is the most reliable for cutting down foes and holding his ground while the Ronin can summon a spirit dog and quick-revive fallen comrades.

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends has a rewarding gear system to keep players coming back as well as a ton of cosmetic items that can be unlocked by completing various challenges. Several hours into this surprise multiplayer mode and you'll have a formidable warrior who feels like you own. Although there's some grinding involved, at least Sucker Punch have confirmed Legends won't have microtransactions.

Ghost of Tsushima Guides & more from TheSixthAxis

Something for the Weekend – 17/10/20

The real world's not looking so hot right now. COVID cases are on the rise, and many parts of the UK are either already in, or heading towards, another lockdown. Good luck wherever you may be, and hopefully we'll get through this.

Thankfully it's much more exciting in the gaming world, we had our first glimpse at the new PS5 interface, plus loads of other news with the launch now only a few weeks away!

In the News This Week

Games in Review

Here's how this weeks games under the microscope did, will you be picking anything up?

And a variety of hardware reviews too:

Featured Articles

From the previews, Stefan launched into the week with a look at King Arthur: Knight's Tale, which he described as a "dark fantasy tactical RPG" with similar combat to XCOM but more RPG-like character development. Kicking it up a gear, he then went hands on with Planet Coaster: Console Edition to see how the next-gen launch title is shaping up as it prepares for a release as a next-gen launch title.

Meanwhile, Jim looked at Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory, a rhythm action adventure with 'plenty of fan service to go around' as Thomas looked at the peculiar Cloud Gardens. This game, if you can call it that, is best described as a "mix between gardening and creating a diorama with an added post-apocalyptic aesthetic".

Ade dug into more Norse mythology to theorise about what we might see in the next God of War game, which we all expect to be called God of War: Ragnarok.

Finally, What We Played featured Genshin Impact, Hades & a revisit of Forza Horizon 4.

Trailer Park

Get a first look at the PlayStation 5 user experience – Activities, Trophy tracking, Parties, Create & more revealed

The Monster Hunter movie trailer had landed

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope

Your Achievements

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

  • Ron_mcphatty plans to finish off the story to Star Wars Squadrons this weekend, and so far loves flying the TIE Bombers.
  • Bloodborne, No Man's Sky and Days Gone were what TSBonyman played this week, with the later likely being the focus for a potential lockdown.
  • Horizon Zero Dawn is feeling a bit overwhelming for hornet1990, who will be looking for a more a more linear experience for their next game!
  • MrYd's been busy as usual, grinding more of Genshin Impact and loving Squadrons in VR.

Have a good weekend and I'll see you again soon!

The next Epic free game duo will get you in the mood for Halloween

And the list just keeps on getting bigger. Epic Games have unveiled the next two free games entering their weekly giveaway, both of them horror themed sequels.

First up we have the delightful Costume Quest 2. Developed by Double Fine (Psychonauts, Brutal Legends, Broke Age) this charming turn-based roleplaying game has you and your companions don powerful costumes in a world where Halloween has been outlawed.

It's fair to say that Layers of Fear 2 isn't quite as cutesy, soaked in atmosphere as you traverse a haunted cruise ship lost at sea. For those keeping track, Epic gave away the original Layers of Fear around this time last year so it might be a good time to play them back to back this Halloween.

This week, there's another horror sequel up for grabs with Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs available until next Thursday alongside Kingdom New Lands. Here are all the previous Epic free games:

Layers of Fear 2 October 22-29, 2020
Costume Quest 2 October 22-29, 2020
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs October 15-22, 2020
Kingdom New Lands October 15-22, 2020
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam October 8-15, 2020
ABZU October 8-15, 2020
Pikuniku October 1-8, 2020
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition September 24-October 1, 2020
Football Manager 2020 September 17-24, 2020
Watch Dogs 2 September 17-24, 2020
Stick It To The Man! September 17-24, 2020
Railway Empire September 10-17, 2020
Where The Water Tastes Like Wine September 10-17, 2020
Into The Breach September 3-10, 2020
Hitman August 27-September 3, 2020
Shadowrun Collection August 27-September 3, 2020
God's Trigger August 20-27, 2020
Enter the Gungeon August 20-27, 2020
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 Store also hosts a growing number of online free-to-play hits including Fortnite, as well as Rocket League, Dauntless, Rogue Company, and more.

Source: Epic Games

God of War: Ragnarök – what can Norse mythology tell us about the PS5 sequel?

It's time to start getting excited, people. The eagerly anticipated follow-up to the critically acclaimed God of War VIII is heading our way in 2021, and it even has a title – God of War: Ragnarök.

The 'not quite a reboot but not exactly a straightforward continuation of the series' God of War VIII wowed audiences when it launched in 2018, combining the expected visceral combat and buckets of gore with the entirely unexpected delights of deeply satisfying character arcs and a compelling plot that kept players reeling from twists and turns until the very end.  But, with Sony keeping typically shtum about its future pipeline, it looks like we'll have to be satisfied with only knowing the sequel's title for the time being.

Or do we? I reckon we can glean a lot about the characters, plot, world building and general direction of the sequel simply by considering its title, Ragnarök, within the context of the previous game and actual Norse mythology. So, that's what I'm going to do. Be warned, I'll be dropping plenty of spoilers for God of War from this point on.

