Gaming News

Baldur's Gate 3 on Xbox Series S Could Get Split-Screen After Launch

The Xbox Series S version of hit role-playing game Baldur's Gate 3 won't have split-screen when it launches later this year, but that's not to say it won't receive the feature after launch. A message on the official Xbox Twitter account (below) gave Series S players hope. "To answer some questions we're getting, we'll continue to work with [developer] Larian to explore the addition of split-screen on Series S post launch," it said. Baldur's Gate 3 currently lacks a release date on Xbox despite having already launched on PC and its coming to PlayStation 5 on September 6. Larian wasn't able to get split-screen working on the weaker Series S, and Microsoft's feature parity policy prevented the studio from releasing even on the more...

View full article »

Bloodborne-Inspired Lies of P, Like Bloodborne, Has 3 Endings

The upcoming Bloodborne-inspired Soulslike Lies of P features three endings for players to experience, just like Bloodborne itself. Speaking to IGN at gamescom 2023, game director Ji-Won Choi said players will encounter different endings depending on the decisions they make throughout the game. Lies of P, perhaps unsurprisingly, features a lying system, and the extent of players' lies throughout the game will determine which ending they receive. "The lies in the game are not only lies that you are fooling others [with] but also white lies you have to do to make others feel better," Choi said. "You have to understand others' emotions to make a decision so [we] want users to feel how they would as a human in the game, and it will show...

View full article »

Sea of Stars Review

I had to go back and play a little of Chrono Trigger just to make sure my eyes weren’t deceiving me about the obvious similarities between that classic RPG and Sea of Stars. This brand-new yet old-school game doesn’t present nearly as much time-hopping or world-traveling as its clearest inspiration, but its seafaring adventure still has plenty of twists and turns that fill up a solid 30 hours of linear spelunking. Rich and often funny character-driven stories wrap up with surprising twists that give weight to the story and provide a reason for its visually wild and mechanically interesting boss fights. At the same time, there’s just not that much depth to its combat options, and its 16-bit graphics generally satisfy nostalgic cravings...

View full article »

Armored Core 6 Gets Off to Flying Start on Steam 'Thanks to Elden Ring'

FromSoftware's Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is off to a flying start on Steam, with publisher Bandai Namco saying it's "thanks to Elden Ring". As reported by PCGamesN, the epic mech battling game from the Dark Souls developer topped Steam's best selling games chart over the weekend, and while it now sits at fifth place, its launch day performance knocked the critically-acclaimed Baldur's Gate 3 from its throne. Fires of Rubicon arrives as the first Armored Core game in 11 years but more crucially as the first after FromSoftware released the likes of Elden Ring, Dark Souls 3, Bloodborne, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Bandai Namco had higher expectations for this game as a result. "This is an opportunity for us to truly widen the...

View full article »

The Old Republic Gets Brief Synopsis as Disney Organises Its Star Wars Eras

Disney has updated the Star Wars website to include a neat list of eras (and where ever film and TV show fits) and provided a brief synopsis of what The Old Republic will entail. As spotted by SWNN, the update to StarWars.com gives us a breakdown of the different time periods in the galaxy far, far away, including the time of The Old Republic. “The Republic is founded among the worlds of the Galactic Core,” it reads, “and the Jedi Order emerges to protect it. A schism within the Jedi leads to the creation of the Sith in this epic era.” "The Republic is founded among the worlds of the Galactic Core and the Jedi Order emerges to protect it." Of course, The Old Republic has existed in Star Wars lore for some time, even if it's no...

View full article »

Starfield Global Release Times and PC Specs Revealed

Starfield is just about here and Bethesda has revealed its global release times alongside the minimum and recommended PC specifications ahead of its early access release date of Friday, September 1. Bethesda Game Studios shared the details in a blog, giving important details to those of us still living on the "old neighborhood" called Earth. First up, it shared the release timing for those who will get access to Starfield via early access. If you pre-ordered or purchased the premium edition, premium edition upgrade, or the Constellation Edition, you will be able to take off into the great beyond on September 1 (or even earlier!). If you have the standard edition, you will have to wait until September 6. You can see the image below...

