April 2021

Hades was love at first sight for me. It has the bright and stylized art that I love, roguelikes are one of my favorite gameplay genres, and I was one of those Greek mythology kids who was obsessed with the Percy Jackson series growing up. Check, check, and check. My immediate enthusiasm for the game may have been predictable, but the fact that I'm still playing it over 250 hours and 200 runs later? Not so much.

Developer Supergiant Games released three games prior to Hades, and each one was an indie darling. The studio has racked up dozens, if not hundreds, of awards since their debut in 2011, and they've also been lauded for promoting a healthy work-life balance for their employees, something that's not very common in the games industry.

• 00:00:00 Welcome! Disappointing games, and games we love
• 00:35:30 Monster Hunter Rise had a huge launch
• 00:38:55 Digital and physical games discussion
• 00:49:35 Games out this week
• 00:51:51 What we're playing

NVC is available on your preferred platform!

The ship references games like Halo and Super Smash Bros.

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The TV Station is the latest location to get overrun

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Elite Dangerous: Odyssey launched the first step of its alpha only a few days ago, and developers Frontier have shared a response to some common complaints from its earliest adopters. Firstly: no, space taxis aren't going to get any faster.

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I find it difficult to get excited about beefcakes hiding behind low walls inside grey metal warehouses, because that's what I spent the mid-noughties doing. (And in games.) The looter shooter Outriders has pedigree behind it however, due to developers People Can Fly, and folks who played the game's demo reported that it was dumb, satisfying fun.

It's out today and I'm tempted to give it a go - although reports of performance issues on PC will probably cause me to hold off for now.

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During a recent “ask me anything” session on Reddit, Watch Dogs: Legion live producer Lathieeshe Thillainathan said that Ubisoft is working on adding a higher framerate option to the game on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

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There’s nothing like a special edition gaming console. Sure, everyone has a Nintendo Switch, but how many of us have an Animal Crossing-themed Nintendo Switch? Who among us has a PlayStation 4 with a big Spider-Man logo on it? These bespoke systems are truly one of a kind. Actually, in some instances, they quite…

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How do you speedrun a MOBA?! Well, I'll tell you!

Amazingly, there is a cottage industry of speedrunners for Heroes of the Storm. Spotted on Reddit, these brave souls apparently go solo, fight no enemies, and try to take down the opposing core as quickly as possible.

Given that you need to destroy at least one end line structure to get to the core, you can't just rush it; you have to work your way there as quickly as possible. Right now Raynor holds the record as the fastest hero to clear out the core in 12 minutes and 13 seconds, piloted by the player Wardeh. You can get a quick look at how these runs typically go with the video below.

The gist is that merc camps are often crucial to the success of these runs. Braxis Holdout is also a popular map for these sorts of runs, as players can capture the Zerg-pen objectives, and unleash the horde on one lane of the enemy side, creating a tidal wave effect. Raynor is perfect for this because of his safe range and ability to sustain himself via healing without having to "back" to base.

As an aside, it's crazy how much Blizzard has been disrespecting Heroes of the Storm even as of late. There was zero presence at BlizzConline, and there hasn't been a lot of buzz for the game from any arm of Blizzard in months.

I get that we don't have access to the books, but Heroes is in a fantastic state, and in some ways, firing on all cylinders. It deserves another chance and a second look from the MOBA community at large. Every time another MOBA falters and people swear off of it, that's Blizzard's time to strike.

First Reward For Webster's Legendary Challenge

Where to Find Bouncy Eggs in Fortnite

Feudal Japan has a lot more magic than you’d expect

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Try out EA’s next multiplayer game on Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Windows PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X

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Today Koei Tecmo released a bunch of videos dedicated to the the Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack.

More precisely, we get to see the alchemy in Atelier Firis: The Alchemist and the Mysterious Journey DX, and Atelier Sophie: The Alchemist of the Mysterious Book DX.

The latter also gets a second video focusing on providing a sample of its lovely soundtrack.

You can watch them all below.

Today Microsoft and Asobo Studio released another development update for their popular Microsoft Flight Simulator.

We learn that the upcoming World Update 4: France & Benelux (of which you can sample some tidbits via an earlier teaser trailer) is now slated for an April 15 release.

Perhaps even more exciting is the fact that a beta test involving the community will be hosted before the update is released.

300 beta testers will be selected with signups starting tomorrow.

“In our continued efforts to provide the best experience for our community we are looking for 300 individuals to help us test the upcoming World Update IV.

As part of this test your participation will help our team gather valuable information prior to launching the next world update to the general public. We plan to open for signups tomorrow at 8am PDT. Check back here at that time for instructions and more information on how to participate!”

Recently, we published our massive interview with head of Microsoft Flight Simulator Jorg Neumann, who provided a lot of new info about the present and future of the sim. A few days ago, we also got to hear more, including a trailer for World Update 4 which will feature France and Benelux.

Today Level-5 released a new video about the upcoming anime soccer JRPG Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes.

