Valve announces limited edition white Steam Deck OLEDBlanc cheque.Image credit: Valve News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Nov. 11, 2024 Valve has announced the Steam Deck OLED: White Edition.This new version of the handheld PC launches on 18th November, but if you want one, be warned: only a limited number will be available ("Once we're out, we're out," Valve says)."Last year, we released a smoky translucent limited edition Steam Deck OLED as an experiment to find out if there was interest in alternative colourways (there was!). This is our second experiment along those lines," Valve explained, sharing a look at the upcoming Steam Deck.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Nintendo has new hardware, but it's not Switch 2 - so what's the point of Alarmo?Watch on YouTube"The difference this time (aside from the colour!) is that we're able to ship the Limited Edition White to all regions where Steam Deck already ships," the company continued. "We're curious to see what the response is, and will use what we learn to inform future decisions about any potential new colour variants down the line."Valve said it has been "super happy with the reception of Steam Deck" since the team first launched the LCD version back in 2022. "We've always said our intent is to continually work on improving Steam Deck, and that's true from both a software perspective (continuing to ship improvements) and a hardware one (Steam Deck OLED, as well as ongoing work toward the future of Steam Deck and other hardware plans)." Image credit: ValveThe Steam Deck: White OLED features all the same specs as Valve's Steam Deck OLED 1TB model. Keeping with the white theme, it will arrive with a white carrying case and white microfiber cleaning cloth. It costs 599/$679, and those interested will be limited to one unit per account. "These accounts must have made a Steam purchase before November 2024 and be in good standing to be eligible," Valve said. Image credit: ValveElsewhere in the news, Valve recently added a game recording functionality to Steam, which also works on Steam Deck.

Watch Miyamoto take a tour of Super Nintendo World's new Donkey Kong Country theme park expansionFinally opening in December.Image credit: Nintendo News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 11, 2024 After a six month delay, Universal Studios Japan's Donkey Kong Country themed Super Nintendo World expansion finally has an opening date. It'll be barrel-blasting open its doors from 11th December, and if you're curious to see what's in store, you can now watch Nintendo's Shigeru Miyamoto take a tour of the area, with a brief pause to bonk on some bongo drums.A Donkey Kong themed expansion to Universal's Super Nintendo World theme park area was officially announced in September 2021, just months after the opening of its main Mushroom Kingdom-themed area (although it had been spotted on mock-ups long before). At the time, Universal teased it would feature "interactive experiences and themed merchandise and food", alongside a new coaster - and we've now had our best look yet at the finished thing.Miyamoto toured the Donkey Kong Country expansion in special ten-minute-long Nintendo Direct, beginning by whisking players through the now unsealed warp pipe toward the rear of the Mushroom Kingdom. As park visitors navigate its length, its red brick walls transition to rocks before the pipe opens out into a jungle-themed expanse of swaying palms, faux wooden walkways, and even Donkey Kong's iconic treehouse. And looming over the whole area is its imposing centrepiece, the Golden Temple, housing a new coaster ride.Miyamoto takes of tour of Universal's new Donkey Kong Country land.Watch on YouTubeBefore getting to that, though, Miyamoto spent some time showing off the area's (admittedly not especially enthralling) other features, including the Jungle Beat Shakes shop where visitors can buy hotdogs and other assorted food; Funky's Flay 'n' Buy, where a range of Donkey Kong themed merchandise can be perused and purchased, plus Donkey Kong's Treehouse, where patrons can grab their Donkey Kong photos ops.Additionally, there's a three-player bongo-themed rhythm game where players must follow along to blinking lights in order to rouse Rambi the rhinoceros from his slumber inside a crate. "If there isn't a place to play bongo drums," Eurogamer's Tom Phillips wrote back in 2021, "I'll be disappointed." Tom's bongo-based dreams have finally come true.Elsewhere, Universal's Donkey Kong Country area utilises the same Power Band system seen in the Mushroom Kingdom part of the park, and band wearers can explore their surroundings in search of Donkey Kong's familiar orange letter blocks, collecting them all in the Universal app. All of which finally took Miyamoto to the sprawling Golden Temple, where - as detailed by a couple of Cranky Kong and Sqawks animatronics - visitors can ride its Mine Cart Madness coaster in a bid to help protect the Golden Banana from Tiki Kong.Unfortunately, today's Nintendo Direct didn't show much of the coaster at all, beyond brief peek at its barrel-themed lift hill, but we do know - thanks to various theme park fan sites over the years - it features a unique ride system designed to give riders the illusion their carts are leaping over sections of broken track, while the real track is concealed below.You can take a virtual tour of Universal Studios Japan's new Donkey Kong Country expansion in video above, and those able to attend in person can do so from 11th December this year. Alternatively, the area will be included as part of Universal's new Epic Universe theme park in Florida, which opens on 22nd May 2025.

GTA 6 fans think Rockstar's hidden yet another clue in the moonThe wane event.Image credit: Rockstar News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Nov. 11, 2024 Grand Theft Auto Online players are once again looking to the moon for a spot of GTA 6 insight.The GTA community is eager to hear more about the next instalment in the series, and once again have theorised Rockstar left a clue about the upcoming game in its GTA Online promotional material.The material in question shows a character leaning on a car, while looking up at the Darnell Bros Garment Factory. But, it isn't the character or the factory that has caught the attention of eager fans. It is the moon that shines down on the scene from the upper corner.GTA 6 trailer. Watch on YouTubeThe moon in this image is a waning gibbous, and the moon here in the real world will be at the same phase on 22nd November. That's a week on Friday, and fans believe this is a sign from the developer, telling them the date of the next GTA 6 trailer.While this all may seem a bit of a longshot, this isn't the first time GTA players have turned to the moon for GTA 6 clues. Last year, marketing for 2023's Moon Festival event actually ended up aligning with the day Rockstar revealed the date it would share its first GTA 6 trailer.So, stay tuned for more (potential) GTA 6 news next Friday, I guess!Before yall say Im loosing it, last year there was a moon phase theory and it ended up being correct byu/Fabrizerlo inGTA6To see this content please enable targeting cookies.GTA 6 is currently slated for release in autumn next year. In May, Take-Two said it is "highly confident" it will make this launch window.Last week, Take-Two head Strauss Zelnick said he isn't worried about getting GTA 6 to work on Microsoft's lesser powered Xbox Series S console.

Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is being remade as Konami says "younger generation" now unfamiliar with the seriesBoa and arrow.Image credit: Konami News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Nov. 11, 2024 There's a whole generation of video game fans who don't know very much about Metal Gear Solid, and that's one of the reasons we are getting a remake in the form of Delta: Snake Eater.This revelation comes from series producer Noriaki Okamura, who told Play magazine the team realised "a lot of the newer, younger generation of gamers aren't familiar with the Metal Gear series anymore" (thanks, GamesRadar).As such, Konami's upcoming Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater remake is being created with future generations in mind.Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater - Announcement Trailer. Watch on YouTube"It was basically our mission, our duty, to kind of continue making sure that the series lives on for future generations," Okamura explained. "After all, we leave behind much more than just DNA, as Solid Snake would say - but again, who is Solid Snake?"As for why we are getting a remake of the third Metal Gear game, Okamura noted it takes place first chronologically. "That's where the original story started," he said, so it just made sense. Image credit: KonamiAnnounced back in May last year, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater retains the 2004 original's story - which follows Naked Snake on an operation deep within the Soviet jungle, some 31 years before the events of Metal Gear.We still don't have a release date for Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, despite a PlayStation blog previously suggesting the remake would make its debut some time this year. Earlier this month, Konami's half-yearly financial results simply listed the upcoming game's release as "TBD"."Whisper it quietly, but Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater looks like the most exciting Konami project in years," Digital Foundry's Tom Morgan wrote after some time with the game earlier this year.

If you still need a PlayStation Camera adaptor for PSVR1 on PS5, don't delayPlayers have until the end of the month to make their requests. News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 11, 2024 Sony is discontinuing the PlayStation Camera adaptor for PSVR1 on PS5.According to a brief update on the PlayStation website, the device will be withdrawn on 26th November 2024, or "until supplies last".To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Metro Awakening VR Review.Watch on YouTubeThe adaptor was introduced with the PS5. As a camera is required for PSVR the PS5's HD camera is not compatible, it's the only way to play PSVR1 on PS5.If you have the tech and haven't yet reached out to secure an adaptor, now's the time to do it - especially as the offer's only good for as long as "supplies last".Head to the official website to put in a request. You'll need to provide your PSVR processor unit serial number and - depending upon where you are in the world - your name, email, phone number, and shipping address. The processor unit's serial number should begin with the letter C, M, or P.Find out why our resident VR expert, Ian Higton, says that getting the PS VR2 working on PC isn't nearly as easy as it should be.Ian also took a look at Metro Awakening VR for Eurogamer, awarding it three out of five stars, saying: "Metro Awakening VR delivers some terrifying moments in its deep, thought-provoking story, but after a strong start, repetitive levels and pacing issues kill most of its momentum".

"If someone made Deus Ex today, it might be perceived as a documentary," says creator Warren SpectorHas "no idea why" Embracer chose to abandon the franchise. News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 11, 2024 Deus Ex creator Warren Spector reckons "if someone made Deus Ex today", the cyberpunk role-playing game "might be perceived as a documentary", given its themes of a dystopian world and evil factions competing to control it.In an interview with PC Gamer, Spector reflected on how the world - and game design - has changed in the 25 years since Deus Ex first debuted, adding "I wouldn't make Deus Ex again as it was in 2000 when it could be read as a believable fantasy".To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Nintendo has announced new hardware, but it's not Switch 2 - so what's the point of Alarmo?Watch on YouTube"Y2K was around the corner, AI was becoming a thing, conspiracies were everywhere, terrorism was on the rise, bioengineering was in its infancy, techno-augmentation was in the works," Spector said, talking about how he leaned into real-life issues rather than "trying to convince people to be interested in something" more fantastical."All that stuff was floating around in the zeitgeist. Making a game about it was an obvious thing to do."If he returned to the series now, however, Spector says he'd like to examine "other concerns that would be more relevant, more pressing, more worthy of exploration".Spector also commented on Embracer's decision to cancel Eidos Montreal's new Deus Ex game earlier this year, putting almost a hundred people out of work.The project had been in development at Eidos Montreal for around two years, following its acquisition by Embracer in 2022. The decision to call an end to this project was part of the Swedish conglomerate's ruthless restructuring and cost-cutting measures."I really have no idea why Embracer would abandon the Deus Ex franchise, at least for now," Spector said. "From my perspective, the gameplay approach is still relevant, but the world and situation needs some updating."Earlier this year, Spector - who also created Epic Mickey - said he was unavailable to work on a third game in the series, despite the announcement it was being revived.

We Happy Few developer's South of Midnight BTS documentary debuts next weekExpect "an exclusive first look at brand-new gameplay footage and interviews with the team".Image credit: Xbox News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 10, 2024 A documentary detailing the development process of We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games' next project, South of Midnight, will debut next week.In a message posted to its social media channels, Compulsion said the documentary - called Weaving Hazel's Journey: A South of Midnight Documentary - lets the team "explore the vision, art direction, music, gameplay, and talent behind our upcoming action-adventure".South of Midnight - Gameplay Reveal - Xbox Games Showcase 2024.Watch on YouTubeFurthermore, there will be an "exclusive first look at brand-new gameplay footage" as well as interviews with the team."As we eagerly await our 2025 release, we invite you to take an even closer look into the making of our modern Southern Gothic folktale," the team said. To see this content please enable targeting cookies."Tune in on [12th November] for the premiere of Weaving Hazel's Journey: A South of Midnight Documentary, where we explore the vision, art direction, music, gameplay, and talent behind our upcoming action-adventure. Plus, get an exclusive first look at brand-new gameplay footage and interviews with the team!"Compulsion also confirmed that the documentary - which will debut on the studio's YouTube channel - will feature subtitles and audio description, although there'll be "more news about in-game accessibility features" closer to launch.We discovered that We Happy Few developer Compulsion Games is working on a new "narrative, third person, story game" back in 2021. The Canadian developer has reportedly doubled in size since We Happy Few, and is committed to making "unique games in little-used settings".South of Midnight is set to arrive on PC and Xbox Series X/S at some point in 2025.

Infinity Nikki tops 30m registrations and it's not even out yetHitting the milestone unlocks a bevy of treats for all who pre-register.Image credit: Papergames News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 10, 2024 Over 30 million people have pre-registered for Infinity Nikki.Consequently, Infold Games confirmed all registration milestones have been unlocked, meaning players across PC, PS5, and mobile devices will secure a four-star outfit, 20 Resonite Crystals, 300 Threads of Purity, and 50,000 Blings.Infinity Nikki Preview - The Girl Game We've Always Wanted.Watch on YouTubeTo mark the achievement, Infold dropped a new gameplay overview trailer subtitled Unfold Your Whim, "offering a glimpse into the journey ahead".Infinity Nikki tasks players with collecting Whimstars and special outfits that give Nikki unique abilities."Each new ability allows Nikki to explore deeper, discover hidden paths, and interact with the vibrant open world around her," Infold teases. "Alongside her, Momo, her loyal companion, offers a camera feature for players to capture memorable moments throughout their adventure."For some, this milestone may not be surprising. In August, over 12 million of us had already signed up for the "cosy open-world adventure" follow-up to the highly successful mobile series of dress-up games.We still don't have a release date for Infinity Nikki yet, however when the time does come, it will be available across PlayStation and PC, alongside Android and iOS devices. In the meantime, you can still sign up for the Infinity Nikki playtest here.

