June 2023

Adam (RPS in peace) once described Lisa: The Painful as "Earthbound by way of thecatamites", but that was back in 2014 and there's a decent chance those references mean little to you. That might be part of the reason why Lisa has remained a cult classic, even if it has overwhelmingly positive reviews from those who persevered with the punishing, deranged, tragicomic RPG Maker game.

Now it's 2023 and Lisa: The Painful is getting a Definitive Edition re-release, and I'm lucky that I can draw on better known references. It's like Undertale by way of... Uh, thecatamites?

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EA has confirmed reports it's in talks to move the development of BioWare's long-running free-to-play MMO Star Wars: The Old Republic to a third-party so the studio can focus on its upcoming new Mass Effect and Dragon Age instalments.

News of EA's plans were first reported by IGN, who claimed the publisher was currently considering shifting The Old Republic's development to Broadsword Online Games, a company run by former BioWare vice president and Mythic Entertainment co-founder Rob Denton, who previously worked on the Star Wars title in its early days.

Broadsword is no stranger to MMOs, of course - its other projects include ongoing work on Ultima Online and Dark Age of Camelot - and IGN reported EA had already signed a letter of intent with the studio, which would see The Old Republic deal finalised "as soon as this month".

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Gameloft's wonderfully entertaining village life sim Disney Dreamlight Valley continues its early access journey tomorrow, 7th June, with the launch of its fifth major update, The Remembering, adding Cinderella's Fairy Godmother, a new Star Path reward track, and more.

The big news this time around is that the Forgotten Lands' mysterious pumpkin house, which has sat vacant amid gloomy woods since launch, will finally have an occupant as part of what Gameloft is calling Dreamlight Valley's "biggest story update yet".

To the surprise of no-one with at least a passing interest in Disney, its new occupant will be Cinderella's Fairy Godmother - who comes complete with her own set of Friendship Quests - with her arrival seemingly signalling a conclusion for Dreamlight Valley's first major story arc.

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Cyan, the studio behind Myst and Riven, has for the last few years been funding its games via Kickstarter. That’s how 2016's Obduction was made, and it’s also how 2023's Firmament—with more than a little help from machines this time—was developed as well.

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As we reported earlier in the month, Reddit, one of the most popular forums for gaming communities, is planning to make some changes under the hood that will essentially kill off every third-party app. Given the state of the official app and its heavy reliance on huge ads, it’s a deeply unpopular move, so unpopular…

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Today, a new piece of information about a character in the upcoming Star Wars show Ahsoka went viral and promptly set off an online debate about Jedi surviving the infamous Order 66 aka Jedi Purge. Once again, people seemed upset to learn that another space monk—like Jedi: Survivor’s Cal—survived the Purge. But you…

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Just in time for Pride, Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse moviegoers think the summer box-office phenomenon offers some pretty compelling evidence that one of its heroes, Gwen Stacy, is trans.

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20 Minutes Till Dawn, one of only a handful of worthy Vampire Survivors-likes, will leave early access on June 8th. Its final update is currently available as a beta and adds weapon evolutions and new weapons, among other things.

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EA are in conversations to move ongoing development of BioWare MMO, Star Wars: The Old Republic, to a third-party developer, Broadsword Online Games. IGN reported the news earlier today, after which EA confirmed that conversations were taking place.

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UPDATE: Diablo 4's first level 100 Hardcore character is no more, after a dropped connection to the game's servers killed Carn's Barbarian. The moment it happened was captured on stream, and you can watch it for yourself in this clip on Carn's Twitch channel, aptly titled "rip?".

Former Starcraft and Dota pro "cArn" has won the race to hit level 100 on a Diablo 4 Hardcore character, thus earning him a letter from the king and a nap. This is Diablo's permadeath mode, where one death is enough to wipe your progress. He dinged his final ding on his Barbarian in the early hours of June 5th, just five days after the game's early access launch, and he's now been officially confirmed as the first Hardcore centurion. It's a feat that sounds as impressive as it does exhausting.

