If you’re looking for an experience you don’t often see in games, how about an adventure you don’t “see” at all? The Vale: Shadow of the Crown is an audio-only action RPG arriving this August that we first laid ears on at PAX West 2019. By controlling a blind warrior, you’ll embark on a medieval quest guided only by sound for an adventure unlike any other. 

You play as a royal noble, born blind, who is second-in-line to the crown. Unfortunately, your older brother just ascended to the throne and banished you from the kingdom because he’s kind of a jerk. You’re all alone in a world you can’t see so you must use your remaining senses to battle enemies and find resources to stay alive.

So how do you play something you can’t see? To the surprise of no one, headphones are a must. The Vale combines binural audio tech with diverse soundscapes to provide realistic, 3D surround sound to guide you through environments. The game also features full voice-acting to further assist players and keep them on track. Besides offering a unique form of exploration, The Vale offers a fantastic option for visually impaired players. 

Plus Lost Planet 3 and Garou: Mark of the Wolves

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Picross is already amazing, but what could make an amazing thing even amazing-ier? I'll tell you what: giving it all a big 'ol Master System and Mega Drive themed makeover and then hurling the whole nostalgia-tweaking package onto Switch next week, on 5th August.

Picross S Mega Drive & Master System Edition (known as Picross S Genesis & Master System Edition in the US for obvious reasons) is an official collaboration between Sega and developer Jupiter, the team behind the long-running, and consistently brilliant, puzzle series.

Once again, the meat of the game involves filling in little squares on a grid - using the numerical clues above and beside each column and row for pointers - until you've successfully managed to create a picture. This time, though, players are working toward creating final images that conjure characters from a total of 59 classic Sega games (and to musical accompaniment from each), some of which are revealed in the announcement trailer below.

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Microsoft has unveiled the Xbox Games with Gold lineup for August 2021. As always, there are a pair of Xbox One games and two titles that are playable with backwards compatibility. Next month's freebies include Darksiders 3, Yooka-Laylee, Lost Planet 3, and Garou: Mark of the Wolves. You still have until the end of the month to claim two of July's freebies, Planet Alpha and Midway Arcade Origins. Meanwhile, Rock of Ages 3: Make and Break will be free until mid-August.

Developed by Gunfire Games, Darksiders 3 is an action-RPG that will appeal to those who miss the days when open-world games didn't dominate the AAA game space. As a more linear action game, Darksiders 3 has stylish combat that is surprisingly challenging (sometimes to its detriment) and a great atmosphere. Though it's certainly the weakest entry in the series, it's worth checking out for yourself. Darksiders 3 will be available to claim for free all throughout August.

Yooka-Laylee is a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie, and it definitely pays homage to the formula of the classic platforming series. Yooka-Laylee is a collectathon platformer that rewards players for searching every inch of its worlds. While Yooka-Laylee doesn't add anything new to the genre, it's an enjoyable platformer with colorful characters and worlds that will likely appeal to the youngsters in your home. Yooka-Laylee will be up for grabs from August 16 to September 15.

The couch co-operative party game genre has enjoyed a welcome boon over the past five or so years, and UK publisher Coatsink has been right at the heart of its resurgence. From the whimsical combat of Gang Beasts to the family-friendly fun of PHOGS! and Cake Bash, it’s found tremendous success in supporting light-hearted, accessible multiplayer experiences. And with the launch of Get Packed: Fully Loaded from developer Moonshine Studios tomorrow, there’s yet another on the way.

Of course, Get Packed has already been out for over a year; the game launched as a Google Stadia exclusive back in April of 2020, but tomorrow sees the release of a new, enhanced version that includes a whole stack of new content. Better yet, it’s coming to PlayStation, Xbox, and PC platforms in addition to Stadia.

Following on from Twinfinite’s coverage of the original game last year, we thought it would be a grand idea to catch up with the team at Moonshine once again and hear about how they’ve been getting on over the past 18 months, and what we can expect from Fully Loaded later this week. Moonshine Studios co-founders Marcus Gardner and Jamie King joined me in in a Zoom call earlier this month.

“…when we launched on Stadia last year, it was right in the middle of the pandemic, so we had a remote launch that was much trickier than if we were in the office together,” Gardner explained to me in a Zoom call earlier this month. 

