Black Panther, War Machine & Ultron appear in Marvel's Avengers leak – report
Marvel's Avengers dataminers have reportedly come up with loads of new information after digging around the game's latest build, revealing Black Panther, War Machine, Ultron, and more.
Dataminers "Miller" and "Iron Ninja Bat" have taken to Twitter to post their supposed findings, uploading text stripped from game files as well as artwork and assets.
Headlining these leaks is our first look at Black Panther as a playable hero in Marvel's Avengers. Developer Crystal Dynamics had intended to reveal the Wakandan warrior in a recent War Table livestream though ultimately decided against it due to the recent death of Chadwick Boseman who played Black Panther in the MCU movies.
Although we don't get to see him in action, the leaked artwork gives us a clear look at how Black Panther has been designed for Marvel's Avengers. His suit is more armour-like and clunkier than other iterations of the character though it's worth noting that all playable characters have access to multiple skins.
War Machine, or "that other Iron Man", can also be seen with his shoulder mounted cannon.
This video posted by Miller lists everything discovered in the latest Avengers build. It's all presented in one huge dump, most of it being in-game text and UI icons. Sifting through this mass of information we can see more items, missions, cosmetics, and characters appearing with a reference to Marvel supervillain, Ultron.
Of course, none of this has been confirmed by Square Enix or Crystal Dynamics who have yet to address the leak.
Fans are still waiting for confirmation as to when they can expect Kate Bishop and Hawkeye to arrive in-game as playable characters. The Kate Bishop content was originally meant to launch in October but has now been pushed though is still coming in 2020 according to Crystal Dynamics. Those waiting on next-gen upgrades for Marvel's Avengers on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will have to wait until next year, the studio also confirmed.
Source: Twitter (Miller), Twitter (Iron Ninja Bat), Streamable
Interview: Mizuki Hosoyamada on Puyo Puyo Tetris 2
Tetris is by far one of the most recognisable games of all time. Less known has been Puyo Puyo, which went through various localised changes earlier on, from Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine to the time it was rebranded as Puyo Pop.
But after receiving its belated international breakout in 2017, the surprise crossover Puyo Puyo Tetris is back with a sequel that's not only receiving a worldwide simultaneous release but also across console generations this December (with the PC version to follow in 2021). Puyo Puyo Tertis 2 brings a brand new charming RPG-style campaign that introduces newcomers to its puzzle mechanics and also includes a brand new party-style Skill Battle mode.
Ahead of its release, we had the opportunity to ask questions to Puyo Puyo Tetris 2's producer Mizuki Hosoyamada. Having started at Sega on Sonic Team since 2002 with Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg, he's also worked extensively on every subsequent Puyo Puyo title and is now the executive/general producer of the Puyo Puyo series.
TSA: What made you decide to make a sequel to Puyo Puyo Tetris instead of another purely Puyo Puyo title?
Mizuki: The previous iteration of the game was sold in Japan in 2014 and in the West in 2017. Since it's been quite some time since then, with many new features made possible on next gen consoles like the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, we decided it was time to create an all-new Puyo Puyo Tetris experience for both our core and new fans across platforms, including next-gen. For the Puyo Puyo series, we released Puyo Puyo Chronicles [for 3DS] in 2016 in Japan only and Puyo Puyo eSports in 2018 [released internationally as Puyo Puyo Champions in 2019). Since the Puyo Puyo series and Puyo Puyo Tetris have been slowly selling titles after their release, this was the optimal timing to release the sequel for Puyo Puyo Tetris.
TSA: How well has the Puyo Puyo series done internationally since Puyo Puyo Tetris? Was that a factor into why Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is getting a simultaneous worldwide release – and even a couple days before Japan?
Mizuki: The response to Puyo Puyo Tetris has exceeded our expectations and we've received many requests for the Puyo Puyo series to be released in the West. The characters and storyline of the Puyo Puyo series have been very well received, so when we announced Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, we were met with quite a bit of positive feedback. When we held an event overseas, we received requests from fans to release Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 at the same time across the world instead of in Japan first, so we decided to release it almost simultaneously. It looks like the date is earlier in the West than in Japan, but when you take into account the time difference, it's pretty close to being simultaneous.
TSA: Newcomers to the game might just stick to what they know. Is it possible to just play Tetris or just Puyo, or does Adventure mode help ease players into each of the mode's strengths?
Mizuki: You are able to play just Tetris or just Puyo Puyo. There are time attack and score attack online rankings available for 40 Lines and Endless Puyo Puyo this time around as well.
Playing Adventure Mode allows you to enjoy each of them, but there are also many Puyo Puyo fans who fell in love with Tetris and Tetris fans who fell in love with Puyo Puyo in the previous Puyo Puyo Tetris game by playing the Adventure Mode, so we wanted to get the fans to be mutually excited about the action puzzle together. As a result, I think it has helped players to understand both games better.
TSA: Puyo Puyo Tetris came with a pretty robust lessons mode, but are there any plans to introduce the even more high-level expert set-ups in each mode (e.g. GTR)? Most of these are known among the community but I can also imagine will go over the head of newcomers who can't comprehend what tactics their opponent pulled off.
Mizuki: When you play the lesson mode, we think of it as an introduction to the basics as well as a chance for beginners to level up to an intermediate level. As for the higher levels, you'll eventually need to get used to the shapes and patterns to know how to build the foundations, but beyond that you'll need to understand the basics of stair stacking, key stacking, and folding to build up a large chain, so we're focusing on that part of the game.
I believe that watching videos of other people playing is the best way to improve. I also believe there's something you can learn by figuring it out on your own rather than through teaching. There are many other techniques, such as quick attacks and crushing, but we avoid content that is too hard for beginners to learn.
TSA: What was the inspiration behind Skill Battles?
Mizuki: Puyo Puyo Chronicle, released in 2016 on the Nintendo 3DS in Japan and parts of Asia only, uses "skill battles" while Tetris Battle Gaiden, released on the Super Famicom in 1993, had some "special move" features. Using skills in a puzzle game was inspired in part by the past Puyo Puyo and Tetris series titles. With the "Skill Battle" rules we've created a new mode, but for some people this is the first time they've played Puyo Puyo or Tetris, so even newcomers can enjoy it. If you are already familiar with these older games, we hope you'll feel a little nostalgic when playing this new rule set.
TSA: If characters have different skills, is there a danger some players will be forced to pass over their favourites in favour of another character with a more desired skill?
Mizuki: For Skill Battle you can choose three characters, so we hope you'll add other characters to your team in addition to your favourite and use their skills.
TSA: Are modes from the first Puyo Puyo Tetris (i.e. Swap and Fusion) also making a return and are they part of the ranked modes?
Mizuki: They are included, and you can play online ranked matches in the 'Puzzle League'.
TSA: Free play mode is the casual mode but is that still lobby based with friends or can you match up with anyone?
Mizuki: Some specs may vary depending on the console you're playing on, but the Free Play mode allows you to create rooms and play against other players without changing your rating or tier, or you can join rooms that have already been created.
(In the PlayStation 4 version, selecting a room tag or number of players will move you to the room screen; in the PlayStation 5 version, the game will automatically match up your opponents and move you to the room screen.)
TSA: I think the community has found that advanced Tetris players have a huge advantage over Puyo players. Has there been a way to address this imbalance in the sequel?
Mizuki: We think it's difficult to perfect the balance of Puyo Puyo vs. Tetris and it will likely be something that we'll pursue forever. We are constantly working on the balance of the existing rules, but we are also making adjustments to the new rules, so be sure to check them out.
TSA: Puyo Puyo has a history of its characters' audio corresponding to your chain power, which later included visuals. What is the thought process behind Puyo Puyo Tetris' battle animations?
Mizuki: I'm sure you're very familiar with the original Puyo Puyo series which, along with the evolution of the consoles (being able to play voices, higher resolution visuals, etc.), allowed for the inclusion of chain voices and cut-ins with character animations. In the previous title, Puyo Puyo Tetris, the voices were displayed at the bottom of the field in order to meet the demand for Puyo Puyo and Tetris, but some people felt that the presentation was bland. In Puyo Puyo Champions the presentation was flashy, but in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, we added even more flair to the game. There are many extravagant features that won't affect the progress of the game so that fans and spectators alike can enjoy it.
TSA: The number 24 has a lot of significance in Puyo Puyo and I noticed that in past games that has also meant a limit of 24 characters in the roster. With Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 breaking this limit with 28 characters at launch, is this the start of future Puyo games having bigger rosters with both new and returning characters, perhaps crossovers from other SEGA IP?
Mizuki: I'd like to release as many characters as possible, but there's a lot of work that goes into creating each one, so I've been narrowing it down and making it into a '24' character series. However, this time we're going to push it a bit further and release 28 characters. In the past, we've added some extra characters beyond the 24 characters, but I hope you'll look forward to them.
TSA: Japan already has very established national Puyo Puyo tournaments, but internationally these exist on a much smaller community-run scale (such as the efforts of Puyo GB in the UK). The current pandemic has obviously impacted on a lot of plans at the moment but do Sega have plans on establishing or supporting official Puyo Puyo tournaments on an international scale?
Mizuki: We have been running events and tournaments in Japan for Puyo Puyo Champions, and we will also be running a national online tournament. We're working to make it easier for fans to organize tournaments and other events. We've also previously supported Puyo Puyo Tetris at AnimEVO in Las Vegas and Stunfest in France with staff from Sega of America and Sega Europe. We have no plans for Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 at this time, but we would love to have you join these events and competitions.
TSA: Given the surprise of Tetris 99, were there any plans on making something similar with Puyo Puyo, e.g. Puyo Puyo 99?
