UPDATE 8.05pm: Following the premature reveal of Apex Legends' next playable character earlier today, developer Respawn has now made it official. Apex Legends' 14th Season will usher in the scope-wielding Vantage - real name Mara - who gets her animated introduction in the new Stories from the Outlands video below.

Survive, as the video is officially titled, tells Vantage's backstory, picking up as she stumbles across the remains of the mysterious GDS Vantage while out hunting on her snowy home world of Págos. As her curiosity increases, and ignoring her mother's warnings to leave well alone, she one day descends into the Vantage's cavernous wreckage, where she discovers the truth - that it's a prison ship and her mother was its captive.

One failed escape later, Mara, accompanied by her new bat-like companion Echo, is trapped and on the brink of death - so her mother (wrongfully convicted, Respawn notes elsewhere) does the only thing she can, giving up her freedom by alerting the authorities to her whereabouts in the hope they can help.

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A new team is making its way to the MCU, but unfortunately, fans are going to have to patiently wait for more announcements regarding the movie. Thankfully, we do have a release date, so this is when fans can expect Marvel’s Thunderbolts to come out.

Marvel’s Thunderbolts Release Date

Marvel’s Thunderbolts was officially announced at San Diego Comic-Con, with the added information that it is looking to be the final installment in Phase 5 of the MCU, with the movie releasing on July 26, 2024, in theaters only. Below, the official announcement from Marvel Studios is included.

Today Compile Hear revealed another trailer of its upcoming JRPG Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord.

This time around, we get the introduction of two relevant characters that will be featured in the game, the heroine Tiara, and her fairy partner, Cui.

The trailer provides a look at Tiara’s gameplay and a glimpse on her dialogue scenes, on top of her special moves.

You can check out the video below.

Fairy Fencer F: Refrain Chord will release in Japan for PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch on September 15, 2022.

One of the most interesting key concepts of the game is the presence on tactical RPG battlefield of “divas” that perform songs that buff friends and debuff enemies in a certain area.

Ultraman fans may soon be ready to become Ultraman farmers. The Ultraman franchise-themed Monster Rancher spin-off is coming this October. Bandai Namco revealed that the Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher release date falls on October 20, 2022.

Here's a trailer announcing the release date and showing off more gameplay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xn2kFZJaa_M

With the global Ultra Kaiju Monster Rancher release date confirmed, Bandai Namco also promoted a pre-order bonus. Pre-order customers will receive a "Giant of Light" cosmetic skin for the Ultra Kaiju Sevenger. Sevenger first appeared in the 1975 series Ultraman Leo, as a "Capsule Kaiju" belonging to the hero Ultraseven. Ultraseven's alter ego Dan Moroboshi could summon Capsule Kaiju to fight when himself could not transform into Ultraseven. Sevenger appeared again in 2020's Ultraman Z, as an anti-monster robot piloted by human-size operators. Sevenger later appeared in some specials separate from main Ultraman series. Sevenger Fight, a comedic short, pits Sevenger against various monster foes.

Check out a promo for Sevenger Fight below to see Sevenger in action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zzDCunVGjo

New Star Wars toys, including one for Respawn's upcoming release Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, were unveiled at San Diego Comic-Con over the weekend.

While this on its own is not all that newsworthy, what makes these upcoming releases by Hasbro more interesting is that they give us all a look at Cal Kestis' new, and therefore older, image. This includes some impressively-manicured facial furniture.

Cal's beard is groomed impeccably on the soon-to-be-released model, making me wonder how he got such a close shave. Perhaps he took cutthroat shaving to the extreme and used his lightsaber for the job? Who can say, but he has certainly grown up since the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order.

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Gleipnir is an interesting anime. From the striking look of the bear-like monster to the show’s overall art style, there’s something special about the series. It makes sense that fans would be looking for more of Shuichi’s story as he tries to make sense of his transformation and the coins. Here’s when Gleipnir season 2 will be coming out.

