Platform: Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios
Developer: 343 Industries
Release: November 11, 2014 (Xbox One), December 3, 2019 (PC)
Rating: Mature

A new update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection is now live and it includes a number of bug fixes and improvements for the overall experience. Perhaps more exciting, though, is the addition of new Halo 3: ODST firefight variants such as Floodfight, which pits you against Flood enemies, and Halo 3 cross-platform co-op. 

Burning Down the (Three) Houses Nintendo has released a new trailer for the upcoming Switch musou-like Fire Emblem Warriors: Three...

The post Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes introduces a ‘Mysterious Mercenary’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Updated online play for PS4 and PC Arc System Works is finally ready to roll out its shiny new rollback...

The post BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle rollback netcode update launches April 14 appeared first on Destructoid.

Today Nintendo & Koei Tecmo released a new trailer of the upcoming Musou-like game Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes.

The trailer shows a lot more than the original glimpse we saw a few weeks ago, including a much clearer idea of the characters and the story.

We’re playing a new character named Shez (the name is customizable) that can be male and female and we can side with one of three factions.

Perhaps the biggest surprise that will make most Fire Emblem: Three Houses fans scream is that the previous hero Byleth is now the antagonist.

You can check out the trailer below, with English and Japanese voices depending on your preference.

If you’d like to know more, you can read an official description below, directly from Nintendo.

While the rest of the video game industry is consolidating, Nintendo is spreading out. The Switch manufacturer has finally responded to massive moves by competitors Sony and Microsoft by announcing a $39.8 million land deal to break ground on a new R&D office. Whatever it takes to finally port Mother 3.

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Get ready intrepid explorers, as Young Horses has announced its colourful and eclectic adventure romp Bugsnax will be making its way to Xbox, Nintendo Switch and Steam on 28th April, as well as to Game Pass across Xbox and PC.

But wait, there’s more. Not only will new players be welcomed onto the whimsical shores of Snaktooth Island, home to the game’s titular snack and bug hybrids, they will also get their hands on the game’s brand new DLC - The Isle of Bigsnax - on the very same day. For those who have already been playing Bugsnax through PlayStation and Epic, don’t worry. This DLC will also be coming to you at the same time.

In this new DLC, players will be sent to a mysterious new island that has risen up from the depths of the sea. And, as you may have already guessed by its name, here players will come across a new range of supersized bugsnax to capture. You can check out the new trailer for The Isle of Bigsnax below.

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Many of FromSoftware’s games are punishing. They require calmness, patience, and quick reflexes, as any wrong move or panicked action could—and often does—result in an unceremonious death. So, you’d think taking advantage of every tool in your arsenal when exploring FromSoft’s games would be a no-brainer. But YouTuber …

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April 28th is the big day for Bugsnax, developers Young Horses announced today. That's when it will: 1) add a whopping great new campaign in a free update; 2) end its Epic Games Store exclusivity and hit Steam; 3) arrive on Game Pass; 4) launch on Xbox and Switch. The new campaign, named The Isle Of Bigsnax, will introduce new creatures made of snacks for you to find and capture, and you can meet a few in the new trailer below.

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It’s mostly Kirby related My Nintendo has undergone a ton of changes lately, mostly for the better. Not only did...

The post Here’s a quick My Nintendo April recap appeared first on Destructoid.

Acer's monitors are often overlooked, despite many models catering to different needs for different users. The Predator line has always been reserved for enthusiast gamers.

This is where the Acer Predator XB253QGX steps in. It's a full HD monitor with incredible features, now reduced by £70 and available for just £279.99 from Amazon.

The IPS panel means you'll get great viewing angles with vibrant colours, unlike a washed-out TN panel. It also has a staggering 240Hz refresh rate. That means if you're deep into esports and playing titles such as Call of Duty, Apex Legends and Rocket League, this is the monitor for you. And because it has G-Sync support, you'll experience less tearing and see more of your gameplay, so long as your reflexes can keep up.

