February 2020

The Nintendo Switch console is one of the most versatile gaming systems ever made. It's a portable console you can hook up to your TV. Switch games aren't always state-of-the-art tech-wise, but they still look great on a TV, and with the Switch Pro controller, they play just like they would on any other console when the console is hooked up to the Switch dock (which includes a pair of front-facing USB to hook up a wide variety of controllers). Playing games on the Switch console itself on the go, the screen looks great, and feels like a large, flat controller that isn't too heavy. The Switch Lite is even easier on the hands, with a proper controller d-pad (though you might want to invest in a screen protector, just in case). You can even mix things up, using the included stand to play it while it's lying on a table, and use a Pro controller without a cable to play during your gaming sessions.

The problem is that it's not always the best portable gaming experience; the battery life on the original model is bad enough that you're charging it all the time (Nintendo has since released a version of the console with improved battery life), and with all the motion controls, small buttons, and lack of a real rubber grips (or any grip, really) on the Joy-Cons, it's often not comfortable, especially during longer sessions of input-heavy games like Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Even the Switch Lite, which sports a smaller form factor and stronger battery, tends to benefit from having a Pro controller around sometimes, especially if you want to play multiplayer games on it.

Nintendo is airing a special Nintendo Direct focusing on Animal Crossing: New Horizons. The broadcast takes place today, Thursday, February 20, at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET / 2 PM GMT.

According to Nintendo, the Animal Crossing Direct will run for approximately 25 minutes and feature "an in-depth look at Nook Inc.'s Deserted Island Getaway Package." You'll be able to tune into the broadcast on Nintendo's website, Twitch, and YouTube channels. You can also simply watch the Direct below.

New details about Animal Crossing have been steadily coming out in the run-up to the game's launch. Nintendo recently confirmed on its website that New Horizons will support the seldom-used Nintendo Switch Online smartphone app. While the game will not make use of Switch Online's save backup function, Nintendo will let NSO subscribers recover their New Horizons save data under certain conditions.

A new event is now underway in Pokemon Go. Ahead of this weekend's Community Day, Niantic has kicked off a surprise event that revolves around fossil Pokemon.

For a limited time, 7 km eggs will exclusively hatch into fossil Pokemon such as Omanyte, Kabuto, Aerodactyl, Lileep, Anorith, Cranidos, Shieldon, Tirtouga, and Archen. These Pokemon will no longer hatch from other eggs, so the only way to obtain them will be from 7 km ones. Additionally, Riolu--the pre-evolved form of Lucario--will now hatch from 10 km eggs.

Niantic has not yet revealed how long this fossil Pokemon event will run, but you can read more about it on the official Pokemon Go website.

A new patch for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt on Nintendo Switch added support for cross-saves with the PC version of the game. Now you can play the best version of the game at home and play the still-great Switch version to continue your adventure on the go. And if you don't already own it, then Amazon has a great deal that is absolutely worth snagging.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition is currently $10 off on Amazon, bringing its price down to $50. The Switch version of the game combines the base game, all of its DLC, and both expansions into a single cart--no download required for any of its content. Some physical goodies are also included in the package--The Witcher Universe compendium, a map of the Northern Realms, and wolf pendant stickers.

With Half-Life: Alyx's release behind us, we're now looking toward future VR releases, such as the upcoming PlayStation VR-exclusive Iron Man VR, which releases July 3. Marvel's Iron Man VR puts you into Tony Stark's suit and has you controlling it with the PSVR headset and Move controllers. It's seen some delays over the past year, but now, we finally have a new release date. Iron Man VR is set for a July 3 release date, and if you're looking to invest into PSVR before then, you'll be happy to know the headset is in stock at some retailers--though, it's unlikely you'll find a deal any time soon.

As for other VR headsets, they're a bit hard to find right now. Most headsets are sold out or available for backorder. You can find some headsets at a mark-up on Amazon, but we'd advise against purchasing any headset above its regular price.

