Marvel’s Wolverine‘s has lost its creative director to one of Xbox’s most highly anticipated exclusives. Insomniac Games is one of the most respected studios in the gaming industry having made games like Ratchet & Clank, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and Resistance. The studio really made a name for itself with Marvel’s Spider-Man in 2018 when it made one of the most well-regarded superhero games of all-time and a generation defining exclusive for PlayStation. The studio has gone on to expand its ambitions with even more Marvel games in its future, including Marvel’s Wolverine. The game was announced in 2021 alongside Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, but outside of some big leaks, there hasn’t been any major official updates from Insomniac Games.

Wolverine is expected to still be a couple years out from release and a notable portion of the game’s story leaked online in addition to gameplay when Insomniac Games was hacked last year. Sadly, there’s more unfortunate news for Marvel’s Wolverine. Game File has reported that game’s creative director, Brian Horton, left Insomniac Games over the summer to pursue a different project: Xbox’s Perfect Dark. Sony confirmed the news to Game File and noted that Horton was replaced by Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart creative director Marcus Smith. Marvel’s Wolverine‘s game director Cameron Christian (different from creative director) has also stepped back from the project, but will remain at Insomniac Games. Game File noted that this was a result of changes regarding the creative direction of Marvel’s Wolverine.

Horton previously helmed Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales for Insomniac Games and had made teases about the new game on social media over the years. An Xbox rep told Game File that Horton will be “bringing his wealth of experience to the upcoming reboot of the classic secret agent series.” The shooter had its first gameplay reveal over the summer and left fans really impressed, but it’s unclear how far into development it is. Nevertheless, it’s a big win for Xbox as it will likely only strengthen an already great looking game and give the console a successful big exclusive that fans have been eagerly awaiting.

Marvel’s Wolverine on the other hand feels like a rare struggle for Insomniac Games. The developer is known for churning out high quality games at a rapid pace without overworking its staff. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 had some production issues as well, partially as a result of COVID disrupting the game’s development. Insomniac Games had to scale back a large portion of its plans for the game in order to hit its deadline which resulted in a more streamlined story and major gameplay elements such as destructible environments being cut from the final release.

It’s possible the hack last year led to Insomniac Games pivoting on the direction of Marvel’s Wolverine, but it’s not totally known. Either way, hopefully this doesn’t lead to a major delay to Marvel’s Wolverine. The game ramped up production last year around the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, allowing developers to move over from the wall-crawler’s latest adventure to Wolverine’s first gaming outing in nearly 20 years. With that said, the game is deep into development and it’s unclear how much can really be changed at this point without undoing a ton of work.

PlayStation itself has also changed its strategy on how it reveals its games. It seems that the company only likes to really showcase its games when they’re closer to release, so it may be another year or two before we get another glimpse at Marvel’s Wolverine. However, there are rumors it could pop up sooner. Hopefully the game manages to find its way through a rougher part of development and turn out well on the other side.

The post Marvel’s Wolverine Loses Creative Director To Upcoming Xbox Exclusive appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Nintendo has released a new dedicated app for mobile devices that is tied entirely to the music of its most popular games. Perhaps more than any other video game publisher, Nintendo is synonymous with the music of its biggest titles. Franchises like Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Mario Kart, and Fire Emblem are known just as much for their various soundtracks as they are for their compelling gameplay mechanics. Now, Nintendo is looking to make the music of these games more accessible than ever, but of course, has locked its availability behind a slight paywall.

Downloadable now for iOS and Android devices, the Nintendo Music app has released without any prior warning from the Japanese game publisher. Currently, the app features select scores from some of the most popular Nintendo games ever that span platforms like the NES, SNES, Nintendo 64, Game Boy, GameCube, and Switch. To use the Nintendo Music app, however, a Switch Online subscription is required. Any version of Switch Online works with the Nintendo Music app, which means that those on lower tiers won’t need to subscribe to the more costly ones to gain access.

Related: Nintendo Switch System Update Fixes GameCube Controller Issue, Software Downloads, and More

“Kick back and enjoy some Nintendo tunes with Nintendo Music, the exclusive smart-device app for Nintendo Switch Online members that lets you stream or download Nintendo soundtracks, create and share playlists, browse music by different categories, and more!” says the app’s description. “Open up Nintendo’s vault of game music and listen to soundtracks from franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario, and Animal Crossing, with many more on the way.”

As Nintendo mentions, today is only the start of the Nintendo Music app. In the weeks and months ahead, Nintendo plans to add more songs and soundtracks from its history to the app. Just which games might be next to see their soundtracks appear on the Nintendo Music app have yet to be given, but we’ll likely start to learn more soon enough.

How do you feel about the new Nintendo Music app that has been released? Are you going to look to check this out for yourself, or do you not have a Switch Online subscription in order to use it? Be sure to let me know over on social media at @MooreMan12.

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Miles Upshur’s journey through Mount Massive Asylum is coming to the big screen thanks to a partnership between Lionsgate and Outlast developer Red Barrels. Bloody Disgusting broke the news that the video game series is headed for the big screen, with longtime series writer JT Petty tapped to work on the screenplay. He isn’t alone in developing the adaptation. Horror veteran Roy Lee, whose other work includes It (2017) and Late Night With The Devil (2024), will join him on the production side.

Outlast‘s reputation is one of tense, heart-pounding atmospheric horror. The first game alone provides enough scares to fuel ten movies, but there’s more to making a film than raw creepiness. That’s nothing new for Lionsgate, the studio behind the James Wan and Leigh Wannel-created SAW franchise that has haunted audiences since 2004. Still, Lee knows exactly what the fans are looking for, and is ready to bring it to life in an entirely new way.

“Its deep, emergent lore has provided a perfect foundation for creating a film that delves into the psychological and physical horrors at the core of the franchise,” Lee revealed in a statement.

Psychological and physical horror is an apt description. Influenced by movies like The Blair Witch Project and REC (and games like Amnesia: The Dark Descent) both Outlast and Outlast 2 feature grotesque and adrenaline-pumping set pieces. Violent psychiatric patients, unhinged cultists, and nightmare creatures haunting your every step are just a brief look at how the series has traumatized players over the years.

We don’t know how close the movie will stick to the classic story beats, but no matter what, this new format will retain all of the macabre spirit of the seminal spooky-time games. Red Barrels Co-founder David Chateauneuf chimed in on the development, delivering high praise for both Lionsgate and Lee.

“As die-hard fans of horror across every medium, at Red Barrels we are great admirers of Roy Lee’s and Lionsgate’s work,” he said. “Horror movies old and new have had an undeniable impact on our franchise over the years, and to now have the opportunity to work on an Outlast film with true horror legends is a dream, or should I say, nightmare, come true.”

A film isn’t the only bold new step for the franchise in recent memory. Last year’s Outlast Trials traded in the deeply isolating feeling of the early games for a subtler kind of collective dread. In that game, up to four players team up to survive the tasks set out for them by a deranged director of a Cold War-era medical facility. While there are more people to share in the misery, it still retained all of the grimy, paralyzing scares that made the first game a hit eleven years ago.

A new medium brings new challenges, but it won’t be shocking if the eventual Outlast movie brings all the same terrifying feelings fans have come to love.

Roy Lee is also a producer on the Minecraft Movie and the upcoming film adaptation of Until Dawn.

The post Outlast Becoming a Movie With Major Creative From the Games Directly Involved appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 has now received its first-ever sale. Upon its launch in early September, Space Marine 2 quickly became both a critical and commercial success. As a result, publisher Focus Entertainment hasn’t been quick to mark the third-person shooter down as it has continued to steadily perform well. Fortunately, for those who have been holding out for a discount of any sort, that has now come about for a limited time.

As of this moment, Space Marine 2 has seen its price fall by 14% and is now being sold for $59.99. While this deal isn’t a big one by any means, it is a $10 price cut as the game normally goes for $69.99. As for the retailers taking part in this promotion, the sale should extend across Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, and Target. It’s also worth noting that since this is a sale tied to retailers, it’s only being offered for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions of the game.

With the holiday season right around the corner, there’s a good chance that better offers for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 will come about before 2024 ends. As a result, you might be better off waiting for those deals to happen a bit closer to Black Friday. If you simply cannot wait any longer to jump into the Space Marine sequel for yourself, though, this current sale might be just for you.

If you’re on the fence when it comes to picking up Space Marine 2 while this offer is ongoing, you can learn more about the game by checking out its launch trailer and synopsis below.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2

“Embody the superhuman skill and brutality of a Space Marine. Unleash deadly abilities and devastating weaponry to obliterate the relentless Tyranid swarms. Defend the Imperium in spectacular third-person action in solo or multiplayer modes.

Fight the enemies of Mankind as Lieutenant Demetrian Titus in this sequel to 2011’s Space Marine, and prove your loyalty once again as you are reinstated to the Ultramarines. Hold at bay the horrors of the galaxy in epic battles on far-flung planets and uncover dark secrets to drive back the everlasting night.

Jump in endlessly brutal and replayable PvE and PvP modes as your own Space Marines, unlocking new skills and cosmetics the more you play! Fight as one of six unique classes, unlock up to 25 perks for each class, add perks to each of your weapons, and customize your appearance with a huge array of armor and weapon cosmetics!”

The post Space Marine 2 Gets First Sale Since Release appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero publisher issued a warning to players today that indicates bans are very likely on the horizon for some who play online. As we’ve seen from social posts and showcases since Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero launched, some Dragon Ball fans are injecting a little extra flair into their games by using mods that change the appearances of fighters to “add” even more characters than the 182 that are already in the game. That may be all well and good for offline play, but for those using these mods in custom matches, you run the risk of getting banned for utilizing them.

The warning from Bandai Namco seems to deal exclusively with Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero‘s custom battles. This is the feature where players can come up with their own Dragon Ball fights complete with characters, stages, and other scenario factors that you picked out yourself. These custom battles can then be saved, and others can download them using a unique code so that they can play through them themselves.

The problem with those matches is that players can presumably use mods when creating one to change the appearances of characters among anything else that a mod would be capable of (which is pretty much everything). Even if you download a custom battle that uses a mod, if you don’t have the mod in question, it’s almost certainly not going to work for you anyway which defeats the purpose of using them in custom matches. For content moderation purposes, the thumbnails for custom battles also make use of whatever content is included in them, so even if the mods don’t work for others, they’d still be able to see some thumbnails that are potentially unsuitable for online play.

To that end, Bandai Namco has issued a mandate: stop using mods in custom matches or you could be banned.

RELATED: Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Gets First Update, Here’s What It Does

“Concerning Custom Battle MODs in DRAGON BALL: Sparking! Zero,” the message shared on Twitter said. “Appropriate security measures will be taken against those who used any MOD system in Custom Battle. We recommend you delete any custom battles containing MODs immediately to avoid a ban. Please note that our support team cannot address any issues or appeals caused by the use of MODs. We appreciate your understanding and continued support for the game.”

It’s unclear how long a ban might last if you get hit with one for using mods in online play, but it sure sounds like Bandai Namco won’t be taking any measures to unban you since a warning has already been issued. For those who’ve been using mods in custom battles and have uploaded them already, now would probably be the best time to get rid of them. And if you see a custom battle online that looks like it’s been modded, it’s probably best to avoid it since it likely won’t work properly and will probably be gone soon anyway.

Aside from using mods to augment custom battles, players have also found a way to “mod” their way into a custom battle scenario which was technically baked into Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero already. It would seem that there’s a way to play as Gohan Black in the Dragon Ball game through inputting a specific code players discovered without any mods needed, but Gohan Black isn’t technically a pickable character from the game’s roster despite being in the alternate scenarios. That’s led people to believe that Gohan Black may be added later as a standalone fighter, but all we know about so far is the DLC that’s been laid out previously.

The post Dragon Ball Sparking Zero Players Warned Bans Are Coming appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Atlus has released another new update today for its hit RPG Metaphor: ReFantazio. Since releasing earlier in October, there have only been a few subsequent patches for Metaphor across PS5, Xbox, and PC. Most of these updates have been pretty small in nature and have only fixed a couple of one-off bugs that players have found in the game. Now, this trend has continued, and the latest patch might very well be the biggest one so far.

Downloadable right now, this new Metaphor: ReFantazio update doesn’t do a whole lot in the grand scheme of things. Even though it’s likely the biggest post-release patch yet, it’s still a pretty tiny one that only incorporates a few new fixes. Some of these resolutions are related to a bug that was appearing in the Catacombs, one tied to progression being blocked, and another that changed a previous animation. The biggest change, though, is the ability to turn off motion blur when dashing, which can now be toggled in the settings menu.

Related: Metaphor: ReFantazio Reviews Drop and Reveal Another Game of the Year Frontrunner

The main thing to note with this Metaphor: ReFantazio update for the moment is that it’s only live on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S platforms. Atlus said that the said patch will be coming to PC at some point in the future, but has yet to provide a specific release date. In all likelihood, it should drop before this week has come to a close given the cadence Atlus has with previous patch releases. If that update ends up being at all different in any major ways from this one, then we’ll be sure to let you know.

Until then, you can find the full patch notes for today’s new Metaphor: ReFantazio update attached below.

