Oh, look. It's been a picosecond since the last Steam sales event. No doubt many of you took advantage of the last one �the Endless Replayability Fest. Well, don't put your ?money away just yet, as we're alre??ady onto the next one.

Beginning yesterday, the Steam Open World Survival Crafting Fest (and breathe) offers discounts on ??a series of well-known and slightly less well-known games from, well, Open World Survival Crafting games. You've got until ??Monday, June 3 at 10 a.m. PT to choose from what I would say is a pretty good list of titles.

Take a quick look on the sales page to see for yourself. Want 30% off Sons of the Forest? Of course you do. How about 33% off Project Zomboid? An odd number, but sure! Or maybe you want to get Stranded Deep, Valheim, or Subnautica for 50% off each. Even Palworld is there, at 10% off the regular asking price.

Summer lovin'

These events seem to come around more often these days. However, we're not quite at the big Steam Summer Sale just yet. That begins in a few weeks. You can keep an eye on the SteamDB countdown if you really want to see exactly when ?it's scheduled to begin.

Crafting and survival games feel like they shouldn't be as popular as they are. But as we can see here, there are still so many offerin?gs, largely from more independent studios. A lot of them are pretty decent as well, in my experience.

There are definitely more than a few in the sale that I'm keen to try out; Sons of the Forest, Project Zomboid, maybe even Enshrouded. Can?? I afford all these games? Check bac?k with me later.

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A new movie could be just around the Bend

It looks like another silver screen Sony adaptation could be on the way. Deadline reports that Sony is currently working on a movie rendition of Days Gone, its post-apocalyptic zombie game with bikers.

According to Deadline, Sam Heughan (Outlander) is "circling" the project and screenwriter Sheld??on ?Turner is adapting. Turner and Jennifer Klein are reportedly set to produce, along with Sony PlayStation Productions.

In case you've forgotten, Days Gone is Sony Bend's biker-zombie action game. Released in 2019, Days Gone was like a mixture of The Walking Dead and Sons of Anarchy, following Deacon "Deke" St. John as he tries to surv??ive in a zombie-infested Pacific Northwest.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-Ztt2bXI64

Deadline reports that it's heard Turner's script will be a "love ballad to motorcycle movies." Which, well, lines up with Days Gone for sure.

Video game theater

If plans go through, this will mark another in a growing catalogue of Sony's video game adaptations. Uncharted pulled in some solid numbers, even if the reception seems mixed. And HBO's The Last of Us is on the horizon, turning Joel and Ellie's cross-continental adventure into a miniseries that hopefully won't be disrupted by whatever the heck is going on over there ??right now.

Of the many Sony properties still around, Days Gone certainly seems like it could draw in a ?more mainstream movie-going audience. It's got bikers, zombies, and grit. You could probably have some pretty sick action sequences with massive "Freaker" hordes and revving motorcycles.

We'll have to see if this particular Sony production ends up moving forward or not. There are a few others, like the Twisted Metal adaptation, that are also in the works. Plus, the Ghost of Tsushima film, the Horizon series at Netflix, and projects for Gran Turismo and God of War. Sony's screen adaptations have? only just begun, it ??seems.

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A shiny new look for Days Gone devs

Bend Studio, the Sony subsidiary behind survival horror wilderness title Days Gone,?? announced that it has started development on a brand new project �one that it hopes will advance the open-world adventure, excitement, and engagement of its aforementioned monster-bashing biker epic.

"We are currently working on a new IP that includes multiplayer and builds upon the open-world systems of Days Gone, but brings you a whole new world that we are extremely excited to craft for you," said community manager Kevin McAllister in comments to PlayStation Blog. "We cannot wait to re??veal it to you when the time is right."

The comments come almost a year to the day that Bend Studio announced it would venture into new IP territory for its next project, news that came as something of a consolation prize to the controversial story that a Days Gone sequel was canned by Sony, despite the team feeling very passionate toward the idea of creating one. As I said at the time, you sometimes have to "do the thing to do the thing", and if Bend delivers a major hit for Sony with this new project, then perhaps the parent company will see to making Days Gone 2 a reality.

In related news, Bend Studio also revealed its new branding, complete with a snazzy new logo. The company has opened up numerous job listings for a wide variety of designers, coders, artists, and animators. You can check out the vacancies over on the official Bend Studio website.

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Lara to start sporting bootcut jeans?

Jeff Ross, director of Sony Bend's successful survival horror adventure Days Gone, has announced that they have saddled up the ol' hog and taken up a new role with Crystal Dynamics, the studio behind the hugely successful Tomb Raider reboot. Ross wil??l work at CD in the role of ?Design Director.

Ross confirmed the news on social media, though the director remained tight-lipped regarding the projects he will now be plying his trade on. Given that Crystal Dynamics literally announced a new, Unreal 5-based Tomb Raider title earlier this week, and given Days Gone's atmospheric "wilderness" nature, it seems a pretty snug assumption that Ross will be helping to form Ms??. Croft??'s next journey into the undergrowth.

