The Animal Crossing: New Horizons Direct will air at 7am PT, 10am ET, and 3pm UK.
You will be able to watch it here with us as always.
Those who play the game will hear details on the new content update scheduled for November. In September, Nintendo teased some of the content included in the free update with a short clip.
When I previewed the first demo for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin a few months back, I was surprised at how decent it was following the very rough trailer. With this second trial version of the game, I'm even more impressed with what's been presented, despite some bumpy areas. Plus, there are a few […]
Whether you call them Metroid-likes, exploration-based action platformers, big map adventures, or simply Metroidvanias, this sub-genre has exploded in popularity. What was once a criminally underused design template has become one of the most commonly used formats in games. That's especially true for indie developers, who seem more than happy to make up for prolonged droughts between actual Metroid and Castlevania titles by concocting their own unique spins on the style. While some 3D games have adopted the formula to success (see: Batman: Arkham Asylum), this list will only highlight 2D-style titles for the sake of clarity. Here are 10 great Metroidvanias, listed in no particular order, that you'll have a great time getting lost in.
Hollow Knight
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Hollow Knight boasts engaging combat, a haunting beauty, and a delicious difficulty that makes it one of the most beloved entries on this list. Players control a diminutive knight fighting to keep a kingdom of sapient bugs from falling to a devastating infection. Combat feels great, and flexible upgrades encourage you to tinker with different builds to tackle an assortment of tough-as-nails enemies and intimidating bosses. Finding and purchasing a map to see the world can be annoying, but it forces you to internalize the eye-catching world. Hollow Knight's skill ceiling may be higher than the average Metroidvania, but it rewards patience and skill with an engrossing adventure that continually gets better throughout its lengthy runtime. There's a reason fans come running when even the slightest mention of the long-in-development sequel, Hollow Knight: Silksong, hits the airwaves. | Our Review
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, iOS, Android
Bloodstained may as well be called "Castlevania: Symphony of the Night 2". After all, it comes from Symphony's mastermind and Castlevania luminary Koji Igarashi and carries many of the series' classic elements while introducing cool new ideas on top. Players explore a gothic castle overflowing with secrets while slaying supernatural foes using weapons such as swords, axes, and, of course, a whip. Killing enemies feels extra rewarding since they drop shards that bestow cool powers that can turn the tide of battle. The more shards you collect, the more comprehensive your ability pool to create multiple loadouts suited for any situation. When you aren't fighting the forces of darkness, you help surviving townsfolk by completing bounties, farming crops, cooking recipes, and other engaging diversions. Best of all, a ton of post-launch updates have only sweetened Bloodstained's package. If you've been dying for something more "Vania" than Metroid, Bloodstained is a must-play. | Our Review
Yoku's Island Express
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Want some pinball with your Metroidvania? Yoku's Island Express is for you. This imaginative title gives you control of a mail-delivering dung beetle tethered to a ball of poop that you fling around a vibrant world using pinball-style flippers, bumpers, and ramps. Excellent level design means flippers are precisely where you need them to be, and like real pinball, hitting shots at the right angle can send Yoku down secret paths accessible only to the most skilled wizards. It may be pinball, but you still indulge in plenty of path-opening, sidequests, as well as a narrative that ups the ante on gameplay as it unfolds. Yoku's ingenious blend of seemingly disparate ideas makes it stand out amongst an increasingly crowded genre. | Our Review
Iconoclasts
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PlayStation Vita, PC
Iconoclasts' action rocks, but it won many over for its surprisingly mature story tackling faith and the dangers of religious zealotry. The tale stars Robin, a simple mechanic defending her free will and that of her friends against the theocratic rule of an oppressive regime. The strong supporting cast and eye-widening plot twists hook you until the end and should have you reflecting on the adventure long after the credits rolled. Traversing the well-designed world requires solving clever environmental puzzles that challenge players to use their skillset in increasingly ingenious ways. That inventive design extends to a rogue's gallery of imaginative boss battles. Boasting great action, a wonderful presentation, and a thoughtful narrative, Iconoclasts is the total package. | Our Review
Ori and the Will of the Wisps
Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Will of the Wisps improves upon Ori's first adventure in every way and then some. The already jaw-dropping presentation somehow looks even better, traditional auto-saves replace the original's weird soul links system, and it feels smoother than silk on the sticks. The acrobatic platforming feels fantastic, and that's good because you'll be doing a lot of it thanks to high-stakes escape sequences that push your skills to their limits. Combat plays a more prominent role this time around, with Ori bringing the hurt with satisfying melee strikes. If failing a white-knuckle platforming sequence doesn't make you cry, Will of the Wisps' tear-jerking story and sympathetic antagonist ensures there won't be a dry eye in the house once you reach its dramatic climax. | Our Review
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Ender Lilies is a dark fantasy gem that puts you in the role of Lily, a young priestess possessing the power to cure her blight-infected kingdom. She's no fighter, so her guardian, the Umbral Knight, handles the eradication of subjects-turned-monstrosities. This effective team grows in membership as you defeat and cure corrupted guardians, who join your cause to lend an array of entertaining offensive options, like archery or spellcasting. Mapping every inch of Ender Lilies' gigantic kingdom proves rewarding thanks to numerous upgrades, intriguing narrative breadcrumbs, fun traversal mechanics, and enjoyably tough boss battles hiding around every corner. It also helps that the game is quite a looker, with a killer soundtrack to boot. | Our Review
Axiom Verge
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, Wii U, PlayStation Vita, PC
This love letter to Super Metroid recaptures that eerie sense of isolation but is by no means a retread. As Trace, you're transported to an alien world following a failed experiment, and the only way to survive is to collect a staggering arsenal of guns to blast through an assortment of bizarre enemies. No two weapons are alike, and every firearm seems tailored to combat certain foes. One fires bouncing artillery. Another shoots wall-patrolling buzzsaws. There's even a weapon that can distort reality itself. Perhaps nothing demonstrates Axiom Verge's creativity better than your signature address gun, a tool that causes enemies and environments to "glitch", altering their behavior and physical makeup entirely. Another highlight is the fascinating story that serves as the first chapter of a carefully planned mythos that continues in the recently released Axiom Verge 2. | Our Review
SteamWorld Dig 2
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PlayStation Vita, 3DS, Stadia, PC
The shorthand way to describe SteamWorld Dig 2 is "Better than SteamWorld Dig 1 in every way". The game remains a compelling loop of digging underground to find treasures, returning above-ground to purchase upgrades, and going back down to see how much further you can dig. Chasing the next cool upgrade or useful ability causes the hours to melt away, and new powers are doled out at the perfect pace. A flexible cog system lets players freely experiment with several neat perks to tackle whatever obstacle lies ahead. Superb puzzle-solving breaks up the routine of digging. Combat, while not perfect, gets the job done well enough. SteamWorld Dig 2 packs a ton of great ideas into a tight package and shouldn't be missed whether you played the original or not. | Our Review
Salt and Sanctuary
PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PlayStation Vita, PC
Salt and Sanctuary shares as much in common with Dark Souls as it does Castlevania. The FromSoftware-inspired difficulty, progression, class-building, and checkpointing blends wonderfully with the labyrinthine, ability-gated level design. You just have to be willing to take a beating to really see it shine. Stick with it, and you'll experience an entertaining synergy of engrossing exploration, thoughtful combat, and freeform character customization that keeps you taking hit after hit and asking for more. If things get too nasty, enlist the help of a friend in local co-op. With a sequel in the works, now is a great time to revisit this modern indie classic. | Our Review
Metroid Dread
Switch
It's fitting that Samus' latest adventure ranks among the best of the genre she pioneered. Metroid Dread may have taken 19 years to see the light of day, but it was worth the wait. Dread features the classic side-scrolling action, top-notch level design, and modern improvements that developer MercurySteam introduced in Metroid: Samus Returns but adds a terrifying twist. Nigh-invincible robots called E.M.M.I.'s stalk the bounty hunter and can annihilate her on sight, forcing players to evade them or hide using Samus' new cloaking ability. This adds a tense and sometimes scary wrinkle to the superb action exploration that put the franchise on the map. It also makes it all the more satisfying when you eventually turn the tables on E.M.M.I.'s with an upgraded arm cannon (though besting these formidable machines is still easier said than done). Metroid Dread may serve as the conclusion to Samus' decades-long conflict with the Metroids, but we hope future 2D entries build upon its winning formula. | Our Review
<p><em>What games on this list do you enjoy? What games would you add that aren't listed? Let us know in the comments! If you enjoyed this list, be sure to check out our other recent genre list</em></p>
Twitch has responded to reports that a massive data leak has occurred, confirming that such a leak did, in fact, happen.
