Sekiro is one of those games where you never feel overpowered. Even if you make smart skill-tree choices and prioritize unlocking high-impact abilities (bless you, Shadowrush), it can still be a struggle to make tangible upg??rade progress unless you grind in familiar areas or tread new ground with extreme caution.

Players have had five years to narrow down the best farming spots for XP and Sen, and I've played the game enough times to ?toss my own two cents into the debate. Her??e are the best Xp and Sen farming locations in Sekiro

Best early game XP and Sen farming locations in Sekiro

The early stages of your journey through Ashida don't pull their punches, and?? you'll learn quickly that you need to get stronger if you want to save your young lord. Luckily, there are plenty of areas where you can farm XP to level up your skill and get Sen to buy upgrades for your prosthetic arm.

One of the best areas to grind out XP and Sen early on is the Hirata Estate. This area is? technically optional, but I highly recommend you come here. Many prowling enemies infest the main path through Hirata Estate, but you can kill them all without too much trouble by sticking to ceilings and high walls and using sneak attacks from above. Whether you start at the Estate Path's Sculptor's Idol or work your way back from "Hirata Estate - Main?? Hall," you'll rack up XP and Sen quickly.

The payouts aren't great at the beginning of Sekiro, so don't be afraid to pop Mibu Balloons if you're struggling and want to speed up the grind. You'll get plenty of them thro??ughout the game, so don't let the fear that you'll run out of them keep you from maximizing your XP output.

Another area to consider early on is directly after the big arena fight against Gyoubu and his steed. From the "Ashina Castle Gate" idol in Ashina Outskirts, you can hunt "rats" (aka the little creepy dudes). They drop a respectable amount of XP and Sen for this point of the game, and you can rack up a decent amount of both resource?s by farming them. Just grab the Loaded Axe prosthetic before you come here otherwise you won't be able to smash through their shields.

The final early-game farming area I'd recommend is Ashina Castle—Upper Tower Antechamber. This area is full of assassins who drop quite a bit of XP and Sen, but they can be challenging to take down. I'd recommend killing the soldier with the rifle near the Ashida Ca??stle Gate idol and grappling with the nearest assassin. From there, work up the tower and stealthfully take out the assassins. They even drop Divine Confetti, making this a fan??tastic area to hit up if you're having trouble with the ghosts in Kusabimaru.

With this strategy in mind, I could easily buy all the prosthetic tool variants minus the last few that require Lapis lazuli as a crafting ingredient. If you stick to these areas, Se??n stop?s being an issue quick. It's terrific for XP grinding, too, but there are so many skills that it will still be a slog, especially if you're hoping to stockpile skill points for the attack-power-raising Dancing Dragon Mask.

If you haven't done the Bell Demon's Temple, seek it out.

Best mid-game XP and Sen farming spots in Sekiro

Sekiro gets a lot less linear ??around the mid-game point, which gives you more freedom to avoid challenging areas that would have been a roadblock earlier in the game. However, you will need to jump those hurdles eventually, so you'll want to familiarize yoursel?f with some grinding spots.

Thinking back on other grinding spots I used for a good while, my go-to spot was the same one Chris mentioned: the Gun Fort in Sunken Valley. You can work backward through the fort and get revenge on all the nasty sharpshooters. I'd suggest using the Divine Abduction fan (or its upgraded counterparts) for the big lugs. The tool will let you backstab enemies even if they see you. (Side note: if you need more Fulminated Mercury, try grinding at "Poison Pool" in Ashina Depths.)

For a decent Sekiro farming locale with built-in catharsis, spend some time in Ashina Depths, starting at either the "Mibu Village" or "Water Mill" i?dol. Beating up weaklings is a nice stress reliever, especially if y??ou're having trouble fighting the Headless Ape or the Corrupted Monk.

Finally, consider trying the "Flower Viewing Stage" idol for my favorite enjoyable grinding spot if you've made it to Fountainhead Palace. Once there, turn around, backstab the Noble, run and stab the next Noble, and then prepare for a lightning reversal against the spear-wielding guard. Whereas most other farming locations in Sekiro tend to be mindless, this is engaging as ??a muscle-memory warmup.

Best late-game XP and Sen farming spots in Sekiro

Like many other FromSoft games, Sekiro's end-game isn't a difficulty spike; it's a difficulty moun??tain. Enemies get harder, upgrade materials get rarer, and the bosses can feel unfair. Even if you've become a parrying master, you'll probably need to gr??ind for level-ups and upgrades.

The best end-game framing spot in Sekiro is, without a doubt, Ashida Outskirts. I'd recommend ??running through the area until you beat Shigekichi of the Red Guard and reach the Outskirts Wall - Stairway in Ashina Outskirts Sculptor's Idol. Then, weave your way back through the main path, backstabbing enemies and reaping the massive harvest of XP, Sen, and various materials. The XP and Sen you get from this will help pay for any late-game upgrades you want, and the Ministry Dousing Power the enemies drop comes in handy during the fight against the Demon of Hatred.

It'll feel phenomenal to check the "Height of Technique" achievement/trophy off the list. I'm on New Game +4 and I still have a few expensive Mushin Arts skills to unl??ock. I??'m glad I didn't force it.

The post Sekiro guide: Farm XP and gold in this q??uick, simple spot appeared first on Destructoid.

Castlevania is a very personal series for me.

I grew up with the franchise from the very first game's wondrous release, through my utter confusion with Simon's Quest, all the way full circle to the newest iteration of the franchise, Lords of Shadow -- Mirror of Fate.

Symphony of the Night was there for me during one of the toughest times of my childhood. My wife and I bonded over the original Castlevania, a?nd it was one of ??the first games we ever beat together.

I have a million of these stories, and for good reason. The art of Castlevania is always beautiful, the music ??is practically unparalleled, and the series itself moved the entire industry forward on a number of occasions??.

To celebrate this amazing franchise, he??re are the five best games that it has to offer.

As a side note, I have been playing Castlevania: Lords of Shadow - Mirror of Fate as of yesterday. Reviews are all over the place, and personall??y, I find it to be a serviceable 2D platformer.

No, it's not the classic Castlevania you know and love, but just like Lords of Shadow, it manages to strike a dece?nt compromise and acclimate itself to the genre to the point where most people would have fun with it. Th??ere are exploration elements, but they feel limited -- and as a warning, yes, there are some QTEs.

I wouldn't consider it eve??n close to worthy of this list, but then again,? these are some of the best games of all time on offer here.

As ??usual, the following list is in no particular order.

Super Castlevania IV (Super Nintendo - 1991, Virtual Console - 2006)

What Castlevania list would be complete without Super Castlevania?

A revolution at the time, Super brought Castlevania into the new era of 16-bit, with a mind-blowing array of graphical prowess, and a?n incredible soundtrack to boot. Protagonist Simon Belmont could now whip in eight directions, hold out his whip to utilize a new attack and grapple select hooks. You could also (gasp!) control your character while j?umping, and crouch walk.

As a re??sult, players had more control over Simon's actions, creating a more ac??tion-oriented feel. In short, it sought to keep the franchise from being antiquated, and it succeeded.

If you haven't played it yet, definitely make time soon to do so -- it still holds up, even if Egoraptor thinks that all of these new freedoms of control res?ult in a less compl?ex game overall.

Castlevania: Curse of Darkness (PlayStation 2, Xbox - 2005)

I love the art direction for Curse of Darkness, to the point where visually, it's probably my favorite in the franchise. Although the level designs weren't always up to par in the first portion of the game, the art and character designs are so beautiful, that they ended up spawning a two volume manga spinoff.

Another reason why I enjoy Curse of Darkness is how original it is, and how Konami managed to keep the game fresh, yet distinctly Castlevania. Instead ?of yet another Belmont, this game features Hector, a former Devil Forgemaster for Dracula. Hector's quarrel deals with his former friend, Isaac, who murdered his wife.

There's a ton of content here, including a fully explorable castle, tons of items to collect, a complex level system involving familiars, and a fully playable Trevor Belmont. It plays like a mix of Lament of Innocence and Symphony of the Night, which is incredibly unique? from a gamepla??y perspective.

Castlevania: Rondo of Blood (PC Engine - 1993, Wii Virtual Console - 2010, SNES [remake] - 1995, PSP [remake] - 2007)

The release schedule of Rondo of Blood is a confusing riddle that took me years to decipher. Originally, it was released in 1993 as a Japan-only title for the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16). It had multiple paths, a super ability that lets you go berserk with sub-weapons, some of the best level design in any Castlevania game, and the ability to play as both Richter Belmont and Maria, his lover's sister. In short, it was hectic, and one of the better?? games from a pure action standpoint.

Not content with keeping the game in Japan, Konami remade the game on the SNES into the version most Americans are familiar with today -- Dracula X. When Dracula X was released, critics were divided, some calling it a serviceable remake, and others calling it an inferior port. Years later having played the original Rondo of Blood, I tend to agree with the latter sentiment, but Dracula X is still a very playable game?? if you haven't tackled it already.

Even still, Konami wasn't done with Rondo. Years later, they released Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles [pictured], a 2.5D PSP remake that also included the sequel, Symphony of the Night in one package. Chronicles as a port is closer to the original, and it's a better experience than Dracula X.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow (Game Boy Advance - 2003)

Choosing a favorite portable Castlevania game is torture. They're pretty much all good in their own way, but one in particular stuck out: Aria of Sorrow.

As weird as it sounds, Soma Cruz is one of my favorite protagonists in the franchise, mostly because of how crazy he is conceptuall?y. I mean, a teenage reincarnation? of Dracula? How much wackier can you get?

Gameplay-wise, it plays out pretty much like Symphony of the Night. There's a fully explorable open world, an experience system -- the whole shebang. Hell, even the life meter looks 1:1 like Symphony of the Night.

But it's the tactical soul system that sets it apart. Soma is one of the more unique heroes in that he can absorb the souls of his fallen foes to gain new abilities (think Blue Mages in Final Fantasy). You could trade these souls through a Game Boy Advance link cable, and collecting them was as addicting as Pokémon.

Also, an optional New Game+ Mode is never a bad thing, nor is an additional Hard Mode, Boss Rush, or a mode in which you can play as Julius Belmont. As a spiritual successor to Symphony of the Night, Aria of Sorrow delivers.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night (PlayStation - 1997, PSN - 2007, Sega Saturn - 1998, Xbox Live Arcade - 2007)

I know I said this wasn't in any particular order, but I can't resist making the following statement: Symphony of the Night is easily my favorite Castlevania game ever. Full stop.

It has one of the best soundtracks of all time, incredible level design, and one of the most classic twists in all of gaming. Alucard is also one of the most enjoyable videogame protagonists I've ever had the pleasure of playing with. He'??s incredibly versatile, fun to play??, and an all-around badass.

From start to finish, Symphony of the Night reminded me why I even like playing games in the first place. Everything wasn't painfully obvious and the difficulty was at just the right setting, to the point where it took actual effort to persevere. When everything was said and done, you felt like you actually accomplished something, rather than feel like the developer held your hand through ??the entire experience.

To have such an Earth-shattering revelation as an entire second castle that's different enough, yet familiar, after you obtained a secret ending that essentially doubled your game length, was mind-blowing. I've been enamored by a lot of 2D platformers over the years, but it's distinctly possible that none of them have captured my attention as well as Symphony of the Night.

It's that good.

Best Castlevania Games Honourable Mentions

There were so many Castlevania games over the years that coming up with 5 was pretty difficult. For that reason, I do want to show a little love to some of the game??s that didn't make the list but were somehow still crucial in this franchise's journey.

Castlevania Bloodlines (SEGA Genesis - 1994)

I remember when the Sega Genesis reached our shores. Everyone in my neighborhood thought it was the next best thing, and every kid begged to have their NES replaced stat. And? while a large part of that was because of Sonic's exploits, Bloodlines is what sold it for me.

Castlevania (Famicom - 1986; NES - 1987)

If this one didn't exist, this list wouldn't exist, so it really does deserve a spot somewhere. The original Castlevania was great when it launched, pl??aying ?into the popular platformer genre of the time. It's not all that playable these days unless you're after some simple nostalgia.

So while it's?? no longer "good enough" to make a top-five list, it still stands as the grandfather of this entire franchise.

Castlevania III Dracula's Curse (NES - 1989)

Where are the days when we c??ould get a brand new entry to a fra?nchise every year? On second thought, maybe those days are better left in the past.

While Castlevania II Simon's Quest began to change the way platformers were viewed, it wasn't until Castlevania III that th??e non-linearity started to click into place. Being able to branch off and "follow your own path" made this an interesting title at the time. It had its flaws, for sure, but it was the innovation in those early years that earns it an honorable mention.

The post Ranked: The five best Castlevania games appeared first on Destructoid.

Grand Theft Auto is hijacking a new service: Netflix Games. Announced today, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy -The Definitive Edition is? making its way onto the Netflix app ?in December.

According to the Netflix website, players will get to experience the definitive editions of Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas all from their phones. Players can pre-register for each title before they launch on December 14. The news comes weeks after games like Hades and Braid were announced to arrive on the service next year.

For some, these games are staples of the video game world, as they redefined the series to what it is today. GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas came out in 2001, 2002, and 2004, respectively. Each of them launched on the PlayStation 2 and became the highest-selling games on the system. That's saying something given the console's immense success. Rockstar Games raked in the money, and the controversies, and became legends in the industry.

Grand Theft Auto III follows down-on-his-luck Claude as he enters the crime-filled world of Liberty City on a quest for revenge. Vice City, on the other hand, tackles its version of Las Vegas with Tommy Vercetti's rise back into the mafia scene after being released from prison. Finally, San Andreas? showcases a more realistic world as we see CJ Johnson's reluctant return to gang warfare.

Big Money Heist

For many people, the thought of accessing any GTA from your phone is amazing, even more so from Netflix. You'll get that fantasy, though there is one problem: it's Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy. Yes, the one that came out last year to abysmal fanfare. Its horrendous launch and low quality made even die-hard fans wince. Fort??unately, ?it seems like changes were made, as the collection is set to be 'updated' for mobile devices.

Still, this is a huge hit for Netflix Games, as their platform hasn't been as out-there with their games as other services have. Their section of games includes titles like Immortality and Oxenfree, among others. As men?tioned before, the acquisition comes after announcing a few 2024 additions during Netflix Geeked We?ek.

December is shaping up to be big for Grand Theft Auto fans, as it was revealed last month that a Grand Theft Auto VI is on the way. Grand Theft Auto V has been the face of the series for 10 years and sold millions of copies over its lifetime. Now, finally seeing the next generation of op?en-world crim??e simulators will be nothing short of exciting.

Netflix subscribers can access their game catalog from the app. Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is available for pre-regis?ter now and launches on December 14.

The post Grand Theft Auto: The Tril?ogy is coming to Netfl??ix Games appeared first on Destructoid.

I've lost count of how many times I let Ganon return

[Note: This piece was originally published in 2021. We're bumping it now, as part of our Zelda Week coverage in May 2023, in the lead-up to Tears of the Kingdom. Enjoy!]

Thirty-one years ago, The Legend of Zelda became the first video game I ever beat. A year later, Zelda II: The Adventure of Link became the first video game I ever quit.

To be fair, I didn't finish too many ?games in my elementary school day?s. We owned maybe five titles total for our NES, and everything else was rented. So most games I played in the early '90s were returned before I got the chance to see the credits roll.

But that's not what happened with Zelda II. Sure, it was a rental to keep me occupied for another stormy Western Washington weekend, but I gave up on it long before we had to take it back to the rental shop. As captivated as I was with everything Zelda following my victory over Ganon in the first game, attempting to play through The Adventure of Link made me want to cry like the little sissy boy I w??as and most?ly still am.

Perhaps the game isn't designed to be beaten by six-year-olds, but I also couldn't beat it when I was 18 and it re-released on The Legend of Zelda: Collector's Edition bonus disc, when I was 22 and bought it for the Wii's Virtual Console, when I ?was 26 and got it for free as a part of the 3DS Ambassador's Program, when I was 31 and tried to beat it in time for the franchise's 30 anniversary, and four years ago when I set out to conquer it on my NES Classic Edition. This game has been destroying me my entire life, but?? this year, I finally found a way to see it through to the end.

I cheated my ass off.

To be clear, I tried for years to beat Zelda II legitimately. I never made it past the second dungeon back on the NES, but on my GameCube, I gave it the old college try. Without having to worry about returning the game to the rental shop, I knew I could take my time with it and fully dedicate myself to mastering it the same way I'd mastered the original and A Link to the Past?. I even printed up a guide from GameFAQs to point me in the right direction. And while it helped me get further than ever before, one thing it couldn't do was get me past Rebonack.

For the unfamiliar, Rebonack is the dungeon boss of the Island Palace. On paper, it sounds like a pretty easy fight. He starts out mounted on floating horse armor, chargin??g at you from left and right. You need to ?jump over him with a downward thrust as he passes by to whittle away his energy. However, halfway through the fight, he'll jump off his horse, recover all his health, and come at you as a Blue Iron Knuckle. This is part that has given me trouble throughout my life.

As much as I admire Nintendo for not resting on its laurels when creating a sequel to The Legend of Zelda, the move to side-scrolling action combat introduced a host of issues prevalent to NES games of the era that the original was able to avoid. Anyone who's played Ninja Gaiden has probably lost a life o?r twenty to a bird that appeare??d out of nowhere to hit you mid-jump over a pit.

That's something Link had to contend with on his second outing, though in his case, it's the flying eyeball Moas darting out of the left or right side of the screen to knock him into lava. It's cheap, frustrating nonsense. You have to have amazing reflexes and hand-eye coordination to make it through The Adventure of Link because the enemies you'll face are almost supernatural in their responses to your actions. Your foes can turn on a dime to hit you, and Iron Knuckles and their ilk are so adept at blockin??g your attacks that it would be comical if it weren't so exacerbating.

This is why I could never beat Rebonack. As soon as he switched to his second form, I had to deal with an enemy who could easily block all my attacks, who could attack me almost nonstop, and who could be pushed off the screen where I couldn't reach them, but they could still hit me. Regular Iron Knuckles and the lizard Ge?rus are frustrating enough when they have walls or pits you can knock them into. But one that can simply leave the screen while still dealing out damage will turn your hair gray.

