Game Informer

The Top 10 Games Of 2020 – #5 Ori And The Will Of The Wisps

3 years 5 months ago

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Ori and the Will of the Wisps has some of the best setpieces we’ve ever played. Unlike the Uncharted or Spider-Man games, where bombastic sequences are basically cutscenes with a few button prompts, Ori never takes you out of the moment, no matter how intense. The game always wants you in control of the action. 

Control is what makes this game special. A precise 2D platformer lives and dies by how responsive it feels, and Ori rarely drops the ball in this regard. Exploring its beautiful world, mastering its obstacles, and marveling at its numerous setpieces and boss fights, Ori has some of the tightest gameplay we’ve ever experienced. It’s a game you never want to tear yourself away from; you want to see the next part of the world and best the challenges it contains, all while remaining fully in control of what is happening on screen – whether you’re succeeding or failing. 

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Author
Blake Hester

Cyberpunk 2077 Team Responds To CDPR Leadership Following Chaotic Launch

3 years 5 months ago

The Cyberpunk 2077 launch was one of the most anticipated launches in recent years, making its post-release hardships all of the more shocking. From mismarketing to veiled review restrictions, even game-breaking bugs to the extent where many felt last-gen version of the open-world game was something else entirely, it's been a tumultuous week for the Polish company. Following a public conference call that revealed more information about how little care went into the pre-launch prep, especially for last-gen versions, the atmosphere surrounding this game has been rife with tension and it looks like it's the same way internally, as well. 

In a recent report from Bloomberg, an internal video meeting took place on Thursday addressing the ongoing situation, the same day that Sony delisted the game from its platforms entirely. It was during this meeting that a "frustrated and angry staff" went directly to the board following another apology from management and, according to the report, many of the staff were met with vague responses. 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Replay – Left 4 Dead

3 years 5 months ago

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Before 2008, Valve was already known as one of the premier studios for creating engaging and masterful first-person shooting experiences with titles such as Half-Life, Counter-Strike, and Portal. But then the company did what the great ones always seem to do: they continued to build their legacy by creating one of the best zombie co-op shooters of all time in the original Left 4 Dead. 

The concept was simple. Take the best tropes from undead classics such as Dawn of the Dead and 28 Days Later and merge them with Valve's penchant for creating immersive worlds and incredibly engaging moment-to-moment gameplay. The result was a mix of intense final standoffs and surprisingly funny character moments that players (including myself) spent hundreds of hours delighting in.

Today, we're reminding you why Left 4 Dead became a phenomenon and spawned a whole sub-genre of games. I've assembled one of the best zombie-slaying teams at Game Informer to take on the unrelenting waves of Boomers, Witches, and whatever else the game can throw at us. So join Andrew Reiner, Liana Ruppert, Kim Wallace, and me for all the fun on today's episode of Replay.

Author
Alex Stadnik

Microsoft Makes It Even Easier To Get Cyberpunk 2077 Xbox Refunds

3 years 5 months ago

The launch of Cyberpunk 2077 was one of the more chaotic launches in gaming history weighing heavily with problems such as game-breaking bugs, false advertising, and above-and-beyond review restrictions. Since the game released on all platforms, the issue of how Cyberpunk 2077 performs on last-gen platforms was so bad that the company offered refunds to anyone looking to get one. The problem was that this wasn't cleared with Sony and Microsoft first alongside their own review policies, resulting in Sony refusing many of these requests. Since then, Sony has opened up refunds and has delisted the game completely. While it is still listed on Microsoft, it's been much easier getting a refund there and now the company is making it even easier. 

The Xbox Support page issued a multi-tweet thread addressing the concerns over Cyberpunk 2077 alongside a message of acknowledgement to the team itself over at CD Projekt RED. 

The thread begins by saying, "To ensure that every player can get the experience they expect on Xbox, we will be expanding our existing refund police to offer full refunds to anyone who purchased Cyberpunk 2077 digitally from the Microsoft Store, until further notice." 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Remedy Teases Control: Ultimate Edition On PS5 and Xbox Series X/S

3 years 5 months ago

Control is one of 2019’s finest titles (and Game Informer's Game of the Year) but its performance – especially on base PS4/Xbox One units – could be spotty at times. Remedy has announced the new-gen port of Control: Ultimate Edition, which bundles the base game and its two expansions, with a teaser video providing a taste of how much better the game runs with the added horsepower of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S. 