Despite the (admittedly surprising) sales success of Days Gone, which even beat NetherRealm Studios' Mortal Kombat 11 to the top of the UK Charts, Sony Interactive Entertainment was seemingly disappointed with the open-world adventure's success, putting the kibosh on a planned sequel. While he has not openly expressed this, one would assume that Ross' movement to Crystal Dynamics might afford him the opportunity to transition some of his Days Gone 2 ideas into Lara's equally dangerous world.

The untitled Tomb Raider project is in develop??ment now at Crystal Dynamics.

//twi??tter.com/JakeRocket/status/1511388957056983046?s=20&am?p;t=xsNSCDpUDnNV3D_JZE-Qog

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'Local studio management always made us feel like it was a big disappointment'

Days Gone is such an interesting game from several perspectives. It kind of felt like it came right at the point that folks were getting tired of zombie projects with saturation at an all-time high in a few mediums. When it actually came out, it had a middling impact overall, especially for a first-party Sony game. Jeff Ross, a Days Gone co-director w??ith John Garvin, took to Twitter recently to clarify that the game did exceedingly well.

Ross, who is no longer with Sony, notes that "at the time [he] left," it had been out for a year and a half (and a month)" [which would put that time period roughly at the end of November 2020], and "had sold over eight million copies," in his words. After that point it also sold "a million+" on Steam, he notes. Yet, as he alleges, "local studio management made [them] feel like it was a big disappointment." All of this was spurred by an article that lauded Ghost of Tsushima's eight million sold milestone, and up until this point the total sales numbers have been vague, with Ross just stating "i??t had sold more than every game the studio [Bend] ??had ever made combined" back in mid-2021. Ross also later cla??rified that "managemen?t" includes Bend, instead of Sony.

Of course, there's nuance here. Studios, from big to small, from games to other forms of media, tout projects all the time for the prestige effect. Ghost of Tsushima, by and large, is considered a success by the userbase, and props up Sony as a first-party studio in terms of quality. Days Gone on the other hand had a more polarizing response from just about everyone who experienced it. While it has its fans, it makes sense why Sony would trumpet Tsushima from the mountaintops.

It has also come out that the "eight million" metric from the Days Gone director might be bunk, as it was pulled from Gamestat: a trophy-tracking site?, that could have included ??PlayStation Plus numbers. Still, by most metrics, Days Gone seems to have sold well enough, even if it didn't deliver in terms of ?quality for a lot of people.

//twitter.com/JakeRocket/stat?us/1478878095570579456

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'Tis the season for adding to the Steam backlog

The 2021 Steam Winter Sale starts today, with the usual bout of deals and side activities. There are Steam Awards to vote on, stickers to gather, and of course, many discounts to be had. The sale will run from now throug?h Jan. 5 at 10 a.m. PT.

As part of this year's Winter Sale, a free mystery sticker can be redeemed in the Points Shop. A few extra winter items have been added too, so if you want an animated abominable snowman for your Ste??am profile, you can pick one up.

The Steam Awards for 2021 have also opened up for voting. Categories range from Game of the Year and Most Innovative Gameplay to more out-there subjects, like Best Game You Suck At. For every vote you cast, you ??can earn a random card form this year's Winter Sale Trading Card set.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLIgM8XX1X0

And of course, the sales. So, so many sales. New games like Deathloop and Jurassic World Evolution 2 are spotlight discounts. But there are also deals on pretty popular games, like Hades and the Early Access for Satisfactory. Plus, entire franchises like Dark Souls and Final Fantasy are discounting their catalogs, offering low prices on games both new and old. Or hey, you can just build a zoo in Let's Build a Zoo.

It would take up way too many words to list them al??l out here, but here's a small selection of deals that popp??ed out at me while I browsed through the front page offerings.

• Hades ($16.24)
• Satisfactory Early Access ($20.99)
• Undertale ($2.99)
• Deathloop ($29.99)
• Days Gone ($29.99)
• Frostpunk ($8.99)
• Let's Build a Zoo ($15.99)
• The Witcher 3: Wild H??unt - Game of the Year Editio??n ($9.99)
• Horizon Zero Dawn ($24.99)
• Loop Hero ($8.99)
• Hollow Knight ($7.49)
• Red Dead Redemption 2 ($29.99)

Check out the full Steam Winter Sale 2021 on the Steam Store here. Hope your ho?lidays are fu??ll of finding great deals and filling up that library, and backlog, even further.

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What's around the Bend?

Sony Interactive Entertainment developer Bend Studio has begun work on a brand new project. The Days Gone dev's next release will be open-world adventure
based ?on a fresh IP, as opposed to a sequel for its monster mashing biker adventure??.

