Pokemon Announces Plans to Celebrate the Franchise's 25th Anniversary in 2021

Believe it or not, Pokemon is set to turn 25-years old in 2021, which is just a shocking thing to actually write out. Luckily, it sounds as though The Pokemon Company isn't going to let this momentous anniversary pass them by lightly and has now announced some initial plans for the occasion.

Coming from the official Pokemon Twitter account recently, it was revealed that the franchise will hold some sort of "celebration" in 2021 to mark the series' 25 years of existence. As for what this celebration might look like, details weren't given right now, but it was said that more will be shared soon.

Obviously, the most notable thing that could come from this 25th-anniversary celebration would be the release of a new Pokemon game. Considering there wasn't a new installment in the series this year outside of the expansion pass content for Pokemon Sword and Shield, it stands to reason that 2021 will see the arrival of some sort of new entry in the franchise. Personally, I'm wagering that The Pokemon Company and Game Freak will have some sort of remake of a past installment. Outside of Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, the last time a remake was released was in 2014 with Pokemon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. Perhaps it's time we finally see those Diamond and Pearl remakes that fans have been begging for in recent years.

Regardless of what might happen in 2021, it's good to know that some major Pokemon news seems to be on the horizon. Considering how packed next year's game release slate is already looking, the potential arrival of a new set of Pokemon titles just makes the year look even brighter on paper.

The post Pokemon Announces Plans to Celebrate the Franchise's 25th Anniversary in 2021 by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.

Bloodborne Fanzine Features Tons of Fan Art Inspired by the Game

Bloodborne

Even five years after its release on PS4, Bloodborne has still remained one of the most memorable experiences of the last generation. The game's creepy setting and iconic monsters have made for plenty of incredible fan creations over the years, including a collection of fan art from dozens of artists that's going towards a good cause.

Cursed Book of Madness: The Unofficial Bloodborne Fanzine is a collection of fan art and pieces inspired by Bloodborne and released this fall from the team behind The First Flame, a Dark Souls-themed fanzine. Cursed Blood of Madness is available as a 48-page digital-only collection (PDF) and features 36 different artists with work based on the game.

The art collection is available now as a charity project to raise funds for Doctors Without Borders, and can be picked up with a minimum donation of $20/17€. At the moment there are no plans to release a printed version of the art collection, but orders for the book are being taken until the end of the year.

You can take a look at the tweet thread below for full details on how to grab a copy of the collection for yourself:

For a closer look at Cursed Blood of Madness, you can take a look at some of the artists and their work featured in the digital art collection:

Bloodborne is available now on PS4 and is part of the PlayStation Plus Collection on PS5.

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The Last of Us Part II Doesn't Need the Return of Factions Multiplayer

The Last of Us Part II Easter egg

I want to make this clear right off the bat: I really liked The Last of Us Part II. I recognize how divided a lot of fans are about it. Still, I think regardless of whether you liked the game or not, you'll be able to agree with me when I say that I think the general idea for the upcoming "Factions" game mode completely undermines many of the points that Naughty Dog is trying to make in the story of The Last of Us Part II. To be clear, there is no official confirmation that the multiplayer component that's been hinted at by Naughty Dog is going to be another Factions mode. Still, it's pretty clear through those hints and references that Factions is what's on the horizon next for The Last of Us.

[Spoiler Warning: Before we get started, just as a heads up, there will be major spoilers for The Last of Us Part II in this article, so please read at your own discretion.]

For those who don't know, Factions is the multiplayer expansion for the original The Last of Us that saw players pick from one of two survivor groups, the Hunters or the Fireflies, to fight for supplies. Different game modes had different objectives, but at the end of the day, each mode ultimately ended up being about killing people on the other team while completing objectives.

From my perspective, The Last of Us Part II makes a lot of statements about love, forgiveness, the cycle of violence, and most importantly, the destructive nature of tribalism and the "us vs. them" mentality. Unless Naughty Dog is planning on sending a message about the horrors of those mentalities in a mode literally titled "Factions," I think they're missing the point of their entire game.

The point is: as a developer, you cannot enforce those types of themes and have them hit as hard as they do while also having a mode in the game that rewards you for getting sick headshots on the people of the opposing side. To me, you cannot condemn tribalism in one part of your game while also glorifying it in another; a mode like that dilutes everything that Naughty Dog is trying to say in The Last of Us Part II.