“But the launch went very well,” he continued. “The Stadia community is fantastic. It was really nice to see a lot of the community get together and play online together. Since then, we’ve been working hard on getting the content that we promised out there.” 

The Activision Blizzard CEO promises “swift action” to ensure a safe environment Last night, Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick sent...

The post Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick says company’s response to lawsuit was ‘tone deaf’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Microsoft has run up against questions about Xbox Game Pass' financial viability ever since it launched the subscription service.

Is Xbox Game Pass too good to be true? That's the question Eurogamer's Chris Tapsell asked in a recent feature, speaking to developers and Microsoft executives to try to find out the answer.

Despite all the insistence from Microsoft that Xbox Game Pass makes sense for the bean counters in Redmond, I've had my doubts. How can something so good value, something that offers all Microsoft's first-party games and an increasing number of third-party games day-and-date, make financial sense? When you consider you can get in on Xbox Game Pass for a quid, it really does seem too good to be true. Like Epic with the Epic Games Store, I assumed Microsoft was burning through millions of dollars trying to get Xbox Game Pass off the ground.

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NieR Reincarnation won't be delayed, and it will release as planned. People can now download it and servers will open later today.

The post NieR Reincarnation Will Release as Planned appeared first on Siliconera.

If you squint, and look sideways, in the mirror… Mysterious developer Blue Box Games has dropped a new tweet regarding...

The post Abandoned tweet from Blue Box Games fans flames of conspiracy theorists appeared first on Destructoid.

Koei Tecmo is about to release Samurai Warriors 5 and we can celebrate the upcoming launch together with a brand new giveaway.

With this giveaway, you can win one of three PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, or PC codes for the game, kindly offered by Koei Tecmo.

The way to get involved is really, really easy.

All you have to do is comment on our articles, everywhere on the site. The more you comment, the better your chances. We want to hear your opinions and insight, and there is no better way for that to happen than sharing your comments with us.

An important caveat is that comments on this post are not eligible for the giveaway. Of course, you’re welcome to comment here, but in order to participate, you need to comment at least on one other article.

On July 27 at 11:59 pm EDT we’ll randomly select three comments made after this post has been published, and the authors of these comments will win a digital download code for Samurai Warriors 5.

Of course, spam comments and throwaway one-liners will be disqualified, as we’d like to promote interesting commentary and conversations among our readers.

The winners will be able to select platforms and regions between PS4, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PC (via Steam), North America, or Europe. IMPORTANT: due to code availability issues, only European copies of the Switch version will be offered. You can still play it anywhere, but you’ll need a European Nintendo account.

This weekend’s preview is all about bots and education

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From Grandma Shirley talking about her love of killing people and her hidden dagger to Miss Jessa talking about the beauty of the community they built, here is why you should be paying attention to the Grand Dames. 

Everyone knows Shirley, AKA Skyrim Grandma, by now. Her community loves her so much, for good reason, because of the calming gaming experiences she has to offer the public through her adventures in Tamriel. In fact, she is even a fully voiced follower in Skyrim now thanks to this mod, and she's even going to be an actual character in The Elder Scrolls 6. But what you may not know is that she's a part of a group of phenomenal women called the Grand Dames, and we sat down with these amazing gamers to learn more about their journey and hear more about their thoughts on the gaming community. 

Meet the Grand Dames

You can learn more about these amazing women right here, but here's an intro into each Dame before diving into our video interview! 

Atlus has released another video within its series of daily trailers focusing on the over 200+ demons of its upcoming JRPG Shin Megami Tensei V.

A new studio has been formed by veterans from the Santa Monica dev scene, taking in talent from Infinity Ward,, Naughty Dog and Sony Santa Monica, with a $100 million investment from South Korean publisher Smilegate helping them make an all-new single player AAA adventure.

That's No Moon's new project will see Taylor Kurosaki - formerly narrative design lead at Naughty Dog and studio narrative director at Infinity Ward - as creative director, with The Last of Us' lead game designer Jacob Minkoff working as game director.

