IGN

Jolteon is difficult to find in New Pokemon Snap, and requires a second alternate route in Outaway Cave.

The creator of VVVVVV, Terry Cavanagh, has just released his next game -- but unlike VVVVVV, you won't find it on typical storefronts. Instead, in order to play Climb the Giant Man Obby, you'll need to venture into Roblox. In a blog post, Cavanagh announced the "obby," which is Roblox shorthand for "obstacle course" (or just a platformer) and a popular genre to make among first-time creators on Roblox. "For the past year or so, I’ve been kinda fascinated by Roblox – a massively popular multiplayer game platform, mostly aimed at kids," Cavanagh writes. "So recently, I decided to try making a game for it!" [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/24/roblox-freeze-tag-trailer"] "I didn’t expect how much I was going to love working in Roblox Studio," Cavanagh added. "I’ve been working on this on-and-off for about three months, which makes it one of my biggest freeware projects ever." Cavanagh detailed his development journey with Roblox in a lengthy Twitter thread that goes back to the end of March. The thread offers glimpses of his process of adapting to Roblox's creation tools as Cavanagh first attempted to recreate the outfit worn by the fellow in the "How do you do, fellow kids?" meme, then turned his player character wearing that outfit into a giant man to then build a climbable obstacle course around. The ensuring obby has, per Cavanagh, about 30 or so "stages" which include obstacles like giant rotating fidget spinners, extremely narrow platforms, and ziplines.

The creepy doll boss of House Beneviento can be annoying to track down - see our guide for all her hiding spots.

The next Battlefield game could potentially be revealed in June according to a cheeky tweet from the game's official Twitter account. A new Battlefield game is finally coming later this year after the series took a brief hiatus from annual releases. While Battlefield games are typically released in the fall, a reveal next month could be in the cards. "Words that rhyme with Soon: June Boom," the Battlefield Twitter account posted. A likely indication that whatever the folks at EA DICE are working on, we could see it next month.

Words that rhyme with Soon:

Though Dontnod's seen success with games like Tell Me Why and Vampyr, it's still primarily associated with Life Is Strange. In addition to pioneering the series with the original Life Is Strange (which was widely praised by critics and sold over three million copies) Dontnod is also responsible for Life Is Strange 2 and The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit. But according to CEO Oskar Guilbert, Dontnod is now ready to move on. "Never say never," Guilbert said. "But for the moment it's not our strategy, yeah. We want to create our own IPs. That's what we want to do." Despite its association with Life Is Strange, Dontnod doesn't own the intellectual property. Square Enix does. And Square Enix recently announced that Life is Strange: True Colors will be developed by Deck Nine, which also worked on Life Is Strange: Before the Storm. That on its own doesn't prevent Dontnod from ever returning to Life Is Strange, but, at least for now, more Life Is Strange isn't in the studio's plans. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/12/03/life-is-strange-2-the-complete-season-trailer"] Head of publishing Xavier Spinat added immediately after, "But we are looking at what's happening, of course. Because our fans are looking at it, and so we are looking at it." Guilbert elaborated further on the importance of Dontnod owning its own games, tying it into other topics we addressed during the interview like the studio's long-term stability. He also talked about Dontnod’s determination to remain independent and not have its portfolio influenced by outside editorial decisions. "We think that this is something really important for the company, for the ownership of the teams, and for the future of Dontnod," he said.

At a time when it seems like every independent studio that grows to a certain size and has a hit game or two is getting acquired by a giant entity, Dontnod is growing while fiercely proclaiming its ongoing independence. Speaking to IGN, Dontnod CEO Oskar Guilbert says that Dontnod had actually turned down a number of companies who wanted to acquire it in recent years. "To be honest, we refused several proposals," he says. "There are a lot of people who are interested [in] the game industry and see the game industry as a new El Dorado for investing. "...We raised 40 million euros in January. But for us, it was really important that the historic shareholders still have the majority, and still can keep the company independent. That's something really important for us." Why is Dontnod so adamant that it stay independent? For Guilbert, it comes down to the identity that Dontnod has built up over the years. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/27/tell-me-why-review"] "The values, the kind of games we want to do — it's really important for us that we keep this identity of the company for the future. [...] I don't want to be pretentious, but we're one of the game companies which do these kinds of games — like Life is Strange, like Tell Me Why, and Vampyr also in a sense. We really want to continue doing this. And we are lucky because our current partners, our people who put a lot of money in our company still let us do what we want to do. "...Intuitively I think people know what it means, a game made by Dontnod.

