Game Informer

After weeks of in-game teases and more, Epic Games has officially confirmed that the next season of Fortnite will bring players back to Chapter 1. With Fortnite loading screens hiding secret dates that point to Chapter 1: Season 5 and props from that season landing on this current season's map, players have remain convinced that the next season, Chapter 4: Season 5 will actually bring everyone back to an older chapter of Fortnite; now we know it's happening. 

Today's reveal comes by way of the official Fortnite Twitter account, which posted, "Sprint (or Mantle, your choice) back to Chapter 1...see you soon 11.3.2023 #FortniteOG" with an image of the Fortnite battle bus. 

Sprint (or Mantle, your choice) back to Chapter 1....see you soon 11.3.2023. #FortniteOG pic.twitter.com/4LnTksppRp

— Fortnite (@FortniteGame) October 27, 2023

As you can see, the above Tweet confirms what many have been speculating: Fortnite is going back to its Chapter 1 roots. And while not officially confirmed, it's likely the Chapter 4: Season 5 map will have some Chapter 1: Season 5 integration on it based on teases over the past few weeks. 

Fortnite Chapter 4: Season 5 launches November 3. 

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red, Netflix, and Milan Records have finally released the Cyberpunk: Edgerunners soundtrack, including the Franz Ferdinand theme song, "This Fire." The soundtrack also features the outro song, "Let You Down" by Dawid Podsiadło, and others that play throughout the limited series anime like composer Akira Yamaoka’s "Whatever It Takes" and more. The soundtrack, which also features music by composers Marcin Przybyłowicz and P.T. Adamczyk, is available to stream today, but CDPR has revealed a vinyl release coming in early 2024; preorders are now open. 

Earlier this year, Atari announced that it acquired Berzerk, its sequel Frenzy, and 10 other classic arcade properties. Then, earlier this month, Atari revealed Berzerk: Recharged, the first Berzerk game since the original 1980s arcade game. At the time, the company said it was coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC, and now we know exactly when: November 9. 

"On November 9, Evil Otto once again invites you to his maze of maniacal chaos in the newly reimagined Berzerk: Recharged," an Atari press release reads. "The latest entry in Atari's acclaimed Recharged series, Berzerk: Recharged will have you almost begging for mercy as you face off against Otto's droves of robotic menaces, all while the grinning incarnation of evil draws ever nearer." 

Alongside this release date news, Atari has released some additional Berzerk: Recharged screenshots you can check out below: 

Yesterday was a great day for fans of the most emo Batman in the Caped Crusader's cinematic history because Robert Pattinson's suit from The Batman was seemingly added to Batman: Arkham Knight. But the fun was fleeting because just a few hours later, the suit was removed.

Strangely, the suit, which first appeared in director Matt Reeve's 2022 The Batman, was only available in the Epic Games Store version of Arkham Knight, as noticed by GeekVibesNation on Twitter and verified by GameSpot; Game Informer was not able to check the game for the suit before it was removed.

#TheBatman suit is available for #ArkhamKnight via the Epic Games store

(📸 @Venturian628) pic.twitter.com/pdTMYoNvWe

The first Alan Wake game was released 13 years ago, in 2010. As is the case with any cult game, new fans have been discovering it in the years since, and a recent remaster means many more have likely played the game recently. For those who played it when it came out, however, jumping into Alan Wake 2 can be confusing. The list below outlines a handful of characters worth remembering before diving into the ocean that’s not a lake.

I fully acknowledge that simply being reminded of a character with the knowledge that they will be relevant to the sequel could be conceived as a spoiler. Some of the characters below appear in person, some only in passing in documents, but they are the ones that forced me to pause the game and do a quick Google. No major story elements of Alan Wake 2 are spoiled, but if even knowing that certain characters may or may not reappear is a spoiler for you, then please stop reading here! I do ask that you leave the page open in another tab, though, so it looks like you were browsing here for a long time and gives us a traffic boost.

