Here's how Borderlands 3's Diamond Keys and Vault Cards work
Borderlands 3 is still trucking along, with that patented string of Gearbox DLC and monetization.
It's crazy to think that it actually came out in 2019, but here we are, still getting paid add-ons for it. The Director's Cut is on the way, and will add a ton of content like more story missions and a new raid boss. But beyond that, it's also bringing in vault cards and diamond keys.
The former are basically talismans that add loot and XP bonuses, and are granted via owning the Director's Cut add-on, which is still slated for April 8. "Three" cards are slated for launch "by the end of 2021," and you get the first one day one. Basically, you level up the cards for rewards, just like the system in Marvel's Avengers.
Diamond keys are like a new evolution of golden keys. Billed as a "full room of loot" (not just a chest, like how the golden keys interact with the game), you'll access the "diamond armory" to use them (which has been added to the hub below the bridge). Once you open a chest, you have a specific amount of time to grab one item from it. Then you get a guaranteed piece of legendary gear.
It's all sort of confusing and very skinner box-like: just like Gearbox wants it to be. But at least we know how it works ahead of time.
Vault Cards and Diamond Keys Quick Guide [Borderlands]
Analogue Pocket shipments delayed to October
The Analogue Pocket, a new machine that can play a breadth of portable games, is delaying shipments due to a shortage of necessary components.
Analogue confirmed in an announcement that the current global state of affairs has created supply chain challenges outside the company's control. The new shipping window for the Pocket is set for Oct. 2021.
"There have been sudden and severe electrical component shortages as well as logistical issues leading to a domino effect of challenges for nearly everyone in the industry," the blog says. It also backlinks two news stories, including one about the Ever Given, the boat that was stuck in the Suez Canal.
Analogue says it is working to get the Pocket out as fast as possible, and that those who pre-ordered and would like to cancel for a full refund should reach out to Analogue Support.
The Pocket was revealed in 2019 as a multi-video-game-system portable handheld. It's set to be able to play Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance games out of the box, and adapters will allow it to play other systems' games, including the Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket Color.
It's also set to have the ability to dock and connect to an HDTV, and on the console itself, it will have a 615ppi LCD with 1600x1440 resolution. Basically, a super-powered Game Boy.
Analogue also noted on Twitter that its Super Nt will be restocked in April, while the Mega Sg and DAC will follow shortly after.
This year's Tokyo Game Show will return to an online format
Tokyo Game Show is the latest in a growing crowd of industry events that will once again be held online in 2021. As COVID-19 continues to render mass gatherings unsafe environments, the decision was made by organizers CESA, Dentsu, and Nikkei BP to return to an online format similar to that used for the previous TGS event, held back in September 2020.
TGS 2021 will still offer up news and previews of a catalog of upcoming releases, and will offer online interviews between developers and press. The organizers are looking into ways to roll out demos online, and will also host a small, socially distanced, in-person event to allow members of the gaming press to try out games and hardware. Viewers at home will be able to check out all of the action through various social media outlets.
This year will see the Tokyo Game Show celebrate its 25th anniversary, and will run TGS 2021 under the banner theme of "We'll Always Have Games." It's a shame that this marked occasion will have to be held in an online capacity, but it's definitely the right thing to do given the ongoing uncertainty of the current global climate.
Tokyo Game Show 2021 will take place between Thursday, September 30 and Sunday, October 3.
Tokyo Game Show will be online-only in 2021 [Gematsu]
Clever girl: Fortnite just added raptors
Dr. Grant was right...those "six-foot turkeys" are ferocious.
Going along with the "Primal" theme of this new season, Fornite just added raptors into the mix. Cleverly, they set the whole thing up with eggs littered about the map beforehand, then decided to hatch them via an update. That very same update that added extra stability for the Switch version of the game.
Raptors will roam the map in pairs and add another wrinkle into the survival mix for the main battle royale mode. They're joined by the existing wildlife of wolves, boars, chickens, and frogs: which all can make up various questlines in Fornite that task players with picking up animal bones and taming them for experience.
It took some time for the primal theme to grow on me, but the spire in the middle really adds a lot of character into the mix. I dearly miss a few locations from the last season (the colosseum especially), but it's always good to shake things up.
And raptors randomly roaming around is a shakeup!
Back in January, I wrote up an impressions piece for my hands-on with the Balan Wonderworld demo, saying it was saving its best bits for the final game. That statement wasn't really supported by any concrete evidence, it was more wishful thinking based on my memories of the wonderfully imaginative reveal trailer from last summer.
Now that I've played through the full game, I'm happy to say that I was right. Balan Wonderworld did indeed save its best levels, costumes, and ideas for the final game. However, if you hated that demo — and I know a lot of people did — nothing here is going to change your opinion of it. In fact, there's a good chance you'll actually end up hating it a whole lot more.
It's okay to fail in Disco Elysium
Disco Elysium opens with you on the floor. Your character, whoever they are or whatever might be left of them, is face-down in a nondescript hotel room. You are surfacing, breaching the plane between the void and the living only to find yourself harboring the grand-daddy of all hangovers.
This is the introduction to the character you'll inhabit through Disco Elysium. They are many things, and can become even more: calculating, feeling, thinking, judging, determined or remorseful. But in this moment, you are at a low, possibly the lowest of low.
Moments later, you can die trying to get your tie off the ceiling fan. The headline reads "Cop Suffers Final Heart Attack," and boy, does the word "Final" do a lot of work.
Kingdom Hearts' pricey PC ports now available on Epic Games Store
Well, it's taken a spell, but the Kingdom Hearts series, (or at least its mainline entries) are now available for purchase on PC. Square Enix released the holy trinity of Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 + 2.5 ReMIX, Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8: Final Chapter Prologue, and Kingdom Hearts III + Re Mind on Epic Games Store yesterday, alongside rhythm-action spin-off Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory.
It's a fairly contentious release - I believe y'all call it a "Monkey's Paw" - in that while fans have been clamoring for the iconic crossover franchise to make its PC debut for some time, the Epic Games Store exclusivity is making it a bitter pill for some. Not helping are the unsurprising price-tags, with each title running between $50-$60. It's undeniably great to see these excellent adventures finally available on the PC platform but, at full price, you're looking at the best part of $200 for the complete set. Gawrsh.
Regardless, Square Enix is very pleased with the EGS debut of one of its finest franchises. Series producer Ichiro Hazama released a brief message speaking of his happiness that the legendary series could now be experienced by new audiences, adding to the thousands upon thousands of fans who have enjoyed Sora, Donald, and Goofy's adventures through the magical universes of both Walt Disney and Final Fantasy. They're great games, and absolutely worth checking out. But perhaps leave the EGS iterations to Scrooge McDuck.
After hundreds of hours of Stardew Valley, I just learned there's an easier way to greet animals
Whether it's a game I've played for five minutes or five-hundred hours, I always love hearing about no-brainer tips that are easily overlooked – the kind that are small but impactful over time, and make you do a double-take for failing to notice them. For my fellow Stardew Valley fanatics, here's a big one.
