Gaming News

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 - The First Preview

Ever since I pitted my brand new Bulbasaur against my rival’s Charmander in the opening chapter of Pokémon Red, I’ve loved turn-based combat. But I know this style of battle isn’t for everyone. Plenty have skipped over the likes of Baldur’s Gate 3, Persona 5, and Marvel’s Midnight Suns because of the slower, more managerial-like pace of turn-based combat. Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 wants to provide the solution to those issues. The upcoming RPG has plenty of smart ideas that aim to evolve turn-based battles, transforming them from baton-passing attack sequences to thrilling, skill-based conflicts. I recently met with developer Sandfall Interactive to watch creative director Guillaume Broche play through just under an hour of Clair...

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Metaphor ReFantazio Is a Brilliant Evolution of Persona And SMT

From each character’s magical awakening and all the RPG mechanics it opens, to the social sim elements that feed into how you interact with the world, Metaphor ReFantazio is clearly adopting the Persona formula – but it’s doing so for something seemingly bigger in scope from both a gameplay and storytelling perspective. After playing about five hours of Atlus’ upcoming RPG, it’s extremely apparent how it’s leveraging the strengths of its previous games to think outside the confines of traditional fantasy and create something wholly unique. And as much as I love Persona, it’s about damn time we’ve had a game of this style that goes beyond the classroom walls and halls of high school. No matter which way you cut it, Metaphor is a...

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The Biggest Single-Player Game of the Year Already Has a Discount for PC

One of the year's biggest games has a nice little discount at the moment for PC players. Right now at Green Man Gaming, you can score Black Myth: Wukong (both the Standard and Digital Deluxe Edition) for 10% off. This has dropped the Standard Edition's price down to $53.99 (see here at GMG) and the Digital Deluxe Edition down to $62.99 (see here at GMG). Considering how much this game has been blowing up on Steam, helping lift the platform up to 37 million concurrent players for the first time in its history, it's well worth picking up for your library. Check out these excellent deals at the links below before they're gone. Black Myth: Wukong Is 10% Off at Green Man Gaming In our Black Myth: Wukong review, our reviewer Mitchell...

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How About Metal Gear Solid 4 in Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2? ‘Stay Tuned,’ Konami Says

With Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater due out later in 2024, and Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 1 nearly a year old, thoughts have inevitably turned to what’s next for the Metal Gear series from franchise custodian Konami. In June last year, fans spotted that inspecting the Metal Gear Solid timeline page on the official Metal Gear Solid website revealed placeholder buttons for Metal Gear Solid 4, Metal Gear Solid 5, and Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker — three games IGN understands will indeed form a part of the unannounced Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection Vol. 2. While the entire collection will no doubt excite Metal Gear fans, it’s the inclusion of Metal Gear Solid 4 that’s of most interest. Kojima Productions' 2008...

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Union Staff at Call of Duty Developer Raven Software File 'Bad Faith Bargaining' Complaint Against Activision and Microsoft

Employees at Call of Duty studio Raven Software, who formed the first Activision Blizzard union in 2022, have filed a complaint against the developer, Activision, and new parent company Microsoft. According to Game File, the workers filed a complaint with the U.S. National Labor Relations Board under categories including Refusal to Bargain/Bad Faith Bargaining, Changes in Terms and Conditions of Employment, and Concerted Activities (Retaliation, Discharge, Discipline). "After Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard, our members were optimistic that they would progress quickly to a first contract at Raven Software,” Communications Workers of America (CWA) president Claude Cummings Jr. said. “Unfortunately, that has not...

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Greedfall 2 Developers Are Going on Strike, Allege Studio Management Treats Workers Like ‘Galley Slaves’

The developers of upcoming fantasy role-playing game Greedfall 2 have announced plans to strike in protest of management just a few weeks before the game comes out. Paris-based studio Spiders, which also developed Steelrising and The Technomancer, published an open letter signed by 44 of the 95 staff to studio management including CEO Anne Devouassoux. Spiders is wholly owned by publisher Nacon, which IGN has asked for comment. The open letter details “several years of known problems, which have been greatly amplified over the past year with the arrival of the current head of the company: instability, opposition to anticipating problems and securing working conditions, global mismanagement, turnover and recruitment problems...

