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Awkwafina Shows Off Her Favorite Nintendo Switch Games

Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Nintendo, super smash bros. ultimate, Switch

Awkwafina — actor, comedian, and all around entertainer — shows off her favorite Nintendo Switch games in a new promotional video for the system. We see her playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and, after losing a bet in the latter, is forced to don a Toad cosplay. Which is actually pretty adorable. You can check out the full video below:

Since Nintendo's last financial update, Animal Crossing: New Horizons sold 3.64 million units, cementing itself as second place in the top 10 best selling Switch games. It's now closed the gap on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with only three million copies sold between them. However, there's plenty of room for New Horizons  to surpass it as it's now heading into its first holiday season.

According to Twitter data during the first half of 2020 New Horizons was the most talked about game on Twitter globally, with Fate/Grand Order coming in second after being the most talked-about game in 2019. The previous free update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons was back in April and it brought a host of changes such as new villagers to the island, added some fun seasonal events, and opened up a new wing in the museum. New Horizons was recently featured in the Financial Times, an actual real life publication, after some severe in-game interest rate cuts from Tom Nook.

In Japan alone New Horizons on Switch previously sold more than 1.88 million copies as of March 23th. The title released worldwide on March 20th, which means it managed to sell 1.88 million physical copies in Japan in only three days. And overall the game's Nintendo Switch debut sold 11.77 million units between its March 20th launch and the March 31st, placing it seventh among the console's highest-selling titles. In barely four months, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become Japan's second best selling game ever.

The post Awkwafina Shows Off Her Favorite Nintendo Switch Games by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.


Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III Launches Next Year

kh, Kingdom Hearts, Kingdom Hearts 3, Kingdom Hearts Melody of Memory, Melody of Memory, merch, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, PS4, square, Square Enix, Switch, Xbox One

Square Enix revealed through Twitter that fans will be getting an Ultimania compilation for their favorite long-running series, titled Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III. As stated in the tweet below, it's set to launch in English on June 15th, 2021 and will feature information on worlds, characters, equipment, and more:

According to the official description: "Originally published in Japanese, this English translation of the fan-favorite reference guide is sure to capture the imaginations of Disney fans and gamers everywhere, arriving June 2021. A gorgeous oversized hardcover collecting Kingdom Hearts art and trivia, leading up to the events of the most current entry in the beloved saga!

"Enter the magical worlds of Disney as featured in the hit Kingdom Hearts video game series! This meticulously crafted tome showcases each of Kingdom Hearts' unique worlds, characters, and equipment, encompassing all the games predating Kingdom Hearts III. Explore character profiles from icons like King Mickey and Goofy to modern favorites like Tron or Captain Jack Sparrow. Study detailed summaries of story arcs, along with rare concept designs and storyboards! No stone is left unturned in this grand overview, which includes content from Kingdom Hearts Final Mix through Kingdom Hearts Unchained X."

You can preorder the book now through Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, and other local bookstores.

With the release of Melody of Memory worldwide on November 13th, Tetsuya Nomura shared a message about the power of music and memories for the fans of the series. The Kingdom Hearts 3 soundtrack also released earlier in November and the OST includes over 90 tracks which include Hikaru Utada's theme songs as well as music from the base titles tracks, the Re Mind DLC, HD 2.8 Final Chapter Prologue, Unchained X, and Union X [Cross].

Tetsuya Nomura, the series creator and the man who perpetually has a ton on his plate, talked a bit about the franchise's future in a Square-Enix-published Q&A before ReMind's release. Square Enix also revealed plenty of info about the DLC through an official Q&A on Twitter. And if you want, the secret area in said DLC can be glitched and explored, unearthing some interesting secrets.

Kindgom Hearts 3 is available now on PS4 and Xbox One, and the brand new ReMind DLC launched back in January. If you haven't picked it up yet, you can grab the game physically via Amazon to support the site. Meanwhile you can read our reviews for the original game and the ReMind DLC.

The post Kingdom Hearts Ultimania: The Story Before Kingdom Hearts III Launches Next Year by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.