Black Myth: Wukong's physical PS5 edition gets a release datePM Studios confirms the disc will include the "deluxe edition".Image credit: Game Science News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 10, 2024 Black Myth: Wukong is getting a physical PS5 release next month: 12th December, to be precise.The release marks the first time the fan-favourite action-RPG will be available on a physical PS5 disc, as the collector's edition merely included a download code.Black Myth: Wukong is extremely demanding - so how can PS5 be improved, is Pro a game-changer and is Series S even viable?Watch on YouTube"Mark your calendars! Black Myth: Wukong arrives in physical form on 12th December, 2024!" PM Studios posted to X/Twitter.Asked if that date also applied to UK purchases, PM Studios simply replied: "Yep!", then confirmed the same release date for players in Europe. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.At the time of writing, it's unclear if the physical edition will ship with any accompanying goodies, such as an instruction manual, but it has been confirmed that it includes the "deluxe edition upgrade" as well as the base game.The deluxe edition includes the Bronzecloud Staff weapon, Wind Chimes curio, and the Folk Opera armour set. You'll also get a "selected" digital soundtrack.Microsoft has again confirmed the delay to the Xbox release of Black Myth: Wukong is not due to "platform limitations".Black Myth: Wukong was released in August on PC and PS5, but the Xbox version was delayed for an unknown reason. Speculation grew the developer was struggling to run the game on the Series S console, while other rumours suggested the game was, in fact, a PlayStation console exclusive.A representative from Microsoft has now confirmed the game is still on the way, though it won't comment "on the deals made by our partners with other platform holders".Black Myth: Wukong had already sold 10m copies after just three days on sale, even without an Xbox version.

PlayStation 5 Pro arrives complete with a somewhat enigmatic feature - the ability to enhance the image quality of older PS4 software. A toggleable menu option suggests that the new console has the ability to 'improve the resolution of select PS4 games' but there's no explanation of what it actually does. With that in mind, we set out to find out. What exactly does the 'enhance image quality' feature actually do? Is this a game changer for PS5 Pro, or more of an incremental improvement? Let's get down to business by kicking off with a look at a prominent pre-PS4 Pro PS4 title, the original Destiny - and we can confirm that it is indeed making a difference. A close look at fine details reveals a sharper image with the enhanced mode enabled. The most obvious differences understandably come in high contrast areas of the image, such as structures cast against a skybox. The enhanced mode is doing a pretty good job at refining some of the edge detail, but without emphasising edge artifacts, as a naive sharpening filter would typically do. There does appear to be some attempt at reforming edges, eliminating some of the aliasing artifacts we saw before. Edges that used to have obvious sawtooth aliasing artifacts appear less jagged, but simultaneously have sharper edges. However, aliasing patterns can remain, just masked slightly.Our educated guess is that this new technique is a post-process filter that runs after the processing of the PS4 game content - it's a kind of smart upscaler. Everything seen here indicates that it's the same basic game content, running at the same resolution. However, the way the image resolves appears different on PS5 Pro and game content does look noticeably more detailed and slightly more refined. We've got some nice zoomers on this page showing the difference, but seeing the effect in motion is recommended - hence the video.Watch on YouTubeBecause the enhanced mode appears to apply to games as a post-process, all UI elements - like the HUD in Bloodborne, for example - get the same treatment. In some instances, it can bring the old 2D art up to a level of detail and refinement that looks pretty solid at 4K. There is indeed more detail, if slightly smoothed. Batman: Arkham Knight also gets a surprisingly crisp and clean 4K-like HUD, with almost artifact-free upscaling - but in all tests, there are indications that we're looking at an upscaling algorithm for 4K displays, not actual 4K art. It's not going to be a perfect replacement for 4K art, generally speaking. Looking at Metaphor Refantazio's PS4 version on PS5 Pro, the 1080p art benefits with image enhancement, but the actual 4K artwork in the PS5 code gets cleaner linework and more detailed texture. Text, again, is typically well defined with the Pro's upscaling, but not as crisp and artifact-free as actual native 4K text. It's also important to recognize the technique's limitations. The biggest problem with enhanced mode is that it really doesn't do much for temporal aliasing. Shots with movement across a variety of games reveal a similar amount of aliasing between the regular mode and the enhanced equivalent. The character of that aliasing is different, with the enhanced mode taking on a slightly rounded appearance, but the actual level of frame-to-frame breakup is similar. In other words, the enhanced mode essentially inherits the image quality characteristics of the existing game, including its anti-aliasing and it's not necessarily more stable across multiple frames. This means that games like Destiny or Killzone Shadow Fall are still going to appear fairly aliased on the Pro with the enhanced mode. However, games with better AA treatment such as Granblue Fantasy: Relink, look somewhat more detailed without suffering from excessive aliasing. This applies equally to 2D art, as some of the artwork in a game like the first Ace Attorney collection doesn't hold up that well and in some instances, I think the image resolve can actually look a bit messier than before. To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The PS5 Pro claims the enhanced mode is selective - so what games does it apply to? In my testing, it seems like it doesn't apply to PS4 software that outputs above 1080p resolution. Native 4K PS4 Pro titles like Persona 5 Royal and Mantis Burn Racing look identical across both modes, as does 1440p software like Uncharted 4. Overwatch 2, which renders at 1080p internally but has a 4K UI. Likewise for Marvel's Spider-Man, which uses a temporal upscaling technique to hit a 4K resolution. However, some PS4 Pro-enabled software like Rage 2 is visibly changed by the PS5 Pro enhancement process. This game has a 1080p UI and 1080p 3D rendering on PS4 Pro, and it does appear to be enhanced on PS5 Pro. Again, games that are higher res do not seem to get a bump. I don't know if this is a universal rule, however, or if games might be whitelisted or blacklisted based on other criteria, but that has been my experience so far. In general, you should expect to see improvements in PS4 games without a PS4 Pro version, and lower-res PS4 Pro enhanced games, and the improvements should be most obvious in games that present clear, sharp edges without effects like film grain or chromatic aberration. Games with TAA tended to have a more muted visual change relative to games that used post-process AA. And just for the record, the upscaling enhancement appears to be present with the PS5 Pro set to 1440p output or 4K output in the system settings.Outside of image quality, I was interested in the cost of the technique. Very few PS4 games actually run below their frame-rate caps on PS5, but Until Dawn's original release is a notable exception, and a good test-case for the enhanced mode's cost. Curiously, PS5 Pro, running without the enhancement, isn't enough to overcome the game's frame-rate drops on PS5 - but it does run substantially faster than the base console. My guess is that the GPU clocks and GPU resources used to run PS4 software are similar across the two consoles, but that the increased memory speed on Pro is causing a moderate performance improvement here. However, when we introduce the enhance image quality feature, all of a sudden performance drops noticeably on Pro. It's not a gigantic difference, but enhanced image quality drops about 10 percent in performance or slightly more in demanding scenes. It's enough to bring the base PS5 and enhanced PS5 Pro to a virtual performance tie. The vast majority of PS4 software runs at its frame-rate limit with headroom to spare on PS5 consoles, so I don't expect this would be an issue in many titles. This assumes that the performance regression holds true broadly across all games of course, which would require further testing. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced. Regular EnhancedComparison of PS4 content running on PS5 Pro in both regular upscaled and enhanced.I did spot one other performance issue with the enhanced mode, which was pointed out to me by CodeMalfunction on the Digital Foundry Supporter Discord. In Just Cause 3, enabling the enhancement causes a major graphics issue, which goes away with the enhanced toggle turned off. I didn't notice any similar issues across testing in dozens of other titles, but there does seem to be some limited potential for graphical bugs. Sony's enhance image quality feature isn't the only game in town when it comes to smart spatial upscaling, however, which is evident if we do some comparisons across PS5 Pro and PC. The most interesting point of comparison is LS1, which is the machine learning-based spatial upscaler available in the Lossless Scaling PC app. In a title like Granblue Fantasy: Relink, which uses TAA, it achieves a sharper, perceptibly more detailed image without the artifacts we'd usually see with sharpening. Comparing LS1 and Sony's enhanced upscaling technique, I'd say Sony's technique slightly edges out LS1 in clarity here, but it's close. Texture detail also looks clearer and sharper without edge ringing - just look at the floorboards here as one example. That inner surface detail appears more pleasing, not just geometric detail. This is an area where LS1 appears substantially better than the Pro. The Pro's enhancement process is comparable to LS1 on text and 2D elements. Both do a substantially better job than 1080p with a naive upscale to 4K, though both exhibit noticeable artifacts and can struggle with different kinds of problems. For instance, Sony's solution has greater difficulty differentiating this line from the background than LS1. There's also Microsoft's AutoSR, which is only available on laptops with the Snapdragon X Elite chip as of this recording. That technology takes a single frame between 700 and 900 vertical lines and upscales it to a higher resolution, delivering higher image detail - and even sometimes better image stability. I haven't gone hands-on with this myself, but I'd say it offers a more comprehensive overhaul than either LS1 or Sony's solution, albeit still inferior to temporal upscaling solutions that use more inputs from the game engine, like DLSS - or indeed Sony's own PSSR upscaler. However, it does incur a one-frame latency penalty.Do you want to know more? Watch Digital Foundry's 100-minute video review.Watch on YouTubeThere are other techniques - like Nvidia's RTX Super Resolution video enhancement - that focus less on game graphics and more on encoded video. RTX Video Super Resolution doesn't really give us as much edge detail as the other solutions, so the actual geometric edges only see a mild increase in definition. That said, the image looks perceptibly cleaner and texture detail is enhanced. FSR 1 is a bit less interesting than the other solutions in my experience, as it has a more uniform impact on the final image. It doesn't upscale text and 2D art quite as effectively and it doesn't do much for texture detail. It works fine enough, but I think the results from the machine learning based upscalers are better - and the potential ceiling is much higher. Based on the visual similarities in results between the 'enhance image quality' toggle and the other machine learning-based techniques, I suspect that the Pro's filter is using machine learning. Its reconstruction of text detail in particular doesn't seem realistically feasible using hand-authored algorithms. That would make sense given the high apparent cost of the technique in Until Dawn on PS5 Pro, as typical spatial upscaling is virtually free on modern GPUs. On a more general level, I think the enhance image quality mode for PS4 software on PS5 Pro is perhaps a preview of the future. Console backwards compatibility efforts have struggled against the constraints of older hardware, unlike the PC where games can usually scale in fidelity. It's not possible to expose the full capabilities of the PS5 Pro's GPU to a PS4 title, and increasing resolution for older games requires case-by-case effort that can't be applied broadly across all titles. A post-process filter that could substantially improve image quality in these older games is a scalable concept and doesn't actually require that older game code to take advantage of new hardware capabilities. A more sophisticated filter in the future could greatly improve image quality while still allowing for a high level of software compatibility. However, Sony's image quality enhancement on PS5 Pro offers a more moderate bump to image quality in PS4 software. It improves image detail and clarity somewhat, but temporal consistency is about the same as before. An enhancement is needed most with early PS4 games that lack PS4 Pro support, as these titles often had big issues with shimmer and flickering, so the lack of an improvement there is unfortunate. It's also not quite at the bleeding edge of smart spatial upscalers. In particular, Microsoft's Auto SR boasts a greater image transformation, albeit with a more limited range of compatible source content. Perhaps in time Sony can come up with something similar. Still, the PS5 Pro's image quality enhancement feature is a nice little boost to make PS4 software more palatable on high-res displays. The PS5 Pro offers far greater boosts to actual PS5 games, but it's nice to see some attention put towards older software.

This Dragon Age: The Veilguard mission has killed more of us than any otherAnd it's the High Dragon Corium The Icetalon that's our deadliest enemy.Image credit: Eurogamer/EA News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 9, 2024 As people continue to get stuck into Dragon Age: The Veilguard this weekend, developer BioWare has shared a number of interesting statistics about its playerbase, including confirmation that High Dragon Corius The Icetalon is the game's "deadliest" enemy.So far, it looks pretty evenly split across classes - 40 percent of us are playing as Mages, whereas the other 60 percent is spread evenly across Rogues and Warriors. However, the lineage delineations are interesting with 43 percent of us choosing to be human and 40 percent as elf.The final 17 percent splits across Dwarf and Qunari, at 6 percent and 11 percent, respectively.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Here's a video version of our Dragon Age: The Veilguard review.Watch on YouTubeFactions are also a little uneven: 24 percent of players opt to play as both Grey Wardens and Shadow Dragons, whilst 16 percent are Antivan Crows. 15 percent of us joined the Veil Jumpers, 11 percent the Lords of Fortune, leaving just one in 10 of us opting to become a Mournwatch.Perhaps unsurprisingly, more of us have died during the Sea of Blood mission than anywhere else. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Eurogamer's Robert Purchese had a lot of good things to say about BioWare's latest Dragon Age in his five star review. "From head to toe, wing to wing, The Veilguard is exquisitely realised and full of sophistication across systems and storytelling," he wrote. "It's warm and welcoming, funny and hopeful, gentle when it needs to be, and of course it's epic - epic in a way I think will set a high bar not only for BioWare in years to come but for role-playing games in general."

