Contest: Win a Switch controller and headset bundle, courtesy of Gioteck
In today's contest you can win a Switch Gioteck bundle featuring the JC-20 Cubes Joy-Con Controller and a HC2 Decal Edition Stereo Gaming Headset!
Destructoid is known for giving away tons of free stuff, because we love our community. Gioteck is know for great gaming products, because they love our community. So we decided to make love to the community together by giving some stuff away!
We've got a bundle featuring a Gioteck Switch JC-20 Cubes Joy-Con Controller and HC2 Decal Edition Stereo Gaming Headset to give away so you can play your Switch in style.
Lifepaths are a focus for next week's Cyberpunk 2077 stream
Let's go back to where it all began. No, really -- that's what we're doing with next week's Cyberpunk 2077 Night Wire City stream. We're getting context for the roles we play.
CD Projekt Red has Episode 2 of Night Wire City set for next week, and Cyberpunk 2077's Lifepaths are one of the focuses. A Lifepath in an RPG is a backstory where history and decisions culminate in a character's archetype In Cyberpunk 2077, the three Lifepaths are StreetKid, Corporate, and Nomad.
Final Fantasy VII Remake is giving out more Butterfinger DLC items for free
That lovely PS4 Tifa theme was the highest-profile reward for laying a finger on some Butterfingers, but it wasn't the only digital goodie up for grabs, and it's not the only one to get an eventual free release on the PlayStation Store. Square Enix is now giving out five minor DLC items in Final Fantasy VII Remake.
Just follow those store links, add 'em to your cart, and download away. No candy needed.
If you've already been there and done that in Final Fantasy VII Remake, these armor pieces won't do you much good, but it's nice to have them just to have them. We like our stuff. If you're just getting into it – speaking of: the game is $40 digitally and physically – these items can give your crew a headstart.
I'm bummed I haven't had time to dig into Hard Mode yet. It's an end-of-the-year goal for sure.
@FinalFantasyVII [Twitter]
Review: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
Launch-day disconnects aside, Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout turned out so much better than I expected.
The premise – a cartoonish 60-player competition made up of semi-randomly selected obstacle courses, bumbling team games, and stressful survival challenges – is fantastic. The whole vibe is silly and charming, especially once you learn to accept that luck can play a significant role and that's okay.
Fall Guys is a video game rendition of Takeshi's Castle (Most Extreme Elimination Challenge) and it rules.
I thought I'd burn out, but after a hundred-plus rounds in the live game (to say nothing of several hours spent with the beta), I'm still in it to win it. It's hard to break out of the perpetual cycle of re-queuing.
Apex Legends Season 6 trailer has hints about the new legend, Rampart
Apex Legends Season 5 is winding down, with this week being the last to provide challenges for those who still need to fill out their battle passes. Next week, there will be a limited-time mode wherein the ring never stops shrinking and players start matches with an evo shield and a Mozambique. But that's just a little bit of tiding over for the new season launch, which is set to happen on August 18.
Respawn released a launch trailer for Season 6 today, and it has some interesting details in it. The long-rumored Rampart character shows up ready to kick ass and chew bubble gum (and she appears to have plenty of bubble gum). She is seen in the trailer operating a mounted machine gun, raining fire on the other legends in a stylish, reversed-time showing.
Activision sent out Call of Duty crates that can't be opened 'til Monday
We're no strangers to teasers taking up mental storage space until their proper reveal at a later date. Rarely, though, is there a physical manifestation of those teasers taking up physical storage space.
Activision is countering that trend. Today, Call of Duty media and influencers received a care package in the form of a locked crate. Here's what it looks like:
Time to Wake Up: Control's AWE expansion is set for the end of August
Control's first add-on was a table-setter, a fine-enough piece of content that bridged the gap between the base game and the expansion everyone was eagerly awaiting. The wait's almost over.
As part of today's State of Play stream, Remedy and 505 announced that the AWE add-on will be available on August 27. It's unclear if there's any timed-exclusive stuff going on this time, or if all platforms will get it simultaneously.
The release date trailer ends with a quick shot of a scruffy-bearded man. Hmm, WHO COULD IT BE? Remedy fans: It's our time to shine.
Hood: Outlaws and Legends is a PS5 medieval stealth game
There are enough blades through necks in Hood: Outlaws and Legends that you'll probably get some Assassin's Creed vibes. It's not the only inspiration you'll find though.
Sumo Digital and Focus Home Interactive are creating a new property called Hood: Outlaws and Legends. The moody reveal trailer makes it look like a stealthy medieval game with some brutal combat.
There aren't all that many details about Hood yet, but the recently-launched site has a beta signup. Go check that out if you're interested in seeing this game in action sooner rather than later.
Hood is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X next year. It seems like a good one to keep an eye on.
Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series hits PlayStation VR on August 25
Sony promised PlayStation VR showings during today's State of Play and that could only mean one thing: an update on the summer-bound PlayStation VR port of Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series.
PSVR owners can slash droids to their heart's content on August 25, 2020. Make Chris proud!
