Even if you skip the Epic Games Store's Black Friday sale, make sure you grab MudRunner for free
Even if you aren't proactively hunting down Black Friday gaming deals, it's still worth popping over to the Epic Games Store this week to claim MudRunner – a sim game about trudging through "untamed landscapes" with big burly vehicles – while it's completely free until Thursday, December 3.
That's the same day the Epic Game Store's Black Friday sale will come to a close.
What looks good? Watch Dogs: Legion ($44.99) is already 25% off a month after launch. There's also Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2 ($29.99), Ghostrunner ($23.99), Anno 1800 ($19.79), Crysis Remastered ($19.49), Ooblets ($19.99), Tetris Effect ($23.99), Saints Row: The Third Remastered ($27.99), Journey to the Savage Planet ($14.99), Wattam ($11.99), Maneater ($23.99), and Huntdown ($11.99).
Every time there's a sale, I try to take stock of the timed exclusives – and I'm usually surprised by the results. If you're coming at this from a similar mindset, Game Watcher has a solid running list.
Next week's free Epic Store game will be Cave Story+ of all things. It's an unforgettable adventure.
Review: World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
Since World of Warcraft's launch in 2004, I've seen pretty much every up and down you can imagine. Its highest points (Burning Crusade into Wrath of the Lich King), its lowest point (shades of Cataclysm, Pandaria, and most of Draenor), and everything in-between.
But however you choose to slice it, I've really been enjoying the upward trend in the game since Legion. While Shadowlands isn't quite Legion-level quality, it does keep the spirit of the game alive and well after nearly two decades of service. That's a feat.
Sakura Revolution launches in Japan December 15
Sega has announced that its new Sakura Wars mobile title, Sakura Kakumei: Hanasaku Otome-tachi, (or Sakura Revolution) will arrive in Japan on iOS and Android platforms December 15.
Developed by Delightworks, Sakura Revolution is a scaled-down take on Sega's cult Sakura Wars series, as young women of various artistic endeavors take to their "Spiricle Dress" battle armor to fight off invading inter-dimensional monsters and demons. Sakura Revolution will feature touch-screen turn-based battles, intense boss fights and - as a free-to-play title - will no doubt come laden with microtransactions.
You can check out the latest gameplay footage in the new trailer below. Sakura Revolution is yet to receive official word of a western localization, but given Sega's desire to expand the franchise's fanbase on the international stage, it is not out of the question.
Star Wars: Squadrons just got its 120FPS new-gen upgrade: But only on Series X/S
So earlier this month, EA shared their plans for next-gen Star Wars: Squadron upgrades.
The gist was that Xbox Series X/S consoles would get a 120 FPS option, while PS5 would simply be bolstered with "improved visual quality and lighting." That patch has rolled out this week and did exactly that. Update 3.0 is now live for all you Squadrons players, which adds multiple toggles to the Series X/S editions, and the "same resolution and framerate as the PS4 Pro" for PS5.
But there's a little more here than new visual sheens. The Fostar Haven map is now available for the dogfight and fleet battles modes, and numerous bugs have been fixed on all platforms. HOTAS (hands on throttle-and-stick) rigs will also now work with devices that support up to 128 buttons: a stark upgrade from the previously supported 40. That's huge! Developer Motive was big on supporting that classic flight sim crowd pre-launch and they've stuck to that philosophy.
Also, more cosmetics are in too, including a paint job "inspired by the classic Kenner Products" Star Wars toys. Going off on a tangent, if you even remotely enjoy toy history, give The Toys that Made Us a watch on Netflix. They have an episode specifically dealing with the long and messy history of Star Wars products.
If you're more interested in the nitty gritty of the patch notes, you can find a rundown of the general upgrades below, or the full notes here.
Six Bit.Trip titles coming to Nintendo Switch on December 25
If you're a Switch owner yearning for the return of the fast-runnin' high-jumpin' antics of Commander Video, then today brings you good news, as QubicGames has announced that it will be bringing six entries in the beloved Bit.Trip series to the Nintendo platform next month.
From December 25, Switch owners can download up rhythm-action title Bit.Trip Beat, along with its follow-ups Bit.Trip Core and Bit.Trip Void. Also coming to the eShop will be fast-thinking platformer Bit.Trip Runner, as well as twin-stick shooter Bit.Trip Fate, and paddle game Bit.Trip Flux.
Each title will retail for around $5 USD, so that's a somewhat pricey $30 for the whole set. That said, they are excellent games, and if you've yet to experience this colourful, beat-heavy, and engaging collection of simplistic but addictive titles. This might be the perfect opportunity.
So we know that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is doing very well for Nintendo. How well? Try over 26 million units since September 30, 2020. It's poised to eventually eclipse Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's 28.99 million mark if it keeps this up; as New Horizons was released nearly three years after Deluxe.
But it's also very big in Japan. The Switch is crushing it over there (as are mobile devices, as Japan still heavily favors portable gaming), but New Horizons is too. According to information from analyst Game Data Library, now that New Horizons has reached the six million sold mark in the region, it is now one of only five titles ever to do so; and the first to reach that target since New Super Mario Bros. was released on the original DS in 2006.
As Game Data Library points out, it is likely the fastest-selling game in Japanese history too. It only took seven months to reach that figure, while Pokemon Gold/Silver attained that honor in 13 months, followed by Pokemon Red/Green/Blue (26 months), New Super Mario Bros (four and a half years), and Super Mario Bros. (Game Data Library projects around four years).
It's a big win for Nintendo, and it came at basically the perfect time. While you could argue that the developers didn't keep the ball rolling with substantial content (or timely quality of life updates that a lot of simulation titles are already employing), it already made its money!
Game Data Library [Twitter]
Greedfall to receive expanded edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X
Focus Home Entertainment has announced that its dark colonial RPG GreedFall will be journeying onto next-gen platforms in 2021. GreedFall for PS5 and Xbox Series X will bring the dramatic adventure to the new consoles in its entirety, along with brand new, undisclosed content.
Developed by Spiders (not literally) and released on PS4, PC, and Xbox One back in 2019, GreedFall tells a turn-of-the-century story about a group of explorers who travel to uncharted land in search of the cure for a grim virus. Arriving at the mysterious locale of Teer Fradee, our protagonists find a people at war with both invading armies and a slew of vicious monsters. It is up to the player to earn the trust (or ire) of the encountered characters, keeping the party alive whilst searching for a cure to save civilization.
No release date was announced for the PS5 or Xbox Series X release. We will keep you informed when more details are forthcoming.
For years, Final Fantasy XIV has been hosting these fireside chats for the game called "Letter from the Producer Live."
