Kotaku Saturday, June 15, 2024 10:00 AM  With Kotaku in attendance at last week's Summer Game Fest, we got to go hands-on with some of the biggest games on the horizon. Read on for our impressions of Star Wars Outlaws, Horizon Lego Adventures, and the delightful-looking Astro Bot, among other games. We've also got an early look at one of next year's most… |
Kotaku Saturday, June 15, 2024 9:00 AM  Summer Game Fest took up a lot of the oxygen in the room last week, and from there, we got new details on Star Wars Outlaws, Dragon Age: The Veilguard, and more. But there was no shortage of stories from beyond the showcases and show floor, too. An Epic Games Store leak hinted at some big things on the horizon, for… |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 1:01 PM  Dead Space Remake is undoubtedly not for the faint of heart, and definitely not for those who don't like piecing up alien amalgams limb by limb. However, if that is your jam, then this deep space odyssey should be right up your alley. When the remake for the original Dead Space dropped in January 2023, fans of the series who'd desperately been waiting for another entry in the long-dormant series were treated to an absolute gem of a game, and for those who still haven't given it a try, it's on a huge sale for a short period of time. Continue reading 9/10 horror game the cheapest it's ever been on Steam, but act fast MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best horror games on PC, Dead Space Remake review, Dead Space system requirements |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 12:30 PM  Prince of Persia The Lost Crown is the best metroidvania of 2024 so far. With responsive and challenging movement, delightful combat, and a handful of genre-defining ideas that other games will be looking to going forward, the adventure across the time-displaced Mount Qaf is one I'll be coming back to for years to come. If you're yet to play it on PC then you'll be glad to hear it's finally coming to Steam, achievements and all. Continue reading 2024's standout metroidvania is coming to Steam soon MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Prince of Persia The Lost Crown system requirements, Prince of Persia The Lost Crown review, Best single-player games |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 12:12 PM  June 15, 2024: We've added one new Monopoly Go dice link for free dice rolls and removed expired ones from our list. How can I get Monopoly Go free dice links? The household favorite board game has been reimagined as a free-to-play app on smartphones, allowing everyone to experience the thrills of Monopoly on practically any device. Everything that makes the board game special is here in Monopoly Go, so you'll be collecting properties and building hotels as you go around the board, and there are a variety of multiplayer minigames to get through along the way. You're going to need to get your hands on Monopoly dice rolls, but they are difficult to come by no matter how far you are into the board game. There are ways to earn additional dice rolls, including logging into the game every day to collect daily bonuses, progressing further in the game, and inviting friends to try Monopoly Go. While you can also spend real money to unlock more dice rolls, you may want to give our list of Monopoly Go dice links a try instead, especially if you're waiting for the next Monopoly Go Golden Blitz event. Take a look at all the currently active Monopoly Go free dice links for today. Continue reading Free Monopoly Go dice links June 2024 MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best board games, Monopoly Go events, Monopoly Go dice |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 11:39 AM  I'm always on the lookout for the next great roguelike, and Steam Next Fest has me spoilt for choice. With the demo festival nearly over, vibrant dungeon crawler Wizard of Legend has caught my eye, and the free demo is one you should absolutely try if you're looking for an arcade and Diablo-inspired adventure with some great magical combinations. Continue reading Diablo inspired roguelike dungeon crawler gets stellar Steam demo MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Upcoming PC games, Best roguelike games, Free Steam games |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 11:17 AM  Kingdom Hearts has finally made its way onto Steam. After years of waiting, the beloved Square Enix franchise has hit the biggest marketplace on PC. To add to the excitement of adventuring once again with Sora, Donald, and Goofy, Square Enix has released a collection that puts all the titles into one big package in an enormous sale no diehard Kingdom Hearts fan would want to miss out on. Let's break down exactly what's been released, and how the sale works. Continue reading Complete Kingdom Hearts bundle already saves you $100, for now MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best