GamersHeroes Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:20 PM For all the adventurers out there, grab your snacks, secure your seat, and get ready - the world of Place Of Departure and Bohemia Interactive's Brute Horse will transport players to the savage world of South Vulgaria. The post Brute Horse Story Trailer Released appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:59 PM A new free game mode for Darkest Dungeon II, Red Hook Studios has released Kingdoms for those on PlayStation consoles. The post Darkest Dungeon II: Free Game Mode Kingdoms Now Available on PlayStation Consoles appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:53 PM A sci-fi platforming adventure fan favorites like Rachet and Clank, Kirby, and A Hat in Time, the galaxy awaits with today's full release of Bolder Games and Chimera Studios' Virballs. The post Elemental Platformer Virballs Full Release Now Available appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
GamersHeroes Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM Assassin's Creed Shadows is another strong entry in the AC universe, excelling by building on the series' strengths. The post Assassin's Creed Shadows Review appeared first on GamersHeroes. |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:20 PM  Something about spring always gets me in the mood to play an RPG. So it's perfect timing that Square Enix is running a sale on some of its biggest releases and has the voice of Final Fantasy XVI's Clive Rosfield, Ben Starr himself, to give fans a refresher on what's out there to choose from. |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:45 PM  Just like her fellow SNK fighter Terry Bogard, Mai Shiranui has integrated well as a Street Fighter 6 DLC character with many of her fan-favorite techniques present. However, the standout aspect of her kit is one that's completely new and exclusive to this game: Flame Stocks. This mechanic provides powerful buffs to… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:35 PM  Assassin's Creed Shadows, like most modern open-world video games, features a large map filled with various animals, including horses, birds, foxes, rabbits, dogs, and cats. But unlike most other open-world games, even others from Ubisoft itself, you can't kill any of these animals. Instead, you can only pet and… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:25 PM  Overwatch 2 has been swimming in collaboration skins over the past few years, and the crossover the hero shooter did with K-Pop group Le Sserafim remains one of its most popular. It's so well-liked, in fact, that Blizzard is working with the pop act again for another set of skins for a (mostly) different set of… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:15 PM  Assassin's Creed Shadows is out later this week and folks, it's really good! And while one of the big reasons I enjoyed this latest installment is because it's wonderful to play, it also helps that Shadows is a drop dead gorgeous open-world RPG with some of the best-looking scenery I've seen on this generation of… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:00 PM  Assassin's Creed Shadows is, if you count every spin-off and mobile game, the 31st entry in Ubisoft's long-running historical open-world franchise about sneaky assassins and secret conspiracies. While I consider myself a fan of the series and was excited to play a new Assassin's Creed adventure set in feudal Japan, I… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:50 PM  Amazon's God of War TV show was announced years ago and is still sorting itself out behind the scenes. Now, well-known TV writer Ronald D. Moore has confirmed he's joined the project, adding that it's already slated for at least two seasons. Also, he's never really played the games because modern controls are just a… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:50 AM  It's been six months to the day since Nintendo and The Pokemon Company announced they were suing Pocketpair, the developer behind the "Pokemon with guns" survival game Palworld. After months of controversy surrounding the game's various alleged Pokemon knock-offs a lawsuit seemed inevitable, and the internet was lit… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:30 AM  Lego has teased its latest video game mashup and this time it's with Pokémon. There's no release date beyond "2026," no pricing info or other details at the moment, and it doesn't really matter because whatever this is will probably sell out while it's still in the pre-order phase. Are you ready to give some rando on… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:05 AM  The second set of Xbox Game Pass games for March 2025 have been confirmed and they include plenty of things to look forward too. From apocalyptic RPC Atomfall to the Blizzard Arcade Collection sporting retro co-op delight The Lost Vikings, it's packed. It's almost enough to make up for all of the great games leaving… |
Kotaku Tuesday, March 18, 2025 8:30 AM  There are so many degrees of scope when it comes to the city building format. The genre, that first flourished in the early '90s with SimCity 2000 has consistently delivered intricate excellence, with series like Tropico, Frostpunk and Anno, building to the triumph of 2015's Cities: Skylines. But it's also offered… |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:04 PM  There is something about the murk of the PlayStation 1 that lent itself to horror. Limited polygon counts and CPU power translated to searing neon lights and gaping darkness. It was hard to see and the flickers of pixels and CRT scan lines tricked your eye into seeing things that weren't there. It's no wonder that survival horror mainstays like Resident Evil and Silent Hill made their debut on the PlayStation. Upcoming game Ghost Sector seeks to bring that aesthetic back in force, in a blurry and dark sci-fi world which conjures Metal Gear Solid and Deus Ex. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best horror games on PC, Best survival games on PC, Best indie games on PC |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:40 PM  Valve has just issued an update to its Steam Deck compatibility ratings for GTA 5 Enhanced and Rainbow Six Siege, declaring them both as Playable. That's despite both games using the same BattlEye anti-cheat software that blocks Linux gamers, like those using Valve's handheld gaming PC, from playing online with other gamers. While the Steam Deck continues to be the best handheld gaming PC for most gamers, consistency with the platform's verification ratings has been a problem for some time. While GTA 5 Enhanced's main offline mode doesn't require anti-cheat, GTA Online does, as does Rainbow Six Siege, leaving a question mark over why the rating has been changed. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: GTA 5 RP servers, GTA 6 release date estimate, GTA 5 cheats |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:34 PM  Sometimes you want to customize a whole family lineage, from grandparents to grandchildren, telling a rags to riches story across generations. The Sims 4 will provide that for you in spades. But sometimes, you want something smaller, just a single person, making the lives of their neighbors better. Enter MySims, the franchise's answer to Animal Crossing, which originally released way back in 2007 for the Nintendo Wii. If you ever wanted The Sims to have a cozier, cutesier vibe, look no further. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best life games, Best games like Stardew Valley, Best games like Animal Crossing |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:31 PM  Right now, Paradox and Colossal Order are celebrating the tenth anniversary of Cities Skylines. The modern metropolitan take on the city building genre is one of the best you can play on PC today, even with CS2 still pulling itself up by its bootstraps. As someone with a love of history, though, I've had my eye on Pompeii: The Legacy for some time. This Ancient Roman take on the genre blends fact, fiction, and logistics into an all-new experience, and you can try it now ahead of launch. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best strategy games, Best city building games, Best simulation games |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  What are the best Assassin's Creed Shadows settings for PC and Steam Deck? This latest Assassin's Creed adventure is absolutely stunning when cranked up to the max settings on PC, with great performance to match. The Assassin's Creed Shadows system requirements have already revealed that you would need one of the best graphics cards to run this latest Ubisoft RPG at its highest settings, but performance on older GPUs, including the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 on which we tested it, is still incredibly strong. Continue reading Best Assassin's Creed Shadows settings for PC and Steam Deck MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best graphics card, Best gaming PC, Best SSD for gaming |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM  How long is Assassin's Creed Shadows? Ubisoft's storied RPG series is finally taking us to Japan, as we follow assassin Naoe and samurai Yasuke through the twilight years of the Sengoku period. Considering how long fans have waited to live out their ultimate shinobi fantasy, hopes are high for plenty of content to dive into. While Assassin's Creed Shadows didn't spark joy in our AC Shadows review, there is, at least, plenty for you to do - its main story won't pass you by in a flash, that's for sure. Following the footsteps of its open-world predecessors, the Assassin's Creed Shadows length won't disappoint. Continue reading How long is Assassin's Creed Shadows? MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM  How does the Hideout work in Assassin's Creed Shadows? Every undercover faction needs a super slick base of operations, and Ubisoft's providing the shinobi league with what looks to be a robust base-building experience in its upcoming epic. Stashed deep within the Izumi Settsu province, the Assassin's Creed Shadows Hideout is where you'll spend plenty of time in the open-world RPG when you're not out on missions. With Shadows now in the light, we've pulled together everything we currently know about the system into one easy guide, which you can dig into below. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows Hideout explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  How do you transmog gear in AC Shadows? Early on in your AC Shadows journey, you'll be picking up low-level gear left and right. Whether it be a new hat or a new sword, chances are it boasts better stats than what you currently have equipped. This is great from a power curve standpoint, but can lead to some pretty garish outfits, and if we're honest, that just won't do. Thankfully, Assassins Creed Shadows lets you transmog gear to resemble the coolest pieces in your inventory without sacrificing its stats. Visual customization lets you take the look of that amazing AC Shadows legendary gear and apply it to a piece of higher-level armor to gain power and look good while you're at it. Here's how to take your best AC Shadows armor and transmog it to suit your sense of style. Continue reading Assassins Creed Shadows transmog explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  Where can you find AC Shadows resources? While Naoe can achieve a lot on her own, some undertakings are beyond even her capable hands. You need to build something special if you want to take down the murderous gang that plagues you, and for that, you'll need plenty of resources. These can come in many forms and can be gathered in different ways. The AC Shadows Hideout serves as your home base, and while it may have a humble beginning, eventually you can build up an operation that would put the emperor to shame. To do this, though, you'll have to collect a lot of resources from around the AC shadows map. We have a list of all resources in Assassin's Creed Shadows, what they're used for, and where to get them. Continue reading How to get Assassin's Creed Shadows resources MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  What are the best Assassin's Creed Shadows mods? At PCGamesN we firmly believe there are a few games that won't benefit from a well-crafted mod or two. AC Shadows is no exception to this, and whether it's something balance-breaking like increasing loot rates or something more implicit like minor texture tweaks, we expect AC's modding scene to jump on Ubisoft's latest as soon as it lands. Assassin's Creed Shadows is finally upon us, and from our AC Shadows review playthrough it's clear there's plenty of room for improvement. Though Valhalla's mod offering wasn't quite as transformational as some of the other open-world RPGs that have come and gone, we have nonetheless persevered with our shortlist of AC Shadows mods we expect to see, as well as our wishlist of what we'd like to see. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows mods wishlist MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  Who can you romance in Assassin's Creed Shadows? Naoe and Yasuke are more than proficient at stabbing their foes through the heart, and they can work on filling their own with love while venturing across Japan. Ubisoft is bringing back romance once more in Assassin's Creed Shadows, offering our dual protagonists the opportunity to put the 'game' in 'open-world game' as they rizz up various AC Shadows allies. Spotting an opportunity to strike up an AC Shadows romance during the AC Shadows quests is simple work, as dialog options leading down that route are denoted with a love heart - how lovely. To find out who the lucky recipients of your affections are and how their character arcs pan out (major spoilers ahead), read on. Just to note, Canon Mode won't impact your chances, so don't worry about toggling it. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows romance options MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:04 PM  What are the best Assassin's Creed Shadows builds for the early game? Your journey across feudal Japan will be fraught with dangers, from roaming ronin to the powerful bosses looking to give you a run for your Mon. Suffice it to say, you're going to have to get creative to survive, which is where character-building comes in. Thanks to the interplay between the AC Shadows skill trees and your equipment (especially the best AC Shadows weapons and best AC Shadows armor), you can turn Naoe and Yasuke into roving death machines in the open-world RPG. Before we dive into the AC Shadows builds we found most effective during the early game, make sure you have our skills guide, alongside our Assassin's Creed Shadows Legendary gear location guide open for quick reference. Continue reading The best Assassin's Creed Shadows builds for the early game MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  What are the best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons? AC Shadows scales item levels to your current character level, so the best gear is typically whatever you discover next. However, like most RPG gear systems, it also offers up loot of varying rarities - and unsurprisingly, the Legendary weapons are top-tier. These Legendary weapons are by far and away the best AC Shadows weapons thanks to their unique passives. These passives can completely define your playstyle in the RPG game, and we've featured plenty of them in our best AC Shadows builds. Be sure to brush up on the AC Shadows Legendary gear locations as you peruse the weapons we've evaluated to be the best of the best. Continue reading Best Assassin's Creed Shadows weapons MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM  How does the Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted system work? As with most Assassin's Creed protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke can't operate exactly as they please when going after high-value targets. Trespassing on castle grounds carries severe consequences if you're caught, adding a tinge of tension to the proceedings. As AC games past have iterated on notoriety systems, Assassin's Creed Shadows introduces a Wanted system. While you've traditionally been able to tear down a few posters and sneak away without much fanfare in many of the RPG series' installments, Shadows won't let you off the hook that easily. Below, we detail all you need to know about the system, and how to remove the Wanted status if you do take a few too many liberties while on the hunt. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows Wanted system explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  There's a good idea at the core of Assassin's Creed Shadows. It stars a pair of main characters, the samurai Yasuke and ninja Naoe, who not only play differently from one another but also represent the series' distant and more recent past. Yasuke, who arrives in Japan during the game's introduction as an African-born slave to Portuguese traders, is best suited to direct combat, slashing at enemies with a long katana and crashing through doors at a sprint. His movement and combat style are reminiscent of the bruisers featured in more recent Assassin's Creed entries, like 2020's Valhalla and 2018's Odyssey. Naoe, on the other hand, is a more direct heir to the sneakier, fragile protagonists of the first Assassin's Creed games from the late '00s and early 2010s. She's adept at quietly slitting throats, scrambling up walls, and slipping away from confrontation in the billows of a tossed smoke bomb. MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:04 PM  What are the Assassin's Creed Shadows skills? Whether you want to be a feather-footed shinobi or a one-man samurai army, AC Shadows includes multiple skill trees with various abilities you can unlock to improve your performance in combat. Our complete list of all skills can help you decide which to unlock first. With so many to choose from, the best AC Shadows skills can often mean the difference between life and death, especially against AC Shadows bosses. Aside from new abilities, Assassin's Creed Shadows skills can provide passive buffs to your AC Shadows weapons and combat moves. If you're spoiled for choice, here are the best skills and how to unlock them. Continue reading All Assassin's Creed Shadows skills and best skills to unlock first MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:03 PM  What is the best Assassin's Creed Shadows armor? Naoe and Yasuke will quite literally have to roll with the punches (and the katanas… and the kanabos) as they quest across feudal Japan. To say they're going to need proper protective gear is an understatement. In Assassin's Creed Shadows, you'll want to track down armor pieces that not only look good, but also keep you alive in the RPG game. Unsurprisingly, the best AC Shadows armor pieces are Legendary tier due to the powerful unique passives that they carry. Many of these pieces feature in our best AC Shadows builds, so you know they're top-class. Continue reading Best Assassin's Creed Shadows armor MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:17 PM  What are the Assassin's Creed Shadows quests? The latest installment in the iconic RPG series has plenty of content for you to sneak or slash through, and keeping track of every quest and side mission can quickly become overwhelming. This is especially true seeing as Assassin's Creed Shadows' quest structure isn't entirely linear, and at points you'll be able to pick and choose which of the AC Shadows bosses you want to prioritize hunting down in the RPG (obligatory spoiler warning). This doesn't even account for the numerous side-assassination targets you can cleave through with the best AC Shadows weapons. Luckily for you, we're here to help with our comprehensive by-chapter AC Shadows mission list, plus our side quest and ally quest lists. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows quest list - main and side missions MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:02 PM  Where do you get legendary gear in Assassin's Creed Shadows? You can gain access to powerful passive abilities with certain pieces of legendary gear, capable of drastically changing the way you approach combat. Legendary gear can be found inside legendary chests scattered throughout Japan, or earned through clearing content like quests and Projects in the Animus Hub. If you want to find specific pieces of equipment, we've got you covered with our comprehensive Assassin's Creed Shadows legendary gear location list. Here, we'll show you where exactly you'll find some of the best AC Shadows weapons, AC Shadows armor, AC Shadows Amulets, and Trinkets you can get your hands on, what each piece of equipment does, and how to upgrade your gear. Light spoiler warning. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows legendary gear locations and how to upgrade MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:02 PM  How do you make money in Assassin's Creed Shadows? Heading up and expanding a shinobi league across Japan doesn't come cheap, and you're going to need plenty of coin to pay for it all. Whether you're training your AC Shadows allies, buying up Kakuregas, or upgrading that sweet piece of AC Shadows Legendary gear you just found, Assassin's Creed Shadows makes you work hard for it. Below, we lay out the main methods of making AC Shadows Mon - the open-world RPG game's clipped currency - so you can begin building your feudal empire. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows Mon - how to make money easily MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM  Looking for Assassin's Creed Shadows guides? We've been clamoring for an Assassin's Creed set in feudal Japan right from the series' inception. After nearly 18 years, that dream is finally a reality, and there's plenty to learn about its characters - both good and bad - alongside all of the things you can get up to (and, more importantly, loot) in the RPG. A gorgeous, open-world recreation of the Sengoku period's twilight years, Assassin's Creed Shadows may not have wowed in our Assassin's Creed Shadows review, but there's still plenty of goodness to enjoy. Whether you're piloting the fleet-footed Naoe or one-man-army Yasuke, below you'll find every guide you could possibly need to navigate Ubisoft's latest. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows guides MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:02 PM  Who are the Assassin's Creed Shadows allies? A journey wrought with deception, vengeance, and redemption can be a bit much for Shadows' dual protagonists, Naoe and Yasuke. Fortunately, there are some friendly faces jotted about Japan who are rooting for their success, and join the shinobi league once certain requirements are met. Your allies do a lot more than just sit in your AC Shadows Hideout and look pretty. Some may assist you on the battlefield, while others serve as AC Shadows romance options - how thrilling. Below we'll teach you all you need to know about each ally, including how to recruit them in Assassin's Creed Shadows, any abilities they have, and more. We do reference quest names in this guide, so keep our AC Shadows quest list open as you go. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows allies and how to recruit them MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM  Where is the cat island in Assassin's Creed Shadows? There are few greater joys in life than petting a cat. The tiny paws. Feeling the reverberations of their purrs as you rub their bellies. They're dopamine on legs, quite frankly. Fortunately for Naoe and Yasuke, they too can revel in these feline delights, and there's an entire island dedicated to our favorite fur balls. Japan is renowned for its numerous cat islands. From Aoshima to Enoshima, Sangagishima to Muzukijima. The Assassin's Creed Shadows team has undoubtedly done extensive research into them and has treated us to a lovely recreation of feudal Okishima in the open-world RPG, a small fishing island located in modern-day Shiga prefecture. Read on to discover where exactly you find the AC Shadows cat island and when you can get to it. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows cat island location MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:02 PM  How do AC Shadows scouts work? Japan is a big place, and for Naoe, the threats are many. If you want to succeed in achieving your vengeance-themed goals, you'll need some help, and AC Shadows scouts are the perfect way to give you an advantage over those who would do you harm. Not only can they dampen the threat on your life, but they can increase your wealth and even scout out an area before you visit. Eventually, you will have a lot of assets on your side in Assassin's Creed Shadows. This includes a handful of powerful AC Shadows allies, and the best AC Shadows weapons - leading into the best AC Shadows builds, of course - but one of the first tools at your disposal is your array of scouts. Here's how the AC Shadows scouts work, and how you can use them to get an advantage over the enemy. Continue reading Assassin's Creed Shadows scouts explained MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
PCGamesN Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:00 PM  What are the best Assassin's Creed Shadows Amulets and Trinkets? Naoe and Yasuke are going to need all the protective tags and lucky charms they can get their hands on if they want to survive their quest, and Shadows provides some incredibly handy boons. While our best AC Shadows weapons and AC Shadows armor guides only feature Legendary-tier pieces, we have a sneaky, Epic rarity addition that we've had a blast using in Assassin's Creed Shadows. Below, you'll find all of the AC Shadows Amulets and AC Shadows Trinkets worth using in the RPG. Be sure to keep our AC Shadows legendary gear locations guide open as you peruse. Continue reading Best Assassin's Creed Shadows Amulets and Trinkets MORE FROM PCGAMESN: Best RPGs on PC, Best stealth games, Assassin's Creed Shadows release date |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:30 PM .jpg?width=1920&height=1920&fit=bounds&quality=80&format=jpg&auto=webp){kind=tracking} I don't usually get this excited about a CPU, but the AMD Ryzen 7 9800X3D is something special. It has been impossible to find for weeks, and now it's back for $479 at Amazon (and at Amazon UK). That's the official launch price, which is great because I refuse to pay a penny over it. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:19 PM Spiritfarer devs release 33 Immortals, the early access co-op hellraiser that plays like an MMO raid  Spiritfarer and Jotun developers Thunder Lotus Games have released the early access version of 33 Immortals, their 33-player co-op fantasy action game that aims to simulate the experience of an MMO raid via matchmaking, without the experience of playing through a whole-ass MMO. Speaking as both an enjoyer of their previous Sundered, and somebody who has neither time nor friends, I am down for this. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:59 PM  Rise of the Ronin is just not having a very good time on PC. The game only launched on Steam just last week, where it was quickly discovered that, oh dear, there are a lot of issues. Just a quick look at the game's reviews will let you in on its myriad of problems, but one of the biggest ones that's cropped up is an issue where save files are being completely wiped, obviously quite an annoying bug especially if you've put a lot of time into the game. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:08 PM  Even though the Assassin's Creed series has become something of a hooded, shifty-eyed poster child for AAA bloat and excess, its more recent editions have understood the need to keep the hardware side accessible, never over-gorging on fancy effects to the detriment of performance. That Assassin's Creed Shadows adds mandatory ray tracing to its already hyper-detailed rendition of feudal Japan might, therefore, make it look like it's going rogue. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:05 PM  Cities: Skylines 2 has a new patch that makes a raft of changes to the Paradox city builder's UI and systems such as traffic and garbage, while adding two new Easy and Normal difficulty modes and ten 'birthday parks' to celebrate the first game's 10 year anniversary. The developers have also made some "quality-of-life improvements related to homelessness". That's "quality-of-life" in the vacuum-sealed software development sense of the simulation being nicer to operate, rather than quality of life in the sense of having a roof over your head. I would probably have gone with some slightly less dystopian phrasing, Colossal Order. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:00 PM  It seems like no matter where you go, Mappa is right there, ready and waiting with an anime something-or-other you weren't expecting. This time, you'll find the studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen in Ark: Survival Ascended, of all places, specifically in its first expansion pack Lost Colony. Studio Wildcard revealed a teaser of the expansion yesterday, set to be released November this year, showing off one of "numerous" anime cutscenes that it will feature focusing on the character Mei Yin. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:00 PM  Assassin's Creed is for magpies. These stealth action adventures constantly dangle some glittering side hustle to distract you from the winding road of the main story. They are "while we're here" games. In town to kill a guy who dishonored your family? OK, but there's a viewpoint nearby, so let's go while we're here. Oh look, there's a wild heron to sketch along the way, let's do that, just while we're here. Hm, squint past the bird and look, a bandit camp full of wood and gunpowder and other useful resources for building your own hideout. Better murder everyone and steal their rocks (while we're here). Assassin's Creed Shadows is another marathon of distraction. A reliably Ubisoftian tourist trap that sequesters you in a hedge maze of history with a packed itinerary and a disregard for the time constraints of adult life. I found the storytelling dull and the combat as sticky-fingered as ever (at least to my grizzled, Sekiro-adoring hands). But it gets a pass from me on the strength of its atmosphere alone, not to mention the commitment to its setting of Sengoku-era Japan, and its impressive (if sometimes overwhelming) scope. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:08 PM  I'm still learning how to say "ginger" in Ginger, which was recommended to us by Maw feeder Fachewachewa. It's listed in the game's dictionary, and I have worked out how to say "er" - A + space + down arrow - and "g" - shift + S + space + up arrow. But I'm struggling to string together these consonants and vowels into words. It turns out computer keyboards are not an intuitive way of operating the human voicebox. This, of course, is what makes Ginger fascinating. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:28 AM  Half Life 2 RTX, the Nvidia-backed graphical overhaul mod for Valve's seminal FPS, has a Steam demo out today. It covers both the Ravenholm and Nova Prospekt chapters, for an extended look at how much ray-slash-path tracing, RTX Remix asset remastering, and DLSS 4 Multi Frame Generation is being packed into the decades-old shooter. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:00 AM  Two years since the first gaming-focused PCIe 5.0 SSDs showed up, there are some encouraging signs that these drives might eventually develop something approaching a point. Consider the Crucial T700, one of the first 5.0 SSDs to escape the data centre and make a break for our PCs: more expensive than the best PCIe 4.0 models, and slower than them at loading games. Useless. Now, though, we have drives like the PNY CS2150 bringing down the entry fee, as well as the new Samsung 9100 Pro to finally – finally – deliver a performance improvement. Still, there's a way to go before PCIe 5.0 storage becomes the new standard, and honestly, that could take another two years or more. For all the CS2150's cost-cutting and the all the 9100 Pro's speed, neither make for compelling all-rounders like their 4.0 cousins do. |
Rock Paper Shotgun Latest Articles Feed Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:14 AM  It was around the time the sigil-ridden corpse hooked up to a breathing tube pooped out a slithering, smiling garden gnome, and shortly after I had to sacrifice my arms, legs, colours and voice to a bunch of hideous trees that I realised that, hang on, this isn't my current lunchtime favourite Bracket City. This is the demo for Moroi, a top-down "dark fairytale" from Violet Saint and publishers Good Shepherd, in which you are a horrible little man in a world of talking meat grinders, plughole maggots, and clamp-faced crawling things. |
Twinfinite Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:00 PM  |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:30 PM
Shin Kamen Rider movie writer and director Hideaki Anno is currently working on the script for the sequel to the tokusatsu live action film. However, Toei has yet to greenlight the potential planned sequel to the 2023 movie.
The message confirming that Anno is working on the script for the sequel was shared on social media by the studio Khara official social media account. The original message appeared in Japanese, and it roughly translates to:
"53 years ago, on (March) 18th, Kamen Rider vs. Shocker came out. And 2 years ago today Shin Kamen Rider also released.
I am currently writing the script for 5 other works and, if everything goes as planned, I will also be giving my best working on the 6th project, Shin Kamen Rider: Masker World. (Our company president)"
Hideaki Anno didn't add any details on what the other five projects he is working on are. As a reminder, Anno worked on the recent Shin Japan Heroes Universe movies, including Shin Kamen Rider, Shin Godzilla, Shin Ultraman, and the final entry in the Rebuild of Evangelion films. In addition to the aforementioned movies, Anno is one of the writers in the upcoming Gundam GQuuuuuuX anime.
Shin Kamen Rider is available for streaming via Prime Video. Hideaki Anno is currently working on the script for a sequel tentatively named Shin Kamen Rider: Masker World.
The post Hideaki Anno Working on Shin Kamen Rider Sequel appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:00 PM
SNK announced that it will hold the second open beta test for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves in late March 2025. Players all over the world can get another opportunity to try out the new Fatal Fury fighting game for free with nine playable characters, including Tizoc, in four available stages.
The new open beta test will launch worldwide on March 27, 2025, with exceptions for Mountain, Pacific, and further western time zones that will see the beta go live on March 26, 2025, at 11 PM MDT or 10 PM PDT. Those in the Eastern US time zone can access the beta test from March 27, 2025, at 1 AM until March 31, 2025, at 4 AM.
For the record, SNK held the first open beta test on February 20-25, 2025. It featured eight playable characters: Rock Howard, Terry Bogard, Hotaru Futaba, Mai Shiranui, B. Jenet, Preecha, Vox Reaper, and Kain R. Heinlein. The second open beta will have the addition of Tizoc, the Fatal Fury series recurring wrestler who is also known in the Japanese release as the Griffon Mask.
The second open beta test for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves will run on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X|S, and PC worldwide on March 27-31, 2025. SNK will release the full game on all aforementioned platforms the following month on April 24, 2025.
The post Fatal Fury CotW Second Open Beta Test Adds Tizoc appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:30 PM
Good Smile Company announced it is now taking orders for its first Nendoroid Plamo model kit, which allows someone to build a Hatsune Miku figure that looks like a smaller take on a Nendoroid. When finished, it ends up being about half the size of a standard one. It costs ￥2,650/$21.99, and it is expected to ship in August 2025 in Japan and early 2026 worldwide.
So a Nendoroid figure is typically 100mm, which is just under four inches, and the Nendoroid Plamo model kit will build items that are 50mm (about two inches) tall. Unlike a Nendoroid, they will not come with additional face parts. They also will only come with one pair of hands. However, there will be some minor articulation, as the photos of this first one show someone will be able to turn Miku's head, move her arms, adjust her twintail pigtail positions, and twist her hands at the wrist.
This will also be a simple style Hatsune Miku model kit. The initial photos show the five sprues, which hold 26 parts used to build the character. The ones with the face plate and torso top have pre-painted elements. The product page also confirmed there will be stickers for other accents. No glue is needed, but nippers are recommended to safely remove parts from the sprues.
Here's a closer look at how the kit will look when it arrives.
There is also a photo comparing the model to an actual Nendoroid, to provide a better sense of scale.
This comes as Good Smile Company prepares to hit a milestone when it comes to Hatsune Miku figures. It is working on a 100th Nendoroid of the Vocaloid.
The Hatsune Miku Nendoroid Plamo model kit will ship in August 2025 in Japan and Q1 2026 worldwide. Pre-orders are open through Good Smile Company until May 7, 2025.
The post Hatsune Miku Nendoroid Plamo Model Kit Lets You Build a Figure appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:00 PM
Toei announced yet another One Piece night for a US team, and this time it'll involve the Seattle Mariners and Houston Astros baseball game on April 8, 2025. The event will be designed to highlight the manga and anime series and the card game.
Tickets are now on sale for the T-Mobile Park event in Seattle, Washington via the official site. If they don't sell out, then they will be available until April 7, 2025. These start at $21 for a View Level seat, though $41 Main Level and $51 Club Level ones are also available. Each one of these special purchases for the event also entitles people to a shirt with the One Piece logo and Luffy on it.
Here's the key art for the event. It features Luffy below the logos for One Piece, the Astros, and the Mariners.
And this is the matching shirt that will be given away to ticket holders.
While the site notes the event starts at 6:40pm PT on April 8, 2025, there will be events before the game. These will be held at Victory Hall. Exact One Piece elements weren't mentioned., aside from chances to see the One Piece Card Game. Previous events included photo ops and other anime imagery.
This is the third One Piece night at a sporting event to show up in the US in 2025. The first involved a Laker's game in February 2025. The other will be a Red Sox game against the Twins in May 2025.
The Seattle Mariners One Piece night will fall on on April 8, 2025, and people can attend the baseball game against the Houston Astros at T-Mobile Park in Seattle, Washington. You can find the anime on Crunchyroll and Netflix, and Viz Media handles the manga outside of Japan. The live-action adaptation is only on Netflix.
The post One Piece Seattle Mariners Baseball Game Event Set for April appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:30 PM
In response to the feedback to the Atelier Yumia demo, Gust released a statement detailing the optimizations, camera updates, and adjustments that'll appear in the final version of the game via patch releases. To summarize, it will improve performance on certain consoles and usability.
The entire statement regarding changes and patch alterations is available on the official Atelier Yumia website. If you've played the demo or have seen clips of people playing the trial, you might've seen some of the following issues with the game's current build. Many people complained about the Atelier Yumia camera, such as how it swings after battle. This can cause motion sickness for people susceptible to it. The option to shorten these animations will appear in a later update. Gust also plans to add more settings for us to personalize the camerawork and presentation to what's comfortable for us.
Gust will also implement fixes to usability and character feel. Some players have complained that they have trouble figuring out how to do certain things, and so tutorials or the commands will appear on screen. These updates will appear in the game in stages. Finally, it will optimize the game performance on certain platforms. In particular, the Switch version demo resulted in a lot of complaints regarding the unstable frame rate.
Atelier Yumia will come out on March 21, 2025 for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. A demo is live now. The optimizations for Atelier Yumia will go live in the near future, and the final product will have all the fixes from the demo build.
The post Atelier Yumia Camera and Optimizations Coming via Patches appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM
Assassin's Creed Shadows marks the long-awaited return of the mainline series. The country of Japan is absolutely stunning to explore, with one of the best gameplay systems and storyline to date. In fact, I think Assassin's Creed Shadows would hands down be the best in the series if it weren't for the heavily problematic exploration.
