UHQBot
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A man is being pushed off a cliff to his death. It's happening right now, while you stand there watching. A murder, taking place right in front of you.
But who is the man being pushed? Who is the man doing the pushing? And where, exactly, is this cliff? These are the questions The Case of the Golden Idol demo asks you as you investigate your very first murder.
Solving this initial murder isn't too complex. By clicking clues on the screen showing a lightly animated tableau of the murder, you examine them closely, like the contents of a backpack or the items in someone's pocket. A letter might contain someone's name, or an item, when clicked, will tell you what it is. The names and descriptors you find are all collected at the bottom of your screen, and to use them you switch from the investigation panel to the 'thinking' panel. There you'll find a scroll with a number of blanks in it: Blank Blank pushed Blank Blank off a cliff in the Blank of Blank on Monkey Paw Island. There are also portraits of each character involved, and those characters need to be correctly named.
Drag and drop the names and words you collected into the scroll to present your solution to the murder. If you're wrong, the game will tell you and you can adjust your guesses or investigate further. It's a sort of Mad Libs-style murder investigation, and there's a real satisfying feel when you've dropped in the last word and solved the murder. The trailer at the top of the page, revealed at the Future Games Show today, will give you a good idea of how it all works.
But even in the demo, The Case of the Golden Idol gets tricky very quickly, with plenty of red herrings and unrelated clues, and I came to a few false conclusions. The second murder, wherin a man is dead with a nasty head wound, seemed pretty obvious to me at first just by looking at the other items in the room. When I'd plugged in all my words, however, I was wrong, and had to do a bit more careful investigating and thinking. The third murder is even more difficult, with multiple locations, tons of clues, and a healthy handful of suspects.
(Image credit: Color Gray Games)
And it's not enough to just find the guilty party, you need to identify every single person on the premises by their full names, which has a satisfying Return of the Obra Dinn feel to it. You can make things harder on yourself, too: Clues have a little glow by default, but you can turn that off if you really want to pixel hunt. I'm here to tell you that even with the glow on, I missed a few clues even after scouring these scenes multiple times.
What's also great is that the clues aren't all contained in the things you click on. There are plenty of hints in the environment that you'll need to absorb just through observation. Figuring out a motive for a murder is important and will help all those clues make sense. Finally, the art is offbeat and a bit crude, but in a sort of pleasing way. I like pretty much everything about this game.
If you love piecing together murder mysteries, I absolutely recommend playing the free demo of The Case of the Golden Idol. There'll be another demo, with a new mystery, added at Steam Next fest in October, and here's one final bit of tantalizing intrigue for when the full game is released: All of these murders are connected. I can't wait to click around in the full game, though when it's being released is still a mystery.
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Disney has released a free, standalone version of the character creator for its take on a casual life sim. Dreamlight Valley isn't out for a couple weeks, but if you make a character in the tool now, Disney says you can import them into the game when it releases on September 6. In the meantime, you can take selfies of your avatar.
I jumped in to see if it's worth fussing over and, yup, you can easily waste a couple hours on this thing. No harm doing it ahead of time then.
Dreamlight Valley doesn't have the most permissive character creator tool I've seen when it comes to your actual body. You're kept to predetermined face shapes, features, and colors for skin, hair, and eyes. There's a nice selection of hairstyles for any gender, though, including a number of textured styles. Over in the clothing section, there's everything from skinny jeans to princess dresses to head scarves and combat boots.
The bit I can see myself getting carried away with is the Touch of Magic tool, Dreamlight Valley's custom patterns creator. It's also confined to a set (albeit a reasonably big one) of specific shapes and symbols—leaves, embroidered swirls, character silhouettes, and other details. It doesn't just let you freehand draw whatever you want like the Animal Crossing: New Horizons custom designs everyone went bananas over in 2020. You can do a good bit of layering, mirroring, coloring, and resizing all those elements to get some pretty intricate designs though.
(Image credit: Gameloft)You can't customize any piece of clothing. Only a certain selection can be used as templates—a few different dresses, a backpack, some tops, and Mickey Mouse ears, so far.
And a PSA: As far as I can tell, naming your avatar locks in the design, and once you do that, you can't change it. I stuck myself with one of the preset character faces by accident after playing around for a while. Not to worry, you can download it from Steam and the Epic Games Store, so you've got two chances if you need them like I did.
Here are a few different avatars I managed to cook up, including a bit of playing around with customizing dresses and accessories. Don't worry, I kept to the PC Gamer bylaws. Geralt is down there.
(Image credit: Gameloft)(Image credit: Gameloft)(Image credit: Gameloft) -
In case you missed it amidst all the Dragon Ball Z business going down in Fortnite right now, Epic and Bungie just kicked off a smaller Destiny 2/Fortnite crossover event that actually extends to both games. In Destiny 2, new armors inspired by Fortnite characters are available now. Over in Fortnite, Destiny skins for Zavala, Ikora, and the Exo Stranger are in the store for 1,500 V-bucks each.
Fortnite also has a new custom game mode that recreates Destiny 2's Zone Control Crucible mode on one of its most iconic maps, Javelin-4, though you'd be forgiven for not realizing the mode exists. I had a tough time finding it on Fortnite's extensive grid of game modes, but keep scrolling and you'll eventually see it under the "Epic's Picks" section.
Turns out it was hard to find because the mode wasn't actually made by Epic. The studio commissioned YouTube creator team PWR to develop the map in Creative mode with Fortnite's existing tools and assets. Considering the limitations, the recreation is impressive. I haven't played Destiny's PvP mode in years, and even I quickly recognized Javelin-4's art direction and unique layout.
Players choose between three loadouts inspired by Destiny's classes—Titans get assault rifles and shotguns, Warlocks get a long-range rifle, and Hunters get revolvers and sticky bombs. Unfortunately, you won't actually look the Destiny part unless you buy one of the skins. I appreciate the lengths that PWR went to mimicking the Crucible format. All three classes have ultimate abilities inspired by real Destiny moves. True to my actual Destiny skill, I landed exactly zero Golden Gun shots during my stint as a Hunter.
