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Lies of P to remain single-player despite "refreshing" Elden Ring: Nightreign, says director"We are definitely open to any sort of consideration in the future."Image credit: Neowiz News by Ed Nightingale Deputy News Editor Published on March 26, 2025 The director of Lies of P, Choi Ji-won, tried Elden Ring: Nightreign's network test and found it "refreshing", so while Lies of P remains a single-player game he's open to other ideas in future projects.Lies of P is firmly inspired by FromSoftware's Souls games, but as Nightreign shifts into a multiplayer experience, I wanted to ask Choi about developments in the genre when I spoke with him at the Game Developers Conference (GDC)."I've tried [Nightreign] and it was very refreshing and new," he said. "So that obviously gave me the impression that they're good developers, they always push their boundaries, their imagination and vision, and it shows. In turn, that for some reason motivated me to deliver the Overture experience as good as it could be."Lies of P: Overture - Story TrailerWatch on YouTubeOverture is the forthcoming expansion to Lies of P, revealed at Sony's State of Play last month. While it remains a single-player game, Choi is open to the idea of a multiplayer game in the future."Our primary focus from the concept of this game was to deliver a high quality, premium action game that is single-player," said Choi. "There were a lot of learnings for us [from the base game] and we did our best to reflect those improvements. The expansion is the completion of that."In terms of our future endeavours, we are definitely open to any sort of consideration in the future."How, then, could the Soulslike genre grow and develop in future? "That's something we discussed internally quite a bit," said Choi. "Instead of trying to predict how the Soulslike genre is going to be in the future, what we are focusing on is to really find our own colour and the points of attraction. And by crafting our own game to better meet and satisfy the customers' demand, we believe that we will build trust and credibility with our fans."In the future, instead of pegging us into a certain genre, we want the fans to look at us and actually know what sort of unique components that we deliver that they look forward to. So they see our next work as a sort of projection of our trust and characters that we are building moving forward."This differed a little from when I spoke to Choi previously at Gamescom, where he stated the development team "wanted a challenge and to make the best game of that genre" as it competed with FromSoftware."I'm a big gamer, I play a lot of different games," said Choi at GDC. "And from [the release of Lies of P] until now, we've seen many wonderful games coming up into the market. That was a fantastic array of experiences I had where I developed further respect for those wonderful games. That became a very important pivotal point for my perspective."So instead of that goal [of competing with FromSoftware], it's actually our goal to develop our own unique experience. Instead of setting a goal to make a better game than some of the games out there, we want to continue making games our fans will continue to love." Some new concept art for Overture | Image credit: NeowizIn the announcement of Overture, Choi compared the game to a "director's cut" of a film. He told me it's really a "developers' cut" as it's a "collaborative process" with the entire team. Moreover, it's providing a complete experience along with the base game."We never really saw the development of Overture as a separate entity," said Choi. "With the base game and the expansion together, we believe that the whole entire thing delivers the game of Lies of P as how it was supposed to be experienced. We just couldn't do that earlier on."Choi confirmed to me the Overture expansion will be accessible seamlessly from around chapter nine of the base game, so is integrated into the narrative rather than separated. Not only will it elaborate on story hints already present in the game, it will expand on the diversity of weaponry used in combat - the trailer, for instance, features a bow and some nasty looking claws. The bow is a new weapon for this expansion | Image credit: NeowizBeyond that, Choi was keen to avoid potential spoilers, but noted the expansion has allowed the developers to incorporate story elements they weren't able to in the base game as they focused on delivering a high quality release.What, though, about difficulty? FromSoftware typically develops DLC that raises the challenge level of its games - will Lies of P follow suit?"We wanted to really make the content accessible and enjoyable to the veterans of the game, as well as new users," said Choi. "So we made a game that satisfies both segments of customers. Our prioritisation is more focused on the overall game experience."Lies of P has proven a big success for developer Round8 Studios and publisher Neowiz, selling a million copies less than a month after release and frequently considered one of the best games in the genre not created by FromSoftware.Though we're yet to go hands-on, Overture is shaping up to offer a complete Lies of P experience that will surely appease fans of the base game when it's released later this summer.

