Oct 22, 20:00


PCGamesN Sunday, October 22, 2023 12:27 PM
     The Halo Infinite battle royale mode is here, just not from 343

A Halo Infinite battle royale mode has been heavily rumored for a very long time, as since 2021 word has gotten around that Halo support studio Certain Affinity was working on a BR mode codenamed Tatanka, but there's been not one bit of official word on the topic. While that hasn't changed, the new campaign AI toolkit for Forge has helped one group of fans make a battle royale of their own, and you can play it right now.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Halo Infinite system requirements, Halo Infinite Bosses, Halo Infinite ranks

PCGamesN Sunday, October 22, 2023 12:26 PM
     This free RPG is bigger than CS2 and every Steam game right now

Roblox is home to millions of games, and as of right now one of them is bigger than Valve's Counter-Strike 2 and every other Steam game in terms of concurrent players. With a massive update just dropping for the game, the anime-inspired Blox Fruits continues to see players flock to it.

MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best Roblox games, Roblox promo codes, Roblox music codes

Twinfinite Sunday, October 22, 2023 1:00 PM
    
Be greater together!

Twinfinite Sunday, October 22, 2023 12:39 PM
    
Bugs and glitches may slow you down, but the game is so good you power through it!

Siliconera Sunday, October 22, 2023 3:00 PM
    

hollow cocoon demo header

Siren, Silent Hill, Fatal Frame... There's something about Japanese horror that just hits differently. It's a slower dread compared to the body horror or gore of some Western titles. The genre builds its terror through ambiance and gameplay. Though the demo was short, Nayuta Studio's upcoming Hollow Cocoon is brimming with potential, inspiring a similar feeling to some of the aforementioned classics. The small slice of gameplay is intriguing, leaving more questions than answers. It's definitely interested me enough to keep an eye on the game's development.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDAE11uGau0

In Hollow Cocoon, you play as Jinba Minato, who's visiting his hometown of Ichinose following news of his grandmother's illness. The story takes place in the 1980s, which comes through in the game's beautiful environment. Many Japanese YouTubers are starting to pick up and talk about this game, and according to some comments I've seen, Ichinose is very realistic in its depiction of the Japanese countryside. In the story, Jinba is not on good terms with his grandmother, which you learn as you explore her house. She used to raise silkworms, apparently. While the creature you'll eventually flee from does not appear for long, it seems to have some silkworm traits. The game will feature multiple endings and paths.

Hollow Cocoon trailer hiding in the closet
Image via Nayuta Studio

As for the gameplay, Hollow Cocoon plays in a fashion that's very similar to Shadow Corridor or Chilla's Art titles. It's a walking sim from a first-person viewpoint. The bulk of the demo had me walking around Jinba's grandmother's house. Jinba is just an ordinary person without special powers or a tough physical build. So it looks like he'll need to hide in closets and such to evade the creature in the final product. The demo also has you using hints scattered around the house to find items. For example, in order to unlock the dresser, I had to figure out a way to obtain the key from the bathtub drain. 

Hollow Cocoon demo coin game
Screenshot by Siliconera

The best part of the demo, unironically, is the coin pinball mini-game. You can access it in the yard, and playing it requires 10 yen coins. You can pick up these coins all around the map, and the demo gives you many of them. If I had an infinite number of coins, I'd still be playing the mini-game!

Hollow Cocoon demo exploration
Screenshot by Siliconera

The house is fairly small, but its labyrinth design makes it bigger than it seems. Perhaps the layout isn't as confusing as I'm making it out to be. I'm just not very good at finding my way through maps. It's embarrassing how many times the similar-looking hallways turned me around, even though I literally just came from the room I wanted to return to. I'm not sure if the devs plan on making the house bigger than what we got in the demo, but hopefully, they do. Running around a space as small and cramped as what we experienced in the demo while being chased by a silkworm-monster hybrid sounds terrifying! In fact, my first thought when I realized this was how much it reminded me of that horrible level in Siren when you had to escape the abandoned house as Harumi.

It's a little hard to describe what makes Hollow Cocoon scary. I went in without any prior knowledge of what happens in the demo and streamed it for my friends so that they could virtually hold my hand throughout. They were useless at providing comfort as they didn't seem scared at all. It doesn't look scary since the majority of the demo was exploring the house. The only thing that's scary about it is the ambiance, which is the very atmospheric horror that works precisely because it keeps its secrets and monster close to its chest. I sincerely hope that the demo is an accurate indicator of how the game will end up.

Hollow Cocoon trailer silkworm
Image via Nayuta Studio

Between its interesting premise and detailed setting, I'm excited to see just what secrets lie in Jinba's grandmother's home. This is only the second project from Nayuta Studio (with Cineris Somnia as its debut title), so it's hard to venture a guess as to the quality of its horror. Hopefully, it can maintain this tense atmosphere as you explore Ichinose and uncover its secrets.

