March 2020

Hyped Final Fantasy fans can pick up a free PlayStation 4 theme if they own Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers and pre-order Final Fantasy VII Remake ahead of its April 10 launch.

Those are the only two requirements you need to meet, though it does matter which version of FFVII Remake you pre-order. While there are three available, you must choose either the Standard (Digital) Edition or Digital Deluxe Edition. In either case, you will receive the Chocobo Chick Summoning Materia DLC as a pre-order bonus. You can check out the theme in the tweet below, and see our Final Fantasy VII Remake pre-order guide for more information on the game's editions and pre-order bonuses.

Curse of the Dead Gods, available today on Steam, punches all the roguelike buttons. It features most of the hallmarks of the classic dungeon hack while also including several mechanics that are obviously inspired by contemporary spins on the genre. It’s almost as if Curse of the Dead Gods has been playing through a…

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Seven months after it was delisted from digital storefronts, DuckTales: Remastered is back.

DuckTales: Remastered, which was developed by WayForward and initially released for PC and consoles in 2013, bid a fond farewell to all platforms in a flurry of dramatic discounts last August - and while publisher Capcom never offered an explanation for its removal, it seemed reasonable to assume that licensing issues were to blame.

Now, though, it's returned with equally little explanation. "If you missed this gem the first time around," says Capcom in its announcement post, "now's the perfect time to dive in. Calling back to the golden age of 8-bit gaming and Saturday morning cartoons, DuckTales: Remastered features hand-drawn animated sprites that bring each character to life in a vibrant world."

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Passtech Games’ roguelike Curse of the Dead Gods looks scintillating in its Early Access Launch trailer today. The sequence highlights solid action-RPG combat and a unique visual style accentuated by a compelling soundtrack and setting. A console announcement trailer published in tandem confirms the game is also coming to PS4 and Xbox One at a later, unspecified date.

The developer tees up the game’s premise with its own synopsis:

“You seek untold riches, eternal life, divine powers – it leads to this accursed temple, a seemingly-infinite labyrinth of bottomless pits, deadly traps, and monsters. Your greed will lead you to death, but that is not an escape. Rise to fight again. Delve deeper again. Defy the malignant deities that linger in this place.

Battle through hordes of enemies in dark, cavernous passages filled with traps and secrets of all sorts – fire-spewing statues, explosives, hidden spikes, and worse. Collect mystical Relics and an arsenal of weapons to make yourself unstoppable. Corruption builds in you with every step – encourage or ignore it, but each powerful curse can be a double-edged sword.”

Passtech Games explains Curse of the Dead Gods’ Early Access period as helping the developer hone the experience according to player feedback before a full launch, which is planned for later in 2020.

As for what you can expect in the current version of the game, it’s described currently as having a “challenging curve, tight combat, and dozens of weapons, relics, curses, rooms, traps, and much more to discover. All the core systems are in place but in at-most-beta state. Major changes can and will happen based on your feedback, and we’re excited to get started.”

If you see more Call of Duty: Modern Warfare players stop to stare down at their watches, there's a reason why. Infinity Ward added the Tomogunchi accessory today. Similar to a Tamagotchi, owners can hatch, raise, and evolve their pet – except in this case, the digital monsters have a thing for killstreaks.

The interactive trinket is available in a Tomogunchi Bundle that costs 1,000 Call of Duty Points ($9.99). (The bundle also comes with a dinosaur-themed calling card, emblem, charm, sticker, and spray.)

Call of Duty players need to keep their Tomogunchi pal happy and healthy by scoring kills, objectives, killstreaks, and wins, so they tie into Modern Warfare's gameplay. If they aren't cared for properly, they'll become depressed and perish. You can check on your pet's status by looking at little emoji faces on the watch. If they aren't lit up, you're golden. Otherwise, your pet could be hungry, dirty, unruly, or sleepy.

