Destructoid

Electronic Arts confirmed today that two Battlefield games are in development. Alongside a new Battlefield for console and PC, there's also a standalone mobile game on the way.

In a blog post, DICE general manager Oskar Gabrielson broke down the two games. The next Battlefield is currently set for this holiday season, later this year. While the blog notes all-out military warfare and game-changing destruction, the Battlefield staples, Gabrielson also writes that it's brought to life with "the power of next-gen consoles and PC." A reveal for the new Battlefield game is coming "soon."

The mobile game, meanwhile, is in development at Industrial Toys, working closely with DICE. The completely new Battlefield game will be a standalone game for smartphones and tablets, and is currently set for 2022. It's entering a testing period phase ahead of next year's launch, and more details are expected soon.

With two Battlefield games on the way, that's a whole lot of massively multiplayer destruction. It's been a little while since the last Battlefield, and with some new console hardware, I have to say I'm excited to see what DICE and the various teams like Criterion, DICE LA, and Gothenburg are putting together. 

It seems like a decade since we first heard about THQ Nordic's genetic-splicing adventure Biomutant, even though it has, in fact, been just four short years. But the development cycle is finally at an end and Experiment 101 is ready to release its curious fantasy title on the world.

THQ Nordic has released an atmospheric new trailer focusing entirely on Biomutant's huge, beautiful open-world. Said world is in dire straits, however, due to a suffocating pollution that is chewing away at the Tree of Life, the roots of which provide the land with the nutrients it needs in order to survive.

The player's custom character is tasked with exploring this world, searching out the Tree of Life roots and protecting them from destruction. Sounds simple enough, but each root also happens to be guarded by one of the land's six tribes, and a little democracy, compromise, or perhaps even violence will be in order if the tree is to be restored to its former glory. 

You know it's going to be a slow week when Nintendo touts Immortal: Fenyx Rising DLC as not only the marquee Nintendo Download option of the week, but the only headliner.

We've all been through those days on the 3DS and Wii U, but the Switch typically has something flashy to offer every week. I mean, see for yourself and read the near-decade eShop weekly posts I have logged here. Sadly, Shantae, despite being re-released several times, didn't even get the respect of a top spot.

But I'm changing that! The original Shantae is out on the Switch natively this week without any Virtual Console shenanigans, as is Picross S6: those games will never go out of style. Oh, and all of the stuff below.

The newest day in the Weirdest Timeline sees Ubisoft's stealth series Assassin's Creed cross over with Roger Hargreaves' 1970s children's book series, Mr. Men. As spotted by Rock, Paper, Shotgun, the two brands are collaborating for a range of six titles based on the time-hopping mass-murder franchise.

"By mixing the Assassin's Creed sense of adventure and history with the colorful and delightful designs of the Little Mr. Men, these books will appeal to both young and adult readers," said Ubisoft in the announcement. "Follow Mister Ezio, Little Miss Kassandra, and Little Miss Eivor, as they each try to complete their own missions in the first three books of this series!"

Mister Ezio! He's a killer! But Mr. Men is a cutesy thing for kids! Much Random!

Immortals: Fenyx Rising has been out since last December, and it's enjoyed a nice little niche between the typical open world Ubisoft fare and its inspiration: Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

But in true Ubisoft fashion they can't just leave the game alone and complete, there has to be some form of DLC to peddle. First we got A New God in January, then Myths of the Eastern Realm in March, and now April is giving us what might be the most unique add-on yet: The Lost Gods.

The minute-and-a-half trailer below is actually a very good elevator pitch for what to expect, with the new top-down view serving as the main hook. As is generally the case with Immortals add-ons, it focuses on a new character (Ash) in an attempt to build up the lore of the game while providing players with a side story.

The new view and a different combat system are great ideas to sell players on the pack piecemeal, but of course there's a season pass if you want that. It actually feels like a unique DLC, in other words.

I'm not sure how I missed Boomerang X seeing as how 1) it's a Devolver Digital joint and that still counts for a lot, and 2) it's a stylish aerial-focused arena shooter, but man — it's so cool. I jumped into a very generous preview build recently and couldn't put the game down until I'd done, well, everything!

It took a bit for me to latch onto the mechanics given that they're doled out piece by piece and things start out really simple, but I was immediately into the idea of playing as a bandaged-up protagonist who, in my headcannon at least, must look like Mac the Knife, the mummy from Captain Commando.

