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Jul 14, 18:00


Kotaku Sunday, July 14, 2024 5:16 PM
    

It's been thirteen years since HBO's Game of Thrones debuted, and five years since the acclaimed adaptation of the George R.R. Martin saga wrapped. During that time viewers were feted with a staggering death toll and a compendium of medieval torture methods that would make even Genghis Khan wince. No show since has…

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Kotaku Sunday, July 14, 2024 12:30 PM
    

The FBI has identified 20-year old Thomas Matthew Crooks as the suspect involved in the failed assassination attempt on former president Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania yesterday. Following the incident, there's been a rush to identify any online accounts that may have been associated with the alleged…

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PCGamesN Sunday, July 14, 2024 12:50 PM
     FF14 director Yoshida says he's considering new 24-player savage raids

FF14 Dawntrail has been a real triumph when it comes to combat content so far. Its dungeons and trials are some of the best the decade-old MMORPG has ever seen, its group FATEs are proving an extremely popular and fast way to level your alts, and we're just on the cusp of the release of new FF14 raid The Arcadion. At Japan Expo 2024 in Paris, game director and producer Naoki 'Yoshi-P' Yoshida talks a little about the return of field operations, and teases that 24-player savage raids could one day be on the cards again.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: The best MMOs, FF14 Dawntrail release date, FF14 Island Sanctuary guide

PCGamesN Sunday, July 14, 2024 12:27 PM
     This Skyrim mod adds a new mechanic that Elder Scrolls 6 sorely needs

The best Skyrim mods completely revamp Bethesda's RPG. The modding community has been making changes big and small for over a decade, with each drawing us back to Tamriel to reexamine how we interact with its world. This brand new mod does just that simply by adding one menu, introducing a feature I'm now convinced Elder Scrolls 6 can't be without.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Skyrim mods, Elder Scrolls 6 release date, Games like Skyrim

PCGamesN Sunday, July 14, 2024 11:36 AM
     Promising new survival crafting game Prospector launches Steam demo

Mixing the open-world exploration of Terraria and Astroneer with the base-building and automation elements of Factorio and Satisfactory, Prospector is a promising new sandbox game made by a solo developer that's currently set to launch later this year. You won't have to wait until then to try it, however, as a free Steam demo is out now, letting you go through the early hours for yourself and see what it has to offer.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best sandbox games, Best building games, Best indie games

PCGamesN Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:43 AM
     Dungeonborne bucks industry trends, doesn't reveal price before launch

It's not often that you don't know how much a videogame will cost mere days before launch. Typically we're drowning in $70 triple-A releases with multiple editions, virtual currency, and season passes before the game is even out. Upcoming extraction RPG Dungeonborne is bucking that trend, as this Dark and Darker rival is set for Steam Early Access any minute now, without a price tag. It's a risky move, but one that developer Mithril Interactive hopes will lead to a smooth release - so let's see if it pays off.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs, Best survival games, Best multiplayer games

PCGamesN Sunday, July 14, 2024 10:20 AM
     Grab new RTS 9-Bit Armies, from ex Command and Conquer devs, for cheap

The new Command and Conquer we always dream about may never come to pass; at least, it certainly doesn't look to be on the cards. Yet the RTS genre is far from dead, with lots of developers working to bring us new games including Frost Giant's Stormgate and Slipgate Ironworks' Tempest Rising. Perhaps the most fitting among them is 9-Bit Armies, which very much leans into the classic C&C style, and you can snag the new strategy game at a discount in a Steam sale right now.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RTS games, Best strategy games, Best 4X games

Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Sunday, July 14, 2024 11:00 AM
    

Hello reader who is also a reader, and welcome back to Booked For The Week - our regular Sunday chat with a selection of cool industry folks about books! Something magical has happened! And by magical, I mean that I've bollocksed it up. Through a web of devious plots and shocking coincidences too labyrinthine to list here, I've gone and messed up my schedule. As such, we don't have a guest this week.

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Siliconera Sunday, July 14, 2024 4:30 PM
    

devilman crybaby blu-ray

At Japan Expo, All The Anime announced that a Blu-Ray edition of Devilman Crybaby will come out some time in the future. It will be available in the UK and in North America.

Though it's coming soon, we have no news as to when All The Anime will release the Devilman Crybaby Blu-Ray. The website also does not have any news in regards to that. A Blu-Ray does already exist, having come out in 2018. It came with lots of goodies, like a poster and a CD containing the freestyle rap from the show. However, this was only available with Japanese audio and was limited to Japan. It's unknown whether the All The Anime version will come with extra content as well.