Gleipnir Season 2 Release Date

Sorry to say, but there has not been any word from animation studio Pine Jam on a second season of Gleipnir.

The Gleipnir anime originally aired in early 2020 with the dub hitting Funimation in December of that year.

All is not lost for those who want to continue the Gleipnir story, though. There is still an ongoing Gleipnir manga that the anime was adapting. The anime ended at roughly volume eight of the Gleipnir manga, and the 11th volume released only a few months ago.

For those who want to start the Gleipnir anime, Funimation gives a great (and hilariously vague) one sentence synopsis of:

Shuichi’s secret superpowers force him to transform into a monster, and Claire’s not afraid to climb inside whatever it is he’s become.

All 13 episodes of the Gleipnir anime’s first season are currently available to stream on Funimation or Crunchyroll.

That’s everything you need to know for when Gleipnir season two will be coming out. We will update this guide when new information about a potential season two is announced.

Naughty Dog co-president Neil Druckmann has shut down a report by prominent Fortnite leakers that a The Last of Us crossover is on the cards.

Last week, several high-profile Fortnite leakers spread word that the game's stars Joel and Ellie would be joining Epic's infamous battle royale.

But Druckmann has now poured cold water on the claims, calling them "false rumours".

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A flying wyvern known as the Lucent Nargacuga will soon nest within a ruined society in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. This creature arrives on August 1 within a free title update for players on Switch and PC.

Capcom released a minute-long trailer that shows a battle against the Lucent Nargacuga within the Forlorn Arena, backed by beautiful moonlight. The wyvern can cloak to evade its attackers and spin within the blink of an eye to knock them back.

In our review for Sunbreak, John Carson said the game needs more threats. "The lack of new monsters plagues the early hours, but there’s plenty to love if you keep at it," he wrote. "The added flexibility of the Switch Skill Swap system is a freeing and fun expansion to combat for hardcore hunters and the new creatures in the Master Rank quests – when you get to them – breathe life into the experience. For someone already invested in Monster Hunter, there’s plenty to love in Sunbreak."

This title update brings at least one new beast to hunt. Here's hoping players stumble upon more as the world opens up and the new content is unearthed.

Today Square Enix announced what’s likely the most obvious crossover ever for its mobile game Octopath Traveler: Champions of The Continent.

The crossover is with the recently-released tactics game Triangle Strategy, and it will bring forth three characters, Frederica Aesfrost, Serenoa Wolffort, and Roland Glenbrook.

The event will be available on the Japanese version of the game on July 28.

So what about the western version of the game? Probably we’ll get it a lot later, considering that it’s launching on July 27, 2022.

The Japanese version has been active since October 2020, so that’s nearly two years of content to run through, unless Square Enix decides to move this event forward for some reason.

Below you can check out the trailer for all three characters featured in the crossover.

Rick And Morty’s Rick Sanchez and Morty Smith are joining the roster of Warner Bros. brawler MultiVersus, but not before Space Jam basketballer LeBron James. LeBron is up first, so you can expect to play as him when the open beta begins on July 26th. Rick and Morty will be added during the game’s first season. Watch the LeBron reveal trailer below.

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Funko, the collectibles manufacturer behind the wildly popular Pop line of toys, is partnering with 10:10 games to create a "AAA action platformer" for console and PC. The game is slated to release in 2023 and is spearheaded by video game developer veterans  Jon Burton and Arthur Parsons, who worked together on several Lego games at Traveller's Tales and are now at 10:10 Games.

“Creating iconic products that emotionally connect fans to their favorite fandoms is critical to each product portfolio decision,” said Andrew Perlmutter, CEO of Funko. “By partnering with 10:10 Games and utilizing the best creators in the business, we will have the talent to deliver games that reflect Funko’s unique look and feel across its lines and varied products.”

This quote implies Funko's stylistic characters with large heads and black eyes could be used for the game. Given the developers' track record of making games that feature hundreds of playable characters, it's not unreasonable to think this title may unite many popular brands that have gotten the Funko treatment. For now, all we have is a teaser trailer, which you can view above.