View full article »

PSA: Armored Core 6's PS4 Pro Version on PS5 Appears to Run at a Locked 60 FPS

While the PS5 version of Armored Core 6 runs very well and mostly at 60 FPS in performance mode, the PS4 Pro version run on a PS5 appears to give you a locked frame rate of 60 FPS, much like it did for Elden Ring. As noted by Lance McDonald (@manfightdragon) and confirmed by IGN, the PS4 Pro version of Armored Core 6 will run with a locked framerate of 60 FPS on PS5 despite Namco Bandai saying it maxes out at 30 FPS at 1800p resolution. While it takes a small resolution hit, those looking for the best performance may want to give this a shot. As previously mentioned, this was the case with Elden Ring as well, as we showed in our Elden Ring performance review. "One nice benefit of the PlayStation 5’s backwards compatibility mode is...

View full article »

The Best Cosplay at gamescom 2023

gamescom 2023 was filled to the brim with some incredible cosplay, and the official gamescom cosplay contest showed off some of the best of the best and rewarded these incredible people with some fantastic prizes. While there were obviously a ton of people in cosplay at gamescom, 30 of them competed for the ultimate prize in the official gamescom cosplay contest. All of these cosplayers deserve recognition for their fantastic work, and there is a good chance you'll find representation from your favorite game somewhere in there. As for the winners, you can see a full list below alongside a video of their cosplay in action. The overall winner was Pockyy Neko Cosplay's Valkyrie from Apex Legends, but all are worth a look. You can also...

View full article »

Catch a 40 Buck Pokémon Adventure, the First Starfield Controller Drop, and More!

Welcome to a new week of blink 'n' you'll miss 'em bargains. Those of you who are subscribed to our IGN weekly deals email would have noticed a $679.15 PS5 console up for sale at about 9 o'clock. In the time it took for me to translate that email to this article format, and have a coffee — boom — sold out. Just another compelling reason to click that subscribe button. Or for me to drink less coffee... This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games and hardware - Vib Ribbon (PS) 2000. - PlayStation Portable (2005) console launch. - Jetpack Joyride (iOS) 2011. Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Nice Savings for Nintendo Switch Expiring Deals From Yesterday Hardware Watch How much to make the...

View full article »

Texas Chain Saw Massacre: Best Tips for Victims and Family

Now is your chance to relive the cult movie classic Texas Chain Saw Massacre in all its gory glory. This new multiplayer asymmetric horror survival game pits you as either a Victim or a member of the ruthless Family, a group of senseless murderers who delight in killing for sport. Whether you awake in the basement as a Victim or choose to dominate the match as one of the Family, the odds are never guaranteed to be in your favor. Mastering the art of slaughter or escape is crucial to winning in this horrific game. Here are some tips to carry you through your first few matches as either a Victim or the Family. Tips for Family Welcome to the Slaughter Family. For reasons unknown, you have captured and tortured four Victims, chaining...

View full article »

How the New Sunset Map Brings ‘Golden Hour’ to VALORANT

VALORANT, Riot’s popular first-person tactical shooter, is all about quick reflexes, teamwork, and hard fought duels across a wide selection of maps. During the VALORANT Champions Tour Grand Finals, or VCT for short, Riot took time to unveil its tenth standard map, Sunset, which is heavily inspired by Riot’s hometown of Los Angeles. Sunset joins the map pool roughly five months after the release of VALORANT’s 21st agent (well, 22 if you’re big into the lore,) and native Angeleno, Gekko (You can check out his abilities in our VALORANT guide). Sunset is as gorgeous as its namesake, featuring a neon sunset glow that highlights the cultural staples of LA scattered throughout the map. The map includes both Art Deco and Mission-style...

View full article »

Interview: Payday 3 Features Ice-T in a Bigger Role Than You Might Expect | gamescom 2023

Earlier this week, we learned that Ice-T himself will be making an appearance in Payday 3, courtesy of a reveal during gamescom Opening Night Live 2023. But the extent of his involvement in the game was still a little murky…until we sat down with the Payday 3 team at gamescom to clear things up. Below is our full, detailed Q&A with Payday 3 lead producer Andreas Häll-Penninger and global brand director Almir Listo about everything Payday 3: it’s planned Unreal 5 update, the new Ice-T heist, its $40 price, and more: IGN: Why did you decide to launch the Unreal 5 version of Payday 3 after the launch of the game? Andreas Häll-Penninger: I can take that. So when we started the development of Payday 3, we just had Unreal 4. Unreal 5...

