Gaming News

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Goes Free via Amazon Prime

Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is one of three extra games to be offered to Amazon Prime members at no additional cost on Tuesday, July 16 and Wednesday, July 17. Rocksteady’s controversial DC-themed live-service shooter joins Chivalry 2 and Rise of the Tomb Raider as Epic Games Store games available to download for a limited time: for 48 hours only from July 16 at 12am PT / 3am ET. It’s worth noting Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, which is the version offered here, includes the base game and Season Pass content. But Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is the headline as it goes free via Prime Gaming half a year after launch and hot on the heels of the delay of Season 2, which adds Mrs. Freeze as a playable...

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Final Day Steam Sale Deals, Mad Drops on PS First-party Must Owns, Logi Wheel Reductions, and More!

Every once in a while, I spot a discount that makes me double-take. Like, today's God of War for 12 bucks...how did we even get to this level of sheer bargainry? Unleashed on an unsuspecting public in 2018—though it looks like it hasn't aged many days at all, thanks to a PS5 patch—this absolute GOTY magnet is a steal at this price. And hey—don't even get me started on the dollars-per-hour value of Witcher 3 GOTY for 28 clams... In retro news, I'm marking the 21st of SOCOM U.S. Navy SEALs, a Clancy-like franchise-starter that's gone the way of the dodo. Though clunky by today's standards—to the point where it feels like you and your 3 AI squaddies move like gravy seals—there was a lot I loved about this third-person shooter back then...

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PlayStation Plus Game Catalog Additions for July 2024 Revealed

Sony has revealed the full line-up of PlayStation Plus Games Catalog additions for July2024, which includes Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion, Jackbox Party Pack 9, and more. Announced on the PlayStation Blog, a total of 13 games are joining the library, and they're all available at the PlayStation Plus Extra tier. They'll be available July 16, 2024. This is one of the more varied line-ups in recent months, as alonogside fantasy role-playing games like Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion comes beloved shooter Remnant 2, party game extraveganza Jackbox Party Pack 9, and more. PlayStation Plus Games Catalog Additions for July 2024 Remnant 2 | PS5 Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 Reunion | PS4 + PS5 Mount and Blade 2: Bannerlord | PS4...

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Best VR Headset in 2024

Combining quality VR and affordability, the Meta Quest 3 is our favorite VR headset you can buy in 2024, but there are plenty of powerful alternatives that deliver an incredibly immersive experience. To help guide you to the right VR experience for you, we've gathered our top picks below based on our own hands-on testing and reviews. These are the Best VR Headsets for 2024: Meta Quest 3 - Best Overall Meta Quest 2 - Best Budget Option Apple Vision Pro - Best Augmented Reality PlayStation VR2 - Best for PS5 HTC Vive XR Elite - Best Wireless Option Valve Index - Best High-End Option HTC Vive Pro 2 - Best Resolution The best VR headsets offer advanced tracking, six degrees of freedom (6DoF), and high resolutions. Apple has even thrown...

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Elden Ring’s Igon on Recording His Role in the Erdtree DLC and Meeting Miyazaki: ‘It Was Epic in There’

Richard Charles Lintern remembers what it was like to meet Hidetaka Miyazaki. Though he had never heard of the man until the day he recorded his voice role in Elden Ring, the game director made one heck of an impression: “I walked in the [recording studio], and there were at least 12 or 15 people in the room,” Lintern recalls. “Mr. [Hidetaka] Miyazaki was there. So we shook hands, but he largely didn't communicate with me in English. Other people did…a man called Adam Chapman, who was the voice director on the piece for me, works with a company called Fire Poets – I want to sing his praises just for a moment or two, because it's quite intimidating when you walk into that room and there is clearly a god of the gaming world there...

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Sonic Boss Wants to Make a Sonic RPG Before He Retires

Sonic Team studio head Takashi Iizuka wants to make a Sonic the Hedgehog role-playing game "at some point" before he retires from Sega. In an interview with Good Vibes Gaming, Iizuka was asked if he would work on a Sonic RPG in the future, and said he was interested in doing so and shocked Sonic Team had yet to do it. "Personally, I really like role-playing games," Iizuka said. "The RPG game format is a lot of fun, and I've even thought to myself, 'You know, for the past 30 years, we haven't done a Sonic RPG.' And I'm questioning myself. 'Why haven't we done a Sonic RPG in all this time? How have we gotten to 30 years with no RPGs?!'" Iizuka said he would "hopefully" get to work on a Sonic RPG before he retires from Sega, but made...

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Black State Announced: Metal Gear Meets Portal in a Stunning Next-Gen Action-Adventure

Developer Motion Blur has announced Black State, a visually stunning new third-person action-adventure that, if the gorgeous announcement trailer is accurate, mixes the espionage action of Metal Gear Solid with the reality-bending portal tech of Portal. It's powered by Unreal Engine 5 and in development for PC. After watching Black State's completely in-game trailer (seriously, watch it above), we asked the developers at Turkey-based Motion Blur a few questions about the project. First, what the story is about: "A former military legend is summoned for a mysterious mission: to rescue a captive scientist and uncover the truth behind a cataclysmic event. The mission, assigned by enigmatic Architects, is shrouded in uncertainty as some...

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NBA 2K25 Puts NBA Champ Jayson Tatum and WNBA Champ A’ja Wilson on Cover, Launches September

Boston Celtics star and 2024 NBA champion Jayson Tatum will grace the cover of NBA 2K25, and is joined by WNBA champion A’ja Wilson on the special All-Star Edition. 2K Games also announced a September 6, 2024 on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series, Nintendo Switch, and PC. NBA Legend Vince Carter will be the cover star for the chunky NBA 2K25 Hall of Fame Edition. Ball Over Everything is the slogan for NBA 2K25, which puts an NBA and WNBA player on the same cover for the first time ever. Tatum called his appearance on the cover "humbling" even after winning the NBA Championship with the Boston Celtics, while back-to-back WNBA champion, two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player, and six-time WNBA All-Star Wilson said her appearance is a...

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The Best Games Like Flintlock: The Seige of Dawn

Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn is releasing later this month and promises to bring a slightly lighter, more accessible touch to the burgeoning Soulslike genre. Although it’s arguably the first game to be marketed as Souls-lite, it shares enough of its tougher namesake genre’s DNA to enable us to hand-pick out some of the best […] Continue reading...

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Everything You Need To Know About Concord

Concord combines the hyperkinetic ferocity of Overwatch with the roguish intergalactic shenanigans of Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy and a real focus on story progression to create a fresh entry into the increasingly crowded hero shooter genre. If you’re tired of the current crop of hero shooters, Concord looks set to bring enough to reinvigorate […] Continue reading...

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 a Hot Topic as Microsoft Hikes Xbox Game Pass Prices

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is a hot topic in the wake of Microsoft announcing it will increase the price of Xbox Game Pass and introduce a new standard tier which doesn't include day one releases. Microsoft announced on July 9, 2024 that it's raising the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate worldwide and specifically from $16.99 to $19.99 a month in the U.S. Price changes go into effect for new members on July 10, 2024 and for existing members on September 12, 2024. The more basic $10.99 Xbox Game Pass Console tier is "soon" being replaced with Xbox Game Pass Standard too — a $14.99 option which doesn't include the beloved day one release feature, "specific entries to the Game Pass Ultimate library," access to EA Play, Xbox Cloud Gaming...

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Palworld Dev Signs Deal With Sony to Form Palworld Entertainment and Expand the IP

The developer of Palworld has signed a deal with Sony to form a new business called Palworld Entertainment to capitalize on the breakout success of the video game by expanding the IP. Japan-based Pocketpair announced a joint venture with Sony Music Entertainment in Japan and Aniplex to establish Palworld Entertainment “for the purpose of accelerating the multifaceted global development of Palworld and its further expansion.” This is not a publishing deal for Palworld the video game, or an acquisition by Sony, rather an attempt to make the most of the game’s huge popularity with non-video game products, such as merchandise and music. The newly formed business, headed up by Pocketpair CEO Takuro Mizobe, is responsible for global...

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Under Ten Buck Bangers on Steam, Ferrari Wheel Deals Going Fast, Capcom's 60% Off Sale, and More!

I've fallen in love all over again. The object of my re-affections is Ghost of Tsushima (the PC director's cut, specifically), but there's also a damn fine discount on the PS edition today. Please, if it somehow passed you by, give it a crack. Gorgeous-looking. Great characters and plot. The ability to insta-kill multiple idiots with a quickdraw mechanic. What more do you even need? In retro news, I've baked a big "12" cake for Tokyo Jungle, a PS3 cult-hit that's criminally under-loved and under-remastered. How can I explain this to you in a way that doesn't make it sound like a fever dream? Humans have just vanished overnight, and it's every city-based animal—cat, dog, bird, race horse, zoo-escaped lion—for itself. Yep, it's...

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Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail Review

Just as Endwalker opened with you and the crew setting sail for the distant city of Old Sharlayan, Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion kicks off with a long cruise to a place we’ve never been before. But instead of connecting with a long-referenced society, you step into an entire region no one from Eorzea knows very much about. From the outset, venturing into the Mesoamerican and Latin American-inspired land of Tural might lead you to believe that this is a summer vacation for a band of heroes that has saved entire realms from calamity. However, I can assure you that whatever you thought Dawntrail was, that’s exactly what it’s not. It’s the start of a new era for the MMO, and the growing pains of that transition can be apparent at...

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Shift 87, a New "Horror Observation" Game, Announced for PC

Developer Pixelsplit and publisher Daedalic Entertainment have revealed Shift 87, a new "horror observation" game in which you must find all 66 anomalies before your shift ends, lest you be lost in a void of your own paranoia forever. It's due to be released on July 23 for PC (via Steam). Pixelsplit suggests that "50% of the anomalies may be creepy, but easy to spot - the other 50% are more subtle and easy to miss." Check out the announcement trailer above, as well as the first screenshots in the gallery below. Gameplay-wise, the 2-3 hour runs look as follows: "Environment Familiarization: Navigate through each level and memorize it. Deviation Detection: Spot any deviations as you're sent through altered versions of the same...

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Ys X: Nordics Hands-On – Adol’s Next Adventure is Filled with Action, Vikings, and Boats

Per the series’ longstanding tradition, Ys X: Nordics, the latest chapter in the long-running action-RPG saga starring Adol Christin, has left fans in the West waiting quite a long time before they can get in on the fun. Thankfully, that wait is about to end, and after an hour hopping between various sections of the game to check out its dual-combatant action, get a taste of its all-important story, and even try my hands at the new naval battle system, I’m inclined to think this seafaring tale might end up being worth the customary localization delay. By swapping out the usual larger party seen in recent Ys games for just two characters, Nordics benefits from a more focused experience, whether that be its action-packed combat or its...

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Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Season 2 Delayed Just Two Days Before Launch

Rocksteady Studios is delaying the release date of Suicide Squad Season 2, days before the new content was set to go live. In a post on X/Twitter, the official account for the game revealed that it was "adjusting the release timing" for the next season from July 11 to July 25. The second season of Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will introduce Mrs. Freeze as a playable character, in addition to a new map, new weapons, and two "episodes" titled Frozen Hearts and Winter. It is the second of four seasons planned as post-launch content for the game following its release in late January. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League's second season receiving a delay comes as the game has struggled with player retention following its...

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Vampire Survivors Comes to Apple Arcade Ad Free in August

Apple Arcade is adding Vampire Survivors to its collection at no extra cost on August 1, 2024 — and it's ad free. Apple announced the addition of Vampire Survivors+ as a version with both premium expansions included at no extra cost. The complete removal of ads is perhaps what makes this version most appealing, however, giving it a leg up on the version of the gothic rogue-lite game already available on mobile. "Mow thousands of night creatures and survive until dawn in Vampire Survivors, a gothic horror game with rogue-lite elements, where your choices can allow you to quickly snowball against the hundreds of monsters that get thrown at you," reads the official synopsis. Vampire Survivors became one of the biggest surprise hits of...

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Twitch Streamer MissMikkaa Beats Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC Using a Dance Mat For a Controller

Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for the Elden Ring, Shadow of the Erdtree DLC's final boss. Elden Ring Twitch streamer MissMikkaa has become the first person to complete Shadow of the Erdtree while using a dance mat as a controller, overcoming the DLC’s brutal final boss on the 52nd try. Shadow of the Erdtree is already gaining a reputation for being a phenomenally challenging piece of DLC, even by FromSoftware’s characteristically difficult standards. However, its fearsome nature hasn’t stopped a select group of exceptionally talented streamers from going above and beyond to make it even harder for themselves by playing with their very own jury-rigged controllers. For example, last week saw legendary doot champion...

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Some Star Wars Outlaws Planets Can Be Crossed in 4 or 5 Minutes on a Speeder

Three of the five planets in Star Wars Outlaws can be crossed in four or five minutes while riding a speeder, Ubisoft has said. Speaking to IGN as part of a larger interview, creative director Julian Gerighty reiterated the planets — Tatooine, a Toshara moon, Akiva, Kijimi, and Cantonica — will be around the size of two or three zones in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and confirmed "Toshara is very close in size to Akiva and Tatooine; I think Tatooine may be a little bit larger." When then asked how long it would take protagonist Kay Vess to ride from one end of Tosharra to the other side on her speeder, Gerighty gave the four or five minute answer, which will seemingly apply to Akiva and Tatooine too since they're around the same size...

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Star Wars Outlaws Wants to Be Your Dream 'Open Galaxy' - IGN First

“I think, in general, making games is really tough. Making open-world games is really, really tough. And making Star Wars open-world games is the next level of difficulty.” Julian Gerighty, creative director at Massive Entertainment, is up for a challenge. For the first time ever, we’re getting a fully open-world Star Wars video game. It’s been a long time coming, but after back-to-back successes with both The Division and The Division 2, Gerighty was in the mood to take a risk. “I think this is maybe just my approach, but even if it's scary, you've got to do it,” he says. “You've got to lean into it. What's the downside to pitching a Star Wars game in San Francisco at LucasFilm Games in George Lucas' old office? [...] If it doesn't...

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Helldivers 2’s New CEO Wants to Keep the Game’s Best Bug Yet

Helldivers 2 players have discovered a quite fantastic bug that prevents them from taking fall damage — and the new CEO of developer Arrowhead wants it to stay. As surfaced by redditor Chunke-Funke-Monke, Helldivers 2 emoting actually reduces fall damage. It’s true: perform an emote while you’re falling from a height you'd typically die from and you'll reduce the damage you’d normally take and survive. Why does this happen? The theory is that Helldivers 2 applies its physics model to fall damage as it does across the game. That is, the game works out which part of your body you’ve landed on and determines damage accordingly. It makes sense! A bang on the head is probably going to be fatal, but you might survive a bang on your butt…...

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Elden Ring Co-Op Pair ‘Let Us Duo Her’ Have Figured Out a Way to Cheese One of the Game's Toughest Bosses

An enterprising pair of Elden Ring players going by the name “Let Us Duo Her” have invented a new method for cheesing one of Elden Ring’s toughest bosses, using a simple combination of weapons and techniques introduced by the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC. Malenia, Blade of Miquella is without doubt one of the toughest bosses offered up by Elden Ring’s based game, featuring a range of lightning swift sword strokes and rot-infused attacks that work in concert to melt the player’s health bar while frustratingly regenerating her own. Now, a pair of players have taken to Reddit to reveal a new — and vaguely humiliating — method of cheesing the troublesome boss by harnessing the new hand-to-hand fighting style introduced by the new DLC. As...

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Ubisoft Apologizes to Japanese Historical Re-Enactment Group for Using Its Flag in Assassin's Creed Shadows Art Without Permission

Ubisoft has apologized after using a Japanese historical re-enactment group's flag in concept art for Assassin's Creed Shadows without permission. As reported by Siliconera, Ubisoft Japan issued an apology on X/Twitter and admitted it used the flag in two pieces of art without permission. It also claimed to have apologized to the flag's owner Sekigahara Teppo-tai, a historical re-enactment group made up of volunteers who perform to the public at festivals and other events. Eagle-eyed fans noticed the identical recreation of the flag, which can be seen below, in a piece of concept art for the Japan-set Assassin's Creed released alongside its full reveal. It was raised to a leading member of the Sekigahara Teppo-tai, X/Twitter user...

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The First Descendant Hotfix Will Add Much-Requested Feature

The First Descendant developer Nexon has signaled the game will get one of the most-requested features since launch. The free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter has progression systems that fuel a deep-rooted grind that in turn encourages players to jump into repeatable missions on hard mode in order to have a better chance of obtaining materials. Currently, the only hard mode content with no matchmaking is Infiltration Operations. Hard mode on these Infiltration Operations offers an improved drop chance for certain loot, which means players are inclined to play them on hard rather than normal difficulty. But without matchmaking, you're forced to play Infiltration Operations on hard mode solo, which for some players isn't doable...

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The First Descendant Hit With Destiny Icon Plagiarism Accusations — but There’s Seemingly More to the Story

The First Descendant, a free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter from Korean games company Nexon, is blowing up across PC and console with big player numbers on Steam specifically. But as players debate the rights and wrongs of its ultra aggressive monetization, another controversy has hit the game. Forbes reported that The First Descendant “is using barely-changed” Destiny 2 icons, and pointed to the remarkable similarities between icons used by developer Bungie for its veteran looter shooter and those used by Nexon for its new looter shooter challenger. Certainly, the similarities are hard to ignore. One Bungie icon artist tweeted to say it “feels like a great day to mention that Bungie icon artists are a super-crew of talented...

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Serious Gold off Diablo IV, Stock Clearance Old Gems, 43% off Elden Ring and Cyberpunk, and More!

Deals; you want them, I've found 'em, so let's get right to it. One thing I will mention this morning is an early promo that's begun well before the forthcoming Amazon Prime Day. The TL;DR: if you spend $200 or more and checkout using Zip with the code ZIP10OFF, you get $10 off whatever you're buying (T&Cs, Prime members only, yada yada). Not a huge windfall, but every buck helps. In retro news, I'm celebrating the 30th birthday of Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, an OG Game Boy great I burned many a battery on. This quirky platformer delivered a bunch of firsts—it established the beachhead for the wildly successful Wario Land series, and it introduced a multiple ending mechanic. Screw saving a princess; Wario's happy ever after was...

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New Hellblade 2 Sales Data Offers a Clearer Picture of How It Did on Xbox Game Pass and the Charts

Hellblade II was billed as one of 2024's big exclusives when it released back in May, but overall sales numbers have been hard to come by since launch. Now, thanks to Circana's most recent sales data, we have a clearer idea of its performance. According to Circana analyst Mat Piscatella, Hellblade II was 37th overall in terms of full dollar sales for May 2024, putting it at 21st overall on the Xbox Series consoles. Hellblade II did not receive a physical release. Notably, Hellblade II released on Xbox Game Pass at launch, and that was born out in its engagement data, where it ranked 12th on Xbox in terms of monthly active users. That puts it just behind Fallout 76 on the platform, but ahead of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Apex Legends...

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Apex Legends Season 22 Introduces Significant Battle Pass Changes, and Fans Aren't Happy

EA and Respawn Entertainment are introducing a new Apex Legends battle pass structure, but players aren’t happy with the changes promised so far. This new take on progression in the Titanfall spinoff was announced with an update post on the game’s website. The post outlines a litany of fundamental changes to how rewards are earned, with the team saying that its goal is to “improve your experience and progression goals.” Where players will find the biggest changes are the length of the Battle Pass and how future passes will be purchased. Up to this point, Battle Passes have required players to complete 110 levels to acquire all rewards, including one Reactive Weapon and a Reactive Weapon Variant. But Season 22 will deliver two passes...

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Capcom Has Good News About Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster's Licensed Music

Though the upcoming Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster will change several things, including Frank West's voice actor, fans of the sandbox zombie game franchise will be happy to know that the licensed music tracks from the 2006 original will return. Speaking to our sister site VG247, a Capcom spokesperson confirmed that "licensed music is returning" for Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster. When Dead Rising was originally released in 2006, its soundtrack included several licensed tracks, such as Heaven's Creepin' In by Supernova Syndicate and Slave by The Evolutionaries. Yet the game's most notable licensed music track was Lifeseeker's Gone Guru, played every time the character encountered the Convicts while roaming in Leisure Park. There had been...

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