December 2020

Here it comes, Ubisoft’s next big game release to keep you entertained over the holidays. Immortals Fenyx Rising arrives today, bringing with it a Breath Of The Wild-like open world, some gods, some monsters, and – importantly – lots of giant, powerful women.

It’s a mythological adventure where you play as young Fenyx (which I have only just realised is pronounced like “Phoenix” and not “Fennix”) who has to save the Greek gods from some nasty curse.

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Bless Unleashed’s PC version continues to edge closer to a release, but not before another closed beta test helps developer Round8 Studio hone the game’s performance. The next session has been announced today as beginning on Jan. 14 and running for four days.

Pre-registration sign-ups are already live, and those who take part will receive a slew of rewards, including the “Breaker of Games” title, the Golden Hyaenodon mount, and a care package with 50,000 Star Seeds and 200,000 gold.

Visit this page to register your interest. Sign-ups will close on Jan. 10, with the first keys arriving to players on Jan. 5.

Round 8 Studio’s head of development Jason Park commented on the news in a statement that was included in today’s press release:

“We’ve been absolutely impressed by the passion of our PC players through the first CBT. We’ve made a host of improvements to the game for this 2nd test, and we can’t wait to see what everyone thinks.”

For those interested in learning about the changes and improvements since the Bless Unleashed’s previous beta session, you can visit the game’s Steam Page, which features regular blog updates.

As a reminder, Bless Unleashed is an action MMORPG set in a sprawling fantasy open-world built in Unreal Engine 4. It was originally launched as “Bless Online” before being scrapped and rebooted as Bless Unleashed. The new version has since launched on Xbox One and PS4 earlier this year.

Helldivers was one of the PS4’s standout co-op shooters, and today we’ve learned that developer Arrowhead Game Studios is working on a new IP for next-gen consoles.

The news comes by way of a press release from Arrowhead that announces the studio is hard at work on “a 3rd person shooter featuring next-gen graphics, innovative co-op, and agency for the community to alter the course of the game.”

The project is further described as “AAA game will share the satirical humor that fans of the studio’s previous games know and love.”

Johan Pilestedt, Game Director and CEO said in a statement:

“We are incredibly excited to create a new, next-gen, co-op experience for our fans and community. We are looking for talented developers to join us on this journey and are looking forward to sharing more details about the project at a later date.” 

The new IP hasn’t yet been named, but it will be Arrowhead’s fifth game following Magicka, Gauntlet Helldivers, and The Showdown Effect.

Most recently, last year the studio released the fifth free expansion for Helldivers, Helldivers: Dive Harder.

The studio is currently hiring for new talent. Job positions can be seen here.

In the mid-months of 2013, both PlayStation and Xbox were in the midst of ramping up their promotion of the PS4 and Xbox One consoles. Microsoft had already dropped the bombshell that backward compatibility would not be a part of Xbox One’s feature-set, and Sony was seemingly equally disinterested in the functionality.

In fact, former Xbox head Don Mattrick went as far as to say “If you’re backward compatible, you’re really backward,” in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

The lack of backward compatibility on the Xbox One was down to the fact its new x86 CPU couldn’t natively run games for the 360’s Xenon processor. It was a similar story for the PS4, too, though Sony at the time pointed out that its cloud service, PlayStation Now, would allow players to enjoy their favorite older games, albeit after the PS4 had officially launched.

Of course, once Mattrick was replaced by current Xbox head Phil Spencer, the team managed to pull off some technological magic, and the announcement of the feature went down as one of the biggest at E3 2015.

Fast forward seven years, and it’s been difficult to avoid the talk of backwards compatibility on the newly-released Xbox Series X and PS5. Not just because almost every game playable on Xbox One and PS4 can be played on the new systems, but because those shiny new consoles are making our favorite old games look and play better than ever.

Unlike World of Warcraft’s Legion and Battle For Azeroth expansions, which gave players a choice on which zones to level up their characters, Shadowlands’ story campaign is very linear. Fortunately you only have to play through it once. With the new Threads of Fate mode, players who’ve reached max level can skip the…

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Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and an infrared thermometer lead Thursday’s best deals.