All three episodes of Vader Immortal will hit PS4 at once, so you won't be strung along. The PlayStation VR port was developed at ILMxLAB with assistance from Black Shamrock.
You can't resist this new Bugsnax trailer
Bugsnax has taken the world by storm. Bugsnax is all anyone cares about. Bugsnax is cute and Bugsnax is life.
That's why you're going to watch this new Bugsnax trailer. You're going to smile and you're going feel wholesome. You're going to get a load of Hotdog Fingers.
Spelunky 2 is out on September 15 and it looks beefy
Spelunky 2 is launching on September 15 for PlayStation 4. It's almost time!
The dungeon-delving roguelike platformer is designed to be "more rich and dynamic" and feel "a lot more full," according to creator Derek Yu, who has the unenviable task of topping the first game. I felt that density in the latest footage shown during the State of Play broadcast. It looks wonderful.
We got to peek at branching level exits, a clone gun (which was used to multiply pugs), the home base, and online multiplayer. Spelunky is best shared on the same couch, but I appreciate the option.
"The Steam version of Spelunky 2 will come out shortly after PS4," said Yu. "We'll need a little extra time to iron out online multiplayer on PC. Release date for that soon! After Steam, we'll look into other platforms. We are excited for as many people to play as possible."
Spelunky 2 day will be a holiday in this household.
Jonathan Blow's next project is Braid: Anniversary Edition
My eyes just about popped out of my head when I realized this obscure trailer was slowly turning into Braid. That is, just without hyperbole, about the last thing I expected.
It's not a sequel though; it's a revisiting of 2008's indie standout hit. Jonathan Blow and David Hellmen repainted the whole game and added extra animations. Braid: Anniversary Edition is a modernization in look and feel only. Blow is quick to say that this doesn't get the "Greedo shoots first" treatment where things are changed.
Maybe the most significant feature is a commentary track that Blow calls one of the most in-depth developer commentaries in the history of games. He specifically says that this is something you should listen to if you want to learn how games are made.
Braid: Anniversary Edition launches in early 2021 on [deep breath] PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Mac, and Linux.
Braid, Anniversary Edition [Braid]
Hitman 3 has a first-person mode for PlayStation VR
How do you feel about getting up close and personal in Hitman?
As announced on the State of Play stream, next year's Hitman 3 will have a first-person VR mode at launch. In fact, you'll be able to "play the entire world of assassination trilogy in VR." Wait, what?
IO Interactive reminded us that players – VR or otherwise – can import locations from Hitman and Hitman 2 into Hitman 3, "essentially putting all 20+ locations from the entire trilogy in one place."
"We're working to finalize the specifics for how PSVR owners can enjoy Hitman in VR, and we'll have more details to share in the months ahead," the studio said in a PlayStation Blog post.
I'm a little worried about this mode on a technical level – PSVR is showing its age – but I love the idea. A frying pan can be used to deflect bullets, Superhot style, and that's just music to my ears.
It's time to watch today's 40-minute State of Play stream
It's about time for another State of Play. The PlayStation news stream starts at 1:00 p.m. Pacific.
This latest show is all about upcoming PS4 and PlayStation VR games – Sony has gone out of its way to temper expectations with a "no big PS5 announcements" disclaimer – so keep that in mind. New trailers, confirmed release dates, maybe some ports from PC VR... that's where my head is at.
Another word of warning: "There will be no PlayStation Studios updates in this episode, or any updates around hardware, business, pre-orders, or dates." They know people are thirsty for PS5 launch info.
Start a fresh pot, grab a crunchy snack, throw on an old hoodie – do whatever you need to do to get comfy. You can catch the State of Play live on PlayStation's YouTube and Twitch channels.
[Update: Here's a recap of what was shown in order of appearance: Crash Bandicoot 4, Hitman 3's VR mode, Braid: Anniversary Edition, The Pathless, Spelunky 2, Genshin Impact, Aeon Must Die, Anno: Mutationem, Bugsnax, Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series, Control's AWE expansion, Auto Chess, The Pedestrian, Hood: Outlaws & Legends, Temtem PS5, and Godfall. Scrub through the footage as needed.]
Epic's newest free game, 3 Out of 10, puts you to work at a bad video game studio
There has been no shortage of video game development horror stories over the past decade, as plenty of studios have been exposed for their soul-crushing and awful work conditions. That's miserable, but what if you put up with that work environment only to make games that were universally hated?
That's the idea behind 3 Out of 10, a name that kinda tells you everything you need to know. Set at the fictional Shovelworks Studios, this interactive sitcom is an irreverent Adult Swim-like take on bad game development.
The bad news: Only the first episode of 3 Out of 10 is free this week. The good news: The remaining four episodes in Season 1 are free in subsequent weeks. Epic paid for the entirety of the five-episode run of 3 Out of 10 to make it an exclusive launch on the Epic Games Store; part of the logic behind that decision is because developer Terrible Posture found a way to create the show entirely within Unreal Engine without switching to third-party software, as Engadget details.
