December 2023

The Drew Barrymore-led Christmas special should be a tradition (even if it’s hard to track down)

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Promise you won't tell the other children, but the RPS staff are actually complex magical spells cast by the Sugar Plum Fairy, as part of an age old pact with the ents of the forest where the RPS treehouse was built hundreds of years ago. Each year the Sugar Plum Fairy has to collect more wishes to power the spells every year (you can help to make the spells more powerful by joining the RPS supporter program). While she's out wish-hunting, here are some Christmas Crackers to distract you.

Time to enjoy your lovely joke!

Q. What code do dermatologists live by?

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Bendy and the Ink Machine released as a set of chapters back in 2017 before a full complete release hit PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC the following year. Since then, it's become a fan-favorite horror game, thanks to its unique classic cartoon art style and fun puzzles. Now, players will officially get to see the haunts of Bendy and the Ink Machine on the big screen one day. 

The official Bendy Twitter account posted an image on December 25 that features Bendy's hand pointing at a projector, and on the projector, you can read, "Bendy is coming to the big screen." Check it out for yourself below: 

#BENDY 🎬 pic.twitter.com/XsWE30Jlpx

— Bendy (@Bendy) December 25, 2023

In the image, we also see the Joey Drew Studios logo – that's the game's developer – and a logo for the Radar Pictures film production company. Radar Pictures is behind the rebooted Jumanji franchise starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, and other movies like The Last Samurai, Revenge of the Nerds, and the first two Bill & Ted movies. 

In a year as stuffed with great games as this one, it was always inevitable that lots of very good ones would be left on the cutting room floor of our Advent Calendar this year. It's also perhaps no surprise that in the big spreadsheet of games I've played this year, I've set yet another new record for things I've played to completion. At time of writing, my list stands at 58 games for 2023, and by the time you're reading this in your post-Christmas lunch coma, I wouldn't be surprised if it had risen further. 58! That's more than one a week! Honestly, what was past Katharine thinking? No wonder I'm so chuffing tired right now.

In any case, my list of honourable mentions is so long this year I've taken the cheeky liberty of cramming some extra entries into my 2023 Selection Box, bringing you five more personal picks that I think are just smashing and that you should absolutely play when you get a spare moment or three.

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Find your next favorite game

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When it comes to letting you embrace the murkier side of Mos Eisley, Star Wars games don’t have the best track record. Where 2018’s Battlefront 2 promised to place you at the heart of an Imperial-focused story, it took all of four missions for protagonist Iden Versio to defect to the Rebellion. Now, as Disney delivers…

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Before the year concluded, discussions were already percolating about whether 2023 was the best year for video game releases ever. It was a challenging year for the industry as a whole, but in terms of artistic output, 2023 is absolutely a contender. Whittling the year's releases to a mere 10 games was challenging, but we did it (you can read our top 10 right here).

However, the year's game release calendar was so much more than just those 10 games. Below, you'll see our winners for various categories, allowing us to celebrate a wide range of games, moments, characters, and elements from the extremely strong year for game releases.

Team FOLON revealed Fallout: London, its DLC-sized mod for Fallout 4, back in 2021, and it captured the interest of players quickly. We got a 2023 release window alongside a new trailer back in 2022, but the mod needed more time, missing a release this year. Now, Team FOLON has revealed Fallout: London will be released in April, as reported by Eurogamer. 

More specifically, it will be available on April 23, 2024. The team announced this date in a new developer update released on December 23. In it, the team shows off more of the work it's done since its last trailer, highlighting well-worn and lesser-known locales of London alongside enemies, weapons, and more. It ends with the April 23, 2024, release date announcement. 

Check out the Fallout: London release date announcement for yourself below: 

WD's SN850x NVMe SSD is an RPS mainstay, having been named the best PCIe 4.0 SSD in our evergreen gaming SSD recommendations, thanks to its extremely quick game loads and generally excellent performance.

