September 2023

Following reports earlier this year that Far Cry 7 is currently in the works at Ubisoft, story and gameplay details have emerged claiming the game will see players attempting to rescue their wealthy family, who've been kidnapped by a group calling itself the Sons of Truth.

That's according to Insider Gaming, who first reported news of Far Cry 7's development - later corroborated by Kotaku - back in January. Citing undisclosed "sources", the website says Far Cry 7, codenamed Project Blackbird, will feature a "non-linear" story based around the kidnapping of the protagonist's family, that plays out over - and seemingly must be completed within - 72 in-game hours, equating to 24 hours in real-time.

Supposedly, the main goal of Far Cry 7 is to bring down the Sons of Truth, described as a "conspiracy group", within that time frame (the timer is said to stop while within certain locations, such as safehouses), but it's claimed players will also need to track down and rescue their family members along the way in order to "100%" the game.

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During the September 27, 2023 Drop 01 event, Netflix shared the first seven minutes of a Castlevania: Nocturne episode starring Richter Belmont and his mother, Julia. It reveals she’s a vampire hunter as well. In the segment, we see what happens when the two of them end up running into the vampire Olrox. 

In the games, Richter’s exact parentage is a bit vague, but the Castlevania: Nocturne clip shows him as a child with his mother Julia Belmont. The two are in Boston in 1783. That’s the year the American Revolution ended. The duo are heading to the harbor to a ship while fireworks happen overhead. Richter isn’t happy that Julia is sending him to France to live with his aunt, Tera. He suggests it isn’t safe, because she isn’t a vampire hunter, and that he needs to fight alongside her. 

It’s then that Olrox interrupts the two while she attempts to explain things. After Julia tells Richter to go ahead of her, her and Olrox fight one another. We see that she’s wielding the trademark Belmont whip during the battle, as well as fire magic. 

Here's the full Castlevania: Nocturne Netflix video showing Richter, Julia, and Olrox:

In an interview with Xbox Vice President Sarah Bond, Xbox Wire Japan seems to have confirmed that Octopath Traveler 2 will be coming to Xbox Game Pass. The game was previously announced as coming to Xbox consoles at TGS 2023.

Xbox Wire Japan is an official news blog run by Microsoft, and the interview focused on the company's relationship to the historically Sony and Nintendo-dominated Japanese and Asian markets. Recently, Microsoft has been making attempts to win over this audience by bringing more games like Final Fantasy XIV to its consoles.

It is part of a question on this strategy that Bond mentioned both Octopath Traveler 2 and Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name as coming to the Game Pass service. Like a Dragon Gaiden was announced as coming to Game Pass during Microsoft's presentation at TGS, along with Like a Dragon: Ishin!, however there was no similar reveal for Octopath Traveler 2.

During its September 27, 2023 Drop 01 event, Netflix shared a new trailer for its Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft anime style series. The show is in development. It is expected to appear on the streaming service in 2024. 

Here’s the first Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft trailer showing off its anime style. It also noted that Hayley Atwell will play the role of Croft in the show. However, she doesn’t actually speak at all during this brief teaser. 

Some of the scenes shown in the new footage call back to the 2023 reboot. Tomb Raider offered a new origin story for Croft. That led to two more games, Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider. 

In an announcement post on her official social media account, VShojo Vtuber Ironmouse unveiled a new line of merchandise involving her and Gloomy Bear, a mascot character by the artist Mori Chack. The collection will be live on the Gloomy Bear official online store on September 29, 2023 at 9am PT/12pm ET. Specific prices for the products have not been released yet, but we’ll know once they become available. However, images of some of the items did appear online.

Check out Ironmouse’s official announcement post below. It shows off what the new merchandise will look like:

[embed]https://twitter.com/ironmouse/status/1706433668250554694[/embed]

The merchandise lineup consists of apparel, acrylic goods, and stickers. T-shirts, a sweater, a tote bag, two kinds of sparkly acrylic keychains, an acrylic stand, and five different stickers. All of the merchandise features some new artwork that depicts Ironmouse. In it, she's drawn in the simplistic Gloomy Bear style. Gloomy Bear himself has also been re-illustrated to be wearing an costume that matches the VShojo Vtuber, complete with horns, wings, and her signature heart-shaped cowlick.

The Ironmouse x Gloomy Bear merchandise line will become available when it drops on September 29 at 9:00 AM PST. Prices for each item have not yet been shared.

