A new report says that developers including Zynga have had access to a Nintendo Switch 4K development kit, possibly as part of aborted plans to release a Switch Pro.
Unsighted is a kickass top-down action game with Metroidvania and Souls trappings wrapped around a devilish premise. Set in the dystopian world of Arcadia, you control Alma, a powerful human-like robot known as an automaton who awakens with amnesia. Her primary goal is finding her romantic partner, Raquel, who has gone missing. On a less personal though still distressing note, the automaton-populated city is running out of Anima. This precious resource is the source of these machine's humanity. It allows them to think and feel exactly as we do, and without it, they devolve into mindless monsters called Unsighted. That means you and everyone else is living on borrowed time in a world already infested with these unfortunate beasts.
You know how some video game stories are a race against the clock, but you really have all the time in the world? Unsighted isn't bluffing about that. Everyone has a life expectancy measured by hours that constantly ticks down. Supporting characters, quest-giving NPCs, shop owners, and even your Navi-esque fairy robot companion are all at risk of becoming Unsighted. That includes yourself. Some have 500 hours to their names, while others have 100 or less. An in-game clock, communicated via a day/night cycle, helps keep track of how much time remains, as does a contact list of every notable person you encounter.
The premise is fascinating, but it also sounded stressful. I worried that I'd have to rush through a beautiful world – and Unsighted is a very pretty game – to save as many lives as possible. Contextually, that would be ideal, but the game also allows you to take your time. Days pass much quicker than real-time, of course, but not fast enough to make you feel like you need to speedrun the adventure. I've taken my time exploring Arcadia thoroughly, but I've also found a fun challenge in seeing how quickly I can get through dungeons without skimping on hidden treasures and upgrades.
You can extend your time and others' by finding meteor dust, a semi-rare resource that adds 24 hours to anyone's clock. I found it rewarding to simply help characters I like, but there are also tangible rewards for keeping someone around. Giving meteor dust to shop owners raises their favor of you, measured by hearts, and rewards discounts. My weapon-smith had over three weeks to live, but I hooked him up with some dust anyway so I could afford a powerful flaming sword. Shop owners also hint that they can create powerful items given enough time. Another character grants additional estus flask-style healing syringes at the cost of three helpings of meteor dust.
This system presents challenge though enjoyable conundrums. Do you help your favorite side character just to keep them around longer, assist a vendor to earn vital equipment, or use it on yourself? Knowing exactly how much time even the most superfluous NPC has left creates a powerful urgency, not to mention a perpetual sense of melancholy and purpose. A cheerful pet shop owner with a spider-like body told me his dream to find a way to safely pet dogs without scaring them, given his knife-like limbs. I looked at his remaining time, let out a sigh of relief that he has awhile to go before turning, and I made it my mission to make sure this guy lives long enough to pet a dog. The story unfolds in various ways depending on who survives and for how long, with multiple endings to boot. You can miss out on certain story treads as a result, giving plenty of reasons to revisit Unsighted after the credits roll.
This timer makes me feel more attached to characters as I can't take their presence for granted. There also seems to be some emergent moments with NPC's. While exploring, my fairy-bot suddenly stopped to confide in me a story about her long-lost sister, who she hopes to find one day and potentially opening another story thread. Though I haven't lost anyone yet (an elderly farmer is teetering on the brink, though), I've committed to the decision that if they die, they die and to see the story through no matter what happens while bracing for heartbreak.
The set-up rocks, but Unsighted also plays like a dream. The fast-paced melee combat is great, and a satisfying parry sets up powerful counterattacks. Alma can equip a variety of melee weapons and firearms (complete with an active reload), and you have the freedom to mix and match as you see fit. You can mix close quarters and ranged offense with a katana/blaster load-out. Want something akin to a twin-stick shooter? Dual-wield a shotgun and a machine pistol. Or go full barbarian with a heavy ax/sword combo. Weapons can also be used to solve environmental puzzles, such as steering a giant shuriken to hit distant switches or carry fire to torches. A stamina meter adds strategic mindfulness to encounters without feeling overly restrictive.
