November 2022

The next new Pokemon Unite character will be Urshifu. The official Twitter account confirmed it will join the roster on December 1, 2022. It didn’t clarify how much the character will cost. However, it did note that the fighting type will be an All-Rounder.

When Urshifu debuted in Pokemon Sword and Shield’s expansion pass, it ended up being notable due to its unique nature. There are two potential styles for it: Rapid Strike and Single Strike. Each one has its own moveset. In the original game, it also determines its typing. The Rapid Strike version is fighting and water-type. The Single Strike one is fighting and dark. As the announcement trailer shows art of it in both of its forms, it could be that the Pokemon Unite moveset options pull from both forms.

Here's the new Pokemon Unite trailer showing off Urshifu as it fights characters like Accelgor and Zeraora.

The brand new melee All-Rounder Urshifu joins #PokemonUNITE on December 1! pic.twitter.com/n9QARe9oMS

— Pokémon UNITE (@PokemonUnite) November 30, 2022

The latest entry in the RPG Maker series was supposed to show up this year. Now Gotcha Gotcha Games announced the RPG Maker Unite release date won't fall in 2022, as it is delayed until 2023. The new estimated launch window is Spring 2023. When it does appear, it will only be on Unity Asset Store initially. A Steam release will follow sometime after.

Here is the official Gotcha Gotcha Games update. It cited "optimization" and "back-end coordination" as the causes for the delay.

RPG Maker Unite, our latest title in development originally slated for a 2022 launch, will be postponed to Spring 2023 in order to refine its user experience to provide a smoother developmental experience for all users.

RPG Maker Unite is the most unique RPG Maker iteration to date. With Unite, we aim to bring RPG Maker onto the popular Unity Editor while maintaining the non-coding nature of the series. Due to this, in addition to improved features (character animation, parallax mapping, etc.) and new additions (outline editor, auto-guide, etc.) that we have introduced in the past announcements, a considerable amount of work on optimization is required to ensure smooth running and proper back-end coordination with the Unity Editor. As such we regret to announce that we need to deviate from the original 2022 launch plan in order to provide the most satisfying user experience we possibly can.

There are now Android and Apple iOS versions of Disgaea 4 available as NIS’ latest two ports of the 2011 strategy game. It costs $32.99 on both the App Store and Google Play. Both versions of the game add Auto-Battle and High-Speed Battle options to Disgaea 4.

The two new modes can be used simultaneously in Disgaea 4’s Android and iOS versions. Auto-Battle, as the name suggests, lets Disgaea 4 fight its battles for you. You can set this for the story and Item World stages. This can be done both while the app is open and in-use, or in the background. The High-Speed Battle option lets you start at 1x speed, but also go up to 8x speed. This can also be used with Auto-Battle to level-grind when not at the game.

Two other features are available with these versions of Disgaea 4. If someone owns a PS4 controller, there is partial support for it. The product page says some menus aren’t supported, which would mean relying on touchscreen controls to navigate them. There is also cloud save support so people can play on multiple mobile devices.

WayForward took to Twitter to confirm there won't be a simultaneous worldwide release date for River City Girls 2. The game is set to debut in Japan and other Asian countries on December 1, 2022. However, it won't appear in other countries that same date. No specifics regarding the delay were noted, but WayForward noted it needs "a bit more time." It still suggested a 2022 release is possible for North America and Europe.

Here's WayForward's full statement regarding the River City Girls 2 release date delay.

The Japanese/Asian version of RCG2 launches tomorrow (December 1st) from Arc System Works, but we need a bit more time in the oven for the North American/European version in order to deliver the best, most full-featured experience possible.

As of now, we’re still expecting to launch the game before the end of 2022. When we have an exact date nailed down, or if anything changes, we’ll let you know. We know you’re all eager to battle your way back through River City in this brand-new, skull-cracking adventure, and we’re just as eager for you all to play it! Thanks for your patience.

