During Apple’s cross-examination of Steven Allison, general manager of the Epic Games Store, Apple’s lawyer walked all assembled, piece by piece, through the Epic Games Store. Alongside saying game titles like Warframe and Necromunda: Hired Gun like they’re normal human words, Apple’s lawyer also pointed out a…
CI Games has announced a delay for the PlayStation 5 version of its upcoming long-distance shooter Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2, resulting from "unforeseen technical issues".
Sniper Ghost Warrior Contracts 2 - which features a "dramatic single-player campaign set in modern day Middle East" - was originally due on PlayStation 5 on 4th June, arriving alongside versions for PS4, Xbox One, Xbox X/S and PC. However, despite the PS5 edition's delay to a currently unspecified future point, other platforms will receive the game as originally planned.
CI hasn't offered specific details on the "unforeseen technical issues" affecting the PS5 release, but says its "highly experienced, professional and dedicated team are working hard with the platform holder and engine provider to resolve the problems as soon as feasibly possible".
Warhammer Fest still has one day left, but already there’s tons of news
Lori Wright, VP of Xbox business development, was one of the first experts to take the stand in this week's Epic Games v. Apple trial. Apple, however, is now asking her testimony be struck from the record. ...
I hope you like Igneous Hammer because it’s the only reward this week
Resident Evil Village is here and it wouldn't be a new game in the iconic Capcom horror franchise if there weren't a few puzzles to power through. For those attempting to solve the bell puzzle in Castle Dimitrescu, there are a few things you need to know. To help, here is our Resident Evil Village bell puzzle in the Atelier room guide.
This particular puzzle is in the Atelier you will come across in Lady Dimitrescu's massive castle. This will require you to find five hidden bells, a task that you'll see when you find a half-written note on the painting atop an easel in the Atelier room. The note will advise Ethan Winters (poor guy) to ring all five bells at once. I know how that sounds, daunting right? Don't worry, you don't actually have to ring them all at the same time, that would be impossible. Instead, you'll hit each bell and this will cause the torch on the top of each to light up. You can trigger the torch at the top being lit up by either hitting it with a melee attack or with a bullet from your preferred gun. It's pretty simple, you just have to actually find the bells first. That's where we come in.
Next week, Famicom Detective Club makes its Western debut. Itching to solve video game mysteries? We’ve got some great recommendations!
The post What Are the Best Video Game Mysteries? appeared first on Siliconera.
After Returnal’s previous major update resulted in players having their save files corrupted, developer Housemarque has announced that May 8’s patch will solve the issue.
Housemarque made the announcement Friday on Twitter. The Returnal 1.3.6 patch will go live on May 8 at 11 AM GMT/4 AM PDT, but warned players to still disable the auto-update feature on their PlayStation 5 in the meantime.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/29/returnal-review"]Though Returnal received generally positive reviews for its blend of bullet-hell action and roguelike progression, including from IGN, a common criticism was that Returnal’s single-life runs could take upwards of two hours. That issue is compounded by the fact that you can’t save your game mid-run. The only way to theoretically “save” your progress is to put your PS5 in rest mode, but any auto-update applied to Returnal would result in your current run being wiped.
Housemarque released Returnal’s 1.3.3 patch on Wednesday, which contained a number of standard bug fixes, but unexpectedly resulted in players having their save files corrupted. At the time, the only way to fix the issue was to redownload Returnal. Housemarque quickly released a patch that reverted the game back to its 1.3.1 state.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/03/april-2021s-best-and-worst-reviewed-games-reviews-in-review"]Now, Returnal’s 1.3.6 patch will also address a number of bugs and issues, including stability fixes, pre-order cosmetics blocking progress, incorrect healing behavior, custom controller mapping issues, and more.
In case there was any doubt, the studio that makes Borderlands games is working on another Borderlands game. Gearbox Entertainment CEO Randy Pitchford shot down some rumors about the studio co-developing a new vault hunter game by saying "Gearbox is lead dev of any future games in the Borderlands franchise". He followed up to add that the Borderlands 3 developers are "working on the big one". The next one is pretty much always "the big one" when it comes to game developers, but perhaps Gearbox are considering teasing their plans this summer.
After the internet spent months pining and meme-ing, she’s finally here: Lady Dimitrescu—and also Resident Evil Village, I guess. But was she (and, I suppose, the game) worth all the hype and marketing-driven hoopla? On this week’s village- (and Village-) themed episode of Splitscreen, we find out.
Patch delivers 4K resolution or 60 frames per second
Developer Housemarque is releasing a new patch for PlayStation 5-exclusive roguelite Returnal tomorrow, 8th May, which will, among other things, reinstate all pre-rollback fixes that briefly went live earlier this week.