Fortnite's take on Crucible is so faithful that it even feels true to the parts of it I remember not liking. The TTK is long enough that there's almost no chance of turning around a 1v2 situation, so it's crucial to stick together and fight as a team. My random teammates were more interested in lone-wolfing it, so we lost a lot. Fortnite Crucible also emulates Destiny's lack of skill-based matchmaking, which is completely acceptable for a side mode in Fortnite, but recently made waves in the Destiny community when Bungie admitted that over half of Control matches are over "before a single shot is fired."
Thankfully that wasn't the case in my Fortnite matches. The few games I played were a mix of close calls and sweeps, but they were all too long. Maybe PWR tuned it this way to better match the Destiny counterpart, but 10 minutes is a bit sluggish for a simple mode with one map.
My only other complaint is that there's no reward path for unlocking all the cool Destiny cosmetics by playing Zone Control. You do get XP at least, but the mode's designation as a Creative map instead of an official Epic production seems to be a limiting factor. This whole Fortnite/Destiny thing is just a side promotion after all—back on the actual Fortnite map, players are still busy blasting each other with Kamehamehas, shooting Darth Vader in the face, and looting Indiana Jones' treasure.
Had Epic put its full weight behind a Destiny crossover, it would've been cool to actually use some of Destiny 2's coolest legendary weapons or even ride a Sparrow across the map. I'll have to settle for my $8 Sparrow glider that my $15 Zavala rides like a surfboard.
(Image credit: Epic) -
The overworld is morphing again, this time into Minecraft Legends, a new action strategy spinoff for Mojang's main crafting game. Legends is planning to take you on an adventure across the biomes of the overworld, hunting and gathering resources to build your defenses against the invading piglin forces. You'll unite old enemies like skeletons and creepers into allies against the Nether's corruption. Oh, and your own friends can join you in online co-op too.
Since its June 2022 reveal, Mojang has given just choice tidbits about what's planned for strategically commanding your mob armies in Legends. One thing the reveal trailer makes super clear: You'll be doing quite a lot of riding around on horseback like a knight in iron armor. Here's everything else we know so far about Minecraft Legends:
(Image credit: Blackbird Interactive, Mojang)Does Minecraft Legends have a release date?
Not an exact one yet. Minecraft Legends is launching sometime in 2023, Mojang has said. We don't know much more than that yet. What we do know is that Minecraft Legends was revealed during the Xbox Showcase in June 2022, which Microsoft emphasized was focused on games launching within the next 12 months. If all goes according to plan, it sounds like Minecraft Legends is planned for the first half of 2023, then.
When it does arrive, we know that Minecraft Legends will launch on PC, consoles, and be included in Xbox Game Pass.
Here's the latest Minecraft Legends trailer from Gamescom 2022
We're still very much in teaser territory for Minecraft Legends footage, but this cinematic at least shows off a few more units we'll be battling alongside and against when Minecraft Legends hits in 2023. The hero's forces include small golems that come in both melee and ranged varieties, while the enemy piglin forces field so-called "pigmadillos"—large piglins that can roll up into a cuboid wrecking ball to demolish your troops.
Here's the first Minecraft Legends trailer
This may be just a first teaser, but there's a lot going on in the Minecraft Legends trailer—including a little look at gameplay. The first bits here are of course an animated cinematic like Mojang sometimes produces for other Minecraft reveals and projects.
Minecraft Legends "tells the story of the Overworld uniting against an invasion by the ravenous piglins," it says. "According to the legend, only you can bring together the mobs of the Overworld and help them defend their home."
Based on that, it makes a lot of sense that we see the player riding their horse at the head of an army full of creepers, zombies, and skeletons. It looks like longtime enemies are all going to come together to kick the piglins back into the Nether.
So what is the Minecraft Legends gameplay like?
Here's what Mojang has said about Legends so far in its announcement post: "You will defend peaceful settlements and fight hordes of piglins to stop the spread of their Nether corruption. You are the center of every battle you lead, fighting alongside your allies while giving them directions."
You can spot a few peeks at that in the reveal trailer if you're paying attention. The player rides a horse—in fact, Mojang has confirmed you will literally always be riding your faithful steed—and is followed by mob units, waving a blue flag in a way that looks like they're calling their army to their position. You can also see the player and their mob pals fighting a horde of piglins and assaulting a grim-looking Nether fort with a portal at its center.
Like Minecraft Dungeons, this definitely isn't going to be the same kind of crafting and building as regular Minecraft. In Legends, it looks like you'll do a lot of riding around on horseback, leading your mob army, and swinging a sword at piglin enemies. In gameplay footage shown during Gamescom 2022, the player hero swaps back and forth between a pulled-back strategic camera view to issue orders, and a tighter third-person view for taking combat into their own hands.
During an interview at Gamescom 2022, creative director Magnus Nedfors said that the game's core emphasis is on forging alliances with denizens of the Minecraft Overworld, so that you can battle the piglin forces together. "It's not about your character getting stronger," Nedfors said. "You're not getting a new armor. It's about making new friends and fighting the piglins together."In another livestream, Mojang Studios executive producer Dennis Ries says "as you explore the lush biomes you collect resources and then you use those resources to build defenses."
You can see just a quick look at those player fortifications in the trailer too: a player stands nearby while a large oak log fortress rises into place.
(Image credit: Blackbird Interactive, Mojang)Is there multiplayer in Minecraft Legends? Crossplay?
Yes! Minecraft Legends will have co-op and competitive multiplayer, Xbox has announced. We don't know anything else about how multiplayer works just yet.
As for crossplay, we can pretty safely bet that there will at least be cross-platform multiplayer between PC and Xbox players. Since Mojang eventually added cross-platform multiplayer to Minecraft Dungeons for PC and all consoles, it seems fair to hope that it will push for that at launch with Legends.
Who's developing Minecraft Legends?
It turns out that Mojang isn't developing Minecraft Legends itself. It's actually being developed by Blackbird Interactive, the studio that created spaceship deconstruction sim Hardspace: Shipbreaker (which we gave an excellent 91% review) and is also working on the RTS Crossfire: Legion.
Mojang says that BBI has a team specifically dedicated to work on Minecraft Legends and even though it isn't being handled by the in-house team, it sure sounds like it's in experienced hands.
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It's hard to believe, but Age of Empires was released on October 15, 1997, which means that it is rapidly approaching its 25th birthday. 25 years old! That's a big one—the silver anniversary—and to celebrate, Relic Entertainment is making Age of Empires 4 free to play for a week.
