February 2022

Platform: PlayStation 5
Publisher: PlayStation Studios
Developer: Insomniac Games
Release: June 11, 2021
Rating: Everyone 10+

The 25th annual DICE Awards is in the books following tonight's ceremony co-hosted by Jessica Chobot and Greg Miller. The nominee pack was led by Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart with nine nominations, followed by Deathloop with eight nominations, and Inscryption and It Takes Two each earning five. A total of 59 games released in 2021 received nominations in this year's awards. To see the full categorical nominee list, head here.

Today Clouded Leopard Entertainment and Kadokawa GAmes announced via press release that the demo of the mecha strategy JRPG Relayer is coming to the west as well.

The demo, which was announced a few days ago and was released today in Japan, will launch for PS5 and PS5 on the PlayStation Stores of all the other regions at midnight local time on Saturday, February 26, 2022.

It’s worth mentioning that it’ll work only if the language of your console is set to Japanese, English, Traditional Chinese, or Korean. If you have it in another language, you’ll need to temporarily change it.

It includes the main story up to episode 7, 12 stage of the battle simulator, the Star Cube (character development), shop, and ship menu. It’ll have a level cap set at 30.

Your save game will be usable with the launch version of the game when it releases.

Below you can check out a couple of screenshots:

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 we've been picking over a few more of the games available in the Steam Next Fest.

If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.

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Welcome back to the second edition of The RPS Time Capsule, a monthly feature in which the RPS Treehouse gathers round a small tiny shoebox to stick their favourite, bestest best games into from a specific year to preserve until the end of time. The first time capsule we dropkicked into space was all about the best games from 2010. This time, we're excavating the best games from 2004. Which games will make the cut, and which ones will be consigned to the all-consuming digital super bin? Find out below.

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Elden Ring is playabale on the Steam Deck.

It's fitting, considering both the game and Valve's handheld are released today.

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Nintendo has updated several N64 games in its Nintendo Switch Expansion Pack offering - most notably including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.

When Ocarina first became available, fans noted that it did not look how they remembered. In its infamous Water Temple, the game was missing reflections and fog textures.

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Pokémon Unite has announced its next playable roster addition will be Hoopa.

A new launch trailer for Hoopa's entrance highlights this Pokémon's unique set of abilities. With a focus on teleportation, the new inclusion of Hoopa will allow players to warp to different gates thanks to the Pokémon's "Hyperspace Hole" ability.

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Video game developers based in Ukraine have spoken out, amidst the ongoing invasion of their country by Russia.

Ukraine is home to Stalker developer GSC Game World, The Sinking City and Sherlock Holmes studio Frogwares and Suvarium maker Vostok Games, among others. Ubisoft has two studios in the country, including in its capital Kyiv.

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Elden Ring is out today, and already it's hit a peak of over 750,000 players on Steam.

According to SteamDB, the game had a peak of 764,835 players in less than a day, already giving it the 7th highest peak of all time.

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If you're a new owner of a Steam Deck handheld, first of all: congratulations! You're one of the lucky ones, and it wouldn't be a surprise if people who ordered just minutes after you end up having to wait for another six or twelve months. But after signing in to your Steam account, you may still need to trick out your new console in multiple ways, and we're here to help.

Despite its presentation as a handheld console of sorts, the Steam Deck is ultimately a PC, meaning a whole range of accessories can be used to enhance your gaming experience. This includes headsets, keyboards, even monitors, all thanks to the multi-function USB-C port. On this page you'll find everything you need to make the most out of your new Steam Deck.

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If you're plugged into the racing game scene, you'll have noticed that Gran Turismo 7 is nearly upon us. If you're particularly aware, you might have spotted that it's that series' 25th anniversary year. What you perhaps haven't spotted is that there's another racing series that's celebrating its 25th anniversary with a new release a mere week before.

Unlike Gran Turismo 7, which has clung to a successful formula and recognisable aesthetic for its full quarter century, Grid Legends is barely recognisable as a sequel to 1997's TOCA Touring Car Championship, the game at the root of its lineage. And while describing this as a TOCA game is a bit like claiming that the latest Mercedes Formula One challenger is actually a silver Tyrrell, fire up a race in its Classic Touring Car class behind the wheel of a yellow and blue Renault Laguna and the spirit lives on.

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We’ve featured London-based 3D artist and VFX supervisor Hoolopee a number of times on Kotaku, from his terrifying Zelda work to a Nintendo 64 rendition of Halo Infinite to a DragonBall fight made with...sheep. Tonight, we’re taking a look at his latest work, a PS1-looking take on Elden Ring’s trailer.

