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Ys Origin Review (Nintendo Switch) — A Simple Yet Satisfying Dungeon Crawler

DotEmu, Nihon Falcom, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, XSeed Games, Ys, Ys Origin

Ys Origin first released in Japan in 2007 for PC and was later localized and released by XSeed Games in 2012. Since then there have been numerous ports for the title, including its most recent entry for Nintendo Switch.

Ys Origin takes place 700 years before Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished and delves deeper into the lore from later games such as Ys, Darm Tower, the Black Pearl, the Twin Goddesses, and the Six Priests. The story follows a group of elite warriors gathered by the Six Priests in order to track down the goddesses Reah and Feena. There is nothing complicated in the plot, but it does a nice job of fleshing out important lore for the titles that come chronologically after Origin.

There are three main differences between this title and the rest of the Ys franchise: Adol Christin isn't the protagonist for the first time, the game itself is a straight dungeon crawler that sees players exploring Darm Tower, and players can choose from and control three different protagonists. From the start, players can choose between playing as Yunica Tovah or Hugo Fact, with the former specializing in quick and powerful mid-ranged attacks, while the latter is the slower long-ranged fighter. Once you beat the game with at least one of them, you unlock the third hero "The Claw," a short-ranged and high damage character made for more experienced players (which perfectly complements their unlock requirements).

The character balance is excellent; each hero plays completely differently and requires players to adjust to their fighting style and specialties. Yunica is ideal for players who love big bruisers that wield giant axes and greatswords, with simple but powerful and effective combos that cleave enemies. Meanwhile, Hugo is perfect for those who would rather specialize in long-ranged magic, which mixes in spells that target either area of effect or fill the entire screen. And for those who want a fighter with a bit more time investment for a high payoff, "The Claw" fulfills those needs splendidly.

No matter the character, the base mechanics of Ys Origin are the same; one button is for normal physical attacks that can chain into combos, and another is to activate a special ability or magic. These abilities are distinguished enough between each character and establishes the differences in playstyle well. They also serve combat and exploration roles during the game, such as Yunica's Whirlwind which not only is useful for crowd control in battle, but is also necessary to make long jumps while platforming.

Characters also possess a "Boost Meter" that slowly fills as time progresses in the game. Once this meter fills completely, that character can be temporarily "Boosted" for quicker and stronger attacks and far greater defense. On top of that, once certain conditions have been reached during gameplay, boosted characters can use a special move called "Burst" that quickly depletes their Boost meter to activate an ultra-powerful, extremely wide-ranging release of highly destructive energy. As an extra bonus, Ys Origin rewards continuous kills by dropping items which grant temporary stat boosts. For the permanent boosts, you collect Spiritual Points (SP) from fallen foes and offer them to the Goddess Statues littered around the tower. There are tons of boosts that range from stat increases, equipment optimization, and more.

While the mechanics sound a bit on the chaotic side, the concepts behind them are easy to execute with just a bit of practice. The controls themselves are smooth and characters are a breeze to maneuver around the battlefield, and those tight controls are balanced well with a surprisingly deep combat system and enemies that require a variety of strategies to defeat. Boss battles can be incredibly challenging, with even the first one testing players' abilities to apply what they learned right from the start.

DotEmu, Nihon Falcom, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, XSeed Games, Ys, Ys Origin

Outside of battle, the platforming is also consistently challenging and has a more traditional difficulty curve that drives home each skill and trick that you mastered just beforehand. And unlike a good amount of other action-based JRPGs, the platforming feels like a natural extension of gameplay and not a tacked on feature to pad out the game.

Despite how you navigate through a single tower, the enemy variety and the variance of the rooms and puzzles make a single 10-hour playthrough feel free and fun until the very end. Not to mention, the replayability from the three characters in Ys Origins livens up gameplay and story in a huge way.

The visuals are beautiful, a sort of 3D sprite art graphical style that looks both fantastic and ensures silky smooth gameplay. Each section of Darm Tower for the most part has a distinctive layout, with only a few repeating sections sprinkled around. The classic looking artstyle and character designs are clean and possess that nice nostalgic charm, and the sound design is excellent through both its sound effects and the score. And though entirely gratuitous, I appreciate the option to add blood when slaying enemies and the ability to control how much of it appears (naturally I chose the "gory" option).