The new project was revealed in a PlayStation Blog interview ??with Pla?yStation Studios head Herman Hulst.

"New IP is the lifeblood of gaming," explains Hulst. "But new IP is just one aspect of our strategy. Ultimately, I want PlayStation Studios to be fiercely daring, to take risks [...] Bend Studio is working on a very exciting new IP that they’re very, very passionate about. They’re building on the ??deep open-world systems that they developed with Days Gone. So I’m rea?lly happy for Bend Studio."

Sony Bend itself took to Twitter to express its own excitement for the project.

"We are beyond grateful for your support with Days Gone and are truly honored by the amount of p?assion our community has shared with us for our world and characters. Your enthusiasm motivates us to ??continue to improve and create experiences that will last a lifetime. We hope you embark on this new journey with us. We can't wait to show you what we've been working on."

While Days Gone supporters will be dismayed at this further confirmation that the rumored sequel is mo?st ?certainly off-the-table, it should come as some comfort th?at Bend Studio is still operating as a single entity and working within a genre it knows well. This, at least very least, is more desirable than the studio becoming fra??ctured throughout Sony's many divisions.

Sometimes you have to "do the thing to do the thing". If Sony Bend delivers a stellar hit with this mysterious new project, then perhaps the team will have both the swagger and the support of higher-ups to return to the Days Gone franchise down the line.

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On yer bike, pal

Sony Bend Studio has announced that its apocalyptic, open-world adventure Days Gone is coming to PC next month. The ne??w port of the 2019 wilderness survival adventure will hit both Steam and Epic Games Store on May 18, priced at $49.99.

Days Gone tells the story of bad-times-biker Deacon St. John, as he rides through post-apocalyptic Oregon in the wake of a global pandemic that has left much of the populace in a feral, cannibalistic state. Days Gone blends third-person action-adventure with heavy craft??ing mechanics as Deacon attempts to thrive, or merely survive, in a nightmarish new era.

The PC edition of Days Gone will feature the original single-player campaign alongside the alternate Survival and Challenge modes. Several new bike skins will also offer alternate looks for Deacon's trusty bike. PC options will include support for ultra-wide monitors, mouse & keyboard control options, unlocked frame rates, and various graphical sliders that w??ill allow for inc??reased detail, longer draw distance, and multiple field of view options.

Check out these fea?tures in the new trailer below.

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Recommended specs ask for GTX 1060

Yesterday, we got the bombshell announcement that a "slate" of PlayStation games would be?? coming to PC. ::Extremely Brian Regan voice:: "A slate? That doesn't sound like an accurate way to measure something. How many objects are in a slate? Five million?"

We do know that "slate" equals at least one, as Days Gone was mentioned by name, and now we have a Steam page to prove it. You'll need an i5-2500K at minimum to run it, as well as a GTX 780 or Radeon R9 290. So this thing isn't really breaking the bank. It's st??ill slated for a "spring" release, by the way.

Here's the big stuff. It will incl??ude free updates from the PS4 edition, and it'll sport a new game plus feature, bike skins, survival mode, and challenge mode. The PC version will also allow for ultra-wide monitor support, unlocked framerates, and "improved graphics." The latter bit is elaborated upon, with "increased level of details, field of view,  and foliage draw distance" enhancements.

You can find the full spec rundowns below! Hopefully the launch will go smoother than Horizon Zero Dawn's PC e??dition, which required numerous updates after issues with specific rigs. Bend Studio seems to be handling the port here, so it could go a bit differently.

Days Gone [Steam]

Minimum:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-bits
• Processor: Intel Core i5-2500K@3.3GHz or AMD FX 6300@3.5GHz
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GeForce GTX 780 (3 GB) or AMD Radeon R9 290 (4 GB)
• DirectX: Version 11
• Storage: 70 GB available space
• Additional Notes: SSD for storage and 16 GB of memory is recommended

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Another PS4 game I'm glad I waited to play

Slowly but surely, we're checking off Sony-published PS4 games that will officially look and run better on PlayStation 5. Days Gone is next on the list with ??a confirmation from Bend Studio that the gargantuan open-world romp will reach "up to" 60 frames per second with ??dynamic 4K on PS5.

According to senior staff game designer Eric Jensen, you'll need the 1.70 patch – a recent 25GB download that brought stability improvements, optimizations, and bug fixes, among other things.

That's as good of a reason as any to start up a New Game+ run (when your backlog allows it, of course). For many of us who never made time for Days Gone despite seeing a pretty favorable reception from players, we'll be able to check out the game on PS5 with the day-one PlayStation Plus Collection.

This game has always felt like a big commitment to me – there's only so much room in my life for open-world gaming, and I don't like leaving games half-finished – but I still want t??o circle back eventually.

I hope this 60FPS trend co?ntinue??s. There are more games on the PS Plus list I want to hit up.

@BendStudio [Twitter]

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(And also some not very scary games)

PlayStation Now is getting into the creepy Halloween spirit - SPIRIT, LIKE A GHOST - with the reveal of several horror-themed titles, availabl??e right now as part of the cloud gaming service.

The first title set to give you the willies is SIE Bend's survival horror title Days Gone. Released in 2019 and receiving far more success than anyone had given it credit for, Days Gone sees players in the role of very-sad drifter Deacon St. John, as he searches for his missing wife in what? remains of post-apocalyptic Oregon. Using his wits, crafting skills, and any handy blunt instrument, St. John must traverse the miserable landscape while keeping one eye out for the mutated populace kn??own as "Freakers." No, really.

Next up is Other Ocean's remake of classic PlayStation adventure MediEvil. Released just under a year ago, the new MediEvil features all of the ridiculous humour and cartoonish design of the 1998 original, overhauled with fresh visuals, a re-recorded soundtrack and new bonus content. Once again, the hapless Sir Dan rises from ?his grave to seek in death the recognition that evaded him in life.

The third offering in this unholy trinity is IllFonic's asymmetric multiplayer gore-fest Friday the 13th: The Game. Originally released in 2017, the semi-open-world survival horror game ?? sees seven players in the role of cannon-fodder camp counselors, while one lucky player gets t?o don the famous hockey mask of body-count champion Jason Voorhees. The counselors must use their wits, the local terrain, and childhood hide-and-seek skills to stay one step ahead of the maniacal Voorhees, lest they find themselves on the business end of a pointed stick.

The final two titles of the October update are Double Fine's cartoonish 2019 roguelike RAD, and Frozenbyte's fantasy sequel Trine 4: The Nightmare Prince. Neither of which are particularly scary - though Trine 4 does say "Nightmare" ??right there in the title, I guess.

All of the abo?ve titles are available to play today as part of the PlayStation Now service.

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Nintendo Switch remake doubles Wii launch sales

Nintendo's epic remake Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition has had a very successful launch, debuting at number one in the UK Charts. The former Wii title managed to take the throne from fellow Nintendo release Animal Crossing: New Horizons, which slips to number two.

As reported by GamesIndustry.biz, the launch sales of XC: Definitive Edition are slightly below those of 2017's Xenoblade Chronicles 2, but are double that of the original 2011 edition of Xenoblade Chronicles, suggesting that the sequel helped new fans discover the colourful and adventurous RPG franchise. Also released on Switch this week were ports of 2K Games' Borderlands: Legendary Collection and BioShock: The Collection, which landed at numbers 18 and 22 respectively.

Elsewhere in the charts, a promotion by Sony saw sales skyrocket for several older titles. Survivalist adventure Days Gone smashed back into the Top 40 at number six, while Naughty Dog's magnum opus The Last of Us: Remastered leapt to number nine and PlayStation VR Worlds also squeezed its way back into the Top Ten.

U.K. video game sales chart w/e: May 30, 2020
(Chart reflects in-store physical sales only)

1. Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition - Nintendo
2. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - Nintendo
3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - Activision
4. Grand Theft Auto V - Take 2
5. FIFA 20 - Electronic Arts
6. Days Gone - Sony Interactive Entertainment
7. Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - Electronic Arts
8. Minecraft - Nintendo
9. The Last of Us: Remastered - Sony Interactive Entertainment
10. PlayStation VR Worlds - Sony Interactive Entertainment

U.K. video game charts [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Rock-a-Bye BB

As of patch 1.60, it's now possible to reset hordes in Days Gone and face them again.

You can reset hord?es, ambush camps, and infestation?? zones repeatedly, but first, you'll need to clear the story mission "For an Outlaw Biker" and reach 100% completion for either "Horde Killer," "Ambush Camp Killer," or "Infestation Exterminator," respectively. With that caveat out of the way, you're free to duck into the pause menu (by pressing the "Options" button on the DualShock 4) and select "Reset Jobs."

The map will be refreshed, and then you can sink even more time into this massive game.

Even if you aren't into Days Gone, you can probably still relate if you've ever gotten hooked on other open-world titles (for me, Far Cry). Sometimes, I just want to get back in there and clear out camps again. It's cathartic to replay t??his stuff and absolutely crush it once you've gotten better at the game.

Aside from the reset feature, patch 1.60 also added a "UI Color Mode to help visibility and contrast in certain HUD elements" and a linear aiming option that "will make camera movement more one-to-one with the Right Stick in?put, instead of using more of the input range for smaller aiming adjustments."

//twitter.com/BendStudio/status/11?92492150480502784

Oh, and there are Death Stranding crossover items.

• Death Stranding Tank

• Death Stranding: BB Tank

  • Both tanks can be acquired only from the Diamond Lake Mechanic

• Death Standing Decal

• Death Standing: BB Decal

  • Decals can be acquired from any valid mechanic

• Death Standing: BB Base

  • This frame p??a??int can be applied on from any valid mechanic

Bend Studio characterizes this as the "final features patch" for the game, but the Days Gone team "will continue t?o identify and? resolve major bugs if needed in future patches."