Spider-Man: Miles Morales Glitch Turns Miles into Spider-Brick

Insomniac Games, Marvel's Spider-Man, Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered, PlayStation Studios, PS4, PS5, Sony

Glitches and bugs in video games are a long-running and timeless traditional in video games and Spider-Man: Miles Morales seems to be no exception. Rob Sheridan, creator of High Level Comic and co-founder of Glitch Goods, stumbled upon a hilariously ridiculous bug while playing the recently released title:

Sheridan then goes on to state in a follow up tweet: "I tried to start a fight as Spider-Brick and he turned into a white cube and crashed the game. Now I'm just boring old Spider-Man again. Thanks for the memories, Spider-Brick."

Thanks for the memories indeed, Spider-Brick. Unless Insomniac decides to bless us with a surprise update and make this glitch official.

On Twitter, 3D Character Artist and Sound Designer Dal put together an amazing short video showcasing the hero himself skimming up buildings and flying through the New York skylines. But what makes this clip even better is that Miles Morales is accompanied by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse "What's Up Danger" song that goes incredibly well with how Dal moves the character along the snowy streets and webbing his way across structures. The song used to inspire Dal for the clip is taken from the scene "Leap of Faith" from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse where miles finally realizes he truly is Spider-Man and begins to web swing across the city.

Recently Insomniac took to social media this afternoon and announced that Marvel's Spider-Man on PS4 will now be able to have saves transfer to Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered. While not available at launch, Insomniac says it plans to roll this feature out in an update that will arrive around Thanksgiving, which is near the end of November. Additionally, the three new Spider-Man suits that were going to be exclusive to Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered will also now be rolling out on the PS4 version of the game as well.

As you may have seen, an exciting trailer emerged last month showing off a Miles Morales's cel-shaded suit in which Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Miles Morales crossed paths. Although the suit is described as a "launch day bonus," late adopters need not worry. Insomniac further clarified that the suit is "earnable for everyone." Sony launched another trailer in which we saw several shots of Miles using his trademark energy strikes to deliver some extreme force behind his blows.

If you happen to be a sneaker head, last week we reported on how Miles' footwear had changed and instead of him wearing his iconic set of Air Jordan 1 shoes, Miles now seems to prefer red and black Adidas Superstars. Insomniac said that it wanted to honor the sneaker's 50th anniversary in Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales and even is creating a real pair of these shoes that will go up for sale later this month on November 19th.

If your interested in some pretty cool Spider-Man: Miles Morales comic book covers, check out this article. The five variant covers showcase Miles Morales at different stages in his hero's journey, of which all are tied back to the eagerly anticipated Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Spider-Man: Miles Morales is available right now as a PS5 launch title, alongside the PS4. If you were lucky enough to grab a PS5, you can pick the title up on Amazon here.

The post Spider-Man: Miles Morales Glitch Turns Miles into Spider-Brick by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.


Animal Crossing Fan Project Introduces TV Series Teaser Hosted By Isebelle

Animal Crossing, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, New Horizons, Nintendo, Nintendo Switch, Switch

Gabriel Salas, a freelance 3D generalist, posted a fan teaser trailer for an Animal Crossing TV series that him and his team created. The video, done in gorgeously impressive stop motion animation, stars fan favorite villager Isabelle as she goes around her set taking care of errands before starting the show:

It's such a cute trailer, not only animated beautifully but chock full of the charm that the franchise is known for, and I hope to see more from Salas and his team in the future.

Since Nintendo's last financial update, the title has sold 3.64 million units, cementing itself as second place in the top 10 best selling Switch games. It's now closed the gap on Mario Kart 8 Deluxe with New Horizons now heading into its first holiday season.

According to Twitter data during the first half of 2020 New Horizons was the most talked about game on Twitter globally, with Fate/Grand Order coming in second after being the most talked-about game in 2019. The previous free update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons was back in April and it brought a host of changes such as new villagers to the island, added some fun seasonal events, and opened up a new wing in the museum. Animal Crossing: New Horizons was recently featured in the Financial Times, an actual real life publication, after some severe in-game interest rate cuts from Tom Nook.

In Japan alone Animal Crossing on Switch previously sold more than 1.88 million copies as of March 23th. The title released worldwide on March 20th, which means it managed to sell 1.88 million physical copies in Japan in only three days. And overall the game's Nintendo Switch debut sold 11.77 million units between its March 20th launch and the March 31st, placing it seventh among the console's highest-selling titles. In barely four months, Animal Crossing: New Horizons has become Japan's second best selling game ever.

