You have until tonight to download the Monster Hunter Rise Switch demo
So, the Monster Hunter Rise demo is pretty good! But as a reminder, you only have a certain amount of time to download it.
When, exactly? Well, at 3AM ET on February 1 (that's tomorrow morning, US), it'll be removed from the shop and multiplayer will be shut down. However, you should still be able to play it offline, if the phrase "online play will be disabled after the trial period for this demo, at which point you will have to use local play," at the start of the demo is accurate.
What is the oldest console you still have hooked up?
Over the weekend, a tweet sent out by the Game Awards had me feeling like an ancient, decrepit mummy of a man. It asked people to name the best classic Nintendo console from a selection of four: the NES, the SNES, the Nintendo 64, or the GameCube. Four excellent devices with a wealth of treasured gaming experiences, I got hung up not by the difficulty of choosing which one I like the best but by the realization the GameCube is now considered a "classic" gaming console.
Later this year, the GameCube will turn 20 years old, and the world will be treated to a deluge of articles ranting and raving about how it was "forgotten" or "under-appreciated." I still remember lining up at Walmart that November morning to pick up my purple lunchbox along with copies of Luigi's Mansion and Star Wars: Rogue Squadron II. It was a great day for me, and because that memory is still so vivid in my mind, it's tough to wrap my head around the idea that it's old enough to be thought of as old.
Maybe it's because I'm 35 and fighting the gray that's trying to take over my scalp, but I still think of classic consoles as the shit I played when I was a young child. The NES, the Sega Master System, the Atari 7800, those are the classics to me, though I guess as time marches on, I'm just going to have to accept that some of my favorite gaming experiences will forever be referred to as retro. It'll be tough, though. I don't think I'm ready for people to start calling Star Fox Adventures a "classic game" in the same way I was never ready for The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air to be considered old enough to begin airing on TV Land.
But if the GameCube is now a classic, then I guess that makes me a classic gamer. Through the magic of an HDMI adapter, I still have my console hooked up for the once in a blue moon when I'm in the mood for some Chibi-Robo or The Simpsons: Road Rage. It's the oldest console I own. It may not get much play with the PS5, Series S, and Switch all battling for my attention now, but unlike those consoles, I don't see myself selling my GameCube when I move onto the next generation of gaming. This thing is going to be with me until I die or it dies.
That's the oldest piece of gaming equipment I have in my house. Let us know which retro hardware you're still rocking in the comments below.
Amazon Luna is a stunning example of why data caps suck
A few years ago, Amazon seemed like it was taking the correct steps to establish itself as a player in the video game industry. In 2014, it purchased Double Helix Studios, which was then riding high on the successful rebirth of the Killer Instinct franchise. In 2016, it announced a trio of ambitious multiplayer titles: Breakaway, Crucible, and New World. It was Amazon getting its foot in the door in a big way.
But things just haven't panned out. Breakaway never made it out of alpha, and Crucible crashed and burned in less than six months. New World is still on its way and is slated to launch later this year. But if that goes the way the dodo as the other Amazon Game Studios titles have, the world's biggest retailer may already have its back-up plan ready to go: Amazon Luna.
The streaming service launched in Early Access last October by invitation only. Last week, I received my invitation and spent several days seeing what the service is all about during my week-long free trial.
Resident Evil Village's Lady Dimitrescu is more than just a fan-art flavor of the month
[Art by Marmalade Mum]
I don't think Capcom knew what they had on their hands with Lady Dimitrescu, Resident Evil Village's long monster lady. In her debut appearance a few weeks ago, she didn't try to look conventionally sexy, or even particularly scary. But she didn't need to. She's exactly what a big chunk of gaming wants right now, so she became a star overnight.
We don't yet know if she's a vampire, a creature based on Hachishakusam (a tall Japanese ghost monster that wears a big hat and stalks children), a bioweapon, or some combination of the three, and we don't need to know. In fact, that mystery allows us to fill in a lot of the blanks with fan art, making her all the more compelling to artists everywhere.
In a lot of ways, she's almost the antitheses of the kind of brooding, macho dudes who starred in nearly every AAA game of the past 20 years (I'm looking at you, Chris Redfield), and she's also better than them. In fact, she can pick them up like babies then eat them without even working up a sweat.
That's true of a lot of women from the Resident Evil series, though, Alexia Ashford and Alex Wesker to name just two. What makes Lady Dimitresu different is that she's motherly and sassy, ready to dom all comers, but in an unabashedly classy way, sporting an old-world charm that'll make you nostalgic for a time before you were even born. Basically, she's Nadja from What We Do In The Shadows, except extremely tall and busty.
Like Bowsette before her, the good lady has become a lightning rod for the imagination of artists everywhere. We've collected some of our favorite tributes to Dimitrescu (Dimitrescbutes?) for you here. Funny, scary, strongly suggestive, and everything in between, these fan arts from the likes of Mariel Cartwright, Alex Ahad, and a host of others are sure to raise a few eyebrows. That one pic of her in the style of Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 gave me a particularly strong case of the vapors.
Cblogs of 1/23 to 1/29/2021: Resident Evil 2, Spiritfarer, and Nintendo Switch Pro
Cblogs Recap: Week 4
-Kerrik52 declares Trails of Cold Steel IV as his game of the year.
-Lord Spencer reviews Thousand Arms as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.
-Hokogan shares his thoughts on the indie game, Spiritfarer.
-Osc continues the development of his hobbyist game.
-ChronoLynxx opens last week's TGIF opens community forum thread.
Balan Wonderworld is saving its best bits for the full game
Balan Wonderworld made a huge splash when its debut trailer dropped in the pre-show for an Xbox Games Showcase last July. It was bright, colorful, and full of as much whimsy as its creator, Yuji Naka. I was immediately smitten with it as it looked like a dream. After a week of repeatedly playing through its demo, I'm happy to report it plays like a dream as well.
Taito blaster Halley's Comet is the newest Arcade Archives release
This week's offering from Hamster's Arcade Archive range is another forgotten shmup for days of yore. Now available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, it's Taito classic Halley's Comet.
Released in arcades in 1986, Halley's Comet is a surprisingly smooth vertically scrolling shmup where players must first defend Earth - and then other planets in the solar system - from both invading alien forces and the titular comet, which is on some bizarre collision course whereby it can apparently hit every single planet in the galaxy.
Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber SidMania.
It feels like just yesterday that Yacht Club Games was formed: now it's publishing stuff. Our little shovel studio is growing up!
The first publishing duty on the docket? Cyber Shadow.
R-Type Final 2 will blast off on PC and consoles April 30
NIS America has announced that incoming sci-fi shmup R-Type Final 2 will launch in the west on PS4, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X and Nintendo Switch on April 30 - a mere day after the long-in-development title's Japanese release.
