One-upping 2020's Microsoft Flight Simulator seemed pretty challenging, considering just how advanced that game was back in the day, but the 2024 version of Microsoft Flight Sim aims to do so with gusto. And, according to the ???latest news, it won't even punish your PC for trying to run it.

Notably, the developer Asobo has been showing off just how impressive Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024's full 3D landscapes, gameplay features, and content are from the very start. This implied an extremely hefty list of PC hardware ?requirements, but the official listings are somewhat humble.

Now, obviously, the targeted 'Ideal Spec' for this game is basically top-of-the-line stuff, with 64 GB of RAM in town and the excellent RTX 4080/14700K combo. Yet, if you're just aiming to play the g?ame and enjoy the plan?es themselves, you're going to able to do so on the ageing RX 5700 GPU. Astonishing stuff, really.

Official hardware requirements for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 are now in

While it's always worth keeping a pinch of salt in hand when it comes to official?? system requirements, the stuff Aso??bo's shown off here is promising indeed. It suggests that the game is going to be particularly RAM-hungry, though somewhat forgiving on the GPU and CPU side of things. Let's be honest here: that Ryzen 5 2600X is getting a tad long in the tooth in 2024.

Storage-wise, too, this infographic is fairly surprising as it suggests the new Microsoft Flight Sim is going to be better at content compression than its predecessor. It's a steep difference, as the 2024 version of the game requires a relatively meager 50 GB of free space, while the 2020 build asked for thrice as much space by default, at 150 GB on day one.

As Microsoft Flight Simulator spans literally the entire planet, this time rendering it all in some seriously impressive detail, not a lot of that goodness can fit in those 50 gigs by default. To compensate, the game instead streams content from Microsoft's own servers, which means you'll need an Internet connection as well. Asobo specifies that a 10 Mbps Internet connection should do the trick well enough, though obviously th??e faster you trawl the net, the better.

If the bit that concerns you is that Microsoft Flight Sim 2024 is nowhere to be found on Steam, I wouldn't worry too much. One of Asobo's senior community managers recently stated that the game would be live for pre-order on September 26, well ahead of its November 19 release date. So, Asobo is getting to it, and the latest Flight Simulator absolutely is coming to Steam.

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Helldivers 2 is an online PvE game, where the E part is generally made up of hundreds of pissed-off bugs or gun-wielding robots. I????t's a hard game for those who seek challenge, but the latest buff patch may be making things too easy for some players �and the CCO agrees.

Developer Arrowhead Games released the largest patch yet for Helldivers 2 on September 17, 2024. It reworked enemies and applied massive buffs across the game's vast array of weapons and Stratagems. Guns hit harder, and bugs die faster than ever. In an attempt to balance things out, Helldivers take more damage to their limbs and ??torso. But for some, the overwhelming power may be a bit much for even the hardest difficulty setting.

Helldivers 2 could get a new difficulty level following the patch

The CCO of Arrowhead and the Helldivers 2 creative director Johan Pilestedt agrees. Taking to X, he asked followers for their thoughts on the new patch. Many were elated, telling Pilestedt that Helldivers 2 is better than ever. But there was at least one who said the game needed an even har??der difficulty.

"I agree," Pilestedt replied. As for the name of this proposed new mode, he posted replies that covered "Extr???a super helldive" and "Extra Super Duper Helldive," with the latter being his own suggestion. I'll throw my hat in the ring and vote for "Super-De-Duper Helldive."

The user isn't alone in this sentiment. Some in the Helldivers subreddit have said the patch makes the game easier for them. Naturally, this sparked a response from many? who disagree, and think the game feels more balanced with Arrowhead's "glass cannon" a??pproach.

Perso??nally, having played some hours fighting bots and bugs in Helldive, I ??think the difficulty is at a good spot. While I'm not a big fan of getting RKO'd by a random Hive Guard from behind, the weapons and reworks feel great.

The game is also still difficult, at least in my experience. I have only won about half my missions since the patch. But I'm chalking that up to relearning the game more than putting the fault squarely on the update. Maybe when the Super-est Helldive arrives, compl??aints about the challenge will decrease. But who am I kidding?

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I don’t know what’s real anymore. Sega and Ryu ga Gotoku Studio have announced that the next game in the Like a Dragon/Yakuza series will be Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii. The twist is that this one looks like some sort of fever drea?m ?where Majima becomes a pirate.

To be fair, this isn’t the first time that the series has gone deep into left field. Yakuza Dead Souls had the cast fighting zombies, after all. And in order to keep development time and costs down, the company frequently reus??es old settings in new ways. Perhaps they were mulling over what else they could do with their massive Hawaii map and somehow decided on this.

The? story shows Majima waking up on the beach of Rich Island with no memory of what happened. One thin?g leads to another, and he just kind of beats up the right people and winds up with a pirate ship. He and his crew decide that they’re going to search for a legendary treasure, which I’m sure is what most people would do if they found themselves in possession of an antique warship. There is also a pirate city called “Madlantis,â€?so how awesome is that? The trailer is a whopping 7 minutes long and covers all the important parts.

There are parts of Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii that seem familiar. For example, the bike courier mission from Infinite Wealth shows up in the trailer. The combat seems to be the classic real-time beat-’em-up style rather than the tur??n-based of the more recent core titles?, and you can switch between “Mad Dogâ€?and “Sea Dogâ€?fighting styles. There are also 

I was wondering what ife at sea is like, and apparently, there are “exhilarating real-time cannon battles.â€?It sounds like you battle the enemy ship until it’s ready to board. The marketing information doe??s mention that you “explore the open sea,â€?but whether that’s a map system or actual ship steering isn’t entirely clear.

Yeah, didn’t see that coming, but I’m on board. Get it? Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii will release for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC on February 27, 2025. As Sega commonly does, there is a rather sizeable Deluxe Edition with included DLC available.

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The latest update from EA about the mysterious Project Rene is here, and with it has come a huge amount of controversy. It’s been revealed that The Sims 4 is going to remain the focus of the series and that Project Rene, widely believed to be the codename for The Sims 5, will instead be a multiplayer game.  

If that news doesn’t fill you with ?confidence about the future ?of the life simulation series, you’re not alone. Fans across the globe have not been taking the news well, with thousands of players making their opinions heard on all corners of the internet.

Sims fans are not happy that Sims 5 isn’t in any future plans

It’s led to plenty of players proclaiming the curr??ent iteration of the series is? the worst so far, like this Twitter post:

With over 11,000 likes, it seems the opinion is a popular one, with the sentiment echoed by posts like this saying that Sims 5 could b?e the make or break of the franchise, but without it, t??he series has nowhere left to go:

R/thesims, one of the most popular subreddits for the game, has also been blowing up with similar posts, like this one saying they don't think they?? can take the many more years of content planned for the fourth installment:

With the number of upvotes and replies, many players seeming?ly? feel the same. 

We’ve talked about how expensive The Sims 4 is befo??re, and with the announcement that EA plans to further develop the game for years to come, that price will only increase. Many players have come out to say they feel the fourth game has lived far beyond its expiration date, and they can’t take more of it.