The brief video, recorded on a PS5, offers just a slice of a larger showcase trailer coming at some point in the near future. It gets the point across, though, mainly in how smooth the menu navigation is. That sounds mundane, but any Control player on console can attest to how painfully sluggish the menus are (even on Xbox One X) so this is actually rather exciting. Ultimate Edition on current consoles feature a 60 fps performance mode and 30 fps graphics mode with ray tracing. Get a glimpse at the enhancements below. 

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Author
Marcus Stewart

New Ghost Of Tsushima Outfits Brings Horizon Zero Dawn, God Of War, And More In-Game

3 years 5 months ago

Starting now, a new update allows for a special PlayStation crossover with games like Shadow of the Colossus, Horizon Zero Dawn, God of War, and Bloodborne are adding their influence into the world of Ghost of Tsushima

How players can get these outfits is by playing Story and/or Survival missions with each class, doing so will unlock all four outfits: 

Players will have from now until January 15, 2021 to earn the unlockable outfits, making this a pretty cool little event to celebrate other PlayStation-exclusive titles. It's not Bloodborne 2 (we can dream), but it is a fun way to keep that brutal love going a little more. 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Shirtless Sephiroth In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Births The Best Reactions

3 years 5 months ago

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Nintendo revealed that Sephiroth is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate last week and just today the team showed off more of what he brings to the fighting game. From different moves to different looks, Sephiroth is bringing some serious stabbing energy into the Switch staple but he's not just a gift because of his character. No, his shirtless varient is a gift because of the memes. 

Many took to Twitter to share their thoughts on the latest revelation about Sephiroth in Smash Bros. Ultimate, and while I won't share my own due to some not-so-safe-for-work language, I can at least share some of the others that made me smile: 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Cyberpunk 2077 Pulled From PlayStation Store, Refunds Offered

3 years 5 months ago

The troubled PlayStation 4 version of Cyberpunk 2077 didn't hit Sony's bar for customer satisfaction, and is being removed from PlayStation's digital marketplace. People who purchased the game and are not satisfied with its performance can seek a refund. All you need to do is head to Sony's website, log in, and submit your request for the refund.

Sony delivered the following short statement:

SIE strives to ensure a high level of customer satisfaction, therefore we will begin to offer a full refund for all gamers who have purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store.  SIE will also be removing Cyberpunk 2077 from PlayStation Store until further notice.

Once we have confirmed that you purchased Cyberpunk 2077 via PlayStation Store, we will begin processing your refund.  Please note that completion of the refund may vary based on your payment method and financial institution.

Author
Andrew Reiner

Sephiroth In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: Everything You Need To Know

3 years 5 months ago

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate fans were pleasantly surprised when Sephiroth was revealed as the next DLC fighter during The Game Awards. Naturally, there were a lot of questions regarding how he’ll play – namely how the game will handle his absurdly long sword, the Masamune. The latest gameplay deep dive hosted by Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai gave us an intimate look at the villain in action as well as the new additions coming when Sephiroth arrives on December 22. 

Sephiroth comes in both his classic look as well as a shirtless variant. He’s only voiced in Japanese, which is a bummer for fans of his English voice. As expected, Sephiroth’s sword has a long range, great for keeping foes at bay or for closing the gap against ranged-based fighters. His wide-arching Up + Smash attack can simultaneously strike opponents in front of and behind him. The downward stab attack can pierce through platforms, damaging opponents hiding underneath. When knocked out of the ring, Sephiroth can also stab the stage to prevent himself from falling, then pull himself back up ... and that’s not even his actual recovery move. Of course, Sephiroth sports his signature Octaslash as well.

Author
Marcus Stewart

New Gameplay Today - Diablo Immortal

3 years 5 months ago

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The Diablo series has endeared itself to its legions of fans over the years with its stellar dungeon-crawling and addicting loot systems that keep players coming back years after the original release dates. Blizzard is hoping to keep that magic flowing but this time for mobile players with Diablo Immortal.

A majority of the trappings that players know and love from the console/PC entries returns for Diablo Immortal. Players can take up the mantle of the Barbarian, Monk, Wizard, Demon Hunter, Crusader, or Necromancer as they traverse the game's numerous mini-dungeons.

