My forbidden love of Chulip and the weirdness of mundanity
I'm going to be honest with you, the advice I usually give people who are looking to give Chulip a try is to make sure you have something nearby to read. Chulip is an unfriendly game, and among its unfriendly features is a nasty little habit of wasting your time. Trains, for example, are used to carry you to all the different locations, but they run on a strict schedule. Miss the last train and, well, that's what the reading material is for.
While I know I'm not exactly selling the game here, I'm sincere when I say I wouldn't change a thing. On the surface, Chulip tantalizes with its weirdness. A game about kissing more or less sums it up. But beneath its unique and charming concept is a title that pulls no punches when it comes to addressing the crushing reality of everyday mundanity.
Review: A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism
One of these days I'm going to go to Japan. It's been a lifelong dream of mine, and there is so much I want to see over there, from Mt. Fiji to Chuka-Soba Tomita to the torii gates of the Fushimi Inari Shrine. I'm also going to want to ride its public transportation system because after living in the Bay Area for a few years and dealing with Bay Area Rapid Transit, it'd be nice to see what a competent transit system looks like.
If A-Train: All Aboard! Tourism is any indication, Japan really has its shit together when getting people around on rail.
Review: Kaze and the Wild Masks
While most rabbits prefer the simple life — hanging around in fields, lolloping in runs and hutches, playing basketball with Bill Murray — such mediocre pastimes do not trouble the head of tomb waidin' wabbit, Kaze. Kaze chases excitement and adventure, burrowing her way into hazardous worlds and uncovering the treasures that lie within...
...This time however, our headstrong hero might have bitten off more carrot than she can chew.
As a result of Kaze's unquenchable curiosity, a curse long-forgotten has fallen on her world, draining it of its peaceful atmosphere and idyllic nature. What's more, this plague has severely affected the crops of her people, turning all of the land's fruit 'n' veg into strange, rabid monsters. The worst fate was reserved for Kaze's dear friend Hogo, whose spirit has been drained and imprisoned within a mystical artifact, leaving him a literal wisp of his former self.
With seemingly nobody on hand, and with her entire world and community at stake, it is up to Kaze to set things right. It will take all of her skill, dexterity, and courage if she is to battle the killer crops, restore her land, defeat this dark evil, and, most importantly, rescue Hogo. Kaze might have spent her whole life wisely eating her greens, but now her greens are coming to eat her...
This might come as a shock to you: I'm not a fan of the Crash Bandicoot series. I know this doesn't make sense, as I'm British, and we in Blighty love the mad marsupial as much as we love pie-and-mash and rewarding corruption... To be fair - I'm not a fan of Britain either. My general mood toward Crash is rooted in my dislike of "into-the-screen" platform games. There's a special place in the underworld reserved for the people who decided platform games needed to make the transition from the tried-and-tested horizontal layout.
I personally find it bizarre that a genre entirely based around perfectly gauging distance would choose to have its camera perspective changed in such an unholy fashion. And while the 3D Mario titles get away with it - thanks to their softer gameplay pace and large open areas - Crash Bandicoot seemed to want to capture the same frenzied speed and funneled action of a Sonic the Hedgehog, but with all-new depth perception issues, adding elements of frustration and false difficulty to the proceedings.
Still, as technology progresses and visual clarity improves, this has become somewhat less of a problem in modern 3D platformers. It has taken many years, but developer Toys for Bob has turned me around with its excellent Crash Bandicoot 4, which has won me over with its spirited world, infectious personality, creative level design, and fun, wholesome aesthetic.
I've finally found a Crash Bandicoot platform game that I enjoy playing. It's about time.
I'm the world's foremost expert on the Army Men series of games, and while I can see you raising a skeptical eyebrow, I have to ask: do you really want to challenge that claim? The series is something of a guilty pleasure of mine. A majority of it is mediocre, some of it is decent, but a lot of it is bad. The experience is a lot like dumpster diving; every once in a while, you might find a discarded treasure, but you're mostly just going to wind up with tetanus and a foul smell.
It's an interesting part of gaming history because a massive deluge of the titles hit between 1998 and 2002 before it coughed out the disturbingly depressing eulogy that is Army Men: Sarge's War shortly after 3DO went bankrupt. The rights were bought up by Global Star Software, a subsidiary of 2K. They tried rebooting the series twice before just giving up and leaving it to be forgotten.
Army Men: Major Malfunction is the first such effort. Developed by Team 17, it at least has some pedigree, but sometimes pedigree comes with severe medical complications and genetic mutations.
What games have given you a satisfying 'rush' upon completion?
Cblogs of 3/13 to 3/19/2021
-Exber writes about the psychological milestone of actually beating a game.
-Lord Spencer reviews Saiyuki: Journey West as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.
-Damien Quicksilver thinks that Amazon Luna is the irrefutable future of ALL gaming.
-Humantofu looks back at Techland's Dead Island games.
-Gamingnerd writes about the history and prevalence of Gacha games.
-Gamingnerd shares tips on hardware modifications to make legacy systems work better today.
-Black Red Gaming shares his thoughts on Sir Brante's Life, According to Myself and Others.
-Toborprime primes his game, Savage: The Shard of Gosen, with a new update.
-Manasteel88 updates us on their lives and apologizes to Kadokawa Games for an earlier angrier blog.
-ABowlOfCereal designs a moveset for Smash Master Core as a fighter in Super Smash Bros.
-Julc3 looks back at their experience with Dtoid that they had all these years.
-ChronoLynxx opens this week's TGIF open community thread.
Let's go crazy! What is the best mainline Marvel vs. Capcom?
Outside of MMOs, one of the longest "gauntlet-runs" I've ever done for a single game involves Marvel vs. Capcom 2.
I picked it up from a local game store for Dreamcast, and played it for what felt like an entire day: I nearly unlocked everything. It was a breezy summer afternoon in 2000, and the world was my oyster. But as simple as it would be to say "that's my favorite Marvel vs. Capcom," it's not! Let's talk about the impact of each game, briefly, and discuss our top picks.
For the purposes of this post, we're not counting X-Men Vs. Street Fighter, or Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter. Just raw mainline "Marvel vs. Capcom" titles, starting with Clash of Superheroes from 1998. We can add way more of those into the mix at some point, like Children of the Atom.
Konami's '80s brawler Crime Fighters returns to clean up the streets
You have to love that flyer... Jerrica Benton from Jem, some dude doing Joey Tribiani's "Smell the Fart" acting, a British football hooligan, an Offspring fan, and me on the far left wearing shades... Even though I don't remember this photo being taken, I'm sure that's actually me.
