Game Informer

The ambitious anime crossover fighting game, Jump Force, has been announced for Nintendo Switch. The Switch version allows for up to six players to play locally using Joy-Cons.

This Deluxe Edition includes the base game, plus the Characters Pass, which brings the total roster up to more than 50 fighters from various Shōnen Jump manga and anime series including Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Yu Yu Hakusho, Bleach, and more. 

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Jump Force: Deluxe Edition is set to hit Switch sometime in 2020. For more on Jump Force, check out our review.

[Source: Bandai Namco on YouTube]

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Following up on an earlier tease, developer Bloober Team is creating a remastered, upgraded version of its 2017 cyberpunk horror title Observer, titled Observer: System Redux for next-gen systems.

Although the release dates for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X haven't been announced yet, System Redux is coming out this holiday season, possibly making it a launch title for the home consoles. No word yet if the remaster will also be coming to PC. 

System Redux not only features a graphical upgrade courtesy of the new systems, it also adds new gameplay and story content, some of the latter of which can be seen in the trailer above.

For more on the game, which reviewer Javy called "brilliant," check out his review.

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On this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, Andy Reiner, Alex Stadnik, and Dan "The Jacket" Tack join me to discuss Fallout 76: Wastelanders, the Resident Evil 4 Remake rumors, and World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Alpha. We finish with the always-entertaining and enlightening community emails.

We do this week's show from our homes as we hunker down in quarantine, so please forgive us for any audio or video hiccups as we deliver content outside the studio.

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @therealandymc to let me know what you think. 

You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Play, listen on SoundCloud, stream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

League of Legends developer Riot Games has been on a run lately. Last year, the company announced a couple of new games in the League of Legends universe, and earlier this month the studio released its hero shooter Valorant into beta. Now Riot is adding another game to its portfolio with Hypixel Studios Minecraft-inspired Hytale.

Until Dawn developer Supermassive Games pulled back the curtain on the next entry in its Dark Pictures Anthology this week. Our first substantial look at Little Hope showed us a small New England town with a dark past connected to the 17th-century witch trials. Coming off Man of Medan, this standalone story is an all-new opportunity for Supermassive Games to horrify its fans. We got to see the prologue and interview director and CEO Pete Samuels to see what’s in store. Expect some dark revelations and plenty of Silent Hill-esque fog. 

Bloomberg is reporting that Sony will limit the initial supply of this holiday's PlayStation 5 home console to five to six million units in the period ending in March, 2021. In comparison, the PlayStation 4 sold 7.5 million units in its first two months.

Bloomberg's was told that the constraint is due, in part, by the expected price of the system, which developers have estimated at between $499 and $549. This price is due to the high-end components used by the system, which could also have scarcity issues, according to the website.

Sony has not commented on the matter.

The article also says that, according to sources, the price of the PlayStation 4 and PS4 Pro could be reduced around the launch of the PlayStation 5 to stimulate recurring revenue via PlayStation Plus and PlayStation Now memberships.

[Source: Bloomberg]

Whether you were at a PAX, GDC, or E3, Indie Megabooth has been a strong supporter of the independent video game development community, and a mainstay on convention showfloors since 2011. However, with the continued cancellation of events due to the rapid spread of the coronavirus COVID-19, the organization has announced it is sunsetting for the duration of the pandemic and going on indefinite hiatus beginning in May.

Indie Megabooth founder Kelly Wallick shared a letter on the official site titled, "Farewell (For Now)." In the letter, she announced the Indie Megabooth organization is holding a "Going Away (for now)" sale on Steam. The sale is set to take place between May 5 and May 12, and will feature more than 100 games from Indie Megabooths past and present. At the conclusion of the sale, the developers participating will do a "pay what you want" revenue share to support the team at Indie Megabooth, but Wallick has also set up a PayPal link where people can contribute directly to Indie Megabooth. All proceeds will help the team wrap up financial obligations, provide maintenance going forward, and help the team transition.

The organizers of Gamescom, the world's largest gaming event, have announced that Gamescom 2020 will take place digitally as a result of the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic. The news comes following the German government extending its ban on major events and large gatherings until August 31. 

