Jan 24, 23:00


Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 10:10 PM
    

It was only a few days ago that 34 quality assurance testers at Raven, one of the studios working exclusively on the Call Of Duty series, formed the first ever union among Activision Blizzard employees. Today, management has responded to their success with some changes.

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Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 8:45 PM
    

Early copies of Pokémon Legends: Arceus somehow broke street date last week, setting the internet ablaze with details about the highly anticipated game. We recently took a look at all the new pocket monsters players will be able to train when Arceus launches on January 28, but now it's time to get into the important…

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Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 7:20 PM
    

Unpacking was one of the best games of 2021, to the point where it didn't just make my personal GOTY list, but the entire site's as well. It is currently available on PC, Mac, Switch and Xbox One. It is most definitely not available on Apple's iOS devices.

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Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 5:30 PM
    

It's being reported by multiple outlets that ESL, one of the world's oldest and biggest esports companies, has been bought for $1 billion by Savvy Gaming, an esports investment company that is backed by the Saudi Arabian Government's wealthy and controversial Public Investment Fund.

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Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 4:20 PM
    

They say necessity is the mother of invention, so when speedrunning Super Mario Odyssey became "too easy" for Twitch streamer DougDoug he decided to spice things up by making the game's heads-up display get progressively… uh, worse the longer he played.

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Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 4:05 PM
    

Japanese studio Pocketpair is back with another early look at Palworld, the Pokémon-like game that so masterfully shocked us with its reveal last summer.

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PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 5:36 PM
     League of Legends' Chemtech Drake has been disabled for being

The Chemtech Drake in League of Legends is being disabled after a rocky debut in the latest preseason. Riot says player feedback has indicated that the new dragon type has been "too frustrating to play with." The developer says it's removing the drake from the game, along with its associated soul and terrain - and it might be some time before we see it again.

"When we introduced the Chemtech Drake, Soul, and Terrain in preseason, we shared our intent for it to have a higher impact on games than the original four elemental drakes," the Summoner's Rift team says in a new blog post. "Over the past few months, we've heard your feedback across social media and surveys that, even with this goal in mind, the Chemtech addition has just been too frustrating to play with - especially if you're on the losing team."

Riot says it's going to be iterating on the designs of the current drake versions to solve some of the issues they've been facing, taking a particularly hard look at their terrain. "This may take time to do right, meaning there's a chance we won't bring the Chemtech Drake back for a while," the team says.

RELATED LINKS: Best LoL Champions , League of Legends patch 12.3 notes, LoL tier list

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 4:38 PM
     Steam Deck's dynamic cloud sync lets you jump to PC without shutting games down

Valve's gearing up for the official launch of its Steam Deck handheld, and it's added a new feature to Steam that's going to make it easier to move back and forth between the Steam Deck and your PC. Dynamic cloud sync will upload any save data to Steam's cloud when you suspend a game on the Steam Deck, which means you won't have to fully exit a game before you can pick back up on your PC.

"We anticipate that users will frequently suspend their Steam Deck without exiting the game, as is common with other hand-held gaming devices," Valve explains in a new post about dynamic cloud sync. When this feature is enabled, "Steam will automatically upload all modified save game data to the cloud prior to the device entering sleep mode."

When you want to move back to the Steam Deck, Steam will then automatically download any new save data when you wake the device back up. If you don't enable dynamic cloud sync, you'll be prompted to shut down the software on the Steam Deck if you try to open the game on another device.

RELATED LINKS: Steam Deck – everything we know, Best Steam Deck games, Which of Valve's Steam Decks should you pick up?

Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 9:17 PM
    

Lost Ark is a Korean MMOARPG that's been out for a few years now, but it's finally making its way to English-speaking territories in February. The combat is rather Diablo-like with its ARPG and looting elements, and there are plenty of dungeons to take on as you make your way through the story. This is […]

The post Here's a Rundown of What Lost Ark's Endgame Will Look Like appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 8:22 PM
    

Arc System Works revealed the release date and a new trailer for the fourth DLC character that will be added to its fighting game Guilty Gear -Strive-.

The post Guilty Gear -Strive- DLC Character Baiken Gets Release Date & New Trailer appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 7:56 PM
    

With the Steam Deck set to release in February, Valve has been releasing blog posts and updates to keep users apprised of upcoming features that they can expect from Steam itself in the coming weeks. One of the new features detailed in a recent update is the Dynamic Cloud Sync feature, which improves upon Steam's […]

The post Steam's Dynamic Cloud Sync Feature Lets You Switch Between Steam Deck and PC Seamlessly appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 7:42 PM
    

Developed by Cloisters Interactive and published by Annapurna, A Memoir Blue is a beautiful and somber looking game that's set to release in March. The publisher has just put out a new release date trailer showing off the main characters, and give us an idea as to what the art and graphical styles will look […]

The post Annapurna's A Memoir Blue Explores the Emotional Bond Between a Mother & Daughter appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 7:23 PM
    

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin didn't necessarily make the best first impression on us when it first announced. The trailer was cringy, full of edge, and guys decked out in black and saying works like "chaos" and "darkness" over and over again. The final trailer fares a little better, and actually gives us a […]

The post Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Final Trailer Dives Deeper into its Story, This Time With Frank Sinatra appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 4:31 PM
    

***The following article and music video contain MAJOR spoilers for the entirety of Attack on Titan up until this point. If you haven't seen up until the latest episode in Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2, please come back after you've watched it.*** Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 is in full swing, […]

The post Ai Higuchi Releases Attack on Titan Final Season Part 2 Special Version Music Video appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 4:19 PM
    

Bandai Namco released new clips of its free-to-play first-person shooter Gundam Evolution, showcasing one of its playable mobile suits.

The post Gundam Evolution Gets New Gameplay Videos Showing Transformable MSA-005 Methuss in Action appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 4:09 PM
    

The Destiny series has always allowed players to let their imagination run wild, featuring a vast customization system and detailed worlds that have resulted in a lot of creativity. Earlier this week, channel Player One Stories revealed a brand new project that proves just how much the game has to offer creative minds, as the […]

The post Impressive Immersiplay Series Destiny: Solas Revealed by Player One Stories appeared first on Twinfinite.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 8:15 PM
    

Guilty Gear Strive Baiken DLC Release Date Set

The Guilty Gear Strive Baiken DLC release date is upon us. She'll be out right as January 2022 ends. How soon people can use the Unfaltering Awakened Samurai depends on whether or not you bought the $29.99 Season Pass 1. If you did, you get access to her on January 28, 2022. If you didn't you can buy her for $6.99 on January 31, 2022. There are also two new trailers looking at her in-game.

The first Baiken Guilty Gear Strive character trailer is more of an overview. It shows some brief footage of her in battle. It also showed off the new battle stage appearing alongside her. Lap of the Kami will appear at the same time. Likewise, it will be out on January 28, 2022 for Season Pass holders and January 31, 2022 for everyone else. The end of the trailer confirmed the fifth character, second battle stage, and Another Story only available with the season pass will be out in 2022.

The other video is the Baiken starter guide. It offers an overview of her moveset. It looks at all of her special attacks one-by-one.

This means four of the five Guilty Gear Strive Season Pass 1 DLC characters is out. Before Baiken, Goldlewis, Jack-O, and Happy Chaos were added to the cast.

The Baiken Guilty Gear Strive release date is January 28, 2022 if you have the season pass and January 31, 2022 if you don't.

Guilty Gear Strive is immediately available on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows PC.

The post Guilty Gear Strive Baiken DLC Release Date Set appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 5:31 PM
    

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Trailer Shows the Kraken and Lich

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's release date is drawing nearer, and there's a new trailer to offer more insight. This is billed as the "final trailer." It's longer than some of the previous videos looking at the game. It also means more of the opponents who appeared as the major Fiends in the original Final Fantasy, like the Kraken and Lich, show up. All of this happens while Frank Sinatra's "My Way" appears as a background track.

The first half of the new video focuses on story segments. It goes over Jack and his allies' quests. At the 1:25 mark, the new take on the Final Fantasy Fiend of Water Kraken shows up. At 1:43, the Lich appears. In the original game, that boss is the Fiend of Earth.