A Devil May Cry anime style adaptation is on the way from Netflix. A teaser trailer for the show appeared during the September 27, 2023 Drop 01 showcase. It was an event that involved reveals and trailers for various animated adaptations coming to the streaming service.

The Devil May Cry show teaser didn’t show a lot, but we did get a few scenes of Dante fighting an unseen opponent. He is seen flipping into the air while firing Ebony and Ivory, before dodging some slashes from an unknown weapon.

The Devil May Cry anime will be led by Adi Shankar, who was also showrunner and executive producer for Netflix’s Castlevania series. He is also currently working on Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix, another Netflix adaptation based on Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon. The teaser also confirmed that animation will be handled by Studio Mir, whose previous works include The Legend of Korra and Dota: Dragon’s Blood. Capcom will be overseeing production of the show.

Those not caught up with the Jujutsu Kaisen manga may want to avoid the Duolingo social media account, as "Duo" the owl recreated a scene from it and shared it online. It uses the mascot costume for the owl in Ryomen Sukuna cosplay, then sets up a scene that recently appeared in chapter 236.

Editor’s Note: There will be references to spoilers for Jujutsu Kaisen chapter 236 in the Duolingo social media post shared below. 

In chapter 236 of the manga, we got to see the results of a major battle in the series. It ended up drastically changing the course of the story. It also meant an important character ended up facing a life-changing event. 

The social media team for the Duolingo account then referenced that scene. They recreated it with the mascot Duo dressed as Ryomen Sukuna. Meanwhile, the other mascot Lily is in an unfortunate position that mirrors that of another person.

HoYoVerse will be showing off Zenless Zone Zero at another event. It confirmed the game’s presence at Brasil Game Show. That means those attending the Sao Paulo event between October 11-15, 2023 will be able to stop by booth PO04 to get a better look at the upcoming title.

Here’s the official announcement noting the game will appear at the event. HoYoVerse didn’t explain what this appearance will entail. It will be at its own booth. However, it didn’t note if people could expect new announcements, different gameplay footage from ones shown at other events, or possible giveaways for visiting.

Zenless Zone Zero will be attending BGS! Come and check it out!

Convention Dates: October 11 to 15
Location: Expo Center Norte, São Paulo
Booth: PO04#zzzero #BGS2023 pic.twitter.com/0TqpEFGUXl

— Zenless Zone Zero (@ZZZ_EN) September 27, 2023

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, PC
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Release: September 21, 2023

Capcom released Resident Evil 4 remake earlier this year, and despite missing some of the original’s most memorable moments, it was a deserved critical hit. It’s a fantastic, updated reimaging of Leon’s original horrific adventure through an approximation of rural Spain. Separate Ways is represents a different remake, putting players in control of Ada Wong and reexamining the expansion initially added to the PlayStation 2 version of Resident Evil 4 in 2005. The DLC lets players see the story from a new perspective, fill in some narrative gaps, learn more about Ada and Wesker, and offers new mechanics. But it mostly functions as a reminder that the Resident Evil 4 remake is a very, very good video game.

Netflix announced in 2021 that it was developing an animated Tomb Raider series starring Lara Croft. Shortly after, Netflix revealed that Hayley Atwell, whom you might recognize as Grace from this year's Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning or as Peggy Carter in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, would voice Lara Croft in the series. Today, Netflix released our first look at the series, which is called Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft. 

There's no word on when to expect the series, but Netflix says it's coming to the subscription streaming service soon. 

Check out the Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft teaser trailer for yourself below: 

Netflix has revealed the first look at its Devil May Cry anime series coming to the subscription streaming service soon. First announced in 2018, it is being developed by Capcom, Studio Mir, and Netflix's Castlevania executive producer Adi Shankar. 

Netflix announced this anime today with a short teaser trailer that gives us our first look at its Dante, who is, of course, escaping a would-be death by sword while firing off bullets from his two trademark pistols. The short snippets of animation we see in the teaser look great, just like Netflix's Castlevania series and its upcoming Castlevania: Nocturne anime, and you can check it out for yourself below: 

Netflix revealed little else about the show although it did call today's teaser a "SSStylish first look." There is no release date for Netflix's Devil May Cry but Netflix says it's coming soon. 

