Gaming News

Xbox Games With Gold for October 2022 Revealed

Microsoft has announced October 2022’s Xbox Games With Gold, including Windbound and Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition. As revealed at Xbox Wire, next month’s lineup is led by the shipwreck survival game, Windbound. Bomber Crew Deluxe Edition rounds out this month’s offerings – a strategic World War II bombing game that puts you in the cockpit. The two new Games With Gold titles will be available throughout October for anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate. Beginning on October 1, Windbound will kick things off with a neat shipwreck survival experience. Windbound is available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S – a delightfully challenging survival game that sees you play as Kara, shipwrecked on the Forbidden Islands with...

View full article »

Skyrim: Anniversary Edition Got a Surprise Switch Release Today

Surprise! Skyrim Anniversary Edition just landed on Nintendo Switch. Nintendo has announced that The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is available now on the Nintendo eShop – a nice surprise for fans who want to play the classic RPG on the move. “New quests, foes, weapons, and more await you in Tamriel,” said Nintendo via Twitter. “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is out now on #NintendoSwitch!” Of course, it’s been on the cards for a while. Skyrim was released on Nintendo Switch back in 2017 and with the arrival of the Anniversary Edition on other platforms, it was only a matter of time. It's a lovely surprise to wake up and find it's already out, however. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition...

View full article »

Overwatch 2 Review in Progress

Here are my early impressions of Overwatch 2 after playing for several hours. For my full scored review check back next week when Overwatch 2 launches. Is Overwatch 2 truly a sequel? It’s a question that has lingered around the second iteration of Blizzard’s multiplayer shooter ever since its unveiling in 2019, and one that intensified when it was revealed that it will fully replace the existing Overwatch, not exist alongside it. Well, now it’s finally in our hands, and I can say that while it’s less of a reinvention and more of an evolution of the intense, nuanced, and brilliantly colourful team-based battle that made its predecessor so enjoyable, it still brings enough new things to the table that it feels like its own distinct game...

View full article »

Scorn Release Date Moved Forward

Scorn, the upcoming H.R. Giger-inspired puzzle adventure, is coming out earlier than expected. The game will now be released on October 14 instead of October 21. Coming to Xbox Series X/S and PC, no reason has been given for the move in date – but given how many delays we've had this year, it's a welcome bit of news. Scorn promises to take players "into an isolated, strange, dream-like world. Left unguided to fend for themselves, players must explore Scorn’s interconnected bio-labyrinth, learning its rules and mastering grotesque puzzles along the way as they come to understand their own predicament." We went hands-on with the first hour of the game recently, saying, "At its best, Scorn already feels like a deeply odd, deeply...

View full article »

Aussie Deals: A Swath of Switch Games Go $59 or Below, a 5 Buck Deluxe Need For Speed and More!

It's one of those days that bargain hunting writers live for. The situation where there are so many awesome deals afoot, it's to everybody's detriment if too much time is spent writing an intro paragraph. Do that, and the deals will vanish. Hell, I probably don't even have time to finish four senten Table of Contents Nintendo Switch PC Xbox PlayStation Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Great Deals From Yesterday Purchase Cheaply for PC Great Deals From Yesterday Exciting Offers for XO/XS Great Deals From Yesterday Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Great Deals From Yesterday Legit LEGO Bargains Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays at ludicrous difficulties on YouTube. Continue reading...

View full article »

Major Disney Dreamlight Valley Patch Featuring Scar Gets a Timing Update

Disney Dreamlight Valley’s upcoming patch is coming in about three weeks. The update, which also adds The Lion King character, Scar, will be coming this fall, but Disney is yet to pin down an actual release date. “The next bug fixes will be released as part of the first content update featuring Scar, this fall,” they confirmed via Twitter. “While we can't share exact timing yet, we are targeting a release in around 3 weeks.” Although the developers didn’t give a definite date, they did confirm that this will be separate from the current Star Path end date. They also gave an update on what they consider to be priority issues in the game: “Expect updates on the following in the coming weeks as we get closer to locking fixes...