They deserve a rest.

Days Gone Patch 1.60 Notes [reddit]

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Free update launching September 13

By popular demand, Days Gone is joining the ranks of big-name PlayStation 4 titles that offer New Game+ mode. You'll soon be able to hit the zombie-infested road all over again while retaining your gear and upgrades, and Sony Bend is also adding new difficulty options – Hard II and Survival II – alongside some related trophies. Be on the lookout for a free? update sche?duled for September 13, 2019.

To transition into New Game+, you'll just need your sa??ve file to be pas?t "I'm Never Giving Up."

As for what carries over, there's quite a lot: "weapons, bike upgrades, NERO boosters, skills, recipes, encampment trust and credits, collectibles, and trophy progress." Patches you earn in Days Gone's weekly challenges also work, so if you're going for a harsher difficulty, perk??s can make a difference.

IPCA tech, crafted items, materials/crafting items, freaker ear??s, and animal meat won't transfer.

These days, New Game+ seems like more and more of a staple, and I'm all about it. Days Gone is long as ??hell, but ??after you've invested so much time in a world and its characters, it's tough to say goodbye.

Days Gone Gets New Game Plus Mode September 13 [PlayStation Blog]

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This will pair nicely with The Offspring on Spotify

Bend Studio has been doling out weekly challenges in Days Gone, and the latest mode – Dead Don't Ride – is the exact kind of Crazy Taxi-inspired silliness I can get behind?? in an otherwise dark v??ideo game.

Just like in Sega's frenetic score-chasing arcade game, Dead Don't Ride has players race against the clock to pick up passengers, dodge a whole mess of obstacles, and drop them off in one piece. The happier the survivors are when they arrive at their destination, the more points you'll earn, and there's even an incentive for smashing into the undead – each Swarmer kill is worth two extra seconds.

There are 36 delivers in total, with the colored r?ing around each pick-up indicating its difficulty.

Here's a playthrough from YouTuber Bearded_Jay to give you an ide??a of what you're getting into.

Over on the PlayStation Blog, Days Gone director Jeff Ross shared a few tips. For high scores, he says it's important to park as close as you can to your passengers and also to drift into the drop-off ?zones in such a way that you'll end up facing the correct direction to boost toward yo??ur next assignment.

If you earn at least Bronze, you'll unlock the Hit and Run patch, an award that "reduces the rate at which bikes (and go??lf carts) slow when impacting enemies." It'll make going for Gold that much easier.

While we're all here reminiscing about Crazy Taxi, I am contractually obligated to link to the soundtrack.

"Dead Don't Ride" Challenge Hits Days Gone Today [PlayStation Blog]

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New release sales at lowest since 1998

It seems Mortal Kombat 11 can't be stopped. Much like last month, NetherRealm's latest entry in the long-running series has topped the NPD charts for May 2019. It has now become the best selling game of 2019 overall (topping Kingdom Hearts III) and will likely end up being one of th?e highest selling games of the year. Despite the success of this particular game, May 2019 was one of the worst months for new releases that NPD has tracked since May 1998.

Both hardware and software sales saw a decline with NPD analyst Mat Piscatella noting that year-to-date spending was down 3% -- down to $4.7 billion-- from last year. Hardware, in particular, saw a 20%?? decrease -- down to $149 million-- in sales with ??Piscatella speculating that the looming release of next-generation platforms is likely to blame. Regardless of how poor games may have sold this month, Nintendo Switch remained the only platform to see growth and came out as the best selling piece of hardware for May.

I can't say I'm that surprised, though. There really weren't many big games that released last month. While both Rage 2 and Total War: Three Kingdoms did well, they were the only two major releases I can think ??of without consulting a list. Coincidentally, they both appear on May's NPD list, but two games aren't enough to spur sales elsewhere. June is already off to a better start with a ton of surprise releases during E3, so we'll likely see this recent downward trend reverse.

At any rate, here are the top 20 game?s for May 2019:

• 1. Mortal Kombat 11
• 2. Days Gone
• 3. Total War: Three Kingdoms
• 4. Rage 2*
• 5. Grand Theft Auto V
• 6. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate*
• 7. Red Dead Redemption II
• 8. MLB 19: The Show
• 9. Minecraft
• 10. NBA 2K19
• 11. Mario Kart 8*
• 12. Tom Clancy's The Division 2^
• 13. Call of Duty: Black Ops IIII^
• 14. New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe*
• 15. Marvel's Spider-Man
• 16. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild*
• 17. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege
• 18. Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
• 19. Team Sonic Racing
• 20. Yoshi's Crafted World*

* Digital sales not included
^ PC digital sales not included
# Minecraft digital sales on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One included

NPD: May 2019 was the w??orst May for new releases since 199??8 [GamesIndustry.biz]

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Survival Difficulty out now, weekly challenges incoming

Bend Studio has detailed its plans for the immediate future of Days Gone. Even if you've wrapped up the main story, there are a few reasons to check back in with the bike-riding undead survival game today and throughout June. "Our current plan for our team is to slow down the amount of patches we release but to add more fixes,?? features, and optimizations with each patch," said the team.