Some players even bel?ieve this is the nail in the coffin of the franc?hise as a whole:

We’ve talked about how expensive The Sims 4 is before, and with the announcement that EA plans to further develop the game for years to come, that price will only increa??se. These popular posts agree that EA is simply wringing the game for as much cash as possible and cares far more about the money than the serie?s itself. 

Although it seems the most popular reactions have been negative, it’s not all doom and gloom. Some Simmers like say that as long as development for Sims 4 continues, they’re not hea?rtbroken about not having a sequel:

The Sims has remained at the top of the life simulation game genre since its debut in 2000, and only time will tell if this decision to not go forward with The Sims 5 and instead focus on the current inst?allment and spinoffs will keep it ??there. 

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Party for Introverts has announced that their narrative vampire adventure, Cabernet, will arrive on Octobe?r 24. It will be released on Steam.

In Cabernet, you play as a newly turned vampire who has to incorporate themselves into a bunch of aristocrats. They call it a narrative RPG, but I think they mean it’s more of a social RPG in the sense that you get to put poin?ts into four categories of snobbery and can leverage them in conversation. There are also transformations, and you can eat the rich. It’s pretty rad.

I previewed Cabernet over a year ago, and I dug it. It nails the worldb??uilding, and the conversation system is pretty boss. My biggest concern was that this sort of game is deceptively ambitious. It takes a lot of planning to make a “choices matterâ€?of this complexity. When you show a slice?? of the first hour-or-so of a game like this, it hasn’t even left the runway. After that, it becomes more sprawling and entangled, and it can be difficult to manage.

That doesn’t mean that it can’t be done, and Cabernet hasn’t actually given me a reason to believe it won’t. I’ve been surprised by a f?ew games recently that have similarly taken on difficult formulas with success, so I’m hoping this will be anot?her case of that.

We’ll all find out when Cabernet launches on PC October 24, 2024.

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Developer Mega Cat Studios announced today that its long-in-development 16-bit top-down RPG shooter Lethal Wedding is moving into a new phase of development since it was announced back in 2019. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Lethal Wedding is its platforms: Sega Genesis and Mega Drive.

I'm not as familiar with the Genesis and Mega Drive as our very own Zoey "Retro Queen" Handley, but for even a layman like me I'm immediately getting Zombies Ate My Neighbors vibes from Lethal Wedding, so sign me up.

According to Mega Cat Studios, the story of Lethal Wedding kicks off after a drug ring of criminal clowns crashes a bachelor party and ki?dnaps your groom the day before the big wedding. Of course, it falls to the players, the bride-to-be and her mother-in-law to rescue him from the psycho circus performers. You know, just another day.

Lethal Wedding features couch co-op, over 25 upgrades, over 30 levels, fully animate??d cutscenes, and an innovative "Vow System" that gives you the option to earn upgrade??s at the expense of taking on new challenges in the ultimate risk vs reward situation.

Mega Cat Studios will be taking Lethal Wedding to Kickstarter on November 4 ahead of its Sega Genes?is and Mega Drive release.

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Developer Arrowhead Games made good on its promise, launching the biggest patch yet for Helldivers 2. Weapons were buf??fed, enemies were reworked, and my precious Eruptor got its groove back (welcome b?ack, shrapnel). But most of all, the community appears happy and players are returning.

"This is honestly the best patch ever," reads the headline of a post on the game's official subreddit. Such headlines have become more frequent, d???rowning out the cascade of posts written by frustrated community members. It feels like it's been a long time coming.

Members of the Helldivers 2 community have been vocally quite unhappy with how the game has been managed. In the last several months, many have bemoaned weapons nerfs and reworks. Players have suggested that the constant patches and updates harmed the effectiveness of weapons and stratagems, reducing their options when dealing with heavies such as Chargers. As disappointment reached a fever pitch, some players even decided to do the unthinkable: Turn treasonous.

What a?? difference i?t's been since the patch dropped.

Helldivers 2 players return, as memes replace discontent

Players on the community subreddit and X have been heaping praise on Arrowhead following the patch. The difference has been night and day. I visit the Helldivers subreddit several t??imes a week ?and, until recently, it was mostly me doom-scrolling like I was punishing myself by hopping on X. It's quite the change, seeing angry posts get replaced by joyous applause.

Johan Pilestedt, the CCO of Arrowhead, took to X to ask for everyone's thought??s on the patch. While there was at least one saying it was too late, others' replies were certainly more positive.

"I haven't had this much fun with the game in months," reads a reply by X user Swany. "??I think you guys really knocked it out?? of the park."

Things aren't perfect yet, however. Some are concerned that the game is easier now that weapons are more powerful. On a more serious note, there are still many countries that have been locked out due to a PlayStation Network account requirement. It's b?ee??n months, and there hasn't been much word of a fix.

But, for the most part, things seem to be on the rise. Players are returning to the game, with SteamDB showing a steady rise to 68K players on Steam. It's a big jump from the game's lowest point of 15K players in early September. The in-game player count is even more impressive, with around 90K players reported the night the patch landed.

Things are looking up once again for the game. Today also marks the launch of the new Premium Warbond, Chemical Agents. So far, it seems like another hit for?? Arrowhead. Let's hope the momentum continues.

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Black Mirror, Charlie Brooker’s dark anthology series, is returning for its seventh in 2025. Netflix is sharing more details on t??he seas??on as part of its Geeked Week, and they’re very exciting for long-time viewers.

Black Mirror has been a personal favorite since season one, and the series always shoot??s straight to the top of the “most watchedâ€?list on Netflix whenever a new season airs. Although we don’t have a confirmed release date yet, we do know a little more of what to expect, and who’s making an appearance among the cast of season 7.

Sequels, the final frontier

First and foremost, just to get this out of the way right now, "USS Callister" is indeed getting a much-hoped-for sequel episode in season 7. Although no details have been given, Brooker and the creative team behind Black Mirror have confirmed that o??ne episode will be a direct follow-up to season 4’s opening episode.

"USS Callis??ter" immediately became a fan-favorite, and hopes for a sequel have stirred ever since seaso??n 4 aired in 2017. 

In case you haven’t watched it (in which case you definitely should), "USS Callister" is centered around Robert Daly. He’s a gifted programmer who, out of frustration through what he feels is lack of recognition, sets up a Star Trek-esque simulation and things soon start to go wrong, in true Black Mirror style, for everyone involved. It’s worth watching, regardless of t?he promi??sed sequel.