Devilman Crybaby came out in 2018 on Netflix, with Masaaki Yuasa serving as the director. It is a reimagined story featuring different character designs from the original Go Nagai manga, as well as an updated setting (taking place in a more recent era rather than the 1970s). Because of the changes—including additional themes of LGBT, sexuality, and bigotry rather than a pure anti-war message—some people didn't like it. But it was very popular and well-received from critics.

Devilman Crybaby is available on Netflix. All The Anime will release a Blu-Ray of the show some time in the future. You can follow its X (Twitter) account to keep up with the latest updates.

The post Devilman Crybaby Blu-Ray Coming Soon appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Sunday, July 14, 2024 3:00 PM
    

Re:Zero Season 3 had its world premiere at Anime Expo 2024. The first episode of the upcoming third season debuted at the convention with a feature-length first episode. Given how impressive the initial episode of the series felt and how solid The Frozen Bond movie was, I looked forward to this lengthier episode. However, it fell flat for the most part.

The Re:Zero Season 3 premiere is the anime equivalent of "this could've been an email." Without diving too much into spoilers, it starts off with a quick catchup with the main characters. We see a little bit of the aftermath of Season 2 and the return of some fan-favorite characters. For the most part, it feels like light recap material, though.

Image via Crunchyroll

The real problem with this episode comes from how it feels like filler. The characters gather together and then go on a trip to a faraway city they've never been to. So much of the story focuses on the city itself and how interesting it seems, giving off these serious filler vibes.

There are the occasional worthy moments throughout the episode, especially when it comes to the return of Wilhelm to the plot. That said, they are super few and far between. Outside of a couple of scenes with Wilhelm and the actual very end of the episode, nothing feels too necessary to the plot.

For this reason, I was left wondering why this episode was essentially the length of a movie. It very well could have been a typical 23-minute anime episode and landed much better overall. The pacing, more emotional moments, and new character introductions would've felt more interesting this way.

Instead, my mind started to wander quite a bit throughout the movie. This especially happened when it came to the new songstress character in the city and her particular storyline. Subaru and the others stumble upon her in the midst of her singing in the streets. It all feels so non-canon anime movie style and it drags on much longer than necessary.

Re:Zero Season 3 Preview Anime Expo 2024
Image via Crunchyroll

This plethora of comedic moments overwhelm and overshadow the more heartfelt and darker scenes in the film. Overall, I'd say there is a huge disconnect in the tone of the first episode of Season 3. This problem largely comes from the drawn out length of everything.

It might be fine if this was the first time checking out this series but this is the third season and we mostly know where Subaru's battle against the Witch's Cult is going. So, when it finally gets to that point, it almost feels like an afterthought instead of the main event it should be.

Fortunately, the ending is as abrupt and horrifying as you might come to expect from the series. It holds nothing back and once again provides some neat gruesome action for shock value. From here, it looks like Season 3 might get pretty interesting, but it shouldn't have taken that long to arrive at that destination. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait until the Fall 2024 anime season to see the series continue on Crunchyroll.

Re:Zero - Starting Life in Another World Season 3 will air on Crunchyroll in October 2024.

The post Re:Zero Season 3 Movie-Length Premiere Feels Like Mostly Filler appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Sunday, July 14, 2024 1:30 PM
    

star rail stonehearts

HoYoVerse has uploaded a new Myriad Celestia railer for Honkai: Star Rail, giving us a look at all the members of the Stonehearts. We also have confirmation on their official voice actors.

You can watch the Honkai: Star Rail Myriad Celestia "Stoneheart's Oath Ring: Both Ends of the Scale" trailer here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5YQEsZ-yWU

It's also available in Mandarin Chinese, Korean, and Japanese. The individual cast list is in the description.

The video is rather lengthy at over three minutes long. It takes place after the Penacony story and thus contains spoilers if you haven't completed it yet. In the trailer, Diamond has summoned all the Stonehearts to discuss how they would punish Aventurine, who had to smash his Cornerstone as part of his ploy to take Penacony for the IPC.

