Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
Give Blathers a break and stop forcing him to talk about insects
Image: Nintendo EPD/Nintendo via Polygon
There’s a whole new gang to find this month
It’s finally the Fall season in Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which means that there are now tons of acorns and pine cones that fall from trees –how exciting! Nintendo has released a brief advertisement for the life sim game to reveal some of the goodies that players will be able to get their hands on in September.
We get to see some of the bugs and fish that players can catch now, such as the Monarch Butterfly and Crickets. You can also now shake trees to grab some pine cones and acorns, as I mentioned earlier, which can be used to craft some adorable Fall-themed DIY items.
You can watch the trailer right here:
Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now available for the Nintendo Switch. Twinfinite has a massive Guide Wiki for those looking for handy tips and tricks and you can also read our glowing review to see why the game is so good.
You can also keep scrolling down for even more coverage!
The launch of the Kingdoms of Amalur remaster is just a few days away. On Sept. 8, players will be able to choose their destinies across multiple play styles. Today, THQ Nordic has released a gameplay trailer showing off some moves from the Might build in Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning.
Kingdoms of Amalur is a game that sort of flew under the radar when it originally came out back in 2012. RPG fans that missed out should definitely give it a go this time around.
Last week, the THQ Nordic gave us a quick look at a few techniques from the Finesse build. As you can probably guess, that archetype is full of stealth, daggers, bows, and quick takedowns.
Kingdom of Amalur: Re-Reckoning’s Might build is just a bit more in-your-face gameplay-wise. Rather than dodge and sneak around, MMight-based characters block attacks while facing enemies head-on.
Melee combat is the focus, with longswords and greatswords at your disposal in Might builds.
Check out the Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning trailer below to see some of that Might build gameplay for yourself:
Today Sony Interactive Entertainment released a PlayStation Blog post including a new video focusing on the PS5 and some interesting developer commentary.
The video, which you can see at the bottom of the post, boasts the “breathtaking immersion” provided by the console and briefly shows its games.
We also hear from developers discussing the SSD and the Tempest 3D AudioTech engine supported by the console.
“Beyond near-instant loading and fast-travel, the SSD and its speed allow us to more quickly load and display more detailed assets. This should lead to the city looking better than ever, and this is just the beginning for our team unlocking those possibilities. It’s a fundamental change that we can’t wait to take more advantage of in the years to come.”
— Brian Horton // Creative Director, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales
“As developers [of Demon’s Souls], we are already changing the way we think about the SSD. We see it not just as storage but also memory, utilizing the speed of the SSD to load data at blistering speeds, bringing you straight back into the action to avenge your many deaths.”
— Gavin Moore // Creative Director, SIE Japan Studio
“Hitman 3 pushes you to explore and experiment in huge sandbox locations – and being able to save/load frequently is key to that. The blitz-fast load times we are seeing on the PS5 console encourages [player] experimentation more than ever.”
— Mattias Engström // Game Director, Hitman 3
“The SSD is a gamechanger, I think as this generation matures we will see some amazing innovation in streaming and open-world game design.”
Marvel's Avengers has been a roller coaster of a game from the announcement all the way up until its launch today: so long as you're a Digital Deluxe owner.
We first heard it existed back in 2017, but when Square Enix showed it off at E3 2019, people couldn't believe that it was nearly finished. It didn't look finished, that's for sure! The publisher seemingly agreed, and pushed it back further a few months, citing the need to polish it more.
It probably could have used a bit more time, but with Marvel breathing down their neck, it's possible they got as much as they were allotted. Today, we get what we get. And there's plenty of fun to dig around for in this oddity of a game.
While legislation has been "looking" at loot boxes for some time, a lot of powers that be have set their sights on a new target: the right to refunds.
Steam got ahead of the situation very early by offering a generous refund policy, but a few other marketplaces have a long way to go. Nintendo is throwing people a bone as of this week when it comes to the eShop.
A new policy on their official site has made digital pre-orders a little more forgiving as of today: "You may cancel your pre-orders up until time of payment." Breaking that down further, "payment is processed and download is started immediately for preâorders placed within seven days before game launch." In other words, as long as you cancel more than a week ahead of time (before the money is transferred), you're good. As Engadget points out, this process kicked off today at 15:00 JST (2AM ET this morning).
