Infernax: Deux or Die goes above and beyond

My love of Infernax is no secret by this point. Many indie titles have shot for NES nostalgia, but Infernax provides an experience that genuinely belongs among the console’s best. Its tight gameplay, compact map to explore, and authentic difficulty curve drives home the feeling of playing a version of Simon’s Quest that became a beloved classic instead of a series black sheep. Add in a host of secret characters and multiple endings, and you have a game just begging to be replayed.

I gleefully put in at least three runs through Infernax last year, yet the announcement of couch co-op via the Deux or Die update still peaked my curiosity. As much as I love this game, couch co-op updates to single games have left me underwhelmed in the past. For example, Shovel Knight's two-player mode was fun, but nowhere near the quality of its one-player campaign. Meanwhile, Deux or Die promises the new character Cervul, a plethora of unique abilities, and a revamped progression system. Would Infernax maintain its quality as a two-player game, or would it be another novelty worth an hour or two?

Well, after playing Infernax this weekend armed with a friend (henceforth referred to as John Dtoid), I am extraordinarily happy to say that Berzerk Studio hit it out of the park with Deux or Die.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_SzgFDI2X4Q

A rebalanced campaign

The first thing Deux or Die does fantastically well is remix the entire campaign with Player Two in mind. Right out the gate, the cutscenes incorporate Cervul and even add some unique dialogue throughout the adventure. Story was never the strong suit of Infernax, but I love the playful route Deux or Die takes. For example, after one NPC praises protagonist Alcedor, he adds a tepid “oh hi Cervul” just to acknowledge him. It rides a fine line of lampshading its one-player focused story while avoiding outright fourth-wall breaking jokes.

Fortunately, it’s not just story that was overhauled for Cervul. Every screen in Infernax is littered with enemies now, to the point of looking like a Kaizo ROM hack at first. This gives both players equal responsibility to proceed through the game effectively.

Since so many enemies come at you from multiple directions, John Dtoid and I typically divided responsibilities between us. As the one in control of Cervul, I handled airborne enemies while Alcedor’s mace smacked things at ground level. After mastering the new mechanics, I was pleased to see that our pace matched a normal solo run of Infernax. Despite the overwhelming enemy forces, both players recieve ample power to match the odds.

[caption id="attachment_373208" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Cervul is my new favorite character

While the campaign rebalancing is nice, what really makes Deux or Die click is Cervul himself.

By default, Cervul chucks axes at enemies a la the classic Castlevania axe. Holding directions on the D-Pad lets Cervul change the trajectory of his throws, but he’s never particularly good at hitting things in front of him. Meanwhile, melee is the one range Alcedor is very good at. Both characters' mechanics naturally encouraged cooperation without stepping on each other’s toes. I always felt like I was contributing a lot as Cervul without ever fully stealing the spotlight.

[caption id="attachment_373209" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

As you progress further, Cervul unlocks and strengthens an extraordinarily fun set of skills. My bread-and-butter was the Crossbow, which requires a charge between shots but snipes enemies effectively. Meanwhile, against enemies throwing ranged attacks in turn, I could wield my Pavise with both hands and focus on blocking incoming shots to defend myself and ol’ John Dtoid. This let our playthrough of Infernax become surprisingly methodical instead of a test of our reflexes. I’d often stop and evaluate an area before selecting the tool that would lighten the challenge in front of us.

Honestly, there were moments when I felt like I was outright breaking the game with Cervul. However, instead of coming off as cheap, I instead felt rewarded for knowing what skills would work best in each situation. Using Cervul’s kit let me see the entire world of Infernax is a new light, almost as if I was playing an entirely new game.

[caption id="attachment_373210" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Promote synergy

The crazy part is that Cervul isn’t the only one bringing team dynamics. Alcedor’s support spells now affect both players, ranging from shields to full heals. This, too, adds a new layer of depth to Infernax.

By default, Cervul has a stack of bandages that can slowly but reliably heal either player individually. Meanwhile, Alcedor’s healing spells work instantly and heal fully, but he can only use a couple casts before his mana runs dry. This created a fun minigame where John Dtoid and I constantly thought of how to min-max our healing within dungeons, perpetually keeping our HP bars even with bandages so we could get optimal heals with spells later.

[caption id="attachment_373240" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Cervul’s tools do make him feel like four characters in one. However, switching his skills takes time, which in turn gives Alcedor much more agency in co-op. Covering that melee blind spot for Cervul is optimal in most situations, but this never feels forced or inconvenient. Even Alcedor’s shield, which generally is inferior to Cervul’s Pavise, still has the advantage of being available on demand. There were more than a few situations where Johnny boy blocked shots for me while I was charging my crossbow, especially if I wasn’t paying attention to everything happening on screen.

Cervul winds up being a bit more powerful than Alcedor by the end of the game. However, it’s never to an extent where the scale is tilted too strongly in Cervul’s favor. Both players feel important throughout the campaign, and there’s enough freedom to let you control who will be more supportive and who will take point as the main attacker. I can’t believe I’m writing that sentence about a simple game like Infernax, but that’s how elegant the mechanics of Deux or Die are.

[caption id="attachment_373241" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Free play

Honestly, my only criticisms of Deux or Die are nitpicks. The boss rebalancing doesn’t fare universally well in co-op, leaving some foes unusually easy despite their bolstered health bars. There was also one encounter on the Ultimate Good story path that Cervul absolutely trivializes. As good as the co-op is, Infernax never fully shakes the feeling that it was originally designed for one player.

That doesn’t particularly matter to me though. Infernax already felt complete at launch, so Deux or Die is like getting a new game for free. Moreover, with playthroughs lasting around six hours, Infernax makes for a great weekend adventure.

[caption id="attachment_373211" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

As an additional touch, Deux or Die lets you hot-swap between the two-player mode and one player controlling both characters. At first, I thought this was a nice way to let solo adventurers experience the new content too. However, once I realized this let one player make progress while the other takes a break to use the bathroom or grab a snack, I realized how hard Berzerk Studio prioritized making a fun experience for two friends over anything else.

Infernax doesn’t have the reputation of something like Shovel Knight, but Deux or Die proves its creators bring equal passion for their work. This free update was so transformative that I could have easily dropped $5 on it and felt I got my money's worth. If you originally played Infernax via Game Pass, Deux or Die makes a compelling case to buy the game outright. It adds abundant replay value to a title already overflowing with it, and I can’t wait to explore Upal with more friends in the future.

The post Infernax’s Deux or Die update makes it a fantastic couch co-op adventure appeared first on Destructoid.

The Force will be with you this month

The April 2023 games lineup might have far fewer blockbusters to offer, but there are still some intriguing standouts worthy of a mention. We can take on an epic quest across the galaxy in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, or enjoy the adorable story in Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories You'll also get the opportunity to engage in strategic battles in Advance Wars 1 + 2: Reboot Camp or carve up some zombies in the long-long-long-time-coming Dead Island 2. 

Here's everything to expect from the April 2023 games lineup.

Advance Wars 1 + 2: Reboot Camp (Switch)

[caption id="attachment_368515" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Nintendo[/caption]

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: WayForward
Price: $59.99
Release Date: April 21
Trailer

After a long delay, Advance Wars 1 + 2: Reboot Camp will finally be on store shelves from April 21. This strategy game is a complete remake of the classic releases and will test mettle as players maneuver their army through various battlefields. Reboot Camp includes both original games and lets you pick any commander from those titles in its Versus Mode. This remaster is developed by the Shantae series studio WayForward, so there should be an essence of quality within its animation and gameplay. This will be a really enjoyable nostalgia trip fans of the series, to be sure.

Dead Island 2 (PS4 PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

[caption id="attachment_368520" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Deep Silver[/caption]

Publisher: Deep Silver
Developer: Dambuster Studios
Price: $69.99
Release Date: April 21
Trailer

Speaking of delayed games, Dead Island 2 will finally be unleashed on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC systems on April 21. Similar to the previous game, it offers a large sandbox packed out with many melee weapons to uncover and lots of zombies to smash. Instead of an island, however, this sequel will be taking place in Beverly Hills, as well as its neighboring areas like Venice Beach. The sequel features online co-op for up to three players, so you can team with friends to combat dozens of distinct zombie types, each with their own mutations, attacks, and hundreds of visual LA-themed variants."

EA Sports PGA Tour (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

[caption id="attachment_368542" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA[/caption]

Publisher: EA
Developer: Electronic Arts - Tiburon
Price: $69.99
Release Date: April 6
Trailer

Get ready to earn those beloved Eagles and dreaded Bogies because EA Sports is bringing back golf to PC and consoles on April 6. The game features the Masters Tournament, the PGA Championship, the U.S. Open Championship, and The Open Championship. The publisher EA claims on the game's Steam page that it will have "unique golf wings with a fluid feel and realistic outcomes on every golf shot." In addition, there are "golfer-specific tendencies with unique Course Dynamics and revolutionized Ball Behavior" mechanics. A new Career Mode will allow players to can create their own golfer and compete against the likes of Cameron Champ, Nelly Korda, and other pros.

The Mageseeker: A League of Legends Story (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC)

[caption id="attachment_368550" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Riot Forge[/caption]

Publisher: Riot Forge
Developer: Digital Sun
Price: $29.99
Release Date: April 18
Trailer

The League of Legends universe expands when The Mageseeker releases on April 18. Something that makes this game notable is that it's from the critically acclaimed developer of Moonlighter Digital Sun. In this game, you play as Sylas, a mage that has freed himself from the Mageseekers. With the chains on his hands, you fight enemies that try to contain you and free your homeland from The Mageseekers. The action-RPG combat seems intense and the game has a gorgeous pixel art style, similar to Moonlighter.

Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC)

[caption id="attachment_368563" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Poppy Works and XSEED Games[/caption]

Publisher: Poppy Works and XSEED Games
Developer: Froach Club and Poppy Works
Price: $14.99
Release Date: April 6
Trailer

Melon Journey: Bittersweet Memories was a standout on the PAX East 2022 show floor and will be dropping into store shelves on April 6. As those of you who played the demo will know, it has an adorable Game Boy-inspired art style and a charming story. You're a rabbit strolling around a town that has outlawed melons looking for your lost best friend. The concept is adorable, but the intrigue arrives once you realize things aren't as peaceful as they seem.

Minecraft Legends (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC)

[caption id="attachment_368572" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Xbox[/caption]

Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
Developer: Mojang Studios and Blackbird Interactive
Price: $39.99
Release Date: April 6
Trailer

There's been a TellTale series and an action RPG, and now Minecraft is stepping into the Strategy genre with Minecraft Legends. Launching on Xbox Game Pass and on store shelves when April 6 hits, Minecraft Legends challenges you to third-person RTS battles. You'll be gathering allies and resources as you explore the different biomes this game has to offer. There's also a multiplayer mode, so you can charge enemy fortresses with your buddies online. Hopefully, Minecraft Legends will be just as fun as the other Minecraft spinoffs.

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyfWJmk2c7U&t=125s

Publisher: EA
Developer: Respawn
Price: $69.99
Release Date: April 27
Trailer

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor continues Cal Kestis' journey as he attempts to discover his true purpose as a Jedi. The game takes place five years after the events of Fallen Order as Kestis finds himself escaping into the outer sectors of the galaxy. EA asks the question on the game's Steam page, "How far Kestis willing to go to protect himself, his crew, and the legacy of the Jedi Order?" There will be an engaging storyline, to be sure, new force abilities to learn throughout the adventure, and new fighting styles for Cal to master. The game releases on April 27.

