May 2023

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart coming to PC in July

11 months 2 weeks ago

Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart is getting a PC release.

First shared by prolific and reliable leaker bilbil-kun, Sony and Insomniac Games made the news official this afternoon.

This PC version of Ratchet and Clank's latest outing will feature ray-traced reflections with a variety of quality levels to choose from and newly added ray-traced shadows for natural light in outdoor areas.

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Author
Victoria Kennedy

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Diablo IV – Review In Progress

11 months 2 weeks ago

Diablo IV review in progress

Diablo IV opens its hellish gates to players next week on June 6, but the first review embargo lifts today. I’ve spent dozens of hours roaming Sanctuary over the last two weeks, having completed the campaign, hit level 50, unlocked the Paragon Board, graduated to World Tier III, and devoured as much post-game content as I could in the allotted review period, such as the Whispers of the Dead missions and Helltides. 

However, I’m not ready to assign a score until I’ve gotten to play the game under normal conditions: with the servers live and teeming with players hunting Lilith. That means you won’t see a full review until I've spent a good deal of time with the launch version of the adventure. Until then, I’ll give my impressions on the things I can talk about. The short version: Diablo IV is very good.

To preface my experience, I played the Sorcerer class at World Tier II, which is essentially the default difficulty setting for experienced players. 

Author
Marcus Stewart

Oh lovely, another horror game with mannequins who move when you're not looking

11 months 2 weeks ago

Hey, fancy doing something unpleasant for the next ten minutes? Download Mannequin for free, a new little horror game. I don't think it's ruining any surprise to tell you that it's one of those games with horrible, horrible mannequins which can move when you're not looking. I hate this type of monster! It's a very good type of monster! And I hate it! And this little game is a decent one of these. So that's a short bit of fun for you.

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Author
Alice O'Connor

Silent Hill: Ascension's new trailer teases some very on-brand fleshy monsters

11 months 2 weeks ago

Konami and lead developer Genvid have offered a first proper look at Silent Hill: Ascension, their “interactive video streaming experience.” Ascension was the vaguest announcement from Konami’s big Silent Hill blowout from last year, and though details remain foggy, we now have a somewhat clearer picture of what to expect. Take a look below:

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Author
Kaan Serin

Diablo IV review: 2023's prettiest RSI machine

11 months 2 weeks ago

Playing Diablo 4 gave me a real case of the "Have I changed, or have the games changed?", and I think the answer is "yes". For the uninitiated, Diablo forms one of the jewels in Blizzard's crown (maybe a smaller one, just offset to the Warcraft centre stone), an action-RPG series that's like if the kind of 90s metal album cover that has a skeleton on it asked to be turned into a game where you explode many hundreds of near-identical monsters to get incrementally better loot. This is a spoiler-free review of the latest greatest addition, following 2012's Diablo 3, but a Diablo game's story is sort of unspoilable, both because a) paying attention to it is of passing importance to playing, and b) the plot of them is always basically the same anyway.

To wit: Sanctuary, a high-fantasy world with a low-fantasy vibe, where so much as going to the next town over will be a brush with some horrible little goblin rat called a Flesh Thresher, was created as a respite from the eternal battle between heaven and hell. After X number of years of relative peace, one (or many) of the Lords Of Hell is doin' some bad stuff. Usually Diablo, I'll grant you. In this case it's Lilith, a kind of Dante's Lady Dimetrescu, who's making people horny for being stepped on power. Diablo games have always had a Grand Canyon sized gulf between the cinematics (epic; luscious; brutal) and the game in practise (clicking). IV is no different. And you know. It's fine.

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Author
Alice Bell

Crucial T700 review: an untethered, unaffordable PCIe 5.0 SSD

11 months 2 weeks ago

When I previewed an early production sample of the Crucial T700, the theoretically fastest drive in the PCIe 5.0 SSDs vanguard, I said the price must be right for launch. Here was a drive that didn’t really move gaming performance beyond the best SSDs of the PCIe 4.0 generation, but could boot general read and write speeds into the stratosphere. That could be worth upgrading to, if the T700 itself stayed within reach of most PC owners.