View full article »

STALKER 2 Recaptures the Tense and Awkward Soul of the Cult Series | gamescom 2023

It has been 16 years since STALKER: Shadow of Chernobyl. That means it’s also been 16 years since I last played a STALKER game. I admired the original but never loved its wonky, ambitious heart enough to explore its two follow-ups. But despite that decade-plus time away from the series, when I sat down to play STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl at gamescom 2023 it felt like I’d never been away. As if reactivating a long-dormant muscle, I found its creeping pace and scrappy gunfights instantly familiar. That’s good news for devout fans of the cult PC series, but perhaps more of a challenge for the potential legion of newcomers that will arrive at launch via Game Pass. Despite its Unreal Engine 5 base and prominent Microsoft support, the...

View full article »

Check Out 19 Minutes of Boss Battles and Gameplay From Black Myth: Wukong

If you can't seem to get enough of Black Myth: Wukong, we're happy to report we've got a brand-new 19-minute video of the game in action that's filled with boss battles, inventive enemies, intense action, and much more. This footage is from a gameplay session we had at gamescom 2023, and we came away very impressed and proudly proclaimed this slice of the game felt as good as it looks. Black Myth: Wukong had a big presence at gamescom 2023 and beyond, as it got a brand-new trailer during Opening Night Live. And that followed our hands-on preview from just before gamescom, meaning developer Game Science must feel good about where the game is at as it has been in the spotlight a lot this month. In our Black Myth: Wukong hands-on...

View full article »

Black Myth: Wukong’s Combat Feels As Good as It Looks | gamescom 2023

When it was revealed to the world back in 2020, Black Myth: Wukong set the soulslike community on fire. And with each new gameplay video, that fire burned hotter and brighter. Among a growing crowd of FromSoftware imitators, Black Myth: Wukong stood out thanks to what appeared to be lightning-fast, responsive combat that doesn’t fall into the staple sword-and-board rhythms the genre found its feet with. But that impression has always been based on what we’ve watched. Now, after actually playing 30 minutes of Black Myth at gamescom 2023, I’m thrilled to report that seeing really can be believing. It genuinely does feel as good as it looks. First, let’s address where Black Myth: Wukong sits along the action RPG spectrum. While it...

View full article »

Nightingale is Survival of the Grandest Scale | Gamescom 2023

In most survival games you’re lucky if you have a shelter fashioned from a few sticks and leaves. Maybe a little fire you can use to cook nasty-tasting berries that do just enough to keep hunger at bay. And while Nightingale starts off in a similar way, with little more than a handful of sticks and stones to keep you alive, it’s not long until you’re able to build something altogether more impressive. Axes are pretty simple to craft early on and are extremely useful for chopping down trees, which can then be turned into logs. Before long you have enough to build a simple log cabin; nothing too fancy, but it provides shelter from both the elements and the local wildlife. It looks quick and simple to make too; although I wasn’t able to...

View full article »

Starfield Leaker Arrested After Stealing and Allegedly Trying to Sell Copies of Bethesda's RPG

The man who leaked the first 40 minutes or so of Bethesda’s highly anticipated RPG Starfield was arrested yesterday – not for leaking spoilers, but because of his theft of the game. As first reported by Kotaku, 29-year-old Darrin Harris was booked yesterday in Shelby County, Tennessee, on a felony charge of theft of property costing $2500-10,000, a misdemeanor charge of theft of property $1000 or less, and another misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana, per information on the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office website. IGN has obtained the incident report of the arrest, which lists the stolen property as "Video Game: Microsoft Starfield unreleased game." While it’s currently unclear what further legal repercussions Harris will...

View full article »

Alan Wake 2 Interview: Sam Lake Didn't Want to go 'Neck and Neck' With Spider-Man 2 | gamescom 2023

Remedy Entertainment has come a long way since the original Alan Wake released on Xbox 360 way back in 2010. In the intervening 13 years, Remedy has released Control, built up a universe, and fully established itself as one of gaming's sharpest and most ambitious big-budget developers. With Alan Wake 2 set to arrive in October, we took a moment to sit down with creator Sam Lake at gamescom 2023 to talk horror instructions, not wanting to go neck and neck, and the need for a little bit of comedy in your horror games. Read on for the full interview, and make sure to check out our hands-on preview as well as our recap of all of our gamescom 2023 coverage so far. Sam, Alan Wake 2 looks incredible. We got a brand new trailer last night...

