The Xbox Series S is in the headlines again after Larian announced it would be shipping Baldur's Gate 3 without split-screen co-op on the Xbox Series S.

In an interview with Eurogamer, Phil Spencer addressed the perceived issues with Series S and why owners understand the changes.

"I don't see a world where we drop S," Spencer said, "In terms of parity, I don't think you've heard from us or Larian, that this was about parity. I think that's more that the community is talking about it. There are features that ship on X today that do not ship on S, even from our own games, like ray-tracing that works on X, it's not on S in certain games. So, for an S customer, they spent roughly half what the X customer bought, they understand that it's not going to run the same way."

[caption id="attachment_397599" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Destructoid[/caption]

The Series S was a bold decision at launch, dropping alongside the more powerful Xbox Series X at a much more affordable $299 price point, though it omitted key features like a disc drive and only included a 500 GB solid-state drive. The lower price point was made possible with an overall lower spec, turning the Series S into a development bottleneck, which many developers have groused about over the years.

Despite Baldur's Gate 3 changes, the Xbox Series S is important

The Baldur's Gate 3 news was disappointing, but it's still hard to deny the importance of the Xbox Series S. While many tried-and-true Xbox gamers went for the Series X, the Series S received a lot of attention. The console's lower profile and relative power compared to it's lower price made it a great fit for many living rooms. It built a reputation as the solution for a more casual gamer looking to dip their toes into Game Pass on a next-gen console without breaking the bank. And for Spencer, that's precisely why he loves the Series S.

"Having an entry-level price point for console, sub-$300 is a good thing for the industry," Spencer explained. "I think it's important. The Switch has been able to do that, in terms of kind of the traditional plug-into-my-television consoles. I think it's important, so we're committed."

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[Insert cat pun here]

Let your mind wander back to summer 2022. This period saw the release of a new Xenoblade Chronicles after five years of waiting. The anticipated reboot of Saints Row was a huge let-down for many. But among all these was BlueTwelve Studio's Stray, a dystopian-looking adventure game that lets you control a cat lost in the city.

It was very well-received (in fact, we nominated it for Best PlayStation Game of 2022, putting it up against such titans as Elden Ring and God of War: Ragnarok), so you Xbox owners might be interested to know that Stray is coming to Series X/S on August 10. This information was revealed at the recent showcase for Annapurna Interactive, the publisher behind the game.

https://twitter.com/Xbox/status/1674559605471412225

While we were pretty certain that Stray would be coming to Xbox, it's nice that it's finally been confirmed. What's interesting about this announcement is that it's also coming to Xbox One, so if you're still on previous-gen consoles, you're in luck.

Curiosity...did something to the cat

In an era of remasters, remakes, reboots, sequels, and prequels, the likes of Stray provide something a little different. I mean, who among us wouldn't want the chance to take control of a cat on an exciting (if somewhat gritty) adventure?

When it launched last year, it was available on PC and PlayStation, so a lot of you Xbox users out there were probably hoping you'd get to play it at some point. The fact that the game hasn't been in the public eye much this year (if at all) means that this Xbox announcement could renew interest across the board.

So, just to reiterate: Stray will be available on the Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One this August 10.

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No love for Nvidia, it seems

If you were hoping to get the most out of your Nvidia RTX 4000 graphics card when Starfield launches, you might be out of luck. It turns out developer Bethesda will optimize the anticipated sci-fi RPG for AMD's hardware instead.

This comes from a recent YouTube video from AMD itself, which says that the Starfield studio has partnered with the tech giant to make the game run better on systems that use its processors and graphics chips. This is great news for those of you who have a PC containing Team Red's products. Less so if you've been putting your stock into Nvidia's offerings.

https://youtu.be/9ABnU6Zo0uA

Todd Howard himself said that the team is excited to be partnering with AMD, getting the game to run as best as it can on that particular hardware. He adds that Starfield will use FSR 2.0 (AMD's upscaling technology that offers an alternative to Team Green's DLSS). Nvidia fans may feel they're being shafted a little on this front, especially for those who were hoping to get their money's worth from a 4000 series.

However, for console users, this may be beneficial. The Xbox Series X/S runs on AMD technology, both in terms of CPU and GPU. Given that Starfield is an Xbox exclusive, many of you will likely choose this system for the game anyway. For PC users with an Nvidia card, obviously you'll still be able to run the game (depending on your spec). But it does sound like Bethesda has already sided with Lisa Su and her team.

That said, FSR 2.0 is more open-source than DLSS. This means you can still make use of the image processing algorithm even if you have an Nvidia graphics card.

Starfield will launch on PC and Xbox Series X|S on September 6.

The post Starfield is being optimized for AMD hardware appeared first on Destructoid.

Depends on your definition of "fishing"

If you were hoping to be able to whip out your rod and catch some alien fish in Starfield, there's bad news on that front. Todd Howard himself has confirmed that fishing won't be a feature in Bethesda's upcoming RPG.

In the latest episode of the Kinda Funny Xcast, Howard is asked a bunch of questions regarding the game. About 14 minutes in, he's asked whether there's going to be any "space fishing" in Starfield. Howard begins his answer by saying that it "depends on your definition of 'fishing'," curious as to whether it refers to the collecting or killing of fish.

https://youtu.be/AIbnDyv6g1c?t=880

Co-host Gary then gets more specific by asking whether he'll be able to have "some kind of rod" that can be put into a lake in order to retrieve a fish. Howard then crushes Gary's (and probably other people's) hopes by confirming that the game does not have that feature. However, this does open up the possibility of it being including in an update, expansion, or even something modders could implement.

As we know, Skyrim was given a fishing feature for the Anniversary Edition that dropped in November 2021. Given this, it's not too far-fetched to consider that Bethesda may add this peaceful hobby to Starfield at some point in the future. But that's just speculation on our part.

When it comes to open world games, players like to take a step back from the action for a bit. The chance to do a spot of fishing while exploring an alien world sounds appealing, so it's a bit of a shame that Starfield won't have it on release.

The post No, Starfield will not have space fishing appeared first on Destructoid.

Expand your Mind (or at least your memory)

To close out its Xbox Games Showcase, Phil Spencer took to the stage to celebrate the range of first and third-party games headed to Xbox, PC, and the Xbox Game Pass platform in the coming year — Additionally, the Xbox Gaming Head revealed a new model of the Xbox Series S, launching this fall.

The Carbon Black Xbox Series S does not contain a power upgrade, but features a 1TB SSD, allowing for more software space, something that Series S owners have been complaining about for a very long time. The new hardware will launch on September 1, 2023, and will retail for $349.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dinozRSn7Hg&ab_channel=Xbox

The post Carbon Black 1TB Xbox Series S launches September 1 appeared first on Destructoid.

Beasts in the Bayou

Two trailers into the Xbox showcase and I'm already tired of reading the words "In-Engine Footage." We saw it in the Fable trailer and we saw it in South of Midnight, the upcoming title from Compulsion Games. The studio, best known for the highly questionable We Happy Few, put together a trailer that was 2:30 of pretty much nothing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2Z-8Y8r5ss

It looks great. I love the art direction here and there aren't nearly enough games with a southern gothic setting. Or at least not nearly enough that I've played. But beyond that, what can I say about it? That trailer may be in-engine, but it might as well be pre-rendered for all it did to show us how this game would actually play.

South of Midnight will launch someday in the future, hitting Xbox Game Pass on day one.

The post South of Midnight is a unique-looking title from Compulsion Games appeared first on Destructoid.

What a week for Warhammer fans

If you thought a Warhammer 40,000-themed DLC for PowerWash Simulator or a brand new Warhammer MMO would be the only new game reveals from the Warhammer Skulls 2023 event, think again. Frontier Developments announced Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin, a brand new real-time strategy game developed in partnership with Games Workshop.