What's different this time around (outside of playing Diablo on your phone) is that Blizzard is leaning more into its MMO roots for this experience. Players can find other users throughout the world and team up, PVP, and trade items on a marketplace. 

While all of that sounds great on paper, is it worth your time if you're a fan of the series but are cringing at the idea of playing a Diablo game on mobile? We'll let Mr. Tack answer that.

Author
Alex Stadnik

Diablo Immortal Alpha Impressions

3 years 5 months ago

Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment
Developer: Blizzard Entertainment, Netease
Platform: iOS, Android

The Diablo Immortal Alpha is finally here. How does it live up to expectations? It’s been quite some time since its meme-tinged reveal at Blizzcon years ago, and the free-to-play mobile Diablo game is out in the wild for a select group of testers. I had a chance to go hands on and slaughter skeletons, spiders, and cultists by the hundreds. Let me be upfront with initial impressions – it plays well, looks good, and leans in hard on the core principles that make Diablo games great. That said, it makes me wish I could play it on another platform without having to resort to Android emulation, as I simply don’t enjoy gaming on my phone for extended periods of time and I loathe virtual controls. Let’s dive in.

Author
Daniel Tack

Dragon Ball FighterZ Roster Adds Super Baby 2

3 years 5 months ago

The Dragon Ball FighterZ roster isn't done growing quite yet and a recent V-Jump scan that leaked early confirms which arrival is coming next. The next FighterZ DLC fighter to arrive in the game soon is Super Baby 2, a character from Dragon Ball GT, and the recent scans give us a little clue as to what this means for the game. 

V-Jump is a Japanese publication and Twitter user @Dbshype just uploaded a few scans showing off the latest arrival: 

While not the full reveal (and no gameplay, due to this being a magazine), the scans do show off a little bit about what the latest addition brings to the table, including the following sets: 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Microsoft Is Giving Away Two Free The Mandalorian Xbox Controllers

3 years 5 months ago

The Mandalorian on Disney+ is killing it. It feels like each episode released makes the show even better and now that the Star Wars spinoff is even easier to watch with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, that Mando love is at a new peak. To celebrate the show's success, Microsoft is teaming up with Lucasfilm Games to giveaway two special-edition The Mandalorian controllers for one lucky winner. 

Team Green took to Twitter to reveal the special designs, announcing the giveaway and letting fans know what they need to do to try to score this exclusive loot drop. The giveaway is live now and will run until December 28 at 7 PM PT: 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Behind The Scenes Of The Game Awards 2020 With Geoff Keighley

3 years 5 months ago

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This year's Game Awards, despite COVID-19 restrictions, ended up being the biggest showcase in its history, in terms of viewership, due to Geoff Keighley's evolving drive to take the show to new heights. From big-name celebrities like Tom Holland, Keanu Reeves, and Gal Gadot to out-of-the-blue surprises like the Mass Effect reveal, The Game Awards 2020 was a massive success. We sat down with host/producer Geoff Keighley to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes, especially during these unprecedented times. 

At the start of the year, the world saw the beginnings of a global pandemic. With each passing month, COVID-19 continued its spread, effectively changing daily life as we know it. Gaming thrived in comparison to other industries that struggled, but that doesn't mean that organizing this year's Game Awards was an easy feat.   

Author
Liana Ruppert

Geoff Keighley Opens Up About The Last Of Us Part II Game Awards Backlash

3 years 5 months ago

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The Game Awards 2020 showcase broke even more records this year and had no shortage of surprise reveals and guests. We recently sat down with the man behind it all, Geoff Keighley, to learn more about what goes on behind the scenes of a showcase of this size and some of the backlash that comes along with it. 

The gaming community is never without controversy, and The Game Awards is not exempt from that. Last year, one conversation surrounding the showcase involved a perceived personal bias towards Death Stranding; this year, it's about The Last of Us Part II, both in terms of the awards it won and developer Naughty Dog's approach to crunch. 

When speaking with Keighley, I asked what he thought about the recent conversation centering on the Last of Us sequel and how the public may perceive its sweep as a "celebration of crunch."  

