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"We believe that starting a new character will give you the best experience of Palworld".
Evolutions were never in development, either
"Patch 1.28 is something we wanted to do for a long time."
Including at least three new Game Pass titles!Welcome to your Xbox games roundup for June 15-19! The big release of the next few days is Square Enix's The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, but don't forget about the likes of Copa City and Escape the Backrooms as well, along with three Xbox Game Pass titles (at least) highlighted by Denshattack! on the 17th.Here's what's coming to Xbox next week:Read the full article on purexbox.com
Players can "customize their challenge to their liking"
But you "might see some characters from the game pop up".
Resellers were getting me down, but this new way of collecting has turned my hobby around
The Adventures of Elliot! UFC 6! Copa City!The release schedule is thinning out at the moment, but don't worry, it becomes absolute bedlam in August.For next week, the biggest release is clearly Square Enix's The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, although EA Sports UFC 6 will be a big seller as well.Read the full article on pushsquare.com
Getting into the World Cup spirit?Welcome to the weekend! There's some great new content to enjoy on Xbox over the next couple of days, including a bunch of recent Xbox Game Pass titles and three Free Play Days additions, and if you happen to be in the World Cup mood like we are, don't forget about the likes of EA Sports FC 26, Football Manager 26 and other great footie games!Here's what we're playing on Xbox this weekend:Read the full article on purexbox.com
Direct inspiration?What a week, eh?With every other showcase under the sun taking place last week, we knew it was only a matter of time before Nintendo followed suit. And follow it did. This week's Nintendo Direct revealed first looks at the likes of Ocarina of Time, Xenoblade Genesis, and Nintendo Switch Sports Resort, gave us release dates for Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave and Orbitals, and showcased a bunch of upcoming ports, including Lies of P, Stellar Blade, Space Marine 2 and more.Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Breathe.It's been a really busy couple of weeks here at Push Square Towers with all the livestreams and news, so we're all looking forward to a spot of downtime over the coming days. You can tell everyone on the team's been busy, because no one replied to my request for WAYP.Jamie O'NeillMy girlfriend treated us both to tickets to watch The Mandalorian and Grogu, which led to me playing the early Endor, Jakku and Finalizer sections of LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens.Read the full article on pushsquare.com
Make some space.One of the major announcements during the Direct broadcast earlier this week was the news Square Enix is finally releasing proper versions of Kingdom Hearts on Nintendo's platforms. The Switch cloud versions have already been discontinued from sale, with the digital release now scheduled for 8th October 2026.If you are planning to purchase the digital versions, the estimated file sizes have now been shared on the Nintendo eShop and store pages. Here's a rundown of the space you'll need to install and play each of these titles:Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Ready for adventure?Earlier this year, Bethesda announced it would be bringing The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered to the Switch 2 in 2026.Read the full article on nintendolife.com
The devs already have another update in the pipeline.: Nintendo has announced its team-based squid shooter Splatoon 3 will be getting an update this week, bumping the title up to Version 11.2.0.Inklings and Octlings can expect fresh changes to the game's multiplayer, including weapon adjustments and changes to X Battles.Read the full article on nintendolife.com
"The amount of joy I can get out of just going and obliterating the Temple right now, trust me"
Long list. The post All achievements in Witchspire and how to complete them appeared first on Destructoid.
Townfall's got medical trauma, fog, and a radio. Sounds like Silent Hill to me.
A key story location.The recent Marvel’s Wolverine trailer showed off a montage of other levels right at the end, and I was quite taken with the city rooftop scene glimpsed for about one second.It’s clear this will be one of the headline moments in the upcoming PS5 exclusive’s globe-trotting story, and now dev Insomniac has confirmed it takes place in Tokyo.Read the full article on pushsquare.com
Potentially as a wholly-owned subsidiary.You can't have a quiet Friday night in the world of Xbox these days, can you?!Out of nowhere, the folks over at The Information are reporting today that Microsoft has considered "spinning out or restructuring" the Xbox brand, although it's not something that's said to be imminent (in other words, it might not happen). The report mentions how multiple options haven't been "ruled out", including turning Xbox into a wholly-owned subsidiary or creating a "joint venture with other partners".Read the full article on purexbox.com
A new report suggests Microsoft may also be giving thought to spinning off its Xbox division or selling it entirely.
One tiny mod for Paralives has finally made my childhood dreams of more realistic life sims floor plans possible.