They're such a big deal that I've actually watched them in a room with other XIV players like they were an E3 presentation: it's generally where most of the bigger news breaks for the game. As the team prepares to deliver patch 5.4 (which has a date of December 8), news is indeed coming out of today's stream, recapped on Twitter. So let's start breaking down some of the bigger things patch 5.4 is going to offer, from the vague to the precise.
As is customary job changes are coming, with big alterations for the Monk on the docket. Triple Triad is also getting a substantial update, which the Twitter account jokes is the "true endgame" (haha, kind of true for some people). The new Eden's Promise raid (the last hardcore wing of the expansion) seems to have Final Fantasy VIII music, and the upcoming Unreal Trial is confirmed to be Titan. A tougher Titan fight has been rumored for a long while now, so this should be a welcome surprise for older players who witnessed countless party members fall off that cliff. The Ishgardian Restoration process will also hit its "final phase" in patch 5.4.
Perhaps most importantly for casual fans though is the new "explorer mode" mechanic, which was teased prior but shown off today in all its glory. Explorer mode allows you to basically roam free and hang out in certain areas (previously completed dungeons, including Shadowbringers ones for now, with "more to be added in the future"), with a focus on taking cool pictures like limit break poses: the sort of thing you can't really do in the heat of a big raid battle. Under the guise of the explorer demo, new minions were also shown off.
It's a lot! But then again, it's a Final Fantasy XIV patch.
Final Fantasy XIV [Twitter]
Corpse Party remake is coming to PS4
If you fancy a bit of adorable misery for your PS4, then you're in luck, as publisher Mages has announced that upcoming remake Corpse Party Blood Covered... Repeated Fear will be arriving on Sony's black box in 2021, alongside its previously revealed Nintendo Switch release.
As a reminder, Corpse Party Blood Covered... Repeated Fear is a remastered edition of the 2015 Nintendo 3DS release Corpse Party Blood Covered which itself is a remake of the original 1996 release Corpse Party - the title that spawned the uber-violent visual novel franchise. Built within a brand new engine, Repeated Fear will add newly recorded voice acting and several additional in-game scenarios, so now you can get more closely acquainted with the girls of Heaven Host Academy before they are mercilessly destroyed.
Corpse Party Blood Covered... Repeated Fear is currently in development for PS4 and Nintendo Switch, a western localization is yet to be officially confirmed.
Corpse Party Blood Covered... Repeated Fear coming to PS4 [Gematsu]
Thanksgiveaway: Win Ghost of a Tale on Switch from Super Rare Games
In today's contest you can win a physical Switch copy of Ghost of a Tale from Super Rare Games!
Happy Thanksgiving, America! I know for most of the rest of the world it's just another Thursday, but here in America it's time to gorge ourselves, watch football, and silently seethe while our families embarrass the shit out of us in front of our new girlfriend, Karen. So I guess it's pretty normal for us, too.
If you're not too full to win something, you're in luck! Super Rare Games just launched Ghost of a Tale in physical form on Switch, and as always, we're giving out a copy!
Here's a giant list of all of our next-gen PS5 and Xbox Series X coverage
If you haven't noticed...we've been busy!
These past few weeks we've all been working on various projects, from (now) current-to-previous-gen, and it's time to celebrate the fruits of our labor...with a big list! Below, you'll find all of our coverage so far, including hardware rundowns and individual reviews or impressions pieces. As more games are covered in the coming weeks, we'll add them to this list.
I know the world is crazy right now, but I hope that through the comments section and our quickposts/community blogs, we can continue to connect and make sense of it all, together. Whether you've picked up a console already...or you're waiting for yours to ship...or you aren't getting one until 2021...or you're waiting for me to stop talking about new consoles...be safe out there!
[The platforms in parenthesis in the below lists denote the platform we tested/covered.]
Koei Tecmo's Winning Post 9 headed to PS4, PC, and Switch in 2021
Koei Tecmo has announced a brand new entry in its long-running horse-racing franchise, Winning Post. The ninth entry in the steeplechase simulator will launch in Japan in March 2021.
Debuting way back in 1993 on the Sharp X68000, the Winning Post franchise has won over a small army of Japanese fans with its furious furlong action. Despite the series ongoing success over the past three decades, to date only one entry was officially localized for the west: 1995's Winning Post EX, an enhanced Sega Saturn port of the original title.
Winning Post 9 2021 will launch in Japan March 18, 2021 on PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
Winning Post 9 2021 announced for PS4, Switch, and PC [Gematsu / Official]
Nintendo Download: Empire of Sin
Happy thanksgiving! It's time for some games. Or not, maybe you already spent all your cash on the Series X or PS5. Or, maybe you just play on Nintendo Switch. Either way, there's stuff. There's always stuff! A surprising amount of stuff out on Thanksgiving weekend.
The big release is Empire of Sin from Romero Games, which was announced, of all places, on 2019's E3 Nintendo Direct. It's out on December 1, so you have a few days to check out reviews and make sure it's all up to snuff. It feels like a lot of modern strategy games need that "grace period" given how easily they could be bugged out.
As for the rest, it's a bunch of ports and re-releases for the most part. Nintendo seems to be done with their holiday 2020 push, with Age of Calamity as their last major title of the year. Of course, there could also be some surprise DLC drops left in them: including a new Smash Bros. reveal.
Fall Guys announces third season 'Winter Knockout', headed your way in December
As we enter the frosty final days of 2020, Mediatonic has teased the third season of content headed to its popular multiplayer title Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout.
In keeping with the spirit of the holiday season, "Winter Knockout" will see the battle royale beans fighting it out in a cold and snowy environment. A single teaser image sees the cute characters donning snowman, penguin and yeti outfits as they topple over one another on their endless quest to bag those all-elusive crowns.
While no specific start date has been announced, Winter Knockout is expected to go live in-game in early December.
March 31, 2021 is now doomsday for a number of Mario games
So yesterday, we reported on the destruction of Super Mario Maker: which would be brought offline and removed from the eShop on March 31, 2021.
I thought about that date and figured "hey, that sounds familiar," but didn't make a connection until a reader pointed it out. That's Mario doomsday. While we could really use a Year of Luigi pick me up right now, instead we're getting a downer of a date. On that day next year, multiple Mario fixtures will be removed from existence.
But that's also the closure date for Super Mario Bros. 35, which will be allegedly wiped from existence on March 31, 2021. Oh, and Nintendo is apparently stopping the sale of Mario 3D All-Stars (including physical sales!) and the Game & Watch portable on that same date. Madness!