You know how you need to greet/pet your farmyard animals each day to get a little heart and grow your bond so they produce the highest-quality goods? Well, for many of us – especially those of us with more goats, chickens, cows, and pigs than we probably need – the morning ritual can be fussy. The animals can get all bunched-up in close quarters, and it's a little pesky to greet them once (and only once!) so that you don't accidentally bring up their friendship rating menu when you tend to them.
I have painstakingly greeted my animals one by one throughout my hundreds of hours in Stardew Valley. As it turns out, you can just hold the pet/interact button and run up to them – it'll work perfectly. You'll get friendship points with every animal and you won't pull up the dreaded menu.
Here's a demonstration of the trick on PC from Reddit user Boiled_potato8:
Took me ages to realize you could just click and hold the mouse to pet all of the animals from r/StardewValley
How did I not know about this? I could've been more efficient this whole dang time!
My girlfriend mentioned the pro tip in passing – we aren't sure where she saw it – but it blew my mind. And now that I've looked around, it's definitely a common realization in the Stardew community.
I'm pretty sure my farmer just got a few more gray hairs.
Summer Games Done Quick Online will return in July
The Games Done Quick team has announced that it will once again be hosting its sunny speedrunning event Summer Games Done Quick in July. The event will bring together some of the fastest and... furiousest players from across the globe to compete in a week-long extravaganza of speedrun challenges, tool-assisted chicanery, and fascinating longplays.
As the world remains rocked by the effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year's SGDQ will once again be an online affair, with hosts and runners streaming directly from the comfort and safety of their own homes. While GDQ fans are most certainly missing the camaraderie of the event's traditional hotel gathering, the online GDQ events have been no less entertaining and enjoyable in terms of content.
The online setting and difficult world circumstances have also had seemingly no effect on the generosity of the gaming community, who last year donated an amazing $2.3 million USD to non-profit charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. The GDQ team is yet to confirm who will be the beneficiary of SGDQ 2021, but I wouldn't be surprised if they don't return to the global medical and healthcare initiative, as has been the case for several years now.
As I've made it known many, many times before, Summer Games Done Quick is one of my favorite times of the year. Chilling in the sun with good drinks and good games, all for a good cause. I haven't missed it in years, and I don't intend to in 2021. You can check out all of the action yourself when SGDQ 2021 kicks off Sunday, July 4, live on the official GDQ Twitch channel.
We'll be sure to keep you informed once this year's schedule is announced.
PlayStation Plus really wants us to play Days Gone in April
Sony is back with three games for PlayStation Plus in April, and it's an interesting lot.
Some people – notably, PlayStation 5 owners – are probably going to feel short-changed by Sony's decision to double-dip. From April 6 until May 3, PlayStation Plus subscribers will be able to claim Oddworld: Soulstorm (PS5 only), Days Gone, and Zombie Army 4: Dead War for their library.
In a vacuum, I like this lineup, but for anyone who got a "free" copy of Days Gone with their PS5 through the PlayStation Plus Collection promo, it's a retread. Of course, there's a lot to like with this open-world romp – more than people were initially thinking – and it's a meaty game. As a freebie, it's a solid pick.
We already knew about Oddworld: Soulstorm's inclusion after a recent State of Play (what felt like the sixth time we've seen this long-time-coming game appear on a stream), so that's not a surprise. Are you curious? It's worth reiterating that even though Soulstorm is launching on PS4 as well, you can only claim the PS5 version through PS Plus – although you don't need to own the console yet to do so.
As for Zombie Army 4, I've never fooled around and fallen in love with this wild series, but I'm weirdly open to the idea. I'm back on the Resident Evil 4 train and have been going hard with Mercenaries. When I've done all that I can with the full crew, I'll be in the mood for more frantic head-popping mayhem.
On the off-chance you haven't done this already, don't forget to grab Ratchet & Clank for free (the deadline is March 31) and the rest of the Play At Home 2021 games as well (you have until April 22). Unlike the PlayStation Plus titles for April, anyone can redeem this stuff with a free account.
Melty Blood: Type Lumina teaser trailer gives fans a brief glimpse of gameplay
I'm sure I wasn't the only fight-fan left both surprised and delighted at last week's news that the cult fighting game series Melty Blood was getting set to make its return. After all, it has been many years since the schoolyard sluggers last stepped into the ring. But it's true, the anime fighting franchise is returning in 2021, with the release of Melty Blood: Type Lumina.
Developer French-Bread has followed up its announcement with a brand new teaser trailer, giving us our first look at the sequel in action. There's a lot of filler here, and unfortunately the heightened presentation style hides much of the action, but we can see Melty Blood's trademark 2D anime visuals, as well as some pretty slick animation and special effects. It's just a start, but it's an encouraging one.
No Man's Sky adds a seasonal Expeditions mode
No Man's Sky just keeps growing, with no sign of stopping. Developer Hello Games announced a new update today called the Expeditions update, which brings a set of challenges in a seasonal format to the space exploration sim.
Update 3.3 brings Expeditions to No Man's Sky, which are a new way to start out a journey in a different mode from a regular save file. Every Expedition starts players on a fixed point in the universe, to complete a series of Milestones and goals to win rewards. It also seems like Expeditions are intended to be fairly social events, with players starting on similar planets and specific "Rendezvous Planets" established along the route to create hubs of activity.
Milestones are open-ended and, according to Hello Games, intended to give players a chance to explore different aspects of No Man's Sky. Several Milestones make up each Phase on the Expedition map, with each Phase finished offering a prize, and finishing an entire Expedition yields an additional reward.
These Expeditions are limited-time only, and Hello Games plans on adding new Expeditions regularly. At the end of the Expedition, rewards will no longer be earned and the save will convert to a Normal mode save. Any rewards earned in this mode can be redeemed for free on other saves in any game mode though, so that sick golden spaceship can carry over to your main game.
There are also several more quality-of-life updates including a new HUD, updated bases and improved cross-platform play, rebalanced recipe costs, and a new mission board. Really, the breadth of the updates that are still coming to this game is staggering—the Companions update was just last month, and last year Hello Games launched the massive Origins update. No Man's Sky is going a bit above and beyond a redemption story, and at this point, I'm wondering where the limit is for future additions.
Dead or Alive director Yohei Shimbori has left Koei Tecmo
Yohei Shimbori has left Koei Tecmo. Shimbori has headed up the 3D fighting franchise Dead or Alive for a lengthy 16 years, but has decided to take his leave of the developer/publisher.
"As of today, I have left Koei Tecmo Games," said Shimbori on Twitter (as translated by Gematsu). "I worked on Dead or Alive for 16 years, and while there were times I was pleased, there were also times I was unable to live up to expectations. I would like to take this opportunity to express my utmost gratitude to the many people who have supported and taken care of me. Thank you very much."
It's an honest and candid farewell message from Shimbori, who started with the Dead or Alive franchise as a designer for 2004's Dead or Alive Ultimate, and ends his time with the franchise as the producer/director of 2019's Dead or Alive 6. While I've always been a fan of the pacey, technical, and satisfying fighting mechanics of Dead or Alive, the series has steadily declined into repetition, with DoA 6 going all-in on the shopping cart mechanics.