Ys Origin has a great localization as well, which nails the often difficult balance between an accurate translation with one that sounds natural. I'm hesitant to clamor for full voice work; on one hand it would be the perfect way to bring out the solid script and allow more people to appreciate it. But on the other, the sometimes inconsistent nature of voice acting for smaller titles means we could have been stuck with something mediocre that muddles the script instead. So instead I'll appreciate the opportunity to imagine my own voices for each character.

DotEmu, Nihon Falcom, Nintendo Switch, PS Vita, PS4, Switch, Xbox One, XSeed Games, Ys, Ys Origin

It's difficult to find much wrong with Ys Origin; it is a short game, but one that delivers on every front and offers great replayability value to boot. As a bonus, it's a good entry point for beginners to the Ys franchise due to its prequel status. In fact, because of the importance of the lore it details, this makes for an excellent foundation for the later games.

For those who want an enjoyable title with simple and layered combat system, great character and sound design, spot on localization, lovely graphics, and a story that delves into the franchise as a whole, Ys Origin is a choice that you'd be hard pressed to pass up — especially for its price.

The post Ys Origin Review (Nintendo Switch) — A Simple Yet Satisfying Dungeon Crawler by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.

Genshin Impact: Klee Introduction, Gacha Banner Event Guide

Genshin Impact Klee Banner gacha

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

A story trailer introducing Klee's troubles was published. (In Japanese and Korean only for now):

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

The post Genshin Impact: Klee Introduction, Gacha Banner Event Guide by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Tales of Crestoria Full "The Wake of Sin" Animation Premieres, Features Re-Imagining of Heroes' Journey

tales of crestoria

The full version of "The Wake of Sin" animation for mobile game Tales of Crestoria is finally making its debut tomorrow 10am ET, 6am PT. The animated short features events such as Kanata and Misella's sin, meeting Vicious, and embarking on their journey. You can watch either through YouTube, posted below, or through Crunchyroll at 3pm PT:

According to the official: "Yasutaka Nakata and Kamikaze Douga team up once again in a new collaboration. Together, in a 15-minute short anime, they portray a beautiful re-imagining of the main characters embarking on their journey, the opening to Tales of Crestoria's main story." You can check out more information on the official site here and you can also watch the trailer for said animation.

The popular mobile game features past protagonists from the franchise and is divided into four parts: Main Story, Side Stories, Character Episodes, and Face Chat. You can check out this hilarious skit done by the three main characters: Kanata, Misella, and Vicious. The illustration of the SSR Memoria Stone for Aegis, one of the party members, was revealed as well. The Tales of Crestoria Japanese voice actors four lead characters Kanata and Misella shared a special message to the English version users, as they discussed their favorite scenes from the game in a brand new video.

The Tales of series is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary. The next console game, Tales of Arise, was scheduled to launch in 2020 but was delayed most likely due to the Covid-19 pandemic. However, there is hope as the title was rated in both Brazil and Australia recently, hinting at a possible earlier release date.

The most recent console release for the series, Tales of Vesperia: Definitive Edition which came out for every major current-gen system, is the subject of the free wallpaper above. The title launched earlier this year and, going by our very own DualShockers review, still holds up as one of the best entries in the series. You can also check out our handy guide, featuring plenty of tricks and tips to help get you started on the game. And of any of this peaks your interest, you can pick up the game for Switch, PS4, Xbox One, or PC.

The post Tales of Crestoria Full "The Wake of Sin" Animation Premieres, Features Re-Imagining of Heroes' Journey by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.

Resident Evil Creator Celebrates 30th Career Anniversary With Interview Delving into the Franchise and the Horror Genre

Resident Evil Village PS4 Xbox one

Resident Evil creator and one of the most influential people in the gaming industry, Shinji Mikami, shares his thoughts on the horror genre and his inspirations regarding the legendary franchise he birthed, as well as how he found his way into the industry in the first place.

Apparently we have Mikami's friend to thank, as he managed to capture Mikami's interest by using a wrestling game ad as a trap. He started his career at Capcom through another ad promoting a reception party at Osaka's Hilton Hotel and ended up meeting Yoshiki Okamoto who would later be his superior. The interview, which is the first part of two, is 36 minutes with the second part premiering on October 29th.

According to the official description: "For his 30th career anniversary, we met Shinji Mikami, one of the most prolific creators and contributors to the game industry. Over a long interview, he told us about his beginnings at Capcom, the birth of the Resident Evil series and his views on the horror genre."

