March 2023

Dark and Darker has been removed from Steam after developer Ironmace received a cease and desist demand from Korean publisher Nexon.

Fans first noticed changes being made to the RPG's Steam store page overnight, when assets like videos and screenshots were quietly removed. Then they realised that online co-op and PvP had stopped working, followed by the complete removal of all traces of the game. Now, if you attempt to load the game's Steam store, it'll take you to Steam's front page.

"To all our fans, we have recently been served a cease and desist letter and DMCA takedown by Nexon regarding Dark and Darker based on distorted claims," Ironmace explained via the community's Discord server (thanks, Reddit).

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A playable demo for Wales Interactive's upcoming FMV mystery game, The Isle Tide Hotel, is now available.

Running as part of ID@Xbox's GDC 2023 Online Demo Event, the demo is one of a dozen available between now and 27th March, alongside Xbox demos for Backbeat, BattleCakes, Booom-Slang!, Evil Wizard, Fall of Porcupine, Fractal Space, Soulvars, The Library of Babel, and Wales Interactive's survival FPS and Maid of Sker spin-off, Sker Ritual.

Wales Interactive's The Isle Tide Hotel – a new live-action interactive mystery about an absent father looking to rescue his teenage daughter from an "eclectic cult" – was announced last November.

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Resident Evil 4 is perhaps the most highly anticipated remake of the year - and it's not hard to see why, promising a full redesign of a highly decorated game with a ton of new content and reworked mechanics. It's an excellent-looking game too with fine-grained indirect lighting and attractive artwork. However, recent Resident Evil titles have suffered from awkward configurations on consoles with uncapped frame-rates and unimpressive ray tracing support. The RE Engine itself is powerful enough, but the deployment of its high-end features has raised some questions. So is Resident Evil 4 a step up from those prior efforts or does it repeat the sins of the past?

This is a technically dense game with a lot of interesting and bizarre technical minutiae, so let's try to keep it brisk. All current-gen consoles pack a frame-rate mode and a resolution mode, plus some other toggles that we'll address shortly. Both options target 60fps but image quality differs quite a bit - and not really in the ways that you'd expect. Series X, for its part, is pretty well-behaved.The frame-rate mode hits roughly 1800p and the resolution mode comes in at 2160p. The game appears to use a form of reconstruction to hit that output - very likely checkerboarding, based on the game's artifact patterns and the use of the technique in recent RE Engine games - and the results here are serviceable. The resolution mode is a bit clearer, though both options hold up pretty similarly at a typical viewing distance, especially given the dark and low-contrast game content which tends to suit a less precise look just fine.

The official Digimon Twitter account announced a movie titled Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning. From the looks of the promotional video, it seems that the new art style for the movie is based on the Tri version of Digimon Adventure. The movie will air in Japan on October 27, 2023. It’s unclear if and when it will appear in international theaters.

https://twitter.com/dm_partners/status/1639416810805268480?s=61&t=7poCDv9TVAhRmq9d-dS_Qw

Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning will take place in 2012. The key visuals show grown-up versions of all the original kids, including Ken. There is a new character on the poster standing in front of a city while Daisuke and Veemon are in the light below him. News of this movie first came out in August 2021 during DigiFes 2021 but this is the first time we’ve heard anything about it since then.

As for the cast of Digimon Adventure 02: The Beginning, it will use the voice actors who appeared from Digimon Adventure: Last Evolution Kizuna. Voice actors for the Digimon will remain the same, as was what happened with the Digimon Adventure Tri series.

Games writer and designer, Chris Avellone, has reportedly settled a lawsuit after two women accused him of sexual misconduct.

The settlement dismisses the claims levied against him "with prejudice", "pursuant to a confidential settlement". Avellone claims the settlement includes a "seven-figure payment", which includes "the return" of his legal fees.

After "engaging with Mr. Avellone", Karissa Barrows and Kelly Rae Bristol issued a joint statement, which was published on Avellone's personal blog earlier today:

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Piccolo Studios' "surrealistic platformer", After Us, will launch on 23rd May, 2023 for PC and current-gen consoles.

The emotional adventure game sees you play the Spirit of Life, Gaia, as you move through "stunning environments" to salvage the souls of extinct animals, reviving them to learn their fates.

Check out an all-new walkthrough trailer below:

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There will be more of the Trigun Stampede anime, as a Final Phase came up as part of the AnimeJapan 2023 news. This is also immediately following the twelfth and final episode of the season currently available. There's no release date for it yet, though Crunchyroll confirmed it will offer it. It also didn't clarify if this is a second cour or season 2. The announcement only noted that it is "coming soon." However, there is a brief teaser trailer that focuses on Vash the Stampede and Millions Knives.