Metaphor: ReFantazio Update 1.09 Patch Notes

• New ON/OFF toggle setting for motion blur animation when dashing.
  • Dash effects setting can be changed from SETTINGS > Dash Effects.
• Fixed an issue where a quest in the Catacombs cannot be completed under certain conditions.
• Fixed an issue where progression is blocked when enemies with status ailments conduct certain actions.
• Expedited the animation when displaying the popularity ranking.
• Fixed other minor bugs.

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Power Rangers fans were delighted when Digital Eclipse revealed Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, and now we have a new trailer and a long awaited release date for the hotly anticipated 90s style arcade brawler. Rita’s Rewind is looking fantastic in the new footage, and now we know that it will be launching on consoles, Switch, and Steam on December 10th. Players can choose from the original five Rangers from the outset, and the Green Ranger is in the mix as well, but the trailer and a new PlayStation Blog post makes it clear that you won’t just be brawling during your time in the game.

Digital Eclipse says that about 70% of the game will feature that classic beat ’em up action, with players utilizing melee attacks and combos to make their way through waves of Putty Patrollers and Rita Repulsa’s other minions. The other 30% though will shake things up and take inspiration from some SEGA classics, including Space Harrier and Out Run.

These sequences speed up the action even more and capture the full experience of being a Power Ranger, but they also switch things up for longtime franchise fans. For example, an early sequence will have traveling through Angel Grove and learning what’s happening to the timestream thanks to Rita’s shenanigans. You’ll be battling a familiar foe in Goldar, but you’ll also encounter enemies that shouldn’t be appearing at this point in Power Rangers history.

Gameplay Switch-Up

After you face Goldar, Rita will then throw down her staff and turn Golder supersized, and as fans of the show know, this is where the Zords come in. This will happen in the game as well, as things will shift perspectives and take on full super-scaler style when the Rangers jump into their Dinozords to follow in pursuit. You’ll blast away obstacles and enemies with your Zord’s weapons as you try and catch up, drawing upon games like Galaxy Force and After Burner.

[RELATED: Power Rangers Prime Trailer and Preview Reveals First Look at Bold New Era]

When you finally do catch up, the gameplay will switch for a third time, but this time around you’ll adopt a first person view from your Megazord as you battle the towering Goldar. Each player will get a chance to wear the boss down and contribute to the overall end goal of defeating him, and throughout the course of the game players will bounce between all three gameplay modes in a time travel adventure like no other.

In the post, Digital Eclipse Content Editor Dan Amrich revealed that their goal with Rita’s Rewind was to make a game that could have and should have existed back in the day while also taking advantage of all the knowledge players have now regarding arcade gaming.

“In fact, one of the concepts that drives a lot of what we do at Digital Eclipse is the desire to make games the way you remember them playing, even if your memories have made those experiences a little sweeter and cooler than they might have actually been back in the day. Our goal with Rita’s Rewind is to make a game that could have existed, and certainly should have existed, but probably wouldn’t have existed with all this variety in one place. Since we have the benefit of looking at arcade gaming in the rearview mirror for 30 years, we’ll take advantage of that to try to deliver something better than you would have remembered,” Amrich wrote.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind releases on PS4, PS5, Xbox Series S/X, Steam, and Nintendo Switch on December 10th.

Are you excited for Rita’s Rewind? You can talk all things Power Rangers and gaming with me on Threads and Twitter @mattaguilarcb!

The post Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind Reveals Release Date and Epic New Trailer appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When Netflix announced that Arcane would finally be coming back with Season 2 in early November, it surprised fans by also confirming that this would be the end of the series. Since the arrival of Season 1 of Arcane in late 2021, the League of Legends animated series has gone on to be one of the most successful that Netflix has ever seen. Naturally, many viewers assumed that this would lead to Arcane sticking around for many years to come with multiple seasons to follow. Instead, those in charge of the show have decided to go in a different direction, although this outcome was always part of the plan.

In an interview with ComicBook prior to Season 2 of Arcane releasing, series co-creator Christian Linke expanded on the thought process behind ending the show at this point. Linke said that when Arcane was first conceptualized, those in charge of the series always had a throughline story in place for its main characters. That being said, it didn’t know how long it would take to tell this story and no specific episode counts were established. As work on Season 2 continued, though, it became clear that this would be the final outing for the show.

Related: Arcane Season 2 Trailer Released

“We always had a story in mind with a beginning and an end. I think it was really just the character arcs. We knew that there was a specific thing we wanted to do,” Linke said. “We didn’t necessarily have a specific episode count in mind, but we always knew it would be a finite story. It wasn’t this open-ended concept for a series. It was pretty organic for us so there was never this question of, ‘Oh, when will it end? We don’t know.’ We knew from the start.”

Even though Linke and the other creators of Arcane always had the broad strokes of the series nailed down, that doesn’t mean that it was ever easy to develop. In fact, Linke said that one of the biggest challenges of Season 2 has been bringing about an end to the show’s vast cast of characters and their respective arcs. While some characters are more central to the plot of Arcane than others, Linke said it was important for some of the less notable side characters to have their own stories wrapped up in a satisfying way.

“I don’t know how many TV shows you’ve watched where 10 or 11 characters all get a satisfying full arc paid off and resolved. I don’t think I have,” he continued. “It’s daunting. It was just part of what we built. We wanted this kind of ensemble story. […] That’s the thing about a video game adaptation. There’s always going to be someone, no matter if you banish one character into this side-character land, there are going to be millions of people who will be like, ‘What the f**k? What about my character? Why aren’t they getting their proper arc?’ It was just a responsibility that was always there. We can’t run away from that. We have to give everyone a proper story.”

Arcane is set to return next week on November 9th with its first three episodes of Season 2 premiering at once. The following week on November 16th will see episodes four, five, and six arriving, before the final three episodes will then roll out on November 23rd. Be sure to stay tuned to ComicBook as we’ll have a lot more to share with you tied to Arcane in the weeks ahead.

The post Arcane Co-Creator Talks Decision to End the Series With Season 2 (Exclusive) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Pokemon Trading Card Game Pocket is now available on iOS and Android devices, giving players a whole new way to collect Pokemon cards. The game is free to play, with players being able to open two in-game card packs every day. However, the game also has some microtransactions that can be made which allow players to obtain cards more quickly. Notably, the game has a Premium Pass, which features some extra benefits in exchange for a monthly fee. Players might be wondering if the pass is worth the extra investment, and it largely depends on how much you plan on putting into the experience.

From the start, players that buy the Premium Pass will be able to open one additional pack of Pokemon Cards each day, for a total of three. Each pack comes with five cards, so you’re looking at a total of fifteen cards per day for Premium Pass subscribers, as opposed to the usual ten (note that some can have doubles, just like real-life card packs). Those extra cards can quickly add up, and there are other benefits as well. This includes premium missions, which will allow players to obtain promo cards and other in-game items, like the coins used in battles with other players and AI opponents. The current items shown as premium mission rewards can also be found in the shop, so players can use the Poke Gold currency instead, if they prefer.

As with any subscription service, the Premium Pass for Pokemon TCG Pocket is only worth it for players that are going to stick to using it. The additional packs don’t carry over, so if players miss their 24 hour window on opening a third pack, they don’t get to open four at the start of the following day. Thankfully, Pokemon TCG Pocket offers Premium Pass subscribers a no-cost trial for two weeks. No cost is incurred as long as the player cancels their subscription “at least 24 hours before the end of the no-cost trial.” That window should be a good amount of time to decide whether the service is right for you, and whether you plan on sticking with the game long enough to get your money’s worth. Plus, if you do it every day during the trial and don’t stick around, you’ll still end up with a bunch of extra cards!

RELATED: Pokemon TCG Pocket vs. Pokemon TCG Live: What’s the Difference?

It appears that the no-cost trial is open to all “first-time subscribers.” Basically, if you try out the Premium Pass and decide to cancel ahead of the charge date, you probably won’t get a second chance to try the service. It’s possible The Pokemon Company could offer the trial again as part of some kind of promotion. However, the developers are going to want to avoid people signing up for these trials repeatedly to get free cards and then quitting before they get charged.

Are you planning to subscribe to Pokemon TCG Pocket‘s Premium Pass? Have you downloaded the game yet? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Pokemon TCG Pocket: Is The Premium Pass Worth It? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

An unfortunate reality of the video game industry is that a lot of games only ever get one release. If you miss out on a game when it first comes out, you often won’t get a second chance to play it. For that reason, we’ve seen a lot of remakes and remasters pop up in recent years, but there are lots of great games in desperate need of this treatment, including several in the horror genre. Shockingly enough, many of these games are owned by major publishers, making their lack of wider availability all the more puzzling. To give these companies a push in the right direction, ComicBook has assembled five horror games in desperate need of a second chance on modern platforms.

5. The House of the Dead: Overkill– Some of the older House of the Dead games have been getting remasters recently, but the one most deserving of this treatment is The House of the Dead: Overkill. Released on Wii in 2009, the rail shooter leaned into the franchise’s cheesy acting and stories with a style inspired by grindhouse cinema. The new direction was a perfect fit for the series, with language and gore that felt fittingly over-the-top. The overall absurdity added to the game’s charm, resulting in one of the funniest and most enjoyable games in the series. While Overkill was later ported to PS3, the game is unfortunately unavailable on modern platforms; Sega desperately needs to rectify that.

4. Resident Evil – Code: Veronica– Over the last few years, Capcom has remade several classic Resident Evil games. Favorites like Resident Evil 2 have gotten a huge glow up as a result, with gorgeous visuals and improved gameplay. Unfortunately, the publisher has exclusively focused on the numbered entries in the series, leaving Resident Evil – Code: Veronica fans out of luck. Originally released on Dreamcast in 2000, the game offered a compelling story centered around Claire Redfield. Unlike many of the games on this list, the original version of Code: Veronica is thankfully available on modern platforms, so even if it never gets the remake treatment, at least series newcomers can see what all the fuss is about.

3. Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem– One of the most unique video games ever published by Nintendo, Eternal Darkness was released on Nintendo GameCube back in 2002. The game was a commercial flop, but it has built a passionate following in recent years. This unique game took players on a journey spanning human history, in which the games protagonists were tasked with stopping a Lovecraftian menace from conquering the world. As the heroes encountered increasingly dark and frightening things, a meter would build, and the game would produce “Sanity Effects” that would actually mess with the player. These Sanity Effects made it look like the volume on the TV was being lowered, or that the memory card was being deleted.

Sadly, Nintendo has never made a sequel, and the original game has never been made available on another platform. Given the large user base Switch has, there’s never been a better time to bring this game back.

2. Dino Crisis– In 1999, Resident Evil director Shinji Mikami delivered Dino Crisis on the original PlayStation. The elevator pitch is simple: Resident Evil meets Jurassic Park. With faster, more intimidating enemies than the Resident Evil games had provided, Dino Crisis seems like the kind of series that should have about 10 sequels right now. Unfortunately, the franchise has been dormant since 2003. Fans have spent years begging for a Resident Evil style remake, and Dino Crisis even topped a worldwide poll asking which Capcom series is in need of a new entry. Modern consoles could make the game’s enemies far scarier than they were back in the day, and it’s exciting to think how great a remake of the first game could look on PS5 or Xbox Series X. It remains to be seen whether that will ever happen, but those who would like to play the first game can now find it on PlayStation Plus.

1. Parasite Eve– In the original PlayStation era, Square’s offerings largely centered on turn-based RPGs. 1998’s Parasite Eve was a rare exception; while the game did feature RPG elements, it also added survival horror in the mix. The game centers on police officer Aya Brea, one of the few survivors of a horrific event at an opera where the audience spontaneously combusts. Aya begins to investigate, in an adventure that takes place in New York City around Christmas. The game’s theme and setting would make it a perfect candidate for a remake on current platforms. With Square Enix in the process of remaking games like Dragon Quest III and Final Fantasy VII, Parasite Eve should be next classic to get that treatment.

What horror games do you want to see get a remake or remaster? Do you agree with any of our picks? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Five Horror Games That Desperately Need Remakes or Remasters appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Announced on October 30, Death Note: Killer Within is a social deduction game which pits Light Yagami (a.k.a. Kira), and his equally demented Kira Followers, against (Interpol Detective) L and a squad of investigators in a classic battle of the wits. Here’s a quick description to save you a click. Stop me when you’ve heard this one before.

Killer Within is game of two phases. The Action Phase sees players gather clues and complete tasks as they move through the overworld. The Meeting Phase brings everyone together to discuss their findings and establish suspects. The game can end in a few ways. Team Kira will win if L is eliminated. Team L will win if Kira is arrested. Alternatively, whichever team fills up the Progress gauge (tied to the aforementioned tasks) will take home the victory.

Now, there’s nothing inherently wrong with this—Death Note makes for an admittedly compelling setting for such a game—but don’t you feel like you’ve already played this by now? Overlooking the obvious examples, there was already a version of this game done on Nintendo DS back in 2007.

Death Note: Kira Game never received a U.S. release, but there’s plenty of footage of it on YouTube, and fans translated the whole game to English years ago. Now, it goes without saying, but Killer Within is a dramatic step up in quality from a mid-2000s text-based handheld game. I personally don’t care for the toddler toy shaped-character models or their hauntingly empty eyes, but there is a novelty to the game’s inoffensive aesthetic compared to the grim, grisly nature of the manga and anime.

We haven’t seen much gameplay, but the quick glimpses in the reveal trailer look like a refined version of what Konami was going for all those years ago. Is it an improvement? Absolutely. Is it interesting? Not really, and that’s a major letdown for something as cool as cool and powerful as the Death Note.