Narrative dinosaur adventure Goodbye Volcano High has awakened from dormancy with a new gameplay trailer and a 2023 release window. The title, unveiled in June 2020 as one of the first PlayStation 5 titles, will now arrive sometime next summer.

Goodbye Volcano High is a choice-driven teenage coming-of-age story starring Fang, a high school student, aspiring musician, and if you didn’t notice, a pterosaur. Alongside their bandmate Trish and other friends, the dino teens are faced with making the most of their final days together. Developer KO-OP describes the narrative as a tale of “personal growth, acceptance, and the power of community.” A new teaser trailer provides the first look at gameplay, showing off the dialogue interface and rhythm mechanics. 

Last time, you decided that dakka is better than overwatch (not Overwatch). It wasn't the most overwhelming victory of this scientific process so far, but it certainly was the loudest. More dakka indeed. This week, I ask you to pick between a cool form of human movement and some cool human speech. What's better: mantling or cool swearing?

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Grand Theft Auto Online players are forbidden from using the game’s roleplay servers for “commercial exploitation”, according to new guidelines set out by developers Rockstar which includes selling loot boxes, virtual currencies, corporate sponsorships, and anything to do with cryptocurrencies and NFTs. Sorry, crypto bros. The ban on crypto and NFTs echoes Mojang’s statement from this summer scuppering players who wanted to incorporate the controversial technologies into Minecraft.

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For the last ten years, the XCOM designers at Firaxis have traded in 'if's and 'maybe's. If this shot lands, then maybe I can pull off this carefully calculated plan I’m brewing. It's exactly the kind of taut, knife-edge tension we've come to love and expect from their turn-based strategy games, but Marvel's Midnight Suns takes a different approach. As the titular demon hunters join forces with some famous Avengers faces to take down the evil sorceress Lilith and Marvel mega villain Chthon, there's never any question about whether your moves will or won't work here. You're playing as the world's most powerful superheroes. Of course, they’re going to work. And forget about cowering behind knee-high cover walls, too, because if you're not already bulletproof, you've certainly got the reflexes and supercharged muscle mass to soak up anything Lilith’s Hydra minions are going to chuck at you.

Question is, by tipping the power scales in your favour like this, do you risk destroying that delicate balance of risk and reward? At first glance, it's easy to think a more reliable set of heroes would end up dulling what made Firaxis' XCOM games so special, but the result is something equally thrilling. Given how the Marvel machine has drawn in and chewed up so much singular creative talent in the wider MCUniverse, Firaxis emerging with their cred intact is nothing short of extraordinary. Not only have they endured their radioactive spider bite, they've come out bigger and better for it, creating not only the best Marvel game I've played, but one of the best superhero games full stop.

"It's the time of year where you may want to cozy up with a nice hoodie." Yup, here in the northern hemisphere we are officially entering the wintery season. "This winter don't let your controllers feel left out with a mini controller hoodie."

... Eh?

Feeling the freeze? Well, Microsoft wants you to think about how your hardware is doing, because it is selling mini hoodies for your Xbox controllers.

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Furry Hentai Tangram is a puzzle game where players must slot shapes into a grid to reveal lewd anime pictures underneath. It's also available on the Nintendo Switch eShop priced £2.39 (currently reduced from £2.99).

The fact this game, which launched last Friday, is available on the notoriously family-friendly Nintendo Switch has raised eyebrows among users uncomfortable with their kids finding its store page on the Nintendo eShop.

"Seriously Nintendo... this is my eight year old cousin's account," wrote one fan on reddit, sharing a screenshot of the game - visible from Furry Hentai Tangram's store page - depicting a mostly-undressed character with cat ears.

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An 11-year-old Valorant player has been banned on Twitch for being underage, despite parental supervision.

The Brazilian streamer, called Lucas, has managed to reach Radiant level in the game, its highest rank.

However, Twitch has banned Lucas for being underage - the minimum age to use the platform is 13.

