June 2022

Square Enix released new optional items in Final Fantasy XIV’s official store, including the much-anticipated “Street Attire.”

If you’re unfamiliar with what “optional items” are, they’re basically paid DLC that you can purchase in addition to the monthly subscription.

The outfit has been the talk of the game’s Glamour enthusiasts since its first appearance as concept art to be implemented on the Korean servers.

Now fashionistas worldwide can enjoy it, for a price. It costs $22, €17.50, or £15.00, making it the most expensive outfit available for the game at the moment of this writing (at least to my knowledge), likely due to the two options for the top.

The package includes the following:

• Street Cap x1
• Street Jacket x1
• Street Top x1
• Street Handwear x1
• Street Cargo Trousers x1
• Street High-top Shoes x1

Each item can be dyed, but the hat won’t appear on Hrothgar or Viera as usual. Each purchase is valid only for a single character.

You can check it out below and purchase it here.

Monkey Island co-creator Ron Gilbert appears to have taken down his long-running blog today, after posting that he doesn’t feel he can share news about the upcoming Return To Monkey Island online anymore. While no longer there to view, VGC managed to capture Gilbert’s post on grumpygamer.com before the site became unavailable. You can see the new art style for yourself in the trailer below.

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Against all possible odds, we're officially halfway through 2022. What a year it's been so far! After one of the busiest starts to the gaming calendar in recent memory (looking at you, Elden Ring), my backlog is barely keeping it together right now. I've started so many things on as many different services that just keeping track of what I've played when is fast becoming a second job. If you, too, have been feeling overwhelmed by the sheer number of new and exciting releases coming out, then why not have a gander at this freshly compiled list of all our favourite games from the year so far? Maybe you'll find something that will similarly catch your eye, just as it's done ours. I'll warn you now, though. It's a big list.

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Video game parodies are often ropey, being neither funny nor fun to play. I am delighted that The Looker is both, and free too. It's a loving send-up of The Witness, inviting us to a strange island to solve more line-drawing puzzles and listen to more audio tapes. Some of the puzzles are quite clever, and many of the jokes made me laugh—plus it's only an hour or two to complete.

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Classically animated platformer Cuphead will finally get its Delicious Last Course with the release of the expansion on Steam today. The DLC adds a new character, Ms. Chalice, the third beverage-container bonce you can play as. Once you’ve unlocked her in the DLC you’ll be able to play as her in the base game too. There's also a new island with mountains, icy tundra and desert to navigate. Watch the trailer below, although it’s getting on a bit now.

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It wasn't until I played a hands-on preview of Cult Of The Lamb this weekend that I realised how much ovine imagery is knocking around Christianity. All them lambs being sacrificed in the Old Testament, shepherds, flocks, the lion and the lamb. In Cult Of The Lamb, which is sort of a dungeon-crawling roguelite with a colony sim bolted on, you are a literal rather than metaphorical lamb. Although possibly also a metaphorical lamb. Point is, the game makes great hay from the juxtaposition of cute fluffy animals and a violent cult.

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Ron Gilbert, creator of piratical point and click adventure series Monkey Island, has made the decision to stop talking about the upcoming release of Return to Monkey Island, following unwarrented abuse from so-called fans. In addition to this, he has closed all comments on his blog.

"I'm shutting down comments. People are just being mean and I'm having to delete personal attack comments," Gilbert wrote.

He went on to defend the upcoming release of Return to Monkey Island, Gilbert's first return to the series since 1991's LeChuck's Revenge.

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With the second Overwatch 2 beta in full swing, lucky players have shared new features and changes they've encountered.

The original Overwatch wasn't updated to natively support the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S, so there's huge expectation that the sequel will bring the latest and greatest tech features.

Beta players have reported that the game will be able to run at 120 FPS with variable refresh rate (VRR) support. That's a huge upgrade for console players who have been locked to 60 FPS on last-gen consoles.

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Cory Barlog, director of 2018's God of War, has asked the PlayStation community to exercise some patience while waiting for more news on the game's sequel, Ragnarök.

"If it were up to me, I would share all the information when I know about it. But it is not up to me," he tweeted (with a mellow looking Baby Yoda to accompany his message).