However, maybe that’s unfair. Perhaps Fisher-Price Death Note will surprise me and be the game of my dreams. It’s free via PlayStation Plus (as part of November’s PS Plus lineup), so I’ll certainly give it an honest shot, but from the outside looking in, I can’t help but feel like we’ve already walked this path, and that the game is doomed from the start.

Anime adaptation video games have been stuck in a box for a long time. Fighting shows get the Ultimate Ninja Storm wrapping. More complex fantasy shows get the .HACK treatment. Everything else is consigned to the dark depths of mobile game genericism—uninspired Puzzle games, worn out Gacha systems, and the general death of all creativity.

Sure, it feels awesome to jump into a brawler filled with your favorite Jujutsu Kaisen characters, but when every single franchise starts to feel the same, what’s left to do? Killer Within is a step out of those particular confines, but only by the thinnest of margins, which is a bit ridiculous for such a high-quality franchise. Death Note is a transcendental story. It stands the test of time as one of fiction’s best mysteries, thrillers, and psychological horrors ever. Just look at the sales numbers. The manga has received a barrage of adaptations and cultivated a legacy as strong as near any piece of popular fiction in the last twenty years. So, why have we not cracked the code on a proper videogame adaptation?

The easy answer lies in the story’s core identity. Death Note is super cerebral. Maybe there’s no way to make a compelling game when 90% of the drama takes place in the brain of deranged criminal (and the genius-level investigator who is chasing him.) Perhaps there’s no way to make an interesting game primarily about constructing a flawless string of murders. Especially not one that would require you to switch to the POV of various citizens of the most populous metropolitan area in the world. In fact, I can’t think of a single successful game that manages to balance methodical, slice-of-life concepts with anything bizarre at all. Maybe it is all too much. Too bad there’s no established formula for interesting choice-based games in the horror-thriller genre either.

Look, none of this is to say Killer Within won’t be fun. I still think you should give it a shot. I’m simply disappointed anime fans rarely get to dream big. Just like Death Note, other proven properties struggle to get a shred of original content. We’ve gone nearly 20 years without a Cowboy Bebop game. Doesn’t that feel criminal? I don’t want to wear a Faye Valentine skin in Overwatch 2, I want to be Faye Valentine and get up to hijinks on the Bebop. In that way, Death Note: Killer Within feels equally lame.

This is still a step in the right direction, given the entire game could have been an Among Us crossover, but the industry’s internal compass is way off. It’s a long way back to the trail, too. At this rate, we’ll never get that Dr. Stone open-world survival game of my dreams, and who wants to live in a world without that?

The post Death Note Deserves Better Games appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Another new update for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has been released by Insomniac Games on PS5. This past week, Insomniac surprised fans by letting loose patch 1.004.000, which notably brought about PS5 Pro support for Spider-Man 2. In the wake of the update going live, though, it seems that it also ushered in some additional problems that players have since been trying to resolve. Fortunately, Insomniac has been quick to act and has now released its second patch in less than a week for the latest Spider-Man game.

Available to download now, update version 1.004.001 for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is a pretty small one. The patch only addresses four things in total, with the most prominent fix being related to flickering during fast travel sequences. Other than this, Insomniac has also altered some localization errors and has tweaked an issue with the mask of the Advanced Tech Suit for Miles Morales which was appearing as white mistakenly. Lastly, general stability improvements were the only other thing in mention with this new Spider-Man 2 update.

Moving forward, it’s likely that this could be one of the final updates for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 on PS5. Insomniac confirmed earlier in the month that it wouldn’t be releasing any DLC for the game, much to the disappointment of many fans. As a result, other than launching a PC port in 2025, this could mark the end of Insomniac’s time with Spider-Man 2. Whether or not any other content or updates will roll out in the future currently isn’t known, but it seems apparent that Insomniac is ready to turn the page to its next major project, which should be that of Marvel’s Wolverine.

If you’d like to get a full look at the patch notes for this new Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 update, you can find them attached below.

Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Update 1.004.001 Patch Notes

• Addresses an issue where the mask on Miles’ Advanced Tech Suit was white across different styles 
• Stability improvements
• Fixes for possible flickering during fast travel introduced in 1.004.000
• Adjustments to localized options descriptions introduced in 1.004.000

The post Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Gets Another Unexpected Update appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Enter the world of Dungeons & Dragons with these all-new Funko Pops. Once again, Wizards of the Coast has partnered with Funko to create a new wave that’s pulled straight from the expansive lore of D&D. Included in the drop is a Gamestop Exclusive, the terrifying Gelatinous Cube! It also includes some powerful deep-lore characters like Drizzt and Guenhwyvar in a 2-pack, the dragon Icingdeath, and the Lady of Pain! Check out the details for these Pops below. 

• POP Games: D&D S2- Drizzt & Guenhwyvar 2-Pack / $23.99 / Forge your own path with Pop! Drizzt Do’Urden and Pop! Guenhwyvar! Vinyl figures are approximately 3.75 and 3.5-inches tall. / Pre-Order here at Entertainment Earth / Pre-order here at Amazon
• POP Games: D&D S2- Lady of Pain /$11.99 / The powerful and enigmatic ruler of Sigil, the Lady of Pain is one true mystery. Vinyl figure is approximately 5.4-inches tall. / Pre-Order here at Entertainment Earth / Pre-order here at Amazon
• POP Super: D&D S2- Icingdeath / $11.99 / Every party needs a dragon! The powerful Icingdeath is perfect for your collection. Vinyl figure is approximately 5.35-inches tall. / Pre-Order here at Entertainment Earth / Pre-order here at Amazon
• POP Deluxe: D&D S2- Gelatinous Cube / $11.99 / Don’t get stuck! You’ll need to roll successfully to take home this Gamestop Exclusive! Vinyl figure is approximately 3.8-inches tall. / Pre-order here at Gamestop

The popularity of Dungeons & Dragons popularity has increased over the past few years, even garnering an entire feature length film (starring Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, and Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page) that was well reviewed by critics but fell short at the box office. While we’re unsure if Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves will ever get a sequel, it’s definitely worth a watch.

D&D also plays a huge part in the setting of Stranger Things. Fan-favorite Eddie Munson is even getting his own prequel comic series that heavily features his in-universe D&D game. The 4-part series is a collaboration between Dungeons and Dragons and Dark Horse Comics. Stranger Things and Dungeons & Dragons: The Rise of Hellfire #1 (of 4) will land in comic stores on February 19th, 2025, and you can pre-order the first issue now at your local comic store.

With the popularity of the tabletop game continuing to rise, you can be sure that new collectibles will continue to drop for the longstanding game. For more info on the latest drops, keep an eye on our Gear page!

The post Dungeons & Dragons Favorites Get New Funko Pop Wave appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Fans of the recently released Mortal Kombat 1 might be excited to learn that McFarlane Toys is releasing a 1:6 scale posed figure / statue of one of the most iconic fighters in the long-standing series: Sub-Zero! Pre-orders will launch on October 30th at 9am PT / 12pm ET, and you’ll be able to find it here at Entertainment Earth around that time. It should also be available here on Amazon. Direct links will be added after the launch, so stay tuned for updates. UPDATE: Direct links added. The statue is priced at $49.99.

The statue showcases Sub Zero standing tall with his first in the air, the frost on his hand fresh and still crawling down his arm. His outfit is very accurate to the game, which got a well-received redesign. His new Mortal Kombat 1 outfit is still blue and black, but no longer includes his hood. His mask, one of the standout characteristics of this character’s design, is still there and honestly, to me, Sub Zero has never looked better. 

More Mortal Kombat News 

If you’re a fan of the series then you probably want to stay up to date with all the new additions for the series. First of all, don’t miss the Mortal Kombat hardcover art book, which takes fans on a visual journey through the entire series, bringing detail to the creative decisions that were made starting from the very beginning. Mortal Kombat: Flawless Victory: A Visual History of the Iconic Series should definitely pique your interest if you’re a long-time fan of the series. 

Beyond that, owners of Mortal Kombat 1 have been enjoying new additions and upgrades to the game since launch. New outfits, new landscapes, all for new and old fans alike. The most recent addition was an exciting one fo fans of the character Mileena. The character received a new skin, a throwback to the game Mortal Kombat: Deception. While not a 1:1 copy (and some fans are mad that it isnt), the new skin features the pink-purple outfit from the 2004 sequel game, the most iconic outfit for fans of the character. The speciality skin is currently exclusive to the Premium Store and costs 500 red crystals to purchase. 

With all of these new features consistently being added to the Mortal Kombat franchise, it seems the fandom for it is alive and well. New statues, new art books, new game additions – things are looking pretty good! 

To stay up to date with all Mortal Kombat mech drops, keep an eye on our Gear page!

The post Mortal Kombat 1 Sub-Zero McFarlane Toys Posed Figure Is On Sale Now appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Death Note is getting a new game, though it’s probably not at all what fans would’ve expected from the series. PlayStation announced today Death Note Killer Within, an “online social deduction” game which sure sounds like it’s taking after the Among Us trend with a few twists to make it work in the context of Death Note. The Death Note game was previously leaked prior to its announcement but was only just confirmed today for the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC platforms after PlayStation confirmed that Death Note Killer Within would be a day-one release straight into PlayStation Plus on November 5th.

Death Note Killer Within works by putting 10 players into two teams. On one team is Kira and Kira’s followers while the other team consists of L and several investigators. Kira’s team’s objective is to get rid of L by using the Death Note while L’s team is supposed to arrest Kira by gathering clues over the course of a match. Players can voice their preference for a role in a Death Note Killer Within match before joining in, but since only two people get to play as the main characters — Kira and L — there’s a good chance you’ll be assigned one of the supporting roles instead.

Similar to Among Us and other social deduction games which have tried to cash in on that genre, there are meeting phases in Death Note Killer Within during which players will discuss their findings and potentially make an arrest. There’s also a “progress gauge” players can fill up instead, perhaps to avoid drawn-out scenarios where little action is happening. This meeting phase can be seen in the gameplay screenshot below which also shows off the style of Death Note Killer Within. You play as some pretty creepy looking avatars which you can dress up in different ways as you unlock customizations for them.

RELATED: PlayStation Plus Free Games for November 2024 Revealed

The investigators and L are supposed to chat with NPCs and gather clues to figure out who the real Kira is, but the investigators and Kira are to try and steal the other teams’ IDs in order to subject them to the Death Note. You steal the IDs by standing close to a player, so Death Note Killer Within plays up the paranoia by making you wonder why someone’s hanging out near you. The main characters have a bit more power than their supporters with L able to set up surveillance cameras, for example, while Kira is the one who uses the Death Note. The Death Note can be passed from the “real” Kira to another follower, however, to avoid detection and keep the game going.

The Death Note Killer Within trailer below shows off even more of the new Death Note game which probably looks much different from what people would expect a Death Note game could look like even if the social deduction formula does lend itself more naturally to the franchise. Death Note itself is one of the anime/manga IPs that hasn’t really gotten many games at all given that it can’t follow the arena fighter formula many other anime titles do. Several Death Note games were released years ago for the Nintendo DS, but they’ve been few and far between overall compared to other franchises like Dragon Ball.

Death Note Killer Within releases for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC platforms on November 5th.

The post Leaked Death Note Game Finally Announced by PlayStation appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The director of the next Mass Effect game, which many fans are simply dubbing Mass Effect 5 for the time being, has provided new details about the look and tone of the title. As of this week, BioWare is finally releasing Dragon Age: The Veilguard after years of anticipation. While The Veilguard has largely been met with a positive response from critics, some fans have specifically taken issue with the look of the game and its art direction. In the wake of this criticism, the director of the upcoming Mass Effect 5 has made clear that the sequel won’t feature this same look.

Shared across a handful of posts on X, BioWare director Michael Gamble opened up a bit more about the studio’s approach to Mass Effect 5. Gamble said that with Dragon Age: The Veilguard now being so close to launch, many fans are asking further questions about the new Mass Effect game and how it might compare. Without saying much, Gamble revealed that Mass Effect 5 will feature a “mature tone” that was seen across Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, and Mass Effect 3. He also made clear that while BioWare works on both franchises, some of the changes that have been seen in The Veilguard won’t also be made in the new Mass Effect game.

“Lots of people asking me about Mass Effect now that Veilguard reviews are out, and October 31st is close,” Gamble said. “Both are from [BioWare], but Mass Effect is Mass Effect. How you bring a sci-fi RPG to life is different than other genres or IPs and has to have different kinds of love. Regarding tone questions: Mass Effect will maintain the mature tone of the original Trilogy.”

Related: Dragon Age: The Veilguard Metacritic Score Revealed, Lower Than Inquisition

In a subsequent post, Gamble responded to one fan directly who asserted that Dragon Age: The Veilguard featured visuals that resembled those seen in Pixar films. While Gamble pushed back on this claim, he took the opportunity to affirm that Mass Effect 5 will be aiming for photorealism and won’t be stylized in the same way that The Veilguard has been.

“I’m not sure I agree with the Pixar thing, but Mass Effect is photorealistic and will be as long as I’m running it,” he said.

