Contest: Win the SOLD OUT Project Warlock on Switch from Super Rare Games
In today's contest you can win a Switch copy of Project Warlock from Super Rare Games!
If you slept on picking up a super limited edition of Project Warlock from Super Rare Games, I've got some bad news -- that shit sold out, yo! It's gone. Donezo. Fin. Adios.
Good thing we snuck Mr. Destructoid into their offices (he went up through the toilet like a shitty, reverse Santa) and stole a copy to give away! Win it here, since you can't buy it anymore!
More than anything else in Monster Hunter Rise, I just want to dress up my Palamute
Monster Hunter Rise is now a video game about crafting the best-looking armor for my Palamute.
Forget my Switch Axe, forget the grind, forget the thrill of hunting with strangers – my dog needs to look fresh. Just one problem: there are too many good choices and I'm never going to settle on a single look. I eventually got over that analysis paralysis with my Palico in World, but this will be even tougher.
A Palamute armor round-up surfaced on my Twitter feed this week, and I haven't been able to shake it. Capcom posted a similar recap last November – it didn't wow me. This gear, on the other hand...
This is what it's all about. This is worthy of a half-covered Do it For Her plaque. Eye on the prize.
Like many of you, I got around to playing the demo even though I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this game as is. I like Rise's whole vibe more than expected coming off of the big and bold Iceborne, which is running better and loading faster than ever for me now that I've moved it over to PlayStation 5. There was an adjustment period, for sure – Capcom had to make trade-offs on Switch – but it's nothing I couldn't adapt to during the demo, and that potential concern is no longer sitting in the back of my mind.
Instead, my head is completely filled with these Palamute sets, to say nothing of crossovers Capcom could and should create. I didn't expect to see a Palamute wearing a tie, but if that's the starting point, as it were, imagine where things could go next. There are plenty of monsters left to confirm for Rise.
I'll continually brutalize every last one of these beasts for my pooch. That's the true endgame.
Debuting during the golden age of home computing, Turrican shook up the action gaming genre with a string of explosively popular releases that, whilst somewhat different in and of themselves, are all typified by their dynamic combat, ruthless difficulty, awesome soundtracks, and eye for exploration.
Initially developed for the Commodore 64 in the late 1980s by German coder Manfred Trenz, Turrican would make a name for itself thanks to Factor 5's stunning Amiga port, bagging a bevy of media plaudits and awards while simultaneously blowing players away with its huge host of technical achievements. 1991 sequel Turrican II: The Final Fight would only serve to further establish the brand as one of the premier shooters, thanks in no small part to composer Chris Huelsbeck's legitimately industry-changing score.
And now, some 30 years since release, ININ Games has compiled Turrican and Turrican II - as well two of its console-based pseudo-sequels - to create Turrican Flashback. This new compendium will offer fans and newcomers the opportunity to experience this iconic franchise, with every weapon, every power-up, every boss, every secret, and every joystick-snapping death exploding onto modern platforms.
To paraphrase a classic: Welcome Back to Turrican.
Thomas Was Alone heads to Switch in February and there's a demo now
If you have a soft spot for 2012's Thomas Was Alone – or you think you'd be into a cozy, minimalist puzzle-platformer about a cast of blocks making their way through the world with full narration helping to tell an honest-to-goodness worthwhile story – the game is resurfacing soon on Switch.
As relayed by creator Mike Bithell today, the Nintendo Switch version of Thomas Was Alone will be out on February 19, 2021, with a 20 percent early-bird discount pushing the regular price down to $7.99. There's also a Switch demo, and it's playable now on the eShop. I love to see it.
So much has changed in the indie scene over the past decade, to say nothing of Bithell himself, whose career has only grown. Many games have come and gone, but Thomas Was Alone still resonates.
As for the Switch port, it's only right. This game was on Wii U. Nothing can be left behind.
Silent Hill's next DLC team-up is with Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals
Silent Hill is reaching new audiences with crossover DLC in multiplayer horror games, and the longer this goes on, the more impatient fans will become. I hope it's all building to something more substantial.
Konami's next cross-game collaboration for Silent Hill is with Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals, a maze-chase horror game on Steam that's popular in the Let's Play circuit. This afternoon, Glowstick Entertainment shared a teaser video with audio and visuals plucked from the hibernating horror giant.
"The new Silent Hill guest DLC will arrive in February 2021," according to the developer. Funny enough, the just-delayed Dark Deception Chapter 4 will feature "Lucky the Rabbit" and "Reaper Nurses." Fitting.
Dead by Daylight's tie-in with Pyramid Head made a certain sense to me – that game has a widely-established reputation for partnering with horror icons – but I'll admit it, this one feels out of left field. On that note, Glowstick has "more big mystery additions coming to Monsters & Mortals after Silent Hill."
It's a mega-weird time to be into this series. We might need to hug it out with Splinter Cell fans.
Fallout 76 just got a fairly large update as far as inventory management is concerned: which...turns out is a huge part of this series!
Yep, the "inventory update" is currently being put through the paces by players, and overall, on paper, it does a whole lot right. One could argue that a lot of that functionality should have been there at launch; and some would state that the house of cards code prevented it from becoming a reality far longer than it should have. But we're past the point of all that. Fallout 76 has been fighting an uphill battle since it was first shown, and they're still trying to regain the confidence of Bethesda fans as a whole.
That strategy includes constant updates for Fallout 76, including a new PTS build that will be available "at the end of next week." It's more quality of life stuff, including the very welcome ability to "reboot" (respec) your character's SPECIAL attributes at level 25 and beyond for no cost. You can also save and swap between multiple loadouts and builds, RPG style. You'll do this at Punch Card Machines littered across the wasteland.
They're doing the same for CAMP (base) loadouts, too. Bethesda explains it all, stating: "Your characters will be able to build multiple different C.A.M.P.s, each with its own location, build budget, custom name, and even a unique map icon. While you will only be able to have one active C.A.M.P. at a time, you can easily switch among them using a new C.A.M.P. Builds widget or your C.A.M.P. icons on the map." That's kind of huge for role players! On top of that, more daily ops are coming to mix things up, as well as aim assist options for controllers, batch crafting (!), and the tuning up of melee abilities.
So what's next on a big picture scale? More Brotherhood of Steel story. As Bethesda reminds us, the Steel Dawn update was a "phase one" of sorts, with more Brotherhood narrative beats to come.
By the time this game is "complete," it might feel like a mainline Fallout!
Inside the Vault [Bethesda.net]
Valve faces lawsuit over Steam Controller patent allegations
Valve Corporation is facing a lawsuit over allegations that it plagiarized the design of its Steam Controller hardware from a similar design already patented by another manufacturer.
Ironburg Inventions, acting on behalf of third-party controller maker SCUF, claims that it warned Valve back in 2014 that the design for its Steam Controller infringed upon Ironburg patents, but that Valve went ahead with the design anyway. The Steam Controller launched in 2015, where the pricey pad sold an estimated 1.5 million units. The device was then discontinued in the fall of 2019.
The patent in question refers to the Steam Controller's rear-side triggers, which sit on the reverse on the pad and can be operated by the player's middle fingers. A patent for such an invention was filed by Simon Burgess and Ironburg CEO Duncan Ironmonger back in 2011. Ironburg has since officially sub-licensed the design to the Xbox brand.
In opening arguments, Ironburg's lawyer Robert Becker called the situation "the classic David and Goliath story," claiming that "Valve did know that its conduct involved an unreasonable risk of infringement, but it simply proceeded to infringe anyway."