Archipel Caravan specializes in creating and publishing documentaries about various Japanese creatives. Their previous interview was with Danganronpa creator, which you can view here. You can support them financially through Patreon here. If you enjoyed this video, Archipel has an entire lineup planned, which they posted on their official Twitter account:

Meanwhile on the videogame front we have Resident Evil: Village, which made its debut during the PS5 Showcase by Sony. Continuing from where REVII left off, Village seems to be aiming to bring players into an entirely different Resident Evil experience, this time around focused on European forests and mountains and the presence of werewolves, in lieu of the series' traditional zombies.

And thanks to the Capcom TGS 2020 stream, during the Resident Evil Village Guest Talk on September 27th, we learned that Resident Evil Village has a crafting mechanic. Comedian and singer Eiko Kano exclusively played Biohazard Village (the Japanese title) during the event and revealed that when defeated, enemies in Resident Evil Village drop not only money like in RE4, but also materials. Village is coming in 2021 to PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC.

The post Resident Evil Creator Celebrates 30th Career Anniversary With Interview Delving into the Franchise and the Horror Genre by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.

Torchlight III Review — Welcome To The Dungeon

Torchlight III Review

After the closure of Runic Games, a proper third sequel to the quirky dungeon crawler series Torchlight seemed unlikely. Then from the ashes of Runic, Echtra Games rose with the help of Torchlight co-creator Max Schaefer, and Torchlight Frontiers was born. This new game would feature a setting, art style, and combat that Torchlight players would be familiar with, but would abandon single-player and traditional co-op in favor of an open-world MMO where hundreds of players could meet in a persistent shared world. After an initial closed alpha, Frontiers was scrapped in favor of a more traditional installment in the series, Torchlight III.

Whenever a game gets a complete overhaul before it releases, it's usually a recipe for disaster. Sure, there have been exceptions like Until Dawn, but Torchlight III seemed to be doomed before it even made it to the masses. Having been a fan of the first two games, I was still hoping for the best. When I started the game, it looked like the bright cartoonish anti-Diablo art style that I fell in love with, and two of the four classes (Railmaster and Forged) obviously displayed the offbeat and imaginative spirit of Runic Games. The other two classes available are your more standard garden variety RPG classes, Sharpshooter and Dusk Mage.

I have a serious indecisive problem when it comes to picking and choosing characters and classes — what if I make the wrong choice? However, I'm a sucker for a robot, so I went with the Forged class who kills things with a sword of fire, thanks to the Flaming Destroyer relic I equipped him with. I suggest carefully choosing the relic that best suits you and your character's playstyle, as it will complement the already intricate skill tree that Torchlight III possesses. The junkyard robot is well-versed in both melee and projectile combat thanks to his chest-mounted cannon. Having the two combat styles in one character works out really well for the solo player, or if you really like to shoot things, like me.

As I set off on my Torchlight III journey, I started with a pet llama but promptly switched to a dragon named Nugget. Each pet brings with it a helpful skill to aid you in combat. As you progress, you can unlock more pets and their skills with a total of four per companion. Your pet can also help you haul your loot when your inventory becomes full. For the sake of saving time, I started the game on Normal difficulty, but I highly recommend raising the level one above your comfort level for a good challenge. If you are new to Torchlight or dungeon crawlers in general, I'd start at Normal until you get a feel for the game, as it doesn't hold your hand as you get to know the basics.

Torchlight 3 sharpshooter

Torchlight III picks up nearly a century after the events of Torchlight II. Novastraia once again finds itself under attack from the Netherim, and it's up to you to stop them and their allies. I'm not going to lie, I know there is more to the story than a one-sentence summary, but honestly, much of the lore is lost in translation. That's meant as no disrespect to the writers, but as with all dungeon crawlers, I hack and slash first then ask questions later. Torchlight III started off strong and it felt like everything I wanted in a sequel, but the more I played of it, the more frustrated I became.

My biggest gripe with the game is that it is a nightmare traveling to and from various destinations. When you finish a quest, it will unlock the next part of the map you need to go to. But often, you must return to the home base of the area to reap rewards and get the new intel of the next mission before your next adventure. This means that you must backtrack through previously-played areas to find the newly-opened portal. In retracing your steps, you will once again face the foes you just defeated. The first thing you want to do when you get to the new area is to seek out and unlock the portals that allow fast travel. If not, should you have to quit for any reason or your character dies, it's backtrack time once again.

