January 2021

Team Cherry has kept details about Hollow Knight: Silksong, the indie studio's sophomore effort, close to the chest since its announcement. But we've now learned some more about the upcoming soulslike metroidvania, including how protagonist Hornet's design influenced the creation of the game's setting, Pharloom.

"Hornet being taller changes everything," Hollow Knight: Silksong game designer Willian Pellen told Edge, in an interview published in Issue #354. In comparison to Hollow Knight's rather small unnamed knight of a protagonist, Silksong features the tall Hornet, a half-insect warrior princess.

"Hornet can travel so much faster, she can jump higher, she can mantle or clamber onto ledges, she's generally more acrobatic," Hollow Knight: Silksong animator Ari Gibson told Edge. "So the caves around her need to accommodate her height."

The Sims is all about character customization and hilarious death traps, but mostly the character customization. Now EA has partnered with the cosmetics company MAC to create a line of Sims-themed eyeshadows, so you can look like your Sim that looks like you that looks like your Sim.

Input Mag reports that the product is called the Sims Eye Shadow x9 Palette Starring The Sims. The pan includes nine shades including smoky brown and shimmer shadows, all in a Sims-themed box. You can purchase the palette for $32 USD through the Mac Cosmetics site.

"Many gamers stream live and understand the power of the slightest gesture of makeup," Romero Jennings, MAC director of make-up artistry said. "They understand the impact it can make on themselves and their followers. Makeup and video games are the perfect escape to bring your perfect virtual world to the real life. Both definitely enhance our day-to-day lives."

This year will mark a decade since the release of The Binding of Isaac, the monster roguelite that launched a thousand roguelites. But while it's been seven years since the major expansion Rebirth, and four years since Afterbirth added better mod support, Isaac will get one final major expansion to close out the game.

Titled Repentance, this expansion officially adopts a lot of content from Antibirth, a popular mod for Isaac that was released back in 2016, and several of the developers behind Antibirth are working with lead developer Edmund McMillen to put the game together. According to McMillen, Repentance is a sequel-sized expansion that is to the current game as the Rebirth was to the original flash version of Isaac.

Though many other roguelites have followed in McMillen's wake, most recently the smash-hit Hades, The Binding of Isaac is still arguably the biggest game in the genre, with many streamers still playing the game to this day. Given its pedigree and legacy, It remains to be seen if fans will embrace the changes that Repentance will bring to the game, since previous expansions have proven controversial among the game's fanbase at times.

While Cyberpunk 2077 does feature a third-person camera, the view is relegated exclusively to driving vehicles--unless players glitch the game. However, a new PC mod looks to fully convert developer CD Projekt Red's first-person RPG into a third-person RPG.

The mod, available on Nexus Mods and uploaded by user sarunama, is a work-in-progress. It does exactly what it says: Pushes the camera behind the character so players can get a wider view of Cyberpunk 2077 from the third-person perspective. However, in order for players to get access to the third-person plugin, they must download two mods: the TPP mod itself and the prerequisite mod Cyber Engine Tweaks, which is also downloadable from Nexus Mods.

Once both mods are installed, players can hit the "B" key to choose from four different third-person camera angles. YouTuber Slothability breaks down how to install the mod and provides a brief demonstration. Being a work-in-progress and with Cyberpunk 2077 created as a first-person game, character animations are erratic and wonky. It doesn't break the game in any way, but the mod is likely to make the experience even more unstable than it already has been. CD Projekt Red promised more bug fixes are planned for January and February of this year.

Speedrunning events like Awesome Games Done Quick and Summer Games Done Quick are a great way for runners to build their profile and show off the games that they specialize in. Given how competitive many of these games are and the pressure that the event brings, it's relatively rare for a runner to actually set a world record at a marathon. However, that's exactly what happened to a certain Sonic The Hedgehog speedrunner on Monday.

The Sonic runner FlyingFox set a new world record in the original Sonic the Hedgehog during the "Sonic block" on Monday. The run saw FlyingFox play through the entirety of the original game with the character Tails, which is possible only in the 2013 rerelease of the game on Android and iOS. Because the category relies on in-game time, not real-time, it took the moderators a moment to realize that FlyingFox set the record, during which time the runner said she was just happy that she "didn't die." This delay was caused in part due to the event occurring virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Obviously, it’s wonderful when you plan out airtight approaches and execute them without breaking a sweat, but that isn’t true joy. Hitman happiness is found in plan B, when you have to react to the mistakes you’ve made and the situations you’ve put Agent 47 in.

