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Back 4 Blood Closed Alpha Phase Kicks-Off on December 17

Back 4 Blood

As revealed by Turtle Rock Studios, Back 4 Blood closed alpha is set to be released on December 17th and you can sign-up now if you are seeking for an invitation to this early build of the game.

After launching Evolved in the early years of the last generation of consoles, we haven't heard anything from its developers until 2019, when they officially announced Back 4 Blood as their brand new project. However, it took them almost two years to finally share the first trailer from the game at The Game Awards 2020.

As of now, you can sign up for the closed alpha test of Back 4 Blood through the game's official website. The session starts on December 17 and ends on December 21st. The closed alpha phase will only available in some select countries, so make sure to check out the list of supported countries before registering.

Launching later in June next year, Back 4 Blood is a co-operative first-person shooter where you have to deal with hordes of zombies and wipe your way out of enemies. The game had a solid showcase at The Game Awards this year and soon turn into one of the most anticipated games of 2021 for a lot of Left 4 Dead fans. In fact, the upcoming title is a spiritual successor for Left 4 Dead 2, according to the development team.

Before starting work on Back 4 Blood, Turtle Rock Studios was working on a canceled project called Invaders. It's anyone's guess why the team abandoned that project, but their current title seems promising and fan-favorite enough to forget about Invaders.

Earlier in 2019, Turtle Rock Studios reached an agreement with Warner Bros. to take the publishing right of Back 4 Blood. The game will be available on PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PC on June 22nd next year.

The post Back 4 Blood Closed Alpha Phase Kicks-Off on December 17 by Mehrdad Khayyat appeared first on DualShockers.

CDPR Focused on Releasing Cyberpunk 2077 Rather Than Addressing Last-Gen Issues

Cyberpunk 2077 key art woman standing in front of night city at day

After issuing a public apology yesterday regarding the poor performance of Cyberpunk 2077 running on last-generation consoles, joint-CEO of CD Projekt Red, Adam Kiciński was part of a conference call with the management board. The recording and transcript for this are available now and finds him admitting that the studio didn't put enough attention on the game for last-generation versions and that the studio assumed that Microsoft and Sony Interactive Entertainment had expected the studio to have fixed any issues present during certification.

In his opening statement, he said, "the initial feedback from those playing it on the oldest last-gen consoles is way below our expectations," after saying the game received positive feedback from those on PC, Stadia, and next-generation consoles. However, back in November, he confirmed that the game ran surprisingly well on last-generation consoles.

"After 3 delays, we as the Management Board were too focused on releasing the game," he admitted "We underestimated the scale and complexity of the issues, we ignored the signals about the need for additional time to refine the game on the base last-gen consoles. It was the wrong approach and against our business philosophy"

There are apparently big updates for Cyberpunk 2077 planned for January and February, and there were some fixes applied last weekend, with some more fixes due to be pushed out within the next 7 days.

When asked about management being too focused on pushing the game out, Michał Nowakowski, a board member at the studio said that "We definitely did not spend enough time looking at [last-gen versions]" and that the studio didn't feel any external or internal pressure to get the game launched by December 10, 2020.

He also answered a question regarding the certification process and third-parties, saying that it was the studio's fault, "I can only assume that they trusted that we're going to fix things upon release, and that obviously did not come together exactly as we had planned."

For those playing Cyberpunk 2077 on Xbox One and PS4, CD Projekt Red says that it is planning to have the game "in much better shape than it is now". However, if you're hoping that this means the game will be on par with Xbox Series X | S, PS5, and PC, then " that definitely isn't going to happen."

Marcin Iwiński, joint-CEO and co-founder touched on the reason behind not showing last-generation performance in the build-up to release. "The reason is that we were updating the game on last-gen consoles until the very last minute, and we thought we'd make it in time" He added, "Unfortunately this resulted in giving it to reviewers just one day before the release, which was definitely too late and the media didn't get the chance to review it properly. That was not intended; we were just fixing the game until the very last moment"

Cyberpunk 2077 saw the studio make a profit on day 1, with the game hitting 1 million concurrent players on Steam alone in 12 hours of being released. However, the state of the game has led to many seeking refunds and complaining about the poor performance. The game is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, and Stadia.

The post CDPR Focused on Releasing Cyberpunk 2077 Rather Than Addressing Last-Gen Issues by Ben Bayliss appeared first on DualShockers.