View full article »

Who Should Make a New Ninja Gaiden? – Unlocked 563

It's a potpourri of Xbox topics on this week's episode! Stella gives her impressions of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer, Grounded gets a well-earned 9 out of 10 review score from IGN, we discuss who should make the next Ninja Gaiden game if Team Ninja is too busy, Ryan and Destin argue about Splinter Cell, and more! Subscribe on any of your favorite podcast feeds, to our YouTube channel, or grab an MP3 of this week's episode. For more awesome content, check out our recent interview with Todd Howard, who answered all of our Starfield questions after the big reveal at the Xbox Showcase: For more next-gen coverage, make sure to check out our Xbox Series X review, our Xbox Series S review, and our PS5 review. Ryan...

View full article »

The DioField Chronicle Review

It’s easy to draw lines between The DioField Chronicle’s sweeping story of war, magic, and shady politics and those of Game of Thrones or Fire Emblem. I'd have to write off the whole fantasy genre if borrowing were a deal-breaker, but they still have to figure out how to assemble those parts into something that stands alone. In this case, it ends up feeling like, at best, a generic version of its inspirations. And while its real-time combat system is an exciting twist, it's often difficult to work with the controls as you fight through its quick, engaging battles. Even the characters who end up having unexpected or interesting roles to play in the unfolding tale end up coming across a bit dull, though that's no fault of the veteran...

View full article »

Terraria Update is a Big Surprise for the Community

Terraria just got a surprise update adding a whole bunch of new content despite claiming in 2020 that updates for the popular sim would end. The Labor of Love update brings with it upside-down worlds, a melee overhaul, the ability to transform into a wolf, and plenty of new items among other cool additions to the game. “This update is a love letter to all our fans,” reads the official patch notes. “Labor of Love contains many fan suggestions, while also tackling a lot of little things that we think everyone can relate to and will enjoy. As is tradition, we have left a few surprises behind for you to discover yourselves. Topping it off, we were able to get this out to everyone at the same time… for the first time, Terrarians...

View full article »

Brandon Sanderson Says Moonbreaker Collab Isn't Like George R. R. Martin and Elden Ring

Fantasy writers teaming up with game studios is seemingly on the rise – just ask Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, who famously partnered with From Software on Elden Ring. But writer Brandon Sanderson is doing things a bit differently than Martin and From when it comes to his partnership with Unknown Worlds on the upcoming Moonbreaker. In an interview with IGN, we asked Sanderson, author of Mistborn and the Cosmere fictional universe, how he got involved with the creators of Subnautica on the digital miniatures game, and he said his collaboration with the team was more extensive than you might think. According to Sanderson, Unknown Worlds approached him with the offer to help build an "optimistic" science-fantasy world for...

View full article »

The World of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North Reveals the Game's Hidden Lore

Assassin's Creed Valhalla has added all sorts of fascinating new details to this long-running franchise, even as it offers a very detailed look at 9th Century Viking culture. All of that is fueling Dark Horse's latest companion book, The World of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Journey to the North — Logs and Files of a Hidden One. This 208-page art book is presented as an in-universe journal written from the point of view of Hytham, a character introduced in Assassin's Creed Valhalla as a tutor to the main character, Eivor. The book chronicles the lore and stories driving the plot of the game, serving as both an expansion of Valhalla's story and a look at the real history that inspired the game. Here's dark Horse's official summary for...

View full article »

Cyberpunk 2077 Passes 20 Million Copies Sold

Cyberpunk 2077 has hit a huge sales milestone, as CD Projekt revealed the game has surpassed 20 million copies sold. The game originally launched in December 2020, meaning it took under two years for the game to reach the 20 millon mark. We last got a Cyberpunk 2077 sales update in April, where we learned the game had sold 18 million copies. The game has sold 2 million additional copies since then, most likely thanks to a combination of the Cyberpunk Edgerunners Netflix anime and the announcement of Phantom Liberty, the game's first and only major DLC expansion. This sales milestone is just the latest in a string of good news for Cyberpunk 2077, which is a refreshing change of pace after the game's disastrous launch. CD Projekt...

