July 2021

Can a wireless gaming mouse be good for esports?

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Today Bandai Namco hosted a livestream about its upcoming cross-generation JRPG Tales of Arise.

First of all, we learn that the theme song of the game is performed by the Japanese rock band Kankaku Piero. The title is Hibana.

Incidentally, the opening cutscene also reveals new characters and it’s animated by Ufotable as usual.

We then get an introduction to the battle system with various video clips directly from series producer Yusuke Tomizawa.

Next, we get some more gameplay played directly by Alphen voice actor Takuya Satou and Shionne’s voice actress Shino Shimoji.

Today Sega released two more character trailers in English of the upcoming action game Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Hinokami Chronicles, known in Japan as Kimetsu no Yaiba: Hinokami Keppu Tan.

The trailers focus on Tanjiro Kamado and Murata. While voices are in Japanese, we finally get English subtitles, making everything easier to understand.

You can find all the videos below.

Atlus is continuing to release a multitude of trailers of its upcoming JRPG Shin Megami Tensei V, focusing on one more of its 200+ demons.

Sometimes, you just need to sit down and enjoy some cozy games to unwind. Whether it's taking a few moments to yourself after a hard day, or bundling up in a blanket burrito with a hot beverage and your Nintendo Switch - self-care is self-love. For those looking for a cozy game to play on their Nintendo Switch, we've got a few picks for you to consider.

Best cozy games to play on Nintendo Switch 

The obvious addition to this list is Animal Crossing: New Horizons, so I'm going to leave that as an honorable mention to make room for other titles so that they can get some spotlight. So, without further ado, here are some cozy games to get on your Switch to get crackin' on some relaxation. 

Black Geyser: Couriers Of Darkness sure looks like a BioWare game. It isn’t, because BioWare hasn’t made BioWare games for centuries. This is in fact made by a small team, yet when it goes into Early Access next month, will apparently boast real-time combat, a set of companions, and over 300,000 words of storytelling.

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Shhhhhh, all the grown ups are distracted. Kotaku’s proper employees are all off doing whatever it is Americans do on Independence Day, and in a woefully ironic act, have allowed a Brit to take over the site. So aside from leaving crates of tea everywhere and graffitiing “Long Live King George III!” on various walls,…

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Video games continue to become more and more complex, and developers need to know that the tools they use are up to the challenge. ...

Uriel is the next character in SMT V to get a daily digest trailer. The next silhouette seems to suggest a demon like Orobos could appear.

The post Uriel Will Be Among the Angels Present in SMT V appeared first on Siliconera.

The new Macross Delta movie is also slated for a global release.

The post New Macross Delta and Frontier Movies Will Appear in Japan This Fall appeared first on Siliconera.

Streaming service PlayStation Now offers a huge library of games for PlayStation users giving hundreds of PS4 titles to download and play instantly.

The biggest and arguably best game coming this month is Red Dead Redemption 2, which follows the story of outlaw Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang. It is full of shootouts, heists, hunting, horseback riding, interacting with NCPs, and maintaining Arthur's honour through the choices you choose. The action-adventure game will be available on Tuesday, 6th July.

Judgment, from the same team that created the Yakuza series, is a spin off series that follows a detective investigating a string of murders. The game will be available for three months, from 6th July until the 4th October 2021.

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Welcome to the brand new Digital Foundry Direct Weekly, where the team stop work on their projects for a couple of hours to catch up, talk tech, answer questions from our rather awesome backers on the DF Supporter Program - and in the case of this week, battle numerous technical gremlins - and a giant fly.

Topics up for discussion this week include Doom Eternal's ray tracing upgrade (covered in-depth after this filming right here) along with Sony's strategic acquisitions of Housemarque and Nixxes - two tech powerhouses capable of some incredible work. Housemarque looked like a logical buy, but PlayStation's decision to swoop on Nixxes came out of the blue. All we can really say here is that this studio is one of the unsung heroes of the development community and we can't wait to see what their association with Sony yields.

We also spend some time talking about Ratchet and Clank's brand new 120Hz support, which sees fidelity mode move up to 40fps from 30fps. This is something we're going to spend a little more time looking at because it's potentially very exciting - games typically tend to target 30fps or 60fps - and the gap is wide. The new 40fps support sees a new frame delivered every three screen refreshes on a 120Hz screen, so you get consistent frame-times but you also get higher frame-rates - and the results are impressive.

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Gary Gygax’s own player character joins the fun

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Today third-party developers had a lot of reveals and a relevant release to share for Microsoft Flight Simulator add-ons.

First of all, we get the reveal of the Freedom Fox by Parallel 42.