Mizuki: We had planned this a long time ago but gave it up for various reasons. We don't currently have any plans, but we're always thinking about multiplayer gameplay.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will launch worldwide on December 8th, 2020 for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, followed by a PC release in 2021. We'd like to thank Mizuki Hosoyamada for taking the time to answer our Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 questions.
Epic Game's Fortnite will be going next gen on day one of the console releases, so that's November 10th for Xbox and November 12th or November 19th for PlayStation depending on your territory. All progression and cosmetics will carry over to the new platforms and all Fortnite players on any platform will get a Throwback Axe Pickaxe.
Here are those spicy net gen improvements!
Fortnite on Xbox Series X|S
- 4K Resolution at 60 FPS on Series X — Experience Fortnite on Xbox like never before on Xbox Series X with stunning 4K running at a smooth 60 FPS.
- Dynamic Visuals and Physics on Series X — Experience a more dynamic and interactive world with grass and trees responding to explosions, enhanced fluid simulations for smoke and liquid (cooler-looking smoke and liquid effects), and all-new Storm and cloud effects.
- 1080P Resolution at 60 FPS on Series S — Hop into any game mode on Xbox Series S and enjoy 1080P running at a smooth 60 FPS. The Xbox Series S will support most of the visual enhancements available on the Series X.
- Get into Matches Faster — Loading performance has been significantly upgraded, not only improving texture loading but also helping you get into a match from game start-up much faster.
- Enhanced Split Screen — On Xbox Series X|S, Split Screen now supports 60 FPS.
Fortnite on PlayStation 5
- 4K Resolution at 60 FPS — Experience Fortnite on PlayStation like never before on PlayStation5 with stunning 4K running at a smooth 60 FPS.
- Dynamic Visuals and Physics — Experience a more dynamic and interactive world with grass and trees responding to explosions, enhanced fluid simulations for smoke and liquid (cooler-looking smoke and liquid effects), and all-new Storm and cloud effects.
- DualSense Controller Immersion — Haptic feedback makes it feel like you're holding the Suppressed SMG or Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle. In addition to general vibration support, we've integrated haptic trigger feedback for ranged weapons on the new DualSense controller.
- Select Your Favorite Mode from the PS5 Home Screen — Fortnite supports PS5's Activities, starting with the ability to go straight into the Battle Royale Lobby with either Solo, Duos, or Squads selected. Once in the Lobby, choose to queue up for your selected mode!
- Get into Matches Faster — Loading performance has been significantly upgraded, not only improving texture loading but also helping you get into a match from game start-up much faster.
- Enhanced Split Screen — On PS5, Split Screen now supports 60 FPS.
Epic say this is just the start of next-gen improvements and "we look forward to exploring new ways to maximize the potential of both".
Source: Press release
Loud, brash and in yer face, DIRT 5 is the automotive gaming equivalent of a night out in Newcastle. Everything about it is attention-grabbing, from the magenta menus to the youthful soundtrack and explosive racing action. It's a melting pot of vehicular arcade fun, mixing elements from games such as DiRT 3, Motorstorm and GRID – yet somehow feels more than the sum of its parts.
Before you get carried away with nostalgia for the aforementioned titles, let's quickly go through what Dirt 5 actually is. For the most part you race around circuits made from either dirt or ice, and you do so in multiple different classes of off-road racing vehicles.
These races will make up around 70 percent of your time in Dirt 5, but there are also Rally Raid events – these are point to point races as opposed to circuits – Path Finder events where the aim is to traverse rocky terrain analogous to Overpass and there's also Gymkhana which sees you skidding around in a time limit like an episode of Netflix's Hyperdrive. Or a Tesco car park on a Friday night.
Event types with the names Stampeded, Land Rush, Ice Breaker and Ultra Cross are all variations on the same regular race. Some use longer tracks. Some tracks are on ice instead of gravel. But they are all races. I'm not really sure why they have different names, other than to create faux variety.
The career is where you'll spend the bulk of your time. A concoction of the aforementioned events, it taps into the wonderfully varied car list – including the Aston Martin DBX, an electric VW ID. Buggy, a Ford F-150 Raptor pick up truck and the classic 90s Subaru Impreza rally car. The aim is to finish first, earn cash, level up XP level, all helping to unlock more events.
While it's possible to blast your way to the end of the career mode in around four hours, completionists will want to finish every event and it's in doing this that the rebranding of races really starts to hit home. Some time trial events or rallycross with a joker lap wouldn't go amiss. Neither would be making use of Smash Attack events that can be found in the Playgrounds mode.
While you are progressing through each stage, the folks from the popular podcast and YouTube channel Donut Media talk you through a storyline filled with witticisms. While voice talent includes Nolan North, your rivals are too shallow and after a while, I found it difficult to care.
So the story is throwaway and some of the modes repetitive, but the venues themselves are detailed, varied and luscious. They are alive with dynamic weather, big jumps, tight hairpins, and yet there's also enough space to rub body panels without ending up in a pileup. Tie this together with the pumping tunes, fireworks and a day/night cycle, and you feel like you are racing around a music festival.
This leads us to how the cars behave. In a word, they're accessible. You can chuck a car in broadside on the handbrake into a tight corner and power around it with ease. The natural balance is on the safe side with mild understeer, but that's nothing a little provocation can't rectify.
You're never on the edge, everything is very predictable and using a controller the way forward. A steering wheel peripheral is superfluous for Dirt 5. Which is fine, because what this game is trying to be is very clear. It's bombastic fun on four wheels without the paraphernalia or egos required for esports.
In extreme moments, however, there is a strange sensation of the car trying to self correct a slide, like you have an elastic band in place of the steering wheel. In the Gymkhana events, where one way of scoring points is by driving quickly through tight gaps, there isn't enough precision in the handling model. Sometimes you find yourself weaving from one side to another.
Away from driving, you can now build your own arena-based levels in Playgrounds mode. At first, it can be a little tricky to get your head around the space limitations and slightly clunky creation tools (on a console at least). I created a couple of levels and was pretty happy with myself. Uploading your creations to the world feels great… until you download and play a level created by someone else and you realise your creativity has laughable limits! The trick seems to be build upwards, and then there are some incredible results.
I think it will remain a fun aside that you may try once or twice, but I'm simply not sure how much longevity there will really be on offer. There isn't enough incentive for you to continue playing the user-generated content after the initial experiment. It would be nice if playing these levels would help further towards some kind of goal.
However, what will help to elongate the experience is multiplayer. Offline, you have split-screen events making a return to the series, and there are also online races and party modes. You can 'squad-up' with other people to join public events, but a big omission is a lack of private lobbies at launch, something Codemasters seems to be making a habit of. Sadly, during our review period, we were not able to find another online match to test this out.
Note: This is a review in progress until we can check out Dirt 5's online multiplayer, either in the run up to or immediately following its 6th November release. We will update this review in progress with a score at that time.
PS5 trophies for Sackboy: A Big Adventure revealed
If you wanted to do some homework on the PS5's launch line-up ahead of the console's November 19th release date (here in the UK, that is) then you're in luck. Trophy hunters have been given a glimpse at the full list of PS5 trophies available for Sackboy: A Big Adventure. Even if you aren't interested in chasing the game's glut of virtual silverware you can still glean some new details about the upcoming PlayStation exclusive.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure rocks a full trophy list with 46 available unlocks, including the platinum. Many of these trophies are linked to clearing stages with a high score and collecting items along with some story-specific ones and those tied to the game's multiplayer.
Much like LittleBigPlanet, Sackboy: A Big Adventure will give you plenty of options when it comes to dressing up the PlayStation mascot. The trophy list below confirms that there are at 300 different costume parts.
Other games in Sony's line-up include Spider-Man: Miles Morales (which we'll have a review for later this week), as well as the Demon's Souls remake from Bluepoint Games. Destruction AllStars was also planned but has since been pulled. The game will now launch for free next year via PlayStation Plus.
