March 2023

Kerbal Space Program 2 player count has already dropped below first game

1 year ago

Kerbal Space Program 2 has had a rocky launch.

On the space-flight simulator's release in Early Access, many found the game unplayable due to a collection of bugs and frame-rate issues. At this time, many reviewers on Steam suggested players stick to the original Kerbal Space Program game until the developer irons out some of the kinks plaguing its sequel.

And, well, it looks like many are doing just that, with Kerbal Space Program 2's player count already dropping below its predecessor's numbers in recent days.

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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There's a Mirror's Edge Easter Egg in Battlefield 2042's new map

1 year ago

Battlefield 2042 players have discovered a new in-game Easter Egg for Mirror's Edge.

The game's latest season (Season 4) introduces a new map called Flashpoint. There players can find a pair of running shoes by flying to the crane on top of the map's big hole.

Those shoes are worn by Faith, the protagonist of Mirror's Edge.

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Author
Ed Nightingale

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Let’s discuss The Last of Us episode eight

1 year ago

We are nearing the end of The Last of Us' first season.

After last week's episode further established Ellie's motivations, episode eight - "When We Are In Need" - brings us back to the present day, and Joel and Ellie's ongoing plight to find the Fireflies.

This episode stays remarkably faithful to its source material while continuing to put a spotlight on character development, and as always leaves plenty to discuss. Without further ado, let's crack on.

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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New Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi announced

1 year ago

A new Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi game has been announced by Bandai Namco.

This will be the fourth in the fighting game series based on the popular anime, following Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3 released in 2007 for the PS2 and Wii.

A new teaser trailer for the game was released, with footage from previous games leading up to the reveal.

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Author
Ed Nightingale

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Whaddya buyin'? They've changed the voice of the merchant in Resident Evil 4 and I'm heartbroken

1 year ago

Some things are eternally etched into your psyche. The last sunset of your favourite beach holiday. The wafting scent of your grandma's cooking. The gravelly drawl of Resident Evil 4's merchant asking "Whaddya buyin?"

OK, one of those things is not like the others, granted, but Paul Mercier's reprisal as the gun-slinging merchant from Resident Evil 4 - my favourite NPC from my favourite video game -will forever occupy a part of my brain.

For the uninitiated, Resident Evil 4 drops the franchise's zombies for the Ganados - a 'flock' of parasitically controlled religious zealots who will stop at nothing to either infect or vivisect you. Think Cordyceps, but before it was cool.

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Author
Nic Bunce

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You can now try fishing game Dredge before you buy with this new Switch demo

1 year ago

Those who can't wait to try out the mysterious upcoming fishing game, Dredge, will be able to try before they buy, courtesy of a new playable demo that's currently available on Switch.

We already knew that Dredge, the sinister fishing game from Black Salt Games and publisher Team 17, is out on 30th March 2023, but Black Salt Games has also detailed what's available in the game's various editions, too.

There are several different versions to consider, although the pricing structure is a touch convoluted – here's how it breaks down…

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Author
Vikki Blake

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Counter-Strike 2 - and a playable beta - could be announced as soon as later this month

1 year ago

Get set, Counter-Strike fans – it looks like a new version of CS:GO – possibly called Counter-Strike 2 – could be on the way.

As there's been no formal word from Valve, Steam, or anyone else for that matter, all we can do right now is chalk this up to either a mistake, a hoax, or a hilarious misunderstanding. If a recent NVIDIA leak is correct, however, and executable files called "cs2" and "csgo2" have indeed been discovered, a beta could launch as soon as later this month.

Alongside a curious tweet from noted Counter-Strike leaker @gabefollower, which unveiled the curious additions to the NVIDIA driver update, journalist Richard Lewis has also stepped up to confirm that "a new version of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive [is] on its way" and reckons it is "almost certainly set to be released under the working title of Counter-Strike 2".

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Author
Vikki Blake

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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty stops by Naraka: Bladepoint for this limited-time crossover event

1 year ago

Jump into Naraka: Bladepoint between now and the end of the month, and you'll be able to participate in a crossover event with the newly-launched ARPG, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

Calling it the "first major crossover event of 2023", 24 Entertainment has partnered with Koei Tecmo to reward Naraka players with "exclusive rewards" for logging in and completing challenges.

"These prizes include a collection of Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty cosmetics with a new Battlemark, banner, and profile backgrounds available, as well as an iconic piece of headwear," the developer teases.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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9 ways to get the best out of your PSVR2

1 year ago

The PSVR2 is here and in my humble opinion it’s brilliant. One of the best things about it though comes from reading all the comments on this site from new PSVR2 owners who are having their minds blown after finally being able to experience VR for the first time!