R-Type Final 2 is an amalgamation of sorts of everything that has ensured Irem's classic series remains an enduring icon of the shmup genre. Players will select from one of a number of hi-tech spacecraft before jetting off into battle against the might of the evil Bydo Empire. Featuring spruced-up audio/visuals, a huge hosts of gameplay modes, and stacked with explosive weapons and power-ups, R-Type Final 2 looks set to be a fan's dream.
Indeed, the fans have only themselves to thank for this release, having generously donated the equivalent of almost $935,000 USD to developer Granzella's Kickstarter campaign back in June 2019. The dedicated R-Typer might want to check out the official NIS America online store, where a special "Inaugural Flight Edition" is now available to pre-order.
Review: Dead Cells: Fatal Falls
It only took a single (unsuccessful) stab at Dead Cells for me to get back in the swing of things and boy does this game still feel fantastic. Its sense of ferocity and flow is up there with the best of 'em.
I didn't just boot up Dead Cells for the heck of it – there are a few new premium levels to check out today. Following the first paid DLC, The Bad Seed, you can now spice up your Dead Cells runs with Fatal Falls. The first level pack was successful right out of the gate, and this next one proves it wasn't a fluke.
Fractured Shrines, Undying Shores, and The Mausoleum slot right into the mid-game.
Fortnite seems to be teasing an incoming G.I. Joe crossover
Epic Games' Fortnite - which is certainly going into overdrive when it comes to pop culture crossovers - seems to be teasing the next franchise headed to the popular battle royale title. And it appears to be none other than '80s toy-line/TV series G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero.
Fortnite's official Twitter has posted a new video featuring radio intel from Agent Jonesy, where the hero teases the arrival of some new heroes. The message not only makes reference to the incoming characters' "laser guns" and "cool codenames", but tellingly signs off with the iconic catchphrase "And knowing is half the battle", which you all no doubt will recognize as the catchphrase from G.I. Joe's notorious public service announcements.
In particular, Jonesy references an agent that players "will never hear coming", which sounds a hell of a lot like G.I. Joe's resident ninja master, Snake Eyes. The G.I. Joe brand is pretty much a perfect fit for the world of Fortnite, so now it's just a case of waiting to see which characters make the cut. Of course, if Duke, The Baroness, and Cobra Commander aren't part of the entourage, then I'll be very surprised.
Whatcha been playing this week, Destructoid?
This week, a gang of Redditors broke Wall Street for the lolz. Incredible. That story will become a movie someday, like Boiler Room but with far more memes and emojis. It was a trip, that's for sure, but one that's not for me to take. Once I get beyond my 10 fingers, I've reached my mathematical limit. Playing the stock market is an endeavor that would see me out on my ear in double-quick time. Less "Jordan Belfort," more "Homer Simpson selling his stock before the Germans bought the power plant."
Staying in my lane, I've been bouncing between a few games. Nothing out of the ordinary during this quiet period, just some grinding on Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, some fisticuffs on Street Fighter V, and a quick revisit to some old SNES favorites. I'm currently keeping the slate clear as I might have something rolling in for review in the next day or two, so for the most part my gaming time has been spent treading water.
But we aren't here to talk about me, (even though we have been all article), we're here to talk about you. You know how this works - jump into the comments below and let us know what games you've been playing this week, or have lined up for your weekend. It doesn't matter if it's old, new, or simply new to you, you're our fine community, and we love hearing about it. So bring us up to speed, friends.
Have a safe and pleasant weekend, from all of us at Destructoid.
Contest: Win the SOLD OUT Project Warlock on Switch from Super Rare Games
In today's contest you can win a Switch copy of Project Warlock from Super Rare Games!
If you slept on picking up a super limited edition of Project Warlock from Super Rare Games, I've got some bad news -- that shit sold out, yo! It's gone. Donezo. Fin. Adios.
Good thing we snuck Mr. Destructoid into their offices (he went up through the toilet like a shitty, reverse Santa) and stole a copy to give away! Win it here, since you can't buy it anymore!
More than anything else in Monster Hunter Rise, I just want to dress up my Palamute
Monster Hunter Rise is now a video game about crafting the best-looking armor for my Palamute.
Forget my Switch Axe, forget the grind, forget the thrill of hunting with strangers – my dog needs to look fresh. Just one problem: there are too many good choices and I'm never going to settle on a single look. I eventually got over that analysis paralysis with my Palico in World, but this will be even tougher.
A Palamute armor round-up surfaced on my Twitter feed this week, and I haven't been able to shake it. Capcom posted a similar recap last November – it didn't wow me. This gear, on the other hand...
This is what it's all about. This is worthy of a half-covered Do it For Her plaque. Eye on the prize.
Like many of you, I got around to playing the demo even though I was pretty sure I'd enjoy this game as is. I like Rise's whole vibe more than expected coming off of the big and bold Iceborne, which is running better and loading faster than ever for me now that I've moved it over to PlayStation 5. There was an adjustment period, for sure – Capcom had to make trade-offs on Switch – but it's nothing I couldn't adapt to during the demo, and that potential concern is no longer sitting in the back of my mind.
Instead, my head is completely filled with these Palamute sets, to say nothing of crossovers Capcom could and should create. I didn't expect to see a Palamute wearing a tie, but if that's the starting point, as it were, imagine where things could go next. There are plenty of monsters left to confirm for Rise.
I'll continually brutalize every last one of these beasts for my pooch. That's the true endgame.
Debuting during the golden age of home computing, Turrican shook up the action gaming genre with a string of explosively popular releases that, whilst somewhat different in and of themselves, are all typified by their dynamic combat, ruthless difficulty, awesome soundtracks, and eye for exploration.
Initially developed for the Commodore 64 in the late 1980s by German coder Manfred Trenz, Turrican would make a name for itself thanks to Factor 5's stunning Amiga port, bagging a bevy of media plaudits and awards while simultaneously blowing players away with its huge host of technical achievements. 1991 sequel Turrican II: The Final Fight would only serve to further establish the brand as one of the premier shooters, thanks in no small part to composer Chris Huelsbeck's legitimately industry-changing score.
And now, some 30 years since release, ININ Games has compiled Turrican and Turrican II - as well two of its console-based pseudo-sequels - to create Turrican Flashback. This new compendium will offer fans and newcomers the opportunity to experience this iconic franchise, with every weapon, every power-up, every boss, every secret, and every joystick-snapping death exploding onto modern platforms.
To paraphrase a classic: Welcome Back to Turrican.
Thomas Was Alone heads to Switch in February and there's a demo now
If you have a soft spot for 2012's Thomas Was Alone – or you think you'd be into a cozy, minimalist puzzle-platformer about a cast of blocks making their way through the world with full narration helping to tell an honest-to-goodness worthwhile story – the game is resurfacing soon on Switch.
