Netflix has given us our best look yet at its upcoming animated series, Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft.
The show is scheduled to make its debut on the streaming service this autumn, and features the vocal talents of the MCU's Hayley Atwell as Lara Croft. It's all set to take place after the events of the Tomb Raider Survivor trilogy, which comprised Tomb Raider (2013), Rise of the Tomb Raider and Shadow of the Tomb Raider.
"Following the events of the Survivor Trilogy, Lara Croft (voiced by Hayley Atwell) has abandoned her friends to embark on increasingly more perilous solo adventures," reads the official blurb. "But she must return home when a dangerous and powerful Chinese artefact is stolen from Croft Manor by a thief with an uncanny personal connection."
The Sunday Times has revealed the UK's top 30 wealthiest developers and gamers, including Rockstar's Sam and Dan Houser (#4), Frontiers' David Braben and Wendy Irvin-Braben (#10), and Rebellion's Chris and Jason Kingsley (#14), and Hello Games' Sean Murray (#17).
Other names on The Sunday Times Gaming Rich List include Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg (#25), Alastair "Ali-A" Aiken (#30), and KSI and The Sidemen (=#21).
Two Legacy of Kain games are being re-released, but for the Evercade retro handheld console.
The Legacy of Kain Collection will include both Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain and Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver on one giga cart priced £22.49.
The collection will release next month and will be available to pre-order from 30th August. It's compatible with all Evercade and Super Pocket devices.
In our house I am the master of channels. I am the one who unsubscribes from services we’re not watching, re-subscribes to services when there is something for us, and makes sure we don’t get signed up until a show we’re interested in has a full season available.
A mere four years ago we were at a point that felt almost like a renaissance of streaming content… we were all stuck inside and in need of something to do and streaming channels were there to deliver. And then we got a vaccine, decided the pandemic was over, and realized that maybe we didn’t need a subscription to 17 different streaming services.
Netflix
Meanwhile, all the players who got into the streaming service game, having been lulled by the seemingly effortless success of Netflix, found themselves in a bit of a bind as they found this was not a cheap and easy path to riches even as people began trimming back on their subscription count. This led to the need to raise prices, which drove even more people to dump their offering.
Still, the strong will prevail and, after some closures and a series of mergers… there are still probably too damn many channels. More than we can afford to subscribe to continuously, so this is where we are at.
After more of four years of peaks and valleys and industry strife, these are the channels we end up watching.
The Long Haul Keepers
These are the services which we remain subscribed to pretty much always. They have, on some level, a reason or a proven value to keep them around.
Netflix
This is the one service we subscribe to continuously and watch most regularly, and it is largely because they throw more content at us than any two or three other services combined. Sure, a lot of it is garbage, and most of it isn’t for us, but every Friday night they have a selection of content added to their service to choose from.
Add in that they drop a full season at a time so you can binge to your heart’s content and that they have probably one of the best apps by most measures, and you can see why I never bother to put Netflix on the bench.
Finally, their app works. It is fast, responsive, comprehensible, and doesn’t assume I can read the tiny title card from across the room. It also skips the “previously” section if I just watched the previous episode and lets me skip the beginning and end credits successfully.
That said, they just announced that they are cancelling my $12 a month plan and enrolling me in a $7 a month plan with ads. Netflix promises it will just be a couple of ads at the beginning of some programming, but we’ll have to see how it goes. The other alternative is $18 a month for no ads, and then we’re getting into the “you need to prove your value every month” zone of streaming services.
Amazon Prime Video
I think it is just called Prime Video honestly, but I always put “Amazon” in there to remind myself that this is part of our Amazon Prime subscription, which is something we keep even when we’re not watching any of their shows.
So, technically, it is the other service we subscribe to continuously, but if my annual Prime member ship was just for it, I would cancel it in a heartbeat. But I get other benefits from my Prime membership that make it worthwhile, so technically we subscribe to Prime Video.
The problem is that while they occasionally pull off something good… the recent Fallout series is a “prime” example… there otherwise isn’t a lot of new content there, and much of what is new isn’t very good. If you missed some straight-to-video bad science fiction film, Prime is apparently where they all end up.
It is also very much in the business of bait and switch, where they will get a series from another service like Starz or MGM+ and show you a season… or, in one case, the first season MINUS the final episode… the prompt you to subscribe to that service… through them, of course, so they get a cut… which does not make me happy. I have gone off and subscribed due to this at times, though I always go directly to that service, like Starz, and contract with them direction so Prime does not get a cut.
This is, in part, out of spite, but also because the Prime Video app isn’t great. It is not the worst, but it is at best mid-pack. It is slow, it can be hard to see, browsing for shows is not great, and it is really hit and miss about whether it will let you skip the “previously” or opening credits and just hates when you try to skip the end credits to start another show. This is likely, in part, to them just showing a lot of content from other services, which they put the minimal effort into adapting to their app.
Finally, despite paying for access to Prime, if I don’t want to get ads during shows, I have to pay extra. This, as you might expect, irks me and I will not pay their ransom. The only upside to this is that they don’t show ads on all content, though amusingly some content an ad comes up to tell you the video will be ad free thanks to a specific sponsor, for who an ad then plays.
TL:DR – Not great, but comes with a package I never cancel.
Apple TV+
Apple is in an interesting niche in that it is just cheap enough and the content is high enough quality that I don’t rush to cancel our subscription. There isn’t a lot of new content, and they are still wed to the “let’s stretch out people’s subscription time by showing one episode a week because maybe, this time, we’ll have the next Game of Thrones and everybody will need a full week to discuss the show” routine, which I find irksome.
Our house rule is we don’t start watching anything until it is six episodes in.
The app is also not the best. When you have something selected on scree it makes that item about 5% larger than it was when not selected, so I often have to move the selection a couple of times to see what has focus on screen. It is a pain in the ass to just go watch the next episode if you stopped at the start of the credits last time you watched a series. It wants to resume from exactly where you left off unless you fish around in the app to fine the page for the full series that has the episode list.
But the app does at least run pretty well for us. I will give it that.
And, like I said, there isn’t a ton of new content. It is the Anti-Netflix, which just throws a constant stream of new content at you. So we spend a lot more time watching Netflix because we’ll take a chance on an episode or two of something new or watch some potentially bad movie on a Friday night because the commitment feels low and there are many other options if we bail.
KQED Television
I almost forgot about this. I give public television a regular monthly payment which gives me access to their regular lineup of shows and whatever they import from the UK via Masterpiece Theater. We used to have half a dozen public television channels in the SF Bay area that each had their own varied content. They all got scooped up by KQED in San Francisco over the years. We almost never watch this these days, unless I want to go back and re-visit one of the Ken Burns documentaries, but technically we’re continuously subscribed. At least when you stream you are not interrupted by pledge drives every few months.
Xfinity Stream
Also, I should mention this because, due to the fact that Comcast is our only internet provider option and that they make sure that internet bundles are cheaper if you include cable TV, we still have cable TV at our house. But on the rare occasion when we want to watch it, we watch it using the app on our Roku Stick. And, live TV with ads… this is how animals watch TV, right? Just sitting there and being force to watch whatever is “on” at that very moment? How did we survive this?
The Frequent Recurring Subscriptions
These are the services that we are often subscribed to, but which get turned off now and then when we run out of content.
Disney+
I will echo what I have heard many other say, which is if I still had pre-teen children in the house, I would never unsubscribe from Disney+. It is also the one stop shop for all things Star Wars and the MCU and the entire 35 year life of The Simpsons.
But our daughter is now a college graduate and my nostalgia for the Disney catalog and the other properties they own isn’t all that strong. So we’re willing to unsub from this one when we’re done with whatever the latest Star Wars series is. And, because Disney+ is still locked into the “one episode a week” ploy to get people to string out their subscription for an extra month or two, we don’t subscribe until a season is set.
The app itself is pretty good. It does group up content well enough and is responsive and doesn’t crash on our Roku stick.
Hulu
Some very decent original content. Will subscribe when a new season of something is out. They do adhere to the “one episode a week” thing, so I wait until seasons are complete. They do also get Fox and FX stuff, and at one point I watched literally all of the available episodes of Bob’s Burgers while also watching all available episodes of Archer, both of which feature H. Jon Benjamin voicing the lead role, which was quite a trip.
The app is okay, though it isn’t well organized. They like to put the “continue watching” piece of the UI way down the main page and prefer to promote their new stuff, so you really have to bookmark the things you like and go to your personal page to get what you want out of the app.
