July 2022

Takanori Nishikawa, also known for their solo act T.M. Revolution, appeared in a commercial for Touhou Arcadia Record. Nishikawa dressed as popular Touhou Project character Reimu Hakurei. The commercial aired on Japanese televisions and is also available to watch on YouTube. [Thanks, Inside Games!]

The 30-second commercial initially features Nishikawa dressed as a Japanese high schooler. When his teacher catches him sleeping during class and throws a piece of chalk at him, Nishikawa transforms into Reimu Hakurei. Fittingly, Nishikawa's character is named "Nishikawa Reimu".

The transformation has Nishikawa fit snugly into a midriff-exposing outfit and full makeup, mimicking Reimu's appearance in the game.  Nishikawa then dodges an array of pink chalk, a la Touhou Arcadia Record’s side-scrolling shoot-em-up game mechanics.

You can check out the full commercial in the video below:

https://youtu.be/Prsd0DKxa3o

It’s been a very bad year so far for Meta, the company formerly known as Facebook, in ways extremely unique to being one of the biggest tech companies in the world. Despite still making almost $7 billion in profit in recent months, TikTok is eating its lunch, the stock price is in shambles, and even the Kardashians…

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Well, that was fast. Nier: Automata’s secret door—the very same one that’s fractured the game’s fandom into factions—went from an amusing little secret to a viral meme in three days flat.

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This morning, Sony announced that it would be rolling out a beta to test a collection of fan-requested new features for the PlayStation 5. These features include curatable gamelists, the ability to play games in 1440p output, and small quality-of-life features for those who enjoy playing games with their friends.

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I’ve been excited to play Exoprimal, Capcom’s upcoming multiplayer dino shooter, ever since it used the phrase “unstoppable raptor horde” in one of its trailers. It is a completely unhinged combination of words that makes me giddy just thinking about them. I’ll often find myself muttering them out loud when I’m unloading the dishwasher or folding laundry. “Unstoppable raptor horde”. It’s like the season finale of language. It’s perfect.

Admittedly, prior to the existence of that phrase, I was feeling a little sceptical about Exoprimal’s existence. Not only does Capcom have - let’s say - a less than favourable track record when it comes to multiplayer titles, but as a long-term fan of Dino Crisis I was a bit miffed to see them creating a game featuring prehistoric creatures that wasn’t some kind of lavish remake of my beloved PS1 series.

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The world’s greatest detective who isn’t Batman will once again tangle with the many-tentacled forces of darkness in an upcoming remake of Frogwares’ Sherlock Holmes: The Awakened. It serves as a sequel of sorts to Sherlock Holmes: Chapter One, although they’re calling it a “full remake and substantial rewrite” of the original. There isn’t a trailer just yet, so feel free to anticipate that while you refresh your memory of exactly who Sherlock Holmes is by watching one for Chapter One below.

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The Sims 4 High School Years is launching today, but its release looks set to be overshadowed by a couple of major bugs introduced by its supporting update, Patch 132. The patch came out on Tuesday and, if you've played The Sims 4 since then, you'll have automatically downloaded it unless you've been playing offline. While the patch's release coincides with the High School Years expansion and supports a number of its features, it also added several new elements to the ever-evolving base game. These include long-time fan requests like sexual orientation customisation, body hair options, and the return of a wants and fears system in the style of The Sims 2.

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I really appreciate when games don't hold your hand. They don't waste time insulting your intelligence, they just set you loose in their playground. They let you strike out on your own, figure things out for yourself, and create something valuable with your own two paws.

Bear And Breakfast doesn't hold your hand. It wraps you up in a gigantic bear hug, and refuses to let you out of its smothering embrace until long after your enthusiasm has evaporated.

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Sony has unveiled the new Backbone One PlayStation Edition, an officially licensed iPhone controller created with PS Remote Play in mind.

Backbone One PlayStation Edition is identical to the existing Backbone One controller, with one key difference: it eschews the original's black colour scheme in favour of pristine white hues inspired by Sony's DualSense wireless controller. However, other familiar DualSense design elements, including parallel thumbsticks, are not replicated.

Sony is promoting the Backbone One PlayStation Edition - which is powered by the connected device - as the perfect companion to its PS Remote Play service, enabling players to stream their games from their PS4 or PS5 consoles to their iPhones using the dedicated App Store app.

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The gorgeous cyberpunk world of kitty-simulator Stray may be full of hungry Zurks, but it seems there was still enough room left over for developer BlueTwelve Studio to include a huge amount of Easter eggs.

