I recently had the opportunity to dive into a roughly three-and-a-half-hour hands-on preview of the upcoming Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and I had no idea what to expect.

I've actually not played Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, so my most recent experience with the series goes back all the way to 2008's Prince of Persia. The switch to a 2.5D format intrigued me as it felt like one of those situations where it could be a big payoff, or potentially the wrong move. After playing The Lost Crown for a?? few hours, ?it certainly feels like the right choice.

A return to form

The Lost Crown is a Metroidvania-style 2.5D platformer. You'll traverse a massive map with rooms that interconnect as you fight a variety of enemy types, complete puzzles, and obtain some loot.? As you progress, you'll unlock shortcuts and teleport points that allow you to quickly navigate the massive map so you can return to previously-visited locations after later unlocking skills that allow you to access previously unreachable areas.

In my session, protagonist Sargon, a member of the Persian warrior clan The Immortals, sets out to the cursed city of Mount Qaf in an effort to rescue the recently kidnapped Prince Ghassan. In classic Prince of Persia fashion, time works a little differently at Mount Qaf, which in turn paves the way for some pretty interesting possibilities both in terms of story and gameplay. For example, later in the session, I unlocked the ability to perform my evade action while in the air, allowing me to jump? over attacks and quickly evade to dash behind my enemy and keep up the pressure.

Oh, by the way, the soundtrack in The Lost Crown is top-notch. The Persian-themed music feels whimsical and mysterious when traversing Mount Qaf. But during challenging encounters, the music is intense and gets your blood pumping. Music is always an important part of a game, but in The Lost Crown, it elev??ates the whole ex??perience. I can't wait to hear more.

Risk vs reward

The combat system in The Lost Crown is extremely fluid and fast-paced. Sargon has a quick light attack, a heavy attack that takes longer to perform but deals more damage, a block, and a dash-style evade. You can combo your light and heavy attacks, and even obtain loot that can be equipped to alter your potential combos. Blocking will mitigate damage, bu?t must be timed correctly. However, some attacks are unblockable as indicated by a flash of red light when the enemy performs it. When that happens, blocking is not an option, and you must instead evade the attack.

Evading provides you with a brief invulnerability window, which means in theory you could play it safe by just trying to evade every attack as opposed to?? block. But enemies can also perform special attacks that give you the opportunity to perform a block that leads to a special counter-attack. It doesn't happen ofte??n, but every now and then your enemy may flash a yellow light instead of a red one. When this happens, if you perfectly time a block, you will not only mitigate the damage from the special attack but follow up with a high-damage counterattack that often also leaves your opponent vulnerable for a brief period of time. Successfully timing this block leading into a counterattack feels very rewarding, and can often turn the tide of a battle in a boss fight.

Challenging yet fair

Where Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown truly shines is its boss encounters. Across my hands-on session, I encountered around half a dozen bosses. Each one of course with its own unique skillset and attack patterns, allowing me to learn with each attempt. One of the more challenging boss fights took me a handful of attempts but with each subsequent attempt, I found myself learning more about the fight. Thi??s could be an extra attack window or a way ??to better position myself ahead of an attack. Despite how challenging some of the encounters were, each one felt fair and killable.

I know this term gets thrown around too much lately, but in a way, The Lost Crown has elements of gradual satisfaction commonly found in the Soulslike genre. The way you can learn the attack patterns of the boss encounters feels good. There were several times when I'd get my butt kicked fighting a boss, but by the time I got a good gras??p of the attack patterns of the boss, I'd end up performing a flawless attempt when I got the kill.

I'll admit, my expectations going into Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown were somewhat reserv??ed. I was hopeful the return to 2.5D would do it justice. It certainly does, and honestly, the boss fights alone have me excited to continue Sargon's adventure. The narrative is intriguing and I'm excited to see how the skills and equipment you unlock later in the game will change the combat.

Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown releases on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch on Jan??uary 18, 2024 at a pr??ice point of $49.99.

The post Hands-on preview: Prince of Persia: ??The Lost Crown appeared first on Destructoid.

The Pride of the Thunderfoot Tribe

During a recent visit to Capcom's European HQ, I was afforded the opportunity to check out the Arcade Mode adventure for Lily, one of the many exciting newcomers headed to incoming scrapper Street Fighter 6. I was a?ble to take a look at the Thunderfoot princess' narrative, engage in a few battles, and even lock horns with a mighty Truck ?in the sequel's returning Bonus Round.

Lily is a descendant of Mexico's Thunderfoot Tribe, the same clan that previously brought us the Super Street Fighter II warrior T.Hawk. While much more diminutive in stature than ol' Timothy Hawk, Lily retains his strength and power through her indomitable spirit and proud nature. Armed with weighted clubs, Lily is also afforded very deceptive reach, an?d can also use the weapons to conjure up the Spirit of the Wind, ("Windclad Stocks"), which buffs damage to a variety of her special attacks.

//youtu.be/JSyL0llQplw

Meet interesting people, and beat them up

Our young hero lives to travel. To see the mysteries and wonders of the world??, while soaking up the spirit of nature and the good of the planet's lifeblood itself. As depicted in her Arcade Mode story, Lily has embarked upon a globe-trotting adventure, living on the road and relying on the kindness and generosity of strangers to facilitate her journeying �while protected by her tribe's overseer, the spirit Toyno'Ikonoi.

Street Fighter 6's Arcade Mode feeds each character's story through slight cutscenes, accompanying their words and thoughts will some delightful and expressive artwork, daubed by Hiroaki Hashimoto, which followed Lily as she hitches her way through the Americas and beyond, inspired by the proud tradition of her fellow tribespeople who have c??ome befor??e her.

//youtu.be/2fZWF0yxkiM

Keep on Truckin'

Street Fighter 6's Arcade Mode can be set to either five or twelve stages, with the player battling it out against a respective number of opponents as they travel from country to country. Around the halfway point, the layer's character will step into the ring with a solitary truck, a new variant on the franchise's iconic vehicular destruction-based. You can watch me do a real poor job of this fun time-out in the video below �where I'm constantly whiffing throws as my muscle memory repeatedly attempts T. Hawk's Condor Spire input (ReverseDP+P) instead of Lily's Condor Spire input (qcf+P).

//youtu.be/mypZLhBjaps

After the bonus round, my limitations with the Street Fighter 6 Arcade Mode were met, so I'm afraid I'm unable to divulge anything in the way of the finale for Lily's exciting escapades. But, thanks to my short time with the bright-eyed bruiser, I do know that she's going high on the list of pocket characters once Street Fighter 6 finally launches, June 2, on Pla?yStation, PC, and Xbox platforms?.

In the meantime, be sure to read my full report on the final build, as well as my countdown of 50 things I loved in the beta, and my suggestions for 10 World Warriors who would fit r??ight into the new title as post-launch DLC.

Related: All Street Fighter 6 editions compared on Dot Esports

The post Lily travels the world on her journ??ey to become Street Fighte??r 6 champion appeared first on Destructoid.

The truth will be revealed in time

Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a bit different from Don't Nod's previous work. It's not the setting, as the studio is well-known for supernatural mysteries, whether it's Life is Strange, Tell Me Why, or others. It's the look of Harmony, and the form the story takes, that make this a p?eculiar and intriguing new story for Don't Nod.

Right away, the difference is felt in Harmony's opening. It's gorgeously animated, as protagonist Polly sets out for the day, surround by near-future tech. There's a cutting-edge world pinned up against homes made in emptied pools that really sets a tone early on. Polly's returned home to help search for her m?issing mother, Ursula, but soon gets swept up in much more than she bargained for in the Reverie.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh6_hPvTzLk

This alternate world, Reverie, houses the various Aspirations of Humanity: Bliss and Power, Bond and Glory, Truth and Chaos. Here, Polly becomes Harmony, a force that can utilize clairvoyant powers and align with these Aspirations to determine a future, for both Rev??erie and the world.

All in due time

Maybe it was the gorgeous art, or maybe it was the deity-driven story, but both reminded me of The Wicked + The Divine. There's an intriguing element of balance between the two?? stories, as Polly has to discover why she can access Reverie and what powers it's given her, alongside the links it has to her mother's disappearance.

[caption id="attachment_377201" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

In practice, this plays out in similar fashion to a visual novel. As??ide from the aforementioned gorgeous cutscenes, most of the story is told in dialogue boxes between characters, as Polly searches in the world for clues while dealing with seemingly primal beings in the other world.

A big component of this is the timeline. Don't Nod lays out the path ahead visually, so the branching paths are all visible. Each one has different options, with some choices opening up other branches and others locking off entire lines of inquiry if taken. It's a neat structure that's become more and more common in branching story-driven adventures, and Harmony: The Fall of Reverie does some interesting things with it, especial?ly in linking the branching paths with its characters.

A blissful existence

Each deity embodies an emotion or aspiration, and so choices in the narrative can elicit crystals representing each aspect. Over time, you can start to define how you'd like to progress through the story; do you seek Power, or do you find strength in the Bonds you shar?e with others? Those elements were compelling, and I thought it was a neat way to physically symbolize how Polly approached confl??icts.

Where it hit some friction, for me, was in how those crystals are put into practice. Different icons on the flowchart might be inaccessible if you don't have the right crystals, and the Outcomes—a greater resolution to the arc you're on—are determined based on what crystals you? have earned over the course of play.

[caption id="attachment_377202" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

This is where some of the long-spanning, timeline-analyzing aspects of Harmony got away from me. This is not a timeline-hopping game, it is a timeline-informing game. While you can move between options to some extent, you will eventually have to choose a side and lock it in. You're working with more information than you'd normally have in, say, Life is Strange; I can see that, if I continue down my path, Polly will eventually be able to ally herself with the person I'm talki??ng to. But I'm not jumping between viewpoints or alternate universes, as I would in other timeline-driven games.

So picking locks and determining a future course of action is still, ultimat?ely, driven by choice. And the choice seems to rapidly shift between which deity you'd like to garner more ??favor from, and also which outcome you'd like to see as Polly and pals solve the real-world mystery. It's that aspect that I find really intriguing, as my drive to spend time with certain deities might force me to act differently in the real world and vice versa, but some of the long-stretch planning and numbers game I was playing with crystals didn't feel as compelling as that in-the-moment friction.

Pantheon of the gods

Still, I found the pantheon of Harmony: The Fall of Reverie interesting. I didn't get much of a sense of the main real-world cast, though the scoop-chasing journalist Jade was a memorable encounter. But t??he A?spirations themselves add a good amount of life to what's happening, and can even start to pop up in real-world events (unbeknownst to anyone but Polly) as commentators on what's going on.

[caption id="attachment_377203" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

All this mystery and intrigue happens under the watchful eye of MK, a super-corporation that's taken over the community. It's a really interesting world that Don't Nod has constructed, with music from Lena Raine backing all of it. It's admittedly a slow burn, part?ly because of fiddling with the timeline. And especially at the beginning, s??ome of the exposition can carry for a while.

Still, this is Don't Nod doing something quite different with a supernatural mystery drama, and I'm intrigued by it. Even on production value alone, I think Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is worth keeping an eye on. There will be a demo available as part of this year's LudoNarraCon. Otherwise, Harmony will launch on June 8 for PC and Switch, and on J?une 22 for PS5 and Xbox Serie?s X|S.

The post Harmony: The Fall of Reverie is a ??gorgeously animated supernatural myste??ry appeared first on Destructoid.

Roomba will wipe the floor with you

I've had the pleasure of playing Street Fighter 6 multiple times since its initial reveal, just one short year ago. I first checked out the rad-looking sequel during the summer of 2022 at Birmingham's VS Fighting tournament, then later that year at EGX London. I've also had the good fortune to take part in both beta tests and, as previously reported, I have been left in a pretty exc?itable state from ??each experience.

A fortnight ago, I was kindly invited to Capcom's UK headquarters in order to check out what was, more or less, the full and final build of SF6. And, by the end of my short time spent with the complete game, my?? anticipation for this scrapper has, more or less, reached something of a eye-twitching, hand-scratching fever pitch... Or maybe that's just the com??ing of summer pollen. Who knows?

//www.youtube??.com/watch?v=1JmxWphGO5Y&ab_channel=StreetFighter

While there were limitations placed on what I could and could not play, (so save yer gripin'), as well as what I may or may not reveal, I was given the opportunity to check out one character's arcade mode, a healthy chunk of the "World Tour" feature, and poke around within various Tutorials, Character Guides, and Combo Trials. Most excitingly, I was given free rein with SF6's 18-strong launch roster, affording the opportunity to step into the ring with returning veterans Honda and Dhalsim, as well as frankly frightening newcomers such as Marisa, Manon, and JP.

I'll tell you this much, whoever you're taking to the lab, you can shape into a force to be reckoned with. And, for the first time since Killer Instinct, I  truly want to �and feel like I could �exceed as anybody.

//youtu.be/QcI58UECAAc

Choose Your Fighter

While I hardly had the time to get neck-deep into the entire roster, the key element of the SF6 lineup that stands out to me is the perceived viability of almost every character, at least on first impressions. The sequel's fast, aggressive playstyle and incredibly flexible mechanics allow for all 18 World Warriors to feel solid and practical, while also owning their bespoke playstyles. With a roster of zoners, rushdown champs, grapplers, and hybrid fighters, SF6 has a highly varied pack of pugilists, each character built around one (or more) personal mechanics that offer them distin?ct personalities among their p?eers.

For example, Zangief and Marisa are both incredibly dangerous and dominant grapplers. But while Zangief is about smothering the opponent with ground-gaining strikes and singular, devastating throws, (many of which have way more armor than should be legal), Marisa's gameplay revolves around charging her buttons, (with all of he??r standing normals able to be held for alternate effect), wit?h the Roman giant locking her opponents down with unpredictable striking rhythms that leave her hapless foes scared to press buttons.

So, while both characters boast what is essentially a "wrestler" archetype, the two titans are completely different from one ?another in control, strategy, and offensive and defensive tactics. It's this emphasis on distinction that makes the entire roster interesting, resulting in the player being almost spoilt for choice.

//youtu.be/JSyL0llQplw

Lily is a fantastic hybrid character. The Thunderfoot Tribe member has learned many Specials of her predecessor, T. Hawk, but she is imbued with mobility and reach that was not afforded her chunky-sized ancestor. Of all of the new characters played, Lily is perhaps my favorite. There's just something so infectious about her. I also spent a little time as Manon, who very much felt a "specialist" character, one that will require deft study and experimentation, to be ultimately rewarded with a fighter who is frightening at mid-range and frankly terrifying in close quarters.

Cammy, delightfully, is still Cammy, and slips right into her role as an acrobatic rushdown character relying on dizzying speed coupled with assault from myriad directions. Within seconds the Delta Red Queen felt extremely comfortable, and her fans will be very pleased with her latest incarnation. If it ain't broke... right? Cammy's most important new addition is definitely her newest cat pal, who both hangs out with her on the character select screen and interrupts her mid-match victory poses.

//youtu.be/e8ijMj4BF_U

An interesting note about piano commands, directly affecting Messrs E. Honda and Blanka in particular. Both Hundred Hand Slap and Electric Thunder are now Command Moves (qcf/qcb + P). In fact, during my short time playing the full game, I did not find a single piano-based input, a change perhaps necessitated by the addition of the new "Modern" and "Dynamic" control systems.

As for the sinister-looking JP, a variety of scary, multi-planed projectiles �one of which is actually a throw �brings about the same cautious anxiety conjured up by say, Mortal Kombat's Cetrion or King of Fighters' Goenitz. Oh, and he also has a screen trap, with a time-delayed release, (ala Korin), which is also a teleport... which he can also?? feint. Cheers. You can check out some of the??se moves in the video below.

We'll solve the puzzle, but JP is going to be an online m?onster in the early going. Put that in the bank.

//youtu.be/VeiRp0J7iqQ

We are The World

Many of you will have, by now, played the World Tour opening as featured in the Street Fighter 6 demo, available now on PC and console platforms. I got the chance to push a little further beyond what is show??n in the demo, touching base with Chun-Li and her adorable chum Lei-Feng, getting into scrapes with several cardboard box-headed ruffians, and even agreeing to some (fairly dopey) sidequests from various Metro City residents.

The World Tour mode, aside from the character-building elements featured in the demo, also offers up an array of (mostly silly) side activities, which include smashing up trucks at Abigail's Scrapyard, (no sign of the Big Man himself, thankfully), breaking boards for a scene in a kung-fu movie, teaching a wannabe gang member the error of his ways, (kicked the shit out of him, b??asically), and promising an "infooencuer" that I'd help him make so?me red hot fighting content for his channel. I won't.

//youtu.be/Mlkld8nD8P8

This story-cum-adventure mode appears to be mostly designed to help introduce players to SF6's mechanics, characters, and fighting styles, piece-by-piece, while also offering up single-player fun for those who want to take time out from one-on-one matchmaking. SFV was rightfully lambasted at launch for its barebones release and utter disinterest in single-player content, which was eventually "rectified" with a crushingly long-winded story campaign.

