April 2023

Last night ID@Xbox held their latest showcase to spotlight all sorts of indies. One of the highlights was the cute deduction game Lil’ Guardsman, a riff on Papers, Please where you work on a guard post, choosing to accept or refuse entry for fantasy folk wanting to get into the city. Or you can just jail them. It looks like lighthearted fun, and it’ll be hitting PC and consoles later this year.

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The Super Mario Bros. Movie is out in theaters now, and for those of you who didn’t care for what you heard of Chris Pratt’s Mario voice in the trailers, well, it is pretty much like that throughout most of the movie. However, there is one scene at the beginning that serves as a bit of a meta moment about this,…

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No one likes cheaters, especially not the Ricochet Anti-Cheat team, Call of Duty’s dedicated cheat-busting unit. On April 4, Ricochet put out a brief report detailing how it’s preserving the integrity of the game. They’ve got some pretty hilarious ways of screwing over cheaters, from making their targets vanish before…

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Nintendo announced when the first Eggstra Work event in Splatoon 3 will be taking place. Eggstra Work is a variant on the Salmon Run mode which utilises the new Pool system. It kicks off on April 15, 2023 and will carry on until April 17, 2023.

https://twitter.com/NintendoEurope/status/1643901714204852227

Eggstra Work will feature a set scenario in Salmon Run for players to team up with friends or other players in a Pool to collect as many Golden Eggs as possible. Previous details revealed by Nintendo confirmed that the event will take place over five waves instead of the usual three, allowing players to potentially gain more rewards.

The first event will take place on the Sockeye Station stage. The weapon rotation will include the Splattershot, Blaster, Splat Roller and Splat Charger. All players who take part in the event will get a commemorative sticker for their locker.

This marks the third type of special event in Splatoon 3. Another variant on the Salmon Run mode, Big Run, last took place on March 4, 2023 on the Inkblot Art Academy stage.

The other big event usually seen in Splatoon 3 is the Splatfest. The latest Splatfest just happened on April 1, 2023. The event was a battle between believers in Nessie, Aliens and Bigfoot, with Nessie coming out on top.

Splatoon 3 is out now for Nintendo Switch. The first Eggstra Work event will take place on April 15, 2023.

Capcom announced that it isn’t possible to sign up for the Resident Evil Ambassador Program anymore. This is a social program that relies on Twitter to talk about the game or take part in questionnaires. However, because of the Twitter API issues, nobody can get started with it and existing members will experiencing issues.

As part of the changes with Twitter now that Elon Musk owns the social media network, free API access was removed. Capcom noted that the Twitter API used for this program is out following it. It noted that the company is unsure when things will be fixed.

Here’s the full list of issues people will encounter as a result of the complications with Twitter:

• New registration for the "Resident Evil Ambassador Program" is not available. (You can register CAPCOM ID and Resident Evil Portal, but the Twitter link for Ambassador registration is currently unavailable).

• Registered users cannot reconnect their Twitter account to the Resident Evil Ambassador Program.

• Registered users cannot change their Twitter icons to Resident Evil Portal icons. (Twitter icons that have already been set can still be used.)

Back when Epic Games teased Attack on Titan for Fortnite, the company only showcased Eren Yeager. He appeared in both a teaser trailer and official one. Now another clip appeared that suggests Attack on Titan Levi Ackerman and Mikasa Ackerman skins will show up on April 11, 2023.

Here's the Attack on Titan video Epic Games shared on the Fortnite Twitter account. It seems to show both Levi and Mikasa using the familiar vertical maneuvering equipment. However, Levi is featured more prominently. There's a lot of movement and clear looks at both characters aren't offered, but the hairstyles and appearances make the identities fairly obvious. It also mentions players can "dedicate their hearts" on April 11, 2023.

Dedicate your hearts.

4.11.2023 pic.twitter.com/zmaF0rnn7g

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) April 6, 2023

Fire Emblem paid downloadable campaigns often aren’t extensive. The Fire Emblem Awakening The Future Past series consisted of only three episodes. Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ Cindered Shadows took place over seven chapters. Perhaps it shouldn’t feel like Fire Emblem Engage’s Fell Xenologue is so abrupt, but a number of factors leave it feeling like speed-running through a campaign to get the story over with and new characters added.

Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for the Fire Emblem Engage Fell Xenologue campaign and main storyline below.

Perhaps part of it has to do with its integration. Those who completed Fire Emblem Engage or acquired its DLC Emblem Bracelets before attempting it are aware of it taking place in a multiverse setting. It’s established there are other worlds. One just so happens to be in the Somniel’s Ancient Well. Investigating it abruptly finds Alear summoned to another, fallen world where Sombron and their Divine Dragon Alear both fell in battle at the same time. You quickly accept the mission to help the Fell Dragon children Nel and Nil reclaim the seven Emblem Bracelets so the corrupted warriors within can be put to sleep and granted peace.

It's weird that Road 96 has gotten a prequel, because it only came out about six months ag- what's that? A year and a half? Good lord. Still, it seems a slightly odd move, because Road 96 - a first person hitchhiking choose 'em up about the collective action of wayward teens bringing down a totalitarian government - doesn't really need a prequel. On top of that, Road 96: Mile 0 is a sequel to developer DigixArt's first game Lost In Harmony, a musical runner about skateboarder Kaito whose fiend Aya is dying of a terminal illness.

In Mile 0, Kaito and his family have moved to a small gated town called White Sands, in the 90s USA-adjacent dictatorship Petria, and made best friends with Zoe, who 96ers will remember as a recurring NPC from that game. Zoe is the daughter of an important minister and lives in the nice part of town; Kaito's parents are workers who are forced to live on the wrong side of the tracks. Through a combination of Road 96-style character-driven vignettes and Lost In Harmony-style rhythm action tracks, the two come to the conclusion they must leave White Sands. If you played Road 96 you kind of already know how Mile 0 has to end.

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Sony has issued a fresh response to the ongoing drama surrounding Microsoft's $68.7bn Activision Blizzard acquisition, and criticised the UK regulator currently probing the deal for recently softening its stance. Sony's statement also highlights the recent comments made by Redfall creative director Harvey Smith as fresh evidence of how Microsoft might mistreat Call of Duty on PlayStation if it were to own the first-person shooter series itself.

Last month, the UK's Competition and Markets Authority softened its stance on a key area of its concern over the deal passing, as it concluded that Microsoft owning Call of Duty would not "result in a substantial lessening of competition" in the console market. Sony's response to this decision, published publicly today, is unsurprisingly critical of this latest development, which it slams "surprising, unprecedented, and irrational".

The response also leaps upon last month's drama which erupted from comments made by creative director Harvey Smith, who revealed that Microsoft had canned plans for a PlayStation 5 version of Redfall after buying Bethesda. These comments, Sony has now said, were an indication of how Microsoft could also treat Call of Duty, if and when the deal goes through.

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For April Fool's Day, Sega released a game where the company finally went and did the unthinkable: they killed Sonic. The Murder of Sonic the Hedgehog is a real visual novel in which you investigate the death of Sega's beloved mascot, currently free on Steam. Here's the game's description via the publisher: 

It's Amy Rose's birthday, and she's hosting a murder mystery party on the Mirage Express! When Sonic the Hedgehog becomes the game's victim, everyone is off to get to the bottom of things. However, something feels a bit off - is this really an innocent game or is something more sinister afoot?

Ahead of its April 28 release date, publisher EA has revealed the PC requirements for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. And most notably, it's going to take up a big chunk of your computer's storage space, weighing in at an eye-watering 155GB. 

Here are the minimum and recommended spec requirements, as posted by EA: 

Minimum

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• RAM: 8Gb
• CPU Features: 4 core / 8 threads
• CPU* AMD: Ryzen 5 1400
• GPU** AMD: Radeon RX 580
• GPU Features: DX12, 8Gb VRAM
• Storage: 155Gb
• *CPU alternate: Intel Core i7-7700
• **GPU alternate: Nvidia GTX 1070

Recommended

• OS: Windows 10 64-bit
• RAM: 16Gb
• CPU Features: 4 core / 8 threads
• CPU* AMD: Ryzen 5 5600X
• GPU** AMD: RX 6700 XT
• GPU Features: DX12, 8Gb VRAM
• Storage: 155Gb SSD
• *CPU alternate: Intel Core i5 11600K
• **GPU alternate: Nvidia RTX2070

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor will be released later this month. In preparation, read our hands-on preview and impressions from playing three hours of the game, or our thoughts on the game's predecessor, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. 