Hollow Cocoon will come out on December 6, 2023, for the Windows PC. The demo is readily available on Steam.

The post Preview: Hollow Cocoon is a J-Horror With Lots of Potential appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Sunday, October 22, 2023 2:00 PM
    

topaz honkai star rail

Ahead of Topaz's debut as a playable character in Honkai: Star Rail, HoYoVerse revealed more information about her on their social media and HoYoLab website. Topaz is a manager of the Strategic Investment Department in the IPC, and she works with her special Trotter, Numby, to collect debts.

You can see the full announcement below:

https://twitter.com/honkaistarrail/status/1715949566972108938

Topaz first appeared in the Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.4 Trailblaze Continuance. She was in a somewhat antagonistic role as she came to collect a debt that Belobog and Jarilo-VI owed the IPC. During the Trailblaze Continuane, we got an insight into her past. In the story, it's revealed that everyone on her homeworld works for the IPC in exchange for fixing their planet's severe pollution problem. Topaz rose quickly through the IPC ranks due to her love of work and luck.

HoYoLab's entry on Topaz doesn't actually include any information on her kit. However, the developer previously gave players a preview of her gameplay during the Version 1.4 special program. Topaz will be a Fire Hunt character who can put enemies in the "Proof of Debt" state. Enemies tagged with this status effect will take more damage from follow-up attacks. Numby works with her to cause follow-up attacks, and her Ultimate will help to buff Numby's performance.

Honkai: Star Rail is available on PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. Topaz and Numby will debut in Honkai: Star Rail as a playable unit starting October 27, 2023.

The post Topaz in Honkai: Star Rail Loves Work and Investments appeared first on Siliconera.


Siliconera Sunday, October 22, 2023 12:00 PM
    

Rusty Rabbit

During TGS 2023, Nitroplus and NetEase Games revealed Rusty Rabbit, an upcoming platforming game written by renowned anime screenwriter Gen Urobuchi. The game sees an adorable hard-boiled rabbit called Stamp setting on a journey to try to find his daughter, while piloting a mech. Siliconera spoke with writer Gen Urobuchi about his work in Rusty Rabbit, Rusty Rabbit's protagonist Stamp, and how different it is creating narratives for anime or visual novels compared to video games.

Daniel Bueno: Aside from being a hard-boiled, adorable but cool character, what would Urobuchi-san say is Stamp's biggest strength as a protagonist?

Gen Urobuchi: I think it's the experiences that Stamp has gained (even for a rabbit!) as a result of the rich life he's led. Those traits feed into his stubbornness and overall charm as a character, and that all feeds into his strength and storyline as the game's protagonist.

How different is writing for anime and visual novels compared to a platformer game, where the action is not as character and dialogue-driven?

Urobuchi: In anime, the viewers are not responsible for the fate of the characters. But in games, players are often responsible for the life and death of characters, and ultimately, the game's ending. So as a creator, there are significant differences to be mindful of that I considered in Rusty Rabbit's story.

Rusty Rabbit
Image via Nitroplus and NetEase Games

Since Rusty Rabbit is being marketed for ages seven and up, has that changed Urobuchi-san's approach in his writing?

Urobuchi: No, my process hasn't changed in working on Rusty Rabbit's story. The completed story happened to fall into the rating of ages seven and up, but I didn't consciously aim for that during the writing process.

Has writing for shows like Kamen Rider Gaim, where the target audience is usually younger, informed the way Urobuchi-san writes for games with a younger audience, as is the case with Rusty Rabbit?

Urobuchi: The production process for Kamen Rider is extremely unique, and I felt that the knowledge and skills gained from it couldn't easily be applied to other media or teams. However, because of its uniqueness, there were valuable lessons that I wouldn't have experienced elsewhere, and those lessons may have indirectly affected my process with Rusty Rabbit.

gen urobuchi
Image via Nitroplus and NetEase Games

Finally, is there anything you would like to share with fans of your work about Rusty Rabbit?

Urobuchi: While it may seem like a lighthearted story with cute characters on the surface, the core of Rusty Rabbit delves into a quite serious human drama. I hope it can serve as a source of comfort for those who may feel a bit exhausted by the rapidly changing landscape of our world and lives right now.

Rusty Rabbit is currently in development, and it will release on the PS5 and Windows PC via Steam sometime in 2024.

The post Interview: Gen Urobuchi Talks About Writing for Rusty Rabbit appeared first on Siliconera.