While it’s great to have some new pieces of info to go off of with Mass Effect 5, there are still more questions than answers related to the project for now. BioWare and publisher EA have yet to commit to a broad release window for the next Mass Effect just yet. Still, with N7 Day (November 7th) approaching, perhaps Gamble and those at BioWare will choose to show off something new related to Mass Effect 5, especially with Dragon Age: The Veilguard now out of the way.

To that end, Dragon Age: The Veilguard will finally release tomorrow, October 31st, and will come to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.

The post Mass Effect 5 Director Shares New Details After Fans Criticize Dragon Age appeared first on ComicBook.com.

People love to dress up as Disney characters. It’s a fact of life, and it doesn’t matter if it’s Halloween, or any other day of the year. Disney Dreamlight Valley is now giving players the chance to dress up as one of the most iconic characters in Disney history: the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs! The best part is, this special bonus is completely free, and can be obtained through the Premium Shop through November 8th. It’s unclear if the costume will ever make a comeback after that, or if it will eventually return as a paid item. Regardless, players should take advantage while it’s available.

An image of the in-game costume can be found below.

Following the announcement, several Disney Dreamlight Valley players noted on social media that the Evil Queen costume showed up briefly in Scrooge’s Store before being removed. When that happened, many fans assumed it would come back in the Premium Shop as an item that could only be acquired using Moonstones. The fact that it was brought to the Premium Shop with a price of zero Moonstones has been met with widespread approval from players. It’s certainly a nice surprise, and it’s likely we’ll see a lot of people taking advantage of this deal.

While Disney Dreamlight Valley features content based on a lot of Disney properties, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs has been somewhat neglected since the game’s launch. The movie doesn’t have its own Realm, and none of the characters from the film can move into the Valley; we don’t even have an attraction based on the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train ride! It’s possible we could see all of that change at some point in the future, as the developers are constantly looking into new characters and content to add. However, this costume seems like a great way to celebrate one of Disney’s most important films in the meantime. While this is technically for Halloween, there’s no real reason you can’t wear it in the game all the time!

RELATED: Disney Dreamlight Valley Survey Hints at Star Wars and Muppets Content

Yesterday, Disney Dreamlight Valley developer Gameloft revealed a lot of new information about content coming to the game in the near future. During the livestream, viewers were also provided several codes for free avatar items. If you happened to miss the stream, you can get a free jacket (DDVJJACKET2024), a free hair bow (DDVBOWHB2024), and free socks (DDVSOCKS2024). Unlike the free costume based on the Evil Queen, these items are not redeemed through the Premium Shop; the codes must be entered in the Help section found under Settings in the game’s menu. We don’t know when (or if) these codes will expire, so fans should take advantage sooner rather than later.

Are you planning to snag this free costume in Disney Dreamlight Valley? Would you like to see more content from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Disney Dreamlight Valley Giving Out Free In-Game Costume for Halloween appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Sony has revealed its lineup of PlayStation Plus games that will be joining the service in November 2024. By all accounts, October has been one of the strongest months of the year for PS Plus as it featured Dead Space, WWE 2K24, and Doki Doki Literature Club Plus at no cost. This lineup was specifically great as it featured two horror titles just in time for Halloween. Now, with these PS Plus games set to depart in mere days, it’s now known what will be replacing them in a little under a week.

Going live on November 5th, PS Plus subscribers will be able to access Hot Wheels Unleashed – Turbocharged, Ghostwire: Tokyo, and Death Note: Killer Within. All three PS Plus games will be available natively for both PS5 and PS4 to all subscribers of the PlayStation service. They will then exit the platform the following month on December 2nd.

Related: PlayStation Plus Subscribers Surprised With Bonus Perk to Close October 2024

By far the biggest game of this group is that of Death Note: Killer Within. The reason that this is the highlight of PS Plus for November 2024 is because it’s actually a day-one addition to the platform. Based on the information of Killer Within that is currently available, it seems like a Death Note version of the hit indie game Among Us. Whether or not it ends up being that much more popular as a result of joining PlayStation Plus right away remains to be seen, but this is a release strategy that has worked out well for other publishers in the past.

You can learn more about all of the new PS Plus games joining the service in November 2024 by checking out descriptions and trailers for each below.

Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged

“The world’s raddest cars are back and taking the fun to the next level! Race over 130 vehicles with crazy new mechanics and even more vehicle types. Plus, build your tracks with stunning new environments and different game modes to have fun off and online!”

Ghostwire: Tokyo

“Tokyo is overrun by deadly supernatural forces as a dangerous occultist causes the city’s population to vanish in an instant. Join forces with a powerful spectral entity on their quest for vengeance and master a powerful arsenal of abilities to unravel the dark truth behind the disappearance as you face the unknown in Ghostwire: Tokyo.”

Death Note: Killer Within

“Death Note: Killer Within is an online social deduction game for up to 10 players. Players will be split into two teams with different objectives. To win the game, players will need to figure out each other’s identities and either eliminate L who threatens Kira’s power or seize the Death Note. Enjoy a battle of wits as Kira and his followers, or as L and the investigators in the world of Death Note. As equally matched opponents, the two teams clash to control the game while hiding their true identities from each other. The Death Note is hidden among the players, leading to a thrilling game of cat and mouse until one team overpowers the other. Each role has its own characteristics, allowing you to master a deep sense of strategy and tactical play. Depending on your assigned role, a wide range of strategies can be formulated, and each randomized scenario develops into a high-stakes game of tactics.”

The post PlayStation Plus Free Games for November 2024 Revealed appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Magic: The Gathering remains one of the biggest card games in the world today. While an anime adaptation for the popular game has yet to materialize, this hasn’t stopped the card-slinging activity from bringing some major anime faces to its universe. In recent years, Magic: The Gathering has crossed over with the likes of Cowboy Bebop, Hatsune Miku, and even Junji Ito. In a surprise reveal, not only is Magic coming to North America with a manga that highlights the game in an anime world but it is coming with a big incentive for Gathering players that make up the platform which first landed in 1993.

When it comes to Magic: The Gathering, the card game might not have released an anime series as of yet but there is one in development. Netflix revealed last month that the streaming service was teaming up with Wizards of the Coast on an original anime series set in the “Gathering Universe.” In a joint statement, the companies confirmed that the Russo Borthers might have departed the project but the anime was happening.

“While the Russo Brothers are no longer part of the animated series, their passion for the game combined with their early creative perspective and input helped us to shape the project to a place where we believe fans of the game and those new to the ‘Gathering Universe’ will enjoy the series and discover what millions of fans around the globe have known for the past 25 years.”

Magic: The Gathering – Destroy All Humans

In a new social media post, Viz Media confirmed that “Destroy All Humans. They Can’t Be Regenerated. A Magic: The Gathering Manga” would arrive this fall. Along with the North American release of the manga by creators Katsura Ise and Takuma Yakota, this upcoming manga will include an exclusive Magic: The Gathering Card to use in any Magic exhibition. If this is your first time hearing of this series, Viz has a description for this series that has one of the wildest titles we’ve heard in recent memory.

“It’s the nineties at Tokiwaga Middle School. And for gamers like Hajime Kano, the release of Magic: The Gathering means nothing will ever be the same again! In everything he does, it seems like geeky Tokiwagi Middle School student Hajime Kano comes in second place behind popular honor student Emi Sawatari. But when Hajime takes a trip to a new game store he’s been hearing about, their rivalry takes an unexpected turn. Welcome to the early years of Magic: The Gathering, when a trading card game shaped a generation forever!”

Magic: The Gathering’s Manga History

Destroy All Humans is far from the only manga that explores the Magic: The Gathering Universe. The card game has released several manga stories in the past that will either document the lives of players or venture within the fictional, supernatural universe to highlight events that had taken place. The manga series include The Purifying Fire, Magic – Urza & Mishra, War of The Spark, Rivals of Ixalan, Throne of Eldraine, and Kamigawa: Neon Dynasty to name a few.

There has yet to be word on whether Destroy All Humans will receive its own anime adaptation as of the writing of this article but there is always hope. Considering Netflix and Wizards of the Coast’s plans, it’s possible that some of these Magic manga series will get the chance to hit the small screen.

Want to stay up to date on Magic: The Gathering and how it continues to cross over into the anime world? Follow along with Team Anime on ComicBook.com for the latest updates on this card-slinging universe and hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics and anime.

The post Magic: The Gathering to Bring Hit Manga Stateside With a Very Special Card appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Palworld got a seasonal update just ahead of Halloween this week to add some new skins for four different Pals to wear for the holiday and beyond. Palworld developer Pocketpair dropped the update late Tuesday night and confirmed that Cattiva, Katress, Pengullet, and Croajiro would all be getting Halloween skins in the update. The patch notes for the October 29th Palworld update also included some welcome bugfixes for several different platform problems including memory leaks and one issue specific to the PS5.

All of the new content was geared solely towards these new Pal skins, so the rest of the Palworld update is pretty much exclusively geared towards fixes and the like. This is of course the first Halloween update that Palworld has gotten given that it was only in January 2024 that the game released.

The full patch notes for this year’s Halloween update in Palworld can be found below:

RELATED: Pokemon and Palworld Have New Competition Releasing in October

Skins

• Added 4 Halloween skins! All players will recieve these skins for free upon starting up the game! (※Cannot be equipped unless you have at least 1 of the corresponding Pals)
  • Halloween Cattiva
  • Spectacled Katress
  • Pirate Pengullet
  • Halloween Croajiro

Multiplayer

• Significantly relaxed the text chat character limit. You can now write much longer messages!

Major Bug Fixes

• Fixed memory leak on servers
• Fixed several critical game crashes
• Fixed an issue where large Pals would push the player under the world or through walls

Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where custom markers were not displayed in the compass UI at the top of the screen
• Fixed many minor bugs
• Fixed minor translation errors

PS5 Specific Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where trees would respawn even if a structure was built over it

Though the game itself just came out this year, skins in Palworld are relatively new as well and only started being given out just recently. While Palworld already has elemental variations of different Pals like Ignis, Lux, Cryst, and more, the skins are purely cosmetic and are exclusive to the Pals that they’re designed for. The trailer above from Palworld‘s developer showed off what these four skins look like now that they’re available. Beyond these, skins are occasionally given out as Twitch Drops as well, so Palworld players may be able to claim more that way in the future in addition to the free ones given out this week.

This new Palworld content also comes in the midst of the much bigger legal battle that Pocketpair, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company are embroiled in now. In recent months, the Pokemon creators announced a formal suit against Pocketpair over patent infringement as opposed to copyright issues (even if several Pals sure do look a lot like Pokemon). It was suggest that there’s one Pokeball-related patent in particular that may be focused on during this lawsuit, though it of course hasn’t been made public what Nintendo and The Pokemon Company are using to support their lawsuit.

Palworld‘s latest update is out now for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC players to download.

The post Palworld Update Adds Halloween Skins appeared first on ComicBook.com.

When Sonic the Hedgehog 3 races into theaters this December, it will feature Keanu Reeves in the role of Shadow. Shadow has been a favorite among Sonic fans since the days of Sega Dreamcast, and a lot of people are excited to see the character’s arrival on the big screen. In an appearance at the Sonic Revolution expo (via Nintendo Life), director Jeff Fowler talked about Reeves’ appearance in the movie, and his desire to get the character right. According to Fowler, Reeves showed a lot of dedication during his time on the film, and clearly had learned a lot before going in.

“He would give us so many different versions of line readings and just wanna keep going. He was not just sort of showing up and just reading the script into a microphone. Like he really wanted to create a very fan-faithful version of the character. He did research. In our first meeting, he very clearly had gone and done his homework, which was awesome,” said Fowler.

Shadow’s backstory seems to be a major part of the storyline for Sonic the Hedgehog 3. In the video games, Shadow was created by Dr. Robotnik’s grandfather, Gerald. Dubbed the “ultimate lifeform,” Shadow’s purpose was to cure Gerald’s granddaughter Maria, who was dying from an incurable disease. Fearing Shadow’s power, the Guardian Units of Nations (G.U.N.) captured Shadow, and accidentally killed Maria in the process. We don’t know what elements will be translated to the big screen, but Maria and Gerald will both appear in the movie.

It bodes well for the film that Reeves seems passionate about getting Shadow right. Thus far, Paramount has done a very nice job casting the Sonic movies, with actors like Ben Schwartz and Idris Elba feeling like natural fits for their respective roles. Of course, we’ve also gotten Colleen O’Shaughnessey reprising her role as Tails from the video games. Getting Shadow right is important, and Reeves has already seemed like a good fit from the footage revealed so far.

RELATED: Sonic x Shadow Generations Is Already Seeing Big Success

Sonic the Hedgehog 3 will not be the only place fans can hear Reeves’ take on Shadow. The actor will also appear in downloadable content for Sonic x Shadow Generations. Details about that DLC are slim at the moment, but players will be able to explore a recreation of Tokyo, which is one of the locations where the new movie will take place. The DLC is set to be released on December 12th, a few days ahead of the movie (which comes out on December 20th). As a result, the game will be an opportunity for players to get a better idea how Reeves will sound as Shadow in advance of the film. Hopefully players and moviegoers will be just as impressed with Reeves’ take on Shadow as Fowler is!

Are you planning to check out Sonic the Hedgehog 3 later this year? Do you think Keanu Reeves is right for the role of Shadow? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Sonic 3 Director Says Keanu Reeves Wanted to Create a “Fan-Faithful Version” of Shadow appeared first on ComicBook.com.