As a result of this, Gamescom, which is scheduled to take place from August 25 to August 29 in Cologne, Germany, is affected. The official Gamescom Twitter account addressed the news, confirming that it is currently planning a digital version of the event. You can see the tweet below.

❗ Even though not all details are known at present, the nationwide ban on major events until the end of August will also affect the planning for #gamescom2020. Furthermore: gamescom 2020 will definitely take place digitally! We will provide further information shortly. ❗

Saber Interactive has announced a Switch version of its well-liked 2019 co-op shooter, World War Z. The news comes alongside an announcement of World War Z: Game of the Year Edition, which is set to come to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. According to IGN, the Game of the Year Edition includes new weapon packs, character packs, and an additional three-mission PvE episode set in Marseille, France. This new version also includes all the DLC released for World War Z to this point.

Saber Interactive has released and ported several Switch games to this point, including NBA 2K Playgrounds, Vampyr, Ghostbusters: The Video Game Remastered, and The Witcher 3. Despite bringing so many multiplatform titles to Switch – including The Witcher 3 – Saber Interactive CEO Matt Karch told IGN that getting World War Z to run on Switch has been particularly difficult. "Keep in mind that we are rendering scenes with hundreds of enemies and four players online," he said. "Getting this to run on the Switch is the hardest thing that we have had to do."

Big boss battles and nine classes to explore await players today on Xbox One, as Phantasy Star Online 2 moves to launch. PC players have to wait a bit longer to get in on the action, but they can look forward to a newly announced launch window of late May.

Launch events from login bonuses to Alliance rewards run from April 15-23.

NEC’s swing at entering the console market may not have connected with Western audiences, but the TurboGrafx-16 remains an interesting relic of the late ‘80s. Despite beating the Genesis to market in Japan, being the first system with a CD-ROM attachment, and having a portable counterpart that played console software, the TurboGrafx-16 ended up an also-ran in the 16-bit battle. And that’s a shame, really. It was home to some great software, with an enviable lineup of arcade shooters and standouts like Castlevania: Rondo of Blood and the Bonk series. Players who never got a chance to play the system now have a great option with the release of the TurboGrafx-16 Mini, a downsized version of the console with a large library of retro games.

A mobile game with "Clash" in its name will likely turn the heads of most Clash Royale players. Nifty Games' first title, NFL Clash, clearly draws inspiration from Supercell's popular competitive game with head-to-head battles lasting just a few minutes per match. You'll also level up great NFL players to make them even better.

While Nifty isn't quite ready to show NFL Clash in action just yet, the new company is determined to deliver a sports game that moves away from minigames and simulation, which we primarily see on mobile.

"NFL Clash will give fans all of the excitement of an NFL game in a much faster play session than deep sports simulations and include all of the customization, collection and real time competition that mobile clash-style game fans love," says Pete Wanat, Nifty Games' co-founder and chief creative officer.  "The game will be ultra accessible for even those who haven’t played a sports game in a long time, but with a depth of play that will allow players to assemble a team of their favorite NFL players thanks to Nifty Games’ partnership with the NFLPA."

Nifty has secured over $15 million in funding for NFL Clash and other ventures, such as an unannounced NBA game. NFL Clash doesn't have a release date yet, but you can keep an eye on its progress at Nifty's official website.

We'll have to wait to see how a clash-style football game plays (and if the idea even works), but I'm intrigued by the concept of an officially licensed sports game entering this competitive arena.

Best filed under the “very good news” folder, Sony today offered up a generous opportunity for PS4 owners. As part of Sony’s new Play-At-Home initiative, beginning tomorrow, April 15 at 8pm Pacific, and running through May 5 at 8pm Pacific, you can download Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey. Once redeemed, the games are yours to keep, even after that timeframe expires. The free titles are available regardless of your level of PS4 access – you don’t need to subscribe to PS Plus or any other service.