You can customize Alma to your liking with various chips granting bonuses such as increased health, stamina, or buffs like health-draining attacks or faster reload times. You only have a limited number of slots for chips, meaning you'll have to change load-outs for certain encounters, though you can unlock additional slots at special healing terminals. Furthermore, temporary cogs grant limited-use bonuses such as increased attack power for a set number of swings or a revive upon death.
Complimenting the combat is Alma's smooth, snappy movement. The way she runs, jumps, and climbs up structures feels great, and it doesn't take long before you're gleefully maneuvering around areas while slashing enemies to scrap. Unsighted knows how good it plays by challenging players with a fair amount of platforming challenges that, again, is unexpected in a game with this perspective, but it works. It also makes exploring Unsighted's giant world a treat. The game is basically a top-down Metroidvania, and your main goal is to collect five scattered meteor shards, each guarded by a big bad. You can pursue shards in any order with certain obstacles blocked until you either purchase or locate a weapon to clear it. Along the way, you'll find side objectives, lore bits, and other secrets worth going out of your way to uncover – provided you think it's worth the time.
I'm having a blast with Unsighted. The action rocks, the ticking clock creates real stakes that add a welcome weight to your actions. The world and its lore are fascinating, and it boasts a wonderful presentation to boot. I can't wait to see how my adventure unfolds and who ultimately keeps their sanity by the end it. You can pick Unsighted up on September 30 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, and it's also launching on Xbox Game Pass. There's also a demo for those looking to try before they buy.
Complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic and Delta variant of the virus have caused the cancellation of another gaming event. This time, it was the culmination of this year's online Evolution Championship Series, commonly known as Evo, which was set for an in-person event this November. The cancellation announcement came in a statement on the Evo website and later on Twitter. You can read the complete statement below.
The goal of the Evo Showcase is to bring together the best players from around the world in a live, in-person format. Due to the continuing complications of COVID-19 and the spread of the Delta Variant we have made the tough decision to cancel the Evo 2021 Showcase.
The players invited to participate in the Evo 2021 Showcase represent many of the best fighters in the world. We're incredibly saddened to cancel the event. The Evo team will be contacting each player individually to recognize their efforts. We remain dedicated to Evo's mission of celebrating the FGC, and will continue to work towards the return of the big, live events that you expect from us.
Evo Online 2021 took place over two weekends in August. Players fought it out online in five headline games: Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, Tekken 7, Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate, Guilty Gear Strive, and Skullgirls 2nd Encore. The winners from every regional tournament were set to meet up in Las Vegas and compete to see who was the best in the world in their respective fighting game this November. Now that the event is no longer happening, the Evo team has decided to "individually recognize" the efforts of these regional champions.
Next year is supposed to be the full return of in-person Evo in Las Vegas. The tourney took place in Vegas for over a decade before organizational controversy and COVID hit. While now owned by PlayStation, Evo hasn't been quite as big or prestigious as it had been before its multiple derailments in 2020. Let's hope the plans to get the fighting game community together for the largest tournament of the year aren't thwarted yet again for 2022's event.
Rumors of a Switch model that had 4K resolution graphics had been very easy to find earlier in the year. However, those rumors quickly dried up when the Nintendo Switch OLED model was eventually revealed. That said, even though the OLED model has been announced, you may not want to put those Switch 4K rumors […]
Following news that Activision Blizzard plans to settle the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) complaint for just $18 million, workers at a labor union say it doesn't do enough to curb "corporate bad actors."
For years, reports have alleged that Nintendo is working on a more powerful Switch, and for years, it has yet to come true. Instead of releasing a Switch Pro with 4K graphics this year as was rumored, Nintendo announced in July it would simply take the current version and slap an OLED screen on it. So what happened to…
You'll soon be able to automatically fire single-shot weapons in Destiny 2. That's a feature that will help a lot of players, and it's one that's coming as part of a broader accessibility initiative at the studio.
