Probably the biggest point of controversy with the reveal of Attack on Titan’s final season was that Wit Studio wasn’t going to be handling the animation for the show. In its place, the animation studio MAPPA would take over instead, and we got our first glimpse of what the final season would look like when the teaser trailer dropped.

It looked decent, then the first episode aired. And it wasn’t long before comparison videos started popping up to show the difference in animation between the studios’ titans.

Here’s the thing, though: after watching the entirety of the first part of the final season, the animation work by MAPPA wasn’t that bad at all. In fact, it was still pretty darn good.

If there are any complaints to be had, it’s that the final season’s use of CGI seems to be more widespread than before. And if you’ve hung around the anime community long enough, you’ll know that CGI in anime is generally not very well-received. CGI fight scenes can make the titans look awkward when they move around, or somewhat disproportionate and out of place.

The app would have let you put a Dynasty Warriors character's headdress on your portrait.

The post Dynasty Warriors Team Teases An AR Filter App For April Fools appeared first on Siliconera.

Publisher Bethesda Softworks has announced that the next-gen console edition of The Elder Scrolls Online will launch on June 8, offering an enhanced edition of the fantasy MMO for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S players. This new edition will be offered as a free update within the same console family to anybody who currently owns ESO.

The Elder Scrolls Online: Console Enhanced will remain the same title from a gameplay standpoint, but will be gifted a wide selection of visual and technical updates. These include full 60 FPS gameplay while in "performance mode," higher resolution textures, improved anti-aliasing, improved shadow and reflective effects, an increased draw distance, more realistic Ambient Occlusion, and improved load times across the board. All of these visual upgrades will allow Tamriel to shine better than ever before, offering console players a smoother and more immersive experience.

Maybe it's simply a case of being careful of what you wish for. Balan Wonderworld is a curious time capsule, a 3D platformer that's full of the exuberance, colour and straight-up weirdness of a beloved and bygone period frequently yearned for, and all from the very people that helped define that same era. Imagine the team behind Sonic Adventure had a crack at their own Mario Odyssey, that late 90s exuberance finding itself into a maximalist journey that throws a hundred different ideas at the player, and you've pretty much got Balan Wonderworld down pat. If you've an honest recollection of how Sonic Adventure played, you'll also have a pretty good idea of how horrifying, fascinating, frustrating and occasionally brilliant this can be.

Balan Wonderworld marks the grand return of Yuji Naka (an impeccably stylish dev, I was lucky enough to meet him once and was impressed how his socks, tie and pocket square all matched, a fact that might have been unremarkable were they not all a searingly bright orange). Here the Sonic the Hedgehog programmer is reunited with the designer of Sega's mascot Naoto Ohshima - a man who can also boast Nights into Dreams, Burning Rangers, and perhaps most appropriately this time out Blinx: The Time Sweeper on his CV. The two are together for the first time since 1998's Sonic Adventure, a pairing that promises a certain type of game that Balan Wonderworld certainly delivers on.

Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City has been delayed by two months, to 24th November.

Sony's Resident Evil film reboot was previously set to arrive on 3rd September, but according to Variety has now been pushed back to avoid Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Welcome to Racoon City will adapt elements from the first two Resident Evil games, so you get a bit of old school mansion exploration with Chris and Jill, plus downtown cop drama with Leon and Claire.

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After announcing retro-styled shoot 'em up Sol Cresta as an April Fool's joke last year, Bayonetta devs PlatinumGames have used this April Fool's Day to... announce retro-styled shoot 'em up Sol Cresta? Supposedly for really reals this time? A collaboration with Hamster Corporation, it's inspired by 80s shmups Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta, and supposedly launching this year. For real. Maybe. April Fool's Day is bad.

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Amazon has punched the price of Persona 5 Royal edition - one of the best JRPGs released in recent years - all the way down to £25, with prices matched on the PSN Store for the Deluxe Edition!

That probably leaves most of you that picked up the standard edition of Persona 5 for free on PlayStation Plus wondering what bang for your buck you're getting with the Royal edition of the game.

Royal is essentially the definitive version of Persona 5 that makes a lot of improvements on the base game. You won't have to spend as much time raising your social stats, as Royal introduces plenty of new features to speed up the process, including playing video games and studying at the library. This makes it possible to max out your social stats in a single playthrough if you're wise with your time. Not only that, but the digital PS Store version is the Deluxe Edition, which comes with a set of cosmetics for the character Kasumi.

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The film will now release in November.

The post Resident Evil Live Action Movie Delayed appeared first on Siliconera.

The time has finally come for Outriders' launch, and all of us can stop farming gear in the demo and jump into the real thing.