"So please, be patient. I promise things will be shared at the earliest possible moment they can be. We make games for you. We get to make games because of you."

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Unity is laying off four percent of its workforce to "realign some of [its] resources", affecting offices across the globe.

Kotaku initially reported the news of the game development engine company.

Unity has since released a statement to Protocol acknowledging four percent of its workforce is impacted, which Protocol estimates at roughly over 200 workers.

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Blizzard has confirmed Overwatch 2 will replace the original Overwatch on release in October.

In a statement to Axios’ Stephen Totilo, Blizzard explained that Overwatch 2 “will replace the current Overwatch build,” with all player-unlocked content automatically transferring across games.

https://twitter.com/stephentotilo/status/1542183079573323778

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We all know it is on its way, but the PS VR2 is still somewhat of a mystery to those of us not privy to the inner workings at Sony. However, one developer has shared (and swiftly removed) a picture of a PS VR2 set out in the real world.

The picture came from Bit Planet Games, the developer of Ultrawings and its follow up Ultrawings 2. It showed the PS VR2 on a black leather chair.

It wasn't much, with the set not even being in use for the photo, but it was enough to quickly catch the ever-watching eyes of the internet before the developer had a chance to remove the post without anyone noticing it. You can see it for yourself below (via Reddit).

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Celebrating the launch of Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak, Capcom has released a new music video that parodies the Japanese pop song "Matsuken Samba." The video, which features the titular Ken Matsudaira in his iconic gold kimono, has already amassed over 500,000 views on YouTube. Additionally, Capcom released a making-of video on its YouTube channel that interviews Matsudaira on how the collaboration came to be.

The "Matsuken Samba" is a Japanese pop song and comedy routine that became popular during the early 2000s. Ken Matsudaira is a famous actor who has appeared in period dramas, most notably as the shogun Tokugawa Yoshimune in The Unfettered Shogun. Matsudaira even made an appearance as Tokugawa in the Kamen Rider OOO Wonderful movie, where he performed a similar parody song.

In the music video, Matsudaira uses a play on words, replacing the word "Samba" with "Sunbreak." In some scenes, you can see him holding a replica of a greatsword, while in others, he dances alongside kimono-clad background dancers. Furthermore, he urges players to "forget about sleeping" and take part in the hunt. Responses have been largely positive, with fans asking for Capcom to add Matsudaira's appearance as layered armor in the game.

You can check out the Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak Matsuken Samba music video below:

https://youtu.be/flQQmeKBEl0

The Sword Art Online (SAO): Alicization Lycoris Twitter account posted a trailer for the upcoming Matricaria DLC. This is the second major expansion DLC after Blooming of Forget-me-not, which came out in November 2021. However, no projected release date for Matricaria is given in either the trailer or the description.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHPIHfT2mWA

The SAO: Alicization Lycoris Matricaria trailer is fairly enigmatic. An unnamed speaker appears to monologue about Kirito, talking about how all he wanted was for Kirito to give him a glance and acknowledge him. It is likely that this speaker is the new character Log, who will fight with an axe and shield.

[gallery columns="1" ids="931307" link="file"]

As for the story, it will focus on Kirito and his friends protecting the Underworld with everyone’s new powers. However, an announcement was made declaring that Refactoring has been activated. This then begins the Hundred Days War, leaving a hundred days until the end of the world.

Blooming of Forget-me-not came with new maps, divine beasts, weapons, and story. It also does not allow for co-op. It is likely that Matricaria will come with similar additions and limitations. Additionally, the first major DLC cost $24.99, which gives an idea of how much players may have to pay when Matricaria releases.

With Fall Guys having gone free-to-play on all major platforms, a number of games are celebrating with a couple of Bean-themed cosmetics. One of those is the Bean-117 back attachment in Halo Master Chief Collection, which takes the iconic Spartan and shrinks him down into Bean-size and straps him to your character’s back.

How to Get Halo Master Chief Collection Bean-117 Back Attachment

The good news is you don’t actually have to do anything other than log in to Halo: The Master Chief Collection from June 29, 2022 in order to get the Bean-117 back attachment.

