November 2020

DEF48750. A magical code which has completely changed the way I play Spelunky 2 after over a hundred hours.

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So we know that Animal Crossing: New Horizons is doing very well for Nintendo. How well? Try over 26 million units since September 30, 2020. It's poised to eventually eclipse Mario Kart 8 Deluxe's 28.99 million mark if it keeps this up; as New Horizons was released nearly three years after Deluxe.

But it's also very big in Japan. The Switch is crushing it over there (as are mobile devices, as Japan still heavily favors portable gaming), but New Horizons is too. According to information from analyst Game Data Library, now that New Horizons has reached the six million sold mark in the region, it is now one of only five titles ever to do so; and the first to reach that target since New Super Mario Bros. was released on the original DS in 2006.

As Game Data Library points out, it is likely the fastest-selling game in Japanese history too. It only took seven months to reach that figure, while Pokemon Gold/Silver attained that honor in 13 months, followed by Pokemon Red/Green/Blue (26 months), New Super Mario Bros (four and a half years), and Super Mario Bros. (Game Data Library projects around four years).

It's a big win for Nintendo, and it came at basically the perfect time. While you could argue that the developers didn't keep the ball rolling with substantial content (or timely quality of life updates that a lot of simulation titles are already employing), it already made its money!

Game Data Library [Twitter]

Focus Home Entertainment has announced that its dark colonial RPG GreedFall will be journeying onto next-gen platforms in 2021. GreedFall for PS5 and Xbox Series X will bring the dramatic adventure to the new consoles in its entirety, along with brand new, undisclosed content.

Developed by Spiders (not literally) and released on PS4, PC, and Xbox One back in 2019, GreedFall tells a turn-of-the-century story about a group of explorers who travel to uncharted land in search of the cure for a grim virus. Arriving at the mysterious locale of Teer Fradee, our protagonists find a people at war with both invading armies and a slew of vicious monsters. It is up to the player to earn the trust (or ire) of the encountered characters, keeping the party alive whilst searching for a cure to save civilization.

No release date was announced for the PS5 or Xbox Series X release. We will keep you informed when more details are forthcoming.

The Yakuza series intimidates me. It includes seven huge mainline games, and even though I’ve made two earnest attempts to start the saga, I’ve never even finished Yakuza 0. That says more about me than the games, but I’m sure I’m not alone; getting through Yakuza’s whole sprawling story is a daunting proposition, since it involves playing through multiple giant RPGs. However, the recent release of Yakuza: Like a Dragon gives players the perfect opportunity to start with a clean slate.

Following the latest reveal broadcast, Square Enix reached out with a press release full of official screenshots of the next Final Fantasy XIV update titled “Futures Rewritten” and numbered 5.4.

We get to take a look at the new content and enemies we’ll have to face in the update, on top of the gear we’ll earn in the Eden’s Promise raid. It certainly seems to be inspired by Gaia’s attire.

You can find all the assets in the gallery below alongside a summary of the content of the Final Fantasy XIV update, which will release on December 8 for PS4 and PC.

If you want to see more, you can check out the official trailer and a full recap of the Letter from the Producer Live with all the videos, details, and assets showcased.

Wading through the piles and piles of TV deals during Black Friday can be one heck of a confusing and overwhelming exercise. To try and make the whole experience a great deal less stressful, we've put together a simple list of the four best Black Friday TV deals you can buy right now.

With these picks, we've mostly focused on their capabilities as gaming TVs, so there are some terrific options if you're looking to pair them with last-gen or current-gen consoles. This has been judged by our good pals Digital Foundry in their roundup of the best TVs for gaming.

Of course, they'll still excel as TVs for regular viewing so you aren't necessarily sacrificing features in other areas. Don't worry, we've added a couple of cheaper options too - for the more budget-conscious out there!

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Fate/Grand Order's dignified and adorable netherworld mistress, Ereshkigal, is getting a fancy figure in May 2022.

The post Fate/Grand Order Lancer/Ereshkigal Figure Will Arrive in May 2022 appeared first on Siliconera.

