January 2021

Agent 47 may be the playable avatar and box-art star of the Hitman series, but I’d argue that he’s not the main draw. That distinction has to go to the meticulously crafted levels that IO Interactive has delivered for years. They’re sandboxes in the best sense of the term, providing interesting, beautiful, and varied backdrops for players to ply their grim trade. Each level is purposely built for replayability, rewarding players who fully explore each setting with not only unlocks but a greater vision of the myriad little stories that populate each place. One of Hitman 3’s standout locations is its Berlin mission, which severs Agent 47 from the resources that he’s relied on up until this point in the trilogy. It’s a disconcerting change of pace, and there are some interesting stories behind its development.

We spoke to several members of the development team during our Hitman 3 cover story, and we were able to play our way through the game’s first three missions. We wrote at length about the Dubai and Dartmoor levels, but much about Berlin was off-limits for our pre-launch coverage. Now that the game is out, we’re ready to share some of the behind-the-scenes insights about the mission.

People in Japan will be able to get a little something to remember each of the Earthbound hotels they visited along the way: keychains!

The post Earthbound Hotel Keychains Honor 6 Towns appeared first on Siliconera.

How about celebrating the day of love with Demon Slayer sweets?

The post Demon Slayer Valentine’s Day Cakes and Macarons Pre-orders Open in Japan appeared first on Siliconera.

Re: Zero — Starting Life in Another World: The Prophecy of the Throne is a very text heavy game, but what would you expect with a title like that? Also, it's very good.

The post Review: Re:Zero — Prophecy of the Throne Taps Into the Strengths of Two Genres appeared first on Siliconera.

The new Pokemon Sword and Shield Max Raid gives people a chance to catch characters like Tauros in honor of the Year of the Ox.

The post Pokemon Sword and Shield Max Raid Celebrates Year of the Ox appeared first on Siliconera.

Amplitude, the developer currently beavering away on wonderful-looking historical strategy game Humankind for release later this year, is currently in the throes of its tenth anniversary celebrations, and it's made its three biggest games - Dungeon of the Endless, Endless Space 2, and Endless Legend - free to try this weekend on Steam as part of the revelry.

Each January, Amplitude gives itself a well-deserved birthday pat on the back under the guise of its Endless Day celebrations, but it's decided to retire that moniker for 2021, given Humankind's conspicuous lack of an 'Endless' in the title. Instead, this year marks the studio's inaugural Amplified event, which is set to conclude on Sunday, 24th January.

Perhaps the most immediately exciting news is the opportunity to play Amplitude's sci-fi strategy game Endless Space 2, fantasy 4X Endless Legend, and rogue-like tactical action affair Dungeon of the Endless - all enormously enjoyable games, by the way, if you haven't yet had the pleasure - at no cost on Steam for the duration of the event.

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In the wake of the surprise 'drop' of the Resident Evil Village 'Maiden' demo for PlayStation 5 last night, the Digital Foundry team sat down to talk about their impressions of the new demo. John Linneman and Alex Battaglia are joined by series expert Alex Aniel, author of Itchy, Tasty: An Unofficial of Resident Evil. The result? The video embedded on this page!

Image quality makes for a good portion of the discussion, where the PlayStation 5 delivers a full 3840x2160, with Capcom deploying RE Engine's excellent checkerboard-style image reconstruction technology to render up from a lower base resolution. It's one of the more impressive implementations, looking very, very close to actual native rendering. The handling of materials and rich geometry in evidence in the demo also impressive, as does the HDR solution. In fact, the game doesn't quite have the same punch viewed in standard SDR - blacks are quite as black as you feel they should be, while HDR mode makes a huge difference here. The only noticeable issue seems to be low resolution textures, when certain parts of the environment are viewed up close.

Digital Extremes' free-to-play shooter Warframe is continuing its ceaseless expansion on PlayStation 5, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Switch with the arrival of latest update Operation: Orphix Venom, following its launch on PC toward the end of last year.

Operation: Orphix Venom is described as a "first-of-its-kind survival event" designed for between one and four players, and sees Tenno leaving their Warframes and slipping into something a little roomier - in this case, a giant, stomping Necramech - to once again battle it out against the race of AI beings known as the Sentient.

Players will be loaned a Necramech for the duration of the event (which features three difficulty tiers with associated rewards) and, by doing repeated runs of Operation: Orphx Venom, can earn valuable upgrades known was Arcanes, alongside new alchemist Warframe Lavos - the 45th to be added to the game - who's detailed more thoroughly in the video below.