Clearly, World Tour is an effort to offer players their own out-of-the-ring adventure, presented in the style of Like-a-Dragon-lite, if you will. I can't deny that I find the script and strange central plotline of "Chasing Strength" cheesy, even childish, with a stilted delivery and muted presentation style that feels generations old. But, all that said, I do really dig the excellent character creator, as well as some of the fun side modes and cameo appearances from some of Street Fighter's finest combatants (and beyond).

Besides, where else in gaming could you find yourself assaulted by a ver?y angr?y Roomba?

//youtu.be/GMzx5Hk7o7A

No Train, No Gain

My final few minutes were spent with two of the Training tools in Street Fighter 6's arsenal, namely the Character Guides and the returning Combo Trials. The Character Guide aims to go way beyond the act of merely showing you a respective fighter's moves, and instead breaks down exactly why and when you would use them, offering examples of counterplay against numerous eventualities. Essentially, the new Character Guides are not only hoping to teach you the ways of Juri, Guile et al, but they are also hoping to tutor you in the basics of Street Fighter itself.

Not just How to throw a Hadouken, but When to throw a Hadouken. Knowledge that is equally im??portant.

While the Combo Trials will be immediately familiar to Street Fighter aficionados, the SF6 edition includes a valuable new feature, that allows players to slow down the action to better build the wrist-shattering at?tacks moment-to-moment. With several speed settings, the trickier combos can now be started and completed in super slo-mo, with the player gradually increasing the speed and input window until they find themselves cracking out a 20-hitter 10 times out of 10.

Or, in my case, a two-hitter 8 times out ??of 14. Nobody ever said the path to enlightenment was easy.

//youtu.be/33eZ4sAhfnA

Fun Fact: Cammy has a Ryu-style mule kick (B+HK) that ?cancels into numerous specia??ls/supers.

I think part of the reason I was greatly encouraged to spend time in the World Tour, Character Guide, and Combo Trial modes was Capcom's enthusiasm to demonstrate that Street Fighter 6 is not only being built as a f?ully-featured title, but also a title that hopes to pull in newcomers and wayward veterans.

With SF6's triple-control system, overhauled tutorials, new practice tools, and info-feeding story mode, Capcom clearly wants to educate players of all persuasions that its spanking new fighter, while undoubtedly deep, will be accessible. A title that will offer an array of tuneable options to allow even the young?est, newest, or most b??efuddled of fighting game fans to take their first steps to glory.

//youtu.be/AnvWyO0hWhA

As for myself. Well, I've seen just about all I can ahead of next month's launch. With Street Fighter 6, Capcom is hoping to see its flagship fighti?ng series, one that defined the genre itself, ma?ke a grand challenge for its (lost?) fighting game throne, offering fans old and new a fully-featured and engaging sequel that has learned from the mistakes of its past, while evolving its entire pedigree for a bold and electrifying future.

At this point, it's all over bar the fight itself. And in just five short weeks' time, we'll find out whether SF6 is set for the mother of all comebacks, or is to be left flat on its back, staring at the ??light??s in a final K.O.

I'm not a betting man. But I know? where the smart money's goin'

Street Fighter 6 launches June 2 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. In the meantime, be sure to check out our reports on the 50 things I loved in the beta, a full playlist of character themes, and my suggestions on the 10 World Warriors wh?o woul?d fit right into the new title as post-launch DLC.

_{[This preview is based on a build of Street Fighter 6 played on a PS5. Expenses were not provided by the publisher.]}

The post Preview: I played a full build of Street Fighter 6, and it can’t get here soon enough appeared first on Destructoid.

We should numerical notation this dapper dude

As those of an age may remember, when Crimson Viper first made her debut in 2009's Street Fighter IV, there was a common opinion that in character design, personality, and playstyle, the Secret Agent Mom felt like SF's answer to the fashion-forward King of Fighters roster. C. Viper fit like an (electric) glove, but something about her just felt different �distinctly different from her SF brethren.

I recently visited Capcom HQ, where I had the chance to check out a full build of Street Fighter 6, complete with its launch roster. And while many of the new characters felt familiar �retaining the skills of fighters who had maybe passed through the World Warrio??r ranks before �one character really stood out, featuring a playstyle that felt borrowed from not just one, but many other fighting franchises.

And that character is the charming but extremely unnerving gentleman, JP.

//twitter.??com/ChrisxMoyse/status/1653297?535694372865?s=20

JP's fighting style is one of extreme zoning, mind games, and, ultimately, full-screen frustration. The sinister industrialist fights with emotional apathy, content to stand the full length of the screen and prevent his opponent from gaining any ground. JP is equipped with multiple ethereal projectiles, ("Torbalan"), that are able to attack at multiple heights, and, dependent on the version used, can contain the properties of overheads, lows, and even unblockable throws.

In addition to these attacks, JP's "Triglav" allows him to stab his cane directly into the ground, launching thorns at optional distances that create knockdown potential at full range, while also defending him from incoming projectiles and airborne opponents. If this arsenal wasn't enough, then "Departure" se?es him create up to two portals at will, that can throw out further thorns on timed release, ("Departure: Shadow"), or also act as teleportation portals, ("Departure: Window"), for when things get a little crowded.

//youtu.be/VeiRp0J7iqQ

It doesn't end there, as JP is also able to counter melee strikes into "Amnesia", which sees a bomb of pure Psycho Power chase down and attach itself to the opponent, detonating in a fashion to leave them open to attack or combo extensions �ala Rose's Soul Sattelite, or Manon's orbs. And even if an opponent does manage to lock our man down, then he can send them reeli??ng backward with "Stribog" a swift, hard attack with his cane, that also ?wallsplats at the cost of meter.

Ultimately, JP's game plan is to keep his opponent ????practically full screen, close down all their routes of entry, push back on any advance, and then surprise them with teleports �either for the purpose of escape or attack. Essentially it is a combination of prediction (for him) and frustration (for them).

He's a frightening entity. Which might see him become a very popular choice in SF6's launch days.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTYp2nCH?ldo&list=PLs4LjNCY15?zO3ahXBcPZKf36kevvHyOXh&index=12&ab_channel=StreetFighter

With his oddly-shaped, ghostly projectiles, myriad directional options, homing attacks, on-screen "traps", and his exquisite visual design, he reminds me of a typical Guilty Gear fighter, while his barrage of tough-to-read, full-screen specials recalls the ungodly King of Fighters bosses from the '90s, or even Lost Warrior from DNF Duel.

Perhaps most bizarrely of all, JPs array of projectiles, diagonal air strikes, ground thorns, and "keep away" gameplay instantly recalls the controller-snapping irritance of facing Mortal Kombat 11 Elder Goddess, Cetrion. ?On first impressions, JP is a reminder of so many different, non-SF fighters.

And all of them are a menace.

While?? some characters should have little trouble gaining ground between these attacks �think Blanka Ball, Sumo Headbutt, or Yoga Teleport �I think we'll find, in time, that the key to defeating these smotheri??ng specials will be deft use of the Drive Gauge. Drive Impact to power through his close-distance pushback efforts, and Parry Rush proving the key to responding to JP's projectiles �closing the gap before he can recover.

Still, these are not beginner skills, and I can't help but wonder whether Online JP is to be crowned the first Street Fighter 6 nightmare in the early going...

...Well, you all did want a villain, right?

Street Fighter 6 launches June 2 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. Be sure to check out my other thoughts on the new build, as well as my report on Lily's Arcade Mode. In addition, here are 50 things I loved in the beta, and my suggestions on the 10 World Warriors who would fit right into the new title as post-launch DLC??????????????????????????.

The post Street Fighter 6’s menacing JP plays like he’s The King of Fighters appeared first on Destructoid.

A whole slew of new games to watch for

2023 has no shortage of big, blockbuster games on the horizon. It's a year where Final Fantasy, Zelda, and Diablo are all getting new entries. Yet coming back from PAX East 2023, I kept thinking abou??t the smaller games now littering my release radar.

Honestly, this is a major appeal of PA??X, at least to media and the games vying for their attention. It's a time where we're in town for a few larger projects, like a panel or a big hands-on, but we then have a l??ot of time to fill with various booths and games we might not have known much about going in.

So, my list of favorite games I saw at PAX East 2023 reflects that. Some of these entries feel entirely expected, as they're the most obvious candidates. However, others are surprise hits I barely knew about going into the weekend. All of them are great, even the few that didn't manage to make the cut or that I couldn't find tim?e for in my schedule. Even in 2023, PAX East reminded me that there's no shortage of interesting games arriving in the near-future. I hope yo??u look into at least a few, and I'll add in Steam page links so you can wishlist anything you want to follow.

Our favorite games from PAX East 2023

[caption id="attachment_371196" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Yacht Club Games[/caption]

Mina the Hollower

This was easily my most anticipated demo going into PAX East 2023, and it did not disappoint. Mina the Hollower feels like a full foot-forward for Yacht Club, applying a similar blend of nostalgic rev??erence and modern updates to the Game Boy era.

Despite looking like it was from that time, though, I was constantly surprised at how modern it felt. The action was fast, and Mina has so many tools at her disposal, despite a limited control scheme. This studio has been defined by Shovel Knight for a long time, but I think they've found an excellent new add??ition to the crew in Mina.

Follow Mina the Hollower on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_370167" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Brace Yourself Games[/caption]

Rift of the Necrodancer

At first, Rift of the Necrodancer may feel a bit too straightforward. A normal rhythm game without a dungeon-crawling, roguelite twist could seem unusually vanilla to longtime Necrodancers.

What Rift actually does is mix several different styles of rhythm gaming together into one mash-up that's greater than the sum of its parts. One part Guitar Hero, one part Rhythm Heaven, and one part Punch-Out!, Rift of the Necrodancer feels like a celebration of the rhythm games that inspired the original Crypt. And let me tell you, the higher difficult??ies are no cake-walk.

Follow Rift of the Necrodancer on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_371434" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Chucklefish[/caption]

Wargroove 2

In a time where turns, tiles, and tactics are on the rise, Wargroove 2 sports a similar vibe with one big twist. I got to check out this new roguelike Conquest mode at PAX East 2023, and I found it to be a refreshing take on the long-running Famicom Wars foundation.

Rather than building a base and pumping out units, every individual piece is all the more critical. Items and commanders make for huge potential swings in the tides of war. Where I was once curious where Wargroove 2 would fit into this new landscape, I'm now eager to see how it c?ontinues to forge its own path ahead.

Follow Wargroove 2 on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_371218" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Necrosoft[/caption]

Demonschool

I wouldn't ever say that a game feels made for me, but I can certainly feel like a game is hitting all of my favorite styles, concepts, and ideas in one fell swoop. That's the case with Demonschool. University s?tudents get caught up in demonic happenings, bouncing between slic??e-of-life hangout sessions and sleek, challenging, turn-based tactical battles.

Demonschool was already something I was watching based off the pitch alone, but playing it at PAX East 2023 just confirmed what I knew: that Necrosoft's RPG is one? to watch. If you dig tactical RPGs, horror-infused style, or games that break from the norm, this is a project worth following.

Follow Demonschool on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_372143" align="alignnone" width="640"] Art concocted by Eric Van Allen[/caption]

Unannounced Train Project

Now, you may be asking yourself how we managed to get such a beautiful artistic rendition of a video game in our list here. Well, the answer is the Unannounced Train Project, a new game? THQ Nordic w??as showing off at its booth at PAX East 2023.

It doesn't quite have a name yet and hasn't even been fully announced, but the studio was demoing a slice of it on the show floor. It's essentially a real-time strategy squad tactics game, with some serious Commandos vibes in what I'm assuming is World War II, or some version of it. Commanding a small unit to make its way into a nearby town, then planning an assault on an enemy artillery emplacement while simultaneously defending the town, felt incredible, and was easily one of the more memorable gameplay mo??ments I had at East.

That said, there are no official assets available for the game at this time, so please enjoy my personal rendition of the events of the demo. I hope they aptly convey the drama and magnitude ??of the experience.

Wreckreation

I only got a few minutes with Wreckreation, but even those bits I played felt spectacular. This new high-speed racing game from former Criterion devs has all the ?action you'd want, as well as some big sandbox potential.

In the demo I played, I was able to place various ramps, then race along the course against the computer. The cars controlled great, the creation was intuitive, and slamming opposing racers off the course in Burnout fashion?? was solid. All in all, if you like vehicular racing and destruction, this is one to watch.

Follow Wreckreation on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_371935" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Black Tabby Games[/caption]

Slay the Princess

The demo for Slay the Princess became a hot-topic of PAX East 2023, and for good reason. Black Tabby Games' horror story offers a lot of choice, and adapts well to however you?? approach it. The moral dilemma of the titular drive—slay the princess, save the world—can branch and fork out into many directions depending on how you approach it.

For those who love The Stanley Parable, or just enjoy seeing unique narrative direction in games, Slay the Princess is well worth your attention. It's got eye-catching art and stellar writing, further strengthened by the great voiceover work. It's a small gem that's an easy recommendation for anyone who's tired of the same-old, same-old in their vi??deo game storytelling.

Follow Slay the Princess on Steam here.

VICE NDRCVR

I am, admittedly, a massive sucker for interface-driven stories in g??ames. Something about p??oking and prodding around an operating system and files, especially with a tinge of detective work and snooping where you shouldn't, just works for me.

VICE NDRCVR does all that, with an added air of '80s drug-fueled thriller, as you hack your way into the systems of the cartel t??o expose their secrets. It's all the joy of discovering aliases and establishing a crime network, with all the tension of sneaking into systems you shouldn't be in.

Follow VICE NDRCVR on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_372131" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Angry Mob Games[/caption]

Trinity Fusion

I know "roguelite Metroidvania" is a common refrain these days. Maybe it's because of those expectations that Trinity Fusion surprised ?me. It handles well, for sure. It also has a nov?el concept: you play as three multi-versal versions of the same character, trying to merge their dying universes into one, less-doomed universe.

What really hooked me was how those different universes worked; each one has its own biomes, enemies, and layouts, and each version of the character has their own traversal options. So swapping between characters and universes added ample variety and a sense of explor?ation that'??s often missing in roguelites. It's enjoyable, and it's hitting Early Access on April 13.

Follow Trinity Fusion on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_371611" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via BattleBrew Productions[/caption]

Cuisineer

This was my second time demoing Cuisineer at PAX East, and it was a good reminder of how solid the set-up is. One part action??-RPG dungeon crawler, one part shop management sim, these are two great flavors that go well together.

Add in a cute look and some solid cooking-battle theming like slamming a giant skillet down for damage, and Cuisineer just seems like a pleasant game to vibe in. Absolutely watch this one if you like the idea of some Recettear in your Hades.

Follow Cuisineer on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_372110" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via WildArts Studio[/caption]

Born of Bread

I dig that Paper Mario has been steadily inspiring more and more indie RPG projects, and Born of Bread certainly captures some of that charm. Following a sentien??t bit of dough that becomes a real boy, Loaf and pals journey across the realms for answers and adventure.

It's hard to convey this in a text write-up, but Born of Bread is an endearing world to be in. It's lively and vibrant, with gorgeous art and some stellar music. Additionally, the humor is filled with puns and gags without being overbearing. There's enough character her?e to drive a solid RPG that ??seems pre-destined to eat up hours on my Steam Deck.

Follow Born of Bread on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_371710" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Digital Sun / Riot Forge[/caption]

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story

The League of Legends spin-offs have been largely working out well, and the trend looks to continue with The Mageseeker. I got to check out a behind-closed-doors look at PAX East 2023, and Digital Suns' action RPG experience from Moonlighter translates well to Sylas' magical rebellion.

Alongside some great, fluid combat, there's a magic system that rewards clever copying-and-firing of enemy magic. It offers fast action that also makes you think, without those two ideas ever conflicting enough to cause friction. Add in some gorgeous pixel art of popular League characters, and Mageseeker could make an impact this month.

Follow The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_372134" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via FLARB LLC[/caption]

Xenotilt: Hostile Pinball Action

From the makers of Demon's Tilt comes a sci-fi sequel Xenotilt. Much like its predecessor, Xenotilt is a pinball game where you're essentially fighting the table itself. Different enemies and bosses appear in each zone, and you'll ?need to acc??urately and carefully deliver pinball fury to their faces.

It's not quite full sensory overload, but there is something magnetic about how much light, noise, and text Xenotilt delivers. It's hypnotic. You just enter the Pinball Zone (TM) and stay there, slamming metal spheres into faces and seeing numbers climb higher. In other words, if you enjoy pinball, you will enjoy Xenotilt. Heck, you'll probably enjoy Demon's Tilt, too.

Follow Xenotilt on Steam here.

[caption id="attachment_372133" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via NIS America[/caption]

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails

In another special demo at PAX East 2023, I got a chance to check out the upcoming English localization of the Switch remaster of the 2012 PSP Trails spin-off, The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails. It is an action RPG that's a little more Mana th?an turn-based, and it has some older game vibes.

