Sony is pulling Horizon Forbidden West from its PS Plus subscription service in the coming weeks.
The first-party Sony game is now listed under the 'Last Chance to Play' section on PS Plus, along with the likes of NieR Replicant, Marvel's Midnight Suns and Alien Isolation.
Launching a new console is neither easy nor cheap, and in order to remain relevant in the “console wars” a continuing price has to be paid… a price that Microsoft learned the hard way. But while hardware developers like Sega and Google were unwilling to pay the ongoing price and watched their dreams crumble as a result, Xbox doubled-down and continued to invest deeply in their commitment to the home console market every year… because while each iteration of their hardware has sold at a net loss, the only path to the treasure they are seeking is to see the road through to the end.
The act of “taking up our cross” involves more than a one-time event of accepting Christ and His grace… it is an ongoing, self-sacrificial journey that will continue for the rest of our lives. Each step we take as we carry our cross will compel us to shed the layers of selfishness that once defined us, and it is a process that is guaranteed to be uncomfortable… crosses are costly, not cozy. But it is in our choice to carry a cross that we’d rather not carry that shows we’re actually following in His footsteps… and that is where the true treasure is finally found.
Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it – lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Luke 14:27-30, 33
And He was withdrawn from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and prayed, saying, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” Luke 22:41-42
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There has been some rumor and speculation that we would be getting a PS5 Pro as soon as this year. We are halfway through the year and past ‘E3’ season and there is still no word. With the lack of console price drops, is the mid-gen refresh still a thing? There are some people who …
Sony has quietly updated its list of PlayStation Plus games leaving the service in September. According to the current list, 12 games will be gone next month, including the first-party open-world action game Horizon Forbidden West.
The first time we saw a trailer of Black Myth: Wukong I joked that it looked great and would probably never actually come out. That was August 20, 2020. Exactly four years later the fantasy action game isn’t just available to play, it’s shattering records on Steam for single-player and online games alike.
Platform: PlayStation 5 Article Reading Time: 4 minutes
Sony recently revealed information about its results for the first quarter of its new fiscal year (April 1 to June 30). It sold 2.4 million PlayStation 5 consoles during the quarter, down from 3.3 million a year ago. So hardware sales are down, but even so, 61.7 million PlayStation 5 consoles have been sold, which isn’t bad at all. The results for the gaming division were otherwise positive, with sales up 12% year-over-year and operating income up 32%. According to the report, Sony owes this to increased first-party game sales (Helldivers 2, Stellar Blade, Destiny 2: The Final Shape, and Rise of the Ronin) and network services like PlayStation Plus. Given these results, Sony is now forecasting slightly better revenues for its games division for the 2024 financial year than at the beginning.
Strong Gaming Division Performance Despite Hardware Sales Drop
Despite the slight PlayStation 5 console sales dip this quarter, Sony’s overall gaming division performance remains strong. The decrease in hardware sales is not unexpected, as the PS5 is now in its fourth year on the market. This pattern is typical in console lifecycles, where initial demand surges and then gradually stabilizes.
The success of Sony’s first-party titles is particularly noteworthy. Games like Helldivers 2 and Stellar Blade have boosted sales and successfully demonstrated Sony’s ability to launch new IPs. This is crucial for maintaining player interest and expanding the PlayStation ecosystem beyond established franchises.
The growth in network services, especially PlayStation Plus, indicates Sony’s successful pivot towards digital and subscription-based revenue streams. This aligns with broader industry trends and provides a more stable, recurring income source compared to the cyclical nature of hardware sales.
Forecasting a Bright Future: Sony’s Strategic Moves and Market Adaptations
Sony’s optimistic forecast for the 2024 financial year suggests confidence in its upcoming game lineup and services. The company likely plans several high-profile releases to maintain momentum. Additionally, strategies, such as potential hardware revisions or bundles, maybe in place to reinvigorate hardware sales.
It’s worth noting that the gaming industry as a whole has been resilient in the face of global economic challenges. Sony’s positive results reflect this trend, showcasing the enduring appeal of gaming as a form of entertainment.
The company’s focus on diverse revenue streams – hardware, software, and services – provides a balanced approach that can help weather fluctuations in any single area. This strategy has proven effective so far and will likely continue to be crucial in maintaining Sony’s strong position in the competitive gaming market.
As the current console generation matures, it will be interesting to see how Sony adapts its strategies to maintain growth and engagement. This may include further expansion of cloud gaming services, exploration of new technologies like VR, or even early preparations for the next generation of console hardware.
Po nejnovějším vydání hry Freegunner Adventures pro Concord vydalo studio Firewalk trailery zaměřené na schopnosti dalších tří postav – Rocca, Duchess a Kypse.
Jejich herní styly jsou poměrně rozmanité, ať už hledáte přímočaré poškození, nebo větší užitečnost.
Rocca je mrštná postava, která na nepřátele střílí rakety a střemhlavé bomby. Její rakety se mohou zaměřit a ohnout za roh, aby zasáhly cíl, a může uhýbat ve vzduchu. Vévodkyně může stavět zdi na ochranu spojenců a blokovat protivníky a zároveň nasadit zpožděnou detonaci pro ty, kteří se dostanou příliš blízko. Její samopal je také docela dobrý pro zabíjení na střední vzdálenost díky nízkému zpětnému rázu.
Kyps je nájemný vrah, který se dokáže maskovat a likvidovat nepřátele pomocí pistole s tlumičem. Dokáže také vysílat pozice soupeřů pomocí sledovacích pastí a rušit schopnosti svými granáty. Ty mohou působit i na štíty, takže je ideální proti Emari.
Concord vychází 23. srpna pro PS5 a PC, přičemž majitelé digitální Deluxe edice získají předčasný přístup 20. srpna (na globální časy vydání se podívejte zde). V říjnu je také potvrzeno spuštění 1. sezóny, která přidá novou mapu, Freegunner, Varianty a další.
Je to velký měsíc pro předplatitele PlayStation Plus Extra a Premium, přičemž společnost Sony oznámila nejnovější přírůstky do katalogu her této služby.
Počínaje 20. srpnem si obě úrovně mohou stáhnout The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cult of the Lamb a Sword Art Online: Last Recollection pro PS4 a PS5.
Hráči PS5 získají přístup ke standardní edici Wild Hearts, nešťastnému akčnímu RPG od Koei Tecmo a k Ride 5 . Na straně PS4 existují reedice PS Plus jako Watch Dogs 2 a Naruto to Bortuo: Shinobi Striker spolu s Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris, Sword Art Online: Fatal Bullet a Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization .
Pokud to SAO nestačí, předplatitelé Premium získají exkluzivní přístup k PS3 verzi hry Sword Art Online: Lost Song, kterou lze hrát na PS4. Všichni ostatní se mohou usadit s TimeSplitters, TimeSplitters 2 a TimeSplitters: Future Perfect pro PS4 a PS5. Konečně si uživatelé PS VR/VR2 mohou vyzkoušet Vacation Simulator. Zůstaňte naladěni na další podrobnosti v nadcházejících týdnech, zejména o titulech opouštějících službu.
Připravovaná střílečka na hrdiny od společností Sony a Firewalk přidá v sezónách po vydání nové Freegunnery, mapy, příběhové viněty, varianty postav a další.
Concord slibuje při uvedení na trh nabitý zážitek s tuctem map, půltuctem režimů a 16 Freegunnery, za které můžete hrát, ale jako multiplayerová střílečka s živou službou se samozřejmě bude časem vyvíjet a rozšiřovat. Společnost Sony a vývojářské studio Firewalk totiž prozradily nové podrobnosti o tom, co plánují po spuštění hry, včetně nových Freegunnerů, map, režimů, příběhových vignet a dalších.
Jak již bylo potvrzeno dříve, Concord nebude mít battle pass ani žádná placená rozšíření po spuštění. Její první postlaunchová sezóna, Season 1: The Tempest, odstartuje v říjnu, tedy pár měsíců po vydání hry, a přidá nového Freegunnera, novou mapu a nové varianty předchozích Freegunnerů.
Hráči se mohou těšit také na novou kosmetiku a odměny, vylepšení kvality života a samozřejmě na nové příběhové vignety, kterých chce Firewalk podle svých slov s každou novou sezónou přinášet více. První sezóna navíc přidá také herní obchod s kosmetikou.
Druhá sezóna odstartuje v lednu a přinese více z toho, co první sezóna, a také další nový režim. Třetí sezóna dorazí v dubnu, i když další podrobnosti o tom, co přesně přinese, jsou v současné době skoupé.
Hra Concord bude uvedena na trh 23. srpna pro PS5 a PC.
Společnost Sony se podělila o systémové požadavky pro nadcházející port hry God of War Ragnarok na PC a ty jsou na většině nastavení poměrně vysoké, přičemž některé konkrétní požadavky jsou až závratně vysoké.
Například bez ohledu na předvolbu budete potřebovat SSD disk a také neuvěřitelných 190 GB volného úložného prostoru.
V ultra nastavení při 4K a 60 FPS bude God of War Ragnarok vyžadovat buď RTX 4070 Ti, nebo RX 7900 XT spolu s i5-11600K, nebo Ryzenem 7 3700X. Zatímco na doporučené nastavení, při kterém hra poběží v rozlišení 1080p a 60 FPS, budete potřebovat buď RTX 2060 Super, nebo RX 5700 spolu s i5-8600 a Ryzenem 5 3600.
Všechna nastavení také vyžadují 16 GB RAM, s výjimkou nejnižšího nastavení, kde je tento požadavek snížen na 8 GB. Podrobné specifikace byly uvedeny také pro nastavení „High“ a „Performance“, v nichž hra poběží v rozlišení 1440p/60 FPS, respektive 4K/60 FPS. Úplné systémové specifikace hry God of War Ragnarok si můžete prohlédnout níže.
Společnost Sony navíc potvrdila, že port pro PC bude podporovat DLSS 3.7, FSR 3.1 a XeSS 1.3. Ti, kdo si hru předobjednají, obdrží také bonusové herní předměty v podobě Kratova brnění Risen Snow Armor a Atreovy kosmetické tuniky Risen Snow Tunic.
God of War Ragnarok vychází pro PC 19. září. Jak bylo potvrzeno dříve, bude vyžadovat účet PSN.
Přestože procesor a paměť RAM nejsou o mnoho lepší než u základního modelu, PlayStation 5 Pro bude díky upscalingu o 100 % výkonnější než běžná PS5.
V posledním díle podcastu Moore’s Law is Dead Broken Silicon hovořil zakladatel společnosti Alderon Games Matthew Cassells o dosud neodhaleném obnovovacím systému střední generace a o tom, jak jeho výkon a upscaler PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution vylepší hry. Když mluvíme konkrétně o hrách studia, konzole by jim mohla umožnit aktivovat ray tracing, pokud už hra zvládne běžet na 60 FPS na základním modelu bez ray tracingu. Co se týče rozlišení, dodatečný výkon konzole umožní, aby hry byly o něco méně rozmazané než na základním modelu, ale problém to zcela nevyřeší a upscaling bude i nadále hrát velkou roli v celkovém schématu, protože herní enginy jako Unreal Engine 5 se nezrychlují a budou i nadále potřebovat upscaling. PSSR však způsobí, že PlayStation 5 Pro bude vývojářům skutečně připadat o 100 % výkonnější než základní modely, což se rozdělí mezi 50 % skutečných vylepšení a druhých 50 %, které přinese upscaling.
Při další diskusi o uniklých specifikacích PlayStation 5 Pro se zakladatel Alderon Games domnívá, že výše zmíněné omezené vylepšení procesoru a paměti RAM nebude představovat obrovský problém, protože naprostá většina konzolových her není zatížena procesorem a zvětšení paměti RAM je obvykle jednou z nejtěžších věcí, protože většina vývojářů optimalizuje podle dostupné paměti RAM a jen některé z největších her s největším vývojářským týmem by mohly využít další množství. Na druhou stranu vylepšení GPU může některým hrám umožnit běh s ekvivalentem epického nastavení namísto středního nastavení, které se obvykle používá u základního modelu. Dodatečný výkon může vývojářům usnadnit implementaci 120Hz režimů s dalšími úpravami grafických nastavení.