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Klei Entertainment, developers of indie hits Don’t Starve and Oxygen Not Included have announced today that they’ve agreed for Tencent, the media conglomerate that’s been doing quite a lot of buying, to purchase a majority stake in the company. Klei founders say that they will keep “full autonomy of creative and operations across all aspects of the studio”.

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Vicarious Visions, the studio behind numerous Activision remakes and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, is now a part of Blizzard Entertainment. ...

Klei Entertainment founder Jamie Cheng has announced that Tencent is acquiring a majority stake in the studio. ...

SuperData’s latest monthly report tracking global digital video game spending reveals that December was a record-breaking month for the industry. Spending hit $12 billion, the highest ever, largely as a result of the 40% increase in PC game spending following the launch of Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk 2077 digital sales hit a whopping 10.2 million according to SuperData’s estimations. 80% of those it believes were on PC, likely due to PlayStation delisting the game from its storefront. Notably, CD Projek Red’s own estimates placed total Cyberpunk 2077 sales across all platforms at around 13 million.

Other big winners in December include Epic Games’ Fortnite, which enjoyed its highest-earning month since August of 2019.

Today developer Systemic Reaction released a new trailer of its upcoming co-op shooter Second Extinction.

We get to take a look at a rather special piece of kit, the Thumper, which apparently can pretty literally send raptors flying.

You can check it out below and plan how you can take advantage of the Thumper in battle.

If you’re unfamiliar with Second Extinction, here’s a handy list of features.

Today Spike Chunsoft released a new English trailer for the upcoming Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne.

The trailer in English features an overview of the game and of its cast.

You can check it out below and see if it gives you the customary anime vibes.

Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World- The Prophecy of the Throne, releases on Jan. 29, 2021, in North America and Feb. 5 in Europe for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC. If you’d like to know more, you can read my review.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, below you can read how Spike Chunsoft describes it.

As you may have noticed from our coverage, the release of Microsoft Flight Simulator kicked the third-party add-on industry into overdrive.

It has always been lively during the past few years, but a new simulator with mass-market potential certainly caused an acceleration.

Among the third-party developers and publishers on the market, Orbx Simulation Systems is certainly prominent. Not only the company produces many add-ons on its own, but it also distributes more by partner studios from all over the world via its handy Orbx Central client.

Twinfinite talked with CEO Dr. Anna Cicognani In order to learn more about Orbx’s plans and get more insight on Microsoft Flight Simulator’s impact on the industry from an insider’s perspective.

Giuseppe: First of all, what’s your general opinion of Microsoft Flight Simulator now that it has been on the market for about five months?

Anna Cicognani: There are some incredible features in Microsoft Flight Simulator (MSFS) – lighting, weather, rendering, area coverage. The sim creates amazing visuals. For us in scenery development, this is quintessential, and a very big attraction for new and old simmers.

I think that MSFS can very well become “the” simulator, where a lot of other items can be added to the “digital twin” in the coming years.

The great advantage of MSFS is the in-sim marketplace, which allows a community of creators to push the boundaries of what is possible. Microsoft got that model right.

It would be great to see other sim developers following this example and opening up their platforms to the community to create content. I think everyone wins that way – the sim developer, the creators of add-ons, and ultimately the users.

After a few weeks off, we know that you’re craving your weekly dose of anime meme goodness right about now. Never fear, as we’ve got plenty of hilarious ones stored up and ready to go for you.

This week, we found memes from all across the internet, including Re:Zero, Naruto, and That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime.

Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World – The Prophecy of the Throne Review on PlayStation 4

Sometimes, a game has great ideas that would work well in theory, but don’t stick the landing in execution due to poor handling or not being fully fleshed out. Such is the case with Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World – The Prophecy of the Throne, a title with promising but underdeveloped ideas that could have been something special if handled differently.

Set during the start of Re:Zero’s Royal Selection arc, The Prophecy of the Throne’s setup is pretty standard for an anime tie-in visual novel game. As Subaru is preparing to head to the Royal Capitol with Emilia and Rem, he discovers that an envoy has been sent to inform them that something has led to the postponement of the process.

Upon arriving at the city, they discover the cause: Instead of five royal candidates for the throne appearing, there are now six, throwing off the thought-to-be infallible prophecy.

As such, a hunt to discover what has led to this error – and whether or not one of the candidates is an imposter – commences, dragging Subaru and his friends into a conflict that quickly proves more sinister and dangerous than they ever could have imagined.