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereHave you ever been playing Stardew Valley and thought, damn I wish I had more sand? Or are you more of the coarse, rough and irritating variety? Well, for those who want to pretend to feel the hard effects of erosion between their toes, modder Cajcbell has crafted a brand-new mini expansion based on their hometown after feeling homesick.Coming after the release of the amazing Sunberry Village mod, which added a functional cat cafe and Animal Crossing-style museum, The Canyons is a cosy little addition that shouldnt take up too much time.Stardew Valley takes a trip to The CanyonsReleased right here on Nexus Mods, The Canyons takes players to a new desert location for a late-game side adventure. After reaching four hearts with Sandy, players can take a bus to the Canyons to experience the new story.While the mini-expansion only has a few quests, it also has some great minor additions. For example, theres a new crop to plant, a new animal for the barn, some fancy artisan goods and a brand-new vendor.Of course, the highlight of the adventure is the new desert-themed map. While its not the highest quality modlets be honest, thats probably Stardew Valley Expandedthere is a load of detail pressed into the new world.I grew up in the American south-west desert, and originally made this mod because I was feeling homesick, the creator said. The crop that comes with this expansion is so special to me that I have a tattoo of it! Originally it started just as a new map, and grew from there (which is why the coding is all tangled together, I certainly didnt expect to add so many features).For more Stardew Valley coverage, read about how modder FlashShifter turned from one of the communitys biggest modders into an official developer for update 1.6.Stardew ValleyPlatform(s):Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, PS Vita, Xbox OneGenre(s):Indie, RPG, SimulationSubscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

You can trust VideoGamer. Our team of gaming experts spend hours testing and reviewing the latest games, to ensure you're reading the most comprehensive guide possible. Rest assured, all imagery and advice is unique and original. Check out how we test and review games hereThe wait for Valve to release Half-Life 3 has been so long that the meme has turned from funny to sad. Nevertheless, accurate Valve dataminer and leaker GabeFollower claims the long-awaited third entry is not only in development, but in active play testing.GabeFollower, who previously leaked plans for Team Fortress 2 Classic and the early access game Deadlock, reports the game is not only being tested, but also nearing the end of development.Valve is playtesting Half-Life 3According to GabeFollower, files and lines of code found in Valves servers relate to the third game known internally as HLX. Found under folders titled hlx, hlxaudio, and hlxartists, optimisation passes have reportedly been discovered.The leaker claims that work is being done on a dynamic hair system, realistic deformable props, navigation meshes, advanced NPC interactions and complex enemy AI.Additionally, the leaker discovered evidence of a Zombie Gorilla enemy that was teased in Valves Half-Life: Alyx. Other enemies, such as Combine soldiers, have not been mentioned at the time of writing.Of course, while Half-Life 3 may be in its testing stage right now, that doesnt mean that Valve is getting ready to release the game. Playtesting means changes will be made, sometimes drastic ones, and with the importance of the sequel, Valve wont want to make any mistakes.While unconfirmed, just like everything else in the game, Half-Life 3 could also support Valves Steam Deck. Although the third game will likely be a very intensive game, the scalability of Valves Source 2 Game Engine could make the game playable on the handheld on low settings.For more Half-Life coverage, read about how Valve had to threaten publisher Sierra On-Line to keep funding the original game. Additionally, read our thoughts on the new, extremely beautiful, RTX remake of the second game.Subscribe to our newsletters!By subscribing, you agree to our Privacy Policy and may receive occasional deal communications; you can unsubscribe anytime.Share

The Mozilla Foundation is calling upon 30 technology companies, social networks, and websites to block web scraping by an ICE surveillance contractor called ShadowDragon after 404 Media published a list of sites that the contractor pulls data from.The thorniest concern here is the meticulous targeting such data enablesputting the lives of protesters, researchers, immigrants, and human rights defenders participating in any form of civil resistance that challenges political powers at risk of arrest and intimidation. SocialNets widespread reach across major social networking sites and forums also puts data from millions of people at risk of unconsented exposure or exploitation, the Mozilla Foundation said in a statement.ShadowDragon sells a tool called SocialNet that streamlines the process of pulling public data from various sites, apps, and services. Marketing material available online says SocialNet can follow the breadcrumbs of your targets digital life and find hidden correlations in your research. In one promotional video, ShadowDragon says users can enter an email, an alias, a name, a phone number, a variety of different things, and immediately have information on your target. We can see interests, we can see who friends are, pictures, videos.

Baffled by the plethora of Outlook options out there? You aren't alone. Microsoft veteran Scott Hanselman posted a list of some more variants that could be used to do the same thing.It's a problem common to several Microsoft products. A file needs to be opened, but which app should be used? Should it be Outlook New, or Outlook (New)? With tongue firmly in cheek, Hanselman listed some more options: Outlook (Zero Sugar), Outlook (Caffeine Free), and so on.Hanselman, Developer Community veep at Microsoft, also included Outlook '95, although to our mind the peak came with the version of Outlook in Office 97. A happier, more trusting time when security was less important.While users can create multiple Outlook profiles to store email account details and data locations, Hanselman's post on Bluesky highlights an issue facing many users of Microsoft's software: which incarnation of the application to use.Teams users often find themselves presented with a variety of applications Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Teams (Personal), for example, can often appear side by side in the system tray.As for Outlook, users are likely to have multiple versions installed. Microsoft forced the new version onto devices as part of a Windows update and renamed the previous version to Outlook (Classic) so the pair could run side by side. While support for the Classic version of Outlook will persist until at least 2029, Microsoft would like users to move to the new version despite it lacking many of its predecessor's functions.According to Microsoft: "The new Outlook for Windows, built upon modern service architecture, is inspired by the Outlook web experience." It also does not support the COM add-ins used by many enterprises to glue corporate workflows together.Currently, the new Outlook is at the opt-in stage and is off by default. It will then proceed to an opt-out stage, where users must actively switch back to the Classic experience before the Cutover stage, after which reversal is no longer possible. Microsoft says it will give administrators at least 12 months' notice before this is implemented in production rings.Existing perpetual installations of classic Outlook "will continue to be supported until at least 2029," according to Microsoft.There is a cautionary tale about what happened when a soft drinks company tried to replace a well-liked product with a "new" version and renamed the previous preferred version as "classic."The list posted by Hanselman who is also notable for tips on managing Microsoft's personal information manager is amusing, but also highlights the perils of having multiple, similarly functioning options to do the same thing, and the potential for confusing users.Outlook (Stable and Fast) anyone?