Honorable Mentions

[caption id="attachment_368596" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Digixart and Ravenscourt[/caption]

There are some other April 2023 games that should get honorable mentions. They include:

• Curse of the Sea Rats (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - April 6
• The Last Case of Benedict Fox (Xbox Series X/S, PC) - April 27
• Mega Man Battle Network Legacy Collection (PS4, Switch, PC) - April 14
• Moviehouse - The Film Studio Tycoon (PC) - April 5
• Omega Strikers (PC, Switch, iOS, Android) - April 27
• Road 96: Milo 0 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - April 4
• Strayed Lights (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - April 25

The post Most anticipated game releases – April 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Although the game puts a heavy emphasis on parrying, blocking is important too

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty is going to put a lot of action veteran's skills to the test. Like Sekiro, there's a lot of focus on parrying and timing, which not everyone is keen on. The good news is that Wo Long's block mechanic is extremely strong, and you can use it to your advantage to cut down on the need to parry every single attack. Here's how it all works.

[caption id="attachment_365580" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Remember: you can block too

Holding down L1 (LB) will cause your character to stand in place and block. You do have a parry/dodge (both linked to Circle/B), but blocking is completely viable too. The one thing you need to understand about Wo Long is that blocking is a powerful tactic that can take most hits; as long as there isn't a red/critical flash before the attack.

The first boss is a perfect place to put this to the test, as many of his attacks are done in quick succession: which will break a lot of people's brains if they try and parry everything.

[caption id="attachment_365576" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Use light attacks to raise your spirit bar, so you can block more

With that said, you do need to manage over-blocking, to ensure that the enemy doesn't break your guard.

Take a look at the meter at the bottom center of your screen. That governs your spirit, which is consumed when you trigger basically anything, including magic and blocking. To ensure that you have ample meter to block bosses, get a few light hits in in-between blocks. Your meter will fill up with a blue bar, which signifies a "reserve" amount of spirit. If you have some spirit in reserve, you can continue to block until another opening pops up.

If you have ample meter, use a heavier hit on occasion to lower their spirit meter (which we'll talk about momentarily).

[caption id="attachment_365577" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Focus harder on parrying the red-flash unblockable attacks

The red unblockable attacks on the other hand: you'll need to dodge or parry those!

For bosses, parrying them is extremely important, as this often results in a hard counter: stopping the enemy in their tracks, raising your meter, and opening them up for a critical hit. Bosses generally don't have too many of these critical attacks, so you won't need to learn a ton of different timings (like you would if you were trying to parry every hit instead of blocking).

[caption id="attachment_365541" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Strike hard when the enemy is down

Below the health meter of the current boss is their spirit gauge. If you can fill this all the way up (through a combination of light and heavy attacks), they'll enter a staggered state. Although you only have a limited time to get a critical hit in, resist the urge to instantly use a heavy attack and kick off a short cutscene.

Pepper in a few light attacks to slice some health off, then trigger the critical hit.

[caption id="attachment_365542" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Save your Divine Beast special/ultimate as a finisher

Consider saving your Divine Beast special (Triangle+Circle/Y+B) until the fight is nearly complete, and it'll essentially finish the fight. That way you aren't blowing it during an inopportune time, and you won't need to worry about wasting your meter, only to get hit once and reset all of your progress.

With these tips you'll pick up the early game way faster than you would with the natural tutorial system!

The post Here is the best way to beat every boss in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty appeared first on Destructoid.

Don't forget to block!

Man, it's great to see Team Ninja back again.

The pair of Nioh games is probably enough for them to be tapped into the collective action player's hivemind, but they've followed those up with Stranger of Paradise (which has a great mechanical foundation, amid some insane story choices) and now, Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Let's dig into what makes the latter feel like a spiritual successor to the Nioh series while maintaining its own identity.

[caption id="attachment_366458" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Released: March 3, 2023
MSRP: $59.99

Wo Long is an Onimusha-like story (subbing out Oda Nobunaga for someone else) set in the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history. There's demons, there's historical figures, and there's chaos. I was immediately sold on the setting because of how unique it is, even with decades of Dynasty Warriors/Musou to indirectly compare it to. The narrative structure, which is engaging but restrained, is woven through a linear mission structure (with side missions). So a lot like Nioh. No it's not an open world romp, but not every game needs to use the open world formula. We'll talk about how that pays off soon, but first, the action!

I haven't spent this much time acclimating to an action game in...I don't how how long, and it's pretty exhilarating.

Wo Long has so many systems to learn (parrying, dodging, blocking, magic, abilities, character builds) that it can be overwhelming, and the first boss is probably going to stomp a lot of people. It's not even as accessible as say, Nioh was. But it's also extremely rewarding once you pick even one of the above concepts up, and allows for a bit more of an open-ended approach than a lot of similar games.

I was blown away at how much attention I actually paid to some of the game's tutorial segments, many of which explain the spirit system — a crucial through line mechanic that governs how the action bedrock works. Most actions (like blocking, dodging, or casting a spell) will draw from your spirit gauge, and doing too much (running over the meter) will fatigue your character shortly. To gain meter you'll need to strike with light attacks, which thankfully also do damage. In other words, the designers don't want you to turtle (play defensively) too much without dishing out and going on the offensive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRVpKHNjW4Q

The push and pull of it all is hard to get used to at first. One fascinating facet of Wo Long is that it puts so much emphasis on making parrying seem appealing upfront, but it's not the only path to victory. A well-timed parry will stop an attack, gain some spirit, and open up most enemies for a big punishment window (and in some cases, even straight up weaken bosses). If you can get to the point where you're parrying a rapid flurry of attacks then striking back, it's even more empowering. But it's far from the only way to go on the defensive.

Not only do you have a pretty effective dodge roll, but your block ability is extremely useful. Blocking can keep enemies at bay beyond red-flashing critical attacks (which need to be dodged, parried, or stopped through staggering), and as long as you have the spirit gauge for it, you can keep your dukes up. You will need to get some hits in to keep that engine running, but learning the windows in which you can do that is intuitive, and can even require a change in tact for each boss. That extends to all of the martial arts abilities and spells you can acquire, as well as the build choice you go for (whether it's putting points into health to avoid getting taken out quickly, or having confidence in your ability to block/parry, placing points into a bigger spirit gauge).

Boss design is classic Team Ninja, who generally does a fantastic job of balancing smaller scale humanoid fights with gigantic beasts (some of those humanoid big bads even turn into beasts!). The former bouts feel distinct too, as you'll use completely different tactics against smaller targets than you would when fighting larger enemies with more armor and poise. Wo Long even has that gut punch of "oh hey I beat this boss and have no health potions left, that was close...wait that was just literally half the fight, the next phase is harder and there's no checkpoint." That's not every encounter, and it can get frustrating, but that system is in place all the same.

[caption id="attachment_366465" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Then you have the morale mechanic, which is like a meta-system that governs strength, and provides strength to enemies who slay you in battle (in lieu of say, dropping a pile of experience points on the ground). It's not something that you need to truly stress about all the time, but being proactive and not taking on every enemy can help make some levels a little more manageable.

Another standout strength of Wo Long is how it treats exploration. So you could run straight for the boss in many cases, ignoring a crucial upgrade that allows you to up your health potion maximum, or a brand new type of weapon found in a chest at the end of a lengthy path filled with elites. But you'd be at a disadvantage without those items, but if you can hack it with parrying/blocking, you can punch far above your weight.

Most people will benefit from that "coaxing out" of exploration, which is a deliberate design choice. You'll plant more banners for more checkpoints and accrue a greater morale rating if you go off the beaten path. Mind, all of this is done without making levels pointlessly huge, to the point where adventuring becomes a chore. It's a fantastic give and take — gallivanting through that bespoke level design — that I enjoyed experiencing throughout Wo Long's runtime.

[caption id="attachment_366459" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The above recount is merely breezy recollection of my initial interaction with Wo Long over the course of about 10 hours, and not everyone is going to have the same reaction. But there are a lot of avenues to success, whether it's clicking with certain builds that you gel with, co-op (we mainly experienced the baked-in NPC co-op system, but there will be online co-op at launch), or sheer grit.

I want to stress that Wo Long is not going to be for everyone. It can be extremely punishing, especially if you're butting heads with the parry system. But the setting, the aesthetics, and action sensibilities from a learned team made it all worth it to push through and get over that hump. I hope Koei Tecmo has another one of these up their sleeve.

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

The post Review: Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty appeared first on Destructoid.

A witch, an alchemist, and a wrestler walk into a bar...

March 2023 is heating up with plenty of exciting game releases. Resident Evil 4 Remake will modernize the horror classic with spectacular visuals, while Atelier Ryza 3 is taking the series open world for the first time.

In addition, we'll be getting a brand-new WarGames mode in WWE 2K23 and exploring a certain witch's past in Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. Here's what to expect from the March 2023 games lineup.

Atelier Ryza 3: Alchemist of the End & The Secret Key (NSW, PS4, PS5, PC)

[caption id="attachment_365614" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Koei Tecmo[/caption]

Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Developer: Gust
Price: $59.99
Release Date: March 24
Trailer

Firstly, the fan-favorite Atelier series takes its introductory steps into an open world, and this will sadly be the conclusion to Ryza's story. Koei Tecmo seems to be stepping up the action with 11 playable characters, a seamless open-world design with multiple biomes, and a grand story involving the Code of the Universe. It will also have some fun alchemy mechanics, which makes the series stand out among the rest of the JRPG juggernauts, like Final Fantasy and Persona. Atelier Ryza 3 was recently delayed by a month. Hopefully, the game is technically sound and will run great when the game is in the players' hands.

Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon (NSW)

[caption id="attachment_365612" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Nintendo[/caption]

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: PlatinumGames
Price: $59.99
Release Date: March 17
Trailer

Coming out of nowhere in an early 2023 Nintendo Direct, Bayonetta Origins: Cereza of the Demon tells the origin story of the legendary witch. Cereza (her name before being called Bayonetta), alongside her first demon Cheshire, is on a quest to save her mother with a power found within the forest. She'll be solving puzzles and fighting faeries, even as a child. This game will likely give some fascinating backstory to the beloved witch in the Bayonetta series. There's an expectation of quality from this cult hit series, so hopefully, this game will deliver.

Resident Evil 4 Remake (PS5, PS4, XSX|S, PC)

[caption id="attachment_365615" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Capcom[/caption]

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Price: $59.99
Release Date: March 24
Trailer

One of the most prolific horror games ever made, Resident Evil 4, is finally receiving a remake in March. Similarly to the two prior remakes of Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3, RE4 is getting a complete reworking of its gameplay and graphics. The animation and texture quality is incredible, while the gameplay has been remade to fit more modern tastes. That means no more tank controls! In addition, the pesky quick-time events of the original have been completely removed. While Capcom's attempts to bring back Resident Evil 3 arguably disappointed fans, Resident Evil 4 Remake can hopefully pick up the slack.

Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX|S, PC)

[caption id="attachment_365626" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Koei Tecmo[/caption]

Publisher: Koei Tecmo
Developer: Team NINJA
Price: $59.99
Release Date: March 3
Trailer

After the tepid audience response to Wild Hearts (according to the UK charts via PlayStation Trophies), Koei Tecmo is likely hoping Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty will be a hit. This action RPG pits you against mighty bosses across the Three Kingdoms. Set in a dark fantasy interpretation of the late Han Dynasty, you'll face off foes with swordplay that's based on Chinese martial arts. You'll have access to multiple weapons like dual swords, glaives, a spear, a staff, and 14 other types. You'll also be able to use magic like fire and ice-elemental abilities against your enemies. Hopefully, this Souls-like hits with Team NINJA's many fans of Nioh. There's a demo out as well if you're curious about this JRPG.

WWE 2K23 (PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX|S, PC)

[caption id="attachment_365629" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via 2K[/caption]

Publisher: 2K
Developer: Visual Concepts
Price: $59.99
Release Date: March 17
Trailer

Unlike the 2021-2022 season, WWE has been red-hot over the past year with the return of Cody Rhodes, the championship reign of the E.S.T. Bianca Belair, and the incredible storytelling from the Bloodline faction. Hopefully, WWE 2K23 takes advantage of the hype that's been building toward Wrestlemania in 2023. The game is introducing a new WarGames mode, which has two wrestling rings combined within a cage. In addition, the MyGM mode is getting a big upgrade with new managers, match types, and more show options with four people instead of just two. Wrestlers like Logan Paul and the original GOAT Bruno Sammartino are a part of the roster as well. It's one of the March 2023 games that diehard fans will want.

Honorable Mentions

[caption id="attachment_365630" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Awaceb & Kepler Interactive[/caption]

Thankfully, there's a promising indie that has to be included on this list: Tchia. It's an open world that has the titular character exploring the beautiful archipelago islands and sailing the seas. A neat mechanic in this game is that you can take control of any animal in the game. You can even learn the ukelele in Tchia. It's docking onto PS4, PS5, and the Epic Games Store on March 21.

Additionally, Crime Boss: Rockay City is making its way to consoles and PC (Epic Games Store) on March 28. Starring Hollywood talents like Chuck Norris and Michael Rooker, this crime-based first-person shooter has you planning heists, similar to Payday. The twist is it has roguelike mechanics as you take down enemy forces from rival gangs and avoid the custody of Officer Norris. The action seems fun and having more co-op experiences can only be a good thing.

The post Most anticipated game releases – March 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Wild Hearts will stir up your PC

Wild Hearts will be a current generation-only game, meaning that you'll need a hardy rig to get the game running on PC. These Wild Hearts PC system requirements may need you to open up your wallet and upgrade your gaming setup.

If you don't have the specs and are strapped for cash and have a console at hand, you should be happy to know that there's full crossplay between all systems. Regardless, below you'll find all of the Wild Hearts PC system requirements and recommended settings that publisher EA Originals and developer Koei Tecmo have published.

Wild Hearts PC system requirements

[caption id="attachment_361932" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA / Koei Tecmo[/caption]

2023 seems to be the beginning of the end for those who have a PS4, Xbox One, and ultimately an outdated PC. More games like Wild Hearts and Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League will be leaving earlier platforms in the dust. This means that you may need to beef up your PC if you want to play this epic monster-hunting game. Here are all the Wild Hearts system requirements you'll need:

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i5-8400 / AMD Ryzen 5 2600
• Memory: 12 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce GTX 1060 (VRAM 6GB) / Radeon RX 5500 XT (VRAM 8GB)
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 80 GB

You'll also need a stable internet connection to get into the chaos of Wild Hearts and join your buddies in their fight against these beasts.

Wild Hearts Recommended Hardware

[caption id="attachment_361935" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA / Koei Tecmo[/caption]

To experience Wild Hearts in all of its graphical glory, you'll need an impressive graphics card and 16GB of RAM. Let's go over all the recommended hardware that should be in your PC for the best performance of Wild Hearts.

• OS: 64-bit Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i7-8700K / AMD Ryzen 5 3600
• Memory: 16 GB RAM
• Graphics: GeForce RTX 2070 (VRAM 8GB) / Radeon RX 5700 XT (VRAM 8GB)
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 80 GB

On the Steam page for the game, EA and Koei Tecmo recommend you also use a surround sound system or headset to get the most immersive experience possible within Wild Hearts. It might be worth the expenditure if our preview is anything to go by.

Related: Does Wild Hearts have Haptic Feedback? – Answered on Prima Games

The post Wild Hearts PC system requirements and recommended settings appeared first on Destructoid.

Hopefully it stays fun

When we last checked in with Wild Hearts, I was pleased at how unique the game world was, and how it differentiated itself from the rest of the hunting genre. Four months later with the final build in my hands and the launch swiftly approaching, I feel roughly the same.

[caption id="attachment_363055" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

For me, the main draw of Wild Hearts is the setting. Taking place in the constantly changing and mysterious land of Azuma, it feels like pretty much anything can happen. An ice wolf can drop by and change the arena into an arctic setting. A creature can breathe fire and wreck havoc in an idyllic forest. Of course most of these sequences are scripted and deal with the introduction of big bosses (the subjects of the hunt), but it's still exciting in the context of a first-time playthrough.

It also has a good Koei Tecmo action core to boot. The key to all this is the Karakuri system, which are basically magically conjured tools, adding a bit of construction into the hunting formula. The very first Karakuri you acquire is a platform, which can also be used as a spring board to launch you into enemies. Slowly but surely, you start to realize the additional use scenarios for Karakuri, like placing platforms to block attacks and create a makeshift barrier, and so on.

On performance mode, everything plays out smoothly, amid the vibrant visuals. While the story hasn't grabbed me yet (despite being a chunk into the game), the world is driving me forward, and I don't have any major complaints about the action sequences yet. The additional of a "sliding dodge" (triggered when pressing the dodge button while sprinting) feels comically over the top at first, but really helps the player character avoid some of the crazier attacks from bosses.

So far, I have been able to experiment a bit with online multiplayer; and in the pre-launch period, things have been going swimmingly. The game will ask me if I want to call for help whenever fighting a big hunt target, and I'll always just hit "yes" just to see what happens. Every other fight someone joins in and answers the call, usually with a completely different main weapon and Karakuri setup.

[caption id="attachment_363057" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Seeing all of the different weapons work in tandem is how Wild Hearts really comes together. As I generally brave close combat situations and serve as the bait, other players use combos of ranged and hit and run weapons, bringing in Karakuri synergy of their own. I've had a blast trying out new strategies and loadouts too on lower priority targets, as it feels like there's just enough weapons to do that without things getting too overbearing.

We've heard from Koei Tecmo for months that the game is supposed to be 30 hours long, and hopefully it keeps up the pacing I've experienced throughout that runtime. But most importantly, hunter genre fans are going to want to know if this game is going to be a flash in the pan, or something they want to invest in for months on end.

Even if it doesn't meet those expectations (and some post-launch patches and DLC never arrive), I'm glad I took the plunge and played through everything I've seen so far. This is a gorgeous game, and as a purely atmospheric action romp, it's hitting a lot of good notes. Expect our full review of Wild Hearts closer to launch.

The post Review in Progress: Wild Hearts appeared first on Destructoid.

Discover the secrets hidden away in shadows

If you've wished that action-platformers would lean a little more in the horror side, then Plot Twist's new game might be up your alley. The Last Case of Benedict Fox is due to arrive on April 27 for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, and it's coming to Game Pass.

Playing as the titular Benedict Fox, your goal is to uncover your father's secrets following his untimely demise. Benedict isn't alone, however; he's accompanied by a strange, intimidating demon companion, and as he delves deeper into his father's memories, he'll also peer deeper into the abyss.

It's easy enough to sum up Benedict Fox by describing it as "Lovecraft meets Metroidvania," but seeing it play out, the blend works. Developer Plot Twist put out a new guided gameplay look today, showing how investigation and mystery are in store for Benedict alongside the action.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKvv--Yc5Yk

Defeating enemies lets Benedict build up ink, which he can then use to tattoo himself for more power. I dig the way these intersecting systems feed into the darker side of the story. It seems like The Last Case of Benedict Fox might be a good pick-up for those who want some more horror in their Metroidvanias.

Joining the pass

Benedict Fox is one of four games highlighted as coming to Xbox Game Pass today over on the Xbox Wire. The other games included are space-sim Everspace 2, side-scrolling narrative adventure Planet of Lana, and co-op mech-farming game Lightyear Frontier.

It's a pretty wide array of video game styles, and it's always nice to see a good variety of games headed to the Pass alongside the big Microsoft titles. Even though some big games are going to be swallowing up the oxygen for the foreseeable future, it's nice to get a spotlight on cool and interesting new games like The Last Case of Benedict Fox.

The post Lovecraft-vania The Last Case of Benedict Fox arrives in April appeared first on Destructoid.

Feel the rush

Tango Gameworks has something a bit different in store for its next game. Hi-Fi Rush is a musical rhythm-focused action game, coming to PC and Xbox Series X|S consoles today.

Revealed during today's Xbox Developer Direct, everything in Hi-Fi Rush is connected to the beat. The whole world, from its action and combos to the traps and scenery, moves to the rhythm.

Playing as Chai, a "defect" who can detect the rhythm of the world, you team up with pals to take on your enemies. It's got a vibe similar to something like Sunset Overdrive, and I'm very much down for it.

https://twitter.com/TangoGameworks/status/1618344785357447221

The team wants it to be playable for those who aren't so rhytmically inclined too, though. Chai's cat, the appropriately named 808, can keep the beat for you as a little helper drone. And a marker at the bottom of the screen can also track the BPM for you.

While Tango Gameworks may be known for series like The Evil Within or the more recent Ghostwire: Tokyo, which falls more into the dark and scary, Hi-Fi Rush is a bit of a departure. And the added surprise, revealed during the show, is that it goes live tonight. Being an Xbox studio game, too, it's also part of Xbox Game Pass.

The post Hi-Fi Rush is Tango Gameworks’ rhythmic action game launching today appeared first on Destructoid.

Update 1.2.0 to the rescue

Just this past week, Platinum released the first major post-launch update for Bayonetta 3, and it was a doozy. Not only did it address some long-running concerns from the community for a few encounters (and Viola's moveset), but it also directly impacted a really low key aspect of the game: the playable teaser for the upcoming release Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon.

Here's a quick reminder of what that update actually changed:

Game Modes

• Conditions for obtaining the “Tricolored Keys” needed to unseal the “Old Picture Book” have been made easier.
• “Tricolored Keys” will be automatically available on the chapter select screen once it becomes possible to access the “Gates of Hell”.

• Even if the player already has access to the Gates of Hell, or has already obtained one or two keys, they will automatically obtain the remaining keys when going to the chapter select screen after applying the update.

Accessing the Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon demo is much easier in 2023

As the Nintendo of Europe Twitter account pointed out this weekend, once you have the new update (1.2.0) installed, you can just buy the Old Picture Book from the Gates of Hell shop: no keys or added steps needed! Prior to the update, after buying the book, you needed to locate three hidden keys spread across several chapters of the game (Chapter 1, 4, and 13).

This takes me back to the bygone era where demos were king, and sometimes were selling points all on their own. While the Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon itself is very brief, it's cool to see more free unlockables in games, sans DLC. The action genre is the perfect host for it.