Washed ashore on a mysterious abandoned island, you'll leap (and I mean leap) around until you quickly find an all-important weapon — your one and only for this reflex-intensive platforming shooter. It's a mystical boomerang that can one-shot shadowy figures and automatically come back to you. In the right hands, with your targets' weak points lined up just so, it's devastating. But you can never sit still.

Once Boomerang X comes into its own, you'll be able to dash toward your boomerang, and at that point, you never need to touch the ground again. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but it's so, so satisfying.

The Final Fantasy XIV really nails the "producer live letter" format, which is basically a fireside chat of everything going on with the game at different intervals. It's a very easy-to-follow concept and I dig the non-produced, realism of it. Well, Sega just held one of its own today for Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis, and it was super enlightening and gave us a ton of details for the upcoming game.

First up, New Genesis will arrive in June of this year, and it will be a global launch. That's huge, as there is no lead time (like say, years) for the Japanese version; everyone is getting it. It's very important to understand here that the team does plan on providing global patches, so unlike the current version of PSO 2 was with the western launch, there will be no "lag time" between updates. There's also going to be a "starter package" out on August 19, which will contain codes for nine in-game items, plus a "Limited Edition," with a mini soundtrack and new artwork.

You can watch the full hour-ish presentation below. As a note, it does have English voiceovers in this global version of the stream, so you can fully along without wonky YouTube subtitles.

Oh, and we also got some PSO 2 basic news today. As of June 2021, it will be caught up with the Japanese edition! So we'll have full Phantasy Star Online parity in just a few months.

I believe this is what you call "cutting your losses." Sega has announced that it is shutting down mobile title Sakura Kakumei: Hanasaku Otome-tachi (Sakura Revolution: Hanasaki Maidens). The free-to-play gacha game, which launched in Japan in December of last year — will be switching off its servers on June 30, a pithy six months from release.

"Since service launched, we have worked hard planning and managing events, improving game systems, and so on in efforts to provide better service," said Sega in an official statement. "But after considering the environment surrounding the game, playability, and future developments, we have unfortunately come to the decision to end service."

Square Enix has released a short teaser for its upcoming graphic adventure Life is Strange: True Colors. The new game, the latest entry in the award-winning series, will launch on PlayStation, Xbox, PC, and Stadia platforms on September 10.

The short clip introduces us to new protagonist Alex Chen, as she discusses her hopes for a better life, living alongside her brother, in her new home of Haven Springs. Sadly for Alex, fate has more complex plans in store, and her arrival at the sleepy locale will be an eventful one, bringing new personalities, challenges, and hazards into her mysterious world.

Somehow, Season 4 of Fall Guys has already been out for a month. That whole time, I've been meaning to check in — the futuristic low-gravity levels looked fun — but I kept pushing it off. After adoring Season 1, bouncing off of Season 2, and missing most of Season 3, it wasn't that hard to procrastinate.

On a whim, curiosity got the better of me and I spent a couple of hours with Season 4 today.

_{Challenges? Huh? If you haven't peeked at Fall Guys in a while, you might have questions.}

You know you've been on a real break when a once-familiar main menu suddenly feels overwhelming.

As much as I like the new stages and variations on the original obstacle courses, the biggest surprise to me is just how much I enjoy Squads mode. It has single-handedly renewed my interest in (trying to) keep up with Fall Guys again, which is funny, because it wasn't even a blip on my radar until now.

I think I had it in my head that Squads would only be good with a full crew of friends to back you up. That's surely the ideal way to go, but at least for me, as a solo-queue player, I'm having a blast.

Earlier this month, Capcom announced Resident Evil 4 would be coming to virtual reality via the Oculus Quest 2. During today's Oculus Gaming Showcase, the VR company showed more of how Leon's adventure is being turned into a first-person VR experience.

The most obvious change is that you're moving around in first-person, with the Touch controllers acting as your mode of interaction. The analog stick moves you around, but development studio Armature has added an upper-body rig on top of Leon to work movement in with the Touch controllers, and there's support for both teleportation and room-scale movement options. The Oculus blog says you can play through the whole game comfortably seated, if you'd like.

There's also a lot of remastered art. Over 4,500 textures have either been repainted or had their resolution bumped up, character animations have been converted over to Unreal Engine 4, and cutscenes will be shown in their original format.