In 1996, the world’s best Pokemon debuted, and Eevee has only gotten better over the years. The Normal-type Pokemon is nothing short of adorable, and when Generation I checked in on Eevee, fans were sold. From the anime to the video games, Pokemon knew Eevee was a hit, and that success was due to its evolutions. To date, a total of eight adorable Eevee evolutions have gone live. Fans have been begging for a new evolution for years now, and a new leak reveals such an evolution for Eevee was scrapped behind the scenes.

The report surfaced this week as Game Freak, the developer of the Pokemon games, was hit by a major leak. Netizens discovered a 40 GB folder containing unseen assets and documents regarding Pokemon, and they allegedly hail from Game Freak. It did not take long for fans to parse over the information, and it was there a document appeared detailing Eevee’s axed Flying-type evolution.

Eevee’s Flying-type Evolution Was Scrapped for Generation VII

“After being told that the design was similar to a design created by a fan, it was decided that the design costs [of the Pokemon] would be very high,’ the document reads. “Unless there is a game where Flying Eevee is the main character, or if they have high value in the game, then it is not worth the high cost. We could make that decision [someday], but that is not the case at the moment. We will put it on hold until we can determine the importance of this new Pokemon.”

According to the leak, the original design for Flying-type Eevee still exists, but it was never digitized. The artwork lives in the Game Freak office, so there is no telling what they look like. If this leak is accurate, Game Freak originally wanted to bring the Eevee evolution to life in Generation VII, but the Pokemon was axed over a cost analysis.

If the Flying-type Eevee evolution had debuted, well – the fandom would be better for it. In Generation VI, the world watched as Pokemon brought Eevee’s Fairy-type evolution to the screen. Sylveon made a splash with their arrival, and to date, they are the latest evolution to join Eevee’s line. Before Sylveon, Leafeon and Glaceon were introduced in Generation IV. So as you can see, it has been a hot minute since Eevee was given a new evolution.

Will We Ever Get a New Eevee Evolution in Pokemon?

As you can imagine, this latest Pokemon report has fans in an uproar. The fandom has been begging Game Freak for a new Eevee evolution since Generation VI closed, and they could have gotten that addition in Generation VII. We are now staring down the barrel of Generation X, and we have yet to get such an update. Given how popular the Eevee line is, the choice to axe a Flying-type evolution is hard to comprehend, but Game Freak was confident in its choice to hold the character back.

Luckily, the axed debut did not shut the door on Eevee as a whole. The document suggests Game Freak is open to a Flying-type Eevee, but its current design needed an overhaul. The evolution could very well appear in the future, and of course, there are other Eevee evolutions to explore. From Rock-type to Dragon-type, there are tons of types that Eevee has yet to embrace. But given this latest leak, it seems a Flying-type Eevee could join the Pokedex next.

What do you make of this latest Pokemon leak? Is there an Eevee evolution you are desperate to see? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

The post New Pokemon Leak Reveals an Axed Eevee Evolution appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Tomb Raider live-action series is now in search of a lead to play Lara Croft. As of this writing, no one has been cast as the video game icon, but it appears the search has narrowed for Amazon MGM Studios. According to reporting from Deadline, Game of Thrones and X-Men: Dark Phoenix star Sophie Turner will be testing for the role. Additionally, Lucy Boynton (Barbie, Bohemian Rhapsody) will also test for the role. Apparently Emma Corrin (Deadpool & Wolverine) and Mackenzie Davis (Speak No Evil) are also on the studio’s wishlist, but sources for Deadline believe that neither are set to test for the role.

Tomb Raider received a full pickup from Amazon back in May. The live-action series will be part of a planned universe, which will also include a movie and a video game. At this time, details about the movie and video game remain slim, with the live-action series clearly taking precedence. The show will mark the third live-action Tomb Raider adaptation; Angelina Jolie played the role in two movies, while Alicia Vikander starred in a 2018 reboot. Vikander has frequently voiced her interest in returning to the role. However, the actress has not been mentioned in anything related to the Amazon series, making a return unlikely.

Once the role of Lara Croft has been cast, it will be interesting to see how the series brings the character to the screen. The Angelina Jolie Tomb Raider movies were closer in tone to the earlier games, while the Alicia Vikander film drew inspiration from the more realistic Tomb Raider reboot game from 2013. It’s possible the Phoebe Waller-Bridge series could meet somewhere in the middle, pulling in elements from various depictions of the character. At this time, it’s a bit too early to tell.

RELATED: New Tomb Raider Remasters Announced, Releasing in 2025

The Tomb Raider live-action series is one of several video game adaptations to land at Amazon. Earlier this year, the platform released the highly-successful Fallout, while this month saw the debut of Like a Dragon: Yakuza. In December, Amazon’s Secret Level animated series will adapt a number of different video games in an anthology format. Amazon is hardly the only studio betting big on video game adaptations at the moment, as companies like Universal and Paramount have also seen a lot of success mining various gaming properties.

It remains to be seen whether Tomb Raider will be able to find the same level of success as Fallout, but it’s easy to see why the series is getting a big push from Amazon MGM. Hopefully the company will be able to deliver a series that can appeal to existing fans of the franchise, as well as those that have never played one of the games.

Are you planning to check out the Tomb Raider series from Amazon? Who would you like to see cast in the role? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Tomb Raider TV Series Targets Game of Thrones Star as Potential Lara Croft appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Game Freak hack from this month continues to trickle out new Pokemon leaks just about every single day. Alongside a new Pokemon Legends: Z-A leak that may reveal the starters of the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Arceus sequel, what is under Mimikyu’s disguise has finally been revealed. What was likely going to forever remain a secret inside the walls of Game Freak is now on X, Reddit, 4chan, and other parts of the Internet.

For those unfamiliar with Mimikyu, it is a ghost/fairy type that was introduced in Generation 7, which is to say Pokemon Sun and Moon. What is unique about the Pokemon is that it lives life completely disguised with a full body cloth that keeps it hidden at all times. Meanwhile, in the Pokemon universe, it is believed that if you see what is underneath a Mimikyu you will be overcome with a mysterious illness. To this end, residents of the Alola region always make sure never to see what is underneath the disguise.

In line with the hidden theme, Mimikyu’s health fails when in the sun, which means it tends to stick to dark places away from the sun. It is believed this is why it covers itself, to avoid direct sunlight in case it can’t be in a dark place.

Since it was added, Pokemon fans have wondered what is underneath the disguise. Whether Game Freak was ever going to reveal this, we don’t know. However, some confidential files obtained in the Game Freak hack have done this for it. After eight years, what is under the disguise, which can be seen below, courtesy of Centro Leaks.

Of course, like any leak this one should be taken with a grain of salt. There is a very small possibility this is a fake, but right now there is no reason to expect as much. As for Game Freak, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company none have commented on this new specific leak. We don’t suspect this will change for a variety of reasons, but if it does, we will be sure to update the story accordingly.

In the meantime, for more Pokemon coverage — including all of the latest Pokemon news, all of the latest Pokemon rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Pokemon speculation — click here.

The post Pokemon Leak Finally Reveals What’s Under Mimikyu’s Disguise appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Venom: The Last Dance have gotten an unexpected crossover. October brought some of the biggest entertainment releases of the year with Joker 2, Terrifier 3, and Silent Hill 2 remake. Last week, two major anticipated releases dropped on the same day: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and Venom: The Last Dance. The two giants are expected to be pretty big commercial successes with Call of Duty hitting record high player counts on Steam alone and Venom: The Last Dance bringing in a whopping $178 million in its first 5 days. It’s been hard to avoid ads for the two products for the last month or so, as they have major partnerships with big brands and an extensive marketing campaign across social media.

Venom has been roasting random Twitter users and also appearing in things like Hot Ones, fully embracing the absurdity of this incarnation of the Spider-Man villain. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 chose to bring back Peter Stormare as “The Replacer”, a mysterious suit-wearing man who will “replace” people at their jobs or other responsibilities so they can play Call of Duty. Both marketing campaigns have made waves across social media and people are enjoying it, so naturally, they have joined forces.

A new ad was released earlier today that sees Call of Duty’s The Replacer standing in a parking lot, revealing he’s on a special assignment. He notes that Eddie Brock is too busy playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and he has to keep Venom company. Naturally, Venom is talking in his ear the whole time before The Replacer ultimately transforms into the gooey monster. It’s absolutely ridiculous, but a fun way to keep both marketing campaigns going following their respective launches. Whether it will amount to anything more than this short little ad remains to be seen, but fans are already calling for a Venom skin in Black Ops 6.

View on X

Fortnite brought back the Venom skins a few days ago, much to the joy of its fans. However, Fortnite is a bit more family friendly and has a great history with Marvel. It’s unclear if Marvel would pursue putting a character from a PG-13 movie in an M-rated video game. It’s not out of the realm of possibility, but it is something that Marvel may not be interested in since it already supports another big shooter. There may be more room for a crossover with something like Kraven the Hunter, an R-rated film based on another Spider-Man villain. However, we’ll probably have to wait until the film releases in December to know if something like that is going to happen.

Nevertheless, it’s great to see two giant products that have absolutely nothing to do with each other joining forces to release a fun little ad. Whether or not it really moves anyone to play Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 or see Venom: The Last Dance is up in the air, but it’s still something fans can get a chuckle out of.

The post Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Crosses Over With Venom: The Last Dance in Unexpected Way appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Pokemon Legends: Z-A starters have potentially leaked. This month Pokemon fans have been flooded with Pokemon leaks featuring Pokemon games from yesteryear, Pokemon games of the present, and Pokemon games of the future. And this is because Game Freak — the developer responsible for shepherding the series — was subject of a massive data breach.

The latest Pokemon leak involves the starters of Pokemon Legends: Z-A, which is currently scheduled to release sometime in 2025 via the Nintendo Switch, and possibly the Nintendo Switch 2 as well, based on previous leaks. Despite being on the horizon, Game Freak and Nintendo haven’t said anything about or shown anything of the game since its reveal. When this will change, remains to be seen, but in the meantime, plenty of the game has leaked.

The latest leak doesn’t directly involve Pokemon Legends: Z-A, however, the implications of it extend to the upcoming Pokemon Legends: Arceus sequel. More specifically, the key art for the 2025 Pokemon World Championships has leaked, and it features three random Pokemon starters from previous Pokemon games. To this end, they are presumably going to be the three starters chosen for Pokemon Legends: Z-A.

As for the three starters, they are the Generation 6 starters, aka the Pokemon X & Y starters. In other words, Chespin, Froakie, and Fennekin. Given the game’s setting — Lumiose City of Pokemon X & Y — this isn’t too surprising. That said, right now it is just speculation based on the 2025 Pokemon World Championships key art leak. The key art leak is legit, but it remains to be seen if it is related to Pokemon Legends: Z-A.

Why these three starters would feature, if they weren’t the starters of 2025’s big Pokemon release, isn’t immediately obvious. However, in the past Pokemon World Championships key arts have not always been related to that year’s big Pokemon game, so it is possible there is nothing to this.

Of course, take everything here with a grain of salt like any leak, especially one with this much speculation. As for Game Freak, Nintendo, and The Pokemon Company, none have commented on this latest leak and the speculation it has created.

For more Pokemon coverage — including all of the latest Pokemon Legends: Z-A news, all of the latest Pokemon Legends: Z-A rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Pokemon Legends: Z-A speculation — click here.

H/T, Centro Leaks.

The post New Pokemon Leak May Reveal Pokemon Legends: Z-A Starters appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Another Call of Duty launch week, another round of early bugs. The juggernaut franchise has delivered an unsurprising success with Black Ops 6, with the game garnering high praise for its dramatic Campaign mode and thrilling Zombies action. Multiplayer has faced a much more split reception, with new bugs and errors popping up just as fast as Treyarch can get them fixed.

This time around, it’s the Perk system. Players loading into Multiplayer matches may notice their Operators feel a bit underpowered, and that’s because an October 29th update has seemingly broken all but the first Perk slot in each loadout. This is a major issue, not just for the game-to-game experience, but also for those trying to rush through camo progression in the earliest days of the game. There is a temporary workaround for now, though, so here’s what you need to do.

From the outside, it seems that the issue stems from the first Perk slot. While a player’s loadout may show different Perks equipped, pulling up the Selection menu will only produce a repeat of the Slot 1 options. Instead of being able to choose from the normal perks in Slot 2, you’ll instead be greeted with repeats of Slot 1 options. That’s pretty difficult to notice from the outside, and that’s where Treyarch’s quick fix comes into play.

Now, instead of equipping those loadout bonuses from the selection menu, players should use the Slots tab at the top of the Perk menu. This alleviates the problem and restores full functionality to all of your favorite loadout-enhancing options. You can also find the same menu while editing your loadouts mid-match, so there’s no worry about being stuck with useless Perks if you need to hotswap them in-game.

There are a few other bugs currently making life hard on the Multiplayer side of things. Random freezes during loading screens, receiving incorrect loadouts from the selection menu, and automatically dying after choosing a loadout in Search & Destroy are all on Treyarch’s list of things to fix.

It’s good to keep in mind that every Call of Duty has a few bumps in the road at launch, so loading into matches in the first week may come with any number of unpleasant surprises along the way. If you encounter a rare bug (or just want to know what’s being worked on at any given time), all of that information can be found on the developer’s Trello page. This is where the team tracks all known issues, documents fixes, and generally keeps the community informed on what’s coming down the pipeline.

