BlizzCon Online details released by Blizzard, now called BlizzConline

Back in December, Blizzard Entertainment confirmed the dates for BlizzCon as being February 19th and 20th as well as reiterating this would be an online event. That is down to COVID-19 and the various restrictions in place to halt the spread. Now, Blizzard has confirmed that BlizzCon Online will hence be known as BlizzConline, and the company has also detailed what to expect from each day. Expect announcements of what the company has been working on, and multiple channels that will deep dive into different products. This includes announcements for Overwatch 2.

The details of what to expect over the two days are below:

Day 1 will kick off at 2 p.m. PST on Friday, February 19, with an opening segment that includes a first look at some of the latest game content the development teams have been working on. Then for the next three-plus hours, you'll have the option to tune in to one of the six different themed channels, so you can decide whether you want to sample a little bit of everything or dig deeper into the games you're interested in most.

Day 2 will pick back up at 12 p.m. PST on Saturday, February 20, with multiple channels once again, until the fun wraps up at later that afternoon. Throughout this second day, we'll be shining a spotlight on the global Blizzard community, including the winners and outstanding entries in the Community Showcase contests and exhibitions.

You will be able to watch it all for free through Blizzard's website as well as Twitch and YouTube. Blizzard will also save the videos so you can watch stuff you may have missed live. In addition, Blizzard is celebrating its 30th year this move so will be selling commerative items through its games and the online Blizzard store.

Source: Blizzard

Turrican Flashback Review

Last year's physical collection of the classic 16-bit shooter Turrican series might be mightily appealing for fans, bundling 10 Turrican games with art books and CDs, but at nearly £80 for the whole lot it was pretty expensive. So it's nice that ININ Games have decided to release a digital version at a lower price, albeit severely cut down in scope.

The Turrican Flashback collection contains four games, the Amiga versions of Turrican and it's sequel, plus two pseudo sequel / prequels, Mega Turrican for the Sega Mega Drive and Super Turrican for the SNES. They are all direct ports of the original games without any new graphics options or improved sound. They're all exactly the same as they were thirty years ago and depending on your age that's either going to be a good or a bad thing.

All four games follow the same basic design: you play as a robotic character running and jumping around a scrolling landscape, shooting enemies, grabbing power ups, defeating bosses and uncovering secret areas. Influenced by the likes of Contra, Mega Man and Metroid, Turrican became an instant hit on home computers, grabbing high scores for it's energetic gameplay and thumping soundtrack, and unlike many other games of that age, they still hold up pretty well in 2021.

As you might expect, Turrican looks the most basic of the collection, with solid sheets of colour in the background and fairly simple enemy design. Each level is remarkably large, packed with secrets areas that can only be accessed by perfectly timed jumps or by transforming in to a indestructible death wheel. There are leaps of faith, Mario-style hidden power blocks, and a good selection of weapons including the famous beam, a large laser sword that you can rotate round your hero (although this is quite fiddly to control on a DualSense). It is, like its successor and indeed most games of that age, incredibly hard, forcing the player to learn the maps and know exactly when and where the enemies spawn.

Turrican 2 takes all the elements from the original and improves on it, from the graphics to the weapons – the game really pushed the Amiga to it's limits and still looks and plays really well today. It also includes shoot 'em up style levels in which you pilot a spaceship to break up the running and jumping.

Moving on to the console versions and although the look even better than Turrican 2, adding parallax scrolling, transparency, and even weather effects, the gameplay is less about exploration and rather more linear. Both Super Turrican and Mega Turrican are more running and gunning than exploration, although Mega Turrican replaces the beam weapon with a grappling hook to help you get around the levels.

All four games are replicated perfectly, to the point where you can even use the original cheat codes, but to help those who have not experienced the bastard hard gameplay found in all games of the era, you can use a rewind function function. This cunningly rewinds the game a few seconds which means you can stop the game just after death, skip back a few frames and restart, dodging whatever bullet finished you off. You can also save your game at any point, a feature I would have killed for thirty years ago, but using any of these features disables trophies. If you want to collect them you are going to have play the game exactly as you would have thirty years ago.

To transport you back to the 90's there are a bunch of filters and screen options to alter edge curvature, add scan lines, or tweak RGB vales, or you can expand the display to modern day widescreen. You can also change the sound mix. The Amiga only had four channels of sound, so you have the drums and bass coming out of the left speaker and the melody and sound effects coming out of the right, but this new feature allows you to merge these so you can appreciate Chris Huelsbeck's amazing soundtrack.

Unfortunately that's your lot when it comes to extras. the Directors Cut and score attack modes found in the expensive collectors edition are not included.

Yakuza series spinoff Judgment is heading to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S

Judgment, the brawling detective sim from Yakuza series developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, will be punching its way onto new console later this year Sega have confirmed.

One of 2019's sleeper hits, Judgment originally launched on PlayStation 4 but will now be coming to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and Google Stadia on April 23rd.

As you might have guessed, Judgment will be receiving an upgrade on Sony and Microsoft's newer hardware. It has been revealed that the game will feature "refined visuals" while also running at 60 fps.

Although it doesn't bear the Yakuza name, Judgment is set within the same universe. Instead of playing as a virtuous street thug you take on the role of dishevelled detective Takayuki Yagami as he hunts for a killer through the familiar streets of Kamurocho.

Judgment borrows the same over-the-top combat from Yakuza, spliced with some movesets specific to Yagami's own fighting style. There's also that same emphasis on character dialogue and atmosphere, Judgment nudging players to explore and soak in Kamurocho, partaking in the many available side hustles. As a detective game, you'll also be scouring crime scenes, collecting clues, and making deductions.

It's also worth noting that this enhanced version of Judgment will come tagged with all previously release bonus DLC.

Aran was left thoroughly impressed with Judgment when he reviewed the game at launch:

Judgment is another great Japanese crime drama that will grab your attention as the stakes get bigger and bigger, but it's not quite on par with the Yakuza series. Some of the private detective busywork could make way for more of RGG Studio's trademark goofiness to cut through the seriousness of the main story, but anyone who has any interest in Far East crime dramas or the Yakuza series should pick Judgment up. Judgment has been judged and has been found worth playing.

Source: Press Release

Destruction AllStars, Control & Concrete Genie – Your February PS+ games are now live

Update: All three PlayStation Plus games for February are now live to download. You can find the direct links below in our updated story.

"Control, I like to have a lot," sang Janet Jackson in 1985, conveniently predicting reviews of Remedy Entertainment's smash hit game 24 years before it was released. Sadly she didn't about a Concrete Genie, but there is the song Concrete Angel by Gareth Emery featuring Christina Novelli and it's a right banger. I can't find any songs about Destruction AllStars so my intro falls apart at this point, sorry.

That's what you're getting in this month's PlayStation Plus update, though, and the PS5 exclusive Destruction AllStars in particular went live at midnight in your respective regions – it is now available in all regions. Alongside this spiritual successor to Destruction Derby, you also have Control: Ultimate Edition which now enhances Remedy's excellent game for PS5. and the lovely Concrete Genie.

Here's links for all three:

Destruction AllStars is a 27.058GB install in the UK, though you can start playing the tutorials after 17.479GB.

Here's some blurb from Sony about each game which will be part of this month's PS+ games:

Destruction AllStars (PS5)

Entertain the crowds by bringing controlled chaos to the vehicular combat arena of this metal-crunching multiplayer game*. Pick one of 16 superstar competitors, then leap into four game modes, using timing, tactics and skills to cause carnage behind the wheel or create havoc with your parkour skills. Perfect your character's abilities – including a hero vehicle unique to them –  to give you the edge in free-for-all battles or team challenges and become Global Destruction Federation Champion. The game also supports PS5's Game Help feature, giving you hints and tips to become the ultimate destructive machine without the need to leave the game.

Control: Ultimate Edition (PS5 and PS4)

Master supernatural abilities and wield a shape-shifting sidearm in this third-person action-adventure from Remedy Entertainment (Max Payne, Alan Wake). Take on the role of Jesse Faden, Director of the Federal Bureau of Control, whose New York headquarters are breached by an ominous enemy. Despite outward appearances, the skyscraper's interior is vast and ever-shifting. You'll need to explore – and weaponize – this unpredictable environment to clean house and repel the invaders.

Concrete Genie (PS4)

Pick up a magic paintbrush and return the polluted town of Denska to its former bright and bustling seaside self in this touching and multi-award winning action-adventure. Cleanse streets and alleyways, then use your Living Paint to create mischievous Genies whose magical powers will aid you in overcoming puzzles and seeing off bullies who pursue you. The game also includes two additional modes built especially for PS VR to let you further unleash your creativity.

Source: PS Blog

Resident Evil Village's sexy vampire lady is almost 3m tall (in heels)

Capcom have decided to give their fans exactly what they want, and revealed the heigh of Lady Dimitrescu, one of the sexy vampire ladies in the upcoming Resident Evil Village.

Lady Dimitrescu is, it turns out, not just tall, but giant. If you include her hat and high heels, she's 2.9m (approximately 9'6″) tall.

Resident Evil Village's art director Tomonori Takano was more than happy to oblige the rather…. passionate requests for information, saying:

Lady Dimitrescu and her daughters have received a fair amount of attention, far more than we anticipated. It's great that they're able to take the spotlight as icons of Resident Evil Village. Lady Dimitrescu, especially, has received much fanfare both domestically and oversea, which has made all of us in the development team extremely happy. I hear her height is something of interest…

You can freely insert air quotes through that around words like "attention", "fanfare" and "something of interest", because the latest reveal trailer for Resident Evil Village, which featured these characters quite heavily, got an awful lot of lusty reactions online.

