"We are so immensely grateful to the millions of fans around the world that have played The Last of Us Part II and shared their experiences with us over the last week," Druckmann said. "We set out to tell a new kind of story, one that deals with difficult themes and would challenge you in unexpected ways. Hearing how the experience has resonated with so many of you and witnessing the type of thoughtful discussions it has sparked has been so incredible. We’ve also been so inspired by your creativity — whether it’s your gorgeous Photo Mode shots, jaw-dropping gameplay GIFs, or the songs you’ve recorded using Ellie’s guitar. " "The Last of Us Part II was made possible thanks to the efforts of the hundreds of talented and passionate developers here at Naughty Dog. We can imagine no greater honor than seeing that same passion mirrored by the people playing it.

The first trailer for the World End Economica anime adaptation is now available, showing off Haru, Hagana, and the Lunar stock market.

The post World End Economica Anime First Trailer Shows Off Haru, Hagana, and The Lunar Stock Market appeared first on Siliconera.

Thinking about making a U-boat game? Unless you’ve some quirky new angle or have a mind to model WWI U-boats my advice would be don’t. The genre is as rammed as a freshly sealed sardine can at the moment. First-time devs Iron Wolf have the right idea. Instead of following their well-reviewed co-op board game about Kriegsmarine convoy molesters with a PC take on the same subject, the Polish outfit is aiming to spellbind simmers with a game played from a convoy chaperone’s perspective. (more…)

To fully defox the following enlargeable geofoxer, identify all twelve locations plus the theme that links them. (more…)

In case you missed it, a new Destiny 2 DLC pack just arrived on Twitch Prime. But while Twitch was coy about what it actually entailed, Bungie has the whole drop broken down on its weekly blog.

As the sixth reward in sixth months, you'll net an exotic emote cerebral explosion (like "the guy having a cosmic realization mind blown" meme), a really cool-looking flaming exotic Sparrow called "Burnout," a plasma Ghost shell (one of the coolest so far!) and Stellar Pavements, a legendary white and red ship.

As always, head to Amanda Holliday in the Tower to grab the gifts. Innocuous stuff like this is a much better way to grab optional cosmetic content than a lot of the in-game systems, so I'll take it.

This Week at Bungie [Bungie.net]

To celebrate the release of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition, a free demo will be available to download. This free demo will allow players to play the first three dungeons of the game with up to four friends in online play. The demo for the upcoming remaster has been titled Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Lite. Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Lite will be available to download and try on August 27, 2020. [Thanks, Famitsu!] In addition to being able to play online with friends, those who have the Lite version of Crystal Chronicles will be able to play […]

The post Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Remastered Edition Free Demo Will Let You Play With Friends Online appeared first on Siliconera.

_{[This week Destructoid is brought to you by Urban Flow, out now for Nintendo Switch. Here's a word from our sponsor.]}

Urban Flow is a new Switch exclusive with an unusual premise. The game gives you a bird's-eye view of busy city streets filled with colourful vehicles great and small. These roads will quickly descend into chaotic pile-ups without your guiding hand. Your job is to control the traffic lights, restoring order to the urban sprawl at the flick of a switch. It's easier said than done, however. You've got to manage multiple sets of lights as traffic streams towards roundabouts, motorways and junctions -- whilst keeping an eye out for ambulances, trains, trams and even tanks.

It’s been a pretty all right week for gaming monitor deals. Not only are the ones we sourced last week mostly still available, but we’ve been able to add four new gaming monitor deals to the mix as well, giving you plenty of choice. All of this despite the ongoing supply chain woes caused by the coronavirus.

So, read on below for all the cheapest gaming monitor deals around right now, including as many deals on our [cms-block] recommendations as we can find. Whether you’re looking for the cheapest G-Sync gaming monitor deals or the lowest ultrawide gaming monitor deals, here are the top gaming monitor deals of the week.

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Ninjala recently launched for the Switch and it didn't take long for it to reach the 1 million downloads milestone.

The post Ninjala Reached 1 Million Downloads in 16 Hours After Launch appeared first on Siliconera.

HORI Fighting Stick Mini Street Fighter Edition | $53 | Amazon

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Hello! All this week we'll be celebrating Pride and the power of positive representations in games. Every day we'll be bringing you stories and insights from different parts of the LGBT+ community. You can also help support Pride with Eurogamer's newly redesigned t-shirt - all profits from which will be going to charity.

Spend any amount of time on any popular gaming message board when the issue of LGBT+ representation raises its head, and you can guarantee there'll be someone waiting in the wings to, at the very least, remind LGBT+ players that it's 2020 and 'nobody cares they're gay anymore' - oh, and 'would you mind keeping your sexuality out of my video games?'. It's not exactly surprising then that countless LGBT+ gamers around the world are still seeking the comfort of like-minded individuals and social spaces, both in-game and in real-life, where they're free to be themselves without abuse, judgement, or fear of repercussions - and to simply enjoy the games they want to play.

