Genshin Impact Version 1.1 Brings Partial Key Bindings, New Characters, Events, And Huge Elemental Reaction Damage

On November 11, miHoYo launched A New Star Approaches, the version 1.1 update of Genshin Impact (PC, PS4, PS5, Mobile, soon on Switch). Multiple changes were made to the game. One unexpected change concerns the damage calculation formula from Elemental Reactions born through the environment. In version 1.1, the damage dealt by these Elemental Reactions is now scaled with the player's World Level. This was supposed to be the case since launch, but it didn't due to a bug. miHoYo has now fixed the bug.

In short, the higher your World Level, the higher the Elemental Reaction damage, making these a much bigger threat than before. Especially if you're lucky enough to have a five star fire-user like Diluc in your team. Right now, Diluc's elemental attacks are deadly, for himself as well, when used in a grassland. The burning damage is much higher than before.

As multiple players shared their discontentment with miHoYo, the developers have, shortly after the update, shared a notice in-game about the issue. In the notice, miHoYo admitted the fix has caused "more harm than good", and is currently devising further adjustments. With the change, miHoYo wanted to accentuate the effect of the environment on battles, and push the players towards developing various battle strategies to match. It's definitely a good idea on paper, but it's way overkill right now. Here is the notice in full:

Genshin Impact version 1.1 Environmental Elemental Reaction Damage notice 2 Genshin Impact version 1.1 Environmental Elemental Reaction Damage notice 1

We'll know soon what kind of further adjustments are coming. Meanwhile, we still have all the new content from Version 1.1 to enjoy. Just need to be careful of burning grass.

Genshin Impact Version 1.1 brought numerous changes to the game.

We detailed everything already through our past coverage. One the biggest new additions is the City Reputation System. By completing Bounties, Requests, Exploration milestones, and Story Quests, you'll earn Reputation EXP. This is most notably used to unlock Gadgets, the other new big addition of Version 1.1. Gadgets are all the new useful items such as the Anemoculus and Geoculus Resonance Stone, the Treasure Compass, etc. Each city has its own Reputation System, one for Mondstadt, one for Liyue harbor. However, players can only do a total of 3 bounties and 3 Requests a week. miHoYo detailed everything about the Reputation System in the patch notes.

Another new addition is the partial key bindings options. Sadly, certain actions still cannot be changed to another button or key. However, miHoYo already mentioned more key binding options are being developed. We just have to wait for it.

Version 1.1 also makes Childe (Tartaglia) playable, as he is the five star character featured on the new banner. New four star character Diona is also available with a drop rate up in the Childe banner. The Childe banner will last until December 1, 2020, 15:59:59 (Server Time). Zhongli will be available through another banner coming later. Similarly to what we did with Klee, we plan to publish soon a guide introducing Childe so stay tuned.

Version 1.1 also brings multiple new World Quests, the first Childe Story Quest, and a new big event, Unreconciled Stars, which will be held from November 16 to November 30, 2020, 03:59:59 (Server time). The event will give us Fischl for free. A new event also gives out Barbara for free. If you've been playing since launch, this means you get Constellation 1 Barbara.

One last important thing to note is the huge bug fixes and patch notes published by miHoYo. Very annoying bugs have been corrected, such as getting stuck under Stormterror's neck when toppling the dragon during the boss fight. It's nice to see miHoYo is very transparent and meticulous in explaining every small bug fix or change. You can catch the full list here.

We also explained how the Genshin Impact Japanese account got trolled through its RT campaign.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Developer Details Next-Gen Versions

In an interview with GameSpot, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War developer Treyarch details the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions. Additionally, we get details on how the PS5 version will use the DualSense controller's features.

With the DualSense features, one of the coolest parts is its haptic feedback makes the guns feel more realistic than ever. With each weapon in the game, you'll hear trigger pressure and shaking as you're pulling the trigger.