It’s being created in collaboration with Trent Palmer, and it’s currently in testing.

Next is an announcement from Gate15 Scenery, which is working on Nanki–Shirahama Airport (RJBD) in Japan.

It serves a popular holiday destination with three Japan Airlines flights a day from Tokyo Haneda airport. It’s a small but very scenic airport.

Unfortunately, there are no images yet, so we’ll have to wait for the next reveal.

Drzewiecki Design revealed new screenshots of Moscow Sheremetyevo Alexander S. Pushkin International Airport (UUEE) in Russia.

The airport is in the final testing phase and will be released this week.

Total War: Warhammer fans are eagerly waiting to see more of the third game, but Creative Assembly is still preparing to close the curtain on Total War: Warhammer II with its last DLC.

Titled The Silence & The Fury, it’ll focus on Lizardmen and Beastmen, and today we get to see more about the rework of the Beastmen faction that will be released at the same time.

You can take a look below and take a look at the previous video showing the Jabberslythe and the one showing the Troglodon.

Total War: Warhammer II is currently available exclusively for PC

Titled The Silence & The Fury launches on July 14. Below you can read an official description:

Extraterrestrial colony sim RimWorld sure does have a spot on several "best of genre" lists [best management games, and best building games, and more] here in RPS territory and—would you look at that—the best only get better. RimWorld has announced its upcoming Ideology expansion which will let you create colonies of "tree-worshipping cannibals who carve skulls into every piece of furniture, or blind tunnelers who shun the light, or transhumanists obsessed with perfecting the human form using exotic technology". Ludeon Studios say they're looking to launch the expansion, and the major 1.3 free update alongside it in "about 2 weeks". Just enough time to plan exactly what kind of oddball ideological mashup you want to saddle your next colony with.

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Iiiiiii Deeeeeee Fiiiiiiiive. That’s what the cool kids are already calling the first annual* Kotaku Indie-Penance Day. They’re all wishlisting amazing-looking indie games, and then high fiving and having all sorts of interesting sex with each other. Don’t miss out.

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Megahouse revealed the next two Naruto Look Up figures in the series will be Sakura and Hinata. It shared painted prototype photos of both.

The post Look Down at the Naruto Look Up Sakura and Hinata Figures appeared first on Siliconera.

The Summer's Dream Fire Emblem Heroes banner is on the way, and it will include a Summer Caeda and Plumeria duo unit, Freyja, and Freyr.

The post Fire Emblem Heroes Summer Plumeria, Caeda, and Freyja on the Way appeared first on Siliconera.

RimWorld, the acclaimed sci-fi colony sim from Ludeon Studios, has announced a second paid expansion, titled Ideology, which'll be arriving in the next few weeks alongside a substantial free content update for all players.

Following on from last year's Royalty DLC, Ideology aims to enhance RimWorld's celebrated core by providing the tools needed to fashion a specific belief system for your colony. "You can play as tree-worshipping cannibals who carve skulls into every piece of furniture," explains developer Tynan Sylvester on Steam, "or blind tunnelers who shun the light, or transhumanists obsessed with perfecting the human form using exotic technology. Or be nudists, or drug-stupor mystics, or piratical raiders, or charity-focused givers, or pain-loving animal sacrificers, or dance-party techno ravers, or rustic ranching cowboys, or many many more."

Sylvester says it'll be possible to mix and match different core elements of a colony's belief system in Ideology, and that customisation can be taken even further if desired, with the expansion enabling players to individually adjust preferences in the following categories: precept, ritual, special social role, venerated animal and weapon, culture and style, unique building, tattoo, clothing, background narrative, god, and, perhaps most importantly of all, beard (more on those shortly!).

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Today Capcom released a new trailer of the upcoming Monster Hunter JRPG Monster Hunter Stories 2.

The trailer focuses on one of the characters who will play a relevant role in the game, Alwin. This follows the first character trailer that featured Kayna.

You can check him out below.

Today, following the reveal in Japanese, Bandai Namco showcased even more of its upcoming JRPG Tales of Arise, this time in English.

The gameplay was presented by Vtuber Takanashi Kiara, showcasing quite a lot of interesting elements.

We start with a look at rates, skills, and other elements of combat gameplay.

Next is the first look at weapon crafting.

Today Bandai Namco Entertainmnent released the English version of the opening cutscene of its cross-generation Tales JRPG Tales of Arise.

This video is different from the one showcased earlier today, as this is still performed by the Japanese rock band Kankaku Piero, but it’s actually sung in English. The title is the same “Hibana” as the Japanese version.

The animation is the same, created by Ufotable.