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Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Young Horses, Inc
Developer: Young Horses, Inc
Release: November 12, 2020 (PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, PC), April 28, 2022 (Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Switch)

Bugsnax, the Young Horses console exclusive for PlayStation, will hit Switch and Xbox consoles on April 28. 

Earlier today, Danish developer Triheart Studio revealed that Golfie, their roguelike deckbuilding minigolf game, would be launching its first official public playtest on Steam and that it’ll run from April 12-18. The title is a unique take on minigolf, as players must use cards with an array of unique abilities in order to shoot the ball.

Thanks to this mechanic, there’s a lot of strategy involved in the game, requiring players to build and plan their decks according to each course. You can check out a brief description of Golfie, as well as a quote from co-founder Sandra Lynggaard Fagerli, right down below.

Golfie is a unique take on minigolf in which players use cards with fun abilities to take their shots, resulting in a game which adds the strategic planning of deckbuilding to the tactical play of mini golf.

Starting with a collection of 10 shot cards, players attempt runs of 18 procedurally generated holes across four distinct biomes, using coins, gems, vending machines and bonuses to modify their deck. These cards can be drawn and their effects applied to standard shots to create an almost infinite number of combinations ways to hit the ball.

Card effects in Golfie can vary from simply increasing the distance or elevation of a standard shot to applying a whole host of unique and imaginative abilities which can all be combined to dazzling effect.

“Whilst it may seem an unusual clash of genres, deckbuilding and mini golf actually perfectly complement each other,” said Fagerli. “When we first toyed with a prototype, it was immediately apparent that we had something very special and very playable on our hands – and building upon that core idea every day has been a genuine joy.”

It’s also coming to Xbox and PC Game Pass Action RPG prequel Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising has a release date, and it’s just...

The post Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising sets out for adventure on May 10 appeared first on Destructoid.

A new trailer for the forthcoming musou spin-off Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes has revealed the game’s Mysterious Mercenary protagonist.

You’ll be playing as the purple-haired Shez, who can be male or female (the name can be changed too) and is on a quest to challenge The Ashen Demon.

Shez can choose between three diverging paths based on the houses from Fire Emblem: Three Houses. There’s Scarlet Blaze (Edelgard), Azure Gleam (Dimitri), and Golden Wildfire (Claude), with the path chosen affecting story beats and playable characters.

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Earlier today, developer Rogue Factor and publisher Nacon announced a brand-new action-adventure IP for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC titled Hell is Us.

The game’s announcement came by way of a cryptic trailer that you can check out for yourself down below. Just a heads up, though: the video is age-restricted so you may need to sign in to Youtube before you can watch it.

From what we can gather, the mysterious project is set to be a third-person action-adventure game where you must battle your way through a bunch of supernatural monsters, known as The Calamity, in an alternate world that has been decimated by civil war.

Furthermore, you’ll also be spending much of your time exploring and piecing together fragments of lore in a bid to understand what’s happened to this strange new world.

Interestingly, development will be spearheaded by Jonathan Jacques-Belletête who previously worked on 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution and 2016’s Deus Ex: Mankind Divided as Art Director. Pretty impressive résumé, huh?

After having delayed its normal two-week update cadence, Valorant’s latest patch is finally here this week, but it turns out that it’s only a small one. Patch 4.07 makes a host of minor changes and bug fixes; perhaps the most notable update is a nerf to the Bulldog and Stinger which reduces the speed with which ADS accuracy is introduced. You can read the full notes below.

Server Updates

• Added a new set of servers in Latin America, which should help with latency in that region
  • Scheduled to turn on not long after 4.07 is live!

Weapon Updates

• Bulldog and Stinger now delay firing inputs while bringing up the weapon to aim down sights (ADS)
  • Prevents you from getting burst mode accuracy improvements before they finish raising your weapon.
• Adds a slight cost to the decision to switch to burst firing mid-combat. You can still begin firing immediately while switching back to full auto/hip fire mode.