Hamster has stepped away from its run of shmups to deliver close encounters of the worst kind for this week's Arcade Archives release. Revisiting the brawler genre, the retro publisher has dropped Konami's 1989 release Crime Fighters onto PS4 and Nintendo Switch.
Crime Fighters sees up to four players take to the mean streets in order to rescue a literal parade of kidnapped women from a gangland boss. Seriously, there's not one damsel in distress in Crime Fighters, there's about 14. As is the meta of the 1980s, rather than simply send an armed task force directly to the villains' lair, the police instead assign a small contingent of undercover cops. Their mission: Trudge through the city and beat the ever-loving shit out of anyone sporting tie-dyed clothing or a mohawk.
Check out the action below, in this video courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.
One year later, are you still playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons?
A little over a year ago, I published my review of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Back then, I only had a few weeks with the game before I had to render a verdict, and I ended it by writing, "it's what I've wanted Animal Crossing to be for many years." Three-hundred and sixty-five days later, I still believe that, even if the game isn't quite at the point where I thought it would be by now.
Obviously, my impressions of what an Animal Crossing game should be are based on what's come before. I've been with the series since it first released on the GameCube, and I've seen it grow and evolve over the years. I've met new characters who have wormed their way into my heart and have said goodbye to others who just didn't have a purpose as the series moved forward. It's that history that always has me pointing out missing features, like perfect fruit, Nookway, or the Roost.
While I do miss those elements, getting back into New Horizons this month has reminded me of why I put 200 hours into it last year, and while I'll probably put another 100 hours into it this year. This is a special game, one that has proven itself to be essential throughout 2020. As we all know, the release of Animal Crossing: New Horizons coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic prompting shutdowns, layoffs, and mandatory work-from-home orders around the world. We all joked about how well this game would sell because of it (and it did), but there was something genuinely comforting about the gentle familiarity of Nintendo's social sim in a time of such uncertainty.
Nobody knew what the pandemic would look like or how long it would last. The entire year was a giant question mark, but New Horizons, in its own way, could help keep people grounded. Rather than give players the complete package up front as it had in the past, Aya Kyogoku and Nintendo instead relied on a constant stream of updates to keep bringing people back in with new content, holidays, and returning characters. As such, it gave isolated people around the world a sense of community and encouraged us to interact in ways we'd never had before.
Just think about everything people have done with New Horizons over the last year because they couldn't do it in their real lives. People had their wedding ceremonies on their islands. The Getty Center found a way to add classic paintings to the game because museums weren't open. We all got really into the Stalk Market before getting into the Stonk Market. Players created their own online marketplace to trade and sell items. An actual aquarium gave an aquarium tour in the island's museum. Gary Whitta did that talk show. U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez visited with constituents in the game because the CDC advised against in-person meetings. So much of the world was taken away from us by the pandemic, and with New Horizons, people found ways to get a little of it back.
We all knew, given the popularity of the Nintendo Switch, that Animal Crossing: New Horizons was going to be a big game. What we didn't know is just how vital it would be to so many people. For me, New Horizons provided a little bit of light in the dark days of the pandemic. It's why I played it so much last year and why I'm going to continue playing it through this year and next. As long as Nintendo keeps updating it, I'll keep booting it up.
Happy 15th Birthday, Destructoid!
[This article was originally posted on Destructoid’s actual birthday, March 16]Hit the lights, strike up the band, pop the corks, lose your pants. We are gathered here today to celebrate the anniversary of the coolest and hippest video game website on the internet - right up there with such contemporary trends as Tamagotchis, Fidget Spinners, and The Macarena. Yes, friends, today sees Destructoid celebrate its 15th birthday.
It's been 15 long years since founder Niero Gonzalez started his own gaming blog for the sole purpose of blagging an E3 press pass. Suffering for his art, our affable overlord crammed his head inside a home-made, razor-sharp helmet and spread the gospel of a brand new games media experience. A website that aimed to take a wry look at the video games industry - its wares, people, politics, and curiosities, offering informed and honest information without taking itself too seriously.
Since those humble beginnings, Destructoid has grown into the "phenom" it is today - like The Undertaker, but without the weirdly right-wing clothing. For well over a decade, Destructoid has posted thousands upon thousands of features, reviews, videos, interviews, podcasts, show reports, and contests. The site has raised money for numerous charities and causes, while Destructoid alumni have birthed memorable series such as Podtoid, Jonathan Holmes' 'Sup Holmes, Ashly Burch's Hey Ash, Whatcha Playin'?, and The Jimquisition, hosted by the irrepressible Jim Stephanie Sterling.
Whatcha been playing this week, Destructoid?
Would you Adam and Eve it? 15 years of Destructoid. It definitely feels like I've been hanging around these halls longer than that. I've most certainly written more words than I've read. Many long-timers - whether staff or readers - have seen a lot go up and a lot go down on the good ship Dtoid. But the goal remains: to bring you informative, fair, and entertaining content, to the best of our abilities, each and every week. We're all doing our best, often under difficult and thinly-spread circumstances, so thank you for being here.
This week has been a very busy one for The Industry's Chris Moyse. I mean, they're always busy ones, that's just the top-tier, go-getter lifestyle I lead. But it sometimes means I don't get around to playing as many games as I'd like to. I found myself mostly embroiled in cartoony platformers such as the brilliant Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time and the fine Kaze and The Wild Masks. I might have to BRO it up this weekend with some Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War to get rid of all the joy and merriment.
But I know someone who does get around to playing plenty of games, and that's all y'all. In fact, I'm blown away every week by the passion you all have for squeezing both old and new titles into your hours, and it's legitimately wonderful to see the community having so much joy and escape each and every week. It's important to take victories wherever you find them right now. So, before you get back to the action, jump into the comments and let us know what's happenin' in your sphere, Daddy-O.
Have a safe and pleasant weekend, from all of us at Destructoid.
Contest: Win this Evil Genius 2 limited edition statue
In today's contest you can win this limited Maximilian statue from Evil Genius 2!
Man, we're really killing it this week with physical prizes! Artbooks, consoles, phones -- what could we do next?
How's about this limited Max statue from Evil Genius 2? The full release is right around the corner, so let's get some hype going by giving away this cool little figure!
There's going to be another Jackbox, and it's aiming for a late 2021 release
Jackbox! Oh how I want things to eventually settle down so people can safely play it in a giant room together, laughing and pointing fingers all the way.
Alas, it'll be a while before that happens, but Jackbox Games is forging ahead with a new iteration anyway. It's called, expectedly, The Jackbox Party Pack 8, and it's no longer just a tease; it's a fully fledged revealed entry.