If you are like me and have always wanted an Assassin's Creed game set in Japan, this title mostly lives up to those expectations. With around nine regions to explore and a vast story spanning roughly 40 hours without including any of side content, it is jam-packed with a gorgeous, fully realized version of 16th century Japan at the height of its Sengoku Period. It's a strong foundation.
The world depicted in Assassin's Creed Shadows is one of the most beautiful I've ever seen in a game. The visual effects, like the wind blowing through flower fields or the numerous vistas we synchronize with, provide some of the most detailed and stunning visuals I've experienced. I feel the graphics appear to be much more detailed than all past entries of the series I've played, and Ubisoft used a strikingly varied color palette.
It helps that the seasons in Assassin's Creed Shadows play into its visual style. The four seasons change everything, from the look of locations to certain content available. Over the course of my time with the experience, I constantly found myself seeing something new. Or, well, sometimes I would if it weren't for how problematic the exploration is.
It is a shame how bad actually experiencing and exploring the world is in Assassin's Creed Shadows, especially since it is the installment I want to spend the most time savoring. For one, the map layout is awful. Foliage is everywhere, leading to an unbelievable amount of tall trees and bushes getting in your way. If you go off the beaten path, good luck seeing anything anywhere. The plant life makes it nearly impossible, and I couldn't find a way to turn it down, either.
Worse still, climbing is not good in Assassin's Creed Shadows. I long for the "climb everywhere" type of entries! This is, sadly, not one of them. It gets even more troublesome. If you go up an incline that is too steep, you'll immediately slip down it. The unfortunate part is, this being Japan, there are hills and such uneven land everywhere.
If you even try to shorten your journey to a destination in Assassin's Creed Shadows and go off of the road, then good luck. You will probably experience a lot of frustration as a result. (That is, if you can even see anything.) I remember my worst moment involved journeying to a viewpoint to synchronize 1,200 meters away from me. I tried to go in a straight line to shorten the distance as much as possible. I made it there! But for literally 800 meters of the journey, I couldn't see anything because of the environmental execution.
To make matters worse, roads aren't super common in Assassin's Creed Shadows. In fact, you can only see a handful of major highways on the map if you haven't already been somewhere yet! These major paths don't usually go by viewpoints or any other significant landmarks. So, it is up to you to rely on guides or run through the impossible-to-see-through foliage to get somewhere. Thankfully, navigating through towns, castles, and cities is far less of an issue, but getting to those spots can be a major headache.
This frustrating exploration is a stark contrast to the otherwise excellent experience found in Assassin's Creed Shadows. For instance, the gameplay finally feels like it strikes the right balance between action-RPG and assassination simulator. Yasuke and Naoe help to provide everyone something to enjoy, regardless of preferred style. You can play most of the game as the person you prefer. If you like slower, almost Souls-like parries and dodges, Yasuke is the way to go. But if you prefer the more traditional assassin and tools skillset like me, Naoe offers that. This allows for a balanced blend of the Eivor and Kassandras of the series alongside its actual assassin roots. Though I will say Naoe isn't still perfect, as her dual assassination doesn't register all the time and requires a specific weapon type, but she's still a strong option.
While I generally don't prefer the more action side of the Assassin's Creen series' recent games, Yasuke feels like the best protagonist thus far. His playstyle as a samurai slows everything down and turns it into a more weighty and ability-focused experience. It is to the point where, while you can grind and reach a high enough level to complete a quest, I found it possible to do quests above my level if I mastered blocking and dodging. This reward for player skill is a welcome change of pace.
What is also nice is the level of content in this experience. While I liked Assassin's Creed Valhalla a lot, I found its supplemental missions horrible and bland. Thankfully, Assassin's Creed Shadows makes up for that with worthy side content that I felt encouraged to complete. Every piece of content feeds into another area. For instance, you might meet an NPC in the main story and rescue them. They then show up as an ally with their own side story, complete with assassination targets and the like. Or you might find some random animals in the wild, then draw a beautiful 2D painting of them. You can then display that painting or even the pet animal at your customizable Hideout. There are temples that grant XP or Mastery Points to upgrade skills. Every piece of side content has its place and complements the main story well.
And the best part is, that's all before the actual story in Assassin's Creed Shadows. This is by far the most engaging plot in the series yet. This is certainly a welcome change of pace after the forgettable Assassin's Creed Mirage plot. Naoe and Yasuke are by far the most heartwarming and memorable protagonists. Ubisoft gives you a lot of reasons to root for the duo on their journey. I will admit that, at times, it feels more like Naoe's game, but Yasuke does get his moments as well.
The other side characters help to fill out the plot, too, especially when it comes to the Assassin's Creed Shadows villains. This is by far the most unforgettable set of bad guys found in an installment. Instead of just being masked or unknown targets, Ubisoft uses the game's story to make the player hate them, too. Or even empathize with some of them, in a couple of cases. This makes the story and hunt for the enemies more personal and engaging in the process.
This is all why it is such a shame that Assassin's Creed Shadows falls apart in the exploration department. Getting to an goal is such a chore, despite the incredible visuals. But once you get to the primary objective in Assassin's Creed Shadows, you will find the best combat, story, characters, and setting in an Assassin's Creed game yet. If it was more enjoyable to roam around the world, which is, sadly, how a large portion of your time playing, this would easily be the best overall entry in the series to date.
Assassin's Creed Shadows releases for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 20, 2025.
The post Review: Messy Exploration Holds Back Assassin's Creed Shadows appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:30 PM
Hololive Vtubers Fuwawa and Mococo Abyssgard, known together as Fuwamoco, announced they will be taking a brief hiatus to deal with personal obligations. The twins didn't announce a firm date for their return, but they do have a return stream scheduled for March 30, 2025. That date could change in the future.
The announcement came via social media, but the pair also discussed it briefly during the final portion of a recent Phasmophobia stream. The trip is expected to last "a bit more than one week," during which time they will be meeting with their parents, but they also clarified that this hiatus is not a vacation. The twin Vtubers will be performing some important obligations during that time as well. Their next expected stream is scheduled on their Youtube channel, along with a stream meant to serve as an open chatroom for their fans to use while they are away.
You can find Fuwamoco's statement via the tweet below:
Earlier in March 2025, Good Smile Company showed off some unpainted prototypes for new Vtuber figures. The Hololive Super Expo reveals included both Fuwawa and Mococo Nendoroids.
Hololive Vtubers Fuwamoco will be taking a brief hiatus, with a return stream tentatively scheduled for March 30, 2025.
The post Hololive Vtubers Fuwamoco to go on Hiatus appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:00 PM
On March 18, 2025, the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers played the first MLB Tokyo Series game at Japan's Tokyo Dome, and Pokemon icon Pikachu made a cameo appearance. In addition to the series being referenced during the introduction to the match-up, people in mascot costumes of the character appeared in Dodgers' jerseys.
The official MLB social media account shared videos of some of the Pokemon references and Pikachu appearances during the first Cubs vs Dodgers Tokyo Series baseball game. First, it showed the introduction. This involved a video with electrical effects and a reference to "Japanese monsters went to MLB." We also see a child on the mound in a uniform that is holding a standard Poke Ball.
Another video offered a peek at the Pikachu mascots roaming the field at points during the Cubs vs Dodgers Tokyo Series baseball game. While it highlighted Yoshiki's performance of the US national anthem, two characters could be seen behind both teams.
Thoughout the game, the mascots could be seen milling about in the background of shots. For example, Cut4 shared this clip that showed a Pikachu coming up behind broadcasters Stephen Nelson and Kirsten Watson.
The Dodgers won that first game of the season. The final score was 4 to 1.
While the first game already happened on March 18, 2025, it is still possible to catch the second. That will happen on March 19, 2025. People will be able to watch it starting at 3:10am PT/6:10am ET. Both games featured the Cubs and Dodgers. Both teams also faced Japanese teams in exhibition matches ahead of the season opener. These involved the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants each facing both the Cubs and Dodgers.
The next MLB Tokyo Series game between the Cubs and Dodgers will air at 3:10am PT/6:10am ET on March 19, 2025. The most recent mainline Pokemon games are Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on the Nintendo Switch.
The post Pikachu and Pokemon Crash MLB Tokyo Series Baseball Game appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:30 AM
Microsoft announced the next round of games leaving Xbox Game Pass, and four games from the Yakuza series will be removed from all tiers of the subscription service by the end of the month. Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon will all be unavailable from March 31, 2025.
These four games are available to play on the Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC while available, and cloud streaming is supported. Those who want to play the games have less than two weeks to finish them.
In total, 10 games will be leaving Xbox Game Pass at the end of March 2025. Alongside the four Yakuza titles, Monster Hunter Rise is another critically acclaimed Japanese game leaving the subscription service this month.
Here is the list of all 10 games leaving Xbox Game Pass on March 31, 2025. The only one that doesn't support play on the cloud, consoles, and PC is MLB The Show 24, as it isn't available on Windows.
If you are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass, nine games are being added to different tiers of the service throughout March 2025. How many games you get access to will depend on your tier.
Here are the games arriving on the different Xbox Game Pass tiers this month:
Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon will leave Xbox Game Pass for consoles and PCs on March 31, 2025.
The post Yakuza Games Leaving Xbox Game Pass appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:00 AM
Bandai Spirits has revealed that it will restock three of its Gunpla model kits from the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise and sell them exclusively on Premium Bandai. While the company is also producing kits from other universes like Gundam SEED's Cosmic Era and Iron-Blooded Orphans' Post Disaster timeline, the three Gunpla kits in this list are based on mobile suits from the Zeon side in the Universal Century timeline. All three kits will also have the same HG (High Grade) 1/144 scale. [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]
The first one will be Char Aznable's customized version of the High Mobility Type Zaku II, which was originally used by the Brown Southern Cross team in the 2022 movie adaptation of Gundam: Cucuruz Doan's Island. The kit is originally getting released in March 2025, but its pre-order stock ran out much earlier. Bandai will release a new batch of the kits in May 2025 at 2,750 yen (~$18.35).
The second kit features the Zaku Desert Type used by the Pink Panther Corps, which appeared in Gundam: Mobile Suit Discovery side story materials and has no relations at all with the famous American movie mascot. The first batch is slated for release in April 2025 at 2,640 yen (~$17.60). Bandai newly announced that it will release the second batch in June 2025 with the same price tag.
The third and last kit in the list will feature the original AMX-014 Doven Wolf from Mobile Suit Gundam ZZ. The mobile suit was previously featured in the HGUC (High Grade Universal Century) line in February 2014. It will be available again in July 2025 at 2,640 yen (~$17.60).
The 1/144 HG (High Grade) Gunpla model kits of Char Custom High Mobility Zaku II, Pink Panther Corps' Zaku Desert Type, and Doven Wolf from the Zeon factions will be available again in May 2025, June 2025, and July 2025, respectively.
The post Gundam Zeon Mobile Suits' HG Gunpla Model Kits Restocked appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:20 AM
Lego announced that it acquired the Pokemon license, which means we will see building block sets involving characters from the series. These will begin appearing in 2026. However, while it will be a while before they debut, the official site for the collection is live.
The initial details for the Lego Pokemon sets is incredibly vague. It shows the company's logo alongside the one for the game and anime series. There's also a special block that looks like Pikachu's tail alongside it. Electrical elements appear as well. This suggests that, at the very least, we will see some sort of Pikachu build as part of the selection.
At the moment, there are two building block toy companies that also feature Pokemon sets. One is Kawada, which released kits in its Nanoblock line based on the series. In addition to smaller blind box builds, there are larger kits. Mattel's Mega Bloks line also includes a number of Pokemon sets.
In the meantime, we'll see more Lego Nintendo sets. The company shared a Mario Kart one that is on the way. There will also be one that lets us build a Game Boy out of blocks. This is in addition to the existing Super Mario and Animal Crossing collections.
The Lego Pokemon sets will appear in 2026. The latest mainline games are Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on the Switch.
The post Lego Pokemon Sets Will Appear in 2026 appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:00 AM
On March 10, 2025, Bandai filed a trademark for "Digimon Alysion." The information became public on March 18, 2025. [Thanks, Gematsu!]
As a note, this is Bandai the toy company, not Bandai Namco the video game company. Whatever Digimon Alysion is, it'll likely come as the form of a physical toy, rather than a video game. Bandai registered it under Class 9 (electronic apparatus), Class 16 (paper), Class 28 (toy), and Class 41 (education and entertainment). A domain name for "Digimon Alysion" was also filed on February 14, 2025. This could mean it is a new virtual pet.
Though the trademark became public information ahead of Digimon Con, it's unlikely that we'll learn any substantial information about it. The schedule that Bandai published for Digimon Con doesn't seem to leave any room for whatever "Digimon Alysion" is. Events include the Digimon Adventure -Beyond- video to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Digimon anime, a special music concert, and more details on Digimon Story: Time Stranger. There's always the chance that this is a project it just started and we'll have to wait a while longer before Bandai's ready to provide details.
Digimon Con will start from noon JST. However, those in North America can catch the stream from 7:00 PM PDT/10:00 PM EDT of March 19, 2025 as well.
The post Digimon Alysion Trademark Filed appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:30 AM
After many long years of exclusivity on feature phones in Japan, an anonymous user made Xenosaga: Pied Piper and Lost Chronicle available for all regions. They're both only in Japanese at the moment, but Bluesky user "ValakTurtle" is working on an English translation patch, and a translation patch should be ready in a few months. [Thanks, RockmanCosmo!]
Xenosaga: Pied Piper originally came out in 2004 through Vodafone live. You could play it on your mobile phone and pay 525 JPY ($3.50 today) to play each chapter. This business model meant that it never appeared outside of Japan. As for the story, it takes place about a century prior to Xenosaga Episode I. The focus of the story involves how Ziggurat became the cyborg he is in the main trilogy. He's the primary focus, so don't expect to see many other characters.
Lost Chronicle, like Xenosaga: Pied Piper, is another mobile-only title from Bandai Namco. It came out in 2008 for NTT Docomo devices, and was a fantasy RPG spanning about twenty hours. You could play it for a monthly fee of 315 JPY ($2.10 today).
Both Xenosaga: Pied Piper and Lost Chronicle are now preserved via emulation, and a fan translation for Pied Piper is in the works. The console games in the series are available worldwide on the PS2.
The post Xenosaga: Pied Piper and Lost Chronicle Preserved and Shared appeared first on Siliconera. |
Siliconera Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:00 AM
Xenoblade Chronicles X ended up often being the "odd one out" prior to the Definitive Edition Switch debut. It was the one that wasn't a numbered sequel. It didn't seem to have a place in the overall timeline. Aside from the Nopopon, it didn't feature familiar races. It focused more on gameplay and exploration than a story. While a number of those things are still true, there are a lot of positive additions and changes in this latest version of the game. So much so that while it does still feel different from the three other entries, it is now even more appealing.
Alien assaults forced humans to flee the Earth. We headed out into the stars in the hopes of surviving and maybe even thriving. However, things aren't always that easy. Another altercation meant the USS White Whale, one of the last beacons of hope, crash-landed on a new world. While we didn't plan for Mira to become home, folks are adjusting. Among them is the player, whose avatar is discovered a few months after that incident. After being discovered by Colonel Elma and working alongside an engineer named Lin, we join BLADE in a search for the missing Lifehold Core while also assisting the residents of the New Los Angeles settlements and peaceful aliens.
In general, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition plays similarly to other entries in the series, though there is a bit more of a focus on exploring the open world of Mira than traversing places on a grand journey. There's still a substantial story that gets quite fascinating, but I always felt this entry came down to seeing every place you could reach, fighting opponents, and testing yourself as you got to learn more about Mira. New Los Angeles is your hub, with BLADE missions sending you around the planet as you help humans get settled and survive. As you head out, you'll go on foot and via Skell mechs to reach new places. You'll take on major and minor assignments. You recruit new allies. You'll head into combat, which again feels inspired by MMOs due to standard attacks being automated and skills triggered. You'll develop your avatar by picking your character's classes, adding abilities to a palette to create a a customized hero who suits your needs.