The game is set in the Age of Sigmar and brings the popular era of Warhammer to PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store. Alongside this reveal the studio also released a pretty epic announcement trailer.

https://youtu.be/LFs5h-sgpFM

Conquer the Mortal Realms in the Age of Sigmar

According to the press release, Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin takes place in the violent and savage Realm of Beasts known as Ghur. The single-player campaign's Age of Sigmar narrative is co-written by legendary Black Library author Gavin Thorpe. I personally find the Age of Sigmar to be the most detailed and fleshed-out era of the fantasy period of Warhammer, so I'm excited to see what direction the story takes. The single-player campaign also features a wide range of mission types and modes as well as four distinct playable factions.

Although the history of RTS games on console has been rather hit-or-miss, Frontier Developments claims to have an innovative new RTS-interface called DirectStep™ to specifically enhance the experience with a controller. They claim the technology allows you to quickly cycle through squads and issue orders with the analogue sticks and a few simple button presses. PC players can of course play using keyboard and mouse controls.

Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin also has a "quickfire and exciting" multiplayer mode with matches designed to last 30 minutes or less. The multiplayer sounds very similar to Company of Heroes as you will need to hold more Arcane Conduits than your opponent to drain their points faster than they can yours.

[caption id="attachment_381980" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Frontier Developments[/caption]

There's no release date yet for Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin but Frontier Developments says it will be coming soon. They have announced two multiplayer betas will be held soon across all platforms. You can register for them on the official website. According to the press release the first gameplay trailer is coming in June.

The post Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Realms of Ruin announced with reveal trailer appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm beggin' darling please, Layla

We’re just a few weeks away from the launch of Redfall for Bethesda Softworks, which means it’s about time for the developer to properly introduce the characters we’ll be hunting vampires with. There are four heroes in the base game—I would be shocked if we don’t get one or two more in an expansion pack—each with unique abilities that I can’t wait to see in action. First up for the introduction videos is Layla, the telekinetic hero who can conjur umbrellas, elevators, and her undead boyfriend Jason as she fights against the things that go bump in the night.

The video gives a little bit of information on Layla’s background, focusing on the night she and Jason came face to face with a couple of bloodsuckers. Using the telekinetic powers she gained during a laboratory accident, Layla's abilities make her a good candidate for anyone attempting to solo their way through Redfall. In combat, she can manifest protective umbrellas to shield her from attacks, a Lift to reach higher places, and a ghastly version of her old beau for when she's surrounded. A versatile fighter, Layla will likely be the first fighter I go with when I get around to paying the nightmare island town of Redfall a visit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdLeBCGh1PU

Developed by Arkane Austin, the same team that gave us Prey and Dishonored, Redfall will release on May 2, 2023, for Xbox Series X|S and PC, and it will be available at launch through Xbox Game Pass. Anyone who preorders the game or plays on Game Pass will receive the Vampire Hunting Pack, which includes a shotgun, a weapon skin, and the Blood Ravager Stake Weapon Attachment, which sounds dope as hell.

The post Redfall’s Layla gets by with a little help from her (undead) friend appeared first on Destructoid.

A fighter, a mage, and a thief walk into a forest...

Vampire Survivors is one of my favorite games of 2022 and it's pretty hard for me to explain why. It's the type of game everyone needs to play for themself to see if they vibe with it. Some people won't, others definitely do, and this bit of news is for the latter group. Today, the developers at poncle announced new paid DLC for the indie darling is coming in about two weeks. Vampire Survivors: Tides of the Foscari includes the new forest map, Lake Foscari, which is home to the Foscari Academy where parents send their kids to be wizards, warriors, and spies. Lake Foscari is described as a "continent-size forest" which the developers say will contain multiple biomes, similar to the map from the Legacy of the Moonspell DLC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iZVpnu5Dmc

The DLC will also add eight new characters to Vampire Survivor as well as 13 new weapons and seven new music tracks. If the kazoo in the trailer is giving you PTSD flashbacks to the very worst of the Yoshi franchise, know that it's only for the trailer and not representative of what you'll hear in the new songs.

As with the last bit of DLC for the game, Tides of the Foscari will only set players back $1.99 when it releases on April 13, 2023.

Related: The 10 best mods for Vampire Survivors on Gamepur

The post Vampire Survivors is about to take your butt to school appeared first on Destructoid.

'Don't Think Twice' about these spells

Throughout the years, some of the best Kingdom Hearts spells have Sora summoning fireballs or using balloons as projectile weapons. Most Kingdom Hearts games have their own exclusive spells, like Water and Reflect; the latter of which is one of the most beloved enchantments in the series.

Today, we're listing the best Kingdom Hearts spells based on their effectiveness in battle and cinematic flair on-screen. Let's hope Donald is better at healing Sora after reading this.

[caption id="attachment_369129" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

10. Magnet (KH2)

The Magnet spell is introduced in Kingdom Hearts 2 and pulls your opponents towards one orb. For a few seconds, you can work in an air combo unrestrained from the encroaching Heartless and Nobodies around you. Magnet can also combo with other spells like Thunder and Fire, making it a useful utility in combat.

[caption id="attachment_369124" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

9. Thunder (KH3)

Thunder has been in the Kingdom Hearts series since the very beginning. It's an effective AoE (Area of Effect) attack that takes out multiple enemies at the same time. However, it seems to be less powerful than the likes of Fire and Blizzard. In Port Royal (the Pirates of the Caribbean world in KH2), Thunder can be used to completely stun Barbossa's minions in place.

[caption id="attachment_369092" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

8. Water (KH3)

Water is the newest spell in Sora's arsenal. It's one of the best spells in Kingdom Hearts because it has a wide AoE and looks absolutely stunning as the waves flop to the side. It's also glistening in the sunlight, especially in Tangled's world. Water looks gorgeous in Kingdom Hearts 3, but it also bumps opponents into the air, allowing for follow-up attacks.

[caption id="attachment_369125" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

7. Blizzard (KH3)

Another form of water is ice, and Sora can unleash his frosty powers with Blizzard. In Kingdom Hearts 3, the spell is heightened as it forms a trail on the ground. Sora can ride it like Tony Hawk on a skateboard. You can then get a quick flowmotion attack from it. In addition, enemies will freeze on the spot when Sora hits them with ice.

[caption id="attachment_369091" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

6. Balloon (Dream Drop Distance)

One of Sora's silliest (but most effective) spells in the Kingdom Hearts series is Balloon. Only featured in Dream Drop Distance, this spell causes a ton of unexpected damage toward your foes when struck, including major bosses. It's also quite thrilling to see the offensive balloons flying all over the arena. The game might have some of the worst worlds in the series, but Balloon is awesome to use.

[caption id="attachment_369130" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

5. Aero (KH1)

Aero is an absolute godsend in the original Kingdom Hearts. Before it was turned into an offensive spell, Aero was used as a shield to protect Sora. You still take damage, but each attack struck on Sora while Aero is active is lessened significantly. This was helpful in bosses with attacks that are hard to avoid, like the Ursula battle and the Ansem (Xehanort's Heartless) final boss.

[caption id="attachment_369095" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

4. Fire (KH1)

A spell that's iconic to Kingdom Hearts fans is Fire. It's the first that we unlock in the series and is still one of the best you can use. It causes a lot of damage, and its fireballs can be launched quickly one after the other. The spell looks particularly impressive in Kingdom Hearts 3 with all of the fiery particle effects occurring in the modern game.

[caption id="attachment_369131" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

3. Gravity / Zero Gravity (KH1 / Birth By Sleep)

One of the most useful spells in the original Kingdom Hearts is Gravity, renamed to Zero Gravity in Birth By Sleep. It takes bigger Heartless types and reduces their health almost to zero. For anyone who has ever ventured into Wonderland, you know how annoying the Battleship Heartless can be. It flies around Sora at a fast pace and then charges at the keyblade wielder. The Gravity spell can bring these ships down to earth. Utilizing this power of gravity to counteract these Heartless with a big health meter is a good tactic to implement.

