November 2020

Friday’s Best Deals | Kinja Deals

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Up to 22% Off Gaming PCs, Laptops, Monitors | Amazon

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That Night, Steeped By Blood River is one of the most interesting-looking games I can remember. This surrealist exploration game has an aesthetic so unique that I’m convinced I’ll dream like it tonight, and as such am somewhat put off going to sleep.

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In a year filled to the brim with tragedy, never-ending stress, and political unrest, Persona 5 Royal defined my summer staycation in the best possible way. Last week, Royal was nominated in the Best Role-Playing category at The Game Awards, and rightfully so – though I wish it had been considered for other commendations as well. This isn’t a mere expansion of the original 2017 game. Among a bevy of substantial updates, Royal makes noticeable tweaks to Persona 5’s gameplay loop, introduces new cast members to the central narrative, and offers more areas to explore in Tokyo and the cognitive world. All these features combine to create a contemporary JRPG unlike any other. The 100-plus hours it takes to reach Royal’s closing credits may seem like a dauting commitment – especially for people who played the original Persona 5 – but this expanded vision for the game is less about the final destination and more about the journey itself. With that in mind, here are some reasons for why Persona 5 Royal never overstays its welcome.

When the developers at Ubisoft Québec set out on their newest title, they weren't content with just rehashing what worked in Assassin's Creed Odyssey. For Immortals Fenyx Rising, they ventured to add a new layer of gameplay that would keep players engaged in their delightful mythological take on ancient Greece through the use of puzzles.

The main implementation of these brain-teasers is the Vaults of Tartaros which push players to think outside of the box when it comes to traversal, world manipulation, and more. Traversing these dungeons not only nets you rewards such as gear or new weapons, but locked deep inside of each features one of Zeus' lightning bolts which allows players to upgrade their in-game stamina.

On top of the 60+ vaults to explore and conquer, the developers have also added challenges around the game world that test your skills, unlock new areas, and reveal new gear for players to collect in their quest to save the gods. But while puzzle-solving is so tightly connected with the world of video games, Ubisoft Québec's journey to implement these virtual riddles was anything but easy.

Alternate history RTS Iron Harvest will be expanding its campaign on 17th December with the launch of its new Rusviet Revolution DLC on Steam, GOG, and the Epic Store.

Iron Harvest, which has been available on PC since September, unfolds in the alternate reality of 1920+, Polish artist Jakub Różalski's war-ravaged world of picturesque European hamlets and smog-cloaked towns, where huge dieselpunk death-mechs dominate the skyline.

The game's alternate history take on the much-loved Company of Heroes RTS formula has been generally well-received, and developer King Arts Games' Rusviet Revolution DLC will expand its solo component (the base game also includes multiplayer) with four new single-player-focussed, but co-op-enabled, maps centred on the Rusviet people's uprising against the Tsar.

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With digital retailers like GOG, Steam and the Epic Store launching their own Black Friday sales this week, it should come as no surprise that the folks over at Oculus have gone live with a few discounts of their own.

Cheap VR hardware bundles have been hard to come by this year, but if you're already lucky enough to own an Oculus Quest or Rift you can expect to save 50% or more on games like SuperHot, Lone Echo and Moss. We'll be listing the games separately by console, but you can check out the complete list of cross-buy titles here.

With that in mind, here's our picks for the best VR games on sale on the Oculus Store:

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Even if you aren't proactively hunting down Black Friday gaming deals, it's still worth popping over to the Epic Games Store this week to claim MudRunner – a sim game about trudging through "untamed landscapes" with big burly vehicles – while it's completely free until Thursday, December 3.

That's the same day the Epic Game Store's Black Friday sale will come to a close.

Since World of Warcraft's launch in 2004, I've seen pretty much every up and down you can imagine. Its highest points (Burning Crusade into Wrath of the Lich King), its lowest point (shades of Cataclysm, Pandaria, and most of Draenor), and everything in-between.

But however you choose to slice it, I've really been enjoying the upward trend in the game since Legion. While Shadowlands isn't quite Legion-level quality, it does keep the spirit of the game alive and well after nearly two decades of service. That's a feat.

If you’re one of the lucky ones to have been able to buy a PS5 already, you’ll know that with a PlayStation Plus subscription you also get access to the PS Plus Collection, 20 well-loved, properly good PS4 games. But if you’re still on PS4, that bundle isn’t available to you. Well, it didn’t take people long to figure…

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On the PlayStation 5, you can swing around a lovingly recreated New York City as Spider-Man, zipping around at 60 frames-per-second or in 4K resolution. You can listen to the explosions in Call of Duty Black Ops: Cold War surround you in 3D audio. You can marvel at the way giant AAA games load in a matter of two or three seconds, wondering how you ever dealt with load times in the past, disgusted by the mere thought. 