Papers, Please will come out on iOS and Android mobile devices on August 5, 2022. Like the PC version, it will have a campaign mode where you play through the story, as well as an endless mode for those who want to see how long they can last. For those who purchased the game on the iPad, you can get it on the iPhone for free. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

While the contents of the game itself are the same as the original, Lucas Pope moved around some of the interface so that the game can look good when you hold it in portrait mode. It will also come with all of the languages that the game has been localized in.

Papers, Please first came out in 2013 for the Windows PC. You take on the role of an immigration officer working at the border of Arstotzka, which is a fictional country with some similarities to the Eastern Bloc. It is a puzzle simulation game in which you look at immigrants’ passports and other supporting paperwork, and check for inconsistencies. If there is nothing wrong, you may let them pass, but if there is false information, you must detain them for the safety of your country.

Several streamers and VTubers (including Markiplier, Ike Eveland, and Gawr Gura) have streamed the game over the past few years.

As with Dark Horse's previous art books, The Art of God of War Ragnarok features several hundred pages of concept art, developer commentary and other behind-the-scenes material for the game.

Dark Horse will also be releasing a Deluxe Edition version of the hardcover. The Deluxe Edition features a unique, faux-leather clamshell case and an art portfolio containing two lithograph prints of Kratos and Atreus.

Bandai Namco released another character trailer of its upcoming fighting game JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R.

This time around, we get to take in the fighting style of Steel Ball Run antagonist Diego Brando.

We also get to see his horse Silver Bullet, alongside his stand, Scary Monsters, in action.

You can watch the trailer below.

You're likely aware of those little Funko Pop! models which line the walls of comic book stores and supermarkets across the country. Funko has taken many of our beloved gaming heroes (as well as characters from other media) and given them a small-framed but massive-headed makeover. I, myself, have a Lara Croft one as part of my ever-growing Tomb Raider collection of 'stuff'.

Well, soon we will be seeing these diminutive, top-heavy, figurines in a whole new light, as a new partnership between Funko and Jon Burton's 10.10 Games studio was announced at San Diego Comic-Con. This collaboration promises us "AAA video games" that will eventually head our way.

You can watch the trailer - which features a guitar-loving and crown-wearing Funko called Freddy - for it all below.

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A new update for Xbox Game Pass gem PowerWash Simulator has fixed the game's multiplayer issues, its developer has said.

A 3.5GB update was made available for the game earlier today, Eurogamer spotted. Now, developer Futurlab has confirmed this patch is designed to alleviate the game's Xbox crash issues.

Last week, Futurlab offered an unusual tip to avoid multiplayer crashes - to stop looking at the sun. Apparently, issues with the game's lens flare visuals were at fault. (It's also just good advice in general.)

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No, Bayonetta 3's Naive Angel Mode isn't in response to Nintendo asking Platinum to cover up the titular witch.

The game's creator Hideki Kamiya took to Twitter to dispute fan theories on the new mode that removes nudity from the game.

If anything, Nintendo actually wanted her Link outfit in previous games to be more revealing.

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A new update for Xbox Series X/S speeds up the consoles' cold boot time by cutting the length of the startup logo animation.

Five seconds are saved with the launch of a new, faster Xbox logo, which whooshes on and off your screen in around four seconds rather than nine.

Xbox Insiders with access to Microsoft's most up-to-date Xbox Series X/S system update are able to see the faster boot logo in action now, The Verge noticed. The change will roll out to all users over time.

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Universal Studios Japan (USJ) has released more information on the Jujutsu Kaisen collaboration event that will run from September 16, 2022. Like most crossovers at the theme park, there will be a 4D ride, as well limited time music that will play on Hollywood Dream: The Ride. Additionally, there will be Jujutsu Kaisen-themed food and merchandise available during the crossover. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

“Kaikai Kitan” by Eve, which is also the first opening of the series, will play on Hollywood Dream. As for the 4D ride, you will be able to experience a fight between the main cast of characters and Cursed Spirits, along with a story original to the ride. Yuji and the others are fighting to prevent a conspiracy targeting the opening of a Jujutsu High in Osaka. This will also mark the first time that the Jujutsu Kaisen characters appear in 3D.

