Fine-tuning Polyphony Digital has released a brand new update for its classy driving simulator Gran Turismo 7. Available to download...
The post New Gran Turismo 7 update includes an assortment of tweaks and fixes appeared first on Destructoid.
In maybe the swiftest escalation of 2022, gaming YouTuber and experimental rapper IShowSpeed was banned from Valorant (and other Riot Games titles) and potentially YouTube for demeaning a female player in Riot’s tactical hero shooter. IShowSpeed has since apologized for his behavior, saying he was “not having a good…
To celebrate the upcoming anniversary of Studio Ghibli’s hit fantasy adventure, Bandai Namco is creating a new line of products themed around Princess Mononoke. So far, there are three different items up for pre-order: a clock, playing cards, and a movie poster.
You can check out each of the products, their pricing, and brief descriptions below:
A ‘lite Franchise’ mode is an unexpected winner
Activision Blizzard announced a big win for its part-time developers today as it battles an ongoing union push at one of the big studios behind Call of Duty: Warzone. Contract QA staff across the company will be converted to full-time, and also see their minimum hourly rate raised to $20. That’s a big deal for some of…
The original game will also be free to download on the Epic Games store
Platform:
Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC
Publisher:
Cellar Door Games
Developer:
Cellar Door Games
Release:
Cellar Door Games has revealed that Rogue Legacy 2, its upcoming roguelite sequel to Rogue Legacy that hit Early Access in 2020, will launch into 1.0 this month.
More specifically, Rogue Legacy 2 will hit Steam and the Epic Games Store on April 28. If you haven’t yet played the first Rogue Legacy, you can do so now as it's a free game on Epic Games Store from April 7 through April 14. To celebrate today’s news, Cellar Door Games has released a new trailer on IGN showcasing some of what awaits players in the roguelite.
Nearly 1,100 workers are moving to full-time roles Activision Blizzard is moving its U.S.-based QA workers into full-time roles. The...
The post Activision Blizzard moves its US QA workers to full-time positions appeared first on Destructoid.
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga is here and it’s great! After a long wait made longer by some delays, the latest and biggest entry in the Lego Star Wars series is finally out on all major platforms. And while these games have never been known for their difficulty, I have some useful tips to share about how to skip…
Today third-party developers have shared news about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
We hear about the vintage airliner BAE 146 by Just Flight: not only do we get a rather spectacular video showing the staring of the aircraft’s iconic four engines all the way to taxi, but the developer made a significant announcement about its release.
The release window has been set by the end of April, around April 25, and while “a lot can happen between now and then” this is seen as “doable” as things stand.
Pricing has been lowered to £49.99/€59.95/$64.99, with owners of the versions for older simulators receiving an additional 10% discount.
The previously-announced pricing (£59.99/€74.95/$79.99) had drawn criticism from parts of the community, and it’s nice to see that Just Flight listened, while maintaining that the original price already “represented amazing value.”
The Everything Everywhere All At Once actor talks about just how far Asian American representation has come
April 15 While Nintendo launched a number of Genesis and Nintendo 64 games out of the gate for the Switch...
The post Mario Golf 64 is coming to Switch Online this month appeared first on Destructoid.
Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is Team Ninja's latest, a fast-paced action game that serves as a prequel to the original Final Fantasy. Early reports suggested shouldn't expect a technical stunner, but as a new full-price Final Fantasy adventure seemingly built on the Nioh engine, the potential was there for something interesting and worthwhile.
The problem is that the tech is clearly dated, to the point where core rendering elements are reminiscent of the PlayStation 3/Xbox 360 era. Even so, the demands placed on our consoles are significant – to the point finding any machine capable of providing a locked 60fps proves to be a remarkably difficult experience. It's not possible on any of the current-gen machines with only PS4 Pro code running on PS5 getting close. However, remarkably, Xbox One X gets closest to a locked 60fps from all available options, albeit with the uglified rendition of the game's visuals common to all last-gen machines and – unforgivably – on Xbox Series S too.
It’s just been revealed that Hello Neighbor 2 is launching at the end of the year on Dec. 6, and tinyBuild Games is building a bit of extra hype for the game by opening up pre-orders along with beta access. Those who choose to pre-order either the Standard or Deluxe version of the game will be granted immediate access to the beta.
The Standard Edition provides beta access and the full game on launch, while the Deluxe Edition comes with beta access along with five days of early access and three DLC on launch. Both versions can be pre-ordered right here from the game’s official Beacons link.
The beta can be played on all of the platforms the game is coming to, which include PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via both Steam and the Epic Games Store.
You can check out the new pre-order trailer below to see some quick shots of gameplay to go along with today’s announcement.
It has been a little over a month since the Steam Deck officially started shipping, with Gaben himself even hand delivering some of them. With more than a handful of the device out in the wild, Valve is making sure to keep its fans update with development progress and plans for the future.
In a post to the Steam community website, the developers shared plenty of information, including their priorities regarding anti-cheat, improving the on-screen keyboard, and goals to improve the Steam Deck’s battery life, just to name a few. You can check out the detailed press release and update video right down below.