PlayStation has revealed its October 2023 lineup of free games for PlayStation Plus members and, with it being the month of Halloween, the selections definitely fit the vibe. That's because PlayStation Plus subscribers can add Dead Space spiritual successor, The Callisto Protocol, to their libraries alongside Weird West and the ultra-terrifying Farming Simulator 22. All three games can be added to libraries starting next week on Tuesday, October 3, and players have until Monday, November 6, to do so. 

Below, we've included snippets of what PlayStation has to say about each game alongside our reviews (when applicable): 

Tired of all those fast-travel menus in Starfield? Good news: If you’re playing on PC, you can grab a mod that’ll dramatically ramp up your ship’s speed in space so that you can actually fly in between nearby planets within a reasonable timespan.

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“Starfield Upscaler” is the second-most popular mod for Bethesda’s open-world RPG, but its creator sparked controversy earlier this month because the best version of it was locked behind a $5 Patreon subscription paywall. In a new interview with IGN he defends the practice, and threatens users who try to pirate his…

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On Wednesday, Netflix revealed a teaser trailer for its upcoming Devil May Cry anime during the Drop 01 showcase, a livestreamed event where the streamer showcased new shows coming to its service in the near future.

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Overwatch 2 needs to be studied in a lab. Or, hell, maybe I need to be studied in a lab for how much I still love Blizzard’s hero shooter despite the company continuing to fumble the bag. The sequel’s first Anniversary event, which is running from now until October 9, is the latest example of Blizzard messing with a…

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Netflix's promisingly outlandish Far Cry animated adaptation is almost upon us, with the series - titled Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix - set to hit the streaming service on 19th October. And ahead of its arrival, Netflix has shared a fresh trailer showcasing its chaotic action, this one welcoming Rayman and a bunch of other familiar Ubisoft faces.

Captain Laserhawk: A Blood Dragon Remix takes its cue from Ubisoft's gleefully ludicrous, 80s-inspired Far Cry 3 expansion, Blood Dragon. It's set in an alternate version of Earth's 1992 where a massive tech company, Eden, exerts social control via mass surveillance and big data.

Enter series protagonist Dolph Laserhawk, a cybernetically enhanced super soldier who escapes from the Eden army and decides to embark on one final heist before sailing off into the sunset with his boyfriend Alex. Unfortunately, Laserhawk is betrayed by said boyfriend, landing him in high-security facility with no choice but to join forces with an unlikely bunch of rebels.

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Roughly two years after Netflix announced plans for a Tomb Raider anime, we've finally been given our first look at Lara Croft in cartoon action.

The Tomb Raider animation is set to focus on the events following the reboot trilogy's conclusion. Lara has returned from her travels in South America, having prevented an apocalypse of some description, and is now ready for her next adventure.

Netflix's debut trailer is quite brief, featuring a lot of heavy breathing from our heroine over the top of a handful of impactful shots. We get to see Lara abseiling into a cavernous abyss and - perhaps in homage to one of Shadow of the Tomb Raider's better moments - emerging onto the scene while a backdrop of flames silhouettes her (presumably) rather battle weary figure. There is also a nice little nod to the Yamatai crew from the 2013 reboot, with Lara tenderly stroking a photo of her fallen friends (although, no Alex? And, I know Jonah is still alive).

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Super Groupies announced on social media that items from its Trigun Stampede collection returned, including the red Vash the Stampede coat. In particular, the Vash jacket, Nicholas D. Wolfwood backpack, and Wolfwood watch are all back in stock on the official site. Worldwide shipping is available via WorldShopping.

The company first announced this collection back in March 2023. In addition to the iconic red Vash coat from Trigun Stampede, it also included Wolfwood and Millions Knives items. While there was a jacket, bag, and watch inspired by Vash, there were only bags and watches based on Knives and Wolfwood. 

Here is a list of the three items that are now back at Super Groupies. In the case of the Vash Trigun coat, it is only available in sizes M-XL at the moment. The XXL version is sold out.

• Vash the Stampede Coat - ¥27,500/$184
• Wolfwood Backpack - ¥22,000/$147

Sony announced that it is preparing a Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition. It will be released on PS5 on October 6, 2023. The new platform is also confirmed. The Horizon Forbidden West PC version is also on the way in 2024.

The new edition will bundle together the base game of Horizon Forbidden West with the Burning Shores DLC expansion. In addition, this version of the game will offer some extra features, including a digital soundtrack, digital art book, and a digital comic book called The Sunhawk. The comic will feature multiple languages, with English, German, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese all available. There will also be extra poses and face paint in Photo Mode, along with a few extra outfits and weapons. It will be sold for $59.99.

