Knights of the Old Republic remake reportedly in development, and not by EA

A remake of Knights of the Old Republic, one of the most celebrated games that has been created in the Star Wars universe, is reportedly in the works. Multiple sources have confirmed this to Star Wars podcast Bespin Bulletin, as well as being corroborated by Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

Knights of the Old Republic was a hit RPG, set 4,000 years before the events of the Star Wars film series, depicting another galactic war between the Jedi and the Sith.

However, it's not known who is actually making the game. Bespin Bulletin said, "Amongst my digging, I heard there is a Knights of the Old Republic project in development somewhere. I talked to a couple of people, and I also found out that Jason Schreier said that it's not with EA, and we'll 'never guess' who the studio is that's making this game."

Following on from the resurrection of the Lucasfilm Games brand earlier this month, and the beginning of the end for EA's exclusive Star Wars licensing deal (due to conclude in 2023), we've seen a smattering of Lucasfilm-related announcements. First there was Bethesda teasing that Wolfenstein series developer MachineGames is developing an Indiana Jones game, and then it was announced that Ubisoft's Massive Entertainment, the creators of The Division, are working on a new Star Wars game.

Schreier's comments would seemingly rule out a revival at the series' original developer, BioWare – EA acquired BioWare in 2007, a few years after KOTOR was released in 2003. In fairness, BioWare is a very different company now to 18 years ago, and has an uphill struggle to restore their reputation with the next Dragon Age and Mass Effect games, after the high-profile disappointments of Mass Effect: Andromeda and Anthem. A third game would be pushing the studio's resources quite far.

Obsidian Entertainment created a well-received sequel, KOTOR 2: The Sith Lords, in 2004, and would surely be a fan favourite studio to handle a reboot, but now being owned by Microsoft and the exclusivity that would entail might be undesirable to Lucasfilm Games, especially when there's already the same question hanging over the Indiana Jones game given Bethesda's pending acquisition by Microsoft.

So who else would have the RPG chops to take on such a task? Well, while it would be a step outside their usual genre, I think the only logical candidate is another former Star Wars game developer: Rovio Entertainment of Angry Birds Star Wars fame.

(My actual guess is Larian Studios, BTW)

Source: Bespin Bulletin, Jason Schreier

Carto Review

The past year has been particularly busy for video games. With a new console generation, countless triple-A releases and the endless ongoing churn of games as a services releases, it can be hard for smaller, independent releases to stand out. Fortunately, every now and again a game like Carto comes along with a genuinely original concept that compels me to check it out.

Carto is a colourful, puzzle adventure game that tasks players with altering the world around them by changing a magical map. Playing as Carto, you travel the world and unlock new pathways by discovering new map pieces and arranging them in the correct order. This fantastic mechanic is backed up by a gorgeous world that sees protagonist Carto visit a number of unique islands.

The main bulk of gameplay is spent figuring out how to traverse the islands that Carto and her travelling companion visit. Using a map based on square grids, you can change and move blocks of the world to create new paths or layouts. Characters within the game world will provide hints on the whereabouts of items or people of interest you need to find, but then it's on you to figure out which way the map should sit.

You can unlock new areas of the map by placing your current tiles in the correct layout, or you can find new map pieces throughout the world. The act of placing the tiles and figuring out which way unlocks the path forward is a lot of fun. It's a simple mechanic that's executed masterfully.

What makes Carto's mechanic so fantastic is how it encourages players to make logical conclusions. One puzzle early on had me trying to make a forest out of three tiles using the outskirts of wooded areas on them. Place them correctly and you will unlock the woods at their centre. The game is filled with these great moments and it really makes you feel like you've been a bit of a clever clogs for solving them.

I've also got to commend the team for how well the mechanic fits in with gameplay. Switching from exploration to the map and back out feels seamless, especially considering you are often completely changing the layout of the world. I'd have liked to see a little more integration with the characters of the world, as they mostly seem pretty oblivious to their surroundings constantly changing places.

Visually Carto has a scrapbook-esque vibe to it with a pastel themed colour palette. Its bold visual design fits the cartography mechanic incredibly well, bringing each island you visit to life. There's also some brilliant visual design elements in Carto as well, with sounds visually represented on screen during puzzles and in-game events. It's a small touch that not only brings you closer to the world, but it's also a significant move for accessibility. The character designs are all colourful and cute, with sprites having an almost Pixar look about them.

It's just a disappointment that the narrative doesn't do more with the mechanic. While the character's and places you visit look great, it doesn't really explore how Carto's map could have affected these people. The narrative simply doesn't match up to the excellent world-shifting mechanic, which is a shame as an equally fantastic story would have elevated Carto into something really special. The game does also suffer with some repetititon in later areas, as it never fully explores the map shifting mechanics to their full potential.

Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity becomes best-selling Musou game

Japanese publisher Koei Tecmo have published their financial results for the third quarter of the fiscal year 2020, giving us a closer insight into how the company and its games have performed.

It's no surprise that Koei Tecmo's gaming sector saw the highest number of sales in this period, helping to drive year on year growth and set new records. Game sales for the quarter brought in the majority of income, racking up more than ¥41.4 million – that's 71.9% more than Q3 2019 (via Twinfinite).

Although impressive, these results hardly come as a surprise with Koei Tecmo reporting soaring profits earlier in 2020. One knock on effect the currently global pandemic was a sharp rise in the number of video game consoles and software being sold – however, there was a sharp decline in amusement revenues in tandem.

Some particular highlights picked out in the company's financial results include Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity. The Legend of Zelda X Musou spinoff shipped a mighty 3.5 million copies, making it the best-selling Musou game of all time. For those unfamiliar with Musou, it is better known in the west as the Warriors series that includes Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors, Warriors Orochi, and the myriad anime crossovers. What makes Age of Calamity's achievement all the more impressive is that it launched on one system, exclusively available on the Nintendo Switch.

Nioh 2 has also continued to do well, ahead of next month's PS5 re-release as part of the The Nioh Collection. The samurai sequel shipped an additional 200,000 copies in Q3 2020. Jason reviewed Nioh 2 back at launch, awarding it a magnificent 9/10:

Nioh 2 builds on the excellence of the original with a fistful of new twists and ideas, from new Yokai abilities to full-on co-op through the entire game. Nioh 2 might well be the best Soulslike that isn't a FromSoftware game, and it's easily one of my personal contenders for Game of the Year.

In the past few years, the publisher have launched a number of sequels including fighting game sequel, Dead or Alive 6, Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout, Atelier Dusk Trilogy Deluxe Pack, and Attack on Titan 2: Final Battle.

We know little about what Koei Tecmo have planned for 2021. Besides the aforementioned Nioh Collection, JRPG sequel Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy is launching this month.

As for Musou fans, they'll get their next fix soon with Dynasty Warriors 9 Empires. This strategy spinoff will hopefully steer the OG Musou series back on track following an experimental yet divisive foray into open-world gameplay with Dynasty Warriors 9.

Source: Koei Tecmo

Crash Bandicoot dev merges with Blizzard to work on Diablo 2 remake

Vicarious Visions, the celebrated Activision studio who triumphantly revived Crash Bandicoot in 2017, is no more. The team has now been merged into Blizzard Entertainment where they are rumoured to be working on a Diablo II remake.

As such, you will no longer see the Vicarious Visions name on Activision Blizzard games though the talented team have been absorbed rather than let go, maintaining their headquarters in Albany, New York. Meanwhile, studio head Jen Oneal has been promoted to vice president of development at Blizzard with Simon Ebejer stepping up as the new studio head, according to GameInudstry.biz.

The 200-strong crew that used to make up Vicarious Visions is now "fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives", it was announced though it's unclear exactly what they are working on.

The persistent rumour is that Blizzard have a Diablo II remake in the pipeline. With Vicarious Visions having nailed two remakes back to back with both Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy and last year's Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2, they appear to be an ideal fit for the project.

Bloomberg reporter, Jason Schreier, reports that this is indeed the case with Blizzard and Vicarious Visions having been previously working together before the merger. According to Schreier, Blizzard's own Team 1 were originally developing the Diablo II remake (referred to as Diablo II: Resurrected) but were subsequently removed from the project following the release of Wacraft III: Reforged.

Members of Team 1 met to discuss what had gone wrong. Internal Blizzard documents reviewed by Bloomberg pinpointed the game's failures on poor planning, miscommunication and a rushed release due to financial pressure from management, among other factors. For example, Blizzard announced the game in November 2018 and began taking pre-orders for 2019 without informing most of the development team beforehand, according to several people who worked on Warcraft III: Reforged.

This remake of the popular real-time strategy game was met with middling reviews, picking up a score of 6/10 when we played it at launch. Although one of the best story-driven RTS games out there, Blizzard's remake felt half-baked. Hopefully, with Vicarious Visions now among their ranks, the Diablo II remake will get the treatment it deserves.

Source: GameIndustry.biz, Bloomberg

Hitman 3 player speedruns Dubai level in 8 seconds

Like its two predecessors, Hitman 3 is a dense assassination sim – an expertly crafted series of sandboxes begging to be explored. In the days following launch, that's exactly what the Hitman community has been doing, searching every nook and cranny for experimental ways to kill.

In that time, players have posted incredible speedrun times for Dubai, Hitman 3's opening level, the fastest clocking in at just eight seconds.

World record contenders Goron, Wreak and Der_Lauch_Linus both used a similar setup and technique to achieve this crazy completion time. Seconds after spawning into Dubai via the elevator entrance, they take down targets Marcus Stuyvesant and Carl Ingram in rapid succession using 47's pistol before making a beeline back to the exit location.

As you can see from Goron's video, the targets are within shooting range for a few short moments as the mission begins, giving the players just enough time to kill them with two well placed headshots. A superb feat and no doubt one of the many confounding speedruns we'll see posted for Hitman 3.

We awarded Hitman 3 a triumphant 8 out 10 in our review at launch, here's what we had to say:

Charting the series' progress since that 2016 Paris debut has been a fascinating journey. IO have learned a lot over the past five years and that really shows in Hitman 3. It's a flashier, more fluid evolution of IO's original template – a rewarding conclusion to one of the most unique video game franchises around, and one we'll continue playing for many weeks and months to come.

IO Interactive's closing instalment in their World of Assassination trilogy has gone down well with reviewers, bagging an OpenCritic average of 86 to become one of 2021's earliest GOTY contenders. However, Hitman 3 hasn't enjoyed the steadiest of launches with a number of server outages. Some players have also reported issues when trying to import their Hitman career progress over from Hitman 2.

Hitman 3 Guides & more from TheSixthAxis

Omori Review

Every day, Omori wakes up in a room surrounded by white light, suffocatingly small and terrifyingly vast. Depression can make all spaces feel this way. Better get moving.

Every day, Omori meets his friends, and together they walk up the rainbow staircase. Past the talking snake, past the yellow cat with giant eyes, and through the tree stump into the Vast Forest.

Every day, Omori returns to white space.

With shades of Undertale and Earthbound, Omori is an RPG that flickers from idyllic to unnerving. From parks and picnic blankets to dark rooms where shadows shudder, nosebleed fierce. Hours in, I meet a talking leaf at a train station, whose burning hatred for bunny rabbits leads it to offer me blood money for each bun I beatdown in combat. On the train, I am plunged into darkness, as rows of the identical shadows that ride beside me each warn me with some variation on "This isn't home."

In the opening hours, I play Hide and Seek with Omori's friends in the park, getting to know every name and quirk. All is warm laughter, sung in the stream-of-consciousness hangout humour that the game will continue to do so well. Later, I play Hide and Seek by myself. Alone, dashing between mirrors that keep blinking out of reality, and surprising myself with fleeting, shocking proof of my own fading presence in a world I half knew wasn't real anymore.

Omori is often about fear, but you can ignore the 'Horror' and 'Psychological Horror' tags on Steam. The game is interwoven with strings of existentialism, but those threads are part of a big, comfy, colourful sweater of an RPG, albeit one spattered with pizza-sauce stains of impending dread. Omori is about trauma, but it's also about escape, recovery, reconciliation, and friendship. You'll spend most of your time in the brighter moments, even if you'll never quite shake the feeling of unease. Something often unspoken about self doubt is how it taints all your good memories. You're in them after all, being yourself, and ruining everything. Omori casts a melancholy shadow over its brighter moments, even as it maintains hopefulness in its worst.

Consistent through all of this is an imagination and care that makes so much of Omori feel handcrafted. It's patchwork in the way it constantly introduces new twists on its animation, UI, art style, audio, or combat. Whatever it needs to best create a scene, convey a feeling, or just surprise and delight the player with some unexpected glitch in its established rules. There are great moments of subtle comedy that rely on the player's experience with other games, but not out of parody – these aren't references, they're riffs on design language that use your own familiarity to toy with you. Later, Omori will use similar tricks to traumatise you. It's a lovely, clever detail in a game so thematically concerned with nostalgia.

There are so many unique animations that you'll see just once and so many sound effects or musical phrases that pop up from the soil of Omori's vast soundtrack, like a jubilant sunflower or doomsaying earthworm, then wriggle back away again, forever. Early on, you'll gain the ability to switch party leaders, with each friend having different tools for solving environmental puzzles. You reach one such puzzle, tag a friend in, and a hand-drawn Polaroid flashes up. I found myself suitably awed when I realised that there's a different picture for each friend tagging each other friend. The backgrounds change, too. A junkyard. A faraway planet. The insides of a giant whale.

I shouldn't need such reminders that games are made by people. None of us should, but it's tragically easy to forget until another report of crunch at studio X gets dropped into our laps. All games are made by people, but Omori has the kind of DIY fingerprints of a hand-labelled CD from your favourite punk band like no other recent game I can remember. One that constantly had me thinking that, heck, someone drew this. Someone sat at their synths and composed this. Someone stayed up late for years animating this. Someone dredged up a lifetime of memory, precious and awful, to write this.