I unironically think I'm pretty good at Football Manager. By this point, I really better be I've been playing this game for anywhere between 200 and 400 hours a year, every year, since I caught the bug sometime around 2008. But then in each of those years I do always play as Manchester United, the team I support, and unlike the United of the real world, it's easy enough to see things regularly going well with a bit of clever spending and tactical nous - in my last save, I just won the quadruple with United, alongside a full "invincibles" season in the Premier League.If that all sounds like a bit of typical United fan bragging, however, worry not! A severe humbling follows.After more or less 'fixing' the club - the task I set myself with each new game, and in doing so clearing all of the main challenges of my most recent save - I've been looking for a bit of a new spin to fill the void while we wait for FM25. Lo and behold, here's real-world Manchester United finally agreeing to bring in a new manager, the widely admired 39-year-old Ruben Amorim of Sporting CP. The perfect new challenge has arrived. And so, in light of the excessive interest in how his teams play - and a wonderful 4-1 spanking of Man City in the Champions League earlier this week that deserves its own celebration - I thought I'd see how Amorim's already famous 3-4-3 translates to United in the world of Football Manager.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Part 1: Figuring out how Amorim playsIf you've been broadly plugged into the football world over the last week or so you'll be fully aware that Ruben Amorim really likes to play 3-4-3. In fact, he's only played with a standard back four - the default for the English Premier League - in his very first three games as a manager several years ago, before ditching it forever.Unfortunately, that's where my real certainty about Ruben Amorim ends. And in Football Manager, we have to go a lot deeper than just mere formations to get things moving. Where things get much harder is in interpreting how exactly that 3-4-3 works in practice.First up, the research. I am shamelessly obsessed with football tactics, and so am happy to admit I've a few regular go-tos for full tactics nerd breakdowns, which are naturally where I started here.One is a Manchester United podcast called Devils In The Details, run by Aaron Moniz and Kees Hemmen - a pair of young, yet also enjoyably world-weary data analysts who support the club. Another is the handful of Twitter 'tacticos' that regularly cover United: a well-known blogger who just goes by Harrison (or @htomufc); and Varun Vasudevan, who runs another account and personal blog called The Devil's DNA. There's also Third Man Runs, another excellent, non-Manchester-United-specific tactical blog that wrote a three-part series on Amorim's 'game model' with Sporting in April earlier this year. And lastly there's The Athletic, which has frankly rinsed the news of Amorim's arrival with a tidal wave of articles from United experts such as Carl Anka, analytics gurus such as Ahmed Walid, and tactical historians including Michael Cox on how he plays and whether it'll work in the Premier League. (Short answer: maybe - but we're not here for short answers!) A sample of Carl Anka's analysis for The Athletic. | Image credit: Carl Anka / The AthleticHere's the issue: as you might have guessed, everyone has a slightly different idea of how Amorim's teams tend to play. Some describe his 'build-up phase', where teams move into a specific shape during situations like goal kicks to help them get past the opposition team's own structure, as a kind of 4-2-2-2. Sporting's wing backs drop back, the central centre-back of the three pushes up into midfield, one of the two central midfielders pushes up, one of the two players behind the striker pushes up again (fellow tactics nerds would recognise this as forming what's called a 'box midfield' to overload opponents who typically only have up to three players defending the middle - this one's actually a kind of double-box, but let's not sweat that just yet). Others describe a 3-4-2-1, where the back three and two midfielders stay closer to their original positions. Out of possession, it's the same: most describe an intense high-press, potentially leaving risky gaps in midfield.But actually watching Sporting myself only makes things more complicated: against City earlier this week, Sporting played on the break, sitting into more of a back five shielded by three densely packing the midfield, one in front of them, and a lone striker, more like a 5-3-1-1. After the match, Amorim even came out and said United "can't play as defensively" as his Sporting side has once he takes over.As for how this works for Football Manager? My main takeaway at the moment is that this is going to be a headache.Part 2: The setupIt's time to settle on a plan. What's clear and what many of these genuinely brilliant tactical analysts agree on is that Amorim is actually highly adaptable from one game to the next, despite being rigid in his overall reliance on a 3-4-3. Sometimes his teams focus on short passes through the middle of the pitch to get the ball forwards, using that box-shaped overload of central midfielders to bait the opposition into pressing, a bit like Roberto De Zerbi's Brighton last season. Other times, they use quick interplay down the flanks, relying on the wing backs heavily. Others they actually go quite direct, over or around the opposition's defensive line to their hugely prolific, channel-running Swedish forward Viktor Gykeres.Translating that adaptive style to FM is going to be a challenge. Football Manager is excellent at recreating a specific tactical approach, but it struggles, perhaps naturally, when it comes to one based on in-game contingencies, or that automatically adapts to your opponents. Navigating that turns out to be the biggest challenge of all.To start off, I set things up with the quickest possible method of diving into a close-to-realistic part of United's season. In lieu of a sparkly new FM25 database from official scouts, I download a community mod from a pair called TheNotoriousPr0 and FMTU, which gets FM24's database as close as possible to the starting point of the current season. Despite us technically starting in 2023 here, we at least have all of summer 2024's transfers and a few attribute updates for the youngsters.I opt to jump into the save with pre-season partially underway to save some time, but still give me a few weeks to give the players some tactical familiarity. I turn opening window transfers off, skip my usual backroom staff overhaul, ignore my scouts' many (justifiable) reports on where the squad can improve, and skip the opening press conference. I've never done this before, and it turns out this makes a lot of digital journalists default to thinking I'm some kind of arrogant chancer, but otherwise does nothing of consequence here thankfully I won't be around long enough for the inevitable 'sack the manager' campaign. My goal is to get the squad semi-familiar with the tactics, play a few games, and see how we get on. Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaOn to the tactics, at last!We've talked about overall shape, but now it's time to get really granular. I start with a basis of the Vertical Tiki-Taka preset, which feels like the most 'Amorim' option, emphasising fairly short but forward-thinking passing through the centre of the pitch. (The wing back interplay, I tell myself, is something players will naturally end up using because the wing backs are likely to regularly find themselves open. I'm sort of half-right, but more on that later.)There are a few bits of tinkering to sort though: we go for whipped crosses to work with Hojlund's pace and physicality against unsettled defences; I stick to underlaps rather than overlaps to try and get the two attacking midfielders of that front three running beyond the ball into the box; I choose to 'trap outside' with the press, as typically Amorim's sides like to funnel opponent attacks down the flanks and press them there with the numerical advantage; and I choose 'be more expressive' to give players freedom to problem-solve, in the hope of emulating some adaptability.Now for the personnel. Most visualisations of Amorim's tactics set the team up with three centre backs; two wing backs ahead of them - making it a back three by default rather than back five - then two central midfielders; two central attacking midfielders, or '10s'; and one centre forward.Immediately we have issues. Rasmus Hojlund is an almost perfect match for Gykeres, with an Advanced Forward role here, Onana is great for the Sweeper Keeper role, Bruno Fernandes is obviously one of the 10s and Ugarte, who played under Amorim at Sporting previously, naturally is one of the midfielders. Everywhere else is a question mark, but let's run through the decisions quickly.Astonishingly, Luke Shaw is actually fit for my first pre-season game, though Malacia is out for months longer than I have to spend here. So as the only fit left-sided defender, Shaw goes in at left wing back and Mazraoui, slightly more technically proficient than Dalot, goes on the right. I am worried about depth here. (Spoiler: I am right to worry.)In defence, the options most experts have suggested are the left-footed, progressive ball-player Lisandro Martinez at left centre back, the hulking De Ligt in the middle, and the young Leny Yoro, adept beyond his years at covering wide spaces, on the right of the three. So that's what I start with here. Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaThis is also where I decide to get a bit fancy. The idea of a centre-back forming part of the midfield 'pivot' is fun to me, and I've seen some analysis that Amorim occasionally has his left centre-back, Gonalo Incio, do that rather than the usual central one, which is rather unorthodox on top of an already very on-trend move. Incio is a very similar player to Martinez - weaker at defending channels; excellent on the ball - and Amorim does this to protect him from that channel defending while getting the most out of his on-ball ability. So, galaxy brain moment, let's have Martinez invert from the left, using the Libero role, just like Incio.In midfield, the clear best choice for a real-world partnership is energetic destroyer Ugarte alongside the more forward-thinking wonderkid Kobbie Mainoo, which makes sense to me. Eriksen is a better, more creative passer but too old and flimsy to rely on frequently; Casemiro has similar issues with creaking legs, but is a nice rotation option for Ugarte; Mason Mount I judge to be an attacking midfielder for now, as he is in the real world. And that's really all your options.Ahead of them is where it gets really interesting: Fernandes goes in one spot, and Hojlund's up top, leaving the left sided attacking midfield position. So who out of Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho, Mason Mount, Christian Eriksen, Antony, Amad, and Joshua Zirkzee takes the other place in attacking midfield?Aiming to stick with what most analysts expect the real Amorim to do, I go with Marcus Rashford. He's very loosely familiar with the position, according to FM, and so I get him retraining as a Shadow Striker pronto, and attempt to set him up here as a runner from deep who often joins Hojlund on the last line of the opposition defence as part of the 4-2-2-2 in possession. As it turns out, this is one of many, many mistakes I made with this starting line-up. Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaPart 3: The experiment begins with a wobbleFive minutes into our first friendly against SK Rapid (a team I have, with apologies, genuinely never heard of), we are 1-0 down. We go on to lose 3-2, only mustering about 0.43 expected goals (xG) to their 1.56. In other words, they had better chances and finished them well, while we did very well to even score twice. Hojlund looks dangerous and Fernandes got a goal and an assist, which is good! Everything else looks very bad.What else is very bad? Luke Shaw is injured, about 35 minutes into the first friendly of pre-season. With backup Tyrell Malacia still 3-4 months away from recovering from the same long-term issue that plagues him in real life, we're now without a recognised left wing back in the squad. Time for plan B, something a few pundits have mooted as an option since both Shaw and Malacia are injured here in the real world too: Garnacho at left wing back.The issue here is, according to FM24, Garnacho cannot play left wing back. He has such little familiarity with the role that if you put him there, because of the way FM positions work, the star rating that indicates his general effectiveness drops to an unusable 0.5 out of five. So, time for what is effectively plan C already: we change the formation a bit to have two wide midfielders rather than wing backs. They won't defend as much, but we should be dominating possession anyway! It'll be fine. Plus, this looks more like 3-4-3 on paper, so I will pretend that counts for something despite knowing it absolutely does not.The next friendly, against another minnow, I tinker a bit. I decide to try a slightly more direct approach to test out one of the other interpretations of Amorim's style, and it goes a little better with a 4-2 win. But I still don't like conceding two goals against a small side, and also having such little control of the game as a result of my players regularly gambling on more ambitious longer balls. The not-so-settled first choice 11. | Image credit: Sports Interactive / EurogamerThe third, against Bayern Munich, we win 3-1. I'm trying not to get too excited because it's just pre-season, but this is looking promising this squad is absolutely not good enough to beat Bayern Munich 3-1. I'd tinkered again here, going back to a shorter style but a bit less central so we could use the wing backs a bit more, and this one feels like a winner.Friendly number four, against Bundesliga strugglers Wolfsburg, brings me right back down to Earth, as we get clearly beaten 2-0. I did say we shouldn't get too excited, I just didn't listen to myself.Finally, with a Community Shield game against Man City, a rapidly building list of injuries (accurate), and a somewhat chastening pre-season run of inconsistency under our belt, it's time to start the season.After a lot of tinkering, I decide to, a) not panic and stick to broadly the same tactics, in part because the players really need to start building some familiarity; and b) I settle on my starting 11. Mazraoui fills in for Shaw on the left. Maguire has come into the middle of defence by now and De Ligt pushed out to the right, after a terrible run of games from youngster Yoro (he's only 17 in this save, and very raw; time to take the lad out of the spotlight for a bit). I've pulled in Casemiro next to Ugarte as a deep-lying playmaker to shore up central midfield and avoid overplaying young Mainoo. And I've stopped the Libero experiment already, after getting caught out a few too many times on the left. Let's save the fancy stuff for when we've got a bit of momentum.As an aside: FM has done well to introduce some great rotational play to allow for setups like this, but this one doesn't quite work. There's no function to get your central defender to step to the left to fill the left defender's vacated space when they move forwards as a Libero. Thankfully, there's a (sort of) workaround anyway. Instead of a left-sided Libero, I use Maguire as a classic ball-playing defender in the middle.There's an extra bonus here too. A lot of analysts point out that from goal kicks, Amorim's back three do something unusual. Typically, in real football, the central defender would go to one side, the wide defender on that side pushes further wide, and the back five sort of shuffles along to look like a typical back four, with one wing back pushed up to the midfield. But often Amorim's central defender stays in the middle instead, pushing forward a bit. A quirk of Football Manager is that Maguire naturally does this when set up as a ball-playing defender in the middle, so we've sort of hacked an Amorim-ism already.The results are good?! City are kept largely quiet, with just one big chance, from a highly dubious penalty that Kevin De Bruyne naturally smashes into the net. We win 3-1 and we're good value for it, well ahead on (non-penalty) xG at the end of the match and also, miraculously, dominating possession against Pep Guardiola's side. And this game was semi-competitive as well, being the Community Shield. Technically, we've just won our first trophy. After a very wobbly pre-season, suddenly things are looking up. Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaPart 4: The experiment continues to wobbleThe first game of the Premier League season, away to Tottenham, we lose 3-1. Despite sticking with the exact same lineup and tactical settings that beat a vastly superior side, we barely scrape two shots on target, for an xG of 0.36 to Spurs' 2.6, and despite having 63 percent possession for the game we are ultimately played off the park.It's too early to panic yet, I tell myself, not entirely believing it. The thing with FM is it takes a lot of time for players to learn tactical systems properly. Teams get a boost to stats like their Vision from getting along well with each other, for instance, while tactical familiarity requires a lot of specific training and game time more than a few pre-season games can afford. Currently these boys are playing like strangers. True to real life, but Amorim's got to find a solution to that.Our next game, barely a few days later, is against Chelsea at home. I schedule some Team Bonding sessions in training and double up on the tactical focuses, but not until after this match will they really start to have an effect. We win 5-0. [Mourinho-removing-headphones-dot-jpg] | Image credit: Sports Interactive / EurogamerI will be honest: right now, I have no idea what's going on. Why are we easily beating the good sides and struggling against Spurs? This might make sense if, say, I'd gone for the 5-3-1-1 Amorim used against City in real life, as a kind of counter to these high-possession, high-talent sides, but I didn't. I'm trying to beat these guys at their own game, and I'm winning.Until I'm not. The season continues like this. Win a game, lose a game, on and on. A loss to Fulham. A win in the Europa League. A loss in the league again.Meanwhile, most of my players are struggling for any consistent form. Marcus Rashford, one of the best players in the squad on FM but still out of position here, is averaging a match rating of a dreadful 6.3. I've got no left wing-backs, and every time I play with a midfielder there instead, like that Garnacho experiment, or Antony, or anyone else who can kick a ball, we get hammered down that side. Against smaller teams, we're controlling possession. But I've realised we're just getting torn apart on the break ourselves effectively the plan Amorim used against City in the real world is being used against my virtual Amorim in FM. It's time for a rethink.Part 5: RevelationThis is where the first big revelation hits, and it's really something I should've considered earlier. Football Manager tactics are less about setting up in what looks the same as real life, as they are about getting teams to work in the same way as real life. This is the lesson learned from that Maguire trick in keeping him central from goal kicks just one that took far too long to set in. There are a few tweaks I make which suddenly and quite dramatically work.One: with high stats for Teamwork and Work Rate, but pretty mediocre attacking ones, Mason Mount's best role in Football Manager is in central midfield, not attacking midfield, and he immediately scores when playing as a box-to-box midfielder in that new position. Good.Two: I should really have looked at how Amorim's in-game Sporting CP play in Football Manager, to see how Sports Interactive's own scouts have translated his model to the game. And surprise! In FM, they play with two wingers rather than two attacking midfielders. Suddenly I've got a role for Marcus Rashford that he actually understands. Using him as an Inside Forward but still giving him specific instructions to stay narrow effectively gets him into the exact same positions as before, only with a role and 'official' position that he fully understands. Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaThis also opens up a role for Joshue Zirkzee, who I think would work very well as one of the two attacking midfielders in real life, but can't play there at all in FM. Instead, I plonk him into the central striker role, rotating Hojlund out for a break, but this time set Zirkzee as a deep-lying forward with a support duty. Zirkzee dropping deep and Rashford darting into the space he vacates is a winning combination, the two combining nicely for a goal.Three, and really the one that brings it all together: Amorim's whole thing is adaptability, but as I mentioned earlier, because of how Football Manager works, we're only playing one quite rigid way. The world's most passive-aggressive tooltip. | Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaUntil I realise that, actually FM does sort of have an answer for this. I rework our tactics to have a 'balanced' passing style rather than short, and more balanced width as well. The thing about these passing style sliders with Football Manager is that it's easy to fall into reading them as specific parameters for pass lengths that you're setting your team: setting the slider to short means they will only play short passes; direct, at the other end of the scale, only long ones; balanced only medium-length ones.But actually, it's about probability. Balanced doesn't mean mid-length passes, it means a mixture of passes. This is exactly how Amorim's side plays at least from the little I've watched, and the awful lot I've been told. Sometimes they play short, sometimes they go long, sometimes they do a bit of both. They adopt the approach that helps them beat the opposition at hand. I put all this into practice and what happens? A sampling of a few more weird formation experiments and emergency mid-game measures. | Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaFour wins on the trot. We're six points off first place in the league after nine games, comfortably beating opponents on xG, top of our Europa League group and still playing without a recognised left-back.How many lessons can we take from this about how Amorim's Manchester United might play in the real world, then? Probably not many. Football is complicated even more complicated than Football Manager and there's no telling how Amorim might adapt to the Premier League, who might get injured (beyond lots of left backs), and honestly, who he's even going to pick to play where. A fun twist here: I loaded up a save I had from half-way through my invincibles season, with a stellar squad that, would you believe it, I'd also tinkered with a very similarly 3-4-3 formation with just to mix things up a bit after we won so much. With my invincibles save, things quickly return to an inverted kind of chaos. Fulham get the 2-0 battering they deserve; now Chelsea are giving me trouble. | Image credit: Eurogamer/SegaShort of a left wing back, you say? May I present Theo Hernandez, who gets three assists in his first game. Josko Gvardiol, now at City in the real world, is the perfect left-sided channel defender. Jamal Musiala slots into one of the attacking midfielder roles (sorry Rashford) and some guy called Jude Bellingham takes the box-to-box role in midfield. Ugarte is also here in this save because, I cannot emphasise this enough, Ugarte is a monster in Football Manager I'd signed him last year for my United before he joined the real one.There are more experiments and more tinkering. I try using the two deeper midfielders as defensive midfield positions, which works quite nicely. I try going back to wider wingers instead of attacking midfielders, and setting the side up to counter attack. Like most of this whole experiment, mix results continue.So, not too many lessons beyond real life, beyond "please sign a left wing back Manchester United". But how many lessons can we take about Football Manager? Actually, for someone who once thought he knew a lot, quite a few.