Here is the final Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin trailer.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is a reimagining of the original game. This means there are both new and old jobs appearing in it. Familiar characters will be depicted in different ways. You can learn more in Siliconera's interview with Director Daisuke Inoue and Producer Jin Fujiwara.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will come to the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC via Epic Games Store on March 18, 2022. People who pre-order a digital copy will get early access on March 15, 2022.

The post Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Trailer Shows the Kraken and Lich appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 5:01 PM
    

Interview: About Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin Jobs, Characters

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is an unconventional sort of Final Fantasy spin-off, albeit one with familiar characters, jobs, and trappings. Moreover, it's an action game coming with input from Team Ninja, who created the Nioh series. To help better understand how it came to be and works, Siliconera spoke with Director Daisuke Inoue and Producer Jin Fujiwara about the title.

Jenni Lada: How did Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin come to be? What did the pitch look like and how did Team Ninja get involved?

Jin Fujiwara: First, the idea was conceived by Tetsuya Nomura when he was discussing about how he wants the story that depicts how the villain in the Final Fantasy series Garland came about. He also wanted a game that is heavily skewed toward action gameplay where you are adventuring through different locations or dungeons. So those ideas were being proposed.

We have had a relationship with Koei Tecmo's Team Ninja when we worked on Dissidia Final Fantasy. So when we were thinking about, "Yeah, we'd love to make an action game. Who should we turn to?" Because we really wanted this to be a good action game. We approached Team Ninja. We felt that they'd be the best fit. That's why we decided to partner with them.

While Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins is of course pulling from Final Fantasy, how much did Nioh and its sequel influenced it? How did it and its sequel prepare the developers for this?

Daisuke Inoue: Of course the project proceeding, we had directors from the Square Enix side, plus the Koei Tecmo team ninja side come together and discuss what we wanted to do. There were certain elements that I had in mind, coming from a Final Fantasy background. There were different things that I wanted to bring to the table. Then of course Team Ninja would [offer] feedback like, "We would also like to include such and such elements." It was just a very nice collaborative sort of environment where we discussed with each other and made sure what we're trying to bring out what we do best in each other's sides.

Interview: About Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Jobs, Characters

In the original Final Fantasy, people had six starter job and six advance classes. Early screenshots already showed additional jobs like Duelist, Marauder, and Ronin. How did past entries influence and shape the jobs available in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin? Are there any jobs that are completely new to the series?

Inoue: For sure, we will be introducing some jobs that are not usually found in the Final Fantasy series. So you may be surprised. Like, "Oh, is that the weapon that this person is going to use?"

Is there a job that you wanted to include in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, but it didn't end up fitting in somehow or due to some technical issue?

Inoue: Yeah, for sure. There are lots of ideas that came up that we had to unfortunately scrap. There were so many conditions we had to fulfill. Some of it didn't work out. I'm sure you want to get an idea of what exactly those jobs were. Let me see if I can think of an example.

There was one job that was very relevant to the protagonist characters, but we had to give up on implementing that due to certain reasons.

Interview: About Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Jobs, Characters

How is the team handling job balancing in Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origins, and are there any characters better suited for certain roles than others?

Inoue: So in terms of job balance, the job categories are separated into three different categories. You have your sort of basic, or starter, jobs. Then you get into the advanced and then further advanced. There are three tiers. Now, just hearing the name may make you think that, "Oh, it gets stronger as you get more advanced." But that's not accurate. It's that some of the higher tier jobs are what's considered to be higher tier. It's just more complex in terms of how they move. I think some of them are more unique or edgy almost. They are categorized, but then in terms of strength, we tried to make it so they're all equal. So that's how we balanced the jobs.

As for the different content that the players engage in, I think what job is suitable really depends on how the player wants to play the specific content. So if you're more comfortable with doing ranged attacks, you might want to choose a job that is more skilled with long-range attacks. Or if you want to do something that's more close-range attacks, there are jobs for that. Or if you want to still be melee, but not near distance, there's a sort of "back row" melee type job as well. So I think it really depends on how the player wants to go about tackling some of the content.

I don't think there are any sort of specific jobs that are especially suited for certain roles and content.

How much freedom was the team given when altering and developing the characters, jobs, and story for Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin? Was there any one character who was especially fun to re-envision and remake?

Inoue: With characters that didn't appear in the original Final Fantasy, we definitely had the creative liberty to take different approaches for sure. And then for the characters that do exist in the lore, we did have to kind of have to put in our reinterpretation of them. In creating these characters and reading the script as it would become available, what struck me as very interesting was the character of Astos.

Fujiwara: It's very interesting to see [Astos] and how, as the story progressed, this character is being interpreted.

Interview: About Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin Jobs, Characters

People have had a very interesting response to the game so far online, like when they saw Jack's clothing for the first time and things like that. We've already seen the development team kind of have fun with that by going ahead and having the one segment where there was the Limp Bizkit music in the trailer. Are there any kinds of callbacks like that in the game proper that people can expect to see in response to feedback?

Fujiwara: I think the way that some of these elements were presented in the information that we revealed were surprising and very unusual to people watching it. They are excerpts from the story proper and final product. It will start to make sense that Jack and some of the other characters have means to access things that we may think is more modern and that's closer to real life. I don't think we'll have elements where people will be severely surprised? There are some random things that pop up in the story.

But at the same time, with the narrative itself we're trying to make it so there are twists that people will be surprised by. So in a good way, will sort of betray their expectations. We're hopeful that people will come across those and we hope that they enjoy those twists.

Are we going to end up seeing some of the characters from Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin in Dissidia Final Fantasy Opera Omnia? And would that also eventually mean a story with Jack meeting Garland?

Fujiwara: So you happen to be speaking with the producer [Fujiwara] and director [Inoue] of Opera Omnia. Yeah, the possibility is definitely there. We would love to have Jack and the other characters show up in Opera Omnia from Final Fantasy Origin. And I'm sure players will be excited to see how this sort of face-to-face between Garland and Jack would happen. Or if that's even possible. I want to say that the possibility is definitely there. I'm afraid I can't guarantee when it's going to be, but we're hopeful that it's going to be in the near future.

So like maybe even a global first, since that sometimes happens?

Fujiwara: We'll think about it.

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin will come to the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC via Epic Games Store on March 18, 2022. People who pre-order a digital copy will get early access on March 15, 2022.

Editor's Note: This interview was lightly edited for clarity.

The post Interview: Talking About Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin's Jobs and Characters appeared first on Siliconera.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 8:25 PM
    

Soul Bossa Nova makes everything better As wary as I am of leaning too hard into memes, sometimes, I can't...

The post Austin Powers in Mass Effect works a little too well (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 7:30 PM
    

Don't spill the beans Mediatonic's frantic, clumsy, huggable battle royale game Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout has fused with Monopoly, and...

The post Fall Guys has been Monopoly-ified appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 7:00 PM
    

Nothin' like an endless scroll of names This post contains mild spoilers for the end-credits sequences of Marvel's Spider-Man, Portal 2,...

The post Do you sit through the credits when you finish a game? appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 6:30 PM
    

Valve is thinking ahead about how users will probably handle the Steam Deck The Steam Deck is expected to start...

The post Valve introduces Dynamic Cloud Sync to make moving saves between devices easier appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 6:00 PM
    

For a split second, I almost thought I was looking at a Dynasty Warriors demake A handful of cool game...

The post Samurai Bringer is a demon-shredding roguelite action game with a cool retro style appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 5:30 PM
    

The upcoming narrative adventure gets a small delay I'm a simple woman. Annapurna puts out a game, and I play...

The post Annapurna's emotional narrative A Memoir Blue now releasing in March appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 5:00 PM
    

Chaos! Stranger of Paradise is looking crazier by the minute, and in my book, that's a thing of beauty. While...

The post Designers: Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin is a mix of Dark Souls, Devil May Cry, and Final Fantasy appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 4:30 PM
    

"We are acting in good faith and asking for good faith." Quality assurance workers at Raven Software are ending their...

The post Raven Software workers end strike following announcement of union appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 4:00 PM
    

You were expecting anybody else? Kotobukiya has released the first images of the first King of Fighters figurine to join...

The post Mai Shiranui shines as Kotobukiya's first King of Fighters Bishoujo appeared first on Destructoid.


PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 7:00 PM
     Intel core 12600k I5 Gaming Performance Review 12th Gen Benchmarks Alder LakeAfter years of delays, Intel has finally moved on to a more advanced manufacturing node, bringing new levels of performance and efficiency to its desktop processors. As it would have it, this technological step forward also coincides with the introduction of Intel's new Hybrid architecture that introduces a mix of big (P) and little (E) cores all on a single monolithic die. Codenamed "Alder Lake," we're looking at what is the most exciting new generation of processors from Team Blue in years. Intel seems to think so as well, because it sent us an i5-12600K to review for gaming performance, features, and value. Spoiler alert, this one takes the value-to-performance crown for the best enthusiast-grade CPU for gaming. If you checked out our i9-12900K review, you already know Intel has some competent new K-Series CPUs that deliver seriously impressive gaming performance, even while handling heaps of background tasks, such as recording/streaming gameplay. Intel 12...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 6:30 PM
     WARNO early access previewWARNO is Wargame: Red Dragon with Steel Division mechanics and more, but that doesn't mean it's good. Like the previous Wargame series entries, WARNO is a Cold War real-time strategy (RTS) game, albeit much more limited in scope. This time, it's set strictly in 1989 — literally the worst occasion to set a Cold War game. The technological balance has swung overwhelmingly to NATO's benefit, while Warsaw Pact's preemptive invasion stance shifted to a much more passive defensive posture. However, the kids want Apaches, Bradleys, and 120mm M1A1s, so that's what they're getting. The gameplay in WARNO is the same as it was in Wargame. You build your deck, get to the field, spawn whichever units you can afford, wait for the ticker to award you more units, and so on. Units can carry up to three weapons each, vehicles still have directional armor, infantry still uses men as HP, and both can still be healed by supply trucks. Command units exist and, going by the manual, they actual...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 5:15 PM
     End Of Dragons Fishing And SkiffsGuild Wars 2: End of Dragons is the next expansion coming to ArenaNet's highly successful MMORPG. A while ago, the developer announced that the release date for the expansion would be sometime in February. However, February is almost here and no date for the End of Dragons launch has been revealed. Until today, when ArenaNet announced the date when it will reveal a much more important date, the launch date. On February 1, the release date for End of Dragons will be revealed. Along with the release date announcement, the Guild Wars 2 developer also shared a schedule for Livestreams that will reveal more details and content for End of Dragons. The new schedule is slightly different from the one announced back in October 2021.   End of Dragons launch month schedule The New Kaineng City Map Tour was originally going to happen on January 28. Now, it will take place on February 8. Kaineng City was a major location from Guild Wars: Factions, so it will be very interesting to see how i...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 4:00 PM
     Yakuza Creator StudioLate last year, news came out that Toshihiro Nagoshi, the creator of the effortlessly charming Yakuza series, would step down from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio and Sega at large. He moved to tech industry giant NetEase, which may have sparked some concerns over how this would affect his creative output. Fortunately, it looks like the Yakuza creator will have plenty of creative control, as he just formed a new development studio under NetEase called Nagoshi Studio. The team will consist of several key developers who worked alongside Nagoshi at RGG Studio. According to a statement made by Nagoshi, the studio will aim to maintain an open atmosphere and encourage meaningful conversations regardless of seniority. The studio's team of nine members, including Nagoshi himself, will try to facilitate a work culture that sees mistakes as learning experiences rather than something to avoid at all costs. Nagoshi hopes that, through this positive work environment, the team will stay motivated to p...

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 6:00 PM
    

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 5:00 PM
    

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 5:29 PM
     A boss enemy is a war machine left behind by a lost ancient nation. With its cube-like form that reshapes every time it attacks, this enemy can be considered the mechanical version of the Hypostasis. It can also summon smaller machines to aid it in battle, but this war automaton does not belong to any […]

Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Monday, January 24, 2022 5:02 PM
    

I look forward to seeing what they have in store.

The post Activision Blizzard Veterans Open New Developer-Publisher appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.

Jan 24, 16:00


Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 3:35 PM
    

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild community is bonkers, combining all sorts of glitches to reach areas that the game would normally bar you from entering. These impossible-to-reach areas that exist outside the borders of the map sometimes contain random items, like treasure chests that were likely forgotten or…

Read more...


Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 3:00 PM
    

Since its launch in November, much hooplah has been made about Halo Infinite's customization options. Between the dearth of variety in free options (too many grays) and the sticker prices of paid options (too many $$$s), there's a sense that looking great in 343 Industries' popular multiplayer shooter costs money. But…

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Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 1:55 PM
    

Don't fret if you've had absolutely terrible luck rolling for characters in Genshin Impact gacha banners. The Lantern Rite Festival is running again this year, which means that every player will be able to earn a free four-star character in the Fleeting Colors in Flight event. After accumulating enough event points,…

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Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 12:44 PM
    

Clearly someone hasn't learned about the Curse Of Wordle. A grade-A prick has created a Twitter bot that looks for those tweeting their score for that day's word puzzle, and replies with a spoiler for the following day's word. The bot's goal, apparently, is "to terminate Wordle bragging."

Read more...


Kotaku Monday, January 24, 2022 9:44 AM
    

I love the mechanics of Konami's long-running collectible card game Yu-Gi-Oh!, but I'm too impatient to wade through banal anime tales of pointy-haired teens learning about friendship and sportsmanship in order to get my collectible card game fix. Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel, the free-to-play game released this week on PC…

Read more...


PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 3:23 PM
     Cities: Skylines gets a free update alongside the Airports DLC

The arrival of Cities: Skylines' Airports DLC coincides with a nice update to the city builder's core game. The free update adds some AI tweaks and new customisation options that'll be welcome for all Cities: Skylines players, whether they've purchased the new DLC or not.

First up, airplane AI across the board has been updated, improving airplane behaviour in the base game. You should no longer see planes endlessly circling above your city, and they'll carry more passengers per trip. This applies to any mass transit vehicle that arrives from outside your city: you'll see less frequent trips, but with more passengers per trip.

Everyone will also see some new options for customisation. You'll be able to swap out the trees that line roads for the first time, simply by selecting a tree in the landscaping menu, and then clicking the segment of tree-lined road where you want to use that tree rather than the default. This way, you'll be able to change out the little maple trees with tall palms. Changing trees is always free, since the cost of trees is factored into the cost of the roads where they appear.

RELATED LINKS: Cities: Skylines mods, Cities: Skylines system Requirements

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 1:05 PM
     Sea of Thieves devs tease

Sea of Thieves is going to continue getting major updates in 2022, and developer Rare is confident this is going to be the game's "biggest year yet". The devs have announced a preview event for the 2022 roadmap coming later this week, and while that will likely be the venue for the major announcement on this year's content, the teaser trailer already provides a few clues on what to expect.

The Sea of Thieves 2022 Preview Event takes place on Thursday, January 27 at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT via the developer's official YouTube channel. There's no indication of what format the broadcast will take, but it will provide a look at "the adventures, mysteries, and more that await you in the year ahead."

Beyond saying that "2022 is set to be the biggest year yet for Sea of Thieves", today's teaser video doesn't offer much concrete info, but it does provide some tantalising glimpses of a new stone fort and what appears to be the silhouette of Belle, a character who has appeared for years in Sea of Thieves marketing material, but never in the game itself.

RELATED LINKS: Sea of Thieves tips, Sea of Thieves quests, guilds, and raids, Sea of Thieves endgame

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 12:43 PM
     Runescape is getting a tabletop RPG

Runescape is making its first (and then, immediately, its second) foray into the world of tabletop gaming. Based on Jagex's long-running MMO, both a board game and a tabletop RPG compatible with DnD 5e are coming out later this year. Each one is aimed at fans of Runescape and Old School Runescape and will see players exploring the fantasy setting of Gielinor.

Jagex is partnering with tabletop publisher Steamforged Games for these releases and announced them in a joint press release on January 24. No stranger to taking franchises from pixels and polygons to cardboard and dice, Steamforged Games has previously worked on 11 other digital-to-tabletop adaptations, including the board game versions of Dark Souls and Monster Hunter: World. Right now, it's got a Dark Souls tabletop RPG in the works, for instance.

The tabletop role-playing game, meanwhile, will consist of a "lavishly illustrated, hardback core book" for designing characters and quests, and will be fully compatible with D&D 5e.