Sure, being spotted by someone and discovering that your only defence is a squeaky toy you’ve stuffed into your seemingly very large pockets isn’t ideal, but the story of how you pulled back that nailed-on failure of a mission is going to be worth it in the end.

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Nintendo just announced that it has purchased Next Level Games, the developers behind titles like Luigi’s Mansion 3, Luigi’s Mansion Dark Moon and the Super Mario Strikers series.

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Nintendo has announced that it plans to acquire Canadian developer Next Level Games, the studio behind titles like Luigi’s Mansion 3 and the soccer-based Super Mario Strikers games on the GameCube and Wii.

The news comes via an official announcement over on the Nintendo Japan website, detailing the big N’s plans to acquire Next Level Games as an official first-party studio. Until now, Next Level Games has been a second-party partner of Nintendo. This means the developer has only released games for Nintendo platforms, but the acquisition will help “facilitate an anticipated improvement in development speed and quality by enabling closer communication and exchange of staff with the Nintendo development team.

Next Level Games’ most recently titles include 2019’s Luigi’s Mansion 3 for the Nintendo Switch, and Metroid Prime: Federation Force on Nintendo’s 3DS. Some of the developer’s other titles include Super Mario Strikers for GameCube, Mario Strikers Charged and Punch-Out!! for Wii, and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon on the 3DS.

The acquisition is expected to close on March 1, pending satisfaction of all relevant terms and conditions, including stakeholders’ approval, regulatory approval under the Investment Canada Act, and other customary closing conditions, according to the announcement.

We were big fans of Luigi’s Mansion 3 when we reviewed it for the Nintendo Switch, citing its excellent level design, gorgeous presentation and plethora of collectibles as reasons to pick it up, and awarding it a 4/5.

Nintendo has announced that it has purchased Next Level Games, acquiring 100% of its outstanding shares in order to transition the Canadian outfit into a full first-party studio.

"NLG’s shares are currently held entirely by its owner-directors and employees," reads an official document concerning the purchase. "A number of owner-directors recently determined that the time is right for them to sell their shares, and NLG therefore began exploring potential sale transactions. Completion of the Acquisition will serve to secure the availability of NLG development resources for Nintendo, including development expertise, as well as facilitate an anticipated improvement in development speed and quality by enabling closer communication and exchange of staff with the Nintendo development team."

The purchase is a no-brainer, given that Next Level has been responsible for a slew of popular Nintendo titles including Wii Punch-Out!!, the Super Mario Strikers titles, Metroid Prime: Federation Force for 3DS, and most recently Luigi's Mansion 3 for Nintendo Switch.

According to the purchase details, the acquisition is expected to close on March 1, 2021.

A datamined World of Warcraft cinematic has shone a light on Sylvanas - and teased a significant storyline development for the controversial villain.

THERE MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD.

As Wowhead reports, the cinematic shows Sylvanas troubled by a difficult choice that hints at a potential redemption for the veteran Warcraft baddie.

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Pokémon Go will let you become a character in the game - a first for the franchise.

The hit mobile game is set to feature eight lucky fans as NPCs in its major upcoming ticketed Pokémon Go Tour: Kanto event.

Whether you buy a ticket or not, the event will let you find and battle these trainers on the game's map - just as you would bump into NPCs back in the original Pokémon games.

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Chris: Teardown is a game about knocking holes in stuff. Walls. Ceilings. Bits of pier. And while you can knock some holes in stuff with a hammer, often you're going to need something bigger: a forklift, or a JCB, or a yacht.

It's magical, actually: a voxely world that's just ready to crumble if you find the right way to approach things. You play as a thief of sorts, and each mission drops you into a sandbox with a simple sort of objective - get this, destroy that. You have as long as you want to scope things out and plan how you're going to tackle things, and then you're off.

The magic may be in how things come down - the way a wall collapses as you ease a dumptruck through it, or even the way a window splinters into tinkling pieces after a blow from your hammer - but what keeps me playing is a totally unexpected rigour to the whole thing.