All this might suggest a flipbook of disparate set pieces, but there's a solid, crunchy RPG with some vast, puzzle-filled dungeons and chapter-spanning side quests here as well. Exploration is draped in a light metroidvania form, where every fear Omori's friends help him overcome opens up more of the world. In combat, an elemental triangle of emotions act as both magic and status effects.

Minigames are scattered throughout the world, too. A pizza delivery dayjob that has you trying to decipher skittish pencil scrawls to find the correct addresses. A Tamagotchi/Pokemon game where you challenge other kid's 'Pet Rocks'. This, alongside multiple endings and secrets, can easily fill out an 18 hour story into a forty hour place to just hang. What I'm saying is: Omori is tangible. It's a little slow, but it's very playable. It doesn't forget that it's a video game.

There are content warnings at the start of the game, and they're worth paying attention too. Omori is a game about sunny days and self isolation, about friendship and death. A game about escapism, about crystallising nostalgia as a form of psychic self defence. You'll be taken to some pitch black places before the journey concludes, but the warmth at Omori's core means it never feels nihilistic. The breadcrumb trail leading to the final moments is so carefully spread that I was left with little doubt that this is a story about trauma, but it's a story dedicated to exploring trauma, rather than one that just uses trauma cynically. Put simply, Omori earns its difficult moments.

I believe it's useful for a reader to know a critic's biases when choosing a game. For example, I strongly believe that the most important piece of media ever created is the 'Omelette du fromage' episode of Dexter's Laboratory, and you should filter all my critical insights through this dazzling fractal of subjective truth.

More pertinently to Omori, here are some more of my biases. Experiences I've had, and things I've felt, that meant I connected with Omori more than you might. I have often felt made up of muted tones in a world full of people drawn in colour. Missing inner light, as if I was lacking something fundamental. I am often bombarded with memories I'd rather forget so powerfully that they can physically stop me in my tracks. I cannot enjoy many of what should be good memories because I'm in them, being myself, and ruining everything. Omori reminded me that most people probably feel like this occasionally. Omori is a sad game that made me smile a lot.

Creative Outlier Air V2 True Wireless Earbuds Review

With one of the few outdoor pastimes you can partake in right now being to go out for a walk or run, there's been a huge surge of interest in wireless earbuds and headphones. As people trek outside with some music or a podcast in tow, there's never been a better time to pick up a pair, and now Creative, one of most dependable audio specialists, has updated their already excellent Outlier Air true wireless earbuds with the V2 version. Right from the off, it's clear that if you're looking for an exceptional value pair of earbuds, it's well worth tracking them down.

In the box you'll find the pair earbuds that, as well as a charging case, cable and a batch of different eartips to help you find the right fit. I'd readily argue that the Outlier Air are one of the most attractive wireless earbuds out there, and the V2 is visually more or less identical. Black, curved units with a circular LED and a central button feature on both left and right-hand side, with the major change from the original being the switch from a physical button to capacitive touch. It's a very welcome update.

The original Outlier Air actually become my go-to pair of earbuds since I reviewed them back in 2019. The comfort, fit, and excellent battery life put them well ahead of various other earbuds I tried out, including the much more expensive pair of Beats I bought. The one downside as I spent longer with them was the buttons, which were firm enough that you found yourself more or less pressing the earbud into your ear canal when you wanted to skip a track. It wasn't particularly comfortable.

The new touch controls completely do away with that issue, and now you can gently tap away across each of them in a variety of ways to perform functions like volume control, skipping tracks, pause, play, or answering phone calls. The initial issue I found was memorising the number of taps you needed for the various functions – double taps for pause and play, triple to skip tracks – and how definite with your presses you needed to be, but once you've got it worked out you've got all of the main controls at your fingertips, and all without endangering your cochlea.

One of the major benefits of the original Outlier Air was their battery life, and that's been given a hefty bump with the V2, with the buds themselves capable of lasting 12 hours per charge, and the case capable of providing an additional 22 hours of charge for a total of 34 hours. In our testing, they certainly came very close to achieving those figures with an easy 11 and a quarter hours registered before the buds died, and that was likely with a higher number of button presses than you would regularly perform.

Popping the earbuds into place in their magnetic slots in the slide-out metal case is simple enough, even if you'll regularly pull at the wrong end of the case to open it up. It takes between 2 and 3 hours to fully recharge them depending on how run down they are, with LEDs at one end to show the charging status. The case itself takes a USB-C cable to recharge, and there's a USB-C to USB-A cable in the box if you don't already have ten of them lying around your house. The case might be a bit on the large size compared to some other options, but the increased battery life makes it more than worth it, and its metal build feels both premium and sturdy enough to chuck in your bag.

The other new addition to the Outlier Air V2 is Creative's SXFI technology which we've come across in most of their recent headsets, with the SXFI Gamer headset having one of the best implementations to date. That SXFI tech creates a virtual soundstage that is designed to give your audio an enhanced sense of space, much like Dolby Atmos and its ilk. SXFI has consistently proven to be amongst the best options out there, but its implementation in the Outlier Air V2 is somewhat confusing.

You'll need to nab the SXFI app from the Google Play or Apple App store, and then the first step is to take pictures of your ears while it creates a personalised audio profile for you. Once done you're all set to experience SXFI virtual surround, except that you soon discover it's only available natively in the SXFI app to play any audio files you have downloaded on your handset.

It's a bizarre thing to discover that the function doesn't work with third-party software like Spotify or Amazon Music, and I found that overall, the playback leaned towards the brighter end of the spectrum, losing much of the bottom end from nearly everything except the included SXFI demo track. I'm not sure quite what the problem is here, as I've found SXFI to be a reliable and worthwhile set-up elsewhere, but I don't think I'll ever use it again with the Outlier Air V2.

Despite the odd SXFI implementation, I love the Outlier Air V2's regular audio output. With a £75 price point, you're not going to find many true wireless earbuds that come close, and the pleasingly balanced audio lends itself well to music, movies and a spot of mobile gaming too. It's a perfect companion on a run, not only staying in place but continuously pumping well-rounded audio out.

It's something of a shame that the V2 didn't inherit the Air Gold's aptX HD capability, but you still have aptX and AAC alongside basic SBC encoding, so you'll get high-quality Bluetooth audio from pretty much anything out there. In particular, you'll get a decent combination of sound quality and low latency if you've got an aptX enabled device.

LinkedIn profile mentions Ghost of Tsushima PS5, quickly deletes it

Dave Molloy, Cinematic Creative Director at Sucker Punch, has a LinkedIn page on which he stated he was "presently working on the Ghost of Tsushima game for Sony PS5". That wording has now been removed in the last ten hours and the post now has rather more generic "Presently working on the Ghost of Tsushima game for Sony PlayStation".

A couple of things to consider, firstly Ghost of Tsushima already has a buttery smooth 60fps mode if you play the PlayStation 4 version of the game on PlayStation 5 but perhaps Sucker Punch are going to release a new patch which adds ray tracing, DualSense haptics, or some other PlayStation 5 specific feature. The Cinematic Director would probably be involved if they were tarting up the graphics, not so much if it's haptic feedback.

Sony could be working on a complete new build of the game for PlayStation 5, or perhaps this is one of the first signs we've seen on a sequel. Unfortunately there is no way to tell when Dave edited his profile, the PS5 mention could have been there for months and no one spotted it until now, but given the huge success of the game a sequel is almost certainly on the way.

Earlier this month there was some fantastic news for the small Japanese island the game is set on as fans helping to raise more than $260,000 to rebuild a sacred Tsushima shrine.

The island's scenic Watatsumi Shrine was heavily damaged during a typhoon last year. In response, priest Yuichi Hirayama took to Japanese online crowdfunding platform Campire for support last November, the campaign finishing at 27,103,882JPY, 540% more than its original goal. The work to repair Watatsumi Shrine is due to start in April and finish sometime in August.

What's next for Ghost of Tsushima?

Here's what Hirayama had to say about the campaign and the involvement of Ghost of Tsushima players (via VGC):

We have received a great deal of support from the players of the Ghost of Tsushima game set in Tsushima, and I feel that it is God's guidance.

Although a work of fiction, Ghost of Tsushima is based on real-world history with the Mongol invasion of Japan around 1268AD. If you want to learn more, we did a deep dive last year as part of our "Playing With History" series.

Looking at photos of Watatsumi Shrine, you'd swear they were punched up screenshots taken from Ghost of Tsushima. However the shrine – located in the central region of Tsushima island – doesn't appear in-game though you can find several landmarks, as outlined in this tourism guide.

Ghost of Tsushima Guides & more from TheSixthAxis

Ghost of Tsushima: Legends Guides & more from TheSixthAxis

Source: LinkedIn via ComicBook

Body of Evidence Review

Ever idly wondered about cleaning up evidence at a murder scene? My imagination spurred on by TV shows and films, I know I have. I always ask myself, would I do a good job? Would I miss anything? How low would I go in order to make a quick buck? Well, my curiosity was somewhat satiated with Body of Evidence, a murder clean up sim where you are the hero of the hour.

I would say it's a strange concept for a game, but given the last year or so, nothing surprises me anymore. Your character, Mark, is collecting tickets on a train one day when all of a sudden, he wakes up in an apartment covered in blood with a dead body stuffed in the bathtub. You don't get long before the cops arrive so it's down to you to hide the evidence and get rid of the body. From then on, Mark becomes a 'clean up man' for hire and it's up to you to save the day.

Each level has set objectives you need to complete in order to proceed, mainly involving getting rid of bodies and picking up the murder weapons. You get a score at the end of each level for picking up evidence and how much of the mess you manage to clean up. In early levels this is pretty simple. You find a simple scrubbing brush which gets rid of the blood and then it's just a case of grabbing the body and dragging it to the green square. Then, if anything like tables and chairs have been knocked over, you simply have to click on them to put them back in place like nothing has happened.

As levels proceed, new mechanics are introduced, adding new tools to help you with the job. A broom for sweeping glass, luminol for finding faded blood, and a flashlight for seeing in the dark. Even the disposing of bodies can get slightly creative with one level seeing you stuff a body into a barrel before pouring acid on top to melt it away.

Some levels are loaded with pop culture references like one situation that sees you go to a 'Soap Club,' where illegal underground fighting has got a man killed. There's even a man called Tyler who appears behind you at one point and tells you not to talk about Soap Club. The new mechanic here lets you use their brand of soap to give your cleaning power that extra omph to get rid of some of the tougher stains. I'm pretty sure the level where you melt the body in a barrel was a Breaking Bad reference, too.

After you have collected ten bodies, you have to go to The Lake which is apparently the easiest place to dump corpses. This part really kills the pace, as having to go back and forth to the van ten times takes around ten minutes. That's ten minutes of moving back and forwards, really slowly. It's not fun.

Speaking of things that aren't fun, the controls can be quite fiddly. Trying to scrub blood stains often becomes annoying when the cursor isn't quite in the right position, despite being right over the blood, and thus preventing you from actually cleaning up the blood before the time runs out. Picking up bodies is another problem; the game boasts realistic ragdoll physics which is great, but the body will often get stuck on the smallest of geometry and force you to drop it. Then, if you need to put the body in a barrel or a garbage chute, this is where the real problems occur. I had to retry one level multiple times because there was no way to neatly stuff the body in the barrel in time. I just wouldn't go in! Eventually, I got lucky, but man, it wasn't fun.

While the game was in its early stages, I went for 100% perfect ratings, getting a lot of satisfaction from making sure I got every piece of evidence and putting every chair and table straight, but as soon as things got a little complicated, the controls put me off trying. I found myself just wanting to get the levels done to move on, feeling burnt out after the first ten of the game's thirty levels. It's annoying, because I love the concept.

The drab looking levels doesn't help either. I get why it's styled like this, because trying to find bloodstains in a colourful environment would make playing this with a time limit impossible, but when you are just staring at browns and greys constantly, it does make shorter play sessions more appealing. I found I couldn't play it for more than an hour at a time without having to come away for extended periods. The bland colours and the janky controls just made me feel a bit odd – and that's nothing to do with all the murder! After playing with the Switch docked, I found handheld to be the better way to play, even though it looks the same in both modes.

The soundtrack is quite good at setting the tone. It's nothing too groundbreaking, but it definitely gives that 1930's jazz murder vibe. Instead of being a hit detective, you're on the other side of things as a clean up man.

Bitmap Books suspends EU shipping due to VAT issues caused by Brexit

Bitmap Books, the UK based publisher of retro gaming books, has announced it is temporarily suspending shipping of its products to the EU due to confusion over VAT rates following the UK's withdrawal from the European Union, aka Brexit. Previously, EU customers would pay the UK rate of VAT on books which is 0%, but now that the UK is no longer part of the EU those rates vary from nation to nation. Bitmap Books has stated that it, like many retailers, thought there would be some tariff free movement of goods under the Brexit deal. That is not the case and as the deal was last minute retailers have did not have the time to properly scrutinise it. In an email to customers, Bitmap Books wrote:

Traditionally, as an EU-based customer of ours, when you purchased one of our books, you paid the UK VAT rate for books, which is 0%. Now the UK is out of the EU, you will now have to pay your own countries rate of VAT for books. Luckily, most EU countries have a special VAT rate for books that is much lower than standard VAT. At the start of the year, when our customers within the EU started to receive customs bills, this was a complete surprise to us. Furthermore, the bills were inconsistent and in many cases, charging the wrong VAT rate.

We have therefore taken the decision to suspend all EU shipping until we can resolve this situation and let the dust settle. It's really chaotic out there within the delivery networks and we feel that this is the best option is to allow things to calm down. We have also started to get some random incorrect charges for European non-EU countries such as Switzerland, so have also suspended this service until we get clarity of why this is happening. 