Best VR headsets in stock right now

PlayStation VR Iron Man VR bundle

It's no longer enough that food tastes good. It needs to look good too. That's an expectation at this point, as many people whip out their phones for a quick pic of their dish before digging in.

The next Cooking Mama game leans into this trend. A leaked trailer for Cooking Mama: Cookstar on Switch puts emphasis on both whipping up unique food and admiring it. For instance, a rainbow grilled cheese is put under the camera lens, as players can rotate the angle of the picture and add filters and stickers. Catch me on the 'gram.

Although it's not confirmed yet, Cooking Mama: Cookstar will evidently release in March -- at least, according to this trailer. Nintendo has been mum about a lot of Switch games recently, and there's a reasonable belief that we have to be getting a new Direct sometime soon. If that's the case, you know Cooking Mama is getting an official release date. It's about ready to come out the oven.

[Update: Animal Crossing Nintendo Direct presentation added.]

It might not be the exact oasis you were waiting for in the current Nintendo Direct drought, but any Direct – game-specific or wide-ranging – is worth a look. This one's all about Animal Crossing.

The next Nintendo Direct is scheduled for February 20, 2020, at 6:00 a.m. Pacific. Nintendo plans to spend around 25 minutes showing a final pre-launch look at New Horizons before it's out on March 20.

Fishing and fossil collecting are my hobbies of choice, so I hope we hear more about potential museum activities. There's so much left to learn, especially when you think about how beefy Animal Crossing guide books have been in the past. I feel like Nintendo has only scratched the surface so far.

Before We Leave is a winning concept for a peaceful city-building game. It's a relaxing take on games like Anno and A Kingdom for Keflings in which you'll harvest resources from a lost civilization, explore and expand to neighboring islands, establish trade networks, and eventually fly off to other planets.

I was into the pitch when we learned about Before We Leave last year, and I'm still into it now, in 2020, after spending a couple of hours with an alpha build. Time flew the heck by while I was playing this.

The trailer is worth watching if you missed the announcement – it captures the experience well.

In the beginning, you'll have just a few humble "peeps" who have left a bunker to start life anew above ground. It's not entirely clear what happened, but something happened long ago. There are remnants – bombed-out skyscrapers, broken-down automatons – but the only signs of life are you and the trees.

You'll plop down roads, wells, farms, and houses on a hexagonal tile-based planet, and the peeps will get cracking. Before We Leave handles much of the minutia with minimal fuss. Your job is more about smartly positioning buildings to gain bonuses (like placing a field near a well), keeping your subservient citizens well-fed and motivated, and checking supply lines so materials get where they need to go.

Try as it may, it seems as though EVE Online developer CCP cannot get a first-person shooter to stick. In 2016, it canceled PS3-exclusive Dust 514 after an underwhelming run. Later, it canned Project Legion before it left the prototyping phase.

Add another one to the pile. Four years after being announced (but before it ever actually launched), CCP has shut down class-based shooter Project Nova. This attempt at an EVE Online FPS was set in the popular space MMOs world but didn't share a synchronous world the way Dust 514 did. CCP parent company Pearl Abyss confirmed the cancellation of Project Nova in an earnings call over the weekend.

In true EVE shooter fashion, something new is rising from the ashes of Project Nova. CCP's London studio is now dedicated entirely to developing a new multiplayer shooter that uses Project Nova's framework. CCP head of PR George Kellion said "It is very common for games in active development to evolve over time, often substantially. We remain committed to offering a rock-solid, action-oriented gameplay experience with stellar visuals, but due to significant changes in the scope and direction of our sci-fi multiplayer shooter game concept, it also made sense to update how we refer to this project internally. So, we are no longer using the codename Project Nova for this game concept."

Great news for Xbox fans, as Annapurna Interactive has announced that its gorgeous, emotive, and utterly unique musical odyssey Sayonara Wild Hearts is headed to the Xbox One platform next week.