PlayStation 5 Pro ještě nebyl oficiálně oznámen. O systému vás budeme nadále informovat.
Není žádným tajemstvím, že PlayStation má ve vývoji spoustu neohlášených projektů a jeden z nich vyvíjí společnost Firesprite. Tato hra má být příběhovým hororem pro jednoho hráče. V současné době nejsou o tomto projektu k dispozici žádné informace.
Firesprite získala společnost Sony v roce 2021 a v průběhu let se objevovaly úniky a zvěsti o tomto projektu. Patří mezi ně i interní dokument, který odhaluje, že kódové označení projektu je „Heartbreak“. Zda to stále platí, není jisté.
Colin Moriarty, zasvěcenec, v podcastu společnosti Last Stand Media prohlásil, že by se hra mohla odehrávat na ostrově a hlavní hrdinkou by mohla být žena. Kromě toho však o hře a o tom, v jaké fázi vývoje se nachází, mnoho nevíme.
Přesto se objevují úniky, které obsahují obrovské množství informací, které by mohly mnohé o neohlášeném projektu vysvětlit.
Jednou z hlavních informací o projektu Firesprite je webová stránka Emily Stellové, herní designérky společnosti Firesprite, která projekt uvádí jako „narativní horor“ a jako platformy uvádí PlayStation 5 a PC. Kromě toho uvádí, že je vytvářena pomocí Unreal Enginu 5. Není neobvyklé, že exkluzivní hry pro PlayStation jsou portovány na PC, protože jsme v posledních letech viděli Ghost of Tsushima, The Last of Us Part 1 a Returnal.
Kromě stránky Emily Stellové se v životopise spisovatelky Ren Alex-Roseové, která pro Firesprite pracovala od roku 2022 do dubna 2024, uvádí, že pracovala na navrhování postav a dějových linií „v rámci předem stanovených IP“, což zřejmě potvrzuje některá podezření.
Spekuluje se také o tom, že se nejedná o unikátní IP, ale o novou hru navazující na již existující IP. To naznačil Jason Schreier, který to naznačil na Redditu. V tuto chvíli nevíme, na jakou hororovou IP by se to mohlo vztahovat, protože je mnoho těch, které právě teď dostávají nový vývoj ve filmech i hrách.
Kromě Stella a Alex-Rose je na Pinterestu k dispozici profil environmentálního umělce Andrease Houina, který v současné době pracuje ve společnosti Firesprite. V jeho nástěnkách na Pinterestu, s nástěnkami věnovanými kosmickému hororu, architektuře a scifi. Sice netušíme, o jakou hororovou IP by se mohlo jednat, ale budeme sledovat jakákoli budoucí oznámení od Sony nebo Firesprite pro jejich nadcházející vývoj.
Arrowhead Studios has just unleashed the most significant update yet for Helldivers 2, titled Escalation of Freedom, packed with new challenges and fearsome enemies.
With possibly its largest and most ambitious update, Arrowhead Studios has launched the latest Escalation of Freedom update for Helldivers 2 today. There is a wealth of information for combatants to dig through before jumping into the fray. The biggest additions to gameplay (aside from the standard balancing fare) are the introductions of new enemy types, a harder difficulty, and new mission objectives. The announcement trailer can be seen just below.
Helldivers 2 Escalation of Freedom Patch Notes
Difficulty Level 10, Super Helldive – The hardest difficulty in the game. Bugs and bots are at their worst on this level, featuring new units and new challenges that will guarantee sweat.
New Mission Objectives – With two factions to continuously contend with, Arrowhead has launched two new objectives. One has your fireteam stealing a Terminid sample and escaping with it (they will try to get it back), and for the Automatons, Divers will contend with destroying their human processing plants.
Bigger Enemy Outposts – Only available in the Super Helldive difficulty. Faction-exclusive enemy bases, a Terminid Stronghold and Automaton Fortress, will be added to the battlefield. These are the hardest strongholds to confront in the game, but they also drop the best rewards.
New Enemy Types – The Terminid Impaler strikes back from the original Helldivers, which burrows underground, has tentacles, and is not happy. A Spore Charger can be fought if you’re unlucky. These Terminids are cloaked in fog and have a myriad of supporting units. As is the flavour for Escalation of Freedom, the Automatons got love here too, and there’s a new Rocket Tank and a Reinforced Scout Strider to contend with.
New Swamp Planet – A new swamp planet will be playable.
New Acid Storm – Acid Storms can litter the surface of more hostile planets, which will lower comrade armour, but also, enemy armour as well.
Helldivers 2 still has more in store for players. Balancing has also been deployed on problematic weapon consistency, such as the popular SG-8S Slugger receiving some nice buffs with increased stagger force, spread and drag. On the contrary, another popular weapon (ironically both shotgun-type weapons), the SG-225IE Breaker Incendiary, has gotten nerfed, with fewer magazines (from six held to four max) and higher recoil.
Helldivers 2 continues to steamroll ahead, providing updates to their title for fans to remain vigilant against the hordes that threaten democracy. Fans looking for more in-depth details can check them out here.
When Sony chose to challenge Nintendo, the reigning king of portable gaming, in a battle for handheld supremacy, Microsoft wisely chose to stay out of the fight. Rather than waste their precious time and resources pursuing a prize that belonged to someone else, they invested in purchasing entire studios that owned proven IP’s like Minecraft and focused on building up the Xbox Live platform that represented their future. By staying true to their “North Star”, they avoided a fruitless battle to possess someone else’s destiny… while Sony paid a high price in their unsuccessful handheld war, Xbox bought entire franchises that will last.
There are many “treasures” on this planet to seek and acquire, and many offer temporary value and rewards that are beneficial. But our “North Star” in all things is to pursue treasure that will last, and that means we must seek God’s will on which pursuits are worthy of the time and attention we give them and offer rewards that are permanent. Rather than wasting time pursuing someone else’s dream, let’s prayerfully seek the unique destiny He has for us… that’s where the real treasure is found.
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. Colossians 3:1-2
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21
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Some game genres are so rare, it’s a miracle when a new game releases in that style. I personally call this genre: stealth tactics. The actual genre is Real-Time Tactics, but I find that name doesn’t really cover this (sub)genre. If you have ever played games like: Commando’s, Desperados, Robin Hood – The Legend of Sherwood or Shadow Tactics… You know what sort of game I’m talking about. A game features a rag tag group of heroes. Each hero has unique abilities. They must get through big groups of enemies. They do this one by one to progress the group’s goals. The game I want to talk about today is called Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew. This was the last game by the studio Mimimi. Is this game the swansong to close down this studio, or is it a game that’s better left forgotten? Before that, I invite you to leave a comment in the comment section down below. A comment with your thoughts and/or opinions on the game and/or the content of the article.
Promises of amazing treasure
In this game, you play as the crew of a special pirate ship named the Red Marley. Each main member of the crew has a black pearl in their chest, granting them unique supernatural abilities. These unique abilities come at a cost of being cursed to a sort of undead status.
The Red Marley’s captain fell in battle, and now the Inquisition is after the biggest treasure of the ship. Now, the Red Marley’s crew doesn’t want this to happen. So they do everything in their power to avoid this from happening.
The story in this game doesn’t take itself too seriously. The story is written like it’s a Saturday morning cartoon. A story arc can be contained in one or a handful of episodes, but always has an ending. While almost everything in the story ends well for the main cast, the story and writing never looses its charm. I felt like I was transported back into the time I woke up for the weekly Pokémon episode. I knew that the main problem of that week’s episode would resolve by the end. Still, I kept rooting for the heroes.
One of the biggest reasons I kept rooting for the main characters is because of the voice actors. Their performances are extremely well done. They bring a lot of personality and life to each character. They make the characters stand out like real, actual people. This script must have been immense, since the characters sometimes react on the actions you preform with other characters. There are 8 main characters, and more if you buy the DLC packs. If you start counting how many unique voice lines that bring to the table… And that’s the tip of the iceberg. The enemies for example, when they come together also have unique dialogue between them.
It’s possible to write an article by itself about the world building, story and voice acting in this game. I can also assure you that when I write this article, I’ll keep gushing about it all. A great example is how the save & load function fits into the story. It enhances the world of this game. Yes, you read that correctly. When you save, you store a memory in the Red Marley. When you load one of your saves, the Red Marley uses its powers to restore that memory. Your characters also respond to your saving and loading action and this brings even more charm to this game.
In these types of games, the replay value is quite high. Especially since you tackle all missions in various ways and each playthrough is going to be different. In this game, it’s taken even a step further. You can choose the order to revive your crew. You can also choose the order to finish the missions of that chapter. I can assure you that your playthrough will look nothing like mine.
The main quest is quite enjoyable to play through. I actually became really immersed in the world of this game. At the moment, I’m playing through the final missions of the game and the DLC missions. I’m having a blast. Thankfully, I can easily start a new playthrough of this game. Then I can experience it all of it over again and take a totally different route. And maybe I can do the little side quests and pirate tales as well. Since, that’s content, I haven’t gone into too much yet.
Your playthrough of this game will take you somewhere between 27 to 37 hours. That is, if you want to beat the main story and DLC’s. But, if you want to fully finish this game… Oh boy, then you’ll have a game that’s close to 80 hours on your hands. I already mentioned the crew tales. But there are also mini-challenges you can go for during the missions to earn badges. Let’s not forget the achievements you can earn. Well, most of the achievements are related to the main campaign.
Now, I have one complaint about the badges in this game. Earning some of these badges is extremely tricky. Sometimes, you don’t get all the information you expect to. For example, there is a badge on each map for using all the landing spots of that map. But guess what, there is no easy way to see if you already used a landing spot or not. It’s a shame that some badges work like that. Especially since some of these badges make you go out of your way to play in an unique way. A more challenging way to spice up your normal routine.
Apart from bragging trophies, these medals don’t really add up to much. But, I honestly don’t really mind that. Since, it’s fun to gather these medals and have some bonus challanges during my playthrough. It keeps me on my toes and it’s really enjoyable.
Mindblowing abilities
I’m still quite impressed at how balanced this game is. Each character has their own unique abilities. It’s best that you always have a character with an ability that can move guards from their position. If you don’t have that, the game will actually warn you. You are going to make it extremely challenging for yourself.
Personally, I’m playing through this game on the normal difficulty setting and your decisions actually matter. Before starting each mission, study the map well. Try to remember each map as well as you can. Since you are going to revisit each map at least once or twice. It’s extremely important to choose the correct landing position.
You would think that the game will be a bit boring if you always bring the same crew into missions. But, the game rewards you using different characters for missions. You gain more vigor if you play with certain crew members during certain missions. If you earned enough vigor, you can upgrade one of the unique abilities of your characters. This upgrade will give you more and better tools in your arsenal. Now, these upgrades can make the game much easier. You can always turn off the upgrades while on the Red Marley.
In the introduction paragraph of this article, I quickly explained how this game works. So, let me tell you the gist of it. In this game, you go from mission to mission, completing various goals in each one. These goals can range for example from rescuing an informant or stealing an artifact. In each mission, there are various enemies patrolling the area. Your goal is to find the weakspots in their patrols and dispose of the enemies without getting spotted.
Now, getting spotted isn’t the end of the world in this game. Depending on where you are spotted, it’s possible to escape and hide somewhere. You just have to avoid taking damage, since your health is limited, and you can’t heal during the mission. If you aren’t careful, it’s easy to get swamped or overwhelmed with guards. Especially when a guard with a bell spots you, the traces you leave behind or sees a dead body. When this happens, you have a limited amount of time to kill that guard before the bell is rung. When the bell is rung, more guards will emerge from nearby barracks and swarm to the location.