Reader, the price is not right.

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Author
James Archer

Amnesia: The Bunker and Slayers X headline the next batch of Game Pass additions

11 months 2 weeks ago

Microsoft have announced what’s coming to Game Pass for the first two weeks of June, which includes games about cute childhood summers (Dordogne), a bunch of stacking dolls (Stacking), and a horrifying monster chasing you in the shadows (Amnesia: The Bunker). Something for every type of person, then, from those that suffer from summertime blues to sun-loving extroverts.

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Author
Kaan Serin

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PC Version Heads to Steam in July

11 months 2 weeks ago

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart PC Version Heads to Steam in July

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is the latest PS5 exclusive to head to PCs, and the game already has a Steam release date. People will be able to pick it up on July 26, 2023. The product page is live and people can add it to their wishlists. There's also a trailer for the port.

Here's the trailer for the PC version of the game.

Author
Jenni Lada

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See the One Piece Live-Action Going Merry in New Netflix Poster

11 months 2 weeks ago

See the One Piece Live-Action Going Merry in New Netflix Poster

There's another update on the Netflix live-action adaptation of One Piece, and this time it involves Going Merry. A new poster appeared with a different key visual. This time, the focus is on how the Straw Hat Pirates' ship will look in the show.

Here's the official announcement. We only get to see Going Merry head-on in this One Piece live-action poster. The figurehead is a sheep, just as it is in the manga and anime. For the poster, the character’s mouth is open. This suggests that its expression could exchange during the show, just as it would in the series in response to certain events.

Author
Jenni Lada

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Finally Get Home Support for Real

11 months 2 weeks ago

Pokemon Home Scarlet Violet

From May 30, 2023, Pokemon Home will start supporting for Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Once you connect your game to Pokemon Home, you’ll receive a Sprigatito, a Fuecoco, and a Quaxly. All three of them will have their Hidden Ability. As well, you'll be able to transfer in Pokemon that Game Freak coded into Scarlet and Violet, but never made obtainable in Paldea.

https://twitter.com/Pokemon_cojp/status/1663500531812249600

The full list of Pokemon that you’ll be able to transfer to and from Scarlet and Violet is available via Serebii. Some Pokemon were obtainable through limited events, such as Charizard or Typhlosion. You could only get them through Tera Raids or, if you missed them, trading. This also gives us the chance to transfer in Pokemon from their previous journeys. So if you have an emotional attachment to a Pokemon partner from, say, X or Y, you’ll be able to bring them with you as you travel through Paldea.

Author
Stephanie Liu

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Review: Diablo IV Retreads Old Ground in More Ways Than One

11 months 2 weeks ago

Diablo IV

Lilith arrived in Sanctuary with her the minions of hell. Diablo IV introduces one of the most integral characters from its expansive catalogue of lore to weave a tapestry about choice, parenthood, while transitioning the series into something more resembling a live service game. With one of the most interesting antagonists to date and a cast of characters that harken back to the much beloved Diablo II, Blizzard attempted to recreate the same lightning in a bottle it did with that seminal entry in the franchise. While Diablo IV is most certainly a beast of its own, it retreads old ground in more ways than one.

Author
Kazuma Hashimoto

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Lord of the Rings' Most Iconic Characters Showcased in Upcoming Magic: The Gathering Set

11 months 2 weeks ago

In an advance showcasing of their upcoming The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth card set, Magic: The Gathering game maker Wizards of the Coast presented an extensive roster of cards featuring characters from the well-known Tolkien setting.

Among the more than 100 cards shown, were numerous depictions of the terrifying Nazgûl, recognizable locations from Middle-earth in the form of land cards, and the corrupting One Ring itself, as well as huge cast of characters beloved by Tolkienites everywhere.

From Aragorn to Frodo, Boromir to Peregrin Took, and even the terrifying Balrog, all the notable characters you'd hope for can be found -- and often more than once, too!