Many generations can point to certain defining moments in pop culture as having triggered a sexual awakening, whether it's Elvis Presley's dancing in the 60s or David Bowie's rather tight costume in Labyrinth. I don't think anyone expected it to be very tall vampire ladies in Resident Evil Village revealing giantess fetishists for the 2020s, but here we are.

As a game, Resident Evil Village follows on from Resident Evil 7, picking up Ethan's tortured story as he finds himself in another very bizarre situation. The game returns to a first person view point, with some gunplay alongside the need to block incoming attacks as you tentatively explore the spooky castle.

Resident Evil Village is coming out on 7th May 2021, across PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and PC. Alongside the release date announcement, Capcom also revealed that it would, in fact, be arriving on the last-gen consoles, with free upgrades to PS5 and Xbox Series.

A PlayStation exclusive demo is also available, which was so popular that it managed to crash the PlayStation Store for a while after its release. A further demo is expected in the spring and will be available for all platforms, while Village's bundled in multiplayer game, Re:Verse, is currently in beta testing.

Source: Twitter

The Division 2 TU12.1 adds PS5 & Xbox Series X support today – read the patch notes during server maintenance downtime

Today's a big day for the Venn diagram crossover of The Division 2 players and PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X owners, with Title Update 12.1 adding support for the new consoles and bringing 4K 60fps gaming to the table.

Though a mid-season update for the game, there's also the Resident Evil 25th Anniversary cross-over event and a major reduction in the cost of Optimization Station.

It might feel like a small update, but there's still plenty for the team to do behind the scenes, and that means the game will be offline for maintenance for 3 hours from 8:30AM GMT. Plenty of time to read through the patch notes below.

Title Update 12.1 weighs in at the following download sizes:

  • Xbox: ~5.2GB
  • PlayStation: ~4.3GB
  • PC: ~5.1GB

While technically still a PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game, the update makes it "aware" of the new consoles, similar to Gears 5 and today's God of War update, enabling higher performance without requiring a completely new version of the game.

Alongside this comes the Resident Evil apparel event, which offers a bunch of Resi-themed skins and collectables for you to earn. To earn them, you'll need to take part in the STARS Support and STARS Assault projects, which have replaced the level 40 BOO daily projects. One project will be available each day and each one will reward two new patches or trophies each day until you've collected the full set. Simple!

Here's the patch notes for Title Update 12.1:

4K 60 FPS Support for Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5

Optimization Station Changes

  • Reduced all optimization costs by 75%.
  • Reduced all optimization material crafting recipes by 50%.
  • With this update agents should be able to afford to optimize their weapons and gear about once an hour.
  • Though it may take up to two hours to gather all the resources necessary to optimize the final tier of many items.

Reanimated Global Event Changes

The green cloud produced by killing enemies with a headshot no longer harms agents. This cloud now heals agents and provides a significant boost to their firepower while standing within it. The green cloud continues to significantly harm enemies.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed issue where gear sets would not correctly display which talents were required to be active for their chest and backpack talents to activate.
  • Fixed issue where Rigger would sometime refresh Tend and Befriend incorrectly.
  • Fixed issue where Memento Kill Confirmed drops could come from friendly skills.
  • Fixed an issue where Memento buffs could last beyond death. Which was both grim and ironic.
  • Fixed issue where directives in the LZ could multiply experience earned in the DZ.
  • Fixed and issue where Legendary Black Tusk would not count as "Black Tusk" for objectives in Leagues and Summit Challenges.
  • Removed objectives for the Skill Demotions Summit Challenge which referred to the Firestarter Chem Launcher and the Shrapnel Trap. The objectives were misbehaving and have been put in timeout.
  • Fixed issue where Vanguard and Perfect Vanguard granted their invulnerability to allies.
  • Fixed issue where Summit Combat Merit Commendation would display unusually in the Commendations menu.
  • Fixed issue where Merciless and Ruthless exotics would trigger a cosmetic explosion on the seventh stack in addition to really exploding on the first shot after.
  • Fixed issue where Decoy Skill would not refresh correctly if it was deployed when getting a headshot kill with the Mantis exotic.
  • Fixed issue where other players on the League leaderboards would show your own SHD level and point distribution.
  • Fixed misaligned elbow pads when using specific apparel items.
  • Fixed issue where The Summit matchmaking tab is not grayed out for groups containing level 30 agents.
  • Fixed issue where the audio queue doesn't trigger when killing the last enemy on floor 100 in The Summit.
  • Fixed the Symptom Aggravator" talent description.

Source: Ubisoft

Rocket League update v1.92 is out on all formats, read the notes here

Rocket League has been patched and I have just enough time to write them up while the last few gigs of another multiplayer car battler, Destruction Allstars, downloads. The latest patch for the game is version 1.92 and should be out for all formats and it brings NFL content, changes to Rocket Pass,  and of course some bug fixes. Here are the notes!

THE HEADLINES

  • New Fennec Decals have been added to the Esports Shop
  • An 'Effect Intensity' drop-down has been added to Video Settings
  • The NFL Super Bowl LV Celebration starts February 2

NEW CONTENT

NFL

  • The NFL Super Bowl LV Celebration starts February 2 at 8 a.m. PST / 4 p.m. UTC. The event includes:
    • The new Gridiron LTM will be available as a Casual Playlist
    • New Challenges will be available this week. Completing Challenges will unlock new NFL-themed items and XP bonuses
    • The NFL Fan Pack will return to the Item Shop February 2 through February 8

Esports Shop

  • A new Fennec Decal is now available to purchase for all 18 teams in the Esports Shop

CHANGES AND UPDATES

Effect Intensity

  • Based on community feedback, an 'Effect Intensity' drop-down has been added to Settings > Video
  • Default: All Arena effects operate normally
  • Low:
    • Flashing lights and pulsing effects are disabled
    • Moving effects, lights, and background visuals are reduced or disabled
    • Background light brightness/intensity reduced (where appropriate)
    • Music visualization is disabled
  • Effect Intensity settings only apply to the 'Neon Fields' Arena

Rocket Pass

  • Pro Tiers: Starting with v1.91, Pro Tiers purchase eligibility will depend on a player's Rocket Pass Tier at the time of purchase
    • Players at Tiers 1-40 can purchase any Tier bundle
    • Players at Tiers 41-58 can purchase up to 12 Tiers
    • Players at Tiers 59-64 can purchase up to 6 Tiers
    • Players at Tiers 65-69 can purchase one Tier at a time
    • Players at Tiers 70 or above can still unlock Pro Tiers via progression
  • Rocket Pass Premium: Players on the free Rocket Pass track at Tier 59 or higher will be able to purchase Rocket Pass Premium, but will not be able to purchase the Premium + 12 Tiers bundle
  • In both cases, ineligible players who try to purchase a Premium or Tier Bundle will see an error message.

BUG FIXES

  • Fixed a display error with the Free Challenges not being counted properly
  • Tournament Rewards earned on different platforms can now be traded in together
  • [Nintendo Switch] Item Shop menu correctly displays the Featured Tab when first selected
  • [PlayStation, Xbox] Fixed several crash/freeze scenarios involving linked accounts and/or splitscreen Exhibition Matches
  • Fixed an exploit allowing players to trade single Credits
  • [PC] Event banners on the Main Menu will now open the Challenges Menu as intended
  • Fixed appearance of DigiGlobe and HoloData Goal Explosions in Hoops
  • The MVP's Player Anthem will play even if the other team leaves or forfeits
  • [Nintendo Switch] Fixed a bug with track resets in music playlists
  • Bringing up a music playlist with a keyboard no longer skips the current song
  • Fixed a bug with Player 2 Quick Chat in splitscreen

Source: RocketLeague.com

God of War's PlayStation 5 performance patch detailed, out tomorrow

Sony Santa Monica have announced that the PlayStation 5 patch for 2018's God of War will be released tomorrow and it brings some graphical enhancements. The game is part of the PlayStation Plus collection so every PS5 owner has a copy of the game.

"On the PlayStation 4 Pro version of God of War (2018), you have a choice between two graphics modes: one that favors performance and one that favors resolution," say Sony Santa Monica. The 'Enhanced Performance Experience' will at 2160p and 60FPs with 4K Checkerboard Resolution. The other option is the original PlayStation 4 Pro mode which gives you 4K Checkerboard Resolution at 30 FPS.

You will also be transfer your saves from the PlayStation 4 version in to the PS5 game. Carrying your progression from current to next-gen has been fumbled by Sony, with cross-gen titles such as Assassin's Creed Valhalla seeing Ubisoft and others have to create a bespoke cloud storage with which they can let you transfer your progress across. Meanwhile, the developers of other games such as Dirt 5 and Yakuza Like a Dragon do not have such an infrastructure behind them on PlayStation, leaning on standard Smart Delivery on Xbox to allow you to take all your progression with you from one version of the game to the next. Unless you want to start over, it's a bit of a minefield for cross-gen games.

God of War is not a cross-gen game though, and the standard backward compatibility rules apply. You can copy all your PlayStation 4 save files over to PlayStation 5 via USB storage, the system data transfer tool or the PS+ cloud storage.