It's also frequently discounted, but not normally to the extremes of today - where a 4TB drive is available for just $230 at Amazon US, versus the $286 it normally costs and the $449 (!) it cost at the start of the year.

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Lenovo's Legion Go is the (literally) biggest Steam Deck competitor to hit the market, a handheld gaming PC that brings the same Z1 Extreme processor as the Asus ROG Ally but a larger 8.8-inch 1600p 144Hz display and faster DDR5-7500 RAM - along intriguing detachable controllers, one of which turns into a vertical mouse for FPS-type games.

The Legion Go retails for £700, but today you can pick one up with a screen protector for £648 from Lenovo direct. To get this price, you need to use the code UKIFLASHSALE at the checkout.

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2B from Square Enix's NieR Automata will appear as a DLC playable character in Cygames and Arc System Works' Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising. Cygames made the reveal at Granblue Fes 2023, and it also announced that the character will be available for purchase in late February 2024.

A new trailer showcasing 2B in Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising has also appeared on the game's YouTube channel. It reveals that Yui Ishikawa and Hideki Yasumoto will reprise their respective Japanese voice roles as 2B and Pod 042. Cygames also announced that Kira Buckland will provide 2B's English voiceover.

Players who purchase the 2B DLC will also get special access to NieR Automata-themed outfits for Djeeta and Gran. There is a major sidenote that these outfits will appear in the original Granblue Fantasy mobile game instead of the Versus fighting game.

Hope you had a nice holiday, because a certain open-world space RPG certainly did not. As of right around December 25, 2023, Starfield had received enough thumbs-downs on Steam to push its user rating status into “Mostly Negative” territory. It’s an upsetting fall for such a hyped title from one of the most celebrated…

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Christmas and Hanukkah are both over, which means folks are probably still cleaning their homes and fridges of all the festivities. (I know I am.) But before you go back to playing with your new goodies, though, Kotaku has a question for you, dear reader: what was your fave gift ever?

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Before there was a PlayStation 4 remake that blew the doors off its own canon, Final Fantasy VII lived on through various spinoffs that expanded the world of the classic RPG. One of those was Advent Children, the 2005 CG film which followed on from the events of the original game. If you’ve never seen it, or it’s been …

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Disney Dreamlight Valley entered early access at the end of 2022, and the Animal Crossing-meets-Mickey Mouse gameplay immediately caught on in my house. The light and easy gameplay paired with soft music and the presence of some of the world's most family-friendly characters made for low-stakes gaming sessions that served as a nice break from whatever review was on my slate.

I honestly didn't expect much from the game; Animal Crossing never leaned heavily into its story so I didn't expect Disney Dreamlight Valley to do more than roughly as much as Nintendo's hit franchise. However, throughout the past year, the writers at Gameloft not only exceeded that expectation, they did so with a real and raw look at childhood, adulthood, and the transition between the two. It was a bold choice--and definitely one that flies in the face of "life simulator starring Mickey Mouse and friends"--but it's a tale I've routinely thought about since completing it.

SPOILERS for Disney Dreamlight Valley's first year of content is below, proceed with caution.

I knew that I would love Thirsty Suitors from the moment it was first unveiled. If I had to pick a moment where it clicked into place, it'd have to be when the protagonist, Jala, summoned her mother in battle. Early in the game, you encounter Sergio, Jala's third-grade ex, who has been working deceptively hard in her absence to ingratiate himself in her family and life. As you battle in a diner, Sergio becomes invulnerable to your "thirsty" skills, backing Jala into a corner. With no moves left, she conjures the one thing that can tear a person down in an instant: her own mother. A projection of her mother towers over the arena before slamming Sergio with a chappal. The psychic damage is done, he is emotionally scarred and vulnerable enough to be defeated in battle.

At first glance, the trio of MLB The Show 23, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, and Assassin's Creed Mirage share very little in common. Sure, all three games launched in 2023, and both Spider-Man 2 and Assassin's Creed Mirage feature dense open worlds, but other than what you might call broad similarities, they're almost entirely disparate from one another. That is, except for one surprising commonality: They all taught me something new about the past.