Beast Boy from DC's Teen Titans is coming to Fortnite later this week. He'll be able to join his comic teammate Raven, and there will even be a chance to earn some specific Beast Boy and Raven rewards when the animal shapeshifter lands on the island. Beast Boy will be available on Thursday, May 13 at 5 pm PT/8 pm ET on the Fortnite item shop. He'll come with the requisite back bling (a controller strapped to a pizza box), and custom pickaxe. Furthermore, Beast Boy will come with both his superhero outfit and a casual outfit, plus his Go Ape Emote will let him transform into a green gorilla. For anyone who can't wait until Thursday, Fortnite players will have the opportunity to unlock Beast Boy early in the Teen Titans Cup, a duo tournament beginning on May 12. Teams that score at least eight points can also earn a new Beast Boy and Raven Loading Screen from artist Gabriel Piccolo that highlights the couple's romance.

I was smitten with writer-director Luis Antonio’s time-loop drama 12 Minutes from the moment it first appeared during Xbox’s E3 2019 press conference, after which it was one of the most-talked-about surprises of the show. Playing it then only reinforced my enthusiasm. It’s no wonder that the noted and trusted tastemakers at publisher Annapurna picked it up, and thankfully it's now due for release on Xbox platforms and PC “soon.” I played a recent, seemingly near-final build of 12 Minutes (via Parsec on PC), and while I have plenty of new compliments to lob at it in a moment, I’ll start with the same faux-complaint I had the first time: I didn’t have nearly enough time to dig into it! Both my 2019 hands-on and my latest one were under 30 minutes each, which meant that I got to do a few loops and dig into the murder mystery, and then my time was up. This time, as before, I walked away from my time with 12 Minutes and couldn’t stop thinking about it. Where is it going? How is it going to resolve? Who killed the wife’s father? [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=12-minutes-screenshots&captions=true"] But I’m getting ahead of myself. Twelve Minutes is, at first glance, extremely simple. It takes place entirely in a married couple’s apartment, with the camera looking down on them from above. You play the husband (voiced by James McAvoy), who arrives home, starts talking to his wife (played by Daisy Ridley), sits down for a special dessert to celebrate some good news your wife has to share, and then...there’s a knock on the door.

The Gears of War series is getting 'multiple new projects', all of which will be developed on the upcoming Unreal Engine 5. In a blogpost, developer The Coalition announced that it is has started "shifting our resources to next-gen development using Unreal Engine 5." It also confirmed that this isn't just for Gears 6, saying it will be "developing on UE5 for multiple new projects in the coming years." However, don't expect an announcement for a new Gears game anytime soon; the developer makes clear that, "Shifting to a new engine is a big undertaking, so we want to be clear that we will not be announcing any new projects or titles for some time." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/13/ps5-unreal-engine-5-tech-demo"] Unreal Engine 5 was announced last year with a spectacular PS5 tech demo, which aims to help create games that would be deemed impossible to make with current technology, but help increase efficiency for developers. It was impressive enough that Sony invested $250 million in creator Epic Games, with Epic CEO Tim Sweeney saying, "I guess they liked it!" As for its current projects, The Coalition made clear that Gears 5 updates Operation 7 and Operation 8 will be coming during the course of 2021. "Each Operation will have two drops including new characters, new maps, and special events, reads the post. "Through the end of the year, we will have store updates with exciting new content as well as featured playlists." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/05/xbox-series-x-performance-test-how-gears-5-proves-its-a-beast"] The Gears series has a long histroy with the Unreal Engine, beginning life at the engine's creator, Epic Games.