Author
Liana Ruppert

Among Us Is Now Available On Xbox Game Pass For PC

3 years 5 months ago

Among Us is among everything now it seems. Okay that was bad, but you should know that the hit multiplayer game landed on Xbox Game Pass PC today after launching for Switch earlier this week. Among Us is also coming to the console version of Game Pass, but not until 2021.

The popular game tasks 4-10 players to work together to prep their spaceship for launch. The problem? One or more of the players is an imposter who must sabotage the mission by killing their crewmates without raising suspicion. The fun comes in working as a group to deduce the imposters, which often leads to hilarious (and sometimes heated) discussions filled with wild accusations and attempts at framing others. If the correct imposter(s) gets voted off, the crew wins. If imposters whittle down crewmembers to nothing, they walk away victorious. Make sure you have a sharp mind and a good poker face before gathering friends together for this one.  

Author
Marcus Stewart

The Top 10 Games Of 2020 – #6 Animal Crossing: New Horizons

3 years 5 months ago

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Animal Crossing: New Horizons, like previous entries in Nintendo’s popular simulation series, had always been intended to provide a relaxing escape from reality. After all, nothing says “getaway” like setting up shop on your own private island for all of your fun animal buddies to live on. In an unfortunate and amazing bit of timing, however, New Horizons’ arrival became more vital than ever by launching at the brink of COVID-19 lockdowns, giving a now-confined player base the perfect mental distraction. That’s not to say that serving as a great coping mechanism is the only reason we love New Horizons so much. Global pandemic or not, it’s one of the most charming, entertaining, and engrossing titles of 2020. 

Author
Marcus Stewart

The Callisto Protocol's Extended Trailer Is Not For Weak Stomachs

3 years 5 months ago

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The Callisto Protocol was announced at this year's Game Awards ceremony. Glen Schofield, the creator of Dead Space, is helming the project with his new development company, Striking Distance Studios. Concrete details about the game's narrative and mechanics haven't been revealed yet, but if the new red band trailer is any indication, it'll probably be just as terrifying as the Dead Space series.

In the trailer, a prisoner wakes up to find that his bunkmate has become some grotesque abomination. I'm sure you can guess what happens next: He gets brutally murdered - tentacles ripping through his eye sockets; the whole nine yards. Dead Space remains one of the scariest sci-fi franchises I've ever played, and The Callisto Protocol looks to keep Schofield's body horror tradition alive. The Callisto Protocol is slated for a 2022 release. 

Author
Jason Guisao

New Gameplay Today Live - Back 4 Blood

3 years 5 months ago

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It's been nine years since Left 4 Dead 2. That's right, I feel old too. In that time, there have been plenty of games that have tried to duplicate the thrills of the Valve classic with variable rates of success. Back 4 Blood is also entering the undead arena, but there's a difference this time. The game is being developed by Turtle Rock Studios, the team that brought us the original Left 4 Dead and ushered in an era of zombie-slaying co-op madness.

But the developers aren't content with just rehashing what worked before. Back 4 Blood features an all-new deck-building system that sees players using cards to boost their abilities during the match. But the zombies aren't the only enemies gamers have to worry about. Back 4 Blood features a game director similar to Left 4 Dead that also draws cards and ramps the difficulty according to how well you're doing. But how does that all combine in-game and does it stray too far from the successful formula of what came before it? You'll just have to watch to find out.

Join Kim Wallace, Liana Ruppert, Alex Van Aken, and me as we team up to take the zombie hoard down and show off everything you can do in Turtle Rock's closed alpha event. 

Author
Alex Stadnik

Giveaway: FUSER VIP Edition [CLOSED]

3 years 5 months ago

It's times like these that we all need a little more music in our lives. And as luck would have it, we're here to give you a chance to create your own remixes of hit songs and share them with your friends!

From the creators of Rock Band™ and Dance Central™ comes FUSER™, described as "a nonstop virtual music festival where you control the music!" Combine elements of the world’s most popular songs to create your own sound or partner with friends on epic collaborations, then share your amazing mixes and headlining performances with the world!

For more info on FUSER, check out Brian Shea's review or Matt Miller's feature article

Check out the Fuser launch trailer here:

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We are so excited to have 20 free download codes available to give away for FUSER VIP Edition for PlayStation 4 or Xbox One (Note that FUSER is fully compatible with both next generation consoles). This is a random drawing and you only have until midnight CST Tuesday, December 22, 2020 to enter. North America players only. Make your console selection below with the first entry method. You can enter  once a day per registration, but the bonus entries are only once per person/email address. Full official rules available with each entry method.

