During today’s Annapurna Interactive showcase, French developer BlueTwelve Studio finally gave us an in-depth look at its first game, Stray.
SkateBird, the adorable avian-themed skateboarding title from developer Glass Bottom Games, has pushed back its release by just over a month, and will now come to Xbox, Switch, PC, and Amazon Luna on 16th September.
SkateBird, which was originally due to release in August, casts players as a "chill little skateboarding bird" that passes the time waiting for its owner to come home from work by constructing a glorious, homemade skatepark.
In this bird-sized skateboarding paradise, players can trick and grind their way toward completing missions and unlocking courses, hopefully attracting a loyal bird following and fixing their human friend's life along the way.
Hyper Light Drifter developer Heart Machine's gorgeous sci-fi action-adventure Solar Ash finally has a release date and will be heading to PlayStation and PC on 26th October.
Announced back in 2019 under the working title Solar Ash Kingdom, Heart Machine's latest adventure takes players to a "surreal, vivid and highly stylised world filled with mystery, wild high-speed traversal, endearing characters, and massive enemy encounters" as they, in the role of Voidrunner Rei, attempt to save their home planet from the Ultravoid - a massive black hole that swallows entire worlds.
In more practical terms, Solar Ash (which trades Hyper Light Drifter's intricate top-down pixel art for a fully 3D world) is a third-person action-platformer with a focus on "fluidity of movement". Players are able to quickly leap, slide, grind, and grapple across huge distances as they explore the likes of sunken cities, vast water shelves, and dangerous lava zones, battling ever-more fearsome enemies along the way.
Today, the Annapurna Interactive showcase showed off a bunch of brand new games and footage for titles that are set to release over the next year. In the showcase, there were plenty of cool reveals and updates that fans of the publisher are sure to be excited about.
To make things a bit easier for you, we’ve compiled everything in one place. Here is everything that was shown during the Annapurna Interactive showcase for July 2021.
The Artful Escape is an upcoming platformer being developed by Beethoven & Dinosaur. This title centers on the character of Francis Vendetti, the nephew of a deceased folk-music legend, Johnson Vendetti, as he tries to create a new identity for himself to get out of the shadow of his famous uncle.
It releases for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC on Sept. 9.
The post Recapping the Annapurna Interactive Showcase (July 2021) appeared first on Twinfinite.
Tonight's Annapurna showcase brought news of many games, and among them was Stray. First announced at E3 last year, it's a gorgeous-looking third-person adventure in which you control a cat trying to survive in a cybercity.
The first developer walkthrough of Stray revealed that someone has given the cat a gun. Watch the trailer below.
After a day short of a year in early access, turn-based anthro-animal battler Banners Of Ruin has launched in full. It's Wind In The Willows crossed with Slay The Spire, or Animals Of Farthing Wood crossed with Game Of Thrones. Check out the launch trailer below.
We learned a little more about the Steam Deck yesterday via Gabe Newell's chat with IGN, but that wasn't all that was discussed. IGN also asked Newell how he felt about Half-Life: Alyx one year on - and (with no spoilers), how he felt about the game's ending.
The second free update for Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin arrives on Nintendo Switch and PC on August 5. This update will introduce a new monster to hunt, the Elder Dragon Kulve Taroth, as well as another pair of Monstie companions.
Following the update, you'll be able to take on Kulve Taroth in a Co-Op Expedition Quest. The new Monsties, meanwhile, are both variants of existing monsters: Hellblade Glavenus and Boltreaver Astalos.
Are you ready to battle the Mother Goddess of Gold?
— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) July 26, 2021
Kulve Taroth emerges in #MHStories2 next week! pic.twitter.com/srscv6SuGR
Title Update 2 arrives only a couple of weeks after the game's first update, which introduced the Palamute from Monster Hunter Rise as a Monstie. To collect a Palamute egg, you'll need to obtain a Palamute Ticket (either by purchasing one from Melynx Inc. or completing the five-star quest called Throw Me a Bone) and use that to embark on a Palamute Den Expedition Quest.