To get in on the action, just pop around to the Steam page and click the "play game" button. It'll download and install, and then you're off to the chariot races. The free week runs until August 28, and both the standard and deluxe editions are also on sale for half-price, in case you want to stick with it for longer.
This isn't the only birthday fun Relic has planned. October will also see the launch of an anniversary update, free for all players, which will include two new civilizations, the Malians and the Ottomans. The Malians are an economic powerhouse and one of the richest trading nations in the game, while the Ottoman Empire boasts an elite military and the Great Bombard, the largest gunpowder siege weapon available.
The update will also include new maps, achievements, and masteries, alongside the new seasonal events, ranked team play, taunts and cheats, and other new features slated for the season 3 update. If you don't feel like waiting until October, you can get a head start on the new civs and content in the Public Update Preview coming in September—sign up for the Age Insider Program if you'd like to take part.
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HyperX has officially launched its first-ever gaming monitors, the Armada 25 and Armada 27. This pair of mid-range monitors from the HP-owned company is looking to compete in a time when it seems like gaming monitors are having a moment.
The HyperX Armada 25 is a 24.5-inch 1080p gaming monitor on an IPS panel that retails for $449. Its 240Hz refresh rate and 1ms GtG response time target the competitive gamer that needs to be locked in at all times in shooters like Valorant or Call of Duty: Warzone.
The Armada 27 is a $500 27-inch 1440p display with a 165Hz refresh rate offering PC folks a more wide-screened gaming experience. The Armada 27 shares many of the same desk ergonomics and display features as its smaller 24-inch cousin. In addition, the Armada 27 does offer HDR400 support which isn't on the 25.
These G-Sync compatible Armadas are bundled with desk mounts, which we don't see often, and will help clear up some precious desk real estate. HyperX sells additional arm mounts if you want to set up a neat dual monitor layout or just want a little more flexibility.
HyperX's pricing puts both of these monitors smack-dab in the middle of a crowded field full of Asus, Acers, and Dells. Though you should note that the Armada monitors don't seem to have built-in speakers, so you might need to invest in a decent set if you want to avoid wearing a headset.
It's interesting that HyperX didn't announce a 4K version of the Armada and opted for the more common PC gaming resolutions. If you're dead set on a 4K gaming monitor, though, don't worry; we made a list of some of our favorites.
The HyperX Armada 25 and Armada 27, along with the additional mounts, will launch next month and retail for $449 and $499, respectively.
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When Pinocchio dodge-rolled out of an attack and crushed a vial to heal himself, I knew what was going on.
Lies of P is so Soulslike that it crosses the border of inspiration into replication. There are animations and UI elements that are probably not actually stolen from FromSoftware's Bloodborne, but they are ridiculously similar.
Last year, publisher Neowiz told Kotaku that making a game that's extremely Bloodborne "definitely wasn't intentional," and that FromSoftware's games are purely inspirational to the team at Roung8 Studio.
The new 12 minute gameplay video from IGN makes me skeptical of that quote. The game is a third-person action horror game where you slice lanky lads and shoot a gun from your left hand. It's Bloodborne set in the 19th century and you play as Pinocchio for some reason. It's not a bad way to find a way to make Bloodborne for PC; I just think the developers should be a little more honest about it.
Here's a list of things that were "inspired" by Bloodborne in that video:
- The whole health, stamina, and item interface
- Combat looks weighty and deliberate
- Lanky
VictorianBelle Époque enemies with bed hair - Dark, dense levels filled with abandoned carts
- When you die, text covers the screen as everything else fades to black
- Status effects build up on hit
- That healing vial animation that looks very familiar
- Items glow on the ground, and the animation for collecting those too
- Lock-on effect is a white dot
- Inventory screen is full of stats
- Weapons have durability
- You can wind-up a heavy attack (not sure about visceral attacks though)
Now try to tell me Lies of P is a game made by people who simply like Bloodborne. I think everyone at Round8 Studio loves Bloodborne a lot, and are doing admirable work to make more Bloodborne happen.
Lies of P got a substantial trailer during Gamescom's Opening Night Live stream. In it, we saw Pinocchio totally-not-Bloodborne his way through Paris to find his creator, Geppetto. "Finally we meet, son," the monocled man says in a wizened voice. I wouldn't have disputed a short chuckle after that line if the developers wanted to go all the way with the Dark Souls inspirations, but the fact that he doesn't is a sign that this game, despite its entirely absurd premise and devotion to another popular action game, is taking itself very seriously. I respect that.
Lies of P will probably beat any official Bloodborne port to PC—and might be a sick alternative—when it launches in 2023.
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On Tuesday, the creator of Wii U emulator Cemu announced a major 2.0 version release, introducing Linux builds for the first time and open sourcing eight years of work.
In 2017, Wii U emulator Cemu made history by pulling in thousands of dollars per month on Patreon to help fund development. Cemu's high profile Patreon, which was briefly earning $25,000 at its peak, raised questions about the ethics of emulation, particularly when money is involved, and when a project is "closed source" instead of open source, meaning their source code isn't publicly available. Closed source emulator development isn't inherently wrong, but it can be controversial—one of the key ways the emulation community protects itself from lawsuits is by keeping its source code public, so litigious companies like Nintendo can study it and confirm that none of its proprietary code is used in the reverse-engineering process.
Dolphin emulator developer Pierre Bourdon broke it down for me back in 2017. "You can save a lot of time if you ‘cheat’ and look at proprietary documentation (console SDKs, leaks, etc.) while trying to understand how a console works," he said. "This is in general frowned upon in many emulation projects: it puts the whole project at the risk of a lawsuit. It's one of the things where we have no doubts about the legality: it's clearly illegal. With open source projects the development process is usually very open."
Despite some worries in the community that Cemu would attract legal scrutiny thanks to its closed source code, lucrative Patreon and 4K Breath of the Wild videos, Nintendo never came knocking. And now worries that Cemu's source code could be lost if developer exzap ever disappeared are moot, too. The project in its entirety is available on Github, including Linux builds for the new 2.0 release.