It’s a wonderful sight to see but nevertheless, I have noticed that a few people haven’t taken to it as well as me, along with a bunch of people who really want to try it after seeing all the positive feedback but are being turned off by some of the criticisms.

Well, that's where this week's VR Corner comes in because I've put together a little guide for both new owners and potential buyers alike that should help you to enjoy the world of VR to its fullest.

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Author
Ian Higton

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Austrian court rules that FIFA's FUT packs violate the country's gambling laws

1 year ago

PlayStation has been ordered to refund Austrian FIFA players after a court ruled that FIFA Ultimate Team (FUT) packs are a form of gambling.

As reported by Games Wirtschaft and spotted by VGC, a court in Hermagor ruled that the football game's FUT packs violated the country's gambling laws.

According to lawyer Ulrich Salburg, the plaintiffs - which include one minor - had allegedly "gambled away" hundreds of euros on FUT packs when the uncertain monetary value of the packs purportedly violated the Austrian Gaming Act. Consequently, the court alleged that the controversial loot boxes could be classified as "illegal gambling".

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Author
Vikki Blake

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eFootball tops 600m downloads worldwide

1 year ago

Konami wants you to know that its reimagined PES football game, eFootball 2023, has now surpassed 600 million downloads globally across both PC, mobile, and console.

The free-to-play football game is celebrating the milestone by offering a "commemorative campaign", as well as giving away Neymar Jr and some in-game currency to anyone who logs in between now and 30th March.

Log in every day, however, and you can receive up to 10 coins a day, up to a total of 280 eFootball coins. Score a goal with Neymar Jr in the next fortnight – from now until 16th March – and you'll get more coins, Game Points, and XP, and the same applies if you score with Lionel Messi between 16th and 30th March.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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Like a Dragon: Ishin! How the hybrid remaster/remake plays out on modern hardware

1 year ago

Like A Dragon: Ishin is a game that requires a bit of explanation. The game itself is a side-story in the Like A Dragon franchise, which was up until recently known in the west as Yakuza. Its original release came all the way back in 2014, but the game's heavy reliance on Edo-period Japanese history meant that its initial version was only released in the developer's home country, on PS3 and PS4 no less. Some nine years later, the game has finally been localised for international audiences and dramatically updated with modern technology - in this case, Epic's Unreal Engine 4. So the question is, does the game hold up on the latest consoles and PC - and what are the plus and minus points of jettisoning the developer's bespoke Dragon Engine in favour of Epic's ubiquitous middleware?

It's very important to understand what Like A Dragon: Ishin is, and what it isn't. This is a game that was originally developed around the PlayStation 3, with graphics and scope constrained around seventh-gen console hardware. It was also released on PS4, but that version was very similar to PS3, as you might expect. Obviously that wouldn't hold up especially well at the moment, so the developers at Ryu Ga Gotoku Studios have taken a sort of hybrid approach to updating the game - lying somewhere between a remaster and a remake. The game logic and animation seem very similar, but the renderer has been swapped out for UE4 and assets have been modified or replaced to suit the new visual targets.

Author
Oliver Mackenzie

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There are "big plans" to improve the AI for Sons of the Forest's companion characters

1 year ago

If you've been spending some time running around Sons of the Forest and wondering what, exactly, Kelvin can do - besides knocking your treehouse down, of course - I have good news; developer Endnight has plans to buff your companion along with your three-legged lady pal, Virginia.

According to a Reddit Q&A session as spotted and transcribed by PC Gamer, the team has "big plans" for Kelvin, including expanding the tasks he can complete - including fortifying the base. Endnight also intends to develop Virginia's AI so that she'll take on intruders with "more bravery" if you were altruistic enough to hand over one of your firearms.

"We have big plans to keep adding tasks Kelvin can complete, some ideas in progress are having are having him help construct a wall around your base, or fortify/repair the base when needed," the team said.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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London's arcade bars are odd and oddly beautiful

1 year ago

London is a weird city, full of idiosyncrasies. Primary schools sit on the same street corner as late-night kebab shops, serving meat and chips to boozy partygoers. Million-pound houses are sometimes a few feet away from neglected council estates. And Victorian-era churches lay abandoned on the same road as a local gym. Put simply, London is what happens when you procedurally generate a real-life city.

