Jan 07, 20:00


PCGamesN Saturday, January 7, 2023 1:41 PM
     Valheim mod adds 66 Norse inspired food recipes to the survival RPG

A new Valheim mod is spicing up dinner time in the Norse survival game with over 60 new lore-friendly meals that offer a little more flexibility in your food. The mod draws inspiration from a range of Nordic delicacies and even throws in some nods to Norse mythology while remaining in-keeping with the game's tone. It offers special meals for all of the Biomes including the new Valheim Mistlands, along with some banquet options to treat yourself in the late-game.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Valheim system requirements, Valheim building tips, Valheim progression guide

PCGamesN Saturday, January 7, 2023 1:01 PM
     MSI shows off its first PCIe 5 SSDs, but some benchmarks don't impress

MSI is one of the first brands to ready a tried and true consumer PCIe 5 SSD based on Phison's new controller and showcase it to the world, but it's not all sunshine and rainbows. While the new generation has an upper limit that's double the sequential speeds of PCIe 4, tests of these early models show that some figures fall flat even compared to what's already on the shelves.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: MSI Z370 Gaming Pro Carbon AC review, MSI GTX 1080 Ti Gaming X Trio review, Best gaming motherboard

Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, January 7, 2023 6:26 PM
    

Several games have been accused of being little more than spreadsheets, but few have decided to lean into the allegation. That's what EVE Online is doing later this year though, when developers CCP release their own Microsoft Excel plug-in.

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Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, January 7, 2023 6:03 PM
    

Cyberpunk 2077 launched in a sorry state, prompting rending of garments by gamers and a class action lawsuit from CD Projekt Red investors. That suit alleged that CDPR had "made materially false or misleading statements" regarding the game, particularly as related to the condition of its console release, and sought damages.

Now a proposed settlement has been approved by a federal judge in California's Central District. The settlement reached will see CDPR pay out $1.85 million USD (around £1.52m GBP), or roughly $0.49 per eligible share.

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Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, January 7, 2023 5:13 PM
    

In 2021, Arkane revealed Redfall, a co-op vampire slayer we immediately termed "Left 4 Red". It was one of several games seemingly aiming to follow in Left 4 Dead's swarming zombie footsteps - a trend we celebrated.

'Nuh uh', say Arkane, in a new interview with Games Radar. Redfall apparently has more in common with Far Cry than Valve's co-op classic.

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Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Saturday, January 7, 2023 4:44 PM
    

Before Hello Games began work on No Man's Sky, they made several games in the cute, colourful stunt racing Joe Danger series. Joe Danger and its sequel Joe Danger: The Movie remain available via Steam, but a mobile spin-off released in 2014, Joe Danger Infinity, never left iOS.

Until now. As of right yesterday, Joe Danger Infinity and a mobile port of the original, Joe Danger Touch, are playable in your browser and completely free.

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Twinfinite Saturday, January 7, 2023 4:35 PM
     The line has indeed gone up.

Siliconera Saturday, January 7, 2023 6:00 PM
    

Vox Akuma Nijisanji Vtuber Nendoroid Comes with a Frying Pan and Sword

A little demon will be heading people's way in 2023. Good Smile Company announced its next Nijisanji EN Vtuber Nendoroid, and it is of Vox Akuma. The figure will first appear in July 2023 in Japan. After that, people should start seeing it in North America in September 2023. He will cost ¥7,500/$52.99. The figure will also come with a number of items referencing his backstory and actions on streams, like a sword and cooking utensils like a frying pan and knife.

Vox Akuma is a member of Luxiem. His backstory notes he's a demon, hence the sword. However, he's also well known for his cooking skills. So much so that there's even an #Akulinary tag on Twitter. As such, he has a frying pan he can hold, a knife he can wield, and a glass of wine he can "drink." The figure also comes with a neutral face plate, a smiling one, and a winking one.

Here's a full look at possible poses with official Good Smile Company photos of the Vox Akuma Nendoroid accessories, face plates, and extra arms.
[gallery columns="6" size="full" ids="946042,946043,946044,946045,946046,946047" link="file"]

While Nijisanji Vtuber Nendoroids aren't as common as Hololive ones, Good Smile Company's released a handful of them. Kuzuha and Honma Himawari ones appeared in 2021. In 2022, it created Kanae and Sasaki Saku figures.

The Vox Akuma Nijisanji Vtuber Nendoroid will come to Japan in July 2023 and North America in September 2023. Pre-orders are available until February 16, 2023.

