Over three years after its initial release, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners remains one of my favorite VR games, holding its ground next to the likes of Half-Life: Alyx and Gran Turismo 7 VR. That's why it was such a major disappointment when its long-awaited sequel, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution, was released as a Meta Quest 2 exclusive back in December. It came with a slurry of bugs and performance issues that left such a middling taste in my mouth that I genuinely wondered whether it was even intended as a sequel to begin with, especially given the lack of a proper PC VR version at the time. Fast forward three months and we now have a PC re-release, plus a PlayStation VR2 version that visually blows...
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After the calamitous debut of Diablo 3 way back in 2012, it’s understandable if you’re a little nervous about the upcoming launch of Diablo 4 this June. But after more than a decade of gradual improvement that has transformed Diablo 3 into the fantastic game it is today, the first beta weekend of Diablo 4 has reassured me that Blizzard has been making good use of those hard-learned lessons for its sequel. Even though this beta weekend only included a level-capped Act 1 and three of the classes, so far it has exceeded my expectations in almost every way. There’s still a huge amount to see before we get anywhere close to a final review, but I’m already impressed by stellar dark storytelling, the best combat in a Diablo game to date, and a...
Minecraft is a phenomenon that continues to take the world by storm even 12 years after its full release. Selling over 238,000,000 copies worldwide, the game is just as captivating an experience now as it was upon its debut..
If you are among those that have yet to jump into the blocky digital world of one of the best-selling video games of all time, you may be surprised to hear there are multiple ways for you to play Minecraft (and its various spinoffs) for free!
Minecraft Free Trial
For those wanting to get a taste of the endless hours of entertainment that Minecraft can provide, but are yet unwilling to pay the entry fee, there is in fact a free trial of both Bedrock and Java versions of the game. Via Minecraft’s official...
Got a lotta rare things on sale, Stranger. But today I'm going to highlight some gaming heritage instead. On this day in 2006, excited gamer grommets could go buy an Xbox 360 for the first time. Exactly one year to the day later, the same was true of the debuting PlayStation 3...for $999 (!!!). It's hard to believe the dawn of the 7th generation of gaming was 17 years ago. Such huge pricepoints. So many massive crabs with massive damage. What an age. This Day in Gaming
- Pokémon Snap (N64) launch, 2000. Sequel
- Pokémon Stadium (N64) launch, 2000.
- TES IV: Oblivion (PC, X360) launch, 2006. Sequel
- Xbox 360 console launch, 2006. ($649.95)
- PlayStation 3 console launch, 2007. ($999)
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance (PS3) launch...
Ubisoft has introduced a new AI scriptwriting tool called Ghostwriter, saying it will help game writers develop better dialogue for NPCs.
According to a blog post published by Ubisoft on Tuesday, Ghostwriter, created by Ubisoft's R&D department, La Forge, "isn't replacing the video game writer." Quite the opposite, Ubisoft claims. It is actually saving game writers time coming up with the best lines, or barks, to give NPCs.
Ghostwriter generates first drafts of barks and gives writers room to flesh them out to better fit the game's narrative. Ben Swanson, an R&D scientist at La Forge Montreal, said he created Ghostwriter to solve the issue of writing barks that would be triggered by certain situations, especially when there's a crowd...
As we inch closer to the release date of Arkane Studios' first-person shooter Redfall, it has been confirmed that it will not be using Unreal Engine 5.
Harvey Smith said in a WccfTech interview that the game will be running on Unreal Engine 4. He noted that while they were developing the game, "Halfway through the project, Epic came up with Unreal Engine 5, but the game is based on Unreal Engine 4.26. If we had more time, we would have probably gone with UE5, but it was a lot of work just upgrading to 4.26."
It is worth mentioning that Arkane has said in the past that they wouldn't be using Unreal Engine 5. Over on the Redfall FAQ page, you'll find a question asking, "What game engine is Redfall utilizing?" with the answer being...
The domestic violence charges filed against Rick & Morty co-creator Justin Roiland have been dropped, IGN has confirmed.
A representative with the Orange Country District Attorney, which originally filed the charges, told IGN that they were dropped today as "we did not have sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt," in addition to "additional information that came to light during the investigation."
“I commend the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for conducting a thorough review of the facts and deciding to dismiss the case against Justin," Roiland's attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, told IGN in a statement. "I’m thankful justice has prevailed.”
Roiland also broke his silence today, speaking publicly on...
Redfall was also in development for PlayStation 5 before Microsoft acquired Bethesda, according to the game's director. This version was ultimately canceled and the game became exclusive to Microsoft platforms.
In an interview with IGN France, Arkane's Harvey Smith explained, “We got bought by Microsoft and that was a huge sea change. They said, ‘no PlayStation 5. Now we’re gonna do Game Pass, Xbox, and PC.’”