Stars are already signed on for Black Mirror season 7

The cast list f?or seaso??n 7 was revealed in the above “data dropâ€?asset, although I’d be really impressed if you managed to see all the names that featured. Just in case you were unable, here’s the list in a much more permanent format:

• Awkwafina (Jackpot!)
• Milanka Brooks (Mum And I Don’t Talk Anymore)
• Peter Capaldi (Criminal Record)
• Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine)
• Patsy Ferran (Firebrand)
• Paul Giamatti (The Holdovers)
• Lewis Gribben (Blade Runner 2099)
• Osy Ikhile (Citadel)
• Rashida Jones (Sunny)
• Siena Kelly (Domino Day)
• Billy Magnussen (Road House)
• Rosy McEwen (Blue Jean)
• Cristin Milioti (The Penguin)
• Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids)
• Issa Rae (Barbie)
• Paul G. Raymond (Horrible Histories)
• Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)
• Jimmi Simpson (Westworld)
• Harriet Walter (Succession)

These are the lead cast members, but there will be others who appear alongside those already named. I’m excited to see what role Peter Capaldi plays, and Chris O’Dowd has been a personal favorite of mine ever since The IT Crowd, so this definitely has served ??to stir up my excitem?ent for the upcoming season 7. 

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Developer Digital Extremes has revealed some of the quality-of-life improvements coming to Warframe with its Koumei & the Five Fates update. Interestingly, there's a huge focus on streamlining the game for newcomers, something Warframe has seen a lot ??of ove??r the last couple of months.

The Koumei & the Five Fates update for Warframe launches in late 2024 and brings with it a new Warframe for players to master, as well as additional story content to dig into. However, in a recent blog post, Digital Extremes showcased how this update will also make the game more approachable as a newcomer. The game has seen loads of people join after leaving Destiny 2 following Bungie's layoffs, so this update couldn't come at a better time.

Demystifying the basics

There are loads of quality-of-life changes in this update that I wish I had when I was first getting into Warframe, but it'??s good to know they'll be there for new players. ??For example, stats have been shifted from your starter Warframe to make things a bit less overwhelming when jumping into the experience as a fresh player. A few other things, such as opening hacking puzzles and the time to intubate your first Kubrow have had time reductions to get you into the game and help you understand it much faster.

There's also going to be much more guidance in the game. A good example of this is when you come to sell unmastered items. You'll soon be greeted by a popup that tells you it's better to hit Rank 30 with it before? selling it so your Mastery Rank benefits as much as possible from your time played.

New abilities that you unlock will now have their input shown alongside their informatio??n on-screen when you first unlock them. I can't tell ??you how many times I've thought that it's great I have a new ability for a Warframe that I have no clue how to trigger.

What might be the best improvement, though, is Relic breakdowns. This is a small tab that'll appear when you hover over a Relic, displaying the owned and crafted status of their rewards. Relics are an abuse mechanic in Warframe, but they're essential to unlocking Prime Warframe?s without spending real-world cash,?? so they're a necessary evil. Soon, they'll just be a little less evil to work with.

It won't end with Koumei & the Five Fates either. Digital Extremes has explained that future updates will tackle other systems such as the Star Chart and understanding the order of main and side quests. Once you're into Warframe, these don't pose much of an issue at all, but they're definitely a barrier ?to entry that would be hard to push past ?without the game's incredibly helpful community on hand.

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Developer Visionary Realms revealed today that its upcoming fantasy MMORPG, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen, is set to enter Early Access in December 2024 after over a decade of development. Visionary Realms believes launching in Early Access will give players access to the game world of Terminus ahead of its 1.0 release and allow them to help shape Pantheon.

Originally announced in January 2014, Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen has been developed as an MMORPG seeking to bring back the h??eavy em?phasis on social aspects that seem to be mostly forgotten in modern-day MMOs. The goal is to give players the desire to group up with others and work together to overcome challenging encounters, be it in PvE or PvP.

The developer, Visionary Realms, was originally founded by legendary MMORPG developer Brad McQuaid, who served as Chief Creative Officer on Pantheon until he passed away in November 2019. After failing to reach its funding goal via Kickstarter—though it did raise ove?r $460,000 of it??s $800,000 goal—Visionary Realms began funding the MMORPG through its own website.

Even though not all content will be available in the Early Access release, the amount of available content does look beefy. Players will be able to level up to Level 40 while exploring six unique zones, eac??h with their own content and adventures. In terms of character, players can choose from six different races: Human, Ogre, Elf, Dark Myr, Dwarf, and Halfing. Each race has a selection of classes they are able to play as well, with 12 total classes at launch: Cleric, Dire Lord, Enchanter, Monk, Necromancer, Paladin, Ranger, Rogue, Shaman, Summoner, Warrior, and Wizard.

I firmly believe a return to the social elements that made classic MMORPGs great back in the heyday of EverQuest and classic World of Warcraft is in the genre's best interest. A fine mix of modern MMO with classic social elements may very well be the key to moving the genre forward, which has been rather stagnant in recent years. Hopefully Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen is a step in the right direction. We'll find out? soon when the MMORPG enters Early?? Access in December 2024.

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Sony has just unveiled the PlayStation's 30th anniversary Collection, which will feature various current-gen PlayStation products themed after ?the original PlayStation, and they look fantastic:

If you're looking to get a system, you can get a PS1-inspired PS5 slim, the upcoming PS5 Pro, or the PlayStation Portal. If you already have a console but still want to feel that sweet nostalgia, you can get the DualSense or the DualSense Edge, which S??ony will ??be selling separately.

The collection line will come in the exact same color as the original PlayStation, and will feature a bunch? of cool little Easter eggs such as commemorativ??e engravings,

The PS5 Pro will even feature a Product Number, as it's a very limite??d release of only 12,3000 units.

And my favorite, the PS button with all the colors seen in the original PlayStation logo?.

The consoles will also come with a bundle of? stickers, cable ties, and that awesome controller charger that's modelled after the cable from the original PS1 controller.

All in all, it's a similar idea to what Sony did 10 years ago with the PlayStation 4's 20th ann?iversary edition.

Sadly, the PS4's 20th anniversary edition came out at the same time a??s Sony made a 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 theme available for everyone, and Sony didn't announce anything similar this time around.

Is it worth it?

Anyone who's a fan of PlayStation likely already owns a PS5, or doesn't because they unfortunately don't have the means to buy one at the moment. I have a hard time believing that anyone will buy any of the??se as their first PlayStation considering how much easier just getting a regular PS5 wi??ll be.

I believe the items from the collection will mostly be acquired by one of two kinds of people. The first is hardcore fans who already own a system and �despite knowing how costly these are �want to relive even just a tiny a fragment of good times past. I'm afraid that the other people who'll get this in the current day, unfortunately, are the scalpers. If you think a PS5 Pro is costly right no??w, imagine how much it'll?? cost you once every single one of the units has already been sold.

The original PS1 is the console that made me really care about games. I sometimes open YouTube to play the PS1's opening sound. Needless to say, ??I'm aware of how susceptible I am to any nostalgia-based tricks Sony might try to pull on me, and ??many of you might be as well. I'd love to get any one of these items, but there are limits, so I might just stick to getting just one of those really slick DualSense controllers.

If you live in an area covered by PlayStation Direct, then you can ?begin preordering the 30th Anniversary items on September 26 through there. Otherwise, you will have to wait until then to go through your local?? retailers. The collection will be released on November 21.

The post Sony unveils the PlayStation 30th Anniversary Collection, and I sur?render to the?? nostalgia bait appeared first on Destructoid.