Sayonara Wild Hearts wowed critics and fans when it launched for the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and iOS devices back in September 2019. Players control a steel-hearted woman, on a fast, action-packed, and visually stunning trip through the light fantastic, with each stage representing a track from Daniel Olsén and Jonathan Eng's brilliant score. Sayonara Wild Hearts was one of the most fascinating titles of 2019, better experienced than explained.

UPDATE 18/2/20: Developer The Brotherhood's striking post-apocalyptic point-and-click adventure Beautiful Desolation - the (unrelated) follow-up to its excellent 2015 sci-fi horror Stasis - will be is heading to PC next Wednesday, 26th February.

And with that news comes a bit of additional scene-setting to get you in the mood: "The Penrose appeared without warning," teases The Brotherhood, "The technology hurtled mankind forward, but a catastrophic event meant that desolation would ensue. The world's chaos quietened but there was tragedy at home for Mark and Don Leslie, when an incident tore apart their brotherly bond in this dramatic story that spans the 1980s and beyond."

The adventure that follows sees players exploring the Sub-Saharan wilds with Mark, Don, and their reconnaissance drone POOCH, in order to "discover villages, destroyed cities, colourful personalities, and uncover the secrets of strange and abandoned technology."

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And here it is! Nintendo has confirmed it'll finally be sharing more on its upcoming, highly anticipated Animal Crossing: New Horizons in a brand-new Nintendo Direct later this week.

According to Nintendo's announcement tweet, the Animal Crossing: New Horizon's Direct will be broadcast this Thursday, 20th February at 2pm in the UK/6am PT. It should last around 25 minutes, and promises an "in-depth look at Nook Inc.'s Deserted Island Getaway Package".

You'll be able to watch proceedings unfold via Nintendo's YouTube channel, and given that I've been anticipating New Horizons with increasingly terrifying intensity since it was first announced in 2018, I'll be pretty much welded to the screen.

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Developer Simogo's dreamy rhythm-action delight Sayonara Wild Hearts is finally making its way to Xbox One next Tuesday, 25th February.

Sayonara Wild Hearts tells the story of a young woman whisked away to a mysterious world of neon lights, masked bikers, and catchy pop, where, with the help of her alter-ego The Fool, she attempts to thwart Little Death and mend her broken heart.

What follows is a breathless musical extravaganza, melding time-honoured beat-keeping mechanics with gorgeously orchestrated, wonderfully varied arcade action, squeezing it all into a game about, as Simogo puts it, "being awesome, riding motorcycles, skateboarding, dance battling, shooting lasers, wielding swords, and breaking hearts at 200 mph".

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Love-de-Lic's final title, the unique evolutionary simulation game L.O.L. Lack of Love, now has a full English fan translation.

The post Love-de-Lic’s L.O.L. Lack of Love Gets Fully Translated into English by Fans appeared first on Siliconera.

Aleksandr Pushai is an artist based in Spain.

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The King is dead. Long live the King!

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Even though Apex Legends is free to download, both Lifeline and Bloodhound have already gotten their own themed editions with price tags on them. Now, it’s Octane’s turn to receive his own edition of Apex Legends, complete with various incentives for purchase.

The Lifeline and Bloodhound editions of the game came with new skins, badges, and Apex Coins for a price. The Octane Edition is more of the same. Octane fans rejoice, because it’ll provide you with the following:

• Legendary Arachnoid Rush Octane skin
• Legendary Arachnoid Charge Rifle skin
• Exclusive Violet Widow Gun Charm
• Exclusive Venomous Badge
• 1,000 Apex Coins

The price is set at $19.99, so this one’s definitely for those diehard Octane mains who haven’t jumped ship to Revenant after the start of Apex Legends Season 4 a few weeks ago.

Red Dead Online, the online component of Red Dead Redemption 2, is currently offering XP bonuses on certain activities. To really help you earn that extra XP, there are also discounts running on certain in-game products. Rockstar has announced bonuses that will be in effect until February 24.