The post-launch push continues today with update 1.10 (full notes here), which mainly deals with progression-related fixes, stability improvements, and a harsh new Survival Difficult?y. The mode strips away the normal HUD, revokes fast-travel, and makes enemies eve??n deadlier. Players who clear Survival will come away with a new bike decal and there are two trophies up for grabs:

• Days Gone in 60 Seconds: Defeat a Horde in under 1 minute in Survival Mode
• Surviving is Living: Complete the Story of Days Gone in Survival Mode

For something a little less intense, be on the lookout for weekly challenges beginning in late Jun??e.

"Each week a new combat, bike, or horde challenge drops with unique rules and scoring modifiers," said director Jeff Ross. "Doing well at challenges awards wearable patches that come with perks. Patches provide small gameplay improvements like increased health, faster stamina recharging, decreased focus cost, greater melee weapon durability, better gun accu??racy from the bike, and more.

"Patch benefits stack and even carry back into the main game," he continued. "Players also earn rank and cr??edits to buy character skins, bike skins, and wearable rings that provide more potent gameplay perks to help players perform better at all challenges."

That setup sounds like a rewarding, impactful loop. As for the specific skins, you'll have a chance to play as characters like Rikki, Boozer, Addy, Iron Mike, and "shirtless Deacon" ?in challenge??s.

The first challenge, Surrounded, revolves around an infinite horde terrorizing Sherman's Camp. You'll survive as long a?s possible while clearing out Freakers to add more time to your clock and complete "sub-challenges?? like environmental kills, headshots, and collecting ears" for multipliers.

Taking a page from Resident Evil's Mercenaries mode? Good call, Days Gone.

The post Days Gone has some slick u??pdates lined up for June appeared first on Destructoid.

But you can't have it

You may eventually come to form a love-hate relationship with Deacon's bike as you trudge further into Days Gone, but even when the going gets tough, it's still a cool-looking ride. Taking a page from a recent Devil May Cry 5 promotion?al stunt, PlayStation Nordic assembled a team to fix up a real motorcycle and deck it out to m??irror its video-game counterpart. They put together a video detailing the escapade.

My favorite quote: "It's definitely not the last time that I'll hire you for something like this." I feel like I'm watching a way-too-abbreviated version of my old Netflix jam Find It, Fix It, Flog It.

For more photos of the finished bike, take a pe??ek on the PlayStation Blog. I'd ride it into the sunset.

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Motorcycle crash

Sony Bend has seen some success with last week's launch of open-world adventure Days Gone. Given that it launched in the same week as NetherRealm's Mortal Kombat 11 and the biggest movie in years, Avengers: Endgame, a lot of people th??ought the Freaker fighting title might g??et swept under the rug.

However, Days Gone does seem to be facing multiple technical problems, particularly in the realm of audio bugs and hard crashes. A patch issued mere days ago not only failed to fix all of these issues, but it also?? seemingly created new ones, wi?th many players reporting more frequent crashes than before.

Fortunately, Update 1.07 is now available, which will hopefully help to stamp out some of these bugs and get the game back on the road. An official Reddit thread has been set up for any further issues that might need reporting. As if yer boy Deacon St. ??John didn't have e??nough problems...

Days Gone is available now on PS4.

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Audio problem remains

Last week saw the release of Sony Bend's biker adventure Days Gone, which sees waistcoat-sporting biker Deacon St. John trekking through the Pacific Northwest, battling Freakers and militia in efforts to survive the ghoulis?h catastrophe.

A new patch has already been released for the game form the develop??er. Update 1.05, which is live now, eradicates an irritating bug that was causing ra??ndom crashes (of the game, that is, not Deek's bike). The patch also includes multiple stability and performance tweaks, improving framerate drops, stuttering and minor glitches.

Unfortunately, not everything is covered, and a nagging audio bug which causes individual sounds to drop out remai??ns intact. I'm sure Sony Bend are on the case and will get that bike roaring loud and proud once again.

Days Gone is available now on PS4.

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Stop the hordes

Days Gone is a long and arduou?s game. Survival is more of a focal point than most of the other open world projects in recent memory, so conservation is?? key.

Here's some ti??ps to help you with that sometimes confusing process, with some very vague non-story spo??ilers.