Valve, meanwhile, appears to have complete confidence in its defense. "Ironburg's case will be based on altered graphics, modified pictures, and skewed viewing angles [...] then they'll ask you to make that decision based on an altered reality," Valve lawyer Trent Webb told jurors. "Nothing you will see or hear from Ironburg will change what you can see with your own eyes and feel with your own hands when you get that Steam Controller. Alternative reality has no place here."
Video game giant ripped off controller patent, jury hears [Law360]
Mother Music Revisited album is now available on Spotify
Fans of Nintendo's mythic series Mother, (or EarthBound for most of y'all), will be able to spend the coming weekend kicking back to some of the 1989 adventure's charming score, as the Mother Music Revisited album is now available to stream on Spotify.
Released on vinyl in Japan earlier this week, Mother Music Revisited features 10 tracks from the cult RPG series, lovingly rearranged by original composer Keiichi Suzuki, who is known for his majestic work on both the big and small screen. Given that this and previous Mother vinyl releases failed to make their way overseas, music streaming services remain the best way for westerners to massage their brains to Suzuki's iconic scores.
You can check out the track listing for Mother Music Revisited below. Another vinyl set, featuring a similarly rearranged soundtrack for 1994 sequel Mother 2/EarthBound, will release in Japan February 10. Hopefully this too will be made available on the Spotify service.
Who owns the Astral Chain IP? Nintendo, says Platinum
I'm not shy about my love for Astral Chain.
Sure it's not going to appeal to everyone, but it's one of my favorite action romps in recent years, and a very great effort from first-time director Takahisa Taura. I was not only excited to see more from them, but hoped for more Astral Chain in general. That may still happen! But a recent debacle has come up regarding the rights to the IP itself, and it's a fairly interesting saga.
Unraveled by way of VGC, Platinum fans who were studiously combing through the Platinum website and its various pages and code (for obvious reasons), found an anomaly: Platinum was no longer listed in the Astral Chain copyright notice. Atsushi Inaba, head of the studio, told VGC "it's as it looks," when asked why Platinum was removed.
It's odd because previously, we were led to believe that Platinum was a co-owner of Astral Chain alongside of Nintendo. Inaba says that "there are limitations on how much we feel we should talk about" when pressed, and a Platinum rep stated that they were "not in a position to answer this question."
Nintendo seems to hold some water for Astral Chain. Oddly, it's even one of the few games the publisher has added to their "scavenger hunt" My Nintendo program: among several other big first-party names.
So why does this all matter? Well, if Nintendo is the sole rights holder, it may never come to non-Nintendo platforms. Obviously a deal was worked out with Wonderful 101 to re-appear on other systems roughly seven years after its original release, so anything is possible. But for now, nearly two years removed from Astral Chain as a whole, ports don't seem to be in the cards.
Also, as VGC points out, one of Platinum's big goals of the past few years is to own its own IP and get away from the shadow of publisher influence: citing rights issues with Bayonetta and SEGA in the past. But with their dealings with Nintendo on Bayonetta 3 and Astral Chain, it's unclear just how much power they have to make that happen consistently.
Astral Chain [Platinum via VGC]
Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 was just announced and the first one is free to own on Steam
I'm not here to convince you that Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator is anything more than that name implies, but if you think you'd get a few laughs from sending thousands of mishmashed warriors into battle and watching the chaos unfold, the Steam title is free to claim until Monday, February 1.
People have gone wild with mods – Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Digimon, Knuckles the Echidna, take your pick – and I've enjoyed skimming through the community screenshot feed this morning.
Of course, games aren't given out for free for no reason. In this case, the promo is meant to bolster the announcement of Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2, which developer Brilliant Games Studios says can handle "100 times more characters on screen than its predecessor, and in far greater detail and quality."
As the trailer shows, that means ridiculous battles with "hundreds of thousands" of warriors. The sequel is bringing back the sandbox mode, a zombie-hunting first-person invasion mode, and there's going to be "multiple story- and player-driven campaigns." UEBS2 is due out in fall 2021 on Steam.
This is all so very stupid, but I'm not mad. Let them fight. All of them. (If your PC can handle it.)
Marvel's Avengers just got a Kate Bishop PlayStation Plus bonus
Marvel's Avengers is a really, really strange "live service" game.
We're sort of in this holding period now, waiting for Square Enix and company to blink. Avengers launched with a host of problems (prolonged fun being a chief issue), and the studio had to take time to fix those before all of that aforementioned live service stuff rolled out. Then delays put a damper on everything else, most notably a delay for the "next gen" editions on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
So we're sort of still waiting for all that to happen. Kate Bishop came out! But the playerbase was dropping steadily by the time she actually arrived, so she never really got her true moment in the sun. Maybe this PlayStation Plus bonus will help? I'm not sure anymore.
By heading to this link, you can grab a new Kate Bishop outfit ("touch of purple"), as well as 100 Units (currency) and a Kate Bishop nameplate. Basically, everything you see from the landing page below. It's not much! But it might be something worth logging in for if you still have the game installed.
I think like a lot of people, I'm waiting on that upgrade to hit. While the Hawkeye duo probably isn't enough to convince most people to give it another go (is Spider-Man even enough at this point, especially when you add in the exclusivity nonsense?), as a Hawkeye stan, I'll gladly boot it up more than once a week (my current schedule) just to see what's going on.
Marvel's Avenges PlayStation Plus Reward [PlayStation]
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War shows off new Zombies map 'Firebase Z'
Anybody currently popping the heads of the undead in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War might need to check they have a good restock of Jugger-Nog, as Treyarch is preparing to drop an entirely new map on February 4, which will see the strike team touch down in post-war Vietnam.
As showcased in the new trailer below, Firebase Z will whisk players from the subterranean world of Die Maschine and deposit them deep into a jungle outpost, where they continue to follow the footsteps of operative Samantha Maxis. At Firebase Z, players will fend off another decaying horde, utilizing anomalies to teleport around the battlefield, while uncovering new lore and discovering secrets, such as a powerful new Wonder Weapon. Given some of the Elites on show in this video, you're gonna need it.
It took me quite a while to "get" Zombies. For the longest time I just saw it as a poor man's Left 4 Dead, (a not wholly unfair argument). But as I explored deeper into the mode's lore, secrets, hidden weapons, and strategic use of funds and resources, I really started to get a kick out of its ebb and flow, though I still think you need to play in a well synergized team in order to really make the best of it. Regardless, I'm definitely up for more. Brrrap.
Cyber Shadow only featured a fraction of the creator's story elements
We just recently reviewed Cyber Shadow, and found it to be a pretty good modern retro-tinted platformer!
Amazingly, it's one of those "basically one person did it" kind of games, and we can thank the mind of Aarne Hunziker for that (as well as Yacht Club Games for publishing it and bringing it to the masses). But apparently Hunziker loves this world so much that they created an expansive set of lore for it: so much more than what appeared in the game. Tolkien style!
Speaking to Goomba Stomp, Celia Schilling of Yacht Club Games had a lot to say on the matter: "What you guys get in Cyber Shadow currently is only 25% of the story that Aarne [Hunziker] had written for it." Hunziker would get so into this universe that they'd even focus on what the player character does in their spare time. You gotta love that sort of passion: it comes out in the final version.