In this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, I've assembled a panel of experts – including Blake Hester and Charles Harte – to discuss Alan Wake 2, the 13-year follow-up to Remedy Entertainment's cult classic thriller. After Charles gives the rest of us a refresher on all things Alan Wake, Blake regales us with his favorite non-spoiler moments from many hours into the newly-released sequel. Later, we talk about the written and physical comedy of Super Mario Bros. Wonder and how web gliding is a game changer in Marvel's Spider-Man 2.

Stick around 'til the end of the show for a series of listener questions about soulmates, the afterlife, and the best years in gaming.

Listen to Game Informer's Lords of the Alan Wake 2 Discussion:

Follow us on social media: Alex Van Aken (@itsVanAken), Marcus Stewart (@MarcusStewart7), Charles Harte (@ChuckDuck365), Blake Hester (@MetallicaIsRad)

After 13 years, Alan Wake 2 is nearly here. But since the long-awaited sequel has been tossed around for over a decade, it's fair to assume not everyone has a clear memory of the events of the first game, and some people likely never got around to playing it at all. If that sounds like you, you're in the right place; here's everything you need to know about the first Alan Wake to prepare for the sequel.

Arriving at Bright Falls

The game takes place in the town of Bright Falls, Washington, where the titular protagonist Alan Wake is going on vacation with his wife, Alice. Wake is an author known for his Alex Casey novels, but he hasn't written anything new in three years. After being recognized in town several times by fans (especially Rose, the waitress at a local diner), Wake receives keys to his rental cabin from a mysterious old woman in black, and he and his wife drive off to start their vacation.

Hot off the heels of officially acquiring Activision Blizzard earlier this month for a colossal $69 billion, Microsoft is reorganizing some of its top leadership in its gaming division. This news comes from a new report at The Verge, which writes that Microsoft head of studios and corporate vice president Matt Booty has been promoted to president of game content and studios, and that Microsoft corporate vice president Sarah Bond has been promoted to Xbox president. She will oversee all Xbox platform responsibilities. 

The Verge also reports that after 32 years, chief marketing officer Chris Capossela is stepping down from Microsoft. 

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 hit PlayStation 5 exclusively last week and it's already Sony's fastest-selling first-party game. While we loved the game – read Game Informer's Marvel's Spider-Man 2 here – once players got their hands on the game, some encountered a few bugs and issues, like one where their character model became a small white cube that looks like tofu. Plus, players discovered a Cuban flag was displayed inside and outside the Morales household rather than the expected Puerto Rican flag. A new update for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 out today fixes both of these issues and more. 

Version 1.001.003 is now live in-game, and it brings a few fixes to the game, including the aforementioned flag issue and white cube issue. It also addresses an issue where The Amazing 2 Suit's spider logo appeared too bright in-game, and improves the game's stability. Here's the full update breakdown: 

Alan Wake 2 is almost here – it hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on Friday, October 27. Its release this week comes after developer Remedy Entertainment delayed the game 10 days earlier this summer. While there are plenty of visual options for players playing on PC – check out Alan Wake 2's PC spec requirements here – there are only two graphics modes for those picking it up on PS5 and Xbox Series X (and just one on Xbox Series S). But first, be sure to read Game Informer's Alan Wake 2 review.  

Below, we'll dive into the two graphics modes for Alan Wake 2 on PS5 and Xbox Series X, and then a handful of Game Informer editors playing the game will share the mode they've opted to experience Remedy's latest in. 

Reviewed on: PlayStation 5
Platform: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC
Publisher: Epic Games
Developer: Remedy Entertainment
Release: October 27, 2023
Rating: Mature

Remedy is known for being experimental. It mixes live-action footage into its video games, plays with player expectations, rewards those devoted to the developer’s history and gameography, and in the case of Alan Wake 2, eagerly performs big-budget lunacy for our entertainment and sometimes confusion. The highs of Alan Wake’s follow-up adventure are tall, but there are frequent lows that drag the whole experience into The Dark Place. I also encountered a number of bugs that forced frequent restarts and one full reinstallation. But even in the moments I was most frustrated, I still admire Remedy’s commitment to creating a unique experience and embracing its weirdness.