Starz
One of the relics of the premium cable channel era, somewhere down the list from HBO and Showtime, its once niche with us is the period piece dramas like The White Queen, The Spanish Princess, and The Serpent Queen get us to subscribe for a while. They also feature a lot of movies, but everybody has a lot of movies and they are almost never the ones I am in the mood for at any given moment, so somehow that rarely works out.
Paramount+
We originally came here to watch Yellowstone then found that this is where all of the Star Trek content lives as well as having a cross programming agreement with Showtime, so there is kind of a lot here. However, we can get a bit burnt out on it as well. We’ll watch a few seasons of this or that then stop watching for a while, at which point I will turn off the subscription. But we do return.
AMC+
This is the channel for all things Walking Dead, which my wife is still into because of the soap opera-like drama. As I noted previously, after a season or two of zombies, people really became the main enemy, while zombies would only show up when the plot demanded. Decent channel, not too expensive, and AMC has quite a bit of original content. When something pops up we’ll subscribe for a while.
The At Need Only Channels
These are the services that we only subscribe to for very specific reasons, then cancel ones we’re done.
Max
You would think they would be better at this whole streaming things, having been in on that business since the HBO Go app, their first cut at streaming, launched back in 2010. Then again, the whole thing hasn’t been the same since the end of Game of Thrones.
The old HBO business model was to get people subscribed based on a few prestige series and maybe first access to films that had recently left the theaters, which worked well enough in the age of cable TV and the early days of streaming. Now films don’t see to be the draw they once were, there are a ton of competitors, and they haven’t quite hit another big winner.
I mean, they can get a show like Succession that gets a lot of awards, but I think Netflix puts out a show about once a month that gets as many or more viewers, and a hit on Netflix will get 5-10x the viewers.
And at one time we would stay subscribed to HBO for years at a stretch. Now, however, with the consolidation under the Max brand and the removal of back seasons of some shows, and other shows entirely, and their lack of anything really new and good… we went back last to watch season 4 of True Detective and it was okay, but I cancelled the service once we were done
Peacock
This was an okay service the first few times we have subscribed, and they did a credible job with the Olympics recently. I mean, I cannot blame them directly for NBC cutting away from the opening ceremonies to watch the US team standing around waiting to get on their boat. I know the French are… uniquely French I guess… but they’re still more interesting that Snoop Dogg trying to engage random strangers in conversation or Kelly Clarkson repeating “Oooh, look at that” over and over. And past that, if you wanted to watch very specific competitions, they let you. So maybe the most accessible Olympics when it came to video.
But beyond the Olympics it has been degrading as a service. They are going hard on ad revenue with a cheap subscription. The problem is that I am fully willing to buy the more expensive ad free option, but they now show you the version of the content that has been cut up for ad injection… without the ads. What this means is that every so often the show pauses for nearly a full second while the server apparently has to decided on the fly whether or not an ad gets played or not, then moves on when the result comes back negative.
That doesn’t sound bad, until you learn just how many ads Peacock thinks they should inject into 30 minutes of television. It quickly becomes annoying out of all proportion to the actual duration of the interruption. It isn’t completely unwatchable, but it just pulls me out of the show and makes my brain think, “Oh, here is another place where they would have put an add had I not given then an extra $8 for a month of service.”
Also, “ad free” did not apply to Olympic coverage, and I am still salty about that.
The Odd Outsiders
Services we have tried once and haven’t really felt the need to return to.
Acorn & Britbox
I am lumping these two together because they share the same problem, which is the US view of British television after having been raised on US public television cherry picking the very best and putting it on in front of us via Masterpiece Theater. We think everything produced in the UK is sophisticated and urbane, performed by actors who are veterans of the Royal Shakespeare Company, with performances delivered in that very specific BBC news reader accent, written by over educated graduates of Cambridge and Oxford, which holds a mirror up to life while making historical and literary references that mean we have to keep Wikipedia to hand in order to keep up.
Some of us grew up on a diet of things like I, Claudius and House of Cards and Monty Python and it skewed our perception.
So a pair of channels filled to the brim with British television content seems like heaven.
The problem is that Upstairs, Downstairs or Downton Abby are not the prototypical British programming, the pinnacle to which the island strives; Benny Hill is. And even that is a huge cut above the average. There are a lot of simply unwatchable, predictable, crap shows on Acorn and Britbox.
Finding that for every Prime Suspect there are a dozen dreadful police procedurals out there, often hampered for US audiences with incomprehensible UK regional accents and slang, is enough to burst the myth of British television superiority. You’re just as bad as us at this TV thing and it is a miracle when you can build a season of television on even three hours of actual content. At least in the US when we crank out mediocre content, we get 8, 10, 16, even 22 episodes out the door.
I’ll go back to letting US public television cherry picking for me, thank you.
So yeah, we’ve been through both of these channels and found that the good stuff we’ve seen already elsewhere and the rest… is usually not the good stuff.
MGM+
We subscribed to this because of a Prime Video bait and switch with the show Monsieur Spade. They had some content worth watching, but not enough to keep us subscribed and, lacking another screw job from Amazon, there isn’t anything there we’re dying to watch. I think all the Bond films are available there… but I also have them all on DVD so I am excused from every having to watch them because there are just right there, I could watch them any time I want.
Tubi
Technically not a subscription service but a free ad supported venue, one of my nieces that works in Hollywood… I have two such nieces… was working as a producer here so we gave it a try. Oh man, ads suck, and injected ads suck at least 3x as much because if they don’t have enough ad buys, they will just show you the same damn ad two or three times back to back.
If the future is ad supported, they need to work on that. It is awful. Anyway, my niece has another job so I do not feel the need to engage with Tubi anymore.
Conclusions
We wished for a bright future of on demand entertainment where we could select and watch anything we wanted. But we wished on the monkey’s paw, and as the finger curled down, we were given a patchwork landscape of competing services, shifting content availability, and difficult UIs.
I think the biggest problem is just know what there is out there to watch. My least favorite thing these days is to sit down on the couch and have my wife ask, “So what should we watch?” This portends me using the remote to scroll through large sections of half a dozen services to find something that looks good.
This, btw, is why Netflix wins so often for us. They at least always have something new, something we’re willing to invest at least a bit of time into. And after about fifteen minutes of my wife vetoing this or that I’m ready to just put anything on so I can stop this futile quest for content.
Using the Roku for streaming helps, as it will search all channels and services for programming and find it. But you have to know what you are looking for. If you are doing the streaming equivalent of channel surfing on a Friday night there are just too many places to look.
I know we don’t want to go back to half a dozen channels where you watched what was on or nothing at all, but there was a simplicity to it and a limited scope where you could glance at the TV listings and just decide to read a book or go play a video game.
So what are you watching these days? Which channel scratches your itch? And is there any decent new science fiction shows out there? Is Orphan Black: Echoes any good? Might have to re-up AMC+ if it is.
PC gamers have almost too many options when it comes to titles to play, which is a great problem to have. With decades of games to choose from (and the first port of call for most indie titles, too), the options are endless. You also get the perks of (nearly always flawless) backward compatibility and console-beating graphical performance — if you've got the coin for it when you’re building your perfect kit or picking up a high-powered gaming laptop. The whole idea of what a gaming PC is and where you can play it is shifting, too, with the rise of handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck. We've tried to be broad with our recommendations here on purpose; here are the best PC games you can play right now.
Best PC games to play right now
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-best-pc-games-150000910.html?src=rss
Square Enix announced that the PC version of Final Fantasy 16 will launch on September 17 for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. A demo for the game featuring the first hour is also available now. Final Fantasy 16 will cost $49.99 for PC. A Complete Edition featuring the game and its DLCs will also launch for $69.99. A PC release date trailer was also released. Final Fantasy 16 launched on June 22 for PlayStation 5 and has sold over three million units thus far.
The game’s details:
An epic dark fantasy where fates are decided by mighty Eikons and the Dominants who wield them. This is the tale of Clive Rosfield, a tragic warrior who swears revenge on the Dark Eikon Ifrit, a mysterious entity that leaves naught but calamity in its wake.
The First Fully-fledged Action RPGin the Mainline Final Fantasy Series
An epic dark fantasy world where the fate of the land is decided by the mighty Eikons and the Dominants who wield them. This is the tale of Clive Rosfield, a warrior granted the title “First Shield of Rosaria” and sworn to protect his younger brother Joshua, the dominant of the Phoenix. Before long, Clive will be caught up in a great tragedy and swear revenge on the Dark Eikon Ifrit, a mysterious entity that brings calamity in its wake.