Ever wonder what a publisher does in its many potential capacities? Well Schilling also elaborates on that element of the relationship, stating: "With certain publishing, you can just take the game as it is, and you just throw it out in the world. And you're like, there you go. But we like to have a hands-on approach, we treat it like how we would market our own games, but with the creator's vision. So it's one of those things where we did give advice on certain levels, we did review leveling and giving [Aarne Hunziker] feedback. And marketing-wise, we cultivated his vision to help push it out. That's what differentiates our experience and our collaborating with him. But with everything, like design, Aarne has his final say of how he wants something."
Final cut eh? If that's accurate, Yacht Club Games sounds like a pretty good publisher to work with over a number of alternatives. It sounds like if sequels were to ever arise, they would be in good hands if Hunziker extended their deal.
Yacht Club Games' Celia Schilling Talks Cyber Shadow, Unused Lore, and More [Goomba Stomp via Nintendo Life]
Platinum's fifth reveal will be 'smaller in scale' but fans will dig it
PlatinumGames has expanded a little on its teasing fifth reveal, which was added to the "Platinum4" website. The Bayonetta developer notes that the mystery announcement is definitely "smaller in scale" than the studio's previous reveals but is something that the fans "will get a kick out of".
"We want to reveal it at the right time, but what we can say at the moment is that this was always intended as the 'Platinum Four,' so I think that the expectations should be for something extra," said Platinum co-founder Hideki Kamiya in a VGC interview. "That being said, this is something that we've had in the works for a while."
"We wanted to get this out a little sooner, but then the coronavirus happened, which I know is a common excuse, but we hope that when we can start talking about it, it will bring a smile to our fans' faces and we'll get a good reaction like, 'ah, we love those Platinum guys!'"
It sounds like maybe we should all temper our expectations just a little for the incoming announcement, which follows previous reveals of The Wonderful 101 Remastered, Kamiya's own kaiju fighter Project G.G., the new Platinum studio in Tokyo, and April Fool's gag Sol Cresta. Frankly, I don't think we're looking at a Bayonetta 3 launch date, but hopefully - whatever the surprise turns out to be - it will be a neat addition to the Platinum oeuvre.
Platinum says the fifth 'Platinum 4' announcement will be 'smaller in scale' [VGC]
Yeah, Raiden IV, which is coming to Switch, still rules nearly 15 years later
Look, can every shmup just eventually get a re-release on everything? Preferably on a platform that won't eventually go defunct?
You know, I'm something of a scientist shmup collector myself, having gathered as many of these gems as possible on Steam: where I can enjoy some of them with a vertical TATE display setup. There's a few franchises that I can just blindly jump into and lose track of time in: like say, Raiden for example (how convenient!).
Developer MOSS is at it again, and this time, they're nearly ready to unleash their long-gestating Switch port of Raiden IV on Japan. This new version is titled "Raiden IV x Mikado Remix," and it'll feature new musical arrangements, one of which you can hear in the brand new trailer below. They're even getting artists like Daisuke Matsumoto of Cave fame involved!
Raiden IV will arrive on the Japanese Switch eShop on April 22. There's no word on a localization date, but it's fairly easy to create a cross-region account and grab it if you want. Or, you can opt for Raiden IV: Overkill on Steam, which is a good adaptation that came out in 2015 on PC.
Over a decade later, Left 4 Dead 2 is finally 'uncut' in Germany
Valve's 2009 multiplayer shooter Left 4 Dead 2 has been re-certificated in Germany. Now, some 11 years after its initial release, players can finally play the zombie-smasher in all of its original gory glory.
While Left 4 Dead 2 has been readily available in Germany since release, the violent shooter was censored to the point of satire. This particular edition of Left 4 Dead 2 removed all blood, all dismemberment, and even lingering bodies fromthe playfield. Players were even blocked from setting the hellish horde ablaze. The infamous cover art was also deemed too strong, and so the iconic mutilated hand was amusingly "cleaned up."
The same butchered, (no pun intended), edition of Left for Dead 2 was also released in Australia, with the cut content eventually restored back in 2014. But today, in a new statement posted on Steam, Valve announced that German players can now officially enjoy the title as intended via free "Uncut" DLC.
So let the mayhem commence and the claret flow, blood's back on the menu.
Left 4 Dead 2 finally gets an uncut update in Germany [PC Gamer]
[Update: And it's out! You can head to this massive landing page just for the demo, which features links to the PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox platforms.
Here's the gist from the main site: "The Immortals Fenyx Rising demo sends Fenyx on a quest to discover the mysterious Secret of the Cyclops after Zeus wrests narration away from Prometheus. Set in a new archipelago inspired by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, the demo features a mix of combat, exploration, and puzzles designed to prime players for the full Immortals Fenyx Rising experience."
In other words, it's basically the Stadia Pro exclusive demo that debuted a few months back.]
Immortals Fenyx Rising came out over a month ago and I still see people on the fence, or stewing about whether or not to pick it up. A demo would help!
Doubly so for Immortals, which for some has scratched an open world itch that has been lingering for a long while; or for same, fails to sate that same need due to an over-reliance on standard Ubisoft open world tropes. The choice is yours! The truth may lie somewhere in the middle.
So about that demo: the Twitter account PSN releases scrapped the PSN, and found that a demo (with a legit ID) was coming to the European digital marketplace via PS4. Now Ubisoft could easily roll this demo out to the PS5, or platforms outside of Sony's purview. If that's the case, there's going to be a lot of happy people pretty soon! This game practically begs for a demo run.
PSN releases [Twitter]
Epic Games Store raked in $700 million in sales revenue in 2020
Digital storefront Epic Games Store has released some pretty hefty figures pertaining to last year's service growth. The store now serves over 160 million registered users, who between them spent a huge $700 million USD in purchases over the course of 2020.
On a daily basis, Epic Games Store sees around 31 million active daily players, which is an increase of 192% from its day-to-day activity back in 2019. The store's catalogue has more than doubled, rising from 190 games at the end of 2019, to 471 games by the end of 2020. Among the most popular titles purchased last year were Rocket League, Borderlands 3, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 and, of course, global phenomenon Fortnite.
It won't surprise anybody to hear that EGS' free game giveaways have proven ridiculously successful, with some 749 million titles nabbed by the store's registered users. The most popular of these was May's offering of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V, which saw some 13 million "purchases" - a frenzied rush that actually ended up crashing the store's servers.
It should be noted that, despite these successes, Epic Games Store remains firmly behind Valve's more established Steam service, which recently reported a monthly average of 120 million active users to EGS's 56 million. Still, it can't be denied that Epic's polarizing storefront has seen exponential user growth in the past year, which is set to continue in 2021.
Contest: Win TOHU, a fishy adventure game, for Switch or PS4
In today's contest you can win TOHU for Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 4!
Fish -- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em! Amirite?! No but seriously, aquatic creatures kinda freak me out. At least they're good in sushi.
TOHU takes the fish motif and really runs with it! There are planets made of fish. Fish worlds, fish mountains, fish lakes, fish tacos...it's all fish! Win a Switch or PS4 copy and enjoy the life aquatic.
Grounded's new update lets you wage war against bees
It might not be the meaningful story shakeup that some players are waiting for, but I'm ready to revisit Grounded with update 0.6.0 – it adds a few aerial attention-grabbers like bees, mosquitoes, and fireflies, as well as what I'd call an essential quality-of-life change to backpack inventory management.
(The way the dead bee's body rolls away from its head at 2:33 is wonderfully unsettling.)
The change that'll have a positive ripple effect: your equipped items won't take up space in your backpack, and when you die, you won't lose them. Instead, your equipped gear will take a "small" durability hit. It's a fair trade-off between providing tension (this is a survival game) and ease of use.