It’s not all bad news for Multiplayer fans, however. The same October 29th update also brought the first post-launch content update to the game, with the fan-favorite Infected mode making its Black Ops 6 debut. Additionally, Nuketown will be the first map added to the game. A franchise staple, this version has none of the bells and whistles of later incarnations. It’s the pure, 1950s edition of the map that fans first fell in love with back in Black Ops 1.

Other maps are sure to come in the following weeks, as Season 1 is confirmed to kick off on November 14th. This is also when Raven Software and its other supporting studios will be bringing the full BO6 integration to Warzone.

The post Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Devs Add Workaround for Broken Perks appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Mortal Kombat 1 released in September 2023 and has steadily expanded ever since. Like all of the latest Mortal Kombat games, the new inclusions have blended franchise staples with a mix of popular picks from around film and TV. Over the last year, fans have gotten their hands on The Boys‘ Homelander, DC’s Peacemaker, and Invincible‘s Omni-Man already, and it won’t be long before Scream‘s Ghostface joins the party.

Hailing from the beloved slasher franchise, Ghostface is something of a mystery. Every character that dons the iconic mask seems to gain some level of superhuman resilience, battling through even the most grievous of wounds to keep stalking their prey, taunting them with chilling lines, and bamboozling would-be captors no matter how dire the circumstance. This kind of supervillain buff fits right in with the aforementioned roster of newcomers.

Ghostface’s reveal trailer doesn’t give much away about his in-game moveset, but it does deliver a quick array of unnerving clips to establish his character. After all, he’s just “a dude with a knife,” as Johnny Cage pointed out (just before getting stabbed to death). Additionally, the short preview also confirms Roger L. Jackson (like John Cena and J.K. Simmons before him) has reprised his iconic role as the voice behind the mask.

Speaking of the mask, the trailer gave us a brief-but-helpful look at a few variants of Ghostface’s iconic guise—including the crimson “Devilface” variant, which was most recently seen in Behaviour Interactive’s asymmetrical horror game Dead by Daylight. Blink and you’ll miss it, but there’s also a glimpse at a Scorpion-themed variation that calls back to one of MK’s oldest designs. That’s not all, though. We also get a look at an all-chrome style mask, as well as a blood-soaked variant, much like you might have seen on Halloween 20 years ago.

Khaos Reigns DLC owners will get the first crack at the Woodsboro menace as he hits early access on November 19th. Everyone else will be waiting for the full release a week later on November 26th. Ghostface is far from the last fighter to join the fray in this set, though.

As revealed back at San Diego Comic-Con, both Conan the Barbarian and the T-1000 Terminator variant are still waiting in the wings to round out this wave, adding two more big pieces to the Hollywood-themed mural the series has painted with its DLC ever since A Nightmare on Elm Street‘s Freddy Kreuger showed up in MK 9.

While Ghostface will be overshooting the Halloween release window by about a month, anyone eager to scratch their spooky fighting game itch can brave the Towers of Time to earn appropriately scary makeover skins for movie star Johnny Cage, Li Mei, and Mileena, until November 2nd.

There’s no word yet on characters to come after the Khaos Reigns batch is fully integrated, but if previous Mortal Kombat games are anything to go by, there will still be at least one more round of newcomers to shake up this new era in the fighting game’s strange new timeline.

The post Mortal Kombat 1 Ghostface Trailer Shows Scream Killer Ready To Haunt Earthrealm appeared first on ComicBook.com.

In September, PlayStation made the surprising announcement that Concord would be taken offline after less than a month. The initial statement left the door open for the game’s eventual return, but that will not be happening. Today, PlayStation announced the closure of developer Firewalk Studios, and the decision to “permanently sunset the game.” In an internal email from Hermen Hulst, the PlayStation CEO revealed that there were internal discussions about “exploring all our options.” It seems the company did not see a way to make the game profitable, and it will not be coming back.

“The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area,” Hulst writes.

The swift failure of Concord has been a hot topic of conversation over the last month. Despite the shutdown, the game is still slated to appear in an episode of Amazon’s Secret Level animated series. That episode will still be released as planned, even though the game will not be coming back. Secret Level won’t be released until December 10th, at which point Concord will have been offline for nearly three months. In a post on X/Twitter, Firewalk Studios addressed the game’s struggles as well as PlayStation’s decision to close the company. While the reaction to Concord was not what the team had been hoping for, the developer argues that it tried to do something unique and different.

“We took some risks along the way – marrying aspects of card battlers and fighting games with first-person-shooters – and although some of these and other aspects of the IP didn’t land as we hoped, the idea of putting new things into the world is critical to pushing the medium forward,” the company writes.

RELATED: Serious Questions Must Be Asked About PlayStation CEO Hermen Hulst After New Concord Report

Unfortunately, Firewalk is not the only PlayStation owned studio that was closed today. Hulst also announced the closure of Neon Koi. The developer had been working on an action game for mobile devices, and PlayStation will no longer be moving forward with the project. Hulst says that PlayStation is still early in its mobile efforts, and wants to “concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally.”

Between mobile and live-service games, it seems PlayStation’s recent initiatives have struggled to find financial success. Unfortunately, this has now resulted in more studio closures, in what has already proven to be a difficult time for many in the video game industry. Hopefully those that lost their jobs at Firewalk Studios and Neon Koi will be able to find new places of employment.

Are you disappointed that Concord won’t be coming back? Did you get a chance to play the game before it was shut down? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post PlayStation Closes Firewalk Studios, Concord Permanently Shut Down appeared first on ComicBook.com.

During today’s Disney Dreamlight Valley showcase, Gameloft revealed several plans for the game’s future. This year will see one more free update which will be titled Sew Delightful. As long suspected, the update will see the arrival of Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. This update will arrive on December 4th, and will feature some new quality of life improvements. Notably, players will have new Floating Islands that can be decorated and visited by other players. The goal was to give players ample space to create without feeling overwhelming. Changes will also be coming to item, furniture, and building placement, with new 16-point rotations. That same day will also see the arrival of a new Star Path, which will have a wintery theme. One of the Star Path items is a wand that can produce snowflakes.

In addition to the free update, this year will see the release of a second paid expansion. The Storybook Vale will feature a new world floating in the sky that was made up of legendary stories. The area was previously ruled by Maleficent and Hades, but the two began to struggle for power, inevitably tearing it all apart. Unlike the previous expansion, this one will be released in two parts, rather than three. That decision came about following player feedback, and will ensure a shorter wait. The first half will arrive on November 20th, and will see players encounter new Villagers Merida (Brave), Flynn Rider (Tangled), and Hades (Hercules). Maleficent will not arrive until the second half, which will apparently include Aurora as well.

The new area in The Storybook Vale is broken into three biomes: the Bind, Ever After, and Mythopia. The story for this expansion centers on an enchanted book that holds this area together. While exploring the new biomes, players will encounter new creatures called Snippets, which appear to be made out of origami. Snippets must be caught using the new Royal Net (similar to bugs in Animal Crossing). These creatures will have their own patterns that players will have to follow in order to catch them. Catching these creatures will help to fix tapestries based on various Disney and Pixar films, which can then be hung as decorative items.

RELATED: Disney Dreamlight Valley Survey Hints at Star Wars and Muppets Content

In the new biomes, players can expect to see new animal companions, including Owls (the Bind), Mini Dragons (Ever After), and Mini Horses (Mythopia). The latter inclusion was inspired by the Mini Horses that appeared in the movie Fantasia. Players can also expect to find new plants, new fish (such as koi), and dozens of new recipes. Players that purchased the first expansion and unlocked Rapunzel will have an opportunity to reunite the character with Flynn Rider.

Looking ahead to 2025, the developers teased a new roadmap, with some potential new characters that will be introduced. A new roadmap showed Jasmine’s headband in a section that reads “early 2025.” Spring is similarly teasing a new character with an image of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland. The final teaser is for summer 2025, with an image of Skull Rock from Peter Pan.

How do you feel about all these announcements for Disney Dreamlight Valley? Do you plan? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Disney Dreamlight Valley Reveals Several Upcoming Characters and New Expansion Pass appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Typically, November 2024 is packed full of game releases. November 2024 is bit of an outlier in this regard. While there are some promising PS5 games releasing next month, there aren’t as many as you’d expect. How this happened, who knows, but even in a peculiarly slow month there are still plenty of PS5 games for PlayStation fans to check out.

Headlining the PS5 games releasing on the PlayStation Store and elsewhere next month is a new LEGO game, the return of a JRPG classic, and a bizarre new game from the creator of series such as Siren, Gravity Rush, and Silent Hill.

LEGO Horizon Adventures

About: In a far future, where giant mechanized beasts roam a landscape reclaimed by nature and humans live in primitive tribes, an ancient evil seeks to destroy the world… Join hunter Aloy as she leads a colorful crew of heroes on a quest to save the meadows, forests, and mountains of Earth from a man called Helis, who leads a gang of sunworshippers that follow an Ancient Evil shrouded in mystery.

Release Date: November 14

Slitterhead

About: Set in the densely cluttered streets of Kowlong, filled with obscurity and chaos, this battle action-adventure game casts players as the “Hyoki,” an entity devoid of memory and physical form. His only motive is to eradicate the monstrous beings known as “Slitterheads” crawling around the city, disguising themselves as humans. Roaming the vibrant neon-lit cityscape, Hyoki must seek out allies among humans known as “Rarities,” infiltrate and track dangerous organizations, and engage in battles harnessing the power of blood. As the suspenseful drama unfolds, delve into the mystery behind Hyoki’s existence and the appearance of the Slitterheads.

Release Date: November 8

Planet Coaster 2

About: Dive into the thrilling world of Planet Coaster 2! Construct the theme park of your dreams with an intuitive piece-by-piece building system, as you meticulously craft and customize every aspect of your park like never before, down to the smallest detail. From towering rollercoasters to spectacular twisting water slides, let your imagination reach new heights to delight and thrill your guests.

Release Date: November 6

Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake

About: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a stunning reimagining of the beloved masterpiece and narrative beginning to The Erdrick Trilogy— the first three games of the mainline Dragon Quest series. Featuring vibrant HD-2D graphics, new and modernized features, and a refined narrative, players are invited to set out on an epic fantasy adventure to save the world from a dark evil.

Release Date: November 14

The Rise of the Golden Idol

About: The award-winning detective saga returns. Uncover the truth behind 15 strange cases of crime, death, and depravity in the 1970s. The world has changed dramatically—the sins of humanity have not.

Release Date: November 12

Metro Awakening

About: Crafted by series creator Dmitry Glukhovsky, this standalone prequel to Metro 2033 follows Serdar, a doctor braving the treacherous tunnels in search of his missing wife. As his sanity is pushed to the limit, Serdar confronts the edge between life and death, ultimately awakening as Khan, the legendary mystic figure whose wisdom and understanding of the tunnels’ supernatural forces will echo through time, becoming the spiritual guide shaping the fate of those who dwell in the Metro depths.

Release Date: November 7

Metal Slug Tactics

About: Metal Slug Tactics brings the explosive charm and nostalgic fun of the cult Metal Slug series to the tactical scene! Get ready for an intense ride through the best of both worlds: classic arcade action and roguelite tactical thrills. Jump into the combat zone and revive your Metal Slug nostalgia in a whole new way!

Release Date: November 5

Nine Sols

About: Nine Sols is a lore rich, hand-drawn 2D action-platformer featuring Sekiro-inspired deflection focused combat. Embark on a journey of Asian fantasy, explore the land once home to an ancient alien race, and follow a vengeful hero’s quest to slay the 9 Sols, formidable rulers of this forsaken realm.

Release Date: November 26

Empire of Ants

About: Empire of the Ants immerses players in a magnificently microscopic forest ecosystem as 103,683rd, an ant sworn to protect their colony no matter the cost. In Empire of the Ants, use every move to your advantage on the path to world domination. Strategy, exploration, conflict, and alliances with local wildlife species will be essential for your colony’s survival.

Release Date: November 7

Towers of Aghasba

About: Decades after the Shimu people were forced to flee their homeland due to the invasion of a mysterious force known as the Withered, the Shimu have returned to reclaim their rightful home: the fantastical island of AGHASBA. As junior architect, it’s your job to rebuild the villages of your once-mighty civilization as well as nurse Aghasba’s once-thriving ecosystems back to life.

Release Date: November 19 (Early Access)

Honorable Mentions –

• Neon Blood
• Songs of Conquest
• Songs of Silence
• Behemoth
• Farming Simulator 25

The post 10 Best-Looking PS5 Games Releasing November 2024 appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Over the weekend, Pokemon Go introduced Gigantamax Pokemon to the game, and the results were a predictable disaster. The new six-star Max Raids were nearly impossible for players to overcome, with huge groups of players struggling to defeat these Gigantamax Pokemon. It seems Niantic is well aware that players are frustrated, and there are going to be some changes starting later this week. In a post on the Niantic Support X/Twitter account, the company revealed the specific changes players can expect to see when Gigantamax Gengar Max Raids go live:

• Gigantamax Gengar Max Battles will still be challenging, but we will be slightly reducing the difficulty compared to Gigantamax Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise Max Battles.
• Defeating Gigantamax Gengar will reward participating trainers 25k Stardust each.
• Gigantamax Gengar will be more easy to catch once you have defeated it in a Max Battle.