Originally, Redfall was meant to release on all platforms. Smith said that the studio didn’t mind that decision, however. He continued, “Support from Game Pass and have to worry about one less platform, one less complexity. And Game Pass has a ton of people that can play. It could be our biggest game ever because of the 30...
At GDC 2023, Epic Games held a State of Unreal event, where the company unveiled the latest updates for Unreal Engine. We got a fresh look at some new tools coming soon to creators, as well as how some of these tools are being used in upcoming games like Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2.
If you missed the livestream, here's a quick roundup of everything announced during the 2023 State of Unreal event.
Unreal Editor For Fortnite allows players to develop their own games inside the popular Battle Royale
Unreal Editor for Fortnite (UEFN) is a new add-on available for the PC version of Fortnite. As Epic Games notes, the application works side-by-side with Fortnite's existing creative toolset and is to be used for "designing, developing, and...
Valve has suddenly confirmed Counter-Strike 2 - and it's arriving sooner than you might think.
An exact release date has yet to be announced, but it's been given a Summer 2023 release window, and will run on Source Engine 2.
It will be a free upgrade to CS:GO. It's also available in limited testing to some CS:GO players starting today, with Valve revealing more details on how to become part of the limited test.
Per a CS2 website that popped up today, it's "the largest technical leap forward in Counter-Strike’s history, ensuring new features and updates for years to come." In several videos released today, Valve gave a closer glimpse at what Counter-Strike players can expect.
Specifically, Valve spotlighted its "upgraded and...
When Miles Tost moved from The Witcher 3 to Cyberpunk 2077 in 2016, he soon realized that he was dealing with a unique challenge. Despite both being RPGs, the two “couldn’t be more different,” with CD Projekt aiming to make a “gigantic leap forward” in terms of the freedom that Cyberpunk 2077 offered with gameplay. As a level designer, Tost was asked to create levels that supported every style of play, from brute force to stealth to everything else in between, all in a huge open world.
“As insane as it sounded, it also sounded f*cking awesome, and boy were we up to the challenge,” Tost said.
Of course, we know what happened next. Cyberpunk 2077 struggled when it was released in 2020, especially on older consoles like the PlayStation...
Arkane Austin has said that it is working on a fix that will reverse Redfall’s always-online requirement, an aspect that was met with backlash when first announced.
In an interview with Eurogamer, game director Harvey Smith said, “We listen. And we have already started work to address this in the future. We have to do some things like encrypt your save games and do a bunch of UI work to support it. And so we are looking into - I'm not supposed to promise anything - but we're looking into and working actively toward fixing that in the future.”
Smith also went into more detail about why Redfall was designed as an always-online experience from the start. It wasn’t to sell microtransactions from an in-game store, as the game doesn’t...
In a game all about vampire slaying it’s pretty important that killing your blood-feasting foes feels like an event in and of itself. That’s exactly what Arkane Austin has done with Redfall; much like how assassination-sim Dishonored had gloriously bloody backstab animations, Redfall revels in the act of plunging a wooden stake through a vampire’s heart. There’s weight in the blow as you knock your foe backwards and slam them into the floor, pushing a boot into a jaw that quickly evaporates into fiery dust. Yeah, killing vampires in Redfall feels good.
At a recent hands-on event I played around 90 minutes of Redfall, which gave me the first taste of something akin to a Far Cry game made by Stephen King. It’s an open-world shooter set...
It's always fascinating to see who else will step up their game during a Steam Sale. This year, it seems to be almost everybody — Microsoft and the always impressive Amazon AU being the most notable. I've ripped and torn my way through every bargain list on your behalf. Nothing but the cream of the cheapy crop awaits you below. Happy hunting. This Day in Gaming
- The Revenge of Shinobi (MD) launch, 1989. Get
- SaGa Frontier 2 (PS) launch, 2000.
- Ico (PS2) launch, 2002. Sequel
- Devil May Cry 3 (PS2) launch, 2003. Remaster
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS) launch, 2006. Related
- Need for Speed: Carbon (PS3) launch, 2007. Descendant
- Fight Night Round 3 (PS3) launch, 2007. Sequel
- Ninja Gaiden 3 (PS3, X360) launch, 2012...
Playing as a scion of the hereafter fighting his way through the realms beneath in a roguelike graveyard shift might sound familiar. I also played Hades. But Have a Nice Death let me take control of your boy, Death himself, who runs a very different kind of quirky, new underworld order. Full of dark and dry workplace humor, this clerical reimagining of life after death as a soulless corporation forms the backdrop for some wicked hard, frantic, side-scrolling combat. And at its best, it's a killer time, even if the progression systems don't do the best job of providing ongoing motivation.
Slaying my way through randomized levels and laying the smackdown on the various, rank-and-file deadbeats was the highlight of this Stygian...