[caption id="attachment_369096" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

2. Reflect (KH2)

Reflect is one of the coolest spells in gaming. It allows Sora to neutralize incoming attacks and it can stack however long the game allows you to. Then, once you've finished Reflect, it will release a circle of white spell damage around the keyblade-wielding hero. It made fighting bosses like Sephiroth easier, and it truly looks sick when you pull it off. Reflecting a big attack from the One-Winged Angel and other foes gives such a rush. It is overpowered, but man, Reflect was fun while we had it.

[caption id="attachment_369093" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

1. Cure (KH1 and beyond)

The most important spell in the Kingdom Hearts series is Cure. It may be simple, but its healing properties are essential for every player to keep Sora alive. It can cancel out attacks if you have Leaf Bracer equipped, and a beautiful animation floats above Sora's head whenever he heals himself. It's usually of a flower. As you can see in the image above, Square Enix adds a nice touch to KH3's version with petals floating around the area.

The post Best Kingdom Hearts spells, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

A legendary cast of characters

The best Kingdom Hearts characters have a ton of personality, have been through hardship, or simply have powerful and exciting abilities that dynamically elevate the series' battle scenes. A key element why Kingdom Hearts resonates with so many people is not just the non-stop action; but the passion behind the cast's motivations.

Characters like Sora and Roxas aren't afraid to express their emotions: to cry, to scream, to love, to smile. And many of the legendary series characters are more intriguing than the average RPG cast, and it's refreshing to see heroes, (or in some rare cases, villains), that we are able to relate to.

Warning: There are spoilers for Kingdom Hearts 3 and Kingdom Hearts 3: Remind in this list.

[caption id="attachment_367229" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

10) Xigbar/Luxu

One of the best factors of the Kingdom Hearts narrative is how it intrigues its fans with subtle nods and mystery.

Xigbar is certainly one of those characters that make you think. If you've played and finished Kingdom Hearts 3, you'll know he is in fact Luxu, the Master of Masters' right-hand man. His witty humor makes him a great foil for Sora, and his boss battle in KH2 is phenomenal.

[caption id="attachment_367231" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

9) Goofy

Despite his clumsy origins in cartoon form, Goofy is a reliable ally for Sora. He's the one in the Keyblade Hero 3 that gives the spiky-haired hero valuable advice and is the level-headed person in the group.

He's endearing and kind which makes him a great friend!

[caption id="attachment_367236" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

8) Master of Masters

We really don't know much about the Master of Masters, but from his few appearances so far, fans have been intrigued by his presence. He seems to have everything planned with the Book of Prophecies in his mind and has a strangely goofy (not our pal Goofy) vibe from him.

His personality makes him such an odd antagonist, and the intrigue makes him one of the best Kingdom Hearts characters.

[caption id="attachment_367237" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

7) Xemnas

Xemnas is a badass antagonist in Kingdom Hearts 2.

The Organization XIII leader has dual blades, and his battle skills with these laser swords would put even Obi-Wan Kenobi and Darth Maul to shame. Xemnas is also an antagonist who has a just cause for his actions. He wants himself and his fellow Nobody Organization members to have hearts again but can only do so by making Sora defeat the Heartless. Therefore, he causes chaos throughout the worlds.

[caption id="attachment_367240" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

6) Xion

Xion is another nobody stuck with a dreaded path ahead of her. Those who have played 358/2 Days know that she's a fun, charismatic character that's similar to Sora in many ways. Roxas and Axel get to know her throughout the game as she struggles to wield the keyblade.

The story behind her existence is a fascinating mystery that begins to unravel as the days continue. By the end, your heart will be broken as a friendship is torn apart by fate.

[caption id="attachment_367241" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

5) Aqua

Another character Kingdom Hearts fans love (myself included!) is Aqua. She is strong-willed, disciplined, and has a sharp wit about her that few other Kingdom Hearts characters possess.

She has a stern exterior, but when it comes to her friends, she will do anything in her power to protect them, especially Ven, who drifted to sleep for a decade before she could rescue him again. She's one of the best Kingdom Hearts characters in my mind because of her adept abilities and strength.

[caption id="attachment_367242" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

4) Axel/Lea

Axel (or Lea) is a Nobody that nearly everyone loved as soon as he appeared on-screen. He has a rambunctious personality and likes to work outside the lines.

His unpredictable nature and break-the-rules flair helped him gain a buddy in Roxas. He also goes through a tragic story as he's forced to take out his own best friend, who has lost their memories. Axel is just plain one of the best Kingdom Hearts characters: "got it memorized?"

[caption id="attachment_367243" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

3) Roxas

The character that has arguably lost the most in the Kingdom Hearts series is Roxas. He loses his friends, has his body completely taken away from him, and is told that he was never meant to exist. It's quite tragic! During his time in Twilight Town, he tries to think positively. He is loyal to his friends like Hayner and Axel.

However, Roxas is less trusting of others than Sora in many ways. It makes for a refreshing change of pace from Sora's happy-go-lucky approach. He's more critical, able to think on his feet, and is a sharp wise-cracker. He also has a wonderfully dramatic theme song. Hopefully, we get another game with Roxas again, his badass dual-wielding style included.

[caption id="attachment_367232" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

2) Sora

To some, Sora can be a nuisance. He's loud and obnoxious at times. However, what makes Sora one of the best Kingdom Hearts characters is his compassion for others. Unlike many video game protagonists, he is willing to show his feelings. He begs on his knees to see Kairi again towards Organization XIII member Saix. He cries when the Guardians of Light fail in one fell swoop in Kingdom Hearts 3. 

That willingness to show his emotions, within a genre filled with masculine protagonists, is a breath of fresh air. He's super relatable.

[caption id="attachment_367233" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

1) Riku

It can be argued that Riku has the most character progression of all of the cast in the KH series. He grew accustomed to the darkness as Maleficent convinced him to twist him into a servant. He betrayed his best friend Sora for the wellbeing of Kairi, (even fighting against him). Then, after Xehanort's Heartless took over his body, Riku suffered for a long time, even taking the form of the person he hates.

But he took that form to protect Sora and fight off the powerful (and angry) Roxas. Riku has an amazing character arc as he tries to reconcile his past mistakes. His struggle is the reason why he's the best Kingdom Hearts character.

The post Best Kingdom Hearts Characters, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

Seasonal updates every nine weeks

[Update: This article has been updated with new information revealed in the time since launch.]

During the Overwatch 2 Reveal Event this morning, Blizzard elaborated (somewhat!) on its free-to-play launch and what's in the content pipeline for this live-service sequel.

If you've been waiting to hear more about PvE, welp, that wasn't the focus of today's stream — and the new story missions won't be playable until 2023 — but we've got a roadmap for PvP and confirmation that loot boxes are out and a battle pass format is in.

Coming off of Overwatch 1, the team's main goal is to try and deliver content on a "frequent and consistent basis," according to game director Aaron Keller.

Currently, they're committing to major updates every nine weeks, starting with the launch on October 4. "Players can expect to see a new hero every other season, with elements like new maps and game modes in the seasons between," Blizzard said in a blog post.

The 2022 roadmap and a tease for 2023

[caption id="attachment_330516" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Season 1 starts on October 4, followed by Season 2 on December 6.}[/caption]

As you can see from this roadmap, Season 1 of Overwatch 2 will be out on October 4 with three new heroes — Sojourn, Junker Queen, and a new support hero, who Blizzard teased with a snippet of footage featuring a spirit fox (that we've come to k now as Kiriko). It'll also be the debut of Push mode, six new maps, and more than 30 character skins, including a new Mythic tier of skins.

The first example of a Mythic skin was a cool Cyber Demon skin for Genji with customization elements like tattoos, masks, and colors. I'm... intrigued! And also worried about how much Mythic skins will cost (whether that's actual money or time invested).

The Season 1 Overwatch 2 hero: Kiriko

Kiriko is a support hero hailing from Japan.

The Season 2 Overwatch 2 hero: Ramattra

Ramattra is a tank hero, and is an Omnic that hails from Null Sector.