Tales of Arise Producer – More Information on The Game Coming in 2021

Tales of Arise Shionne

Bandai Namco held on December 15, a special stream for the 25th anniversary of the Tales of series, and producer Yusuke Tomizawa announced additional information on Tales of Arise, the newly announced console game in the series, will be shared in 2021.

At the beginning of the stream, Yusuke Tomizawa explained: "Today, we can't tell you more about our latest console game yet. We kept developing the game through 2020, but we apologize that we couldn't bring you any news this year. We're making preparations so we can make several announcements in 2021. The game's development is progressing very well. We will have exciting, great news for all the Tales of fans around the world. So please wait for more info. In a sense, today, the 25th anniversary of the series, is a turning point for the series. Things will be different from now on. I want to make this clear. Again, I apologize we can't tell you anything specific today. But we're making something that will answer your expectations. So please wait a little more."

The first game in the series, Tales of Phantasia, first launched on December 15, 1995. To celebrate, the anniversary stream featured multiple seiyuu and developers of the Tales of series, sharing tons of anecdotes on the series' development. The Tales of Series 25th anniversary stream hasn't ended yet. We'll be summarizing everything in separate articles.

Tales of Arise was first announced worldwide at E3 2019, in June 2019. The game is officially scheduled to release on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. First planned for 2020, Tales of Arise ended up indefinitely delayed in June 2020. Now, we need to wait for sometime in 2021 for more Tales of Arise news. Hopefully we'll hear about the game soon.

On a related note, December 15, 2020 also marks the 15th anniversary of Tales of the Abyss, one of the most popular games of the series. Tales of Crestoria, the newest game in the series, is also holding a special campaign for the series anniversary.

The post Tales of Arise Producer – More Information on The Game Coming in 2021 by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

PS5 and Xbox Series X|S Sales Have Reportedly Made Scalpers $29 Million on eBay Alone

ps5 xbox series x

It's been widely reported that both the PS5 and Xbox Series S|X are incredibly hard to come by. While gamers have been eager to get their hands on Sony and Microsoft's latest offerings, so have scalpers. One such group, CrepChiefNotify, reportedly secured over 3500 consoles to resell within the first few days of the console's launches alone.

While it's clear that scalpers have been a problem, there was no major evidence of just how much damage they had done. That was until a recent report by Dev and Tom's Hardware, which has looked at eBay in further detail. The report looks at just how many units had been sold on the platform and how much profit they'd made for scalpers.

Unsurprisingly, the most in-demand item was Sony's PS5. The disc-based console retails for $499, however, on eBay had a median selling price of over $1000. The same goes for the digital console, which retails for $399 yet had a median price on eBay of $937. This means scalpers, on average, are more than doubling their money with the PS5 and that only tells half the story.

In the last month alone, the disc-based system has had over 25,000 units sold on the online auction website and the digital console has had a further 7,300 units sold. This has meant the groups have sold just shy of $35 million worth of PS5's on the platform, equating to over $19 million in profit.

The Xbox Series S|X also tells a similar tale. The median price for a Series S sat at $469 on eBay, versus the console's $299 MSRP and the Series X sold for around $865 versus the $499 MSRP. This meant that, with the Series X's 23,000 units sold and the Series S' 6,800, that Microsoft's new consoles made scalpers a further $10 million profit.

While these numbers are already staggering, they don't take into account any other reselling platforms including Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree and more, which, given there are fewer fees have potentially been just as lucrative.

The post PS5 and Xbox Series X|S Sales Have Reportedly Made Scalpers $29 Million on eBay Alone by Sam Woods appeared first on DualShockers.

Nintendo Switch Online Adding Five New Titles Including Donkey Kong Country 3

Nintendo Switch Online

It's been a couple of months now since our last Nintendo Switch Online additions. Back in September the likes of Mario's Super Picross and Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest were added to the service, but nothing since then. That's all about to change, however, as Nintendo has announced another five new games across both the NES and Super NES that will be dropping on December 18.

As with the last round of additions, only one NES title will be joining the service. That game is Nightshade. Nightshade was released in 1992 and only ever came out in North America. It is a point and click adventure game with some more action-heavy elements. The game was developed by Beam Software, the developers who created the cult classic Super NES title Shadowrun.

Joining Nightshade are a total of four different Super NES titles. Without doubt, the most high profile of those four is Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble. The game is a follow up to Donkey Kong Country 2 and sees players take control of Dixie Kong and, everybody's favourite member of the Kong family, Kiddy Kong to complete a variety of platforming levels.