Earlier this month, GameStop disclosed that it achieved the highest profit in the company's history during the first quarter of its latest fiscal year. Now, GameStop appears to be taking further steps to cut costs by reportedly making significant changes to its Pro Membership rewards program. According to Kotaku, new GameStop Pro members will no longer be able to earn Pro Points starting on July 15. Current Pro members are only getting a temporary reprieve until August 15. On that date, members will stop accruing Pro Points. Prior to these changes, GameStop Pro members could earn roughly 2% of their total purchases in points, which they could redeem for games or other merchandise at a later date. On Reddit, some GameStop employees are calling out the decision to take away the Pro Points and suggesting that they should collectively stop trying to upsell Pro Membership to customers. Their apparent disdain for this decision probably won't deter GameStop from going ahead with these changes. GameStop CEO Ryan Cohen has been in the news recently because of his intention to buy eBay even though his company lacks the resources or the full financial backing to purchase the online auction house. In response to Cohen's plans, eBay rejected his overture and described it as neither “credible nor attractive.” Cohen could still attempt a hostile takeover by appealing directly to eBay stockholders, but he has yet to do so.
I mean, I don't hate this, in theory
I can be a werewolf or a vampire, sure, but nothing as far-fetched as a trillionaire.
When your first RPG sells 80,000 copies
I'm never trusting a sat nav again. The post Fears to Fathom – Scratch Creek: Story and ending, explained appeared first on Destructoid.
Amid Xbox overhaul discussions, all options seem to be on the table
The original Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time occupies a similar space in my heart as The Black Cauldron, The Last Unicorn, The Neverending Story, The Dark Crystal, and all of the other fantastical experiences of the '80s and '90s in that, while fundamental to creating who I am today, they were also extremely dark. Though Majora's Mask is (understandably) referred to as the darkest Legend of Zelda game, it's crucial to remember that Ocarina of Time had its fair share of creepy content, too. Part of this is due to the game's themes and subtle focus on mortality, but it's also worth noting that some of this was simply due to there being some characters and enemies in that game were horrifying. That said, not all of Ocarina of Time's characters permanently scarred me. On the contrary, some of them perhaps even awoken something in me, but that's between me and the woman working at the Bombchu bowling alley. Regardless, the recent announcement of an Ocarina of Time remake has left me reminiscing about these characters, and I've grown increasingly eager to see how they might be reimagined in 2026. Here are the ones I am most excited to see, as well as the ones that are sure to re-haunt me once the game launches later this year. Stay away: The Lake Scientist In case you forgot, one of the first things this guy says to you is, "You may not have noticed, but I've been watching you," which is one hell of way to begin a conversation. While that's already enough to put a person on edge, The Lake Scientist's distinctly skeletal appearance certainly doesn't help things. With his Skulltula-shaped face, nearly detached jaw (which contains four equally spread apart teeth), and a distinctly haunted expression that seems to look past Link and into the very soul of the person playing the game, this man was an unreasonably frightening figure. Excited for: Richard I cannot wait to be reunited with Mamamu's precious (and precocious!) pup Richard. According to Mamamu, Richard is a special dog--one with the ability to outrun all of Hyrule Castle Town's other "mutts" and a "very special coat." Part of this, of course, seems likely to reflect Mamamu's own bias towards her beloved fur son, but you have to admit, the dog's got style. One of Ocarina of Time's most heartbreaking moments is when you see Mamamu in the future and she informs you that Richard passed away. "He was such a famous puppy," she proclaims, as she reminisces about the small, spunky terrier. He was, Mamamu. He really was. Stay away: Mido Listen, I know there are all these fan theories that claim Mido is actually a great character and so on and so forth, but to me, he will always be the belittling jerk who forces you to endure the game's beginning tutorial. If I hadn't played through Ocarina of Time so many times, maybe I'd be less annoyed by his presence--maybe I could appreciate that he simply wants me to be prepared for what lies ahead and has a few, normal insecurities he needs to work through. But repeated exposure has worn me down. To me, Mido feels a bit like the co-worker you desperately want to avoid because you just know he has something unnecessary to say to you and thrives on preventing you from actually getting your work done. Clearly I'm not alone in feeling this way, too--the Mido Skip Glitch is among the most exploited in Ocarina of Time by both