The video stars the developer’s own president Akihiro Hino as he provides an update on the game’s development.

The first new detail is that there is another delay, and this is a long one. Level-5 is now aiming to release the game in 2023, two years from now.

You can watch the video below, which also showcases plenty of gameplay to soften the blow. Incidentally, it’s from the Switch version.

Hino-san also admits that development has gone through rough times, acknowledging the multiple delays and apologizing for that.

Yet, progress is being made and the development team is managing to solve the issues they had gradually.

He also talks about the goal of making sure that the game is great both when played solo offline and online.

If you’re unfamiliar with Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes (Inazuma Eleven: Eiyuutachi no Great Road), it used to be titled Inazuma Eleven: Ares no Tenbin.

Hallo! With the Easter bank holiday weekend upon us, we'll be gone both Friday and Monday then return on Tuesday. Tradition would dictate we spend the weekend sat in a traffic jam on the motorway, growing increasingly resentful of each other's peccadilloes, but current restrictions thankfully means The RPS Minibus must remain under its tarp. Instead, hey, I guess we're playing video games. What are you playing this weekend?

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Reyner Banham once spoke about the architectural properties of crisps. I would love to have been there. This week I am re-reading his thrilling book on Los Angeles, The Architecture of Four Ecologies, and I'm looking through twenty-year-old magazines.

I'm reading Banham again because his generous and perceptive take on LA always feels like comfort reading. In March 2021, just opening the book seems to bring the warmed-concrete spaciousness of that city, with its standing freeway pillars and playful flow between urban and wilderness, into the saggy darkness of the lockdown home.

And I'm looking through old mags because Banham sent me back to GTA 5 and then GTA 5 sent me back to a Wipeout Fusion print ad, a double-page spread, once seen and never forgotten, in which London has been chosen as a site for the development of a multi-gajillion pound anti-grav racing track, and the citizens are not happy about it.

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Pedro Pascal of Star Wars' The Mandalorian fame will star in the series.

The post HBO’s The Last of Us TV Show Will Begin Filming in July 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

Are you excited for the upcoming release of NieR Replicant? If so, and you're planning on picking up the remaster on PS4 come April 23, then you'll be pleased to hear that you'll also receive an exclusive download kit, allowing you to decorate your PS4's entire dashboard with NieR's haunting aesthetic.

The "first-run" set will include a dynamic desktop theme featuring protagonists Nier, Kaine, and Grimoire Weiss, as well as an avatar pack which includes a meaty 14 portraits of the apocalyptic adventure's cast of characters. In addition, players picking up the title early on any format will also receive a bonus "mini-soundtrack," which contains three cuts taken directly from NieR Replicant's sweeping score.

• IGN UK Podcast #585: It Takes Two and Pope Talk
• IGN UK Podcast #584: Let's Talk About The Snyder Cut, Then
• IGN UK Podcast #583: Loop Hero is Taking Over Our Lives
• IGN UK Podcast #582: Outriders Is an Electro-Freaking Good Time
• IGN UK Podcast #581: BlizzCon and State of Play Post-Mortems

Sol Cresta will be released this year as a download title on the Nintendo Switch, the PlayStation 4, and Steam. “It is a brand new title bearing the soul of the classic docking and shooting games Moon Cresta (1980) and Terra Cresta (1985),” says developer Platinum Games in an official statement.

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Announced at the end of last year, we haven’t heard much about the sequel to The World Ends With You. Titled NEO: The World Ends With you, the game is set in Shibuya once again, and from the looks of the announcement trailer, production on the game seems to be coming along nicely as the environments and buildings all look rather detailed.

In addition to the game announcement, we also learned that the anime is getting a debut on April 9. Series creator Tetsuya Nomura has just stated that more info on the sequel will be released on April 9, at 3 p.m. JST, which just so happens to be the day of the anime series debut as well.

This announcement also comes with new concept art of one of the new characters in the sequel. You can check out the embedded tweet down below.

Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: loops, museums, and difficult cities.

I really like the buttons. I can almost feel them, like I'm pressing in some scraping stone button in a dingy temple somewhere, and that dingy temple is probably role-playing games from the 80s. I love how retro it feels. I also love Loop Hero's different take on an RPG, and how it's not an RPG really, but more of a kind of reverse tower defence game, where you're trying to attract more danger, rather than less, so you can chop through it and get more loot.

I like the rather simple amnesiac story that surrounds it, because it compliments and explains the set-up without getting in the way. I find it neat, literally - neat like a math's problem. And when you step back a bit, I suppose that's what Loop Hero is. It's like an equation you're forever balancing on the fly. You adjust your numbers in order that they produce more favourable equations than your enemies', swapping equipment and weapons, and placing tiles, depending on what comes in.

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A minute's silence. A toast to the departed. Let's remember the greatest of us: Mario.

I wasn't sure they'd go through with it, but Nintendo really did kill Mario this week. Super Mario 3D All-Stars for Nintendo Switch is no longer for sale digitally, and no new physical stock will be distributed. We knew this was coming. Nintendo had signalled as much. But why is it happening?