From a packed ballpark in 1920s Kansas to the comic-book streets of New York City and a bustling ninth-century Baghdad, each game adopts a different approach toward educating its players on specific people, moments, and places from human history. When I look back on 2023--a year stacked with exceptional video games--this unlikely trio of AAA games stands out because of the various ways in which they use the art form to shine a light on underrepresented cultures and the pivotal impact they had on our history--doing so in a way only an interactive medium like video games can.

In MLB The Show 23, this takes the shape of a new mode called Storylines. Many sports games have ventured into the past before, but none have done so in such a lovingly crafted way as San Diego Studio's ode to the Negro Leagues. Storylines is essentially a series of playable documentaries, with each one combining archival footage, eye-catching hand-drawn art, and the spellbinding narration of Bob Kendrick--president of the Negro League Baseball Museum--to explore the lives and careers of eight legendary baseball players from an era before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. It's impossible to be a fan of baseball without knowing the story of Robinson and his iconic 42, but MLB The Show 23 taught me about other incredible players I knew next to nothing about, including Satchel Page, Hilton Smith, and Hank Thompson.

Last year, Valve irreversibly changed PC gaming with the launch of the Steam Deck. The portable PC platform was certainly not the first attempt of its kind, but with the experience of Valve's engineering and the tight integration with Steam, it quickly became the de facto device to recommend for a powerful and reliable gaming experience on the go. The timing couldn't have been better, too, with the Nintendo Switch only seeing an OLED upgrade the year prior and its heavily rumored specification bump reduced to another lengthy wait for a successor. As a result, the Steam Deck satiated the desire for more demanding gaming in a portable frame, so much so that we suggested it was an inflection point for the market as a whole. But it probably came as a surprise still at how quickly competitors reacted, with 2023 offering a glimpse into a future laden with compelling PC gaming handhelds, each experimenting in eye-catching ways.

There were a lot of moments that made me stop and say, "Wow, that was awesome," in Remnant 2, but the one that shoved it to the top of my list of favorites for the year came during one of its many excellent boss fights.

I'd worked through one of the three strange locations that make up Remnant 2's campaign. This one was a wrecked derelict spaceship the size of a moon that had once been inhabited by an advanced race on a quest to find, more or less, god. That plan didn't really pan out, and their ship's interior had changed over eons from a contained facsimile of their planet into a desolate, post-apocalyptic waste. Through the course of exploring, I'd cleared one of Remnant 2's dungeons and found what was essentially a weird alien USB drive. Now I was carrying it around, waiting to figure out what to do with it.

We eventually reached the final boss of the area, a huge blue alien named Sha'Hala with a ton of eyes and enormous hands. We'd dealt with this guy before in a friend's playthrough, fighting through by the skin of our teeth to defeat him. But when I reached the console to activate the fight with Sha'Hala, I noticed another interactable spot on the bottom we hadn't seen before: a second control point, out of the way and easy to miss. I hit the interact button and was offered the opportunity to use a quest item from my inventory.

Xur has arrived in the solar system as the Dawning continues to for one more week in Destiny 2. If you're looking for new builds to take advantage of its new weapons (or that new Exotic Strand bow, Wish-Keeper, from the Warlord's Reign dungeon), you might want to check out Xur's slate of Legendary and Exotic gear. Here's where to find Xur and what he's selling this weekend.

This week you can find Xur in The EDZ, in the Winding Cove area.

Xur is offering Coldheart for his Exotic weapon this week. Hunters can snag the Celestial Nighthawk helmet; Titans have the Synthoceps gauntlets; and for Warlocks, Xur offers the Felwinter's Helm helmet.