Alongside Donkey Kong Country 3 are three slightly lesser know Super NES titles. The first is The Ignition Factor, or Fire Fighting as it was known in Japan. The game sees players assume the role of a firefighter, tackling blazes in a range of real-world situations. Second up is SUPER VALIS IV, a great looking side-scrolling platformer/hack n slash game which has a range of cool enemies to tackle. The final new addition is Tuff E Nuff, a fighting game with a large roster of characters and some absolutely incredible box art.

The five games join the Nintendo Switch Online service this Friday, December 18.

The post Nintendo Switch Online Adding Five New Titles Including Donkey Kong Country 3 by Sam Woods appeared first on DualShockers.

Genshin Impact – New Screenshots, Details Reveal Exploring Dragonspine is The Best Way to Preserve Emergency Food Paimon

miHoYo published several new Dragonspine focused screenshots for Genshin Impact (PC, PS4, PS5, Mobile, Switch release date TBA). Dragonspine is the first area ever added to the Action RPG. Meaning it's a new discovery for both those who entered Genshin when its popularity exploded after release, and those who participated in the pre-launch Closed Beta Tests. The area will be added as part of the Chalk Prince and the Dragon Version 1.2 update coming December 23.

On a livestream, miHoYo revealed tons of details regarding Dragonspine. All the details are here. Long story short, the update will add new characters Albedo and Ganyu. Geo sword user Albedo will launch soon after December 23. Meanwhile Cryo bow user Ganyu will be out in mid January. A new Domain with Cryo and Hydro Artifacts will be available, as well as several new quests and events. Along with an event to get "free" four star weapons and the possibility to get duplicates to max Refine them. The exploration of Dragonspine will also bring new mechanics, with a coldness system.

Besides the new screenshots, included in a gallery further below, additional details have been shared by miHoYo on Twitter.

First, take a look at this Field Report on the Lost Civilization and Dragon Remains found in Dragonspine:

Genshin Impact Dragonspine details 3 Genshin Impact Dragonspine details 4

The field report explains how we'll first have access to the Dragonspine snowy plains, and end up reaching inside the mountain where a mysterious red core glows. Next up, the inside of Dragonspine looks mostly hollow, and camps of the Adventurers' Guild, but also Treasure Hoarders and Fatui members, awaits inside. Lastly, the summit of Dragonspine, which should only be accessible after we fulfill certain conditions as explained on stream, is also even colder than the rest of the area.

Personally speaking, I'm particularly excited for Dagonspine. The area seems to be everything I imagined. Snowy plains. Underground grottoes. And an interesting cold mechanic, where you constantly need to monitor your temperature and get to heat sources.

Previously, miHoYo told DualShockers in an interview that Inazuma would be the next region added in the game. Technically, this still holds true as Dragonspine isn't one of the seven regions of Teyvat, but is part of Mondstadt. Moreover, note that our interview was held before the launch of Version 1.1. Since then, the ending of the Liyue main story chapter made it even clearer that the Traveler's next destination is Inazuma.

miHoYo also teased Zhongli, one of the most popular characters, but disappointing gameplay-wise, will get buffed with Version 1.3.

New Dragonspine Screenshots in Genshin Impact:

Genshin Impact Dragonspine Screenshots 1 Genshin Impact Dragonspine Screenshots 4 Genshin Impact Dragonspine Screenshots 5 Genshin Impact Dragonspine Screenshots 6

The post Genshin Impact – New Screenshots, Details Reveal Exploring Dragonspine is The Best Way to Preserve Emergency Food Paimon by Iyane Agossah appeared first on DualShockers.

Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Review — Second Time's The Charm

Puyo Puyo Tetris, Sega, Nintendo Switch

I have a confession to make: as big of a Tetris fan as I am, I never owned the first Puyo Puyo Tetris. That's not to say that I've never played it though; I never picked it up is because of how big its demo was. In fact, its demo was infamous in the early days of the Switch for how content-complete it was. I remember coming over to a friend's house and playing that demo for hours on end even though Mario Kart 8 Deluxe had just come out.

Of course, I'm sure that old player data taught Sega not to put out such a robust demo this time. However, I would gladly play Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 for hours on end just like the last one, even if it only included the stock Puyo Puyo and Tetris modes. The iterations of those classic game types they've included in this package are just that strong.


Obviously, it's not the same transcendent experience offered in Tetris Effect Connected. However, it offers a clean, arcade-y, and robust experience that's equally important in games like Tetris and Puyo Puyo. Sure, most of the game is effectively the same as the last with only a few small balance and quality-of-life upgrades and a new story for the Adventure Mode to differentiate the two releases. That said, I can't stop playing.