First, here's the announcement. It features the familiar wanted poster showing that Vash's bounty is $$60 billion.

◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢

『#TRIGUN STAMPEDE』
シリーズ完結編製作決定

◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢◤◢

"Final Phase Coming Soon!"#トライガン #TRIGUNSTAMPEDE pic.twitter.com/YLMK3jvcZR

— 『TRIGUN STAMPEDE』アニメ公式／トライガン・スタンピード (@trigun_anime) March 25, 2023

As part of the AnimeJapan 2023 announcements, Toho Animation uploaded the trailer for My Hero Academia Academia season 7 and offered details about Star and Stripe. The American hero appeared in the final moments of episode 138 “No Man is an Island” on March 25, 2023 and will play an important part in the next season. There's no release date for the next season yet.

First, here’s Character Designer Yoshihiko Umakoshi’s picture of Deku announcing the new season. The tweet also includes the teaser trailer for season 7 of My Hero Academia.

ーーーーーーーーー
ヒロアカ7期が来る!
ーーーーーーーーー

『僕のヒーローアカデミア』
7期制作決定!

キャラクターデザインを担当する
馬越嘉彦さん描き下ろし
7期発表ビジュアルが到着!!

7期発表映像▼https://t.co/QzBeeKS9SZ#heroaca_a #ヒロアカ https://t.co/5FLC39vSS9 pic.twitter.com/Rtvaf87xlV

— 僕のヒーローアカデミア／ヒロアカ アニメ公式 (@heroaca_anime) March 25, 2023

Aniplex released a new trailer for Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn. Its world premiere will happen in Los Angeles some time during Summer 2023, and it will broadcast on TV on July 2, 2023. The trailer shows a large amount of the mages and Servants who will appear in the Snowfield Holy Grail War. [Thanks, KaroshiMyriad!]

The trailer is fairly short, at only half a minute. However, we can see virtually all of the main players who will appear in Fate/strange Fake: Whispers of Dawn.

The Japanese cast is:

Welcome to the latest edition of the Giant Bomb Community Spotlight! I, @zombiepie, am once again honored to be your host as we look back at the best community-created works from the previous week.

Every edition of the Community Spotlight has a slight theme and for this one, it's clearly site-related news. There's a lot to review and if you missed some of these announcements or updates don't blame yourself, so, let's jump into it.

Last week, Giant Bomb hosted a Town Hall meeting in the Discord and answered a handful of questions from the community. During this, Dan, Grubb, Bakalar, and Jan discussed how the site's budget is growing, they are interested in hosting community-oriented streams that Rorie once hosted, and the direction of the site overall. For example, the missing chairs for existing shows will rotate as they have and Mike Minotti is being paid for the air-time he's providing for Giant Bomb.

Speaking of the Discord, the bot in charge of the Premium Channel on the Giant Bomb Discord has gone haywire. The result is that the Discord removed the Premium tag from some folks who are actually premium. If that is the case, head on over to bot-linkdump and run the /Premium recheck command to get it all fixed up. If that doesn't work, DM a mod that is available.

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) has smashed its all-time concurrent PC user peak. Yes, again.

Clocking up a record 1.5 million concurrent players earlier today (thanks, SteamDB), that means CS:GO now sports Steam's second-biggest concurrent players record ever.

Whilst it still has some ways to go to take the top spot – pole position holder PUBG Battlegrounds' concurrent record is twice as high at CS:GO's at 3.2 million – it's an incredible feat for a decade-old shooter.

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The Switch has become something of a haven for rhythm games, with big names like Project Diva and Taiko no Tatsujin, Japanese titles like Groove Coaster, and ones that fall under the indie label like Cytus Alpha, Deemo and Voez making themselves at home. Sixtar Gate: Startrail, which is in early access on PCs via Steam, is the latest to appear. It’s not without its charm, but my experience makes me wonder if the PC version is the better suited to what it is trying to do.

There are three modes in Sixtar Gate: Startrail on the Switch. Adventure Mode is a story mode. You go through songs, seeing events in-between. Sometimes, you can choose your difficulty level! Other times, you’re stuck and locked into, say, a 15 difficulty track when you’ve been playing on 3-5 while you get used to the notes. Travel Mode is a freeplay option that lets you go through any unlocked track one at a time, at any difficulty you’d like. Outer Space is a challenge mode that involves three preselected songs at determined difficulties that you must pass to unlock more. It’s quite a bit of variety, though the story features localization issues and I’m not a fan of it deciding its difficulty for me.

Nintendo released some new trailers that showcase the parallel world that the Fell Xenologue will take place in in Fire Emblem Engage. The Fell Xenologue will be part of Wave 4 (the final wave) of DLC in the Expansion Pass and in it, you’ll be able to see counterparts of characters you that you're familiar with in the main game.