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Square Enix to Double Down on Xbox Releases, Final Fantasy 14 Producer Says

Final Fantasy 16 producer and 14 director Naoki Yoshida has said Square Enix is looking to double down on Xbox releases, after its focus on PlayStation exclusivity led to a financial dip. Yoshida told Eurogamer that Final Fantasy 14's recent release on Xbox was met with a "really strong response" and is just the "starting point" for more Square Enix games to launch on the platform. "With Final Fantasy 14's release on Xbox, [Microsoft Gaming CEO] Phil Spencer spent a lot of his time and a lot of effort and put in a lot of hard work into making it a reality," Yoshida said. "So we would like to make the best of that and further deepen the relationship with Xbox gamers moving forward." We do want to release more Square Enix games on...

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Very Early Crysis Next Gameplay Reveals Unannounced Battle Royale Project Seemingly Canceled in Favor of Crysis 4

It appears that Crysis developer Crytek was at one point working on a battle royale-inspired Crysis project codenamed Crysis Next. Very early gameplay, which hit YouTube last week, shows third-person shooting in a basic warm-up arena with Crysis’ trademark abilities and sound effects layered on top. Crytek is working to remove the footage from YouTube, with videos now displaying a message that confirms a copyright claim by the company. However, some remain live at the time of publication. Crytek never announced Crysis Next, and it appears it was canceled in favor of Crysis 4, which was announced in January 2022. Crytek declined to comment when contacted by IGN. Given the battle royale boom sparked by PUBG and Fortnite in the late...

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Worldwide Release Cancelled for Amazon Games’ Live-Service MMO Blue Protocol

Bandai Namco has confirmed today that the Japanese version of its anime-inspired MMORPG Blue Protocol will be “discontinued” on January 18, 2025. As a result, Bandai Namco also clarified that this also means any plans to release the game outside of Japan have now been cancelled. “We have enjoyed a strong relationship with Amazon Games throughout the development of Blue Protocol, and both of our teams are disappointed that we will not be able to deliver the game to players around the world,” the company said in a statement published on the Bandai Namco website. “We have worked hard to prepare for the release; however, we have come to the conclusion that it will not be possible to provide a service that satisfies all of you.”...

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Two Freebie Lord of the Rings AAAs, 80% Off Some Delistings, Space Marine 2 Savings, and More!

The prices have changed. I feel it in the water. I feel it in the earth. I smell it in the air. Or, to put it another way, for the cost of a free (cancellable) Prime Gaming sign-up, you can totally score two Lord of the Rings games for nada. LEGO Lord of the Rings and Shadow of Mordor GOTY are absolutely worth the account setup time. Get amongst it and thank me later. In retro news, I’m frosting “26” on a cake for Tombi! (a.k.a Tomba!), a PS One platformer classic. As a gromet, I first played this quirky little 2.5D gem via a demo disc stuck to Official PlayStation Magazine Australia (a masthead I would go on to edit 12 years later). I’m happy to report that the unique piggybacking, pig-chucking, and non-linear “event” questing...

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ConcernedApe Explains Why He Really Wants Pam in a Potential Stardew Valley Crossover With Fortnite

Stardew Valley is no stranger to nods to other games. Among other references, Patch 1.6 has a well-placed Terraria easter egg. Nevertheless, Stardew Valley has never really appeared in another games, though creator Eric Barone aka ConcernedApe definitely has some ideas in that front. In a Discord conversation shared by Panedwards on X/Twitter, Barone talks about the possibility of a Stardew Valley collaboration, acknowledging that he's open to a crossover and saying that he would love to have Pam in particular in Fortnite. "It doesn't have to be Pam though, I would be open to anything," Barone adds. "Abigail & Sebatian could be good. Stardrop or Joja Cola item? Galaxy sword or slingshot?" All of these items would be fun additions...

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The Harry Potter 8-Film Collection in 4K and Blu-Ray Just Dropped To Its Lowest Price

The Harry Potter movies are some of my favorite movies of all time. I grew up reading the books and was young enough when the movies first started coming out to be in awe of the magic of the story I loved coming to life on the big screen. Even years after the final film hit theaters, I still binge watch the films at least once a year. And though I usually stream all of the movies on Max, I also currently own the 8-film collection in 4K just in case they ever move to a streaming service I don't have. If you're looking to purchase that same collection for yourself, I've got some good news for you: Amazon has just dropped the price significantly. You can currently get all 8 movies in 4K UHD and Blu-ray for just $59.99 during the Amazon...