Xur Location

Use the Winding Cove transmat zone in the EDZ to find Xur this week. When you spawn in, hop on your sparrow and head north along the highway that loops along the left side of the area. When it bends to the right, hop off and head to the cliff wall ahead. You'll find a cave you can enter, which will twist up to the cliffs above where a Fallen skiff has crashed. Xur hangs out beside it, standing near the edge of the cliff.

More than just the way they approach narrative, level design, and gunplay, there is one constant throughout every single one of Remedy's titles: they will always have the perfect song for the perfect occasion. While Alan Wake 2 is certainly their magnum opus in that regard among several contenders, it's about time we took a look back at the best needle drops in the studio's long history.

Max Payne Theme - Kärtsy Hatakka/Kimmo Kajasto (Max Payne)

The original Max Payne's legacy is very much tied to the time of its release. It was the first video game to fully implement the slo-mo gunplay John Woo and the Wachowski Sisters had been trying to make into a Thing. But all that felt rather passe the more other games came and diluted the formula. The bullet-time may have been what got players in the door. But it was the neo-noir graphic novel vibes that have endured over the years. The constant leitmotif of those vibes is that theme, a grim piano undercurrent that gave even more depth and gravitas to James McCaffrey's jagged, self-deprecating, hard-boiled detective narration, and would be the constant reminder of Max's escalating failures as time went on, with the fully string-based rendition of the theme representing absolute rock bottom for our hero in the Rockstar-developed third game.

Forspoken got off to a rough start even before the game launched back in February. Certain early trailers featured a few awkward, out-of-context lines from the protagonist, Frey Holland. Those became a major talking point online, drawing attention away from what the focus should have been on: the terrific parkour.

Forspoken could never quite shake that initial negative impression, but despite what the internet would lead you to believe, the game deserves a lot more praise than it received, especially when it comes to its unique, magical movement.

Frey gets transported to a fantasy world shortly after the story begins, and once tutorials end, the land of Athia is yours to explore. The map is much larger than you'd expect, and Frey has nothing but shoes on her feet and a bit of magic to help her get from place to place. The wide-open areas aren't exactly littered with buildings or closely built structures to latch onto, which rules out any kind of Spider-Man-like movement system. Instead, developer Luminous Productions decided to go for fancy footwork with stylistic flourishes.

It may sound simple, but, essentially, Frey just sprints and hops across the giant map. These little marathons only get better as the game progresses, as she gains access to speed boosts, quadruple jumps, wall-scaling techniques, a flaming grappling hook, and even a magical surfboard made of water and ice.

As 2023 winds to a close, one of the most common refrains from those in and around the video game industry is how this year was one for the history books, and gave us one of the very best game release calendars we've ever seen. While this is true regardless of genre, with highly anticipated sequels like The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur's Gate 3, and Marvel's Spider-Man 2 being some of this year’s best-reviewed games on Metacritic, it's especially true for horror games.

It wasn't that long ago that horror fans didn't have a lot to get excited about--I recall the Xbox 360/PS3 era being particularly barren, with only a few notable exceptions. But as major studios learn to make the age of high-fidelity gaming work for the genre and indie studios continue to innovate in haunting new ways, 2023 will go down as perhaps the best calendar year for horror video games we've ever seen.

Don't believe me? Just crunch the numbers. Looking at the top of Metacritic's aggregate scores for 2023, three horror games boast 90+ scores, with nine total games garnering scores of 73 or higher. I've tried to find a year that competes with that and I came up empty. That's because not only were this year's horror games really good, but there were also many of them. Horror is not a tentpole genre the way shooters, action-adventure games, and sports are. It's more of a dressing for some major genres, which usually means only a handful of horror games rise to the middle or top each year. Yes, Steam is loaded with new horror games every single month, but many of those are games churning through early access and often aren't ready to be enjoyed yet, if ever.