Bitmap Books is now looking at alternative options for its EU based customers, including Delivered Duty Paid shipping. This format would mean that customers would see all custom fees at the point of purchase, and pay for it there and then. However, the company is still in discussion with delivery companies to establish this. Furthermore, Bitmap Books has confirmed that EU customers will be paying more for the products compared to pre-Brexit due to the additional charges. The company understands it will lose some customers as a result of this, but will work to make the increase in price as low as possible.

Source: Company Customer Email

Interview: Historian Ryan Lavelle on the historical research that helped build Assassin's Creed Valhalla

In my recent interview with Thierry Noel, historian and inspirational content advisor of the Editorial Research Unit on Assassin's Creed Valhalla, he explained to me that the way the development team were able to fill in the gaps of Viking history to create a believable game world was to consult with experts. That's all very well and good, I said to myself – garnering odd looks from my family around the dinner table – but how do even those experts fill the historical gaps? If we have very few historical records about the interactions between Vikings and Anglo-Saxons in 9th Century England, then surely that's it, right? We know what we know, how do we think we know something that happened without even knowing for sure it happened? Things were getting uncomfortably philosophical in my brain, so I decided to have a chat with Ryan Lavelle – Professor of Early Medieval History at the University of Winchester and consultant on Assassin's Creed Valhalla – to find out how you research a historical era when there's precious little record to research.

Ryan, I discovered, was an extremely affable chap, after briefly discussing our children's Lego collections and his penchant for guitar strumming, I thought I'd get stuck in with some questions. First off, being a historical consultant on Assassin's Creed Valhalla, what exactly did that entail? "My role was basically as a small cog in the big machine" Ryan humbly responded, "I came in at the inspiration stage when the team came to various locations associated with the Viking age, on this magical mystery tour they were doing from Norway, to York and then on to the Wessex league of the tour, where I was the go-to person for the King Alfred elements."

"I met with them at Stonehenge" Ryan continued, "and then went on to some other locations in Wessex. They were travelling in two minibuses – very nice minibuses actually – it was kind of a rolling seminar for two days. I was faced with lots of questions from different members of the team. "What would King Alfred be eating for his dinner" kind of thing. Then they headed off with that information and that inspiration. I gather that other experts were brought in at other stages to ask about language and things like that. My role was as the initial contact."

My journalistic intuition told me that I should follow-up this enquiry and ask "what would King Alfred actually eat for his tea"? But I got distracted and forgot, so we may never know the answer to that question. I really hope the answer would have been burnt griddle cakes. Man, how I want that legend to be true. Anyway, instead, I asked him what questions the development team were asking him during their magical mystery tour? "They were interested in things like life in the courts, questions about "what would a Witan be like?", the Anglo-Saxon council for example, lots of questions about King Alfred's life -". Wait a minute. My journalism sense started tingling. Here was the chance to ask if the burnt cake story was true! I blurted out an interruption to ask the most pressing question of the entire interview; "Is it true?" I stammered, vaguely incoherently, "did King Alfred really burn those cakes?"

Ryan responded with a laugh (though I like to think he was a little taken aback by my insightful questioning style); "Is it true? I like to think it was. It's a story that develops in the Anglo-Saxon period, so it's not something that was invented by the Victorians – though the Victorians love that story. It's something that was told within a couple of generations of Alfred's lifetime so there's a kind of currency to it. So it's recorded in an early medieval source basically." I'm taking that as a yes.

I suppose I should move on now and actually get into the nitty-gritty; how does a historian tell the history of a period in which there are so few written records? After all, there are so many possibilities of what could have happened, where do you even start? "I think you have to have a lot of information to be a historian of this period," Ryan told me, "there's a historian from Oxford University called James Campbell who died a few years ago, he was effectively eluding to the dangers of historians being quiet men with little imagination. The need to try to fill in those gaps of the possibilities, we have our reference points, we've got the dates, we've got some places, and we've got to try to fill in the landscape between."

"For me, working as a historian of early medieval England, we do have the doomsday book as a record. In the late 11th century the doomsday book provides a record of lots of different estates across England and the sizes of those estates and then if we cross-reference them back to the evidence of documents from the 9th and 10th century then we're able to piece things together. This must have been an important place, how many miles are there between this estate to the next, how many miles would it take to travel those distances. It then becomes possible to piece together the life of the court from that and the reference points of the landscape itself."

That must help with finding out about the elites who owned all these estates and were part of the court, but how do find out about everyone else? "Research is often on the elites, the political elites of court culture, the society of people who could get things written down about them. In some ways, a lot of what I research on are the ways that those with power held onto it and those without tried to contest that power. In some ways, I suppose the work I do is part of the problem. There is evidence of ordinary people in work, what ordinary people have to do. The doomsday book provides us with evidence of the lives of ordinary people and work they had to do and the very hierarchical nature of the society that people had to negotiate. I think there is evidence that the elite within society tried to keep the barriers up to prevent people from moving through society."

"In the later part of the Viking age," Ryan continued "there was a real concern that there would be social mobility due to people acting as Vikings within themselves. There was an archbishop of York in the early 11th century who complained that if a slave should become a Viking and should kill their master as a result of the upheaval from Viking attacks then what would happen to society? People wouldn't know their place. In some way, the Viking invasions created huge disorder but for some people, it may have created opportunities to be free as well."

So, to wrap up, I asked Ryan if there are any Anglo-Saxon stereotypes or myths that he hopes Assassin's Creed Valhalla will shatter for its players? "The idea of the Anglo-Saxons being this society of free peasant farmers, this peasant commonwealth, is this Victorian myth. And the idea that the army of Alfred would be setting out to war with their pitchforks against the Vikings was a bit of a myth. Looking at the representation of the armies of the West Saxons in AC Valhalla I didn't see any pitchforks! I hope they're a bit more on par with the Vikings in that sense. Warrior identity for many different groups in the early middle ages was something of an aristocratic identity. So the idea of armies consisting of peasants is a bit of a myth."

"I think the other thing" Ryan concluded, "is the diversity of many groups of people is important to bear in mind for the early middle ages. These are people that moved around to many different places. There's lots of different cultural influences travelling around in the early middle ages too."

Based on this fascinating research and insight, we can see why the game world of Assassins Creed Valhalla is often quite different from our expectations of this period of history. With every twist and turn of Valhalla's immense narrative and each step through its expansive world, we can see the influence of Ryan and his fellow historian's research, and it's part of why the Assassin's Creed franchise remains an unmissable and essential part of the gaming landscape.

Puzzle Quest 3 will be a free to play title launching this year

505 Games has confirmed the development of Puzzle Quest 3, and also stated that the third game in the mainline franchise will be a free to play title across multiple platforms including PC and mobile. Puzzle Quest 2 was released back in 2010 so people have been waiting for a while for this next game. In terms of story Puzzle Quest 3 will be set 500 years after the events of the first Puzzle Quest game, and will feature a 1v1 battle system in a 3D environment.

Steve Fawkner, CEO and Creative Lead at Infinity Plus Two, said:

"After an overwhelming demand from fans over the past decade for the next installment of Puzzle Quest, we're thrilled to finally reveal the development of Puzzle Quest 3. The vision for this latest project has been years in the making, and like any good Puzzle Quest game, it's a delicate balance of gameplay, story, and strategic puzzle-solving while introducing something unexpected that will appeal to both old and new fans. We can't wait to share PQ3."

Clive Robert, Head of Free-to-Play at 505 Games, said

"Puzzle Quest defined the puzzle-RPG genre, creating a beloved franchise with a rich heritage that continues to resonate with a player base of millions globally today. The work that Steve and his team have done to reintroduce the franchise as a F2P experience across multiple platforms will undoubtedly reinvent the puzzle genre once again. As a unified publishing and dev team, we've created a path for the franchise that puts the player first so we can best serve our growing community."

It has been stated that Puzzle Quest 3 will add new elements to the series, updating some of the features from the previous games, including the improved battle system.

Source: Press Release

I Saw Black Clouds is the next interactive thriller from Wales Interactive

Wales Interactive has announced its next interactive thriller and it is called I Saw Black Clouds. I Saw Black Clouds is a psychological and supernatural thriller that has come about from a partnership between Wales Interactive and Ghost Dog Films. The title has been confirmed for PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One with PS5 and Xbox Series X|S release coming at a later date, though with backwards compatibility you can still play the the PS4 and Xbox One versions on the new consoles.

The story of I Saw Black Clouds follows Kristina, played by Nicole O'Neill who has been in Penny Dreadful and Red Sparrow, as she returns home to learn the truth of her friend's death. Each choice made will lead to different outcomes as the title features a branching storyline, much like Wales Interactive's other interactive movies. Krisitina's personality is tracked through each choice with her honesty, strength, morality, tact and introspection all being tracked throughout. Features include:

  • Real-time Relationship Status Tracking that influences the story as you play.
  • Real-time Personality Trait Tracking that evolves based on your choices.
  • Unlockable features include a Skip Scene and Personality Assessment feature.
  • Featuring a Streamer Mode that pauses the choices for audience participation during live streams.

The last title from Wales Interactive was Maid of Sker, and in our review Steve wrote:

Maid of Sker is a great addition to the survival horror genre and offers a wonderfully intimate and local threat that takes its influences from Welsh folktales. Eschewing the combat and weaponry of many entries into the genre, its gameplay loop of sneaking and hiding proves compelling and successfully manages to keep you feeling in danger at all times. When you add in some excellent sound design and atmosphere you have a Victorian horror that deserves a rousing reception. There may not be a welcome in these valleys but this is one vacation that genre fans should have no reservations about taking.
Source: Press Release

Immortals Fenyx Rising and Blood of Zeus limited time event is currently live

Ubisoft and Netflix have come together to create a crossover quest in Immortals Fenyx Rising based on the Netflix show Blood of Zeus. This event is currently live and will be running until January 28th, and when it is over that is it. In this crossover event a new quest called "A Tribute to the Family" is available pitting Fenyx against two new creatures. Those are Chimera and Cerberus from Blood of Zeus. When the quest is completed players earn a new Eagle pendant, and other character items to customise Fenyx with.

Players also have the options to purchase weapons and character packs based on Blood of Zeus. These packs include themed skins for the sword, axe and bow. The character pack, includes Blood of Zeus–themed armour, helmet, wings, mount, and phoenix companion. Unlike the "A Tribute to the Family" quest these character packs will be available to buy at any time, so need to rush and panic buy the packs if you want the items in them. In our review for Immortals Fenyx Rising, I wrote:

Putting the obvious parallels to one side, Immortals Fenyx Rising is a thoroughly enjoyable game. The main character is very likeable, and the humour between the characters is great, while the Golden Isle looks fantastic and is filled with content without also feeling overwhelming. It takes a while for the combat to grow, and the end portion of the game drags on, but if you want a fun and compact open world game then Immortals Fenyx Rising is well worth playing.
You can read the full review here.
Source: Press Release

King of Fighters XV newest trailer focuses on Meitenkun

SNK Corporation has released a brand new trailer for King of Fighters XV, and the focus of it is the character Meitenkun.The footage shows the rather tired fighter unleash some powerful moves against his opponent while keeping his pillow close. The footage also gives a bit of a better look at the gameplay style of King of Fighters XV, compared to the previous trailer which gave quick looks at the characters K', Kyo Kusanagi, Leona, Shun'ei, Mai Shiranui, and Benimaru.

King of Fighters XV was first announced back at EVO 2019, right at the end of the final day of the fighting tournament. The last outing, King of Fighters XIV, released nearly three years ago and was a quiet success for the developer. At the time we handed it a 7/10, saying that "as a new entry in the series that pushes it into uncharted territory, King of Fighters XIV is an admirable effort. Boasting a huge roster, accessible action and smooth gameplay, there's a lot to like, but the mediocre transition to 3D and inconsistent netcode hold it back from greatness."

However, SNK went on to improve the whole experience, including releasing an enhanced graphics pack that made some much needed improvements to the visuals, as well as regular additions in the shape of costume packs and DLC characters. It'll be interesting to see what direction they go for with XV, especially in terms of graphics, as XIV's divisive move to 3D created technical challenges for the team as well as alienating some of their fans. Hopefully, King of Fighters XV will be a much better initial experience and give a better first impression than that of its predecessor.

King of Fighters XV is expected to release this year, but platforms are yet to be confirmed. SNK has stated there will be more information next week.

Source: YouTube

Something for the Weekend – 23/01/21

January and 2021 are starting to pick up a little momentum, with the release of Hitman 3, details on Resident Evil Village and more. With another frigid weekend, it's also another perfect reason (as if you needed one) to stay in side and play more games!

But first, our quick round up of the weekly goings on at TSA and around the games industry.

In the News This Week

Games in Review

The first big release of the year is here, so how does IO Interactive's trilogy-ending game Hitman 3 shape up? And what else is worth playing from our review slate?

And we had a single bit of gaming kit on the review bench as well:

Final VR3000 Gaming Earphones – 8/10

Featured Articles

With Resident Evil Village's stream, we had Reubenrank every Resident Evil spinoff game from worst to best, and thenrank every main Resident Evil  game from worst to bestas well.

I dove into Ride 4 on PlayStation 5, taking in the leap forward in terms of resolution and performance on the new generation of consoles, as well as analysing the multi-faceted, but rather subtle adaptive trigger and haptic feedback usage.

Miguel ventured into Everspace 2 in Early Access, calling it "the loot 'n shoot space game you need in your life," while Steve described Edge of Eternity as "the closest thing to a new Final Fantasy you'll play this year."

And with the lockdown still in full force, Dom took a look at how to stay fit in lockdown with Oculus Quest and VR gaming.

What We Played rounded things out, as usual, with Hitman 3, Warframe and Persona 5 Strikers.