View full article »

Dead Space Remake Team Showed Diehard Fans the Game Every Six Weeks in Early Development

Dead Space developers used diehard fans to help keep them on track. During a new blog post, creative director Roman Campos-Oriola revealed that the Dead Space remake devs consulted with their very own community council every six weeks. “Really, really early in development, we started discussions with some members of the community who were identified by our team as diehard fans,” he revealed. “We met with them every six weeks, roughly, and we gave them full access to what we were doing.” Why did they consult the fans? Well, it seems they wanted to get opinions on a variety of “polarizing” topics. “Because we have our opinions, but that doesn’t mean we’re right!” said senior producer Philippe Ducharme. “There were a number of...

View full article »

Skull and Bones Delayed for the Fifth Time

Skull & Bones, Ubisoft's pirate battler that's been in development limbo for years now, has been delayed yet again. This is the fifth time. In a press release today, Ubisoft has given a new release date of March 9, 2023, allowing Skull & Bones to sneak in just ahead of the end of its financial year. The publisher explained in the release that while "game development is finished at this stage," the extra four months will be used to "further polish and balance the experience" following technical tests and Insider Program feedback from prior closed betas. Skull & Bones' development has been a tumultuous ride. It was first revealed back at E3 2017, appearing at the time to be a riff off of the naval combat in Assassin's Creed: Black...

View full article »

Mina the Hollower: The First Preview

Over the past decade, developer Yacht Club Games has created an empire under their Shovel Knight brand making them arguably the face of the indie game space. But with Mina the Hollower, the studio is aiming to bring something completely new to the table, and after my first-look demo, I am eager to see more. Inspired by the Game Boy Color era and more specifically, The Legend of Zelda franchise, Mina the Hollower wants to bring the best in old and new game design while introducing its own mechanics into the mix. After playing a full level of the game, I was met with fair, but challenging obstacles to overcome alongside fresh, but also familiar gameplay. The result was something that felt completely its own. At first glance, Mina the...

View full article »

Intel’s Arc A770 Gets $329 Price Tag and October Release Date

Over a year after Intel announced it would begin making graphics cards and delays, the CPU maker has officially announced that it will enter the desktop GPU market next month with its Arc A770 graphics card. Intel's Arc A770 features 16GB of GDDR6 memory, 32 Xe cores, a 21000MHz clock, and uses Intel's Xe graphical architecture. The A770 will also support XeSS, Intel's supersampling technology that will compete with AMD's FidelityFX Super Resolution (FSR) and Nvidia's DLSS. Several games confirmed to support XeSS include Ghostwire: Tokyo, Death Stranding: Director's Cut, and Gotham Knights. The Intel Arc A770 will be available beginning October 12 — the same day that Nvidia's new flagship GPU, the RTX 4090, will be available to...

View full article »

Dragon Ball: The Breakers - The Final Preview

I admit that I initially found the idea of an asymmetrical, Dead By Daylight-inspired multiplayer game based on the Dragon Ball universe to be a bit absurd. I had so many questions as to how it would work, what it would look like, and if it could stand out as its own experience that isn’t carried by its very famous name. After learning more about the ins and outs of Dragon Ball: The Breakers’ minute to minute gameplay while playing it for myself, the answer to that is complicated. While there are plenty of different strategic options to try and win with when you’re a survivor, there is a lot more required than general gameplay at face value to secure a victory. Dragon Ball: The Breakers is a 1vs7 multiplayer game where seven...

View full article »

Age of Empires Anniversary Stream Will Include Announcements and 'Some Surprises'

With the 25th anniversary of Age of Empires fast approaching, Xbox Game Studios and Relic Entertainment have announced a special anniversary stream timed to roughly coincide with the big day. Set for October 25 at 10am PT, the anniversary broadcast will feature announcements, interviews, and "some surprises." It will be hosted on Twitch along with the main Age of Empires and Xbox YouTube channels. In addition, Xbox has announced a special Age of Empires IV: Anniversary Edition for Steam and the Microsoft Store. The new release will feature all of the previous updates along with the new Anniversary Update, which will include the Ottoman and Malian civilizations. First released last year, Age of Empires IV is a major revival for the...