speed runners and annoyed players like me. Excited for: The Great Fairies Get your mind out of the gutter, ya little freaks. I don't have the Great Fairies on here for that reason, though of course I'll admit they are all absolute baddies. No, their inclusion on this list is more so because I am obsessed with how mythical, strange, feminine, and unapologetic these divas are. From their bold makeup and skintight attire, to their dazzling, unashamed laughter, these ladies ooze charisma. In the same way that I am always eager to see what outfit Chappell Roan takes to the stage next, I am excited to see how the fairies love of glitz, glamour, and excess will be translated in the Ocarina of Time remake. Stay away: ReDead Even back in 1998, when their finer details were distorted by now-dated tech, Ocarina of Time's ReDeads scared the absolute hell out of me. The shriek? The way time would freeze as they inched closer, ready to wrap their fleshy, disfigured limbs across your body and feed? Five-year-old me was utterly horrified, and more than a few times, I straight up turned off my Nintendo 64 because I did not feel like dealing with the amount of anxiety they inflicted upon me. I'll admit, they're a good enemy and absolutely need to be in the remake; that's obvious. But that doesn't mean I'm happy about seeing how they look in 2026 and enduring their cries once more. Excited for: Saria In many ways, Saria serves as Ocarina of Time's beating heart--as a limitless source of comfort and hope, even in the darkest of times. From day one, she is unwavering in her loyalty to Link and her desire for a kinder world, treating even those like Mido with grace. Through her song, she acts as a voice of guidance and reassurance for our young hero, and a bringing of joy for the Kokiri people. If I haven't made it abundantly clear yet, I adore Saria and the understated yet vital role she plays in this game. I can't wait to see how the Ocarina of Time remake will both reimagine her and celebrate her legacy. Stay away: The Master Craftsman's Son On top of being unpleasant to look at this, this guy is also such a downer. He's rude for no reason and repeatedly talks about how disgusting society is. "People are disgusting," he remarks. "My own father and mother are disgusting. You must be disgusting, too." Sure, he's a bit nicer to you if you tame his chicken, but even then, his praise is immediately followed by a request that you do something for him. I don't know, man. He just brings me down. Excited for: The Bombchu Bowling Alley Operator Long before Ramona Flowers--whose hair colors were actually inspired by the Zelda series, come to think about it--there was the Bombchu bowling alley operator. With her baby bangs and crop top, I can only assume she is the Hylian equivalent of the extremely cute and cool girl who works at a coffee shop and always knows of a great band you should check out. In short, the Bombchu bowling alley operator is the indie girlfriend blueprint, and alongside Princess Jasmine, she was one of my first female crushes. I am excited to see how her look as evolved over the years, but also hope her alternative style isn't switched up too much. After all, she's an icon for a reason. Stay away: Dead Hands As if all of Hyrule's spiders--sorry, Skulltulas-- and ReDeads weren't enough, Nintendo had to add these guys into the mix too? Their color palette? Upsetting. The detached hands that pin you down so they can crane their neck and nearly xenomorph bite you to death? Extremely usetting. There is a reason that, despite having played multiple horror games throughout my adult life, Dead Hands stick out to me as some of the most grotesque and frightening creatures I've faced off against. Again, upsetting! Excited for: Dark Link Dark Link is a unique entry on this list in that he is an enemy who I am excited to see again, but what can I say? He's just that cool. After an 11-year hiatus, the shadowy figure returned to the Zelda series as a mini-boss in Ocarina of Time, and even back then, you could tell Nintendo wanted it to feel like a spectacle. In some ways, this fight feels like my first brush with entering a soulslike arena. Not in the style of gameplay or combat, obviously, but because it evoked that same feeling as passing through a fog gate and facing off against this highly capable and threateningly aware warrior--like Lady Maria in Bloodborne, for example. Not only am I excited to see how Dark Link is rendered in 2026, I'm excited to see how this entire battle plays out. It has the opportunity to be one of the game's biggest set pieces, and I hope they take advantage of it.
Summer Preview 2026 | This revival of a PS2 and Xbox 360 cult classic already had me hooked even before I started driving the Back to the Future DeLorean
Gotcha Gotcha Games is launching a new forum, which is good, but says it won't archive the old one, which is very bad.
The Toniebox 2 has some new interactive screen-free Hasbro games that are a good time
We're not in Coachella anymore. The post Tupac’s presence in Stranger Than Heaven somehow gets even more bizarre after developer interview appeared first on Destructoid.