NetEase Games fires two senior execs for alleged money laundering and briberyIn an internal memo, the company said it had dismissed nine staff and referred the investigation to police.Image credit: Bungie/NetEase News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 9, 2024 A number of NetEase Games employees have reportedly been arrested on charges of bribery and money laundering.As picked up by Chinese site Leifeng.com and reported by Bloomberg Law, NetEase Games' general manager, Xiang Lang, was detained along with NetEase's esports lead, Jin Yuchen, and several other staff on anti-corruption charges.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Here's a video version of our Dragon Age: The Veilguard review.Watch on YouTubeIn an internal memo to staff, NetEase Games - which develops Marvel Rivals and Destiny: Rising - announced it has since dismissed a total of nine staff for alleged bribery. It's thought the case impacts 28 suppliers to the Chinese megacorp in a case worth roughly one billion yuan - that's 107.5 million / $139.3 million.The names of those implicated have seemingly been removed from NetEase's internal systems and shortly after the arrests, staff still employed at the studio reported that their usual computer screensavers had been replaced by reminders of NetEase's compliance protocols.This is reportedly the second internal anti-corruption investigation NetEase has organised since September 2023.A NetEase spokesperson said police were now investigating alleged corruption charges but would not disclose more details at this time.

These are the games with soundtracks so good, they've been nominated for a 2025 Grammy AwardComposers Pinar Toprak, Bear McCreary, John Paesano, Wilbert Roget, II and Winifred Phillips have been shortlisted.Image credit: Ubisoft/Eurogamer News by Vikki Blake Contributor Published on Nov. 9, 2024 Five video games have been recognised for their outstanding soundtracks and nominated for a 2025 Grammy Award.Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora, God of War Ragnark: Valhalla, Marvel's Spider-Man 2, Star Wars Outlaws, and Wizardry: Providing Grounds of the Mad Overlord have all been selected for the shortlist of Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media at the 2025 Grammy awards.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Here's a video version of our Dragon Age: The Veilguard review.Watch on YouTubeHere's the full list and the corresponding composers:Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora - Pinar Toprak, composerGod of War Ragnark: Valhalla - Bear McCreary, composerMarvel's Spider-Man 2 - John Paesano, composerStar Wars Outlaws - Wilbert Roget, II, composerWizardry: Proving Grounds of the Mad Overlord - Winifred Phillips, composerThis is the third year the category has run at the Grammy awards. Assassin's Creed Valhalla secured the inaugural award in 2023, whilst Star Wars Jedi: Survivor won last year.The 2025 Grammy Awards will be broadcast on 2nd February, 2025.Of course, music isn't the only area when games are making an impact in major award shows. Earlier this year, Genvid's experimental choose-the-outcome, episodic Silent Hill series, Ascension, won the Creative Arts Emmy Award for Outstanding Innovation in Emerging Media Programming for Silent Hill: Ascension. Genid boss Jacob Navok was a "testament to the dedication" of the team.Amazon's Fallout adaptation also now has two Emmy awards to its name.

Nintendo keen to continue Switch's hybrid handheld and home console focus to keep down development costsMust focus on polished, original ideas that have "never existed before", Miyamoto says.Image credit: Nintendo News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Nov. 8, 2024 Nintendo is keen to keep the Switch's dual focus of being both a gaming handheld and home console "to carry over the experience we have already built" and reduce development costs in future, it's said.Speaking to investors, Nintendo exec Ko Shiota said the company's current Switch hardware had benefited from the "merging" of software teams previously focused on developing for separate portable and home console platforms - such as in the era of 3DS and Wii U.While still unannounced by Nintendo, it's widely expected that Switch 2 will also be another hybrid console similar to the company's current Switch hardware.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Nintendo has announced new hardware, but it's not Switch 2 - so what's the point of Alarmo?Watch on YouTubeDiscussing Nintendo's development process in more detail, design legend Shigeru Miyamoto said that the Mario maker must focus on developing polished, original creative ideas that have "never existed before", as its research and development costs increased each year.Rising costs were "in some respects inevitable" as games became more complex and development teams grew in scale, Miyamoto said, but Nintendo was still focused on ensuring original ideas could germinate, with time to properly "nurture developers who take this unique concept to heart"."We continue refining our products until we are confident.""Our belief is that what we create is more important than the amount spent on development," Miyamoto explained. "We continue refining our products until we are confident that we have created something that our consumers will be satisfied with."Nintendo must spend time finding the ideas that are worth honing, Miyamoto continued, saying this was a concept that had "not changed since the era of Nintendo Entertainment System", 40 years ago. "Everyone has different interests, so we cannot make sweeping statements about what ideas are worth pursuing," Miyamoto continued. "However, one thing we are sure about is that it should be something which has not existed in the past. "The more you polish something that has never existed before, the more value it brings. We believe that it is important to nurture developers who take this unique concept to heart, allocate funds to development if necessary, and release games only after we are confident in the product and repeat this process over and over again."Not all gaming ideas needed big budgets, Miyamoto concluded, noting that simple yet intriguing ideas could still become projects with wide appeal "without incurring significant costs". "With the current technology it is possible to create fun games with a small number of developers in a short period of time," Miyamoto concluded. "We believe it is important not to lose sight of this perspective."Nintendo's continued silence on Switch 2 was broken - briefly - this week with confirmation that its Switch successor would indeed be backwards compatible. When might we hear more about Switch 2? This week, Eurogamer was told by an analyst that "the ship had sailed" on a 2024 reveal for Switch 2.

Awesome Games Done Quick reveals full charity speedrun schedule ahead of January's returnRaising for Prevent Cancer Foundation.Image credit: Games Done Quick News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 8, 2024 If it's charity speed runs you want, then it's charity speed runs you'll get; Awesome Games Done Quick organisers have announced the annual seven-day event will return in January 2025, and its full speedrun schedule is available to peruse now.More specifically, Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 runs from 5th-12th January next year, featuring over 130 speedruns across its duration. And as per its newly released schedule, the line-up is a typically eclectic one, covering everything from triple-A blockbuster titles and indie games to retro classics and other assorted oddities.Proceedings get underway at 4:30pm GMT on Sunday, 5th January, with an introductory pre-amble ahead of an All Parts speedrun of Pikmin on Switch by RayOken. Things then come to a close seven days later with a Map Randomizer Race speedrun of Super Metroid - starring Andy, Eddie, imyt, and Oatsngoats - at 4:10am on Sunday, 12th January.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Newscast: When it costs 700, who exactly is the PS5 Pro for?Watch on YouTubeInbetween, there's everything from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine to The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie, as well as the traditional Awful Games Done Quick block - which this year kicks off with Superman 64 at 3:24am on Thursday, 9th January, before forging onward with the likes of Golf With Your Grandmother, Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing, and the superbly named Doronko Wanko. Also of note is the Crazy Taxi speedrun on Saturday, 11th January, which will be accompanied by a live rock band playing renditions of its in-game tunes.If you're looking to attend Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 in-person, it's being held at the Wyndham Grand in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the second time in a row, and registration is now open. Of course, if that's too much of an impractical trek, the whole thing is also being streamed online via the Games Done Quick channel on Twitch as it happens.Awesome Games Done Quick 2025 is once again raising money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation, after this year's event amassed 1.9m for the charity back in January. Its sister event, Summer Games Done Quick 2024, raised 1.9m for Doctors Without Borders in July, taking the organisation's lifetime charitable total to over 40m.