Once you do, you’ll receive a message on-screen informing you that you’ve got the cosmetic and it’s ready for you to equip.

The June 2022 PlayStation Plus lineup of free games has arrived and it’s quite a good one, featuring Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time, The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan, and Arcadegeddon. 

All three of these games will be available to download for free for all three tiers of subscribers to the newly revamped PlayStation Plus – Premium, Extra, and Essential. You can add each to your library starting July 5 and they’ll be available until Aug. 1. That means you have until July 4 (next Monday) to download last month’s free games: God of War (2018), Naruto to Boruto: Shinobi Striker, and Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl. You can read more about the June 2022 PlayStation Plus lineup here. 

Enough about June, though – it’s old news! Onto July 2022! Here’s what PlayStation has to say about each of this month’s free games: 

A few years back, Pip enjoyed Hook, a minimalist puzzle game about untangling mish-mashes of hooks and pins by removing pieces in the correct order. If you try to remove that one, the hook will snag on that pin, so first this pin needs to go but ah! that goes through the middle of this ring, so... it's interesting to understand a shape and system so you can pull it to pieces. Now a sequel is out, and it's also nice, and it's under £2, and it has a demo too.

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Back in 2020, a group of digital art smugglers lifted the National Gallery’s entire art collection, nabbing each of the 2,400 hi-res digital artworks straight from the institution’s website. Since the collection is made up of paintings long past their copyright expiration, countless works by Van Gogh, Da Vinci, Titian, Vermeer, Rembrandt, and the rest were all legally (technically) snatched up in what could have well been the biggest digital heist in art history.

The cheeky looters in question were StikiPixels, the very same team behind the art gallery sim Occupy White Walls, and now anyone who owns a PC and a copy of the game can hang these priceless paintings in their own private virtual collections. In OWW (officially pronounced Owouawwouaw if you have the time), you can build your own architecturally ambitious gallery and stuff it full of artwork.

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Destruction AllStars developer Lucid Games says that it is still committed to supporting the game in the long term after a "rocky start".

In a tweet on the game's official account, the developer said: "We've put so much work in to the game from feedback and talking with our players over the last few months.

"We're still determined to keep on pushing forward and there's still so much more to come!"

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Good things come to those who slow-cook their meals, or something like that. I've been hungry for more Cuphead since it first released; thankfully this DLC - smartly titled The Delicious Last Course - has been worth the long wait.

Much of that time has, presumably, been spent on the visuals. As with the main game, it's all hand drawn and animated to mimic the cartoons of the 1930s. The difference with the DLC is the sheer amount of detail. There are more frames of animation in one phase of a boss here than in an entire boss-fight in the original, I was told in a preview of the game. And that really shows.

Each boss is even more of an elaborate set piece. Backgrounds are richly detailed and layered to offer a far greater sense of depth. Some boss-fights take place across multiple levels, while others literally flip the screen. And the characters themselves twist and morph into some of the wackiest designs in the entire game: across one boss-fight (shown in previews) a wizard transforms into a yeti, a fridge and a giant snowflake. This is Studio MDHR simply showing off.

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Hello! All this week Eurogamer is marking Pride Month - on this, its 50th anniversary year - with a series of features celebrating the intersection of queer culture and gaming. This afternoon, as part of a special Pride-themed edition of Dicebreaker Recommends - a series of monthly board game, RPG, and other tabletop recommendations from our friends at our sibling site, Dicebreaker - Alex Meehan dives into the messy, glorious world of Thirsty Sword Lesbians.

And while we have you here, if you've been eagerly awaiting a restock of Eurogamer's Pride t-shirts, we're happy to report that more - in two ravishing variants - are now available for purchase. All profits will be split between LGBTQIA+ charities Mermaids and Mind Out.

Queer pride is sometimes a personal, intimate thing to love, cherish, and hold in your hand like a little bird. Other times, it is a grand, bombastic affair that you want to sing about with bright lights, dazzling tassels, and loud airhorns. Neither approach is wrong. But tabletop roleplaying game Thirsty Sword Lesbians most definitely embraces the latter, rather than the former.