"In general, with next-gen, we had to make sure that across the board, people would have a fair experience, no matter what platform they're on," said lead game designer Tony Flame. "So the graphics are going to be a higher fidelity–kind of like on PC. If you have a better graphics card it will run at a higher resolution, it can run higher frame rate. But we're paying extra care this time because of cross-platform play, that there is no imbalances due to any particular setting; that any setting that's available on one platform that could give a gameplay advantage is available on another, like the FOV slider, for example."

More recently, it's been confirmed that the PC version of Black Ops Cold War will roughly take up 250GBs of space. As for the console versions, Polygon reports that the PS5 version will take up 133GBs. Additionally, the Xbox Series X|S versions will be 136Gbs. We've also received more details on content coming exclusively to the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches on November 13 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC. You can watch the game's launch trailer below. Stay tuned to DualShockers for more coverage on Black Ops Cold War, including our review.

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Demon's Souls PS5 Gameplay: First Hour, Character Creation

Demon's Souls PS5 Gameplay

As we head towards the Future of Gaming™ and the launch of PS5, Famitsu held on November 11 a special PS5 stream with some gameplay of launch titles, including Demon's Souls. For over an hour, we got to see everything you'll probably see tomorrow. Assuming you managed to preorder a PS5 and will be lucky enough to actually receive a package on expected delivery date during a pandemic. Starting with the remake's startup settings, asking you to pick between English or Japanese, and setting up the screen settings such as luminosity and contrast. We got to take peeks at the intro, the title screen and the character creation. Following that point, we got a showcase of the first hour of Demon's Souls on PS5, with the first boss battle, and our first visit to the hub.

You can watch all the Demon's Souls PS5 remake gameplay from Famitsu below:

Demon's Souls is the first game of the Souls series by FromSoftware and is a spiritual successor to the King's Field series started on PlayStation 1 in 1994. Directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the Souls series that started with this PS3 game released in 2009, is cult not simply because it's hard, since it's not like everyone is a masochist, but in how it's hard. However it's only through the later game, Dark Souls, created with more creative freedom, that the series truly exploded and influenced the real future of gaming for years now.

The PS5 Demon's Souls remake, by Bluepoint Games, looks to be pretty much the same game but prettier. With the same maps, enemy locations, items, and stats. It's the best PS5 launch title for those who'd like to (re)discover the Souls series.

PS5 and Demon's Souls will be available for those who preordered Sony's console in America starting November 12. In Europe, PlayStation 5 launches on November 19. Demon's Souls is a PS5 exclusive, but DualShockers isn't, and we've got some tips for Xbox Series X and Series S as well.

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Mortal Kombat Movie Reboot Has Been Delayed Due to Pandemic

In a report from GameInformer, the upcoming movie reboot of Mortal Kombat has been delayed indefinitely due to COVID-19.

"Well, I thought by the casts' social media you would've figured out we're shooting a few more days," said producer Todd Garner on Twitter. "We'd always planned for it & thought we'd do it in March. The pandemic had other plans. We won't have a release date for the movie until theaters re-open. Same for trailer."

The Simon McQuaid directed reboot started filming over a year ago and was supposed to release next March at the time. Like most films, the Mortal Kombat film reboot has been delayed due to the pandemic and with fewer new releases in theaters. While theaters are open in most states, major markets like California and New York haven't been able to open all their theaters yet.

This is the latest attempt at rebooting Mortal Kombat as a film. The first crack at it was in 1995 which was directed by Resident Evil film franchise director Paul W. S. Anderson. Following that, we got Mortal Kombat: Annihilation in 1997 from director John R. Leonetti. The upcoming film reboot is directed by Simon McQuaid with a script by Greg Russo and Dave Callaham. Additionally, it's being produced by Aquaman director James Wan. You can check out the full cast list below:

  • Joe Taslim: Sub-Zero
  • Hiroyuki Sanada: Scorpion
  • Tadanobu Asano: Raiden
  • Sisi Stringer: Mileena
  • Jessica Mcnamee: Sonya Blade
  • Ludi Lin: Liu Kang
  • Max Huang: Kung Lao
  • Elissa Cadwell: Nitara
  • Chin Han: Shang Tsung
  • Lewis Tan: Unknown

Currently, the Mortal Kombat reboot doesn't have a new release date. While we wait for more info, Mortal Kombat 11 is available now on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Google Stadia, and PC. It'll be available on the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S on November 17. As more news comes out about the movie, including a trailer and new release date, we'll be sure to let you know.