Gigantamax Gengar Max Raids won’t begin until October 31st, so it will be interesting to see how these differ. “Slightly reducing” the difficulty probably isn’t going to make the kind of difference needed to make six-star Max Raids enjoyable, though. Right now, the problem is that the recommended party size is 10-40 players. Players cannot participate in these Raids remotely, which means you need a huge group of people to complete them locally. On top of that, some players have claimed on social media that they were unable to defeat Gigantamax Pokemon with groups of 30 players. The requirement makes it so that only players that live in areas with large numbers of players even have a chance at catching a Gigantamax Pokemon.

This whole situation has been frustrating, but it’s not terribly surprising; Gigantamax Raids always seemed doomed to fail. Over the last few years, Niantic has been dedicated to getting Pokemon Go fans to play the game outdoors, rather than inside. The developer has made several changes in service to that goal, often to the detriment to the game and its community. Niantic could make Gigantamax Raids more manageable by allowing players to participate remotely, but the company has made no mention of that possibility. It also seems highly unlikely given the steps Niantic has taken to make Remote Raids less appealing to players.

RELATED: Pokemon Leak Reveals Horrifying Mega Jynx Concept Art

It’s a good sign that Niantic is already starting to pivot away from the current Gigantamax requirements, even if the changes don’t go far enough. It shows that the company is at least aware of the problems with the feature, and listening to the Pokemon Go community. That has not always been the case, and it could result in more improvements over time. For now, fans are going to have to keep voicing their frustrations and hope that Gigantamax Raids eventually become an enjoyable part of the game.

Have you tried a Gigantamax Raid in Pokemon Go yet? Do you think that the feature needs to see some improvements? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Pokemon Go Making Gigantamax Raid Changes Following Player Outcry appeared first on ComicBook.com.

While Wii U was a sales flop, the system played host to a number of truly great games published by Nintendo. The vast majority of those games have gotten a second chance on Nintendo Switch, including titles like Mario Kart 8, Bayonetta 2, and Pikmin 3. One of the more notable omissions has been Xenoblade Chronicles X, but that will change next year. Nintendo announced this morning that Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition will be released on Nintendo Switch on March 20th, 2025. At this time, Nintendo is playing coy about changes from the Wii U version, but the game’s trailer does hint at a mysterious new character.

The first trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition can be found below.

Xenoblade Chronicles X is a standalone adventure, which means players don’t need to be familiar with any other entries in the series. The game’s story is set in the year 2054, and centers on humanity’s attempts to build a new civilization on the planet Mira. Humankind is on the brink of extinction following an interplanetary war, and Mira could be our last hope. One of the big highlights is that players can create their own customizable mech to explore the game’s huge open world. Xenoblade Chronicles X also features online multiplayer missions, which will probably be easier to participate in on Switch than they were with the Wii U’s smaller player base.

This is definitely not the Nintendo news people were expecting this morning, but Xenoblade fans are pretty happy about it! With this release, the entirety of the Xenoblade franchise will now be available on one system. That’s great news for those who got into the series in more recent years. The RPG franchise has become an important one for Nintendo, and this should help tide fans over while they wait for the next full entry. Director Tetsuya Takahashi has been vague about the future of the series, but it seems like a safe bet that Xenoblade Chronicles 4 could be released on Nintendo’s next system.

RELATED: Donkey Kong is Overdue for a New 3D Game from Nintendo

With today’s announcement, Nintendo’s plans for 2025 are starting to take greater shape. Thus far, the company has four announced games for Nintendo Switch: Donkey Kong Country Returns HD, Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition, Pokemon Legends: Z-A, and Metroid Prime 4. Two of those games are now slated for the first half of the year, but we don’t know when Pokemon Legends: Z-A or Metroid Prime 4 will arrive. There’s also the big mystery surrounding Nintendo’s new console, and when we can expect that to come out. Assuming the system will be released in 2025, it seems like current Switch owners will still have plenty to enjoy!

Are you planning to check out Xenoblade Chronicles X when it releases on Nintendo Switch? Did you play the game when it released on Wii U? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Xenoblade Chronicles X Finally Coming to Nintendo Switch appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new update has gone live in Helldivers 2 this morning, and it offers a significant number of changes for players to experience. This update is not focused on new content, but instead on balance changes, bug fixes, and difficulty adjustments. Developer Arrowhead Game Studios has tweaked several different elements, and it will be interesting to see how the player community feels about them once they’ve had a little bit of time to test out the current version. The hotfix update should bring the game up to version 01.001.201.

One thing fans don’t seem particularly happy about is a change that was made to Emotes. Following today’s hotfix, players can no longer trigger Emotes “while airborne, ragdolling, or sliding.” Arrowhead notes that it will be monitoring that change, and looking for feedback from players. That leaves some hope that things could revert back if players really are unhappy with it, so fans will have to let the developers know how they feel. Over just the last few months, Arrowhead has shown a willingness to listen to players, and make adjustments based on feedback from the community, so we’ll have to see if the same holds true this time.

Full patch notes from the game’s official Steam page can be found below.

Overview

Balance changes

Fixes

• Resolved Top Priority issues
• Crashes & Soft Locks
• Helldiver Fixes
• Weapons & Stratagems
• Enemies
• Missions & Difficulties
• Social Issues & Galactic War Map
• Miscellaneous Fixes

Balancing

Stratagems
Shield Generator Relay

• Increased lifetime from 30 to 40 sec

Primary Weapons
SG-8P Punisher Plasma

• In response to popular Helldiver demand, General Brasch has issued an administrative order to revert the production changes made to the SG-8P Punisher Plasma (from Patch 01.001.104)
• We have reverted the latest changes so the SG-8P Punisher Plasma will now have a more noticeable arc in its projectile path, starting off slower and maintaining speed longer. This will affect its recoil, fire rate, and projectile behavior
• To further improve its effectiveness, the magazine capacity has increased from 8 to 10

Fixes

Resolved Top Priority Issues

• Fixed an issue where encounters would not end and enemy spawning was turned off for the rest of the mission
• Fixed a bug where the hive breaker drill would become inaccessible when called in
• Fixed an issue where terminals would lose functionality preventing completion of a mission
• Dead bodies of Chargers no longer launch Helldivers into the air
• Supply packs are no longer used when pressing the d-pad down button whilst calling in a stratagem
• QWERTY keyboard numpad bindings now save correctly after the game restarts
• The Service Technician is no longer mourning the death of her beloved pet goldfish “Goldie” and can now be interacted with again. Goldie received a dignified funeral and was laid to rest gracefully in a waste capsule, ejected towards the nearest planets atmosphere where the friction between the air and the capsule caused it to heat up, violently explode, and disintegrate
• Fixed an issue so that other players can now join a lobby via Quickplay after any member of a 4-player party leaves
• Fixed an issue where the social menu was stuck on ‘Please Wait Democratically’ for some players
• Friends “Invite only” games can no longer be seen on the Galactic War Map and cannot be joined
• Fixed an issue where uninvited friends could join Invite-Only games via the Social Menu
• Invite-only lobbies are no longer shown in the hologram

Crashes & Soft Locks

• Fixed a crash on Difficulty 1 (Trivial) when approaching certain bug holes
• Fixed a potential soft-lock when abandoning the mission with the squad while fighting bugs
• Fixed Geological Survey mission soft-locking when players joined/left the mission
• Fixed a soft-lock that could occur if you hot-joined a game in mission summary and all peers left
• Fixed a rare crash while browsing the Armory or the Warbond store
• Fixed a crash that could happen when fog was destroyed
• Fixed a rare crash related to Flamethrowers and Gas weapons
• Fixed a crash when repeatedly entering and leaving the tutorial
• Fixed an issue where the Nuke Nursery could not be progressed if two players called down the drill at the same time
• Resolved an issue where opening the menu while the Emote wheel was active would prevent players from moving
• Fixed the Nuke Nursery terminals sometimes not being interactable

Helldiver Fixes

• Fixed an issue causing excessive ragdolling when diving or crawling on uneven terrain

Weapons & Stratagems

• Fixed stim pistol incorrectly affecting the STIMS USED statistic in the mission end screen
• Fixed dead corpses setting off the rockets from the RL-77 Airburst Rocket Launcher
• Fixed an issue with the stratagem cooldown that allowed players to call down multiple resupplies or Hellbombs at the same time
• Fixed an issue where switching to holding a grenade and picking up an artillery shell at the same time caused the artillery shell to become stuck in the Helldivers hands
• The LAS-5 Scythe scope is now fully operational and can zoom in and out correctly
• Empty expendable weapons cannot be picked up nor holstered anymore
• The AR-23A Liberator Carbine now has the 0.5 sec shorter reload duration properly implemented, from 3 to 2.5 sec. It also has the correct magazine unit
• Fixed a missing mesh for the P-11 Stim Pistol’s syringes
• The MG-43 Machine Gun now has the 0.5 sec shorter reload duration properly implemented

We mistakenly wrote that the MG-43 Machine Gun was lowered from 4 to 3.5 sec when in reality we lowered it from 5 to 4.5 sec.

Enemies:

• Disabled the gas confusion effect on the Impaler due to odd behavior with its tentacles
• Fixed an issue where the Impaler tentacles would sometimes not impact its target
• Adjusted Shriekers pathing in tight spaces. They should now prefer to move around tall obstacles instead of trying to fly over them

Missions & Difficulties

• Fixed Nuke Nursery drills getting dropped on top of bug corpses
• Lowered the amount of Retrieve Data objectives spawning on the mission for Automatons to match the amount that spawns for the Terminids
• The Escape Pod objective will now appear on difficulties 1-2 instead of 2-3
• The Terminid eggs on Purge Hatcheries objectives are now tagged as objectives with correct VO and icons
• Fixed an issue with Hellpods landing deep underground on edges of Bug Nurseries during the ‘Nuke Nurseries’ missions

Social Issues & Galactic War Map

• Resolved an issue in the Blocked Players tab where attempting to add a player via the search functionality would incorrectly indicate that the user was blocked
• Can no longer join blocked players via the Galactic War hologram
• Resolved an issue that allowed blocked players to continue speaking in voice chat
• Fixed Emote, Drop and Comms wheel mouse sensitivity not being applied
• PC players can now use left click to select radial menu options in the Emote and Comms radial menus
• Resolved an issue where the maximum number of friends displayed in the social panel was limited to 100
• Fixed an issue that was preventing the friend request widget from popping up
• Fixed the display of sender names for session invitations that were not showing properly when multiple invites were received at the same time
• Emotes can no longer be triggered while airborne, ragdolling or sliding. We are monitoring this change and appreciate your feedback for it!
• Fixed multiple issues in the social system and improved its reliability

Miscellaneous Fixes

• Added information in the loadout boosters menu screen showing which player has equipped what specific booster
• Fixed an issue where unbound key/button bindings would stay unbound and not revert back to what they were by default
• Fixed an issue that caused players to sometimes join the wrong friend when joining during a social menu refresh
• Disabled the third-person player camera while navigating the map
• Decreased the chances of player clients from attempting to join lobbies that are already full when using Quickplay
• Fixed an issue where the host’s player Title was incorrectly assigned to Helldivers who joined their session
• Fixed an issue where changing the stamina width in the settings during a mission would not properly resize its frame
• Fixed a case where carriables could no longer be picked up if they were picked up and dropped on the same frame
• Fixed an issue of not being able to pick a new first stratagem if it had already been selected
• Fixed Helldiver character customizations resetting after closing the game
• Fixed an issue where certain Asian language characters were displayed as question marks in the Major order texts and briefings
• Fixed an issue where an incorrect platform icon was shown when opening the report popup
• Fixed missing “-” character in multi-line texts
• Fixed a bug with camera getting disjointed if entering ADS (Aim Down Sights) as you ragdoll
• Lowered the resolution of planets when space quality is set to Low and introduced a Medium space quality setting that matches the previous Low setting
• Light intensity slightly reduced during the Fire Tornado weather effect
• Fixed an issue where the visual appearance of the Stratagem Hero minigame terminal’s arrows lost their colors if a player moved too far away from the terminal
• Fixed dispatches sometimes showing as question marks for non-Latin language characters
• Fixed an issue where encounters would still attempt to spawn even after being disabled due to reaching certain spawn limits
• Fixed an issue where scrolling messages would move the camera
• Fixed several issues related to Booster descriptions
• Planets are now properly sorted behind effects like the aurora in the sky during missions
• Fixed an issue where the crash reporter sometimes wouldn’t show up
• General Brasch and Jane Helldiver to award Patriotic Medal for Excellence in Patriotism to the members of the Freedom Alliance. Due to budget cuts, these brave Helldivers will receive an extra 3 seconds of R&R which has now been used reading this note. Get back to work Helldivers
• General performance optimizations, Cubemap, reflections och rendering performance improvements

How do you feel about this update to Helldivers 2? Are you unhappy about the changes that were made to the game’s Emotes? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Helldivers 2 Balance Update Makes Changes to Weapons, Difficulty, and Even Emotes appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new update is now live on Nintendo Switch, bringing the system up to version 19.0.1. Over the last few years, the vast majority of updates for the system have focused on stability improvements, and fans can expect some of that with this new update, as well. However, this one also fixes a couple notable issues, including a problem related to GameCube controllers. Apparently, some users were having issues with the GameCube controller adapter not being recognized, as well as the controllers themselves. Full patch notes from Nintendo’s official website can be found below.