Titanic Clashes – When rival Dominants come head to head, epic battles between their Eikons ensue!
Eikonic Action – Clive utilizes the powers of multiple Eikons in breakneck battle!
From Strength to Strength
A plethora of powerful swordplay techniques and Eikonic abilities lie within Clive’s remit—and it is up to you to decide which ones you wish to learn or upgrade. If you’re having trouble choosing, upgrades can be unlocked automatically.
Story-focused mode is recommended for those players who are less comfortable with action games and wish to focus more on the game’s story elements. In this mode, Clive will automatically evade some attacks, and epic Eikonic combos can be triggered with simple button presses. Action-focused mode, where Clive’s every action is controlled by the player, is available for those who are confident in their skill—or want to test it.
In a recent live panel discussing the development of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, director Naoki Hamaguchi revealed that the upcoming and final Final Fantasy VII Remake installment will be “even bigger” than the other two games. “When I think about the third and final game in the Remake trilogy, it really does fill me with excitement, and I have such great expectations toward it as well,” he said. “I really hope the fans can have great expectations toward this game, and we will meet those expectations. We will definitely expand on and make the world of Final Fantasy 7 even bigger than it is now.”
Hamaguchi also noted that work continues on the third installment and expects it to beat expectations and expects it to be one of the most popular games in the history of video games. “The development team is hard at work as we speak, and we’re going to make the game something that even beats any of the expectations that you have towards the game,” he added. “I am absolutely confident that the third game in the Final Fantasy 7 Remake series will be one of the most loved, most popular games in the whole history of video games once again.” Final Fantasy VII Rebirth launched on February 25 and is available now for PlayStation 5.
The game’s details:
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is the second entry in the Final Fantasy VII remake project, which retells the story of the iconic fantasy game that redefined the RPG genre in three distinct games.
Final Fantasy VII Rebirth picks up with iconic heroes Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith and Red XIII after they escape from the dystopian city Midgar and sees them embark on a journey in pursuit of Sephiroth, the vengeful swordsman from Cloud’s past who was thought to be dead.
In this standalone adventure, players will explore an expansive world, all brought to life with a new level of graphical fidelity, developed specifically to leverage the power of the PlayStation 5 console.
As players unravel a gripping narrative rich with mysteries to uncover, they will also witness the personal journey of each party member and strengthen their bonds to work together and face off against powerful enemies.
Final Fantasy XIV is on its fifth expansion, and with that comes two new jobs for our Warriors of Light to master. Dawntrail's release means that Pictomancer and Viper – both damage dealers (or DPS) – are newly available to play. But they're far from the only options.
Final Fantasy XIV is now officially up to 21 main jobs, as well as one limited job with a second on the way. A continual evolution of specified playstyles means that with every new level cap, each job gets tweaked a little, making it the perfect opportunity to dive into something new.
SUPERJUMP has a handy guide for anyone not certain what job to level next, homing in on what each excels at, the drawbacks, and its playstyle.
2.0 A Realm Reborn
Final Fantasy XIV's base game includes the original base class to job evolution. Your journey from levels 1 - 30 are as your selected base class, and upon reaching level 30 you receive your corresponding job stone and are able to move through the job questline. You'll need to complete one of these regardless, as not only does the game require you to pick a discipline during character creation, but every other job introduced in the later expansions begins at or after level 30.
You'll progress through the job quests through to level 80. These job quests also grant certain actions upon completion, so not completing them means you'll be missing the necessary skills. They're a must.
Tanks
Class Quest: Way of the Gladiator - Level 1, Gladiator's Guild
Paladins are primarily party-defensive tanks, with a skillset suited to mitigating damage to the whole party. In comparison to the three other tanks, Paladin is more "buff"-heavy, meaning they can do more to protect the at-large group and even heal other members, but also have to balance the uses of their abilities. Play-wise, there might be a little negotiating with party-wide damages and preemptively knowing when wind-ups for big hits might benefit from popping a little extra protection on everyone. They also have some skills that require casting.
Class Quest: Way of the Marauder - Level 1, Marauder's Guild
Job Quest: Pride and Duty (Will Take You From the Mountain) - Level 30, Marauder's Guild
Warriors are tanks focused more on damage and self-preservation. They've got nifty self-healing abilities that are notoriously convenient for running content solo. They lack Paladin's more party-based defense strategy, but their invul ability – Holmgang – is an endure-like ability that keeps them from falling below 1 HP for 10 seconds and is similarly as basic in use. Warrior is often considered extremely beginner-friendly due to its self-sustaining abilities and a forgiving rotation.
So, if you prefer a bit of tunnel vision when tanking – in not necessarily having to worry about party buffs, and instead focusing on yourself and fight mechanics – Warrior is the way to go.
DPS
Class Quest: Way of the Lancer - Level 1, Lancer's Guild
Job Quest: Eye of the Dragon - Level 30, Lancer's Guild
Dragoons have a storied history in Ishgard. They're the poster job for Heavensward, and they also used to be affectionately known as floor tanks. They're very leap-oriented, so it's important when playing Dragoon to know your position on the board and be able to accurately understand where your dismount might land you, although this has become less of a pain in recent updates. Dragoons are also positional, meaning that damage is increased depending on the position in which you're executing certain skills.
These positions are usually the rear and flank (often on bigger enemies or bosses) and straight lines for mobs. Dragoons have a pretty solid starter kit with a very focused and straightforward rotation. Battle Litany, acquired at level 52 by way of job quest, provides more utility for the party, but otherwise, this job is a dedicated slice and dicer.
Class Quest: Way of the Pugilist – Level 1, Pugilist's Guild
Job Quest: Brother From Another Mother – Level 30, Pugilist's Guild
Monks move fast and hit hard. They're a close-range melee and are great if you're looking to be able to run around the board and dodge mechanics without having to worry about cast times or more explicit positionals. Unlike Dragoon, there's a fair bit of flexibility in how (and when) exactly you want to execute certain actions, but this also makes the job a little more of a balancing act. Monk has different "forms", and transitioning into these will determine the nature of the rotation in use. There are positionals in the coeurl form, but the other two – Opo-opo and Raptor – are more general in dealing damage. Monk has a generally loose, weavy feel during combat, with constant upkeep of moves and little downtime.
Class Quest: Way of the Archer – Level 1, Archer's Guild
Job Quest: A Song of Bards and Bowmen – Level 30, Archer's Guild
Bards are the songsters of the group, and like their inspirational counterparts, they have more utility for the wider group in the form of music-based actions that offer increased critical hit rates, healing, and more to all party members within range. Bards are also less strict in their rotations and have room for maneuverability in playstyle. Because of this focus on the wider group, Bards have somewhat of a responsibility (especially in higher-end content) to understand the use and timing of certain critical skill buffs.
In addition – you ever hear anyone playing the harp in the overworld? Leveling Bard also allows you to unlock instruments, which will provide you with a plethora of ways to play actual music on a variety of instruments.
Class Quest: Way of the Thaumaturge - Level 1, Thaumaturge's Guild
Job Quest: Taking the Black – Level 30, Thaumaturge's Guild
Y'shtola of the Scion is a dedicated black mage – a powerful spell-caster who can literally call down meteors on foes. Black Mage is a caster, meaning that you will have some downtime in readying spells, making the class a bit more difficult if you're dodging mechanic-heavy fights. There's a long-running joke that Black Mages refuse to move for certain AOEs when they're in their ley lines, which reduces cast time for a quicker rotation. It reflects a pretty real sacrifice of the playstyle, in that mistakes in your rotation when balancing the element gauge while having to dodge can result in a loss of built-up DPS. It is widely considered one of the best DPS damage-wise though.
Class Quest: Way of the Arcanist – Level 1, Arcanist's Guild
Job Quest: Austerities of Flame – Level 30, Arcanist's Guild
Summoners utilize the unique ability of summons, or "pets", to help deal damage. There are three main summons which, after the carbuncle phase, will become Garuda-egi, Ifrit-egi, and Titan-egi. Later levels see your ability to unlock Bahamut and Phoenix, which are pretty fun to unleash onto the field. Summoner is also one of the few DPS classes that has a resurrection ability, so they're able to assist healers if the party is taking heavy losses during a high-level raid or trial.