"I think in mainstream culture there is this wishful idea that because we've had too many seasons of Will & Grace...things are just fine and dandy for the queers in our society," Benjamin Bon Temps, founder of the long-running Rough Trade Gaming Community tells me, "Sadly, nothing could be further from the truth. While things are better, and the average Bubba Beercan Gamer might be more open-minded and respectful, there is still the same slew of tired asshats firing off verbal fag bombs and 'this stupid dungeon is gay' type bullshit."

ReedPop, our corporate uncles and the organisers of events including EGX Rezzed and Star Wars Celebration, have a survey for you. Now that outside is, y’know, off, what do you think about events? What would you want from their digital replacements? They’re asking so they can better host events you’d like. Given that we’ve had a hand in hosting and arranging bits at some shows, Rezzed in particular, it’s helpful for us too.

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Bandai Namco continues to line up DLC characters for its over-the-top anime fighter One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows. As spotted by newshound Ryokutya2089, one of the next in line to take on Saitama's might is his incredibly dangerous adversary, Garou.

Known in certain circles as "The Hero Hunter," Garou is a former student of the Hero Association expelled for his outrageous, rampant behaviour. Now firmly on the side of wrong, Garou dedicates his amazing martial ability and sinister mind to the destruction of the great and good, whilst still adhering to his own moral code. In a way, Garou could be considered the mirror image of Saitama himself.

Garou will arrive in-game at some point during the summer, bringing with him an additional scenario and character avatar pack. Around the same time, a free update will add a new stage: The Destroyed Arena. Bandai Namco is yet to confirm who will be the next hero to join the roster, but it is expected to be either Garou or Watchdog Man.

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows is available now on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.

One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows Garou DLC announced [Gematsu / Ryokutya2089]

Last fall, at the Tokyo Game Show, I asked producer Yusuke Tomizawa why there had been such a long gap between the upcoming Tales of Arise and previous Tales games.

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July's four Xbox Games with Gold titles have been detailed by Microsoft.

WRC 8 FIA World Rally Championship will be available July 1st to 31st, while cartoony basketball game Dunk Lords will be available from mid-July to mid-August.

Originally released last September, WRC 8 impressed Eurogamer petrolhead Martin with its "beautiful handling model, much-improved visuals and a savvy use of the official licence".

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Uh oh, the Steam Summer Sale is underway for 2020. Yet again, it's another two weeks of deals and offers attempting to pry cash from your wallets and bulk out your backlog.

I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like the sense of occasion surrounding the Steam Summer Sale has dwindled as of late. With the Epic Games Store giving away weekly freebies and £10 vouchers to use on most games, there's been a constant barrage of better offers out there all year round.

However, there is one neat gimmick this year that can save you some extra money - an additional £5 off your first purchase over £30. This discount applies to your entire basket rather than just a single game and can only be used once. Make sure you load up with everything you want to cross that threshold, then.

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Ever heard of trypophobia? It’s the (not officially recognised) fear of clustered holes. Think lotus seed heads, honeycomb, sponges and so on. I bring this up because if you suffer from this fear, you may not be best suited to Glorious’ Model O gaming mouse (or even the picture above.) But everyone else should give it a look – especially at 24% off its usual price.

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Folks are creating some amazing things for Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

While people doing things in the game has been a constant highlight these past few years, modders have also gone to town in the game, crafting silly crossovers and other such custom content. This new one from YouTuber Waikuteru really takes the cake in 2020 though. 

Watch the video a second: recognize that structure? It's the Sandship from Skyward Sword! As the fifth dungeon in the game it's also one of the most memorable, as its imposing design and Scervo mini-boss (which is a statue!) are burned in my brain. Dungeons truly were the best part of Skyward, and if someone made a giant sandbox that just allowed me to play that game's dungeons and nothing else, I'd be a happy man.

Anyway, you can watch the clip below and see Waikuteru romp through it in 4K60FPS. Obviously it's not exactly the same, as getting Skyward physics in and all of the dungeon bits working would be a gargantuan task, but it's incredibly impressive nonetheless.

When is a driving game a sim and when isn't it? It's a woolly point that nevertheless is often the subject of much debate - are Forza and Gran Turismo sims? You could make a convincing case for and against both, and I'd certainly not argue against either's approximation of the driving experience - that much, as ever, is down to personal taste. But if it's a proper sim you're after, in the nerdy 90s PC sense of the term, where you're managing tire pressures and engine maps and spending half your time under the hood to get your head around how it all works... Well, I don't think there's ever been anything quite like Asseto Corsa Competizione on console before.