Flip through the gallery below to see for yourself:

Many of the cards revealed make use of "The Ring Tempts You" mechanics, which empowers the player's Ring-bearer the longer you make use of its terrible might. One of those abilities makes your Ring-bearer a legendary and prevents creatures with greater power from blocking their attacks, while another saps all opponents of life when the Ring-bearer deals damage to any player.

WotC also discussed the digital version of their game, Magic: The Gathering Arena, which will be receiving the set in its entirety. For those hoping to bring Middle-Earth to their arena battles, they're offering a Hobbit-themed digital playmat for you to sling cards against your friends.

Author
Travis Northup

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Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart Comes to PC in July

11 months 2 weeks ago

PlayStation announced that Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart will come to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store on July 27. The PC port was a collaboration between Insomniac Games and Nixxes Software.

This version features ray-traced reflections with varying quality levels, as well as ray-traced shadows for natural light in outdoor areas in the game. Additionally, there are different aspect ratios to support ultra-wide and triple monitor set-ups such as 21:9, 32:9, and up to 48:9 resolutions.

There are also unlocked framerates and players will be able to choose from different upscaling options, including NVIDIA DLSS 3, AMD FSR2, Intel XeSS, and Insomniac’s own Temporal Injection. Both NVIDIA Reflex and NVIDIA DLAA are supported too.

Author
George Yang

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Xbox Games With Gold for June 2023 Revealed

11 months 2 weeks ago

Microsoft has announced its Xbox Games with Gold line-up for June 2023, with Adios and The Vale: Shadow of the Crown up for grabs next month.

As detailed on Xbox Wire, the two Games with Gold offerings for June will be available to anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with Adios coming up first from June 1 to June 30 and The Vale: Shadow of the Crown following between June 16 to July 15.

Adios is a cinematic first-person game about sticking to a complicated moral decision. Players take on the role of a pig farmer who has decided that he no longer wants to dispose of bodies for the mob. What follows is a discussion between him and his would-be killer.

After that difficult conversation, you might want to close your eyes and embark on an audio-based adventure with The Vale: Shadow of the Crown. Players control a blind adventurer who has just been made warden of a small castle on the outskirts of a kingdom.

New games approaching also means that May's Games with Gold will soon leave the service, so be sure to download Star Wars Episode I: Racer and Hoa before time runs out.

Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. Follow her on Twitter.

Author
Adele Ankers-Range

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Mortal Kombat 1 opens registrations for upcoming online stress test

11 months 2 weeks ago

If you're keen for a nose around Mortal Kombat 1 - and to play a part, however small, in making sure the whole thing doesn't immediately fall over on launch day - you might be interested to know registrations for the fighter's upcoming online stress test are now open.

Mortal Kombat 1 finally got its proper unveiling in May, with NetherRealm confirming it to be a reboot of sorts set in a "reborn" universe created by the Fire God Liu Kang.

The full game is scheduled to release on 19th September but, before then, NetherRealm and publisher Warner Bros. are giving players a couple of opportunities to put a limited build through its paces; those who pre-order Mortal Kombat 1 can participate in a beta test happening in August, and there's also a newly announced "online stress test" on the way.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Microsoft's appeal against UK Activision Blizzard block pencilled in for late July

11 months 2 weeks ago

Microsoft's appeal against the UK Competition and Merger Authority's decision to reject its Activision Blizzard deal has been given a preliminary 24th July start date.

The CMA made the shock decision to block Microsoft proposed $69bn acquisition of Activision Blizzard in April, highlighting concerns relating to the burgeoning cloud gaming sector and arguing the deal would risk "stifling competition in this growing market".

And now, following the recent publication of Microsoft's summary of application to appeal the CMA's decision - in which it accused the UK regulator of making "fundamental errors in its assessment" - the UK's Competition Appeal Tribunal has held a case management conference to iron out preliminary details of the hearing between Microsoft and the CMA.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Final Fantasy 16: Finding The Voices Of Clive And Joshua Rosfield

11 months 2 weeks ago

final fantasy xvi 16 clive joshua rosfield game informer exclusive coverage voice cast

If you’ve heard Joshua Rosfield, the younger brother of Final Fantasy XVI protagonist Clive Rosfield, in trailers and gameplay, there’s a good chance you find that voice very familiar. That’s because it’s Logan Hannan, the voice of Hugo de Rune from Asobo Studio’s A Plague Tale series

Logan Hannan – The Voice Of Joshua Rosfield

Naturally, the voices Hannan uses between Joshua and Hugo are different but there’s a young familiarity to it and it turns out, it was actually his performance as the latter that landed him the role of the former, according to FFXVI localization director Michael-Christopher Koji Fox. 