On Wednesday, Housemarque was forced to pull Returnal's 1.3.3 patch after players began reporting it was corrupting save games. The developer later released version 1.3.4, which rolled back to Returnal's most recent stable build - a move that enabled some affected players to resume their progress, while other, less fortunate souls saw their saves effectively deleted.
As a result of the rollback, a number of welcome fixes introduced in update 1.3.3 were also whisked out of players hands, which is where tomorrow's 1.3.6 patch comes in. As well as jettisoning the save corruption bug that resulted in clenched fists and wet cheeks earlier this week, the update, which goes live at 11am GMT, brings the following improvements:
A few weeks ago, when a portion of Capcom's contract with Sony for Resident Evil Village circulated on social media thanks to ongoing digging into the Capcom data leak, a lot of folks got rather upset. To many who don't stare at legal documents for a living, a portion of these papers seemed to suggest Sony paid Capcom to make the game effectively worse on other consoles, holding back features so that the PS5 version would look good. Another tweet suggested that Sony paid to have the PC version of Monster Hunter World delayed.
It didn't take long for lawyers and other games industry experts to step in and reassure everyone that this was utter nonsense.
These accusations revolved around something called "parity clauses," a standard inclusion in many games industry contracts between platform holders like Sony, Xbox, Nintendo, and some of the PC game stores. Parity clauses are so boring that of the three legal experts and two publishers I asked for comment for this article, multiple were baffled I was asking at all, with one of them telling me that asking them about parity clauses was the equivalent of asking them if I had copper or PVC pipes under their sink, or asking them about the weather.
But while they are a standard part of the day-to-day for many games industry folks, understanding parity clauses does provide an interesting bit of insight into one of the ways publishers and platform holders try to protect their own businesses and ensure everyone playing their games has a good time regardless of platform.
The next big expansion for The Elder Scrolls Online is just around the corner, meaning plenty of folks will be grouping up to take on the new Oblivion-themed zones. Some of us prefer playing our MMO's solo though, and for us ZeniMax Online Studios are introducing the new companion system for ESO. These new recruitable characters will join you in combat so you don't have to go it alone, which honestly might be the most exciting ESO feature for me in a long time.
The time is finally upon us! I've been training for this with all these Resident Evil binges. Tonight I'm playing Resident Evil Village on Destructoid's Twitch channel starting at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.
We were previously able to play only an hour of the demo, but RE Village dropped fully on Steam last night. I rushed to load it up and worked my way through what I assume to be about halfway.
If you've been waiting for Village as intently as some of us, you may have been following some leaks online or even played the demo. Maybe you're already through a bit of the "first" part like me! So from what I'm feeling out so far, if you'd like to tag along, the part I'm playing will leave the "first" chapter (mostly) untouched for you to experience freshly.
This game is absolutely beautiful, and at times very dunkworthy; I've had tons of fun laughing alongside chat and experiencing the story. I'm someone who gets lost constantly in first-person games, but I was able to navigate quite well so that earns good points from me. The combat is simple but immersive, and very noob friendly as I don't hail from FPS games either. Can't wait to see how it all wraps up.
Come catch me live at Destructoid's Twitch channel every Friday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern! Let's chat it up about anything and everything while playing cool games! I hope to meet you there. :)
Resident Evil 4 cinematics lead Yoshiaki Hirabayashi writes about the overhauls and challenges which faced one of the franchise's most notable entries. ...
The nominees for the 23rd annual Independent Games Festival Awards have been announced, with Genesis Noir, Spiritfarer, and Umurangi Generation leading the pack.
Nominees for the Seamus McNally Grand Prize include Genesis Noir, Spiritfarer, Umurangi Generation, Paradise Killer, Teardown, and Chicory: A Colorful Tale.
Genesis Noir, a noir adventure game set just before the Big Bang, touts the most nominations of all, including Excellence in Audio, Narrative, and Visual Art. Umurangi Generation, the photography game set in a world inspired by real-life (and sci-fi) natural disasters, follows up with three nominations, including the Nuovo Award, which is focused on pushing the video game medium forward.
Blaseball, the absurdist sports game featuring a sentient peanut god, also gets some love in the Nuovo Award category and a few honorable mentions in others.
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/04/umurangi-generation-release-date-trailer"]The IGF Awards are traditionally held just minutes prior to the annual Game Developer Choice Awards. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, July 21 2021 at 4:30 PM PT. The awards will be streamed as part of a virtual event.
You can read the full list of nominees and honorable mentions below.
Paradise Killer (Kaizen Game Works)
Teardown (Tuxedo Labs)
Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory Team)
Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den)
Siliconera spoke with Shantae series director Matt Bozon about fun memories and unexpected challenges from creating the original game.
The post Interviews: Shantae’s Matt Bozon Reminisces About Its Development appeared first on Siliconera.