As you'd expect from a definitive version of a game on a more modern console, the Switch take on Xenoblade Chronicles X absolutely looks better. I found this most noticeable when it came to character and enemy models. Everything looks more natural than it did before, and I also feel like the designs seem more in line with ones for humanoid beings in Xenoblade Chronicles 2 and 3. The sense of consistency is great, of course, but it also just generally looks better. Environments still look impressive as well, though I noticed I started to see more of the enhancements and upgrades after leaving the Primordia region. The updates, especially texture improvements, seemed more evident in the other biomes on Mira.
Many of the changes also involve quality of life adjustments. There are a ton of these. My favorite is being able to swap characters who are in your party on the fly in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition. Partially, this is because I found it was invaluable when deciding to alter my allies to suit different combat situations in the field. However, it's also great for triggering heart-to-heart events! It's so convenient! The same can be said for being able to change the time of day via the main menu.
Which can be said for a lot of similar changes. It could be discouraging to miss bonuses for not performing certain skills in a fight due to constantly waiting on cooldowns, and the Quick Cooldown helps! It doesn't feel like cheating, since you can't spam it. It's just there to help facilitate fights. The recommended paths from the Follow Ball you eventually unlock is something I think newcomers to either this game or the series in general may find handy. It doesn't make it "easy" or "handhold" you, but instead feels like an option to offer a bit of a nudge so you don't get too befuddled or sidetracked when going between points. The BLADE Level system being absent is huge, since it means not needing to worry about Division Points and if you can access certain missions. It's so freeing and in line with being able to enjoy the open world and do what you want, when you want to.
Like other Xenoblade Chronicles games that reappeared with updated releases, there's also some new content here as well. Much of it is gated away at the end, so it'll take some time until you really get to analyze and appreciate it. (You know, beyond the trailer teases.) In the case of much of it, it's just really a fun bonus. For example, ahead of launch Nintendo specifically mentioned a new Skell. (By the way, Skell controls and flight still feel great.) And while what was here originally is all fantastic, I liked getting the extra options and other lore-related insights from such additions.
Now, I'm not going to get into any spoilers for the later parts of the game. However, I will say that I felt satisfied after getting through Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, and I think most of the additions in the Switch version tied to the story felt reasonable and well-integrated into what I originally experienced so many years ago. It largely seemed natural and plausible. Can you tell certain elements are new to this release? Honestly, yes. Even if you haven't played it before, I think you'd be able to pick out the story changes. My only criticisms are minor and I'll wait to discuss thoughts on the ending until after launch, but I'm generally pleased. I am curious to find out what comes next, especially when Monolith Soft reveals the next installment in the series.
I will say that this time around, I think I cared more about Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition's story than I did when the game appeared on the Wii U. Part of that might have been due to my searching for hints and possible new additions early on. But also, it might have come down to my caring more about that years later than I did when I hopped into the original release eager to explore a new world. I will say that it does require a bit more thought and investment on the part of the player than the numbered entries. There are still mysteries here. Yet, I also felt like that extra investment on my part paired with the additions helped me enjoy it more.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition feels like a stronger game on the Switch. The quality of life adjustments make it so much more enjoyable to play. It looks fantastic on the system. Also, the new elements sometimes feel like a fun treat since it means new insights and options for players. While I do wonder what this means for what comes next, it's a delight to play and I'm glad the game is no longer trapped on the Wii U.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will come to the Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2025. The original version of the game is available on the Wii U.
The post Review: Xenoblade Chronicles X Definitive Edition Feels Stronger appeared first on Siliconera. |
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:13 PM
The FUT Birthday Challenge 6 SBC offers EA FC 25 players another fodder challenge to complete and win a new pack for their Ultimate Team accounts.
The conditions for the latest challenge are pretty simple, and you should have the fodder in your club. You can alternatively get the required cards from the market, and they shouldn't cost a lot. Let's take a look at how to complete the challenge, along with the rewards waiting for you in the end.
EA FC 25 FUT Birthday Challenge 6 SBC tasks
The FUT Birthday Challenge 6 SBC has just one task, and here are the requirements.
Task 1 - FUT Birthday Challenge 6 SBC
EA FC 25 FUT Birthday Challenge 6 SBC solutions
Here's a solution to complete the latest fodder challenge in Ultimate Team.
Task 1 - FUT Birthday Challenge 6 SBC
You'll get a Rare Gold Pack after completing the challenge, including 12 Rare Gold Player and Club items. Three items are guaranteed to be player cards, with one rated 81 or higher. Statistically, there's a chance for the card to be either a promo/walkout item, and at worst, you can always use the fodder to complete SBCs.
If you're on a tight budget and need a defender, the Bremer FUT Birthday Player Pick SBC offers an excellent CB item for 150,000 coins worth of fodder. In case you need a wide attacker, there's the Trinity Rodman FUT Birthday card to consider.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 3:03 PM
Assassin's Creed Shadows is about to release on March 20, and its pre-sales have already pushed it into the top five on Steam's global top sellers list.
As of March 18, Steam's Global Top Sellers list ranks Assassin's Creed Shadows in second place, just behind Counter-Strike 2. Even though CS2 is a free game, it appears on the list because Steam ranks games based on total revenue, which includes in-game transactions. Since CS2 and other free-to-play titles generate massive sales through microtransactions, their spots on the list reflect overall earnings rather than just game purchases.
With AC Shadows reviews now out, confirming that the game is a solid Assassin's Creed title but not groundbreaking, it has still managed to overtake a major Steam hit before its official release.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is outselling Split Fiction
Split Fiction, the co-op game that became a global top seller after launching on March 6, has now been pushed down from its previous third place on Steam's Global Top Sellers list by Assassin's Creed Shadows on March 18.
Split Fiction had been topping the UK charts and even outselling the Steam Deck in recent weeks. Now, AC Shadows has taken its place and is selling more than Valve's portable console.
Among the other major titles AC Shadows is outselling are Monster Hunter Wilds and several AAA games that are heavily discounted during Steam's Spring Sale, including Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, and Baldur's Gate 3.
AC Shadows faces tough competition in Japan, where the game is set
Since AC Shadows takes place in Japan, its portrayal of the country's feudal era has sparked controversy. Despite this, the game was one of the top-selling titles on Amazon Japan leading up to its release.
However, with the launch and positive reviews of Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition on the Nintendo Switch, AC Shadows' sales in Japan have dropped, with Xenoblade now taking the top spot.
Our Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition review scored the game 10/10, praising how it "modernizes and adds new content while keeping the original experience intact." This explains why so many players in Japan are now choosing to buy Xenoblade Chronicles X over AC Shadows.
The post Assassin's Creed Shadows surges on Steam's top sellers charts, overtaking a major recent hit appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:57 PM
In just a couple of days, we might finally know more about what actually happened between Ekko and Jinx during the final episodes of Arcane Season 2. More specifically, it looks like we're getting an official music video for the popular Ekko and Jinx/Powdered-influenced song Ma Meilleure Ennemie.
According to the YouTube listing on the official League of Legends channel, the official music video for Ma Meilleure Ennemie by Stromae and Pomme will premiere on March 20, 2025, at 12 pm EST. The teaser image for the premiere shows Ekko and Jinx, the latter of whom is rocking her shorter hair, which has fans thinking the footage from the upcoming video will contain scenes depicting what happened between Ekko and Jinx in the final episodes of the finale season.
I'm not sure what you've been up to if you've yet to watch Arcane Season 2, but just in case, spoilers for the show below!
In Season 2 Episode 7 of Arcane, Ekko finds himself in a parallel universe where things are very different: Vander and Silco are still friends, Mylo, Claggor, and Benzo are still alive, and the events that led to Powder becoming Jinx never happen. In his time there, Ekko falls in love with Powder, but in the end makes the decision to sacrifice his love for her to head back to his own universe.
The next time we see Timebomb—the fan-created name for the duo—is in the Arcane series finale, where something has clearly transpired between Ekko and Jinx. However, we never see what happened, nor is it even explored. According to Arcane writer Amanda Overton, the team deliberately left what happened to the audience's imagination.
We've learned since the finale aired that scenes were cut from Arcane due to budgetary and episode time constraints, which fans believe we could be seeing in the Ma Meilleure Ennemie music video. This wouldn't be the first time Arcane detailed major plot-related elements in a music video, which certainly isn't an ideal. But for an epic show most fans agree we simply wish we had more of, we'll take anything we can get.
The Arcane Me Meilleure Ennemie music video premieres on YouTube on March 20, 2025 at 12 pm EST.
The post One of Arcane's most popular songs is getting its own music video—and fans think it'll feature critical cut Ekko, Jinx scenes appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:39 PM
If there's one lesson R.E.P.O players will learn very quickly, it's that a good weapon makes a huge difference when tackling enemies. The early game mainly involves running away and collecting loot, while later levels let you have fun with items you've bought.
One such item is the shotgun, a powerful gun that can one-shot most monsters and eliminate tougher ones with enough shots and accuracy. However, it's not as easy to wield as you'd think, especially if you've never used one. Here's how to obtain and use a shotgun in R.E.P.O.
Where to find the shotgun in R.E.P.O
The shotgun in R.E.P.O is an item you can randomly encounter in the item shop after completing a level. It costs anywhere between $80,000 to $98,000, making it one of the most expensive items in the game. You'll usually spot it on the product shelf in the center of the store, but you may occasionally see it on the floor if someone accidentally knocks it over.
If you don't see a shotgun in the shop right away, you'll have to complete another level and recheck until you spot one. I found my first shotgun during round three, but you may find it earlier or later, depending on the seed. After spotting a shotgun, toss it onto the purchasing platform and press the big red button to own it for the rest of your save.
How to use the shotgun in R.E.P.O
Like other guns in R.E.P.O, the shotgun requires picking it up like you would any other item, carefully aiming it in front of you, and pressing E to shoot it. However, rather than shooting in the direction you're facing, it'll fire wherever its tip is pointing. In short, even if you're looking forward, it can shoot to the side if your hands are shaky or you get startled by a monster.
Is the shotgun good in R.E.P.O?
The shotgun's strength greatly depends on your ability to wield it without getting overwhelmed by enemies. The shotgun is a close-range weapon, so you'll need the courage to run up to a monster and steady your hands enough to land the shot. Missing can easily lead to your character's demise, especially if it's still recharging.
It's also much more expensive than most items in R.E.P.O, making it difficult to save up enough money to use it. You're usually better off buying Energy Crystals or health. However, if you're far into your playthrough and have extra money saved up, the shotgun can help you out a lot.
The upside is that it can easily one-shot most enemies in the game if you land a point-blank hit. Although R.E.P.O's monsters eventually respawn, killing them still gives you time to collect more items without worrying as much about unexpected attacks. You can also use weapons like the tranq gun to stun enemies, making it much easier to eliminate them and move on.
The post How to get and use the Shotgun in R.E.P.O appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:33 PM
The FUT Birthday Upgrade Evolution is now available in EA FC 25, and it allows you to improve one of your lower-rated promo items with stat boosts and new playstyles.
While the offered improvements are decent, you'll have to spend 7,500 coins to use it. Let's take a look at the requirements, followed by the upgrades and who might be the best cards to consider.
EA FC 25 FUT Birthday Upgrade Evolution Requirements
Here are the requirements for FUT Birthday Upgrade Evolution in EA FC 25.
EA FC 25 FUT Birthday Upgrade Evolution Upgrades
Here are the upgrades offered by the evolution, along with the required tasks.
Level 1 upgrades
Level 2 upgrades
Level 1 upgrade requirements
Level 2 upgrade requirements
EA FC 25 FUT Birthday Upgrade Evolution
There are 24 items that you can use in the evolution, and here are my top choices.
While I love the idea to improve the lower-rated items, this evolution should have been available for free. We have had similar evolutions with previous promos that were available to us for free. Hopefully, we will have a free alternative in the next few days.
The post Best players to use in FUT Birthday Upgrade Evolution appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:19 PM
The Bremer FUT Birthday Player Pick SBC offers two exciting cards of the Brazilian defender to EA FC 25 players, and you get to keep the one you like more for your Ultimate Team squad.
To get the pick, you'll have to complete five tasks that are part of the SBC before it expires from Ultimate Team. Let's take a look at how to complete the challenge, along with the cheapest solutions.
EA FC 25 Bremer FUT Birthday Player Pick SBC tasks
The Bremer FUT Birthday Player Pick SBC has five tasks, and here are the requirements.
Task 1 - Brazil
Task 2 - Juventus
Task 3 - Serie A
Task 4 - Top Form
Task 5 - 87-Rated Squad
EA FC 25 Bremer FUT Birthday Player Pick SBC solutions
Here's a set of solutions to complete the latest FUT Birthday SBC in Ultimate Team.
Task 1 - Brazil
Task 2 - Juventus
Task 3 - Serie A
Task 4 - Top Form
Task 5 - 87-Rated Squad
There's only one correct version to pick: the card on the cover of this guide. Intercept+ and Anticipate+ are the best possible combinations you can get on a CB item, and they also offer Silver Jockey and Aerial. This is a perfect CB card to use, and it also offers 5* Skills/Weak Foot. You simply can't ask for more for about 150,000 coins worth of fodder.
If you're looking for a wide attacker on a similar budget, the Trinity Rodman FUT Birthday SBC is a great option.
The post EA FC 25 Bremer FUT Birthday Player Pick SBC solutions appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:10 PM
Assassin's Creed Shadows is just around the corner, releasing on March 20, and reviews are already in.
There was a lot of speculation leading up to Assassin's Creed Shadows release, especially regarding Ubisoft's depiction of Japanese culture in early trailers. However, the same way this controversy didn't have much impact on the AC Shadows sales, it didn't affect its reviews.
Critics who had early access have focused more on how the gameplay develops and how the story—fictional or not—fits into the game world and adds to the overall experience. Here's what reviews are saying and how fans had already predicted the outcome.
Assassin's Creed Shadows is an 8 out of 10, on average
As of March 18, Assassin's Creed Shadows has review scores in the low 80s on Metacritic, with the PC version scoring the lowest at 79 and the Xbox version the highest at 86. The pattern is similar on OpenCritic, where the game has an 81 average score and an 84% critic recommendation.
Most reviews focus on the same key points. They highlight how Assassin's Creed Shadows improves gameplay, especially stealth mechanics, compared to previous titles, but also criticize the weak story and uninteresting narrative choices.
So, while an average score around 80 means the game is good, it's not considered a masterpiece or one of the best in the series. Assassin's Creed 2 continues being the highest-rated game in the series on Metacritic with a score of 90.
Assassin's Creed fans expected this review score
Interestingly, days before reviews came out, fans had already predicted the game's scores.
In Reddit threads leading up to launch, players speculated that the game would land in the 7/10 to 8/10 range, with some outlets occasionally giving it a 9/10. Some predictions were extremely accurate, with players guessing the score would land between 80 and 85, which turned out to be close to the final result.
So, what can we take away from all this? Assassin's Creed Shadows is a good Assassin's Creed game—nothing more, nothing less. It delivers exactly what you'd expect from an Assassin's Creed title, without doing much to push the series to the next level.
Destructoid's Assassin's Creed Shadows review will be ready in the coming days.
The post Assassin's Creed Shadows reviews are in, and they're just what fans predicted appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:26 PM
Elden Ring and its offshoot, Nightreign, are the culmination of decades of game design evolution, one I've been a part of for over a decade. Then, I sat down with one of the largest Souls PvP streamers, Peeve, to talk about being there from the beginning.
Hey Peeve, thanks for chatting with me today about Elden Ring: Nightreign and your career in the wider Soulsborne series. Can you highlight your history with the franchise, starting with your introduction to the original PS3 Demon's Souls?
Well, I remember a friend visiting our house in 2009. "You've gotta check out this game," he said. He throws in Demon's Souls, and we all take turns trying it. He mentioned hearing that players could show up in your game world to hunt you down, which I refused to believe. After he left a few hours later, I went to the store and bought my own copy. I had a college class that night…I didn't make it. Many invasions, fight clubs in 4-1, and skipped college courses later, Dark Souls 1 released.
