Sometimes, Halloween can be just a bit too scary. There are ghosts and ghouls and undead and…assholes. Living is frightening and, so too, is the thought of death and mortality. That's exactly why Skul: The Hero Slayer works as a comfy spooky game. It's not really scary. It just pretends to be.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night put an extra dash of 'vania in the Metroidvania world thanks to the influence of long-time Castlevania lead Koji Igarashi, and the devs have kept things going with a robust array of free content update - though those updates have been subject to several delays. But they're still coming, and now the devs have confirmed a few details about the next new playable character.
"We can confirm that this new character is NOT from the world of Bloodstained," the devs say in the announcement. "We have been working closely with a well-known partner to bring their character (and a friend) into the game. As with previous characters, you will be able to explore the entire map, though certain abilities will need to be acquired before some areas and bosses can be accessed. Along the way you will be able to increase the rank and class of the character's special ability to grow in power."
The Bloodstained roadmap previously put both "special crossover content" and the new playable character in the fourth quarter of 2020. Then in the first quarter of 2021. Now there's no clear release timeframe, as the developers are dealing with "major technical issues".
The Final Fantasy XIV devs issued a series of changes to its conduct policy earlier this week, clarifying the rules around stalking and harassment (and erotic role-play) and providing more details about how the penalty system works. But those were just public clarifications of rules the devs had already been using behind the scenes. The only actual rule changes regard advertising on the Party Finder, and in a new update the devs have provided some additional context on why those changes have been made.
The new rules ban advertising help for clearing duties via the Party Finder - in other words, you can't sell clears there. You can, however, advertise the fact that you're buying clears. Mercenary activities for in-game rewards are totally okay with the devs, it's just that real-money traders were posting ads for gil-driven clears when the real transaction would be for actual money.
"Though the situation varied with each region," global community producer Toshio Murouchi explains, "there were an enormous number of cases where RMT vendors created recruitment listings in the Party Finder under the guise of mercenary activities, which hindered normal players in their use of the Party Finder. The changes made at this time are intended as measures to rectify this situation and promptly crack down on fraudulent recruitment listings."
One of the design pillars of upcoming grand strategy game Victoria 3 is for diplomacy to be just as powerful a tool as warfare is - the latter is, after all, the continuation of the former by other means, as Carl von Clausewitz is often quoted as saying. Victoria 3's diplomacy system is almost a game in itself, giving you plenty of options for winning an exchange with another nation without ever having to fire a shot.
The latest Victoria 3 dev diary goes deep into 'diplomatic plays.' These are the opening moves for any conflict in Victoria 3, so you'll inevitably go through the process prior to any war. Diplomatic plays begin with opening moves that correspond to the war goals you may be familiar with from other Paradox games: you'll make a play to annex another nation as subject, or to demand that it cede territory to you, or to abolish slavery.
Once you've picked out your play, the target will be notified, along with any nations that have a strong interest in the region and are considered 'potential participants' in any resulting conflict. Overlords and allies, for example, are going to take interest in what happens during negotiations.
Subnautica: Below Zero launched out of early access earlier this year, and it seems we don't have much longer to wait before we find out what's next from developer Unknown Worlds. Krafton, the company behind PUBG, has announced its intent to purchase Unknown Worlds, and in a press release has revealed that the studio's next game is due to hit early access next year.
"In addition to ongoing updates for Subnautica and Subnautica: Below Zero, Unknown Worlds is currently working on a new genre-defining game, which is slated to launch into early access in 2022", according to the press release.
In an interview earlier this year, the devs told us that it's likely they'll eventually return to Subnautica, and that such a sequel would be an opportunity for them to "rethink" multiplayer. Even then, though, they made clear that the studio was focused on a brand-new project, and that the focus for now would be on new ideas. (Sorry, Natural Selection fans - that means you're out of luck too.)
Steam's annual Halloween sale has risen from the grave once again, with prices on the best PC games that are so low, they're scary. Whether you're in the mood for horror games, or you'd like to play something more Halloweeny than actually scary, Steam likely has a deal on something that would fit the bill, and we've gone ahead and picked out a couple standout bargains.
If you need to get caught up on Resident Evil, there are sales on both Resident Evil VII and Resident Evil Village. Both feature some instant-classic Resident Evil moments and characters, but we can think of far worse ways to spend All Hallow's Eve this year than running away from Lady Dimitrescu and her bloodthirsty daughters. Separately, Resident Evil VII is 67% off, and Resident Evil Village is 33% off. There are also discounts on the various bundles that include both games.
We're as excited as anyone to dive into the dank roguelike depths of Darkest Dungeon II now that it's hit early access, but if you want to find out how the dismal journey began, you can snap up the original Darkest Dungeon on Steam for 80% off the usual price during the Halloween sale. The holidays can be a stressful time, so let your intrepid party of doomed characters shoulder some of the load.