So yeah, when I was 18, I said fuck it and quit at Rebonack. When I played it again on Virtual Console, I said fuck it and quit at Rebonack. On the 3DS? You guessed it. I said fuck it and quit at Rebonack. Then on my NES Classic, I made it past the Island Palace, and hea—I'm just kidding. I said fuck it a??nd quit at Rebonack.

For more than 15 years, that bastard was the bane of my existence. I'm sure, had I stuck it out, I would have eventually made it past him and realized the difficulty of bosses is all downhill from there. But after fighting so many Iron K??nuckles throughout my quest and knowing the journey ahead of me would be dotted with even more, having to challenge one as a boss battle immediately exhausted me, as if my soul threw its hands up and exclaimed, "Not this shit again."

For years, that's been my prevalent opinion of Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. It's an exhausting game, one seemingly designed to ensure players spend dozens of hours trying to make their way through it by pitting them against frustratingly fast and strong enemies. I didn't hate the game. I didn't even think it was a bad game, it was just more of a hassle than I would have liked it to be, like playing through EarthBound Beginnings.

I mean, did you know you lose XP when certain enemies hit you, and they take away far more t??han they give when you kill them? It's like the game is trying to be as much of a dick toward players as possible. If not for the fact you keep the tools and levels you unlock throughout your numerous attempts, it might be the most antagonistic game Nintendo has ever created.

With some alterations, I don't think The Adventure of Link would be the black sheep of the series it is today. But after 30-some-odd years, the only noticeable change has been the elimination of the blinking screen when Ganon returns upon your death. It's just as difficult today as when I still wore Velcro shoes because shoelaces intimidated me. The only difference is today, I have the rewind feature of the Nintendo Entertainment System - Nintendo Switch Online.

I probably could have cheated my way through it back on the NES as we did have a functional Game Genie. The only problem is we didn't have a book of working codes, and honestly, I didn't really like the idea of breaking a game so I could beat it. Hints were fine as I needed a lot of help to find my way around Hyrule in the first game, and we did have a few NES Max controllers lying around, but Game Genie codes always came across as a curio to me rather than a legitimate means to an end. It's one thing to enable Moon Jump in Super Mario Bros, it's another?? to give yourself?? permanent star power.

But that was dumb, six-year-old me. Soon-to-be 36-year-old me is okay with cheating, or at the very least, cheesing the system to my advantage. And there is no better way to cheese your way through The Adventure of Link than abusing Switch Online's rewind feature.

To be honest, I didn't even realize it had a rewind feature when I first started it up. I set a goal for myself to beat the game for the anniversary so I could write this post, and at the beginning, I went through it just as I had before. I beat the first dungeon with ease, died a lot reaching the second dungeon, died a lot finding the hammer, and finally starting to kick ass after I unlocked the downward thrust. Then I hit Rebonack and the game immediately started to grate ??my nerves.

Just as I readied myself to quit, it dawned on ?me I had completely ignored the Switch Online interface to this point. That's when I saw the rewind feature. I figured I might as well give it a shot, so I rewound my fight with Rebonack and challenged him again.

He beat me, but I did better this time. So I rewound again and did even better. On my fourth rewind, I nearly beat him. Then I started rewinding every time he hit me, and soon enough, like the samurai from Katana Zero, I had rewound my way in??to a perfect run against my arch-nemesis. A few hours later, I managed a perfect run to revive the sleeping Princess Zelda??. A great big smile stretched across my face as I watched the credits roll. I had finally beat a game that had been giving me grief all my life, even if I needed a little help to do it.

In hindsight, I realize the rewind feature is a substitute for what I've really been missing all these years: patience. I'm simply not a patient enough ??person to deal with this game's bullshit.

If you're someone who beat Zelda II: The Adventure of Link without any technological assistance, I tip my hat to you. You're a better gamer than I. But if you're like me, a person who has wanted for years to cross this title off their backlog, don't feel bad using all the help you can get. Rewind the game, go with the SP version that maxes Link out at the start of his adventure, do whatever it takes because Zelda II is a bitch of a game, but one with s??ig??nificant ideas that were way ahead of its time.

And once ??you do beat it, you can sle??ep easy knowing that now that you've conquered it, you never have to fucking think about it again.

The post My 30-??year quest to beat Zelda II: The Adventure of Link appeared first on Destructoid.

NEO: The World Ends with You preview

The World Ends with You is considered an all-time classic for many reasons. The characters, the writing, the style, the art direction, the story...they’re all top-notch, st?anding out amongst the rest of the DS catalog and most other games of its era. For my money, however, it’s the combat th?at is both the greatest and most memorable aspect of the game. Fights against the Noise and Reapers were intricate—and a real test of your hand-eye coordination—as you controlled two different characters, on two different screens, with two different inputs. Clearly, it was a combat system designed around the capabilities of the Nintendo DS. To distanc?e it from those unique capabilities would ultimately transform the experience. And not necessarily for the better, as we learned with the iOS a??nd Switch ports of the title.

With NEO: The World Ends with You going multi-platform from the start, it doesn’t really make sense to craft a combat system that ties itself to the eccentricities of any one console. This has to work with a variety of controllers, and thankfully, just because the combat is mo??re homogenized than it was before doesn’t mean it’s worse. In fact, based on a recent preview I had with the game, it’s a pretty damn clever system tha?t makes?? the title more approachable than the original game but more engaging than its ports.

I was only able to experience?? the first chapter? of NEO: TWEWY due to technical difficulties during my hands-on. An incredibly beautiful title, the gam?e ??opens with new protagonist Rindo meeting up with his buddy Fret in Shibuya. Reaper pins are exchanged, and soon enough, the duo finds themselves as the newest participants in the Reaper's Game. They're quickly introduced to Shoka, one of the new Reapers in NEO, as we get a glimpse of ?Rindo's premonition and rewind ab??ilities.

Like with the first game, players will spend their days solving puzzles, scanning environments for Noise, eavesdropping on thoughts and conversations, reading through story segments, and fighting to survive. On day one of the Reaper's Gam?e, Rindo and Fret head to Scramble Crossing to locate some skulls for their first assignment. The duo is in competition with other teams, though not directly. Players need only worry about completing the challenge and defeating the boss. That would be difficult if it were just Rindo and Fret, but early into the first? day, they're joined by Minamimoto, a Reaper from the original game who returns here as a player. That's when the game's battle system really started to blossom.

Pins, w??hich were the backbone of ?the first game's combat, return in NEO, though they operate differently than you'll remember. Each team member can have one pin assigned to them, and each pin has its own unique attack and button input. At the start of the game, Rindo and Fret are each equipped with pins that fire projectiles when you press their associated buttons. You can spam the attack, but pins also have an energy meter that replenishes over time. Minamimoto's initial pin allows him to do flying jump kicks, which are ineffective if you don't hold down the button ??to charge them up. It's not as dynamic as the pin s??ystem of the original game, which tied attacks t??o different taps, swipes, and doodles on the DS touch screen, but I can certainly see its influence here.

It's important to note that while your whole team is present during battles, you're only controlling th?e character whose pin you're utilizing at the moment. So I can start by controlling Rindo with his projectile attack, but as soon as I switch to Minamimoto's kick, he becomes my primary character. To simplify the experience, your entire team shares a single health bar.

Having the best pins equipped is crucial to victory, but NEO also makes a big fuss out of finding the rhythm to fighting with a mechanic called "Drop the Beat." Basically, as you attack an enemy with one character, a visual cue will pop up on the screen with a short timer attached to it. If you switch another character's attack within that time limit, you'll increase the amount of damage done. "Drop the Beat" may appear multiple times on stronger enemies, which is why it's vital to keep an eye on your equipped pins' energy meters. Just like with The World Ends with You, success will eventually come down to being able to mix and match ?the right pins to allow for constant attacking.

Outside of combat, I got a fantastic look at how Square Enix translated the lavish 2D art direction of the original into a 3D setting. While I admittedly saw very little of Shi?buya, only being able to experience the first day of the Reaper's Game, I will say NEO: The World Ends with You might be the most beautiful game I'll play this year. The city is stunning, with intense colors and distinct, sty??lized architecture. Story sections are brilliant as well, utilizing multiple art styles for the character portraits that amplify the emotions of the script. I greatly enjoyed the writing in my preview, with the back and forth betwe??en Rindo and Fret being a particular highlight. 

It may have been a short preview, but my? h??ands-on with NEO: The World Ends with You convinced me that Square Enix is on the right track with this long-awaited sequel. It plays great, it looks better, and the new elements of the Reape??r's Game, like the Scramble Slam, have me champing at the bit. Thankfu?lly, the wait grows shorter every day. NEO: The World Ends with You launch?es July 27 for Switch and PlayStation 4. It'll arrive on PC via the Epic Games Store later this summer.

The post NEO: The World Ends with You channels the DS original for its creati?ve combat system appeared first on Destructoid.

Destructoid names its most anticipated games of E3 2021

If there is one thing the summer of 2020 taught me, it's that I actually really liked go??ing to E3. It's not a popular opinion to have in the game writer community, and I won't argue I wasn't ecstatic to leave every time it ended, but where else c??ould I go to be amongst my peers, shake hands with the developers I admire, and gawk at the ridiculously hot Australian games journalists?

Well, I guess there is PAX...

Anyway, after a year away from the three-d??ay assault on the senses, E3 is back. Sure, it's gone digital this year, and yes, it doesn't really seem necessary given how successful most publishers were last year with their st?reams, but starting next Saturday, gamers around the world can relish the fact that for four straight days, they'll be treated to massive amounts of overzealous hype and trailers for games that won't launch until 2023. As we do with every E3, I asked the Destructoid staff to write down their most anticipated games of E3 2021 and the summer of streams.

CJ Andriessen: LEGO City Undercover 2

I act??ually had to double-check this because I didn’t think it could be true, but did you know it’s been m??ore than two years since we got a new LEGO game? Well, I mean, if you don't include the ones on Apple Arcade. Anyway, with The Skywalker Saga ge??tting pushed back multiple times, we’re now in the largest gap between LEGO games since LEGO Star Wars: The Original Trilogy came out in 2006.

I’ve been on a LEGO kick as of late with actual LEGO sets. Over the past few weeks, I’ve picked up the Ideas sets for Sesame Street and the apartments from Friends. I also just bought that massive Daily Bugle set, which I actu?ally can't build because I don'??t have room for it anywhere in my apartment. Rediscovering my love of LEGO has made me nostalgic for my favorite LEGO game: LEGO City Undercover.

I’m honestly not a huge fan of LEGO games because the gameplay leans a little too elementary for my liking. But the big, open world of Lego City absolutely grabbed me back on the Wii U. Diving back into my Switch copy, I’ve come to realize this concept still has a lot of potential. With the increased hardware power of the PS5 and Series X|S, I think that potential could be realized. A bigger city, bigger jokes, bigger set pieces, and a bigger array of m?inifigs and vehicles would all make for one outstanding adventure, and I don’t see any reason why a LEGO City Undercover 2 game couldn’t stand side-by-side with all of its Rated M for Mature open-world competitors. It's unlikely to happen, ?but th?at's my most anticipated game for E3 2021.

Zoey Handley: Pikmin 4

I have absolutely no reason to believe Pikmin 4 will show up at E3 this year. I’m probably setting myself up for disappointment, but Shigeru Miyamoto himself said as far back as 2016 that the game is almost done. They ??were just waiting for the right time to release it.

What about now??? Now seems like a good time. Last year would have also been rad. Five years ago would have been just fine.

This new entry will obviously focus entirely on everyone’s favorite tiny space person: Brittany. She’ll no doubt be reuniting with the Pikmin to stop a galaxy-wide disaster that threatens to wipe out? all fruit. Expect a new crafting mechanic, romance options, and themes of fruit? addiction. Listen, I don’t care. I’ve been patient, just give it to me.

Chris Carter: Elden Ring

Elden Ring!

I feel like I've been beating this drum for a few years now, and I guess I have. The George R.R. Martin and Hidetaka Miyazaki collaboration is still extremely secretive, and pretty much the only thing we know about it is that "Phil Spencer liked it."

We have to get some semblance of info this time around right? I mean that's not exactly how From Software operates (it's ready when it's ready), but given the news of the latest potential delay, some form of CGI teaser (perhaps...gameplay?!) would probably help eas??e the wait.

Chris Moyse: Steelrising

I'm really hoping for some solid gameplay footage from Spiders' robo-revolution title, Steelrising. I think Spiders has shown a lot of untapped potential with titles such as Greedfall, and I think the studios' eye for olde tyme world?s and deep adventure �coupled with an amazing concept about a robotic?? French Revolution �sounds like a winner.

Marie Androidette, historical rewrites, system-smashing, and senate-stomping, all wrapped up in a great-looking, steampunk?-style aesthetic? Sign me up. Vive la révolution!

Dan Roemer: Starfield

Bethesda needs a win this generation, and I’m hopeful that Starfield is that potential winner. The company flew high during the 360/PS3 era, scoring critical acclaim and financial success with Oblivion, Fallout 3, and Skyrim. Setting financial success aside, you straight-up can’t say the same for this past generation. Although Fallout 4 sold well, it more or less only ever got a lukewarm receptio?n from fans and c??ritics alike.

Now, after dropping the ball right through the floor itself with Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls VI still years away �Starfield feels like it has no choice but to succeed. But I think there is also a ton of potential here. It’s a clean slate. They don’t need to abide by an established universe or decades of pre-existing lore to appeal ??to a hardcore fanba?se.

Starfield has a damn good chance to kick this generation off on a high note with a new universe to explore (both literally and in terms of narrative), and ??I’m excited to learn more about it from E3 this year, hopefully. Plus, who doesn’t love seeing a developer come back from a dud with a great game? And when Bethesda is on their A-game, I’m down to sink endless amounts of hours into wha??tever they put out.

Eric Van Allen: Splatoon 3

I know most folks are probably excited for another certain Nintendo franchise, and I am too. But with a 2022 window set, I'm eager to see what the Splatoon team has in store for its third installment.

The leap from Splatoon to Splatoon 2 was already pretty big. It had more modes, more weapons, and loftier ambitions. The Octoling Expansion was the height of this: a discrete single-player expansion focused on unique puzzle rooms that pushed Splatoon's mechanics in fascinating ways, from playing pool with a sniper rifle to a Sunset Overdrive-alike rail-grinding challenge.

The early gameplay shown in the reveal earlier this year seems to indicate Splatoon 3 headed in a new direction as well. A new setting, and potenti??ally a new format for its single-player, could be in store. I'm really eager to see what changes could come to this squid-kid shooter that's fast become one of my favorite series on the Switch.

Noelle Warner: Breath of the Wild Sequel

Breath of the Wild is truly one of my favorite games of all time, partially because of how ??much I love its version of Hyrule. Naturally, I was stoked to hear we were getting another Zelda game. But after discovering we were staying in this version of the series' mythology? Now you've really got my atte?ntion.

We got a first look at the game during E3 2019, but things have been fairly quiet since. The announcement trailer teased a few different aspects of the upcoming title, like Ganon's inevitable return and a darker tone t??han its predecessor, although any story or gameplay details are still ??hazy. Personally, I'm most excited to see more Zelda, as it's implied she'll be a larger part of the sequel. Plus, her new haircut looks so cute!

Anyway, I'm amped for absolutely any news about this game, but I know Nintendo likes to take its sweet time. If I had to put money on it, I'd say we'd be in for a more in-depth trailer, but no release date, as unfortunate as it sounds. Any news is good news for me though, because this is one of my most anticipated games of the ne?xt few years.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMEuZGHbv-c

Josh Tolentino: Tsukihime Remake

E3, whether in digital or physical form, is absolutely not the kind of place for console makers and big publishers to reveal that they're publishing a popular Japanese visual novel, this much I know. But wouldn't it be absolutely rad if it were? Imagine how cool it would be for weebs and otaku if Sony or Microsoft or somebody announced, on the stage or whatever they're doing in place of a stage, that they'll be publishing the first-ever localized edition Type-MOON's upcoming remake of their legendary adventure game Tsukihime. The very notion both makes a lot of sense (Tsukhime, like the Fate series, is more popular ??than it's ever been) and is still somehow unthinkable (it's still hard for me to believe that franchises this outwardly nerdy have achieved such ??widespread awareness).

And yet, that's a torch I still wanna carry, just because it'd be great to see these games get some big-stage attention at what is still one of gaming??'s flashiest events.

Jonathan Holmes: Bonk for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate

Barring the PlayStation brand (which doesn’t seem ready to hold hands with Nintendo quite yet), every major home console brand has at least one mascot in Smash Ultimate. From Minecraft’s Steve to Neo Geo’s Terry Bogard, the game’s roster has become a veritable video game history lesson. Pong even made th?e cut, alb??eit as an Assist Trophy that isn’t legally bonded to the Atari brand. But still, it’s there, alongside, well, just about everyone.

Except for Bonk.

This little baby-faced bastard was once one of gaming’s biggest names, especially in Japan, where he even managed to give Mario and Sonic a run for their money. The official face of NEC’s PC Engine/Turbografx-16 console, there was a time when Bonk felt like a permanent part of the gaming landscape. Even after NEC left the industry, Bonk persevered in arcades and on the SNES, PS2, Gamecube, and even smartphones. The origin and history of the cartoon caveman’s now-extinct franchise are fascinating, and reading it over has me all the more convinced that he should be in Smash. If you only go by his biggest adventures?, you may guess that his move set would be pretty limited, but in later, weirder Bonk games, he can grow, shrink, transform into a crab, an ape, and even a lady!

Smash Ultimate won’t truly deserve to be called �a href="//jbsgame.com/super-smash-bros-has-become-video-games-the-video-game/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="//www.google.com/url?q=//jbsgame.com/sup?er-smash-bros-has-become-video-games-the-video-game/&source=gmail&ust=1622682058299000&usg=AFQjCNEe13HRfU779CVWG6LLUAL3AifbhA">Video games: The Video game�unt??il Bonk “butts in� and I’m hoping to see that happen at E3 2021.

//youtu.be/TFBUtNrw6xM

Jordan Devore: Metroid Prime 4 (or Trilogy on Switch)

I've tried to not keep tabs on Metroid Prime 4 ever since the infamous "development update" in which Nintendo explained that it had reexamined and restarted the project. Two years later, are we any closer to seeing the long-time-coming next Metroid Prime?