Booting up the game can feel a little daunting at first because of just how much it offers to you from the start. You have a story mode multiplayer modes, single-player modes, tutorials, and an online mode. And all of those give way to even more menus that, while occasionally busy and overcomplicated, help to show just how many modes are available in this game.

In fact, I took some time to try out all the different single-player and multiplayer modes the game had to offer. It took me hours to try one game of each mode alone. So, for those looking for new spins and iterations on these two puzzle classics, there's plenty to check out across a ton of interesting and varied modes, each with their own uniquely compelling spin on each game's formula. Heck, some even merge the two.

A few of these modes have been added or changed in some way to introduce new mechanics to the game. However, a majority of the modes offered are things you'll find in the last version of Puyo Puyo Tetris or in other Tetris games, like Tetris 99 or Tetris Effect Connected. A couple of my favorites, though, are the modes that find ways to mix Puyo Puyo and Tetris gameplay together.

For example, there's the 'Swap' mode, which gives each player two wells, one for Puyo Puyo and one for Tetris, to play with. Another mode that accomplishes this blend of the two puzzle titans is the 'Fusion' mode, which will randomly send Puyos and Tetrominos at each player. It lends a kind of frantic chaos as the two seamlessly switch.

Some might find themselves a little overwhelmed by the sheer number of options and modes available to them. Or maybe they're just looking for a good introduction to different modes or gameplay styles. For them, I highly recommend the game's adventure mode. Comprised of short dialog sequences interspersed with Puyo Puyo and Tetris gameplay, the adventure mode throws most of the modes found in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 at you within the first hour or so.

It's certainly nothing on the caliber of a Last of Us, or any game one might see being recognized for its voice acting or narrative. The said, the voiceover for just about all the characters is genuinely too good for what the mode actually is, aside from the occasionally annoying anime-style yelling that sometimes happens during the actual gameplay.

While I think it would be good to offer more specific and clear details about how some of the more obscure modes that the adventure mode throws at players, I'm also glad it doesn't make you sit around and play through a basic Tetris tutorial for 20 minutes. Instead, any tips or tricks for players to learn are tucked away in the 'Lessons' section on the menu. There, players will find varying degrees and levels of tutorial for all the different skill levels.

And if you're going to try out online play, I highly recommend checking out some of the higher-level tutorials at the very least. After about an hour online of getting absolutely destroyed across a bunch of the modes that this game had to offer, I don't think I won a single round. And no, it wasn't close. That's not to say that I'm a Tetris slouch, either, but I encountered a skill gap in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2's online modes, unlike any other online game I've ever played.

Puyo Puyo Tetris, Nintendo Switch

While Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is largely derivative of the first one, every change and addition made is an overall improvement. The difference between the two games feels most comparable to the difference between the original Splatoon and Splatoon 2. Just about every change made to the overall game is for the better. Sega has provided new updates to balance and gameplay, while also introducing a few new modes and options that sweeten the deal overall.

Between Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, Tetris 99, and Tetris Effect Connected, one thing is clear; we are in a golden age for Tetris fans. Each major offering gives players something different. Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 gives players an unparalleled slate of local multiplayer content that elevates both Puyo Puyo and Tetris from just addictive, hypnotic puzzle games to fun, bombastic, colorful party games.

The post Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 Review — Second Time's The Charm by Charlie Wacholz appeared first on DualShockers.

Win a Copy of This War of Mine: Complete Edition for Nintendo Switch!

This War of Mine Nintendo Switch Giveaway New

With the Holidays around the corner, what better way to celebrate than a massive code giveaway? Thankfully — to celebrate a massive update that is a capstone to This War of Mine: Complete Edition — developer 11 Bit Studios has partnered with us to give out 100 codes for Nintendo Switch.

If you somehow haven't heard of This War of Mine since its release on PC in 2014, the game is one of the most powerful pieces of gaming media — getting critical acclaim across the board for breathing life into the horrors and unseen victims of war. The game is so impactful, it is the only video game that makes a country-wide 'reading' list (looking at you, Poland). Now, with all the updates finally on Nintendo Switch, you can experience the game in full on the go.

Check out the video and giveaway link below for more info on how to enter!

How to Enter

Entering this giveaway very easy! Following @DualShockers on Twitter is mandatory for entry, as we will be contacting the winners via Twitter Direct Message. Please make sure that you don't unfollow us before the end of the competition, as that will invalidate your win.