It's sounding like the Knights of the Old Republic will be getting a revival, at the hands of a studio well-known for its handling of older games.

In an interview with MinnMax, Bloomberg's Jason Schreier confirmed that a remake of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic is in development at Aspyr, which has previously ported KOTOR to iOS among many other titles. 

.@jasonschreier confirms that Aspyr Media (of all studios!) is working on a KOTOR remake in our new interview. We hope you enjoy the full discussion! https://t.co/vv0bljO35B https://t.co/IJdIIGY0aU

— Ben Hanson (@yozetty) April 20, 2021

Eurogamer corroborates this news in its own report, so it looks pretty certain. It also lends credence to some rumors that were circling earlier this year, saying a new KOTOR was in development outside of Electronic Arts.

This week has been a bit of a strange one for Rockstar Games, at least in regards to its PC store. It began on April 19, when the Grand Theft Auto developer's entire catalog vanished from the Steam platform. It was quickly reinstated without explanation, and (for a brief period), complete with Midnight Club 2, which has not been available to purchase in three years.

One further oddity, however, concerns the surprise arrival of new updates for 2011's detective title L.A. Noire, and 2012's shooter sequel Max Payne 3, both of which have automatically dished out their entire DLC for free, gifting all those who own the titles on Steam a selection of skins, weapons, missions, and other goodies.

Today, things seem to have returned to a sense of normalcy, with Rockstar's Steam catalog all present and correct. L.A. Noire and Max Payne 3 are admittedly getting a little creaky in the bones in their latter years, but they're both pretty good games in their own right. The free DLC is a welcome, if slightly bizarre, bonus.

Premium merchandise maker Weta Workshops has opened pre-orders on a limited edition statue of the legendary Lara Croft. The stunning display piece recalls the classic "Lost Valley" stage of the original Tomb Raider release, and depicts Ms. Croft in action as she fends off an attack from a pair of ravenous velociraptors, deep within some forgotten land lost to the annals of time.

The long-time-coming Samurai Gunn 2 resurfaced today with a blistering new trailer and a revised summer release window for Steam Early Access. What about Nintendo Switch? It's still happening — but that version won't come out until the 1.0 launch on PC, which should take "about a year or so."

The sequel had plummeted off my radar, but after catching this gameplay footage, I immediately remembered what it was like to face off in frantic one-hit-kill combat with friends. Simplicity and split-second decisions are still the name of this 2D action game. That said, there's more to chew on.

For combat, beyond the super-lethal sword and gun at your disposal, Samurai Gunn 2 now lets you "swallow" one of your three bullets to dash. Trickier yet, the dash allows you to fly through slash attacks, but not other players' shots. A small change can have a big ripple effect in high-stakes duels.

Xbox is lifting the restrictions on its free-to-play games. While some online multiplayer games still required an Xbox Live Gold membership to play even if they didn't cost any money to play themselves, Microsoft is unlocking that today.

The company had previously been testing this feature out, and start today, the feature should go live for all players across over 50 free-to-play games. Here's the current lineup:

Focus Home Interactive has acquired French developer Streum On Studio, best known for its work on Games Workshop releases such as 2016's Space Hulk: Deathwing and the upcoming Necromunda: Hired Gun. The acquisition was revealed as part of the publisher's latest financial report.

"Over the past year, and particularly the past six months, we have profoundly transformed Focus Home Interactive, said Focus board chairman Christophe Nobileau. "Our Group now has an adjusted business model and a dedicated M&A team, as well as renewed governance, a strengthened Executive Committee and a retention programme for key managers. These changes allow us to invest much more in game development and to significantly improve our profitability, starting next year. On the external growth front, we are delighted with the acquisition of the Streum On Studio."

You can check out a brand new trailer for Necromunda: Hired Gun below.

Just last week Sony and developer MiHoYo confirmed that Genshin Impact was coming to PS5 on April 28.

We knew it was happening, but it's nice to see that the studio is putting it out relatively soon in an era full of delays (they have the money for it, that's for sure!). And confirmation that it's going to support 4K visuals and the obvious SSD-related faster load times is always a plus.

Now, we get to see it in action. Sony put out a roughly eight-minute video of the PS5 port in action, which is thankfully low key, no commentary, raw footage. We get to see someone walk through the hub of Mondstadt and out into the world, with seamless load times to boot.

