Final Fantasy 14 Breaks Down Everything You Need To Know For PS5 Open Beta

Final Fantasy 14 Endwalker - Sage

One of the best redemption stories of gaming is Final Fantasy 14, the ongoing MMORPG that launched in a less than stellar state, but has since gone on to be one of the last big titles in the genre continuing on. The game has been a staple of PC and PlayStation gaming for several years now, and now the title will come to PS5. They hope to have you ready for the launch of the open beta tomorrow, too.

In an extensive post on the official PlayStation blog, Square breaks down everything you'll need to know ahead of the launch of the open beta tomorrow. There is a lot here, far more than we could just sum up quickly, but it's mixture of new things for the port such as DualSense features and the improved loading and 4K graphics, as well as tips for how to jump into the game. If you're new or just want a brush up on this new version, it's well worth the read.

Final Fantasy 14 is available now on PlayStation 4 and PC. The PlayStation 5 version does not have an official release date as of now, but an open beta will come on April 13th, which you can read more about through here.


Battlefield 6's Latest Leak Talks Reveal, 128 Player Battles, And More – Rumor

Battlefield 5 War in the Pacific

It's been a good while now since the Battlefield series has been on the shelf, but rumors seem to point to the series coming back in a big way this year. And what a crazy amount of rumors it's been, with leaks coming out about the game's setting, as well as its extensive campaign and co-op options. Now, we have even more about the potential reveal.

Known leaker Tom Henderson has shared a few more details. Primarily, he talked about the game's reveal, which he said will show off a desert map, though probably will not be full gameplay. He also gave his own drawing on a shot from the alleged trailer, which you can see here. Along with that, he also shared the game will have a unique weather system, and the ability to have 128 players on some maps in 64v64 battles, complete with pilotable Ospreys. Big thanks to DSOGaming for transcribing the information.

Henderson has been reliable about Battlefield leaks in the past, but as always with leaks or rumors of any kind, take it with a grain of salt. Battlefield 6, or whatever it will be called, will most likely be revealed later this year.

BF6-teaser-image-map-trailer


New Pokemon Snap Highlights Adventures In Lental With Dual Commercials

New Pokemon Snap

April will end on a photogenic note with New Pokemon Snap. The Switch title revives the cult classic entry in the series that will see you riding on rails and snapping all kinds of photos of various Pokemon. Nintendo has been marketing the various aspects of the game you'll be able to experience, such as its branching paths, and now we get some brief teasers to give you an idea of what your adventure will be like.

The two commercials are each 30 seconds in length, with one featuring the female trainer and the other the male. Both give you a general idea of what kind of Pokemon you'll be taking photos of, as well as the various locations you'll be riding through. Check both out in full below.

New Pokemon Snap will release only on the Switch on April 30th. You can check out information on the game's file size through here, as well as read through some features you'll want to know about before the game's official launch here.


BioShock 4 Could Utilize An Open World Setting, Per Job Listing

bioshock

The BioShock franchise has always been an interesting one to look back on. It had three very successful and acclaimed titles and then just…kind of stopped. There's a few reasons for that, but they aren't largely relevant since we know a new game has been in development since 2017. We know little about it, however, and only bits and pieces that comes from areas like job listings. Now, we have a tidbit that could point to what direction 2K is keen to take the sci-fi series. 

A job listing for Senior Writer is live now at Cloud Chamber, who is developing this new title. As spotted by PCGamesN, tucked away subtly is they are looking to "find someone who can weave impactful, character-driven stories in an open world setting." This would indicate that the current direction of the game is an open world title of some kind. That also jives with other information we've gleamed of the game from other listings, such as the mention of a sandbox world of some kind, which you can read more about through here

BioShock 4, or whatever it will be called, has not been officially announced. As it stands now, it seems as if the game, in whatever form it'll take, is still a good ways off.


MLB The Show 21 Preload Now Up For Xbox Series X/S And Xbox One

MLB The Show 21_03

The story of MLB The Show for this year has been a wild one, to say the least. Despite being a Sony developed title, as well as a longtime staple IP for the company, the 2021 edition of the game was announced to be coming to Xbox systems for the first time. It also was then revealed to be coming to Xbox Game Pass day and date, which is quite something. Now, you can preload on those systems as well.

People have reported that the preload option is now available on both generations of Xbox consoles the baseball sim will land on. The Xbox Series X/S version is said to both be roughly 72 GB, while the Xbox One version clocks in at about 45 GB. These sizes could change closer to release, however, if there are any day 1 updates or patches, so keep that in mind.

In addition to those platforms, MLB The Show 21 will release on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, which also have preloads live now.


Sonic Colors Remaster Potentially In The Works

There is much talk about Sonic in the movies lately, as the first film adaptation of the blue icon was a success, and a second film has officially been greenlit and will rush into theaters in the early part of 2022. But Sonic is, first and foremost, a video game character. Despite having an off year in 2020, it seems that at least one title could see a return in the state of a remaster of an older favorite.

As reported by Gematsu, a German voice-over studio, iksample, listed Sonic Colors Remastered as part of their portfolio. The company's website is currently down. Not long after, a listing for something called Sonic Colors Ultimate popped up at French retailer Sogamely for PS4, Xbox One and Switch, but also has since been removed.

