In Final Fantasy XV, you push boyband-haired protagonist Noctis through the city of Altissia just to get a glimpse of a Vivienne Westwood bridal couture dress, which heroine Lady Lunafreya is meant to get married in. As rain falls, Noctis, Prompto, and Ignis stare at the Westwood store window with their hands on the…
To ring in the new year, Overwatch 2 kicked off a limited-time event themed around Greek mythology. No, you won’t see Apollo or Kratos roaming Ilios, but if you shell out $20, you can transform the spidery sniper Widowmaker into the goddess of beauty and stone, Medusa, replete with a white tunic and snake headpiece.…
If you’re into Rick and Morty-style humor and enjoy a good first-person shooter with some unique guns, High on Life is a damn good time. While High on Life is a fairly easy game to fire up and jump into—made even easier by the fact that it’s on Game Pass right now—there are a few things to keep in mind while romping…
The female main character has vastly better social link options
The second installment in the Immortal Universe swings and misses
Jamaal Williams loves anime, and he wants the whole world to know it
We're mere weeks away from the release of EA Motive's extremely promising remake of sci-fi horror classic Dead Space, and to sweeten the deal for those considering a pre-order, EA is dangling a copy of the original Dead Space 2 as an incentive on Steam.
EA Motive's Dead Space remake - which launches for PC and current-gen consoles on 27th January -is a ground-up reworking of Visceral Games' much-loved 2008 original, reimagining engineer Isaac Clarke's terrifying journey through the shadowy interior of the mining ship USG Ishimura with enhanced audio and visuals, gameplay refinements, and more.
As spotted by VG247, players that pre-order the remake on Steam will now also get a nifty bonus in the form of 2011's Dead Space 2, meaning they can dive straight into the Isaac's continuing story when the credits roll. Despite its age, Dead Space 2 oridinarily costs £17.99 on Steam, so that's a decent saving for anyone who's yet to experience the well-regarded sequel.
Welcome to 2023 and the return of DF Direct Weekly! After a short time away - we missed a week, actually - the team returns to discuss the latest gaming and technology news. The year kicked off with the Consumer Electronics Show - CES - and in this week's show, myself, John Linneman and Alex Battaglia discuss the keynotes from Nvidia, AMD and Sony, including our first look at Gran Turismo 7 on PSVR2, while addressing the latest concerns about thermal throttling on the RX 7900 XTX reference board as well as new innovations coming this year for OLED TVs.
There's also time to mull over the backlash to Nvidia's GeForce RTX 4070 Ti, which was perhaps inevitable. Bearing in mind the extreme reactions, I wanted to weigh in with some more detailed thoughts about why I thought the product was 'OK' as opposed to the total disaster that many think it is. There's a series of factors that define how RTX 4070 Ti turned out as it did and clearly, questions remain about the outlook for the GPU market going forward.
The arguments against the 4070 Ti are fairly straightforward: it's the most expensive 70-class product Nvidia has ever delivered and its specs are paltry compared to prior 70-class products. In terms of relative performance, the 4070 Ti is broadly comparable with the top-end results from the RTX 3000 generation, when the RTX 3070 did the same vs RTX 2080 Ti at $499. All of this is true and the outlook seems grim for PC graphics. On the face of it, Nvidia and AMD are not helping matters based on the prices of the products seen so far.
Yakuza’s Kazuma Kiryu has stood against many formidable foes throughout the series, many of whom have been brutally beaten by his all-powerful Tiger Drop ability. Nevertheless, due to this move’s unmatched talents, it has transcended into another video game series with a recent Twitter debate that places God of War’s Kratos against the legendary fourth chairman of the Tojo Clan.
In this debate, Yakuza fans have claimed that Kratos doesn’t stand a chance against Kiryu’s Tiger Drop. Those unfamiliar with this skill should note that it is a move that Kazuma learns through the teachings of Sotaro Komaki, allowing the character to strike the enemy before an attack with temporary invincibility.
Therefore, since the Tiger Drop negates all damage, the community believes Kiryu can withstand the brute force of Kratos.
It’s no secret that Xbox had a rather disappointing 2022, considering the multiple delays of big projects and a distinct lack of exclusives. However, a new tweet from Marking VP Aaron Greenberg suggests that the gaming giant might be trying to turn things around for the new year.
Greenberg tweeted, “this should be a fun week, excited for the days to progress!” Though the tweet could mean any number of things, considering the source, we might be close to some sort of Xbox stream to give gamers a look ahead of what’s coming in 2023.