Throughout The Last of Us Part II, Ellie kills so many people in the name of getting revenge and, initially, I was kind of on board with her; I was mad at Abby and her crew of Wolves for killing Joel. But as the game goes on, it's clear that Ellie maybe isn't doing all this to avenge Joel, but because of her guilt and regret with the way she wasted her final years with him. All the shooting, stabbing, and dismemberment is essentially for nothing and results from the way Ellie was brought up. She doesn't know how to cope with her grief, so she resorts to burying it and replacing it with the straightforward idea that "they killed one of mine, I'm going to kill all of theirs."

By the end of The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog shows their stance on this kind of destructive thinking by having Ellie lose just about everything she cares for. Her friend Jesse is killed, Tommy becomes the shell of what he once was, her girlfriend Dina leaves her with their son, and she loses some of her fingers, which robs her of the only connection she has left with Joel: music. With these horrible things happening to a character who chooses tribalism over forgiveness, it's pretty clear that Naughty Dog is trying to say, "Hey, this is bad."

Alternatively, Abby starts the game as a soldier for the Washington Liberation Front. Still, she comes to realize that the war they're fighting with an opposing faction and religious group, the Seraphites, is senseless. She learns this because two Seraphite children save her life, breaking down those ideas of tribalism she had previously been subscribed to. It took a single act of kindness for her to start challenging the "othering" mentality that's been ingrained in her by years of violence and war.

After this moment, she starts taking care of the two children, Yara and Lev, and vows to escape Seattle with them. Towards the end of the game, Abby has the opportunity to kill Dina and Ellie but doesn't because of Lev. The two of them escape the city and are ultimately saved by Ellie because of their willingness to let tribal lines be washed away.

the last of us abby

It's clear that Naughty Dog wants to strike up a conversation about violence and "us vs. them," but if it's juxtaposed with a game mode that's just a reskinned "Team Deathmatch," then I think maybe I'm good. It makes me wonder if they know why people liked their game. Sure, the combat is good from a gameplay perspective, but The Last of Us Part II's unflinching and realistic look at violence doesn't make me feel "cool" for enacting it.

This sort of critique is not new for Naughty Dog. The term "ludonarrative dissonance" was coined back in 2007 in a blog post by Clint Hocking about the original BioShock. He wrote: "BioShock seems to suffer from a powerful dissonance between what it is about as a game, and what it is about as a story." After his critique was published, the term then was applied to many other games over the years, including the original Uncharted released later that year. 

The conversation surrounding all of the Uncharted games is that we, the player, are supposed to empathize with and root for protagonist Nathan Drake. He's supposed to be the "good guy" but ends up killing hundreds of "bad guys" to achieve his goals. The message of the game is at odds with the message of the story. Naughty Dog is aware of these ludonarrative dissonance critiques of their games and seems to think they've "solved" the issue.

I think that The Last of Us Part II's story and gameplay do fix this problem to a certain extent, but having the Factions mode return would completely undo that fix. I feel a similar way about Factions as I did about the multiplayer for Spec Ops: The Line. For those that haven't played it, Spec Ops: The Line is a third-person military shooter akin to the Call of Duty series. However, about halfway through, it takes some twists and turns that, without wishing to spoil anything, takes a tough stance on the idea that war, violence, and the glorification of those two things are terrible.

Similar to The Last of Us Part II, Spec Ops: The Line has some big things to say but totally beefs it because of its basic deathmatch multiplayer modes. The only difference between Naughty Dog and Spec Ops developer YAGER is that YAGER wanted nothing to do with the multiplayer because it went against the game's themes but was forced to include it by their publisher.

Glorifying the violence and tribalism in The Last of Us Part II makes me feel gross. Putting a bunch of players together on opposite sides of an arena and instructing them to kill anyone who doesn't look like them makes me feel gross. The Last of Us: Factions makes me feel gross, and frankly, I don't think it's the right direction for what might be in store for the future of The Last of Us Part II.

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Mario Sports Game Rumored to Release Soon on Nintendo Switch

So far, we have only received one Mario Sports title on the Nintendo Switch. Usually, Nintendo likes to provide a plethora of sports titles on their successful hardware. A new game might be coming soon according to a notable Nintendo leaker.

Zippo, a leaker who has already dropped some leaks in the past for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, has stated that a new Mario sports title is pretty far along in development at Camelot. The supposed game would release in the first half of 2021 and wouldn't be a sports collection like we saw with Mario Sports Superstars for the 3DS. This title would be focused on one sport.