But, despite the cash-cowing of the franchise, Dead or Alive has always been solid once it comes to The Fight itself; Dead or Alive 5 Last Round being a brilliant entry in particular. It will be interesting to see what direction Koei Tecmo takes with DoA going forward - whether the series returns to its roots, is offered a full redesign, or is simply put to one side for the foreseeable future.
Marvel's Avengers is getting MCU costumes, 'for purchase with credits'
Ah man, looking at how different publishers handle different Marvel games is night and day.
Some are probably more beholden to the license and answer to the Mouse. Others likely are given more creative freedom. Marvel's Avengers from Square Enix seems to be in a really weird spot, sandwiched between the whims of the MCU and deals with Sony for their Spider-Man exclusive. The game suffered for it, in any case.
Take these two Marvel promotions for instance. Spider-Man just got a free suit this week. Meanwhile, Marvel's Avengers is teasing "new MCU costumes" that you have to pay credits for. Credits that can be earned or purchased outright with real money.
In any case, "nameplates, outfits inspired by the MCU, and a deadly HARM Room hacked by Yelena Belova (that's Florence Pugh's character in the upcoming MCU Black Widow film)" are coming to the game "this spring." It's another in a string of glacial pace updates that a lot of people are tired of waiting for.
On top of the confusing PlayStation upgrade process, it hasn't been a good month for the game. It arguably hasn't been a good year for it.
Marvel's Avengers [Twitter]
505 Games purchases Ghostrunner IP for a little under $6 million
505 Games has announced that it now owns the cybernetic slice 'n' dice franchise Ghostrunner, having purchased the new IP from publisher All-In! Games for a mighty €5 million, roughly $5.9 million USD.
The Italian publisher worked alongside All-In! on the initial release of Ghostrunner back in the summer of 2020, but was apparently unwilling to outright purchase the IP for its own catalog. Unsurprisingly, a change of heart came about following Ghostrunner's release, which saw the tower-climbing title recover its production costs in a single day, before going on to shift over 500,000 copies by the end of the year.
Oh hey look, a free new suit for Spider-Man: Miles Morales
Insomniac has done a pretty good job of handling the Spider-Man franchise.
I mean, the first game made some waves, but it doesn't get enough credit for how breezy its open world is. It's the kind of sandbox you can finish in the time it takes to fully complete some other bloated open world romps, and that sort of restraint should be commended.
While some lament the fact that Spider-Man: Miles Morales was shorter, I celebrated it. Once again I found myself hitting that 100% completion mark and not stressing it. The injection of free DLC costumes doesn't hurt either.
As of now, you can grab a new update for Miles Morales, which includes the classic free costume add-on. In this case it's the Advanced Tech Suit, amid "various fixes" for the game itself. Insomniac also flaunts "realistic muscle deformation for select suits," which is a PS5 exclusive feature.
Remember when Microsoft kept touting "the power of the cloud" for basically every presentation? Well, now we just have the power of new consoles to fuel things like realistic muscles.
Insomniac Games [Twitter]
Mortal Kombat movie pushed back a week, will premiere on April 23
Warner Bros. has announced that its upcoming adaptation of NetherRealm Studios' Mortal Kombat has had its release date pushed back by one week. The martial-arts action-adventure will now launch in theaters and on paid streaming service HBO Max on April 23.
As reported by Variety, Warner Bros. has rearranged the date in order to provide breathing room between MK and kaiju-smasher Godzilla vs. Kong, which hits both big and little screens today. Variety also suggests that Warner Bros. is holding off in anticipation of California relaxing lockdown laws in the coming weeks, which could see an allowance of increased capacity in cinemas. If you fancy cramming yourself into a crowded room with a gaggle of complete strangers at the very earliest opportunity possible, good luck to ya.
It has been a long road to fruition for the Simon McQuoid-directed video game adaptation, which has pushed through production and scheduling woes - as well as COVID-19 pandemic restrictions - to make it to next month's release. While fans were left waiting an extraordinarily long time to see the movie's first trailer, it left many in the kommunity feeling cautiously optimistic that Mortal Kombat will deliver a relatively good time. I don't think anyone's expecting The Dark Knight here, but as long as the action is solid and the journey is fun, then the wait will have been more than worth it.
Yep, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster still looks great
Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is set to debut on May 25 on PC, PS4, and Switch.
It's great, because these sorts of things can sometimes only hit one platform: and at that point, a wide variety of people (basically everyone) can experience it. And you should! Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is an absolute classic, and bolstered the RPG genre far more than the "Dante from the Devil May Cry series" memes.
You can get a look at a new primer today too, as Atlus just debuted a new trailer called "The World's Rebirth." It helps ease players into the idea of a hellscape Tokyo, and reminds us that the "easier difficulty level of Merciful" is free DLC for all, and that it has suspended save options (anywhere) and Japanese and English voiceovers.
It's a small miracle that SMT III is returning like this, as the treasured PS2 release is something I talk about a lot with folks, but never really get to show them in earnest. At this point Atlus could basically remaster every SMT game and people would eat it up. Persona is the darling, but SMT deserves its day again.
Genshin Impact's long-awaited PS5 version is coming real soon, here's a look
Genshin Impact. The name has become a new titan in the gaming industry.
It completely took hold of its free-to-play gacha scheme and made bank across the PC, PS4, and mobile platforms: and now it's adding another feather to its cap. We knew the PlayStation 5 version was coming eventually, and now we have confirmation that it's nearly ready to go.
This morning developer miHoYo announced that the PlayStation 5 port of Genshin Impact is "coming soon," and gave us a quick look at it with the trailer below. Here's a summation of the improvements: "The PlayStation 5 version aims to deliver an even richer and more immersive open-world experience. Running in razor-sharp 4K resolution with enhanced textures across every part of the game, the world of Teyvat will look more detailed and vibrant than ever before, while faster loading times will allow players to enjoy a more seamless experience as they travel between the diverse and beautiful in-game environments."
As a reminder, the game does currently run on PS4, but you can tell it's not a native version. The enhanced visuals and load times will do wonders in terms of shoring up some of the busywork and open world stability problems. The studio also confirms that you can use the same save/account and the PS5 version is still free, so the upgrade will be seamless.
I've actually been holding off from playing it as much as I normally do because of the promise of the PS5 version!
The Binding of Isaac: Repentance comes crawlin' n' cryin' onto PC today
It's a very important day for those who worship at the altar of Isaac. Today sees the long-awaited release of The Binding of Isaac: Repentance, the "final" chapter in the grim, gross, and skin-crawling twin-stick series that has been entertaining freaks 'n' geeks since the franchise' inception back in 2011.
Described by creator Ed McMillen as "the best version" of the unholy roguelike, The Binding of Isaac: Repentance sees the title fine-tuned to as close to perfection as the series can get. Repentance is jam-packed with content, adding new playable characters, paths, and chapters alongside, over 100 new enemies, a new final boss, seven extra challenges, four-player co-op support, and "an impossible number" of gameplay tweaks, mechanic adjustments, and visual improvements.
Here's how to get a free Tomb Raider reward in Fortnite
Earlier this week, Fortnite was running a special "Mystery in Croft Manor" playlist.
The gist is that you'd dive into Lara Croft's crib (who made her Fortnite debut this season) to investigate a mysterious set of artifacts, and end up doing a little puzzle action platformer test in the process. It was short and sweet, but now it's out of the usual playlist rotation as of today.