On top of that, there are also some unique enemy types outside your regular patrol goons. The first type I want to talk are the Kindred. These annoying buggers bring something quite unique to the table in this genre. Kindred are always connected with each other. If you don’t kill these all at the same time, they will revive each other. But, this is only the start of your troubles.
You also have Prognosticar. And let me tell you, these are even more challenging. To defeat these enemies, you need to have two units ready. One unit needs to be spotted or attack the Prognosticar. Since as soon as that happens, your unit gets trapped. This trap will go on and damage your unit until the unit either dies or is rescued. When the Prognosticar is using his trap, he can be attacked and killed. But do it quick. The trap is damaging your unit. You are also stuck in place. This situation is dangerous.
It also matters if the mission is taking place during day or night. The big difference is that in the daytime, the enemies have a bigger field of view. During the nighttime, some enemies will carry a torch on their patrol. This gives more light to other units. They can spot you sneaking by if you aren’t careful. There are also various torches dotted around the map, and you can put them out. The enemies can’t stand torches that are put out and will go out of their way to light them again.
It’s also important to know if an enemy stops in their patrol to talk to another enemy. Since if you kill one of them, the other enemy will start looking for them. They will start running around and if you weren’t careful, will find your tracks and spot you.
Learning those little mechanics is essential in this game. Never forget the tools you have in this game! This ranges from the abilities of each character to how for example view cones work. There is something called view cone surfing. If you want to dash to another place past some enemies… Understand that a full color in the view cone means they will spot you right away. Stripped sections of the view cone will cause you to be unseen if you crawl by. Also, it takes a few moments of you being spotted and the alarm being raised. You can run quickly enough past an enemy. Alternatively, you can run from view cone to view cone. It’s possible to get past unseen.
If you are afraid that you will get overwhelmed by all the information of all the little mechanics, don’t worry. The difficulty curve in this game is perfect. This game also has solid character tutorials. Each character tutorial guides you through 2–3 rooms, teaching you the abilities of each ability and their unique use cases. At the end of each character tutorial, you get a puzzle room. Putting to the test if you can use that character correctly. During the game, you can always open your logbook from the pause menu, where all tutorials can be watched again.
This brings me to the abilities of your characters in this game. If you have played similar games, you’ll recognize certain abilities and others will be quite new and unique. Now, some of these abilities will have a unique spin to it. For example, your sniper only has one shot. But, when you retrieve your sniper bolt… Your sniper can shoot again.
There are also extremely unique mechanics, like your Canoness has very fun abilities. She can pick up dead bodies in her canon to launch them at enemies to knock them out. But, you can also pick up allies. You can fling them over a group of enemies. This will give them a better hiding spot. Or your Ship Doctor, she can create one hiding spot out of thin air. Or your navigator, she can stop time for one enemy, allowing you to easy sneak by. And your ship cook can throw a special doll. This doll allows him to teleport to that location. He does this as soon as you click the button. Oh, and if you place that doll on an enemy, it sticks to that enemy.
You might be annoyed that I somewhat spoiled things in the above paragraph. But I have only told the tip of the iceberg here. I have left out several characters in that little summary and they have mindblowing abilities as well. Each map is created in such a way that it doesn’t really matter which characters you take into battle. Since you can finish it using any of your characters.
The Swansong of Mimimi
When Klamath and I started streaming Commandos, I wanted to play a similar game. One I haven’t played through. Since I first started playing through Desperados III again, and that was beaten in a few days. Since, I really enjoyed Desperados III, I bought the next game from the studio.
As somebody who enjoyed Desperados III quite a lot, I was happy to see things return in this game. I can’t tell you how much I love the speed up button. While I wish you can adjust the speed of it… The slow wait can be annoying. Sometimes, you have to get an enemy right where you want them. On top of that, you also have the showdown mode. With the press of a button, you can stop time and plan out your units their next move. Once you press the enter key, either still in showdown mode or not, the actions will be executed. It still feels amazing when you execute a well timed attack to take out difficult set of enemies.
Something that’s extremely useful is how you can rotate the camera in this game. Sometimes an enemy walks behind a building or some rocks… So, if you can’t rotate the camera, you wonder from where you are taking damage. Also, the ability of outlining the enemies, ladders and hiding spots help with that as well. As you can see from my screenshots, I always play with that feature enabled.
Sadly, there are a few ladders that don’t get an outline. Most likely since the developers forgot to put a certain tag on them. I remember one in Angler’s Grave, at the top right. It’s not too far from one of the mission objectives, the informant. Thankfully, these very minor oversights rarely happen. Overall, this game is extremely solid and blast to play through.
The controls are extremely solid. I had to get used to one thing. To execute certain actions, I had to hold the left mouse button instead of just clicking. This sometimes tripped me up but a quick reload fixed that problem. I only have one minor complaint about the controls. Depending on the camera angle, there were rare moments where your character refused to go to a location. I suspect it has to do with where you click. Your unit always wants to look for the shortest way to reach where you click. Sadly, this trips something up in the pathfinding and your unti refuses to go to their destination. Thankfully, a quick camera movement can fix these moments. And also, I’m glad that these moments are quite rare.
Something that’s even more rare are some minor visual bugs that can happen sometimes. Sometimes an UI-element refuses to dissapear. I had that happen twice, when I shot an enemy holding down an exit rift with the Canoness. The stars indicated that the enemy was dizzy. They hovered above the enemy’s head after the rift opened. Even after I killed the enemy, these stars remained visible. There are sometimes minor visual bugs happening like that. Thankfully, they are extremely rare and sometimes are quite funny. One time, one of my units was standing perpendicular on a ladder when I stopped it going up the ladder. The only annoying bug was that I couldn’t retrieve two bodies. They lay in a remote part of Angler’s Grave. It was almost impossible to get rid of two bodies. Maybe, it’s possible. I don’t know, I honestly gave up and earned the badge of hiding bodies on a later revist.
In such a big game it’s to be expected that sometimes things can go wrong. But it surprises me how little goes wrong and how polished the overall game is. Scrolling through the patch notes of this game, I noticed that the developers fixed many issues. They also added a lot of new content to the game. The last update to the game was even a modding tool for this game. These mods go from chaging your character models to adding new maps. I think I’ll play around with the mods after I have fully beaten the game. I’m extremely close, since I’m in the final missions of the game.
Now, earlier I talked about the UI. The UI is quite easy and helpful. There are several unique icons to inform you where certain things are. For example, where you left the paper doll when using the ship cook. There is only one thing in the UI I dislike. And that’s the list of save games. You get a little screenshot of the location of the save and a time stamp. And that’s it. You can’t give a special name or note to them. So if you are looking for a certain save… you either need to make notes OR just go through all them until you het it.
It’s the only real complaint I can give about this game. There is just a lot that this game does right. Like how you can scroll to zoom in or out. When you scroll again at the max zoom level, you see a live map. This map shows where all the enemies are. The only minor complaint I have about the map is that ammo chests aren’t marked on there. Also, quick note on the ammo chests… Almost every character has the same visual for their gun. Now, if another visual appears above the ammo chest, it doesn’t matter. The ammo chests are never character specific.
Visually, this game looks breathtaking. The attention to detail in this world gets a big thumbs up from me. The world really feels alive and somewhat real. The little animation details for example when an enemy stops at a prison cell to talk to inmates… This is just amazing. The immersion level is even higher with that.
The soundtrack is very catchy and a joy to listen to. It made certain moments in the game even more thrilling. The music has been created by Filippo Beck Peccoz, he also created the music for Desperados III. The soundtrack really fits the game like a glove. I’m so glad I bought the soundtrack DLC,. Now I can add the music to my music library to play while I’m at my dayjob.
This brings me to the sound design of this game. The sound design of this game is amazing. I’m playing this game with a good headset and I don’t think this game is playable without sound effects. A great example is, when you get spotted. You not only get a great visual hint of a yellow line turning red of the enemy spotting you… You also get some sound effects informing you that things are about to go down. On top of that, the sound effects add so much extra impact on taking down enemies. This makes it even more rewarding when you finally take down that one pesky enemy.
One thing I haven’t talked about yet is how flexible this game is. I have touched upon that by talking about how you can only choose three out of 8 characters per mission. And you are encouraged to experiment with different combinations. Now, when you open the options menu, you’ll be blown away. You can change almost everything. The controls like the shortcuts for abilities can be tweaked to your liking. You have quite a lot of control to tweak the volumes, the controls, the visuals… Even tweak certain game mechanics to your liking. Don’t like the save reminder? You can turn that off.
There is still another thing that boggles my mind that was added in this game. You can create a custom difficulty. The only complaint I have there is that the UI fails to explain the differences. I find it challenging to understand all the settings. You get a short explaination about the setting, and then you have a slider you can set. But, what’s the difference between 1 and 2 on the slider? That’s something the UI doesn’t really tell.
When I was writing this article, I kept looking at my notes and thought: “Oh, I forgot about that.”. There are just so many things in this game. The fact that in some missions, you must kill enemies in unique ways. In one mission, you have to lure enemies to a certain location. You need to do this 4 times. You do this instead of killing them. It’s a breath of fresh air. You’d think that having only a handful of maps would make this game boring and repetitive, but no. The maps are not only large but also used in extremely interesting ways. Revisits of a map make it easier to start, but each area is used in a mission. So, there is still a lot of challenge in the revisits.
Oh, there is one more thing. The question if you should buy the DLC’s or not. Let me just tell you this, I bought the game on sale with the DLC’s included. I’m so happy I did! Since the additional content in the DLC’s adds so much more to this game. They come highly recommended.
Now, I have left out a few things for you all to find while playing this game. This article is already getting quite long. I want to leave some things as a surprise for people interested in playing this game. I think it’s high time to wrap up this review and give my conclusion and final thoughts on this game.
Conclusion of this treasure hunt
The negatives:
-Unable to add notes to quick saves. -Some minor (visual) glitches can happen. Thankfully, they are rare and rarely/never gamebreaking. -The UI of custom difficulty could have been executed better.
The positives:
+ A masterclass in it’s genre in terms of gameplay. + Extremely flexible with options. + A modding tool. + A love-able cartoony story. + Amazing voice over work. + Superb soundtrack. + …
Final thoughts:
When I started playing Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew, I had extremely high expectations. Mimimi blew me away with the amazing Desperados III. With this swansong of a game, they not only met my expectations, they blew them out of the water. This game showcases the achievements of passionate people. These individuals are dedicated to creating the game they love.
It didn’t take long before I fell in love with the cast of this game. The charm drew me into the world of this game. Apart from some minor things, it’s hard to find things to critique about this game. The only thing I can critique are small bugs that barely impact the gameplay of this game. This game really feels like a finished product and it’s a thrill ride from start to finish.
If you really want to find things this game does wrong… You’ll either need to be extremely nitpicky or just have the game not clicking with you. If you find this game too easy or too difficult, just tweak the setttings to your playstyle and voila.
If you enjoy games like Commandos or Desperados… You’d do yourself a disservice to not check out this game. Give the demo of this game a try, and see what you think. I wouldn’t be surprised that this game sinks it’s hook into you like it did with me.
It’s a shame to see that this game studio closes. Thank you to everybody who worked on this amazing title and I hope to meet your work in other games. This final game you all created together is a real piece of art. It’s a masterclass in game development and shows how well you know the community for games like this. I’m so happy that this game exists. Since it wouldn’t surprise me that I’ll play through this game several times now.
Before I ramble on and on about this game, I think it’s high time I wrap up this article. Otherwise, I’ll keep praising this game to high heavens and back. So, with that said, I have said close to everything I wanted to say about this game. I hope you enjoyed reading this article as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then… Have a great rest of your day and take care!
