Watch out all you crafters and hoarders: a Cyberpunk 2077 bug is causing players’ saves to become corrupted if the files become too large. It seems crafting in particular can help save files grow to dangerous sizes. CD Projekt Red are advising players to “use an older save file to continue playing and try to keep a lower amount of items and crafting materials” to avoid the problem, because once your files are corrupted, there’s no getting them back.

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Announced at The Game Awards just over a week ago, Back 4 Blood is a new co-op shooter game from Turtle Rock Studios, best known for releasing the ever-popular Left 4 Dead and Left 4 Dead 2 soon after that. Even to this day, L4D2 continues to be one of the best and most enjoyable co-op zombie shooter games to play on PC, and with Back 4 Blood, it’s clear that Turtle Rock is finally ready to refine that formula even further and take things to the next level.

I got a chance to check out the closed alpha over the weekend, and right off the bat, it certainly looks and feels like L4D2. The satisfying chunky gameplay is still intact; landing headshots with guns feels satisfying, as does lobbing off zombie heads with a machete or spiked bat.

The closed alpha gave me access to four different characters, each with their own passive perks to cater to different play styles. Evangelo is the slippery one; he moves fast, and has the ability to slip out of an enemy’s grab every few minutes. Holly specializes in melee combat, Walker is a tankier character with extra HP and extra ammo capacity, while Hoffman is more of a support character who can carry extra support and offensive items.

They all feel distinct, and even without any semblance of a story, they already feel every bit as charming and personable as the cast of L4D2.

As January inches ever closer, Microsoft have launched their 'Countdown' sale - appropriately titled, as I think we're all counting down the days until 2020 is finally finished. The sale runs until January 3rd (right about the time the hangover should wear off) and covers several hundred games, including some of this year's biggest titles.

If you're looking to test out a new Series X or Series S console, there's plenty of options, including 40% off Immortals Fenyx Rising - not bad for a game that's hardly two weeks old. You can also get Assassin's Creed Valhalla for 30% off. The entire East Anglian coastline, yours for little more than £40. Who could say no to that?

Here's a quick overview of the best deals on offer right now:

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Door 21 on the RPS Advent Calendar is all covered in carved runes, and the planks look like they’ve come from a few different trees – even if they’re now all part of the same door. Sneaking through it might be the way to go, but honestly, you’re free to boot it down and set it on fire if you’d prefer.

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Ghost of Tsushima

Alexandre Pelletier-Normand has been appointed as the new CEO of Rovio Entertainment, following the previously announced departure of Kati Levoranta. ...

Netflix confirmed earlier this year that a The Witcher anime film was on the way in addition to the ongoing series, which is currently in production. The Netflix Witcher anime is called Nightmare of the Wolf, and while we don't have a new trailer, we do have a nifty logo to lust over. 

The NX Netflix account revealed the new logo with a short video on social media, possibly teasing a bigger reveal here soon as part of the ongoing The Witcher Christmas celebration for its live-action counterpart: 

Here is the logo for Nightmare of the Wolf. A Witcher Anime film coming 2021. pic.twitter.com/vagw48L8NS

— NX (@NXOnNetflix) December 21, 2020

While many were introduced to The Witcher thanks to the CD Projekt RED game series, the novels by Andrzej Sapkowski offer a much bigger world. The books are what the live-action series is based off of, set before the games themselves, but Nightmare of the Wolf aims to take a different approach, this time telling the tale of another beloved witcher. 

The Nintendo Switch version of Densha de GO!! Hashirou Yamanote-sen is heading to Japan with console-exclusive features.

The post Densha de GO Switch Version Will Arrive Next March appeared first on Siliconera.

My Nintendo has been adding rewards at a regular cadence now, and there are two more to peruse before the holidays.

Now they probably won't actually arrive before the New Year, but there's still plenty of new things to spend your points on.

I’ve often heard whispers of macabre accounts stemming from Malay and Indonesian folklore – which share some overlaps in supernatural beliefs – as told to me by friends and family alike. Perhaps it’s just sheer proximity to these Southeast Asian cultures that makes these spooks feel more intimate and corporeal, but the spirits in these tales are, to me, more eerie than most garden-variety ghouls. Take, for instance, how even the mere whiff of the frangipani flower can unnerve me, as it’s a scent commonly associated with the pontianak, the vengeful spirit of a pregnant woman who was violently murdered.

In the Indonesian horror game DreadOut 2, these spectres are known as kuntilanak (as they’re referred to in Indonesia). These long-haired, howling spooks are every bit as vicious and frightful as I had imagined them to be, and plenty more such Indonesian ghosts lurk in the city you’ll spend the bulk of your time in in DreadOut 2.