This should be a fun week, excited for the days to progress!
There’s some bad news for all the Workaholics fans out there, as it looks like Paramount+ has officially canceled the Workaholics movie five weeks before filming was planned to begin. Series star and executive producer Adam Devine shared the news on his Instagram page, detailing that they’d have more information on the specifics on their podcast tomorrow.
To say Kaina and the Great Sea of Snow is releasing during one of the most diverse anime seasons in recent memory would be an understatement. Alongside the usual slew of Shonen action titles, Isekai fantasies, and romantic comedies, there are standout experiences that break from the tropes and molds of other anime to do something original. One can find something to enjoy whether they’re in the mood for a Sci-Fi Western or a Middle Ages melodrama and find an exceptionally executed experience to boot.
It’s both a great and terrible turn of events. While it’s terrific for those who enjoy variety in their seasonal offerings, it also means certain shows will be passed over as a result, either because they don’t stand out enough or aren’t well-known enough to grab people’s attention.
Kaina and the Great Snow Sea could easily fall into either of these camps. Not only is it an entirely original creation that isn’t based on any other existing property, but it’s also a 3D anime in the same season when Trigun Stampede is turning heads with its stellar 3D take on the beloved series.
Normally, I’d shrug this off as bad luck for the show, and hope that it finds its audience at a later date. After watching the first four episodes though, I now have no doubt that the series should be one of the biggest series of the season, and the reason for that is simple: It’s a culmination of everything Polygon Pictures and Director Tsutomu Nihei have done up to this point.
Riot Games’ tac shooter juggernaut, Valorant, is heading towards its sixth episode of content, throwing players into the lush Indian setting of Lotus. Alongside the new addition to the map pool, the latest skin line looks to be some of the most unique skins to date, with the trailer matching the overall uniqueness of the skins.
Featuring the total domination of an otherworldly location, rogue AI has conquered and taken prisoners. Showing no mercy, the AI eradicate their prisoners, in what’s possibly the most sci-fi take on Valorant players will see to date. Given the success of Arcane, the League of Legends show, Riot would sorely be missing out if the team didn’t look into creating more animated content with its properties, given the overall high production of this trailer.
A new Fire Emblem Heroes banner is on the way called Sage of Khadein, and it means new alts for characters like Byleth and Linde. All of the units in this banner are mages in desert-inspired outfits. In addition, the Tempest Trials+ accompanying it gives people a chance to earn four and five-star alts of Soren from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn.
There are four new versions of units here, all available as five-stars, with one being a Duo. Nino: Spirited Sorcerer is a red tome-wielder and infantry unit. Ursula: Royal-Blue Crow is a cavalry unit with a green tome. Byleth: Fount of Learning is an infantry unit carrying a blue tome. Finally, the Duo unit is Linde: Bound by Fate with Sara. This is a cavalry unit that uses a red tome. Of the four, Byleth is the only one of the new Fire Emblem Heroes character alts to be available as a four and five-star unit.
Here's the full Sage of Khadein Fire Emblem Heroes banner trailer looking at the new versions of characters. As usual, it confirms Feh Pass subscribers who pull 40 times on it can pick one of the four focus units for free for their 41st pull.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVf2p4TNLaY&ab_channel=NintendoMobile
As for Soren, here's how the new alt for the character looks in Fire Emblem Heroes. While the banner starts January 10, 2023, the Tempest Trials+ event begins on January 12, 2023.
There's an even better look available for not only the new Genshin Impact Ayaka skin, but the Lisa costume as well. HoYoVerse shared a trailer of both characters wearing their new outfits. Each one shows them in action. People can see them walking in their new attire, sitting down, and engaging in their idle animations. The new skins both will show up in the 3.6 update.
First, here's the Outfit Teaser: Teyvat Style – Flowers Between Pages trailer. It begins by showing the new Lisa skin in Genshin Impact. After that, the focus shifts to Ayaka.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=co59abJjokc&t=49s&ab_channel=GenshinImpact
The developer also shared focused articles with gifs looking at the specific costumes and detailing prices. Lisa's A Sobriquet Under Shade is the Sumeru-inspired outfit she wore when studying at Akademiya. It will be free to earn when the 3.4 event "Second Blooming" is running. If someone misses that, they could pay 1,680 Genesis Crystals to buy it. (Note that 1,980 Genesis Crystals is $29.99.)