Let's take a step back first, though. After a slightly unconvincing exit from early access last year, Assetto Corsa Competizione has now earned its place alongside rFactor 2 and iRacing in the premier class of PC racing simulators. It's a brutally focussed thing, built solely around the GT World Challenge - the series formerly known as Blancpain GT - and the GT3 cars within. It's not the place to explore an exhaustive list of exotica, or to go drifting around fictional cityscapes. Instead, it's about diving deep into the workings of a real-life racing series, and replicating the thrill of going door-to-door with some pukka GT3 machinery around some of the world's finest tracks.

Don't expect a Left Behind-style story expansion for The Last of Us: Part 2.

Speaking to Kinda Funny, creative director Neil Druckmann said Naughty Dog had "no plans for DLC".

It is, perhaps, a little surprising to hear considering the positive reception Left Behind received as a follow-up to the original The Last of Us.

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Have you ever been in a Microsoft Store? Well, you may never get the chance as of today.

Posted as an update on LinkedIn just this morning, Microsoft Store Corporate Vice President David Porter has announced that nearly every physical store location is closing. In a sea of corporate speak, Porter calls this a "new chapter" for the storefront concept, moving toward an "evolution of customer engagement."

So what's actually happening? Well, retail employees will be transitioning to corporate facilities as the stores close down, and there will be a scant four locations remaining (London, NYC, Sydney and Redmond Washington) going forward. Microsoft is citing increased online sales as a chief reason for the shuttering, an issue that's plaguing brick and mortar locations at malls across the world (even pre-pandemic).

I've actually visited the Microsoft Store near me a number of times, and found them to be enjoyable experiences with welcoming employees. I never really bought anything there since it opened in 2011, but the Apple-aping concept was sound and the stores were pleasant. Goodnight, sweet prince: hopefully all of the workers who are impacted land on their feet.

A New Day for Microsoft Store [LinkedIn] Thanks Jeff!

Ubisoft has issued a statement acknowledging the recent allegations of sexual harassment and assault concerning multiple employees at the company.

No individuals are named, as Ubisoft says it is still investigating the various claims, but the statement includes an apology from the company for having "fallen short" in providing a safe environment for both its staff and fans.

Since last weekend, multiple allegations of sexual assault and harassment have been made concerning Andrien "Escoblades" Gbinigie, a veteran employee who worked for years as community manager for the Assassin's Creed franchise. Writing on Twitter, Gbinigie acknowledged and "vehemently denied" one of these claims, but has not responded to others.

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After a lengthy wait period (approximately six and a half months) from the core launch of The Outer Worlds, Switch users finally got their port. But like most monkey's paw wishes, it was polarizing and in many ways, not optimized. 

While Obsidian worked on the core game, Virtuos handled the Switch version, and it seems like there's thankfully more work to be done. According to publisher Private Division, the Switch edition will be getting a new patch soon. Here's the full statement:

"Employees of Halcyon! A patch for The Outer Worlds on Nintendo Switch is in the works, and the team at Virtuos is investigating to further improve the game’s performance."

It's vague, but gets the point across. No timeline is given, but "soon" is a good bet.

Private Division [Twitter]

Whenever there are elections in Japan, candidates put up posters with their names and slogans. One Tokyo political hopeful named Teruki Goto added cosplay, dressing up as Lelouch from Code Geass: Lelouch of the Rebellion.

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Rock Paper Shotgun doesn’t do scores – until today! For a very special episode 100 of the Electronic Wireless Show, we’ve decided to finally ditch coherent critical analysis in favour of the comforting certainty of math(s). Over the course of the episode, Matthew, Nate and special guest host Graham (hi) assign numerical scores to 100 games, and then average out the results to deliver a single, definitive score for the entirety of PC gaming.

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In case you missed it (haha how), The Last of Us II arrived on June 19, just last week. In that time, it's already become "the fastest-selling first party PS4 exclusive ever."

According to a new post on the PlayStation Blog, the sequel from Naughty Dog peddled over four million copies (read: "sold") from June 19 through June 21. This is just numbers from the first few days, not to mention the next decade or so when it inevitably gets remastered on the PS5 or PS6. You can read director Neil Druckmann's statement on the milestone below.

At this point Naughty Dog has a goldmine of classics under their belt. You know damn well that Sony will take any chance they can to remaster or even just re-release their entire library on future platforms given how evergreen Uncharted and Last of Us as a whole are. More power to them! I've said this recently, but it's still insane to me that they were once the "Crash Bandicoot studio" just a few decades ago and are still going strong.