Trailer Park

Resident Evil Village is out this May, here's the announcement trailer

Apex Legends Season 8 – Mayhem introduces Fuse on 2nd February

Squirrel surveillance game Nuts launches on PC and Switch next month

Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One FAQ reveals game length, cases and more about the open world detective game

Your Achievements

Here's what you in our community has been up to this week:

  • MrYd has had a packed weekend, with more Star Wars Squadrons and Hunt: Showdown sprinkled alongside finishing off The Last of Us Part II, and sneaking his way through Hitman 3 (and in PSVR!).
  • Watchful only had some time for a few short sessions in Destiny 2.
  • Having bought it months ago, willbuchanan played some Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney trilogy, and moved on to Far Cry New Dawn after finishing 5. He's also dusted off Everybody's Golf on Vita and is eyeing up what games he can play to go from 96 platinum trophies to 100. Any suggestions?
  • Recovering from a bout of flu, Crazy_Del opened up AC Valhalla on PS5 and snagged a second platinum trophy to go with his PS4 one, then blitzed Maneater on PS4 for another twofer platinum, and started the Mafia Trilogy. Flu didn't slow him down much, did it?
  • TSBonyman has enjoyed Yoku's Island Express and Unravel 2 after snapping them up in the sale.
  • And Andrewww has been working his way through Resident Evil 2 as Leon, and is already looking forward to replaying it with Claire.

And with all of that caught up on, I'll let you crack on with your weekends! Have fun at home, stay safe if and when you're not, and we'll see you next week.

Resident Evil – we rank every game from worst to best

The 25th Anniversary of Resident Evil is looming, Capcom's recent showcase stream giving us more details about the upcoming Resident Evil: Village as well as its free multiplayer add-on, Resident Evil Re:Verse, and more. This huge celebration inspired us to look back over the the series and rank every one of the Resident Evil games from worst to best.

Previously we ranked all of the Resident Evil spinoff titles, this article focused purely on those mainline/numbered instalments. We'll be charting the series from its 1996 debut all the way up to last year's Resident Evil 3 Remake. Let's begin…

14 – Resident Evil 6 | 2012

This one's an odd beast, Resi 6 split into four campaigns with each following a series veteran and their newcomer sidekicks. Some of these campaigns are… good. Let's be fair, the first half of Leon's is excellent, and the last third of Chris's is good too, but the overall package is lacklustre and the focus on action over horror was so unbearably blatant throughout. Perhaps its biggest contribution was forcing Capcom to perform a massive u-turn, steering the franchise back on track with Resident Evil 7.

13 – Resident Evil | 1996

Here it is, the beginning of a survival horror icon! It isn't that the original Resident Evil is bad – in fact I still jump in to play it from time to time – but it just cannot hold a candle to what followed thereafter. The first experience we had with the S.T.A.R.S. Alpha Team still holds strong today despite its wonky animations and wonkier dialogue. Resident Evil forged a legacy that cannot be taken down easily (unless you go for the head).

12 – Resident Evil Zero | 2002

The premise here was great, playing as one of the S.T.A.R.S. Bravo Team on their ill-fated mission before the mansion incident played out in the first game. But why did this have to be Rebecca? I love the character, don't get me wrong, but it makes zero sense that she lost so much competence between 0 and 1. Also, although the character switching mechanic was another good idea, it mostly led to frustration in practice. Billy deserves a comeback though.

11 – Resident Evil 5 | 2009

After the more action focused play brought to the series by RE4, the fifth main instalment dropped the pretence of horror entirely for something more akin to a blockbuster. Joining the intensely beefy Chris with new partner Sheva in Africa for some jolly co-op fun, Resident Evil 5 just didn't quite hit the mark, despite some fantastic moments of gameplay and story. Let's be honest though, if we were to re-order this list based on boulder punching, this would win. Fists down.

10 – Resident Evil: Revelations | 2012

It genuinely pained me to have to put this one so low on the list, because I love so much about it from the setting, to the characters, to the even more dumb than average RE story. Also, at the time this released, we had been starved of a true survival horror experience for some time. However, the attempt to splice together the more action-based latter games with the claustrophobic horror of the classics didn't quite work… this time.

9 – Resident Evil 3 Remake | 2020

Although this might not be the best of the remakes on this list, Resident Evil 3 still managed to be a tense and enjoyable romp through Raccoon City. Picking up after the original game with Jill Valentine, we get to play through her escape from the city once more with far more detail and scares. Nemesis is a legitimate and hounding threat here, and if only so much content hadn't been cut from the original, this remake would rank far higher.

8 – Resident Evil: Revelations 2 | 2015

The second in the Revelation series is, to be honest, a revelation. Taking the ideas of the first but adding excellently-realised co-op was an inspired decision, allowing the character duos tp compliment each other with strengths and weaknesses instead of their functionally being the same like with RE5. Also, the characters in this game were phenomenal, bringing back Claire and Barry and matching them with great newcomers. In fact, this game deserves this spot based on Moira Burton alone.

7 – Resident Evil – CODE: Veronica | 2000

Finally in the top half, and kicking off with this gem. The jump to PS2 brought Claire back for a ride through a prison facility owned by the reclusive Ashford family. There were a lot of improvements made for this game with fantastic lighting and an actually useful combat knife for once, but it had one huge drawback – Steve Burnside. This whiny cretin ruined almost every scene and moment he was included in and Claire deserved a far better companion.

6 – Resident Evil 3: Nemesis | 1999

The last of the original PlayStation trilogy and what a way to go out, acting as both a prequel and sequel to the events of Resident Evil 2. Back in the shoes (and comfortable skirt and jumper combo) of Jill Valentine as she makes her last escape from Raccoon City, all the while being pursued by the relentless Nemesis. This game was much alike the previous titles but with a neat little evade manoeuvre and ammo crafting thrown in. Exceptional polygonal scares.

5 – Resident Evil 4 | 2005

Here's where it all changed. I don't personally think this game is Miyazaki's magnum opus of the series (that comes later), but RE4 changed the trajectory of Resident Evil forever. Bringing back Leon, with a new smart attitude and a far better job, to essentially massacre an entire Spanish village and the surrounding areas. Resident Evil 4 was funny, tense, gory, and almost perfect in its execution. In fact, it's only flaws were having as many QTEs and the need to constantly babysit Ashley.

4 – Resident Evil 7: Biohazard | 2017

The beloved return to form for the series, bringing back the survival horror and switching to a first person perspective for added spooks. RE7 follows most unlucky man in the world, Ethan, as he attempts to find his lost wife on the dilapidated Baker Estate in rural Louisiana. Heavy on the scares, with a tremendously tense atmosphere and enough gore to please the Jigsaw Killer, Resident Evil 7 graduated with first class nopes from Big Nope University and we love it for it.

3 – Resident Evil 2 Remake | 2019

Being a fan of the original, my excitement matched other fan's when this was confirmed to be happening on a livestream back in 2015. Using the incredible RE Engine developed for RE7, we knew we were in for a treat and a treat we got. A visceral, brutal, disgusting treat. Changing just enough to keep veterans on their toes and turning Mr. X into a constant, stomping presence, this remake was an absolute triumph. However, it still isn't Capcom's best remake…

2 – Resident Evil Remake | 2002

…This is. A full ground up remake of the original title that improved on every facet of it, from the dialogue to visuals to gameplay. The jolly through the unnecessarily complex mansion has never been so fun or terrifying. Like the remake of 2, this game changed just enough to ruin a veteran's muscle memory. Resident Evil Remake is absolute masterclass in survival horror, Mikami's magnum opus, and possibly one of the best executed remakes of all time.

1 – Resident Evil 2 | 1998

The sequel to the hugely popular Resident Evil had to knock it out of the park to continue the franchise and oh boy did it. Shifting the action from a claustrophobic mansion to the wider city and RCPD Police Station, RE2 upped the ante in every way. Furthermore, it introduced us to Leon and Claire, two of the best characters in the whole franchise. This may be my bias coming through, but I honestly couldn't care less, this game is the perfect sequel and one of my favourite games of all time.

So that's the ranking of the mainline titles, what did you think? Where do you think the tall vampire lady simulator that is Resident Evil Village will rank among the series? Let us know in the comments.

Epic add sci-fi strategy sequel to their free games list

Epic Games are giving away a free copy of Galactic Civilizations III to everyone, from now until Thursday, January 28th 2021.

This follows on from last week's freebie, Star Wars: Battlefront II. The EA-published shooter sequel saw a huge influx of new players which led to a number of server issues.

Galactic Civilizations III may not be quite as an iconic name in the realm of sci-fi yet it promises a rich "4X" PC strategy experience. Here's the official blurb:

Build a civilization that will stand the test of time! Choose from dozens of unique races and make a name for yourself across the galaxy through diplomacy, espionage, technological advances, and more.

Next week, Epic will be adding indie favourite Dandara. You'll be able to get your hands on the game's beefed up Trials of Fear edition from next Thursday.

You can view a full list of every free Epic games below, complete with dates of availability, and reviews plucked from our archive.

Epic Games store free games list

Game Name Dates Available
Star Wars Battlefront II January 14-21, 2021
Crying Suns January 7-14, 2021
Jurassic World: Evolution December 31, 2020-January 7, 2021
Torchlight II December 30
Solitairica December 29
Stranded Deep December 28
Night in the Woods December 27
My Time At Portia December 26
Darkest Dungeon December 25
Inside December 24
Tropico 5 December 23
Metro 2033 Redux December 22
Alien: Isolation December 21, 2020
Defense Grid: The Awakening December 20, 2020
The Long Dark December 19 , 2020
Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty December 18, 2020
Cities Skylines December 17, 2020
Pillars of Eternity December 10-17, 2020
Tyranny December 10-17, 2020
Cave Story+ December 3-10, 2020
MudRunner November 26-December 3, 2020
Elite: Dangerous November 19-26, 2020
The World Next Door November 19-26, 2020
The Textorcist: The Story of Ray Bibbia November 12-19, 2020
Dungeons 3 November 12-19, 2020
Wargame: Red Dragon November 5-12, 2020
Ghostbusters The Video Game – Remastered October 29-November 5, 2020
Blair Witch October 29-November 5, 2020
Layers of Fear 2 October 22-29, 2020
Costume Quest 2 October 22-29, 2020
Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs October 15-22, 2020
Kingdom New Lands October 15-22, 2020
Rising Storm 2: Vietnam October 8-15, 2020
ABZU October 8-15, 2020
Pikuniku October 1-8, 2020
Rollercoaster Tycoon 3: Complete Edition September 24-October 1, 2020
Football Manager 2020 September 17-24, 2020
Watch Dogs 2 September 17-24, 2020
Stick It To The Man! September 17-24, 2020
Railway Empire September 10-17, 2020
Where The Water Tastes Like Wine September 10-17, 2020
Into The Breach September 3-10, 2020
Hitman August 27-September 3, 2020
Shadowrun Collection August 27-September 3, 2020
God's Trigger August 20-27, 2020
Enter the Gungeon August 20-27, 2020
The Alto Collection August 13-20, 2020
Remnant: From the Ashes August 13-20, 2020
A Total War Saga: Troy August 13-14, 2020
Wilmot's Warehouse August 6-13, 2020
Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP July 30 – August 6, 2020
Barony July 30 – August 6, 2020
20XX July 30 – August 6, 2020
Next Up Hero July 23-30, 2020
Tacoma July 23-30, 2020
Torchlight II July 16-23, 2020
Lifeless Planet: Premier Edition July 9-16, 2020
The Escapists 2 July 9-16, 2020
Killing Floor 2 June 9-16, 2020
Hue July 2-9, 2020
Stranger Things 3 June 25-July 2, 2020
AER Memories of Old June 18-25, 2020
Ark: Survival Evolved June 11-18, 2020
Samurai Shodown NeoGeo Collection June 11-18, 2020
Overcooked June 4-11, 2020
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection May 28-June 4, 2020
Civilization VI May 21-28, 2020
Grand Theft Auto V May 14-21, 2020
Death Coming May 7-14, 2020
Crashlands April 30-May 7, 2020
Amnesia: The Dark Descent April 30-May 7, 2020
For the King April 23-30, 2020
Just Cause 4 April 16-23, 2020
Wheels of Aurelia April 16-23, 2020
Sherlock Holmes: Crimes and Punishments April 9-16, 2020
Close to the Sun April 9-16, 2020
Gone Home April 2-9, 2020
Drawful 2 April 2-9, 2020
Hob April 2-9, 2020
Totally Reliable Delivery Service April 1-8, 2020
World War Z March 26-April 2, 2020
Torment x Punisher March 26-April 2, 2020
Figment March 26-April 2, 2020
Watch Dogs March 19-26, 2020
The Stanley Parable March 19-26, 2020
A Short Hike March 12-19, 2020
Mutazione March 12-19, 2020
Anodyne 2 March 12-19, 2020
Gonner March 5-12, 2020
Offworld Trading Company March 5-12, 2020
Inner Space February 27-March 5, 2020
Faeria February 20-27, 2020
Assassin's Creed Syndicate February 20-27, 2020
Aztez February 13-20, 2020
Kingdom Come: Deliverance February 13-20, 2020
Ticket to Ride February 6-13, 2020
Carcassonne February 6-13, 2020
Farming Simulator 19 January 30-February 6, 2020
The Bridge January 23-30, 2020
Horace January 16-23, 2020
Sundered: Eldritch Edition January 9-16, 2020
Darksiders Warmastered Edition January 1-9, 2020
Darksiders 2 Dethinitive Edition January 1-9, 2020
Steep January 1-9, 2020
Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair December 31, 2019
Hello Neighbor December 30, 2019
The Talos Principle December 29, 2019
Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun December 28, 2019
Hyper Light Drifter December 27, 2019
FTL: Faster Than Light December 26, 2019
Totally Accurate Battle Simulator December 25, 2019
Celeste December 24, 2019
Ape Out December 23, 2019
Little Inferno December 22, 2019
Superhot December 21, 2019
Towerfall Ascension December 20, 2019
Into the Breach December 19, 2019
The Wolf Among Us December 12-19, 2019
The Escapists December 12-19, 2019
Jotun: Valhalla Edition December 6-12, 2019
Rayman Legends November 29-December 6, 2019
Bad North November 21-29, 2019
The Messenger November 14-21, 2019
Ruiner November 7-14, 2019
Nuclear Throne November 7-14, 2019
Costume Quest October 31-November 7, 2019
Soma October 31-November 7, 2019
Layers of Fear October 24-October 31, 2019
Q.U.B.E.2 October 24-October 31, 2019
Alan Wake: American Nightmare October 17-24, 2019
Observer October 17-24, 2019
Surviving Mars October 10-17, 2019
Minit October 3-10, 2019
Metro 2033 Redux September 26-October 3, 2019
Everything September 26-October 3, 2019
Lego Batman Trilogy September 19-26, 2019
Batman: Arkham Collection September 19-26, 2019
Conarium September 12-19, 2019
ABZU September 5-12, 2019
The End is Nigh September 5-12, 2019
Celeste August 29-September 5, 2019
Inside August 29-September 5, 2019
Fez August 22-29, 2019
Hyper Light Drifter August 15-22, 2019
Mutant Year Zero: Road to Eden August 15-22, 2019
GNOG August 8-15, 2019
For Honor August 2-9, 2019
Alan Wake August 2-9, 2019
This War of Mine July 25-August 2, 2019
Moonlighter July 25-August 2, 2019
Limbo July 18-July 25, 2019
Torchlight July 11-18, 2019
Overcooked July 4-11, 2019
Last Day of June June 27-July 4, 2019
Rebel Galaxy June 20-27, 2019
Enter the Gungeon June 13-20, 2019
Kingdom: New Lands June 6-13, 2019
City of Brass May 30-6, 2019
Rime May 23-30, 2019
Stories Untold May 16-23, 2019
World of Goo May 2-16, 2019
Transistor April 18-May 2, 2019
The Witness April 4-18, 2019
Oxenfree March 21-April 4, 2019
Slime Rancher March 7-21, 2019
Thimbleweed Park February 21-March 7, 2019
Axiom Verge February 7-21, 2019
The Jackbox Party Pack January 24-February 7, 2019
What Remains of Edith Finch January 11-24, 2019
Super Meat Boy December 28, 2018-January 10, 2019
Subnautica December 12-27, 2018