I'm sure most of you have strong feelings on the whole "limited time" sales tactic, but it's entirely possible that several of these (probably not Mario Maker's closure) will be overturned: just like Jump Rope Challenge. The problem is, if Nintendo does reverse multiple decisions to cut off sales, fans will be calling their bluff for ages to come.
Either way, consider this your warning!
Double trouble as Mythic Freyja and Triandra join Fire Emblem Heroes
I guess we've all been eating too much cheese before bedtime, as Nintendo is unleashing two new Mythic Heroes from the realm of nightmares to mobile battler Fire Emblem Heroes.
The new update - which goes live in-game from this evening - sees the coming of the beautiful but sinister Freyja and Triandra, two "dökkálfar" who, despite their demure appearances, are both tasked with delivering frightening and miserable dreams to the minds of mortal beings. Understandably, this has left both girls in perpetually downbeat moods, though they are steadfast and show little regret for their nocturnal activities.
(Update) The last major raid of Final Fantasy XIV's Shadowbringers expansion is coming in December
[Update: The official site has been updated to provide new context on some of the upcoming patch content. Castrum Marinum, the new trial, will feature Emerald Weapon from Final Fantasy VII: who now joins Ruby Weapon. We're a few degrees away from a Sepiroth boss battle (hey, Kefka made it in, as did a few other major "final bosses"). Blue Mage will also have its level cap raised to 70 in patch 5.45, and a new large-scale battle, Delubrum Reginae, will be a part of that same "half patch."]
Final Fantasy XIV's Shadowbringers expansion is winding down soon, at least as far as hardcore content comes.
In December (exact date not nailed down yet, as is customary for big patches), 5.4 will arrive, which will bring more main story quests (MSQ), another wing of the Eden raid (Eden's Promise), another dungeon (Matoya's Relict), a trial (Castrum Marinum), and extra sidequests (The Sorrow of Werlyt). The Eden raid is the big deal here, which brings the hardcore race for world first alongside of weeks or months of learning raids for casual players. The 24-person NieR storyline is expected to conclude next patch, which will help soothe the wait for the next unannounced expansion.
In terms of other housekeeping stuff, Blue Mage is getting an update, there's more Ishgardian Restoration shenanigans, another unreal trial is coming, and a bunch of ancillary modes will get new content. Oh, and New Game+ mode is getting more stuff. It's a typical "big" FFXIV patch that basically transforms the game.
A lot of this will be detailed later, either through a producer stream or via future posts. Square Enix likes to keep a lot of Final Fantasy XIV patch info close to the chest for multiple reasons (economy balance and spoilers).
Patch 5.4 [Final Fantasy XIV]
Marvel's Avengers struggles to gain ground, is yet to recover development costs
Epic superhero title Marvel's Avengers continues to struggle in its efforts to find the level of success one would expect would come with ease to a game based on such a globally popular franchise. In fact, publisher Square Enix recent financial report shows that the September-released PC and console title is still to recoup its development budget.
In the report, Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda admitted that Marvel's Avengers sales had been "lower than expected", with both development and marketing costs lost in the all-important launch period. This initial failure of the comic-book adventure has contributed to an operating loss of around ¥7 billion, (roughly $67 million USD) for Square Enix's most recent financial quarter.
Marvel's Avengers - which has so far failed to enjoy the success seen by similar titles such as Sony's Marvel's Spider-Man and Warner Bros. Batman: Arkham Knight - did receive a somewhat negative reaction from fans upon its initial reveal, but then truly buried its own pre-release hype with a string of gimmicky marketing decisions, controversial DLC exclusives, and a heavy focus on DLC and microtransactions. These mishaps took a title that seemed to be a "cant-miss" prospect and made it thoroughly unappealing to a large segment of the fanbase before the game had even hit the shelves.
Developer Crystal Dynamics - who likely had little to do with the marketing decisions surrounding the product - has since stated that it will continue to support Marvel's Avengers going forward, laying out plans for new maps, missions, skins and heroes over the coming months. 2021 will also see ports of Marvel's Avengers arrive on PS5 and Xbox Series X editions, perhaps offer the struggling adventure one final opportunity to avoid its own endgame.
Marvel's Avengers hasn't recouped its development costs yet [IGN / Official]
Contest: Celebrate Persona 5 Royal crossing over with Another Eden by winning this keychain set
In today's contest you can win a set of keychains to celebrate the crossover event between Persona 5 Royal and Another Eden!
Keen-eyed readers might have noticed that fan-favorite JRPG Persona 5 Royal has crossed over with mobile phenomenon Another Eden: The Cat Beyond Time and Space once before. They might have also notices my crow's feet at the corners of my eyes, but hopefully they'll keep that to themselves.
This time around, Violet and Skull are joining the mobile game alongside series standouts Joker and Morgana. To celebrate, the Another Eden team has given us these cool keychain sets to show off the new digs!
Watch Dogs: Legion is busted, so Ubisoft's gonna fix that and delay the online mode
They're deleting saves, hard-locking consoles, and blocking progression. It truly is anarchy in the UK.
Watch Dogs: Legion kind of sucks -- a hollow game hamstrung by its insistence that any character can be the main protagonist, and weighed down by a repetitive structure. It's also very broken, as there have been many reports in the month following launch of players who simply cannot complete the game thanks to some combination of problems in an impressive array of technical fuckups.
Ubisoft is fixing the issues with singleplayer while putting multiplayer on the backburner. The four-player cooperative mode with new missions, dynamic events, and challenging Tactical Ops missions is no longer arriving on December 3. Ubisoft has pushed it back to "early 2021" while sorting out all the problems Watch Dogs: Legion launched with.
As for the existing problems, there's a patch coming this week that addresses a lot of the major stability issues. Here's the full list. Watch Dogs: Legion will eventually get fixed -- these gigantic triple-A games rarely stay busted forever -- but everyone knows it's pretty unacceptable right now. If you already own Watch Dogs: Legion, no one would blame you for Brexiting off to another game while Ubisoft puts out all the fires.
Patch Update Regarding Watch Dogs: Legion and Announcement for the Online Mode [Ubisoft]
Today's PS5 system update includes a fix for controllers that won't charge in rest mode
When the PlayStation 5 works perfectly, it's fantastic – playing games and even just navigating the UI feels dramatically faster compared to the PS4's sluggish ways – but I've experienced hiccups for sure. Sony is very much still working out the kinks, as evidenced by the recent system software updates.
The latest PS5 update (Version 20.02-02.26.00) includes more stability improvements, as expected. But Sony has also worked in a couple of other fixes – and actually told us about them, for once.
- An issue where installed disc versions of games were sometimes deleted was resolved.