But those throwback-feeling vibes are why, at the end of the show, I kept thinking back fondly on Nayuta. It felt like a quaint, cha?rming reminder of that style of RPG, before the action p??ortion overwhelmed the RPG side. There was just the right amount of hack-and-slash mixed with adventuring, and even the early PSP-era aesthetic feels strangely nostalgic for its PS1 predecessors. I dig the older RPG port vibes, I guess.

No date's been confirmed yet, but The Legend of Nayuta is expected sometime this fall.

Street Fighter 6

Okay, this may be cheating. It's not like this was the first time Street Fighter 6 was playable, and Capcom itself was not at PAX East 2023. Rather, several hardware companies were using SF6 as a showcase to draw players towards their set-ups. ?And look: it worked.

I'm putting Street Fighter 6 here, not just to assert that it's quite good (it is), but to confirm that it's good in-person. Playing local Street Fighter 6 was fantastic, in a way I haven't felt about this series for a while. Even just playing a bunch of matches in the standard Ryu vs. Chun-Li match-up (I played the latter), I'm reminded of how good Street Fighter can be when it nails the fundamentals. And Street Fighter 6 feels like it's got that in spades right now.

Street Fighter 6 hits on June 2.

The post PAX East 2023: 15 of our favorites from this year’s show appeared first on Destructoid.

Take me to rhythm heaven

It might, at first, seem like Rift of the Necrodancer is going back to rhythm basics. Previous release Crypt of the Necrodancer experimented with a rhythm twist on the roguelite formula to great success, while Rift looks to dive back into the pure rhythm genre. But a combination of great mechanics, variety, and charm all combine to make Rift of the Necrodancer's styles harmonize well.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=cV528_7Nx-E

We got to sit down with a demo of Brace Yourself and Tic Toc Games' Rift of the Necrodancer at PAX East 2023, showing off three different stages of the game. Its core is ??still rhythm-centric, with extremely good tunes backing the a??ction. The approach, at first, seems like musical routine: slimes roll down the track one beat at a time, and I had to hit the arrow keys (left, right, up) to strike them down, sometimes in combination, or hitting down to hit all three lanes at once. Easy enough, right?

[caption id="attachment_370168" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Brace Yourself Games[/caption]

Not so easy

Turns out, not all enemies ??are simple one-hit-kill slimes. Some are bats, which jump to other lanes after you've hit them once, so you'll need to watch and take note. Some slimes take a few sequential hits on the beat to clear, while skeletons protect??ed with shields need sub-divided bashes, and the undead leap across lanes, and you can start to see how this all escalates.

The Rhythm Rift mode was the first play mode I saw, and definitely the one I latched onto the most. While it has those shades of lane-surfing bops like Guitar Hero or Amplitude, the use of enemy varieties to create quick moments of adaptation and execution feels great. Seeing a bat come down a lane by itself, hitting it once, then seeing it hop over and back a beat to line up with a slime for a double-hit can instill some surprise and excitement, but it feels great to read that and nail the Perfect ti??ming.

After grappling with the Normal difficulty, I ran it back on one notch harder, which added even trickier foes to combat. I dig that more difficulty d?oesn't just mean more notes, but also reading and adapti??ng to an ever-evolving chart.

Strike a pose

The second stage I played through felt like a direct Rhythm Heaven homage. Necrodancer hero Cadence, who in Rift of the Necrodancer is a bit of a fish-out-of-water, attends a yoga class. So as the teacher strikes different poses and the students follow suit in rhythm, you en??d up being the final beat in the bar.

[caption id="attachment_370171" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Brace Yourself Games[/caption]

It's hard to describe in words, but there's a very natural, understandable cadence to these sections. The chant of "Tree!" and then one, two, and you answer on three, just works, the same as it did in Rhythm Heaven. Timing will switch up between double-time, half-time, and all sorts of syncopatio??n meant to kee??p you on your toes.

This is a good place to mention, as well, that Rift of the Necrodancer is extremely charming. The art for Cadence and the supporting cast is fantastic and the music from Danny Baranowsky and collaborators is on-point, and th??e little moments of success or failure in the yoga sequence were heightened by Cadence's reactions.

A literal beat-down

The last section I played was styled after Punch-Out!!, as Cadence brawled with a songstress in some strange dimension. Again, it was quickly and readily ?legible what I should be doing, as strikes hit left or right, encouraging me to dodge and str??ike back.

[caption id="attachment_370169" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Brace Yourself Games[/caption]

And again, Brace Yourself finds ways to switch it all up on the spot. The foe snickers and switches up her sides, or throws one on each in quick succession. I had a little bit more trouble getting the timing right on the counterattack punches here, but in a way that felt like I was still adapting, rather than anything Rift of the Necrodancer was doing.

Though that was the end of the demo, I wanted to jump back in and play more. I sincerely still, while typing this, want to go back to some of the harder Rhythm Rift stages and master them. This feels like a varied, charming celebration of rhythm gaming fun, bolstered by the world of Necrodancer. And it cl??icks neatly into place like a metronome, in a way that makes me very interested in the final game.

No release date has been set yet for Rift of the Necrodancer.

The post PAX: Rift of ??the Necrodancer finds charming fun in focusing on the rhythm appeared first on Destructoid.

It's a kind of magic

I don't think I've minced my words when I've talked about my distaste for fantasy settings. Whether it is a lingering effect of growing up in a religious household where magic was the creation of the devil, or just not finding it interesting, I've never been able to find an interest in fantasy worlds. So when I was approached with a preview build of Age of Wonders 4 I was apprehensive. Thankfully ??though I accepted, and for the first time I was enthralled by the fantasy world that stood before me.

So what was so great about the world that Triumph Studios built? Even though the world had some form of procedural generation built into it,? each world was brought to life by not only the landscape but also the kin?gdoms and cities that inhabited your world. Like most 4X games, you start out in your own little corner of the world with no knowledge of what lies beyond your realm. As you venture further from your home and discover the world that you have been plopped into, you meet all kinds of races and characters.

Depending on how your actions, factions will react differently to you. Long-time veterans? of the 4X genre will probably balk at my thoughts and try to say that it's all built upon some reactive code. Which it is. Knowing this though, it still feels like a vibrant and real world when the second I meet a new civilization they ??judge me on my previous actions and react as such.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2xc0AI9EOE

The best part is that every interaction in the world is built on the base of your society's traits, and they are all customizable. Sure there are the basic things like race, royal colors, and emblems, but the customization also goes much d??eeper, allowing you to craft the perfect roleplay base. There are cultures on which your lineage is based such as feudality or war-mongerin??g barbarians. This culture is then refined even further into traits and schools of magic where you can either double down on the benefits of your culture or branch out and create a mix of different schools of thought. Whatever choices you make, they will come back around in both strategy and role-playing mechanics creating a sort of feedback loop.

Being the elf lover that I am (don't?? @ me) I found it particularly fun to make a race of nomadic feudal wood elves that were masters of wind and lightning magic. Nothing o??verly original but hey, I like my wood elves. One thing I did find odd though that with so much customization available, only binary pronouns were present in the game. It is nice that they are completely disconnected from character models but in a rich fantasy setting it feels weird to limit the choice to strictly male or female.

The gameplay feedback loop was only deepened by the fact that you gained the ability to access new tech, based only on the affinities of your culture. The way it works is that there are six different affinities that your society can have such as nature or ?material. You gain experience in an affinity through different means while playing. Some are as simple as choosing a certain outcome during a role-playing event, but it's also wrapped up in what schools of magic you decide to pursue in your research. The more you learn in a certain affinity the faster you will unlock empire-wide abilities that correspond to the affinity.

[caption id="attachment_366605" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot via Triumph Studios[/caption]

It is a bit of a letdown that the topics you are able to research are randomized but I kind of get what they were trying to do. One of my biggest gripes with the 4X genre is that it's ripe for railroading and making the research tr?ee have a bit of randomness in it isn't the worst way to go about mitigating it but I don't know if it's the best either. It all feels a bit gamey t??o have to pay a resource to shuffle potential topics because you don't like anything that is presented to you.

While the actual research tasks are randomized, the schools of magic that are presented to you are left entirely up to you. As your society progresses you gain access to new schools of magic which in turn allow you to research new abilities and units and increase your affinity. So? being that I liked wind and lightning, I was able to quickly build units that specialized in that, which came back to bite me in the ass when I went underground?? and had to fight rock people. I didn't feel like I was being punished for my actions but I did question what I thought would happen when taking a group of lightning elves underground. In a way I was glad the game kind of slapped me upside the head, because I know I'll never make that mistake again �which lead to tense relations with underground societies that hate forest walkers.

While I was only able to play for a short while compared to the amount I've played other 4X games, I can tell that this ?mix of role-playing and strategic decision-making would add tons of mileage to a genre that can easily burn people out with samey wo??rlds and experiences.

[caption id="attachment_366604" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot via Triumph Studios[/caption]

One of the things I dislike the most about the 4X genre is when the minutia of battles are left up to a computer simulation. I've had the argument with my friends about randomness in all types of battle simulations countless times but when it comes down to it, I don't want to lose a battle because the computer decided I had a bad roll of some ethereal dice. I want to lose battles based on my own tactical incompetence dammit! Thankfully Age of Wonders 4 retains the option to either play out battles through simulation ?or by commanding your troops yourself. Even in tactical battles you can let the computer?? take control for a turn or two if you are nearing the end and know victory is inevitable. On the flip side, if you choose to simulate and don't like the outcome you can run the battle yourself.

Now, it wouldn't be a Marzano preview if I didn't talk about the UI/UX. Just as you can min/max your society, so too has the UI/UX been min/maxed as there are some areas it ?shines and others where it frankly doesn't. Anything relating to the strategy elements of the game is impeccably designed and gives you all the information you need in a prudent fashion. Nested tooltips from other Paradox-published games have made their return. While it's a bit unwieldy, it's super nice to see the ability to learn about a mechanic by simply hovering over it. Of particular merit is the diplomacy screen.

[caption id="attachment_366603" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot via Triumph Studios[/caption]

It's super nerdy to geek out about a single screen containing everything you would need to negotiate politics with a rival faction but Age of Wonders 4 diplomacy screen is one of the best I've seen in my time playing strate?gy games. Meanwhile, any screen that has?? to do with role-playing feels clunky. It took me longer than I'd care to admit to locate the level-up button for my ruler, because it looked like just another equipment slot. It's far from a game-breaker but it does show where Triumph's strengths and weaknesses lie.

Against all odds, Age of Wonders 4 has won over this ?ardent disliker of fantasy games and worlds. The world and empire customization makes for an engaging experience that loops back on itself by utilizing all aspects of the gameplay. The base that is being laid for the May 2 l??aunch is fantastic and I can feel my love of the 4X genre returning to me in full.

Age of Wonders 4 is available for pre-order now on PC, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 5.

_{This hands-on coverage is based on a preview build of the game provided by the publisher.}

The post Han?ds-On: Age? of Wonders 4 can convert the fantasy averse with its compelling gameplay appeared first on Destructoid.

Halfway in, and Octopath 2 feels like it's surpassing its predecessor

Octopath Traveler, and its follow-up Octopath Traveler 2, both start off with an interesting but challenging narrative format: take eight adventurers, tell their origin stories, and weave their fates together into a greater anthology. These eight heroes grow into their own in their stories and then, once established in their own right, join together to fight the ultimate challenge awaiting them. Conceptually, it's powerful. In reality, ??it can be a delicate dance.

For a full disclosure, I wasn't too keen on the first Octopath Traveler. A soaring soundtrack and gorgeous presentation couldn't lift the stories high enough to make me want to see things through to the finale myself. So I'm not sure what it was that drew me in, almost last-minute, to Octopath Traveler 2. It could have been lingering good-will from the Live A Live remake. Or maybe it was the idea that Acquire and Square Enix could take the criticisms of the first Octopath and craft a better version of it, where the eight-legged story wasn't weighed down by its writing. Ultimately, I'm glad I did, because Octopath Traveler 2 feels like making? good on the blueprint laid ?out by its predecessor.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=lgmLN1NHXyE

Octopath Traveler 2 (PS5[reviewed], PS4, PC, Switch)
Developer: Square Enix, Acquire Corp.
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: February 24, 2023
MSRP: $59.99

From the outset, much of Octopath Traveler 2 is the same as the first. There are eight travelers, each with their own backstory and class for combat, as well? as Path Actions. Journey around town, fight through the occasional dungeon and boss fight, and use Path Actions on NPCs to move the story forward. The framework is very familiar. It's how Square Enix and Acquire built up over the top that's impressing me.

Day and night

The addition of a day-and-night cycle means everyone has two Path Actions now. While Throne can knock someone out at night, she has to be a little more polite in the sunlight and simply pick their pockets. Osvald can scrutinize someone, gambling on a chance to uncover their deepest held secrets, during the day. At night, he just mugs them. NPC interactions broadly fall into a few categories: get information, follow me, get items, or knockout. (For Hikari, that's knockout and steal your skills, a la Rogue.)

The Octopath team has done a really great job, though, of making sure you're doing a lot of different things with the vocabulary set out before you. Some chapters may never see you engage in combat. Others might have you try to solve a small mystery. And still, others might just be wading into gladiatorial bout after bout. I'm writing this review-in-progress from the halfway point, as we got code just ahead of launch. But even at roughly 35 or so hours in, I've found I'm doing something a little different in every chap??ter, for every character. Stories rarely ever feel too one-note.

[caption id="attachment_366361" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

It helps that Octopath Traveler 2's cast is, on the whole, much more endearing than the first game. ??Importantly, you don't need to have played the first game to follo??w anything happening here. And that jump allows these tales to, outside a few scant gestures towards previous events, tell a story that's in a much different world state altogether.

Brave new world

Rather than just fantasy fare, Octopath Traveler 2 sees a fantasy world approaching industrialization. Pioneers and merchants venture to the silver-mining town of Oresrush, spurred on by whispers of a ??shifting standard in currency.? Agnea, the dancer from a small forest town, is caught awestruck when seeing the lights and sounds of the bustling New Delsta. At one point, a shipwright laments how investors have left her work, proclaiming that steam engines might be the future.

This world is a fascinating one, and the characters who give you their viewpoints into the world give you a wide variety of views. Partitio the Merchant struggles with wages and fair earnings, as his desire to pay workers an honest living leads to tensions with the higher-ups who want to scrape out the most profit for themselves. Hikari finds himself caught in a struggle for the throne, as his natio?n comes? to grips with its history of conquering and bloodshed.

[caption id="attachment_366363" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

My personal favorite is Temenos, the doubtful Inquisitor for the Church of the Sacred Flame. A string of bad luck sees him caught up in a murder-mystery, and so he sets to work, investigating his way through the JRPG equivalent of the movie Seven. But what I enjoy isn't just the detective vibes, but the entire inquisitorial nature of Temenos; his job, as he says, is to doubt. He casts aspersions on the way church officials wield their power over the more naïve??.

Many paths, one road

This curiosity lends itself well to Octopath Traveler 2's very open approach to role-playing. Dotted throughout the world are sidequests. They operate similar to Octopath 1,? in that they usually require a bit of problem solving and using Path Actions. Yet in the sequel, I'm finding them so much more reward??ing. They give you just enough threads to let you solve something by yourself, while not being too difficult to discern.

[caption id="attachment_366364" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Moreover, there are dungeons all over the map. Altars await, offering additional abilities for your eight travelers. Guilds in cities now mete out subclass options, and subclasses themselves are available earlier and feel more interesting to dig into. I've yet to venture onto the Crossed Paths, which see two travelers spend time with each other, a common request from those who felt Octopath 1's party felt too distant. But even within chapters, the party will get optional moments of banter, reminiscent of skits from the Tales Of series. Some have genuinely made me laugh, or given me paus??e to think about what's happening at the moment.

All of this builds to a world that feels so much more alive in Octopath Traveler 2. There are always new sights to see, towns to explore, quests to undertake, and objectives to task myself with. I'm sure there's ??what some might consider? grinding, but it's under enough layers of interesting meta-interactions and systems that I'm barely even noticing it.

Take to the field

Even combat has seen a pretty noteworthy shift. Sure, all eight characters maintain the same classes and general dispositions from the first game. The Scholar will cast magic, the Warrior wields weapons, and the Cleric heals and casts holy light magic. But alongside a fairly diverse set of abilities and support skills that can change how each character approaches a fight, every traveler has their own Latent Power. This Limit Break-adjacent skill lets a traveler do what they do best. Castti can freely mix up a massive, tide-turning concoction, without using up ingredients. HIkari taps into a well of probably-definitely-corrupting power to unleash he??aps of damage.