It doesn't really feel like it. Especially with the way Nintendo has been staying quiet about its upcoming games until they're pretty much ready to go. But Chris already called dibs on Elden Ring, Zoey got Pikmin 4, and I genuinely am hopeful. E3 or otherwise, I'm going to enjoy the hell out of Metroid Prime 4 �eventually.

Metroid Prime is one of my all-time favorites �the title screen still works its magic on me today �but my expectations are reasonable. Nothing sky-high. I'd be thrilled with a game that captured the spirit of the first Prime in a way that makes sense for the 2020s if that's the direction it ends up taking. Or the new game could be totally distinct in a potentially risky way. That would be fine too! Creative risks??????????????????????????? can work out really well.

The fact that we still don't know much about Metroid Prime 4 only makes me want it more. In a year full of mostly known quantities that may or may not slip to 2022, that mystery excites me. If all else fails, Nintendo, please bust through the emergency glass and pull out Metroid Prime Trilogy on Sw?itch. That'll buy you another couple of years in my boo?k.

*****

That's our list of the most anticipated games of E3 20?21. Let us know which games you're hoping for in the comments below.

The post What games do you want to see announced at E3 202??1 and the summer of streams? appeared first on Destructoid.

The Godfather of 3D fighters returns

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown is the fourth iteration of the fifth mainline entry in Sega's legendary 3D fighting franchise �the first release since 2010's (now suspiciously titled) Final Showdown. The core aim of Ultimate Showdown is to reignite Virtua Fighter's admittedly niche competitive scene, offering players an alternate to FGC giants such as Tekken and Mortal Kombat 11. Mighty opponents indeed. Still, if any title has the pedigree to make such?? a come??back, it'll be Sega's iconic slugfest.

Carving out a prime spot in a crowded esports market is an unenviable task, particularly given the current global climate and the unpredictable nature of its eventual aftermath. Sega will be required to go all-out in its efforts to market and, crucially, to support Ultimate Showdown as a title wort??hy of a fresh turn in the premier league of competitive fighters.

While no-one would deny Virtua Fighter the mantle of one of the finest and most influential titles ever to hit the scene, Virtua Fighter 5's initial release was a bone-rattling 15 years ago. Can Sega's formative 3D fighter shine once again on the main stage, particularly when toeing the line against such stiff competition? Until the return of the global tournament scene, we'll have to be patient for those answers. For now, let's take a look at what Ultimate Showdown brings to the ring.

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown (PS4)
Developer: Sega AM2 / Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio
Publisher: Sega
Released: June 1, 2021
MSRP: $29.99 (includes DLC bundle)

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown is a joint production of Sega's pioneering AM2 division and Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, who themselves are no strangers to skull-busting, having developed both the Yakuza and Judgment franchises. The two talented teams have recreated Virtua Fighter 5 within RGG's Dragon Engine, accurately retaining t?he gameplay and mechanics of its earlier iterations, while offering a fresh coat of paint to the decade-old visuals ??and tweaking its under-the-hood technology.

Virtua Fighter 5 has never looked so flashy. The work done by RGG to improve the fighter's light and shadow effects are exemplary, while individual textures for material, hair, and skin �always a VF standout �have also seen a noticeable upgrade. Additionally, Virtua Fighter's gallery of sun-streaked battlegrounds �among some of the most idyllic in the genre �sparkle like never before. Sega's love of neon-soaked c??ities, bright blue skies, sparkling seas, and sun-washed beaches is in full eff??ect.

Despite this glow-up, some of the character models don't quite match up to the quality of other 3D fighters. While pugilists such as Akira and Eileen look fantastic, others stumble occasionally, even feeling like a step down from their prior appearances. Perhaps we've been spoiled by the stellar work performed by Team Ninja for VF's turn in Dead or Alive, but while Ultimate Showdown's textures and visual effects are most certainly improved, mileage on the characters themselves varies. Overall, Ultimate Showdown looks great, better still if you use the delightful VF 1 retro models, available separately as paid DLC.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnC_9rf1u28

The meat of any fighting game lies in the blood-pumping action once fists and feet start flying. Ultimate Showdown has lost nothing in the transition to its new engine, delivering the exact same satisfying and compelling gameplay that has been a franchise trademark since its 1993 inception. Virtua Fighter has always been a joy to play, its ingenious three-button system is all the innovation it has ever needed. While the fighting game genre has reinvented itself time and again in the ensuing decades, VF's mechanics are galvanized, and as solid in Ultimate Showdown as they have ever been.

While RGG successfully retained both the visual style and the excellent gameplay of Virtua Fighter 5, one important feature has not made a similarly impressive transition. Ultimate Showdown's cutomization mode is severely lacking compared to both Final Showdown and even the original Virtua Fighter 5. The fun costumes and wide variety of clothing and accessories are gone, with Ultimate Showdown offering three (admittedly nice) outfits for each character, alongside a basic selectio?n? of color choices and a handful of different hairstyles and jewelry.

A possible drawback facilitated by the new engine, the fun customization options of prior releases have been lost in the process, with elements such as unlocking items, character crossover skins, and hidden winposes nowhere to be found. While the clothing textures look mighty fine, it's the weakest customization mode in Virtua Fighter 5 to date. Hey, if can't turn Vanessa Lewis into KoF's Leona Heidern, or Sarah Bryant into Space Channel 5's Ulala, what even is the point?

The stripped-down customization mode is indicative of something that hangs heavy over Ultimate Showdown: a lack of single-player content. Designed specifically as a tournament tool, Ultimate Showdown is, first and foremost, a Vs.-centric release. Players can create smart and highly customizable lobbies, stacked to the rafters with bracket builders, spectator options, passcode locks, emote windows, and a huge slew o??f rule variables for all your tournament needs. Very commendable. For solo players, however, the features on offer here are extremely thin.

Arcade Mode is available, as is a solid Tutorial and an excellent, in-depth Training mode. There is, however, no Time Attack, Survival, Combo Trial, or a return for VF 5's beloved Quest Mode. Ultimate Showdown makes no bones about its "PvP Comes First" intentions, (Hell, it's even titled "Virtua Fighter eSports" in Japan), but this prioritizing results in a skeletal package for anyone disinterested in competitive play. "Ultimate" Showdown does not quite live up to its moniker from a "complete" perspective. It's a shame to not see Sega go all-out to ensure that this release is the culmination of Virtua Fighter 5's entire lifespan.

Let's suplex the elephant in the room: online play. Despite Ultimate Showdown going all-in on its competitive features, Sega has not developed brand new technology to host online battles �something of a self-defeating decision. Ultimate Showdown uses a tweaked version of Final Showdown's online technology, which I'm pleased to report remains very solid. At the time of writing, I've had around 80 fights with around 30 opponents. Of all of these opponents, only a handful caused any lag hiccups whatsoever. A positive first impression, a?t least.

I intend to continue playing today, and will update this review with my findings once the game is in the public's hands. Ultimate Showdown sacrifices single-player content specifically to focus on competitive options. As such, that multiplayer content is a core ele?ment in the title's overall value and bears s?crutiny.

Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown will find its aligned PlayStation Plus release will do a lot of heavy-lifting. There's no denying that Ultimate Showdown is an excellent fighting game, but its bare-bones release, niche branding, and emphasis on PvP combat would make it a tough sell to anyone who wasn't a dyed-in-the-wool Virtua Fighter player.

However, as PS+ title, Ultimate Showdown will naturally find its way into the libraries of almost every single PS4 fighting game player on the planet, affording the release a broad introduction to both new and returning players. One wonders how much broader that audience could be had Sega chosen not to make Ultimate Showdown a platform exclusive.

Ultimate Showdown is a great release, if one of mixed intent. Seemingly for each of its advancements, there is a odd retraction. The new visuals are great, but the customization is weak. The lobby and online options are absolutely superb, but there's very little here for offline engagement. The product leans heavily on PvP gameplay, but re-uses decade-old netcode. Thankfully, despite these mismatched visions, the quality of Virtua Fighter 5 as a fight??ing game shines through brilliantly, while the budget price/PlayStation Plus angle makes the title's negatives far easier to parry.

15 years on, Ultimate Showdown finds Virtua Fighter 5 just as engaging as it ever was, maintaining its long-held reputation as one of the genre's classiest and most enduring fighters. Woeful single-player content and receding features prevent the package from achieving its full potential but, despite its flaws, Ultimate Showdown costs little, looks good, and plays great. A welcome return to one of gamin??g??'s most distinguished rings. Now... about that sequel...

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Virtua Fighter 5: Ultimate Showdown appeared first on Destructoid.

Fin Baller

You all know me... know how I earn a living. I'll review Maneater for you. But it ain't gonna be easy. Switch port. Not like booting up the PC to go down to Resident Evil Village. This ??port report embargo..??. swallow your weekend... a little eyestrain, a little finger cramp, and down you go.

I'm gonna keep it quick, that'll bring back the players, put all your eShop customers on a paying basis. But it's not gonna be pleasant. I value free time more than your gaming Twitter clout, Chief. I'll check out your Switch port. I'll install it for 3,000 clicks, but I'll play it — and review it — for 10. Carter got no volunteers, and I've got no mate??s. But you gotta make up your minds: 10,000 clicks... For me, by myself.

For that you get the ??screencaps... the summary... The Whole Damn Thing.

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, Tripwire Interactive has returned with a Nintendo Switch port of its open-sea adventure, Maneater, which troubled doomed beachgoers and out-of-their-league fishermen back in the spring of 2020. Lauded by many as "a game they didn't know they wanted," Maneater won over a cult of bloodthirsty fans who were able to push through numerous gameplay issues and technologic??al shortcomings an??d simply bask in the gleeful nihilism and wanton violence found in the fathoms of Port Clovis.

Maneater sees the player oversee the life of a young bull shark, torn from her mother's carcass and tossed back into the waters by ornery Cajun fisherman, (and reality TV star), Scaly Pete. Players guide the young shark as she evolves from a helpless orphan into a terrifying local legend. As the player explores Port Clovis (a thinly-veiled stand-in for the Louisiana Bayou), our dead-eyed protagonist will battle dangerous predators, ward off fame-seeking hunters, damage the local scenery, and slaughter holidaymakers, before ultimately coming jaws-to-face with her parent's killer in an apocalyptic, operatic, clash of the?? titans. Eat your heart out, Hemingway.

Nintendo fans will be pleased to hear that the Switch port of Maneater is more than serviceable. While the original game was never a resource-hungry powerhouse, it's worth remembering that it launched on PC and consoles with myriad technical problems — from quest-breaking bugs and a brutal save-wiping glitch, to a strange technical issue that would cause consoles to overheat! A year on, most of these more serious problems have thankfully long since be?en eliminated.

That isn't to say Maneater for Switch is perfect. I've frequently come across an issue where prey — be it fish or human — will simply "freeze" into position, requiring a nudge or bite to get them moving again. I've also had on-screen prompts hang around a little longer than they were needed... minutes longer. While some players admit that the adventure's imperfections are part of its charm and appeal, it should be clearly stated that while Maneater's m?ost egregious problems are no longer a concern, the Switch port features its own finful of?? minor irritants.

Maneater runs smoothly in both docked and handheld mode. Frame rate is important in a title such as this, where atmosphere and immersion are dictated by the natural flow of the water. Save for a couple of extremely brief drops upon resurrection, or when entering a new area of the map, Maneater scores high in the all-important stability stakes, albeit with a little sacrifice of both resolution and draw distance.

It should also be noted that Maneater is a control-heavy title, with battles requiring frequent use of almost every button on the Joy-Con, often in quick succession. As such, I found handheld mode a little unsuitable for longer sessions, with a sense of hand cramp building during particularly long fights. Toss in Maneater's notoriously unruly camera,?? and this might be ??a job for the Pro Controller.

The Switch port of Maneater sports comparable visuals to its PS4/Xbox One brethren. While none of the scenery or character models were ever top-tier, Maneater's palette of comic-book colors and atmospheric lighting bring life and variety to its aquatic world, giving each area of Port Clovis — as well as its gorgeous "Grotto hubs" — unique identity. The Switch handles these effects admirably, though it should be reiterated that Maneater — even on the most powerful platforms — ??is typified by its "last-gen" aesthetic.

So, should you bite? It's a tough call. Maneater as a whole is a fascinating example of raw gameplay built around the concept of fun, action, and chaos. Nobody can take that away from it. But it remains both the title's blessing and its curse. While Maneater boasts an engaging story, uniquely told, and offers players a meat-and-potatoes thrill ride akin to the gaming of yesterday, Tripwire's dramatic adventure is undeniably a repetitive one, offering much of the same objecti??ves and action over and again, with only the slightest of variables.

This is not a fault of the game's design, per se, but more of its conceptual limitations. After all, there isn't really all that much for a shark to do other than jet through the surf, chewing up fish and hapless fools in dinghies. Quite honestly, I think Maneater's price weighs heavily on its value. The Switch port is launching at $40, while the PS4/Xbox and Epic Games Store editions — now 12 months old —  often feature innumerable sales. The cheaper you can find Maneater, the more likely you are to overlook its negatives and enj?oy its many positives.

A year into its reign of terror — and on the crest of its first major DLC expansion — Maneater's Switch debut is a solid one. The repetitious nature of its core gameplay remains an undeniable downer, but the unbridled catharsis of being mankind's greatest predator, (now with electric teeth!), is as spirited as ever. Maneater for Switch is a sui?table purchase for those wishing to go portable for the aquatic apocalypse. Those with access to other platforms might be better served picking up the original release.

_{[This port report is based on a retail buil??d of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Maneater on Switch isn’t quite jawsome, but is worth a bite if it’s your only option appeared first on Destructoid.

Old world underground, where are you now?

The open-world genre gives me hesitation these days; it’s almost a bad word. I blame Ubisoft. Not another waypoint! Not another tower to climb! Not another cathedral to parkour through! I’ll get to the main plot soon, I promise! Just a few more collectible??s?!

It’s not that I’m entirely down on the genre. I’ll readily admit to enjoying it. Games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Spider-Man have capture??d my attention and drawn me in, but to me, it’s like eating a bag of chips; my brain tells me I love it while it’s happening, but almost as soon as I’m done, I feel empty. The expanse of ??the vacuum varies, but I think even the best open-world games have given me this feeling.

What gave me further pause about Biomutant was its protracted development time. It was announced back in 2017, I pre-ordered it in 2019, and here is finally in 2021. Its feature list has always struck me as over-ambitious, especially for a small team like Experiment 101. It was billed as this fully?? adaptable game that let you make all the decisions in what you do and how you approach the game’s main objectives. I had my doubts that it would deliver, and now that it’s finally here, I can firmly say that no, it doesn’t quite make it. It’s a bag of chips. Delicious, delicious chips.

Biomutant (PC [Reviewed], Xbox One, PS4)
Developer: Experiment 101
Publisher: THQ Nordic
Released: May 25, 2021
MSRP: $59.99

To be fair, Biomutant truly is a game with a lot of flexibility. You can be a complete jerk or a selfless hero, you can make the world worse off or try to save ??it, and a lot of the game’s activities are optional in the truest of senses. Success can be achieved, even if you want to partake in one of the game’s main mechanics or not.

It’s not true freedom, of course, just freedom within reason. The narrative in Biomutant cen??ters around a post-apocalyptic world struggling for breath. Humanity screwed the environment badly, and the planet’s new inhabitants, the mutated predecessors of our wildlife, have been trying to keep things from getting worse. However, the Tree of Life is dying. A plague is spreading, and a quartet of munsters are eating at its roots. Which is where you come in.

You’re some sort of wandering ronin returning to their homeland after considerable time away. Finding the tribes splintered and in tu??rmoil, the Tree of Life withering, and munsters taking over, you set to work getting things back in order. If this means crushing everyone and helping the tree on its wa?y, then have at it, you munster.

Mutant is a pretty apt description of Biomutant. At times, it feels like a twisting or mutation of particular formulas. It’s also narratively a bit of an amalgamation. It’s hard not to get a whiff of Breath of the Wild, Fallout, or Far Cry. There’s four munsters divided into the four corners of the map that you can take out at your own pace or just whenever. There are tribes you can unite or destroy or just ignore. You know that territory system where your map has little blotches on it telling you what belongs to w?hat tribe? It’s here.

It has RPG mechanics and crafting, there are zones that are hazardous unless you’ve gathered gear and upgraded your character to resist ?their inflictions. There are munsters to be honted and cosmetic stuff to find for your various vehicles. It’s a big, sloshing bucket full of stew.

Which isn’t to say it’s bad or even derivative. It has its own flow, the world has its own feel, it’s just a lot. It’s hard to complain about hav?ing so much content, especially in a game that is launching at a bargain price. Every time I’d start feeling like things were becoming routine, it would introduce something surprising that I hadn’t been expecting. I’d be going through a graveyard and suddenly be assaulted by skeletons or I’d find ruins that contain a gameplay mechanic I didn’t even know about. It tries to excite at every corner, and it largely succeeds.

There was even one particular moment where I got that feeling like I was playing through someone else’s fetish, which was a little discomforting. I don’t know, maybe it’s supposed to be innocuous and I’ve just spent too much ti?me on the internet.

The mutation comes from the fact that not every facet got the same amount of love. The alignment system, for example, either needed to be cut or polished. On the surface, it’s pretty typical: release the prisoner or punch them in the face for no reason aside from the chance to be a dick. That’s disappointing in its own right, but the larger issue is that you’re mostly just collecting good and bad karma, and that’s it. Sure, characters will call you a d?ick if you’re a dick, but let me explain.

Most of the time in Biomutant you’re just deciding whether or not you want the good points or the bad points. Spare a tribe’s Sifu or lock them up. Destroy a tribe or bring them into the fold. Release prisoners or give a speech about something. It’s nothing meaningful. It could have been something like siege a tribe outpost until they starve or challenge the Sifu to single combat, but it’s not. And sometimes I’d trip across dick actions by accident. I walked up to boxes of food and got the “interact�prompt, and when I pressed it, my guy just burned the boxes for no reason. It would take a long time to upset my karma rat??io, it’s just out of character for a hero character.

The tribes are another half-baked mechanic. Three want to unite the tribes and save the world, the other three want to destroy the tribes and end the world. There aren’t two in-betweens, those are your options. You’re also forced into joining one of two tribes at the beginning of Biomutant (ev??en though advertising says the tribe war is optional), but you can then jo??in another tribe at the cost of betraying your current one. I did this by accident. I just wanted to ask one of the other friendly tribes if they wanted to unite, and the next thing I knew, I had to retake territory I took for my previous tribe.