The second Epic freebie dabbles in career-change escapism too. Amazon fulfillment simulator Wilmot's Warehouse is up for grabs this week. Wilmot's Warehouse is a clever cooperative sorting game that rewards creative organization. Jordan lavished praise upon the Switch version late last year. In our Slack DMs this morning (all work conversations are subject to being turned into #content), he said it's "a GOTY for me in co-op" and that "as a puzzle fiend, [I] would love it."
Next week, Epic is back to stuff you (probably) can't get in real life. Souls-like-but-with-guns action looter shooter Remnant: From the Ashes is the high-profile free game next week. Indie, artsy scenic snowboarder The Alto Collection makes up the other half.
3 Out of 10, Wilmot's Warehouse [Epic Games Store]
Serious Sam 4 is now coming to Steam on September 24
This is how you delay a Serious Sam game: a silly little in-engine gag that someone threw together.
Forget everything you know about August – at least as it pertains to long-time-coming shooter sequels. Croteam delayed the Steam and Stadia release of Serious Sam 4 until September 24, 2020. The circle-strafing, horde-slaying chaos will have to wait. Don't forget to tell your co-op buddies.
In case you missed it, the console versions aren't arriving until next year. Screw the skeletons.
PC port pushes Detroit: Become Human past five million sales
Quantic Dream has announced that its melodramatic android adventure Detroit: Become Human has passed five million total sales. The milestone was reached exactly one month after the cinematic sci-fi release made the leap to the Steam platform.
"Launching Detroit: Become Human on Steam has been a delightful experience for us," said Quantic Dream co-CEO Guillaume de Fondaumiere in a press statement. "The response we're seeing has been incredibly positive, in particular in Asian markets. We are also thrilled by the response garnered by the concomitant release of our Community Play extension for streamers and viewers on Twitch, which elevated a fundamentally single-player game into a social experience."
Fairy Tail already has over $150 worth of DLC available
Koei Tecmo's anime RPG Fairy Tail may have only just launched a week ago, but the publisher has already released an expensive season pass, which will bring new characters and content to the anime adaptation just weeks after the base game's arrival.
For the sum of around $60 USD, the Fairy Tail season pass will add four new characters to the adventure, along with an extreme difficulty option, and one new dungeon. Lyon Vastia and Levy McGarden will arrive on August 20, followed by Lisanna and Elfman Strauss on September 3. An additional dungeon, "A Rift in Time and Space," will round out the content on September 17.
In addition, multiple $40 costume sets - which are not included in the season pass - have also hit the Steam store. This takes the grand total of Fairy Tail's base game, season pass, and costume sets to somewhere in the region of $240. Of course, people are entitled to spend their money however they please, but it's yet another example of Dead or Alive syndrome, where dedicated fans - having already stumped up 60 bucks to buy the initial product - are squeezed tighter still before their game is barely out of its wrapping.
Fairy Tail is available now on PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch.
GreedFall hits one million sales milestone
Focus Home Interactive has announced that its dark colonial RPG GreedFall has passed a new milestone, having garnered one million global sales since its launch on PS4, PC, and Xbox One back in September 2019.
From French gaming studio Spiders, GreedFall is an action-adventure that follows a group of explorers who travel to the uncharted waters of Teer Fradee, hoping to discover the cure for a noxious plague that is engulfing the rest of the world. Players explore the mysterious new land, (which is mired in a violent civil uprising), breaking and forging alliances with the locals, while fending off threats from invading parties and strange, undiscovered creatures.
GreedFall launched to modest scores, praised by critics and fans for its unique storyline and environment, as well as its solid combat and character building, but lamented for its cumbersome skill tree and "rough around the edges" visual design. Overall, however, GreedFall is considered a solid mid-tier experience.
Spiders is currently at work on the recently revealed SteelRising, a robotic take on the French Revolution, which I'm very excited to see more of. GreedFall is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. It was also recently added to the PlayStation Now service.
The Arcade1Up Marvel vs. Capcom cabinets are now available for preorder
One of the most exciting announcements to come out of this wretched summer was Arcade1Up's reveal of its Marvel Vs. Capcom and X-Men Vs. Street Fighter arcade cabinets. I've been salivating over the latter one for weeks now, and today I can finally put my money where my mouth is because both cabinets are now available for preorder. As a reminder, here are the games that come with each unit:
It's a wacky week for the Nintendo eShop, as we're getting with a "reasonable" 27-ish games debuting over the next several days: which is typically considered a light load when 30-40 games battle each other for sales.
Swimsanity is probably the oddest standout, which is a "multiplayer underwater shooter" with co-op and versus modes: with support for online and local play. It also boasts "150 challenges and eight modes" and is simultaneously releasing on multiple platforms tomorrow, including Steam.
Banner of the Maid is also out today (a turn-based strategy game based on an alt-history French Revolution), as well as a Dr. Mario World 2.0 update on mobile devices. That's about it!
City Connection seems to be teasing a Zombie Nation comeback
Retro game enthusiast City Connection has opened a mysterious website teasing the publisher's next project. While absolutely no information has been offered on the creepy webpage, eagle-eyed viewers have spotted that the background image has been pulled from the intro sequence of obscure 1990 NES title Zombie Nation.