I still don’t have a PlayStation 5. If you are like the majority of human beings, you also probably do not, even after six months of futile longing. I say this not to rub it in your/my face, but to instead deliver further sobering news: If you played through Final Fantasy VII Remake on PS4 (like I did) and loved it…
Following the reveal of Lost Judgment, an interview with Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio director Toshihiro Nagoshi and producer Kazuki Hosokawa has surfaced on IGN. Lost Judgment brings Ryu Ga Gotoku back to its action-combat roots, leaving many fans to wonder if that meant the Yakuza series would also return to that style following last year's Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
Speaking to IGN, Nagoshi and Hosokawa confirmed that the Judgment series will carry on the studio's action style of gameplay, while Yakuza will continue to evolve as a turn-based RPG. "The Yakuza series has been transformed into a turn-based RPG," they told IGN. "On the other hand, over the years, Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has accumulated resources and know-how of making flashy and exhilarating action games that are effortless to enjoy. We decided that we should let our signature action gameplay live on through Lost Judgment."
Developer Hidden Variable has unveiled the latest DLC character to join the roster of acclaimed fighters Skullgirls 2nd Encore and the free-to-play Skullgirls Mobile: the sou'westered, be-wellied Umbrella and her sentient brolly chum, Hungern.
Umbrella, the second DLC character to arrive as part of Skullgirls 2nd Encore's season pass (following on from March's Annie), is described as a small, slow character with limited movement that's able to take some "big swings" thanks Hungern.
Indeed, while the perpetually rain-ready Umbrella certainly looks the part, Hungern is the real star in the many ways. Most of Umbrella's abilities will involve the living brolly, but the exact moves available at any time are determined by Hungern's hunger level - meaning players must either influence his available moveset by feeding him, or adapt their playstyle are required.
Resident Evil Village begins terrifying fans today, and if you’re a UK resident living around the Somerset area, you may have noticed or heard of a giant lycan drawn into a nearby hillside that has puzzled residents for the past week. Nope, it’s not the work of any supernatural phenomena or mischievous prankers. Capcom took it upon themselves to promote Village’s arrival by creating a unique rendition of one of its deadliest enemies.
The lycan chalk installation measures 58m high and over 100m long. Capcom doesn’t provide an exact location, but it’s nestled somewhere among grassy hills between the villages of Somerset and Blackdown Hills. For those unaware, the English countryside has historically been littered with similar hillside art and this latest addition appeared a week ago before Capcom raised its hand to claim responsibility (I can only assume the game’s title was added last). According to the publisher, the massive beast took less than 24 hours to create. Best of all, it can even light up, creating quite the nighttime spectacle.
Resident Evil Village is the talk of the town, and you may well be wondering where the cheapest place to pick it up is. We've scoured every legitimate key-totin' outfit in the land to find out - on both sides of the Atlantic.
In my Resident Evil Village review, I said that the scares were a little light for an installment in the popular survival horror franchise. I stand by that critique, but I’d be remiss to ignore one of the game’s best jump scares. That it’s provided by a pig is neither here nor there.
CD Projekt Red announced last year that they'll be releasing a big next-gen (now-gen) update to The Witcher 3, which PC players will get as a free game update too. We still don't know when that'll be arriving just yet, but when it does it may include the work of modders. CDPR have confirmed that they're in talkes with mod creators whose work may wind up being used in the facy new release. I don't expect it'll include the ones that turn Geralt into Henry Cavill though.
Developer People Can Fly announced the delay in early January, saying, “We have decided to move the release date of Outriders to April 1st 2021 (no joke!). We will spend this extra time fine tuning the game and focusing on delivering a fantastic play experience at launch.”
This is Outriders’ second delay; it was previously pushed from Holiday 2020 to February 2021.
Sega and Yakuza developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio have announced a sequel to the 2018 Yakuza spin-off game Judgment. Lost Judgment continues the story of private detective Takayuki Yagami, the protagonist of the first game, as he takes on new cases in the action-packed legal thriller. The announcement comes shortly after the original Judgment arrived on new-gen consoles and Stadia after initially debuting exclusively on PlayStation 4. Unlike the original's trajectory, Lost Judgment will debut across both PlayStation and Xbox consoles in a simultaneous worldwide release this September.
The figure comes with a background sheet that looks like her Noble Phantasm.
The post Fate/Grand Order Artoria Caster Nendoroid Available For Pre-Order appeared first on Siliconera.
There came a point in Warpips where I was going into battles that I knew I was underprepared for. This game is, at its most core level, about managing limited funds and capacity to field an army that can defeat your opponent's. And in its campaign mode, Warpips really lets you ride the line between success and failure.
If you haven't played a tug-of-war game before, it's not too dissimilar from the "autobattler" craze that took hold for a little while in 2019. Unlike games like Teamfight Tactics, you're working on a single "lane," and using your incremental influxes of cash to purchase units that will automatically run down the lane and fight the enemy.