The post PSA: A new update made it a lot easier to play the hidden Bayonetta 3 demo appeared first on Destructoid.

Holy spinoff, Batman

Every so often, things pass us by. October in particular was a packed month, full of games like Vampire Survivors, Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope, A Plague Tale 2, Alan Wake Remastered Switch, Scorn, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection, NHL 23, and No Man's Sky Switch: to name a few (and in this case, I'm being literal, comparatively!).

So it makes sense that Gotham Knights would slip through the cracks, especially when codes were semi-limited for it at the time. It's time for Gotham's crew to face the music.

[caption id="attachment_358113" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Gotham Knights (PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S [reviewed on an Xbox Series X])
Developer: WB Games Montreal
Publisher: WB Interactive Entertainment
Released: October 21, 2022
MSRP: $59.99 (PC), $69.99 (consoles)

As soon as I saw the RPG elements of Gotham Knights in that very first gameplay showing, I felt deflated. So you're going to take a highly narrative-focused action series and dump mid-2010s sensibilities (that have been done to death by now) into it? Bold choice! It didn't really pay off.

I couldn't shake the sense that much of the Batman mythos was squandered here. "Batman is dead" is still an interesting premise if done right (even if it's been touched in various forms), and having his team of sidekicks come together to stabilize Gotham could allow for a lot of cool character interactions and growing pains. That's not even including the raw potential for The Court of Owls: the shadowy organization that's barely been covered outside of the source material. But the game is so concerned about gamey things like numbers, crafting, and minimap blips that a lot of the impact of said narrative falls to the wayside.

A lot of your personal enjoyment is going to come from the character you pick (your options are Nightwing [Dick], Robin [Tim], Batgirl [Babs], and Red Hood [Jason]. For me, the majority of the game was spent with the latter, who is, let's say, uneven at best. There's some cringey dialogue in there (that thankfully doesn't get too edgy), but his moveset, which involves non-lethal guns, does show some form of evolution from the Arkham formula. Choosing between all four characters to try and find your groove is a cool idea at the very least, and one of the few live servicey elements that actually has a point to it. It helps that you can swap at any time, and all of them level up together: avoiding one path of painful grinding.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSJTK8-R_sk

Strangely, one of the very first things you do in the action game Gotham Knights is completely stop said action dead in its tracks, and look at a clue-based minigame to try and open a door. It's bizarre, and you can tell that someone really had a bone to pick with the idea of copying the Detective Mode and wanted to do their own thing. Well, it's different!

Characters are loaded up with abilities and skill trees, and it's not nearly as intrusive or as busy as it could have been. Many of those skills are actually pretty fun to use and easy to trigger, and I found myself changing Bat-people often to see how everyone else handles. There's a bit of a disconnect here with the encounters: particularly how many enemies can feel spongey without putting up too much of a fight. As is the case with prior Arkham games boss fights can be a bright spot, but there simply aren't enough of them.

Where things go wrong is basically all of the other collectibles, which are rote "crafting" reagents or slow-drip cosmetic unlocks. The big red flag is collecting "clues" from enemies in the form of arcadey vacuumed pickups, which can trigger new leads. I don't know about y'all, but I don't want to spend copious amounts of time "chasing leads" and interrogating criminals. I just want to go from mission to mission like the old Arkham games and do my thing.

[caption id="attachment_358124" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Once you're playing the actual missions themselves, things do pick up. It's fun to zoom around the city, and missions are relatively bite-sized, broken up into multiple interludes that all play into a chapter-based system. Not all the beats hit, and not everything comes together, but you do get the sense that you're chipping away at a mystery, and the parts that involve the team itself are often insightful.

I couldn't help but see many of the same mistakes as the DCEU's Justice League film, though: in the sense that so much was rushed, and so much was jammed in without the proper amount of development. The events that unfold in this game almost feel like it could have been a trilogy, with Batman mentoring some of the squad in the first game, relying on them more in the second game, and then you spring the "Batman is dead" gimmick. If you don't already care about these characters, a lot of the nuances will probably bounce off you: justifiably so. Too many factions are crammed into this narrative when each of the major players could have carried a single entry.

I wouldn't say that the map that's presented in Gotham Knights is authentically Gotham, but it's not a bad open world setting either. There are plenty of opportunities to zip through with various grappling hooks, and although the map itself is too busy, it also means that you can reasonably wander around and find stuff to do randomly. Fast travel points and a vehicle that can be summoned nearly anywhere also add to the convenience of getting around.

[caption id="attachment_358125" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Going along with the live service theme, the core game has two player support, and there's also a four player side mode called Heroic Assault. At this point, I've been able to try two player co-op many times (mostly through the instant hop-in feature), and it was often a riot. In one session, I spent some time with another person who also played Red Hood (you can double up), who yelled, in character, "you want some?!" every time we would get into a skirmish. Then there's the co-op partner who didn't realize I was in their game for a solid 30 minutes, despite following them the entire time. It was seamless, and when I was done, I could hop back into my game quickly. If you're interested in co-op at all, you'll definitely want to jump in with someone you know (perhaps on a deep sale or when the game is eventually part of some promo) to get the most out of it; but I see where the team was going with it.

After playing Gotham Knights, I couldn't shake the feeling that a lot of it had the air of an Arkham-verse fan game. While there is something there, you can almost reach out and touch the design-by-committee elements and witness the souls of some of the developers leaving their bodies. If you're looking for another "Open World: The Game," this one has you covered.

The post Review: Gotham Knights appeared first on Destructoid.

Niflheim is generally easier now

Bayonetta 3 came and conquered, but Platinum Games has been infrequently tweaking the game since its October 2022 release. Beyond the initial day one launch patch, this week is the only time it's been adjusted in a major way: in this instance, via version 1.2.0, which was implemented late on January 10, 2023.

So there's a few things this patch addresses:

• Combat adjustments that mainly apply to Viola
• Nerfs to many Niflheim challenge stages (which a lot of people asked for, even on higher-end difficulties)
• The Tricolored Keys/Old Picture Book secret is easier to access, as you just get the Tricolored Keys automatically now
• Other minor game balance issues, as well as bug fixes

So the first two points are actually entwined, as many folks were frustrated with some of the Viola-specific Niflheim challenges. To accommodate, it is now easier to enter Witch Time with Viola, and it's been generally buffed. This has been a consistent point of contention and one of the biggest asks from the community.

Beyond that, the enhanced ease of accessing the teaser demo for the upcoming Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon is a smart move: especially since the initial hype of finding it the "secret way" has died down a bit. Plus, granular bug fixes in a frame-perfect action game are always appreciated!

You can find the full patch notes here on Nintendo's official site, or below.

Bayonetta 3 Ver. 1.2.0 Patch Notes (Released January 10, 2023)

Combat Adjustments

• Adjusted Viola’s activation window for “Block” and activation conditions for Witch Time.
  • Block activation window added after releasing Block (during the release animation).
  • Added an additional animation when Witch Time takes effect, making its activation easier to realize.
  • The allotted duration of Witch Time, and its activation window have been lengthened.
  • Now, when block is activated when player is attacked, player will receive damage effect, but block will succeed and activate Witch Time.
  • Now, combo can continue (with Dodge Offset) when player uses Block to activate Witch Time.
  • If the Block input is used repeatedly, the granted Witch Time duration will decrease.
• Adjustments made to prevent Viola's evasive input and Cheshire's summoning input from activating Assault Slave while maintaining invincibility if they are used in rapid succession.
• Weapons "Simoon", "Tartarus" and Viola's Charge Attacks can now continue to hold charge, even if dodged or blocked.
• Wink Slave can now be activated from the combos "PKP*" and "PKK*" for the weapons "G-Pillar", "Dead End Express" and "Cassiopeia".*P is Punch, and K is Kick
• When equipping the accessories "Infernal Communicator" and "Pulley's Butterfly" to summon Devils and Butterflies, it is now possible to cancel the summoning motion by dodging or blocking.

Niflheim

The following Niflheim stage conditions were changed to lower the difficulty:

Game Modes

• Conditions for obtaining the "Tricolored Keys" needed to unseal the "Old Picture Book" have been made easier.
  • "Tricolored Keys" will be automatically available on the chapter select screen once it becomes possible to access the "Gates of Hell".
• Even if the player already has access to the Gates of Hell, or has already obtained one or two keys, they will automatically obtain the remaining keys when going to the chapter select screen after applying the update.

Other Changes

• Adjustments have been made to the Golem Treasure Chests found in stages.
  • Time limits have been increased, and difficulty has been lowered.
  • Golem Chest fragmenting animation can now be fast-forwarded with the B-button.
• Adjustments have been made to reduce situations with poor camera visibility.
• Adjusted game balance.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug in Verse 5 of Chapter 7 that prevented progress when certain actions were performed while controlling Cheshire.
• Fixed a problem with the accessory "Hymn of Durga" in which its effect was not being applied to some attacks.
• Fixed an issue where using Alruna’s “Bondage Whip (P or K* long press)” skill in certain situations would cause the enemies to to die instantly.
• Fixed an issue where the weapons using “Crow Within” (J* long press)” with "Scarborough Fair" and "Love is Blue" would cause player to move forward significantly under certain conditions.
• Fixed an issue where Bayonetta's animations would not play correctly when switching weapons immediately after using the "Crow Within (J* long press)” with the weapons "Scarborough Fair" and "Love is Blue".
• Fixed a bug that caused "Black Pearl Rain (Rotate L stick + S*)” for Infernal Demon "Kraken" to trigger "Wink Slave" with abnormally high attack power.
• Fixed a bug that caused "Devil Rodin" to be stuck for a time when using "After Burner Kick (↑K* in midair)" continuously, immediately after rising up with a prior "After Burner Kick (J・K*)”.
• Fixed a bug in which Viola’s Assault Slave was able to summon Infernal Demons in "Infernal Demon-prohibited areas”.
• Fixed an error in the hand symbol seen in Cutie J’s transformation sequence viewable in Side Chapter.
• Fixed other issues to make the game more enjoyable to play.

*P is Punch, K is Kick, S is Shoot, and J is Jump.

The post New massive Bayonetta 3 patch nerfs some encounters, buffs Viola appeared first on Destructoid.

But move swiftly and efficiently if you want it

As Epic Games Store continues its holiday tradition of offering up a free game every day, today give sits users the opportunity to bag the high-speed, stunt-mechanic action-fest Severed Steel, which is available to claim for the next few hours directly from the EGS dashboard.

Developed by Chicago-based Greylock Studio and released in the spring of last year, Severed Steel is a first-person shooter of the speed 'n' style vernacular. That is to say, it occupies the same territory as games such as High Hell, Ghostrunner, and SuperHOT where the speed, accuracy, and efficiency of the player's movement are equally as important as simply staying alive.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Yr9olh1yqk&ab_channel=Digerati

Set in a future-noir world, players control the vengeance-fuelled protagonist Steel, who has lost an arm to an accident manufactured by the omnipotent corporation EdenSys. Outfitted with an energy cannon to replace the missing limb, Steel sets out on a one-woman-vendetta against EdenSys, eradicating its operations and liberating those crushed beneath its metal heels. This translates to a slickly designed, hugely destructible environments and highly stylized and explosive FPS action, all backed by a fantastic, adrenaline-pumping score.