A disgruntled movie director has suggested that Capcom copied his monster design for a boss fight in Resident Evil Village. The claim has come from Dutch director Richard Raaphorst via LinkedIn, who states that the design of a boss monster from Resident Evil Village is the same as a creature from his 2013 horror movie Frankenstein’s Army. He reads, “In 2013 I directed my film Frankenstein’s Army. It’s a crazy monster movie filled with my own creature designs, one of which has been used - completely without authorization or credit in the newest Resident Evil game.” Light spoilers for Resident Evil Village follow. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/05/resident-evil-village-review"] The monster in question is a boss fight from the Heisenberg’s Factory section of the game, where you fight a monster with a propeller for a head called Sturm. In Frankenstein’s Army, a similar monster appears as an unnamed human creature with a propeller for a head (you can watch a video of the movie scene here).

The first trailer for Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage has arrived, and guess what? It features Carnage! But who exactly is the very red, very scary symbiote bad guy? It all started with Spider-Man's black alien costume in the comics, which betrayed him and wound up in the hands of his bitter rival Eddie Brock -- who became Venom. But it also spawned an even meaner and deadlier nemesis in the form of Carnage. This bloodthirsty sadist has racked up quite a body count over the years, and even the Avengers have been hard-pressed to bring him to justice. And now the Woody Harrelson character (also known as Cletus Kasady) is finally arriving on the big screen. With that in mind, here's everything you need to know about this symbiote psychopath... [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=venom-let-there-be-carnage-easter-eggs&captions=true"]

Carnage Explained: The Basics

Carnage is basically the closest thing Spider-Man's rogues gallery has to a Joker. Most of Spidey's enemies have some tragic or redeeming qualities. Not Carnage. He's a force of nature who lives to kill, destroy and sow chaos. And he's not particular about the order in which he does so. Cletus Kasady was already an accomplished criminal and sadist even before gaining superhuman powers. But after spending some time as Eddie Brock's cellmate and gaining a symbiote costume of his own, he's become one of the most proficient killers in the Marvel Universe. He's incredibly strong and very difficult to put down once the blood starts flowing.

It sounds as though PS5 supplies will continue to be limited into 2022. It was never going to be easy launching a new console in the middle of a worldwide pandemic, and Bloomberg now reports that Sony has spoken to a “group of analysts” about the supply constraint issues affecting PlayStation 5 supplies, reportedly warning that shortages will continue into 2022. “I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Hiroki Totoki reportedly told the analysts. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/04/16/ps5-stock-to-be-limited-in-first-year-says-report-ign-news"] Global shortages of semiconductors, which are used in almost all computing devices, has made it increasingly difficult for the continuing demand for PS5 consoles to be met. Semiconductors are a crucial part of the PS5 architecture, and the shortages have let to delays in the console's production cycle. Ever since the PS5 launched in November 2020 it has been difficult for both retail stores, and consumers, to get their hands on one. Both the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the trade war started by the Trump administration against China have affected the ability for electronics manufacturers to get hold of these parts.

The actor behind Lady Dimitrescu has revealed more about the motion capture process that brought the character to life – including a big, grumpy pole that was used to simulate her 9'6" eyeline in real life. Lady Dimitrescu actress Maggie Robertson has been delighting fans during Resident Evil Village's launch weekend by responding to fan art and complementing cosplays of the popular character, as well as providing a behind-the-scenes look at the game. In one post Robertson revealed "the grumpy stand-in," a giant pole with a soft head marked with a frowny face. According to Robertson, this was used during performance capture to "mark Lady D's actual size and eye lines" while on set.

How the sausage gets made part 2: This is what we used to mark Lady D's actual size and eye lines. Clearly, she's grumpy after chasing people around the castle all day. #thegrumpystandin #LadyDimitrescu #ResidentEvilVillage

Capcom has revealed that it has hit record-high profits for the fourth consecutive year, with much of that success coming down to Monster Hunter Rise and Resident Evil 3 sales. In a press release regarding its last fiscal year, Capcom announced net sales were up 16.8%, operating income was up 51.6%, ordinary income was up 51.8%, and net income to the parent company was up 56.3%. The developer of franchises such as Devil May Cry, Monster Hunter, and Resident Evil attributed much of the success to new entries in core franchises like Monster Hunter Rise (which shipped 4 million copies in its first weekend alone) and the remake of Resident Evil 3. However, it also recognised the continued success of previously released games and expansions like Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, which have seen gamers jumping in retroactively, no doubt down to new entries in the franchise bringing in new players. It also cites strong sales for next-gen versions of games like Devil May Cry 5 Special Edition. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/30/natural-history-expert-reacts-to-monster-hunter-rise"] Not only did this lead to the fourth consecutive year of record profits, but also the eighth consecutive year of operating income growth. Despite receiving the pandemic-related boost that many video game companies have shown in the past year, Capcom's forecasting that it will beat its income and profit records again next year.