One such idiosyncrasy is the resurgence in arcade bars that are becoming more and more prominent in London's nightlife scene, places where the games are (usually) older than the people playing them.

I've seen arcade bars take on multiple forms. Some venues are traditional arcades with all the classics you'd expect - Street Fighter 2, TMNT, etc - with a bar on the side. Some bars are drenched in neon lights and wall paints, more of a trendy art installation begging to go viral. One 'arcade bar' was just a club with a rowdy crowd and a lone N64 in the corner - I still managed to sneak in a game of Mario Kart, poking out of the jumping bodies like the blob from Inside.

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Author
Kaan Serin

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Here's that Xbox Series S toaster you've always wanted

1 year ago

Images of an Xbox Series S-themed toaster have popped up online.

That's right; if you're looking for more branded kitchen merchandise to go alongside your neon-green Xbox Series X mini-fridge, images of a "Series S Toaster" have appeared on a French website.

As spotted by GyoJvbfr and XboxSquad.fr (thanks, Windows Central), it looks as though the toaster is set to release later this year, but is currently available to pre-order for residents of France and Belgium.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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Try Anno 1800 for free later this month on PC and console

1 year ago

You can try out Anno 1800 for free on PC and console later this month for free.

To "mark the release on the console edition of Anno 1800" - which is set to come to PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on 16th March - Ubisoft is giving players the chance to try before they buy between 16th and 23rd March.

The free week - which you can download on from your console's store, or via Epic Games Store and Ubisoft Connect on PC - gives players full access to the game's main content, with any progress you make carrying over should you decide to buy the full game.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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Diablo 1 and 2 co-creator Erich Schaefer joins Moon Beast to "redefine the action-RPG genre"

1 year ago

Diablo 1 and 2 co-creator, Erich Schaefer, has joined Moon Beast Productions in order to "redefine the action-RPG genre".

Schaefer will take on the position of chief creative officer alongside industry stalwarts, Peter Hu and Phil Shenk, where he'll be "leading the creative direction" of the studio's unannounced action-RPG.

Schaefer has established four studios in his time – Blizzard North, Flagship Studios, Runic Games, and Double Damage Games – and co-created the first two Diablo games alongside other critically-acclaimed games like Torchlight and Rebel Galaxy.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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A first-person mode may be on the way to Fortnite

1 year ago

Rumour has it, a first-person mode is on the way to Fortnite.

That's according to Fortnite dataminer Hypex, who – along with other leakers like ShiinaBR, GMatrixGames, and iFireMonkey – believes Fortnite's first-person mode is set to arrive with the battle royale's "next season".

As many Fortnite fans will know, Hypex is neither new to, nor unknown in, the community, and has often been proved right about other similar unannounced claims in the past.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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Rough edges aside, Clive 'N' Wrench offers a glimpse into the developer's favourite gaming memories

1 year ago

Clive 'N' Wrench is a throwback 3D platformer created by one developer, Rob Wass, working for over a decade. As you might imagine from that, the end result is both heartfelt and fiddly. It's a fascinating trip back to the glory days of the PS1 and N64 collectathon platformers that the developer clearly loves. It's also filled with glitches and floaty jumps that are hard to land. It has input lag at times, and if you're playing on Switch there's a lot of loading.

Yes, absolutely. I get all of this. But I have already lost one morning to Clive 'N' Wrench, and, reader? I suspect I am going to lose another. That's because Clive 'N' Wrench, for all its problems, is a return to something I have discovered that I really enjoy - the expansive worlds of old platformers.

The first level is a perfect example. Clive 'N' Wrench throws you through a bunch of different time periods, I gather, but it kicks off with a sort of Honey I Shrunk the Kids pastiche. You've got a kitchen, living room and bathroom to explore, but you're absolutely tiny. It feels like Banjo Kazooie mixed with Micro Machines. I leap from sponges in the sink and dance past gas hobs. I climb chairs to get onto breakfast tables. I navigate the toothbrush pot by the bathroom mirror.

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Author
Christian Donlan

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Those Who Remain developer's next indie game is deep-sea horror, Beneath

1 year ago

Those Who Remain developer Camel 101 has announced its next project will be a "heart-pounding first-person action-horror adventure" called Beneath.

Set "in the mysterious depths of the ocean", Beneath sees you assume the role of diver Noah Quinn, who has only his weapons and wits to "escape a treacherous underwater world filled with terrors beyond imagining".