As relayed by creator Mike Bithell today, the Nintendo Switch version of Thomas Was Alone will be out on February 19, 2021, with a 20 percent early-bird discount pushing the regular price down to $7.99. There's also a Switch demo, and it's playable now on the eShop. I love to see it.
So much has changed in the indie scene over the past decade, to say nothing of Bithell himself, whose career has only grown. Many games have come and gone, but Thomas Was Alone still resonates.
As for the Switch port, it's only right. This game was on Wii U. Nothing can be left behind.
Silent Hill's next DLC team-up is with Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals
Silent Hill is reaching new audiences with crossover DLC in multiplayer horror games, and the longer this goes on, the more impatient fans will become. I hope it's all building to something more substantial.
Konami's next cross-game collaboration for Silent Hill is with Dark Deception: Monsters & Mortals, a maze-chase horror game on Steam that's popular in the Let's Play circuit. This afternoon, Glowstick Entertainment shared a teaser video with audio and visuals plucked from the hibernating horror giant.
"The new Silent Hill guest DLC will arrive in February 2021," according to the developer. Funny enough, the just-delayed Dark Deception Chapter 4 will feature "Lucky the Rabbit" and "Reaper Nurses." Fitting.
Dead by Daylight's tie-in with Pyramid Head made a certain sense to me – that game has a widely-established reputation for partnering with horror icons – but I'll admit it, this one feels out of left field. On that note, Glowstick has "more big mystery additions coming to Monsters & Mortals after Silent Hill."
It's a mega-weird time to be into this series. We might need to hug it out with Splinter Cell fans.
Fallout 76 just got a fairly large update as far as inventory management is concerned: which...turns out is a huge part of this series!
Yep, the "inventory update" is currently being put through the paces by players, and overall, on paper, it does a whole lot right. One could argue that a lot of that functionality should have been there at launch; and some would state that the house of cards code prevented it from becoming a reality far longer than it should have. But we're past the point of all that. Fallout 76 has been fighting an uphill battle since it was first shown, and they're still trying to regain the confidence of Bethesda fans as a whole.
That strategy includes constant updates for Fallout 76, including a new PTS build that will be available "at the end of next week." It's more quality of life stuff, including the very welcome ability to "reboot" (respec) your character's SPECIAL attributes at level 25 and beyond for no cost. You can also save and swap between multiple loadouts and builds, RPG style. You'll do this at Punch Card Machines littered across the wasteland.
They're doing the same for CAMP (base) loadouts, too. Bethesda explains it all, stating: "Your characters will be able to build multiple different C.A.M.P.s, each with its own location, build budget, custom name, and even a unique map icon. While you will only be able to have one active C.A.M.P. at a time, you can easily switch among them using a new C.A.M.P. Builds widget or your C.A.M.P. icons on the map." That's kind of huge for role players! On top of that, more daily ops are coming to mix things up, as well as aim assist options for controllers, batch crafting (!), and the tuning up of melee abilities.
So what's next on a big picture scale? More Brotherhood of Steel story. As Bethesda reminds us, the Steel Dawn update was a "phase one" of sorts, with more Brotherhood narrative beats to come.
By the time this game is "complete," it might feel like a mainline Fallout!
Inside the Vault [Bethesda.net]
Valve faces lawsuit over Steam Controller patent allegations
Valve Corporation is facing a lawsuit over allegations that it plagiarized the design of its Steam Controller hardware from a similar design already patented by another manufacturer.
Ironburg Inventions, acting on behalf of third-party controller maker SCUF, claims that it warned Valve back in 2014 that the design for its Steam Controller infringed upon Ironburg patents, but that Valve went ahead with the design anyway. The Steam Controller launched in 2015, where the pricey pad sold an estimated 1.5 million units. The device was then discontinued in the fall of 2019.
The patent in question refers to the Steam Controller's rear-side triggers, which sit on the reverse on the pad and can be operated by the player's middle fingers. A patent for such an invention was filed by Simon Burgess and Ironburg CEO Duncan Ironmonger back in 2011. Ironburg has since officially sub-licensed the design to the Xbox brand.
In opening arguments, Ironburg's lawyer Robert Becker called the situation "the classic David and Goliath story," claiming that "Valve did know that its conduct involved an unreasonable risk of infringement, but it simply proceeded to infringe anyway."
Valve, meanwhile, appears to have complete confidence in its defense. "Ironburg's case will be based on altered graphics, modified pictures, and skewed viewing angles [...] then they'll ask you to make that decision based on an altered reality," Valve lawyer Trent Webb told jurors. "Nothing you will see or hear from Ironburg will change what you can see with your own eyes and feel with your own hands when you get that Steam Controller. Alternative reality has no place here."
Video game giant ripped off controller patent, jury hears [Law360]
Mother Music Revisited album is now available on Spotify
Fans of Nintendo's mythic series Mother, (or EarthBound for most of y'all), will be able to spend the coming weekend kicking back to some of the 1989 adventure's charming score, as the Mother Music Revisited album is now available to stream on Spotify.
Released on vinyl in Japan earlier this week, Mother Music Revisited features 10 tracks from the cult RPG series, lovingly rearranged by original composer Keiichi Suzuki, who is known for his majestic work on both the big and small screen. Given that this and previous Mother vinyl releases failed to make their way overseas, music streaming services remain the best way for westerners to massage their brains to Suzuki's iconic scores.
You can check out the track listing for Mother Music Revisited below. Another vinyl set, featuring a similarly rearranged soundtrack for 1994 sequel Mother 2/EarthBound, will release in Japan February 10. Hopefully this too will be made available on the Spotify service.
Who owns the Astral Chain IP? Nintendo, says Platinum
I'm not shy about my love for Astral Chain.
Sure it's not going to appeal to everyone, but it's one of my favorite action romps in recent years, and a very great effort from first-time director Takahisa Taura. I was not only excited to see more from them, but hoped for more Astral Chain in general. That may still happen! But a recent debacle has come up regarding the rights to the IP itself, and it's a fairly interesting saga.
Unraveled by way of VGC, Platinum fans who were studiously combing through the Platinum website and its various pages and code (for obvious reasons), found an anomaly: Platinum was no longer listed in the Astral Chain copyright notice. Atsushi Inaba, head of the studio, told VGC "it's as it looks," when asked why Platinum was removed.
It's odd because previously, we were led to believe that Platinum was a co-owner of Astral Chain alongside of Nintendo. Inaba says that "there are limitations on how much we feel we should talk about" when pressed, and a Platinum rep stated that they were "not in a position to answer this question."
Nintendo seems to hold some water for Astral Chain. Oddly, it's even one of the few games the publisher has added to their "scavenger hunt" My Nintendo program: among several other big first-party names.