[caption id="attachment_330523" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Our first look at a customizable Mythic-tier skin for Genji.}[/caption]

Other new cosmetics, like banners and weapon charms, will help pad out the battle pass; one example was a little frosted donut keychain. There will be a shop with virtual currency.

Cross-progression

Crucially, with all of this new Stuff for players to stockpile, Blizzard said that if you earn something on console, PC, or in Overwatch 1, you can use it in Overwatch 2. In other words, there's cross-platform progression, which is definitely something they had to deliver. That said, the first Overwatch 2 battle pass won't be ready until Season 2 starts on December 6. After all this time, the launch — well, the "rollout," really — sure seems gradual.

[caption id="attachment_330543" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{An early look at the Season 1 battle pass.}[/caption]

Competitive

Starting with Season 1 on October 4, Overwatch 2 will have "a reimagined competitive experience that was created to give players more tools to improve gameplay and feel a sense of progression in competitive play," according to Blizzard. "Players will have more of an impact on individual matches with the shift to 5v5, and there will be additional systems in place to help you discern your contributions per match."

Overwatch 2 PvE and story mode release date

As for Overwatch 2 PvE, we got a few gameplay glimpses of Null Sector's return and some fairly open-ended developer quotes about the team's ambitions.

"With PvE, we have an opportunity to go a step further, to go deeper into diverse storytelling in ways that we really just haven't been able to before," said Keller. It'll be delivered starting in 2023 "through live service," just like the PvP content. The team plans to show off (more of) where the characters are from in these PvE "experiences."

Beta sign-ups

A new map, Rio, and Junker Queen, will be playable in the Overwatch 2 closed beta starting on June 28. Beta sign-ups are now available for PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Notably, "Beta access does not roll over from the previous Overwatch 2 PvP Beta."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pa1POCi7ugc

The post Overwatch 2 roadmap updates & information post launch appeared first on Destructoid.

Rumors did not have it

Signs pointed to a big reveal of Mauga as the next hero to join the Overwatch 2 cast at tonight's Overwatch League Grand Finals. But, signs are often wrong, and during the event, a different character was revealed to be joining the fight next. An omnic and the leader of Null Sector, Ramattra will be the next tank to join the roster in Overwatch 2 season 2. Ramattra is on a mission to make the world a better place for the omnics by any means necessary. This will be the second tank added to the Overwatch cast since the game was relaunched as Overwatch 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vd_SPOkaZZ4

Ramattra will join the hero shooter on December 6. As somebody who played the original Overwatch for many months after Blizzard stopped adding new characters, it's great to finally see a steady flow of new faces for the game. Now if only I could get teamed up with people who know what the hell they're doing.

I'm looking forward to seeing what Overwatch 2 season 2 has in store. I just hope I actually have the time to play it. Sadly, Marvel Snap is currently eating up all my free time alongside the four different farming games I'm playing at the moment. In what time I have been able to spend with the game, I've mostly stuck with the healers I've been using for years while trying to relearn all the different damage characters that I haven't messed with since 2020. However, I have been looking for a new tank since the game completely reworked Orisa. Maybe Ramattra will become my next go-to hero on that front. And if not, I can always fall back on boring ol' Reinhardt.

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Hindrance to game production, claim devs

A game developer has expressed their frustration with Xbox's mandatory declaration that all Xbox Series X games must also run on its lesser-powered pal, Xbox Series S — Noting that the requirement can be, and frequently is, a hindrance to the forward progression of next-gen gaming.

As reported by VGC, these comments were made by Bossa Studios' VFX developer Ian McClure, speaking in a conversation on Twitter with Giant Bomb founder Jeff Gerstmann. Gerstmann had previously commented that the Xbox Series X/S "forced compatibility" was unlikely to be preventing forward momentum of development within the industry — the latter being a commonly referenced talking point by many gaming communities, regardless of their platform of choice.

However, McClure then offered up an alternate viewpoint, suggesting that the cheap Xbox Series model has been forcing awkward limitations on multiple studios and their respective game developers.

"It might sound broken, but the reason you are hearing it a lot right now is because MANY developers have been sitting in meetings for the past year desperately trying to get Series S launch requirements dropped," opined McClure in since-locked tweets. "Studios have been through one development cycle where Series S turned out to be an albatross around the neck of production, and now that games are firmly being developed with new consoles in mind, teams do not want to repeat the process."

While McClure might be the most recent developer to make these candid comments, they are most certainly not the first. Speaking with Gamerant, Rocksteady artist Lee Devonald pointed to the "lowest platform compatibility" dictum as a frequent thorn in the side of developers, suggesting that an "entire generation of games [are being] hamstrung by that potato." (It should be noted that Devonald was likely referring to the ruling as a potato, and not the Xbox Series S itself.)

And, in other testimony, Alexander Battaglia of the technically-focused Digital Foundry has noted that they frequently hear of studio frustrations, hindered by the Xbox Series S' reduced memory limitations and facilitating the need to adapt design plans specifically to fit a "next-gen" game's design onto the cheaper model. Xbox itself has recently updated its Xbox Series S dev kit model, freeing up additional memory space in order to allow developers to "stretch their wings" a little further.

Developer claims ‘many’ studios are asking Xbox to drop mandatory Series S compatibility [VGC]

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Squish or be squished in this shrunken backyard survival game from Obsidian Entertainment

After two years in Early Access, it's time to check back in with Grounded now that it's been fleshed out with more bugs to battle and harvest, more impossibly large backyard sights to seek out, and a fully realized story — complete with an eventual ending — to uncover.

Having only dabbled in the early build, back when there were hardly any threads to follow, I'm surprised how far Grounded has come thanks to ongoing updates and a big final push for the 1.0 launch on PC and Xbox. Originally, the familiar yet creative-up-close shrunken world was its biggest asset — and it still is to this day. But now, the whole survival loop feels cohesive, with plenty of thoughtful touches you'd expect from a passion project.

Since the game's work-in-progress debut, some players never really left, and they've got magnificent (and painstaking) home bases to prove it. As for me, I started fresh with a new save file and got to exploring. Little did I know I'd be in for a 30-hour adventure.

[caption id="attachment_345543" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{It's worth repeating that Grounded has an intricate Arachnophobia mode with multiple comfort thresholds.}[/caption]

Grounded (PC [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Obsidian Entertainment
Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Released: September 27, 2022
MSRP: $39.99

Even with familiarity from my Early Access playthrough, this is still one of the most interesting worlds I've gotten to know in a survival game, right up there with Subnautica.

Chopping down towering blades of grass and hauling planks like a lumberjack, scurrying through ant tunnel labyrinths with a torch in hand, scavenging for half-buried scales in a koi pond with water fleas nipping at your feet — it's an unforgettable lens for such an established genre. And the more I play Grounded, the more I'm weirded out looking down at my own backyard. What tiny creatures are out there, and just what are they up to?

It's an absorbing game, in other words — the kind you can keep coming back to session after session whether you're "mostly here for the story" or you're ready to settle in and get cozy as a miniature architect. I'm far more in the former camp, and admittedly, Grounded has an overly drawn-out pace at times. But in the end, I'm glad I stuck with it, and I'm excited to thoroughly investigate every area, from the toxic trash heap to the children's sandbox to the smoldering spilled grill and creepy crawlspace under the shed.

So much of the game is getting to know the land, its surprisingly ruthless inhabitants, and the resources that'll keep you alive day-to-day and rarer finds that can help you find a way out of this conundrum. With that knowledge base (and smartly positioned hand-made shortcuts), you can cut down on a lot of the back-and-forth tedium. Wiki refreshers help, too. But either way, Grounded is not a game to rush through without proper preparations.

[caption id="attachment_345544" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{There's no wasted space, and Obsidian makes the most of its '90s backyard theme.}[/caption]

Early on, I was shocked by how hard-hitting and dangerous Grounded can be, even when I was trying to mind my own business and keep a low profile. The early game is harsh.