Yves Guillemot, CEO of Ubisoft, has release a statement in response to the hundreds of company employees who signed a letter in support of Activision Blizzard workers who staged a massive walkout on Wednesday, July 28.
In the statement, tweeted out by Axios reporter Stephen Totilo, Guillemot said Ubisoft wants to "reiterate our commitment to creating real and lasting change" at the company. He ran through a list of actions Ubisoft has taken in the wake of last year's sexual harassment allegations and toxic workplace accusations. This includes revamping HR processes, installing a new code of conduct, rolling out mandatory training regimens, and hiring new leadership.
Guillemot also talked directly to the employee letter. He said that upper management understands employees want to improve working conditions at Ubisoft, reiterating that this commitment is a priority for everyone involved.
"Yesterday's letter expresses concern from employees who want to make Ubisoft a better place," Guillemot said. "We have heard clearly from this letter that not everyone is confident in the processes that have been put in place to manage misconduct reports. This is a top priority for Anika [Grant, Ubisoft's Chief People Officer who was hired this past April], who continues to ensure they are robust and independent. In addition to our current processes, we are currently recruiting a new VP Global Employee Relations."
Food Fight, first released in 1983 as an arcade machine and later released for the Atari 7800, is getting a modern, multiplayer reimagining. Scheduled to launch early next year and sporting modern 3D visuals, the game comes from Mega Cat Studios and can be played single-player or co-op, with support for online multiplayer.
The game will be a timed exclusive for Atari's new VCS console, and will release for PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox, and PlayStation platforms at a later date. Atari says the VCS version of the game will contain content exclusive to that platform, but did not offer details on what exactly that exclusive content will be.
Mega Cat Studios' Food Fight will feature procedurally generated environments and updated gameplay mechanics as players use up to 30 different items to defeat the competition in food-based battles, with different types of food sporting unique attributes, such as "slippery" or "sticky," that will affect gameplay. Atari says more details on the game will be released in the coming months, but that Food Fight is the first example of its new "refocus" on premium PC and console games.
Atari's VCS console released in June at $300 for the Onyx base model. Another VCS model, which includes an additional controller and sports a wood grain finish, retails for $400. The machine has been billed as a console/PC hybrid and comes with a large collection of classic Atari games preinstalled. It also supports a number of entertainment apps like YouTube and Netflix.
Months after its official launch, Sony is finally allowing PlayStation 5 owners to expand their limited internal SSD storage with a range of Gen4 NVMe SSDs. What makes Sony's approach different from Microsoft's with the Xbox Series X|S is that the company isn't making its own SSD; instead, the PS5 will be compatible with numerous third-party SSDs you can buy today--if they fit within a certain specification.
It's important to stress that right now, the firmware update you need to enable internal storage expansion is only in beta. This means that Sony hasn't released its own list of SSDs that it has evaluated for use and can only guide you toward SSD options that might work based on the console's requirements. On Sony's official page for the update, it is stressed that even SSDs that meet the specifications laid out might not work as intended and that SIE takes no responsibility for purchases you make that end up not being compatible with your PS5.
Until Sony releases its own approved list or more PS5 players can test certain SSDs firsthand, you should be warned that any seemingly compatible SSDs might not work once the firmware is finally pushed out to everyone. That said, some manufacturers are already stating that their SSDs will be compatible when that time comes, with Seagate confirming that its FireCuda 530 range of M.2 drives will work with the console.
All SSDs will need to adhere to the following specifications for compatibility with the PS5:
Armor customization in Halo Infinite aims to include lore while also allowing players to fit their own personalities. In the Halo Infinite technical preview livestream, 343 Industries went over some of the customizations options that will be available in the Halo Infinite tech test this weekend and the launch version of the game.
