It's the last day of the RPS Advent Calendar. This is it. It's all been leading up to this door, a wooden cabin door that's a bit tough to open. Wait, when did you put a pair of pliers in your pocket?
The Kids We Were is a game that can feel charming and nostalgic, even if you're unfamiliar with the time period or Japanese culture.
The post The Kids We Were Relies Heavily on Nostalgia appeared first on Siliconera.
Hello! Over the next few days we're going to be going back over some of our favourite games and moments and themes and whatnot from this very strange year. We hope you enjoy looking back with us!
Spoiler warning - this piece goes into how Death's Door's end-game works. It's intentionally light on specifics, but it's highly recommended you experience the moments after the credits yourself first, of course - it's one of the best games of the year, after all, as our Death's Door review explains.
Today I made a life-changing discovery. Takaya Kuroda, the man who voices Yakuza's beloved protagonist Kazuma Kiryu, is also the lead singer of a band. They're named Takaya Kuroda & Goodfellas and they have a Christmas song out. Not only is this excellent news, I can't get over the fact it straight up sounds like Kiryu delivering some festive cheer. So get comfy, bang this on, and let Kiryu's warm tones wash over you like mulled wine.
Right now Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker is so popular you can’t buy it anymore. To prevent overcrowding and crashing servers, Square Enix have had to halt free trials and new sales to keep the game stable after an unprecedented surge in popularity this summer. Between that and the global shortage of materials to add more servers, it may be quite some time until new players are able to experience it. If you have an active subscription and manage to brave the long queues however, you’re one of the lucky few who get to experience something truly special. For everyone else: hang in there, it will be worth the wait.
A 49-game catalog fit for a Soviet bread line
PS Plus subscribers got access to 40 games, worth $35 apiece
For those looking forward to Bokeh Game Studio‘s debut title, Slitterhead, you may want to tune into the team’s latest dev diary featuring the one and only Silent Hill composer, Akira Yamaoka.
The video goes into lots of detail shedding light on the creative process behind making music for Konami’s revered horror franchise, as well as Keiichiro Toyama’s upcoming horror project, Slitterhead.
For those who’re unfamiliar with Toyama, well, he’s well-known for his work on the Forbidden Siren and Silent Hill series. Pretty solid horror chops right there, right?
Go ahead and check out the new footage featuring Akira Yamaoka down below:
It’s a really interesting video, especially for fans of that foggy lakeside town. Indeed, from a Silent Hill fan’s perspective, one part that really jumps out is that Toyama wasn’t too impressed with Yamaoka’s musical compositions for the first Silent Hill game – well, at first, anyway.
For those looking forward to Bokeh Game Studio‘s debut title, Slitterhead, you may want to tune into the team’s latest dev diary featuring the one and only Silent Hill composer, Akira Yamaoka.
The video goes into lots of detail shedding light on the creative process behind making music for Konami’s revered horror franchise, as well as Keiichiro Toyama’s upcoming horror project, Slitterhead.
For those who’re unfamiliar with Toyama, well, he’s well-known for his work on the Forbidden Siren and Silent Hill series. Pretty solid horror chops right there, right?
Go ahead and check out the new footage featuring Akira Yamaoka down below:
It’s a really interesting video, especially for fans of that foggy lakeside town. Indeed, from a Silent Hill fan’s perspective, one part that really jumps out is that Toyama wasn’t too impressed with Yamaoka’s musical compositions for the first Silent Hill game – well, at first, anyway.
The suitcases will be available in five different designs based on Kingdom Hearts' main characters.
The post Kingdom Hearts Suitcases Will Appear in June 2022 in Japan appeared first on Siliconera.
The school has closed, the gym classes are over, swimming’s done for the year. Everyone else calls it a holiday—for you, it’s full-time parenting. But there is hope! Hope in the loving arms of video games. Yes, as child-raising experts, we here at Kotaku are here to say that the best thing to do is just sit them down…
As the death bell tolls for 2021, Nintendo and a suite of independent publishers have chosen to give us some final indie game sales before sending this garbage year off into that sweet night. All things considered, it’s a pretty excellent send-off, composed of many of the last few years’ best indie games. If you’re…
In 1991, I pulled a chair up to an Apple II in my first-grade class and inserted a floppy disk with a faded, fraying label: The Oregon Trail.
In concept, the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas” is just a big list of amazing gifts to get your significant other for the holidays. But in practice, it’s useless! Seriously. Who has twenty different kinds of birds on their wish list, and where would you even put them all? But it’s undeniably catchy. So, we thought we’d spruce up this classic carol by replacing all those unwanted fowl with some great game-related gifts you could get your true love (or really anyone) this holiday season. Hopefully, this version will catch on soon.