Author
Game Informer Contests

Hades Switch Update Adds Cross-Save Support With PC

3 years 5 months ago

Hades is a fantastic game whether you’re enjoying it on a high-end PC or completing runs in bed on Switch. For those seeking the best of both worlds, developer Supergiant announced yesterday that cross-save support is now live via a new update to the Nintendo version. 

Supergiant launched Hades with cross-saves built in but the function had been disabled until now (barring resourceful players who got around it). To do it, select the "cross-save" option in the Switch version’s main menu and link your Steam/Epic account. Once that’s done, pause and quit to upload the data, and you’re good to go. Once linked, you’ll be able to easily transfer save data to and from PC and Switch. 

Author
Marcus Stewart

The Game Awards 2020 Shatters New Record With Impressive Viewership

3 years 5 months ago

The Game Awards is a showcase that celebrates each year in gaming while teasing what the road ahead looks like for players on all platforms. This year, the show was a little different due to COVID-19 restrictions, but that didn't stop Geoff Keighley and his team from shattering previous records regarding viewership. It helps too that this was the biggest show yet in terms of guests, including Wonder Woman's Gal Gadot, Spider-Man's Tom Holland, Cyberpunk's Keanu Reeves, and more. 

With more than 83 million livestreams supporting this year's show, the 2020 showcase viewership has seen an impressively significant 84% rise. The show also hit another record, peaking at 8.,3 concurrent viewers on a global scale. 

This year's show was mostly remote due to safety concerns over the pandemic, though the onstage presence of a few of the guests and the host himself was done smartly on-site with COVID-19 testing and social distancing. 

"The Game Awards aired live across more than 40 streaming networks around the world," reads a press statement provided to Game Informer. "On Twitch, the show reached a peak concurrent audience of more than 2.63M viewers globally, more than double last year, with a stunning 9,000 creators co-streaming the show, up 91% from 4,700 co-streamers in 2019. On YouTube, live viewership more than doubled, with the official livestream seeing an 84% YOY increase in peak concurrent viewers."

Author
Liana Ruppert

An Enhanced Version Of Terminator: Resistance Is Coming To PlayStation 5

3 years 5 months ago

"Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!" Developer Teyon and publisher Reef Entertainment are taking Kyle warning about the machines to heart. Today, the duo announced Terminator: Resistance is coming back for more as an improved game on PlayStation 5.

Teyon is taking advantage of the new hardware to deliver an upscaled 4k resolution, gameplay running at 60 frames per second, higher texture resolutions and polygon counts, improved lighting, shadows, and more detailed particle effects. When stacked up against the PlayStation 4 version, Teyon says this new iteration loads four times faster. The balance and difficulty updates that were previously released for the PC version will also be included.

As far as new content goes, Teyon is introducing Infiltrator, a mode that gives players the chance to see the war from the other side as a T-800 unit that marches against the Resistance.

Terminator: Resistance Enhanced is launching on March 26 as both a digital and physical game. Along with a standard physical version, fans can purchase a Collector's Edition that comes with a steelbook, four postcards, a mini hardcover Dark Horse comic, and a collector's box (all of which you can see below).

Author
Andrew Reiner

Cyberpunk 2077 Invades Death Stranding With PC-Exclusive New Crossover

3 years 5 months ago

In Cyberpunk 2077 news that's not negative, the neon-driven wasteland of Night City is taking on new territory by invading Hideo Kojima's Death Stranding title with an interesting crossover. 

Given that Hideo Kojima himself is in Cyberpunk 2077, seeing the world of Night City take on Death Stranding isn't a major stretch. With the new crossover, exclusive to the PC version of the game, Death Stranding players will have several new missions to look forward to that will feature characters from the CDPR title as well as new lore. 

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A few aspects of this crossover that fans can look forward to include: 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Netflix's The Witcher Shares New Set Photos Featuring Geralt's Favorite Bard

3 years 5 months ago

Following a few COVID-19-related delays and a recent injury with the show's lead, Henry Cavill, Netflix's The Witcher is back on track and ready to wrap up. To celebrate the upcoming season, Netflix has just shared a few new shots of Geralt's favorite bard (his only bard) with several set photos featuring Jaskier. 