One of the main pieces of armor customizations are the armor cores, which serve as a base for your Spartan. Some of the armor cores will be based in the Halo Infinite lore, like the Mark VII armor shown in the video. Other armor sets like the previously revealed Yoroi armor, which is designed to look like Samurai armor, are considered fractured cores, and exist outside of the Halo Infinite lore.
The exploration adventure game Outer Wilds is getting an expansion, and it's coming sooner than you might expect. The Echoes of the Eye expansion is coming on September 28.
Annapurna Interactive confirmed the "first and only" expansion with a trailer during its games showcase. The development team acknowledged that the original game didn't leave much room for expansion, but hinted that questions like "why" may be answered in the DLC itself. A press release says the DLC revolves around "an anomaly that can't be attributed to any known location in the solar system."
Echoes of the Eye was actually leaked in April by a SteamDB listing, and publisher Annapurna gave a winking signal-boost to the discovery that acted as almost-confirmation. This is the first official word we've heard of the expansion, however.
Outer Wilds was one of GameSpot's best games of 2019. A big part of that was its story, which helped to inspire curiosity and discovery with a sense of scientific wonder.
Annapurna Interactive had plenty to reveal during its July showcase, releasing trailers for several upcoming games and expansions. The publisher also revealed that it's partnered with a few more developers that are currently working on unannounced projects.
Below, we go over everything that was announced during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase. We go through the announcements in the order that they happened.
The Artful Escape
After a brief intro, Annapurna Interactive kicked off the show with a new trailer for The Artful Escape, an upcoming musical game about a young performer struggling to escape his father's shadow. The trailer ended with the reveal that The Artful Escape will launch for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Game Pass on September 9.
Neon White
Up next, Annapurna Interactive revealed a gameplay trailer for Neon White. When talking to GameSpot, Neon White developer Ben Esposito said "[Neon White] is structured like a speedrunning game," but added that the game isn't just for pro speedrunners. The trailer concluded with the reveal that Neon White is coming to Switch and PC this winter.
Outerloop Games
Stray, a game about a cat wearing a backpack in a world taken over by robots, was already poised to be the most precious thing in the world before we even saw gameplay. During the July 29 Annapurna Interactive stream, however, we were given our first look at Stray in action, including a harrowing chase sequence. And we also learned as part of the event that it's coming out next year.
After meeting a drone named B12, the cat is able to communicate with those around it, including the humans who still exist in the harsh world we wouldn't wish on a single real kitty. It's so harsh, in fact, that a chase soon begins as slug creatures try to consume the cat. Using B12's unlockable abilities, the drone is able to stun them long enough for them to be defeated.
You'll have to use your stealth and agility to make it through Stray, and according to Annapurna Interactive, you'll also need to sometimes be "as annoying as possible." If you have ever had a cat, you know this is a crucial element of their entire species. You can even knock stuff off of ledges to solve puzzles and claw up a leather couch like a little demon.
Stray was planned for a 2021 launch, but it's now going to launch in 2022. Alongside the PC release, it will also be available on PS4 and PS5. Make sure to stock that backpack full of plenty of catnip toys and delicious tuna treats while you wait.
A new trailer for Solar Ash debuted during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase, revealing that developer Heart Machine's upcoming game will launch for PS5, PS4, and PC on October 26. The trailer showcases a bit more of what exploration looks like in Solar Ash which, according to creative director Alx Preston, is the first-and-foremost focus for the game.
"We're traversal first," Preston told GameSpot. "That was kind of the vision of the game: Control the traversal, the environments that you're moving through, and the spectacle of it all. Especially the scale on the grandiosity of it just feeling impossibly large and you're feeling really tiny and insignificant in as many ways as possible. The traversal absolutely takes precedence and the combat is kind of intermingled with that traversal."