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Warzone 2.0 has arrived and like its predecessor, this free-to-play game is big in almost every sense of the word, with an expansive map inhabited by a massive playerbase. The game's based on the IW9 Engine, the same core technology that serves as the foundation for Modern Warfare 2, but here it's pushed to its limits to draw in a single huge environment while networking up to 150 players.

To put this latest battle royale to the test, the whole DF team combined forces to get simultaneous crossplay capture of each console - starting with PS5, Xbox Series X and Series S. How do each of these platforms stack up visually, what's performance like in the standard modes and how does the 120fps experience hold up for those with high refresh rate displays?

Before we get into the numbers, let's talk about what makes this game so challenging to play - and to run, even on powerful games consoles. As a battle royale, it's all about the giant new map. Al Mazrah is truly colossal, a joint production between multiple Activision studios that ranks as the biggest battlefield in the series' history. Tiny portions of Al Mazrah appeared in MW2's 6v6 and 12v12 modes already but the field of play also includes classic maps from 2007's Modern Warfare and 2009's Modern Warfare 2. It's a beautiful sight for long-time COD fans, and the map also adds new mechanics like boats and aquatic combat.

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Blizzard has announced more details of the upcoming content in Season 2 of Overwatch 2.

At the beginning of the month, new Tank hero Ramattra was revealed, alongside the start date for Season 2 of 6th December.

In a new blog post from Blizzard, the developer has shared full details on what fans can expect

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Goodbye Volcano High, the indie narrative game from studio KO_OP, is set for release next summer.

The game focuses on a group of high school dinosaurs, who are also budding musicians, nearing the end of their senior year.

Its story promises themes of personal growth, acceptance, and the power of community. You can check out a new trailer below.

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With so, so many planets in Starfield, Bethesda’s upcoming space sim game, there’s a lot of room for speculation ahead of its release on Xbox and PC next year. But the time for guessing games is coming to an end. Inspired by fictional themes and “tone” moreso than hardcore realism, the game aims to preserve fun while…

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Front Mission is an excellent strategy RPG series that deserves to make a comeback. It’s Final Fantasy Tactics’ grittier, grimier, futuristic cousin that swaps out swords and magic wands for submachine guns and giant, half-obliterated mechs slugging it out in a jungle ditch. Some of that charm comes through in Front…

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Love Nikki is a massively popular game that many self-professed gaming enthusiasts have never heard of. But a lot more people might be playing it soon. Former Zelda director Kentaro Tominaga is heading an open-world adaptation called Infinity Nikki, which looks fantastic. The world seems almost Disney-like, in an…

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Today Sony Interactive Entertainment announced the monthly games that will be granted to PlayStation Plus subscribers in December 2022 at no additional cost.

Subscribers to the Essential tier of the service will get three games (or perhaps we should say two since PlayStation is counting content for a free-to-play game as a game) as usual. Specifically, we’re getting Mass Effect Legendary Edition for PS4, Biomutant for PS4 and PS5, and Divine Knockout: Founder’s Edition also for both platforms.

All games will become available for subscribers on December 6, so you still have a few days to grab last month’s games (Nioh 2 and Nioh 2 Remastered, the Lego Harry Potter Collection, and Heavenly Bodies) in case you have missed them.

Mass Effect Legendary Edition doesn’t really require an introduction, as it’s the remaster of the Mass Effect Trilogy by acclaimed RPG studio BioWare. It’s an excellent way to get ready for the upcoming new game if you haven’t played the originals or simply want to experience them again.

Biomutant was released in 2021 by THQ Nordic, developed by Swedish developer Experiment 101. It’s an interesting action RPG that mixes adventure and kung-fu, adding flavor with adorable animal-like characters.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Don’t Worry Darling, and A Million Ways to Die in the West have been at the top of Hulu’s movie list for the last few days. It probably won’t last as, per Flix Patrol, a new competitor is already at number 10 on the list and climbing fast: 2008’s Twilight.  