Tomogunchi pets start as an egg before growing into a child, teen, and adult, and they each have their own preferred way to level up a "bonus charge" meter to evolve. Some pets prefer captures, while others want you to land in the top three. Players can use the "Watch Interact" gesture to bank these bonus charges as they come up during matches and evolve their Tomogunchi pet more quickly.

Despairing indie title Pathologic 2 will come creeping onto the PS4 platform later this week having made its grisly presence felt on PC and Xbox One back in 2019. The sequel/re-imagining of 2005's Pathologic will be available to purchase on PSN March 6.

Pathologic 2 is a period piece set during the early days of the Russian Revolution of the early 1900s. Players take up the role of surgeon Artemy Burakh, who returns to his hometown to find his father murdered and the city riddled with pestilence and death.

The story gives way to a miserable adventure in which Burakh must forage for food and other supplies, while building relationships with the sickly townsfolk and uncovering the truth behind his father's murder. Each day offers the player time to do only a limited number of actions, the consequences of which will mean suffering, life, or death for Burakh and his friends, as sickness grips Town-on-Gorkhon.

It ain't Peggle.

Pathologic 2 is available now on PC and Xbox One and launches on PS4 March 6.

Worlds collide in the newest Final Fantasy PlayStation 4 theme. The two most popular Final Fantasy games (currently, anyway) are front and center, but it'll take a significant investment to get it.

This dynamic PS4 theme is a fusion of Final Fantasy VII Remake and Final Fantasy XIV, and it features two of those game's most popular locations. Final Fantasy VII is represented with the iconic Midgar, while Final Fantasy XIV has Shadowbringers' end-game hub city of Eulmore. "Prelude," the most recognizable Final Fantasy song, plays while the theme is active. A look at both theme screens are in the gallery below.

In order to download it, you'll need to own both Final Fantasy VII Remake (a pre-order for either the standard or digital deluxe edition) and Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers. The wording of the product description make it seem as though this theme won't be available after Final Fantasy VII Remake launches on April 10 because it needs to be a pre-order.

Of course, there are cheaper ways to get Final Fantasy PS4 themes -- like buying a couple of candy bars. But, if you want the soothing dulcet tones of "Prelude," you'll have to pony up for a lot of Final Fantasy.

FFVII Remake and FFVIX Purchase Bonus Theme -- Prelude [PlayStation Store]

Publisher TinyBuild has teamed up with HakJak to set up a new studio for the Guts & Glory developer in Boise, Idaho and is looking to staff up the new office. ...

Zynga is the target of a recently filed class action lawsuit that accuses the company of failing †œto reasonably safeguard† the data of the millions that play its games. ...

The Google Stadia website has just been updated with a feature that people have been waiting for since the system's launch--the ability to access your game capture library. The Stadia controller features a "capture" button, but until now players have not been able to share the screenshots and videos they take.

Stadia has today announced that the much-wanted feature is now live, and players can log into their accounts and access their game capture libraries to show off their best shots and videos from Stadia games like Red Dead Redemption 2 and Borderlands 3.

The capture functionality of Stadia is similar to the Nintendo Switch--you can either press the button once for a screenshot or hold it down to capture the last 30 seconds of gameplay. Stadia owners with a Pro subscription are able to save up to 500 video clips and unlimited screenshots. Owners without a subscription can only save 100 clips.

I love Apex Legends' new Evo Shield, the first item that Respawn has added to its battle royale that isn't a weapon or weapon attachment. I hope it's permanently added to the game.

For now, the Evo Shield is limited to Deja Loot, the new mode added to Apex Legends during the System Override event. The glowing body shield begins out weaker than a common white body shield but grows more powerful as you damage enemies--ultimately maxing out just above a legendary gold body shield.

As the Evo Shield evolves, it doesn't automatically heal itself. So to take full advantage of the Evo Shield, you need to carry extra shield cells and batteries to keep the armor fully charged. If you don't want to make the climb yourself, you can loot Evo Shields off of other players as individual Evo Shields will maintain their level even after their users have fallen.