Platform: Switch
Publisher: Disney Interactive Studios
Developer: DLALA Studios
Release: July 28, 2023

Dlala Studios recently shared an extensive hands-off presentation of its upcoming game, Disney Illusion Island, where we got a chance to see some of the game's early cutscenes and a substantial gameplay demo. Seeing the game in action answered a number of questions and presented a handful of intriguing new ones. For one, the game can be played alone, and though their animations differ, Mickey, Minnie, Donald, and Goofy all play the same. It's not a Super Mario Bros. 2 situation where they all run at different speeds and jump different heights. No matter who your favorite character is (Donald being an early contender in the cutscenes we saw), you will have the same experience.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie is faced with the gargantuan task of making a coherent plot out of characters and concepts that have mostly been blank slates over the series’ lifetime. While the movie might not be everyone’s cup of tea, I had a lot of fun watching the film portray Mario as a run-down plumber trying to…

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Sony has shown us some fascinating alternative controllers for the PlayStation 5, and one possible version is still at the patent stage. A recently published patent document suggests Sony might be currently experimenting with haptic technology that would allow part of your controller to change shape or temperature…

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While not set in stone, the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) now appears likely to approve Microsoft’s $69 billion purchase of Activision Blizzard, and Sony seems pissed. In its latest regulatory filing it blasted UK regulators over their “surprising, unprecedented, and irrational” reversal after initially…

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It was announced on April 6, 2023 via Hololive's official Twitter account that new merchandise featuring Hololive Indonesia VTubers is on the way. The two items are designed to celebrate the branch's 3rd anniversary. They will be available for pre-order from April 6, 2023 to May 8, 2023.

The first item available is a tapestry wall hanging featuring all nine Hololive Indonesia VTubers, which will cost $24. The nine members appearing on the tapestry are Airani Iofifteen, Anya Melfissa, Ayunda Risu, Kaela Kovalskia, Kureiji Ollie, Moona Hoshinova, Pavolia Reine, and Vestia Zeta. The second item is a multi-purpose case featuring a metal carabiner, which will cost $12. According to the official store page, both items will ship between late July 2023 and late August 2023.

You can view both pieces of Hololive merchandise below:

[gallery ids="958533,958534" link="file"]

When it comes to the Fire Emblem Engage Fell Xenologue Enchanter class, you have a little more freedom when picking a character (or characters) to fill that role. Its Mystic Satchel class change item isn’t as expensive as the Mage Cannoneer’s. (It's 28,000G with a Silver Card and 40,000G without.) You also don’t need to worry about character stats or growth rates when choosing someone to fill that role. From what I found, it’s really about seeing who is on-hand that meets the artes and dagger requirements and you think would work best supporting allies, perhaps even over actually fighting.

Think of it this way. With your dancer Seadall, you ideally want him to always be dancing. Attacking? Him? No. Go dance with Alear or somebody strong so they can continue their path of destruction. With the Enchanter, you could have them attack, but ideally have them use Weapon Surge to boost the power of one kind of weapon for the whole battle, then Item Surge to make allies stronger.

Koei Tecmo is running a Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse survey. The European division is currently the only one advertising the survey. However, since the survey is being hosted on the Japanese site, it doesn’t appear to have any restrictions on non-European players filling out the survey.

https://twitter.com/koeitecmoeurope/status/1643961755163578371

It’s a standard survey, asking players where they found out about this latest Fatal Frame game. It then goes to ask players what their thoughts on it were and what they would like to see in future Koei Tecmo games. There are also questions about which Fatal Frame games you’ve played before and a few questions about language preference for localization. Koei Tecmo would also like to know which of the company's other games you have played.

