Halo games' Xbox 360 servers will be shut down in 2021

343 Industries has announced that it will be shutting down all online functionality for Halo games on the Xbox 360. This will not be an immediate action. Players on Xbox 360 have until December 2021 to play games such as Halo Anniversary, Halo 3, ODST, Halo 4, Halo Reach, Spartan Assault and Halo Wars with online functionality. In a statement 343 Industries wrote:

Every cycle spent maintaining and supporting Xbox 360 legacy services is time and energy not spent on the future of Halo. To that end – today we are announcing our intention to sunset our Halo Xbox 360 legacy services to fully focus on the future of the franchise. In approximately ONE YEAR, December 2021, online services for legacy Halo Xbox 360 titles will be discontinued. Owners of these titles will still be able to play these games indefinitely, however, certain online features and experiences, particularly online matchmaking, will be limited or disabled.

The company has stated that the number of players using the Xbox 360 to play Halo games is dwindling year on year. While the developer says it cares about all Halo players, from a business perspective the amount of resources required to keep these legacy titles maintained is outweighing the benefit. In light of today's announcement all the Xbox 360 versions of these games will be removed from digital storefronts.

343 Industries will be trying to shift as many resources as possible to the maintenance of Halo: Master Chief Collection, and Halo Infinite. 343 Industries recently opened up about Halo Infinite and its delayed launch, revealing that the game now has a launch window of Fall 2021. That's effectively a year-long delay from the original intended launch alongside the Xbox Series X|S on 10th November. The campaign side of the game is complete, but work is needed on the multiplayer side which will be a free to play experience.

Source: Halo Waypoint

What We Played #480 – Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond , Warzone & Yakuza: Like A Dragon

Thank God it's nearly Christmas (I'm sure there's probably some way he's responsible for the event). After a year that's been akin to being waterboarded by abject stupidity, it's nearly at an end, and some seasonal festivities are coming to bring some much needed light into our dark, dismal lives.

I've been so busy that the idea of playing many computer games has been laughable, but I finally got to sit down last night and play Tetris Effect: Connected, which was just what my brain needed to sort itself out. I've also been snatching moments of Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, because it's a comfort blanket of gaming goodness, and I don't think it will ever wear out. Only Monster Hunter Rise could be able to draw me away next year.

Nic Bunce has been getting back into Pokémon Go, saying that "having gone for a socially distanced walk with a mate and his son for his birthday (birthday parties are kind of a no-no this year) it's been the perfect chance to start catching critters again. They've added a tonne of new features and two more gens since I last played. I've also played some Shady Part if Me, some Sam and Max and some Monster Hunter between everything else. Busy week!"

Steve has been getting his VR army boots on with Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond, and tried out a bit of Half Life: Alyx for comparison. Other than that, he put some hours into Monster Sanctuary and Blossom Tales on the Switch and rattled through the retro fun of Landflix Odyssey.

Aran finally beat the Gears Tactics campaign, as it took ages to pass the final mission – thankfully a Boomer shot to the face of the boss saved him from certain doom. Meanwhile, Jim slipped back into two comfort games this week, the first of them being Hitman. He tells us, "I didn't really give Hitman 2 a thorough shake the first time around so now I'm playing through both games back-to-back. Replaying some of those missions from Hitman has felt weirdly nostalgic as I go back and re-do those Mastery ranks and challenges, ready for Hitman 3 next month. Also, with Year 4 Season 4 under way, For Honor has found its way back in my gaming rotation. This tends to happen every few months – I get the urge to play again, focus on a new hero, then get my fill. This time around I'm juggling a few characters including the Warlord, Nobushi, Tiandi, and newcomer, Gryphon."

Nick P has been playing DMC5, getting the main campaign and Virgil's campaign completed, but that's not all. "Now I need to decide if I'm going for that plat, it's a tough one!" He's also been playing Mafia Definitive Edition and the new update for Warzone – "It's nice having another map in Warzone, even if it is just Alcatraz."

No surprises for Jason, who has been playing Rocket League. He continues, "I did also try out Crackdown 3, which runs like all of us attempted to at the beginning of the first lockdown (not well, and also our knees hurt). I've also been playing a lot of Monster Sanctuary, which is great." Gareth meanwhile has played a bit of Cyberpunk 2077, but otherwise hasn't had much time.

Drea has had a bit of a slow week as she came off of furlough, before being swiftly put back on furlough. "I've been playing a lot of Paper Mario, and my sister inspired me to replay The Urbz, which has aged surprisingly well."

On the other side of the world, Miguel has got back into Yakuza Like a Dragon, "the combat has been clicking for me a little more after I dumped a bunch of yen into grabbing super beefy fully upgraded weapons for my party, PLUS the story is really kicking into high-gear so thats got me excited to keep playing. I've also been playing a bunch of COD Cold War Black Ops, and with the new season 1 update out I'm obsessed with 2v2 Gunfight. I've also been fumbling around in Fortnite and Genshin Impact doing daily mission stuff here and there."

Finally, we have Tef, who's started running through the entire Halo saga in co-op, though his playtime was stalled by an unexpected 23GB update on Wednesday. He also dove into Among Us on Nintendo Switch, finding a decent port of one of the smash hits of the summer.

What about you? What have you been playing in preparation for Christmas?

Microsoft is now offering full Cyberpunk 2077 refunds until further notice

Earlier today, Sony made the unprecedented move of removing Cyberpunk 2077 from its digital storefront following major performance issues of the game running on PS4. This move was followed by an announcement that Sony would offer refunds to anyone who had purchased the game through the PlayStation store, an exception to the company's strict refund policy. Now, Microsoft has followed suit and will also issue refunds for Cyberpunk 2077 to anyone who purchased the game digitally through the Microsoft store for until further notice, instead of capping the time in which a return can be made. The full statement from Microsoft can be read below.

Cyberpunk 2077: To ensure that every player can get the experience they expect on Xbox, we will be expanding our existing refund policy to offer full refunds to anyone who purchased Cyberpunk 2077 digitally from the Microsoft Store, until further notice. While we know the developers at CD PROJEKT RED have worked hard to ship Cyberpunk 2077 in extremely challenging circumstances, we also realize that some players have been unhappy with the current experience on older consoles. To date, we have granted refunds to the vast majority of customers who have requested one. To request an Xbox refund for Cyberpunk 2077, please follow the steps listed on our Xbox refund page here: msft.it/6010pXEHj

Earlier, it was confirmed that Cyberpunk 2077 would be staying on the Xbox Store.

"We are not in such discussions with Microsoft at the moment," Adam Kicinski said in a statement to Reuters.

This is almost certainly because Microsoft have a promotional deal with CDPR, including a Cyberpunk branded console and the Xbox logo at the end of all Cyberpunk 2077 adverts.

Source: Microsoft Twitter

Five more games have been added to the Nintendo Switch Online NES & SNES library

In the run up to Christmas Nintendo has added five more classic games on its Nintendo Switch Online service, with four games coming to the SNES library and one more to NES library. Those games are Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble!, The Ignition Factor, SUPER VALIS IV, Tuff E Nuff, and Nightshade. No, Tuff E Nuff has got nothing to do with our Tuffcub.

You can read the full description of each game below, and see if any take your fancy.

Donkey Kong Country 3: Dixie Kong's Double Trouble! – Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong have gone missing. As Dixie Kong checks in with the rest of the family, she gets stuck with babysitting duties! But that won't stop her from going on her next adventure. Play as Dixie Kong or Kiddy Kong solo, against a friend or with a friend. Take advantage of their abilities as they throw each other into action in over 40 levels.

The Ignition Factor – Intense firefighting action puts you in the heat of the moment. Take control of a brave firefighter as he battles to save people from towering infernos and flame-filled factories. Keep your cool to rescue all the victims. Get them out of the fire and back to safety!

Super Valis IV – A reddish moon calls forth evil, and the bells toll for battle. Take on the role of Lena, the only warrior able enough to wield the Valis sword against the forces of evil in this action platformer. The longer you take clearing a stage, the stronger the boss at its end will get. Dash, jump and use the items you collect along the way to traverse all seven stages.

Tuff E Nuff – Four champions seek to challenge the great tower! In this action game, your special attacks level up each time you defeat a certain number of enemies, making your hero grow even more powerful. Make good use of your guard, and carefully time your special attacks against all the tough guys you face on your way to Jade, the self-proclaimed Fighting King. With the instant-replay feature, you can have fun watching the last moments of a fight play out!

Nightshade – Sutekh has blanketed Metro City under a shroud of crime and corruption. The big crime bosses now answer only to him. To avenge his fallen idol, Mark Gray dons the guise of Nightshade, the last person standing between Sutekh and total control of Metro City. Using a combo of point-and-click and action gameplay styles, stalk the streets of Metro City in search of vengeance.

You will need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to play these games.

Source: Nintendo Twitter

Giveaway: Win a game from 2K, including Mafia: Definitive Edition, Borderlands 3 & NBA 2K21

It's so very nearly Christmas. The kids have (just) finished school, the teachers have closed the doors and scarpered off home, and everyone is hoping for a slightly brighter end to a particularly dreary year. In an attempt to brighten things a little more for the readers of TSA, 2K have given us a selection of games to giveaway to you this festive season, and it's so utterly simple to enter you really have no reason not to.

We've got six PS4 games to giveaway, with six winners each receiving one each by random selection. They're all the PS4 versions of the game, but they are also playable on the brand new PS5 via backwards compatibility. In the case of Borderlands 3, you can upgrade for free to the next-gen version, while NBA 2K21 is similarly upgradeable if you're lucky enough to win the Black Mamba edition. The details of what we have up for grabs is as follows:

2 x Mafia: Definitive Edition (PS4 – digital)
2 x Borderlands 3 (PS4 – digital)
1 x NBA 2K21 (PS4 – physical standard edition)
1 x NBA 2K21 (PS4 & PS5 – physical Black Mamba special edition)

As always, entering our competitions is simple – just complete the form below to enter in a variety of different ways, including via Twitter, YouTube and Facebook. There are 6 games up for grabs, all of which work in the EU territory.

Win one of six 2K Games for PS4

We'll be running the competition for four days with entries closing at 11.59PM UK time on Tuesday 22nd December. Unfortunately the giveaway is only open to residents of the EU. Winners must respond within two working days of being contacted, and if they do not another winner will be drawn. Following a response, digital code prizes will be sent via email, while boxed versions will be mailed out to the winners via first class mail. Our usual terms and conditions apply, and decisions are final.

Good luck!

The Callisto Protocol Red Band trailer is out now with all the gory details

During The Game Awards Striking Distance Studios, the new studio from one of Dead Space's main creators Glen Schofield, announced The Callisto Protocol. It is a survival horror game set within a prison on the surface in the future where space travel seems regular. Yes, a horror in space, just like Dead Space. The trailer from The Game Awards hinted at suffering the ill-fated prisoner got but did not show detail. Now, Striking Distance Studios has released the red band trailer which does not hold back on the gore. If you fancy seeing blood and a face getting mangled then hit play. Otherwise, do not hit play.

The setting of The Callisto Protocol is below:

Set on Jupiter's dead moon Callisto in the year 2320, The Callisto Protocol is a next-generation take on survival horror. The game challenges players to escape the maximum security Black Iron Prison and uncover its terrifying secrets. A blend of horror, action, and immersive storytelling, the game aims to set a new bar for horror in interactive entertainment.

"The Callisto Protocol is the culmination of decades of experience building AAA games," said Glen Schofield, founder and CEO of Striking Distance Studios. "We've built a world class studio of passionate developers that is ready to once again tackle one of our all-time favorite genres—survival horror. We're setting out to make one of the most terrifying games of all time, and we can't wait to share more about The Callisto Protocol next year."

Unfortunately we have a bit of a wait, The Callisto Protocol will launch sometime in 2022 with Krafton on publishing duties.