So If you fancy ringing a few ears as you ring in the new year, then head on over to Epic Games Store right now and bag Severed Steel gratis, you have just a few more hours before it will be replaced by the next offering. Severed Steel is also available now on PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms.

The post Severed Steel is free on Epic Games Store right now appeared first on Destructoid.

Girls with Guns

Inti Creates has announced that its incoming release Grim Guardians: Demon Purge is just about ready to unleash its flurry of pixelated horror on the world. The Gothic anime actioner will launch on PC and console platforms on February 23, 2023.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge sees two young sisters venture into a foreboding castle on a quest to purge their school from its demonic presence. One or two players control older sister Shinobu, who is locked and loaded with a crazy arsenal of long-range weaponry, and her younger sibling Maya, who has mastered the deadly art of... erm... origami. Combining the destructive capabilities of the former with the precision and adaptation of the latter, our two heroes will head deeper into the grim locale, battling a gallery of monsters, ghoulies, and terrifying and unholy boss characters.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o7uWrjl95k4&t

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge looks to combine the run-and-gun action of the 1990s with the classic Gothic overtones of the Castlevania series, dressed up in a pleasing anime cheese aesthetic. An array of secrets, weapons, and spells await, while a "Style" based scoring system will reward those who utilize a sense of fluidity in their relentless monster-mashing. Sporting delightful pixel-based visuals and classic arcade sound, Grim Guardians simply looks like good, unabashed fun, particularly in co-op, and has quickly found its way onto my radar for the first quarter of the coming year.

Grim Guardians: Demon Purge launches February 23, 2023 on PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Grim Guardians: Demon Purge brings anime action February 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Ranking the next generation of buttkickers

[Warning: This article contains end-game spoilers for multiple new titles. You have been warned!]

We're at the stage with a lot of modern action franchises where their original leads, (and their audiences), are old enough to be parents and grandparents. Their creators are often in the same boat, leading them to think a lot about how to pass their legacies off to the next generation. That's part of why we saw Ellie take the lead from Joel in The Last of Us Part II, Indiana Jones team up with his kid Mutt in The Crystal Skull (and maybe yet another kid in the upcoming Dial of Destiny?), Rick's daughter Judith become the co-lead of The Walking Dead in its last season, Dante hand-off leading man duties to newcomer Nero in Devil May Cry V, and so on.

These sorts of "passing the torch" milestones are a natural part of life, even when those lives are purely fictional.

It's hard to say if and when these "passing the torch" moments will stick. We certainly haven't seen much from James Bond Jr. or Rodimus Prime in a while. But in 2022, there were more than a few games where the next generation of action hero took the lead in an effective way. Here are my top five for the year.

Remember, spoilers are present for almost every game on this list!

#5: Gotham Knights

When playing a Batman game where you face off against supervillains, the challenge and excitement are baked into the premise. On the other hand, using the world's greatest detective and martial artist to fight a common human criminal can be a little anticlimactic. In order for a game to really make you feel like you are Batman, he's going to have to be overpowered, leading to initial thrills, but at the risk of longer-term malaise. There's no question at this point who would win in a fight between the dark knight and 5-10 random goons.

By making Batgirl and all three generations of Robin the leads of Gotham Knights, the initial tension factor is immediately turned up a notch. And personally, I've always found it more impressive (if not a touch less realistic) to see a kid like Damien Wayne beat the crap out 10 musclebound henchmen at a time than to watch his Dad do the same thing.

Gotham Knights lets you do just that, and while the game is definitely better in theory than it is in practice, it's still worth a mention on this list. Let's hope that the next time we see the caped crusaders' sidekicks take the lead they get to star in a title with a little more punch.

#4 No More Heroes 3

This one is a bit of a cheat, as the game originally released on Switch in 2021, but it didn't make it to PC/PS4/PS5/Xbox until this year, so it was new to a lot of people in 2022. It's also a game that will always feel new to me. It's so packed with eye-opening moments, at least for long-time fans. The beheadings, the sudden rap battle, the surprise Smash Bros. mode, and the list of curveballs the game throws at you is downright diabolical.

And they saved the biggest twist for last. In the post-credits scene, Travis Touchdown's son Hunter and daughter Jeanne suddenly appear. They immediately slice up an alien God and announce that they've come from the future to recruit Travis and his grandson Scott to help them kill the past. It's a real cliffhanger! [End Spoilers]

It's also the right direction for the series to head down. In his first appearance in 2007, Travis Touchdown was a spot-on tribute/parody of a certain kind of videogame enthusiast. Now 15 years later, it makes perfect sense for his descendants to be picking up where he left off, symbolizing today's modern V-tubers and Twitch streamers and whatnot.

It's such a fun idea that I would have ranked it #1 if it weren't for the fact that the No More Heroes series is on indefinite hold, and there's no guarantee that a game costarring Travis's offspring will ever get made. Fingers crossed they'll at least show up in a badminton game someday.

#3 LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

If we've learned anything from the Star Wars sequel trilogy, it's that people ultimately didn't really want to see the continuation of the Skywalker storyline. When Episode 9 revealed that Rey was the granddaughter of Emperor Palpatine, effectively untwisting a plot twist from Episode 8, the fandom collectively groaned in unison, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in disappointment and were suddenly disinterested.

Since then, almost all the most popular Star Wars content to be released has barely involved the Skywalkers. Grogu, the wildly popular "baby Yoda" who is actually not related to Yoda at all, is the perfect emblem of what people want from Star Wars today. They still want it to look and feel like old Star Wars, but only on the surface. Under the skin, they want the new leads of the franchise to be their own people.

Ironically enough, that's what the latest LEGO Star Wars game manages to pull off. With an expanded combat system and a more fully cohesive retelling of nine movies' worth of narrative, it's the perfect blueprint for what the future of LEGO Star Wars should look like. I'd also argue that the stories of the sequel trilogy work best here, as playing through them in the context of the other six movies, all wrapped together with a cohesive LEGO look, does a lot to make them feel like they belong together.

The option to pick up Grogu as DLC doesn't hurt either.

#2 Bayonetta 3

The future of the Bayonetta series has never been less predictable, with a suddenly announced prequel set for release in a few months, and plans for a numbered sequel to the main franchise totally up in the air. That said, Platinum games has made it clear that they want to push the franchise's story forward, and when they do, they intend to have a new lead in the role of Bayonetta.

From the very start, Bayonetta 3 defies expectations around who exactly you'll be playing as. From the very start, we're given reason to believe that the old Bayonetta from the first game may be dead, and the one we play as for the bulk of the game is a more youthful, pigtailed multiverse version of the character. Later on, it's strongly hinted that this new witch is actually the child Cereza that Bayonetta met via time travel in her first game. And if that weren't enough "passing of the torch" for you, this new Bayo is later dragged to hell, leaving Viola, her daughter from another multiverse, to take on the Bayonetta mantle.

This new potential star of the series is everything the original Bayonetta wasn't. Where "classic" Bayo is a graceful femme who frequently pole dances nude to Frank Sinatra songs, her replacement is a bumbling, butch punk rocker who's big on physical comedy and unrevealing plaid pants. She's actually a lot like Travis Touchdown from No More Heroes, which is probably a turn-off for some Bayo fans, but I personally can't wait to see her take the lead in Bayonetta 4 someday.

#1 God of War: Ragnarok

Full disclosure, I don't like these games at all, but I can still appreciate how masterfully they've established Kratos as one of gaming's best "anti-heroes-turned-grumble-Daddies" (Dadnti-heroes?) If you grew up with a grizzled, grumpy Pappa who lost his soul to trauma, a constant state of fight or flight, and life-crushing responsibilities, chances are modern Kratos will remind you at least a little of your own Father.

But to be a real successful sire to an offspring, you have to let your kid become the star of their own story. With God of War: Ragnarok, Kratos finally does just that, allowing his son Atreus to be fully playable (at times). Much of the game's story also centers around the boy. The thrust of the whole adventure comes from the revelation that Kratos's son is actually the shape-changing Norse God Loki. That's a lot of responsibility for a home-schooled teen, and the choices between staying true to his Dad and finding his place in the greater Norse mythology brings consistent relatable tension to the father-son dynamic. [End Spoilers].

It's been prophesized for a long time that Kratos will eventually kick the bucket, though his enduring popularity would make that a tough pill to swallow for both GoW fans and franchise owners, who are both enjoying a record level of popularity for the series. That said, if and when Kratos does finally breathe his last baritone, bearded breath, God of War: Ragnarok has shown us that there are plenty of places for the series to go without him.

The post The Top 5 “Passing the Torch” action games of 2022 appeared first on Destructoid.

Pixel Pardners

Microsoft has revealed the two titles headed to its Xbox Games with Gold subscribers in December, and its a double-dose of 2D action with the coming of Headup Games' rootin' tootin' Colt Canyon and PM Studios' hackin' 'n' slashin' Bladed Fury.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZ9NyWZjKhw

Developed by Retrific and released in the summer of 2020, Colt Canyon is a challenging roguelike shooter which charges the player with picking one of a number of gunslingers before heading out into the wicky-wicky-wild-wild-west on a quest to rescue their captive partner. What follows is some fast-paced and extremely twitchy eight-way shooter action, set against some nostalgic 8-bit pixel visuals.

A variety of weapons, pickups and environmental kills will aid you as you battle armies of hired guns, firing from the hip and leaving a huge trail of pixelated gore in your wake. There are over 100 weapons in total, as well as help offered from A.I. partners or a second player in co-op mode. Colt Canyon features adjustable difficulty settings, save states, and even a permadeath option for those bad varmints who want to saddle up for the ultimate challenge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-E4oTkkyVJ4

Offering a more traditional action-platforming experience, NExT Studios' Bladed Fury launched in the winter of 2018, and pits an exiled princess against the leaders of a military coup that killed her father, the Duke, and overthrew her family. Against the backdrop of ancient China, Bladed Fury combines platforming adventure with close-quarters combat, as young Princess Ji battles her way to her former home to rescue her sister and restore her family's honor.

Utilizing the mythic powers of the "Soul Silvers", players guide Ji through an army of monsters and enemy soldiers, while picking their way through a world of death traps, hazards, and pitfalls in this uniquely styled but traditionally designed action-adventure.

Colt Canyon will be available to all Xbox Live Gold members between December 1-31. Bladed Fury will follow later in the month and into the new year, being made available from December 16 until January 15.

The post Xbox Games with Gold for December include Colt Canyon and Bladed Fury appeared first on Destructoid.

A fresh look at what Dead Island 2 has been up to

Dead Island 2 is rising from the beyond to share more of what the team's been working on. A new Dead Island 2 showcase is scheduled for Tuesday, December 6.

The stream will kick off at 1 p.m. PT / 4 p.m. ET, with the Dead Island 2 showcase airing on the Dead Island YouTube channel. You can find that link here.

https://twitter.com/deadislandgame/status/1595462356230115329

What's the team planning to showcase? Well, so far we just have a description of "action, gore, and zombies." Hopefully we get to see some details of what's in store for the long-in-development sequel to Dead Island.

Rising from the grave

It's at least another sign of life from the Dead Island 2 project, which has been in the works for quite a long time at this point. We did get confirmation of a release date and details at Gamescom earlier this year, but publisher Deep Silver confirmed last week that it's been pushed from February out to April 28, 2023.