It’s a lot of open-world weirdness. I’d have difficulty naming one of these games that doesn’t have disappointingly raw mechanics floating around, I just kind of expect it at this point, but Biomutant is a game so crammed with c??ontent that you go from dizzying highs to nauseating lows pretty f?requently.

It’s that pervasive smell of, “we eventuall??y need to release this game.�At some point -- and maybe this was dictated at a corporate level, but it had to happen -- they had to take all the pieces they had and put it together into a ?complete, playable experience. That means some of it is extremely good, and some of it is barely worth doing, and the fact that it’s all stirred together means that you can’t have the good without tripping into the bad.

I could honestly write an essay on all the little ways that Biomutant disappointed me, but I’d lose even the bravest soul around the 4,000 word mark and everyone else would just scroll straight to the score anyway. I wish the narrator would shut up every once and a while. There’s actually a slider for his frequency, but I’d swear it didn’t do anything. He’d still remind me it’s night three times a ni??ght. It’s also stupid easy. I don’t play open-world games for their challenge, but after I realized I never used healing items, I kicked the difficulty up to hard. Then I created a gun that eliminated the remaining challenge.

So, yeah, I can gripe about Biomutant’s shortcomings until the gnoats come home, but I feel that would give the impression that I didn’t like the game. On the contrary, I really enjoyed it. Exploring its world was a joy, finding a new “ultimate weapon�that I could take apart and turn into an even better weapon was always exciting, and it kept providing new experiences throughout its runtime. The combat is fun, allowing you to mix and match different abilities to find the best way to inflict?? pain. It also does a good job of leaving it up to you how you tackle the game, providing a bevy of options and just letting you choose what you want to do.

It's just got a lot of loose screws, which is horrifying to see on a roller coaster, but not quite the same omen of death in a video game. I think the team did the best they could putting all the little pieces together, and the amount of content that resulted is dizzying for a bargain priced title developed by a small team. I honestly think that Biomutant's potential isn’t going to be fully realized until a sequel, spiritual or otherwise, but what’s here is ?perfectly entertaining.

I had a lot of trouble tearing myself away from Biomutant, and a lot of my grievances didn’t really surface until I’d finished it and had time to digest. Before that, I was absorbed in exploring its well-designed world, plumbing ruins, collecting dopey looking mounts, and dressing like I just survived a landfill explosion. There are some unwanted mutations in its genes??, but they're covered in fur and easy to overlook.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Biomutant appeared first on Destructoid.

Several games draw near. Command?

See Nintendo, this is how you celebrate? a franchise's 35th anniversa??ry.

Square Enix hosted a live stream earlier this evening to celebrate 35 years of Dragon Quest, and buddy, it did not disappoint. Six games and updates were announced during the stream, including the confirmation of the next entry in the mainline series, Dragon Quest XII. Below, I have wrapped up every??thi??ng revealed in the stream.

The next numbered entry in the series will be Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate. DQXII will make changes to the traditional turn-based combat system. It's unclear what those changes will be, but Yuji Horii did state the Command?? feature will still be a part of the game and the development team is currently working with a few prototypes. No release date or platforms were named, but it was stated Square Enix is aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release.

Dragon Quest X will update to Ver. 6 this year. Still no plans for a worldwide release. Specifically said during the stream there are no plans to relea?se the game outside of Japan.

Dragon Quest X Offline wa??s announced and will feature a completely different visual style than the MMO. Can play through it solo. Aiming to release in 2022 in Japan. No platforms were mentioned and also not confirmed for worldwide release.

Dragon Quest Treasures is a new spin-off of the series from the team behind Dragon Quest Monsters. It will feature Erik and Mia as children. The main themes of the game are "childhood" and "treasure." It is a 3D RPG, but not a traditional one. No platforms were mentioned, but aiming for ??a simultaneous worldwide release.

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a remake of Dragon Quest III from the people behind Octopath Traveler and Various Daylife. Worldwide release on consoles. No release date yet. Remakes of Dragon Quest I and Dragon Quest II were hinted at as well.

Dragon Quest Keshikeshi is a match-three puzzler for mobile releasing this year. Monsters from the series have been turned into ti??ny ?erasers that you line up to erase pictures. Will be free-to-play.

Additionally, a new entry in the Dragon Quest Monsters series is i??n the plann?ing stages, but it wasn't shown off during the live stream. Yuji Horii also showed off some new franchise merch, but it's for Japan only.

The post Square Enix announces Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate and it’s getting a simultaneous worldwide release appeared first on Destructoid.

How to reign in a hellscape

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD is nearly here (or now if you did the edition with incredibly odd early access). Owing to the fact it's roughly an 18-year-old game, some of its ways might feel obtuse to the modern JRPG player or newcomer to the SMT series.

I began my life here a??t Destructoid as something of an enthusiast for this game, even going by Pixie the Fairy for a time because she's actually the Demi-Fiend's canon sidekick. She serves as a way to introduce you to the wild ways of the post-apocalyptic Vortex World, a hellscape I'm starting to prefer to the one we currently live in.

Things can get dire in the Vortex World very fast, especially if you try to play Nocturne by the logic of other JRPGs, s?o let me set you on the right path.

The Press Turn System

If you're familiar with later SMT games or spin-offs like the Persona series, you'll feel right at home with the Press Turn System. I?f not, here you go.

When you exploit an enemy weakness or land a critical hit in combat, you'll gain an extra turn to use ?toward additional attacks, healing, buffs, or item use. You are issued one turn per living party member for up to four turns and if you play things really well you might get up to eight turns. Scan for enemy weaknesses to ma??ke the best use of your party's skills.

Enemies can??, however, also exploit your we?aknesses for extra turns. Remember that and cover your weaknesses as best you can with Magatamas! Enemies can also sometimes absorb magic they're attuned to and also be quite evasive when they want to be. If you whiff or waste an attack, you will lose two turns. This problem ties well into my next point.

Grinding to outlevel bosses will get you nowhere. Use status buffs instead.

Sukukaja. Remember this word. It's a buff that raises your squad's accuracy and evasion. Some JRPGs position party buffs are a small benefit. In Nocturne, they are the difference between victory or a swift, u??ntimely end.

Auto-attack has always been a staple of MegaTen, but it's really just there to speed through the more mundane encounters you're confident you can clear. Auto-attacking a boss will result in a faster loss because bosses like Nocturne's infamous Matador love to buff and make your att??acks weak or worthless.

Grinding for levels and stats in Nocturne is nice, but it won't turn the tide on bosses. Focus on leveling up for skills instead. Whether it's for your demonic allies or Demi-Fiend's Magatama skills, using status boosts a?nd exploiti??ng weaknesses is best. Brute force will not work.

Sukukaja, on the other hand, can be stacked up to four times, allowing for higher accuracy and evasion, Conversely??, the debuff Sukunda lowers enemy eva??sion and accuracy, which can possibly make them lose two turns if they miss. This is good. This is the way. Ignore the use buffs and debuffs at you own peril.

??F??inally, Magatamas can shield you from some attacks, such as Zan spells, while weakening you to other things. Use Magatama carefully. They can only be set outside of combat.

Master Demon Negotiation

Uzume's Sukukaja brings everyone to the yard. She can learn it, but she just might charge. Be ready to? negotiate.

The demons, angels, cryptids, fae, and gods you encounter in normal combat are not unlike Pokémon, but you can't j??ust toss a ball at them to claim them. Imagine if you wanted to catch a Pikachu, but it asked if it could have some money or to drink your blood just a little. Or maybe it wanted to know your philosophical opinions ??to decide whether you suck or are cool.

This is the wheelhouse SMT monsters ope?rate in, and your answers and attempts at bribery will determine if they end up joining your entourage or if one more god rejects you. Some will just think you are awesome and force their way into your ??ranks anyway

Leveling up demons will unlock skills. Some, like Pixie or Lilim, will evolve into new beings and learn new skills, but so??me demons won't evolve at all.

Enter the Cathedral of Shadows

Finding friends on the field only gets you so far. Sometimes you have to turn to insane science to f??urther your goals.

Demon Fusion is g??radually unlocked in the Cathedral of Shadows. It's used to further advance demons in your party, usually by creating newer, more powerful demons to pass skills on to and level up.

Some demons can only be gained by fusion, or made af??te?r defeating a boss. You cannot command or create a demon beyond your own level, however.

New to Nocturne HD is manual demon skill inheritance, which can be toggled on and off at your desire. Games that came after Nocturne and Persona 3 FES all have this system by default,?? and this is prefer??able to the old system which is all RNG and rather frustrating.

Dunno why th?e old inheritance system was left in, but manual inheritance was later? patched into the Japanese release thanks to fan demand and now we all benefit.

Some demon skills are still exclusive to their respec?tive demon families, though??.

Demons you want to ke??ep can be registered into a compendium. If you liked a demon as it was, yo?u can safely fuse that demon away and repurchase it from the compendium.

There is one big exception here, though.

Hey, listen! Your first fae friend is important.

As mentioned from the start of this post, Pixie The Fairy is your first ally in the game. She's also different from other pixies in the field, as a specific re??ward will be attached to her presence in your party later on.

After the early tutorial phase is over and you approach a construction site, Pixie will ask you whether you want to part ways or stick together. Ask her to stay with you for your first run through the game. Don't dismiss her in this fashion or from the summons available? in the stock menu.

Depending on how far you progress in the?? Labyrinth of Amala, there will come a time you are asked for the ally that has been with you from the very beginning. That moment is asking for Pixie or her direct demon fusion descendant, meaning you have two choices and only one way of tracking how to do this.

You can opt to ?keep Pixie in your stock list of demons, and you can also use this particular Pixie in Demon Fusion or even allow her to evolve, but? you need to keep that specific demon around. Whatever you chose to do, Pixie or her demon fusion descendants will always sit atop your summonable stock list.

If you fuse Pixie away, just write the result??ing demon's name down. If you use that resulting demon in fusion, keep tra?ck of the new name. Pixie's "DNA" will be in that demon. Do not dismiss them.

Dismissing Pix??ie or her descendants will not net you the reward. ??No other pixie or pixie descendant will do.

Do this right and your old friend will return ??and grow in power. She will be raised to level 80, gain her highest tier spells an?d healing magic, as well as be granted +30 to every stat. This makes her a better endgame ally than Raidou or Dante, and is a great way to boost other demons in fusion.

Endings

There here are six endings to Nocturne, known as "Reasons." Reasons are essentially replacements for the Law and Chaos alignments of other ??games in the series. Without getting into too many spoilers regarding all this, the forces of Law and Chaos have been sidelined by these Reasons.

The systems behind Reasons aren't as nuanced as SMT IV or Mass Effect. People presenting these R??easons will give you the opportunity to hear them out at least twice, so don't feel like you have to commit to that path upon the first meeting. It's the second opportunity where the path ??can be set.

You can side with Chiaki, Isamu, or Hikawa's Reasons if you want �or not. There are three more options. The path with the most content, however, pertains to exploring the mysteries of the candelabrum you, Dante, or Raidou, and the? Fiends have been given at the outset of entering the Vortex World. Some of these Fiends will need to be found, others will find you.

If you have heeded my advice on buffs? and exploiting weaknesses, you might survive them.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne is a strange journey, with a desolate atmosphere and gameplay that isn't above punching you in the throat. Ultimately, the game is only as hard you make it. Even the Merciful Difficulty will hold y?ou to the rules of the Press Turn System.

??So stay prepared and pace yourself. You're in for a hell of a good ti?me.

The post Fairy quick tips for S??hin Mega??mi Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster appeared first on Destructoid.

The demon who wore tennis shoes

Shin Megami Tensei is criminally underrated.

Look, I understand that it's rated. In JRPG circles, it's spoken of constantly, and fondly. But the name doesn't carry as much weight in general scenes as, say, Persona. That needs to change at some point.

And Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster is helping that happen.

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster (PC, PS4 [reviewed], Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Atlus
Released: May 25, 2021
MSRP: $49.99 each

Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster might have a fancy ne??w name, but it's still a very old-school JRPG. Let's start with the concept before you get too sucked into this 50-ish hour plus universe.

Like most SMT joints you'll start with an innocuous friend hang in Tokyo that goes horribly wrong. One minute you're chilling in a hospi?tal, the next, the "Conception" happens, and a ton of people die in the wake of a giant post-apocalyptic event. Oh, and you're turned into Demi-fiend by Lucifer. Yeah, it's metal as hell. All of this is augmented now with extra voicework in the remaster? (both in English and Japanese), which adds to the gravity or absurdity of some scenes.

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Nocturne ruled in 2003 and it rules now. The ominous and disheveled overworld overrun by demons is a bullet point on its own, but Nocturne is also so damn weird it sells itself. The game isn't afraid to get dark, but more importantly, it's not shy about getting freaky. Healing NPCs that berate you and tell you to "get out of their face," demon party members that occasionally talk to you and give you gifts, and prospective party members that dole out odd requests to fulfill, then tell you to piss off: it's the Nocturne way.

I never thought I'd say this before I played Nocturne for the first time; but I loved it when a demon took me for all I'm worth when trying to convince them to join me, then left forever. It's so wacky and wonderful. Fusing your demons into new ones and trying to corral them is addictive too. It's a little "catch 'em all" minigame where you use demons to recruit other demons, evolve them, and then hang out. There just aren't that many developers like Atlus around anymore: th?ese types of systems aren't really a priority for a lot of studios.

I was also surprised at how quickly I eased back into the battle system. There are enough choices here by the time you hit the three-hour mark or so that ensure combat isn't an auto-pilot affair?, especially when coupled with the classic JRPG weakness system (that actually does feel impactful). Player and enemy turns (which alternate in phases) are clearly marked on the HUD, so there's not a whole lot of guesswork and sudden NPC nonsense.

The game also encourages you to change up your build oft??en by ingesting various "Magatama (parasites)," which shape the way your character grows when leveling. It makes experimentation fun and eases the typical rote nature of grinding up lev??els, knowing that you can swap how you approach each situation constantly. Abilities are fairly open-ended as well, as you can use appropriate ones (like healing or status cleansing) out of combat.

That said you really need to know what you're getting into with Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster. It's a JRPG, but this remaster hasn't magically removed all of that old-school rot. Random battles can still be annoyingly frequent, and the camera is not nearly as smooth as it should be, which makes the remaster look more dated than it should on arrival. The menus can still be very unclear and unhelpful, especially when trying to ascertain party member info. Some touch-ups and icons would have b??een greatly appreciated.

There are some big quality of life upgrades though. The suspend feature (which lets you exit and save at any point) is lovely for? a game that sometimes has few and far between save poin?ts, and the merciful difficulty can be toggled on or off at any point. This subtle alteration allows players to best some of the tougher boss battles without throwing their controller across the room, or abandoning the game entirely after dumping 20 hours into it.

It's the sort of thing I wish existed back in the day?? when I was trying to convince people to not give up. Players often lament accessibility options, but in a game that requires so much time from players like this, it makes perfect sense. Or you can just ignore it, your call. Plus, the game still lets you naturally heal and save before big boss battles, while warning you that something big is about to happen behind that huge door. It can be tough, but fair.

Straight up, Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster could have used more technical improvements. The subtle mechanical changes make it a better game without fundamentally changing it �which is a great thing because Nocturne never needed to be changed. I just wish the "remaster" par??t had a little more oomph to sway people who might find it dat?ed.

If you can get over that aspect and want a JRPG with a ton of personality, this is one of the greatest of all time on tha??t front.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Shin Megami ?Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster appeared first on Destructoid.

Never underestimate the second phase

I never fully "got" the so-and-so fighting such-and-such mod craze, but that was before I came across this gem on the Bloodborne subreddit??? �it's a brawl between Lady Dimitrescu and Lady Maria.

This video was orchestrated by Garden of Eyes, and it truly goes places I wasn't expecting.

After watching all ten minutes ?of dueling, I'm expecting a mess of boss-vs.-boss mod vi?deos to flood my already pretty questionable YouTube recommendations feed. It's a worthy price to pay to see these two fandom-capturing personalities vie for our continued admiration. I have room in my heart for both.

...that's what I'd say if I wanted to play it safe. Go Lady Maria go!

The post This Lady D vs. Lady Maria fight in Bloodborne didn’t go the way I expected appeared first on Destructoid.

How the man from the Devil May Cry series made it back in

In case you weren't aware, Dante has a part of the Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne DNA for a long while. It spawned an entire cottage industry of "Featuring [x] from the [??x] series!" and was?? one of the most prolific gaming crossovers of all time.

I got to chat with Kazuyuki Yamai, director of the new HD Remaster, t?o see how it all went down, nearly two? decades later.

So with Dante being such an enduring legacy for the series, I wanted to get to the bottom of how this crossover became a thing all over again. Yamai fired off a real interesting tidbit, noting immediately that I " might b?e interested to know that including Dan?te was part of our original project proposal." Right on!

According to Yamai, there was "never any question as to whether we wanted him back." Knowing that fans would feel the same, Atlus "approached Capcom as soon as development for the remaster began." Capcom was "on board with the idea quickly," he says, and evidently Devil May Cry director Hideaki Itsuno reviewed the final content, "just like he did 17 years ago." Yamai says it felt like "everything came full circle." It's a different Dante overall too, as Yamai reminds us: "DMC fans may be particularly pleased by the fact that Nocturne’s Dante is a rare combination of both the “snarky Dante” from DMC1 and the “stoic Dante” from DMC2."

Yamai mused with us on how Dante actually influenced the future of the series, noting: "side from his ro?le in the story, Dante's biggest impact on Nocturne was probably causing Atlus to reflect on how stylish of a hero he was, and consider featuring a similar protagonist in the future." He says that this directly "set the tone" for Devil Summoner: Raidou Kuzunoha, and laughs while explaining "I now realize that Raidou has a lot of overlapping features with Dante, what with their cloaks, guns, and demon-killing swords."

But all of this almost didn't happen. Our conversation veered into more serious territory, when Yamai recalled that "when Nocturne was originally released, Atlus was actually undergoing quite the financial crisis—to the point where the consumer business division was on the verge of being shut down." He recalls that they "somehow managed to pull together during this trying time, and created an original game that acted as a shot in the arm for the company. Since then, each member of the original Nocturne team has graduated to a pivotal ro??le within Atlus."