Again, I turn back to Temenos, whose Latent Power ensures that whatever hits he doles out will break Shield Points on the enemy. Octopath Traveler 2 still uses the Boost and Break systems, encouraging you to Break enemies by hitting their weaknesses, opening them up for attacks, and using Boost points to either time t?hose breaks or capitalize on them with massive damage. Well, subclassing Temenos into Scholar m??eans I can give him the Elemental Barrage ability, which doles out anywhere from three to five blasts of magic in one burst, and more if I boost him. Coupled with his Latent Power, he shreds through shields in a single turn.

[caption id="attachment_366356" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Little tweaks and optimizations like that make the Octopath Traveler 2 combat feel so much more lively in its earlier hours than the first ever managed. Battles can provide a decent challenge, but a smart and tactical player could take on enemies well? above their level if they plan and prepare right. That's ??the sign of an engaging turn-based combat system to me, at least.

All roads lead home

As I said before, I'm still at roughly the halfway point. I've cleared half of all the available character chapters, but still have a ways to go to see this through to its end, and how exactly all these travelers will come together. But where Octopath Traveler 2 is succeeding is making the journey feel so worthwhile. I think with Octopath 1, much of my focus was on the destination. That's not really on my mind in the ??second game.

Instead, I'm scouring the map for more opportunities for Partitio to strike a bargain. I'm trying to snatch all the guild subclasses and class statues I can locate. With each new screen, I'm filling in the blank outlines on my blank canvas of a map, while inviting new dangers at every bend. The soaring theme of Octopath Traveler always makes me think of grand adventure, spanning across lands and towns. With Octopath Traveler 2, that world feels vibrant, exciting, and ripe f?or exploration.

The post Review in Progress: Octopath Traveler 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Swords, eikons, and action, oh my

_{This is a special version made for media to experience. Contents may differ from the final version.}

Each of the mainline, numbered Final Fantasy entries takes a departure from its predecessors. The series maintains its thematic through-lines in its summons, its monsters, and in names like Cid; but each release, especially from the PlayStation 2 onwards, reinvents itself too. Final Fantasy XVI is certainly no different.

We got a chance to go hands-on with a build of Final Fantasy XVI, showcasing just how the next entry in the series will handle and specifically highlighting combat. And really, its combat is the thing to talk about, as it’s already been shown to be a bit of?? a de?parture from the ATB systems of yore.

Clive May Cry

Combat director Ryota Suzuki is a name you might recognize if you’re a fan of his previous work with Capcom, where he worked on games such as Devil May Cry 5, Dragon’s Dogma, and Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. I certainly felt the influence, after picking up a DualSense and starting to work my way through the demo. Clive might not have the blink-strike mobility of Noctis, but our new Final Fantasy protagonist certainly d??oesn’t lumber around,?? either.

For basic moves, Clive can strike with his sword using Square, shoot magic of his chosen element with Triangle, and dodge around with R1. It wasn’t long before I started to get the rhythm; Clive gets follow-up opportunities on a perfect dodge, so timing the action just right and attacking immediately afte??r was key.

[caption id="attachment_366084" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.??[/caption]

Some of the enemies in FFXVI hit hard and dodging can be a risky proposition. Parrying, which involves swinging directly into the attack, more so. Clive does get some help from NPC party members, and one constant companion in his dog, who can attack or support Clive bas?ed on issued commands.

But the re??al combat focus is the Eikonic abilities. It seems like, as the story progresses, Clive will open up access to different aspects attuned to the different Eikons of the world. We had access to a bit more than we would have, normally, in our preview; while the preview pit me against Benedikta, who embodies the wind eikon Garuda, I had access to Garuda’s skills, as well as Phoenix and Titan’s abilities. Swapping between them was as simple as hitting one of my shoulder buttons.

In??voking those aspects, though, significantly shifts gameplay. As Phoenix, I was a bit of an all-rounder. I could close the distance with my Circle Button, which invoked a dash attack. One skill gave me an area-of-effect damage option, while another was a ri??sing uppercut, each triggered by hitting a corresponding face button while holding a trigger.

Swapping to Garuda, now everything’s fast and furious. My abilities are usable mid-ai?r, and my Circle isn’t a dash anymore, but a grab that can grab foes and extend the staggered status of large enemies. Shift into Titan mode, and now I’m slamming the ground, throwing up a bulwark with my Circle, and winding up massive strikes.

[caption id="attachment_366092" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQ?UARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.[??/caption]

Simply Eikonic

All of these elements combine t??o form a com??bat system that drips with action-driven influence. Combos felt swift and natural as I’d dive into enemies as the Phoenix, whipping flames around me and uppercutting them before swapping to Garuda, extending the combo further, then landing as Titan and slamming them down.

It’s the most action-heavy I’ve seen a mainline Final Fantasy get, but the good news is, it feels good. I enjoyed my time exploring potential combo routes as Clive, figuring out how different aspects and special moves could work in harmony. Different unlocks opened up new options, as I found moves that could counter projectiles, or even activate special attack animations if I parried an oncoming attack with it. The depth of the abilities, and the accompanying upgrades, will be easier to dissect in the final build of Final Fantasy XVI. But even with what I had ava?ilable in the demo, it felt really good to master the?? moves and roll out extensive combos on hapless grunts.

On the standard difficulty setting, it wasn’t long ?until I felt supremely confident against standard enemies. Of course, my hubris arrived in the form of ??bosses. While fights against rank-and-file baddies felt as routine as they probably should, there were several boss fights in the demo that provided greater challenge.

[caption id="attachment_366083" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. Al??l Rights Reserved.[/ca?ption]

In one, I fought two winged sisters of Garuda, fending off a simultaneous attack. Oddly enough, I saw a brief flash of Final Fantasy XIV here. While one sister led a melee offense on me, her sibling charged up range attacks that marked danger indicators on the floor, much like XIV’s encounters. Som??ehow, the “dodge the puddle�fits really well here, as I bobbed and weaved through floor markers while trying to get my combos in. It certainly appealed to my inner Dragoon main.

Fighting Benedikta on the roof, though, was a highlight of my preview. Here, the combat speed clicked for me. T?he Dominant would charge me in a flurry of blows, forcing me to carefully time my presses, then know when to do my follow-up. Long-distance exchanges of magical bullets quic??kly segued into a close-quarters dance back and forth. When I missed one window, I was subjected to a cinematic strike on Clive that did some serious damage.

[caption id="attachment_366087" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023 SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Righ??ts Reserved.[/caption]

This might be jarring to some. A fast, action-heavy take on Final Fantasy had some mixed results in XV, even though it landed a bit better in Final Fantasy VII Remake. Final Fantasy XVI is certainly the most action-heavy we’ve seen the Square Enix series lean, even eschewing any semblance of a command menu. But it really does work for me. It feels like they’ve got the right ideas in place, and it helps that it doesn’t feel like the team is dipping a toe in the water. In a post-demo interview with the developers behind the game, they noted t??hat this is an action game, and they've tried to achieve both a high ce??iling and an approachable floor for all skill levels.

For those worried about how approachable it will feel, especially if your reactions aren’t up to snuff, there are some helpful options being put in place. Clive will be able to equip some accessories that offer differ??ent levels of assistance with the action. One gives you a window and a prompt for dodging attacks, while another lets you auto-combo through mashing, an option some fighting games have included in the past. Heck, one even automatically issues commands for your dog companion. I tested these out, and they do feel like helpful methods of making the more dangerous and hectic sections of combat feel comfortably manageable.

Game of Eikons

As for the world of Valisthea, the setting of Final Fantasy XVI, it is definitely going for a darker and more politically motivated story. As we’ve seen in demos, Clive is spurred onto a quest of vengeance, touring across the realm for answers. Different nations vie for power and influence, using their Dominants and their ability to embody Eikons (the summons of Final Fantasy) as weapons.

I only got a small slice of the story, as the preview focused mainly on the combat and gameplay. When I did get some plot, though, I can’t say I wasn’t intrigued. I haven’t seen any hints of deeper interrogations into warfare and politics, as you might see from a Tactics game, but the politi?cal tensions ?were palpable. I'm curious to see how that develops.

Of course, Eikons are a big draw, (for story reasons I won’t delve into here), and my preview concluded with me piloting one of Final Fantasy’s most recognizable summons, Ifrit. Playing Ifrit against the winged Garuda felt a bit challenging at first; where Clive was agile and swift, Ifrit felt like trying to drive a flaming semi-truck into the eye of a hurricane. Was it as cool as it sounds? Absolutely. But piledriving Garuda into the ground did entail a lot of tentative approaching while mashing the attack button. I think that will really only shine in specific, tailored sectio??ns, which thankfully?? seems to be the approach for Eikon fights.

[caption id="attachment_366091" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Square Enix
FINAL FANTASY XVI © 2023? SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. All Rights Reserved.[/caption]

Presentation-wise, Final Fantasy XVI looked amazing in its showpiece moments. Cutscenes and big battles were graphically incredible. When Benedikta brings the roof down?, literally, it looks fantastic. Individual characters have some great details, and all of the story encounters landed strong for me.

Some of the more dungeon-exploring moments of the demo gave me pause, though. The drab, gray halls blended together, and some heavy motion-smoothing effects didn’t help. We were told a Performance Mode is currently in the works, and I’m hopeful for that. I’m curious to see what Final Fantasy XVI looks like in more open-air sec??tions, away from?? the night-time fortress raid and cramped quarters we saw.

A new fantasy

Final Fantasy, as a franchise, changes with every entry, and Final Fantasy XVI is no different. It might squash? some hopes, if there are fans who still want to see the series return to a more classical, PlayStation-era format for combat. It might a?lso draw players in who may not want turn-based battles, but are intrigued by the high-budget fantasy and powerful summons on display.

My main takeaway from playing Final Fantasy XVI is that Square Enix is not making a half-hearted effort at an action-RPG. From the team that’s been assembled to the way combat feels fast and engaging, XVI certainly feels like a fresh and different take from what’s come before it. The ultimate question is whether it can make the action still feel that good across a vast RPG adventure, and if fans both new and old latch onto this. We’ll find out, June 22, when Final Fantasy XVI makes its grand debut on PS5.

_{This is a special version made for media to experience. Contents may differ from the final version.
Travel for this media preview was provided by the publisher.}

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Spiritual Smackdown

Overwatch 2 is fully engulfed in its launch season, following on from its October launch across PC and console platforms. And while players are already getting to grips with newer heroes such as Junker Queen, Soujourn, and the powerful healer Kiriko, developer Activision Blizzard is already prepping the way for the first character of Season 2, the powerful Omnic monk, Ramattra.

A Tank class character, Ramattra seems immediately comparable with OG OW hero Zenyatta, both characters being spiritual beings of Omnic build. Quite unlike Zenyatta, however, Ramattra has a far more aggressive nature �having initially been built as a war machine during the Omnic Crisis. As a Ravager model, Ramattra only knew violence and combat �laying waste to his enemies during ??the extended battle of man and mac??hine.

Survival. Whatever the Cost.

In the aftermath of the conflict, with prejudice riding high and the destruction of his fellow Omincs imminent, Ramattra fled to Nepal, where he aimed to focus on his spiritual sense, repress the horrors of war plaguing his mind and, most importantly, help forge co-existence between the human and Omnic races. Unfortunately, Ramattra only found his people facing further hate from mankind, who were seemingly hell-bent on destroying all remaining Omnics. Watching his robotic brothers and sisters fall time and again at the hands of humanity, Ramattra reluctantly renounces his desire for peace, becoming? an extremist for the Omnic cause. With this new loyalist mindset, and calling upon his military experience, Ramattra would found the dangerous faction, Null Sector. Omnic survival at any cost.

Overwatch 2 sees Ramattra at a crossroads. Following the collapse of the Null Sector Uprising at the hands of Team Overwatch, Ramattra remains now a passionate but highly frustrated Omnic. The world-weary machine remains driven by a desire to ensure that his people are not eradicated by humanity, but understands that peace and spirituality also have a part to play in a world of co-existence. While his teaching?s as a Nepali monk remain a core part of Ramattra's moral beliefs, the spilled blood of his fellow Omnics pumps in his cybernetic heart, reminding him that, sometimes, the only person worth trusting is yourself.

Ramattra's Abilities

Ramattra is a Tank class hero, the second new heavyweight to join Overwatch 2 since Junker Queen. Sporting 450 health (with an optional 150 armor buffer), the Omnic warrior is a force to be reckoned at? mid-to-close range, able to boost his abilities for close quarters when things get a little up close and personal. Much like fellow Omnic Zenyatta, Ramattra is a solemn but powerful being with a mastery of both martial arts and mythical technologies. However, unlike th?e tranquil mind of his brethren �Ramattra's anger and frustration are readily apparent, most notably in his spiteful and even sardonic in-game dialogue.

Void Accelerator

Ramattra's primary fire is Void Accelerator, which sees him launch a high-speed stream of small, crystalline projectiles from his staff. With an amm?o count of 100??, Void Accelerator does its best work at mid-range, increasing its damage power when aimed at the opponent's head. It is similar to Sombra's uzi in regards to effective distance and speed of discharge, but Void Accelerator features a much tighter, concentrated spread of fire.

Void Barrier

Ramattra's secondary ability is the Void Barrier, a temporary shield that defends him and his allies from enemy fire. The Void Barrier can be placed at any distanc?e within Ramattra's line-of-sight, allowing him to put up immediate resistance on the front line for himself and his team, or to create a safe path for rushing down the enemy long distance.

Trading reliability for mobility, Void Barrier only lasts for several seconds or 1000 damage, and thus lacks the strength and durability of shield wielders such as Reinhardt. Void Barrier also has a huge 15-second cooldown.

Ravenous Vortex

Tossing a ball of nano energy to the ground, Ramattra conjures up a mid-sized circular vortex, applying heavy gravity and minor damage to all w?ithin its range for a three-second duration. While hardly the most damaging of AoE's (at 10 health per second), Ravenous Vortex can offer Ramattra's team the edge in a proximity firefight, while slowing down the retreat, mobility, and flight options of its hapless victims.

Nemesis Form

At the press of a button, Ramattra shifts into Nemesis Form, a close-combat build that switches out both his primary and secondary abilities. While in Nemesis Form, Ramattra gains a larger body, an instant 150 armor boost, a damage increase, and two new abilities. Due ??to the unstable nature of this form, it can only be maintained for eight seconds, which is then followed by an eight-second cooldown.

Pummel (Nemesis Form)

Sheathing his staff, Ramattra's primary fire becomes a series of brutal haymaker strikes, each of which sends out a mid-range power blast. These projectiles can pass through enemies, causing damage to multiple opponents, and can even break through D.Va's Defence? M??atrix.

In addition, the actual punch itself pierces shields, making Ramattra a spearhead against a battened-down Reinhardt. Ramattra can throw as many of these punches as he is able within Nemesis Form's eight-second activation period, (roughly 14 ??if uninterrupted).

Block (Nemesis Form)

Ramattra throws up both of his arms, severely decreasing incoming damage at the cost of his own mobility. While blocking, all frontal attacks have a 75% damage reduction. This includes powerful Ultimates such as D.Va's Nerf This! and Hanzo's Dragon?strike.

In close combat with?? other tanks, Ramattra players can alternate between Block and Pummel to make quick work of heavy opponents whilst also defending themselves from counterattac?ks �Blocking hammer strikes and tossing jabs like Robo-Rocky.

Annihilation (Ultimate)

Ramattra has a very unique Ultimate in Overwatch 2, proving incredibly powerful in a team melee situation. Upon activation, Ramattra automatically enters Nemesis form while instantly unleashing an energy swarm, locking onto and draining the health of all enemies in his vicinity. Ramattra does not even have to be? facing the opponent to cause damage, they need only be within hi?s sphere of influence.

Furthermore, Annihilation only ends once it is no longer draining an opponent's health, potentially running ad infinitum unless Ramattra is killed, or all nearby enemies are wiped out. In addition, Ramattra can still use Pummel and Block while Annihilation is active. As soon as there are no enemies in range, Annihilation will shut down after three seconds. In a melee battle, a savvy combination of Annihilation, Block, and Ravenous Void makes Ramattra an immediate threat to every enemy on the battlefield.

Ramattra will arrive in season 2 of Overwatch 2, which launches tomorrow, December 6.

The post Hands-on: Overwatch 2 Ramattra is one dangerou?s militar?y monk appeared first on Destructoid.

Dumb it down for me

One of the most significant and recognizable changes in my gaming habits over the past 30 years has been my slow retreat from the fighting game genre. Mind you, I was never really into the FGC, having participated in one entire tournament in my life when I was very young. But like many of those who came of age during the original console wars, Street Fighter II and its various iterations integrated itse??lf into my life, my leisure time, and my many playground conversations with friends. We shared strategies, talked up our favorite characters (Cammy here), and convinced each other that the lies of secret characters we heard from the older kids were totally true but we just weren’t skilled enough to access them.

I spent many of my school years attempting to get good at Street Fighter, Tekken, and TMNT Tournament Fighters. I never really did, maxing out at what I’d label “adequate.�And I was fine with adequate, really. That was a decent middle ground for somebody who knew the controls and some combos but didn’t have the time to fully sink his t?eeth in.