The Mario Sports series has always been more widely known for its Golf and Tennis games. Since we have already gotten a tennis title in Mario Tennis Aces (which was fantastic), Zippo noted that a new Mario Golf game would be the safer assumption.

The rumors don't stop there though. Zippo also goes on to state that Golden Sun is making a return. However, it won't be anytime soon.

It should be noted that everything here should be taken with a grain of salt. Not only because it's from a leaker, but also because Nintendo has not commented on the rumor or announced anything. Sources like these may have been correct in the past, but there are plenty of times that they have been wrong too. It's just that everyone remembers that one time they were correct.

Though, a new Mario Golf title wouldn't be anything too crazy for Nintendo to put out on the Switch. The series has been a staple for Nintendo and has always reviewed very well. Plus, this would be the first Mario Golf title to come to a home console since the great Toadstool Tour on the Gamecube.

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Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Mod Brings The Mandalorian Into the Game

The past few years have been pretty good for Star Wars fans, especially with the recent debut of The Mandalorian: Season 2 on Disney+. With the show airing its latest season and bridging over with several other Star Wars properties, if you can't get enough of the show, you can now bring its bounty hunter protagonist into Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

Over on Nexus Mods, user AlexPo21 has created a Mandalorian mod that brings Din Djarin (played by Pedro Pascal on the series) into Jedi: Fallen Order. While traditionally Mando prefers blasters over lightsabers, the mod allows players to swap out Cal Kestis' model with Djarin, sporting his signature, sleek armor. Additionally, players also have the ability to add his jetpack and cape to complete the full suit, and support for a functional blaster, jetpack, and flamethrower are coming down the line.

You can check out a video of the mod in action below, and you can download the mod for yourself on Nexus Mods:

For players that want a bit more immersion with the Mandalorian mod, you can also install a few other mods for Fallen Order that will make the effect feel more authentic. Specifically, there is a "Muscular Cal" mod from Danbrother on Nexus Mods that will make Cal's build a little closer to the Mandalorian's, while AlexPo21 recommends installing the "Stormtrooper Voice" mod from KillerCarth to recreate a masked voice.

Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is available now on PS4, Xbox One, Google Stadia, and PC.

The post Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Mod Brings The Mandalorian Into the Game by Ryan Meitzler appeared first on DualShockers.

Genshin Impact: miHoYo Wants Your Feedback On Zhongli, Childe, Latest Events, Social Media

Genshin Impact Zhongli Childe Diona Xinyan feature

miHoYo published on November 27 a Community Satisfaction Survey for multiple elements introduced in Ver 1.1 of Genshin Impact (PC, PS4, PS5, Mobile, Switch soon). Note that the survey contains spoilers if you haven't cleared the new main story chapter yet.

First, the survey asks relatively personal information like age and gender. Next, it asks the amount of time you played Genshin Impact over the last week. In other words, if you participated in the ongoing Unreconciled Stars event (Guide), and if it actively brought you to the game or not.

Next, it asks your impressions on the social media aspect, with your thoughts on the Genshin Impact Facebook, and the official site.

Genshin Impact event unreconciled stars artwork traveler mona fischl paimon scaramouche tetsuya kakihara Genshin Impact version 1.1 key visual zhongli childe tartaglia artwork

Secondly, the survey asks about multiple visual aspects of Genshin Impact.

Most notably, the survey asks your thoughts on the key visual artworks for Ver 1.1 A New Star Approaches and Unreconciled Stars. Along with the artworks for the four new characters: Zhongli, Childe (Tartaglia), Diona, and Xinyan.

I personally mentioned how it perfectly teased what the event would be about, and shows both the cute and cool sides of the characters. The male traveler's midriff is nice, however it'd be great if we had a version with the female traveler too. The way it teases Scaramouche before his reveal in the final phase of the event is also a nice touch.

The A New Star Approaches artwork does a really good job at quickly showing what Zhongli and Childe are all about. Lastly, each of the chara design for the new characters is particularly nice, as always.

Moreover, the survey also asks what did you think about Childe. Not only in the new story quests, but also gameplay-wise. Most notably the fact that he's an Hydro character. Or how he can switch between two fighting styles.

Lastly, the final questions in this Genshin Impact ver 1.1 survey ask for your thoughts on the Adventurers Assemble event. And the Stone Harbor Treasure Journal event.

In related news, miHoYo is now bringing to court players leaking Version 1.2 Closed Beta Test content. December 23 is the planned release date for Version 1.2, adding Dragonspine. miHoYo also revealed in which order future Teyvat regions will be added: with Japan-themed Inazuma as the next region.