Also, you can put this cute little robot named Astro in a spaceship, and when you do that, you have to zip him in there. Here's the best part, though: When you zip him up, the DualSense controller that comes with the PS5 rumbles, and it feels like a real zipper! That's next-gen gaming, baby. That's the reason I spent $500 on this big ugly box in the middle of a pandemic and financial crisis. 

But seriously: Of all the games I've played on the PlayStation 5, Astro's Playroom (review) is the only one that truly feels like a next-gen experience. This is partly because it's the only game I've played so far that’s not also on the PlayStation 4 (I haven't had time for Demon's Souls, sorry). Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Call of Duty look pretty, and they load very fast, but they don't make extensive use of the PS5's new features. But in Astro ... that zipper, man. 

In a year defined by ample hardships, video games have been a routine escape for many of us. Luckily, we saw the release of several incredible games, including Hades, The Last of Us Part II, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and much more. However, with so many sizable game releases, some of the year’s most interesting experiences likely flew under your radar.

Without further ado, here are 5 hidden gem games you missed in 2020. 

Risk of Rain 2

Risk of Rain 2 is a roguelike third-person shooter wherein teams of up to 4 travel from dimension to dimension to explore space and time. Players slowly build up their stats and abilities each run by obliterating waves of alien enemies and subsequently collecting randomized loot.

Original Stitch’s shirt program extends to masks, bandanas

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Assassin's Creed Valhalla got a lot better on Thanksgiving from a quality of life standpoint. Ubisoft released a massive title update patch that addressed issues from all corners of the game. 

Some of it was really necessary like "Corrected some instances where Load Game would not display save games correctly" and "Addressed an issue where allies would not help Eivor to open a door during Raids." Some of it was kind of silly like "Players can no longer use the fishing tool or the horn during the drunk walk with Tewdr" and "Fish in Norway will now spawn in bad weather."

Seriously, this patch does a lot. There are over 100 bullet points of varying fixes and reworkings. One of the more crucial aspects is that it resets some bugged quests so that they can finally be completed. They're mostly open-world events, as the widespread big critical path-blocking bug in "A Seer's Solace" was patched out a few weeks ago.

After firing up Assassin's Creed Valhalla, I found it to be a mixed bag. I was finally able to complete the "Winchell the Robesfree" quest as the crate respawned after it had fallen through the floor of the lake. However, the "Demon Odour at the Tithe" quest is just as broken as ever, as the sliding blocks are permanently stuck in unmovable positions. Similarly, the Alpha Animal in the Sciropescire region is still impossible as the bear spawns above his lair rather than inside it.

These are things that I can only pray Ubisoft gets around to fixing in due time. I'm marching toward my ill-advised ever-onward attempt at reaching 100 percent completion in every Assassin's Creed game. To get there in Valhalla, you need to do everything in every region. It's a massive undertaking, one that I hope won't be cut short by a few pesky quests that don't work.

In what can be described as a heartwarming Demon's Souls moment (we take them whenever we can get them!), a "first-time Souls player" named helloiamjack shared a video of them toppling one of the early intimidating bosses, Tower Knight, only to realize that the DualSense microphone had picked up their vocal celebration when their PS5 created an automated 15-second "trophy unlocked" clip.

First time Souls player. I didn’t realise that the PS5 records your microphone’s audio whenever you get a trophy. Whoops. from r/PS5

(There's a similar clip for Flamelurker, too. The player even takes a triumphant swig of beer.)

It's a cute moment, one that brings me back to the first time I brought down this big lug, but it also serves as a reminder that, depending on your settings, your PS5 might be making loads of trophy clips.

After tearing through Bugsnax, Astro's Playroom, and Demon's Souls – and revisiting a few PS4 games in that free-with-PS-Plus collection – I found out that I had accumulated over 5GB of auto-captured trophy videos. Whoops! I'm glad I caught this early since it was just a matter of selecting everything on my console for mass deletion, but for people with lots of intentional screencaps or videos, it'll be a matter of scanning a massive list to figure out what's worth keeping and what's worth trashing.

Developer CD Projekt Red revealed today how console players will be able to transfer their Cyberpunk 2077 game saves from PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to next-gen consoles.

While the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S have been in short supply since releasing earlier this month, Cyberpunk 2077 will be backward-compatible with the new consoles.

Players who pick up a new console after the game launches on Dec. 10 will be able to transfer their PlayStation 4 or Xbox One save and continue their game progress on the new system, provided that it is within the same console family.

