March 2023

While the PAX East 2023 presentation involved quite a bit of footage, Square Enix still had more to show from its new Final Fantasy entry today. There’s a new Final Fantasy XVI gameplay clip, and it features the Eikon Ifrit and Typhon. The fight is designed to show what it is like when Clive taps into the power of Ifrit to face off against the recurring character from the Final Fantasy series. While brief, it also offers more insight into what these match-ups will be like.

As Clive is the Dominant of Ifrit, we don’t actually see him in this Final Fantasy XVI Typhon fight. Rather, we see only Ifrit approach the opponent. Both have life bars at the top of the screen, as you might expect in a fighting game. In the bottom right corner, the UI shows some of the attacks Ifrit is capable of. There’s a standard attack and jump, as well as Fireball and Wildfire.

We also see that Ifrit is able to perform a Precision Dodge to avoid one of Typhon’s attacks in Final Fantasy XVI. He is then able take advantage of that quick maneuvering to follow that up with a Precision Counter. That chains into a combo, which includes a Fireball Burst attack and Backdraft Finish.

Here’s the full footage from the fight.

火の召喚獣イフリートが繰り出すダイナミックアクション！

Owlboy developers D-Pad Studio are swooping back in time to revisit their very first game, Savant - Ascent, originally released ten years ago. Savant - Ascent Anniversary Edition is remastering the shoot-em-up platformer in which you control Savant - avatar of Norwegian music producer Aleksander Vinter - with new stages, bosses, powerups, and a revamped soundtrack by Vinter himself. The remaster will launch on PC and other platforms later this summer.

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A short animated sequence kicks The Last Worker into gear, reeling off the game’s backstory with breezy efficiency. It’s an apt start for this first-person satire set in a fully-automated dystopia, in that it underlines a very human aptitude for artistic communication. It’s surprising, then, that as The Last Worker continues its story, it takes less graceful turns, electing for verbosity over economy. For a game that takes critical aim at the future of work, frankly, it’s all a bit laboured.

So what does happen in that opening animation? First, we see everyman hero Kurt among thousands of recruits arriving at the gigantic distribution centre of megacorp Jüngle (like Amazon, get it?), to spend their working lives plucking products off shelves to order. Before long, though, any drop in output sees the employees themselves plucked off and given the boot, to be replaced by robots. As the numbers dwindle, top-performer Kurt remains steadfast, and even finds love among the boxes with a fellow product picker. But when she gets pregnant and quits, he stays behind, living full-time in the warehouse. Years pass. Jüngle smothers the entire retail market, and Kurt becomes, well, the last worker.

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Layer up with your thickest snow coat and a pack of cards because Wildfrost is coming to PC soon, on April 12th. One of the standout games we played at last year's EGX, this roguelike deckbuilder has a healthy dose of Slay The Spire about it as you venture out to defrost an eternal winter, battle baddies, and expand your card collection with elemental items stronger, cuter companions and elemental items.

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Fans of Octopath Traveler have likely had their eye on Live A Live for some time now. Last year, it came to the Nintendo Switch as an exclusive remake of the 1994 RPG. Bu that exclusivity period has been brought to a surprising end as Square Enix have announced Live A Live is hitting PC and PlayStation consoles on April 27th. A demo is available now for PS owners and later today for those on Steam, if you want a preview of the first three stories from the time and genre-hopping adventure.

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Live A Live, the 2022 remake for Square Enix's 2D pixel RPG released on Nintendo Switch, will launch on PlayStation consoles and PC next month, the publisher has announced.

The game is a collection of eight short stories set throughout different time periods and it captured Edwin in his review and Jessica in our Games of 2022 rundown.

Ahead of the game's release, a demo has gone live on PSN and Steam. The demo includes the opening sections of three stories: The Wild West, Twilight of Edo Japan and The Distant Future.

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A year on from Elden Ring's release, developer From Software has added ray tracing to the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC versions of the game with update 1.09. More specifically, it's ray-traced shadows and ambient occlusion that make the cut, although neither feature comes to the Xbox Series S version of the game. For those on PS5, Series X and PC, this is a welcome surprise - it's not since Scholars of the First Sin for Dark Souls 2 have we seen such a post-launch revamp of a Souls game's aesthetic.

Of course, whether the new features are worth enabling depends how successful the implementation is, with the big question being fairly straightforward: does the RT deliver enough of a visual upgrade to justify the performance cost on each of the three platforms? And did RT really deserve this focus when so many technical problems remain unchanged since launch?