So why does this all matter? Well, if Nintendo is the sole rights holder, it may never come to non-Nintendo platforms. Obviously a deal was worked out with Wonderful 101 to re-appear on other systems roughly seven years after its original release, so anything is possible. But for now, nearly two years removed from Astral Chain as a whole, ports don't seem to be in the cards.
Also, as VGC points out, one of Platinum's big goals of the past few years is to own its own IP and get away from the shadow of publisher influence: citing rights issues with Bayonetta and SEGA in the past. But with their dealings with Nintendo on Bayonetta 3 and Astral Chain, it's unclear just how much power they have to make that happen consistently.
Astral Chain [Platinum via VGC]
Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2 was just announced and the first one is free to own on Steam
I'm not here to convince you that Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator is anything more than that name implies, but if you think you'd get a few laughs from sending thousands of mishmashed warriors into battle and watching the chaos unfold, the Steam title is free to claim until Monday, February 1.
People have gone wild with mods – Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, Digimon, Knuckles the Echidna, take your pick – and I've enjoyed skimming through the community screenshot feed this morning.
Of course, games aren't given out for free for no reason. In this case, the promo is meant to bolster the announcement of Ultimate Epic Battle Simulator 2, which developer Brilliant Games Studios says can handle "100 times more characters on screen than its predecessor, and in far greater detail and quality."
As the trailer shows, that means ridiculous battles with "hundreds of thousands" of warriors. The sequel is bringing back the sandbox mode, a zombie-hunting first-person invasion mode, and there's going to be "multiple story- and player-driven campaigns." UEBS2 is due out in fall 2021 on Steam.
This is all so very stupid, but I'm not mad. Let them fight. All of them. (If your PC can handle it.)
Marvel's Avengers just got a Kate Bishop PlayStation Plus bonus
Marvel's Avengers is a really, really strange "live service" game.
We're sort of in this holding period now, waiting for Square Enix and company to blink. Avengers launched with a host of problems (prolonged fun being a chief issue), and the studio had to take time to fix those before all of that aforementioned live service stuff rolled out. Then delays put a damper on everything else, most notably a delay for the "next gen" editions on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S.
So we're sort of still waiting for all that to happen. Kate Bishop came out! But the playerbase was dropping steadily by the time she actually arrived, so she never really got her true moment in the sun. Maybe this PlayStation Plus bonus will help? I'm not sure anymore.
By heading to this link, you can grab a new Kate Bishop outfit ("touch of purple"), as well as 100 Units (currency) and a Kate Bishop nameplate. Basically, everything you see from the landing page below. It's not much! But it might be something worth logging in for if you still have the game installed.
I think like a lot of people, I'm waiting on that upgrade to hit. While the Hawkeye duo probably isn't enough to convince most people to give it another go (is Spider-Man even enough at this point, especially when you add in the exclusivity nonsense?), as a Hawkeye stan, I'll gladly boot it up more than once a week (my current schedule) just to see what's going on.
Marvel's Avenges PlayStation Plus Reward [PlayStation]
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War shows off new Zombies map 'Firebase Z'
Anybody currently popping the heads of the undead in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War might need to check they have a good restock of Jugger-Nog, as Treyarch is preparing to drop an entirely new map on February 4, which will see the strike team touch down in post-war Vietnam.
As showcased in the new trailer below, Firebase Z will whisk players from the subterranean world of Die Maschine and deposit them deep into a jungle outpost, where they continue to follow the footsteps of operative Samantha Maxis. At Firebase Z, players will fend off another decaying horde, utilizing anomalies to teleport around the battlefield, while uncovering new lore and discovering secrets, such as a powerful new Wonder Weapon. Given some of the Elites on show in this video, you're gonna need it.
It took me quite a while to "get" Zombies. For the longest time I just saw it as a poor man's Left 4 Dead, (a not wholly unfair argument). But as I explored deeper into the mode's lore, secrets, hidden weapons, and strategic use of funds and resources, I really started to get a kick out of its ebb and flow, though I still think you need to play in a well synergized team in order to really make the best of it. Regardless, I'm definitely up for more. Brrrap.
Cyber Shadow only featured a fraction of the creator's story elements
We just recently reviewed Cyber Shadow, and found it to be a pretty good modern retro-tinted platformer!
Amazingly, it's one of those "basically one person did it" kind of games, and we can thank the mind of Aarne Hunziker for that (as well as Yacht Club Games for publishing it and bringing it to the masses). But apparently Hunziker loves this world so much that they created an expansive set of lore for it: so much more than what appeared in the game. Tolkien style!
Speaking to Goomba Stomp, Celia Schilling of Yacht Club Games had a lot to say on the matter: "What you guys get in Cyber Shadow currently is only 25% of the story that Aarne [Hunziker] had written for it." Hunziker would get so into this universe that they'd even focus on what the player character does in their spare time. You gotta love that sort of passion: it comes out in the final version.
Ever wonder what a publisher does in its many potential capacities? Well Schilling also elaborates on that element of the relationship, stating: "With certain publishing, you can just take the game as it is, and you just throw it out in the world. And you're like, there you go. But we like to have a hands-on approach, we treat it like how we would market our own games, but with the creator's vision. So it's one of those things where we did give advice on certain levels, we did review leveling and giving [Aarne Hunziker] feedback. And marketing-wise, we cultivated his vision to help push it out. That's what differentiates our experience and our collaborating with him. But with everything, like design, Aarne has his final say of how he wants something."
Final cut eh? If that's accurate, Yacht Club Games sounds like a pretty good publisher to work with over a number of alternatives. It sounds like if sequels were to ever arise, they would be in good hands if Hunziker extended their deal.
Yacht Club Games' Celia Schilling Talks Cyber Shadow, Unused Lore, and More [Goomba Stomp via Nintendo Life]
Platinum's fifth reveal will be 'smaller in scale' but fans will dig it
PlatinumGames has expanded a little on its teasing fifth reveal, which was added to the "Platinum4" website. The Bayonetta developer notes that the mystery announcement is definitely "smaller in scale" than the studio's previous reveals but is something that the fans "will get a kick out of".
"We want to reveal it at the right time, but what we can say at the moment is that this was always intended as the 'Platinum Four,' so I think that the expectations should be for something extra," said Platinum co-founder Hideki Kamiya in a VGC interview. "That being said, this is something that we've had in the works for a while."
"We wanted to get this out a little sooner, but then the coronavirus happened, which I know is a common excuse, but we hope that when we can start talking about it, it will bring a smile to our fans' faces and we'll get a good reaction like, 'ah, we love those Platinum guys!'"