You can check it out in the teaser below:

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Author
Vikki Blake

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We've forged over a million creations with Halo Infinite's Forge Beta

1 year ago

343 Industries is celebrating Halo Infinite's "powerful fan-favourite toolset", Forge, passing one million creations.

The studio also announced that since the Custom Game Browser launched back in December, more than 8.5m custom matches have been played in the latest instalment of its sci-fi shooter, Halo Infinite.

"In November, the Winter Update brought a host of new maps, modes, and features to Halo Infinite," said Halo Infinite's lead designer, Michael Schorr.

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Author
Vikki Blake

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Ubisoft is "working on a strategic reorganisation of its European business"

1 year ago

Ubisoft is reportedly "working on a strategic reorganisation of its European business subsidiaries" that may include shuttering some of its European offices.

Unsubstantiated reports first surfaced on ResetEra, where a poster shared part of an email that purportedly detailed plans to "close a number of subsidiaries", including the closure of Ubisoft Benelux.

Eurogamer understands this reorganisation relates to Ubisoft's business offices rather than game development studios. In a statement to NME, Ubisoft refused to "share" any more details given that the "process is ongoing", but did say: "Ubisoft’s publishing group is working on a strategic reorganisation of its European business subsidiaries".

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Author
Vikki Blake

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What's going on with the 'fake' mobile game ads on TikTok?

1 year ago

Have you ever been on TikTok for so long that you get served a video by TikTok itself telling you to stop it and go to bed? It happens to me, dear reader, once or twice a week.

And when I'm in TikTok's clutches, powerless to stop the cooking tips, pithy album reviews, rug-cleaning videos and clips of people throwing rocks off bridges, there are ads for mobile games. Really weird ads for mobile games.

You'll have seen them too, surely, particularly the ones for Top War: someone talks over footage of what looks like the game, saying they're exposing 'fake game ads on TikTok'. The action you see in these Top War ads suggests it's a simple two-lane runner-type game. If you actually install Top War, however, you will play a few stages of that runner game, and then the 'real' game reveals itself: a strategy builder-battler.

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Author
Neil Long

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Meta Quest 2's 256GB model gets $70 price reduction starting Sunday

1 year ago

Less than a year after Meta ramped the price of its Meta Quest 2 VR headset up by $100, the company is slashing prices back down - albeit only on the 256GB model and only by $70 - starting this Sunday, 5th March. It's also discounted its pricey Meta Quest Pro by $500.

At the time of last year's price hike, Meta insisted the increase was necessary as "the costs to make and ship our products [have] been on the rise". Now, though, it's saying it's dropping the price of Meta Quest 2's 256GB model from $499.99 USD to $429.99 in order to "let even more people feel the joy of fully immersive games and experiences".

The price drop goes into effect this Sunday in a select number of territories - specifically, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Norway, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the UK, and the US - and will mean there's now only $40 price difference between the 128GB and 256GB models. Meta hasn't shared the updated prices in local currencies as yet.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Warframe's ambitious The Duviri Paradox expansion arrives in April

1 year ago

Warframe's ambitious The Duviri Paradox expansion - which was originally slated to arrive last year before getting delayed into 2023 - is finally almost upon us, with developer Digital Extremes having now confirmed it'll be launching this April. And while you've got your diary out, it's also announced a date for this year's TennoCon so you might as well jot that down too.

The Duviri Paradox, if you've not been keeping up with the news, introduces Warframe's fourth open-world area - following the Plains of Eidolon, Orb Vallis, and the Cambrian Drift - and plunges players into the fantasy-western-themed world of Duviri, most notable for the fact it exists inside the mind of the expansion's new big bad, Dominus Thrax.

Beyond its distinctive setting, The Duviri Paradox also features a striking stark black and white aesthetic (with the world slowly blooming into full colour over time), a new rewind-on-death mechanic that sees Digital Extremes "flirting with rogue-like elements", and, for good measure, a fancy skeletal horse steed.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Nintendo yanks Wii U Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon offline due to security concerns

1 year ago

If you had high hopes of hunkering down for a spot of Wii U Mario Kart 8 or Splatoon multiplayer this weekend, there's some bad news: Nintendo has pulled both games offline while it addresses a security vulnerability, with no hint as to when servers may return.

Nintendo took both games offline at 4.30am this morning in the UK, and confirmed the downtime on its server status page, explaining, "This network service is currently unavailable due to urgent maintenance required to fix a vulnerability related to online play."