The 4D ride will be available from September 16, 2022 until July 2, 2023. As for the Hollywood Dream: The Ride (Kaikai Kitan version), it is available until January 18, 2023.

Jujutsu Kaisen follows the story of Yuji Itadori after he becomes a Jujutsu Sorcerer in order to prevent his execution. He houses a powerful Curse named Ryomen Sukuna inside of his body because he ate one of the fingers. The ultimate goal is for Yuji to eat all of the fingers so that they can fully exorcize Sukuna.

Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter's #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. This time, my eye has been caught by an adventure game inspired by Flann O'Briend, a celebrity reality show in a McMansion, livestreamed occult horror rituals, and more.

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Many, myself included, have been longing for the chance to roam around the palatial (if dangerous) lands of Breath of the Wild's Hyrule with a friend by our side for some time now. However, it is traditionally a single player experience.

Well, that is, until you get the modding community involved.

Yes, a new mod developed by Kirbymimi finally brings a split screen multiplayer experience to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The mod adds double the Links, double the fire power and, perhaps, double the fun.

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Stray has been out for almost a week, and inevitably the internet is modding the game's playable cat-racter. Here's some PC mods we've spotted that will give you paws for thought.

If you're a dog person, you can play as a cute French bulldog puppy thanks to modder crubino. The Happy Puppy mod even changes most of the meows into woofs, and crubino hopes to add more to it, including customisation of the puppy's fur. As a cat person, I think that's barking mad...

Modder hibrietas provides a modern staple for mods, the Jason mod. Taken from the infamous mall scene in Heavy Rain, meowing is replaced with "a pleading call to find your lost son, you terrible father".

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Today Koei Tecmo announced its Financial Results for the first quarter of the fiscal year related to the period between April 1 and June 30, 2022.

For the company as a whole, sales were 18.654 million yen, down 9.1% year-on-year. Operating income was 11.657 million yen, up 19.9% year-on-year.

Looking at the Entertainment business, which includes video games and takes the lion’s share of the company’s overall business, sales were 17,805 million yen, down year-on-year from 19,648 million yen. Operating profit was up from 9,638 million yen to 11,491 million yen.

The ratio between overseas and domestic sales remains stable with 53.5% versus 46.5%.

That being said, this shifts considerably when we look at unit sales of packaged games which are 72.2% overseas (of which 34% in North America, 16.2% in Europe, and 22% in Asia) and 27.8% in Japan.

The ratio of digital download sales was 60.5%.

Packaged sales dropped considerably (30.8% year-on-year) while digital downloads grew 17.4% year-on-year and DLC sales grew 6.2%. Online and mobile games dropped 4.9% year-on-year.

In terms of sales of new games, Winning Post 9 2022 shipped 90,000 units, while Taiko Risshiden V DX shipped 160,000 units. Neither was released worldwide.

The company also released Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes but did not provide shipment numbers as the game was published by Nintendo.

Among Us developer Innersloth has detailed some of the upcoming fixes and additions headed to its smash hit social game in the not-too-distant future.

These changes will come separately and (it sounds like) ahead of the game's next big feature update, which is set to add Hide 'n' Seek gameplay later in 2022.

Before that, handy features such as the ability to change the map in the lobby settings without having to leave and restart a new game will be added.

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The co-op mode in Halo Infinite won't have online matchmaking.

Players of the recent beta noticed matchmaking wasn't available, but Xbox has confirmed to GamesRadar the feature won't be in the final release.

"Online matchmaking will not be available with final co-op," said an Xbox representative. "We encourage you to continue to use the Halo LFG and the new Discord voice call feature on Xbox to find players to party up with as you continue playing the beta."