The final installment in the Hitman trilogy has arrived, boasting one of the strongest voice casts in the entire series to wrap things up. In Hitman 3, we hear several great voice actors, ranging from industry veterans to lesser-known workers, give amazing performances that add to the game’s overall setting and story. To celebrate those performances, we’ve come up with a list breaking down the voices behind your favorite Hitman 3 characters, detailing some of the other things you may know them from as well. So check out the Voice Actors of Hitman 3’s Voice Cast below.

Hitman 3’s Voice Actors & Voice Cast

David Bateson – Agent 47

The star of the Hitman series, David Bateson’s deep and calm voice has become synonymous with Agent 47. He has played the character since 2004, reprising the role in Hitman: Contracts, Hitman: Absolution, Hitman: Blood Money, and the aforementioned recent Hitman trilogy.

Jane Perry – Diana Burnwood

If there is one voice that is even close to being tied to the Hitman series, it’s Jane Perry’s Diana Burnwood. She has played the character since 2012, majorly serving as the mission narrator.

You may also know Burnwood from her roles in Phantom Thread as Mrs. Vaughan, Borg vs. McEnroe as Kay McEnroe, and A Hologram for the King as Ruby.

It seems like only yesterday that Vicarious Visions released one of the year’s best games in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2—a remake that went the extra mile and then some. As of today, however, the studio is done taking the lead on projects. Activision just announced that it’s been folded into Blizzard.

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The Mandalorian on Bantha With Child Funko Pop | $25 | Amazon

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Oh, Tall Lady, how do I love thee, let me count the ways.

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During a recent interview with TheGamer, former BioWare writer Brian Kindregan finally confirmed something that everyone who played the game already knew in their bones: Mass Effect 2 crew member Jack was originally pansexual, rather than exclusively romanceable by a male Shephard.

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We are less than a week away from the launch of Bloober Team's psychological horror title The Medium, which launches January 28 on PC and Xbox Series X. The studio has released an interesting behind-the-scenes video, offering some insight on the making of the creepy adventure game.

Titled "9 Uncanny Facts," the five-minute video has Bloober Team's community rep Michal Napora guide through a selection of fascinating tidbits behind The Medium's creation. The titular facts pertain to the title's early conception as a Nintendo Wii U release, to the process involved in creating its unique twin-worlds, and the actors and artists that will bring life to The Medium's weird world and cast of characters.

Note: Those wanting to go into The Medium free of all context might give this video a miss.

As someone who ranks Resident Evil 7 as one of their favorites in and out of the long-running series, I am full-blown excited to see Resident Evil Village continue down that path with some on-the-surface supernatural elements and more than a few nods to Resident Evil 4's whole vibe. Village has my attention, and I was pumped to play Maiden, Capcom's surprise-released PS5-only standalone demo.

If you have a PlayStation 5, get it – it's a small 4GB-ish download and it'll only take you 20 minutes or so your first time through. Maiden uses locations and characters from Village, but it's not a "slice" of the main game. Think of it like the best-in-class Beginning Hour teaser for RE7, albeit without combat.

What else should you know? Don't be like me and fixate on hard-to-find items that aren't actually hiding in plain sight – this isn't another P.T. or anything, though it is fun to inspect every little detail. That said, look around, and keep moving to find the way forward. The dungeon scenery can be... dynamic.

Capcom has said that Village will get another demo on "all platforms" before the full game is out in May, so if you're unwilling or unable to play Maiden, here's a playthrough from our very own Dan:

_{[Spoilers for the Maiden demo below.]}

Impressions? Maiden is what I needed it to be – a standalone piece meant to familiarize players with Castle Dimitrescu, much like the iconic Resident Evil 7 demo let us test-drive the Baker estate.

Yesterday's Resident Evil Showcase certainly had a lot of exciting news, including a multiplayer tease, a new trailer, a PS5 demo, and even a release date, but it seems that many are overlooking the biggest reveal of the night. Yes, your prayers have finally been answered and Resident Evil is finally crossing over with Tom Clancy's The Division 2.

The crossover event is part of Resident Evil's 25th anniversary celebrations, and as such will feature a selection of classic weapons and skins taken from earlier entries into Capcom's survival horror franchise. A brief trailer shows a gang of homegrown soldiers from Ubisoft's shooter rocking the recognizable outfits of Resi stars Chris Redfield and Jill Valentine, with the clip closing out with a glimpse of Umbrella's own "HUNK".

The full catalogue of 21 available items remains yet to be revealed, as do any potential themed missions, but the Resident Evil x Division 2 crossover is set to begin on February 2 and will run until February 15. Players who log in during this time frame will bag themselves an in-game Raccoon Police Department uniform, for all your Leon Kennedy cosplaying needs.