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Gamestop Will Have "Very Limited" Stock of PS5 Bundles Available Tonight

ps5 sega toshihiro nagoshi story feature

While many fans have already secured a PS5 pre-order, there are tons out there still looking to pick up the next-gen console. Today, Gamestop announced that they will have "a very limited number" of consoles available to purchase online tonight. So, make sure to get that F5 key lubed up and stretch out your mouse-clicking finger. Whenever the orders do go live, I'd expect them to sell out very quickly. See all the details below.

It's worth noting that the Gamestop Twitter account doesn't actually say what time the orders go live. Instead, we're just getting the very nebulous "this evening" as to when we should expect the store to have them available. Depending on what time zone Gamestop is operating under, those PS5 consoles could be available any time now. It's also important to note that these are PS5 bundles. If you were only wanting to pick up the console, that doesn't appear like it will be an option.

That all being said, it's good to see Sony getting more stock out there for consumers. It's very obvious that both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X are both incredibly popular items this holiday season. Obviously, with COVID-19 putting everything out of whack, it was never going to be a completely smooth launch. However, I'm happy to see more people with a chance to pick up the console they want.

Again, we don't know exactly when Gamestop will release these PS5 bundle orders into the wild. So, if you're hoping to get one, make sure to keep tabs on the company's Twitter account. It might also be a good idea to pay attention to other retailers who might also be getting more stock in the coming days.

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PS5 PSVR Adapters to Begin Being Packed In with Iron Man VR Bundles Later this Month

If you're looking to play PSVR games on your PS5 come tomorrow, you'll find that you might still be needing to acquire an adapter that will allow your headset to be compatible with the next-gen console. While Sony has been allowing existing PSVR owners to request this adapter for free on their website for a few weeks now, today the company has revealed what it will be doing to help prospective owners of the headset.

Over on the official PlayStation Twitter account today, it was announced that Sony is planning to begin packing in these PS5 adapters for PSVR with bundles for the headset starting later this month. In particular, the Iron Man VR bundle was mentioned as the sole version that will be including this new cable. Considering the Iron Man VR bundle is the standard bundle that Sony sells PSVR with now, this really isn't a shock. It's also worth mentioning that this rollout is also only planned for the United States and Canada at the moment.

On a personal note, I think I've just decided to keep my PSVR hooked up to my PS4 and put it elsewhere in my own house. Considering how freaking big the PS5 is to begin with, the thought of also setting up my PSVR kit next to it just sounds like it'd take up too much real estate under my entertainment center. Time to put my VR rig somewhere else.

Regardless of my own situation, it's good to hear that Sony will begin putting these PS5 adapters in new PSVR bundles relatively soon. Now to just wait for that new iteration of the headset that is said to be in the works.

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Minecraft Dungeons Adds Cross-Platform Play on November 17

Minecraft Dungeons

Minecraft Dungeons is Mojang's Diablo-lite hack-and-slasher. The game launched earlier this year to solid reviews, but you weren't able to play with friends on other platforms That all changes very soon as the team is putting cross-platform support in early next week. Starting November 17, you'll be able to play with all your friends, regardless of which platform you play on. Check out the announcement trailer below.

While Minecraft Dungeons might not be for everyone, it's hard to deny the appeal of a dungeon crawler parents can play with their kids. It may be simple, but that makes it even easier to get younger players in on the fun. Plus, the team has continued to provide tons of post-launch support to grow out the content available to players.

The inclusion of cross-platform support is yet another feather in the cap for Minecraft Dungeons and Mojang. It's worth wondering what this could mean for other first-party Xbox games going forward. Obviously, Minecraft is a bit of a different beast, but it does make the path a little clearer for Bethesda games to end up on PS5. Now, don't take this as any kind of confirmation. This just gives those of us who aren't getting an Xbox Series X a little bit of extra hope.