VideoGamesChronicle first reported that an anonymous hacker posted a 125GB link to 4chan earlier today filled with user information, payout amounts, source code, proprietary services, and more. The publication verified that those files posted on 4chan were downloadable, and it received word from an "anonymous company" that the files were legit. Still, without official word from Twitch, it wasn't confirmed.
We can confirm a breach has taken place. Our teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this. We will update the community as soon as additional information is available. Thank you for bearing with us.
Now, Twitch has confirmed that the leak is real, which means the personal data of millions is out there available for download. According to VGC, all of Twitch's source code was leaked, including comment history "going back to its early beginnings." Furthermore, streamer payout numbers from 2019 were leaked, as were Twitch's own internal security tools, proprietary services, and more.
Basically, all of Twitch has been leaked. If you're reading this and have a Twitch account, now would be a great time to change your password and enable two-factor authorization.
At the time of this writing, Twitch has only made that one tweet in response to this leak, although it does say that it will update the community when more information is made available. According to VGC, the leaker stated that this 125GB leak is the first part of more content they have planned to leak, although they didn't say what the additional content is and when it might be released.
Following on from the first episode, which combined barista-core gameplay with a lightly supernatural clientele in an alternate-dimension Seattle, Coffee Talk Episode 2 is more of the same: latte art, conversations, and the chance to change your customers' lives with a simple, well-made hot drink.
Gleylancer is a name that immediately catches the eye of those in our team with a love for retro shooters, so the rather pleasing news is that publisher Ratalaika Games is bringing an improved version to the Switch eShop; it launches on 15th October priced at £5.99/ €5,99/ $6.99USD.
When originally released on SEGA Mega Drive (or Genesis for those of you in North America) in 1992 it was Japan-only, though it did appear globally on the Wii Virtual Console 16 years later. It's worth noting that original physical copies are rare and very expensive, though a reprint did help more collectors get a copy a few years back.
G-Darius was originally released in 1997 for the Japanese arcades and then later ported to the PS1 and again for the PS2. G-Darius HD is the fourth installment of the
As the conversation around video game accessibility becomes more prominent, it's clear that some games just don't take the necessary steps to open up the experiences they offer to players with disabilities. Recently Steven Spohn, the senior director of AbleGamers, criticized Deathloop on Twitter for its lack of…
If you played any of Halo Infinite's recent not-a-betas, you probably saw a fairly high number in your postmortem kill-death-assist ratio (KDA). And if you, like me, are flummoxed by math like long division, you likely thought, Cool! ...So what's it mean?
Battlefield 2042 goes into open beta this week - in fact, you can play it right now if you've pre-ordered or you're a member of EA Play. While that's not technically 'open', there are still piles of players hopping in. The beta has already reached over 100k players on Steam, making it one of the top games on the platform.
The Battlefield 2042 beta peaked at 127,114 concurrent players on Steam shortly after launching in the wee hours this morning, as SteamDB shows. That makes it the seventh-biggest game on the platform today, and #71 on the all-time list. And that's not even counting the players who are jumping in on Origin, Epic, or the consoles.
It's safe to expect that number to get much larger as the open beta goes, you know, open. You can see full details on the release times here, but the beta opens to the general public on October 8. It'll conclude for everyone early on October 10, so if you want to play, it'll need to be soon.
Earlier today, word of a massive Twitch breach began to circulate online, with claims of alleged creator earnings information, unannounced projects in the works at Twitch and Amazon Game Studios, and early Twitch development code filling the internet. Representatives of the streaming service have confirmed that a breach has taken place, but have not yet confirmed the extent of the leaked information.