We're not talking just one shot either, Netflix shared quite a few new photos of Jaskier offering his best Zoolander impression. Toss a coin to your model, because the bard is looking quite swanky if we do say so ourselves: 

For those that played the games inspired by the Polish novels, Jaskier was referred to as Dandelion. He's a poet, a minstrel, and a very close friend to Geralt against the witcher's initial reservations. He is also the reason why "toss your coin to the..." is a very popular catchphrase in 2020. 

Author
Liana Ruppert

The Making Of Monster Hunter With Director Paul W.S. Anderson

3 years 5 months ago

If you think about video game movies, there's a good chance Paul W.S. Anderson's work quickly comes to mind. As the director and/or producer on all six Resident Evil movies, he's not only made the most successful video game movies of all time, he's also made a name for himself doing so. He's not done with Capcom games, though. Up next, Anderson is taking on Monster Hunter, and went to the ends of the Earth, quite literally, to make his next epic. We caught up with the director to learn about how he got Capcom on board, the harsh environments of shooting in Namibia, and the sunburnt eyeballs along the way. 

When Anderson talks about Monster Hunter, there's a palpable excitement in his voice; he often uses words like "wonder" and "amazement" to describe the games. These two feelings are something he brings up as something he's trying to translate into his movie. On the one hand, this is likely some amount of marketing speak; he's talking to us to promote his next blockbuster after all. On the other hand, it's easy to buy that he really feels this strongly about the movie and series, too. When he gets going, he doesn't really stop, talking about why he loves Monster Hunter and what it's been like adapting it for the big screen. He packs a lot of info into our 30-minute phone call. 

Author
Blake Hester

How To Get Large Snowflakes In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

3 years 5 months ago

It's a snowy paradise on many islands thanks to the Animal Crossing: New Horizons December update and for those looking to make the most out of the new seasonal items, you're going to need to get real comfy with snowflakes. Snowflakes are incredibly important when crafting the latest seasonal goodies, so for players looking to get more bang for their snowbuck, here's what you need to know. 

How To Get Large Snowflakes In Animal Crossing: New Horizons

Like previous events, there is a special objective with the Winter festivities. With the December update, players are given a chance to craft Snowboy with the two snowballs that are randomly generated throughout the island. Players can take these snowballs and use them to craft this magical snowman. Get Snowboy and you'll unlock special Snowflake DIY recipes. Unfortunately, though, the number of Large Snowflakes accrued are limited, but there is at least one way to maximize that return.

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With each Snowboy a player crafts and interacts with comes the distribution of a Large Snowflake, which are pretty scarce. These Large Snowflakes are then used to create those seasonal goods, which is a major incentive when returning to those islands during each event.

Author
Liana Ruppert

Blizzard Adding New Free-For-All Map To Overwatch, Gives Small Overwatch 2 Update

3 years 5 months ago

Those who are still playing Overwatch have stormed the Hanamura castle more times than they can count, but they haven't had much of a chance to venture outside the castle's walls. Now, thanks to a new level designer named Morton, players have that chance with the new free-for-all map called Kanezaka. 

Since the development team is so focused on Overwatch 2 development, the release of this map came as somewhat of a surprise to even the developers working on the game. According to game director Jeff Kaplan, Kanezaka is a result of Morton getting up to speed with the development tools the team uses. "It was so good that the team wanted to bring it to full production," Kaplan said in a Developer Update video on the official Overwatch YouTube channel.

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Author
Brian Shea

Assassin's Creed Valhalla Sells XP Boosts Now

3 years 5 months ago

When Assassin's Creed Valhalla first launched, I was happy to see that it did not include XP boosts among things players could buy with real money. However, a recent update to Valhalla's in-game store has changed that, and players are now able to purchase a multiplier to the XP they earn.

The change adds a "Utility" item to the storefront that costs 1000 Helix credits (the equivalent of $10), and adds a permanent 50-percent boost to the experience players gain across all of their save files. The same bonus can also be bought as part of a 1500 Helix credit ($15) combo that grants a 50-percent boost to both XP and money.