To actually maintain my adequate level, I’d have to play with some regularity. But as I traded velcro shoes and Mead Peechee folders for dorm rooms and an eventual career, I discovered I no longer had the time to actually learn how to play a game. I didn’t have it in me to spend weekends remastering a six-button control scheme while learning intricate new combos and often confusing specials. I needed games to come ready to play for me, where everything I needed to know could be picked up in a matter of minutes rather than a matter of days. I guess that’s why I played a lot of Mortal Kombat in those years.

It was pretty easy for me to forget about fighters in the aughts as the genre seemed to be limping along on its last leg. It was a dire time, those days, but when Street Fighter 4 hit, all those schoolyard memories shot to the forefront of my mind. Seeing the trailers for it made me feel like a fearless eight-year-old again, but w?hen I dared to give it a shot on the 360, I realized I’d never be able to capture the youthful en??ergy I once had for the genre. I was a working man at that point with an often unpredictable schedule. As much as I loved the look of characters like Sakura and C. Viper, I knew I wouldn’t have the time to work my way back up to an adequate level again.

6-buttons! In this economy?!

The first traditional fighting game to pull me back into the fray was 2010’s Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom: Ultimate All-Stars on the Wii. Unlike the 2D fighters I remember from my past, it dropped the six-button set-up in favor of an impossible-to-forget three-button scheme. I know other games, like Marvel vs. Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes, took steps to simplify the fighting game formula, but there was something about TvC’s schematic that clicked with me in a way no other fighter had. For the first time in a long time, I found a way to build myself up to adequate once again. Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom changed my entire outlook on fighting games and opened my eyes to the other titles on the market that wer??e attempting to make the genre more? approachable.

Games like Dragon Ball FighterZ or Melty Blood: Type Lumina or Them’s Fightin�Herds all eschewed traditional fighting game controls in favor of something that could be labeled “Easy to Learn, Hard to Master,�which is exactly what I’m looking for these days. Games featuring these simplified controls are the ones I’m going to gravitate t??oward, even if those titles never go mainstream or I don’t really care ?for the IP they’re attached to. I guess that’s why I’m so damn happy that arguably the biggest fighter in the world is modernizing its controls for a filthy casual like me.

Over the weekend, I was lucky enough to try out the closed beta for Street Fighter 6. Our own Chris Moyse has already rattled off a list of the big and little things that made the beta so great, and I would parrot every single entry on his listicle. I loved doing the spinning bird kick off the second floor, changing up my New Challenger screen ??(which not enough people did), and really appreciated being able to bow out of a match with a poor connection. I think the hub area itself has a lot of potential with everything? from event concerts to seasonal photo booths being possible if that’s what Capcom has in store.

All of that was fine and dandy, dandy and fine, but the highlight of the weekend was getting to test out the new Modern Controls option. With the Classic Controls, you have the standard Street Fighter set-up that I imagine most long-time players won’t stray away from. With Modern Controls, almost everything has been simplified into four buttons: light attack, medium attack, heavy attack, and special attack. Once I actually realized the beta made Modern Controls the standard, it didn’t take long for me to gel with each available fighter. I got my first win with Guile and then quickly racked up more dubs with Juri, Jamie?, and Chun-li. Jamie actually ended up as my favorite fighter of the weekend as the flow of his moveset worked so well with the Modern Controls, though I did try my best with Kimberly because her design is overflowing with personality.

Because of how the controls simplified the experience, I was more eager to try out all the fighters than I would have been otherwise. Being able to jump from Ken to Jamie wasn’t as significant of a leap as i??t might have been in the past with the traditional set-up, and certainly not something I would have been all that keen to do in ??such a short window. If not for the Modern Controls, I would have probably just spent the entire weekend playing as the first character I picked up. In fact, without the approachable controls, I doubt I would have won any fights at all, let alone the dozen or so I did.

Modern or Classic, I'm still garbage at the game

Don’t get me? wrong, I got my ass thoroughly kicked throughout the weekend. People playing with Classic Controls, which is noted by a little icon next to their fighter portrait, routinely wiped the floor with me. One even managed to get a perfect round in, which wasn’t a high point of the beta. But even when I lost, in a majority of the matches, I was able to hold my own with each of the available fighters. I didn’t have to stick with who I was best at—Juri, in case you’re wondering. Instead, I felt encouraged to sample; to shop around a bit until I found out just who complimented my abilities the best.

And that’s what I love about Modern Controls. When this game launches next year, I’ll be able to go through the ?entire cast without feeling lost whenever I pick a new fighter. As long as I have the basics for one, I have an understanding of them all. That right there is the difference between me buying this game down the line and buying it on day one.

It should be noted that while much of your fighter’s repertoire has been condensed to the face buttons on your controller when using Street Fighter 6’s Modern Contro??ls, there is variety in how you actually pull off their moves. For some fighters, attacking with a special is as easy as pressing the Triangle Button and a direction on the control pad. Others are slightly more involved. Guile, for instance, will require you to hold back for a short time if you want to throw a Sonic Boom, just as you do with the Classic Controls. Chun-li’s Kikoken is the same way. Characters may also have moves that don’t use the special button, like Kimberly’s paint-bomb shurikens or Chun-li’s Spinning Bird Kick. Those require a traditional input even with the new c??onfiguration.

Like I said above, I need my games to come to me ready to play. I don’t have enough spare time to invest in a traditional fighting game because I’m the idiot who keeps volunteering to review 50-hour JRPGs on this website. Don't get me wrong, I still buy the traditional fighters, especially with all the compilations Capcom keeps shoving out. I just don't play them. If I'm playing a fighter these days, it has to be pick-up-and-play. Street Fighter 6 isn’t something I’m going to play so I can make it into tourn?aments or wedge myself into the FGC. It’s going to be a game I play for fun, to complete the single-player mode, to make an avatar that is hot AF, and maybe take it online one or two nig??hts a week.

As a fi??lthy casual, that’s all I need from this game. And if you’re someone?? who takes their fighting games very seriously, don’t worry: you’ll still kick my ass if we’re ever paired up online. At least until I learn how to use that glowy body thingie or that color woosh smash move that people kept using against me. ‘Cause that shit was annoying and I can't wait to spam it against y'all.

The post Street Fighter 6’s modern con??trols are a blessing, says I, a?? filthy casual appeared first on Destructoid.

The DioField Chronicle feels like a mixture of RTS and RPG, and it works

Tactics fans are not left wanting this year. From re-releases and remasters to brand-new titles, there hasn't been a shortage of good strategy options to go around, and Square Enix has been at the forefront of it. Because of that, I was left wondering where a new IP like The DioField Chronicle would fit in.

The answer, as it turns out, is that it doesn't. The DioField Chronicle, from Square Enix and Lancarse, isn't a classic turn-based tactics game like Tactics Ogre. It's not?? turn-based at all. It's a real-time strategy RPG, and those two flavors meld together to make a surprisingly interesting and novel concept that stands out all on its own.

We got some hands-on time with the demo for The DioField Chronicle, ahead of its release. And it doesn't take long to get started; right out of the?? gate, there is intrigue, assassination, and peace broken by sudden acts of war.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=16eW4pAJUKU

The story of DioField doesn't stray too far from the usual tactics fare. After the assassination of their friend, Andrias Rhond??arson and Fredret Lester set out to become notable mercenaries and create change in the world. They join up with more characters as the demo goes on, forging a reputation through every battle.

Some of the names are, quite frankly, exquisite RPG fare. Iscarion Colchester, Lorraine Luckshaw, and my favorite Waltaquin Redditch are all so elaborate?? that they become endearing. (They also allow the characters to fondly nickname each other, which is a fun bit.) As these characters get to know each other, there's an air of intrigue and deception around everything. Who's playing who, and whe??re does the real power in the land lie? All the while, a larger war looms overhead.

Taking the field

Once the battles commence, The DioField Chronicle is, essentially, a real-time strategy game. Your party of units and the enemy's act in real? time. This is a different feel from other tactics games right from the jump; action can happen fast, and a battle can swing in mere moments??.

It isn't quite a Command & Conquer-style slamming-together of armies, though. Micromanagement and positioning is key. Enemies have vision, which you can navigate around to set up sneak attacks or ambushes. Aggro can be roughly reset by having one unit retreat and forcing in another. Environmental hazards, like explosive kegs or barricades, provide interesting nuances to the pl?aying fi??eld.

For my demo, I played on the PlayStation 5. I've got some experience playing console RTS games, like Halo Wars. And The DioField Chronicle manages to make the action feel at-home enough as it is. The action thankfully never escalates too far, as the demo tends to focus on localized fights on small maps rather than massive battles. But even within those, I find DioField feels solid enough to micro-manage my units around i??n, though I a??m curious to see how a mouse and keyboard fares.

And on top of this, there are many RPG elements. Every unit has special abilities they can employ to swing the tides of war. Fredret is an effective frontline cavalry, able to charge through enemy lines and disrupt their position. Iscarion, meanwhile, is an archer. His role is largely to hang back and rain fire. But o??ne of his moves lets him continuously rain arrows on one area, which can really cause damage at a chokepoint.

Enemies have skills too, requiring you to quickly move out of their forecasted danger zones or interrupt them with a good Shield Bash or Stun Arrow. Creating a strategic advantage through terrain or char??acter positioning often made these abilities feel more rewarding, and they also gave me a few aces for handling overwhelming odds. The peak of these trump cards is essentially a summon attack,? which you can use after collecting enough energy; in the demo, it let me call on Bahamut to rain doom upon a small area.

It reminds me a bit of Dawn of War 2 or Warcraft 3 in its hero unit focus, with a heavy tinge of Tactics Ogre on top. The art helps The DioField Chronicle feel very unique in its own right. Characters have a distinct and stylized 3D appearance, and maps have a diorama look that's reminiscent of Triangle Strategy's excellent level designs. Add in the interesting mix of magic and science at the heart of DioField's "Modern? Magic," and it's a bit like Ivalice and Arcane's Piltover had a meeting of the minds.

Home away from the battlefield

Between missions, the player can return to a home base that will surface some Garreg Mach Monastery vibes for any Fire Emblem fans. Here, you can build up your base and improve your different stations, while also spending resources and points to empower the units under your command. Even early on in the skill tree, I was unlocking some cool new abilities or nea??t upgrades for existing ones.

It all has a good flow, making it easy to get lost in the rhythm of "just one more battle." While the story has yet to really grab me compared to other options, I am enjoying the world itself; DioField's world feels like a powd??er keg waiting for a spark, and looking for where that wi??ll first start off is compelling enough at the moment.

Really, it's the combat and base management loop that's got me more eager for the final game. With each new battle, I'm discovering cool new ways to approach battles, and being forced to adapt in increasingly difficult situations. I'm interested to see if the arenas themselves add a few more strategic twists, but I've alread??y seen a few defense maps and interactable hazards that have my hopes high.

The DioField Chronicle is a mixture of two genres, RTS and RPG, clicking together incredibly well. If nothing else, it promises to be a different and interesting experiment. It might have been easier to make this a turn-based tactics affair, but doing so would have robbed DioField of the things that make it worth checking out. We'll see if the whole affair can come together on September 22.

The post Hands-on: The DioField Chronicle ??is a surprisingly fresh strategy RPG appeared first on Destructoid.

Building a better hero

It takes something a little extra to stand out in a genre as specialized as isometric dungeon crawlers. A few games are already providing a lot for players to dig into, and so something new like Stitch Heads and Raw Fury's Superfuse will need something fresh and new to draw players in. I think it might have tha?t, and in some unexpected places.

Booting up Superfuse, the first thing I noticed was the look. This is a comic book game, with some extreme comic book influence. Those who dig comics like The Boys will feel right at home with the art, as well as the setting. Godlike elites lord over an otherwise impoverished human race, doling out powers to their Enforcers to fight evil mons??ters called the Corruption across the galaxy.

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

I started to pick up pieces of modern references, from the artistic styles mentioned above to the way characters reference others from different regions of space using broad terms, a la The Expanse. It's an intriguing set-up that seems a little strange for a dungeon-crawler, but allows for a lot of visual variety and stylish characters. Rather than something grim and dark, Superfuse has neon glow and ?a sci-fi meets co??mic book look to it.

What really drew me i?n, though, was the skills system. My selected character, the Berserker, had several different abilities: a ground pound, throwi??ng axes, and a series of punches, for example. Each one was interesting but, on its own, somewhat basic.

The skills system is where abilities can grow. Superfuse lets you mod and augment abilities, creating evolved forms. Maybe my axes lose some power, but can s??plit into different directions, or fire both in front of a??nd behind me. Or I might want them to travel faster, or even slower.

Each node lets you designate effects, and when the effects happen. Some happen right when the? ability fires, while others apply on-hit?, and even more apply on kill or after an attack connects. The more I invested into an ability, the more of these nodes I could open up, to keep augmenting an ability over and over.

I spent a long time during m??y demo just tinkering with the potentials of this system, eventually crafting a version of my ground pound that ran over the demo's enemies. One effect released a shotgun blast of projectiles at the end of my attack, so I figured: what if I made more "ends?"

I kept tacking on splitting mods, turning one "end" of my shockwave into ?more and more until I had at least over a dozen, then had them all fire shotgun pellets out at their conclusion. What I made was, essentially, a bullet hell boss. And it was really fun to play.

There's a lot that Superfuse has going for it, in terms of reasons to dip a toe in. The world and story seem very unique, and it could be a pretty fresh take on the action-RPG genre that's usually a little more dour and grim. I like the set-up of these godlike elites, and am secretly hoping the Enforcers get to smack some gods down at some point in the s??tory.

What I think is going to keep people in once they've checked it??? out, however, is the modifiable skills. It was a really enjoyable way to approach evolving my skills, and though I was given freedom to mess around with unlimited resources in the demo build I played, I'm interested to see how it feels over time in the campaign.

Building your own upgrades and arsenal might be more of a draw for those interested in design and weird mechanical interactions, but it certainly has me intrigued. Superfuse is set to launch in early access later this year on PC, with a full launch in 2023.

The post Superfuse mixes com??ic book heroes with moddable skills appeared first on Destructoid.

Sifu brings martial arts revenge flicks to interactive life

My first run through the preview build of Sifu was not wildly successful. I imagine I spent a no??n-insignificant portion of it with my rear on the ground. Every wild swing was met with a calculated, punishing reply, and I watched the years whittle away as I struggled to stay upright.

Yet with each blow and ?every year off my life, I was getting smarter. I learned patience; when to aggress and push forward, when to play back and defend. Enemies could overwhelm me in groups, but I?? could isolate them. Mastering might be too strong a word. But I was certainly learning.

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

Sloclap is a studio that's no stranger to making games that will kick you down over and over. 2017's Absolver was a clever mix of deck-building, winding structure, and martial arts action. Sifu feels like a focused, refined version of that, while also shifting from a fantasy wo?rld to an incredibly stylish reven??ge flick.

The setup of Sifu is that you are a student, hunting the murderers of your family. The path is laid out before you on a board, with different photos, clippings, and notes creating a web around your targets. Given the concentrated nature of the demo, I didn't get to see much of how this affected the greater structure of Sifu. But it did see??m like over time, new routes and options would appear as I gained more knowledge on my board.

Your student's greatest we??apon is persistence, embodied in the mystical pendant that lets them rise from defeat at the cost of years of their life. These stack exponentially over time; my first knockdown was a minor setback, a year at most. But as I fell more and more often, the price became higher. With it, my damage would rise but my health would fall.

And I fell a lot at the beginning. Even as time wore on and I began to understand enemy routines and patterns, I could still easily get caught out. Sifu's options are straightforward enough: ??light and heavy blows, w?ith both a dodge and a dual-function guard/parry button. Simple on paper, but in practice, it was easy to feel overwhelmed.

Enemies will swarm you with numbers. They'll fly in with a punch to stop you from comboing their friend to a knockout. They pick up weapons, breaking bottles and cracking bats over your body. Of course, these options are available to you too. But you are one, and they are many. The early action set pieces of Sifu are all about managing numbers.

It helps to know combos, and how each of them function. Button-mashing only got me so far in?? Sifu, and to be fair, it did get me decently far. Before long though, I? realized I would need to be cognizant of which buttons and inputs did what if I wanted to best stronger enemies. My lightning strikes were potent, but only if I could parry in the first pl??ace. If my opponent tries to strike me with a heavy leg kick, that's going to be a significant punishment if I miss the parry window. So maybe I opt to dodge, but even direction is important. Dodging doesn't matter if I slide into the leg sweep.

Sifu shined brightest for me in one-on-one duels. A fav??orite of mine was pretty early on in the Club area that Sloclap had sliced out. After clearing out the dance floor of foes, a tall woman wearing some killer boots ??(figuratively and literally) hops down from the railing. She gives the DJ a signal to put on some tunes, and without words, it's understood what's coming next.