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N and Zekrom will join Pokemon Masters EX through the Sync Pair Scout.

The post N and Zekrom Are Heading to Pokemon Masters EX appeared first on Siliconera.

What perfect timing! We just saw Miyamoto as our collective dad in Nintendo's recent Super Nintendo World theme park Direct; now we can hear him talking about being an actual dad (and granddad!) in this recent interview from The New Yorker.

In what is mostly a personal interview, we learn a bit more about Miyamoto's home life, as well as his general philosophy for kindness: something that definitely comes across in all his works. What strikes me the most is the humility. The "father of Mario" is a big deal, but growing up, he claims that his family life was relatively normal.

"In terms of my own kids, I’ve been fortunate in that they’ve always had a good relationship with video games...I’ve never had to restrict them or take games away from them," he says. In fact, he talks about how his kids played Sega games, and dug Out Run and Space Harrier. Most recently he got to experience Captain Toad with his grandkid, who was "shiny eyed" while playing it.

Remember how some parents were "concerned" about kids being really into games? Well, Miyamoto embraces it: "I could see how a parent might be concerned about how immersed their child can become in a game. But, in my game design, I always want to encourage a relationship between a parent and child that is fundamentally nurturing. I was helping my grandchild navigate the 3-D world inside the game, and I could see the 3-D structure being built inside this five-year-old’s head. I thought, This could help his growth as well." What a dad!

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s frequent hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. Today’s column is all about a reinvigorating classic that didn’t actually make it into the game it was used to promote.

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Not just Big Navi, but the biggest Navi of them all. AMD's Radeon RX 6900 XT completes the trio of next-gen graphics card launches from Team Red and on the face of it, it does seem like... the least interesting of them all? In all areas of the specification - bar one - RX 6900 XT is identical to the RX 6800 XT, a graphics card that costs a full $350 less than the new GPU's colossal $999 price-point. In essence, the only palpable difference between 6800 XT and 6900 XT is that the top-end offering gets the full complement of 80 compute units vs the slightly cut-back 72 in the cheaper product. But perhaps there's more to the spec than meets the eye and in combination with the fact that this is the absolute top-end, maybe that's enough to convince the most die-hard of AMD fanatics that this is the card for them.

Of course, the concept of a halo product commanding a colossal price premium is nothing new. Whether it's CPUs, GPUs, motherboards, storage or memory, it seems that at the top-end, there's a long history of a bit of extra frequency, a few more shaders or some extra RAM allowing manufacturers to ramp up prices in ways that are divorced from the concept of 'value' in every way. Intel had its Extreme Editions, Nvidia built a whole Titan brand around the concept, and while it offers much more memory, more compute and an out-there cooling set-up, the RTX 3090's price-point is far more audacious than AMD's.

This special event will feature a recreation of a city in Final Fantasy XIV made entirely out of LEGOs.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Art Exhibit Will Showcase Its Environments appeared first on Siliconera.

We only just learned about beach farms and a cool shakeup for Community Center bundles in Stardew Valley, and now there's even better news: update 1.5 is out today on Steam. Eric Barone finished it!

As usual, PC players are up first, and other platforms, like Nintendo Switch, will come in 2021.

We've been covering update 1.5 for months on end – from split-screen co-op to an endgame addition to banana trees, bed-moving, a new door in Willy's shop, and ducks peacefully floating in water – and it sounds like a fun one. Those are just a few of the teases we've seen from Barone throughout the year.

The developer said that "some prominent modders" were given a pre-release build so they could update their mods to be compatible with 1.5, and he also shared a "spoiler-free" preview of the update:

It's been a stressful year, hasn't it? Frazzled and burnt out, you might find yourself - oh, let's say four days away from Christmas - and still with no gift for your favorite child / sibling / spouse. If that's the case, and if you've got a couple hundred quid to spare, Currys may well come to your aid.

Right now you can get a Nintendo Switch Lite and a copy of Super Mario 3D All-Stars for £220, £17 off the regular price. A similar bundle with Animal Crossing: New Horizons is £15 off. Bump up the spending a little more, and you can get Minecraft and Animal Crossing along with a Switch Lite for £240. There's even a choice of snazzy colours, including blue and pink. Sorry, turquoise and coral.

With another company these deals might seem unimpressive, but by Nintendo standards they're downright philanthropic. The discounts are a holdover from Black Friday, when Currys led the way with a number of decent Switch and Switch Lite bundles. It's surprising to see so many still in stock, as at the time of writing they remain some of the best Nintendo deals on the market. If you're looking to snatch up a last minute gift these are all available for in-store pick up. Just don't forget your mask!

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General Producer Akira Tsuchiya released a statement regarding the delay.

