April 2022

The observant among you may have deduced that Rogue Legacy 2 is the sequel to Rogue Legacy, a rather spiffing roguelite platform-me-do from 2013. The game’s big twist on the old procedural generation and permadeath combo was that each new character was the heir of the previous one, inheriting their predecessor’s estate. In practice, that meant spending the gold acquired on each run on permanent upgrades to improve your chances on further expeditions. With all but the most unsuccessful runs yielding enough gold for at least one upgrade, the frustration of failure is ameliorated, leaving you raring to go once more.

To aid you in your exploration, you enlist the Architect, a clever old codger who can fix the layout of the castle between runs, leaving you able to build on successful exploration instead of dealing with a completely rearranged map. You pay for this privilege with a hefty chunk of gold, but it’s still a handy tool, especially when you’re close to taking out a boss and don’t want to have to find the bugger again each time.

Rogue Legacy 2 takes the traditional sequel route and gives you more of what made the first game great. There are 15 classes, up from nine, which have even more variety than before. Same goes with traits, spells and equipment. More excitingly, it adds hefty metroidvania-style traversal upgrades. There’s nothing especially new or unusual here, I’m sure I’m not spoiling anyone’s fun by mentioning that a double jump is involved at some point, but the extra manoeuvrability makes for some fantastic aerial acrobatics. The aforementioned double jump can be combined with dashes, the ability to spin kick off of enemies and projectiles, and all kinds of other tricks that allow you to fly through the levels. Quite literally, in some cases.

Terraria's latest update, 1.4.3, introduces an unexpected crossover with Don't Starve Together, the hit indie survival game by Klei Entertainment.

In the crossover, players explore The Constant, a world seed inspired by Don't Starve Together's environments. Players can encounter mechanics, pets, weapons, equipment, emotes, and bosses new to Terraria.

Update 1.4.3 also introduces a plethora of improvements and bug fixes, including further optimisations for the Steam Deck. You can see all the patch notes here.

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2013 PC indie darling The Stanley Parable released its revised, multiplatform, expanded Ultra Deluxe update yesterday, which in itself is a remarkably strange act. This version of the game, which may as well be considered a sequel given how much is new, is a Möbius strip of meta within meta, that delights in trolling…

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Shareholders at Call of Duty and Overwatch 2 publisher Activision Blizzard voted overwhelmingly on Thursday to approve a $69 billion sale to tech giant Microsoft. The deal gives golden parachutes to top execs at Activision, including embattled CEO Bobby Kotick. But despite gaming’s biggest acquisition ever moving one…

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Ch-Ching! For Borderlands fans, that noise sets off an almost pavlovian response. A legendary gun has dropped. You’ve gotta be the first to get it. You heard that noise all the damn time in Borderlands 3. If you’ve been messing around in Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands, you may feel like it happens less. According to the…

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While many branching narrative video games like Until Dawn, Detroit: Become Human, and Heavy Rain feature plenty of multiple endings, it sounds like Supermassive Games is ready to up the ante significantly with their next effort. Yes, the UK-based outfit have officially confirmed that their upcoming ’80s-inspired cinematic slasher title, The Quarry, will launch with 186 different endings.

The news comes by way of an IGN exclusive interview with the game’s director, Will Byles, which you can see for yourself below:

With rumors and leaks still circulating in The Sims community regarding the release of a next-generation game, now is the perfect time to speculate on what is to come in The Sims 5. More importantly, what elements should the possible newest installment of the franchise use to advance in gameplay and stories. Here are six things The Sims 5 needs to succeed.

A Linear Story Mode Option

The Sims 5 needs to have a linear Story Mode option along with the chance to still allow players to use Freeplay. The Sims Bustin’ Out is a great example of why this is the case.

Activision Blizzard has announced that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is the next title in the franchise. 

Surprising nobody, especially considering that the company had previously revealed that this year’s Call of Duty would be a sequel to 2019’s Call of Duty Modern Warfare reboot, a new teaser dropped on Twitter today revealed not just the title, but the logo for this sequel, too.

You can check it out below:
 

Now that Rogue Legacy 2 has gone 1.0, I’ll be touring its finished state today on Twitch at 2 p.m. Central. 

Rogue Legacy 2 has been in early access for a couple of years, building upon its predecessor’s fun – and challenging – roguelite formula. You still control members of a warrior bloodline who must battle through a procedurally generated castle rife with dangers. Every death gives you a new character you can outfit with helpful/strange genetic traits, from dealing increased attack damage to farting every time you perform an action. 