I love how the store credit system works on the Nintendo eShop. When you purchase games, you get golden coins that you can use as a discount for other games. If you have enough coins, you can even buy the game outright. One of the games I have bought with this system is Trinity Trigger. From the description, it sounded like an interesting and unique action JRPG, and I’m always interested to play new and unique games. Especially since key staff on this game worked on amazing games like Chrono Cross and the Mana series. Now, is it any good and should you pick up this game, or is it a game that you should skip? Well, in this first impression I have after playing 1/4th of the game, I want to tell you my opinion so far. I’m also curious to hear your opinion on the game and/or the content of this article in the comment section down below. And with that said, let’s dive right into Trinity Trigger.
Just A Bit More
In this game, we take on the role of Cyan. Cyan is an average boy from a small village. He is also a treasure hunter that one day learns he is chosen by the God of Chaos as his Warrior of Chaos.
In the fantasy world of Trinitia, there are two main Gods. The God of Order and the God of Chaos. In ancient times, they used to wage war for control of the lands. Now, they chose a warrior each to represent them and fight the other warrior to the death for dominance. Cyan doesn’t know what that even means, but it might explain why he has amnesia, those weird dreams and that special glowing mark in his eye. In search for answers, he sets out on a journey, and that’s how this game starts.
When this game was originally teased, the main setup for this game was to create a game and story that was nostalgic to those who played old school JRPG’s. A lot of talent who worked on other big titles like Xenoblade, Pokémon and Bravely Default II were working on this game as well. I always find it dangerous to mention these things, since it might set the expectations of players way too high. What if this isn’t going to work out or when the story just doesn’t hit the mark?
You can never predict how the chemistry is between people, and it’s possible that they are unable to work together. But, it’s also possible they hit it off big and make something extremely unique and special. I remember how a game like World’s End Club could have been so much more with two amazing directors behind it, Kazutake Kodaka from Danganronpa fame and Kotaro Uchikoshi from the Zero Escape fame. Yet, that game was decent but could have been so much more if it had more depth and polish.
If I’m honest with myself, Trinity Trigger falls into the same boat then World’s End Club. Take the story, for example. When I started playing this game, an amazing world was being setup and I started to get interested and immersed in this new world. But, it didn’t take long before I noticed that this game hits all the familiar story beats you expect from a JRPG. But the biggest issue in this story is that it doesn’t do anything special during its journey. I have already visited a couple of towns and each time it’s the exact same basic premise that happens.
The best way I can describe the story is that it’s unoffensively bland. It does what it’s supposed to do, but nothing more. It’s a shame, since the amazing voice cast behind this game brought this game to live so much. I have nothing to critique there. The only thing that can be a bit annoying is hearing the same grunts over and over again while you are fighting in the dungeons, but that’s part of the course in JRPG’s.
Playing it safe
For some people, having a bland story in a JRPG’s is a dealbreaker. But, I can handle that if the main gameplay loop is enjoyable. In this game, you go from town to town and explore the town dungeon to become stronger and get new unique abilities.
The battles in this game aren’t turn based like in other JRPG’s. This is an action JRPG, after all, so you have to dodge and time your attacks well. You can even choose to ignore battles if you want to, apart from scripted fights or boss battles, that is. The combat system is decent and does the job. The only complaint I have is that your stamina drains a bit too fast, making your attacks quite weak against enemies. So, you have to use other mechanics like having better damage when you dodge roll an attack in time.
After each dungeon, you unlock a new weapon that has a slightly different playstyle. You can choose between which weapon you use on the fly with a weapon wheel. It works quite well, and it’s fun to figure out which enemies are weak against which weapons. Especially the bosses, since hitting them with the right weapon creates even more damage.
During your exploration, you can find hidden chests with items. Underneath the mini-map, you can find a counter with how many hidden treasures are still left in the area. I find it quite enjoyable to explore the whole map to find these hidden treasures. Some of the hidden passages are hidden away extremely well, and finding them was a blast.
Something I also really enjoy is that you can easily choose between which character you control. Some characters have unique skills and being able to quickly switch between them is amazing. Since, some enemies have a long range attack, and then it’s a blast being able to switch to a character that can use a bow to take them out more easily.
Enemies also drop various items that you can use to craft items in shops or at special stations. And crafting these items actually cost in game money. The amount you have to spend for crafting is a lot lower, but this is a mechanic I’m hesitant about. It would have been quite a lot of fun to be able to craft healing items during your exploration. Maybe these healing items were less effective than the potions you can buy in the shops. But then again, it might break the balance of the game and make you a bit overpowered.
You can only carry so many potions and to be very honest, I never really had problems with a boss battle or a dungeon when I was stocked up on potions. When you don’t do anything crazy and keep your stock high and manage your stat boosting items well, this game becomes quite easy. So easy in fact that boss battles become an endurance test and extremely repetitive.
Each boss battle has the same basic premise. You have to dodge their attacks and use the right weapon to break the shield of the boss. In most cases, this is the newly unlocked weapon. After you have broken the shield, you can damage the boss. If you have broken the shield 4 to 5 times, and kept hitting the boss, you have beaten the fight.
Now, the dungeons play like your typical The Legend of Zelda dungeon to a degree. There is one main theme and puzzle mechanic for you to solve. Once you reached the final room of the dungeon, you fight a final boss and progress in the game. When I think about it, the structure of this game resembles 2D Zelda games here and there. And maybe, the structure of a Zelda game would have fit the game better than an action JRPG. Since, I wouldn’t be surprised if players drop this game and call it repetitive. Since, it really is. I tried to play this game in longer sessions, but I started to feel bored after playing it for an hour or two. Yet, I kept enjoying myself with the game while playing it on my 30-minute train ride from and to work.
Middle of the Road
The more I play this game, the more I feel like this game could have been so much more. The basic foundation of this game is rock solid, and I barely have anything to critique there. Like the controls and the UI for example. The controls are extremely responsive and a blast to work with.
Now, the other characters are AI controlled. Overall, the AI does an okay job following you and aiding you in combat, but it can do some brain-dead actions as well. One of the dungeons where it frustrated me to no end was the ice dungeon, where your AI allies slid into the spikes every single time.
Visually, this game looks pretty decent. There is quite a lot of detail put into this world and the underused area exclusive mechanics are quite a lot of fun to play with. For example, I love how in the forest area the mushrooms can have different effects depending on the color. Especially the one that allows you to light up the area.
But then you have moments where some textures are bland and look like they are from an earlier generation, creating a mismatch. And on top of that, some battle animations can’t be canceled. And the final attack of the bow is just silly. Yet, if a certain attack is in progress, you can’t switch weapons. This is something that annoyed me quite a lot as well.
The soundtrack of this game is quite enjoyable. It fits the atmosphere of the game like a glove. Overall, this orchestral soundtrack is a joy to listen too. But, there are some tracks that are a bit too short and the rather repetitive melody isn’t it doing any favors. Thankfully, these tracks don’t appear to often so I don’t mind it too hard.
The sound effects are pretty good too. I’d recommend that you use the option menu to tweak the sound balancing to your liking, since the basic sound balancing is a bit off when it comes to the balance between sound effects and music. I had to lower the music a little bit so I could hear the important sound effects better during battles.
This game really feels like it’s walking the middle of the road here. My biggest complaint with this game is that it lacks depth in almost every aspect of the game. And it’s just that lack of depth that’s hurting this game. This game has a lot of great idea’s like how easy to read the UI is, but it barely does anything with the stat boosting items.
The game also has local co-op, but I don’t see a reason why to play this game in co-op. There aren’t enough elements to justify for me to have a friend over and play this game. It’s just too bland for that. It’s a shame, since if the combat system was more in depth, it would have been an amazing feature. Now, it’s just another ticked box of features this game has.
Just like how some of the monster design is amazing and sometimes even looks somewhat creepy. They also telegraph their attacks quite well, so you can easily dodge them. Dodging attacks in time is quite important, since you can do special attacks or even more damage. Now, you also have your typical enemies like your slimes and bees, but they look unique and fit their setting quite well.
To be honest, this game is the perfect entry game for young childern to get into roleplaying games. I think that if you have played other more expansive JRPG’s, you will notice the cracks this game has and feel mixed about the game like the whole reception is for this game.
This brings me to the price. To be honest, I wouldn’t pay the full price for this game. The asking price for this game is 40€. And if you want all the DLC, it’s even more. Around 50€. Now, I don’t recommend buying all the DLC apart from the one that comes with the Deluxe edition. The other DLC is just a one time booster pack you can buy to make the game even easier than it already is.
The asking price is too high for this game and it’s length. This game can be beaten in 15 hours and it doesn’t really have replay value. I personally feel that 25€ would have been a better price for the base game and Deluxe edition should have been 40€. If you are interested by this game, I’d buy it if it were on sale. While this game isn’t doing anything new or innovate, it still manages to be enjoyable.
I’m happy that I gave this game a chance. While I expected a lot more from it, I don’t think it’s a bad game. I can totally understand why people don’t like this game or drop it. Since, it’s a very basic middle of the road JRPG that could do something unique but doesn’t. Now, the Japanese publishers of this game FuRyu have developed a game that became the basis for another larger game (The Legend of Legacy feels like the basis for The Alliance Alive). Maybe this game is creating the basis for another larger and better game.
If that’s the case, I’d love to see more unique puzzles in the dungeons for a start. The dungeons were so easy to beat and didn’t provide too much challenge. Maybe some puzzles were only the unique dungeon weapon has to be used to progress or even exit the dungeon.
I’d also love to see more expansion on the armor and stat items. I felt they barely had any impact in this game and I often forgot you could change the stones in your equipement to increase the damage output in certain cases or decrease the taken damage in certain cases.
The biggest thing I’d love to see improved is more depth in the game. Develop the town more and make them more memorable, instead of just a stop to stock up on supplies to go to the next dungeon. The side quests were introduced too late into the game.
I could go on for a while giving examples of what they can expand or improve, but I want to avoid that you get the impression that this game is bad. This game is decent, but not great. That’s the best way to describe this game. I’d recommend it to younger players who want to give an action JRPG a try. If you are in love with the action JRPG games, I’d highly advice you to lower your expecations. I’d compare to that animated summer blockbuster movie that everybody forgets about in a few months. It didn’t do anything memorable but it a fun time while it lasted. It’s a great snack inbetween games for me and I’m curious to see what the developer does next. Since, the potential is there.
With that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about the game for now. I want to thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then have a great rest of your day and take care.
When you purchase games on the Nintendo eShop, you earn store credit. I usually save up a lot of my credit and purchase a smaller title with it. One of these titles I purchased a few months ago is named Little Noah – Scion of Paradise. After playing it for a bit, I was surprised that it was the perfect game to play on my commute to and from work. I played it on a few train rides, and I think I’m ready to share my opinion on this game. This game is something unique and now that I have beaten it once, I really want to talk about it. Wait, beaten it once? What do I actually mean? Let’s talk about it in this article, while I invite you to leave a comment with your thoughts and/or opinions on this game and/or the content of this article in the comment section down below.
Zipping Kitty Attempts
In this game, we play as an alchemist called Little Noah. She is in a long journey to reunite with her father. While she is looking for her father, her airship gets caught in a storm, and she crashes near a mysterious ruin.
In that ruin, she meets an amnesiac cat named Zipper. Well, she names it Zipper. Together, they start to explore this ruin because they encountered a dark wizard named Greigh, who wants to enable a powerful machine which is dormant in the ruin.
Now, if you are looking for a deep story… I’m going to have to disappoint you. The story of this game isn’t the main focus of this game. The story in this game is fine for what it is and does its job, but there is nothing more to it. Personally, I don’t think it’s a negative for this game. Because the story takes a backseat, the gameplay loop is a lot more polished. Also, I don’t think it was the intention to have a very in depth story.