Microsoft's potential options for the future of the Xbox brand reportedly include spinning it off into a separate company or operating as a "wholly owned subsidiary" rather than a division within Microsoft. According to The Information (via Reuters), these are just a few of the options Microsoft is considering. Xbox has struggled mightily in recent years, most recently losing millions of subscribers to its Game Pass subscription service after a major price hike. Game Pass has, at least partially, seen improvement following a price cut that also removed new Call of Duty games from the library. A spin-off would, on paper, make the Xbox brand free from the high-profit-margin expectations of Microsoft as a whole, though it would also no longer have access to the vast resources of such a large company. The Information's report also said Microsoft is planning to increase investment in a few of Xbox's biggest franchises, including Halo, The Elder Scrolls, and Fallout, in order to speed up development, but just what that means remains unclear. The Elder Scrolls VI and Fallout 5 were both technically announced many years ago, with very few updates on either, while Halo: Campaign Evolved will serve as a stopgap of sorts when it launches next month--for the first time on PlayStation 5 in addition to Xbox and PC. That PS5 release may be a one-off for Halo, however, as Microsoft looks to renew focus on console exclusives. Gears of War: E-Day, for instance, reportedly had a PS5 version in the works, but is no longer coming to the platform.
"Ads should be used to offer more affordable alternatives alongside today's ad-free experiences"
Revisiting an enduring MMORPG.
Fortnite is known as much for its paid cosmetics as it is for having arguably the best Battle Royale modes around. But these days, Fortnite offers so many free cosmetics at any given time that it's easier than ever to enjoy it without dropping a penny on skins, emotes, or other cosmetics. In Chapter 7 Season 3, there are free items to unlock for every Epic-created mode, so you don't have to give up on collecting Fortnite cosmetics even if you're feeling the pain caused by the V-Buck price increase. With so much free stuff, it's not always easy to tell what is available to unlock, since there's no "here's all the free stuff you can earn" page in Fortnite itself. Scroll on to find out what exactly you can get, and what modes you'll need to play or, in some cases, what websites you'll need to make accounts for. Chapter 7 Season 3 battle pass free items The Chapter 7 Season 2 battle pass, which runs until August 20, includes 28 items that you can earn for free by leveling up without buying the pass, as well as 200 V-Bucks that can be used in the item shop or put toward buying the battle pass, Lego pass, OG pass, or music pass. Many of the items are minor cosmetics like sprays, emoticons, loading screens, and banner icons. Highlights: Sprite Seat back bling Spirit Blade pickaxe Blade of the Void pickaxe Voidblade's Voyager glider Quack Coaster glider Cluster Case back bling Soundwave Basher pickaxe Radio Rider glider Gold Chainsaw pickaxe Dylan's Fur's weapon wrap Innovator's Special weapon wrap Wick's Axe bass/pickaxe/back bling Advertisement Music Pass free items The Laufey music pass includes nine free items that you can earn without buying the pass by leveling up in any Fortnite experience. Highlights include a keytar, a mic stand, an emote, a back bling, an aura, and four royalty-free jam tracks. This music pass runs until July 15. Items: Grand Keyano keytar Lantera microphone Vibrant Dream aura Get Uptempo emote L'amour Cache jam track Blue English jam track After Dark jam track Loves Like a Lady jam track Advertisement OG Pass free items The Fortnite OG Season 8 OG pass includes 12 items you can unlock by leveling up without actually buying the pass, including two gliders, one pickaxes, two back blings, a weapon wrap, and an emote. There are also some less interesting items, like sprays, emoticons, banner icons, and a loading screen. Items: Luxe Scythe pickaxe Golden Vaultwings glider Captain's Tally weapon wrap Take the Wheel emote Volcanic Cache back bling Draconic Drifter glider Synthesis Sai back bling Advertisement Rocket League Every car and SUV in Fortnite is also in Rocket League, and that means the best way to earn car-related cosmetics is by playing Rocket League. For starters, you can unlock the Backfire car body (pictured) and seven decals in both games simply by completing the tutorial quests for new players. A number of other car bodies, wheels, and other accessories can be unlocked at random via loot crates that you can earn by completing weekly and seasonal challenges. Any car body or accessory can be pulled from those crates, in theory. Advertisement Rocket Pass Like Fortnite's passes, the Rocket Pass also includes a variety of free items. Many of these items aren't the types of things that have an equivalent in Fortnite, like car toppers. But the Season 23 Rocket Pass, which runs until September 23, includes a set of wheels and a rocket boost. You must play Rocket League to make progress on the Rocket Pass. Items: Bitcrush rocket boost Temple wheels Advertisement Rocket League tournaments Participating in Rocket League