Her flurry of kicks and fluid patterns, that seemed to adapt and react to how I tried to overcome them, was one of the first major hurdles in my time with Sifu. Now, when I go back, it's certainly less daunting than the first few times. But it's nonetheless a danger. I know I can beat her, just as much as I know she can put me on my ass and beat the literal years o??ut of my life.

Sifu puts it all against a backdrop that veers from neon-soaked cl??ubs and dingy back-room training areas to little bits of flora in gardens between buildings. It's a very pleasing visual experience, even though the camera felt like an opponent at times. I'd often avoid fighting in too-cramped areas just to ensure I could clearl??y see the attacks coming at me.

When it comes together, Sifu feels like playing out my martial arts action movie dreams. When I'm in the zone, I'm flowing between hits, dodging and parrying before deftly taking an enemy dow??n?. The rewards fit well too; health returns when I manage to stagger an enemy into a takedown, and certain markers in the stage will offer me better rewards if I arrive there with more score, XP, or at a younger age.

Of course, enemies can do the same. Missing a takedown can power up an enemy into a much stronger foe. Guarding for too long can stun and stagger you, leading to massive damage. Some of my knock?outs were almost comical, the sort of face-turning, spit-blasting knockout hit you'd see in a Rocky movie. And then I'd give up more years and get back up.

It's hard to speak to the larger metagame, and what the overall structure of Sifu is. But this one section alone at least gave me an indication of what a single moment in Sifu will feel like. It can be fast, furious, even aggravat??ing as I criticize myself for rushing too far in, or not recognizing a sweep when I see it coming.

Then I get back up. Sifu is a game about ge??tting knocked down and getting back up. And the longer I played, the more fun it was to see how long I could stay on my feet. How well will I fare when the full game is out? Well, it's certainly got me keen to try.

Sifu launches for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC on Feb. 8, 2022.

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Citizen Sleeper is shaping up to be a fascinating exploration of luck and life in the outer rim

Here it is again: the void. Games have found countless reasons to thrust players out into the unknowable expanse of space, and Citizen Sleeper embraces that emptiness. My demo opens in a haze, with my player character trying?? to piece together fragments of memory and time as they come to.

Citizen Sleeper is an upcoming indie adventure game from Jump Over The Age, the developer behind the underwater exploration adventure In Other Waters. Trading one abyss for another, Citizen Sleeper heads into space, where you take on the role of a runaway sleeper—someone who has digitized their self and been put in an artificial body. On the run from a corporation that wants its property back, you find yourself on Erlin's Eye, a ring-shaped station o?n the edge of the?? system.

Back in my demo, I'm woken up by a friendly mechanic. He's hel?pful. But it's not long before I have to work. I'm on a search for survival, and money can protect my gradually depreciating m?eters as I try to find some stability. Odd jobs will be crucial.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWALcEDTL8U

It's here where I can start to roll die for each day and place those die rolls into various activities. High rolls mean either a successful or neutral outcome, while low rolls mean neu??tral or negative results. It's a system that reminds me of tabletop gaming, something that developer Gareth Damian Martin tells me was a big inspiration.

The Eye is filled with activities, characters, and storylines to explore. Helping a stranger out near the docks might lead to a lucrative odd job, and becoming a bar patron could lead to making friends with the local bartender. Maybe you could get a steady gig out of it. Or maybe you'd rather spend your time working away at the shipyard, helping the mechanic who woke you up so he doesn't lose his business. Similar to the way that tabletop RPG Blades in the Dark has downtime factored in, Citizen Sleeper asks pla??yers where they want to go and what they're interested in, and Ma??rtin's virtual DMing can lead them in various directions.

"I do think a lot of the development, when it comes to Citizen Sleeper, i???s kind of pre-DMing," Martin tells me. "It's like DMing from an incredibly long distance in time and space, like people are playing in a different country, in a different year. But in a way, the relationship is still kind of the same. I'm still trying to tempt people with hooks. I'm still trying to surprise people by having narrative come in at kind of unexpected moments."

Dice are one part of the narrative toolset, creating a constant weighing of risk vs. reward. Some days, I would have to consider where to spend my best die; ??a six is a guaranteed positive outcome, which is great fo??r making progress on certain tasks or getting some surefire cash. Yet a six might also work better for my hacking, where I need specific die rolls to unlock information gates and acquire data. Or maybe I can burn a rolled-one in a frivolous task, or risk it for a potential net-neutral outcome.

All the while, hunger is going down, and my state of being is depreciating. One of the earliest problems to deal with ??is that sleepers need special drugs to maintain themselves, as organic souls inside inorganic bodies, and those are controlled by the corporations. An early quest that was paramount to just getting through each day h?ad me making a deal with a back-alley doctor who could get me the meds I needed. And the meds, to be clear, had some side effects. But they stopped my meters from slowly bleeding out. That was worth it.

It's not all staving off hunger and death, though. One of my favorite systems is the clocks? Martin uses ??to keep players moving forward. Tasks will have radial clocks that tick up over time, leading to new story bits. At first, they might seem like simple progression meters. But really, they felt to me like rewards for time spent in a place.

I mentioned the bar story before, but essentially if you hang around a certain bar long enough and become a 'regular,' you'll have a story event pop up. After a run-in with some locals who don't take kindly to your kind, the bartender backs you up and you can start forming a bond with them.?? I went from barfly to bar staff, eventually earning myself a new place to crash as time went on. We're used to being rewarded in games for doing things, but exposing the system in a radial clock makes those actions a little more alluring and interesting.

"I think by exposing a process so that players know, 'If I do this action, something is getting closer to happening,' is ?really interesting," Martin says. "It's a really good hook."

Drawing comparisons to Destiny quests like the Thorn, Martin tells me how the banal can become interesting in storytelling. How even though you're doing very straightforward tasks and menial jobs, a progress bar framed in the right way can feel effective and powerful. And it's something I felt throughout my several playthroughs of Citizen Sleeper's demo.

On some days, I would have the cash to afford to eat at the nice food stall with the friendly chef, rather than just get something basic from the machines. Some mornings I'd wake up with fives and sixes, bright-eyed and ready to greet the day.?? And in one run, with a doomsday clock counting down to the last digit I needed, I rolled low and couldn't make the cut.

"It also comes directly from my own experience, again, of? just what it's like to work in shitty jobs. What it's like to be in a difficult position," Marti??n says. "It's like, some days you wake up and you've rolled all ones, right? Like, that's what it feels like, you know. It doesn't matter what you do that day."

Still, it's not necessarily a survival game. Really, to me, Citizen Sleeper feels like a living game. I know that sounds a bit cheesy, but it's about life in a community. Erlin's Eye is home to outcasts and wayward souls, with plenty of sc??oundrels and con artists running about. But there's a united feeling in wanting to escape life under the corporate thumb.

And in this community, family ca??n be found. And it can be built, through effort. Repeated attempts, failures and successes, and steadfast visits can stave off the eroding timers ?and, maybe eventually, your gradual degradation. The choices aren't dire, and there are no world-ending catastrophes to uncover—at least, not in my demo there weren't. It was just deciding where my time should go.

"It's like you ??ei??ther turn up every day to help somebody out, or you don't," Martin tells me. "And if you don't turn up every day, then that's going to have an impact."

Coupled with the absolutely brilliant character art of Guillaume Singelin and an exquisite interface (complete with click-and-drag spinnable ring), Citizen Sleeper has a lot going for it already. It's got goo??d vibes, yes. It has a look and feel to it that feeds deep into its depiction of the Eye as a home for wayward spacefarers. And its meters hanging overhead communicate the constantly looming terror of corporate?? reprisal so, so well.

And still, I want to return to Erlin's Eye just to hang out. Just to fill a stool at my favorite bar again. To ma?ke some small talk with the local street food vendor, and learn more about the kind doctor whose less-than-savory methods saved my soul from its artificial shell. And maybe eventually uncover more of the Eye's secrets along the way, too.

Even within the demo, there were beats I left uncovered. Threads I didn't chase, even though I saw a few different variations of its ending. Maybe I didn't get to them yet, or really, I didn't want to exhaust all options just yet. There's a lot of joy in uncovering the secrets of Citizen Sleeper, through work, rest, and relaxation. I'll le??ave a few for launch day.

Citizen Sleeper is set to arrive in 2022 for PC. You can find the Steam page and wishlist button here.

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After a few hours with Dying Light 2, we've seen some new heights, but still have a few questions.

The world of Dying Light 2 Stay Human isn't quite the usual zombie post-apocalypse. Most zombie worlds involve survivors moving from place to place, holing up in whatever building might provide a moment's refuge from roaming zombie hordes. But in a hands-on with Dying Light 2, we got to see the City for all it entails: a struggle not just for survival, but also to decide who gets ??to build over the rubble.

In the world of Dying Light 2, the infection has been around for a while. It's not that z??ombies aren't a threat; it's just that they're an understood danger factored into daily life. And in the City, there's still plenty of real estate to expand to and even inhabit, especially if you stop looking out and start looking up.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=imsueKX0Vlk

We got to go hands-on with Dying Light 2 Stay Human for a few hours, playing two sections of the game over a cloud connection. My gameplay section started in Old Villedor, as protagonist Aiden was search??ing for a way deeper into the city, negotiating with the Peacekeepers (or 'PKs') and local survivors, many of whom gathered in a community dubbed the Bazaar.

Being dropped directly into the story, it was a little hard to track what the broader narrative beats of Dying Light 2 are. Aiden is clearly on the hunt for something, and whatever it is involves his sister in some way. Depending on certain dialogue cho??ices, I was able to subtly coax some details out. But the real draw for me was in the side stories and individual characters.

The Bazaar's plot follows Sophie and Barney, a pair of siblings who struggle to lead, both against the Peacekeepers' domineering command of the region and working in the shadow of their mothe?r. Their personal beats end up driving the main story in Old Villedor, and they work very well.

Even further off the path are side quests, found both during the day and at night. While the su??n was out, one of the first characters I ran into w??hile playing was a singer with not so much talent. She was trying to croon from the rooftops, but had stopped performing in the bazaar after losing her mink-fur stole to the wind. So, I volunteered to recover it.

The ensuing chase led me further and further up a massive building, until I was literally perched ato??????????????????????????p an antenna. I had the stole, and I got a pretty good look around the area while I was there. It was massive. And it was vertical, in ways I'd soon become quite familiar with.

One of the coolest things about Dying Light 2 to me so far is the actual world itself. The survivors living in the city have built up, constructing rooftop settlements an?d resources. As I ran along the roofline, I'd breeze by a garden, supply cache, or several survivors talking around a fire. This isn't to say the streets are barren; the ??Bazaar itself is walled off on the ground, but even internally, it turns all the empty vertical space into room for more rafters and lofts.

And on?ce you leave those walls, you're on streets dominated by the infected. It can, at times, feel like a game of "the floor is lava," as it usually benefits Aiden to stay off the roads. But it also makes the moments you dip down to ground level feel really tense, heightened even further if it's because you've missed a jump from one platform to anoth?er.

The first-person parkour-platforming works, for the most part. Due to the cloud-based nature of my play session, there were a few times I definitely chalked up to latency. In other instances, I did still feel a bit frustrated with trying to get Aiden to do what I wanted him to do. As parkour abilities stack up, I'd sometimes run into situations where I was wall-running when I just wanted to jump, or other stutters. When the traversal flows well though, it really does click like it did in the first Dying Light.

Windmills offer some of the best moments for this parkour action, as they each provide small vertical challen??ges to overcome?. The reward for solving the moving platforms and tricky jumps is a new settlement, established under the newly re-established windmill. These havens end up providing a nice respite from the undead, and a way to turn the clock from day to night or vice versa.

When the sun sets, the undead become much more than mere obstacles. They'll start to inhabit more areas, chase you farther, and can even initiate dangerous attacks from heightened, more powerful undead. Combat is important here, as it is everywhere else. Dying Light 2 focuses a lot on melee combat, with ?a wealth of close-range weapons to choose from with improvised attachments. There are still a few ranged options, like the stealthy bow and javelins, but I spent most of my time i??n frantic melee combat, parrying and dodging, using my parkour skill to occasionally grab the upper-hand when I'm outnumbered. Or, at night, simply fleeing out and away from the scene when things got too hot.

The benefit to heading out at night is, as always, more rewards. Nighttime brings the infected out of their own safe spots inside, which opens them up for looting if you're stealthy and fast. Some side quests also appear at night. One I played involved searching for a woman's lost lover, who she feared was in danger from her overbearing brother. The resolution of that side plot was surprising, and one of the highlights of my time in Dying Light 2.

There were still some hitches, however, that pulled the experience down a bit. Some voice lines just didn't play out, leaving some awkward moments of standing there waiting for the next line. Undead and inanimate objects would sometimes clip into the environment, in ways that aren't too uncommon for open-world games. It's nothing major though, and certainly points I'd hope Techland hits with the extra time they've allotted themselves.

Most of the Old Villedor section felt like a continuation of Dying Light 1. I spent most of my time doing lots of parkour action, searching for supplies, and managing the local politics as Aiden tried to play both sides for his own advantage. It was all very solid and fun, but Central Loop—the second section of my Dying Light 2 preview—felt like a slice of what Dying Light 2 is doing differently this time around.

First off, it strongly features Lawan, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Yes, it's a celebrity in a video game, but she didn't seem overly utilized and fit naturally into the story beat. As we ventured around bringing power back? to this section of the city, using cables to solve some neat puzz?les, she gave Aiden a personal glider. And let me tell you, gliding is a blast.

The Central Loop area is even more vertical by nature, as it takes place in the skyscraper section of the city. Here, massive buildin?gs with glass windows tower up overhead. Navigating this area was less about building-to-building parkour, and more about?? using the glider to navigate large swathes of land, using wind gusts and careful handling to not plummet into the ground below.

It felt incredibly rewarding, and melds in with the parkour very well. It wasn't long until I was leaping from one skyscraper, comfortably navigating treacherous winds to touch down in another. Once ?inside, I'd have to wall-run and leap my way around a horde of infected who were now acutely aware o??f my presence, and then leap out the other side to continue on my way.

This section culminates in a really fun rooftop defense segment, where you're leaping from building to building in order to take out cannons that are firing on a local settlement. And again, what surprised me is ho??w natural it felt. It didn't feel like I'd ditched free-running for the glider, but like my world had expanded a bit more to accommodate new movement into the mix.

I'm still curious to see how the whole package of Dying Light 2 actually comes together. The pre-demo blast of story that got us up to speed for our slice of the game raised a lot of questions. And I'm really curious about how all these areas will be linking together, and what the long-term ramifications of choices will be. Some I made we??re small, like who gets to ?control a power substation. Others seemed much larger, with broader implications.

My main takeaway is that Dying Light 2 Stay Human certainly doesn't feel like a retread. Old Villedor gave me a big slice of an improved blueprint, and Central Loop let me peer a bit into the new future. There's some tuning to be done, but the world of Dying Light 2 definitely has my attention.

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Tur-nope

It’s pretty difficult for small indie games to get noticed these days. There are so many plat??forms out there and so many other tiny studios pushing out new games on a weekly basis, that getting lost in the crowd is the expectation for so many titles. Small games have to do anything they can to stand out, something to hook people in. That can be a cl?ever game concept, beautiful artwork, or, in the case of developer Snoozy Kazoo, one catchy-ass title.

The name Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion easily burrows itself into the brain. It’s the type of name that I hear once and immediately want to see what it’s about, like Snakes on a Plane or Love Death + Robots. Of course, when you have such an exceptional title, you shou??ld probably make sure there is an exceptional game lying?? underneath.

Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion?? is an extremely slim slice of Zelda pie. You play as the titular Turnip Boy who loses his house over unpaid property taxes. The obviously evil onion mayor gives you an out on what you owe if you just run some errands for him. From there, you set out to conquer, and I use this term as loosely as possible, dungeons while completing fetch quests for the various veggie and fruit inhabitants of this dilapidated farm. It’s not a bad concept, and certainly opens the door for some humorous action-adventure fun.

Unfortunately, as much as I hate to throw shade at such an earnest game as this, it’s not. I don’t know what I was expecting to get out of it, but I certainly didn’t think I’d set the controller down after two hours with a slight shrug of my shoulders and an audible “meh” exclaimed to an empty room. Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion certainly has the look of something that’d feel at home on my Switch. It has bright, colorful characters, and the small world you explore is certainly inviting. But it doesn’t take long to realize this is a rath??er weak pastiche of Nintendo’s acclaimed series.

It has all the elements you’d expect to see in a game inspired by The Legend of Zelda but without any of that franchise’s polished execution. Ev?erything here is rather flaccid, from the swordplay to the puzzles, fr?om the brief dungeons to the over-in-an-instant boss battles. It’s as though the developers got the recipe for a Zelda game only to substitute out all the ingredients.

If there is one avenue where this game attempts to set itself apart from its muse, it’s its writing. With a name like Turnip Boy Commits Tax Evasion, you should ??come prepared for a lighthearted adventure. Whether or not you’ll actually find it funny depends on how much you enjoy reference or memetic humor in games. I’ll say this, I found the adventure to be mildly amusing as Turnip Boy ripped up every document he could get his hands on, but much like the rest of the experience, it was nothing remarkable.