Author
Wesley LeBlanc

WrestleQuest Gets August Release Date

11 months 2 weeks ago

WrestleQuest Release Date trailer wrestling rpg game

Developer Mega Cat Studios has released a new trailer for its upcoming pro wrestling RPG, WrestleQuest, alongside news that the game will be released this August. 

More specifically, WrestleQuest hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, PC, and Netflix (for all subscribers) on August 8. This news was revealed in a new "Legends" trailer released by Mega Cat for the game today, which you can check out for yourself below: 

As you can see, WrestleQuest continues to look great, and now, we know we only have a few months to wait. 

While waiting to learn more, read about how we think wrestling games should expand to more genres (like WrestleQuest is doing), and then read about why WrestleQuest is one of five promising non-WWE wrestling games to watch out for

WrestleQuest hits PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, and Netflix on August 8. 

Are you picking up WrestleQuest later this year? Let us know in the comments below!

Author
Wesley LeBlanc

Diablo IV Reviews Suggest It's More Of The Same, In A Good Way

11 months 2 weeks ago

It’s been over 10 years since the last Diablo. Nuts, right? Diablo IV arrives on June 6, 2023, and while Diablo III enjoyed a long, active life, it’s certainly time for something new. Diablo III’s move to console shortly after the PC release brought the legendary action role playing game series from Blizzard to an…

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Author
Claire Jackson

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New Pokemon Squishmallows are Piplup and Winking Pikachu

11 months 2 weeks ago

New Pokemon Squishmallows are Piplup and Winking Pikachu

Jazwares and Kelly Toys announced the next two Pokemon Squishmallow plush toys are Piplup and a new winking Pikachu. This will mark the second sort of Pikachu variant in the collection. There's no release date yet, but the official account did share a picture of the two new plush alongside the six already in the lineup.

Here are the official Piplup and winking Pikachu Squishmallow Pokemon stuffed animals.

Author
Jenni Lada

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Doki Doki Literature Club Super Groupies Merchandise Shows Monika Love

11 months 2 weeks ago

Doki Doki Literature Club Super Groupies

Super Groupies opened up pre-orders for Doki Doki Literature Club accessories and merchandise. Pre-orders will be available until 12pm JST on June 19, 2023. That would be 8pm PT/11pm ET on June 18, 2023 for those in the west. In total, Super Groupies will release six Doki Doki Literature Club items that draw inspiration from the four club members.

There are four watches with designs based on Sayori, Monika, Yuri, and Natsuki. The watches also contain references to the game itself. For example, the face of Yuri’s watch is at an angle, much like how the backgrounds slanted in Yuri’s route. Another example is in the black pixels on Natsuki’s watch to emulate the pixels that would appear. Each watch costs 22,000 JPY, which is around $156.80.

[gallery columns="5" ids="965542,965541,965540,965539,965538" link="file"]

Super Groupies will also release a tote bag and a wallet based on Monika. The leather is the same light brown of her hair. As well, the insides contain the “Just Monika” text box, as well as a lot of text glitches. The tote bag costs 18,700 JPY (around $133.30) and the wallet costs 15,400 JPY (around $109.80).

[gallery columns="4" ids="965548,965547,965545,965544" link="file"]

Author
Stephanie Liu

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Netflix Announces Bastard Season 2 Release Date with New Teaser

11 months 2 weeks ago

Bastard!! Season 2

Netflix announced that season 2 of Bastard: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy will begin airing on July 31, 2023. It dropped a new trailer along with it.  The second season was first teased back in January 2023, when a short trailer and design sheets for several characters were also shown. The official site notes that this season will cover the Hell's Requiem arc.