To do that, Heart Machine has designed Solar Ash's movement mechanics to be fairly easy to grasp. You will have to practice to achieve the same level of fluidity seen in trailers. But when I asked Preston, he said that Solar Ash's movement more closely resembles the easy-to-pick-up web-swinging mechanics of Marvel's Spider-Man than the carefully timed button presses and precise turns needed to perform an amazing aerial goal in Rocket League.
"I would say it's pretty approachable," Preston said. "I think we're very aware of how challenging a third person game can be with a freeform camera."
"If you're comfortable with third-person action games, you're not going to find anything super wild here where you have to be pressing both triggers in tandem or anything like that. I would say it'll be pretty straightforward how to manage your character."
The Annapurna Interactive Showcase revealed a new trailer for Neon White. Despite being in first-person and featuring gunplay, this game is not a first-person shooter. Neon White isn't a roguelike or deck-builder either, despite featuring a cyclical run-based formula and card-based combat. According to its developer, Ben Esposito, Neon White is a "speedrunning" game.
"[Neon White] is structured like a speedrunning game in the sense that you have a bunch of levels and to proceed in the game--to continue in the in-game competition so to speak, in the fiction of the game--you have to achieve certain medals or certain status by playing the levels faster," Esposito told GameSpot. "So you play a set and you survive through them and then you revisit them and you start to pick them apart and start to play them faster and get more familiar with them."
"I'm a little reluctant to say it's exactly like a speedrunning game because I think that to a lot of people, that scares them a little--it evokes the extreme dedication of a Twitch streamer. But I think it's an accurate description because [Neon White] is structured where the main goal is to get faster at it. But the game is designed to onboard you into speedrunning in a pretty gentle way if you haven't done it before."
In Neon White, you play as the titular character, a demon from Hell who's competing against other demons for a chance to ascend to Heaven. You race through levels, killing enemies in a competition of skill and speed. With each enemy you defeat, a card is added to your hand. Each card has two effects depending on whether you use it or discard it. As an example, a card may give you a shotgun attack if you use it, or send out a fireball if you discard it.
Halo Infinite's first multiplayer beta is beginning today, and developer 343 Industries has revealed much more of what you can expect from the next iteration of Halo multiplayer. In particular, the studio showed off the multiplayer settings, which include a bunch of new accessibility options like the ability to change Halo's iconic red and blue multiplayer colors.
Specifically, 343 Industries is including a setting to let you change the coloration of both teammates and enemies. While "red vs. blue" is, of course, famous as the default setup of Halo multiplayer, that color scheme isn't great for everyone. This setting will give colorblind people options to achieve more visible contrast between friendly and enemy players.
In addition, the studio is incorporating a whole array of various graphics, UI, and gameplay settings to significantly expand the customization options for players. These include the ability to change the positional offset of weapons on the screen (to allow old-school players to have their weapons more centered, for instance), and an opt-out button for speed lines, a graphic effect triggered when players are sprinting.
The weekly playlist refresher arrived to Black Ops Cold War today, and the July 29 patch notes include some minor improvements to Zombies. Players can also expect a new Gunfight tournament and Double Weapon XP.
Collateral Combined Arms 24/7 has returned to Black Ops Cold War, which is a mix of the 12v12 Combined Arms modes. And 3v3 Gunfight Snipers Only replaced the 2v2 Gunfight Blueprints. For fans of the large-scale Fireteam modes, Sat-Link was added to the Multi-Team Moshpit playlist.
A new Gunfight tournament starts today with new and exclusive in-game rewards. You can still unlock any previous tournament prizes you missed, you just need to replay and win the tournament bracket multiple times to unlock the additional rewards.
Today's patch notes mentions stability fixes and gameplay improvements for the mode, which include specific fixes for issues with the main Easter egg quest in Mauer der Toten, unresponsive Mimics in Firebase Z, various stability issues, and more.
Double Weapon XP will be active for both Black Ops Cold War and Warzone from July 30 through August 2.
In Civilization VI's latest expansion Gathering Storm, the world fights back and your actions have far-reaching, unintended consequences down the ages and across the whole of the map. ...