Another look at the alliance raid If you’re itching for more info on the soon-to-be-released FFXIV patch, the Final Fantasy...
The post The Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.1 website just dumped a ton of new info appeared first on Destructoid.
Natasha Lyonne returns to star and direct second season of the time-loop comedy-drama
Now’s a pretty good time if you’ve been holding out Cyberpunk 2077 recently got a massive update. And if you’ve...
The post Cyberpunk 2077 drops to a low, low price at Best Buy for a short time appeared first on Destructoid.
Today a “Tactics Ogre: Reborn” trademark application filed by Square Enix was published in Japan.
The filing, spotted by Twitter user Renka, was submitted on March 31.
This has, of course, sparked speculation about a possible remaster or remake, possibly of the 1995 SNES classic Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together or its 2010 remake for PSP.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Tactics Ogre name, it’s part of the tactical JRPG franchise that started with Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen for SNES in 1993.
The franchise was created by Yasumi Matsuno of Final Fantasy Tactics, Vagrant Story, and Final Fantasy XII fame.
As a matter of fact, Ogre Battle predated the more popular Final Fantasy Tactics and the latter is considered by many Ogre Battle’s spiritual successor.
Of course, we should keep in mind that a trademark filing is not an official announcement. Albeit this trademark is fairly specific, so there are good chances that it will result in a product, we have seen plenty of trademarks that did not in the past.
As such we should take the remake or remaster speculation with the customary grain of salt until an official announcement is made by Square Enix.
If you hurl yourself over to the Epic Games Store right now, you've a strong selection of freebies to choose from in the form of Rogue Legacy and The Vanishing of Ethan Carter, but if your lust for a bargain remains unsated, Epic has more to come, with developer Firaxis' XCOM 2 now confirmed as next week's free game.
XCOM 2 is, of course, a bit of a winner, refining the base-building, alien-annihilating turn-based tactics of its 2012 predecessor (itself a refinement of Julian Gollop's classic X-COM series) to create a prettier, tougher, richer game of extraterrestrial slaughter.
As Chris Bratt put it in his 2016 review, "XCOM 2 isn't a reworking of the original game...it's a genuine response to it... Moment to moment, the thing that makes this astonishing game truly sing is the way in which it's managed to respond to the bad habits we picked up last time around. Move faster, it urges. Take more risks. Become a more interesting player."
Update 4/7 12:43 pm PT: New details about Activision Blizzard's plans for converting QA testers to full-time employees have emerged. In a statement to Bloomberg, the Raven employees who formed a union earlier this year will not receive new pay bumps "due to legal obligations under the National Labor Relations Act."
The CWA responded to Activision's claims calling the move "galling" that "Activision has excluded Raven Software QA workers, who have been at the forefront of this effort, from these benefits." Activision responded to Kotaku by citing Labor Board v. Exchange Parts Co., 375 U.S. 405 (1964) which states employers could violate the National Labor Relations Act if they confer economic benefits on its employees for the purpose of inducing them to vote against the union.
Original Story: Activision Blizzard has announced that it will be converting nearly 1,100 US-based temporary and contingent QA workers to full-time positions.
The company says that the change will increase Activision Publishing’s total full-time staff by 25%, following a recent conversion of nearly 500 contractors to full-time employees. However, some dozen QA team members at Raven Software were not part of this transition, leading to a walkout at the studio.
Out on April 28 in Arena, and April 29 in paper Magic: The Gathering is still setting a blazing pace...
The post Here are the Magic: The Gathering details and keywords for the mobster-themed Streets of New Capenna set appeared first on Destructoid.
Platform:
PC
Publisher:
Wizards of the Coast
Developer:
Wizards of the Coast
Release:
Rating:
Teen
The newest Magic: The Gathering set brings Planeswalkers to a whole new plane and the bustling city of angels and demons called New Capenna. The city is run by five families, each with a demon at the head of the table, controlling various aspects of the metropolis' economy. Streets of New Capenna harnesses the golden-age feel of the roaring '20s full of glitz and glamor juxtaposed by a nefarious criminal element, all vying for control of a mysterious magical substance called Halo.
Ubisoft has announced an Assassin's Creed Valhalla crossover with card game Uno, which will be available today.
The Uno Valhalla DLC will see the game's board play a crucial part in the gameplay, as you'll be able to travel across it and collect cargo to unlock exclusive perks. With enough resources, you'll be able to engage in one-one card fights with an opponent and slow them down, or you can unlock the longboat passive effect to help discard multiple cards at once so that you can inch closer to victory.
There'll also be random events that throws an axe into gameplay, such as Glory Regained where players take cargo to match the player with the highest cargo, and Raid where a player steals cargo from the target player. Eivor can use a unique Raven card to travel to the area of their choice and claim rewards.
If you're interested in playing Uno with an Assassin's Creed Valhalla theme, the game is available on Switch, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC through the Ubisoft Store. The DLC can be purchased on its own for $5, while the Ultimate Edition of Uno will cost you $20.