First up, all Bounty Missions, including the ten Legendary Bounties that are available and Bounty Hunter Free Roam Events that pop up, will now give an extra 50% Role XP. This means that you can level up a bit faster while hunting down bounties across the game world.

Similarly, if you compete in Showdown Mode during this period, you'll also receive a 50% XP boost. This week's featured series is Gun Rush: Teams, which is Red Dead Online's sort-of battle royale mode. Races have also received the same XP boost, if you want to test your mettle on horseback.

The Xbox One Elite Series 2 controller is one of the best Xbox One controllers in 2020, and one of its many positive qualities is that it will work with the Xbox Series X. However, it is quite expensive. Thankfully, Amazon currently has the Elite Series 2 for $160 for Prime members ($168 for non-Prime members), down from the original price of $180. If you're looking for an excellent Xbox One controller that will keep you going for years, then the Elite Series 2 is your best bet.

The Elite Series 2 controller features three profiles for saving your custom settings, which includes button mappings for the four back paddles that come included with the controller. You also get four interchangeable thumbsticks, two of which emulate the size of the Xbox 360 controller. Furthermore, you can tighten or loosen the analog sticks to the exact tension you want.

You can relive the best moments of Dragon Ball Z in the new action-packed RPG Dragon Ball Z Kakarot, and in our latest online giveaway, you have a chance of winning a bundle with Kakarot's collector's edition. Here are the prizes:

• One grand prize winner takes home a PS4 Pro with the collector’s edition of Dragon Ball Z: Kararot, which includes the standard edition game, a collectible steelbook, an exclusive diorama figure and a hardcover game artbook.
• Four first prizes will win the standard edition of the game for Xbox or PS4.

To sign up for the giveaway, you have to be a legal resident of the US, Puerto Rico or Canada, read the official rules, accept the terms and condition, and fill out the form below. If you are having trouble seeing the form, please make sure your ad block is disabled.

The handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite launched last year in three different colours, but if Grey, Turquoise, and Yellow weren't doing it for you, then Nintendo has a brand-new option for you to consider. The company announced a new Coral Nintendo Switch Lite. It releases on April 3--just a couple weeks after Animal Crossing: New Horizons' March 20 release date--and is available for pre-order right now.

Like previous models, the Coral Nintendo Switch Lite is $200 USD. Best Buy, Target, and GameStop are the first retailers to open pre-orders for the new Switch Lite, but we'll update this article as more listings go live.

E3 2020 is undergoing some changes this year, but one thing is staying the same. Devolver, the boutique games publisher behind quirky and irreverent titles like Genital Jousting and Hotline Miami, has confirmed that it will return to E3 this year, at least in its own way.

Devolver is known to unofficially attend E3 by hosting events of its own outside of the convention hall and without the official support of the show. This has led to some level of controversy between Devolver and the Entertainment Software Association, which is the group that organizes E3.

In addition to this, Devolver is known for its completely absurd "Big Fancy Press Conferences," which are pre-taped and have recently featured the actress Mahria Zook in a role where she pretends to be a video game executive and goes about mocking various industry trends and topics.

Respawn has announced a new content bundle for Apex Legends. This latest bundle is themed around Octane, the adrenaline junkie introduced into the battle royale game during Season 1: Wild Frontier.

Like the Lifeline Edition and Bloodhound Edition, the Octane Edition costs $20 USD (EA Access members pay $18). Whereas the first two editions are respectively themed around angels and devils, the items found in the Octane Edition are spider-themed.

The Octane Edition includes two legendary cosmetic skins: the Arachnoid Rush Octane skin and Arachnoid Charge Rifle skin. Buying the edition will also get you the Violet Widow gun charm, Venomous badge, and 1000 Apex Coins. With the exception of the Apex Coins, all of the items are exclusive to the Octane Edition, so if you want them, you'll have to drop the cash.

Empire of Sin, the strategy game for PC and consoles that was due in spring 2020, has been pushed back a bit. The game will now arrive later this year, in the fall, so that developer Romero Games can take more time to get the game right.