Senior designer Robert Schuster explains that "I was hesitant at first to mention [to designer Chris Proctor] one of my barriers: fast firing non-automatic weapons like scout rifles and hand cannons cause me hand pain during longer sessions. Why couldn't we have a way to enable auto-fire on these kinds of weapons? I braced for a negative response. Instead, he heartily agreed and mentioned it was something he had already been considering as something that we could work toward including in the game."
As Schuster notes, the devs have been hinting at these changes in recent blog posts, and "we hope you'll stay tuned for more updates". Members of the moderation team also plan to provide more mental health resources for struggling players. Players are also being encouraged to post on the Bungie.net help forum for further suggestions on how the devs can provide help with accessibility issues.
Battlefield 2042 is headed for another round of testing as EA kicks off its open beta on October 8 - or October 6 if you've pre-ordered the game. Unfortunately, the barrier to entry is a little steeper than it was during the closed beta, meaning you might need a beefier gaming PC to meet Battlefield 2042's new and not-so-improved system requirements.
Much like before, you'll need at least 100GB of free storage to house the game. You'll benefit from putting it on an SSD rather than any old mechanical hard drive, too. In a song you'll likely have heard time and time again, you'll need 8GB of RAM to run the game at minimum, while 16GB is recommended. Nvidia DLSS even makes another appearance, so you can boost fps and hit a higher resolution.
The heart of your rig is where things get a little tricky, as EA has raised the bar from the closed beta in August. Intel users will still be able to play the game with the same equipment as before, but those on team red will now need to sport an AMD Ryzen 5 3600 to run the game. This was the previous recommended gaming CPU, but is now the bare minimum.
When you double down and then triple down on strategy, Pawnbarian must be pure essence that emerges. This tactical dungeon crawler throws chess on top of a roguelike plus some cards just for fun. Despite the undeniably deep strategic potential, it really is quick and breezy to pick up if you remember how chess pieces move. You can take your turn with it in its demo or pick up the shiny new release that its developer has whipped up to build on its former free browser version.
Halo Infinite is a return to form for the franchise. Developer 343 Industries has made it clear that the game takes a lot inspiration from the original series, from the gameplay to the art style. Naturally, that means many of the new mechanics introduced by Halo 5: Guardians will be out. There won't be anymore ground pounds or shoulder charges in the new Halo (clambering is still a thing, though). However, that doesn't mean 343 has tossed it all in the bin. During the recent Halo Infinite multiplayer preview, apparently the Thruster from Halo 5 made a brief return as equipment. The Thruster equipment was spotted by YouTuber Greenskull, who put out a video for it last Friday. In the video, the Thruster was sitting just idly by near a spawn point on the map Bazaar. It even had a little 'Thruster' icon floating above it to indicate what it does. Like the Grappleshot and Overshield, the Thruster is usable equipment. You get two charges with it before it's g...
Fighting game fans have felt eager to return to in-person fighting game tournaments ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and for good reason. Many fighting games still do not support robust rollback netcode, which means that those titles, more often than not, start to stutter and lag when played online. This evidently makes current online fighting game tournaments less than ideal. But for a time, fans had hope that the planned Evo 2021 Showcase event in Las Vegas would mark a grand return to in-person fighting game events. Unfortunately, the organizers just announced that they canceled the Evo 2021 Showcase, so fighting game players will have to wait at least a bit longer before their hopes become reality. The event organizers informed players of the cancelation through a statement on the official Evo Twitter page. According to the statement, this "tough decision" resulted from "the continuing complications of COVID-19 and the spread of the Delta Variant,̶...
The cinematic puzzle-platformer A Juggler's Tale has launched, and we have a new trailer to celebrate. Switch owners can pick up the title now. For more on the title, check out the following overview: A Juggler's Tale is a cinematic puzzle-platformer. Play as Abby, the marionette, and make your way through a medieval fairy tale world to find freedom. Use...
German developer YAGER announces The Cycle: Frontier is the new title for The Cycle, their first-person shooter that's coming next year. This reflects how the game has evolved over the course of...