• Ability-based weapons* can now also be input-queued to equip after the current action
  • *This includes: Chamber guns and ultimates for Neon, Jett, and Raze

Store Updates

• Load times for the VP purchase page should now load in a matter of seconds (previously, it would take more than thirty seconds in some instances)

Social Updates

Added new detections for different AFK-like behaviors in rotating game modes

The Fortnite 20.10 April 12 Hotfix is upon us, and with it comes a new theater for the battle against the Imagined Order (IO), as well as a few eggs-cellent returning items.

The biggest change in this patch sees Condo Canyon become the new hotspot for battle between the IO and the Seven-led Resistance. Much like the previous battle at The Daily Bugle, players can drop in and help resistance forces repel the IO guards and reap XP rewards and lots of loot for doing so. Back at the Bugle, funding stations are now available where players can spend bars to add an Armored Battle Bus and turrets to the area.

Meanwhile, the IO blimps hovering over multiple major points on the map will now add a crucial piece of loot to their airborne stashes: the returning Jetpack, which the Fortnite faithful have not seen in the main battle royale since the end of Chapter 1.

Finally, two Easter-themed items are cracking into the battle royale just in time for the floppy-eared festivities. Egg Launchers will now appear both in chests and as floor loot, acting as a poultry-powered grenade launcher that inflicts explosive damage. If you prefer to hop like a bunny, however, the Bouncy Eggs are also making a return, which will restore some shield and decrease the player's gravity when consumed.

Hello, darkness, my old friend… Publisher Nacon has lifted the lid on a brand new adventure game, Hell is Us,...

The post Nacon unveils grim adventure Hell is Us, coming 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
Developer: Rabbit and Bear Studios
Release: 2023

Publisher 505 Games, Rabbit & Bear Studios, and NatsumeAtari have revealed the release date for Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising and it will hit PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC via Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG, next month. 

More specifically, the Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Hereos prequel will hit consoles and PC on May 10 and it will cost $14.99. However, Rising hits PC and Xbox Game Pass on launch day so if you’re a subscriber there, you can check out this game through that service for free. 

BIOTA (or, technically, B.I.O.T.A.) is Metroidvania 'em up with a hot-swappable retro sheen. And it's pretty fun! Not, like, groundbreaking or anything, but hey, not everything needs to be. BIOTA has some platforming, some shooting, some bits where you drive mechs and submarines. It keeps things simple and it largely works, making for a game that's an inoffensive 8-bit-style romp with flashes of greatness.

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Bugsnax is finally coming to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Xbox Game Pass, and Nintendo Switch on April 28 after being only available for PS5, PS4, and PC. That same day, the game will also receive its first major content update, The Isle of Bigsnax. The expansion is a free update.

Ahead of its release, I got to see what's in store for Bugsnax when The Isle of Bigsnax launches. In short, it's largely more of what the experience is like playing the base game. Sure, The Isle of Bigsnax offers new activities to do and a brand-new story campaign, but the experience is pretty much just more of what we've already got.

And honestly, that's 100% fine with me. I sadly didn't get to actually play the new expansion, so take what I say with a grain of salt--I can only base my opinion on observations, not first-hand experience. But what I saw looks a lot like what it's like to play Bugsnax, which is a great game, as described in GameSpot's Bugsnax review.

In The Isle of Bigsnax, you travel to Broken Tooth--a strange island where Bugsnax grow to enormous size. Chandlo, Floofty, Triffany, and Shelda all join you on this new adventure, with everyone working together to uncover the mysteries of the island. There's an underlying implication that perhaps something sinister is afoot, or at the very least, there's more to this island than just bigger Bugsnax.

Soon more players across the gaming landscape will be talkin' 'bout Bugsnax, as Young Horses has announced that the game will be ported to multiple platforms April 28 for $25--and the recently announced Isle of Bigsnax expansion will be arriving the same day for no additional cost.