The first video shows the Four Wings version of Zelestia speaking with Alear. She explains that the Four Wings is an organization of four knights that protect Lady Nel and Nil. However, those familiar with the original game will recognize Zelestia as Zephia, a member of the Four Hounds. That was a far more antagonistic group than the Four Wings will be.

https://twitter.com/FireEmblemJP/status/1639162432886284290

The second video focuses on Celine and Alfred. In the actual Fire Emblem Engage story, the two of them have a very close relationship. But that’s not how it looks to be in the Fell Xenologue. Celine’s attitude towards Alfred is very sharp, as you can tell from her tone, and she aggressively pushes a reluctant Alfred into invading Brodia.

https://twitter.com/FireEmblemJP/status/1639162932415320065

I really enjoyed dark fantasy adventure Roki when it first released back in 2020, and keen to see what developers Polygon Treehouse have gotten up to since, I jumped at the opportunity to play the PAX East demo for Mythwrecked: Ambrosia Island. You can watch my impressions of the demo in the video below:

In Mythwrecked you play as Alex, a backpacker who has washed up on the sun-drenched shores of Ambrosia Island. As she begins exploring, she soon realises that this island seems to be a hot spot for the gods from ancient Greek myths. Your task is to befriend each god, help them restore their memories, and find a way back to civilisation.

From playing the demo, you can see much of what made Roki fun reflected in Mythwrecked. The environments are interesting to poke around in, puzzles are breezy brain ticklers, and it has Polygon Treehouse's sense of humour. Each Greek god has a humerous twist on their lore, and during the demo I had a fun time chatting with Hermes, who is dressed in nothing more than a pair of skimpy white speedos and a matching white sweat band - a bold choice of attire.

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Out of all the game demos Liam and I have played at PAX East, we both agree that Animal Well is something special. It's a 2D metriodvania where you play as a little blob trying to navigate a subtterranean labyrinth filled with creatures - some cute, some not so cute.

To find out more about this strange puzzle platformer's beginnings and development, we spoke to solo develeoper Billy Basso and Bigmode's Leah Gastrow which you can view in the two videos below.

You can watch me interview Billy here:

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I somehow missed the news two weeks ago that Wargroove 2 was on the way. The actual successor to a spiritual successor to Advance Wars, Wargroove 2 is another 2D turn-based strategy game, but with new factions, a new roguelike mode, and a new co-developer.

There's also a demo available to play right now, although only until the end of the weekend.

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Complete these research quests for a Shadow Regice

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M. Night Shyamalan’s and Drew Goddard’s horror movies about the apocalypse make a perfect double feature

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‘He always had to fight, he always had to really work it from every end to get to where he was.’

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Chapter 4 writers Shay Hatten and Michael Finch on why their characters feel deep without being overexplained

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Track down 16 bobbleheads for an indestructible knife

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There’s a reason Michael B. Jordan called Blue Lock “dope as fuck”

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Do you want to be a Werewolf or Werebear?

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Summon armies of the dead to do your bidding

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Last year in this space, we proclaimed that GDC was back, largely because the things that accompanied so many of the GDC weeks of years past were there.

But when I speak to people who were actually at the show last year (I was not), they have been quick to tell me that it was by no means a "normal" GDC, with far fewer people. A significant chunk of those who did show up also demonstrated considerable unease with the idea of going back to in-person events.

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CD Projekt Red has financially written off the development costs spent on Project Sirius, a Witcher spin-off title.

As reported by TechPowerUp, the title's development cost the Polish firm more than $7 million in 2022 and over $2.2 million in 2023 before the decision was made.

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Josh Sawyer, director of Pentiment, has said that GDC has an accessibility problem.

As reported by Shacknews, he shared his thoughts on the event while accepting the GDC Best Narrative Award for Pentiment.

He noted concerns about travel costs and how accessible it is for people from overlooked communities.

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On paper, a company announcing – in effect – that they're upgrading the modding tools for their online game should not be an industry-shaking event.

Sure, it's made more interesting when the game in question has generated revenues of around $30 billion in its five-year lifespan; any change at all to a behemoth on that scale is automatically of interest, after all. But even acknowledging that Fortnite is one of the most commercially successful games in history, it can be easy to miss just how important the link Epic just forged between the game and its Unreal Engine tools actually is – and the extent to which it could reshape a whole segment of the industry in the years to come.

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Unity has offered more insight into the improvements heading to its widely-used games engine this year.

VG247 reported the highlights from a GDC 2023 talk entitled 'The Unity roadmap for games in 2023,' in which the company detailed some of the new feature planned for the engine's upcoming 23.1 LTS update.