For Xbox One players, Smart Delivery on Xbox Series X|S will transfer progress with save data already uploaded to the cloud. Players can also transfer their save by connecting their old and new consoles to the same network and using the system network transfer option.

It was a close call, but it turns out Sega will release Sakura Revolution in 2020. We've also translated new details on the battle system.

The post Sakura Revolution Release Date and Battle System Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

Ubisoft has opened up Phase 2 of Title Update 12 for The Division 2 on the PC Public Test Server until Wednesday, December 2. The new phase will bring about a number of changes, including buffing some weapons and addressing bugs. Check out the patch notes below.

The PDR assault rifle saw a damage buff to make it a competitive option when stacked against other assault rifles. The Exotics Bighorn and Capacitor have had their magazines increased, while the Exotic Scorpio saw some PvE and PvP debuffs to the duration of its status effects.

Title Update 12 also addresses a host of bugs. This includes general optimizations, fixes for high-difficulty missions at level 30 that weren't dropping appropriately-leveled gear, adjustments for challenges within The Summit, and other weapon balances for the Scorpio.

The Masterline NieR Automata pre-orders have opened and, even with the 10% discount applied, you'll have to have around $2,500 for even the standard statue.

The post Masterline NieR Automata Status Will Cost You Thousands of Dollars appeared first on Siliconera.

"[Geralt] caught sight of Regis looking at him intently. 'Is that a fresh injury?'

"'Not really. But it's tormenting me. Do you have any herbs capable of soothing the pain?'"

- Baptism of Fire by A. Sapkowski, pp.128

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Alright, here it is, we’re coming up on the most important day of the year: Cyber Monday. As far as I know or care, Cyber Monday is a day to dress in tattered leathers, gather round an open SMTP relay with your IRC kith and kin, drink mulled Jolt Cola, roast AOL CDs on an open fire, and sing Front Line Assembly anthems to celebrate freeing Kevin. Rest well this weekend, reader dear, for on Monday we HACK THE PLANET.

On Tuesday we’ll start opening the RPS Advent Calendar to reveal our favourite games of the year. Do you think you have a handle on what we’ve liked? Join the Advent Calendar Guessing Game on the forums.

What are you playing this weekend? Here’s what we’re clicking on!

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PlayStation 5 owners are exploiting a loophole to sell the PlayStation Plus Collection to PlayStation 4 owners, it has emerged.

PS Plus subscribers who own a PS5 get the eye-catching PS Plus Collection as a bonus. It's a new curated series of 20 PS4 games that are available for digital download. The list includes some big hitters, such as Bloodborne, Days Gone, God of War and Uncharted 4.

As VGC reports, it didn't take long for PS5 owners to discover and exploit a loophole that lets them log into a PS4 owner's account on their PS5, which in turn unlocks the Collection games for use on the PS4.

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We finally did it, folks. 2020 is almost over. And while it felt like spring and summer were interminably long, autumn seems to have passed in the blink of an eye. But we can still enjoy the best season a little while longer with Dutch indie boyband Sokpop, who are taking us all out on a cosy trip to Pipo Park‘s tiny sandbox. Wrap up warm, though. It’s rather nippy out.

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You remember Line Rider, right? That Flash game with the wee man on a sled who slides down whatever track you’ve sketched? Great little time-killer, that. Only, it seems one artist has wiled away more than a few hours on the slip ‘n’ slider. Having spent hundreds of hours over the past decade putting it all together, David Lu is finally ready to show us Omniverse 2 – an exhaustive showcase of high-velocity puppetry that turns the web toy into a mind-bending work of art in its own right.

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There’s nothing more exciting than opening a brand new console on launch day.

Unless of course, yours turns out to be a bag of cat litter. Or a George Foreman grill, or tins of dog food, or bed sheets, or fitness equipment, or a Himalayan Salt Lamp.

For me, it was an air fryer that sat in my Amazon package, in place of the PS5 I’d ordered from Amazon months previously.

On launch day, excited my PS5 package had finally arrived after an unexpected delay, I hit record on my phone to capture its unboxing. But, after giving the driver the special password from Amazon to ensure a secure delivery, I discovered I had been sent a kitchen appliance instead. The anticlimax was captured on film.

Happy weekend, friends! As we approach the final month of 2020, I hope that this week has found you and yours very well indeed. For my American friends, I hope you are enjoying the Thanksgiving holidays. For everyone else, Hell it's still a Saturday so... we all win? I've had a helluva month, and the past week has really beat me down mentally - but the whole year has been a challenge for us all, and hopefully the new year will start to bring new fortune to you, I, and everyone. We got this.