Snoozy Kazoo’s website has the tagline “We make really, really dumb video games,” so there is a ?real chance I’m taking this whole game a bit more seriously than the developers are. But even if that is the case, shouldn’t there be something—anything—about this game I can point and say, “Hey, you know what, I really enjoyed that?”

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What's wrong with Broadway?

[Update: Huntdown is now live on Steam, early purchases will bag a 20% price?? discount.]

There's no? denying 2020 was an explosive year for video games. But among the mega-bucks, mega-marketed, mega-sellers of the industry, smaller titles were still keeping it real, making names for themselves off of the back of hard effort, great design, hard effort, and solid gameplay.

In this regard, Coffee Stain Publishing's Huntdown completely won me over last spring, going on to become one of my most played games of the year. Developed in Unity by tiny Swedish outfit Easy Trigger Games, Huntdown overcame its budgetary shortcomings by accentuating its positives: awesome pixel graphics, a hard-hitting soundtrack, superb sound design, and raw, compelling, shamelessly violent gameplay. Huntdown is a dirty, dirty gem.

This week sees the challenging cyberpunk shmup finally make the leap from Epic Games Store to Steam. The Steam port is coming fully loaded for bear, featuring not only a full port of the original game, but also online co-op via Steam Remote Play, and an all-new "Arcade Mode". Steam players will receive this update first as a limited-time exclusive — somewhat compensating users' patience — before arriving on other platforms in the c?oming weeks.

I spent a few hours this past weekend hitting up Arcade Mode, which is designed with the veteran Huntdown sleazoid in mind. Standing apart from the main campaign, Arcade Mode is a full-on score attack/time attack ?endeavor, tasking our trio of gun-toting bou?nty hunters with clearing out each of the campaign's four districts in one run. While the layout of each grim 'n' grimy district remains the same, enemy and weapon placement has been entirely reshuffled, with the player encouraged to move masterfully and economically from murder to murder, weapon to weapon, and boss to boss, becoming the living embodiment of a Cannon movie.

Brand new point pickups and bonus multipliers are awarded for all manner of stylish combos. These include the swift-switching of Huntdown's wardrobe of weaponry, instigating melee mayhem, tossing fire and explosives into the carnage, and keeping your mounting killstreak alive and kicking... or not, as ?the case may be. Arcade Mode is exhilarating and hard-as-nails, with a ticking clock pushing you ever forward into huge hordes of Bad Dudes. Additionally, players are afforded less health than the campaign's standard mode, while score penalties are applied for every lead-assisted lie-down. So think fast, move swiftly, aim well, and put your man down... he'd do the same to you.

Huntdown's main campaign is relatively short — although the difficulty settings and few hidden secrets offer solid replay value — but the new Arcade Mode supplies Easy Trigger's title with some real longevity. Thanks to the new online leaderboards, Huntdown is now in a position to become a great competitive game, which will hopefully see it?? pull in new fans, build a community, and make a slick segue into the mainstream speedrunning scene.

Whether enjoyed as an individual's test against their own abilities, an aficionado's record-breaking run, or just a simple, sick, and shameless dose of bombastic catharsis, Huntdown remains — in each instance &md??ash; gaming in its purest form, offering impactful bursts of fast & furious gameplay, stained with old-school visuals and backed by a wick?ed score. If you're yet to check out its raw, unapologetic action, maybe it's time to step away from the bright lights and big bucks of gaming's Hollywood endeavors and come out to play-ay in the bad part of town.

Huntdown launches on Steam May 12. It is out now ?on PS4, Xbox One, Switch and Epic Games Store.

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Hands on with the closed beta

If you've never heard of Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai, I wouldn't blame you. The manga series started in the pages of Weekly ShÅnen Jump back in 1989, following the exploits of the titular Dai and his friends as they embarked on a quest for revenge in a world full of humans, demons, and the classic monsters of the Dragon Quest series. The comic ran until 1996 and was also adapted into an anime, as well as a few theatrical films, back in the '90s.&nbs??p;

After lying dormant for a few decades, Square Enix has revived the property with a new manga series, a new anime adaptation of the original manga, and a trio of games that were announced last spring. A Hero's Bonds is the first of those games to make it outside of Japan. It's a free-to-play RPG developed by DeNA and published by Square Enix. DeNA is a developer you probably most associate with Nintendo's mobile output, but it's worked with Square Enix before on the hit title Final Fantasy: Record Keeper. 

A Hero's Bonds represents the developer's first crack at the Dragon Quest franchise, but rather than doing something bold with it to make the title stand out in a ruthlessly competitive field, DeNA has chosen to ??play it disappointingly safe.

After Dragon Quest Tact, a serviceable tactical spin on the franchise that released out west earlier this year, I was hoping the franchise's next mobile outing would be a little more engaging. To its credit, A Hero's Bonds does feature a style of gameplay I find quite promising. It takes the auto-combat feature found in most free-to-play RPGs and applies it to the auto-runner formula. Each action stage of the game sees your team running down a three-lane corridor, coming face-to-face with Dragon Quest ??monsters. Y??our team will attack on their own; all you need to do is swipe your hero to the correct lane to actually hit the monsters, activate their special skills when they're fully charged, and block and dodge enemy attacks.

It's a surprisingly fun mash-up of ideas that quickly feels too bare-bones. While each corridor may feature a different location and aesthetic, every level I played in this closed beta was nothing more than a stra??ight line that I completed in less than a minute. There were just a few enemy encounters in?? each stage, culminating in a simple boss battle, before I was knocked back out to the menu to continue the game's narrative.

A Hero's Bonds actually has two connected stories to play through. "Dragon Tracks" covers the events of The Adventure of Dai manga and plays into "Bonding Journey," which is an original story featuring a player-created character that focuses on building bonds with their partners. While some action ?levels will limit who you can have in your party, I could use my created character throughout both storylines if I wanted. As ??this is an RPG with leveling and all, it is important to make sure both Dai and my character got some time on the battlefield.

In these action stages, players only control their lead hero, while support characters act on their own accord. Popp and Maam, both character's from The Adventure of Dai and the first two partners you unlock, are pretty formidable on their own. They helped me get some easy SS rankings in the beginner's difficulty, but also he?ld their own when I unlocked additional quests and modes that increase the shallow challenge. Though, that could ??be because I got some really lucky pulls with the game's gacha system.

Yes, A Hero's Bonds is a gacha game. It also has multiple currencies, an energy system, a crap-ton of lore, crafting, and everything else some AAA mobile developers can't seem to move beyond. I've written before about how the pandemic has altered my outlook on these types of menu-heavy, free-to-play RPGs. That hasn't changed even as we draw closer to the light at the end of the tunnel. It doesn't help that I started playing this at the tail-end of my review session of Fantasian, another mobile RPG that lacks everything our readers consistently remind us they hate about mo?bile gaming.

The best compliments I can pay Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero's Bonds is that it's got a unique gameplay hook. It's beautiful, and its soundtrack is appropriately epic. It's not the worst thing you can download to your p??hone, but at the end of the day, it's another free-to-play mobile RPG that's still clinging to old ideas of what those types of games should look like.

Dragon Quest The Adventure of Dai: A Hero's Bonds is no??w avail??able for preregistration and will release later this year for iOS and Android.

_{[This preview is based on an Early Access build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Everybody wants to rule the world

Sometimes it feels like Evil Genius was a pretty recent game. Yeah, recent. 2004. I played it while I was waiting for Half-Life 2 to be released. I was in high school. High school. That was practically yesterday, right?

The original studio that developed it, Elixir Studios, went bust shortly after its release, with rights getting scooped up by Rebellion. This led to a couple of Facebook games because that was the trend at the time and everyone wanted that Farmville money. But Rebellion has always said they were looking into bringing a full-featured sequel into the world. It took a while, but we’re finally here with Evil Genius 2: World Domination, and it’s time to bring the world to its knees once? more.

Evil Genius 2: World Domination (PC)
Developer: Rebellion Entertainment
Publisher: Rebellion Entertainment
Release: March 30, 2021

If you’ve never heard of or played the original Evil Genius, the premise is simple. Set in the funky 1960s, you play as a bad dude (or dudette) on th??e path to world domination. You build your evil lair, send your minions out to accomplish nefarious acts, and gradually build your infamy until you’re given the opportunity to assemble a doomsday device.

I feel like the original has aged pretty well thanks to its amazing aesthetic and enjoyable gameplay loop, but it could have used some improvements. It was a pretty hands-off game, where you set everything up and then have no control over how things unfold. A lot of the time was spent waiting for things to happen while making sure the forces of justice don’t find where ??you hid all the bodies.

Rebellion set a few goals for itself before attempting this sequel, one of which was to individually look at the pain points in the original title and address them, and it really shows. While the main focus is still strategic base building, you’re given a lot more options on how you manage your global heat; that is to say, how mad all the forces of justice are at you. You can push riskier missions more fre??quently to gain greater reward or play it safe and lay low as much as possible to avoid bringing chaos to your front door.

The pacing of the original game was a major problem. Things would grind to a halt as your minions went about researching the absolute most usele?ss upgrades, and there was this point at which you vacated the base you spent so much time building for a bigger one, and re-establishing yourself is a whole ordeal.

This time around, you pick whatever island you want from a selection, and it’s yours for the entirety of the game. It’s separated into multiple floors?, and everything is included within the unit, rather than scattered across the island. You also have direct control over what your scientists are developing, which allows you to focus on base upgrades or traps as you see fit.

The doomsday device plays a much bigger role this time around, as well. While in the original Evil Genius, it was essentially your end goal -- build the device and you win -- I’m told in Evil Genius 2, you’ll actually get a chance to use it and experiment with it. The preview build didn’t let me get this far, but the te??am has said that it comes fairly early in the game.

On the topic of traps, I never really got much use of them in the original game. I was more the type to strategically build my base so that the forces of justice never found the suspicious-looking furniture deep within. I’d use social m?inions to bamboozle them, making them waste their time on my island and leave none the wiser.

The team says that part of their focus was to allow players to approach the game however they see fit. Part of this comes from the strengths and weaknesses of the megalomaniac you pick. Some players of the original set u??p extremely complicated trap combinations to stop the agents that infiltrated their base, so there’s one the focuses on research and upgrades. Whereas I enjoyed covertly working from the shadows, I’m also catered to.

If you are the type to develop nefarious traps, the team has spent some time making them more accessible. The first game required you to place sensors and link everything up, requiring a bit of trial and error. In Evil Genius 2, every trap is essentiall??y ready out of the box. It’s much less of an ordeal to set up a complex, Rube Goldberg-styled combination.

Largely, Evil Genius 2 will feel familiar to anyone who played the first. The concepts of it are mostly the same, and many of the rooms and minions are more or less unchanged. In many ways, the game feels like a do-over of the orig?inal title, focusing more on addressing t?he problems of the original and expanding where it’s needed.

One of the places where things have expanded is with the addition of a sandbox mode. This was something the original lacked, and, at that time, it seemed like an oversight. The sandbox mode will allow players to tinker around with the mechanics without worrying about an end goal or having things descend i??nto chaos. It’s a great way to experiment with the new trap? system or just take it easy and watch the minions go about their life. I’m not judging.

If you’re concerned about whether or not this Evil Genius will take from the Facebook titles, don’t be. Rebellion has stated that a completely different team worked on those titles and Evil Genius 2 is intended to be a p??roper suc?cessor to the original title.

The team has stated that they do have plans to support the title after its release with DLC. This will include new henchmen, new items for your base, and an additional campaign featuring a new criminal mastermind. The plan, for now, is to build the best possible PC title, but console releases in the?? future are n?ot ruled out.

For now, Evil Genius 2: World Domination is slated for release on Mar??ch 30, 2021, and I personally can’t wait to dive back in and get my hands dirty.

_{[This preview?? is based on a pre-release build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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So many multi-syllable names to remember

It's been five years since Atlus and Vanillaware first revealed 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim to the world. After a couple of delays and a dropped platform, it launched last year in Japan to critical success. As a fan of the developer's previous work, I've kept my eye on the title, but I've noticed enthusiasm toward it in the west has b?een relatively muted.

The images that sprang to mind when we heard "Vanillaware is making a giant mecha vs. kaiju game" became dust in the wind when we actually got a look at what 13 Sentinels would be. Gone was the side-scrolling action gameplay Vanillaware relied upon in titles like Odin Sphere and Muramasa: The Demon Blade. In its place is an experience divided into two very distinct genres: a side-scrolling, text-heavy adventure game that maintains the gorgeous art dir??ection Vanillaware is best known for and an isometric real-time strategy game that looks and plays nothing like the developer has made before.

Marketing for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim may rely heavily on the stunn??ing visuals of the narrative portion to sell it, but the actual game doesn't shy away from getting you into the cockpit of a sentinel right at the top of the prologue. The story begins in media res with high school student Iori Fuyusaka calling upon her metal marvel to battle a kaiju that's appeared in the city. Renya Gouto, the second of the 13 protagonists introduced in this three-hour tutorial, guides her and me through this first mission and first victory against the invading hordes.

This fight and the next few that follow do a thorough job of introducing the various intricacies of the battle system. The ultimate goal of each ??skirmish is to protect the Aegis, a massive device that'll protect a portion of the city from kaiju once it's powered up. If it's destroyed, or if any member of my squad falls in battle, it's game over.

The big takeaway from these early fights is the difference in sentinel types. There are different generations of sentinels to pilot, each with their strengths and weaknesses. Flying sentinels are tailor-made for drone kaiju, while ground-based sentinels are ideal for close-quarters combat with the more massive kaiju. None of the sentinels and kaiju are that detailed in battle as they mostly look like they fell out of a Space Invaders cabinet, though the lack of that signatu??re Vanillaware art style in these massive battles keeps everything moving briskly.

By the time the final fight of the prologue rolls around, I'm well-versed in how to handle myself in combat. But when I'm not fighting, well, it's been a struggle to keep track of everything and?? everyone important to the story. With 13 protagonists to work with, as well as a large handful of supporting characters, there's a chance the narrative could become bloated. For these few opening hours, however, it's quite lean and very fractured a??s the story jumps from the present to the past to the future to the distant future as the heroes of this tale are slowly brought together.

So far, most of the action takes place in a beautifully drawn Japanese city in 1985. As each character joins the story, you learn small snippets of?? information about them as their role in the narrative slowly becomes clear. Juro Kurabe, the second protagonist you take control of, is a lover of classic monster movies with a best friend who quickly turns out to be more than just another student at his school. Natsuno Minami is obsessed with UFOs, so when she meets one in the girl's locker room at her school, it's a match made in heaven.

Character motivation is strong in these early hours. Though some of the protagonists are not as thoroughly explored as others, each one is distinct in personality and motivation. These characters are well-written enough that I've had no issues identifyi?ng them when they pop into a scene despite their similar uniforms and near-??identical faces.

What has been a struggle is figuring out when each character originates from. The boys from the 1940s are easy enough to keep track of -- and their quest to use the sentinels in World War II presents an interesting hypothesis on what would have happened had Japan been the military superpower of the war -- but with multiple future eras in play here, I took written notes to remind myself of how far into the future each character is coming from and the different points in time they've visited to reach their current location. I also needed my notepad to keep track of the food t??hey're eating. That's not important to the story. I just haven't been able to get the thought of a yakisoba pan out of my mind all week.

It's too early to make a judgment about 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim, but with the prologue completed, I can say the narrative has done enough to convince me this story is worth s?eeing through to the end. As for the combat, well, I'm going to need to get a taste of what it's like when the training wheels come off.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim launches September 2?2 e?xclusively for PlayStation 4.

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Three days 'till curtain

We are less than a week away from the western launch of Sega's Sakura Wars, the newest entry in a long-running strategy-RPG franchise that is yet to find much more than a niche audience outside of its native Japan. This is obviously not helped by the fact that only one of the series' five mainline titles has seen official localisation, in 2005's PS2 (and later Nintendo Wii) release Sakura Wars: So Long, My Love.

Sega seems very aware of this fact, and as such is positioning the new Sakura Wars as a "fresh start" for the franchise, one that hopes to proudly acknowledge the series' storied legacy, while opening up its genre-blending adventure to new generations of fans worldwide.

Over the past week or so, I've been treading the boards with the Imperial Combat Revue's Flower Division. To the uninitiated, they are an under-funded group of thespians, who have made the natural career progression from Am-dram performers to mech-riding monster hunters. Existing within an alternate, steampunk-inf??????????????????????????used 1940, the Imperial Combat Revue are a global network defending the planet from ever-increasing demon attacks, while operating a modest business in their downt??ime. In our heroes' case, it's the dilapidated Tokyo Imperial Theater.