View full article »

13 Games Like Starfield Worth Playing Right Now

After years of cryptic teaser trailers and a fair few delays, Bethesda Game Studios’ latest sprawling open-world RPG, Starfield, is almost here. Taking players to the vast regions of space, the latest adventure from the minds behind Skyrim and Fallout 4 promises to be a monstrously big intergalactic journey with plenty of planets to explore and celestial sweet rolls to steal. However, with Starfield's release date still a couple of weeks away, there’s plenty of time to get into the spacefaring mood. Below, we’ve put together a list of some of the best games to hop into before you conquer the final frontier next month. So, without further ado, let’s run through some appetisers to indulge in before Starfield takes over our lives on...

View full article »

Exclusive: See 13 Minutes of Path of Exile 2 Druid Gameplay and a Ton of New Screenshots

Path of Exile 2 is quietly one of the most anticipated action RPGs around. Grinding Gear Games recently took the wraps off its big sequel, in the process confirming that it will be a standalone release. With gamescom 2023 in full swing, we were able to get a much closer at the hotly-anticipated Diablo IV competitor, including a ton of new gameplay. First up, we have gameplay featuring Path of Exile 2's Druid narrated by co-creator Jonathan Rogers. The footage features a demonstration of the Druid's powerful bear form and its various abilities. Check it out! In addition we got to see two other major classes in Path of Exile 2: the Warrior and the Huntress. Rogers is once again on hands to talk through the two Path of Exile 2 classes...

View full article »

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty Interview: The Most Important Improvements, Making Dogtown, and More

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty is a major moment for CD Projekt Red's big RPG. Aside from a major new story and the inclusion of Idris Elba, it will include a host of major improvements, all of which will be available in the base game for free. Speaking with IGN, director Gabriel Amatangelo talked about these big changes as well as the creation of Dogtown, the new vehicle combat, and much more. Read the full Cyberpunk 2077 interview below, then go check out the full recap of all the announcements as gamescom 2023 continues! IGN: Okay, so I want to talk about the levels, because obviously we're getting into a completely new town and new area in Cyberpunk. So tell me about it. How many buildings can we go into? Are there lots of...

View full article »

Destiny 2: Where Is Xur Today? Location and Exotic Items for August 25-29

The pile of squid ink spaghetti, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week's reset. If you're looking to get you some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further. Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he's got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians. We've rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP. Where Is Xûr Today? Xûr's location can be...

View full article »

Resident Evil Village for PS5 Is $16 at Amazon

August is nearing its end, and you know what that means… It’s time to get excited about spooky season! It’s the perfect time to pick up a variety of horror films, shows, and especially games that you can play all the way to Halloween. Right now, Amazon has a great discount on Resident Evil Village, which is definitely worth adding to your collection if you don't have it already and perfect for the season. It’s available for $16 at the moment, which is 20% off its usual price. Head to the link below on Amazon’s website to check out this deal in full. Get Resident Evil Village for PS5 for $16 From our Resident Evil Village review: "If you have an itch for action-heavy survival-horror, then Resident Evil Village will scratch it like a...

View full article »

Phasmophobia Delayed on Console Following 'Fire Incident' in Developer's Office Building

Kinetic Games has announced that it is delaying the console launch of its ghost-hunting horror title Phasmophobia following the outbreak of a fire in the studio’s office building. “First and foremost, we’d like to thank you all for your support and that you are just as excited as we are for the console release,” read a message posted to the game’s official Twitter/X account. “Due to a recent fire incident in our office building, and unpredicted development issues, our ability to test and develop has been significantly impacted.” Phasmophobia quickly became one of the most-played games on Steam, and most-streamed games on Twitch following its early access in October 2020 on PC. In June earlier this year Kinetic Games revealed that...