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Next Level Games, the talented Canadian developer behind Luigi's Mansion 3, will become a fully-owned subsidiary of Nintendo.

Nintendo announced an agreement to purchase the developer this morning, pending shareholder and regulatory approval.

The Vancouver-based studio has long been an ally of Nintendo's. It developed the well-received Mario football spin-off Super Mario Strikers and its sequel for Wii, as well as the Wii iteration of Punch-Out!!

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The developer of a controversial third-party Call of Duty: Warzone app that lets you see your lobby's K/D ratio before a match begins has made changes in response to online concern, Eurogamer can reveal.

Warzone Companion is an app ostensibly for displaying in-depth stats to players and for flagging potential cheaters in a lobby. But it became a hot topic within the Call of Duty community recently when it emerged it also displays the K/D ratio of all players in a lobby before a match begins. This is not something Warzone does officially.

Players were using the app to back out of unfavourable lobbies before the beginning of a match - effectively cheating Warzone's skill-based matchmaking system. Its use for stream sniping and for cheating within the competitive Call of Duty community was also been raised as a concern.

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Skippy is potentially one of the strongest weapons you can find in Cyberpunk 2077. It’s also unique even by Iconic weapon standards, because this small, unassuming Smart Pistol houses an AI which actually talks to you and offers you important choices after you pick it up. Learn the right choices to make and the location of this powerful weapon with our Cyberpunk 2077 Skippy guide.

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The upcoming broadcast will share more information on the title, and reveal the release date for the demo.

The post Monster Hunter Rise Live Broadcast to Reveal Demo Date appeared first on Siliconera.

Currys/PC World is breaking in gaming deals this year with a £10 reduction on both the Mario and Luigi versions of Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit. The AR racing game for the Nintendo Switch is basically a fascinating mix of video game and RC toy, in which players lay out a physical course in their own home. Then they can drive a remote control kart through the course via their Switch, seeing an enhanced AR version of the game through a camera on the kart itself.

Our own review of Home Circuit can be found here, and though we had some troubles, it was ultimately a good experience, and many of the kinks should be less problematic if you have a good amount of floor space to work with. Below we've listed the two main versions of the game - one with a playable Mario, and one with a playable (clearly superior) Luigi.

Both versions have since sold out at Currys, but the Luigi edition is available for the same price at Amazon

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UPDATE 11/1/21: Pokémon Go developer Niantic has now released its new range of Gucci clothing for all players, wherever they are. Previously, it was only available in large cities at certain PokéStops - and only in London in the UK.

PokéStops with the promotion have been removed in Japan, although fans say they are still visible elsewhere.

In a statement posted by Gucci and retweeted by Pokémon Go's Japanese Twitter account, the brands confirmed the collaboration had been canned "due to the spread of the coronavirus infection".

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Shut the front door, Slay the Spire is being turned into a board game.

It's being made by a company called Contention Games, which has a similar-ish-looking game called Imperium: The Contention. Similar in that it's a deck-building and customising game, which, of course, Slay the Spire is.

Exactly how Slay the Spire will translate is unclear, but the brief description on Contention Games' website says the board game will be co-operative, and for one-to-four players. The Slay the Spire computer game isn't co-operative, however, so I'm intrigued to see how a one-player game will become, potentially, for four.

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The 4v4 moe Bomberman spinoff game will be available for 110 yen a play.

The post Bombergirl is Headed to PC as a Pay-Per-Play Title appeared first on Siliconera.

Raise your very own EVA pilot with this new line of Tamagotchi.

The post New Neon Genesis Evangelion Tamagotchi Are on the Way appeared first on Siliconera.

The Catherine and Catherine: Full Body OST is now available to stream through streaming service Spotify in select regions.

The post The Catherine & Catherine: Full Body OST is Now Available on Spotify appeared first on Siliconera.

Nintendo acquires Luigi's Mansion developer, with the acquisition scheduled to close in March 2021.

The post Nintendo to Acquire Luigi’s Mansion Developer Next Level Games appeared first on Siliconera.

Bloober Team released a new video showing off the gameplay of its upcoming third-person psychological horror game The Medium.