As the days are getting colder, perhaps folks are looking for more brooding, tortured, romantic movies to watch under a blanket? If so, then Twilight is the perfect pic as it pairs Bella (Kristen Stewart) and Edward (Rob Pattinson) in an iconic onscreen couple. Indeed, this vampiric hit is gaining steam on Hulu, and the rest of the world as it’s in the Netflix top 10 in countries as different as Italy, Trinidad and Tobago, Israel, and Jamaica. 

Almost 15 years ago, this YA story between a vampire and a high school girl, created a tween phenomenon that lasted four movies and dominated the MTV Awards. It all started with this movie, directed by Catherine Hardwick, where they met and started to fall in love.

Although both Stewart and Pattinson had been in films before, Twilight made them overnight stars that let them work with unique directors like David Cronenberg, Olivier Assayas, and Christoper Nolan. The movie also started Billy Burke, Peter Facinelli, Ashley Greene, Taylor Lautner, and Anna Kendrick.

Today Genshin Impact developer HoYoverse released a new gameplay trailer of its super-popular online action RPG.

The trailer focuses on giving a glimpse of “Genius Invocation” a collectible trading card game that will be included in the upcoming version 3.3.

The game lets you play against various characters and NPCs, but also against your friends. You have to build your deck with cards representing Genshin Impact characters and the objective is to defeat all of your opponent’s characters through rules that echo the main game’s own gameplay.

Character cards have normal attacks, elemental skills, and elemental bursts. Each round players roll 8 elemental dice that basically represent the mana used to have characters perform actions, play cards, and more.

There is also a form of progression within the game, with player experience earned, letting you increase your player level and challenge more characters and NPCs within the world of Genshin Impact.

Completing challenges lets you earn lucky coins, new cards, and more. You can spend lucky coins for more cards and dynamic skins for cards you already own, giving them animated illustrations.

Not only you can challenge your friends, but also unlock a matchmaking mode when you reach a certain level.

You can watch the trailer below.

Final Fantasy XVI has received a few trailers throughout the year, and it's set to hit PlayStation 5 and PC sometime next summer. But an exact release date is still unknown. However, in recent weeks, speculation about a release date reveal has begun to ramp up, with many predicting a FFXVI appearance at The Game Awards next month. 

Today, the official TGA Twitter account added fuel to that fire by revealing that FFXVI producer Naoki Yoshida, who we interviewed about the game earlier this summer, will be a presenter at the show this year. Plus, he's being welcomed to give "a very special live presentation." What that means remains unknown, but all signs point to something to do with FFXVI. Perhaps he'll be playing the game live, or maybe The Game Awards orchestra will do an arrangement from the title. Regardless, many are speculating that it's during The Game Awards, specifically Yoshida's segment, that we'll finally receive the FFXVI release date. 

When Sonic Frontiers came out at the start of November, it received one of the better receptions from fans and critics of any 3D Sonic the Hedgehog title. In my review, I praised many elements of Sonic Team's first "open-zone" attempt, but my main takeaway was, "I can’t wait to see how Sonic Team iterates on this formula in future entries." While those future entries are likely years away, the developer today gave us a glimpse into how it plans to expand Sonic Frontiers throughout 2023 through a content roadmap.

The Sonic Frontiers 2023 content shows off a series of future content updates to the game. The three updates will roll out to players of Sonic Frontiers over the course of 2023 at no additional cost. While no timeline is given, it's probably safe to assume that Update 2 will hit sometime around June 2023, given that June is the anniversary of the franchise and one of the key parts of that update is simply listed as "Sonic's Birthday," though there's no indication of what that means.

However, before that all kicks off, players can expect a free Holiday Cheer Suit DLC (pictured above) for Sonic to sport as he runs through the Starfall Islands. That free DLC arrives on December 21.

You can see the full 2023 roadmap below.

This month's PlayStation Plus free games lineup consists of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Biomutant, and a brand new platform fighter called Divine Knockout. 

Because Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes three games, this month's lineup technically consists of five games: Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, and the other two aforementioned games.