Bugsnax will soon call Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Windows 10, and Steam home for the first time, and Xbox has also confirmed that Xbox Game Pass subscribers can travel to Snaktooth Isle on day one. The ports mark an end to the game's PlayStation 4 and 5 console exclusivity that began when it launched in late 2020. The game had also launched on PC via the Epic Games Store.

The additional Isle of Bigsnax content adds a new side chapter to the main Bugsnax story, offering three to four hours of additional missions and secrets to discover. The main adventure will also gain new content with the update, including the player's own hut in Snaxburg to decorate as they choose, new quests from each of the other grumpuses, and more.

2022 is the year of gaming acquisitions, and that continues today, with Nintendo spending 5,000,000,000 Yen (about $40 million USD) to acquire... a big piece of land.

The company announced it is buying the land adjacent to its headquarters in Kyoto, Japan. The land was previously owned by the city and was where the former Foundation Support Factor and former Material and Disaster Prevention Center was located.

The site is located at 11-2-5 Hokotate-cho, Kamitoba, Minami-ku, Kyoto, Japan, and it measures 10,028.55㎡ in size.

Nintendo will use the land to create a second Corporate Headquarters Development Center. It has the tentative name Corporate Headquarters Development Center, Building 2. It will be used in part for "R&D reinforcement," Nintendo said. The floor area of the building will be approximately 38,000㎡, and it will be a 12-floor steel-framed building standing about 72m tall.

Nintendo plans to open Corporate Headquarters Development Center, Building 2 in December 2027.

"Along with the R&D investments and capital investments, Nintendo believes acquiring and utilizing this land will carry an important role on reinforcing its R&D," the company said.

How does one get a job in the games industry? Don't. Don't do it. Take your talents to an industry which will respect, appreciate, and pay you more. But if a curse has befallen your blood and you absolutely must work in the games industry, you might appreciate some advice. Our corporate siblings at GamesIndustry.biz have released a free digital magazine on How To Get A Job In Video Games, with 100-odd pages of decent advice from industry professionals. If your blood would turn black and crystallise in your veins were you to even contemplate another job, you should have a read.

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Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Koei Tecmo
Release: June 24, 2022

Nintendo has released a new Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes trailer that showcases the “mysterious mercenary” players will control when the musou hits Switch on June 24. 

I have now received most (but not quite all) of my stuff after moving, so I have a TV and two (2) consoles to play games on. One thing I've been playing recently is Ghostwire: Tokyo, a ghost huntin' action game that's a bit less weird and a bit more "kind of like an Ubisoft game" than I was expecting. But I like Ubisoft games just fine, so I'm having a blast - plus there are still some clutch ghost fights to be hand when I run out of finger-ammo for my magic hands.

I am extra delighted by the animals, though. For whatever reason, they are unaffected by the evil fog that has swept through Tokyo and turned everyone into spirits, so there are a few dogs and cats just sitting around and (and this is the good bit) you can read their thoughts.

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A fresh Final Fantasy XIV patch today has made the game friendlier to solo players, with the new Duty Support System letting you go through a load of main scenario duties solo with NPC party members. Oh, but that's a tiny piece of patch 6.1, which also whams in new quests and and new items and a new housing district and new haircuts and... goodness me I'm still a little surprised when I remember how FF14 was initially so awful that Square Enix shut it down for almost a year.

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"Unreal. Absolutely unreal." That's how Wren Brier and Tim Dawson, the creators of Unpacking, described their double win at the BAFTA Games to me last week. So shocked were they at taking home gongs for Narrative and the public voted Game of the Year the couple didn't even have a speech prepared.

Unpacking's success has seen the indie "zen puzzle game" beat a number of big AAA games to several awards (not least Eurogamer's own Game of the Year last year), and find itself cast as a gentle, queer David to the Goliaths of Returnal, It Takes Two, and Metroid Dread.

I caught up with Brier and Dawson before the BAFTAs to discuss the game's development.

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