Hi?? again! I’m here to remind you that Destructoid has a whiz new newsletter: the Destruc??toid Changelog Newsletter. It’s a little bundle of something that gets dropped in your email inbox every Friday. You can get it in your Friday, just by typing your email in a box.

Each newsletter comes with a recap of all the most interesting/weird articles of the week. Pl?us, I â€?a human with typing fingers â€?will tell you about what neat game I’ve been playing that week. Lately, I’ve been playing games associated with Love-de-Lic veteran Yoshiro Kimura. Will I be continuing that trend? No! I’ll be upf??ront; this time, it’s not a Yoshiro Kimura game.

Also, we’ve got some news. We’re launching a special monthly issue this month. It will hit the last Monday of the month (September 30, in this case) for anyone who has been able to convince a friend to sign up through our referral link that is included in a vanilla weekly newsletter. Refer one person (using that link or URL, I have to stress this), and you’ll start receiving the monthly edition. This month, it’s an interview with indie developer TheCatamites, the person behind Anthology of the Killer, a bizarre horror title I gave high marks to back in June. Even if you don’t know who the?y are, I promise it’s a fun interview.

But wait, there’s more! The people behind-the-scenes of the newsletter have informed me that you can now access back issues at this site. If you just signed up, thi?s will let you go back and see what you missed. If you’re not signed up but are interested, you can read part of it. It’s usually just the bespoke intro rambling, which suggests to me that I should start writing more interesting intros.

Wow! So many benefits! And if you decide you don’t like it, you can always unsubscribe. I’ll pretend I didn’t notice, so you’ll only notice whiffs of awk?ward tension between us.

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Publisher Focus Entertainment has responded to dozens of the questions that Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 fans have been asking since the game's release. Chief among the answers are details of cha??nges coming to Vet?eran difficulty and PvP spawn camping, though many more are listed.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is an incredibly solid title that blew fans away when it was initially released. Over 2 million players jumped in within the first week, and it doesn't feel like things have slowed down since. Focus Entertainment has been welcoming questions from fans when it comes to requesting features and feedback, and the publisher has now answered a lot of these in a massive Q&A session on Steam.

Soon, Chaos won't be able to track our spawns

The most impactful responses from Focus Entertainment that I've noted are for difficulty and PvP. Veteran difficulty for the game's campaign is going to be adjusted in the future because it's just too challenging when playing solo. Part of the problem is that the AI bots aren't as useful as they could be, but this is by design because developer Sabe?r Interactive doesn't want the bots to take all the glory and focus from the real players.

This is ?something Focus Entertainment goes into great detail on because a fair few players have called out the bots for not being as good as them in each mission. The same goes for certain weapons, or every weapon that isn't the Melta Gun, that feel as though they're underpowered. This is being looked at and changes are on the way, but there's no date on when.

The fix that I think is the most important is a fix for spawn camping in PvP. You can walk around to the enemy team's spawn point with a Heavy class and annihilate them for more than a minute before the spawn resets to the opposite side of ?the map. Thankfully, spawn protection is coming in a future update, after which I think PvP will be in a much better state.

There are loads of other tiny fixes on the way that'll make Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 feel even better as we play it for dozens more hours while unlocking every perk and cosmetic. Wh?ile we won't be getting Chaos Space ??Marine armor, it does look like XP sharing for kicked players, new classes, and more melee weapons are definitely on the cards.

Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 really delivers the Warhammer 40K fantasy in video game form. There's so much to do in it already, and with features like P?vP prestiging and more Operations missions on the way, there's never been a better time to dedicate your life to the Emperor and join in.

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Tetsuya Nomura, the renowned Japanese developer who worked as a designer on Final Fantasy VII and directed the entire Kingdom Hearts franchise, recently did an interview for Young Jump magazine, where he revealed what his plans for Kingdom Hearts 4 are.

Per Siliconera, the Young Jump interviewer asked Nomura about the possible conclusion of the Kingdom Hearts series. The legendary developer jokingly responded that he only has a few years left before he retires, so he must consider what comes first. Although he specifically mentions that he at least plans to finish his work on the highly-anticipated Kingdom Hearts 4.

This response may catch fans off guard, since Nomura has barely mentioned his possible retirement in the past. While ma?ny of them claimed?? they were saddened by the news, most of them also agreed that, after taking a look at his extensive career working with Square Enix, his statement is completely reasonable.

With the release of Kingdom Hearts 3 in 2019, Nomura finally concluded the Dark Seeker Saga that he established in 2001 with the release of the first installment, meaning that he has been directing this franchise for over 20 years. Not to mention that he's worked on many other Square Enix titles, like Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Passing off the torch to new writers

But the inevitable question is, what will happen to Kingdom Hearts if Tetsuya Nomura retires? It's most likely that Disney and Square Enix will keep pushing for the development of new games, and fortunately for fans, Nomura is already testing the waters with a fascinating experiment: he revealed that he hired new writers that have never worked in the Kingdom Hearts franchise to write scenarios for the upcoming mobile game, Kingdom Hearts: Missing Link.

Ultimately, he is still in charge of writing the main script, but only time will tell if this experiment is going to benefit the franchise or not. The plot of Missing Link will cover a brand-new period in the timeline, so I'd be curious to see what new characters and worlds they wi?ll meet in this new title. It's at least refreshing to know that Nomura is already hiring new people to bring new ideas to the series.

Another point of interest in the interview was the overwhelming complexity of Kingdom Hearts' story, something that has affected the franchise's reputation over the years. Nomura acknowledged that the scenarios he writes can be quite complex, and ev??en revealed that voice actors often have difficulty following the plot of the games. Nevertheless, he and his staff usually help other people comprehend the story, and he even encourages them to ask him about it whenever they need to do so.

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Katsuhisa Minami's The Fable is a story of hitmen and yakuza, but it's not getting the type of game one might expect. Instead, developer Mono Entertainment's The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike has you construc?ting the perfect ??manga page for each battle. 

It's not often that every facet of a game's genre is right there in the title, but here we are. The Fable was announced as a roguelike deckbuilder in which panels from Minami's manga are the cards (via Gematsu). When it's time to battle, thes?e scenes will be dealt out randomly, giving you a shot to make the perfect page for each showdown. 

It's not just about the story the panels convey. Each panel has a specific effect, from attacking to moving and defending. The order the manga is read dictates when each panel and its respective effect activates, making thoughtful placement the key to ??defeating enemies. You can see how it looks in action in the announcement trailer.

The Fable follows notorious hitman Akira Sato, known in the underground as The Fable. It tu?rns out he was a little too good at his job, so the series follows him as he's forced to lay low and ??live a normal life. The main rule during his yearlong hiatus: He can't kill anybody. He doesn't mind it â€?he even gets a pet parrot and a normal job â€?but the yakuza aren't keen to make it easy on him. 

While its style and subject matter are practically tailor-made for live-action �it has two films so far �an anime series from Tezuka Productions also told the tale back in April of this year. The manga is available from Kodansha, the movies are on Netflix, and the anime is on Hul?u.