- An issue that prevented the PS5 wireless controller from being charged while in rest mode when connected to the PS5's front side USB Type-A port using the USB cable included with some PS5 consoles was resolved.
It didn't dawn on me until I heard other PS5 owners ask around about finicky DualSense charging problems, but as someone who leaves a spare controller plugged in while the console is sleeping, I've seen this in action. I was all ready for Overcooked and my gamepad was mysteriously out of juice.
Even if that only happened to me once, it's nice to see the problem resolved. If we can just get some of these PS5 games to stop crashing – for me, it's been Demon's Souls – then we'll be golden.
Bleach's Yoruichi will join the Jump Force roster in 2021
Bandai Namco has officially announced that Bleach's seductive cat-gal Yoruichi Shihoin, will be joining the roster of crossover fighter Jump Force in 2021. The publisher's hand was forced after a bizarre mishap caused Yoruichi, (alongside another, previously unannounced character) to momentarily go live in-game before development was even complete.
Yoruichi is the former Captain of Gotei 13's Second Division, and is a master of various martial arts. In addition to her excellent fighting prowess, Yoruichi has the ability to transform into your average common-or-garden moggy, allowing her to infiltrate the enemy or simply get up to hi-jinks. From her impromptu in-game appearance, we already know that Yoruichi will be a fast, close-range fighter, putting her expert combat abilities to good use when getting up-close-and-personal.
The next Metro game is in production, and Metro Exodus is getting a free upgrade on consoles
4A Games is ushering in another decade of Metro with a new entry and a free next-gen upgrade for Exodus while also branching out with a "new AAA experience that can sit alongside the Metro series."
In a blog post, the studio announced its plans for the next Metro sequel – a PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S release with a "complete overhaul of our engine" and the potential for multiplayer.
Preemptively assuaging fears, 4A Games says it is exploring multiplayer with a "dedicated team" at Saber Interactive so that "it's not to the detriment of our single-player ambitions." That said, there's no guarantee the next Metro will even have the story campaign and multiplayer "in the same package."
"We are still figuring things out, but know that we are absolutely committed to more single-player, story-driven experiences in the Metro universe that our fans have come to know and love."
As for the more immediate future, Metro Exodus is leveraging the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S for a "faster frame rate, increased resolution, reduced loading times, and stunning Ray Tracing features" – the works. Exodus will offer an upgrade from PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X/S in 2021. I'm not at all surprised this is happening, and I'm also not surprised it's going to be free. Good on them.
These creators have a lot of ambition, and it's gratifying to see them inch closer to reaching it.
Metro 10th Anniversary Studio Update [4A Games]
Psychological horror Martha is Dead also coming to PS4 and PS5
Martha is Dead, the first-person psychological horror title from indie outfit LKA, will be bringing its spine-tingly scares to Sony consoles in 2021. Originally announced for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X, publisher Wired Productions has added PS4 and PS5 to the list of platforms.
Set in Tuscany in the early throes of World War II, Martha is Dead will tell a morbid tale of a young woman, returning to her hometown after receiving news of her sister's passing. While coming to terms with loss and grief over her sibling's violent demise, the sister will investigate the mysterious events surrounding her death, whilst coping with the impending approach of world-changing European conflict.
"Now players have next-generation consoles in their hands, it's exciting to watch Martha is Dead take shape on both PlayStation and the Xbox family of devices," said Wired Productions MD Leo Zullo. "The game builds upon developer LKA's signature style of deep, multi-layered narratives and was always intended to be a multi-platform release that raises expectations of what can be achieved by an indie studio on next-generation hardware and PC."
Have you ever heard an idea that you knew just couldn't fail? Something so spectacular and creative, and yet so blatantly obvious, that there would be no way it could possibly end up as anything other than an absolute triumph? Back in 2009, I was sure that Disney and Junction Point Studios had come up with a flawless formula as that was the year the world got its first substantial look at Disney Epic Mickey.
It was everything somebody like me could want at the time: a Wii exclusive from a third-party developer lead by an accomplished game producer that would offer us a new look at the classic cartoon character. Heading toward its 2010 debut, all signs pointed to this being, perhaps, one of the biggest new franchises in the industry. I pre-ordered the collector's edition, fully expecting some sort of religious experience from the game.
Instead, what I got was a lesson in hype and how easy it is to set oneself up for eventual disappointment. I tore into Epic Mickey like a doctor had just given me a week to live, but by the time I reached Lonesome Manor, I had to put the controller down. The idea that I'd fall madly in love with this game gradually thinned away like many of the walls of the Wasteland. I was bewildered by the lot of it. After a year of buzz and excitation for a Mickey Mouse game that wasn't aimed at the Elementary School crowd, I sat there staring at my television asking how could this have gone so wrong.
Ten years later, I'm still asking that question. How could the surefire idea of "Mickey Mouse in a world of forgotten Disney characters" result in two different studios ceasing to make video games? I wanted to find out what killed this franchise, and to do so, I dove back into the thinner-soaked Wasteland to see exactly what went wrong.
Are you getting anything in the Steam Autumn Sale? A quick look couldn't hurt...
It's that time of year again: the time when we stuff ourselves with discounted PC games and too much food. The 2020 Steam Autumn Sale began today with thousands of deals running until December 1.
From the looks of the best-sellers list, people are going hard on Crusader Kings III ($39.99), Titanfall 2 ($9.89), Halo: The Master Chief Collection ($25.99), Hades ($19.99), We Happy Few ($9.89), Marvel's Avengers ($29.99), and Star Wars: Squadrons ($23.99). Some interesting choices! Recent viral hits like Among Us ($3.99) and Phasmophobia ($12.59) are also represented, albeit with smaller savings.
This isn't a new feature or even a new thought, but I have to say, I love that Steam allows gift-giving and it's wild to me that the console storefronts still haven't followed suit. Let me be nice, okay?
If you're good on games, you may still want to hit up Steam anyway – the nomination process has begun for the 2020 Steam Awards. As usual, users can nominate their favorites from Game of the Year to Labor of Love to the "Best Game You Suck At." That last one is a personal favorite of mine. There are also two new awards to mull over: Best Soundtrack and the "Sit Back and Relax" award.
Voting will open next month, during the Winter Sale, and the winners will surface on January 3.
Cuphead's DLC has been delayed yet again
Here's a development that won't shock many people, and probably would've been completely missed had the creator not provided an update: Cuphead's The Delicious Last Course expansion won't launch in 2020 as previously planned.