We get to see 14 minutes of the game, including its striking and seamless passage between the real world and the spirit world, which often appear at the same time on the screen.

You can check it out below and come along for the thrill ride.

The Medium can already be pre-ordered both for Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam. It’ll release on Jan. 18, 20211.

Did you know that Platinum Games is now retroactively adding cheat codes to The Wonderful 101 Remastered months after its release? Yes? No? Well I'm going to explain anyway!

Tucked away in the game's menus is a "Wonderful Code" option, which allows players to put in a string of letters to unlock new characters. The very first code that was unveiled was "UMBRANGIFT," which, as astute Platinum fans will recognize, unlocks Wonder Bayonetta for use in the game.

But since then Platinum has released a few more codes, all of which you can find in one location below (as more arise, we'll add them). The latest update involves the "Space Pirates, Unify!" code, which adds three members of the antagonistic space pirates: Prince Vorkken, Chewgi, and Immorta.

As a reminder, Platinum says that they plan on providing seven codes in total (for now), which are coming at a cadence of around one per week (give or take).

The Wonderful 101 Remastered [Steam]

@AskPlayStation yo @AskPS_UK do you reckon this is a good price... #Greedfall £10,000.00 for PS Plus members? Assetto Corsa for £6.24? Are these your monthly PS Plus games? #Playstation #Sony #psplus #AssettoCorsaCompetizione @eurogamer @IGNUK pic.twitter.com/U5E2JZUjZ4

The Canadian studio has previously collaborated with Nintendo on a number of high-profile franchises including Luigi's Mansion, Super Mario Strikers, and Punch-Out.  ...

Selecting 10 studios for our top game developers list is difficult every year, but this year was one of the toughest to narrow down. ...

Upcoming horror game The Medium is about a psychic trying to solve a crime. Developers at Polish game studio Bloober Team tell me it’s also about breaking down player’s preconceived notions about the world.

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Microsoft has announced some new games coming to Xbox Game Pass in January 2021.

Konami's football game PES 2021 hits Xbox Game Pass for console and Android on 7th January.

On the same day, NetherRealm's DC-flavoured fighting game Injustice 2 hits PC, console and Android via Xbox Game Pass.

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CD Projekt has clarified Cyberpunk 2077's Judy romance after players found unused male voice lines in the game.

THERE MAY BE SPOILERS AHEAD. ALSO, NSFW!

Last week, modders discovered male V is able to romance Judy in the PC version of the game via a simple code change inserted via the console command.

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Here it is, the best news of 2021 so far: Slay The Spire is being adapted into a board game. The tabletop treatment will turn Mega Crit Games’ fab little deck-building roguelike into a four-player cooperative adventure. Much like the video game, you’ll have to craft a deck and collect relics to beat up the baddies, and ultimately Slay that Spire.

This is exactly the sort of pick-me-up I needed at the start of a pretty dreary new year.

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Hey, everyone. Let’s fix Cyberpunk 2077.

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The Monowire is one of the most powerful and flashy pieces of cyberware you can come across in Cyberpunk 2077. A melee weapon composed of a thin whip-like wire only a molecule in thickness, the Monowire delivers extremely high damage when fully charged. In this Cyberpunk 2077 Monowire guide, we’ll show you how you can get your hands on the Legendary Monowire for free, instead of having to pay ridiculous amounts of money to obtain it.

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As I write this, I’m listening to “Life Will Change” from the official Persona 5 soundtrack on Spotify. I can’t quite believe it, is this real? Yes, it has to be, as this sizzling groove is now saved to my “Liked Songs”. I can see it there, with my own eyes! And many more are due to follow, as a whole host of other Persona OSTs have made their way onto Spotify too. Perhaps dreams really do come true.

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If you’ve ever been messing around with Overwatch‘s emotes and thought, “hey, this one would look great on a different character”, then boy do I have a fun bug to show you. Players have discovered an emote-swapping glitch which allows you to play almost any looping emote on almost any character. Sometimes they’re pretty funny, but I found that one Bastion emote in particular creates some absolute nightmare fuel.

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It includes everything from the season pass and expansion pack, as well as additional DLC released.

The post SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays Platinum Edition Includes All DLC appeared first on Siliconera.