Source: YouTube

Control Ultimate Edition will be available from February on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S

Remedy has confirmed that Control Ultimate Edition will be available from February 2nd on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. That release date is for the digital release, while the physical release will follow a month later on March 2nd. Alongside this news, Remedy released a clip of Control running on PS5, showing both the Performance mode and Graphics mode. In Performance mode Control will run at 60fps while in Graphics mode that will go down to 30fps but include ray tracing.

Control Ultimate Edition is already available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. This version of the game includes all of the DLC content from the expansion pass including The Foundation and AWE. The Control Ultimate Edition release was announced back in August and immediately courted controversy as it was revealed that buying this new version of the game would be the only way to get an upgrade to the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X for no extra cost. This being despite there being no difference in content between the Deluxe Edition and the Ultimate Edition, aside from the free next gen upgrade. 505 Games came back and tried to explain why they had to create a new version and could not offer either free or paid upgrades, but this only really stirred up the hornets nest further.

Either way, the game is fantastic. In our Control review, I wrote:

Control is one of the best story-focused single player games in years. Its unique mix of surrealism, sci-fi and mystery draws you in, but doesn't give everything away, and the combat is fantastically varied and provides just enough challenge. A culmination of everything that went before, Control is Remedy's magnum opus.

Source: Twitter

Snowrunner Patch 11 finally brings mods to console

Saber Interactive and Focus Home Interactive have pulled the trigger on their latest Snowrunner update, finally enabling mod support on consoles.

Those who have been playing on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One (as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X|S via backwards compatibility) can now access a catalogue of player created (and curated) content including new vehicles, maps, and other add-ons.

Powered by mod.io, there have been more than 5 million downloads already with 3 new mods to explore every day. According to Saber Interactive, more than 30% of PC players use mods to enhance their Snowrunner experience.

Modding the console versions is incredibly straightforward. Players simply need to jump into Snowrunner then browse the mod library for anything that takes their fancy. After subscribing to mods from the list, they can then be activated when you next play.

Snowrunner Patch 11 also ushers in a number of fixes and improvements as outlined in the changelog below.

Snowrunner Patch 11 Update Notes

General:

Mods are now available on consoles
Added alternative controls scheme for CAT TH357 forklift that allows fork manipulation while driving
Fixed a bug where the player was able to complete cabin delivery just by hovering the cabin over the unloading zone
Fixed a bug where the icon of the disassembling building did not appear on the minimap if another player opened it in a coop session
Fixed a bug where in coop session guests got disconnected when someone drives near disassembling building at levels of Yukon region
Fixed incorrect number of cabins that players need to deliver to complete contracts in the Yukon region

Maps:

Removed second unloading zone in the Power Line Maintenance objective in Yukon region
Various bug fixes and improvements for Yukon maps

Vehicles:

Fixed a bug where some arrows on the dashboard of the 'KRS 58 "Bandit"' truck passed through dashboard texture while driving
Fixed a bug where mirrors of the 'KRS 58 "Bandit"' truck were visibly reeling in the cockpit camera mode while driving
Articulated trucks (CAT 745C and Azov 4220 Antarctic) steering force was slightly buffed
Improved engine sound loop for Cat Th357

UI:

Fixed a bug where materials were not completely displayed in the player profile for the Order Master Supreme
Added info pop up for Storage zones on a minimap
Fixed a bug where players were unable to focus the camera on an objective and could not view what the mission objectives are without activating them
Fixed a bug where players were unable to move added destination point on the map

Source: Press Release

Game of the Year 2020 – Best Multiplayer Game

While there's several staples of multiplayer gaming that seem to remain consistent year in, year out, 2020 and its unique… challenges have provided fertile soil for new and inventive multiplayer games to flourish.

This summer in particular saw several games coming almost out of nowhere to become Twitch and YouTube sensations, and more fun, social types of multiplayer coming to the fore (both new and old). Then there's the battle royale genre, which continues to rumble in the background, a handful of new challengers emerging to Fortnite's crown.

This year's winner, though? Well, it combines the two.

As soon as it was announced, I had a feeling I was going to love Fall Guys. The cute and cuddly visuals and the daft shenanigans of Total Wipeout and Takeshi's Castle, all to the tune of the current Big Thing in video games, the Battle Royale. It was instantly appealing the first time I got to go hands on at Gamescom, and it was a delight to see my slight fears of it being a lightly obscure release laid to rest by its barnstorming launch.

Of course, it was helped along the way by being bundled into PlayStation Plus, but it was sensationally successful on Steam as well, and Mediatonic had to scramble to shore up their servers, patch out issues and ease their way into the typical seasonal content drops that we see so often in games these days.

Is it perfect? No. Are the waits between rounds a bit too long? Maybe. Is it a whole lot of fun that captured the imaginations of millions over the summer? Absolutely.

Fall Guys is our deserved winner of Best Multiplayer Game 2020.

Runner up – Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty: Warzone might feel like it came out about three years ago, but it actually only arrived back in March. Merely calling it a free to play Battle Royale spin-off feels almost like it's being undersold, as it builds on the shooting mechanics and graphics of 2019's Modern Warfare. As a result the controls feel tight and responsive and the game looks gorgeous.

More importantly, it brought its own twists to the battle royale genre. The Gulag, where defeated players face off one on one and the winner goes back into the match, and the ability to buy squad mates back into the game were excellent additions. You could even argue that the battle royale mode isn't even the best one; personally I'm partial to Plunder, where you run around collecting cash and putting it in helicopters that tend to attract nearby enemies.

Since March, Warzone has gone through all kinds of modes and additions, such as the Halloween update that had defeated players respawning as undead, and it's even just been updated to integrate into the recently released Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War. The main gameplay remains the same, however. It's tense and strategic, and playing in a squad is one of the best multiplayer experiences I've had this year.

– Gareth C

Runner up – Phasmaphobia

In recent years, we've seen a subgenre of multiplayer horror games carve a niche out for itself in the industry. Most of them follow the lead of competitive killer games like Dead by Daylight and infuse high-intensity objective focused competition with spooky sights and sounds, but what makes Phasmophobia so special (aside from the gut-dropping terror of the VR support) is the fact that it takes such a wildly different approach to horror multiplayer.

As a purely cooperative, slow-paced ghost hunting experience, it delivers on healthy scares while also creating a gameplay environment that naturally gives way to horror tropes like losing sight of your friends in a massive abandoned school or having yourself locked into a bathroom by ghosts as soon as you say "I bet there aren't any ghosts here." It's an entirely unique multiplayer horror experience that paves the way for more slow and sophisticated horror experiences like it in the future.

– Miguel M

Special Mention – Among Us

The tricky business with online-focused games, especially during awards season, is that the year a game came out in might not align with the year it actually takes off and finds an audience. Plenty of games may establish their audience or find their footing a year or two into release, but it's incredibly rare for an under the radar indie game made by 3 people to come out in 2018, only to suddenly explode in popularity and become a global phenomenon in 2020.

Among Us isn't just a popular indie game that is well known by regular gamers, it is a pop culture hit that kids in middle school and grandparents in retirement homes alike are playing. While its 2018 release date means it isn't in line to win any awards (except for Best Ongoing where it was a runner up), it's impossible not to acknowledge the fact that 2020 has, without a doubt, been the year for Among Us.

– Miguel M

Honourable Mentions (in alphabetical order)

Cake Bash
Deep Rock Galactic
Destiny 2: Beyond Light

To catch up on the Game of the Year awards we've handed out so far, here's a handy list:

What was your personal favourite of the year? Let us know in the comments below, and make sure to stick with us through the rest of this month as we tick our categories off one by one. Our next category? Best Gameplay!

Godfall update 2.3.15 lands as devs reveal DLC roadmap

With the dust slowly starting to settle following Sony's launch of the PlayStation 5, we're learning more about what the Godfall developers have planned for their melee-heavy launch title.

Counterplay Games revealed a new update for the game (which is available to play on PC too, via the Epic Games Store) bringing it version 2.3.15. This patch comes tagged with various fixes and quality of life improvements including the ability to mass salvage unwanted loot alongside changes to "input buffering".

Looking further ahead, the studio also laid out their Godfall content roadmap. In early 2021, there's a new "Primal Content Update" coming which will then be followed later in the year by Godfall's first paid expansion. If you purchased either the Ascended or Deluxe version of Godfall, you will gain immediate access to this.

Sadly, Godfall didn't do too much to impress us at launch. While it had some interesting ideas in its approach to combat, the dull structure and heavy recycling of content made it a tough game to slog through. Anyway, here are those latest patch notes.