"We can confirm a breach has taken place," a statement on the Twitch Twitter account says. "Our teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this. We will update the community as soon as additional information is available. Thank you for bearing with us." We separately reached out to Twitch for additional information, but did not receive an immediate response.
VGC reports that an anonymous source at Twitch has confirmed that the information contained in the leaks is, indeed, legitimate. Passwords may be among the compromised data, so you'll probably want to change yours and enable two-factor authentication on your account.
By now you've probably heard a lot of hype around Amazon Games' recently launched massively multiplayer role-playing game, New World.
Beyond its wondrous environments, captivating lore, and addictive combat, the game also has a unique approach to character development. In New World's opening season, classes are out, and bold new looks are in.
What we mean by that is that your build is not determined by a rigid class structure – in fact, there are no classes in New World. You are free to build your character however you want to, and you can change that path at any time. Every character created in New World is entirely unique, and you are free to customise them to your heart's content. But perfecting your outfit is about much more than just colour coordination – you'll need to experiment with different gear combinations and switch your setup on the fly to achieve the best results.
Want to know what this week's Destiny 2 Nightfall weapon is? Each week you've got a chance at a different weapon for completing Nightfall Strikes, and as of Season of the Lost, you can now get fan-favourite legacy weapons from the original Destiny. Two more of these weapons arrived in Season of the Lost, so it's more important than ever to know in advance the Nightfall weapon schedule.
In case all these words are new to you, Nightfall: The Ordeal is a playlist available in the Vanguard menu, alongside the basic Strike playlist. Each week, a different Strike is chosen as the Nightfall, and offered in five escalating difficulties, with harder enemies, challenging modifiers, and enemy power levels cranking up.
The coveted Nightfall weapons have a chance to drop from any Nightfall Strike difficulty, but it's far more likely at higher levels. Your best bet for farming each week's Nightfall weapon is to set the Strike to Master difficulty, according to YouTuber Aztecross. You should also note that there's no automatic matchmaking above Hero difficulty, however, so you'll need to get a squad together.
The nights grow darker and the air chillier as we make our way towards the end of League of Legends' 2021 patch schedule. League of Legends patch 11.20 has sailed onto the MOBA game's live battlegrounds and its follow-up has now hit the PBE for its fortnight of testing. So, let's see what's in store for League of Legends patch 11.21, shall we?
If you've been keeping a close eye on League's Twitter channels, you've probably had an early peek at the batch of new skins headed its way with 11.21. This patch is all about the Dragonmancer alternate universe, with new styles for Kai'Sa, Karma, Thresh, Volibear, and Yasuo on the way. The latter two are particularly special, with Volibear getting a Prestige Edition, while Yasuo's two skins are legendary variants, bringing new voiceovers, as well as new animations, VFX, SFX, and more. You can check all of these out in the New Champion Skins section below.
Elsewhere, we've got a VFX update coming up for The Dark Sovereign, Syndra with 11.21. "Similar to the previous VFX updates we've made in the past (Ziggs, Zilean, Malzahar, etc), we're working on updates to the visual effects (VFX) of champions whose spell effects are in need of some love," senior visual effects artist Riot Sirhaian explains. "Our aim is to get their VFXs to current League standards and improve gameplay clarity. This time, it's Syndra's turn, for 11.21's PBE patch!"
Ebuyer are offering a good price on one of their prebuilt gaming PCs, featuring an RTX 3060 Ti, Ryzen 7 3700X processor, 16GB RAM and 1TB NVMe SSD. Right now, you can pick up this build for £1199, a cool £100 off its usual price. Given the state of the graphics card market, where even weak graphics cards are selling for hundreds of pounds above RRP, this is actually a great value.
When your dad runs off on vacation and leaves you in charge of his junker old laundromat, what else would you do aside from flipping the thing into a booming arcade? Of course, Ashley's dad just expects her to clean and manage the laundry, but she has "half a business degree" so she has ideas. Arcade Paradise has just dropped a demo for you to try so you can pick up trash and plunge toilets or whittle away at the work day playing on the arcade cabinets in the back room.