Originally released in Japan as Abarenbou Tengu, Zombie Nation is a very odd horizontally scrolling shmup in which players guide a samurai's disembodied head, (or a floating Tengu mask in the original Japanese release), as it attempts to rid the United States of invading alien forces, which have come to Earth to enslave the populace through mind control - hence "Zombie Nation."
You can check out the weirdness below, courtesy of YouTuber Nintendo Complete.
A few times a year, Nintendo updates their top-selling title list and it's kind of a treat to wake up to.
The Switch is one of the best-selling pieces of hardware in recent years and first-party Nintendo titles are extremely popular: so it's very insightful to get cold hard data and see how they all stack up against each other. Would you have guessed that Animal Crossing would have beaten out multiple Mario franchises, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Zelda: Breath of the Wild, several Pokemon games and Splatoon 2? You win a cookie!
Nintendo reported today that as of June 30, 2020, Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now the second-best selling Switch game in history: clocking in at 22.40 million units. That puts it squarely above its third place rival, Super Sash Bros. Ultimate, which has managed to push 19.99 million units. Note that Smash Ultimate came out in December of 2018, while New Horizons launched just a few months ago. Still towering in first is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe at 26.74 million units: I bet Nintendo was happy they ported it from Wii U. Xenoblade Chronicles Definitive Edition also hit 1.32 million units since May and Clubhouse Games reached 1.03 units just in the month of June.
So why was New Horizons such a success? The pandemic definitely helped its prospects as folks looked for a way to connect in a simple, delightful way. It arrived at the perfect time to become part of the zeitgeist, as several other big-name titles pushed their release date further into 2020.
Sword and Shield isn't a slouch either, as the 18.22 million units it managed to muster also puts it ahead of Diamond and Pearl's 17.76 units, making Sword and Shield the third-best selling Pokemon game ever behind Gold and Silver and Red/Blue/Green. It's a good year for Nintendo.
Top Selling Title Sales Units [Nintendo]
Doom Eternal and Elder Scrolls Online will get free upgrades on PS5 and Xbox Series X
A bit of good news today: two more big-name games are going to get free upgrades for the next generation.
Bethesda announced this morning that both Doom Eternal and The Elder Scrolls Online were coming to Xbox Series X and PS5, and that they would be eligible for free upgrades. As a reminder, Microsoft has its SmartDelivery system ready to go to make that all pretty easy for everyone, while Sony has some sort of mystery program we don't really know about yet. Bethesda says that it will share release windows and "a list of enhancements" in the coming weeks, but for now we know that the upgrades will be free, and that they will in fact come with "enhancements" of some kind (likely framerate and visual-related).
Additionally, the publisher states that they are "working hard to ensure both titles will support backward compatibility when the new consoles launch." And what about future Bethesda games? It's looking good, it seems: "we can confirm we are committed to offer free upgrades for current generation console owners of existing Bethesda titles we bring forward into the next generation of consoles."
It sure looks like a lot of games early on in the next generation are going to be "lite remasters!" At least a lot of them are free.
Bethesda Next-Gen Console Upgrades [Bethesda.net]
I've been covering the Switch eShop for a long time. A long time.
I remember when it was in its infancy, struggling for relevance with games like Vroom in the Night Sky. Or when it started to finally gain momentum with hidden gems. Or when a Nintendo executive said that he wanted "30-40 games" to hit the eShop a week, without actually updating any curation tools or enhancing quality control.
A lot of eShop users are fed up with the massive amount of shovelware on the storefront, and as it turns out: developers are too.
Nintendo Switch console sales pass the 61 million mark
Nintendo has released its latest financial earnings report, which reveals that the Japanese publisher/developer sold 5.67 million Nintendo Switch units in the most recent quarter, taking lifetime sales of the hybrid console to an impressive 61.44 million units.
The original Nintendo Switch was responsible for 3.05 million of recent sales, with the other 2.62 contributed by the slightly cheaper Nintendo Switch Lite. These hardware sales represent a year-on-year increase of over 160%. In regards to software, 50.43 million titles were sold this quarter, taking lifetime software sales to just over 405 million. 2020's sales have driven by acclaimed titles such as Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Ring Fit Adventure, and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
Despite these overachieving numbers - as well as a reported boost in Switch production - Nintendo has not increased the totals noted in its previous forecast, and is still predicting a total of 19 million Switch console sales for the fiscal year April 2020 to March 2021.
Contest: Win Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout for Steam
In today's contest you can win Fall Guys for Steam!
Fall Guys has been on my radar for quite some time now -- how could it not?! It's a that perfect mix of MXC, Ninja Warrior, and pure spite that really just ticks off all my wants in a game. Hell, it's going to bring me out of my online multiplayer retirement! That's quite a feat.
I'll see ya around the arena after you've won a brand new Steam key for Fall Guys!
Madden 21 gets a new mode that's like NFL Street
Madden has taken itself too seriously for decades as the realistic-as-it-gets facsimile of NFL football. The next game is flipping its hat around and sitting backward on its chair, all to let you know that it has a cool side too.