Cyberpunk 2077 often rewards players for exploring Night City off the beaten path, but not so early in its just-launched Phantom Liberty expansion. Failing one of the DLC’s early objectives won’t just lead to a game over, it will fail the expansion’s entire questline for you.

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We all feel it before we know it—orange leaves stumbling into our jackets, cold wind holding our hands down the sidewalk. These signs and more tell us that October is almost here. To commemorate the season and all it offers, I decided to put together a list of (mostly) spooky game recommendations, each one redolent…

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Tomb Raider’s Lara Croft has been experiencing a bit of a renaissance recently. Just last month, the dual pistol-wielding explorer featured as a guest character in Call of Duty: Warzone alongside the likes of pop star Nicki Minaj and ‘90s superhero Spawn. Snap to today and now we’ve got our first official look at her…

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Microsoft's gaming arm goes on to explain how it is overhauling how it stores your favorite gaming moments with clips and screenshots stored on the Xbox network, which will be deleted after 90 days. But Xbox notes it will notify you if anything currently stored on its network is about to be deleted just in case you want to transfer the content elsewhere.

Eric “Concerned Ape” Barone offered an update on multiplayer and festivals appearing in Stardew Valley 1.6. Once the patch arrives, people will be able to have up to eight people playing at once. We already knew at least one festival would be present, but the latest reveal confirms three, with one being a major one. Villagers will change to suit the season. Also, unspecified “late-game” additions will be present.

Here’s the full list of additions that Barone shared on social media. The 8-player multiplayer option for Stardew Valley will apparently only be for PCs. The festivals all showed up under the universal comment section. 

• A new major festival
• Two new mini festivals
• New late-game content, which expands on each of the skill areas.
• New items and crafting recipes.
• Jojo alternatives to some of the end-game quests.
• 100+ new lines of dialogue.

HoYoVerse has shared splash art for Argenti, who will likely appear in Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.5. Argenti has appeared in the game already as an event card in Simulated Universe, as well as on a Light Cone. He is a Knight of Beauty and follows the Knight of Beauty as well.

There is not much information on Argenti as a character right now. We just know that he will be a Physical Erudition character. However, in terms of his lore and personality, HoYoVerse has not provided any scraps in the game yet. As for when he will show up, HoYoVerse tends to reveal new characters an entire version ahead. For example, they unveiled Jingliu and Topaz back in Version 1.2, and those two will come out in Version 1.4.

You can see the full social media post from HoYoVerse about Argenti below:

Sony has announced PlayStation boss Jim Ryan will be retiring next March, after nearly 30 years with the company.

Ryan - whose official job title is president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment - took charge of the PlayStation division back in February 2019, having previously helmed Sony Computer Interactive Europe.

In a statement announcing his retirement, Ryan wrote, "I've relished the opportunity to have a job I love in a very special company, working with great people and incredible partners. But I've found it increasingly difficult to reconcile living in Europe and working in North America.

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We already knew Meta Quest 3 was on the way after Meta made its latest consumer VR headset official back in June - just days ahead of Apple's Vision Pro reveal - but the company has now slapped it with a 10th October launch date, and pre-orders are open now.

April's initial unveiling confirmed some top-level features for Meta's new VR headset - which is now more accurately described as a mixed reality headset - but we now have a much clearer idea of the specs being packed into this third iteration of Quest.

Meta Quest 3 is powered by the Snapdragon XR2 Gen 2 processor - which Meta says can manage "double the graphic processing" of Quest 2 - and it includes 8GB of RAM. It also sports two 120Hz LCD displays, each delivering a resolution of 2064 x 2208 - described as a 30 percent increase compared to Quest 2 - plus a 110-degrees horizontal and 96-degrees vertical field of view. Lenses have an adjustable IPD ranging from 58mm-71mm.

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How do you follow up a five-star treat like Dave the Diver? With a zombie-themed, 16-player PvPvE stealth-survival extraction game, of course! Developer Mintrocket has just unveiled its next project, titled Nakwon: Last Paradise, and it's about as much a departure from its acclaimed snorkelling-and-sushi-restaurant-management adventure as you can get, dropping players onto the streets of Seoul, right into the middle of the undead apocalypse.