Check out our glowing review of the game here for a more in-depth breakdown.

The post Animal Crossing Fan Project Introduces TV Series Teaser Hosted By Isebelle by Allisa James appeared first on DualShockers.


DualSense Support Has Been Added to the Steam Client Beta

DualSense Controller PS5

The recently released PS5 has a strikingly different controller design compared to the previous PlayStation consoles. The new DualSense controller has a much different feel, size, and defining feature. While some of those defining features have not been supported yet, Valve has stated that it has added support for the new controller to the Steam client beta.

Valve put out an announcement on the Steam Community noting the new controller support. It states that this is just initial input support for the DualSense controller. The more advanced features such as rumble, trackpad, and gyro are not yet supported.

It should be noted that support for the Xbox Series X controller has already been enabled by Valve.

Nowhere in the post does Valve mention what I think to be the most defining feature for the DualSense controller: adaptive triggers. At first, I would think that something like that would be limited to the PS5 console itself. However, the phrase "not yet supported" Valve uses in the post gives me some hope that it will be enabled at some point in time.

I have heard from everyone on the team here that the most "next-gen" feeling they have gotten so far while playing with the PS5 or Xbox Series X was the adaptive triggers on the DualSense controller. Just like describing VR, it has been described as something you just have to experience for yourself. Hopefully Steam will support the new feature at some point so that more people can experience it.

The post DualSense Support Has Been Added to the Steam Client Beta by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.


120fps Support Has Been Added to Warzone on Xbox Series X But Not PS5

Call of Duty: Warzone

One of the hottest new features for the newly released consoles is the addition of 120fps support. Not everything will support the higher framerate, but the consoles can support it if need be. Recently, Infinity Ward has quietly added 120fps support to Warzone on Xbox Series X and not the PS5.

After the latest patch notes were released that didn't mention the new feature, players first started to notice the change a bit later once they were able to bit it up on their new Xbox Series X.

Not only did players begin to notice the change in-game, but the Microsoft Store listing for both Modern Warfare and Warzone mention 120fps support.

Digital Foundry has tested the new update and can confirm that the game targets 120fps on the Series X. The battle royal mostly hits somewhere between 100 and 120fps.

Digital Foundry also ran some testing for the PS5 version of Warzone. They found that the game is still limited to 60fps on it.

Warzone is technically a PS4 game running on the PS5 via backward compatibility. It could possibly require a full port to PS5 in order for 120fps support to be enabled.

Eurogamer reached out to Infinity Ward and Activision to get some clarification, but neither company has gotten back to them to explain why one next-gen console received the faster frames.

As this is one of the defining features for both of the newly released consoles, I would hope that either Activision or Infinity Ward would shed some light on the situation. I would have to believe that support would come to the PS5 as well, but we would have to have some confirmation first.

The post 120fps Support Has Been Added to Warzone on Xbox Series X But Not PS5 by Grant Huff appeared first on DualShockers.


TWO-MIX Best Of Album Revealed For Gundam Wing 25th Anniversary, Radio Show With Noriko Hidaka

Gundam Wing Two-Mix

Music unit TWO-MIX announced a best of album commemorating the 25th anniversary of its formation and of Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. The album is titled TWO-MIX 25th Anniversary ALL TIME BEST. A gorgeous artwork by Tomofumi Ogasawara is included in first print limited edition copies. TWO-MIX itself isn't reforming sadly, but the album launches on January 20, 2021, in Japan. It'll be on three CDs, and one Bluray, containing the anime music videos of TWO-MIX.

Who is TWO-MIX?

Formed on April 29, 1995, TWO-MIX, while in activity, handled theme songs for Detective Conan, and popular Sunrise mecha anime Mobile Suit Gundam Wing. Which aired in Japan from April 7 1995 to March 29 1996, with 49 episodes. Gundam Wing was the first Gundam series for many in the west. Notably, Gundam Wing is one of the few anime in history that aired in USA (2000) before France (2001). Even though France and Italy are the Anime Master Race since the seventies with Grendizer, huge in France, Italy and the Middle East.

TWO-MIX is made of composer, lyricist and producer Shiina Nagano, and singer Minami Takayama.