Leo Pointing MemeXbox's Indiana Jones and Forza Horizon 5 are currently reigning atop PlayStation's PS5 preorder charts, and you can see why Phil and co have opted to deploy them nowYou know, aside from wanting to drive and whip PS5 owners to ecstasy cos money.Image credit: PlayStation/MachineGames/Playground Games News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Published on March 26, 2025 You know how both Indiana Jones and the Great Circle and Forza Horizon 5 are set to arrive on PS5 next month, as part of Xbox's ongoing efforts to turn everything including your toaster into an Xbox? Well, they're currently reiging right at the top of the PlayStation Store pre-order charts, having valiantly outdueled, er, Days Gone Remastered.Ok, so I'm maybe being a bit facetious towards motorbike guys that've been given a new coat of paint with that last bit, but you can see why Phil Spencer and his gang of people dressed in green have opted to put out these two games that'd almost certainly have been big deals regardless onto PS5 within a couple of weeks of each other.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. As a ResetEra user's spotted, heading to the best selling pre-order randings of a while bunch of regional variants of the PlayStation Store will serve you some combination of Indy and FH5's various editions either locking out the top spots, or all pretty close to them.For instance, on the UK version of the store, Indy's standard edition currently leads the way, followed by its premium edition, with Forza's premium edition sitting third, while its standard edition sits fifth, behind Atomfall - which isn't an Xbox exclusive, but is hitting Game Pass day one. In the US, it's Indy premium ruling the roost, then regular Indy, with Forza premium anmd Forza regular following directly on to lock out the top four spots. That post I've linked also cites a fair few more countries where the rankings are similar, including Germany, France, and Canada.So, what does this mean? Well, that a bunch of people want to play these big games when they arrive on a new console as of April 17 (Indy) and April 29 (Forza). However, as I mentioned, it's also likely the result of Phil and co having great timing.In terms of PlayStation studio-developed stuff, the next couple of months are pretty damn quiet, with Days Gone Remastered being the sole exception on April 25. Meanwhile, the big releases that're aiming to dominate the summer on the console - your Doom: The Dark Ages, Elden Ring Nightreign and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach - are all currently at least a month and a bit away from release.So, while those games do feature heavily in these pre-order rankings just behind or in and around the Indys and Forzas, they're not quite at the point where they're gathering full pre-order steam right before dropping. So, Xbox's big stuff's more immediate competition right now is games like the aforementioned Atomfall, The First Berserker: Khazan, and Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 alongside Days Gone. All popular games you've almost definitely heard of, but not great big oxygen-soaking monsters at this point.That said, even with that being the case, Forza and Indy wouldn't be top without PS5 players having a serious appetite to play them, and why wouldn't they? F**k, how do I close this out without just sounding like I want to give Phil Spenny a cringey high-five? Ah well, bring your sweaty mitts here, big Phillip.

