New York Times tech reporter and horror buff Taylor Lorenz joins Galaxy Brains to talk upgraded scares

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Kentaro Miura, creator of seminal dark-fantasy manga Berserk, died on May 6 of an aortic dissection. When his death was made public on May 19, Final Fantasy XIV players paid tribute with spontaneous memorials honoring Miura, Berserk, and its impact on the Final Fantasy franchise itself.

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The sequel to the 1993 cult classic hits Disney Plus next fall

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It’s like Goat Simulator, but for boomers

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Niantic explains how June’s highly requested Community Day will work

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Ninjala hit another downloads milestone, as seven million people grabbed it from the eShop. There's new art and a reward to celebrate.

The post Ninjala Passed 7 Million Downloads on the Switch appeared first on Siliconera.

I don't necessarily like to boil games down to just their inspirations, but in the case of Phantom Abyss, I feel like I have to point out the prevailing notion: this seems like a wild adventure-platformer brew seasoned with elements of Indiana Jones, Mirror's Edge, and Dark Souls bloodstains. I'm into it.

Coming to Steam Early Access (and GeForce Now) this summer, Phantom Abyss is a roguelite game with procedural temple runs. The twist is that while you're cracking your whip, dodging spike traps, and making heroic leaps of faith, you'll get to "watch and learn from the mistakes of up to 20 phantoms including your Steam friends that have attempted the same temple and steal their whips as they fall."

It remains to be seen how fun it is to move around this hostile world — "glide jump" and "extended slide" blessings will surely help — but if literally nothing else, I'm sold on the phantom concept. Another nice layer: you'll be able to share Temple Codes so your pals can face the exact same challenges.

What's the end goal? To recover keys that can open up "deeper, deadlier sections of the temple that house more coveted relics. The more difficult a relic is to obtain, the greater the reward — the final Legendary Relic of a temple allows you to claim the whole temple so that it's gone forever."

Devolver Digital and developer Team WIBY expect to stay in Early Access "for at least a year" while they build out more content — "new rooms, traps, whips, zones, and additional gameplay features."

If you're interested in playing some basketball without actually having to play basketball, then boy, do we have a treat for you. Epic Games Store has just opened up its Vault to give gamers a free copy of NBA 2K21 on PC, but it's only free to download for a limited time. 

For those interested, NBA 2K21 is available for free in the Epic Games Store Vault and is available now until May 27, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. Eastern. Sports not your thing? No worries! At the end of that freebie period, a different free game will be revealed. Freebies drop on Thursdays, so be sure to keep an eye out. 

MSI makes some of the slimmest gaming and content creation laptops around, and today several creator-focused models with light designs and discrete graphics cards have been discounted heavily at Newegg in the US. The standout deal is the MSI Laptop Prestige 14, which has dropped from $1200 to $900 - with an instant savings of $200 and a $100 rebate. You even get a carry bag that Newegg claim is worth $109 for free - not a bad deal!

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The Asian publisher will handle Korean and Chinese releases of both games in the region.

The post Clouded Leopard Stream Will Feature Nayuta and Kuro no Kiseki appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s a good year to be a Viking. Embracer Group, the Swedish video game holding company formerly known as THQ Nordic, released a financial report today showing that early access game Valheim has sold 6.8 million copies so far, with Embracer expecting it to sell up to 8 million copies in total by the summer.

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Coming off the heels of our latest issue, which features a profile on close-knit studio Supergiant Games, we’re also sharing parts of the indie developer’s amazing journey online by posting the stories behind its inventive titles. Last week, we took an in-depth look at Supergiant’s formation and its debut game, Bastion. Now we’re shining the spotlight on the studio’s hotly-anticipated follow-up: Transistor. The studio’s second game certainly changed things up, bringing in a fresh new setting and twist on the action/RPG genre. The sci-fi RPG follows a famous singer named Red who gets more than she bargained for when she avoids an assassination attempt on her life and picks up a sword-like weapon that can communicate with her. All eyes were on Supergiant to deliver another hit, but Transistor turned out to be a project full of highs and lows, as the team worked to prove they weren’t just a one-hit-wonder. 