EA Sports has revealed a new game mode for Madden NFL 21 called "The Yard." It's an arcade-style take on football, six players per side on playground fields. Behind-the-back passes, pitch after pitch after pitch, plenty of showboating -- you know the vibe.
The obvious analog is to the NFL Street games of the mid-2000s, but don't expect an authentic recreation of those. NFL Street had a lot of little touches that leaned even further away from realism. Style points for flashy play, a GameBreaker superplay meter, stats-altering equipment -- it was all so fun. Madden's The Yard looks to be somewhere between normal Madden and Street, like an itch half-scratched.
The first taste of The Yard is out today as part of the Madden NFL 21 Mobile launch. That's a free app meant to promote the official Madden 21 launch in late-August. It has a singleplayer version of The Yard. On PC and consoles, The Yard will have full online multiplayer functionality. However, progression carries over between mobile and the official Madden.
Or, for the authentic experience, bust out the PS2 and NFL Street.
The stakes couldn't be higher in Impostor Factory
Impostor Factory, the third game in a line of narrative adventures from Freebird Games, looks "categorically out of its mind" as creator Kan Gao previously teased. "Things get a little Lovecraftian."
The latest trailer promises "a wholesome celebration of the bloody end of a world."
That sure escalated! And if Gao is willing to share this apocalyptic turn pre-release – Impostor Factory is clinging to a late 2020 launch on Steam "but raccoons pooped in our office last night so I dunno" – then imagine where the story might take us. This isn't a simple murder mystery. Let the theories flow free.
Even if all three games can be enjoyed as standalone releases, it's never too late to play To the Moon and Finding Paradise – especially since the former is getting an animated film adaptation.
We fought off Grounded's monster spiders, but at what cost?
We built walls from blades of grass. The spiders tore them down. We constructed weapons and went to battle. The spiders defeated us with little effort. We fled to a new home. The spiders just followed us.
Honestly, the spiders in Grounded are straight-up assholes and as someone who already hates spiders to begin with, Obsidian Entertainment isn't changing that opinion anytime soon.
Justin and I spent the weekend sight-seeing and exploring the backyard of Grounded in online co-op for this Early Access impressions video. We saw everything from beautiful giant blueberry bushes and peaceful ladybugs, to even a gigantic Battletoads figure! There's plenty to see in Grounded, but you have to be vigilant while exploring because spiders are always down to ruin pretty much everything.
Eight-legged problems aside, I think Grounded has the potential to become my favorite survival game once they've added more to do around the backyard. But at the moment, the Early Access version is pretty bare-bones (much like our teenage protagonists' corpses after the spiders were done with us).
Sit back and enjoy the sights and sounds of Justin and myself sharing our first impressions so far!
Revisit Stranger of Sword City on Switch next year
One of the best Japanese developers of first-person dungeon crawlers is Experience Inc. For the past few years, it's been blessing players with that classic style of RPG with titles like Ray Gigant, Demon Gaze, and Operation Abyss. To me, its best game is still Stranger of Sword City, and in 2021, that classic is coming to Switch as part of a dungeon crawling two-pack.
NIS America has announced it is localizing Experience Inc's Saviors of Sapphire Wings for Nintendo Switch and PC. If you buy that game, you'll also get Stranger of Sword City Revisited, which includes new content not found in any previous version.
Nintendo kills Pikmin 3 on Wii U to make room for Deluxe edition on Switch
Nintendo giveth and Nintendo taketh away. This morning's announcement of Pikmin 3 Deluxe Edition on Switch came alongside an unceremonious axing of the last-gen version of the game.
Pikmin 3 has been delisted from the Wii U eShop ahead of its October 30 launch on Switch. As Nintendo Everything reports, there's no way to buy Pikmin 3 digitally directly from Nintendo right now. Nintendo did the same thing ahead of the Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze re-release.
Of course, anyone with a physical copy of Pikmin 3 on Wii U can still play it. The same goes for anyone who previously bought it digitally through the eShop. There just aren't any new sales anymore as Nintendo pivots from a $20 last-gen version to a $60 current-gen version.
The continued existence of a cheaper Pikmin 3 on Wii U would probably have an absolutely negligible effect on sales of the upcoming Deluxe edition. But, this isn't exactly a new business practice for Nintendo so it doesn't really take anyone by surprise. For now, your only Wii U option is to buy something physical; fortunately, it's still selling for a reasonable price on the secondhand market.
Pikmin 3 removed from the Wii U eShop [Nintendo Everything]
You could win a PlayStation 5 from Daily Esports GG
[Just a friendly reminder we're giving away a brand new PlayStation 5 -- just participate in the Daily Esports forums for your chance to qualify to win!]
Well, this is a pretty big one.
The next console generation is nearly upon us, which means it'll soon be time for folks to trade up to some brand new hardware. However, the cost of entry for the next console generation is going to be considerably lower for one lucky individual.
www.DailyEsports.gg is giving away a free PlayStation 5 Digital Edition. We launched some brand new forums and comments software and want people kicking the tires on it. If core esports aren't your thing, they also frequently cover Pokemon trade codes and various game guides, so please consider adding it to your feed.
