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GameNotebook.com is a site dedicated to news and notes related to games and game design.
Take a look around and browse our syndicated gaming news or original notebook pages.
Thanks for visiting, come back soon!
Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League has already had bug fixes and a balancing patch, which is good news for players able to hop into the live service hero-biffer. It's less good news for those players struggling to play at all due to login issues and server issues.
Rocksteady say addressing these is their top priority, although they ask for patience as the problems are "not an easy nut to crack."
Digital Extremes' fan-favourite sci-fi RPG, Warframe, is coming to iOS later this month.
Courtesy of the game's recently-launched cross-play and cross-save systems, players will be able to use – and switch between – platforms, which DE says offers the "same expansive, high-quality" experience on Apple devices as it does on PC and consoles.
Players can access their Tenno collection across the platforms, whilst new arrivals will be able to claim "Day 1" login rewards.
Helldivers 2 is awarding all players a 50 per cent XP and requisition bonus to compensate players for "a problem" that's preventing players from receiving the correct rewards at the end of missions.
In a statement posted to X/Twitter, deputy game director Sagar explained that whilst the team was still "working on a fix for this", it wanted to "alleviate the impact" for players jumping into the action over the weekend.
That means that between now and the end of Sunday central European time (11pm UK time / 6pm EST / 3pm PST), players can expect an additional XP bonus on top of the base mission score.
Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the site-related news and best community creations from the previous week! For those of you that have enjoyed Giant Bomb's previous live events and panels, the staff's PAX East plans have been officially announced via the PAX schedule and it looks like a back-to-back PAX panel on Friday night, March 22nd, at PAX East! The staff will be hosting a live in-person VMDT and then follow it up with Dandoko Dare live!
Noted Detroit sports fan Jeff Grubb made a guest appearance on the Remap podcast to talk about the Lions' miracle season and the absolute heartbreak of how their season ended. For those of you that enjoy the NFL, this is obviously right up your alley.
It isn’t uncommon for manga series to involve two related characters from a family with one supposed to be the best and the other essentially an unpowered spare, but then for things to flip and the underdog being the true force to be reckoned with in the story. Bride of the Barrier Master is exactly that, however in this manga the way the heroine and her situation is handled makes it a more engaging twist.
There are supernaturally gifted families in Japan who keep the country safe by maintaining barriers, and Hana and her twin sister Hazuki are part of the lesser Ichise family. Hazuki is an especially gifted and blessed Practitioner, so much so that she’s even summoned a human Shikigami to assist her in her work. However, Hana just… isn’t anything special. Her Shikigami is a butterfly, she’s ignored by other people, and it even seems like her family sort of actively hates her.
As you might expect, given the nature of these sorts of series, that doesn’t last. On her fifteenth birthday, she suddenly comes into a power even stronger than Hazuki’s. She’s able to summon two human Shikigamis.
Journey developer ThatGameCompany has announced a "beautifully curated" book to celebrate the art of its 2019 "social adventure game", Sky: Children of the Light.
Set to launch on 22nd April, The Art of Sky will be an "extraordinary visual odyssey" and feature over 250 pages of ThatGameCompany's "trademark artistic excellence".
"The bewitching art book, now available for pre-order, compiles concept art illustrations spanning the game’s earliest days, heartfelt behind-the-scenes commentary, and never-before-seen imagery in a beautifully crafted, timeless first-edition hardcover volume perfect for devoted players and collectors alike," the description teases.
Palworld developer Pocketpair insists it has no reason to be alarmed about the hit game's dwindling player count.
As Palworld's 24-hour concurrent Steam count peaks at around 535,000 players – a fair fall from the 2.1 million simultaneous players Pocketpair secured the weekend Palworld launched – community manager "Bucky" stated in a statement on Twitter that the "Palworld has lost X per cent of its player base discourse is lazy", insisting that it was "fine" for players to take a break and play other games in between content updates.
"This emerging 'Palworld has lost X per cent of its player base' discourse is lazy, but it's probably also a good time to step in and reassure those of you capable of reading past a headline that it is fine to take breaks from games," Bucky said.
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League developer Rocksteady has confirmed that addressing its login and server issues remain the team's "top priority", but warned that it may "not be able to fix all those issues right away".
In a statement posted to the official website, Rocksteady said it could "hear and feel your frustration" about the ongoing issues, and agreed it was "unacceptable for the players" affected by the persistent problems, but said that because the issues didn't stem from one particular issue, it was "several smaller issues affecting players in different ways".