Jackbox Games confirms that it will have five games, like "every Party Pack," and will bring the "phones as controllers" concept back with no major changes. The first game will be announced "before the end of May," and the rest of the pack will be drip-fed "periodically over the next few months." Word Spud 2 is not fully confirmed as one of the five, but it's hinted at in the blog post.
It's slated to arrive "on major digital platforms" this fall. You ready for the laundry list of platforms that we can expect, based on where Jackbox Party Pack 7 launched? PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, Apple TV/iOS, Amazon Fire TV, Mac, and Android. Major and minor platforms!
Although "fall" is the target, Jackbox is aiming for September, which is the "usual" goal.
Jackbox Party Pack 8 [Jackbox Games]
I should replay Resident Evil 4 just to take a truck out with eggs
Resident Evil 4 is a super-replayable game in a series full of them.
Whether you're tearing through it as fast as possible, limiting your arsenal for an extra self-imposed challenge, scrounging up secrets and obscure death animations, or just playing it again for no particular reason because it's a thrill ride that expertly hides its age, there's always something fun to do in RE4.
For me, a huge part of the Replay Factor is the way Capcom blends barely-hanging-on tension with nigh-unstoppable power. Overcoming the odds with know-how and cheesy-as-hell weapon unlocks is the series' not-so-secret sauce – it's the stuff that keeps Resident Evil on my mind all year long. The way in which you gradually slide from one extreme to the other (and go back to face harder difficulties) is so entertaining. A lot of horror games are built to be replayed, but few put in so much work to earn it.
My first time through a main-series Resident Evil game, my adrenaline is pumping. I'm playing on permanent high alert, always wary of what might happen when I least expect it. But as I settle into the enemy and item layouts, the boss strategies, and the overall pace of the horror-adventure, the tide turns in my favor. Once-freaky foes suddenly become pushovers, and I feel like I'm in total control.
The Resident Evil cycle is a beautiful thing, and this clip from Redditor magnum609 illustrates it well.
Egg vs Truck. from r/residentevil
You know the truck that comes barreling down a hill to run over Leon and Ashley in Chapter 2-3? It's one of the many oh-shit moments in Resident Evil 4 that can make you fumble with the controls.
Or not! If you come prepared, you can just egg the truck instead – and the eggs will win.
It'll be a sad day if Capcom ever decides to shy away from allowing these sorts of hijinks. Scare us silly all you want, but when the time comes, give us the freedom to find our own out-of-the-box fun too.
Konami Wai Wai World brings some of the best Konami characters together into one game
If you're familiar with my Famicom Friday articles, you'll know I've already bemoaned the lost soul of Konami, and I don't plan to stop sulking anytime soon. What you might not know are the depths of my despair. They weren't just great for Silent Hill and Metal Gear Solid, they were once a company that constantly pushed the limits of technology and design, and they did it playfully without carrying the whiff of corporate oversight.
I wasn't there, obviously, but if I was to make presumptions of the corporation's Famicom years, I would envision a friendly company full of camaraderie and passionate people based on their output. There was a level of cohesion I can only imagine coming from a group who supported each other and their projects. Maybe I'm being a little idealistic, but Konami's Famicom catalogue is my comfort zone. It's a warm and safe place to explore, full of wonders and oddities, and this game may be one of the most interesting. To look at, if nothing else.
Shin Megami Tensei III HD (and Dante) will debut on May 25
Atlus is finally ready to tell us when Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD is coming. Ready? It's May!
Today, Atlus has confirmed to Destructoid that the Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD Remaster will arrive on May 25 on PC (Steam), PS4, and Switch. Pre-orders start today, and there's a really weird promotion happening in regards to the Digital Deluxe Edition of the game.
In short, picking up this version will not only net you the "bonus content" (which includes Dante from the Devil May Cry series via the Maniax Pack), and four days of early access to the game. Yep, you can play on May 21 instead.
Atlus reminds us that the game features remastered 3D models and backgrounds, as well as a suspend save mechanic, "additional difficulty settings," English and Japanese voiced audio options, and an "alternative branch featuring Raidou Kuzunoha." Yep, that cool-looking Raidou of Devil Summoner fame.
For clarity, you can find the full rundown of the Digital Deluxe Edition below, with exact DLC verbiage so you know what you're getting. The standard edition is $49.99, and the Digital Deluxe Edition is $69.99.
[Update: As an extra bonus, Square Enix has uploaded a music video for Blinding Indigo from The Primals, the theme song of the Leviathan raid boss in the Shadowbringers expansion. It, like the Endwalker theme, is also isolated audio without background sound effects and such: you can watch that below! If you're curious, you can watch the fight here.]
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn has a huge focus on music. Huge!
It drives so many of the boss battles, and adds a ton of flavor to the game as a whole. Hardcore fans look forward to hearing a new boss or raid theme just as much as the encounters themselves, at times. That's why it's such good news that Square Enix finally put out a version of the Endwalker expansion theme without background noise.
Previously folks were listening to it via the presentation stream video, which was full of noise from the actual trailer. But thanks to a tweet from Square Enix directly, you can listen to the isolated audio yourself. Check it out below.
Another added bonus of the video? It's informative!
Clocking in at just under two minutes and 50 seconds, you can get a bird's eye view of the entire expansion pitch. It goes through everything from the new story content, to the two dungeon teases, to the PS5 beta and the enhancements therein.
Townscaper, a care-free building game, is coming to Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android
The town-building plaything Townscaper is coming to Nintendo Switch, iOS, and Android later this summer from Raw Fury and creator Oskar Stålberg, whose name you might recognize from Bad North.
If you missed the initial Steam Early Access chatter about Townscaper last year, it's still a work-in-progress on PC – the latest notable update made the plops and blips sound "80 percent more professional and 120 percent more pleasant." The final PC version will also launch in summer 2021.
This isn't a game for people who crave direction or enjoy getting deep into the nitty-gritty management of typical city-builders, but it will be perfectly cozy for anyone who enjoys the simple act of building a scenic island town in a care-free sandbox. As Stålberg says, this is "more of a toy than a game."
It's cool to see a unique passion project like this do well enough on Steam to justify a Nintendo Switch version. I think it speaks to just how wide-ranging games have become in the console space.
You have until March 31 to claim a boat load of retro SNK games on Prime Gaming
If you have Amazon Prime, you should probably just head to the Prime Gaming (formerly Twitch Prime) landing page and mass click everything to redeem some games.
That includes a heap of SNK games, which are actually going away at the end of the month. All of them are retro-tinted, and part of a partnership between Amazon and SNK to deliver a ton of free stuff all at once. There's over 20 games in tow, and the promo runs until March 31.