I've cataloged 25 such secrets and references in the video below, ranging from hidden developer messages and musical memes, through to nods to famous books, games and TV shows.

One word of warning though, this video does show footage from most areas in the game so do think about paws-ing it until you've completed the game; if you want to avoid spoilers.

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Seven months after launch, Halo Infinite continues to evolve with 343 Industries embarking on an extended beta testing period for campaign co-op. This is a crucial feature for a Halo title, desperately missed on the game's debut - and clearly a challenge for the developer. After all, Halo has transitioned from a linear shooter into an open world experience, with a vast degree of freedom for the player - and the notion that up to four players can travel the map doing whatever they please wouldn't really make sense. 343's solutions are constrictive - but they do work - and overall impressions are favourable.

First impressions suggest a co-op experience close in nature to those that have gone before - but only because of the nature of the opening brace of campaign chapters. These are entirely linear in nature and 343's strategy in keeping players together is simple: there are certain 'points of no return' - such as passing a door that permanently closes behind you, or kicking off a new cutscene, that reset the positioning for all players. With that in mind, I never felt that the game was artificially keeping us closer together, it felt like a classic Halo co-op experience.

Obviously, this changes in the open world simply because it has to, with 343 setting up what it calls an Area of Operation - or AOO. This is roughly defined as a maximum distance of 300 metres between players, with warnings starting to kick in at around the 250m metre mark. Once too far apart, the player furthest away from the next objective is auto-killed, spawning closer to his counterpart. The end result is that freedom is curtailed, but the fireteam is kept together, essentially forcing a focus on the next target.

Goat Simulator 3 - which, in a fine example of a joke gone wildly out of control, is actually the direct sequel to the original Goat Simulator - has been given a release date and will be launching for PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PS5 on 17th November.

The original Goat Simulator, developed by Coffee Stain Studios, launched back in 2014, delivering a daft blast of physics-based nonsense in which players took control of a goat, causing chaos, inflicting damage, and accruing points across an open-world map.

Its goat-themed mayhem struck a chord and the game went on to sell "millions" of copies, in turn convincing Coffee Stain that a sequel was required. Goat Simulator 3 (because sequential numbering be damned) was announced earlier this year, promising, among other things, a new sandbox world known as San Angora, full of quests, collectibles, and secrets.

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The Xenoblade Chronicles 3 team has assured us that there is still plenty of life left in the series.

Speaking as part of an official interview published by Nintendo, Xenoblade developer Genki Yokota was asked whether we would ever see more from Xenoblade Chronicles, given that he had previously called 3 "the culmination of the series".

In response, Yokota replied: "Yes it will still go on." In fact, he said he wanted to keep it going for "as long as possible".

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This week on the Eurogamer Newscast, we're discussing Rockstar, and how its internal improvements may also change its games and the wider games industry.

Yesterday's eye-catching report into Rockstar discussed positive changes for employees and suggested this new company outlook could also be reflected in Grand Theft Auto 6, whenever it finally arrives. How important are these changes, and could the industry as a whole benefit? Or should we be calling some of these things out as long overdue, and simply just a bare minimum?

Also this week, the Nier: Automata secret church/door - the apparent existence of which has been puzzling fans and the wider internet. Is it a brand new discovery? A very clever mod? Or an incredibly elaborate marketing ploy for a new Nier game by the tight-lipped Yoko Taro? Join Ed Nightingale, Ishraq Subhan, Liv Ngan and myself as we try to explain.

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Minecraft Java Edition's new update is here, and developer Mojang has responded to players who still aren't happy with its Player Reporting system.

The new changes were first introduced a month ago in a pre-release of version 1.19.1 and players were already voicing their concerns online.

JewelTK, who runs their own Minecraft server, posted a video on Minecraft's subreddit explaining why they were against the change.

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Two years since its launch in early access, Obsidian's garden survival adventure Grounded is finally getting a full release on 27th September.

The announcement was made by game director Adam Brennecke, along with news of a final early access update out today which includes a huge revision to the game's armour and upgrade systems.

There's also a secret feature called the Homestretch included in the update that will be turned on at a later date.

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Warhammer 40,000: Darktide has been delayed to November to allow the development team to improve key systems.

The delay was announced in a statement written by Martin Wahlund, Co-Founder of Fatshark Games, and posted to Warhammer 40K’s Twitter account. Wahlund relayed the team’s disappointment in delaying the game but confirmed that it was a necessary decision to make it the best it can be:

Delaying a game is perhaps the most difficult decision a developer faces and one we are not excited about making. Still, we hope this speaks to the commitment to taking the time necessary and doing whatever it takes to get you the best possible game.