Publisher CI Games and developer Hexworks released Lords of the Fallen, its soft reboot of the 2014 Lords of the Fallen, earlier this month, on Friday the 13th. It didn't quite land for us – Game Informer gave it a 6 out of 10 – but a new update that launches later today fixes one of the major problems we had with the soulslike. That's because the new Pumpkin Patch update that launches at 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET today comes with reduced enemy density. Plus, the patch brings full crossplay to the game alongside performance and stability fixes and more. 

The Pumpkin Patch update also brings a special in-game Halloween celebration to the setting of Mournstead that starts today and ends November 2. 

Earlier this week, Microsoft revealed the launch of Starfield led to a 13% increase in overall Xbox content and services revenue in its Fiscal Year 2024 Quarter 1 financials. Now, Capcom has released its latest round of financials – the six-month period that ended in September – and in it, reveals that both income and profit are up thanks to the excellent launches of its Resident Evil 4 remake and Street Fighter 6. 

Total game sales are up from 21.3 million this time last year to 22.6 million units, resulting in a net sales increase of 53%, from 49,067 million Yen to 74,934 million Yen. Operating income is up 55%, too. As for why, Capcom points to the release of its Resident Evil 4 remake, which it released back in March, Street Fighter 6, which hits PlayStation, Xbox, and PC in June, and its Monster Hunter series. 

Alan Wake 2 finally hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC tomorrow, on Friday, October 27. After the wait was extended by a 10-day delay, the game's release is almost here. After getting a new launch trailer yesterday that showed more of this spooky world, developer Remedy Entertainment has another pre-launch update to share: New Game+ will arrive sometime after the game's launch. 

This New Game+ mode will allow players to retain all unlocked weapons and upgrades. Plus, it will feature a new Nightmare difficulty level and an "alternative narrative" that includes new manuscript pages and new video content. Remedy says it's due sometime after launch but that the release timing of it is still to be decided. 

New Game+ coming after launch.

🕹️ Retain all unlocked weapons and upgrades.
🕹️ New Nightmare difficulty level.
🕹️ New alternative narrative, including new Manuscript pages and new video content.

Exact release timing still TBD. #alanwake pic.twitter.com/x1GNHYQu7q

In 2008, Robert Downey Jr. debuted as Tony Stark in Iron Man. Outside of being an excellent movie in its own right, Iron Man proved to be one of the most influential films of the 21st century so far, paving the way to the biggest film and TV franchise of the last decade and a half, the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). The post-credits sequence of Iron Man served as a teaser for what was to come, as Samuel L. Jackson's Nick Fury informed Stark that he was a part of a bigger universe.

At the time, "The Avenger Initiative" felt like a throwaway tease for something that would never happen (even for those involved in writing the scene), but films starring Captain America, Thor, and Hulk started building an unprecedented interconnectivity. Then, the announcement of the previously unthinkable: The Avengers. The 2012 film was one of the most anticipated of the year, but some worried it might be trying to manage too many moving parts. Too many plots. Too many superheroes. Too many superstars.

But it wasn't. In fact, the five movies that preceded it (Iron Man 1 and 2, The Incredible Hulk, Thor, and Captain America: The First Avenger) did enough heavy lifting with the characters and storytelling conventions that The Avengers could home in on the parts that mattered. The Avengers was a huge success and, to this day, serves as a case study for how to build an interconnected movie universe.

Alan Wake 2 is almost here. It hits PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC this Friday, on October 27, after developer Remedy Entertainment delayed it 10 days earlier this summer. With just two days until launch, Remedy released the Alan Wake 2 launch trailer during today's Xbox Partner Preview, which is where we also saw our first gameplay from Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater and Ikaro: Will Not Die, the new game from the makers of Powerwash Simulator. 

In the trailer, we see dual protagonists Saga Anderson and the titular Alan Wake come to grips with the latter's ability to influence the real world with words written on his typewriter. Like the game, this trailer mixes Alan Wake 2's live-action elements with gameplay, and both look great. The gameplay continues to deliver the spooky action thrills previously seen in other trailers, and we get a new glimpse of the game's story. 

Check out the Alan Wake 2 launch trailer for yourself below: 

If you’ve been curious about The Finals, Embark Studios’ game show-inspired free-to-play shooter, you can sample a taste of the game in an open beta starting tomorrow. First revealed last August, the game has only been playable in closed playtests over the last year. 