Minami Takayama is a legendary seiyuu mainly known for voicing Conan in Detective Conan, though she also did tons of awesome and lovely roles: Nabiki in Ranmna 1/2. Dilandau in Escaflowne. Mithos in Tales of Symphonia. Envy in Full Metal Alchemist, Hao in Shaman King, or Hajime in Danganronpa. While we've been hearing her voice less these past few years, each one of her recent, rarer roles is flawlessly executed. For instance, Yong Hwa in Pretty Rhythm Dear My Future, one of the best and underrated anime of the last decade.

Tomofumi Ogasawara is the artist of the manga series Gundam Wing Endless Waltz: Glory of the Losers. Recently, Ogasawara also drew the illustration for Wing Gundam Zero Rebellion in Super Robot Wars DD. They're also drawing the new Code Geass: Lelouch of the Re;surrection manga. In addition, Ogasawara was also one of the mecha designers on Kogado's mecha strategy simulation series Power Dolls.

Shiina Nagano shared on Twitter his love for Glory of the Losers:

New Radio Show With Hidaka Noriko

Moreover, a radio show titled Radio TWO-MIX BPM25 was announced, featuring TWO-MIX and Noriko Hidaka, another legendary seiyuu I don't need to introduce if you've actually read this mecha otaku article this far. The radio show will have six episodes in total, and the first one is happening on November 28. Further details will be coming on the official Twitter for the 25th anniversary of TWO-MIX. The official site also mentions fans can send in questions at the following mail address: "two-mix-25th@kingrecords.co.jp".

The radio episodes will be uploaded on the new YouTube channel, which already has music lyrics videos for Gundam Wing openings Just Communication and Rhythm Emotion.

TWO-MIX, Just Communication

Lastly, the album's tracklist is available further below.

It's been a while since the Gundam Wing TV series appeared in a Super Robot Wars console game. The sequel Endless Waltz is mainly featured instead. It's highly likely Bandai Namco will release a new SRW game in 2021, for the 30th anniversary of the series. It'd be great if it included a good mix of new shows and old classics who never appeared in a SRW HD title yet.

TWO-MIX 25th Anniversary ALL TIME BEST Track List

【Disc1】

  1. JUST COMMUNICATION
  2. RHYTHM EMOTION
  3. T・R・Y -RETURN TO YOURSELF-
  4. LOVE REVOLUTION
  5. RHYTHM GENERATION
  6. WHITE REFLECTION
  7. TRUE NAVIGATION
  8. SUMMER PLANET No.1
  9. LIVING DAYLIGHTS
  10. TIME DISTORTION
  11. BEAT OF DESTINY
  12. LAST IMPRESSION
  13. TRUTH〜A Great Detective of Love〜
  14. BODY MAKES STREAM
  15. MAXIMUM WAVE

【Disc2】

  1. LOVE FORMURA -FREEDOM-
  2. NAKED DANCE
  3. GRAVITY ZERO
  4. MEETING ON THE PLANET
  5. BELIEVE MY BRAVE HEART
  6. 1st RHYTHMIC YOUTH
  7. 1st JUSTICE
  8. BREAK
    Other

【Disc3】

To be announced

【Blu-ray】
WHITE REFLECTION THE MOVIE, Other

The post TWO-MIX Best Of Album Revealed For Gundam Wing 25th Anniversary, Radio Show With Noriko Hidaka by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.


Ubisoft Employees Safe After Frightening Situation at Montreal Offices

ubisoft E3 bowmore Aegyptus

A scary situation that took place at the offices of Ubisoft Montreal has fortunately seemed to have concluded with all parties being safe and accounted for.

Earlier this afternoon, employees at Ubisoft Montreal were said to be dealing with what was initially said to be a hostage situation. Police reported to the area in Montreal in which Ubisoft's offices were located and locked down the block while encouraging pedestrians to not come to the premises. A few minutes after this began to transpire, employees from inside of Ubisoft could be seen via helicopter standing on the building's roof waiting out the situation. Some employees at Ubisoft Montreal who are on social media shared information via Twitter to let the public know that they were safe.

Luckily, the entire ordeal has seemingly now been resolved with Montreal police reporting that "No threat has been identified." Ubisoft employees were eventually able to exit the building alongside officers, with no harm being accounted for whatsoever.

As for what started all of this, the main culprit at this time seems to be a 911 call that was fraudulent. It's not known who may have kicked off this chain of events, but essentially, it sounds like the employees at the Ubisoft offices could have been the victim of a "swatting" attempt. This point hasn't been confirmed as of this writing, however. More information will likely come about soon from the police in Montreal.

