December 2022

From the opening tutorials on, it is strikingly apparent that NGDEV's latest 2D shooter is set on making an expert player out of you.

Let's be clear - Gunvein is very much a purebred bullet hell shooter. From the first stage it rarely lets up, bringing an intensity that is evocative of some of the genre's most demanding works. This is a title openly informed by Cave heavyweights such as Ketsui and DoDonPachi SaiDaiOuJou; releases where the bullet barrage infrequently quietens between opening frame and final boss form.

And yet Gunvein has something of a knack for bringing out the best in your play. Equally, it's eagerly encouraging. Before you tackle the main game proper, it insists you take in a tutorial about the wider genre's founding principles, introducing techniques such as managing aimed bullets, 'cut-back re-stream dodging', micro and macro bullet curtain navigation, and the strategic theory that informs how close you get to larger enemies. Here is not the place to spell out each of those methods, but even if you're an old hand with a list of Cave 1CCs behind you, the tutorial provides a splendid refresher. And if you're less of a genre devotee, yet long to get a taste of playing the most densely packed bullet hell at a capable level, Gunvein's opening minutes will likely serve as a fitting primer, helping you think like a high level player; a mindset that reveals much of the genre's smoke and mirrors, helping get you out of some very tight spots.

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The official Japanese Twitter account for Pokemon uploaded two free Christmas wallpapers for everyone to use. These wallpapers are part of the Pokemon Christmas Toy Factory wallpaper campaign. The campaign started on November 23, 2022. One features the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet starters.

The account shared one of the wallpapers because the campaign tweet received over 10,000 Likes. The second one, which features the starters from Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, is because the Pokemon Twitter account got over 360,000 followers since the campaign tweet. Both wallpapers are available to download. The terms of use state that the Pokemon Center forbids the use of the art for anything other than personal smartphone wallpapers.

You can check out the two Pokemon Christmas wallpapers here:

https://twitter.com/pokemoncenterPR/status/1597047633394036736

https://twitter.com/pokemoncenterPR/status/1597863008302137345

The first wallpaper features Pikachu, Toxel, Stufful, and Dedenne. It appears that all of the Pokemon other than Pikachu are plushes, due to their eyes or the stitching on their bodies. The second one has Sprigatito, Quaxly, and Fuecoco opening up Christmas gifts. Even though Stufful was one of the dolls Pikachu showed off, Quaxly is holding a Kirlia toy instead. Delibird watches in the background.

Disney Speedstorm, a free-to-play title in development by Gameloft, was scheduled to arrive in late 2022 when it was first announced. The Speedstorm team released a statement today that the game launch has been delayed, “to meet our expectations and provide players with a more immersive racing experience, customization offerings, game modes and more.” This racing game starring many Disney Pixar heroes and villains is now scheduled for a 2023 release, according to the official website.

This announcement comes not long after complaints that Pokemon Scarlet and Violet launched in a pretty rough shape and with news that its release timeline was overly rushed. The new Pokemon game suffers from framerate drops, and Gameloft may have been worried about similar issues with Speedstorm. The delay gives them time to tackle big problems and polish the final product.

Disney Speedstorm was announced early in 2022, and divides characters into classes that give them different racing strengths and weaknesses – a creative way to distinguish the game from Mario Kart. The classes are Brawler, Speedster, Defender, and Trickster, and racers will have stats to upgrade that make them better suited to the player’s own personal playstyle. The tracks are of course based on famous Disney Pixar movies from Pirates of the Caribbean to The Jungle Book.

Disney Speedstorm launches in 2023 on PC and console, with the exact date currently undetermined. While you’re here, check out the rest of Twinfinite for more video game news, reviews, and quizzes.

Bandai Namco appears to be continuing with the game and anime mixed media combination they first tried with Scarlet Nexus. This time, this new project is titled Synduality, with both game and anime coming sometime in 2023.

Unlike most anime announcements, this one doesn’t have anything to do with Crunchyroll. Instead, Synduality will be streaming exclusively through Disney+. A new trailer has been released following this news, which you can check for yourself down below.

While there is scant information about the anime available on the official site, the Synduality IP was first unveiled during the State of Play stream in September, and the PlayStation Blog reported on the game more in-depth. This is what they say about the story:

Call of Duty Warzone 2.0's DMZ mode appears to be getting a Metal Gear Solid-style extraction balloon.

Redditor Top_Scientist4578 datamined the item which will be available to purchase from Buy Stations around Al-Mazrah (the map which DMZ and Warzone is based in).

Based on the screenshot, the item will cost $2000 in-game to purchase, although that's probably a placeholder value.

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Capcom will hold a second Street Fighter 6 closed beta later this month, from 16th to 19th December.

Tweaks to the game since its first round of testing include a fresh option on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S to "reduce input delay" as a setting in the game's Graphics menu, which will "shorten the gap between your inputs and the action happening on-screen".

Alternatively, on PC, you can toggle your Vsync setting off. The trade-off here is that this may increase the likelihood of screen-tearing, Capcom warns.

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Hero racing game Disney Speedstorm has been delayed into next year.

Revealed at Nintendo's February Direct, the free-to-play game from Gameloft was originally due this year, but will now release in 2023 on PC and consoles.

News of the delay was shared on Twitter in a message to fans.

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UPDATE 2/12/22: Ubisoft has now officially confirmed its Assassin's Creed and Destiny crossover event, which will see sci-fi armour for sale in Valhalla later this month, as well as AC styles in Destiny 2.

The collaboration will go live on 6th December, when Destiny cosmetics themed around Lord Shaxx and Saint-14 will become available to buy in Assassin's Creed Valhalla. Assassin's Creed-themed items - I can see an Apple of Eden-style ghost shell! - will then go live via Destiny 2's Eververse shop.

One final note from Ubisoft confirms a free weekend for Valhalla is on the way. You'll be able to dip your toe into Eivor's Viking adventures for no cost from 15th to 19th December.

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Bethesda's Todd Howard has shed more light on Amazon's upcoming Fallout adaptation.

Speaking on Lex Fridman's podcast, the show's executive producer stated that the upcoming series is "not a retelling of a game story". Rather, it will take place on a separate area of the world's map.

"Let's tell a story here that fits in the world that we have built, doesn't break any of the rules, can reference things in the games, but isn't a retelling of the games," Howard elaborated.

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In a nice surprise, Disney Dreamlight Valley's promised December update has been significantly bolstered - with the addition of Stitch (from Lilo and Stich) and a variety of Christmas extras, all on top of the previously-announced Toy Story expansion.

Stitch will be the third new character included in the free update, after Toy Story's Woody and Buzz, as the popular Disney Pixar live service life simulation continues to grow in size.

The update will also add winter outfits for your character and for NPCs (Merlin will dress up as Santa), the ability to build snowmen (how very Frozen), set up campfires and cook marshmallows.

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UPDATE (2pm UK time): It's official, Lego Stars Wars: The Skywalker Saga will head to Xbox Game Pass on 6th December.

ORIGINAL STORY (11am UK time): The Xbox Game Pass account has been teasing its followers with a cryptic clue about an upcoming release for its subscription service, and many believe that it will be Lego Star Wars.

The Game Pass Twitter handle began its own version of a hangman-like teaser a couple of days ago, merely saying it was a fun little guessing game being shared for "no reason in particular".

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Nintendo has apologised for the performance issues of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.

Today brings a new patch for the game, which makes a handful of changes along with "select bug fixes".

As part of the patch notes, Nintendo has acknowledged the widespread performance issues found within the game and documented on social media.

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What comes after the closed beta test for Street Fighter 6? A second closed beta test. Capcom announced a new round of testing for their next big fighting game, and is taking applications. The Street Fighter 6 closed beta test 2 (or SF6 CBT2) will begin on December 16, 2022 and run through December 19, 2022. It will test some new content, features, and some adjustments based on feedback gathered since the first round. The SF6 CBT2 will be conducted on the PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam.

Capcom is taking Street Fighter 6 Closed Beta Test 2 signups on its official website. Players who qualified for the first round are automatically eligible to join the second round, without having to re-apply. If you were present during CBT1, you'll want to check your email for a notification. You'll have to use the same platform you participated on last time. Just update the beta build of the game you downloaded at the appointed time, and you'll be good to join when it goes live. That said, play data from the first test will not be carried over, so everyone will start fresh.

The features available during the second closed beta for SF6 are as follows:

Yuri Lowell of Tales of Vesperia will appear as a playable character in Last Cloudia. The members of Brave Vesperia will also appear as an Ark. This is part of Last Cloudia’s second collaboration with the Tales of series. The Tales of event in Last Cloudia will run from November 30 until December 15, 2022. [Thanks, Gamer!]