I started recording and uploading PvP videos to YouTube in late 2011 and streaming on Twitch a few months later. The transition was easier because of series I'd made, like "Gankers Pay the Price," where I hunted groups of players waiting around all day to jump invaders as they spawn. We call them gank squads. I also started an annual community event for Demon's Souls called "Return to the Nexus" in 2013. We'd simulate launch day by making new characters and engaging in multiplayer organically as we played. The idea was popular enough that the community organized similar events for the other titles over time.
Then, in Dark Souls 3, the odds for invaders were terrible, and I decided to revisit an idea I had in Dark Souls 1: player covenants. My community and I made shared-theme builds and invaded the area after Pontiff Sulyvahn. We called ourselves the Bloodshades, a name radiating the edginess I'd become known for.
Other player covenant ideas popped up, too, but there were a lot of people who were not fans and were not shy about sharing it.
In the six years leading to Elden Ring's release, I continued playing Dark Souls 1, 3, and Bloodborne, with a brief side trek into Sekiro. Dark Souls 2 was also in there, I guess.
With all that experience under your belt, what was your initial reaction when you first saw the reveal trailer for Elden Ring: Nightreign?
I was co-streaming the reveal event, and I'll just say it was mass confusion mixed with excitement — but mostly confusion. After the trailer went up, I was silent for a while, trying to reach Bandai Namco representatives to get some answers. Nightreign was literally the last thing I expected, mainly since it involved Elden Ring.
You and I both had a chance to try Nightreign during the network test, and it's hard to properly describe in a few words. What advice do you have for players who've only experienced Elden Ring or want to get Nightreign as their first FromSoftware game?
I'm concerned about the game overwhelming newcomers — or those with only some Elden Ring experience — trying to learn boss patterns in the open world. If FromSoftware intends to utilize most of its past boss catalog, how difficult will it be for those players to learn the fights? When will they see that boss again, and what will they fight in between? Certain Nightreign encounters are designed to have everyone holding their own, sometimes one-on-one, so you're only as strong as your weakest link.
Beyond playing the rest of the Souls games, my best advice for anyone trying Nightreign as one of their first FromSoftware games is to keep the following in mind:
One of the main concerns about Nightreign is its longevity. The network test was a very watered-down version of the final product, but knowing that, is there anything that still worries you about the final release?
Honestly? Replayability and longevity are my biggest concerns as well. I'm pretty sure the network test was only two combinations of map layouts and enemy encounters in a single biome. Their intention with the experience was to offer a small sample of the final product, not have people destroy their sleep schedules to make every test session. That's me. I'm people.
That aside, if Nightreign utilizes FromSoftware's massive enemy catalog and brings enough map layout variety across different biomes, that'd be a great start. Build variety feels like it's in the right spot, too, but I worry about how long it'll be before you steam-roll every run, no matter who your teammates are. I hope the difficulty ramps up significantly across the different encounters.
If the game's fun, has enough variety between runs, and is challenging enough to keep my attention, I'll be satisfied.
Rogue-like elements are at the heart of Nightreign's progression. While Elden Ring is very much its heart and soul mechanically, there are also a lot of evolutions in ER's gameplay to accommodate the new systems. How well do you think FromSoftware married the two concepts, and what, if anything, would you say needs improving?
It's hard for me to answer this question, considering we've only seen two map seeds. I sometimes grew tired of the same starting points, knowing what enemy camps were the best to rush and what boss was coming up. I see the potential, and if Nightreign releases and I only recognize a few world encounters on my first run, I'll be very relieved.
As for the build crafting, it feels so strange. It's bizarre that the game accounts for the bonuses from ALL your equipment, not just the gear you have out. If I make a build focused around a halberd and greatshield, I'll also pick up items I don't intend to use just for their passive bonuses.
These games have always been at their best when they give the player the freedom to make their own characters shine, so seeing dedicated "Heroes" does disappoint me a little. It makes sense for the game, though. Maybe we'll get some nice fashion customizations as rewards.
The communicative experience between randomly matched players could be improved, as well. In the test, queuing with randoms felt awful because everyone was unorganized. You and another player could be fighting a boss while your third was dying in the rain because he spent too long searching a random castle for Rivers of Blood. There will supposedly be opt-in voice chat, which is great, but not everyone will use or listen to it. Maybe an option to have offscreen gestures appearing on everyone's HUD could help. Or they just bring back the loud "HEY!" scream from Dark Souls 3 and give it full map range.
Switching gears a bit, one of the main things that drew me to your content was your distaste for relying on top-tier meta builds to succeed in Souls games. Can you explain that desire and why you focus more on character-building than build-making?
Well, PvP players tend to make multiple builds that stop at specific levels for matchmaking and, ideally, promote build variety in opponents. Limited stat allocation makes for far more diverse encounters than everyone at max level having everything.
So, if I'm making multiple builds for replayability, I want each one to have its intended playstyle and themed setup. That way, it's set apart from my other characters and gives me a reason to switch between them. I'll find a weapon or spell/incantation that looks cool, come up with a theme, and then find other combat options that can fit the theme to give it some playstyle variety. From there, I'll min-max the stats as much as possible within a group of boundaries I set.
I often develop loose backstories for each build over time, and a character can form around them. That's where some of my most popular characters, like Red-Eyed Ino, come from. Sometimes, the backstory of one character results in spin-off characters. That could be because of another weapon or spell or because the backstory of an existing character inspires a new build with a connected theme.
I find that if I haven't played Elden Ring for a while, I'll miss my characters more so than the actual game. If all my builds were just named Dex Build, Strength Build, etc., I'd lose interest even with every optimal weapon at my disposal. I need to keep up my immersion in these games, even in PvP.
How do you think that desire for unique characters and build concepts meshes with Nightreign? Do you see yourself gravitating toward specific, more off-the-wall strategies in a run, or is there a specific strategy you landed on in the network test?
Considering I don't have direct control over my character and equipment in Nightreign, you better believe I'll take every opportunity to make some bizarre build by the end of a run [laughs]. Despite RNG removing control I have over my build's uniqueness, I enjoy having a strong setup using what would be an extremely odd combination in base Elden Ring.
And maybe, just maybe, Nightreign's RNG loot will inspire players to use more interesting weapons within Elden Ring itself. At least let me dream, ok?
One of the greatest challenges you've faced in your Souls career was beating the final boss of the Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree DLC at NG+7. Can you tell the story of your 110-hour brawl with him?
Ah, the good ol' days. It was my first DLC playthrough, and I went in at New Game +7 with my level 200 main character, a Meteoric Ore Blade-wielding Pyromancer. I reached the boss when I had pre-launch access, and I thought, surely, I could beat him in time for the full release.
I was mistaken.
After retreating to explore and not spoil my viewers, I went back to try again. I had the Spear of the Impaler and was at level 18 Scadutree Blessing. I did next to no damage. At probably 60 hours into the fight, I decided to revert back to the original version of the build, which utilized the Meteoric Ore Blade, all because I realized how well Freyja's Greatsword matched its style. This change, purely for the sake of fashion and immersion, just made the fight more difficult. Why? Now I did even less damage. How much less? My DPS was lower than a gear-optimized level one build on NG+7 with zero Scadutree Blessing.
I relied on the Deflecting Hardtear for attacks that would instantly kill me, but my fight lasted eight minutes, three longer than the buff's five-minute duration. As a fallback, I decided to give myself my own "Phase 2," starting after he'd lost roughly 60 percent of his health. I'd switch off the Ore Blade to Freyja's Greatsword and use a shield to parry him (which I didn't want to rely on exclusively to win). Then there was figuring out phase two and ignoring my Twitch chat's advice about the cookie-cutter builds everyone else had used.
Then came the final battle. Pure cinema. I landed every free-aimed Giant's Flame Take Thee. I took no damage outside of deflects until past the 60 percent mark…and then all hell broke loose. One near-one shot broke the rhythm, and I burned through every resource I had as the fight dragged on. That included the one Blessing of Marika I'd been saving for more than 50 hours.
I had nothing left to heal with and had finally reached my breaking point mentally. I'd started that day's attempts confident he'd go down early. Then, 7 hours passed. With no heals left and stress levels through the ceiling, I needed to land three parries in a row to win the fight and salvage my sanity.
One successful parry. Then two. The third, in desperation. Then, after 110 hours in that boss room, silence. God Slain. I laid my character down, and a massive wave of relief hit me. I sat back in my chair without talking for several minutes as my heart rate came down.
I'm genuinely nostalgic for the endless torment in that boss room, but I know I can't recreate that feeling of the initial win.
I did save a highlight of the final fight on my Twitch channel for those who want to see it.
Spending 110 hours in a boss fight is a testament to anyone's endurance and is likely longer than most players take to run the whole game and DLC. What about overcoming that challenge differentiates it from, say, a level one or no upgrades playthrough?
In 16 years of these games, I've never had any interest in a level one playthrough. Any challenges I end up doing have to involve the characters I make. It's just that this hyper-specific scenario was more challenging than most no-leveling runs.
If you want to make a playthrough difficult, you don't necessarily need to do one of the traditional go-to challenge runs. Consider making a unique challenge tailored to your playstyle.
Were there any boss fights or roadblocks in the Elden Ring: Nightreign network test, or in the marketing we've seen for it, that could give players the difficulty level as your DLC final boss?
[Laughs] For everyone else's sake, I hope not. Just between us, though, I'd love to see it.
Last question now. What are you most looking forward to watching when Elden Ring: Nightreign comes out?
I'm looking forward to playing a "Wild Card" role and jumping into crews of all sorts. That includes streamer pals both within the Souls community and those outside of it. I think I'm mostly looking forward to watching groups of more casual players play together. Forget cool, calm, collected veterans of the game. The pure chaos within those teams will be the real content.
The post Expert advice: How a 16-year Souls veteran approaches challenge and buildcrafting in Elden Ring and Nightreign appeared first on Destructoid. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:13 PM
Bethesda revealed today that playable Ghouls are officially now a thing in Fallout 76 with the release of the Ghoul Within update. The update is live now and launches alongside Season 20: Glow of the Ghoul which adds ghoul-themed rewards and C.A.M.P. items for the season.
For the first time ever in the Fallout universe, players can complete a specific Level 50 quest that gives them the ability to turn their character into a Ghoul. Players can then explore Appalachia in an all-new way as NPCs and factions will interact with the player differently than if they were a regular human Wastelander.
As a ghoul, players have various boons including immunity to radiation damage and even the ability to use radiation to heal, as well as 30 new Ghoul-specific Perk cards. However, life isn't quite as simple as a ghoul. Alongside being looked at differently by the inhabitants of Appalachia, you also have to keep an eye on your new Feral Meter that replaces your normal hunger and thirst meters. If you allow your meter to fill up too far you will go Feral which comes with its own pros and cons.
Thankfully, players who decide that the Ghoul life isn't for them have the option to revert back to their human self once per character. In the event the player decides they want to become a ghoul again, they will have to purchase a token from the Atomic Shop.
Fallout 76: Ghoul Within and the Season 20: Glow of the Ghoul updates are both now live on Steam, Xbox Series X|S, XBox One, PlayStation 5 and PS4 as well as for Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra members. Season 20 is scheduled to last through June when the next update and Season 21 will drop on all platforms.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:13 PM
The LEGO Pokémon sets are real and coming in 2026, which is leaving many players excited about this new set of collectibles. But there is one group of fans who are especially disappointed and worried about the future of their collections.
As Pokémon fans prepare for this release, which has already been teased to include a buildable Pikachu, there's still a lot of speculation about what exactly will be available at launch. While other Nintendo franchises have already had LEGO sets, including Mario and Zelda, this is the first time in Pokémon's 29-year history that LEGO will officially produce sets for the series.
But this also means that a fan community that has been growing for the last eight years is likely about to be left empty-handed.
Mattel's MEGA blocks community worried Pokémon series are over
The MEGA Pokémon Collection, which are Pokémon-themed building blocks, is owned by Mattel and has been the only officially licensed Pokémon building block set since 2017, at least until LEGO's announcement.
Mattel hasn't revealed any new MEGA Pokémon sets for 2025, even though it was still releasing smaller sets in 2024. Now, with The Pokémon Company's new LEGO deal, it likely means the end of Mega Pokémon sets, and MEGA collectors are afraid this is true.
"I really don't know what the future looks like for Mega anymore," one fan wrote. "This is probably the death knell," another one added.
Other fans were quick to add that there are cases when a company licenses its brand to competing company, but they don't sell competing products. For example, you have Mattel making miniature Formula 1 cars while LEGO has Formula 1 building sets.
"Pokémon is MEGA's biggest license," a fan explained. "If Lego has successfully stolen it, then MEGA is as good as dead. The brand can't survive off Hot Wheels."
This deal doesn't mean players will never be able to find these Mattel blocks again, but MEGA Pokémon production will likely stop sometime this year. It's unusual for a company to license its brand to two different companies to produce competing products, so LEGO Pokémon will likely take over.
That's also likely because the Pokémon and LEGO deal didn't start immediately—meaning the licensing agreement between Pokémon and Mattel is probably valid until late 2025, when LEGO will actually be able to start creating and releasing its own sets.
Destructoid has reached out to Mattel for comment.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:01 PM
The HASTE demo is an exhilarating platformer that feels fast-paced and relies on your reflexes. You have to time your jumps and landings at the right moments, creating tension as you propel yourself forward.
HASTE: Broken Worlds, so far, makes you wish Sonic the Hedgehog would take some notes and keep fans of the platforming genre on their feet.
The HASTE demo is spectacular
Momentum is both your friend and enemy as you try to avoid obstacles at breakneck speed and move fast enough to avoid the curse throttling behind you. You're leaping off hills and trying to land in a perfect downward position to get a speed boost of and progress the stage. If you land on the wrong side of a slope, you'll get hurt and/or you'll slow down. You have to pay close attention and try to survive as you avoid trees, rocks, and other obstacles like rockets from a nearby turret.
It's almost like an endless runner, but every level ends with a portal that leads you to the next room or level. It also implements a rogue-like system similar to Slay the Spire, in which you pick the rooms you want to go to. There is a shop that lets you use in-game currency to buy upgrades like increased health or energy that propels you forward.
Additionally, there are event spaces that give you additional health or levels in which you have to survive against an onslaught of attacks. There's also a dangerous lava level where you have to find the portal to escape within a time limit.
Because of how tough the demo was, I was only able to experience one boss throughout my time with the game. You go up against a robot called the Jumper that launches fire all across the stage, which is difficult to dodge as it rushes through the grassland area. It also creates a wave of flame which is hard to avoid, especially if you're trying to find a hill to jump off quickly. The boss is well-designed and does challenge you as you try to hit its exterior pipework four times to win.
The game is procedurally generated, but with a second run of this demo, however, I began to see similar obstacles and level design appear. Hopefully, the game doesn't get repetitive when it fully launches. If you run out of the three lives you have, you have to start from scratch with the biome you choose.
A pretty game
HASTE: Broken Worlds, despite this being a Steam Next Fest demo, is highly polished. Despite all the chaos happening on screen like pillars of flames and giant bullets being shot in the sky, the game runs at a smooth 60 frames per second. The colors really pop as you explore these vibrant levels, and when it wants to create a tense atmosphere, the darker aesthetic works well.
Unfortunately, the music lets down the game a bit. It does keep you pumped up at points with its dubstep-like soundtrack. However, it can get monotonous, especially when the chasing curse from behind tries to take you over if you're too slow to outrun it. The music gets reverberated, making it annoying to listen to. It's effective at causing distress, but at the same time, it would be nice to turn off this feature.
Overall, HASTE: Broken Worlds has plenty of potential, especially with the different biomes the hub world promises. It could become repetitive, but right now, the demo succeeds in gaining my interest. If Sega ever decides to hire this team to make a Sonic the Hedgehog variant of this game, I'd be oh so interested.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:44 PM
It does seem pretty wild that we can now play AAA games on our mobile devices. Gone are the days of having stripped-down versions for portable gaming devices. Capcom has been keen on this idea, and Resident Evil 3 is the latest title to come to Apple.
If you head over to the App Store, you'll see the remake is now available to download on your phone or tablet. If you have an iPhone or iPad, you can now play RE3 on the go. There are, of course, a couple of things to take into account before you leap in.