It may be only May but it's never too early to anticipate great deals, and one of the biggest savings events of the year is coming up in just a few months. Amazon Prime Day 2020 is on the horizon, and while it's happening later than usual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic, it's sure to bring steep discounts on some of the best games for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC. Prime Day is also an excellent opportunity to snag consoles and PC hardware at a discount, and you'll also find sweet deals on gaming accessories, merch, Blu-rays, collectibles, and practically anything on your wishlist. Prime Day is known for having deals on par with even Black Friday, so for gamers on a budget, it's an event you don't want to miss.

The key to snagging the deals you want on Amazon Prime Day is to go in prepared. To help you out, we've assembled a guide with everything you need to know about Amazon Prime Day 2020, including when it might start, the best deals to expect, and more.

What is Amazon Prime Day?

Prime Day is a massive sale Amazon puts on each summer for Prime members. It all began in 2015, when Amazon had a sale to celebrate its 20th birthday. In the years since, Prime Day has grown into a shopping extravaganza in its own right, with deep discounts on all kinds of items across the whole store.

Steam has kicked off a new sale this week highlighting Sonic publisher Sega, and while the blue blur isn't featured in this particular sale, many of the company's best games are. The sale focuses specifically on Sega's Japanese-developed PC games, though there are a couple of Western-made titles as well. If you've wanted to get into the Yakuza series, then now is the perfect time. Sega's Best of Japan sale runs through March 10, but there are a ton of other deals and discounts on Steam for a wide variety of games, including the best shooters, survival games, and visual novels.

Yakuza 0 is $5, Yakuza Kiwami is $10, and Yakuza Kiwami 2 is $15--however, you can grab them all in a bundle for $27. Yakuza 0 tells the story of Kazuma Kiryu before the events of the first Yakuza game. Yakuza Kiwami and Kiwami 2, on the other hand, are remakes of the first two in the series--the word "kiwami" translates to ultimate or extreme, meaning these are the definitive versions. All three games received great 8/10 scores in their respective reviews.

Street Fighter star Chun-Li was born on March 1, 1968. That would make her 52 years old this week, which is a damn sight older than she looks in any of the recent game’s character art.

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Bilibili will be adding some age restrictions for minors in games run by them in China, including FGO, Azur Lane, and other smartphone games.

The post Bilibili to Add Age Restrictions to Chinese Server Smartphone Games appeared first on Siliconera.

Mega Man Starforce and Ace Attorney series developer Shinsuke Kodama announced that he left Capcom.

The post Mega Man Starforce Series Developer Shinsuke Kodama Leaves Capcom appeared first on Siliconera.

Spellbreak, a fantasy battle royale game previously available as an alpha PC build only, has today launched its anticipated premium closed beta for both PC and PS4. Founder Packs start from $39 on both the PS Store and Epic Game Store; players from both platforms can expect to bump into each thanks to crossplay support.

Seth Sivak, CEO of developer Proletariat, Inc said of today’s news:

“The response from players in Spellbreak’s PC Beta has been amazing and extremely helpful as we progress through development.

The PlayStation 4 will be a great place to play Spellbreak and we’re very excited to have these players join our community on PC as we build towards launch later this year.”

Prletariat, Inc describes Spellbreak as a “AAA fantasy battle royale experience featuring epic magic combat and powerful spellcasting,” in which players fight to become a powerful battlemage wielding powerful spellcasting. The game features a deep item and class system, which can be experienced either solo or in teams. Spellbreak’s aesthetic has a pleasing cel-shaded effect somewhat reminiscent of Breath of the Wild.

You can sign up for the Closed Beta over on the game’s dedicated website.

Today’s announcement was made alongside a new Closed Beta trailer, which provides a minute-long showcase of action.

We've got Switch copies of brutal walking simulator BE-A Walker up for grabs in today's contest!

You know that one movie where the giant robots walk around and blast lasers and stuff at people trying to defend their planet? I don't remember the film right now, but that was a cool scene. So cool, it inspired its own video game where you can pretty much do the same thing!