It's likely my favorite overall Shin Megami Tensei game, and when confronted, Yamai wasn't ready to admit it, but he was flattered! He responds: "Well, I imagine some people might contend that other titles deserve that honor. But it does make me genuinely happy whenever people describe Nocturne?? this way, especially considering how this title set the foundation for defining Atlus's signature style."

I'm no stranger to looking to the past, and Yamai seems to feel the same after being asked how Atlus, as a whole, feels about Nocturne's legacy: "looking back, it feels like we’re a bunch of old space comrades who emerged victorious from a bygone alien invasion! That said, Nocturne is truly a one-of-a-kind game t?hat our team is deeply pro?ud of."

All these years later, I still agree.

The post Shin Megami Tensei III HD director: ‘Dante was part of our original project proposal’ appeared first on Destructoid.

A Mako ride with fewer bumps

Damn, it ??feels good to be back on the Normandy. 

Booting up the Mass Effect Legendary Edition for the first time last week, I was hit with waves of emotions. Dueling swathes of nostalgia and newfound wonder at seeing this, all this, in a single package slammed me over the head. I've played through the whole trilogy a couple times, and through the first game?? the most; yet booting it up here, in 2021, i??n the Legendary Edition, I couldn't help but feel a littl??e warm about jetting off in the Normandy once again.

I'm currently playing my way through the trilogy, and we'll be looking to do a more holistic review once I've seen the whole thing start-to-finish, as it's clear there are some changes littered throughout the saga. It's worth checking in now though, after I've seen credits roll in roughly 25 hours of the first Mass Effect, to see what the Legendary Edition is up to thus far. It's important to note that this is a remaster—so while the gameplay has been tuned and even some content adjusted, this is not a remake on the scale of Resident Evil 2 or Final Fantasy VII.

For those just learning about Mass Effect, it's the story of Commander Shepard, a trained and talented soldier in the human Alliance military. Humanity, as a race, is new to the galactic theater and has huge ambitions and much to prove to the other species inhabiting the Milky Way galaxy. A mission gone wrong spark??s a hunt for the rogue agent Saren, and Shepard takes command of the Normandy and its multi-species crew to hunt him down and stop an even greater threat in the process.

The most obvious difference starts at the character creator. Options for making your own Commander Shepard have been? expanded, and the default female Shepard appearance has been ported backwards from Mass Effect 3 so it can be consistent across the trilogy. It's nice to have a much better-looking Shepard out of the gate, especially one?? that feels like it carries across well into future games; I was surprised by how accurate my male Shep's face was when he ported into Mass Effect 2, even among the sticking imperfecti??ons you only start to notice after spending hours upon hours with your created commander.

Aesthetically, the new Mass Effect experience is pretty noticeably brighter, or at ?least has more light sources to work with. As folks have no??ted going into the Legendary Edition, this does wipe away some of the more interesting harsh-light contrasts of the original. There are parts that certainly feel flatter, less dramatic, and certainly overall different?? from their original portrayal.

Still, after a mild adjustment period, I found myself enamored with Sovereign rising over the skies of Eden Prime, or the distant storm clouds on Virmire. There's still a mood here, though it's fairly different in some places. Noveria's port is still a cold brutalist bastion of megacompanies dealing under the table, and Feros' skyway is the same perilous trip over the clouds it's been in the past. I didn't always enjoy watching the light wash away some of the creeping shadow that I felt made Mass Effect look like Mass Effect, but what's here i??s still graphically impressive, even if some uniqueness is molded away.

Faces are where it gets a little weird, t?hough. Some characters take pretty well to the updated models—Wrex in particular struck me, as did Garrus and Liara. Ambass?ador Udina, meanwhile, looks oddly out of place at times, and other humans can stick out, especially if they didn't receive commensurate glow-ups. I'm interested to see how these pan out over the trilogy, and?? whether it makes a character's growth over the years seem more natural and visible.

It's more than just cosmetic changes, too. I noticed some rooms had been alte?red, most notably the boss arena on Noveria, and others felt different purely by virtue of the remaster. It's a lesson in how a revision and sprucing up can make a place feel different, even when you've run through it a half-dozen times before.

The gameplay has also received some significant changes, mo??stly in combat and around the Mako. Most of these are fairly positive and don't do much to disrupt what made Mass Effect's combat so different from its successors; you'll still be picking up loot from bins and crates, swapping out mods, and saving up for the rare stocks at the C-Sec shop. Guns are now universally accessible, though you can only put points into your class' specializations. I will ??say, while the guns feel great to use and almost a hair more accurate and consistent than they used to be, they are also cacophonous; I had to tune the volume a bit after a while, because of how loud the assault rifles are.

As a longtime Mako defender, I'm honestly a little torn on the revisions. The new controls aren't horrendous, but I ??still found myself going back to the old controls, whether out of familiarity or just because they felt easier to strafe-and-shoot with. The obvious pluses are the boost, which makes traversal easier across the board, and the fact that you get experience for kills you get while driving the Mako.

Combined with the new levelling system, which s??mooths out the curve to try and get you closer to "maxed out" in a single playthrough, a lot of combat sections that were previously much tougher felt easier to handle this time around. Abundant autosaves also meant I wasn't losing huge progress when I died to a sudden barrage of rockets or landmines either. On a whole, Mass Effect feels a little bit easier, but that's really just due to some of its more?? unforgiving moments not having s?uch tough circumstances leading into them anymore.

There wasn't too much DLC to contend with in Mass Effect either. Pinnacle Station missed the cut due to some missing source code, so Bring Down the Sky is the one additional mission. It's still labeled on your map, just like other major quest planets, but its inclusion feels a little unceremonious. I'm interest??ed to see ?how the Legendary Edition packages the other games' DLC, especially as it has to deal with tough question??s about where and when is the right time to make those missions available to players.

It feels a little r??edundant to say that yes, this is still Mass Effect, in a lot of the ways you might expect it. Getting into and out of cover is still janky compared to the sequels, and it's overall a little slower and more methodical by comparison. The minimap can still be a little tough to discern, leaving me to reference the map fairly often. So far, it looks like some of t??he original game's exploits still exist in the new version. It's also got some goofy bugs and glitches in spots that will hopefully be cleaned up in the coming weeks, but yes, Mass Effect still has its idiosyncrasies that set it apart? from Mass Effect 2 and 3.

Still, a smoothing-out of the rougher parts of Mass Effect makes this easier to recommend to newcomers. The first game shows its age the most, but it's the ways in which it reaches for what the series will eventually come to master that make it i??nteresting. Its shot composition can still surprise; its branching paths and living worlds can still dra?g you right in. I'm serious when I say that I've played the first Mass Effect numerous times, and I still spent time chatting with the elcor ambassador ?when I first reached the Citadel.

Chasing Saren across the stars, following leads and finding yourself in terrible situations, contending with dilemmas wrought by corporate greed and unchecked experimentation with for??ces the universe still doesn't understand, is still great. Saren is honestly one of the series' best antagonists, and the introduction of Sovereign is still an incredible moment. Mass Effect is a game of big moments like this, interspersed with tiny stories set on moons and distant planets, where intrepid researchers and colonists continue to venture fort?h into the unknown, even if it will likely end in their own doom. It deals with complex intergalactic politics, and even Shepard's status as extra-judicial executor of the Council's will comes under interrogation fairly often.

The first Mass Effect could still use some TLC, mostly in cleaning up progress-halting or just annoying bugs. (I had one where my squadmates would suddenly refuse to follow me anywhere, which is pretty rude.) And ultimately, there are probably some folks?? out there who will still want to simply power through??. There aren't necessarily massive additions, new romances or levels, or anything so huge. This is an attempt at tuning up the parts of the first Mass Effect that could be closer to its other games, and it's solid enough?? to merit replaying, even if you still struggle with some of Mass Effect's more granular, RPG-centric bits.

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Chibi-Robo deserves my happy points

It was pouring down rain on Akihabara. The girls dressed as maids had an extra layer of transparent raincoat on, and I was happy to find that basically every shop carries cheap, plastic umbrellas for 500 yen. I was exhausted after a two-week trip around the country by rail, carrying a backpack roughly the size of a refrigerator. My back had a knot in it, I wasn’t sleeping well, and my constant nausea meant th??e only thing I could put in my stomach that night was a donut and a cup of tea from Mister Donut.

It was 2014, and most people near me couldn’t believe that I’d be traveling Japan alone. The idea seemed to come out of nowhere. I’d never traveled by myself before, it was a rare day that I wasn’t grappling with anxiety, and I’d spent most of my life as an extremely picky eater. I was a homebody, an introvert; hardly the worldly traveler. So what suddenly changed? Why did I make such an effort to see anot?her country?

It was a vid??eo game. One that n?ever saw release in North America.

Growing up, it wasn’t uncommon to see games come out in Japan that never made it to North American shores. It’s fortunately less of an issue today thanks to companies like Atlas, NIS, and Xseed who have allowed otherwise niche titles to make it to our hands. However, this wasn’t always the case. Doshin the Giant, Giftpia, Mother 3; there was so much?? kept out of ??grasp because I couldn’t understand the language.

Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! Happy Richie Osoujii! on DS was the ??crack that broke the mother’s back. First released in Japan in 2009, I finally gave up hope that it would ever see release here in North America after the 3DS had supplanted the DS in 2011. Frustrated, I decided enough was enough. I gathered some study material and began my attempt at learning the language.

Video games were my only connection to Japanese culture at the time. As nerdy as I was, I hadn’t ventured too far into the realm of anime outside whitewashed cartoons like Pokemon and Robotech. I didn’t know that much about the country, so it wasn’t until I began my endeavor into learning the language that I started to discover more about the culture. And I quickly fe?ll in love.

It started off innocently enough. I imported some Famicom games, got a subscription to Crunchyroll, and studied. Eventually I discovered Game Center CX, and that’s when things really took off. I watched Shinya Arino talk about the gaming days of yore, visit onsen and game centers, and eat strange snacks. ??Through studying, I found out about futons and tatami floors, vending machines on every corner, and a railway system that?? could take you anywhere. The bustling city streets, the omnipresent mountains, the quiet countryside. It was so familiar and comfortable, but completely flipped.

I wanted to go there almost immediately, but there were some barriers. You might expect that my anxiety or unfamiliarity with the language would be my first concerns, but no, it was my picky eating. I’m not sure I can accurately describe how picky I was, but it was legendary among my family. My tacos were meat and cheese, my sandwiches were turkey and mayo, and heaven help you if I see anything green on there. Looking back, I don’t know how I survived, bu?t somehow I navigated cuisine to find the most basic foods possible.

Getting over picky eating is difficult, but I was determined. I quickly introduced as much as possible into my diet that I could. Sushi, curry, vegetables; it was a mad rush to disconnect my brain from my digestive tract. “Put it in your mouth,” I&rs??quo;d tell myself. “Judge it off of taste and not ingredients.” For anyone who hasn’?t had the problem, that may sound ridiculous, but psychologically it was turmoil.

My plan for the trip was pretty loose. I wanted to cram as many places as possible into the two weeks as I could while still giving myself time to enjoy each setting; that ?was it. I had a list of places to see, then I just hopped the ocean with nothing but a giant backpack, a tablet, and a camera. You read that right, I didn’t have a phone. I booked a? handful of hotels at the offset, but many of the places I went to I booked the night before.

When I arrived in Tokyo after the 13-hour flight, the first thing I did was take a bath. The second thing I did was throw up, which would ??be the first time I discovered my anxiety had that symptom. That night, I woke up clinging to my bedsheets. Why? I’m afraid of heights and the room was on the 43rd floor of the? APA Hotel in Chiba. For whatever reason, my body became acutely aware of my altitude in the midst of my sleep and decided I needed to know at that moment.

I’m not going to bore you with the entire travel log, so I’ll summarize it for you. It went well! It was actually pretty smooth. As far north as Nagano, as far west as Fukuoka. There were hitches, but there weren’t any nights where I found myself sleeping in a train station. I won a refrigerator’s weight in crane machine prizes, saw a mass salaryman migration, managed to actually eat food that I didn’t recognize, and tried a lot of the vending machine fare. ??The important thing is that I got to see a lot of the country, had a lot of experiences, and left with all my fingers still attached. The goals of every traveler, I’m sure.

Which brings us back to Akihabara; the last night of my journey. I had two souvenirs in mind to bring home: Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! and a Wonderswan Crystal. I had checked shops all over the country to no avail, but finally I hit the jackpot in Tokyo’s leg?endary electronic district. I could finally go home accomplis?hed.

And since then I’ve wanted to go back, but my life is in a much different place now. Maybe one d?ay.

My Japanese studies have since fallen by the wayside. After all, I completed my goal, and Japanese-only releases are a lot rarer these days. Even Okaeri! Chibi-Robo! finally received a fan translation, so I can understand the entire thing and share it with my mom. I’d still like to become fluent in the language, but the?? motivation isn’t quite the same.

Maybe I had a petty reason for abruptly deciding to travel, but I don’t regret it at all. It gave me this confidence that I could overcome any of my issues and achieve my dreams if I ju??st put in the effort. That has proven not to be entirely true; anxiety sometimes wins, children. Still, I don’t think I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t learn that it’s ok?ay to take risks and just go for what I want. And all of this because a tiny robot game wouldn’t learn to speak my language.

The post How a tiny robot convinced me to visit Japan appeared first on Destructoid.

She's Electric

Work continues on boom-a-riffic shooter sequel Shadow Warrior 3. Developer Flying Wild Hog and publisher Devolver Digital continue to drop trailers and tidbits pertaining to the cataclysmic sequel, which is scheduled for release on ?PS4, PC, and Xbox One later this year.

The developers might have ou??tdone themselves this weekend, however, with the reveal of amazing new character Motoko — the last remaining sorceress of the Kumo Brotherhood. V??ery little has been revealed about this fascinating new villain, but we do know that she holds mastery over electrical elements and that she plays host to an explosive and opulent fighting arena, which is fittingly titled "Motoko's Thunderdome."

We also know that she looks fucking awesome. Look at her...

Whatever Motoko's ultimate role in Shadow Warrior 3 will be, her reveal immediately set my mind racing to an epic battle between the electrifying sorceress and Resident Evil Village's beloved vampire queen, Lady Dimitrescu. The most stylish boss characters in recent memory, both ??women command incredible power, fear, and respe??ct while also sharing a twisted passion for death and violence. I'd definitely like a front-row seat to see both of them settle the score in the Thunderdome. I probably wouldn't survive, but I'll take it.

Big Floppy Hat versus Rit??a Repuls?a Hairdo... Who's got your money?

The post Lady Dimitrescu had a great run, but Shadow Warrior 3’s Motoko is here now appeared first on Destructoid.

The odds are against them... and that's just the way they like it

Next week sees perhaps the most bombastic crossover in gaming history. On May 20, Sylvester Stallone's John Rambo and Bruce Willis' Die Hard hero John McClane will step away from the silver screen to bring their respective brands of rat-a-tat-tat mayhem to Activision's Call of Duty franchise, joining the rosters of CoD: Black Ops, CoD: Mobile, and uber-popular battle royale release CoD: Warzone.

The Reganized 1980s saw a (literal) boom in action movies, as a staunchly conservative populace fell completely and utterly in love with solving the world's — or just the neighborhood's — problems at the barrel of an Uzi. While some of these films were dang awful, we also received an abundance of stone cold classics, with films such as RoboCop, Total Recall, and Commando ??as ridiculous and as ??entertaining today as they ever were.

I think the Call of Duty franchise is sitting on a veritable gold mine with its "'80s Action Stars" crossover event. Presented for your consideration are a further five stars of the decade taste forgot, without whom Call of Duty: Warzone will never, ever reach its full potential. No need to thank me, Activision, just pay ??me the 1600 COD Points I purchased last month that never arrived in my account.

1) Pvt. Jenette Vasquez - Aliens (1986) - Jenette Goldstein

While Sigourney Weaver's star turn as Ellen Ripley is unquestionably one? of the greatest screen roles of the 1980s, James Cameron's sci-fi sequel had more than its fair share of memorable characters — from Bill Paxton's nervy Pvt. Hudson to Paul Reiser's sleazeball executive Carter Burke??.

For myself and many fans, however, Jenette Goldstein's badass brick shithouse Pvt. Vasquez stole the show with her cold-as-ice look, fearless attitude, and that double-handed Smart Gun. Ready for war and nigh-on unstoppable, if Call of Duty characters had tiers, Vasquez would be in the S+. When the shit hits the fan, you want her in your squad. LET'S? ROOOOOCCCK!

(Fun fact: Goldstein also portrays John Connor's foster mom in Terminator 2: Judgement Day &mdash?; this still surprises movie fans everywhere, decades after the latter film's release.)

2) Paul Kersey - Death Wish 3 (1985) - Charles Bronson

Perpetually bored-looking star Charles Bronson was 64 years old when he shot this second sequel in his iconic vigilante series. The advancing years posed no concern for sleazoid hack Michael Winner, who thrust an ANTI-AIRCRAFT GUN into Bronson's tired hands and told him to get on with it. Vigilante Paul Kersey, now rocking a body count pushing triple-figures, would slip into the CoD universe with relative ease, having spat death from the barrel of a huge array of explosive weaponry in the Death Wish series' continuing war against working-class minorities crime. 

Scorestreaks would include frequent editing so he doesn't have to run very far, a rocket launcher wrapped in the American flag, and Martin Balsam as a neighbor who turns up to provide constant exposition. Co-op potential would see a second player following Kersey around, literally carrying the ammo for his machine gun for him. 

3) John Nada - They Live (1988) - Roddy Piper

Before the fine work of Dave Bautista (as well as some of Dwayne Johnson's latter roles) nobody gave pro-wrestlers any big screen props — with good-fucking-cause Santa With Muscles. But "Rowdy" Roddy Piper put in a great turn for John Carpenter's sci-fi horror/cultural satire They Live. Piper's down-and-out John Nada has the burden of insight, having discovered that Earth has been invaded by a disguised alien force, and must take proactive steps, mostly at the business end of a 12-gauge, to set the populace free from it?s unaware state of slavery.