SMU Guildhall is looking for faculty to fill a position in one of these areas of specialization: Gameplay Creator, Team Game Production, Art or Programming. ...
Road 96 developer Yoan Fanise has told Axios that Facebook rejected an advertisement for his team's upcoming game, on the grounds it contained "political messaging." ...
Updated: Valve has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit brought against it by Wolfire that alleged the company had created a monopoly with Steam, and was not earning its 30 percent cut on game sales. ...
PS2 game boxes were entirely unremarkable, because they looked like every other plastic case available at the time, from Xbox games to DVDs. But an earlier design for them that Sony ended up ditching was a lot more interesting.
Today, during a livestream hosted by the vTuber Takanashi Kiara, Bandai Namco introduced a few videos of Tales of Arise in English.
We get to see an example of a skit and camping, also hinting to fishing and farming. The second video shows cooking and its results.
The third video showcases Kisara as she talks about her favorite activity, fishing. The fourth video focuses on dialogue between Alphen and Rinwell.
Incidentally, those are similar to the videos showcased earlier today, but in English instead of Japanese, so you can see both versions.
Last, but not least, we take a look at a lot more screenshots of the costumes coming with the limited editions. Interestingly, we also see how most of the costumes have three color variations.
Today both Microsoft and third-party developers had news to share about the popular sim Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Starting with Microsoft itself, we’re getting a hotfix tomorrow at 8:00 am PT (15:00 UTC).
The patch will fix some of the issues seen on both PC and Xbox Series X|S since the latest update (and the release of the console version).
Here’s what you can expect:
STABILITY/PERFORMANCE
INPUT
UI
PLANES
The Samsung T7 is a rather good portable SSD, available in the extra-secure "Touch" version (shown in the photo above) or as the cheaper and equally speedy "vanilla" variant. Today, that plain Jane Samsung T7 has been discounted heavily at Newegg, with the company offering a 500GB capacity drive for just $59.50. That's well below the original $100 asking price of the drive, and makes for a great deal against more expensive competition like the Crucial X8.
The Gigabyte M27Q is one of the best value 1440p monitors on the market, packing in a 170Hz refresh rate, a Fast IPS panel and unique KVM functionality into a package that normally retails for $360. Today, this 27-in monitor has become even more appealing at Newegg, where it's been reduced to $290, the lowest price we've yet recorded for it. It even comes with a free game, Outriders, for PC. Here's why you should consider this particular model while it's on sale.
Marvel’s Avengers may have had a rough launch, but Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics have continued to support the game with updates and new content. The new DLC, War for Wakanda, will be made free for all players and it’s coming in August, but before that, new players can get a taste of what the game is like for free this weekend.
Here are the timings and details for the all-access weekend:
Players who jump in during this time will get to enjoy free resources as well as XP boosts to give them a head start.
When it goes live on Aug. 17, the War for Wakanda expansion will introduce a brand new environment for players to explore, new enemies to fight, as well as new multiplayer missions to check out with your friends.
Marvel’s Avengers is now available on PC and consoles.
The post Marvel’s Avengers Gets a Free Trial this Weekend, Black Panther Arrives in August appeared first on Twinfinite.
Today Kadokawa Games had more assets, and information to share about its upcoming strategy simulation JRPG Relayer.
First of all, we meet Genjiro Akeboshi, nicknamed the “Meisei Maintenance Manager” due to his old-fashioned ways. He’s responsible of the maintenance of the Stella Gear mecha on the Asterism. His skills are top-notch but he can be either quite harsh or kind with his team and his granddaughter venus.
We also get a video featuring his voice actor, Hideki Kojima, as he introduces himself to the fan.
On top of that, we get more information about progression. By unlocking stars on the starboard, which is basically a skill tree based on a character’s job, you can actually unlock not only skills but also passive perks like “HP+10.”