The post Genshin Impact: miHoYo Wants Your Feedback On Zhongli, Childe, Latest Events, Social Media by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

343 Will be "Much More Communicative" About Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite

Developer 343 Industries has been rather quiet when it comes to updates on the development of Halo Infinite. The former release title for the Xbox Series X | S has become more and more of a mystery since being delayed. The only news that has come out from 343 regarding the game has been about changes to its development team. However, according to a community post that should all be changing very soon.

The post, written by Halo Community Manager John "Unyshek" Junyszek, is pretty forward in acknowledging that 343 has been tight-lipped regarding Halo Infinite. "We see that you, our community, have so many questions and are hungry for more information," reads the post. "We know. We hear you. We understand."

That's not to say that more Halo Infinite news is coming any time soon. Instead of telling fans what's coming in the latest entry of the Halo franchise, 343's intention is to "show" the game's story, characters and customization options "when it's ready." While this response is blatantly vague, it's followed by the promise that as 343 gets closer to being able to reveal anything about Halo Infinite, fans will be notified in advance.

343's promise there leads up to the end of Unyshek's blog post. In it, he acknowledges that "we've been quiet longer than we like," and that the team will "be much more communicative over the coming months." Unyshek also points to one last community update that will end the year "on a pretty strong note." That update will be going live on December 17.

For more information on Halo Infinite, fans will have to wait just a little while longer. And, with development on Halo: The Master Chief Collection for PC finally wrapped up with the addition of Halo 4, 343 may have more resources now to put towards Infinite. That means more work getting done on the game, and more updates reaching fans and players sooner rather than later.

The post 343 Will be "Much More Communicative" About Halo Infinite by Otto Kratky appeared first on DualShockers.

The Last of Us Composer Gustavo Santaolalla States That Part 2 Is "Just the Beginning"

The Last of Us Part II, Naughty Dog

We've seen The Last of Us Part 2 sweep up at the Golden Joystick Awards during the week and, personally speaking, rightly so. Hosted by Laura Bailey and Travis Willingham, the controversial game took home six trophies including Best Storytelling and Ultimate Game of the Year. While talking about The Last of Us Part 2 being nominated by the upcoming Game Awards in nine categories, composer Gustavo Santaolalla made an intriguing comment in a Twitter post stating that work on Part 2 was "just the beginning".

Naturally, Santaolalla's tweet caused a bit of a stir with people believing that this could very well be in reference to a Part 3 for The Last of Us. Over on Resetera, there are already discussions on what "just the beginning" could possibly mean and if he's actually talking about another Last of Us game or maybe an entirely different Naughty Dog project. Of course, the comment could also mean that he's referring to HBO's The Last of Us as we know that Neil Druckmann stated that Gustavo Santaolalla will be back lending his incredible music abilities to the show. To add more fuel to the already burning fire, Derek Philips best know for this role as Jerry Anderson, Abby's dad, in Part 2 posted on Twitter that was "back to work" while wearing a mocap suit.

Either way, we will just have to do the waiting game but a Part 3 isn't out of the question here especially in how Part 2 ended. I would love to see it happen but I would also love to see an entirely new game from Naughty Dog or even the devs continuing with Chloe and Nadine in more of Uncharted: Lost Legacy. In the meantime, The Last of Us fans are still patiently awaiting some kind of news of the multiplayer aspects of the game as all we've heard so far is Naughty Dog state that they're "excited to share more when it's ready." We all know how Naughty Dog love to keep fans waiting.

For those who haven't dove head-on into the franchise yet and would like to know more about this iconic game, our Features Editor put together a guide of everything you need to know about The Last of Us. The Last of Us Part 2 is available now exclusively on PS4 and the game was one of DualShockers' favorites of 2020; make sure to check out the official DualShockers (generally spoiler-free) review. Also, feel free to grab the game physically on Amazon to help support the site.

The post The Last of Us Composer Gustavo Santaolalla States That Part 2 Is "Just the Beginning" by Rachael Fiddis appeared first on DualShockers.

GreedFall Sells Over 1 Million Copies, Heading to PS5 and Xbox Series X / S

GreedFall

Developer Spiders has announced that its action RPG game GreedFall has sold over 1 million copies worldwide. As part of the announcement, it has been confirmed that fans can expect the game to be heading to next-generation consoles.

Taking to the official GreedFall Twitter account, the studio announced that it has been following community feedback surrounding the game and players can expect to see additional content becoming available. What this content entails is not yet known, but one reply to a user suggests that it could be looking into adding a photo mode.