It's been...interesting so far! While some of the core loop has the potential to get stale, it's fun jumping into games with random people and seeing how class synergy works. The moment to moment gunplay is fun, and I'm actually experimenting with different builds without feeling overwhelmed. Oh, and the lack of live service nonsense or loot boxes helps. It has a baked-in season pass type system to ramp up and unlock cosmetics, but it is not monetized. Praise be.

One big thing I've been messing with during my playthrough is the world tier system, and I think a lot of people are going to like it. In short, it's a sliding difficulty scale that also dictates the quality of your loot. Now, this isn't new. Even the term is old hat. But typically, a lot of games ask you to set your world tier before you do a mission, or in certain zones. Outriders lets you do it whenever.

Remember that! You can pause the game whenever you want, solo, and set your tier. The game even clearly and cleverly labels their difficulty, starting with "story," then ramping to "easy, normal, hard, expert, master, legend..." and so on.

The thing is, the penalties for ramping down aren't that massive early on (the difference between loot rarity is only 10 percentage points in the first three levels), and you can dynamically swap as needed. Having trouble with a boss? Roll down and best them. You won't get as good of a loot table, but hey, you won't be banging your head against the wall for an hour straight.

The Tokyo Olympics, it seems, will hold the opening ceremonies this July. While the finalized plans have yet to be revealed, Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun has apparently acquired a 280-page scrapped proposal for the event. Included within it is an Akira-themed plan, and another that features Nintendo’s Mario.

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Farming sim fans and fishing aficionados rejoice!

The post NieR Replicant April Fools Video Reimagines Game As a Slow Life RPG appeared first on Siliconera.

Monster Hunter Rise wallpapers? Don't mind if I do!

In classic My Nintendo fashion, the site has put up a very small, all-digital promo for Monster Hunter Rise. Although some games have gotten the physical item treatment, other big titles kind of come and go without it.

I mean, we could get a physical Rise reward at some point! But for now, there's digital wallpapers. Just head on over to the My Nintendo landing page for them, and you can download three wallpapers that fit both a PC desktop and a mobile device. As a heads-up, you can find all of the resolutions you'll get below.

Weird promo aside, I love these, especially the first two that employ a unique chibi style (the third uses the same classic Ukiyo-e motif that the game employs for monster images).

The catch is they're 50 Platinum Points each, if you're down for that. If you need some scratch, you can head to our ultimate guide for My Nintendo points and you'll be good to go in minutes.

Last week, the Tokyo District Court (pictured above) ruled that publishing manga dialogue online without permission is copyright infringement.

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Today Square Enix announced the steps players (and would-be-players) will have to follow to enjoy the PS5 open beta for Final Fantasy XIV.

The process is different depending on whether you play on a digital copy, a physical copy, or don’t play at all just yet.

If you’re not a player, you can still enter the open beta (which starts on April 13) via the free trial of the game.

PlayStation 4 Physical Edition Users

1. On your PlayStation 5, sign in with the PlayStation Network account you are using to play the PlayStation 4 version.
2. Visit PlayStation Store on your PlayStation 5 and navigate to the FINAL FANTASY XIV store page.
3. On the store page, press the […] button and select “FINAL FANTASY XIV PS5 Upgrade Edition (Beta Version)” to proceed with the download. A game disc is not required when using this download version.
4. Once the download is complete, launch the PlayStation®5 version of FINAL FANTASY XIV from the FINAL FANTASY XIV game screen.

• You will have access to the same game content as you do on the PlayStation®4 version.
• Game time is required to play and can be added via the FINAL FANTASY XIV: Mog Station.

For general information on upgrading an eligible PlayStation 4 game to the digital PlayStation 5 version, please visit the support page on the official PlayStation website.

PlayStation 4 Digital Download Users
Users who are currently playing the digital download version will be able to upgrade directly to the PlayStation 5 version without visiting the PlayStation Store first.

[Update: They meant it! If you try and look for Mario 3D All-Stars on the official site, it leads to a 404 when you attempt to buy it digitally. The Super Mario 35 page redirects to the main site and does not exist anymore. Welp! Maybe it'll come back on the next anniversary! Good night, sweet plumber prince!]

The time has come.

We've been talking about it for ages. We knew it was coming! Mario is dead tomorrow. At least, several newish games about him are.

As re-iterated multiple times, Nintendo is putting an end to several Mario titles on March 31. That includes physical and digital sales for Mario 3D All-Stars and physical Game & Watch devices being pulled from sale. Yep, they're even shutting down physical sales and aren't shipping more copies to stores. Savage.