You can watch it below.

Here are the lyrics:

I want to feel your heart right now
You are the place my only hope

Oh I’m barely breathing and beaten to the ground
But each and every time
We all stand up

Stop lying to yourself and be true to yourself and then maybe
We both can exceed destiny

So let’s shout it out
You might feel alone
But I’m right by your side

Just like the flowers that bloom and fall
Repeat over and over again
Keep the flame alive

I want to feel your heart right now
You are the place my only hope
I know…
We can one day

Sony Interactive Entertainment revealed seven titles will be coming to the PlayStation Now service on July 6, the company announced in a blog post on Monday.

Headlining the list is Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2. The epic western also includes Red Dead Online, the game’s online multiplayer component, which was released as a standalone game last year. The game will be available on the service until Nov. 1, 2021 and can only be downloaded through PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4.

Another hit coming on Tuesday is Judgment, the psychological thriller created by Yakuza series developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. It too will be available on the service for a limited time until Oct. 4, 2021, but does not have the download-only requirement.

Rounding out the list is action RPG sequel Nioh 2, which the first game came to the service last May, alongside physics-based moving simulator Moving Out, Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, Nascar Heat 5, and the return of the God of War reboot.

PlayStation Now offers hundreds of PS4, PS3, and PS2 titles to stream to Windows PC, PS5, and PS4 consoles for $9.99 per month. There are also 300 PS4 games that can be downloaded to either PS5 and PS4.

The post PlayStation Now Adds Red Dead Redemption 2, Judgment, and More for July appeared first on Twinfinite.

Another E3 has come and gone without Rockstar Games talking about Grand Theft Auto VI, but that sure hasn't stopped everyone else from chatting about it. Rockstar still haven't actually announced their next crime 'em up in any official capacity, but most folks are operating under the assumption that they must be working on it. They must be, right? There've been all sorts of GTA 6 rumors over the years, though new reports have now cropped up suggesting an eventual 2024 or 2025 launch date for the assumed GTA 6 and a modern Vice City setting. Here's what's being said and who's saying it, in the absence of Rockstar announcing anything themselves.

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There tends to be two schools of gameplay when it comes to skateboarding games: the arcadieness of the Tony Hawk series and its ilk, and the more technically-focused simulations of the Skate series and the games it inspired. While I'm sure there are plenty of people who enjoy both, I tend to see it as one or the other; you either prefer the over-the-topness of impossible combos in Tony Hawk, or challenging yourself with next-to-real lines in Skate. I much prefer the former. 

For two games now, the OlliOlli series has fallen more in-line with the latter, being a 2D take on the simulation skateboarding genre. And for what it's worth, this has worked outstandingly for developer Roll7, which not only received acclaim for its action sports games, but even won a prestigious BAFTA in 2015 for the first OlliOlli. 

But if you're like me, playing OlliOlli and its sequel can feel inscrutable. Even in their earliest sections, aside from teaching you the basics of controls, the games often feel as though they are just cutting you loose to figure it out yourself. If that's a struggle, too bad, so sad. You will be punished for your mistakes. 

Roll7 isn't blind to this fact. 

We know the PS Vita will no longer have its store taken offline this month, but what no one thought to ask was: Will new games continue to be added? We’re hearing rumours that no more shall appear after July 20.

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BioWare is selling its second Mass Effect dakimakura, aka a body pillow case, and it features Tali. The original one is of Garrus.

The post Next Mass Effect Dakimakura is a Tali Body Pillow Case appeared first on Siliconera.

Talking with sea life seems a strange way to decide the fate of existence, but Mythic Ocean makes us see how our words can change lives.

The post Mythic Ocean Reminds Us of the Power of Our Words appeared first on Siliconera.

The MSI Optix G273QF gaming monitor has been discounted today to £222.50, which is £26 cheaper than we've ever seen it before - and way below its similarly specced rivals. This 27-in 1440p 165Hz model is actually part of the same breed of Fast IPS gaming monitors like the LG 27GL850 and Dell S2721DGF, both of which are popular choices for the category and retail for north of £300, so this kind of price is really unprecedented!

• Get the G273QF for £222.50 with code SAVE3 (was £249)

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It's officially official, "Oculus Rift is no longer available" says the Oculus website. After signaling the Rift's retirement last year, Oculus have now ended sales for the headset on their website. New Oculus users will now be looking at the cheaper, more versatile Quest 2 headset. Corpo parent Facebook does require an account to use the Quest 2, but RPS still reckons it's the best low-cost VR headset you can grab right now and a worthy successor to what used to be one of the the best VR headsets.