This update also includes gear to go along with the flying menace – you can craft Bee Armor, a Firefly Head Lamp, Stinger Spear, and Mosquito Needle, among other items – and numerous tuning changes. Another good bullet point: "Most unblockable creature attacks are now blockable with shields."
I haven't even explored the koi's domain yet, so I have a bunch of ground to cover. Wish me luck. It's a testament to this tiny-huge world that, even after a long break, I still vividly remember the landscape.
January 0.6.0 Update is Released [Obsidian]
Terminator: Resistance Enhanced slips back to April 2021
Publisher Reef Entertainment has quietly announced that the PS5 upgrade for its 2019 release Terminator: Resistance will miss its March 26 release date by a little over one month. The first-person RPG will now launch on the premier PlayStation platform on April 30.
Terminator: Resistance Enhanced will feature Teyon's original adventure with newly-upscaled 4K visuals running at 60 frames-per-second. Additional tech boosts will be applied to Terminator Resistance's loading times, as well as its in-game textures, light and shadow dynamics, polygon count, tessellation, and anti-aliasing, making Future War Los Angeles more dystopian and miserable than ever before.
Also arriving in this release is an all-new Infiltrator Mode, which will allow players to occupy the death metal chassis of a T-800 infiltration unit, striking back at hero Jacob Rivers and his meager but determined forces fighting to overthrow the dominance of Skynet. Later in 2021, a paid DLC expansion will add new narrative content to the campaign.
While Terminator: Resistance is far from a shining example of licensed games, Teyon's dedication to supporting its product is commendable, and might be enough of a reason for me to give the so-so shooter another pass when the upgrade and DLC content hit the market. I guess I'll be back after all.
Resident Evil Re:Verse lets you turn off the 'comic' filter
Player footage from the Resident Evil Re:Verse beta hasn't swayed me one way or the other – I still think this multiplayer pack-in looks like a silly fling – but it's nice to know that you can change the graphics. If you weren't a fan of the exaggerated art style in the reveal trailer, you can turn off the comic filter.
Here's some beta footage of the Re:Verse tutorial with the filter on:
And here's a deathmatch with the filter turned off:
As a survivor like Leon, you can shoot, dodge, and roundhouse kick other players, who will then morph into a bioweapon when they die. The more virus capsules a player is holding onto, the more powerful a beast they'll become – until they're taken out, at which point they will respawn elsewhere as a human. The beta doesn't cover progression hooks or other elements, but it paints enough of a picture for now.
If you're in any way invested in this stuff, the ResidentEvil subreddit has a recap of the six survivors, their weapons, and their abilities. Hunk can go invisible and Claire is packing Quickdraw Army.
Re:Verse reminds me of the tacked-on multiplayer landscape of the Xbox 360 era, except I had a soft spot for some of those modes (like Dead Space 2's human vs. necromorph battles) back in the day.
I can't stress enough how much I'd rather play a Resident Evil side-mode working with other players to survive – or face off against AI hordes alone for points, Mercenaries style. Whether they're included as a bonus with the main game or not, these halfhearted PvP outings aren't going to cut it for a lot of us.
I mean, yeah, I'm sure I'll try it for an evening after the credits roll in Village, but Capcom can do better.
[Via VGC]
That Diablo style Magic: The Gathering game is finally heading into open beta in March
It's been...a year! Well, it's been...a hard nine months or so, but it's felt like a full year.
And in that time, I've forgotten about a lot of games that were sort of vaguely coming in 2021, or were pushed further away into limbo. That includes the upcoming Magic: The Gathering themed dungeon crawling action romp Magic: Legends!
Lo and behold though, Perfect World Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast are here to remind us that it is indeed a thing, and will start becoming an actual thing you can play pretty soon. On March 23 the PC open beta will begin, at which point everyone can give it a go; following a previous series of closed alpha tests.
As a reminder it's described as a "free-to-play persistent world" game, which is still dungeon-crawler framed but also has elements of the card game, like "decks" that can be used to influence your spell/ability choices. You can get a good quick look at that idea below.
Eventually, this thing will hit the PS4 and Xbox One platforms as well.
With the way things are looking for Marvel's Avengers, we're long overdue a check-in with Crystal Dynamics. The next War Table video – a status update on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 versions of Avengers, to say nothing of Clint's story Future Imperfect – is scheduled for February 16, 2021.
Get a glimpse of the future with our WAR TABLE Deep Dive: Hawkeye, premiering on February 16!
— Marvel's Avengers (@PlayAvengers) January 28, 2021
We'll be showing:
🹠Marvel's Avengers Operation: Hawkeye - Future Imperfect
âï¸ PS5 & Xbox Series X|S
Like our previous Deep Dive, this will be directly uploaded and not livestreamed. pic.twitter.com/3aD2H5ST1T
It's safe to say the post-launch rollout hasn't gone to plan – and that's understandable, to a point; 2020 was rough – but the rate at which content is coming in feels like a crawl, even for the most patient fans.
These content delays are made significantly worse when you think about what we're getting (first Kate, then Clint) compared to what we could've gotten instead (any number of other, higher-profile fan-favorite characters, locations, and scenarios). It feels like Avengers' live-service woes have snowballed out of control. People had fun with the game around launch, but now, the timing's all out of whack.
Hopefully this War Table deep dive can give players concrete, compelling reasons to stick around. As someone who was (at one point) waiting for the PS5 edition, I'm going to need a lot more convincing.
It's increasingly tough to wrap my head around the whole Spider-Man deal with PlayStation.
Gunbarich is the next classic Psikyo shmup headed to PC
Publisher City Connection continues on its quest to bring developer Psikyo string of shmup classics to the PC platform. Next on the agenda is colorful hybrid title Gunbarich, which first launched in Japanese arcades back in 2001.
Combining the gameplay mechanics of a vertical shmup, a Breakout clone, and even a little bit of pinball, Gunbarich has players control one of cute selection of avatars, batting a day-glo pink puck back and forth against walls, enemies, and their projectiles. In fact, you can even reflect enemy bullets back at your oppressors for maximum damage. Turn the tables, yo.
As with all previous City Connection re-releases, Gunbarich will feature all of the arcade's original dipswitch options, along with a range of visual filters and orientation settings, allowing players to customize Gunbarich's speed, difficulty and visual design to their pleasure. Gunbarich will launch on PC February 11.
Ninja Theory isn't pulling Bleeding Edge offline, but it's moving on
If you had told me Bleeding Edge would still be around in January 2021, I'm not sure I would've been able to picture it. Ninja Theory isn't delisting Bleeding Edge yet – a move that seems plausible given its failure to resonate with a big-enough audience – but the team is done releasing content updates for the game.
The only-a-matter-of-time news was shared today on Twitter.
With the studio now focusing on our new projects (Senua’s Saga, Project Mara & The Insight Project) we have decided that there will be no further content updates for Bleeding Edge. The game is still playable on Xbox and PC. Thank you to the fans & keep teaming up & causing chaos!
— Bleeding Edge (@BleedingEdgeNT) January 28, 2021
Bleeding Edge has redeeming qualities – it's clear the developers genuinely tried – but better games have failed to make a splash in the tricky modern-day multiplayer space, and it doesn't make sense to fight this uphill battle. Not every game can turn it around post-launch, and not every game should.
I'm glad Ninja Theory is in a position to take the hit on Bleeding Edge and move on undeterred with a mix of familiar (Hellblade II) and new (Project Mara). I'd hate to lose this studio to a botched PvP game.