The post Ciel Nosurge DX and Ar Nosurge DX Delayed Until March appeared first on Siliconera.

While the UK physical games chart continues to become something of an antiquated measurement of success, there's no denying that all publishers are eager to claim the coveted "Christmas No.1" spot. This year, that prestige belongs to Ubisoft's Assassin's Creed Valhalla.

The Nordic open-world adventure rocketed in sales this week following numerous in-store promotions, usurping CD Projekt RED's troubled Cyberpunk 2077 and just squeezing in past Activision's Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, marking the first time a new Black Ops release did not take the Holiday top spot.

Elsewhere in the Top Ten, Nintendo continues to sit pretty with Switch releases Ring Fit Adventure, Animal Crossing: New Horizons, and Super Mario 3D All-Stars, all of which have seen steady sales throughout the year since their respective releases. Raise a glass to Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which has remained in the Top Ten for the entire year, (give or take a week or two), despite releasing back in 2017.

As our feature on the best television of 2020 amply demonstrates, the current TV landscape is replete with excellent ensembles that make stumping for your favorites during awards season a nigh-impossible task. And yet, though our annual compilation of the best TV performances typically includes dynamic duos and other…

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Beach farm! Beach farm! Beach farm! I might just be overexcited because I’m playing a lot of Stardew Valley at the moment, but developer ConcernedApe has revealed the game’s next update will come with a brand new farmstead – the beach! It might sound like a nice little seaside getaway, but this farm seems like a tough one to get started with – mostly because sprinklers won’t work on that pesky sand.

If you fancy even more of a challenge, ConcernedApe says update 1.5 is bringing some “Advanced Game Options” too, making community centre bundles and mine rewards a little more interesting.

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The House of Fata Morgana finally has a release date for the Nintendo Switch version in Japan.

The post The House in Fata Morgana Switch Will Open Its Doors in March 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

Hunting down superbosses in JRPGs is a hobby of mine, and Super Mario RPG's Culex remains one of my all-time favorites.

Brilliantly hidden within one of the cutest areas of the game, Culex was a formidable, all-new optional boss modeled after a Final Fantasy foe. He is unassuming at first, then lets loose his full power if you decide to fight him. Alongside of, well, most of Super Mario RPG, it's one of the most memorable gaming moments in my gaming career.

With all this in mind, the header image probably makes a lot more sense now. The framing comes from none other than Masahiro Sakurai, who is clearly referencing the aforementioned Mario RPG showdown with Sephiroth standing in for Culex. In this setup, Sakurai decided to use Mario, Bowser, and Geno; the latter of which is not a Smash Ultimate character, and was only recently added as an amiibo outfit (once again).

Interesting comp! I couldn't bear to break down my classic Mario RPG trio of Mario, and Peach, Bowser myself. Group hug!

Sakurai [Twitter]

A hunter's work is never done, and as such Capcom continues its video series looking at the gargantuan tools-of-the-trade available to the world-weary warriors of upcoming Nintendo Switch release Monster Hunter Rise. Following on from its recent videos on the Insect Glaive and the Gunlance, these latest previews show off the Great Sword and a Monster Hunter staple: the Switch Axe.

One of a number of Square Enix-style gigantic blades in the Hunter's arsenal, the Great Sword is capable of chopping almost anything, from the mightiest oak to the leatheriest of skins. As if its heavyweight cutting power wasn't hard enough, the Great Sword can also be charged to deliver almost un-matchable damage on anyone - or anything - that stands in its path.

New VRChat avatars based on characters and items from Disgaea 6 are now officially available on the Virtual Market.

The post Disgaea VRChat Avatars Are Available at Virtual Market appeared first on Siliconera.

With hundreds of hours logged in Stardew Valley, I find myself saying often: "yeah, I can start another farm." Such is the power of the dew.

It helps that it's run by one of the most affable and approachable developers in the gaming industry right now: as Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone is constantly teasing little updates that are going to come together to form a Justice League-like explosion. This week? Beach farms.

Again, for bystanders, it seems like such a small thing. But the ability to essentially start fresh with a completely new farm theme is huge for folks who play often. Barone notes that this is for "seasoned players," and will debut alongside of an "advanced game options menu," which showcases some new changes to mix up subsequent playthroughs.

As for the beach farm, the description notes that it's good for "foraging and fishing, with tons of open space," and that sometimes "supply crates wash up on shore." Its downside? You can't use sprinklers on sandy soil. Barone clarified on Twitter that there is "some regular soil, but not much." As it stands, you'll have to water it manually, and "any crop can be planted in the sand."