The voice actors in this game did an amazing job and brought the characters and the world of this game to live. The amount of personality they brought to their characters is really well done and really fits the atmosphere of this game like a glove. The amazing voice acting is one of the main reasons why I didn’t mind the “To be continued” at the end of the game at all. This small title really feels like the developers are testing the water if people who be interested in a larger game set in the world of Little Noah.
So, what do I mean by “small title”? Well, this game can be beaten in an afternoon. Now, the game has quite a lot of replay value in my opinion. The gameplay loop of this game is quite enjoyable. It has quite the potential to grow into something unique that I don’t often see in these rouge lite games. But, I’ll talk more about the gameplay later.
According to various sources online, this game has been worked on by a small team of 30 people. Even by some industry legends like Yukio Futatsugi, who had his hand on another title I played in the past called World’s End Club. The amount of love and care put into this title is quite impressive and gets a thumbs up from me. I know that this game is based upon an earlier mobile game from the same developers called Battle Champs. Yet, I think it’s great to see the developers repurpose the assets after the shutdown of that game and make something new about it.
If you have ever played a game like Rouge Legacy, you’ll feel right at home in this game. In this game, you have to explore a dungeon and fight bosses. During your exploration run, you gain various special items that give you all sorts of buffs.
In terms of difficulty, this game is very balanced. While you can get lucky and get amazing items and buffs to make it quite far in the game, with enough skill and understanding of the game… you can even outplay the game if you get bad items and not good buffs. Now, I’m reading mixed things about the hard difficulty online, but I have been playing through this game on normal difficulty and I found it pretty fair and balanced. So, let’s do one more dive to explain how this game works.
One More Dive
I want to talk about the unique mechanic in this game. The combat system in this game is something I wanted to play for a long while. In this game, you are accompanied by Lilliputs. These are special creatures who attack for you. You start each run with three basic Lilliputs. During your run, you can find other Lilliputs and make yourself stronger.
Each Lilliput is very different in terms of strength, element, attack, and unique attack. You can only have five Lilliputs for your main attacks, and you have two special attack slots where you can place one Lilliput in each. So, you really need to balance your Lilliputs well. The order is also quite important, you don’t want a whole row of slow attacking Lilliputs in an area with a lot of range attacking enemies. Also, you don’t want to use a weak element compared to the enemies you are facing. If you are focusing on wind, you will have trouble with fire enemies.
It’s extremely important to understand your Lilliputs. Since, once you started an attack, you are somewhat locked into that attack. You can’t start another attack while an attack is in progress, excluding the special attacks that is. So, if the enemy moves to the other side of your attack, though luck. This game is a whole balancing and time act, and it’s a lot of fun. The randomness in this whole game makes each run unique, and you can never predict how far you’ll be able to go.
Now, dying in this game isn’t the worst thing. All your items and Lilliputs get converted into mana, which you can use to repair your airship. The more you repair your airship, the more advantages and buffs you can unlock to make even better runs. You can also use special treasure chests you can pick up in your run to either increase the strength of your unlocked Lilliputs or give to Zipper for a special bonus for your next run.
So, how does a run go? Well, allow me to compare it to a crusade in Cult of the Lamb to a degree. In that game, you go into a dungeon, and you have to go from room to room, defeating every enemy in that room before you can progress to the next room. Unlike Cult of the Lamb, some rooms give you a special challenge. These challenges are reaching a certain amount of chained damage or hits, not being hit or defeating all the enemies in a limited amount of time. When you complete this challenge, you receive an additional bonus when you defeat the room.
There are also special rooms that can spawn. A shop where you can spend the gold you earn during a run, platform challenges with a strong treasure chest at the end, (combat) challenge rooms and rooms where you can get special buffs from a crystal and a room where you can get Lilliputs or a buff item. All of these special rooms have a special icon on the map. The map also shows little icons when there is still something you can pick up in the room.
Complete exploration of a dungeon is a very risk/reward thing. You do risk your health to go into an additional room to get additional buffs, or do you want to save your health for the next (mid)boss level? In order to beat this game, you have to beat three worlds. Each world works like this: level – level – midboss – level – boss. Be warned, you can only replenish your health potions at the start of a level. During (mid)boss fights, you can’t replenish your health potions, so keep that in mind when you are deciding if it’s worth the risk to go into that challenge platforming room.
Overall, the gameplay in the dungeon is quite addictive and the fast-paced decision-making you have to make is something that got me hooked. I don’t spend a lot of time on my airship, outside repairing it and setting up the right buffs for my next run. I always want to do one more dive and try and beat the game again. Now, the airship itself is build quite well. You can also re-read the tutorial boxes in case you want to refresh your memory on certain mechanics.
Repetition of Diving
Something that really impressed me is how smooth this game actually runs. The optimization of this game is incredible. I didn’t have any frame rate issues or slowdowns at all. Even when I’m preforming my ultimate attack, which causes a lot of visual flair and effects on the screen.
The controls are extremely responsive as well. Very rarely I felt like I wasn’t in control, and I think some of these moments might even have been a false positive where I was trying to blame my mistake on the game. In terms of the controls, there are only a few nitpicks I can give. The first is the decision to place “R” as the interaction button. This feels quite unnatural and took me some getting used to. Also, I think a left-handed mode would have been welcome since I think left-handed people who appreciate the “L” button then for interactions.
Why am I placing so much attention on this? Well, because you don’t pick up items or Lilliputs automatically. You have to stand next to them and interact with their medal or crystal. But items like health drops or burst gauges are picked up automatically.
The other nitpick I have is that when you start your dive, you get a fixed amount of mana from the first dungeon. Why can’t we skip this little cutscene that plays every time? It breaks the flow of the start of a run. Since you are stopped in your tracks every time.
Another nitpick I have with the controls is how the Lilliput attack order can be decided. The problem comes when I just want to swap two Lilliputs of their place. This is something you can’t do. Unless you swap them from your inventory to the main line OR from the main line to a special attack slot and vice versa. Swapping two Lilliputs in the main line is somewhat clunky to do and feels unpolished.
Visually, this game is extremely colorful and charming. While this is a side view game, like a 2D Mario game, the backgrounds are also incredible. The team that worked on the visual presentation of this game did an amazing job. I only have one nitpick about it and that’s somewhat shared with a nitpick I have with the audio design.
I feel like the frozen status isn’t communicated clearly enough to the player. Several times I was unable to move Noah and I couldn’t figure out why. It took me sometime to realize that she was frozen and that’s the reason why I couldn’t preform an action. Either a more exaggerated visual of a frozen Noah could solve this or more sound effects when you try to do something while frozen.
Apart from that, I don’t have any complaints about the visuals. The animation feels amazing, and you feel the impact of the attacks of your Lilliputs and it feels so rewarding, adding more immersion to the gameplay loop. This game is something where I felt: “One more dive” after each time I died and returned to the airship. Each time I wanted to go and explore the amazing caverns. While I was afraid that this game would suffer from long play sessions, I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn’t the case for me. At the end of a long play session, I have to admit that the game felt a bit repetitive… But I don’t mind repetitive gameplay too much when the core gameplay loop and level design is fun.
The only negative I have about the level design is that you very quickly see all the possible room lay-outs there are in this game. While the dungeon is randomized each run, it doesn’t take long before you see similar rooms. A couple of times, I even had the same room back-to-back. This isn’t a huge problem perse, but I felt that the developers could mask this a bit better with different decorations or minor changes like one of the platforms having a possibility of crumbling or not.
The music and sound effects in this game are really catchy. I would love to add it to my playlist. Sadly, I can’t really find a way to listen to the soundtrack or even buy it. The tracks in this game are charming when they need to be but are also quite action-packed during fight scenes. The sound effects and visuals inform you quite well when an enemy is going to attack.
Now, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game for now. I think it’s high time for my conclusion of this game. Let’s dive into the summary and my final thoughts of this game.
Summary
The bad:
– Some minor nitpicks with the controls. – Story is fine, but lacks some depth and is predictable.
The good:
+ Very addictive gameplay loop with high replay value. + Amazing voice acting. + Breath taking visuals. + Extremely optimized gameplay. + …
Final thoughts:
This game is a small indie title created from the remains of an old gotcha game. It’s only 15€ on the Nintendo eShop and it’s totally worth it’s price in gold. While the game lacks some depth and is quite short, the replay value this game has is something that’ll make you replay this game just one more time.
While playing this game, I felt that this game was an experiment. The developers were testing the waters if the gameplay would work or not. This game feels like a prequel to a much larger game and if I’m right, I can’t wait to see what the full game or the sequel is going to be like.
Even when this game is going to be a standalone game, I don’t really mind if that’s the case. This game is a game I can highly recommend if you enjoy games like Rouge Legacy or Cult of the Lamb. While it doesn’t have a lot of, if any, base building… It’s another amazing title in the genre.
While outside of the combat mechanics, it doesn’t do a lot of things you haven’t seen (a lot) before in other similar games. But, that isn’t a bad thing. Since, sometimes a game where all the good ideas from other games come together into one title can be a lot of fun as well.
I’d love to see another game in this universe where there are a bit more stakes in using your Lilliputs. What if certain Lilliputs get weaker when you pick up items of their opposite element? Or Lilliputs that can do a special attack with another Lilliput present…
There is so much more you can do with this combat system and I think that if the developers expanded on the core mechanics, this game sequel could reach quite far. Since, the game we already got placed an amazing foundation for an amazing series. I love this game to bits and I’m so glad I gave this game a chance, since it was an amazing pleasant surprise to playthrough. It comes highly recommend from me. After I finished the game once, I let me hunger for more. I wanted to play it even more. And the fact that I barely have any complaints about this game apart from a weak story and some nitpicks… This game just has a lot of care and lot put in by the developers and everything works and fits together so well.
With that said, I have said everything I wanted to say about this game for now. I want to thank you for reading this article and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
So, when I’m writing this, it is 2024. I turned 31 years old back in February. I still love playing video games and surfing the internet since I was a young lad. Besides that, I also have a fascination for anything that has to do with dreams and their meanings. And then a game called Hypnospace Outlaw turns up on my radar. A game that promises to bring back the early years of the internet that I remember. Not only that, we are going to have to moderate the internet with a new technology that allows people to surf the internet while they are dreaming. We have to play as an unnamed enforcer to keep the internet safe and on top of that, we can create our own pages and mod this game easily. But before we start spending time on that, let’s find out if the base game is actually good and if it’s worth to start playing this game or if it’s something we should skip. Also, feel free to leave your thoughts and/or opinions on this article and/or the game in the comment section down below. Besides, dear enforcer and MerchantSoft, this isn’t harassment, this is a fair review/critique of the game. Removing this from HypnoOS isn’t the solution.
Dreaming Up Nostalgic Investigations
In this game, you play as an unnamed enforcer for MerchantSoft. A company that developed a headband that allows users to surf the web in their dreams. Your goal is to clean up the HypnoSpace for everybody. You start in late 1999, where your first case is assigned. When your first case is assigned, you are left to your own devices, and you can explore the internet by yourself. And let me tell you, there is a lot of internet to explore.
The story of this game is fascinating. You get to dive and explore through various pages on the internet about various things. A long time before social media was a thing and everybody had a website for their own creations. The HypnoSpace has several zones, with each their own theme. If you remember AOL, you will know what I’m talking about.
If you want to get the most out of this game, I highly advise you to take your time with this game. Don’t rush it at all. This game is sadly rather short if you only follow the main story of the game. It’s only 6 hours long and shorter if you know what you are doing. I mean, the speedruns are only around 11 minutes. The strength of this game is the depth it has. This game has three main chapters, and there are clear triggers that separate the chapters.