The survey is anonymous, and Koei Tecmo will not be considering social media responses for the final feedback. It is unknown what this feedback will be used for yet.

Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse originally released for the Wii in 2008, exclusively in Japan. The recent remaster saw the game localized into English for the first time. It also updated the game for modern systems, with improved character models and controls. You can read more about it in our review.

The remaster of Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse is available now for PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, PC and Xbox.

The Mage Cannoneer from the Fire Emblem Engage Fell Xenologue DLC is expensive, which means you’ll want to be careful when picking a character to take on that role. Especially since, upon unlocking it, the game even stresses you need someone with high build, dexterity, and strength stats. While some people who meet those requirements may have unique classes, like Diamant, there are a few others who could work out well in the role.

So, here are some suggestions characters who might be good options for your Mage Cannoneer in Fire Emblem Engage. I mean, when a single Mage Cannon is 63,000G with a Silver Card and 90,000G without, and you only get one as a reward, you need to be cautious!

Anna

Okay, this is one I like just because it can be funny. Anna’s build and strength are both low, which would hurt her hit rate as a Mage Cannoneer character once you get the class item after the Fire Emblem Engage Fell Xenologue campaign. However, her dexterity has the potential to be amazing, especially with her growth rate considered. If you give her Tiki’s Emblem Bracelet, which adds 15% to growth rates, you could turn her into an amazing unit.

The Radeon RX 6600 is a strong option for 1080p gaming, and you can now pick one up for just £212 at Ebuyer's store on Ebay, nearly £90 cheaper than it debuted in 2021. To knock 10% off the listed price, use code APRIL10 at the checkout.

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Falling-block puzzle games get a gory makeover in Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine, a spin-off from Super Meat Boy. Rather than dodging buzzsaws and baddies while platforming, here you'll be doing that while dropping coloured blobs into grids to match chains of colours and make 'em vanish. You can see that for yourself, as Mean Meat Machine now has a free demo offering a taste ahead of the game's launch later this year.

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A new deal, another pair of deals on NVMe SSD drives. This time, it's the Solidigm P41 Plus which is the subject of our deals post, with a 1TB model available for £48 and a 2TB model available for £90 - some incredible prices for PCIe 4.0 SSDs capable of up to 4125MB/s reads. To get this price on these drives from Ebuyer, just use the code APRIL10 at the checkout at Ebay.

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Calling all failed artists! Passpartout 2: The Lost Artist is out on Steam. I am still the frustrated artist struggling to survive that I was in the first Passpartout. This time, though, I’ve lost more than just my shabby shack. There are no bills to pay; instead, I’ve invested all my money into art supplies and rented a studio in the town of Phénix. Finally, I can become an art master, having my naive artwork displayed just alongside Van Gogh's.

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Forget rumours of a portable Xboy. Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s newest update has enabled matchmade multiplayer, and together with the custom game browser for the Steam Deck, you can now play some of the wackiest maps in any FPS from the comfort of your bed - or anywhere in the galaxy really. MCC’s multiplayer was previously disabled on Steam Deck since the mode required Easy Anti-Cheat, which has now been turned on.

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A week late but never a dollar short, The Electronic Wireless Show podcast talking about the past present and... well mostly just the present, to be honest, of The Last Of Us Part 1. It's had, and continues to have, a few problems with its PC launch last week, so we discuss that, we talk about the TV show, and we talk about some of the impact the game has had in general. Nate tells us all about Ceramus the Brick Knight, James polls us on Steam Deck alternatives coming out of the woodwork, and there are a lot of cowboy metaphors. Plus: what we've been playing this week, and our recommendations! It's a rootin', tootin' good time alright! Apolgies in advance for the recording going on the wonk right at the end, though.

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Players likely recognise Celeste as the pixel-perfect platformer from 2018, but it began its life as Celeste Classic, a free game written for the PICO-8. Celeste Classic presented a condensed climb up the titular mountain, letting you dash across platforms, hang onto walls, and collect strawberries - in miniature form. As a fun homage, you can find the PICO-8 version inside Celeste proper. And now, as an even funner homage, you can play it on the Playdate. A loveable game on a loveable handheld.