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Players love "juicy" games. Unfortunately, we game-devs occasionally build the opposite: "dry", clunky and awkward games. Here's how to avoid 6 common mistakes that'll drain the juice out of any game. ...

Silent Hill, Siren, and Gravity Rush creator Keiichiro Toyama has departed SIE Japan Studio to form Bokeh Game Studio.   ...

Squad E has new orders! The Valkyria Chronicles 4 crew is prepping for its Google Stadia December debut.

The post Valkyria Chronicles 4 Stadia Port’s Heading to the Battlefield appeared first on Siliconera.

XSEED continues the tradition of including plush toys with Story of Seasons games by including a buffalo with Pioneers of Olive Town.

The post Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town LE Comes With a Buffalo appeared first on Siliconera.

People are reporting they are unable to access the PlayStation Store on the Vita. Sony hasn't issued an update yet.

The post Vita PlayStation Store Access Interrupted appeared first on Siliconera.

The PS3 is still alive with a new firmware update.

The post PS3 Still Lives With New System Update 4.87 appeared first on Siliconera.

Epic’s game is now the Smash Bros. of shooters

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Warning: The dog gets ONE pet in this entire commercial

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Pirate Legends get additional rew-arrrrrrr-ds

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News, analysis, and critique of CD Projekt Red’s futuristic open-world game

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PS5 version has a last-minute bug that prevents online play

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What’s a teenage witch to do?

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Keiichiro Toyama, creator and director of Silent Hill, has left PlayStation after more than 20 years at SCE Japan Studio.

Toyama has formed a new company, Bokeh Game Studio, and is joined by The Last Guardian and Puppeteer's Kazunobu Sato, along with Gravity Rush lead designer Junya Okura and other former colleagues.

During his time at Sony, Toyama worked on the Siren games and then Gravity Rush and its sequel for PS4 and Vita.

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High street trade-in giant CEX has come under fire for its £815 pre-owned PlayStation 5 price - a vastly inflated figure compared to the console's standard £450 RRP.

A quick check of CEX stores local to Eurogamer's Brighton office suggests there's a decent amount of pre-owned PS5 stock available in the chain. But customers and even members of the chain's own shop staff have expressed distaste at the pricing.

Brand new PS5 consoles are essentially sold out in the UK at the moment, although Sony has said more shipments will arrive before the end of the year.

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Immortals Fenyx Rising First Impressions and New Consoles Are Sold Out Everywhere! | Final Checkpoint Podcast Ep. 65 Read More »

Immortals Fenyx Rising First Impressions and New Consoles Are Sold Out Everywhere! | Final Checkpoint Podcast Ep. 65 Read More »

The dedicated Call of Duty datamining community has uncovered clues pointing to a brand new map headed to sister-title Warzone. As noted by Twitter account @BlackOpsLeaks, Rebirth Island, last seen in 2010's Call of Duty: Black Ops, will be joining the battle royale experience in the near future.

Rebirth Island - also known by its Russian name of "Vozrozhdeniya Island" - is a real-life location in the Aral Sea, which was used by the Soviet Union in the late-1950s for the development of chemical weapons. Entirely abandoned in 1991 following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, today Vozrozhdeniya Island exists as an eerie and dangerously contaminated symbol of the Cold War era.

The dataminers have uncovered an aerial image of the location, with any ounce of doubt stamped out with the giant Call of Duty: Warzone logo stamped on top of it. In addition to Rebirth Island, the datamine uncovered new multiplayer maps for Black Ops Cold War, including an abandoned shopping mall, and a rework of Black Ops II's memorable map Raid, depicting a swanky, mountain-top household.

The first season of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will begin on December 10.

The time has come for the western edition of Phantasy Star Online 2 to meet the original Japanese release.

As announced on Sega's official blog, PSO 2 is getting its major Episode 6 update on December 9. The main sticking points: more main story quests, an enhanced level cap of 95, more classes (Etoile/Phantom), more quests in general, and another difficulty setting for hardcore users (Ultra-Hard, or "UH"). It's...a lot!