The Uncharted collection offers the first three games in the Uncharted series, remastered for PS4, all of which we were big fans of here at Game Informer. As an aside, if you happen to be a PS Plus member, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is currently available as a download throughout April. To put it another way, if you’ve never tried out Naughty Dog’s stellar action series, now is the time to do so, at very little cost to yourself.

Journey is a standout release from thatgamecompany, which I reviewed for Game Informer when it originally released on PS3. It was excellent at launch, and its PS4 iteration remains one of the most emotionally powerful games on the system.

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FULL SPOILERS FOR EVERYTHING INVOLVING FINAL FANTASY VII AND ITS LORE TO FOLLOW:

Final Fantasy VII Remake has set the world on fire as the return to Midgar marks one of the best video game reimaginings to date. That being said, the ending of the game has proven largely divisive and has a ton to unpack. Join Joe Juba and me as we take a spoilerific deep-dive into what we liked and disliked about Final Fantasy VII Remake's bombastic finish.

All the footage and information we discuss in the video is from the end of the game, so if you haven't beaten it yet, you'll want to wait until you've seen the credits roll. Finally, not only do we go into spoilers for Final Fantasy VII Remake, but we also spoil the original game's ending and larger story beats, as well. You have been warned.

If you enjoyed the video and want more Final Fantasy VII Remake coverage, be sure to check out last week's podcast, the written review, and the video review!

Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 2 was originally scheduled to finish up at the end of this month, on April 30. However, today Epic Games has announced that the season is going to keep going past that date, with Season 3 scheduled to arrive on June 4. 

Epic has promised that more cool content will be dropping during the current season, including new challenges and bonus xp - you can read the entire post with the all the news here.

 

The latest system update for Nintendo Switch adds the ability to remap the buttons on your controller. The Ver. 10.0.0 update went live yesterday, and also adds the ability to transfer software data between the internal system memory and an inserted SD card. Additionally, Nintendo has added six new player icons featuring characters from Animal Crossing: New Horizons. 

This update should help those who primarily play on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One and have to constantly look down at their hands when a prompt for "X" comes on the screen. This new feature only includes the Joy-Cons, as well as the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, meaning third-party controllers are unable to be remapped. Each Switch can hold up to five custom configurations for each controller. In addition, Nintendo Switch Lite can hold up to five configurations. To access this menu, after you update to the 10.0.0 version, you must go to "System Settings," then select "Controllers and Sensors."

If your Switch is connected to the internet, you should be prompted to download the new update if you attempt to enter any software. If you are not automatically prompted, you can manually kick off the download by going to "System Settings," then "System," and selecting "System Update."

[Source: Nintendo]

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After the Man of Medan, Supermassive’s Dark Pictures Anthology is moving along to its next standalone tale, called Little Hope. The Until Dawn developer's next adventure features a brand-new setting and fresh faces. This time around, Will Poulter (The Maze Runner, Midsommar) plays the lead role.  Supermassive has teased the game with a few clips and info, but this is our first substantial look. 

If you watch the trailer above, you can see the eerie small of Little Hope and its relationship with the 17th-century witch trials. It looks like our cast has some weird connection to townspeople from the past, but that’s for us to find out when it launches this summer on PS4, Xbox One, and PC. 

What do you think of this setting for the next game in The Dark Pictures Anthology?

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XCOM 2 is known for its brutal firefights against a series of menacing aliens, but we loved every tense minute. We haven't heard much from the series since the release of the XCOM 2: War of the Chosen expansion in 2017. That might be because Firaxis has secretly been working on a new standalone adventure called XCOM: Chimera Squad, and you'll have the chance to play it next week, when it releases on PC on April 24. 

The Gears of War series has always focused on being tactical in firefights thanks to a heavy emphasis on taking cover and attempting to gain advantageous positions on the battlefield. Now, Gears Tactics is poised to take that notion to the next level with a full-fledged turn-based strategy game.

Xbox Game Studios has released a new trailer for Gears Tactics, detailing many features the strategy-based take on the Gears of War universe has to offer. You can check that trailer out below.

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Gears Tactics hits PC on April 28, and is included with a Game Pass subscription. For more, check out our recent preview of the game.

