April 2021

By fist, blade, or fighting spirit-fueled drill, there’s something enthralling about a good fight in anime. Since the medium was first created, we’ve seen a number of great fights, but these ones, in particular, are among the best anime fights of all time.

Oftentimes representing the climax of an arc or storyline, it culminates everything the viewer has invested themselves in, with wills and ideologies on the line along with the characters’ lives.

Common sense goes out the window as each new attack tears through the air, sometimes as the swing of a sword and other times as a cataclysmic laser meant to rend the planet in half.

If you’re interested in reading about more anime, check out what we had to say about the best anime villains, anime senpai, and more!

Warning: Spoilers for multiple series ahead.

Asuka Vs. The Mass Production Evangelions (The End of Evangelion)

Best Anime Fights of All Time

While I am definitely a Sonic apologist, I acknowledge that the little blue fella’s output has been less than stellar in the last 20 years. For every highlight, like a Sonic Mania, there’s been countless lowlights, like Sonic 4, Sonic Forces, and Guns For Some Reason Sonic. Funnily enough, over the last decade, the literally quick on his feet hedgehog has been at his most consistent when behind the wheel of a car.

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Today Square Enix announced the steps players (and would-be-players) will have to follow to enjoy the PS5 open beta for Final Fantasy XIV.

The process is different depending on whether you play on a digital copy, a physical copy, or don’t play at all just yet.

If you’re not a player, you can still enter the open beta (which starts on April 13) via the free trial of the game.

PlayStation 4 Physical Edition Users

1. On your PlayStation 5, sign in with the PlayStation Network account you are using to play the PlayStation 4 version.
2. Visit PlayStation Store on your PlayStation 5 and navigate to the FINAL FANTASY XIV store page.
3. On the store page, press the […] button and select “FINAL FANTASY XIV PS5 Upgrade Edition (Beta Version)” to proceed with the download. A game disc is not required when using this download version.
4. Once the download is complete, launch the PlayStation®5 version of FINAL FANTASY XIV from the FINAL FANTASY XIV game screen.

• You will have access to the same game content as you do on the PlayStation®4 version.
• Game time is required to play and can be added via the FINAL FANTASY XIV: Mog Station.

For general information on upgrading an eligible PlayStation 4 game to the digital PlayStation 5 version, please visit the support page on the official PlayStation website.

PlayStation 4 Digital Download Users
Users who are currently playing the digital download version will be able to upgrade directly to the PlayStation 5 version without visiting the PlayStation Store first.

The wave of departures affecting Sony Japan Studio is continuing, and today Gavin Moore announced that he has left the team on Twitter.

Moore worked at Sony for 24 years, of which 18 in Japan. He is known as the director of the charming PS3 platformer Puppeteer and he worked on a lot of games including the Siren series and culminating with the recent Demon’s Souls remake as creative director.

He mentioned that he will “will miss the great creative spirit and camaraderie of the studio” also expressing the intention to seek out new opportunities.

Farming sim fans and fishing aficionados rejoice!

The post NieR Replicant April Fools Video Reimagines Game As a Slow Life RPG appeared first on Siliconera.

April Fools' Day. My Favourite. When your job is writing news, and the annual day of w-w-w-wackiness rolls around, it's frankly a pain in the ass. This is especially true of recent years, when companies have taken to revealing very real products while relishing the idea that the public might not believe them. Let's see if I get through today unscathed.

Still, I'm not without humor, and as such wanted to start the day sharing this fun trailer for Square Enix's upcoming remaster NieR Replicant, which re-purposes the hack 'n' slash adventure as a "slow life sim" in the vein of titles such as Stardew Valley and Harvest Moon. The video sees protagonists Nier and Grimoire Weiss indulging in a spot of crop-growing and animal-rearing, while eavesdropping on the neighbors and enjoying some obligatory fishing. Frankly, I'm all for it, and would gladly take respite from all the slicing 'n' dicing to just spend all my time growing a pumpkin patch. Any marriage options?

You can check out the most cyberpunk farming sim ever made in the video below. Meanwhile, back in pseudo-reality, NieR Replicant will launch on PS4, PC, and Xbox One April 23. And that's no foolin'

After announcing retro-styled shoot 'em up Sol Cresta as an April Fool's joke last year, Bayonetta devs PlatinumGames have used this April Fool's Day to... announce retro-styled shoot 'em up Sol Cresta? Supposedly for really reals this time? A collaboration with Hamster Corporation, it's inspired by 80s shmups Moon Cresta and Terra Cresta, and supposedly launching this year. For real. Maybe. April Fool's Day is bad.