First, let's cover off how to activate the RT features. On PS5 and Series X this appears as a new on/off toggle available when quality mode is enabled, while PC users get four RT settings that affect RT shadows and AO in combination: low, medium, high and maximum. The patch notes warn that the game's resolution and frame-rate can be affected by enabling RT, which is what we'd expect given that Elden Ring often doesn't run with much headroom and RT has both a CPU and GPU cost.

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D-Pad Studio, the developer behind acclaimed 2016 platform adventure Owlboy, is back with a 10th anniversary remaster of its debut title Savant - Ascent, which is coming to PC, PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and mobile some time this "summer".

Savant - Ascent, which D-Pad calls a "shoot-em-up platformer", casts players as the Alchemist, a magical practitioner forced from their tower by a mysterious entity. The goal, then, is to return to the top by clearing stages consisting solely of two platforms - which players will need to carefully navigate as they fend off swarms of enemies using their projectiles.

Savant - Ascent is inspired by the music of Norweigian artist Savant, and its newly announced Anniversary Edition promises new stages, abilities, bosses, and power-ups, plus a new Survival Mode pitting players against a parade of bosses as they ride the Endless Elevator.

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While playing Resident Evil 4 Remake, I've found it enjoyable to look for traces of the original game and compare what's been changed.

Which of Leon's terrible lines made the script and which didn't, for example, if the eggs are equipable, whether I'd get some goodies by shooting the lake...

But in recreating and reinventing its masterpiece, Capcom went even further back it seems, as players have spotted a reference to the fabled Resident Evil 3.5, an earlier version of RE4 which was in development but ultimately canned.

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Sony is adding 120fps support to driving sim Gran Turismo 7 with its latest update.

The 1.31 update is now available to download and will allow PlayStation 5 users to play with the increased frame rate (if they own a display capable of 120Hz output).

The addition is not available for PlayStation 4 users.

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A month after launch, some analysts are already raising a panic about PlayStation VR2 headset sales. Bloomberg reports that the PS5 accessories are projected to have sold less than 300,000 units in the first month, renewing calls to slash the high-end $550 price tag.

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On Thursday, the official Netflix Anime account announced that the cast of the live-action 2010 Scott Pilgrim movie will reprise their roles in the upcoming Scott Pilgrim anime.

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The rarest Yu-Gi-Oh! card in the world will finally be sold this April. Only one copy was ever printed, and it’s been in the hands of one owner since 2005. Now, the owner is finally ready to part ways with it after 18 years.

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In a world where Google shapes everything, determining whether or not information is readily available to the average person based on key search terms, changing the name of a product or service can be a huge move. In some cases it can help, because moving away from working titles and establishing definitive ones, such…

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Someone walks into a GameStop and asks where the gift cards are. They proceed to buy a bunch of them. Not just $40, or $80, but hundreds of dollars worth of Steam cards, Razer Gold, or some other gaming currency. They don’t look like someone who’s knee deep in the seedy underworld of Counter-Strike skins. The person…

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While some of Capcom’s newly released Resident Evil 4 remake is different than it was in 2005, including core and not-so-core (sorry, perverts!) gameplay mechanics, the horror game is still prepared to kick your ass.

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We learned last year that Scott Pilgrim is getting another encore in the form of a new Netflix anime series. If that wasn't exciting enough, we now know that the cast from the cult classic 2010 film is reprising their roles.

As reported by Deadline, the still-untitled Scott Pilgrim show will be computer animated by Japanese animation studio Science SARU (Devilman Crybaby, The Heike Story, Inu-Oh). Scott Pilgrim vs. The World director Edgar Wright returns as executive director, with Scott Pilgrim author Bryan Lee O’Malley and artist Bendavid Grabinski will serve as executive producers, writers, and showrunners. The plot of the graphic novels/movie centers on slacker musician Scott Pilgrim battling the seven evil exes of his new girlfriend, Ramona Flowers. 

The primary actors from the live-action film are higlighted in the trailer above, which include:

Live A Live became one of our favorite RPGs when it launched on Switch last year, and the celebrated remake is making the jump to PlayStation consoles and Steam on April 27. 

Additionally, there’s a free demo on PlayStation available today that lets you play three of the game’s eight stories. Live A Live was originally released in 1994 for the Super Famicom in Japan, but it hadn’t been localized for the West for decades. Directed by Takashi Tokita, one of the lead creative minds behind Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy IV, the game consists of eight very different short stories, each starring its own protagonist and featuring distinct gameplay mechanics and presentations. While the battle system is turn-based strategy, sometimes the game flips that on its head in unique ways.