Cemu's move to open source marks the end of the most prominent fan-made closed source emulator in existence. It's a great day for the continued preservation of Nintendo's games long into the future, considering the company's own emulation efforts are often disappointingly bad.
Exzap notes that the Linux support is "still very rough around the edges," but hopes that changes quickly as other emulator developers familiarize themselves with Cemu and begin to chip in on the project. Cemu previously only ran on Windows, but its Linux support now opens the door to easy installation on the Steam Deck, my favorite emulation system. It won't be easy to get going on the Deck until Cemu adds flatpak support for one-click installation, but that's already being discussed on the Github.
Cemu's creator used the 2.0 announcement to talk a bit about the emulator's history—they've been the sole developer for much of its run, and said that in the last couple years the project has been especially draining. "Whenever I tell myself to make time for other things, I end up feeling guilty because my self-inflicted sense of responsibility drives me to always prioritize Cemu over my own interests. This year was especially intense because I single-handedly ported Cemu to Linux while also trying to deliver somewhat constant feature and bug fix updates," they wrote. "In the end, opening up development seems like the logical decision. It has always been the long-term plan anyway. With Cemu being open-source, the hope is that new contributors will pick up where I left off."
Exzap will still be contributing, but hopes having more developers will help with some significant features, like pausing and restarting emulation and improving performance on older hardware.
"I have been working on Cemu for almost 8 years now, watching the project grow from an experiment that seemed infeasible, to something that, at its peak, was used by more than a million people," exzap wrote on Tuesday. "Even today, when the Wii U has been mostly forgotten, we still get a quarter million downloads each month. There are still so many people enjoying Wii U games with Cemu and I will be eternally grateful that I got the chance to impact so many people's life in a positive way, even if just a tiny bit."
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(Image credit: Bungie)
It's been a while since Anarchy was the most dangerous kid on the Destiny 2 block, but today the exotic heavy grenade launcher has been disabled, as has its cousins The Prospector and The Colony. In fact, all non-sunset heavy grenade launchers, with a couple of exceptions, have been temporarily taken out of commission, meaning players are now unable to equip them.
Due to Heavy Grenade Launchers doing more damage than intended, all non-sunset Heavy Grenade Launchers have been disabled, excluding:- Salvation's Grip- Parasite- Uncommon Rarity Heavy Grenade LaunchersAugust 24, 2022
See moreThe bug was introduced as part of this week's major update, and according to player testing saw some heavy grenade launchers dealing more than double damage. While Anarchy actually hasn't been a meta terror since it was nerfed in July 2021, that kind of enormous buff would have seen it become dominant as soon as the community caught on.
YouTube content creator Fallout Plays explains what happened in the video below.
As detailed in the patch notes for Season of Plunder, which rolled out on Tuesday, Bungie listed the following change.
'Heavy Grenade Launchers: Increased damage vs. majors and above by ~10%, excluding Parasite.'
Sure enough, it's still possible to equip Parasite, which missed out on the buff because it already did quite enough damage thankyouverymuch. You can also use Salvation's Grip, because, well, it's terrible. Although that doesn't explain why The Colony, which has never been a serious boss killer (and I doubt would be even with double damage), has also been placed on the naughty step.
Quite how the intended modest buff became so wildly out of whack is anyone's guess. With the King's Fall raid race due to kick off this Friday at reset, it wouldn't have made sense for Bungie to allow teams to compete with DPS weapons that are completely busted. The developer is able to disable weapons server-side without needing a full patch, specifically to deal with situations like these.
As for King's Fall, I'll be trying my hand at getting a day one finish, and if you're interested in watching the struggle as it happens, Bungie has a page on how to follow along here. In terms of what power weapon to use instead, the big boss Oryx is actually more of a mechanical challenge to beat rather than a pure damage check. For the Warpriest, Golgoroth and Sisters encounters, I would expect linear fusion and sniper rifles to rule the day.
And, knowing my team, late into the night too.
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After a stealthy announcement earlier this month indie developer Brace Yourself Games has now revealed gameplay from its next game, Rift of the Necrodancer. Protagonist Cadence is back, clearly, but this time around the setting is the modern world and there are mysterious space-time rifts to contend with.
Stop me if you've come to the same conclusion, but I blame a Necrodancer.
From the look of the trailer, Rift of the Necrodancer will center on a variety of gameplay rather than the rhythmic roguelike dungeon crawling of Crypt. It's billed as an action-RPG and fighter, but clearly incorporates the same kind of rhythm game magic you'd expect from Brace Yourself Games.
"The Necrodancer's back in a brand new rhythm game spinoff, featuring a whole new look, modern setting, and soundtrack!" said developer Brace Yourself Games in an announcement Tweet featuring the new trailer. That same trailer is also up on YouTube.
The central game mode in Rift is... Rift Mode. It's a lane-based "rhythmic battle against streams of monsters pouring out of the Rift!" There are also minigames where you "help Cadence overcome the challenges of the modern world" like, for an example from the trailer, Yoga. I think we can all agree that Yoga is a significant challenge of the modern world.
The trailer also has what looks like some boss battling on display. I don't know how it works but I do know the music it's set to is great. Can't complain about new Necrodancer music.
Oh, and there's now a Rift of the Necrodancer Steam page, where its release date is TBD.
The original Crypt of the Necrodancer released all the way back in 2015, but got a huge update earlier this year. Chris Thursten gave it an 87 on release in our review and I would argue that it has only gotten better since—I mean, it has mods now, and several big chunky DLC to feast upon.
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I can't say that I've ever wondered what would happen if I mashed Guitar Hero up with Street Fighter, but I strongly suspect that if I did, I'd end up with something quite a bit like God of Rock, a new rhythm fighting game being developed by Modus Studios that was announced today at the Future Games Show.
First things first: You are not the god of rock in God of Rock. That honor goes to a mysterious entity who, strictly for kicks, decides to resurrect the souls of the greatest musicians in history and make them do battle with one another. "Revitalized with new bodies and new powers, each musician will become a contestant in his game, battling it out with each other for musical supremacy on a global stage," developer Modus Studios said.