Dark Horse Comics recently announced God of War: Fallen God. The first issue in their mini-series will be published on March 10th and is being penned by Chris Roberson who also wrote the previous Dark Horse God of War comics.

What makes Fallen God particularly intriguing is that it will bridge the gap between 2018's God of War soft reboot and the original trilogy. Although the newest game in the series hints at how Kratos made his way to the Norse realms after laying waste to ancient Greece, there's a missing chapter there that is never explored in detail. Fallen God will seemingly serve as a link between God of War III and God of War, as outlined in its blurb:

Can a man ever be free of his past? Can the tides of time ever wash away the bloody sands of sin? Or do transpired trespasses permanently and inescapably stain one's soul?

After conquering Zeus and thwarting Athena, Kratos believes himself to be finally free from his bondage. He sets sail for the desert in an attempt to distance himself from his home and his shame only to find his rage and guilt follow close behind. Kratos rages against the one foe that has proven to be unconquerable–himself. But a war against oneself is unwinnable, and only invites madness.

God of War: Ragnarök – what can Norse mythology tell us about the PS5 sequel?

Source: Sony

Google Stadia is shutting down their internal game studios

Google are shutting down their two internal game studios and changing the direction of their Google Stadia game streaming service, in a surprising (but predictable) come down from their intention to challenge PlayStation and Xbox for the future of gaming.

Google's two game studios in Montreal and Los Angeles are to close, with around 150 developers affected – Google will try and find them other roles within Google – while game producer Jade Raymond is also leaving the company.

While Google will still run Stadia as a public-facing game streaming service, as well as offer its $10 a month Stadia Pro subscription, they will now start to offer its Stadia tech to publishers, for them to roll their own game streaming solution – this is similar to what we've seen with games like Hitman 3 having a streaming option on Switch. However, with Stadia no longer set to receive exclusive titles, Stadia's future is now rather different.

Already a notably capricious company when it comes to business outside of their main search and advertising money-spinners, Google's change of heart seems to have been down to the cost of doing business. Writing on their blog, Phil Harrison said:

Creating best-in-class games from the ground up takes many years and significant investment, and the cost is going up exponentially. Given our focus on building on the proven technology of Stadia as well as deepening our business partnerships, we've decided that we will not be investing further in bringing exclusive content from our internal development team SG&E, beyond any near-term planned games.

Strange considering how rich Google is as a wider company.

Stadia's business model is an outlier compared to the handful of other game streaming services out there. All of their competitors (PlayStation Now, Xbox Game Pass Streaming, and Amazon Luna) have a subscription model that included a broad library of games, instead of charging retail prices for access and upselling 4K gaming.

What's absolutely clear is that Google have lost patience far before they could have reasonably seen a return on their investment. Modern AAA games often take 3-4 years to create, and that's before you take into account that a game studio is being founded from scratch. While Google had started to make their moves in 2018, hiring Jade Raymond to be a VP of Stadia Games and Entertainment, there simply wasn't enough time to create something out of that.

What is fair to say is that Stadia still has some of the widest reach technologically compared to its rivals, with a very well-establish server network that can tap into TVs, Android phones and computers. Their 4K streaming is also impressive, and while games haven't always run at 4K or 60fps, there have been a number of big wins, from Assassin's Creed Odyssey at launch providing a compelling look at how the service could evolve, to innovative server-based gameplay quirks for GRID, Ghost Recon Breakpoint and Hitman 3, and even just being able to run Cyberpunk 2077 competently. It's those partnerships that Google can hope to keep creating.

Stadia as a service looks set to stick around a while longer, and the technology can surely continue to grow and evolve, but it's effectively dead in the water as a true challenger to Sony and Microsoft.

Source: Kotaku, Google

Destruction AllStars Interview – How its next-gen arcade delights celebrate a rich northern heritage

Arcade racers are an integral, if often overlooked, cornerstone of the gaming landscape. From Ridge Racer and Wipeout through to Split/Second and Destruction Derby, this is a genre that's not only dominated popular culture at times, it's one that's inherently tied to the PlayStation brand. It was with some excitement then that we first caught a glimpse of Destruction AllStars amongst the PS5's launch titles, but even weeks prior to its planned launch alongside the PS5 we still didn't really know what it was. A last minute delay came with the gentlest of softening blows, making free for PlayStation Plus subscribers with February's update. (That's tomorrow, 2nd February, by the way)

We had a chance to catch up with XDEV's John McLaughlin and Lucid's Colin Berry, the Destruction AllStars Director, who told us that it was really what they'd been hoping for the whole time: "From the Lucid perspective, something that we wanted was to launch in Plus, and we've wanted it for quite a while. We want the biggest possible audience. We're conscious as a multiplayer game […] you need people playing it so people can find matches. You don't want to launch an online game and it be some sort of ghost town. So we were conscious that we thought Plus would give us the best possible launch. It's a huge opportunity for us."

Destruction AllStars certainly looks like the kind of thing that's capable of repeating Rocket League's PS Plus-driven success, especially with the installed PS Plus user base on PS5 likely to be virtually 1:1, but it wasn't the only advantage, with Colin continuing, "the amount of people who've got PlayStation 5 and Plus at this point is probably incredible. You can imagine that early adopters are going to be the people who've got Plus, so that's brilliant, and so for us at Lucid, when we finally got confirmation that we could launch in Plus but it's going to be February, it was like, right, okay… that's cool!

"Because that gives us an extra bit of time. I think all developers if they get the opportunity to have a little bit of extra time go, 'Yeah, that's not necessarily a bad thing.' It gave us an extra little bit of time to do a bit more balancing and add a little more polish, fix a few things up and iron out the bugs. So it was great!"

The team at Lucid certainly know their vehicular games, having been founded by ten former Bizarre Creations developers, who previously worked on Metropolis Street Racer, Blur, and the Project Gotham series. If that talent wasn't enough, they've also drawn in developers from some of the North-West's finest racing game studios. I asked Colin what it was that kept them coming back to the genre, with him telling me, "It's always been very prominent in the north-west. I think game development-wise from back in the early days of Psygnosis and Bizarre Creations, there was also Studio 33 which worked on Destruction Derby and F1 games for Sony back in the PlayStation One era and we've got some guys from there now who were also at Bizarre or at Sony.

"For me personally, I fell in love with Wipeout the moment I walked into a shop back in Liverpool in 1995 and saw it on a TV screen and I was like, 'Oh! What the heck is this?!' I was fortunate enough two years later to get a job at Psygnosis testing games, and then a couple of years later to start working on Wipeout as a junior designer and I've just always been in love with the series and think it's awesome!"

It's clear to see the effect that all that development talent and their racing heritage has had on the game – just check out last week's dedicated State of Play – with vibrant visuals marrying to some truly incredible-looking action. Some of that history has definitely found its way into the game, though Destruction AllStars is quite clearly its own thing.

"Destruction Derby is a seed," Colin said, "but it quickly went off and then all the seeds became other things. There isn't much of F1 or Wipeout or Motorstorm in there in terms of the gameplay, but in terms of the visual kind of thing there is. If you remember the mud in Motorstorm, we want damage to have that same kind of thing where people went 'Woah! That mud in Motorstorm's cool!' so we want our damage to be like that, as visually impressive." He continued, "There's not a huge influence of art from Wipeout or 'we want to have such and such from Project Gotham', or anything like that, but from those games, there's the underlying knowledge that hey, we know we need arcade handling and we know how to do arcade handling!"

As a PS5 launch window title, for all that the visuals look fantastic, I really needed to know what it was about the game that wouldn't have made it viable on PS4. Luckily, both XDev's John McLaughlin and Colin were able to fill me in, with John setting things off; "I guess with every new console, I'm definitely a graphics guy. I love new shiny graphics, show me something shiny, but you know what? You get that with every new console. As the console matures, graphics get better and better, so it's kind of a given that you're going to get better GPU, better CPUs, so on and so forth, but the biggest game-changers for us were the SSD and super fast loading."

Colin added, "The power of the machine enables us to do things with the physics and the deformation that we wouldn't have been able to do on previous generations to the same level. With a look back at the old days and everyone has the memory of Destruction Derby being brilliant, and you look at it, it's like 50 polygons in a car and when you hit someone they just texture swap and there's a little bit of damage. You look at what we can do now with our crumpling effects and our deformation tech, and it's online as well. We couldn't have done that, to that level, without what's in the box to enable us to do that."

Both John and Colin were hugely taken with the DualSense as well, (and if you've had the chance to experience Sony's latest controller you'd also know that this is really where the new generation starts). Colin talked me through the range of things they've been able to do with the controller to really bring Destruction AllStars to life in a way that simply weren't possible before, "What we've been able to do with the haptics is great, because we've got directional haptics in there. So when you get hit from the right, you feel it on the right, you feel on the left, and it flows through the hand. It just puts you more in the world, weights you more in the world." He continued, "DualShock's great, but it's motors that are spinning up. There isn't the range, and there isn't the subtlety and nuance that you can get with the haptics. They're awesome.

"And then the triggers are just like nothing people have got home, really, unless you spend a hell of a lot of money on expensive racing wheels with force feedback or stuff like that. We do things like, the more damaged the car is, you can feel it on the brake and a little bit on the accelerator, depending on how it's damaged. When you launch your car off a spawner, it's like firing a gun so there's a bit of resistance on trigger. It's not intrusive, it's so subtle and nuanced, but if you turn it off it's like, 'Oh, it doesn't feel right!'"