RELATED LINKS: Free MMO list, The making of RuneScape, RuneScape shutting down

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 12:38 PM
     How to use PlayStation VR on your gaming PC

The best VR headsets don't come cheap, but Sony's PlayStation VR is one of the best budget options on the market. However, unlike the Oculus Quest 2, Valve Index, and HTC Vive, Sony's console VR solution won't work on your gaming PC out of the box. This is perhaps expected since the device is designed with the PS4 in mind, but there is a way to play your Steam games using Sony's VR headset.

Before we dive in, it's worth noting that the PSVR isn't compatible with every VR game on PC. You won't be able to play the likes of Skyrim VR or Doom VFR using room-scale movement, but you can jump into Standing Only games using a mouse, keyboard, or PC controller. You can also use Sony's PlayStation move controllers to play Beat Sabre on Steam, but you'll need to go out of your way to set them up.

Getting Sony's VR headset up and running on your rig sounds intimidating, but we've crafted a step-by-step guide to help you through the process. So, without further ado, here's how to use PlayStation VR on PC.


PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 12:17 PM
     Apex Legends new legend: when will we meet Mad Maggie?

Excited to learn about Mad Maggie, the new character joining Apex Legends in Season 12? The power level for the new Legends rose in 2021, with every character earning higher pick rates than their 2020 counterparts. From Valkyrie who can fly around the map, to Seer's ability to track the heart beats of his enemies, the newest Legends continue to up the ante. If the leaks about Apex Legends Season 12 are true, it looks like the developers are going to continue raising the bar.

The latest 'Stories from the Outlands' video focuses on Mad Maggie during her trial for committing numerous crimes. Prior to this video, there was plenty of evidence to suggest that Mad Maggie is coming to Apex Legends - yes, the same Maggie that we saw die in Fuse's reveal trailer last year. It appears Fuse's best friend has some unfinished business to settle in the Apex Games.

We learned a lot about Mad Maggie in her introduction video, but the developers haven't talked about her abilities just yet. Here's all the information we have on Mad Maggie, the next Apex Legends character.

RELATED LINKS: Apex Legends characters guide, Apex Legends skins, Apex Legends map guide

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 12:58 PM
     Fan turns Red Dead Redemption 2 into wholesome miniature world

A YouTuber is using camera techniques to reveal what some of the biggest games could look like as bustling miniature worlds. Take Flurdeh's recent video featuring Red Dead Redemption 2 (below). What was once Rockstar Games' visually-detailed Western game now looks like a tabletop sprawling with wee models of old towns and trains, complete with townsfolk waddling around as if it were a stop-motion animation.

Kevin 'Flurdeh' Hensen tells me that the idea for the video series came back in 2015 when he discovered tilt-shift photography on a website, with actual buildings, cars, and people being made to look like toys. The technique involves using camera movements that change the orientation or position of the lens relative to the image sensor. While tilt-shift photography appealed to Hansen, though, it wasn't very accessible.

"A real tilt-shift lens was too expensive for me, but around the same time, I got into in-game virtual photography, so I tried to simulate it with screenshots," he tells me. "They didn't look right at first, so I spent time on and off trying different techniques over the years. Eventually, I started making videos, and when it came around to trying it again, I figured 'why not try it in video form instead?'"

RELATED LINKS: Red Dead Redemption 2 PC review, RDR2 PC legendary animal hunts, Play Red Dead Redemption 2

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 12:13 PM
     Among Us costumes: how to unlock seasonal skins and outfits

Want to know how to unlock Among Us costumes and skins? There are a wonderful array of Among Us free hats and accessories available, which adorn your little space bean as they cavort through the corridors of your chosen Among Us map – either on their way to a gruesome death, or in search of a hapless victim.

Interacting with the laptop in an Among Us lobby allows you to change your character's colour, skin, and hat. For obvious reasons, players can't share duplicate colours, but you're free to choose any combination of hats and skins you like.

If you're relatively new to the social deduction game, and you've noticed that some of your spacefaring buddies are sporting Among Us skins that you don't have access to, you may be missing a few Among Us seasonal outfits, namely, the Among Us Christmas and Halloween hats. Similarly, if you're playing on a new PC, your Among Us unlocks don't carry across. Fortunately, you don't have to wait until the holidays roll around again to access these hats - here's how to unlock seasonal Among Us costumes early.


PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 11:56 AM
     Apex Legends: Defiance brings Mad Maggie, a 9v9 LTM, and a revamped Olympus

Apex Legends: Defiance is the official name for season 12, as developer Respawn and publisher EA have confirmed in a new teaser trailer. The new legend is Mad Maggie (no surprise if you've been following the leaks), and today the devs have also confirmed a new LTM and some changes for Olympus as part of the new season.

After her earlier cameo appearances, Mad Maggie is officially becoming a playable character in season 12. Some dataminers believe that the new legend is connected to an early leaked character with abilities like a shotgun kick, a flashbang, and a concussive charge. But those leaks are old enough that even if these abilities were intended for Maggie, they could've changed by now. (She breaks off her own tooth and spits it in someone's eye in the teaser trailer, so hey, that'd be a pretty cool ability, too.)

A new LTM called Control will also debut this season. As the official site explains: "For the first 3 weeks of Defiance, see whether you can handle the madness in the new Control mode. Select your loadout and drop in to a 9v9 experience where teams battle to hold control points with infinite respawn."

RELATED LINKS: Apex Legends characters guide, Apex Legends skins, Apex Legends map guide

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 11:35 AM
     Elden Ring crystal tear locations

Want to know where to find the crystal tears in Elden Ring? Just like the Estus flasks in Dark Souls, you start the game with healing flasks that you can refill at Sites of Grace. However, this isn't the only type of healing item available - the Flask of Wondrous Physick is a customisable alternative.

To get the Flask of Wondrous Physick, you need to beat one of the optional Elden Ring bosses, namely the Groveside Cave's boss: the Beastman of Farum Azula. Once he's dead, you can open a chest containing the flask and two crystal tears that you mix to customise the flask's effects. These effects trigger simultaneously every time you take a sip, and you can swap them at any Site of Grace.

There are plenty more crystal tears out there to add to your flask, and we found a few of them during the closed beta late last year. We'll go over all of the crystal tears' effects and where you can find them to use with your Flask of Wondrous Physick.

RELATED LINKS: Elden Ring system requirements, Elden Ring has the best demo, Elden Ring's four pre-order editions

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 11:34 AM
     Apex Legends Season 12 Defiance release date – Mad Maggie, Control, and weapons

Want to know more about Apex Legends Season 12? 2021 was a big year for EA's battle royale game as Apex Legends received its first non battle royale mode in the form of Arenas. The updates didn't stop there, as four new characters were introduced and a new island map named Storm Point was added to the game. The new content was well-received by players, with Apex Legends seeing its highest player count ever on Steam.

Season 12 looks like it's going to include some exciting additions to the game, assuming the data leaks are correct. Last year kicked off with a bang as Fuse, the explosives expert from the planet Salvo, joined the Apex Games. The latest 'Stories from the Outlands' trailer has revealed that Mad Maggie is going to join the ever growing roster in February.

Based on information the developers shared last year, we know Respawn is working on adding cross-progression and a next generation update. These features were supposed to arrive back in 2021 but were delayed until 2022, so there's a chance they could be part of Season 12. Here's everything we know about Apex Legends Season 12, including Mad Maggie's backstory, the latest information about the new game mode Control, and much more.

RELATED LINKS: Apex Legends characters guide, Apex Legends skins, Apex Legends map guide

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 11:15 AM
     Dying Light's 'Last Call' event caps off 7 years of regular updates

Now's a great time to bid a fond farewell to Harran, the stricken city at the heart of 2015 zombie game Dying Light. As developer Techland gears up for the Dying Light 2 release date, which is less than two weeks away, it's running a limited time event in the original Dying Light - capping off seven solid years of regular content updates.

Spike's Story: Last Call is set after the events of Dying Light's campaign. You've dealt with bandit leader Rais, but rather than dispersing, bandits are now flooding into the city. They've broken into a shelter, exposing the survivors there to the zombie infection, and that's created a whole new surge of 'virals' rampaging the streets of Harran.