With makeshift armor, no permanent stat increases or perk-like Mutations unlocked yet, and a puny "weapon" that big (and even medium) boys can shrug off, you shouldn't go picking fights. You've got to be ready to book it, then bandage up as needed. Spiders are ferocious, of course — more so than any arachnids I've seen in a game before — but the same goes for bombardier beetles, mites, larvae, and mosquitoes, among many other threats. Several foes can even gang up on you, sometimes to a comical degree.

In one-on-one fights, there's a distinct rhythm to bouts, including "perfect blocks" that open up your opponents. Combat is fun once you're strong enough to have more margin of error. Each enemy has a memorable personality and particular "tells" that you can master, which I liked — but skirmishes started to feel less engaging the longer I played. Expect mashy chaos from time to time. There's also ranged combat with bows and a huge assortment of arrow types, as well as bombs. Crafting gear out of your prey is entertaining in that Monster Hunter sort of way, and pieces have different perks and weight ratings. Certain sets are needed for navigating fumes and underwater caves.

With more excursions under your belt, a stable place to call home and craft at, and better gear sourced from the bugs you are able to pummel, Grounded gets easier over time. Bless the life-steal weapons. With the exception of a few boss battles (some of which are optional) and a late defend-three-points-and-pray mission that got really dicey, most of my struggles were frontloaded. Things might've been smoother in online co-op, which is the ideal way to play — but I got through it all alone, and with patience, you can too.

[caption id="attachment_345542" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{You'll unlock beneficial Mutations just by doing stuff day-to-day. Keep an eye out for a four-leaf clover and a D20.}[/caption]

Thankfully, Grounded has multiple autosaves to fall back on, death isn't the worst (more of an inconvenience), and you can freely save outside of combat. I'd recommend doing so often. It's possible to set a respawn point at (easily built) shelters, and if you're taken out, it's a matter of fetching your lost backpack to regain your on-hand items. That said, this is an exploration-heavy game with a lot of running around — avoid any repetition you can.

While hunger and thirst meters are a consistent threat, for the most part, fresh water is plentiful — just smack a blade of grass to release a high-up droplet — and food doesn't strictly have to be cooked, though roasted aphid is far better sustenance than a handful of plucked mushrooms. If you neglect these needs for too long, an ominous countdown will begin. This timer was only a problem for me once, when I was stranded deep in an uncharted area for story reasons. But generally, out in the open, everything's in reach.

Big picture, the main considerations are scouting out a good central location for your home (or homes), since you'll keep coming back to unload your backpack and craft building-dependent creations, and also maintaining a healthy reserve of materials. Armor and weapons degrade and can be repaired with the right ingredients, but it's possible to strategically upgrade them (using rare but not finite stones) when they're almost kaput.

It's worth noting that Grounded has three primary difficulties — I'd honestly recommend the lowest, Mild — as well as a Creative build-cool-shit-stress-free mode, Creative with Bugs, and Custom modes with lots of granular you-do-you options. There were times when I thought about bumping my save to a custom game due to obnoxiously aggressive insects and stamina constantly running low, but I resisted; it's a one-way conversion.

If you're struggling, gameplay-based Mutation unlocks are a fun RPG-like touch, and changing your build on the fly can go a long way. You'll also want to smash giant teeth (Milk Molars), which award points to permanently benefit your max health, stamina, hunger/thirst burn rate, and max item stack sizes. There's never enough inventory space!

[caption id="attachment_345540" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Remember to keep a backup torch in case night falls while you're far from home.}[/caption]

I've gone long enough without getting into the story, haven't I? I'll keep it light.

The storytelling gives meaning to your exploration, and it's sufficient motivation to see where things go (there's a "good" and a "bad" animated ending), but the writing is better viewed as a playful, funny, clever bonus than as your sole reason for playing. Expect a lot of audio recordings but minimal interactions with NPCs and some scattered flashback cutscenes — the vast majority of Grounded is everything I've described up until this point.

Without spoiling anything, I'd say that if you're usually survival-wary and are only interested in Grounded because of Obsidian's well-established name, be cautious. There was enough narrative substance here for me as a survival fan, definitely, but you might not feel the same way. I liked the central abduction mystery and the opposing sides.

In the beginning, you'll get clues about several labs with chips you need to recover, and if you're brave, you can go "out of order" — I love that sort of freedom.

Much later, you'll be funneled toward the upper yard, above the retaining walls. You can do your own thing as long as you want, but it does pay to explore these labs to the fullest for resources and other goodies. Eventually, the limiting factor was less "where do I go next?" and more "where do I find these highly specific parts to craft a high-tier hammer to smack something and progress the story?" When I mentioned a pacing slowdown, this was it. Even though the next section seemed tantalizingly within reach, getting geared up was a seemingly small roadblock that snowballed out of control for hours. So many errands.

I get it — this is classic survival gating — but in these moments, I longed for a more organic approach, as seen in Subnautica. With quicker traversal (or even a one-way "warp home" ability), there would've been much less busywork in my playthrough. If I could do it all again, I would build more "waystations" to supplement my main base and pick better spots for my staircases that stretched up to lofty biomes. Hauling grass planks can be tedious as a solo player, especially if you don't have the most efficient armor equipped.

[caption id="attachment_345539" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{If you're not much of a builder, a utilitarian base will do just fine — don't worry about raids.}
[/caption]

I should say, I love the way Grounded handles blueprints — it's a step above most of its peers. You can analyze materials to unlock related recipes, sure, but that's not the only way. There are also quests to take on, collectibles to find, and points to spend. With all of these methods in play, it's a steady blueprint rollout that never feels overwhelming.

And while I'm not a builder at heart, it's worth stressing that you could conceivably get into Grounded just for the construction side — it's intuitive, and the backyard sprawl makes for a great setting. To that end, even though I wish combat and traversal went a bit deeper given the scope and length of this game, I was so invested in this charming and surprisingly fresh miniature world that I didn't mind too much. There's a certain finesse.

With its 1.0 release, Grounded has so much to discover, and enough of a hook to justify the dozens of hours you might invest. Whether you're an exploration-minded player in search of landmarks and tucked-away treasures, or a castle-building fiend with a vision, you should ideally bring friends along for the ride. Still, playing alone, it was hard for me to walk away from Grounded, even in its slowest moments. I wasn't satisfied with my end-of-game score, so I searched for secrets and kept going, boosting my grade in the process. Even now, there are still more bugs to catalog and, inevitably, squash. Nothing personal!

While Obsidian isn't known for survival games, it ended up making a great one.

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

The post Review: Grounded appeared first on Destructoid.

The slimy indie hit returns

Lots of great indie games have been getting a lot of love this year — Stray was Annapurna's biggest launch by far, and Cult of the Lamb had over a million players in a week. Now it looks like Slime Rancher 2 is joining those ranks, because it has reached a big milestone of over 100,000 copies within the first six hours of its release. Nick Popovich, co-founder and CEO of the studio behind the Slime Rancher series Monomi Park, shared a tweet yesterday thanking fans for making the game a success.

For those who may not be familiar, the first Slime Rancher game came out back in 2017 after about a year of being in early access. In the game, players take on the role of a farmer tasked with collecting and breeding different types of slimes on their very own ranch, all wrapped up in an open-world FPS-style packaging. Critical reception to Slime Rancher was favorable, but over the years it garnered something of a cult following, and got PlayStation and Switch releases years after its initial launch for PC and Xbox.

https://twitter.com/NickPopovich/status/1573097739507875843

Anecdotally, I've seen love for the Slime Rancher series spread through word of mouth more than anything — it's another one of those cozy farming-style games that players just can't seem to get enough of. It's exciting to see the devs put out a sequel to the beloved indie game that has been met with nearly universal praise, because maintaining that momentum can be difficult.

100,000 may seem like a relatively small number compared to some huge launches that can be in the millions, but for an indie studio, that can be life-changing. Here's hoping we continue to see more great things from Monomi Park, because they've managed to tap into a certain kind of magic that we don't see very often.