Microsoft says Sony has no reason to worry about an inferior version of Call of Duty launching on PlayStation consoles, should the Microsoft and Activision Blizzard acquisition go through.
In its latest submission to the UK's Competition and Markets Authority, Microsoft responded to Sony's concerns that Microsoft and Activision Blizzard would sabotage the PlayStation version of future Call of Duty titles. In its filing, Microsoft referenced a new remedy proposal that addresses Sony's concerns of a "worse version of CoD titles on PlayStation consoles".
Microsoft claimed that its current proposal would would actually encourage the Call of Duty developers and publishers to create a PlayStation version that's optimized for the platform...
EA has announced that it'll stop selling Battlefield 1943, Battlefield: Bad Company 1 and 2, and Mirror's Edge from all digital storefronts on April 28.
The move comes before the company shuts down online services for all those games on Dec. 8. Once their online features are removed, they'll no longer be playable online, but you'll still be able to play both Bad Companies and Mirror's Edge's offline features.
EA announced the news on its website, where it wrote, "While these titles hold a special place in our heart, we're now looking forward to creating new memories alongside you as we shift our focus towards our current and future Battlefield experiences." As the blog post goes on, EA details what these games meant to them and how...
CD Projekt Red is re-evaluating The Molasses Flood's upcoming Witcher game, codenamed Sirius, and has filed an impairment charge as a result.
Twitter user Game Over Thirty (below) shared an announcement to investors from CD Projekt Red, indicating that all may not be well with one of the many upcoming Witcher games. An impairment charge is filed by a business to write off assets that have dropped in value or been lost completely.
What this means for the game is currently unclear, though it is possible that CD Projekt Red has essentially reset development.
It has denied the project is scrapped altogether, however, as senior communication manager Paweł Burza told IGN that "our current focus is ensuring that Project Sirius is aligned...
If you play video games on PC, you’re probably aware that the Steam Spring Sale is currently in full swing. And if you weren’t, now you are. The thing is, it ends March 23, at 10 a.m. Pacific. So if you’ve been putting off picking something up, you’re running out of time. Read on for some of our picks, or just hop over to the sale now.
Steam Gift Cards
If you want to load up on Steam gift cards before hitting the sale, you can do so here.
Steam Deck Is 10% Off
The Steam Deck is my favorite piece of gaming hardware I own. I use it every day. It’s a revolutionary device that lets me play games like Red Dead Redemption 2, the Dead Space remake, Resident Evil Village, and 99.9% of the other games I would want to play, anywhere. I don’t...
Former Firaxis director Jake Solomon said that he wants to start his studio, but it most likely won’t be another turn-based strategy game. He worked as the director for Marvel’s Midnight Suns and the XCOM franchise.
On an episode of the podcast My Perfect Console, Solomon explained, “After I made Midnight Suns I looked at, ‘ok, I’m going to make another turn-based strategy game, and am I excited about that?’”
He continued: “I found that I wasn’t that excited about doing another turn-based strategy game, not because the genre isn’t amazing. It’s where I’ve spent my life, but I felt like I didn’t have anything more to say in that area.”
When asked what kind of game he’d make, Solomon said that he’d most likely create a simulation game...
Blizzard has said the technical issues that plagued Diablo 4’s “rocky” open beta have helped pave the way for its full launch on June 6.
Last weekend saw Blizzard hold the first mostly open beta for Diablo 4, which was accessible for gamers who had either preordered a copy of the game or obtained a promotional code by ordering chicken from KFC. Unfortunately, the three-day event was marred by numerous technical issues that forced players to endure prolonged queue times while encountering frustrating error messages.
“The word beta nowadays has kind of been misconstrued, where people start calling things beta that’s [actually] a marketing beta, and it’s just another term for a demo,” said Diablo 4’s general manager Rod Fergusson in an...
It's a shame we don't see more open-world games set in the sweeping dunes of a great desert, and yet Atlas Fallen embraces this setting stylishly – bringing plenty of new ideas to the table, including a sand slide move that replaces the traditional sprint and quickly makes me feel like I’m back playing Journey again as I pave my way through Atlas Fallen’s golden oasis of destruction. That’s saying nothing of the unique combat system which has me darting around mid-air between explosive attacks that often leave my foes shattered into a thousand bits of sand and crystal dust, and I do mean that literally! Granted, the demo build I spent several hours testing didn’t always feel as smooth as I’d have hoped, and I couldn’t figure out whether...
Few video games in history have cribbed more of its foundation from the Warhammer universe than the original Doom. The landmark '90s first-person shooter was filled to the brim with titanic demonspawn, disemboweling shotgun blasts, and sweaty comic-book machismo — not unlike the goliath space marines in the grim darkness of the far future. So it's fitting that Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is such a dogmatic tribute to the tenets of vintage, id Software-hewn monster slaying. The latest entry in Games Workshop's digital empire aims to take us back to a happier age: a time of 2.5D sprites, gelatinous blood splatters, and level maps dotted with secrets, keys, and ammunition pickups. The 90s are back, baby. John Carmack would be proud.