Although the price of the console hasn't been officially announced yet, our family of websites have committed to purchasing one for a member of the site's forums. To win it, all you need to do is head on over to the Daily Esports forums and start chatting! It's really that easy. Destructoid founder Papa Niero is also the invisible hand there, along with editor-in-chief and chief of all beards, Taha Zaidi. Go say hi!
On November 24th, we'll pick out one member of the forums and pre-order the console to be shipped directly to them. Or, if they're not in North America, give them the equivalent cost of the console in US Dollars via bank transfer, Paypal, or Amazon gift card.
Head on over to the Daily Esports forums for more details. Good luck!
Obsidian is working on a fourth game right now
Microsoft is giving Obsidian Entertainment all the work it can handle. It appears as though the developer has at least four games in production right now.
Obsidian's design director Josh Sawyer mentioned on Twitter yesterday that he's currently directing his own project. That means Obsidian is currently working on Grounded (which just launched in Early Access), Outer Worlds DLC (the first is due next month, the second is coming in 2021), Avowed (the newly-announced first-person fantasy RPG for Xbox Series X), and whatever Sawyer has going on.
In the past, Sawyer has said that he wants his next game to be a historical RPG. He elaborated by explaining that he doesn't consider Pillars of Eternity to be a historical RPG, but rather that it needs to be set in Earth's history with some fantasy element to qualify. However, that was prior to the Microsoft acquisition so a lot could've changed.
Sawyer's directing credits are: Fallout: New Vegas, Pillars of Eternity and its White March expansion, and Pillars of Eternity II: Deadfire.
We are all but assured that Obsidian will make an Outer Worlds sequel at some point, but that's probably not Sawyer's baby. Given how the first one turned out, it seems sensible to let Leonard Boyarsky and Tim Cain direct the next one too. Obsidian has a lot going on, and that means we'll likely have to wait a bit to hear about Sawyer's next game.
@jesawyer [Twitter]
Horizon Zero Dawn is just as stunning and flawed on PC
It's hard to believe that Horizon Zero Dawn is over three years old at this point, but Sony has so many great new IPs this generation, it's hard to keep track of them all.
Bringing Horizon Zero Dawn back into the limelight makes a whole lot of sense given that we're getting a next-generation sequel, but it's the way that Sony is doing it that is so noteworthy. Horizon Zero Dawn is a first-party title released by Guerrilla Games and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Yet, it's coming to PC via Steam.
We've seen this sort of ubiquitous platform-proliferation from the likes of Microsoft and Nintendo, but for Sony, it's much rarer: especially for a AAA release. I hope they do it more often.
After a big beta, Mortal Shell is releasing on August 18
The heavily Souls-inspired Mortal Shell will be here sooner than I thought. After a successful PC beta that saw 350,000 downloads "in one week," the grim action-RPG is set for an August 18 release.
How much that initial interest will translate to the final game remains to be seen, but the price is right. Mortal Shell is a modest $30 on PS4, Xbox One, and the Epic Games Store. (Steam has to wait a year.)
This release date trailer is straight to the point: the world is foreboding, opaque, and violent, so you better have a plan of attack. There's a snippet from four armored shells (think swappable classes) and a ridiculous bolt-firing weapon called the Ballistazooka, which can pin your prey onto walls.
The Bloodborne-looking arm at 1:00 and the red-colored spearman at 1:26 stood out to me.
"We were humbled by the popularity of the beta and we closely studied the feedback we received to create something that we are incredibly proud of," Cold Symmetry said in a statement. People can be picky about this style of combat, myself definitely included, but that's not to say we can't acclimate.
Worst-case scenario, I'm up for a Demon's Souls remake appetizer, jank and all.
I've been a merchant of a lot of things. The Elite series allowed me to be a space trader, Euro Truck Simulator let me try my hand at terrestrial trade, and Wall Street Kid had me trading stocks directly. Now it's time for Merchant of the Skies to marry the concept with another of my favorite fantasy passions: airships.
Grand Theft Auto V still making bank, pushing 135 million copies and counting
Publisher Take-Two Interactive has released its financial report for the first quarter of the fiscal year, revealing blockbuster figures thanks to major catalogue contributors such as Red Dead Redemption 2, NBA 2K20, Borderlands 3, and The Outer Worlds.
But the crown jewel in Take-Two's vault remains Rockstar's 2013 magnum opus, Grand Theft Auto V. To date, the open-world crime sim has sold close to 135 million copies across the PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC platforms. Amazingly, giving away GTA V for free on Epic Games Store in May 2020 only further increased base sales, as June would see the controversial title enjoy its most successful sales month since launch.
Through sales and resales, in addition to the incredibly lucrative GTA Online multiplayer component, Grand Theft Auto V continues its reign as one of the most successful and best-selling video games of all-time. And it's not over yet. Given that Rockstar has already announced its intention to port this epic release to next-gen PS5 platform, GTA V looks set to print money for years to come.
Grand Theft Auto V is available now on PS4, PC and Xbox One. It will launch on PS5 in late 2021.