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We all knew it would happen eventually. Plastic statue makers Funko have revealed at San Diego Comic-Con that their Funko Pop collectibles will star in games produced by relative newcomers 10.10 Games. However, 10.10 was started up by Jon Burton, who also founded Traveller’s Tales, the purveyor of Lego games. You can watch the very short announcement teaser trailer below.

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Employees at Los Angeles-based studio Tender Claws have moved to unionise.

According to Polygon, at least 13 full-time and part-time staff at the firm will align with the Communications Workers of America's Campaign to Organise Digital Employees to form a company union.

Staff sent the proposal to the developer's management last Tuesday, seeking voluntary recognition of their efforts to unionise, which was accepted.

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During WonFes 2022, Apex Toys revealed that a figure of Jack-O Valentine is in development. As the picture only reveals the figure’s silhouette, it is difficult what it will look like in the end. However, we can see that the figure will strike her signature ‘Jack-O pose.’ [Thanks, Zodam!]

The Jack-O pose has Jack-O placing her chest on the ground. She then raises her rear up in the air, with her legs far apart and feet on the ground. There was even the online ‘Jack-O Challenge,’ in which people took pictures of themselves or drew characters re-enacting the pose. This pose is actually Jack-O’s crouching animation.

Here's what it looks like in Guilty Gear Strive.

Development on Ubisoft's Roller Champions will reportedly be wound down following its third season.

The free-to-play sports game was released in May this year, but just months later will seemingly be canned.

That's according to Giant Bomb journalist Jeff Grubb speaking on the Xbox Era podcast: "Roller Champions is gonna be cancelled after Season 3," he said, reading out a message from a source.

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We may be getting to see more of Cal Kestis sooner than first assumed.

That's according to Twitter account PlayStation Game Size, which revealed Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was listed as releasing in "Early March 2023" on PlayStation Network's internal database.

The game's PlayStation store page has since been updated, though, and now reads "date to be determined", so watch this space.

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Ubisoft is now reportedly targeting a 2023 release window for its next Assassin's Creed game, which is expected to be a smaller, stealth-focused edition of the series.

Codenamed Rift (though likely not its final title), this is the Baghdad-focused project which originally began life as a Valhalla expansion. It has since grown its own fully-fledged project, albeit tighter in scope than other recent, sprawling Assassin's Creed entries.

Originally reported to arrive later this year (though still to be officially announced by Ubisoft itself), Bloomberg has now stated that Rift will arrive in either May or June 2023.

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Even though a movie has all the correct ingredients for success, it can still very much fall at the final hurdle. Yes, Anthony and Joe Russo’s The Gray Man may be the latest case study that mirrors this, as despite its eye-wateringly expensive budget of $200 million and its star-studded cast, critics have been largely nonplussed by the espionage action-thriller. That’s not to say that the blockbuster has been a total washout, though.

That’s right, according to FlixPatrol, The Gray Man has managed to climb all the way to the top and nab the number one spot in Netflix’s Top 10 most watched movies right now. Of course, having released on the streaming service just three days ago, it makes sense that the lavishly produced film would land somewhere in the Top 10. However, following a pretty negative critical response, it’s surprising to see the pic make it all the way to the top of the streaming chart, right?

Specifically, The Gray Man has snagged a lacklustre 49% Critical Rating over on Rotten Tomatoes with many critics taking aim at the cliched feel of the movie, which largely apes a plethora of much better films like The Bourne Identity, John Wick, and James Bond. Despite this poor critical response, however, The Gray Man’s Audience Score fared a lot better. In fact, 90% of audiences were positive about the movie, which means that there’s been a significant disconnect between the critical and audience reception for The Gray Man.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has leaked a week before its release date.

It's officially due out on 29th July on Nintendo's Switch, but already some players have got their hands on copies and are leaking spoilers across the internet.

What's more, a ROM of the entire game has leaked, making the game playable on the Steam Deck.

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Despite Halo Infinite being unsupported on Steam Deck due to "anti-cheat", by using a new driver one owner has managed to get Master Chief's latest outing up and running on the portable PC.