I was just thinking about Bleeding Edge yesterday afternoon in light of the PS5's Destruction AllStars. Not that these games are comparable one-to-one exactly, but there are broad-strokes similarities and I'm curious to see if the latter can establish a healthy foothold with PlayStation Plus backing it up.
I'll always have Kulev, my curse-slinging deceased professor controlled by a cybernetic snake.
Tencent purchases minority stake in Dontnod Entertainment
Dontnod Entertainment, the studio behind titles such as Life is Strange, Vampyr, and Twin Mirror, has announced that it has sold a minority stake to Chinese conglomerate Tencent.
The French developer agreed to the Tencent investment as part of its ongoing efforts to becoming financially secure enough to self-publish its future releases. Tencent's stake equates to something in the region of €30 EUR (roughly $36 million USD) toward Dontnod's capital. In return, Tencent receives a chair on the studio's board of directors.
"We are delighted to welcome Tencent as a Dontnod investor," said Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert. "Through this partnership, Dontnod is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the various growth drivers in the video game industry, in particular in China and on mobile platforms[...] The capital increase announced today will enable us to step up and boost the roll-out of our development plan, which aims to capture more value from our original creations by self-publishing more games."
This is only the latest industry move by Tencent this week, as mere days ago it was announced that the multimedia corporation had purchased a majority stake in another relatively small studio, Klei Entertainment. It should be clarified that the two deals are very different in scale, with the Dontnod transaction more of a company investment, and not anything close to a studio purchase.
Tencent acquires minority stake in Dontnod Entertainment [Daniel Ahmad]
The Yakuza Remastered Collection is ready and waiting for you on PC and Xbox One
A whole buncha people are about to enter a Kiryu state of mind, and that warms my heart like a toasty towel fresh out of the dryer. At last, Sega has released The Yakuza Remastered Collection on Steam and Xbox One – the three-game bundle costs $40, or you could stick with Xbox Game Pass if you have it.
You can also buy the 1080p/60fps remasters of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5 separately if you wish, but you'll lose out on some savings in the process. The games are $20 a pop if you go that route.
You may not be in a spot to play these three titles yet, but even just knowing you'll have the chance to check them out on your platform of choice is encouraging. It's important for the mainline series to be available all in one place (and I'm hoping some of the spin-off games will resurface in the future).
I have the PS4 edition of The Yakuza Remastered Collection, and I'm waiting for the right moment to feverishly play through them back-to-back. I bounce from hibernation to intense obsession.
The next stop on the Yakuza train is going to be the PS5 version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which is out March 2, followed by Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, which hits Xbox One and PC on March 25.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will be dropping onto PC in March
Sega has announced that its excellent and addictive release Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is headed to PC in the coming months. Following its recent release on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms, the hybrid puzzle title will be available to purchase via Steam on March 23.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, for those less inclined, combines the action of both the Puyo Puyo and Tetris franchise for a fast-moving, quick-changing, and breathless strategy experience. The sequel is packed out with features and modes for both single and multiplayer participants, including a character-driven story mode, new boss raids, and various challenges for even the most hardened Puyo Puyo Tetris fanatic.
The PC release will feature all of the content from the console version including the recent addition of Sega's own Sonic the Hedgehog as a playable character. If you're new to the franchise, don't sweat it, as Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 includes a deep tutorial and trial mode to get you in the brick and blob droppin' action. It's a great game, well worth checking out if you're yet to take the plunge.
Immortals Fenyx Rising's first major DLC is out today
Immortals Fenyx Rising has been chilling for a little over a month now: which is like...five years in Ubisoft time! That means DLC is inevitably on the way: it already launched, in fact!
As stated by Ubisoft, you do not need to complete the gargantuan campaign to jump into A New God, which is slowly becoming the norm for a lot of these massive open world titles. In some instances, games will even give you the chance to create whole new auto-leveled-up characters to dive into the DLC with. It will have "story spoilers for the conclusion," however.
The add-on will focus on Vaults of Tartaros-esque challenges, but with a brighter aesthetic. Here's the rundown of what it entails: "new vaults, new types of puzzles, and godly new gear." If you want to see what the DLC is like, Ubisoft gave us a detailed and lengthy playthrough yesterday: you can watch the archived video below.
Here's how to unlock Dead Cells' flying pet sword Serenade
Outside of the new levels and boss in Fatal Falls, the DLC's flashiest addition has got to be Serenade – a talkative pet sword who hovers around, marking enemies for critical hits. It's the Brutality equivalent of the other two summons in Dead Cells: the Mushroom Boi (Survival) and Great Owl of War (Tactics).
I already ran down how to reach Fractured Shrines, Undying Shores, and Mausoleum in a separate guide, but it's also worth showing where you can find Serenade; it's super easy to overlook on your initial runs. To quickly get you up to speed, you'll want to head to the first Fatal Falls level, Fractured Shrines, which you can reach after either Black Bridge or The Nest – just take the elevator up.
Once you're in Fractured Shrines, lookout for a large room that splits off into four possible directions. One of the paths (in this case, the top-right path) will seemingly stop with a dead end. It's a trick.
This is the starting point for the secret path.
If you look closely, you should notice rain landing on invisible platforms. Follow them to a secret area.
Vectorman prepared me for these invisible platforms.
You'll eventually come to a room guarded by a giant enemy – beat it, and the door will pop open. There are a few big-door-guardian rooms in Fractured Shrines, but this particular one leads to Serenade.
These big boys are more intimidating than anything.
Head inside to watch a short sequence and rescue Serenade from its tomb. This sword is a talker.
What does Serenade do, exactly? The power "summons a flying sword that will mark enemies; trigger it again to inflict critical hits on them while holding the weapon, and vice-versa! The sword will vanish after 30 seconds if you don't hit the marked enemies." The recipe costs 50 cells at the Collector.
It's probably not going to stay in my Dead Cells rotation for long, but I've enjoyed its company so far.
In a switch, you can now buy The Witcher 3 on the eShop without the DLC
While CD Projekt Red has its hands full with Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is still going strong.
It already dealt with its growing pains with a score of patches, and didn't piss off investors or the entire industry in the process. As such, it would behoove the publisher to keep rolling with that goodwill as they attempt to put out the fires they caused themselves with Cyberpunk. In the meantime, there's an interesting little option now for prospective Witcher 3 Switch players.
Originally, the game launched on Switch as a "Complete Edition" of sorts, and even came with the full version, DLC, included, on one physical game cart. But now there's an extra option available to just buy the base edition of the game, sans DLC, which is live in the UK now. If that's the sort of thing you're into, and feel like you can't get to the DLC at a later date (or not at all), it's something you can do now.
As Nintendo Life points out, all prior owners of the Complete Edition automatically own this other "lite" version, likely to weed out any potential mishaps and refunds. It's probably the least offensive way possible to roll something out like this! Better late than never.
The Witcher 3 [Nintendo via Nintendo Life]
Pinball FX reveals next-gen edition and monthly news show
I dig pinball. Do y'all know this? I don't know if y'all know this, but I do. And I also dig Pinball FX, which has kept digital fans flipping ever since its launch on Xbox 360 way back in 2007. So it's with no small amount of joy I bring you the news that Zen Studios is currently rebuilding its pinball simulator for launch on next-gen platforms in 2021.