View full article »

Dead Island 2 Has Breakable Weapons to Balance Its ‘Over-the-Top Mentality’

Dead Island 2 will feature breakable weapons, so you might want to stock up. During an interview with VG247, developer Adam Duckett defended the game’s durability system. “Ranged weapons have ammo, so melee weapons have degradation,” he stated. “We’re generous with it; we want players to explore the full arsenal of weapons – so we have so many great mods, and so many perks, and so many other things in this game that we want players to cycle through. It also helps that players can keep a wide variety of tools in their arsenal, so they’re never going to be without something they can use.” Dead Island 2 is set to debut on February 3, 2023, and follows the highly successful Dead Island, this time seeing players fighting off a zombie...

View full article »

Infinity Ward Promises to Improve Modern Warfare 2's Footstep Audio and Enemy Visibility Following Open Beta

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will balance that footstep audio before its official launch. According to a post-beta statement from developer Infinity Ward, the upcoming Modern Warfare sequel will be getting a few tweaks before it launches. “While sentiment around footstep audio was more positive in Beta Weekend Two, we have seen your continued feedback on the volume of footsteps and will continue to balance enemy/friendly footstep audio ahead of launch,” it confirmed. Additionally, it looks as though enemy visibility will be balanced, too. “Enemy visibility is something that came up throughout both weekends of our Beta,” said Infinity Ward. “While many of you remarked on the improvement in Weekend Two, we’ll look to tweak...

View full article »

New Overwatch 2 Players Will Need to Play 100 Matches to Unlock Original Characters

New Overwatch 2 players won’t be able to use classic Overwatch heroes straight away. A new blog post over at the Overwatch website has revealed that new players will need to grind out around 100 matches to unlock the complete roster of original Overwatch 1 characters. “New players begin with access to a limited set of game modes, heroes, and some other restrictions to onboard them more gradually,” they revealed. “The first phase of our new [First Time User Experience] rapidly unlocks all the game modes and the ability to chat in-game, and the second phase unlocks all the original Overwatch heroes over the course of approximately 100 matches.” The idea behind the move is to prevent overwhelming new players with too much to learn...

View full article »

FIFA 23 Will Let You Disable Commentary Criticizing Your Play

FIFA 23 lets you turn off commentary criticizing your play, so you don’t have to hear how you're letting the side down. According to Eurogamer, this new feature is live right now after FIFA 23 early access launched a day early on EA Play. Just hop into the settings and check the box marked “Disable Critical Commentary” to make sure you only get the nicest pep talks from the likes of Derek Rae, Stewart Robson, and Alex Scott. Get in! Checking this box means you won’t get any commentary that’s critical of how you play, so no more comments about your shoddy defense, for starters. However, you will still get the regular comments they say throughout a match. It’s likely that this feature made it into the game simply to make for a more...

View full article »

Session: Skate Sim Review

Warning: Session is a hard game and will test your patience. Those aren’t my words; they’re the words of the developer, Creā-ture Studios itself, splashed verbatim on each of Session’s trick list menus. That’s a belated caveat for the presumably bewildered people mining the menus for shreds of advice on how to actually do anything in this diabolically difficult skateboarding sim. With a two-stick control system that flies in the face of generations of muscle memory, Session is a complex but very grounded simulation of street skating that can appear wonderfully authentic when executed well. However, despite the fact that it’s just emerged from several years of early access, it doesn’t quite appear fully ready for release: physics bugs...

View full article »

Grounded Review

As someone who played it during its early access period, I was immediately surprised by how much Grounded has evolved for its 1.0 launch. It feels like it’s not only fulfilled the potential of its “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids” survival premise, but exceeded nearly all of my expectations of it. Even though it’s still plagued with mostly harmless bugs (the software kind) that can annoy, I enjoyed practically every minute of the over 100 hours I’ve played so far of this stunningly creative and consistently funny adventure, and it easily stands shoulder to shoulder alongside some of my favorite survival games. Grounded is a survival game first and foremost, but draws a ton of inspiration from Obsidian’s history as a team of RPG wizards as...

View full article »

Aussie Deals: The Sweetest Picks of School Holiday Sales and Digital Store Promotions!