All right, folks, we're now officially done and dusted for the year. 2021 is being brought to a close, and RPS is entering its annual hibernation period. We wish you a merry Christmas, a happy holiday, and a general Festivus for the rest of yous as we scuttle out of the RPS Treehouse for a couple of weeks and have a nice big sleep in our mountain of sweet wrappers. We'll see you back bright and early on Tuesday January 4th 2022.
If you like your RPG adventures to contain dungeons and dragons, and be as complex as Dungeons & Dragons, perhaps you might fancy the latest game being given away free in the Epic Games Store's festive sale. For 24 hours, Epic are handing out Pathfinder: Kingmaker free for keepsies. It's a vast fantasy RPG based on the Pathfinder pen 'n' paper system, played out in ye olde isometric perspective. The sort of RPG that's fascinating to some, offputting to others—so a great candidate for a freebie.
Midnight, one more night without sleeping Watching 'til that morning comes creeping Green Door, what's that secret your keeping?
Jim Lowe's Green Door might not be a Christmas song, but it sure can feel like one—especially inside the festive action of Dracula Cha Cha. That's right, it's Christmas Eve, which means one more night without sleeping, and time to play Dracula Cha Cha.
PlayStation’s holiday sale is feeding gamers well this year. A ton of titles have prices marked down, including games scooping up awards or that just came out. And since just about all of these are available on both the PlayStation 4 and 5, you won’t have to worry about missing out just because you couldn’t get your…
In late December, Void Interactive, makers of upcoming tactics game Ready or Not, suddenly lost its publishing partner. While not directly confirmed at the time, speculation online heavily suggested the first-person shooter shake-up was due to a recent official exchange with fans, where one worker distastefully…
Video game deals have become a holiday tradition for most gamers looking to get the best prices on games they missed out on over the year. And Gog.com has some of Kotaku’s favorites from 2021, and years past, on sale through the new year.
The FFXIV Heavensturn event will begin in January 2022, and Square Enix detailed the helmets and piece of furniture people can get.
The post FFXIV Heavensturn 2022 Includes Helmets and Furnishing appeared first on Siliconera.
Third-party developers have provided updates about upcoming add-ons coming for Microsoft Flight Simulator.
Delta Simulations showcased its upcoming C-17 Globemaster III. The group has acquired a brand new (and rather impressive) external model for the aircraft, which will be freeware. This means that they can now focus on the interior and systems.
You can find a couple of in-sim screenshots and a few renders below and you can follow development on Delta Simulations’ Discord server.
Muv-Luv publisher aNCHOR has been teasing announcements related to the series during Comiket 99, and today we know when precisely they will be coming.
During its weekly livestream, the publisher revealed that major announcements will be made during a live show on December 30 by the series’ creator Kouki Yoshimune and executive brand producer Kazutoshi “Tororo” Matsumura.
How big will they be? In Japanese, they used the word “juudai” which is a pretty strong word that can be translated with “major,” “relevant,” “Important” or similar adjectives.
The specific nature of these announcements is still mysterious but a few days ago aNCHOR mentioned that we can expect two and you may find more hints in our recent interview with Tororo himself and production manager Sho Hamanaga.
Of course, you can expect a full report here as soon as the announcements are made.
Ever wonder what are the best trees in gaming? No? Look it’s the holidays and we’re strapped for stories. Let’s just run with this and see what happens.
#1 Deku Tree – Why does the Deku tree outrank every other tree in gaming? Because it’s from The Legend of Zelda, and The Legend of Zelda is like the coolest thing ever. Haven’t you heard? Everything Zelda related should be ranked number one. That’s how journalism works. Also, the Deku Tree has a mustache. Double win.
#2 Teldrassil – The old world tree from World Of Warcraft is home to the Night Elves. Of course, the Night Elves suck because they are part of the Alliance, so we weren’t going to include Teldrassil. However, then we heard that sometimes stupid Night Elf noobs fall off the tree and die, so we moved this tree up to number two. (This isn’t in a Zelda game after all.)
Earlier this year, Atlus announced that it wants “to create a 6 which exceeds 5.” I can only speak for myself, but that’s a hard bar to rise above. Persona 5 (and its Royal expansion) is easily one of my favorite games of all time. The limited details surrounding the next game’s narrative, combat, and music have forced superfans like me to make their own wishlists. So, here are six – that’s right, six! – features I’d like to see in Persona 6:
The new video starts with storyboards and ends with a look at Shiva being summoned in FFVII Remake.
