This week on Snapshots get ready for some action! Get ready for some speed! Get ready for some... dead birds? Sure. That too. This week has some great screenshots from games like Resident Evil Village, New Pokemon Snap, and Far Cry 4.
Over 20 minutes of The Division Heartland gameplay has leaked online, as well as a video from Ubisoft that warns closed test players not to leak the game.
Heartland is a standalone free-to-play game due out for PC, PlayStation and Xbox at some point this or next year. It's in development at Ghost Recon studio Red Storm Entertainment.
It appears the gameplay, which is currently live on Vimeo, has emerged from an ongoing invite-only test that is under strict NDA.
Large, arcade-style motion simulators (like Sega’s R360) can physically toss you around in response to onscreen action, which can increase the immersion and also just feel cool. But these simulators are big and expensive. YouTuber Mean Gene Hacks decided to use electrodes and a driving game to create his own…
Mod communities tend to follow predictable arcs, so it's often possible to predict what work users will create long before it exists. For that reason I thought to myself today: Microsoft Flight Simulator has been out for a while, I wonder if anyone has made a mod that lets you drive a car around its world yet.
Bingo.The Evercade retro console’s release schedule is leaning into the peculiar and niche, and it’s a smart strategy.
The post The Delightfully Weird Evercade Game Lineup Keeps Getting Weirder appeared first on Siliconera.
I'm often too lazy and tired to learn full fat strategy games these days, but I still long to make tiny men do my bidding. Ed's too tall for me to get my kicks at work, so I turn to microstrategy games to scratch the itch.
Warpips seems to fit my needs. It's a tug-of-war strategy game that's just entered early access, in which you build a squad, spawn units, and push towards an enemy's base without much direct control over your units themselves. I've played it for half an hour and had a good time, and you can see it in action in a trailer below.
The PS5 doesn't have a dedicated, automatic system for upgrading PS4 games to the current generation like Xbox does with Smart Delivery, but it does still support upgrades on a whole bunch of PlayStation games. Many of these upgrades are completely free, requiring you to only claim the digital PS5 version from the PlayStation Store, while a few others have a small fee or another stipulation. We've rounded them all up below to help make it easier to choose what you take with you from PS4 to PS5.
Additionally, we've also provided a list of games that support the Game Boost feature on PS5, which provides enhancements to PS4 games without completely upgrading them to PS5-native software.
Fans working with experts have translated all of the Kanien’kehá:ka dialogue that appears in the Vinland section of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
Yesterday saw the release of Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, a remaster which used AI to upscale many of the original game's textures so they look better at 4K.
That's nothing compared to what Intel are working on, however. In a video called "Enhancing Photorealism Enhancement," embedded below, Intel show Grand Theft Auto 5 after it has been run through a neural net to make the streets of Los Santos look more photorealistic. It works.
In its upcoming 4.5 title update, Watch Dogs Legion will finally get a 6o FPS performance mode on next-gen consoles. The news was teased by Ubisoft in a blog post covering the last update for the open-world action game.
Cblogs of 5/8 to 5/14/2021
-Gamingnerd wonders if single-player games are simply a multiplayer game against the game's AI.
-Febochulus reviews indie game, Hylics.
-Lord Spencer reviews Fear Effect 2: Retro Helix as part of his PS1 REVIEWS blogging series.
-Dinoracha reviews the early access version of RoboQuest.
-NinjaSpeed writes about playing a long-term franchise for the first time.
-ABowlOfCereal continues their balancing suggestion for Guardian Tales.
-Boxman214 shares his experience being a Dungeon Master for the first time.
-ChronoLynxx opens this week's TGIF community thread.
Watch Dogs: Legion's upcoming 4.5 patch adds a 60fps performance mode on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, Ubisoft has announced.
Title update 4.0 went live last week, and in a blog post, Ubisoft revealed some new features coming with the 4.5 update.
The headline addition is the 60fps performance mode on PS5 and Xbox Series X. Ubisoft said this is "one of the biggest requests from our next-gen console players".