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The spin-off "shattered" target expectations

The fantasy-themed Borderlands spin-off game Tiny Tina's Wonderlands might have seemed like an experimental one-off, but it's been successful enough that Gearbox considers it a new franchise, with "future experiences already under development."

Gearbox Entertainment CEO Randy Pitchford spoke about Wonderlands at Embracer Group's annual general meeting, as transcribed by Video Games Chronicle.

Summing up Tiny Tina's Wonderlands as a "major victory," Pitchford added that the fantasy-tabletop-inspired game "shattered all of our target expectations, both critically and commercially," and that "in addition to great financial rewards from this victory that will be coming our way in the coming quarters, we have established a firm beachhead."

“We now clearly have a new franchise on our hands, with future experiences already under development at Gearbox," Pitchford said.

It's worth noting that Gearbox made a move to acquire Lost Boys Interactive, the co-development studio on Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, back in April.

[caption id="attachment_345638" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{A longer-lasting sequel could hit the spot.}[/caption]

As someone who was initially put off by the idea but ended up liking Wonderlands more than expected, I can easily see them doing a (hopefully even more confident) sequel.

That said, even among players who dug this D&D-inspired, overworld-traversing, build-your-own-class shakeup, the season pass really left a bad taste that's still lingering — the DLC wasn't substantial enough compared to Borderlands proper, not by a longshot.

I only played through the main Wonderlands campaign once, and never messed with the endgame activities, but that's normal for me when it comes to the Borderlands series; others, who play these games specifically for the endgame grind, didn't fare as well.

To sum it up, I think it was worth playing, but any new "experiences" under the Wonderlands umbrella can't coast on the success of this first game, which had a major curiosity factor going for it. Expectations will be higher next time around.

The post Gearbox thinks Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands has “new franchise” potential appeared first on Destructoid.

After years of anticipation, I'm pleased to say Ooblets was well worth it

Ooblets is one of those games I followed from its announcement all the way back in 2016 up to its release, so it suffices to say this was a highly anticipated game for me. Stardew Valley meets Pokemon is a hell of a logline, and the combination of those gameplay elements compared with the game’s cute, colorful art style basically made it feel like it was made specifically for me. The game went into early access in 2020, but this month it got its full 1.0 release.

You’ve got all the usual mechanics you’d expect from a game like this — farming, fishing, foraging, cooking, befriending villagers — as well as some new twists. You can see clear inspiration from farming sims like Stardew, and yet Ooblets still manages to feel entirely unique in that regard. I am absolutely Ooblets’ target demographic, and I am pleased to say that I found it to be an absolute delight. Let’s talk about it.

Ooblets (Epic Games Store [reviewed], Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Glumberland
Publishers: Glumberland
Released: September 1, 2022
MSRP: $29.99

The premise of Ooblets is that it takes place in a magical land called Oob, which is populated with creatures called… you guessed it: Ooblets. At the start of the game, the player lands at a scenic seaside town called Badgetown, having left the big city for the countryside where Ooblets run free. Naturally, they take up residence in a run-down old shed, and begin their new life as the local farmer.

Badgetown is as cozy and quaint as you’d expect, complete with a coffee shop, barber shop, clothing store, seed store, town hall, and more. The residents are a ton of fun and have some of the most distinct personalities I’ve seen in a community sim since the early Animal Crossing days. Some of their dialogue was so ridiculous and cleverly written that it genuinely made me laugh out loud, which made the friendship part of the gameplay loop something to look forward to.

In fact, all of the dialogue, item names, and descriptions are written in a goofy tone that feels reminiscent of the 2010s “sO rAnDoM XD” humor, but like, actually written in a way that feels fresh and funny rather than cringy and grating. I got the feeling when I was playing that the style might cause some players to bounce off, but I found it charming as all hell — do with that what you will.

They've got the moves

But let’s be real, the real pull to Ooblets is the promise of Pokemon-style battles — don’t worry, there’s plenty of that. Soon after their arrival at Badgetown, the player is tasked with selecting one of the four local Ooblets clubhouses to join based on their values (I joined the cute club Frunbuns, naturally), and by extension choosing a starter Ooblet. With your starter in tow, you can enter battles with wild Ooblets to get seeds from them. After planting those seeds and growing them on the farm, players then have their very own Ooblet of that specific type. Ta-da!

It is also crucial that I mention that your Ooblets run along behind you, following you everywhere, and there is no shortage of cute accessories to dress them up with. Finally, a game that understands my needs.

As for the dance battles themselves, well, those were yet another pleasant surprise. Rather than a typical fight where your pets are beating the crap out of each other, all of the combat in Ooblets takes the form of dance battles, an idea that made me absolutely giddy the first time I saw it. The battles are card-based, and each unique Ooblet gets their own special cards added to your deck as they level up.

You can either battle other citizens of Oob in the Dance Barn or in the other regions, or the more common means of battling is with the wild Ooblets that run around the different environments. Gotta catch ‘em all, right? Each type of wild Ooblet requires a different item in order for you to battle them, which can range from foragables to crops to processed food.

Each match sets a score somewhere between twenty and forty, and the first team to earn that number of points wins. Players earn points from cards, and there are also modifiers in play like Hype, which allows you to earn more points; Fluster, which makes you earn fewer points; Stun, which makes one of your Ooblets miss a turn; Trepidation, which adds useless cards to you or your opponent's deck; and so on. If you’ve played any card-based battler from Hearthstone to Slay the Spire, you’ll be right at home.

Sometimes a bit offbeat

The battles are easy with a few exceptions, and a lot of times a win or loss can come down to the luck of the cards. Considering Ooblets is a chill game, I didn’t mind a bit of RNG, lest I won every single battle with no pushback.

I have a few qualms with the battles — that there wasn’t a way to look at or modify my full deck, which would have been a nice touch. Sometimes the animations for the moves could be a bit slow (which is also a problem the more recent Pokemon games have had).

The other thing is the Dance Barn battles, which are unlocked after you repair the said Dance Barn in town. It’s a tournament-style setup where you go up against other townies in 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 battles. I tried to do them as often as I had time for, and let me tell you, I only won one or two of the tournaments ever.

Jokes about my gaming abilities aside, it’s because some of the Ooblets have stun abilities. This is no problem when you’re battling with teams of four or six, but if you’re unfortunate enough to get stuck in a 1v1 with an opponent that can stun you, it’s literally game over — they stun lock you the entire match.

There are special game modes in the Dance Barn, including one where players can only use their Ooblets’ special cards, which is kind of a problem when you realize the one Ooblet you picked doesn’t have a way to earn points without the point-earning cards from the deck. Either way, I had a lot of fun with the battles, and would often go out of my way to do them just for fun.

To-do lists, but make it fun

I feel like Stardew Valley is one of those games that strikes the perfect balance of giving you just enough to do without you ever getting bored, while at the same time not overwhelming you with too much. One thing I didn’t particularly love about Ooblets was that it became a bit of a grind, requiring players to collect a ton of different items to progress the story and complete tasks.

There are like seven different entities that can give you tasks to do, not including the smaller errands imposed by your friends around town. In the early game, I was thankful to have clear objectives to get me going, but after a while, it was hard to keep track of just how many things I was trying to accomplish at the same time.

Of course, you can play at your own pace, but for someone like me who loves checking things off lists, I couldn’t stop myself from going as hard as possible to efficiently progress through all of my tasks. If nothing else, it kept me super engaged the whole time, although part of me felt like the game was insecure that I wouldn’t find enough to do on my own.

You can also have up to five or six pretty involved tasks going at the same time, and as someone who struggles with multitasking, I did find it a bit overwhelming at times. This issue isn’t helped by the fact that everything in the game has a silly name — little springs you use to build things are called nurnies, for example — so I would often have to keep checking what it is I was actually looking for in the first place.

Thankfully, though, I happen to love the foraging aspect of these types of games, and boy howdy, a ton of Ooblets is running around and collecting stuff. If that isn’t your thing, you might get a bit frustrated, I’m not gonna lie.