What little gaming time I've enjoyed this week has been spent mainly with two titles: Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War - where I ground out Prestige status thanks to the ongoing Double XP event - and Mortal Kombat 11, where I've bouncing around with everyone's favorite toothy gal, Mileena, as well as enjoying the excellent Mortal Kombat movie skins. More of those please, NRS. Gimme Talisa Soto and Musetta Vander and gaming has essentially peaked for me.

Anyway, it seems that gaming will never peak for any of you. I'm endlessly stunned by how many titles, new and old, you cram into seven days. I don't know how you all do it, but I love that you do. Jump into the comments below and fill us in on the great games that you're enjoying right now. And don't forget to take some time to rest up and recharge, we all deserve the break.

Did you know the PlayStation 5 records your microphone audio as it captures your Trophy gameplay? One first-time Demon's Souls player didn't - and only found out via a wonderful video that includes a rousing cheer.

Redditor helloiamjack uploaded the moment they defeated the rock hard Tower Knight boss in the Demon's Souls remake as captured by their PS5 - and the clip includes a fantastic "yes!" followed by the kind of chuckle anyone who's finally defeated a boss after multiple attempts will relate to.

"I was getting so frustrated haha," helloiamjack said. "The last attempt I actually realised how much easier it was if I just charged basically through his legs rather than trying to run a wide berth around him and then get behind. So much satisfaction when finished though!"

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eBay has issued a warning to scammers who are selling photos of a PlayStation 5.

Since the PS5 went on sale, people have flooded auction sites such as eBay with misleading listings - and one of the more prominent of these involves the sale of a photo of the console masquerading as the console itself.

One eBay user contacted Eurogamer to say they had talked to eBay customer support to flag the issue of people bidding on photos of a PS5 thinking they were bidding on the console, after nearly falling for the scam themselves.

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The classic PlayStation RPG, SaGa Frontier, is getting a remaster with upgraded graphics and useful features.

The post SaGa Frontier Remastered Coming to PS4, Switch, PC, and Smartphones in Summer 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

The Brotherhood Of Steel brought a lot of metal with them when they arrived in Fallout 76. Power Armour, weapons, you name it. But in a more quietly pleasant addition to the wasteland, it looks like Bethesda also added wheelchairs with last week’s update, following one fan’s request to see their own real-life mobility aid represented in the post-apocalyptic sandbox.

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Disney Infinity was, in 2013 at least, trying to be the biggest thing in both games and toys. Yet only three years after launching, in 2016 it was gone, its servers closed down, its playsets discounted then removed from stores entirely.

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Square Enix announced a remaster of 1998 PlayStation game SaGa Frontier today, coming summer 2021.

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Ah we just can't get enough of the trailer, so here it is again!#FFXIV Patch 5.4—Futures Rewritten arrives on Tuesday, December 8! https://t.co/qcrLxpTyuk pic.twitter.com/9TyM64tVLC

The 1998 classic is back: SaGa Frontier is being remastered with updated graphics, events, cutscenes, enhancements (and a new protagonist!) for PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, Steam, iOS, and Android - launching in Summer 2021 pic.twitter.com/3VsrEReHnA

Between hidden arcade machines and Ronald Reagan’s war crimes, Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War quite badly wants to evoke the 80s. But it doesn’t look like the 80s, so much as it looks like a high-budget videogame made in the late 2010s. Fortunately, you can fix that with an easter egg hidden in the newest iteration of Nuketown, with old-school colour filters hidden inside this year’s synth-coloured remix of Treyarch’s arena fixture.

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The PlayStation Plus Collection gives PS5 owners access to some of the biggest PS4 games as part of their standard PS Plus subscription, but you cannot claim the games via PS4. That led to a market of PS5 owners offering to sell access to these games via temporary guest logins on their console, but it appears this practice is resulting in bans.

Here's how it works in a nutshell:

1. PS5 owner offers to claim PS Plus Collection games for a PS4 owner.
2. PS4 owner gives them their login details so the PS5 owner can claim the games.
3. PS5 owner signs back out of the account after claiming games.
4. PS4 owner changes their password.

As it turns out, Sony isn't a big fan of players doing this. According to VGC, Hong Kong PlayStation 5 players who have sold access to the games--as well as the PS4 players who purchased them--are having their accounts banned. The bans on the accounts don't appear to be permanent, but the PS5 consoles themselves can no longer connect to PSN. Given that online access is required for nearly everything in modern gaming, including finishing installations of disc-based games, in many cases, this essentially renders the PS5 systems useless.