tournaments and getting wins earns points that can be used to open loot crates that contain random cosmetics. In Season 22, six of these items transfer to Fortnite. Items: Bad Rad wheels Cheesy wheels Meticulous wheels Chromium wheels Smokin' trail Soulmesh boost Advertisement Lego Pass The Soaring Skies Lego pass includes two loading screens, and 7 sets of Lego Fortnite decor items, and one Lego Fortnite airship that can be unlocked for free by leveling up in any Fortnite experience. These items are for building in Lego Fortnite Odyssey, Lego Fortnite Brick Life, and other Lego-related Creative experiences. Yes, the airship really works, and you can fly around in it. Items: Luft-Llama Longboat airship Luft-Llama Jumbo Thruster decor Luft-Llama Steering Helm decor Luft-Llama Hot Air Balloon Dreadnought Steering Setup decor Dreadnought Anchorage Apparatus decor Ryumura Food Market decor Ryumura Nightfall Garden decor Dawn of the Shatter Spawn loading screen Broadside Balloon Blitz loading screen Advertisement Connect a Lego account with your Epic Games account Connect a Lego account with your Epic Games account to instantly unlock both the Fortnite and Lego styles for the Explorer Emilie and Mr. Dappermint skins. No need to play Lego Fortnite to enjoy these two. You can link accounts here. Advertisement Lego True Explorers quests Activate the completely free Lego True Explorers quest pack from the item shop, and then complete the quests in Lego Fortnite Odyssey to unlock the Trailblazer Tai skin and back bling. You can link accounts here. Advertisement Mobile quests There are several choice rewards that you can only earn by playing Fortnite on mobile including a free heavily-customizable skin and a licensed jam track by Canadian pop duo Crash Adams: Yeddy skin - Earn one account level and invite a friend on mobile New Heart by Crash Adams jam track - complete 2 Fortnite Festival mobile quests Keytarcade keytar - complete 4 Fortnite Festival mobile quests Advertisement Save the World Since the Save the World mode became free on April 16, you can earn the Jess skin, pictured, by earning 350,000 XP while playing the mode. That's about 4.5 battle pass levels' worth of experience. Advertisement Umbrellas Fortnite awards umbrella gliders for your first win each season in Battle Royale, OG, Reload, and Blitz, as well as glowing variants for wins in ranked modes. The Umbrella - first-ever Fortnite win Dark Cube-Rella - first win in BR during Chapter 7 Season 2 New Seven 'Brella Reloaded - first win in Reload during Chapter 7 Season 2 Burning 'Brella - first win in Fortnite OG during Season 8 Blitz 'Brella - win three rounds of Blitz Royale Advertisement PostParty Downloading Epic's PostParty app and using it to share a clip of your gameplay will unlock the Post That! Weapon wrap. Advertisement Ranked quests You can unlock a variety of free cosmetics by playing and ranking up in ranked modes, as well as completing some quests while you do so. There are fewer items here than there used to be, thanks to Epic recently shutting down Rocket Racing and Ballistic. Highlights: Felinos skin (pictured) - Ranked Reload and Battle Royale Felinos' Fury weapon wrap - Ranked Reload and Battle Royale Felinos' Claw pickaxe - Ranked Reload and Battle Royale Seven Axe pickaxe - Ranked Battle Royale Daigo's Charge weapon wrap - Ranked Battle Royale Ranker's Flourish emote - Ranked Battle Royale and Reload Sanctuary Signals contrail - Ranked Battle Royale and Reload Daigo's Tech weapon wrap - Ranked Reload Reloaded Seven Axe- Ranked Reload Advertisement Reload map mastery Complete the Reload map mastery quests, which require placing highly, and eventually getting wins, on each of the Reload maps in rotation. Highlights: Elites Issue weapon wrap Re-Loading emote Advertisement Survey emails Sign up to receive Fortnite-related surveys in your email to unlock the Sir Beurre back bling. Advertisement Two-factor authentication Activating two-factor authentication will unlock the Boogie Down emote Advertisement
Embrace the jank.Gothic 1 Remake is an almost slavish reproduction of the original 2001 release developed by Piranha Bytes, an Eastern European open world RPG that was ahead of its time, notoriously hardcore, and seriously janky.Remade for a new era by Alkimia Interactive and published by THQ Nordic, this surprisingly dense experience has been modernised in some ways but remains shackled to the past by some bland gameplay and a swath of unfortunate, oftentimes extremely annoying bugs on PS5.Read the full article on pushsquare.com