View full article »

AMD Announces the Radeon RX 7800 XT and 7700 XT Desktop GPUs

At gamescom 2023, AMD announced a new pair of desktop graphics cards for its Radeon RX 7000 series designed for those looking to build a PC capable of running games at 1440p resolution. The AMD Radeon RX 7800 XT features 16GB of GDDR6 memory, a total board power of 263 watts, and 60 unified RDNA 3 computer units. The Radeon RX 7700 XT features 12GB of GDDR6 memory, 245 watts of total board power, and 54 unified RDNA 3 compute units. AMD touts that the RX 7800 XT and 7700 XXT will allow people to play games with an average FPS of 60 or more while running at 1440p resolution. AMD claims that the Radeon RX 7800 XT can outperform Nvidia's RTX 4070 GPU in games such as Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and Hogwarts Legacy, but...

View full article »

9 New Trailers We Saw at the 2023 gamescom Awards

The gamescom 2023 awards have come and gone. And similar to events like The Game Awards, we got some new trailers for upcoming games. Nine total were shown off at this year's gamescom, which you can read about below. For our other recaps on gamescom coverage, check out our everything announced from gamescom Opening Night Live, our daily recap of gamescom itself, and the list of winners from the 2023 gamescom awards. The Time I Have Left The Time I Have Left is an upcoming adventure game with a sprinkle of RPG elements. Players control Aline who has six hours to live as they race against the clock, all while facing unnerving visions of death and unraveling the mystery of Colony 7. The Time I Have Left is slated to launch next year...

View full article »

gamescom Award Winners Announced, Little Nightmares 3 Takes Top Award

Every year at gamescom, awards are given out in a variety of categories including the award for best trailer and announcement, which this year belongs to Supermassive Games and Bandai Namco's Little Nightmares 3. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom also took home a handful of awards, while Mortal Kombat 1, Sky: Children of the Light, and Black Myth: Wukong also performed. If you want to know more about what was announced at gamescom so far or what was revealed at Opening Night Live, check out our roundups. The full list of winners for the gamescom 2023 awards are as follows: Best Trailer/Announcement Little Nightmares 3 - WINNER Best Show Floor Bandai Namco Entertainment - WINNER Best Microsoft Xbox Game Armored Core...

View full article »

Off the Grid Trailer Shows Gameplay of Neill Blomkamp's Cyberpunk-Style Battle Royale

A gameplay trailer for Off the Grid has revealed a ton of gameplay for the upcoming cyberpunk-inspired battle royale directed by Neill Blomkamp. Revealed during gamescom 2023, the near-two minute trailer (below) opens with a jaded futuristic streamer talking about the high-stakes action of Off the Grid. It goes on to show a ton of gameplay clips from around the dystopian map of Teardrop Island, with players battling it out in the PvP combat. We see battles take place on rooftops, in industrial areas, underground, and more. Off the Grid seemingly features a ton of traversal options too. While simpler vehicles like trucks and cars are available to get around the map, there are also more advanced options like grappling hooks and...

View full article »

Xbox Version of Baldur's Gate 3 Will Have Cross-Save Compatibility With PlayStation

Baldur's Gate 3 on Xbox will have cross-save compatibility not just with PC but also PlayStation 5 versions of the game when it launches later this year. Developer Larian Studios' director of publishing Michael Douse confirmed on Twitter (below) that the Xbox version of the game, which was finally confirmed to launch this year during gamescom following an indefinite delay, will have compatibility with its rival console's version. "For the avoidance of doubt, Xbox will indeed feature cross-save not only between Xbox and PC but also Xbox and PlayStation 5, thanks to our Larian accounts system," Douse said. The state of the Xbox version was up in the air due to Microsoft's policy that games must have feature parity between the Xbox...

View full article »

Starfield 'Doesn't Really Even Get Going' Until Players Finish the Main Quest, Bethesda Exec Says

Bethesda head of publishing Pete Hines has said Starfield “doesn’t even really get going” until after the main story mission is completed. During an appearance on Bethesda Mainstream at Gamescom 2023, Hines explained he had sunk roughly 80 hours into Starfield’s faction-based questlines and other side activities before being prompted by Bethesda head Todd Howard to get started on the main story. “We intentionally don’t talk about the main quest a lot because truthfully it is super spoilery,” said Hines. “But I’m here to tell you that this game doesn’t even really get going until you finish the main quest.” Hines noted the main quest took him around 50 hours to complete, which means that, by his own reckoning, Starfield didn’t...

View full article »