Class Quest: My First Daggers – Level 1, Rogue's Guild
Job Quest: Peasants by Day, Ninjas by Night - Level 30, Limsa Lominsa Lower Decks
Ninja is a notoriously busy job, with high DPS and constant damage-dealing. There's little downtime, and there are windows in which you have to execute high burst damage. It's a very mobile class with some positionals, so there's a lot of flexibility in movement if you're trying to easily get out of the way of AOEs and other telegraphed attacks. This makes it a good choice for dodging mechanics, but the rotation can get busy, be demanding, and require focus.
Healer
Class Quest: Way of the Conjurer – Level 1, Conjurer's Guild
White Mages are the traditional healers, with the bulk of their actions focused on casting strong burst heals instead of regen abilities or shield actions, meaning the play is a bit more reactive to what's happening in a fight than it is preemptive. As casters, this also means you run up against a similar issue as Black Mage, although thankfully this is offset by a great set of off-global-cool down (oGCD) skills that consist of instant heals and a pretty big heal-potency buff. They're also the only job questline that gets a mount at low level, so if you want to snag a unicorn by level 30, this is your place to do it.
Class Quest: Way of the Arcanist – Level 1, Arcanist's Guild
Job Quest: Forgotten but Not Gone – Level 30, Arcanist's Guild
The great thing about Scholar and Summoner is that they're both derived from the Arcanist class, so you really can level 2 jobs for the price of one until level 30. Scholars have a little more of a detailed playstyle, considering they've got a "pet" that, while autonomous, can do with a little guiding. Scholars are considered shield healers, which means they have a heavier focus on regen abilities and protective spells, but they're also pretty flexible.
Since this job has designated pet commands, it allows for greater situational specificity and adaptable play. This also means it's a bit of a hard sell if you like a less cluttered hot bar.
Heavensward
2015's Heavensward brought three new jobs into the rotation, one for each of the roles. The starting city - Ishgard - is full of towering Gothic structures and continual gales of snow. You'll find each starting quest line for the new jobs housed here, with no more class quests as a prerequisite. While you'll need to have completed the base game MSQ to unlock them, they all start at level 30.
Tank
Job Quest: Our End – Level 50, The Pillars
Dark Knight is well-beloved for having one of the more emotionally potent questlines in the game. Some level it explicitly for that, but Dark Knight is a popular tank for a reason, and it's only partially because of its cooly gothic aesthetics. Like Warrior, Dark Knights can cause a lot of damage, but they have fewer self-sustainability abilities. You can also summon a shadow to fight with you at level 80, which adds to the whole job's vibe.
One of the more complicated aspects is in its invul ability, Living Dead, which allows you to essentially live past a hit that takes you to 0 HP, but you have to reach that 0 to activate your following ability, Walking Dead, which allows your dealt damage to provide big HP regens. This is a nifty ability when applied right but can also backfire in a way that Warrior or Paladin's invul abilities can't.
DPS
Job Quest: Savior of Skysteel – Level 50, Foundation
Machinists are the gunslingers of the group, able to fire off from a distance with consistent damage. Unlike Bard, they have no real party buffs, meaning they're more focused on dealing damage. By level 40 Machinists gain a rook companion that runs, essentially, on its "battery" charge, and can only be in battle for so long. Machinists have a fairly dedicated rotation, so there's less concern about how flexible a player has to be under pressure. They're great if you want to blend more into the damage-dealing background.
Healer
Job Quest: Stairway to the Heavens – Level 50, The Pillars
Astrologians are a bit more complicated than their other healing counterparts. They function on the use of cards that can be applied to certain members of the party based on their own job classification. For example, if the Balance card is drawn, it's best applied to a melee DPS or a tank for that extra few percentage points of buffed damage dealing. Knowing what cards apply to what classes makes this job a fair bit more difficult to master, in that there's some memorization needed under pressure, and the preemptive needs of the abilities means you'll have to read the tells of content mechanics more closely.
Stormblood
The third expansion arrived in 2017 and brought two new DPS jobs. This time the starting city is the jumping-puzzle playground of Kugane, but you won't find the jobs here – they're both unlockable in Ul'dah, and the only prerequisite is that you reach level 50, as they both start at level 50. This would start the trend of each new job introduction at expansion launch being twenty levels below the current max level. This also means they're only ten levels below the previous expansion's max, and since you're starting Stormblood at 60, you'll only need to level up by 10 to go through the MSQ with a shiny new job.
DPS
Job Quest: The Way of the Samurai – Level 50, Steps of Nald
Samurai is the heavy hitter of the melee DPS, in that it is a pure damage dealer. It lacks any party buffs, so the focus of the job is considered more selfish, an ideal choice for those who don't want to have to worry about when and how to execute certain buff abilities on other players. As a melee class, Samurai can also easily move around while still executing actions. It's a good starting class with high yields of damage, where you can focus, really, on just wailing on the enemy.
Job Quest: Taking the Red – Level 50, Steps of Thal
Red Mages are a bit of a mix between casters and melee classes. They see-saw between the white and black mana use and function slightly similar to black mages in the balancing out of particular spell affiliations. You also have engage and disengage abilities that, if well timed, allow for easy outs from AOEs as needed. Red Mages are also sometimes cheekily referred to as "Rez-Mages" for their Verraise ability when paired with their Dualcast trait (meaning the next spell has no cast time) for a great combo in high-end content. Conversely, it can also put some extra pressure on you if you want to fly a bit more under the radar. Luckily, you don't have to really worry about that until level 64 – and even then, its only real constant usefulness is in bigger party content.
Shadowbringers
Lali-HO! Shadowbringers is the expansion everyone talks about. It broke some ground after doing away with the slightly daunting job quests, and instead consolidated all roles into dedicated role quest lines. This was a four-way split to tank, healer, magical ranged DPS and physical DPS role quest lines. Luckily, these don't grant abilities like the job-specific quest lines do, so you can complete them at your leisure in later expansions – although they are required reading in Shadowbringers.
Tank
Job Quest: Makings of a Gunbreaker – Level 60, New Gridania
Gunbreaker is a high-damage tank with a rotation that feels very DPS-like to a lot of players. It's got flashy moves and versatility in what kind of tank it needs to function as, so in content with two tanks, like higher-end trials, Gunbreaker can more easily adjust to the playstyle best suited to complement the other tank. Its invul ability, Superbolide, is fun in that it immediately reduces your HP to one while offering a window of 10-second invulnerability. Superbolide does have a pretty big tell (in that the HP just whooshes to one) but hey, as I've been maining White Mage lately, that's what Benediction's instant full heal is for!
DPS
Job Quest: Shall We Dance? – Level 30, Lower Decks
Dancers fall in with Bards at the lower end of the damage-dealing spectrum in exchange for great party-wide buffs. Specifically for this job, you can select a "dance partner" with whom you can share all the benefits of your personal buffs, so it's best to choose a high-yield damage dealer like Samurai. There's a fair bit of flexibility with Dancer and it's an easy job to dodge with, making it a good selection for newcomers. It's also got something of a dancing mini-game at the end of a rotation, making it feel a little more cheerful than some of the serious jobs.
Endwalker
All good things end, and we mark the finale of a 10-year saga with the release of 2021's Endwalker. This also marks the first new job – Sage – that would be endemic to Final Fantasy XIV itself. These jobs are unlockable in the starting cities of Ul'dah and Limsa Lominsa, so you can grab them as long as you've reached level 70.
Healer
Job Quest: Sage's Path – Level 60, Lower Decks
Sage is considered a shield healer, meaning that nearly its entire toolkit is dedicated to preventative or pre-planned healing. This makes the job the opposite in utility of White Mage, which excels in topping up low numbers. Sage is all about preventing the numbers from getting that low in the first place, and they've got quite a few skills aimed at assuring damage is mitigated. It's best suited to players who like to be proactive rather than reactive and works wonderfully if you can reduce greater damage right off the bat. If stuff does hit the fan though, Sages aren't necessarily equipped with instant burst heals as readily as White Mage or Scholar.
DPS
Job Quest: The Killer Instinct – Level 60, Steps of Nald
Reaper calls the aid of voidsent to assist in battle. It's a very aesthetic job, sharing the vibes of Dark Knight in its particularly emo attire. Unlike most other melee jobs, it doesn't have as many positionals to remember, and also features an ability to become possessed by a voidsent, allowing you a burst window of high damage dealing. Reaper is flexible and considered easy to initially learn, making it a great entry point for those new to melee DPS.