The ray tracing is so tasty.

The post Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Edition Makes it Rain appeared first on Siliconera.

The Shin Megami Tensei series will get its first concert since its sold-out show in 2017.

The post Shin Megami Tensei Online Live 2021 Concert Ticket Pre-Sale Now Open appeared first on Siliconera.

Having trouble thinking of things to get or give this year? In this week's Siliconera Speaks Up, we share some game gift ideas.

The post Great Game Gifts to Give (or Get) This Year appeared first on Siliconera.

It’s the day after Thanksgiving. Your gut is heavy with leftovers, your vision blurs from the accumulated eye crust of countless naps. You find yourself wishing to engage in the greatest of all American holiday traditions: watching a sport you don’t usually care about while drifting in and out of sleep. Sports,…

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The best time to play a Destiny raid is as soon as it launches. Before the puzzles are solved, the bosses cheesed, the builds optimised, and the surprises spoiled, get in and discover it for yourself. Raids are extra brutal at launch because the first 24 hours are under a special ‘Contest Mode’ making enemies so much tougher while players race for the world’s first completion. So when Destiny 2: Beyond Light opened the Deep Stone Crypt last Saturday, I dove straight in with my fireteam for puzzling and a pummelling. It was: great.

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So earlier this month, EA shared their plans for next-gen Star Wars: Squadron upgrades.

The gist was that Xbox Series X/S consoles would get a 120 FPS option, while PS5 would simply be bolstered with "improved visual quality and lighting." That patch has rolled out this week and did exactly that. Update 3.0 is now live for all you Squadrons players, which adds multiple toggles to the Series X/S editions, and the "same resolution and framerate as the PS4 Pro" for PS5.

But there's a little more here than new visual sheens. The Fostar Haven map is now available for the dogfight and fleet battles modes, and numerous bugs have been fixed on all platforms. HOTAS (hands on throttle-and-stick) rigs will also now work with devices that support up to 128 buttons: a stark upgrade from the previously supported 40. That's huge! Developer Motive was big on supporting that classic flight sim crowd pre-launch and they've stuck to that philosophy.

Also, more cosmetics are in too, including a paint job "inspired by the classic Kenner Products" Star Wars toys. Going off on a tangent, if you even remotely enjoy toy history, give The Toys that Made Us a watch on Netflix. They have an episode specifically dealing with the long and messy history of Star Wars products.

If you're more interested in the nitty gritty of the patch notes, you can find a rundown of the general upgrades below, or the full notes here.

Update 3.0 release notes [EA]

If you're a Switch owner yearning for the return of the fast-runnin' high-jumpin' antics of Commander Video, then today brings you good news, as QubicGames has announced that it will be bringing six entries in the beloved Bit.Trip series to the Nintendo platform next month.

From December 25, Switch owners can download up rhythm-action title Bit.Trip Beat, along with its follow-ups Bit.Trip Core and Bit.Trip Void. Also coming to the eShop will be fast-thinking platformer Bit.Trip Runner, as well as twin-stick shooter Bit.Trip Fate, and paddle game Bit.Trip Flux.

Each title will retail for around $5 USD, so that's a somewhat pricey $30 for the whole set. That said, they are excellent games, and if you've yet to experience this colourful, beat-heavy, and engaging collection of simplistic but addictive titles. This might be the perfect opportunity.

Science fiction enthusiasts hardly need an introduction to Dune. The original book, along with the long-running novel series that ensued, are foundational pieces of the genre canon. The series also has close ties with the early days of the strategy tabletop hobby, as the original 1979 board game was an early success story for theme-driven licensed board games. That game finally saw a re-release last year, and it’s a wonderful and challenging trip back in time, albeit with new art and some small tweaks. But as anyone who knows the franchise could tell you, there’s plenty of room in the Dune universe for additional perspectives. The brand-new Dune: Imperium, from Dire Wolf Digital, is a remarkably engaging game in its own right, and has nothing to do with that older release. Drawing on elements from across the fiction, and borrowing visual elements from the forthcoming Dune film, it’s a standout new release, offering a tense competition for influence and power to dominate the all-important spice. 