Now, eleven-twelfths of the way through 2020 and without any recent roadmap to guide us, everyone had passively assumed Cuphead's DLC wasn't going to show up this year. Studio MDHR made it official by posting this on social media:
Orcs Must Die boss would consider a larger scale spinoff, says the team is 'big Switch fans'
Did Orcs Must Die 3 pass you by? Look, I get it.
July 2020 was a busy and tumultuous month, and you may not have checked out Stadia yet. But even if you have no interest in Google's platform, Orcs Must Die 3 is coming to other platforms eventually (Steam is the only one that's 100% confirmed), and it's pretty good.
Following the launch of the game's first DLC pack, I got a chance to sit down with Patrick Hudson (CEO of Robot Entertainment) to see what the future might bring.
Yes, I would absolutely play a Warriors game demake in the Zelda style
Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity is out, and as expected, it's gotten a reaction out of you all in the community.
I expected the performance issues to be a problem for many, but a lot of you out there are enjoying the new take on the story on top of the tweaks to the classic Warriors formula. Well, a lot of people out there are experiencing it actually, as it shipped three million copies and basically became the most successful Warriors game overnight.
But I don't want to stop there. While DLC seems inevitable, there's a lot of potential here with Age of Calamity add-ons, and I hope to eventually see some of the hardcore endgame content from the original Hyrule Warriors. Oh, and another entry, of course, potentially tying into Breath of the Wild 2.
Before that all (likely) happens though, the folks over at Nintendo Wire gave us a glimpse at what could be in their Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity demake. Done in the style of the Game Boy Color era, it's a lovely little mockup that actually looks pretty fun to play! Just about everything from the minimalist intro that conveys the key bits of the real opening cutscene, to the gameplay itself looks fantastic.
Things like this make me immediately reach for my GBA collection! The good old SP is never far from my desk.
Kao the Kangaroo looks promising in this very early footage
Tate Multimedia has recently a short gameplay clip from its upcoming reboot of forgotten 00's gaming star Kao the Kangaroo. The team began development on a new title after a #BringBackKao fan campaign trended on social media earlier this year.
The short, 13-second clip shows Kao as he makes a few simple leaps through his all-new jungle environment. In all honesty, it actually doesn't look that bad at this early stage, clearly taking strong influence from Activision's recent Crash Bandicoot releases.
While our antipodean (oh yes) pal didn't quite have the staying power of some of his anthropomorphic brethren, perhaps his comeback will prove a little more successful to a new audience. After all, with features listed including "Touching story" and "Powerful gloves" - how could it possibly miss?
Kao the Kangaroo is currently in development for PC via Steam.
The new Worms game is hitting PlayStation Plus in December, Rocket Arena tries to stay alive
We got a real "Games with Gold" month on our hands with PlayStation Plus.
Sony has revealed December 2020's PlayStation Plus lineup and it's going to be polarizing. The big one is Worms Rumble, the new Worms joint that's due out by the end of the year on PC and PS4/PS5. On Steam, the privilege to play it will cost you $14.99. If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber (read: if you are paying for PlayStation Plus), it's free. Sony touts that this PS+ version will be available on "PS4/PS5."
The other two offerings aren't as exciting. Rocket Arena, the EA-backed shooter that scrambled to find an audience out of the gate (and was immediately available for free on Amazon Prime Gaming) is coming to PS+ as well. Also, Just Cause 4 is happy to be there.
All of these will be available from December 1 through January 4. As a reminder, you should go grab your PS+ November games before then! Bugsnax probably isn't worth full price, but it's easily worth a quick PlayStation Plus download.
More importantly, Sony is holding a free multiplayer weekend event for everyone next month. Here's the exact details: "Non-PlayStation Plus members who own PS4 or PS5 games with active online multiplayer modes or features will be able to try them out for a limited time next month. We're hosting a free online multiplayer weekend that will run from midnight (local time) Saturday December 19 until 11:59pm (local time) on Sunday, December 20."
PlayStation Europe [Twitter]
Pikmin 3 just got a patch to shore up some glitches
If you understandably missed it on Wii U for any number of reasons (if you didn't have a Wii U, I'm sorry), it's worth picking up on Switch. You do have a Switch right? I mean, the Switch is on its way to hit 100 million units sold eventually, so odds are you have one. Or a Switch Lite. Or maybe you'll get an eventual hypothetical Switch Pro. So we're probably good here.
Ahem, Pikmin 3! Nintendo just put out a shiny new patch this week, but it's not very exciting unless you were impacted by a few bugs. One involved fruit not being recorded "under certain conditions" (vague), and it will not be a retroactive fix. In other words, you do need to go back to that level and earn the fruit again manually, which is annoying, as there's a chance a bug could strike again. Monitor your fruit!
Another bug is basically the same thing, but with badges. It's a little less important than fruit, but it may impact your enjoyment nonetheless. In that case, you'll also need to earn those badges again. Also annoyingly, the glitch involved reverted badges, so you may not have even noticed it. You can find the full patch notes below.
Pikmin 3 [Nintendo]
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin celebrates 500,000 shipments and sales
Publisher Marvelous has proudly announced that Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin has successfully passed a milestone 500,000 shipments and digital sales. Edelweiss' charmin' farmin' adventure launched back on November 10 for PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch and has seemingly found its audience.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin is the story of the titular young harvest goddess who is exiled to a remote island for being a bit of a troublemaker. Learning the error of her ways, Sakuna now toils both in the fields and out in the island's hazardous surroundings in a tireless effort to bring both bountiful crops and a sense of security to the island's populace.
Blending platforming action with typical farm-sim gameplay, Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin has won over a small army of devotees with its attractive visuals, fun cast of characters, heart-warming story and love of mythical lore. It's not perfect by any stretch, but definitely warrants checking out. You can read our own Jordan Devore's review right here.
In related news, a new update has been released for the PS4 edition of the game. Version 1.05 adds several balance tweaks to Sakuna's stamina and fertilizer systems, while also fixing a frustrating data corruption issue that has been bothering some players as of late.
Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin shipments and digital sales top 500,000 [Gematsu]
Fallout 76's massive Steel Dawn update is finally here, and Xbox players accidentally got it early
We don't really know what the future holds for Fallout 76 beyond more microtransaction-laden seasons and the "Fallout 1st" subscription service: but for now, we have the new highly anticipated free Steel Dawn update.
Yes, after much ado since its May unveiling, the Brotherhood of Steel is stomping along West Virginia's country roads. Funnily enough, there was a classic Bethesda error when it was rolled out that ended up working in Xbox owner's favor.
As revealed in a separate news post on Bethesda's blog, Steel Dawn was rolled out to Xbox users "ahead of schedule." Although the update wasn't playable, it actually fast-tracked the expansion, as Bethesda decided to "not roll back the update and make everyone wait another week." Instead, they made the call that it was good to go, and did it live. Last night after 10PM ET, the expansion was unleashed.