Offices will be split between San Diego and Los Angeles, with talent from Bungie and EA also on board. Don't expect to see what the team's working on anytime soon, though - the announcement comes as part of a recruitment drive, with That's No Moon looking to ramp up to 100 staff in 2022.

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Madden NFL 22's ratings rollout continued on Wednesday with the announcement of the next 99-rated player, Travis Kelce, along with the top 10 tight ends in the professional football game.

Leading the group is Kelce (99 OVR), followed by George Kittle (96 OVR), Darren Waller (93 OVR), Mark Andrews (88 OVR), and Hunter Henry (87 OVR). Others tight ends making the top 10 list this year included Austin Hooper (86 OVR), Rob Gronkowski (86 OVR), Mike Gesicki (85 OVR), T.J Hockenson (85 OVR), and Dallas Goedert (84 OVR).

You can see the full top 10 list for highest-rated tight ends below, while more Madden NFL 22 player ratings are available further down the page.

Top 10 Highest-Rated Tight Ends In Madden NFL 22

• Travis Kelce: 99 OVR
• George Kittle: 96 OVR
• Darren Waller: 93 OVR
• Mark Andrews: 88 OVR
• Hunter Henry: 87 OVR
• Austin Hooper: 86 OVR
• Rob Gronkowski: 86 OVR
• Mike Gesicki: 85 OVR
• T.J. Hockenson: 85 OVR
• Dallas Goedert: 84 OVR

For more Madden 22 ratings, check out the highest-rated wide receivers, best edge-rushers, top defensive linemen, and our overall roundup of all the Madden 22 ratings announced so far.

Sponsored: A studio can gain a level of comfort by logging in to a server dashboard and getting metrics on the state of your multiplayer game launch. But it isn†™t always as easy as that. ...

On May 6, Berserk creator Kentaro Miura died at the age of 54 from acute aortic dissection. At the time the editorial department of Young Animal Comics announced the news through the official Berserk Twitter account. Nearly three months later, the question of whether the manga—described by Miura ten years ago as 70…

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Company says it cleared 10 million units sold in 249 days; PS4 sold 10 million in 271

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Koei Tecmo said the Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water release date will fall ahead of Halloween 2021 and shared an Atelier Ryza costume.

The post Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water Release Date, Atelier Ryza Costume Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

Boyfriend Dungeon is half a dungeon-run action game where you clear levels of a "dunj" of monsters generated by your own subconscious, and half a dating sim where you can shack up with the very weapons you use in said dungeon runs. You may have heard of it already, because the concept is, just, incredible.

However, I can sense some scepticism from you, reader, and that's natural. I have to confess, from my time with the first two hours of the game, its dungeons are probably the weaker part. But the dating bit is both absolutely joyous (each weapon gets an over-the-top, beautiful transformation video like off of anime) but also very interesting. I am not only invested in the romances, but I care about them more than with any other video game romance I've played. Not in spite of them being literal tools that I use, but because of it.

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The other day I watched the women's peloton race at the Tokyo Olympics, and I understood precisely nothing. All I knew was that Anna Kiesenhofer, a total underdog, was on course for a gold medal. I stuck with it for ages, just to see her cross the line and crumple with happiness. God, I love it when the Olympics are on.

And Japan's showing hasn't only brought emotional sporting moments to our screens, oh no. Athletes stormed into the opening ceremony to orchestral versions of video game classics, and now I've discovered that the world flags have been reimagined as samurai. This, in particular, is excellent and having had a good look at many of them, I'd say there's a few that would make some good video game protagonists.

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The Tokyo Olympics kicked off just last week and the opening ceremony featured amazing tracks from some of our favorite gaming franchises. With music from Monster Hunter, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, Soul Caliber, and more, the absence of Nintendo was glaring. Apparently, the company was initially slated to be a part of the Tokyo Olympics commencement ceremony, including a scrapped concept of Lady Gaga coming out of a Super Mario warp pipe. 

Dyson Sphere Program tasks players with building an impossibly massive power source capable of saving all of humanity. Here's how a team of five took on a project of planetary scale. ...

I delved into WW2 shooter Hell Let Loose a couple of months ago when I needed a break from Overwatch. I was in the mood to be an everyman soldier, just doing my job wherever the fighting was, seeking out anonymity amidst the carnage. So I fell into the trenches of Foy, and spent a few weeks shooting at pixels darting across huge, gorgeously rendered fields.