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Last month, Kotaku reported that yet another producer departed from the Japan Studio. And this month, we’re reporting that the exodus continues.

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The Tokyo Olympics, it seems, will hold the opening ceremonies this July. While the finalized plans have yet to be revealed, Japanese magazine Shukan Bunshun has apparently acquired a 280-page scrapped proposal for the event. Included within it is an Akira-themed plan, and another that features Nintendo’s Mario.

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Last week, the Tokyo District Court (pictured above) ruled that publishing manga dialogue online without permission is copyright infringement.

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Call of Duty: Warzone appears to finally be getting its much-anticipated map change, but the news seems to have arrived a little earlier than intended: leaked footage of the map is currently circulating online, and Activision is battling to contain it.

The leak was first shared by Twitter account On Thin Ice, showing footage of a work-in-progress TV advert for the new map. According to VGC's sources, the new map is due to arrive in a live event on 22nd April, with nuclear warheads blowing up current-day Verdansk. Although the original video has been removed, multiple mirrors have popped up across social media, showing what appears to be an 80s-themed overhaul of Verdansk rather than an all-new location. It includes changes to various points of interest - adding an under-construction stadium and replacing the dam with a bridge - and generally giving Verdansk more of an '80s look.

While there's been no official confirmation from Activision, the publisher has been cracking down on the leak: at least one video has been taken down from YouTube, and news site Charlie Intel says it has received a DMCA notice from Activision.

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After rinsing the generous dollop of content that was the Outriders demo, I was left with a question: soldier on when the game comes out, or leave it there?

"I see potential in Outriders' endgame...," I wrote in March. "But it's just so... old-school, I'm not sure I'll be able to suffer it long enough to get to that point."

Yesterday, after downloading the full game on PlayStation 5 and picking up my Devastator where she left off at the end of the demo, I ventured forth from the brown sludge of Rift Town to see if Outriders got more interesting.

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Resident Evil: Welcome to Raccoon City has been delayed by two months, to 24th November.

Sony's Resident Evil film reboot was previously set to arrive on 3rd September, but according to Variety has now been pushed back to avoid Marvel movie Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

Welcome to Racoon City will adapt elements from the first two Resident Evil games, so you get a bit of old school mansion exploration with Chris and Jill, plus downtown cop drama with Leon and Claire.

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Maybe it's simply a case of being careful of what you wish for. Balan Wonderworld is a curious time capsule, a 3D platformer that's full of the exuberance, colour and straight-up weirdness of a beloved and bygone period frequently yearned for, and all from the very people that helped define that same era. Imagine the team behind Sonic Adventure had a crack at their own Mario Odyssey, that late 90s exuberance finding itself into a maximalist journey that throws a hundred different ideas at the player, and you've pretty much got Balan Wonderworld down pat. If you've an honest recollection of how Sonic Adventure played, you'll also have a pretty good idea of how horrifying, fascinating, frustrating and occasionally brilliant this can be.

Balan Wonderworld marks the grand return of Yuji Naka (an impeccably stylish dev, I was lucky enough to meet him once and was impressed how his socks, tie and pocket square all matched, a fact that might have been unremarkable were they not all a searingly bright orange). Here the Sonic the Hedgehog programmer is reunited with the designer of Sega's mascot Naoto Ohshima - a man who can also boast Nights into Dreams, Burning Rangers, and perhaps most appropriately this time out Blinx: The Time Sweeper on his CV. The two are together for the first time since 1998's Sonic Adventure, a pairing that promises a certain type of game that Balan Wonderworld certainly delivers on.

A Resident Evil Village puppet show has been announced for "domestic" distribution

The post Resident Evil Village April Fool’s Announcements Include Puppet Show appeared first on Siliconera.

Police seized millions in assets, including luxury cars and cheat platforms.

The post China and Tencent Shutter ‘Biggest Ever’ Game Cheating Ring appeared first on Siliconera.

The app would have let you put a Dynasty Warriors character's headdress on your portrait.

The post Dynasty Warriors Team Teases An AR Filter App For April Fools appeared first on Siliconera.

The film will now release in November.

The post Resident Evil Live Action Movie Delayed appeared first on Siliconera.