The dragon who eats lies is heading to a new platform. All three chapters of Efina's story will appear in the LiEat Switch version this month.
The post LiEat Switch Port Will Let You Travel With Efina on the Go appeared first on Siliconera.
As a budding amateur photographer, I am always on the lookout for photography games. Not video games with photo modes, which are a dime a dozen these days, but games built around the activity of taking pictures.
So naturally, when I first heard of Umurangi Generation, it immediately shot to the top of my most-wanted list. Unfortunately, it only came to PC, and because I'm an evil cretin known as a Mac user, I had to wait for the inevitable Switch port. As I found out today, I'm only going to have to wait a few more weeks. Publisher Playism confirmed today the game will hit the eShop on June 5.
What to watch on HBO Max, from sci-fi epics, classic dramas and Jackie Chan’s Police Story
Hades looks set for release on PlayStation 4.
The eagle-eyed watchers at ResetEra spotted a PS4 listing for Hades on the website of Korea's Game Rating and Administration Committee.
Supergiant's superb roguelite brawler was available first on PC in early access form in December 2018, before launching proper in September on PC and Nintendo Switch.
People will see La-Mulana 2 DLC in 2021 that brings the fabled Tower of Oannes in as an optional area.
The post La-Mulana 2 DLC Will Add the Difficult Tower of Oannes appeared first on Siliconera.
Every Pokemon is interesting and worth talking about. I don’t play a ton of Pokemon, but I do enjoy the universe and I love learning more about the creatures in it. So, Here’s Another Pokemon! It’s Impidimp!
Amazon Games' New World--which seems to be one of the only projects the company has kept from being canceled--is due out this August, and the game is going to have a real-money store. However, the development team is soliciting players' feedback regarding this store are trying to be transparent about future plans.
The game's recent alpha-stage patch notes made mention of the in-game store, and studio director Rich Lawrence released a statement on Twitter to explain how it would work.
Please read this letter regarding the storefront testing we are currently doing in Alpha. pic.twitter.com/IucMciGWC1
— New World (@playnewworld) May 15, 2021
"All store items at launch will be exclusively cosmetic in nature," Lawrence said. "We are introducing the storefront in alpha in order to test these items and their value. No selections in the store or their indicated cost (during testing there is no real cost in any case) is final. Our purpose is quality assurance and gathering player feedback, so please share your thoughts once the system is introduced."
It's possible that future paid content will be more than cosmetic, however, such as "rested XP" or fast-travel, though Lawrence said this will not be the only way to get this content, and he added that the team wants to keep listening to feedback as it decides how to move forward. Down the line, a battle pass-style system may be introduced to combine certain items, but it will be tested first to ensure it doesn't cause issues with gameplay.
A Gnosia PC port is on the way, as Playism announced the Raging Loop and Werewolf-style game will appear on Steam in 2021.
The post Gnosia PC Version Will Appear on Steam in 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.
Whether it's for a career or just as a hobby, developing games has become a popular activity among the technically minded. However, game development has long required creativity and in-depth knowledge of programming. However, the days of needing to understand the nuance of how computers work and being able to program them line by line are coming to an end, thanks to apps like Unity.
Unity is a game development platform that doesn't require users to be fluent in several computer languages, allowing them to create games without coding. That's right, by learning to navigate Unity effectively, users can build compelling 2D and 3D games without learning any coding know-how. And learning to use Unity has never been easier than with The 2021 Premium Unity Game Developer Certification Bundle, available now for only $45, or less than $3 per course.
XSeed Games, in association with Marvelous!, have announced that the western localization of the upcoming RPG Akiba's Trip: Hellbound & Debriefed will be arriving in the west a mere two months after its Japanese launch. The 10th anniversary remaster will launch in North America on PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch July 20, with Europe to follow on July 23.
Players in the Oceanic region will no longer have to suffer through lag.