Early this morning in the U.S. reports of a massive breach and leak of Twitch started to trickle out. VGC was able to verify that files related to Twitch, were out there publicly and able to be downloaded from 4chan at the time of their writing. Twitch has now acknowledged the breach and put out […]
So you've picked up Far Cry 6 and you're just about to start your conquest to tackle Anton Castillo's corrupt regime once and for all? But wait! In true Far Cry fashion, there's an absolute ton of stuff to see and do, so where do you start? Here are 7 things to do first in […]
The Señor Pinga and Karlito are unique tanks that you can acquire in Far Cry 6. Although they're variants of the 1944 Petrov HS-100 found in the wild, there are special missions that allow you to gain control of them. Here's our Far Cry 6 guide to help you obtain the Señor Pinga and Karlito tanks. Note: For more information, check out our Far Cry 6 guides and features hub. Likewise, please be reminded that this guide contains minor spoilers. Far Cry 6 guide: How to get the Señor Pinga and Karlito (flamethrower tank) Señor Pinga tank The Señor Pinga tank in Far Cry 6 can be found in Madrugada. You'll need to complete a couple of Yaran Stories (sidequests) from Zenia Zayas. Try to talk to various guerrilla NPCs to reveal more information on your map if you can't get this quest. As of now, I'm not sure if the quest appears if you simply visit the location, but you can try if you want. She's found in La Triad Mural (Northern Monjas Valley ̵...
If you've been playing previous Far Cry games, then, chances are, you're familiar with exploring the countryside by driving, flying, or sailing different vehicles. But, of course, nothing beats the wanton destruction caused by tanks. These ungodly armored behemoths will make quick work of the Yaran military if you can manage to acquire one. Here's our Far Cry 6 guide to help you get tanks, including the 1944 Petrov HS-100, 1944 Petrov HS-100 B, and Petrov HS-100 Elite (super heavy). Note: For more information, check out our Far Cry 6 guides and features hub. You can also take a look at our separate guide regarding the Señor Pinga and Karlito. Far Cry 6 guide: How to get tanks in the game – 1944 Petrov HS-100, 1944 Petrov HS-100 B, and 1944 Petrov Elite (super heavy tank) Disabling a tank In general, all the tanks in Far Cry 6 are of the 1944 Petrov HS-100 variant. There are some minor differences, such as when you'd acquire them and, in the case ...
Twitch has confirmed that a staggering data breach reported earlier today is, in fact, real. First brought to light by VGC, an anonymous hacker snuck away with 125 GB of data, sharing a torrent link to the website 4chan late last night. The Twitch data breach revealed the website's source code, along with creator pay, an unreleased platform to compete with Steam, and more. It's also possible that encrypted user passwords have been leaked. Hours following the report, Twitch confirmed the data breach is legit. In a message posted to Twitter, Twitch wrote that its "teams are working with urgency to understand the extent of this. We will update the community as soon as additional information is available. Thank you for bearing with us." The leak itself is staggering, revealing more than the aforementioned. Comment history from the start of Twitch is included, along with proprietary SDKs (software development kit) and AWS (Amazon Web Servers) used by the pl...
The road to Yara's complete and total liberation is long and arduous. It entails fighting Anton Castillo's government and the military forces on the island. Still, similar to past titles in the series, there's actually a secret ending that you can watch should you make a crucial choice. Here's our Far Cry 6 guide to help you get the secret ending. Note: For more information, check out our Far Cry 6 guides and features hub. Likewise, please be reminded that this guide contains minor spoilers. Far Cry 6 guide: How to get the secret ending To get the secret ending in Far Cry 6, simply continue playing the campaign until you can get past the blockade in Isla Santuario. This mission is called "Libertad Rises," and its conclusion takes you to Zamok Archipelago. At this point, you'll get a quest called "The Guerrilla." The objective here is to talk to Juan Cortez. The moment you do this, the game continues onward and you'll...
Far Cry 6's base game already offers a plethora of content and activities that will last you many hours. Still, if you feel like spending extra, you could get more goodies by grabbing the Ultimate Edition. Here's our Far Cry 6 guide to help you unlock the Ultimate Pack bonuses. Note: For more information, check out our Far Cry 6 guides and features hub. Far Cry 6 guide: How to unlock the Ultimate Pack bonuses Similar to the Blood Dragon Pack, the Ultimate Pack can be unlocked after you complete "The Guerrilla" mission in Zamok Archipelago. After escaping Isla Santuario, you'll meet with Clara Garcia and Juan Cortez as they prepare their next moves to fight back against Anton Castillo's despotic regime. Once you've followed the instructions, the bonuses will be in your inventory. Note: This is how it should work. However, things were a bit different when I was reviewing the game. For some reason, the game kept thinking that the Ubisoft...
The Pokemon Company is teaming up with Best Buy, as the retailer will be offering a way for players to catch Gigantamax Eevee and Gigantamax Pikachu in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. Those that stop by the retailer will be able to pick up code cards that can be redeemed for Dynamax Crystals. These will then let you battle –...
In a recent news post sent out to Switch owners, Nintendo provided a listing of the top 15 European eShop downloads for September 2021. Diablo II: Resurrected makes a strong debut at #1, with WarioWare: Get It Together! right behind. Castlevania Advance Collection also appears in the top ten. The full lineup is as follows: 1. Diablo II: Resurrected 2....
MOP's Chris is not averse to entering new-to-him territory, which brings us today's stream: Fractured, the sandbox MMORPG that's currently in a fall alpha test. Join us today at 2:00 p.m. EDT for this first foray into the latest alpha build of this developing game. What: Fractured Who: Chris Neal When: 2:00 p.m. EDT on […]
Grinding Gear Games has been teasing Path of Exile's 3.16 Scourge expansion with announcements of announcements; we already know the big reveal is set for October 14th, with launch on PC and console due to hit October 22nd and 27th, respectively. But what you want to know is what's in it, and as of this […]
Halloween has not traditionally been something that Star Trek Online celebrates, and for good reason; when you have the power of a Federation starship at your beck and call, it's hard to find the suggestion of ghosts particularly scary. (A Klingon starship, by contrast, would not find it scary because the crew would want to fist-fight […]
Lineage2M is finally launching on our shores, and we don't even have long to wait: NCsoft announced this morning that it will launch the game for western players on iOS and Android "this winter." The studio touts a simultaneous launch in 29 countries with localization in English, German, French, Spanish, Russian and Polish. It will […]
SteelSeries is hoping to propel its business with GN's resources and support. GN and SteelSeries are proud to announce their agreement to team-up as a way to propel SteelSeries' gaming peripherals and accessories line. The team at the gaming leader has over 20 years of experience in the business, but GN has over 150 years […]
One of them is right at the tail end of his career. The other is just starting out, only having cemented a starting place in recent years. Whoever you decide to choose between Iniesta and Foden matters little though, for both find a starting place in FIFA 22's TOTW #3.
In this article, you'll read about the ultimate abilities that wreck hard and that are also really fun to use. Every champion in this game has their ultimate ability. Some are boring some are fun but that's up to you to decide and your preference what you like in an ultimate ability! Almost every champion gains their ultimate ability once...
Well, it seems like you tried out most of the champions that this game has to offer but you're still unsure on who to main and who to play. No worries this article might help you out on who to put your precious time and effort into. You don't have to only main a specific champion you'd be called a...
So you decided to play jungle the hardest role in the game and you wish to learn it. Why do you hate yourself? Just why? Why do you wish to hurt yourself? Well if you still want to play jungle I'll try to help you as much as I can. In this article, you'll learn about champions that can carry the game and get you that sweet sweet LP. In this article...
If you are looking for how to enable Aim Assist in Far Cry 6, then this post is for you. As its name suggests, Aim Assist is a feature in FPS games that helps you or your controller to aim better and hit the target while playing FPS (First Person Shooter) games such as Far […]
The Covid pandemic may have caused serious problems for a wide range of Czech industries, but for the Czech gaming sector, lockdowns opened up a new world ...
"Squid Game" has driven the most new engagers to a Netflix title of any Netflix ... between the "Squid Game" audience and those who engage with video games, ...
I am a graduate of Southern New Hampshire University with a major in writing and a minor in gaming. I have a passion for video games and writing. I also enjoy ...