You basically have today to make your peace with it. If you've been wanting to buy All-Stars via the eShop, do it now. If you want to get some final (?) games in with Super Mario 35, do it today. If you're on the fence for a new Game & Watch device, consider it before the eBay prices jump.

Or skip it all and don't play into Nintendo's hand. I can't tell you what to do!

The wave of departures affecting Sony Japan Studio is continuing, and today Gavin Moore announced that he has left the team on Twitter.

Moore worked at Sony for 24 years, of which 18 in Japan. He is known as the director of the charming PS3 platformer Puppeteer and he worked on a lot of games including the Siren series and culminating with the recent Demon’s Souls remake as creative director.

He mentioned that he will “will miss the great creative spirit and camaraderie of the studio” also expressing the intention to seek out new opportunities.

Tripwire Interactive has released the first details for the previously announced DLC expansion to crazy, bloodthirsty "shaRkPG," Manteater. Coming at some point this summer, Maneater: Truth Quest will return to the waves for more over-the-top boat-chomping action.

Following on from the events of the 2020 Shark-'em-up, Truth Quest will venture into the realm of internet conspiracies, as roving reporter Trip Westhaven investigates the growing rumors and theories surrounding the Naval Wildlife Organization. (4 life). Supported by an army of ViewTube followers - or "Questers" - Westhaven embarks upon a boat-rocking journey (literally) to uncover the clandestine government reports of  armored, toxic, and electrically powered sharks lurking in the deep blue.

While I am definitely a Sonic apologist, I acknowledge that the little blue fella’s output has been less than stellar in the last 20 years. For every highlight, like a Sonic Mania, there’s been countless lowlights, like Sonic 4, Sonic Forces, and Guns For Some Reason Sonic. Funnily enough, over the last decade, the literally quick on his feet hedgehog has been at his most consistent when behind the wheel of a car.

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Today is the day Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan begins its restructuring process, dialing back on both its production and workforce as it refocuses its resources toward Astro's Playroom developer Team ASOBI. As reported by VGC, and in news that is unlikely to be coincidental, Demon's Souls PS5 director Gavin Moore has confirmed that he has left the studio.

"After 24 years at Sony and 18 of those in Japan, yesterday was my last day at [Sony Japan Studio]," said Moore in an emotional goodbye on Twitter. "I will miss the great creative spirit and camaraderie of the studio that was a huge part of my life. Time to seek out new and exciting opportunities!!"

Moore relocated to Japan almost two decades ago to work with Sony Japan Studio, a career which has seen him involved in the development of titles such as Puppeteer, Siren, and The Getaway as an animator, producer, and director. Moore headed up the development of 2020's Demon's Souls remake, arguably one of, if not the best title currently available on PlayStation 5 hardware. Moore intends to continue working in video game development.

Today Aquaplus released the first trailer, plenty of screenshots, and details of the upcoming action-JRPG Utawarerumono ZAN 2.

The trailer showcases the opening cutscene of the game, on top of the first look at gameplay in action.

We also get to take a look at plenty of screenshots showing relevant elements of the game.

April Fools' Day. My Favourite. When your job is writing news, and the annual day of w-w-w-wackiness rolls around, it's frankly a pain in the ass. This is especially true of recent years, when companies have taken to revealing very real products while relishing the idea that the public might not believe them. Let's see if I get through today unscathed.

Still, I'm not without humor, and as such wanted to start the day sharing this fun trailer for Square Enix's upcoming remaster NieR Replicant, which re-purposes the hack 'n' slash adventure as a "slow life sim" in the vein of titles such as Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon. The video sees protagonists Nier and Grimoire Weiss indulging in a spot of crop-growing and animal-rearing, while eavesdropping on the neighbors and enjoying some obligatory fishing. Frankly, I'm all for it, and would gladly take respite from all the slicing 'n' dicing to just spend all my time growing a pumpkin patch. Any marriage options?

You can check out the most cyberpunk farming sim ever made in the video below. Meanwhile, back in pseudo-reality, NieR Replicant will launch on PS4, PC, and Xbox One April 23. And that's no foolin'

The latest KOF XV trailer focuses on King, who looks as dapper as usual.

The post King Looks Ready to Deal Some Damage in Her KOF XV Trailer appeared first on Siliconera.

Today Square Enix announced with a press release that it’s integrating two of its production divisions.

The Visual Works division is going to be merged with the Image Arts Division into the newly named Image Studio Division under the direction of Takeshi Nozue, director of Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children and Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV on top of having worked on the cinematics of multiple Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts games.