Watch on Twitch!

Look forward to watching a fun stream as I’ll likely be sending an entire generation of warriors to their doom. Our review will arrive in the coming days, so be sure to read our review in progress for editor John Carson’s current thoughts on the game. 

If you enjoy our livestreams but haven’t subscribed to our Twitch channel, know that doing so not only gives you notifications and access to special emotes. You’ll also be given entry to the official Game Informer Discord channel, where our welcoming community members, moderators, and staff gather to talk games, entertainment, food, and organize hangouts!

11 Bit Studios’ celebrated anti-war game, This War of Mine, is getting revamped and expanded for a re-release on modern consoles.

Dubbed the Final Cut, the game, in which players manage a party of civilians surviving in a war-torn city, is coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S –including Xbox Game Pass – on May 10. It boasts a 4K resolution and a readjusted UI. Content-wise, it includes the locations from the base game and introduces a new character, quests, and events. 

Additionally, the three DLC narrative episodes, This War of Mine: Stories, will be available for purchase separately on PS5/XSX. This War of Mine: Complete Edition is a bundle containing Final Cut and Stories if you want everything.  

11 Bit Studios, based in Poland, states that the ongoing Ukraine/Russia conflict is the motivator to re-release This War of Mine and repromote its anti-war messaging to a new group of players. The studio recently raised nearly $700,000 for Ukrainian civilian aid by heavily discounting the previous versions of This War of Mine. 11 Bit CEO Przemek Marszal says in a press release: 

Just a small daft fun thing: I'm delighted to see an Elden Ring player has realised you can use a bug to dress as the star of Getting Over It With Bennett Foddy, complete with his pot. Of all the strange outfits I've seen in Elden Ring, this is one of my favourites. What a joy to see that unlikely gaming icon again, and how gracious of him to visit an easy game for babies.

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Activision Blizzard stockholders have overwhelming voted in favour of Microsoft's proposed $69BN acquisition of the publisher, with 98% of shares approving the transaction.

There's still some way to go until the deal is finalised, however; while Activision Blizzard stockholders - and, earlier in the week, board members - have now given the deal the go-ahead, it's still subject to regulatory review around the world, by the likes of the Federal Trade Commission in the US, to determine if the deal constitutes unfair competition.

Should the deal make it through regulatory review, the acquisition has until June 2023 to close, whereupon Microsoft will welcome some of the industries most recognisable franchises into its fold, including Call of Duty, Warcraft, Overwatch, and mobile hit Candy Crush.

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UPDATE 29/4/22: More games which look likely to join the upcoming PlayStation Plus Premium service have been found on Sony's servers, in addition to the three originally found below.

Data for the all-time PS1 classic Worms Armageddon, as well as its follow-up Worms World Party, have also now both been spotted (thanks, Gematsu).

As a reminder, PlayStation is yet to officially confirm the games which will join its Premium service when it launches on 22nd June in Europe

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Final Fantasy XIV’s latest update saw Square Enix give serious players a new “ultimate” raid to conquer. The last few days have been a whirlwind as groups try to be the first to complete the raid, known as Dragonsong’s Reprise, and new developments concerning the potential revival of a dearly departed ally have only…

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The Last of Us Part II’s biggest badass is so tough even guns can’t kill her. That’s at least according to the U.K.-based modder Speclizer, who used mods to experiment with various ways of breaking Naughty Dog’s PlayStation 4 swansong in order to put some longstanding player-held “myths” to the test.

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Let’s just get the easy, obvious joke out of the way now: Reggie’s body is ready for the blockchain. Very funny, moving on…But yes, apparently the former Nintendo of America COO and president is a fan of blockchain technology and play-to-own games, with the caveat that it “makes sense for the player.”

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Today Sega revealed content and events coming to Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis over the next couple of months.

We start with the anniversary event which will span the month of May and the beginning of June. The first part will launch on May 11 with decorations, special items a new limited-time quest, and the inevitable AC scratch ticket.

May 18 will see the release of new SG Scratch items, while the second part of the anniversary event will come on May 25, including a new Urgent Quest and another AC Scratch ticket.

June 1 will see the implementation of an Anniversary World Trial and two revival AC Scratch tickets.

Today Arc System Works announced that River City Saga: Three Kingdoms is coming to North America and Europe.

The game, originally titled “Kunio-kun no Sangokushida Yo Zen’in Shugo!”, which translates as “It’s Kunio-kun Three Kingdoms: Everyone Gathered!”, will launch in the west for PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC, on July 21, 2022.