And that's fine! Because you can still redeem the reward: a Lara Croft spray item. After finishing the questline you're granted access to a code. The code you get is not unique, so you can use now: even after the map is out of the main menu (I just tested it this morning!).
Just head to this page and redeem this code: Z4A33-NLKR2-V9X34-G3682.
Two more Sony Japan veterans leave studio ahead of restructure
Two more veterans from Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan have taken their leave of the company, just one day before the developer/publisher begins its restructure process - which will see the studio shrink its workforce and dial down production, shifting focus to Astro's Playroom developer Team ASOBI.
Shinsuke Saito announced his departure from SIE Japan in a very succinct message on Twitter earlier this morning. Saito is an artist, animator, and character designer, responsible for the creation of popular protagonists such as Kat from the world-bending 2012 Gravity Rush. Saito was also art director for 2017 sequel Gravity Rush 2.
Also leaving SIE Japan is Kentaro Motomura, who has had the prestige and good fortune to be involved with the development of titles such as Bloodborne, Wild Arms, Dark Cloud, and Everybody's Golf. While Motomura did not note any specific plans, he intends on continuing in the field of game development.
The two former employees join a constantly growing list of long-time SIE Japan associates who have left for pastures new in the past year. The exile has seen the Sony Japan studio lose Bloodborne alumni Masaaki Yamagiwa and Teruyuki Toriyama, as well as Gravity Rush producer Keiichiro Toyama, who has since founded Bokeh Game Studio, which itself employs two further ex-Sony Japan devs in Junya Okura and Kazunobu Sato.
The Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan restructure process begins tomorrow, April 1.
Gravity Rush designer Shinsuke Saito leaves SIE Japan [Gematsu]
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt next-gen edition will launch in the second half of 2021
Fans of mythic RPG series The Witcher were understandably stoked when they heard that the 2015 release The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt would be making the jump to next-gen platforms. But it seems that hype should be quelled for the time being, as developer CD Projekt RED isn't expecting the port to hit the market until later in 2021.
As clarified by CDPR's PR manager Radek Grabowski, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is confirmed for "the second half of 2021," when the epic adventure will be released as both a standalone purchase for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X, and as a free upgrade for those who already own the original release. (So maybe it grab it on the cheap before then, if you haven't purchased it already.)
The next-gen edition of The Witcher 3 will not only include all previously released DLC content, but it will also come enhanced with ray-traced graphics, significantly reduced load times, and various other technical and aesthetic improvements. While Witcher 3 was a best-seller, and has been played by more than its fair share of monster slayers, this new edition will probably make it worth saddling up for another jaunt through The Continent.
Classic cel-shaded shooter XIII is free to kick off GOG's spring sale
It's getting to be that time in the northern hemisphere. The sun angle is higher, the days are getting longer, baseballs are starting to sprout in the many outfields of America, it's spring! To celebrate surviving the (hopefully only) full Covid winter, GOG is kicking off a spring sale on many of its DRM-free games.
As is usual with these sales, the kick-off comes with a free giveaway, and this time around it's the classic comic-book-based shooter, XIII. From now until Thursday at 9 AM EDT, you can claim the game to keep forever, DRM-free, and forget about that remake that was released last year.
For those with a few coins to spare, there is a flash sale going on to start the sale that will last the length of the giveaway. Included in the flash sale is Moonlighter coming in at a dirt-cheap five dollars.
Some other highlights from the sale:
- The Witcher 3: Game of the Year Edition - $9.99
- Disco Elysium The Final Cut - $31.99
- Planescape Torment: Enhanced Edition - $4.99
- Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice - $7.49
- Stranglehold - $2.49
- Victoria II - $9.99
Okay maybe that last one isn't the best sale price but I need to hold out hope for Viccy3.
The spring sale will run through April 5 with no indication of further flash sales being implemented.
CrossCode gets one last content update
One more update is coming to indie RPG CrossCode today, as a final send-off for the game. Developer Radical Fish Games announced today that one more small update, included as part of the A New Home DLC, will be the final piece of content coming to the game.
Version 1.4.1 will have three new quests, a couple of arena cups, and new Trade Offers in Rhombus Square. It will also be the final content addition, and the team plans further releases only to fix any remaining bugs or issues. But while this marks the end of over nine years of development on CrossCode, there's still more on the horizon for Radical Fish.
The team confirmed that it is currently prototyping its next game, currently called Project Terra. While it will be an action-RPG with a "gameplay mix similar to CrossCode," it will be in a new setting and story.
Here's a WIP sneak peak of @RadicalFishGame's #ProjectThatNeedsAHashtag's aesthetic and rendering. 2,5D is working excellent here I think.#gamedev #indiedev #pixelart pic.twitter.com/4RKRF2LJhh
— Thomas Fröse (@ThomasFroese) March 30, 2021
Though a cutscene in A New Home stoked hopes, the studio says there are no plans for a sequel. "We definitely had a great time working on this title and [seeing] the world and its characters grow," the blog reads. "But after nine whole years, we are ready to work on something new."
Radical Fish says it will be talking more about Project Terra within the next few months, and if you're eager to get some early glimpses, the announcement blog has some embedded tweets with early looks that have gone up. The studio also confirmed that it will be receiving financial support from the state of Germany for the development of Project Terra.
So while it's sad to see a chapter come to an end, after almost a decade in development, it'll be exciting to see what Project Terra holds for Radical Fish. CrossCode, meanwhile, is out on PC and consoles, if you're eager to see what the fuss has been about.
Amnesia: Rebirth has an alternate Adventure Mode with 'a few bonus puzzles'
In a free update out today on PC and coming in a few weeks to PlayStation 4, Amnesia: Rebirth has an alternate game mode for anyone who wants a lighter, less deadly horror-adventure experience.
Similar to SOMA's Safe Mode, Amnesia: Rebirth's Adventure Mode will let you soak in the "narrative, atmosphere, story, and theme, without having to worry about monsters attacking." Going a step further, Frictional has also "brightened up" the darkest environments for navigation and mood reasons.
Here's a lighting comparison for the two modes straight from Frictional Games:
That's not to say so you can't get in your own head and freak yourself out anyway – the vibe is still described as "unnerving," and the monsters still exist – but it'll be more tolerable. On that note, Adventure Mode strips out the fear mechanic, so you can even take your time in poorly-lit areas. That said, don't get too bold – monsters won't let you "attack or annoy them" without repercussions.
Amnesia: Rebirth as it originally existed will continue to be playable in a so-called Original Mode.
I'm a big proponent of horror games that go out of their way to lighten the mood if you so choose, whether that's through multiple difficulty options out of the gate, side modes, or ridiculously OP unlockables. Having a full-on alternate mode that embraces a wider audience is a beautiful thing. (I know it's even more work to implement, but while I'm rattling off requests, more randomizers, please!)
Last we heard from Frictional, Rebirth had cleared 100,000 sales and it was nearing profitability "in the not too distant future." The studio really believes in long-tail success bolstered by word of mouth.
I need to get into Rebirth, and while I'll likely go for the original vision, Adventure Mode is intriguing.