Your old buddy Spike is setting up a new safe zone for survivors who've escaped the bandits. The first part of the event starts today, January 24, and runs through January 28. During this time, you'll encounter survivors equipped with special protective suits who will fight alongside you, but you'll also run into a lot more virals while you're out there.


PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 11:03 AM
     Valorant characters: all Valorant agents and abilities

So you want to know about Valorant characters and their abilities? Riot's new FPS game is a lot like CS:GO, even down to the economy in Valorant and how Valorant weapons are purchased between rounds. It does, however, offers something a little different - a roster of Valorant agents, all with unique abilities.

Figuring out who want to play as may still require some thought, although the majority feel balanced and distinct. You need to buy most of the abilities much like you would weapons between rounds, so there's a lot to consider before picking who you want to play as.

There are 18 Valorant characters in the game at the time of writing and it's likely that there are more in the works. We've played them all since the game released to the public and have a pretty good idea of all the character abilities in Valorant and what kinds of role they each excel at across the battlefields of this tense tactical shooter. If you want to know what we know, then we suggest you read on.

RELATED LINKS: Valorant - all you need to know, Valorant system requirements

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 9:49 AM
     Genshin Impact Ayato release date

Want to know more about Ayato, the head of the Kamisato Clan coming to Genshin Impact? Kamisato Ayato is the Yashiro Commissioner and one of the new Genshin Impact characters. Although there are not many details on Ayato, we do know he is Ayaka's older brother and is also pals with Thoma.

When Ayaka and Ayato's parents passed away, Ayaka became the forefront of the Kamisato Clan, while Ayato worked within the government. He also leads the Shuumatsuban, the ninja organisation that Sayu belongs to. We haven't seen much of Ayato around Inazuma, as he tends to operate behind the scenes - many Genshin Impact characters comment on Ayato's skills as a fighter, as well as his busy schedule as head of the Kamisato Clan.

In keeping with his position as head of a secret ninja organisation, Ayato is a pretty secretive character, so while we've only been treated to glimpses of his character throughout Genshin Impact so far - here's everything we've managed to glean about Ayato. Although we know of Ayato's existence in Genshin Impact, he hasn't yet been announced by Mihoyo, and this guide is based on datamined information.

RELATED LINKS: Play Genshin Impact for free, Genshin Impact character tier list, Genshin Impact leveling guide

PCGamesN Monday, January 24, 2022 9:05 AM
     The best ISO loadout in Warzone Pacific

Looking for the best ISO loadout in Warzone Pacific? This SMG appears to behave quite similarly to the Fennec: its rate of fire is very high, but its damage and accuracy make it hard to land all of those shots. However, it's a much more tempered version of the Fennec, with a slightly lower rate of fire and much better handling stats.

So, what does our best Warzone ISO loadout do to improve upon the base weapon? The ISO is weak when it comes to all of the key characteristics that make a good Warzone weapon. It's magazine size is small and it appears to have a lot of damage drop-off over long range. Our list of attachments fixes a lot of the problems in these key areas, creating a significantly improved ISO all round.

Of course as a Warzone SMG you still want it to handle well and be mobile, so we've made sure to balance the various requirements in the build below. If you're struggling to get the most out of the ISO, we recommend playing on Rebirth Island as this map is perfect for medium range weapons like this.


Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, January 24, 2022 2:32 PM
    

Two months after announcing they're buying Weta Digital, the CGI studio behind King Of The Hoops and that, Unity are now buying virtual skin. Today the makers of the Unity engine announced the acquisition of Ziva Dynamics, a company whose tech specialises in simulating skin and meat to make fancy facial animations and meaty muscle and such. Their tech powered the flappy flesh of the troll in a recent Hellblade 2 trailer, and has been seen on PlayStations in Spider-Man: Miles Morales.

Read more


Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, January 24, 2022 12:08 PM
    

There were a lot of games I played last year that could have been on our Best Games You Missed list at the end of 2021. I ended up going with Studio Pixel Punk's Unsighted in the end, but it was very nearly OPUS: Echo Of Starsong, a stunning visual novel adventure game from Taiwanese studio Sigono Inc. I'd seen a few other games journalists raving about it when it came out on Steam last September, and hey, over 3000 overwhelmingly positive Steam reviews can't be wrong either, so I took the plunge, and golly, it sure is something special.

Read more


Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, January 24, 2022 11:53 AM
    

As if Dark Souls wasn't dangerous enough already, Bandai Namco have temporarily taken every Dark Souls PC server offline following the discovery of a Dark Souls 3 security vulnerability that could harm anyone playing in online mode. A malevolent string of code threatens the many kingdoms of ash, so to speak.

Read more


Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, January 24, 2022 11:21 AM
    

With quality assurance workers at Raven Software preparing to unionise, the Activision Blizzard staff who have gone on strike to help secure better treatment for the team are looking to end the strike. The strike started on December 9th following surprise layoffs at the Call Of Duty: Warzone studio's QA department, with some other teams and Actiblizz people supporting them. Unused cash raised for a strike fund will be saved for future efforts.

Read more


Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Monday, January 24, 2022 11:00 AM
    

Codemasters' Grid series continues its resurgence after 2019's decent-but-slightly-neutered reboot. This time, it's going right back to Codemasters' TOCA Race Driver roots and adding in a full-fat story mode, complete with real actors. No Scotty, mind, but we suppose they have to save something for the sequel. It's this story mode we've been given early access to, so let's jump in.

Read more


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 2:21 PM
    

To wrap up our annual award period, which recognizes the year's best games across many different categories, we now arrive at the best of the best. Voted on by Twinfinite's editorial staff, these were our top six favorite games of 2021. Starting with a couple of honorable mentions and runner-ups, we are now ready to […]

The post Game of the Year 2021 appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 2:20 PM
    

Today third-party developers released new assets and details about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

The post Microsoft Flight Simulator F-22 Raptor Gets Tons of Screenshots & Details; Grumman Goose & Kotoka Airport Get Images & Video appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 2:09 PM
    

Last October, Youtuber eli_handle_b.wav made arguably one of the funniest Mass Effect parody videos of all time, as they combined everyone's favorite space opera with the greatest British spy of all time. No, not James Bond, Austin Powers. The video blew up across the internet, thanks to many hilarious bits that had no right to […]

The post Austin Powers Gets His Mojo Back in Another Amazing Mass Effect Parody appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 1:31 PM
    

Developer Skydance Interactive has today announced a sequel game to its popular VR title The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners. Simply called Chapter 2, a new teaser trailer in tandem with today's reveal offers a brief glimpse at the action to come. The news comes by way of a Tweet from the game's official channel: […]

The post The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution Announced appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 12:40 PM
    

New Tales, a developer and publisher based out of Paris, has announced itself today, led by several industry veterans who were formerly senior management at a handful of notable game publishers. A press release sent to Twinfinite highlights that the outfit will create fresh IPs through its own internal studios and provide state-of-the-art publishing services […]

The post New Tales Publisher Announced, Led by Former Ubi, Blizzard, & SEGA Devs appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 12:35 PM
    

Sea of Thieves developer Rare announced a livestreamed "2022 Preview Event" that will be hosted later this week.

The post Sea of Thieves Teases "Boatload of New Exciting Surprises" For 2022 Preview Event This Week appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 12:22 PM
    

Respawn has just dropped another Stories From the Outlands short that brings us back to Salvo, which is exactly where Fuse's intro story took place. In fact, the focus of this video is Mad Maggie — the same woman that Fuse butted heads with constantly before leaving Salvo to join the other Legends in the […]

The post Apex Legends Outlands Short Brings Mad Maggie to the Apex Games appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 12:14 PM
    

Today Nintendo released a brand new trailer of the upcoming Pokemon game Pokemon Legends: Arceus, and it's a big one.

The post Pokemon Legends: Arceus Gets Extensive Overview Trailer Showing Gameplay & Features Aplenty appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 12:07 PM
    

Pop-culture fashion brand SuperGroupies is back at it, as they're once again teaming with Ubisoft to bring fans some amazing apparel. This time around, gamers can embody their favorite Attackers and Defenders from the hit online tactical shooter, Rainbow Six Siege. In the collection you see below, SuperGroupies has put together two different collections, split […]

The post Rainbow Six Siege Attacker & Defender Collections Revealed by SuperGroupies appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 11:52 AM
    

As with all major Cities Skylines DLC, the Airports expansion will be accompanied by a free update that will bring new features to the base game.