Last year, Square Enix resurrected the title by giving it an Octopath Traveler-style HD-2D facelift, a rearranged soundtrack, and full voice-acting. You can pre-order the game on PlayStation and Steam to get a 20% discount. To learn more, you can read our review of Live A Live here.

Mauvier, who was a deputy in the Four Hounds in the main story of Fire Emblem Engage, will also be an ally character in the Fell Xenologue DLC. The Fell Xenologue DLC will take place in an alternate world with different versions of familiar characters. Tomoaki Maeno will reprise his role as Mauvier.

Mauvier will start as a Royal Knight. This is a Cavalry unit, which means that Mauvier will have high movement around the map. He’ll also be able to use staves to heal or support allies. This was his class as an enemy as well.

https://twitter.com/FireEmblemJP/status/1641357874529181696?t=ydNc9BM9z0BUayF9eQMcRw&s=19

In a short clip that Nintendo shared, Mauvier reports to Lady Nel and Nil. He expresses relief that he’s managed to meet them, and reports that he wasn’t able to carry out their orders to scout Solm due to some bizarre interference. In the video, you can see Zelestia and Marni, who are also members of the Four Winds, standing with them.

https://twitter.com/FireEmblemJP/status/1641357319760912386?t=RCKR_0JHFj-hjyb-oJZINQ&s=19

Gotcha Gotcha Games announced another RPG Maker Unite release date delay. It was originally set to debut on the Unity Asset Store on April 6, 2023. However, there’s no longer any release date for the game creation software.

While there’s no exact news about when RPG Maker Unite could appear after being delayed again, Gotcha Gotcha Games referred to this as its release date as being “temporarily postponed.” It cited both “quality and stability” concerns as being the reason for it not making its April 2023 debut.

Though the software is delayed, the developer frequently shares updates on its features and progress on social media. For example, it’s taken to using Twitter to share footage of new features in action. One RPG Maker Unite gameplay clip shared on the day it was delayed again shows how you can see wireframes while testing to better test transparent events.

Microsoft announced that it is working with Activision Blizzard on an Xbox Series X Diablo IV bundle. It will launch on June 6, 2023, the same day the game releases. People will be able to get it for $559. The Microsoft Store is already accepting pre-orders for it.

This Xbox Series X Diablo IV bundle doesn’t come with a custom themed system or controller. However, it does get the player a copy of the game with the system that is compatible both with that system and the Xbox One. There are also some in-game items included for both Diablo IV and other titles.

Here’s the full list of digital bonuses included with the bundle.

• Diablo III Inarius Murloc Pet and Inarius Wings
• Diablo IV Light-Bearer Mount with Caparison of Faith Mount Armor
• Diablo Immortal Umber Winged Darkness Cosmetics Set
• World of Warcraft Amalgam of Rage Mount

There's also a piece of official art showing how all of the digital bonuses will look in their respective games.

Headcannon, a developer that assisted Sega with the original Sonic Origins, Sonic Mania and other entries, confirmed it is working on Sonic Origins Plus. The company took to Twitter to discuss some of the elements it contributed in the updated release. Specifically, it ended up being behind two of the new playable characters. It cited its part in helping make Amy Rose and Knuckles part of certain titles in Sonic Origins Plus.

As part of Sonic Origins, Amy Rose becomes playable in Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, Sonic 3 & Knuckles, and Sonic CD. Knuckles is new to Sonic CD. The announcement cited the artist and programmer behind Amy. It also mentioned the new Knuckles work and other unspecified additions.

We were excited to hear that SEGA wanted to make Amy playable, and we couldn’t resist an opportunity to help her into the spotlight! New playable characters need new sprites, and our own @AStartShow was certainly up to the design task while @DashPadSPD performed data management.

— Headcannon (@Head_cannon) March 30, 2023

Wildfrost is excellent at creating moments of triumph. Early on in my playthrough while I was still getting to grips with the game, I came face-to-face with a boss who got stronger when hit. Its card art had become bigger, juicier, more tauntingly malevolent, and easily could have taken out any of my team with a single hit. Thankfully, three of my team members were due to act one turn before it. The first chipped away a little of its health (its job was mostly healing) but the next doubled a stacked debuff that I had set up and turned the goliath into a giant bomb, and the effect of my two cards combined was just enough to trigger it. BOOM! My backline leader didn't even need to lift a single finger.