Planet Zoo is a deeply warm-hearted game. While it’s set up to give you as much freedom as possible in every aspect of your zoo’s design, it still steers you firmly towards being good to the animals which live there. Unlike Frontier’s other animal husbandry game, Jurassic World Evolution, where everyone knows the management layer is just a way of killing time until the inevitable monster deathmatches, Planet Zoo does absolutely nothing to signpost “nightmare animal supermax” as a valid playstyle. Personally, I think that’s a good decision.

But as I already mentioned, it puts a genuinely phenomenal range of construction tools at your disposal: if you can think of a habitat concept, the chances are you can build it. And inevitably, when a game gives me that much freedom to do my own thing, it’s only a matter of time before I move things into deeply unsettling territory. This week, I had Planet Zoo’s new Southeast Asia DLC pack to play with, featuring eight new beasts and a huge bundle of new construction assets. I made a new zoo, in sandbox mode. And while it was pleasant enough for the animals which lived in it, I did everything I could to inflict profound psychic damage on the visiting public. Come take a tour with me.

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A lovely thing about sifting through heaps of text at your own pace is you get to luxuriate on the details and flourishes that catch your personal fancy. A drawback is that sometimes such fixation comes at the expense of pertinent detail. For example, in my previous runs of Disco Elysium, I think I may have gotten distracted by talk of tightrope walkers and hand grenades, and completely glossed over a line telling me that the game takes place in spring.

That's no longer an issue thanks to Disco Elysium: The Final Cut, a free update that adds voice acting to the game's dialogue.

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Monster Hunter Rise released just last week, and serves as the direct successor to the very impressive Monster Hunter World that launched three years ago. Rise is made up of the same, core bones of gameplay that series fans will be very familiar with, but both games feel like different experiences as well.

We’re going to attempt to discuss both games in a few different categories and ultimately decide which is the better Monster Hunter game.

Certain Affinity has appointed industry veteran Dan Ayoub as VP of Canadian operations and general manager of its Toronto studio. ...

Voxel soldiers battle the giant voxel insect aliens invading their voxel planet in Earth Defense Force: World Brothers. This colorful new take on the beloved budget shooter series is launching across all regions on May 27 for PlayStation 4, Switch, and PC.

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Earth Defense Force spin-off EDF: World Brothers will show up outside Japan in May, and there will even be a PC version.

The post EDF World Brothers Will Appear Everywhere in May appeared first on Siliconera.

Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 will feature a unique skill board system.

The post Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 Combat Details and Online Co-Op Revealed appeared first on Siliconera.

New content inspired by Digimon will appear in the Medabots mobile game, and vice versa.

The post Medabots Digimon April Fools Joke Became a Real Crossover appeared first on Siliconera.

Take a look at some of the characters that will appear in Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 through the opening movie.

The post Utawarerumono: ZAN 2 Opening Movie Released appeared first on Siliconera.

Tripwire Interactive has released the first details for the previously announced DLC expansion to crazy, bloodthirsty "shaRkPG," Manteater. Coming at some point this summer, Maneater: Truth Quest will return to the waves for more over-the-top boat-chomping action.

Following on from the events of the 2020 Shark-'em-up, Truth Quest will venture into the realm of internet conspiracies, as roving reporter Trip Westhaven investigates the growing rumors and theories surrounding the Naval Wildlife Organization. (4 life). Supported by an army of ViewTube followers - or "Questers" - Westhaven embarks upon a boat-rocking journey (literally) to uncover the clandestine government reports of  armored, toxic, and electrically powered sharks lurking in the deep blue.

Today is the day Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan begins its restructuring process, dialing back on both its production and workforce as it refocuses its resources toward Astro's Playroom developer Team ASOBI. As reported by VGC, and in news that is unlikely to be coincidental, Demon's Souls PS5 director Gavin Moore has confirmed that he has left the studio.

"After 24 years at Sony and 18 of those in Japan, yesterday was my last day at [Sony Japan Studio]," said Moore in an emotional goodbye on Twitter. "I will miss the great creative spirit and camaraderie of the studio that was a huge part of my life. Time to seek out new and exciting opportunities!!"

Moore relocated to Japan almost two decades ago to work with Sony Japan Studio, a career which has seen him involved in the development of titles such as Puppeteer, Siren, and The Getaway as an animator, producer, and director. Moore headed up the development of 2020's Demon's Souls remake, arguably one of, if not the best title currently available on PlayStation 5 hardware. Moore intends to continue working in video game development.

Last year, Control developer Remedy announced it had signed a two-project publishing deal with Epic Games, and then re-introduced its fan favourite hero Alan Wake via Control's excellent second expansion, which wove the story of both games together as part of Remedy's wider narrative universe.