The post FFVII Remake Video Shows How Shiva Came to Life appeared first on Siliconera.
In a year full of satisfying time loops, Returnal’s were often the longest and most punishing. But every time Selene’s ship would crash into the damp, misty enclave on Atropos, it was another opportunity to chase the mysterious white noise. Another shot at challenging the ever-shifting landscape packed with deadly eldritch horrors. One more run at discovering out how long Selene has been making futile attempts at figuring out why she’s on this bleak planet in the first place. Read more...
D3 Publisher hosted a livestream to reveal new gameplay of the upcoming Earth Defense Force 6.
Today’s mission is set on the surface, showcasing the looming red sky which shows that the aliens are changing Earth’s atmosphere to suit their needs. On top of that, a massive and mysterious ring looms over the battlefield.
You can check out all the gameplay below. It’s worth mentioning that the version showcased is the PS4 one, so it’s likely that the PS5 version will look at least a bit better.
The game will release in Japan in 2022 for PS5 and PS4, as confirmed during Tokyo Game Show.
At the moment, no western release has been announced for the game, but D3 Publisher has been doing a good job at localizing its games, so there is certainly hope.
The special’s imperfections have become part of the charm
Siliconera’s Game of the Year 2021 awards can't crown all of the year's great games! Here are favorites that didn’t quite make the podium.
The post Our 2021 Game of the Year Honorable Mentions appeared first on Siliconera.
Earlier, we announced Game Informer's official Top 10 Games of 2021, but that list doesn't paint the whole picture. That list was compiled after a hard-fought battle over many hours as we struggled to squeeze our collective favorites onto one official list. Unfortunately, many of our favorite games of the year couldn't be represented in the official Top Ten, which is why we put together these editor-specific top 10s. Read more...
By the time you reach House Beneviento in Resident Evil Village, you may think you have a pretty good idea of what kind of game you’re playing. This post contains spoilers for the story and some of the best moments in Resident Evil Village. If you haven't completed the game, you might want to do so before continuing on.
Ethan Winters, the hapless (and, occasionally, handless) protagonist of the series' two most recent entries, has already been through a lot when he stumbles onto the cliffside where the ominous manor awaits. His daughter, Rose, has been stolen, apparently killed, split into pieces, and divvied up to a quartet of local VIPs. His wife, Mia, has been killed. And Chris Redfield, the hulking hero of Resident Evils past, seems to be responsible for all of it. As Ethan begins his terrifying journey through a village filled with werewolves and a castle inhabited by vampires, he can’t count on any of the people he thought he could trust. Instead, all he has are the guns he can find and the ammo he can scavenge.
All of that goes out the window when he arrives at House Beneviento. As we approach the game’s second major area, the stage is set. Eerie dolls hang from trees. Mia appears as a ghostly apparition. Ethan slips a family photograph through a mail slot with the inscription, “Give up your memories,” unlocking access to the cliffside. We follow this path to reach the sprawling mansion. There is an abyss on our left, and a waterfall ahead. There is nowhere to go but into this foreboding house. Shortly after we enter, the lights go out and a childish voice speaks to Ethan, offering to be a better daughter than Rose. When the lights turn back on, Ethan’s weapons are gone.
Firaxis, the studio behind the revival of XCOM, has set its sights on the Marvel universe with Marvel's Midnight Suns. The upcoming tactical game set in the Marvel universe will share some traits in common with the sci-fi alien series, but it's far from a superhero re-skin. Here's everything we know about Marvel's Midnight Suns.
Upon first announcement, Marvel's Midnight Suns had been set for March 2022. In November, the game was pushed back and is now slated for the second half of 2022, with no exact release date set yet.
Marvel's Midnight Suns will be available on every major platform, including PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
As the newest game from the studio behind XCOM, it makes sense that Midnight Suns is a tactical RPG. The combat will be turn-based, similar to XCOM, but with a fairly major twist. Instead of set abilities, your heroes will each have a deck of ability cards that get shuffled together when you bring three of them into combat together. Those cards range from basic attacks to special skills, allowing you to buff other players or toss enemies around the battlefield. The cards can also be customized with variations to suit your playstyle.
Performing these skills will build up a Heroism meter. That will then let you perform Heroic abilities, special superpowered moves that are unlocked by forging relationships with other characters while in your base of operations, the Abbey. Finally, Midnight Suns includes destructible environments, which will add a new tactical wrinkle to combat.