God of Rock will feature 12 "wildly different characters," eight stages, and more than 40 original songs at launch, with training and story modes, local and ranked online multiplayer, and a track editor that will enable players to modify the game's music. Each fighter has their own unique design, mechanics, and "harmonic attacks," which includes both normal attacks that soften up opponents, along with more complex special moves and devastating super attacks. While the fists are flying, players will also have to keep to the beat, which will become more challenging as the music grows more complex and difficult as the battle progresses.
It's a weird idea, but sometimes those are the best, or at least the most potentially interesting, and frankly if this means I get to watch Mozart beat Elvis' 'donkey', I'm willing to give it a shot. God of Rock is set to come out in the winter of 2022, and you can find out more (and wishlist it, if you like) on Steam.
And now, let us rock.
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Today's Future Games Show stream included part one of a cinematic trailer for Off the Grid, a 150-player PvP and PvE battle royale game in development by Gunzilla Games and film director Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Elysium, Chappie), who's in charge of the worldbuilding. You can watch the video above, or here on YouTube.
I mainly want to talk about one scene, which I've embedded a clip of below, but the whole video is a bit weird. It's nearly four minutes long, but by the end I couldn't tell you who it was about or why they mattered. It's mostly a fight scene in the style of those YouTube videos were people demonstrate that it's possible to do low-budget special effects. The industrial complex it takes place in looks like a Google Maps 3D satellite view that's been put through an AI upscaler.
I guess that's the kind of thing Blomkamp is known for, so he's staying true to form, but it seems to me it would've been cheaper to record some actual gameplay footage of Off the Grid. We still haven't seen what it looks like, and it's supposed to release next year.
None of that is as weird as the thing I really want to talk about, though: the flip.
The flip happens a little over three minutes into the video. Two guys are fighting. One defeats the other, leaving him kneeling on the ground with no weapon or defenses—or so it seems! The apparent loser isn't completely out of tricks. He desperately throws sticky gadgets onto nearby concrete pillars, creating a laser beam fence between the two combatants. It's not enough. The victor uses his bionic legs to leap vertically and flip forward over the laser fence, shooting the helpless soldier while upside down at the apex of his jump.
What makes the flip weird will be obvious when you watch the clip, but let's break it down anyway:
- He could have just shot the guy through the laser beams. Even if laser beams somehow block his shots, there are huge gaps between the beams.
- He could have walked around the laser fence. There's nothing on the other side of the concrete pillars.
- He also could have gone under the lowest laser beam, if he really wanted to. It's not that low.
- How come his forward momentum seems to disappear in the closeup, which shows him jumping completely vertically?
- The gunshots don't seem to do anything, but then the guy drops dead. Maybe they cause internal bleeding or something. Also, is it a laser gun? Sounds like one, but it ejects shells. Energy shells, maybe?
I suppose the video could be in the same vein as the Battlefield 2042 announcement trailer, which was a cinematic interpretation of the goofy things players do in Battlefield games, like jumping in and out of jet cockpits mid-flight. Maybe the flip is a send-up of the silly, unnecessary behaviors players get up to in battle royale games? Could be. That's not really the sort of thing Blomkamp has said he's interested in, though.
"I think the future of gaming is in more and more photorealistic environments that are more and more physically true, that allow the player to do whatever they want, in that environment," the director told Game Informer last year.
According to Gunzilla, Off the Grid is a "cyberpunk-styled battle royale third person shooter that aims to evolve the genre through strong emphasis on narrative progression and player freedom." How a narrative is being worked into its 150-player PvP fights and its PvE storyline missions isn't really clear yet—again, we haven't seen the game—but it sounds serious.
"Core to the experience and deep narrative structure is the unique way in which players can craft, customize, and trade their in-game items with each other," says Gunzilla. "More details to be revealed at a later stage."
Off the Grid is being developed in Unreal Engine 5, and is supposed to release next year. The official FAQ has a few more details. Nothing about why the guy does a flip, though.
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Sorry, Switch fans. This is one port no one was begging for: Irdeto, the company behind anti-piracy tool Denuvo, announced on Wednesday that it's bringing "Nintendo Switch Emulator Protection" to the console, pairing a very popular gaming handheld with a very unpopular bit of DRM.
Denuvo's PC DRM implementation has been criticized for years now for harming game performance, which the company has always denied. In our own testing of Final Fantasy 15 back in 2018, we found no performance impact—but other games have shown players had good reason to be worried. A cracked version of Resident Evil Village ran better with Denuvo removed, and last year 4X strategy game Humankind dropped Denuvo before launch because the performance of its implementation "was not good enough."
Even if Denuvo only occasionally affects performance, that possibility hangs over any PC game that uses it like an ugly specter.
While the company behind Denuvo calls it an anti-piracy tool, the announcement of its new Switch DRM ignorantly lumps in completely legal emulation with piracy. Just look at how it introduces its new tool in this press release:
"Even if a game is protected against piracy on its PC version, the released version on Switch can be emulated from day one and played on PC, therefore bypassing the strong protections offered on the PC version. This can happen with any of the numerous games available on Switch."
The press release goes on to say it will "block unauthorized emulations on PC." Which, again, are legal—Switch emulator Yuzu even has a walkthrough on how to dump your own games from your own Switch. "Unauthorized" is not the same thing as illegal. If you rip your own Switch game, you should be able to play it on PC.
Piracy exists, of course. But so do Switch and PC owners who want to play a new game at better than 720p and an unstable 30 frames per second, which the Switch's 5-year-old hardware can barely manage on many games today. It's definitely how I hope to experience the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Thanks to emulation, there have been some hilarious and extremely impressive Breath of the Wild mods on PC over the years.
Given Denuvo's rocky performance history on PC, I can't imagine any Switch players being happy to see it arrive on the console just to stop them from playing Switch games on another platform. Irdeto hasn't named any publishing partners that will be using the tool at this time.
In response to the announcement, Switch emulator Ryujinx tweeted "We will continue developing an emulation platform for Switch game preservation & enhancement, upon which consumers may enjoy their games both now and beyond the lifecycle of the console itself."
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We've now got a look at gameplay from the new Layers of Fears, the remake, expansion, and compilation of Bloober Team's 2016 and 2019 horror games. It's simultaneously a remake of the old games, incorporating everything they and their DLC had, and a expanded remake adding new story and gameplay. Layers of Fears is rebuilt in Unreal Engine 5, so it'll be a lot prettier.