RPGs on PC, The best anime games on PC, The best PC games |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 10:13 AM  Over the last few years, League of Legends developer Riot Games has periodically updated some of the older champions in the game. When champions are updated, they are given new spells that don't deviate too far from their original design, and help them keep up with some of the newer and flashier characters that now sprawl Summoner's Rift. When Skarner's update hit live servers back in March, players didn't realize the terror that he would eventually become, and Riot can't even stop him now. Continue reading League of Legends' Skarner is broken and Riot can't stop him MORE FROM PCGAMESN: League of Legends ranks explained, League of Legends Mythic shop rotation, League of Legends tier list |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 9:30 AM  You and some friends can dive into a Baldur's Gate 3 mod that turns it into a roguelike right now. With a unique progression system, over 100 hours of potential content, and a scaling difficulty depending on how you're doing, you'll be putting your BG3 combat skills to the test. As one of PCGamesN's most ardent roguelike and mod enjoyers, this is like a dream come true. Continue reading Baldur's Gate 3 mod turns the RPG into a 100-hour co-op roguelike MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Baldur's Gate 3 builds, BG3 mods, Baldur's Gate 3 classes |
PCGamesN Saturday, June 15, 2024 7:10 AM  A decade later, Shovel Knight is one of the best modern interpretations of old-school game design I've ever seen. The 2D platformer is vibrant, a joy to control, and stuffed with so many free updates that your eyes start to pop out of your smooth blue helmet. I own it on almost every platform I have access to, and developer Yacht Club Games has just taken my wallet for another ride, as a complete Steam revamp of the modern classic is on the way with Shovel Knight: Shovel of Hope DX. Continue reading The best modern platformer is getting a Steam revamp and sequel MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Upcoming PC games, Best platform games, free Steam games |
Siliconera Saturday, June 15, 2024 1:30 PM
Mayla has teased an upcoming selection of shoes based on NieR Automata. There's not much more information on when they'll appear, what characters will have collaboration shoes, and if there will be any other goods in the collection.
The promotional art shows a pair of black high heels on a concrete building. Behind it are a lot of other dilapidated buildings with trees growing from them, which is a scene that those who played NieR Automata should be familiar with. On the high heels, there is a white design on the front and the back of the shoes have Mayla's signature bow. Because of the white design on the front, which almost looks like 2B's visor (with even a slant to it to account for how part of her bangs fall in front of the blindfold), this pair of high heels likely draws inspiration from her.
Mayla is a brand that tends to release accessories, shoes, perfumes, and clothing based off anime or video games. Their shoes usually feature a big bow at the back of them. In the past, Mayla received heeled sneakers that look like the pilots and plugsuits in Evangelion. Even earlier than those shoes, it released pumps that look like Hatsune Miku.
NieR Automata is readily available on the PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. More information on the Mayla NieR Automata shoes will come out later.
The post Mayla Teases NieR Automata Shoes appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, June 15, 2024 12:00 PM
On paper, Witch & Lilies sounds amazing! A dungeon-crawling RPG with awesome monster designs and yuri? Sign me up! But despite its powerful core concept, the early access build's execution feels like sitting through a really boring date.
The premise of Witch & Lilies, as well as the basic gameplay loop, is simple. You create your own unique party out of a preset list of jobs, appearances, and personalities. Then, with your party of five, you traverse through a dungeon teeming with monsters in order to uncover the secrets left behind by the witches. Its main story is pretty standard fare for a DRPG, but the true selling point lies in its relationship system. Witch & Lilies markets itself as a yuri DRPG, in which nurturing the relationships between the girls is a major part of the game. Relationships develop mostly in the post-dungeon events and tasks, though there can be break-ups and jealousy as well.
Before we get into the negatives, let's talk about the positives. Art style in a game is very subjective, but I quite liked Witch & Lilies'. The cutesy aesthetic of the human characters compared to the more grotesque looks of the monsters reminded me of Puella Magi Madoka Magica. The music is also much better than I expected, especially the battle and main menu themes.