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="946225,946226" link="file"]
Whenever a new Honkai Impact 3rd update arrives, that also means new outfits, and Carole and Griseo are getting new costumes in 6.3. To prepare for that, HoYoVerse showed the official art for both looks. Each one appeared in new Honkai Impact 3rd wallpapers.
First, here’s how Carole’s Sweet 'n' Spicy battlesuit outfit Freestyle Special will look in the first set of Honkai Impact 3rd wallpapers. People can get this costume for taking part in the Bustling Holiday Symphony event. That’s the one that involves picking a side and taking on areas and tasks.
[gallery size="full" columns="2" ids="946217,946218" link="file"]
Next, this is the Griseo Starry Impression outfit Maroon Riding Hood people can acquire in Honkai Impact 3rd. Unlike Freestyle Special, you can't earn it. You need to use crystals at Homu's Treasury to get it.
[gallery columns="2" size="full" ids="946219,946220" link="file"]
As a reminder, we also already know the new battlesuit debuting in 6.3. It will be the Herrscher of Truth for Bronya. This is an S-rank suit for her. It is also her second Herrscher one, as she also has the Herrscher of Reason battlesuit that appeared in a past update.
Honkai Impact 3rd is available for the PC and mobile devices. The 6.3 update will appear on January 12, 2023.
With the next season of Mobile Suit Gundam: The Witch from Mercury coming in April 2023, Bandai is getting ready to sell some model kits. A new trailer showed off a kit based on the Gundam Aerial Rebuild, the upgraded version of Witch from Mercury's main mobile suit. Aerial Rebuild was first seen in the 12th episode finale season 1. It spent some time in the shop to repair damage sustained in episode 10 [Thanks, Dengeki!].
Check out the preview trailer for the HG Gundam Aerial Rebuild kit. "HG" stands for "High Grade," the most common and popular grade of complexity used for Bandai's model kit lineup.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QC2913jhuFg
The trailer recalls the closing battle of episode 12, where Suletta in Aerial fought against two other mobile suits: Lfrith Ur and Lfrith Thorn. Though the preview only shows CG, some of the highlights from the Gundam Aerial Rebuild design can already be seen. Compared to the basic design of Aerial from the show, the upgraded model mounts a pair of powerful wing-like boosters on the shoulders, which also feature more prominent pauldrons colored in blue. The yellow parts from the original design are gone, and overall the suit has a bulkier, more armored look. Additional V-fins on the head also give Aerial's "face" a more aggressive appearance.
If you go down to the woods today, you're in for a big surprise. Spoilers: the surprise is an ambush from Combine soldiers and antlions, sent to welcome you after your helicopter crashes in Half-Life 2 mod Evacuation. There are zombies, too. Maybe today was not the best day to go down to the woods.
Platforming adventure Animal Well has been picked up by Bigmode, the indie publishing company set up last year by YouTuber Videogamedunkey. The Metroidvania is being developed by Shared Memories, another name for solo dev Billy Basso. Basso is crafting a multi-layered puzzle horror platformer that he hopes will keep people playing the game for years, and collaborating to solve its mysteries. You can see a bit more of what to expect from Animal Well in the preview video below.
Tiny Echo by Shelter developers Might and Delight is a real hidden gem. It’s very in line with what the studio is known for - creating beautiful handcrafted worlds complete with stories about nature - but with Tiny Echo, instead of making an animal game featuring a group of cute critters trying to survive the brutal wilderness (and that most likely made you cry), the Stockholm team went completely left-field and created a bite-sized ethereal puzzler that deals with ghosts and spirits.
Playing as a one-eyed sprite named Emi, your job is to deliver post to different creatures and spirits that hide within the nooks and crannies of a lush forest. As you join Emi on her rounds, you get to meet the various members of the community as they go about their lives and daily routines in a peaceful, unearthly realm. It's a point-and-click puzzle adventure but in the breeziest of terms. The focus isn't really on brain teasers but exploring this strange world and getting to know its spirit folk.
My main reason for hyping up Tiny Echo is that the vibes are immaculate. It's gorgeous but also eerie, and I'd almost call it spooky, but not in a horror kinda way. With no spoken dialogue or words, Tiny Echo's world is strange and dreamlike, the crisp sound design and Twin Peaks-esque soundtrack adding a slightly surreal and ethereal feel to everything. There's also a lot of emphasis on smoke and shadows, which make the entire world seem like it's about to dissipate with one gust of wind.