So what's new? Well the Steel Dawn questline is the crown jewel here, which allows players to start a new journey at Fort Atlas. Bethesda says that level 20 characters can start the questline immediately, "even if you haven't completed any prior Fallout 76 content." Anyone eligible will get the quest "Welcome to the Neighborhood," which, in classic Fallout fashion, will kick the storyline off.
Shelters are also a go, which allow players to craft their own instanced homes and rooms away from the limitations of the open world C.A.M.P.s. That mechanic is tied to the "Home Expansion" quest, which you "must complete" to unlock shelters. You need to read the shelter posters in "train stations throughout Appalachia," or "find a key in the northern forest region for the Claim Center." Yeah, the posters seem better.
A bunch of quality of life tweaks (less punishing hunger and thirst mechanics!) and bug fixes (the latter are too robust to sum up in a timely manner, as is customary with every Fallout 76 patch) are also a part of this update, but dynamic bundles won't be in until the "original date" of December 1. Fine by me! You can keep your microtransactions, I already paid for this game.
You can find a rundown of the two most important elements of the expansion below: the Steel Dawn storyline, and the shelter mechanic. The full patch notes can be located here.
Steel Dawn Update Notes [Bethesda.net]
Square Enix introduces permanent remote working for around 80% of its staff
2020 has, as a whole, presented myriad problems for all industries. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has forced teams of workers out of their places of employment, with many businesses - and jobs - unfortunately lost as the impact of the virus is felt by the global workforce.
For some, however, the shift to working-from-home forced forms of adaptation, and has led some industry leaders to realize that perhaps their staff were never as essentially required to remain on-site as once thought. Japanese developer/publisher Square Enix is one such business and - from December 1 - will introduce a new mandate to shift all "eligible employees" to work from home on a permanent basis.
While the move to remote working was originally deemed mandatory due to the pandemic, Square Enix believes it has resulted in an upturn in both creativity and morale. As such, the Final Fantasy publisher hopes that designating roughly 80% of its staff "home-based" workers will create a more productive, happier and healthier working environment. In order to ensure all targets can be achieved and particularly busy periods of production are met, Square Enix will be re-assessing its "home" and "office" staff on a month-by-month basis.
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to severely impact lives and businesses across the globe, industries will have to face the fact that the office environment is unlikely to return anytime soon, and will perhaps never return in its prior state. With that in mind, it is up to big business to evolve, providing its employees with working environments that discourage both physical and mental health problems. Not just because we're currently in a pandemic, but because that has always been the right thing to do.
The original Super Mario Maker is dead: Long live the Wii U
In what has basically become a monthly eulogy series, another Wii U classic bites the dust. Super Mario Maker, cool amiibo costumes and all, is going away. Digitally, at least.
Here's the full statement from Nintendo: "From March 31st 2021, it will no longer be possible to upload courses in Super Mario Maker for Wii U. On the same day, the Super Mario Maker Bookmark website will also close. It will still be possible to play courses uploaded before the service discontinuation. In preparation for the discontinuation of these online services, Super Mario Maker for Wii U will be removed from sale on Nintendo eShop on January 13th 2021. It will still be possible to redownload the game after this date." There is "no impact" on the Switch sequel, but it could meet this same fate one day.
More than likely, just as EA has extinguished barely-played games in the past, this is because hardly anyone is engaging in an old Wii U game that was basically trumped by the sequel in just about every way (except for those amiibo costumes). I mean, the very site this was announced on got rid of the Wii U section of the sidebar a while back, so it was only a matter of time until the Wii U's online services were slowly picked apart. The absolute irony is that on that very same page, the tagline "A Mario game that never ends!" is used. Well, pack your stuff Mario, because your watch ends on March 31, 2021.
I feel like I need to say a few things about this one, as folks mostly forgot about it when Mario Maker 2 was released. But it did a whole lot right, and completely wowed casual and hardcore audiences alike when it was released. It went viral on multiple levels, with people challenging each other to their own creations: a joy I used to experience with trading levels as far back as games like Tenchu 2. It'll be missed, even if there's a replacement.
Super Mario Maker [Nintendo]
I was fortunate enough to not only get a PS5 to fulfill the duties of my job, but a lot of people out there still aren't so lucky.
I feel for you! I missed that initial late night pre-order window as I was asleep when Sony said there would be "plenty of advance notice," but I was eventually able to snag a "just in case" pre-order through Sony's official storefront system. Back then, it was the wild west: I didn't know if I was even getting one for review.
Whatever the case might be, Sony is claiming that this chaos resulted in the "biggest console launch ever." The publisher announced the news this morning on Twitter, calling the PS5 demand "unprecedented." It's only a matter of time until we get cold hard figures on where the PS5 is at sales-wise at the end of 2020, compared to every other piece of hardware.
In the meantime, Sony says that "more PS5 inventory will be coming to retailers before the end of the year." It also conveniently puts the onus on those retailers, stating "please stay in touch [with them]." It's going to get pretty crazy before it gets better. Between all of the uncertainty right now with a number of things (amid issues like this), it's important to stay safe out there.
In all likelihood, the shortages won't end until sometime in 2021. Keep hunting online and fighting those scalper bots: which publishers really need to address sooner than later.
PlayStation [Twitter]
Milla Jovovich is headed to Monster Hunter World: Iceborne in new 'movie quest' update
Well, this is pretty nifty. Capcom has announced that it will be adding a pair of limited-time quests to its blockbuster title Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, in order to celebrate the premiere of the upcoming Monster Hunter movie.
The "Artemis Monster Hunter Movie Quest" is a two-part adventure that will go live in-game on December 2 and then be available for an entire year. The single-player mission will task Master Rank 1 hunters with tracking down and tackling dangerous behemoths Black Diablos and Rathalos, with the reward of an exclusive Artemis layered gear set and a selection of movie-themed backgrounds, titles, and poses.
Of course, being based on Paul W.S. Anderson's cinematic adaptation, what would the movie quest be without the film's star, Milla Jovovich, also putting in an appearance? Jovovich has lent both her likeness and voice to the quest, recreating her role of Captain Artemis, a highly decorated military veteran who is thrust into Monster Hunter's weird and dangerous world. Check out the new content in the video below.
The Monster Hunter movie is tentatively scheduled to release in theaters on December 4.
Contest: Win Atlas Rogues for PC, in Early Access now
In today's contest you can win an Early Access key to turn-based roguelite romp Atlas Rogues!