Wahlund notes the “great feedback” that the game has gotten so far but it seems that there’s still work to be done on performance and stability. In order to continue incorporating player feedback, a series of technical tests and beta will be released in the coming months which players can participate in.

Today Level Infinite and Hotta Studio revealed another trailer of the upcoming online RPG Tower of Fantasy.

This time around, we get to see “Form II,” a second skin for each character and their weapon unlocked by using Simulacrum Technology in the game.

On top of the trailer, we also learn that Tower of Fantasy has passed 3 million pre-registrations, unlocking the last reward for everyone including 500 Dark Crystals, 5 Black Nucleus, 10 Caterpillar Fungus Noodles, and one Beauty Restore Voucher.

You can watch the trailer below.

Tower of Fantasy is coming on August 11, 2022 for PC, iOS, and Android. 

Today Sega announced the beginning of the celebrations for the 15th anniversary of the beloved strategy JRPG Valkyria Chronicles.

The game was originally released in Japan for PS3 on April 24, 2008, so the anniversary will happen on April 23, 2023. According to the press release, it has sold over a million copies including the remastered version and digital downloads.

The beginning of the celebrations will be marked by an art exhibition and plenty of merchandise made available for sale.

The exhibition will happen in multiple stages and the first is a personal exhibition featuring character designer Raita Honjou starting on July 31, 2022, and ending on September 4 at the Phrase Gallery in Akihabara, Tokyo. This first stage will include 50 art pieces. A second stage will follow in the fall.

Honjou-sensei’s art will also be featured in a ton of merchandise including artbooks, clear files, tapestries, desk mats, acrylic figures, and more.

You can check out samples in the gallery below, and yes, unsurprisingly fan-favorite antagonist Selvaria Bles takes the lion’s share because that’s just what she does.

At the moment, we don’t know whether there will be further initiatives to celebrate Valkyria Chronicles’ anniversary, but I certainly hope there will be.

Valkyria Chronicles 4 was released nearly four years ago, so times are certainly mature for something new, but we’ll have to wait and see.

If you love watching What We Do in the Shadows, you’ve also probably had a lot of questions regarding one of the show’s main protagonists, Guillermo de la Cruz, over the three seasons that it’s been airing. The familiar turned bodyguard has become a fan favorite as things have gone on, providing levity and a straight-man approach to all the crazy situations the group finds themselves in. But many are wondering, is Guillermo gay in What We Do in the Shadows? And if he so, is he in love with Nandor? Let’s find out.

Is Guillermo Gay in What We Do in The Shadows?

While there hasn’t been explicit confirmation in the show yet, yes, Guillermo de la Cruz is gay in What We Do in The Shadows. In an interview with Advocate, Guillermo actor Harvey Guillén has confirmed that Guillermo is a queer character

“With Guillermo, I can certainly say that identify him as queer because he always has borderline homoerotic moments with his master,” said Guillen. He compared the relationship between Nandor and Guillermo to one “where you’re a little too familiar with the person you’re working with and that crosses into an emotional attachment.”

This shouldn’t really come as a shock to fans, as it has been speculated for a while, especially considering how he acts around Nandor. What’s interesting is that we might actually get confirmation of this character’s queerness soon, as a few things in the recent episodes lean heavily into the notion that the Van Helsing descendent actually already has a boyfriend.

Activision’s free-to-play FPS is one of the world’s most popular games, but it certainly suffers from its fair share of glitches and bugs. Here’s how to fix dev error 5476 in Call of Duty Warzone if you’re struggling with the issue.

How To Fix Dev Error 5476 Warzone

Dev error 5476 can be caused by a number of different issues, so fixing it hinges on pinpointing which of the following potential issues is the root cause:

• Attempting to play the game with crossplay enabled
• A bug that affects Calling Cards and/or Emblems
• Corrupt game files

You’ll need to identify which it is via the process of elimination. Thankfully, disabling crossplay is simple enough; head to your account from the options menu and untick the crossplay option.

As for Calling Cards and Emblems, you simply want to do the opposite of whatever you have currently selected; if you have it set to random, choose a specific one; if you’ve chosen a specific Calling Card/Emblem, set it to random. This is done from the Barracks menu, in case you aren’t aware.

If you’re still encountering dev error 5476 after disabling crossplay and changing your Calling Card/Emblem setup, then you may, unfortunately, have corrupt game files. To solve this issue, you have two options: attempting to scan and repair files via the Blizzard update functionality or reinstalling the game.