If The Fable: Manga Build Roguelike is anywhere near as fun to play as its source material is to read, we may have something special on our hands. We'll find out when it hits Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam—with English, Japanese, Traditional Chinese, and Simpl??ified Chinese options—sometime in 2025. 

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Disney Mirrorverse fans are poor, unfortunate souls, because the servers for the mobile game are shutting down on December 16. The Disney Mirrorverse shut down announcement has also caused the removal of the game from the App Store and Google Play Store, and players can't spend their ha?rd-earned cash on microtransactions anymore.

Disney Mirrorverse gets its conclusion, however

Despite the Disney Mirrorverse shut down occurring this December, players of the game will thankfully get a resolution of the storyline that pits alternate universe Disney characters into one valiant adventure. The remaining content will be released "over the coming weeks," said Kabam on the Disney Mirrorverse website.

"Our sincere thanks to you, our amazing community of players, who have made this journey unforgettable," said the deve??loper. "Your support and passionate dedication to the game is truly inspiring to our team."

The mobile space is competitive, and likely as a result, Disney Mirrorverse only lasted for just over two years. No reason has been given by Kabam for the shutdown of the game, but it's possibly due to a lack of interest from Disney fans around the world. There are arguably better action-RPG experiences out there on mobile, like Genshin Impact.

Mirrorverse had a lot of competition, especially within the Disney gaming space. Gameloft's Disney Dreamlight Valley and Disney Speedstorm have been successful at gaining an audience, and consistently getting new updates. Just recently, Gameloft announced that Maleficent will become a racer in Disney Speedstorm. Tiana and Mulan also became recent villagers in Disney Dreamlight Valley.

Kabam still has its mobile fighting game Marvel: Contest of Champions going strong and is about to reach its 10th anniversary on December 10. In today's gaming landscape, that'??s q?uite an accomplishment.

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The Chemical Agents Warbond has just dropped in Helldivers 2, but players are gushing over the new Sueprstore armor. Its design fits the Warbond really well, and as a lovely added bonus, it looks like something you'd see enemies wearing in a Wolfenstein or Warhammer 40K game.

The Chemical Agents Warbond adds all sorts of chemical warfare-based weaponry and cosmetics to Helldivers 2. It's a premium Warbond, meaning players must spend some premium currency to pick it up, but they see to be gravitating more towards the other new premium item that's been added to the game. A set of ar??mor with a terrifying sci-fi gas mask and latex material that looks incredibly flammable but very good at keeping out lethal toxins.

The ultimate crossover

As a huge Helldivers 2 fan, this armor, the AF-91 Field Chemist set, is now my favorite in the game to date. The other options in the Chemical Agents Warbond are great, but this one, as has been pointed out by pretty much every player on the game's subreddit, feel?s like we're finally getting the crossovers with other universes that we've been after.

The gas mask looks like it would fit really nicely in Wolfenstein 2009 among the occult soldiers you battle. Of course, it could easily be inspired by the newer entries in the series. A gas mask on a soldier is part of the ??DNA of the Wolfenstein games, and I'll happily rock something that reminds me of them while spreading freedom for Super Earth any day.

The other type of soldier that this armor set reminds players and Warhammer 40K fans of is the Death Corps of Krieg. I've included an image of one of these soldiers above so you can see the similarities. To be clear, nobody is accusing Arrowhead Game Studios of copying here. The developer has just released the 60-day update for Helldivers 2 and has clearly been working on armor sets that lean into the other franchises fans like to reference in the game while keeping them in line with the Super Earth unive??rse's visual aesthetic.

The fla?vor text on this armor set reads as follows. "This a?rmor, together with its friendly-faced helmet, is instantly recognizable from the beloved children's show 'Jen Shriver the Science Diver'."

It deepens the Helldivers 2 lore and makes the set even better because it's obviously absolutely terrifying. But I can imagine Helldivers looking at each other and pointing because they're instantly reminded of a children's TV presenter and not a spooky monster from Doctor Who or some other bringer of death.

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Scopely officially announced the theme for Monopoly GO's next season on S??eptember 26. This time, rather than a general topic, they're collaborating with Marvel to have a superhero-themed season.

Initial??ly, on September 17, Scopely teased the new season in a promotional video of a mysterious portal opening from a botched Wild Sticker experiment. While this fir??st trailer made no mention of Marvel, it was clear there'd be something supernatural going on next season.

At least, that was until September 19's video, where that same portal revealed the cast of various Marvel comics, from Spider-Man to Iron Man and the Hulk, among others. I've played enough of Fortnite's recent Marvel events to know where this is going. The video also confirms that the Marvel season will begin on the same day Monopoly Games ends, marking September 26, 3 p.m. ET as the o??fficial start date, b??arring any unexpected delays.

Although there's no further info about what the Monopoly GO x Marvel season will entail, we can use context clues from previous seasons to confirm that sticker albums will, at the very least, be superhero-themed, if not directly tied into the MCU. We'll also likely see plenty of hero, villain, and Marv?el-specific events, with some related ones making a return later down the line.

Beyond this, there are no confirmed details on whether sticker packs, Wild Stickers, or other game mechanics will change throughout the upcoming Marvel season. Scopely usually tweaks a few things to add variety, but there's no word on what that entails. We also have no word on how long the season will last, but it could last three to four months again like p??revious ones.

Monopoly GO's Marvel season will officially begin on September 26, 2024. The end date is currently unknown but will reveal itself on?ce the season starts.

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As an existing fan of the Two Point games, I’m very excited for Two Point Museum. It’s nice to have a release date, but Sega and Two Point Studios have announced that the release date is set for March 4th, 2025. That's sort of far off. Maybe if I freeze myselfâ€?/p>

I didn’t know this even existed until last month, but already the wait has been too long. I yearn for the hapless puppet inhabitants of Two Point County. The upcoming game has you managing a museum, and while it certainly has a lot that harkens back to Two Point Hospital and Two Point Campus, a lot has been changed to make it a fresh experience. I briefly got to touch it, but that has done little to settle my brain.

If you’re not familiar, Two Point Museum is a management game where you’re tasked with running museums. You send out explorers to gather/dig up/steal artifacts and then display them in a way that will convince patrons to empty t??heir pockets into the donati??on bins.

Sega has also announced that preorders will be open starting today, and you’ll get some exclusive items for plunking down money in advance. It’s Sonic the Hedgehog-themed stuff, including Sonic and Shadow outfits for your staff, plushies for your gift shop, and wallpaper, flooring, and statues if your museum needs that touch of marketing. That might all sound weird, but Hospital and Campus both had this sort of product placement. I think someone on staff is a fan since they worked in a Crazy Taxi 3 arcade machine in Campus, for some reason.

There’s also a deluxe “Explorers Editionâ€?which sounds totally Sega. Purchasing that gives you 5 days early access, an exclusive map location, a “pop up challenge museu??m,â€?e??xplorer items and cosmetics, and 5000 Kudosh (secondary currency in the game). That sucks, but this is pretty common for Sega deluxe editions.