The trailer was shown off today at GamesCom, at the Future Games Show. Layers of Fears is set to release in early 2023.
Bloober Team previously called Layers of Fears a "psychological horror chronicle" when they revealed it back in June. They promised to enhance the "psychedelic experience fans know and love." I, for one, just want to applaud them for going with the ridiculous and good but not very search friendly title Layers of Fears.
The gameplay trailer shows off rich environments, with the chain-filled hallways and awful visages of the painterly protagonist's mind. It's rife with the kind of shaky, unsteady movement you expect from a horror game, pointing directly at that Bloober Team promise to enhance the psychedelic aspect.
Doors catch fire as we approach them, walls shift and change. The humble painter's canvas is revealed with a dramatic musical sting. It's a great introduction to the primary themes of the horror series for new fans, and probably a real litmus test for past ones as to whether they want a remake in the first place.
You can find out more at official website layersoffears.com.
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The fantasy of climbing into a big stompy mech and blasting the hell out of your enemies with missiles and lasers is strong, but there's something incredibly appealing behind the idea of using a powerful mech to do a spot of peaceful farming, too. It's not just me, right? Doesn't that sound kinda great?
It sure looks great in the first gameplay trailer for Lightyear Frontier, shown at the Future Games Show today, where you're making your home on a planet at the edge of the galaxy. Plant and grow alien crops from the seeds you find while exploring the peaceful planet, build yourself a cozy home away from home, and customize your farming mech with upgraded tools.
In the trailer you can see how your farming mech works, as it sucks up water from a gentle creek and then sprays it into a plot where alien plants are being grown. This is high-tech farming, with your mech's laser selecting multiple growing slots in the planter before firing seeds from a gun-like tool right into the soil. Cutting down trees and busting up mineral deposits looks like it's done with some sort of grappling-drill, and you can switch from first-person to third-person perspective, which allows you to more easily admire the beautiful planet while exploring.
And don't forget to take a break from space-farming to just enjoy the idyllic world you're living on. You'll be able to play alone or with up to three friends when Lightyear Frontier launches in spring of 2023.
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Hello Penatron,
Welcome to UnityHQ Nolfseries Community. Please feel free to browse around and get to know the others. If you have any questions please don't hesitate to ask.
Penatron joined on the 08/24/2022.
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We haven't heard much about Teslagrad 2 since it was announced back in 2020, but we got a pretty big update at the Future Games Show today: An all-new trailer and a release target of spring 2023.
"Teslagrad 2 is set to be an exploration-based Metroidvania game with magnetic physics and will use the visual style that won the hearts of the players in the original," developer Rain Games said when the sequel was announced. "Teslagrad was a fresh experience in gaming with its magnetic physics based mechanics. Now Rain Games intends to take this experience up a level within the sequel, by sparking new life into the game with additions that will set it apart from the original."
The new trailer certainly looks set to follow through on that promise: A mystery, a hidden past, an ancient power, and buried secrets, all related with a visual style reminiscent of, yet greatly advanced beyond, the original. (Which, for the record, is to be expected: Teslagrad came out almost a decade ago.)
It's great to finally have a look at the new game, and while a release target is not the same as a result date, at least it's something to look forward to—and not too far off, either. Teslagrad 2 is now available for wishlisting on Steam.
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Command and Conquer Remastered developer Petroglyph Games is working on an all-new RTS called The Great War: Western Front that features both real-time action and turn-based decision-making across the most pivotal front of the First World War.
Revealed today during the Future Games Show, The Great War: Western Front puts players in charge of either the Allied Nations or the Central Powers as they engage in a grinding, grotesque war of attrition across the muddy, blood-soaked fields of Europe. The game promises both highly-detailed depictions of real-time trench warfare and broader, turn-based strategic gameplay as Theater Commander: Allocating resources and fortifying positions across the Western Front, and determining the direction of technological research ranging from poison gas to powerful tanks.
"Battles take place in a living, persistent world, with existing battlefields holding the scars of previous battles and deteriorating as players revisit them, while changing weather conditions will provide additional challenges for each unit," Petroglyph said.
Original Command and Conquer composer Frank Klepacki is also returning to create the soundtrack for The Great War: Western Front. Klepacki previously worked with Petroglyph on the Command and Conquer Remastered Collection.
The Great War: Western Front is being published by Frontier Foundry, the publishing label of Elite Dangerous studio Frontier Developments, and is expected to be out on Steam and the Epic Games Store sometime in 2023.
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Very pretty bird flying action game The Falconeer has a follow-up on the way, also by developer Tomas Sala, but in an entirely new genre: City-building strategy. Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles will put players in the shoes of someone in charge of those incredible island fortresses that litter the Falconeer world.
You'll be able to build your Bulwark by bashing together many different building options in what looks like a very dynamic, adaptive interface based on hubs and spokes that move up and down the sheer cliffsides and between parallel heights by making bridges or stairs as needed.
Sala says the new game is about "love for creating and kitbashing fortresses and settlements and it aims to bring that joy back to gamers." It's also for people who played The Falconeer and wished they could be in charge of those cool ironclad steamships or flying dreadnoughts instead.
"The core gameplay is squarely focused on wildly building across the rocky cliffs and crags of the world," say the developers. "Light resource management, combat, and story elements bring your creation to life, while giving a voice to its inhabitants and allowing you to expand it with exotic new build options."
For my part, Bulwark kinda looks like it has the vibes of something like Townscaper while simultaneously bringing in a simple gameplay layer built around resources and defense. It'll also offer options for recruiting characters, "commanders and specialists," that give life to your town with new units and draw in their own stories. That's a strong combo!
You can find Bulwark: Falconeer Chronicles on Steam. It doesn't yet have a release date.
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Frostpunk continues to be an influence on new city builders, as you can see above in the first trailer for Floodland. Instead of the fictional cold-pocalypse of Frostpunk, however, Floodland is set after the world has been deluged with seawater due to global climate change, a threat that is all too real.
As with Frostpunk, Floodland is more than just about building a settlement after a global catastrophe, it's about creating a functioning society that won't make the same mistakes as the past. That means establishing laws, and in Floodland there's a branching series of rules you can enact in your settlements. This includes sensible policies like water conservation, food quality control, and one that seems perfectly suited to our inevitable submerged future: swimming lessons.