Well wait, "isn't there a mini-map to help you navigate," you ask? Well, there sure is, but it's as confusing and useless as the one in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Waypoints are marked, but the mini-map's view is so claustrophobic that until you are in direct proximity of the waypoint, it doesn't show. This, unfortunately, leads to a lot of aimless wandering and replaying of the same areas with the same enemies. I felt as if Torchlight III was trying to channel Groundhog Day.

The redundancy of getting lost in Torchlight III is even more aggravated by the fact that the enemies might take on several different forms such as goblins, skeletons, and spiders, but they all seem to pose the same challenge. Sure, there's levels of difficulty with enemies, but they can all be defeated in almost the exact same way. Even bosses are defeated not by challenging you to tactically use all the cool perks and weapons at your disposal, but rather by avoiding and attacking for several minutes until they have absorbed enough damage. It's often their tiny minions that rush to attack you with their various elemental abilities that are more deadly than the actual boss.

torchlight, Echtra Games, PC, PS4, Xbox One

One aspect of Torchlight III that I didn't spend much time on was the Fort feature. The Fort is a fully customizable home area where you can store pets, weapons, and gear while also utilizing the space to craft items. I'm guessing the Fort was a leftover from the Torchlight Frontiers days, but it's a cool feature for those of you that like to personalize their in-game living quarters.

The art team and level designers did an excellent job of creating the cartoon fantasy world and characters in the Torchlight tradition with bold colors, making the game stand out from the gloom and darkness of others in its genre. With a perfectly orchestrated score, lush sound effects, and decent voice acting, the game definitely was made with care to appeal to fans of the franchise without reinventing the wheel. Unfortunately, all of this may not be enough to introduce the series to a new audience, as overall I would say that Torchlight III in some ways feels inferior to the recent console port of Torchlight II.

Torchlight 3 Switch, Echtra, PC, Early Access

They say there's a fine line between love and hate, and despite Torchlight III's flaws, I was still oddly captivated by it. The second act seemed to be slightly more user-friendly in terms of getting from one destination to the next, or perhaps I just got better at navigating after a while. Even in my frustration, I couldn't wait to see what the game had to offer next. Combat and enemies might be indistinctive, but I still had moments of fun playing it.

My initial thought was to compare how Torchlight III paled in comparison to the growth and development that Diablo III took that franchise in, but then I remembered that the launch iteration of Diablo III was nothing compared to the game it is now. I think Torchlight III has the foundations to be great, and hopefully, Echtra Games can bring the franchise to its full potential.

The post Torchlight III Review — Welcome To The Dungeon by Laddie Simco appeared first on DualShockers.

Watch Dogs: Legion Interview — Lead Producer on What Makes This Massively Interactive Open World Tick

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After I able to get my hands on the upcoming Watch Dogs: Legion and dive into the open world myself (you can check out my preview of the game here), I was able to speak with Ubisoft Toronto lead producer Sean Crooks in a brief but very enlightening interview. We discussed the size and scope of London, permadeath mode, how real world politics shaped the story and gameplay, and more.

Allisa James: How large is the new map (London) compared to San Francisco from Watch Dogs 2 and Chicago from Watch Dogs?

Sean Crooks: So while the map, if you compare it, is about as large as the other two cities, it's far denser. There's way more locations such as parks, government buildings, and other landmarks than San Francisco and Chicago, which was a huge challenge to incorporate and recreate. There's a lot more content in London, much more to see and do.

AJ: How much influence have real world politics surrounding Brexit and other countries had on the world building in Watch Dogs: Legion?

SC: Quite a bit; even now with everything that's going on in the world, we wanted to reflect that and the idea of fighting against systematic oppression, of banding together and citizens combining their efforts to overthrow this oppressive entity. We felt that it was our responsibility to reflect these real world events in a game like Watch Dogs and even now as we're developing the game, there are still current events happening that we need to incorporate into the final product, and some that we can't even fit in at this time.

Watch Dogs Legion

AJ: What made you and the Watch Dogs: Legion team decide to go in this narrative direction, as well as the gameplay mechanic of playing and recruiting anyone?

SC: In the original Watch Dogs we had this main character with his own unique narrative and inner demons who went against these huge mainstream corporations. And so for Legion, we wanted to expand that idea; like, "how do we incorporate an entire population into this fight against mainstream corporations?" In the game you can see each character's profile and history, and so it leads into how all these people would use their unique abilities and skill sets to fight back, and reflect how all these people with different lives and personalities would deal with this situation and would fight back against this system.