[Source: Xbox on YouTube]

You're surely already aware of this monumental anniversary, but the original Mortal Kombat film is celebrating its 25 birthday this year. Some still consider it the best video game film ever made, so why not dust off your copy and give it another watch? The film is also available on Netflix if you don't want to dig your copy out of storage. 

Ready for the Tournament?! Sync up with us and press play on @Netflix or your copy of Mortal Kombat tonight at 7:00pm PST. Stretch accordingly. #MortalKombatWatchParty pic.twitter.com/iVvalacv5A

— Mortal Kombat 11 (@MortalKombat) April 11, 2020

Mortal Kombat game developer, NetherRealm Studios, is hosting a watch party tonight at 9 pm CT, so be sure to sync up your viewing. The studio will live tweet about the film all night, so it should be a good time. 

Coming to PC via Steam this spring, Timelie tasks you with figuring out mindbending puzzles by altering time. You can not only rewind to the past, but also see what could happen in the future, creating a powerful puzzle dynamic.

You also control two characters at once, so you must bend time with both in consideration to its effects. Check out an exclusive look into the world of Timelie in the trailer below!

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Fallout 76 gets a new shot of life tomorrow through the highly anticipated Wastelanders update. This sizeable expansion adds NPCs to Appalachia's barren wasteland, as well as a new story for players to unfurl. Many people are hoping that Wastelanders is a return to form for the Fallout series. Having choice-driven conversations with NPC denizens is certainly a hallmark trait of the original Fallout games, but that isn't the only thing that defines them. It'll be interesting to see how NPCs are used in a world that is designed for multiplayer.  We'll find out tomorrow just how different the game will be moving forward.

In a blog post on Bethesda's website, Fallout 76's lead designer Ferret Baudoin and lead artist Nathan Purkeypile share videos of some of the new content, and also detail other additions and changes players will meet as they embark on their quests.

For instance, Crater, the crashed space station, is now a headquarters for the Raiders. Bethesda looked at areas that were underutilized and added life to them. In addition to revitalized areas, players will run into roughly 40 new locations.

The oft-delayed, always-mysterious Dead Island 2 might still be coming if a new job listing at developer Dambuster Studios is any indication. The position is for an art director to work on a recreation of Los Angeles and, "create the sun soaked backdrop to a full scale zombie apocalypse set across the iconic Californian city for the next installment in the world renowned Dead Island franchise." The listing also references creating a title for, "current and future platforms," potentially hinting at a cross-gen release for the game.

Since their introduction more than two years ago, Overwatch League Tokens have rarely been given out without asking you to pay real-world money. While you've been able to earn a pittance for watching Overwatch League matches, you would need to watch 100 maps of play just to earn $5 worth of tokens. However, Blizzard has announced an easy way to earn that many tokens without spending money or very much time.

Everyone who has a valid copy of Overwatch, an account in good standing, and signs up for the Overwatch League email list by April 29 will earn 100 Tokens, which would normally cost $5. If you play on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One, you must first link your PlayStation Network or Xbox Live account to your Battle.net account. Then, when you fill out your form, you must use the same email address associated with your Battle.net account. Even if you already are signed up for the Overwatch League email list, confirming your information will still earn you the 100 tokens.

With 100 Overwatch League Tokens, you can purchase one team-specific skin for a hero of your choosing, or get halfway to affording one of the premium, exclusive items, like the new Thunder Doomfist skin or the legendary turntable Lucio emote, each of which cost 200 Overwatch League Tokens.

The promotion ends on April 29, but tokens may take until May 6 to appear in your account. To sign up for the mailing list, head here.

COVID-19 may be affecting all facets of our lives, but CD Projekt says that the company is still full-steam ahead to release Cyberpunk 2077 in September as planned before the pandemic.

A summary of a recently posted financial report on the publisher/developer's website reads:

There is no shortage of motivation and we also possess all the tools needed to facilitate remote work. We’ve been operating in this mode for over three weeks and to-date results confirm that we can carry on with all our operations without major disruptions. Our plans haven’t changed – we’re steaming towards the September release of Cyberpunk."