Dawntrail
Announced at 2023's Fan Festival in Las Vegas, Square Enix unveiled Dawntrail, ushering in a new arc for the game's central story. It's a much sunnier venture – with vistas and cities inspired by South American cultures and rite of succession on the line. The two main jobs each start at level 80.
DPS
Job Quest: Enter the Viper – Level 80, Steps of Nald
Viper is the newest melee DPS and boasts extremely high damage. It's also a much more straightforward job than some of the other melee DPS jobs, meaning your hot bar won't be quite so busy. Lacking any real party buff skills, Viper is a more selfish playstyle focused solely on dealing damage and can grant itself its own buffs. Its combo also has more tells, making it easier to execute under pressure, as there's more guidance for what to press and at what times.
Job Quest: The Joy of Pictomancy – Level 90, Old Gridania
Pictomancer is a unique job that's got an...interesting playstyle. There's also something unintentionally hilarious about seeing players bust out a giant cartoon hammer while fighting a massive enemy that might be responsible for ending the world as we know it. Pictomancer focuses on painting certain rotations for its job gauge, and these can be applied situationally. You can also "pre-load" certain skills by painting them on your canvas, allowing you easy access to them as needed. It's a change of pace from other jobs that follow similar patterns, making Pictomancer a pretty fun pick.
So there you have it, 10 years of Jobs in the epic universe of Final Fantasy XIV. Let us know if the comments if you'd like to see more guides from our team.
The demo for Visions of Mana was recently released across platforms, allowing me to check out a chapter of the upcoming RPG from Square Enix and Ouka Studios. Given my experience with the Mana series, I had an approximate knowledge of what to expect from this demo, though it exceeded these expectations in quite a […]
Content leaks have been an ongoing controversy in the entertainment sphere for decades, effecting every industry from film, television, to comic books and print novels. While fans obviously want to know everything they can about an upcoming release, it can be easy to forget just how harmful leaks can be to the people working on a project.
Dubbed one of the “biggest leaking disasters” in the anime industry’s lengthy history, the recent Netflix leaks that’s caused highly anticipated shows like Dandadan, Ranma 1/2, and Arcane Season 2, and more to be partially or fully leaked online has fans and industry professionals in an understandable outrage.
How Did So Many of Netflix’s Biggest Animated Releases Get Leaked?
While details are still sparse at this time on how the site was hacked, online sleuths have speculated the leaker may be located in Japan due to the content being recorded in Japanese and lacking subtitles. The leaked footage from these episodes are low quality and covered in watermarks, which seems to suggest that many of them were still in production when the files were taken.
This leak isn’t just a bad look on Netflix’s part, it’s also extremely harmful for the team’s involved in each of these series’ and film’s productions. Fans and professionals alike are furious over this series of events, and many are urging the streaming to giant to make an official statement.
This is our hard work. It is meant to be released on its due date, something we, as animators, really look forward to.
It is incredibly disrespectful and just straight up annoying. You think you are doing some kind of service to the community but you are not. https://t.co/UX0lCrZbuZ
Nobuo Uematsu, the renowned composer behind iconic video game music such as the Final Fantasy series, will hold a special concert event titled "Nobuo Uematsu con TIKI SHOW" in Tokyo. The performances are scheduled for October 5-6, 2024, at Otemachi Mitsui Hall, and tickets are now on sale to the general public. Uematsu will be joined by his band "con TIKI".
View the announcement video below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-7MqqkU-7s
The concert will feature a mix of Uematsu's classic game compositions, including tracks from Final Fantasy VII and Final Fantasy X, as well as original works. Attendees can expect to hear pieces like "Melodies of Life" and "Isn't it wonderful," alongside newer compositions from his latest projects.
In addition to the musical performances, the event will offer special opportunities including a limited-edition commemorative sticker and a chance to meet con TIKI members including Nobuo Uematsu during a post-show handshake session. There will also be a lottery for photo opportunities with the band.
Uematsu previously appeared on The First Take alongside vocalist Loren Allred, where they performed the Final Fantasy VII Rebirth theme song, “No Promises to Keep.” Uematsu played the piano while Allred, performing in character as Aerith, provided the vocals.
Tickets are available through Lawson Ticket, Ticket Pia, and e-plus.
The Sunday Times has published its first Gaming Rich List 2024, which includes the top 30 richest game developers and players in the UK.
Playrix founders Igor and Dmitry Bukhman topped the list, who have earned an estimated £12.54 billion. They also ranked at No.27 on The Sunday Times Rich List 2024.
Improbable co-founder and CEO Herman Narula came in second with £780 million, followed by King co-founder and former CEO Riccardo Zacconi at £410 million.
The official Kingdom Hearts soundtracks for HD 2.5 ReMIX, Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days, Dream Drop Distance, and HD 1.5 ReMIX are now available via the Square Enix Store. Each comes as a three CD set except for HD 2.5 ReMIX, which contains four CD's.
There are four soundtracks in total, including music from across seven games in the franchise. The music is created by composers such as Tsuyoshi Sekito, Yoko Shimomura, and Takeharu Ishimoto. Each is a re-release of products that originally debuted between 2011 and 2014, while the Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days CD set also includes some extra music from the Japanese exclusive Birth by Sleep FINAL MIX release. The soundtracks for Birth by Sleep & 358/2 Days, Dream Drop Distance, and HD 1.5 ReMIX are available for $30.99 each, while the one for HD 2.5 ReMIX costs $42.99. Each is expected to ship sometime in September 2024.
The original soundtracks for Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 ReMIX, Birth by Sleep, 358/2 Days, Dream Drop Distance, and HD 1.5 ReMIX are now available via the Square Enix online store. Each product is expected to release sometime in September, 2024.
During GamesCom 2024, Netflix Games officially announced Squid Game: Unleashed, a new mobile multiplayer battle royale inspired by viral Korean show Squid Game. The title places players to a brutal competition, during which they must outlast their opponents in a series of deadly challenges both familiar from the original series and new. While a specific release date has not yet been announced, the game is expected to launch "soon."
You can watch the official announcement trailer from gamescom 2024 below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0nXN7nz9Es
Squid Game: Unleashed will feature ragdoll physics and cartoon violence, adding an exaggerated twist to the gameplay based on the deadly series. Players will compete in online multiplayer matches, navigating through various twisted contests based on the original show’s deadly games, as well as new games inspired by classic childhood activities.
This release comes as part of Netflix's broader push into gaming, which includes the formation of its first in-house game studio in Helsinki, Finland, led by former Zynga and EA executive Marko Lastikka. Netflix has been expanding its game library, which includes titles like Before Your Eyes and Into the Breach.
Squid Game: Unleashed is set to be released on mobile platforms through the Netflix Mobile App. The first season of Squid Game is on the service now, with season 2 debuting on December 26, 2024. The reality show based on the property is also on Netflix.
Square Enix released a Chrissy Costanza music video for the FFXIV “Give It All” Arcadion Raid song, as well as shared the official English lyrics for the track. The song debuted alongside the 7.01 Dawntrail Raid AAC Light-heavyweight Tier.
In FFXIV, you hear the song “Give It All” during AAC Light-heavyweight M4. The Orchestrion Roll for the track is also a basic rarity reward from a Treasure Coffer from the fight. The idea is that Wicked Thunder is “performing” the track. In reality, it is a The Primals song with Costanza providing the vocals. Previously, the company shared the track following its release. However, now the additional video and lyrics are also available.
