May 2021

We're a little over two weeks away from this year's attempt at an online-only E3, meaning everyone'll soon be sinking into the familiar swamp of showcase schedules and diary dates required to keep track of the event and everything around it. Wisely starting early to avoid the ensuing scramble, though, Microsoft has announced a 13th June air date for this year's E3-adjacent Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase.

It'll be a significant event for a number of reasons, not least because it's the first joint announcement show for the two companies following Microsoft's acquisition of Bethesda last year, and things kick off at 10am PT on Sunday, 13th June - which, for us UK folk, equates to an entirely tolerable 6pm in the evening. It's a long one too, with Microsoft promising 90-minutes of announcements - hopefully that's a taut 90 minutes with none of the waffly filler it usually loves to pad out its livestreams with (hello Inside Xbox, I'm looking at you).

As you'd expect, there's little in the way of specifics regarding the games we'll be seeing - all the better to retain that all-important element of surprise - and Microsoft is merely teasing a look at the "epic gaming lineup coming out of [the Bethesda] partnership, the incredible games coming to Xbox this holiday, upcoming releases on Xbox Game Pass, and more."

Throwback FPS and RPG hybrid Graven has summoned itself an early access launch. Co-publishers 3D Realms and 1C call it "a marriage between modern development tools and techniques with a stark late 90s aesthetic". It does actually look nicer than the old shooters it was partially inspired by, but it sure does look how I think I remember them. It's even planning for online and split screen co-op later in development. If you're hungry for a spot of first person spell-slinging and puzzle solving and crossbow shooting, it's just launched in early access.

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PlayStation Plus is approaching 50 million subscribers and Sony leadership is proud to say PS+ growth has been organic. ...

AFK Arena creator Lilith Games is going cross-platform with Farlight 84, a battle royale game that may be a sign of shifting trends among traditionally mobile game developers. ...

Earlier today, we talked about how modders are doing what they did for the original Mass Effect trilogy for the remaster by restoring cut dialogue options that gave players more same-sex romance options. With some characters cut due to previous social pressure from outlets like Fox News, a lot of players that were hoping for more representation were left waiting for mods. Jack is one such character, and even though her character's storyline even expressly states that she is interested in both men and women, she was left as a Male Shepard-only option. Between that and her limited appearance in Mass Effect 3, there were a lot of unexplored areas regarding the biotic with a sordid past. So, we decided to explore on our own a little bit with Jack herself with voice actress Courtenay Taylor. 

When we asked Commander Jane Shepard's voice actress, Jennifer Hale, what she'd want to see from the next Mass Effect, she told us she wanted Shep back and the ability for her to romance both Tali and Jack. Taylor echoed that sentiment and went a little more into detail about how she felt her character had so much more to give despite being satisfied with how they ended her narrative.

Last year, we had our first look at the next Mass Effect. The video took us through a timeline of events, bridging the gaps between Andromeda, the trilogy, and the extended lore found in the books, comics, and even movies. With the video ending on a shot of a matriarchal Liara with lifelines on her face and a smirk on her lips, we know that the future of Mass Effect could very well be set hundreds of years in the future. With the two galaxies represented between the trilogy and Andromeda, the sky is the limit (literally) as to where the next Mass Effect could go. When we sat down with Commander Shepard herself, Jennifer Hale, we couldn't help but ask where she'd want to see in the future of this space franchise. 

I think a large portion of the community would agree with her when she told Game Informer with a resounding "yes!" that she'd like to see Commander Shepard back in some form. "I want Shepard back 100%," she told us. "I want to explore the relationships, you know, with Garrus, Thane, Liara - all of that!"

RPGs that allow romance as a feature give players that are interested in that kind of content another layer of immersion to enjoy. Skyrim does it. Dragon Age does it. Mass Effect does it. Mass Effect 1 didn't do it well, but the team learned and evolved and eventually added more options in the subsequent two releases. That being said, more options were left on the cutting room floor, including Jack as a pansexual option, and modders for the original trilogy were quick to restore those scenes. While right now there is only one mod to restore same-sex romances, one for default male Shepard only, the community as a whole is hard at work on restoring what was cut. 

During our recent Psychonauts 2 cover story interviews, we had the chance to talk one-on-one with Double Fine artist Lee Petty. A game developer for more than 20 years now, Petty's career has taken him from triple-A studios like Crystal Dynamics all the way to, of course, the smaller teams of Double Fine. During his tenure at the latter, he's served as art director on Brütal Legend, lead the development of RAD and Stacking, and generally had a hand in the art and writing of many other games. 