Regardless of your purchasing decision, Two Point Museum is? out on March 4, 2025 for PS5, Xbox Seri?es X|S, and PC. 

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Developer FuturLab has announced that the Shrek Special Pack for PowerWash Simulator will be released on October 10, 2024. The DLC adds a selection of new levels from the Shrek cine??matic universe alongside a fancy new co?stume to wear while cleaning.

PowerWash Simulator's Shrek Special Pack was revealed during a Nintendo Direct earlier in 2024, but no release da??te was given for it at the time, outside of a fall release window. Now we know exactly when we'll be able to return to these fantastical lands and experience the messier side of it all. FuturLab has also confirmed the locations we'll be able to clean up, including one that I'm particularly excited about because it's definitely going to be the most covered in colorful spills and thrills?.

I need a hero

The levels that the Shrek Special Pack takes PowerWash Simulator players to in October are as follows.

• Shrek's Swamp: The big green ogre's home turf has been coated in a thick layer of colorful grime that has the audacity to make it look more fun. Clean it all up and admire the easter eggs and attention to detail in every inch of the location that's been painstakingly pulled together from the movies.
• Duloc: Duloc castle is usually dull and grey, but a few artistic knights took it upon themselves to spruce the place up. Clean up all their hard work and get the castle back to being as efficient and oppressive as can be.
• Fairy Godmother's Potion Factory: This is the location I'm most excited about. It gets colorful and messy in the movies, and everything is just as disorganized and unsightly as you'd expect from the aftermath of Shrek 2. There are even working machines to clean up as you go, which is no easy feat by yourself.
• Dragon's Lair: Dragon's treasure is as dirty as can be, so you need to return it to its shining glory. There are tasty treats to uncover in the grime, though I'm not sure I'd eat them after seeing what was on top of them.
• Hansel's Honeymoon Hideaway: Shrek and Fiona really pulled a number on this place. Sort it out, and try not to let your imagination get too carried away while you do.

Every level can be played in co-op or solo, so you can clean and clean until you're completely cleaned out. As with most levels in PowerWash Simulator, there are easter eggs and audio tidbits to unlock as you clean up each s??ection of every level. This means it's well worth cleaning everything to 100%, just in case yo?u miss an iconic callback to any of these fabulous films.

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Just days after winning its $15 million dollar copyright lawsuit against a Chinese company behind a mobile game called Pocket Monster Reissue that seemed to blatantly use Pokemon characters, The Pokemon Company and Nintendo have filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Pocketpair Inc., the developer of hit game Palworld that released earlier this year.

According to the press release by Nintendo, the joint patent infringement lawsuit was filed today, September 18, 2024, and seeks an injunction against infringement and compensation for damages on the grounds that Palworld infringes multiple patent rights. The release also reiterates a statement provided by Nintendo earlier this year in which Nintendo indicated that it will continue to take necessary actions against any infringement of its intellectual property right?s including the Nintendo brand itself, to protect the intellectual properties it has worked hard to establish over?? the years.

Palworld released in Early Access in January this year and sold over a million copies in just 8 hours. By the end of January Palworld had surpassed 19 million total playe?rs, b?ecoming one of the fastest-selling games on Steam of all time.

This story is still developing and may be updated in real time as more details become available.

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The recently announced PS5 Pro quickly became a trending topic, but not for the best reasons. The pricing and the lack of titles are discouraging, but hope might be right around the corner as Digital Foundry just released a video comparison of a very early portion of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth looking stunning on the Pro.

As you might be aware, you can pick between two different graphical modes to play Final Fantasy 7 on the original PS5. Graphics, which allowed you to play at 4K but only at 30 FPS, and Performance whi?ch would tentatively grant you 60 ??FPS action but at a lower resolution that could drop even lower if needed to maintain the game's fluidity.

While I'd usually take framerate over graphics, I have to agree with the players defending that Graphics mode is the way to go. Performance mode doesn't always achieve the amazing fluidity that it should, and still blurs the graphics to a degree that you j?ust have a hard time? accepting in a AAA game.

??I get that the game originally had to compromise on the graphical front to deal with some of the more effects-intense battles??. Still, there are simple cutscenes that got blurry to the point of making the characters recognizable only because they're the most famous cast in gaming history.

Luckily, the PlayStation 5 Pro solves that problem. The Pro delivers looks that �aside from minor issues caused by the upscaling tech �match those of the Graphics version at a steady 60 frames per second. The on??ly issue that the people at Digital Foundry still aren't sure about is whether the Pro will address the lighting issues present in the original version of the game.

You should totally watch Digital Foundry's ??video in its entirety because it delves deeper into all the more technical aspects and also because it shows you the game's running at the framerate t?hat it deserves.

Fake screenshots recently surfaced to ??mock the PS5 Pro's supposed graphical improvements by showing two images of the game running on the original PS5. Those were easily debunked by simply paying closer attention, but it's great to finally see what the PS5 can pull off.

I'm still not entirely sold on the PS5 Pro. The pricing issue, the lack of games, and the uncertainty regarding which existing games will really make use of the Pro's hardware still cast too dark of a shadow over it. And yet, it's nice to see that it truly does have the power to make one of the best-looking console games look even better. Here's hoping we'll see Final Fantasy 16 getting the same treatment soon.

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Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered has officially been rated by the ESRB for both Windows PC and PS5. This confirms the remaster's existence after a couple of years o??f speculation and alleged leaks, and it comes at a convenient time for the PS5 Pro's launch.

Seven years after its initial release on PS4, Horizon Zero Dawn looks to be returning to modern consoles and PC as Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered. The game was inadvertently leaked through its ESRB rating, which details how the title is coming to both PC and PS5. T??here's nothing new or noteworthy outside of the inclusion of a PC release in this rating, believe me I eagerly read through it all, but it seems possible, given the PS5 Pro launches later in 2024, that the game will be part of Sony's marketing for the new console.

A new dawn

Horizon Zero Dawn was initially released in 2017 for PS4 and quickly grew a dedicated fan base who love the ideas it brings to life, of tribal human cultures living in a post-apocalyptic world filled with advanced animal-like machines that are an intrinsi?c part of the ecosystem.

The remaster has been rumored for a couple of years at this point, and fans seem receptive to it because the game was beautiful on PS4, so the prospect of it looking even more impressive on PS5 and PC is incredibly inviting. I absolutely adore Horizon Forbidden West, which was released on PS5 in 2022, and it looked stunning, so I'm quite excited to see some actual footage of Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered when the time is right.

Considering that the PS5 Pro is set to release in November 2024, it's possible that Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered will be a game the company uses to pr??omote it. After all, the whole point of the PS5 Pro is tha??????????????????????????t it makes games look as good as possible, and with this being a title from first-party studio, there's no better way to showcase that.

Of course, all we have is a rating for the game. We have no details on a release date or a list of improvements and new features. So it's just as likely that it won't be released alongside the PS5 Pro, especially because another game in the franchise, Lego Horizon Adventures, is slated for a 2024 release,?? and we still don't have a launch date ?for it.