Mina the Hollower is full of secrets to discover, and for a game based on classics like Link's Awakening, it's surprisingly story-rich. Yacht Club has a bona fide hit on its hands with 500,000 copies sold. Now that fans have had time to dig in--and even discover a secret ending--we're publishing a spoiler portion of our interview with Yacht Club's David D'Angelo. In the below portion we talk openly about the full story of Mina the Hollower, including its standard canonical ending. If you'd rather read D'Angelo's thoughts on less-spoilery subject matter, be sure to read the first part of our interview. Spoilers follow. GameSpot: The studio has said there's no DLC planned. Shovel Knight had a bunch of DLC, all the expansions, which you gave away for free. I'm not sure, if you went back and did it again, if you would promise that. David D'Angelo: It was a very wise business decision for sure. But you say there's no DLC planned for Mina. The ending is pretty dark, I think is fair to say. Was it a conscious choice to leave players in that place where it's reflective and asking some questions, but also in a pretty dark place? D'Angelo: It was definitely intentional. I mean, we were looking at Victorian stories like Frankenstein and Dracula and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. There's so many monster-era stories or Edgar Ellen Poe or even Dickens and stuff where they just end in a way that usually it's like, the world is messed up and it keeps being a little messed up. In Frankenstein, they're both dead at the end, right? It's crazy. It's not like, oh, and he spends the whole book trying to figure out, he's upset that he made this monster and, "What did I do?" And you think reading it that it's going to be like, "Well, maybe he'll come to terms with it. The monster's actually a really nice guy. Why is he so upset about it?" So the way those books are, they want you to wrestle with the facts of how the science or the breakthroughs that are happening in that era affect the world. And we sort of wanted to have that same kind of feeling. We wanted you to finish the game and be thinking about it as opposed to like, "Oh, it all wrapped up cleanly. I'm so happy." From the beginning, it's very clear that Lionel is bad, and the generators are bad. But Mina is still restoring them, bringing about this calamity. It had a feeling of inevitability to it. D'Angelo: Yeah. We had to work really hard [on that]. It sometimes happens in games where you know that and you have to do the wrong thing essentially and you're like, "Oh, that's so maddening that you made me do the wrong thing," and you don't want to play the game again because it's like, "I know I'm not supposed to do that." So we really had to make it clear in order to do the right thing, you have to fix the generator. You have to do the wrong thing, yeah. D'Angelo: And yeah, the Lionel thing was interesting too because we wanted to make it obvious that, especially in today's climate where a lot of people are looking at rich people and going, "Obviously you're messing things up for us poor people." And Thorne as the captain of the guard, freedom fighter, eco-terrorist. We're obviously supposed to understand that he's doing the right thing out of principle. D'Angelo: Yeah. But we did want to get that feeling that there's things that are very clearly wrong, but everyone's happy about Lionel, right? No one's upset at him. And getting in this confusion that is you as a player might think this is wrong. But when you look at it, no one's upset about what's going on. They are generally happy with everything that's happened and they look up to and aspire to be Lionel, right? And they're all happy with this technology, which Mina invented. Her hands aren't clean in this. The generators are doing a lot of harm and they're bad, but they're also good and people enjoy modern life and they can't give it up that easily and it has real costs. D'Angelo: And that's the kind of stuff that in the Victorian era they're wrestling with, right? Every Dickens story is about how industry is crushing [people]. The rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. Oh, poor Oliver, he has to steal to get by, or Scrooge is not giving any of his money away. The people are writing those stories because it's hard to not take advantage of progress. The benefits of progress are very clear. Everyone can use AI and go like, "Oh, I can see why this is going to be helpful or I can see it could be even better one day and be even more helpful." But also it's hard to wrestle with the fact that, "Oh, maybe it's going to result in 5 billion data centers getting built and ruining some rural area." That's the struggle of it all. Mina The Hollower And I think it also sort of ended on such an interesting note of the way the public perceives heroes and villains. They do not hail you as a hero. They are pissed. They chase you out of town. D'Angelo: Yeah. I mean, we wanted one component that's like, of course they would be mad because they liked it, and we wanted one component that's the way that, if someone has control over the populace, they can just twist every action you take. Yes, when Lionel confronts you with your crimes, that sets Mina up to be perceived as the villain when she fights Lionel at the end. D'Angelo: Right. It's all perspective and it's fun and it's controlling that narrative and it's fun to wrestle with something that may seem good but to someone else's eyes, it might seem bad. It did this thing that the game does throughout, which is to be dark and thoughtful, but also pretty funny because some of the crimes that they're raising are like, "You broke a bunch of our candles. What the hell?" D'Angelo: Yes, yes. Every time everyone plays a Zelda, they go and break some pots and they think, "Oh, it's so funny that I can go into everyone's house and break all their pots," or an RPG, "I'm going and rustling through their drawers." So you want to