This season is once again directed by Takaharu Ozaki (Goblin Slayer) and Liden Films, with Kisho Taniyama returning to voice the wizard Dark Schneider. Also featuring are Tomori Kusunoki as Tia Noto Yoko, Kensho Ono as Kall-su, Kanae Ito as Lucien Renlen, and Hiroki Yasumoto as Ninja Master Gara.

Here's the official Twitter announcement from Netflix, which includes the new trailer:

[embed]https://twitter.com/NetflixAnime/status/1663500513889996801?s=20[/embed]

Bastard is an anime adaptation of the dark fantasy manga of the same name by Kazushi Hagiwara, which was originally serialized in Shonen Jump. It follows the adventures of the wizard Dark Schneider defending (or not) the Kingdom of Meta-llicana from the dark god of destruction, Anthrasax. The first season aired on Netflix in June of 2022 and consists of 24 episodes.

Season 2 of Bastard: Heavy Metal, Dark Fantasy will begin airing on July 31, 2023 over on Netflix, where the first season is immediately available.

Author
Elliot Gostick

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Dragon Ball: The Breakers Season 3 Adds Ginyu Force Characters

11 months 2 weeks ago

Dragon Ball The Breakers Season 3 Adds Ginyu Force Characters

More Dragon Ball: The Breakers characters and content is coming in season 3, with Ginyu Force debuting as the new Raider. Bandai Namco announced the new season starts on June 9, 2023, with paid and free content appearing. However, people can access the public test server starting on May 31, 2023 to test out the new additions early.

While Ginryu Force is made up of Ginyu, Burter, Guldo, Jeice, and Recoome, the characters act as a single entity in Dragon Ball: The Breakers. The announcement stream noted they are a “team-up type.” Players will switch them out, and being able to do so without a survivor beating them makes the next character stronger. This was showcased starting at the five minute mark of the Season 3 Special Launch Live-Stream.

As for Survivor Skins, a few are coming. Dende and King Kai will be sold for TP Tokens. Fortuneteller Baba will be a Dragon Tier reward. Bulma, Chi-Chi-, Oolong, and Yajirobe will also appear.

New Transphere were announced too. Once the new season starts, we will be able to grab one and turn into Bardock, Gohan, or Goten. The Bardock and Goten versions will be their Super Saiyan forms. For Gohan, it will be his teen Super Saiyan 2 one.

Snowy Mountain will also appear as the new free map in the game.

Author
Jenni Lada

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Pathfinder Is Challenging Diablo 4 With Its Own Hack and Slash Action RPG

11 months 2 weeks ago

BKOM Studios and Paizo have launched a Kickstarter campaign for a co-op hack-and-slash action RPG based on the Pathfinder tabletop game.

Titled Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults, the Kickstarter says this is the first-ever hack-and-slash RPG based on the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game. If funded, the title is set to come to PC via Steam.

Pathfinder: Abomination Vaults will support up to four players at a time, as they lead Pathfinder heroes through Gauntlight Keep in a mission to defeat the evil sorceress Belcorra Haruvex. The game will take place in a mega-dungeon beneath Gauntlight Keep that's separated into different biomes. Players can choose between four Pathfinder champions: Amiri the Barbarian, Harsk the Ranger, Kyra the Cleric, and Ezren the Wizard.

Kickstarter backers will be eligible for rewards like an artbook, early access, a custom dice set, and more. The project has a goal of CA$410,000 with 30 days to go.

While this is the Pathfinder franchise's first Diablo-like, the series is no stranger to video game adaptations. Just last year, we got Pathfinder: Wrath of the Righteous, an isometric RPG that we called great in our review.

Speaking of Diablo, we're just a week away from Blizzard's Diablo 4. We called the upcoming game amazing in our Diablo 4 review, saying "Diablo 4 is a stunning sequel with near perfect endgame and progression design that makes it absolutely excruciating to put down."