We'll have to wait and see what Sony does on both fronts, but it's important to remember that each game will also run on current PS5 consoles. There's no need to pick up a brand-new $??700 PS5 Pro until we're told that it's required to play specific games or that games will have some features that are exclusive to the newer device.

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According to scientific theories, such as those in Popular Mechanics, it's estimated that the last particle in the known universe will decay after 10²⁰⁰ years (a long time, basically). However, I reckon people will still be modding Skyrim. You just can't? stop the unbridled tenac??ity of gamers.

Here's one more for all you hip cats to add to your TES5 loadout. Remember when ninjas were all the rage in pop culture? Well, Nexus Mods user Q10isarobot is bringing them to Skyrim.?? Replacing the? rebellious Forsworn, these NPCs now know kung fu. Or something like that.

This mod changes all the Forsworn outfits for the mor??e traditional ninja getup. This also includes giving them weapons worthy of any stealth warrior. Check them out i?n the video above, although it's pretty clear the player is more than capable of dispatching them. Look at all that blood!

Nin-ja or Nin-nein?

The reason why the Forsworn have been replaced with ninjas is, according to Q10isarobot, because they "fight kinda like ninjas and hang out in clans so I think it fits well in the game." Makes sense, though they do admit they're not a lore expert when it comes to Skyrim.

This also? looks like a good mod for anyone who doesn't want to interrupt their current save file. The creator says it just replaces the mesh, so it's "safe to install or uninstall," and also doesn't require an ESP file for expanding scripting.

Right. Okay. We've played and modded The Elder Scrolls 5 for quite a lo?ng time now. When's the sixth game coming out? No, I will not stop harping on about this.

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Regardless of what one thinks about Starfield as a game, it's a simple statement of fact that its post-launch support has been quite stellar across the board. One thing that's been left overlooked up until now, though, was its strange mod cap?, which has now been lifted.

Specifically, while there's an absolute glut of cool mods to choose from, ranging from Dune-themed planet conversions to Star Wars doohickeys, going all-in on player-made content would eventually lead to game-breaking bugs no matter what. Players quickly realized that this was due to a curious plugin load cap of 255 index entries in total. Some mods use up multiple indexes, which made it awfully easy to reach the cap and go well beyond it. That has now been resolved thanks to a new and unexpected beta updated for Starfield, which y??ou too can access via the Steam beta update option.

Starfield's new beta update removes the mod cap, introduces "Flip Merge" option for ship-building

Now, if you're a fairly casual Starfield player, the odds are that the vast majority of this update is going to go over your head, as it's more technical than usual. Regardless, it is quite crucial in the grand scheme of things, as it should now be way easier to push things further than ever before, plugin-wise. This is important not only for mods, but also for Bethesda's own official Creations, DLCs, and expansion packs, as every single piece of Starfield content factors into its index limit.

Starfield's update 1.14.68 is even more impressive when? you con?sider the rest of the improvements it makes to the base game:

• Flip Merging is now an officially supported feature for ship-building (allowing for more densely populated ship builds).
• Creation Kit now has a new automated process that creates custom distant LOD models.
• Improved performance and stability in general.
• Various lighting changes and enhancements.
• Certain weapon models have been improved (e.g. the Coachman now has a trigger).

This is, naturally, just a shortlist of a fairly impressive list of fixes and improvements you can check out using the patch notes link featured above. It's good stuff, and shows that Bethesda is more than keen on working on non-flashy stuff, too, when push comes to shove. After all, not everything needs to be a REV-8 kind of addition, right?

It is curious, though, that we're yet to hear anything concrete about the hotly anticipated Doom questline that was shown off?? on this year's Quakecon. Granted, it's not like there's not an immense variety of (arguably) must-have mods available already, so I shouldn't complain too much on this front. With that in mind, if you're a Skyrim and Fallout 4 modding veteran, odds are that you're looking at the Nexus site for your modding endeavors. It just so happens that Starfield's Creations UI is way, way more popular this time around, so be sure to give it a whirl as well, even if ??y??ou're skeptical about it.

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Just as Final Fantasy XVI arrives on PC, the original PlayStation 5 version is facing some outrageous technical issues after the console's most recent system update. Player reports include everyth?ing from a fe?w graphic hiccups to the uglier crashes.

Across social media, players shared clips and screenshots of Final Fantasy XVI's recent technical obstacles. While the game saw stability updates in the past, the most recent patch for Sony's con??sole firmware marks a clear point where the latest issues began. There's no fix just yet, but Square Enix is aware of player reports.

Final Fantasy XVI on PC goes live just in time to dodge PS5 performance woes

The PS5 24.06-10.00.00 system update went live on Septembe?r 12, sending a wave of players to Reddit, Twitter, and all the usual places with their complaints. Some of them don't seem too bad but?? play a little longer, and you may run into something like whatever's going on in this Redditor's clip.

Over the weekend, players posted snippets of bizarre bugs and glitches, like huge blobs of broken pixels submerging the world of Valisthea or NPCs glowing neon pink. This may all seem funny at first, but they have made Final Fantasy XVI completely unplayable on the console, with many reports of unexpected game crashes in save files with dozens of hours into them. After several days of silence, the official Final Fantasy XVI accounts on Twitter/X acknowledged the user repo?rts, noting Square Enix is aware of the issues.

Square Enix says it's working closely with Sony to fix these issues

"Following the recent release of the PlayStation 5 system update, there have been reports of the game crashing and graphical issues," the company said on Twitter?/X. More importantly, it goes on to note Square Enix is working with Sony to investigate the cause.

From the statement, it sounds like signs point to Sony pushing its la??test update through and not exclusively an error caused by an oops over on the development team.

This statement officially revealed to fans that these issues did most likely happen because Sony pushed for their newest PS5 update, and it affected Final Fantasy XVI in a way that caught Square Enix unprepared for the change. The PS5 update primarily introduced new features (and enhanced many others), so?? it's a little surprising the patch impacted Square'??s RPG to this degree.

Unfortunately, Square Enix didn't give a specific date for when we can expect a fix for these issues, so Final Fantasy XVI play??ers may have to grit their teeth and deal with its graphical errors and annoying game crashes ?for a while.

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Developer VEA Games and publisher Knights Peak have announced that Nikoderiko: The Magical World will be released on PC, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series?? X/S, and PS5 on October 15, 2024. The game pulls inspiration from some of the best platformers of the 90s and looks to be filled with nostalgic moments.

In Nikoderiko: The Magical World, you take on?? the roles of Niko and Luna, either solo or in co-op with a friend. You'll platform your way through challenging levels and boss encounters and work your way across seven memorable worlds to defeat greedy villain Grimbald of the Cobring Gems Company, who has put the animals of this world to work mining treasure for him. It's a simple story but one that sets the tone and serves as a great excuse to play through just one more level before you stop.

Relive classic platforming levels in a new light

I grew up playing platformers like Crash Bandicoot, Donkey Kong Country, and my personal favorite, MediEvil. I adored these titles because they had simp?le gameplay that grew in complexity over time without ever getting bogged down ??in so many systems that they felt unapproachable.