• In order to fast travel you need to have cleared all of the Freaker (zombie) nests along that route with fire-based weapons like molotov cocktails: they're denoted by a red hazard symbol on the world map. Always clear nests the first time you see them, period. You can find them by wandering around or if you clear out an enemy human camp you'll be able to locate a bunker that has a map of all nearby nests. Seriously: go eradicate them, it'll make traveling that much easier.

• You only have a certain amount of crafting items you can carry at any given time. If you happen across a crafting reagent like a bottle and can't pick it up, always try to craft an item with your existing supply first. Then you can pick up the item to craft something else later. It matters when you're taking on an unexpected horde or boss-like enemy and need to make powerful items on the fly.

• Camps each have their own trust (item tier) levels and their own currencies. Doing missions and completing turn-ins (more on that in a moment) will boost both levels for each camp. It's advantageous to get to at least level two for most camps. Often times you'll go back to previous areas or get stuck, and it's useful to be able to buy the items you need to progress rather than go out on a supply run.

• With that said, make sure you pump up any camp that has weapons available, as those are the most important upgrades. After killing zombies and many infected enemies, you can donate ears to a camp to raise your trust level. Bank them and spend them at weapon camps. Alternatively, near the conclusion of the first campaign storyline you have the option to briefly favor Copeland (bike upgrades) or Tucker's (weapons) camp. Choose the latter.

• If you're traveling out in the wilderness and are at roughly 50% fuel, keep your eyes open for red gas cans. Stop your bike, go grab the can, and refuel it so you have enough fuel to fast travel when you need to. You can also look for fuel pump icons on the map at any time for gas stations, which allow you to pull up and restock.

• That said, if you're really low fuel (less than 20%) fuel cans will pop up on-screen to make it easier to get back on the road. If you're stranded try to run toward marquee locations on the map, they usually have trucks with fuel cans in the back of them or buildings with fuel lying around. It's very rare to get completely stuck.

• Just found?? a cool item? Go to your b?ike, hold Triangle and quicksave. Seriously, this is the most important tip, get used to it.

• More bike tips! Make sure your bike is always propped up for a quick getaway. There's nothing worse than running from a horde and slowly picking your bike back up only to get overwhelmed and die. Hopefully it'll be at a good checkpoint as a result of the last tip.

• Melee is insanely powerful early on mostly due to how low ammo supplies are at? that point in the game. ?Try to tech into the melee skill tree first, then build into ranged and survival.

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We all gotta die someday

Survival seems like a tough prospect in Days Gone. There are all sorts of zombies and wolves that pose significant threats. Maybe most dangerous -- Deacon St. John rid?es that motorcycle without a helmet! Pray he doesn't go the way of Country Mac.

It'll get tougher come June. Days Gone is getting some free updates in June, one of them being a new difficulty setting. "Survival" mode jacks up difficulty, disables fast travel and survival vision, and diminishes the heads-up display so that indicators and maps are absent. It's a little extra test for anyone who has grown tired of the easy/normal/hard difficulties that Days Gone will ship with later this week.

Also ready to be implemented in June, developer SIE Bend is adding weekly challenges that pertain to the bike, the zombie horde, and combat. There aren't really any details as to how these will work, but it's said that they'll "take?? key gameplay features and twist them in unique ways."

All of this -- Survival mode and challenges -- will net players additional items, rewards, trophies, and unique bike skins.&nbs?p;

Days Gone Free DLC Kicks off in June [PlayStation Blog]

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Can't hear you over the rumble of this big hog

Only thing I like more than chopping up zombies is the roar of my chopper. VROOM VROOM. Love to hit the open road with Freakers flanking me from all sides. VROOM VROOM. Ain't nothing q??uite like the smell of asphalt, burning rubber, and the viscera of the living dead. VRO??OM VROOM.

Did you know there's a motorcycle in Days Gone?

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Make it count

As we creep ever closer to the launch of survivalist shooter Days Gone, Sony has dropped a 30-second TV spot showing the trials and tribulations o??f protagonist Deacon St. John (no, really) affectionately known as "Deke."

In the short, our hero is down to his last bullet, as he mus??es over the ammo spent e?n route to keep both he and his compatriots alive against the miserable remnants of a mutant apocalypse. Loading the chamber and faced with an army of "Freakers" (no, really), Deke asks of his final bullet "Who's it for?"

Which could be said about Days Gone itself! AMIRITE?

No, I'm wrong, as the comments to this trailer show quite a lot of enthusiasm from eager fans. While for many of us the third-person, zombie, crafting, shooter gimmick is old hat, Days Gone is putting a lot of emphasis on its story. Perhaps, with a quality narrative and memorable characters, Days Gone could prove a lot of its naysayers wrong.

We'll find out for sure when Days Gone launches on PS4 April 26.

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Watch out for the Freakers

Sony Interactive Studios has released another movie-style story trailer for their upcoming zombie-shooter-scavenging-crafting-adventure, Days Gone, which will be launching?? on PS4 ??exactly one month from now.