In Dune: Imperium, one to four players each take control of a leader of one of the major houses. Whether you control Paul Atreides or Baron Harkonnen, your goals are the same; gather ten victory points and ultimately gain control of the spice. After all, whoever controls the spice, controls the universe. 

Half-Life: Alyx is one of the best games of the year, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you didn’t get around to playing it. In order to jump into Valve’s immersive new shooter, you also need to have access to a VR rig, which can set you back a significant amount of money – especially if you don't have a high-end PC. Personally, I think Half-Life: Alyx is fantastic; it’s the kind of game that makes me glad I invested in VR. But, I’m not here to convince you to spend money a fancy new headset; plenty of people have already made the case for Half-Life: Alyx as a defining VR game. I just want to tell you why it is worth playing if you’re a horror fan.

During yesterday's Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, the Pokémon Company International revealed its 25th anniversary logo. Accompanied by a giant Pikachu parade balloon, a dance troupe of Pikachu and trainers performed a short routine to an instrumental version of "Gotta Catch 'Em All" before unveiling the logo that you see above.

While we already know that a new Pokémon Snap is coming to Switch at some point in the future, it's likely we'll learn a lot more about what's next for the Pokémon franchise beyond that. With the series' original Japanese launch happening on February 27, 1996, the Pokémon Company International dubbed February 27 "Pokémon Day" and has made a tradition of holding special events on that day.

Rebels watchers know something that movie buffs don’t

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Today is finally the day. Black Friday 2020 has arrived and as you've no doubt seen, there's been a ton of deals going across the board. Across PC and consoles, we've witnessed thousands of different gaming discounts that have covered consoles, hardware, individual games, accessories, and more.

There's a lot to sift through and of course, we don't all have the time to go deal hunting this Black Friday. For that reason, we've now compiled our top 10 offers that we've seen so far, bringing you the best of the best in gaming picks

Covering a bit of everything, here's our recommendations throughout this entire Black Friday sale:

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Unreal Life tells the most hauntingly beautiful story about a young woman and an AI traffic light on an otherworldly journey.

The post Review: Unreal Life Is an Otherworldly Beauty appeared first on Siliconera.

Genshin Impact's Childe is a unique character who's a lot of fun to use. Especially if you find you need an archer, but normally really hate them.

The post Genshin Impact’s Childe Is the Archer for People Who Hate Archers appeared first on Siliconera.

Sega has announced that its new Sakura Wars mobile title, Sakura Kakumei: Hanasaku Otome-tachi, (or Sakura Revolution) will arrive in Japan on iOS and Android platforms December 15.

Developed by Delightworks, Sakura Revolution is a scaled-down take on Sega's cult Sakura Wars series, as young women of various artistic endeavors take to their "Spiricle Dress" battle armor to fight off invading inter-dimensional monsters and demons. Sakura Revolution will feature touch-screen turn-based battles, intense boss fights and - as a free-to-play title - will no doubt come laden with microtransactions.

You can check out the latest gameplay footage in the new trailer below. Sakura Revolution is yet to receive official word of a western localization, but given Sega's desire to expand the franchise's fanbase on the international stage, it is not out of the question.

Apex Legends recently added a lot of new content to the game to accompany the launch of Season 7, including the gravity-defying new Legend Horizon and a fresh map in the airborne city of Olympus. While Olympus is certainly focused on verticality, players have figured out a new way to take advantage of the map's exclusive vehicles in the form of a glitch that launches them across the map.

To be clear, this glitch seems to have dubious tactical value, since you have relatively little control of the Trident's direction and arc, and it's likely to shunt you off the map or out of the circle. Still, that hasn't stopped some players from making interesting plays using the glitch, particularly this crew who managed to launch themselves down one of the map's towers.

Black Friday is in full swing, and if you're feeling sluggish after yesterday's big meal, you might be looking for some new VR games to help you get up and moving again. Thankfully, Oculus has you covered with its Black Friday sale, which has brought deep discounts on titles for the new Oculus Quest 2 as well as the Oculus Quest and Oculus Rift S. And while the Oculus Quest 2 isn't discounted for Black Friday, it's back in stock at Amazon and a few other stores like Walmart and Best Buy.