"For our upcoming patches we are looking to address login issues and server issues," the statement, signed "Axel and the Rocksteady Team" said. "And while we might not be able to fix all of those issues right away, I want to assure everyone: This is the top priority for us. We hear and feel your frustration and we can only agree, it’s unacceptable for the players who are affected by this.
Nvidia recently released a driver enabling RTX Video HDR - a driver side tool that automatically converts SDR video into HDR, with the help of real-time machine learning on an RTX GPU. Enable it and YouTube videos in SDR present convincingly as HDR, breathing new life into them. However, modder 'emoose' discovered something more within the driver - the ability to apply this to virtually any game. In effect, Nvidia has been working on its own, ML-based version of Microsoft's AutoHDR. We've tried it and it's simply stupendous.
To get it working, you need to download the NV TrueHDR mod from Nexusmods. Then, open up the provided .exe file. This brings up a command prompt. From here, you either type in the filename of the game executable you want to target, or better yet, simply drag and drop that .exe into the command prompt window and hit ENTER. From there, you choose your quality level and you're good to go. Your chosen game now presents in HDR.
So, why even use this in the first place when Windows 11 ships with AutoHDR, which basically does the same job? Put simply, RTX HDR is the superior option in virtually every way. AutoHDR only works on selected, whitelisted DX11 and DX12 games, while RTX HDR supports everything natively from DX9 onwards - and there are a lot of fantastic DX9 games that can benefit. But with control panel tweaks and help from other compatibility tools, you can go further - right back to adding HDR support of sorts to 3DFX Glide titles. I even get HDR working in the PS3 emulator RPCS3, allowing me to play an emulated version of Killzone 2 in HDR to convincing effect.
Microsoft is reportedly set to slash more than a hundred jobs at Activision Blizzard's Cork office.
As first reported in the Irish Examiner, minister for foreign affairs, or Tánaiste, Michéal Martin – who raised the issue in the Dáil, the Irish government – revealed that 136 of the approximately 200 jobs in Blackpool, Cork, were expected to be cut, calling the redundancies "very serious".
Love is in the air this week at Kotaku Towers, and the PS3-era charms ofHelldivers 2 have us totally smitten. Meanwhile, the Palworld hype train charges on, but we’re still keeping an eye on old loves and frenemies like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Overwatch 2. These are the week’s can’t-miss tips and guides.
This week, after days of swirling rumors and fan speculation, Phil Spencer and other Xbox bigwigs finally pulled back the curtain (a little bit, at least) on what the future holds for the console and the Xbox brand. Sony also hinted at what 2025 will bring for the PlayStation 5 (or at least what it won’t) while Helldiv…
On January 31, 2024, Konami released Silent Hill: The Short Message for the PlayStation 5 entirely for free. The first console entry in the Silent Hill series since Silent Hill Downpour, this bite-sized experience lends itself to the psychological horror elements of the series. However, due to the focus of its narrative and first-person controls, long-time fans of the series may find it lacking. That said, Silent Hill: The Short Message is perhaps the closest thing to a "true" Silent Hill game fans have been looking for since the days of Team Silent.
I have an extremely annoying neck and shoulder ache that I can't get rid of, but on the other hand I found the backing to the right earring in my all-day black studs. On a third hand, I found this after I bought a replacement pair. Less ideal. But at least video games have never let me down. That's an egregious lie, though. Games let me down all the time. Which ones are you pinning your hopes to this weekend? Here are ours.
Look, I certainly wouldn't call myself a trucking nerd - I'm not even sure I could tell the difference between a carburettor and a carbonara - but I do like to truck. American Truck Simulator has long been my equivalent of one of those mindfulness apps that whisper gently evocative nonsense at you in the dead of night; a world of seductively monotonous rhythms and repetitions set against a soothing soundtrack of engine drones and indicator clicks. And for the eyes, the majesty of nature: lakes, mountains, forests (or at least a decent enough facsimile thereof), sprawling from hard shoulder to sky. So imagine my delight when I stumbled across Star Trucker – all that calm and the most expansive natural vista of all: space!
Ordinarily, these X meets Y comparisons feel a little trite, but in Star Trucker's case – going on the evidence of its Steam Next Fest demo, at least - you're going to struggle to find a more apt description than 'American Truck Simulator in space'. This is big rig cargo hauling on an interstellar scale, a stately back-and-forth between pick-up and drop-off set against an ever-shifting canvas of shimmering nebulae and screen-filling worlds.