The post Final Fantasy XIV to Gain Oceanic Servers in Future Update appeared first on Siliconera.
Does Duke Nukem Forever really need an introduction? It was announced before I hit puberty. It spent 15 years in development hell, becoming legendary for its protracted development time. Every few years, another tease would come out, saying, “no really, prepare your uterus, he’s coming for real this time,” only for 3D Realms to roll over and fall asleep again. When it finally hit, reactions ranged from negative to “I guess it could have been worse.” James Stephanie Sterling ripped the game a new one on release, right here on Destructoid.
There were only two reasons people cared to begin with: They either liked Duke Nukem 3D because it was an amazing title and you should love it, or they just like gawking at the carnival freak show. I was a part of the former group. Since playing Duke Nukem 3D at far too young an age, I’ve been in love with it. Every few years, I replay it and am reminded of how it sizzles, and just thinking about it gives me goosebumps. But somewhere down the line, perhaps even from its inception, developers made a severe mistake: They bet on Duke.
Following on from last week's excellent obscurity The Astyanax, this week sees Hamster add another relatively unknown title to its Arcade Archive range. Now available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, Guzzler is a post-Pac-Man maze title from Tehkan Electronics.
Originally released in arcades in 1983, Guzzler puts players in control of a cute little dude with fantastic water-retaining abilities. Each of the game's 30 stages sees "Guzzler" drinking up puddles of water before extinguishing a variety of fire-based enemies and their respective generators. Amusingly, Guzzler can also down a swift cocktail power-up which, inexplicably, temporarily freezes the fire while fully refueling our hero. Talk about getting loaded.
Check out the strange action in the video below, courtesy of Old Classic Retro Gaming.
A recent Fall Guys update on Steam included a bunch of files in a folder called "BackUpThisFolder_ButDontShipItWithYourGame". The folder, which is auto-generated by Unity, includes a bunch of source files. The files were removed the following day, but their leak is potentially bad news for devleopers Mediatonic and their efforts to stop cheating in Fall Guys.
It's Final Fantasy's Digital Fan Fest this weekend, and last night's streams brought a series of new details about Endwalker, Final Fantasy 14's next big expansion. Chief among them, the news that it will launch on November 23rd.
Hop below for an extremely melodramatic extended CG trailer.
Mass Effect Legendary Edition changes one of the longest-standing issues with the franchise: Tali's face.
THERE MAY BE MASS EFFECT SPOILERS AHEAD.
Original party member Tali'Zorah is a quarian whose face has been one of the most popular online discussion topics about Mass Effect. Throughout the series, her face is concealed due to her having to wear a suit that protects her from disease.
Last month, the Apple Arcade service got a real shot in the arm when Apple surprised dropped more than two dozen titles onto the subscription service. We've covered a few of those titles already, but there were many more we just didn't have the time or manpower to dive into for you. If you have the service, you should give games like Wonderbox, Star Trek: Legends, and Clap Hanz Golf a go. The latter title is from the developer of the Everybody’s Golf series and features excellent touch controls and an interesting spin on the sport.
But there is another game I would like to talk about today because it has brought me so much joy since I downloaded it to my iPad. That game is Taiko no Tatsujin Pop Tap Beat, and it is immaculate.
Treyarch has detailed what's coming to Zombies mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Outbreak gets its first main quest with the launch of the mid-season three refresh, at 6pm UK time on Thursday 20th May - the same time Rambo and Die Hard's Die Hard's John McClane hit Black Ops Cold War and Warzone.
In a blog post, Treyarch said that from there, the studio plans to release a "record amount" of quest-driven Zombies content ahead of the next chapters of the Dark Aether story.
THQ Nordic has released just over three minutes of unedited Biomutant gameplay on five different platforms.
In each video we see a slight variation on the same objective, with the player character sprinting across the lush open world towards a fight with a guerilla miniboss and its minions. The martial arts style combat system looks like a lot of fun, and I particularly liked how the guerilla can grab the player, launch them into the air then bat them away - nice, smooth animations.