Packed with famous witticisms and sporting great charisma, the late Roddy Piper would have been a fine addition to the Call of Duty universe. Melee strikes would activate six-minute fist-fights, and Nada's secondary weapon would be? special sunglasses which allow him to see which players are using aimbots. (Spoilers: It's everybod??y).

4) Rambo Gizmo - Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990) - As Himself

Remember when the adorable Mogwai from Joe Dante's comedy-horror donned a scarlet headband and started firing flaming arrows? You don't, because while we've all seen Gremlins multiple times, we've all only seen Gremlins 2 once (apart from Destructoid's own Occams... It's pretty much his favo??rite movie). Anyway, Rambo Gizmo has the Combat Bow Scorestreak as his primary weapon — complete with pencil and Wite-Out blueprint — and also has the electrical ammo mod as standard.

Gremlins 2: The New Batch is actually from 1990, not the '80s. But both Gizmo and Rambo are from the '80s. Al??so it's my list and, besides, you probably skipped to the c?omments ages ago.

5) Johnny 5 when he was a punk that one time - Short Circuit 2 (1988) - Some puppet

Johnny 5 is ALIVE. I don't like this movie. Ally Sheedy didn't come back: Strike One. And that bit where the mafia beat Johnny 5 half-to-death was really disturbing. Then Johnny adopts "Mexican Gangster" dialect, which is surprisingly only the second most racist element of this movie. Anyway, put him in Call of Duty or something, he can have a laser and can scream horribly when you kill him, traumatizing generations of children scant years after the frightening robot in Superman III... Actually, put her in CoD.

Honorable Mentions: Jack Burton (Big Trouble in Little China, 1986) Snake Plissken (Escape From New York, 1981), Lt. Gabriel Cash (Tango & Cash, 1989), Dean Proffitt (Overboard, 1987).

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Save up lots of Lei, max out a gun with The Duke, and back out to the main menu without saving to unlock infinite ammo in the Extra Content Shop

Resident Evil Village players have discovered a sneaky trick to make the infinite ammo unlocks in the post-game Extra Content Shop less of a grind. Before I get into the convoluted setup, it's worth mentioning that this method works best if you've got a late-game save, ideally right before the final?? boss. It's also best if you have lots of Lei on hand�or the ability to sell everything to earn a fortune.

Before I get into the trick, you need to know how the infinite ammo unlocks work in Village.

So, once you beat the main story, you'll unlock the Extra Content Shop. Like in prior Resident Evil games, t?here are challenges, some of which are tied to achievements/trophies and Mercenaries mode, and some of which are feats?? like beating bosses super fast, getting particular weapon kills, and so on.

You can clear these post-game challenges across any of your past or future Village runs to earn account-wide completion points. Then, in the Extra Content Shop, you ??can spend your CP to permanently unlock special weapons like the Handcannon and even infinite ammo capabilities.

Still with me? The special weapon unlocks are self-explanatory �note: some won't show up until you clear harder difficulties �but the infinite ammo feature is a bit different. To even have the option to buy infinite ammo for a gun using CP, you need to fully upgrade and fully customize that specific weapon with The Duke using Lei. This means you need to have all attachments and max?ed-out stats.

The step-by-step process to lessen the infinite ammo grind

Now, here's where the trick comes in. Instead of running through Village a bunch of times just to earn enough Lei to max out your f??avorite guns so that you can buy infinite ammo, you can be more efficient:

• With a late-game save â€?or any save file in which you have a significant amount of Lei at your disposal â€?sell everything except the gun you want to have infinite ammo.
• Spend the hundreds of thousands of Lei you need to max out the gun with The Duke and then buy all of its weapon attachments (where applicable). Certain attachments, like the Wolfsbane's Long Barrel, can only be found out in the world, so plan accordingly.
• Next, back out to the main menu without saving. If you did everything right, the Extra Content Shop should now (permanently) sell infinite ammo for your weapon of choice.
• You can go back into your "ideal save file" and repeat this process with other weapons. When everything is said in done, you'll still have all of that Lei in your wallet.
• (To save time, you can just hit restart in the pause menu once a weapon is maxed out; you don't need to go back to the main menu for the infinite ammo listing to show up.)

_{An example of a fully upgraded weapon. You'll need to fill in all of the Power, Rate of Fire, Reload Speed, and Ammo Capacity notches, as well as all of the attachment slots before you can unlock the infinite ammo listing in the Extra Content Shop.}

This method lets you make the most of your Lei, and while it has limitations �and most people probably won't need or even want infinite ammo for everything �hey, it's nice to have options. Of course, you'll still need enough CP to actually buy the infinite ammo. There's no getting around it.

In other words, this trick is more about efficiency than letting you bypass the whole bonus shop. Thankfully, you can leverage multiple saves? (and reloads) to beat chall??enges and earn CP in a similar fashion. If it's not too late, try to place strategic "extra saves" that you can revisit to grind 'em out.

For instance, for the Make It Rain challenge ("Get a t??otal of 8,100,000 Lei in the story"), you can sell all of your stuff to The Duke and hit restart from the pause menu, over and over, to accumulate wealth.

Which guns should you deck out with infinite ammo first?

As for which Resident Evil Village infinite ammo weapon you should prioritize, a lot of players have pointed to the absurdly strong S.T.A.K.E. magnum, but it's pricey as hell to max out. Instead, I went with the Dragoon first. Chris Redfield's "favorite" assault rifle is plenty powerful on Hardcore difficulty. On that note, don't rush into Village of Shadows �it can be a struggle even with some of these over-the-top unlocks. Good luck!

_{[Thanks for the no-nonsense bonus shop overview, Ruba Jaiousy]}

The post Resident Evil Village has a trick to m?ake th?ose infinite ammo unlocks easier appeared first on Destructoid.

It's more Valhalla, for better or worse

You want more Assassin's Creed Valhalla?

Well you got it! And not much else.

Assassin's Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids (PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X [reviewed])
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Publisher: Ubisoft
Released: May 13, 2021
MSRP: $24.99 (also part of the $39.99 season pass)

Assassin's Creed DLC has historically been an interesting mix of the sacred and the profane: in a literal sen??se.

Some of it leaned heavily into the mythical elements of the series, perhaps best shown in the Atlantis episodes for Odyssey: whisking us away to a completely new biome that almost feels like we've been transported to a sequel. Other stories are more grounded, and have a penchant for presenting a duller blade. Wrath of the Druids is a clever mix of both, but never really rises to the occasion of eith?er threshold.

Wrath of the Druids immediately plops players into a medium-sized Ireland map following a short intro embarkation questline. We're given a stable connection to the zone very quickly (Eivor's convenient cousin is a regional ruling king) and the main gist is submitted for your approval: a conflict between druids and the crown. So, more crown problems! When will these Valhalla NPCs ever learn to cede some power every now an??d then.

Ireland, as a gamified map, is a decent size. It benefits from not being so large that's it's a slog to get through, but it is rather samey from an environmental standpoint. Its loughs (lakes) give it some character, but for the most part, the flatland doesn't really stand out, and I was constantly wondering if I had been somewhere before. It's still beautiful though, just staring out into the sky and vistas, a testament to Valhalla's unsung art st??yle, which often oozes more personality than its cast.

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The DLC itself plays out like a side story from a core region in the main game. That works both to its benefit, while detracting from the narrative's personality within the confines of this new untethered region. Wrath of the Druids' inherent disconnect from the main game isn't strong enough to always stand on its own two feet, though it gets by, and a few of the new characters are worth following through to the end. Similarly, Wrath of the Druids' new mechanical additions don't ??diverge too heavily, with the exception of a few abilities like the power to summon an Irish wolfhound into combat.

So about that fantastical angle? It kinda-sorta feeds into the idea of what I'm calling "Druid Drugs." Entering areas (and scripted locations) with green mist allows for the conceit of unique character models, including horrifying creatures that are basically just Batman fear toxin hallucinations. These sequences are plentiful enough without overdoing it, and are some of the best portions of the DLC. I love how they don't get too over the top, with one spoilery exception near the end. In what is becoming a theme of AC DLC, there's also ??a new secret society to uncover, albeit a very shallow one with tertiary motivatio??ns.

If you're looking for length, War of the Druids should last you around 10 hours for the critical path, with five-ish more after that to tie up all the loose ends, finish up the busywork, and conquer all the sidequests. I found myself wanting more: more druid stuff, more interesting characters, and a more diverse region. A lot of the subplots therein could have been substituted for any quest on Valhalla's "mainland."

Wrath of the Druids is simply more Assassin's Creed Valhalla, with a few added twists and some of the same baggage. The benefit of not swinging for the fences is that you're getting more AC comfort food, even if it falls far short of a home run. For 25 bucks, you might need something? a little more than that.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Assassin’s Creed Valhalla: Wrath of the Druids appeared first on Destructoid.

A frigid new standalone story that can't quite fill the original game's flippers

Subnautica was a surviva??l game for people who thought they were sick of survi??val games.

Not only did it stand out in the genre with its one-of-a-kind alien water world, it also nailed a sense of genuine chart-your-own-course exploration. I felt like I had to work for every discovery, whether it was some bizarre biome or a new tool that would help me dive deeper, but it never felt like work. The game even had a pretty compelling sci-fi mystery to unra??vel, complete with an actual ending to reach.

In my 2018 review of the original Subnautica, I suggested that it might be the "best underwater game ever made." I stand by that today. Free-diving, recklessly piloting a submarine, stomping around the seafloor in a Prawn Suit �it felt fantastic to get to know Planet 4546B back then, and it stil?l does now.

Three years later, after another Steam Early Access push, Unknown Worlds has put the finishing touches on Subnautica: Below Zero.? Version 1.0 is done, and I'm gla?d I had enough restraint to hold off.

Subnautica: Below Zero (PC [reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Unknown Worlds
Publisher: Unknown Worlds
Released: May 14, 2021
MSRP: $29.99

Subnautica: Below Zero takes a lot of cues from its predecessor, and there are even story threads across both games, but you don't need to have played Subnautica (though I recommend it). You can think of this full game as a complementary yet standalone experience. It's sort of like a condensed, refined, and more character-driven take on the original Subnautica, set in a frigid corner of the same planet.

The events of this space-faring story are once again set in motion with a crash landing, but this time, it was intentional �sort of. You play as Robin, a xenologist who sneaks onto Planet 4546B to learn the truth about her big sister Sam only to find out that this isn't just some oceanic planet with freaky ??little cute pe?nguins roaming around. Ancient aliens, a nigh-unstoppable disease, and a power-hungry corporation all fit into the bigger picture. Before her accident, Sam had been working in an icy region known as Sector Zero. Was it really negligence? That's the official line from Alterra, anyway.

Compared to the first game, the story in Subnautica: Below Zero has less of a "lone survivor" feeling, although you won't meet many char?acters face-to-face, and there are definitely still lengthy periods where you'll soak in the chilled-out music and ambient wildlife noises rather than have full-on conversations or fire up audio logs. That said, Robin speaks her mind; she isn't a silent protagonist.

I thought the quiet adventurer approach worked well enough last time given the way Subnautica's narrative slowly came into focus piece by piece by scanning ruins and artifacts, but for Below Zero's more immediate and personally motivated story, there had to be back-and?-forth. Robin takes everything in stride, and while she's determined as hell, she m??ostly keeps it light. The voice acting is a step up in general, to the point where I didn't want to skip any audio recordings I found in the world. I particularly liked Robin's banter with an entity known as Al-An during the back half. No spoilers!

I'll say this much: I felt enough of a push to want answers about Sam's fate. And I had enough of a drive to collect every sca??ttered resource needed for Al-An's questline, which culminates in a fitting ending.

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Mechanically, Below Zero is very similar to Subnautica �something I'm totally cool with. Limited oxygen and intense pressure still heavily factor into your ability to explore the wider region beyond the safety of? your life pod, as do all of the tools and playthings you'll gradually unlock. It's such a fun loop??.

Compared to other survival games that can get bogged down with boring resource fetching, I've always appreciated the way the Subnautica series makes these chores feel entertaining and, if you know where to look, fairly quick. There's a logic and consistency to this ecological world. A big part of these games ?is learning your surroundings from memory. In other words, once again, there's no map. That might sound obtuse; in practice, it??'s rewarding. The sooner you figure out where each biome is and what makes it distinct, the sooner you can establish a more permanent pad and craft vehicles for longer expeditions.

Below Zero reuses many key items like the Scanner, Repair Tool, and Habitat Builder, and also adds a few new playthings like the Thumper, a device that will immediately make sense to Dune fans. In terms of pure helpfulness, the handheld Mineral Detector is a godsend when you know you're in the right area for a resource but you can't quite?? spot it. I kind of adore the Air Bl??adder, a sort of "oh shit I'm about to drown" emergency option that launches you toward the surface. The tool gets phased out once you have a large oxygen tank and a submersible Seatruck, but early on, I used it every chance I got.

Above all, Below Zero nails the incredible otherworldly landscape and creature designs that made the first Subnautica such a treasure. From lush kelp forests to deep blue jelly fields to purple hydrothermal vents and unsettling cave systems, the scenery is begging to be fully explored. The wow factor never lets up, either. Even as someone who went hard on the last game, I was? consistently caught off-guard.

The majority of the Below Zero takes place underwater, so it makes sense that there would be a remixed vibe to your toolkit as well as some omissions like the hulking Cyclops submarine. That didn't bother me, but it's worth pointing out. Generally speaking, this game is more compact, with little to no wasted space, and it's a bit less scary. If the dark depths of Subnautica freaked you out a little too mu??ch, I think you'll have a smoother time navigating these waters. There's a too-deep-for-comfort dive that's equivalent to the Lost River and Lava Lakes trek, but it's not nearly as high-stakes or paranoia-inducing.

Then there's the greatly expanded on-foot gameplay, which is where Below Zero's snowy theme and story are the strongest. As much as I dig the wintery ambiance, the ice-covered areas are cooler to look at than they are to play. I kept trying to foolishly rush through them, which only got me more turned around. My advice for the snowy areas is to take your time to truly understand their?? winding layouts, and, if nothing else, leave some well-placed beacons so you can find your way back to the ocean.

In theory, I like the idea of needing to keep my temperature up by ducking into caves during a horrible storm, deploying a Thumper to keep the pesky Snow Worms at bay, and zipping across the Arctic Spires on my Snowfox hover-bike. I also love the idea of piloting a remote-control Spy Pengling that can blend in with the natural ?world. The drones can squeeze into tunnels to grab resources, and bravely snatch a handful of Snow Stalker fur. These land-based zones should be high points. Instead, they fall short.

When it comes down to it, there's no topping the freedom of underwater movement with the Seaglide, the Seatruck, or even the Prawn Suit once you've gotten the jump jet and grappling arms. Again, the Snowfox looks neat, it just doesn't feel as effortless to pilot �but I stuck with it to see Sam's story through to the en??d. In an otherwise excellent game, some of these ou??t-of-water areas really stand out.

So much of Subnautica: Below Zero is excellent, though. If you enjoyed Subnautica, yo?u've gotta play this too �it's beautiful. And if you tried the first game but couldn't handle ??the scary ocean vibes, you might fare better this time. All in all, I'd say it was 15 hours mostly well spent, and now that I'm done with the story, I can concentrate on styling my main base and building a few zany outposts in precarious places.

Even if there are a lot of shared elements between the two games and the ground-based traversal isn't everything it's cracked up to be, Below Zero's greater focus on character-driven storytelling lands well and this standalone adve??nture captures the unrivaled magic of underwater exploration all over again.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Subnautica: Below Zero appeared first on Destructoid.

You gotta love low cost curves

Magic: Arena is still rolling along with a heavy focus on standard, but over the ?past few years, Wizards of the Coast has added several classic modes to help extend the life of the? game.

"But what happens to my old cards" is always a question people ask in digital games (where resell value is zilch), and with the Historic format, Arena had an answer. Allowing folks to use their old stuff has been a boon for the game, especially as Wizards has steadily added cards in v?i??a their "Historic Anthology" system.

With the fifth set coming to the game, we were given five exclusive cards to show off. Hailing from sets including, but not limited (ha) to Dragons of Tarkir, Innistrad, Scourge, and New ?Phyrexia, this pack adds a new wrinkle into historic play, all with very low cost c?urves.

I'll just take a second to say how much I appreciate cards like Dromoka's Command, which offer up multiple choices and decision points, especially at instant speed. Four, no less! And I'm a huge sucker for permanent global enchantments like Intangible Virtue, plus the potential for Stifle can get really nuanced in some Historic play. And Phyrexian mana (found on Vault Skirge) is....interesting!

It's a fun bunch!

Dromoka's Command

Intangible Virtue

Stifle

Vault Skirge

The post Exclusive: Here’s a look at some upcoming Magic: Arena Historic Anthology V cards appeared first on Destructoid.

Look at this photograph

It's still a bit jarring that there has been two decades between Pokémon Snap games. The first was a highlight in any Nintendo 64 collection; it was a quick, fast, instantly understandable game. Hop in a buggy, roll through the wilds of the Pokémon world, and photograph as much amb?ient Pokémon wildlife as you can, then laugh as Professor Oak throws your photos in the trash.

New Pokémon Snap feels both old and new. There are new sights to see, new Pokémon to photograph, and new tools to encourage Pokémon into more interesting reactions or interactions. The gra?phics and effects are obviously much nicer, and there is more happening on-screen t?han the N64 could've handled.

Yet it's still the same old Pokémon Snap. It is ?an on-rails photography experience that encourages multiple attempts and determination to nail shot after shot. I still spent a fair amount of time just tuning in the right trajectories to lob app- excuse me, "Fluffruit" at wild Pokémon. I'd take a shot I swore was gorgeous enough to hang in the Poke-MoMA, and the professor would say the subject wasn't centered or large enough and give me a paltry bronze rating.

Same as it ever was, New Pokémon Snap is still a Snap game. It's also a very good one.

New Pokémon Snap (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: April 30, 2021
MSRP: $59.99

For this photographic outing, you take on the role? of a male or female photography assistant, setting out as the field researcher for Professor Mirror. Your crew is looking into the Lental Region, and the curious Illumi??na phenomenon that causes some Pokémon to glow under the right circumstances.

Of course, learning more means strapping you into a N?EO-ONE buggy and sending you off on your merry way through jungles, mountains, reefs, deserts, and a literal volcano. During?? your trek through dangerous locales, you'll be photographing Pokémon, both during the day and, this time around, at night, too.