PC Invasion - FeedDDD Sunday, October 22, 2023 7:05 PM
     Spider-Man 2's terrifying boat people get an upgradeInsomniac games only go from strength to strength as they continue to pump out fantastic titles. They have brought back some of the fans' favorites, such as Ratchet and Clank and the reimagined Spider-Man. However, not every inch of their games is as polished as they seem, and even developers as good as Insomniac slip up sometimes. The boat people of Spider-Man 2 are a prime example. Spider-Man's boat people After the remaster of Marvel Spider-Man came out, players were inundated with easter eggs and nods to the world of Marvel. One of these came in the form of the polygon people left over from the remaster of the game. Players had made their way over to the distant boat and found some rather horrific-looking models hidden way out. YoutTube Kevintendo Insomniac Games never expected players to make it out quite that far, but where a will, there's a way. You can't hide anything from gamers. Once players found the original polygon people wa...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Sunday, October 22, 2023 4:54 PM
     Dust 2 Cs2 CalloutsSmoke lineups are an essential element of the Counter-Strike 2 gameplay. Dust 2, being one of the most played and vital maps of the game, has a lot of smoke lineups for the CS2 players to learn. Smoke lineups are used in Counter-Strike 2 to provide an edge to your team by blocking off important angles from the enemy team. These lineups mostly ensure a smooth site entry for players and also hold a major significance in the pro gaming scene. Dust 2 is one of the most important maps of CS2, and there are a lot of smoke lineups to be used in this map. Whether or not you want to be a pro at CS2, learning these lineups is a must for you to upgrade your game. In this guide, we will show you all the CS2 smoke lineups for the map Dust 2. Related: All smoke and nade practice commands in CS2 CS2 Dust 2: A Cross Smoke from T Spawn Screenshot: PC Invasion Stand on the boxes beside the taxi before A Doors. Now look up and line up your crosshair a bit right t...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Sunday, October 22, 2023 3:50 PM
     Super Mario Bros Wonder Luigi Running To RightIn the realm of video games, few genres have stood the test of time quite like the side-scrolling platformer. From its humble beginnings in the early days of gaming, the genre has evolved and flourished, giving rise to some of the most iconic and beloved titles in gaming history. Super Mario Bros. Wonder does a great job of taking things to the next level. If you finished that and want other games this do well too, check out our list below. 14 top games like Super Mario Bros. Wonder 14 – Super Mario Maker 2 (2019) Image: Nintendo We are cheating a bit by putting Super Mario Maker 2 on this list, but there's a good reason. This was the game that was made before Super Mario Bros. Wonder, and the team wanted so badly to beat this game. Many thought they couldn't surpass this game in the 2D space, but they did. They worked so hard that now it feels like a different game because of how many new ideas have come to Wonder. If you l...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Sunday, October 22, 2023 3:48 PM
     Pokémon Go Legendary Pokemon About To Curb Stomp EveryoneIn a world filled with captivating creatures and thrilling battles, monster-catching games have captivated gamers for decades. While Pokémon reigns supreme, there are numerous other titles that offer unique and engaging experiences within the genre. We have listed the 15 best games like Pokémon below. The games must have released to be on this list, so unfortunately, no Palworld. 15 Best games like Pokémon 15 – NeoPets (1999) Image: NetDragon Yes, NeoPets is here. Neopets is a beloved virtual pet website that has been around for over two decades. It's still up because it's still so fun to keep your pets alive and balling. You can collect pets for yourself and your pets (and their pets). You get to feed, groom, and play with their Neopets, building a strong bond with them. If you've never played, you're missing out. It's definitely worth at least trying out. 14 – Bakugan: Battle Braw...

PC Invasion - FeedDDD Sunday, October 22, 2023 1:59 PM
     How To Complete Battle Of Fear And Faith In Diablo 4 Season 2 Featured ImageTowards the end of Diablo 4 Season 2's seasonal questline, you finally get the chance to take the fight directly to Lord Zir's forces. With Erys running low on hope, she tasks you with putting a stop to the Blood Harvests that have been taking place across Sanctuary since the Season began. The resulting quest, titled Battle of Fear and Faith, is a nice hype-builder for the finale to follow, but it can be confusing to complete, given the vague nature of the instructions it presents you with. If you've fallen victim to this confusion, then read on to learn how to complete Battle of Fear and Faith in Diablo 4 Season 2. How to get through Battle of Fear and Faith in Diablo 4 Season 2 You'll start this quest right after completing Beckoning Thirst, the lengthy Bloodseeker hunt that marks the midpoint of this Season. After returning to the Magistrate's Office and finding Erys absent, the talking skull you awakened earlier will direct you to the Cathedral of Li...

Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, October 22, 2023 3:54 PM
    

A reveal trailer was also released.

The post VR Survival Horror Game Hello Cruel World Announced appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, October 22, 2023 3:17 PM
    

The standard edition will cost $34.99

The post Persona 4 Golden Physical Edition Pre-orders Announced appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.


Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Sunday, October 22, 2023 2:53 PM
    

Assassin's Creed Red is one of the two other games announced last year

The post A New Image Showing Assassin's Creed Red Protagonist Appears Online appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism.