December 2022

While the fantasy genre is still as popular as it ever was, it’s fair to say that the ’80s was home to some real cult gems. From 1983’s Krull to 1985’s Legend to 1986’s Labyrinth, the decade was populated by a high caliber of weird and wonderful films that blended fairy tales, folklore, and the supernatural with faraway mythical lands. Indeed, few epic fantasy movies boast the beloved nostalgia of a little sword and sorcery 1988 pic called Willow, and surprisingly, it’s currently climbing the ranks of streaming charts right now, likely thanks to the recent release of Disney+’s sequel miniseries. Per Flix Patrol, Willow has managed to breach Disney+’s Top 10 across 3 different countries.

Written by Star Wars‘ creator George Lucas and helmed by Cocoon director Ron Howard, Willow was poised to be the next big blockbuster following the success of the original trilogy set in that galaxy far, far away. Thing is, Willow didn’t quite set the world on fire as the creative team had hoped by virtue of its middling critical reception. Even to this day, the cult hit holds a lacklustre 53 percent critical rating over on Rotten Tomatoes, which is pretty darn scandalous if you ask me. Hey, don’t just take my word for it, as on the same site, the audience score tells a much more positive story with a much more appropriate 79 percent score.

Surprise! Elden Ring is finally getting its long-expected Colosseum mode in a free update - and it arrives for PC, PlayStation and Xbox consoles tomorrow, 7th December.

Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco confirmed the news via Twitter this afternoon with a brief trailer showing the new update in action.

The update promises multiplayer action where you can fight alongside friends to take on the game's Colosseum, or fight against them in new PVP modes.

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David Harbour, best known for his role as Jim Hopper in the Netflix series Stranger Things, has revealed that he is starring in an upcoming horror game alongside Killing Eve star Jodie Comer.

The news was revealed in an interview with Video Games FanNation, which Harbour ostensibly took part in to promote World of Warcraft's Dragonflight expansion.

Harbour is currently working on a movie adaptation of Gran Turismo and was asked on whether he would consider starring in a video game.

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Epic Games has removed an ultra-rare Snoop Dogg-themed dance emote which reappeared on sale in Fortnite's Item Shop shop last night for the first time in more than four years.

The emote, named "Tidy", allows your character to dance like Snoop Dogg in his 2004 song Drop It Like It's Hot. It's one of a handful of emotes from Fortnite's early days thought to use unlicensed dance moves - other examples of which sparked largely-unsuccessful legal threats from individuals keen to take Epic Games to court.

Fans were surprised to see the emote return upon the Item Shop's midnight UK time refresh - though its appearance was shortlived, and it was pulled from sale just a couple of hours later.

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The next set of Tera Raid Battles will involve a pair of classics from Generations II and III. Tyranitar from Pokemon Gold, Silver, and Crystal,  and Salamence from Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald. The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Tyranitar and Salamence Tera Raids are scheduled to begin on December 9, 2022. These will run through December 11, 2022. The Pokemon leading the Raid battle will be different based on the player's version of the game. Owners of Pokemon Scarlet will face Tyranitar, and Pokemon Violet mains will face Salamence [Thanks, Inside!].

Both Tyranitar and Salamence will show up in their respective four-star and five-star raids. Though the battles are not listed as having a fixed Tera Type, the promo image shows off a Ghost-Tera type Tyranitar and a Steel Tera-type Salamence. Tyranitar's regular typing is Rock and Dark, while Salamence is usually Dragon and Flying.

All sorts of details about the Atelier Ryza 3 playable characters appear in sets of 3D models and art design documents. Gust and Koei Tecmo showed an array of images looking at both new and old members of the cast. These showed up alongside the Atelier Fanart 2022 campaign. The idea is that these can assist when people are creating their own fan art of characters. The Japanese Twitter account also mentioned them being helpful for cosplay purposes.

First, here are all the Atelier Ryza 3 playable characters' 3D models from different angles.
[gallery columns="6" ids="942261,942259,942257,942258,942263,942260,942256,942255,942262,942264,942265" link="file"]

Next, here is the art of the different characters. These are more detailed and focus on their outfits. Each one focuses on on different elements, which could be helpful when drawing people or making real-world outfits based on their designs. Ryza and Klaudia's sheets are especially intricate.
[gallery columns="6" ids="942253,942266,942267,942268,942269,942270,942271,942272,942273,942274,942275" link="file"]

It is time to return to the Lands Between. Bandai Namco announced a free Elden Ring update that adds the Colosseum. There aren't too many insights about what it entails just yet, aside from adding arenas. However, there is a trailer offering a look at the new kinds of PvP gameplay that will appear in Elden Ring once it debuts.

Things begin with multiple players facing gigantic, intimidating enemies. The video notes people will “join forces to fight for the Elden Ring.” The players then head into an arena. At that point, they begin battling amongst themselves. The official tweet mentioned people can fight alone or alongside others. Duels or larger battles will be available.

Here's the full trailer looking at the Elden Ring Colosseum update and PvP opportunities that will come with it. The YouTube description offered some additional details about Colosseum locations, as it noted, "The Colosseums of Limgrave, Leyndell and Caelid will open their gates, allowing players to engage in battles such as duels, free-for-alls and team fights."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3gvvJ8JHs4&ab_channel=BANDAINAMCOEurope

Elden Ring is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC, and its free Colosseum update will appear on December 7, 2022. The game also won the Grand Award at the PlayStation Partner Awards 2022.

NIS America revealed all of the English voice actors who will portray major characters in The Legend of Heroes: Trails into Reverie. As expected, a number of people from past entries will return to revisit their roles. For example, Sean Chiplock will once again be Rean. He's voiced the hero in English since the beginning. So far, all the revealed folks in this update hail from Erebonia and were part of Class VII.

Here’s the full list of English Trails into Reverie voice actors for major characters. While most of the cast have been playing these characters since the original Trails of Cold Steel, Heather Gonzalez began playing Laura as of Trails of Cold Steel 4 and Michelle Marie picked up the role of Millium starting in Trails of Cold Steel 3.

• Alisa Reinford: Rachel Hirschfeld
• Elliot Craig: Lucien Dodge
• Emma Millstein: Rena Strober
• Fie Claussell: Cassandra Lee Morris
• Gaius Worzel: Kaiji Tang
• Jusis Albarea: Benjamin Diskin
• Laura S. Arseid: Heather Gonzalez
• Machias Regnitz: Edward Bosco
• Millium Orion: Michelle Marie




The wait is finally over if you’ve been dying for more Elden Ring content. Just days before The Game Awards, where fans have been (and probably should still be) speculating that developer FromSoftware would announce some sort of add-on for the game, the Japanese studio took to Twitter today to confirm that its most…

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The year 2022 hath blessed us with an illustrious catalog of anime, the best of which garnered their own dedicated day of the week among the anime faithful with the likes of Bleach Mondays and Chainsaw Man Tuesdays. Many of you probably wouldn’t put up a fuss if this list was solely comprised of that buzz-saw dude,…

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The Callisto Protocol on PS5

Initially announced back in 2019 as a quasi-PUBG spin-off, The Callisto Protocol has had a somewhat unusual trajectory to market. Developed by newly-formed outfit Striking Distance Studios and helmed by former Dead Space co-creator Glen Schofield, this new sci-fi horror IP was shaping up to be the spiritual successor to EA’s beloved and critically-acclaimed franchise.

But much like the undead parasitic Necromorphs at the heart of Dead Space, is this just a reanimated corpse masquerading as one of the best survival horror games ever made? Or is there something much deeper and meaningful here? Strap in, folks… when do we get to stomp on stuff?

You assume the role of Jacob Lee, a cargo ship pilot with a shady past. On a routine delivery mission to Jupiter’s dead moon, Callisto, Lee’s spacecraft is boarded by a handful of mysterious armed hijackers, which inadvertently results in your spaceship crash-landing on the aforementioned nearby moon.

Meanwhile, on the surface of Callisto, a maximum security penitentiary known as Black Iron Prison awaits, and it’s here where you unwittingly become embroiled in a dastardly plan filled to the brim with mad scientists, experiments gone awry, and industrial espionage. As you awaken in your cell, you soon realise that a mass prison breakout is underway, though the cause of the prison break is unclear. However, the sudden existence of a bunch of mutated beasties running amok that want to eat your face off surely has something to do with it, right?

Today Warner Bros. Games released a new video about its upcoming Wizarding World game Hogwarts Legacy.

The video follows one launched yesterday featuring some of the game’s beautiful music and showcases the making of the soundtrack.

We hear from principal composer Chuck E. Myers, composers Peter Murray and J Scott Rakozy, and more of the audio team as they explain the work done on accompanying the gameplay with just the right music to awaken the magic.

They also mention how they created a “relative” of the famous Hedwig’s Theme, almost as it was a more ancient version of it.

Not only do we learn about the game’s creation, but we also see a few glimpses of gameplay, which never hurt. You can watch the video below.

Hogwarts Legacy is coming on February 10, 2023 (following a recent delay) for PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Today, Crunchyroll, in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment, Wild Bunch International, and Eurozoom, revealed the official theater release date for the highly anticipated next movie from Makoto Shinkai, Suzume. To be exact, fans can expect to start seeing the film in a theater near them as soon as April 12, 2023.

Obviously, releases will vary depending on where you are, so we’ve detailed the individual global theatrical release dates for the film for you right down below:

• France and Malta – April 12
• Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, and New Zealand – April 13
• Austria, Belgium, Canada, Gibraltar, Ireland, Luxembourg, United Kingdom, and United States – April 14
• Additional 2023 dates to be announced for additional Latin America and EMEA territories

For anyone that hasn’t heard of the film, be sure to check out the official synopsis for it here.

On the other side of the door, was time in its entirety—

“Suzume” is a coming-of-age story for the 17-year-old protagonist, Suzume, set in various disaster-stricken locations across Japan, where she must close the doors causing devastation. 

Suzume’s journey begins in a quiet town in Kyushu (located in southwestern Japan) when she encounters a young man who tells her, “I’m looking for a door.” What Suzume finds is a single weathered door standing upright in the midst of ruins as though it was shielded from whatever catastrophe struck. Seemingly drawn by its power, Suzume reaches for the knob… Doors begin to open one after another all across Japan, unleashing destruction upon any who are near. Suzume must close these portals to prevent further disaster.

—The stars, then sunset, and the morning sky.

Within that realm, it was as though all time had melted together in the sky…

Bandai Namco and FromSoftware announced that a new update with new features is coming to the highly praised Souls-like JRPG Elden Ring.

The update will be free, and it will be released tomorrow, Dec. 7, 2022.

As the name may suggest, it will include a PvP arena that will enable duels and battles among players. Apparently, summons are also allowed.

While specific information is scarce, for the moment, the announcement was made with a trailer, which you can watch below to get a gist of what to expect.

If you’re unfamiliar with Elden Ring, the beloved masocore JRPG by FromSoftware is currently available on PC, PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. If you’d like to know why it’s so beloved, you can read our review.

Directed by prolific studio president Hidetaka Miyazaki, its world was created in collaboration with George R. R. Martin, writer of the ultra-famous fantasy novel series Song of Ice and Fire, which generated Game of Thrones and House of Dragons.

Grab your pickaxe and secure your book of procedurally-generated poetry, because Dwarf Fortress is out on Steam right, flipping, now. Bay 12 Games's hugely ambitious colony sim, which is notionally a game about building a fortress for small, bearded humanoids, but is really an engine for generating elaborate fantasy histories and player-driven stories within them, has been in active development since 2003, with an initial launch in 2006. Since then, it has been continually developed by brothers Tarn and Zach Adams, who have added a truly wild amount of stuff over the last two decades. It's also famously as impenetrable as its title suggests, mainly due to its ASCII visuals and unwieldy, keyboard-exclusive control scheme.

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Bungie has unveiled Season of the Seraph, Destiny 2's new in-game season which begins today, 6th December.

For long-time Destiny fans, this season looks to reveal more about the series' mysterious AI "Warmind" Rasputin, whose robotic consciousness once took charge of galactic defense for solar system. Alongside more adventures with the Bray family, today's new trailer introduces a creepy robot body for Rasputin - a mix of Aperture Science tech and Palpatine from Rise of Skywalker.

It looks like the story of how players restore Rasputin and get him his new look will be doled out over the season via weekly story missions.

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A new "DLC-sized" Skyrim mod bring nine Bioware-style companions into the game, along with a new quest line which includes over 9000 lines of dialogue.

Warden of the Coast is heavily inspired by the game mechanics of Mass Effect and Dragon Age, with a storyline featured around stopping a Daedric Lord from entering the world from Oblivion.

All nine companions have their own unique loyalty questlines and of course are fully voiced.

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Metroid Prime developer Retro Studio once had an idea for an XCOM-style game starring Samus Aran.

The concept, dubbed Metroid Tactics, was the brainchild of Metroid Prime developer Paul Tozer. The idea was one of several pitched following the conclusion of Retro's Metroid Prime trilogy - and another which was ultimately turned down.

Tozer discussed the pitch publicly for the first time this week in a new Did You Know Gaming video which details the game's planned setting and storyline as a prequel to the entire Metroid series.

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Photo Mode is now available in God of War Ragnarök, having been included as part of the latest update.

The mode was conspicuously missing from the game at launch, with Santa Monica Studios suggesting that it was not yet ready.

Photo Mode was a highlight of God of War (2018), where it was also released after launch.

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There’s no traditional multiplayer in Dragon Quest Treasures. However, there is a way to interact with others, in a way. Square Enix’s latest announcement about the game goes over The Gang Network. This is a feature that allows you to interact with other players by sharing Treasure Hunts and Treasure Tours in Dragon Quest Treasures. Both require Nintendo Switch Online.

Here’s how the Dragon Quest Treasures The Gang Network and its asynchronous multiplayer works. When you check in with the NPC AL4N at your hub, you can access both online options. With a Treasure Hunt, you can hide treasure, seek treasure, set up the randomiser, and check your hidden treasures. When you hide a treasure, you pick a location and spot on in Draconia for others to download and seek. When found, it makes your treasure more valuable based on the number of downloads. When you or someone else finds a treasure this way, you’ll find a replica of the actual item. This can be sold at a shop like B. Rix’s Emporium for money.

As expected, Makoto Shinkai’s Suzume will come to theaters worldwide, and Crunchyroll announced the release date for places like the US and UK. In general, it will be showing up in theaters in April 2023. While some countries’ launch dates were confirmed, there are still more to come. Crunchyroll noted EMEA and Latin American countries will also get the movie, but there are no dates for it yet.

Here’s the full list of release dates for the movie Suzume so far.

• April 12, 2023: It will appear in France and Malta.
• April 13, 2023: It will appear in Australia, Brazil, Germany, Mexico, and New Zealand.
• April 14, 2023: It will appear in Austria, Belgium, Canada, Gibraltar, Ireland, Luxembourg, the UK, and the US.

To help get a better idea of what to expect from Suzume ahead of the US and UK release date, here’s a trailer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfKNOUUtyCA

There’s also a key visual showing Suzume at one of the film’s important doors.

The next generation of English-speaking VTubers under the Nijisanji umbrella will soon arrive. A six-person unit by the name of XSoleil will hold its debut event on December 10, 2022. XSoleil is the seventh generation of English-speaking Nijisanji performers.

Check out a teaser for the XSoleil debut below. The performers are named Zaion LanZa, Doppio Dropscythe, Meloco Kyoran, Hex Haywire, Kotoka Torahime, and Ver Vermillion.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1oEHCKpE4U

XSoleil is themed after the sun, as a contrast to ILuna, the moon-themed previous generation of Nijisanji English (consisting of Maria Marionette, Aster Arcadia, Aia Amare, Ren Zotto, Kyo Kaneko, and Scarle Yonaguni). The members of XSoleil are all part of the Institute of Infinity Student Council, and are assigned various roles. and traits. Their debut song, "Hold It Down" is available to watch at this link.

Zaion LanZa is the treasurer of the Student Council, and comes from the future. She's said to "hide her loneliness with a self-imposed goal of preventing the apocalypse. Her character design comes from artist Asagi.

Earlier in 2022, Blackpink member Jisoo ended up named ambassador for the game MapleStory. Now, the whole group is getting involved in the game. Nexon confirmed the singers will be coming to the game. Only an initial teaser video and website are available so far.

Here’s the full Blackpink MapleStory teaser. It features Jennie, Jisoo, Lisa, and Rose working with developers and designers on characters and elements of the collaboration. It suggests that everyone is familiar with the game and played it before. Jisoo also mentioned she owned “all those floral crowns.” English subtitles are available if closed captions are turned on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K08vZHZ1JVY&ab_channel=MapleStory_KR

The official site doesn’t offer any additional details about what could come. However, it did note a schedule for additional videos. The teaser is available immediately. On December 8, 2022, a first episode for the Blackpink MapleStory event will appear. The second episode will show up on December 13, 2022.

Blackpink’s appeared in games before, and not just their songs in rhythm games like the Taiko no Tatsujin arcade version or Just Dance. The group held an in-game concert in PUBG earlier in 2022. In 2021, cosmetics connected to the singers also showed up in the battle royale.

MapleStory is available on PCs. The Blackpink collaboration is coming soon.

The video game industry went on a shopping spree in 2021. Epic Games bought Mediatonic (Fall Guys), Sony bought Housemarque (Returnal), and Embracer bought Gearbox (Borderlands). It seemed like things might slow down in 2022, but instead they ramped up even more into an acquisition free-for-all. What will the future…

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Farming experience points has never been easier. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet introduced a “Let’s Go” function that allows your leading Pokémon to auto-battle roaming opponents in the overworld. But if you want to take your laziness a step further, there’s a passive farming hack that lets you strengthen your Pokémon…

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29-year-old Kaitlyn Siragusa, who variety streams on Twitch as Amouranth, has not had an easy year. She pushed her offline extracurriculars, buying an inflatable pool company and building her investments, but her public life got overshadowed by her brutally candid disclosure that she was in an abusive marriage, and…

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If you’ve been holding out hope that Cyberpunk 2077 will see its once-promised multiplayer features sometime soon…you might be better off waiting for the game’s sequel. In the hot mess of a saga that is Cyberpunk’s blistering fall and recent redemption arc, CD Projekt Red has had its hands full patching digital pot…

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Hey Elden Ring fans, remember those colosseums you haven’t been able to enter since launch? Those doors finally open today, thanks to the arrival of a free PvP update.

Aptly dubbed Colosseum Update 1.08, the previously locked arenas in Limgrave, Caelid, and Leyndell become accessible, hosting competitive one-on-one duels, team battles, and free-for-all fights between players. It’s unclear what you’ll earn for winning other than personal glory, but it’s nice to see the fog finally lift on these mysterious locations. Check out the trailer below. 

This might be the start of a big week for Elden Ring, as it could walk away with the Game of the Year trophy during this week's Game Awards. You can read our review of Elden Ring here.

A Reddit user named TheCloakOfLevitation has done the math and has an incredible theory that would make Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) one of the oldest characters in the MCU. By his calculations, counting the time Dr. Strange spends in each of the 14,000,605 possible futures, and also keeping in mind all the time he was in the Dormammu Loop during the first Dr. Strange movie, the character would mentally be an additional 38,331 years 207 days and 11 hours old.

If this theory is true, it might make us look differently at Dr. Strange and his recent appearances in both Spider-Man: No Way Home and Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Being that old would explain why, in the last few movies, he has mellowed out a bit and is not fighting with Wong (Benedict Wong) to get back his title of The Sorcerer Supreme. It would also make his sadness about Cristine getting married, much more weird, as he hasn’t had a relationship with her in thousands of years.

It would also explain why he had no patience for the young kids in the last two movies he appeared on. Be it Peter Parker (Tom Holland), MJ (Zendaya) and Ned (Jacob Batalon), or America Chavez (Xochitl Gomez), their lives and ideas might’ve exasperated the magician who, like Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon movies, is too old for their sh*t.

The PlayStation 2 is nostalgic for many who grew up with the system. I remember spending countless hours repeatedly playing the Ratchet & Clank titles and exploring the different planets in-game, and they’re memories that will stick with me forever. No surprises, then, that I was ecstatic when the awesome remakes hit the PS4 and PS5 years later.

Some of PlayStation’s most significant titles back on PS2 have now received modern-day remakes, such as Crash Bandicoot N Sane Trilogy, and Spyro Reignited Trilogy. But there are so many more that are still trapped on the old-school hardware and deserve a second chance!

After considering the vast pool of worthy PS2 games, here’s our list of the 15 best PS2 games that deserve a modern-day remake.

When Tony Gilroy and Gareth Edwards put out 2017’s Rogue One, it was nothing short of a triumph. Not because it helped fill in the blanks of what happened between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, nor because of how much money it made that year, but because it was a full-fledged Star Wars movie that actually felt like a war epic. Now, with that same authenticity and brilliant storytelling, showrunner Tony Gilroy has captivated the minds and hearts of fans everywhere with the first season of Andor. Whilst we await the latter part of the limited series’ two-season run on Disney+, fans have many burning questions regarding plot lines, character threads, cliffhangers etc. So, here are the 10 questions that we have after watching the Andor season one finale.

The eighteenth season of Destiny 2, otherwise known as the Season of Plunder, has finally come to a close. With that said, Season 19, now known as Season of the Seraph, has finally been revealed via a new video just a mere two hours before its release.

In the trailer, we get our first look at the return of the recently awoken Osiris, Ana Bray, who is back for the first time since Season of the Worthy, and Rasputin, the beloved AI whom Ana has been monitoring since it shutdown at the end of the Season of Arrivals.

The season revolves around Xivu Arath, the notorious Hive War God who has been the main antagonist for multiple seasons now, trying to seize control of Rasputin’s network of weaponized satellites. Guardians are tasked with defending each Warmind Station from Xivu Arath’s forces before the War God can claim them for herself.

This will be the final season before the upcoming Lightfall DLC, where players will travel to Neptune to stop the Calus and the Witness. Destiny 2 players have been starving for some new content for a while now, and Season of the Seraph definitely seems to be enough to keep players busy until the arrival of the Lightfall DLC at the end of February.

The Witcher 3's hotly anticipated next gen update arrives in just over a week, like an early Christmas present from a man who has a white beard and is often covered in red, but you definitely wouldn't describe as jolly. As part of the lead-up to the PC version's update, CD Projekt Red has issued a breakdown of how the update will affect the game's most popular mods.

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Pokemon GO-style Witcher spin-off, The Witcher: Monster Slayer, is being shut down in the middle of next year. Staff members at CD Projekt Red's Spokko studio are also expected to be laid off.

As announced in a news post, the game will be go offline on 30th June 2023.

Monster Slayer will also be removed from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store on 31st January 2023, while all in-game purchases will be disabled on the same day.

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After a short delay owing to the arrival of some embargoed Witcher 3 content, DF Direct Weekly returns with its 89th instalment - featuring a chastened and bowed Alex Battaglia exhibiting extreme disappointment with his lot. The truth is, putting together our review coverage for The Callisto Protocol proved rather challenging. While the PlayStation 5 version of the game arrived in excellent shape, we faced production issues in reviewing the game because the other renditions of the title were essentially unfinished and we had no real idea if they'd be representative of the day one experience.

The biggest challenge facing us concerned the PC version - hence Alex's dismay - which launched in a completely unacceptable state, rife with stuttering problems that swiftly condemned the game's Steam rating and rendered the title basically unplayable. We reported these issues to the developer as and when we discovered them and were told they'd be addressed - but we couldn't actually confirm whether this was the case until the arrival of the day one patch (improvements were slight). Meanwhile, throughout the review period, Xbox patches arrived that improved a game that was clearly experiencing issues that PS5 didn't have. Even so, the game launched on Xbox without the ray-traced reflections that are very important to the look of the game in its quality mode - again, the developer is looking to address this but we can't quite fathom why this happened.