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One major obstacle to fighting long COVID is that we're still working out what it is. In the absence of a scientific consensus on what is still an emerging medical phenomenon, the World Health Organisation defines the condition loosely as "the continuation or development of new symptoms 3 months after the initial SARS-CoV-2 infection, with these symptoms lasting for at least 2 months with no other explanation." The most common long COVID symptoms, according to the UK National Health Service, are extreme tiredness, shortage of breath, muscle aches and loss of smell. But patients may experience many other, seemingly random symptoms, from tinnitus through diarrhoea to memory loss. The condition's progression can be unpredictable, too: people may get better only to relapse weeks or months down the road.

Out of all the roguelike deckbuilders that have followed in Slay The Spire's footsteps, Wildfrost is my second favourite. The cardplay never quite reaches the dizzy heights of Spire or Monster Train, but it's far cuter than either of them and still absolutely splendid. Now's a great time to pick it up, too, because its first big update is primarily aimed at clarifying rules to help new players avoid all the painful deaths I suffered through.

Developers Deadpan Games have released a roadmap, too, revealing a rough plan for what they're working on next.

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Everyone's favourite hunny-yellow bear will mutate into a fleshy horror bristling with extra arms and eyeballs and glands in Winnie's Hole, the next roguelikelike dungeon crawler from Ring Of Pain developers Twice Different. The earliest Winnie-the-Pooh stories are no longer under copyright in the US, see, meaning people can do whatever they want. Including this. Inevitably including this. Come see the horrible Pooh and his hole in the announcement trailer below.

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Sometimes it's interesting to put genre aside and think in terms of traditions. When it comes to genre, Planet of Lana is very easy to pinpoint: it's a 2D side scrolling puzzle platformer, more specifically one that focuses on stealth and cinematic storytelling. Traditions, though? That makes it much more intriguing.

The genre stuff alone is enough is to slot this in alongside games like Inside and Somerville - games with which it also shares an apocalyptic focus. the world is being over-run by horrors! Escape if you can! All good, but traditions can be surprising, and as I played Planet of Lana I found myself thinking a little bit about the idea of masterpieces. Not masterpieces in the modern usage of the word perhaps, but in the old sense - I may have this wrong but let's go with it for now - of the piece of work someone makes to show to the world that they are very good at something.

UPDATE 8/6/23: Twitch has now removed the new Branded Content Guidelines, following a backlash from the streaming community.

In a fresh statement on Twitter, it wrote: "Yesterday, we released new Branded Content Guidelines that impacted your ability to work with sponsors to increase your income from streaming.

"These guidelines are bad for you and bad for Twitch, and we are removing them immediately."

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Amazon and Rovio have announced a new animated TV series based on the popular mobile game Angry Birds.

Angry Birds: Mystery Island will follow the escapades of three new hatchlings - Mia, Rosie, and Buddy. There is also a new foreign-exchange piglet, and his name is the rather brilliant Hamylton.

According to a press release, these four "rambunctious tweens" receive an all expenses paid island getaway, but of course things are not going to go to plan. Rather than landing where they intended, they instead get unceremoniously catapulted onto an "uncharted island" (where I assume they will meet Nathan Drake).

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Five of the Best is a weekly series for supporters of Eurogamer - if you want to become one, it's really easy to do. It's a series about highlighting some of the features in games that are often overlooked. It's also a series about you having your say, so don't be shy, use the comments below and join in!

Oh and you can find our entire Five of the Best archive elsewhere on the site.

Dogs! The ultimate companions. They smell, they're messy, and they lick your face after eating fox poo. What? I've never licked someone after eating fox poo - don't look at me!

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UPDATE 9/6/23: Pokémon Go will host an apology raid event this Sunday, 11th June, allowing players another chance to try their luck finding a Shiny member of the Legendary Lake Trio.

Earlier this week, players discovered that the likelihood of finding a Shiny Legendary had been massively nerfed - after days of buying and using Remote Raid Passes. After the issue was brought to light, Niantic apologised and told Eurogamer this was due to an unfortunate error.