First, while it is the complete game, you only get access to a "limited part" of it for free. If you want to play the rest of it, you'll need to pay. Currently, the base game is going for £8.29 (about $10.76 US), and you also have the option to unlock "in-game rewards" for £1.69 (about $2.19 US). The store page also says you'll need to be connected to the internet "when starting the application."
Contains "Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence," apparently
To double-check which Apple devices are compatible with the mobile port of Resident Evil 3, you can check out the Capcom website. In a nutshell: iPhones 15 and 16, as well as their variants, are required. If you have an iPad, most of the Pro models should be compatible, along with the M1 5th gen of the iPad Air and A17 Pro of the iPad Mini.
As mentioned earlier, this is not the first Resident Evil game that made its way onto Apple products. In October 2023, RE: Village came to iPhones and iPads, and joined the remake of RE2 and Resident Evil 7: Biohazard.
What I am somewhat amused by is the fact that the App Store has the age rating down as 17+, with a specific note on how the game contains "Infrequent/Mild Cartoon or Fantasy Violence," but also "Frequent/Intense Realistic Violence." Such is the way of survival horror gaming.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:36 PM
Some of the most expensive PS3 games in the UK are very different from other platforms like the Nintendo 3DS. Instead of costly Atlus titles, most of the valuable PS3 games are action games and PlayStation exclusives.
If you want to get a full PS3 PAL collection, you'll need to spend hundreds upon hundreds of pounds on games like the mediocre Godzilla and the lesser-known Japanese RPG Lost Dimension. Strangely, most of these titles are critically panned, possibly limiting how many copies are available in the wild.
This PS3 games list is focused on the most expensive titles shown on UK retailer CeX's website listings.
10) Fist of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
First of the North Star: Ken's Rage 2 is a sequel to the action-packed anime adaptation that has you battling mobs of enemies like the Dynasty Warriors games. As multiple characters from the anime, you'll be taking on story missions in the main campaign. One of the most interesting gameplay factors included for fans is the Dream mode, which lets you play out the backstories of the cast and follow alternate scenarios. The game didn't particularly review well with a 49 Metacritic rating.
9) Yakuza: Dead Souls
Publisher: SEGA
Another game that didn't review well was Yakuza: Dead Souls, a bizarre horror take on the beloved Japanese action series. It's a non-canon entry in the series that has Kiryu and Majima taking down zombies with a variety of weaponry. Unlike other entries in the series, this is unlikely to get a remaster or remake anytime soon, due to how poorly it was received. This has likely increased the price in the UK, bizarrely.
"Unfortunately, while shooting down waves of zombies starts out fun, the appeal wears thin quickly," said our 7/10 review. "While the game does its best to mix the action up with four different characters and their varied gun types, it's not enough to keep the zombie killing fresh."
8) God of War Collection Vol 2 / Origins Collection
Publisher: PlayStation
The God of War Collections are prized among PS3 collectors as they are the definitive way to play Kratos' classic Greek games. Volume 2 includes the PSP titles by developer Ready at Dawn, Chains of Olympus and Ghost of Sparta, remastered for HD systems at 1080p resolution with 60 frames per second.
The collection also supports trophies and stereoscopic 3D if you have a compatible TV. Unlike the past two entries, this game was positively received with an 84 Metacritic score. This is likely expensive as it caters to diehard God of War fans who want to play through the whole series, PSP games included.
7) Splatterhouse
Publisher: Bandai Namco (Namco Bandai at the time)
Splatterhouse didn't get the roses it seemingly deserved back in 2010 as many nowadays praise the gory slashfest. This niche horror title likely didn't get a big print run by Konami back in the PS3 era. It is a reboot of the classic 1988 game that has you taking down monsters with a machete and a metal pipe. It seemingly struck a chord with modern players as a full playthrough on YouTube by Gamer Max Channel has over 900,000 views.
Destructoid gave it a 7.5/10 score in its review. "This game was better than I thought it would be, and better than it perhaps should have been," the article said. "With more refinement and redesigned (or eliminated) platforming, this could have been a classic in the beat 'em up genre, but as it stands, Splatterhouse is pretty damn good for what it is, and packs enough content to keep fans satisfied." The game seems rough around the edges but has appealed to a select few people, making it a niche title that asks a high price in the second-hand market.
6) Spider-Man: Web of Shadows
Publisher: Activision
A game that has been delisted for years now is Spider-Man: Web of Shadows, since Activision lost the license to New York's friendly neighborhood hero. It features a darker storyline than most of the webhead's adventures as the world's heroes and villains like Wolverine and Electro get corrupted by the Venom-like alien infection. Spider-Man himself gives in to the darkness and lets players use Symbiote abilities in this open-world title. The game hasn't been re-released on modern systems, likely leading to its £78 price at CeX.
Like other games on this list, Web of Shadows had many flaws, but if you manage to look past them, there is fun to be had. "If you don't mind playing a game for six or seven hours before getting to the good stuff, Web of Shadows eventually packs a nice little punch," said Game Informer's review (via Metacritic).
5) Lost Dimension
Publisher: NIS America / Ghostlight / Atlus USA
If you've read similar list articles before, you should expect an obscure Japanese RPG to pop up as one of the most expensive PS3 games. This time it's Lost Dimension, which was released late in the PS3's life cycle in 2014. In turn-based RPG action, you go up a tower in an effort to stop the end of the world. As the story progresses, you need to try and figure out who the traitors are in your team.
Once you reach a floor, you're faced with a decision to eliminate your enemies and allies until you get to the top of the tower. "Each playthrough will have different results, so don't get too attached to anyone," said Atlus in the full trailer's video description.
4) Killzone HD
Publisher: PlayStation
Killzone HD is a hard-to-find remaster in the UK games marketplace, and it's not even referenced in PlayStation's own press website. It seemingly received a limited physical print as its price point within the reseller space is now £120, according to CeX.
The remaster of the original PS2 game found its way into a trilogy release, which also had a physical version out in stores. It's a great way to play the first entry as it remasters the game to 720p and has a far better frame rate than its PS2 counterpart. I tried playing the first game on my PS2, and it's not pretty at all with a shaky performance across the board.
3) Dynasty Warriors Gundam Reborn
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
The PS3 anime era of the Dynasty Warriors series includes the fairly well-regarded Gundam Reborn, an adaptation of the mecha show. While the Metacritic score isn't particularly impressive at a Mixed 64, fans have grown to love the action game. YouTuber Chris Gildart calls it a masterpiece in their video, and a user on Metacritic says "It is probably the best localized Gundam game we'd get for a while."
Destructoid gave the game a decent 7.5/10 rating in its review. Despite Gundam Reborn being repetitive to the writer, it added some fan service with unique scenarios and what-ifs that pleased them. They said, however, that you'd have to be a fan of the source material to like this title. "While to some (myself included), taking to the battlefield piloting the RX-78-2 Gundam and slaughtering thousands of Zaku and Dom pilots and facing off against Char himself sounds like heaven on Earth, a lot of people just don't care about that sort of thing," the article said. Due to how niche this game is, it probably didn't receive a large print run in the UK, raising the price.
2) Blades of Time
Publisher: Konami and Iceberg Interactive
One of the most expensive PS3 games is Blades of Time, an action RPG that has become a hidden gem for a select few. It was roasted by critics when it launched in 2012, especially when it got a re-release on Switch. However, this hack-and-slash features a sexualized protagonist called Ayumi fighting off hordes of foes with a gun and sword, taking inspiration from games like God of War and Bayonetta.
She can also utilize a time manipulation power to create a clone to solve puzzles and rewind past events. It seems to have potential, but it likely had a small print run due to its predecessor X-Blades performing poorly and getting even worse review scores. "Blades of Time isn't a very good game," our review put it plainly. "It's sloppy, cheap, and the one central gimmick is exploited to weary degrees." It might be best to get the game on PC as it's more affordable there. It's normally £8.50 on Steam and has been on sale for less than the price of a Big Mac.
1) Godzilla
Publisher: Bandai Namco
And in its rightful place as ruler of the kaiju kingdom and most expensive title on this list is Godzilla, the critically panned PS3 game that has you playing as the monster himself. It came out extremely late in the life cycle of the PS3 with a launch on July 17, 2015, in European regions. Despite the power of Godzilla and other kaiju being controlled by your fingertips, the game feels manically slow and dull. "Godzilla is far too easy except when it veers into overwhelming, unfair, not-fun territory," said our review. "Then it becomes a boring battle of attrition against the same old kaiju."
The digital version of Godzilla has been delisted due to licensing, upping the price at CeX for this game. Additionally, the Godzilla franchise in and of itself caters to a niche fanbase. If you're willing to get this game imported, it's far cheaper, likely because more copies were made in Asian territories.
If you enjoyed this list, also check out our previous lists based on the most expensive PS2 and 3DS games.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:18 PM
Black Ops 6 Zombies The Tomb left us with another cliffhanger, hinting at a possible new location. The next Zombies map will presumably be "Shattered Veil," the latest area of Project Janus. Here's what to expect for the Shattered Veil, including a potential release date and features.
When does the Shattered Veil map come out in BO6 Zombies?
Although Verdansk has primarily taken the lead on BO6 and Warzone Season 3, Treyarch is still cooking with Zombies content. A few snippets have been shown, starting with a log from the fan-favorite character Edward Richtofen. We recently got a confirmation that the Shattered Veil map, previously known as "The Mansion," will be released in Season 3, either on April 3 or during the mid-season point.
Since Zombies teasers have been rolling out before the Season 3 launch, it's highly likely that Shattered Veil will debut on April 3. However, we have seen mid-season releases in the past, including the fan-favorite Citadelle des Morts.
Everything we know about the BO6 Zombies Shattered Veil map so far
The Shattered Veil presumably takes place in a mansion, which is likely why it was originally given this title. The first teaser shows this building covered in black smoke, with an outside setting similar to Citadelle des Morts' Town Square. The post teases, "Personal log. Edward Richtofen recording," suggesting he may finally be a playable character.
Considering that Richtofen has been mentioned in this post, his creation, the Wunderwaffe DG-2, could be the next Wonder Weapon. Before Black Ops 6 was released, we saw Edward holding this device in the Liberty Falls trailer, and now it seems like it'll be available in the Shattered Veil. Nevertheless, there's still potential for other Wonder Weapons to appear, whether an elemental staff or an entirely new tool.
Another BO6 Zombies teaser goes inside the building, displaying a painting of a mysterious man. Many fans believe this person in question is tied to Black Ops 4's The Order, as his clothing relatively matches the characters from this game. The Order was known for using Sentinel Artifacts, which is also a part of BO6's The Tomb. With these two hints, the Order may make a return, spreading chaos in Zombies once more.
While we're still eagerly awaiting more details about the Shattered Veil, whispers in the community hint that this map might be on a more intimate scale compared to the others. If the rumors hold true, it could be roughly the size of Liberty Falls, though nothing is set in stone just yet. I'll update this guide whenever the official news drops.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:55 AM
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 differs greatly from previous seasons. While Season One was about fighting demons and helping elemental spirits return to shrines, Season Two does a complete 180, focusing on living a life of crime. Here's every Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 weekly quest that's appeared so far.
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 Week Zero quests
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2's Week Zero quests introduce this completely changed season. You'll learn more about Bank Vaults, new bosses, and Medallions added to this season while sticking to familiar tasks like eliminating opponents. Here's the complete list of Week Zero quests during Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2:
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 Week One quests
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2's Week One quests also act as an introduction, teaching you about the existence of Go Bags and Thermite. As usual, you'll also need to collect and spend some gold since that's what this season is all about. Here's the complete list of Week One quests during Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2:
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 Week Two quests
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2's Week Two quests dive deeper into specific gameplay mechanics exclusive to this season while still keeping some basic objectives going. You'll be required to break into bank vaults this week, but outside of this, everything is the same as usual. Here's the complete list of Week Two quests during Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2:
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 Week Three quests
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2's Week Three quests are much more challenging than previous weeks. We're introduced to Golden Llamas and Rocket Drills, both of which are tricky to locate. Here's the complete list of Week Three quests during Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2:
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 Week Four quests
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2's Week Four quests reference Shohei Ohtani, a professional Japanese baseball player featured alongside a special item bundle. These objectives may be more challenging than previous ones, but with enough determination, you can finish most in just a few rounds. Here's the complete list of Week Four quests during Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2:
When does Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 end?
Fortnite Chapter 6, Season 2 will officially end on May 2, 2025, at 2 a.m. ET. Here are the exact times in various regions:
Fortnite's servers typically go down for maintenance shortly after a season ends. In most cases, the maintenance lasts around three to four hours, giving you time to prepare for Chapter 6, Season 3 to begin. While occasional delays happen, they don't usually last more than an hour or two, so watch Epic Games' server status page for more updates as the season's end draws closer.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 11:41 AM
The Wuthering Waves 2.2 livestream is scheduled to begin on March 21, 2025, at 7 pm (UTC+8). The developers will reveal a bunch of details about all the new content from the upcoming update.
This article will list some of the announcements that you can expect during the livestream.
Expected announcements in Wuthering Waves 2.2 livestream
Character showcase
Cantarella will be released as a playable character in version 2.2. She is a 5-star Havoc Resonator who uses a Rectifier and the livestream will showcase her main abilities and playstyle. The developers might also share some other information about Cantarella, such as her personality and how she usually operates.
Furthermore, Rover is expected to finally obtain the Aero Attribute in version 2.2 so the developers may showcase some of their abilities.
Banners
Cantarella is the only new character in Wuthering Waves 2.2. Besides her debut banner, you can expect at least 2 or 3 other 5-star Resonators to get a rerun banner. The Shorekeeper and Camellya have the highest chances of returning since they are the only ones without a rerun.
Weapon
You can also look forward to new weapon announcements. Cantarella will get her own signature 5-star Rectifier that will be featured on the weapon banner for a limited time. In addition, according to the beta info shared by Hakush.in, Rover will get a new signature Sword so the officials may share some details about it.
Events
Naturally, there will be new events announcements in the Wuthering Waves 2.2 livestream. This will give you a rough idea of how many free rewards you can get in the upcoming update.
New area and enemies
The beta leaks also show a Rinascita map expansion and a bunch of new enemies in the upcoming update. More details about them are expected to be revealed during the livestream. This may include new exploration mechanisms and quests.
Livestream codes
Lastly, you can look forward to 3 new codes during the Wuthering Waves 2.2 livestream. Based on the past Special Broadcasts, you can redeem them to get free rewards of up to 300 Astrites and other in-game items. Do remember that the livestream codes generally expire within 2 to 3 days so it is best to redeem them as soon as possible.
Other updates and improvements
Kuro Games has announced that they will update some gameplay features of the Whimpering Wastes in version 2.2 so they will reveal more details about it during the livestream. In addition, the developers may share other upcoming QoL updates that will be implemented in the game.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:40 AM
Something big is on the way to ARK: Survival Ascended. As revealed at this week's Game Developers Conference, ARK: Lost Colony is set to launch as a "major canonical expansion" this November.
Studio Wildcard is throwing a lot at the wall with this one, so it should be fun to see what sticks. The reveal of what is being referred to as Survival Ascended's first all-original expansion pack came in the form of a two-minute anime-style trailer. The folks behind it are none other than MAPPA, the revered (and busy!) anime studio behind the likes of JUJUTSU KAISEN, Chainsaw Man, Attack on Titan Final Season, and more.
You can hear Michelle Yeoh (Magnificent Warriors, Everything Everywhere All at Once) as legendary survivor Mei Yin in the full video below. They say it's her, at least. It's hard to tell because she exclusively grunts for the entirety of the trailer.
Other actors featured in the expansion include Madeleine Madden (Wheel of Time) as Helena Walker and Auli'i Cravalho (Moana) as Meeka. There is dialogue outside of those iconic Yeoh combat groans!