You can peruse the full list below, but suffice to say there's a few King of Fighters titles in there to pad the numbers a bit, amid gems like Garou: Mark of the Wolves, Metal Slug, and King of Monsters.
Prime Gaming also put out a little sizzle reel as a reminder, and to showcase the games on offer.
Payday 3 finally secures $50 million publishing deal with Koch Media
Dust off that suit, don that mask, and prepare to do your best Michael Mann monologue. Starbreeze has announced that it has finally scored a publishing deal for its long-in-development multiplayer sequel Payday 3, essentially guaranteeing that the troubled title will finally see daylight.
The developer announced that it had entered into a $50 million USD co-publishing deal with Swedish holding group Koch Media - a deal that sees Payday 3 "fully financed" and ready to enter its remaining development phases. The deal will also see Koch cover the sequel's marketing costs and 18 months of post-release support of the shooter's "games as a service" model.
"We are delighted to welcome Starbreeze as a new partner for our global publishing business," said Koch Media CEO Klemens Kundratitz."Payday 3 is shaping up to be an incredible game. Based on what we've seen already, Payday 3 is going to take the franchise to new heights and will delight Payday fans as well as new audiences alike with innovative multiplayer gameplay."
While this is most certainly exciting news for the Payday community - which includes over 150,000 active players years after Payday 2's release - there is still quite a wait ahead. Starbreeze is expecting Payday 3 to hit both PC and console platforms at some point in 2023. And so the franchise's band of gun-toting lawbreakers will at least have some more time with which to perfect their getaway plan. Will banks even exist by then?
Final Fantasy XIV's Patch 5.5 site has been updated with new details, PS5 beta reconfirmed
Final Fantasy XIV is still alive and well, even if we might be in a semi-drought as we wait for the new expansion to hit.
The main hardcore raid phase has been completed, and now we're awaiting patch 5.5, which will add in the third and final casual 24-person NieR raid, and allow players to catch up and play out the epilogue of Shadowbringers. From here on out, it's table-setting for Endwalker, which will arrive later this year.
On April 13 Patch 5.5 will hit, and it'll bring new main story scenario quests, as well as the aforementioned NieR raid. It'll also add the Paglth'an dungeon, more Chronicles of a New Era content, another trial (The Cloud Deck), a Save the Queen (PVP) battlefield called Zadnor, more New Game+ options, performance updates, and another Unreal trial (super hard mode).
Perhaps the biggest thing is the arrival of the PlayStation 5 open beta, at which point folks will be able to opt-in and try the game out with major enhancements. On April 13 you can access it so long as you have a PS4 license attached to your account: from there, you'll get the new version for free.
Death Unto Dawn [Final Fantasy XIV] Thanks John!
Just when you thought it was safe to own a Switch, Maneater attacks May 25
Deep Silver, in association with developer Tripwire Interactive, has announced that the manic, deep-sea shark sim Maneater will finally come swimming onto Nintendo Switch on May 25, following on from causing many a limb-severing bloodbath on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC.
Released - or UNLEASHED - in May of 2020, Maneater tells a tale of an orphaned bull shark who, disfigured by man and sick with revenge, begins an all-out war on the human species - tearing boats, buildings, and bodies with extreme prejudice while attempting to track down her arch-nemesis, rugged fisherman Scaly Pete.
While Maneater has its fair share of flaws, it has won over a dedicated army of followers with its unique premise, open-world carnage, and anarchic nature. Back in January, it was revealed that public reception of the title had convinced developer Tripwire to get to work on DLC, which is coming later in 2021. With new DLC on the horizon, Maneater's recent appearance on PlayStation Plus, and this new Switch port, the fanbase is sure to increase.
It may never be safe to go back into the water.
Sonic the Hedgehog is getting a tabletop card game
Where are all my tabletop fiends at? In case you missed it, the Game Manufacturers Association (GAMA) expo just happened mostly online this year (it was held right at the start of the pandemic last year!), and a few announcements have made their way out of the show from various publishers.
Details are very sparse right now, but there's going to be a Sonic the Hedgehog card game coming at some point. The game is literally called "Sonic: The Card Game," and is described as "fast family fun," in a competitive "racing" format involving players collecting "power-ups and rings to win."
Based on the image, it seems like a very pick-up-and-play/simplistic slam-style card game, much like Uno. Don't get too excited! Steamforged is also adding to the Horizon Zero Dawn board game, which will provide Rockbreaker, Stormbird, and Thunderjaw expansions to Kickstarter backers.
Steamforged has handled Monster Hunter World, Devil May Cry, Dark Souls, Pac-Man, Ni No Kuni II, and Resident Evil board game adaptations, so it's no surprise that they were granted access to another big license this year.
GAMA Preview [Steamforged]
Warframe's Corpus Proxima & The New Railjack launches today on PC
It's been nearly eight years since Warframe first arrived on the scene and the game just continues to grow. Not only has developer Digital Extremes added a plethora of new content over the years, but it's also started to go back and revamp old content. We've seen this already with remasters of old tilesets that improve the look of some of the original areas of the game, but today's update is reworking old content in a different way.
The "Corpus Proxima & The New Railjack" update, now available on PC, is reimagining how space battles in the looter shooter work. The Railjack was first added to Warframe in 2019 and has been going through changes since. With today's update, many of the roadblocks keeping players from having a Railjack have been removed. For starters, players will no longer need a Drydock or Dojo to own a Railjack. According to Digital Extremes COO Sheldon Carter, the change came about because of player feedback, saying, "You told us straight up, 'give us more control and streamline the experience' and this update is built with that input in every aspect."
Capcom is holding a huge Switch sale right now, and the 3DS is along for the ride
Capcom frequently holds Nintendo-centric sales, especially for titles in the Mega Man universe. But this time around a bunch of other games have tagged along, including games from the Phoenix Wright and Devil May Cry series. Oh, and a few 3DS games as well!
Highlights include Devil May Cry 1 and 3 (it's so weird that they skipped around like that!), and Dragon's Dogma Dark Arisen, which is half of right now ($14.99 instead of $29.99). Okami HD is also a steal at $9.99, as is Onimusha: Warlords for $7.99, which is more than 50% off.
On the 3DS side, pretty much any Phoenix Wright game is safe at under $10, and Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate/4 Ultimate/Generations are on sale at over 50% off. There's also a few really old and in the former case, rough 3DS games thrown in for good measure from 2011, including RE: Mercenaries 3D and Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition.
It's a decent chunk of stuff to choose from! The sale runs from now through March 31 at 11:59AM PT.
Sales and Deals [Nintendo]
Cyberpunk 2077 has only gotten a handful of patches, and it still needs plenty of fixing.