The new version of Pinball FX will utilize the technology of platforms such as PS5 and Xbox Series X to deliver the flashiest and most visually arresting PFX experience to date. Not only that, but Zen is currently working on a whole host of new gameplay modes and additions, including "Pinball Royale" - a sort of "Last Ball Rolling" affair. A new career mode and score-attack challenges await, as do brand new online leagues, limited-time events, and even seasonal content.
We're gearing up for a huge Nintendo release (or should I say, another re-release that's probably going to be a huge hit) soon enough with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, but for now, we feast on indies.
There's a lot of them today! Olija, Tohu (not that Touhou), and a handful of others like Golden Force. Amazingly, The 3DS is getting a new game today in Bricks Pinball 4, and the Wii U is hosting Seasonal Assistant. It's a miracle!
This sort of dual-release, no matter how small, hasn't happened in a good while. Usually we get a 3DS or Wii U game on their own every few months or so, but to see these systems still alive in some form puts a smile on my face.
One of Sonic's most iconic voice actors will no longer be voicing the character
Odds are you've heard Roger Craig Smith speak before.
Perhaps as Chris Redfield in modern Resident Evil games? Or in cartoons like Regular Show, as a host of different characters. He's even been the voice of Batman several times! But many ardent fans will always think of him as the main voice of Sonic following Jaleel White's turn in the role: until today, that is.
Shared on Twitter by the man himself, Smith had the following to say today: "Welp, 10 years was an amazing run. Onward to new zones! Much love to the fans who've been so kind. It's been an honor."
Fans are speculating that the parting was not mutual, using the broken blue [Sonic] heart in the tweet as evidence. While it's hard to say what went down; it's possible that Smith has become busy as he has no shortage of work, and offered the broken heart as a message to his fans. Or, Sega wants to offer the role to Mr. "Jean-Ralphio" himself, Ben Schwartz, who played the character in the feature film: or go a different direction entirely.
Schwartz would be a shrewd pick, as he has a history of voicing cartoons, so he'd slot into any sort of cross-media project Sega might have planned. Either way, Smith was a fantastic Sonic and was mostly beloved by fans (myself included), so I'm sad to see him go. We'll likely see the next stage of Sonic whenever Sega decides to unveil the new projects they've been teasing for forever.
Roger Craig Smith [Twitter]
Housemarque's Returnal pushed back to April 30
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that Housemarque's bullet-hell roguelike Returnal will not meet its March 19 release date, and will launch on PS5 on April 30.
In a brief message on Twitter, SIE noted the decision was made to push the interstellar adventure back in order to give the team "extra time to polish the game to the level of quality players expect from Housemarque." Returnal already looks pretty dang slick, but the short delay should at least give the Resogun devs the opportunity to fine-tune its weird world.
Returnal will tell the story a Selene, a space explorer who finds herself caught in a death-and-rebirth timeloop, ala Edge of Tomorrow. Players will guide our hero as she explores a beautiful but dangerous universe, using an arsenal of ridiculously powerful weaponry to press further forward with each demise, pressing closer and closer to the source of the planet's chrono-conundrum.
Activision says applying diversity hiring rule to all vacancies would be 'unworkable'
According to an in-depth report by Vice, Activision Blizzard is resisting a union-led suggestion that it interviews "at least one diverse candidate" for any of its future company vacancies, with the publisher's legal team calling the rule "an unworkable encroachment".
The so-called "Rooney Rule" - adopted by the National Football League back in 2003 - mandates that employers interview diverse candidates whenever looking for coaches, managers, or other office positions within their respective teams. The AFL-CIO labor federation, which works with Activision and Electronic Arts, requests that a similar rule be applied to both publishers' hiring practices going forward.
But it appears Activision has not taken warmly to the suggestion. According to a letter received by Vice, an Activision attorney told the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that "While the company has implemented a Rooney Rule policy as envisioned [for director and CEO nominees], implementing a policy that would extend such an approach to all hiring decisions amounts to an unworkable encroachment on the Company's ability to run its business and compete for talent in a highly competitive, fast-moving market."
Activision also responded directly to Vice's report. "Our talent is the lifeblood of Activision Blizzard." said the publisher. "We value the diversity of the Activision Blizzard community and understand that our employees and players come from a wide array of backgrounds. In order to deliver epic and engaging entertainment for a diverse, growing global audience, our workforce must reflect these communities."
Conversely, Electronic Arts has stated that it will, at the very least, take the AFL-CIO proposal into consideration. "We're in regular conversations with our shareholders and we value the feedback we receive," EA told Vice. "The Board is committed to maintaining hiring practices that promote inclusion and diversity at EA. More broadly, EA believes that a diverse and inclusive workforce is key to our success.EA is committed to attracting diverse, dynamic talent - prioritizing inclusive values and practices at every step of the employee journey."
Activision is resisting diversity hiring push by America's unions [Vice via GamesIndustry.biz]
New Cyberpunk 2077 patch fixes a game breaking bug the last one added
Amid all of the Cyberpunk 2077 drama that's happening with lawsuits from investors and customers alike: CD Projekt Red also needs to hunker down and fix the game. And in an almost comical fashion, the last patch actually added another game-breaking bug into the mix, Bethesda style.
Breaking it down, patch 1.1 arrived on January 22, and was the first major update for Cyberpunk since launch. It fixed numerous stability issues alongside of some much-needed granular problems, but it also dealt with a particular quest called "Down on the Street."
Without spoiling anything, the gist was that an NPC needed to call you on the phone to actually keep the main story going: but depending on the circumstances, they may never call. That bug was fixed, but it escalated into another issue for select other players, where the NPC would never actually say anything. It was basically the same bug.
Alas, hotfix 1.11 is out today and should hopefully rectify that game-breaker, so you can actually continue on with the campaign. It's a real small hotfix in terms of notes, as the only other thing is that "item randomization has been restored to its previous state."
You can check out the full hotfix notes below, which mention the NPC by name, but don't give away any major story details.
Hotfix 1.11 [CD Projekt Red]
HBO Max 'premieres' trailer features first glimpses of Mortal Kombat movie
Warner Bros. has released a trailer showcasing the string of cinematic releases headed to theaters and streaming channel HBO Max in 2021. Buried among the films that feature in the exciting montage are the first live-action glimpses of the new Mortal Kombat movie.
Directed by newcomer Simon McQuoid and starring a cast of expert martial arts actors, Mortal Kombat will tell the story of a group of humans - including new boy Cole Young - hand-picked to represent EarthRealm in a once-in-a-generation tournament held by the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung. While several still images from the movie were revealed earlier in the month, the HBO Max trailer gives us our first look at the movie in action, with blink-and-you'll-miss-them appearances by Sonya Blade, Liu Kang, and the ice-master himself, Sub-Zero.
Resident Evil Village actor Jeanette Maus passes away
Actor Jeanette Maus, who the gaming community has already come to know through her upcoming role in Resident Evil Village, passed away on Sunday, January 24. She was 39.
Maus, who worked as an acting coach out of West Hollwood's John Rosenfeld Studios, gave voice and character to the witches of the House of Dimitrescu, the sinister winery at the heart of Resident Evil's newest chapter. The witches, known as "daughters" of house head Lady Dimitrescu, had already won favor of the fan community - long before Village has even seen its release.
Developer Capcom released a brief statement on Maus' passing. "We here at Capcom R&D 1 are deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Jeanette Maus, the talented actress who helped bring several different characters, including our witches to the world in Resident Evil Village. Our hearts go out to her family and loved ones."