Here's what PlayStation has to say about each game: 

Biomutant | PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4

"Mix melee, shooting and mutant ability action in this open-world, post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable RPG. A plague is ruining the land and the Tree-of-Life is bleeding death from its roots. The Tribes stand divided. Explore a world in turmoil and define its fate – will you be its savior or lead it to an even darker destiny? Re-code your genetic structure to change the way you look and play, Mix and match parts to create your own unique slash, crush and pierce melee weapons, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and more. The PS5 version features native 4K and HDR support and three different graphics modes. "

There's a new option when it comes to Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak's Melding Pot. The Free Title Update 3 added Melding—Aurora as an option. This is a quality of life crafting feature that lets someone set a Talisman's primary skill when creating it.

Here’s the official update from Director Yoshitake Suzuki announcing the Monster Hunter Rise Sunbreak Melding Pot feature. It included a screenshot showing some of the skills that could be set during the process.

Just like with Haze and Moonbow, you can select a skill when creating a Talisman, but the most important feature is that once you select a skill from the list, it will be assigned as the Talisman's primary skill. 2/2

- Suzuki, #Sunbreak Director

— Monster Hunter (@monsterhunter) November 30, 2022

Here is the full list of possible Talisman Primary skills shown in the screenshot.

Bandai Namco shared a new Tales of Symphonia Remastered trailer that revisits the JRPG's story. The game follows a young man named Lloyd and his childhood friend Colette the two set out on her journey as the Chosen to accomplish something only she can do. However, in the process, the two learn truths about their trip and the nature of their world.

The Tales of Symphonia Remastered story trailer begins with Raine, their school teacher, explaining Colette’s task as the Chosen of Mana. In order to protect and save their world, she needs to face the Desians and restore mana to the world. This means her life is constantly in danger from Desians. As they begin regenerating the world, they see the price people, including Colette, will have to pay.

Here’s the full video. There are no spoilers in it. Also, while it does focus on story segments, gameplay appears too.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQiMxhFGTtY&ab_channel=BandaiNamcoEntertainmentAmerica

Tales of Symphonia Remastered will appear on February 17, 2023. People will be able to find it on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One. People can also find the Tales of Symphonia Chronicles remaster on the PS3 and PC. The original game debuted on the GameCube, though there was also a PS2 port in Japan.

Aksys confirmed the contents of the Record of Agarest War limited edition for the Switch release. The box gives people not only a physical copy of the game, but also a number of items offering additional peeks at its characters and art. For example, there is an 80 page art book and 12 bromide cards in it. There’s also an acrylic standee. This will cost $89.99, and pre-orders are open through the Aksys storefront.

The acrylic standee features the Record of Agarest cast of characters. The first piece of it features the game’s title. The second one shows 14 members of the cast. The back one offers a background to set them all against. A physical soundtrack CD will be in the box. So will the 12 5x7 inch bromide cards and 8.25 x 5.875 inch art book.

Toei released the first key visual for the upcoming Knights of the Zodiac movie on its official webpage. The visual shows the back of a man while a stone statue breaks apart in the distance. Its tagline is “Surpass destiny.” There is also a trailer for the movie that you can watch from the Toei YouTube channel.

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

Knights of the Zodiac will be a Hollywood movie adaptation of the Saint Seiya manga. The show originally came out in 1986, and has been a highly influential work for both domestic and international fans. Mackenyu (Chihayafuru) will portray protagonist Seiya. Other cast members include Madison Iseman (I Know What You Did Last Summer), Sean Bean (Lord of the Rings), and Famke Janssen (GoldenEye).

Half-Life 2 was the first game I ever played in VR. Back in the primordial days of 2013, I was lucky enough to get my ungainly sausage-mitts on an Oculus Developer's Kit – the prototype headset that eventually led to the Oculus Rift. Understandably given the name, there were not games for the developers kit outside of a few incredibly basic demos. But there was Half-Life 2, for which Valve had implemented a hacky VR mode that you could activate with some console tomfoolery.