Godfall Update 2.3.15 Patch Notes

General – All Platforms

Mass Salvage is now in the game!
- Players can now tag gear with a Salvage or Favorite mark
- Gear currently equipped on a Valorplate continue to be Locked
- Gear with a Favorite or Locked tag cannot be salvaged
- Gear with a Salvage tag will be disassembled when you choose to "Salvage All"
Solved an issue where Amulets, Rings, Charms, and Augments' Secondary traits were not increasing when upgraded to Rank 3.
Solved an issue where Secondary Traits would not upgrade properly when upgrading the item to Rank 5.
Solved various issues that could cause hitches and stuttering.
Included reminder name text on Tower of Trial icons.
Included a Field of View slider.
Solved an issue with input buffering where buttons held (ex: Weapon Technique, Blocking) would not register properly.
Increased the windows of opportunity to buffer the use of a lifestone during combat animations.
Updated the way the game handles Input Buffering – read more from our Developer Commentary, posted as a reply at the end of the patch notes!
Improved framerate issues when using an Archon Fury that summons Sentinels.
Solved an issue where Archon Fury damage effects were not accurately displaying the correct values.
Solved an issue where Lunara's AoE Grab would cancel the player's Archon Fury early.
Certain boss encounters were updated – read more details about this after the Developer Commentary!
Improved Weapon Technique HUD to include a visual flourish when a bar is full.
Increased tracking/rotation on all weapons.
Shoutout to all the Greatsword users who were having a hard time landing hits where they aimed.
Solved an issue that allowed enemies to parry a player's Weapon Technique attacks.
Solved an issue where Light and Heavy Timing Attacks were dealing incorrect (and lower) damage.
- Light and Heavy Timing Attacks were dealing the same damage as the weapon's Light Attack
- Damage for the timing attacks now correctly scales with its corresponding attack and its +20% bonus
- Example Numbers: LA = 100, LTA = 120. HA = 150, HTA = 180
  Where previously, all (Light and Heavy) Timing Attacks dealt 100.
Solved an issue where the game could crash when attempting to use Weapon Techniques while doing a Charged Heavy Attack.
Updated the Rank 3 Finesse Skill to allow players to throw projectiles with every quick turn.
- Previously the Quickturn attack would only trigger when the stagger effect was off cooldown.
- Now every Quickturn will throw daggers regardless if the stagger effect is available (and apply stagger when off cooldown).
Solved an issue where leveling up would not fill Weapon Technique or reset Shield Cooldowns.
Solved an issue where players could get knocked down when performing a Weapon Technique
Solved an issue where Leaping Shield Bash scaled off Might (instead of Spirit) when performed using your Secondary Weapon.
Solved an issue where using the Longsword's Northern Technique during a level up would make the HUD permanently disappear.
Solved an issue where spamming attacks during a Longsword's Southern Technique could bypass the Timing Attack window.
Solved an issue where the Dual Blades Charged Heavy Attacks would not trigger reliably.
Solved an issue where the final hits of the Dual Blades Charged Heavy attack would not register.
Solved an issue where Polearm Heavy Timing Attacks would not benefit from the Timing Attack Skill's Rank 5 damage bonus.
Solved an issue where Polearm Heavy Timing Attacks would not trigger Soulshatter damage.
Solved an issue where the Polearm's Heavy Timing Attack would not consume Rampage to deal +500% damage.
Included colored health states on a player's name tag for multiplayer.
This also includes a flash indicator for whenever a player is hit.
Solved a multiplayer issue where abandoning a Dreamstone activity as a follower would create a placeholder mission in their holomap.
Solved a multiplayer issue where voice lines could overlap for party members during cutscene transitions.
Solved an issue in multiplayer Tower of Trials where attempting to open a locked chest with insufficient keys would prevent the player from interacting with other objects on the same floor.
Solved an issue in multiplayer where a player could lose the use of their Interaction Button when trying to open a chest at the same time as another player
Solved an issue in multiplayer where Solaris' shield bar would appear full to someone who died despite whatever damage the shield sustained.
Solved an issue in multiplayer when fighting Solaris shield bar would not update until it was fully broken or recharged.
Solved an issue in multiplayer where button prompts would linger after completion if the player spammed the interaction key.
Solved an issue in multiplayer where dodging Lunara's AoE Grab would cause the player to levitate in the dodge's direction.
Solved an issue in multiplayer where the loot was capped at Tier 40 in certain game modes instead of scaling to the missions tier.
Solved various multiplayer crash issues due to desyncs.
Updated Dreamstone Boss Gauntlets to withhold loot until the final midboss is defeated.
Adjusted the animations for Kraven's "stop" cycles.
Adjusted the animations for Sunflare Ravager's Takedown finisher so it doesn't dramatically ragdoll after death.
Adjusted the animations for the Shield so it will snap in place after blocking a heavy hit.
Adjusted the animations to the Arcing Shield Throw to include more body/shoulder weight behind the throw.
Adjusted the animations to the Longsword light attack combo so it feels less floaty.
Adjusted the animations to the Vargul Warrior's "battle cry" and "walk" cycles.
Adjusted the animations to various Abyssian enemies suffering from stutters in their "walk" cycles.
Removed the 250ms animation delay on equipment hover. Traits will now display immediately when the stat card is pulled up.
Solved an animation issue where getting grabbed by Zamora while near her sides would cause the player to float (instead of being in her hand).
Solved an animation issue where Grieves Sunsteel's Hammer would swing wildly when he places it down to throw a fireball.
Solved an animation issue where Grieves Sunsteel's Lava Bucket would sway unrealistically during his Takedown animation.
Solved an animation issue where Nyak Adepts would appear to slide instead of walk properly.
Solved an issue in multiplayer where sometimes blocking a regular attack could lock the player in a repeating blocking animation loop.
Solved an issue that would cause all enemies of a group to animate in sync.
Solved an issue where immediately after placing a banner, the player is unable to animation cancel anything.
Solved an issue where the level up animation would cancel other animations and reset the camera location.
Improved Navmesh and spawn logic to prevent immobilized or otherwise nonresponsive enemies.
Improved visual guidance from Spirit Vision for Free Roam activities.
- Red bonus objective beams have increased in size
- A new particle effect was included to guide players to the nearest beam
Included a confirmation screen when attempting to exit the game.
Included a confirmation screen when attempting to reset the Skill Grid.
Included a press-and-hold key safety when attempting to abandon a Dreamstone.
Included a prompt at the end of a Hunt Mission which allows players to choose between Free Roam or Return to Sanctum.
Included some emissive VFX to help inform players about objects of importance (such as Switches).
Increased player pickup radius responsiveness while sprinting (to avoid backtracking).
Increased the turn radius allowed during Super Sprint before breaking. Enjoy speedrunning through the realms!
Increased the amount of health on the Training Dummy.
Removed player collision from NPC summons.
Removed the "I CANNOT BE STOPPED" line from Macros' dialogue options while he's below 40% health to prevent ironic death quotes.
(You will fall, and you will fail Macros!)
Removed the press-and-hold interaction for gathering nodes so they can be collected with one button press.
Solved an issue in Free Roam where the Timing Posts from Chest Puzzle events could spawn on multiple floors if they were located inside a building.
Solved an issue in multiplayer where the second hit of the Polearm's light combo would not deal damage if performed too quickly.
Solved an issue where "Full Health" effects (like those found on the Red Dragon Tail Polearm) would not function properly.
Solved an issue where a crash could occur when fighting Sunflare Ravager during the Shrine of the Godsmith mission.
Solved an issue where adjacent augment bonuses were not displaying on the other augments' stat cards.
Solved an issue where ailment UI timers on the player (such as Burning) would continue to run while paused.
Previously, you could pause the game to cause the debuff timer to expire despite it continuing to run for its intended duration.
Solved an issue where Ascendant versions of mid-bosses were dropping an increased amount of health globules.
Solved an issue where Azure Enclave would be inaccessible (through an inactive phase node) when entering Free Roam after playing a Hunt Mission in Floating Remnant.
Solved an issue where base and upgraded items rewarded the same amount of Electrum if salvaged.
Solved an issue where boss music would continue to play after the boss has been defeated.
Solved an issue where bosses would not show their Takedown interaction if they were breached beforehand.
Solved an issue where cinematics could double render character models.
Solved an issue where clearing enemies quickly with high latency could cause objectives not to appear.
Solved an issue where cloth weapon attachments would malfunction when re-entering a boss arena after dying.
Solved an issue where Cursed Chests could produce a blinding light in the Water Realm.
Solved an issue where Dreamstone versions of Solaris and Macros would not play unique combat music when engaged.
Solved an issue where dying to Phalanxar in the Tutorial could respawn you too far, and sometimes stuck in the air.
Solved an issue where elevator prompts could fail to appear, preventing further progression.
Solved an issue where enemy weapons would not disintegrate properly with their owners leaving residual VFX.
Solved an issue where Gilden Commander's mist wall would not fill to fit the arena's entrance.
Solved an issue where items without a fixed element could roll Secondary Traits of a different element when Enchanted.
Solved an issue where leveling up removed the VFX from loot on the ground.
Solved an issue where low tiered enemies could clash break with you, disrupting the combat flow.
Solved an issue where Lunara's orbs are not rendered properly.
Solved an issue where opening the Difficulty Menu would always highlight Easy Difficulty.
It will now highlight the currently set difficulty when opening the Difficulty Menu.
Solved an issue where placeholder geometry could be found under certain Valorplates furs.
Solved an issue where placing a banner could be canceled midway to proc traits from items while conserving the cooldown of the banner.
Solved an issue where player spawned projectiles (ex: from gear) would take strange flight patterns to reach their targets.
Solved an issue where players could attack and defeat Zenun during his rescue mission.
Solved an issue where players would jump to phase nodes they stood under instead of their targeted phase node.
Solved an issue where players could experience a considerable hitch when first opening the door to Exalted Lunara
Solved an issue where Polearms could be thrown to destroy targets through sealed doors, preventing further progression.
Solved an issue where purchasing all ranks of a skill caused some max rank skills to be partially reset on the next launch of the game.
Solved an issue where resources (other than Electrum) would not be summed up as a single item in the loot feed.
Other resources will now show only once in your loot feed for their total amount acquired, just like Electrum.
Solved an issue where Sunflare Orbs could sometimes spawn outside safe zones, becoming inaccessible.
Solved an issue where Sunflare Ravager would not play its unique music when engaged in the Air Realm Gauntlet.
Solved an issue where the "X% Health Recovery while your health is below 25%" boons were providing the same amount of recovery.
Previously, the 65/88/112% health recovery boons all gave 75% instead of what was described.
Solved an issue where the number of heal charges the Falcius Diarchs had would reset if they lost player aggro.
Solved an issue where the Brightness slider could not be moved to the left completely.
Solved an issue where the floating text "RECOVERY" would display over specific chests.
Solved an issue where the Leaping Shield Bash would not trigger Soulshatter damage.
Solved an issue where the player could be locked in an intangible state after performing a parry.
Solved an issue where the player could suddenly stop as soon as they enter Super Sprint.
Solved an issue where the Polarity Attack HUD would not update correctly after player death.
Solved an issue where the Rampage VFX weapon trails would not behave properly.
- If a weapon was swapped, the offhand that did not trigger Rampage would not adopt the VFX weapon trails.
- If the original weapon remained sheathed after Rampage expired, it would retain the VFX permanently.
Solved an issue where the Resistance skill node displayed an incorrect amount of Resistances granted by each Rank.
Solved an issue where treasure chests could respawn when party members drop out of the party.
Solved an issue where Vargul Champions may have no Takedown prompts, preventing further progression.
Solved an issue where Zamora's cloth physics would go crazy and spaz out.
Solved an issue with the environmental wind strength not applying properly during the tutorial.
Solved an issue with the Lashing Reflection (Augment) where the damage increase was not applying at all.
Solved an issue with the Rank 5 Weakpoint Skill where the shockwave produced would reapplying damage modifiers, resulting in astronomical numbers.
- Previously, the Shockwave would deal 50% of the original damage and stack on all modifiers (include weak point damage) again.
- Now the Weakpoint Shockwave will correctly package 50% of the original hit's total and only apply that damage as intended.
Solved various disappearing environment pieces due to LOD and/or View Distance drawing issues.
Solved various environment collision issues across the realms.
Solved various issues and glitches with boss introduction cinematics.
Solved various issues with missing VFX indicators on loot pickups.
Solved various issues with text strings not being translated from English to their appropriate language.
Solved various spelling and grammatical issues in several languages.
Solved various waypoint pathing issues that would briefly point players in the wrong direction during missions.
Solved various waypoint pathing issues that would point players to the furthest objective/enemy instead of the closest one.
Updated the Equipment screen to have Gear Comparison on by default.
You can still toggle this option to view the weapon model.
Updated the holomap to include the currently selected difficulty.
Updated the Macros encounter so he can no longer preemptively channel corruption and stun players before they engage with him after they die.
Updated the previously confusing Rampage UI gauge – it will now appear in the player's weapon UI.
Updated the SFX tied to spending skill points on the skill grid.
Updated the Skill Grid descriptions to match the player's current/custom keybindings (instead of the default keys).
Updated the UI to display what materials were obtained from gear salvage.

PlayStation 5 Only

Solved an issue in multiplayer where accepting an invite on the Title Screen did not automatically transition the player into the game.
Solved an issue where all audio would be lost when resuming the game from Rest Mode.
Solved an issue where starting the game without an internet connection and then reconnecting would cause the player to load with a different character (if they own multiple characters).

PC Only

Included a Salvage shortcut for the keyboard (bound to Spacebar).
Included a Sprint Toggle option for mouse and keyboard.
Solved an issue where highlighting different augments with a controller and the mouse would render two stat cards at the same time.
Solved an issue where pressing the Escape key would close all the menus instead of backing out of the current sub-menu.
Solved an issue where stat cards would not update when navigating with arrow keys or the gamepad left stick after clicking back into the game window with a mouse.
Solved an issue where the Windowed Fullscreen setting was showing the wrong resolution.
Solved various issues where the incorrect mouse button icons are displayed in menus.
Updated mouse button RMB/LMB icons to better display the target button clicked.

Source: Gearbox

PS5 scalpers targeted as UK politicians call for new legislation

The scarcity of PlayStation 5 consoles in the UK (and other parts of the world) has been a recurring news story in the build up to its mid-November launch. If failing to secure a PS5 via pre-order wasn't frustrating enough, prospective console owners have been left enraged by scalpers looking to flog them at a much higher price on marketplaces such as eBay, Facebook, and Gumtree.

A debate surrounding the act of scalping – and, more crucially, the use of bots to automatically order consoles and other expensive tech – has been called for by a number of UK Members of Parliament (MPs).

In a nutshell, they wish to block "the resale of gaming consoles and computer components at prices greatly above Manufacturer's Recommended Retail Price", to "[deny] unscrupulous vendors the chance to make themselves vast profits at the expense of genuine gamers and computer users, while also deterring fraudulent cybercriminal activity," reports VGC.