Maus studied acting at the Cornish College of Arts in Seattle, before moving into her vocation as actor and coach at John Rosenfeld, where she has plied her trade for the past decade. Maus' colleagues at the studio offered a heartfelt tribute to their friend and co-worker, calling Maus "a force of nature" and "the best friend, the best teacher, and the best actor she could possibly be... Jeanette, we love you now and forever."
We at Destructoid offer our sincere condolences to her friends and family.
PlayStation Store's Remasters & Retro sale is calling my name
Not that you'd know it by browsing the PlayStation Store on a PS5, where deals are weirdly obfuscated compared to the browser-based store (which itself is a less-than-ideal shopping experience for deal-hunters), but a Remasters & Retro sale is running on PSN today through February 10, 2021.
If you're in the habit of snatching up discounted digital PS4 games, I think you'll find something.
Remasters & Retro sale highlights
- Ape Escape 2 ($4.99)
- Batman: Return to Arkham ($9.99)
- Borderlands Legendary Collection ($19.99)
- Burnout Paradise Remastered ($7.99)
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered ($19.99)
- Castlevania Anniversary Collection ($4.99)
- Contra Anniversary Collection ($4.99)
- Crash Team Racing Nitro-Fueled ($15.99)
- Dark Cloud ($5.99)
- Dark Cloud 2 ($5.99)
- Day of the Tentacle Remastered ($3.74)
- Dead Cells ($12.49)
- Dead Cells: The Bad Seed ($3.49)
- Dead Rising ($5.99)
- Dead Rising 2 ($5.99)
- Destroy All Humans! ($4.99)
- Destroy All Humans! 2 ($4.99)
- Devil May Cry HD Collection ($14.99)
- Doom ($2.49)
- Doom II ($2.49)
- Doom 3 ($4.99)
- Doom 64 ($2.49)
- Dragon's Crown Pro ($6.99)
- Far Cry 3 Classic Edition ($9.89)
- God of War III Remastered ($9.99)
- Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas ($10.04)
- Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy ($17.49)
- Gravity Rush Remastered ($9.89)
- Grim Fandango Remastered ($3.74)
- Hasbro Family Fun Pack Super Edition ($14.99)
- Jak and Daxter Bundle ($14.79)
- Katamari Damacy Reroll ($20.99)
- LocoRoco Remastered ($7.49)
- LocoRoco 2 Remastered ($7.49)
- Mark of the Ninja: Remastered ($8.99)
- Max Payne ($8.99)
- MediEvil ($14.99)
- Mega Man 30th Anniversary Bundle ($40.19)
- Metal Slug 3 ($3.74)
- Metal Slug Anthology ($5.99)
- Metal Slug XX ($5.99)
- Metro 2033 Redux ($3.99)
- Metro: Last Light Redux ($3.99)
- Namco Museum Archives Vol 1 ($9.99)
- Namco Museum Archives Vol 2 ($9.99)
- Okage: Shadow King ($4.99)
- PaRappa the Rapper Remastered ($7.04)
- PaRappa the Rapper 2 ($4.99)
- Patapon Remastered ($7.49)
- Patapon 2 Remastered ($8.99)
- Ratchet & Clank ($9.99)
- Red Dead Revolver ($8.99)
- Red Faction II ($3.74)
- Resident Evil 2 + Resident Evil 3 ($31.99)
- Resident Evil 4 + RE5 + RE6 ($19.63)
- Shadow of the Colossus ($12.99)
- Siren ($4.99)
- Spyro Reignited Trilogy ($15.99)
- Streets of Rage 4 ($17.49)
- Tearaway Unfolded ($4.99)
- The King of Fighters '97 Global Match ($3.74)
- The King of Fighters '98 Ultimate Match ($3.74)
- The Warriors ($8.99)
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition ($2.99)
- Twisted Metal: Black ($4.99)
- Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection ($9.99)
- Wild Arms 3 ($7.49)
- WipEout Omega Collection ($12.99)
- Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap ($7.99)
- Ys Origin ($7.99)
Five bucks is an enticing price point for the Castlevania and Contra collections, and I'm feeling the call of some of the high-res PlayStation Portable remasters – mostly Patapon, but also LocoRoco.
If you scoffed at Burnout Paradise Remastered, that's worth another look at $8. And Dead Cells is entirely worth picking up at $12.49; grab the first DLC, The Bad Seed, while you're at it too.
You can sort through the full selection of deals over here.
Mediatonic is 'working hard' to bring Fall Guys to 'every major platform'
Even if Fall Guys isn't coming to Xbox Game Pass as a recent mix-up seemed to imply, it feels like a matter of time before the beany battles spill out onto Xbox One and Nintendo Switch, to say nothing of the immense potential for a mobile version. I, for one, am ready to double-dip on Switch. So ready.
What's the latest on the PC and PlayStation exclusivity front? Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Mediatonic CEO Dave Bailey said the team wants Fall Guys "to reach as many people as possible," adding, "We want it to come to every major platform, and we're working hard to achieve that."
The interview includes a few other interesting tidbits, like how Fall Guys broke even "in about four hours," and why Season 2 felt like a miss to a lot of players, at least in part: it was "mostly pre-planned as our first update before the game had even launched." Season 3 was much more in-tune with expectations, and Season 4 will "step things up a gear in terms of the excitement," according to Bailey.
He also commented on how Mediatonic is scaling up to meet the "insatiable" appetite for new seasonal content: "...we had to be very careful to not overcommit to things we can't do because there's a lag between hiring new people and growing the content. And we can't just pull everyone from all the other teams, as some fans seem to think – that's just not how it works. We have other projects that we have obligations to and are passionate about continuing to support. Even if we wanted to, we couldn't just put everyone on Fall Guys tomorrow so people will have to bear with us."
There was a brief moment during the Season 2 lull that I worried about the future of Fall Guys, but those thoughts were shoved to the back of my mind by an unruly crowd of clumsy beans. I'm hopeful.
There's always a chance its popularity will wane – that's the nature of live-service games with rigorous schedules – but more than your average battle-royale shooter, Bailey says "there's a million different ways we can take this [game show concept] and I hope people will see that come through in the future."
The rise of Fall Guys and how Mediatonic plans to take it higher [GamesIndustry.biz]
Kaze and the Wild Masks looks like a rad time for 16-bit fans
For those of you pining for the halcyon days of anthropomorphic mascots and 2D platformers, you might want to take a look at PixelHive's upcoming adventure Kaze and the Wild Masks, which will come hop, skip, and jumping onto PC and consoles in March.
Taking its cue from the Sonics, Marios, Zools, and Bubsys of yore, (perhaps not the latter) Kaze and the Wild Masks in a side-scrolling platformer that sees our bunny hero, Kaze, on a dangerous quest to save their best pal from a curse that is plaguing their delightful world. Already pretty skilled in the ways of pit-jumping and head-bopping, Kaze can use a selection of animal-themed masks in order to add further unique skills to their repertoire.
For example, donning the Eagle mask will give Kaze new gliding abilities, donning the Shark mask will allow them to swim underwater, while the fearsome Tiger mask, (not Satoru Sayama), will equip Kaze with powerful pounce abilities. With these and more skills, Kaze will pick her way through 30-plus stages of pixelated goodness against an army of enraged... fruit 'n' veg?
Kaze and the Wild Masks launches March 26 on PS4, PC, Xbox One, and Switch.
Tomb Raider is the latest target for Netflix's video game anime push
Even though anime adaptations on Netflix tend to run hot and cold, I might be down for an animated series based on the ongoing adventures of Lara Croft. Legendary Television just announced a new show.