This will likely change as refunds are looked at under a microscope in the coming months or even years. For now, this is a minimal effort token "change" that Nintendo can show to anyone to prove that they were playing ball. And it's something you should probably know, just in case! It should come in handy for lengthy delays, as well.
About Pre-orders [Nintendo via Engadget]
Capcom has announced that the newest entry in the Resident Evil series, Resident Evil Village, will be showcased at this year's Tokyo Game Show (TGS), which takes place later this month.
Capcom revealed the news in a tweet earlier this morning, where the famous developer/publisher apologised to fans for a lack of info regarding the gothic horror sequel. Resident Evil Village will feature in a TGS presentation to be held on Sunday, September 27. The presentation will offer up new details - and hopefully new footage - pertaining to the eighth mainline entry in the survival horror franchise.
If you missed the Gamescom Opening Night Live Destiny 2 stasis power clip: I don't blame you! It was in the middle of the day, after all.
But while stasis was the highlight last week, it isn't coming to Destiny for quite some time. Instead, Bungie opted to talk about the more recent hotness of patch 2.9.2 following the stream; which is coming to Destiny 2 on September 8.
The big thing to note is that Warmind's Sleeper Nodes (which are being retired eventually) should now be easier to collect, as Bungie had a secret backend checklist that was separate from the in-game one (classic), and the discrepancy has been altered. Bungie calls it "bad luck protection," which begs the question of why it wasn't in the game to begin with.
The patch also deals with some more brass tracks type stuff, like Gambit freeze bugs, cosmetic issues, an expansion of Spider's bounties (now there's three instead of the typical one) and a fix for the Merciless Fusion Rifle exotic perk. "More general bug fixes" are also in but aren't detailed yet.
Good luck! My focus is mostly forward on the expansion, and seeing if they don't botch the implementation of the vault.
This Week at Bungie [Bungie.net]
In case you haven't heard, the Sega Ages re-release line is done. That's bad! But apparently, M2 isn't done collaborating with Sega. That's good!
In a hilarious turn of events, directly following a statement to Game Watch from a Sega creative producer that he can't confirm whether or not M2 is working with Sega on an upcoming project: we get direct confirmation from the M2 Twitter account that something is brewing. For reference, M2 is not owned by Sega, and is a go-to developer for many retro re-releases for several publishers.
In response to this lovely fan art for M2 from Twitter user Tracker, M2 replied with the following statement: "Thank you for the great art, and your continued support! While we have concluded the Sega Ages series with Herzog Zwei, we are expecting further collaboration between M2 and Sega. Please stay tuned, and we wish you AGES of fun!"
In case that it wasn't clear that M2 isn't coming back with that very coy statement from Sega, the studio's Twitter account may have spilled the beans. I'll take what I can get!
M2 [Twitter]
Fall Guys developer Mediatonic has raised $1 million for UK charity Special Effect by auctioning off a custom character costume. ...
When you're in development on a game - whether you're a small indie dev or a larger publisher - how do you know whether it's going to do well or not? Steam wishlists help a lot - but how about wishlist quality? ...
The Animal Crossing: New Horizons fall season is here. That means it is time to collect new materials for seasonal DIY Recipes.
The post Animal Crossing: New Horizons Fall Recipes Have Arrived appeared first on Siliconera.
Square Enix will release a Final Fantasy VII Remake Shinra Electric Power Company CD. It will include the Turks and Rufus Shinra's themes.
The post Final Fantasy VII Remake Shinra CD Will Arrive in October appeared first on Siliconera.
The developers of Fate/Grand Order have a new mobile RPG project in the works, and are teasing it with the tagline "Retake Japan." It could be connected to Sakura Wars.
The post ‘Retake Japan’ in a New Mobile Game From Fate/Grand Order Dev Delightworks appeared first on Siliconera.
Square Enix revealed its lineup of games set to appear for TGS 2020 Online later this month.
The post Square Enix TGS 2020 Online Lineup Headlined by Kingdom Hearts: Melody of Memory and Balan Wonderworld appeared first on Siliconera.
PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players will also be able to enjoy Katamari Damacy Reroll when it arrives in Japan on November 19, 2020.
The post Katamari Damacy Reroll Will Coming to PS4s and Xbox Ones in November appeared first on Siliconera.