Before Ragnarök – a God of War recap

First, let's remind ourselves of where we left the story of Kratos and Atreus at the end of God of War VIII. Kratos began the game with an apparently simple task; return his beloved wife Faye's ashes to the highest peak of the nine realms. Of course, the task turned out to be anything but simple. On the way Kratos and 'BOY!' butted heads with the sons of Thor – the Norse God of Thunder – Modi and Magni. There's some back and forth god-battling shenanigans but ultimately both Modi and Magni are accidentally on purpose murdered by Kratos and an increasingly erratic Atreus. Not only that, but our protagonists have also experienced a series of violent encounters with Baldur, the almost invincible son of Odin and Freya.

Unfortunately for Baldur, he was actually prone to a severe case of mistletoe allergy, and he too was nobbled off by the dynamic father and son duo. Atreus experiences some hefty revelations on the journey too learning first that he, like his father, is a god. Then, both he and Kratos discover that dead wife Faye was actually a giant, called Laufey the Just. Oh, I should also mention that the giants and the Norse gods have been at war for many a century. In a flip of the original myths the gods are most definitely the baddies. Whilst the apparently wiped-out giants are the goodies and also the victims of the Norse god's violent ways and Odin's dictatorial tendencies.

So, just to confirm for those, like me, who aren't keeping track; that makes Atreus part god, part giant and all Loki. That's right, at the very end we discover that Atreus is actually the Norse Trickster god himself, Loki, having been named as such by his dearly departed mum.

Mimir… Oh, did I not mention him? He's the talking decapitated head that's been bouncing repeatedly against Kratos' toned buttocks for the entire adventure. Look, just go with it okay? Anyway, Mimir then informs our heroes and the audience at home that the mythical Fimbulwinter has begun, at the end of which Ragnarök, or Armageddon, is going to kick off.

So, exactly what is Ragnarök?

Ragnarök means, when translated from Old Norse, "fate of the gods" or "twilight of the gods." It is both an apocalypse but also a rebirth, for, from the ashes of the old world, a new world is born. At the closing moments of the epic battle so long foretold, most of the Norse gods have ended up catching a severe case of premature death. Thor, Odin, Freya, Heimdall and many others will die in battle against the three children of Loki; Fenrir the giant wolf, Jörmungandr the Midgard serpent, and Hel, ruler of – unsurprisingly – Hel. Few will survive facing these formidable beings. In one of the original tellings, Thor's sons Modi and Magni do make it to the end of Ragnarök and beyond. Which would be a tricky feat to occur in God of War, on account of them being very dead. So straightaway, we know that God of War will vary significantly from the traditional myths.

One way it will likely run parallel to the original mythology however, is with the gathering of the children of Loki in order to strike against Asgard. All Loki's kiddie winks were either introduced or name-checked in God of War VIII – Jörmungandr played a significant role in the game, whilst Fenrir and Hel were alluded to – so it could be the case that the structure of Ragnarök will revolve around Kratos and Loki tracking down these 'children' and teaming up with them to prepare for the final assault.

One aspect up for contention, are the children of Loki actually going to be his biological children? Loki is still a child himself at this point, so the likelihood of him fathering three children that just so happen to already exist in the three years that Fimbulwinter lasts is unlikely. Unless there's some time travel nonsense of course. That could be the case, the evidence for this can be seen in an exchange between our trio of intrepid heroes and Jörmungandr. Here's my theory from way back in September 2018 in the article Playing With History: What Next For God of War?:

When Kratos and Atreus first meet the giant snake, he states that Atreus is familiar to him. That makes sense as Atreus is – if we follow Norse Mythology –  Jörmungandr's father. Mimir (the talking head and the one who demanded Odin cut out one of his own eyes to receive great knowledge of the nine realms) later informs the duo that time is a bit wibbly-wobbly and events often loop around. Indeed, the very idea of Norse Mythology is that it is a circle – Ragnarök is not the end as Odin feared, rather it is a new beginning.

God of War: Ragnarök – part two of a trilogy

Here's my idea: in a leaf from the Avengers: Endgame playbook, God of War: Ragnarök will involve warping back through time. My completely insane guess is that this time travel device will have been built by Tyr (the Norse god who sided with the giants) to help bring about Ragnarök. Loki won't have to father these children… unless, please God no, we see the awful God of War QTE lovemaking mini-games return from the dustbin of bad ideas. Let's assume that's not going to happen. Also, I don't think a mainstream audience is ready to play an interactive segment that see's Loki's mate – the giantess Angrboða – give birth to a wolf, a serpent, and a zombie girl, so that's out too. Perhaps what will happen is that Loki will have to pluck the three children out of the time stream after a series of adventures – thus becoming their metaphorical father, if not their literal one. These time travelling escapades will also allow for the emotional culmination of the game, Kratos and Loki having the opportunity for a tear soaked reunion and final goodbye with Faye.

Then, finally, after a good twenty hours or so, Kratos and Loki will have united with Fenrir, Jörmungandr and Hel. Each of the children will have been released from the shackles of their imprisonment at the hands of the gods, their freedom marking the beginning of Ragnarök. We're also likely to see Surtr, the fire giant, make an appearance too, along with other denizens of Muspell. We'll need all the gang for the epic showdown that is Ragnarök. And then, here's the kicker, we'll have to wait for the next game before we get the actual final battle against the Norse Gods.