Sackboy: A Big Adventure PS5 Trophy List
| Trophy Name | Description | Rarity |
| Big Adventurer | Even Scarlet didn't get all the trophies, you're truly a Knitted Knight of legend. | Platinum |
| You've got potential, squire! | Faced off against the Master of the Uproar on the Soaring Summit. | Bronze |
| Metameric Malady | Cleared the Colossal Canopy of its pest problem. | Bronze |
| Sonar So Good | Defeated the Bringer of Nightmares at the bottom of the ocean. | Bronze |
| Crash Override | Cleaned up N.A.O.M.I's code. | Bronze |
| Vex Vanquisher! | Triumphed over the vile Vex at the very center of Craftworld. | Bronze |
| Verified Vex Vanquisher! | Defeated Vex, destroyed the Topsy Turver and saved Craftworld! | Silver |
| Daydream Believer | Pushed back the Uproar for the first time. | Bronze |
| Book of Dreams | Collect all the stickers in a single World. | Bronze |
| Squired Up | Discover the Trials of the Knitted Knights. | Bronze |
| Out of bounds | Pick up and throw 30 of Vex's minions to their doom. | Bronze |
| Pop 'n' Lobber | Defeat 30 of Vex's minions from a distance. | Bronze |
| Multitasking | Defeat multiple minions simultaneously 10 times. | Bronze |
| Bounder | Defeat 30 of Vex's minions by bouncing on them. | Bronze |
| Stunner | Stun 30 of Vex's minions. | Bronze |
| Fashionista! | Complete your first Costume. | Bronze |
| Re-Mix-Master | Earn a Gold rank in any Remix level. | Bronze |
| Knights of Gold | Earn a Gold rank in any Knitted Knight Trial. | Bronze |
| Cut it out! | Complete Highs and Glows… without throwing the Whirltool. | Bronze |
| Slide Away | Over the course of your adventure, collect 3000 points while sliding. | Bronze |
| Bubble Binger | Collect a full chain of Timed Score Bubbles 30 times. | Bronze |
| Gymnastic Fantastic | While in the air, perform four actions before touching the ground. | Bronze |
| BEE! ARGH! BEE! | Pick up, and hold on to, a Boomblebee Hive for 60 seconds. | Bronze |
| Buddy Beater | In multiplayer, get the top score on the scoreboard 20 times. | Bronze |
| Thespian | Create your own custom Emote in Zom Zom's shop then show the world. | Bronze |
| Icon of Style | Save a custom-made costume to your Wardrobe. | Bronze |
| Let's twist again… | In multiplayer, start a dance party with your friends. | Bronze |
| Up high! | In multiplayer, high five with a friend. | Bronze |
| Sore Winner | In multiplayer, clobber one of your chums as the champ. | Bronze |
| Stop! Thief! | In multiplayer, snatch an item from the clutches of another player. | Bronze |
| Slap Attack | Simultaneously slapped each other. | Bronze |
| Beast of burden | In multiplayer, get gold in any Knitted Knight Trial while carrying another Sackperson. | Bronze |
| Fun Multiplied | In multiplayer, complete a Teamwork Level. | Bronze |
| Capitalist | In multiplayer, snag the most Collectabells in a level 20 times. | Bronze |
| Savior | In multiplayer, save your fallen friends from certain doom! | Silver |
| Naturalist | Find all of Gerald's secret spots. | Silver |
| Player's Player | Find and pick up every fish, paintbrush and cocktail umbrella on your journey. | Silver |
| Amazing Ace | Ace 30 levels by completing them without dying. | Silver |
| Best Friends | In multiplayer mode, earn 10 Ace level goals. | Silver |
| Walk-in Wardrobe | Fill your wardrobe with 300 costume pieces. | Silver |
| Master of One | Get a golden level badge by completing all the Level Goals for a single level. | Silver |
| Multi-Master | Achieve all the level goals for 10 different levels. | Silver |
| Best Friends Forever | Teamed up to take down the Topsy Turver. | Silver |
| Wonderplan Workout | Mop up those last messy bits of Uproar that are lurking about. | Gold |
| Golden Boy | Earn Gold on the scoreboard in 50 different levels! | Gold |
| String it Together | Get a Gold on the Wonderplane's ultimate challenge! | Gold |
Source: TrueTrophies
A battle royale set in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe has been announced for 2021
Sharkmob have announced a new battle royale game that will be based in the Vampire: The Masquerade universe with a release date sometime in 2021. A CGI trailer has been released to give you and idea of the concept.
Here's more from Sharkmob.
Experience the next thrilling evolution of Battle Royale multiplayer action games set in the cult classic Vampire: The Masquerade universe where vampire sects are at war across the streets and rooftops of Prague.
Choose your playstyle, go solo or together, battling rivals and the hostile Entity who's hellbent on exterminating all vampires. Use your supernatural powers, weapons and blood to become stronger in order to hunt, fight and survive the night.
Paradox Interactive will be publishing the new battle royale title.
Back in July Nacon and Big Bad Wolf Studio unveiled a narrative setting cinematic trailer for their upcoming World of Darkness game Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong. The game is coming to PS5, Xbox Series X, PS4, Xbox One, Switch and PC in 2021.
Announced at PDXCON last year, the game is set in Boston with the vampire clan the Camarilla attacked in an attempt to upset the balance of the world. The game will lean more heavily into the tabletop role playing game for its gameplay, with in depth character stat sheets that you customise from the ground up. The game will give you not one character, but three characters to play as, each from different vampire clans looking to investigate the attack.
Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 is also on the way and will be released in 2021, you can read our preview from way back in 2019 here.
We've been introduced to the various clans, such as the Malkavians, Brujah, Tremere, and have also had a look at some gameplay which you can watch in the video below.
Source: Sharkmob
Whether through movies and TV shows such as Stranger Things or the regressive Reagan tribute act of the current US administration, the 1980s have never been more fashionable. Generations who were not even alive during the decade are now obsessed with the music, clothes, TV, and games of the time.
This obsession is often a faux nostalgia, viewed through rose-tinted spectacles, and largely ignorant of the worst aspects of what was a tumultuous period. Commander '85 is not entirely free of this sense of happy nostalgia, but does go further than many in examining how closely the world flirted with Armageddon. All of this is a long way from the innocent birthday party shown in the game's free prologue episode.
Commander '85's premise is ambitious. The game's description promises to offer an 'advanced system of interaction with the computer's artificial intelligence', and to allow you to 'immerse yourself in the life of Polish immigrants in 1980's America, learning more about their culture and problems'. Both of these aspects sound fascinating, but the reality is far less exciting.
Communicating with the computer is BASIC in the most literal sense of the early computer language. This is obviously period specific, but it's a far cry from an advanced system of interaction. Fortunately a working knowledge of BASIC isn't required in the game itself as a handy Help system turns things into something more closely resembling the UI of a point and click adventure, albeit still working through the conceit of a keyboard and monitor in-game.
You play as a teenage boy from the aforementioned Polish immigrant family who has received an amazing 'super modern computer' – the Commander '85. The game's intro video hints at the mysterious origins of this device in military experimentation rather than consumer electronics and it is this purpose that swiftly comes to the fore.
After a simple introduction to the system's mechanics, your Commander is infected with a sinister virus that threatens to hack into the nuclear defence systems and unleash Armageddon in order to eradicate the stain of humanity from the Earth. Things certainly escalate quickly here! Your first task is to delay the progress of the virus and find out how to reboot the Commander safely. While this sounds like an exciting and pressure-filled scenario, it turns out that filling the computer's RAM with games and programs is enough to delay the virus. Staying in your room and playing a Frogger clone is actually enough to save the world.
There are several familiar 80's game types to be played through your Commander, with Turttler and Breakout being the most enjoyable. Your system can even be set up to play online multiplayer with your friends – a less than accurate view of the time. In a nice touch, though, this online functionality requires you to manually place the landline receiver on the modem, but the threat of the virus is undermined by the fact that you could just take the phone off the hook or unplug the machine itself. If you leave the desk to sleep or carry out chores (none of which are shown) then the phone is inexplicably replaced on the modem. It's a plot contrivance that makes little sense in the game's world.
Eventually you will either manage to stop the virus or witness one of the game's three endings in which you are awoken by a nuclear explosion. So far, so 80s. In my first playthroughs there was almost no guidance as to what you are supposed to do, so I swiftly saw the world come to an end, but a patch added in more hints and tips to nudge you toward other endings. so other results were made available. It is unfortunate that the developers have gone from one extreme to another as the hints are available through a 'TOP SECRET' pamphlet attached to your in-game monitor. This approach completely shatters the attempts at immersion, even if it does help you to progress.
The gaming loop is fairly monotonous as you type in a repetitive series of commands to run programs and hack into other systems. While a more realistic portrayal of the nature of early hacking than overly glamorous films like Hackers or the most obvious influence, Wargames, this doesn't make for thrilling gameplay. Even when you are in the flow of hacking and investigating you have to take breaks to carry out chores for your mum – a single mother pregnant with your younger sister. If you don't keep her happy then she grounds you from using the Commander, a punishment that the computer inexplicably enforces, even when Armageddon is nigh.
It is also held back by bugs and glitches. I was frequently forced to reload as the game got stuck or progress didn't trigger. My most successful playthrough involved a glitch in which the virus just disappeared without me actually doing anything. This made playing an anxious experience for all the wrong reasons, and recent patches haven't really solved matters.
The PS5 unboxed, and hands on the DualSense & Astro's Playroom
Call it late, call it differently early, but having shared some words and thoughts on the PlayStation 5's bundled DualSense controller and Astro's Playroom, now we're doing it in video form. Not only that, but let's sprinkle some movie magic on extracting the PlayStation 5 from its box and showing just how big this totem of next-gen gaming is.
For more written thoughts on the DualSense controller and Astro's Playroom, make sure to check out our preview here, but if you just want to see as much Astro's Playroom as possible? Well we can help you out there as well.
Everspace 2 early access release pushed back to January to avoid clash with Cyberpunk 2077
Rockfish Games has announced that it will be pushing back the early access release of Everspace 2 from December to January, and it is doing so precisely because of the new release date for Cyberpunk 2077. CD Projekt RED recently delayed the much anticipated game to December 10th. Rockfish Games has taken this decision because it is likely Cyberpunk 2077 will have the bulk of the attention through December, and that their maybe some fans who want to play both games. The statement from Rockfish Games can be found below.
Greetings, Pilots!
Let's get the cyber elephant out of the room right away: The Cyberpunk 2077 release has just been pushed back to December 10, which is a major blow to our planned EVERSPACE 2 Early Access release in mid-December. Not only will every media outlet and content creator cover the arguably most-anticipated AAA game in history throughout the entire holiday season (and not much else), we also know that there's quite a bit of audience overlap within our community (and our team), so…
After a quick consultation with our marketing friends at Evolve PR, Plan Of Attack, and Swordfish PR, we've decided to push back the EVERSPACE 2 Early Access release to January.
In light of this the developer is sending out pre-release keys to all eligible Kickstarter backers from Monday November 2nd, giving access to Everspace 2's closed beta. These keys will be revoked when early access starts with new keys being sent for players to redeem from their PC store of choice. The team also discussed how crafting will work in Everspace 2. Players will need a set of defined crafting resources and specific items. Any item crafted will be level with a player's level so it can be used straight away instead of sitting there unusable until you reach a recommended level. Blueprints will also be available to find in the game, which in turn allows for you to work towards particular items you may want.