Xbox's Games with Gold lineup for April is more filler
I'm beginning to look at the monthly Games with Gold lineups less out of real interest and more out of fleeting morbid curiosity. There's no denying that Xbox has been killing it with the Game Pass library lately... and by "killing it," I mean Games with Gold – it's really been suffering. It's a lot of filler titles.
For April 2021, Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass ultimate are getting four freebies:
- Vikings: Wolves of Midgard (April 1–30)
- Dark Void (April 1–15)
- Truck Racing Championship (April 16–May 15)
- Hard Corps: Uprising (April 16–30)
Just follow these links to queue up the games as needed.
As a refresher, Vikings is a middle-of-the-road action-RPG that can be straightforward fun with the right mindset. You know the one. Dark Void, a jet-boosting sci-fi shooter, is a reminder of Capcom's wild Western-centric approach to greenlighting games in the Xbox 360 era. Truck Racing Championship is a sim racer, and I remember enjoying Arc System Works' run and gun Hard Corps: Uprising at the time.
I'm not saying every Games with Gold and PlayStation Plus drop needs to turn heads, but I do think there's a baseline quality and timeliness threshold where people won't even bother showing up for free stuff. It's one thing to claim a game and maybe not play it; it's another to willingly skip out.
Go ahead and give Hard Corps a shot even if you've struggled with Contra, though. It's pretty slick!
The scrappy Dagr is Fire Emblem Heroes' latest Mythic Hero
Everyone loves a good brawl from time to time, and in the world of Fire Emblem Heroes, perhaps no nobility is up for the ruck as much as Princess Dagr, who joins the mobile battler this week as its newest Mythic Hero.
Debuting in Fire Emblem Heroes itself, Dagr is the twin sister of Nott and the youngest princess of the kingdom of Jotunheimr. Bedecked in regal splendor and wielding a mighty, full-length battle-axe, Dagr hopes to use her fighting spirit and prowess in battle to prove to her mother that she should be next in line for Jotunheimr's throne, stepping ahead of her older and more demure and thoughtful sibling.
Loop Hero's best trait is its lore
Walking down the street to check the mail at my hometown's post office is an eerily different journey today than it was a year ago. I still pass the local pizza joint on the town square—a literal cornerstone of a small town community—but time has changed more than just ourselves. Despite the marks near the building's roof acting as a reminder of its survival from the fire years before, the restaurant is still there, but not really. It's hollowed out. Empty. It's closed, for good, thrown to the void of to-be-forgotten establishments from before the pandemic.
As I walk by, memories of being a kid in that restaurant come flooding back: playing Dig Dug and Streets of Rage and some random bowling game with a physical ball to spin that controlled the virtual ball on-screen. Head down, wandering forward and lost in thought, I watched the sidewalk pass me by—square by square—and found myself thinking about Loop Hero.
On its face, Loop Hero is a curious amalgamation. Tower defense mechanics fuse naturally into a roguelite framework with a deck-building aspect, and if that sounds like a lot of bullshit, it's because it is. At some point, diluting a game down to the cogs that construct it removes its identity as much as it informs it. Loop Hero is so much more than the sum of its parts, and its story ties together a patchwork only possible in the video game medium.
Plunging the depths of Loop Hero's lore wasn't only worth my time—it gave me my sense of time back.
Dead Cells has a new difficulty curve and three more mutations to play around with
New weapons? More mutations? Hard-hitting balance tweaks? Where do your eyes dart when scanning the patch notes for a major Dead Cells update? It probably depends on your goals for the game and where you're at with them. For folks stuck in Boss Cell hell, the revamped difficulty curve is a big deal.
In today's Whack-a-Mole update on PC, the difficulty in Dead Cells was rebalanced again:
- BC0: Health fountains in every transition.
- BC1: Health fountain every other transition, with one minor flask when the fountain is missing.
- BC2: No more health fountain, one minor flask in every transition.
- BC3: One minor flask after the first boss and before the second.
- BC4: No more health in any transition, enemies teleport to your position.
- BC5: No more health, enemies teleport, malaise added.
For those who haven't kept up lately, these changes are meant to make things "easier."
Elsewhere in the Whack-a-Mole update, we're getting three amusingly beefy weapons: a doom-inflicting Tombstone, a last-hit-chaining Oven Axe, and a hold-to-charge club called the Toothpick.
There's also three tempting mutations to mull over, two of which speak to me as a tactics player:
- No Mercy (colorless): Instantly kill enemies that are under 15 percent health – and bosses under 7.5 percent health – by hitting them with a weapon.
- Barbed Tips (tactics): Inflict damage per second to foes based on how many arrows are stuck in them.
- Point Blank (tactics): Close-range attacks have scaling bonus damage.
So uh... I think barbed tips might be a little busted. from r/deadcells
How do you unlock the new mutations and weapons? They're drops! According to the wiki, you can get No Mercy from Slashers, Barbed Tips from Toxic Miasmas, Point Blank from Corpulent Zombies, Tombstone from Swarm Zombies, Oven Axe from Oven Knights, and Toothpick from Ground Shakers.
The team has tried to stamp out seed-related crashes for good, touched up the Malaise mechanic (including new icons to "give you a better idea of what's about to hit you"), and made it so Legendary items scale "based on the sum of your two highest stats" and Legendary status doesn't raise an item's level. That said, those last two reworks are "very subject to change." Dead Cells doesn't stand still.
As always, it's worth poking around to see the minutia. For instance, it may not be a headliner for a lot of players, but a new accessibility-focused hold-to-chain-attacks toggle sounds pretty sweet.
As noted on Reddit, the Whack-a-Mole update should be ready for consoles in the next three to four weeks. If you're a Dead Cells mobile player, that version just got The Bad Seed DLC – it's $3.99.
Back to the grind we go!
(Update) Ratchet & Clank now has a 60fps update for PS5
[Update: Insomniac moves quick! The 60fps update for Ratchet & Clank on PS5 is live ahead of schedule. Just update your PS4 game to 1.08, and enjoy – there's "no setting to change" in a menu.]
In a move that PS5-owning Ratchet & Clank fans had been calling for, Insomniac Games is going to update 2016's PlayStation 4 title Ratchet & Clank to hit 60 frames per second when played on a PlayStation 5. The free update is planned to go out in April, which, oh shit, is already almost here.
Ratchet & Clank (2016) will be playable in 60 FPS on PS5 after a new update in April! As part of the Play at Home campaign, download the game for free now through 3/31. #RatchetPS4https://t.co/Iw6CMNByFU pic.twitter.com/VEFiW3IMWK
— Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) March 29, 2021
Asked if there would be any extra DualSense integration, Insomniac simply pointed to the upcoming Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Between the free giveaway for Play At Home 2021 and now this update, it's clear that they're looking to refresh everyone and roll right into the new PS5 game in June.
If you haven't already done so, go ahead and grab the free copy of Ratchet & Clank by March 31.
I kind of wish I hadn't just gone back to platinum this sucker given how much the frame rate stood out to me until I adjusted to it (and even then). That said, I genuinely enjoyed my time with the game, so I can't complain. Even if the PS4 re-imagining is less than ideal from a series-wide standpoint, there aren't many games like it right now – which is a big reason I'm looking forward to Rift Apart so much.