It sounds like maybe we should all temper our expectations just a little for the incoming announcement, which follows previous reveals of The Wonderful 101 Remastered, Kamiya's own kaiju fighter Project G.G., the new Platinum studio in Tokyo, and April Fool's gag Sol Cresta. Frankly, I don't think we're looking at a Bayonetta 3 launch date, but hopefully - whatever the surprise turns out to be - it will be a neat addition to the Platinum oeuvre.
Platinum says the fifth 'Platinum 4' announcement will be 'smaller in scale' [VGC]
Yeah, Raiden IV, which is coming to Switch, still rules nearly 15 years later
Look, can every shmup just eventually get a re-release on everything? Preferably on a platform that won't eventually go defunct?
You know, I'm something of a scientist shmup collector myself, having gathered as many of these gems as possible on Steam: where I can enjoy some of them with a vertical TATE display setup. There's a few franchises that I can just blindly jump into and lose track of time in: like say, Raiden for example (how convenient!).
Developer MOSS is at it again, and this time, they're nearly ready to unleash their long-gestating Switch port of Raiden IV on Japan. This new version is titled "Raiden IV x Mikado Remix," and it'll feature new musical arrangements, one of which you can hear in the brand new trailer below. They're even getting artists like Daisuke Matsumoto of Cave fame involved!
Raiden IV will arrive on the Japanese Switch eShop on April 22. There's no word on a localization date, but it's fairly easy to create a cross-region account and grab it if you want. Or, you can opt for Raiden IV: Overkill on Steam, which is a good adaptation that came out in 2015 on PC.
Over a decade later, Left 4 Dead 2 is finally 'uncut' in Germany
Valve's 2009 multiplayer shooter Left 4 Dead 2 has been re-certificated in Germany. Now, some 11 years after its initial release, players can finally play the zombie-smasher in all of its original gory glory.
While Left 4 Dead 2 has been readily available in Germany since release, the violent shooter was censored to the point of satire. This particular edition of Left 4 Dead 2 removed all blood, all dismemberment, and even lingering bodies fromthe playfield. Players were even blocked from setting the hellish horde ablaze. The infamous cover art was also deemed too strong, and so the iconic mutilated hand was amusingly "cleaned up."
The same butchered, (no pun intended), edition of Left for Dead 2 was also released in Australia, with the cut content eventually restored back in 2014. But today, in a new statement posted on Steam, Valve announced that German players can now officially enjoy the title as intended via free "Uncut" DLC.
So let the mayhem commence and the claret flow, blood's back on the menu.
Left 4 Dead 2 finally gets an uncut update in Germany [PC Gamer]
[Update: And it's out! You can head to this massive landing page just for the demo, which features links to the PC, PS4, PS5, Stadia, Switch, and Xbox platforms.
Here's the gist from the main site: "The Immortals Fenyx Rising demo sends Fenyx on a quest to discover the mysterious Secret of the Cyclops after Zeus wrests narration away from Prometheus. Set in a new archipelago inspired by Aphrodite, the goddess of love, the demo features a mix of combat, exploration, and puzzles designed to prime players for the full Immortals Fenyx Rising experience."
In other words, it's basically the Stadia Pro exclusive demo that debuted a few months back.]
Immortals Fenyx Rising came out over a month ago and I still see people on the fence, or stewing about whether or not to pick it up. A demo would help!
Doubly so for Immortals, which for some has scratched an open world itch that has been lingering for a long while; or for same, fails to sate that same need due to an over-reliance on standard Ubisoft open world tropes. The choice is yours! The truth may lie somewhere in the middle.
So about that demo: the Twitter account PSN releases scrapped the PSN, and found that a demo (with a legit ID) was coming to the European digital marketplace via PS4. Now Ubisoft could easily roll this demo out to the PS5, or platforms outside of Sony's purview. If that's the case, there's going to be a lot of happy people pretty soon! This game practically begs for a demo run.
PSN releases [Twitter]
Epic Games Store raked in $700 million in sales revenue in 2020
Digital storefront Epic Games Store has released some pretty hefty figures pertaining to last year's service growth. The store now serves over 160 million registered users, who between them spent a huge $700 million USD in purchases over the course of 2020.
On a daily basis, Epic Games Store sees around 31 million active daily players, which is an increase of 192% from its day-to-day activity back in 2019. The store's catalogue has more than doubled, rising from 190 games at the end of 2019, to 471 games by the end of 2020. Among the most popular titles purchased last year were Rocket League, Borderlands 3, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 + 2 and, of course, global phenomenon Fortnite.
It won't surprise anybody to hear that EGS' free game giveaways have proven ridiculously successful, with some 749 million titles nabbed by the store's registered users. The most popular of these was May's offering of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V, which saw some 13 million "purchases" - a frenzied rush that actually ended up crashing the store's servers.
It should be noted that, despite these successes, Epic Games Store remains firmly behind Valve's more established Steam service, which recently reported a monthly average of 120 million active users to EGS's 56 million. Still, it can't be denied that Epic's polarizing storefront has seen exponential user growth in the past year, which is set to continue in 2021.
Contest: Win TOHU, a fishy adventure game, for Switch or PS4
In today's contest you can win TOHU for Nintendo Switch or PlayStation 4!
Fish -- can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em! Amirite?! No but seriously, aquatic creatures kinda freak me out. At least they're good in sushi.
TOHU takes the fish motif and really runs with it! There are planets made of fish. Fish worlds, fish mountains, fish lakes, fish tacos...it's all fish! Win a Switch or PS4 copy and enjoy the life aquatic.
Grounded's new update lets you wage war against bees
It might not be the meaningful story shakeup that some players are waiting for, but I'm ready to revisit Grounded with update 0.6.0 – it adds a few aerial attention-grabbers like bees, mosquitoes, and fireflies, as well as what I'd call an essential quality-of-life change to backpack inventory management.
(The way the dead bee's body rolls away from its head at 2:33 is wonderfully unsettling.)
The change that'll have a positive ripple effect: your equipped items won't take up space in your backpack, and when you die, you won't lose them. Instead, your equipped gear will take a "small" durability hit. It's a fair trade-off between providing tension (this is a survival game) and ease of use.
This update also includes gear to go along with the flying menace – you can craft Bee Armor, a Firefly Head Lamp, Stinger Spear, and Mosquito Needle, among other items – and numerous tuning changes. Another good bullet point: "Most unblockable creature attacks are now blockable with shields."
I haven't even explored the koi's domain yet, so I have a bunch of ground to cover. Wish me luck. It's a testament to this tiny-huge world that, even after a long break, I still vividly remember the landscape.
January 0.6.0 Update is Released [Obsidian]
Terminator: Resistance Enhanced slips back to April 2021
Publisher Reef Entertainment has quietly announced that the PS5 upgrade for its 2019 release Terminator: Resistance will miss its March 26 release date by a little over one month. The first-person RPG will now launch on the premier PlayStation platform on April 30.