Gorgeous Sims-like InZoi delayed into next year to give it a "stronger foundation"But it now has an early access release date.Image credit: Krafton News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 7, 2024 InZoi, the upcoming Sims-like from developer Krafton, is absolutely gorgeous - to the point a lot of life sim fans are very excited indeed. So the good news is it now has a release date; the bad news is it's been delayed into next year to give it a "stronger foundation".InZoi, which promises a "complete community simulation" where "every character [acts] on their free will", was initially announced last year, when it was expected to launch for PC sometime in "Q4" this year. Now, however, Krafton has revised that release, confirming Inzoi will be launching into Steam early access on 28th March next year.In a message announcing the news, InZoi director Hyungjun "Kjun" Kim explained the decision to delay the game had been made after reviewing feedback and "analyzing a wealth of data from our various play tests". He added the revised release will give the studio time to "improve areas that need attention" and "create a game that truly captures the essence of life simulation".InZoi gameplay trailer.Watch on YouTube"It is said that among primates, raising a human child to adulthood takes the longest time because humans must be prepared to endure and adapt to their ever-changing surroundings," Kim continued. "The extra love and care that is required to properly nurture a child is how I see our journey with inZoi a game that we will be nurturing together from its Early Access birth. This change in our release date represents our dedication to giving inZoi a stronger foundation, so we can embark on this journey together in the best way possible."Players did, of course, get a bit of a look at InZoi back in August, when Krafton briefly released its impressively flexible character creator on Steam. During its five days of availability, the demo saw a peak of over 18K players, one of them being Eurogamer's own Jessica Orr, who shared a little of her character creating adventures right here."Visually, [the demo is] stunning," she wrote. "It's a little unbelievable how good it looks, actually, even on lower graphical settings. The customisation goes deep too. It's got all the usual bells and whistles, and even a few chimes to boot, as we're treated to entire categories for things like fake nails... Personality customisation doesn't go as deep, from what I can tell in the demo, but it's nice to see inclusive gender and sexuality options there already."InZoi is just one of several Sims-like that have surfaced in recent years. Paradox Interactive's Life by You has now been cancelled, but that still leaves the highly anticipated Paralives, also scheduled to launch into early access sometime next year, and if you fancy something a little more lo-fi, you can also play the adorably retro - but still surprisingly robust - Tiny Life on Steam.

GeForce Now introducing 100 hours a month playtime limit, but subscribers can pay extra for moreWon't kick in until 2026 for existing members.Image credit: Nvidia News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 7, 2024 Nvidia has announced its GeForce Now cloud gaming service will soon introduce a playtime cap of 100 hours a month for paying Performance (previously Priority) and Ultimate subscribers, although additional hours can be purchased for a fee.Nividia shared the news on Reddit, saying the limit would help it "continue providing exceptional quality and speed - as well as shorter queue times". It also insisted the switch from an unlimited allowance would "comfortably accommodate 94 percent of members".Paying subscribers wanting to use GeForce Now for more than the allotted 100 hours per month - equating to approximately three hours per day - will now need to pay extra, with 15 additional hours costing $2.99 USD for Performance members and $5.99 for anyone subscribed to its Ultimate tier. Up to 15 unused hours will automatically roll over into the next month.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Eurogamer Newcast: Nintendo has announced new hardware, but it's not Switch 2.Watch on YouTubeNvidia's new restrictions come into affect at the start of 2025, but all existing subscribers - as well as anyone signing up before 31st December this year - will continue to get unlimited playtime until January 2026. The company also notes anyone currently subscribed to GeForce Now's Founders tier will retain their unlimited playtime hours for life, provided there's no lapse in their membership. Changing to an Ultimate subscription, however, will immediately apply the new terms, imposing the 100-hour monthly play limit from January 2026.In addition to its playtime limitations, Nvidia has announced a number of new GeForce Now benefits. Subscribers to the newly renamed Performance tier will soon be able to stream in 1440p instead of the previous 1080p, and ultrawide resolutions will also be supported. Furthermore, all Performance and Ultimate subscribers will be able to save their in-game graphics settings across streaming sessions.

Borderlands film "benefited" game sales despite being "disappointing" flop, Take-Two boss saysA feather in one's Claptrap.Image credit: Lionsgate News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Nov. 7, 2024 Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has an upbeat outlook on this year's Borderlands film, and said that the "disappointing" movie hasn't hurt the Borderlands video game series. In fact, it gave it a boost.It's fair to say that the Borderlands film did not take off to the degree many had hoped and will not exactly go down in a Hall of Fame alongside the likes of HBO's The Last of Us or Amazon's Fallout, both of which were praised by fans and critics alike.Alas, for poor ol' Borderlands, this year's Cate Blanchett-fronted film was instead branded a "disaster" and "huge misfire" by viewers. In fact, one review called it a "lifeless, unfunny, and visually repulsive dud". Eesh. The adaptation generated just $4m across 3125 locations on its opening day, before quickly getting shifted onto streaming services.Trailer for the Borderlands film. Watch on YouTubeZelnick commented on the film's performance last night during an earnings call for Take-Two. When an investor asked about the project and how it contributed to the company, Zelnick stated Take Two didn't "really need to break out the contribution from the film because while it was economically positive, it wasn't material" to the company's results."Even though the film was disappointing, it actually benefited our catalogue sales," he continued. "So that is a sign that making a movie or a television show based on our very high-quality IP can drive catalogue sales and that can be a good thing."That's not to say Take-Two is now going to go all in on film and television adaptations for its various IPs."All that said, we're really selective. And one of the reasons we have been so selective about licensing is we would really prefer that everything that comes out with our brands in it is really, really successful," Zelnick stated. "And we can't guarantee that, especially when it's out of our hands. So we have licensed other titles, we'll continue selectively emphasis on the word selectively."I now wonder what could be next...? Image credit: LionsgateEarlier this year, founder of Borderlands developer Gearbox Randy Pitchford defended the studio's recent flops such as the film by comparing the company to The Beatles. Writing on social media, Pitchford stated he was "going to keep making stuff" and subsequently brought the English rock band into the conversation.As for what is next from the series, Borderlands 4 was announced back in August. While the team at Gearbox has not announced a release date yet, it has said the game will be coming in 2025. It will be available across PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S.

Here is something I wasn't expecting to say today. The director's cut of Death Stranding is available on Xbox Series X/S now. Read more

League of Legends spin-off Arcane most expensive animated series ever, report saysApple of my Vi.Image credit: Netflix News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Nov. 6, 2024 Both seasons of League of Legends spin-off Arcane cost a total of approximately $250m USD to create and promote, making it the most expensive animated series of all time.That's according to a new report by Variety, with sources telling the publication the $250m figure covered production and promotion costs for Arcane's two seasons, comprised of 18 episodes in total. The show's first nine episodes are said to have seen a production cost "north of $80m", while the second set of nine episodes - which will make up the show's final season - reportedly had a production cost "approaching" the $100m mark.Variety claims development costs were pushed up due to "a labour-intensive approach and frequent cost overruns triggered by delayed script deliveries after the second season was put into production with only a fraction of the season written".Arcane: Season 2 Official Trailer. Watch on YouTubeIn addition, League of Legends developer Riot reportedly spent $60m promoting the first season of the animated spin-off, which released on Netflix in 2021. Variety says this figure is more than other studios would ordinarily spend to promote a show they weren't distributing.When the publication asked Riot about Arcane's price tag, Riot co-founder and chief product officer Marc Merrill said, "We're more than comfortable with the spend it took to deliver a show that was worthy of our players' time." Merrill refrained from confirming or denying whether the reported $250m figure was accurate.The Riot exec added the company's "ambitions in entertainment haven't changed" since Arcane's release. "We were never intending to operate like a traditional studio with traditional timelines," Merrill said. "What did change as we learned more was our expectations of ourselves: We realised that getting it right takes a lot more time than we'd originally expected, and so we recalibrated our development, output goals and teams with that in mind."Arcane's second season is set to air on Netflix, starting 9th November. As for season one, our Chris called it "a thrill, full of welcome colour and life" in Eurogamer's review (which was based on the first four episodes), although he still had a few reservations. Following its debut, Arcane subsequently won the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.

Take-Two doubles down on GTA 6 release date after delay rumoursKen Levine's Judas "TBA".Image credit: Rockstar News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Nov. 7, 2024 Grand Theft Auto 6 publisher Take-Two has doubled down on the game's expected late 2025 launch window, following earlier rumours that Rockstar could still delay the game's arrival.Take-Two's latest financial briefing last night pinned GTA6 to "fall of calendar [year] 2025", as previously expected. Other upcoming launches from the publisher include Borderlands 4 and Mafia: The Old Country - both of which simply have "fiscal 2026" launch dates. That means they'll arrive between 1st April 2025 and 31st March 2026. GTA 6's internet-breaking first trailer.Watch on YouTubeJudas, the long-in-development next game from BioShock creator Ken Levine, is listed with no firm launch window at all, meanwhile - it's simply down as "TBA". Back in February 2023, Take-Two had the game listed as launching by the end of March 2025 - something the publisher is no longer stating. We got a quick look at the game in December 2022 at The Game Awards (it looked a lot like BioShock!) and then saw a bit more in January of this year, but have heard nothing more since.Levine's last game, BioShock Infinite, launched in 2013 - over a decade ago. Judas trailer from January 2024.Watch on YouTubeFor now, Take-Two boss Strauss Zelnick has said that GTA5 - also released a decade ago - continues to "outperform" sales expectations, specifically through "sustained engagement" (and spending) in GTA Online. "Sales of Grand Theft Auto V outperformed our expectations and to date, the title has sold more than 205m units worldwide," Zelnick said. "Grand Theft Auto Online also exceeded our plans, driven by sustained engagement with the summer content pack Bottom Dollar Bounties and an array of updates, including the new multistage Assault on ATT-16 [ph] mode and experience improvements such as a new anti-cheat system for the PC version of Grand Theft Auto Online."Membership of the GTA+ subscription grew by 35 percent this year, Zelnick continued, as it added Rockstar classics such as Bully. Red Dead Redemption 2 has also continued to sell, and is now up to 67m sold since launch six years ago.Zelnick previously said not to expect GTA 6 to launch via any kind of subscription service, such as Xbox Game Pass or PlayStation Plus, because Take-Two's "decisions are rational".

20 years later, Konami confirms fan suspicions Metal Gear Solid 3's Eva was voiced by The Little MermaidUsing a name based on her childhood pet.Image credit: Konami News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 6, 2024 Well, here's another mystery to cross off the 'unresolved' list; 20 years after Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater's release, Konami has finally confirmed fan suspicions that Russian spy Eva was voiced by the same actor who player Ariel in Disney's The Little Mermaid.The identity of Eva's voice performer has long puzzled Metal Gear Solid 3 fans, given the person listed in the game's credit - one Suzetta Miet - didn't appear to be a real person at all. And while vocal similarities had led some community members to believe Miet was actually a pseudonym for Ariel voice actor Jodi Benson (although she was far from the only suspect), it's never been officially confirmed... until now.In the newly released third instalment of Konami's Metal Gear Solid Legacy Series documentary, charting the history of the franchise, Benson finally confirmed her Snake Eater involvement and shared a little more about how Suzetta Miet came to be. "When we recorded... in 2003," she explained, "just the various projects that I am affiliated with in my career are sort of family based, children-based, things like that. So it was actually [our director] Kris Zimmerman Salter; she kind of sat down with me and she's like, maybe we need to change your name."Metal Gear Solid Legacy Series - Part 3.Watch on YouTube"So she asked me, 'What was your dog's name growing up?'," Benson continued, "and I said, 'Suzette Monet'. So she's like, 'You know what, let's build on that. How about Suzetta? How about instead of Monet, the artist, we'll do Miet?', and I was like, 'Sounds like a deal!"However, Benson - whose other roles include Barbie in the Toy Story series and Thumbelina - admits some fans still managed to suss her out, even with the pseudonym. "Seven years ago, at various conventions when we meet and greet with wonderful fans," she went on, "somebody slipped one of these wonderful games to my table, and I said, 'Why are you bringing that?', and he said, 'Because you're in it.' And I said, 'Do you know? Do you know my deep dark secret?'. And he said, 'Yes! I do know', and I said, 'Shh, keep it quiet!'"Confirmation of Benson's role in Snake Eater comes as Konami continues its efforts to revitalise the Metal Gear Solid series following creator Hideo Kojima's acrimonious departure from the publisher back in 2015. Last year saw the launch of Konami's less-then-stellar Metal Gear Solid Master Collection: Volume 1, with Volume 2 still to come. First, however, it'll be releasing its Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, which still doesn't have a release date despite its 2024 launch window.