The new classes should keep people busy for a while on their own. The Phantom is another mixed melee/ranged playstyle, and focuses on shifting their attacks rapidly to dish out more damage. The Etoile is a sturdier, mobile class, with the option to parry and release energy they've stored up: kind of like the Royal Guard style in Devil May Cry.

To recap, PSO 2 launched in the west under the Episode 3 patch, which actually hit in Japan nearly six years ago. To compensate, Sega eased players into subsequent chapters at a rather rapid pace. Now, the western version is poised to basically be in line with the original 2013 release. For some people it might be overwhelming, but for hardcore players, it's a near-unprecedented rollout for a live service action-RPG like this.

It's a pretty good time for the game to get a continuous amount of updates, as Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis is on the horizon next year. Sega is smart to keep people interested in PSO 2 and not feel like they're too far behind.

What's new in Episode 6 [Sega]

Square Enix's upcoming fantasy adventure Balan Wonderworld certainly looks to be one of the most colorful and fantastical titles heading gaming's way in 2021. Following on from the pomp and circumstance of its delightful intro cinematic, Square Enix has now released a lengthy video giving us a look at the PC and console title in action.

Balan Wonderworld follows the adventures of two young kids - Leo and Emma - as they pick their way through a wacky and phantasmagorical (oh yes) dimension presided over by the enthusiastic (and slightly creepy) ringmaster, Balan. Our heroes will utilise a wardrobe of 80 costumes - each with their own specific skills and abilities - to explore the environment, dodge hazards, solve puzzles, and engage with a wild cast of characters.

But it's not all just fun and games and familiar NiGHTS imagery. Each world will offer Leo and Emma the chance to do a spot of soul-searching, on a dream-like journey that will teach the hip kidz a few lessons about life, themselves, and each other. Though quite mad, Balan Wonderworld looks to be a fascinating trip for fans of Yuji Naka's weird worlds.

Balan Wonderworld is scheduled to launch March 21 on PS4, PS5, PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Nintendo Switch.

So in Japan, arcades might be hurting, but they're still kicking. And remember: there are a lot of weird publisher agreements that involve all sorts of weird IP swaps.

I constantly forget that Bandai Namco actually runs the Mario Kart Arcade line until I see their logo emblazoned on actual hardware in the wild, and it was just announced that they're bringing another big update to Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX this week. Scheduled to arrive on December 10, it's adding a new mode called "all you can throw green shells," which is exactly how it sounds.

Players can throw green shells from the start to the end of the race, and the courses are themed to include tons of walls, so shells will be bouncing around constantly. It's...amazing! I want to see this as an optional mode in a future Mario Kart game. Hell, I want some sort of update for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. With the sales it has, why hasn't this happened by now!? Nintendo could easily add in a Pikmin or Metroid update similar to how they handled the Zelda DLC.

Oh, and Wario is coming as a playable character in the arcade edition. To celebrate, the arcade units will get a new look. But forget Wario for a second: infinite green shells! Make it happen, Nintendo. Bandai Namco does what Ninten-don't.

Mario Kart Arcade Grand Prix DX new mod [Gamer.ne.jp]

Next year, the beloved Bokujō Monogatari/Story of Seasons franchise is celebrating its 25th anniversary, and it's doing so in a big way. Not only are we finally getting Rune Factory 5 sometime in 2021, but Switch owners will also be able to enjoy the next entry in the mainline series with Story of Seasons: Pioneers of Olive Town.

Originally announced during the last Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase back in October, Pioneers of Olive Town will see players building their farms from the ground up in a land overrun with trees. We'll be able to design our farms as we please with new customization options to go along with the tried-and-true farming gameplay that has kept the series going for a quarter-century. The developers are promising more than 200 unique events, a fresh crop of bachelors and bachelorettes, and some features we haven't seen in the series before, such as a tourism system that allows you to send your farmer to another player's town on a sightseeing trip.

CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is one of the most anticipated games of the year, and those interested in playing don't have to wait much longer. Oh, we also did a huge cover story on the game, which you can check out right here.