In this 2019 GDC session, Avalanche Studios' Hamish Young explains the physics system powering Just Cause 4's vehicles. ...

Call of Duty’s mid-season “Reloaded” update has arrived for Black Ops Cold War and Warzone, bringing Sylvester Stallone’s iconic John Rambo as an operator and some much-needed Zombies content and weapon tuning.

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The LG 27GL850 is one of the best gaming monitors on the planet, and today it's been heavily discounted at Overclockers in the UK. This 27-in 1440p 144Hz screen is now retailing for £339, some £100 below its usual price.

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The beautiful mutated world of Mutazione is coming to some new platforms next week. The mutant space opera will land on Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles on May 26, 2021.

Mutazione is an indie adventure that's racked up a few awards already, including the 2020 IGF award for Excellence in Audio. That excellence in audio is also getting commemorated in its own way, as iam8bit has announced a 2xLP vinyl soundtrack for the game, complete with a stylish cover.

If you haven't seen it around before, Mutazione follows 15-year-old Kai in the secretive community of Mutazione, as she cares for her ailing grandfather, attends BBQs and band nights, and deals with both apocalyptic threats and small-town drama.

Mutazione has been on my backlog for ages, and it coming to Nintendo Switch might just be the push I need to finally put some hours into it. I'm loving the art and the vibes, and honestly, I could use a simulated virtual hangout with townsfolk these days.

Like Ryu, the Blue Phoenix Ranger Chun-Li will have her own mashup theme song in Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. Hear a bit of it now.

The post Listen to the Power Rangers Chun-Li Ranger Mashup Theme Song appeared first on Siliconera.

"There is a true core to all stories on Elk, but only we know what is truth and fiction," says Astrid Refstrup, developer on the IGF Nuovo-nominated game Welcome to Elk. ...

R.A. Salvatore’s hero is among the most beloved in franchise history

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Just in time for the NBA playoffs

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R. A. Salvatore’s drow hero steps out into the original collectible card game

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Developer Housemarque has released a new patch for its PlayStation-5-exclusive sci-fi roguelite Returnal, this one aiming to increase the number of Deceased Scouts appearing during player run-throughs, among other tweaks and bug fixes.

Deceased Scouts, in the very possible scenario you've yet to see one, are supposed show up while playing Returnal with an online connection, and represent other players who've died while attempting to best the horrors present on the planet Atropos. The idea is that players can either scavenge or avenge these corpses to increase their ether or gain other rewards, but many have reported a distinct lack of Deceased Scouts in their game since launch.

Housemarque initially attempted to fix the problem with Returnal's ill-fated 1.3.3 update, which was pulled after players began reporting it was corrupting save games. A follow-up patch, officially known as 1.3.6, reinstated most of the bug fixes yanked alongside 1.3.3, with the exception of those missing Deceased Scouts. Which brings us to today.

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The Hinokami Kagura will be available separately from Tanjiro's default Water Breathing style.

The post Demon Slayer: Hinokami Kepputan Will Add Tanjiro’s Hinokami Kagura appeared first on Siliconera.

miHoYo CEO Haoyu Cai will discuss the origins of Genshin Impact in his talk at the all-digital GDC 2021. ...

Don’t worry, the President is still here

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Ethan Winters’ campaign, Goats of Warding, keys, plus our best tips

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Part of Maxis’ Summer of Sims roadmap

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I developed this new allergic reaction this year, namely that my eyes feel like they're being blowtorched if I don't plop some miracle liquid into them regularly. They water and itch and I spend a lot of time blinking, which sort of feels like how a rusty shop grate sounds as it lowers.