After all these dour serious games though I'd love to see them return to the platforming game with a Bloodstained-esque "Crash-but-not-Crash" goofy project.

The Last of Us Part II sells more than 4 million copies [PlayStation Blog]

Beyond a Steel Sky is out today on Apple Arcade, Apple's £4.99-a-month video game subscription service.

A PC launch via Steam is planned for July.

Beyond a Steel Sky is the sequel to the 1994 cult classic cyberpunk adventure game Beneath a Steel Sky, and is developed by the original developer: York-based Revolution. Dave Gibbons, the artist behind the Watchmen comic, worked on the game.

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Down it, down it, dowwwn it, yeeaahhh! Nice one, you skulled that pint of fizzy water and lemon like an absolute legend, mate, well done. I always knew you were a top enjoyer of a wild night on the tiles, on the rip, on the slosh, on the tear, on the floor, on the bathroom floor, no listen you’re on the bathroom floor mate, for real, get up. I think that San Pelegrino went straight to your head. Maybe just go home, lie down, and play some RPGs. You can always simulate the reckless abandon of a big night in one of these, the 9 best nights out in PC games.

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GungHo Online Entertainment's brand-new multiplayer title Ninjala is now live, bringing with it a stream of bright and colourful characters, cute over-the-top weaponry, and more bubblegum than you can stick a school desk to. And it seems things have gotten off to a lively start for the free-to-play Switch title.

As noted on the official Ninjala Twitter, Berecca and pals have already amassed an impressive one million downloads since the game's launch on June 25. Things were a little shaky at first, with problems pertaining to connectivity and certain lobbies, but the tech team has been on top of the situation and it appears that these creases are being ironed out.

Have you checked out Ninjala yourself yet? While not exactly Splatoon from a gameplay standpoint, a comparison in mood, colourful visual style, and party atmosphere is unavoidable. Hopefully this fun-looking game will find its own dedicated audience. If you've taken time out this week to get your gum on, be sure to drop us a note below and share your thoughts.

Ninjala is available to download now on Nintendo Switch.

Riot Games' five-on-five tactical shooter Valorant recently launched on PC, where it seems set for inevitable success after a recording daily player counts of three million during its much-hyped closed beta period. Now that the game's out in the wild, I took the opportunity to speak to several members of the Valorant development team at Riot Games, including the title's game director Joe Ziegler and tech director Dave Heironymus.

The interview below touches on a wide range of tech topics, including the game's custom forward renderer, the challenge of meeting their 128-tick processing target and which hardware plays the game best. Some game design questions snuck in too, including those passed on by Redditors in this thread - like tweaking the strength of the game's tagging mechanic, designing new characters and implementing fan-requested features like left-handed view models and retake servers.

In total, eight (!) members of the Valorant dev team took time to answer questions, so let's break down the full squad participating today. In alphabetical order, they are:

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Stylish isometric visuals, venerable point-and-click puzzle design and a brooding tale of family tragedy are hitched more than a little awkwardly together in The Almost Gone, a new morsel of misery from Belgian developer Happy Volcano. Fragmentary explorations of memory and loss are fashionable these days, but Kentucky Route Zero this ain't.

That is, perhaps, an unfair comparison. The games have different roots; Cardboard Computer's rambling, surreal slice of Americana is a gorgeously illustrated text adventure, a purely narrative experience. The Almost Gone is fundamentally a puzzle game, a work of graphic design and logic chains, with a tale of trauma written over and around it. (The game's official site features a statement from writer Joost Vandecasteele admitting that his job was to "inject" a story into the atmosphere conjured by Happy Volcano's art.) And that's the problem; the pathos it lunges for, often clumsily, is unearned.

The Almost Gone is narrated by a disembodied voice, apparently of a young girl, as you and she explore her surroundings: a detailed but imperfect reconstruction of the house she grew up in, the street she lived on, and other locations from her family history. The illusion is broken and incomplete; tree branches grow through rooms, the pages of books are blank and some houses are just empty façades, like movie sets.

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You know I start at least one post a month with a seemingly tangential zoology metaphor, and I’m afraid you just hit this month’s. Because when I think about Age Of Mythology, I think of Gomphotherium. Why do I think of a weird, extinct elephant? Because it was a perfectly good ‘phant, is why, and a definite improvement on previous iterations on the theme of “Big Grey Lads”. But alas, its sister clades Elephas and Loxodonta enjoyed a combination of greater efficiency and better luck, and gave rise to the hose-nosed champions we know and love today. Similarly, Age Of Mythology was a perfectly good game, but it was a diversion from the standard formula of the Age Of… series, and as it turned out, it was the main branch that would end up surviving to the present day.

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