A new trailer premiering during today’s Xbox Partner Preview shows off the first-person shooter, in which teams compete in virtual arenas for the delight of a cheering audience (and potential sponsors). Arenas, which are based on recognizable real-world locations, are fully destructible and can be altered by players.

The open beta adds the new Skyway Stadium to the map rotation. The beta also introduces a new game mode called Bank-It, in which four teams of three fight to gather coins, with the winner either hitting a max limit first or having the most cash banked at the end of the round. 

Players will have access to 20 weapons, 26 gadgets, and 9 abilities used to reduce targets into showers of gold coins. Item progression will feature 5 Mastery Levels per weapon as well. 

The open beta is cross-platform, so players on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam can jump in. It will run until November 5. The beta includes a free battle pass with 16 exclusive, permanent rewards that carry over to the game’s eventual full launch.

Today during Xbox's most recent Partner Preview livestream, developer Studio Wildcard showed off its remake of Ark: Survival Evolved, titled Ark: Survival Ascended. And fittingly, it did so by showing off a whole host of dinosaurs.

 We got flying dinos, stalking dinos, and swimming dinos. You're hunting dinos, riding dinos, and hanging with dinos. And most notably, it looks great, having been rebuilt from the ground up with Unreal Engine 5. 

Check out the trailer below:

Interestingly, Survival Ascended will have cross-platform modding on all platforms, as revealed in a post on the Xbox Wire. It looks like PC players will have the ability to actually make modes, as it requires the Ark Devkit, downloaded from the Epic Launcher, but playing mods will be available for everyone.

The original Ark: Survival Evolved was released back in 2015.

Today's Xbox Partner Preview brought us a new look at Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, the remake announced earlier this year. In the trailer, we get a first look at the game's use of Unreal Engine 5 alongside some quick snippets of tactical espionage action.

While what's shown is definitely gameplay, it doesn't appear to be final as the trailer calls it the "first in-engine look." Plus, the gameplay is watermarked with a "pre-alpha footage" tag.

Check out the Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater trailer for yourself below: 

As you can see in the trailer above, we see Big Boss sneaking through jungles, over wooden bridges, through World War 2-esque trenches, and more. There's nothing pointing toward the game's story in this trailer but it does make one thing clear: this remake is going to be beautiful if today's showing is any indication. And the gameplay looks solid and intact – exactly what you'd imagine a 2023 remake of this 2004 classic would look like. 

Today’s Xbox Partner Preview brought us a good look at Still Wakes The Deep, the new game from The Chinese Room, a studio known for projects like Dear Esther, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, and Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture.

The new project has distinct horror vibes as it drops players into the shoes of a character navigating a ruined oil rig. A strange, alien-like tentacled form reaches up from beneath the roiling ocean waters – seemingly the source of the oil rig’s trouble. As the protagonist navigates the catwalks and beams of the rig, we hear distant and troubling screams. After traversing several tunnels, the first-person lead drops through a hatch into the very water that seems to be the source of the strange tendrils.

The Chinese Room is clearly interested in building atmosphere and tension in this trailer and, presumably, doing the same in the broader game. There’s clearly some awful threat at play aboard the rig, but its nature and what is happening to the others on board the rig remain a mystery.

Nonetheless, the first-person visuals and tense exploration are looking great, leaving us excited for the game’s launch on Xbox Series X/S (including Game Pass) in early 2024.

Ikaro Will Not Die is a new game from Powerwash Simulator and Velocity developer Futurlab that made its debut during today’s Xbox Partner Preview. Players presumably control Ikaro, who, as far as we can tell, has one purpose in life: to move really fast and look really cool.

The game is billed as a momentum-based action roguelite, with players zipping around neon-soaked cyberpunk world dishing out rapid melee attacks while executing air dashing and somersaults to evade and outmaneuver enemies. Check out its first trailer below. 

Ikaro Will Not Die doesn’t have a release date, but it’s coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC. 

The upcoming Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth will have its own in-game resort island getaway that plays not too dissimilar from the Animal Crossing games. Happy Resort DonDoko Island was shown off today during Xbox's most recent Partner Preview livestream.  