BE-A Walker is a walking simulator with a twist -- you control a giant mecha sent to either enslave or defend an alien planet. So load up your cannons and prime your lasers for a Switch copy of this out-there game!

The Valve Index is in high demand ahead of Half-Life: Alyx's March 23 launch, but there aren't enough to go around. Because of the coronavirus outbreak, manufacturers in China aren't able to produce enough of Valve's headset, leaving it backordered for months now.

A few weeks ago, Valve confirmed that the Index VR set will be available to buy again in the near future, but stopped short of giving a firm date. Now we know that March 9 is the planned restock. It'll go up for sale at 10am Pacific.

Timing is key here because Valve has already said the restock won't be enough to meet demand. In fact, Valve expects this round of sales to go quickly. It'll be gone long before Monday, March 9 is over.

So, if you're in the market for a Valve Index, make sure to be waiting in the virtual line next Monday, credit card info ready to go, and hope fortune is on your side. Best of luck.

@Steamdb [Twitter]

Death Stranding is officially coming to PC in June, and now another detail about the PC release has been confirmed. The game's Steam page shows that Death Stranding for PC will use the Denuvo digital-rights-management (DRM) to try to thwart tampering.

By nature of being DRM in the first place, Denuvo is often seen as controversial software in the eyes of PC players. One of the main pieces of criticism of Denuvo is that the anti-piracy software has been shown to impact performance in some cases.

Denuvo the company understands that no DRM product can stop tampering. What Denuvo offers for publishers is a software that protects initial sales. "Games will be cracked at certain points; there is no uncrackable product. But what we do is protect the initial sales," Denuvo's Elmar Fischer told GI.biz in 2018.

Doom Eternal makes it very clear that it's challenging players in ways Doom 2016 did not. It's asking you to juggle multiple weapons and new mechanics that are essential for survival while still delivering that tight, breakneck pace in combat. But it's not just an extra suite of abilities, wider combat arenas, and aggressive demons who hound you that push Doom Eternal to be more than its predecessor--you'll also have multi-faceted boss fights to contend with.

At a recent Doom Eternal preview event at id Software's Dallas, Texas studio, I played the fourth level of the single-player campaign, set in a sinister lab tucked into a snowy mountain top. This level had its share of intense combat scenarios and platforming sequences, but the boss fight that capped off the mission is what I'm still thinking about. You can see exactly what I'm talking about in the gameplay clip below.

Doom Hunter, classified as a super heavy demon, is highly mobile and shoots powerful rockets, and fighting one involves multiple steps. First, Doom Hunters are highly mobile and fire powerful rockets. They're protected by an energy shield that has to be destroyed, so you'll want to use the plasma rifle since it's suited for breaking shields. Once you destroy the barrier, you have a short window of time to hit Doom Hunter with heavy firepower to inflict actual damage before their shields go back up. You must repeat this until their health bar is depleted, after which the second phase kicks in.

DuckTales: Remastered has returned to digital storefronts after being pulled in August 2019. The game, which remasters the 1989 NES classic Disney's DuckTales, has reappeared on Steam, Xbox 360, PS3, and Wii U. You can also grab it for Xbox One, as it's part of the system's backwards compatibility catalog.

An announcement post of the game's reappearance is up on Capcom Unity, but no explanation for why it was delisted and has now reappeared is offered. "If you missed out on this colorful reimagining the first time around, now’s a great time to see what you’ve been missing out on," the post reads.

There's also no announcement of whether the game will come to current systems, but it's fair to say that Switch port begging is now back on the menu for this title, which was released in 2013.

Although the game is regarded as a classic by many, GameSpot's review of DuckTales: Remastered was less favorable. Critic Tom McShea was not a fan: "DuckTales Remastered will make you doubt happy memories from your childhood, or leave you baffled as to why people were nostalgic for such dull platforming in the first place."