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FromSoftware released a statement through its official Twitter account addressing an issue with the PC version of Elden Ring. This problem in particular prevents the PC of the version game from launching or starting up. FromSoftware identified that this start up issue has to do with the Easy Anti-Cheat software that comes bundled with Elden Ring on PC. The statement shared that in some cases, the software does not install correctly, which leads to the game not starting. The developers are investigating the cause of this issue and apologized to consumers for any inconveniences.

[embed]https://twitter.com/fromsoftware_sp/status/1497033045685436417[/embed]

Additionally, Bandai Namco released a patch right before the worldwide launch of the game to potentially fix multiple technical issues with Elden Ring. The fixes included frame drops, NPC events, and improved player control. However, users are still reporting that several of these issues remain within the PC release of the game. Most notably, issues concerning frame drops are still being reported.

Leading up to the release of Elden Ring, Bandai Namco also shared the minimum requirements to play Elden Ring on PC, which included the minimum graphics and processor requirements.

Elden Ring is immediately available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

FromSoftware released a statement through its official Twitter account addressing an issue with the PC version of Elden Ring. This problem in particular prevents the PC of the version game from launching or starting up. FromSoftware identified that this start up issue has to do with the Easy Anti-Cheat software that comes bundled with Elden Ring on PC. The statement shared that in some cases, the software does not install correctly, which leads to the game not starting. The developers are investigating the cause of this issue and apologized to consumers for any inconveniences.

[embed]https://twitter.com/fromsoftware_sp/status/1497033045685436417[/embed]

Additionally, Bandai Namco released a patch right before the worldwide launch of the game to potentially fix multiple technical issues with Elden Ring. The fixes included frame drops, NPC events, and improved player control. However, users are still reporting that several of these issues remain within the PC release of the game. Most notably, issues concerning frame drops are still being reported.

Leading up to the release of Elden Ring, Bandai Namco also shared the minimum requirements to play Elden Ring on PC, which included the minimum graphics and processor requirements.

Elden Ring is immediately available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

Preorders have opened for Good Smile Company's Demon Slayer Tengen Uzui Nendoroid. The flashy Sound Hashira will come with his signature twin blades as well as a crouching lower body part and three different facial expressions. The Nendoroid will ship sometime in November 2022 in Japan and January 2023 for North America. It will cost $65/¥6,500. Preorders will close on April 6, 2022.

The Nendoroid will also come with a messy hairpiece and combat effects. However, images of those extra parts do not appear on the product's page. This may indicate that they contain spoilers for the latest season of Demon Slayer. However, Good Smile Company states that additional photos will appear at a later date.

Tengen Uzui's Nendoroid will have interchangeable smiling, standard, and serious expressions as well as several different hand parts. He can hold the Nichirin blades, and they connect via chains. Uzui can also sheathe the blades and hold them on his back.

You can get a better look at the Demon Slayer Tengen Uzui Nendoroid in the screenshots below:

[gallery ids="917952,917953,917954,917955,917956,917957" link="file"]

Preorders have opened for Good Smile Company's Demon Slayer Tengen Uzui Nendoroid. The flashy Sound Hashira will come with his signature twin blades as well as a crouching lower body part and three different facial expressions. The Nendoroid will ship sometime in November 2022 in Japan and January 2023 for North America. It will cost $65/¥6,500. Preorders will close on April 6, 2022.

The Nendoroid will also come with a messy hairpiece and combat effects. However, images of those extra parts do not appear on the product's page. This may indicate that they contain spoilers for the latest season of Demon Slayer. However, Good Smile Company states that additional photos will appear at a later date.

Tengen Uzui's Nendoroid will have interchangeable smiling, standard, and serious expressions as well as several different hand parts. He can hold the Nichirin blades, and they connect via chains. Uzui can also sheathe the blades and hold them on his back.

You can get a better look at the Demon Slayer Tengen Uzui Nendoroid in the screenshots below:

[gallery ids="917952,917953,917954,917955,917956,917957" link="file"]

In school, I played with imaginary swords. Typical playground fantasy for those not good enough to be picked for football: battles under the netball hoops with weapons no one could see. Little did I know I’d be doing the same when I discovered Dark Souls over a decade later. Since the onset of chronic illness that left me cognitively limited in 2015, I’ve finished countless runs, collected everything, killed every boss, and didn’t see any of it.