AIDIS first announced this collaboration in mid-November 2022. Kosuke Toriumi will reprise his role as Yuri for his appearance in Last Cloudia. As for the Brave Vesperia Arc, it will grant players extra damage against Human enemies, as well as reduce magical attacks. The reduction will stack depending on how many non-Human allies you still have alive. Finally, when you receive a major attack from an enemy that would kill you, you will stay alive at 1 HP until the attack ends.

While the name of the Ark is Brave Vesperia, the other characters in the picture are Estelle, Rita, Repede, and Duke. The actual other members of Brave Vesperia – Karol and Judith – are not in the card art. In Tales of Vesperia, Brave Vesperia was the name of the guild that Karol formed over the course of the game.

The Last Cloudia and Tales of Vesperia collaboration event will start from November 30 and end on December 15, 2022. Last Cloudia is available on mobile devices.

MAPPA announced the special features that will come with the Chainsaw Man Blu-Ray and DVD releases. If you purchase all of them, it will be in a box featuring the main trio (and Pochita). You will also receive acrylic stands of the main characters. In total, there will be four Blu-Rays. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The Chainsaw Man Blu-Rays and DVDs will start coming out in 2023. However, they are already available for pre-order. The release schedule is as follows:

• Volume 1 (Episodes 1 to 3): January 27, 2023
• Volume 2 (Episodes 4 to 6): February 24, 2023
• Volume 3 (Episodes 7 to 9): March 31, 2023
• Volume 4 (Episodes 10 to 12): April 28, 2023

It is only if you purchase all four at once, that gets someone the box and the stands. The box features homages and shout-outs to iconic retro films. Pochita looks like the dinosaur in Jurassic Park, while Denji re-enacts Jack Nicholson’s famous “Here’s Johnny” scene from The Shining. Power and Aki pose in posters that reference Kill Bill and Clockwork Orange, respectively.

[gallery columns="2" link="file" ids="941672,941674"]

Depending on where you purchase your box set or individual Blu-Rays, you can get different goodies. You can view all of them on the official website. Here is a list of special merchandise you can get:

Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios has released a new trailer for Like A Dragon: Ishin and it features a look at the various combat styles and weaponry we'll be using in the game. 

For the uninitiated, Ishin is a from-the-ground-up remake of a Yakuza spinoff released on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 back in 2014. However, this spinoff never made its way to the West so when Ishin hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC in February, it will be the first time a lot of players will be able to play this game. To get prepared, RGG Studios has released a brand new trailer detailing some of the combat and associated mechanics present in the game. 

Check out the Like A Dragon: Ishin combat trailer for yourself below: 

"In 1860s Kyo, a solemn samurai's fight for justice stands to change the course of Japan's history forever," a press release reads. "Draw your blade and join the revolution in this heated historical adventure." 

Capcom has announced that the second closed beta test for Street Fighter 6 will begin later this month and you can register for a chance to check the game out during it right now. 

This second beta will officially begin on December 16 and run through December 19 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam, and it will feature cross-play across all three platforms. As for what's available, Capcom lists ranked matches, casual matches, battle hub matches, open tournaments, extreme battle, the game center, and Street Fighter 6's training mode. 

If you'd like to sign up to potentially participate in this second closed beta, you can do so here. It's important to note, though, that completing Capcom's application process does not guarantee you selection for the beta. Selection is handled via a lottery system, according to Capcom, and not a first-come, first-served basis. You'll need to have a registered Capcom ID to even apply and it must be linked to your platform account so be sure to do that first thing. Other than that, good luck getting in! The response to the first closed beta for Street Fighter 6 a few weeks ago was quite positive so it sounds like this second beta is going to be a great time as well. 

The RPS Advent Calendar is upon us, but as we open the first door of our end of year countdown, I get the feeling something terrible is waiting on the other side. I can hear the clanking of metal boots in the distance, accompanied by laser fire and the gurgle of orc laughter rubbed raw by some nasty disease. Dare we enter and embrace the chaos lying within?

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*Deep breath* "It's CHRIIIIIIIIISSSSSTMAAAAAAAAAAS!" We emerged, blinking, into 2022 and, whaddaya know? It was a good year for games. We're feeling extra festive and are raring to count down our games of the year in traditional style. Tear back the little windows and stuff your face with The RPS Advent Calendar 2022!

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Ray tracing has been temporarily disabled in newly released co-op accent simulator Warhammer 40,000: Darktide due to issues with AMD and Intel graphics cards. Devs Fatshark say they’re looking into what’s causing the problems. Anecdotal reports from the Darktide subreddit seem to suggest that ray tracing was staying on for people who’d set the fancy lighting technique to off. For now, Fatshark say they've turned off ray tracing by default for all players until they can figure out what’s going on and implement a fix.