Terminator: Resistance Enhanced will feature Teyon's original adventure with newly-upscaled 4K visuals running at 60 frames-per-second. Additional tech boosts will be applied to Terminator Resistance's loading times, as well as its in-game textures, light and shadow dynamics, polygon count, tessellation, and anti-aliasing, making Future War Los Angeles more dystopian and miserable than ever before.
Also arriving in this release is an all-new Infiltrator Mode, which will allow players to occupy the death metal chassis of a T-800 infiltration unit, striking back at hero Jacob Rivers and his meager but determined forces fighting to overthrow the dominance of Skynet. Later in 2021, a paid DLC expansion will add new narrative content to the campaign.
While Terminator: Resistance is far from a shining example of licensed games, Teyon's dedication to supporting its product is commendable, and might be enough of a reason for me to give the so-so shooter another pass when the upgrade and DLC content hit the market. I guess I'll be back after all.
Resident Evil Re:Verse lets you turn off the 'comic' filter
Player footage from the Resident Evil Re:Verse beta hasn't swayed me one way or the other – I still think this multiplayer pack-in looks like a silly fling – but it's nice to know that you can change the graphics. If you weren't a fan of the exaggerated art style in the reveal trailer, you can turn off the comic filter.
Here's some beta footage of the Re:Verse tutorial with the filter on:
And here's a deathmatch with the filter turned off:
As a survivor like Leon, you can shoot, dodge, and roundhouse kick other players, who will then morph into a bioweapon when they die. The more virus capsules a player is holding onto, the more powerful a beast they'll become – until they're taken out, at which point they will respawn elsewhere as a human. The beta doesn't cover progression hooks or other elements, but it paints enough of a picture for now.
If you're in any way invested in this stuff, the ResidentEvil subreddit has a recap of the six survivors, their weapons, and their abilities. Hunk can go invisible and Claire is packing Quickdraw Army.
Re:Verse reminds me of the tacked-on multiplayer landscape of the Xbox 360 era, except I had a soft spot for some of those modes (like Dead Space 2's human vs. necromorph battles) back in the day.
I can't stress enough how much I'd rather play a Resident Evil side-mode working with other players to survive – or face off against AI hordes alone for points, Mercenaries style. Whether they're included as a bonus with the main game or not, these halfhearted PvP outings aren't going to cut it for a lot of us.
I mean, yeah, I'm sure I'll try it for an evening after the credits roll in Village, but Capcom can do better.
[Via VGC]
That Diablo style Magic: The Gathering game is finally heading into open beta in March
It's been...a year! Well, it's been...a hard nine months or so, but it's felt like a full year.
And in that time, I've forgotten about a lot of games that were sort of vaguely coming in 2021, or were pushed further away into limbo. That includes the upcoming Magic: The Gathering themed dungeon crawling action romp Magic: Legends!
Lo and behold though, Perfect World Entertainment and Wizards of the Coast are here to remind us that it is indeed a thing, and will start becoming an actual thing you can play pretty soon. On March 23 the PC open beta will begin, at which point everyone can give it a go; following a previous series of closed alpha tests.
As a reminder it's described as a "free-to-play persistent world" game, which is still dungeon-crawler framed but also has elements of the card game, like "decks" that can be used to influence your spell/ability choices. You can get a good quick look at that idea below.
Eventually, this thing will hit the PS4 and Xbox One platforms as well.
With the way things are looking for Marvel's Avengers, we're long overdue a check-in with Crystal Dynamics. The next War Table video – a status update on the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 versions of Avengers, to say nothing of Clint's story Future Imperfect – is scheduled for February 16, 2021.
Get a glimpse of the future with our WAR TABLE Deep Dive: Hawkeye, premiering on February 16!
— Marvel's Avengers (@PlayAvengers) January 28, 2021
We'll be showing:
🹠Marvel's Avengers Operation: Hawkeye - Future Imperfect
âï¸ PS5 & Xbox Series X|S
Like our previous Deep Dive, this will be directly uploaded and not livestreamed. pic.twitter.com/3aD2H5ST1T
It's safe to say the post-launch rollout hasn't gone to plan – and that's understandable, to a point; 2020 was rough – but the rate at which content is coming in feels like a crawl, even for the most patient fans.
These content delays are made significantly worse when you think about what we're getting (first Kate, then Clint) compared to what we could've gotten instead (any number of other, higher-profile fan-favorite characters, locations, and scenarios). It feels like Avengers' live-service woes have snowballed out of control. People had fun with the game around launch, but now, the timing's all out of whack.
Hopefully this War Table deep dive can give players concrete, compelling reasons to stick around. As someone who was (at one point) waiting for the PS5 edition, I'm going to need a lot more convincing.
It's increasingly tough to wrap my head around the whole Spider-Man deal with PlayStation.
Gunbarich is the next classic Psikyo shmup headed to PC
Publisher City Connection continues on its quest to bring developer Psikyo string of shmup classics to the PC platform. Next on the agenda is colorful hybrid title Gunbarich, which first launched in Japanese arcades back in 2001.
Combining the gameplay mechanics of a vertical shmup, a Breakout clone, and even a little bit of pinball, Gunbarich has players control one of cute selection of avatars, batting a day-glo pink puck back and forth against walls, enemies, and their projectiles. In fact, you can even reflect enemy bullets back at your oppressors for maximum damage. Turn the tables, yo.
As with all previous City Connection re-releases, Gunbarich will feature all of the arcade's original dipswitch options, along with a range of visual filters and orientation settings, allowing players to customize Gunbarich's speed, difficulty and visual design to their pleasure. Gunbarich will launch on PC February 11.
Ninja Theory isn't pulling Bleeding Edge offline, but it's moving on
If you had told me Bleeding Edge would still be around in January 2021, I'm not sure I would've been able to picture it. Ninja Theory isn't delisting Bleeding Edge yet – a move that seems plausible given its failure to resonate with a big-enough audience – but the team is done releasing content updates for the game.
The only-a-matter-of-time news was shared today on Twitter.
With the studio now focusing on our new projects (Senua’s Saga, Project Mara & The Insight Project) we have decided that there will be no further content updates for Bleeding Edge. The game is still playable on Xbox and PC. Thank you to the fans & keep teaming up & causing chaos!
— Bleeding Edge (@BleedingEdgeNT) January 28, 2021
Bleeding Edge has redeeming qualities – it's clear the developers genuinely tried – but better games have failed to make a splash in the tricky modern-day multiplayer space, and it doesn't make sense to fight this uphill battle. Not every game can turn it around post-launch, and not every game should.
I'm glad Ninja Theory is in a position to take the hit on Bleeding Edge and move on undeterred with a mix of familiar (Hellblade II) and new (Project Mara). I'd hate to lose this studio to a botched PvP game.