If none of those games take your fancy then there are plenty of free-to-play alternatives and discounted titles also available on Epic. Some of our F2P faves are there including Rocket League, Dauntless, and of course, Fortnite.

Source: Epic Games

Update: Microsoft cancel Xbox Live Gold price hike, will remove requirement for free-to-play online games

Update 23/01: The swift backlash to Microsoft's announce Xbox Live Gold price hike has seen Microsoft reverse their position and actually make a change for the better. There will now be no change to the current price structure, as of last July, and in addition, you will no longer need Xbox Live Gold in order to play free-to-play games like Fortnite, Rocket League and others online. Microsoft will make the change in the coming months

This is a great U-turn following a serious misstep by the company. The move would have doubled the price of Xbox Live Gold per year, and while you still can't buy a 12 month subscription for $59.99 on the Microsoft Store, it's available at retail.

Here's their statement:

We messed up today and you were right to let us know. Connecting and playing with friends is a vital part of gaming and we failed to meet the expectations of players who count on it every day. As a result, we have decided not to change Xbox Live Gold pricing.

We're turning this moment into an opportunity to bring Xbox Live more in line with how we see the player at the center of their experience. For free-to-play games, you will no longer need an Xbox Live Gold membership to play those games on Xbox. We are working hard to deliver this change as soon as possible in the coming months.

If you are an Xbox Live Gold member already, you stay at your current price for renewal. New and existing members can continue to enjoy Xbox Live Gold for the same prices they pay today. In the US, $9.99 for 1-month, $24.99 for 3-months, $39.99 for 6-months and $59.99 for retail 12-months.

Thank you.

The original article follows:

Microsoft have announced a price hike for Xbox Live Gold, their subscription service which enables online multiplayer on Xbox consoles and also bundles in monthly free games with Games with Gold. The price hike is such that Xbox Live Gold will now cost you twice as much per year than PlayStation Plus.

The price of a 1 month Gold membership is increasing by $1 USD to $10.99, while a 3 month membership is jumping up by $5 USD to $29.99, and a 6 month option will be offered at a flat $59.99. This price hike will roll out to many countries around the world, but regional pricing has yet to be revealed.

There's a bit of a freeze for existing subscribers, thankfully, with 12-month and 6-month members able to renew at the current prices. You have 45 days after you receive an email and a message centre notification on Xbox before the changes come into effect for those subscribers.

Microsoft justify the change saying "In many markets, the price of Xbox Live Gold has not changed for years and in some markets, it hasn't changed for over 10 years."

However, all of this comes after Microsoft decided to remove the 12 month and 24 month subscription options from the Microsoft Store last summer. Up until that point the 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscription cost $59.99. Now, just half a year later, Microsoft will charge the same $59.99 for a 6 month subscription. They've effectively doubled the price for a large number of their users – as a get out, you can still pick up 12 month subscriptions at retail, but these could quite easily disappear.

That's especially galling when PlayStation Plus is still 1 month for $9.99, 3 months for $24.99 and 12 months for $59.99, offering an equivalent online service and arguably featuring better, more valuable selections of free games each month.

Of course, this is all a push to get more people to upsell to Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, which bundles in a large library of games together with online multiplayer for $14.99 per month – without multi-month discount bundles. You can still do a straight upgrade  from Live Gold to Game Pass Ultimate, converting an existing subscription 1:1 when signing up for Ultimate, with a limit of up to 3 years. It's a mightily appealing option, but then that's why Microsoft are being so aggressive with the price of Gold.

While Game Pass is often touted as being a fantastic deal for gamers, we've also got to be plain and to the point about the other half of Microsoft's business: Xbox Live Gold is now a very bad deal.

Source: Xbox

Cyberpunk 2077 patch 1.1 is now out across all formats, here are the notes

Hurray, Cyberpunk 2077 has been patched! I'm sure they fixed lots of bugs, lets have a look the notes.. "In this update we focused on various stability improvements."

Oh.

Thankfully they have fixed a few bugs, a grand total of thirteen. Here are the notes.

In this update we focused on various stability improvements, which you can find outlined in the patch notes below. We will continue this work in patch 1.2 and other upcoming updates. At the same time we will keep fixing the bugs you encounter and listening to your feedback on how to improve the overall game experience.

Stability

Various stability improvements including:

  • Memory usage improvements in various systems within the game: characters, interactions, navigation, in-game videos (news, tv, etc.), foliage, laser effects, minimap, devices, AI, street traffic, environmental damage system, GPU-related, and more.
  • Various crash fixes (related to, among others, loading saves, game opening/closing and Point of No Return).

Quests/Open World

  • Fixed an issue where calls from Delamain would end immediately and seem like they cannot be picked up in Epistrophy.
  • Fixed an issue where players would not receive calls from Delamain when approaching relevant vehicles in Epistrophy.
  • Fixed an issue where the objective could get stuck on "Answer the call from Mr. Hands" in M'ap Tann Pèlen.
  • Fixed an issue where Judy could teleport underground in Pyramid Song.
  • Fixed an issue where it would be impossible to talk to Zen Master in Poem of The Atoms.
  • Fixed an issue where Takemura wouldn't call in Down on the Street.
  • Fixed an issue where Jackie could disappear in The Pickup.
  • Fixed an issue where it could be impossible to get out of the car in The Beast in Me: The Big Race.
  • Fixed an issue where players could stop receiving calls and messages after moving too far away from A Day In The Life area.
  • Fixed an issue where opening the package wouldn't update Space Oddity.
  • Retro-fixed the saves affected by a rare issue where speaking to Judy in Automatic Love would be impossible due to an invisible wall. The underlying issue is under investigation.
  • Fixed an issue that prevented players from collecting the reward in Gig: Freedom of the Press. The quest will auto-complete for those who could not collect the reward previously, and the reward will be provided automatically.
  • Fixed an issue where Delamain would remain silent throughout Epistrophy if the player initially refused to help him.

UI

  • Fixed an issue where prompt for exiting braindance could be missing.
  • Removed an invalid item from loot.

Visual

  • Fixed an issue where a grenade's trajectory could be displayed in photo mode.
  • Fixed particles' hue appearing pink when viewed close up.
  • Fixed cars spawning incorrectly in Reported Crime: Welcome to Night City.

Achievements

  • Fixed an issue where completing one of theassaults in progress in Santo Domingo would sometimes not contribute towards progression for The Jungle achievement, preventing its completion.

Miscellaneous 

  • Addressed the issue responsible for saves getting oversized (related to the modifier indicating if the item is crafted), and trimmed the excess size from already existing saves (note: this won't fix PC save files corrupted before 1.06 update).
  • Fixed an issue where input could stop registering upon opening the weapon wheel and performing an action.
  • Fixed an issue where the "Continue" button in the Main Menu could load an end game save.

PlayStation-specific

  • Performance optimization of crowds on PlayStation 4 Pro and PlayStation 5.
  • Various crash fixes on PlayStation 4.

Xbox-specific

  • Improved memory usage for character creation, mirrors, scanning, camera remote control, menus (inventory, map) on Xbox One, Xbox One X and Xbox One S.

PC-specific

  • It will now be possible to obtain achievements while in Steam offline mode. Note: Offline mode needs to be enabled before starting the game. This change does not work retroactively.
  • Addressed the game startup crashes related to loading cache on NVIDIA graphics cards.

Stadia-specific

  • Concert audio should no longer be inaudible in Never Fade Away.
  • Fixed corrupted textures on several melee weapons.
  • Tweaked default deadzone settings to be more responsive. Note: the change will not affect settings unless they're set to default.

Source: Cyberpunk.net

What We Played #482 – Hitman 3, Warframe and Persona 5 Strikers

Another week in the bag, and January is gradually creeping along. Probably even slower than normal thanks to an overall lack of this place known as 'outside'. Still, 'outside' doesn't have as many consoles to play, so we've been getting some good chunks of gaming in while at home.

I finished Breath of the Wild off so that I could truly dive into Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, but really, I just want to start BOTW again. It's still one of the greatest games of all time. Aside from that, there's been more Warframe, more Hivebusters, some Hitman 3 when it was working, and some more Wipeout 2048 on my brand new (to me) Japanese PS Vita. There's almost certainly been other stuff, but my son has helped me fall down a Warhammer: Age of Sigmar hole, and now there's Citadel paints everywhere and a burgeoning army of Nighthaunts to play with instead.

Gareth has been playing Cyberpunk, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and Vigor for review. He's been trying to arrange people to play Vigor with but it hasn't happened too often thanks to real life. Aran has also been a digital viking, playing more AC Valhalla. He tells us, "my way is to clear the map of all interest points in each region before embarking on the main quest line. Less distracted that way by the shiny things. I also busted out my Switch to play a bit of Yoshi's Woolly World because I just need a simple game to get lost in. It is a nice little charmer."

Nic B has had a quieter one, focusing on our upcoming Persona 5 Strikers review, with a little Pogo and Magic here and there. Jim, on the other hand, has not, firstly playing his way through Hitman 3 for review, saying, "It's basically more of the same but with some clever twists and refinements, the overarching story being more of a focus. It's been great fun and I've already started diving back into each location, crossing off mastery challenges and finding new ways to dispatch targets.

"Having put it down for a few weeks, I managed to get back into Final Fantasy VI. I'm glad I did as I feel I'm on the home stretch now as I blitz my way to Kefka's Tower. I also played a couple more runs of Shadow of the Colossus. One more and I should have all the trophies!"

Reuben played yet more FFXIV and is trying to level his Weaver so he can get a cute jacket, "Glamours are the true FFXIV endgame", he's also been playing a lot of games with friends this week, finishing Left4Dead 2 together and have moved onto Torchlight II with some Castle Crashers as a palette cleanser.

Another beardy, long haired type, Nick P has been playing AC Valhalla which he's quite enjoying, telling us, "It's the first Assassin's Creed in a long while I've not dropped off after the first few hours." He's also been playing Werewolf The Apocalypse: Earthblood for review, but more on that later.

Steve has continued his Nier prep by playing through Drakengard 2, but "was sensible enough to watch the alternative endings on YouTube rather than grind and grind for them". He then took a trip to pre-deluge Atlantis in VR with Ryte The Eye of Atlantis, saying, "it has some nice puzzles but also some pre-release bugs to iron out. And then I started my review playthrough of The Medium (I think I'm allowed to say that?) about which more will be said next week."

Tuffcub apologised for having returned to Destiny 2 – It's OK TC, we forgive you – while Miguel has had a busy one, playing "Everspace 2 and Atelier Ryza 2 for writin' articles this week, and I've also been wumblin' around in Warzone and Apex Legends and Fortnite. I beat Outer Wilds, too!! Crunchyroll also localized a new mobile game called Princess Connect Re:Dive so ive been messin' around with that."

Finally, Tef overcame Hades on the 41st attempt, breaking his way out of the underworld and onto the surface to savour the game's bittersweet climax… except he needs more completions to uncover more story beats, and now the game wants to make things even harder!

Now then, what on Earth have you played?

Games with Gold February games revealed – Five free games including Gears 5

Microsoft have revealed Xbox Live's Games with Gold for February 2021, featuring a bumper crop of five games next month.

Gears 5 is the headliner, coming as an Xbox Series X|S enhanced title for the first time. It's joined by Resident Evil HD and Dandara as a pair of Xbox One games, while Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb from the original Xbox and Lost Planet 2 from Xbox 360 round out the selection as the pair of backward compatibility games.

There's a lot to like about this selection. Gears 5 gives the long-running series a bit of a shake up, and was a great showcase for what the Xbox One and Xbox One X could do. Updates for Xbox Series X|S have made it look even better heading into the new generation, and with the recently released Hivebusters DLC adding a fresh slice of single player content.