In their motion, these MPs also wish to outlaw the use of automated bots which have been employed by individual scalpers and syndicates to jump retail queues. They propose legislation that mimics that surrounding the resale of concert and event tickets.

While much of the focus has been on the PS5 launch, scalpers have also targeted Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S consoles. Even in September, when the PlayStation 5 pre-orders had just gone live, scalpers were attempted to sell their reserved console for as much as £1,500.

With more consoles coming into stock soon, scalpers will start to peel away from these new consoles but there have been many gamers (as well as their family and friends) having missed out on getting a PS5 in time for Christmas.

Source: VGC

PlayStation 5 Guides and more from TheSixthAxis

For Honor Frost Wind Parade Christmas event live

Ubisoft Montreal are beckoning warriors far and wide to come and join in some festive frolicking. Hot on the heels of For Honor's Year 4 Season 4 update, players can now take part in the time limited "Frost Wind Parade" Christmas event.

From now until January 7th, For Honor players have access to a winter themed game mode dubbed "Ice Brawlers". Unlike your convention head-on duels, these take place upon the frozen wastes of Valkenheim where your footing is just as important as your blocks, parries, and combos. The sheet of ice you battle on will have chunk break off and sink into the water, making these clashes all the more tense.

During this time, all players have a chance to scavenge festive loot for their heroes after each match played. If you swing by the in-game store then you can also browse plenty of skins and other cosmetics, including a comical candy cane execution.

Is For Honor still worth playing in 2020?

Another fun feature is the removal of all rank and file NPCs from Breach and Dominion. Instead of battling against Knights, Vikings, and Samurai you'll hack and slash hordes of elves and snowmen.

Earlier this month, Ubisoft launched their Y4S4 For Honor update dubbed "Mayhem". Headlining the latest season is new hero, Gryphon, a haggard mercenary who carries a deadly bardiche axe into battle. Of course, Ubisoft have been rolling out fixes and changes elsewhere throughout the game.

Currently, four heroes have entered the "Testing Grounds" including the Nobushi, Warden, Peacekeeper, and Shugoki. What this means is that they've been reworked to help balance the For Honor meta though feedback from the player community will determine whether these changes will stay.

Going into 2021, we have no solid confirmation as to what Ubisoft have planned for their flagship fighting game. It's likely that we'll get a For Honor Year 5 though this will likely be focused on hero reworks as opposed to adding more content but we'll have to wait and see.

Source: For Honor

YesterMorrow Review

Video game characters should really learn not to hold parties, festivals, or celebrations of any type. Long before the DJ has started incomprehensibly shouting down his microphone whilst playing Livin' on a Prayer, you can be certain the party will have been ruined by the invasion of an evil army of some sort. This is the exact situation that kicks off YesterMorrow – thankfully, there's no sign of a mumbling DJ – when the Celebration of Light festival is brought an an unceremonious halt due to some naughty shadow monsters. It's up to Yui to set off on an adventure to save her family and her village before it's too late.

YesterMorrow is a retro inspired 2D platformer, one that has some basic Metroidvania tendencies. There's very little re-treading of levels however, this is mostly about just getting from A to B to C, solving some puzzles and besting a few bosses on the way. The game's storyline is as generic as they come; an ancient order, forgotten prophecies, and shadow enemies. You've heard it many times before.

Fortunately, YesterMorrow is not a narrative adventure and developers Bitmap Galaxy seem happy enough for the player to skip through every cutscene. That's because this is a precision platformer, the story playing second fiddle to the player needing to get their tiny bundle of cute pixels safely past the spiders, pit traps and quick sand that litters their path. With this remit in mind, YesterMorrow proves itself fairly adept.

Controls are mostly tight and responsive, Yui rolling and leaping with grace and ease. There are some exceptions though, as wall climbing and rope clambering are both unnecessarily fussy and needlessly finicky, both in terms of control and timing. Yui would often frustratingly falls to the beginning of a lengthy platforming section despite my best efforts. I never threw my controller in disgust and rage quit, but it was a close run thing on occasion.

Yui unlocks very few offensive abilities for fighting against 'shadows'. Whilst you can kill them, the animals that they are controlling remain present and dangerous, so you can never be entirely rid of enemies. Instead, the focus is very much on evasion. It's a compelling gameplay loop, each section offering a host of obstacles for the player to overcome.

The game does an excellent job of sign posting, deftly cuing you in on where you need to get to, then it's just up to you to successfully pull off the necessary thumb gymnastics to beat the inspired level design. There's real satisfaction to be had in stringing together Yui's moves, the designers challenging the player to utilise all the abilities they've unlocked up until that point. Many of these platforming sections have demanding timing, even early on in the game. Fortunately, there are usually plentiful quick save spots to prevent painful back tracking – throwing you right back into the bit you were stuck on with minimal fuss.

If only I could say that were the case consistently throughout the game. Unfortunately there's some hair pulling, teeth gnashing and deeply irritating sections further into proceedings. These inexplicably forego the generous quick save structure and throw you back to the very beginning of a section upon death or failure to reach a platform. Add to this some of the aforementioned control quirks and it's safe to say, at those points in time, I did not like YesterMorrow very much.

Speaking of time, you'll be travelling through a lot of it, both as teenage Yui and kid Yui. Through plot reasons too forgettable to go into here, Yui ends up in two separate timelines. One precedes the attack of the shadow monsters, the other occurs in the apocalyptic world that follows. Time travelling is a device successfully used in numerous video games but here, curiously, it feels a little of an afterthought.

This isn't Guacamelee! 2, where you can switch between the worlds of life and death at will, instead travelling through time requires you to reach specific portals. As such, the mechanic is underexplored and fails to provide engaging puzzles. Instead it's just a case of meet obstacle, find time portal, travel through time, discover obstacle has disappeared. Then do it all again. The game so clearly points when and where you should travel through time, that it rids itself of any sense of exploration or discovery that a good time travelling mechanic can bring to proceedings.

Elsewhere this really is platforming by numbers, entirely serviceable but never standout. Visuals are soft, whimsical and well animated. The only issues their painterly quality creates is that environmental hazards don't stand out and and are too difficult to spot. This only serves to heighten issues of irritation as Yui falls to her demise… again. Boss Battles are well structured, but often overstay their welcome. You'll figure out how to beat the boss, only to be hampered by having to carry out the same process a few too many times.

The areas of the world you explore are predominantly themed around the most cliched environments in all of video games – a forest, a lake, a desert and ice realm – and the abilities and skills you unlock are as standard as they come as well. Double jumps, dashes and stomps all work as expected, but again this samey quality serves to reinforce the striking sense of 'I've played this all many, many times before. There's nothing particularly wrong with competent unoriginality, other than, for me, it engenders little to no excitement in playing the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 removed from the PlayStation Store, full refunds available to those who purchased it

Sony have taken the unusual, nigh on unprecedented, move of removing Cyberpunk 2077 for sale from the PlayStation Store and are offering refunds to anyone who purchased the game.

"SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, therefore we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store. SIE will also be removing Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store until further notice," reads a new page on PlayStation.com.

"Once we have confirmed that you purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store, we will begin processing your refund. Please note that completion of the refund may vary based on your payment method and financial institution."

CD Projekt RED recently suggested unsatisfied players should request a refund from Sony but there are strict rules on when you can get a refund on goods purchased via the PlayStation Store.

If you have started to download or stream the purchased content, you will not be eligible for a refund unless the content is faulty.

Many posts on Reddit and Twitter have shown that Sony were refusing to issue refunds as the customer had already played the game and instead was telling them to wait for a patch in February next year. It seems CDPR have talked to Sony and asked them to relax the rule as the following statement was issued by CDPR to investors:

The Management Board of CD PROJEKT SA with its seat in Warsaw (hereinafter the "Company") publishes the decision of Sony Interactive Entertainment (hereinafter "SIE") to remove the digital version of Cyberpunk 2077 from sale from PlayStation Store until further notice. The decision was made after the Company's consultations with SIE representatives regarding the possibility of returning the game to people who purchased it in a digital version via PlayStation Store and would like to return it.

This was also confirmed in a tweet from the Cyberpunk account.

Important Update for @PlayStation Users pic.twitter.com/fCB4z74M3z

— Cyberpunk 2077 (@CyberpunkGame) December 18, 2020

The game will remain on sale for PlayStation in physical form and it will continue to receive patches and will no doubt return to the PlayStation store, but no date has been set. The announcement has had a devastating effect on CDPR's share price.

https://t.co/ep2j6IR0P2 pic.twitter.com/xIJPCBi3nT

— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) December 18, 2020

Congratulations to Microsoft, who have managed, without spending a single dollar, to get a timed digital exclusive for their consoles!

UPDATE: The game is staying on the Xbox Store. ""We are not in such discussions with Microsoft at the moment," Adam Kicinski said in a statement to Reuters. This is almost certainly because Microsoft have a promotional deal with CDPR, including a Cyberpunk branded console and the Xbox logo at the end of all Cyberpunk 2077 adverts.

Source: Sony / CDPR

LS15P Wireless Gaming Headset review

A good pair of headphones will change the way you play video games. The problem is finding a good pair that meets all your requirements without breaking the bank. Unfortunately, the delta between quality and price can sometimes be vast.

At £99.99, the LucidSound LS15s aren't exactly budget. The question is, if you're going to spend that much money, are you getting the biggest sounding bang for your buck, or are you better off picking up a £30 headset and a new game for your next-gen console?

The LS15s come in two flavours — the LS15X, for the latest generation of Xbox consoles, and the LS15P, which is what we're looking at today. If you figured out Lucid's cunning naming scheme, you'll have figured out that this version is designed for PlayStation consoles, but the truth is it works with pretty much anything that has a USB port.

First things first, the LS15P looks like a nice headset. With its sleek matte black finish and its soft black faux leather earcups, it's exactly what you'd expect and want from a pair of cans. Interestingly, despite being wireless, there are no fiddly switches that stick out from the side of the earcups, giving them a really flush feel.

It's also great to note that the earcups swivel, not only helping you to find the perfect fit, but ensuring that the headset can lie completely flat when you're not using it. This feature is always welcome, especially if space is at a premium where you're living.

The earcups house pretty standard 50mm speakers and, at 272g or 285g with the flexible mic attached, the memory foam band at the top doesn't need to do any heavy lifting. That's fortunate because the padding isn't the most generous I've seen — any heavier and you'd quickly feel the plastic pressing down on the top of your skull. Even so, when coupled with the memory foam earcups, I must say that these are pretty comfortable, even after several hours of continual use while wearing glasses.

They're fairly snug and certainly pass the wiggle test, but not the head banging test – if I put on some Audioslave and turn the volume up, the headset is going flying.

Unfortunately, the LS15P's sleek, space-saving design is at complete odds with the wireless dongle, which is ginormous. This is a bit of a double-edged sword for the LS15P — on one hand, you're never going to lose it, and if it's just stuck in the back of your PlayStation, it's of little consequence how large it is. However, the LS15Ps also claim to be designed for PC and mobile. If you've ever dropped a laptop with a massive USB dongle sticking out of it, this will raise the hackles at the back of your neck.

If you're wondering how you're supposed to combine the USB dongle with your mobile, then well done for thinking ahead. You obviously can't — you need a 3.5mm aux cable to plug your phone into the headset. Since this is sold separately, and stops this from being a wireless headset, we're not going to entertain that idea.

Returning to the lack of visible controls, there are two obvious buttons that will immediately catch your eye: the power and EQ buttons. Holding either will trigger an extremely American voice prompt telling you that your headset is now on, or that you're on either 'signature sound', 'bass boost' or 'No EQ' modes.

To my ear, these EQ settings did very little. Playing through Spider-Man: Miles Morales, there was clear audio through each of them, but the difference was slight. Signature sound was slightly crisper than the others, while I had to put on a song with already heavy bass and really listen to notice the bass boost.