Of all the things they could have added to Call of Duty, a Tamagotchi-style virtual pet is not one that I would ever have imagined. And yet, here we are. Call of Duty gets needy virtual pets in this week’s Modern Warfare store update, testing a player’s ability to multitask killing while caregiving.

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An 11 year-old in Blackpool, England has been caught by local police driving an actual car, all because a family member “was fed up with the child playing Grand Theft Auto all day on the Playstation”.

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Call of Duty: Mobile is losing one of its key modes later this month. In the wake of the game's latest season starting alongside a major update, the latest Community Update on Reddit has confirmed that Zombies mode will be removed from the game as of March 25.

"We had always mentioned it was limited but with no explicit end-date," the post reads. "The mode just didn’t reach the level of quality that we desire. The second map, Nacht Der Untoten, is also not releasing in the global version."

The post notes that the mode might eventually come back, complete with the second map, "but for now we’ll focus on development for Multiplayer, Battle Royale, and Ranked Mode."

The Xbox ANZ team is at it again with another unique promotion for one of its upcoming games. The company has created 20 limited-edition bonsai trees to mark the launch of Ori and the Will of the Wisps later this month. The trees are meant to capture the essence of the "Spirit" trees from the Ori franchise--and they look pretty stunning.

"These decade old, real Bonsai trees have been designed to resemble the Spirit Tree, from the glowing ethereal lights in the delicate branches, to the moss-covered ground where the handcrafted mini Ori figurine stands," Xbox ANZ said in a statement. "The Bonsais will emulate the energy of the Spirit Trees, helping guide fans through the game from the comfort of their living rooms."

With COVID-19, aka coronavirus, continuing to spread at an alarming rate, researchers of all stripes are racing to get a handle on it. This includes a team at the University of Washington in Seattle, who’ve taken a novel approach: a video game.

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Paradox Interactive has announced yet another DLC expansion for its already content-rich flagship grand strategy game in the form of Europa Universalis IV: Emperor.

Emperor is a full-blown expansion and not just another immersion or content pack. For those not keeping count, this is the 16th expansion since the game’s launch in 2013.

Releasing at an as-yet-unannounced date in 2020, Emperor brings with it a slew of new features to the game but, in particular, will focus on changes to gameplay for the Holy Roman Empire, the Papal States, and other Catholic nations.

In addition, Emperor will allow players more customization in regards to their kingdom’s internal affairs, a rework of the mercenary mechanic, and extensive changes to the world map itself, from France to the Balkans.

The full list of features included in Emperor are listed as:

Quentin Mabille is an artist from France.

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Today Sega announced that the latest mainline game of the Yakuza series Yakuza: Like a Dragon has passed another shipments milestone.

According to a press release from the Japanese arm of the company, the game has shipped over 400,000 units since its launch in Japan and Asia on January 16.

To celebrate, the company is hosting a 30% off sale in Japan until March 10.

Yakuza: Like a Dragon, which is titled Yakuza 7: Whereabouts of Light and Darkness in Japan, underlining its nature of a mainline game of the series (which apparently the western arm of Sega decided to keep under wraps), stars a brand new protagonist and a turn-based RPG approach to gameplay instead of pure action. 

The previous shipments update was at 300,000 units at the end of January.

This week, Red Dead Online will offer bonus XP in certain activities, discounts on in-game items, along with additional benefits for PlayStation Plus and Twich Prime members.

Treasure is up for grabs with a Treasure Map reward, received for completing five daily challenges. You can collect your Treasure Map from the Camp Lockbox or Post Office within 48 hours of completing your 5 Daily Challenges.

Experience bonuses are available for Moonshiner sales, Story missions and Bootlegger missions, earning you 50% more experience and Role XP. Now is the time to smash out some of those story missions you’ve been putting off and earn high XP for your trouble.

A pair of Final Fantasy VII Remake glasses will launch in Japan in April 2020. They are designed to protect against blue light.

The post Expensive Final Fantasy VII Remake Glasses Are Coming to Japan appeared first on Siliconera.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare added an in-game Tamagotchi-like watch where players can equip a virtual pet and watch it grow during multiplayer matches.