Regardless of what the reason is for this all happening in the first place, I can speak for all of us at DualShockers when I say that we're relieved to see that this is the outcome.

The post Ubisoft Employees Safe After Frightening Situation at Montreal Offices by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.


Granblue Fantasy x Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba Crossover Event Revealed With Teaser Trailer, Cool Hideo Minaba Artwork

Granblue Fantasy Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba

On November 13, Cygames announced Granblue Fantasy (PC, mobile) will hold a crossover collab event with Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba. The event will happen sometime in December. With the collab, multiple characters from Demon Slayer will join Granblue Fantasy as playable characters. Those teased so far include protagonist Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, Inosuke Hashibira, and Kyojuro Rengoku. They all look great through the artstyle of Hideo Minaba, the main character designer and illustrator of Granblue Fantasy.

It's likely many other Kimetsu no Yaiba characters will be included in the crossover story, such as Nezuko, the Pillars. Etc.

Granblue Fantasy Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba Teaser Trailer

Additional details will be published soon.

Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba is an incredibly popular manga by Koyoharu Gotoge, and the anime adaptation by Ufotable only made it even bigger. Kimetsu no Yaiba became one of the best selling manga of all time with over 40.3 million copies in circulation. While the manga ended this year, running from February 2016 to May 2020, its popularity is still ongoing. Most notably with a new movie by Ufotable.

CyberConnect2, makers of the popular Naruto Narutimate series, are currently developing a Kimetsu no Yaiba PS4 game. It's really promising and should be a way higher quality than a lot of the 3d battler arena every popular shonen gets nowadays.

Granblue Fantasy will hold the yearly Granblue Fantasy Fes event in December 11-13; We will have some announcements regarding Granblue Fantasy Relink then. Previously, Producer Yuito Kimura and Director Tetsuya Fukuhara stated the game's development is going well, but it won't receive a release date until the very last moment.

There's also the fighting game Granblue Fantasy Versus out now on PS4 and PC. Though it looks pretty dead online. At least outside Japan.

The post Granblue Fantasy x Demon Slayer Kimetsu no Yaiba Crossover Event Revealed With Teaser Trailer, Cool Hideo Minaba Artwork by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.


Tetris Effect Connected Review — It's Super Effective!

One thing about getting COVID-19 that people don't often talk about (for understandable reasons, there's a lot more newsworthy stuff about it happening at any given moment) is how it affects your mind. For about ten days, I've been listless; lacking in any kind of energy and totally without the ability to focus or care about much of anything. Tetris Effect Connected brought me out of that funk in a way that little else can.

I've known Tetris longer than I've known most of my closest friends. Dropping tetrominoes is like riding a bike; it's more familiar to me than anything else in video games. The experience and loop at the core of Tetris is so undeniably perfect, simple, and addictive, but also second nature to me that playing it has become a meditative experience over the years. I've experienced the Tetris Effect, the phenomenon where you see Tetris blocks falling in front of you involuntarily or in your dreams after longer playtime countless times.  In some ways, I use that invasion into my imagination as a litmus test for other games I really enjoy. On a rare occasion, things in real life will bring me back to games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild like when I'm on a high-up place and can envision what it would feel like to use Link's paraglider instead to get back to the ground rather than the stairs.

Tetris Effect Connected brought me a new experience of what the Tetris Effect could be. That's thanks to its gorgeous visuals and beautiful sound design and, partially, to the fact that I never really played Tetris in multiplayer until recently Tetris 99 and Puyo Puyo Tetris. I don't think Tetris Effect would have beaten out Tetris 99, my game of the year from 2019, but Tetris Effect Connected certainly gives it a run for its money for the same reason that the original gave challenged it as my favorite iteration of Tetris.

Coming from Lumines director Tetsuya Mizuguchi, this updated version of Tetris Effect brings a lot to the table. The original Tetris Effect boasted an innovation on Tetris that made it into a transcendent experience in a lot of ways. The game takes an already calming core loop to the next level. Not only has Tetris never looked better, but pairing the visually minimalistic core aesthetic of Tetris with the psychedelic, ethereal, and stunning backdrops found in both Tetris Effect games was a masterstroke.