Nick having great things to say in our Gears 5 review:

Gears 5 is a brilliant experience which can be enjoyed alone or with friends in equal measure. It keeps much of the series' core gameplay and feel, but also takes it in some new directions. It's great to see Gears evolving, opening the door for even more positive changes in the future.

Resident Evil HD is a HD remaster of the GameCube remake of the classic, no doubt being dropped into Games with Gold to build up a little extra hype for Resident Evil Village (as if it needed any more). Our Resident Evil HD review said:

If you've played the original Resident Evil inside out, or the Gamecube remake, you know exactly what you're getting with Capcom's shiny re-release. It's a polished update that never strays far from the template, proving just as faithful as it is hardcore. For those looking for a gateway into the series, however, we advise extreme caution, especially if your notions of Resident Evil are based on more recent instalments. Although perfectly playable, it is likely to defy most, if not all, expectations you may have.

You have to feel that Capcom bundled in Lost Planet 2 alongside Resi, while Microsoft must have got on the blower to Lucasfilm Games after hearing that its founding and the new Indiana Jones games in development at Bethesda. As we speculated at the time, that new game would well end up being an Xbox exclusive.

Still, there's a bittersweet feeling to this month's offering. For one thing, Gears 5 is a game that can be found as part of Xbox Game Pass, and then there's the Xbox Live Gold price hike, which is destined to make the baseline subscription for online play a worse deal for users going forward.

Make sure to grab the games currently available through the rest of January:

Source: Xbox

Nacon acquire AO Tennis, Rugby League developer

Nacon have made another big move in the games publishing space, having just made a deal to acquire Australian developer Big Ant Studios. According to GameIndustry.biz, the deal will cost the French publisher up to €35 million, with a starting price of €15 million.

Big Ant Studios was founded in 2001 and has worked on a number of properties over the past two decades. In the 2010s, we saw the Aussie dev pivot towards their growing stable of sports titles, some of which became annualised series. Some sporting names you may recognise include AO Tennis, Rugby League Live, and Ashes Cricket, as well as Casey Powell Lacrosse.

In the past, Nacon has traditionally been a name associated with video game peripherals (many of which we've tested and reviewed over the years). However, in 2020, it was decided that Nacon would merge with publisher BigBen Interactive while using the established Nacon brand.

Following the acquisition of Big Ant Studios, Nacon now have a growing number of development teams under its umbrella. These include Greedfall developer Spiders,  Warhammer: Chaosbane developer EKO Software, and Cyanide who are currently working on Blood Bowl 3 and Werewolf: The Apocalypse – Earthblood which is due to launch in a couple of weeks. Another name gamers will be familiar with is Kylotonn who have spent close to a decade developing racing titles in the WRC series as well as the Isle of Man TT video games.

As we kick off 2021, Nacon now has a fairly diversified portfolio of upcoming games in the pipeline from sports titles and racing sims to dense, story-driven RPGs.

For more on Nacon, here are some of our recent Nacon hardware reviews:

Source: GameIndustry.biz

Resident Evil 7 updated after Resi Showcase event

After last night's Resident Evil Showcase, there's a good chance that many fans are rifling through their backlogs to dig out Resident Evil 7 for another playthrough.

At the same time, those who already have the game installed on consoles will have noticed a new update notification pop up. Capcom have patched the survival horror sequel to version 1.08 (or 1.03 for those playing the Gold Edition).

Sadly, from what we can tell, all that has been added is a new menu option taking players to a store page for Resident Evil Village. If Capcom has slyly added anything else to Resident Evil 7 as part of this new update, we'll be sure to let you know.

The Japanese publisher recently celebrated the Resi franchise's 25th anniversary in style with the Resident Evil Showcase. This broadcast included a handful of announcements with Resident Evil Village having its release date confirmed for May 7th, 2021. Not only that, there's a demo – codenamed "Maiden" – available to download on PlayStation 5. Additionally, Capcom revealed a free multiplayer component for RE8 dubbed "Re:Verse" which will see players compete in online matches while playing as various iconic heroes and villains from the long-running franchise.

It's been almost four years since Resident Evil 7: Biohazard launched on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, marking a critical turning point for the survival horror series. In our review, it scored 8/10:

For them to successfully steer one of their flagships back on track, Capcom has done what many thought was unthinkable. It was less than twelve months ago that the publisher released Umbrella Corps, at which point I – and no doubt many others – were ready to call time on the series. Resident Evil 7 definitely has a handful of weak points, but it's by far the best AAA survival horror game we've seen in quite some time.

We'll have more on Resident Evil Village as approach the game's May launch.

Genshin Impact version 1.3 adds Lantern Rite Chinese New Year festival in February

Genshin impact will be inviting players to celebrate the Chinese New Year in-game in February, with version 1.3 adding the Lantern Rite event to the game and promising a bunch of rewards.

Starting on 3rd February (ahead of Chinese New Year which falls on 12th February in 2021), the Lantern Rite will be celebrated in Liyue Harbor.

Heading to Liyue Harbor and taking part in the tradition will see players rewarded with over 1,600 Primogems, a free four-star Liyue character and other rewards.

You'll have to work for those Primogems, though. Travellers will be asked to help assist in setting up Liyue Harbor for the festivities, the ritual releasing of lanterns on the first full moon of the year. There will be three stages to this, each with a series of request from citizens asking for your help in getting ready. Completing requests will raise the Festive Fever level and unlock more quests and stories.

There's also time for some R&R. During the gala, the streets of Liyue will host festival-exclusive games, snacks and activities. That include Theater Mechanicus, a tower defence game that you can play solo or in co-op, winning Peace Talismans that can be spent at Xiao Market, or other rewards that include the Crown of Insight, new namecards, and so on.

Outside of the festival, you'll be able to pick up a new proposition from Katheryne of the Adventurers' Guild. So long as you have an Adventure RAnk 20, you'll be able to take on "Vishaps and Where to Find Them", which will see you hunt down the dangerous Geovishaps threatening Liyue in return for rewards.

Why Genshin Impact is the most interesting open world game since Breath of the Wild

Genshin Impact was one of our favourite RPGs of 2019 and one that has found a thriving global fanbase. Miguel reviewed the game at launch on PlayStation 4, awarding Genshin Impact an 8 out of 10 – here's what he had to say:

Genshin Impact needs to be played to be believed. This is an addictive open-world adventure with gorgeous art and unique combat…and it's free! The character designs are sharp and beautiful, while the pastel-style world itself is full of jaw-dropping colour and natural vistas…and it's free! Sure, there's the admittedly stingy gacha system, but if you just want an immersive and peaceful world to climb and fly around in for hours, then Genshin Impact is for you.

Source: PS Blog

Edge of Eternity is the closest thing to a new Final Fantasy you'll play this year

With details of Final Fantasy XVI thin on the ground and Final Fantasy VII Remake's second part likely quite some way away, you will likely be looking for an alternative game to give you a Final Fantasy fix in 2021. If you've played through all the earlier titles and are on the hunt for something new, then let me introduce you to Edge of Eternity – a JRPG so drenched in FF tradition that it's the gaming equivalent of I Can't Believe It's Not Butter. Having been in Early Access for over two years now, and been declared a beta since August, its final pre-launch content update has dropped ahead of a release in 2021. I recently dropped in to check out how it's progressing.

If you had to define and refine the core essentials of Final Fantasy you'd probably single out the turn based combat, sweeping storylines, overblown dialogue and pointy hair as the main characteristics. Edge of Eternity contains all of these in spades, with the central protagonist Daryon in particular looking like a Noctis cosplayer. Alongside the obvious influence of Square's long running series, there is also a clear nod to the excellent Xenoblade games. The wide open vistas, the single player MMORPG gameplay, and the central plotline of a battle between machines and humans all feel very familiar.

With this all being said it is clear that Edge of Eternity isn't going to be winning any awards for originality any time soon, but that isn't necessarily a criticism. JRPGs have always been a fairly conservative genre where changes are slow and traditions are upheld.

The recent updates to Edge of Eternity have introduced a more coherent opening section to the game in the form of a prologue that establishes the narrative and introduces many of the mechanics before throwing you into exploring the vast world of Heryon. This is done in time honoured JRPG fashion by providing you with a team of characters with abilities that you will not possess again for many hours and then proceeding to kill most of them off in the name of drama. The problem with this approach, of course, is that the respective characters serve as tutorial devices and you don't really get the chance to become involved in their stories. Consequently their deaths are met with a shrug rather than an emotional response. Once this section is finished though, there is more of an effort to develop characters with some depth, although after finishing Chapter 1 in my 12 hours of play, I still had only Daryon and his priestess sister Selene in my team.

Graphically, Edge of Eternity is a mixed bag. At times it can look spectacular and the visual design of the world is excellent. However, things are less rosy in action, as screen tearing and visual glitches were frequent and some aspects (such as NPC hands) were noticeably of far lower quality than others. There were also a huge number of NPCs and enemies floating 2 feet from the ground which didn't help with immersion, but that's what beta testing is for. Performance remained fairly stable in both open world and town environments which is a positive, but the towns felt quite lifeless with hardly any interactive residents. Music and sound effects are good, with voice acting being mostly passable although battle phrases are repeated far too often (then again, this is also a genre staple).

Exploring the world of Heryon involves navigating a mixture of narrow corridor areas and more open environments. Both of these contain a dizzying amount of collectables and treasure chests to open – although the value of these is often questionable. After a few hours of tinkering with the various levels of equipment, ability crystals and crafting options, I found myself giving up and only occasionally replacing the odd bit of equipment with loot from battles. This aspect is still a work in progress though, so hopefully it will become more engaging and worthwhile by the final release.

Battles are good old-fashioned turn-based affairs with the welcome addition of hex-based grids to offer up more potential for strategy. While the battles are not random they are annoyingly frequent with only a small percentage offering more than a fleeting challenge. I was lucky enough to loot an overpowered sword early on that was one-shotting most enemies for the next few hours, but this only served to highlight how pointless and grindy the combat was. The few more demanding boss fights and unique enemies did display the potential of the systems though, so there is real hope that this can be more carefully balanced.

The storyline confusingly manages to be both epic and low-key. After the introduction of a supposedly imminent cataclysm and a deadly corruption taking over the land, you spend the first 15 hours or so just looking for your sister's mentor and nothing much else happens. Yes, there are subquests and collectathons aplenty, but nothing that feels meaningful.

I will return to the world of Heryon when Edge of Eternity is complete but there is nothing that's dragging me back in its current form. This isn't because it's bad in any way, but it just feels a bit disjointed and I'm hoping that the final polish will improve this. Some stand out battles, nice environments and a bizarre sequence involving a remarkably horny talking flower all point to this being worth looking out for when it's finished, but the investment required doesn't quite pay off in this early form. The small development team at Midgar Studios are committed to a release later this year, so here's hoping that they can fill the impressive world they've created with more life and purpose.

Rainbow Six Siege Y5S4.2 update live with latest map and operator changes

Leaving 2020 in the past, the developers at Ubisoft Montreal are gearing up for yet another strong year of Rainbow Six Siege support. There's a new midseason update available across all platforms – including PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S – that makes a number of map and operator fixes among other game improvements.

This coincides with the return of Siege's "The Road to S.I." event, adding a new time limited playlist to the tactical shooter that is available every weekend leading up to the Six Invitational 2021. This is the biggest event in the Siege esports calendar and will see the best teams from around the world going head to head in Paris next month, adhering to new covid safety restrictions.

The new patch notes for update Y5S4.2 (which will appear on consoles as update version 2.0) can be viewed below, featuring a spread of specific fixes Siege vets will want to scan through.

If you haven't touched Siege in a while then the Road to S.I. 2021 is a good opportunity to dive back in with quicker game rounds and access to all Operators. Ubisoft have also kicked off a Siege crossover event with Ghost Recon Breakpoint which is currently free to play for a limited time.

Gameplay

  • FIXED – Once a PVE session is completed and the "Vote for Retry" button is pressed, after the next PVE session, the "Find Another" button exhibits the same functionality.
  • FIXED – HUD settings applied from the Custom Game playlist are not being applied to the host.

Maps

  • FIXED – Various LOD issues present across a multitude of maps.
  • FIXED – Several gadget deployment issues present on Theme Park, Outback, and Border maps.
  • FIXED – Multiple vault prompt issues present across several maps that either prevent players from properly vaulting or cause rubber banding.
  • FIXED – Updated the wall shelf in the Kitchen on Chalet map.
  • FIXED – SFX are missing when placing Nomad's Airjab Launcher in the Main Entrance Barricade on Oregon map.
  • FIXED – Arcade machine glass is destroyed inconsistently on Theme Park map.
  • FIXED – Players can glitch themselves into the concrete dock in EXT Back Alley on Bank map.
  • FIXED – FPS drops can occur for everyone in the session if a player spins rapidly in a certain spot of 1F Archives on Bank map.
  • FIXED – Drone can be placed on a fence on EXT Back Alley to see through a gap in the West Wall on Bank map.
  • FIXED – Players pushed on top of the vase at 1F ATMs can spawn peek out of the window on Bank map.
  • FIXED – Several texture issues present that impact drones in 2F Executive Lounge, EXT Low Roof, EXT Parking, and 2F Hallway on Bank map.
  • FIXED – Unfair line of sight created by the gap between the column and the wall near 1F Staff Room on Bank map.
  • FIXED – Several items can be seen floating in the air after destroying surrounding items on various maps.
  • FIXED – Shaded gap is present between patches of snow at EXT Campfire Woods on Chalet map.
  • FIXED – Gadgets are experiencing clipping and collision issues in various places on maps.
  • FIXED – Drone camera issues present, allowing players to see under the world on both Clubhouse and House maps.
  • FIXED – Drone capture and retrieval issues present in 2F Control Room Hallway on Kanal map if Mozzie's Pest Launcher clips through the ground.
  • FIXED – EXT Control Tower, EXT Street, and EXT Spitfire Courtyard location names are not displaying on screen while a drone is being used in those particular areas on Hereford Base map.
  • FIXED – Maverick's Breaching Torch has to be used in order to destroy the wooden floors under the blue tarp carpets on Outback map.
  • FIXED – The "You will die in" message displays when entering the 1F Kitchen from 1F Restaurant for a brief moment when under the doorframe on Outback map.
  • FIXED – Attackers can enter Frost's Welcome Mat through the wall of 1F Kitchen on Outback map under particular circumstances.
  • FIXED – Operators can get stuck when going prone between multiple collisions on Outback and Coastline maps.
  • FIXED – Several breakable items on Skyscraper map have been updated.
  • FIXED – A column partially obscures the operator on the far left when the winning team is on screen on Skyscraper map.
  • FIXED – Players are able to place the defuser between a black box and a wall at EXT Chapel on Villa map.
  • FIXED – Several line of sight issues present on Coastline and Villa maps.
  • FIXED – Multiple Operator and gadget clipping issues present on Consulate map.
  • FIXED – The defuser can not be retrieved once it is dropped between the bicycles and the wall in EXT Driveway on Villa map.
  • FIXED – The deployment message prompt flickers for Operators when standing too close to the door that separates 1F Skylight Stairwell and 1F Electrical room on Bank map.
  • FIXED – Operator bodies can clip through the stairs located at 2F Library on Chalet map.
  • FIXED – The 2F Dorm Main Hall bomb is missing details on its inside metallic panels on Oregon map.
  • FIXED – Players are able to silently place C4 above the VIP Lounge on Coastline map under certain circumstances.