2 Swift 2 SwitchiousNintendo Direct featuring original Switch games and absolutely no Switch 2-ness whatsoever locked in, and you can watch it hereDon't worry, you'll get your Switch 2 fix (checks notes) literally next week.Image credit: VG247/Nintendo News by Mark Warren Senior Staff Writer Updated on March 26, 2025 Heads up, Nintendo has just locked in a Direct showcase for March 27, which is tomorrow as I write this. With a Switch 2 Direct already penned in for next week, it might not surprise you to learn that this freshly announced one is gonna be all about games for the original Switch.Why are we getting an OG Switch-centric showcase so close to the big Switch 2 one, you ask? I've got no idea, maybe it's a nice farewell party type of deal where you get you wallet out one final time and drop some cash on the spouse you're about to forsake for something with sexier joy-cons.Watch on YouTubeYou'll be able to tune into this original Switch Nintendo Direct via the video above on March 27, 2025. It's set to kick off at 2PM GMT, which is 7AM PT, 10AM ET, and 3PM CET. Just press play at that time wherever you are and boom, video games for a console you definitely weren't possibly about to try and sell on some crappy marketplace in the near future so you can afford a Switch 2.As for what you'll see, literally all Nintendo's said is that there'll be "around 30 minutes of upcoming games for Nintendo Switch", and absolutely "no updates about Nintendo Switch 2 during this presentation". To that end, the Nintendo UK tweet about this was literally followed-up by another one proting that aforementioned April Switch 2 Direct, so Ninty's taking no chances here. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Given what's happened lately, dare we dream of seeing Hollow Knight: Silksong? Maybe, but the likes of Metroid Prime 4 and Pokemon Legends: Z-A feel like potentially safer bets that're at least less likely to result in you seriously considering theories that involve cake.Whatever happens, we know the Switch 2 is backwards compatible, so you should be able to play whatever's announced for original Switch on it too. Well, aside from Silksong if it turns out to not be a game and rather just a collective fever dream we've all been having.

Image: Hello GamesNo Man's Sky has been expanding its galaxy outwards for years now, but what about looking inwards? What's under the surface of those infinite planets we've been exploring and how much of a field day would Animal Crossing: New Horizons' Blathers have sorting through the treasures hidden within?That's what the game's latest update, 'Relics', is here to answer not the Blathers bit, you'll have to make that up for yourself. In this new patch, Hello Games is letting us space explorers live out our palaeontologist dreams by populating planets with a whole bunch of bones, fossils and other treasures just waiting to be dug up.This is No Man's Sky, so there's a massive number of different skeletons out there and you can display them however you like, curating an exhibit of only the rarest finds or Frankensteining different body parts together to create the most abominable sites.Not every dig locale is guaranteed to be friendly, mind you, and certain excavations run the risk of dragging up all sorts of new nasties like Stone Ghosts and Golems who knew that archaeology would involve so much fighting?You can find some screenshots from the new Relics update below not taken from the Switch version, obviously and Hello Games has also shared the full patch notes on the No Man's Sky website and a trailer on YouTube.Images: Hello GamesThe Relics update is set to launch on all platforms today, though bear in mind that select NMS patches have taken a little longer to come to Switch, so temper those palaeontology expectations for just a minute. The not-so-final frontierWhat do you make of this new update? Will you be digging in soon? Let us know in the comments.Related GamesSee AlsoShare:03 Jim came to Nintendo Life in 2022 and, despite his insistence that The Minish Cap is the best Zelda game and his unwavering love for the Star Wars prequels (yes, really), he has continued to write news and features on the site ever since. Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...Related ArticlesNintendo Expands Switch Online's SNES Library With Four More TitlesArriving next weekPokmon Scarlet & Violet: Mystery Gift Codes ListAll the current Pokmon Scarlet and Violet Mystery Gift codesPSA: Gold Points For Nintendo Switch Purchases Are Now DiscontinuedUpdate: The Golden age is overRumour: A Switch 1 Direct Presentation May Take Place This WeekColour us sceptical, though

Image: Aziz Al-YamiPro Super Smash Bros. Melee player Aziz "Hax$" Al-Yami has died at the age of 30.A GoFundMe page was set up earlier this week, with the accompanying social media post saying Hax was "fighting for his life". The page now carries a new message confirming that he "passed away peacefully" on the morning of Tuesday 25th March.REST IN PEACE MY DEAR SON.Abdulaziz HAX$ Al-YamiHe LOVED MeleeStatus: DeceasedTime: 7:09 AMDate: March 25, 2025Aziz passed away peacefully this morning. I would like to personally thank all of his friends and fans who supported him and gave him so much happiness.Please say a prayer for this young man who was taken away from us too soon. Doctors said he died quietly. Thank you for your compassion.Subscribe to Nintendo Life on YouTube800kWatch on YouTube Known in the Melee community as a top-level Captain Falcon and Fox player, fellow pro Smash players Juan "Hungrybox" Debiedma and Jason "Mew2King" Zimmerman have commented on his passing on social media.Debiedma wrote that he had been on his way to visit Hax in hospital before learning of his passing:The pro Melee player announced an "indefinite hiatus" from Smash in 2015 following a hand injury. In recent years, he had been working on the stickless B0XX controller.In 2021, Hax was banned from multiple Melee tournaments following a video he posted about a dispute with another Melee pro player, William "Leffen" Hjelte. He later apologised to Leffen and Melee fans in another video, although event bans remained in place.Last year, Hax had focused on streaming and publishing Melee videos, saying, "I'm not even a gamer at this point in my life, I'm just a Melee player." In December, he posted on Twitter (content warning for potentially distressing details on that link) and confirmed a suicide attempt earlier in 2024. He described having "a new lease on life" in recent months.Our thoughts go out to Hax's family and friends at this time.