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After three years of waiting and hoping, Elden Ring finally launch last night and yep, sounds like it launched too early. Many PC players are reporting suffering low framerates, or stuttering, or crashes, or nonfunctional controllers, or.... While we wait for official fixes in patches, players are sharing possibly-maybe-kinda workarounds that might help.

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D3 Publisher released a new trailer and livestreamed plenty of gameplay of the upcoming action game Earth Defense Force 6.

The trailer is as wacky as you expect from the series, basically comparing various kinds of aliens to sushi. By now, fans should get used to this kind of antics.

We also get to see plenty of gameplay, including a comparison between the PS5 and PS4 versions. You don’t see that much due to the size of the screen, but at least the loading times are evident.

You can check both the trailer and gameplay below.

Elden Ring is easily one of the most highly anticipated video game releases of 2021, and it’s finally available on PC and consoles. The game features a large open-world that’s very easy to get lost in, and you might find yourself overwhelmed with things to do and not knowing where to go. Here are five things to do first in Elden Ring.

Whilst I do my best to keep my reviews spoiler-free, it's incredibly difficult to critique Martha Is Dead without reflecting, in part, on some of its more problematic story beats. Consequently, though I promise to minimise them, it's unlikely this review will be entirely without spoilers. Apologies!

The scene everyone's talking about right now - a scene at the beginning of the game where a girl deftly slices off the face of her twin sister's corpse - is not the scene from Martha is Dead that we should be talking about. I don't think it's the scene we will be talking about. There are several sequences, in fact, that may spark the outrage of pearl clutchers everywhere, scenes that are so gratuitously obscene that even I - a card-carrying lover of deliciously dark stories with a penchant for psychological horror - struggle to justify, and that some may struggle to stomach.

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Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco has acknowledged various performance problems with the game, and particularly with its PC build.

As Eurogamer reported earlier this morning, Elden Ring currently sits with a "mixed" Steam user rating despite its widespread critical acclaim. Many negative reviews note the game's current visual stutters on PC.

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UPDATE 07/03/22: The Frost Fatales speedrunning event raised $132,350 for the Malala Fund.

The event ended on Sunday, with over 50 speedruns featured throughout the week including sub two-hour runs of Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Mass Effect, and Pokémon Pearl.

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Even though The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild is now over four years old, players are still finding some truly unique and creative solutions to solving shrines.

One such player has proved Link can survive even the fieriest of shrines whilst in the buff, so long as he is wielding a blizzard rod.

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With the Switch OLED model released in October last year, the price of the original Switch has come down a bit, along with some great bundles popping up during events like Black Friday and in the Christmas sales.

But you needn't wait until the sales because GAME has restocked this fantastic Nintendo Switch bundle with Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and a 3 month Nintendo Switch Online Membership, all for just £259.99.

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Steam users have given the critically-acclaimed Elden Ring a decidedly more cautious response, with thousands of negative reviews within the game's first 24 hours.

Elden Ring currently sits on a "mixed" rating on Steam, with 14k positive reviews but 9.5k negative. Many fans list the game's PC performance as their chief bugbear.

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If you've wondered what Elden Ring might look like as a PS1 game, then wonder no more.

Hoolopee, a London-based 3D artist and VFX supervisor, has reimagined Elden Ring's trailer to do just that.

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VTuber (Virtual YouTuber) agency Hololive Production has nixed its agreement with popular virtual streamer Uruha Rushia, for allegedly violating her contract and leaking private information.

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Square Enix uploaded a new Babylon's Fall trailer now that the demo is available on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4. The trailer highlights how general gameplay, combat, and exploration will function in Babylon's Fall. It also shows off several different weapons. You can get a look at the sword, hammer, bows, and rods. The individual abilities linked to these weapons are demonstrated throughout the video.

Additionally, shields will be available in Bablyon's Fall, and, similar to the other weapons, they will have a unique ability. The shield will allow for players to perform a parry or taunt, and protect their allies from dangerous attacks. Players will also be able to make use of Dynamis Abilities to traverse various levels and even pull themselves closer to enemies.

You can watch the Babylon's Fall gameplay trailer below.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7e6xT6DEXAA&ab_channel=%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AF%E3%82%A6%E3%82%A7%E3%82%A2%E3%83%BB%E3%82%A8%E3%83%8B%E3%83%83%E3%82%AF%E3%82%B9[/embed]

As mentioned previously, a demo is available for Babylon's Fall. It lets players explore the introductory area of the game. Additionally, players can carry over their data into the full release of the title.