I was just thinking about Bleeding Edge yesterday afternoon in light of the PS5's Destruction AllStars. Not that these games are comparable one-to-one exactly, but there are broad-strokes similarities and I'm curious to see if the latter can establish a healthy foothold with PlayStation Plus backing it up.
I'll always have Kulev, my curse-slinging deceased professor controlled by a cybernetic snake.
Tencent purchases minority stake in Dontnod Entertainment
Dontnod Entertainment, the studio behind titles such as Life is Strange, Vampyr, and Twin Mirror, has announced that it has sold a minority stake to Chinese conglomerate Tencent.
The French developer agreed to the Tencent investment as part of its ongoing efforts to becoming financially secure enough to self-publish its future releases. Tencent's stake equates to something in the region of €30 EUR (roughly $36 million USD) toward Dontnod's capital. In return, Tencent receives a chair on the studio's board of directors.
"We are delighted to welcome Tencent as a Dontnod investor," said Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert. "Through this partnership, Dontnod is perfectly positioned to take advantage of the various growth drivers in the video game industry, in particular in China and on mobile platforms[...] The capital increase announced today will enable us to step up and boost the roll-out of our development plan, which aims to capture more value from our original creations by self-publishing more games."
This is only the latest industry move by Tencent this week, as mere days ago it was announced that the multimedia corporation had purchased a majority stake in another relatively small studio, Klei Entertainment. It should be clarified that the two deals are very different in scale, with the Dontnod transaction more of a company investment, and not anything close to a studio purchase.
Tencent acquires minority stake in Dontnod Entertainment [Daniel Ahmad]
The Yakuza Remastered Collection is ready and waiting for you on PC and Xbox One
A whole buncha people are about to enter a Kiryu state of mind, and that warms my heart like a toasty towel fresh out of the dryer. At last, Sega has released The Yakuza Remastered Collection on Steam and Xbox One – the three-game bundle costs $40, or you could stick with Xbox Game Pass if you have it.
You can also buy the 1080p/60fps remasters of Yakuza 3, Yakuza 4, and Yakuza 5 separately if you wish, but you'll lose out on some savings in the process. The games are $20 a pop if you go that route.
You may not be in a spot to play these three titles yet, but even just knowing you'll have the chance to check them out on your platform of choice is encouraging. It's important for the mainline series to be available all in one place (and I'm hoping some of the spin-off games will resurface in the future).
I have the PS4 edition of The Yakuza Remastered Collection, and I'm waiting for the right moment to feverishly play through them back-to-back. I bounce from hibernation to intense obsession.
The next stop on the Yakuza train is going to be the PS5 version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which is out March 2, followed by Yakuza 6: The Song of Life, which hits Xbox One and PC on March 25.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will be dropping onto PC in March
Sega has announced that its excellent and addictive release Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 is headed to PC in the coming months. Following its recent release on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms, the hybrid puzzle title will be available to purchase via Steam on March 23.
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, for those less inclined, combines the action of both the Puyo Puyo and Tetris franchise for a fast-moving, quick-changing, and breathless strategy experience. The sequel is packed out with features and modes for both single and multiplayer participants, including a character-driven story mode, new boss raids, and various challenges for even the most hardened Puyo Puyo Tetris fanatic.
The PC release will feature all of the content from the console version including the recent addition of Sega's own Sonic the Hedgehog as a playable character. If you're new to the franchise, don't sweat it, as Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 includes a deep tutorial and trial mode to get you in the brick and blob droppin' action. It's a great game, well worth checking out if you're yet to take the plunge.
Immortals Fenyx Rising's first major DLC is out today
Immortals Fenyx Rising has been chilling for a little over a month now: which is like...five years in Ubisoft time! That means DLC is inevitably on the way: it already launched, in fact!
As stated by Ubisoft, you do not need to complete the gargantuan campaign to jump into A New God, which is slowly becoming the norm for a lot of these massive open world titles. In some instances, games will even give you the chance to create whole new auto-leveled-up characters to dive into the DLC with. It will have "story spoilers for the conclusion," however.
The add-on will focus on Vaults of Tartaros-esque challenges, but with a brighter aesthetic. Here's the rundown of what it entails: "new vaults, new types of puzzles, and godly new gear." If you want to see what the DLC is like, Ubisoft gave us a detailed and lengthy playthrough yesterday: you can watch the archived video below.
Here's how to unlock Dead Cells' flying pet sword Serenade
Outside of the new levels and boss in Fatal Falls, the DLC's flashiest addition has got to be Serenade – a talkative pet sword who hovers around, marking enemies for critical hits. It's the Brutality equivalent of the other two summons in Dead Cells: the Mushroom Boi (Survival) and Great Owl of War (Tactics).
I already ran down how to reach Fractured Shrines, Undying Shores, and Mausoleum in a separate guide, but it's also worth showing where you can find Serenade; it's super easy to overlook on your initial runs. To quickly get you up to speed, you'll want to head to the first Fatal Falls level, Fractured Shrines, which you can reach after either Black Bridge or The Nest – just take the elevator up.
Once you're in Fractured Shrines, lookout for a large room that splits off into four possible directions. One of the paths (in this case, the top-right path) will seemingly stop with a dead end. It's a trick.
This is the starting point for the secret path.
If you look closely, you should notice rain landing on invisible platforms. Follow them to a secret area.
Vectorman prepared me for these invisible platforms.
You'll eventually come to a room guarded by a giant enemy – beat it, and the door will pop open. There are a few big-door-guardian rooms in Fractured Shrines, but this particular one leads to Serenade.
These big boys are more intimidating than anything.
Head inside to watch a short sequence and rescue Serenade from its tomb. This sword is a talker.
What does Serenade do, exactly? The power "summons a flying sword that will mark enemies; trigger it again to inflict critical hits on them while holding the weapon, and vice-versa! The sword will vanish after 30 seconds if you don't hit the marked enemies." The recipe costs 50 cells at the Collector.
It's probably not going to stay in my Dead Cells rotation for long, but I've enjoyed its company so far.
In a switch, you can now buy The Witcher 3 on the eShop without the DLC
While CD Projekt Red has its hands full with Cyberpunk 2077, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is still going strong.
It already dealt with its growing pains with a score of patches, and didn't piss off investors or the entire industry in the process. As such, it would behoove the publisher to keep rolling with that goodwill as they attempt to put out the fires they caused themselves with Cyberpunk. In the meantime, there's an interesting little option now for prospective Witcher 3 Switch players.
Originally, the game launched on Switch as a "Complete Edition" of sorts, and even came with the full version, DLC, included, on one physical game cart. But now there's an extra option available to just buy the base edition of the game, sans DLC, which is live in the UK now. If that's the sort of thing you're into, and feel like you can't get to the DLC at a later date (or not at all), it's something you can do now.