PlayStation 5 owners don't have long to wait, with Destruction All-Stars launching at midnight tonight on the 2nd of February, 2021. You can be sure that you'll find plenty of the TSA family there for the launch, so we'll see you in the arena!

Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Raaksasha adds PS5 to its launch platforms

Triple I Games has announced that it has added the PS5 as a launch platform for its single player RPG Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Raaksasha. The game has been confirmed for PS4, Switch, Xbox One, and PC. The PS5 version will have 4K/60FPS, faster load times than other platforms, and  enhancements such as improved ambient occlusion, motion blur, and bloom. Triple I Games has former developers from BioWare, ArenaNet, and Sucker Punch among its ranks.

The plot synopsis can be read below:

The kingdom of Champaner cherishes life above all else, preferring to practice pacifism in place of wielding weapons. When a virus begins transforming residents into bloodthirsty beasts known as Raakshasas and a destructive rift fills the sky, those sacred values quickly come into question. Jehan, a mysterious man with one arm, unknowingly holds the fate of Champaner in the palm of his hand.

In the game players will have the options to either be ruthless against enemies or merciful. This in turn will feed into the branching storyline of the game with decisions impacting the outcome. Different abilities will become available depending on the play style allowing either Jehan to stun enemies and or using swords to fight.

Hemanshu Chhabra, creative director at Triple-I Games, said:

"We made the choice last year to utilize the extra time 2020 gave us and we are now ready to bring Hindsight to our wonderful followers and fans. We amped up the choices, combat, cinematics, and even the framerate to make our game the best it can be when we launch later this year."

Hindsight 20/20: Wrath of the Raaksasha is due to be released in Q2 2021.

Source: Press Release

Habroxia 2 Review

Habroxia 2 unusually begins with a message from its developer delivered directly to the player: 'You worked hard to earn your money. Your time is precious. Thank you for buying and playing our game.' From a cynical perspective, such a message could be considered overly saccharine and a little fake, bt when you consider the high level of craftsmanship that has clearly gone into the building of Hybroxia 2, along with the deep coat of polish liberally applied to its every nook and cranny, it feels genuine. This project was quite clearly a labour of love.

First off, for all those who are fans of the original Habroxia, rejoice; this sequel is superior in every conceivable way. There's a light plot, but it's quite rightly relegated to the sidelines, letting the gameplay do all the talking.

This is an old school pixel loving space shooter with a number of neat twists on the standard formula. One quick glance at the game reveals that levels are viewed from both a top-down and side-on perspective – often switching between the two during the course of a mission. It's a neat trick and one that serves to keep the player guessing and the blasting shenanigans fresh. This is because each perspective fundamentally changes the gameplay and different enemy types, forcing the player to frequently vary up their tactics and weapon selection to wipe out as many foes as possible and reach some dizzyingly high scores.

My favourite addition is the branching paths, which goes some way to address one of my main issues with retro-styled shooters. Hybroxia 2 is turned into a non-linear 2D shoot 'em up, letting you spot secret paths that open up entirely new sections and face terrifying bonus bosses. As new path after new path is discovered it is clear that this is an impressively girthy game, bringing back many nostalgic memories of back when Starfox was awesome.

Despite every boss sharing their name with a Viking deity they have little else in common, each one offering a unique challenge as they use the 2D environment in innovative ways. One boss patrolled the perimeter of the screen, another teleported to different locations and a third flew off the screen entirely in order to deliver a sneaky attack from the rear. You'd think there would be a limit to designing original boss fights within a 2D shooter formula, but Lillymo Games clearly disagrees.

All that content would be for naught if the shooting itself weren't up to standard. Fortunately Habroxia 2 delivers on that front as well. Controls are smooth and responsive, and despite the bullet hell that baddies can unleash I never had cause to doubt the game. When I dodged a laser or missile, I dodged it, and when I was hit, I was hit; the precise and immaculately delivered collision detection never gave me cause for concern.

The weaponry is delightful too. The standard blaster of your teeny tiny space craft can be upgraded to an astonishing degree. This can be achieved through gathering credits on a level and splurging your hard earned cash in the handy shop.

Recharging special weapons can be attached to forward and rear firing positions. This allows for a sprinkling of strategy: do you go with the homing missiles or a close range laser sword as your main armament? And what about for those tricksy enemies whose attack pattern takes them behind you? Perhaps a scatter shot or slow moving bomb might be best to see them off? It's a credit to the game's design that each special weapon is useful in its own way and fundamentally changes your play style. It also keeps revisiting levels fresh; with so many weapon combos and a noticeable change to the gameplay dynamics with each set-up, this is a shooter that can keep on giving.

Each death sees you rewarded with a few more credits to put toward your next enhancement, but Lillymo has somehow managed to ensure that grinding is almost entirely absent from the game – either through tight design work, rigorous play testing or magic, I'm not sure which. My progress through the levels was challenging, but devoid of any impossible to beat difficulty spikes that required gathering upgrades from earlier levels to pass. Instead, when I returned to earlier levels, it was for the joy of chasing new high scores and the visceral pleasure of seeing how my enhanced weaponry entirely eviscerated previously tough bosses.

If all that wasn't enough then, just when you think the game is over, it has even more to give. A comprehensive New Game+ mode ensures a rigorous increase in the difficulty and a thorough reworking of each level, to the extent that it often feels like playing entirely new levels. Each boss is pumped up too, demanding a definitive work out of your newly gained player skills and upgraded ship. There's also a massive Boss Rush mode and, more intriguingly, a Boost Rush mode that sends your delicate spacecraft on a precarious speed run through an obstacle strewn level.

Nintendo leaves door open for a Switch Pro announcement in 2021

Nintendo have seemingly left the door open for a Nintendo Switch Pro announcement later this year, during a private Q&A following the release of their quarterly financial report.

Per Bloomberg's Takashi Mochizuki, when asked if a new model of Nintendo Switch would be coming this year, Nintendo's deflection on this occasion was that they would not make an announcement "anytime soon", since they have the Super Mario 35th Anniversary and Monster Hunter Rise limited edition Nintendo Switch consoles coming in February and March.

Compared to their rebuttals in 2020, which completely ruled out any possibility of a Switch hardware revision through the year, this response leaves the door wide open for a Switch Pro or similar to be launched in the 2021/22 fiscal year.

Opinion – It's time to announce the Nintendo Switch Pro

That makes an element of sense, as Nintendo aren't looking for any kind of sales boost to round out 2020/21. Off the back of Covid-19 fuelled interest, Animal Crossing: New Horizons' jaw-dropping sales, and a mature line up of games to appeal to all manner of gamers, the Nintendo Switch has enjoyed their second-best year ever (and there's three months left to sell even more consoles and games). The console has now sold 79.87 million units.

So this year doesn't need any help, but a Nintendo Switch Pro in the summer or lead up to next Christmas would spur next year's financials on, hopefully with Nintendo able to keep up their current head of steam. Nintendo would be wise not to detract from their current console sales by announcing too far in advance of this launch. Looking at history, the New Nintendo 3DS, PS4 Pro and (most relevantly) the Nintendo Switch Lite were all announced roughly two months before their street date.

Either way, the Switch is selling at a rapid pace, and that's sure to carry on through 2021. The fourth quarter of a financial year is typically a much slower one, but even an average Q4 for the Switch would see it surpass the Game Boy Advance, which has 81.51 million sales. There's a number of major releases for owners to look forward to as well, including Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Bravely Default II, and Monster Hunter Rise.

Source: Takashi Mochizuki (Twitter)

Hitman 3 DLC coming but don't expect new maps

Although Hitman 3 may have brought an end to IO Interactive's World of Assassination trilogy, the studio are far from done supporting it.

Naturally, in the weeks and months following launch we'll no doubt continue to see Hitman 3 patched to improve performance and iron out bugs though comments made by IO Executive Producer, Forest Swartout Large, indicate that new Hitman content is already in the works.

Speaking with TheGamer, Large told fans to expect Hitman 3 DLC, though not in the format we've grown grown accustomed to since Hitman launched in 2016:

We are definitely going to be doing some DLC, but we haven't defined what that is. I think for now we are not looking at new maps like the bank and the island.

We're more looking at using existing locations and reimagining them, twisting them. And this time around, we can use the whole trilogy. We can look back at Hitman 2016 maps, Hitman 2 maps – we have all the locations.

At a glance this may seem like disappointing news though we've already seen in the past how IO Interactive have cleverly reworked existing locations to create fun new Hitman content. Several maps already offer side missions which introduce new targets while also receiving an environmental makeover, complete with bonus challenges. The Patient Zero expansion that bridged Hitman and Hitman 2 is a great example of this.

Excluding the prologue, the Hitman trilogy now has 20 sprawling locations that could easily be modified in this way. Without the pressure of designing new maps, we may even see completely new concepts come from IO in future. At the very least we can expect new Escalation missions and hopefully a new wave of Elusive Targets.

Hitman 3 wraps the stylish and inventive trilogy perfectly, having scored an 8 out of 10 in our review. Hitman 3 is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, as well as Google Stadia and Nintendo Switch.

Source: TheGamer

Hitman 3 Guides & more from TheSixthAxis

Netflix announce Sonic Prime, a new animated series starring Sega's blue hedgehog

It's a day ending in the letter 'y' so it must be time for Netflix to announce another animated series based on a videogame! This time it is Sonic who is getting a new series, Sonic Prime, which will launch in 2022.