Since Fortnite’s Season 4 started, the map has been getting new landmarks at a furious pace. The latest is a monument to the Marvel superhero Black Panther, a giant statue called Panther’s Prowl.
If you’re a Facebook fan but hate its recent redesign, there’s hope. You can no longer revert back to “Old Facebook” simply by clicking a button in your settings menu, but you can install a Chrome extension that magically transforms the site, restoring the look and feel you previously enjoyed.
It’s September 1, the 2020 election is barely two months away, and the Biden campaign has hit the ground running with some very official Animal Crossing: New Horizons designs for players to show support for the Democratic ticket throughout their islands.
Image: Epic Games
The legendary director of Alien and Blade Runner weighed in on Epic’s version of his iconic Apple ad
Photo: Netflix via Polygon
It’s Robert Pattinson, Millie Bobby Brown, and Tom Holland appreciation month
A week into its new Marvel season, Fortnite has added a large Black Panther statue to a corner of its map.
The statue only appeared in-game a few hours ago, but Marvel fans have already been using it to pay tribute to Chadwick Boseman, the brilliant Black Panther actor who passed away last Friday, aged just 43.
Fans are now calling for a Black Panther skin to be made available in-game, with proceeds going to charity.
It hasn't been all that long since the train appeared in Verdansk, but it looks like another mode of transportation could be entering Warzone soon, as Call of Duty fans have spotted several references to subway stations.
The most recent subway clue was spotted during the Call of Duty League over the weekend, which displayed an aerial view of the game map - including a mysterious new building near Stadium, which is not currently in-game.
Conveniently, the mysterious building lines up almost exactly with a previously-leaked map showing Metro locations around Verdansk (at station number 2). There are supposed to be seven subway stations in total, and players think it's likely these would be added as part of Season 6 at the end of September.
Just like any AAA title this generation, Marvel’s Avengers has an update or two you’ll need to download before you can use its network features. On PS4, the day-one update appears to have just landed at 8 GB, which shouldn’t take too long for most to download.
Now that you know it’s coming, prepare ahead of time and maybe have it download overnight or while you’re at work if your internet download speed is slow.
Today MicroProse announced that it will publish Bird’s Eye Games’ upcoming RTS game Regiments.
The game is set in 1989 in an alternate history scenario in which the cold war turns hot.
Alongside the announcement, we get a new trailer and plenty of screenshots showing the gameplay.
You can check them out below.
Red Dead Online has a new Legendary animal for players to track down, and it’s a beauty to behold thanks to its unique pelt color.
In a post to the official Rockstar website made on Sept. 1, the company detailed a newly added target for hunters and naturalists: The Milk Coyote, a legendary variant of the scavenging canines found throughout the west.
Boasting a stark white coat and pale eyes, the beast is said to be scavenging local livestock around the Blackwater area. Players will want to speak to Harriet at her shop to trigger the mission and try to snap a picture of the rare creature before it moves onto new prospects.
Red Dead Online players who wish to hunt it, meanwhile, are free to do so, and can nab some rare gear by taking the successfully bagged animal’s pelt to Gus Macmillan’s Trapper Store. The only catch will be that it nests alongside several other Coyotes, and they won’t take kindly to their den leader being assaulted.
The announcement was paired with a brief video showing the Milk Coyote in action, which can be found down below.
Microsoft announced today several games coming to Xbox Game Pass for both PC and Xbox One within the first half of September.
As announced last month, medieval strategy game Crusader Kings III is now available starting today on Xbox Game Pass for PC. Capcom’s Resident Evil 7 will also come to the service for PC and console on Thursday, Sept. 3.
Joining Resident Evil 7 for both platforms on Sept. 3 are Tell Me Why: Chapter Two, metroidvania 2D action game Touhou Luna Nights, and multiplayer party game The Jackbox Party Pack 4. Co-op multiplayer shooter World War Z also joins the service on the same date for PC, which is already available on console.
Tactical squad-based rogue-lite RPG Star Renegades will be added for PC on Tuesday, Sept. 8.
On Sept. 10, tactical RPG Disgaea 4 Complete+ will be added on PC, arcade-style racing game Hotshot Racing for console, and Tell Me Why: Chapter Three for both.