As it happens, I was playing it on the cusp of its own victory. The multiplayer shooter has just been released from early access, with version 1.0 pushing onwards to the Eastern Front.

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Developers from Call of Duty, The Last of Us, and PlayStation have formed a new studio to make AAA games, and they've received $100 million in funding for their first project.

The team is called That's No Moon Entertainment Inc (a reference to Star Wars), which is not to be confused with the UK studio No Moon--the latter was founded in 2016. South Korean studio Smilegate (CrossFire) invested more than $100 million into That's No Moon for the new game, which is described as an "ambitious, new action-adventure game that will push the limits of both gameplay and story."

In a post on the company's website, That's No Moon alluded to the possibility that its new game will be a single-player experience. "We believe in the importance of single-player narrative games and that story and gameplay are not two distinct ideas, but rather extensions of one another," the post says. "Our shared vision is to craft captivating stories and relatable, emotionally resonant characters that are not only entertaining, but thought-provoking. We want to make experiences that will stick with you for long after you put down the controller."

The website also teases that whatever That's No Moon creates, it might not be just a game, and the company is laying the groundwork to make this a reality.

"We want to create characters and worlds that begin in our games, but will eventually extend into linear media⁠--whether that’s TV, film, or beyond. To achieve this, we're building a state-of-the-art studio in Los Angeles with a dedicated, in-house virtual production stage that will be home to our team when it's safe to do so."

Back 4 Blood's upcoming early access beta will officially start on August 5 through August 9, with access coming from preorders of the game. An open beta will be held from August 12-16, with both betas being playable on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox platforms.

As for the content, Back 4 Blood's betas will feature two co-op maps where you can fight back against the Ridden and the PvP mode Swarm, a competition that has players battle it out as the Cleaners versus the Ridden to see which team can last the longest against the infected hordes.

Since it was revealed earlier this year, developer Turtle Rock's has been dropping details on its cast, modes, and generous system for handling DLC purchases to its spiritual successor to Left 4 Dead. Back at E3 2021, the studio confirmed that DLC such as maps and gameplay additions will be available to all party members as long as the group leader owns it.

PC players can also look forward to a number of supported features for the co-op first-person shooter, such as 4K resolution, an uncapped framerate, and more.

Now's the time for trumpeting console sales figures, and Xbox has a marketing statistic of its own to flex.

Speaking last night in a company earnings call, Microsoft boss Satya Nadella said Xbox Series X/S were the company's "fastest-selling consoles ever, with more consoles sold life-to-date than any previous generation".

But Microsoft again refrained from sharing its actual sales figures - something the company hasn't made public now for many years.

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A number of Southern California game developers have launched a new triple-A studio called That's No Moon with a $100 million investment from Korean publisher Smilegate. ...

The set of digital and physical RPG goodies goes up for sale July 29

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Today, via a new trailer and a press release, Turtle Rock Studios revealed a heaping of new information about what players can expect about the upcoming Back 4 Blood open beta.

The open beta will launch in early access exclusively for those that have pre-ordered the game on all platforms on Aug. 5 and will run until Aug. 9. If you haven’t pre-ordered but still want a crack at getting into the early access, Turtle Rock is doing a giveaway here.

Early access or not, the actually open beta for all players will begin on Aug. 12 and will run through Aug 16.

As for what to expect? The open beta will focus heavily on an all-new PvP mode called Swarm and some additional campaign content. Here’s the full rundown via Turtle Rock:

The Fortnite August Crew Pack has been revealed, and it makes for yet another fan-made cosmetic set in a game well-populated with fan creations. Once named Ava by the original artist, Summer Skye is the character's official name, meaning she's actually a reimagining of a previous Battle Pass character. Here's everything you'll find in the August Crew pack for Fortnite.