Activision has said that it will no longer work with Call of Duty voice actor Jeff Leach after a series of sexist comments Leach has made surfaced on social media. Leach was responsible for the voice of Simon 'Ghost' Riley in 2019's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty Mobile. As part of a Twitter thread from YouTuber NitroLukeDX, a video featuring some of Leach's past remarks has been circulating on social media. The video includes clips from Leach, across multiple streams, making explicit, sexual, and hateful remarks about women. The video below includes offensive language:

[1/3] Jeff Leach Misogynist?! @FacebookGaming Partner, Voice of @CallofDuty "Ghost" @Activision

Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier is getting a Closed Beta Test in June 2021 that will give those with Android devices a chance to try out the upcoming battle royale mobile game. The Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier Closed Beta Test will take place from June 1 - June 7, and the registration period for those interested is currently underway. Those with a 64-bit Android device with Android 7.1 or newer and at least 3GB of available memory can sign up here until May 27, 2021. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/25/final-fantasy-vii-the-first-soldier-teaser-trailer"] This test will only be for those in the US and Canada, and game data and progress will not be transferred over to the full game when it launches later this year. However, Square Enix will let you stream the game should you be accepted into the Beta. Final Fantasy 7: The First Soldier was announced alongside Final Fantasy 7: Ever Crisis - a "chapter-structured single player game covering the whole of the FFVII timeline - including the events of the original game and the FFVII compilation titles." This battle royale game takes place in Midgar 30 years before Final Fantasy 7.

Remnant: From the Ashes will be receiving a free next-gen upgrade for PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on May 13, 2021. Announced on Remnant: From the Ashes' Twitter, this next-gen upgrade will allow for the game to run at 4K/30 FPS or 1080p/60 FPS on both PS5 and Xbox Series X. On Xbox Series S, just the framerate will be improved as the console is only capable of outputting resolution of up to 1440p. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/08/20/remnant-from-the-ashes-review"] As an added bonus, cross-play is being added between Xbox and Windows 10 Store players. Remnant: From the Ashes is a third-person survival action shooter that is set in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by monstrous creatures. In our review, we said that it "is a co-op action-RPG that's punishing and grotesque, but exciting and beautiful all at the same time. Despite the occasional difficulty spikes and slightly disappointing gear system, the thrill of finally beating a boss that’s had your number for hours is unmatched." Remnant: From the Ashes was part of March 2021's PlayStation Plus games and was available until early April. If you missed it on PlayStation, it is currently available on Xbox Game Pass. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=top-10-soulslikes&captions=true"] For more, check out where Remnant: From the Ashes landed on our list of the best Soulslike games. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story?

Alongside Verdansk '84, Call of Duty: Warzone looks to be continuing the celebration of the 1980s as it is teasing the arrival of both John Rambo and Die Hard's John McLane. A few days ago, the Call of Duty Twitter account asked if anyone knew "SURVIVORJOHN#1009062?" Their #WarzoneReport is pretty impressive as it shows they have 552 kills, and infinite K/D ratio, 0 deaths, 5 games played, 5 wins, and 7 hours played. By doing a bit of digging into the history of Rambo, you will find that there have been five Rambo films (5 games played and 5 wins) - which all have a combined runtime of 7.8 hours (7 hours payed) - and Rambo has not yet died in his films (0 deaths) and has killed, according to Fandom.com, exactly 552 people (552 kills). John McClane's tease is a bit more involved, as there is a brand new website - NakatomiDuctCleaning.com - that hints at his arrival. On Twitter, Call of Duty said "Air ducts are a complicated network of danger. If yours are in need of repair, call the best business at Nakatomi Duct Cleaning." For those unaware, Nakatomi Corporation was where McClane's estranged wife worked.

Stuck and need a helping hand? IGN has you covered in our complete guide to unlocking all alternate routes across the regions of Florio, Belusylva, Maricopia, and even more in New Pokemon Snap.

Here's a detailed breakdown of everything that happened to Selene during the main ending and (true) secret ending in Returnal.

Whether you're looking to complete Meganium's Pal or Hide-and-Seek in the Flowers, IGN has you covered in our step-by-step guide to completing all LenTalk Requests in New Pokemon Snap.

Here's a complete guide on finding all two Pigeon Blood Rubies, which are combined with the Necklace With Two Holes to create Dimitrescu's Necklace in Resident Evil Village.

The Witcher 3's PS5 and Xbox Series X/S next-gen upgrade may be implementing fan-made mods like The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project when it launches later this year. As reported by Kotaku, The Witcher 3 HD Reworked Project's creator Halk Hogan announced that he has been in talks with CD Projekt Red about including his mod in the upcoming release. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/02/the-future-of-cyberpunk-2077-the-witcher-on-ps5-xbox-series-x-next-gen-console-watch"] "Hello my dear friends! It’s been a long time since the last video," Hogan wrote. "I know I announced a new HDRP preview in early March but I was silent the whole time. Sorry for that. But in return, I have some good news, and the reasons why I was quiet and why I don’t have too much to show. "I think the most important news is that I got an official message from CDPR about cooperation. While it’s not certain yet, it’s very likely that HDRP will be included in the official next generation update. I will inform you what’s next.

Most notable RPGs from Japan and other countries in modern gaming get official translations for other territories at or soon after launch, but that wasn't always the case. There's a long lineage of RPGs whose well-known English translations stem from fans, not developers. From the proto-Persona Shin Megami Tensei: if… to the beloved tactical RPG Bahamut Lagoon, many of the most obscure, yet beloved, foreign-language RPGs of the '80s and '90s have been painstakingly translated into English by hard-working amateurs. The proliferation of this phenomena can be traced back to a handful of teenagers whose disagreements and messy ambition ultimately paved the way for one of the most notable fan-works of the 1990's: a working English hack of Final Fantasy V. Of the members of RPGe, the group credited with producing the hack, none of them better reflect the heady days of early fan translation than Derrick "Shadow" Sobodash, a lonely high-school student who didn't let his lack of technical expertise or Japanese knowledge stop him from tackling such a demanding project.

Castle Dimitrescu is full of secret treasure and collectibles - don't miss a single one with our complete guide to Resident Evil Village.

Here's where to find every Crsytabloom on all New Pokemon Snap islands, including Maricopia, to unlock all the Illumina Orbs.

On August 14 last year, just 24 hours after Fortnite was removed from the App Store over Epic's bypass of Apple's internal payment system, Epic launched Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite. The video, a parody of an old Apple ad from the titular year, positioned Epic as a hero fighting back against the Orwellian Big Brother Apple, destroying the "App Store Monopoly" with a sledgehammer. All of this was accompanied by the hashtag "#FreeFortnite" as a call to action to its playerbase: Fortnite, the beloved video game players love, was in danger. And Epic had arrived to stop the bad guys who wanted to take it away.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/13/fortnite-1984-apple-parody-video-short"]

The very put-together and professional-looking Nineteen Eighty-Fortnite did not come together as some kind of knee-jerk response to Apple doing something completely unexpected. The video was clearly a planned, calculated move from Epic, prepared months in advance in case Apple made the decision to show Fortnite the door. In fact, the entirety of #FreeFortnite and its associated video propaganda, in-game character skins, and competitions to win hats was a movement to turn public sentiment against Apple and force the multi-trillion-dollar corporation to do what the multi-billion-dollar corporation wanted it to do. With the game removed from mobile storefronts and smartphone players unable to play any longer, Epic wanted to make sure the audience knew who to blame. Epic, the sledgehammer-wielding hero, was here to beat up the mean ol' monopoly.

Days Gone is the latest PlayStation exclusive to head to the PC. Today, developer Bend Studio has shared some details about what settings players can expect to find on the PC version. Unfortunately, Days Gone on PC will not support DLSS or ray tracing. In an FAQ for Days Gone's PC version, Bend revealed that the upcoming PC release will not support Nvidia's Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology which uses deep learning to upscale lower-resolution images in real-time. It's a pretty cool bit of tech that increased frame rate substantially depending on the game. Likewise, ray-tracing won't be supported on PC either meaning the powerful light rendering techniques in new-gen systems will be absent on PC for Days Gone. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/03/25/days-gone-story-trailer"] However, Days Gone will boast a bunch of customizable options for PC. Everything from an increased level of detail, foliage draw distance, shadow quality, renders, textures, Field of View, and more will be scalable to varying degrees. Days Gone also supports 60 FPS or unlocked framerate as well as ultra-wide monitor support. PlayStation's last PC port, Horizon Zero Dawn, also lacked ray tracing and DLSS support, which was notable because Horizon ran on the Decima engine.

Resident Evil Village is officially available, and according to early players, it takes around 10 hours to beat. How does this compare to the other original numbered entries in the Resident Evil franchise? According to the Main Story completion on howlongtobeat.com, Resident Evil Village is the fourth-longest Resident Evil game behind Resident Evil 6's 21.5 hours, Resident Evil 4's 16 hours, and Resident Evil 5's 12 hours. That makes it longer than Resident Evil 7: Biohazard's 9 hours, Resident Evil and Resident Evil 3: Nemesis' 6.5 hours, and Resident Evil 2's 6 hours.

After Returnal’s previous major update resulted in players having their save files corrupted, developer Housemarque has announced that May 8’s patch will solve the issue.

Housemarque made the announcement Friday on Twitter. The Returnal 1.3.6 patch will go live on May 8 at 11 AM GMT/4 AM PDT, but warned players to still disable the auto-update feature on their PlayStation 5 in the meantime.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/04/29/returnal-review"]

Though Returnal received generally positive reviews for its blend of bullet-hell action and roguelike progression, including from IGN, a common criticism was that Returnal’s single-life runs could take upwards of two hours. That issue is compounded by the fact that you can’t save your game mid-run. The only way to theoretically “save” your progress is to put your PS5 in rest mode, but any auto-update applied to Returnal would result in your current run being wiped.

Housemarque released Returnal’s 1.3.3 patch on Wednesday, which contained a number of standard bug fixes, but unexpectedly resulted in players having their save files corrupted. At the time, the only way to fix the issue was to redownload Returnal. Housemarque quickly released a patch that reverted the game back to its 1.3.1 state.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/03/april-2021s-best-and-worst-reviewed-games-reviews-in-review"]

Now, Returnal’s 1.3.6 patch will also address a number of bugs and issues, including stability fixes, pre-order cosmetics blocking progress, incorrect healing behavior, custom controller mapping issues, and more.

Resident Evil Village is setting new records for the series on PC. According to Steam Database, it's currently sitting at 101,376 concurrent players, which is a new high-water mark for Resident Evil on Steam. It's enough to beat the Resident Evil 2, the previous record, by about 25,000 concurrent users. Resident Evil 2 topped out at 74,227 concurrent players, while Resident Evil 3 was able to attract just over 60,000 players. It's a far cry from 2017, when Resident Evil was considered to be a struggling series in some quarters, along with the rest of Capcom. It was in 2017 that Capcom released Resident Evil 7, and while it ultimately peaked at only about 20,000 users, it nevertheless set the stage for its comeback after the troubled release of Resident Evil 6. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/05/resident-evil-village-review"] Fast-forward to 2021, and Resident Evil Village is a major next-gen release that is enjoying strong reviews. We gave it an 8/10, calling it a "disturbing and deadly Disneyland" that may nevertheless disappoint due to its relative lack of psychological horror. If you're one of the 100,000 or so people who happens to be playing Resident Evil Village right now, you may find our guide on how to avoid Lady Dimitrescu of use, as well as some of our essential tips.

A few weeks ago, when a portion of Capcom's contract with Sony for Resident Evil Village circulated on social media thanks to ongoing digging into the Capcom data leak, a lot of folks got rather upset. To many who don't stare at legal documents for a living, a portion of these papers seemed to suggest Sony paid Capcom to make the game effectively worse on other consoles, holding back features so that the PS5 version would look good. Another tweet suggested that Sony paid to have the PC version of Monster Hunter World delayed.

It didn't take long for lawyers and other games industry experts to step in and reassure everyone that this was utter nonsense.

These accusations revolved around something called "parity clauses," a standard inclusion in many games industry contracts between platform holders like Sony, Xbox, Nintendo, and some of the PC game stores. Parity clauses are so boring that of the three legal experts and two publishers I asked for comment for this article, multiple were baffled I was asking at all, with one of them telling me that asking them about parity clauses was the equivalent of asking them if I had copper or PVC pipes under their sink, or asking them about the weather.

But while they are a standard part of the day-to-day for many games industry folks, understanding parity clauses does provide an interesting bit of insight into one of the ways publishers and platform holders try to protect their own businesses and ensure everyone playing their games has a good time regardless of platform.

For over a decade the Yakuza series has quietly thrived. But while it's been incredibly popular in its native Japan, it's been something of a niche series in North America. Yakuza's fanbase continued to grow, though, and in the past four years — starting with the critically-acclaimed Yakuza 0 — Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio [RGG Studio] has hit something of a breakthrough. Not only was Yakuza 0 mentioned in many Game of the Year conversations, RGG Studio released two updated remasters (Yakuza Kiwami 1 and 2), all the mainline Yakuza games on PC, and a new series called Judgment set in the same shared universe as Yakuza. In 2020 saw RGG Studio take the Yakuza series in a bold new direction. Yakuza: Like a Dragon introduced a new hero in Ichiban Kasuga as well as a new turn-based RPG gameplay format. The latter will be the norm for the series going forward, series creator Toshihiro Nagoshi says. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/07/lost-judgment-release-date-trailer"] "The Yakuza series has been transformed into a turn-based RPG," Nagoshi and producer Kazuki Hosokawa tell IGN in a joint written interview. For fans of the classic action gameplay, the style that defined the original games will live on through the Judgment series. "[RGG Studio] has accumulated resources and know-how of making flashy and exhilarating action games that are effortless to enjoy.

The nominees for the 23rd annual Independent Games Festival Awards have been announced, with Genesis Noir, Spiritfarer, and Umurangi Generation leading the pack.

Nominees for the Seamus McNally Grand Prize include Genesis Noir, Spiritfarer, Umurangi Generation, Paradise Killer, Teardown, and Chicory: A Colorful Tale.

Genesis Noir, a noir adventure game set just before the Big Bang, touts the most nominations of all, including Excellence in Audio, Narrative, and Visual Art. Umurangi Generation, the photography game set in a world inspired by real-life (and sci-fi) natural disasters, follows up with three nominations, including the Nuovo Award, which is focused on pushing the video game medium forward.

Blaseball, the absurdist sports game featuring a sentient peanut god, also gets some love in the Nuovo Award category and a few honorable mentions in others.

[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/05/04/umurangi-generation-release-date-trailer"]

The IGF Awards are traditionally held just minutes prior to the annual Game Developer Choice Awards. Winners will be announced on Wednesday, July 21 2021 at 4:30 PM PT. The awards will be streamed as part of a virtual event.

You can read the full list of nominees and honorable mentions below.

Seumas McNally Grand Prize

Paradise Killer (Kaizen Game Works)

Teardown (Tuxedo Labs)

Chicory: A Colorful Tale (The Chicory Team)

Genesis Noir (Feral Cat Den)

Game delays have become even more prevalent in 2021 as the pandemic has progressed, with productivity continuing to be affected by the logistical challenges and limitations of working from home. And with the pandemic still affecting how studios operate for the foreseeable future, that trend will likely continue throughout the year. To track the pandemic’s continued impact on game development, we’ve compiled a list of every game and notable DLC delay announced this year (so far). This article will be updated as more release dates and windows are inevitably pushed, but for now, here are all 25 delays announced in 2021. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=every-game-delay-announced-in-2021&captions=true"]

Outriders

• Delayed from February 2 to April 1, 2021

Developer People Can Fly announced the delay in early January, saying, “We have decided to move the release date of Outriders to April 1st 2021 (no joke!). We will spend this extra time fine tuning the game and focusing on delivering a fantastic play experience at launch.”

This is Outriders’ second delay; it was previously pushed from Holiday 2020 to February 2021.

BEYOND! IGN's weekly PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond! turns 700 next week, and we'd like to celebrate with the Beyond! listeners and viewers with a day of livestreamed festivities. So join us on Wednesday, May 12 at 10:30 am PT for a live Podcast Beyond! Episode 700. Join Jonathon Dornbush, Brian Altano, Lucy O'Brien, and Max Scoville for a rundown of the latest PlayStation news and impressions, a chance to send in questions the cast will answer live, and, probably, a Bloodborne reference.

How to Watch Podcast Beyond! Episode 700

You'll be able to watch the episode right here on IGN.com, as well as on two of our YouTube channels: IGN's main YouTube page, as well as the IGN Games page. And speaking of Bloodborne, the show doesn't stop when the episode ends. Stick around after episode 700 because at about 11:25 am PT the Beyond! crew will be filming episode 2 of their Bloodborne let's play series live! Jonathon hasn't played Bloodborne for over a year, so see how he adjusts while returning to Yharnam as Brian, Max, and Lucy guide him through, cheer him on, and bemoan his (most likely) many, many deaths. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/30/beyond-plays-bloodborne-episode-1"]

Podcast Beyond Episode 700 Air Date and Start Time

Can't watch live? Well don't worry, episode 700 will be available on VOD everywhere you can normally expect the show, both in audio and video formats, and the Bloodborne let's play will be available as a VOD following the day as well. The full schedule:

• 10:30 am PT: Podcast Beyond!

A Titanfall 2 speedrunner has reclaimed their throne after having their previous record beaten last week. Cash Mayo managed to speedrun Titanfall 2’s tutorial level, an infamously intricate bit of wallrunning and speed-boosting, in 11.1 seconds, beating Whatevershoe’s record of 11.2 seconds.

Reported first by PC Gamer, Cash Mayo managed the new record this past weekend, narrowly beating Whatevershoe’s recent record. Whatevershoe was originally aiming to beat Cash Mayo’s previous record of 11.7 seconds from 2019, so the room for error has gotten exponentially smaller and smaller as the record was revised.

It's nuts that, 5 years after the release of Titanfall 2, a player just broke the world record speedrun time for The Gauntlet during our recent Free Weekend.

Welcome back to IGN Game Scoop!, IGN's weekly video game podcast! This week your Omega Cops -- Daemon Hatfield, Tina Amini, Sam Claiborn, and Justin Davis -- are discussing topics like Returnal, Xbox's thoughts on The Last of Us Part 2 and Breath of the Wild 2, the best-selling Star Wars games, Flashback, and more. And, of course, they play Video Game 20 Questions. The music in this episode is from Flashback on Sega Genesis. Watch the video above or hit the link below to your favorite podcast service. Listen on: Apple Podcasts YouTube Spotify Stitcher   Find previous episodes here!

Don't get caught in the murderous claws of Resident Evil Village's vampire lady - use your guide to escape Lady Dimitrescu.

In a new trailer released today, Square Enix has confirmed that Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade will be exclusive to PlayStation 5 for at least six months. A graphic at the end of the “Final Trailer” for Final Fantasy 7 Remake Intergrade reveals that the game will remain exclusive to Sony’s console for at least the first six months after it releases. The trailer also showcases more of the new expanded story of the game, focusing particularly on the new Yuffie chapter and revealing some new boss fights, such as a new encounters against Scarlett in a combat-ready new Shinra mech suit. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/05/07/final-fantasy-7-remake-intergrade-final-trailer"] The exclusivity window is not entirely surprising given that the original release of Final Fantasy 7 Remake was exclusive to PS4, and also had a timed exclusivity deal in place. This approach seems to follow the trend of Sony striking exclusivity deals for Square Enix’s big titles, with Final Fantasy XVI and Forspoken also planning to launch first on PS5. It has not yet been revealed whether FF7 Remake Intergrade will be ported to Xbox or PC after the six month exclusivity window.