Furthermore, Adam Badowski, head of internal studio CD Projekt RED, tweeted that the game has already been rated by the "vast majority" of ratings boards around the world – checking off another step on the way to its release.

The coronavirus pandemic has altered plans throughout the industry to date, from causing the cancelation of this year's E3 in June, to the indefinite delay of Naughty Dog's The Last of Us Part II to name just a few. Hopefully CD Projekt's confidence and preparation so far see the game to its intended release.

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On a day that many thought would never come, Final Fantasy VII Remake has finally arrived. To celebrate this monumental occasion, we figured it fitting to look back at this illustrious series and play another beloved entry in Final Fantasy IX. Join Andrew Reiner, Kimberley Wallace, and me as we return to Gaia and catch up with Zidane, Vivi, and the rest of the crew in this JRPG classic.

We went live earlier but you can catch the full archive above. If you can't get enough of our live shows, remember to subscribe on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, and Facebook to get notified when we go live each week! Thanks and enjoy the show!

Major League Baseball and Sony Interactive Entertainment are teaming up for the MLB the Show Players League – a virtual season with each MLB team represented by a real-life baseball pro.

The players (see below for the full list) will face off in a 29-game regular season (three-inning games), followed by an eight-team post-season, and then the World Series.

The league starts April 10 when the Tampa Bay Rays (Blake Snell) take on the Cincinnati Reds (Amir Garrett), and will be streamed on various platforms including Twitch and YouTube.

The MLB the Show Players League benefits Boys & Girls Clubs affiliates in the teams' communities.

For more on MLB the Show 20 itself, check out our review.

Here are the participating players from each team:

The pandemic is constantly on my mind. It's like a passenger that clings to almost every thought, meal I make, and interaction I have with my daughter. Outside of getting ready for bed, nearly all of our daily routines have been upended by the threat of the virus. I can't bring her to school, play with her on the playground, take her out to eat, go see a movie, or do most of the things we used to. We're stuck in the house, longing to return to the life we once had. Even from this safe place, normal doesn't necessarily feel like normal. Everything feels off. That even goes for video games. Some that I adore have lost their flavor.

Being a single dad in this uncertain time has been challenging. It makes me realize in a joking way that Naughty Dog didn't quite nail the dynamic between Joel and Ellie in The Last of Us. Given the tantrum my daughter had over the spaghetti I made for dinner last night instead of the requested lasagna, Last of Us needed more pointless bickering between two people who have spent way too much time together.

I think I speak for most people when I say the pandemic brings uncertainty, stress, anxiety, and sadness. My daughter and I are doing our best to keep our spirits up, and we're bonding over new things, but we can't help but reflect on what we've lost – that's to be expected and should happen. There's nothing wrong mourning the loss of the amazing things in life, which we'll hopefully get back to soon.

It’s important for perspective that you know I’m not a pro player or a gaming god – my take on Valorant so far may be vastly different from the high-tier analysis that you may find from those sources out there on the internet. That said, I did spend a significant amount of time playing Counter-Strike at a LAN center, which happens to be highly relevant toward my enjoyment of Valorant.

Why? Because Valorant has real roots in Counter-Strike, much of the shooting, features, mechanics, weapons, and more have incredibly similar counterparts. If Valorant and CS are cakes, the core recipe is essentially the same – but the sprinkles on top of the Valorant cake are a different color. The bright neon confectionery may set Valorant up to take over the tactical shooter space as it moves into open beta and beyond.

If you know CS guns, you know Valorant guns. If you know that you can’t run around spraying and praying like a Call of Duty shoothouse match, and that you need to stop moving to get a clean shot, you know Valorant. You have to watch those footsteps too, as that auditory clue is encounter-defining.

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On this week's episode of The Game Informer Show, Joe Juba, Alex Stadnik, and Dan Tack join me to discuss Final Fantasy VII Remake, Valorant, and the reveal of the PlayStation 5 controller. We finish with the always-entertaining and enlightening community emails.