The post New Cities Skylines Video Shows Free Update Features Coming With Airports DLC appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 11:29 AM
    

One of the most publicized stunts of the upcoming Uncharted movie is certainly the one set on crates flying out of a cargo aircraft.

The post New Uncharted Movie Video Has Tom Holland Explain Cargo Plane Stunt appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 11:15 AM
    

Earlier today, indie developer Cogwheel Software and publisher Daedelic Entertainment released their 2D sci-fi thriller, Hidden Deep, into Steam Early Access on PC. Accompanying the news was a new launch trailer showcasing the atmospheric action-horror experience in all its glory. Go ahead and check out said footage down below: Combining the tense atmosphere of Ridley […]

The post 2D Atmospheric Thriller, Hidden Deep, Gets New Early Access Launch Trailer appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 10:16 AM
    

FromSoftware's anticipated new IP, Elden Ring, has now officially gone gold. The industry term, which originally indicated that a game file was finished and ready for print on CD, has lost part of its meaning in today's digital era, but the most important bottom line remains the same: Elden Ring is now more or less […]

The post Elden Ring Has Gone Gold; New Footage Revealed at Taipei Game Show appeared first on Twinfinite.


Twinfinite Monday, January 24, 2022 9:11 AM
    

Earlier today, developer Shiro Games and publisher Funcom released a bevy of new screenshots for its upcoming real-time strategy game, Dune: Spice Wars. Scheduled to arrive on PC later this year, Dune: Spice Wars is based on Frank Herbert's influential eponymous sci-fi novel. Of course, said novel was later adapted to cinema by David Lynch […]

The post Dune: Spice Wars Gets a Bunch of New Screenshots appeared first on Twinfinite.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 1:00 PM
    

Dodge Club Pocket 3DS Delisted

The Dodge Club Pocket 3DS game is no longer available via the eShop. It was only available digitally in North America and Europe. However, there might still be more of the series on the way. Creator James Montagna noted on Twitter that a Switch Dodge Club installment could be in the works.

The exact reasons for the delisting weren't mentioned. The Twitter post only noted there are "reasons outside of our control." However, Montagna's follow-up offered more details. He noted, "I was going to be a bit more coy, but whatever—here's better news: my happy hardcore cohorts and I are going to explore taking Dodge Club to Switch sometime soon. Stay tuned."

In Dodge Club Pocket, there are different kinds of challenges. Your objectives would change in each one. So some might involve dodging, but there are others that might feature shoot'em up elements. It features a minimalistic presentation, in which colorful cubes move around a screen.

Here's footage of the Wii U installment, Dodge Club Party. Its gameplay is similar to the 3DS version's. However, it takes place on a larger screen and allows up to four people to play at once.

Dodge Club Pocket appeared on the 3DS and both Android and Apple iOS devices. The most recent installment is Dodge Club Party, which appeared on the Wii U.

The post Dodge Club Pocket 3DS Delisted appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 12:00 PM
    

Lucifer Biscuit Hammer Anime

It's finally happening. Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer is getting an anime. The adaptation was announced by the original manga's creator Satoshi Mizukami via Twitter.

The tweet promised a Summer 2022 debut in Japan. It also included some art to commemorate the occasion.

https://twitter.com/nekogaeru/status/1485492580603559937

Its Japanese title is Hoshi no Samidare (Samidare of the Stars). Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer originally ran from 2005 to 2010 in Japan. It was localized into English from 2012 through 2015 across 10 volumes. The story follows misanthropic college student Yuuhi Amamiya, who one day finds a talking lizard in his bed. The lizard tells Yuuhi that he's been chosen to become a Beast Knight, tasked with saving the world alongside a magical Princess. The threat to the world is a mage that wants to destroy the Earth with the titular Biscuit Hammer, a massive hammer hanging in Earth's orbit. Yuuhi encounters the Princess, one Samidare Asahina. Samidare has her own plans, though. She intends to defeat the mage with Yuuhi's help so that she can destroy Earth herself.

The anime adaptation of Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer will involve Mizukami as a scriptwriter. Besides creating the manga, Mizukami also worked on Planet With. Yuichiro Momose is also credited as a scriptwriter. Momose wrote for shows like Infinite Dendrogram and So I'm A Spider, So What? Attached to direct is Nobuaki Nakanishi, who worked on shows like Kasimasi and Mahoujin Guru Guru. According to Mizukami, the anime will cover the entire run of the original manga. It will see the story through "to the end."

The Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer anime will air in Japan in Summer 2022. No international release plans where shared. The manga is available digitally via Crunchyroll and Seven Seas Entertainment. Another Seven Seas-published title, World's End Harem, has an anime adaptation ongoing.

The post Lucifer and the Biscuit Hammer Anime Adaptation Announced appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 11:30 AM
    

Producer Reveals How Long It Will Take to Beat Elden Ring

There's big news regarding Elden Ring. Ahead of the 2022 Taipei Game Show, Bandai Namco confirmed there'd be news about it there. It turns out two important details came up. Producer Yasuhiro Kitao offered an estimate about how long it might take someone to beat Elden Ring, as well as a confirmation that it's gone "gold."

Since Elden Ring is now gold, FromSoftware sent out the master version of the game. This means it is functionally complete. It also means that there shouldn't be any delays and it should launch as expected on February 25, 2022.

As for how much time someone could spend playing Elden Ring, Kitao said it could take about 30 hours to beat Elden Ring. This is a rough estimate. Kitao also mentioned, "In fact, with the world being so vast, the game is designed so it can be cleared without necessarily experiencing everything."

Here's the full Elden Ring discussion from the Taipei Game Show 2022. A Q&A portion appears at the 26 minute mark. That's when Kitao confirms there will be replayable elements, went over how time and weather will affect things, and discussed event scenes.

Elden Ring will release for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on February 25, 2022.

The post Producer Reveals How Long It Will Take to Beat Elden Ring appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 11:00 AM
    

Next FFVII The First Soldier Turks Outfit is Rude

Another Turks look is in the FFVII The First Soldier shop. The game's cosmetic options means outfits inspired by certain characters or groups shows up from time to time. The latest is a pack that gives people FFVII Remake-inspired Rude attire.

The Rude FF7R FFVII The First Soldier bundle costs 1,800 Shinra Credits. To offer an idea of how much it costs, a 1,300 Shinra Credits bundle costs $19.99. This gives you his suit and sunglasses. While both male and female characters can use the suit and glasses, the full Rude look is only available to people with the male body type avatar.

This marks a return of multiple Turks items to FFVII The First Soldier. The Reno outfit and generic Turks suit both appeared after the game launched in November 2021. They are both back alongside the Rude outfit. People can also get the Reno Electro-mag Rod-theme weapon skin and Rod Shoulder Pat emote.

Final Fantasy VII The First Soldier is available on Android and Apple iOS devices. The Rude FFVII The First Soldier outfit will be available in the shop until January 25, 2022.

The post Next FFVII The First Soldier Turks Outfit is Based on Rude appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 10:35 AM
    

Genshin Impact Lantern Rite 2022 Events Detailed

The 2022 Genshin Impact Lantern Rite is about to begin, and miHoYo shared details about the four different activities people can experience during Fleeting Colors in Flight. People can take part in Flameplume Starflowers, The Great Gathering, Oceanic Defender, and Wondrous Shadows events. As long as people completed Archon Quest Chapter 1 and the "The Crane Returns on the Wind" Archon Quest Interlude, they can take part. They also need to have hit Adventure Rank 28.

Flameplume Starflowers is the fireworks activity during the Lantern Rite. If you go through its event quest, you get a temporary Launch Tube gadget. Your goal will be to create different quality fireworks by smelting a firework while using up endurance. You'll be able to use certain smelting techniques, choose the firepower, and determine the ideal parameters for color, size, and height. This challenge awards people Affluence Talismans, Fireworks, Hero's Wits, Mora, Mystic Enhancement Ores, and Primogems. You can then set off the fireworks you collected to create a show.