It really is a clear and effective way to show off the port without being too flashy. We also witness multiple locations, including some that are graphically intensive. The best part for me of course? The near-instant load times. Check one of them out here at 4:23 in the clip.

Sometimes, and this isn't exclusive to Genshin Impact, I'll refrain from going to certain places to do small tasks because of the load times involved. In an open world game, fast travel instant loading has become a godsend.

The notoriously busted console edition of CD Projekt RED's Cyberpunk 2077 managed to shift enough physical copies last week to re-enter the UK Charts' Top Ten, nestling in at number nine. This is likely due to in-store efforts to reduce stock surplus. Still, just because something is cheap, doesn't mean it's worth buying, and while the PS4/Xbox One editions of the RPG have seen slight improvements since launch, they remain in a relatively poor state.

Aside from this charts oddity, it's mostly business as usual for the UK's physical sales. Electronic Arts' soccer sim FIFA 21 is once again back at the number-one spot, and is unlikely to be usurped by Dreamcast title Super League anytime soon. From there onward, it's mostly the Nintendo show, with Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury, and Minecraft all enjoying steady sales. Capcom's Monster Hunter Rise sits at number seven, a healthy position for a non first-party release.

The Guardian Games have begun in Destiny 2, which serves as an in-game Olympics of sorts for all three classes.

As Bungie points out Titans won last year, and they're hoping they'll see a new winner this time around. And as usual, Bungie is implementing "feedback" from prior events that didn't go as well as they planned, and has revamped the entire scoring system. Now medals range from one point for bronze, two points for silver, five points for gold, and 15 points for platinum.

To "account for different class population," the class that comes in third place each day gets a 10% scoring bonus, which will be applied permanently throughout the event. Events like this are pretty hard to get right, so there's probably going to be some issue at some point before it's done. For now, Hunters seem to have the edge as the most popular class overall, according to various Destiny data sites.

Rewards include near armor and an exotic Sparrow.

The crown jewel of the announcement is easily the Guardian Games track jacket, though. Following with Bungie tradition dating all the way back to the original years ago, if you manage to unlock the Sparrow, you'll get a code to purchase the jacket from the Bungie store (it's otherwise unobtainable, and merely listed on the store for ease of use).

You can also grab silver pins from the store, or a golden pin for whatever class wins the games. Mech! Bungie knows how to capitalize on it.

This Week at Bungie [Bungie.net]

The next game in the Tales series is finally ready to set a date. Tales of Arise has been locked in for a Sept. 10 release date, and it's also arriving with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S versions alongside PS4, Xbox One, and PC.

Famitsu revealed a wealth of new info about the new entry in the Tales series this morning. Alongside new screenshots showcasing two additional characters that seem to be joining the party—a previously-teased mage character and a martial arts fighter—there are also two new trailers. The first is the launch date trailer (in English via IGN):

It wasn't just cinematics, though. A second, longer trailer from Famitsu showcases a few minutes of  gameplay from Tales of Arise. Here, we can see the new look of the series in motion, from overworld exploration and dialogue to battles.

Seeing how the team has managed to make it look completely new, with an overhauled style and systems, while still retaining the structures that make it feel very Tales-like is fascinating. I can make out what seem like Artes, and even the overworld seems hazily similar to other Tales games, but with a revitalized feel to it.

Prepare to don your Herlock Sholmes hat and re-open your basement detective agency. Capcom has announced that The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles will be bringing its old-school, period-sleuthing ways onto PS4, PC, and Nintendo Switch this summer.

Previously spotted by the Taiwanese Game Rating Committee, The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles collates two classic Nintendo 3DS releases: 2015's The Great Ace Attorney Adventures and 2017's The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve, both of which are being officially localized in English for the very first time, giving Ace Attorney fans the opportunity to plug that frustrating gap in their franchise resume.

Bokoblins, you love to hate 'em.

What could have been a generic open world enemy ended up becoming one of my most frequent sources of laughter while playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild. The Tex Avery-antics these things would get into were limited only by my imagination. They're so immensely fun to mess with, Bugs Bunny style.

This video from alterpoda encapsulates why in just under a minute. Bokoblins comically blowing themselves up is something I'll never get tired of. And really, so much of that is enabled by the way the world and its physics work.