It took nearly three years, but my two original Joy-Con sets have started to drift: it's time to put them out to pasture. Having the controllers take that long to malfunction is the outlier, it seems, as Nintendo has been hit with multiple class action lawsuits in the past several years; a few of which started in earnest shortly after launch.

Now we can add another one to that pile. Filed on January 15 of this year, Canadian law firm Lambert Avocat Inc. is currently applying to bring this class action to a Quebec superior court.

miHoYo has released the latest evocative trailer for its popular anime adventure Genshin Impact. The new clip introduces the free-to-play title's Version 1.3 update, spotlighting some new content and heralding the arrival of the next playable character, Xiao.

The clip sees Paimon and the Traveler visit the beautiful Lantern Rite festival in Liyue Harbor, previously seen in the trailer for recent roster addition, Ganyu. The new trailer also sees the incoming Xiao locked in combat, donning a mythic and demonic mask before taking it to the opposition with his enchanted polearm.

The Fallout 76 fan film community is thriving

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Naturally, some complain it’s a political statement

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New stories from Toy Story, Cars, Incredibles, Soul, and more

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Head to the EDZ for some Exotics

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For years, Square Enix has been one of the RPG titans in the world of video games. While most know Square for its groundbreaking work on titles such as Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and Chrono Trigger, the company branched out in 2010 and published a new franchise. Behind the direction of the esteemed Yoko Taro and his team at the now-closed development studio Cavia, Nier was born.

A spin-off of the Drakengard games, the cult classic finds players slashing their way through the villainous Shades, attempting to reverse the effects of the deadly Black Scrawl disease that plagues the main character's daughter (or sister if you're playing the Japanese version).

When we reviewed the game in 2010, we weren't the biggest fans of the title, saying it told an interesting story, but didn't always hold up in the gameplay department. But has the 11 years since its initial release changed any of those feelings?

Join Andrew Reiner, Jeff Cork, Joe Juba, and me as we answer that question and more when we jump back into the original Nier that launched the cult-classic series.

As we enter 2021 and the PS5 is officially in the wild (well, sort of), it’s time to take a look at the state of Sony’s first-party studios. The launch of the PS5 brought with it a host of new PlayStation exclusive games, but the stable of PlayStation Studios has plenty more in store.

One quick note — we’re specifically discussing internal, first-party owned studios. So no third-party exclusives or second-party games (think Lucid’s Destruction AllStars for PS5) will be included.

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But from recently released like The Last of Us Part 2 and Ghost of Tsushima to impending exclusives like Horizon Forbidden West, let’s take a look at what every PlayStation Studio has in the works.

Bend Studio

Last release: After years of teases, Bend Studio finally released its post-apocalyptic thriller and motorbike simulator Days Gone in 2019. Set in the Pacific Northwest, Bend’s open-world adventures introduced us to Freaker hordes, Boozeman, and Deacon St. John, while also — SPOILERS — possibly tying in a beloved Bend franchise into its world.

Currently working on/next project: Days Gone… still! Bend has actually done a great job of post-launch support for Days Gone, from performance patches to free weekly challenges, and even wackier DLC options like a Death Stranding-themed bike. And it’s even got improved performance on PS5, with framerates up to 60 FPS. The studio has since been recruiting for a new project, but has revealed no details on it just yet.

While it's fun to keep moving on to new and different games, sometimes one sticks with you. The Siliconera staff just can't stop playing these games!

The post The Games We Can’t Stop Playing appeared first on Siliconera.

Final Fantasy XV Director Hajime Tabata aims to take "travel beyond reality" for his next project.

The post Hajime Tabata Working on a New Project for All Nippon Airways appeared first on Siliconera.

At the tail-end of last year, developer Asobo revealed Flight Simulator's third World Update would - following impressive spruce-ups for the United States and Japan - be giving the United Kingdom and Ireland a welcome makeover, and now the studio has shared new images and details ahead of its imminent, albeit slightly delayed, release.

Previously, Asobo said it was aiming to introduce 50-60 new points of interest as part of its UK update, alongside new procedural buildings (including churches), and improvements for a range of existing airports, such as Land's End, Liverpool EGGP, and Manchester Barton.

Expanding on that initial announcement in its latest blog post, Asobo confirmed the UK update will now include new aerials, an enhanced digital elevation model, two new landing challenges, 70 points of interest, five airports, and five brand-new photogrammetry cities.

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Vicarious Visions, the studio responsible for the recent Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 and earlier Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy, is being gobbled up by Blizzard Entertainment. The studio was already owned by Activision Blizzard but, according to the publisher, the 200 person team will now become Blizzard employees and will be “fully dedicated to existing Blizzard games and initiatives”.

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