We reached out to Ubisoft asking about why the XP boost was added. Here is the comment a representative provided:

Author
Joe Juba

CDPR Walks Back Cyberpunk 2077 PlayStation Refund Offer

3 years 5 months ago

The Cyberpunk 2077 launch ended up being a mess regarding glitches, game-breaking bugs, and reviewer restriction discourse. This has resulted in a number of refund requests for the game, especially so for Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions, which seemed to have been hit the hardest in terms of performance, graphics, and their overall experience. Earlier this week, CD Projekt RED apologized to fans, encouraging them to request PS4 and Xbox One refunds for those that desire them. The problem with that, however, ended up being that Sony declined many of these requests, instead telling consumers to wait until the January and February patches go through. 

It was later revealed from a recent conference call that the studio never spoke with Microsoft or Sony prior to making their statement to ensure that digital refund practices would allow for refunds, resulting in another wave of miscommunication between the company and its fans. Now, CDPR is walking back its offer for PlayStation-specific refunds. 

Players that have written to the helpline that were refused refunds by Sony were given the below response: 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Game Of The Year Countdown – #7 Assassin's Creed Valhalla

3 years 5 months ago

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As a long-running franchise, the Assassin’s Creed games all build on the entries before them. However, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla doesn’t just iterate; this Viking adventure takes all the right lessons from its predecessors while also bringing new twists to Ubisoft’s open-world formula, resulting in one of the series’ best installments to date.

You take control of Eivor, a Viking leader who must carve out a place for the Raven Clan to settle in 9th-century England. As you make friends and pursue political alliances in the main story, you also explore a landscape full of fun activities – a big improvement over previous games in terms of variety. Whether you’re hunting down treasure chests, solving puzzles, or helping people with their strange (and often funny) problems, the breadth of content ensures that you always having something interesting to pursue. The hardest part is choosing which entertaining task to tackle first.

Author
Joe Juba

Where The Heart Leads’ New Trailer Showcases Choice And Consequence

3 years 5 months ago

Where the Heart Leads (formerly known as Where the Heart Is) is a choice-driven narrative adventure that debuted as part of PlayStation’s Indie Initiative over the summer. The surreal premise centers on a man gaining the power to relive and change his past life choices. The game is the brainchild of Armature Studio (the co-developer of ReCore), which unveiled a new trailer showcasing the many consequences your decisions can have.

Players control Whit Anderson, an artist who falls into a sinkhole while trying to save the family dog. Inside he discovers a strange power that allows him to revisit and alter key moments of his life, from childhood to parenthood to old age. Should Whit have helped his father rebuild the family farm or left him to deal with it on his own? What if Whit told his friend to focus on school instead of chasing his artistic passions? Most importantly, why are there so many scattered phone booths in this snow-covered forest? Check out the trailer below for a taste of the game’s mystique and the various ways your decisions can play out.

Author
Marcus Stewart

Mod Corner: This Star Wars Battlefront II Mod Is A Fall Guys vs. Among Us Showdown

3 years 5 months ago

Fall Guys burst onto the scene earlier this year in all of its terrifying jelly bean glory and Mario Galaxy-esque fun. The aesthetic of the game poised the triumphant return of Among Us, an indie title first released back in 2018 that didn't get recognition until this year. A big part of why the latter was able to get the streamer attention it deserves is because of, well, that jelly bean aesthetic. The Fall Guys wave was high, paving the way for Among Us to have its shot to shine, and now the two are going toe-to-toe thanks to this Star Wars Battlefront II mod. 

Simply called Fall Guys vs. Among Us, this Star Wars Battlefront II mod is straight to the point. It replaces all of the original trilogy-era infantry characters with Fall Guys jelly beans with Among Us astronauts (again, also jelly beans. Very important) replacing all dark side heroes. 

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Author
Liana Ruppert

Resident Evil Movie Reboot Release Date Revealed Early

3 years 5 months ago

We've been learning a lot about the upcoming Resident Evil movie reboot recently, including a cast reveal and some behind-the-scenes set images. Despite a few COVID-19-related hiccups, the latest iteration on the big screen for the Capcom franchise now has a release date (pending no further delays), at least according to a recent leak. 

New information from the German studio Constantin Film website went public that listed the Resident Evil movie reboot for a September 9, 2021 release date. 