Global climate change isn't the only realistic issue in Floodland. There are also COVID-like communicable diseases, and in the trailer you can see policies for social distancing, mask-wearing, and even settlement-wide lockdowns. (It'll be interesting to see how the virtual communities react to that, after witnessing how our real society did.) Other polices include a broad range of social issues, like same-sex marriage and labor laws, and plenty of darker options like declaring martial law and even engaging human experimentation.
And naturally, you'll have to go about with more traditional city building systems, like exploring the flooded world around you to gather resources, establishing a food supply (I'm assuming fishing would be a good way to start) and researching new tech to grow your post-world city. Floodland will arrive on Steam November 22.
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Soulstice is an exciting new fast-paced, dark fantasy action game that allows players to assume dual command of soul-bound sisters Briar and Lute as they face off against a range of vile and ravenous beings who have come pouring into their world from beyond the Veil. As Chimera, hybrid warriors born from the union of two souls, Briar and Lute are the only ones who can oppose the Spawn of Chaos and save the great Kingdom of Keidas.
Playing as Briar and Lute, two sisters bonded together as a Chimera, players will explore a dark world brimming with hidden mysteries while mastering a diverse combat system based on the strengths of the two sisters. As a result of the ritual that bound them together, Briar fights with superhuman strength and resilience while Lute battles as a shade, controlling the battlefield with mystical powers and otherworldly abilities.
Before the game launches in September, players can get a taste of the dark, mysterious world of Keidas with the new cinematic demo trailer that dropped today. See what kind of vile beings Briar and Lute are up against and discover the world they are fighting to save.
After watching the trailer, be sure to download the PC demo and dive headfirst in the unique, intriguing, narrative-driven story. The demo gives players access to portions of Mission 2: “Echoes from the Past” and Mission 5: “Death from Above” as they carry out their orders from the mysterious Order of the Ashen Blade.
(Image credit: Modus Games)Instructed by the Order to investigate a massive Tear in the sky above the city of Ilden, Briar and Lute find themselves shocked and horrified by the disaster that has befallen this once thriving and sacred city. Leaving the ravaged Docks behind them, the two make their way up to the top of the Ildenmere Bridge.
A long-stretching architectural marvel, the Ildenmere Bridge provides direct access to High Town, while casting a shadow of pride and forgetfulness over the Docks District and Low Town far below.
After successfully making their way up and over the Bridge they will square off against a formidable opponent who won’t hesitate to get straight to the “point,” so prepare for one hell of a fight.
(Image credit: Modus Games)The demo is the perfect chance to get familiar with the controls and the unique, dynamic combat system to learn how the sisters work in unison to build Unity which can be tapped into to unlock their full potential as a Chimera. Player success requires clever use of primary and secondary weapons as each weapon deals bonus damage to certain enemy types and adds to the player’s overall battle results.
Other things like combos of primary and secondary weapon attacks also build Unity and players will also need to pay attention to an enemy’s Poise which keeps them from being launched into the air with powerful attacks.
(Image credit: Modus Games)PC demo available on Steam. Download it today and get a taste of what this stylish dark fantasy tale of sisterly love and sacrifice has to offer ahead of its full launch on September 20.
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Fall of Porcupine's anthropomorphic critters, troubled small town setting and light platforming give way to the obvious inspiration of Night in the Woods. It's unsubtle, but maybe not a bad thing: Night in the Woods isn't a fluffy story, even with its fluffy protagonists.
With Fall of Porcupine looking to tell a story about healthcare as work, maybe showing its inspirations so clearly is a fair shorthand: this likely isn't going to be a story about sticking plasters on grazed knees, even before you unearth whatever mysteries the town is hiding.
Finley—the pigeon, it's the town that's called Porcupine—is a new doctor, and he'll have to deal with new job stress, a demanding boss, and navigating both friendly and professional relationships.
The teaser trailer reveals only glimpses and stressed out characters, while Finely flits between them. The playable prologue should show off a little more: and it's now available for free on Steam.
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Strike it big in the Season of Plunder(Image credit: Bungie)
Destiny 2 map fragments: How to get treasure maps
Destiny 2 Delicate Tomb: Grab the new season exotic
Destiny 2 Strand: The second darkness subclass
Destiny 2 Neptune: A new destinationCryptic Quatrains are just the kind of treasure hunt that you'd expect from Destiny 2's pirate-themed Season of Plunder. Effectively messages in a bottle, these quests require you to unravel a number of riddles in order to find the location of buried loot. Completing them will earn you some map fragments, seasonal armor, but more mysteriously, a Crude Cipher Fragment.
These fragments show up in your Captain's Atlas, where a potential treasure map would, and once you collect both fragments and complete the Quatrains, you'll receive an exotic sparrow for your trouble called the Charge of Light. The only real hiccup is that you'll have to grind quite a bit to unlock all three Quatrains, since they have rank requirements. Here I'll give you the quest steps and where to find the treasure.
Destiny 2 Cryptic Quatrains: How to unlock
(Image credit: Bungie)In order to gain access to the first Cryptic Quatrain quest, you'll have to reach rank seven with the star map in the H.E.L.M. You can do this by completing bounties and the Ketchcrash or Expedition activities. Once you rank up, you can grab the Small Treasure Beacon, which will begin the first Cryptic Quatrain. Note: you'll have to get to rank 16 in order to collect all three and complete the individual Quatrain quests if you want that sparrow. Luckily, each quest follows a somewhat similar structure of visiting a destination, completing Lost Sectors, strikes, and then finding the dig site.
Cryptic Quatrain 1
(Image credit: Bungie)Here's what you need to do for each of Cryptic Quatrain 1's individual quest steps:
- Head to the moon
- Complete K1 Revelation Lost Sector in Sorrow's Harbour
- Finish the Fallen S.A.B.E.R strike in the Cosmodrome
- Head to the crane in the Eventide Ruins on Europa and dig up the treasure marked with the Fallen sigil
It's quite easy to locate the treasure, as it's on the ground close to the platform hanging from the only crane in the area. The treasure will get you some seasonal armor, five map fragments, and the first Crude Cipher Fragment.