Wildcard first kicked off the survival action-adventure with ARK: Survival Evolved in 2017. Lost Colony aims to connect the stories of the Extinction and Genesis expansions while setting up the events of ARK 2. Exactly how it connects and what makes this more substantial remains to be seen. You can start planning your tactics against the demons hanging out in Arat Prime for now, and look for pre-orders with exclusive preview content to go live this June for $29.99.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:23 AM
Looking for the best Sims 2 expansions? Although The Sims 2 is over 20 years old, it's a cherished title, with players flocking to the 25th Birthday Bundle release. If you're wondering which expansion to dive into first, we have all the best Sims 2 expansions ranked below.
8. The Sims 2: Pets
Although it's at the bottom of the list, The Sims 2: Pets is by no means a bad expansion. It introduces over 30 breeds of cats, 72 breeds of dogs, birds, guinea pigs (known in-game as womrats), and skunks that can occasionally visit lots and get into mischief.
Crucially, if you're a fan of the occult, the expansion also introduces werewolves into the game via the 'Leader of the Pack' NPC that can visit your lot and bite Sims. However, beyond the mechanics around adopting, breeding, and training pets, there isn't a huge amount of content to get to grips with.
Although many of us cannot comprehend a complete family without the addition of pets, it is just that — an addition. The Sims 2: Pets is a fantastic companion expansion to have if you have the extra cash to spend, but there isn't enough content to occupy you for long. At least, compared to the other expansions on this list.
7. The Sims 2: Bon Voyage
The Sims 2: Bon Voyage allows you to whisk your Sims away for a vacation at one of three possible destinations: Twikkii Island, Takemizu Village, and Three Lakes. Each offers a unique setting, holiday activities, and a secret vacation lot to discover once you locate the associated ancient map. If you're lucky, you may even bump into a bigfoot and invite him home to live with you. You can live vicariously through your Sims and collect souvenirs, go on tours, or even purchase a vacation home and make your stay semi-permanent.
Playing through each of the three vacation spots is immensely fun, if a bit gimmicky. Whilst I love the idea of my Sims having a trip away, there isn't a whole lot of replayability value. After experiencing each destination once, there isn't a compelling reason to return.
6. The Sims 2: Nightlife
The Sims 2: Nightlife introduces many fundamentals to the game like restaurants, dates, a 'Downtown' neighborhood where Sims can go clubbing, and the ability to own cars. The pack also offers an attraction system where you can select 'turn-ons' and 'turn-offs' for your Sim. This system helps deepen Sim's connections with one another and adds some realism to the game.
The Sims 2: Nightlife also includes a wealth of build mode items, vampires, and some of the franchise's most iconic NPCs like the Gypsy Matchmaker and Mrs Crumplebottom. You'll often find Mrs Crumplebottom stalking through nightclubs attacking Sims with her handbag if they dare to flirt too brazenly in public.
It's hard to comprehend a time when The Sims 2 shipped without the ability to take Sims out for dates, as it feels like an essential gameplay feature. In a way, it feels as though The Sims 2: Nightlife should have been part of the base game experience, rather than an expansion.
5. The Sims 2: FreeTime
The main draw of The Sims 2: FreeTime is the 10 new hobbies and five new careers it adds to the base game. These hobbies come with an 'Enthusiasm' system which measures how much a Sim likes a particular hobby (note that this is different to skill level. A Sim may be skilled in Cooking, for example, but be less enthused about it).
Along with this, the expansion adds new hobby-related furniture, the Genie NPC, the BFF friendship milestone, and the ability to age up non-playable Sims when your main Sim has a birthday. This essentially means that your Sims can have childhood friends that age with them and continue their friendships into adult life.
The pack also has a 'Lifetime Aspiration' bar. The more consistently happy your Sims are over time, the more points they can trade in for rewards. As such, The Sims 2: FreeTime is a great expansion to delve into if you've exhausted the original Sim careers or hobbies and wish to simply have more things for your Sims to do.
4. The Sims 2: Apartment Life
Now we have werewolves and vampires, let's throw some witches into the mix, shall we? Unlike the other occult Sims, witches feel a tad more fleshed-out by the fact that you can slowly learn spells and choose to focus on good, neutral, or evil magics. I know occult Sims aren't everyone's cup of tea, but I had a fantastic time cursing my neighbor after they started a fight with my Sim. Be careful who you make an enemy of — especially if they're wandering around with green skin and a pointy hat.
Of course, the main draw of The Sims 2: Apartment Life is the ability to rent apartments and find roommates to help you out with the bills. This sort of gameplay is a fantastic basis for any rags-to-riches enthusiasts. Instead of launching into a 20-30k home, you start from the lower rungs of the property ladder. The expansion also introduces a social class system to determine the wealth of a neighborhood. From this, certain 'Social Group Townies' will populate areas, fitting into the following categories: Gearheads, Bohemians, Jocks, Techs, and Socialites. Each group has distinctive personality markers and serve to diversify and add some depth to bog-standard townies.
The Sims 2: Apartment Life adds a lot of content to the existing game and provides hours of entertainment, even if you only go through the apartment system once in a playthrough.
3. The Sims 2: Seasons
If you're sick of being in perpetual spring, The Sims 2: Seasons can be just the thing to revitalize your gameplay. As the name would suggest, it brings all four seasons to the game and introduces dynamic weather. With this comes extreme temperatures and a new outerwear clothing category.
Although this is a feature that will tick over in the background, it instantly makes your Sim neighborhoods feel more alive. Perhaps more importantly, The Sims 2: Seasons brings with it fishing and gardening, which most players would deem essential pastimes.
The Sims 2: Seasons additionally adds six new careers to the game: Adventurer, Education, Gamer, Law, Music and Journalism. It also adds Plant-sims and an adorable penguin NPC that can visit your lot during snowy weather. With added weather-based interactions like snowball fights, water balloon fights, bug catching, snow angels and much more, The Sims 2: Seasons is especially satisfying when playing as a family. I do wish, however, that we had more holiday-based gameplay, similar to the calendar and festivities that came with The Sims 4: Seasons.
2. The Sims 2: Open for Business
Although it may not be to everyone's taste, one of my favourite things to do in any Sims game is run my own business and turn a small shop into an enterprise. I could spend hours upon hours within The Sims 2: Open for Business as it allows you to do just that. You can create a business at home or buy a lot and turn it into a shop, restaurant or even a pet store (if you also have The Sims 2: Pets installed).
With the business management mechanics, you can hire employees, set a dress code, pitch sales to buyers and run them up at a cash register. The better your performance, the more business perks you can buy to upgrade your shop.
If you don't have an interest in running a business, this pack also introduces Servos (robot butlers that you can build and then program to cook, clean or repair objects) shopping districts, flower arranging, toy making, and a wealth of build mode items (over 120 new objects).
1. The Sims 2: University
When getting bang for your buck, The Sims 2: University is the best Sims 2 expansion. It was the first to introduce the Young Adult life stage to the game which, in turn, lengthens the amount of time you have with Sims before they move on.
The Sims 2: University gives you a choice of three university neighborhoods: Sim State University, La Fiesta Tech and Académie Le Tour. At these, your Young Adult Sim can choose to live in dorms (which function similarly to apartments), private residences or Greek houses. Four new careers come with this pack and your student Sim can choose from eleven different majors. When graduating, depending on the major they chose, they can receive a boost up the corporate ladder and start in their chosen career ahead of other Sims.
There is much to do when at university. You can join a sorority or fraternity, delve into the mysteries of the secret societies, join study groups, host parties, perform pranks and much more. The expansion also introduced zombies to the game via the new paranormal career. The Sims 2: University has hours of content available and with an entire new life stage, the replayability value of this pack is incredible. The chances are that most players with this pack will send their teens to university and will get different experiences each time.
The rounds up our list of all eight Sims 2 expansion packs ranked from worst to best. If you're looking to spice up your gameplay, see our guide to all the ways to kill Sims in The Sims 2, all WooHoo locations, or our list of the best Sims 2 cheats and console commands.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 10:02 AM
Ifa will finally make his first in-game appearance during the Tournament in Glory of Bloom event in Genshin Impact. The developers have also revealed Ifa's voice actors in all four languages. You can find more details about them in this article.
Ifa's VA in English
Jonny Loquasto is the official English voice actor for Ifa in Genshin Impact. Here are some of his other notable roles:
Ifa's voice actor in Japanese
Ifa's voice actor in Japanese was recently replaced and the new VA is Terashima Junta. Listed below are some of his previous roles:
Ifa's voice actor in Chinese
Lu Shujun is the Chinese voice of Ifa in Genshin Impact. Some of his previous roles include the following:
Ifa's va in Korean
Park Ki-wook is the Korean voice of Ifa and here are some of his past roles:
More about Ifa
Ifa is a well-known Saurian vet from the Flower-Feather Clan. He will play a major role in the upcoming Tournament in the Glory of Bloom Event in version 5.5 so you can look forward to meeting him.
Ifa is expected to be released before version 6.0 goes live, based on the silhouettes revealed during the version 5.3 livestream. Luckily, the Japanese livestream for version 5.5 revealed that Ifa is an Anemo character. Unfortunately, his rarity and weapon type are still unknown but more details will be available after his release version is confirmed.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:59 AM
The Genshin Impact 5.5 update will finally introduce us to the Collective of Plenty in Natlan. It is Iansan and Varesa's tribe and is located west of Mualani's People of the Springs. This article briefly covers some information that you may want to know about the Collective of Plenty.
3 things you should know about Collective of Plenty
Tatankasauras
You can find a new and unique Saurian companion in Collective of Plenty called Tatankasaurus. They are big in size and gentle in nature, but extremely powerful and can run very fast, which is also their exploration ability. The Tatankasaurus can easily charge across land, water, and liquid Phlogiston when sprinting at full speed. Additionally, they can use the terrain differences to leap.
The Tatankasaurus can also smash through the rocks containing Phlogiston, also called Pulverite, and it can help during exploration.
Tribe's culture
The warriors of the Collective of Plenty love to test their raw strength. They also have a special arena where they hold various competitions, including wrestling. In addition, the ashes of the volcano have made the soil very fertile, making the land perfect for growing crops. Thanks to this, the food grown in Collective of Plenty tastes delicious and so they regularly have eating contests.
Speaking of the eating contest, the upcoming 5-star Electro character, Varesa, won the 242nd Inferno Stomach Supremo competition by eating 80 servings of Hot Spring O'Clock.
Also read: Time until Varesa releases in Genshin Impact
Volcano
The volcano near the Collective of Plenty sometimes erupts and rains down rocks in the area. People of the tribe are used to it and they just smash all the rocks into pieces. However, you may want to watch out for them when exploring the area near the volcano. You may also encounter some falling rocks but the Tatanksaurs can help you with them.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:53 AM
The BAFTA Games Awards 2025 will kick off next week. In the run-up to the ceremony, fans from all over the world are asked to put in their two cents for the Most Influential Video Game of All Time.
Cue Mr. Skyrim himself, Todd Howard, chiming in with his own opinion. In a recent post on X, the Bethesda co-founder gave a couple of shout-outs to some notable video games from the past. Howard begins by telling us what he thinks are the "two most important games of all time:" Tetris and Pac-Man, praising them for what they've done for gaming over the decades.
He then goes on to give his thoughts on which two games he considers the most influential: Super Mario Bros. and the original Doom. Huge names if ever there were any, with Howard making reference to how much of the industry can be traced back to these iconic releases.
Not Elder Scrolls, then?
The BAFTA Games Awards is an annual event that honors recent and past titles that have made an impact on the gaming world. The full longlist recognizes 58 video games, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Black Myth: Wukong, Minecraft, Silent Hill 2, Helldivers 2, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, No Man's Sky, Tekken 8, and more. The ceremony will go ahead on April 8, and will see comedian Phil Wang return as the host.
As for the Most Influential Video Game of All Time, you still have a chance to have your say. The BAFTA form is live until March 20, so get your votes in. There's no list of nominees to choose from; you just have to write what game you think should be considered for the category and why.
Categories included in the BAFTA Games Awards of 2025 include British Game, Audio Achievement, Artistic Achievement, Evolving Game, Narrative, Technical Achievement, Multiplayer, and more. Last year, Baldur's Gate 3 took home the award for Best Game but was up against stiff competition from Alan Wake 2, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Super Mario Bros. Wonder.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:26 AM
Fortnite's Spring Raid quests are the perfect opportunity to get a free skin, pickaxe, and other cosmetics without purchasing the Battle Pass. While they require some grinding, you won't need to spend any money or complete challenging quests to unlock them. Let's check out Fortnite's Spring Raid quests and rewards.
How to complete Party Up Spring Raid quests in Fortnite
Fortnite's Spring Raid quests have two main objectives you'll complete from now until March 31, 2025:
Rather than playing Battle Royale or LEGO Fortnite, you'll have to play experiences made by Epic Games or other players. Whether you play a popular experience or one created by your favorite content creator is entirely up to you as long as you team up with other players.
That's right: this is also a team mission. Playing these by yourself won't count toward Spring Raid's objectives. Instead, you need to team up with at least one other player and hop into a custom experience to progress through these quests. You can match up with a friend, a random player, or an alt, depending on your preferences.
All Party Up Spring Raid rewards in Fortnite
Fortnite's Spring Raid quests have nine rewards you can win, ranging from a Jam Track to the free Dupli-Kate outfit. Here's a list of every reward and their levels:
Not every quest is available right away, so you won't unlock the Dupli-Kate Outfit on day one. More objectives will open over time, giving you some breathing room as you grind these missions. The event ends on March 31, 2025, so be sure to hop on at least a couple of times from now until then to claim Dupli-Kate's skin.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:00 AM
As much as I've loved every new entry in the mainline Xenoblade Chronicles series, there's something special about Xenoblade Chronicles X. While it's technically not a spin-off, it's certainly its own thing, favoring a more futuristic sci-fi world and story compared to the fantasy setting of the main series.
Nearly a decade after originally releasing on the Wii U console near the end of its lifecycle, Monolith Soft and Nintendo have released Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, a remastered version of the original game modernized to run and look good on the Nintendo Switch, with some new content to boot.
Typically remasters go in one of three directions: a simple port of an old game to a more modern system, a port that also has some improved visuals, or a complete graphical upgrade that may also add more content to the original game. Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition falls in the latter category, adding a trove of new features and content while upgrading the graphics for the Switch.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition (Nintendo Switch)
Despite using the Xenoblade Chronicles name, the story of XCX is completely separate. Sometime in the future, humanity is forced to flee Earth after the planet is caught in the middle of an intergalactic war. As two alien species wage conflict in space above Earth, humanity launches a series of colony ships as a last-ditch attempt at survival. One of the ships, the White Whale, successfully evades the warring species' but is tracked down by one of the species and shot down years later, causing it to crash land on the mysterious alien planet of Mira.
The world of Mira is where Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition takes place, and it is absolutely massive. For comparison, the total size of Mira is 154 square miles which is bigger than the world of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild at 140. You'll traverse the entire gargantuan world throughout the many story missions that stretch over several narratives starting while figuring out how you crashlanded on Mira and surveying every nook and cranny of the planet.
Exploration of Mira is not only a core part of the narrative in XCX: Definitive Edition, but it's further amplified by an in-game system called FrontierNav. As you explore Mira you can find spots to drop down various probes as part of the FrontierNav system, contributing towards the surveying of the planet but also allowing you to accrue various materials including money and Miranium which you'll use to upgrade your gear.
While side quests are often side-dressing in most JRPG's, in XCX: Definitive Edition they are arguably more important than the main quests. Of course, you don't have to do side quests to progress the actual main storyline and get through the game, but the real meat of the storyline including details about the characters, the world of Mira, and what exactly is going on are mostly fleshed out through the side quests.
Even though XCX: Definitive Edition is vastly different from the other mainline entries in the series in terms of story, world, and setting, the one big area of similarity is the combat system. Both in story missions and when traversing the open world, you'll encounter various enemies of different types that you will engage in real-time combat.
You influence the combat by utilizing an arsenal of skills while in combat, including both melee and ranged. The skills vary from dealing damage to applying negative status effects to your enemies or positive status effects to yourself and allies as well as healing. At a glance, the combat system may sound a bit simplistic, but it's far from it. Most of the skills have various bonuses that are applied when you meet certain conditions such as attacking an enemy from behind, from the side, etc. This creates a very dynamic yet fluid combat system of maneuvering around the field to ensure you're attacking your enemies in the most optimal way.