  • The 24-episode animated adventure for kids, families, and long-time fans draws upon the keystones of the brand and features the "Blue Blur" of video game fame in a high-octane adventure where the fate of a strange new multiverse rests in his gloved hands. Sonic's adventure is about more than a race to save the universe, it's a journey of self-discovery and redemption.
  • The series will be animated at WildBrain's Vancouver studio, and SEGA and WildBrain will jointly participate across production, distribution and licensing. Man of Action Entertainment, creators of  Ben 10 and the characters and team in the Academy Award-winning feature  Big Hero 6, have been brought on as showrunners and Executive Producers for the series.  

Netflix announced a new Tomb Raider anime series last week, with a plot that will follow on from the end of the current rebooted video game trilogy. The series will be created by Legendary, the people behind the upcoming Godzilla Vs. Kong.

There's also The Witcher: Blood Origin, a live action Resident Evil series, a Cuphead animated series, a live action movie based on The Division, and a Beyond Good and Evil animated movie all in production for the streaming service.

A sequel to the recent Tomb Raider movie was set to release on March 19th 2021 but that looks highly unlikely now, although there has been no announcement of a new date. Alicia Vikander is back as Lara but director Roar Uthaug – who is an actual director and not a character in Skyrim – has been dumped in favour of Ben Wheatley.

Dragons Dogma and Castlevania are already available as animated series on Netflix and they will also be joined by Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness,  a CG anime series expected to launch in 2021. . Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness instead will be similar in execution to the the latest Dragon's Dogma series, though with more CG than hand drawn animations. You can watch the teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Infinite Darkness below.

Alongside that, Ubisoft are teaming up with Netflix for multiple projects based on Assassin's Creed. The main live-action show to be joined by an animated and an anime adaptation of the franchise, Netflix are currently looking for some showrunners to manage these, but Ubisoft Film & Television's Jason Altman and Danielle Kreinik will be executive producers.

 

Source: Twitter

Cris Tales new release date has been confirmed for July

Back in October, Modus Games announced it was delaying the release of its JRPG Cris Tales from 2020 to 2021.  Today, the company has confirmed that Cris Tales is now set to release in July though has not given an exact day of when in July. You can pre-order the game though for the platform of your choice be it PC, Switch, Stadia, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, or Xbox Series X|S. Alongside the new release window announcement a brand new trailer has been released too, and this one gives a look at some of the locations that Crisbell and company will traverse.

The game follows Crisbell, using their ability to see the past, present and future all at once. The game is heavily inspired by Colombia – the demo's release is actually landing on Colombian Independence Day to celebrate the architecture, culture and character design that they've infused the game with.

As well as some of the main story, the new demo also features the Colosseum mode, where you take on eight waves of battles alongside Wilhelm, leading up to a mini-boss fight. The mode will be larger and more expansive in the full release. A demo for Cris Tales is available on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch.

Source: Press Release

Jamie Dornan and Eddie Redmayne were both up for the same role in the Bioshock movie

Hollywood star Eddie Redmayne has revealed that both he and Jamie Dornan were up for the same part in the cancelled Bioshock movie. The two stars were in conversation with Variety and Eddie had this to say to Jamie:

You [Dornan] and Andrew Garfield and I were texting, trying to remember what those things were. And one of them was "BioShock" [a movie based on a video game, which never got made]. You remember "BioShock"? We were furious with each other as we were going through it, and competing for the same role.

The BioShock movie was first announced in 2008 but hit problems almost immediately. In 2009 Universal told producer Gore Verbinski to trim back the budget before work was eventually halted in February 2011 because the studio was willing to back an R rated movie and Verbinski was unwilling to tone down the game for a PG-13 audience.

Gore took to Reddit to explain what happened:

We were eight weeks prior shooting when the plug was pulled. It's an R rated movie. I wanted to keep it R rated, I felt like that would be appropriate, and it's an expensive movie. It's a massive world we're creating and it's not a world we can simply go to locations to shoot. "A Cure For Wellness", we were able to really utilize a variety of location to create the world. "Bioshock" it wouldn't work like that, we'd be building an entire underworld universe. So I think the combination of the price tag and the rating, universal just didn't feel comfortable ultimately. At that time also there were some R rated, expensive R rated movies that were not working.

Ken Levine, Irrational Games' boss, has talked previously about their being no need to make the movie so it seems that nobody is in a rush to get it done. The film went back to the drawing board but by 2012 the director attached to the project, Carlos Fresnadillo, said  "To be honest, by now, I'm completely out of that, and developing other stuff, right now it's on hold. The studio and the video game company, they have to reach some kind of agreement about the budget and the rating".

In 2014 Sony Pictures registered three domains, bioshock-movie.com, bioshock-movie.net and bio-shock.net, which seemed to suggest the project had rebooted again. The massive Sony Wikileaks data dump revealed that the movie may be a "tentpole" release during the summer. However,  Sony had still not acquired the rights to the game but were "closing up" the deal.

After all that, the closest we have ever got to a Bioshock movie is the fan trailer.

Source: Variety

MLB The Show 21 releases April on PlayStation and Xbox consoles, no free next gen upgrade for standard editions

San Diego Studio has confirmed the release date for its baseball title MLB The Show 21, and also addressed the speculation the series would be going multiplatform. It is confirmed that MLB The Show 21 will release on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S on April 20th. In addition, there has also been confirmation that MLB The Show 21 will feature both cross platform play and cross platform progression, though will exclude the game's Stubs currency from transferring over.

There will be three editions of the game available and those are the PS4/Xbox One Standard Edition, the PS5/Xbox Series X|S Standard Edition, and the Collector's Edition. Details of what the first two will contain have been confirmed, but the Collector's Edition will not be shown for a couple of days, with that reveal happening on February 3rd.

Standard Edition includes:

  • The Game
  • DLC Items:
    • 5,000 Stubs

Next Gen Standard Edition includes:

  • The Game
  • DLC Items:
    • 5,000 Stubs
    • [10] The Show Packs

Unfortunately, it does not look like San Diego Studio is supporting free upgrades between generation in the standard edition of the game. That path will be locked behind the Collector's Edition, similar to how 2K handle upgrades between generations with NBA 2K21. The cover star for MLB The Show 21 will be Fernando "El Nino" Tatis Jr. The price for the game has been set at  $59.99 USD/$79.99 CAD/£59.99 GBP/€69.99 for the PS4 and Xbox One version. The PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions will cost 69.99 USD/$89.99 CAD/£69.99 GBP/€79.99.

Source: PlayStation.Blog

Stop a pandemic in Plague Inc's free The Cure DLC, out now

It's taken a while to arrive but Plague Inc's free DLC has finally landed, having been announced in March last year. The DLC turns the game on it's head and tasks you to try and stop and mutating virus from spreading across the globe rather than encouraging the plague to infect every corner of the world.

The DLC is "free for all Plague Inc. players until COVID-19 is under control" and is said to be the biggest expansion to the game ever. It has been created with the help of world health experts from all over the planet including WHO, CEPI and GOARN.

Here are those ever so important features:

  • Hunt the Disease: Dispatch research teams around the world to find patient zero, track the spread of the outbreak and support local responses.
  • Control the Outbreak: Implement measures such as contact tracing, lockdowns and border closures to limit the spread of the outbreak, whilst getting people to wash their hands and preparing hospitals to prevent them getting overwhelmed.
  • Support the Economy: People won't comply with poorly designed quarantine measures; use furlough schemes and other policies to drive community support and consensus.
  • Develop a Vaccine: Research, manufacture and distribute a vaccine to stop the disease. Work carefully and promote global cooperation to accelerate development.

Back in the before times the Ndemic Creations virus simulation game jumped to the top of the charts in China, Russia, the UK, and pretty much every other country in the world as we all enjoyed playing and finding out just how fast a virus can spread. A year on and I doubt there is anyone enjoying the current pandemic, so the new DLC offers a much needed alternative perspective.

The nine year old game became so popular that Ndemic Creation's website was crashing and they have had to release a statement warning people not to use the game as a tool to simulate the Coronavirus.

The Coronavirus outbreak in China is deeply concerning and we've received a lot of questions from players and the media.

Plague Inc. has been out for eight years now and whenever there is an outbreak of disease we see an increase in players, as people seek to find out more about how diseases spread and to understand the complexities of viral outbreaks.

We specifically designed the game to be realistic and informative, while not sensationalising serious real-world issues. This has been recognised by the CDC and other leading medical organisations around the world.

However, please remember that Plague Inc. is a game, not a scientific model and that the current coronavirus outbreak is a very real situation which is impacting a huge number of people. We would always recommend that players get their information directly from local and global health authorities.

Source: Steam

The Plane Effect is a "time and mind bending" game coming to PC, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

PQube has announced a brand new indie title called The Plane Effect, and introduced it with quite a dystopian feeling trailer. Not much information has been given about the game other than that it will be coming to PC, Switch, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S at some point this year. The story follows a man called Solo (no, not Han) on his last day. Ominously, the description does not state if that is his last day at his job or last day alive. He has one goal though and that is to go home.

The description for The Plane Effect says:

"It is your last day, it's time to clock out and head home. But where is ho̷me? What is home? Is someone watching Solo? Get lost in a time-and-mind bending adventure game, set in a dystopian future."
The PC specs have been confirmed for The Plane Effect and those are:

MINIMUM:

    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: 64 bit Windows 10 / 8 / 7
    • Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K 3.3GHz / AMD FX-8150 3.6GHz or equivalent
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: GeForce GTX 550 Ti / Radeon HD 6790 2GB VRAM*
    • Storage: 2 GB available space

We will have to wait and see what else PQube will release about The Plane Effect including the release date.

Source: Official Site

Gran Turismo 7 will return to the "royal purpose" of older games in the series

Gran Turismo 7 will return to the style of game and "royal purpose" of older games in the series, Polyphony Digital's Kazunori Yamaushi has said in an interview with Octane Japan.

This will likely be a relief to some long-time fans of the sim racing series, following on from the online and esports focus of Gran Turismo Sport, the only Gran Turismo game released for the PlayStation 4. While GT Sport did quickly see the return of more meaningful offline races with the GT League shortly after its release in 2017, and plenty of cars have been added to the game since then as well, its beating heart was the Sport Mode and online racing that tied in with the FIA-certified Gran Turismo Championships – "It may have seemed quite outlandish for some people!" Yamauchi said.

Sport Mode will continue to be a major part of the series going forward, but Gran Turismo 7 looks set to return to the collectathon racing game of old. Yamauchi told Octane Japan, "While inheriting elements such as the [FIA] championship realized in Sport, Gran Turismo 7 will return to the royal purpose of full volumes like [Gran Turismo] 1-4, and provide the best Gran Turismo experience at present."

Of course, that is pretty much to be expected. This is a numbered game in the series, while GT Sport could be seen as a spin-off of sorts. It's also in line with what has previously been said about the game.

Though heavily rumoured over the last few years, Gran Turismo 7 for PlayStation 5 was announced at the console's reveal event in June 2020, giving us a good long look at the game. That included showing off the game's 'GT Town' main menu, which is suitably esoteric, car upgrading, and a good long look at some actual gameplay.

The trailer also showcased stunning next-gen graphics with 4K, HDR and ray traced reflections, all while targeting 60fps. It will also take advantage of the PS5's ultra-fast SSD, Tempest 3D AudioTech and use the adaptive triggers and haptic feedback of the DualSense to enhance the immersion for players using a gamepad instead of a racing wheel.

Gran Turismo 7 is expected to release for PlayStation 5 in 2021.

Source: Octane Japan via GTPlanet

No Plan B is a strategy title about planning rescues and heists

The developer of Gladiabots, GFX47, has announced a brand new tactical planning title called No Plan B. In this game players have a squad of three characters that partake in different mission types, including hostage rescue and pulling off heists. Each squad member will have their own traits to help with pulling off the jobs. Before carrying out missions players will be able to plan the routes each squad member uses as well as the equipment.

No Plan B's features include:

  •  Plan, Preview, Proceed: Master the innovative timeline system and the full-control 3D camera to design and execute a perfect plan using the intuitive, no-fuss interface.

  •  Boom, headshot: Choose from a list of firearms, armor, and grenades – each with its pros and cons – to make sure your team has the right gear for the situation.

  •  Long haul or short bursts: Take on brutal FTL-like campaigns with units and resource management, or short but intense stand-alone missions.

  •  Hero or villain: Take on different missions with different stakes, rescue hostages, or prep for a bank heist (we're not judging)

  • Infinite replayability: Players can create their own maps and missions using the built-in mission generator, and play new challenges created by the community.

There will be a demo available for No Plan B during Steam Game Festival giving players the chance to play through three different missions. Sébastien Dubois is the person behind the GFX47 studio, and he was previously at Ubisoft where he worked on Might & Magic Heroes: Kingdoms, Dungeon of the Endless, and Endless Space 2.

Source: Press Release

Nioh 2 update 1.24 adds cross-save for the PlayStation 5 Complete Edition upgrade

With the release of Nioh 2: The Complete Edition for PlayStation 5 and PC this week on Friday 5th February, Team Ninja have updated Nioh 2 for PlayStation 4 to version 1.24, adding the necessary features to support cross-save and multiplayer between generations.

Nioh 2's PS5 remaster will also be a free upgrade for those who have bought the game on PlayStation 4, whether that's for the base version of the game or the Complete Edition which will release on both consoles.

Thankfully you won't have to start over. Your PS4 version save data can be transferred to PS5, but requires you to update the game first to version 1.24. This will then enable you to upload your PS4 save to their servers via a new feature found in System from the main menu. You can then download the save in Nioh 2: Complete Edition on PS5 using the same PSN account – there's no cross-save to the Steam version.

Additionally, there's "cross-matching" support for the game's multiplayer, though this will not work via your Friends list on either console. Instead, if you wish to team up with another player, you must use a password in order to do so.

Here's the full patch notes:

Nioh 2 Ver 1.24 update

Additional functions

  • Cross-save management function added
    You can select this function via the SYSTEM option at the title screen.
    Save data from the PS4 version can be uploaded, then downloaded to the PS5 version, allowing you to continue playing. (It is also possible to transfer from the PS5 version to the PS4 version.)
    – To download the save data, access must be done through the same PSN account as the one originally used to upload.
    – Trophies are handled differently in the PS5 and PS4 versions. Some trophies that have already been earned (those that are difficult to earn again) will be automatically acquired when the save data is loaded.
  • PS5 version cross-matching support
    -The PS5 version does not allow matching by Friends. To play with a specific user, please use a password.

Adjustments

    • The following bosses' Burst Attacks have been adjusted to make them easier to Burst Counter.
      • Nue's biting Burst Attack
      • Shuten Doji's fire-breathing Burst Attack
      • Otakemaru's rushing Burst Attack
  • The equipment selected as the base will now remain selected after Soul Matching has been performed
  • On the Expedition preparation screen for Picture Scroll missions, 'Destroy' can now be selected in the Selection Settings under 'Choose Mission'
  • Kodama can no longer hide while the onmyo Magic Fire, Water, or Lightning Familiar Talismans are active

Bug Fixes

    • Fixed an issue where the First Active Skill, 'Battering Ram', caused unnatural pushback when performed against a wall
    • Fixed an issue where Uminyudo would recover from any 'Curse of…' applied to it upon returning to the water
    • Fixed an issue where the Kamaitachi appearing in The Crucible would sometimes climb over steps
    • Fixed an issue where you could not dispel Kashin Koji's phantom bullet attack using a Barrier Talisman
    • Fixed a bug where you could Burst Counter a number of Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Yoki's non-Burst Attacks
    • Fixed an issue in the main mission 'Dawn of the Demon' and the Twilight Mission 'The Cradle of the Demon' where Sudama that had retreated would respawn
    • Fixed an issue in the Twilight Mission, 'The Cradle of the Demon', where enemies could find the player while they were praying at a certain shrine
    • The name of the Uesugi's Crest Protection 'Nullify Damage (Purification)' has been changed to 'Protection (Purification)' to match its actual effect
    • Fixed an issue in which the following effects were not activated when the status effect 'Purified' or 'Sanctity Talisman' was present:
      • Onmyo Magic items: Fire, Water, or Lightning Familiar Talismans
      • Special Effect: 'Ultimate Constitution'
      • 'Calming Breath' from the Guardian Spirit, Ho-oh
      • Switchglaive Active Skill: ' Whirling Blade'
  • Fixed an issue where the effect of the Guardian Spirit's Protection, 'Calming Breath' would sometimes fail to take effect when discovered by a Sudama
  • Fixed an issue where the special effect 'Ominous Pact' would not be removed by Anima recovery caused by picking up a Soul Core
  • Fixed an issue where the Guardian Spirit Protection, 'Anima Bonus (Ranged Hit)', did not take effect when hitting an enemy with an arrow explosion while the Ninja Skill 'Fire: Explosive Arrow was active
  • Fixed an error in the description of the 'Purified' status ailment in the Effect Icon List
  • Fixed an issue where the special effect 'Death Dancer' would sometimes lose count when a player is hit by an enemy attack during a Feral Burst Counter
  • Fixed an error in the descriptions of teh Suiki and Nightmare Bringer's weaknesses in 'Yokai Illustrations'

In our Nioh 2 review, Jason wrote:

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.

Source: Twitter

The Nintendo Switch surpasses the 3DS lifetime sales after its best quarter yet

The Nintendo Switch continues to sell like hot cakes, enjoying its best quarter of sales over the holiday period and passing yet another Nintendo system in terms of lifetime sales.

In the three months leading up to the end of 2020, the Nintendo Switch sold a whopping 11.57 million consoles (a stunning 24.1 million through the financial year so far) pushing its total sales to date up to 79.87 million. That means it's now surpassed the lifetime total of the Nintendo 3DS and 2DS family, which stands at 75.94 million.

This is despite a relatively subdued end to the year in terms of game releases. There was Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, of course, while Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit and Pikmin 3 Deluxe sold 1.08 million and 1.94 million respectively. One possible system seller was Super Mario 3D All-Stars, which did push 8.32 million copies as part of the Mario 35th Anniversary celebrations, but in truth, it was all down to the continuing momentum of the system's juggernauts: Animal Crossing: New Horizons (31.18m to date after just 9 months on sale), Mario Kart 8 Deluxe (33.41m to date) and Ring Fit Adventure (8.68m to date after 5.95 million since April).

None of this should come as any surprise given the impact that Covid-19 has had on the games industry. Engagement with video games is at an all-time high, and the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons in particular came at exactly the right time to offer those suddenly facing lockdowns a tranquil escape, while Ring Fit Adventure has been bought up almost as fast as it can be produced for the same "I can't go outside much" reasons. Of course, come Christmas sales season, and the Switch was always going to be in high demand, but perhaps even more so because of further lockdowns. That helps to explain the strong sales of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, as a go-to game to pick up alongside a Switch, while the company can still bank on its family friendly image.

Still, you know what might help push things on just that little bit further? A Nintendo Switch Pro. The long-rumoured mid-generation upgrade to the Nintendo Switch might not dramatically impact the mass-market sales of the console, but it would help the console stay relevant when competing against the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Additionally, a side story to the Switch's success comes from families buying secondary Switches so that people no longer have to share a console – its handheld design makes it a rather personal device, after all – and a Switch Pro could tip more families toward doubling up.

Either way, the Switch is selling at a rapid pace, and that's sure to carry on through 2021. The fourth quarter of a financial year is typically a much slower one, but even an average Q4 for the Switch would see it surpass the Game Boy Advance, which has 81.51 million sales. There's a number of major releases for owners to look forward to as well, including Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, Bravely Default II, and Monster Hunter Rise.

Source: Nintendo [1, 2]

Helheim Hassle Review

Since Vikings are the flavour of the moment, it was only a matter of time before we saw a more light-hearted take on a Vikingr's gruesome journey to Valhalla. With Bjørn Hammerparty our protagonist's name, you can tell what kind of tale this is going to be.

Helheim Hassle starts with Bjørn's village being attacked by pesky giants, but while the villagers are happy to charge straight into battle – the promise of Valhalla looming – Bjørn doesn't want any part of it. He is in fact a pacifist and would rather just go to Helheim. Amidst the chaos, Bjørn tries to escape the village and ends falling off a cliff to his doom, ending up in Valhalla anyway. One thousand years pass, and a skeleton named Pesto rocks up, rescues Bjørn from Valhalla and resurrects him in the modern world… with mixed results.

Bjørn can now detach his own body parts which serve as the crux of the game's mechanics.

Helheim Hassle is a 2D Platformer in which you get around by detaching your limbs and using them to navigate levels and puzzles. Movement at first is pretty standard but as soon as a jump is too high to reach, what are you to do? Find a suitable platform to get on? No. Just pop off your head!

Removing your head lets you jump higher which makes sense as the head is very heavy. As you progress further, more of your body parts become detachable and the puzzles become more complex, turning the game into a battle of logic as you utilise your limbs for various puzzle parts. Narrow tunnels are perfect to send your head down, rolling onto a switch so your body can walk through a newly opened door. If a ledge is too high for the body to reach, why not just throw another body part up there? You can even attach one body part to another, making for some rather interesting creations, which will then be documented in a codex so you can see what that limb combo does. You are only limited to your imagination and there's always a logical solution to situations.

Controls for the limbs can be a touch fiddly which leads to some rather frustrating situations, especially when a limb falls off a rock and you have to start the whole process over again. You cycle between the limbs using the shoulder buttons or they are selected using the right stick, but when you are trying to juggle six different body parts on and off screen, it can be a little confusing and lead to errors. It's fine for the most part, but certain chase sequences can bring out some serious rage.

There's some optional side quest to be done as well, which are not required to finish the game and can be completed via backtracking if you missed any of them. As it's a relatively short experience, clocking in around six hours, it's nice there's a little extra to do.

One of the standout parts of Helheim Hassle is its comedic narrative that doesn't take itself too seriously. During the opening sequences, characters are laughably throwing themselves into battle so they can die and go to Valhalla. Bjørn's mother jokingly comments to him, "You do want to get brutally murdered in battle and go to Valhalla, right?", followed by "I'm gonna go see if a nice giant wants to SLIT MY THROAT! See you in battle!" It's dark, funny and extremely on the nose, lovingly poking fun at Norse mythology. That being said, the sense of humour here is very US-centric and, as with all comedy, will be a matter of taste.

I do like what they've done here, however. The comedy timing is generally on point and each character is overacted in the best way. The game is not afraid to break the fourth wall either, with characters like Odin commenting when you've skipped a scene, and mentioning how he magically appeared in a different area. To suit the narrative, the game is lovingly rendered in cartoon form, looking like a kids TV show but for adults. It's simple, yet effective and it's nice to see a game that doesn't take itself too seriously and show a different side to Viking lore.

Total War: Warhammer 3 announcement could be imminent

A teaser posted by Sega studio Creative Assembly over the week has led Warhammer fans to believe that they are preparing to unveil strategy sequel Total War: Warhammer 3.

Posted over on the official Total War Reddit, the minute long teaser is titled "Azyr Stirs" depicts an mage astronomer spying a cryptic constellation from an observatory within the Imperial capital of Altdorf where the Colleges of Magic reside.

In the world of Warhammer Fantasy, there are several different flavours (or "Winds") of magic, each with their own their own school and powerful grimoire of spells. Azyr, also referred to as the Lore of Heavens, is one such Wind that specifically relates to everything celestial and the skies above. Spells vary from trusty lightning bolts and clearing clouds to divination and speaking to birds.

The word Azyr is also featured heavily in Warhammer: Age of Sigmar (basically the supercharged sequel to Warhammer Fantasy). There has long been speculation that Warhammer: Total War 3 may leave Warhammer Fantasy and The Old World behind in favour of Games Workshop's newer edition of the table top strategy game.

However, the ominous teaser could simply refer to an event leading into the next Warhammer Fantasy saga. Creative Assembly have done a fantastic job in recreating vast swathes of the Warhammer World though there are still some areas and factions we could see them focus on in Total War: Warhammer 3. Namely, the Ogre Kingdoms and Daemons of Chaos. After focusing on four factions in the original game (Empire, Dwarfs, Vampire Counts, and Orcs), Total War: Warhammer 2 took us to the opposite side of the Old World where we then got to play as High Elves, Dark Elves, Lizardmen, and Skaven. The sequel could shift focus once again though hopefully it will give fans to all factions (including the various DLC armies) under one game.

Of course, we're not discounting the possibility that the trailer could be teeing up yet another Total War: Warhammer 2 expansion. Since it launched in 2017, it has been followed up by numerous chunks of DLC including bonus generals, units, and campaign mechanics. An expansion purely focused on the Lore of Heaven – perhaps introducing a pair of powerful mages – seems very plausible. We'll hopefully know more in the coming weeks.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood chapter releases in June

We love some Elder Scrolls action here at TheSixthAxis, and Elder Scrolls Online continues to scratch that Tamriel itch whenever we heed its call. This year's massive new story chapter, which is part of the year-long Gates of Oblivion adventure, is entitled Blackwood and it's set to release on the 1st of June for PC, Mac and Google Stadia, with it arriving a week later on the 8th of June for PlayStation 4 and 5, as well as Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Blackwood tasks players with uncovering the schemes of the Daedric Prince Mehrunes Dagon 800 years before the events of The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion. Packing more than 30 hours of new main storyline, tons of side quests, countless quality of life features, and fantastically – and for the first time ever – introduces Companions who will adventure through Tamriel alongside the player. The new Chapter will take players from the walls of the Imperial City of Leyawiin, first featured in The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, to the murky bogs of Shadowfen, and of course to the mysterious region of Blackwood where players will uncover the Daedric plot at its heart.

The new Rockgrove Trial, Oblivion Portal World Events, unique Chapter-specific rewards and more will provide ESO players and newcomers alike with an amazing year of deadric destruction.

The Gates of Oblivion storyline begins with the arrival of the Flames of Ambition Dungeon DLC pack on March the 8th for PC, Mac, and Stadia with Xbox and PlayStation players having to wait until the 16th to jump in. This new pack reveals takes you to a series of dungeons that reveal the threat of Mehrunes Dagon, directly setting up this summer's Blackwood story chapter in June.

If you're a regular player you'll need to make sure you're checking in for everything Gate of Oblivion related, while new players will be able to dive straight in, with Elder Scrolls Online offering a fantastic on-boarding experience for new starters.

It's time to announce the Nintendo Switch Pro

As the dust settles on the launch of three new next generation consoles, it's hard not to think that right now would be the perfect time for Nintendo to announce an upgraded version of the Switch. An upgrade of the popular hybrid has been long rumoured, dating as far back as the same year the console was released, but while speculation has run rampant for some time, Nintendo – in typical Nintendo fashion – has been pretty tight-lipped about the supposed upgrade.

The first thing we should probably discuss is what the Nintendo Switch Pro would likely bring to the table. To do that, we should look at the current Switch hardware, to show what any upgrades would bring to the table. The current Nintendo Switch and Switch Lite both feature a Nvidia Tegra X1, an eight-core 1.020 ghz CPU which outputs 1600 MHz docked and 1331.2 MHz in handheld and 4 GB LPDDR4 @ 1331/1600 MHz memory.

Depending on if you're playing handheld or docked, the Switch can output up to 720p or 1080p, though whether it can actually reach those resolutions depends on how demanding the game is. Surprisingly, when you step away from the "impossible" ports, the Nintendo Switch has a pretty solid record of running games at 60fps, although there are often major cutbacks or clever optimisations in order to make that happen. That said, it's definitely starting to show its age, especially in the face of the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

Nintendo Switch Pro Specs & Upgrades

Firstly, the Nintendo Switch's Tegra X1 SoC will need to be seriously upgraded or swapped for something much more modern, both in terms of more powerful CPU cores and advancing the graphics technology.