From minute one, Sakura Wars attempts to succinctly define its universe and lore to the player, done via some simple exposition that revisions events within the Sakura Wars timeline. While this entry features an entirely new combat style, cast, and storyline, the narrative does not completely abandon its legacy, referenced through casual dialogue or imagery, and anchored in returning character Sumire Kanzaki. While Sakura Wars is pitc?hed as a reboot, it still feels snug to class it as a latter-day sequel.

It's crystal clear that Sega intends Sakura Wars to be the "jumping-off point" for new fans. It debuts new mechanics, a brand-new engine, and a huge cast of new stars. While it isn't disrespectful enough to completely ignore what has come before, it does re-draw the line, firmly marking this entry as a new beginning for the series, no doubt with hopes of pulling in fans old and new for another decade of demon-battling, Koi-Koi playing, awkward dating action.

As to whether it succeeds in these efforts??, we'll let you know how we feel very soon.

Sakura Wars launches April 28 on PS4.

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Get ready to get your grind on

Despite being a "mini" presentation, last week's Nintendo Direct packed quite a bit of information into a half-hour show. While it may not have had much for Nintendo's long-term release schedule, there was news about Smash Bros. Ultimate, Xenoblade Chronicles: Definitive Edition, and the upcoming expansion passes for Pokémon Sword  & Shield.

Tucked in the middle of the video was another trailer for Square Enix's Bravely Default 2, showcasing more of the game and alerting Switch owners to the fact that a demo of the upcoming title was now available for download. Needing to break away from Animal Crossing, I downloaded the demo and decided?? to give it a whirl, ??only to have my ass handed to me again and again. Turns out, I was not ready for this demo.

When you boot up the demo the first time, a message will give you a few snippets of information about what you're going to play, including that its difficulty has been raised j?ust a bit. This is to encourage players to grind it out, to experiment with the jobs, and ultimately to get a sense of what the final build will be like. Make no mistake, you need to be ready to grind if you want to see this demo through to the end.? These enemies have blood in their eyes and if you're not careful, they'll wipe your whole party without breaking a sweat. 

The demo takes place in the desert around Savalon, a beautiful city that's slowly being inundated with water. What was once a blessing for t?he arid people is now a curse as the rising waters are slowly enveloping the entire city. Princess Gloria deduces the Water Crystal, one of four crystals stolen from her kingdom, must be nearby. You play as Seth and after a quick trip to the local inn, the two of you set out, along with party members Elvis and Adelle, to find some ruins in the desert where the crystal may lie.

For the demo, you're given access to five of the jobs that will be in the final game: Vanguard, Freelancer, Monk, Black Mage, and White Mage. Each character can have a main job and a sub-job. When you're in battle, you'll only gain job points for your main job, so the idea is to grind up one of your jobs and then switch to another and start the whole process over. Any active abilities you unlock can be used no matter if it's tied to your main job or your sub-job. Passive abilities are limited to three for each character and can be assigned whether or not you are actively using t??he job that unlocked it.

Of course, one of my favorite things about the Bravely series are the costumes characters will don when assigned a specific job. Bravely Second excelled at this with unique jobs that had equally unique costumes like Catmancer,? Patissier, and Yokai. Unfortunately, none of these jobs are that unusual, but the Monk costume on the female characters is delightful and there's something pure a?bout seeing Elvis decked out as a White Mage.

If you played the first Bravely Default you'll be right at home once you get into battle. For newcomers, the battle system plays like any other turn-based game but with the addition of Brave Points. The points are basically action points, but you can build them up by choosing the Default. This puts your character on guard and, on their next turn, they can perform two actions using the Brave function. You can save up to four Brave Points, or if you're feel??ing lucky, you can use the Brave function and go into a Brave Point deficit. When you're in negative Brave Points, you won't be able to ac??t until you're back in the positive. It's a risk/reward system that can be awfully risky here as the enemies you face have the same Brave & Default options you have.

Even if you don't plan on beating it right away, it's always a good idea to download demos for the Bravely series as Square Enix has a history of rewarding those who do with equipment for the actual game. If you do decide to give it go, word of advice: stay on the sands until you raise your levels a bit, don't go after the wolves right away, assign the Monk job to one of y?our characters and equip them with daggers in both hands, and make sure you're examining every enemy the first time you face them.

Bravely Default II is scheduled for release ??on Nintendo ??Switch later this year.

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Sometimes we all need a throwback

NIS America wasn't at E3 proper this year. A few blocks away from the convention center, it set up shop in a Chinese restaurant where the smells emanating from the kitchen made my stomach grumble even though I had just eaten about a half-hour beforehand. In one of the private dining rooms just off the center of the restaurant, NISA set up a makeshift demo booth, with TVs, swag, and giant posters advertising the heavy hitters it has coming later this year. While I did play a bit of The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel III, my main goal for the hour I had was to play as much of Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers as possible.

The opening half-hour or so of Destiny Connect reminds me of some of those lesser-known role-playing games from the PlayStation 2 era. There is a lot of set-up to the game. Main character Sherry is d??esperately awaiting the return of her father on the eve of a new millennium. To pass the time, she goes to pay a visit to her grandmother in town, stopping along the way to meet up with best friend and eventual party member Pegreo. The two of them eventually find their way to the outskirts of Clocknee where they're attacked by robots that look like television sets, only to be saved by a mysterious character seen earlier in the intro as a protagonist in a television show.

It's all very weird and somewhat intriguing despite some presentation issues. The town of Clocknee is bright and chipper and the characters have the expressiveness of a pre-Toy Story Pixar short, but character movement an??d camera controls feel a generation or two behind. It was a little cumbersome guiding Sherry around her?? house and some of the camera angles in this introduction didn't exactly give the best look at my characters and their surroundings.

Going through the introduction was like playing through a game from the early days of fully 3D JRPGs. There is a lot of dialogue and exposition setting up the adventure while action and excitement are in short supply. That's not to say the first chapter is bad, but I think the industry has greatly improved in creating opening acts that are both engaging and more quickly usher players into the action. Destiny Connect's opening salvo doesn't do all that much to ??arrest players, and as a result, comes off as either outdated or old s??chool, depending on your interpretation. 

I would love to tell you more about how the? combat works and everything you can do with Isaac, a third player protagonist who is also a robot from the future, but if there is one thing NIS America hasn't gotten down yet, it's how to show its games at conventions. NIS doesn't do demos. Rather, every time I test one of its titles at a show or preview event, I'm given access to the latest build of the full game. With appointments limited to just an hour or so, testing a game with an extensive introduction doesn't do much to give an impression of how the full 30-hour experience will play.

The only information I can glean comes from the ??game's official website, which promises an adventure through time as Sherry and company explore the past, present, and future of Clocknee. Isaac will have customizable costumes and actions made in the game will shape the world around you. It certainly sounds ambitious, even if the RPG combat errs on the side of sim?plicity

How all of that plays into the final product is something we'll find out this fall, but the opening 45 minutes of Destiny Connect: Tick-Tock Travelers have planted seeds of interest in me. With its charming aesth??etics, expressive characters, and ambition that far exceeds most other NIS titles, I look forward to giving the game a shot when it launches on October 22, 2019 for Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4.

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It's a silly satire and it might be very, very good

I don't expect to be surprised all that much by this industry anymore. Sure, some announcements can come out of nowhere, like Nintendo capping off its E3 presentation with a teaser of a Breath of the Wild sequel. But with gaming so heavily invested in franchis?es, it's hard to shake this feeling of deja vu with ea??ch new trailer or product launch.

That's why I'm happy a game like Heroland exists. In a sea of sequels and spin-offs, it's a genuinely original idea, bolstered by appealing art direction and writing that may be too clever for its own good. I don't know how I'll feel about the final product when it releases later this year, but right now, it's easily my?? favorite game from the E3 show floor.

Heroland takes place in the titular theme park where you play as Lucky, a new hire who's tasked with guiding park goers on their adventures. Heroland is an RPG theme park, where paying customers can go on adventures, defeating monsters that just happen to be your coworkers at the park. As a tour guide, Lucky doesn't do any of the battling himself, in the same ?way the woman playing Snow White at Disneyland doesn't spend her day riding the Matterhorn. Instead, he's there to offer suggestions and strategies to the guests on how to win.

I've played plenty of RPGs where you don't have to do any of the fighting yourself -- setting up gambits or using mobile-inspired auto-play functions -- but this is something entirely different. Lucky doesn't care about grinding for XP or picking up epic loot from defeated ??bosses. He's just there to make sure his guests leave happy so he can earn enough money to feed his family. Unfortunately, those guests might not be the best warriors. They may be reckless or far too timid to be of any use. If i?t ever looks like guests might lose a fight, which is a big no-no, Lucky can step in and point them down a path towards victory.

While the tour group auto-battles the monsters that stand in their way, Lucky waits for his Assistance meter to fill. Once it does, he can offer suggestions that will lead the group to victory. He can either push team??-wide strategies, such? as all-out attack or fight conservatively, or coach an individual character on what their next move should be. 

As for the guests, or at least the ones in the first mission of the game, they fill the standard JRPG tropes of warriors, ranged attackers, and healers. On their own they'll play their ??role well, but if you give them some bad advice, they might end up needing you to save them with some potions. Do poorly in battle and their satisfaction with the Heroland experience will drop. Help guide them to victory without much trouble and they'll be all smiles. Keeping your guests happy is your number one priority, so it's best to never lead them astray even if the snot-nosed punk you're guiding is ??????????????????????????being a little prick.

The personalities of the guests, as well as those of Lucky's coworkers, absolutely shine with some very cheeky and biting writing by Nobuyuki Inoue. If that name sounds familiar, it's because he directed Mother 3. Working with Inoue on the game its director Takahiro Yamane, who served as a producer on Fantasy Life; Nobuhiro Imagawa, who was an artist on Mother 3; and Tsukasa Masuko, a composer who has worked on games like Devil Summoner: Soul Hackers and The Caligula Effect. While the four of them may not exactly make up the "Dream Team" of Japanese developers, it's clear from the half-hour I played that each of them have brought their A-game to Heroland.

I'm not sure if the final product will be able to match the excellence I experienced at E3, but Heroland has gone from being some obscure Japanese RPG I nearly skipped over to my most anticipated game of 2019. This has the makings of something special, and if its bevy of quirks can coalesce, Xseed just might have one of those legendary niche titles on its hands that people will reference for years to come. Heroland will launch later this year for Nintendo? Switch and PlayStation 4.

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Genesis Does

[Update 07/01/19: After a lengthy tour promoting the Genesis Mini, Sega has finally been able to get back to me on the issue I reported with lag. According to a PR rep, the TV's in ??question at E3 were using the dreaded "Game Mode" option that contributed to my notice of input delay. It took another journalist capturing footage of the device to discover the issue and solve it on subsequent days. Almost a full second of delay had been ??added, which sounds about right from what I remember. I apologize this addendum took so long to happen, but keep that in mind while reading this. - Peter]

The Sega Genesis Mini looks primed to be a hell of a competitor to Nintendo's NES and SNES Classic systems. Packed with 42 games and with emulation being handled by M2, Sega isn't holding back on creating the ultimate retro trip for old-school gamers. With the console coming out in roughly three months, it's been alarming that no one has had any hands-on time with the device. Is there something horribly wrong with it, or has Sega been slowly perfecting the de?vice since its announcement?

Thankfully, this isn't anything like those AT Games devices. The Genesis Mini may have a f??ew issues, but we've come a long way from the laggy playback and warped sound that plagued past efforts. M2 may have just topped Nintendo with this one.

Starting off, the design of the dev?ice is incredibly faithful to the legendary Model One. Sega has gone the extra?? mile by including a volume slider, a movable power switch, and a removable expansion port on the side. Even the cartridge slot opens, which is how that Japanese exclusive "Tower of Power" sits in the device. Sega was handing out small replicas of Genesis carts, but I could see those eventually going on sale to complete the illusion of gaming in the '90s.

The included controllers feel exactly how I remember those old Genesis pads feeling. Mushy buttons, a large D-pad, the thin start button: it's funny how after not touching one for nearly 20 years, all those memories came flooding back in an instant. The only issue I did seem to notice was either related to the TV or possibly the unit. Pushing buttons incurred more than a few frames of delay, so making selections was rough. It also cropped up while playing games, so dropping blocks in Tetris was almost a ?crap-sho??ot with how slow it could feel.

Powering the device on, you're greeted to a menu that looks decidedly '90s. Harsh, dark colors and a grid layout capture the vibe that Sega had going on during the 16-bit era and some helpful sorting options allow you to line the game selection up however you like. The demo unit was set to filter by release date, but I quickly switched it over to alphabetical and jumped into Sonic 2 in seconds. Once ?in a game, holding the start butto??n for five seconds brings up a menu that lets you create save states, tinker with screen filters and aspect ratio settings, or return to the main menu to select a new title.

That's all pretty standard stuff that feels copied from Nintendo's Classic devices. No need to reinvent the wheel there, but M2 has provided a som??ewhat cool addition. Since there are people who prefer playing games that fill up their widescreen televisions (the savages!), the 16:9 option utilizes a pan-and-scan effect to not distort the pixels. Zooming in on the action while repositioning the UI elements, you can legitimately play these Genesis classics in widescreen without resizing issues, though the zoom is a bit harsh.

I honestly didn't like how it looked, but the option avoids the distortion that can ruin the? artwork in older titles. This new take (which is actually what older widescreen conversions of 4:3 movies?? used to do) could become the golden standard for retro emulation in the future. Since there is only so much you can do with emulation, I'd prefer to see the zoomed widescreen instead of a stretched one.

That last part is key, too. These aren't brand new ports or remakes, but ROMs being emulated on the device. I wasn't able to get specifics on if each game is running in its own custom emulato??r, but ROMs were chosen to try and remain as faithful as possible to the original experience. That may dash your hopes of seeing 60 FPS playback and a lack of sprite f??licker, but you have to respect the desire to preserve history so accurately.

My demo session was very short, so I didn't get to find out much more. For all intents and purposes, though, this is the real deal. I'm hoping my issue with input delay was more d??own to the television set, because I'm otherwise impresse??d with how well Sega has recreated its classic machine. I'm a sucker for Nintendo's mini consoles because of my childhood love for the devices, so I'd love to add a Genesis to sit right alongside them to complete the picture.

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2 Crash 2 Fuelrious

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is a substantial remake. Not only did the team at Beenox update all of the tracks from 1999's Crash Team Racing, it also added in the tracks from 2003's Crash Nitro Kart. It took those tracks, spiffed up the visuals - in some cases resizing and reshaping them to work well in the same engine - and threw in some Easter eggs for fans to find. Nitro-Fueled is going to launch ??later this month with 31 racing tracks and 12 battle arenas.

But it's 2019, and you can't just release a game and stop there. After all, what's cooler than 31 tracks? 32 tracks. What's cooler than 32 tracks? We can go on like this indefinitely. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled intends to do that, at least for a little while, and the good news is that each new addition to the game wi??ll be available free.

After Crash Team Racing releases on June 21, the first "Grand Prix" will begin on July 3. Players will gain free access to the all-new track Twilight Tour, and they will be able to complete races during t??his limited-time event to earn progress toward customization options: new characters, skins, karts, and stickers. Basically, it's a take on a battle pass, but it doesn't ??cost anything.

There are currently three Grand Prix events planned, each coming with its own ne?w track and racer. The length of time each event will run is still under wraps. Depending on how well the game performs and how the community responds to the release scheme, there could be additional events beyond the initial three.

It also looks like Spyro the Dragon is headed to Crash Team Racing, but it'll? be through the third of these events. He'll be add??ed to a roster which includes other fan favorites like Penta Penguin and Tawna.

As far as what's in the game at launch, it's a lot. There are a half-dozen or so racing modes that can be played on eac??h track and another half-dozen or so battle modes that can be played on each arena. There's also an adventure mode that puts players through a series of unique challenges and progresses the story. Through all of it, there is a lot of kart racing.

As a Mario Kart veteran, that muscle memory sabotaged me a bit in Crash Team Racing, since its power sliding works j??ust a bit differently. Jumps are higher, so it takes a split-second longer to start the slide. Then the speed boosts aren't tied to the fine tuning of the slide, but instead a timing mechanism using the other jump button. It's complicated at first, but I think I started to get the hang of it after a while. I could definitely see it being a racer with a high skill ceiling.

Difficulty is one aspect the old games were notorious for. Nitro-Fueled is keeping the option for its classic difficulty, but it's also a??dding a more forgiving and fairer difficulty setting ?as well.

So far, this title looks like it's set to be a fan-pleaser. As far as remakes go, there's not much more that could have gone into Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled. Beenox could have updated the visuals, a??dded in online multiplayer and leaderboards and called it a day, but it looks like it went the extra mile to make it feel like a worthy return to an old friend?.

Some of the details on the Grand Prix system remain to be seen, so hopefully those pan out well too. Even if they don't, what comes on the disc should satisfy kart racing e??nthusiasts.

Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled launches June 21 on PS4, Xbox?? One and Nintendo Switch.

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