What's far more interesting are the controls that you can't see. The volume and mute controls are cleverly hidden on the ear cups — the ring around the left cup rotates to change the audio volume, with the mute accessible by clicking in the plate with the LucidSound logo. Similarly, the right cup ring changes the chat volume (on PC only) and clicking in the logo mutes the mic.

It's unfortunate that the chat volume control isn't supported on the console that these were apparently designed for, and that the volume control doesn't work on PC (instead, for some reason, you need to use the chat volume control). This is just a questionable design choice, making the headset needlessly complicated.

Equally, it's a shame that when you mute the headset, the American lady loudly tells you that she's muting stuff. It's not the instantaneous mute you'd hope for at the push of a button.

The detachable microphone has some decent flexibility to it and doesn't slowly spring back like you might see with some cheaper headsets. Audio comes over clearly without too much ambient noise, and the red ring that lights up when you've muted yourself is certainly handy. All in all, it's a perfectly decent boom mic — it's just a shame that the sunken port design means it's a bit fiddly to plug in without taking the headset off.

Saving the best for last, the LS15P has excellent battery life. I went a week and a half on the initial charge, far exceeding the 15 hours' battery life we're told to expect. What's even better is that I started a stopwatch when the lady living in the headphones gave me my first low-battery warning. It lasted another two and a half hours before I gave up and turned the headset off myself. If you're put off by the idea of headphone batteries running flat, this may well be the headset for you.

Sephiroth is now the strongest fighter in Smash Bros.

At The Game Awards, fans of Smash Bros. had a pretty big announcement drop into our laps, namely the reveal of the next fighter joining as part of Fighters Pass Vol.2 – brooding mama's boy and Final Fantasy mega villain, Sephiroth. It was met with an admittedly mixed response but left me thinking about something. Something that I haven't seen anyone else mention or speak about.

Sephiroth is now canonically the most powerful character in Smash.

Stay with me, because I have a reasoning for this, but we have to go back to the beginning and the story mode of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for it. The World of Light mode opens, as I'm sure you will remember, with the combined cast of the game fighting together against impossible odds during the invasion of an army of Master Hands, led by the evil entity Galeem.

It turns out that the Master Hands were a redundant addition to their arsenal, as Galeem is arguably the most powerful entity in Smash Bros. history. They unleashed a devastating array of beams that vaporise the entire roster, except for the precious pink marshmallow Kirby, who only really escaped owing to his speed and because Sakurai loves him like his own son.

This began a quest to rescue the entire roster from Galeem's control, and then combining their efforts to eradicate the mysterious being for good. There's a few other things such as a twin evil entity and other such nonsense in the story, but that's the heart of it. However, something in the Sephiroth trailer overturns the prospect of Galeem being the most powerful force in this universe.

As he makes his grand debut, Sephiroth cleaves through the angelic abomination with a single slice of his Masamune and turns the entire army of Master Hands to dust. This is after several of the roster, including DLC fighters like the Hero of Dragon Quest and Richter Belmont, are literally brought to their knees again (or for the first time, it's hard to nail down a stable timeline for this game) by the invading forces of Galeem.

Our favourite son of Jenova then proceeds to "bring despair to Smash" and beat down on several of what could be considered the strongest characters in the game, making easy work of powerful fighters such as consistently top-tier Bayonetta and, erm, Greninja. Before turning his attention to Mario in one of the greatest fake outs in Smash Bros., impaling the portly plumber on his blade through a strap on his dungarees.

The truth is that he saved the roster from annihilation by Galeem's "Mega Vaporiser Lasers" (the official name, so I'm told), which were in the process of being charged up. Instead of this being an act of mercy, however, it was instead a means to bring his own devastation down upon them in the form of frenzied sword slashes, dark orb explosions, and glorious swishes of his magnificent hair.

All I'm saying is if it took the combined power of the entire base game roster to take down Galeem in the World of Light, it's going to take more than a simple upgraded Omnislash to dispatch Sephiroth, no matter how pretty it may be. Also, let's not forget that not only was he still standing after this attack, but he ascended to his Safer (read: god-like) form at the end of the trailer, no doubt increasing his power still further above his "One Winged Angel" form.

Not only this, but he isn't even the "real" Sephiroth if we're taking all the Advent Children lines and visuals in mind. This version is – SPOILERS, by the way – the possession of Kadaj by the spirit of Sephiroth. So, he's not even the actual Lifestream-bothering villain and yet he is still powerful enough to bully Galeem.

So, in short if you needed a TLDR, here's my reasoning for Sephiroth being the most powerful character in Smash Bros. Ultimate canon:

Sephiroth destroys a baddie it took the entire base Smash roster to defeat.
He did the above without exerting himself at all.
He then proceeded to lay waste to the roster too.
He has ANOTHER two forms above his base form.
Sephiroth has simply glorious hair.
This isn't even the real Sephiroth.

We're due a guide today about the character and how he will play in the game from Sakurai himself, which you can watch here at 10pm GMT, but honestly, I have no idea how they will top this. Sephiroth now stands as the most powerful entity in this game beyond doubt, and short of adding an actual god to the game, I'm unsure how he could possibly be canonically defeated.

Unless, wait …

Make it happen Nintendo, you cowards.

Among Us is coming to Xbox consoles & Xbox Game Pass in 2021

Microsoft and developer Innersloth have confirmed that indie sensation Among Us will be coming to Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S in 2021. Oh, and not only that, but it will also be a part of Xbox Game Pass for console when it arrives.

HEY UH YEAH SO

@XboxGamePassPC – out now!!
Among Us on @Xbox consoles in 2021!!

xbox, we cannot wait for you all to join us as crewmates. you can hold our hand as we go into electrical together.

all info: https://t.co/1fro4e4fb0 https://t.co/fWY7fL9TPx

— Among Us (@AmongUsGame) December 17, 2020

The announcement comes just as the game is inducted into the Xbox Game Pass for PC library, and two days after it was hot dropped onto Nintendo Switch. There's no word about PlayStation at the moment, but surely it's only a matter of time before it arrives on Sony's platform as well. Of course, there could be a timed exclusivity deal in effect here, but there's no mention of exclusivity either. We'll just have to wait and see.

Among Us has been one of the indie hits of the summer, despite actually having released all the way back in 2018. The game was discovered by Twitch streamers, with its paranoia-infused multiplayer making for a lot of fun and plenty of cross-channel collaborations. It helps that the game's really cheap at just £4.

The game is built for 4-10 players, with one or more players being an "imposter", and alien interloper who has to try and murder their way through the other players as they try to complete tasks. As murdered bodies are discovered, players report them and call a group meeting to bicker, accuse, and potentially kick someone out of an airlock.

Just last week at The Game Awards, they revealed the upcoming Airship map, before this week's surprise announcements and Switch release.

I dove into the Nintendo Switch release this week, pondering what it could mean for the game's future and the problems that Innersloth need to figure out before they can really bring the game to PlayStation or Xbox consoles. There's a few, such as how chat works in the game. I wrote:

Given how much buzz there is surrounding Among Us, it's no surprise that Innersloth have sought to bring it to console, and Nintendo Switch is by far and away the most logical first platform for them to tackle. That said, they've clearly got their work cut out for them to make it truly feel like a first class citizen on the platform, ironing out the kinks and figuring out how best to translate the game to PlayStation and Xbox.

It certainly sounds like they're well on their way to figuring it out!

Source: Xbox

Epic Games Store Holiday Sale 2020 brings back the endless £10/$10/€10 coupons

Epic have kicked off the Holiday Sale 2020 on the Epic Games Store, offering a wide range of saves across the library of games they sell, giving away 15 free games through the second half of December, and bringing back the endless £10 / $10 / €10 coupons to save even more on any games you decide to buy.

Say what you want about Epic, but they sure know how to splash all that Fortnite cash around!

So, what do I mean by endless £10 / $10 / €10 coupons? Well, I mean literally that. Once claimed, you can use the £10 / $10 / €10 coupon against any qualifying game over £13.99 / $14.99 / €14.99 across the store – It cannot be redeemed against DLC or pre-orders, though. Not only that, but you'll then receive another £10 / $10 / €10 coupon. So if a game is cut to £20.99, like Star Wars Squadrons is, the effective price is actually just £10.99. Bargain!

Make sure to head to the following link to log in and collect your coupon before trying to make any purchases:

Epic Games Store £10 coupon

Alternatively, you can claim one of the free games that Epic are giving away. The company are throwing out games every single day, starting off with the fantastic Cities: Skylines. If you do that, the coupon will be added to your account and automatically applied for purchases of eligible games and add-ons. These can be games in the sale as well as released games without discounts, like the newly released Cyberpunk 2077 (which isn't too bad to play on a PC).

The Holiday Sale runs from now until 4PM GMT 7th January, and (unlike last time) any unused coupons will expire at that point.

Here's a list of some of the games in the sale – head here to skim the full catalogue – and remember… there's an extra £10 off most of these.

Sackboy: A Big Adventure multiplayer update is now live with cross-save and cross-play support

Sackboy: A Big Adventure has been updated with support for online multiplayer across PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, finally letting you team up with chums from across the internet to tackle the platforming adventure together.

Online multiplayer supports up to four players at once, building on the local co-op that was available from launch. It was something sidelined at the last minute by Sony, just a week before the game's release, as Sumo Digital raced to get the game ready to arrive alongside the PlayStation 5.

The update also brings with it support fro PS4-PS5 cross-play, bridging the generations of this cross-generational release, and if you started playing on the PS4 and have since snagged a shiny new PS5 (or have one wrapped up for Christmas), you can now transfer your progress from PS4 to PS5.

To do this, you need to load up Sackboy: A Big Adventure's PS4 version, select Extras in the pause menu and then follow the instructions it provides.

The update to version 1.003 weighs in at a slightly chunky 3.16GB on PlayStation 5, though that's obviously tiny by modern standards. We'll add the patch notes to this article if we find them.

Behind only Astro's Playroom, Sackboy: A Big Adventure was the main family friendly release that came out alongside the PS5. Of course, it (and Spider-Man: Miles Morales) was a cross-gen release hoping to reach as many families as possible this winter with all the charms of the main LittleBigPlanet series.

It breaks out of LBP's side-scrolling platforming in favour of more 3D platforming with a real focus on multiplayer through the open level design and wider camera angle – this made the lack of online play a real downer originally. While charming and often wonderfully fun and inventive, it wasn't our favourite PS5 launch title. For our Sackboy: A Big Adventure review, I wrote:

Sackboy: A Big Adventure starts off slow, feeling like a hollow reflection of the franchise, but eventually grows into its new 3D platforming elements. It's at its best when it blends the new with the old, when there's power-ups, side-scrolling and a meaningful challenge, but it takes a bit too long to get it together.

Source: PS Blog

Dauntless adds festive PvP modes, "second migration" Slayer rewards

Dauntless developer Phoenix Labs are getting into the festive spirit with their newest game update for the online action RPG.

Patch 1.5.1 is now live across all versions of the game including PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC (as well as PS5 and Xbox Series X|S), adding time-limited seasonal content to the game alongside a shopping list of changes and improvements.

From now until January 4th you can enlist in one of two unique new game modes. Hunting Grounds: Snowball Fight and Snowforts are both available allowing Slayers to participate in some festive PvP fun.

This new update also makes quality of life changes hot on the heels of Dauntless Reforged. This huge reshuffling of the monster hunting RPG has completely changed how you interact with the game's content, stepping away from individual fights to bigger arenas known as Hunting Ground. You can read our review of Dauntless Reforged for more details.

Additionally, Phoenix Labs have confirmed a "second migration" for those transitioning between Dauntless and Dauntless Reforged. In a nutshell, veteran players can expect more resources to fill ut the new Slayer's Path skill tree while also having more "aetherhearts" – items used to supercharge your weapons and armour.