'Seriously?' I reckon you're thinking, 'You're actually saying that a game titled Ragnarök won't include the most important bit of the Viking Apocalypse?' That's exactly what I'm saying. This is a well thought out theory and nothing to do with the fact that I didn't get much sleep last night. Think of this as a part 1. Just as God of War II (2007) closed on a true cliff-hanger, with Kratos and the Titans launching their assault on Mount Olympus, so too will God of War: Ragnarök. Only this time it will be with Kratos, Loki and his children invading the halls of Asgard to take on Odin, Thor and friends. Just as Norse Mythology repeats, so too do video game storylines. Oh, and add to this the fact that video game publishers love their AAA titles to be trilogies, after all, they'll want as much of a financial return as possible from their heavily invested audience.

The real question is though, with Loki ultimately dying in the final battle with Heimdall in the original tales, will we see mythology repeating itself in the God of War narrative? Or perhaps this will be Kratos' last ride, as he sacrifices himself to protect his son? Whatever the conclusion, and however far off the mark I am with my predictions one thing is certain: God of War remains an immensely fascinating series, one that continues to surprise, shock and satisfy by both embracing and subverting traditional mythologies. I can't wait to see what tricks Ragnarök has in store for us.

Playing with History is our ongoing series spotlighting video games and the real-world people and events that inspire them. From walking with dinosaurs in Jurassic World Evolution and talking real-life zombies in Days Gone, to learning about the Peaky Blinders, and chatting Ghost of Tsushima with a samurai expert, there's plenty you may not have known about your favourite video games.

Sony apologise and clearly explain how voice chats can be recorded on PlayStation 5

Catherine Jensen, Vice President of Global Consumer Experience at Sony has taken to the PlayStation Blog to clear up the alarming message that popped up PlayStation 4 consoles after the recent firmware update.

The message stated that voice chats could by recorded and sent to Sony for moderation and many were worried this meant all voice chats were recorded. "We should have more clearly explained why this function was being rolled out," posted Catherine.

It does seem that all voice chats will be recorded but they will only be available on the local console, and they will only be sent to Sony if a player wishes to report inappropriate behaviour.

Here is the statement in full.

Hi everyone. I'm Catherine Jensen, and I head up the Global Consumer Experience division here at PlayStation. Our department works every day to create the best possible gaming experience for our community on PlayStation Network. We also manage the @AskPlayStation customer support channel and create troubleshooting guides to help gamers find solutions. Our goal is to help foster a fun and positive experience when you're playing online with friends and other gamers.

Managing online safety is an important part of ensuring that. We believe that it's critical that gamers be able to quickly and accurately report abuse or harassment if they experience it while on PlayStation Network. As part of this initiative, we've been preparing to roll out a new feature on the PS5 console that enables gamers to report verbal harassment through a new Voice Chat reporting function. Its sole purpose is to help in reporting of inappropriate behavior, including actions that violate our Community Code of Conduct. Please note that this feature will not actively monitor or listen in on your conversations – ever – and it's strictly reserved for reporting online abuse or harassment.

PlayStation gamers learned about this new function in an unexpected way following the recent PS4 8.00 system update. We didn't clearly communicate this feature or explain why we were introducing it, and we apologize for that. When the PS5 console launches in November, PS5 users will be able to chat with PS4 users — which is why we needed to include an advisory with the latest PS4 system update.

We should have more clearly explained why this function was being rolled out, along with details on how it will work on the PS5 console, so let me walk you through that now.

Once the PS5 console launches, if a PS5 player needs to file a harassment report, they will be able to include up to a 40 second-long Voice Chat clip in their report — 20 seconds of the main conversation with the other player, plus an additional 10 seconds before and after the conversation selection. Only the most recent five minutes of a Voice Chat will be available for a player to use for this reporting function.

These reports can be submitted directly through the PS5 console, and will be sent to our Consumer Experience team for moderation, who will then listen to the recording and take action, if needed. Some submitted reports won't be valid, and our team will take this as an opportunity to provide guidance and education. There won't be an option to opt-out of this Voice Chat recording function because we want all users to feel safe when playing with others online, not just those who choose to enable it.

Thanks for reading, and I'm hoping this gives you a better idea about our goals for this new function. We appreciate your support, and want you to know that our team will always work to create a positive experience on PlayStation so you can focus on playing great games and having fun with your friends.

Source: PS Blog

Amazon UK move the release date of the PS5 DualSense controller to November 12th

Good news if you live in the UK, you will get you PlayStation 5 camera, media remote, games and now DualSense controller a week early on November 12th, the same day as the they are released in North America. Amazon are sending out emails with the following message:

We have received new release date information related to the order you placed on September 17 2020

The items listed below will actually be dispatched sooner than we had originally expected based on the new release date:

"PlayStation 5 DualSense Wireless Controller"
Previous estimated arrival date: November 19 2020
New estimated arrival date: November 12 2020

The one thing you will not get is a console, but there's still time for that to change, no doubt the PS5 consoles will be in the Amazon warehouse a good while before they are shipped so you never know, Sony may change the release date of the console as well.