It's rare to see a legitimately good 1440p 144Hz monitor for less than $250, but right now ViewSonic's VX2758-2KP-MHD is on sale at Newegg for $220 - a stunning $110 (33%) reduction from its original price of $330.
This 'Shell Shocker' sale ends in just a few hours, so do pick this up if you're in the market for a high-end gaming monitor at bargain basement prices!
One of our former best gaming SSD picks, the WD Blue SN550, is down to just £140 on Amazon for a massive 2TB model. That's a historic low price by around £15 and a good £40 what it cost just a few weeks ago, making this a very good time to pick up a high performance NVMe SSD on the cheap.
In the beginning, developer CD Projekt Red had a vision for Cyberpunk 2077's post-launch content plans. Free DLC will fill the gaps between Witcher-like expansions, along with regular updates. A lot of that got thrown out the window when Cyberpunk 2077 launched, and and there was a scramble just to fix the game — seen by many as a buggy mess. The developer has promised more fixes and content this year, but apparently something changed. CD Projekt Red has apparently, and silently, delayed free DLC and update plans for Cyberpunk 2077 until 2022. Yesterday, the company quietly updated the Cyberpunk 2077 roadmap. As reported by PCGamesN, the original roadmap noted that the content and updates were heading to the game this year. Naturally, the outlet had to use the Wayback Machine showing how it looked last week. Today, however, "updates, improvements, and free DLCs" are now marked as coming in 2022. PCGamesN does note that CD Projekt Red shifted its agenda to bri...
Nintendo Everything Friday, October 29, 2021 11:06 PM
We've got the latest demon trailer for Shin Megami Tensei V, which offers up a look at Valkyrie. It has been included in various titles in the franchise ranging from mainline entries to Persona. Here's some background information on Valkyrie, courtesy of the Megami Tensei Wiki: A Valkyrie (from Old Norse valkyrja "chooser of the slain") is one of a...
Publisher Headup Games and developer The Bitfather have announced that Pixel Heroes: Mega Byte & Magic, a roguelike/RPG, is coming to Switch. A release is planned for November 5. The game "transports you back to the 80s to deliver an old-school experience that draws on elements of the RPG and roguelike genres." It comes with 33 hero classes to unlock,...
More than two decades after its original release on N64, GoldenEye 007 is no longer "banned" in Germany. As explained by Mental Floss, the German federal agency Bundesprüfstelle für jugendgefährdende Medien (Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons) set up an index in the 1980s in which a piece of media could be included if it were deemed harmful...
According to a Kotaku report, Nintendo has closed its California office. In doing so, about 100 employees have been displaced. Nintendo of America has its headquarters in Redmond, Washington, but has had a couple of other offices – including the now closed location in California. As a result of the move, SVP of sales and marketing Nick Chavez has resigned...
This week's episode of Nintendo Minute has gone live. In today's video, Kit and Krysta play the Animal Crossing: New Horizons version of Monopoly. Check out the full episode below.
SnowRunner was recently given a new update on Switch, bringing the game to version 1.0.5. It comes with various general fixes and improvements to some trucks. Below are the full patch notes for the SnowRunner version 1.0.5 update: Trucks Improved towed vehicles wheels collision for evacuator addons Improved crane behavior for Tatra Force Fixed a bug where saddle low and...
Nintendo confirmed to IGN that it is shuttering its offices in California and Toronto. It coincides with the reported departure of Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Nick Chavez.
Bethesda has shared a few of the updates and Creations arriving with The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition, including new questlines like Saints and Seducers, weapons and armor from Morrowind, fishing, and a new survival mode.
Get ready to show those legions of Hell who's boss — Update 6.66 is now live in Doom Eternal! This update not only includes a whole new Horde Mode for players to sink their teeth into, but also two Master Levels and new arena, playable demon and streak-based Ranking System for Battlemode and more! Horde […]
In the beginning, developer CD Projekt Red had a vision for Cyberpunk 2077's post-launch content plans. Free DLC will fill the gaps between Witcher-like expansions, along with regular updates. A lot of that got thrown out the window when Cyberpunk 2077 launched, and and there was a scramble just to fix the game — seen by many as a buggy mess. The developer has promised more fixes and content this year, but apparently something changed. CD Projekt Red has apparently, and silently, delayed free DLC and update plans for Cyberpunk 2077 until 2022. Yesterday, the company quietly updated the Cyberpunk 2077 roadmap. As reported by PCGamesN, the original roadmap noted that the content and updates were heading to the game this year. Naturally, the outlet had to use the Wayback Machine showing how it looked last week. Today, however, "updates, improvements, and free DLCs" are now marked as coming in 2022. PCGamesN does note that CD Projekt Red shifted its agenda to bri...