The launch trailer for Apex Legends: Hunted sees new legend Vantage show off her prowess with a sniper ahead of the update this August.

Vantage is thrown headfirst into the action as she faces off against other legends in the Apex Games with the help of her squadmates. In the trailer, we get to find out a little more about Vantage’s motivations. We got a glimpse of Vantage’s origins in her character trailer which sees her learn to survive the wilds of pagos alongside her Mother who is wrongfully imprisoned.

It looks like Vantage’s motivation for competing in the games is to prove her Mother’s innocence. The trailer was capped with a tease that the first glimpse of gameplay for Apex Legends: Hunted would debut on Aug. 1.

The Hunted update is coming to Apex Legends on Aug. 9 and the addition of Vantage is just the tip of the iceberg for the new season. EA and Respawn have promised to provide more details closer to launch but the Apex Legends website has teased that Kings Canyon will be “reforged”

On top of that, the Hunted update will increase the level cap for players and introduce the Hunted Battle Pass which will include weekly and daily challenges that players can take on to get Legendary Skins and Reactive Weapon Skins.

Check out the launch trailer below to see Vantage take on the other legends.

In a tweet from the official Resident Evil Twitter, Resident Evil Village will be getting a free update to bring in a few new accessibility features. The update will release along with the Winters’ Expansion and Gold Edition that are coming this October.

Funny enough, it’s a list of things that you no doubt will scratch your head and ask “why weren’t these in the game before?”

It’s mostly the ability to customize subtitles the way you want them, but there are a couple other accessibility features as well:

• Subtitle size, color & background toggles
• Speaker name display in story mode
• Closed captions
• Permanent reticle

Here is the full tweet making the announcement:

A new Yakuza saga began with Yakuza: Like A Dragon, but Sony wants to let PS Plus subscribers have a chance at seeing the whole series. The Yakuza series will join PS Plus at the Extra and Premium tiers in 2022. That means 8 games, including Yakuza: Like A Dragon, will be available to PS Plus subscribers.

The one wrinkle is that the exact selection of the Yakuza series on PS Plus varies depending on the subscription tier. The offering starts in August 2022, with Yakuza: Like A Dragon. It's part of the PS Plus August 2022 slate, and is available to all PS Plus members from Essential tier up. The rest of the games in the Yakuza series are split across PS Plus Extra and Premium tiers.

Extra tier subscribers gain access to Yakuza 0, Yakuza Kiwami, Yakuza Kiwami 2, and Yakuza 6: The Song of Life. Yakuza 0 is a prequel to the series, taking place in the 1980s and showing how Kazuma Kiryu earned his reputation. Yakuza Kiwami is an enhanced remaster of the original PS2-era Yakuza, using tech and gameplay based on Yakuza 0. Yakuza Kiwami 2 is a remake of Yakuza 2, but based on the gameplay and graphics of Yakuza 6. Yakuza 6 is the last game in the Kazuma Kiryu saga, and sees the Dragon of Dojima become a foster father.

"Ichiban" might mean "first" in Japanese, but he's coming to PlayStation fans' libraries in the "eighth" month. Sony is leading the PS Plus August 2022 games with Yakuza: Like A Dragon. The strategy RPG is part of PlayStation game offering for the month*. Alongside it are Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1+2, and Little Nightmares.

*The selection reflects the North American PSN. Other regions may have different offerings.

All three PS Plus August 2022 games are available to all PS Plus subscribers, from the basic Essential tier up through Premium. They'll go up for download on August 2, 2022.

Also known as Yakuza 7, Yakuza: Like A Dragon begins a new saga in the Yakuza series. Ichiban Kasuga is a low-ranking gangster thug, fresh out of prison after serving 18 years for a crime he didn't commit. Players will see him uncover the truth behind the betrayal as they rise to power. Both the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game are available.

Also added to the PS Plus August 2022 slate is the remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 and 2. Arguably the most iconic skateboarding games of all time, THPS 1 and 2 first appeared on the PlayStation 1. Now they've been remastered for current platforms, including most of the original soundtrack and roster. Both PS4 and PS5 versions are available.

Earlier this week, The Sims 4 received a big, free update that added curved walls, body hair, and new wants and fears. It also seems to have accidentally added incestual relationships. Oh, and people are aging much faster, too. It’s a weird time to be a Sim, that’s for sure.

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Nintendo just unveiled details for the second wave of Mario Kart 8 updates, and fans got a sweet surprise: an original race track. Sky-High Sundae will be available as part of the next installment of Mario Kart 8 DLC, and it looks incredibly edible—pretty. I meant pretty.