To make things even more interesting, the world of Mira is harsh and punishing. For example, one of the early zones has a massive Level 55 dinosaur trampling around next to various Level 3 and Level 4 creatures. It's not just there for shock factor either; engaging in combat with the dinosaur early on when you first reach this zone would be an absolute death sentence. But it further adds to the vast amount of content in XCX: Definitive Edition. There's something special about finding a higher-level enemy early on that you remember many hours later when you're strong enough to come back and take it on.
Alongside leveling up, there are two other major points in Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition that are pretty big game changers in terms of both gameplay and exploration of Mira. After Chapter 6, you'll gain access to a Skell, a weaponizable mech/exoskeleton that will surely give you Gundam vibes. You can traverse the world of Mira much quicker in a Skell than on foot, but you can also use them in battle, making quick work of smaller enemies and giving you the ability to take on more hulking enemies with ease. Then, after Chapter 9, you unlock the Flight Module for the Skell, allowing you to fly around for even faster travel and opening up previously inaccessible areas.
If what you've read so far in this review sounds great, I have good news: this is essentially Xenoblade Chronicles X before it got the Definitive Edition treatment. As a whole, the Definitive Edition mostly amplifies everything above in one way or another, but also adds more content.
First off, the graphical upgrades are solid across the board in XCX: Definitive Edition. The shiny plastic-looking character faces from the original are long gone, replaced with sharper and more defined models. The creature textures and the world have also been updated, as well as the lighting. Obviously, you have to keep in mind that this is still the Switch we're playing on, so don't expect PS5 or Xbox X|S-quality graphics, but I'd argue that while the original Xenoblade Chronicles X essentially pushed the Wii U to its limits graphically, the Definitive Edition appears to be doing the same thing on the Switch. There are a few areas, mainly for the much-larger-than-normal creatures, where I've noticed a few spots of blurry textures that look like they either didn't scale correctly or weren't updated from the original, but this was only a few times and was really only noticeable when I got up close and personal.
Story-wise, the Definitive Edition is a meaningful addition that fleshes out various plot threads and character developments throughout the progression of the game. One of the few issues with the original Xenoblade Chronicles X is that it had somewhat of a cliffhanger ending that seemed to set things up for a sequel, but a sequel never happened. There's some extra story in the Definitive Edition that builds on it but don't expect that issue to be fully resolved. Hopefully this definitive edition leads to a proper sequel where we can see the cliffhanger find complete resolution.
In terms of content, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition has plenty to offer, as well as many quality-of-life options that only make the game even better. There are two new characters, Neilnail and Leisel, each of which also have their own new Skell as well. There's also an entirely new zone, a floating continent that can only be accessed via flying. In fact, the zone is built specifically for traversal with the flying Skell, offering more verticality than the other zones. This new zone also has new creatures, story beats, and even FrontierNav points to explore and set up to create an even more efficient resource generation pipeline.
Quality of life has been vastly improved. Mission Item Markers have been added to the map, showing you where to go to take on missions and more importantly where to farm various items required for fetch quests, a major issue in the original game. BLADE Levels, a separate ranking system from your level that you had to grind out to access certain missions has been removed, allowing you to access missions simply based on Level and Main Story progression. You can also now swap party members quickly and easily at any time via the menu, rather than having to trek all the way back to the main city like in the original game.
Perhaps the most important new addition is an all-new cooldown system. Your skills — called Arts — have their own specific cooldowns after use. However, this new system allows you to build up a separate cooldown meter and then consume it to instantly bypass your Art cooldowns and use the Art anyway. This adds another element of gameplay where you can manage your new cooldown meter to pull off even more deadly attacks based on skirting past lengthy cooldowns, or executing a clutch heal in a pinch.
Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is how I wish all companies handled remastering its games. Xenoblade Chronicles X was already insanely good, and I would have been perfectly fine with just a graphical update and a port to the Switch. Its massive and immersive world is like no other and shows what peak exploration in a game should look like, finding a way to stay fun, mysterious, and rewarding even after 100 hours.
But instead of going the easy route, Monolith Soft went the extra mile and added meaningful new content and quality-of-life features that actually improved on what was already a masterpiece experience. The Definitive Edition treatment makes Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition one of the best JRPGs on the Switch, and a must-play for fans of the genre.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 8:24 AM
Siege X will set the next era for Rainbow Six in motion with a new game mode and an exclusive map, an advanced rappel system, modernized maps, several audio and visual improvements to take its realistic feel a notch higher, and so much more.
But will it be free to play?
Is Rainbow Six Siege X going to be free-to-play?
Yes, Ubisoft has confirmed Rainbow Six will be going completely free-to-play with the release of Siege X.
That means players who purchased Rainbow Six Siege in the past (all current players basically) will get to keep everything. This includes all the skins they've unlocked or purchased, Operators, their entire inventory, access to competitive playlists such as Ranked and Siege Cup, and progression over these 10 years.
This also means new players (after Siege X releases) will have to grind harder and upgrade to the Premium edition to unlock the competitive modes. They would also need to reach player level 50 to access more Operators.
They will have free access to the new Dual Front, Quick Play, and Unranked game modes. Ubisoft also confirmed that "free access will have 10 Operators available from the start and can expand that roster to 26 Operators through in-game progression."
Siege X will officially release on June 10, 2025, with the launch of Year 10 Season 2.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 8:23 AM
Pitchers are the athletes who will help you win more games in MLB The Show 25 by locking down your fort. While the hitters help you to score the runs, a game can't be won if you're leaking too many runs due to poor pitching.
A good pitcher will offer you a lot of variation when it comes to pitches. Additionally, pitchers with higher overall ratings also have high Confidence and Energy ratings. You can utilize them in more innings, and some can survive for almost eight rounds.
Let's take a look at the top 10 pitchers available in MLB The Show 25.
Top 10 pitchers in MLB The Show 25
Almost all the names on this list have SP as their base positions, and the rankings have been done based on their overall ratings.
Shohei Ohtani is, by far, the best pitcher in MLB The Show 25. An injured 2024 season hasn't removed the developers' faith in his pitching abilities, and he's part of Dodger's golden trio on this list. The LA-based team also has Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow on the list.
Detroit's Tarik Skubal and Braves' Chris Sale are the second-best pitchers, rated at 94. Barring Clase, all the nine names are starting pitchers for their respective sides.
While the overall rating is a fair reflection of the abilities of these athletes, you should also pay attention to a few other stats. Velocity is an important stat as it determines the pace of a pitch. Having good stats on either Control or Break is also key, and the same goes for Stamina (Unless you have great RPs in your squad).
Like pitchers, having good hitters is also crucial as they will help you get more runs and outscore your opponents. Remember that the ratings on the table are applicable for all game modes apart from Diamond Dynasty.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 8:21 AM
If you're wondering whether your PC can run The First Berserker: Khazan, here are its minimum and recommended system requirements.
The First Berserker: Khazan is a new hardcore Souls-like title from Nexon set to hit the shelves on March 27, 2025. It's set in the Dungeon & Fighter (DNF) universe that Souls game lovers would fancy, thanks to its harsh environments and tough boss battles.
Minimum system requirements for The First Berserker: Khazan
If your system matches the minimum requirements mentioned below, expect to get 30 frames per second at 1080p resolution at a low graphics settings preset.
Recommended system requirements for The First Berserker: Khazan
If you have similar specs to those below, you can expect to get 60 frames per second at 1080p resolution at a high graphics settings preset.
Considering the recommended specs are not too demanding, we can expect to get good performance even on PCs that are not updated to the latest generation of hardware.
Of course, if your system has a 5000 series GPU connected, you'd be able to get great performance even at 4K resolution.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 8:19 AM
The First Descendant has a ton of weapons to choose from, but let's be real, the best ones are the Ultimate ones. That doesn't mean that Rare and below should be written off entirely, but it's just that yellow tiers are so much better.
That said, if you're looking for weapons that pack a punch and aren't used as some kind of stat stick to boost a specific Descendant's abilities, then this list is for you.
The best weapons in The First Descendant
The following weapons listed are specifically for gunplay and not taking Cores into consideration. It's simply for the damage output.
Thunder Cage
The first Ultimate weapon that you'll be able to craft and have access to is still one of the best in the game. It primarily shines when it comes to mobbing thanks to its Electric Shockwave ability.
While the Thunder Cage can mob quite well, it's not the best bossing gun, but can still perform decently enough. It will start to falter in 400 Dungeons and Void Vessel boss rooms too.
Smithereens
The Smithereens used to be the butt of the joke where we'd have excess parts for the weapon from cracking open Amorphous Materials. It has since then become a bossing machine. Of course, you do need to land all of its pellets to get the critical buff. Otherwise, this gun will lose out on a significant amount of damage.
Also, compared to the Executor shotgun, the Smithereens is more versatile because you can mod it for any type of element while its counterpart has an innate Electric ATK.
Greg's Reversed Fate
The Greg's Reversed Fate has become one of the best all-rounder guns in The First Descendant. It can destroy groups of enemies and kill bosses.
Its only real weakness is that if you have targets that move fast, the bombardments will most likely miss, killing your damage potential.
Enduring Legacy
The Enduring Legacy is a killer of a Machine Gun. It is kind of conditional where it'll really start to shred enemies and bosses if they are burned. Still, even with fire procs needed, this gun can be the hard carry you need for most content in the game.
Voltia
This gun was a limited-time exclusive weapon from the Season 2 battle pass that is kind of a necessity for Void Vessel and some Void Erosion Purge levels. The Voltia was a decent mobbing weapon, but could easily destroy the personal barriers spawned by enemies in these activities.
The Voltia is more for utility rather than sheer firepower.
Malevolent
If you want something a bit faster than an Albion Cavalry Gun, then the Malevolent hand cannon will be right up your alley. The Bladed Cogs, bouncing off enemies and hitting additional targets, can destroy mobs easily. You're also rewarded for hitting weak points, drastically increasing the weapon's DPS.
Just like the Voltia, this gun is only available in the Season 2 Ep. 2 battle pass, so if you miss it, you'll have to wait until Deslin has the weapon's parts in rotation.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 8:15 AM
Aftershock is a brand new damage type introduced in Zenless Zone Zero 1.6, and it packs a punch if you know how to use it. Here's everything you need to know.
How to use Aftershock Damage in Zenless Zone Zero
Aftershock Damage cannot be applied by just any character or Agent in Zenless Zone Zero. It is a specialized type that currently only Silver Soldier Anby, Pulchra, and Trigger, three new characters recently introduced, can use. Aftershock has to be built into a character kit to be enabled, so no other previously released characters will ever have access to it.
Largely, Aftershock is damage that is most associated with follow-attack playstyles, but not always. This statement will be apparent when I go into the details behind how Anby and Pulchra use it.
Silver Soldier Anby
Silver Soldier Anby (just Anby from its point forward) makes use of Aftershock Damage when she uses her kit's main mechanic, Special Attack: Azure Flash. Every time her skill is used to consume White Thunder, the resulting damage dealt will be considered Aftershock Damage. When Anby lands three Azure Flashes on a target, the resulting Thunder Smite will deal major damage which is also considered Aftershock Damage. Additionally, Anby buffs the Aftershock damage of her teammates, allowing her to be beneficial to future Aftershock-dealing Agents.
Pulchra
When Pulchra is in the Hunter's Gait state, which is achieved by using her EX Special or after an Evasion Assist, she can utilize her Special Attack: Rending Claw - Nightmare Shadow when a teammate lands a heavy attack with either an EX Special or normal Special. Note that this attack can only occur when Pulchra is off-field, and is a follow-up attack. The resulting damage for Pulchra's Nightmare Shadow is considered Aftershock.
Pulchra deals Aftershock damage but also buffs the Aftershock damage of her teammates when using Nightmare Shadow.
Trigger
Although not yet released, Trigger is playable during the 1.6 story and Silver Soldier Anby Agent questline, thus we already know her official kit. Like Pulchra, Trigger's Aftershock damage comes entirely from her being off-field. Her Aftershock abilities require a resource called Purge, which she gains by Basic Attacking in her Sniper Stance.
How does Aftershock damage differ from Standard damage in Zenless Zone Zero?
In reality, Aftershock is not much different from Standard damage in Zenless Zone Zero. The key takeaway is that Aftershock is most associated with damage that follows another teammate's attack. This isn't always true, as with Anby, but it is the most common use case. While Aftershock could have easily been standard damage, the additional 'Aftershock' tag allows for future characters to specifically take advantage of it through unique mechanics tied to it, without messing up the balance of past characters.
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Destructoid Tuesday, March 18, 2025 8:14 AM
I'm a sucker for what you'd call "deep lore" in modern media. The stuff that's hidden, merely implied, and deliberately obtuse is often the best part of backstories in gaming, and FromSoftware's Elden Ring absolutely falls into this category. Some people get really weird and creative with it, though.
Please note that none of this is meant to be a critique: I myself have gone off the deep end when it comes to Destiny lore, for example, and there's plenty of merit to be had in this respect. It's a fun creative exercise, if nothing else, and what's the harm in that? Enter Charlemagneffxiv's phenomenally wacky theory about the true meaning behind Elden Ring: not only do the Lands Between exist in the same universe as Dark Souls does, but the whole thing is actually just a "fantasy archeology simulator in the guise of an action RPG game." Suffice it to say, some really aren't vibing with what the author is saying.
Elden Ring itself is an ARG, one lore theory claims
Whether Charlemagneffxiv is truly on to something or not is irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. What matters is that this is the kind of stuff that keeps people hooked on franchises and properties over a long, long time. A straightforward story is all well and good, for sure, but true longevity lies in obscure stuff that may or may not be true, especially when it offers a chance to entirely re-contextualize everything you know about the piece of media itself.
"There is a secret story hidden in the game that explains what is actually going on in the world," says the author of this particular lore theory. "There are multiple distinct civilizations all descending from one original culture who have, much like the real world, branched off into different cultures and then inter-mixed again. There seems to be a story of repeated conquests, and re-purposing of ruins by adding additional details from the conquering culture. This makes it very difficult, but not impossible, to trace the history of the game's world."
Obviously, I highly recommend reading up on what Charlemagneffxiv is saying here, but the TL;DR of it all is somewhat simple:
Do I agree with it? Not necessarily, no, but I'll admit that it's extremely tantalizing to imagine a connection between Dark Souls proper and Elden Ring's universes.
The community is also conflicted when it comes to Charlemagneffxiv's claims, predictably enough. Some feel precisely the same way, while others suggest this whole thing is just video game schizophrenia at play. It's a toss-up, really. Is it worth the time to go through it and maybe give it some thought? I genuinely believe so. It's great fun if nothing else, and it speaks to the sheer brilliance of design on show in Elden Ring.
The post The wackiest, most out-there Elden Ring lore theory has just dropped, and it's awesome appeared first on Destructoid. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Tuesday, March 18, 2025 2:10 PM For the second half of March. The post Xbox Game Pass Adds Atomfall, Octopath Traveler II, and More appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:31 PM A test for this month. The post Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves Second Open Beta Release Date Announced appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:21 PM A teaser trailer was also released. The post ARK: Survival Ascended DLC ARK: Lost Colony Announced appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
Gaming Instincts – Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism Tuesday, March 18, 2025 12:56 PM Announced in a recent podcast episode. The post Sony Interactive Establishes New Dark Outlaw Games Studio appeared first on Gaming Instincts - Next-Generation of Video Game Journalism. |
MonsterVine Tuesday, March 18, 2025 1:00 PM In a lot of ways Japan has always felt like Ubisoft's break glass in case of emergency for Assassin's Creed. The setting was teased in the very first game in the franchise and since then has more or less been the most sought after setting. Ubisoft however, has felt more interested in the western half […] |
MonsterVine Tuesday, March 18, 2025 9:00 AM Targem Games has launched a Steam Page for their upcoming waiter simulator game The Way of the Tray. Set in a fantastical world based on Japanese folklore, help the protagonist work as a waiter to return home. As a waiter in this mythical environment, serve your yokai patrons to find your way home. Inspired by […] |