The Great Gathering is the Fleeting Colors in Flight involves dealing with Treasure Hoarders in the Guyun Stone Forest area. You'll need to face the enemies in Curio Salvage, Interrogation by Night, The Key Catch, Midpoint Interception, and Return to Safe Harbor challenges to collect stolen materials. You'll also have access to the Waverider during it. People can earn a Bountiful Year recipe, as well as Hero's Wits, Immaculate Talismans, Mora, Mystic Enhancement ores, and Primogems for taking part.

Oceanic Defender involves fighting a boss and challenges associated with it. If you do, you'll get Conquest Talismans, Hero's Wits, Mora, and Primogems.

Finally, there's the Wondrous Shadows event. This is a perspective puzzle. You move a figure in front of a lantern to figure out what the shadow and puzzle's solution is. Solving it gets you things like Affluence Talismans, Hero's Wits, Mora, Mystic Enhancement Ores, and Primogems.

In addition to things like event shop currency and Primogems, people can level up the Genshin Impact battle pass by participating in the 2022 Lantern Rite. There are three new "This BP Period" challenges. If people get 1,500 Conquest Talismans, they get 1,500 points. If they earn 2,000 Immaculate Talismans, they get 2,000 BP points. Finally if 2,500 Affluence Talismans are earned, people get 2,500 points.

Genshin Impact is available for the PS4, PS5, PC, and mobile devices. It will also come to the Nintendo Switch. The Genshin Impact Lantern Rite will run January 25, 2022 through February 12, 2022. You can still get items in the event shop until February 14, 2022. During it, people can earn an outfit for Ningguang and a free Liyue four-star unit.

The post Genshin Impact Lantern Rite 2022 Events Detailed appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 10:05 AM
    

K', Maxima, and Whip's KOF XV Team Backstory Involves Kula

There's a new KOF XV team story, and this one helps another group's backstory make more sense. This time, it goes over why K', Maxima, and Whip are all working together ahead of the next KOF game and tournament. Given all three often work together and with Heidern, that they're partners isn't surprising. However, the latest short story offers insight as what's going on with Krohnen and Kula as well.

Prior to the events of KOF XV, it seems K', Kula, Maxima, and Whip were taking part in their usual activities from KOF XIV and beyond. They were looking for former NESTS survivors on behalf of Heidern. However, there was some altercation that upset Kula before the events of this game. Both K' and Maxima were somewhat insensitive, which led to Kula running off. Which, as the Team Krohnen backstory revealed, meant she ended up "kidnapped" by Angel and Krohnen. Since Krohnen has NESTS ties, it means Team K' is off to catch him and "rescue" Kula.

KOF XV will appear on February 17, 2022 on the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. Its Omega Edition will be available for the PS4, PS5, and Xbox Series X in North America and Europe.

The post K', Maxima, and Whip's KOF XV Team Backstory Involves Kula Diamond appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 9:30 AM
    

Street Fighter V OST soundtrack

Capcom will release the Street Fighter V Season 5 Original Soundtrack in Japan on April 20, 2022. The new soundtrack will contain theme songs of all characters added in the game's final season pass. It will be available in Japan with a price tag of 2,750 yen (~$24). [Thanks, 4Gamer!]

The single-disc album will primarily feature theme songs of the title's last five characters: Dan, Rose, Oro, Akira, and Luke. It will also include arranged versions of the theme songs from Capcom's official band, Cap-Jams. The soundtrack's booklet will contain commentary from the music composers.

Previously, Capcom released the Street Fighter V: Champion Edition Original Soundtrack. It featured theme songs of characters from the fourth season pass, such as Cody and E. Honda. The fifth season pass, which also served as the game's final season, added five characters throughout 2021 — the year after the Champion Edition soundtrack came out in September 2021. It started with Dan in February 2021 and ended with Luke in November 2021.

Street Fighter V is immediately available on PlayStation 4 and PC. Capcom teased that Luke, the final additional character in the title, will have an important role in the next Street Fighter project. The company is also celebrating the series' 35th anniversary in 2022.

The post Street Fighter V Season 5 Soundtrack Will Appear in April 2022 appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Monday, January 24, 2022 9:00 AM
    

Chocobo GP OST

Square Enix announced the Chocobo GP OST is now available to pre-order. The soundtrack will release on March 23, 2022 and come with a total of two discs. The Chocobo GP OST will cost 3,080 yen, or $27. Additionally, those who pre-order through the Square Enix e-STORE will receive a special, limited MP3 to download. Consumers will have until April 22, 2023 to download the pre-order bonus MP3. [Thanks, Gamer!]

While pre-orders for the soundtrack are open, Square Enix will reveal the full track list at a later date. However, it has revealed what the CD jacket for the soundtrack will look like. The jacket features a Chocobo surrounded by racing carts. This includes a tank and horse-shaped racing cart. An image of the jacket is immediately available to view through a special promotional website.

Chocobo GP is an upcoming racing game that will feature several iconic classic Final Fantasy summons and monsters. A total of 20 characters will be available to choose from. Additionally, traditional Final Fantasy spells will appear in the racing game. For example, players will be able to use Haste, Doom, and Blizzard while racing on the track.

Chocobo GP will release for Nintendo Switch worldwide on March 10, 2022. A free trial will be available.

The post Chocobo GP OST Now Available to Pre-Order appeared first on Siliconera.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 3:30 PM
    

Dark Souls developers had to pull the PvP servers for the PC games after a vulnerability was pointed out by...

The post PvP is down in Dark Souls 1, 2, and 3 on PC following a high-stakes exploit appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 3:00 PM
    

1966 – 2022 On January 21, 2022, the pinball community was rocked by the sudden and tragic news that Lyman...

The post Legendary pinball player and designer Lyman F. Sheats Jr. passes away appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 2:30 PM
    

A new standalone continuation of the VR zombie experience is on the way Skydance Interactive is headed back to the...

The post The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is getting a new chapter appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 2:00 PM
    

FromSoft's latest goes Gold It's almost here. It's been a really fevered wait, but we are just a few weeks...

The post Elden Ring has gone gold, is explored in Taipei Games Show video appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 1:00 PM
    

Ubisoft confirms the 5.6 update is the last for Watch Dogs Legion Major developments look to be coming to a...

The post Watch Dogs Legion won't get any more updates appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 12:30 PM
    

It ends on January 30 Nintendo is currently offering a free Nintendo Switch Online trial, but the catch is that...

The post PSA: You have less than a week to get a free Nintendo Switch Online trial appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 12:00 PM
    

Nobody trusts anybody, and we're all very tired Great news for Sci-fi and mystery fans, as Playism's stylistic "social deduction"...

The post The fab Gnosia brings its deductive dilemma to PC appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 11:30 AM
    

'Third party code' was to blame In 2015, it came out that we almost got a Metroid Prime Super Metroid...

The post Metroid Prime team member confirms story that Super Metroid almost made it in the game appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 10:00 AM
    

It made it to Twitter [Update: It looks like a good amount of folks have gotten their hands on both...

The post Beware: Pokemon Legends has widely leaked (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.


Destructoid Monday, January 24, 2022 9:00 AM
    

'People see their dreams in entertainment.' Industry veteran Toshihiro Nagoshi has announced the formation of Nagoshi Studio, a new video...

The post Toshihiro Nagoshi and former Team Yakuza staff establish Nagoshi Studio appeared first on Destructoid.


PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 3:30 PM
     Apex Legends Mad MaggieIt's time to learn more about the characters and lore of Apex Legends, courtesy of the latest Stories from the Outlands video. This one, titled Judgement, is all about Mad Maggie. You may remember her from Season 8, where she temporarily took on the role of the announcer. When the next season arrives, you'll be able to do more than just hear her voice, because Mad Maggie is the next character joining the Apex Legends roster. Mad Maggie is also featured in Fuse's Stories from the Outlands video. She was his partner in crime until Fuse announced he was leaving their fight to keep Salvo free of the Syndicate to join the Apex Games, a Syndicate run event. Maggie didn't take this too well and, as we all know, blew his arm off. She also sabotaged his introduction to the Apex Games by blowing up a ship, which destroyed large portions of Kings Canyon.   Is Mad Maggie a terrorist or freedom fighter? Well, that's a matter of perspective. In Fuse's trailer, she seemed to be a loose cannon...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 2:45 PM
     The Walking Dead Saints & Sinners Sequel Chapter 2 RetributionCharge your VR set and oil up that chainsaw, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners is getting a sequel this year. The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution is the agonizingly long name for the game, which returns you to the zombie-ridden streets of New Orleans. According to the announcement on the Meta Quest page, the game will somehow be "even more intense and gruesome." The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners sequel is obviously set to launch on the Meta Quest. After all, it was the Oculus blog bringing us this little reveal. But fans should also expect it to land on Steam, much like it's predecessor. According to the game's Twitter page, Chapter 2: Retribution is a standalone sequel that takes place right after the events of the first game. Expect to see "new characters, new threats, and new gut-wrenching decisions." Developer Skydance Interactive is still, erm, fleshing out the game. And it expects to provide more i...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 2:30 PM
     Elden Ring LengthFor those who want to mainline the game, Elden Ring's estimated length will sit at around 30 hours. This was revealed during a broadcast from Taipei Game Show 2022. The game's producer, Yasuhiro Kitao, went into further detail about the game's length and pointed out that this number was specifically for those who want to experience the main route. He made sure to state that "the game as a whole is quite massive, and contains many dozens more hours worth of gameplay." The game's delay was also briefly discussed, and during a Q&A segment some details were revealed about how FromSoftware used this extra time. When asked if the development was going smoothly, Kitao assured that the game would meet its February 25 release date. Some controversy has surrounded Elden Ring due to issues found within the Dark Souls series' PvP servers. It's currently unknown whether these issues will be present in Elden Ring.   30 hours of playtime, no...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 2:00 PM
     Cities Skylines Airport Expansion Pc Lm Dagraca Airport 6Air transport is nothing truly new to the Cities experience. But, now several years since the city building simulator launched, Colossal Order has decided to revisit this major transportation system to give it a full-on revamp with the Cities: Skylines – Airports expansion. With Airports, virtual city planners can now fully integrate the system into their city's overall transportation network with a deeper level of flexibility and customization. This is similar to how last year's Sunset Harbor expansion amplified the depth and complexity of many of the sim's core transportation systems. But, the question is: does this more complex experience justify the added time and effort?   Naturally, those who are interested in picking up this expansion must have already had a deep desire for aviation, thus moving them to want to flesh out the way airports worked in Cities. That's because you really have to put in the effort to get these more advanced playsets...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Monday, January 24, 2022 1:30 PM
     Sol Cresta February 22 Release Date FeatureIt was disappointing to see Sol Cresta delayed last November. The retro-inspired shoot-em-up was supposed to launch in December but was delayed to account for a change in scope. However, it turns out that the delay was not as significant as some feared. Developer PlatinumGames has confirmed that the release date of Sol Cresta will be February 22. This was announced during a two-hour live stream on the official PlatinumGames YouTube channel. In addition to announcing when it would release, the developer also showcased some key art, posters, and a series of special messages from various developers. That includes PlatinumGames president Atsushi Inaba, composer Yuzo Koshiro and even a cameo from Drakengard creator Yoko Taro.   PlatinumGames must be confident, as it has not chosen an easy release window. Some games leading up to the February release date of Sol Cresta include Elden Ring, Dying Light 2 Stay Human, and The King of Fighters XV. And that's just the PC market. With...

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 3:00 PM
    

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 2:00 PM
    

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 1:00 PM
    

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 12:00 PM
    

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 11:00 AM
    

Tabletop Gaming News Monday, January 24, 2022 10:00 AM
    

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 3:29 PM
     Players who want a Minecraft experience with much more depth can download RLCraft, a comprehensive mudpack. Made by Shivaxi, it adds progression systems and a host of features not present in the vanilla game. Therefore, players must prioritize different things as well. Once you create a world, the essential item to get is Flint. With […]

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 2:34 PM
     For players to keep their hunger levels satiated, they will need food, and building a crop farm is the quickest and most sustainable solution in a survival game mode in Minecraft. Growing basic crops such as wheat, beetroot, carrots, and potatoes is great for players looking for a quick go-to food source. What makes these […]

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 1:55 PM
     Stardew Valley is a farming simulator that has been improved and modified numerous times by its creator, ConcernedApe, since its release. With the game's 1.5 update, the creator has allowed players to do the same thing on their tools and weapons with the Volcano Forge. The Forge is a mechanism that can change the stats […]

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 12:48 PM
     Supergiant Games' Hades does not disappoint when it comes to diverse and challenging enemies and Charon is definitely one of them. Yup, you read that right! The Underworld's trusty boatman is one of the bosses in the game! Though an optional boss, he should not be taken lightly. Charon, the Stygian Boatman, is the one […]

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 11:46 AM
     Any game that involves some aiming mechanic will require targeting guides. The Crosshair is the most common type of targeting guide present in just about any game out right now. Since World of Warships' gameplay revolves around aiming and firing at other warships from a distance, a Crosshair has to be implemented in-game to make […]

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 10:30 AM
     Riot has always been great with game updates for their titles. In a highly competitive game such as VALORANT, the last thing you want is for certain in-game elements to feel overpowered or broken. VALORANT Devs were quick to remedy the problem with the quick rollout of Patch 4.01, which addresses the recent changes to […]

Player Assist | Game Guides & Walkthroughs Monday, January 24, 2022 9:29 AM
     The various characters in Borderlands 3 cater to all types of playstyles and niches, making the game fun to play. In addition, you can experiment with their builds before finding something fun to use. However, the question of which one is the best remains. In Borderlands 3, the answer isn't very clear-cut, as all four […]

Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Monday, January 24, 2022 1:56 PM
    

A month before its release date.

The post Elden Ring Has Officially Gone Gold appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Monday, January 24, 2022 1:08 PM

Latest Games on Play iDev Games Monday, January 24, 2022 2:10 PM
     Shattered Dimensions is a game with cool cubes, guns, portals, boss fights, and more! This is the prequel of Flip guy. Go check it out!  https://karentdm....

Pivotal Gamers Monday, January 24, 2022 1:10 PM
     Hello folks. We have another excellent giveaway from Crucial for Neverwinter: Dragonbone Vale. Read on for their offering. Claim your Mass Life Pack and rally the forces of Protector's Enclave! The skies have darkened and the whispers have grown louder with the launch of Neverwinter: Dragonbone Vale! Your Mass Life Pack will unlock 10x Scroll of Mass Life within the game. PC only Bound ...

MonsterVine Monday, January 24, 2022 12:30 PM
    

Some people say 2021 was a slow year for video games. I am not one of those people. 2021 is the year that brought us localizations we never thought we'd see, sequels to so many niche JRPGs I still can't believe it, and even a trailer for Bayonetta 3. Many games I didn't get to […]

The post Samantha's Top 10 Games of 2021 appeared first on MonsterVine.


MonsterVine Monday, January 24, 2022 12:00 PM
    

Best Story – Guardians of the Galaxy Diego: It's very rare to come across a purely single player campaign that grips me quite like Guardians of the Galaxy did. I was hooked from the start, with the voice actors completely nailing their roles and some of the funniest writing I've seen in a game in […]

The post Best of 2021 Awards – Best Story appeared first on MonsterVine.


MonsterVine Monday, January 24, 2022 9:00 AM
    

Best Atmosphere – Returnal Austin: Returnal was the first PS5 game to be released that had me excited for the new console. Retro-future space style of the weapons and costumes seem shamelessly inspired by Alien and Prometheus and I love it. Returnal also pulled me further into it's world with the use of the Dual […]

The post Best of 2021 Awards – Best Atmosphere appeared first on MonsterVine.


Level Up Monday, January 24, 2022 12:15 PM
     Watch Dogs: Legion has seen its fair share of content rollouts. From an Aiden Pearce-focused…

Level Up Monday, January 24, 2022 11:40 AM
     Ubisoft's Rabbids franchise essentially serves as the publisher's version of Illumination's Minions. The weird bunnies are…

Level Up Monday, January 24, 2022 11:01 AM
     Platinum Games, the studio behind Nier Automata and Astral Chain, revealed back in August that…

Level Up Monday, January 24, 2022 10:16 AM
     Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi announced last October that he was departing from Sega, and today,…