For all its fanciful sci-fi flavour, though, Star Trucker plays the whole thing surprisingly straight, grounding its slightly ridiculous high-concept premise in the minutia of the mundane. Which isn't to say it doesn't have bags of personality – this is the far-flung future by way of Route 66, with an ever-present country and western twang on your radio, an incessant southern drawl on your CB, and just enough quaint Americana to give the endless void a distantly familiar sense of place - but its eye is firmly on the road, not on the stars.
Skull and Bones is finally out today. Let's play the opening hour and see if it is worth wait. Reportedly, the game began development as early as 2013 and spent a few years as an Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag spinoff before turning into Black Flag MMO, before finally emerging as a standalone game announcement in 2017. In the six years since its announcement we've seen teases of it here and there, had chances to play in various betas and alphas, and it even appeared on our cover in 2022. Skull and Bones has been a long time coming, but today everyone is finally able to play it. Our full review isn't ready quite yet, but you can read Matt Miller's positive early impressions so far by heading here. You can also check out an hour of gameplay below.
To watch more of our livestreams, video podcasts, and series such as Super Replay, be sure to visit and subscribe to our second YouTube channel, Game Informer Shows. Head over to our flagship Game Informer YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games.
SuperGroupies announced a new clothing and accessory collection based on Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba from the Yu-Gi-Oh anime series. The items in the new collection are available for pre-order from the SuperGroupies online store until March 4, 2024.
The new SuperGroupies collection includes two items for each character, with an outerwear jacket and a handbag for Yugi Muto. The jacket will be available in S, M, and L sizes. Meanwhile, Seto Kaiba gets a pin set and another handbag. The release date for the items is set to early June 2024.
Here is the price list for the new SuperGroupies Yu-Gi-Oh collection:
Bandai Namco released a new gameplay trailer for the upcoming Goku's Next Journey DLC for Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot. The add-on is set to launch sometime in February 2024, but the developer has yet to reveal an exact date for it.
The trailer features a sparring match between Goku, sporting a blue outfit rather than his signature orange, and his son Goten. The father and son banter back and forth as they fight, before showcasing a new Surge activation animation and the match eventually ending with a clash of kamehameha beams.
While the exact contents of the DLC pack have not been listed, if it follows the pattern of previous DLCs then Goku's Next Journey should consist of new super attacks and soul emblems on top of the additional story arc to play through.
You can watch the full gameplay trailer for Goku's Next Journey below:
Konami is holding an official poll on its Silent Hill Twitter (X) account to decide the name for the new monster in Silent Hill: The Short Message. You can choose between four names.
The four choices are Cherry Blossom Monster, Sakura Creature, Sakura Head, and Sakura Body. There is also a Tweet below the poll that shows a picture of the creature for those who may have forgotten it. Masahiro Ito, the designer of the monster and other creatures in the Silent Hill series, retweeted this poll and asked, “What would Anita, the protagonist, call it?”
Incidentally, the famous Pyramid Head has the official name of “Red Pyramid Thing,” which is what James calls him when he first sees him. So whatever the “official” name is for the sakura monster is what Anita would personally use. The monster from Silent Hill: The Short Message has sakura blossoms completely covering its head and crotch area. It has bare legs, and you can’t really see its hands due to the long sleeves of its white sweater.
PQube announced that not only is White Day 2: The Flower that Tells Lies is heading to the PS5 and Xbox Series X in 2024, but it will do so in a Complete Edition that offers all three episodes at once. Back when it appeared on PCs, people needed to go through each installment one at a time.
White Day 2 essentially tells the story of three people, rather than just follow one person like White Day: A Labyrinth Named School did with Lee Hui-min. So in the first episode, people follow Jung Soo-jin and her crush as they’re trapped at Yeondu high school. The second covers Kang Seo-yeon trying to undo a ritual at the school. Finally, the third episode ties into the first game by having Yoo Ji-min trying to help Han Na-young.
Here is the first trailer for the console release. It also confirms that there will be a physical PS5 version of the game available, in addition to the digital PS5 and Xbox Series X ones.