GreedFall launched in 2019 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One and finds players taking control of a human that is neutral, between different factions that look to your input into driving the narrative. You sail to Teer Fradee to discover a cure for a plague that ravages through your home. The key point for the game has been that choices made can have far-reaching consequences in the world, meaning that each choice really does change the fate of yourself, or others.

The island players travel to will also be packed with natives and monsters spanning across the vast lands. Each area is fully explorable, and in-between areas you're able to rest and organize your gear at camp as well as deciding what 2 characters you want to bring with you into the area to help you in conversations and combat.

GreedFall is currently available on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. The announcement suggests that it'll be heading to PS5 and Xbox Series X / S although an exact timeframe has not yet been revealed.

The post GreedFall Sells Over 1 Million Copies, Heading to PS5 and Xbox Series X / S by Ben Bayliss appeared first on DualShockers.

Genshin Impact Xinyan Guide: Introduction Trailer, Elemental Skill, Elemental Burst Explained

Genshin Impact Xinyan feature dark skinned woman with a chinese and rock style aesthetic holding her guitar

On November 27, miHoYo published several new details and a trailer for Xinyan, the new character coming soon with Zhongli in Genshin Impact (PC, PS4, PS5, Mobile, Switch soon). Both Xinyan and Zhongli will be available in a few days via a new featured limited gacha banner. As usual with every character intro trailer so far, the one for Xinyan is incredibly well directed, showing off her rock style.

If you aren't lucky enough (or whale enough) to own Diluc, Xinyan is the easier to earn replacement. She also is a Pyro Vision user and Claymore user. Xinyan is a four star character, and will receive a gacha drop boost in the upcoming Zhongli banner.

Genshin Impact Xinyan Introduction Trailer (Japanese, English)

Moreover, similarly to all characters from Liyue with a Chinese name, Xinyan's name is pronounced differently in Japanese: Shinen / 辛炎.

The Genshin Impact Version 1.1 stream revealed Xinyan for the first time, alongside Diona, and how Childe and Zhongli would become playable. While there's no date yet, it's likely the Zhongli and Xinyan banner will start a few hours after the ongoing Childe banner ends.

Personally, seeing English isn't my first language and being an otaku, I prefer the Japanese voices. However, it's important to recognize the work the English voice cast is putting into Genshin Impact. The English voice actress voicing Xinyan is Laura Stahl, who also voices Barbara.

In Japanese, Xinyan is voiced by Chiaki Takahashi, an incredibly popular seiyuu who's mainly known for voicing Azusa Miura in Bandai Namco's The Idolm@ster. She also has a distinctive  sexy fashion style and mainly voice sexy type characters like Xinyan. Moreover, she voices Ichijiku Kadenokoji, one of the sole female characters in Hypnosis Mic, the incredibly popular media mix franchise by King Records that is all the hype in Japan. Among female otaku and those who like pretty and cool boys doing rap battles in general.

Xinyan's use of "atai" to refer to herself in Japanese, and her accent in English, express her distinct way of speaking.

"She's on fire!" —Boatman Wrench Wang, who started screaming, after seeing the stage be set ablaze while watching Xinyan's performance."

Genshin Impact Xinyan Elemental Skill, Elemental Burst Explained

  • Xinyan ‧ Blazing Riff
  • Liyue's sole rock 'n' roll musician
  • Vision: Pyro
  • Constellation: Fila Ignium

Xinyan's Elemental Skill is a Pyro Elemental blow with her guitar, dealing Pyro damage to nearby enemies and creating a shield. Xinyan's Def stat determines the amount of damage the shield can absorb. The shield's level scales with the number of enemies hit with the Elemental Skill.

When triggering her Elemental Burst, Xinyan quickly plays her guitar, emitting sound waves to knock back enemies. This deals physical damage to surrounding enemies. Moreover, Xinyan burns her surroundings with her rock atmosphere, dealing continuous Pyro elemental damage to surrounding enemies.

That's everything we know about Xinyan. Be sure to check our guide for the ongoing Unreconciled Stars, Star of Destiny event. In related news, miHoYo is now suing players leaking Version 1.2 Closed Beta Test content. December 23 is the scheduled release date for Version 1.2, adding Dragonspine. miHoYo also revealed in which order future Teyvat regions will be added: Japan-themed Inazuma is the next region.

The post Genshin Impact Xinyan Guide: Introduction Trailer, Elemental Skill, Elemental Burst Explained by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.