The announcement of the game's delay came through Twitter from Brenda Romero, the game's director. She thanked the game's followers for their support, and explained that they were choosing "quality over speed."

The game, which was announced during Nintendo's E3 2019 presentation, is set in 1920s Chicago. It charges players with building a crime family capable of taking down the other 14 families in the city.

The game promises tactical XCOM-style turn-based combat alongside other strategy elements, as you build up your reputation, your influence, and your cash and weapon reserves over time.

Romero Games is an independent studio run by Brenda and John Romero. It is the ninth studio established by John Romero, and this will be the studio's first game for consoles.

It never dawned on me how well the characters, world, and tone of Zombies Ate My Neighbors could work within the confines of Doom. Thankfully, a modder named Dude27th put two and two together.

The water gun, soda cans, bazooka, and babies – it all just fundamentally works!

This Doom II total-conversion project isn't finished – in fact, the last update was pushed in July 2019 – but the footage captured by YouTube user Smokeanaut warms my horror-loving heart all the same.

This game may never come back in style in an official capacity, but fans will never let it die.

Sony wants us to play more games and earn more trophies in 2020 with an initiative it's calling the PlayStation Player Celebration. In exchange for hitting collective milestones – 125K games played and 500K trophies earned, to start – players will unlock exclusive PS4 themes and avatars. There's also a chance to win one of those ridiculous real-life platinum trophies that Sony has given out in the past.

Before you start any marathon sessions, there are a few dates and caveats to keep in mind.

As of February 18, you can register your PSN ID to participate in the PlayStation Player Celebration. Then, on February 24, the first community goal will open up. That's when you can contribute.

Goal One

• 125K games played
• 500K Trophies earned
• Reward: An exclusive static PS4 theme

Goal Two

• 375K games played
• 1.5M Trophies earned
• Reward: Five exclusive PS4 avatars

Goal Three

An unusual deal paved the way for Sonic the Hedgehog and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog

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In a rare interview, Story of Seasons character designer Igusa Matsuyama talked about their design process and the Mineral Town cast's new looks.

The post Story of Seasons Series Character Designer on Making the Characters We Know and Love appeared first on Siliconera.

Humble Bundle offers a slew of strategic digital board and card games, including the roguelike card battler Slay the Spire, in its latest bundle.

The Humble Digital Tabletop Bundle 2 features the digital tabletop game Gremlins, Inc., the swiping monarch simulator Reigns, and its sequel Reigns: Her Majesty for the first tier available by spending $1 or more for Steam keys.

The second tier adds more games by paying more than the average, which is currently hovering near $7. The tier includes Terraforming Mars, board game and RPG Armello, and the turn-based roguelike For the King and its five expansions.

The last tier includes all of the games above and Slay the Spire for paying $10 or more. Considering the game retails for $24.99 on Steam, it is quite a discount.

Buying the bundle also gives a coupon for 10% off the first month of Humble Choice, the company’s monthly subscription service. It is a rebranding of its Humble Monthly program. The Humble Choice lineup for the month of February includes Frostpunk, Okami HD, Pathfinder Kingmaker Explorer Edition and more.

The post Humble Bundle Offers Slay the Spire and Tabletop Games in Latest Bundle appeared first on Twinfinite.

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DX has a new trailer, showing off some of the dungeon-crawling gameplay from the new Switch remake of the 2006 Game Boy Advance/Nintendo DS title. The first announcement of the game gave us some idea of what to expect, but this new trailer gives us a better look at how it actually plays.

For those unfamiliar with the game, which has spawned four sequels (one exclusive to Japan), it casts you as a human who gets turned into a Pokemon and is made to team up with a partner to tackle dungeons. It's got grid-based dungeon-crawling gameplay that's quite different from what fans of the mainline Pokemon series are used to.

The new art style is looking good, too, in the footage below.

Square Enix has released new details about Kingdom Hearts Dark Road, and what precisely the game entails.