We’re just six weeks in to 2024, and we’ve already seen the release of some absolulte bangers, including Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth and Persona 3 Reload. But the year’s biggest surprise so far has been a game most observers wrote off as a Pokémon-knockoff—until millions of people realized there was a lot more…
The Pokémon Company President Tsunekazu Ishihara and professional shogi player Sota Fujii sat down for a conversation in a recent article published in the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun. The two discussed the similarities between Pokemon and shogi. [Thanks, Game Watch!]
During the interview, President Ishihara said that he has enjoyed playing shogi since childhood as it has been around longer than Pokemon. Meanwhile, Fujii said that he hadn't had much experience with Pokemon until recently but that he has played Pokemon GO.
Ishihara and Fujii commented that both Pokemon and shogi are similar, as both are "mind sports" that promote strategic thinking abilities in 1v1 player scenarios. In both games, players need to observe their opponent’s movements and plan their own moves ahead.
Ishihara jokingly added that, in the 5 and 6-year-old categories for both games, there are some naughty children competing, and the people responsible for both Pokemon and shogi tournaments want them to compete calmly and make it a rule to shake hands and promote sportsmanship behavior.
Third-person co-op shooter Helldivers 2 has been rocking PS5 and PC players’ worlds as of late. Featuring intense co-op shootouts and extraction challenges against big bad bugs and robots, Helldivers has a thoroughly satisfying gameplay loop with a difficulty challenge that feels tough, yet masterable. And if you’re…
Glover is coming back once again, and this time a new port of it will appear on the Evercade console and handheld. It will show up in the Piko Interactive Collection 4 on April 30, 2024 for $19.99/£17.99€19.99.
Glover started out as an N64 and PC game back in the day, before eventually heading to the PlayStation as well. It stars a wizard’s glove named Glover trying to retrieve lost crystals that were transformed into balls in a platformer adventure. In 2021, Piko Interactive shared an early rom of the N64 version. This was followed by its PC return in 2022. It is also eventually heading to the PS4, PS5, Switch, and Xbox Series X.
First, here’s the trailer showing how the new port of Glover looks when running on an Evercade alongside the other Piko Interactive Collection 4 games.
This week on All Things Nintendo, Brian and Kyle start the show by covering news surrounding Splatoon 3, Princess Peach: Showtime!, Sonic Superstars, Xbox's "business update," and more. Then, Charles joins the show to share his review of Mario vs. Donkey Kong, while Kyle talks about his experience with the Tomb Raider I-III Remastered collection.
If you'd like to follow Brian on social media, you can do so on his Instagram/Threads @BrianPShea or Twitter @BrianPShea. You can follow Kyle on Twitter: @KyleMHilliard and BlueSky: @KyleHilliard. You can follow Charles on Twitter (@chuckduck365).
The All Things Nintendo podcast is a weekly show where we celebrate, discuss, and break down all the latest games, news, and announcements from the industry's most recognizable name. Each week, Brian is joined by different guests to talk about what's happening in the world of Nintendo. Along the way, they'll share personal stories, uncover hidden gems in the eShop, and even look back on the classics we all grew up with. A new episode hits every Friday!
After rumors and leaks indicated that Nintendo’s next console would be releasing in the second half of 2024, it appears that the launch has now been pushed back to 2025. This is according to multiple reports, including an O X do Controle video in which journalist Pedro Henrique Lutti Libbe claims to have received the…
Wanna feel old? One of the greatest gags in Simpsons history just turned older than several members of the Kotaku staff. That’s right, the instant-classic Season 8 episode “Homer’s Phobia” debuted on this day in 1997. In it, Bart befriends John, the owner of an antiques store (played by the iconic filmmaker, writer,…
Over 700 unionised Ubisoft employees working across the company's French studios have taken part in an organised day of strike action after annual salary negotiations collapsed.
The strike, organised by French game workers union STJV (Syndicat des Travailleurs et Travailleuses du Jeu Vidéo), took place on 14th February across Ubisoft's Paris, Montpellier, Annecy, Lyon, and Bordeaux studios. The STJV had called for action at the start of this month, saying annual salary negotiations had reached an unsatisfactory conclusion.
"In recent weeks," the STJV wrote in a statement shared at the time, "Mandatory Annual Negotiations on salaries have taken place in several Ubisoft entities in France, and the STJV was obviously present. Despite concerted efforts by union organisations to find an acceptable compromise, negotiations hit a wall."