Avoiding the witches on a map where you sometimes can't see what's around the corner or ahead of you can be tricky. I often trapped myself in a corner, then had no choice but to perish. However, it did force me to resort to the old school method of mapping out the dungeons myself. As a DRPG, it plays very well. But it's really run-of-the-mill without the romance system. Yet, as I'll explain later, the romance system has quite a few flaws if you're interested in yuri as something more than eye candy.
Even a second in Witch & Lilies demonstrated that it has a lot of QOL quirks and annoyances. I play using the keyboard, and felt like the game might be better with a controller. It took me a while to figure out things like basic controls and menu navigation. Somehow, I didn't expect everything to operate using the WASD control scheme. Organizing the party in particular was really not intuitive. If the game expects or developer prefers the player to use a controller, then I wish they would indicate that. The controls for the game only seldom appear on the screen. For example, it told me to open my menu to equip skills, yet it never actually told me which button to press. It took me forever just to figure out my map and menu.
The translation for the game is also rough. It reads a little awkwardly, and there are some random words in sentences. Some words are too long for the window they're in, causing them to jump to the next line. Though I played in English for this preview, I saw some leftover Japanese in certain menus. I'm inclined to believe that the developers will fix this for the final build though. Finally, the lack of an auto-battle can be frustrating, especially when weaklings jump you on your way to the lower depths.
With those minor issues out of the way, there's still the core issue I have with the game: the yuri. Witch & Lilies is one of those titles where the concept and premise sound amazing. Yet the execution is so clumsy that not even the main idea can really save it. A DRPG that revolves around maintaining your party's relationships with each other, and they're all women you can have romance each other, sounds fantastic.
But remember that you're making your own party out of preset personalities and appearances. Because there's such a wide range of potential characters in the game, it makes sense that there's a limit to the dialogue variation in the game. Whether the girls are turning each other down, breaking up, or dating, they only have about one or two lines in each event. The "conversation" that they have usually doesn't make any sense at all, either. Two of my girls went on a date that went well, yet their conversation made it seem like one of them got turned down. It reminds me a lot of the "support conversations" in Fire Emblem Radiant Dawn. So outside of strategic benefit, the yuri in the game is not very strong.
To be honest, I prefer yaoi more than yuri. So I can't say I know what the average yuri fan looks for in a ship. In my game, I tended to pair up my cheery Warrior with my proud Bestia, because they're both front line attackers who need to get post-battle bonuses together. The "genki girl" archetype with the "proud warrior race girl" trope together is really cute. But even when they go on dates and have a good time, the text is so simple that I can't really enjoy it. It's only nice to see because the sooner they get together, the sooner they can unlock benefits in battle. While the mechanic is still really interesting, I'm not sure it's strong enough at present to be what makes this DRPG stand out.
Despite its cutesy aesthetic, Witch & Lilies is an unforgiving DRPG that needs some time fleshing out its core mechanic of romance. It also has a lot of little annoyances and issues that they need to iron out. As of the time of writing, the game has a Mixed reception from Steam, with most of the other players echoing this sentiment. I hope the developers can find a way to utilize player feedback, and incorporate some changes and optimizations into the final product.
Witch & Lilies is in early access and is available on Windows PCs.
The post Preview: Witch & Lilies Delivers, But Not on Romance appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, June 15, 2024 10:30 AM
The Metaphor: ReFantazio Twitter account has Tweeted a few samples from the art book, which will come with the premium edition of the game. The art book will include illustrations and concept art from the game, as well as pictures from guest artists.
In the sample for the Metaphor: ReFantazio art book, we can see concept art of the protagonist, as well as art of the Humans. Humans are the monster-like creations that the main characters have to fight against in the story. From what we know about them, they only know to rampage around and cause destruction. The names for the Humans derive from the scientific name for the Homo genus. The artwork depicts Homo Avades, Homo Gorleo, and Homo Ptera.