Kingdom Hearts Dark Road is about the origins of Master Xehanort and how he worked his way to becoming the Dark Seeker he is today, which makes for a good prequel, but the game has been revealed to be a prequel within a prequel. In other words, it has been connected to Kingdom Hearts Union χ.

While Dark Road is a new game on its own, it will available within the Union χ app to launch from the main game’s title screen, so you can play it without even touching the main game. The difference is that Dark Road will be replacing the Medal system used in Union χ and bring the Card system out of the woodwork of Chain of Memories, making the player rely on quick reflexes.

More "Tribe Nine" details are coming later this week.

The post Akatsuki and Too Kyo Games Team Up to Collaborate on ‘Tribe Nine’ appeared first on Siliconera.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate will have a special 90s-themed tournament this weekend that will limit the range of fighters available to those who debuted in the 90s. The available stages will also be pulled from 90s games.

This will disqualify plenty of fighters and stages who were first introduced before or after the 90s, but you'll be able to use Sonic, Pikachu, Cloud, King K. Rool, Mewtwo, Sheik, Ridley, and many others. A full list has not been made available, but long-time Nintendo fans can look forward to representing their favorite games of the era.

Players will be able to unlock Spirits, depending on their performance in the tournament. It begins on February 21 (in Japan, at least--start time will vary depending on your timezone), and will run for three days.

The free-to-play FPS Warface launched on Nintendo Switch earlier this week with little fanfare and no pre-announcements. It came as a total surprise, as the Switch is not known best as a platform for online shooters. Developer My.Games has now explained why it wanted to bring Warface to Switch.

Head of global publishing Alexey Izotov told GI.biz that the lack of many online shooters for Switch provides the opportunity for Warface to stand out.

"The lack of online shooters on Switch is a strong advantage for us," he said. "We know this market really well, so we saw an opportunity to bring our experience in the FPS genre to this growing platform. We are also one of the very few players on the market with continuously successful F2P games on consoles."

The Capcom x Street Fighter V Cafe will serve dishes like Dhalsim's Fire Yoga Curry and Stretchy Cheese Dip.

The post Fight Your Hunger at the Capcom x Street Fighter V Collab Café appeared first on Siliconera.

The new Mulan movie from Disney will be the first of the company's live-action reboots to receive a PG-13 rating in the United States. The official rating from the Motion Picture Association of America states that film will be rated PG-13 for its "sequences of violence," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

All of Disney's previous live-action remakes, including Aladdin, The Lion King, Dumbo, and others, received PG or G ratings. Mulan also becomes the first Disney movie overall to receive a PG-13 rating since Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales (2017). As the most recent trailer displayed, the new Mulan will indeed have a lot of action and presumably violence as the movie is about war, after all.

Temtem, the early-access PC Pokemon-style MMO, has recently received a major update that expands the endgame. Update 0.5.12 introduces a new arena, the Saipark, which operates a lot like the iconic Safari Zone in the original Pokemon games, Red and Blue. The Safari Zone let you wander around and capture Pokemon without battling them, many of which could only be found within the zone's boundaries. Temtem now has a similarly special place that is a bit different from the rest of the game.

The Saipark, which is available to endgame players, is a natural reserve that will house two different species of Temtem each week. These creatures will have special features--they have a higher chance of being Luma, or might have egg moves or guaranteed minimum SVs.

Players will need to buy special Temcards for the park, called Saicards. These will expire by the end of the week, and only work within the park. There's a fee involved in entering the park, and each time they buy cards over the week the price will go up. It's a good way for players who have put a lot of time into Temtem to capture some interesting critters.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, who with a net worth of $130 billion is currently the world’s richest man, announced that he was creating the Bezos Earth Fund on Monday. The fund is a $10 billion global initiative that aims to fund “any effort that offers a real possibility to help preserve and protect the natural world.”

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Yup. Game was called Aliens: Hadleys Hope. We went quite far into pre-production before the Disney/Fox acquisition, and then we had to cancel it, and move on with something else.