There’s only a few weeks until EA Motive’s reimagining of the original Dead Space stalks onto PC, but anyone pre-ordering the game on Steam will also nab a copy of Dead Space 2. This seems to be exclusive to Valve’s storefront, as the Epic Games Store isn’t listing the offer on their pre-order page for the Dead Space remake. Oh, and even though Dead Space 2’s been available for more than a decade you’ll have to wait until the Dead Space remake goes live to play your complimentary copy.
Amidst the fanciful flying cars and smart dog collars of CES 2023, Sony used their time at the Las Vegas technology show to announce Project Leonardo: a highly adaptive PS5 controller kit designed, much like the Xbox Adaptive Controller, to make it easier for people with disabilities to play games. Unlike the standard PS5 DualSense controller, however, Project Leonardo won’t be compatible with the PC when it eventually launches.
In a response to tech site Digital Trends, Sony Interactive Entertainment confirmed that the kit – which allows for extensive customisation of button layouts and joystick positioning – will be built exclusivly for the PS5, with no native support for the PC or older consoles like the PS4.
Last week I talked about how I spent my week off at Christmas playing PowerWash Simulator like it was my job. When I wrote that, I was about two thirds of the way through the story in Career mode, which turns out to be just before PowerWash Simulator goes as bananas as everyone's home baking in the summer of 2020. I can't believe I need to say this but: this article contains spoilers for the PowerWash Sim story.
It opens on Feb. 17 at Universal Studios Hollywood
These days, box offices are dominated by comic-book and superhero movies from Marvel and DC. Unfortunately, while superhero movies have improved dramatically over the last decade, superheroes haven’t been as powerful in the realm of video games. In fact, nearly 40 years after the first superhero video game, many developers still struggle to create worthwhile experiences using some of the biggest names in entertainment today.
While not all superhero games are monumental duds like Superman on Nintendo 64, many tend to deliver middling, forgettable experiences. However, a select few that defy the stereotype to become superb titles we still look back on fondly as not only great superhero games, but terrific video games in their own rights.
While the superhero films of today are often critically acclaimed and feature a wide array of faces, our list of the best superhero games is substantially less diverse, with half of the list focused on two franchises. This speaks to the drastically different levels of quality these games have featured over the years.
Check out our list of the 10 best superhero games of all time and be sure to let us know your favorites in the comments below.
The controversial ending to Mojang Studios’ Minecraft has sparked plenty of conversation over the years. A poem scrolls on-screen following after players defeat the Ender Dragon for a whopping nine minutes. Quotes from the “End Poem,” as the swan song is titled, have been inked on fans skins and turned into merch. But…
Some developers on the space horror blockbuster Callisto Protocol say they were omitted from the end credits sequence despite extensive work on the game and key contributions to the finished product. The claims come amid a renewed push throughout the video game industry to fix a broken crediting system that often…
Announced last week at CES 2023, Sony and Honda’s new smart car prototype seems to be taking a page from Elon Musk’s Tesla, letting folks boot up PlayStation 4 and 5 games via its interior screens. But Sony may also be planning to use the car as a way to advertise shit on the outside of it while you drive around.…
A trove of Counter-Strike maps recently leaked on the internet, including a mod that was the predecessor to the survival co-op game Left 4 Dead. The mod is even fully playable, as long as you know how to set up your own server.
Guilty Gear Strive, Arc System Works’ mega-popular 2D anime fighter, is under attack by hackers who’ve resurfaced a fatal exploit that seemingly causes the game to become unplayable for some players online.
If you’re planning on playing the upcoming remake of 2009’s Dead Space, Electronic Arts is throwing in a little something extra to sweeten the deal on PC: a free copy of Dead Space 2. January’s cold, dark, and continuing the revival of PS3 and Xbox 360 era space alien horror.
I’m wandering around my character’s bedroom in High on Life and I’m so high that I’ve forgotten what I’m doing. Something about a bounty? Aliens? I dunno. And then, seemingly out of nowhere, the most incredible music drifts into my character’s room. I’m transfixed by the soulful singing about a dinosaur man. It…
If you are looking for a calm and relaxing game to play, you might want to try out Regular Home Renovation Simulator, a new completely free-to-download indie game about a man quietly flipping a small house. And don’t worry if you see any random skulls laying about or if you suddenly feel like there are more rooms than…
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Episodes 3 and 4 show how the HBO Max show is deepening the Scooby gang’s relationships