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There are plenty of "tracks," each with a pretty wide swathe of Pokémon from across the generations thus far, but the design of them is really fantastic. Each route is an unbroken track with a f??ew branches, allowing for different paths or ending points, and every track has its own Research Level too. By earning points through photos, you can bump up the Research Level, which adds more Pokémon to the area and new potential for shots.

It's in these repeat runs that New Pokémon Snap shows its appeal as not just a fantasy wildlife photography sim, but a theme park ride. Tracks have new details to notice each time you embark, with even more thanks to the Research Levels that vary up the Pokémon and events that can happen. Discrete sections are carved out to signpost progression and sightlines both help direct the player where they should look and hide what secrets might be right around the bend. New Pokémon Snap feels l??ike an amusement park at times, full of slow rides through a bunch of different biomes and various times of day, and tons of experiences to snap away at.

The photography is as solid as it's ever been. While notching up the camera sensitivity is an absolute must, the simple act of photographing fascinating images for your Photodex is still incredibly fun. Every Pokémon is moving around and reacting to its environment, and it's clear when they've been set up in ways that let them potentially inte?ract with each other, leading to incredible photo ops. Still, the best are the unplanned coincidences; my favorite photos we??re ones where I caught a little moment almost by accident.

Of course, there's been decades of development in the realm of photo modes between the Nintendo 64 and the Switch. New Pokémon Snap keeps up with the tim?es by adding both a photo process?ing suite, letting you alter and futz around with pictures after they've been graded, and a suite of filters and stickers for sharing online. Also, sharing online! While I've never felt compelled to fool around with the editing tools too much, the ability to share your photos in an online album with captions and stickers is a lot of fun.

There's also a new set of tools to use in your pursuit of rare Pokémon behaviors. The scan function can highlight points of interest and act as a 'say chees?e' button, the Pokéf?lute is now essentially an MP3 player on your camera, and Fluffruit serve double-duty for both luring and pelting Pokémon.

Illumina orbs are the big change, letting the player either light up a Pokémon with an incandescent glow or illuminate Crystabloom plants, which can kickstart special events. They're interesting and make for some pret??ty pictures, and ultimately the orbs themselves were fine.

The Illumina Pokémon, on the other hand, are a bit frustrating. New Pokémon Snap adds special "Illumina Spots," which are special courses centered around particular Pokémon. The goal is to light them up with the Illumina orbs and then snap pics of them, but while this starts out as an interesting novelty, it becomes a weird rail-shooter sequence as the game goes on, as you have to anticipate their moves and overcome obstacles in order to get the best shot possible. They'r?e long, very repetitive, and dreadfully slow until you get the boost upgrade. I'm eager to delve back into the regular courses, but it'll probably be a while before I go back to the Illumina spots.

These Illumina sections also exacerbate something that may irk those who are coming to the Snap spin-offs for the first time: repetition. Just like the original, New Pokémon Snap is a "run-based?" type of game. You hop in the buggy, roll along the track, get photos, and take them to the professor. An evaluation rubric then breaks down your photos, both?? into star quality (seemingly based on overall score) and number of stars which, best I can tell, meant the rarity of the action the Pokémon was performing.

The score goes up based on the Pokémon's pose, how it's framed, whether there are other Pokémon in the frame, and more. More points means better? photos, which add to your research ranking and act as new high marks to clear. While I rarely had to run a course more than a couple times to progress in the story, there are a few points where you'll need to either grind some score, or suss out one of the ambient "puzzles."

Setting up Pokémon to perform certain interactions in a Rube Goldberg machine made of monsters is another hallmark of Pokémon Snap, and New Pokémon Snap has a good few. It's rare one required for progression is difficult to find—the one exception being an odd one in the reef area—but there are a few hidden legendary Pokémon to discover, both during the narrative and after the credits roll, as well as some rare photo opps. Sadly, it seems like there aren't any evolution puzzles this time around; at points it felt like the game was taunting me with a Magikar??p, poised in a spot that should've let me knock them into something and watch a Gyrados emerge. It's a strange absence, given how well-known the N64's evolutions were.

After completing the brief campaign in a matter of anywhere from 8 to 12 hours, snapping shot?s and hunting secrets comprises the bulk of the gameplay. There are challenges to nudge you along towards some of the more esoteric interactions, and snagging every Pokémon is a challenge I'm still undertaking, but this is a game about snapping pictures on courses and then improving on?? them.

Yet New Pokémon Snap's dedication to maintaining the winning formula of the original is what I love so much about it. It doesn't matter if you have to repeat courses again and again if they're as good as New Pokémon Snap's, and it's okay to fiddle with some unwieldy mechanics if it means some really cool snaps to share with friends. This entry existing in the age of social media is a huge boon too; rather than rushing off to Blockbuster, I'm eagerly sharing my favorit?e pics to social m??edia.

New Pokémon Snap is a sign of the times in that way, but while it's adapted to the age of Instagram, it hasn't lost its soul in the process. This is the Pokémon Snap you remember, with a few additions that don't always hit as resoundingly, but the foundation has been well-kept. It was a blast to spend a weekend just blasting through every ride this park had to offer, a??nd they're varied enough that I know I can g??o back today, tomorrow, and months from now, and still find new things to photograph, new interactions to fool around with, and a good time to be had.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: New Pokémon Snap appeared first on Destructoid.

Resident Evil..............eight

How did we get here?

It feels like just yesterday that I rode to the store (RIP Power Video) to rent the original Resident Evil, which transported me to a magical haunted mansion for an entire weekend. From there Capcom slowly ramped up the action and ham to the utter point of excess in RE6. People couldn??'t take it anymore! I think some of you drew the line at Wesker's anime son punching zombies.

Sure enough, Capcom got back to their roots with the spooky Resident Evil 7, and it paid off, big time, as it's the most successful entry to date, and their overall second-best-selling game ever. Village brings back some of that lovely Christmas glazed ham and pairs it with the first-person horror of RE7. But mostly in a good way.

Resident Evil Village (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Stadia, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Capcom
Publisher: Capcom
Released: May 7, 2021
MSRP: $59.99

Like RE7, Village pulls a few unconventional storytelling tricks to let you know that it's not your typical Resident Evil.

The storybook intro (which has tonal throughputs that reverberate throughout the narrative) is lovely. The following scene is...without spoiling anything (it will be spoiled somewhere?, as this was one of the few twists we could talk about in the review), is a little crazy and intense. Suffice to say, Ethan gets royally screwed yet again, but this time the stakes are a little higher, an?d the mystery is a little more enticing.

That's not to say it's a "grand scale" per se. The "village" is actually a medium-sized region, complete with a towering castle and some adjacent waterways and a few other locations. It's not a silly globe-hopping adventure like some entries, and it's honestly not even as expansive as RE4, from an "amount of ground covered" standpoin??t. It's a touch above intimate, ??which is a great middle ground for newer and older fans.

It's also a great marriage of camp and horror. There are shades of Resident Evil 7 lurking beneath the surface, as the mystery is fresh and new, but there are also giant vampire countesses; amid some extremely fan-servicey breadcrumbs that the previous entry didn't quite dare to tread on. There's at least two "what the hell" moments that will get people talking in some fashion (where are my RE lore nuts?).

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It doesn't completely eschew the heightened horror feel either. It's primarily an unsettling slower burn, with some jump scares thrown in for good measure. Similar to how I had to rip off the VR helmet with RE7 to catch a breather, I had to take off my PS5 headphones for RE8 a f??ew times. The sound design, particularly the ambient noises like rattling and clanking, is top-notch.

Speaking of, it doesn't impact this review in any way, but I do miss the VR option! Looking up at 'ol Annie in Vader Immortal was extremely cool, and the same could have been said for squaring up against Dimitrescu, the aforementioned vampire. I'm not just bringing up VR to wax nostalgia over RE7 though: the first-pe??rson style still works without it.

The tension and sense of claustrophobia are still present, as are the memorable "hallway battles," and plenty of open-air 360-degree fights. Particularly early on it does feel very guided/scripted, and many of the puzzles are extremely light fare and quite a few are optional. Depending on the area you're in, it has that "spokes on a wheel" illusion of exploration; and the top item on my Village wishlist is for a few o?f those zones to? be more expansive.

A lot of Village could be annoying and gamey, but it isn't. It's just enough of a systems alteration to not piss people off. Crafting still feels extremely optional, only there if you want to double down on using a certain gun (with the power to create more ammo) or if you need a boost through a boss battle with a healing item. The shop is also an interesting mix of old and new school RE, providing upgrades like RE4 without going too overboard. You can even buy more inventory blocks to play storage Tetris with!

It took me around eight hours to see the end, but like most RE games, it's worth the replays, as you attempt to comb through all of the collectibles and secrets. There are four difficulty settings, as well as tons of little extras to play around with: the classic new shop with random goodies like infinite ammo toggles, new equipment, figures,? and concept art. Then there's Mercenaries. It's back again!

I'll say this: although it's not going to blow the doors off of any old school Mercenaries fan, I'm glad it's in, at least. It's a very arcadey diversion in the sense that you're trying to rack up points, then either go for broke and clear out stages or head for the exit as soon as ?you hit a very clear "kill goal." Time, combos (taking out enemies in succession), and a few other factors dictate your score, and you unlock new stages with an A rank or above (with bon?uses doled out for other ranks).

I wish it offered full multiplayer and was as elaborate as Raid Mode, but in any case, I view it as an extra, and I'm glad we didn't just have to settle for whatever Re:Verse ends up becoming. Also, completing challenges in Mercenaries mode provides points to unlock stuff in the main mode, which is a nice little two-wa?y street.

I don't think Resident Evil Village is going to be very divisive per se: I suspect the reaction will be generally positive. But it's going to definitely spark some conversations as to how it stacks up against the current darling of RE7, and it has a long hill to climb to match its success financially. As for me, I think it complements it quite ??well, and then some.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Resident Evil Village appeared first on Destructoid.

The most frightening enemy in Resi history

It had to happen at some point. But so soon?

Hot on the heels of yesterday's Barney the Dinosaur mod, the Resident Evil Village homebrew community has taken its creativity one step too far, birthing what one of the most disturbing and frightening images in the storied history of Capcom's survival horror franchise. Curse you, Crazy Potato, for unleashing the "Count Theodora" mod, which transforms the beautiful-yet-unsettling face of Lady Alcina Dimitescu into that of Resident Evil's trademark stalker: Thomas the Tank Engine.

Be afraid... Be very afraid.

This unholy abomination follows on from the terror train's previous appearances in Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, where the dead-eyed, grinning choo-choo replaced Mr. X and Nemesis respectively. But this Village appearance is by far Thomas' most upsetting and skin-crawling to date. The worst part is that Resident Evil Village isn't even officially out yet. So Lord knows what further monstrosities will creep the boa??rds of the House of Dimitrescu come release.

That said, I really hope we get Puppet Dimitrescu. I'm in no doubt that we will.

Resident Evil Village launches May 7 on PlayStation, Xbox, and PC. You can check out Chris Carter's review right here.

The post Horrific Resident Evil Village mod sees Thomas the T??ank Engine return as Lady Dimitrescu appeared first on Destructoid.

'Go home and be a family man'

It's 2021. Street Fighter V has been out for five years, it's receiving its final season of content, and a sequel appears to be on the horizon. What is it like to enter its hi??ghly competitive scene in this environment? Is it populated mostly by veterans who will absolutely destroy? you? Or is there a healthy base of beginners? Here's what I learned on my journey through the ranks. 

For a little background, I'm not unfamiliar with fighting games. I've played plenty casually and got semi-serious about Dragon Ball FighterZ for a bit, but Street Fighter is a different beast. The unique combo timing and gr?ound-based neutral game were foreign concepts to me. I had played it a bit on launch in 2016 but left due to not really understanding the game and a lack of content.

Credit to Capcom though, they have improved the game immensely since then. The new content and mechanics they've added have been stellar. Street Fighter V is in a great spot and the com??munity is the happi?est it has been with the game in a long while. 

But what is it like to actually rank up in 2021? Well, the good news is that, according to data compiled by Reddit user LimitlessCSGOTV, more than half of the players are in Rookie or Bronze. These numbers include inactive users as well but the pla??yer base seems to be healthy. 

The first ranks, Rookie and Bronze, are practically the same rank as it pertains to skill. G??enerally, the players in this rank have subpar fundamentals and are making poor risk/reward decisions. You may run into the odd person that knows a combo or two, but past that,? their game knowledge is low.

I don't mean this as admonishment, they're learning. You have to crack some eggs to make an omelette after all. But mistakes are mistakes ?and you can rise through these ranks quite quickly by taking advantag??e of them. These players will constantly whiff heavy buttons, leaving them vulnerable. They'll sweep frequently, allowing you to counter sweep or even get a bigger punish depending on spacing. I highly recommend learning a small punish combo, or at the very least, pressing your fastest button so that you can take advantage of these situations.

Throws are also incredibly powerful in this rank because people don't know how to deal with them. There's a technique? that can help with this, however: "delay teching." Delay teching is when you slightly delay pressing the throw button in situations where you would have to guess about defending from an attack or a throw. Delay teching allows you to cover both options.

Basically, if your opponent presses an attack button you will block and the throw tech won't come out as you are in block stun, but if your opponent opts to throw you the tech will come out just in time to cancel the throw, leaving you safe. To practice, set up a dummy recording in training mode. Set the dummy to attack on one recording and set the dummy to throw on another. Practice the timing of blocking w??hile pressing the throw button so that you aren't hit by either option. Master this and you will seem like a brick wall to the other players in Bronze.

By far the biggest issue I see people in Bronze make is jumping in far too frequently. Seriously, if you le?arn to anti-air consistently you will be out of Bronze in no time flat. Just playing a bit slower and more reactive will yield marvelous results. At this rank your opponent will hang themselves, you just need to supply the rope.

Most of the tips that applied to Bronze still apply to Silver, to a lesser extent — anti airing will get you far, but don't be surprised if the opponent starts to adapt. Players will often overextend. They'll start pressure that only really works if the opponent stops blocking after the first couple of hits. This can be defeated by simply taking a breather and just blocking. Afterwards the opponent will be highly vulnerable to a good punish combo. Silver players have a rough idea of their character's range but it's not refined. If you brush up on where your character's moves are effective, especially long-range pokes, you can go to town if?? the other player is in the corner.

Another tip: start paying attention to resources. If the opponent has a bar of meter and you a??re approaching o??n wake up, do they have any options that allow them to wake up with an invincible move?

Begin to facto?r that into your risk/reward decision-making. One resource management tip in particular that has found me great success is seeing if V-Trigger is activated or not in situations where you can kill off of chip damage. It may sound like a situation that doesn't come up a ton but in th?ese ranks both players are making lots of mistakes and getting lots of non-optimal punishes. This leads to rounds that come down to very small life leads with lots of meter built up. If you initiate a blockstring and cancel into super your opponent's only option really is to V-Reversal. If they are in V-Trigger however, they can't, and you've locked down the win.

Gold can be tough. It felt to me like the biggest increase in player skill between ranks. An Ultra Gold player will beat an Ultra Silver player nine times out of ten, but I'm not certain the same could be said for an Ultra Silver vs an Ultra Bronze. What helped me get through Gold was having a well-thought-out offensive game plan. While Capcom has added in defensive options like V-Shift, Street Fighter V is an offense-oriented ??game. Keeping the pressure up is critical to succeeding in this rank, that doesn't mean ove??rextending though. Knowing when you are safe to pressure and when you are not is pivotal.

Particularly for me, I had to work on my wake up pressure. Far too often I would get a knockdown and dash in to be ready when my? opponent wakes up only to find that the dash left me vulnerable to attack.

The biggest hurdle I encountered in my entire time of playing manifested itself in Gold but it is relevant to all ranks and all games. That problem was tilting. Historically I'm not a player that gets too angry or upset at losses. If someone beat me in Dragon Ball FighterZ, I would rematch them until one of us had to leave, points be damned. There were things to learn there! But in making this video I hav??e found myself tilting for the first time. I would go on these huge loss streaks, going from Ultra Gold to almost slipping back into Silver. Was I no longer an Ultra Gold player? Did I lose that knowledge and skill? Of course not, but I got into my own head and made it ver??y difficult to focus or play right.

My lowest moment was in this slump. I had a huge loss streak, just absolutely draining my points, and who do I run into? AEW professional wrestler Kenny Omega.? I had joked with friends about running into him in ranked because I knew he?? was in the same bracket as me but now it was happening!

What should have been a fun an??d cool experience was actually miserable. I was mentally a wreck. He destroyed m?e in this set. Afterwards I decided to take a break and assess what my issue was. Why am I getting so mad all of a sudden?

The answer: my goals were setting me up for failure. I had made my goal when I played to rank up. In doing so I put so much extra emphasis on the points, not what I learned in games, not making sure the stuff I practiced was being executed in the match, just the points. After realizing this I adjusted my goals. I set out to learn better wake up pressure. As I had mentioned previously, it was a weak point for me. This allowed me to grade my online matches on a scale. Sure, I lost, but I did a great job applying what I learned in training mode. This helped immensely, I found myself enjoying my time with the game again and not getting so upset at the losses. I quickly started winning again too. In part because of what I was learning in training mode but I do truly believe the bulk of it was because of the improved mental outlook. Soon I started amassing wi??n streaks and draining other people of their points.

Then it happened: the rematch. I had once again encountered Kenny Om?ega. But I'm in a much better mood, certainly a better player overall... And he still won. 2-1 was the final match count.

I wasn't upset?? this time, though. I was disappointed, of course — but I wasn't angry. I had played this set so much better than the la??st. I won a game this time! The improvements were tangible.

That's my biggest piece of advice to anyone playing any competitive game, really. If you find yourself getting angry at the losses, get frustrated with ranked mode. Take a step back and set actionable learning goals. Rate your matches based on how well you accomplish those goals in-game. And remember most of all, your skill determines your rank, not the other way around. Your value as a player is not determined by the symbol next to your name. This helped me greatly, I ho?pe it can help you too.

The post Kenny Omega kicked my ass in Street Fighter V. Here’s what I learned appeared first on Destructoid.

Kerri Ann Hoskins is a real wonder woman

A couple of weeks ago, I cold-called Kerri Ann Hoskins, famous for her roles in Mortal Kombat 3 and Aerosmith's Revolution X, to see if she wanted to do an interview for one of my podcasts. A week or so later, she said "Sure." Sh??e didn't even ask what it was for! That "who gives a f*ck let's just do it" attitude is a big part of who she is, and I am so grateful fo??r it.