More of these 60fps performance updates for PS4 games on PS5, please! Who's next?
Atelier Ryza franchise hits one million global shipments
Publisher Koei Tecmo has proudly announced that the combined shipments of its JRPGs Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout and its sequel, Atelier Ryza 2: Lost Legends & the Secret Fairy, have hit one million combined shipments since the titles' respective 2019 and 2020 releases.
Alongside developer Gust, Koei Tecmo revealed the milestone on its official Twitter, accompanied by new artwork of cheerful protagonist Resalin "Ryza" Stout literally jumping for joy. The publisher also announced that both titles will receive a special celebratory DLC skin, to be released at a later date... Are they gonna charge for it? Surely they aren't gonna charge for it...
The Atelier Ryza titles follow the exploits of Resalin, as the young girl and a party of pals embark on high-fantasy adventures. The two games place an emphasis on crafting, combat, and alchemy, and have received praise from both critics and fans for their strong characters and engaging visual design. Both Atelier Ryza releases are available now on PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
Hitman 3's Dubai level is free to play for a spell
If you've been holding off on playing the latest Hitman, this week might be a good opportunity to test the waters. Hitman 3 is getting a free starter pack, which includes two locations and a time-limited trial of Hitman 3's first major locale, Dubai.
The Hitman 3: Free Starter Pack includes the ICA Facility and Hawke's Bay, the tutorial levels from Hitman (2016) and Hitman 2. Dubai, the first location of Hitman 3, will also be available in the starter pack from March 30 through April 5. In a blog post, IO says it will also be releasing more free content to the pack for a limited time in the future.
Hitman 3 launched earlier this year as the conclusion to IO Interactive's rebooted Hitman trilogy. It was fittingly filled with plenty of global intrigue and goofy assassinations, and was quite the send-off for Agent 47.
Though it has had some level transfer troubles on PC, most of the wrinkles seem to have been ironed out between the platforms. It's worth doing so too, because as engaging as Hitman 3 was, the previous two games' levels still stand tall. Locales like Sapienza, Paris, and Mumbai still stick out to me.
If you haven't tried these games out, they're absolutely worth a shot, especially as IO Interactive looks to be pivoting into its upcoming 007 game. There are a lot of little joys in life, but few can compare to the ridiculous ways in which Agent 47 can dispatch with his targets. Never miss a chance to drop that moose on someone.
PSA: Get your last meals in with Mario games on Switch now, because he's set to be executed tomorrow
The time has come.
We've been talking about it for ages. We knew it was coming! Mario is dead tomorrow. At least, several newish games about him are.
As re-iterated multiple times, Nintendo is putting an end to several Mario titles on March 31. That includes physical and digital sales for Mario 3D All-Stars and physical Game & Watch devices being pulled from sale. Yep, they're even shutting down physical sales and aren't shipping more copies to stores. Savage.
You basically have today to make your peace with it. If you've been wanting to buy All-Stars via the eShop, do it now. If you want to get some final (?) games in with Super Mario 35, do it today. If you're on the fence for a new Game & Watch device, consider it before the eBay prices jump.
Or skip it all and don't play into Nintendo's hand. I can't tell you what to do!
Tekken 7 mocap actor demonstrates Lidia Sobieska's hard-hitting karate skills
Lidia Sobieska, the Prime Minister of Poland, is now available in Bandai Namco fighter Tekken 7, following several weeks of hype and fan fervor. Already the pugilistic politician is making her impact felt, quite literally, thanks to her mastery of karate, which she has been perfecting since childhood.
Ms. Sobieska's mocap actor, Tatsuya Naka, has released a video showcasing footage taking at some of the martial-arts expert's motion capture sessions. It's a rare sight, as not all Tekken characters go down the mocap route. But it's pretty fascinating to see Naka demonstrate his exceptional skill both in the studio and in his school, before we see some of his strikes and holds juxtaposed with Lidia wrecking heads in the digital world.
Balan Wonderworld is out, and the reception has been...interesting, to say the least.
While it's extremely clunky and has myriad design issues, I think most people will agree that the soundtrack rips. It feels like a true AAA score, with a full orchestra and bolstered by several collaborations, including the artist Marasy.
Thankfully, Square Enix put out a free "mini album" for the game that you can listen to for free. It consists of five tracks, all of which are on Spotify. You can also listen to a few beautiful piano tracks performed live by Marasy below.
I can't stress enough how great they are, and it's a shame that the game didn't turn out as well as it could have. The second track in particular wouldn't feel out of place in a Lupin the Third anime film, and reminds me heavily of some of the more memorable game scores in recent years, like Sega's Rhythm Thief.
However this game's legacy ends up, I bet a lot of people will be talking about the soundtrack for years to come. Expect our review of Balan Wonderworld from CJ very soon.
Balan Wonderworld Preshow [Spotify]
Guilty Gear Strive's Early Access bonus now features all characters and online modes
We're still a couple of months out from the launch of Arc System Works' guitar wailin' fighter Guilty Gear Strive, which is set to launch in early June on PS4, PS5, and PC. But PlayStation fans who pre-order either the Deluxe or Ultimate editions of the new sequel can knock a few extra days off of their calendar, thanks to an accompanying Early Access bonus.
Pre-ordering GG Strive in its Deluxe or Ultimate format will allow you to jump into the action a full three days ahead of the title's official June 11 release date. Additionally, ArcSys has announced that this Early Access period will be chock full of content, offering all 15 playable characters, (including I-No and Anji Mito), each fighter's respective story mode, and all online modes, so you can start labbing from the get-go. And with a fighter as complex as Guilty Gear, you're gonna need all the practice you can get. This Early Access period is strictly for the PlayStation editions of the game. Sorry, PC users.
It should also be noted that the Deluxe and Ultimate editions of GG Strive ain't cheap, weighing in at around $85 and $100 respectively, (Get used to those prices, kid), but they do offer additional bonuses such as exclusive character colors, a digital soundtrack, custom themes, and the GG Strive Season Pass, securing the first wave of post-launch characters - where are you, Baiken?
CD Projekt outlines future plans, including parallel game development
CD Projekt published a series of informational slides on Twitter today, alongside a YouTube video, outlining its future plans for the company and its brands, including The Witcher and Cyberpunk.
At the outset, CD Projekt says it plans to expand its online presence and build out both The Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises through "core gaming extensions" (like mobile) and partnerships, including TV series and merchandise. The publisher also says it plans to move into parallel AAA game development starting in 2022. The company has also invested in Digital Scrapes, a Vancouver-based studio that will bolster its other studios.
— CD PROJEKT IR (@CDPROJEKTRED_IR) March 30, 2021
"We are planning to build cross-functional teams to work on both IPs," said Pawl Zawodny, Head of Production and CTO at CD Projekt, in one slide. "These teams will blend disciplines and expertise, so we have closer communication and skill sharing going on from the beginning. Cross-functional teams allow different aspects of development to run in tandem without complication."
As for 2021, CD Projekt is planning on patches, updates, and free DLC for Cyberpunk 2077, alongside the forthcoming next-gen update. On The Witcher side, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt will receive a next-gen update, Gwent will continue to receive development, and there's also The Witcher: Monster Slayer in the pipeline.