Earlier this week Sony finally unveiled the PlayStation UI and user experience, presenting an 11 minute video that dives into the various new features, the new visual design and other facets of the next-gen console's system software.

Sony recently updated the PlayStation 5 FAQ and revealed that if you have bought one of those snazzy new HD cameras for the PlayStation 5 you won't be able to use for your PlayStation 4 VR games.

The HD Camera is not compatible with PS4 games – please connect a PlayStation Camera via a PlayStation®Camera adaptor.

Sony state that the "overwhelming majority" of PS4 games will still work and many of them will benefit from the added power of the new console. The PS5's Game Boost feature will make select PS4 games run at higher or smoother frame rates, and seems to be applied across the board.

However, that comes with some caveats and advisories:

  • Some functionalities that were available on the PS4 console may not be available on PS5 consoles. In addition, some PS4 games may exhibit errors or unexpected behavior when played on PS5 consoles.
  • Before purchasing add-ons to play with your PS4 games on PS5 consoles, please try to boot and play your PS4 games on your PS5 console to see if you are happy with the play experience.
  • Please note, playing PS VR games on a PS5 console requires a PlayStation VR headset, a PS camera (sold separately from PS5 console) and a PS camera adaptor (no purchase required).
  • Always update your PS5 console to the latest version of the system software.

Source: An Email Amazon just sent me :) 

What We Played #471 – Genshin Impact, Hades & Forza Horizon 4

Another week in the bag, and another step closer to those next-gen consoles we've been banging on and on and on about for what feels like forever.

I've been whiling away some of that time by digging through my back catalogue a bit, as well as some games off Xbox Game Pass. I've got a few hours into Psychonauts for the first time, savoured the chill atmosphere of Lonely Mountains: Downhill, and had my eyes glaze over when looking at the map of stuff to do in Forza Horizon 4.

Aran has also been diving into some older games, checking out Yakuza 4, which he's immediately preferring to Yakuza 3. Tuffcub's been "trafficking hos" in Saints Row the Third Remastered, alongside his typical Destiny 2

It's been a mixed on for Reuben, who's mostly been playing (and failing) at Hades, but he's complimented that with Super Mario Galaxy and Genshin Impact. That's, obviously, alongside the 5.35 content for Final Fantasy XIV.

Steve snagged the platinum trophy in The Last of Us Part II, enjoying the encounters more thanks to skipping past all the cutscenes. Then again, he had turned infinite ammo on! Next on his list is Final Fantasy VII Remake, but keep an eye out for reviews of Pumpkin Jack, Remothered and Amnesia in his spooky review queue.

Gamoc and Nic, kept things a bit quiet, with No Man's Sky for the former and stolen moments with Genshin Impact, Spinch and Double Pug for the latter (and MTG Arena, of course). Nick P couldn't manage much better, with just two hours dedicated to Baldur's Gate 3 and a couple wins in Warzone.

Miguel has been playing more of 13 Sentinels Aegis Rim, some Genshin Impact, a little Fall Guys (got me first one!) and a bunch of Phasmophobia!

And finally, Jim played Moving Out: IRL edition. It went pretty well, aside from managing to put a foot through his TV, for an added… microtransaction? So his gaming has largely been restricted to Final Fantasy VI on mobile, enjoying its battle system so much that he thinks it might be his favourite in the series.

Now then, over to you. What have you been playing this past week?

Marvel's Avengers PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions delayed into 2021

The PS5 and Xbox Series X versions of Marvel's Avengers have been delayed into 2021, Crystal Dynamics has confirmed. Of course, players can still play the current gen versions of Marvel's Avengers on the new consoles which will allow for better frame rates and faster loading times. The studio also announced that it is pushing the release of Kate Bishop, the first post launch hero, out of October but she should still be coming at some point this year. The news of the delay came in an update today, and the relevant passage is below.

We know fans are hungry for new content, but delivering a fun experience is our priority. With this in mind, we've decided to push Kate Bishop's Operation launch back a bit, out of October. We're sorry for this slight delay, but we are dedicated as a team to quality first. Kate's new Operation will be a must-play for fans wanting to know what's next in the story! In Marvel's Avengers: Kate Bishop — Taking AIM, Tachyon Rifts become a harbinger of a new threat. As players investigate the source of them, they will pick up on a story that begins shortly after the conclusion of the Reassemble campaign. Then comes Clint (we'll have more information on him later) and looking into 2021, our biggest Avengers Initiative addition yet will introduce a new Hero, region, and narrative arc.             

We've also made the decision to shift our PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S launch to next year to ensure that we give our team the time to deliver a next-gen experience showcasing all that this game is meant to be.  More details to come.      

Earlier today, details of the weekly reset were released and that brings about the Tachyon Rift missions. Tachyon Rift missions are classed as endgame content and as such you will need a Power Level of 140 to queue for them with a minimum of two players. For more on Marvel's Avengers read our day one review as well as our handy guide loaded with tips for beginners.