There aren't any visuals attached to the news, but the Tomb Raider anime will follow the recent Tomb Raider reboot trilogy that culminated in 2018's Shadow of the Tomb Raider, which could go either way depending on how the characterization is handled. Not everyone is into her modern interpretation.
According to Netflix, "the animated series will chart the globetrotting heroine's latest, greatest adventure." It's being written and executive produced by Tasha Huo (The Witcher Blood Origin).
"Beyond excited to bring to life my favorite game of all time," Huo said on Twitter.
I'm far more curious about a Tomb Raider anime than the live-action sequel with Alicia Vikander, I'll say that much. There's potential. There almost always is. Now we wait to see if they can capture it.
I respect Bloober Team's persistence in the realm of psychological horror games. They're not for everyone, and I understand the complaints that their games lack a certain impact, but I like 'em okay.
The Medium, Bloober Team's latest release following the back-to-back Layers of Fear 2 and Blair Witch, feels higher-profile. The horror-adventure game has been pushed quite a bit as an early Xbox Series X/S title due in large part to its distinct "two worlds" split-screen concept, but it's also out on PC.
That's where I played it, and after seeing the recommended specs, I was surprised to have pretty good performance with my setup: an i7-7700K, GTX 1080 Ti, 16 GB RAM, and SSD. I didn't have to make too many visual compromises at 1080p. Whether Marianne was in the spirit world, the real world, or she was inhabiting both realities at the same time side-by-side, the game ran consistently well for me.
But apart from The Medium working on a technical level, is its world worth exploring? Is it actually scary? And what about those stealth encounters with a trash-talking demon voiced by Troy Baker?
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood is still looking pretty metal
Next week sees the launch of Cyanide's latest foray into the "World of Darkness" universe Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood. Previously teased with some of the most metal trailers in gaming, this newest video gives us a closer look at our howlin' hero Cahal in action.
Werewolf: The Apocalypse - Earthblood will tell the tale of Cahal - a "Garou" who went into self exile for being too damn REAL - whose violent rage and penchant for ultraviolence is called upon after a ruthless oil company begins laying waste to his former tribe's land. The company, Endron, is in fact a capitalist front for "The Wyrm" an evil spirit hell-bent on destroying the planet. This is the real deal, folks.
(Update) Right on cue, Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity just got a physical My Nintendo reward
[Update: Nintendo is also teasing a new "Age of Calamity acrylic panel art" piece (which you can view below) that's 5x7 inches, with a thickness of 1/8 inch.
[Update #2: The art panel is in! As expected it's 1000 Platinum Points, and you can find it here. This drop also came with a restock of the memo pad, which is still 600 platinum.]
It has not hit the My Nintendo marketplace yet, but if we had to guess, it would clock in at 800-1000 Platinum Points. Currently, the most expensive reward is the Tom Nook keychain for 1000 points.]
Just recently I noticed the trend of Nintendo releasing a first-party games, then dropping physical My Nintendo rewards for them on us after launch. It happened with belated drops for Animal Crossing, Paper Mario and Xenoblade Definitive Edition: with more timely arrivals for Mario Kart Live and Pikmin 3. So it would have made sense for Nintendo to deliver at least one Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity reward. They did.
It is just one reward, but it's sweet: for 600 Platinum Points, you can grab a memo pad themed after Age of Calamity. I mean, technically it has the Age of Calamity name on it, but really, it's an extension of Breath of the Wild merch with stylized drawings of Urbosa, Revali, Mipha, Daruk, Zelda, Link, and Hyrule Castle (which are done in the style of the flashback sequences in both games). The memo pad measures in at 8.5"x5.5, and it's 50 pages. I already got one to put with the rest of my Zelda collection.
As a reminder, if you need help scrounging up some quick points, look to our Pikmin website promo guide (100 easy points), make sure you sign into the Wii U or 3DS eShop this week, or check out Super Mario Run for a hot second. 600 is in the middle of the road for physical rewards this year, so make sure you really want it before dropping all those points on it.
As a general rule, it's smart to have around 600-800 points to use on something you really want, in case it sells out quickly. A few items have been restocked, but thus far, the most expensive item (a 1000 point Tom Nook keychain) is still sold out.
Hyrule Warriors Memo Pad [My Nintendo]
Balan Wonderworld is saving its best bits for the full game
Balan Wonderworld made a huge splash when its debut trailer dropped in the pre-show for an Xbox Games Showcase last July. It was bright, colorful, and full of as much whimsy as its creator, Yuji Naka. I was immediately smitten with it as it looked like a dream. After a week of repeatedly playing through its demo, I'm happy to report it plays like a dream as well.
Destruction AllStars got a State of Play breakdown one week before launch
With a week to go until Destruction AllStars launches on PS5 as a PlayStation Plus title, Sony put out a seven-minute State of Play video to clue everyone into how this car combat game actually plays.
It's more platforming-centric than you might've been expecting. In the three main multiplayer modes, you'll pick one of 16 heroes and generally work to charge up your personalized hero ability and hero vehicle by dodging other players, wrecking their vehicles, and collecting pickups. In the meantime, you'll be able to hop in and out of disposable "common vehicles" that are either fast, nimble, or beefy.
One hero, Lupita, leaves a trail of flames behind her, while another, Shyft, can temporarily turn invisible. When your hero ability is active, you'll be able to run around the stage faster and double-jump. The out-of-car movement seems crucial as characters can also wall run, vault, and even "vault boost."
Two of the modes – Carnado and Stockpile – revolve around attacking foes to collect their Gears and then banking them, and the third, Gridfall, is a lives-based brawl with a crumbling floor.
Destruction AllStars has two in-game currencies, and there's no "competitive advantage," according to game director Colin Berry. AllStar Coins are earned "by playing online and earning XP," while Destruction Points "can be purchased" or earned through daily and weekly online challenges "later this year."
Is there a single-player mode? Yeah, sort of. The different characters have their own challenge series that sheds "a little bit of backstory" and culminates in a face-off with their rival. The solo gameplay is built on the aforementioned multiplayer modes as well as a few other activities like Crash Course and Transporter. Here's the interesting bit: "each series can be redeemed with Destruction Points."
If you're a PlayStation Plus subscriber, you'll be able to claim Destruction AllStars from February 2 to April 5. "New modes, new characters, and refreshed playlists will arrive throughout the year."
I wouldn't buy this game, but I'll absolutely check it out for a week. I hope Sony does Warhawk next.
Jonas Neubauer highlight tribute reminds me that I'm still not over the loss of him
It's been a little over three weeks since Jonas Neubauer, arguably the greatest DAS Tetris player of all time and more importantly a wonderful human being, was taken from this Earth. Speaking as someone who was welcomed into his Twitch community for the past few years, it hasn't been easy since then for those who enjoyed his streams. I thought I was doing a bit better this week and could stand to go back on Twitch, then I watched AGameScouts' tribute video, and now I'm back to being sad again.
While in the current context it has a sad connotation, it is amazing to look back on what Jonas managed to accomplish in his 39 short years on this Earth. Not just the seven Classic Tetris World Championships, but also the mark he has left on the Tetris community as a whole through his positive demeanor.
It's an odd feeling to be sad over the death of someone I never met, but I guess this is the stark reality of living in an age when communication has few barriers. For those who are willing, a memorial fund is still being crowd-sourced in Jonas' memory and to help his family through the horrible time they find themselves in.