All Remote Raid Passes used on Lake Trio Legendary raids during this period are being refunded - which is good, because you'll need them once again on Sunday (there's no raiding them with regular passes, unfortunately).

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The Cryptic Hunter mount costs £6.39. That’s a direct payment with real-world money. No need for Platinum.

On June 16, The Pokémon Company in Japan will finally release the enormously anticipated Pokémon Card 151 set of trading cards. The reason people are so excited? Well, in large part it’s because this is the first time the original 151 Generation 1 Pokémon will be released together in a set in over two decades. Also,…

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Some games adapt to VR more naturally than others. Games that take place primarily in a cockpit, like Elite Dangerous or Euro Truck Simulator 2, need relatively little adjustment to make them enjoyable in VR. They don't require the player to move around much, and their whole shtick about providing an authentic, immersive experience.

Games that require a lot of fast movement, or require the player to keep track of a lot of different objects, are generally harder to make work through VR Goggles. Hence why Amid Evil VR caught my attention. Shooters are common VR fodder, but they're typically built as VR experiences from the ground up. Amid Evil, on the other hand, is a flatscreen retro shooter designed to be reactive, surreal, and above all, fast. It's a game where you zip around arcane dimensions like a magic missile, splattering weird little armoured guys with enchanted swords and a staff that fires planets. It's a brilliant game, one of the best old-skool shooters to emerge from the genre's revival. But on paper, it's about as VR friendly as Morpheus.

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Tetris is grand, but it could do with more chainsaws. Thus (presumably) went the thought process of the developers behind Dr. Fetus' Mean Meat Machine, a Super Meat Boy spinoff about lining up colourful meaty blobs while dodging buzzsaws and other grizzly hazards. Think Tetris meets match 4 meets Meat Boy slapstick.

A demo came out in April, but publishers Thunderful Games have just announced you'll get to play the full thing on June 22nd.

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Just a week after its leap onto Mac, No Man's Sky is back with another update, this one ushering in a new limited-time expedition focusing on AI corruption and robotic uprisings - and promising hints at future updates and "a deeper story to come".

Expeditions, for those unfamiliar with No Man's Sky's ways, are something like Hello Games' stab at live-service-style seasonal content, serving up limited-time, curated experiences that condense and reshuffle the exploratory space sim's various systems into a series of progression-based milestone challenges with some nifty rewards.

Its latest expedition, Singularity, which launches today, continues the story started in April's Interceptor update (the one with weird, corrupted worlds and strange Sentinel oddities), asking players to investigate curious robot heads delivering cryptic clues across the galaxy. Its events are said to be part of a longer narrative that'll play out as the year goes on.

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UPDATE 11/6/23: Those Payday 3 leaks were right! Starbreeze Studios has confirmed its long-awaited co-op heist sequel will be launching for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam and the Epic Store on 21st September - and as a day one Game Pass title.

Payday 3's release date confirmation during the Xbox Showcase was accompanied by a first look at the game in action - so enjoy a taste of its spruced-up heisting below.

ORIGINALY STORY 7/6/23: Payday 3 looks set to arrive on 21st September, according to a new launch date which has leaked online.

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A Diablo 4 designer has confirmed that Sanctuary is in fact a round planet, not a flat world.

This may seem obvious - after all, our own planet is of course a sphere (sorry Flat Earthers) - but when so many games present a flat map, it's easy to misinterpret.

Harrison Pink, senior quest designer on the game, shared this "tiny lore nugget" on Twitter.

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The bundle building rascals at Humble are offering Ghostwire: Tokyo as part of June's Humble Choice.

In addition, this month's Choice bundle also includes Remnant: From the Ashes - Complete Edition, Curse of the Dead Gods, Eternal Threads, Honey, I Joined a Cult, GRIME, Meeple Station and Turbo Golf Racing.

As with every month, five percent of every Humble Choice membership is donated to the team's featured charity. This month's charity - in honour of Pride Month - is The Trevor Project, which is the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) young people.