Source: Kickstarter
A group of teens go camping in a set of woods and tell ghost stories to one another, what could possibly go wrong? For Saki and her group of friends, a fair bit to be honest. After Saki finds a romantic haiku that she believes is from her fiancé Sen, he flies into a jealous rage that their friend Yuuka wrote it to steal his girl. An argument ensues and Yuuka runs into the forest.
Attempting to sleep off the ill feeling among them, Saki wakes up to find all of her friends gone, and an old abandoned train has appeared where it wasn't before. Exploring the disused train, she soon finds that something is deeply wrong via the telling moments of blood rushing from places it shouldn't, sudden creepy laughter, and things appearing and disappearing as she wanders the carriages.
Taking control of the horridly slow-moving Saki, you have to find her friends whilst solving the mystery of the train, with only a flashlight for company because, well, horror reasons. For this you wander through the train, examining and collecting objects of varying creepiness levels, and talking to the sprinkling of NPCs or reading notes to make progress through the adventure.
The main gameplay comprises of working out the bizarre puzzles littered throughout. These start as simple as lock and key puzzles, such as finding a doll that belongs in a noose for some creepy reason. But they soon develop into puzzles that need the actual writing down of details in real life to solve, such as notes to play on a piano or combinations for numeric locks.
Players will also find various child's drawings throughout the cabins and corridors that give clues as to the next objective, or even a solution of the next puzzle to decipher. This means that if a player considers what they know and possess at any given time, it is almost impossible to get lost or stuck here, with only a quick reference to Saki's diary needed to push you forwards.
One of the more fascinating ideas of the game is the use of time, transporting the player between the present day, and the last voyage of the train back when it was in use. Some puzzles and story elements stretch across both spaces in time, with clues for progress being in the past that you enact in the present. Needless to say that the train itself has been a site of worry for a while.
The interesting thing with Re:Turn is that the explorable area is actually quite small, being only a train and the surrounding area. But, what it does with this space and the fashion with which it lets, or doesn't let, you progress only lends to the tremendous atmosphere the game has. Whatever evil holds this train occasionally affects doors or areas, requiring new solutions to progress.
Re:Turn may be a 2D pixel-art game, but these simple visuals bring out a real sense of horror from their surroundings. They sometimes switch to an anime-style aesthetic to better portray a scene, but normally the pixel-art works well to create a sense of unease, especially as the light from your flashlight only reaches so far and this train is obviously pitch black most of the time.
The developers have paired this with some incredible sound design to complete the atmosphere. There's always little sounds and snatches of movement you can hear just outside of your range of vision. Doors knocking, children's laughter, and the screeches of something inhuman litter the soundscape of the title, even resulting in the occasional jump scare if that's your thing.
[UPDATED]English Lockdown 2: What will happen to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S pre-orders?
England is about to enter a second lockdown in an effort to curb the growing number of cases of Coronavirus Covid-19. This is of course designed to save lives, and to prevent the NHS from being overwhelmed, and as such it's something that absolutely must be done. However, along with a host of questions and worries it creates for households around the country, it will have gamers wondering about what will happen to any PS5 or Xbox Series X|S pre-orders that have been made from a high street store, whether that's at GAME, Argos, Smyths Toys, or another retailer.
There are a number of variables here, beginning with the fact that some game retailers considered themselves essential retail during the first lockdown and remained open. We can all grudgingly agree that they're not essential, even if we consider them to be so, and the chances of GAME or someone else using a loophole like this probably won't last very long.
Smyths ran click and collect services during the first lockdown so they may restart that service. However, if there are hundreds of consoles at pre-ordered at each store then there may still be problems assigning enough time slots on launch day. GAME have also run a click and collect service.
Argos customers may have the best luck as many Argos stores are located in Sainsbury's supermarkets. Any pre-orders at branches that are closed could be shifted to the ones that are open in Sainsburys.
The stores may also shift preorders to delivery, though there's already going to be an almighty strain on delivery services through that period to begin with, with even further issues brought on by a second lockdown. There's very little chance that anyone with an in-store order will receive their console on day one, as the console pre-orders that were already in place for delivery will have all of the capacity booked up.
Combine that with the fact that the new consoles are huge and take up way more space than any previous generation, means fewer will fit on each van. It might be the case that you will receive it within a week, if you're lucky. If it's GAME, they've also started charging an extra £10 for delivery, so you might receive it, but it will cost you more.
We've reached out to GAME, Smyths Toys and Argos for comment.
UPDATE: Smyths have confirmed that pre-orders will be available via click and collect.
UPDATE: Our local GAME have let us know the plans for the Xbox Series X|S launch, which will be that as of Monday the 2nd of November you can pre-pay for your console, and then pick up during limited opening hours (8am to 1pm) on launch day. We're waiting for clarification on whether that extends to PS5 consoles, but hopefully it will.
Attention all! Information about pre orders for next generation consoles will be coming out over the next couple of days. Please make sure your contact details are up to date so we do our best to contact you in these hard times, you can do this via reward app or website!
— GAME Lancaster (@GAME_Lancaster) November 1, 2020
UDPATE: The Government has confirmed that non essentially retail can still run click and collect.
Food shops, supermarkets, garden centres and certain other retailers providing essential goods and services can remain open. Essential retail should follow COVID-secure guidelines to protect customers, visitors and workers.
Non-essential retail can remain open for delivery to customers and click-and-collect.
UDPATE: Argos say they will be running click and collect.
Hello Dave, we are still doing deliveries and Click and Collect. Please keep an eye on our website for all of our latest updates! ~Matt
— Argos Helpers (@ArgosHelpers) November 1, 2020
The PlayStation 5 versions of PS4 games do not support PSVR
PlayStation VR is turning in to a bit a of a mess on PlayStation 5, the new PS5 camera does not work with PSVR and it's now been revealed that PS5 versions of current PS4 games will not support PlayStation VR.
A Sony representative said "We have not announced PS5 titles for PS VR," who also indicated that Hitman 3's VR mode would only be playable via the PS4 version of the game. That mode will have to be played via backward compatibility on PS5, and will mean that even if you take advantage of the free PS5 upgrade, you'll need to keep the PS4 version installed as well for VR. You'll obviously also want the PS5 version installed to get the fancier graphics when playing on your standard TV.
Ubisoft sowed more confusion yesterday when they announced that PSVR titles Star Trek Bridge Crew and Werewolves Within would not be compatible with PS5 but then retracted the statement citing "inaccuracies".
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida has tweeted pictures giving us our first look at the PlayStation 5 camera adaptor that will let you use your PlayStation 4 camera on your new console. You need the adaptor if you are going to be using PlayStation VR on PS5 as the new PS5 camera does not work with PSVR – a very silly decision by Sony.
The adaptor is going to take up on the USB ports on the console, and since another one is used by the PSVR headset that's half of the four ports on the console taken by PSVR. The PS5 has three USB-A ports, one on the front of the console and two on the back, and one USB-C port on the front.
The launch of the PlayStation 5 camera adaptor did not go well with the site failing to register Capturs and details, but everything seems to be working now and you can get yours by heading to the PlayStation website.
The PlayStation 5 camera adaptor might be the only bit of kit you are getting in the near future if you were planning to pick up your console from a high street retailer, the UK seems to be heading to Lockdown 2: Electric Booglaloo which means GAME and other stores will be closed when the PlayStation 5, and indeed the Xbox Series X, launch.
Source: UploadVR
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story heads to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, and current gen in 2021
Riot Forge has announced that the single player RPG Ruined King: A League of Legends Story will be released in early 2021 for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC via Steam and Epic, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch. The game is being developed by Airship Syndicate. Riot Forge also confirmed that players who buy the PS4 and Xbox One versions will get a free upgrade to the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions respectively.
League of Legends has a large roster of Champions but not all of them will be appearing in Ruined King: A League of Legends Story. Instead, the confirmed Champions are Miss Fortune, Illaoi, Pyke Yasuo, Braum and Ahri. There is very little information on what to expect with the official description reading:
Ruined King is a narrative driven turn-based RPG centered around the unlikely partnership between some familiar faces as they work together for the benefit of all Runeterra. This is Riot's first foray into a completable, interactive experience that will allow players (like yourselves) to experience Runeterra in new ways.
Ruined King: A League of Legends Story was the first announced title from Riot Games' publishing arm Riot Forge. Under this label Riot Games will provide all of the necessary support to studios regarding League lore and allow the studios to base games upon established stories or go further and add new stories to the universe which will be canon. Riot Games will also help handle localisation, marketing, and provide voice-over talent. Developers that work with Riot Forge won't be limited when it comes to platforms with PC, consoles, and mobile all areas in which League of Legend games will be published.
Source: Riot Forge
Yesterday Ubisoft revealed that eight of their PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR titles will not work on PlayStation 5 via backward compatibility. The biggest of the bunch is Assassin's Creed Syndicate, but select PSVR titles will also not work. The listed games were:
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles India
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles China
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles Russia
- Risk
- Star Trek Bridge Crew
- Werewolves Within
- Space Junkies
However, Ubisoft have now removed the post citing inaccuracies.
We have pulled the Ubisoft Connect article and forum post regarding backwards compatibility for the time being as there may be inaccuracies involving the Ubisoft titles that will be playable on PS5.
By contrast, Ubisoft have stated definitively that all of their games released for Xbox One will be compatible with Xbox Series X|S, which lines up with Microsoft's quite definitive statements on the matter.
The reason for the incompatibility is not known, but the rest of Ubisoft's back catalogue will work just fine, and they also highlight a number of games that will have bespoke cross-progression support through Ubisoft Connect.