Minecraft Dungeons is available now on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The cross-platform patch hits on November 17, giving you plenty of time to pick it up before launch. And remember, Howling Peaks, the next DLC pack is coming in December.

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Bright Memory Review — I Wish I Could Forget

Don't let the title confuse you; Bright Memory isn't the game we saw at Microsoft's first showcase for Xbox Series X games. Sure, it's the same franchise and developer, yes, the gameplay looks comparable, and the names are absolutely confusing, but there wasn't a single moment of gameplay in Bright Memory's stunted hour-ish runtime that came remotely close to being as dynamic or cool as the trailer for its sequel, Bright Memory: Infinite, that we saw in May.

Between bad controls, a messy user experience, shallow and uninteresting gameplay, uninteresting level design and writing and cutscenes that fall flat on their faces, Bright Memory is anything but awesome. Considering the game's been in early access and hit its final build a while ago, it should be a lot better.

From the onset, one thing was painfully clear; the game was not ready to be played on a console. Starting the game on my Xbox Series S seemed pretty standard at first until I got to the title screen, which was the first warning of things to come. For some reason, while laid out like any normal menu in any console game, Bright Memory's menus (yes, all of them) use a cursor instead of the standard highlighting for whatever option is selected, but that's not that out of the ordinary for a lot of games these days. What took it from just kind of slow to infuriating was that there was no indication that there was a cursor. I was on that title screen for a few minutes trying to start the game, but the cursor just wouldn't show up on the screen. Every menu was like that. This feeling that Bright Memory was a PC game haphazardly thrown onto the Xbox with no discernible level of quality assurance or care never left my mind throughout my entire playthrough.

The game opens with an extremely cryptic cutscene that presumes a level of familiarity with the game, its world, and its story that just isn't there. I even encountered what can only be described as the ghost of scan lines dancing down my monitor and TV (yes, I tried multiple displays), mocking the already underwhelming cutscenes and undermining the experience more and more as my time with the game went on.

The cutscenes didn't have much to brag about before the technical issues either – one moment you're fighting a bunch of futuristic military guys and the next you're being teleported to generic ruins where you fight enemies that look like knockoff Dark Souls enemies. In fact, there are multiple parts of the game that feel like they're borrowing from FromSoftware's style, but not in the form of deep, interesting, and challenging gameplay — it's just random. Most of the enemies in the game that aren't generic, futuristic military dudes are generic FromSoft characters. At one point, there's a bonfire that seemingly does nothing, but when you interact with it, it shows the "Bonfire Lit" screen from Dark Souls.

Small, confusing, and pointless elements like this are all over Bright Memory. They make it feel like it was made without anyone to ground the project in reality or make sure that an actual final product was being made. There are a few collectibles throughout the levels that do seemingly nothing, the only puzzle in the game is uninteresting and boring; I could go on. None of this would really matter if the gameplay was good, but that's asking a bit much.

Put simply, Bright Memory might've been worked really well as a tech demo at the beginning of the Xbox One/PlayStation 4 generation, especially since the shooting mechanics aren't bad, they just feel exactly like what you'd expect from something on the Xbox 360 or PS3. The game provides you with three weapons, all of which feel decent to shoot, but because most of the enemies are bullet sponges, it doesn't matter. To make matters worse, the reload animations for all three guns take far too long for how hard it is to kill enemies.

What makes simple elements like shooting and moving even less enjoyable, however, are the settings. When you aim down the barrel of your gun, you have to click the aim button again to stop looking. Again, in a vacuum, that's not a big deal at all – games like Valorant and CS:GO feature a comparable setup. The problem here is that there is an option to change that in the game's settings, but changing it in the settings doesn't change it in the game. There are three different things that this happens for and it makes playing the game feel stuttery and slow because they never worked the way I wanted them to.