Having two weeks off school is great, in theory. The concept loses appeal if La Niña insists on submerging large parts of the world outside your home. It also sucks if you're a work-from-home parent, trying to provide and prevent their offspring from giving the family cat a makeover with condiments. This last example could just be a me thing. So let's just get to the deals that can bring us all blessed distraction... Notable Sales for Nintendo Switch Great Deals From Yesterday Purchase Cheaply for PC Great Deals From Yesterday Exciting Offers for XO/XS Product Savings for PS4/PS5 Great Deals From Yesterday Legit LEGO Bargains Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays at ludicrous difficulties on YouTube...

View full article »

Artemis: PUBG Creator’s Next Game Will Have NFTs and the Metaverse

PUBG creator Brendan Greene has revealed his next game – a blockchain-powered metaverse title. During an interview with Hit Points, the 45-year-old game developer revealed that Artemis, his next game, will feature NFTs, the metaverse, and blockchain. “[Artemis] will be a platform that we participate in the maintenance of, maybe,” he explained. “But it’s something that anyone can plug into, and everyone can host a bit of themselves.” Artemis will reportedly let players make anything they like as part of a large, open world. But now, it looks as though the project will incorporate blockchain. "I was fascinated with this idea of digital spaces, places where there are no real rules but a set of systems that you can use,” explained...

View full article »

Here’s Trombone Champ Being Played With a Custom Trombone Controller

Gaming Twitter belongs to Trombone Champ right now, with tons of videos floating around of people trying (and usually hilariously failing) to play the wacky rhythm game. If you haven't heard of it, Trombone Champ is a new PC game where you play classical tunes on the trombone, using your mouse or controller to adjust the pitch of the note your Mii-like avatar is playing. If you're even the slightest bit off with your note placement, the note will sound either sharp or flat, just like a real trombone. Unlike other rhythm games that only expect you to hit five buttons to sound like a rockstar, Trombone Champ's hilarity comes from its extreme requirements of precision. Now, as these things usually tend to go, some folks are coming up...

View full article »

Team Ninja Would Outsource a New Ninja Gaiden Game, But Only If It Would 'Exceed Expectations'

Team Ninja says that it is open to outsourcing its own IP, such as Ninja Gaiden, to other studios as long as the game being developed is able to exceed fan expectations. In an interview with VGC, Team Ninja's Fumihiko Yasuda - director of upcoming Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty - said, “If we were to theoretically work with another company on a new Ninja Gaiden title, we would need to make sure that it would be a title that the fans would really enjoy and exceed their expectations.” Yasuda explained that even though there is a big fanbase for existing IP like Ninja Gaiden, Team Ninja needs to balance its resources within the studio, including seeing what kind of skills members of the development team currently have. From there, they would...

View full article »

Steam Deck Interview: Valve Says Slimmer Steam Deck Has Drawbacks, Offers Dock Status Update

The Steam Deck is just over seven months old now, and Valve’s device has evolved considerably since our review criticized its compatibility issues and other problems. A host of updates have addressed everything from the fan curve to the system’s refresh rate, and Valve has been successful in getting more and more units into the hands of fans. In that respect, the Steam Deck has been very much a success. Still, fans have plenty of questions about the device, including the status of the missing dock – briefly spotted at the recent Tokyo Game Show – and Valve’s plans for the next iteration of the Steam Deck. To get some insight on these topics and more, we caught up with Steam Deck UX designer Lawrence Yang and business development...

View full article »

Overwatch 2 Boss Interested in Exploring Fortnite-Style Brand Crossovers

Overwatch’s Commercial Leader and Vice President, Jon Spector, has said that he is interested in exploring brand crossovers similar to those seen in Fortnite with Overwatch 2. Talking to Game Informer, Spector said: "I'm a big anime nerd myself. I think it's super cool when I see Naruto appear in Fortnite. I don't even play Fortnite, but that's awesome. And as we look at the Overwatch 2 space, those are things that we're interested in exploring. If and when we do that, one of our key values is to do it in a way that feels like a great fit for the Overwatch franchise." Spector added that Blizzard is less interested in displaying adverts in Overwatch 2 in order to fund its transition to free-to-play. The main generator of revenue will...

View full article »