You'll be able to take your game progression (but not microtransactions) with you in the following games:
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna
- Immortals Fenyx Rising: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch
, PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna - Riders Republic: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna
- Hyper Scape: already deployed on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 and PC
While there will be console family cross-progression for Watch Dogs: Legion and Rainbow Six Siege (when its next gen version is released) And they also curiously highlight that games like For Honor (which is receiving a next-gen graphical upgrade), The Division 2, The Crew 2, and the yet to be released Just Dance 2021 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake will also have console family cross-progression, which to my understanding should "just work" through regular backward compatibility.
Source: Gematsu
Something for the Weekend – 31/10/20
October has whizzed by, meaning we are tantalisingly close to the next gen consoles launch. In fact, some of the lucky staff at TSA Towers have got their hands on the new consoles already!
You can expect plenty more news and opinion in the near future, but for now let's recap what happened this week, with plenty of Halloween spooky times to be found if you're looking for them.
In the News This Week
- Cyberpunk 2077 delayed again, now out in December
- PS5 pre-order sales beat first three months of PS4 sales in 12 hours, says Sony
- Every game playable on Xbox One will play on Xbox Series X|S on day one (except for Kinect)
- Far Cry 6 and Rainbow Six: Quarantine both delayed until after March 2021
- No Man's Sky Next Generation update will bring enhancements for PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC
- Patches cut load times for The Last of Us Remastered, Until Dawn and more… on PlayStation 4
- The new PlayStation App which includes PS Messages is here
- EA will be fined €500K every week in the Netherlands until FIFA's Ultimate Team Packs are removed from the game
- PS5 accessibility settings let you turn off DualSense haptics and adaptive triggers
- The PS4 PSVR camera adaptor is not included in the PS5 box, you need to request one separately
- FIFA 21 for PS5 and Xbox Series X|S will launch in December
- Mark Wahlberg seems to have given us the first glimpse of his take on Sully from the Uncharted movie
And here are everyone's free games for November:
- November's PlayStation Plus Games have been revealed – And PS5 launch title Bugsnax will be free for PlayStation Plus owners until January!
- November's Games with Gold includes Aragami & Full Spectrum Warrior
- Xbox Game Pass November line up includes Double Fine remastered titles
Games in Review
It was another strong week for the reviews, proving that this generation is ending on a high:
- Ghostrunner – PS4, XBO, PC, NSW – 9/10
- Pacer – PS4, XBO, PC – 9/10
- Family – PC – 9/10
- The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope – PS4, XBO, PC – 9/10
- Watch Dogs Legion – PS5, XSX, PS4, XBO, PC – 8/10
- Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty Nintendo Switch – NSW – 8/10
- Pikmin 3 Deluxe – NSW – 7/10
- ScourgeBringer – XBO, NSW, PC, Mac – 7/10
- G.I. Joe Operation Blackout – PS4, XBO, PC, NSW – 6/10
- 9 Monkeys of Shaolin – PS4, XBO, PC, NSW – 6/10
- Blair Witch: Oculus Quest Edition VR – Oculus Quest – 6/10
- Little Witch Academia VR Broom Racing – Oculus Quest – 5/10
- Double Pug Switch – NSW – 4/10
Featured Articles
Let's start the previews with Stefan unboxing our Xbox Series X and sharing his thoughts on the "obelisk". It looks better in the flesh don't you think? [It's not fleshy – Ed.]
Meanwhile, Jim shared his first PS5 experience with Astro's Playroom, which he said does a marvellous job of "easing you into the PS5 ecosystem while celebrating the PlayStation's long legacy".
Of course, it's the #PlayStation5 – we're just setting up and will be diving into Astro's Playroom very soon! (strangely large hand for scale) #PS5 pic.twitter.com/Vm6XsiWFiL
— TheSixthAxis (@TheSixthAxis) October 27, 2020
From the current generation, Stefan looked at Season 7 of Apex Legions. Aside from a new map, this season also adds a new vehicle, the hovercar, and a new legend to play, making it one of the biggest updates yet.
And as we're bracing ourselves for a second lockdown, Tom shared how Dark Souls, Twitch, and Discord helped him survive the first one.
Last up, What We Played included Watch Dogs Legion, Little Hope & Yakuza Like a Dragon.
Trailer Park
Watch fives minutes of Demon's Souls PS5 gameplay here
Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Into the Spider-Verse suit revealed with 10 minutes of new gameplay
Your Achievements
Here's what you in our community has been up to this week:
- MrYd says "more of the same", which includes grinding away in Genshin Impact, plenty of Star Wars Squadrons, No Man's Sky and introduced his niece to Minecraft VR!
- Another week another platinum for Crazy Del, who added Astro Bot and LittleBIGPlanet (PSP) to his collection. In addition, he also spent time on Squadrons and Diablo III
- And last up, hornet1990 finished off the Horizon Zero Dawn story!
Well that's it for this week, I'll see you again soon!
Epic confirm first free game for November 2020
With Epic Games having given away of glut of ghostly games to celebrate Halloween, things are returning back to normal next week with the publisher announcing the next title to enter its freebie catalogue.
From November 5th through to November 12th, those with an Epic Games Store account can claim a free copy of Wargame: Red Dragon, a Cold War era RTS currently sitting on a Metacritic average of 78.
Until next Thursday you still have time to grab a pair of recently released games including Ghostbusters The Video Game – Remastered and Blair Witch. For the full list of free Epic games, keep reading.
Epic Games store free game list
| Game Name | Dates Available |
| Wargame: Red Dragon | November 5-12, 2020 |
| Ghostbusters The Video Game – Remastered | October 29-November 5, 2020 |
| Blair Witch | October 29-November 5, 2020 |
| 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
When Dead By Daylight originally launched on consoles back in mid 2017, it didn't leave the best impression. With Friday the 13th: The Game having released just weeks before, and with a glut of similar multiplayer horror games in the pipeline, it was easy to pass over Dead By Daylight.
However, in the months and years since launch it has become something of a juggernaut, boasting a sizeable fan cult while collaborating with some of the biggest names in horror movie history, from Halloween and A Nightmare on Elm Street to Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Scream. 2020 even saw a surprise crossover with Silent Hill featuring Pyramid Head, Cheryl Mason, and Midwich Elementary School.
It's true that developer Behaviour Interactive have succeeded in courting some huge licenses though Dead By Daylight is – at its core – the same game it was back in 2017. Each match hosts five players with one as the killer and the other four working together to thwart them. This is done by powering 5 of the 7 generators scattered around each map (or "Realm") before making a beeline for two possible exits.
Playing as a survivor can look a bit dull at first. You'll likely spend a large portion of each match interacting with the same mini game as you try to power the generators. There really isn't a lot you can do when being mercilessly hunted by a killer, so it can be pretty frustrating to watch your character get downed then strung up on a hook like a piece of meat just moments into a match. This is how the killer wins – by incapacitating players then skewering them on sacrificial barbs for The Entity to come and claim.
It should come as no shock that Dead By Daylight is more enjoyable when donning the often iconic mantle of its killers. The original roster has greatly expanded with each character having their own unique perks and abilities despite inheriting the same basic actions and attacks. Stalking the map and terrorising the other players never gets old, slashing them down, and baiting them as they come to revive fallen teammates. The only downside here is the queueing times to play as the killer – even with cross-play now enabled, you're looking at several minutes to find a game.
The way Dead By Daylight is designed will seem skewed in the killer's favour at first. However, as you learn more about their weaknesses/limitations and the devious tricks survivors can play on their stalkers, the playing field starts to balance out. A well coordinated team can run circles around the killer and leave them feeling like a slapstick slasher from a horror parody.
It's these mind games that make Dead By Daylight a delight to play over and over, combined with a more rewarding progression system than what was available at launch. Archives, Tomes, and Ranked Play – along with constant quality of life improvements – have kept the Dead By Daylight community active as they eagerly await the arrival of each new Chapter.
It has to be said that, even now, the game isn't much of a looker. Environments are fairly drab and lack the same sense of character Behaviour Interactive have worked into their killers, each one based on familiar horror tropes such as murderous clowns and chainsaw-wielding hillbillies. With a next-gen version of Dead By Daylight having already been confirmed, a major visual update is also said to be in the works.
Here's a look at the PlayStation 5 camera adaptor and details of how to get one
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida has tweeted pictures giving us our first look at the PlayStation 5 camera adaptor that will let you use your PlayStation 4 camera on your new console. You need the adaptor if you are going to be using PlayStation VR on PS5 as the new PS5 camera does not work with PSVR – a very silly decision by Sony.
The adaptor is going to take up on the USB ports on the console, and since another one is used by the PSVR headset that's half of the four ports on the console taken by PSVR. The PS5 has three USB-A ports, one on the front of the console and two on the back, and one USB-C port on the front.
The launch of the PlayStation 5 camera adaptor did not go well with the site failing to register Capturs and details, but everything seems to be working now and you can get yours by heading to the PlayStation website.
The PlayStation 5 camera adaptor might be the only bit of kit you are getting in the near future if you were planning to pick up your console from a high street retailer, the UK seems to be heading to Lockdown 2: Electric Booglaloo which means GAME and other stores will be closed when the PlayStation 5, and indeed the Xbox Series X, launch.
Sony recently revealed the accessibility options that will be built into the PlayStation 5 system software at launch, taking the already broad options available for the PlayStation 4 and expanding them further.
Text to speech, inverting colours, custom button assignments and more are present, but the PS5 will also offer voice dictation through the DualSense controller or other connected microphone, a Screen Reader feature to speak on-screen text, and text to speech for party chats. There will also be colour correction to allow users to adjust colours on a system level, and the ability to set presets that supporting games can load up automatically as they launch.
Obviously, this also extends to the DualSense controller as well, with the PS5 letting you reduce or completely disable the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers built into the controller, just as you can turn the rumble feature off for the DualShock 4 on PS4.