Playing with turn order and setting up synergies is a key part of how Wildfrost plays as a roguelike deck builder. Each individual card on the stage is part of a counter system, with both delaying and advancing them on the playing field being strategic choices. Some actions are free, like moving your cards around the stage or withdrawing them for healing, but playing cards out of your hand or shuffling your deck will pass the turn.

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Indie studio Majorariatto have released small, experimental games every March since 2017 - barring the cursed year of 2020 - and now they’re back with another thought-provoking adventure called Pineapple On Pizza, this time asking the profound question: can video games convey such a complex flavour? It’s out now, it’s free, and it’s only about ten minutes long.

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The inaugural RPS Game Club liveblog session is here! From 4pm BST today, March 30th, we'll be chatting all things Hi-Fi Rush, which the RPS Treehouse has been playing throughout the month of March. We hope you've been playing along too, so why not come and join in the discussion with us? See you at 4pm sharp!

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Electronic Arts has become the latest tech company to suffer mass layoffs. Today the publisher announced a new “restructuring” which will impact roughly 6% of their total workforce, or over 700 employees if an SEC filing from March 2022 is any estimate.

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Man, do I love the feeling of jamming out a guitar riff in games. Sure, in reality, I’m slumped on my couch in a position that my body will give me payback for when I’m thirty, but in my fantasy, I’m a musical prodigy whose guitar licks are so epic it would make Slash cry. My joy for virtual jamming came as a direct result of playing hours and hours of Guitar Hero. Harmonix held my music taste in its death grip, and almost breaking my fingers on those flimsy plastic buttons trying to conquer Through The Fire And Flames is a precious memory of mine.

So yeah, I love a good guitar sesh, so when I saw that Hi-Fi Rush was about a wannabe rockstar that smacks evil megacorp robots with his guitar to a catchy rock OST, Tango Gameworks had my attention.

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Disney Dreamlight Valley is poised to welcome a fresh set of four-legged friends next Wednesday, 5th April, as Simba and Nala take up residence as part of the village life sim's previously announced The Lion King update.

Samba and Nala's arrival brings Disney Dreamlight Valley's villager count up to 25, and comes alongside a new Lion-King-themed realm, additional and unspecified "surprises", plus a new battle-pass-style Star Path with a fresh set of rewards.

As ever, the Star Path must first be purchased using Disney Dreamlight Valley's premium currency, whereupon players can set about completing challenges to unlock its various cosmetic rewards - this time inspired by Disney's theme parks.

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Xbox has revealed the next games which will be available through Games with Gold over the course of April.

This time, we've got the choice of exploring outer space with Out of Space or, erm, beautiful Birmingham with Peaky Blinders: Mastermind.

Out of Space can be claimed from 1st to 30th April, whilst Peaky Blinders will be available from 16th April to 15th May.

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Cassette Beasts, a monster-collecting open-world RPG, is set to release next month on PC.

The game will initially be available on Steam and PC Game Pass day one, with Switch and Xbox versions out in "late spring" according to developer Bytten Studio.

Featuring 2D art in a 3D environment, players will collect monster by recording them on cassettes and then using them to transform in battle. Different monster forms can be fused to create new, unique forms, and the game will also support local co-op. Take a look at the announcement trailer for Cassette Beast below.

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Mighty Doom, out now on iOS and Android, is a free-to-play Archero-like top-down shooter starring the one and only Doom Slayer, aka the Doomguy. In many ways, it reminds me of those weird ‘80s cartoons that adapted gory, adult action films into kid-friendly animated shows, like Rambo or RoboCop. Sadly, while Mighty…

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Horizon Forbidden West was cross-gen on release, so it might have been surprising when Sony announced that the story DLC Burning Shores would be a PlayStation 5 exclusive. The publisher finally provided fans with some answers on the PlayStation blog as to why: the last-gen console wouldn’t be able to handle all those…

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“Disney” and “controversial” don’t typically go together. Even so, 58 million people visited Walt Disney World last year; it’s impossible to please them all. And occasionally, there will be an outcry, uproar, outrage, or brouhaha that’s large enough to make the news.

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As efforts to preserve video game history continue, we still stumble upon things that once seemed lost to time. This includes games dating back to the Atari 2600 days, such as this 44-year-old title made by Atari back in the 70s.

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Battle royales are everywhere. From first-person shooters like Warzone to (now-defunct) third-person spellcasters such as Spellbreak, the genre has overtaken the industry. While battle royales may be ubiquitous, there’s one you probably aren’t playing right now that you totally should. It’s called Naraka: Bladepoint,…

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