August 2022

Amazon's cloud-based gaming service, Luna, is the latest addition to the Samsung Gaming Hub, a recently added feature available on all 2022 Samsung smart TV and smart monitor models. Amazon Luna joins an ever-growing list of cloud-gaming services that already include the likes of Google Stadia, Xbox Cloud Gaming, Nvidia GeForce Now, and more in the Samsung Gaming Hub.

The hub, which was added to all 2022 models in late June, collects your various catalogs of cloud entitlements on one screen with no additional hardware required. That means if you own one game's entitlement on Google Stadia but another's rights on Amazon Luna, you can access them through the same hub without the need for any consoles. Not only that, but you can play these games using any supported Bluetooth controller.

Amazon Luna offers various subscription plans, with the top-tier subscription, Luna+, offering access to triple-A titles from publishers like Sega and Capcom as well as various independent titles. If you're an Amazon Prime subscriber, you can access a rotating collection of titles. This month's offerings include Control: Ultimate Edition, Myst, Steel Assault, and Garfield Kart. You can also add Ubisoft+ to your subscription for an additional cost to play games in franchises like Assassin's Creed, Watch Dogs, Ghost Recon, and Far Cry. 

Platform: Switch
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Game Freak
Release: November 18, 2022

During today's Pokémon Presents livestream, The Pokémon Company revealed a ton of new details surrounding the first fully open-world RPGs in the Pokémon franchise, Scarlet and Violet. During the extended trailer and subsequent deep dive, we received new info about the region in which the games take place, how multiplayer works, some of the Pokémon players will encounter during their adventure, and the new Terastal phenomenon that allows Pokémon to change.

During today's Pokémon Presents livestream, we received a ton of new information about Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, the first open-world RPGs in the Pokémon franchise. As we get ready to embark on our Gen IX journeys in a few short months, The Pokémon Company and Game Freak released a new trailer showing off the region, some new Pokémon, and several of the characters we'll be interacting with.

The Pokémon Company describes the Paldea region as "a land of vast open spaces dotted with lakes, towering peaks, wastelands, and mountain ranges." Players can expect everything from small farming villages to bustling port towns.

You can see the full trailer from today's livestream below:

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet come to Nintendo Switch on Nov. 18. For more on the upcoming Gen IX games, check out our full screenshot gallery of all the new Pokémon and everything we learned about the games today.

All Elite Wrestling’s first triple-A wrestling title, AEW: Fight Forever, takes a few significant steps towards becoming a reality. After heavy rumors, THQ Nordic is confirmed as the game’s publisher. Moreover, we got a rundown of the game’s modes, a batch of fresh screenshots, as well as the unveiling of the box art. 

AEW: Fight Forever is being developed by Yuke’s and has been billed as an homage to classic, arcade-style wrestling games such as WWF No Mercy (including input from director Hideyuki “Geta” Iwashita). In addition to capturing an old-school feel, the game hopes to emulate AEW's in-ring style with the newly revealed addition of elaborate tandem offense moves for tag team bouts. 

First off, here’s what the box art looks like:

THQ plans to share more gameplay details during a THQ Nordic Showcase on August 12. Until then, a press release lays out the game modes, which may be final unless the Showcase reveals anything new. 

Career Mode: Players create their own AEW star who competes in matches and stories over an event schedule. You earn points by winning matches and completing objectives. These points enhance your character’s stats.  

Nintendo released its latest round of financial results, this time for Quarter 1 of the Fiscal Year 2023, which makes up the months of April, May, and June of 2022. While hardware sales of the base Switch, the OLED model, and the Switch Lite have surpassed 111 million units sold, sales are down nearly 23% overall. 

More specifically, hardware sales for Nintendo are down 22.9% this quarter. Broken up, the base Switch's sales are down 60% in Q1 while Switch Lite sales are down 48.4%. Nintendo did not report OLED model Switch sales, possibly because it groups the OLED model with the base Switch. As for why hardware sales are down this quarter, Nintendo sites the ongoing semiconductor shortage, which affects other hardware makers like Xbox and PlayStation too. 

"Unit sales for the entire Nintendo Switch family of systems declined by 22.9% year-on-year to 3.43 million units," Nintendo's results read in comparison to 4.45 million units sold this time last year. "In the first quarter of last fiscal year, titles from other software publishers helped drive hardware sales, particularly in Japan, but with the semiconductor shortage affecting production this first quarter, unit sales of hardware declined year-on-year." 

Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC
Publisher: 2K Games
Developer: Visual Concepts
Release: September 9, 2022
Rating: Everyone

If I was a cat, I think I would've lost one of my nyan lives already with my pun game in my first mod round-up. But alas, the Stray modding community continues to give, and I am therefore compelled to continue cataloguing their work (see, that one wasn't even noticeable! That wasn't painful now, was it?).

First up, there's another mod for the dog lovers among us, thanks to MrMarco1003, this time with Bolt from the titular Disney movie. The mod also changes Stray's meows into barks, and you'll get to see Bolt chilling out with his identically-shaped fur-iends at the beginning of the game.

With the dog lovers placated, let's move onto the modifications for us cat lovers.

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A dedicated Sonic fan has taken the Sega Game Gear's Triple Trouble release and given it a 16-bit reimagining.

"What if Sonic Triple Trouble had been originally released on the Sega Genesis / MegaDrive, after Sonic 3 and Knuckles," asked fan game developer Noah Copeland. Well, Copeland not only asked this question, but they also answered it.

After releasing a demo for their creation several years ago, yesterday saw Copeland's passion project fully realised (thanks, The Deleter).

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On May 7th 2020, Microsoft kicked off the new generation of consoles with a gameplay showcase featuring a wide range of games planned for the Xbox Series X - and Bright Memory: Infinite was the very first game shown off during this presentation. Now, more than two years later - and half a year after the arrival of the PC version - Bright Memory: Infinite has arrived on console. Given its prominent placement in that original showcase, I felt that we needed to check it out here on Digital Foundry. On the face of it, this is indeed a 'next-gen only' exclusive - you can't play the game on PS4 or Xbox One consoles - which makes the launch of a Nintendo Switch version all the more intriguing.

Bright Memory: Infinite is a fast-paced first-person shooter which combines snappy gunplay with sword driven melee combat. It's not a long game but what's here is solid and reasonably well executed - it almost recalls the 2013 reboot of Shadow Warrior, though with more focused, linear level design. Plus, if you're playing on the latest consoles, Bright Memory Infinite promises support for 120Hz output and ray traced reflections, though not simultaneously.

Where it surprises the most, perhaps, is in its development history. Bright Memory: Infinite is a showpiece title for what modern development tools can offer when in the right hands - you see, most of the development duties on the game were executed by one person. In creating the game, Infinite was built using Unreal Engine 4 with additional support software and Quixel assets to speed up development time. That's not to say this is entirely a solo project - artists, musicians and voice actors were all required to complete the game but considering the quality of the presentation, it's an impressive accomplishment.

Peripheral maker Logitech and Tencent are hooking up to make some hardware. It's under the aegis of Logitech's gaming-oriented Logitech G branding. It doesn't have a formal name yet, but it's being called the "Logitech G Gaming Handheld" for now.

The companies announced their partnership on August 2, 2022 via press release. According to the announcement, the Logitech G Gaming handheld combines Logitech's hardware expertise and Tencent's software service experience. It's billed as a "cloud gaming handheld".

Cloud gaming is the practice of playing a game via an internet-connected device. The player's device streams inputs to a server, which handles running the actual game, returning feedback via video. Xbox Cloud Gaming, NVIDIA GeForce Now, and the game streaming portions of PlayStation Now (which were folded into PS Plus) are all distinct cloud gaming services. One advantage of cloud gaming is that players need only a compatible device and an internet connection. They won't need expensive consoles or PC hardware to play high-quality games. Square Enix deployed versions of the Kingdom Hearts series to the Nintendo Switch as cloud versions, too. The Logitech G Gaming Handheld will support multiple cloud gaming services.

Square Enix updated the official website for Harvestella, its upcoming farming and life sim RPG, with new screenshots and gameplay details. In addition to information on the game's farming, fishing, and relationship mechanics, the website features a host of new images depicting Nemea Town, the Town of Spring. Harvestella will release for the PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch in November 2022. [Thanks, Game Spark!]

One of the four main locations that players in visit in Harvestella will be the town of Nemea. Located near the Seaslight of Spring, flowers blossom all year long in the town. The town's questline revolves around a large, mysterious egg that appears on the Seaslight of Spring. There, players can meet characters such as Asyl, and Istina, a teacher of the town's orphanage.

Players can then increase their relationship level with characters through character quests. Improving your relationship with characters can unlock new combat abilities, as well as provide reward items. It's still unclear whether the player character will be able to date other characters.

A trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet dropped this morning, and it has become customary for the Internet to collectively adore at least one of the new Pokemon revealed. Last time, it was the lovable Lechonk. This time, Pokemon fans are losing their minds over a Fairy-type puppy Pokemon that resembles bread or a pastry with an adorably fitting name: Fidough.

Don’t just take our word for it. Here are some of the posts that have already been shared on Twitter, whether it’s reacting to this new Pokemon design or already crafting the most wonderful art of our new puppy pal.

The Pokemon community is quick to move on to its next most popular design, as Skyler posted about below.

Zuccnini was quick with their Fidough artwork, depicting the Pokemon infiltrating a bakery with a biscuit in its mouth.

Hindsight on PC

When Hindsight was revealed during the Annapurna Interactive Showcase last week, the first game that came to mind was Before Your Eyes. Both tell the stories through distinctive viewpoints while also boasting unique gameplay elements. In the end, though, it seems I set expectations for this new puzzle game a little too high.

Hindsight is a narrative adventure game that looks back on the entirety of a woman’s life, spanning from her birth all the way up until the present day. While short, it features a really poignant story about culture, parental influences, and how a slight change in perspective can alter everything you know about all of it.

Despite having a good relationship with my mother myself, I really empathized with the main character’s want and need to be themselves while also trying to make them feel proud. Hearing the Narrator’s regret about realizing all of this only after her mother passes and while cleaning out the old house really makes for an emotional narrative as well.

Farming and catching butterflies aren’t the only activities in Dinkum. You can also pick up a fishing rod, locate the nearest river and start living off the land. It’s a great way to make Dinks. But of course, like many aspects of Dinkum, you need a license. Here’s an in-depth guide on how to catch fish in Dinkum.

Dinkum Fishing Guide: How to Catch Fish

In order to start catching fish, you’ll need two items (other than fish): a Fishing License and Fishing Rod. Both are outside your reach when you first start in Dinkum, so you’ll have to do a bit of work in order to obtain both.

With the latest trailer for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet just being unveiled, fans simply can’t wait to jump into the game later this year and explore the Paldea region. Before the game release, though, you’ll want to make sure you have all of your Psyducks in a row, especially when it comes to preorder bonuses. Here is everything you need to know about how to preorder Pokemon Scarlet and Violet and what bonuses you get from different retailers.

What Bonuses Do You Get From Different Retailers for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

If you’ve ever played a Pokemon game before, you know that there are some slight variations depending on whichever game you pick up. Usually, it’s just a matter of a different Legendary Pokemon or even some color palette changes.

Sometimes, though, you can get a bunch of great incentives from not only getting a specific version of the game but also from ordering it from a specific retailer. Here is what you need to know about what bonuses you get from different stores when picking up Pokemon Scarlet and Violet.

Note: Pre-ordering any version of the game before Feb. 28, 2023, will allow you to claim a Pikachu that knows Fly has a Flying Tera Type via Mystery Gift when the game releases. There’s also a steelbook Double Pack available on most sights that lets you pick up both games for the price point of $119.99.

Amazon

Amazon has revealed that pre-ordering gets you the following in-game itmes:

A retail store chain in Japan called Shimamura is introducing new merchandise that will allow you to carry your favorite Pokemon everywhere you go. Five plush backpacks featuring some of the most beloved Pokemon are up for preorder at the Japanese retailer, and they are all incredibly adorable.

The five backpacks included in this collection are Pikachu, Eevee, Gengar, Piplup, and Mimikyu. Each one looks like a plush version of that Pokemon alone with straps to go on your shoulder and a zipper on the back that leads to a pouch.

They look like the absolute perfect gift for any Pokemon fan, especially for children who will soon be going back to school or want to show off to friends. I know I would have been all over these backpacks as a child.

Although the website doesn’t offer international shipping at this time, each one costs 2,700 yen (approximately $20 USD) if you are able to order within Japan. Since it’s still in the pre-order period, you have until August 14 to make your reservation, and the backpacks are expected to ship in early September this year.

You can view each of the Pokemon plush backpacks and reserve them on the Shimamura website right here.

If you can’t purchase any of the backpacks but still want to admire how adorable they are, here are some pictures of each one.

Today Sega and Creative Assembly released a new video showcasing the new DLC legendary lord Vilitch the Curseling for Total War: Warhammer 3.