When games hit Early Access, they need gamers like you to give them a shot -- not only to see how they run, but also to get some hype behind it to help make it successful. So, you up for the task?
Atlas Rogues is in Early Access, and gamigo Publishing wants you to try it out. So, some of you lucky kids are going to get into the game for free!
Olija, a harpoon-dashing action game, is also coming to PS4 and Xbox One
Devolver Digital and Skeleton Crew Studio are bringing Olija, an action-platformer with a wicked harpoon, to PS4 and Xbox One in early 2021 alongside the previously-confirmed Nintendo Switch and PC versions. We got our first peek at the game this summer, but honestly, it tumbled out of my mind.
That's not a slight against Ooljia, though – I think it looks sick. Devolver picks 'em well.
The up-close and long-range combat approaches look like they'll mesh well, the "mysterious country of Terraphage" seems like an intriguing place to explore, and the soundtrack is vibin'. If you're not convinced – or you are and you just want something tangible to latch onto – there's a Steam demo.
Will I ever lose interest in pixelated action games? Sure doesn't seem like it.
Gods Will Fall is about killing gods... but you probably already got that from the title
I like a good on-the-nose title. No one reads the name Home Alone and wonders "Gee, think there are other people in the house?" No one goes into Airplane! wondering where the movie takes place.
That's why I don't feel too bad telling you that gods will fall in Gods Will Fall. This is an action adventure game from indie developer Clever Beans and published by Deep Silver. Here's the gist: The gods are real dicks and you and your Celtic friends are sick of them ruining your lives. So, you kill them.
Apart from assured deity death, we know that Gods Will Fall has eight different classes so it's something of a role-playing game. Also, the game's site lists five Celtic gods: Belenos, Morrigan, Osseus, Krannus, and Ogmios. Dead gods walking.
It's unclear if there's a multiplayer and/or online component, though. Actually, the trailer that's embedded above pretty much tells us everything we know so far. The remaining questions will be wrapped up in relatively short order. Gods Will Fall launches in two months' time on January 29, 2021 on PC, PS4, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox One.
Xfinity is bringing pricey data cap fees to more states in 2021
There's no good time to establish internet data caps and charge customers who exceed their too-low monthly limit, but this is a particularly awful time to do so. As reported by The Verge, Comcast is rolling out its 1.2TB monthly data cap – and the $10 per 50GB overage fee – to more states in 2021.
Which states are affected by the policy change? "Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, Maryland, Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Vermont, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia, as well as parts of North Carolina and Ohio," according to the outlet.
What's the timeline? For customers who aren't paying for Xfinity's expensive unlimited plan, the 1.2GB cap will begin on January 1, 2021 – but fees for exceeding that limit won't start until March 1 in "select markets," depending on your service plan; Comcast will cover the fees in Jan. and Feb. with a bill credit.
"Starting in March 2021, customers not on an unlimited data plan who exceed 1.2TB in a month will have a one-time courtesy month credit under the plan applied to their accounts, and will be responsible for any data overage charges after that," according to the fine print on Comcast's website. "Blocks of 50GB will automatically be added to customers' accounts for an additional fee of $10 each plus tax. Charges will not exceed $100 each month, no matter how much data a customer uses."
If you haven't gotten a heads-up, you will – expect a notice with your bills. The rest of us know the drill.
For many Xfinity customers, this 1.2TB cap won't be a huge hurdle. It'll be manageable enough. But for families – especially when multiple people are working from home, kids are learning remotely, and everyone's streaming everything – it sure can be. For gamers, it's even more of a struggle. When a single game can eat up 100GB and your library is constantly updating itself, that terabyte goes quick.
I'm pretty careful with my download habits and try to plan out my month well in advance, but that can only go so far. I'd say that more often than not, I feel like I'm threading a needle with my data cap.
This situation is going to get worse in the United States before it gets better, that's for damn sure.
Assassin's Creed Valhalla's dice game will be a real physical game soon enough
In the context of Assassin's Creed, the word "dice" is usually a synonym for all the different ways you can murder with a blade. Stab, shank, skewer, slice, chop -- you get the picture. In Valhalla, it's more associated with a charming little side activity.
All throughout Assassin's Creed Valhalla's villages are random townsfolk who are eager to challenge Eivor to a game of Orlog. This isn't a real Viking game. It's something that Ubisoft designers created themselves that ended up being a fan favorite. Its legend is a lot like Gwent in The Witcher 3.
It'd be easiest if you just played Valhalla to get the Orlog tutorial, but here's a simplified overview. Players take turns rolling six dice across three rounds, choosing each time which ones they want to keep. The die faces have symbols for attack, block, or for stealing currency used for God Favors which are like special abilities. The goal is to drain the opponent's health pool of 15 points. It's a little complicated, and then devilishly simple, and then surprisingly deep (once you get into the strategies of the various God Favors).
Orlog is good enough that it's being turned into a real game. According to an interview in Dicebreaker, Ubisoft is teaming up with collectibles manufacturer PureArts to create a physical version of Orlog that will launch in 2021. No other details were given.
However, the interview has a lot of other interesting tidbits about the creation of Orlog. For instance, it started as a collectibles-based deck-building game. It also offers insight as to how a bunch of video game designers went about balancing a dice game. It's all the Orlog background info you didn't know you needed.
Assassin's Creed: Valhalla's Viking dice game Orlog will get a physical version in 2021 [Dicebreaker via Eurogamer]
The indie category at The Game Awards left me unsure of what 'indie game' even means
"I actually head up a non-profit," said a very clean man in a finely tailored suit. Everyone around him at the party smiled, imagining him as the leader of warm-hearted volunteers who, without an ounce of greed or malice in their hearts, did everything they could to make the world a better place.
"How much you make?" I asked. I suppose it was a rude question, but hey, he's the one who brought the subject of profit, non or otherwise, into the conversation. I interpreted his decision to volunteer this information as an invitation for inquiry, and I figured he was confident enough to deflect the question if he wasn't comfortable with it.
"Oh, I do alright," he said with a veiled glare, deflecting as I thought he might, not at all proud to divest how much profit his "non-profit" actually turns in. I found out later that he makes around $1.5 million a year and that his company banked about 20 times that in the same time, diverting much of that yearly surplus into for-profit "sister companies" that also bring in millions.
I was reminded of this story last week when the Game Awards announced its nominees for the Best Indie category. Like the label non-profit, the spirit behind the word indie and its actual meaning might have nothing to do with each other or even end up being total opposites, depending on the context of the situation. These semantics probably don't matter too much to your average person, but for indie developers engaged in a constant marketing battle for our respect and attention, they can really skew the playing field. I mean, is there any world where it's fair to pit a release like Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, developed by a company that employs over 230 staff, about 30 of which worked on the game, against Carrion, created by a start-up studio of three people (not counting the composer) in a contest like this?