If you were looking forward to taking part in Destiny 2's Trials of Osiris this week, Bungie has some bad news for you. The multiplayer tournament is again postponed, thanks to some unnamed issue Bungie discovered with the mode.

Bungie said on Twitter that the weekend Trials of Osiris mode wouldn't go live as planned today, November 27. The tweet says also says that Bungie isn't sure exactly when Trials will come back to the game.

Bungie previously let players know that Trials was off the table soon after the release of the Beyond Light expansion. At the time, Bungie also didn't make clear what issue it had discovered with Trials, but had previously set the date for its return as Friday, November 27.

You've still got a few days to defeat the Deep Stone Crypt in Destiny 2 and its new expansion, Beyond Light. Finishing the raid by December 1 will earn you the right to buy an exclusive, custom raid jacket from the Bungie store--if that's your thing. To help you take down the raid, Xur is back in the solar system this weekend with a new batch of Exotics to sell. Head to The Tower, to the Hangar area, to find Xur this week. For his weapon, Xur is offering Hard Light. Hunters can pick up the Khepri's Sting gauntlets; for Titans, there's the Lion Rampant leg armor; and for Warlocks, Xur has the Phoenix Protocol chest armor.

Xur Location

Load into the Tower and head to the left, down the stairs, to the Hangar area to find Xur. When you hit the bottom of the stairs to reach the Hangar, turn left again and walk to the edge of the area. Xur is above you, at the top of some stairs, on a catwalk looking out over the city.

Microsoft Flight Simulator developer Asobo Studios has revealed plans to tweak the United Kingdom in its next World Update for the flight sim. Japan was the first area to receive a new lick of paint back in September, while a number of new airports and points of interest were added to the USA earlier this week.

In a recent Twitch stream, Asobo laid out its roadmap for future updates, and the UK is next on the list with World Update 3 due out on January 28. The British Isles are set to be spruced up now that the studio has a new set of data for England, Scotland, and Wales. There's no map information for Northern Ireland available just yet, but head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann says the entirety of Ireland will be updated at some point in the future.

There will be between 50 and 60 points of interest added to the map in World Update 3, with Asobo using procedural tech to introduce new buildings to the UK, including churches. A number of airports will see improvements, too, such as Liverpool EGGP, Land's End, and Manchester Barton. No word yet on whether Buckingham Palace will still be an office building.

Cyberpunk 2077 is nearly upon us. After an exceedingly long wait--elongated by numerous delays--CD Projekt Red's ambitious RPG is set to launch on December 10. While we're busy tucking into our first playthrough after launch, however, the Polish developer has plans to reveal more details about the game's upcoming DLC.

CD Projekt Red president Adam Kiciński announced the news in a recent third-quarter earnings call (transcribed by Seeking Alpha). The initial plan was to announce the game's DLC before launch, but the most recent delay meant the studio decided to hold off on sharing more information until after December 10.

"We decided to wait for the release to provide gamers with the game and then start talking about future projects," said Kiciński.

Heroes of the Storm's public test realm has a new update, and it brings some major changes to Blizzard's MOBA, including a new character, the removal of a key item, and several major balance shifts. That new character is Hogger Terror of Elwynn, a character from World of Warcraft that has long been rumored as a potential addition to the game.

Since these patch notes reflect the current state of the game's public test realm, it's important to note that they are subject to change in their final implementation. The wolflike Hogger is an aggressive bruiser character who can deal a lot of damage in a large area, and he has options for self-healing, as well as slowing and crippling enemies to keep them in range. He also has multiple features and abilities that increase his damage output the more he inflicts it, particularly his Rage passive, which reduces his cooldowns for every hit he takes or deals.