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Google has released a new interactive doodle in celebration of the life of Gerald "Jerry" Lawson, the Black video game engineer who invented the first cartridge-based home video game system.

The doodle starts off with a tutorial the gives you a brief introduction to Jerry, before letting you enter an editor which allows you to create your very own retro arcade game.

There are also five premade games to give you inspiration, and you use them as a template to edit from (or you can just play them if you're not feeling creative).

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A series of new images promoting HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us have been released. These images show each of the main cast as their respective characters.

This includes Pedro Pascal as Joel, Bella Ramsey as Ellie, Merle Dandridge as Marlene (a role she also played in Naughty Dog's video game), Lamar Johnson as Henry, Anna Torv as Tess, Nick Offerman as Bill and Gabriel Luna as Tommy, to name but a few.

You can see the full set of these new images below.

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Final Fantasy 16 has now been rated in Brazil by the Sistema de Classificação Indicativa Brasileiro, which states the game is "not recommended for children under 16 years old".

As a result of the classification, speculation is growing that the release date of Final Fantasy 16 may be revealed soon.

What's more, producer Naoki Yoshida is set to appear at The Game Awards next week with a "very special live presentation".

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Google announced the winners of its Google Play Best of 2022 Awards, and Genshin Impact won for Best Ongoing Game. Other winners in the games categories included Apex Legends Mobile, Dislyte, and the mobile edition of Papers, Please. Voting for the User's Choice category opened in November 2022.

This isn't the first time Genshin Impact has made it to the podium at Google's Best of Awards selection. In 2020 HoYoVerse's open-world free-to-play action RPG took home the Best Game of 2020 award. That year it was also nominated for the best User's Choice Game category, but lost to SpongeBob: Krusty Cook-Off.

This year, the Google Play Awards 2022 Best Game honor went to Apex Legends Mobile, which also won the User's Choice Game award in the U.S.

Check out the full list of Google Play Awards 2022 game winners below.

Nintendo rolled out a new update for Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet. According to the official patch notes, this brings the game to version number 1.1.0. This is the first post-release patch for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. The first logged update happened during preview and review period and appeared on November 10, 2022, before the game hit shelves on November 18, 2022. Nintendo posted the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet patch notes on its support site, available at this link.

As for what's actually been added or fixed in the new patch, it is not too detailed. The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet patch notes highlight the opening of Season 1 Ranked Battles. These are ranked Pokemon battles players can take on via the Battle Stadium. Also specifically highlighted was the fixing of an issue that affected music playback during battles against the Elite Four and the Top Champion while playing the "Victory Road" story path. Besides the music issue, the notes mention "other select bug fixes" that were made.

Nintendo did, however, acknowledge widespread complaints about the technical state of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet in the patch notes. Following the details, it posted a message acknowledging various "issues that affect the games' performance." Nintendo apologized for the inconvenience, saying that "We take feedback from players seriously and are working on improvements to the games."

Here are the patch notes in full:

The holidays were always the time of year where I got to see my rich cousins and enjoy the fruits of their father’s Wall Street labor: their Xbox. We’d spend all of Christmas Day playing Halo or Fuzion Frenzy, giving the youngest cousin an unplugged-in controller to keep him quiet. With Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker…

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As has been much chronicled, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was released in a messy state. Riddled with bugs, crashes, clipping, pop-up, and abysmal framerates, it was so unfit for purpose that many attempted to get their money back. Nintendo has been characteristically quiet on the matter, previously failing to…

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Pokemon Scarlet and Pokemon Violet hit Switch just a few weeks ago on November 18 and while the game excels at a lot, it struggles on the technical side. Various glitches, bugs, and frame rate drops are present throughout a lot of the game, something we noted in our review, and fans have been vocal about their dissatisfaction with this aspect of their Paldean journeys. It seems Nintendo is taking these frustrations to heart in a rare admission in the latest update for the game. 

The company tweeted last night that a new software update of Scarlet and Violet was going live today alongside the following: "We take the feedback from players seriously, and will continue to work on improvements to the games." 

Nintendo further addresses these issues in the actual patch notes for the update too, stating that it is "aware that players may encounter issues that affect the game's performance." 

"Our goal is always to give players a positive experience with our games, and we apologize for the inconvenience," the patch notes read. "We take the feedback from players seriously and are working on improvements to the games." 