The bit at 0:27 where one Bokoblin blows up another because it picked up a TNT crate is a contender, but the top spot for me is taken up by the part at 0:35. It's happened to me! Sometimes I'll just randomly be wandering around, see an explosion, shrug, and walk away.

I'm a sucker for this sort of enemy infighting: Monster Hunter Rise nails it on a constant basis.

Yesterday saw Activision drop another whopping update file on its mega-seller shooter franchise Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and its sister title Warzone. Among the huge plethora of modes, maps, operators, and weapons headed to Season 3 later this week, the spirit of 4/20 was also recognized via the release of a special "Stoner's Delight" DLC bundle.

For (a pretty hefty) 2400 CP, players can bag themselves ganja-themed skins for the Assault Rifle Golf and the Light Machine Gun Alpha, as well as a weapon charm, wristwatch, stickers, and an animated emblem and calling card for your profile. Also included is a new "Zombie Express" vehicle skin for use with CoD's cars, boats, buggies, and bikes. Don't smoke and drive, kids.

Monolith Soft, the company behind the Xenoblade series, has been on the up and up for pretty much its entire existence. But things really changed in 2007 when Nintendo acquired it, and they've been helping out in various first-party heavy-hitters (including Breath of the Wild) ever since; while creating their own original works, mostly of the Xenoblade variety.

This report from Nintendo Enthusiast shows their growth first-hand though, through detailed data attained from their company page. The data doesn't lie! In 2017 they were at 150 employees, and now they're at 272. Literally each year they grew as a studio, hitting 200 people in April of 2019, and are now on their way to 300, possibly by the end of the year if their growth continues.

Interestingly, the company also put a specific emphasis on how many different people they employ compared to the average Japanese developer, as 27.6% of their workforce is represented by women. Their company page also states that they have 75 million yen ($694,251) in capital.

You can find the full breakdown below. Unlike a lot of other developers, say, housed under Activision or EA, the occasional "help out on big Nintendo projects on the side while making our own stuff" arrangement seems to be working out well for them.

Company [Monolith Soft via Nintendo Enthusiast]

Following on from a recent listing by the Game Ratings Board of Korea, an unannounced Virtua Fighter title for PS4 has appeared on the database on the Japanese PSN store. The title was spotted by database hunters and store spoilers PSN Releases.

No detailed information is available at press time, but the listing (which is not publicly viewable) is for a "Virtua Fighter eSports" and features brand new artwork of the Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown cast. All of the characters appear stylized in their VF 5 iterations, implying that this will be a re-release of the 2010 PS3 and Xbox 360 fighter. It should also be noted that the Korean listing was actually titled Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown.

We will keep you informed as and when more information is forthcoming. I'm very giddy right now. It doesn't appear to be the long-wishlisted Virtua Fighter 6, of course, but releasing an updated edition of VF5: FS, readily available on modern platforms, complete with competent online play, and a revived tournament scene, is exciting stuff all the same.

And so soon after this modder found the full game hidden in Yakuza: Like a Dragon! ORA!

Aren't I cute? Trying to avoid spoilers for fans by not naming the character in the headline, despite the fact he's literally fucking trending on social media, and will probably even end up on the posters and in future trailers. Look, I do my best to look out for y'all, at the expense of the mighty SEO overlords.

"A for effort" and all that... SAvEd u A CliCk!1

Sigh. Anyway, as filming continues on Paramount's Sonic the Hedgehog 2 movie, sneaky photos from the set have confirmed that the barrel-chested echidna, Knuckles, will be a part of the cinematic sequel. In frankly disquieting imagery, physical props for Knuckles, Sonic, and Tails were snapped among the rubble of a city street, standing stiff and tall with fixed grins and dead eyes. Tails has seen some shit...

It might look unassuming, but the endearingly sloppy physics goof-off game Human: Fall Flat has quietly become one of the best-selling games of all time. It was fun enough in 2016 with a co-op player to help and hinder me as we wobbled together through puzzle-platformer playgrounds. Since then, more levels have bubbled up from the community and it's only gotten stronger. The game isn't showing signs of stopping, and in a blog post, Curve Digital and No Brakes Games reaffirmed their support.

In the immediate future, we're getting PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of Human: Fall Flat. There's no release window — they're sticking with "very soon" — but the developers clarified that there would be a free upgrade. "A free patch will also be available to those that own Human: Fall Flat on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One to bring the game to the latest version on your new consoles."