Besides Hogger, this patch will remove the Gladiator's Medallion Nexus Anomaly from the game. Intended only as a seasonal item, Blizzard says that while the Medallion was a good idea in theory, it got in the way of the teamwork that the team views as central to the game's appeal. In terms of other changes, the patch reintroduces several seasonal items into the game, as well as nerfing popular talent choices for certain characters in an attempt to increase build diversity.

Developer CD Projekt Red has outlined the way Cyberpunk 2077 players on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One can transfer their saves to their respective next-gen consoles.

PlayStation 4 and Xbox One players who upgrade to the next-gen system in their respective console family can pick up their Cyberpunk 2077 save file on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S / Series X from where they left off when the game drops on December 10. As you'd expect, the process of transferring saves from one console to the other is different for each console family.

Xbox is very simple. Thanks to Smart Delivery, Cyberpunk 2077 players on Xbox One can upload their save to the cloud and simply pick up their file on Xbox Series S / Series X. Similarly, players can connect both consoles to the same network and download their saves via selecting the System Network Transfer option.

One of the most sought-after items this festive season could be a next-gen console, as stock of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X has been extremely limited.

From online retailers the consoles have sold out almost instantly, but physical stock available at GameStop stores did arrive in time for Black Friday. The only way to guarantee a purchase of one of the new consoles was to wait in line early, and for some dedicated gamers that meant securing their spot several hours -- and in some cases days -- before their local shop was ready to open up.

People have literally camped outside some GameStop shops:

Unto the End, a cinematic 2D platformer about a father's desperate journey home, is coming to Xbox Game Pass on PC and Xbox One. Published by Big Sugar and developed by 2 Ton Studios, Unto the End is set to hit PC, Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Stadia on December 9, with the Nintendo Switch version launching a little later on December 17.

According to the game's press release and Steam page, Unto the End's one-of-a-kind combat is focused on skill and mastery, as you embark on a challenging adventure through dark caves and sparse open fields. Its sword fights are designed to be demanding but fair, where improvisation and observation are key to your survival. Each encounter has been carefully crafted and will see you square off against intelligent opponents that have their own motivations and place in the world.

"Unto The End has been the focus of our day to day for the past few years and it's been fantastic to have such a great response to the game already," said Stephen Danton, one half of the husband and wife development team. "But now we're looking forward to Unto launching and everyone having a chance to experience the world and adventure we've created."

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the latest installment of Activision's flagship FPS franchise. It features a brand-new campaign, suite of multiplayer modes, and the iconic Zombies co-op mode. The Xbox Series X/Xbox One Cross-Gen Bundle of Black Ops Cold War is on sale for $60 this Black Friday at Newegg. This is the first deal we've seen since the game launched earlier this month.

Newegg's deal knocks $10 off the price of the Cross-Gen Bundle. This deal is only available for the digital version of the bundle, which means Xbox Series X and Series S users can take advantage of it. It's worth noting that $70 is the standard price for the Xbox Series X version of Black Ops Cold War, so it's definitely worth snagging this deal if you have a Series X or are planning to get one soon. To get the discount, you have to enter promo code EMCGGFN37 at checkout.

The Fall Guys stooges at Mediatonic this week announced they’ve found a spot for new studio in Leamington Spa, which I suppose means they can go ahead and open one. They initially announced plans for a studio in the English spa town back in February, but they hadn’t created a gaming sensation at that point so, y’know, fewer people were interested in the news. What are Mediatonic working on? While they say they have a few projects on the go, they only name one: Fall Guys, obvs.

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Today the German arm of PlayStation released a video showcasing the creation of two very special murals.

To celebrate the launch of the PS5, Sony had two massive murals painted on two opposite buildings in Berlin. One showcased the console itself, and the other portrayed the art of Insomniac Games’ Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart.

Some spiffy illumination effects completed the artwork, for a rather stunning piece.

You can check out how it was made below.

The PS5 is currently available in most of the world and we recently heard that its launch marked the biggest release of PlayStation’s history.

Of course, by “available” I mean “you’re lucky if you can find one,” but Sony promised that more stock is on the way.

Incidentally, Sony recently announced that it plans to ship more than 7.6 million units by the end of March 2021, beating the PS4’s debut shipments.