Operators

  • FIXED – Operator models have a light glow visible from a distance.
  • FIXED – Echo's Yokai drone is experiencing collision and clipping issues on various maps.
  • FIXED – Mira's Black Mirror can be deployed on the opposite side of a reinforced wall.
  • FIXED – Attacking operators can not navigate with their drones after switching to a secondary or primary gadget while attempting to enter their drone by using the directional right button.
  • FIXED – Twitch's eyes are fixed upward and her mouth animation appears to be broken under certain circumstances.
  • FIXED – Thatcher's weapon reticle remains completely on screen when affected by an EMP grenade.
  • FIXED – Oryx will not destroy walls that are close to a reinforced wall when using Remah Dash.
  • FIXED – Valkyrie's Black Eye can be thrown inside the pipes in 1F Coast Guard Meeting Room on Kanal map due to a missing collision.
  • FIXED – Ace is able to destroy his Selma on a metal indestructible floor at 1F Stage on Clubhouse map.
  • FIXED – Aruni's Surya Gate clips into the neon light when deployed on the soft wall in B1 Supply Room Corridor on Kanal map.
  • FIXED – Aruni can not destroy the ceramic tiles on the walls of 1F Bathroom on Skyscraper map.

User Experience

  • FIXED – Tachanka's mask clips through the Unicorn headgear.
  • FIXED – Adjusting the field of view doesn't impact the crosshair size and will display bullets spreading outside of the crosshair in certain circumstances.
  • FIXED – To clarify wording, player sessions have been adjusted to refer to a player's session group as a Squad.
  • FIXED – Some players are not receiving the Doc Byte Set DLC after purchasing.
  • FIXED – Battle Pass entries are sometimes missing from the detailed list after playing PVP matches.
  • FIXED – The "Silver Tangerine" weapon skin is appearing instead of the default weapon skin for Aruni's P10 RONI.
  • FIXED – The "Fever Impulse" weapon skin is appearing instead of the default weapon skin for Wamai's MP5K.
  • FIXED – Tachanka's DP27 pan magazine disappears when zoomed in on an equipped charm and rotating the weapon downwards in both the side screen preview and fullscreen purchase preview.
  • FIXED – The SFX plays twice when accessing the Battle Pass title from the main menu.

Source: Ubisoft

Train Sim World 2 adds new Southeastern High Speed line (London St Pancras – Faversham) in February

Dovetail Games have announced the opening of a new train line for Train Sim World 2, letting you hop on a train from London St Pancras and nip down to Faversham in Kent. The Southeastern High Speed DLC will be pulling into digital stores on Steam, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on 4th February.

Dovetail give a little background on the route:

The Chatham Main Line dates back to the 1860s, and has since its inception provided a link between the Medway towns and London. However, the call for faster journey times was answered in 2009, when Southeastern commenced operating domestic high-speed services on the newly built High Speed 1 route. For the past decade, services have been racing from the nation's capital to Ebbsfleet, from where they join the classic lines and serve Gravesend, Medway and beyond.

You'll be hopping into the cabin of teh BR Class 395 EMU, covered in 10th anniversary branding from 2019 or the #Trainbow variant which celebrates Pride. You'll have to lean the TVM430 signalling system on the HS1, keep an eye out for more traditional signals from regular lines, and handle the power changeover at Ebbsfleet.

Since it runs alongside the regular commuter train traffic, there will also be the BR Class 375 EMU in a classic dark blue livery for you to drive.

All of this feeds into the rest of Train Sim World 2, letting you drive trains, ride as a passenger, take on route tasks, or just sit there and watch trains drive past. You can customise everything with a scenario planner and liver designer.

Our Train Sim World 2 review saw Gareth enjoying some of the steps forward over the original, but hoping for more of the long-promised features:

Going forward, I'm hoping that Train Sim World 2 can serve as a platform that Dovetail can continue to expand on, not just in terms of routes and trains, but features that fans have been looking forward to for years. If you're new to the series, or train simming in general, this really is the most accessible and best way to start.

Source: press release

Nioh 2 update 1.23 unsheathes more bug fixes, weapon changes

With its first anniversary fast approaching, Nioh 2 is still very much in the spotlight. Not only did we see the recently launch of its third meaty DLC expansion, The First Samurai, Nioh fans are also gearing up for the release of The Nioh Collection on PS5 next month.

If the title wasn't a dead giveaway, this big ol' bundle packages together both the original Nioh and Nioh 2 with all of their bonus/season pass content. On top of that, the pair of "soulslike" RPGs have been enhanced for Sony's new console, the PS5 showcasing Nioh and its sequel in 4K and up to 120 FPS.

Meanwhile developer Team Ninja continue to tweak Nioh 2, having just rolled out update 1.23. This new patch comes with a few small nuggets of content thought the primary focus is on more weapon adjustments as well as a fresh wave of bug fixes. Full details below.

Nioh 2 Update 1.23 Patch Notes

Additional elements

    • Added 6th and subsequent layers to "Naraku Jigoku / Deep"
    • Add a new picture scroll
    • Added a copy of "Old Woman Tengu"
      * If you clear a certain mission in "Taichi Samurai Secret History", it will appear in "Trading" of "Hidden Tea Room".
      * You can play "Taichi Samurai Secret History" by purchasing the additional content "Taichi Samurai Secret History" or "Nioh 2 Season Pass".

Adjustment

  •  Weapon adjustment
    [sword]
    • Adjusted the motion speed and the amount of advance for the fast attack on the upper stage of the "sword".
    • Adjusted the knockback of the "Dark Shadow Sword" so that the sword martial art "Dark Shadow Rougetsu" can be easily hit.
    • Adjusted the homing of the slashing attack of the sword martial art "Kagerotsuki" upward.
    • Adjusted the occurrence of slashing attacks and homing of the sword martial art "Exquisite Sword" upward.
    • Slightly speed up the operation of the sword martial art "Yaksha Ichimonji" at the maximum accumulation
    [Two swords]
    • Adjusted the attack occurrence and advance distance of the dual wield martial art "Ryu / Human" upward

    【spear】

    • Adjusted to make it easier to hit the spear martial arts "Windmill" and "Windmill 2" in succession, and to reduce the amount that drops when hitting an enemy.
    • Added hits when swinging a spear with the spear martial art "Kayabuki", and adjusted the damage by the amount of increased hits.
    • Adjusted so that you can remnant with the spear martial arts "Kayabuki" and "Asuka"

    【axe】

    • Adjusted the rush speed of the ax martial art "Iwahammer" upward to shorten the timing of being able to remnant and recovering from rigidity.
    • Ax martial art "Todoroki" can be remnant, and the timing to recover from rigidity is shortened
    • Shortened the timing of recovery from rigidity of the ax martial arts "Kongo", "Ki", ​​and "Burning Fire".
    [Kusarigama]
    • Adjusted the power damage of the Kusarigama martial art "Retreat" upward, shortening the timing to recover from rigidity
    • Adjusted the homing of the slamming attack of the Kusarigama martial art "Rantenryu" upward.
    [Odachi]
    • Adjusted the forward distance of the Odachi martial art "Ura Hammer" upward
    [Tonfa]
    • Adjusted the attack occurrence and homing of the club martial art "Kuren" upward, shortening the timing to be able to remnant and recover from rigidity
    • Slightly speed up the attack movement of the martial arts "Sweep"
    • Adjusted the homing of the martial arts "Tenjo Ren" and the strong attack in the upper row.
    [Hatchet]
    • Adjusted the homing of the hatchet martial art "Bantaka" upward to shorten the timing to recover from rigidity.
    • Changed the hatchet martial art "Miyama Crossing" so that you can retire when energy is consumed.
    [Naginata Kama]
    • Shortened the timing to recover from the rigidity of Naginata Kama martial arts "Gekinami Blade" and some normal attacks in the lower row
    • Naginata Kama martial arts "Flash blade" and "Ground blade" can be remnant, and the timing to recover from rigidity is shortened.
    • Adjusted to make it easier to hit the Naginata Kama martial art "Void Leg"
    • In Naginata Kama martial art "Random Cutting Wheel", enable the back hit of the returning part and adjust the damage downward (total damage including the back bonus increases)
    [Back]
    • Adjusted the forward distance of the back martial art "Shinkage Leg" upward
    • Adjusted the homing of the back martial art "Wolf Hand" upward
    [Preparation club]
    • Adjusted the martial arts martial arts "Ryuhatsu" to make it easier to get out of the strong attacks in the middle row.
  • Player adjustments
    • Adjusted the amount of magical power added and the amount of attribute accumulation for some attacks of the "prepared club" downward.
    • Adjusted the amount of magical power added for all attacks with "axe", "dual wield", "kusarigama", "hatchet", and "bare hand".
    • Increased the consumption magic power of the youkai technique "Ox-Head Demon"
  • Adjustments about the enemy
    • Extending the rigidity of some attacks of "Kukai"
    • Partially limited the timing of energy recovery of "Kukai" and adjusted so that the energy damage in a difficult situation becomes large
    • Increased the rigidity of some attacks of "Itsumade" and adjusted the ones with excessive attack judgment appropriately
    • Adjusted so that when you hit the down state of "Itsumade", you will not be hurt.
    • Adjusted so that the stagger when returning the big skill of "Itsumade" as a special skill becomes longer
    • Adjusted so that the power damage when destroying the weak point of "Itsumade" becomes large
    • Adjusted to increase the energy after the difficulty level "Shura no Yumeji" for "Dream Demon"
    • Adjusted the big skill to summon the guardian spirit of "Shibata Katsuie" so that it will be easier to return with "special skill"
    • Adjusted to mitigate the power damage of the flame ruts created by "Rindo" and "Kasha" on the ground.
    • Adjusted the effect of absorbing the physical strength of "Ichidoku" so that it does not absorb more than the remaining physical strength of the player
  • Adjustments regarding the abyss
    • For the "abyss prison," "equinox" If you worshiped "Jizo Kodama" the 1 or more, the changes to the route that can be moved to the "hell" is also added to the starting point
      in the "abyss prison-deep", first Changed to add a route that can move to "Hell" at the start from.
    • When moving from "Higan" to "Hell" in "Naraku Jigoku", if the guardian spirit is lost, it will not be automatically called "Recall", and even after transitioning to "Hell", Amrita etc. will be used with "Invited Candle" Changed to be able to collect
    • Adjusted the drop + value in the higher hierarchy of "Naraku Jigoku" upward.
    • When playing "Marebito" with "Marebito", the number of lapis lazuli in the Netherworld to drop is adjusted to increase according to the progress of your hierarchy.
    • Adjusted so that the attack frequency of "Abe no Seimei" that appears in "Invitation of supporters" of "Naraku Jigoku" is high.
  • Adjustments regarding predicament
    • Changed to lower the upper limit of health recovery when receiving damage while using the ninjutsu "Death Life Maru"
    • Adjusted downward so that the amount of decrease in the "Amulet" effect time when receiving damage while using the Ninjutsu "Death Life Maru" is large.
    • Added various skills that can be activated when the physical strength is 30% or less to "Sword skill", "Odachi skill", and "Two sword skill".
  • Adjustments related to surgery
    • Adjusted the amount of magical power added downward when the special effect of the magical power addition system is activated by hitting the onmyodo "fire mark", "water mark", and "lightning mark".
    • Adjusted the cost of preparing the 3rd level of the Yin-Yang technique "Fire Mark", "Water Mark", and "Lightning Mark".
    • Ninjutsu "Kasha Swordsmanship" has been reduced and adjusted
    • Added some attacks that can be reflected by "Repulsion"
  • Adjustments for special effects
    • Reduced the count reduction amount when receiving damage from 2 to 1 for the advantageous effect obtained with the special effect "Iwagashi".
    • Fixed a bug where damage was increased even for enemies who were not exhausted by the special effect "Skillful packing", and adjusted the melee attack damage to enemies who were exhausted upward.
    • Adjusted the effect size of the following alignment effects upwards
      , Futsunushi's grace
      , Takemikazuchi
      's grace
      , Kagutsuchi's grace
      , Omoikane's grace, Omoikane's grace
    • Fixed a bug where the special effects "attack power" and "defense power" of the soul charge were doubled, and adjusted the value to about double.
    • Reduced the amount of decrease in energy recovery speed for the special effect "Guide to Tendou" given to picture scrolls.
  • Other adjustments
    • Increased the upper limit of weapon proficiency * After reaching "Nio's Dream Road"
    • Adjusted to reflect the progress of "Naraku Jail" regarding the strength of enemies in "Training Ground"
    • Changed to start with melee weapon 1 selected for training missions with fixed equipment.
    • When reassigning the value of "Correction LV" in "Ability Flowering", the required amount of Amrita is relaxed and adjusted.
    • Adjusted so that you will not be paralyzed for a certain period of time when you release the paralysis with "Goma Ash"
    • Adjusted the increase probability of the + value of small items deposited with "Stone of Difficulty" upward, and also adjusted the amount of increase when the + value of small items is low with "Stone of Difficulty, Nioh".
    • Added "Type Order" to the list order of "Sale" and "Disassembly" of "Blacksmith"