As noted by VGC, Nintendo dataminer OatmealDome has suggested the security issue affecting Mario Kart 8 and Splatoon is likely to be ENLBufferPwn - a vulnerability common to network code present in a number of first-party Nintendo games that makes it possible for a hacker to connect to another player's device and remotely execute code.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty off to a strong start on PC, but not without issues

1 year ago

Team Ninja has released a statement addressing issues PC players are facing with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty.

The hotly-anticipated action game released earlier today and had garnered plenty of interest with its demo. Alan Wen gave the game a recommended badge in his review on PlayStation 5, but performance on PC seems to be hit-and-miss.

At time of writing, Wo Long is in the top five best-sellers on Steam. The game peaked at 75,906 concurrent players on the platform earlier today (as recorded by SteamDB), making it one of Team Ninja's most popular games on PC.

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Author
Liv Ngan

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First trailer for next Pokémon anime series releases

1 year ago

The Pokémon Company has released the first trailer for the next series in the animated Pokémon series, and gives us a few more details about the main characters.

We've already been introduced to protagonists Liko and Roy, as well as Captain Pikachu and his partner Friede.

As well as the protagonists, we also get a glimpse of a new character, and which other Pokémon we can expect to see in the series.

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Author
Liv Ngan

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Here's a Dead Space first-person mod to make things even scarier

1 year ago

There's a new first-person mod for the original Dead Space, which raises the classic sci-fi survival horror's scares to a whole new level.

When I initially saw this mod, I questioned its value. Dead Space has one of the cleanest HUDs of any game, and its ability to view Isaac Clarke's health and Stasis module via the back of his suit remains inspired.

That said, a first-person view - where you are unable to see enemies approach from behind and have to mentally keep track of damage - is surely even scarier.

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Author
Tom Phillips

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Mech room for a stompy delight, and a trip to the Three Kingdoms

1 year ago

I was drawn to Caelyn's review of Phantom Brigade by a lovely bit of video game maths in the header: this is Into the Breach meets Frozen Synapse, apparently. What an intoxicating thought. The chess-puzzle precision of Into the Breach with the stark, time-bending shenanigans of Frozen Synapse. Surely this is a game for the ages?

And I think maybe it could have been, if not for a few rough elements. Listen: take huge stompy mechs into turn-based battles here, but, like Frozen Synapse, you plan your moves and then commit - and then you get to watch everything play out in all its stompy meched glory.

It's not all great, sadly. It sounds like the UI is a bit of a mess, and things get repetitive rather quickly, and show up an underlying lack of personality. Such a shame! But even so, a part of my heart always falls in love whenever I hear that a strategy or tactics game is really a set of puzzles waiting to be solved. Read Caelyn's lovely review to find out whether there is room in your life for this game. To me, it sounds like I'll be giving it a spin.

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Author
Christian Donlan

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Jack Black's balls blurred in Bowser cosplay

1 year ago

With the release of The Super Mario Bros. movie approaching, the film's cast have been doing the rounds to promote it, as one would expect.

Jack Black, the voice of Bowser, may have promoted a little more than he had anticipated in a recent appearance on The Kelly Clarkson Show - and ended up having his crotch blurred.

Black appeared with co-stars Chris Pratt, Charlie Day, and Keegan Michael-Key in a series of videos uploaded to YouTube by the official channel for The Kelly Clarkson Show. The others showed up in smart casual fashion, whilst Black was "tricked" by the others into dressing up as his Mario movie counterpart.

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Author
Liv Ngan

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Guilty Gear Strive arrives on Game Pass next week

1 year ago

Fighting game Guilty Gear Strive will join Game Pass next week, and will be playable on console and PC.

Guilty Gear Strive originally released in June 2021 for PC and PS4/5, with its arrival to Game Pass announced last September with a window of spring 2023.

BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle, another fighting game from the same developer (Arc System Works), was also announced for Game Pass in September, but we still don't know when that'll be available on the service.

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Author
Liv Ngan

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Metroid Fusion joins Nintendo Switch Online next week

1 year ago

Game Boy Advance classic Metroid Fusion will become available on Nintendo Switch next week, on Thursday 9th March.

As with all GBA games, you'll need to be a subscriber of the Nintendo Switch Online service's pricier Expansion Pack tier to be able to play it.

Developed internally by Nintendo, Metroid Fusion is beloved for its classic side-scrolling Metroid gameplay. Upon its launch back in 2007, Eurogamer's editor at the time Tom Bramwell described it as his "favourite 2D Metroid yet".

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Author
Tom Phillips

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Capcom digital event scheduled for next week, Resident Evil 4, Exoprimal and more

1 year ago

Capcom will host a digital event for its upcoming games next week.