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It's time to say your goodbyes to Eivor - and your surprise, early hellos to a new character from Mirage, the next game in Ubisoft's eternal series of stab 'em ups. Asassin's Creed Valhalla's free, final content update has arrived a week early, sending Eivor off to North America for one last hurrah.

There are actually two links to Mirage, because this final chapter features *more* of its protagonist, Basim, who Valhalla persevere-ers will have already met. I bailed after 15 hours and so have very little idea what's going on, which is a shame because I'd love a chinwag with Shohreh Aghdashloo.

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Minecraft Bedrock Edition has been updated to 1.19.50, bringing seven brand new default skins into that particular version of the survival crafting game. These newbies are more diverse than stalwarts Steve and Alex, and Mojang intend for them to be more representative of Minecraft’s global player base. Wave hello to Makena, Efe, Noor, Kai, Ari, Sunny, and Zuri. Watch the trailer below to see the new default skins teaming up to build a giant alpaca.

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I'd argue that Azeroth's unending expansion has taken the shine off a world that used to positively sparkle. Still, no matter what I think about World Of Warcraft today, it still holds a special place in my heart as an important formative experience.

Even the time capsule that's Classic WoW probably couldn't capture the same buzz of the past, mainly because I, as a being of flesh and bone, am not a teenager anymore. But I'd argue there's one place that still captures the essence of WoW more than WoW itself nowadays: YouTube. Or to be more specific, channels which provide hour-long music and ambience from some of the game's most memorable zones.

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Being interested in both sci-fi and strategy games, I’ve always wanted to reshape the galaxy. The free 3.6 Orion update for Paradox’s spacey grand strategy Stellaris is live now, and it's done that, but in a way I hadn’t quite imagined. Among the changes with this update are six new galaxy shapes to mix up the pattern of your interstellar empires a bit. Orion also rebalances fleet combat, bringing in elements of the open beta that began back in October. Paradox have chucked in a few reworks of bits and pieces from Stellaris’ numerous expansions too, including changes to the Utopia DLC’s Ascension path. You can see more about that by watching the video below.

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Twitch has implemented a new Shield Mode feature, allowing streamers to pre-set safety settings.

The feature offers customisable controls that can be activated in one click, including channel modes (such as follower or sub only chat), chat verification options, and AutoMod levels.

This is a much requested feature, especially in the wake of last summer's hate raids against streamers from minority communities, which remain ongoing.

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Amazon has revealed the next batch of titles being made available to Prime subscribers as part of December's Prime Gaming line-up, which this time includes classic FPS Quake and the wonderful Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

id Software's Quake is, of course, a stone-cold classic, serving up a seminal slice of FPS action that - somewhat unbelievably - celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons mightn't be quite as well-known, but its story of two siblings on an increasingly fantastical quest to find a cure for their father's mysterious affliction is an absolute delight, and a game I find myself returning to every couple of years. The gist is players must overcome its various platform and puzzle challenges by controlling both brothers simulataneously, but it's also gained a proper two-player co-op mode over the years.

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We're now just a couple of days away from Marvel's Midnight Suns being released, and now know the identity of the game's final playable character. It's the Hulk!

Surprise! Or not. The angry green giant was previously spotted by fans in the background of an earlier trailer - leaving his inclusion somewhat a foregone conclusion.

"Our best kept 'secret' that absolutely no one found out about is finally revealed!" Firaxis wrote last night. "Hulk smashes his way on to the Midnight Suns roster 2nd December."

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Yesterday, Marvel Snap was updated and for the most part, the update was well received. The new token system is in and some small quality-of-life changes have been added. Good stuff! But when players opened the store after the patch they saw a big ol’ banner for a new $100 bundle. And while it isn’t the worst thing…

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Now that we’ve all been properly satiated with memes from the second Super Mario Bros. Movie trailer, it’s time to re-address the elephant in the room: Chris Pratt’s vocal performance as Mario is holding this film back.

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