Visual Works has been responsible for many of cinematics of most of the publisher’s top games, while Image Arts, formed by Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV veteran, has focused on high-end visual expression mostly in real-time graphics.

You can read the official announcement below.

Square Enix is newly establishing SQUARE ENIX Image Studio Division today through the integration of its Visual Works Division and Image Arts Division.

The Visual Works Division has created pre-rendered movies for many of the Company’s game titles. The Image Arts Division, whose core staff includes members from the team that created the movie KINGSGLAIVE: FINAL FANTASY XV, has meanwhile engaged in research and development into high-end visual expression with a focus on real-time graphics.

By fusing the technologies and attributes of the two divisions into the SQUARE ENIX Image Studio Division, the Company aims to become faster at its research and development efforts into next-generation visual expression and at incorporating the results of those efforts into actual content. It thereby hopes to provide its customers with an even higher quality of experience.

Today SNK released a new trailer and screenshots showcasing another of the characters that will be playable in its upcoming fighting game The King of Fighters XV.

This time around we get to take a look at King, another returning fighter from previous games of the series, on top of a theme park stage.

You can check her out in action below in her trailer and dedicated screenshots.

A few seconds into this announcement trailer for Loot River and I’m thinking, OK, it’s a top-down Dark Souls game. Fine, whatever. A few seconds later suddenly there’s Tetris in there too and everything looks a lot more interesting.

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In 2015, Microsoft showed off its fancy new HoloLens augmented reality goggles with a very impressive Minecraft demo. In 2021, the company has just agreed to sell “up to 22 billion” worth of headsets based on that original tech to the U.S. military.

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Sometimes, you just decide that you’ve gotta fix something, and you’re not going to rest until you’ve won a battle of wits and wills against a piece of plastic. Most of the time, though, you don’t have 80,000 people watching you do it.

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Today Square Enix released a new trailer of Story of Seas… ahem… NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…

The trailer is rather peculiar, basically portraying the game as your usual farming/slice of life game in which you farm, fish, interact with animals, and so forth.

The fact that it’s the game “April Fools Trailer” should tell you more about the video’s nature.

That being said, the developer specifies that the gameplay showcased can indeed be enjoyed in the game. The trailer simply arranges it to give a misleading idea of NieR Replicant ver.1.22474487139…

Today Neko Works announced Nekopara: Catboys Paradise, a new otome game coming in summer 2021.

It’ll be released for free for PC, iOS, and Android.

If you’re unfamiliar with Otome Games, they’re visual novels usually featuring a reverse harem cast (one girl with many pretty boys), mostly aimed at a female audience. They’re quite popular in Japan.

This one isn’t an exception. The protagonist will have to staff a bar with four charming catboys in what’s basically the mirror image of the popular Nekopara series.

I know what you’re thinking. It’s April 1st, but this isn’t an April Fool prank, or more precisely, it isn’t anymore. It was, in 2019, but due to popular demand Neko-Works officially announced that this is happening.

The game is produced by Nekopara creator Sayori and written by Yuki Yoshino, who worked on Ensemble Stars!! and more.

G Yusuke, known for the Dies Irae series, is tasked with the character design.

Nekopara: Catboys Paradise will support Japanese, English, and Chnese (simplified and traditional) text.

Below you can check out the trailer and first images.

We know just how many games there are out there, and how tricky it can be to get featured by notable streamers. So let's talk about 'variety' streamers and the best targets for your game. ...

Even though it’s officially refused classification in Australia, it doesn’t look like Steam has paid much attention to Disco Elysium – A Final Cut‘s ban because Aussies can still buy it as of this morning.

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The latest trick in The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker speedrunning has the potential to do away with the game’s previously unskippable cutscenes entirely.

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At first glance, Amazon’s newest show, Invincible, seems to be just like any other Saturday morning superhero cartoon. The show follows Mark Grayson, a 17-year old that is finally gaining superpowers just like his father, Omni-Man.

*Warning: Spoilers for Invincible Episode 1-3 Ahead*

Throughout the first episode, Invincible hits on many of the cliches home to the genre, as Mark gets his own super-suit, attempts to blend in during high school, and trains tirelessly to be the best superhero possible.

The show even opens with an entire cast of characters that are based on the Justice League, called the Guardians of the Globe, defending the White House from villain-of-the-week characters. Overall, we are immediately given a tone that mirrors old-school cartoons like Batman The Animated Series, Justice League, and Teen Titans.

Nyadoken! NECO DROP is back again and this year, there are more cats than ever for you to defeat and befriend.

The post Collect Street Fighter Cats Again in NECO DROP 2 appeared first on Siliconera.