The deeper you dig and the more you read up, the more interesting lore gets revealed. I actually started a second playthrough to try and find the things I missed. And honestly, this game is one that gets ruined by playing it with a guide in any sort or form. Do not play this game with a guide. It’s a lot less rewarding if you play it with a guide in your first or second playthrough. The wonder of getting lost in all of these pages is just so nostalgic.
Now, while I was playing, I was wondering if it would appeal to the younger players out there. I’m somewhat on the fence about that. While it tackles a lot of subjects that are still somewhat relevant, I honestly think that it’ll mostly click with those who grew up with the internet of the ’90 to early ’00. With that said, I think that it still might click with the younger people, but know that the internet was very different back then.
Point-And-Click Detective
This game is a point-and-click adventure game in any sense of the word. You get a case, and you have to explore the internet to see if anyone broke the rules or not.
Each infraction you find, will reward you with HypnoCoin. You can use these coins to buy various things in the Hypnospace. This can go from stickers, wallpapers, themes, applications to so much more. But be careful, it’s quite possible that some of these downloads are infected with malware. And back then, malware was a lot more visual and less aimed at serving you a lot of ads or stealing your information.
The controls of this game are quite easy. You mostly click with your mouse and input things sometimes in the search bar. If you know how to do basic things with a computer, you’ll very quickly find your way around with this game as well. While I sometimes struggled with opening apps, I didn’t have too much trouble with the controls. Thankfully, there are some options to tweak the controls to your liking, like disabling that double-clicking opens apps. But, I’m a Windows user and the double click to open apps is just hardwired in my brain.
Visually, this game really looks like you are playing with the old internet. When I noticed that there was a mod that changed the OS into Windows 95, oh boy, I was sold. There are various themes for the OS in this game, and they go from amazing to silly. There is even a fast food theme. Now, if you read that this game is mostly created by a team of 5 people, it’s even more impressive. Not only that, one of the main designers of Dropsy is part of the team.
The creativity of this game never ceased to amaze me. Let me continue on the trend of the visuals and say that the little details on how the webpages look is just so realistic. The little typo’s here and there, the rabbit holes you can jump down, the crazy visuals on various pages… Even the “help me, I can’t remove this” and “Test 1 2 3″… I made me crack up and remember my early days when I used to write webpages in plain HTML with barely any coding knowledge as a young teen.
While I knew that wiggling the mouse sped up the loading of the webpages, I just never really did. I just enjoyed the webpages loading slowly and having that experience again when I was a teenager before Facebook or any other big social media started to take over. Yes, even before MySpace. While I only experienced the late “pre-social media internet”, I do have amazing memories of it.
On top of that, you have the amazing wallpapers and sticker packs you can buy and play around with. With this, you can really make your desktop your own. But, something that really triggered memories for me were the viruses you can encounter. Back as a young teen, I was a lot less careful in what I downloaded and seeing the visual mess some viruses can create in this game, it triggered some nasty memories.
Memories like how one time, I got a very nasty variant of the SASSER worm and each time I installed something new, my computer would lock up and crash. Yes, even when you tried to re-install Windows, it locked up and crashed the installer. After a lot of digging, I found that it was caused by a program starting with boot and I had to screw out my hard drive, connect it with somebody’s computer and then remove the start-up file from there. I also had a piece of malware that looked like the ButtsDisease virus in this game. Where it started to change all the text on a webpage to another word. Oh man, those were the days.
So, during your investigations you can encounter various things. Things like people breaking the rules, and you have to report those. You mostly need to focus on one of 5 categories. Copyright infringement, harassment, illegal downloads/malware, extra illegal commerce and illegal activity. Each law gets several infractions, and you do have to look for them. At one moment, I really that to take notes. I really have to say, taking notes for this game is really helpful, you even have the notes’ app in HypnoOS.
Sticking in your brain
Now, something I have to commend the developers for in this game is that they also took accessibility into account. Something I have to commend the developers for as well is the amount of content in this game, even when the main story is extremely short. I already talked about the visuals and how much I love them, but the music in this game is something else.
Some of the music tracks are really stuck in my mind and I wouldn’t be surprised that if I ever write another article in my favorite game music series, some of them will pop up in that. Some tracks are real earworms and got stuck in my brain. The music for some of the parody products in this game is so good, that I wish they were real.
The music in this game is a mixture of various styles, and I find some of them more catchy than the others, but it’s really impressive at how many styles there are in this game. If you know that this game has over 4 hours of music in it, that’s an amazing feat.
There is even a whole suite where you can create your own pages, music and mods released by one of the main developers of this game. It works only on Windows and you can read more about it on the itch.io page of Jay Tolen here. There were even various community events where your stuff could appear as an Easter egg in the main game. Yet, these tools are now part of the main game and are in your installation folder.
Speaking about this, modding this game is extremely easy. There is even a build in mod browser, and it’s a piece of cake to install and downloads mods. If you use the in-game mod menu, you don’t have to reboot the game for most mods to take effect. Just go to the main menu, choose the mods button and install the mods you want. Now, there are a lot more mods out there then just what you can find in the in-game mod browser, so check them out here.
The game has an autosave, it doesn’t really show when the game gets saved. There are three save slots, so if you want to replay the game, you can pick another save slot. Now, if there is one mod I highly advise is he expanded endgame cases mod. This mod expands the game quite naturally and is a lot of fun and additional challenge. But don’t read the description when you haven’t finished the game, since it contains quite a lot of spoilers.
This game can be quite tricky. Sometimes the solution isn’t the easiest to find. It’s even possible you don’t find the solution to every puzzle out there. Now, there is a built in hint system for this game. It’s somewhat hidden to avoid immersion breaking, but for a small HypnoCoin fee, you can get a hint to progress. I really love this system, since I rather have you getting a crowbar to get yourself unstuck than you getting a guide where it’s very easy to other things and spoil the whole experience. Since the fun of this genre depends highly on solving the puzzles with what’s given to you. If you want to get a hint, just search hint.
Overall I have been extremely positive about this game, and I have to say that overall this game is extremely well-made. I rarely found any moments where I thought, this isn’t right. But does that mean that this game doesn’t have any negatives? Well, sadly enough there are a few things I didn’t like about my experience and that I want to talk about.
First of all, I wish the default text-to-speech voice wasn’t the default language of your system if you aren’t English. I’m from Belgium and my text-to-speech voice reads English extremely weird. Thankfully, I had the English soundpack installed on my computer so after I went into the BIOS settings, I was able to quickly change it to the English one and it sounds a lot more natural and better.
Secondly, this is an issue in general with point-and-click games but the replay value just isn’t here. Once you explored everything, you have seen everything. There are various mini-games, but those are quickly beaten. While I personally don’t really see this is a negative, since not every game needs high replay value and sometimes playing it once and having the whole experience engulf you is the idea… I want to mention it, if somebody is looking for replayable games.
Third, you can find more infractions than what’s required to close the case. While I can understand that the game doesn’t tell you how many other things there are out there for immersion reasons, as somebody who wanted to experience everything, I was sometimes a bit annoyed that I couldn’t make sure I found everything. If only there was an option you could toggle to see completion percentage or something of that nature. Since, because of this, it’s possible to lock yourself out of achievements or content in this game.
Yes, this game has achievements and some of them are extremely tricky to get. It took me a lot of researching and exploring in HypnoSpace to find all the material. Thankfully, taking notes really helped me to find it all.
And the final thing is that the final chapters of this game feel a bit rushed and undercooked. One of the final cases is a breeze to solve if you have written notes during your playthrough and it feels like there is content cut out of the game. The ending comes a bit out of nowhere and if you didn’t explore everything or didn’t register certain things, the ending won’t make sense to you and it will loose it’s impact. Thankfully, the mod I shared earlier resolves this to a degree.
That’s all the negative I could say about this game, in my honest opinion. When this game clicks with you, it clicks really well and doesn’t let go at all. But, I’ll leave my final thoughts after the summary of this review. So, I think it’s high time for that since I have touch upon everything I wanted to in this review.
Summary
The bad:
-Text-to-speech should use English by default
-It’s possible to miss content or lock yourself out of it.
-The game is rather short.
-Rushed ending.
The good:
+ Amazing nostalgic trip
+ Amazing music
+ Fantastic writing
+ Easy to use mod tools
+ Great puzzles
+ Great controls
+ …
Final thoughts:
Hypnospace Outlaw is an amazing nostalgic point-and-click adventure trip through the late ’90’s internet. This game might not be for everyone, but when it clicks… Oh boy does it really click. Now, this is also a game you shouldn’t rush. The charm of this game is in all the little details and references that are hidden in the pages and the world building of this game.
While the game is rather at the shortside for point-and-click games, I don’t see it as a big problem to be honest. The journey that this game took me on was a lot more worth it to me than having a long game. Since, I think it would have lost it’s charm if this game kept going and going.
While I personally have more memories with the internet time period that came right after it, the developers are already working on the sequel to this game called Dreamsettler. I honestly can’t wait to play that one, since the quality that this game has is just top notch. The music is catchy, the visuals are amazing and it alls comes together in an amazing nostalgic trip that makes you want to play more.
There are some minor blemishes on this game, but you can work with them. Like I said before, when this game clicks, it really does click extremely well. I’d compare my experience with games like There Is No Game or SuperLiminal. Amazing small titles that leave a lasting impact on those who play it. All of these games are passion projects that turned out amazing and get a recommendation from me.
If you enjoy playing unique point-and-click games and/or if you have nostalgia for the old ’90’s internet, I highly recommend that you give this game a try. While this game is on multiple platforms, I highly recommend that you play the PC version since it has mod support that gives you even more toys to play with and expands the game even more.
I had a blast with this game and it’s a breath of fresh air for me. I’m angry at myself that I rushed my playthrough, but now I have installed several mods and I’m so going to replay this game after I have published this article. I also want to earn every achievement in this game, since I really want to see everything. I’m also extremely hyped for the sequel to this game and I can’t wait to start playing that, since that is going to be an even bigger nostalgic trip for me than this game. And with the amazing set of developers behind this game, I think we get another gem in our hands.
And with that said, I think it’s high time to wrap this article up. I want to thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I hope to be able to welcome you in another article, but until then, have a great rest of your day and take care.
The eerie psychiatrist Dr. Hill will return in the Until Dawn film adaption, once again played by Peter Stormare (Fargo, John Wick).
A report from The Hollywood Reporter confirmed Stormare’s return, confirming even more casting additions to the Until Dawn film. Alongside Stormare, the film is adding Maia Mitchell (The Fosters,Teen Beach) and Belmont Cameli (Saved by the Bell), although their roles aren’t being revealed yet. The trio joined the already-announced cast of Ella Rubin, Michael Cimino, Ji-young Yoo, and Odessa A’Zion.
In the original game, Dr. Hill is a psychiatrist who appears in short scenes throughout the story, known in-game as “The Analyst.” He’s used as a sort of fourth-wall-breaking character who talks directly to the player about the story and their decisions, later being integrated more directly into the story itself. Because of his sort of “meta” role in the game, it’ll be interesting to see how he’s adapted into a film version.
Until Dawn, released in 2015, follows a group of young adults who take a vacation to a remote cabin on snowy Blackwood Mountain. There, the group is forced to face not only supernatural events but also a serial killer. The game featured an array of actors at the time, including Rami Malek, Hayden Panettiere, and Noah Fleiss.
While the original developer, Supermassive Games, went on to create The Dark Pictures Anthology, a remake of Until Dawn is planned for release on PS5 and PC this Fall from Sony Interactive Entertainment and Ballistic Moon.
The Until Dawn movie doesn’t currently have a release date or window, stay tuned to CGMagazine for more details as they develop.
Japan’s benchmark stock index The Nikkei has seen its biggest fall in four decades this morning amid fears of a looming American recession in the world’s biggest economy. Nintendo, Capcom, SEGA, and more, saw stock fall sharply with Cave suffering the most losses with shares down more than 23% this morning. Here’s the damage which… Read More »Japan: Nintendo stock tumbles amid US recession fears
What was originally called chiaki4deck, a lot of people thought it was primarily aimed at PlayStation Remote Play for Steam Deck but they've now rebranded to chiaki-ng (chiaki-next-generation).