Xbox owners haven't had many wireless controller options in the Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One eras. Microsoft's wireless protocol has largely been limited to standard first-party controller and high-end Elite Series 2. Great third-party wired controllers exist for Xbox, but we're only now starting to see officially licensed wireless controllers from manufacturers outside of Microsoft. PowerA released a solid mid-range Xbox controller earlier this year, and now Turtle Beach has joined the party with the officially licensed Stealth Ultra, a premium alternative to the Elite Series 2. Turtle Beach's Stealth Ultra is pricey at $200, but it's an incredible controller that's worth your consideration.

The Stealth Ultra retains the conventional Xbox controller layout. Though it doesn't have the same heft to it as the Elite Series 2, it has superb ergonomics with textured grips and a premium finish. As far as inputs go, I actually prefer the Stealth Ultra to the Elite Series 2, which was a surprise since the Elite Series 2 has long been my favorite controller. Buttons, triggers, and sticks are a cut above their Elite Series 2 counterparts (and most controllers in general).

As was originally reported close to two years ago, Activision Blizzard CEO and founder Bobby Kotick is officially leaving the company following Microsoft's buyout of the Call of Duty giant. When Microsoft closed the deal in October, it was reported that Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer asked Kotick to stay on for the time being, and now he's officially leaving as many expected he would.

"Phil shares our values and recognizes our talents. He is passionate about our games and the people who make them. He has bold ambition," Kotick said in a memo to staff.

Kotick is reportedly leaving Activision Blizzard with a gigantic pay package in the area of $400 million.

According to The Verge, Kotick is officially stepping down on December 29. He may not be replaced directly, but Microsoft is putting Blizzard president Mike Ybaara, Activision Publishing president Rob Kostich, and Activision Blizzard vice chair Thomas Tippl in a new organization chart that reports to Xbox executive Matt Booty.

Bethesda's Fallout 76 may not have debuted to a fantastic critical reception back in 2018, but the developer has steadily supported and expanded upon the game over the years. To date, it's reached more than 17 million people, so it's not a big surprise to learn that Bethesda is planning even more updates to the online RPG for 2024.

In a blog post, developer Jon Rush said, "We're not done yet." In Spring 2024, Bethesda will launch another update, Atlantic City -- America's Playground, which features a new mission. Players will take on the Jersey Devil in a main mission and dig into other story-driven quests and reach new areas of the world to explore and earn rewards.

Later in 2024, Bethesda will add new locations to the map in the south, into the Shenandoah woodlands. "This uncharted, once-tranquil expanse in the heart of Virginia will bring a new questline, factions, and rewards," Bethesda said.

Additionally, 2024 will see Bethesda do more with Fallout 76's seasonal events. These will be run more frequently than before and they will each have new rewards to collect.

"Among all this exciting new content, we're planning to release several additional features and improvements that benefit our avid builders and adventurers alike," Bethesda said. "Whether you've roamed Appalachia's wilds since day one or are still adjusting to the natural light outside the fluorescent halls of Vault 76, next year marks an exciting time to adventure into Fallout 76 and make friends in Wasteland."

Beyond the new updates for Fallout 76, 2024 marks the debut of the Fallout TV series on Prime Video, which arrives in April. The show is canonical to the Fallout universe.

Who would have thought that one of the most expensive games of the year The Day Before? Reseller sites have the game listed for between $233 to $304 according to Green Man Gaming (via Kotaku), several times more than what The Day Before cost when it was briefly available. It's worth noting that while these sites are free to set their own prices for these games, it's going to be a hard sell to convince people to buy the game at that price.

There is some precedence for this scenario, as in the years since Hideo Kojima's PT was removed from the PlayStation Store, PS4 consoles loaded with that game have sold quite well through markets like eBay. The Day Before might become a sought-after piece of gaming history in the months to come, and key reseller sites--some of which have a spotty history due to how they do business as unauthorized sellers of games--are banking on the game's short-lived post-launch history to be worth a hefty asking price.