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Yesterday, Square Enix launched the English version of its new online manga service, Manga Up!. But within 24 hours of its release, users have voiced outrage over the app’s aggressive censorship bars and monetization practices.

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SATA SSDs are getting increasingly affordable, with even capacious 2TB models going down in price rapidly as NVMe drives approach parity with the slower SATA drives. This makes it a good time to pick up a SATA drive for desktops or laptops that can't accommodate another M.2 drive, especially for media or game storage where the speed difference between SATA and NVMe is minimal.

Today, Teamgroup's imaginatively-named T-Force Vulcan Z drive is down to $128 for a 2TB model, the lowest price we can find for this size at present.

Note that to get this price, you do need to be an Amazon Prime member - normal folk you like and me will see a price of $160 instead, alongside a reminder to 'join Prime to save $32 on this item'. You should be able to join Prime under a free trial, order the item and then cancel your Prime status to avoid a charge.

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Dell's G15 is one of the most affordable gaming laptops on the market, thanks to modest specs and Dell's willingness for aggressive discounts, but today we're seeing an RTX 3050 model go for an astoundingly low £441.

To get this price, select the Ubuntu Linux 20.04 LTS operating system and use VOUCHERCODES8 at checkout. Linux is a completely free operating system, unlike Windows, so you can knock £50 off the purchase price just by ticking this box - and of course, you're free to install Windows 10 or 11 afterwards. Keys for Windows 7/8/10 work on Windows 11 too, so you probably already have a key lying around - or you can pick up a new one for less than £50 online. The whole process, from using the Windows 11 Media Creation Tool to prepare a USB install drive to reaching the desktop, only takes around 20 to 30 minutes - well worth it!

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Goats. Why do they exist, and what makes them so loud? Goat Simulator 3 might not answer these deep questions when it bursts onto PC on November 17th, but you can bet it’ll make a lot of noise anyway. Watch the trailer below for a sneaky peek at what's next for the wacky even-toed ungulates.

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Alice is away this week, leaving the lads to their own devices to discuss the best nice blokes in video games. A coincidence? Who can say. What isn't a coincidence is the lateness of this here podcast post, which is a week late. That's my bad, folks, which I think automatically disqualifies me from any kind of 'nice' list from here on out. Ah well. You win some, you lose some.

The winners in this week's edition of The Electronic Wireless Show, however, are numerous. Taking that nice engineer chap from Metro Exodus as the absolute pinnacle of 'best nice bloke-ness', Nate and Matthew have framed this week's episode as the four people they'd most like to invite to an afternoon pub trip. Who will make the cut? Listen to find out.

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A lot of people love cats, as cyberpunk moggy sim Stray showed us when it launched last week. Now, you can enjoy Stray together with some buddies and/or pals thanks to a new multiplayer mod for the game. This is classic stuff people, because we’re talking splitscreen local co-op.

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As is the monthly tradition, August brings a fresh batch of titles for Xbox Games with Gold members, with the service's next four offerings now confirmed to be Saints Row 2, Monaco: What's Mine is Yours, Calico, and ScourgeBringer.

Calico, for Xbox One and Series X/S, serves up some wholesome life sim action in which players are tasked with rebuilding the local town's cat cafe - choosing its decor, baking its food, and filling it with an assortment of not necessarily feline creatures to bring in the customers. It'll be available as part of Games with Gold from between 1st and 31st August.

ScourgeBringer, Games with Gold's second Xbox One and Series X/S title for the month, is a "fast-paced free-moving roguelite platformer" that sees players, in the role of deadly warrior Kyhra, slashing and shooting their way through a post-apocalyptic world in a bid to save humanity. This one can be downloaded from 16th August to 15th September.

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During today’s showcase from Annapurna Interactive, it was announced that What Remains of Edith Finch is available to play now on Xbox Series X|S and Playstation 5.

What Remains of Edith Finch, developed by Giant Sparrow, was released back in 2017 and centers around a woman named Edith who has a familial curse in which all but one member of each generation will die in a strange way.

The game can now be played natively with 4K and 60FPS support on Xbox Series X|S and PS5. Players who already own What Remains of Edith Finch on Xbox One and PS4 are able to upgrade for free, though it currently seems as though Playstation users who claimed the game from PS+ cannot get the upgrade for free (we’ll update this if that changes).

If you’re curious about whether or not you would enjoy What Remains of Edith Finch, you can read our official review of the game from when it was released right here.

You can watch the Xbox Series X|S and PS5 launch trailer for What Remains of Edith Finch below.