It was already assumed that layoffs of 220 workers that hit Destiny 2 developer Bungie were a result of executive mismanagement, but now there are insider reports from Game File that further paint a picture of a studio that, according to one source, “sold things they were just not able to deliver.” While the feeling […]
Příští hra studia Sony Santa Monica by mohla být zcela novou IP, jak se píše na stránce LinkedIn vedoucího charakterů, který se studiem spolupracuje.
Studio SIE Santa Monica dalo jasně najevo, že i když God of War Ragnarok ukončil severskou ságu série, samotná hra God of War ještě zdaleka neskončila, což by většina lidí stejně tušila. Zajímavé však je, že dalším projektem studia nakonec možná nebude hra God of War, na rozdíl od toho, co někteří možná očekávali.
Stránka na LinkedIn vývojáře, který pracuje pro Santa Monia Studios jako vedoucí postavy, byla spatřena uživatelem ResetEra a naznačuje, že vývojář v současné době pracuje na zcela nové IP. „Santa Monica Studios mi nabídlo možnost vrátit se na pozici Character Supervisor, starat se o celý vývoj postav, na jejich nové IP, takže jsem tady, nadšený, že jsem zpátky, znovu pracuji s týmem a společně posouváme postavy ve videohrách,“ stojí na stránce LinkedIn.
O tom, že SIE Santa Monica pracuje na neoznámeném novém titulu, svědčí několik pracovních inzerátů z posledních let, přičemž úniky naznačují, že se jedná o novou IP hru, kterou povede Cory Barlog, jenž režíroval God of War z roku 2018, ale na God of War Ragnarok z roku 2022 již ve stejné funkci nepracoval a režie pokračování se ujal Eric Williams.
Zda to znamená, že projekt, který Barlog vede, je nová IP, se můžeme jen dohadovat – i když v takovém případě by se nabízela otázka, jaká budoucnost čeká sérii God of War.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a car in Gran Turismo 7.
Gran Turismo 7 players have flocked to social media to share examples of, uh, unusual driving physics after the racer's 1.49 update added a new setting that seemingly fills vehicles with helium.
Where developer Polyphony Digital had hoped to introduce "more natural weight" for players, cars are instead launching themselves into the air, making for some extraordinarily amusing clips:
Remasterovaná hororová adventura vyjde pro PS5 a PC letos na podzim, ale zatím nemá oficiálně oznámené konkrétní datum vydání.
Společnost Sony na začátku tohoto roku oznámila, že chystaný rozšířený remaster hry Until Dawn vyjde letos na podzim, a přestože konkrétní datum vydání ještě nebylo oznámeno, zdá se, že hra v zákulisí neustále postupuje a blíží se svému uvedení na trh.
Jak si všiml @Wario64 na Twitteru, chystaný remaster Until Dawn získal hodnocení ESRB, nepřekvapivě M jako Mature. Věkové hodnocení her se obvykle uděluje v závěrečných fázích vývoje a blízko vydání, takže to pravděpodobně naznačuje, že Until Dawn je na dobré cestě k vydání ještě letos.
Samozřejmě zůstává otázkou, kdy přesně Sony oznámí datum vydání, ale pokud hra skutečně vyjde na podzim, jak je plánováno, měli bychom se o ní dozvědět více v následujících týdnech. Zůstaňte naladěni na další aktualizace.
Až bude hra Until Dawn uvedena na trh, bude k dispozici na PS5 a PC. Na PC bude vyžadovat účet PSN.
Měsíční hry zdarma v rámci služby PlayStation Plus na srpen 2024 nabízejí rozmanité zážitky.
Od dobrodružství ve hře Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga přes vzrušující hru Five Nights at Freddy’s Security Breach až po temnou fantasy Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. Na své si tentokrát přijdou zejména mladší hráči.
LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
vyniká mezi srpnovými hrami zdarma pro PlayStation Plus. Umožňuje hráčům prožít epické události ze všech 9 filmů ságy Star Wars v jedinečné, plně pohlcující galaxii LEGO Star Wars. Můžete hrát za rytíře Jedi, Sithy, rebely, lovce odměn, nebo dokonce za droida, a to se stovkami hratelných postav. Kromě toho se hráči pohybují v ikonických vozidlech, jako je Millennium Falcon, T-47 Airspeeder a X-wings odboje, a proplouvají touto galaxií s nádechem potrhlého humoru.
Five Nights At Freddy’s Security Breach
Dále tu máme hru FNAF: Security Breach, která se do sbírky PS Plus dostane v srpnu. V tomto díle hráči sledují cestu mladého chlapce jménem Gregory, který byl bohužel uvězněn v Mega Pizzaplexu Freddyho Fazbeara. Freddy Fazbear vám tentokrát pomůže přežít noc při odhalování tajemství tohoto Pizzaplexu a setkáte se s děsivými, přepracovanými verzemi postav ze hry Five Nights at Freddy’s.
Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
Třetí a poslední hrou přidanou do srpnové kolekce PlayStation Plus je Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights. Jedná se o temnou fantasy 2D akční RPG hru, ve které prozkoumáváte děsivý a zároveň krásný Land’s End. Svět se hemží těmi nejnáročnějšími bossy, které lze porazit a proměnit ve spojence. Vaším úkolem je rozluštit tajemství tohoto království, když na svou stranu přivedete všechny druhy prokletých rytířů.
Tyto hry si budete moci přidat do své knihovny od 6. srpna. Více informací o srpnových titulech PS Plus najdete níže.
Předplatitelé služby PlayStation Plus mají ještě do 6. srpna možnost získat do svých knihoven červencové hry (Borderlands 3, NHL 24 a Among Us).
Ačkoli v červnu 2024 měli členové služby PlayStation Plus k dispozici čtyři hry, které nebyly z nejlepších, ti s vyšší úrovní však měli přístup k lepší nabídce, s některými hrami pro PSVR 2 a některými klasickými hrami pro pamětníky. Mezi červnem a červencem 2024 přesto ztratila služba PS Plus Extra 48 % hráčů, přestože měla zdánlivě lepší nabídku her.
Počet hráčů využívajících služby PS Plus Extra a PS Plus Premium klesl o 48 %. I po vyřazení her v rámci Days of Play za červen 2024 z nabídky došlo v červenci k 18% poklesu počtu hráčů. Červenec tak představuje zatím nejnižší počet hráčů pro služby PS Plus Extra a PS Plus Premium v roce 2024.
Červenec 2024 zpřístupnil hráčům hru Remnant 2, která je třetím největším debutem na streamovací službě v tomto roce. Ze všech her dostupných prostřednictvím služby PS Plus zůstává na vrcholu žebříčku Dave the Diver, který hráči dostali v dubnu.
Kvůli výraznému poklesu počtu hráčů je červenec nejslabším měsícem od února 2024 a jedním z nejslabších měsíců pro předplatné v tomto roce. Je poměrně překvapivé, že červenec měl tak nízký počet hráčů, zejména vzhledem k tomu, že vedle hry Remnant 2 bylo k dispozici i Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion.
Nejúspěšnější hrou měsíce byl Remnant 2, v těsném závěsu za ním Crisis Core Final Fantasy VII Reunion. Přesto však mezi oběma hrami došlo ke srovnatelnému poklesu – do Final Fantasy investovalo čas o 69,05 % méně lidí. Kromě těchto dvou her byly hry dostupné v červenci 2024 poměrně slabé. Hráči měli přístup ke hrám jako Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes, Job Simulator a Ratchet and Clank: Size Matters.
Několik her, například The Jackbox Party Pack 9 a nedávno vydané JRPG Jeanne d’Arc, mělo potenciál přilákat větší publikum. Ve srovnání s červnovým výběrem her však nevzbudily dostatečný zájem.
Jednou z největších her pro červen 2024 byl přídavek Grand Theft Auto San Andreas: The Definitive Edition, která je stále jednou z nejoblíbenějších her v sérii Grand Theft Auto. Kromě GTA získali hráči přístup ke hrám Streets of Rage 4, Tomb Raider: Legend, Far Cry 4 a Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus, abychom jmenovali alespoň některé. Zatímco hlavní hry přidané do služby PlayStation Plus zákazníky příliš nenadchly, úrovně předplatného služeb PlayStation Plus Extra a Premium to více než vynahradily.
Společnosti Sony a Team Asobi oznámily novou limitovanou edici ovladače Astro Bot DualSense. Předobjednat si jej můžete od 9. srpna od 10:00 místního času za 79,99 eur.
Limitovaná edice DualSense se podobá hlavnímu hrdinovi, od tlačítek až po modré obrysy na rukojetích a vyřezávané linie. Na touchpadu máte dokonce i oči, i když se bohužel nebudou animovat jako v traileru. Jak už název napovídá, zásoby budou omezené, takže až bude hra v prodeji, předobjednejte si ji u vybraných prodejců.
Hra Astro Bot vychází 6. září pro systém PS5 a ve stejný den bude k dispozici i ovladač z limitované edice. Z nedávné ukázky na veletrhu ChinaJoy bylo odhaleno několik nových záběrů z hraní, které ukazují jednu z prvních úrovní a její nádherné výhledy. Základní zážitek trvá asi 12 až 15 hodin, i když s některými nepovinnými aktivitami (potenciálně včetně více než 300 botů ke sbírání) by mohl trvat déle.
Podívejte se na obyčejnou práci, ve které členové Northstaru získávají paměťový modul, což se rychle zvrtne, když se objeví konkurenční posádka.
Zdá se, že hra Concord od studia Firewalk nemá mimo týdenní viněty žádné filmové záběry ve hře. To však neznamená, že nemůže k rozšíření lore využít jiná média. K dispozici je nové animované video pro „Freegunner Adventures“, které představuje Jabaliho, Tea a It-Z při práci. Podívejte se na něj níže.
Trojice je v ruinách robotů a hledá paměťový modul. Dojde k přepadení, a přestože se zdá, že zlikvidovali všechny členy konkurenční posádky, Teo to odnese, když se snaží chránit It-Z. Cue z lsti, zatímco Jabali používá svá léčivá kouzla, a výprava za získáním modulu zdánlivě pokračuje.
Taková dobrodružství se bohužel neodehrávají ve hře, která se zaměřuje na kompetitivní multiplayer s 16 různými Freegunnery (každý s několika variantami), 12 mapami a šesti režimy. Firewalk také potvrdil „stovky“ předmětů pro přizpůsobení, které lze ve hře získat, a žádný battle pass při uvedení na trh.
Připravovaná aplikace umožní uživatelům hrát hry pro Steam a PC VR na zařízení pro virtuální realitu od společnosti Sony.
Říci, že se PlayStation VR2 nedaří, by bylo poněkud slabé slovo, ale společnost Sony se rozhodla podívat se do oblasti PC, aby se pokusila situaci svého headsetu trochu zachránit. Minulý měsíc společnost vydala PC adaptér pro PS VR2 pro ty, kteří chtějí kompatibilitu s PC hrami i hrami pro PS5, a nyní se zdá, že se chystá i integrace se službou Steam.
Ve službě Steam se objevila aplikace pro PlayStation VR2, podle které bude tato platforma pro headset nativně spuštěna za pár týdnů, 6. srpna. Podle stránky aplikace na platformě umožní hrát hry pro PC VR a Steam na PlayStation VR2, aktualizovat firmware náhlavní soupravy a ovladačů Sense prostřednictvím služby Steam, upravovat nastavení a další. Abyste však mohli aplikaci Steam na náhlavní soupravě používat, budete podle očekávání potřebovat výše zmíněný PC adaptér.