Here are the full, official “Give It All” FFXIV Arcadion Raid song lyrics:
Tonight our city bleeds red, blue, and green As I walk in the dark unseen
Yet like the grey the sky is draped in The colors in my heart have faded
Gone They're gone They're gone All gone
A girl looks to the stars and dares to dream On the world she'd make her mark, it seemed
This phantom in my mirror starin' back I realize that girl is
Gone She's gone She's gone I'm gone
Climbed every mountain, made it to the top I had it all, or so I thought Traded tomorrow for a lie And found the price too high
The clock is ticking counting down to naught I'm outta time but it won't stop I'll bet my life before it's lost That final line I'll cross
There ain't no going back No going back No going back No
What light's left here inside I'll suffocate If that's what it takes, oh
And those who look to cast me aside or turn their backs and leave me to die
You can try, can try, come try, But I will survive
No going back No going back Won't ever (no) Never again, no
Ain't no going back No going back No coming back from the edge
Look in my eyes, yeah I know you understand (somebody help, my misery's taking me) I've made up my mind, now there ain't no going back (somebody help, I'm losing what's left of me) I've made up my mind, now my heart's demanding I'm ready to fight til there's one left standing Tonight, lightning'll strike, thunder will fall (and) You're gonna give it all
To me To me To me To me, I gotta believe You'll set Me free
Tonight my circle finally comes complete One last step from the dark, I breathe
The music's swellin', crowd is chantin' And for this moment fear's an after-thought It's gone It's gone All gone
I look out to the crowd and there I see A thousand little girls--all me
I've turned the tables, yeah I'm fightin' back I'll bring the lightnin', now it's
On It's on It's on You're gone
Climbed every mountain, made it to the top I had it all, or so I thought Traded tomorrow for a lie And found the price too high
The clock is ticking counting down to naught I'm outta time but it won't stop I'll bet my life before it's lost That final line I'll cross
There ain't no going back No going back No going back No
What light's left here inside I'll suffocate If that's what it takes, oh
And those who look to cast me aside or turn their backs and leave me to die
You can try, can try, come try, But I will survive
No going back No going back Won't ever (no) Never again, no
Ain't no going back No going back No coming back from the edge, no more
Next, here’s the “Give It All” music video from YouTube, which features gameplay footage from FFXIV, Solution Nine, and the Arcadion Raid. Note there are spoilers for all the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier fights in the video below, and not just the Wicked Thunder one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU-swmCxVM
Both standard and Savage versions of the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier Arcadion fight are available in the game. The more difficult version of the Raid debuted at the end of July 2024 in patch 7.05.
Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Arcadian Raid series are part of the Dawntrail patches.
Final Fantasy XVI will soon be getting a new weapon on PS5 in the form of the Brave Blade. The weapon, which was first seen in Final Fantasy V, is currently available as a pre-order bonus for the PC version of the game, although PS5 players have been reassured that the weapon will also be available for them in the future.
When will the Brave Blade come to Final Fantasy XVI on PS5?
The Brave Blade will be available for PC players when the game is released on September 17. Square Enix has said that “it will be added to the PS5 version at a later date,” although they haven’t clarified exactly when that “later date” will be.
The Brave Blade may look familiar to Final Fantasy V fans…
Pre-purchase Final Fantasy XVI on PC to receive yours at launch on September 17th. It will be added to the PS5 version at a later date. #FF16pic.twitter.com/4dhDwB9wKw
Other PC pre-order bonuses include the Cait Sith Charm (Gil Boost Accessory) and the “Sixteen Bells” Orchestrion Roll. Both of these are already available in the console version. The charm was available to PS5 players who pre-ordered the game. Meanwhile, the Orchestrion Roll was available as a promo code from a Taco Bell promotion.
The PC version of Final Fantasy 16 will finally be available more than a year after the game’s release on PS5. However, staggered releases may become consigned to history as Square Enix aims to “aggressively pursue a multiplatform strategy that includes Nintendo platforms, PlayStation, Xbox, and PCs.” The aim is that more players can enjoy its major franchises and AAA titles.
FF16 director Hiroshi Takai also told GamesRadar+ that “I think it’s possible – probably even likely” that future Final Fantasy games could see a day-one release on multiple platforms. However, he did add that “the team in charge of each project gets to decide its own policy, so this is just my personal opinion.”
Last year was a major milestone for Final Fantasy XIV, as it marked the 10-year anniversary for the relaunched game. So what do you do for the next year? Well, it should be obvious: You hold the 11-year anniversary event. And that’s just what the game is doing when the newest incarnation of The Rising […]
For Battle Bards’ penultimate episode, Syp and Syl explore some EPIC battle music across many MMOs. After all, if we’re going to go out in style, that style’s going to be loud enough to blast a hole in your eardrums! We also learn that nobody likes the Flute Guy. Battle Bards is the world’s first, best, […]
We’ve gone through a lot of different names for what are now being called Allied Societies in Final Fantasy XIV, but I think this one finally captures both what the idea is for these quests and the space that FFXIV has narratively staked out for these quests. It was one thing when it was Amalj’aa […]
The recently launched magic life sim Spellfarers Update 0.511 arrived with “lots of fixes, including to cooking, a new stove for Ilo’s kitchen, minor transmutations, and more. Witches can now properly specialize in moon magic by casting the magic specialization spell.” And this is just the beginning of the rest of the news! Read on for a […]
A new level cap in Final Fantasy XIV means that MOP’s Chris has some catching up to do for some of his alt jobs, and since he’s feeling the urge to do some tanking, that’s just what he’ll be up to! Join him and his crew today at 2:00 p.m. EDT for another round of […]
When a beloved player falls, a studio may honor that memory by including him or her as part of the game world. While our headlining picture isn’t the first time we’ve seen such an inclusion, it’s nevertheless heart-touching. “Death comes to us all but this player was very active in game, on the forums and […]
Square Enix released a Chrissy Costanza music video for the FFXIV “Give It All” Arcadion Raid song, as well as shared the official English lyrics for the track. The song debuted alongside the 7.01 Dawntrail Raid AAC Light-heavyweight Tier.
In FFXIV, you hear the song “Give It All” during AAC Light-heavyweight M4. The Orchestrion Roll for the track is also a basic rarity reward from a Treasure Coffer from the fight. The idea is that Wicked Thunder is “performing” the track. In reality, it is a The Primals song with Costanza providing the vocals. Previously, the company shared the track following its release. However, now the additional video and lyrics are also available.
Here are the full, official “Give It All” FFXIV Arcadion Raid song lyrics:
Tonight our city bleeds red, blue, and green As I walk in the dark unseen
Yet like the grey the sky is draped in The colors in my heart have faded
Gone They're gone They're gone All gone
A girl looks to the stars and dares to dream On the world she'd make her mark, it seemed
This phantom in my mirror starin' back I realize that girl is
Gone She's gone She's gone I'm gone
Climbed every mountain, made it to the top I had it all, or so I thought Traded tomorrow for a lie And found the price too high
The clock is ticking counting down to naught I'm outta time but it won't stop I'll bet my life before it's lost That final line I'll cross
There ain't no going back No going back No going back No
What light's left here inside I'll suffocate If that's what it takes, oh
And those who look to cast me aside or turn their backs and leave me to die
You can try, can try, come try, But I will survive
No going back No going back Won't ever (no) Never again, no
Ain't no going back No going back No coming back from the edge
Look in my eyes, yeah I know you understand (somebody help, my misery's taking me) I've made up my mind, now there ain't no going back (somebody help, I'm losing what's left of me) I've made up my mind, now my heart's demanding I'm ready to fight til there's one left standing Tonight, lightning'll strike, thunder will fall (and) You're gonna give it all
To me To me To me To me, I gotta believe You'll set Me free
Tonight my circle finally comes complete One last step from the dark, I breathe
The music's swellin', crowd is chantin' And for this moment fear's an after-thought It's gone It's gone All gone
I look out to the crowd and there I see A thousand little girls--all me
I've turned the tables, yeah I'm fightin' back I'll bring the lightnin', now it's
On It's on It's on You're gone
Climbed every mountain, made it to the top I had it all, or so I thought Traded tomorrow for a lie And found the price too high
The clock is ticking counting down to naught I'm outta time but it won't stop I'll bet my life before it's lost That final line I'll cross
There ain't no going back No going back No going back No
What light's left here inside I'll suffocate If that's what it takes, oh
And those who look to cast me aside or turn their backs and leave me to die
You can try, can try, come try, But I will survive
No going back No going back Won't ever (no) Never again, no
Ain't no going back No going back No coming back from the edge, no more
Next, here’s the “Give It All” music video from YouTube, which features gameplay footage from FFXIV, Solution Nine, and the Arcadion Raid. Note there are spoilers for all the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier fights in the video below, and not just the Wicked Thunder one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aSU-swmCxVM
Both standard and Savage versions of the AAC Light-heavyweight Tier Arcadion fight are available in the game. The more difficult version of the Raid debuted at the end of July 2024 in patch 7.05.
Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Arcadian Raid series are part of the Dawntrail patches.
Please lock your Chocobos to attack position and set your Phoenix Downs to stun: Square Enix have released fresh details of Final Fantasy 16's PC port, which has now been dated for launch on 17th September. They've also shared a little about why it's taken so long to arrive - the (generally decent) action-RPG hit PS5 over a year ago, back when I was still some filthy console-playing freelancer.