With Christmas being just around the corner, I wanted to focus this week's Friday 'Nite on something festive for the holiday. Maybe I'd talk about the history of Sgt. Winter, Fortnite's in-universe battle-hardened Santa. Or maybe I'd take a look at the best holiday-themed skins to date. But then I stumbled upon an Easter egg that is so fun, dark, and overall strange that it felt like something only Fortnite could pull off, and something no Fortnite fan should miss. In the world of Winterfest, it seems Crackshot is definitely on the naughty list.
If you've kept up with the Save The World story, you may know that Crackshot, the nutcracker character, is infamously sadistic. The man set up a fake kidnapping plot just to get everyone to bend to his festive will. When players discovered Crackshot was not only out of danger but actually threatening to do harm to hostages he'd taken if they didn't meet his demands for a holly jolly Winterfest, it became clear the nut had clearly cracked once and for all.
IO Interactive's recent trilogy of Hitman games aren't just a devilishly delightful collection of levels in which Agent 47 hones his talent for murdering billionaires and secret society socialites. They're digital tourism, a trip around the world in 80 slays that hides secrets, opportunities, and macabre moments to make certain that karma catches up with people who think their wealth makes them untouchable by the long arm of the law. And one Hitman 3 level in particular stands out from the rest.
Every level is an intricate puzzle to solve, usually by seeing which method for finishing your target off works best. From Hitman's sunny Sapienza to Hitman 2's resplendent Isle of Sgail, it's easy to lose yourself in the glitz, glamour, and grime of these locations spread across the globe.
And then there's Berlin. On paper, a sandbox that is home to a secret warehouse rave, drug-smuggling bikers, and an impressive level of verticality is already ambitious stuff, but IO's Interactive's eye for detail turns that stage into a highlight reel for Agent 47 and his lethal talents.
The first time is the charm, as 47 starts out the level with nothing but his wits and a fashionable turtleneck sweater. Outgunned and outnumbered by several agents who are out for blood, Hitman 3's Berlin level forces you to use everything that you've learned up to that point to survive and thrive in hostile territory. For a game that emphasizes stealth over obvious brute force, rare moments like this provide some wonderful catharsis that feels earned.
Destiny 2's holiday themed event, the Dawning, continues this Christmas weekend. It's a great time to join in the celebration by treating yourself to some new Exotics from everybody's favorite cosmic horse-friend, Xur. Here's where you can find him and what he's offering this weekend.
Head to the Tower, to the Hangar area, to find Xur this week. For his weapon, Xur is offering The Prospector grenade launcher. Hunters can pick up the Lucky Raspberry chest armor; for Titans, there's the One-Eyed Mask helmet; and for Warlocks, Xur has The Stag helmet.
Xur's Lucky Raspberry and The Stag are both pretty decent with stat rolls of 64, so if you don't have these already or have weaker versions, this is a good chance to upgrade.
Apart from Exotics, Xur also has an inventory of Legendary weapons and armor, and there's one gun that should grab your attention. That's The Scholar, a Trials of Osiris scout rifle that's not currently available in the loot pool for that activity. Xur's version comes with Slideways and No Distractions, both perks making it possible to shoot straight through incoming fire, with a Range Masterwork. Xur's Escape Velocity submachine gun is also solid, with Graverobber and Surrounded making it good for wading into the fray, with a Range Masterwork for dealing with anyone who doesn't want a close fight. The Whispering Slab bow is also a weapon you might want to grab, sporting an Accuracy Masterwork with Archer's Tempo for faster precision kills and Sympathetic Arsenal for rewarding all your other weapons whenever you fire a shot.
Trials of Osiris returns this holiday weekend, giving Destiny 2 players another weekend of some of the toughest multiplayer battles in the game. As always, you can Trials-specific weapons and armor for your participation. Here's what map you'll face and which Adept weapons you can earn.
As always, Trials be available from Friday's daily reset until the weekly reset at the same time the following Tuesday. During that time, you can also pay a visit to Xur to see what Exotics he's selling. Make sure to pay a visit to Saint-14 in the Tower to pick up a Trials card, which will dictate certain bonuses (such as whether you get bonus rewards at certain milestones or if a loss will be forgiven).
Trials of Osiris is a weekend PvP mode that runs from the daily reset on Friday until the weekly reset on Tuesday, giving you four days to take part. Your goal in the Trials is for you and the other two players in your fireteam to achieve a "Flawless" run, in which you win seven matches without losing any.
Go Flawless, and you'll earn a trip to the Lighthouse and receive some special rewards, including the new Adept weapons. These have additional stat bonuses, making them among the most coveted items you can get your hands on.