Source: Square Enix

Train Sim World 2: Isle of Wight DLC is out now

Rivet Games has announced that Train Sim World 2: Isle of Wight Ryde-Shanklin route is now available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The DLC costs £19.99. Players will take control of the BR Class 483 train which has been running on the Isle of Wight since 1989, and was formerly part of the London Underground. Players can choose to drive the train themselves or enjoy the sites as passengers to see the sights of the Isle of Wight.

The key features list include:

  • Highly detailed and authentic recreation of the route between Ryde Pier Head and Shanklin
  • BR Class 483 EMU in Network South East livery
  • Highly detailed, feature-rich, driving cab with accurate true-to-life performance and handling
  • Authentic and detailed sound recordings, recorded from the real multiple units
  • Journey Mode featuring over 24 hours of activities for you to master
  • 5 detailed and engaging scenarios for the route
  • Accessible Training Modules to get you started quickly
  • Extensive 24-Hour Timetable featuring 68 services for you to take control of
  • Livery Designer compatible
  • Scenario Planner compatible
  • Powered by Dovetail Games' proprietary SimuGraph® vehicle dynamics engine and Unreal Engine 4® technology
  • Download Size: 605 MB

In our review for Train Sim World 2, Gazzagb wrote:

Going forward, I'm hoping that Train Sim World 2 can serve as a platform that Dovetail can continue to expand on, not just in terms of routes and trains, but features that fans have been looking forward to for years. If you're new to the series, or train simming in general, this really is the most accessible and best way to start.
You can read the full Train Sim World 2 review here.
Source: Press Release

Mørkredd is a physics puzzler coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Xbox Game Pass

Hyper Games and Aspyr Media have revealed the physics puzzler Mørkredd and announced that the game will be an Xbox console exclusive, coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and to Xbox Game Pass in December. This will also be the first game from Hyper Games that will be released on Xbox consoles. Mørkredd is a Nordic word that means fear of the dark and that plays into the puzzles of the game with players having to use light and dark to find the solutions.

The full description for Mørkredd reads:

Morkredd is a tense, physics-based co-op puzzle game for one to two players combining skill-based puzzle-solving, a challenging balance of light and shadow, and a dark world full of secrets to unlock.

Mørkredd began life in 2017 as part of a game jam and originally had a concept centred around three players working together, until the decision was made to make the game a two player co-op experience. However, Mørkredd can also be played alone where both characters can be controlled by a single player.

Source: Microsoft

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has gone gold, Ubisoft announces

Ubisoft has confirmed that Assassin's Creed Valhalla has now gone gold, meaning it is now ready for launch day. That launch day is November 10th. The publisher confirmed the news via a Tweet on the official Assassin's Creed Twitter account, with the tweet stating the team was proud to share the news and could not wait to see how players would fare in the game, and what kind of things would happen. You can see the tweet below.

Yesterday, Ubisoft released a deep dive video into Assassin's Creed Valhalla but the real draw was over an hour's worth of gameplay in a stream that was also broadcast yesterday. The stream was hosted by game designer Jessica Maher who looked at elements like the village of Ravensthorpe, the return of social stealth, and the combat styles that players can use in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. The full stream can be watched below.

A couple of weeks ago, Ubisoft announced a tie in novel for Assassin's Creed Valhalla called Geirmund's Saga. The story does not follow main character Eivor but instead Geirmund Hel-hide. It is an adventure that will explore the raids on Britain with some mythical elements thrown in that tie up Geirmund's fate as he looks for glory and comes face to face with betrayal.  Geirmund's Saga will be released on November 26th for £7.99.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is launching on the 10th of November, a week earlier than previously announced, to line up with the launch of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S. The game will be be releasing for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC and Google Stadia. For the home consoles, if you're not hitting the next-gen on day one there's free cross-gen upgrades, like using Smart Delivery on Xbox.

Source: Twitter

Digimon Survive has been pushed back into 2021

In 2018, Bandai Namco announced Digimon Survive and at the time stated the game would be released in 2019 for PC, PS4, Switch, and PC. Well, 2019 passed us by and now 2020 is close to coming to a close as well with no Digimon Survive release. Now, Toei Animation and Bandai Namco have confirmed that you should not expect Digimon Survive this year. Instead, the launch has been pushed back into 2021 though when in 2021 is anybody's guess. Digimon Survive's producer, Kazumasa Habu, released a short statement.

The Digimon Survive team would like to extend our thanks to fans from around the world for their support during development, especially in these difficult times. We had originally planned to launch Digimon Survive in  2020 but current world events have shifted our development timing and we have made the difficult decision to push Digimon Survive's launch to 2021.

We thank you all for your continued patience as we work to create a fun and engaging tactical RPG game along with a memorable story for Digimon fans! We will share some exciting updates for Digimon Survive in Spring 2021, so please stay tuned for more information.

Kazumasa Habu, Producer of Digimon Survive.

There are no clues as to what will be announced in Spring 2021 for Digimon Survive. It could be the new release date or confirmation that the game will have an upgraded version for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. At the same time as the announcement of Digimon Survive, Toei Animation also announced Gekijō-ban Digimon Adventure (Digimon Adventure The Movie), which would feature the original cast as adults. That appears to have been delayed as well since there is no news for it.