Affectionately called the “Tomogunchi,” the watch houses a virtual pet on its screen that lives or dies by how well a player is doing during a match.

According to the Activision blog post disguised as a fake ad for the timepiece, the Tomogunchi must be constantly checked on by using the d-pad up/up-arrow key to check its status, just like an actual Tamagotchi.

Unlike an actual Tamagotchi, the Call of Duty creature can be fed and kept happy by scoring kills, wins, killstreaks, and objectives while doing poorly could make it die.

According to the post, the pet starts out as an egg and has baby, child, teen, and adult forms alongside different animals. There’s also a bonus charge meter that can help it evolve faster by captures, killstreaks, plants, or top three wins.

The Tomogunchi watch can be purchased from the in-game store for 1,000 Call of Duty Points (about $10) and comes with a calling card, charm, emblem, spray, and sticker. That might seem like a steep price, though the original ’90s popular keychain toy can be bought for about $20 today.

Xbox boss Phil Spencer is a really good follow on Twitter. For someone who holds such a high position in the gaming industry, he tweets frequently and openly about some of the behind-the-scenes goings-on at Xbox and its studios. According to a recent tweet, Spencer visited Gears of War studio The Coalition, and his trip led to new speculation about what's next for the franchise.

His PR wrangler Kenny Birge did not accompany Spencer on this trip, and the executive took full advantage of being able to say and post whatever he wanted. One of the more intriguing reveals from Spencer's trip was a behind-the-scenes tease for some "enhancements" coming to Gears 5. He said he met with The Coalitition's technical director Mike Rayner who showed him these unspecified "enhancements" that make Gears 5 look "better than Gears has ever looked."

With a new console, the Xbox Series X, due for release later this year, a safe bet is Spencer was briefed on an upgrade that The Coalition may be preparing for it. This is just speculation, however; it's possible the "enhancements" are related to something else.

Nintendo Switch exclusive Luigi’s Mansion 3 has just gotten two big updates on the Nintendo Eshop. Along with the release of the multiplayer DLC, some substantial features have been added to the game for everyone.

This is the first of two planned DLC multiplayer packs for Luigi's Mansion 3, and it adds three new costumes that Luigi can wear in the ScareScraper mode. Three matching spooky themes will randomly transform the tower’s floors, along with five new themed ghost encounters. These themes ghosts will only appear when Luigi wears one of the new costumes, along with the floor changing themes.

Three new games have been added to ScreamPark as part of the DLC: Dodgebrawl, River Band, and Tricky Ghost Hunt. All Screampark modes can now be played with just one player in practice mode, regardless of whether you have the DLC or not. An Album mode has also been added to the main menu, where players can listen to the game’s soundtrack.

Santa Claus got into my taxi last night. Not some bloke dressed up as Santa. The Santa. With the reindeer and the sleigh and the presents. I wasn’t even aware it was Christmas Eve when my gruff taxi driver rolled out of bed that day, but there he was, his large hat slung over a tired, booze-addled eyelid and his beard all messy around the edges.

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Today Hideo Kojima himself shared a few videos of the upcoming PC version of Kojima Productions’ first game Death Stranding.

The video focus on showing the features of the PC version, providing a look at some gameplay.

This include ultra-wide monitor support, created by actually adding rendered area, and what appears to be an extensive photo mode.

Specifically, for the photo mode we get to see plenty of filters and frames, on top of a large bunch of settings. It appears that this has the potential to keep us busy snapping away for a long time. Kojima-san and his team certainly appear yo be having fun with it as well.

You can check out all the videos below.

Dracula may not belong in this world, but a Castlevania: Symphony of the Night port for mobile devices does.

The post Castlevania Symphony of the Night Port Takes Over Mobile Devices appeared first on Siliconera.

Part two of this interview with Massive's lead AI programmer Philip Dunstan discusses the weird problems that arose when balancing systemic game design in the new Washington D.C. map. ...