August Crew Pack - Summer Skye

Summer Skye is a new alternate skin for Skye first developed by nollobandz, a fan artist who has been featured in the game before, most recently for their original character Eco. The young gamer character first featured in the Chapter 2 Season 2 Battle Pass. Summer Skye will include a full range of cosmetics to round out her set. Included with August Crew membership are the following items:

• Summer Skye outfit
• Cursed Eagleshield Back Bling
• Epic Sword of Might Pickaxe
• Pspspsps! Wrap
• Cattitude Wrap
• Afternoon Quest Loading Screen

If that's not enough, Skye will also include an alternate style Stormy Skye. One of each included weapon and vehicle Wrap is meant to pair with one of Skye's two new styles. For those feeling nostalgic, Skye's classic hat can be put on or off with any style.

Sony offered an update on the number of PS5 systems sold so far worldwide and offered updates on some games' sales.

The post 10 Million PS5 Systems Sold so Far Worldwide appeared first on Siliconera.

Gaming videos have taken over the internet. Whether on YouTube or elsewhere, recordings of people playing online games and giving some kind of reaction or commentary regularly get millions of views. The only requirements seem to be having a computer and a microphone, and you can begin putting your footage out into the world for everybody to see. There are other reasons you might want to record your gameplay, but this is probably the most common one. But when you're getting started down this kind of path, it can be difficult to decide which software to use in order to get the highest quality video of your gameplay.

Chernobylite may look like it's a cheeki breeki away from being a full-on S.T.A.L.K.E.R tribute act, but The Farm 51's shooter isn't quite a retread of irradiated ground. While aesthetically the two games are interchangeable, sharing core stylistic motifs like mutants, anomalies, oppressive weather, and a certain nuclear power plant that had a bit of a mishap in April 1986, structurally they've mutated in quite different ways.

Where Stalker uses a now-familiar open-word shooter template, Chernobylite has more in common with Metal Gear Solid 5. Its semi-open world is split into several locations that you revisit frequently, environments and enemies evolve over time, and the whole experience is threaded together with an extensive base-building metagame. It's an unusual structure, and it's simultaneously Chernobylite's most interesting feature and the source of all its flaws.

You play as Igor Khymynyuk, a physicist who was employed at the Chernobyl NPP at the time of the disaster on the 26th of April 1986. Also present was Igor's wife, Tatyana, who vanished on the night of the catastrophe. Fast-forward 30 years, and Igor returns to the Exclusion Zone to search for Tatyana after he begins to see visions of her in and around the power plant.

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It’s no secret that Sony’s PlayStation 5 console has proven a huge commercial success, but today the publisher has confirmed a new sales milestone that really puts its popularity in perspective: the PS5 has now hit 10 million units sold, cementing its status as the fastest-selling console in the history of SIE

The news comes by way of an official article from Sony itself, written by senior vice president and global head of SIE business operation Veronica Rogers. There isn’t too much disclosed beyond touting the impressive tally itself, though Rogers does mention that PlayStation Studios has “accelerated the momentum of incredibly successful titles that showcase the capabilities of PS5.

That should come as music to the ears of fans who don’t have all too much to look forward to in terms of first-party exclusives until the launch of Horizon Forbidden West next year.

Again, today’s news of PS5’s success isn’t all too surprising given that the company had earlier this year declared that demand for the PS5 had been “Insatiable” with stock selling in seconds. That was during Sony’s Investor Relation Day in which CEO Jim Ryan also predicted fiscal year 2021 to be its strongest ever year, and 2022 to be even stronger.

The post PlayStation 5 Sales Hit 10 Million as Console Becomes Fastest-Selling in SIE History appeared first on Twinfinite.

Today FuRyu released a new and extensive trailer about its upcoming school JRPG Monark.

The trailer focuses on showcasing the systems of the game, including combat mechanics, exploration, and story events.

You can watch it below.

If you’re unfamiliar with Monark, it’s a school JRPG developed by a team composed of multiple Shin Megami Tensei series veterans.

The game is coming to Japan on October 14 for PS5, PS4, and Nintendo Switch. After that, NIS America will publish it in the west for the same platforms plus PC in early 2022.

Below you can read a brief official description that gives you the gist of the story.

“Could you face yourself and the threats around you to save the ones you love? Shin Mikado Academy is engulfed in a madness-inducing Mist, and only you can save everyone inside. Develop your Ego to break the pacts set by the Pactbearers and remove the corrupting Mist.”