Coming up, Curve Digital also promised more free DLC "including new level releases in 2021, additional community competitions, skins, and more." Can they break the 26-million mark? It seems inevitable.

I always get a kick out of seeing what other players are up to in the games I'm enjoying on and off when time allows, especially something like Monster Hunter Rise. There's room for a bunch of different play styles and skill levels, so you never know quite what you're going to get when you hit play on a clip.

In this case, I'm not here to tell you about a perfectly calculated high-flying tail slice, fun as those are. Nah, I'm here to show you this player's complete collection of monster feet for their Hunter's Notes.

I respect Reddit user tutubutt's dedication to this amusingly time-consuming bit.

I took a photo of the feet of every large and small monster from r/MonsterHunter

What would Fugen say about this? Word travels fast in Kamura Village.

So far, I've spent essentially all of my Monster Hunter Rise energy squeezing in as many hunts as possible, so it hadn't dawned on me yet to build out a themed collection of pics for the catalog.

As this photo stash makes the rounds online, I bet some folks on the art team at Capcom finally feel seen. Getting the monsters' meaty feet to look just right is a thankless task, but an important one.

Blendo Games has been steadily working on its next project, Skin Deep, for the last few years. But today, the developer has locked in a partner for its immersive FPS.

Today, Blendo Games announced that it's partnering with Annapurna Interactive for Skin Deep. In a new trailer, they run down the general concept of Skin Deep: you are insurance.

Rather than an agent addressing damage after it's happened though, you're the insurance companies stow away with their precious cargo; and when space pirates board the ship and trip the alarm, you take care of the problem.

SKIN DEEP: a @BlendoGames x Annapurna Interactive partnership. Wishlist now on Steam: https://t.co/CbRmqki1OO pic.twitter.com/Ui7sB9IC5w

— Annapurna Interactive (@A_i) April 20, 2021

Skin Deep has been in development since 2018, but hopefully this partnership and trailer means a launch is on the horizon. The combination of stealth and action with holding in sneezes and Die Hard-reminiscent glass-in-foot injuries looks pretty sweet, and Blendo has made some great games over the years. (Some were even made open source last year!)

A simulation game that captures the immediate gratification of power washing dirty surfaces without the maddening racket or physical stress on your arms and hands? Oh, I'm in — I'm so incredibly in. After catching this clip of PowerWash Simulator on Twitter today, I knew this big dad energy would resonate.

The good vibes have been overflowing the past few days. THANK YOU to everyone for all of your kind words and suggestions! 💜

Here's another clean clip to tide you over to launch!💦

Help us by wishlisting on Steam: ⭐️https://t.co/ecwdHGsEhL⭐️ pic.twitter.com/mpdDTphPvI

— PowerWash Simulator (@PowerWashSim) April 20, 2021

We've seen endless simulation games in recent years, to the point where you could jokingly suggest just about any hobby, job, or mundane activity and then look on Steam to find an honest-to-goodness real game. Many of them are formulaic and don't feel convincingly authentic, but there are exceptions.

This one's coming from FuturLab, the studio behind Velocity 2X, Tiny Trax, and Peaky Blinders: Mastermind, and I don't know — I just have a good feeling about it after spending time with the demo.

The creative director of Marvel's Avengers, Shaun Escayg, has left Crystal Dynamics to return to their prior studio of employment, Naughty Dog. Escayg's return was celebrated by the Naughty Dog team, who gifted their long-absent team-mate a postcard and a sweet-ass mug.

"Happy to be back with the Dogs!" remarked Escayg on Twitter.

Escayg had previously worked with Naughty Dog on flagship franchises Uncharted and The Last of Us, ultimately becoming director for the excellent 2017 spin-off Uncharted: The Lost Legacy. Escayg would leave the studio shortly thereafter for a role at Crystal Dynamics, serving as creative director for Square Enix's Marvel's Avengers. The epic comic-book adventure - designed as a long-term, games-as-a-service title - immediately failed to find its playerbase, continuing to meander months after its initial September release.

Now, back in the fold of the much-vaunted Naughty Dog, Escayg is expected to feature in a creative director/writer role on the studio's future releases. The studio is reportedly at work on a new Uncharted title, as well as a PS5 remake of The Last of Us, though neither of these projects have been confirmed.