Patch 1.2 is here, but it's being delivered in a quirky role-playing format! CD Projekt Red is getting a bit weird this time around, providing notes in-character in the form of Night City (N54) news, with developer commentary. If you're just looking for raw patch notes and want to avoid all the convoluted bits, we got you covered. Check them out below, all of which are delivered in an accompanying video format.
So what are the gists? NPCs, specifically police, are being adjusted to prevent weird spawning issues, and recon drones will make police feel more thematic as a whole and the world look less lifeless. Driving is also overhauled, and you can now adjust steering sensitivity with an in-game option. You can also use a new unstuck feature to rock vehicles out of glitchy areas (seems kinda stopgap, but hey!).
You can also more easily adjust keyboard controls, most notably dodging on double-tapping, which can be turned off. You have to give it to CD Projekt Red for trying, but for many, it's too little, too late.
Patch 1.2 Development Insight [CD Projekt Red]
Gotham Knights is slipping to 2022
The longer Gotham Knights simmers in my mind, the more I actively want to play it. I have reservations, sure – can WB Games Montréal really juggle co-op and character progression and everything else at this scale? – but even if the game ultimately falls short of the Arkham legacy, I'm very much in.
That said, a lot could change in a year. Chris sent me a vague Slack message this morning about "Gotham," and in my pre-coffee funk, I could only assume he was talking about this. For once, he wasn't!
— Gotham Knights (@GothamKnights) March 19, 2021
In a short and not-so-sweet tweet, WB Games Montréal said that it needs "more time to deliver the best possible experience for players," and as such, Gotham Knights has been delayed out of 2021.
If you need it, a refresher on Gotham Knights' "open-world city with drop-in co-op" structure:
And a gentle nudge that, last we heard, it will be playable offline in single-player.
"We look forward to showcasing more of the game in the coming months," the studio added.
One of the big lingering questions, at least for me, is how progression feels in practice – and whether the creators will make the most of the Court of Owls. While we saw damage pop-ups and enemies with level icons in the initial footage, there's supposedly "no level gating whatsoever" in Gotham Knights.
With the summer of news streams looming on the uncomfortably close horizon, I'm sure they'll have plenty of opportunities to fill us in; I'm ready to hear about a whole bunch of 2021 games that are actually 2022 games. For anyone out there struggling to snag a PS5, Xbox Series X/S, or up-to-date GPU, you aren't missing much – at least not yet. Next year's game lineup will be a different story.
Sonic the Hedgehog is getting his IDF comic-book rerelease for his 30th anniversary
Marketers and merch-makers continue to announce special commemorative items to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Sega's legendary mascot, Sonic the Hedgehog. Being added to the plush toys, card games, and LEGO sets is a special anniversary comic book, arriving in stores just in time for Free Comic Book Day, which this year will take place August 14.
The Sonic the Hedgehog 30th Anniversary Special - published by IDW - will launch with four cover variants, and will feature three stories packed into its 80 pages. The stories are "Dr. Eggman's Birthday," "Season of Chaos," and the amusingly titled "Sonic Learns to Drive," the latter of which will be penned and illustrated by The Adventure Zone's McElroy Brothers. A hardback edition of this special issue - complete with an extra story and other bonus content - will launch October 5, priced at $19.99.
IDW also announced that it will begin releasing compilations of its previous Sonic the Hedgehog comics from June 22. Retailing for $59.99 Sonic the Hedgehog - The IDW Collection Vol. 1 will include issues #1-12 of IDW's original 2018 run with The Blue Blur, with further volumes expected in the future. This is an excellent opportunity for fans who missed out on Sonic and pals' comic-book exploits to bag the whole series in a princely collection of hardbacks.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons' newest patch brings back the dreaded bunny
I got every single Bunny Day bonus last year in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and I vowed to never do it again. I'm keeping that vow as Bunny Day enters the fray yet again in 2021.
Version 1.9.0 has been released for Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and it's bringing back a major event for one of the first times in the history of this iteration. Yep, New Horizons is turning one year old this weekend, and now we're at the point where Nintendo can just bring back stuff and have it feel fresh again.
For all the non-Bunny Day-celebrating folks out there, new mile redemption options are at the Nook Stop, as well as limited-run seasonal items. Fixes are also in tow, including a long-lingering bug that involved the wand (that was as old as July 30, 2020), and a problem with digging mechanics.
Another big aspect of the patch is prep-work for the Sanrio amiibo cards, which are being released exclusively in the US at Target on March 26. In a nightmare situation for collectors, pre-orders aren't up yet. Good luck!
Version 1.9.0 [Nintendo]
Disco Elysium: The Final Cut refused classification in Australia
In annoying but not particularly surprising news, ZA/UM's upcoming release Disco Elysium: The Final Cut has been refused classification in Australia, effectively "banning" the twisted graphic adventure from sale within continental borders. The new release will therefore not be making its console debut in that territory on PS4 and PS5 on March 30.
The Australian Classification Board stamped Disco Elysium: The Final Cut with an "RC" or "Refused Classification" rating yesterday, March 18. Disco Elysium's listing on the ratings board's official website reads as follows:
"The computer game is classified RC in accordance with the National Classification Code, Computer Games Table as computer games that 'depict, express or otherwise deal with matters of sex, drug misuse or addiction, crime, cruelty, violence or revolting or abhorrent phenomena in such a way that they offend against the standards of morality, decency and propriety generally accepted by reasonable adults to the extent that they should not be classified.'"
Disco Elysium is available to purchase on PC, and owners of the original edition will be afforded a free download of The Final Cut's content - including full voice acting for all characters, customizable controls, and an extra environment which houses a selection of all-new Political Vision Quests. But for console owners from Down Under, it appears that Australia's notoriously stringent censor has unfortunately struck once again.
Spider-Man isn't hitting Marvel's Avengers until later in 2021, and yikes
Just yesterday, we learned that Marvel's Avengers will be welcoming Black Panther into the fray "later this year." But what about Spider-Man, the still PlayStation exclusive hero? Later...than later, apparently.
Speaking to IGN, Scot Amos, Crystal Dynamics' head of studio, noted that "formally, officially, people are working on him right now." However, there is a faint hint as to when that might be. He is coming "after Black Panther," which is listed in the "beyond" section of the "summer and beyond" point of the roadmap.
This comes after the news that Spider-Man is not even on the official content roadmap at all for 2021. Given that folks are "working on him right now," that isn't great news that he'll even hit that "later than later than" target. Marvel's Avengers is still struggling to acquire new players and keep the audience it has, and the slowish roadmap for new characters isn't helping much.