Was Wake being teed up to tease a full sequel to his Xbox 360 cult hit? After Epic's publishing deal was announced - for a big "AAA multiplatform game already in pre-production" and a "new, smaller-scale project set in the same franchise" - fans' hopes were high that Wake would also appear in one of these games.

Now, chatty but reliable Venturebeat journalist Jeff Grubb has announced via his Twitch he had heard "Alan Wake 2" was one of Remedy's Epic-funded projects.

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Amazon has punched the price of Persona 5 Royal edition - one of the best JRPGs released in recent years - all the way down to £25, with prices matched on the PSN Store for the Deluxe Edition!

That probably leaves most of you that picked up the standard edition of Persona 5 for free on PlayStation Plus wondering what bang for your buck you're getting with the Royal edition of the game.

Royal is essentially the definitive version of Persona 5 that makes a lot of improvements on the base game. You won't have to spend as much time raising your social stats, as Royal introduces plenty of new features to speed up the process, including playing video games and studying at the library. This makes it possible to max out your social stats in a single playthrough if you're wise with your time. Not only that, but the digital PS Store version is the Deluxe Edition, which comes with a set of cosmetics for the character Kasumi.

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Capcom is latching onto your love for the tall vampire like one of the oversized leeches from Resident Evil 0. In Resident Evil IX, Lady D is back to cause some trouble. Better yet, our favorite vampire (sorry Paul Rudd) is bigger than ever, and you won’t believe all the hats she’s going to wear. You can see her upcoming exploits in this month’s Game Infarcer.

Final Fantasy XIV for PS5 boasts improved framerates, beautiful 4K resolution, incredibly fast loading times, haptic feedback features, and 3D audio. For those looking to take to the online world of Final Fantasy XIV on this generation, an open beta is dropping later this month. 

Square Enix updated its EU blog to show fans how they can get in on the PS5 action. The Final Fantasy XIV PS5 open beta is set to arrive on Tuesday, April 13, and will be launching alongside the anticipated 5.5 patch update.

For those interested in trying out the open beta, there are a few steps you need to follow: 

1. Log into your PS5 account
2. Visit the PlayStation Store and find the Final Fantasy XIV store page
3. Once there, press the [...] button and select Final Fantasy XIV PS5 Upgrade Edition (Beta Version)
4. When finished downloading, simply launch the game

”Don’t even bother: there are no games out this month. Maybe check in again in May. Honestly, you’d be much better off having a look at any one of the other wonderful articles available here at your favourite PC gaming website, Rock Paper Shotgun.”

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Chinese police have reportedly shut down a cheat seller in collaboration with publishers Tencent, arresting 10 people and seizing sports cars in the process. The operation, named Chicken Drumstick, sold subscriptions to cheats for games including Overwatch and Call Of Duty Mobile. The police claim this was the "world's biggest" cheat operation, though that's a tough one to quantify or verify. But hey, another cheatmonger shut down, that's good.

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I am only here for Shadow and Bone

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Today Sega and Amplitude released a brand new trailer of the upcoming 4X strategy game Humankind.

The trailer focuses on showcasing the diplomacy features in the game, which is definitely welcome since this tends to be a very weak spot in other popular 4X and strategy franchises.

The suite of tools at your disposal seems rather solid here, and you can take a look in the trailer below.

If you’re unfamiliar with Humankind, here’s an official description. You can also read my own preview.

“HUMANKIND is Amplitude Studios’ magnum opus, a Historical Turn-Based Strategy game where YOU will re-write the entire narrative of humankind – a convergence of culture, history, and values that allows you to create a civilization that is as unique as you are.

Create your own civilization by combining 60 historical cultures from the Bronze to the Modern Age.

Begin as Ancient Egypt, then evolve into the Romans, the Khmers, or perhaps the Vikings.

Each culture brings its own special gameplay layer, leading to near-endless outcomes.”

Third-party developer Pilot Plus recently released its brand new rendition of London Oxford Aiport (EGTK) for Microsoft Flight Simulator

Despite the name, which is a rather recent rebranding for what was previously called Kidlington Airport, it’s about 60 miles from London. Yet, it’s a prominent destination for business aviation and flight training.

You can find it on Orbx Direct for approximately $18. This means that installing and keeping it updated is a breeze thanks to the Orbx Central client.

If you want to see what it looks like with your own eyes, the first video below showcases an ILS approach and landing on runway 19, while the second provides a better look at the airport in a variety of lighting and weather conditions.