Source: Twitter

Cloud Gardens is growing into a beautiful post-apocalyptic allotment simulator

Cloud Gardens is a hard game to explain, not least because some people would say it isn't a game at all. You see, Cloud Gardens is like a mix between gardening and creating a diorama with an added post-apocalyptic aesthetic.

Currently in Steam Early Access, Cloud Gardens offers players two different modes. These are Scenes and a sandbox mode which lets players to craft their gardens from a library of assets. Scenes present players with several empty dioramas, all with an abandoned wasteland vibe, tasking you with planting and nurturing a flourishing garden of flowers and several items within this diorama of urban decay.

If you place the items incorrectly, you'll fail, though I don't think the fail state is clear enough. I've spent a lot of my time so far progressing through trial and error, which is time-consuming to say the least.

There are currently four overarching environments which include a highway, a junkyard, rooftops and a greenhouse. Players unlock additional items for the sandbox mode as they make their way through the levels, further bolstering the library of plants and objects to create with.

While progress can be hard going in the Scenes, it's the creativity of sandbox mode that shows what a great concept Cloud Gardens is. Take your pick of a small, medium or large space and you can get to work crafting an idyllic post-apocalyptic garden space that shows your creative prowess. I wonder what the shelf-life is of such a concept, as the team behind the game will need to add more variety to the gameplay in future updates to keep players engaged in the long-term, but it's a lovely idea.

Cloud Gardens is an exercise in minimalism. Everything from the menu design to the stripped back synth soundtrack follows this design ethos, and it's something I thoroughly enjoy. In an industry where video games overload us with information, it's refreshing to play a game that takes the opposite approach. As someone who briefly had an allotment, there's a real tranquillity to be found away from screens and notifications, and I feel Cloud Gardens captures that mood effortlessly.

If you've played Noio's previous title Kingdom, you'll know that the team can create stunning pixelated visuals. Cloud Gardens takes that style and transposes it into 3D. The colour and detail the team is known for remains, but now it's bulked up with both the depth of 3D and animations which really breathe life into each one of the game's scenes and custom creations.

I would also just like to mention the Discord community, which is already filled with passionate fans sharing tips and creations with one another. If you do decide to pick Cloud Gardens, I would definitely recommend checking it out as I believe it will help players get just a little bit more out of their experience. It's also here where you can get a glimpse at how the game will grow in the coming months and years. Fundamentally, Cloud Gardens is a rather basic and straightforward experience at the moment, though a quick glance at the Discord shows a stream of regular updates.

Cloud Gardens is an interesting concept that balances minimalist design and creative flair, creating the best – and likely only – post-apocalyptic allotment simulator. It's currently lacking in content as it starts its journey through Steam Early Access, but I think it can – and likely will – develop into something special further down the line.

The Xbox Series X|S SSD Expansion Card teardown reveals 4D NAND and Phison E19T chipset

Another Xbox Series X preview embargo has lifted yesterday, allowing journalists and influencers with access to go that bit further with their coverage of Microsoft's next-gen console. So far, in fact, that Venture Beat were allowed to rip apart the Seagate 1TB SSD Expansion Card and reveal its innards to the world.

What it reveals is interesting and shows a path forward for larger expansion cards and more third parties to produce them, and goes some of the way to justifying the SSD's £220 / $220 price tag, while not having the same raw speed of the SSDs required for the PlayStation 5.

Visit Venture Beat to see the images of a ripped open SSD.

The 1TB SSD Expansion Card combines a Phison E19T SSD controller with a single 1TB chip of SK Hynix's '4D NAND'. Essentially, these are relatively upper-end mainstream parts combined into a very compact form factor with a semi-custom connector, all of which adds up so something that's accessible for use by the most average of Joes.

The drive's housing is metal for the length that can be inserted into the console, which acts as a heatsink and can be cooled somewhat by the internal cooling system, leading up to the plastic end that should be easily touched no matter how hard the drive is working.

The Phison E19T is a PCIe Gen 4.0 SSD controller that's intended for mainstream products. It's capable of up to 3.75GB/s of throughput, and works as a DRAM-less controller – DRAM helps to level out loads for maintaining write speeds, in particular. In other words, it's capable of a lot more than the 2.4GB/s that the Xbox Series X|S SSD is specced at. It's also able to support up to 2TB of NAND memory, though this would require two NAND chips at 1TB each.

And so we come to the 1TB '4D NAND'. No, it's not working in four dimensions, but it's instead a catchy buzzphrase to describe how it's packaged, layering more components on top of one another to achieve higher data density and higher speeds. SK Hynix do not currently produce QLC memory, so this will be faster, more durable TLC instead, which helps compensate for being DRAM-less.

These chips are combined on a small PCB that seems to be around the size of an M.2 2242 board – that's 22mm wide and 42mm long – which is half the length of the more common M.2 2280 SSDs. As far as I'm able to see online, there's no readily available 1TB SSD in this form factor which only has chips on one side of the PCB, and certainly not at this speed.

The board then ends in a semi-custom CFexpress card connector, which Microsoft have seemingly modified to support PCIe 4.0, instead of the standard's PCIe 3.0.