Bloodstained is finally getting Boss Revenge and Chroma Wheel on Switch 'later this month'
Amid a very hectic and unpredictable schedule, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night has been getting updates periodically.
Zangetsu was added as a playable character a few months ago, on top of the previously-promised Boss Revenge (playable bosses) and Chroma Wheel (protagonist customization) modes. But the latter two were not fated for Switch, it seems, as that version has its own timeline (along with a few other wacky platforms like EA Origin, which has its own patch pipeline).
While the development team isn't quite ready to nail down a date yet, we do have a window: "later this month." Taking to Facebook, they noted that "Boss Revenge Mode and Chroma Wheel debut on Game Pass and EA Origin this week then later this month for Nintendo Switch." Crash fixes for other platforms are coming soon: crashes that the last patch introduced, mind.
As a reminder, a new landing page is open now that breaks down the status of each platform.
Bloodstained [Facebook]
Rose, Dan, Oro, and Rival Schools' Akira are headed to Street Fighter V: Champion Edition
Capcom - with an assist from AEW star Kenny Omega - has revealed a brand new batch of content headed to Street Fighter V: Champion Edition, in what will be the competitive fighting game's fifth - and reportedly final - season.
In announcements made during today's Summer Update live stream, Season V will see SFV's 40-strong roster joined by Street Fighter III's bizarre hermit Oro, Street Fighter Zero doofus Dan Hibiki and, my long-time "main," the glamourous fortune-teller Rose. Rounding out this quartet, from the awesome Rival Schools, is badass biker gal Akira Kazama. A fifth and final character will be revealed at a later date.
Courtesy of PlayStation Blog, here's some work-in-progress footage of Dan in action.
(Update) Ask us anything on the Destructoid forums starting this month!
[Update: The fifth Destructoid AMA session is now live! So be sure to stop by our official forums and Ask Your Anything to Destructoid's resident live-streamer and Twitch haunter Dreezy. Have Fun!]
Yup! You heard that right. Starting this month, we'll be hosting a series of AMA ("Ask Me Anything") sessions with members of Destructoid and our sister sites on the new and improved Destructoid forums.
If you've never been to one of these, the way it typically works is that the host commits to an hour to thoughtfully answer questions as they are submitted in semi-real time. You can come on the event day to participate, or enjoy the responses any time after. It's a great way to connect with the people that run this joint.
Here's the full schedule so far:
Japanese physical edition of Ikaruga includes this cool model kit
September will see one of the most beloved shmups of all time come blasting on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, as Treasure's 2001 classic Ikaruga takes to the skies once again for another round of frenetic, twitch-inducing arcade action. And for die-hard fans, Japanese publisher Pikii is producing a special physical release for both platforms.
The Ikaruga limited physical edition will include a boxed copy of the game on PS4 or Nintendo Switch, complete with a colour manual and a reversible art sleeve. But most temptingly of all, this edition will also come bundled with a metal model kit of the famous Ikaruga ship itself, manufactured by Metal Earth. This edition is available to pre-order from the official Pikii store, priced at ¥4,950 - roughly $45 USD - but the site does not ship outside Japan, so you might have to resort to third-party sellers or after-market sales, unfortunately.
Magic: Arena is getting a huge shakeup soon as standard rotation happens next month
After a fairly lively set of bans, the rest of the year is going to be pretty big for Magic: Arena.
First up, Amonhket Remastered is set to debut next week, which will usher in both of the recent Egypt-themed sets that have since rotated out of standard play: Amonkhet and Hour of Devastation. It'll contain 338 total cards through booster packs, which can be placed in limited (sealed/draft) events as well as historic and "eventually," the pioneer format. The re-iteration that Arena will "eventually" have pioneer is always assuring.
Rotation is also just around the corner, which means a lot of cards will be cycling out of standard play, while the new Zendikar Rising set ushers in another era of standard Magic. In summation: Guilds of Ravnica, Ravnica Allegiance, War of the Spark and Core 2020 will be out of the lineup. That's actually happening next month, but in the meantime on August 13, you can play "Standard 2021" early: to get used to all of the cards that are going away.
In other Arena news the fantastic "take two decks and mash them together to instantly play Magic" mode Jumpstart is being sunset on August 16 until an undisclosed date (it will be back), new player decks are being updated next rotation to add more relevant cards and combos, brawl matchmaking is being tweaked a bit to weigh specific commanders (Runed Halo is also banned in standard with Gideon's Intervention banned in historic brawl) and quality of life changes are coming to deck searches.
Oh, and the mobile version of Arena is coming at some point, though there is no word on when that's happening. There's a ton of work going on behind the scenes here. I mean introducing and coding a new set to work properly is a task in its own right.
State of the Game [Wizards]
Udon's The Art of Shantae is finally available to pre-order
It's taken some time to hit the shelves, but it seems that publisher Udon is now accepting pre-orders for The Art of Shantae, which was first announced way back at San Diego Comic-Con in 2017, when Shantae: Half-Genie Hero was still a brand new release!