The advanced tweaks include remixed community center bundles, a guarantee to make them completable in Year 1 (time saver!), a mine rewards drop-down menu toggle, and a "spawn monsters on the farm" checkbox. Remixed community bundles require further investigation, so here's a rundown from Barone: "It's a randomized mixture of some brand new bundles and also old bundles, but sometimes the old ones have variations, for example they might require different crops or fish. If you choose 'normal' then it's just the classic Stardew Valley set of bundles."

Dragon Ball FighterZ gets Super Baby 2 as a DLC character on 15th January 2021, Bandai Namco has announced.

Meanwhile, the final FighterZ Pass 3 character for Arc System Works' super fighting game is Gogeta (SS4).

The new trailer below shows off Super Baby 2 in action.

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Following on from the recent announcement that Super Baby Vegeta 2 is headed to the Dragon Ball FighterZ roster, Bandai Namco has now revealed that the Super Saiyan 4 form of Gogeta will also be joining the frenzied tag-fighter as the final character of Fighter Pass 3.

The news was announced this weekend as part of the Jump Festa 2021 Online celebrations, and saw Bandai Namco and developer Arc System Works release a new trailer showcasing the two DLC characters. You know it's a special occasion as the video runs over two minutes, which is a veritable marathon by Bandai Namco standards. For the most part, the clip focuses on the devastating skills of Super Baby 2, before teasing the tail-wagging glory of Gogeta (SS4) in its closing moments.

It feels like just yesterday that myself and my duos partner won Halo 2 in a local tournament, but here we are.

Halo is on its umpteenth game, and legacy titles are being sunset. Halo, as a series, started its life around two decades ago in 2001. That same year, the Mario Bros. series was 16 years old. The Master Chief has endured longer than many other gaming icons, and continues to live on. But not on Xbox 360.

According to a post from Halo steward 343 Industries, Microsoft will sunset legacy Halo games on Xbox 360 in December of 2021. That lengthy list includes:

• Halo: Reach
• Halo 4
• Halo 3
• Halo 3: ODST
• Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
• Spartan Assault
• Halo Wars

Yeah, it's probably more than you thought! 343 even clarifies that it will impact backward compatible play, as it's naturally the same online servers you're accessing. However, it also will not impact the Master Chief Collection. The big things that are going away are matchmaking, filesharing, online service records/challenges/player customization for Halo Reach and Halo 4.

You can find the full timeline below, which is very clear on how things will work. The main thing? Accept the change and get all of the matchmaking or challenge-linked achievements before December 2021.

Sunsetting Halo Xbox 360 Game Services in 2021 [Halo Waypoint]

As we reflect on a great year of gaming, there's no denying that one of the major success stories of 2020 is Mediatonic's wild title Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout, which launched in August and immediately took the world by storm with its madcap battle royale action.

As the festive week begins, developer Mediatonic and publisher Devolver Digital have released a cute short to get all of y'all into the Holiday spirit. Blending CGI and live-action footage, the video sees a clumsy bean invited to spend the holidays with a friendly family. The video ends with a thank-you to the players, and the reveal of a free skin for everyone who logs in between now and December 25.

Whomst among us hasn’t got absolutely bladdered and woken up the next day having lost all of their uniform and with no idea what happened the night before? Well me; I haven’t done that. But I am not Tondbert, the plucky protagonist of retro-style point and click adventureGuard Duty. Tondbert’s drunken lapse in judgement has resulted in his kingdom’s princess being kidnapped, which is not ideal.

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Following yesterday’s announcement, Clouded Leopard Entertainment and Nihon Falcom released the first screenshots of The Legend of Heroes; Hajimari no Kiseki for Nintendo Switch.

The Switch version will release in Japan in summer 2021 alongside the PC version via Steam.

The game was originally released in August 2020 only for PS4, and has not been announced for the west for any platform just yet.

You can check out the screenshots in the gallery below.

The Legend of Heroes: Hajimari no Kiseki brings together the protagonists of the Trails games in a three-pronged JRPG with a story told through alternating points of view.

Yesterday, we also saw the reveal of the character designs of the hero and heroine of The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki.

Switch fans in Japan can also expect The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV on March 18, 2021.

The Bigger Game – ARK: Survival Evolved

Xbox Games with Gold Predictions

It’s almost time for the offical announcement for what free games will be offered to Xbox Live Gold and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers for the very first month of 2021. And while we wait for that announcement, we have some Xbox Games with Gold predictions that have a solid chance of being included on that list.

For the previous month of December 2020, the free Games with Gold titles included The Raven Remastered and Bleed 2 for Xbox One players and Saints Row: Gat out of Hel and Stacking for Xbox 360.

Usually a larger Xbox One titles headlines the list every month, and for January 2021 we suspect that game will be ARK: Survival Evolved.