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I’ve never been into the “smart glasses” thing. I’ve seen them, and been slightly intrigued by them, but I never saw them as something to be super excited about. Then I sat down and reviewed the Razer Anzu and now I understand their incredible potential. With Bluetooth capability, microphone, and anti-blue light protection, Razer’s newest foray into the far reaches of the gaming-verse is not too shabby. Surprisingly, no RGBs, either. 

How Do They Look and Feel? 

The term “smart glasses” pertains to technological capabilities. Smart glasses allow users to connect to outside hardware, respond to certain commands, and have added app functionality. This tech is nothing new, companies like Amazon and Bose have released their own versions, so how does Razer compare? Pretty nicely, as long as you manage expectations. 

The Razer Anzu glasses look like any normal pair of thick-framed glasses. You can choose from a round frame version and a more traditional rectangle design, both of which come in a variety of different sizes to ensure the right fit. The Anzu looks similar to the Amazon Frames, where the chunky arms are used to house the smart tech. 

One pair of Anzus comes with two different charging ports, one for each arm of the frame. They’re a little bigger than I expected, but surprisingly not as weighty as they look, which is good for long-term comfort. 

Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy is the latest game to grace our cover, and in this exclusive interview we sat down with the game's Animation Director, Darryl Purdy, to learn more about gameplay animations, directing cutscenes in the game, and overcoming challenges presented by motion capture. 

If you're interested in learning more about Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy after watching this video, be sure to read our 12-page cover story. You can learn all about the game's lesser-known characters in this issue, like Lady Hellbender in this brief snippet:

Of course, by now Indie-Penance Day has become such an institution in the games industry since its inception this morning, that people are starting to get nostalgic about the whole thing. To meet that need, here are ten indie games you likely haven’t seen before that evoke eras of gaming past.

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As part of our Psychonauts 2 cover story, we had the chance to talk to more than a dozen people who had a hand in the history of Double Fine Productions. This article originally ran in Game Informer issue 336, but we're republishing it on our website in anticipation of Psychonauts 2's upcoming August 25 release. To see more of our exclusive coverage, make sure to check out our rapid-fire interview with Double Fine founder Tim Schafer, a new Psychonauts 2 level, and our inside look at how the game is handling conversations around mental health.

Tim Schafer was on a glacier somewhere in Nepal, thinking he was going to die, when he decided to quit his job and found his own company.

With so many veterans and newcomers alike enjoying Mass Effect Legendary Edition, we thought we'd take a break from the guides and the character deep dives to just appreciate the community for a moment. Since it's been a hot minute since I've shared a cosplay, I thought this would be my perfect excuse to talk about two things I love so much: Mass Effect and how freaking talented cosplayers are. So, without further ado, let's look at one Mass Effect cosplayer's incredible takes with her Miranda and EDI cosplays. 

From Cerberus to certified badass, EDI has never looked better than in this amazing cosplay take For those that may not be familiar with this very sassy AI, 'she' was first introduced in Mass Effect 1 as a mission about a rogue VI, and then later in Mass Effect 2 as a ship system implemented by Cerberus. In Mass Effect 3, she was given a more human form, one that - like Samantha Traynor and Joker - many of us fell for. The cosplayer in question goes by Star Nacho and her love for the character is very evident in her careful cosplay of her: 

Alas, BioWare aren't attending EA play this month, which means no major look at Dragon Age 4 is in the cards. Instead, they've shown off more concept art for another of the series' familiar organisations. It's the stealthy and stylish Antivan Crows this time around—the assassin faction that we've yet to see all that much of in previous games. It's a tiny scrap of information, but hey, I think the Crows are cool as heck and I'm pretty psyched that they could be getting some time at center stage.

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In this summer's episode of speedrunners doing the darndest things, I've been gifted yet another absolutely ridiculous feat of level skipping. Wiggling their way out of bounds isn't a new trick for speedrunners by any means, but what's waiting beyond the walls in stealth romp Styx: Shards Of Darkness was not at all what I expected. As part of Summer Games Done Quick earlier today, speedrunner "Tohelot" shows off how he's able to skip through sections of the game by activating secret logic flowcharts that can be found physically hanging around beneath the level.

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Razer's bundles are a great way to get PC peripherals at a discounted price, and today a great one with a wireless mouse, wireless headset and case has appeared at Sam's Club in the US. The cost is $49.91, which is great considering the Basilisk X Hyperspeed mouse costs $45 and the Hammerhead True Wireless earbuds cost $55.

Note that if you order this online, you'll need to pay $8 shipping if you're not a Sam's Club Plus member, but you'll still end up well ahead compared to buying these three items separately!

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