The difficulty Nintendo face is in choosing the right chipset to replace it. Sticking with Nvidia, the X2 would be the most direct replacement, but it's a chip that's older than the Nintendo Switch itself, and lacks some of the more modern features that Nvidia offers. Recent rumours suggest that Nintendo is going to focus on implementing Nvidia DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) based on a recent job listing.

That leads us to Nvidia's more recent Tegra Xavier. A NeoGAF going under the username Raploz predicts Nintendo could work alongside Nvidia to create a custom version of the Xavier chip to fit the needs of a Nintendo Switch Pro. Raploz makes the interesting point that the only chip which could suit the Switch that has machine learning – a necessity for DLSS – is the Xavier chip.

This would be an unusual use case for a chipset that Nvidia have elsewhere used for embedded AI computing in robotics and cars, and not for consumer electronics and smart devices where power efficiency is a vital factor. Its Carmel CPU has an unusual paired CPU core design that could pose a challenge for developers, and the abilities of Nvidia's Volta architecture aren't known for video games, as it was overlooked for their PC GPUs. That said, there is a version of Xavier that would be a match for the 10W TDP of the Tegra X1, and much like how Sony and Microsoft work with AMD, Nintendo could customise Nvidia's chipset designs.

Whatever ends up in a Switch Pro, native 4K gaming is a thoroughly unlikely target, and this is where the DLSS technology comes into play. Using DLSS, it's most realistic that a Nintendo Switch Pro could target running games natively at 1080p and upscale to 1440p or 4K depending on the game when docked. Alternatively, that extra power could be utilised to run games at higher and more consistent frame rates.

Will the Nintendo Switch fall behind PS5 and Xbox Series X|S?

With new consoles, new graphics cards and a new standard for customer expectation being established, the Nintendo Switch is looking more dated by the day. Interestingly, the Switch was the leading console for sales across Japan, USA, Australia and the UK during 2020, beating the PS5 and Xbox Series S/X due to major supply issues around launch. This doesn't mean Nintendo can rest on its laurels though, as 2021 is likely to take a very different course once Microsoft and Sony address their supply chain issues.

In just a few short months, the Nintendo Switch will celebrate its fourth anniversary. With typical console generations lasting around seven years these days, it's safe to say we are at least half-way through the Switch's life-span at this point. If Nintendo want to keep up with the surrounding industry, it needs to update the Switch to bring it closer in line with the new consoles. While it's never going to have the same performance, additional power processing power would keep it in the spotlight alongside the new consoles.

Microsoft has already shown how easy it is to cater to customers across two different types of consoles with the Series S and X, so it's not unrealistic that Nintendo could do the same. Releasing the same game library across both consoles, but offering an enhanced experience to those customers who want better resolution or frame rates. Rather than splitting the market, Nintendo could continue developing it's excellent first-party titles for two separate consoles, further increasing its market share by tempting those who want 60fps frame rates or higher resolution visuals.

I wanted to do a little market research of my own, so I recently took to Twitter – very official I know – and posed the question "Would you buy a Switch Pro?". The results were actually quite surprising.

While 131 total votes is a pretty small sample size, it was pretty much an even result, which poses some interesting questions. There's clearly a portion of people who are more than happy with the Switch in its current state, while there're others who want a more powerful version. Of course, the results of this small poll don't represent the thoughts of every Nintendo Switch owner, but it shows how Nintendo could continue to cater to two different target markets.

With reports coming through every month, there's still no definite sign that Nintendo is going to pull the trigger on a Switch Pro, and some might argue, why should they?

Does the world need a Switch Pro?

It's a valid question, we've already seen that there's clearly a split of opinion. Chances are, there are plenty of people who are more than happy with what their Switch can do. For a more casual crowd, a Switch Pro would likely seem like a costly venture for something that does pretty much the same as the existing console.

More demanding games, such as Hitman 3, cleverly work around the ageing Switch hardware by streaming from the cloud.

It's also important to take 4K televisions sets into consideration. While there's still countless households that are yet to invest in the upgrade, 4K TVs make an ever-growing percentage of TVs sold each year. Since the launch of the PS4 Pro, we've gone from a global install base of 31 million 4K TVs as of 2017, to more than 36 million 4K TVs being sold in a single quarter last autumn. There are hundreds of millions of 4K TVs out there, and people will want content that makes the most of them.

That demand is obvious to see with PlayStation and Xbox. In 2017, from the time of its launch, the PS4 Pro was accounting for one in every five PlayStation 4 consoles sold since the more powerful console launched. If that ratio has held, it would mean roughly 10% of the 114 million PlayStation 4 consoles sold by October 2020 were PS4 Pros. It was also reported that the Xbox One X was outselling the PS4 Pro in the US. It's clear that there's was an audience for the more powerful consoles, but as we see the scramble for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X stock, that has been amplified with the new generation.

If you look at the wider industry, Nintendo absolutely needs to release a Switch Pro to stay relevant. While the current model has performed well against past competitors, it's only a matter of time until Sony and Microsoft again start to dominate the market. Both are now selling a number of different consoles across two generations, whilst Nintendo have only got the Switch and Switch Lite, two consoles that will surely feel more dated the further we go into the next generation. A new console release from Nintendo would enable them to keep up with Sony and Microsoft, by keeping what makes the Switch special, but with a slight tweak or upgrade.

Then again, Nintendo could continue to ignore the rest of the industry. The Switch itself is an exercise in isolated design. Its hybrid design of portable and TV based playing completely ignored the industry standard, but it's what has made the console such a tremendous success since its launch. Whatever happens, Nintendo will always be Nintendo, but 2021 is the year where something needs to happen if the Switch is going to keep up with Sony and Microsoft.

As Charles Darwin once said: "It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change." The industry is changing, and this is the time for Nintendo to adapt once again.

Amazon Prime Gaming adds Spinch, Monster Prom and more in its February update

It occasionally feels like a deluge of content comes our way every month depending on what subscriptions you partake in. If you're part of Jeff Bezos' Amazon Prime crew then you get a bunch of added extras through Prime Gaming, with a growing library of over 35 games as well as a bunch of added extras like currency and gear for some of the biggest multiplayer games out there like Fortnite, Roblox ,Warframe and Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout. Feburary brings yet more, with Spinch, Monster Prom, Table Manners!, Swimsanity! and Stealth Bastards Deluxe hitting the library and becoming available to download on PC from the 1st of the month.

Other than the great line up of new games for subscribers to sink into, there's a heap of content available too, including:

  • OVR Player Pick item and Rare Gold Player items for FIFA 21
  • Exclusive content for Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, UFC 4, and Roblox
  • Limited ad-free play for some of Voodoo's most popular titles, including Helix Jump and Hole.io

As ever, you can grab all of these things by heading over to gaming.amazon.com and logging in with your Amazon Prime account.

We reviewed Spinch and Monster Prom towards the end of last year, with both proving to be most enjoyable. Spinch grabbed a 7/10 with our own Nic B saying "Spinch is a quirky and vibrant 2D platformer that will delight and infuriate in equal measure. The soundtrack is invigorating and the gameplay demands a lot of the player with its punishing difficulty. The upside to this is that, finishing each level with your three babies comes with a sense of accomplishment that can't be denied. If you're a fan of this kind of game, Spinch is definitely one to consider."

Monster Prom similarly hit a 7/10 (or at least the XXL version with the DLC included did), with Ade telling us, "I honestly didn't know what to expect when I sat down to play Monster Prom XXL, what is a high school multiplayer monster dating sim anyway? The answer is: a whole lot of fun with some big laughs to be had. How long that fun will last with such a repetitive structure is up for debate however. One thing's for certain though: Monster Prom XXL is the best high school multiplayer monster dating sim I've every played."

If you're more of an old-school gamer you can also grab a heap of classic SNK titles including Samurai Showdown V Special, Metal Slug 3, Garou: Mark of the Wolves and The Last Blade 2.

If you've got a PC and an Amazon Prime account, there's really no reason not to dive in there right now.

R-Type Final 2 will launch this April

It's been rather a long wait but R-Type Final 2 will now launch in western territories on April 30th via publisher NIS America. The game is coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox, Nintendo Switch, and PC via three different platforms, Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG.

Pre-orders for the consoles versions of the "Inaugural Flight Edition" which include an art booklet and a soundtrack CD are up on Amazon UK and will set you back £50.

First announced by developer Granzella in April 2019 the game then vanished from radars for quite a while until it popped back up in October 2020. By then NIS America were onboard as pubishers and the game had Spring 2021 window.

Granzella held a successful Kickstarter for the game raising 224% over what the had planned and almost hitting $1m in funding. Kazuma Kujo is directing the project, he has a long history with series have previously worked on R-Tyle Delta, R-Type Final, and R-Type Tactics.

"The stages are rebuilt from scratch for the new game," explained Granzella back in 2019, "As this is going to be the first R-Type game since 16:9 displays have become the standard, the screen structure will be reviewed to improve the playability and make the side scrolling shooter game more exciting and enjoyable. In addition, the stages that appeared in the earlier work will come back with new expressions and interpretations."

"The mere basic functions of R-Type generate a lot of tactical features. We take our hats off to by the depth of the basic rules of R-Type created by our predecessors," the add.

R-Type is the best side ways scrolling shooter and I'll fight anyone who says otherwise. A version of the original game and it's sequel were released on the PlayStation Store in the shape of R-Type Dimensions EX, which included a version with the original graphics and an enhanced version with better, although not stunning, graphics.

Source: Press release