Dauntless Update 1.5.1 Patch Notes

BEHEMOTHS

Fixed a bug where Boreuses would put up their ice shields before spawning minions.

Fixed a bug where Hellion volcanoes would target players outside of their combat area on Hunting Grounds.

Improved performance during Embermane encounters.

Fixed a bug where the camera would flip upside down after a Malkarion tried to eat a Slayer.

Fixed a bug where Pangar heads would stretch.

Fixed a bug where a Riftstalker's murder palace wouldn't vanish after it fled.

Torgadoro grapple sync attacks can no longer down a player, activate the "From the Ashes" amp, and then kill the player again. Once is enough, Torg…

Koshais no longer vanish during the Melting Point island event.

Slaying Behemoths below your weapon level now provides less XP, but slaying Behemoths above your weapon level now provides more XP. Pick on someone your own size… or bigger.
Fixed a bug where Behemoths were not providing rams when slain.

WEAPONS

Prisms can now be power surged.
Fixed a bug where the Standard Barrel couldn't be power surged.
Repeaters barrels will no longer show a power score of zero when viewed on the loadout screen.
Repeaters barrels will no longer be listed as "Tier 0."
Moved the combo exit window a little earlier in the shooting animation to allow Slayers to dodge sooner.
Fixed a bug where holding the attack button while at zero ammo would reload the repeaters but stop shooting.
Fixed a bug where players couldn't see the Twin Suns tab on the repeaters screen while they were equipped.
Fixed a bug where the Dynamic Carbine barrel was overpowered when power surged.

Fixed an issue where the war pike was out of position when unsheathed on Slayers using Body Style 2.

QUALITY OF LIFE

Added an option to mark all content notifications as read. You can find it under the Gameplay section of the Options menu.
Changed floating XP numbers to include the word "XP." Example: You will now see "+150 XP" instead of "+150."
Supply crates now stick around much longer after being placed.
Added timers to island event chests in the Hunting Grounds. You can now see how much time is left before they disappear.
Removed platinum skip options for "First Warden's Bryjind (II)" and "The 'Mane Attraction (II)" rumour quests.

BUG FIXES

The compass now correctly reveals Behemoths when a flare is used in their combat area.
Fixed a bug where Linnea would spawn halfway inside of a cliff. Ouch.
Fixed a bug where using supply crates while shocked would remove the crate.
Fixed a bug where island event chests were difficult to interact with if other players were nearby.
Fixed a bug where the Swarmageddon island event was not spawning swarms. That's like its one job.
Fixed a few cases of infinite fall loops.
Fixed numerous cases of floating environment elements such as bushes and rocks.
Fixed a few gaps in island geometry to prevent falling through the map.
Fixed some areas on Hunting Grounds islands that lacked detail and appeared low-res.
Fixed an issue where supply crates would fall through the map.
Fixed a bug where island event icons were showing up during hunt arrival animations.
Linnea has been given a nameplate.

Merit and ram costs are now consistent for weapon mod and weapon special nodes.
Optimized the Slayer's Path screen to improve performance; it now opens faster.
The first Escalation node incorrectly referred to "Easy Escalation" — this doesn't exist and has been changed to "Normal Escalation."
Island node descriptions now list the Behemoths that appear on those islands.
Unlocked grenades for players who had them unlocked prior to 1.5.0.
Made it easier to select nodes on Nintendo Switch.
Fixed a bug where the assault tonic's duration bonus from Slayer's Path wasn't working.
Fixed a bug where stamina regeneration levels showed "1" at every level instead of increasing with each node unlock.
You can now see your current balance of merits and rams on the Slayer's Path screen.
Moved the "Claim" button to better fit the UI.

Fixed a bug where the glider's second node in the Slayer's Path had better stats than the final node. The second node's performance has been tuned down and the final node's performance has been improved.
Polished player model and animations while gliding.
Glider stamina meter no longer remains on screen if you exit out of gliding immediately after deploying your glider.
Fixed a bug where if a player deployed their glider a second time in one gliding session (without touching the ground in between), the stamina meter wouldn't appear.

Fixed a bug where a Slayer's hair and clothes would flap wildly when previewing their character in store menus.
The Mechaetheric Technovisor now glows while its wearer is standing still.
Expanded dye regions for the Frostwarden armour set.

Fixed a bug where players were unable to view or accept early game quests after updating to 1.5.0.
Fixed a bug where Lady Luck would refer to the "Bright Shadows" quest, which no longer exists.
Fixed a bug where dealing less than 20% damage to a Behemoth would still complete that objective in "First Warden's Bryjind" and "A Strange and Interesting Behemoth" quests.
Quests and rumours that require Slayers to take "less than X damage" before killing a Behemoth no longer take prior combat encounters into account.
Fixed a bug where interrupting a Koshai did not count toward the objective in "The 'Mane Attraction (III)" rumour quest.
Threat and power levels displayed for "Spore Problems" and "Far and Away" now display 11/375 to correctly match the level/power of the actual Behemoths spawned.

Fixed a bug where players would receive lantern-focused bounties before they had unlocked lanterns.
Fixed a bug where the Discipline cell didn't reduce the player's health bar total on the Training Grounds.
Fixed a bug where the transfusion grenade's healing orbs would seek out the wrong targets.
Fixed a bug where players would take more damage after chugging bulwark tonics.
Fixed a bug where assault tonics no longer had the correct cooldown.
Fixed a bug where revive icons for downed Slayers were visible when they were offscreen, but disappeared when they were in frame.

Reduced the amount of data being sent to the game to reduce timeouts, disconnects, and a number of other related issues.

Added reforge ranks to weapon menu icons on the weapon crafting screen.
Fixed various typos, incorrect descriptions, incorrect terminology, and missing text.
Fixed some cases of missing localization.
Fixed various cases of text breaking out of text boxes.
Fixed a handful of errors in the crafting menu, including incorrect power sorting, unhideable prompts, overlapping elements, and cut-off text.
Fixed a bug where players were still receiving party invite notifications after invites were set to blocked.
Fixed a bug where the quest tracker would sometimes vanish.
Fixed unclearable Journal notification breadcrumbs in Discoveries.
Removed the Elite Hunt Pass purchase button from island event and Behemoth loot screens in the Hunting Grounds.
Damage objective progress is now showing correctly for "The 'Mane Attraction (VI)" and "A Strange and Interesting Behemoth (VI)."
Fixed an issue where purchasing an Elite Hunt Pass played the upgrade animation twice in quick succession.
Removed the countdown to the daily bounty token.
Fixed a bug where loading screens would change the game's aspect ratio.
Fixed a bug where the pointer icon would become huge after unlocking a quest-directed node on the Slayer's Path.
Fixed a bug where the Hunt Pass experience icon was using the Hunt Pass daily collectibles icon.
Fixed a bug where a broken rewards and break parts guide could show up while returning to Ramsgate.
Crafting and Equipment menus now correctly show the button prompts to activate legendary weapon abilities, where appropriate.
Fixed a bug where the escape key would not close tutorial slates.
Selecting "View How to Unlock" for the Clearsky Glider in the Personality menu no longer takes players to a random Slayer's Path node.
Fixed a bug where the revive UI was visible during island arrivals.
Fixed a bug where the text above Rosk's head was replaced with white squares.
Emotes can now be set immediately after purchasing them from the Personality menu.
Fixed a bug where some bounty cards were showing old icons for Hunt Pass XP.
The "Claim Bounty" button is now correctly aligned with the surrounding UI.
Rosk now has the weapon overview as the last option in his dialogue window instead of the first.
Fixed an issue where the Sparkforge had no compass icon, making it hard to find.
Power surged gear will now read as Tier 6 in the equipment details tab instead of displaying its original tier.
Armour in crafting menus is now sorted by resistance.
Removed references to old quests in Escalation text.
Fixed a bug where the former Hunt Pass Chronicles section was missing from the Journal.
Fixed a bug where players could not scroll right on loot screens.

Fixed a bug where a Behemoth's flee audio would play in the Hunting Grounds.
Fixed a bug where the music in Hunting Grounds was way too loud. We apologize to your ears.
Fixed a bug where audio cues wouldn't play when holding down the craft button.
Fixed long pauses between Behemoth music during island events.
Reduced the volume of environmental sounds in Hunting Grounds.
Lowered the shocknado (yes, that's what we call it) audio during combat.

Fixed a bug where Tragic Echo's effect would end and players could still move if they had mounted a Behemoth.
Pulled back the camera on gliders in the store.
Fixed a bug where players were stretching when performing a dodge roll.
Fixed a bug where characters were always looking to one side. We will never know what they were truly seeing.
Fixed a bug where the Daily Login Core was granting double the intended number of patrol keys.
Fixed a bug where the Gone Fishing emote's fishing pole appeared out of place for one frame during its preview. That one frame annoyed an animator so much that it had to be fixed.

Source: Dauntless

Overwatch 2 details coming at BlizzCon Online in February 2021

If you've been wondering about Overwatch 2, you're definitely not alone, as Blizzard have been practically silent about the pseudo sequel to their hugely popular hero shooter for the past year. Jeff Kaplan (from the Overwatch team) has now revealed that an update on the game's development will be coming at BlizzCon Online in February.

BlizzCon Online is the delayed annual conference and fan fest that Blizzard have held in the autumn almost every year since 2005. The 2020 edition was cancelled because of (you guessed it) COVID-19, with Blizzard deciding bring next year's event forward to compensate. It will now be held 19-20th February 2021.

In the latest Overwatch development update, Kaplan said what many people suspected: they're holding off on revealing anything more about Overwatch 2 until BlizzCon.

Speaking about a new map coming to Overwatch, he said, "I know a lot of you weren't expecting this to be coming. As you know, our big focus is Overwatch 2, which we will be talking about more in February with BlizzCon Online coming up."

"Can't wait to talk to you more about Overwatch 2, can't wait to show you more with Overwatch 2. We know it's been too long, we know we've been quiet, and we still have a ways to go, just to manage expectations. But we're working extremely hard, we want this game to be great for you, both the live game and the upcoming sequel."

Don't expect the game to come out any time soon, though. It's still quite a way away.

The new map, Kanezaka, came directly from Blizzard's push to expand the Overwatch team that's working on Overwatch 2. One of the new hires was being inducted into the team's tools and design ethos, tasked with coming up with a map to demo their skills. It was so good that the rest of the team wanted to spin it out into a full production and release it for the current game. It has a cat cafe, which instantly makes it better than any other map in the game.

Overwatch 2 was announced at last year's BlizzCon, as an unusual sequel-cum-expansion to the existing game. Overwatch 2 will be backward compatible with Overwatch with heroes, balance, maps and other competitive multiplayer content. To put it another way, Blizzard are adding all the new competitive content to keep the original game in lockstep. So what's new? Well, a major expansion of the PvE co-op content, going beyond seasonal events to really flesh out the game's playable story.

Overwatch update 3.02 live with Winter Wonderland event

Blizzard Entertainment have rolled out their latest update for popular hero shooter, Overwatch, just before wrapping for 2020.

Headlining this chunky patch is the Winter Wonderland 2020 event, complete with a slew of unlockable cosmetic items (including Conductor Reinhardt, Ice Empress Moira, and Penguin Mei) as well as time limited game mode dubbed Freezethaw Elimination.

Overwatch update 3.02 also introduces the new Priority Pass system to help with matchmaking queues. This is mainly aimed at Damage role players who have been struggling with queue waiting times. You can now select the "Flex" option while matchmaking, earning Priority Passes when you win matches, helping put you closer to front of the queue when matchmaking. For a full breakdown of the new Overwatch update, see the full changelog below.