It makes sense that development is constrained right now, and not every studio has unlimited resources; but the rollout and messaging for this game has been all over the place. It could have been nipped in every avenue, but the drip-fed nature and release schedule of new heroes (two of which were archers named Hawkeye in the opening salvo), isn't helping things.
Marvel's Avengers: Spider-Man Being Developed, But Not Coming Before Black Panther [IGN]
Contest: Win an iPhone 12 Pro, courtesy of Cobra Kai: Card Fighter
In today's contest you can win an iPhone 12 Pro and in-game prizes for Cobra Kai: Card Fighter!
Hey, so this is a new one! I'm used to giving out game keys, in-game contest, and even consoles, but this is my first time giving away a phone! I mean, a phone technically is a console, right?
Cobra Kai: Card Fighter hits Google Play and the App Store tomorrow, and to celebrate, the team over at Boss Team Games (responsible for the upcoming Evil Dead: The Game!) wants to give away a brand new iPhone 12 Pro! I'll just sit over here all jealous with my four year old Galaxy S8 while y'all enjoy your new toys.
Street Fighter V Juri mains deserve her new skins as reparation for THE STRUGGLE
Capcom has released two brand new skins as DLC for its flagship scrapper Street Fighter V: Champion Edition. Both outfits belong to slick-kickin' antagonist Juri Han, chosen as the winning entries in a costume-designing contest held by the publisher back in 2020. The outfits are available for a couple of bucks each, or are included in the latest Premium Pass.
The Street Fighter community, jam-packed with talented artists, came through with an amazing collection of costumes for a variety of SFV's World Warriors. When the finalists were put to a public vote, however, the #JuriFeet army came out en masse, and both winning entries now hang in the Korean assassin's wardrobe. Admittedly, it would have offered more variety to incorporate a "one finalist per character" ruling, especially given how awesome some of the other entries were. But what's done is done.
The Fall is free right now on the Epic Games Store
For this week's giveaway, the Epic Games Store is handing out The Fall, a sci-fi adventure game about an advanced AI that has taken control of a combat suit after its pilot crash lands on an alien planet.
It's an older release – the original PC version of The Fall launched in May 2014 – but it is still remembered for its story and atmosphere. Even if the "side-scrolling shooter" screenshots put you off a bit from the puzzle-adventuring, it's worth a look. Doubly so when we're talking about a free promo.
If you're intrigued, we've got a review in the archives. The deal lasts until March 25.
I'll also need to set a reminder for Creature in the Well next week. The pinball-esque dungeon-crawler has been on my mind ever since I heard about Flight School Studio's next project, Stonefly, and I feel like I ought to play it. The inventive action game will be free on the Epic Store from March 25 to April 1.
Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Siege has lit the fuse on its sixth year of content, with its newest season, Operation Crimson Heist, now live on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X. The event sees the arrival of a brand new operator, as well as the addition of several new weapons and features in the immensely popular tactical multiplayer shooter.
Operation Crimson Heist welcomes Argentinian inventor Santiago "Flores" Lucero to the fold as a new attacker, bringing with him charm, wit, and a collection of highly explosive remote control drones - the "Ratero." Flores will be using all of his cunning and guile, earned during his dubious former life cat-burglar, to help his squad-mates with infiltration, recon, and the disturbance of even the most fortified locations. You can read more about this debonair and highly intelligent fellow in our previous report.
Xbox is hosting an indie game showcase on March 26
We're early enough into 2021 that I'm not burned out on video game news streams, but I'm bracing for impact. You thought last summer's events were too drawn-out? Here, how about a Spring Game Fest.
I'm kidding – kind of. But digital showcases have become second nature for many publishers. Next on the docket, we've got an indie-game-centric stream from Xbox on Friday, March 26 at 9:00 a.m. Pacific.
The ID&Xbox event is a collaboration with Twitch, and it'll feature "new trailers and gameplay for more than 25 games," including known-ish quantities like The Ascent and mystery projects from studios like DrinkBox. I've been dying to see what the team has been up to since Guacamelee 2. Annapurna Interactive, Devolver Digital, Team17, Humble Bundle, and Raw Fury are also on the presenter list.
[Update: While the original announcement for the event mentioned S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2, GSC has since re-calibrated expectations. There won't be a big new trailer, after all – but there's some new artwork.]
Between the game reveals, new trailers, and Xbox Game Pass announcements – to say nothing of developer interviews with "community favorite Twitch streamers" – it sounds like a busy event
You'll be able to watch the show on Twitch. It's gonna be a two-coffee morning for me.
Evo was bought by Sony Interactive Entertainment and RTS
After a particularly rough 2020, the annual fighting game tournament Evo is still hanging in there, in part, due to Sony Interactive Entertainment. Your eyes aren't playing tricks: Sony has "jointly" acquired Evo in a partnership with RTS, "a new venture born out of Endeavor's esports business."
The surprising news was shared on Twitter to the wider fighting game community this afternoon by PlayStation and Tony and Tom Cannon, the co-founders of Evo, who will stay on as "key advisors."
In a message to the community, the Cannon brothers acknowledged not just the pandemic's impact on the long-running event, but also "the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of Evo Online involving a former team member [Joey Cuellar] who has been completely separated from our company."
"We want to reaffirm that harassment or abuse of any kind has no place within Evo or any of our future events, and we're taking every precaution to make sure members of our community will always be treated with the respect, dignity, and decency you deserve," reads the letter.
Evo Online 2021 is set for August 6–8 and August 13–15, with more details coming soon. The headliners are Guilty Gear Strive, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, and Tekken 7. For what it's worth, the Evo site suggests "more games to be announced soon."
In terms of Sony potentially blocking games – or companies pulling out of future events given the change in management – Evo's director of global business development Mark Julio says "Evo is still open to all platforms. The teams at PlayStation and RTS are enabling us to continue working with our community to support fighting games." Some fans aren't going to believe it until they see it.
In a statement to IGN, Nintendo said it has "enjoyed engaging with fans at past Evo tournaments" and it will "continue to assess Evo, and other opportunities, as we plan for future online and offline Super Smash Bros. tournament activity." Anything can happen when Nintendo's involved. Feeling lucky?
Even with the stability SIE can lend Evo, the future of this FGC staple still seems hazy. I'm curious to see what this move means for Sony's interest in the genre in general going forward. More deals, I suppose.
Call of Duty: Warzone bans a further 30,000 players, while Mara actor takes down cheaters
Developer Raven Software has announced that it has purged Call of Duty: Warzone of a further 30,000 players on the grounds of cheating and/or hacking. The popular battle royale title is awash with foul play, and both Raven and Activision have stated that they are committed to the uphill battle of keeping Verdansk even relatively free of shenanigans.