Author
Logan Plant

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Dragon Age Writer Dismisses AI-Generated Storytelling as 'Lackluster' and 'Soulless'

11 months 2 weeks ago

Dragon Age writer David Gaider has shared his thoughts on the "lackluster" and "soulless" nature of procedurally generated AI dialogue, while also predicting failure for developers who can't forsee the technology's current limitations.

“Ah, yes. The dream of procedural content generation,” tweeted Gaider in reference to a new Guardian article discussing the potential applications of AI scriptwriting in future video games. “Even BioWare went through several iterations of this: ‘what if we didn't need every conversation to be bespoke?’ Unlimited playtime with dialogue being procedurally created alongside procedural quests!”

The Guardian article focused in part on a game demo called Smallville, which used an artificial intelligence (AI) called ChatGPT to generate conversations amongst a population of 25 NPCs as the characters went about their simulated lives in a sandbox world.

Joon Sung Park, one of the authors of the research, believes that smaller indie developers could start adopting AI like ChatGPT in their development process in as little as a year and a half, with wider uptake of the tech possible in around five years time. As it stands, integrating AI into a video game in any significant way is a costly prospect, which is fraught with potential problems.

Author
Anthony Wood

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Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game Hands-On Preview

11 months 2 weeks ago

The Dead Cells board game isn’t the first tabletop title to be inspired by a video game, nor is it the first to try and mimic the feel of a rogue-like game. There’s even one - Sanctum - which is so clearly indebted to the Diablo franchise that it makes you wonder they weren’t served with a copyright infringement. But it does look to be the first official adaptation of a rogue-like and it’s an interesting choice. The Dead Cells video game won plaudits for its fast, demanding combat which isn’t something a board game can easily replicate. So the designers - including Antoine Bauza of 7 Wonders fame - will have had to look for something else to focus on.

See Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game on Kickstarter.

What’s in the Box

We played a prototype of the Dead Cells board game which wasn’t complete, but it contained everything needed to play through the first two levels and a boss. Each level has its own board and tuckbox of goodies, which includes tiles to place on the board, two decks of monster cards - regular and elite - and smallers decks for treasure and blueprints. The boss has a reference sheet and a deck of cards.

Author
Chris Reed

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The Sims 4's next batch of Kit DLC brings grungy looks and nooks for books

11 months 2 weeks ago

And the kits keep coming! A little over a month after the last lot were announced, EA has unveiled a fresh selection of bite-sized Kit DLC for The Sims 4, this time introducing grungy looks and nooks for books when they arrive later this week.

First up is Grunge Revival Kit, which, as its name suggests, whisks players back to the 90s, for a clothing-focused pack themed around "the unpolished, the imperfect, and the free-spirited".

EA is yet to detail the DLC's exact contents, but expect "worn textures, layered options, and bold accessories", ranging from old band tees and baggie hoodies to faded jeans.

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Author
Matt Wales

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Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest the Adventure of Dai Launches in September

11 months 2 weeks ago

Infinity Strash Dragon Quest the Adventure of Dai

Square Enix announced Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest the Adventure of Dai will release worldwide on September 28, 2023. The game will be available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, Switch, and PC. In addition, it released a new English trailer showcasing some of its gameplay.

Take a look at the new trailer for Infinity Strash: Dragon Quest the Adventure of Dai below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIR7evhx4ms&ab_channel=DRAGONQUEST

Infinity Strash is based on the Dragon Quest the Adventure of Dai anime and manga series. The game will feature two main modes. One is a Story Mode that will follow the series story up to the “Sovereign Rock Castle” arc. The other is Temple of Recollection, where players will explore a dungeon with more challenging enemies that changes every time you play. Also, unlike the main Dragon Quest series, Infinity Strash will be an action-RPG with real-time combat similar in style to the Dragon Quest Heroes spin-off games.

Square Enix also revealed the game will feature items called “Bond Memories,” which upgrade characters’ abilities and stats. Interestingly, these accessories will also unlock scenes from the original manga and can be powered up by completing segments from the Temple of Recollection. Pre-orders will include a “Legendary Hero” outfit for Dai and “The Hero’s Tutor” Bond Memory to unlock immediately.

Author
Frank Reyes

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