In just under 25 minutes, she gave an amazing overview of some of the highs and lows of her life and career. I had planned to chat with her for 5 minutes about whether she wanted to play Sonya again and a couple of other light topics, but then a half-hour later, she was still talking about growing up with a step-father with wartime PTSD, the mesh implanted in her bellybutton, being pregnant with twins while playing the pinup girl villain in the Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero, and a lot of other parts of her life that make Sonya's struggles in the games look lightweight in comparison. In fact, while we were talking, y??ou may see her check her phone a few times to check to see if her twins had contracted COVID-19. I was amazed that she was willing to take the time to talk to me in the midst of this potential crisis, but as I soon discovered, pushing th?rough difficult times has been her way of life for as long as she can remember.

//youtu.be/YsCnNzNONpw

So why haven't we seen her for a while? From the sounds of it, taking care of her kids needed to be her top priority for the past decade o??r so, but at 51, she's toying with getting back into the game. What with the new movie out, it couldn't be a better time for her to jump back into the role of Sonya, who also became a mom over the years, but I was surprised to find out she'd rather play the chara?cter in a new game than a film. I can't blame her! Games are more fun.

If you want to see more of Kerri Ann, she's pretty active on Twitter and Instagram, as well as her online gallery. You can also hear an alternate version of our interview on the Talking to Women about Videogames podcast. Remember that show? It was on Youtube for a while, and the episode with Jessica Nigri actually did pretty good numbers. Now that they are on each other's radars, maybe NetherRealm will cast Jessica in a new Mortal Kombat ga??me as Cassie Cage and Kerri Ann as her ass-kicking mom? One can ho?pe...

The post The real Sonya Blade wants a new game?, might pass on a movie appeared first on Destructoid.

Second time's a charm

Doesn't matter which medium you're working with, sequels can be pretty bad. From low-budget cash-grabs to a follow-up that ruins the original wor??k entirely, there are ple??nty of ways that they can disappoint. Video games have certainly had their fair share of duds, but there have also been plenty of sequels that were so good, they've gone on to become more famous than their predecessors.

All through this list, these games were groundbreaking for their genre, and provided somethin?g players had never seen before. With the sequel, the developers took the opportunity to improve upon the foundation they had already built, refining and honing the pre-existing mechanics of the original game to make for an even better experience than before. We wish this is how things could always be, but hey, at least they got these ones right, huh?

Just a note: we're only dealing with direct sequels here, so we'll have to leave titles like Fallout: New Vegas and GTA V for another day. Now, let's check out the ??list of the ten best video game sequels that were even better than the originals.

10. The Sims 2

Starting a trend that you will recognize throughout this list, The Sims is one of the most iconic video game series of all time, due to its accessibility and addictive, sometimes hilarious gameplay. Released six years after the original game, The Sims 2 was quite a step up. It was one of those windows of time where technology improved a lot between the games, so the sequel allowed players to get a 360-degree look at their home, rather than the i??sometric views of the first game.

Other new features added even more to the sequel's polish and appeal, like more detailed character meshes that allowed for higher quality textures and improved animations, as well as more life stages and the aspiration system. The foundation was certainly there with the original game, but The Sims 2 refined that foundation so much that it propelled the game to a household name status, l?eading it to critical and commercial success. By 2012 it had sold 13 million copies, making it one of the best-selling PC games of all time.

9. Far Cry 2

_{[Image Credit: Reddit user critical2210]}

Far Cry has been one o?f Ubisoft's flagship series since 2004, and while the first game was widely praised for its gameplay, visuals, and the freedom of its open world, it bears hardly any resemblance to its sequel. To start, the settings are completely different, with the first game taking place on a tropical archipelago, and the second set against the lan??dscapes of Central Africa.

Far Cry 2 also featured an all-new cast, and a new style of gameplay that allowed t??he player even more freedom as they scraped and scavenged to survive. While the first game had a few different routes to one area, for example, the sequel is an entirely open sandbox environment, so the player can do whatever they want, however they want.

One of the most famous aspects of Far Cry 2 is its unforgiving difficulty — it kind of just throws you out into the virtual wilderness, where there are various roaming factions and wild animals, and has you fend for yourself. If you're up for the challenge, it's one of the most blood-pumping gaming experiences you can ask for! The first Far Cry may have gotten the ball rolling, but it wasn't until players got a taste of the unflinchingly intense gameplay ??of the? second game that the series really rose to prominence.

8. Borderlands 2

From the start, Borderlands was an awesome idea. A Doom-style loot shooter with the RPG and randomized item mechanics of Diablo? No wonder this game was a hit. It was such a runaway success, in fact, that Gearbox had a much bigger budget for the sequel, and they amped it up for Borderlands 2. While the sequel sported the usual upgrades and quality-of-life improvements to graphics and gameplay, what makes Borderlands 2 s??tand out far and above its predecessor is its story, particularly its introduction of Handso??me Jack.

If you don't know who Handsome Jack is, I honestly feel sorry for you. He's fun, menacing, and has a surprising amount of depth. He fits perfectly into that wild, goofy, and slightly grotesque thing that Borderlands is all about. The writing of his character is absolutely stellar, but what makes Jack really shine is Dameon Clarke's vocal performa??nce.

It's one of those iconic video game performances that's up there with Stephen Merchant as Wheatley or Troy Baker as Joel. Don't get me wrong, the rest of Borderlands 2 is pretty great, b??ut I have reason to believe that Handsome Jack is the main reason why the sequel overshadows its predecessor.

7. Halo 2

I know I'm about to go on a whole rant about why Halo 2 is even better than the first one, but before I do, I think it's important to emphasize the significance of the original Halo. Not only was it just an extremely popular game, but it is accredited with modernizing and popularizing the FPS genre. It also began the whole trend of FPS console games, and even if more and more people are playing Call of Duty or Destiny on PC, the genre's history will always be intertwined with consoles, and we have Halo to thank for that.

What the first Halo achieved was not a small feat, and yet somehow Halo 2 still managed to outshine it. See, Halo 2 introduced Xbox Live online multiplayer to the series, and the world lost it??s collective mind. The game was everywhere, becoming a ubiquitous cultural touchstone. I cannot stress enough how successful this game was, both critically and commercially.

Halo 2 was certainly not the first game with online multiplayer (that honor goes to Flight Simulator 2 all the way back in 1986, which is, ironically, another sequel), but it was a watershed moment for both online multiplayer and the FPS genre as a whole. Halo 2 was so popular, games being made today are still trying to replicate the lightning in a bottle that this game had. Matchmaking, lobbies, and clans? Yup, Halo 2 h??ad it all. It's easily considered one of the best games of all time, which has a lot to do with th??e influence it continues to have on the gaming industry.

6. Half-Life 2

Get used to seeing Valve on this list, because those guys were not only pioneers, but they also just had a habit of really getting it right the second time. Half-Life 2 is another game on this list that's considered to be one of the best of all time, not only for the game itself but for its legacy. Half-Life 2 already had the insanely detailed and impressive level of polish we come to expect from Valve, and it redefined single-player FPS campaigns in the same way that Halo 2 revolutionized FPS online multiplayer.

Half-Life 2 introduced physics-based puzzle mechanics (it's easy to see the beginnings of the Portal series here), an exciting virtual world, and characters that the player could really connect with. What stuck with players, though, was the game's details. Half-Life 2's world felt so r??eal, with one area flowing into the next, only rarely broken up by a loading screen.

It was not only an interesting, fantastical setting, but one that felt grounded and lived in, to?? a certain extent. The characters were engaging, too, not only because of how they were written, but because of how they were animated. The game's narrative was consistent and rich, with themes carrying throughout and building to a really satisfying end product.

Mechanically, Half-Life 2 set a new standard, but it was even more so when it came to creating a truly immersive interactive experience. It showed us what single-player campaigns could b??e, and Valve reinvented another gen??re, yet again.

5. Uncharted 2

_{[Image Credit: ArtStation user tate mosesian]}

Naughty Dog's first Uncharted game was not only a departure from their usual cartoony, platforming fare in the mid-2000s, but it was also one of the first games in the cinematic adventure genre. Now it feels like it's almost taken over the industry entirely, but back in the day Uncharted was one of the first single-player games to give us the feeling of being our ?very own movie protagonist.

From the start, Naughty Dog's use of performance capture on the series gave us compelling??, realistic performances from the voice actors like we had never seen in a game before. Of course the original is great, and has a lot of charm, but it took Naughty Dog the second time around t?o nail it.

Adding in some fun new side characters, refining the gameplay slightly, and getting rid of jet ski sequence definitely helped, but it's really the set pieces that set Uncharted 2 far and above the rest. I mean, who would forget that opening where you climbed up the crashed train, or climbing your way through the mountains with Tenzin? You can tell they found their groove, and finally figured out what Uncharted could be, and that's why Uncharted 2 is more famous than the original.

4. Team Fortress 2

Are you a fan of Overwatch? Apex Legends? Valorant? Yeah, you have TF2 to thank for that. More than any other game on this list, I'd say that Team Fortress 2 is one of those games that's more famous than the original. The first Team Fortress was actually a mod of Quake, similar to how the first game in another one of Valve's series, Dota, was a mod for Warcraft III.

While the first Team Fortress introduced the role-based shooter gameplay, it wasn't until its next iteration that it would give us the bright colors and memorable characters that we remember it for. TF2 was officially developed a??nd released by Valve, w?hich was definitely part of why it has that polish I keep talking about.

Plus, it's incredibly impressive that with the marketing of the game, as well as flavor sprinkled throughout TF2 itself, that Valve was able to impress on us the best storytelling anyone has seen in a multiplayer-only game. Seriously, go watch the character introduction videos ?and short films on YouTube and tell me they're not some of the best things to come out of a video game. If you still disagree with me, well, you're just wrong.

Like Halo 2, Team Fortress 2's legacy still has an inf?luence on games that are made today, so we owe a lot to this blockbuster hit that had humble beginnings a??s a community mod.

3. Diablo II

The Diablo series has a long and storied history, but when you think of Blizzard's gothic horror dungeon delver, you think Diablo II. The sequel's improvements over the first game are more understated than other titles on this list, as it closely resembles the original in its look and feel. It's more one of those cases where it made smaller tweaks to impro??ve upon what made the first game great, by changing elements of the gameplay and, most notably, expanding on the story content a lot more.

These changes seemed to be exactly what players were looking for, because Diablo II became a best-selle??r, and its creative iterations on RPGs, dungeon crawlers, and randomized loot cemented its place as another one of the most beloved games of all time.

Sometimes, it's ?the little things that make the difference, and it's pretty cool that Blizzard has the expert ability to identify what those things might be, and including them to make the best version of their games possible.

2. Mass Effect 2

I have a weird relationship with the Mass Effect ser??ies. I never played it until a few months ago, when a friend and I decided it would make for a good quarantine activity to do together. We started with the first game, but its janky?? controls made it so unplayable we decided it would be better to just skip to the second one, and I'm so glad we did.

I can tell you firsthand that the controls are a vast improvement over the first game. On top of the sequel's playability going way up, the graphics are better, as well as the writing and characters. Don't get me wrong, the world and cast of the original Mass Effect are p?retty stellar, ?but it took BioWare an extra game for the characters to come into their own.

Like many other games on this list, Mass Effect set a new standard for its genre with its sequel, particularly the choice-based narrative aspect. It was one of the first large-scale cinematic game series that really made players feel like their choices mattered, and while the series was already excellent from the start, it took another game for it to come ?into its own. It's like the ?developers at BioWare finally got a hold of what this type of game could do, and the story and characters were the best iteration of that.

I'll be giving the whole series a fresh go when the remaster drops, and I'm excited to see how the series will shine with a bit of spit polish. The Mass Effect series, but particularly the second game, were ahead? of their time, so it will be nice to see them really come into their own, so I can pl??ay them as close to what BioWare intended as possible.

1. Portal 2

Okay, so maybe I just wrote about how much I love Portal 2, so it's fresh in my mind. But man, this game is really, really incredible. The first entry in the series is already so strong, introducing us to iconic characters and addicting yet challenging puzzles. It didn't seem like it could get any better, but Valve gave us the game we didn't know we were missing. In terms of the gameplay, they somehow managed to successfully add a half dozen new gameplay mechanics, like the excursion funnels or the three different kinds of gels.

As far as the story goes, it doesn't seem like it could get any better than the original Portal. Somehow those wizards over at Valve managed to create one of the best video game stories of all time, with only one speaking character who also happened to be a robot. The bar was already so high, and yet Valve managed to top themselves yet again — the introduction ??of Wheatley was brilliant, and super n?ew and exciting without taking away from the vibe of the first game.

Portal 2 is like a finely tuned machine — every part of it is vital to the overall ex??perience, and any one change would make it feel less complete, even if you couldn't put your finger on why. In my opinion, it's the best game sequel of all time, because it took an already perfect game and made it even more perfect.

Well, that's my list of the best game sequels. What do you think, did? I miss any of your favorites? Let's chat in the comments below!

The post 10 video game sequels that were better tha??n the original appeared first on Destructoid.

Housemarque is back

Finally, another PS5 game!

Yes folks, you heard that right, Returnal is a bonafide PS5 release. Is it worth (gulp) $70?? It really depends on your penchant for roguelikes.

Returnal (PS5)
Developer: Housemarque
Publisher: Sony
Released: April 30, 2021
MSRP: $69.99

Housemarque is back and I'm into it. Ever since Super Stardust HD they immediately appeared on my radar and haven't left ever since. While people are quick to point out more well-known games like Resogun when talking about The House, I'm particularly fond of a few of their lesser-known titles like Outland, which was a fantastic take on Ikaruga meets platforming.

This time around the studio is reinventing itself with a third-person shooter roguelike/roguelite. The latter bit is important, because like Hades, you're going to be keeping permanent upgrades, and in the case of Returnal, shortcuts. So if you loathe the idea of "starting all over" upon every death or failed run, that's not as much of a concern here. The gimmick involves a very Prometheus-esque setup of a woman (Selene) crash-landing on an alien planet f??illed with creatures that would make H.R. Giger squirm.

Every time Selene dies, she appears right back at the crash site, and needs to figure out why she's there; amid a bit of coming to terms with personal trauma added in for good measure. As a result, Selene feels more like a character than a lot of similar genre staples, but there is a good degree of subtlety to avoid Returnal descending into cloying shlock.

Mechanically, you'll get to your eventual endpoint by huffing it and air dashing through a handful of biomes, as you upgrade both an in-run track (that you lose after death) and an overarching permanent track. It takes some getting used to, but the adaptive triggers and rumble are neatly used here, allowing for regular fire i?f you slightly press down on L2 to aim, and alt-fire if you slam down hard. Each biome pits you against a big boss at the end, then you move to the next biome, get more upgrades, and try your luck again.

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It's very addictive because the "lite" bit of the rogue moniker is prevalent in the minute-to-minute design. Returnal doesn't feel overly oppressive for the sake of it, as enemies can be handled through pure skill and twitch action and don't have many opportunities to cheese or ot??herwise one-shot players? so long as you have situational awareness.

Weapons also pack a punch, as do the vast majority of upgrades. Returnal uses a clever risk-reward system too, which can grant you access to better equipment if you chance that a marked item might give you? a "malfunction" penalty. Typically you can heal these off with other items and/or some sort of imposed challenge goal, like "collect 200 currency."

With this gambling system in mind, the pacing is extremely on-point. Typically upgrades are always within reach, and if they aren't, I can try my luck with the curse mechanic that can also be adapted to with enough time and skill. Even the chance-based systems of Returnal can feel fair and balanced. A helpful ma??p that m??arks items without guesswork is a huge plus.

The game's pacing also highly benefits from a moody atmosphere that is haunting with 3D audio on PS5. It's unsettling pretty much at all times, which is a very cool way to play a tense roguelike. At one point I had to pause Returnal because it got too tense. It sounds hyperbolic, but it was a good run! The ??real ones understand.

It's all good so far right? Well likewise, the more you play, the more you learn and adapt; the more it can become too familiar. In each individual biome I didn't find the enemy or environment variety to be as interesting as I'd like, and if you're stuck on a particular area for a while, it can start to get very samey. It's exacerbated by lengthy periods between permanent upgrades, which can result in a lack of tangible in-game progress: a problem? for people who don't feel like picking up mechanics is its own reward. Daily challenges and leaderboards might coax more out of a s??pecific audience (but I'm going to ignore them).

Then there's the rest mode requirement. In Returnal, you need to rest mode your PS5 in order to save progress during a hiatus. So if you're on a really lengthy good run and want to play something else, you're pressing your luck. Given how many issues I've had with rest mode since launch, I'm always uneasy using it, even if all my tests haven't seen any issues.

Returnal is a mostly thrilling sci-fi action romp that suffers from a lack of scale at times. In the moment, I'm completely fixated on my run, upgrading like a fiend, and dashing around for iFrames like I was playing a Capcom game. But after that run ends and I'm looking at the bigger picture, Returnal can feel a little smaller than it actual?ly is. Keep that in mind before you take the pricey plunge.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Returnal appeared first on Destructoid.

I want all of them

Stardew Valley is such an unstoppable force that you probably know at least one person who has played it. And a ??good deal of those people are incredibly into the game: so much so, that they put their passion into action.

Like many gifted artists and crafters before them, Reddit user robotmon shared one of their latest works: Stardew Valley Junimo keyboard key caps. Stardew fans will recognize these little creatures as the mysterious nature spirits t??hat help the player charac?ter along in their journey, and assist them in the very late game via Junimo Huts.

They come in various colors, and nest nicely right above keys, stating that they're more decorative than functional: and wo??uld work best on lesser-used keys rather than the center letters on keyboards. It's amazing how much the game's creator Eric Barone supports the crafting community, which allows stuff like this to flourish on the regular.

If you're interested beyond a few quick "ooos and aaahs," there's a video of them in action from the c??reator here; and they plan on making them available in some fashion, with a l?ink to a future Etsy store on their Instagram.

My passion project from the past few m?onth??s - Junimo Keycaps [Reddit]

The post These Stardew Valley Junimo keyboard key caps ar??e fire appeared first on Destructoid.