Tamashii Nations announced Elden Ring SH Figuarts and Figuarts Mini figures will be in production. However, outside of the initial announcement, no further information has been shared. No information regarding what the potential Elden Ring SH Figuarts characters or creatures will be was provided. That said, more details will arrive soon through the official Twitter and official website. [Thanks, Hobby Watch!]

Tamashii Nations has produced figures of characters from several notable franchises. In January 2022, Naruto Shippuden SH Figuarts figures were announced. Consumers can pre-order figures of Sakura, Sasuke, and Naruto. Each figure comes with unique accessories and face plates.

Good Smile Company also has plans to release Elden Ring figures. A Bloody Wolf figma was announced during WonHobby 35, with an unpainted version of the figma appearing. This version provided a look at some finer details on the figma, such as the shield, armor, and sword. The Bloody Wolf was one of several classes players could choose from during the closed network test of Elden Ring.

Kadokawa announced a new Spice & Wolf anime is in production. Alongside the announcement of the new Spice & Wolf anime, a trailer and key visual were shared. The key visual was shared through the official Spice & Wolf Twitter account. However, Kadokawa has not specified if the anime will be a sequel or a remake, only that it is an entirely new project. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Additionally, writer Isuna Hasekura and illustrator Ju Ayakura shared a few words regarding the announcement of the new anime.

Isuna Hasekura: It's been 15 years since Lawrence and Holo's journey began. I'm very excited for everyone to see these characters again.

Ju Ayakura: I'm very happy to see Lawrence and Holo again, this time through an anime! I'm looking forward to seeing what the anime will be.

You can watch the trailer below.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ix2xD1rz1JQ&ab_channel=%E9%9B%BB%E6%92%83%E6%96%87%E5%BA%AB%E3%83%81%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%8D%E3%83%AB[/embed]

However, while this new anime project has been announced, details remain scarce. This includes any information about the cast or if it will be available overseas at any point. More information regarding the anime should appear in the future.

Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Publisher: Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Release: February 25, 2022

Elden Ring is finally out after years of anticipation and it seems the hype that’s been building since its announcement in 2019 has paid off for From Software. 

That’s because less than 24 hours after release, Elden Ring’s Steam numbers (courtesy of SteamDB, which tracks the numbers of players in a game) are already nearly six times greater than From Software’s previous all-time high. That previous high resides with Dark Souls III, which has a peak playerbase of 129,975. Elden Ring’s current all-time high is a whopping 764,835, which is roughly 5.9 times higher than that of Dark Souls III. 

If you're looking for a spot of jolly cooperation this weekend, other than Elden Ring, round up the crew and get rowdy in Deep Rock Galactic. The excellent cooperative FPS, where we play as spaceDwarves gathering spacegems and battling spacebugs in destructible spacemines, is holding a free trial weekend on Steam to celebrate its fourth birthday. It is a (rock) cracking game.

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Harriers are rare among the bird family, in that they’re one of the very few birds to have been overtaken in popularity by their namesake fighter jet*. Mention a harrier anywhere outside of an ornithology summit and people will assume you’re talking about the hovering aeroplane rather than the diurnal hawk. Tell somebody your harrier is hungry and they’re as likely to chuck a vole into a turbine as they are to feed it into your pet bird’s gullet.

So it’s unsurprising that Tiny Combat Arena is about Harriers of the cold and featherless kind. The one-person dev team behind the air-to-air combat simulator is apparently in love with the floaty-shooty jumping jet, so much so that it’s the only type of plane available to fly in the game's early access release. The retro-styled sim lets you pore over the low-poly plane as it rests in the hangar, to rest your chin in your hands as you lovingly scroll through its various specifications, inspecting its payload like you’re checking a dog over for ticks.

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Following the reveal of its first game Slitterhead, Bokeh Game Studio released an extensive video in which its founders talked about their work.

We hear from CEO Keiichiro Toyama, who is well-known as the creator of the Gravity Rush, Siren, and Silent Hill franchises, CTO Junya Okura, and COO Kazunobu Sato.

In the video, they respond to questions gathered on social media and provide interesting hints about what we can expect from Slitterhead.

On top of that, we also hear some details on the difference between working for a bit publisher and their current status as independent developers.

All three developers were formerly veterans of Sony Japan Studio, before leaving to seek a new path as indies.

You can enjoy the video below. Incidentally, the video is just “part one” of the Q&A, with the second coming on March 4.

Do keep in mind that it comes with subtitles in a variety of languages, but you may have to activate them manually.