Exploration

A few hours into the game, you meet a local named Gimble who owns a hot air balloon. After repairing it with a whole slew of supplies, she can take the player to different regions of Oob, where they’ll gather more supplies, partake in dance battles, and progress the main story quest. Each region has its own unique foragables, seeds you can take home and grow on your farm, and of course, Ooblets to collect.

I found that each region had some fun theming, and I always looked forward to seeing a new place and what surprises it had to throw at me. I don’t want to give too much away, but the area called Port Forward was a real standout for me as a lover of minigames.

I was also really pleasantly surprised with the game’s main story, which really doesn’t come together until the very end. Most farming sims’ stories are pretty bare bones, but Ooblets presents you with a mystery from the very beginning — and seeing the culmination of that mystery in the game’s last few hours is a blast.

Another element that gets added later is your very own store, where you can sell items that you collect, build, or cook, and it’s easily the best way to earn money in the game. Of course you can upgrade and decorate your shop over time, too. Once I reached this point, I got that feeling again that there’s a little too much going on in the game, but it wasn’t a deal-breaker by any means.

In conclusion

Overall, Ooblets absolutely met the expectations I had built up for it over those six long years of waiting. If you love the farming/community sim genre, it’s an absolute must-play, and I think it’ll be a game that sticks around for years to come.

I played it on PC for this review, and I’m looking forward to trying out some mods that the community will cook up, but I have to say that this is a perfect Switch game. In fact, after I go back and drive this save file into the ground, I plan on buying the Switch version to replay all over again, much like I did with Stardew. Gotta support the indie games you love, right?

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

The post Review: Ooblets appeared first on Destructoid.

It's not too late to sign up for the closed beta

After being pushed back to a late November release, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide is gearing up for a closed beta test on PC that will be playable from October 14–16 through Steam and the Microsoft Store. Say no more? Just bounce over to the beta sign-up page, add your email address, and fill out a questionnaire to determine your eligibility.

According to Fatshark, the beta test will "throw everything but the kitchen sink at you to keep you at bay." This version has "more content and features" than the prior Tech Test.

That said, you won't get to experience everything planned for the full release of Warhammer 40,000: Darktide — the developers are "limiting weapons, maps and missions, enemy types, and other systems." And the progress you make in these beta sessions won't carry forward, as balance tweaks are likely to come up, leading to wipes.

If you're fine just watching from the sidelines and waiting for the full game, expect to see new footage soon. Per the FAQ, content creators are allowed to stream this one.

[caption id="attachment_345250" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Try not to get smashed in Tertium.}[/caption]

Carrying the fun co-op action spirit forward from Warhammer: Vermintide means that I'm already on board with Darktide. It's the next step I would've wanted, and it doesn't need to convince me. The main question is, what kind of character am I going to create?

While the beta test will be limited to PC, Darktide will also be launching on Xbox Series X/S. The PC version is up first (on November 30), with consoles following suit (date TBA).

$40 is the right price

If you haven't heard, Fatshark locked in the price: the standard edition is a budget-friendly $40, and there's an Imperial Edition for $60. The latter includes cosmetic bonuses like a Caducades backpack for human characters, eight weapon skins, four class outfits, and also 2,500 Aquilas (the game's premium currency). You can scope those out on Steam.

In my thirties, I've really moved away from PvP in favor of PvE, which I find less stressful overall. ("Less.") I'm glad games like Darktide are getting the green light.

The post Warhammer 40,000: Darktide beta set for October 14–16 with more content appeared first on Destructoid.

So, who's on deck for the next mainline game?

Resident Evil Village left us off on a wild note, with so much room to speculate about the near and long-term future of the series. In between releases, it's always been fun for me to put the pieces together, theorize, and then ultimately see Capcom take a different direction than the clues might've suggested. A new quote out of Tokyo Game Show 2022 has rekindled the conversation, specifically with respect to the upcoming Shadows of Rose DLC for Resident Evil Village and where the series could go with the next mainline entry.

As reported by IGN out of Tokyo Game Show, director Kento Kinoshita says that Capcom is "creating the Shadows of Rose story to conclude the Winters family saga."

A short and open-ended but very thought-provoking quote, to be sure.

Without spoiling anything, this remark changes my expectations for what kind of story Resident Evil 9 (reminder: we don't have an actual name yet so that's just shorthand) might tell. (That closing Village scene was a head-turner at the time.) Now I'm even less sure about what to expect — just unresolved bits and pieces that were seeded in Village.

Is it time for old favorites to shine again? To bury Umbrella once and for all? Once we know the core playable cast and setting, we'll have a much better picture.

[caption id="attachment_345132" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{I hope the DLC doesn't feel like too much of a retread.}[/caption]

Jumping ahead

For more context (Village plot spoilers), here's how Capcom originally framed the Shadows of Rose DLC when it was announced: "Set 16 years after the events of Resident Evil Village, this new tale follows Rose Winters, the daughter of main protagonist Ethan, as she struggles with her terrifying powers. Players must explore and survive a warped and mysterious realm inside the consciousness of the Megamycete in search of a cure."

Some fans, who have had enough of Ethan's "everyman" antics across Resident Evil 7 and Village, are hopeful that Resident Evil 9 will combine the old and the new. Personally, as much as I do want to see Jill Valentine (or others!) back in action, particularly after digging her refreshed characterization in the Resident Evil 3 remake, I like the Winters storyline and would've been fine seeing it wrapped up in the next game. As is, I'm wondering if this DLC will feel significant enough for people like me, or if it'll seem shoehorned.

We'll find out what's going down on October 28, when Shadows of Rose debuts as part of Resident Evil Village Gold Edition and the Winters' Expansion. My Halloween plans are set.

I'll also be back in for the new third-person mode. According to producer Masachika Kawata, the mode "took about as much effort as creating a new game" due to the "exceptionally large variety of player actions" in Resident Evil Village compared to Resident Evil 2 and 3. "You can guard, you can move while crouching, and there is a lot of examining objects. We made thorough adjustments to ensure that those unique animations would look completely connected, and that it would be playable at a good tempo."

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Dreamlight Valley: where all of our dreams come true

If you're a fan of farming/community sims, there is no shortage of awesome new games to try. One of them is Dreamlight Valley, Disney's answer to the Stardew Valley-inspired craze. In the game, you play as a character who finds themselves in a magical land in ruins after an event known as "The Forgetting" — which is just as ominous as it sounds. Players are tasked with ridding the land of the insidious night thorns, as well as doing the usual fare for these kinds of games: farming, fishing, cooking, mining, digging, and filling requests for the townspeople (who also happen to be beloved Disney characters).

The siren song of another cozy simulator game is enough to draw out gamers in droves, but add on the juggernaut that is the Disney brand? Yeah, it's no surprise that this game is seeing the success that it is. So much success, in fact, that Dreamlight Valley has managed to accrue over a million players only ten short days after its release.

Dreamlight Valley was developed by Gameloft, which has been notable in the mobile market for decades. This certainly isn't their first wider release for consoles, but I think it's fair to say that this is the studio's most notable release so far.

I'd consider myself to be a casual Disney fan, but this is a game I certainly can't wait to try for myself. The idea of seeing a bunch of my favorite characters in a game genre I already go out of my way to play as much as possible, well, that's just something I can't resist.

From the classic characters like Mickey and Donald all the way up to new characters like Elsa and Moana, the roster is pretty stacked. All I had to hear was that the Tangled characters were included to know I was on board.

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(Just try and look surprised)

Capcom has officially confirmed the 18-character launch roster of its upcoming sequel Street Fighter 6 — as revealed by the leak earlier this year, the launch roster is a mix of classic, modern, and brand new World Warriors, pulled from the history of the Street Fighter franchise as well as its future.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaOSVtH4r8Q

Your Street Fighter 6 launch roster is as follows: Luke, Jamie, Manon, Kimberly, Marisa, Lily, JP, Juri, Dee Jay, Cammy, Ryu, E. Honda, Blanka, Guile, Ken, Chun-Li, Zangief, and last, but by no means least, Dhalsim. Of no surprise to anybody, Capcom also confirmed post-release DLC for the new sequel. Missing from this list, but included in the leak, are Ed, Akuma, AKI, and Rashid.