Sega's developing another Virtua Fighter gameAs it continues "legacy" revivals.Image credit: Sega News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 6, 2024 Sega's legendary Virtua Fighter series is set to make a return, the publisher has confirmed, some 18 years after the launch of its most recent numbered instalment, Virtua Fighter 5.Since then, there've been numerous updated releases of Virtua Fighter 5 (culminating with 2021's Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, itself a remaster of the earlier Final Showdow), alongside mobile instalments, and even a arcade update for Virtual Fighter 3. What series fans haven't had, though, is a brand-new game.But now, Sega's new global head of transmedia, Justin Scarpone, has offered some hope in an interview with VGC. "So we have a suite of titles in development right now that fall into that legacy bucket," he explained, "which we announced last year at The Game Awards; Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi."Sega announced a flurry of "legacy" revivals last year.Watch on YouTubeThen came the bombshell. "And we have another Virtua Fighter being developed," Scrapone added, before glossing over the revelation completely, "And then in certain instances, we're also doing animation series, or live-action films to augment that and be part of those roadmaps." It's not, then, confirmation a new mainline Virtua Fighter instalment is on the way exactly, but it's something to chew on at least.Despite announcing a flurry of legacy game revivals last year - including Crazy Taxi, Jet Set Radio, Streets of Rage, Shinobi, Golden Axe, "and more" - details remain limited. Sega has shared a little about its Crazy Taxi update - calling it an open-world, massively-multiplayer game that's "AAA" in scope - but it's yet to talk launch windows, other than saying it'll "release these projects in the coming years."

Take-Two sells Private Division label, confirms closure of OlliOlli World and Kerbal Space Program 2 studiosSix months after CEO insisted "We didn't shutter [them]".Image credit: Roll7 News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 6, 2024 Grand Theft Auto and Borderlands publisher Take-Two Interactive has announced the sale of its indie-focused publishing label Private Division. Additionally, the company has finally confirmed the closure of OlliOlli World developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2's Intercept Games, six months after CEO Strauss Zelnick insisted, "We didn't shutter those studios."Take-Two announced the formation of Private Division back in 2017, specifically to publish games from smaller independent teams. Since then, it's released the likes of Obsidian Entertainment's The Outer Worlds and Moon Studios' No Rest for the Wicked, set up a new development team - Intercept Games - to create a sequel to Kerbal Space Program 2, and even acquired Roll7, which later released OlliOlli World and Rollerdrome.However, 2023 brought word of layoffs at Private Division, and a flurry of reports this May suggested a major shift in strategy for the label. A previously announced publishing agreement with Silent Hill 2 Remake developer Bloober Team was cancelled, and mass layoffs were reported at Roll7 and Intercept Games, as part of five percent reduction in staff company wide, effectively bringing an end to the studios. That's despite CEO Strauss Zelnick later insisting, "We didn't shutter [them]". Shortly after, it was reported Take-Two was looking to sell Private Division amid word only a skeleton crew was left at the label to work on No Rest for the Wicked.Roll7's OlliOlli World released to significant acclaim in 2022.Watch on YouTubeAnd now, as part of its Q2 2025 earnings report, Take-Two has confirmed the sale of Private Division. "We recently made the strategic decision to sell [the] label to focus our resources on growing our core and mobile businesses for the long-term," Zelnick said in prepared remarks. "As part of this transaction, the buyer purchased our rights to substantially all of Private Division's live and unreleased titles." However, Take-Two - which hasn't revealed Private Division's buyer - will continue to support No Rest for the Wicked despite the sale."The team of Private Division did a great job supporting independent developers and, almost to a one, every project they supported did well," Zelnick said in separate comments made to GamesIndustry.biz. "However, the scale of those projects was, candidly, on the smaller side, and we're in the business of making great big hits." Additionally, a Take-Two spokesperson confirmed that Roll7 and Intercept Games were closed prior to the sale of Private Division.

Fear the Spotlight is the least scary horror game you'll likely ever play, but there's a tenderness to its storytelling that cannot be overstated here, even if some of it's a bit muddled. Why is it that games don't draw more often from the realms of musical theatre? I'd argue they're just as much a part of our cultural fabric as films and TV shows, but for whatever reason they very rarely manage to get a look in. Sure, they might not be the first thing that 30-something-year-old white men look for on their tapestry of pop culture references, but for a certain sub-section of the gaming population, a dialogue exchange riffing on the lyrics of Les Misrables, say (shout out to Subsurface Circular), is just as likely to elicit a delighted fist pump from me than yet another Twin Peaks reference in something like Alan Wake, for example.Fear the Spotlight reviewDeveloper: Cozy Game PalsPublisher: Blumhouse GamesPlatform: Played on PCAvailability: Out now on PC (Steam), Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One, PS4/PS5, and Nintendo SwitchI mention all this because Fear the Spotlight, the first game to be published by horror film company Blumhouse's new games division, directly riffs on Phantom of the Opera - a realisation that brought me so much joy that it was almost enough to smooth over its slightly rougher edges elsewhere. I love Phantom of the Opera. It is one of my favourite things outside of games, and I cannot tell you how heartening it is to see it crop up in this very gentle tale of a spooky high school sance gone wrong.Again, I realise that not everyone will react the same way to seeing broken mirrors open up to reveal hidden passageways or, indeed, peeling back plush, red velvet curtains only to find the most 90s school boiler room lair instead of a candlelit opera house grotto. But as a repeat offender of watching Phantom at the theatre, as well as the 2004 film about ten times more than is really necessary (not to mention reading the book on which it's based), I will always have a soft spot for anything that plays with its themes of longing and secret desires - especially when the phantom figure himself gets a honking great spotlight for a head, and whose piercing gaze will cause shy teen Vivian to wheeze and become short of breath if she gets trapped inside its blinding light. Honestly, pyramid heads are so last season here.Watch on YouTubeIt's a fitting conceit for Vivian's underlying struggle to expose and express her deeper feelings toward her best friend Amy, but steering clear of this wandering stage bulb is also how Fear the Spotlight keeps players on their toes between its brilliantly constructed Resident Evil-style puzzle segments. It's never particularly scary - tables and overturned desks provide plenty of cover for Vivian to crouch and hide behind during the fixed and predetermined moments he shows up, and once you've reached a door to enter another room, you can always breathe easy. This isn't a threat that will constantly pursue you like Mr. X, for example, and even if you do get caught, I was able to quite easily outrun him and make my escape. Vivian passed the point of no return when she agreed to break into the school library and steal the spirit board from their Halloween display so she could have a scary night out with her mate Amy. | Image credit: Eurogamer/Blumhouse GamesIt's very generous in that sense, even if it does take the bite out of its overall horror somewhat. It's hard to feel any lingering sense of danger when you can just put a lid on a game's main threat like that, and it's very easy for it to lose any kind of suspense when there's precious little else here working to keep up the tension. Fear the Spotlight doesn't do jump scares, you see (unless you count the creepy little gremlin lads that sometimes blink at you and shuffle about in the shadows), which will no doubt be great news for some, but it does also drain the game of any sense of dread or challenge anytime the phantom's not on screen. It's a horror game for people that don't do horror games, in other words, and will likely be a bit too safe and simple for anyone else.But Fear the Spotlight isn't just one big Phantom of the Opera riff. There's a second part to this tale, which has been freshly added to the game this October thanks to assistance from new publisher Blumhouse. This shows a different side of the story from the perspective of a character I'd be loath to spoil, and despite relocating the action to an altogether different setting, its mix of stealth and puzzle-fuelled exploration remains very much the same. Alas, it's here where Fear the Spotlight begins to feel a lot more muddled for me in what it's trying to achieve. For as we retreat into the entranced mind of the Christine Daa stand-in in Vivian's side of the story, it's not the world of musical theatre we find ourselves in anymore, but that of Hideo Nakata's 1998 film The Ring. Stranger than you dreamt it? Or is it that really a bloke with a giant lightbulb for a head? | Image credit: Eurogamer/Blumhouse GamesIt's an odd juxtaposition to say the least, but one that feels even more toothless and diluted than what came before it. Taking place across just two floors of an old house - as opposed to the much larger school of part one - its puzzles are just as cleverly constructed in this smaller and more intimate setting, but it completely misses how to make its claustrophobic, box-riddled corridors work with its main baddie - which, yep, you guessed it, is a dripping, long-haired woman who's gone a little too far with her backcombing.Fear the Spotlight accessibility optionsCamera sensitivity slider. Separate volume sliders for music and effects. Controller vibration slider. Separate sliders for TV filter effect, polygon wobble and ambient camera wobble. Subtitle size options. On/off toggle for clue highlights. Customisable key and controller bindings. Sadly, she's even less of a threat than old spotlight head in part one, as she doesn't even have the good grace to chase or stalk you half the time, and is seemingly just there to be an obvious metaphor for the character's troubled mother. It's a shame, as the first half seemed to really understand the core themes and tenets of what makes Phantom of the Opera tick. This second part, though, just seems content to pick and choose convenient motifs from The Ring without really getting to the heart of why it's still so damn scary all these years later. Instead, it's the puzzles that really carry this section, and while each exhibits the same wonderful tactility of pushing and pulling levers with your mouse - twiddling dials, lifting lids and clunking big chunky buttons into place as they did in part one - its weaker story elements can't help but like it's undermining it all in the process. Music of the night takes on a whole new meaning down here... | Image credit: Eurogamer/Blumhouse GamesAll that said, Fear the Spotlight is still an enjoyable way to spend five hours or so, and I really do love how the shifting textures of its PS1-era visuals make each part feel just a tiny bit otherworldly despite their very mundane settings. It won't scare you in the slightest, but there's a very sweet and tender-hearted love story sitting at the centre of this, and the excellent voice work from its central duo of Khaya Fraites and Maganda Marie bring real warmth and empathy to this pair of nervous teenagers. There might not be much to challenge you here, but if all you're after is the lightest of thrills then Fear the Spotlight will no doubt be music to your ears.A copy of Fear the Spotlight was provided for review by publisher Blumhouse Games.

BioWare damps down expectations for Mass Effect 5 news this week, ahead of franchise's N7 DayAttention focused on Dragon Age launch.Image credit: BioWare News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Nov. 5, 2024 This year's N7 Day - the annual celebration of Mass Effect held on 7th November - will be a "quieter" one than usual, developer BioWare has said. Writing on X, BioWare has told fans that N7 Day 2024 will still host "a little fun", but its attention was currently still focused on last week's big launch of Dragon Age: The Veilguard. Past years have seen BioWare release a trailer, concept art, audio snippets and logos for the upcoming Mass Effect 5 - now the studio's next project.Mass Effect 5 reveal trailer.Watch on YouTubeDetails of Mass Effect 5 remain thin on the ground, though we know it will see a return to the series' home turf of the Milky Way galaxy, and pick up the action several hundred years after the conclusion of the original trilogy. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Dragon Age: The Veilguard, meanwhile, is off to a strong start on Steam, though the game has been hit by user review bombing."It is the strongest and loudest answer BioWare could have mustered for the people still doubting whether it could do it," our Bertie wrote in Eurogamer's Dragon Age: The Veilguard review. "The answer is yes, emphatically. The Veilguard is spectacular. BioWare is back."

The Binding of Isaac's free online co-op mode finally has a release dateArriving with "considerable" balance patch.Image credit: Edmund McMillen News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 5, 2024 Somehow, The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth celebrates its tenth anniversary this week, and, to mark the occasion, developer Edmund McMillen has announced the poop-obsessed roguelike's long-awaited online co-op mode is getting its full release on 18th November.Online co-op for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth (that's the 2014 remake of McMillen's 2011 original, if you're unfamiliar), was initially announced in September last year. Since then, a number of beta sessions have been held for owners of Isaac's Repentance expansion.But now, a little over a year since online co-op was confirmed, McMillen has announced the mode will fully launch for everyone on 18th November. It'll support 2-4 players online, with its own completion markers, and arrives for free as part of a "considerable" balance update.The Binding of Isaac's Repentence expansion launches in 2021.Watch on YouTubeAccording to McMillen, this update "heavily focuses on buffing items [players] believe are lacklustre/bad." And while no additional details have been shared as yet, McMillen has posted some old Isaac-related design documents - including ending storyboards, boss designs, and enemy treatments - beneath his social media announcement.But if that's still not enough to get you into the celebratory spirit for The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth's tenth anniversary, the game and all its expansions are currently discounted on Steam until 11th November. There's 50 percent off the base game, and 41 percent off the Complete Bundle, which you'll need to get if you want the DLC.As for what's next for McMillen, his long-in-the-works cat-breeding roguelike adventure Mewgenics (initially announced all the way back in 2013) is expected to arrive next year.