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Original story: The Competition and Markets Authority, the UK regulator investigating Microsoft's proposed acquisition of Activision Blizzard, has changed its stance on the impact the deal would have on competition in the console space – as well as the likelihood of Xbox making Call of Duty exclusive to its system.

The organisation has updated its provisional findings, originally released in February, based on "a significant amount of new evidence" that emerged in a consultation period with interested parties.

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Xbox talks frequently about its goal of reaching three billion gamers.

It’s why the company is spending so much energy and money on streaming and subscriptions. It’s why it has two different Xbox Series consoles. It’s why it’s releasing all its games on PC. It’s why it wants to launch a mobile app store. It knows it can’t reach three billion gamers with a high-powered games console alone.

Yet all these platforms, business models and distribution channels are irrelevant if Xbox doesn’t have the right games. And we’re not just talking the big blockbusters like Call of Duty. For that three billion dream to be a reality, Microsoft is going to need games that can appeal to different nationalities, genders, ages, sexualities, ethnicities, people with disabilities, social-economic backgrounds and more.

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Activision Blizzard has released its first annual Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Look-Back report, giving an insight into how the company's workforce looked by the end of 2022.

The report follows the publisher's 2021 commitment to, among other things, increase the percentage of women and non-binary employees by 50% over the course of five years.

This in itself was prompted by multiple lawsuits from US government bodies against the company over discrimination, abuse, gender pay disparity, and more.

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At PAX East 2023, Square Enix held both Final Fantasy XIV and XVI panels. While the former didn’t end up with a video-on-demand version, it uploaded the one with Producer Naoki Yoshida discussing the next mainline entry to YouTube after. It also shared a new trailer consisting of gameplay footage.

Here is the full video of the “Yes, You Can Pet the Torgal” panel from PAX East 2023. While the actual stream of the event ended up cutting out while it was live, this YouTube version is the full panel with no technical issues. Things begin with the Meet the Team portion of the presentation. The Final Fantasy XVI segment starts at the 5:42 mark and goes over gameplay, characters, and story elements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPpeKX1PDIo&ab_channel=SquareEnix

Square Enix also released one of the gameplay clips from this presentation on its own. A standalone video segment shows Clive and his allies exploring different areas of the world of Valisthea.

Introducing a closer look at the world of Valisthea. #FF16 pic.twitter.com/ezqxe35Co1

Go-Go Town! has more than a little Animal Crossing about it, as players become mayor of a cutesy fixer-upper town and start doing oddjobs to attract new visitors and inhabitants. It differs in several key ways too, thankfully, from its more urban setting, its tactile power tools, and the ability to automate a lot of the gathering and crafting by putting residents to work for you. Watch the reveal trailer below.

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Honkai: Star Rail has been hinting at an April 26th release date for months, but now it's official. The free-to-play, turn-based Genshin Impact spin-off will be available for pre-download from April 23rd and will be available via its official site and the Epic Games Store come the 26th. A presentation streamed yesterday also revealed its first two banners.

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Have A Nice Death's dark art and quick-slashing combat bring Hollow Knight to mind, but it has more in common with Hades and Dead Cells. One of the things it has in common with those games is that it was released in early access. After a little more than a year, version 1.0 arrived this week, bringing a final area, a new boss, and the end of its storyline.

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Liam and I had a fun time chatting with the folks over at Mega Cat Studios about their upcoming wrestling RPG WrestleQuest last year at PAX West, and this time at PAX East we finally cornered them in the ring for a proper interview.

Watch below to learn about how the developers created their zero to hero story, how they're addressing myths and persaonl issues in the world of pro wresting, as well as sharing a story about how one of the team got their nose broken in a wrestling accident during development.

My main take away from the interview is how much of the RPG incorporates all aspects of Wrestling, not just the ring fights we see on TV. Another interesting thing is that Mega Cat reached out to a handful of real-life wrestlers to ask their permission to use their likeness in the game - not an easy feat to secure, I'm sure.

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I've played a bunch of indie game demos at PAX East, but none left my head reeling as much as 43 Studios' fiendishly frantic action platfotmer Hell Of An Office. It's a super fast parkour adventure in the vein of Neon White, and after ten minutes with the demo my heart race was through the roof. If I owned a fitbit it would have been screaming at me to have a nice sit down with a cuppa. Check out my full impressions in the video below:

Hell Of An Office puts your platforming reflexes to the test as you're tasked with sprinting ad jumping your way straight outta hell. With only a stapler as your means of survival, you need to navigate through each level before it slowly sinks into the burning lava. React quickly, or fall victim to Hell's scorching pools.

If you love the blood-pumping, sweaty palm inducing action-platforming of Neon White, make sure to keep an eye on Hell Of An Office as it makes it's way through Early Access.

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