If you're unfamiliar, Sonic Colors released in 2010 for Wii and DS. Despite sharing the same name, both games were actually different titles with the DS version being built explicitly around the dual screen setup of that system. Which version this remaster would be based on, or potentially a collection of both, is anyone's guess if this thing is real. We'll keep you updated if something official is announced.


Blood And Truth Developer's PS5 Title Is Listed As Brand New IP

blood and truth

Blood and Truth was one of the PSVR's first big titles, and its developer, SIE London Studio, proved they were once again front and center of Sony's latest tech. The studio has always been one of the first developers to create something for whatever new hardware project their parent company is cooking up, from the PSVR to the Eyetoy. Now it seems they are working on something else all new.

At the end of last year, some job listings from the studio let the cat out of the bag that the studio was working on a PS5 title. as well as even more pointing to that this month. We still don't know what that actually is, but some new listings have popped up for Lead Technical Artist and Lead VFX Artist (which you can see for yourself through here) that reiterate the title as being for the PS5 as well as a new property, stating the studio is working on "a brand new, next-gen IP."

With Sony officially announcing the that they will make a follow up to the PSVR, it's looking likely that the studio is probably working on a new title for it, though with it being a brand new IP apparently, that means it probably isn't Blood and Truth 2, unless both are being worked on at the same time. Only time will tell.


Microsoft Flight Simulator Rated for Xbox One by PEGI

microsoft flight simulator

Given how technically impressive and gorgeous Microsoft Flight Simulator is, it's no surprise that it can be taxing even for some of the more high-end PCs out there. The game's due out on Xbox Series X/S later this year, and while Microsoft's new consoles certainly have the hardware to run the game (or at least a version of the game), many have given up hope of that ever happening on the significantly weaker Xbox One.

It's possible, however, that it does end up happening. PEGI, the European ratings board, has handed a rating for Microsoft Flight Simulator on the Xbox One. The release date mentioned in the rating is obviously a placeholder, but with no Xbox One version of the game announced, this rating does came as a surprise. The question, of course, is if this is a mistake on PEGI's part (and it wouldn't be the first time that's happened of late), or if it's spilling the beans on an upcoming announcement.

For what it's worth, Microsoft has previously said that an Xbox One version of Flight Simulator hasn't been completely ruled out, and might be something they look into once the game is out on Xbox Series X/S.

Meanwhile, the game launches for Xbox Series X/S this Summer, but doesn't yet have a more concrete release date.

microsoft flight simulator xbox one pegi rating


The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 4 – Patch 1.1 Reduces CPU Usage, Improves Load Times on PC

Falcom's The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 4 is finally available for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch. Patch 1.1 also went live on PC and provides several fixes like reduced CPU usage for several threads like audio playback, resulting in greatly reduced CPU usage overall. Loading times have also been decreased thanks to additional caching being introduced.

If you're revisiting prior maps or finishing up battles, this should help improve load times, especially during longer play sessions. To help issues on some systems, overall loading behavior has been adjusted to be more in line with Trails of Cold Steel 3. Some minor translation issues in the game and launcher have also been fixed.

Check out the full patch notes below. The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel 4 marks the end of the Erebonia arc as Class VII unites to stop the world from ending. Along with PC and Switch, it's also available for PS4. Check out our official review here for more details.

Patch 1.1 Release Notes

  • Reduce the CPU usage of several threads, particularly in audio playback. These changes can greatly reduce overall CPU usage in some situations.
  • Introduce additional caching to decrease load times, especially when revisiting previous maps and after battles.
  • This will be particularly effective for longer play sessions.
  • Fix save game thumbnails sporadically not showing up under specific circumstances.
  • Adjust overall loading behavior to be closer to Trails of Cold Steel 3, in order to mitigate issues on some systems.
  • Prevent the game from taking abnormally long to close on some systems.
  • Make left joystick and WASD (or alternative mapping) behavior consistent across all menus.
  • Fix button re-mapping involving X and O buttons along with displayed button prompts.
  • Fix some remaining minor translation issues in game and launcher
  • New Feature: Add configuration tool option to disable dynamic button prompt switching (primarily for Steam Controller users)

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart – Insomniac Working on Sharing More News

ratchet and clank rift apart

Ratchet and Clank games are almost always guaranteed to be great, but the upcoming Rift Apart is looking like it's going to take the series to a whole another level, not just because it is promising to delivering more of the same bombastic, charming action-platforming gameplay the series is known for, but also because it's going to use the PS5's hardware for its game design in interesting ways. Naturally, people are excited to hear and see more about the game, and though it's been a while since Insomniac or Sony last provided an update on it, that might be about to change soon.

Taking recently to Twitter, Insomniac Games acknowledge that fans are "antsy for more news", and gave assurances that the developer has "plans in place right now" to provide another update on Rift Apart. Insomniac didn't provide a time frame for when this new update can be expected, only asking fans to "hang tight", but did say that people "will be pleased with what we have to share."

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is due out for PS5 on June 11. If you have a hankering for Ratchet content and just can't wait until then, the 2016 reboot recently got a 60 FPS update for the PS5, so you can always check that out.