CD Projekt also seems to be responding to some of the critcisms surrounding the development and launch of Cyberpunk 2077. Reports of crunch circled around Cyberpunk 2077's launch, as did grievances over the state of the game at launch.
In the video update, CD Projekt highlighted further support for employees, including mental health. "We want to continuously improve the working environment for every team member," said CD Projekt boss Adam Kiciński. "We want a sharper focus on how we work together to make great games."
Executive Michal Nowakowski also said that the company has learned from its marketing and PR campaigns for Cyberpunk 2077. "Going forward, our campaigns will be much shorter," said Nowakowski. "We will wait until much closer to a game's launch before we start showing things like trailers, demos, or going in-depth about mechanics, etc."
Whether all of this can right the ship after the still-lingering backlash over Cyberpunk 2077, it certainly looks like CD Projekt is forging ahead either way. Hopefully a pause and reassessment can curtail some of the reported issues at the company.
These new NES style Switch cart cases let you slot your games in
At this point, I have a decent collection of Switch cases.
I display them the old fashioned way: by fanning out the original packaging in classic fashion. But every so often I get the itch to show them more elegantly, and I'm tempted by these new goodies from Retro Fighters.
Called the "Retro85 Mini NES cartridge Switch game cases" (mouthful!), they're billed as "individual Switch game card cases stylized as classic NES carts." A set comes with eight carts in all, which can display one game per cart; and a giant case within a case to hold all those cases (I heard you like cases).
I'm probably going to hold off on getting these as it's a bit of a novelty; but if I had a more extensive Switch library to show off, I'd definitely get them to publicly display as part of a collection. The gall of using a giant case to hold one tiny cart is tempting.
Retro Fighters Retro85 Mini NES Cartridge Switch Game Cases [Amazon]
Limited Run Games announces Doom: The Classics Collection for PS4 and Nintendo Switch
For PS4 and Nintendo Switch owners who simply cannot get by without a spot of the old rip 'n' tear, Limited Run Games has announced a new physical release, collating three titles from id Software's game-changing shooter series, Doom.
Doom: The Classics Collection will be made available in three formats. The Standard Edition will include a boxed disc/cartridge containing original releases Doom, Doom II, and Doom 3 and will retail for around $40 USD. A Special Edition also adds numerous bonus items including art prints for all three titles, steelbook casing, a keychain, an 8GB USB device styled after a floppy disk, a metal replica of an in-game keycard, and a reprint of the 1996 Doom comic book. This edition will retail for around $80.
Finally, the Switch version of Fortnite is getting a more stable framerate
I've been playing Fortnite weekly for...a long time now, and generally, I favor the Switch.
Fortnite has been one of my go-to "wind down" games at night, and my wife and I play together portably basically wherever we want. A few missions here, some battle progress there, it's a good chill out experience. I just got another Victory Royale last night, actually!
But while it is fun for sure, the Switch port has been lagging behind since it launched. Muddy visuals and an unstable framerate are mostly to blame, but those are hopefully being addressed today with a rather massive update specifically for the Switch edition.
It's bringing up the resolution to 1170x660 in handheld form and 1560x880 in docked form, which is a 38% increase in pixels for the former, Epic Games says. It'll also grant Switch users 140MB of extra storage space (compression), and these changes will enable a "consistent framerate."
Here's the full rundown from Epic: "So what does this mean for Switch players? The update provides significantly improved resolution both in handheld and docked modes, resulting in images that are less blurry, without loss of performance. The update also provides a more consistent framerate, with fewer hitches, resulting in a smoother experience overall."
Good! It's been lingering for far too long, especially in light of the PS5 and Series X upgrades.
You can get a look at the upgrade below, with the old visuals on the left and the new ones on the right. Notice the extra details like the individual leaves on the tree.
Performance boost [Epic Games]
Team Ninja fixes Nioh 2 PC crashing issue
Remember when Team Ninja said it was "looking into" reports of Nioh 2 crashes on PC? Well, they looked into it!
Ironically, the bug was introduced with a prior patch, leaving Team Ninja to scramble and find a fix for it. That very fix has been implemented as of now, as part of version 1.27.1. These changes have been applied to the Steam/PC and PS5 editions of the game.
It's not a super exciting patch, as everything is intended to squash issues entirely. I'm talking crashes (including a rare one when folks were "raising their level to 750 while using a mouse" - obscure!), and just plain old random crashes. There's three separate bullet points for crash fixes, and one of them was triggered "in certain environments." That sounds...common!
The PS5 fixes involve "other minor bugs," but also address 120FPS problems where "certain enemies" were going crazy when the framerate was jacked up. Ah, designing frame-perfect action games isn't easy!
Team Ninja [Twitter]
UK Charts: Super Mario 3D All-Stars sales spike 276% ahead of store removal
We have a brand new number one this week, as Capcom's Monster Hunter Rise inevitably debuted in the top spot of the UK Charts. The fantasy adventure, which has already sold an amazing four million copies worldwide, leads a streak of Top Ten Switch dominance.
The news of Monster Hunter Rise's success has been somewhat eclipsed, however, by a ridiculous sales spike for Nintendo's Super Mario 3D All-Stars. As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the retro compendium saw its sales boosted by 276% last week, no doubt in anticipation of the title's de-listing, scheduled for tomorrow, March 31. The imminent removal of the title, heavily promoted by Nintendo, led to a rush of panic-buying, ultimately reinstalling the title in the number two spot. What a fucking surprise.
The rest of the Top Ten is almost entirely Switch releases, with showings from Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Luigi's Mansion 3, Super Mario Odyssey, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Almost every Mario or Mario-adjacent Switch release saw a sales increase this week, with only Electronic Arts' soccer sim FIFA 21 offering a combo breaker at number eight. Last week's number one, Supergiant's Hades, has dropped out of the Top Ten entirely.
Nintendo has been sent a clear message on how to fuel a global sales injection on not just one, but multiple releases at relatively short notice. As a result, we can probably expect The Big N, and perhaps even other publishers, to indulge in more Walt Disney-style "vaulting" antics in the future.
Call of Duty: Cold War & Warzone reveal contents of tomorrow's Reloaded Season 2 update
The fight goes on in Activision's tribizillion-dollar shooter franchise Call of Duty. Tomorrow will see the launch of "Reloaded", a mid-season update for both Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and its sister battle royale title Call of Duty: Warzone. The coming weeks will see a slew of new content made available for both releases, because the bullets. won't. stop.
Firstly, Black Ops Cold War will receive its reworked Miami map, Miami Strike, which hopes to improve the rep of the neon nightmare - which I actually quite like, to be honest. Miami Strike will be running a 24/7 playlist in order to help the community get to grips with the new, streamlined layout. My Tiki bar better still be standing.
Speaking of maps, third-act campaign locale Mansion will be added to Gunfight and Face Off modes, while Golova is getting copy-pasted from the excellent Outbreak mode to enter rotation in the not-quite-as-excellent Fireteam. New modes will include Multi-Team Hardpoint, (which sounds like total chaos), Gunfight Tournament, and a Blueprint-based variant of Gun Game.