You gotta go two gens back to get the best of December's Games with Gold
Just as the seasons change, so too do the console generations. Not long ago -- like, two weeks -- the Xbox 360 was just last-gen. Now, it's last-last-gen. Or, more succinctly and better-phrased, two gens ago.
And that's where you have to look to find the gems in December's Games with Gold. There's some decent stuff here, but it's very old stuff. Highest on my list is Double Fine's Stacking, which is a puzzle adventure game about Russian stacking dolls in the industrial age. It has been nearly 10 years since I played it, but I remember loving Stacking.
Stacking's Xbox 360 companion is the absurd Saints Row: Gat Out of Hell. This one's a spinoff to Saints Row IV, and it's about pissing off Satan, a wedding in Hell, and it's tied to Agents of Mayhem. Gat Out of Hell is quick but that's probably not a bad thing.
There's less excitement on the Xbox One side. The Raven: Remastered is the first Games with Gold freebie, and it's an overhaul of the classic murder mystery adventure. Maybe it has Poe-tential. Later, indie action platformer shoot-'em-up Bleed 2 takes over. As always, everything here can be played on Xbox Series X through the magic of backward compatibility.
Here's the full breakdown of December's Games with Gold:
It's big trouble in little China when Hitman 3 goes to Chongqing
I'm killing in the rain. Just killing in the rain. What a glorious feeling, I'm happy again.
Scratch that. Cloned killing machines do not feel happiness. They just execute on their executions and then move onto the next murder.
IO Interactive has revealed the third Hitman 3 locale. This time, it's a neon-soaked Chongqing, China, as Agent 47 ascends apartments stacked on top of each other, all in pursuit of his next unlucky target. Chongqing seems quite thematically different from the Dubai espionage setting and the England countryside murder mystery.
This unveiling is a bit less Hollywood-produced than the first two. Instead, IO has opted to use Chongqing's announcement as a showcase for its Glacier engine. The trailer shows how developers build parts of levels, including the impressive water/rain effects and the ability to use more than 300 NPCs in a single location. IO also confirms that Hitman 3 will have 4K, 60fps gameplay, and HDR on PS5 and Xbox Series X.
Come for all the killing, stay because it looks so good. Sure -- that's the only reason you're staying, you absolute psychopath.
More and more upgraded games are starting to show up on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. While faster load times and better visuals and frame rates are a major benefit, as a PS5 owner, I'm most interested in seeing who's doing what with the DualSense's haptic feedback. That feeling of "newness" hasn't worn off yet. I want to see creative uses of the triggers across every genre – not just shooters.
Ubisoft is upgrading Rainbow Six Siege on December 1, 2020. It's a free move from PS4 to PS5 and Xbox One to Xbox Series X/S, all of your Siege progress will carry over, and cross-play will be allowed "within the same console family" (so PS5 players can still team up and compete with PS4 friends).
Here's a bit of gameplay to show Siege running on the new consoles. As for the technical side:
- Performance Mode: Target 120 FPS with 4K Dynamic Resolution Scaling (PS5, Xbox Series X) / Target 120 FPS at 1080p (Xbox Series S)
- Resolution Mode: Target 60 FPS with 4K resolution (PS5, Xbox Series X) / Target 60 FPS at 1728p (Xbox Series S)
Siege will support Sony and Microsoft's new features, too. On Xbox Series X/S, you'll be able to Quick Resume (assuming that plan doesn't go awry; I've heard complaints). On PS5, Siege will support "haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and controller sound output," as well as the system-level Activities. With the latter, you can immediately load into match types like Ranked or Quick Match. I've been using Activity cards in games like Demon's Souls and Astro's Playroom to shave off a bit of time. They help!
"Additional features are also coming on all platforms with this next-gen launch, such as accessibility features (readability options and text-to-speech and speech-to-text), quick start options, and the all-new Ubisoft Connect overlay," according to Ubisoft. Reminder: Connect is used for cross-progression.
Ubisoft also clarified that Siege's cross-play and cross-progression aren't currently possible "between PC and consoles, or between consoles from different [brands]," but it's weighing its options.
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege – Next-Generation Consoles [Ubisoft]
Review in Progress: World of Warcraft: Shadowlands
As always, the reception to World of Warcraft ebbs and flows.
When Legion was released two expansions ago, it was praised as a marriage of new and old school WoW, uniting fans everywhere as a success. But when Battle for Azeroth subsequently hit, it was seen as a misstep. Now, Legion was a better expansion overall. But a lot of the backlash for Battle for Azeroth was a natural result of some players recycling in and out of the game: a process that will continue throughout its lifetime.
Shadowlands has the potential to recapture some of that magic of Legion. Let's see what it's got.
You can get an easy 250 My Nintendo Platinum Points with the Astral Chain and Yoshi browser missions
Seeing My Nintendo become relevant again is really confusing. I know, it took me a while to adjust too.
For years it was a graveyard for Platinum Points to eternally rest, with rewards for legacy systems and wallpaper exchanges. But now, the system is starting to see shades of Club Nintendo (minus the free shipping, annual member rewards, and bigger selection) with physical rewards. It's a big step up.
As a result, I've had tons of readers approach me to guide them on how to acquire a ton of Platinum Points either quickly, or over time. You can find those literal guides below! Here's another one, which deals with the quick and easy acquisition of 250 Platinum Points through two simple website-based missions.
Rockstar pivots Red Dead Online to a standalone game that costs $5 at launch
I know what you're thinking. "Frontiersman? In this economy?!?" You can make it happen with a single Abraham Lincoln -- who was very tall, possibly a frontiersman, and definitely a pretty swell guy.
Rockstar is breaking Red Dead Online off from its conjoined twin Red Dead Redemption 2. Starting on December 1, Red Dead Online will be available as a standalone game that only costs $5. That's just the introductory price, however. On February 16, it jumps to $20.
This isn't some kneecapped beginner version of Red Dead Online either. It's the full thing, and will include all future content updates. It's coming to all platforms -- PC, PS4, and Xbox One (and is also playable on new consoles through backward compatibility).
This seems like the strategy for Rockstar going forward. GTA Online is going standalone next year, with PlayStation 5 players getting first dibs on checking it out. After that, it appears to be coming to all platforms. Rockstar's smart to let these games print money without a high introductory price scaring some people off.
Get Red Dead Online as a Standalone Game on December 1st [Rockstar]