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There's a moment in BioShock Infinite's opening act that's always stuck with me. As you emerge onto the floating city of Columbia, the game takes you on a guided tour of the sights and sounds of this airbone civilization. As you saunter through the streets, you learn about its citizens and its creator, just sort of taking it all in. The sun is shining. You're surrounded by smiles. Before you know it, an airship rises above the clouds and perches next to a hugging couple, gently swaying in the summer breeze. Aboard the ship is a barbershop quartet, cheerfully harmonising the iconic Beach Boys tune God Only Knows. It's a memorable scene, and has become an integral part of the game's lasting iconography.

But for Tyler, Nick, Derek and Greg, this section was more than just a fun tease for the secret behind Columbia's unusual success. Self-confessed music school kids, the quartet inspired them to create their own musical group styled after Infinite's singing hairdressers. In 2023, BioShop Infinite celebrated their ninth year at PAX East, where they performed a wonderful collection of harmonised tunes to an absolutely packed community room - and we were there to film it.

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The Source VR Mod Team have been faithfully modding the Half-Life games into virtual reality - an excellent way to relive Valve's classic shooters. The team modded Half-Life 2 last year and followed it up with a mod for Half-Life 2: Episode One a couple of weeks ago. They’re now back with Half-Life 2: VR Mod - Episode Two, coming to Steam later today.

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E3 2023 is no more, but there's still a bunch of glitzy live game showcases to look forward to before the year is through. The biggies, of course, are largely being fronted by Geoff Keighley, and following confirmation Summer Games Fest returns on 8th June, Keighley has dated his next big event: Gamescom Opening Night Live, which airs on 22nd August.

Keighley confirmed the return of Opening Night Live on Twitter, but stopped short of sharing much in the way of specifics. We do know, though, that it'll once again be held at Cologne's Koelnmesse, kickstarting a week of Gamescom, which this year runs from 23rd-27th August.

"Excited to be back in Cologne with the fans and industry," Keighley wrote in his announcement tweet, "streaming video game news directly to you."

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Today brings our first look at branding for EA Sports FC, the new name for EA's best-selling FIFA series, before a more detailed look at the retitled franchise arrives in July.

In the meantime, you should expect to see EA Sports FC branding plastered across football in the coming days, EA warned. This will include advertising in matches across the Premier League and WSL, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A and Ligue 1.

EA's press release today is filled with quotes designed to reinforce the support it has for its branding change, including the bosses of many of those leagues. In it, EA also describes Sports FC as a "platform to create, innovate and grow new football experiences, connecting hundreds of millions of fans through console, mobile, online and esports products".

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Two Point Campus is adding a new challenge mode level for Easter as part of its Spring Update.

Players will be tasked with - what else? - a campus-wide egg hunt as Wiggy Silverbottom has been burying priceless Fitzpocket eggs. The Egg & Silver Spoon Race will see players digging for egg treasure that can be sold or used to decorate their campus.

The Spring update also adds a cute Bunny Ears outfit and Spring-themed items like chocolate bunnies, decorative chicks, and a big ol' egg.

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In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, Brian Shea and Charles Harte join host Alex Van Aken to discuss our Star Wars Jedi: Survivor preview, watching the Backstreet Boys' AJ McLean entertain his kids at The Super Mario Bros. Movie premiere, why a horror fishing game called Dredge is really good, and what MLB: The Show is doing to stand out. Oh, and they killed Sonic the Hedgehog. 

Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Brian Shea (@BrianPShea), Charles Harte (@ChuckDuck365)

Sony’s biggest blockbuster game of 2022 didn’t have a New Game+ mode when it released last fall, but it does now. The God of War Ragnarök’s NG+ update adds new bosses, perks, armor, sparring arena options, and an increased level cap. The mode also gives you the ability to skip cutscenes, in case you want to play a…

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Eight months ago, PointCrow, one of the most well-known Legend of Zelda YouTubers, posted a video of himself and a couple of streamers testing out a BotW multiplayer mod. As you might expect, the mod turns Nintendo’s solitary adventure into something that can be enjoyed with friends. Since posting his first…

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