Outside of the three guns (a pistol, assault rifle, and a shotgun), you also have a few other combat abilities that could potentially provide interesting layers to the combat if they were given time to be fleshed out in any meaningful way. Your sword acts as another ranged weapon, which shoots beams that slice through enemies much more easily than your bullets. The reason the sword can't be used entirely instead of the gun, however, is that it's on a cooldown. This actually feels relatively unique compared to a lot of the game's fairly uninventive mechanics.

The protagonist is also outfitted with a teleport and a dodge, which allow for some mildly amusing movement during combat, but more often than not, most players are going to find themselves just getting used to the movement in Bright Memory around the time that they're rolling credits. Otherwise, among the few claustrophobic arenas in the game, only one is really big enough to let the player actually enjoy any of the options afforded to them. That said, there are very brief moments that feature light platforming that actually felt pretty good.

Overall, there was so much inherently wrong with my experience with Bright Memory that could have been easily fixed or improved with more time in the oven. From unsatisfying, shallow combat to limiting and dull level design, there are a million little things wrong with the game that end up weighing it down, resulting in something I can't recommend in good conscience unless someone's looking to revisit a bygone era of first-person shooters. That said, there is undoubtedly some potential in this franchise buried somewhere deep beneath all the annoying minutia that made the game unenjoyable at worst and boring at best. I'm still going to keep my eye out for its sequel, especially since its debut trailer was incredible, but I'd be lying if I said I was optimistic.

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Halo TV Show Recasts Cortana, Will Now be Played by Longtime Voice Actress Jen Taylor

Even though the development of Halo Infinite hasn't gone as smoothly as we hoped it would, production on the Halo TV series at Showtime has continued to chug along behind the scenes. As of today, a rather substantial update on the show has now been divulged and it will likely please many longtime fans of the video game franchise.

Revealed via IGN, the Halo TV Series has now recast the role of Cortana, with the new actress that is filling the character's shoes being a familiar one. Jen Taylor, who has voiced Cortana in mainline every Halo game since Combat Evolved, will now be playing the iconic part once again. Originally, Showtime had opted to cast Natascha McElhone as Cortana, but scheduling conflicts as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic have caused McElhone to continue on as the character.

What's interesting about this development is that McElhone will still be playing the part of Catherine Halsey in the show. McElhone was cast originally as both Halsey and Cortana (which makes sense if you're familiar with the franchise's story), but has now had to step aside which has led to the advent of Taylor.

While not meaning to speak poorly of McElhone by any means, I know that I for one am a bit happy to hear that Taylor will be playing Cortana instead. Considering Cortana's voice might be one of the most iconic in the history of video games, having Taylor around to play the part again just seems right.

For now, there still isn't a lot that we know about the Halo series at Showtime, but hopefully, when the pandemic stops being an issue, more information will begin to come about. Until then, we're left waiting to learn when this show might end up actually debuting.

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla Launch Trailer Sets the Stage For Ubisoft's Next Epic

Assassin's Creed Valhalla

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is out now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Don't worry PS5 fans, your version releases tomorrow. Reviews are pretty positive thus far. Our own reviewer gave it a 9/10. After you watch the launch trailer below, you might be able to see a few reasons why. From the stunning vistas to the heart-pumping combat the series has embraced, Valhalla continues to look like a great entry for the long-running series.

New Assassin's Creed games will always be a big deal until Ubisoft delivers several stinkers in a row. While some of the past releases have been a bit middling, it would be tough to call many of them bad. At the very least, it seems like the team is able to hit a certain quality bar that ensures fans can enjoy a fun story through history. While the series has certainly gotten away from what originally made it so special, it's clear that modern Assassin's Creed is here to stay.

And frankly, I don't mind. Sure, I still think the series peaked in 2009; however, the modern version of the franchise is still appealing. The games look incredible and mostly play well. If they can deliver a captivating story that introduces me to some new parts of world history, I'm always down. Plus, I think I saw a dragon in that launch trailer. That's rad.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is out now on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The game drops on PS5 on November 12.

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