All of that means that there's plenty of room for growth and competitive products to be offered. For one, the Phison E19T can handle larger pools of storage, and we could see drives with NAND chips on both sides of the PCB to double the storage, and Microsoft could open the platform to include newer or more feature-filled SSD controllers that can handle higher capacities. There's also no reason why we couldn't see physically larger drives that match M.2 2260 sizes, or (if they wanted to be really open (which they won't)) adapters to allow regular SSDs to be plugged in.

For now, of course, Seagate's SSD expansion is the only on the market, so if you'll have to stomach the associated costs if you simply must have a larger internal SSD capacity on Xbox Series X|S.

Source: Venture Beat

9 Monkeys Of Shaolin is finally out on PC and consoles

If the name 9 Monkeys Of Shaolin rings a bell then well done for having a good memory. We first heard about the game back in March 2018 with a release date of winter than year, but then in August 2018 it was delayed all the way until winter 2019. The more observant of you will have noticed that we are heading in to winter of 2020 right now but better late than never I guess.

9 Monkeys of Shaolin is an old-school beat 'em up from Buka Entertainment and Sobaka Studios with a single player story and local and online co-op. You play as  Wei Cheng, a Chinese fisherman who is on a mission to avenge the deaths of your friends and family who were all killed when your home village was attached in a pirate raid. In between catching fish Wei Cheng has also trained in ancient martial arts so you will be able to kick and punch people rather than slap them with a freshly caught salmon.

And now, those all important features:

Features:

  • 3 unique fighting styles: fight on earth, in the air or use mysterious magic seals. Combine these elements to defeat every enemy on your way.
  • Captivating narrative: discover the fascinating story of Wei Cheng and follow him as he rises from a simple fisherman to the master of Shaolin martial arts.
  • Stunning visual style: unlikely combination of historical and mystical elements gives you an exciting experience from every scene appears on screen.
  • Extensive character development system: you learn a great deal of ways to victory as you discover various unlockable perks, items and fighting styles.
  • More than 25 different levels: Chinese villages, pirate ship, Buddhist monasteries, Japanese mansions, ancient ruins and many more.
  • 10 types of Chinese and Japanese polearms, each with its unique traits. Discover the landscapes to find new items!
  • Co-op play: invite your friend to help you fight through growing waves of enemies and complete the game together.

The game is available now on PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch from £24.99 / €29.99 / $29.99.

Source: Press release

Microsoft releases list of 30 games that will be optimised for Xbox Series X|S on launch day

Microsoft has released a list of the 30 games that will be fully optimised for the Xbox Series X|S on launch day, and there are not any major surprises to look out for. It already includes games such as Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Fortnite, Gears 5, Sea of Thieves and smaller titles like The Falconeer and Manifold Garden. You can check out the full list of day one games that will take advantage of the technology that the next generation of consoles will bring.

  • Assassin's Creed Valhalla (Smart Delivery)
  • Borderlands 3 (Smart Delivery)
  • Bright Memory 1.0
  • Cuisine Royale (Smart Delivery)
  • Dead by Daylight (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • Devil May Cry 5: Special Edition
  • DIRT 5 (Smart Delivery)
  • Enlisted
  • Evergate
  • The Falconeer (Smart Delivery)
  • Fortnite
  • Forza Horizon 4 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • Gears 5 (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • Gears Tactics (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • Grounded (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • King Oddball (Smart Delivery)
  • Maneater (Smart Delivery)
  • Manifold Garden (Smart Delivery)
  • NBA 2K21
  • Observer: System Redux
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • Planet Coaster (Smart Delivery)
  • Sea of Thieves (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • Tetris Effect: Connected (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • The Touryst (Xbox Game Pass + Smart Delivery)
  • War Thunder (Smart Delivery)
  • Warhammer: Chaosbane Slayer Edition
  • Watch Dogs: Legion (Smart Delivery)
  • WRC 9 FIA World Rally Championship (Smart Delivery)
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Smart Delivery)
  • Yes, Your Grace (Smart Delivery)

In addition to these games you will have the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, The Medium, Destiny 2: Beyond Light, and a load more being optimised for the Xbox One Series X|S after launch. Below you can see the tech specs for both the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S.

Here's the full table:

Xbox Series X Xbox Series S
CPU 8-Core Zen 2 @ 3.8Ghz / 3.6Ghz w/ SMT 8–Core Zen 2 @ 3.6Ghz / 3.4Ghz w/ SMT
GPU RDNA 2 GPU – 52 CUs @ 1.825 GHz RDNA 2 – 20 CUs @ 1.565 GHz
GPU Power 12.15 TFLOPS 4 TFLOPS
Memory 16 GB GDDR6 10 GB GDDR6
Memory Bandwidth 10GB @ 560 GB/s, 6GB @ 336 GB/s 8GB @ 224 GB/s, 2GB @ 56 GB/s
Performance Target 4K @ 60 FPS, Up to 120 FPS 1440p @ 60 FPS, Up to 120 FPS
Internal Storage 1 TB PCIe Gen 4 NVME SSD 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 NVME SSD
I/O Throughput 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed) 2.4 GB/s (Raw), 4.8 GB/s (Compressed)
Expandable Storage 1 TB NVME Expansion Card 1 TB NVME Expansion Card
Optical Drive 4K UHD Blu-Ray Drive Digital Only
Video Output HDMI 2.1 – Up to 4K at 120Hz, 8K, VRR HDMI 2.1 – Up to 4K at 120Hz, 8K, VRR
Backward Compatibility Xbox One, Xbox 360, Xbox Xbox One, Xbox 360, Xbox
Availability 10th November 2020 10th November 2020
Price $499 / £449 / €499 $299 / £249 / €299

 

Source: Microsoft

Loads of free PSN avatars added ahead of PS5 launch

If you're looking to pimp your PlayStation Network profile ahead of the PS5's launch next month, Sony have given you plenty of more free options to do so.