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Star Wars Outlaws Patch 1.000.002 Is Stranding Some PS5 Players in Space, Forcing Them to Start New Saves

A hefty Star Wars Outlaws update coming in at 8.5gb was released on PS5 last night, bringing with it a 40fps mode and bug fixes. But it's causing problems for some PS5 players who have already made progress into Ubisoft's sandbox Star Wars game. In the wake of releasing Star Wars Outlaws Patch 1.000.002, Ubisoft sent the following message to some players warning them that they may encounter issues with their current save if they were playing on an older version. The progression blockers that Ubisoft alludes to sees some players stranded in space after completing a certain games. Players on social media have reported encountering the progress block and having to start new games as a result. "I just got this email this morning, wish...

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 PC Requirement Revealed

Activision has detailed the PC system requirements for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 ahead of its closed beta test this weekend. The publisher revealed the minimum and recommended specifications in a post on its website. Essentially, playing Black Ops 6 will require nearly the same hardware as what was needed with last year’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. That includes the storage required to download the game, which calls for an SSD with 149GB of space. It’s still a lot of room on any kind of device, but at least it’s better than the 300GB rumor that floated around earlier this year. Players can also still cling to the promise that Activision will continue working on customizable download options ahead of the full launch in October...

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Star Wars Outlaws Interactive Maps Are Now Available

IGN's Star Wars Outlaws maps are here! Our interactive maps track essential locations across Akiva, Kijimi, Tatooine, and Toshara, including Main Quests and Side Quests for those wanting to complete every objective. They also show Treasures and Collectibles, so you know exactly where to go to find loot. Star Wars Outlaws Interactive Maps The available map filters for our Akiva, Kijimi, Tatooine, and Toshara Star Wars Outlaws interactive maps include: Locations, such as Landmarks, Compounds, and Imperial Compounds. Collectibles, including Nix Treasures, Jet's Journals, and Treasures. Items, including locations for Containers, Speeder Trophies, and Clothing. Quests, such as Intel, Faction Quests, Key Part Intel, and Main Quests. Other...

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Project Dragon Renamed Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, Releasing in Spring 2025 - Nintendo Direct

The previously teased new Rune Factory game, Project Dragon finally has an official name and release window, thanks to a Nintendo Partner Direct today. It's now called Rune Factory: Guardians of Azuma, and it's coming out in spring of next year. Guardians of Azuma takes place in, well, Azuma, a land that underwent something called the "Celestial Collapse" some time ago. Since that time, the four seasons have yet to return to the land. You play as a hero who awakens with no memories and is greeted by Woolby, a creature with a connection to the dragon god. As an earth dancer, your job is to restore nature to Azuma and bring back the missing runes. It's Rune Factory, so you'll spend a lot of time sprucing up a farm and various other...

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Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 Post-Launch Roadmap Includes New Maps, a Horde Mode, and More

Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2 developer Saber Interactive has finally confirmed what fans can expect from its seasonal post-launch content model. The hotly anticipated action game launches in September, and during that time Saber plans to release various patches aimed at fixing issues players report. After that, Season Pass owners can expect a drip-feed of content and cosmetics based on specific Space Marine chapters. “The Season Pass has been envisioned as a way to enhance your customisation for your character,” Saber stressed. “All the gameplay additions listed here in the roadmap (including weapons, game modes, and maps) are intended to arrive in free game patches and will be accessible to everyone.” Season 2 runs from October...

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Nintendo Direct August 2024: Everything Announced

The August 27, 2024 Nintendo Direct has now finished and IGN has you covered with the biggest and best news (and everything else) revealed. This two-in-one showcase, which began with an Indie World Showcase and ended with a Partner Showcase, began at 7am Pacific / 10am Eastern / 3pm UK and featured roughly 40 minutes of announcements on games coming to the Nintendo Switch. Fans hoping for news on the next Nintendo console should set their expectations low, however, as the company made no mention of the highly anticipated Nintendo Switch successor. Yakuza Kiwami Coming to Nintendo Switch in October The (remake of the) first Yakuza game is coming to Nintendo Switch after the series was absent on the platform for years. Revealed...

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Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster Reemerges with a March Release Date

After an unexpected delay and quietly vanishing for a year, Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster has reemerged with a new release date of March 6, 2025. In today's Nintendo Partner Direct, we got a new look at the remastered collection, whose full title is Suikoden 1 & 2 HD Remaster: Gate Dawn and Dunan Unification Wars. The trailer highlighted two new features being added in the remaster, the ability to speed up combat to 2x and 4x speeds, and an auto-battle button. Suikoden 1 and 2 HD Remaster was first announced back in 2022 with a plan for a 2023 release date. At the time, we learned that the game would be getting a significant visual overhaul with new screen effects, pixel sprites, and environment art. All character portraits have been...

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Wario Land-Inspired Platformer Pizza Tower Finally Hits Nintendo Switch… Today | Nintendo Direct

Pizza Tower launches on Switch today, as revealed during Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase. The fast-paced 2D platformer inspired by the Wario Land series launched on PC last year, but finally arrives on Switch today, August 27. You play as Peppino Spaghetti, a manic pizza man with many abilities like charging, super jumping and dashing. IGN’s Pizza Tower review returned a 9/10. We said: “Pizza Tower is a blisteringly fast 2D platformer with an unmistakable art style and unforgettable soundtrack that transcends its Wario Land inspirations and finds its own identity as one of the most energetic, fun, and creative 2D platformers in recent memory.” For more, check out everything announced during Nintendo Direct August 2024. Wesley is...

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Balatro Friends of Jimbo Deals a Hand of Collaborations With Witcher, Among Us, and More

Today, Nintendo's Indie World Showcase opened with a treat for Balatro fans. The game is getting collaborations with four exciting properties later today in the new Friends of Jimbo update: The Witcher, Vampire Survivors, Dave the Diver, and Among Us. The collaborations appear to contain themed decks with cards styled after characters from each game, potentially with exciting new effects. The Dave the Diver deck, for instance, changes the number cards to fruit, and the Among Us deck seems to include death animations for playing certain hands. Given the nature of Balatro, it's possible that some of the new additions are cards with interesting twists. The trailer was short, so it's not quite clear the extent to which each theme...

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Visions of Mana Review

It would be an understatement to say that Visions of Mana has high expectations to live up to. There hasn’t been a main entry in the Mana series in nearly 20 years, with only spin-offs and 3D remakes of older games tiding fans over in the meantime. But thankfully, the wait was worth it. Although there are a few glaring flaws, Visions of Mana successfully brings the series into the modern age with excellent combat and class systems, as well as a new cast of likable characters. It's not only a great Mana game, but it’s become one of my personal favorite JRPGs in years. If I could sum up my impressions of Visions of Mana’s storytelling in its opening acts with one word, it would be “simple” – and I mean that as a compliment. I’m a big...

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Black Myth: Wukong Lifts Steam to 37 Million Concurrent Players for First Time

More than 37 million players were online on Steam for the first time in the PC platform's history thanks to the raging success of Black Myth: Wukong. As reported by PC Gamer, Steam hit a new record number of concurrent players on August 25, 2024, as exactly 37,266,324 users were online at once according to player tracking website SteamDB. The popularity of Steam is always increasing gradually but this spike in players, taking it from around 34 million during most of July and early August to the eventual 37 million number, coincided with the record-breaking release of Black Myth: Wukong. The action role-playing game set within Chinese mythology and the famous story Journey to the West launched to an enormous 2,223,179 concurrent...

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The Best Worms Game Looks Set for a New Version After Yet Another Ratings Leak

Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition appears set for an announcement after a rating for the game popped up online. Gematsu spotted Worms Armageddon: Anniversary Edition for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch via a rating in Taiwan. Worms Armageddon, which is still available today across multiple storefronts, is considered by many to be the best Worms game ever made. Team17’s 1999 turn-based strategy classic launched for PC before getting PlayStation, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Color ports. Players control a team of up to eight earthworms and must defeat the enemy team using everything from melee weapons to airstrikes. It’s unclear what this Anniversary Edition will add to the...

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The Mythical Creatures Of Black Myth: Wukong

Dragons, double-headed rats and blood-drinking sword-wielding tigers; Black Myth: Wukong is filled with fantastical creatures for the staff-swinging simian protagonist to confront in battle across dense jungles, dusty mountains and temple ruins. Known as Yaoguai, the monsters you’ll encounter have their origin in Chinese mythology and are especially inspired by the classical novel Journey to the West. Here’s a look at some of the mythical creatures you’ll discover in the early game… Multiple Monkeys Journey to the West’s most well known character is arguably Sun Wukong, the monkey king who joins the monk on his pilgrimage to retrieve sacred buddhist texts in the Chinese novel. For English audiences, the 1942 abridged translation by...

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NBA 2K25 Reveals Its Top 10 Best Players

NBA 2K has revealed the top 10 players and ratings featured in NBA 2K25, a list which includes the Denver Nuggets' Nikola Jokić, the Los Angeles Lakers' LeBron James, and the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry. The full list of players arrived via the NBA itself, which confirmed reigning Most Valuable Player Jokić has retained his position at the top, but slipped from a 98 overall to a 97 overall (perhaps after the Nuggets lost in the Western Conference Semi Finals after winning the NBA Championship last year). This puts him in a shared first place with two other Europeans at 97 overall: Luka Dončić of the 2024 Western Conference Champions Dallas Mavericks, and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks. Both are up from last...

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Looks Like Sony Leaked the LEGO Horizon Adventures Release Date by Mistake

It looks like Sony accidentally published the LEGO Horizon Adventures release date on the PlayStation website. Gematsu reports that redditor foreveryoung1108 spotted a November 14 release date for the PlayStation 5, PC, and Nintendo Switch spin-off on the PlayStation website. That release date is no longer live. Current speculation is that the release date is set to be announced during today’s Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase, which follows Nintendo’s Indie World Showcase due to kick off at 7am PT/10am ET. LEGO Horizon Adventures has appeared at prior Nintendo showcase events, most recently June’s Nintendo Direct, so it would make sense that a release date would pop up today. LEGO Horizon Adventures is an action adventure game...

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Monster Jam Showdown Review

If you’re on the hunt for an impractically large, American truck that doesn’t run on conventional fuel and looks ridiculous, are you going to go with a stainless steel Tesla triangle that wants to eat your fingers, or would you opt for an 11-foot tall, methanol-powered brute that can do literal backflips? I know which one I’d choose. If my friends and family are going to dunk on me for driving a truck that looks deeply unserious, it’s going to be because it’s dressed like a spooky pirate. Monster Jam Showdown is equally devoted to these five-ton doofuses shaped like dogs and dinosaurs. While it’s very modest in scope, developer Milestone has injected this family-friendly racer with an enjoyably drift-heavy driving feel, a wild range...

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A Reduced PlayStation Portal, Lowest Credit Deals on Outlaws, a Cheap Standalone PS VR2, and More!

Welcome back, potential spacefarers, to a Star Wars Outlaws Tuesday of (inter)stellar bargains. Word is, it's pretty decent; my learned local colleague 7'ed it, and we're orbiting a 77 on Metacritic. Speaking personally, I clocked it and instantly felt Force Pulled back into reloading for a side activities mop up. When you're as time poor as I am, that result is rarer than Endorian hen's teeth. In retro news, I’m celebrating the 15th birthday of Punch-Out!!, a knockout of a revival that socked well above its weight on Wii. I have vivid memories of having to import an EU version of this (due to a weird delay for the Aussie market) in order to write the first in-magazine player’s guide for this region. Ultimately, Little Mac’s slugfest...

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Black Myth: Wukong Mod Brings Dragon Ball Z Connections Full Circle and Lets You Play as Goku

Dragon Ball has many inspirations, none more notable than Journey to the West — the famous Chinese novel that also served as the basis for Black Myth: Wukong. Now Dragon Ball Z and Black Myth: Wukong are being united thanks to a new mod that replaces The Destined One with Son Goku. The new mod is a relatively straightforward swap — no kamehameha or going Super Saiyan here — but it is pretty neat to see Goku running around Black Myth: Wukong's incredibly detailed world. He can even zip around on the equivalent of the Flying Nimbus, the magic cloud that itself was borrowed from Journey to the West and appears in Black Myth: Wukong. Check it out in the video below. You can download the Son Goku Black Myth: Wukong mod right here. Aside...

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