I realised quite quickly into my playthrough of Before Your Eyes that I'd forgotten to administer the holy water. And in a game where time skips forward as you blink in real life, I thought I'd royally messed things up. But it turns out that having an allergy actually enhanced the experience.

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While many folks have fond memories of the original frenzy, the game has evolved considerably since then as developer Niantic has integrated new elements that add depth and breadth to this inimitable franchise by creating an experience that brings people closer together.

Whether you’re just getting started and catching the next cutest Pokémon you see or filling out a few remaining spots in your Pokédex, here are some fresh tips everyone can use to enhance their play in the 2021 version of the game.

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RAID HERE, RAID THERE, RAID ANYWHERE

The Switch version of Dragon Star Varnir will make its Japanese debut next week.

The post Dragon Star Varnir Switch Version Lands in Japan This Month appeared first on Siliconera.

There's only so much time each week to check out new games, much less play them — much less fully review them! — and inevitably, plenty of interesting games are destined to slip through the cracks as many of us move onto the next shiny thing. To supplement Destructoid's usual coverage, we're teaming up with our sister site The Escapist to fill in some of these gaps with their helpful 3 Minute Reviews.

In this 3 Minute Review, The Escapist's Amy Campbell covers Essays on Empathy, a narrative adventure game compilation with "offbeat tales" from Deconstructeam and Devolver Digital. It's out on Steam.

There are 36 games coming to the Nintendo Switch eShop this week. Among those 36 games are the remaster of Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, a Switch version of 3DS RPG Miitopia, a puzzle game about sushi-making tigers, and a $10 virtual xylophone.

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Okay, but what exactly is The Longest Road on Earth? Coming to PC and iOS on May 27, it’s more of an interactive music video than what we’d usually think of a game, and features a journey through four different character’s lives with twenty different songs. There are few choices to make along the way from the player perspective. I had a chance to ask the team behind the game a few questions about the experience. Check out the trailer below for a sense of what to expect with The Longest Road on Earth.

Game Informer: For making The Longest Road on Earth, why did you choose games as a medium instead of say, a short film or a music video, given that there are few decisions to make? Why add decision making to the mix at all? How do you feel this impacts the experience?

The Epic Games Store is back with another Mega Sale and there are some absurd prices up for grabs on a whole host of PC games.

Most of the bigger discounts are thanks to the free £10 voucher that you can claim for just turning up to the store. This can be used on any games priced £13.99 and over, meaning there are some truly ridiculous savings to be had.

Highlights include, Crysis Remastered, Metro Exodus and new-to-PC puzzler Grindstone for just £4.

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Time for a look at some truly impressive gaming skills, as a speedrunner has managed to beat the whole of GTA 5 without taking any damage: and he did it all in nine hours.

The feat was achieved by UnNameD, who uploaded a three-part video of the run to YouTube on Sunday. According to the description this was UnNameD's 48th attempt at completing the run, in which he had "1HP, no Trevor ability, no armours, 0 deaths". UnNameD used the One Hit KO mod to complete the run, which kills the player immediately if they take any form of damage. That includes rogue cars, stray bullets, or even falling a little too hard on the floor.

As for the nine-hour time posted by UnNameD, it takes the average player about 31.5 hours to beat GTA 5's main story, while top-tier speedrunners can do it in about 3.3 hours with mission skips. They don't have to worry so much about taking damage, however.

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Starfield launches late 2022, according to Bloomberg's Jason Schreier.

Schreier tweeted to say Bethesda plans to tease this release date at E3 next month.

Bethesda announced Starfield at E3 2018, calling the game its "next generation" first-person sci-fi RPG.

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When Grindstone first came out in 2019, it was exclusive to Apple's gaming subscription service Apple Arcade, and all the iPhone users I know absolutely raved about it. It's a match-3 puzzler (with a little more to it than your typical match-3 game) full of characterful cartoons who hack and slash their way through each other as you climb up Grindstone mountain. From what I hear, it's excellent, so I'm excited to finally try it now it's on PC.

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