The official release date is December 10, but depending on how bad you want to play you might be scheduling out time to the very minute. You might even have an elaborate plan where you block of certain times for eating, sleeping, and human maintenance. I've certainly never done that for any MMORPG launches. Definitely not. Anyway...

The wait is almost over!

If you're looking to play #Cyberpunk2077 as soon as it's available, here's a map with global release timings.

For PC and Stadia players, the release is simultaneous and scheduled for midnight GMT, and for all console players – midnight local time. pic.twitter.com/W0QLIFAhH1

Shiren The Wanderer is one of those games that paved the way for modern roguelikes and roguelites to blossom into a major genre. 2020 alone gave us rogueish gems like Hades, Monster Train, and more. Now, you can head back to a game that was previously only available in North America on the PlayStation Vita, Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate. The title launched late yesterday on both Switch and Steam, so it's a great time to go explore some dungeons. Check out the gameplay overview trailer here to see if it's something you might enjoy.

The Outer Worlds was one of our favorite games of 2019, and players who haven’t picked it up can now buy it with all the fixins’ with the Board-Approved Bundle. The Game of the Year-style edition packages the base came as well as the Expansion Pass, which allows access to the game’s two story expansions: Peril on Gorgon and the upcoming Murder on Eridanos.

The bundle, available today, runs for $79.99 and is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One (playable on Xbox Series X/S). There’s no word of a Switch release as of yet. The Outer Worlds puts players in the role of a space traveler who awakens in the star-system of Halcyon after a century of cryosleep. Along the way they’ll take on a corrupt megacorporation while assembling a crew of colorful teammates, all while steering the story in a myriad of directions via choice-driven dialogue. The game is developed by Obsidian Entertainment, the maker of Fallout: New Vegas, which The Outer Worlds draws heavy inspiration from. 

The Last of Us Part 2 swept up some impressive awards during the JoyStick Awards and now there is one last show on the horizon: The Game Awards. With The Last of Us Part 2 being a key nominee in several notable categories, Naughty Dog  just released a brand new trailer for the sequel's other main star: Abby. 

The latest story trailer dives deep into the narrative surrounding both Abby and Ellie, so if you haven't played the game yet and want to avoid spoilers, you're going to want to skip out on the video below and the rest of this article.

"As 2020 winds down, we’re so thankful to everyone that has played The Last of Us Part II," reads a new tweet from Naughty Dog. "For those experiencing it for the first time this month, check out our new trailer that offers an expanded look into Abby's story and how it collides with Ellie’s."

Temtem has been available in early access on PC for some time, but it's making it's way to console next week on the PlayStation 5. Available in a pre-launch state, the game hits on December 8 for PS5 users. What is Temtem? Well, it's definitely heavily-inspired by Pokémon and other creature collecting games, but it has a multiplayer focus that lets you team up or take on other players as you wish. As you journey through the world, you can see other players in it in real time, with their chosen Temtem in tow, team up with a friend to take on battles together, and even trade with other players for valuable items or rare Temtem. PlayStation has unveiled a gameplay trailer today that shows a gameplay overview so that it's easy to determine if this creature collecting experience is right for you, check it out below.

It’s gotten awfully cold out lately. A perfect time, then, for getting yourself wrapped up in a nice nook with a hot drink and a spot of knitting with Weaving Tides. Developers Follow The Feathers this week released a free demo for their pleasant, aerial knit ’em up, letting you sew your way through the story’s opening or else freely embroider your own creations over an empty canvas.

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You wanna murder some big ugly mutant crabs? Of course you do! It’s a Christmas tradition that you cannot question me on because you don’t know my life. We’ve done it for years – well, one year, at least, seeing as that’s how long it’s been since Phoenix Point launched. The XCOM-like post apocalyptic crab-shooting game sheds its Epic and Xbox Game Pass exclusivity today, and arrives on Steam and GOG with a couple of new expansions to boot.

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Book of Travels isn’t a game that I was familiar with until earlier today, but I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it since. The upcoming online RPG is being developed by Swedish indie studio Might and Delight, and from what I’ve seen so far it looks absolutely magical in a new 30-minute gameplay presentation that was published earlier this week.