“The irony of delaying Dead Island 2 is not lost on us, and we are as disappointed as you undoubtedly are,” reads a statement from Deep Silver on the delay. “The delay is just 12 short weeks and development is on the final straight now; we’re going to take the time we need to make sure we can launch a game we’re proud to launch. For those of you who’ve been waiting for years, thank you for hanging in there with us.”

More delays tacked onto Dead Island 2 is one thing. But players also probably want to know what the game looks like after so many years. The zombie-smashing, weapon-crafting action of Dead Island could be pretty fun to play again. It's just a matter of getting it onto platforms and out of the lab.

We'll see if the showcase delivers on December 6.

The post A Dead Island 2 showcase is set for December 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

God of War 2 is still the king, and I think a lot of you agree

God of War has been around for 17 long years, and with Ragnarok still fresh in everyone's minds, we figured it was worth taking a look at a few of the best games in the series.

Here's a list of the top three God of War games to date!

3 - God of War Ragnarok (2022)

I've had access to God of War Ragnarok for weeks at this point: which is solely a statement on how much I've been absorbed with it, and nothing more!

Ragnarok is a fantastic modern action game that builds upon a a lot of what the 2018 laid down, while adding its own twists, turns, and character moments. There are some points that feel rushed, and give credence to the suggestion that this Norse story should have been a trilogy: but it does stick the landing, and has a few undeniably useful quality of life/mechanical upgrades that make it easy to get into. Plus, the postgame is extremely smooth in terms of its segue, and it's been really fun to "mop up" the rest of this packed game.

I suspect that the specific placing of God of War: Ragnarok and God of War 2018 will be the most contentious part of this list: we'll see how it plays out!

2 - God of War (2018)

God of War 2018 had the unenviable task of re-introducing (not rebooting per se) the franchise to the general public, and God of War fans as a whole.

Amazingly, the team managed to do just that and not only surpass expectations; but keep the continuity from the prior games. To me that's arguably the biggest achievement in a sea of pointless and cynical reboots, as the creatives had to bring Kratos into the modern era while keeping his rage, violence, and general aura alive. Bringing a son into the mix was the perfect way to do that, and God of War 2018 serves as a great blueprint for how to handle companions in games and not make them feel like an escort quest hinderance.

All of the babble and exposition when walking around makes God of War extremely replayable too; and when checking it out before making this list, it easily justified its inclusion. I don't think it gets enough credit for how much pressure it was under to deliver.

1 - God of War 2 (2007)

History has been extremely kind to God of War 2, as it's still living rent free in the pantheon of all-time action greats, even this far removed from the PS2 era.

While God of War 3 will make it on a lot of top three lists: I found it to be overly bombastic at points, and drawn out with a few of its environment/level choices. God of War 2 on the other hand is a nonstop thrill ride and accomplishes everything it sets out to do.

Like many top tier action games, I hold anything that can give you a good mix of humanoid and monstrous boss fights in high regard. Devil May Cry gave us faceoffs against Vergil. Ninja Gaiden had the Spider Clan. God of War 2 has Perseus, Icarus, Zeus, and Theseus: while throwing out iconic creatures like the Kraken.

It enhances what came before it with the impactful, but surpassed original God of War, and it provides one of the most all-encompassing fantasies of immersing yourself in (tearing apart) Greek mythology that the series has ever given us. While most of the franchise is tethered in Greece (including the spinoffs), God of War 2 was the one that really nailed it, and felt like a "greatest hits" of the time period.

The post The top 3 Best God of War Games, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

Bucky enters the fray

A new hero joins the lineup of Marvel's Avengers at the end of the month. Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, will arrive in Marvel's Avengers on November 29.

The 2.7 update will add the once-frozen warrior to Avengers as a playable hero, alongside the Cloning Lab Omega-Level Threat. Bucky will also have his own chain of missions, which will reward an iconic outfit once completed.

The Winter Soldier will be voiced by Scott Porter, who also lent his voice to Bucky in Lego Marvel's Avengers. As for his playstyle, he's apparently an "assault-focused hero" who loves to do damage.

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

The Omega-Level Threat of the Cloning Lab carries on the MODOK storyline. It's an endgame encounter meant for a squad of players to tackle, and will require Power Level 175 to enter.

Avengers, assembling

Bucky is the latest hero to join Marvel's Avengers, since Jane Foster's Thor took the field earlier this year. That brings the total hero count up to 12, if counting the PlayStation-exclusive Spider-Man.

It's also been a strange year for Crystal Dynamics, the team behind Marvel's Avengers. The studio was recently bought by Embracer Group, alongside Eidos Montreal and Square Enix Montreal. The latter would soon be renamed to Onoma before getting shut down.

Meanwhile, Marvel's Avengers is still carrying on. The team says that updates past 2.7 will keep on revising and tuning heroes, as they've been doing with past patches. And Crystal Dynamics is also working on the next installment in the Tomb Raider franchise, too.

The post Marvel’s Avengers adds the Winter Soldier later this month appeared first on Destructoid.

Sharpen your blade...

As the Ghostrunner community eagerly awaits news of the cyberpunk hack 'n' slasher's upcoming sequel, publisher 505 Games has decided to throw them a bone in the form of some Ghostrunner 2 concept art — depicting the hi-tech towers awaiting Jack's next bout of high-speed slice 'n' dice action.

The new art was revealed as part of a special live stream this weekend, which you can watch right here.

Currently in development at Polish studio One More Level, Ghostrunner 2 was first announced way back in May 2021, though very little has been revealed of the project to date — with plot details, locales, and mechanics still under wraps. One can only assume that the developer will stick with what brought it to the dance, offering highly adrenalized action, wanton violence, and dizzying acrobatics set against the backdrop of a highly impressive future world and the A.I.-based power play that forever shakes its walls.

Originally published by Polish company All-In! Games, the Ghostrunner IP was eventually purchased by 505 Games — following an amusing bit of business where the company first refuted All-In!'s offer, then decided that, actually, they would like to buy Ghostrunner after it sold 600,000 copies and recouped its development costs in a single day. With 505 Games in its corner, One More Level hopefully has the extended resources and marketing power to make the sequel a real smasher.

While it has undeniably been very quiet on the development front, fans can hope that the studio is simply busy making another fantastic entry to one of the coolest franchises of the modern gaming generations. Gameplay video might still be some time away but, as the adage goes, the best things come to those who wait. And given the total radness of its predecessor, I'm more than willing to wait a little longer.

Ghostrunner 2 is in development at One More Level. Platforms or release date are yet to be announced.

The post Here’s our first look at the cyber-slashing world of Ghostrunner 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

We also get a good look at the new mode

Hitman 3: Freelancer is a new mode for the assassination game, set to arrive on January 26, 2023. But ahead of that, IO Interactive is hosting a closed technical test in November.

The Hitman 3: Freelancer closed technical test will take place on November 3 through 7. The closed technical test will only be available on PC via Steam, and it will be a separate game, with a download code delivered by IO if you're chosen.

Sign-ups for the Hitman 3: Freelancer closed technical test are live here.

We also got a pretty decently sized gameplay video today, showcasing just how Hitman 3: Freelancer works. The walkthrough shows off many different aspects of the roguish new mode: picking contracts, planning, touring the home base, and then setting out for a mission.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2ZZlIMdavM

Even Agent 47 is part of the gig economy

The mode will pose a bunch of new challenges and options to players, based around the maps of the Hitman World of Assassination trilogy.

For the closed technical test, only a select portion of the pool will be available. The nine available maps are: Paris, Sapienza, Hokkaido, Miami, Mumbai, Whittleton Creek, Dartmoor, Berlin, and Mendoza.

The full Freelancer mode will have just about every map, barring three. The ICA Facility, Hawke's Bay, and the Carpathian Mountains will be the only locales not in the full Freelancer launch.

While there is progression within the closed technical test, that mastery will not carry over to the full launch.

But this new way of playing Hitman has looked like a cool alternative for awhile now. I'm sure some players are probably eager to tinker with the possibilities in it. They'll be getting their chance in November, ahead of the full launch at the start of the new year.

The post Hitman 3: Freelancer will have a closed technical test in November appeared first on Destructoid.

The short answer is yes you can dive in; but if you have time, playing the first two would be ideal

If you asked a member of the Platinum marketing team, they'd probably tell you that Bayonetta 3 as a standalone story that you can dive into. But if you asked Platinum dev and executive Hideki Kamiya, he'd urge you to play the initial two games first. The latter is mostly true: if you can play the first two, you'll get a lot out of it. If you play Bayonetta 3 first you'll mostly be fine, but there are bits and pieces from the original two games that will greatly benefit your enjoyment of the story, and certain character interactions.

Minor vague spoilers below in terms of themes, but nothing specific

In Bayonetta 3, the titular protagonist and her team are squaring off against a new threat: humanity. Or rather, humanity evolved, by way of "Homonculi." Bayonetta has essentially conquered hell and heaven in her original games (which are present throughout mostly in the form of challenge rooms), but this story is new, and most of it will be easy to glean/pick up as said threat is introduced. Viola, the new playable character, is also a clever way to usher in brand new players and ground them to this third entry.

The action speaks for itself. Bayonetta 3 has myriad tutorials, as well an easier mode, and even an accessory that can do auto-combos (you just need to purchase it from the shop). By all counts, it's arguably the most accessible entry in the series from a mechanical standpoint. You can get the gist of what's happening through a lot of early exposition, ride out the adventure with Bayonetta's new adversary, and pick up the game while you're at it.

That said, where you're really going to get a lot out of playing the first two games is the emotional resonance of the final act, and the character interactions. A few people kind of just pop up, and especially toward the end of the game, you're meant to react to them on a more personal level, and vibe with the narrative twists.

If you have the time, you'll likely get a lot more out of the last portion of the game, specifically the ending. But if you just want to play a game with a good action foundation and come along for the ride, you can totally do that too: especially if you have no intention of revisiting the other two games.

The post Can you play Bayonetta 3 first, or should you finish 1 and 2? appeared first on Destructoid.

It's live now, following the Gilgamesh DLC

Stranger of Paradise transmog is now a thing, thanks to a new update for the game, which also ushers in the second DLC: Gilgamesh.

Titled The Wanderer of The Rift, the DLC launched on October 26, and beyond the actual content it comes with, we got a new title update. One of the big features includes transmog, or as the official Twitter account calls it, "cosmetic changes."

In short, like many modern games (especially MMOs, but also titles like Assassin's Creed: Odyssey or Monster Hunter Rise), you can customize your look to your liking, without missing out on stat bonuses from individual pieces of armor. The DLC itself adds Gilgamesh, the blue mage job, rift labyrinths (randomly generated dungeons), the dimension bringer ability, Gilgamesh difficulty, summon blessings (which are acquired through the Tonberry blacksmith), monster bells (call monsters into battle), and chaotic monsters (super-powerful versions of enemies). So, a lot!

I already dug the game at launch, but Team Ninja and Square Enix have added quite a bit of support over the past few months: addressing fan complaints while adding new content in the form of DLC. Overall, a "Complete Edition" should age very well for hardcore action fans, especially given the "challenge" aspect of the DLCs.