Players will be able to build the island to their liking – including customizing their homes, building infrastructure, and interacting with the island's inhabitants. You can see the mode in action below:

While Infinite Wealth is out on January 26, 2024, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio has more games up its sleeve. Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased His Name, a bridge between Yakuza 6 and Yakuza: Like A Dragon, is out this year on November 8. Additionally, back in February, the studio released Like a Dragon: Ishin, a remake of the 2014 game Ryu Ga Gotoku: Ishin, which never came to the States.

Earlier this month, Sony revealed new slim models of its PlayStation 5 hardware. Both the disc drive and digital model are getting upgrades, but alongside this news, the company also revealed a new detachable disc drive. This optional drive can be added to a new slim model of the digital PS5, turning it into a console that can use discs. It seems this drive will require an internet connection to use, however. 

Some images of a potentially upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III slim PS5 bundle have leaked online (thanks, CharlierIntel) and in the small text on the box, it says, "Internet connection required to pair Disc Drive and PS5 console upon startup."

Hey, @PlayStation & @cerny, we need to talk!

Internet to install the detachable disc drive for PS5 Slim is a huge blow to preservation and right to repair. Quite frankly, it's unacceptable!

This plus the soldered-on SSD make the PS5 a timebomb from a preservation perspective. https://t.co/GacpULuDu0 pic.twitter.com/IIF1iB2zgV

Starfield hit Xbox Series X/S and PC last month, and it became the biggest Bethesda game launch ever, later earning it the top spot on best-selling games in the U.S. last month. Now, thanks to Microsoft's Fiscal Year 2024 Quarter 1 financial results, we know more than 11 million players have played Starfield to date. Starfield's excellent launch resulted in a 13% increase in overall Xbox content and services. However, despite the financial boon on the Xbox services side, overall Xbox hardware was still down 7%. 

That's according to Microsoft executive vice president and chief financial officer Amy Hood, who also revealed during the financial results call yesterday that Xbox Game Pass experienced "better-than-expected" subscriber growth; Microsoft did not share any updated Game Pass subscription numbers, though. That 7% decrease in Xbox hardware contributed to an overall decrease of 22% in Microsoft hardware for this quarter. 

In August, Night Dive Studios announced it was remastering the classic ‘90s first-person shooter Star Wars: Dark Forces. We now know that this modernization of one of the most beloved Star Wars games is coming on February 28. 

Night Dive, a studio specializing in reviving classic games such as its remake of System Shock that launched in May, is shining up the 1995 Star Wars title with 4K resolution and a 120 fps bump (on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC). Textures and lighting have been enhanced, and controls have been modernized to support today’s gamepads. That includes platform-specific features such as gyro/motion controls, rumble, and a new weapon wheel. The cherry on top is that Dark Forces Remaster has achievements/trophies.

Dark Forces stars Kyle Katarn, a mercenary who defected from the Galactic Empire and joined the Rebel Alliance. He’s tasked with infiltrating the Empire and foiling its plans to create an army of powerful new stormtroopers and battle droids, better known as the Dark Trooper Project. It was the first Star Wars FPS game and is remembered as one of the better Doom-inspired games of the time. 

 

Update, 12:26 p.m., 10/24/23:

Game Informer reached out to Sony and PlayStation seeking confirmation of Media Molecule layoffs and more following the release of GLHF's report. A spokesperson for Sony Interactive Entertainment sent us a link to Media Molecule's Twitter account, where it shared the following message: 

A message from Media Molecule. pic.twitter.com/tV4ZNkdgAF

— Media Molecule (@mediamolecule) October 24, 2023

The original story continues below...

Original story, 9:32 a.m., 10/24/23:

PlayStation first-party studio Media Molecule, which is the team behind Dreams and LittleBigPlanet, is reportedly set to layoff around 20 employees. That's according to a new report from Sports Illustrated's GLHF, which states the news of impending layoffs was revealed during an internal meeting held today at the studio. 