Described as a “Tiny Multiplayer RPG,” it’s a small-scale online game with a focus on exploration and discovery. There’s combat, too, of course, but it takes a backseat to the business of just role-playing your character and interacting with the world in different ways.

To that end, Book of Travels been built around a design imperative not to push players too firmly in one direction; there’s an overarching narrative, but the story content sort of exists in the background as opposed to forming a central pillar of the experience.

Most of your time is spent ambling around in a journey of discovery, interacting with NPCs, crafting, and generally role-playing as you please. You can even pop into teahouses to sip on a local brew and soak in the ambiance!

And that’s something you’ll certainly want to do given how strikingly beautiful Book of Travels’ art-style is. It has a relaxing, pastel-like quality that goes hand-in-hand with the laid-back pace of its gameplay. I also absolutely love the unusual third-person perspective, which almost makes the game look as though it’s a side-scroller before you realize it’s possible to move in any direction.

As you’ll hear in the below video, commentary from creative director Jakob Tuchten talks use through the game’s various mechanics and features, as well as explaining Might and Delight’s design ethos when conceptualizing how the team wanted people to engage with Book of Travels.

Today Sega announced that its charming strategy JRPG Valkyria Chronicles 4 will be made available on Google Stadia next week.

More specifically, it’ll launch on the Stadia Store on December 8 with its Complete Edition (including all the DLC) for $49.99.

You can check a trailer out below.  

If you don’t want to wait or aren’t interested in Stadia, you should keep in mind that the Complete Edition is already available to play locally on PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

If you’re not familiar with Valkyria Chronicles 4, here’s an official description.

Today CD Projekt RED had a few interesting reveals dedicated to its massively-anticipated RPG Cyberpunk 2077.

First of all, we get the announcement of the official release timings.

The map you can see below is related to the PC and Stadia versions since the release will come globally at the same time, at midnight GMT on Dec. 10.

Preloads will start on Dec. 7 at noon GMT on GoG.com and 5:00 pm GMT on Steam and the Epic Games Store.

Console versions will come staggered, at midnight local time on Dec. 10 depending on where you live.

Hitting the PlayStation Store a day earlier than expected, the PS5 version of FIFA 21 is now available, whether you’re a new player or upgrading your existing last-gen copy for free.

For the most part, it’s the same game. It’s noticeably prettier, the grass on the pitch standing out now and everything looking cleaner generally, but it’ll play the same for the most part. The impressive atmosphere remains, as do the gameplay flaws and everything else you’ve come to love or hate about FIFA 21 since it launched in early October.

If you’ve picked the game up for your new Series X or S, you won’t notice that many differences, but PS5 players might struggle to come to terms with how the game utilizes the DualSense’s haptic feedback features.

Your controller will vibrate lightly as you run around to close down opposing players and more so when you’re passing the ball yourself.

It’s almost constantly reacting to something you’re doing, rarely staying motionless for more than a fraction of a second. It’s certainly more immersive, adding real feeling to even the smallest of inputs.

The impact of the adaptive triggers implementation is far more noticeable and somewhat off-putting.

Today SNK released a video related to the upcoming The King of Fighters XV, finally giving some info over a year after the reveal of the project.

We hear that the game will be revealed with a gameplay trailer on Jan, 7.

We also hear about some of the characters who will appear in The King of Fighters XV. Shun’ei is back, and this time he’s officially the protagonist, but we also catch a glimpse of Kyo Kusanagi and Benimaru Nikaido.

On top of that, we also hear that on the same day we’ll get a reveal of the first two characters in the third character pass for Samurai Showdown.

A long time has passed since the reveal of the season pass in July, but the Coronavirus pandemic has hindered development.

Incidentally, one of the two characters revealed will be from Gekka No Kenshi (known in the west as “The Last Blade”).

You can check out the video below, which includes the reveal of artwork for the King of Fighters XIV characters mentioned above, alongside the official logo.

Yesterday, Ubisoft confirmed that an upcoming gameplay event in The Division 2, Codename Nightmare, has been canceled and will not be released as planned this year, Yannick Banchereau, the Associate Creative Director on the game, explained the situation in the latest State of The Game livestream.

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