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Streamers have got their hands on a couple of mods that allow them to explore the rolling landscape of Breath of the Wild's Hyrule with additional Links by their side.

The mods in question have been demonstrated by both speedrunner PointCrow and "passionate Zelda fan" Croton on their respective channels.

"BotW Multiplayer is finally here," PointCrow's Twitch channel proclaims. "This project would not have been possible without the hard work of Sweet and AlexMangue." However, as a general FYI for those keen to try this out for themselves, this particular mod isn't available to the public.

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A character from Night in the Woods has been used as an unlikely Pride symbol at a football match in America.

At a Portland Timbers match, the crowd held up banners stating "From Stonewall a brick and Portland an axe" and "Respect our pride or expect our wrath".

Then a third banner arose from the crowd: Mae Borowski, the anthropomorphic cat from Night in the Woods.

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Video game companies in Québec will be impacted by a new controversial language law.

The aim of Bill 96 is to strengthen the French-speaking province's language laws, ensuring French is the main language spoken in everything from business to healthcare.

However, it's feared this will drive away non-French speakers from Québec's considerable video game industry.

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Valve has downplayed the performance impact of using slower SSDs in new shipments of the Steam Deck.

The change was first spotted by German publication HardwareLuxx, which noticed the 256 GB and 512 GB versions of the Steam Deck now ship with either a two-lane or four-lane PCIe Gen 3 SSD. Previously, these versions all came with a faster four-lane SSD.

Asked by PC Gamer for comment, Valve's product designer Lawrence Yang said Valve "determined that there is no impact to performance between the two models," and there were only differences between the two drives in "extremely uncommon cases."

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We're about to learn the Genshin Impact 2.8 release date and details about the update, as the next Special Program is about to show up. People can tune in on Twitch to hear about it at 5 a.m. PT/8 a.m. ET/2 p.m. CET on July 2, 2022. There is no estimated length for the showcase.

Here's the official announcement. There are a few hints about what to expect. First, "Kazuha" will appear. This means his rerun banner should show up in 2.8, as the Genshin Impact Special Program guest character's banner always appear. Fischl also shows up. Leaks suggested outfits will appear for her and Diluc as part of this update.

Version 2.8 Special Program Preview

Dear Travelers,
The special program will premiere on the official Twitch channel on 7/2, 08:00 AM (UTC-4)!
>>>https://t.co/iSfDaDRH9w

It feature juicy details about V2.8. It will also "drop" some redemption codes and more!#GenshinImpact pic.twitter.com/G7rVshJ9ki

— Genshin Impact (@GenshinImpact) June 30, 2022

Those without a Nintendo Switch no longer need to be in despair, as Spike Chunsoft has announced PS4, Windows PC, iOS, and Android ports of Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp. They will appear on July 21, 2022, in both North America and Europe. This game originally was exclusive to the Nintendo Switch.

Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp is an expansion of the Ultimate Talent Development Plan mini-game from Danganronpa V3. Characters from the three main Danganronpa titles all appear as classmates. The basic gameplay follows you choosing a student and improving them through the board game and battles. Random events will occur, with interactions occurring between characters who never met in canon.

As a reminder, Danganronpa S: Ultimate Summer Camp does have microtransactions. You will be able to access the gacha with currency you obtain in-game as well.

If you’re wondering how to change your name in Apex Legends, here’s what you need to know. In-game names or user tags add some special flair and personality to your character, and usually not every player gets their in-game user tag right when they first create their account. So, for those wanting to opt for a different user name in Apex Legends, here’s how it’s done.

How To Change Your Name in Apex Legends on PC

Since Apex Legends is available on a wide variety of platforms, we have broken down the procedure for changing names based on the platform you choose to play on. Changing your name in Apex Legends is relatively easier on PC when compared to consoles.

How to Change Your Name in Apex Legends using Origin

One could argue that Bloodborne is the toughest game From Software has produced yet. We’re going to take a look at all of the bosses in the game, including the ones from the Old Hunters DLC, and rank them, starting with the easiest. Here are the hardest Bloodborne bosses, ranked from hardest to slightly less hard.

We also ranked the hardest Dark Souls bosses over here. As well as specifically Dark Souls III’s hardest bosses over here.