This marks a difference from Japan, in which the Switch version has been released first back in December 2021 and the PS4 and PC version will also be released on July 21.

The price will be a rather affordable $29.99.

You can check out a trailer and screenshots below, alongside an official description from the publisher.

Today Activision Blizzard announced via press release that the vote among shareholders to approve the acquisition by Microsoft has concluded.

During a special meeting hosted for the purpose, shareholders holding 98% of the company’s shares voted in favor of the acquisition proposal.

CEO Bobby Kotick accompanied the announcement with a comment, calling the support for the deal “overwhelming.”

“Today’s overwhelmingly supportive vote by our stockholders confirms our shared belief that, combined with Microsoft, we will be even better positioned to create great value for our players, even greater opportunities for our employees, and to continue our focus on becoming an inspiring example of a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive workplace.”

The proposed deal, which was announced in January and took the gaming industry and the investor world by storm, involves Microsoft offering shareholders $95.00 per share (against the current price of $76.92 per share) in an all-cash transaction.

While closing conditions and the completion of regulatory review are still pending, so the acquisition has not completely gone through yet, this is a significant milestone toward that end.

Microsoft expects to close the acquisition within its next fiscal year, which will begin July 2022 and end on June 30, 2023.

Like many 90s babies, TMNT: Turtles in Time played a huge role in the foundation of my love for gaming. Despite rarely knowing what I was doing, there were so many weekends I found myself renting the beat ’em up from Blockbuster so that my friends and I could take on the Foot clan and eat some za. 

So when TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge was announced at the PlayStation Indies event back in February, it went without saying that my anticipation for the upcoming title was sky-high. While attending PAX East last week, I got to put the game to the test, experiencing all it had to offer regarding its new co-op and gameplay features. 

From the get-go, I felt an instant wave of nostalgia wash over me when playing TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge. The entire ambiance brought me back to when I was a kid, as the music, combat, and pixelated art were almost identical. The game does a great job at capturing the essence of what TMNT: Turtles in Time had going for it. 

Now, that isn’t to say that TMNT: Shredder’s Revenge doesn’t have some impressive visual improvements. Despite still featuring pixel art environments, the detail that’s gone into the artwork can’t be overstated. 

While this is simply just an announcement of a date for a future date announcement, it is still one step closer to Warcraft’s Mobile Game. Last month the full reveal was said to be coming in May, we know now that we won’t have to wait all that long. According to the newly created “Livestream Reveal” site, there will be a broadcast on May 3 at 10:00 am PST/1:00 pm EST giving all the details that fans are hungry to learn.

Seeing as this will be a Warcraft game created specifically for mobile platforms, it promises to be something big.

The last World of Warcraft expansion was Shadowlands that released in Nov. 2020. This is the proper year for Dragonflight to release, as Blizzard has been consistently putting out a new World of Warcraft expansion every two years since Wrath of the Lich King in 2008.

World of Warcraft Classic has recently added the first expansion, Burning Crusade and is steadily making progress up through the release history of the MMORPG that has been going since 2004.

When Does the Next WoW Expansion: World of Warcraft for Mobile Come Out?

After the reveal of Dragonflight earlier this month, nothing more has been announced. It was said in the original unveiling that an alpha test is upcoming, so there it a chance of more detail on that on the May 3 Livestream Reveal.

Today Yuji Naka, mostly known as the co-creator of Sonic the Hedgehog and former head of Sonic Team, took to Twitter to share his experience while working on Balan Wonderworld for Square Enix.

It’s relevant to mention that this is a one-sided account involving a lawsuit of which the result was not made public, and there may be different points of view to consider.

While we are publishing it as-is, we have reached out to Square Enix for comment, hoping to hear their side of the story. We will update this article accordingly should they respond.

The indie moniker describes a game made by independent creators, i.e., those not under the umbrella of a major publisher. That could mean anything from a solo developer working on a debut title to critically acclaimed teams releasing self-published works. While these games have been around as long as the industry, their popularity surged in the early 2000s. This was partly due to new digital distribution and crowdfunding options, which presented opportunities for some would-be game makers.

Though many of gaming’s best-loved indies belong to this early era, independently made games reached a whole new level of mainstream attention in the following decades. There are so many launching every day now it can be difficult to keep up. So to help, this list explores the most recent titles that have enthusiasts excited. Appearing in no particular order, the games below represent the new kids on the indie block worth checking out.

Balan Wonderworld was a disappointing game for most, especially for a game from Yuji Naka, the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog. 