According to director Hiroshi Takai, it was "impossible" to create the PC and PS5 versions at the same time, even if Square Enix hadn't been restrained by a timed exclusivity clause. He also thinks that the Final Fantasy series faces no "existential risk" right now, despite lower-than-hoped returns from both Final Fantasy 16 and, going by Square Enix's latest financial reports, the more recent and currently PS5-only Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
Please lock your Chocobos to attack position and set your Phoenix Downs to stun: Square Enix have released fresh details of Final Fantasy 16's PC port, which has now been dated for launch on 17th September. They've also shared a little about why it's taken so long to arrive - the (generally decent) action-RPG hit PS5 over a year ago, back when I was still some filthy console-playing freelancer.
According to director Hiroshi Takai, it was "impossible" to create the PC and PS5 versions at the same time, even if Square Enix hadn't been restrained by a timed exclusivity clause. He also thinks that the Final Fantasy series faces no "existential risk" right now, despite lower-than-hoped returns from both Final Fantasy 16 and, going by Square Enix's latest financial reports, the more recent and currently PS5-only Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth.
We have available a new version of ROCKNIX with improvements and fixes. Download or update online this version to optimise your console. The Linux ROCKNIX OS offers interesting ...
The Antec Core HS is a handheld gaming PC with a 6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel IPS LCD display that slides upward to reveal a QWERTY keyboard designed for thumb typing. Under the hood the system is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7840U processor with Radeon 780M mobile graphics. If it looks familiar, that’s […]
Earlier this month, Amazon announced that it had ordered an animated series full of shorts based on video games like Spelunky and Mega Man, called Secret Level. Now we’ve gotten our first look at the teaser trailer for the series, and it certainly looks like there’s a short based on Armored Core, the FromSoftware mech…
It’s time for Gamescom, friendos. Geoff Keighley is back to host another big video game showcase, and this time it’s the Opening Night Live presentation before Gamescom. The German event is taking place from August 21 to 25 in Cologne, but before fans, press, and developers explore the showfloor, we get to see a big…
Genshin Impact will finally make it to Xbox later this year. HoYoverse revealed the free-to-play anime RPG will get ported in November, though a Switch version of the hit game remains MIA years after its release on smartphones and PS5.
Game Pass Standard, a new middle tier in the Netflix-like subscription service’s ever-expanding menu of options, won’t get some games that hit the higher tiers on day one for up to a year or longer, Microsoft revealed today. The cheaper version is going into preview mode for Xbox Insiders for $1 ahead of its official…
The Catwoman movie turned 20 years old recently and its star, Halle Berry, has been celebrating the critically panned superhero flick’s anniversary. In fact, she’s said she’s even down to return to the role and make another one, but this time she’d want to lead the film behind the camera, too.
Square Enix has announced that the previously confirmed PC port of Final Fantasy 16, the latest main entry in the publisher’s long-running RPG franchise, is releasing next month. But PC players won’t have to wait until then to check out the game, as Square Enix has released a free demo on Steam and the Epic Games…
An MMO wouldn’t be complete without a generous dose of grinding, and while this is true for Final Fantasy XIV, Square Enix’s online game eases the pain slightly by adding Daily Roulettes. These missions help more efficiently procure some of the different resources in the game. This guide will help explain what Daily…
„Jsem si naprosto jistý, že třetí hra ze série Final Fantasy 7 Remake bude opět jednou z nejoblíbenějších a nejpopulárnějších her v celé historii videoher,“ říká Naoki Hamaguči.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth byla uvedena na trh na začátku tohoto roku, a i když se možná neprodávala v takové míře, v jakou společnost Square Enix doufala, co se týče kritiky, bylo toto akční RPG univerzálním hitem. Kromě mnoha jiných věcí byla jeho ohromující velikost a rozsah pro mnohé body vysoké chvály a podle lidí, kteří ho vytvořili, jeho pokračování překoná i jeho vlastní vysoké ambice.
Během nedávného živého panelu, který se zabýval vývojem Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, se režisér Naoki Hamaguči vyjádřil k závěrečnému dílu trilogie Final Fantasy 7 Remake a prohlásil, že hra bude „rozšířená“ a „ještě větší“ než to, co jsme již viděli v remake trilogii.
„Když přemýšlím o třetí a poslední hře z trilogie Remake, opravdu mě to naplňuje vzrušením a mám od ní také velká očekávání,“ řekl. „Opravdu doufám, že fanoušci mohou mít vůči této hře velká očekávání a my je naplníme. Svět Final Fantasy 7 rozhodně rozšíříme a uděláme ještě větší, než je nyní.“
Hamaguči dále dodal, že práce na závěrečném dílu trilogie pokračují a že je přesvědčen, že půjde o další vrchol série – což vyjádřil přinejmenším v superlativech.
„Vývojový tým v tuto chvíli usilovně pracuje a chystáme se udělat ze hry něco, co dokonce předčí všechna očekávání, která vůči hře máte,“ řekl Hamaguči. „Jsem si naprosto jistý, že třetí hra ze série Final Fantasy 7 Remake bude opět jednou z nejoblíbenějších a nejpopulárnějších her v celé historii videoher.“
Začátkem letošního roku producent Yoshinori Kitase naznačil, že Square Enix doufá v dokončení vývoje závěrečného dílu trilogie do roku 2027. Podle vývojářů bude hra obsahovat ještě větší volnost v boji, přepracovaný svět, který umožní cestování vzducholodí, a dokonce i přepracovanou a vylepšenou verzi hry Queen’s Blood.
This Square Enix RPG is one of the best-lookers of this generation, so brace yourself for the Final Fantasy 16 PC system requirements. Even the minimum specs need 16GB of memory and an SSD.
The minimum Final Fantasy 16 PC system requirements you need
In order to play this epic adventure with Clive and crew, you'll need some beefy PC system requirements just to run the game at 720p with 30 frames per second. The Steam page lists the following:
Final Fantasy 16 is a huge game, so it will require 170GB of available space on an SSD, no less. That is far bigger than another Square Enix game Kingdom Hearts 3, which only requires 75GB. Another action RPG from this generation Wild Heartsalso only needed 80GB.
Final Fantasy 16 recommended specs, listed
To play Final Fantasy 16 with 60 frames per second at a 1080p resolution, you'll need the following specs in your PC:
If you need to test your rig and see if the game will work on your PC, there's thankfully a free demo available on Steam. It contains the first few hours of the experience, and you can carry on your save progress into the full game. Neat! Hopefully, your PC won't need a Phoenix Down after running (or attempting to run) Final Fantasy 16.
In what will likely be the most memorable moment of Gamescom Opening Night Live, a very emotional Tim Miller, co-founder of Blur Studios and director of Deadpool, has shown of footage of the upcoming Amazon Prime video game anthology series, Secret Level. This is coming so fast, but I definitely saw Mega Man in there.
Secret Level is supposedly a series of original short narratives set around various video games. It’s an incredibly eclectic mix including Armored Core, Sifu, and Spelunky alongside more mainstream stuff like Concord and God of War. Maybe also Pac-Man.
There's also Mega Man, but he's doing that really cliche gear-up sequence. Like, it's so ubiquitous that Doom Eternal even opened with it.
https://youtu.be/gLihxsmI_OU?feature=shared
I am entirely unable to process what’s going on. I’m not sure if there’s some sort of metanarrative here. As I mentioned, it’s reportedly going to be a series of short narratives (via Deadline), but the sizzle reel doesn’t exactly clarify that.
The introduction by Tim Miller was especially interesting. I mentioned to my colleagues that he sounded like he was on the verge of tears before he seemed to break further and admit his emotions. Some sounded cynical about the sincerity, but as a prolific crier, it seemed genuine. Listen, it’s sometimes easy to get emotional about stuff. I can cry pretty easily on some days. Dude might just really love showing off his team’s efforts.
Secret Level airs December 10, 2024 on Amazon Prime.
According to its latest earnings report, the company's overall net sales dropped by 18.4 percent year-on-year for the most recent quarter.
This is driven in part due to a decline in sales of new games. By comparison, the same quarter in 2023 saw the release of Final Fantasy 16 and the Final Fantasy Pixel Remasters.
Following one of the greatest MMORPG expansions is no easy feat and while Dawntrail lacks giant end of the world gods, despair and sadness that it did in Endwalker, it cleverly ushers in a new dawn that pushes FFXIV into new and inviting lands and gives new life to one of the biggest MMORPG’s on the market. Dawntrail is marketed or known as the vacation expansion where our heroes will take a break but that could not be further from the truth.