As per Mintrocket's lengthy Steam announcement, Nakwon's action is split into two main parts; on the Scouting side, players - with a friend in tow if desired - must leave the relative comforts of the titular safe zone to venture into the zombie-infested outskirts of Seoul. Here, the goal is to scavenge resources then escape back to safety, but other players and, of course, the AI-controlled undead, won't make that an easy task.

Mintrocket stresses that zombies in Nakwon are very much the hunters, and cannot be defeated. Instead, players - primarily armed with makeshift weaponry and tools rather than undead-shredding firepower, given the scarcity of guns - must navigate the streets as stealthily as possible to avoid detection, fleeing when necessary. And should they successfully make it back to the safe zone alive (it looks like players can come and go as they like, regardless of what other Survivors might be doing) the Simulation side of Nakwon begins.

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The head of PlayStation is stepping down, Sony announced in a press release today. Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO, is retiring after just four years on the job. The massive shakeup in leadership comes as the PlayStation 5 breaks sales records and as Sony has doubled-down on prestige blockbuster games…

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Look alive, jarheads! Grab your Glocks and drop your - well, whatever you're holding that isn't a gun, unless it's a kitten or something, in which case tuck it gently under your arm and brace yourself for the news that Valve have finally released the public version of Counter-Strike 2, the long-awaited free-to-play technical upgrade (and replacement) for perennial Steam chart-topper Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, after six months in limited access. You can download it here.

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Last time, you decided by 72% against 28% that setting unit waypoints is better than receiving waypoints yourself. Given how loudly people decry receiving waypoints, I'm a little surprised it was that close. And that's how we know we're doing science. This week, I ask you to choose between mastery of place and mastery of time. What's better: improvised environmental weapons, or skipping across a timeline flowchart?

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PlayStation head Jim Ryan is leaving the company, according to a press release from Sony Interactive Entertainment. Ryan has served as president and CEO since his appointment in 2018. Ryan’s tenure at Sony spans nearly 30 years, during which he’s held numerous leadership roles, including serving as the head of Sony Europe after former SIEE president Andrew House passed the torch in 2011.

Why Is Jim Ryan Leaving Sony?

"I’ve found it increasingly difficult to reconcile living in Europe and working in North America," Ryan said in the press release. "I will leave having been privileged to work on products that have touched millions of lives across the world; PlayStation will always be part of my life, and I feel more optimistic than ever about the future of SIE. I want to thank Yoshida-san for placing so much trust in me and being an incredibly sensitive and supportive leader."

Ryan remains at the company until March 2024. Effective April 1, 2024, Sony Group Corporation President, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki will step in as SIE’s interim CEO, reporting to Sony CEO Kenichiro Yoshida. Effective October 2023, Sony Interactive Entertainment will appoint Totoki as chairman to aid PlayStation ahead of Ryan’s exit.

Today, a preview of Red XIII’s combat style in the upcoming PS5 game Final Fantasy VII Rebirth was uploaded on the Square Enix website. All of his basic and synergy abilities were revealed, as well as his limit breaks.

In Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Red XIII will be a fully playable party member rather than delegated to being a guest member like he was in 2020's Final Fantasy VII Remake. The Square Enix post describes his fighting style as “aggressively defensive.” Effectively guarding against attacks will raise Red XIII’s Vengeance gauge. By pressing the Triangle button, Red XIII’s ‘Vengeance Mode’ will then be activated, increasing his speed and attack power. Pressing Triangle in Vengeance mode will also drain the enemy’s health.

Red XIII’s basic abilities include:

• Crescent Claw: slashes at foes
• Sentinel Stance: guards and greatly increases the Vengeance Gauge
• Sidewinder: he jumps to attack from above.
• Stardust Ray: Large attack over a wide area, takes 2 ATB charges

Red XIII’s Limit Breaks include:

• Bloodfang: Charges at foes and restores HP and MP
• Howling Moon: Activates a longer Vengeance Mode

Red XIII’s Synergy Abilities include:

Announced earlier this year and releasing about four days shy of its promised Summer release window (the first day of Fall was September 23), Counter-Strike 2 is now suddenly available on Steam. You can check out the game's launch trailer below.

The game has been playable in limited test form for some time, and rumors were swirling that the game would release soon, but it is still a surprise to see the game suddenly available on Steam. It has taken over Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's spot on Steam and functions as an update to that game.

Below you will find some details from a press release for the game's official release.

Built on the Source 2 engine, Counter-Strike 2 is modernized with realistic physically-based rendering, state of the art networking, and upgraded Community Workshop tools.