Stardew Valley on mobile now includes a secret experimental multiplayer mode unlocked with the Konami codeA real turnip for the books.Image credit: ConcernedApe News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 5, 2024 Not content with throwing load of documented new features into Stardew Valley on mobile with this week's long-awaited 1.6 update, it turns out developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone also chucked in a pretty major unannounced one too; a secret experimental multiplayer mode is now available to mobile players, if they're feeling sufficiently brave.Barone confirmed the existence of Stardew Valley mobile's (now no longer) secret multiplayer mode in a message shared on social media, accompanying the reveal with a detailed guide on how to get it up and running. That process starts with the installation of this week's 1.6 update, available to download now, after which players will need to summon their powers of recollection and bash out the legendary Konami code - or most of it at least.Eagled-eyed players should notice four leaves festooning Stardew Valley's title screen logo once update 1.6 is installed: the one top-right points up, the one bottom-left points down, top-left points left, and botton-right points right. With that in mind, players then need to enter the following code by tapping the corresponding leaves: up, up, down, down, left, right, left, right. After that, it's simply a matter of poking the question mark at the bottom of the screen to reveal the main menu's hidden co-op session button.Eurogamer's video team playing Stardew Valley's multiplayer mode on PC.Watch on YouTubeFrom there, players can choose to either join or host a new multiplayer game, but hosts will first need to set up a farm, while those joining will require the host's IP address, as detailed in Barone's instructions. Additionally, all participants must be on the same network or connecting to a player who is port-forwarding their game. It's not, then, the most straightforward of solutions, but it does have the benefit that mobile players can also join a PC-hosted game via IP.Barone readily acknowledges the less-than-perfect nature of Stardew Valley multiplayer on mobile right now, noting connectivity issues "could make a multiplayer session frustrating, under certain scenarios". As such, he suggests the ideal way to play would be for mobile users to connect to a PC host using "high-end" devices on the same local network, rather than to, say, a mobile host attempting to play while on-the-go. He also warns the mode "might still have some bugs or issues", with a few additional notes shared in his guide.Stardew Valley's massive 1.6 update finally hit mobile and consoles earlier this week after launching for PC back in March. It adds, among other things, the ability to guzzle mayonnaise, a new farm type, new festivals, new crafting items, new dialogue, and, perhaps most importantly, hats for cats and dogs. It also includes everything featured in Barone's recent 1.6.9 patch for PC. All of which is to say, it's not too surprising to hear Barone hasn't done any additional work on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier, "in a long time".

Dragon Age trilogy remaster "wouldn't be easy", because hardly anyone at BioWare knows how its old engine worksBut "never say never".Image credit: BioWare/EA News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 5, 2024 Following a seemingly solid launch for Dragon Age: The Veilguard, there's probably a fair few series newcomers considering delving into the original trilogy. But anyone hoping for a Mass Effect: Legendary Edition style remaster shouldn't hold their breath; Dragon Age: The Veilguard creative director John Epler says the project "wouldn't be easy" because hardly anyone left at BioWare knows how the studio's old engine works.Mass Effect: Legendary Edition was well-received when it launched back in 2021, introducing the likes of improved performance and visuals, enhanced models, new lighting, gameplay tweaks, and more. It was a welcome finessing of a classic trilogy, and the kind of treatment most would probably agree BioWare's other beloved series deserves.However, in a recent interview with Rolling Stone (thanks PC Gamer), Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd creative director John Epler - who's been with BioWare since the original Dragon Age's release back in 2009 - noted that while he'd love to see the trilogy get the remaster treatment, it would be a challenge due to the games' proprietary engines.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. Here's a video version of Eurogamer's Dragon Age: The Veilguard reviewWatch on YouTubeUnlike the Mass Effect trilogy, which was developed in Unreal Engine 3, Dragon Age Inquisition was created using EA's Frostbite engine, while Dragon Age 1 & 2, more problematically, were built using BioWare's own Eclipse Engine. "I think I'm one of about maybe 20 people left at BioWare whos actually used Eclipse," Epler explained. "[Remastering Dragon Age is] something that's not going to be as easy Mass Effect, but we do love the original games."But there's perhaps some small hope for Dragon Age fans, given Epler didn't entirely shut down the idea. "Never say never," he added, "I guess that's what it comes down to."Of course, EA's interest in giving Dragon Age the Legendary Edition treatment - and indeed its continuing interest in the series as a whole - will likely hinge on the success of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, which appeared to get off to a solid start when it launched last week. The publisher hasn't yet trumpeted any official figures, but The Veilguard did manage an all-time peak of 89,418 concurrent players on Steam, setting a new record for a single-player EA game.What that means for The Veilguard's future is unclear, but speaking ahead of launch, Epler said BioWare's "full attention... has shifted entirely to the next Mass Effect", meaning it had no DLC plans, beyond "quality-of-life improvements and a handful of smaller content updates".Regardless of what happens next, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a bit of a treat. "What BioWare has managed to accomplish here, in the face of all the pressure it's faced since Dragon Age: Inquisition came out 10 years ago, is extraordinary," Eurogamer's Robert Purchese wrote in his five star review. "The Veilguard is exquisitely realised and full of sophistication across systems and storytelling. It's warm and welcoming, funny and hopeful, gentle when it needs to be, and of course it's epic - epic in a way I think will set a high bar not only for BioWare in years to come but for role-playing games in general. This is among the very best of them."

The Booze of Monkey Island is a fan-made mini-adventure that's more than ship-shapeGrog standard.Image credit: Bean Adventure Agency News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Nov. 4, 2024 A group of Monkey Island fans have come together to create their own, mini point-and-click adventure game based on Monkey Island series.It is called The Booze of Monkey Island, and project developer Bean Adventure Agency describes it as a "love letter" to the official Monkey Island games. Once again, players are popped into the shoes of Mighty Pirate Guybrush Threepwood, and once again, his love Elaine has fallen afoul of LeChuck. These are characters originally created by Ron Gilbert, as Booze of Monkey Island's creators acknowledge in the opening credits.The game starts with Guybrush in a destroyed ship, with a comatose pirate and a lot of debris standing between him and the way out. Of course, this being a homage to the point-and-click Monkey Island games, Guybrush can use objects around him to puzzle his way out of the ship, and onto the relative safety of Booty Island. Here, he makes a deal with the local bartender: convince three more patrons to frequent his bar, and he will help get Guybrush's ship seaworthy.Newscast: Video game TV and movie adaptations that need to happen. Watch on YouTubeI have played through the first few puzzle sections - which I won't spoil here in case you fancy taking your own dive back into the depths of the Caribbean - but I will say this: it is a pretty slick little fan-made project for fellow Monkey Island fans. It boasts fun dialogue, great graphics and the same atmosphere you would expect from an official game from Gilbert and company.Along with familiar locales, such as the Governor's Mansion, players will also come across some familiar faces as they explore Booty Island. This includes Wally and Kate Capsize. Meanwhile, conversations with those on the island reference things that happened in the official Monkey Island games. Image credit: Bean Adventure Agency Image credit: Bean Adventure AgencyI am not sure how long The Booze of Monkey Island will last. After all, it is not an official Monkey Island game, and, well, lawyers. But, if you like, The Booze of Monkey Island can be downloaded from Bean Adventure Agency on itch.io for free now.As for what Monkey Island creator Ron Gilbert is up to, earlier this year it transpired the developer is working on a new game, which he describes as "Classic Zelda meets Diablo meets Thimbleweed Park".

Remember being told in the school playground that holding Down and A when you saw your Pokball wobble meant you had a better chance of catching the creature inside?It was all nonsense, obviously, but that didn't stop the conspiracies from spreading. As an avid Pokmon Go player, I've seen similar rubbish spread via word of mouth at meetups, from players who insist you'll have better luck if you quit battles at a certain time/spend money/stand on one leg, and so forth.And so, with the launch of Pokmon TCG Pocket, it's unsurprising to see the same kinds of conspiracy theories spreading once again. Here, as you'd expect from a game essentially about paying to open digital card packs, the prevailing theories are all based on how to get better cards. First, one that seems like it has a chance of actually working. X user MetaTradingCo has suggested using your phone's screen recording feature to capture the game's Wonder Pick shuffle, so you can play it back in slow motion and work out where specific cards land. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Several theories spotted by ComicBook include one that X user hawaiinguy808 describes as a "pretty significant glitch". "If you do a Wonder Pick and skip the shuffling cutscene and immediately choose the spot that had the card you want, you will get it 90 percent of the time," they wrote, posting footage of an Articuno EX card as proof. To see this content please enable targeting cookies.Next up, "the folded crimp trick". This involves fondling your digital card pack until it faces sideways, then looking for a specific wrinkle in its packaging. "If you see it look a bit folded/wavy instead of perfectly straight, there's a hit in the pack," X user SteeloAndKri wrote. "It's not every time," they added. "Does seem to drastically increase hit rates though?" To see this content please enable targeting cookies.While we wait for a Pokmon theory that does actually pan out, here's a look back at how the actual Pokmon Red and Blue catching mechanics operated behind the scenes. Did you know that you didn't actually need to lower a creature's health down to 1HP for the best chance at capturing it? Now you do.We used to catch Pokmon wrong.Watch on YouTubePokmon TCG Pocket is already off to a good start, with more than $12m earned in four days.

Stardew Valley's latest update adds a new friend to retrieve lost items and moreArrives alongside 1.6 for consoles.Image credit: ConcernedApe News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 4, 2024 It's seven months since the launch of Stardew Valley's massive 1.6 update and developer Eric "ConcernedApe" Barone is still introducing new features and fixes for the beloved farming life sim; and that continues with today's 1.6.9 update - released alongside 1.6 for consoles - which, among other things, adds a new friend to retrieve lost items.More specifically, once Stardew Valley's 1.6.9 update is installed, players who've unlocked and then lost a unique item will find a special shop now materialises in the secret woods at midnight. Items that can't be re-obtained any other way will be available to purchase here for 10,000g, and Barone notes anyone can buy lost items in multiplayer.Elsewhere, players can now put legendary fish in fish ponds, albeit with a limit of one per pond. These will then produce legendary fish roe with fish having a unique water colour. There are also new Easter eggs, dialogue tweaks, JojoMart work portraits for Sam and Shane, and the ability to place beds and sleep in any constructed building (as long as they permit furniture). Additionally, objects dropped in water now float, meaning there's a short time to retrieve them.Eurogamer's video team playing Stardew Valley's then-new multiplayer mode back in the day.Watch on YouTubeThat's on top of balance changes and quality of life updates, including improved automatic save game recovery and tweaks that'll resend most achievements, recipes, and important mail if players manage to miss them. Stardew Valley's 1.6.9 update is available now on PC, and full patch notes can be found on Barone's website. Additionally, all 1.6.9 features are included in the game's mayonnaise-guzzling 1.6 update, which arrives on consoles and mobile today.Whether that's it for Stardew Valley updates remains to be seen; Barone hasn't shared his plans for the farming life sim beyond his 1.6 console release, but he did previously admit he'd been so "committed to finalising Stardew 1.6", he hadn't done any additional work on his next game, Haunted Chocolatier, "in a long time". So probably don't expect news on that anytime soon.

Star Wars Outlaws' "biggest update yet" detailed as new creative director comes onboardJulian Gerighty now focusing on The Division.Image credit: Ubisoft News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 4, 2024 Ubisoft has detailed Star Wars Outlaws' "biggest update yet" ahead of its arrival later this month, sharing the news in its first developer blog since former creative director Julian Gerighty's departure to focus on The Division brand, including The Division 3.Gerighty confirmed he'd soon be handing over the Star Wars Outlaws reigns in an interview with GamesRadar last month, explaining, "It's been announced that I'm executive producer on The Division, so these are my last weeks [on Outlaws]". And now, new creative director Drew Rechner has provided a look ahead at Star Wars Outlaws' future.Rechner highlighted "three key areas in which we're looking to improve the game" in a new developer post, starting with combat, where he sees a "real opportunity to add more depth and excitement... further rewarding your tactics and precision." Stealth, meanwhile, will see improvements to "readability and consistency of enemy detection" while also "providing choice in how you want to approach each encounter."Eurogamer's Ian Higton gets very excited about Star Wars Outlaws in VR.Watch on YouTubeDeveloper Massive Entertainment's final focus is character controls, with the studio looking to improve "the reliability of cover... the responsiveness of climbing and crouching [and] the consistency of the controls overall." All this is set to be addressed in Star Wars Outlaws' Title Update 1.4 release on 21st November, and Rechner says specific details on the planned changes will be shared in the "upcoming weeks" .21st November is also the day Star Wars Outlaws comes to Steam (Ubisoft will, of course, be bringing all its new titles to Valve's platform on launch day starting February next year), and the same day the game's first story expansion, Wild Card, releases.Star Wars Outlaws' 1.4 update marks the latest in a series of patches designed to "polish and improve the player experience" following Ubisoft admission earlier this year that sales had been "softer than expected". At the time, Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot said the development team was "fully mobilised" to update the game "in order to engage a large audience during the holiday season [and] position [the game] as a strong long-term performer".

Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown compensating players with in-game items following rocky launchAs studio acknowledges "dissatisfaction".Image credit: Nacon / Eurogamer News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 4, 2024 Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown players will receive several in-game items as "compensation" for September's troubled launched, which developer KT Racing has acknowledged was marred by "technical and server difficulties" resulting in customer "dissatisfaction".Anyone that played Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown prior to its first major patch on 30th September will automatically receive two unique items in their inventories, both coinciding with Season 2's launch sometime after 18th December.The first of these is a custom-built Adventurer edition of the 1986 Porsche 911 Carrera Coupe, "fully equipped for the island's off-road roads". Eligible players will also receive a pack of five stickers that can be used to customise their cars.Jim explores two new Xbox 360 throwbacks, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown and Space Marine 2.Watch on YouTubeBefore their arrival, however, Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown is set to receive a second major patch, currently scheduled to launch on 5th November. This primarily features graphical enhancements for PS5, but there's also talk of optimisations for Xbox Series X/S and PC, alongside network upgrades, improved peripheral compatibility, and numerous bug fixes - as detailed on Steam, where the game is still rated Mostly Negative. The Porsche 911 Adventurer edition players will receive as "compensation". | Image credit: KT RacingEurogamer contributor Mike Channell detailed Solar Crown's technical woes when he reviewed it in September, finding them severe enough that the game received two stars out of five. "Test Drive Unlimited Solar Crown's only hope is that it can keep its technical niggles at bay," Mike wrote, "and that its novel, lovingly crafted recreation of Hong Kong Island is enough to claw its way to cult favourite status among genre fans and digital tourists."

New York Times tech staff striking, asking readers not to play Wordle and other games in solidarity"Management is more willing to risk our election coverage than... agree to a fair deal."Image credit: Eurogamer News by Matt Wales News Reporter Published on Nov. 4, 2024 New York Times tech staff have begun strike action in protest of alleged unfair labour practices, and are asking people not to play the Times' games - which include the likes of Wordle and Connections - in order to "honour the digital picket line".The strike, which started today after "multiple rounds of intense bargaining" with management failed to reach an agreement, has been organised by The Times Tech Guild, a union covering 600 workers responsible for the creation and maintainance of the technology powering the New York Times' website and games.According to a statement shared by the NewsGuild of New York - the labour union representing over 6,000 workers at news organisation in the area - the Times Tech Guild had raised a number of key concerns with management prior to today's strike. These include remote/hybrid work protections, "just cause" job protections (which the Times' newsroom is said to have had for "decades"), subcontracting limits, and pay equity/fair pay.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. When it costs 700, who exactly is the PS5 Pro for?Watch on YouTubeTimes management are accused of engaging in "numerous labour law violations" during the bargaining process, including the implementation of a return-to-office mandate without bargaining, and the intimidation of staff through "interrogations about their strike intentions".As a result, the NewsGuild of New York has filed unfair labour practice charges against the Times covering "numerous" violations of labour law, and work stoppage began at 12.01am ET on Monday with Tech Guild members picketing outside its Eighth Avenue entrance. Additionally, its newsroom union has pledged not to do struck work, as per their contract.The Times Tech Guild's strike action is set to continue daily from 9am to 6pm if no progress is made during negotiations - threatening to impact the Times' US election coverage this week - and the union is asking readers to "honour the digital picket line and not play popular NYT Games such as Wordle and Connections as well as not use the NYT Cooking app.""Our union members and bargaining committee have done everything to avoid this ULP strike," Tech Guild unit chair Kathy Zhang said in the statement. "But management is more willing to risk our election coverage than they are to agree to a fair deal with its workers. They have left us no choice but to demonstrate the power of our labour on the picket line. Nevertheless, we stand ready to bargain and get this contract across the line."In a response provided to Polygon, New York Times spokesperson Danielle Rhoades Ha said, "We look forward to continuing to work with the Tech Guild to reach a fair contract that takes into account that they are already among the highest paid individual contributors in the Company and journalism is our top priority."We're in one of the most consequential periods of coverage for our readers and have robust plans in place to ensure that we are able to fulfil our mission and serve our readers. While we respect the union's right to engage in protected actions, we're disappointed that colleagues would strike at this time, which is both unnecessary and at odds with our mission."

Lords of the Fallen PS5 Pro update promises 40% increase in pixel densityUmbral bundle.Image credit: Hexworks News by Victoria Kennedy News Reporter Published on Nov. 4, 2024 Developer Hexworks has shared details on Lords of the Fallen's PS5 Pro update.As with games such as Alan Wake 2 and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Lords of the Fallen will benefit from that 'Enhanced' label on the PS5 Pro's release this week.In Lords of the Fallen's case, this will see a 40 percent increase in pixel density. In addition, it will boast an enhanced Performance Mode, which means 1440p at 60fps (Upscaled to 4k). Quality Mode, meanwhile, will offer players 30fps at 4k.PlayStation 5 Pro Hands-On: 11 Games Tested, PSSR and RT Upgrades Revealed, Developers Interviewed! Watch on YouTubeAs well as getting its game ready for the PS5 Pro, Hexworks has also released a patch for the base game. Patch 1.6 - as it is known - will include gameplay adjustments, steps to "further enrich the onboarding experience for new players" and a "more immersive" Umbral Realm, to name a few.Hexworks specifically highlighted the below improvements, which arrive with Patch 1.6:Mob Density: Based on your feedback, weve fine-tuned certain mob encounters to create a smoother, more immersive combat experience by isolating instances to prevent mobs from stacking up. Returning players may find it worthwhile to start anew, as weve added a few fresh surprises along the way! (Original enemy distribution and density can still be accessed via NG+ modifiers.)Ranged Enemies: Weve adjusted the perception of certain ranged units to correct instances that felt unfair or unrealistic.Jumping: Platforming in Pilgrim's Perch has been refined with improved indicators, making jumps clearer and navigation smoother.PvP Scaling: To elevate skill-based play in PvP, weve rebalanced scaling mechanics, particularly where magic-infused weapons and spells are concerned. These tweaks apply exclusively to PvP, so PvE players can continue with their current builds unaffected.Attack Displacement: Some weapon attacks have received slight adjustments to reduce displacement, providing a greater sense of control while preserving effectiveness and supporting your playstyle.In addition, the team has said performance will be improved in some of Lords of the Fallen's more graphically challenging areas. Eurogamer's Lords of the Fallen review criticised the game for its poor performance, but the developer has been steadily offering improvements on this.Today's patch will leave players feeling more "empowered" on their journey, Hexworks said. Full notes can be found via Steam. Lords of the Fallen is now available on Steam and Epic Games Store, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, and PlayStation 5 Pro from this Thursday. Image credit: HexworksAs for the further future, earlier this year, it was revealed that a follow-up to Lords of the Fallen is fully underway. The sequel is said to be targeting a 2026 release.

Xbox Game Pass November line-up announcedAs Like a Dragon titles set to leave subscription.Image credit: Microsoft News by Tom Phillips Editor-in-Chief Published on Nov. 4, 2024 Microsoft has announced its Xbox Game Pass line-up for the first half of November, which will be headlined by Metal Slug Tactics, Goat Simulator Remastered and Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024.But you'll only get these new games included in your subscription day one if you're an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass subscriber, or (for now at least) if you're a continuing member of Xbox Game Pass from before Microsoft's recent changes.Otherwise, the month's line-up includes a selection of titles already available to members of the above subscription options, that are now available to the new Xbox Game Pass Standard tier.Microsoft's Xbox Game Pass titles for November are:Metal Slug Tactics (Cloud, Console, and PC) - 5th November (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass)Go Mecha Ball (Console) - 6th November (Now with Game Pass Standard)Harold Halibut (Xbox Series X S) - 6th November (Now with Game Pass Standard)The Rewinder (Console) - 6th November (Now with Game Pass Standard)Turnip Boy Robs a Bank (Console) - 6th November (Now with Game Pass Standard)Goat Simulator Remastered (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X S) - 7th November (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass)Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X S) - 19th November (Game Pass Ultimate, PC Game Pass)Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 release date trailer.Watch on YouTubeAs ever, whenever Microsoft giveth, it also taketh away. This month, a couple of Like A Dragon titles are set to leave Xbox Game Pass, as well as Persona 5 Tactica and Dicey Dungeons. Xbox Game Pass games leaving on 15th November:Dicey Dungeons (Cloud, Console, and PC)Dungeons 4 (Cloud, Console, and PC)Goat Simulator (PC)Like a Dragon: Ishin! (Cloud, Console, and PC)Like a Dragon: The Man Who Erased His Name (Cloud, Console, and PC)Persona 5 Tactica (Cloud, Console, and PC)Somerville (Cloud, Console, and PC)For everything else in Microsoft's subscription service, you can check out our handy Xbox Game Pass guide detailing the many titles available.

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Arkham's Batman is the perfect companion for a spooky night of funThe long Halloween.Image credit: Warner Bros / Eurogamer Feature by Christian Donlan Contributing Editor Published on Nov. 3, 2024 Every Halloween I return to the Arkham games. It's as much a ritual of mine as playing Super Mario World in the lead-up to Christmas - a personal yuletide delight I absolutely recommend. Batman is made for Halloween, for shadows and hauntings and pumpkin faces leering from misted windows. He dresses up. His enemies dress up. They plan tricks. He's a total treat.Normally I head to the first game, Arkham Asylum, because it has the bit with the second Batcave that I love so much, and because, for me, it's best at capturing the all-in-a-single-night feeling that these games draw so much potency from. This Halloween, though, I headed somewhere else, to Arkham City, the second game in the series, and its challenge rooms.To see this content please enable targeting cookies. The recent Arkham Shadow captures a bit of the magic.Watch on YouTubeThere is a reason for this. Over the last few weeks, Arkham challenge rooms have been blowing up on Tiktok. I can't scroll for more than five videos without seeing one. The challenge modes are Arkham at its best - just you, dropped into a single, complex map, with a bunch of goons to take down. Sounds simple? It would be, but you have to stay away from brawling, because you'll get shot to pieces. Instead you have to use everything else in the Batman arsenal: the gadgets, like explosive gel, Batarangs and smoke bombs, your traversal skills, such as the glide and the the grapnel swing, and the environmental stuff - weak walls you can knock through, grates you can dive in and out of, gargoyles you can hang from.Let's start there, in fact, because I will go to my grave believing there is no sweeter pleasure in life than the perfect inverted takedown in the Arkham games. You're up on a gargoyle, monitoring the patrols of oblivious baddies far below you. You spot one moving close. You duck underneath the gargoyle, and the screen catches a wonderfully surreal glimpse of that bat cowl hanging upside down, its ears pointed earthwards. Then the button prompt! The elastic drop and pull of the rope, the echoing clap of sound that means your enemy is out of it, and then you leave them trussed up and you move on. Image credit: Warner Bros / EurogamerI love this move - it's my absolute favourite - and this means that I tend to abuse it. Given a room with five baddies and five gargoyles, chances are I'll finish the match with nothing but inverted takedowns. But I've started to wonder: maybe this move has been holding me back. Tiktok seems to suggest as much, with displays of ingenuity that see Batman moving around the environment for ages before attacking, rigging every spot with something nasty for his foes, before waiting for the right moment and clinching victory in a single second. Three gels go off. A Batarang flies. A wall explodes. A final swoop and thump and it's done. Like magic.It turns out I can't play like that. I've tried, this Halloween, in two great Arkham City maps, covering Wayne Manor's main hallway and the Batcave. These are great maps, tricksy, intricate and deeply evocative, hallowed ground for any real Batfan. But when I try to get all precise on them, when I try to plot and plan and move unseen, I get clumsy, or I get distracted by something. Is that a moving bookcase? I love those! Is that the Batmobile parked on its own plinth? The pre-Arkham Knight Batmobile? My soul! And then, distracted, the plan falls apart around me. Image credit: Warner Bros / EurogamerAt least it falls apart with a bit of flair, though. A stray Batarang will miss its target and just alert people to my presence, or I'll trigger the gels I've carefully laid down while trying to move the camera. I'll switch off Detective Mode to take in the scenery just as three baddies round a corner and catch me off-guard. I'll glide, but then press the wrong button and fall to the ground in front of everybody.But it's moments like these, when things go terribly wrong, that the game reveals its true brilliance, if you ask me. Challenge rooms are fun if you just breeze in, picking people off as chance allows. And they're fun if you try to plan and micro-manage the whole thing like you're playing Mousetrap. But they're most fun, and they make you feel most like Batman, I reckon, when all these impulses converge. You're planning something clever, and it works, but it leaves you exposed, so you have to freestyle. You run away, but not for long. You're a cameo in these goons' lives before you take them down for good. Image credit: Warner Bros / EurogamerI genuinely think this is what Batman is all about, particularly in the Arkham games, which had the genius to turn him into a hyper-evolved glass canon. Batman changes things up on the fly, reacting as much as acting, switching tactics as easily as he switches gadgets, and using absolutely everything - tools, movement, the environment - to get the job done.So while I love to see the Tiktok brilliance on display as Arkham virtuosos play challenge rooms as if they were concert grand pianos, I like my Bob Ross, happy accident way of playing too - stumbling now and then, taking in the sights, dropping back for a bit and then coming up with a new way of proceeding.And it reminds me of something. Long before Tiktok, back when Arkham Asylum was first on the scene, I went to a preview session where the developers just showed the challenge rooms. A lot of us journalists were a little disappointed initially: you want a bit of campaign to write about, a bit of plot to speculate with. But actually, it was a stellar move, a show of real confidence. These challenge rooms are Arkham's Batman captured in a single moment. They display everything that's ingenious and potent and frightening about him. I remember we played all afternoon that day and had to be turfed out of the venue. And over a decade later, every Halloween, I'm still back at it again.