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 hit PlayStation 5 last week and it's already Sony's fastest-selling first-party game ever. However, some players have spotted a mishap related to one of the game's main protagonists, Miles Morales. His mother is Puerto Rican, and Miles is too, which is why some players found it odd that a Cuban flag hung both inside the Morales home and outside of it. After pointing it out the mistake, developer Insomniac Games has revealed a fix is on the way, as reported by PushSquare. 

In response to a tweet by Dantes61680 pointing out the incorrect flag, Insomniac's director of community and marketing James Stevenson wrote, "Fix is coming for that." As for when, that remains unclear – a post-launch patch for Marvel's Spider-Man 2 has not yet been released but presumably, when the team does push one live, it will include a fix for the flags in the game. 

Fix is coming for that

The Outlast Trials launched into Early Access on PC earlier this year, and players have been enjoying it, with more than 27,000 Steam reviews falling into the "Very Positive" category. If playing the game isn't enough, you can soon listen to the game's soundtrack on streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and more starting this week. 

More specifically, The Outlast Trials soundtrack will be available to stream on October 25, just in time for Halloween. Plus, in collaboration with Laced Records, developer Red Barrels has pulled back the curtains on a limited edition vinyl release for the game's music. We have more details on all of that below, but in the meantime, Game Informer can exclusively provide a preview sampler of The Outlast Trials that you can listen to right now: 

Back in 2020,  Amazon Studios announced that it was creating a Fallout TV series. Three years after it was announced, we now know that the show will premiere on April 12, 2024. Check out the short announcement teaser below.

PLEASE REMAIN CALM. An Important Dated Message Brought to You By Your Friends at @PrimeVideo. pic.twitter.com/yyaFynVjAK

— FALLOUT⚡️ (@falloutonprime) October 23, 2023

As is the case with many high-profile video game adaptations, the project is attached to some pretty big names. Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy (the married duo behind Westworld) are executive producers, along with Bethesda Game Studios' own Todd Howard. The show will star Walton Goggins (Justified) and Ella Purnell, who fans of gaming will recognize as the voice of Jinx in the critically acclaimed League of Legends series Arcane. Filming for the series began in July 2022.

Xbox will debut its new broadcast format, Xbox Partner Preview, this week where we'll hear from its third-party partners like Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, Remedy Entertainment, Studio Wildcard, and more. This new show will feature more than 20 minutes of trailers and new gameplay footage, and goes live at 10 a.m. PT/1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, October 25. 

You can watch the Xbox Partner Preview on Xbox-owned channels for a look at games coming to both Xbox and Windows PCs alongside new information about some upcoming Game Pass titles from the company's third-party partners. While Microsoft finally completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard earlier this month, Xbox says the Xbox Partner Preview "will not feature any additional news, game reveals, or Game Pass information related" to the deal. 

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has only been available for three days, but the critically acclaimed sequel has already become the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game in the brand’s history.

In a press release, Sony Interactive Entertainment states that over 2.5 million copies of the game have been sold within the first 24 hours of launch. The publisher didn’t provide a breakdown in terms of physical vs digital, but that’s an impressive number for the PS5 exclusive.

This feat continues the series' record-setting trend; 2018's Spider-Man also became the fastest-selling first-party PS title at the time (for PS4 specifically with 3.3 million sold within the first three days of launch) and, later, became the best-selling superhero game ever in the U.S., a record it still holds today. Time will tell if this sequel can supplant its predecessor, but it's off to a strong start regardless. 

The Metal Gear franchise has been quiet since 2018's somewhat bizarre Metal Gear Survive. The series' creator, Hideo Kojima, publicly left Konami in 2015 shortly after the release of Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain and since then fans just weren't sure what to expect, or even if to expect anything from the property. That changed recently when Konami finally revealed some plans for the franchise. Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater is being remade and retitled Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, and the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Volume 1 is releasing this week.

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is officially out on Switch today and in honor of the occasion, I played through the game's opening hour. I collected a bunch of Wonder flowers, heard Mario's new voice, rode some "marshmallow buffalos", and made it to the first Bowser castle. This is far from our only coverage of Super Mario Bros. Wonder, however. You can find Game Informer's Super Mario Bros. Wonder review here, guides for the Search Party and Flower Coins and Wonder Seeds, and you can even read the full cover story for the game online for free right here.