That being said, a perk that grants additional job points won’t be implemented. It was a point of contention in the developers’ previous game God Wars, as many players pretty much felt compelled to have it, limiting options.
You can find the relevant tweets below.
Developed by Heart Machine, best known for releasing Hyper Light Drifter, Solar Ash is a new 3D action platformer game that looks just as beautiful and stylized as its predecessor. It was announced a while back with no set release window, but Heart Machine is finally ready to reveal when it’ll be available to the public.
You can check out the release date trailer for yourself down below:
Players take control of a protagonist named Rei, a Voidrunner who journeys through a beautiful and vibrant world while trying to protect it from evil beings known as the Ultravoid. The trailer gives us a better look at some of the core gameplay mechanics such as grappling and cloud surfing, and the combat certainly looks as fluid as the developers have promised.
Solar Ash is set to be released for PS4, PS5, and the Epic Games Store on Oct. 26.
The post Solar Ash Dated for October Release on PS4, PS5, & PC appeared first on Twinfinite.
Today SNK released a new trailer and screenshots showcasing another fighter that will be playable in its upcoming fighting game The King of Fighters XV.
This time around we get to see another returning character and she’s Athena Asamiya. We also see the reveal of her team, Team Super Heroine, alongside Mai Shiranui and Yuri Sakazaki.
You can check out the trailer just below and see her in action, alongside her cute new look in a few screenshots from the official press release.
Today Nihon Falcom released a new gallery of artwork and screenshots of its upcoming Trails JRPG The Legend of Heroes: Kuro no Kiseki.
We get to meet plenty of secondary characters that we’ll meet during our adventure. Here’s a list.
You can find all the images below.
Ahoy there, Captain!
The post Houshou Marine Nendoroid Has a Detachable Hat appeared first on Siliconera.
I have failed at creating a Dwarf Fortress many, many times. No tileset has managed to help me, no mod finally made it work. I just can’t get over the lack of a mouse-driven interface. And I won’t have to in the future. The latest development update for the Steam release of the detailed fantasy sim shows menus and mouse control in pefect harmony. Creator Tarn Adams casually flicks through screens without a wiki open on his other monitor, and finds things without phoning the Dwarf Fortress helpline and asking himself for help.
Panic sold 20,000 of its quirky crank-laden Playdate consoles in under 20 minutes after opening pre-orders yesterday. ...
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: rats, sieges and samurai.
If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What we've been playing, here's our archive.
Online multiplayer games have never been my thing. I've heard too many stories about toxic players and the abuse directed towards women, POC, and queer players, let alone the anger thrown your way if you're - god forbid - learning how to play the game and don't have the reflexes of a teen who just downed three espressos.
I keep coming back to rhythm with games like this. Rhythm's always had a part to play in action games, where good combat is a dance, and bad a little out-of-step. It's all in the one, two, dodge, the little passive mental counter ticking over from that boss' second smash to the third, the half a beat between the third and the jump.
So it is with Death's Door, a sumptuously beautiful Zelda-like about the immutable beat of time, the rhythm of life and death. Except there's something else, hard to place, that seems to give it something extra. Death's Door has something, like a flavour that maybe isn't actually a flavour, more of a sensation. Umami. What's the umami of dance?
Acid Nerve's last game was Titan Souls, which came out way back in 2015. Titan Souls is one of those games that's all about simplicity - you get one arrow, you die in one hit, you have a world to explore and quite a few bosses to kill, off you go. Its cleverness is the classic indie creative cleverness, where you give yourself an arbitrary restriction to keep things focused, keep the concept pure, and then you just build outwards from there. And it's important context here, because build outwards from Titan Souls and you'll arrive more or less exactly at Death's Door, a game with no restrictions but plenty of restraint. Bosses, combat, a mysterious overworld, some lightly puzzling environments - the totality of the first is the foundation of the next, and so the impression is one of clarity: as a studio, Acid Nerve comes across as having a clear plan, a clear trajectory, but then as a result of that so do its games.