Capcom Spotlight will stream via Twitch and YouTube on Thursday, 9th March from 2:30pm PT, so that's 10:30pm GMT. The show is expected to last about 26 minutes.

The publisher has stated the show will cover its upcoming releases Resident Evil 4, Exoprimal, Monster Hunter Rise, Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection and Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective.

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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Square Enix looks set to replace its CEO

1 year ago

Square Enix plans to replace its current CEO Yosuke Matsuda, with a motion on his departure set to be voted on by shareholders in June.

Matsuda has served as CEO for decade, during which time the company has seen a mix of fortunes. Square Enix's western studios have been sold off, its high-profile Marvel's Avengers project failed to find success, and most recently its Japan-made blockbuster Forspoken flopped.

The company has lined up Takashi Kiryu, a young exec who joined Square Enix in 2020, as Matsuda's replacement.

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Author
Tom Phillips

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What we've been playing

1 year ago

Hello! Welcome back to our regular feature where we write a little bit about some of the games we've found ourselves playing over the last few days. This time: murders in Bavaria, spooky trains, and fox cubs.

If you fancy catching up on some of the older editions of What We've Been Playing, here's our archive.

I'd make a terrible monk, I'm way too scandalous. Give me half an opportunity to flirt and I'm 100 percent absolutely doing it, regardless of who it's with or whether it's appropriate or not. Flirty Bertie, they call me. Oh I'm talking about in a game by the way! I would never do that in real life, ha ha, awkward laugh.

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Author
Christian Donlan

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Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope now has a two-hour demo on Switch

1 year ago

Ubisoft is aiming to drum up some additional interest in last year's excellent Mario + Rabbids sequel Sparks of Hope with a new two-hour demo, available now on Switch.

Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope was well-received by critics when it launched at the end of last year, drawing praise for a solid evolution of its wonderfully engaging 2017 predecessor, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, that melded exemplary XCOM-like strategy action with expanded puzzles and more open-ended exploration.

Eurogamer's Christian Donlan liked Sparks of Hope enough to slap it with a Recommended badge in his review, calling it "knockabout XCOM fun in a galaxy-hopping adventure".

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Author
Matt Wales

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Minecraft's upcoming 1.20 release now officially known as Trails & Tales

1 year ago

Let's be honest, "Minecraft's 1.20 update" wasn't exactly a phrase that tripped off the tongue, so thank goodness for developer Mojang, which has now officially given Minecraft's next major release a far more memorable name: Trails & Tales.

Mojang says it's chosen the name as it "represents the journey that Minecraft takes us on, and the unique stories that each of us bring back", and because its additions are all about "self expression through representation, story telling, and world building."

But while Trails & Tales' name might be new, details of the features it'll bring are not, with Mojang having already delved into the update's various additions in some significant detail.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Here's another 14 minutes of Dead Island 2's zombies getting smashed to bits

1 year ago

Long-in-the-works open-world zombie shooter Dead Island 2 is finally - after eight years and multiple delays - almost upon us, and in anticipation of its 21st April arrival, publisher Deep Silver has just shared 14 new minutes of combat-focused gameplay.

This latest airing follows Dead Island 2's slightly odd showcase in December - which buried a few juicy snippets of gameplay amid a heap of largely uninformative live-action sequences - but the focus this time is on gameplay from beginning to end.

Deep Silver's latest gameplay reveal picks up in Bel Air, just a few hours into the game, as players - having selected Dani as their Slayer of choice - attempt to navigate LA's sun-kissed (and zombie-infested) streets in search of the Halperin Hotel evacuation point.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Acclaimed tropical island mystery Call of the Sea is next week's free Epic Store game

1 year ago

Here's a little something for purveyors of exquisite things at reasonable prices: Call of the Sea, developer Out of the Blue's acclaimed Lovecraft-hued tropical island mystery adventure, is free next week on the Epic Games Store.

Call of the Sea - which originally released toward the tail-end of 2020 - whisks players back to 1934, as protagonist Norah Everhart (voiced by Firewatch and The Walking Dead: Season One's Cissy Jones) investigates a beautiful South Pacific island in search of her missing husband.

What follows is a captivating, often ingenious blend of story, exploration, and puzzling that successfully that manages to hits some powerful emotional beats, even as it tips into cosmic weirdness. Eurogamer's Robert Purchese described Call of the Sea as a "dazzlingly different debut with a haunting sense of place and adventure" in his Recommended review.

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Author
Matt Wales

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