In the dramatic two-minute preview, we see biker hero Deacon "Deek" St. John engaging in convo and combat in a desolated Oregon. Deek will encounter fellow survivors, some friendly, some not-so-friendly, burn rubber over bloodstained highways, and battle wave after wave of Days Gone monsters, hilariously known as "Freakers".

Days Gone has stiff competition, choosing to launch the same weekend as Mortal Kombat 11 and Avengers: Endgame. While Days Gone has great visuals and I love the idea of biking through an open-world forest wilderness, everything about this trailer, and what we've seen from the game so far, is so overly-familiar tha??t it just isn't sinking its fangs into me personally.

It does seem, especially given this trailer, that SIE Bend are really pushing the story element hard, so if they can pull of an engaging narrative, with resonating characters, then maybe Days Gone can break through the glut of post-apocalyptic su?rvival games flooding the commercial wasteland.

Days Gone launches on PS4 April 26.

The post Days Gone’s cinematic story trailer drops Deek in the deep appeared first on Destructoid.

#DaysGoneGold

All told, Days Gone has had a relatively normal AAA production schedule. Originally started in 2015, it was revealed at E3 2016 without a hitch, then got a small two-month delay this year from February into April. As of this past week it's gone gold, meaning the 1.0 version of the game is complet??e and ready to ship: now all we have to do is wait until April 26.

The team over at SIE Bend Studio (a very old developer that once handled the Syphon Filter series before they were snatched up by Sony as a subsidiary) announced the news on Twitter, calling the process "quite the ride" ?and re-iterating the? April 26 release date.

So yeah, it looks like we're getting our PS4 zombie (ahem, "Freaker") game right on time amid a relatively quiet April. If you discount re-releases all we really have is the last Shovel Knight expansion, Mortal Kombat 11, Dauntless (which still doesn't have a concrete April date) and of course, Days Gone.

Bend Studio [Twitter]

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How will this fare at launch?

I don't have a phrase for it, but Days Gone is one of those "I'll see it when I see it" games (damn, I guess I do have a phrase f??or it). While I'm not writing it off in the slightest, there's just no use in getting worked up over another zombie survival game with crafting in 2019.

Sony's latest trailer plays up the emotional angle of the narrative, showing us what life was like before everything went to shit and zombies (known as "Freakers") took over. We see protagonist Deacon St. John joining his wife in holy matrimony in a church, spl?iced with footage of him in the present apocalypse fighting for his life in that same, now-harrowing location: simple, but ??effective.

SIE Bend Studio really has a chance to prove themselves, having most recently worked on (the good) Uncharted spinoffs Golden Abyss and Fight for Fortune for the PlayStation Vita. I hope they come through when Days Gone arrives on PS4 on April 26.

The post Days Gone reminds us that it exists with an emotional trai??ler appeared first on Destructoid.

Spoilers: involves shooting and crafting

Sony Bend has dropped a new trailer for their upcoming third-person adventure Days Gone, showcasing some of the? enemies encountered in yet-another post-apocalyptic society and with the game's protagonist, Deacon St. John, offering tips on staying alive to see another day.

We get to see different variants of "Freakers" - Days Gone's rabid-like mutan?ts - as well as catch a glimpse of the game's weapon system and, you guessed it, customisation and crafting options. Crossbows, waist-high cover, choreographed melee combat, weapon radials, a screaming woman mutant, a muscular mutant that smashes things...

I don't like passing judgement on games before release, but Days Gone definitely gives off the vibe of a title that should have dropped several years ago. Almost every aspect of its design feels like it has been done multiple times now. Surely this third-person survivalist shtick is becoming passé? It can be expected in franchise sequels, originally built on the gimmick, (such as the upcoming Metro Exodus), but I am surprised we're still getting brand new IP??s in this genre.

In its defence, Days Gone is a good-looking title, plus you can have a fist fight with a giant wolf. I just don't know whether the people are beginning to tire of this "lone badass vs mutant horde and human dirtbags" gimmick. I guess we'll find out once Days Gone drops, April 23, on PS4.

The post Days Gone ?offers tips for surviving its sw??arms of Freakers appeared first on Destructoid.

A whole new world

"You're not a tourist here," a narrator chides before launching into a two-minute tour of the world of Days Gone.

That's the goal of Days Gone's latest trailer: To familiarize you??rself with the landscape of Sony's upcoming zombie survival story ahead of its April 26 launch. It's beautiful in a way. The desolate canyons and ravaged towns? are so perfectly hopeless. There's a lot of open road for biking and thinking. The locales -- like mass graves and survivor camps -- hold promise that they can hold interest.

Most of Days Gone that we've seen in the past two-and-a-half years concerns itself with boasting over how many zombies it can put on-screen at once. That might be impressive, but it's not particularly compelling. Bigger hordes are whatever. A world worth surviving in is far more integral. That's why this very well might be the best Days Gone trailer yet.

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