Hi-Rez Studios announces the Hi-Rez Showcase 2022 will take place from January 6-9, 2022. This will be an online affair which will outline the future of SMITE, Paladins, and Rogue Company. This will...
SAMUDRA is now available on Steam, offering a 2D adventure from Khayalan Arts with "SAMUDRA is an award-winning 2D surreal adventure game with a theme of environmental awareness & an emotional twist....
Official patches. Black Skylands - The Treasure Seeker Update is out. DayZ 1.14 Update with Contaminated Areas. Overwatch Retail Patch Notes - September 28, 2021. World of Warcraft Hotfixes:...
Halo Infinite is inviting everyone, Insider or not, to this weekend's technical test. Not so fast, PC gamers. Buy Ember: Console Edition - Microsoft Store. Releasing on October 6th. Thanks Jason....
Phone companies must now block carriers that didn't meet FCC robocall deadline. Cadillac axes Escalade's hands-free driving feature due to chip shortage. GM's new software platform will enable over-t...
YouTube bans high-profile anti-vaccine accounts, says it will block all vaccine misinformation. Russia threatens YouTube ban for deleting RT channels. Twitch adds new account verification options to...
Virtual Reality Affects Children Differently Than Adults. Thanks Max. Motherboard and GPU Pricing Under Pressure Due to Copper Foil Shortage. China's Mandated Power Cuts Hit Local Semiconductor...
It's been a while since we checked in on Temtem, the creature collecting MMO that's been in early access since January of last year on PC and December 2020 on PS5 for a cool $40. Readers will recall that the game has made a number of updates over the course of that time, adding new […]
Back in June of this year we highlighted a game called NEO 2045, a sci-fi themed MMORPG for kids that strikes similar notes to Roblox in that players can play multiplayer games or use tools to "terraform mountains and valleys and build structures and vehicles using dynamorphic components that connect seamlessly." The game called itself […]
We're well used to action RPGs, and we're more than capable of hunting down a frenetic real-time combat experience should the need take us. But Xuan Yuan Sword 7 combines the both into one super rich experience, powered by a narrative that is more than happy to celebrate ancient China's civilisation and culture. Right now it's that game which we find making a debut in the West.
We love a good saga. And when that saga comes with the Asdivine tag attached to it, pushed out straight from KEMCO HQ, we probably love it even more. Bit of luck then that Asdivine Saga has made waves onto Xbox, eh!
... the new Mario film is already set to be closer to the video games than its ... who've come to love the Super Mario video games, that could be bad news.
Halo Infinite is a return to form for the franchise. Developer 343 Industries has made it clear that the game takes a lot inspiration from the original series, from the gameplay to the art style. Naturally, that means many of the new mechanics introduced by Halo 5: Guardians will be out. There won't be anymore ground pounds or shoulder charges in the new Halo (clambering is still a thing, though). However, that doesn't mean 343 has tossed it all in the bin. During the recent Halo Infinite multiplayer preview, apparently the Thruster from Halo 5 made a brief return as equipment. The Thruster equipment was spotted by YouTuber Greenskull, who put out a video for it last Friday. In the video, the Thruster was sitting just idly by near a spawn point on the map Bazaar. It even had a little 'Thruster' icon floating above it to indicate what it does. Like the Grappleshot and Overshield, the Thruster is usable equipment. You get two charges with it before it's g... 
Fighting game fans have felt eager to return to in-person fighting game tournaments ever since the COVID-19 pandemic started, and for good reason. Many fighting games still do not support robust rollback netcode, which means that those titles, more often than not, start to stutter and lag when played online. This evidently makes current online fighting game tournaments less than ideal. But for a time, fans had hope that the planned Evo 2021 Showcase event in Las Vegas would mark a grand return to in-person fighting game events. Unfortunately, the organizers just announced that they canceled the Evo 2021 Showcase, so fighting game players will have to wait at least a bit longer before their hopes become reality. The event organizers informed players of the cancelation through a statement on the official Evo Twitter page. According to the statement, this "tough decision" resulted from "the continuing complications of COVID-19 and the spread of the Delta Variant,̶... 