Sharing some gameplay on reddit, DanTheBloke (via exputer) explained that the latest update to Proton GE has allowed them to get online play for Halo Infinite working on their Steam Deck through the beta SteamOS.

DanTheBloke does say gameplay "can be a little janky" and there is "some clipping audio at times". Regardless though, it is definitely still playable, as you can see for yourself below.

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Is Snapchat too bright? Not only is an overly bright screen bad for your eyes, but it also tends to drain your battery a lot faster. Thankfully, you can swap the theme from light to dark; it’s called Dark Mode. And yes, you can get Dark Mode in Snapchat for both Android and iOS. Here’s how you can enable Dark Mode for both versions.

How to Get Dark Mode on Snapchat: Use Snap Dark Mode Now

Enabling Dark Mode in Snapchat on Android

Dark Mode on the Android version of Snapchat is supported natively, not as it is on iOS. However, Android has its own Dark Mode that you can force.

Naughty Dog is currently working on a remake of 2013's The Last of Us, bringing it to the PlayStation 5. The project was long-rumored and finally leaked by a PlayStation Direct store listing. Now Naughty Dog itself has come forward with a gameplay showcase for the game. Now called The Last of Us Part 1, a new video documentary highlights the team's goals and the upgrades players can expect from the transition to PS5.

Check it out below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRKIWQUucj0

In the The Last of Us Part 1 "Rebuilt for PS5" feature, Naughty Dog figures like Co-President Neil Druckmann, Director Matthew Gallant, and Creative Director Shawn Escayg hold forth on their goals for the game. The feature shows off comparisons between 2014's The Last of Us Remastered  (a PS4 upgrade of the game) and The Last of Us Part 1 running on the PS5. According to the team, the PS5's extra power and graphical capabilities allow Naughty Dog to bring the game closer to their original creative vision. The effort also allows them to take advantage of innovations and lessons learned from the development of The Last of Us Part 2.

Less than a week after Stray launched, the smash-hit cyberpunk cat adventure has dozens of mods available with new looks for our little friend. My favourites are when modders make the game's cat look like their own real cat, and show me photos of that pretty cat. Then... you have some weirder options, like turning it into Garfield (in both realistic and cartoon forms) or a horrifying quadripedal version of GTA: San Andreas star CJ.

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As part of Crystal Dynamics’ 30th anniversary celebration, Square Enix and Gumi have just announced that Lara Croft will be making a return to War of the Visions this week. She was previously released in the game as a very time-limited UR Water-based unit, and while most people probably overlooked her, she ended up being a pretty worthy competitor in the PvP scene. For folks who main Water in this game, she’s absolutely worth a look.

Here’s a brief look at her kit:

• Duelist Reflexes: Deals 3-Hit Dmg (L) to target and lowers own Hate.
• True Shot: Destroys any barrier that reduces Phys Dmg on target, then deals Dmg (M) and recovers own AP on critical hit.
• Adrenaline: Recovers own AP and raises ATK of allies within area around self for 3 turns.

Lara Croft will only be available from July 27 to Aug. 23, so players will have just under a month to grab her. Her UR Vision Card, 25 Years of Tomb Raiding, will also be given out as a login bonus during the collaboration period.

Her event quests will make a return, along with her Master Ability 2 and Bingo Board to help with building her up to level 120.

In addition to that, War of the Visions is also getting a story update this week, with the next set of story chapters dropping on Wednesday. We’ll also see the return of Raid Boss Revival, where players can battle against Omega, earn medals, and exchange them for various Visions Cards and Espers.

War of the Visions is now available on mobile devices.

Looking at signs in open-world catventure Stray makes me think I’m due for an eye-test. The code language in the game appears a lot like something that should be legible, but it’s not. At least, not straight away anyway. Luckily, these things don’t ever stay cryptic for long. HalfGlassGaming’s Josh Wirtanen has proffered a handy guide to how to read the chapter titles, signs and music sheets, with help from the growing Stray community.

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