The Art of Shantae is a hefty 224-page hardcover that will be no doubt packed full of colourful artwork, designs, concepts and sketches of WayForward's wonderful platforming series. Fans can expect images of Shantae and her pals Rottytops, Sky, Bolo, and Uncle Mimic, as well as enemies and frenemies such as The Squid Baron, the Seven Sirens, Giga Mermaid, and the notorious pirate, Risky Boots.
The latest Smash Ultimate patch comes with a new modified stage
When will Super Smash Bros. Ultimate stop getting random updates and fighters? Not for a while! This week's big news is a new modified stage, as well as some "adjustments" for online play and some bug fixes. Let's dig in.
The new arena is called "Small Battlefield," and is literally just a rework of the existing Battlefield stage. You can now set it as the "preferred rule" in online battles if you really want to dive into more intimate battles on a regular basis. Music selection has been altered a bit too for Battlefield, Small Battlefield, Big Battlefield and Final Destination.
As for online play, some nondescript adjustments have been done, with promises for "further investigations" into future online improvements. Good idea now that everyone is locked in! I just wish this happened sooner as online play is one of the only major flaws of Smash Ultimate nearly two years in.
Wait, nearly two years? Yep, Ultimate has remained relevant for that long and will hit its second anniversary this December. Bless it.
Ver. 8.1.0 [Nintendo]
Welp, here's another major surprise announcement from Nintendo out of the blue!
By way of a quick email with zero fanfare, we've learned that Pikmin 3 will be hitting the Switch in "Deluxe" form. It's actually out on October 30 priced at $59.99, and will launch on Switch with "new content, more options for co-op play and a range of settings that make it easier for newcomers to jump in."
The biggest thing is the ability to "play the whole story" in co-op mode with a friend, as well as the addition of new side story missions that are also co-op enabled. Oh, and all previous DLC will be included, too, as well as new mechanics like lock-on targeting, extra difficulty options and optional hints. Yes to everything.
No joke, my wife and I still play Pikmin 3's co-op bingo mode to this day. I'm beyond excited for this port.
Dynasty Warriors producer hints at incoming anniversary announcements
This week sees the 20th anniversary of Koei Tecmo's epic war series Dynasty Warriors, celebrating two decades of countryside-clearing carnage. And if fans were concerned that the occasion was going to pass by without any new announcements, then they can allay those fears for the time being.
Speaking in an interview with Japanese gaming journal Weekly Famitsu, Dynasty Warriors series producer Akihiro Suzuki has hinted that there is exciting news on the horizon regarding the series. "I hope to be able to announce a 20th anniversary title in the near future," Suzuki said, before teasingly adding "By the way, there is not only one anniversary title."
Elsewhere in the interview, Suzuki noted that Dynasty Warriors 9 would not be receiving an Xtreme Legends spin-off, saying that the base game's system is not suited to the Xtreme Legends style. Suzuki also expressed disappointment at some of the feedback received from Dynasty Warriors 9, theorising that the studio perhaps took on too big a challenge in the sequel's design.
Dynasty Warriors 9 is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.
Dynasty Warriors anniversary title announcement coming soon [Gematsu / Ryokutya2089]
Final Fantasy VII HD is coming to Xbox Game Pass this month
It's going to be a good month for Game Pass, especially if you don't own a PS4.
Why's that? Well, you probably haven't played the Final Fantasy VII Remake yet, so you might be up for some Final Fantasy VII action. That's coming to both Xbox One and PC via Game Pass this month on August 13 in Final Fantasy VII HD form. Not a bad little addition to have, especially since Game Pass is going hog wild with JRPGs like other Final Fantasy titles and Kingdom Hearts.
Game Pass is getting some newer stuff, too. On August 6 it'll add Darksiders Genesis, It Lurks Below, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, Trailmakers, UnderMine and Xeno Crisis. Darksiders Genesis is the perfect co-op game to play right now while you're locked in with a family member: same with Man of Medan, which has a "movie night" kind of feel to it.
Overall it might not be a blowout month, but I'm a fan. You can find the full list of August Xbox Game Pass editions below.
Fire Emblem Heroes hits the seven seas in pirate-themed update
Swab the decks, mizzen the masts, and... erm... keel... haul... something. Nintendo's Fire Emblem Heroes is preparing a brand new update, which will bring pirate-themed content to the mobile battle title.
The latest event, which launches on Friday, will add four Special Heroes to the expansive FeH roster. Joining the crew are Brigid (from Genealogy the Holy War), Tibarn (from Path of Radiance), Geese (from The Binding Blade), and finally the Fire Emblem Heroes antagonist herself, Veronica. Our new heroes are all sporting seafaring attire and are ready and willing to loot and plunder... uhh... me hearties.
Why yes, I would like to play this leather daddy brawler
Twitter is, for the most part, an absolute cesspool of a website, a wretched hive of villainy and scum that only sometimes makes its continued existence worthwhile. For the past few months, the only worthwhile thing on Twitter has been getting updates on the next game from Hörberg Productions. The creator of Gunman Clive and Mechstermination Force has been toiling away on a brawler that looks so wonderfully gay.