If you want to read more about how the team incorporated feedback into their post-launch design perspective, we have a full interview with key members of the team here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6HEY5ix0rw

The post Stranger of Paradise continues to add quality of life features, like transmog appeared first on Destructoid.

It mostly deals with Naive Angel Mode and leaderboards

A Bayonetta 3 patch has been released, just in time for the game's launch on Friday. The good news? It's short and sweet.

So the first bit involves "Naive Angel Mode," which, in the words of Platinum themselves, "lowers the amount of violence and sexual content." Apparently the day one patch will apply this optional mode to "more scenes," and it can be enabled immediately when starting the game (rather than on the chapter menu after the intro).

Also, the leaderboard/high score functionality is now properly applied before launch. There are numerous ways to upload your score: right after clearing a chapter and pressing "+," or selecting a chapter manually on the chapter menu hub, selecting play history, and pressing "+" after the fact.

Other than that, there's a generic "game balance and other adjustments" note, which could mean anything. You can find the patch notes below, courtesy of Nintendo Everything.

Bayonetta 3 patch 1.1.0 notes:

Game Modes
Naive Angel Mode, which can be activated to lower the amount of violence and sexual content, can now be used in more scenes. Also, Naive Angel Mode can now be activated when starting the game for the first time.
After starting the game, you can change the Naive Angel Mode setting from “Options > “Screen Display”. However, you cannot do so while in the middle of a chapter. You can change it either from the Title Screen or from “Options” in “Chapter Menu”.

Online
High-scores and best times can now be uploaded in the “Online Leaderboards” section.
Here’s the various ways to upload your high-scores and best times:
Press the + button on the result screen after clearing a chapter
Select a chapter you’ve cleared as well as the difficulty level in “Chapter Menu” → “Online Leaderboards” and press the + button
Select a chapter you’ve cleared in “Chapter Menu” → “Play History” and press the + button
If you obtain a “Platinum” rating for your score or time before downloading this update, the score or time will be adjusted to match the target value of the “Platinum” rating
The “Total Time” for each chapter will be revised if your time is faster than the target value.

General
Game balance has been adjusted.
Other adjustments were made to improve the game play experience.

The post Bayonetta 3 launches with a very small day one patch appeared first on Destructoid.

Old school in a new era

When I first heard that Gungrave was coming back with not one, but two projects, I was in shock. This is a series that felt buried roughly two decades ago after Gungrave: Overdose on the PS2, but nonetheless we got a so-so VR adaptation, and very soon: Gungrave GORE.

We had a chance to play a preview build, and it feels like a blast from the past (in ways that will both delight and disappoint).

One thing I swiftly noticed after starting up Gungrave GORE is how much it asks you to already be somewhat invested in the lore. The quick intro was partially incomprehensible for newcomers, with a lot of exposition required, and less emotional resonance. What you mostly need to know is that anti-hero Grave is trying to kill the Ravenclan, led by four eccentric bosses who, in a literal sense, are big bads in a video game. Some slightly incorrect subtitles later, all my Gungrave anime-watching and game-playing knowledge came rushing back.

You aren't going to be alone if you're coming in blind and are partially confused. In fact, this passage is straight from the developers:

"The previous games do not have to be played to experience GORE, although certain established concepts might take some getting used to by newcomers, especially revolving around the Seed. The common thread between the games is the Seed and the relationship between Grave and Mika. In a sense, Gungrave GORE is the finalization of the Seed story arc and the culmination of Grave’s story since the real super villain is finally revealed and defeated."

If you're just looking for a pure action experience, then you're probably covered. The intro to the first stage is devilishly over-the-top, with Grave destroying a bunch of goons at the entrance to a facility, before the player takes over and does much of the same. The first thing I noticed, gameplay-wise, was the focus on style: a lost art in many character action games.

There's a "beat count," which serves as a combo aggregator of sorts, as well as the classic "diving/dodge shot" move that made the original games famous among action aficionados. You can also melee (with the coffin on your back) which also deflects rockets, grab enemies, initiate execution kills, or trigger ultimates governed by a meter (which usually involve firing something out of your coffin).

There's a lot of goons to kill. Action vets will want to jack the game's difficulty up to hard right away, as fighting through some of Gungrave GORE's enemy types and layouts feel like going through the motions. You'll have access to a shield (which recharges and can fend off raw health damage), which is extremely generous to the point where you can walk through a lot of gunfire and came out unscathed.

It's an intriguing push and pull. The team clearly wants Grave to to feel like an unstoppable force, and has to balance that around actual tension. Hopefully as levels progress the general pool of enemies will offer up new puzzles and challenges for everyone to conquer: as that's my main concern. The core of jumping/diving around like an anime action hero is intact.

The bosses are the things that, by far, have the most potential to really deliver in GORE. An early one is a giant tank, which requires a fair bit of dodging and focus to take down without sustaining a ton of damage. It's an early encounter, but it showed a lot of promise in terms of how far GORE could really go, and deliver a modern version of PS2-era chaos. At present, the game is in a really unique position as a niche character action game in 2022.

Gungrave GORE is out on November 22, and I'm curious to see how it will be received by general audiences and Gungrave fans alike. The studio says that it will take "14+ hours" to finish the game, and it'll run you $50 on both PC and consoles.

The post So far, Gungrave GORE feels like an authentic and flawed Gungrave experience appeared first on Destructoid.

Full Umbran circle

Bayonetta 1 and 2 are up there with Devil May Cry 3 and Ninja Gaiden Black as one of a select few all-time action greats. There's a strong case that until Devil May Cry 5 came along, Platinum was practically peerless in the contemporary action space. Now, we have Bayonetta 3.

So how do you follow up on prior perfection? More of it.

Bayonetta 3 (Switch [reviewed])
Developer: Platinum Games
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: October 28, 2022
MSRP: $59.99

Bayonetta 3 starts with Bayonetta getting her ass kicked without context; which is a pretty great way to kick off an action game. We're immediately introduced to newcomer Viola, who has an appropriate punk vibe, looking to make a name for herself and earn the respect of Bayonetta while saving the world.

The phrase "multiverse" is literally used early on, and that's the heart of the rabbit hole that Bayonetta 3 takes us down. We'll see multiple other incarnations of existing characters, which is a slick way to marry both the old and the new into one non-repetitive or cloying package. "Bayonetta nostalgia" is a thing at this point, given that it's been 13 years and multiple generations since her debut, and most of it is executed in a tasteful fashion. Going big in terms of scope, while also keeping things personal, is a smart way to handle a game like this. The new stuff, thankfully, has the same amount of care put into it, so it doesn't just feel like a retread.

Viola thankfully doesn't fall into the trap of becoming an obnoxious "attitude-era" character. She's relatable, she likes anime, and a lot of her physical comedy is to the tune of Trigun's Vash the Stampede. She sports separate mechanics that involve parrying at the perfect time instead of dodging (like Bayonetta), on top of her playful cat demon Cheshire (who can be summoned in combat) which immediately gives her a fresh playstyle. This isn't the first game to have two distinct "young versus old" heroes that juggle different mechanical concepts, but it's one of the better-handled ones over the years. While Viola's voice lines can get repetitive, the actress (Anna Brisbin) gives it her all, with a wide variety of emotions in play by the time the curtain closes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RlGQM6PvHY

As far as Bayonetta's performance goes, I'd be remiss not to mention the controversy with the original actor, as well as the complicated follow-up report. I'll leave you to make your own decisions about how to handle this, but suffice to say that Jennifer Hale is once again a true professional in the booth, and does a fantastic job at voicing Bayonetta. Not only does she need to juggle the Bayonetta we're actually playing and hearing on a constant basis, but Hale also voices many other characters, including the other multiversal incarnations of the titular witch. She has a ton of dialogue, but manages to give each version their own spin (even when it comes to their nuances or attitude).

Of course, the sleaze and impeccable sense of style is still present in the threequel, including a jazzy poppy soundtrack that I would listen to in my free time; and some crazy cutscenes that include a few of the most insane scenes I've seen all year in almost any medium. There's a lot of tension to the story (as well as last-minute eucatastrophic saves that will make you smile), and Bayonetta gains access to an array of powers that allow for tons of different playstyles. Most of these are incorporated directly into the game's cutscenes, albeit to an extreme degree.

"Kick, punch, shoot, dodge (with the time-slowing witch time mechanic)" is still the core of the gameplay but the combo system is even more detailed this time around with the addition of demon summoning. There's a quick-swap system (toggled by L) for two weapons, which are tied to traversal, to give them even more personality. Now instead of whipping people with a yo-yo with a spider-inspired loadout, you can dash to actually turn into a spider, skitter around on walls, and flip around via webbing. Summoning a frog to dance and cause an acid rainfall and directing the course of a train with tank turrets on the side of it is just as fun to control.

The d-pad is further tied to a trio of summons, which are ruled over by a magic meter/MP system. Demon summons generally put Bayonetta in place while they're out, and have their own nuances, abilities, and combos. You can even work them into combos, and a few of the demons that I can't spoil here allow for some insane possibilities. At first I found myself wanting more out of the demon summoning system, but once you start unlocking more and fleshing out their own skill trees (you can boost each weapon and summon separately), it all came together, and the power fantasy came across nicely.

It's all so seamless. You can dodge, enter witch time, summon demons for a punish, swap mid-summon for an area-of-effect attack, then quickly cancel out of everything back into another dodge. It's just as fun to punch someone across the room and slowly riddle them with bullets as it was in the original Devil May Cry. There are some extremely badass and tense boss fights to tackle, including a few of my favorites in recent memory.

Funnily enough, more so than perhaps any character action game before it, I found myself experimenting with everything. Typically there's at least one weapon I leave behind, but I made a concerted effort to unlock the potential of all of the tools Bayonetta 3 provided, and reaped the benefits. I started finding what I meshed with, raising my end-of-level rankings as time went on.

My one errant foundational complaint about Bayonetta 3 is that I wish some of the zones were a bit more expansive. Platinum is gifted at crafting dynamic areas that are fun to fight in, but some locales are cordoned off by an impassable mist too much for my liking. We're given access to unprecedented access to unique traversal powers in this entry, and I wish there was more of a chance to use them. It's not all bad though.

As far as side content goes, there's a lot of it! Each stage has multiple optional arenas and secrets (which usually include some sort of combat challenge or twist, or gathering cubes on the map in a quick fashion), on top of multiple achievements to clear that are level-specific. There's also a postgame of sorts that I can't discuss here (but will once the game is out). It took me roughly 10 hours to finish, at an exploratory pace. A direct shot will no doubt make for a shorter run.

For everyone else, there's a casual difficulty (plus, clicking the left stick will tell you where to go) as well as a "naive angel mode," which alters the game's character models. You can also continue from completed chapters (with checkpoints), peruse the art and music gallery, unlock items for Viola's room, boost your skills, acquire new equipment/items, and go for cosmetic unlocks (which can be used to customize the look of the "main" Bayonetta of the game, as well as take on the visage of the multiverse versions). It's refreshing, in 2022, to boot up a game and just hit "play," with nothing else to juggle.

In an early tone-setter for the game, you'll water ski as a giant demon dragon, and it only gets wackier from there. When playing Bayonetta 3, much to my delight, I had no clue what was going to happen next at all times. I was absorbed, and between the crazy story, the environments, and the action system that's been refined through two prior games (and years of experience), I had very little downtime. It's pretty much everything an action fan could want.