The latest FFXIV expansion “Dawntrail” follows the Hero of light venture into a new land known as Tural alongside Krile, Erenville, Allisae and Alphinaud in order to help Wuk Lamat become the new ruler of Tural known as the Dawnservant. This is something we knew would happen before the expansion and as soon as you arrive in the new lands you will meet other characters in the running also hoping to become the Dawnservant and the lengths as to how they will get there. The Warrior of Light alongside Krile, Allisae, Alphinaud and Erenville are tasked with helping Wuk Lamat become the new Dawnservant. Alongside this Wuk Lamats brother is also in the running alongside Thancred and Urianger who are now on the opposing team. Bakool Ja Ja is the new antagonist of the game who is a two headed Mamool Ja and a perfectly executed character in that he has a hot temper only exacerbated by the Chameleon twin part of his body. As a two headed Mamool Ja, Bakool Ja Ja believes it is his right to the throne and while the other participants for the throne strategically and fairly Bakool Ja Ja relies on pure power, cunningness and cheating to win the throne.
As we already have explored the edge of the universe, we now find ourself on a new continent which very little is known by the residents of Eorzea especially from the Aldenard region. On the surface Tural is an island full of culture and deep history which is learned as you progress through the Main Scenario. While it can take some time for the real crux of the story to take hold once it does it really is a great experience. The first Dungeon is cleverly weaved into the story as to allow characters to venture into the next zone.
Aside from the Graphical update which is one of the biggest overhauls of FFXIV Dawntrail there are plenty of new and updated features included in Dawntrail. Levelling is something which will naturally happen playing through the new expansion with the new cap hitting the 100 range across all the main jobs. The new race which is the female Hrothgar which Wuk Lamat shows off perfectly has been added and also two new Jobs; the Pictomancer and Viper have now been added and many features make a welcome return. Fates, Leves, Hunts all return which are great ways to level those alts and crafters. Boosts to the Gemstones earned have been increased during bonus fates, you can also play the game solo for the most part as new avatars become available to the main scenario dungeons. Also new in the fray is Krile Baldesion who now plays as the new Pictomancer Job.
Although Tural is a large island soaked in mountains, forests and snow-capped peaks there are other places such as Solution Nine which is a high tech mini city which is incorporated in a way that works thanks to it being Final Fantasy. Tural is different to Eorzea in many ways, the preferred way of travel is not on a Chocobos back but now by riding Alpacas which have also been incorporated into the story and in the most comical way as Wuk Lamat is not a fan of them as much as not being a fan of being on boats which also seems to happen a lot in the Story. Not only do we have a vast amount of new and some of the largest we have seen so far areas to explore, Soken has again outdone the soundtrack to Dawntrail as he has taken influence from Spanish/Latin esque music and cleverly merged it into these new areas, as soon as you arrive in Tuliyollal you are greeted by Big Band drums and if this does not give you a good impression of the music that is to come then nothing else will.
After having tried out both new jobs available in Dawntrail I can say that Pictomancer does come out on top in terms of fun and pure damage. It has become my favourite job. It is also the most visually pleasing to look at as you cast paint aether variants of elemental damage against your opponents. On top of this you can create images on a canvas such as mog poms and wings and by creating a full picture of a moogle you can incorporate that power into a full on moogle beam. You can also create a large hammer and rain down several critical smashes against your foes, and although this looks like a melee attack it is purely magical and can be cast as a magical attack from afar. While some of the attacks appear physical Pictomancer is a pure magic damage output Job that feels great to play.
Viper is also a new job which is fun to play if you are more into close range DPS but it felt kind of underwhelming in comparison especially as it feels all to similar to the Ninja job just with flashier effects. It is cool to have a job that feels and plays like Zidane from Final Fantasy IX, I mean who doesn’t love a twin bladed sword? the team did mention they would be looking to rework the job so it will be interesting to see how this will pan out.
Nearly all existing jobs have been altered somewhat with new abilities and some old ones have been removed. It is sad to see the legendary Dragoon Jump disappear completely, my main job White Mage seemed to not have changed that much if not at all.
Overall FFXIV Dawntrail brings new life to the Final Fantasy XIV world. With an increased level cap, plenty of new content and a strong Story Dawntrail is chock full of Final Fantasy references throughout, mostly from Final Fantasy IX. Dawntrail features two Expert dungeons end-game and a plethora of other high end level content such as the extreme trials. Dawntrail will continue to bring new promised content in the future such as the Arcadion raid series, and the Beastmaster limited Job as well as Cosmic Exploration. It goes without saying to play Dawntrail you will be required to finish all previous expansions up until the end of Endwalker, and although there are now new Story Skips added to the Store, it is highly recommended to play through the entirety of the game at least once. Dawntrail has had an overall smooth launch especially on PC although Xbox players did see some issues which the developers have looked at and compensated game time for those on that console and have since compensated all with some form of game time compensation due to hotfixes that have taken place.
A PC Review code was provided for the purpose of the Review
Publisher Square Enix has released a new trailer for Life is Strange: Double Exposure. The trailer showcases Caledon University, the center location for the upcoming game. The trailer showcases many locations in the game and highlights the events to come. Life is Strange: Double Exposure will launch on October 29, for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC via Steam and Microsoft Store.
The game’s details via the publisher:
Max Caulfield, photographer-in-residence at the prestigious Caledon University, discovers her closest new friend, Safi, dead in the snow. Murdered. To save her, Max tries to Rewind time—a power she’s not used in years… instead, Max opens the way to a parallel timeline where Safi is still alive, and still in danger! Max realizes the killer will soon strike again—in both versions of reality. With her new power to Shift between two timelines—can Max solve and prevent the same murder?
Key Features
Ordinary Girl, Extraordinary Power – Max is thrust into a thrilling supernatural murder mystery – more dangerous than ever before!
Traverse Two Timelines – Forge allies and pursue suspects across two versions of reality, shaping both timelines through unforgettable choices.
Race Against Time – A relentless detective has Max in his sights, and Safi’s killer grows closer with every clue uncovered. Can Max survive long enough – to do the impossible?
Decide the Fate of Caledon – Explore two versions of a vivid winter campus, each packed with clues, secrets, and tough decisions.
Exclusive Soundtrack – A rich original score, new songs, and thrilling licensed tracks!
PDP, Victrix, and Activision have had a great relationship for some time now. Last year they released a special edition Las Almas version of their their Pro BFG Controller. This year, we get a look at two new amazing-looking Call of Duty themed controllers. The new Midnight Mask Victrix Pro BFG has programmable buttons and …
After shining the spotlight in Life is Strange: Double Exposure’scast of core characters with a couple of its previoustrailers, with the newest look at the game, publisher Square Enix and developer Deck Nine have instead turned their attention to some of the locations that you’ll be visiting in the game.
Specifically, the trailer focuses on Caledon University, a Vermont’s premier institution for Arts and Sciences, where protagonist Max Caufield finds herself a student in Double Exposure. In addition to touching on the tragedies and supernatural oddities that Max will be grappling with at Caledon, the trailer also offers brief details on some of the many locations within its campus that players will frequent.
That will include a fine arts building brimming with all manner of art to peruse within a church repurposed as a gallery, an observatory where you can make use of a snazzy telescope to stargaze to your heart’s content, a bar where students and professors gather to relax and mingle, and even secret societies to learn more about. Check out the trailer below for more details.
Life is Strange: Double Exposurelaunches on October 29 for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. A Nintendo Switch version is also in the works, but doesn’t yet have a release date.
Before I dive into this week’s column, I want to start things off by noting a weird aspect of storytelling that’s true in Final Fantasy XIV as much as anywhere else: Excellent execution where it counts more can be way more important than sub-par execution where it counts less. Every single FFXIV expansion, for example, […]
How do you put 10 years’ worth of MMORPG like Final Fantasy XIV into a mobile version? We could all be seeing an answer to that question in the coming months, as there are new reports that confirm a mobile Eorzea is in the works, though it looks to be a game that’s only being […]
It’s easy like Sunday morning on OPTV’s Eorzea Sunday, as MOP’s Chris and his crew will be leaping in to the random draw that is the daily roulettes of Final Fantasy XIV… though the Trial run could prove to be spicy. Either way, tune in today at 2:00 p.m. EDT for some friendly banter during […]
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After its successful premiere back in June, it has been confirmed that the black and white edit of Godzilla Minus One is coming to Netflix.