You...
It’s very easy for disabled people to feel betrayed when a game lacks proper accessibility, and rightfully so. How can studios expect us to celebrate these innovations and victories if we still can’t play their games? But if there is one lesson I’ve learned from personally playing and professionally critiquing some of our favorites, it’s that major developments should be celebrated, even if that means potentially missing out on brand-new experiences.
When I write, I tend to avoid including my own perspective, aside from reviews. I’ve always felt uncomfortable discussing personal stories, especially since I share a space with over 400 million disabled players, each deserving to highlight how the games industry is helping or failing...
Aussie Deals: Octopath Traveler II Drops to $59, Spring Into the Hottest Steam Sale Picks, and More!
Today, a PC-based, Spring-centric sale continues to pick up, uh... steam. I've pinpointed individual titles worth owning, plus a bunch of franchises entire that deserve a purchase. Might I once again suggest you consider scoring a Steam Deck from Kogan, as I did recently. I have nothing but good things to say about it, even though the transaction cost an arm and a leg. But hey — they'll grow back, right? This Day in Gaming
- Panzer Dragoon Orta (XB) launch, 2003. Get
- MX Superfly (XO) launch, 2003. Descendant
- Sonic Advance 2 (GBA) launch, 2003. Descendant
- Metroid Prime (GC) launch, 2003. Remaster
- Trials Evolution (PC) launch, 2013. Sequel
- Mario Party 10 (WiiU) launch, 2015. Descendants
Table of Contents
Nintendo Switch...
Rare and Microsoft are celebrating the fifth anniversary of Sea of Thieves, but the developers are also looking out toward the horizon for the next five years of the live service pirate adventure.
In an article on Xbox Wire, Xbox revealed that the Sea of Thieves team at Rare recently sat down to plot out the next five years of the game.
“I think 10 years of Sea of Thieves will feel like a long time – but also, we’ll blink and be there," creative director Mike Chapman said. "And I still think we’ll have unfinished business when we get to that point.”
The Sea of Thieves team is apparently discussing ideas for smuggling mechanics, rewards for protecting other players from griefers, and a mechanic for "painting" screenshots. The...
Bandai Namco is continuing to celebrate the first anniversary of Elden Ring by sharing a morbid but hilarious infographic on the number of times players have died in the game. Spoiler alert: they've been killed over 9 billion times to date.
There are a thousand ways to die, but the publisher created a pie chart narrowing it down to four causes of in-game deaths. According to the chart, damage from enemies and NPCs, including boss fights, is the leading cause of in-game death at 69%. The infographic revealed that players attempted to fight Malenia 329 million times. That number may not reveal how many players died at her hands, but it doesn't exactly show how many players defeated her, either.
Meanwhile, players have tried fighting...
EA's Respawn Entertainment has released a story trailer for Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, setting the scene for Cal Kestis' next adventure.
The trailer, which you can watch above still includes plenty of gameplay, opening with an Uncharted 2-style scene of Cal holding onto a ship for dear life as it falls off a cliff.
It also gives a look at Merrin and Greez in Survivor for the first times (as the sequel takes place five years after Fallen Order), with Merrin sporting a new hairstyle and Greez sporting a new arm.
"The dark times are closing in as Cal Kestis seeks out a safe haven far from the reach of the Empire," reads an official synopsis. "Five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, a more mature Cal Kestis must...
Hideo Kojima originally considered Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes as an experiment for an episodic format. It was a prologue to 2015’s Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
Kojima went into more detail about Ground Zeroes development for its nine year release anniversary. “In fact, it was my big intention to launch GZ. The development of a full game takes four to five years. Times change during production," Kojima said on Twitter (below). “So I thought of offering an episodic format, like a streamed drama, where one episode is produced and distributed. GZ was meant to be an experiment.”
He also explained the Metal Gear Solid V prologue was an introduction to Snake’s vengeance in The Phantom Pain's story and its theme of...
Capcom has released a cute yet unsettling anime trailer for Resident Evil 4, offering an all too merry look at the horror remake ahead of its launch later this week.
The cheerful clip introduces "Leon and the Mysterious Village" in an episode that sees Leon Kennedy approaching various folk while looking for the US president's missing daughter, Ashley Graham, only to find that his search is - quite literally - cut short in the most unsuspected way.
Acclaimed Japanese studio Nippon Animation produced the short but sweet video in the style of its classic World Masterpiece Theater series, which first aired from 1969 to 1997 before restarting again in 2007 and running through to 2009 with its various animated adaptations.
The...