Constantin Film via MovieWeb

Constantin Film is heading the Resident Evil movie efforts, adapting the Capcom franchise in impressive true-to-source material form (if these screenshots are anything to go by). 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Google Stadia Arrives On iPhone With New iOS Beta

3 years 5 months ago

Google Stadia is a streaming service that gets a lot of heat for some of its consumer-facing practices like ownership restrictions and its limited library. That being said, the service itself runs incredibly smooth for those that have the bandwidth for it, making it a go-to workaround for those excited for demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077. For those that have been interested in checking this out on more mobile platforms but have been limited by the Android-only rule, that's about to change because Stadia is coming to iPhone with the latest iOS beta. 

The iPhone/iPad beta was first announced last month and now, it's officially live. This option is available for those that have both the Pro Stadia membership and the free version as well, giving players a way to access those game libraries on Apple devices. 

For those that may be on the fence, the free tier for Google Stadia doesn't have the restrictions that some of its competitors have, allowing players to opt into the streaming experience through the Stadia website or through the app. There are also a couple of free games to enjoy with this as well, including Super Bomberman R and Destiny 2 (which is the big one with Beyond Light being met with such a positive reception). 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Censored Horror Game Devotion Not Coming To GOG After All [UPDATE]

3 years 5 months ago

Update (12/17/2020): Red Candle Games has issued a response to GOG reversing its decision to re-release Devotion. The statement says that while the studio finds the news regretful, it ultimately respect's GOG's decision. After apologizing to fans, the studio goes on to say that "this is a difficult predicament to overcome, but we won't stop striving.". 

Original Story: The sad saga of Devotion continues. The psychological horror game by Taiwanese developer Red Candle Games released on Steam in February 2019 to rave reviews only to be delisted just days later after an in-game meme mocking the Chinese government drew the ire of players and officials in that country. Horror fans have spent the last year hoping and begging for the game to return, and their prayers were seemingly answered this morning when Devotion was announced to be returning to sale. Unfortunately, the high was short lived as the storefront in question, GOG, has cancelled the game’s re-release. 

Author
Marcus Stewart

Sarah Silverman And More Join Top Streamers For New Fortnite "Spy Within" Game

3 years 5 months ago

Click to watch embedded media

Fortnite Houseparty is bringing together eight of Twitch's top streamers and a few celebs are joining in on the fun to celebrate the new Spy Within game with video chat. 

Streamers like Dr Lupo, Pokimane, Ninja, itsHafu, and more are going to be joined by Sarah Silverman and David Dobrik for a special Fortnite Houseparty video chat session getting down on the online game's new experience with Spy Within. 

What? 

But what is Spy Within? This new feature is a new limited-time-only Fortnite event that will have players teaming up to root out one suspicious player in a whodunnit experience. With Among Us being so popular and taking home a few awards this year, this mode isn't that far-fetched, but to bring it in this holiday season, this rag-tag group of entertainers are airing out all of their tells for the world to see. 

This new experience was named after the Fortnite Creative Map 'Spy Within', which was created by KKslider and DolphinDom. It's similar to games like Werewolf, basically giving players free rein to essentially call all of their friends liars without any real reprocussions. So, if you've got any beef with anybody in your circle, here's a good excuse to let it all out there (kidding, don't do that, actually just talk to them). 

Author
Liana Ruppert

Dungeons & Dragons Movie Eyeing Chris Pine For Major Role

3 years 5 months ago

Back in May, the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie landed Marvel exec Jeremy Latcham as its producer and while the film has been hit with some COVID-related delays, it looks like the studio is eyeing Star Trek star Chris Pine for a major role. 

Chris Pine has been in a plethora of movies but to me, he's the Star Trek cutie always looking for booty (OK, so he has a lot more nuanced than that, but let me have this one). Deadline reports that the actor is in talks with Paramount to take part in the upcoming D&D adventure, though for which role, in particular, we don't know. 

Additionally, we now know that John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein have been tapped to both write and direct the latest adaptation alongside Latcham as the movie's producer. 

As for the named producer, Latcham is the former Senior Vice President of Production and Development but now he's moving onto a very different scene: D&D. Latcham was confirmed to be attached to the upcoming Dungeons & Dragons movie as producer thanks to a recent agreement made with Hasbro's Entertainment One back in May of this year. 

Author
Liana Ruppert