Hardest Bloodborne Bosses

1. Witch of Hemwick

Upon entering the arena, the first thing you’ll notice is that there are two lanky fur-monsters patrolling the sidelines. While this is definitely unnerving at first, once the boss’ true form is revealed, it’s a total cake-walk. The Witch is little more than a huddled figure which hides in the corners of the map, making it incredibly easy to find and kill her. As Souls bosses go, she’s a total pushover, primarily used to teach the player that all may not be what it seems when initially entering future boss fights. So let’s look at the Hardest Bloodborne Bosses.

2. Micolash

Micolash is different to every other Bloodborne boss in that he starts the fight by actively running away from you. The majority of this fight involves chasing him down in a maze of sorts until you can corner him and deal damage. His cage-headed appearance is pretty spooky but both his attacks and general presence are pretty underwhelming. There’s some good lore to be had here but in terms of a formidable Bloodborne boss, this one is kind of a pushover.

Best PS4 Themes of All Time

Sony’s PS4 might be old hat now following the launch of the PS5 in 2019, but that doesn’t mean it’s been retired for everyone. In fact, given most new software is compatible with both old and new, the PS4 still has plenty of life left. And if there’s one feature we miss from the PS4 it’s been awesome dynamic themes. If you’re looking for the best PS4 themes, here we’ve compiled the top free, dynamic, and paid PlayStation 4 themes on the store right now. Whether you’re looking for a theme of a AAA game or a dynamic theme that will change as time does, these are the best ps4 themes of all time.

1. Firewatch Dynamic

This PS4 theme delivers all of the colorful beauty of Firewatch, displaying the mountainous setting and a color scheme that changes as the hours pass. Simple but memorable, just like its game.

2. PlayStation 20th Anniversary

Released in celebration of PlayStation’s 20th anniversary, this one takes on every ounce of PS nostalgia, from its color scheme to the iconic system music.

3. The Last of Us Outbreak Dynamic

The Last of Us featured a world destroyed by the infamous cordyceps virus, and now you can watch said virus infect your own console, growing creepily across your screen.

Reviewed on: PC
Platform: Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: Studio MDHR
Developer: Studio MDHR
Release: June 30, 2022
Rating: Everyone 10+

Cuphead’s long-awaited and aptly named The Delicious Last Course serves up a wonderful final dish that acts more like a satisfying dessert than a full second helping. Though not long, it offers an enjoyable batch of devilish boss battles and a welcomed addition in the now playable Ms. Chalice.

Ms. Chalice sports a unique moveset such as a double-jump, a dodge roll that can safely bypass hazards, and even one extra health point. She’s a blast to use, and I loved taking advantage of her added maneuverability. Does she make Cuphead an easier experience? Somewhat, but she doesn’t turn the game into a cakewalk. Rather, she gives players more options to work with, which in a way makes her a more advanced character because of how I had to alter my playstyle to account for her new tricks. 

Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin is getting an expansion called Trials of the Dragon King. The DLC includes new gear, jobs, and enemies to fight. Check out the short trailer below; it's as deliciously chaotic as you'd expect. 

There was once a group of warriors who attempted to defeat the darkness.

This is the story of what came next.

Stranger of Paradise @FinalFantasy Origin's first expansion Trials of the Dragon King launches July 20th. pic.twitter.com/YvGEwGh1ux

— STRANGER OF PARADISE FINAL FANTASY ORIGIN (@fforigin) June 30, 2022

In Stranger of Paradise fashion, it's hard to parse through what's happening in the footage, but we see Jack and co. cleaving their way through armored adversaries ranging from shield-holding knights to winged beasts with dazzling blades of their own. In one scene, a kingly figure sits upon a throne – is it safe to assume this is the Dragon King? – and says, "You will die here, and I will live forever." We're sure Jack will make him eat his words. 

It looks like Sega is eyeing up Atlus games for potential live-action film and TV adaptations.

That means we could see the likes of Persona, Shin Megami Tensei, and Catherine following in the footsteps of Sonic the Hedgehog and his recent film success.

IGN reports that for Sega, expanding storytelling forms is a new and important part of its business strategy.

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