For instance, there's a system in the game that lets you see where they work and what they do for a living. You can see what's going on in their lives and how you can help them with their abilities, which is one of the ways you can recruit them.

Watch Dogs Legion

AJ: And what were some of the challenges involving the development of this system?

SC: This was easily one of the biggest technical challenges that we faced. Because each one of these characters not only have their unique backstory but occupation, skillset, a unique mission to recruit them, and history. Not only that, but they also have unique hairstyles, cosmetics, clothing, voices, and other characteristics. And we had to manage this function of having millions of millions of characters being generated. So the next challenge is how to manage this system while ensuring that these generated NPCs reflect London's population and feel like people in London.

AJ: Whether in permadeath mode or not, there are some characters who are more likely to die or a trait leading to sudden death. Why was this implemented and what scenarios or traits could lead to death even in a non-permadeath playthrough?

SC: In Watch Dogs: Legion we wanted to make it realistic, that some people would have certain traits that could make things more difficult once you fulfill certain requirements or conditions. Not every character is a perfect ally, but some have traits that can make things more difficult even in non-permadeath mode, whether it's dying at a certain point or some other characteristic that puts them in more danger while on dangerous or high risk stealth missions.

We had a lot of fun with making challenges using characters with certain restrictions like this, like making it through levels with characters who had traits involving flatulence or hiccups and trying to stealth high security areas. And so players could do the same–create their own challenges–and we already had players create challenges themselves. For instance, there was one in which you recruit only elderly people and beat the entire game that way.

AJ: Accessibility is a huge part of Watch Dogs: Legion; how more diverse are the options available within the game in comparison to other Ubisoft games, or the previous Watch Dogs titles?

SC: Well this was something that we were really passionate about, and I think to date this Ubisoft game has some of the strongest accessibility experiences. And that was something very powerful. I felt very strongly about what was needed to address the options available in our game and in the end, our team was very proud of what we were able to accomplish and how we created something like this for our community. I was very happy that the team worked so hard and was able to develop such strong accessibility options.

Watch Dogs: Legion will release for PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC on October 29, followed by its release for Xbox Series X/Series S on November 10 and PS5 on November 12.

The post Watch Dogs: Legion Interview — Lead Producer on What Makes This Massively Interactive Open World Tick by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.

Blue Protocol Lets You Change Costumes And Cosplay Shop NPCs

Blue Protocol costumes

On October 15, Bandai Namco shared a new update for its upcoming anime style, PC online action RPG, Blue Protocol, focusing on costumes. New screenshots were shared on Twitter, and show player characters dressed as shop clerks of Astellize, the starter city. This is basically cosplaying as existing ingame NPCs. This is one of the many features the development team previously teased.

The tweet mentions more NPC costumes will be available in Blue Protocol.

Blue Protocol costumes Blue Protocol costumes

The latest Blue Protocol stream happened on October 12, it most notably showed a new desert settlement called Salamzart Oasis, and some new gameplay. We also learned players inexperienced with action games will be able to ask NPCs for help. The development team also teased a new fifth Class will be available at launch. Check our summary of the October stream here. We also have summaries for the past streams: The first stream was on February 13, 2020. Stream 2 was on February 20, 2020 and most notably had a Blue Protocol Q&A. The third stream on February 27 was when the devs teased the Blue Protocol global release. The fourth stream, which happened on June 18, had a full report of the Blue Protocol Closed Beta Test.

Blue Protocol Latest Trailer

Blue Protocol has no release date yet. The development team also stressed out they'll carefully test the game, so it's not releasing anytime soon. Judging from job listings, it won't launch before April 2021. While only announced for PC, still judging from job listings, it's possible the game will come to PS5 or Xbox Series X as well. Last but not least, while no official confirmation happened yet, it's very likely Hiroyuki Sawano (Xenoblade X, Gundam Unicorn) is the composer on Blue Protocol. All the OST tracks revealed so far reeks of Sawano doing Sawano-isms. Overall, it's definitely one of the games any anime aficionados should keep their eyes on.

Blue Protocol will have a Matching Test on November 7. This will purely be to test the new automatic party matching system for dungeons, and players will be asked to follow very specific instructions. Taking this into account, I wouldn't recommend trying to register for it unless you understand Japanese.

The post Blue Protocol Lets You Change Costumes And Cosplay Shop NPCs by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Phil Spencer Comments On Whether More Xbox Exclusives Could Come To Nintendo Switch

Xbox Game Pass Nintendo Switch feature

Xbox True Last Boss Phil Spencer was interviewed by Kotaku, and he was most notably asked about Microsoft exclusive games getting to Nintendo Switch, stuff like Game Pass. Over the years, a very few amount of Xbox exclusives ended up ported on Switch: games like Cuphead, and the Ori series, Ori and the Blind Forest, Ori and the Will of the Wisps.

Phil Spencer told Kotaku that Microsoft has a "very good relationship with Nintendo", and that every conversation they ever had "has really been easy". However, the games that ended up on Switch so far are all special cases and exceptions, and it's unlikely more will come on a regular basis. Spencer explained considering every Xbox exclusive game to get ported to Switch one by one "doesn't feel sustainable".

Phil Spencer added that in order to support more Xbox games coming to Switch, he'd instead like a full Xbox ecosystem, like the Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass, on Switch. In a past interview with Gamestar, he basically said Sony and Nintendo aren't really that interested in having a full Xbox experience on their PS4, PS5, or Switch. Asked about this previous comment, Phil Spencer now corrected himself, saying that he "shouldn't speak" for Sony or Nintendo, and that they should be the ones to answer that.

Personally speaking I don't think Xbox Game Pass or tons of Xbox exclusives in general coming to Switch will ever happen, but we'll see. At least, it's definitely more likely than Microsoft buying Japanese companies like Sega or Konami. And having to manage their game centers, pachislo gambling, sports gyms, and mobile games whose chara designs would be deemed outrageous by most non otaku people.

The Xbox Series X will be launching November 10, 2020. The digital only Xbox Series S is launching the same day.

The post Phil Spencer Comments On Whether More Xbox Exclusives Could Come To Nintendo Switch by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Halo Infinite Campaign and Multiplayer Could Release Separately

In an interview with Kotaku's Editor-in-Chief, Stephen Totilo, Phil Spencer, the Head of Xbox said that Halo Infinite may be dealt out piecemeal.

Since being delayed this past August and with no clear release date in sight, the fate of Halo Infinite, once a launch title for the upcoming Xbox Series X, has been a mystery. Spencer's interview released today doesn't clear much up. When asked about the game, Spencer said that he had played it but could give "no update right now" about a release date for the highly anticipated title.

Totilo then asked Spencer if Microsoft would consider releasing the game's campaign and multiplayer separately, to which Spencer responded without giving any definitive answer. Instead, he pointed to Bonnie Ross, the current Head of the Halo franchise and the rest of the Halo team. "I think we want to make sure people feel like they have a Halo experience," said Spencer. "I think we can look at options like that. So, yeah, I think that's something to talk about, but we want to make sure we do it right."

In all, this decision doesn't sound like it's totally under Spencer's control. There have been obvious issues over the course of Halo Infinite's development, enough that the game had to be delayed without a definite release date and for 343 to call on Halo veteran Joseph Staten to lend a hand. For now, we can't definitely say whether the game will release as one complete package or in separate bits. The onus for that decision is on the team at 343.

The post Halo Infinite Campaign and Multiplayer Could Release Separately by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Adds Cal's Lightsaber to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order

Dok-Ondar's Den of Antiquities is getting a few brand new additions to its selection of lightsabers. Soon, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order fans can pick up a replica of Cal Kestis' lightsaber at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge. The lightsaber will join a collection of some of the biggest fan favorites in Luke Skywalker, Rey, and Darth Vader. It's a pretty cool move from the Star Wars team and confirms that Cal is a big hit with fans. Check it out.

If you've yet to play Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order you should really consider rectifying that. The game mixes elements of classic Metroidvania gameplay and Dark Souls-like combat. Now, before you get either too excited or discouraged, Fallen Order is nowhere near as hard as a FromSoft title. Even the most novice of video game players can play this title. The combat just feels somewhat similar to a Miyazaki game.

Of course, Cal's lightsaber isn't the only one coming to the Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge collection. Fans can also pick up Ahsoka Tano's blades from Star Wars: The Clone Wars. And, the one I personally most want is Count Dooku's curved handle. I'm not sure if I'll actually pick it up given the cost, but that hilt has always looked the most rad to me.

Cal Kestis' lightsaber (along with Ahsoka and Dooku's) will be available at Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge by the end of the year. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.

The post Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Adds Cal's Lightsaber to Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.