We do this week's show from our homes as we hunker down in quarantine, so please forgive us for any audio or video hiccups as we deliver content outside the studio.

Thanks for listening! Please make sure to leave feedback below, share the episode if you enjoyed it, and follow me @therealandymc to let me know what you think. 

You can watch the video above, subscribe and listen to the audio on iTunes or Google Play, listen on SoundCloud, stream it on Spotify, or download the MP3 at the bottom of the page. Also, be sure to send your questions to podcast@gameinformer.com for a chance to have them answered on the show.

Electronic Arts is rounding up 20 as-yet-unannounced real-life footballers for a special FIFA 20 tournament (April 15-19) as part of its Stay Home, Play Together COVID-19 charity relief campaign.

The players are from big clubs like Chelsea, Roma, Real Madrid, Ajax, and other teams such as Liverpool. No word if a Juventus player will have to represent Piemonte Calcio in the game. EA says it'll divulge more on the players involved via the game's official Twitter account.

As part of the pros' tournament and the Stay Home, Play Together campaign (which also involves other EA titles such as Apex Legends and Madden), EA is donating $1 million to Global Givings' Coronavirus Relief Fund. The tournament will also feature ways for the community to donate.

She's finally here! The evolutionary robot is officially making her way to Overwatch on April 14. 

After being a long-rumored upcoming hero and then hitting PTR, Echo expands the damage-dealing roster this coming Tuesday. She brings with her the ability to fly and glide, fire sticky bombs, channel her focusing beam weapon, and launch an ultimate that allows her to clone an enemy hero's abilities.

You can see Blizzard's official tweet below: 

Following the flight plan.

Echo swoops into Overwatch on April 14! pic.twitter.com/BWO8W6ivDO

— Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) April 9, 2020

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After years of false starts and heightened anticipation, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is finally here and, according to Game Informer's review, lives up to most of the hype that surrounds it. But with a remake this size, fans will undoubtedly have a plethora of questions heading into release. We hope to answer those quandaries as Joe Juba, Kimberley Wallace, and I play through Chapter 2 of the game while answering your questions live!

We went live earlier, but you can watch the full archive above! If you can't get enough of our live shows, remember to subscribe on YouTube, Twitch, Mixer, Twitter, and Facebook to get notified when we go live each week! Thanks and enjoy the show!

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty hangs over the new release calendar as well as the forthcoming generation of hardware. The Last of Us Part II has been delayed indefinitely and we still don’t have dates for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Odds are we won’t hear when these highly anticipated gaming avenues will arrive until the world is right again. In the meantime, most of us are self-quarantining, and games are a great way to keep us indoors and entertained.

Last week, the Game Informer staff came together with nearly a dozen game suggestions for Switch, and today we have assembled a list that recommends just as many for Xbox One. Whether you have owned an Xbox One since launch or just picked one up to help pass the time during your shelter-in-place, these games are all fantastic options and stand on their own in unique ways.

As always, we want to hear what games you would recommend people should play during the pandemic in the comments section below. We hope you are all healthy and safe, and that these lists help deliver a degree of fun over the new couple of months.

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On April 14, Bethesda Game Studios is releasing Wastelanders, a free expansion to Fallout 76 that adds a new story and NPCs for players to interact with. The launch trailer gives you a look at some of the new faces you'll meet, along with teases of their story lines and areas where they will unfold.

Fallout 76's launch was botched by technical difficulties, but the wasteland set in West Virginia showed plenty of potential, especially how Bethesda latched onto the region's folklore. I'm hoping that element somehow comes into play within the new storyline. Players will have some say in how it unfolds through NPC conversation choices.

Are you looking forward to returning to Fallout 76 to play through the Wastelanders DLC? Let us know in the comments section below.

Bloober Team is teasing something related to its 2017 psychological horror game based in a cyberpunk/sci-fi setting. While the teaser trailer doesn't say much about what we can expect, it does give us the name Observer System Redux, pointing to this being either a remaster or extended version of Observer for next-gen systems.

We liked Observer when it launched in 2017, with our reviewer, Javy Gwaltney, giving it a 9 out of 10 and calling it, "a horrifying but brilliant marriage of sci-fi and horror." You can see the brief teaser below.

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[Source: Bloober Team on YouTube]

Final Fantasy VII Remake was first announced back at E3 2015, but later that year Square Enix revealed the whole project would “be told across a multi-part series.” The vagueness of that information at the time allowed a misconception to grow among eager fans; people thought that the first installment would be somehow incomplete, and gamers would be paying full price for only a fragment of a full game. Despite several clarifications over the years regarding the scope of the project, this idea still persists today, right before launch. As someone who has finished Final Fantasy VII Remake, let me be clear: This is a complete game.

When Square Enix revealed that this first installment would only cover Midgar (which spans roughly six hours in the original 1997 game), the fear was that segment would either be insufficient to support a full game, or that it would be padded with excessive filler to artificially draw the experience out. Those concerns are understandable; you deserve to get your money’s worth out of a game – though exactly what that means varies from person to person. For some, it’s as simple as the number of hours it takes to see credits. For others, it’s more about the depth and complexity along the way. On those fronts and more, Final Fantasy VII Remake delivers.

Amnesia may be one of the scariest games of all time. If nothing else, you can’t deny its impact on the industry and how it spawned a slew of horror games were players could not fight back against the terrors they faced. But why did Frictional Games decide to return to this spooky world now – nearly 10 years later? What did they think of The Chinese Room’s Amnesia sequel A Machine for Pigs? And how do they trick players into scaring themselves? We talked with the Frictional team to find out. 

What got you excited to return to the world of Amnesia? 
Thomas Grip (creative director): The first game only takes place in an old castle, but in notes, you find hints to all sorts of exotic locations. It felt like a waste to never let players experience these. This was the initial motivation for returning to the game’s universe.

How did you land on the Algerian desert for Rebirth? 
Ian Thomas (writer): It's 1937, and Tasi is on her own in the middle of the desert. As you'd imagine, there's no GPS and no reliable radio, so her prospects aren't great. That should immediately summon up all sorts of fears, and that harshness was partly what inspired us to use that setting. The rest came from Amnesia: The Dark Descent – there was lore in that game set in Algeria, and we'd always wanted to explore that in a bit more depth.

Few games achieve the level of success that justifies a sequel – let alone establish a long-running franchise. But in the course of 10 years, Minecraft has ballooned into a video game juggernaut. Store shelves overflow with Minecraft-themed books, comics, action figures, plush toys, and Lego kits. Minecraft fans attend Minecraft festivals and museum exhibits while wearing Minecraft hoodies. Warner Bros. is even set to turn the brand into a major motion picture by 2022. Developer Mojang seems happy to develop nearly every Minecraft project that comes across it desks ... except for a Minecraft 2.

“I cannot imagine there will ever be a Minecraft 2,” says Minecraft’s creative director Saxs Persson. “We've done a lot of soul searching. Unequivocally, we're the Minecraft studio, and we've chosen to embrace that. But we have, over time, realized how flexible the envelope of Minecraft really is ... We've always been passionate about making more than a single game, but we never wanted to do a sequel. We're much more interested in taking that spark of creativity and applying it to other genres within the universe of Minecraft.”

From wild colors to designs that reflect specific games, Twitter users are having fun giving Sony's new controller, the PlayStation 5 DualSense, a makeover. Like most things that hit the internet, the DualSense has received mixed reactions, some praising the new form factor and stylish design, and others taking it to task for, well, the same reasons. I fall into the camp of thinking it looks awesome. The white and black mesh well, and the small stripe of blue light gives it a science-fiction look.

Following the DualSense's reveal yesterday, Twitter users wasted no time seeing how the DualSense looks when the colors are altered. Some people tried to create variations they wouldn't mind buying, while others just wanted to see how ugly or silly it could look. I added a couple of joke tweets for good measure. Enjoy the roundup!

Some #SpiderMan edition ones as requested #PS5 #PS5reveal pic.twitter.com/2BkOK2hiQ6