Other than that, the ways to enter can be found down in the giveaway box below. Most of these qualifications to enter require you to follow us on various social media platforms or check out what 11 Bit Studios has going on. The more ways you enter, the more likely you'll then be chosen as the winner for This War of Mine: Complete Edition for Nintendo Switch.

Win a Nintendo Switch Code for This War of Mine!

Giveaway Process/Requirements

To make this clear, we've got a hundred This War of Mine: Complete Edition codes that will be given away. Submissions for entry will also close next week on December 20th at 11:59 pm EST. With that said, the code is for North America accounts — make sure you have access to one of those, and that you are 17 (or older) to win a copy of the game.

This War of Mine News & Updates

This War of Mine has been floating around the indiedev scene since the beginning of last generations, so there's been a ton of news and updates over time. In case you missed it, here are some of the recent stories:

Best of luck if you enter! We'll officially reach out to the winner next week on December 21st, 2020.

The post Win a Copy of This War of Mine: Complete Edition for Nintendo Switch! by Lou Contaldi appeared first on DualShockers.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Takes Vermintide Gameplay to Space

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, Fatshark

The Game Awards was filled with big announcements last week. One of those is that Fatshark currently has its next Warhammer game in development for next year. The studio that gave us the two Vermintide games is going back to that well one more time. Except this go-around, players will take the first-person action combat to space. Warhammer 40,000: Darktide lets up to four players group together to fight off the Admonition that is taking over Atoma Prime. Check out the first slice of gameplay below.

With this first glance, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide doesn't appear to stray too far away from Vermintide. Of course, there will likely be a few notable changes that we'll learn about before the game launches. However, for now, it just looks like more of the same. Considering how popular the previous games were, it makes sense not to change things too much. If the team can just build on Vermintide 2's melee combat, they'll be well on their way to a solid video game.

The biggest change is the setting. With how popular Warhammer 40,000 is, it was only a matter of time before the team took the gameplay to this setting. Personally, I've always preferred the Warhammer Fantasy setting, but I know there are plenty of fans who lean the other way. So, it's great to see Fatshark taking care of both sides with Darktide.

Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is set to launch sometime in 2021. Currently, the game is only announced for PC and Xbox Series X. However, Vermintide 2 came to PS4 eight months after its initial release. I would be very surprised to not see the same happen with Darktide.

The post Warhammer 40,000: Darktide Takes Vermintide Gameplay to Space by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.

FIFA 21 — How to Complete the Jose Gaya Player SBC

FIFA 21, EA Sports

FIFA 21 is continuing the string of fun player SBCs to celebrate the ongoing FUT Freeze promo. Today's player comes from LaLiga and provides the most striking position change we've seen so far. You can now unlock a striker version of Jose Gaya, who, in the real world, plays left back. The move means Gaya is getting a total change of his stats to turn him into a useable attacker. Check him out.

Personally, I was really hoping to see Sergio Ramos take this spot in a throwback to FUT Birthday card in FIFA 19. It would've been fun to have a big player to throw some coins into. That said, I do like that EA isn't just reusing the same players, so I can't get too grumpy.

Gaya does seem like a weird inclusion as someone who never uses LaLiga players. It seems like everyone and their nan is using Joao Felix's Player of the Month card these days, so I'm not sure how many people will complete this. Of course, he looks to be coming in at right around 60,000 coins, making him much cheaper than Felix. If you need a solution, see the one I tossed together below for some inspiration.

As you can see, the key here is to grab a few cheap 85-rated players from your club and then fill it out with mostly 83s. The SBC does have a relatively high chemistry requirement, so try to stick to one league to make it easier. You also likely already have an untradeable inform in your club. Now, is a great time to use them.

There's another puzzle SBC up as well. It's pretty cheap, so I would recommend testing your luck. My advice is to grab some Libatadores players to get your rating up and then fill the squad out with silvers. It shouldn't be too hard or expensive.

If you really want to test your luck, there is a repeatable Base Icon SBC available for the next 30 days. Out of principle, I never complete these. It's just too many coins for what will almost assuredly be a disappointment. But, they're your coins. If you want to give it a whirl, you have plenty of time to come up with the coins to fund one.

FIFA 21 is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. Make sure to check back tomorrow to see which Manchester United player gets a FUT Freeze SBC. My guess is Fred is moving to one of the fullbacks.

The post FIFA 21 — How to Complete the Jose Gaya Player SBC by Ricky Frech appeared first on DualShockers.