Minulý měsíc se objevily zprávy, že společnost Sony provedla „hluboké škrty“ ve financování vývoje PS VR2 poté, co se zařízení na trhu příliš neprosadilo.
Otevřená beta verze hry Concord od společnosti Firewalk Studios oficiálně skončila, což znamená, že hra se plnou rychlostí blíží ke svému uvedení na trh. K dispozici jsou nové odpovědi na časté dotazy, ve kterých vývojáři popisují, co můžete při spuštění očekávat.
Jako první se uvádí, že při spuštění bude k dispozici 12 hratelných map, včetně pěti z bety, a všech šest režimů.
Firewalk ujišťuje, že se nabídka „brzy rozroste“ díky „pravidelným sezónám a aktualizacím po spuštění“, které přidají nové postavy, mapy a další prvky. Prozradili také, že předměty pro přizpůsobení, které jsou k dispozici v betě, jsou „jen malou ukázkou“ odemykatelných předmětů ve hře. „Stovky předmětů“ budou k dispozici k úpravě Freegunnerů pouhým hraním. Jak bylo potvrzeno dříve, všechny jsou čistě kosmetické.
Některé předměty se odemykají plněním úkolů (tzv. výzev) a zvyšováním úrovně účtu a postav.
Hra nebude obsahovat Battle Pass
Zajímavé je, že Battle Pass nebude k dispozici, protože vývojáři se soustředí na „odměňující a robustní zážitek hned první den“. Zdánlivě se také potvrdila absence ingame filmečků mimo týdenní viněty, které jsme dosud viděli.
Concord bude mít při spuštění tréninkové režimy pro jednoho hráče, žádný free for all
Ty vám usnadní seznámení se schopnostmi, pohybem a mechanikou každého Freegunnera (což bylo během bety velmi potřebné). Střílečka na hrdiny bohužel nebude mít režim PvP jako Free-For-All pro sólo hráče. Potvrdila, že sestava se bude rozrůstat „pravidelnými aktualizacemi obsahu“, a těší se na „spolupráci s komunitou, která nám pomůže informovat o tom, jak budeme v budoucnu rozvíjet zážitek pomocí nových režimů“.
Concord nabízí více variant postav
Co se týče variant, alternativních verzí Freegunnerů s různými pasivy, vývojáři potvrdili „několik unikátních“ možností pro celou soupisku. Odemykají se pravidelným postupem a plněním týdenních úkolů pro odemykání variant.
A nakonec pro ty, kteří se zajímají o Galaktického průvodce (nebo jeho absenci) během bety, uvádíme, že je přístupný při spuštění. Jakmile hráči zvýší úroveň svého účtu, dozví se více podrobností o prostředí a „příběhových vláknech“ pro postavy.
Firewalk zkoumá tresty za opuštění hry
Pro ty, kteří se obávají hráčů odcházejících z her, tak pro ně máme dobrou zprávu, vývojář zkoumá „různé metody“, včetně systému trestů za odcházení z hry. Cílem je zajistit „kompletní a vyrovnané týmy“ a zároveň zajistit, aby u nich hráči zůstali po celou dobu. Společnost Firewalk sice zatím nic nepotvrdila, ale říká: „Zůstaňte naladěni na další aktualizace.“ Doufejme, že se také podívá na join-in-progress pro nerovnoměrné zápasy.
Concord vychází 23. srpna pro PS5 a PC.
Thank you to everyone that took part in the #ConcordBeta!
Before you officially board the Northstar next month, we wanted to answer some of your most common questions during the beta! pic.twitter.com/b9VFb2FGXn
Pro systém PS5 od společnosti Sony je k dispozici nová aktualizace systémového softwaru, která přidává nové funkce. Patří mezi ně používání adres URL k pozvání ostatních na herní Seassion, tato funkce bude pro všechny hráče spuštěna 24. července.
Ačkoli se to týká pouze otevřené relace, postup je jednoduchý. Otevřete kartu akcí pro danou relaci, vyberte možnost Sdílet odkaz, naskenujte QR kód a sdílejte jej s ostatními. K relaci se samozřejmě může připojit kdokoli, kdo má odkaz, protože je otevřená, takže pozor.
Co se týče dalších funkcí, nápověda ke hře nyní podporuje hlasové příkazy. Zatím je ve fázi preview a je k dispozici pouze pro anglické účty PSN v USA a Velké Británii. Nicméně možnost říct „Zobrazit nápovědu ke hře“ a vyvolat příslušné akční karty je příjemná.
Aktualizace verze 24.05-09.60.00 kromě zpráv zlepšuje také výkon a stabilitu (klasika). Vylepšenou stabilitou se může pochlubit také software zařízení DualSense. Podívejte se na úplné poznámky k opravě níže a sledujte podrobnosti o budoucích aktualizacích.
Verze: 24.05-09.60.00
Ostatní hráče můžete pozvat do herních relací sdílením adresy URL relace. – Chcete-li pozvat další hráče, otevřete akční kartu herní relace a vyberte Sdílet odkaz. Poté naskenujte QR kód svým mobilním zařízením a sdílejte odkaz. – Tato funkce je dostupná pouze pro otevřené relace, ke kterým se může připojit kdokoli. – Tato funkce bude postupně zpřístupněna všem hráčům do 24. července.
Hlasové ovládání nyní podporuje možnost otevřít akční karty nápovědy ke hře vyslovením příkazu „Zobrazit nápovědu ke hře“. – V současnosti je Voice Command (Preview) k dispozici pouze v angličtině pro hráče s účty pro PlayStation Network v USA a Velké Británii.
Vylepšili jsme výkon a stabilitu systémového softwaru.
Aktualizovali jsme software zařízení některých bezdrátových ovladačů DualSense, abychom zlepšili stabilitu.
Vylepšili jsme zprávy a použitelnost na některých obrazovkách.
Podle přehledné analýzy sdílené na internetu existuje deset důvodů, proč se v září bude konat pořádná prezentace PlayStation.
Analytik William R. Aguilar, který se z důvěryhodných zdrojů dozvěděl, že v září proběhne PlaySation showcase, si tím je jist na 90 % a to hned z deseti důvodů. Společnost PlayStation je povinna v rámci své fiduciární odpovědnosti nastínit svým akcionářům produkty, které hodlá prodávat v příštím roce, ještě před jejich příchodem. V tomto okamžiku v roce 2023 jsme již věděli o hrách Stellar Blade, Rise of the Ronin, Concord, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth a Helldivers 2, které přijdou v roce 2024, ale letos zatím nevíme nic o tom, co přijde v roce 2025.
Výše uvedené skutečnosti souvisí s oznámením PlayStation 5 Pro, který nelze oznámit příliš brzy, aby nedošlo ke snížení prodeje základního modelu. Společnost Sony by určitě chtěla ukázat nové first-party hry, které budou v budoucnu uvedeny na nový systém, takže má smysl s jejich odhalením počkat. Letos navíc PlayStation slaví 20. výročí, a tak si bude chtít tuto událost nějak připomenout.
Vedle dalších důvodů se analytik domnívá, že skutečnost, že jsme vstoupili do druhé poloviny životního cyklu PlayStation 5, a některé precedenty z minulosti naznačují, že Sony bude chtít udělat velkou prezentaci, aby ukázala hry, které dále pokrývají zbytek generace. Zářijová prezentace jako taková by tak mohla být trochu jiná než ta běžná.
Jak správně poznamenal William R. Aguilar, o plánu vydání PlayStation na rok 2025 nic nevíme, takže není pochyb o tom, že Sony musí něco plánovat, aby hráčům konečně ukázala, co je čeká minimálně v příštích 12 měsících. O jakémkoli představení nebo prezentaci vás budeme jako vždy co nejdříve informovat, takže zůstaňte naladěni na všechny nejnovější zprávy.
Úniky informací a zvěsti o konzoli PS5 Pro se objevují již několik měsíců a již dříve byl pro vydání vylepšené konzole označen měsíc září. Nyní, když je více než polovina roku za námi a Sony zatím konzoli oficiálně neoznámila, se však začínají objevovat otázky, zda PS5 Pro skutečně vyjde ještě letos.
Podle novináře Toma Hendersona ze serveru Insider Gaming, který stál v posledních měsících v čele několika úniků informací o konzoli PS5 Pro, ke zpoždění nedošlo. Ačkoli se údajně některé zdroje obávají téhož, Henderson tvrdí, že interní dokumentace, kterou má k dispozici, naznačuje, že PS5 Pro vyjde ještě letos.
Vývojářské sady byly údajně rozeslány vývojářům letos na jaře a první várka žádostí o certifikaci podpory pro konzoli má být u společnosti Sony podána 30. července. Tvrdí se, že od 15. září budou muset všechny hry předložené společnosti Sony k vydání pro PS5 obsahovat také podporu PS5 Pro.
Uvidíme, jak dlouho bude trvat, než Sony konzoli oficiálně oznámí, ale vzhledem k tomu, že se společnost letos v září poprvé po několika letech zúčastní veletrhu Tokyo Game Show, nebylo by překvapením, kdyby PS5 Pro měla na této akci významné zastoupení.
This week, Destiny 2 maker Bungie was hit by massive layoffs, leaving the future of the company’s popular looter shooter in some doubt and spurring waves of criticism of its CEO, who remains at the studio. We also saw streamer Dr Disrespect once again posting online, just 36 days after he confessed to sending…
I always tell people that I’ve been with Destiny since the first alpha test. For some reason, it’s always been a point of pride for me. My own way of saying, “Hey, I’ve been behind this vision since the beginning. I’ve been there through the highs and the lows, and I’m still here.” But following a second round of…
Ubisoft has become almost synonymous with open-world games in the past two decades thanks to franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Far Cry. So it’s no surprise that people expect the publisher’s next game, Star Wars Outlaws, to take a lot of inspiration from those in-house tent-poles that have come before it. Yet…
Nvidia started as a humble graphics card maker. Now it’s riding the tech industry’s AI obsession to absurd new heights. The company added $329 billion to its market cap on Wall Street today after a record-breaking day of stock trading, Bloomberg reports.
Earlier this week, Microsoft shut down the Xbox 360’s digital store, effectively putting the final nail in the beloved console’s coffin. While it’s a shame that the nearly 20-year-old console’s marketplace is gone, it doesn’t take away from the Xbox 360’s legacy as a popular, innovative, and weird machine that paved…
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Destiny and Marathon developers Bungie are laying off 220 people - around 17% of their total workforce - as studio heads try to offset a financial crisis brought on by "overly ambitious" expansion, individual project "misfires", and a wider economic downturn in 2023. Bungie are also transferring a further 155 roles to parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, and are spinning out an untitled incubation project - an "action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe" - to form a new PlayStation studio.
Destiny and Marathon developers Bungie are laying off 220 people - around 17% of their total workforce - as studio heads try to offset a financial crisis brought on by "overly ambitious" expansion, individual project "misfires", and a wider economic downturn in 2023. Bungie are also transferring a further 155 roles to parent company Sony Interactive Entertainment, and are spinning out an untitled incubation project - an "action game set in a brand-new science-fantasy universe" - to form a new PlayStation studio.
An unannounced Helldivers 2 stratagem has leaked online, seemingly by a Sony email.
The unforced error – which came via an official marketing email sent out to Helldivers – proudly introduces the Airburst Rocket Launcher players unlocked after they successfully liberated Penta during Operation Legitimate Undertaking.
There's just one problem; the weapon in the image that accompanies the email isn't the Airburst… or, indeed, any weapon currently in the game. It's a gun no Helldiver has seen before.
Sony is one of the best headphone brands in the business. With years of experience in the music and film industries, the company continues to leverage its audible and visual experience in designing some of the top headsets (and top earbuds, too). Were betting youve seen one or two pairs of Sony headphones in your lifetime, and there are more than one or two worth considering. If you're in the market, this list has them. Models include everything from signature products to unique alternatives.
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