Our chat with Petty, however, reached far beyond his years at Double Fine, covering his thoughts on open-world game design, the value proposition of video games, and the game industry's issues with crunch. Petty had a lot to say about a lot of topics, all of which you can watch in the video above and/or read in the transcript below. 

Get ready to zail the zeas

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From experts in being annoying to watch the Lord of the Rings with

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‘There’s much more to be done,’ say developers

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Star Citizen is currently free-to-play as the game enjoys its annual Invictus Launch Week celebration. I figured now would be as good a time as ever to take a peek at the ambitious space sim and see how things are going.

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Biomutant, an ambitious yet messy RPG-cum-ASPCA advertisement, is full to the brim with mechanics. Though the combat system doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, it’s saddled by enough quirks that, yeah, it may take some getting used to, even for seasoned players of action games. The following advice should help.

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With the real games delayed until July of this year due to covid-19, Sega’s had plenty of time to cobble together Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 – The Official Video Game, coming June 22 to PC, consoles, and Stadia. It’s a collection of 18 sports you can play with your own goofy-looking, costume-sporting avatar.

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Within the first few hours of Biomutant, you have to make a choice. You’ll find yourself at the fulcrum of a war between two opposing factions. Whichever one you don’t choose will, by virtue of you being an unstoppable badass, eventually cease to exist. And the one you align with will dictate the rough roadmap of the…

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Virtual racers have dealt with all kinds of obstacles in user-created arenas, but today might be a first. The Xbox Series X arrives in Dirt 5 today, not as a gaming console, but as a fridge.

Imitating an infamous meme that became a real-life appliance, the Xbox Series X fridge arrives in Dirt 5 today as part of the Power Your Memes pack, an exclusive content pack available as an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate perk.

Stay cool, and respect the ⬛ U N I T ⬛

The DIRT 5 ‘Power Your Memes’ Perks pack is available right now for Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members, on Xbox and Windows Store, featuring the legendary Xbox Series X fridge!

Full details | https://t.co/nyuyqAhN4u pic.twitter.com/v40wI1HX38

— DIRT (@dirtgame) May 25, 2021

If you're a Game Pass Ultimate subscriber you can log on and simply redeem it, and coincidentally, Dirt 5 is also on Game Pass. It all works out pretty well! Also included in the pack are three new liveries for cars, one of which is adorned in Xbox logos and designs.

Normally this is something I'd expect to see in a modded Trackmania server, but sure, any excuse to jump a car over a giant Xbox-emblazoned fridge is a good one.

Disgaea fans have had one helluva wait for Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny, but we're on the home straight now. With the latest entry in the long-running RPG series just a skip over a month away, publisher NIS America has dropped a demo on the Nintendo eShop, giving the community a final burst of hype to help get them over the finish line.

nWay has released the "Super Edition" of its high-energy tag fighter Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid. Now available digitally on PC and consoles, this bumper pack includes the base game alongside all previously released DLC. Everything you need for a Mighty Morphin' melee.

While Battle for the Grid had something of an inauspicious launch, nWay has faithfully supported the game in the ensuing years, not only adding DLC characters and stages, but also a full story mode, voice talent from the original TV series cast, brilliant online play, crossplay, and even a dedicated competitive league. As testament to the title's underdog spirit, Battle for the Grid has even partnered with fighting game kings Capcom for a Street Fighter crossover.

Well would you look at the calendar it's almost—oh dear it really is almost June isn't it? E3 and E3-like digital events are all about to crash onto shore. Alright, roll up your sleeves and check your calendars game-likers. Microsoft and Bethesda, that new couple who are going to do everything together now so we don't forget, have announced the date for their joint summer showcase. Like other E3-adjacent shows, they'll be making announcements and speeches and maybe showing off some gameplay for their upcoming video games on June 13th.

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TikTok, the shortform/mobile video social app which sports hundreds of millions of MAUs worldwide, is great for game discovery. But how? We talk to Jenny Windom about it. ...

The studio behind Tomb Raider and Marvel's Avengers is setting up shop in BBQ haven Austin, TX. ...

As a Technical Artist you will be part of spearheading technical solutions and optimizations to find the balance between quality and efficiency. ...