Bug fixes

    • Fixed a bug where youkai might not be hit by "Kumikai" when youkai were exhausted with certain martial arts.
    • Fixed a bug that the enemy's "difficulty" may not be canceled for martial arts derived from a specific lack of energy.
    • Fixed a bug where the ax martial art "Todoroki" would cause the "Iwagashi" count to accumulate even if it was not guarded.
    • Fixed a bug that the "Martial Arts Customization Skill" of "Asuka" was not reflected in the spear martial art "Kayabuki".
    • Fixed a bug where you couldn't interrupt with a feat during guard motion when equipped with "Naginata Kama"
    • Fixed a bug that sometimes you could not avoid in the intended direction in the second avoidance when avoiding continuously with the lower stance of "Hatchet"
    • Fixed a bug where evasive attacks could not be issued with "Hatchet"
    • Fixed a bug that "Free to separate" may not be activated when an enemy's attack is received immediately before with the training club martial art "Small stop".
    • Fixed a bug that the attack may not occur when entering an attack after an evasive attack with "Sword" or "Tonfa"
    • Fixed a bug that the setting of the martial arts customization of the previous stance may be inherited when the same martial art of "back of hand" is activated continuously with different stances.
    • Fixed a bug that damages even if you move away from the enemy after using the monster technique "Ox-Head Run"
    • Fixed a bug where the counts for "Iwagashi" and "Dancing" could decrease when fighting a specific enemy, even though they weren't damaged.
    • Fixed a bug that level sync is not applied to clear rewards when clearing missions with level sync applied.
    • Fixed a bug where Amrita would be lost if he died immediately after selecting "Proceed to Hell" in "Naraku Jigoku".
    • Fixed a bug that enemies would detect when worshiping at a company on a specific equinoctial week in "Naraku Jigoku".
    • Fixed a bug that the current values ​​of "Physical Strength" and "Your Power" may decrease when calling "Battle Preparation" while worshiping at "Sha".
    • Fixed a bug that the special effect "Addition of magical power when enemies are chaotic" may not be activated under certain conditions.
    • Fixed a bug that "Magic Advance Borrowing" is canceled when "Transformation Technique" is activated.
    • Fixed a bug that + disappears when depositing small items with "+ alignment effect" when selecting a difficulty level other than "Nio's Dream Road" in "Stone of Difficulty".
    • Fixed a bug where "Consumable Items" could be replenished from the warehouse when performing "Battle" during a mission.
    • Fixed a bug that could not be ported to special effects with inheritance when "Soul Matching" of "Blacksmith"
    • Fixed a bug where the number of souls possessed would continue to be displayed on the screen even after the life was lost and the souls were lost.
    • Fixed a bug that the play record "Number of layers that advanced through Naraku Jigoku in one challenge" is not counted correctly when the game ends in the middle.

Source: GameCity

EA UFC 4 update 7.0 adds Conor McGregor and Jiri Prochazka ahead of UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2

With Conor McGregor returning to the real world octagon for UFC 257: Poirier vs. McGregor 2, EA have adding McGregor to the UFC 4 roster in update 7.00. Curiously, it's not the current look for the UFC superstar, but instead takes inspiration from the 2014 battle between these two. McGregor appears sporting a braided ponytail instead of his current bald look, in other words.

Alongside McGregor, Jiri Prochazka has joined Light Heavyweight ahead of a 27th Februayr fight with Dominik Reyes, Andre Bishop and Isaac Frost have both been unlocked for play, and there's a sweeping set of tweaks and changes to the game – this includes a new type of leg kick, the calf kick.

Beyond all of that, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury have both been made free to download between now and 8th February, and there's a string of new Fight Week challenges to take on.

Here's the full patch notes for update 7.0.

EA UFC 4 update 7.0

Major Updates

  • Added 2 new fighters:
    1. Conor McGregor from UFC 178 added to Featherweight
    2. Jiri Prochazka to Light Heavyweight
  • Added Jessica Andrade to Flyweight and Bantamweight divisions
  • Unlocked Andre Bishop and Isaac Frost in Heavyweight
  • Added a venue select to Online Quick Fight to prioritize venue preference during matchmaking
  • Fixed Event & Tournament Mode CAF scaling issues and mismatched Ratings & AI

Gameplay Updates

  • Added calf kicks to all fighters.
  • Added a new set of standup blocking animations and polished the old set.
  • Fixed an issue with attribute information displayed for a few archetypes.
  • Increased penalty for the attacker's rapid movement in limb submissions.
  • Fixed an issue to allow Body Side Kicks to track walking to one side (the outside).
  • Tuned stamina recovery to be slower when stamina is high.
  • Tuned strike stamina costs between weight divisions.
    • Reduced the cost for heavier divisions and increased it for the lighter ones, with very little change to the divisions in the middle, such as lightweight. Even in the heaviest and lightest divisions, this adjustment was small.
  • Decreased permanent body damage by 10%.
  • Decreased block breakdown by 15%.
  • Decreased head roundhouse bleedthrough from 20% to 10%.
  • Single and low single bails now require a stamina advantage of 30%.
    • Attempting it without such an advantage will result in the drive ending in favor of the defender.
  • Fixed an issue where submissions were finishing before the progress bar had completed and when chains were activated at certain timing.
  • Reduced damage of clinch rear knees to head and body from collartie, Muay Thai, and single under by 20%.
    • This still leaves the head knees damage slightly higher than the elbows. The lead knees, which are slower, retained their previous damage.
  • Reduced Bleedthrough of clinch knees.
    • Since evading them is not an option, blocking the correct height is the best defense available so we made blocking them a bit better. They can still deal significant damage through the block if the block meter is low.
  • Slowed down the head peel fake from dominant back side
    • This is the entry for the bulldog choke and the transition to back sitting added in the previous patch. The starting animation was too fast, meaning it could be faked too quickly. We slowed the starting animation down considerably, but did not change the denial windows so only the fakes should be affected.
  • Refined the starting animation of the transition from back side to full guard
    • The animation was previously too hard to read because the shoulders took long to start to shift. Now the shoulders should start to shift right away, making reactive denials against this move more viable even though the denial window isn't changing.
  • Increased denial window for the hip toss from collartie and muay thai clinch
    • Please note that this increase will affect the time the defender has to scramble. The hardest part for the defender will probably be to not be pressing high block by the time the scramble window starts, as that prevents the scramble.
  • Increased the permanent stamina cost of ground transition by 50%.
  • Reduced recovery of the resistance to head health events between rounds.
  • Greatly decreased the stamina cost of the wizzer escape.
  • Attacker can now cancel their submission pressing R1 and L1 together, (LB+RB on Xbox)
  • Increased the effect of submission defense rating
  • Submission strength tuning
  • Crucifix strike damage has been reduced by 25%
  • Reduced number of leg health events before TKO
  • Decreased the effect of the cardio attribute on starting stamina
  • Made plodding footwork stamina threshold more dynamic, based on footwork and leg health
  • Increased the clinch back takes stamina cost
  • Made special backwards leg lunge mitigate leg damage, instead of increasing it.
  • Made it so the defender can instantly escape from the back clinch after the osoto-gari scramble, unless the attacker has a 30% stamina advantage.
  • Restricted the use of the muscle modifier on the ground to the same rules we had in UFC 3
    • It is only available for get ups and the sitout sweeps from sprawl.
  • Tuned custom fighter AI tendencies.
  • Made reversals and arm traps wipe grapple advantage
    • Previously, reversals and arm traps would not clear the grapple advantage upon reaching the new position. Previously, the dominant fighter could have a lot of GA in his favor and would maintain it in the new position after being reversed, such as from an arm trap from side saddle to side control. Now, the reversals and arm traps will clear the GA and grant a small amount (of a successful denial) to the fighter who performed the reversal.
  • Lowered frequency with which the AI intercepts takedowns with strikes
  • Fixed bug in AI takedown feints reducing actual takedown frequency
  • Added ability for AI to execute imanari rolls

Moveset Updates

Alex Perez

  • Added Lead Switch Kick Body Level 2
  • Lead and Back Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 3
  • Updated AI to use Cerrones

Anthony Pettis

  • Added Lead Axe Level 3
  • Back Uppercut Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Hook Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Spin Heel Kick 2 to Level 4

Brandon Moreno

  • Back Uppercut Level 2 to Level 3
  • Boxing Combos Level 3 to Level 4
  • Jab Level 2 to Level 3
  • Cross Level 2 to Level 3
  • Jab Body Level 1 to Level 2
  • Lead Hook Level 3 to Level 4
  • Lead Hook Body Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Hook Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Uppercut Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Lead Overhand Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Overhand Level 2 to Level 4

Bruce Lee

  • Added Lead Question Mark Kick Level 3
  • Added Back Question Mark Kick Level 3
  • Added Lead Front Kick Body Level 2
  • Added Back Spinning Heel Kick Level 3

Charles Oliveira

  • Added Back Superman Elbow Level 1
  • Added Lead 6 to 12 Elbow Level 3
  • Added Power Single Leg Level 2
  • Added Power Double Leg Level 2
  • Added Back Spin Heel Kick Leg Level 2
  • Added Lead Tornado Kick Level 2
  • Added Back Spin Side Kick to Head Level 1
  • BJJ Level 4 to Level 5
  • Wrestling Level 1 to Level 2
  • Leg Locks Level 1 to Level 2
  • Boxing Combos Level 3 to Level 4
  • Jab Level 2 to Level 3
  • Cross Level 3 to Level 4
  • Lead Side Kick to Leg Level 1 to Level 2
  • Lead Side Kick Body Level 1 to Level 2
  • Lead Side Kick Head Level 1 to Level 2
  • Lead Roundhouse Head Level 1 to Level 2
  • Back Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Lead Roundhouse Body Level 1 to Level 2
  • Back Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Front Kick Body Level 2 to Level 3
  • Wrestling Takedowns Level 1 to Level 2
  • Back Single Leg Level 1 to Level 2
  • Back Double Leg Level 1 to Level 3
  • Back Leg Kick Level 2 to Level 3

Chris Weidman

  • Guillotine Submissions Level 2 to Level 4

Colby Covington

  • Wrestling Level 4 to Level 5

Cory Sandhagen

  • Added Back Spinning Backfist Level 3
  • Added Lead Side Kick Head Level 2
  • Added Back Ducking Roundhouse Level 2
  • Lead Side Kick to Leg Level 1 to Level 2
  • Lead Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3

Dan Henderson

  • Added Back Spinning Backfist Level 2

Deiveson Figueredo

  • Added Back Front Kick Head Level 2
  • Added Lead Front Kick Body Level 2
  • Added Back Superman Elbow Level 2
  • Added Lead Flying Double Knee Level 2
  • Boxing Combos Level 3 to Level 4
  • Wrestling Get Ups Level 1 to Level 3
  • Jab Level 2 to Level 3
  • Lead Uppercut Body Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Hook Body Level 3 to Level 4
  • Lead Roundhouse Head Level 1 to Level 2
  • Back Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Lead Roundhouse Body Level 1 to Level 3
  • Back Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 4
  • Lead Leg Kick Level 1 to Level 2
  • Back Leg Kick Level 2 to Level 3

Jared Connonier

  • Lead Leg Kick Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Leg Kick Level 3 to Level 4

Jairzinho Rozenstruik

  • Added Level 2 Lead and Back Elbows

Jon Jones

  • Lead Flying Knee Level 2 to Level 3

Jose Aldo

  • Boxing Combos Level 3 to Level 4
  • Straight Body Level 3 to Level 4
  • Back Hook Body Level 3 to Level 4

Justin Gaethje

  • Back Ducking Roundhouse Level 3

Kevin Gastelum

  • Lead Hook Level 3 to Level 4

Louis Smolka

  • Back Leg Kick Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 4

Max Holloway

  • Back Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Lead Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 3

Stephen Thompson

  • Added Level 2 Lead and Back Elbows
  • Boxing Combos Level 2 to Level 3

Tecia Torres

  • Added Back Spinning Backfist Level 3
  • Lead and Back Hooks Level 2 to Level 3

Tim Means

  • Jab Level 2 to Level 3

TJ Dillashaw

  • Added Level 2 Lead and Back Elbows
  • Guillotine Submissions Level 2 to Level 3

Tony Ferguson

  • Added Lead Side Kick Body Level 2

Uriah Hall

  • Added Heel Hook from Stacked Guard Level 1
  • Added Leg Chokes Level 1
  • Added Back Oblique Kick to Leg Level 2
  • Added Back Ducking Roundhouse Level 2
  • Added Rolling Thunder Level 2
  • Added Lead Switch Kick Body Level 2
  • Added Lead Flying Knee Level 3
  • Back Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Lead Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 3

Yair Rodriguez

  • Added Lead Hook Kick Level 2
  • Added Back Question Mark Kick Level 2
  • Added Lead Switch Kick Body Level 2

Zabit Magomedsharipov

  • Lead Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Roundhouse Head Level 2 to Level 3
  • Lead Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 3
  • Back Roundhouse Body Level 2 to Level 3

Source: EA