Overwatch Update 3.02 Patch Notes

GENERAL UPDATES

New Feature: Priority Pass

In an effort to help address the population imbalance between Tank, Support, and Damage roles, and the longer queue times that Damage players often encounter due to this imbalance, we're introducing the new Priority Pass feature. Players can earn Priority Passes by choosing Flex when they queue, with more passes earned for wins than for losses. Use a Priority Pass to decrease queue time for a role currently experiencing higher traffic.

Priority Passes may not be used when playing a group of 5 or more. Since we try to pair large parties against other large parties, and parties this large already contain a good balance of roles, we do not anticipate that using a Priority Pass would actually reduce queue times. As such, we don't want players to waste their passes if this wouldn't have a noticeable effect towards the feature's goal.

Feature Update: Replay Viewer Custom Spectator Options

We have added a new options menu to the Replay Viewer, accessible via the Media Controls. Our goal is to give our players more control over how the Replay Viewer looks and behaves in order to navigate replays more easily, as well as make awesome content! These additional settings include the ability to independently toggle UI elements, modify player outline strength, disable objective capture sounds, and adjust the spectator camera behavior. We've also added 0.75x and 1.75x playback speeds to give you finer control.

New Options:

Team 1 Banner
Team 1 Heroes
Team 2 Banner
Team 2 Heroes
Status Messages
Playback Indicators
Game Mode Specific HUD
Kill Feed
Player Names
Player Health Bars
Player Outline Strength
First-Person Health
First-Person Ultimate Meter
First-Person Ability and Weapon Info
First-Person Crosshair
First-Person Hero HUD
First-Person Activity Feed
Objective Capture Sounds
Time Skip Interval Length
FOV Change Per Zoom
FOV Interpolation Rate
Maximum Free Camera FOV

General

Mix of game sounds has been adjusted to give third person footsteps more prominence

WORKSHOP UPDATES

New Workshop Features

[PC-Only] Inspector Log File

When the setting Enable Workshop Inspector Log File [PC-ONLY] is enabled, any log entries written to the Inspector Log will be written out to a local file on disk. When the custom game ends (or if you disconnect), the current log file will close. A new log file will be opened each time you are in a new custom game that writes out a log line via Log To Inspector.

New Workshop Values

String Slice

BUG FIXES

General

Fixed a bug that caused the health display for heroes with a small amount of damage to appear at full health
Fixed a bug that caused the "Default to Friends" option on the competitive leaderboards to not persist between game sessions
Fixed a bug that caused the "Leave as Group" option while leaving games to not persist between game sessions
Fixed a bug with Role Queue Beta season stats displaying the same ratings for all roles
Fixed a bug that allowed some damage-over-time abilities to charge certain heroes' ultimate abilities during the duration of their activated ultimate ability
Fixed a bug that caused pain exertion sounds to not trigger properly

Maps

Eichenwalde

Fixed a bug that caused broken Castle doors to disappear from the game client after a player respawn

Ilios

Fixed a bug that allowed players to land on an unintended map location

Temple of Anubis

Fixed a bug that caused the first capture point to have a higher capture point volume than intended

Heroes

Baptiste

Fixed a bug that resulted in his left forearm animating incorrectly during his Scout emote

D.Va

Fixed a bug that would allow D.Va to use Call Mech immediately after ejecting from her mech in rare conditions

Echo

Fixed a bug that caused her hero portrait to reflect a cloned unit during end of round flows of PvE game modes
Fixed a bug that would cause her to become stuck in the previous spawn point

Sigma

Fixed a bug with his Medal victory pose that would cause him to clip into allies during specific victory lineups

Sombra

Fixed a bug with Sombra's hair animation not appearing correctly during her "Hacked" victory pose

Widowmaker

Fixed a bug that caused her to spawn with an abnormal amount of health

Wrecking Ball

Fixed a bug that caused the length of his grapple ability to be shorter than normal
Fixed a bug that caused the camera to appear beneath the ground if Wrecking Ball shifts into ball mode while his model is still loading

Source: Overwatch

Assassin's Creed Valhalla sneaks in XP boost microtransaction

With Assassin's Creed Valhalla players getting stuck into the newly added Yule Festival seasonal event, Ubisoft have snuck in a divisive microtransaction.

If you swing by Valhalla's in-game store you can discover a variety of optional premium items such as cosmetics for Eivor. Following the recent Assassin's Creed Valhalla 1.1.0 update, there's a new store item under the utility category, offering players a permanent 50% increase in the experience points they earn.

This paid-for cheat is priced at $10 – for an extra five bucks you can add a 50% money increase to that XP boost. Purchasing this item will boost your earnings for all characters tied to your save data, Ubisoft confirming that the standard XP and money gain rates have not been modified to entice players into buying those boosts.

Here's what they had to say to Game Informer when quizzed about the microtransaction:

As more and more post-launch content becomes available, we want to give the option to players to advance their progression. Utilities allow players who lack the time to fully explore the world of Assassin's Creed Valhalla to be able to acquire the game's best gear, as well as other items, by accelerating their progress. For instance, these players can purchase maps that uncover some interesting locations in the world, but would still have to visit and play them to get their rewards.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla will expanded post-launch with expansions taking us to Ireland and even Paris. It's likely this will be high-level content, so this kind of time-saving boost certainly has its appeal to players.

However, the question remains: why not make the XP boost a free option instead of something AC fans have to pay for? Sadly, this move doesn't come as a complete surprise – Odyssey offered the exact same boost back when it launched two years ago.

With Assassin's Creed Valhalla marking another positive step for the series, it's a shame to see this kind of money grabbing practice. If Santa hasn't finished writing up his naughty list, we'd say there's room for one more name…

Assassin's Creed: Valhalla guides & more from TheSixthAxis

Black Ops Cold War multiplayer Free Access Week starts today

In the run up to Christmas, Activision are holding a Free Access Week for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's multiplayer, highlighting the Season One content that launched just yesterday.

Starting today, Thursday 17th December, at 6PM GMT and running until Thursday 24th December, at 6PM GMT, you'll be able to a selection of maps, modes and playlists from the game without paying a penny (except for needing PS+ or Xbox Live Gold for online multiplayer).

The week is split into two, 'Stage 1' from Thursday to Monday featuring Team Deathmatch, Domination, 2v2 Gunfight, the Nuketown Holiday 24/7 Playlist and the Raid the Mall Playlist.

Then, from Monday until the week ends on Thursday, players will also have access to Prop Hunt, Combined Arms Hardpoint and Fireteam Dirty Bomb, in addition to the modes from the first few days.

The promotional week isn't just there to lure in new players, but also get existing players to play some more. From 18th to 21st December, you can get double XP for all operators and double weapon bonuses as well. Then from Tuesday 22nd December through to 6PM GMT on Monday 28th December, you'll get Double Battle Pass XP.

Just to make things a bit more confusing, the Double Battle Pass XP only applies to BOCW from 22nd-25th December, and then both BOCW and Warzone from 2th to 28th December.

You got all that?

Cool.

After a last minute delay of 6 days, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Call of Duty: Warzone kicked off Season One yesterday. For Black Ops Cold War, it saw the return of 2v2 Gunfight, a new Fireteam map as Raid returned from Black Ops II, and new Zombies modes. For Warzone, this was the update saw popular battle royale spin-off would now tie in with Black Ops instead of Modern Warfare, getting the Alcatraz map to play on, adding 30 BOCW weapons into the mix and shaking up how the Gulag system works.

In our review for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, Nick wrote:

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is a decent entry in the series, but it feels like it doesn't quite know what it wants to be. The campaign is full of underused ideas, while the multiplayer misses some of the magical charm of Modern Warfare, opting for faster paced aggressive battles which just don't feel as satisfying. While still enjoyable, Black Ops Cold War fails to recapture the magic of Black Ops 1 and 2.

You can read the full review here.

Source: Activision

Game of the Year 2020 – Best Ongoing Game

There's all manner of games out there in terms of length, from short two hour experiences and six hour cinematic campaigns, through to sprawling RPGs that will take you closer to 100 hours before you see the end. Then there are those games that just keep going and going and going, like they're a Duracell Bunny (or Energizer Bunny if you're American).

I am, of course, referring to the so-called 'live' game, the game where developers keep on plugging away, adding regular content drops, responding directly to the community's demands and giving them more and more things to do. Your MMOs, your looter shooters, your battle royales and other seasonal multiplayer games. These games don't always stick (arguably, they won't more often than not), but when they do, they can keep players occupied for years.

Our winner shouldn't be much of a surprise, to be honest – you may get a sense of deja vu here – with a developer that has been been knocking it out of the park with meaningful updates that have gone far beyond their original vision for the game.

No Man's Sky has been on a long road since its disappointing launch four years ago, with Hello Games having spent most of the intervening time "fixing" the game to say the least. Just last year they added whole new gameplay systems, online multiplayer and VR support, and they've shown no signs of slowing down. 2020 has seen the addition of mech suits, living ships, and Hello Games navigated the often tricky waters of cross-platform multiplayer with relative ease, but that's small stuff compared to the update that released in September.

Titled 'Origins', this huge update changed the fundamentals of how planets are procedurally generated, allowing players to explore planets full of mountains that are kilometers tall and oceans of unnerving depth, not to mention apparently doubling the diversity of the animals and plants you encounter as well. There's even giant worms! Then there's the next-gen update, bringing No Man's Sky to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S style with a graphical upgrade that's so stunning in the trailer it almost looks like a sequel.

With all of this in mind, No Man's Sky gets the uniquely rare honour of winning Best Ongoing Game two years in a row.

– Gareth C

Runner Up – Among Us

Among Us came hot on the heels of Fall Guys in a summer of discovery and sudden flashes of viral popularity amongst game streamers. Though practically unheard of until 2020 – this was a game that seemingly hadn't stuck that landing – Among Us came out in 2018, pitching a number of crew members in a tense battle of wits in order to survive and root out the Imposter.

Reminiscent of The Thing, one or more players are Imposters, seeking to murder the other crew members before they can complete all of their tasks. However, Imposters can only kill infrequently and can easily be voted out if discovered. The key to the game is really the oppressive silence as regular crew members go about their tasks, before bickering and trying to weed out the deceitful players once a murder has been discovered.

Innersloth had actually been starting work on Among Us 2 when their original game caught fire, and they had to suddenly pivot first to simply get the server capacity to handle the sudden jump in players, and then deciding to ditch the sequel in favour of continuing to support the original. Since then, they've set out a roadmap of new features and content (including a new map revealed at The Game Awards), and we're keen to see them really follow through.

Runner Up – Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Monster Hunter World: Iceborne continues to surprise us. Following on last year, when it won the very same accolade, the enormous DLC expansion has resolutely stood its ground as the gift that keeps on giving. We've all been eagerly awaiting the next Monster Hunter game, coming to the Nintendo Switch in 2021, but the constant trickle of excellent new content has been very warmly received.

On top of all the other free content Capcom just gave away for the Iceborne expansion, the game has received no fewer than five title updates, bringing with it a slew of new monsters to hunt, weapons and armour to turn them into, and a series of seasonal festivals to keep you engaged at every turn.

– Nic B

Honourable mentions (in alphabetical order)

Dauntless
Destiny 2
Rocket League

Game & Watch Super Mario Bros. Review

To say that Nintendo know their business would be the grossest understatement. Their canny non-conformity to gaming trends and immortalised roster of characters mean that even when everyone thinks they've gone insane – and occasionally they have – they still ultimately come out on top. Yet, for all their idiosyncratic decisions, they are still a company that plays to the crowd, and as that crowd includes many somewhat older fans who've been with them since the 80s.

Following on from the NES and SNES Mini consoles, Nintendo are trying to make this Christmas portable. Their handheld line up obviously features the Switch and Switch Lite, but it now also extends to a brand new Game & Watch; Nintendo's classic, and original, series of LCD games. For Nintendo fans of a certain age, it's a nostalgia bomb that's going to blow you back to 1985, but as you'd expect, it's not as straightforward as all that.