Meet Rosaria, Genshin Impact's alluring, apathetic, spear-wielding nun
miHoYo has released a trailer introducing us to Sister Rosaria, the next character headed to PS4, PC, and mobile phenomenon Genshin Impact. Rosaria will be added to the gacha pipe during the next banner event, which is expected to launch on or around April 6.
Rosaria is a high-ranking Sister in Monstadt's Church of Favorius. Despite her important position, Rosaria is relatively bored of her holy lifestyle, flitting around in an aloof manner and often failing to show up for her duties. But even with this apathetic attitude toward her chores, Rosaria remains wholly dedicated to defending Monstadt and the church - facilitated by her femme-fatale nature and highly-adept spear-fighting skills.
The trailer also spotlights both Rosaria's English and Japanese voices. Her English localization is provided by Elisabeth Maxwell, perhaps best known for her roles as Persona 5's public prosecutor Sae Niijima and Hyrule Warrior's Gerudo fighter Urbosa in. For Japanese VA fans, Rosaria is voiced by Ai Kakuma, who also voices Edelgard in Fire Emblem, Yuri Sakazaki in The King of Fighters, and is a mainstay of anime. The fact that Rosaria is not a hammer-wielder, therefore robbing me of a "Sister Sledge" headline, will bother me for the rest of the day.
It looks like the second season of The Witcher show will tackle the Wild Hunt
Although I didn't find the first season of The Witcher show hard to follow, it boggles the mind why the showrunners decided it was a good idea. The editing and pacing was incredibly off, so it makes sense why a lot of folks got mad about it. The discourse around the second season should be a lot more focused, especially since the narrative is reportedly more focused.
That second season narrative, mind, will seemingly also involve the Wild Hunt. More of a legend than a major plot point (depending on the medium), it looks like Netflix literally ponied up for some horses and armor, so they're likely not going to have the crew show up for a few seconds in some inconsequential dream sequence.
The pictures (below) come courtesy of the Netflix Witcher fan Twitter account, which show off Wild Hunt filming in North Devon, England. One of my absolute favorite parts is the epic shot of them all riding on the beach together contrasted directly to the one with the cast and crew, and the filming trucks.
There's some real "end of Monty Python and the Holy Grail" energy there!
Netflix Witcher [Twitter]
The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection is an interesting remaster prospect.
For many, they'll be experiencing the entire trilogy for the first time. Others just prefer the first: an absolute classic in the action genre, even still. Some may also dig the second game, which isn't quite as beloved, but still has its merits. Others will want to relive the polarizing third entry as a flight of fancy of sorts.
In any case, it's a collection that's worth talking about. And we did just that with the game's producer, Fumihiko Yasuda. Even though the third game was their first major project at Koei Tecmo, they mused with us on the past, present, and future of the series.
PAX East 2021 cancelled, PAX Online event coming this summer
It was inevitable, but now it's official. Organizers Reedpop and Penny Arcade have regrettably announced the cancellation of PAX East, which had been scheduled to take place at the Boston Convention Center the weekend of June 3, 2021.
The announcement was made via a statement on the official PAX East website.
"In light of ongoing public health concerns, ReedPop and Penny Arcade will not hold PAX East this year," said event director Kyle Marsden-Kish. "While we hoped PAX East could safely take place, we remained realistic and did not sell any tickets or space to exhibitors to avoid significantly inconveniencing our friends and partners. As we have shown via our actions throughout the pandemic, our utmost concern is the safety of the PAX family - from attendees, exhibitors, and show staff to media and content creators - as well as the local communities that host our celebrations of all things gaming."
ReedPop/PennyArcade announced that, much like last year, an extended streaming event would be held in PAX East's stead. PAX Online will take place between July 15-18, and is expected to offer up news, reveals, and interviews pertaining to a wide variety of major and minor video game releases. The statement closes with optimism that 2021's remaining PAX events - PAX West and PAX Unplugged - might still go ahead as planned.
"Given the United States' progress towards addressing COVID-19 in recent months, we are cautiously optimistic PAX West and PAX Unplugged will proceed as planned with in-person festivities September 3 to 6 and December 10 to 12, respectively [...] ReedPop and Penny Arcade will continue to monitor the situation surrounding COVID-19, observe government guidelines and local laws, and defer to health officials and experts on what is deemed safe. We are grateful for the efforts everyone made to make PAX East happen in 2021, and we look forward to returning to Boston in 2022."
Outriders will give cheaters a permanent watermark
The launch date for Outriders is fast approaching, but before a host of new players descend on the servers, Square Enix and People Can Fly are laying down the law for any would-be cheaters.
In a post on the Outriders Steam page, the team lays out its plans for launch, including a day-one patch, bug fixes for issues noted during the game's demo period, and a "Quick Mark" utility for your inventory, addressing concerns and requests brought forth by players. Unfortunately for cheaters, Square Enix has also taken notice of you.
"At the time when we reached around 2 million players, we identified 200 players who had clearly cheated," the team writes. "In percentage terms, that's 0.01%." They even call out one person who gave themselves 600 Legendary Weapons, and while the team says it doesn't expect the percentage to grow by much past launch, there will be steps taken against cheaters.
According to the blog, if you're caught cheating, you will not be able to matchmake with non-cheaters, and so matchmaking will likely take longer, though you can still play solo. Most notably, in the future, cheaters' heads-up displays will have a "discreet but visible watermark" on it, so any footage created using the account can be readily identified.
"Any account logs found to have evidence of cheating on them on or after launch day will be permanently branded," the blog says.
There is one ounce of leeway being given to demo cheaters thinking about changing their ways: the Outriders team says that if you wish to join the main game without the watermark, you have to delete all characters and items on the entire account in order to wipe the slate clean. This means absolutely no carryover in any form from the demo into Outriders proper.
Listed cheats include using a variety of programs, like trainers, aimbots, and wallhacks, as well as modifying game files or running the game without Easy Anti Cheat on. The blog does specify that using performance tweaking software or farming does not constitute cheating.
This is a pretty firm stance, though the studio says it reserves the right to update and change the policy in the future. But basically, it's what I like to call a "Don't Be That Guy" rule: don't cheat, and you won't have an ugly watermark forever branded on your account.
Outriders will launch on PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, PS5, and Stadia on April 1, 2021.
Review: Evil Genius 2: World Domination
The evil genius archetype is one that fascinates me. It's not that outlandish that an eccentric megalomaniac could gather a group of underlings and launch a campaign against the world, but I can't convince a courier to leave a package at my doorstep, let alone a legion of faceless goons to lay down their lives for me. I also don't know what I'd do with the world if I ruled it. Enact permanent daylight savings and mandatory nap times?
Forget that, though; what would I make my minions wear? What humiliating nickname would I give my most loyal henchman? How would I mock secret agents? I'd probably invite them to tea and just repeat everything they say.
Back in 2004, Evil Genius provided me the chance to live my dream. Kind of. I really enjoyed the game, but it definitely had its problems. Nonetheless, Rebellion has seized the reins and has breathed new life into the property with Evil Genius 2: World Domination. Their approach to a sequel seems to be a complete do-over. The result is another game that may not be for everyone but certainly tightened the screws on the old doomsday device.