Phil Tibitoski, president of Bugsnax developer Young Horses, joins us to chat about his approach to running a small studio, pricing an indie game, a horrific bug-peeling game mechanic in Bugsnax, and much more. ...

These renders are almost uncomfortably detailed

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Sony’s latest investor relations report is full of numbers and promises, but also some actual video game news, in that it is somehow the first place to officially mention that Uncharted 4 is coming to the PC.

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Yesterday, developer People Can Fly released the latest—and repeatedly delayed—patch for Outriders. It was supposed to fix an issue wherein players would get killed instantly, without explanation. Instead, it appears to have irritated everyone under Enoch’s sun.

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The weekend before last, IGN published and then pulled a post with links to charities in support of Palestinian victims who’d been devastated by Israeli violence. This spurred over 80 IGN staffers to sign and publish an open letter decrying corporate management’s subversion of their editorial autonomy and demanding…

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The PlayStation Store is running its annual Days of Play sale through June 9, 2021 — and if you're hoping to scoop up some PS5 game deals in addition to the usual PS4 sale circuit, you're finally in luck.

I'm glad to say that the early MVP Demon's Souls has a discount. Now, it isn't a great discount — the game is $60.19 — but 14 percent off the top isn't nothing. It's been slow-going since launch outside of Returnal and Resident Evil Village, and if we're talking big, impressionable PS5 titles, Demon's Souls is still my favorite. Spider-Man: Miles Morales, another fun one, is down to $39.99 for PS4/PS5.

Some other recommendations from the Days of Play 2021 sale:

Sega announced today that the official video game for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, that may or may not still happen, will be released on June 22, 2021. It features track-and-field events, baseball, rock climbing, and more, but most importantly, there is also avatar customization, and the options are great.

In the trailer for the game, you can see an eager and determined astronaut, still suited up for space travel, keeping pace with Olympic hurdlers as they dash across the field. In another, an armored knight steps into the boxing ring, which seems a little unfair but hey, it's a video game.

While we already have the Mario & Sonic take on the Olympic Games in Tokyo, that's an arena where goofiness is expected. Seeing a massive, fire-breathing turtle-king sprint along the track is the norm. But here, in a somewhat-realistic Olympic event with realistic competitors, I love the one astronaut, determined to proudly represent their nation.

And as the site details, there are options to create your dream competitor. Astronaut, pirate, caveman, ninja, knight, and I think some sort of steampunk attire are all in the clothing options.

It's been a good fiscal year for Sony Interactive Entertainment, but the PS4 will still be a big revenue driver in the year to come. ...

The latest KOF XV trailer brings back a familiar face from Fatal Fury and KOF, as Blue Mary will once again join the fight.

The post Blue Mary Joins the KOF XV Roster appeared first on Siliconera.

The change of direction Assassin’s Creed took between Syndicate and Origins has long divided fans, some of whom aren’t as into open world adventuring as they were the series’ older, sneakier trademarks. If you’re in the latter camp, you might be interested to know that Valhalla’s new expansion Wrath of the Druids has…

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See Nintendo, this is how you celebrate a franchise's 35th anniversary.

Square Enix hosted a live stream earlier this evening to celebrate 35 years of Dragon Quest, and buddy, it did not disappoint. Six games and updates were announced during the stream, including the confirmation of the next entry in the mainline series. Below, I have wrapped up everything revealed in the stream.

An HD-2D remake of Dragon Quest III is currently in development and will feature graphics similar to Octopath Traveller.

The post Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake in Development appeared first on Siliconera.

Younger versions of Dragon Quest XI's Erik and his sister Mia will be the stars of the upcoming Dragon Quest Treasures. Check out the first trailer.

The post Dragon Quest Treasures Will Star Dragon Quest XI’s Erik appeared first on Siliconera.

The newest game in the mainline series will be a "darker take" on the franchise.

The post Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate Announced appeared first on Siliconera.

When Dragon Quest X was first released in 2012, it was a massively multiplayer online role-playing game. It still is! But now in 2021, an offline version has been announced. It’s called, wait for it, Dragon Quest X: Offline.

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Over the years, there have been a number of versions of Dragon Quest III. Add another one to the list.

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Yakuza: Kiwami is Kazuma Kiryu's first outing, but it's been remade to look even nicer and play even better. And by this, I mean that self-proclaimed "Mad Dog" Goro Majima will pop out of bins and manhole covers to fight you with even more gusto.

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Today, Dragon Quest XII was announced during a Square Enix live stream.

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