Summer is closing in, which means it's time for the rollout of new game announcements. E3 2021 has already confirmed a number of participants, and now another publisher has confirmed it will have something around the digital conference.

In an interview with Nikkei, as translated by VGC and Siliconera, Square Enix CEO Yosuke Matsuda commented on what games of Square Enix's he was looking forward to this year. Alongside upcoming games like this week's Nier Replicant and Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade, Matsuda confirmed there's more to come.

"We'll be announcing the rest of the line-up [later]," said Matsuda (via VGC). "And we're also planning to make an announcement at E3 in June, so please keep your eyes peeled."

Square Enix wasn't among the first batch of companies confirmed for this year's E3, which had other publishers like Nintendo, Xbox, Capcom, and Ubisoft. It's unclear whether Square Enix is planning its own showcase or will have announcements as part of another company's presentation.

The “pick me” girl has always existed in one form or another, you might recognize her as a proponent of the phrase “I’m not like other girls,” or for being “one of the boys.” This particular incarnation, often depicted as sinister and possibly prone to hair-twirling, originated on TikTok, a spoof of the Grey’s Anatomy scene where Meredith pleads that Derek “pick me, choose me, love me.” “Pick me” girls on TikTok essentially say misogynistic things, like how other girls are sluts and that the 19th amendment should be revoked, stuff like that, in order to identify with and be validated by men. The impulse to do so isn’t entirely their fault. Many cultures normalize and reward misogyny, and it can be difficult to separate yourself from cultural values even if they actively harm you. Then, not-“pick me” girls (“pick them” girls?) are, naturally, upset with “pick me” girls for putting women down. “Pick me” girls then get angry at detractors for being a bunch of dumb sluts, the wheel keeps turning.

And gaming is absolutely not immune to the eternal battle between “pick me” girls and … regular girls (???). In fact, it’s been a topic of many viral TikToks. User @lindseyszn, who makes TikToks on gaming and Discord culture, for example, often features a “pick me” character in her comedy videos. This one, where a “pick me” fights with fictional boy Alex’s girlfriend about being the person he Snapchats most often (kids these days!), has 1.1 million likes and 4.2 million views since it was posted on March 9. “This made my blood boil, my ex’s name was Alex,” one TikTok user commented. 

With NieR Replicant mere days from release, it seems series director Yoko Taro has already begun shifting focus toward a brand new mystery project, currently in development at Square Enix.

Speaking in an official NieR Replicant live stream yesterday, the eclectic game designer revealed that he was already hard at work on a "somewhat unusual game" - a project he described as "off-beat" as well being both "nostalgic and new." Perhaps most bizarrely of all, Taro teased that he has no idea how to get people to play the new title, despite being told by his team that the game is a guaranteed best-seller... Ok.

The confusing non-explanation is pretty much business as usual for the 50-year-old industry veteran, who is known for his eccentric personality, oddball sense of humor, and creative mind. Despite the lack of clear information presented by Taro, it appears that said project is definitely planned for public release as a digital-only title, with more information coming in the very near future... or should that be the very NieR future?

NieR Replicant launches April 23 on PS4, PC, and Xbox One. The updated release features a rearranged soundtrack, re-recorded voice-overs, updated visuals, tweaked combat, and short order of extra content, making it the definitive edition of the 2010 action-RPG.

Yoko Taro working on new title with Square Enix [Gematsu / Games Talk]

Longtime Overwatch game director Jeff Kaplan has announced he is leaving Blizzard Entertainment. Aaron Keller, a founding member of the Overwatch team, will be stepping into his role moving forward.

In an announcement blog, Kaplan thanked his fellow developers and Blizzard employees, as well as Overwatch fans. You can read his statement in full below:

i am leaving Blizzard Entertainment after 19 amazing years. 

it was truly the honor of a lifetime to have the opportunity to create worlds and heroes for such a passionate audience. i want to express my deep appreciation to everyone at blizzard who supported our games, our game teams and our players. but i want to say a special thanks to the wonderful game developers that shared in the journey of creation with me.  

never accept the world as it appears to be. always dare to see it for what it could be. i hope you do the same. 

gg,

jeffrey kaplan 

In his own statement, newfound director Keller says development of Overwatch 2 is "continuing at a good pace." Keller says there are exciting reveals planned for this year as the team ramps up to launch, and that it will be sharing "more frequent updates" about Overwatch 2's progress and features very soon.