Baldur’s Gate 3’s sixth patch is out, and it brings a slew of new kiss animations for its various love interests. While everyone can kiss their better half at camp, one of the best parts of the patch is for us Gale lovers, as a new touch animation has made one of his romantic storyline’s most pivotal scenes a little…
When One Punch Man: World was first announced, I was a bit apprehensive as I've always had a slight bias against mobile games with heavy action at the center of their gameplay. While I know projects such as Genshin Impact have long proven that intense combat can be incredible on mobile platforms, I've mainly found myself opting out for console versions of these titles. I was surprised when I discovered that One Punch Man: World is one of the best fighting games with adventure elements I've played in some time.
Full disclosure: I am a casual fighting game player at best. So, this review will be from the perspective of someone who is familiar with the genre, but isn't a master at it by any means. That said, I had a blast with my time playing One Punch Man: World. At its core, the game is anchored by a campaign that is currently divided into seven "arcs." Each one centers around a specific hero's story and is broken into "episodes" with heavy cutscenes.
The launch of 1997’s Final Fantasy VII on Playstation signaled a seismic shift in the video game landscape. The transition from pixel art to fully animated computer graphics was a massive enough leap ahead, but the beauty of this classic title was much more than skin deep. Featuring a stellar cast of beloved characters, a rock-solid combat system, and a story with the potential to instill emotions ranging from awe and joy to grief and anger, the legacy of Final Fantasy VII is well-established in the RPG genre and the games industry as a whole. Read more...
After developing two of the best Star Wars games in recent memory with 2019’s Jedi: Fallen Order and its sequel, 2023’s Survivor, Respawn Entertainment is reportedly working on another title set in a galaxy far, far away. Insider Gaming reports that the title will be a first-person game focused on a Mandalorian bounty…
Tekken 8 Producer Katsuhiro Harada revealed exactly when he started thinking about new character Azucena. When sharing a social media post from a fan, he noted that he’s been thinking about creating the newcomer for about seven years.
This means that around 2017, Harada was probably thinking about the concept behind the character. He noted the idea for her first started coming to mind then. As a reminder, Tekken 7 debuted on consoles and PCs back in 2017. So this means he’d been thinking about her since around the last installment.
Here’s the full post about the Tekken 8 character Azucena Harada made on social media.
Pocketpair, developer of Survival-Crafting-Creature-RPG Palworld, announced plans to implement anti-cheat features to game, beginning with Player Lists set to arrive in a February 2024 update. These are intended to combat cheating on official servers, but will be optional additions for solo and community-run worlds.
In the statement, Pocketpair reported that it confirmed some connection issues with official servers, which it attributed to the influence of cheaters. The company also affirmed its zero-tolerance policy towards such activities, and it said it is working on dealing with it as a priority.
As part of these countermeasures, the company noted it plans to add player lists and anti-cheat software to Palworld. The player lists feature, which is intended to help identify and ban cheaters, is set to arrive sometime during February 2024, but there is currently no date for the addition of the anti-cheat software.
You can find the full statement from Pocketpair in the tweet below:
Coming off of 2022’s biggest game in Elden Ring has been a tricky time for Bandai Namco, it seems. The publishers have announced that they have cancelled “at least” five games in the works to help overcome a significant drop in income over the last year, adopting a new approach to development that will focus on quality.
Pokemon Center Online Japan is celebrating its eighth anniversary by holding numerous promotions. One of them is a sweepstake that rewards a Pikachu tail pillow. The large pillow will have an overall length of 110cm (~43.3 inches).
People who want to get this pillow will have to undergo numerous steps to enter the sweepstake. First, they must register an account on the Japanese Pokemon Center Online website and opt to receive mail magazines. They can then receive an email that will contain a link to enter the sweepstake.
Users who have applied must also provide a valid and contactable Japanese address for the store to send the item physically. They must not delete the account until the store starts determining the winners on March 1, 2024, and informs the winners a few days later.
One of the biggest complaints about last year’s Game Awards was that the show did not let winners talk. Even when folks from Larian Studios got on the stage to accept the Game of the Year award for Baldur’s Gate 3, they were told to “wrap it up” and weren’t even able to make the announcement that the game was out on…
Flashlights and grubby gas masks at the ready: there will be a sequel to Metro Exodus, the developers of the follow-up to Metro 2033 and Last Light have confirmed. Don’t expect it soon, though, as 4A Games say it’ll arrive “when it’s ready”.