This newest wave of bans sees a total of 100,000 players pruned from Call of Duty: Warzone so far in 2021. Of course, the free-to-play title is one of the most popular shooters on the market, with a playerbase of millions. As such - while the removal of every cheater or hacked account is to be praised by the community - it's a drop in the ocean compared to the rule-breakers who remain, not to mention those who simply rejoin under a proxy account.
In related news, two further Warzone cheaters were singled out and removed by one of Call of Duty's own. Alex Zedra, the streamer/model who portrays character "Mara" in the military shooter's universe, spotted some sketchy behavior from a couple who were both using in-game hacks while streaming. With the merciless nature befitting of a Warcom operator, Zedra sent word through to Twitch, an action that would eventually see both players suspended.
Cheating, particularly in FPS titles, is as old as the genre itself, and unfortunately very much "goes with the territory." Regardless, it's good to see developers at least make some effort to remove those who are spoiling the enjoyment of others. Ultimately, as long as there are video games, there will be cheating - some people simply have to win. But watch your step in Warzone, or you might even find yourself in Mara's crosshairs.
Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis will be free-to-play, and monetized through loot boxes
Did you miss that there are multiple Final Fantasy VII projects in the works...again?! It...begins!
The one in question here is Ever Crisis, which is a mobile game developed by Applibot, and will be a "reimagining" of the original in "monthly" episode form. Now, thanks to a new Famitsu interview with Tetsuya Nomura, we know that it's free, and will "try" to stick to 10 chapters.
Nomura explains that the party will get out of Midgar "in chapter three," leaving plenty of room to revisit the rest of the world of the game. But there's also "completely new, original" content, including a story team-up with The First Soldier (which is 30 years in the past, dealing with the founding of the SOLDIER organization).
It'll also have an original soundtrack that is based on the source material (neat), and will not function as a "replacement" for the remake project, but a "casual" version of it. In terms of monetization, chapters will be free, but it will be a loot box-based game, with boxes "containing random weapons." Nomura says that some weapons will also include "new costumes," which is exactly how they're going to get hardcore fans with the FOMO gacha system.
Are you ready for a ton of Final Fantasy VII media? I lived through it once before, and survived!
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade [Famitsu via Gematsu]
Scarlet Nexus launches June 25, Sunrise-produced anime coming this summer
Bandai Namco has released a mecha-load of exciting information concerning its dynamic-looking action-RPG Scarlet Nexus. The post-apocalyptic anime adventure will come exploding onto PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X on western shores June 25, a mere day after its Japanese release.
First revealed back during last summer's Inside Xbox stream, before being showcased in December's Game Awards, Scarlet Nexus is set in a future completely engulfed by technology, where mankind has learned to harness the psychic powers of the human mind, evolving humanity far beyond its means. Unfortunately, this outpouring of mental energy has drawn in a species of mind-eating mutants, "The Others." who are attacking Earth in the hopes of devouring our all-powerful brains.
Of course, once man learned how to harness psychic power, he immediately weaponized it, resulting in the creation of The OSF (Other Suppression Force), a tactical military unit trained in the synergy of mind and machine to defeat the invaders. Scarlet Nexus will tell the story of one such battle unit's war to save the city from legions of truly grotesque, spine-shivering creatures from your darkest imagination.
The Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy is out now, and it's 20 bucks for a limited time
It's the 25th anniversary of Tomb Raider this year, and to celebrate, Square Enix is releasing a trilogy collection where the earliest release is from 2013. Oh, and Lara croft is also in Fortnite, too.
It's called the Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy, and includes the 2013 Tomb Raider, Rise of the Tomb Raider, and Shadow of the Tomb Raider: that's a whole lotta Lara Croft! It's technically a $59.99 release, but it's on sale now for $20 if you grab it in the next two weeks (read: until April 2). The "Definitive" moniker refers to containing all pertinent updates and DLC for all three games.
Note that you can also buy the games piecemeal, if that's what you want. The 2013 reboot is a really respectable $2.99, Rise is $5.99 for the "20 Year Celebration" version, and Shadow is $14.99, which is nearly the price of the whole compilation on sale.
I can safely recommend them all in that one bundle at that price if you're prone to Tomb Raider shenanigans. They each have their merits, and although they don't redefine the action adventure genre in any major way, they're fun little tales, and a great way to reintroduce Lara Croft to the world.
You can grab the Xbox edition here.
And the PlayStation version here.
It's still hard to believe that Final Fantasy VII Remake has an upgrade...DLC...thing.
It's...kind of weird to me! To see a modern re-release of an old Final Fantasy game get a story extension, but the series is known for DLC now; that's just the way it is. Well, thanks to a new Famitsu interview, we've learned that it wasn't necessarily the intent for this to happen, and it may not happen again for the foreseeable future.
Speaking to the outlet, Tetsuya Nomura, who is one of several directors for the Intergrade project (but not for Part 2), notes that "Due to the nature of the upgrade system, it resulted in us having to label the new Yuffie sections as 'downloadable content.' However, the original intent was to create a PS5 version of Final Fantasy VII Remake and not to produce downloadable content. Accordingly, we do not have any plans for downloadable content at this time."
Nomura says they are "prioritizing the roadmap for completing the next game," and to never say never, and that although DLC isn't planned, it could come after the second part is finished. As for more details on Yuffie's story, there are several control modes (you can have Sonon, your companion, "act independently," or one where he mimics your commands). You can also "press L2 to switch between combo modes."
Oh, and Yuffie will have "new materia and summons." Remember, we also already know that it's two chapters. It sounds like a fully fledged adventure!
Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade [Famitsu via Gematsu]
Black Panther and Klaw are headed for Marvel's Avengers 'later this year'
During the Square Enix Presents showcase, we got a peek at Black Panther and Wakanda in Marvel's Avengers. It's hard to get excited about a nebulous "later this year" release window, but it's something.
The War for Wakanda expansion will unsurprisingly add Klaw, "new enemies," and a jungle biome in which to endlessly fight them. It's a long time coming for Black Panther as a playable hero in Marvel's Avengers, and at this point, with the way this game's rollout has gone, I'm glad he's still coming.
Maybe the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions will magically turn things around? Anyone?
Project Athia is now called Forspoken and it has freaky bears
The Square Enix Presents showcase had a last-minute surprise: Project Athia! Or should I say Forspoken? The fast-moving magical action-adventure game from Luminous Productions has a real name now, and we got a proper look at its protagonist, Frey Holland, in a new trailer.
Somewhat surprisingly, Square Enix describes the game as a "narrative-driven adventure." The game is set in the world of Athia (hence the working title), and Frey is played by Ella Balinska (Charlie's Angels).