Vilitch was revealed yesterday as part of the upcoming Champions of Chaos DLC which is releasing later this month, but today we see more than cinematics and we actually get to observe him in action.

On top of that, we finally have the chance to take a look at the ways chaos champions can progress all the way to becoming demon princes. Of course, that has a cost. Everything involving Chaos has a cost.

Interestingly, we also take a look at how Vilitch can use his Tzeentchian influence to break alliances among his enemies.

You can watch the full video below as we wait for the reveal of the fourth and last legendary lord that will be featured in the DLC.

Total War: Warhammer 3 is currently available exclusively for PC.

If you’re in the mood for a spooky video game to keep you up tonight, then developer Darkstone Digital and publisher DreadXP may have the perfect blood-drenched ticket just for you. Yes, The Mortuary Assistant launched on PC yesterday, and to celebrate, the US-based developer has dropped a new launch trailer.

Go ahead and take a gander at the latest video down below to whet your appetite:

Part first-person exploratory puzzler and part balls-to-the-wall scarefest, The Mortuary Assistant is poised to be the next big haunt-’em-up that’ll have you jumping out of your skin in no time.

Narratively, you play the role of a – you guessed it! – mortuary assistant who is tasked with embalming a handful of cadavers in Riverfields Mortuary. Things aren’t quite as they seem, though, as an evil presence lurks deep in the shadows, requiring you to exorcize the supernatural beasties that have made their home there.

Interestingly, the game boasts a “Ground breaking system [which] makes every playthrough unique, guaranteeing you will never feel completely safe.” Sounds pretty intriguing, no?

For more information about The Mortuary Assistant, here’s an official rundown courtesy of a press release we received today:

If you had to choose one series that is the most iconic TV show of all time, Friends would undoubtedly be near – if not at – the top of said list. Yes, David Crane and Marta Kauffman’s heartwarming and hilarious sitcom is equal parts relatable life lessons, silly comedic hijinks, and poignantly handled relationship drama.

If you’re here, you’re likely a big fan of Rachel, Phoebe, Monica, Joey, Ross, and Chandler’s escapades. But how big a fan are you? Let’s find out in today’s Twinfinite quiz.

To make things a wee bit easier, today we’re going to focus in on the three fellas: Ross, Chandler, and Joey. All you need to do is identify who said what. Was it the fussy paleontologist, Ross Geller? Was it the pizza-loving actor, Joey Tribbiani? Or was it the awkward-but-loveable Chandler Bing? It’s up to you.

So, without further ado, grab your Lobster and come join us. It’s time to prove how big of a Friends fan you really are. Let’s get into it, shall we? Good luck!

All Elite Wrestling announced like, I dunno, three games at once a couple of years ago. They all sounded terrible and we haven't posted about them (also because a bunch of them aren't on PC). AEW: Fight Forever, still officially Coming Soon, is their first crack at a sweaty graps sim to rival WWE's series, and today it was confirmed the publisher is THQ Nordic. This not only means that we'll see more gameplay at next week's THQ Nordic showcase, per a tiny teaser, but it adds another horse to the confusing carousel of companies that have worked on wrestling sims.

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Our last deliberations ran a little long because I was away, but I'm now back to make it final: you decided that demos are better than gibs (by a pretty close margin). You have chosen your favourite little bits—of games, not corpses—and our quest resumes. This week, we pick between two forms of really committing to a game's reality. What's better: cameras which actually take pictures, or running into a wall so fast you hurt yourself?

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Whomst among us didn't watch Whip It over a decade ago and think about giving full-contact skating sport a go, before falling over on once and deciding to pack it in? I have a bunch of friends who persisted and now spend their weekends in gyms and car parks, where they skate under 11/10 names like Correctional Felicity and give each other huge bruises. I can't be sure, but from their activity on social media I estimate they spend about 114% of their time being excited about roller derby, which I endorse. Now both they (and people like me, who find wheels frightening), can spend even more free time on roller derby with the annoucenment of 2023's sports management game Roller Drama.

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The Pokémon Company has commanded a steady stream of information about Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet, out November 18 for the Nintendo Switch, since February to encourage maximum mouth frothing. Today, it encouraged more extreme-level mouth frothing with its Pokémon Presents livestream and a press release…

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Throughout 2022's Pokémon Go Fest events in cities like Seattle, Berlin, and Sapporo, Ultra Beasts, wormhole-dwelling creatures introduced in Gen VII's Pokémon Sun and Moon, have appeared for trainers to catch. If you weren't able to attend those events (or the virtual event earlier this year), you've missed out on your opportunity to catch them to this point. However, that changes later this month, as the four Ultra Beasts are set to gather during the Pokémon Go Fest 2022: Finale event.