They also ?featured so many memorable moments, from boss stages to particularly tough levels that drove me around the bend, and even funny ??moments between my friends and me as we laughed about how Sir Daniel Fortesque walks.

Nikoderiko: The Magical World looks to ?have all of this and more to offer with modern visuals and quality-of-life improvements. Bosses can pop through stages as you rush through them using a 2.5D camera. You'll find yourself working through tight, linear levels chasing an objective or running from something big, pushing to grab every collectible and finish each level just to see what you unlock next.

I don't have all the information at the time of writing, but based on the trailer, I'd say this game will have just as many reasons to replay every level as titles like Crash Bandicoot did. Collecting items and unlocking hidden paths to secret levels are in the DNA of this genre, so I'd be very surprised if something similar wasn't in Nikoderiko: The Magical World.

Indeed, the game's Steam page confi??rms you'll collect items to unlock mounts and magical friends. I just hope th?ere's a little more under the hood when we get our hands on the game.

We cannot wait for the world to play Niko’s adventure. It is truly our (humble) love letter to the past thirty years?? of fantastic jump & run classics.

Dmitry Smirnov, Creative Director, Nikoderiko: The Magical World

Aside from the minecarts and, quite frankly, gorgeous art direction, I think what sets Nikoderiko: The Magical World apart from other modern platformers is the inclusion of couch co-op. This has? always been important, but so few modern games have it as a feature. With less than a month until launch, I'm excited to see how the platforming community receives it and whether the game can live up to the titles that inspired it.

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Nintendo has dropped four new?? games into the Nintendo Switch Online SNES catalog. It’s quite a surprising lineup, especially if you’re digging the Japanese games on the service.

The one that I assume the most people reading this will recognize is Battletoads and Double Dragon (or just Battletoads Double Dragon; the logo isn’t clear). It’s another early Rare game for the pile. As the name implies, it crosses over Technosâ€?Double Dragon with Rare’s Battletoads. It was developed by Rare with very little input from Technos, but they sort of tried to find a mid-point between the two series. I did a full write-up of it a while ago, but I think this summarizes it: “It’s not a great Battletoads title (if one happens to exist), and it’s not a very good Double Dragon game, but there are enough appreciable factors here to keep it from being a bad game.â€?/p>

The other three games are Japan-only titles. There’s an SNES port of Big Run, a raster racing game that was originally released in arcades in 1989. It’s based on the Paris-Dakar Rally event. By many accounts, it’s not great, but I have a soft spot for raster racers. There’s also a falling block puzzle game called Cosmo Gang: The Puzzle. It’s a cute falling blocks-style puzz?le game It was also ori?ginally an arcade game (1992). I have less context with this one, but the trailer makes it look cute.

Finally, there is Kunio-kun no Dodgeball da yo: Zen’in ShĹŤgō! This is sort of one of Super Dodgeball’s sequels. As a Kunio/Nekketsu/River City/Downtown fan, I actually have the Super Famicom cartridge for this. It’sâ€?Like, it’s Super Dodgeball but on more powerful hardware. As such, it’s still fun, but the single-player is massively unbalanced. You assign skill points to your team, and it’s incredibly easy to overpower your ?team. On the plus side, it’s four-player, and if I remember correctly, you can play the main campaign coop.

These four games are now available ???on the Nintendo Switch Online Super Nintendo app.

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Hooded Horse, the publisher of Manor Lords, Against the Storm, and many other titles, has announced that it's signed CyberStorm's upcoming sandbox simulation game, Junxions. In it, players craft the perfect transportation system for bustling city streets, and it looks qu?ite satisfying.

Junxions is, for me, the best part of any city management game like Cities Skylines 2. Once you've outlined where your roads need to be and placed all the businesses, housing, industrial units, and everything else a city needs, it's time to get to work on efficiency. This means looking at your traffic and working out where the bottlenec??ks are because there are always bottlenecks, and spending hours reworking the roads until traffic ja??ms are ancient history.

Titivate traffic to your heart's content

Junxions will be released in early access in 2025 and will require players to construct intricate transport systems across a variety of maps. You can play through a series of hand-crafted challenges, hit sandbox mode to test out just how much of a mess you can make with dozens of travel systems at once, or?? import a real neighborhood into the game to fix up.

I have to say, I'm pretty excited about pulling a few of the local towns into Junxions because it's been well over a century, and several local councils still refuse to change so that traffic do?esn't come to a halt during school pickup.

I believe partnering with Hooded Horse will unlock the full potential of Junxions and make it the ultimate traffic simulation game. Together, we'll deliver Junxions to more players than ever and, mo?re importantly, continue working on our dream of developing the perfect city simulation game.

Lead Developer, CyberStorm, Thomas Wagner

Part of what you'll be doing with each junction you?? tweak and change is to account for multiple forms of traffic at once. For example, a roundabout has several entrances and exits to consider, and anywhere there are traffic lights, you've got to think about the people using them.

There's so much that's hard work in ci?ty management titles. Even the best ones have flaws you learn while playing and must work around rather than fix. Junxions stands out as a game in the same genre that doubles down on a single aspect to provide what appears to be an uncompromising experience you could play for days and still not get bored of. If it sounds good to you, then check it out on Steam and wishlist it so you don't?? miss its early access release nex??t year.

The post Manor Lords publisher signs Junxions, a surprisingly rive?ting sandbox traffic simulat??ion game appeared first on Destructoid.

Bandai Namco revealed today that the previous PlayStation Vita (yes, that Sony Handheld device) exclusive Action RPG Freedom Wars is celebrating its 10-year anniversary with Freedom Wars Remastered. The HD remaster will feature new and improved features from the Vita version including 4k resolution, 60 FPS, game balance and difficulty? options, and updates to the weapon crafting and upgrading systems. Freedom Wars Remastered will be released in just a few months on January 10, 2025, ??on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam.

The premise of Freedom Wars is simple. In the harsh dystopic world, the game takes place in, your character has been sentenced to a 1,000,000-year prison sentence simply for being born. To work off your sentence, you must head out into the apocalyptic battlefield and take on colossal creat??ures called Abductors, killing them to lower your sentence and dismantling their body parts to craft and upgrade better equipment.

I put quite a few hours into the original release of Freedom Wars back on the Vita. In fact, it may have been one of my most played games on the platform, as it was one of the better ones. I'd even argue it was ahead of its time back in 2015, in what was essentially a sci-fi Monster Hunter meets Attack on Titan meets Sword Art Online.

There's even online co-op gameplay, and it's fun to team up with friends to take down some Abductors. I'm excited to see the updates to crafting and upgrading, as it could really streamline progression if done right. We'll know soon as enough as Freedom Wars Remastered launches on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and PC via Steam on January 10, 2025. I certainly didn't see this coming, but I'm so?? glad that it is.

The post Vi?ta Actio?n RPG Freedom Wars is getting a remastered version for 10th Anniversary appeared first on Destructoid.