The post Vox Akuma Nijisanji Vtuber Nendoroid Comes with a Frying Pan and Sword appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Saturday, January 7, 2023 3:00 PM
    

Review: Sports Story is a Game That Needs More Time

When you play certain games, the development issues are nearly palpable. You can feel how they struggled to implement certain ideas. It's possible to see when they were rushed, due to bugs locking you out of completing certain quests. You might even realize how diversifying meant what felt good in past games doesn't work as well the second time around. This is sadly true for Sports Story, a follow up to the game Golf Story. While the personality remains intact, it is incredibly broken. It feels like it isn't ready for an audience yet.

Unlike the original Golf Story, Sports Story's narrative is quite unfocused. It begins with a press conference with PureStrike regarding its investments and commitment to sports and its potential customers. You then show up at a beach with Uncle Coach, using his son Doug's perks to carry out a plan. You end up getting into all sorts of sports-related and unrelated quests on this trip to see all the corporation has to offer.

Review: Sports Story is a Game That Needs More Time

But again, this is in the loosest way possible. There are few tutorials or introductions to explain what you are doing in Sports Story, which isn't great when going through a game.. It can suddenly go from making it seem like golf could be a focus again to abruptly sending you into a volleyball match. Before you can get sports licenses or take part in games, you may find yourself doing a fetch quest like making orange juice, finding flags in a mall within a certain amount of time, getting a putter, or catching bees. This also means you might only have a general notion of what you should do next, even if the task ahead is a simple one. With how many sports there are and the way things are organized, it feels like there's a sense of bloat that keeps it from bring a tight, concise, enjoyable adventure like the original. So even though you do see baseball batting cages, BMX racing, cricket-challenges, fishing, RC car racing, soccer-inspired challenges, tennis, and volleyball in addition to the original golf, many aren't handled well.

This is due to two primary problems with the sports in Sports Story. One is that some seem to be tossed in for the sake of saying they are there. The three most well-developed and defined ones are golf, tennis, and fishing, all of which are largely tied to progression. BMX pulls double-time as a way of getting around some spaces or going through certain tracks. But for sports like baseball and soccer, there is barely any representation beyond doing things like shooting some goals for challenges or visiting a batting cage.

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However, all of these sports also rely on response times and precision. Tennis is a good example. You need the game to respond appropriately to not only enjoy yourself, but actually play. There are frame rate issues, which is odd given the nature of this sprite-based game, which means occasional stuttering or lag can completely throw you off. It's disappointing, because even if a sport is handled well, the response times can ruin the experience.

There are also many times when it feels like you can't advance in the game not because the way forward is vague or there's no tutorial to explain an element, but because Sports Story is blatantly broken. For example, the reason this review took so long is both due to crashes and because I needed to restart the game after being locked out of progressing in a quest. Most notably, when going through a mission at the Tennis Academy, I ended talking to the receptionist. When I couldn't progress after that, I went online and discovered doing so triggered a bug that would keep me from advancing. Since I couldn't move forward and didn't know when a patch would appear, I restarted. During my second run, I started encountering more crashes. Sports Story crashed when my orange juice was being made. It crashed when I was catching bees. It crashed when I was going to visit the aforementioned Tennis Academy.

Review: Sports Story is a Game That Needs More Time

Which is a shame, because there are times when Sports Story can be fun. The script can be quite humorous. The sprite work is fantastic. The concept is generally sound. Golf Story, only more seems like a winning prospect. It's that being overambitious undid any goodwill here. I wouldn't be surprised too if there's an element of it all being rushed, with the proper amount of time not being dedicated to eliminate issues and more cohesively tie everything together. With patches, there could be something here! While it wouldn't hit the heights of Golf Story, I think Sports Story could still eventually be an enjoyable game. It will just take two or more months for that to happen.

Sports Story is available for the Nintendo Switch.

The post Review: Sports Story is a Game That Needs More Time appeared first on Siliconera.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, January 7, 2023 2:23 PM
    

The game will be redeveloped to fix its several gameplay and matchmaking issues.

The post Free-to-play Survival Game Deathverse: Let It Die Ends Service Temporarily appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, January 7, 2023 1:51 PM
    

The demo was previously only accessible exclusively in Japan.

The post The Sonic Frontiers Switch Demo is Now Available Worldwide appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Saturday, January 7, 2023 1:27 PM