As Nintendo Life points out, all prior owners of the Complete Edition automatically own this other "lite" version, likely to weed out any potential mishaps and refunds. It's probably the least offensive way possible to roll something out like this! Better late than never.
The Witcher 3 [Nintendo via Nintendo Life]
Pinball FX reveals next-gen edition and monthly news show
I dig pinball. Do y'all know this? I don't know if y'all know this, but I do. And I also dig Pinball FX, which has kept digital fans flipping ever since its launch on Xbox 360 way back in 2007. So it's with no small amount of joy I bring you the news that Zen Studios is currently rebuilding its pinball simulator for launch on next-gen platforms in 2021.
The new version of Pinball FX will utilize the technology of platforms such as PS5 and Xbox Series X to deliver the flashiest and most visually arresting PFX experience to date. Not only that, but Zen is currently working on a whole host of new gameplay modes and additions, including "Pinball Royale" - a sort of "Last Ball Rolling" affair. A new career mode and score-attack challenges await, as do brand new online leagues, limited-time events, and even seasonal content.
We're gearing up for a huge Nintendo release (or should I say, another re-release that's probably going to be a huge hit) soon enough with Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, but for now, we feast on indies.
There's a lot of them today! Olija, Tohu (not that Touhou), and a handful of others like Golden Force. Amazingly, The 3DS is getting a new game today in Bricks Pinball 4, and the Wii U is hosting Seasonal Assistant. It's a miracle!
This sort of dual-release, no matter how small, hasn't happened in a good while. Usually we get a 3DS or Wii U game on their own every few months or so, but to see these systems still alive in some form puts a smile on my face.
One of Sonic's most iconic voice actors will no longer be voicing the character
Odds are you've heard Roger Craig Smith speak before.
Perhaps as Chris Redfield in modern Resident Evil games? Or in cartoons like Regular Show, as a host of different characters. He's even been the voice of Batman several times! But many ardent fans will always think of him as the main voice of Sonic following Jaleel White's turn in the role: until today, that is.
Shared on Twitter by the man himself, Smith had the following to say today: "Welp, 10 years was an amazing run. Onward to new zones! Much love to the fans who've been so kind. It's been an honor."
Fans are speculating that the parting was not mutual, using the broken blue [Sonic] heart in the tweet as evidence. While it's hard to say what went down; it's possible that Smith has become busy as he has no shortage of work, and offered the broken heart as a message to his fans. Or, Sega wants to offer the role to Mr. "Jean-Ralphio" himself, Ben Schwartz, who played the character in the feature film: or go a different direction entirely.
Schwartz would be a shrewd pick, as he has a history of voicing cartoons, so he'd slot into any sort of cross-media project Sega might have planned. Either way, Smith was a fantastic Sonic and was mostly beloved by fans (myself included), so I'm sad to see him go. We'll likely see the next stage of Sonic whenever Sega decides to unveil the new projects they've been teasing for forever.
Roger Craig Smith [Twitter]
Housemarque's Returnal pushed back to April 30
Sony Interactive Entertainment has announced that Housemarque's bullet-hell roguelike Returnal will not meet its March 19 release date, and will launch on PS5 on April 30.
In a brief message on Twitter, SIE noted the decision was made to push the interstellar adventure back in order to give the team "extra time to polish the game to the level of quality players expect from Housemarque." Returnal already looks pretty dang slick, but the short delay should at least give the Resogun devs the opportunity to fine-tune its weird world.
Returnal will tell the story a Selene, a space explorer who finds herself caught in a death-and-rebirth timeloop, ala Edge of Tomorrow. Players will guide our hero as she explores a beautiful but dangerous universe, using an arsenal of ridiculously powerful weaponry to press further forward with each demise, pressing closer and closer to the source of the planet's chrono-conundrum.
Activision says applying diversity hiring rule to all vacancies would be 'unworkable'
According to an in-depth report by Vice, Activision Blizzard is resisting a union-led suggestion that it interviews "at least one diverse candidate" for any of its future company vacancies, with the publisher's legal team calling the rule "an unworkable encroachment".
The so-called "Rooney Rule" - adopted by the National Football League back in 2003 - mandates that employers interview diverse candidates whenever looking for coaches, managers, or other office positions within their respective teams. The AFL-CIO labor federation, which works with Activision and Electronic Arts, requests that a similar rule be applied to both publishers' hiring practices going forward.
But it appears Activision has not taken warmly to the suggestion. According to a letter received by Vice, an Activision attorney told the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that "While the company has implemented a Rooney Rule policy as envisioned [for director and CEO nominees], implementing a policy that would extend such an approach to all hiring decisions amounts to an unworkable encroachment on the Company's ability to run its business and compete for talent in a highly competitive, fast-moving market."
Activision also responded directly to Vice's report. "Our talent is the lifeblood of Activision Blizzard." said the publisher. "We value the diversity of the Activision Blizzard community and understand that our employees and players come from a wide array of backgrounds. In order to deliver epic and engaging entertainment for a diverse, growing global audience, our workforce must reflect these communities."
Conversely, Electronic Arts has stated that it will, at the very least, take the AFL-CIO proposal into consideration. "We're in regular conversations with our shareholders and we value the feedback we receive," EA told Vice. "The Board is committed to maintaining hiring practices that promote inclusion and diversity at EA. More broadly, EA believes that a diverse and inclusive workforce is key to our success.EA is committed to attracting diverse, dynamic talent - prioritizing inclusive values and practices at every step of the employee journey."
Activision is resisting diversity hiring push by America's unions [Vice via GamesIndustry.biz]
New Cyberpunk 2077 patch fixes a game breaking bug the last one added
Amid all of the Cyberpunk 2077 drama that's happening with lawsuits from investors and customers alike: CD Projekt Red also needs to hunker down and fix the game. And in an almost comical fashion, the last patch actually added another game-breaking bug into the mix, Bethesda style.
Breaking it down, patch 1.1 arrived on January 22, and was the first major update for Cyberpunk since launch. It fixed numerous stability issues alongside of some much-needed granular problems, but it also dealt with a particular quest called "Down on the Street."
Without spoiling anything, the gist was that an NPC needed to call you on the phone to actually keep the main story going: but depending on the circumstances, they may never call. That bug was fixed, but it escalated into another issue for select other players, where the NPC would never actually say anything. It was basically the same bug.
Alas, hotfix 1.11 is out today and should hopefully rectify that game-breaker, so you can actually continue on with the campaign. It's a real small hotfix in terms of notes, as the only other thing is that "item randomization has been restored to its previous state."
You can check out the full hotfix notes below, which mention the NPC by name, but don't give away any major story details.
Hotfix 1.11 [CD Projekt Red]