As for the update, which is Version 1.1.0, here's what you can expect: 

Balancing Chamber has proved a big issue for Riot Games since launching the Valorant Agent last year. His ability to teleport multiple times throughout a round, deliver unmatched firepower with cheap abilities and the economic value inherent with that has seen him dominate the game’s meta. Even two separate rounds of nerfs haven’t really solved the problem, and so now the development team has a third Chamber nerf in the pipeline that finally looks as though it might.

Indeed, coming next week with the release of Patch 5.12, Chamber is having his abilities nerfed across the board. The Headhunter is less effective; the teleport will work differently and have a reduced range; the trip is also much less potent, and the absurdly powerful ultimate is now slower firing. A press release sent to Twinfinite earlier today offers a full overview:

Andor’s refreshingly adult take on a Star Wars story – thanks in a large part to Tony Gilroy’s superb writing – brings with it darker themes unfamiliar to the franchise, including cold-blooded murder, dystopia, and political espionage. Surprisingly, though, its brutal interrogation/torture scenes, while jarring and a far cry from the softened themes featured in the most recent Star Wars films, are not actually unprecedented in the galaxy far, far away.

In fact, Andor’s interrogation scene featuring Bix and Dr. Gorst keeps with a deeper, darker underlying thread stretching across the universe: cold, merciless interrogation tactics. Across both Star Wars canon and legend, the Empire’s use of horrifying techniques to extract information is nearly ubiquitous – Bix’s torment is merely the most recent iteration.

The Empire’s methods can be broken down into 5 categories: sensory, force, droid, apparatus-assisted, and organic. All vary in their particulars, but align on one front: they are painful, barbaric, and can get you to talk.

Nintendo has released a new update for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet that adds a new feature, fixes a few bugs, and acknowledges the rough launch the games had when released last month.

The new update, Ver. 1.1.0, went live earlier today and the highlight from the official patch notes is that Season 1 of Ranked Battles begins. Ranked Battles allow players to battle other players under certain conditions and place within a rank, and the first season will last until Jan. 31, 2023.

Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Patch Notes 1.1.0

The patch notes do not go into grand detail about bug fixes, only that the music during Elite Four and the Top Champion in the Victory Road path battles will now play correctly alongside “other select bug fixes.” Nintendo also included an apology in the patch notes, citing the game’s performance non-specifically.

“We are aware that players may encounter issues that affect the games’ performance, Nintendo wrote. “Our goal is always to give players a positive experience with our games, and we apologize for the inconvenience. We take the feedback from players seriously and are working on improvements to the games.”

Trying to get the balance right in a horror-comedy can be a tricky balancing act. Lean too hard into the horror and you can potentially scare half of your audience away. Alternatively, lean too far into the comedy and the tone and the overall stakes pushing the narrative forward can take a nosedive. While classics in the sub-genre are few and far between, it’s fair to say that the Evil Dead series stands tall as the pinnacle of the form. But today, a different horror-comedy is making waves right now on streaming and its name is Black Friday.

Released in 2021 to surprisingly positive reviews from critics, Black Friday went on to nab a 65 percent critical rating over on Rotten Tomatoes. By no means is it a bonafide classic per se, but it definitely has the chops for those looking for a guilty pleasure horror-comedy. Hey, don’t just take our word for it, as Black Friday seems to be rocketing up the streaming charts right now. In fact, the comedic horror pic has landed a tenth spot in the UK and an eighth spot in the US on Starz, per Flix Patrol. Not too shabby!

In the latest trailer for Ryū Ga Gotoku Studio's feudal Yakuza spin-off Like A Dragon: Ishin, you get to see Kiryu slash, punch, and gun his way through much of historical Japan. Our boy dishes out the heat in the gnarliest of ways, but it all culminates with the "Wild Dancer" fighting style which turns Kiryu into a spinning top of death. Sign me up. Get me a copy right now.

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Some games are just December games. When the air turns biting, I hear their siren song in my bones. They Are Billions. Frostpunk. Phoenix Point. Factorio. None of them are exactly what you would call a Christmas-y game. In fact, they're all pretty bleak and threatening in tone. But they're also amazingly comforting.

Just imagine: sitting down in your favourite chair, electric heat pad on your back, cat on your lap, mug of hot chocolate or coffee by your side. Legions of undead roiling at the gates, trying to break through your cosy little town's defences. Ahhhhh. It's Christmas.

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