Xbox Game Pass subscribers will also receive access to the Shadowkeep and Forsaken expansions for Destiny 2 sometime in the first half of the month. Destiny 2 studio Bungie announced last July that the free-to-play title would be coming to the service in September, and would include the upcoming Beyond Light expansion releasing on Nov. 10.
Microsoft also announced a few games leaving Xbox Game Pass soon:
Behaviour Interactive has today detailed its plan to upgrade Dead by Daylight for next-generation consoles this Holiday season. Fans of the popular multiplayer horror game can look forward to a “massive graphical overhaul” in an effort to improve immersion, free for all players.
That starts with a 4K, 60 FPS performance benchmark for next-gen consoles, with regular updates moving forward that should eventually resemble a completely remastered overall package.
Current players who own the game and decide to buy a next-gen console will experience a seamless transition, getting Dead by Daylight for free on their new platform of choice, while keeping all progression.
As for the specifics, we’re told that lighting and VFX will be vastly upgraded, as well as the modeling, textures and animations. More props will be added to the maps, too, and proper functions will be given to rooms to make them more identifiable.
The development team is fully focused on this rework and visual improvements will be delivered every six weeks, following the current Chapter and Archives roadmap. Over the coming months, tens of thousands of assets will be enhanced as part of this overhaul. Common items such as lockers, generators, palettes, as well as two maps, can be expected as part of next week’s patch.
Following on from the recent cross-play and cross-friends announcement earlier this summer, a cross-progression initiative is coming for players on Stadia, Switch, and Steam using the brand new BHVR Account.
Dead by Daylight game direction Mathieu Côté said in a statement today:
There’s nothing like a children’s adventure story to warm the cockles, and as we approach the end of a rather miserable year I’ve found myself wanting for exactly that. Ary and Secret of the Seasons has long been on my radar as a light-hearted gameplay experience that might help lift the spirits, so no surprises that I leaped at the opportunity to review it.
Unfortunately, while this tale of a young heroine taking on the world is punctuated by vibrant colors, whimsical music, and the sort of cutesy charm that defines the beloved classics Ary is clearly inspired by, the game is held back by woeful performance issues that make it extremely difficult to recommend.
Truth be told, it was only minutes into my playthrough that I suspected Ary’s lack of polish would be a key takeaway. Low-resolution textures and a simplistic art-style is one thing, but screen-tearing and a consistently choppy framerate just shouldn’t be an issue for a game that is likely capable of running on much less powerful hardware than my OG PS4 with the right optimization.
If you’ve played Life Is Strange or Life Is Strange 2, you probably know roughly what to expect from Dontnod’s new story-focused adventure about about small towns and intense familial relationships, Tell Me Why. However, whereas LIS focused more on the teen experience of these themes, Tell My Why feels more like it’s been made for grown-ups – or at least us as grown-ups and not the teenagers within us. Not because it’s more sweary or any darker than LIS, but because the protagonists are adults dealing with adult problems.
Ah, the Overwatch Workshop. It’s an excellent tool for creating all sorts of wacky modded game modes in Blizzard’s colourful hero shooter, and players have produced some real gems with it since it was added. From Weeping Angels to a self-playing piano you can import songs to, there are endless possibilities. But for all of the weird and wonderful things players have made, sometimes it’s the simple concepts that can be the most fun. For example, have you ever wondered what it would be like if Bastion was an attack helicopter?
After bumbling through World War 2 with Bomber Crew, developers Runner Duck will return with the crew management game’s sequel, Space Crew on the 15th of October. Once again we’ll be building a crew, customising our vessel, and issuing folks orders so they can complete missions without crashing and burning or dropping your lunch over Birmingham, but in space. That notoriously mistake-tolerant place, space.
Shovel the coals, light the fires, and let’s get this walking affront to nature moving, lads. Dieselpunk army-smasher Iron Harvest is out today – a whimsical alt-history RTS romp that revisits the various imperial death throes of pre-World War 1 Europe and imagines how they’d play out with a few dozen giant robots. The cockpit isn’t ours, but today’s launch means we can finally take command of developer King Art’s hulking iron mechs.
Image: Epic Games via Polygon
Image: Nintendo
Image: Digital Devolver/Mediatonic
Image: Paradox Interactive