The PC gameplay is in the video below:
Somehow, someway, Final Fantasy XIV keeps getting better over time.
It's not typical that an MMO holds in terms of quality for this long, but XIV is hitting yet another stride with the move to PS5, and the next expansion, Endwalker, looks incredible.
Sadly, the FanFest event this weekend couldn't be held in person for obvious reasons, so it was broadcast instead. Upfront, here is the listing for the Fanfest event so you can watch everything yourself. Or you can check out this recap!
I've started making a small pug dressed in a sailor outfit after several months not doing any crochet. In related news, carpet beetles got into my yarn stash, so now my living room smells of mothballs. I hope the weather this weekend is nice because otherwise it's going to be a long couple of days.
But in other news, happy kissing aliens weekend, everyone! Maybe if every single person in the world buys Mass Effect, it'll buy more runway for the devs doing Dragon Age 4! A Christmas miracle! That's how these things work, right?? But some of us are actually playing other things, it turns out.
Final Fantasy 14 expansion Endwalker launches 23rd November 2021, Square Enix has announced.
Square Enix also announced a new job to be introduced with Endwalker: the reaper. This is a scythe-wielding melee DPS job who summons avatars while fighting in close-quarter combat.
A first look at the reaper in action is in the video below:
In true Naoki Yoshida fashion, the Final Fantasy XIV director and producer kicked off a Fan Fest by giving the keynote presentation cosplaying as the next job featured in an upcoming expansion. For Fan Fest 2021, Yoshi-P came out in a Bloodborne-esque getup holding a huge scythe to represent the fact that players will be able to take on the new Reaper melee DPS job in Endwalker. The presentation showed off the Reaper in action with a video and with several details on how this job works.
Reapers use a scythe as their main weapon to deal most their damage from close range, and they also summon a ghostly avatar from the Void to fight alongside them. Yoshida-san explained that Reapers can temporarily channel the power of their Voidsent avatar and become a host for it--although we don't know exactly how this will work, this will be a key gameplay mechanic for the job. As for armor and gear category, Reapers will share equipment with the Lancer/Dragoon.
In order to play as a Reaper in FFXIV, you'll need to have the Endwalker expansion on your account and have one other job/class at level 70 on your character so you can initiate the required job quest--that job quest will be found in Ul'dah.
Reaper is a completely new job/class for the Final Fantasy franchise and doesn't reference anything from previous games, other than the scythe weapon. Aesthetically, the Reaper's glamour draws a lot of similarities to the Victorian-era gothic horror stylings of Bloodborne--and honestly, it just looks cool as hell. The villain Zenos yae Galvus was revealed to take on the role of a Reaper in the story as seen in the full Endwalker trailer.
This week saw the re-release of a real Nintendo curio. The Famicon Detective Club games initially seem to have come from a parallel universe - Nintendo games, but also visual novels? The re-releases of the first two adventures have been lovingly handled, with beautifully updated graphics and plenty of quality-of-life changes, although be warned that they remain wilful and rather odd. To help make sense of where these games came from, though, we've decided to dig into the history of this fascinating series.
When you think about Nintendo in the 80s, what comes to mind? Super Mario Bros? Duck Hunt and the glorious NES Zapper? Absolute domination of the home console market? All valid answers, but even for Nintendo's most dedicated, Famicom Detective Club probably isn't topping your list. Released for the Famicom Disk System in 1988, these game brought us two classic murder mystery visual novels, something we've not seen from the Nintendo since Last Window. Sadly, this duology never launched outside Japan, though it holds an intriguing history.
You can picture the surprise then, when Nintendo announced Switch versions were on the way, and would finally arrive in the West too. Now, this isn't another case of translating the original versions as Earthbound Beginnings or Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon And The Blade Of Light were. First confirmed in 2019, Steins;Gate developers Mages have given both entries the full remake treatment, retaining that core gameplay with brand-new graphics, music, and fully voiced dialogue.