In terms of form factor, you've probably forgotten how big or small a Game & Watch was because your hands are now much bigger. In the here and now, a Game & Watch is a surprisingly dinky little thing. Its memory-tickling dark red and metallic gold casing will have you thinking of a simpler time where all you wore was denim, and roller skates were the primary form of transportation. If you ever had one of these when you were a kid, you will adore it.

The old Game & Watch were a purely LCD affair. Starting with Ball (or the more questionably named Toss-Up if you're over in the US) and taking in some of their most iconic characters in their earliest incarnations, they were the top tier of the proto-handheld gaming world. They were, to all intents and purposes, my first gaming platform, and the scratchy bleeps and bloops they emitted are etched on my psyche forever.

This 2020 re-release is a considerably more modern iteration, even if the games hidden inside it are still unequivocally retro. It boasts a clear and compact colour LCD screen, and alongside the system's original Ball, Nintendo have seen fit to add in the original NES version of Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels. These are games that, if you're a certain age or a dyed-in-the-wool Nintendo fan, you'll have probably come across before, but never in quite this fashion.

The unit is rechargeable via USB-C, and there's a neat little power button squirrelled away on the right-hand side. Marvellously it saves your state, so no matter where you are when you stop playing, whether that's with multiple balls in the air, or as you leap past a Koopa Trooper, you can drop straight back in to where you were.

The Game and Watch stylings have had an upgrade on the control front, with this remade version now hosting a NES-style D-Pad alongside an A and a B button. There's then a trio of selection buttons, with Game swapping between the three game choices, Time turning the unit into a handy little clock, and a Pause/Set button that also lets you change the volume and the brightness. It's all very neat, well thought out and exactly what you'd expect from Nintendo.

It is about as perfect a stocking filler as you could find for that family member who simply can't get enough of Nintendo. If you had one of the original Game & Watch handhelds as a kid there's every chance that the amount of joy this will give you could overwhelm you on the 25th of December, but it's possible that all that happiness could be somewhat short-lived.

Top of the issues is likely to be the fact that this is a £40 novelty, containing games you may well have played so many times you can make it through them without having to look at that bright, colourful screen. Secondly, a Game and Watch was a comfy enough thing to grip when you were seven, but as an adult you'll find yourself carefully cradling it between your fingers. It's not uncomfortable per se, but it's a long way from being ergonomic.

Hades updated with cross-save for PC & Switch

Supergiant Games' Hades has been earning plaudits left, right and centre, but there's been one long promised and much requested feature that it's been missing: cross-save. The team have been working on it since launch and now, with an update to the game on Nintendo Switch, Hades supports cross-save between PC and Switch.

The update also rolls in the post-launch improvements that have been made on the PC version of the game.

Hermes is here with some good news: Our Cross-Saves update for HADES is out now on Nintendo Switch!

Please read the in-game Help & Info section for details. This update also includes various other improvements from our post-launch PC patches. #HadesGame #NintendoSwitch pic.twitter.com/UgwBRQsUOo

— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) December 16, 2020

While the game is a roguelite, there's a deep story woven into it and progression that players will no doubt want to keep. Those tempted into double-dipping and buying the game on both Switch and PC can now take their progress with them.

Supergiant do warn that you'll want jump through the hurdle of ensuring that your save data is in a different slot on the game, however.

Please be sure that your progress is in different save slots between PC and Switch! Instructions on how to move your PC saves to a different slot are in the Help & Info section on Switch (you just rename the save file).

— Supergiant Games (@SupergiantGames) December 16, 2020

Hades is easily one of the most highly regarded games of 2020, with a great critical reception that's seen it appear in more than a few Game of the Year lists and awards. Hades tells the story of Zagreus, son of the titular god of the underworld, fighting time and again to try and escape, with each defeat sending him right back to the start to try again.

After two long years in Early Access on Steam, the game launched in September for PC and Nintendo Switch, with the hybrid console getting some preferential treatment over the home consoles. That led many to wonder…

Will Hades come to PS4 and Xbox One?

We awarded it a simply sublime 10/10, and you can catch more of Jason's words in our Hades review.

"Hades is one of the best roguelites of all-time. It's a phenomenal achievement in story telling, gameplay, and an absolute treat for both your eyes and ears. It's astounding, and it's always been fairly astounding through Early Access, but this final release cements it as one of the greats. If you like roguelites, and even if you don't, you should probably get in on this as soon as you can."

Source: Twitter

Visage Review

For a game that was never released outside of a delisted tech demo, PT has had a massive influence on the horror gaming scene. It could even be argued that the cancellation of Silent Hills and demo removal directly added to a desire for a game that will never see the light of day. Since PT's removal there have been many titles that have attempted to offer its mix of domesticity and terror, ranging from shot for shot remakes to original takes on its themes. Unfortunately these have mostly been either disappointing or not much more than demos themselves.

With Visage, however, we finally have a full-length game experience that promises to expand on everything that PT offered. How did my time facing terror shape up?

Visage begins in the most shocking way imaginable, opening with a cutscene showing (in first person) your player character shooting their family and then themselves, before cutting to a later shot of them lurching zombie-like towards the door that leads to the rest of the house. It's a harrowing opening that will only be explained by finishing the game, but even then it is deliberately left somewhat ambiguous. It's obvious right from the off that Visage is not a game for the faint hearted. This is a game that focuses on some very dark and disturbing content so player discretion is seriously advised. If it sounds like your kind of game, though, make yourself comfortable and read on.

The majority of Visage takes place in a single house, though this takes a number of forms as the game develops. Getting to know your way around is the most crucial first step as it is not long before your exploration is haunted by deadly enemies. The house is a well designed environment, with a maze like basement that proves particularly challenging to navigate when you are rushing. I initially felt the lack of a map was an oversight, but it does mean that you are forced into learning your way around rather than following icons.

Graphically the rooms and contents are full of detail and everything looks good, although on first loading up I had to correct the auto-detect to get a more appropriate resolution (an RTX2060 playing at 640 x 480 is a horror that I wasn't prepared for). Much of the time your surroundings will be in darkness and Visage makes good use of lighting to build its atmosphere.

As is often the case with horror games, the audio is where Visage really stands out. Combining it with digital 7.1 positional audio was as terrifying as it was impressive. Being able to quickly locate the direction of strange bumps and groans really added to the experience, even if it often wasn't enough to save me. Visage opens up with a warning that it is a difficult game requiring careful resource management and, while resources didn't really seem an issue, I certainly died plenty of times.

In a manner highly reminiscent of Amnesia, you must make use of whatever light sources you can find. Sometimes this is simply turning on light switches and lamps, but it also takes the form of lighters, candles and a torch (flashlight for US readers). Candles are effective when left in place, while the fuel in the lighters is limited. Being left in the dark rapidly decreases your sanity and leaves you open to increased attacks from the supernatural forces. There are pills to collect that can help you to replenish your sanity and it is crucial that you always have these on hand.

Inventory management is a mixed bag here. You have four slots for usable items, as well as your two hands. At first I found myself using pills in hand when I didn't intend to due to the fact that they are mapped to the same mouse button as investigating things in the environment. This did become less frequent once I adjusted, but it was still an annoyance. There are also occasional two-handed objects that require you to put away any light source to use, but these are generally restricted to specific story moments or puzzles.

Progression through the horrors of Visage is linear to a point, but you can choose which chapters to play in which order. Each one is activated by interacting with an object in the house and the game clearly warns you when you are about to begin one. There are four chapters in the released version with the fourth being a scavenger-hunt of sorts only available once you have finished the first three. The first two are very effective ghost stories set in the house, although the second really suffers from a lack of clarity as to how to proceed. You unlock a series of mysterious mirrors that you have to travel through in a set order, but there is far too much trial and error involved in working this out. The third chapter is by far the weakest, most of it taking place in a local hospital and involving some particularly frustrating stealth mechanics.

Amazon Prime Gaming has free Fall Guys crowns and a costume, plus new free games for Christmas

Amazon Prime Gaming has a bunch of new free loot available to help celebrate the launch of Fall Guys Season 3. Log on to Prime Gaming and you will be able to claim three crowns and a natty Winter Warmer costume, described as "the snowy peak of Blunderdome fashion." The free crowns should help you unlock other costumes in the game.

The service will also be giving away extra free games this festive season with Yooka-Laylee, Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair, and couch co-op cooking game Overcooked available to claim on Christmas Eve.

Those games are for PC only, but console owners can still claim the Fall Guys loot and a bunch of other extra bobbins as well. At the time of writing you can also pick up the Unchained Exotic Gear bundle for Destiny 2, which includes an emote, a sparrow, and a ship, an exclusive Carolingian Dynasty Gear Pack for Assassin's Creed Valhalla, a free Breton horse of your choice for Red Dead Online, and the Fenyx Shivering Character Pack for Immortals Fenyx Rising.

There are also helmets for Star Wars: Squadrons, the Thatcher Operator set for Rainbow Six Siege, and – frankly I have no idea how this works – The Boy's 'Queen Maeve' kit for World of Tanks.

Fall Guys has been a huge success and we awarded the game an excellent 8 our of 10 in our review earlier this year.

Full of cute and cuddly jelly beans bumbling into each other in a race for the crown, Fall Guys is just about the most wholesome battle royale imaginable, and a whole lot of fun.

Fall Guys was made available for free on PlayStation Plus back in August and quickly became it's most-downloaded complimentary game. It was a massive hit on PC as well, though, selling millions of copies and becoming a staggering success for Mediatonic.

Source: Press release

CD Projekt storefront GOG heel turns over release of Devotion, after "many messages from gamers"

CD Projekt are in the headlines once again, but this time it's not the company's CD Projekt Red development studio and the calamitous release of Cyberpunk 2077, but rather their digital storefront GOG.com that's getting them a bad rep.

Just hours after Red Candle Games announced that horror game Devotion would be released on GOG.com, the online store has changed their mind, citing "many messages from gamers". Digging into the game's troubled history, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that this is GOG bowing to pressure, either from the Chinese government, Chinese gamers, or a combination of the two.

Hello friends, we want to share with you– Red Candle will publish #還願Devotion on Dec 18 on GOG.https://t.co/dlC6qzBiHx

The content and the price of the re-release remains the same, for $16.99 / €13.99

Thank you for your trust and support. We wish you a happy end of the year pic.twitter.com/peVPd7cyVo

— redcandlegames (@redcandlegames) December 16, 2020

Earlier today, it was announced that the game Devotion is coming to GOG. After receiving many messages from gamers, we have decided not to list the game in our store.

— GOG.COM (@GOGcom) December 16, 2020

Devotion was first released in 2019, with Taiwanese developer Red Candle having their game published by Chinese publisher Indievent. Unfortunately, it was rather short-lived as the game was pulled from Steam shortly after its release in February, and the Chinese government decided to remove Indievent's business license. What could they have possibly done that was so bad that the government shut them down?

Well, the game featured a poster that compared Chinese President Xi Jinping to Winnie the Pooh, a comparison that he seems to be rather self conscious about, and calling him a moron. It's a political meme that is censored in China.

The developers went silent for several months, despite having made changes and apologised in the immediate wake of the incident, but it was then discovered in July last year that Indievent's business license was revoked, though the incident was not mentioned as a reason (though we're 99.9999999% certain that it was). Red Candle returned to Twitter to issue a statement and shoulder the blame for the incident. They noted that the game would not be re-released in the near term future and that they were not taking any profits from the game during its short time on sale, with the hope that those who objected to the game's unintentional use of a politically charged poster can eventually see the game in its original light.

The re-release (obviously without any posters demeaning Winnie the Pooh's good reputation), was announced this morning, and then summarily cancelled a little over five hours later by GOG.com. While it might have been a move intended to appease any audience they have in China (which is a huge and growing market for video games), it's backfiring in the western world. It's certainly not a very cyberpunk of them to do so, anyway.

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