Source: Twitter
How Dark Souls, Twitch, and Discord helped me survive lockdown
Polish-British sociologist and philosopher Zygmunt Bauman once said that 'Community is like a big family,' a statement which hits incredibly close to home for me in one of the most difficult years of my life. Fortunately, a small Twitch community composed of streamers, gamers and mostly Scottish people has provided a sense of community I've sorely missed in 2020.
This time last year, we knew 2020 was going to be a challenging year for us. My partner was six months pregnant with twins, and we were expecting their delivery in the early part of this year. Adapting to being a new parent is difficult, so we were both mentally preparing for the challenges of raising twins. What we didn't expect though was COVID-19, a virus that spread across the world causing a global pandemic and a record-breaking recession.
In what should have been our first year of being parents, we were thrust into lockdown. I soon found myself furloughed. Instead of being able to focus on fatherhood, I felt consumed with anxiety. How am I going to support our family? What happens at the other side of this pandemic? Will I have a career to come back to? While I know my story is far from one of the worst, it's been a difficult year.
Around the start of lockdown, a friend of mine started streaming the Dark Souls series. Each day at 2pm, he would start streaming to what was initially a group of up to 20 people, but this grew in time. During furlough, this streaming schedule gave me the kind of structure that I missed while being out of work and it also provided a social element to my day, something I had missed after working in an office for four years.
There's something special about the Dark Souls series that draws people in. This is a game in which every playthrough feels personal and special, and watching someone else experience it is genuinely a delight. It might be the shared pain of failing a boss for the 30th time, or the sense of community elation upon the boss's death on the 31st, but I think Dark Souls is easy for people to gravitate towards because people are instantly invested based on how arduous a journey it is. It was enough for me, a person who doesn't typically watch Twitch streams, to invest the following months watching on a daily basis.
It would appear I wasn't alone in venturing towards Twitch for some semblance of a social life and structure. From the start of lockdown in April, Twitch and many other online platforms experienced an unprecedented amount of growth. Livestream viewership across Twitch Facebook YouTube rose by a huge 45% year-on-year between last April and March 2020 with a 99% increase compared to the previous before that. With much of the world going into lockdown at the beginning of spring, it's clear that people were flocking to online streams to find a brief escape from reality.
As the community grew around my Souls streaming friend, he decided it was time to create a Discord channel. His Discord community features everything from music to art, through to a channel specifically dedicated to Paradise Killer – which is a great game. More than that though, it provided an opportunity for the community to communicate outside of streaming hours. Rather than having brief chats during a stream, we were now sharing our favourite music, films and food with one another. This is a distinct group of people who have all come together over our friendship/ fandom of a particular individual, but I think it stretches further than that. This is a group of people who have seen a drastic change in the way they live, and this community provides a home away from home and some kind of escape from the dredges of coronavirus life.
Sometime through July, I was told that my position was at risk of redundancy. This was a business I'd spent four years of my life working at, and it devastated me. It wasn't a decision I wanted to make, but it was one I felt was best for my mental health. Throughout that time, I went to the Discord channel for their support and guidance. This is primarily a group of people around the same age as me, all skilled and developing in their careers and people I felt could provide the safe space I needed to vent. Their support and words of kindness at that time kept me focused and stopped me falling into an episode of anxiety, something that would have likely happened had I not started watching those streams in April.
I think my journey with Twitch and the vast growth of online streaming perhaps hints to a future where many more of our social interactions are based online rather than in a physical space. Not only is it safer in a world gripped by COVID, but it's also much more affordable. Visiting a pub with your friends is great, but you can get the same interaction spending time on Twitch together watching a movie or playing Twitch Sings.
Twitch and gaming in particular are not the only digital industries to see an increase in engagement this year. When Formula 1 moved from physical to digital competitions in the light of delaying the season, its YouTube channel saw a staggering increase of 2.16 million subscribers and an increase of 1,551,059,508 video views (based on Social Blade data) compared to the previous year. There's been a clear shift throughout COVID, with more people turning to different platforms for entertainment and socialisation.
Social media and the act of communicating online are often painted as a harbinger of negative mental health, and while some aspects of that are certainly true, I think we need to understand the positive effects it had and has continued to have throughout lockdown. Friends and families are spending time together online across the country, we're collectively finding new ways to stay entertained and more than ever before, we need to appreciate the arts and creative individuals who provide this entertainment and interaction we've so sorely needed during one of the most isolating years of our lives.
This is not how I had intended to end this, but Rishi Sunak's recent comments calling for 'creative industries' to adapt to new jobs made me think about how important creators have been in this lockdown. While my friend may not work as a Twitch streamer full-time, it's him and other online creators who provided the community and family that so many people needed.
So to you @FizzyJoose and the entire Discord community, thank you for making this terrible year ever so slightly more bearable.
House of Ashes revealed as the next game in The Dark Pictures Anthology
The next game in The Dark Pictures Anthology has been revealed, previous titles have explored ghost ships and spooky woods, this time we're heading in to the desert and dark caves. The game is titled House of Ashes and the teaser begins with soldiers shooting something off screen before moving on to a a woman, who looks rather like Ashley Tisdale, being spooked in a cave.
The video has been captured from the end of The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope, and is also teased as a premonition in the game, and a third tease can be spotted when you first meet The Curator. In that scene he takes a book from a shelf, and it it seems to be a series of four books. The first has a ship, representing Man of Medan, on the spine and the second book, the one selected by the Curator has the stick figure from Little Hope. The third book seems to have a crescent of some sort on it, perhaps a moon, or something more stylised.
YouTube comments seem to think that the game is going to involve Pazuzu and the demons of the underworld in the Arabian Desert in Iraq. No formats have been revealed but we would expect PlayStation, Xbox, and PC as usual.
Little Hope is out today and scored an impressive 9/10 in our review.
"If there was ever a time to sit down with some friends and play a scary game, it's Halloween 2020," said our reviewer. "Little Hope fits the bill perfectly The annoyances found in Man of Medan have been almost completely removed leaving a spooky tale with jump scares to giggle about, heart racing action, and tonnes of atmosphere. For £25 Little Hope is an absolute steal and highly recommended."
You should listen to that chap, talks some sense he does.
[UPDATE] Leaked video shows Spider-Man: Miles Morales loading blisteringly fast on a PlayStation 5
It appears someone on YouTube has s got a PlayStation 5 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales early and posted a video – in 480p no less – showing just how fast the game loads. In short, blimmin' fast, pity the artists who design loading screens as they don't have a job anymore.
Check out the video below before Sony take it down.
Well that got removed rather quickly, let's see how long this one on Twitter stays up.
Nope, that went as well, here's another one.
DUDE the load times for Spider-Man Miles Morales are INSANELY FAST on PS5 (keep in mind this is from a cold boot too) pic.twitter.com/8ZbfnqdsOK
— wept (@WeptReach) October 30, 2020
Earlier today Insomniac Games revealed the Into the Spider-Verse suit, styled after the suit worn by the Miles Morales Spider-Man in the 2018 animated film. The suit will be a launch day bonus for those pre-ordering the game, though will be unlockable through other means.
Impressively, Insomniac have gone the extra mile to, not only capture the lithe, cartoony style of the character from the film, but also to animate him like the film character. One of the key elements that ran through the film was the clashing visual styles as different Spider-Man characters from across the Spider-Verse were drawn together. It pitched Miles Morales as the novice character having to learn his trade on the fly, and this was in part represented by halving the rate at which he animated in comparison to the more experienced Spider-characters. You can definitely see some of that in play here.
Having originally been revealed during the June PlayStation 5 showcase, Sony announced in September also revealed that Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a cross-gen game, coming to both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, with an upgrade path to next-gen. It was a surprising turn of events, considering the tone of Sony's statements about their first party games over the past half year, but a welcome one for those unable to upgrade at this time to be able to still enjoy some of Sony's upcoming games.
It's also coming in an Ultimate Edition bundle for the next-gen console, which will feature a thoroughly revised and remastered version of the original Marvel's Spider-Man which, among other things, gives Peter Parker a new face.
In our review of the original game, Gareth wrote:
Marvel's Spider-Man does a spectacular job of making you feel like the ultimate Spider-Man. From swinging through the city at high speed to fighting off legions of enemies by zipping between them and pulling them into the air, its gameplay looks like a scene from the films. It's remarkably well realised in terms of its world, design, and even technically, with short loading times and a rock solid framerate even on the base PlayStation 4. If Spider-Man is your thing then this is an essential purchase.
You can read the full review here.
Plate Station has had to change its name and remove PS5 imagery following Sony complaint
Earlier this week, it came to light that a third party company going by the name the Plate Station was selling custom face plates for the PS5. Now, the company has been forced to change its name and take off all pictures of the PS5 from its site after Sony issued a complaint about the company's name and the site name which was PlateStation5.com. The site is now called Customize My Plates and generic pictures are used to show colours it is selling. On top of that the site has stated it has sold out of all of its products for the time being.
The prices for each one are £32/€34.95/$39.99. According to the site's FAQ the company will be shipping the plates from November 12th and delivery should take 5-7 days. The FAQ confirms that the plates will not have the PS logo on them as these are third party plates. The FAQ also states that purchasers cannot mix and match colours at ordering, as the sets come in one colour each. The matte black edition will only be available until the end of 2020, but if the company sees high demand then more will be released. The reason for the pictures being renders and not actual photos of the product is because the prototypes are being created, but Plate Station states that it will be releasing images soon.
In terms of the PS5 warranty, the Plate Station states that changing the plates should not impact any warranty players have with Sony for the PS5 as the plates are removable and can be changed. It makes sense because it is likely Sony will release their own plates eventually for PS5 owners to purchase. The Plate Station is based in the UK but the plates themselves are being manufactured in China.