get some of that acknowledging what people are always feeling when they're playing these games. On that note, the ending with townspeople naming everything you've done wrong reminded me of the courthouse scene in Chrono Trigger. D'Angelo: That was definitely the main inspiration for it. We were thinking, "Oh, what should happen when you walk in there? Oh, it'd be fun if you walk in there and they're just having dinner," or something stupid. And then they're like, "Mina, sit down." And then it just felt like a good idea upon a good idea naturally happening. "Oh, we could do the court scene from Chrono Trigger." No one's touched that. No one's touched that in decades. And then, "Oh, what would be the spin on it? How about they're saying all the things you did?" It just played so well into the themes of the game and the fun of an RPG and the fact that you could do anything at any time, that it just felt like we struck gold. Mina the Hollower That also just feels very ambitious. The whole game is tracking you in a million ways, but confronting the player with all the ways it's been tracking you is a little unnerving. D'Angelo: At first we didn't really know how to do it. What do we actually show? What do we actually say is bad or good? And do we take screenshots? Do we do Mother- or Earthbound-style, someone's there and takes a picture? Should we signal that it's happening? The way we ended up is we actually took screenshots of the in-game things and [the art department] figured out how to frame things just right. And that was tricky too because it's like you could have been using the hammer when you got to that scene. So it's like, "Oh, what should the character be doing? They should be jumping in that scene," because everyone can jump. And we wanted them to be framed and planned instead of doing a screenshot thing. But it's figuring out just the complexity of, "How can we show that and make it make sense?" And we had things that you might have done at the start of the quest but not the end of the quest, so what part of the quest do we even show? A lot of those images that show up, when we playtested, people would see that image and go, "I didn't do that." And it was like, "Oh, why did they think they didn't do that?" Because they did. I'm looking at their save file and they definitely did it. So we had to make sure we're like ... the text is saying just the right thing so they understand and that the art is showing just the right thing. And sometimes you just forget that you did it, which is okay. I just kept hitting the "more" when they asked, "Do you want to hear even more of your crimes?" And I'm like, "Yes, keep going." D'Angelo: Yes. If you do every bad thing you can do in the game, he'll say at most like under half of them. There's a lot. I just have to say it's funny that this is such a cute presentation and it's pixel art and you wouldn't think of that as scary, but I have yelled at this game. Like when the Carving Man appears in the underlab. D'Angelo: That's wonderful. I think the difference between something being funny and scary is really close. When Carving Man comes down there, we find it really funny. We're laughing at the idea that that's happening to a player. So when we were making it, we were just like, "Is this scary? Is this actually scary to someone?" We worked really hard, and we know because it's pixel art, it's much harder and it's such a small scale, it's much harder to make something seem creepy or scary. But yeah, I mean we're like, "Have we hit this kind of scary thing?" Oh, at the beginning of the game, you get brought up on the stage and it's like, "Oh, people have a public-speaking fear. We should try to get that somewhere in there." And I'm sure most things don't click or whatever, but trying to get as much of that stuff in there as possible. "People are afraid of this kind of thing. We should try to represent it in some way." And I guess whether it comes across as scary or funny is like I hope it's scary, but if it's funny, that's good too. Yeah. And I think the good thing about that is the more you're laughing, the more you're susceptible to being scared because you're open and you're in a joyful mood, so a surprise can really take you off guard. Let's say that Mina is an enormous success and by critical reception, it has been. But let's say the immediate reaction is like, "We demand Mina the Hollower 2." What does the studio do? How receptive are they to pivoting? D'Angelo: I really don't know. I mean, we haven't talked about it, so I'm not sure. But I know everyone wants to make Mina 2. There are things in the game that are alluding to things that we would do in a Mina 2. Even if we made a Mina 2, we might not go with that path, but it's like, "Oh, this would be a really cool idea for Mina 2. We should hint at where it could go." As I was playing, I was thinking, "Well, obviously there's going to be a DLC campaign where you play as Thorne. You're obviously going to play as the villain going around sabotaging the generators. That's going to be the second campaign." D'Angelo: Yeah. We know everyone would love to do it one day. Whether that would be something to do next, I'd be really surprised if people were like, "I want to jump right back into Mina."