Free League will bring the project to Kickstarter in May
League of Legends maker Riot Games is back to the office beginning this week and not everyone’s happy about it, according to a new report by Waypoint. Following local guidelines, the LA-based company dropped its vaccine and mask mandates even as covid-19 continues to spread, leading one current employee to liken it to…
Koei Tecmo released a set of crossover items dedicated to Tales of Arise in Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream.
The items are an “Owl King Doll,” “Alphen’s Iron Mask,” and “Shionne’s Hair Ornament”
They were showcased in a trailer released today, which you can watch below.
The trailer also shows the Atelier Sophie 2 items released in Tales of Arise a few days ago as the opposite part of the collaboration.
Atelier Sophie 2: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Dream is out now for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.
Sniper Elite 5 doesn't launch until May 26, but Fanatical is already giving you a way to snag the game at a discount. Swing by its store page today, and you can preorder the upcoming title for just $38, down from $50. Your reservation also comes with a bit of exclusive DLC and a 5% off coupon for your next purchase.
Sniper Elite 5 takes place in 1944 and sees you following the story of Karl Fairburne--a US Ranger that uncovers a shocking project that could spell disaster for the Allies. You'll trek across real-world locations that have been painstakingly recreated to offer an authentic experience, before taking aim at your enemies using the high-end sniping mechanics the series has become known for. Sniper Elite 5 also features a robust cooperative and PvP mode, which allows you to invade other players' games and put an end to their mission.
A new report has highlighted staff concerns at Riot Games, as the League of Legends developer has begun encouraging staff back into its Los Angeles-based office.
Employees told Vice that Riot's decision to drop its mask mandate and stop testing for unvaccinated employees put them at risk, as hybrid working with three days in the office per week was being encouraged as the new norm.
Today's report comes just a week after similar criticisms and staff walkouts at Activision, which also has studios in California. Both companies said the changes reflected their state's recent relaxation in Covid safety rules - despite rising case numbers due to the Omicron BA2 subvariant.
The Tactics Ogre series may see the light of day once again, as Square Enix filed a trademark in Japan for Tactics Ogre: Reborn on March 31.
A trademark by itself doesn't necessarily mean anything, as companies file them all the time in order to retain rights to certain intellectual properties. However, Tactics Ogre was referenced in the big Nvidia games leak back in September. Since then, a number of titles from that leak have been confirmed such as God of War for PC, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition, and the recently launched Chrono Cross remaster with the new Radical Dreamers content.
Square Enix hasn't officially announced any sort of plans to revisit the Tactic Ogre series. The last game in the franchise was the Tactics Ogre: Let Us Cling Together remake for PlayStation Portable back in 2010. If another Tactics Ogre entry does end up happening, it's also unclear whether it would be a completely new title or a remaster of a previous one. Although, the "Reborn" moniker could suggest the latter is more likely.
The Quarry is Supermassive Games’ spiritual successor to Until Dawn, a brand new 10-hour horror game unconnected to its not-so-distant cousin, The Dark Pictures Anthology series. It heavily evokes classic teen horrors, sticking close to the path that made Until Dawn so successful. Also, like Until Dawn, this path branches off in various different directions, twisting and turning along the way until you reach one of its 186 unique ending variations. From the three hours I spent with its first three acts, I was constantly reminded of what made Until Dawn so enjoyable and fresh when it was first released. While The Quarry may not be treading as much new ground, it definitely got its hooks into me with its gorgeous cinematic presentation and overall affection for the horror movies it’s so clearly in love with.
The Quarry wears its influences on its blood-soaked sleeve; the summer camp setting of Friday the 13th, the teens vs monster nature of Cabin in the Woods, and the winking self-awareness of Scream. All of this occurs while the echoes of Deliverance’s banjo strings can be heard pinging off of the trees. My hands-on time included bursts of gore, heartfelt moments between characters, and a couple of jump scares to boot. It never once threatened to take itself too seriously though, firmly remembering to put the laughter into slaughter. Take one look at the casting and you’ll be able to see what Supermassive is going for here, with cult horror actors such as Scream’s David Arquette and The Evil Dead’s Ted Raimi giving you a not-so-warm welcome to Hackett’s Quarry Summer Camp.
Keep On Runnin’ Fans of the zombie-smashin’, rooftop runnin’ chicanery of Dying Light 2: Stay Human will have cause for...
The post Dying Light 2: Stay Human to receive New Game+ mode in April appeared first on Destructoid.
Like all badly behaved children, we're guiltily celebrating Mother's Day a week late this year on The Electronic Wireless Show podcast. This time we're talking about our favourite mothers in games, which basically means we're talking about a bunch of angels and monsters.
But come for the mother chat, stay for the cursed chickens, Matthew's eel/snake hatred, and a description of the very real way that Henry Cavill eats eggs. Plus I play one of the best Cavern Of Lies I think I've ever done. Apologies again for sounding a bit echoey this week as I await the delivery of everything I own.
Two smash-hit games combine in Wheredle, a daily puzzle game where you're dropped into a Google Street View look at a random state in the USA, and need to guess which one it is. Bit GeoGuessr, bit Wordle. You have seven attempts to guess the state, and each wrong answer gives you a hint by pointing, literally, in the right direction. Yes, this is pleasant enough.