UPDATE: Customize My Plays, nee Plate Station, have posted the following message.
Hey!
You might've noticed that our website was out of action for a short while yesterday. We had to make some changes but we're back up now!
You can now find us at customizemyplates.com. Same plates, same team, different name :)
If you placed an order via our previous domain, this is unaffected and your order number remains the same. But if you want your order confirmation to be resent, please let us know and we'd be happy to do that!
We set out on this mission to customize and enhance your gaming experience, which we are still 100% committed to, but we want to make sure we do so in a way that doesn't infringe upon any trademarks or patents. For this reason we've started working with some great people to ensure our products are safe, compliant, and most importantly manufactured to the highest possible standards.
Due to this we expect there to be small delays in shipping. We're still aiming to move forward with production in the next few weeks, but depending on when you ordered you should expect around a 3-week delay. We will of course continue to keep you in the loop and let you know of any updates, and otherwise once your plates are processed and shipped you will receive a notification.
We look forward to shipping out your plates really soon, but of course if wish to cancel your order and get a full refund let us know and we'll process that right away.
If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to contact our customer support at hello@customizemyplates.com.
Source: VGC
NBA 2K21 will have a WNBA MyPlayer experience, confirms 2K
2K has confirmed that NBA 2K21 will have a WNBA MyPlayer experience so players can do a whole career from start to finish in the WNBA. That experience is called The W. The WNBA had a bit of a presence in NBA 2K20 but this will be the first time it gets this attention in the series. To mark this announcement 2K has released a brand new gameplay trailer showing snippets of The W including player customisation and gameplay.
The description for the new trailer reads:
As many are aware, in recent years ads have been integrated into 2KTV segments. Yesterday's 2KTV ad placement impacted our players' experience in a way we didn't intend, as these ads are not meant to run as part of the pre-game introduction.
This will be fixed in future episodes.
Thanks for your continued feedback
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: YouTube
Genshin Impact 1.1 trailer teases what will be coming next
MiHoYo has released a new teaser trailer related the Genshin Impact with this footage showcasing what new features will be coming to the game in update 1.1. That includes the new characters Tartaglia, Zhongli, Xinyan, and Diona. Tartaglia wields ice powers, Zhongli has fire on his side as does Xinyan, and Diona appears to have ice powers too. MiHoYo were are going to release more details overnight. The teaser trailer ends with the phase A New Star Approaches. You can watch the teaser below.
In our review for Genshin Impact, Miguel wrote:
Some of Ubisoft's PS4 and PSVR games won't run on PS5, including Assassin's Creed
Ubisoft have revealed that eight of their PlayStation 4 and PlayStation VR titles will not work on PlayStation 5 via backward compatibility. The biggest of the bunch is Assassin's Creed Syndicate, but there will be sad PSVR headset sounds for the likes of Star Trek Bridge Crew as well.
The games are:
- Assassin's Creed Syndicate
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles Trilogy Pack
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles India
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles China
- Assassin's Creed Chronicles Russia
- Risk
- Star Trek Bridge Crew
- Werewolves Within
- Space Junkies
This is despite Sony providing a list of ten games that did not list these Ubisoft titles as being incompatible with the PS5.
By contrast, Ubisoft have stated definitively that all of their games released for Xbox One will be compatible with Xbox Series X|S, which lines up with Microsoft's quite definitive statements on the matter.
The reason for the incompatibility is not known, but the rest of Ubisoft's back catalogue will work just fine, and they also highlight a number of games that will have bespoke cross-progression support through Ubisoft Connect.
You'll be able to take your game progression (but not microtransactions) with you in the following games:
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna
- Immortals Fenyx Rising: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Nintendo Switch, PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna
- Riders Republic: Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, PC, Stadia and Amazon Luna
- Hyper Scape: already deployed on Xbox One, PlayStation®4 and PC
While there will be console family cross-progression for Watch Dogs: Legion and Rainbow Six Siege (when its next gen version is released) And they also curiously highlight that games like For Honor (which is receiving a next-gen graphical upgrade), The Division 2, The Crew 2, and the yet to be released Just Dance 2021 and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake will also have console family cross-progression, which to my understanding should "just work" through regular backward compatibility.
So… Ubisoft have managed to make backward compatibility all a bit murky and confusing again with weirdly defined boundaries and categories, and, of course, a bunch of games that they've decided to leave behind to the sands of time…. but only on PS5.
Source: Ubisoft
Praey For The Gods is coming to PS5 and PS4 in early 2021
It was way back in 2016 when we last saw something major about Praey For The Gods, though then it was Prey for the Gods, from No Matter Studio. Back then it was expected the game would be released in 2017 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Well, No Matter has now broken its silence to confirm that Praey For The Gods will be released in early 2021. and that it will be released on PS4 and PS5. The game has been available in an early access state on PC.
Praey For The Gods will run at 30fps on PS4 and at 60fps with improved graphics on the PS5, including full shadows, high res textures. The studio has confirmed that people who buy the PS4 version will get a free upgrade to PS5. The PS5 version will take advantage of the DualSense controller with players being able to feel the tension of the bowstring and the feeling of snow crunching underfoot. The studio has stated that it is taking its time to find different ways that the DualSense can be used for Praey For The Gods.
Praey For The Gods has taken inspiration from Shadow of the Colossus. The player will have to destroy the giant creatures that roam the land in an effort to bring an end to the unending winter that has plagued the land. It seems to save the world you have to destroy the very ones that are tasked with protecting it.
Source: PS Blog
Final Fantasy XVI world and character details revealed by Square Enix
Back in September, Square Enix revealed Final Fantasy XVI for PS5 (maybe PC). Now a lot more details about the world and characters of Final Fantasy XVI have been confirmed, with medieval styled world embracing its past while offering something different. The world of Final Fantasy XVI is called Valisthea and it is a land covered in Mothercrystals that release aether and allow people to use magicks. Around each Mothercrystal different nations have risen. They have co-existed but now a Blight is going across the land and shattering the peace that was plentiful.
There are six realms in Valisthea and they are The Grand Duchy of Rosaria, The Holy Empire of Sanbreque, The Kingdom of Waloed, The Dhalmekian Republic, The Iron Kingdom, and The Crystalline Dominion. Descriptions of each realm can be found below.
The Grand Duchy of Rosaria – Long ago, a group of small independent provinces in western Valisthea found strength in unity, and formed the Grand Duchy of Rosaria. After years of relative prosperity, the duchy now finds itself threatened by the spread of the Blight—a threat that, left unchecked, would doubtless usher the realm to ruin. Rosaria draws its aether from Drake's Breath, a Mothercrystal situated on a volcanic island off the coast. The Dominant of the Phoenix, Eikon of Fire, is enthroned as Archduke when they come of age.
The Holy Empire of Sanbreque – Sanbreque is the largest theocratic force in Valisthea. The Empire's holy capital Oriflamme is built around Drake's Head, the Mothercrystal that blesses the surrounding provinces with abundant aether. The people happily take advantage of this, living in comfort and security under the watchful gaze of the Holy Emperor, whom they worship as the living incarnation of the one true deity. The Dominant of [Unknown] serves as the empire's champion, taking to the field in times of war to rout its enemies.
The Kingdom of Waloed – Waloed claims the entirety of Ash, the eastern half of Valisthea, as its dominion. The kingdom's control of the continent has oft been tested by the orcs and other beastmen who make their home there, but the current ruler of the realm—Dominant of [Unknown]—has succeeded in quelling their rebellions. Using the power of the kingdom's Mothercrystal, Drake's Spine, this new king has built up a mighty army, with which he now seeks to test the borders of his neighbors.
The Dhalmekian Republic – The Dhalmekian Republic is made up of five states, from which the members of its ruling parliament are drawn. Its Mothercrystal, Drake's Fang, is half-hidden in the heart of a mountain range—the republic's control over it, and its aether, securing the obedience of the large part of southern Valisthea. The Dominant of Titan, Eikon of Earth, is installed as a special advisor to parliament and has a significant say in its decision-making.
It could be a while before we see a full release, with Director Hiroshi Takai adding, "It may still be some time before we can get it into your hands. However, I promise it will be worth the wait!"
Source: Final Fantasy XVI official site
What We Played #473 – Watch Dogs Legion, Little Hope & Yakuza Like a Dragon
Time has now slowed to a crawl. The new consoles are further away than ever. So close, and yet, so unfairly far. Still, I suppose we have PS4s, Xbox Ones, PCs, Stadia and Switches to keep us going. Ho Hum. Still, I've had lots of fun playing the Immortals Fenyx Rising demo a number of times, as well as making a start on Watch Dogs Legion, putting more time back in on Breath of the Wild (it's the best Zelda game by the way Jason), and speeding through crazy tracks in Pacer.
Tuffcub was first up this week and he's been playing The Dark Pictures Anthology: Little Hope, telling us "it's fab". Meanwhile Thomas Harrison-Lord has been playing GT Sport again as the PS5 nears, as he's hoping we hear something more about GT7 soon.
Our second Tom of the week, Thomas Hughes has played lots of Ghostrunner "which is probably one of the best PC game's this year and I'm also now playing Yakuza: Like a Dragon ahead of its release next month, but more on that soon!"
Nick P has been playing Ghost of Tsushima's Legends Mode, saying "It's a surprisingly nice addition to my GOTY. Great value considering it's free. I've also finally managed to jump back on TLOU2 which is still slow going. Lot's of being sneaky for five minutes before resorting to YEETING myself into fights."
All about the punchy-game review train, Ade finishing off 9 Monkeys of Shaolin, which was "sadly a little meh". Now he's on with Monster Prom XXL, Asterix and Obelix Romeastered, and Cobra Kai… phew!