A total of 71 PSN avatars have been added, featuring a mix of favourite exclusive franchises including God of War, Uncharted, The Last of Us: Part II, Bloodborne, Gravity Rush, Ape Escape, Shadow of the Colossus, The Last Guardian, Ratchet, and more. Oh, Knack's there too of course.

If you fancy changing your PlayStation Network profile image, you can head over to my.playstation.com to sign in and grab one of these new avatars. The full range can be viewed below, having been compiled by Resetera user scar654 – let's take a peek!

We're unsure whether or not this is a move by Sony to expand the number of PSN customisation options available to users before the PS5 launch on November 12th (19th if you're in the UK like us). Although a fairly small gesture, it helps to spotlight and celebrate the many franchises that make up the PlayStation's diverse library, both new and old.

While Sony are definitely looking ahead with the release of their new console, they won't be turning their backs on the PS4's library of back to back hits. An overwhelming majority of games will be backwards compatible with the PS5, some of which will receive next-gen upgrades as well as little shot in the arm via the system's boost mode feature.

This is underlined by Sony's recent announcement of the PlayStation Plus Collection. Everyone with an active PS+ subscription will be able to redeem a growing library of lest-gen games which already includes:

  • God of War
  • The Last of Us: Remastered
  • Uncharted 4: A Thief's End
  • Battlefield 1
  • Monster Hunter World
  • Fallout 4
  • Final Fantasy XV
  • The Last Guardian
  • Ratchet and Clank
  • Infamous: Second Son
  • Days Gone
  • Bloodborne
  • Detroit: Become Human
  • Batman Arkham Night
  • Mortal Kombat X
  • Persona 5
  • Until Dawn
  • Resident Evil: Biohazard

The PlayStation 5 officially releases on November 12th in selected territories, then the following week on November 19th for other regions. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S will be first out of the gates on November 10th.

Source: Resetera

The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope's latest trailer is all about secrets and premonitions

Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco have released a brand new trailer for the upcoming The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope. This trailer is titled Secrets & Premonitions and it gives a glimpse at some gameplay as well as a few behind the scenes looks. There is even a little look at the multiplayer. Little Hope itself is due to be released on October 30th following a delay from earlier this year, and it is currently coming to PC, PS4, and Xbox One though with backwards compatibility will work on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The follow up to last year's The Dark Pictures: Man of Medan, Little Hope is a thematically similar horror game, but its story is unrelated as part of an anthology style series. They're tied together by The Curator, voiced by Pip Torrens to introduce each story, witness the player's progress and maybe give a hint or two.

Little Hope takes you from the South Pacific to the titular abandoned town, trapping four college students and their professor amidst impenetrable fog and tormenting them with nightmarish visions. The game won't have you simply trying to escape, but understand the meaning of these events and try to connect them together, seemingly you'll be hopping back and forth between time periods to do so.

In our preview for Little Hope, Steve wrote:

…the demo was hugely effective in piquing my interest. I am now looking forward to finding out more about the traumatic history of the town of Little Hope and seeing who will survive… and what will be left of them.

You can read the full preview for Little Hope here.

Source: YouTube

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends launches today, release times confirmed

It's the chunky update fans have been waiting for. Today, developer Sucker Punch will be releasing Ghost of Tsushima version 1.1 and with it comes a bevy of new content including a massive new co-op multiplayer mode.

We've known for a little while that the update will be arriving today on October 16th, but now we have confirmation as to when this Ghost of Tsushima patch will be arriving on PlayStation 4.

Sucker Punch have revealed that update 1.1 will begin rolling out at 8AM Pacific Time with a worldwide release by 9AM Pacific Time. That means 5PM UK time or 6PM for Europe.

In order to access Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, you will need to find the character Gyozen in the singleplayer campaign – or you can simply dive into the Legends mode via the main menu.

Co-op multiplayer comes in a number of flavours including a survival mode, as well as story missions crafted for two players and challenging Raids. Instead of donning the ghostly raiment of Jin Sakai you will adopt the role of your own hero choosing from one of four available classes, each with their own supernatural abilities.

There's far more of a fantasy vibe with demonic enemy to vanquish and plenty of cosmetic gear to outfit your avatar. It's been confirmed that Legends won't be adding microtransactions to Ghost of Tsushima.

That's not all you can expect in 1.1 – there's a New Game+ options too as well as powerful new charms, trophies, and appearance options.

Patch 1.05 added a new "lethal" difficulty option to Ghost of Tsushima, while 1.06 reworked the Traveler's Attire, helping players to better locate collectables using this armour set – pretty handy if you're looking to get that platinum trophy.

Source: Twitter

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