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Another day means another Final Fantasy VII Remake developer insight, and now we know something else part 2 will include. As usual over about the last week, Square Enix revealed another tip about the title on Twitter. This time, Music Supervisor Keiji Kawamori explained there will be new music and new arrangements for the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth soundtrack.

Here's the latest detail about the game from Square Enix:

Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
Developer comment number 6#FF7R pic.twitter.com/n6My7ZacEg

— FINAL FANTASY VII (@finalfantasyvii) June 7, 2023

In case you’re just catching up with all of these Final Fantasy VIi Rebirth developer notes, here is a summary of all the ones that showed up so far:

Nintendo announced that a new collaboration live event featuring Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be held at the Umigatari Joetsu Aquarium. An exhibition under the title of  Creatures of the Sea Connection Exhibit will be held in the city of Joetsu, located in Niigata Prefecture. The event will be held between June 15, 2023 and September 18, 2023.

Over thirty species of fish and marine life featured in Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be highlighted as part of the special exhibition. Each tank will include commentary panels written in Japanese with information and trivia on each species, specially delivered by Blathers.

Additionally, a special section of the exhibition will be dedicated particularly to the giant oarfish, which is not normally on display at the aquarium.

A Stamp Rally will be available during the exhibition, and the stamp rally book to participate in it will cost 200 JPY (~$1.44). The book will serve as a guidebook for the event as well, since it includes a list of the fish on display at the event.

Merchandise exclusive to the event will be offered, such as acrylic clear filer, cookies, and a tote bag. Additionally, for the duration of the event, visitors who use the GPS check-in with the My Nintendo smartphone app on the premises of the Umigatari Joetsu Aquarium will receive an Animal Crossing Amiibo card at the counter near the entrance of the aquarium.

For her birthday on June 6, 2023, Tsunomaki Watame of hololive released a new song. “Fins” is the title, and she worked on it with members of Japanese band Porno Graffiti. Birthday goods for Watame are on sale as well, and you can also watch her birthday livestream for free on Abema. It will only be up for five more days, but you have to be in Japan in order to watch it.

The music video for “Fins” premiered three hours ago as of the time of writing, and it has accumulated almost 60,000 views. Subtitles are available in both English and Japanese. Akihiito Okano (lead vocals for Porno Graffiti) is the composer and Haruichi Shindo (lead guitar for Porno Graffitis) is the lyricist. Tasuku, who collaborated with Porno Graffiti in the past, also worked on the composition, as well as the arrangement.

You can listen to “Fins” by Tsunomaki Watame here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ks2UnT4Nzcs

Bandai announced a new Tamagotchi Uni model that will appear worldwide. Like the Tamagotchi Smart, which launched in Japan, it comes with an accessory that allows it to be worn like a watch. This model will also be able to connect directly to Wi-Fi without any additional steps, so you can update it. It will come out in July 2023, with Amazon noting a July 15, 2023. Pink and purple versions will be available. Each one will be $59.99.

The announcement went over some of the things people can expect. 20 adult characters will be present. You'll be able to marry them off and then raise their kids. However, it doesn't mention if there will be a "genetics" like system as in Tamagotchi On, where the child characters inherit traits from both parents for a totally original look. Minigames will be present, as usual, and there will be accessories for characters to wear. The language options will be English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

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My first foray into the world of Pokémon as a kid was the Generation 3 games, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire. So it brought me great pleasure to hear of a new project led by a group of video game preservationists, working to restore a lost web-browser-based Pokémon game that was released during the transition from Gen 3 to…

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Developer Toys For Bob has been working on the Crash Bandicoot series since it worked on the Switch port for the remade Crash N. Sane Trilogy in 2017. What started as a chance to recapture the spirit of Naughty Dog’s original PlayStation trilogy for a modern audience has turned into a steady gig, expanding upon a…

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It’s June 2023 and there are too many video games. Not the big ones—those are rare and increasingly so—but every tier under that is absolutely stacked with new releases, so many that it’s almost impossible to keep tabs on them all.

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