The finale is a global event that trainers can enjoy regardless of location. In addition to the Ultra Beasts, participating trainers will encounter other Pokémon they may not usually see in the wild, as well as the Mythical Pokémon Shaymin, who can be obtained by completing special research missions. This also features the conclusion of the story of Professor Willow being sucked into an Ultra Wormhole. The Ultra Beasts available in Pokémon Go through this event include Pheromosa, Nihilego, Buzzwole, and Xurkitree.

Finally, Daily Adventure Incenses have been added to the game. These special incenses can be used once a day and last for 15 minutes. This special daily item can attract Pokémon not typically found in your area and can even pull in Legendary Pokémon. 

Jetpack Joyride 2 - the sequel to developer Halfbrick Studios' enormously enjoyable (and hugely successful) 2011 endless side-scrolling mobile shooter - has finally resurfaced and will launch as an Apple Arcade exclusive on 19th August.

Halfbrick - also the studio responsible for mobile classic Fruit Ninja - initially announced an iOS and Android sequel to Jetpack Joyride back in February 2021, with an accompanying trailer suggesting some very familiar action, albeit with a slightly slicker new HD art style.

That announcement was accompanied by a limited launch in select territories, but Halfbrick suddenly pulled the game from Google Play and the iOS App Store in March this year, saying it had "entered a new closed phase of development for an indefinite period".

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Today's Pokémon livestream, gave us a look at the exclusive plushies that'll be sold at London's upcoming Pokémon Center.

The Pokémon Company had already announced the Pokémon Centre pop-up store will be returning to London, but hadn't given away any details on what new Pikachu design will be appearing. Images of the plushies have now been released, via today's Pokémon livestream.

The previous pop-up store in 2018 had Pikachu suited up and topped off with a bowler hat, and was so popular the store ended up having to limit purchases and opening hours in order to cope with demand. This time, Pikachu has an even more iconic London look.

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It is impossible to get your head around memory. It's intangible, yet all-powerful. It can be like living with a ghost, but the ghost is Arnold Schwarzenegger.

If I was making a game about my own memories, my own experience of interacting with memory, I am confident that it would be the worst game ever made. An open-world affair, but an endlessly glitchy one. Landmarks disappear and shift. The same journey can take hours one day and seconds the next, and when you reach the destination it's entirely different anyway. And wherever you go, you're always at the centre of the map. I do not want to play this game.

But what about a game exploring someone else's memories? What form would that take? What problems might it run into? Hindsight is an attempt to answer the first question, I think, and it also provides plenty of answers to the second.

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New data reveals that most mobile gaming genres have seen a decline in revenue during the first half of this year.

The data from reliable app store analysis firm SensorTower stated the mobile gaming market fell by 9.6 percent year-over-year to $11.4bn in the US.

The only two categories that did not see a decline in the mobile gaming market were tabletop and arcade games.

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Activision Blizzard and Chinese publisher NetEase have reportedly cancelled an unannounced World of Warcraft MMO following a disagreement between the two parties.

As reported by Bloomberg, the unannounced project - internally known as Neptune and in development for three years - wasn't a direct adaptation of the existing WoW MMO, but rather an MMORPG spin-off set in the same universe but during a different time period.

However, despite the project's already lengthy development, NetEase is now said to have disbanded its creative team - consisting of more than 100 developers - after a disagreement with Activision Blizzard "over financial terms" resulted in both parties pulling the plug.

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A One Piece Film: Red crossover event will appear in Granblue Fantasy. The collaboration will take place on September 14-25, 2022. The details of the crossover are unclear, but previous crossovers with other properties (such as Gintama) have deployed bespoke stories and added new playable characters to the roster.

Granblue Fantasy will not be the only mobile game to have crossover content from One Piece Film: Red. The movie's website revealed that there will be more collaborations with two more popular Japanese mobile games. The festivities will begin in Monster Strike on August 20-31, 2022, with Puzzle & Dragons following suit on September 1-12, 2022.

Cygames has been adding Granblue Fantasy crossover content from many anime and game titles. In recent months, it held collaborations with Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo in April 2022 and Final Fantasy XI in May 2022. In February 2022, the company announced that the mobile game has over 31 million registered users.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet go to the Paldea Region Read More »