Street Fighter 6 launches in 2023 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. You can sign up for October's Closed Beta right here. Additionally, be sure to check out yesterday’s news, and this morning's updates, as well as our other reports on the game’s mechanics, our look at Juri and Kimberly, and a list of Do’s and Do Not Do’s for the new sequel.

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Explore the universe in 4K

The magic and wonder of Outer Wilds gets a nice upgrade for newer console owners today. Outer Wilds and its DLC Echoes of the Eye are out now on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, with a free upgrade for owners on previous-gen consoles.

The space exploration adventure will run at native 60 FPS on the new hardware, with 4K support. That's a whole lot of beautiful space pixels to blast into your eyes.

If you own the game on PlayStation 4 or Xbox One already, you can upgrade within your respective console family at no cost. Just use your respective digital storefront, either PlayStation or Xbox, to bump it up.

Otherwise, Outer Wilds is currently available for $24.99, with the Echoes of the Eye DLC running $14.99, or $39.99 for a bundled package. It's also on Game Pass, as of this writing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMcTusNAc5w

A universe full of wonders

If you haven't played Outer Wilds yet, then good heavens, what are you waiting for? This time-looping space exploration game, developed by Mobius Digital and published by Annapurna Interactive, is an incomparable experience.

When I was recently thinking about the kinds of stories you can only tell in games, Outer Wilds was one of the first to come to mind. It is warm and sentimental, cold and haunting, and expertly crafts its mysteries and story in the span of one galaxy.

Its DLC expansion, Echoes of the Eye, is even more of the same. I think the base game hit me harder, as I knew what I was getting into once I booted up Echoes. But the trees, lights, and hidden puzzles of that place stick with me.

With the PS5 and Xbox Series upgrade out and free for anyone who's already picked the game up, this seems like a great excuse to dive back into Outer Wilds.

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The wait is finally over

This has been a pretty awesome year for indie games, with titles like Cult of the Lamb, Immortality, and We Are OFK, just to name a few. One game has stuck with me since I reviewed it all the way back in March, and still remains one of my favorites to come out in 2022: the Southern Gothic narrative adventure NORCO that was "inspired by first-person pixel noirs like Déjà Vu & Snatcher and rooted in years of research," according to the game's creators. Set in a dystopian cyberpunk version of New Orleans, Louisiana, the game takes you on a journey through the infamous "Cancer Alley," an area of Mississippi that accounts for a quarter of the US's petrochemical production.

Now, the game's developer Geography of Robots has announced that NORCO is finally coming to consoles with a PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and Xbox One release on October 20. You can also play on Xbox Games Pass, if that suits your fancy. I obviously own NORCO on PC already, but I'm super excited for this release, because it means the game will be accessible to more players — and this game deserves all the hype it can get, if getting hype for old-school point-and-clicks is your thing.

https://twitter.com/roboticgeo/status/1570188618647437312

A press release from publisher Raw Fury provides more in-depth details on the game:

"NORCO is the debut title from developer collective Geography of Robots. Lead creator Yuts was born and raised in Norco, Louisiana, an acronym for New Orleans Refining Co., located in the so-called 'Cancer Alley,' a stretch of the Mississippi that accounts for 1/4 of the US's petrochemical production. The game blends real locations, personal stories, and Southern Gothic literature with a captivating original soundtrack featuring a guest track by Southern metal Band THOU."

If you're at all interested in checking NORCO out on your favorite console, I can't recommend it enough!

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Tokyo Game Show is now live!

Tokyo Game Show is officially underway, and Microsoft is kicking off the festivities with an early morning (well, for us at least) live stream looking at some of its new upcoming wares developed by Japanese and Asian developers — winging their way to Xbox and the Xbox Game Pass service.

The stream has just concluded, but here's a rollout of all of the headlines from this morning's show! You can also watch the entire 50-minute event yourself in the video-on-demand embed presented below.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkjc7SJmFXM

• BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is coming to Xbox platforms in spring 2023.
• Guilty Gear Strive is coming to Xbox platforms in spring 2023.
• Capcom's Exoprimal received a brand new gameplay trailer.
• Japan receives Skyrim: Anniversary Edition on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass today, September 15.
• Redfall will be fully localized in Japanese, Chinese, and Korean languages.
• The Pitt will be released for Fallout 76 today.
• Kiriko, foxy ninja gal, is the newest hero for Activision Blizzard's Overwatch 2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Uc-kExqwd4

• Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty received a new dev diary.
• A new trailer for Naraka: Bladepoint, coming to Xbox in December 2022.
• Assassin's Creed Odyssey joins the Xbox Game Pass service today, September 15.
• Persona 5 Royal launches on PS5, Xbox, and Switch platforms October 21.
• Danganronpa V3: Anniversary Edition joins the Xbox Game Pass service today, September 15.
• Ni no Kuni Remastered joins the Xbox Game Pass service today, September 15. Ni no Kuni II Remastered will follow in 2023.
• Deathloop launches on Xbox and Xbox Game Pass on September 20. Pre-load is now available.

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Death. Relived.

As previously whispered, ace assassins Colt and Julianna are getting set to bring their personal brand of explosive, time-bending violence to Xbox, as Arkane Studios' critically acclaimed release Deathloop is headed to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and the Xbox Game Pass service.

It will launch on September 20, and pre-load is available from today.

Deathloop is available now on PlayStation and PC platforms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yGTg-AmV9x4

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Beware the Bear

During this morning's Microsoft Tokyo Game Show live stream, Spike Chunsoft announced that visual novel-cum-social RPG Danganronpa V3: Anniversary Edition will be made available via the Xbox Game Pass service later today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAKPDTPiCz8

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Still my heart is blazing

During this morning's Microsoft Tokyo Game Show live stream, Arc System Works announced that the gorgeous fighting game Guilty Gear Strive is coming to Xbox platforms in spring 2023. In addition, the studio announced that BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle is also coming to Xbox in the same release window.

Guilty Gear Strive is available now on PC and PlayStation platforms.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SljJrY3GczU

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Krossover Kombat

Alongside the red hot news that Arc System Works is bringing Guilty Gear Strive to the Xbox platform, the developer also announced that crossover fighter BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle would also be bringing its anime action to Xbox One and Xbox Series X in the same release window: Spring 2023. Busy season.

Already available on PlayStation, PC, and Nintendo Switch, BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle sees a host of heroes and villains from franchises such as Persona, RWBY, Under Night In-Birth, Arcana Heart, Senran Kagura, and many others come together for frenetic, team-based combat. The Xbox release will include all of the post-release content from the original titles.

BlazBlue Cross Tag Battle launches on Xbox platforms in Spring 2023.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WzpAdK5jvAw

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Git Reddy Fur Tha Nex Battul

Talk about kicking things off with a bang — PlayStation began its State of Play live stream with the official reveal of Bandai Namco's next entry to its legendary 3D fight franchise, Tekken. Tekken 8 is currently in development "exclusively" for PS5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI6I63PnW0Q

The very attractive trailer saw long-time rivals and troubled father-son duo Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima battle it out amidst a raging storm. In what appeared to be a blend of cinematic visuals and real-time gameplay, the footage sure looked like Tekken, albeit with an absolutely stunning new look.

"We are very excited to show the next generation of Tekken," said Katsuhiro Harada, chief producer at Bandai Namco Studios, in a press statement. "The team at Bandai Namco Studios has been hard at work to bring groundbreaking new features to Tekken 8, pushing the feeling of power in battles continuously further by harnessing the power of the latest generation of consoles. We can’t wait to show you more in the months to come!"

Tekken 8 is currently in development for PlayStation 5, PC, and Xbox Series X/S using Unreal Engine 5. Check out more info over at PlayStation Blog.

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