That's the question we ask on this week's Eurogamer News Cast. Join news editor Tom Phillips, reporter Emma Kent and me as we attempt to make sense of Nintendo's controversial decision in the video below.

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The game producer who previously worked on Bloodborne and Tokyo Jungle has established his own company.

The post Ex-SIE Japan Producer Masami Yamamoto Established EPIGRAsm appeared first on Siliconera.

Rising up the charts!

The post Monster Hunter Rise Sells 1.3 Million in Japan in Its First Week appeared first on Siliconera.

Icarus was teased at the PC Gaming Show in 2020 during E3 time, but the reveal there was a pure tease with nothing to show and essentially zero game information. Now, Dean Hall (DayZ) and RocketWerkz are ready to unveil their survival project at last, and guess what, it’s coming to PC this year. This new trailer is almost a movie unto itself, spanning over seven long minutes and laying the groundwork for plenty of mystery and intrigue. Thankfully, we also have a good deal of solid information on the game to work with now as well, but check the trailer first.

By now, you’ve probably played or tried a ton of survival games. If so, you know one of the issues that you face is the worlds becoming entrenched burdens or solved problems over time as your playgroup builds up massive encampments, settlements, castles, and renders the threats useless. The major change up in Icarus is that every survival experience is a timed drop. As survivalists, you and up to seven other players must manage what you bring down to a planet — and what you bring back. 

I'm always itching to jump back into Pokemon Sword and Shield, even though I've pretty much exhausted everything I can do at this point.

Whether it's messing around with expeditions or hopping into new Max Raid Battles, the call of getting a slightly different Pokemon is always there. And that's by design! But this time, for April Fools', folks were greeted with something else entirely.

You know how the game has Max Raid Battles from time to time? Well to add insult to injury, they were changed to allow Magikarp to be caught in every raid. And on top of that, he's unable to caught. Yep, Game Freak just trolled the entire playerbase.

I can imagine someone playing randomly, or maybe a newcomer trying to make sense of the situation, then slowly going "ooooooohh." These sorts of harmless pranks make up for a lot of the other nonsense this week! Though I'm sure some people aren't happy that the game is having any semblance of fun and want Game Freak to add the rest of the Pokedex in still.

I really wonder how the next game is going to go if the full 'Dex isn't in.

Pokemon Event [Serebii.net]

Welcome to Morning Music, Kotaku’s ongoing hangout for folks who love video games and the cool-ass sounds they make. You deserve a break today, so we’re kicking off the weekend with something tasty from McDonald’s… McDonald’s Treasure Land Adventure that is, a game that plays and sounds better than a licensed…

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There was a time when the video game playing public didn't question silent protagonists. It was just accepted that the person you were controlling wouldn't say a word. These days, though, you can't shut them up.

But, we're not discussing the talkative lot on this edition of Mystery Steam Reviews. We're highlighting the strong and silent types, this week.

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Final Fantasy XIV is soon going to receive a new update numbered 5.5 and titled “Death Unto Dawn Part 1” and today Square Enix released its trailer.

We get to take a look at the story and the new features that we can expect in the update, the next part of the NieR: Automata raid, and much more.

On top of that, we learn that the game has passed 22 million registered players since its release.

You can watch the trailer below with English and Japanese voices depending on your preferences.

Do keep in mind that some of the content of the trailer could be considered a bit spoilery.

Marvel leaves no potential connection unreferenced

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Siliconera spoke with Fumihiko Yasuda, Producer for Ninja Gaiden Master Collection, about how fan interest infused and fueled the project.

The post Interview: Ninja Gaiden Master Collection Exists Due to Fan Support appeared first on Siliconera.

The Japanese free-to-play card game will soon have its plug pulled.

The post Dragon Quest Rivals Ace Will Shut Down in July 2021 appeared first on Siliconera.

Each spirit's skills and Spirit Battles serve as a introduction to the characters' unique traits and background.

The post SSBU Monster Hunter Spirit Event Will Add Magnamalo, Palico and Palamute appeared first on Siliconera.

The Inazuma Eleven compilation game will take a very long time to develop.

The post Inazuma Eleven: Great Road of Heroes May Be Released In 2023 appeared first on Siliconera.

Xbox Game Pass continues to evolve and grow into one of the most valuable deals on the market. Following the addition of more Bethesda titles and over 60 EA Play games, the latest addition will be MLB The Show 21 where it will arrive on day-one. 

MLB The Show 21 will launch on Xbox Game Pass on April 21 and will be available on Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. Players that utilize Xbox's Cloud Gaming will also be able to play the sports game at launch at no additional cost on mobile for those that have Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. 

The latest in the MLB The Show lineup will include cross-platform play and progress, so it's even easier to play with friends no matter the platform and generation you choose, according to Microsoft. 

Don't have Xbox Game Pass yet and are still on the fence? It's a deal that has gotten a ton of attention in the past year with the growth seen. The value is undeniable, especially when looking at the two options available.