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

The post Review: Bayonetta 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

Yosuke Hayashi of Koei Tecmo gave us a bit of background on the project too

Recently, press were able to attend a Wild Hearts hands-on session, and the game is shaping up to turn some heads when it arrives on February 17, 2023.

Here's how things are shaking out so far, with a bit of background from Koei Tecmo producer Yosuka Hayashi, and executive producer of EA Originals, Lewis Harvey.

Koei Tecmo says it has "unfinished business in the hunting game genre"

Hayashi kicked things off with a pre-recorded message, and specifically brought up the Toukiden series up (which had releases in 2013 and 2016) as part of Koei Tecmo's history with the genre: and noted that the company had "unfinished business" with hunting games.

Wild Hearts is very much inline with his thesis for what he wanted another hunting game to be about: "an action game everyone can play together." "Four years in the making," this hunting game brings Kemonos (monsters) front and center, with "animal and nature" fusing together (in many cases, literally) to form the setting.

Before heading out, Hayashi noted that EA has the "global experience Tecmo Koei lacks," so the partnership was a good fit for them.

[gallery link="file" columns="2" ids="347010,347009"]

Here's how EA helped Koei Tecmo with Wild Hearts

As for what help EA gave explicitly, the "full force" of the partnership was employed; things like "user research" (testing/data to fine tune the game), and reaching a "broader, more western audience," with "tutorialization, onboarding, and clarity of UI and mechanics."

You can really see this in action when playing the opening moments of Wild Hearts, as the tutorial involves a straightforward hunt that showcases the game's dynamic environments and some basics. There's a lot going on with this game (especially with the traps), and most of it is clearly communication on-screen.

"You can climb any [monster] in the game"

Following up on Hayashi's focus on the Kemonos themselves, Lewis Harvey calls them the "stars of the show," as giant nature-infused beasts. They'll apparently represent a "tremendous challenge" for players, with an emphasis on crafting to gain more of an edge. Crafting will "take enemies down while traversing the world, to build it back up."

Crafting is also baked into the lore, as you're apparently one of the very few people who can actually create new technology to take on the looming and out of control threat from the Kemonos. This includes magic-like building of structures, giant walls an enemy can smash into, or huge hammers that can stun. Ziplines, camps, human catapults, an umbrella gliding tool, and more are talked about and showcased in the Wild Hearts demo.

Harvey explains that there will be "over 200 variations for weapon loadouts," when putting crafting into mix, and you can change up your weapons and armor with some form of a transmog system (where you can alter the appearance of your armor). Weapon types teased include a blade and shield combo, a bow (with an ultimate charged shot ability), and a staff that can transform into five different weapon types (the demo starts you out with a katana).

The Kemono modifying themselves based on the environment, which is very impressive looking (as you can see in the trailer below). An enraged king tusk boar-like creature, a lava back gorilla, and a giant hawk were all rattled off, among the ones we've seen so far. "You can climb any Kemono in the game," Harvey says, and brings up a comparison to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but I see shades of Shadow of the Colossus in there too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbJPkCD9ZTs

Friends can "party up at camps and play through the entire game"

As for multiplayer, Harvey explains that although Wild Hearts was tested with different player counts, three players in total is ultimately where they landed from a balance perspective. In terms of scaling, Wild Hearts will "dynamically scale its difficulty," including scaling for solo play; and will ratchet up or down as people join your session.

One big element of the multiplayer system is going to be the traps, and mixing and matching strategies and different builds. You'll also get to "party up at camps and play through the entire game," which includes every facet of Wild Hearts. During a demo of multiplayer, we saw that you'll be able to open the world map and select a monster, then matchmake into a hunt. You'll also see local hunters in your area. If you're alone, you'll have a companion.

Harvey clarifies that "every player gets their own rewards/loot," so no one is going to get screwed out of drops. Full cross-play is also reconfirmed across the announced PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X platforms.

So far, Wild Hearts has a lot of promise

Kicking things off, the aforementioned tutorial really let me become acquainted with the visual style, and I'm going to love exploring this world. It looks fantastic, and nearly every character/enemy model I've seen so far is pronounced. Even little critters are fully of personality, and the "four seasons" approach is a genius way to automatically meld some style into the universe.

Mechanically, Wild Hearts feels tight (inline with the action focus Hayashi mentioned), and a key component involves free movement, with a dodge governed by a meter (which can be swapped to a running slide dodge, which slides a a sufficiently over-the-top character-action distance). You can climb on certain surfaces and bigger monsters, but you'll need to physically press a grab button (RB/R1) to latch on.

Wild Hearts quickly shows off the important of elevation. Early on you can conjure up crates (hold LB/L1 and press X), which can be stacked, and trigger a little plunger to push you up at the top. Not only do you need them to get from place to place (especially when cliffs are involved), but you can also adapt new combat strategies with them. I started to pick up on creating vantage points, which I could leap off of and quickly trigger a lunging attack. The combo system seems rewarding and deep enough so far, especially with how elegantly the dodge mechanic is woven into everything.

So how big will the game be? While Harvey said that there's more info coming, it will take "30 hours to get through the story, with a hell of a lot more content throughout." Omega Force apparently has an endgame concept in mind that won't get grindy, but future support is "TBD," officially. Harvey notes that all of this is currently a work in progress, and they'll announce "what they know when they can."

Wild Hearts looks gorgeous, and the action-centric focus does it a lot of favors. It's also great to see Omega Force get out of their recent wheelhouse, and ideally, the EA partnership gave them a chance to work with a bigger budget and extra time to smooth things over. Given how long this has been in development for, and how it plays already, I have good feelings about this one.

We deserve some real competition in the hunter genre space.

The post Hands-on: EA and Omega Force’s Wild Hearts looks fantastic so far appeared first on Destructoid.

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.

It's fun 2B fashionably late

NieR: Automata was first released in 2017, just close enough to the Switch launch date that it could have helped define the console's larger identity. It's definitely a "Style over Horsepower" game, and did little to tax the hardware of the now last-gen PS4. It's also developed by PlatinumGames, who've done a lot to build their audience on Nintendo consoles in recent years. Between The Wonderful 101, the full Bayonetta franchise, and Astral Chain, the Switch is where the bulk of their character action games live now. That's another reason why it's felt a little weird to see NieR: Automata on every major platform but Switch for all these years, but then again, weird has always been Nier's thing.

Now the game is finally headed to Switch on October 4, 2022, and I'm happy to report it's been made slightly more strange along the way.

Before we get into all that, let's do a quick recap of some of what makes NieR: Automata different. You might not already know, because people really don't like explaining this game. Even talking about how it plays may spoil some of it, because many of its mechanics are tied directly to its story. But it's safe to tell you upfront that Automata is more "arcade-y" than most character action games. It even starts off with a traditional shmup-style sequence, setting the stage for a massive amount of mechanical death to follow.

After that opener, the action largely sticks to the third-person melee-and-guns action that fans of the genre have come to expect. The only initial clue that there's more going on here comes from a short warning. Ironically enough, the game doesn't "automatically" save, so you can't turn it off anytime you want without killing your progress.

Again, there are story reasons for that. Like Undertale and Chrono Trigger, NieR: Automata is meant to be played through again and again for different endings, so when and where you save counts in a big way. After you see them all, these endings all work to sort of explain why 2B (the Hamlet-inspired star of the game) is fighting against an army of trash-can-looking robots named after guys like Karl Marx and Soren Kierkegaard.

The fact that so many of those last-gen, occasionally pitiably automatons look alike probably helps NieR: Automata to run so well on Switch. There just isn't a lot going on here to cause the current-gen hardware to chug. I didn't notice any new slowdown or frame rate drops when playing the game in handheld or docked mode. Load times were also a non-issue.

I was surprised to see that my only problem with the visuals of this Switch port came from how loyal it is to the source material. Like in the original version of the game, the camera sometimes zooms way out and 2B gets really small on-screen. That was fine on a big TV, but on the original Switch, it can be hard to keep track of her.

Having the camera switch to a side view, a landscape view, or a top-down angle is yet another way that the gameplay relates to the underlying narrative themes. Taking "multiple perspectives" is a big part of what series creator Yoko Taro wants players to do with all the Nier games. But for handheld players, that might mean getting your girl lost in a hail of purple bullets and rusty, rotted-out androids.

As for additional content, the game comes with the previously released Automata DLC, some exclusive skins, and also optional motion controls. I didn't see that last one coming. The character action community historically hates motion controls. Back in the Wii days, fans of the genre almost lobbied immediately to have traditional control options added to the No More Heroes and MadWorld franchises, and they succeeded on both fronts. Nintendo even made motion controls optional in its Switch re-release of Skyward Sword, a game designed from the ground up for them.

So it's fitting that NieR: Automata on Switch flies in the face of convention yet again by jamming motion controls into the game just for the heck of it.

At least, it might be just for the heck of it. After testing them out and seeing that they work fine (if you don't care about a touch of input lag), I went back to button presses right away, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if there is a new Switch-exclusive "waggle only" ending hiding away in there somewhere. Given Yoko Taro's interest in making an adult video someday, we can guess how that might turn out.

All in all, there aren't a lot of reasons to double-dip on NieR: Automata for Nintendo Switch, but the motion controls are a cute novelty, and having the option to get some of those extra endings while you're on the go (or in the bathroom) in handheld mode is always a good thing.

As a slightly obsessive Platinum fan, it will be fun for me to see Automata's icon lined up alongside the full Bayonetta trilogy on my Switch dashboard by the end of October.

The post NieR: Automata on Switch ought to have come earlier but it’s nearly perfect appeared first on Destructoid.

Multi-monitor support and a bevy of graphics options

The Bat-Family's new escapades aren't far off now. Today, WB Montreal released a new trailer highlighting some of the options PC players will have for their crimefighting ventures in Gotham Knights.

In a special PC trailer, we get to see some more of the crew in action, as well as footage captured using the PC version. Gotham Knights will support 4K resolution and ultra-high frame rate options, as well as ray traced reflections.

WB Games also confirms that Gotham Knights will have Intel's XeSS A.I.-enhanced upscaling as an option. More options are shown in the trailer, including a menu full of toggles like resolution render and FPS limits, as well TAA upsample and more.

Particularly cool is the option to support ultrawide and multi-monitor PC setups for Gotham Knight. You know, so you can play the new Bat game on a Batcave-style computer layout.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REicHG5ZR3U

Basically, there are a bunch of tools and toggles for making the Bat-family's fight for Gotham look really pretty.

The fight for Gotham

Gotham Knights is the new title from WB Games Montreal. Rather than following Batman like other Arkham-style games, though, this one sees the associated Bat-crew taking up his mantle after Bruce's untimely departure.

Batgirl, Robin, Nightwing, and Red Hood are all playable, and the story looks set to focus in on the mysterious Court of Owls. Still, today's trailer is a reminder that we won't just be seeing owl masks all the time; other villains like Mr. Freeze and Harley Quinn will also be showing up to cause some chaos.

The added PC options are nice to see, especially as Gotham Knights is focusing on the current generation of console hardware. Hopefully it results in a good-looking Gotham to roam around in.

Gotham Knights lands for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S on October 21.

The post Gotham Knights showcases its PC features in new trailer appeared first on Destructoid.