Here is the English cast of the Stonehearts (we know so far) in Honkai: Star Rail:

  • Aventurine: Camden Sutkowski (Rhysand in For Velaris)
  • Jade: Faye Mata (Astolfo in Fate/Apocrypha)
  • Obsidian: Erin Yvette (Arlecchino in Genshin Impact)
  • Opal: Paul Castro Jr. (Ryota Miyagi in The First Slam Dunk)
  • Pearl: Cat Protano (Misha in Honkai: Star Rail)
  • Sugilite: AJ Beckles (Wind Maki in Anonymous;Code)
  • Topaz: Sam Slade (Anby in Zenless Zone Zero)

Here is the Japanese cast:

  • Aventurine: Kengo Kawanishi (Mikazuki in Mobile Suit Gundam: Iron-Blooded Orphans)
  • Jade: Kotono Mitsuishi (Sailor Moon/Usagi Tsukino in Sailor Moon)
  • Obsidian: Sumire Uesaka (Saeko and Nanoha in Yakuza: Like a Dragon)
  • Opal: Daisuke Kishio (Rokurou in Tales of Berseria)
  • Pearl: Kiyono Yasuno (Hoshiguma in Arknights)
  • Sugilite: Hiroki Takahashi (Emet-Selch in Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers)
  • Topaz: Yoshino Nanjo (Lala Shonai in Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki)

It's unknown which of the Stonehearts will appear as playable in the future. There's always the chance that, like with Signora of the Fatui in Genshin Impact, some of these characters will die in the story and become "unavailable" in the gacha.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices.

The post See the Stonehearts in New Honkai: Star Rail Trailer appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Sunday, July 14, 2024 12:00 PM
    

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine Starts Strong

There are so many isekai manga and manhwa series out there. So many. It's to the point where if there isn't an interesting hook, I find it hard to care. The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine fortunately succeeds with that in its first volume, thanks to the great comedic tone, premise, and direction of the Yen Press Ize Press manhwa.

Ailette Rodeline was originally a woman from our world. She's one of many who was stricken by a fate that suddenly left her dying too soon. However, before she did, she responded to a text message that meant she purchased a Full Transmigration Insurance Package that put her in a good place for her isekai afterlife reincarnation into the novel Infinite Returns to Save the World. Because of that, she's going in with currency to spend, access to a library so she can see what she's in for, and all sorts of other perks that allow her to "level up" her skills with action and be better prepared for what will be thrown at her.

This helps set The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine apart from other isekai manhwa right from the first volume. We have the gamification element, which is fun. As an example, her progression to become a Healer and gain Divine Power means actually praying for 1,000 days at a certain time. Really running with the concept of Ailette getting a chance to be an S-class heroine, then showing her putting in the work and making the practical choices that will get her there, is pretty great. We're really seeing her develop and grow firsthand, while also seeing that part of the reason for her success is who she is both in terms of her personality and drive and not just the perks she's buying.

I also mentioned earlier that the tone of The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine helps it stand out among other isekai manga and manhwa. Right from the outset, it pairs some silly and humorous elements with the dramatic tone. The angel agent working with Ailette is a flying corgi, for example. Ailette is stunned at being able to conjure up currency and things needed to succeed. The reactions of people around her to her capabilities, once she starts working toward goals, and seeing her immediate success is fantastic. Especially since many of the isekai reincarnation stories can focus on a young heroine in such a daunting situation with everyone around her against the underdog. But right away, once Ailette starts working toward her goals, people appreciate her skills and creations. They start trying to help her and elevate her in humorous ways.  

This also extends to Ailette's first friend in the series, Bianca. Her character and situation is set up in a similar fashion. She's a misunderstood girl who ends up perhaps a bit downtrodden or cast in a role that doesn't really suit her. Because of Ailette working to become the S-class heroine needed to survive the story and her new life, she catches Bianca's attention. However, the two don't end up becoming friends and suitable playmates because of the skills Ailette paid for and ensured due to the insurance policy. Once the two of them really get to interact, they're both able to be themselves. Which again, ends up being funny, refreshing, and a great way to further hook the reader.

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine is such a fun take on the isekai concept, and it's because of the execution of it all. Things can be serious, but that doesn't mean they're being taken 100% seriously. The heroine is getting a chance to become overpowered, but we're still seeing her work for it and some of the success stemming from who she is even without those benefits. The pacing also avoids some pitfalls other isekai manga and manhwa experience, all because she does gain access to perks and things can get more lighthearted. It all works well together for a strong foundation in this new story.

The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine volume 1 is available via Yen Press' Ize Press label, and volume 2 of the isekai manhwa will appear on Aug 20, 2024

The post The Perks of Being an S-Class Heroine Starts Strong appeared first on Siliconera.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, July 14, 2024 5:41 PM
    

All platforms will be on the current major version

The post Phasmophobia Coming to Consoles This October appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, July 14, 2024 4:58 PM