We knew the Batman/Fortnite crossover was coming, but I don't think I was truly preparing myself for it.

The gist: Gotham City's skies crack and reveal a rift, which sucks Batman into the world of Fortnite. Given that old Brucie has gone back to Prehistoric times and beyond, it's not even the craziest thing Batman has ever done. But having him tangle directly with Fortnite named characters like Fishstick is a little weird, in a mostly good and confusing way.

Zero Point issue #1 is out today for five bucks, and it comes with a code for a "Rebirth Harley Quinn Outfit" in Fortnite (you also get a code if you're a DC Universe Infinite digital comic subscriber). DC points out that the outfit will be "available later this summer," so it's not exclusive if you want it: but it's going to be cheaper to get the five-dollar comic either way.

For reference, I got my code this morning via email, approximately 30 minutes after reading the comic. The next issues are due on May 4, May 18, June 1, June 15, and July 6.

If you're curious, it's roughly 24 pages of story, and Batman enters the Fortnite world on page eight: so soonish! It's silly fun, and Batman grappling around structures in Fortnite makes a lot of sense, but it's the sort of imagery that's going to elicit groans, side-eyes, and vomiting from a large swath of people. I get it.

Zero Point [DC]

Last year's Spiritfarer was a bit of a surprise. The cozy management sim about a boat sailing spirits through the afterlife made for a pretty compelling journey, and there's more on the horizon.

Developer Thunder Lotus announced today that the Lily Update is live for free, to celebrate Spiritfarer clearing 500,000 copies sold. The update is currently available across all systems, including Xbox Game Pass where it's still part of the lineup at the moment.

This update adds Lily the Butterfly Spirit, a new character that will apparently add some details about protagonist Stella's story. Without spoiling the general narrative of Spiritfarer, that's a pretty good reason for those who have already wrapped up their run of the game to come back. There are also some improvements to local co-op and other various bug fixes.

As previously announced, Lily is the first of three updates in store for Spiritfarer this year. It's pretty nice to see Thunder Lotus continue to roll out reasons to come back to Spiritfarer this year; it was a cozy refuge for me last year, and new story segments combined with some added gameplay and quests seems like a good enough excuse for more hours spent on the river. Gotta catch all those fish, right?

Will I ever get sick of Mario 64 fan projects? Probably not.

It's an absolute classic. You know it. Nintendo knows it. It has a banger of a soundtrack and timeless level design, in a digestible format. From launch to the current era, it's one of the easiest 3D Mario games to just pick up and play "for a few stars."

The modding community knows all of this too, which is why they try and keep the spirit of the game alive on a constant basis. Take this project from Mors for example, which aims to provide a 60 FPS PC port of Mario 64 with the added wrinkle of permadeath.

Mors also promises "more responsive controls, an improved camera, extended moveset, and the ability to continue a level after getting a star (!)." The permadeath mode is incredibly intriguing, as it's such an easy way to issue a blanket gauntlet challenge to your childhood friends.

"How many stars can you get before you die?" It's so simple, yet compelling. Given that I own the Nintendo 64 version, the DS edition, and now the Switch collection: you know I'm always down for a good Mario 64 challenge. It's one of my most-raced games with friends.

If you're yet to check out Resident Evil Re: Verse - the multiplayer side-title accompanying the upcoming Resident Evil Village - then you're going to have another opportunity real soon. Capcom has announced a third beta test for the crossover shooter, scheduled to kick off on all platforms tonight/tomorrow.

If you want to check out the action for yourself, all you need do is download the client on your platform of choice, sign up for a Capcom account, and then you'll be set to go once the servers go live tonight at 23:00 PT and tomorrow at 02:00 ET / 07:00 BST. The beta will run for 24 hours and is open to all players, it does not require a Resident Evil Village pre-order.

Resident Evil Re:Verse is a celebration of the legendary survival horror, and lets up to six players partake in a variety of deathmatch-style modes. Packed out with characters, locations, and weapons cherry-picked from across the entire franchise, Re:Verse will let you finally see who would win in a battle royale between, say, Jack Baker and Ada Wong. The previous beta test, unfortunately, ran into numerous technical issues, but hopefully Capcom has ironed some of these problems out. After all, that's what a beta is for.