Nic B has also been playing Watch Dogs Legion; "I must say I'm underwhelmed by how poorly optimised it is. Hopefully the PS5 version will fix the load times and last night's update fill fix the bugs we've all seen". Other than that, he's played Magic (because obviously he's payed Magic) and dabbled with Cardpocalypse, a CCG set in a primary school, telling us "Full review to come, but suffice to say it's a pretty decent game, all round."
Also under the review cosh is Steve, with Batbarian, Oceanhorn 2, Battle Hunters, and Blair Witch VR, while he's played Mummy Demastered and the incredible Sayonara Wild Hearts for fun.
Reuben has put in time on ScourgeBringer and If Found… for review. Besides that it's been a lot of Genshin Impact "because everyone have blazed ahead of me in this game, and played a bit of Dino Crisis 2 for the podcast I co-host, which he's not overly keen on (the game, not the podcast).
Aran has been playing more Yakuza 4. "Got a few more chapters to get through and I've liked the story. Think I prefer it to Yakuza 3. Also played I Am Dead for review which I found very enjoyable too."
Gareth has played Cloudpunk and a bit of Damsel, both for review. Meanwhile Jason, other than being silly and thinking Majora's. Mask is the best Zelda game, has been playing more Rocket League "where I continue to be bad but marginally less bad than I was last week. I've also been playing Apex Legends again and have even been not doing as terribly at that either."
Jim has played more Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, telling us "I think my Ronin is just about ready for the first raid – having loads of fun with this mode but getting weary that I still haven't finished the single player campaign. Also dabbled in some more Final Fantasy VI." Oh, and he's got a PS5 as part of our next-gen review train – read his thoughts on Astro's Playroom and the DualSense here.
Miguel reviewed Watch Dogs Legion for us last weekend, before sinking into more 13 Sentinels, "which is definitely easily my game of the year". He also played some Apex, a little Predator Hunting Grounds, that new Devolver joint Disc Room, and hopped into the Crash Bandicoot remasters on a whim. "I also played Animal Crossing on my birthday and got very emotional about the in-game birthday festivities."
And finally, Tef has played a little bit of Watch Dogs Legion, just pootling around "Landan" in a futuristic car. He picked a 60yo Jamaican chap as his first DedSec recruit, simply because he's also called Stefan. He also got an advanced look at the next season of Apex Legends. Beside that? Well, he's got both a PS5 and an Xbox Series X, and has started on the journey to review both these next-gen consoles. More on that very, very soon.
Apex Legends Season 7 turns Olympus into a warzone with hovercars and black holes
Spinning off a battle royale from the Titanfall series, it was only a matter of time before vehicles came to Apex Legends… but Season 7's new mode of transport doesn't come with its own pair of legs, nor does it have arms, a gun or an AI core. Enter the Trident Hovercar.
The name tells you everything you need to know about this vehicle. A trident is a three-pronged spear, alluding to the three seats of the Trident, allowing for one driver and two passengers on either side of the vehicles body. but where a spear is a deadly weapon, the Trident is more passive and has been tuned by Respawn to fill a very particular role.
They describe is as a "rotation tool", giving players more and better ways to quickly get around the map and pick a different path through to the next ring, defusing some of the pressures of dropping to the edges of a map at the start of a game. That is its one and only purpose. You can't use it as an offensive battering ram, as it will simply float over anyone you try to run down, and while you can fire from the side of the vehicle, it also makes you and your squad a bigger target.
While you can still try to snipe out the driver, any bullets hitting the Trident itself sees the damage distributed evenly between its passengers. In other words, you can blast away at it and still feel like you're doing good damage to its occupants, as I found when stranded on my own while a Trident team floated around nearby. There's the animation time needed to get in and out, making the use of a Trident something you really need to consider and not really a way to gang rush a location.
It's a vehicle that comes with an awful lot of caveats, but there are still advantages to it. You can prop Rampart's turret on top of it, Gibraltar's shield dome, and even Caustic's gas traps (basically just for the memes, per Respawn), giving you some additional offensive and defensive options. Respawn have clearly been very cautious in their approach to adding vehicles, seeing how big an impact they can have on the pace, flow and meta of other battle royale games. Oh, and you can only find the Trident on the new map.
Season 7 sees the addition of Olympus to Apex Legends, a third map to live alongside World's Edge and Kings Canyon. This map is set on an abandoned floating city, a once opulent paradise that has been abandoned after a Phase rift ripped through a research facility built into one part of the map. Characters like Octane and Lifeline have connections to the city, as well as Loba and Revenant, with the Reverie Lounge restaurant where Loba's parents were murdered featured atop a skyscraper by Bonsai Plaza.
What's fascinating is how Respawn have constructed this to really give it an individual visual style. It has a real artificial style to it thanks to all the open spaces being built out of polygonal terrain, triangular slices of grassy greenery stuck together, all contrasting with the rounded, flowing design of the buildings dotted around the map. It's all very sci-fi and very different feeling to the game's first two maps, but it's also surprisingly open. You might expect a floating city to be efficient and flat, but there's still plenty of diversity to be found here with big elevation changes and hills to climb up or slide down, and there's large ramps that help keep things feeling open even as your funnelled through to a location. It's quite clear that all of this has been designed with the Trident in mind.
As you would expect, there's also plenty of different locations that will be easily identifiable and become fan favourite drop points. The aforementioned Bonsai Plaza is an example of the opulent lives that could play out on Olympus, but then there's the docked Arcadia Cruiser that you can go inside and bunker down with defensive Legends, while the Rift that has torn through the research campus and turned it into a big destroyed crater. There's still buildings around it which could act as intriguing defensive points in a tense fight.
That rift also ties into another of the key ways of getting around the map. The Phase Runner connects a trio of locations together – the rift is one end of this network – throwing you into the phase dimension similar to Wraith's smaller portals. The key difference is that you will still take ring damage.
There's a lot to get used to with the new map and the new vehicle, and so Respawn have created the Olympus Preview. This will be a limited time mode running for the first two weeks of Season 7, and the first damage-free sandbox mode that Apex has seen. Essentially, it's a testbed for players to dive in, explore and try things out. You'll have a faster moving ring to funnel you through the map quicker, and there will be three rounds with fresh drops to cut out a bit of matchmaking waiting.
It should also be a great way to play around with Horizon, the new Legend in the game. With a thick Scottish accent, her back story is tied to the rift and the crisis that saw Olympus abandoned, as she sought a solution to an energy crisis that (through a little light backstabbing) saw her trapped on the event horizon of a black hole for 87 years – do you get her name now?
All of this ties into her abilities. As an astrophysicist and astronaut, her space suit gives her increased air control and softer landings that preserve more momentum compared to other characters. Her tactical ability is then a Gravity Lift, which lifts players up and lets them exit the lift at any point, a crucial difference to the simple jump pad that Octane can throw down, but with the same effect of increasing vertical mobility.
Finally, her Ultimate is a mini Black Hole created by Newt, her robot companion. Similar to the Gravity Star in Titanfall 2, it pulls players in, dragging them out of cover and potentially exposing them to your gunfire. The key here is balance, with people caught in the gravity well able to drag themselves back out of it, and the difference of the battle royale format making its use and timing more crucial. Respawn will no doubt analyse and tweak how the Black Hole is used to ensure it's balanced.
Elsewhere there's also tweaks to how battle pass challenges are highlighted, showing you the next thing coming up, as well as a new Clubs system that you can create or join to try and find a little in-game community. Oh, and Crossplay is coming out of beta in Season 7 as well.
More ways to team up (and across platforms), a new hero, a striking new map, the game's first vehicle and more. Season 7 – Horizon adds up to one of the biggest seasonal updates to Apex Legends yet.
Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Into the Spider-Verse suit revealed with 10 minutes of new gameplay
One of the hottest games coming out in the next month is sure to be Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. A spin-off and continuation of the hit Marvel's Spider-Man, the game sees the Afro-Latino superhero step into the spotlight, and just as with Insomniac Games' first foray into licensed superhero games, they're paying homage to the character's background and history through unlockable suits for Miles to wear.
Today they've revealed the Into the Spider-Verse suit, styled after the suit worn by the Miles Morales Spider-Man in the 2018 animated film. The suit will be a launch day bonus for those pre-ordering the game, though will be unlockable through other means.
Impressively, Insomniac have gone the extra mile to, not only capture the lithe, cartoony style of the character from the film, but also to animate him like the film character. One of the key elements that ran through the film was the clashing visual styles as different Spider-Man characters from across the Spider-Verse were drawn together. It pitched Miles Morales as the novice character having to learn his trade on the fly, and this was in part represented by halving the rate at which he animated in comparison to the more experienced Spider-characters. You can definitely see some of that in play here.
Having originally been revealed during the June PlayStation 5 showcase, Sony announced in September also revealed that Spider-Man: Miles Morales is a cross-gen game, coming to both PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, with an upgrade path to next-gen. It was a surprising turn of events, considering the tone of Sony's statements about their first party games over the past half year, but a welcome one for those unable to upgrade at this time to be able to still enjoy some of Sony's upcoming games.
It's also coming in an Ultimate Edition bundle for the next-gen console, which will feature a thoroughly revised and remastered version of the original Marvel's Spider-Man which, among other things, gives Peter Parker a new face.
In our review of the original game, Gareth wrote:
Marvel's Spider-Man does a spectacular job of making you feel like the ultimate Spider-Man. From swinging through the city at high speed to fighting off legions of enemies by zipping between them and pulling them into the air, its gameplay looks like a scene from the films. It's remarkably well realised in terms of its world, design, and even technically, with short loading times and a rock solid framerate even on the base PlayStation 4. If Spider-Man is your thing then this is an essential purchase.
You can read the full review here.
Source: YouTube