Metaphor: ReFantazio is an upcoming game from Atlus and Studio Zero. The creative minds behind Persona 3 through 5 are the ones working on this game. Katsura Hashino is both the director and producer, Shigenori Soejima is the artist, and Shoji Meguro is the composer. It takes place in a medieval fantasy world who protects his kingdom with the help of his companions. While there will be some aspects of Persona in this work, such as in the calendar system and social simulation aspects, there won't be anything like romance.
Metaphor: ReFantazio will come out on October 11, 2024 for the PS4, PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.
The post Metaphor: ReFantazio Art Book Samples Show Humans appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Saturday, June 15, 2024 9:00 AM
When Kingdom Hearts first debuted, its unique concept of blending Disney worlds with Final Fantasy characters felt fresh and intriguing. The initial elevator pitch of "Disney meets Final Fantasy" was a dream come true for many. However, as the series progressed, the presence of Final Fantasy characters significantly diminished, to the point where they don't even appear in the Kingdom Hearts III base game, and it's a shame for the series as a whole.
Elements like Moogles and other staples from the Final Fantasy series persist throughout the Kingdom Hearts games. However, their influence on the storyline has been minimal since the first few entries. One of the first allies Sora meets in the original game is Squall from Final Fantasy VIII, who goes by the name Leon. This encounter, with Leon's older, more battle-worn design, set an exciting precedent for integrating fan-favorite Final Fantasy characters into this new Kingdom Hearts universe.
Sadly, the cool design and a few lines of dialogue about his new name are all we ever get regarding him. Shortly after meeting Leon, Sora teams up with Donald and Goofy. From here he heads to various Disney worlds, and Final Fantasy characters are nowhere to be seen. This absence is explained in-universe by the rules that characters typically cannot travel between worlds. Nevertheless, this feels like a missed opportunity to blend the two franchises more deeply.
One notable exception to this trend is the Olympus Coliseum storyline. Here, Cloud from Final Fantasy VII is hired as a mercenary by Hades from Disney's Hercules. This crossover was an organic and exciting melding of the two universes, showcasing the potential for similar interactions. Imagine every Disney world featuring a Final Fantasy character in a similar capacity. It would have allowed for plenty of narrative possibilities that, sadly, Square Enix chose not to explore.
While Square Enix gave us a little more interaction with Final Fantasy characters in Kingdom Hearts II, it really doesn't develop things much further. While it's cool to see Cloud and Squall talk to each other, Square Enix barely follow up on this premise. Even when the storyline comes to Hollow Bastion, the plot is more happening around them, and not with them.
It is understandable that Disney, being the larger and more protective brand, most likely imposed limitations on the crossovers. However, the imbalance has become a huge talking point. It's akin to Marvel vs. Capcom featuring tons of Marvel characters, then only a few from Capcom before gradually omitting Capcom characters entirely.
Fans love Kingdom Hearts for its complex, often convoluted and ultimately compelling storyline. However, leaning more heavily into the Final Fantasy aspect could have potentially elevated the series further. Sadly, the potential for exploring interactions with Disney characters remains largely untapped.
As for antagonists, while Sephiroth is a classic bonus boss in earlier games, he's also missing from Kingdom Hearts III. Other iconic Final Fantasy villains are also notably absent from the series. This deprives the series of potentially thrilling encounters and team-ups with Disney villains.
Kingdom Hearts could have really benefited from a stronger inclusion of Final Fantasy characters throughout the series. Their rich backstories and dynamic personalities could have added even more depth and diversity to the game's narrative. Despite these missed opportunities, Kingdom Hearts remains a unique and beloved franchise. Guess we'll just have to wonder about what could have been if it had fully embraced its Final Fantasy roots.
The Kingdom Hearts series released on Steam on June 15, 2024.
The post Kingdom Hearts Should Have Leaned Heavier Into Final Fantasy appeared first on Siliconera. |
WGB Saturday, June 15, 2024 8:59 AM The first review for new horror game Still Wakes the Deep has dropped, courtesy of Edge magazine. |