Do I want to leap up mountains and cast spells on nightmare bears? Absolutely. I'm in.
Life is Strange and Before the Storm are being remastered
Dontnod's original supernatural adventure Life is Strange is getting a remaster this fall alongside Life is Strange: Before the Storm. If you've been looking for a reason to revisit Arcadia Bay, this is it.
The remastered versions will be bundled together in Life is Strange Remastered Collection, which you'll be able to pick up standalone or in the Ultimate Edition version of Life is Strange: True Colors. Platform-wise, we're looking at PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia. No Switch version, it seems.
What's different? Deck Nine has "refined" the puzzles, reworked character animations with "full facial mocap," improved the visual fidelity for characters and environments, and upgraded the "engine and lighting." You're also getting the standalone bonus episode, Farewell, packed in.
As fate would have it, I just started replaying Life is Strange a couple of months ago – but I only finished the first episode before I got distracted by other games. Things worked out! No rewind necessary.
Life is Strange: True Colors is the next adventure from Deck Nine
During this morning's Square Enix Presents spring showcase, we got our first (official) look at Life is Strange: True Colors, a new adventure-with-a-twist from Life is Strange: Before the Storm developer Deck Nine. It's launching on September 10 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Stadia.
Unlike past games, this is an all-at-once dealio. It's not an episodic format.
The new lead, Alex Chen, has psychic empathy: she can "experience, absorb, and manipulate the strong emotions of others, which she sees as blazing, colored auras." Alex will need to use her supernatural power to figure out what really happened to her brother, Gabe, during his "accidental" death.
The setting, the mountain town of Haven Springs, looks cozy. And the soundtrack for True Colors is a focal point, as you'd hope and expect. The game will feature "extensive" licensed tracks from the likes of Radiohead, Phoebe Bridgers, and other acts, as well as new music from Novo Amor and mxmtoon.
Square Enix is juggling a lot of properties to varying degrees of success, but when it comes to Life is Strange, I'm just generally happy to see the series continue to branch out. It's a special one. That said, for some fans who were enamored with Chloe and Max, the original game is still a tough act to follow.
It's time to watch the Square Enix Presents showcase together
Square Enix is hosting a digital event today at 10:00 a.m. Pacific, and running down the list of news on-deck, Life is Strange is the headliner – but that's just me. Maybe you unexpectedly adore Outriders, you're clinging onto Avengers, or you have a great feeling about Tomb Raider's 25th anniversary.
If you don't want to watch on YouTube, you can also catch the show on Twitch.
After some decent highs and horrible lows last year during the endless summer of video game news streams, I don't know what to expect from Square Enix Presents. I just know that the first 30 seconds or so will set the tone. I'm contractually obligated to stick with it, but you? You can bounce whenever.
At a minimum, we'll learn more about Life is Strange, Outriders, Balan Wonderworld (godspeed), Tomb Raider, Marvel's Avengers, Just Cause Mobile, other mobile games, and some "delightful" Taito titles.
The Square Enix Presents showcase for Spring 2021 is expected to last around 40 minutes. That's a lotta time for Takes. You might want to pace yourself, though – it's going to be another long year.
[Update: It's over! Here are the major announcements from the show:
- Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy is out now, and it's 20 bucks for a limited time
- Life is Strange: True Colors is the next adventure from Deck Nine
- Life is Strange and Before the Storm are being remastered
- Black Panther and Klaw are headed for Marvel's Avengers 'later this year'
- Project Athia is now called Forspoken and it has freaky bears
All in all, it was better than expected given the relatively low stakes involved. Life is Strange: True Colors already looks compelling to me, and I'm all about Forspoken's magic-infused traversal. The showcase's actual news wasn't groundbreaking or anything, but the quality of the presentation was pretty nice.]
(Update) Necromunda: Hired Gun already looks like one of the good ones
[Update: Following yesterday's leak, Focus Home Interactive announced Necromunda: Hired Gun for PC (Steam and Epic), PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. It's not going to be for everyone, but I'm on-board – it looks fast. And the store page had the date right. Hired Gun is coming out on June 1, 2021.]
There are arguably too many Games Workshop-based video games vying for our attention, but when so many ideas are thrown at the wall, some of them are bound to stick. Streum On Studio, the team behind E.Y.E. and Space Hulk: Deathwing, is back with a first-person shooter called Necromunda: Hired Gun.
I don't always like to bring up Microsoft Store leaks – sometimes, the store pages are too sparse or the games are too uninteresting for me to justify coverage – but that's decidedly not the case here.
This game looks sick as hell. You can take on bounties as a merc with a Cyber-Mastiff by your side.
The unannounced game will be published by Focus Home Interactive, and the Microsoft Store lists the Xbox versions of Necromunda: Hired Gun for June 1, 2021. (In case the page is pulled down before the official reveal, yes, there's an "Optimized for Xbox Series X/S" badge.) PC should be a no-brainer.
Even without seeing a trailer, I'm much more into this hive-city joyride than prior attempts. That said, it's too sunny outside for me to be tumbling down wiki lore rabbit-holes again. Release me!
[Thanks, Vesalius]
Fire Emblem Heroes gets its hop on with super-cute bunny update
Spring is in the air, and there's perhaps no video game that enjoys the changing of the season more than Nintendo's Fire Emblem Heroes. To that end, the mobile battler has launched its newest summoning event, bringing the spirit of funny bunnies to a selection of characters from its huge roster.
The new event sees lop-ears and fluffy tails adorning Fire Emblem Awakenings' hot-blooded Severa and handsome archer (does Fire Emblem have any un-handsome archers?) Inigo. Also joining the festivities are veteran franchise character Minerva, as well as The Sacred Stones' dragon gal Myrrh, accompanied by her equally scaly pal, Nah. Don't they all look totes adorbs?
Of course, the new summoning event will also see the coming of a brand new paralogue chapter. Titled "Wilfull Rabbits," the mini-adventure sees our batch of bunnies hopping into a lavish spring parade, filled with color, wonderment, and brutal, weapon-based combat. The new summoning event is now live in Fire Emblem Heroes on both iOS and Android.
Nintendo Download: Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville
It's re-release day again on the eShop!
Plants vs. Zombies: Battle for Neighborville is one of the big headliners, as the little online shooter that could is finally arriving on Switch. It's technically the "Complete Edition," and hits the eShop tomorrow.
Overcooked: All You Can Eat is huge too, as it rebrands both games into one package, and either of them is worth the price of entry that the All You Can Eat bundle includes. Tales from the Borderlands is a welcome trip down memory lane too.
Finally, Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town is out on March 23 as another fairly marquee Switch release. Here's the rest!