There are better ways to spend $300--like 100 cups of coffee--especially when The Day Before will likely be inaccessible once its servers are taken offline soon. Launching in early access on Steam earlier this month, The Day Before had a lifespan of mere days before it was pulled from Steam. Even in its early state, the game was notoriously buggy and players would often run into game-breaking issues.

Due to a patent dispute, Apple is gearing up to remove select devices in its Apple Watch lineup from the marketplace. The electronics giant will be pulling the Apple Watch Series 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 from its official website on Thursday, and major retailers could follow suit after December 24. Put simply: Finding an Apple Watch could become a lot more challenging very soon.

If you have an Apple Watch on your wishlist, you need to start shopping ahead of these inventory pulls, as it's unclear when they'll return to store shelves. There's a silver lining, however, as you'll find a bunch of great deals available for the smartwatch as part of various holiday sales. Here's a look at where you can find a discounted Apple Watch ahead of its removal from the market.

Note that some of these may even arrive in time for Christmas--though shipping times vary by location.

The Last of Us Part 2 is one of the best PlayStation games in recent memory, and it's officially getting the remaster treatment in 2024. The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is now up for preorder ahead of its January 19 release exclusively on PS5. Eager to dive into the post-apocalyptic action? Here's a look at where you can preorder the game, along with any eligible preorder bonuses. Side note: If you want to play The Last of Us Part I ahead of the sequel's launch, the remake of the original is discounted to only $40 at Amazon right now.

The Last Of Us Part 2 Preorder Bonuses

There are currently no preorder bonuses for reserving a copy of The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered. However, the game is more than a simple graphical overhaul; the remaster comes with a new roguelike survival mode, exclusive developer commentary, enhanced accessibility features, and new unlockable character and weapon skins.

A few weeks ago, I went to a Fortnite event where developer-publisher Epic Games unveiled its plan for the near future of its game: a Lego survival game, a racing game, and a music game à la Rock Band and Fuser. This is on top of the toolset allowing anyone to make and publish their own games within Fortnite.

The whole thing was kind of weird.

Not that any of the experiences are bad – the Lego thing is super not for me, but I really like the racing game (made by Psyonix, developer of Rocket League), and I think the music element has the potential to become something interesting down the road. 

Armored Core VI Fires of Rubicon hit PlayStation, Xbox, and PC back in August – read Game Informer's review here – and if you've been looking for another reason to dip into its mech-action combat, look no further than the latest update for the game. Developer From Software released a new update last week that adds ranked online matchmaking, a ranked leaderboard, and more to the game. 

The update is free on all platforms where you can play Armored Core VI, and features new parts to enhance Armored Core loadouts as well as new PvP maps to face off against other players in and nameplate personalization. 

Check out the Armored Core VI ranked matchmaking update trailer for yourself below: 

As you can see, this new update adds a heaping dose of mech action to Armored Core VI, giving players who have already beaten the game a new reason to jump into its multiplayer suite. 

At last, every door on the RPS Advent Calendar has been ripped open, leaving nothing but foil wrapper remnants, and the odd pixel crumb of the digital delights once contained within them. But that doesn't festivities are over! Like a Boxing Day bubble and squeak, we've gathered together all of our favourite games of the year once again, this time in one handy location. If you've been following along with our Advent goings-on, you'll already know what our game of the year picks are for 2023, but just in case you missed them, here's the list in full. Enjoy!

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It's rare to see a 27-inch 1440p 165Hz gaming monitor for £200 or less, but that's exactly what you can get from X= on Amazon UK at the moment. This alphabet-soup-inspired model, the X= XRGB27WQ, uses an IPS panel to deliver its spec point of choice, with FreeSync/G-Sync support, a 2ms GtG response time and a clean, RGB-optional design.

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Four more Nijisanji VTubers will make their appearance in Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis in February 2024. Sega revealed the new collaboration at the December 2023 NGS Headline program. Amamiya Kokoro, Nagao Kei, Matsukai Mao, and Yorumi Rena will be the four Japanese Nijisanji VTubers who will feature in the second collab batch in PSO2: New Genesis.