Now, Naka has taken to Twitter to reveal that not only was he removed as the director of Balan Wonderworld about half a year before its release in March of 2021, but that he has also filed a lawsuit against the game’s publisher, Square Enix, for doing so. He says now that proceedings are over and he’s no longer bound by company rules, he’s speaking out about what happened to him, as translated by Twitter user Cheesemeister3K. 

“I was removed as the director of Balan Wonderworld about half a year before release, so I filed a lawsuit against Square Enix. Now that the proceedings are over and I’m no longer bound by company rules, I’d like to speak out.” #BalanWonderworld https://t.co/Ht0Zc9soBa

Looking for a GPU? The RTX 3080 Ti offers comparable performance to the RTX 3090 while costing far less, and today there's an OC model available at the card's UK RRP. It's an Ventus 3X OC model from MSI, with a hefty triple-slot thermal solution that ought to keep the card cool and quiet even running at its factory overclocked 1695MHz.

To get the discounted price, use code SAVE75 to knock a healthy £75 off the list price. That brings it down to £1054, just £5 more than the UK RRP and a great deal for an OC model. You also get free delivery, with the card slated to arrive just after the upcoming bank holiday.

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The WD Black SN850 is a fast PCIe 4.0 solid state drive, and the 1TB model with an integrated heatsink is going for $150 at Best Buy today - some $120 off the MSRP and a historic low price.

This is one of the very fastest SSDs you can buy, with great sequential and random speeds, so it's a great choice for running your OS and loading games faster than ever before. It's also fully compatible with the PS5 thanks to its high speeds and integrated heatsink, making it a great plug-and-play solution for exanding your game storage on the Sony console. Either way, you should expect bleeding-edge performance thanks to high-end components and that extra cooling potential.

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Respawn Entertainment's previously confirmed Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order sequel is reportedly now targeting a 2023 launch, and will be skipping previous-gen consoles in favour of a PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC release.

That's according to VentureBeat reporter Jeff Grubb in his latest Grubbsnax episode (as transcribed by VGC), who claims publisher EA and Respawn had initially been aiming to launch the Fallen Order sequel later this year, but that those plans have since changed and the game "is for sure now not coming out until 2023".

This later-than-planned release date combined with the decision to drop support for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in favour of the newer consoles and PC means, according to Grubb, the development team won't "have to worry about trying to straddle these generation lines".

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If, at any point, while playing through the Mass Effect series, you’ve thought to yourself, “I really wouldn’t mind a replica of the Reaper Sovereign ship,” then today’s your day. 

That’s because BioWare and Dark Horse Direct have unveiled a new 14-inch Reaper Sovereign ship replica, and it’s beautiful. What’s more, it’s available for pre-order now for $299.99, and if it’s something you just have to have, you should act fast because there are only 1000 of them in total. Pre-orders are expected to ship sometime between November of this year and January 2023. So if you buy one, you don’t have to wait too long to have it in your hands. 

A metaverse filled with digital worlds and avatars might be coming someday, but it won’t be cheap. Facebook parent company Meta has released its financial results for the first quarter of 2022 and it shows that this year alone, the company’s virtual reality-focused department has lost $2.96 billion so far. This…

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Third-party developers had interesting reveals to share about upcoming add-ons for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

We start with the announcement of a freeware rendition of the ultra-popular business jet Bombardier Challenger 300.

It was shared by WNpilot101 and the initial test release is supposed to come on May 1.

“Being the world’s best-selling super-midsize aircraft, the Bombardier Challenger 300 deserves to come to life in the world of Microsoft Flight Simulator. A new project has begun to bring this beautiful aircraft to the virtual skies! This aircraft is still a work in progress. The initial release will just be a test so please expect there to be problems at first. But great efforts will be made to update the aircraft regularly with better features and upgrades!”

Next is an update from Synaptic Simulations, which is making progress with its Airbus A220.

“It’s been a while since our last progress update, so we’ve decided to preview some development shots while we work behind the scenes for a sizable developer update in the coming months.

Today Square Enix released a new trailer of its live-action mystery-adventure game The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story.

This time around, we get to take a look at the story of the game, on top of gameplay, which looks a bit cryptic but interesting.

We also get a bit more information on how it all works:

“Each episode is comprised of three parts, the Incident phase, the Reasoning phase, and the Solution phase, inviting the player to seamlessly enter into this world of mystery.”

You can check out the trailer below.

The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story is coming for PS5, PS4, Nintendo Switch, and PC on May 12, 2022.

If you’re unfamiliar with the game, here’s an official description from Square Enix: