Gaming News

PlayStation Plus Games for September 2023 Announced

Sony has announced the PlayStation Plus games for September 2023 are Saints Row (PS4 and PS5), Black Desert - Traveler Edition (PS4), and Generation Zero (PS4). As revealed on the PlayStation Blog, all three games will be made available at no extra cost to PlayStation Plus subscribers on September 5. Saints Row saw the famous franchise rebooted with the 2022 game letting players witness the birth of the Saints in a wild new take on the universe. Developer Volition promised the biggest and best Saints Row playground ever created, with thrilling side hustles, criminal ventures, and blockbuster missions. In our 6/10 review, IGN said: "Saints Row delivers no shortage of shallow shoot 'em up thrills, but it's a very familiar and...

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Imagine Dragons Releases Official Starfield Song Called Children of the Sky

Imagine Dragons has released its official Starfield song, called Children of the Sky (a Starfield song). It’s “inspired” by Bethesda’s space role-playing game which launches early September. Frontman Dan Reynolds said: "The song, like the game, asks some of the most difficult questions we face as humans trying to find our place in the universe. Bethesda created iconic games we've been playing for most of our lives, and we're honoured to have collaborated on this song for Starfield." Starfield composer Inon Zur collaborated with Imagine Dragons on Children of the Sky. He said: “The band has created an amazing, emotional, and memorable song, and I joined them in crafting the Starfield motif into the song as well as iconic elements...

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New World’s First Expansion Adds Mounts, Two Years After Its Massive Steam Launch

Amazon has announced the first expansion for its massively multiplayer online role-playing game New World. Rise of the Angry Earth launches October 3 priced $29.99 and introduces mounts, new progression, a level cap increase to 65, new gear rarity, new weapons, a transformed zone, and a new end-game expedition. There’s also a new Heartrune ability. “In Rise of the Angry Earth, the southeastern tip of Aeternum, formerly known as First Light, has fallen. Once a welcoming place for newcomers to Aeternum, the fields have been ravaged by the fury of Artemis and the Angry Earth. "No one is certain what has become of the people and villages that once populated the area, and a deadly barrier has kept all but the most intrepid from...

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Put Those Baldur’s Gate 3 Karlach Romance Playthroughs on Hold — She’s About to Get a Better Ending

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian has issued an official ‘Looking to the Future’ blog post that outlines a raft of changes coming to the game with the imminent Patch 2, including an update to the ending for everyone’s favourite Tiefling Barbarian. In the blog post, Larian said Patch 2 adds “better closure” to the story’s final act in the form of a more fleshed-out ending for Karlach, something “many of you have been asking for”. Karlach is one of the most-popular companions and romance options in Baldur’s Gate 3 (check out IGN’s Karlach Companion Guide for more). But some players expressed dissatisfaction with her ending. Brief Baldur’s Gate 3 Karlach spoilers ahead. Karlach is slowly dying from an infernal engine, which is housed...

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It Takes Over Two Hours to Do the Fellowship’s Walk Through Moria in This New Lord of the Rings Game

One of the most memorable scenes from Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Peter Jackson’s movie adaptation is the Fellowship’s brutal journey through the abandoned, once great Dwarven city of Moria. From Gandalf’s puzzle-solve to open the West Gate to the Fellowship’s dramatic battle against a cave troll in Balin's Tomb, from Gandalf’s dramatic last stand against the Balrog to the Fellowship’s last-ditch escape through the East Gate, Moria has cemented itself in the hearts and minds of Tolkien fans the world over as an iconic location within Middle-earth. Upcoming crafting and survival game The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria, which is set in the Fourth Age (70 years after the destruction of the ring), revolves around the dwarves...

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Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars Delayed

Konami has announced that it is delaying Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars. However, Konami didn’t specify a new release date. In a statement on its website, Konami said, "Regarding the planned release of Suikoden I & II HD Remaster: Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars, we have reached the conclusion that despite the very best efforts of our dedicated development staff to release the Remasters in 2023, additional time is needed to ensure the quality performance and gameplay experience our users deserve.” Konami didn’t actually provide a new release date, just that the development team needs more time to work on the game. Konami also didn’t explicitly state that the remaster was delayed to 2024, but...

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Loot Big With a Diablo IV Price Drop or Two, a Slew of Reduced AAAs, and More!

Today is a hump day of eclectic deals with no particular throughline. "Cheap stuff that's good and worth owning" — that's all I can say for it. If you put a gun to my head and told me to pick the best ones, I'd have to go with the ludicrous longevity represented in a 22% cheaper Diablo IV on PC or a 67% off Diablo III Collection on Xbox. Great games played solo. Phenomenal games in two-player or four-player co-op, respectively. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware - Panzer Dragoon (SAT) 1995. Remake - Blue Dragon (X360) 2007. Get Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch Expiring Deals From Yesterday Hardware Watch How much to make the switch to...

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Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 2 Will Address ‘Very Stupid Bug’ That Blocked 1500 Lines of Minthara Content

Baldur's Gate 3's next big patch is releasing soon, and by all accounts it will be a chonky one, featuring a host of performance improvements and other fixes. Even better, Patch 2 will apparently address Minthara, who has been hobbled by what director Swen Vincke describes as a "very, very stupid bug." Speaking with IGN ahead of Patch 2's release, Vincke talked about how the scope of Baldur's Gate 3 can cause cascading reactions that can sometimes lock out content by accident. Such is the case with Baldur's Gate 3's drow murderess. "The game is super reactive and there were a couple of bugs that caused some of the companions to not react as they should. And so that felt like the content was not showing up. So you weren't seeing it...

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Sonic Team Head: Pixel Art Won't be Viable Art Style for Sonic Games in 10 - 20 Years

Sonic Superstars is shaping up to be the biggest Sonic game of the year partly because of the new 2.5D aesthetic for Classic Sonic. However, Sonic Team suggests Classic Sonic's new look may be permanent, as they believe pixel art won't be a viable style for Sonic in 10 to 20 years. According to a report from GamesRadar, Sonic Team creative officer and producer Takashi Iizuka said at Gamescom that Sonic Superstars is "an evolution of the 2D Sonic gameplay," but doesn't believe that 2D pixel art will survive as a video game art form for the franchise within the next two decades. This comment effectively throws cold water at the possibility of Classic Sonic fans seeing Sonic Mania 2 coming to light. "[W]e look at the pixel art — it's...

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Someone Has Beaten Baldur's Gate 3 With the Worst Possible Ending for Everyone

A Baldur's Gate 3 player has just shared their detailed notes from a playthrough of the game in which they tried to get the absolute worst story outcomes for every single character. All except for Scratch the dog. In a Reddit thread, u/Sparkism provided a detailed guide to ruining the day of every single Baldur's Gate 3 character systematically through all three acts. Surprisingly, this is more complex than it seems: while it may feel like the easiest way to do this is to just murder everyone, some characters actually have a better time if certain other characters are dead, so they had to get creative to make things as abysmal for everyone as possible. Warning: Light spoilers for act one of Baldur's Gate 3 are detailed below. Read on...

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Skull & Bones Beta Preview: Yes, We Really, Finally, Actually Played This Game

It’s no secret that Ubisoft’s seafaring pirate game, Skull & Bones, which was first revealed way back in 2017, has endured a troubled development. Originally conceived as an expansion to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, then an MMO spinoff, and finally an independent project that’s suffered numerous delays, it's understandable for players to be concerned about the upcoming action game where naval warfare and piracy are placed front and center. But after numerous hours sunk into the recent closed beta, I’m happy to report that I came away from the experience much more confident that we’ll be getting a worthy successor to Black Flag’s awesome buccaneering ways. With a much more interesting story than I was expecting, some really...

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Sonic Superstars: The First Preview

Sonic Superstars isn’t the first time that Sega has attempted to recapture the magic of playing the original Sonic the Hedgehog more than 30 years ago. Just five years ago, in fact, Sonic Mania stuck that landing. So is there enough creative juice left in that IP tank to truly warrant another stab at rebooting the classic sidescroller? After blazing through four levels with Sonic and his cabal of colorful friends, each with their particular set of skills, signs point to yes — with a caveat. Ultimately, Sonic Superstars is just more Sonic with a facelift and a few new bells and whistles. The game is fun and tricky, great to look at, and speaks to those Sega Genesis memories lodged forever in my brain, but it also doesn’t feel amazingly...

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Lords of the Fallen: A Breakdown of the Three Schools of Magic | IGN First

Over the course of our month long coverage of Lords of the Fallen, we’ve dived deep into the Umbral/Axiom dual realm mechanic, went over some vital combat tips, and talked about the ways in which the developers at Hexworks are aiming to innovate upon the standard Soulslike formula. But one important element that we’ve only briefly touched upon has been the magic system of the game. And so, let’s correct that oversight and breakdown how magic works in Lords of the Fallen. Three Schools of Magic In this new Lords of the Fallen, there are three schools of magic, each tied to one of the three warring Gods at the heart of the story. There’s Rhogar, which is the magic of the god of Chaos Adyr; Radiant, the holy magic of the god Orius; and...

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Baldur’s Gate 3’s ‘Chonky’ Patch 2 Makes ‘Major’ Performance Improvements

Baldur’s Gate 3’s Patch 2 comes out soon, said developer Larian Studios. The developer said in a tweet (below) that this patch includes “major performance improvements” with “many” new tweaks and changes, and is also the start of Larian incorporating feedback into Origin character epilogues. More details are coming soon, but the developer didn't share exactly when. Larian director of publishing Michael Douse called Patch 2 “equally chonky”, referring to the size of Patch 1, whose patch notes were so big they exceeded Steam's text limit. “We’re discussing internally about comms, dates, and rollout,” Douse said. “As well as all things around it. We’ll give details soon.” Players will hope Patch 2 goes some way to addressing problems...

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FromSoftware's Iconic Moonlight Greatsword From Dark Souls and Elden Ring Appears in Armored Core 6

FromSoftware's iconic Moonlight Greatsword weapon from the likes of Dark Souls and Elden Ring also makes an appearance in Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon. The sword, which in most games takes the form of a giant blade that glows an eery green and blasts beams of light, appears in the giant mech battler Armored Core 6 as the IA-C01W2: MOONLIGHT, also known as the Light Wave Blade. Its single, double, and horizontal slash attacks all fire waves of green light, reminiscent of the Moonlight Greatsword's abilities in previous FromSoftware games. Though now associated with the Dark Souls series and similar titles (like FromSoftware itself), the blade first appeared in 1994's King's Field as the Moonlight Sword. It's since appeared in...

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New Arc Line, a Fantasy Steampunk CRPG, Announced for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S

Ukrainian development studio Dreamate and Fulqrum have announced New Arc Line, a fantasy steampunk CRPG due out in 2024 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S. Check out the reveal trailer above and the first screenshots in the gallery below. New Arc Line is set in its fictional world's gilded age of magic and technology. Dreamate says you'll "invent deadly gadgets or master the arcane arts, fight, steal or smooth-talk your way to the top, make foes and allies, fall in love, get involved in a massive conspiracy, and influence the course of history." Combat is tactical and turn-based, with you commanding your customized character and the party you recruit. You can be as good or as bad as you want to be as you explore New Arc Line's diverse...

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Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy Review

If you need a break from the rogues, wizards, and knights of Baldur’s Gate 3, I highly recommend switching things up with the rogues, wizards, and knights of Trine 5: A Clockwork Conspiracy, which continues the series’ long-standing puzzle platforming excellence. This quinary sequel certainly plays it safe by sticking very closely to Trine’s established co-op playbook, but it does make some key improvements by significantly ramping up the difficulty and complexity of its puzzles, expanding upon Trine 4’s progression system, and adding several unique and memorable boss fights. That said, it still hasn’t broken out of the series’ rut of bland combat sections that pad out the adventure, or conjured up a story that doesn’t pale in...

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Starfield's 'Boundary Reached' Drama, Explained

Bethesda's epic space RPG Starfield is right around the corner and springing leaks left and right, with one revealing a 'Boundary Reached' message that's caused concern with some fans. Starfield is currently in the hands of reviewers, influencers, and some other players who have illegally obtained it, and while sharing any real details is against the terms set out in Bethesda's non-disclosure agreement, some tidbits have made it online regardless. One video of alleged leaked gameplay showed a player running in one direction for around 10 minutes before a 'Boundary Reached' message appeared on screen. "Open the map to explore another region, or return to your ship," it said, giving the player the option to fast travel to their ship...

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Mortal Kombat 1's Live-Action Trailer is An Ode to the Iconic 1993 TV Spot

Ahead of Mortal Kombat 1's September 19 release date, developer NetherRealm Studios has released a new live-action trailer that pays homage to the iconic 1993 TV commercial. The new trailer, titled It's In Our Blood, features actor and retired pro wrestler Dave Bautista as he rallies a bunch of people from all walks of life in a city, encouraging them to embrace their inner warriors. What's interesting about the trailer is that Bautista's role is similar to that of Mortal Kombat character Liu Kang, who we previously learned has forged a new universe where he serves as the Fire God. The commercial is a great walk down memory lane for those familiar with the Mortal Monday commercial that appeared in 1993 to promote the original Mortal...

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Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew is Mimimi's Final Game as the Studio Shuts Down

Mimimi Games has announced its final game is Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew and that the studio will slowly shut down over the next few months. In a statement on its website, the studio said the team enjoyed creating games for the past 15 years and are proud of what they accomplished. However, the game development process took a toll. "At the same time, dedicating the past decade and a half of our lives working on increasingly ambitious games took a heavy personal toll on us and our families,” Mimimi said. “After the release of Shadow Gambit we decided it was the right time to prioritize our well-being and to pull the brakes instead of signing up for another multi-year production cycle.” Mimimi will no longer create any new games...

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RoboCop: Rogue City Delayed to November

RoboCop: Rogue City is delayed to November 2, developer Teyon has announced. It was due out in September (the RoboCop: Rogue City Steam page still caries the September release window). Confirmation comes from a tweet from Teyon: IGN went hands-on with RoboCop: Rogue City at gamescom 2023, and found slow first-person shooting, decision-making, and a spot of detective work is all part of this unique-feeling game. The video below has 16 minutes of exclusive gameplay, fresh from gamescom 2023. RoboCop: Rogue City now launches on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S on November 2. Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at...

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Diablo 4’s First XP and Gold Boost Promo Set for Same Weekend Starfield Comes Out

Blizzard has announced Diablo 4’s first XP and Gold boost weekend, which just so happens to clash with the launch of Starfield. From 10am PT on September 1 to 10am PT on September 5, all Diablo 4 players earn XP and Gold at a 25% increased rate. This bonus applies to both Season and Eternal Realms, and all World Tiers, Blizzard clarified. Starfield’s early access kicks off Friday, September 1, ahead of its main launch on September 6. Diablo 4 players will see a new in-game icon beside their potion count that signifies the increased rate of earning Gold and XP. “Stoke the fire, gather round, and rally your most savvy of companions to slay demons with renewed fervor,” Blizzard said. “The Blessed Mother’s cruelty is matched by her...

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Why Fans Hope Lara Croft's New Look in Call of Duty Carries on to the Next Tomb Raider

Activision has unveiled a new-look Lara Croft who’s set to hit Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone as part of Season 5 Reloaded, and the design has certainly set tongues wagging within the Tomb Raider community. Lara Croft arrives in Call of Duty as a store bundle operator, with the Tracer Pack: Tomb Raider bundle adding Lara’s signature Mach-5 dual pistols based on a new sidearm coming to Call of Duty. These pistols are also used in Lara’s Play for Sport finishing move. But it’s images of Lara in Call of Duty released by Activision that some fans are calling our first look at the new “unified” Lara Croft. In early 2021, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Tomb Raider, developer Crystal Dynamics shared some information on...

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The Developers of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria Created Tolkien’s Secret Dwarven Language

The developers of The Lord of the Rings: Return to Moria took a frankly over-the-top approach with their Fourth Age-set Dwarven-focused survival-crafting game: they created the entire secret Dwarven language just so players can hear their characters use it in-game. While Tolkien fans have worked to develop the Dwarven language, called Khuzdul, over the years, the developers at Free Range Games went one step further and worked with a linguist to create a full Khuzdul grammar. That linguist is David Salo, who worked on the languages of Tolkien for the Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit film trilogies, expanding the languages (particularly Sindarin, one of the languages spoken by the Elves) by building on vocabulary already known from...

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Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin's Campaign Could Be a Modern Relic | gamescom 2023

It’s been a pretty great gamescom for Warhammer. A full showing of Space Marine 2 finally charged into the fray, Darktide got a long-awaited console release date, and Rogue Trader showed off its retinue of fantastic companion characters. But perhaps the most interesting Warhammer showing at the convention was Realms of Ruin, the strategy game set in Games Workshop’s lesser-explored Age of Sigmar fantasy universe. After an hour of hands-on time with its single-player, I’ve found myself excited by the prospect of a game that finally continues and potentially advances the legacy of the great Dawn of War cinematic campaigns. Dawn of War was, of course, the touchpoint that we identified in our first preview of Realms of Ruin. The first of...

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Microsoft Pulls $1 Xbox Game Pass Trial Just Days Before Starfield Release Date

Microsoft has removed the $1 / £1 Xbox Game Pass trial, just days before Starfield launches. Earlier this year, Microsoft confirmed it would put an end to the monthly $1 Xbox Game Pass Ultimate trial offer, but after raising the price of the subscription, the $1 trial returned in 14-day form. XGP spotted the removal of the 14-day trial from Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass sign-up page. This 14-day trial was the only trial option left after Microsoft cut the full month $1 Game Pass trial earlier in August. IGN has asked Microsoft for comment. It means those hoping to jump into Game Pass just to play Bethesda’s space role-playing game now have to pay $9.99 / £7.99 for a month on PC, or $10.99 / £8.99 for a month on Xbox, or $16.99 / £12.99...

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Bethesda Reveals That Starfield Almost Had a Voiced Protagonist

The biggest difference between Starfield and Fallout 4 is Bethesda's decision go with a silent protagonist this time around. But that wasn't always the case. In a recent interview with Polygon, lead designer Emil Pagliarulo talked about the decision to feature a silent protagonist in Bethesda's upcoming sci-fi RPG. Asked whether Bethesda went the direction it did because of the negative fan reaction to Fallout 4, Pagliarulo said it was a factor. Fans will recall that Fallout 4 voiced protagonist drew criticism owing to the reduced number of dialogue options despite more than 13,000 lines of dialogue. Still, there was apparently a point where Bethesda wanted to give a voice to their hero and even recorded a few lines of dialogue. "We...

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Baldur's Gate 3: Act 3 Bugs and Missing Content Becoming a Problem as More Players Near End

When Baldur's Gate 3 launched earlier this month, it earned near universal praise for its gameplay, characters, and apparently infinite choices. Since then, many have been taking it slow through the first two acts to discover everything hidden across the continent of Faerûn. However, as players reach act 3, many are discovering that it's... a touch less polished than the first two acts. Warning: Many of the threads linked contain heavy spoilers for act 3 of Baldur's Gate 3. Click through at your own risk. On the Baldur's Gate 3 subreddit, a number of users have chimed in to express frustration at act 3 for being buggy, laggy, and in some cases, seemingly unfinished. For instance, u/rejian called out that they had 11 quests in...

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Elon Musk Greeted at Valorant Tournament With Boos, Chants of 'Bring Back Twitter'

Elon Musk, who has spent much of the year in the headlines for his radical transformation of the platform previously known as Twitter, didn't have a great time at a recent Valorant tournament. Musk dropped in on the finals of the Valorant Champions tournament over the weekend, which took place in Los Angeles. He was filmed outside the event with his young son, X Æ A-12 Musk, then later joined the crowd as Evil Geniuses took on Paper Rex. At one point Musk appeared on the main video screen, drawing boos and chants of "Bring back Twitter" from the crowd. The moment quickly caught the attention of social media users, who responded to the boos and discussed Musk's handling of X generally. "Elon should have figured out who was a blue...

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Rockstar's VP of Writing, With Credits on GTA 5 and Others, Reportedly Leaves After 16 Years

Rockstar Games vice president of writing Mike Unsworth has reportedly left the Grand Theft Auto VI developer after 16 years. Unsworth's LinkedIn profile was updated to indicate the veteran developer had left Rockstar. "Mike is an accomplished writer who spent over 16 years working for Rockstar Games as a creative lead on some of the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful video game franchises of all time, most notably Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption," his profile states. Unsworth has credits on most of the Rockstar big hits including Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2, Grand Theft Auto 4 and Grand Theft Auto 5, Max Payne 3, and L.A. Noire. Unsworth joined Rockstar as a senior creative writer in...

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