Cryptic Quatrain 2
(Image credit: Bungie)Once you reach rank ten you can claim the Medium Treasure Beacon from the star map. Here are the steps for this one:
- Head to the Dreaming City
- Complete the Bay of Drowned Wishes Lost Sector in the Divalian Mists
- Finish the Lake of Shadows strike in the EDZ
- Complete an Expedition with a sword equipped
- Head to the triangular entrance to the Well of Flame in The Cistern on Nessus. Investigate the Fallen sigil just inside the entrance.
- Go to the area north of the Well of Flame where the Cabal public event happens and look for a treasure mound by the sphere
This will get you a seasonal weapon, more map fragments, and the second Crude Cipher Fragment.
Cryptic Quatrain 3
(Image credit: Bungie)The Large Treasure Beacon unlocks at rank 16 in the star map. Here are the quest steps:
- Head to the EDZ
- Complete The Quarry Lost Sector in The Sunken Isles
- Finish the Exodus Crash strike on Nessus without dying
- Complete Ketchcrash with an arc subclass and an arc hand cannon equipped
- Equip the completed Crude Cipher in the Captain's Atlas
- From left to right, slot in House of Dusk, House of Salvation, and House of Light
- Go to the Forgotten Shore in the Cosmodrome and head to the ship in the south part of the area by the Veles Labyrinth Lost Sector. Activate the Fallen sigil on its deck.
- Head to the north end of the Forgotten Shore to find the treasure mound in a cave by three pillars, just below where the Navota strike begins
This will get you some weapons, the Charge of Light sparrow, and complete that seasonal triumph. This one is a bit more complex, but this walkthrough by reddi41 goes through everything you need to do if you're looking for an exact step-by-step:
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We've all been there. You're just going about your day, trying to do your job as best you know how, and people keep trying to put you in charge of things. "Josh!" they might say, "You wrote that article about Mount and Blade 2 leaving Early Access so well we want to make you Eternal Supreme Leader of PC Gamer!" Abashed, cheeks reddening, you cast your gaze back down at your laptop and try to get on with your day. You're a humble man doing humble work, even if you do look incredible doing it.
Such was the experience, apparently, of Yakuza creator Toshihiro Nagoshi, who has revealed why he left Sega after 32 years at the company in an interview with Germany-based games site 4Players. It turns out he just really didn't want to be CEO.
In his last few years at Sega, Nagoshi had reached "the top management level" at the company and gotten increasingly distant from the day-to-day work of actually developing games. Nagoshi told 4Players that he eventually had a frank chat with Sega's current owner, saying straight-out that he didn't "want to be the CEO of Sega" after so long in the development trenches.
It seems Nagoshi's request didn't quite take, though, because he ended up leaving Sega and founding his own studio under NetEase. It all seems to have worked out for the best, though, it sounds like Nagoshi has been able to get back to hands-on development work while Sega has a free hand to groom a different commander-in-chief, hopefully one who actually wants the job this time. "This leads to a very friendly relationship with Sega" even after Nagoshi left the company, he told 4Players.
As for the game Nagoshi is actually developing, we still don't know much about it. In the interview, he lets slip that he wants to develop something along the lines of "a Quentin Tarantino film" that features both "some silliness and some seriousness". Sounds a bit like a Yakuza game, to me.
Valve is testing a new Steam mobile app
in Gaming News
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The Steam mobile app isn't bad by any stretch, but it's not particularly good, either. It's just sort of there: You can browse the store with it, purchase and remotely install games, chat with your Steam pals, and do most of the other major functions of the desktop Steam client. But there's nothing about it that really makes me want to. If it wasn't for the fact that I need it for Steam Guard, I probably wouldn't bother having it installed at all.
I can't honestly say how Valve might best go about making its mobile app more appealing, but I'm eager to find out what it's got in mind. And with any luck I'll find out fairly soon, because a new Steam mobile app has now launched in beta for both Android and iOS devices.
"We’ve rebuilt the app on a new framework and modernized the design. (2015 called and wanted their app back.)," Valve wrote. "You’ll still be able to browse the store, get Steam Guard codes, and confirm trades, but now the app comes with QR code sign in, smarter notifications, an improved Library, and multi account support."
"[The beta test] helps us test our assumptions, learn what you like and don’t like, and find things that need to be fixed. This is especially important when the app can be used on so many different phones and devices."
Valve invited "invested Steam users" who already have the mobile app installed and are willing to provide feedback to give the updated app a try. Full details on doing so are available in the Steam Mobile App group: It's fairly straightforward for Android users (hit the provided link and wait for the update to install) but iOS users will have to install Apple's TestFlight app and then join through that. Apple also apparently restricts the number of initial beta participants to 10,000, so you may have to wait for more slots to open before you get in.
The early reactions on Reddit seems cautiously optimistic. Redditor awnful24x7 said the store and notifications are improved while Steam Guard "is now more focused and much easier to find," and do-You-Like-Pasta concurred, saying it looks good and the new QR code login option works well. Some others complained about slower performance and lag, but restarting the app apparently helped clear those issues up.
I've installed it on my phone (a cheap, years-old Motorola, for the record) and to me it seems, well, fine: The layout is a little cleaner, the notifications are more immediately accessible, the wishlist is very prominent (which is nice for regular sale-hunters) and while it does feel a bit sluggish in spots, it's not at all bad or unmanageable. The big win is the QR code login option, which is very nice: Instead of using a name, password, and Steam Guard as I usually do, I just clicked the "show me a code" link at the Steam login screen on my desktop, scanned it with my phone, and blammo, I was in, fast and easy.
The one knock against the beta app is that it doesn't currently support widgets, so the little Steam Guard screen I used to retrieve login codes without having to fire up the app is no longer functional. The QR code option may have rendered it redundant anyway, but on the off-chance that I will occasionally need a standard Steam Guard code, I hope Valve brings that widget option back soon.
There's no time frame at this point on when the new mobile app will go into full release, but Valve implied that there's still quite a bit of work to be done. It also invited all interested Steam users to take part in the conversation about the mobile app, even if they're not currently using it.
"We're still adding features, fixing bugs, and polishing the app," Valve wrote. "It's helpful to hear what you're excited about, what could be improved, and what needs fixing.
"Everyone is welcome to join the group and the conversation, even if you're not able to participate in the beta. We want to hear from you."
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