Over the years, there's been plenty of speculation as to why RPGs--and turn-based RPGs in particular--aren't quite as popular as they once were. While there's no one right answer to as to why this is the case, what is clear is this is particularly bad news for companies like Square Enix. Though the studio has diversified its portfolio over the years and has been keen to add modern twists to its old formulas, it's no secret that even its blockbuster titles aren't performing as well as the company would hope. Ahead of Final Fantasy VII Revelation's 2027 release, its director, Naoki Hamaguchi, has offered an interesting perspective on why that might be. In an interview with 4Gamer, Hamaguchi explained that streamers might be contributing to the genre's decline. Whereas genres like shooters, strategy games, or even life-sims are reliant upon player input and offer more varied outcomes, Hamaguchi theorizes that more straightforward, narrative-heavy experiences could enable people to "simply watch a stream and feel satisfied without ever playing the game themselves." "One thing RPGs like Final Fantasy need to be careful about today is the possibility that people might simply watch a stream and feel satisfied without ever playing the game themselves," Hamaguchi said. "This is a bit of a crisis for the work itself, or rather, it’s not something game creators can wholeheartedly celebrate. If people watch a stream and it makes them think, 'What would I do in that situation?' or 'How would I experiment with that?', then hopefully they’ll be inspired to try it themselves." Hamaguchi made it clear that he doesn't fault streamers for this, but instead looks at it as an opportunity for RPG makers. According to the director, it is becoming more important than ever for developers to create titles that feature elements of decision making and choice. "If we simply limit the game to only experiencing the story, players might find it more enjoyable to watch videos from their favorite influencers or YouTubers," Hamaguchi continued. Hamaguchi's theory makes sense. After all, as game prices continue to soar and the sheer volume of new games increases--just look at this September's lineup, for example--it is growing harder and harder to justify purchasing every game you'd like to play. Though narrative-heavy games are certainly appealing to some audiences, it makes sense that players would gravitate towards games with more variability in order to make their investment feel worth it. Ahead of Final Fantasy VII Revelation's release, Hamaguchi also spoke with GameSpot about what fans can expect from the game. For starters, minigames--a feature Rebirth was criticized for having too many of--will be less of a focus going forward. Hamaguchi also discussed the process of bringing the original game's weapons to life, as well as what adventures might lay ahead for Cloud and the team following the remake trilogy's conclusion. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2Uh0mAim8Y
The remake is now under Capcom's primary division. The post Resident Evil 0 remake reportedly ‘rebooted’ with Capcom’s main team taking over appeared first on Destructoid.
Forza Horizon is fine, I guess, but for my money this is where it's at.
Last year, Ubisoft confirmed that it is developing a new Ghost Recon game, but a new report suggests that the project has been troubled and may face a "complete reboot or outright cancellation" if its problems can't be fixed. Insider Gaming is reporting that the next Ghost Recon, which is internally known as Project OVR, failed to meet Ubisoft's objectives during a recent review. Unnamed sources blamed the failure on "unrealistic deadlines and poor planning and management." According to the report, Ubisoft rejected the alternative production plans proposed by Project OVR's directors. In response to the failed review, Ubisoft is reportedly taking a more hands-on approach with Project OVR by bringing in additional executives to oversee the development. The report cites an internal memo that describes Project OVR as having a "strong" foundation, but that may not be enough to prevent the game's development from being halted or redirected to other projects. Insider Gaming notes that there have already been "silent layoffs" on the Project OVR team, with potentially more soon. Earlier this week, Ubisoft reportedly shut down studios in Winnipeg and Belgrade whose titles included Rainbow Six Mobile, Far Cry 6, Assassin's Creed Valhalla, and support for the upcoming Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced. During an investor disclosure in May, Ubisoft acknowledged a record €1.3 billion operating loss for its 2025-2026 fiscal year. However, it also touted a potential return to profitability in the 2027-28 and 2028-29 fiscal years because of upcoming titles, including Assassin's Creed Hexe, a new Far Cry, and the aforementioned Ghost Recon, which will potentially be a first-person shooter.
Every game we scored 9/10 or higher.Nintendo is back with another European eShop sale, and this one is all about multiplayer.Yes, if you have been looking for something to play with your pals, then the fittingly-titled 'Multiplayer Sale' is well worth checking out. The discounts are now live and will be sticking around until 21st June, so you still have a couple more weeks to make the most.Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Money is not the only factor in the lawsuit
Troubling times. The post ‘Profit leaks’ or pressure campaign? FromSoft’s top shareholder is reportedly trying to put the screws on Miyazaki appeared first on Destructoid.
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