The first-person action parkour sub-genre of games is a small but great one. It features the likes of EA’s Mirror’s Edge series, Respawn Entertainment’s Titanfall franchise, and One More Level’s Ghostrunner – one of my fav orite games. I first played this game two years after its 2020 release, in the summer of July 2022, jobless and depressed. It felt good to exist in a world where capitalistic business executives make inhumane decisions about the last of humanity living in their Dharma Tower, except instead of suffering under their thumb, I, or rather, protagonist Ghostrunner, took a katana straight to the top to bring it all down. The game concludes with humanity free and Ghostrunner liberated from the A.I.-powered Cybervoid trappings under a new name: Jack.

I played a roughly 30-minute vertical slice of Ghostrunner 2, the upcoming sequel hitting current-gen consoles and PC later this month, and came away impressed. This demo didn’t consist of much – short tutorial sequences, a few enemy-filled arenas to parkour destructively through, and a finale I’ll get to shortly. But this demo was also precisely what I needed: confirmation that Ghostrunner 2 is, in fact, more of this excellent world One More Level crafted three years ago.

Sony's PlayStation's Insmoniac's Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is officially out, and apparently, it's pretty good. Read our review if you want to know about all of that.  

Alan Wake 2 is almost here – originally due out on October 17, developer Remedy Entertainment delayed it earlier this year to its new release date of October 27. With less than a week to go, the studio has released the PC specs required to run Alan Wake 2 and it looks like you're going to need a beefy system to play it. 

Here are the PC specifications for Alan Wake 2

Below, we'll break down the requirements for both ray-tracing modes and non-ray tracing. 

Developer One More Level and publisher 505 Games have pulled back the DLC curtain plans for its upcoming first-person parkour-action game, Ghostrunner 2, ahead of its release next week. As previously announced, all Brutal Edition owners of Ghostrunner 2 will get the Season Pass, which includes all of the DLC announced today. Otherwise, the Season Pass will cost $19.99.

As for what to expect, One More Level has revealed four cosmetic packs and a new way to play the game called Endless Moto Mode. Given that we know Ghostrunner 2 features a motorbike for protagonist Jack to ride, we're guessing this new mode has something to do with that. In each cosmetic pack, players will receive three sword skins, three hand skins, and one motorcycle skin. The first one – Ice Pack – goes live in-game on December 7. 

Check out the Ghostrunner 2 Season Pass trailer for yourself below: 

Sometime in February, the Dragon Pack will go live followed by the Heat Pack in June of next year. The Endless Moto Mode is due out sometime in September of 2024, with the Anniversary Pack following it in October. 

UPDATE 10/20/2023: The recently released Spider-Man 2 is also missing the Chrysler Building. In its place is the same building that replaced it in Spider-Man Miles Morales, though this time with a new coat of paint. 

See below for comparison shots of the Chrysler Building in Spider-Man 1, captured on a base PlayStation 4, and the new building in Spider-Man 2. 

Sony did not respond to our request for comment in time for publish (though it might be safe to assume the reason it gave us three years ago might still be the case here. More on that below).

 

The original story continues below…

With Spider-Man 2 finally out, it won’t take long for the most enthusiastic wall-crawlers to roll credits. For those who do, a surprise character reveal is one of the last things you’ll see in the post-credits stinger. But it may leave you wondering – who is being teased?

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE END OF MARVEL’S SPIDER-MAN 2.

With Peter and Miles’ big team-up adventure now complete, developer Insomniac Games seems ready to suggest a new spider-powered hero, introducing this universe’s version of Cindy Moon, aka Silk.

Silk is a more recent addition to the Marvel canon, first appearing in the 2014 relaunch of The Amazing Spider-Man series. The character, created by Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos, is one of several heroic leads that have expanded the scope of the Spider-Man universe.

In her original comic incarnation, Cindy Moon is a Korean-American young woman bit by the same radioactive spider as Peter Parker. While their powers come from the same source, Silk has slightly different twists on many familiar abilities, including organic webbing and a more sophisticated spider sense usually called her “silk sense.”