The first Nijisanji crossover appeared in PSO2: New Genesis in February 2023. It featured Kaida Haru, Hakase Fuyuki, Hoshikawa Sara, and the English VTuber Shu Yamino. A limited-time scratch ticket lineup would appear during the collaboration period, where players can gather avatar parts and voice sets based on each VTuber.

The second collab period will have even more interactions from the VTubers. In mid-February 2024, Kokoro, Kei, Mao, and Rena will visit Creative Spaces made by users who won a contest that Sega had previously held.

Square Enix shared a recipe for the Final Fantasy VII inspired Mako's Eye drink. The company had previously featured this drink at a temporary-themed cafe in 2022. But with this recipe, people residing anywhere worldwide will be able to replicate the drink if they have the specified ingredients.

The base drink consists of the following ingredients:

1. Blue Hawaii Syrup - 20cc
2. Ice - adequate amount
3. Carbonated Water - 140cc

The recipe also includes a separate syrup made by mixing 10cc of Pineapple Syrup with 0.1g of Yellow Food Coloring. When people pour this syrup into the drink, it will glow similarly to the Mako reflected on characters' pupils in Final Fantasy VII entries. An optional pineapple cut on the glass can complete the drink's presentation.

The drink recipe video is also available to watch on the Japanese official X account for the Final Fantasy VII Remake series:

Over a year ago, I bought the Founders Pass for Disney Dreamlight Valley and immersed myself in what I hoped would be a fun, enjoyable life simulator-type game. What greeted me was a game filled with Disney magic, reigniting my passion for exploration and discovery and quickly became one of my favorite games of 2022 and 2023.

Disney Dreamlight Valley exited its beta and entered its full release on December 5, 2023, alongside its first paid expansion, A Rift in Time. The game opens with the player falling asleep and waking up in a strange world covered in darkness and strange purple thorns called Night Thorns. In this world called Dreamlight Valley, the player meets Merlin, a wizard who has forgotten many things due to something called "The Forgetting" and asks for help in remembering what was forgotten.

The player has the mysterious power to draw Dreamlight from the Night Thorns and use that power to restore Dreamlight Valley to what it once was and reawaken the lost memories of each Disney character who lives in the Valley. As the player explores the game's world, new yet familiar Disney characters are introduced, including Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, Ariel, Moana, Mother Gothel, and more.

On Christmas Day, a big GTA 5 leak revealed that Rockstar Games had some single-player DLC planned for the open-world crime sim. Though none of them were released, what was uncovered by online sleuths is interesting all the same.

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Cyberpunk 2077’s one-and-done expansion, Phantom Liberty, arrived on September 26, 2023, bringing with it a new story and a new location to explore. But fans have found another unique addition the expansion introduces: a subtle reference to another open-world game also set in a fictional take on California.

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We’re just a few short days away from the ball dropping and ushering in a new year. Kotaku put out our own Game of the Year list, but last week we also asked you, the Kotaku readers, about your favorite games from the year of our lord 2023. While there were a few obvious frontrunners, folks did come through with some…

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When Final Fantasy X exploded onto the PlayStation 2 in 2001, it revolutionized not just the Final Fantasy series but the role-playing genre as a whole. The tuned-to-perfection turn-based combat, the beautiful soundtrack, the heartfelt story, and the eye-popping-for-the-time visuals created one of the most important entries of one of the most important franchises in video game history. However, one element was absent from Final Fantasy X that several of the key developers involved with the project lamented: an explorable world map.

For Yoshinori Kitase, a producer on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth who also served as a director on Final Fantasy VI, VII, VIII, and X, the world map's disappearance was a sore spot as someone who has been involved with the series since 1990. "We started off expressing this world that you can venture through this world map," he tells Game Informer. That was how it was for Final Fantasy I, but starting with Final Fantasy X, when we entered into this real-time 3D world, this is when the world map development ceased or halted to some degree."