The game's soundtrack, which is as sonically diverse as it is beautiful, takes that already peanut-butter-and-chocolate-level combination to new heights. Even the incredible rumble integration contributed to this evolutionarily impactful interaction of Tetris. Much like Lumines Remastered on Switch's rumble integration, the pulsating in rhythm with the entrancing soundtrack and sound design drew from my focus-less reverie and into that Tetris flow that I love so much.

Although I found myself blazing through all the content offered in the original pretty quickly, I savored every minute of it and am still eager to jump back in and clear the game's stunning Journey Mode on other difficulties. The Journey Mode, which was in the original, is undeniably the game's core experience. It's a Tetris journey that transports you to the calm depths of the ocean, the lively streets of a big city, and the surface of the moon with each level as beautiful and engaging as the last. Every element of the game brings a level of emotional resonance to Tetris that was never there before.

enhance, Limited Run Games, PC, PS4, PSVR, Tetris Effect

The other part of the game that was already included in 2018's Tetris Effect is the Effect Modes, which offer a few different, more arcade-style challenges, as well as some Tetris staples. While most of the additional modes aren't anything terribly new or interesting from old Tetris games, like the Marathon, Ultra or Sprint modes, mini-game-like offerings like All Clear, Combo, and more bring new spins to the franchise that feel more suited for shorter bursts of play, rather than the more drawn-out, deliberate pace of the Journey Mode. It even offers a few playlists for people wanting shorter bursts of the journey mode that focus on specific themes and aesthetics.

The icing on the cake, however, is Connected's multiplayer, which offers just about all of Tetris's greatest multiplayer hits, aside from the battle royale-inspired modes from Tetris 99. This along with the all-new Connected Battle, which serves as a worthy inspiration for this new version's title, is a fantastic evolution of the multiplayer Tetris formula. Options that hearken back to the original Tetris, as well as battle modes that will look familiar to anyone who's played any recent iterations of the classic puzzler are the backbone of this multiplayer experience, serving up a fun and engaging option for players looking for a little competition.

The Connected Battle is the real reason for any Tetris fan to check out the game's multiplayer. It's a new evolution to multiplayer Tetris that's as innovative as something like Tetris 99, but in a way that's so perfectly tailored to what Tetris Effect is. If Tetris 99 applied the battle royale genre to Tetris, Connected Battle applies the loop of a raid in something like Destiny. The player teams up with up to two other players (the remaining slots are filled in by AI players) to fight a series of bosses, each with their own unique effects and challenges that make the experience more challenging.

The twist is that every once in a while, when enough lines are cleared, all three players' Wells are combined to make one giant Tetris Well, where the three players are tasked with clearing as many lines as possible in a mad-dash to send garbage into the boss's Well. When connected, a special version of the song playing over the match plays as players take turns dropping Tetrominoes to defeat the Zodiac Sign-inspired bosses.

The idea that players face off against multiple bosses is okay for some of the lower difficulties, making it so that each match has a good length to it, but in some later difficulties, Connected takes way too long. An option for players to opt to take on bosses one-at-a-time would have really helped elevate Connected to the high bar that Tetris 99 set. Shorter play sessions would be even more important if I was able to find a ranked match for Connected, which, after multiple attempts, each resulting in a ten or more minute wait, I was unable to do. It seems like a missed opportunity for Tetris Effect Connected to take a note from fighting games and allow players to play other single-player modes while waiting to find matches.

Tetris Effect

Luckily, I was able to play the mode both locally with my roommates and with some friends online. Otherwise, I've only tried the Zone Battle mode with a stranger in a ranked game, and even that took far longer to find an opponent than I would've liked. It's really a shame that more people aren't playing this because all of the competitive modes are a delight.

I'm not sure if I'm comfortable saying that it's my game of the year, but it's easily the shining star of the Xbox Series S|X launch to me. Tetris Effect Connected brings multiple creative, beautiful, and mesmerizing spins to the Tetris formula that anyone with Game Pass owes it to themself to play and try out, especially those who missed the original. Sweetened by its hypnotic, up-tempo soundtrack and pseudo-psychedelic visuals, Tetris has never felt better than in Tetris Effect. Now with a robust multiplayer offering, Tetris Effect Connected allows it to rival Tetris 99 for the spot of my favorite entry in the franchise.

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