Ver. 19.0.1 (Released October 29, 2024)

• Fixed an issue with the Nintendo GameCube Controller Adapter and Nintendo GameCube Controller(s) not being recognized.
• Fixed an issue where some network processes, like downloading software, weren’t working as expected during sleep mode.
• General system stability improvements to enhance the user’s experience.

It’s always difficult to say how common these issues are, and how many users will actually notice an impact from these updates. That having been said, I personally encountered an issue with software not downloading when the system was in sleep mode, so it’s nice to see that particular issue resolved. Given the length of time some game updates can take, it’s fortunate this issue has now been resolved. The GameCube controller issue is a little more niche, and probably wouldn’t have been noticed by as many people. However, it could have been irritating for the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate community, given how many players still regularly use GameCube controllers.

At this point in Switch’s lifespan, we probably shouldn’t expect any significant changes via future system updates. The reality is, Switch has gotten up there in age, and a lot of Nintendo’s resources are probably starting to shift towards the company’s next platform. While we can expect to see a lot more updates targeting specific issues, new features are pretty unlikely. For example, fans spent the last seven years asking Nintendo to add various home screen themes, as we saw on 3DS. For whatever reason, Nintendo simply stuck to the white and dark screen options, largely ignoring those pleas. Considering the sheer number of themes that were available for purchase on 3DS, it seems like money was left on the table!

RELATED: All the GameCube Games on Nintendo Switch

It’s possible that themed backgrounds will be an option on Nintendo’s Switch successor, which is expected to release sometime in 2025. At this time, Nintendo has been very quiet about the new platform, only confirming a couple of small details. We know that the system will be fully revealed sometime before the company’s fiscal year comes to an end in March 2025, and that the system will carry over current Nintendo Accounts. Details beyond that are pretty slim!

Did you encounter either of these issues on Nintendo Switch? Are there any new features or changes you want to see on the system? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Nintendo Switch System Update Fixes GameCube Controller Issue, Software Downloads, and More appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 appears to be gearing up to bring back a classic map from Call of Duty: World at War. The Call of Duty series is one of gaming’s most storied franchises with over 20 entries, hundreds of millions of copies sold, and tons of gaming memories. The series has evolved a lot since its inception going from a World War II shooter to a modern day shooter to one set in the far flung future with wall-running and jetpacks. Now, Black Ops 6 has taken players back to the 1990s and added in an innovative new movement system called “omnimovement” which allows players to dive, slide, and sprint in any direction they choose.

Despite the fact Call of Duty isn’t super reminiscent of its earlier days, fans still hold a lot of nostalgia for those early entries and Activision tries to capitalize on that however it can. For Black Ops 6, pretty much everything is brand new from the maps to the mechanics, but there are some throwbacks hidden away in the game. Call of Duty player M3RKMUS1C did some exploring in the game’s spectator mode to check out some out of bounds areas in Black Ops 6. What the player ended up finding is the general design of Courtyard, an iconic map from Call of Duty: World at War which was eventually remade as Dig in Black Ops 2. A very low-resolution version of the map can be found outside of Skyline, one of the new maps in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

As of right now, we have no idea what this means. Is Courtyard coming back as a multiplayer map? It’s possible, Call of Duty loves to revive old maps as post-launch content as it means less time spending designing a whole new map and more so just iterating upon one that already exists. Fans have also speculated that Courtyard could be a part of the next Warzone map. Warzone is known for using iconic Call of Duty maps as POIs. Whether or not Courtyard will show up in the battle royale remains to be seen, but it doesn’t seem unlikely. It’s possible that Skyline is also part of Warzone, hence why Courtyard is visible from the map. Treyarch may have carved Skyline out for its multiplayer, which has happened on multiple occasions in other Call of Duty games.

Either way, we should find out in the somewhat near future. A new Warzone map may launch in season one which will likely kick off in December, as per Call of Duty tradition. Courtyard could be part of a later Warzone map, too. Activision is always thinking several steps ahead so there’s really no telling. To make things even more uncertain, there have been canceled Warzone maps as well. So, everything we’re speculating about here could amount to nothing in about a year. Either way, it certainly seems like Raven and Treyarch are planning something, it’s just a question of what it is right now.

The post Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Player Finds Hidden World at War Map appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Nintendo Switch Online subscribers across Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED have been surprised with two new free games to download, however, both games are N64 games, which means accessing them requires the Expansion Pack. Nintendo Switch Online subscribers without the Expansion Pack upgrade can not download any N64 games made free via it, and these two new N64 games are no exception.

The first game is Shadow Man, the 1999 PC, N64, and PS1 game from Acclaim Studios Teesside. As the name suggests, the game is based on the Shadow Man comic book series from Valiant Comics, and it is a bit of a cult classic. At release, the game only garnered a 73 on Metacritic, but did well enough to generate a 2002 sequel Shadow Man: 2econd Coming, which was actually a PS2 exclusive.

The other new free N64 game available via Nintendo Switch Online released a year earlier in 1998, and that game is Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. An N64 exclusive, at least at launch, it is a sequel to 1997 N64 game, Turok: Dinosaur Hunter. Upon release, it garnered an 89 on Metacritic and cemented itself as one of the great games of its year.

Shadow Man:

“He is coming, stalking criminals in the spirit world and the real world. A possessed man is coming, a voodoo mask in his chest and lines of power in his back. Shadow Man is coming, trailing evil from Liveside to Deadside. To stop an apocalypse. To save your soul.”

Turok 2: Seeds of Evil

“Having defeated the Campaigner, Turok throws the Chronocepter into a waiting volcano to destroy it. Unfortunately the blast awakens an even deadlier force – The Primagen. Once again a Turok is tasked with restoring peace to the land and stopping the Primagen from merging Earth with the nether world.”

It is important to note the two new N64 games are only available via the Mature 17+ version of Nintendo 64 – Nintendo Switch Online, which requires a separate download on the Nintendo eShop. Once downloaded, you have unlimited access to both games but only as long as you maintain an active Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription. If your Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack subscription lapses, you will access to the pair of games, and all other Nintendo Switch Online games, until you subscribe back up.

For more Nintendo Switch Online coverage — including all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online news, all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Nintendo Switch Online deals — click here.

The post Nintendo Switch Online Users Surprised With Two Free N64 Games appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Building the perfect weapon is a major part of the online Call of Duty experience. Every years brings a new wave of options to test until our wrists fall off, all in search of mythical meta loadouts to make crushing public match lobbies a little bit more bearable. That goes for both Multiplayer and the yearly incarnation of Warzone.

The firing range is supposed to be the hub for all of this creation. Players can build, tweak, and test all in one place by trying out each new build against a couple of lanes filled with target dummies. It’s a bit of a barebones experience, even to the series’s own standard (remember Call of Duty: World War 2‘s headquarters?), but Treyarch has added two simple features to make things a lot easier on all of the mad Gunsmith scientists of the world.

As subtle as it may seem, the implementation of both a recoil test wall and an adjustable target dummy will be huge for Warzone players. Long-range gunfights happen much more often on a Battle Royale map like Urzikstan. Everyone who plays for more than a few minutes will experience a building-to-building shootout, high-ground to low-ground skirmish, or any other number of battles requiring pinpoint accuracy. Having peace of mind that your primary weapon isn’t a pea shooter downwind helps with that.

RELATED: Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Brings Back Fan-Favorite 2009 MW2 Feature

Now, not only can players make sure their weapons are effective even against enemies with three full armor plates, but they can test a wider variety of ranges, and see a definitive recoil trail. This may not sound like much, but it’s far better than shooting at the weapon rack then inspecting the bullet holes like in previous years. That additional level of control makes a world of difference.

To use these features, just load into the Firing Range, select your weapon(s), and press down on the directional pad. One press will drop down the recoil board, and another quick press will release the adjustable target. The recoil target sits about seven meters out from the player and is completely blank. Each bullet fired leaves a distinct mark, leaving no doubt about how tight a gun’s spread is compare to its competitors. Pressing either down on the D-Pad or selecting new loadout will completely reset the board, wiping it clean for further testing.

The moving target however is a little bit different. Once dropped, you can choose exactly how far out the dummy sits by shooting it until it breaks. There are three possible ranges: the first is identical to the recoil wall at about 7 meters; the next is roughly 15m, putting it somewhere between the solitary dummies stationed at 10m and 25m; and finally, the longest option sits around 75m, well towards the end of the range.

These little quality-of-life updates only make up a small portion of what’s new in Black Ops 6. Between the introduction of Omnimovement, a classic high-quality Treyarch campaign, and a smash-hit Zombies mode, there’s plenty of reason to dive and get familiar with what’s to come before Warzone receives its own integration with the launch of Season 1 later this year.

The post Overlooked Call of Duty Black Ops 6 Feature Is Perfect for Warzone Players appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The canon behind Dragon Ball is wild. Truly, we have seen the series go the distance for Son Goku, and it happens in ways we never see coming. As of late, the franchise has been left reeling over Gohan Black as the Saiyan made their debut in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. And thanks to an epic mod, we can now see how Gohan Black and Goku Black would work together.

Spoiler alert! The father-son duo work together pretty perfectly. This modded tag-team proves Goku can fight with anybody but he’s got a special spot in his heart for Gohan. Kids, you know?

Goku Black and Gohan Black Are Teaming Up

As you can see below, a new Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero mod has surfaced, and it brings Gohan Black together with Goku Black. The duo are seen fighting PVP in a viral clip, and Gohan Black is given an assist by his son. Rather than crafting a combo Kamehameha, the Dragon Ball duo make a joint ki blast, and the Black tag-team does serious damage with the blow.

The new mod has gained serious traction with fans online, and can you blame the buzz? Gohan Black left the Dragon Ball fandom in arms when they appeared in a What-If section of Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. Fans have already found ways to mod the fighter into the game, and of course, they are eager to test his power level. After all, Gohan is one of the most powerful characters in the series, so imagine what he could do with a backstory similar to Goku Black?

Honestly, the damage is hard to imagine. Gohan and his potential are only held back by his gentle demeanor. If the academic was challenged for real, Gohan would throw some intense punches, and that is all true without Zamasu’s influence.

Will Gohan Black Ever Become Canon?

Given the popularity of Gohan Black, it is no surprise to see fans begging for more of the character. The fighter looks just as cool as Goku Black, but there is more to the fighter than that. Goku can act dim at times, but when it comes to battle, the Saiyan can be rather savage. This kind of aggression has never suited Gohan, but that is not the case with Gohan Black. The alternate-universe villain is as cold as they get, so you can see why the fandom is in a frenzy.

Netizens are desperate for Gohan Black to take on the canon and honestly? It could happen. Dragon Ball is not afraid to mess with its timelines, after all. From the Android saga to Cell and Future Trunks, we have seen timelines get erased entirely in Dragon Ball. Capsule Corporation has the technology to explore time, and in Goku Black’s case, we visited mirror universes. If there is a universe where Goku’s body was taken over by Zamasu, then there is one where Gohan Black was created. Now that we have had a taste of the fighter, fans want more, so it is up to Dragon Ball to make Gohan Black a canon contender.

Sadly, this canon shift does not seem likely. Gohan Black could very easily be made canon, but Dragon Ball has its own priorities these days. While Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero gears up for its first DLC drop, the anime has its own mission. Dragon Ball Daima has made its premiere, and the new show is already a hit. Filled with lore drops and impressive animation, Dragon Ball Daima is the show Dragon Ball GT wishes it was. But once this anime run is done, maybe we can revisit Gohan Black?

What do you make of Gohan Black? Do you think the fighter has potential? Give me a shout at @meganwpeters with your take! You can also let us know what you think over on X (Twitter) and Instagram.

The post Dragon Ball Teams Up Gohan Black with Goku Black in Epic New Mod: Watch appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Next month will mark the 10th anniversary of Nintendo’s amiibo line, which has far outlasted anyone’s expectations. Over the last decade, Nintendo has produced a vast number of the toys, and some of those figures have become pretty rare, and expensive on the secondary market. Thankfully, Nintendo has spent the last few years bringing many of these toys back into print. On November 21st, three hard to obtain amiibo will be making a comeback: Boo, Goomba, and Koopa Troopa. Pre-orders are now live for all three through GameStop and can be found at the links below:

All three of these amiibo usually command at least twice their asking price on sites like eBay, and have been out-of-print for years now. Nintendo often connects these reprints with a new piece of software; last month saw two Zelda amiibo brought back alongside The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. It probably would have made more sense to bring back Boo, Goomba, and Koopa Troopa alongside Super Mario Party Jamboree, but Nintendo might have wanted to give a little more space between the Zelda reissues and the recently released Splatoon two-packs. There’s really no way of knowing for sure, but collectors will be happy to see some of these figures offered again!

It’s unclear if these reprints will be exclusive to GameStop (as is sometimes the case), or if they’ll be offered through additional retailers like Target or Walmart. These three amiibo are compatible with a number of different Switch games, most notably Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario Party, and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. The actual compatibility is kind of on the weaker side, but many amiibo collectors seek out these figures as reasonably priced display pieces, as opposed to functional items. For those that do enjoy having amiibo for display, Boo is one of the cooler options, as it can glow in the dark.

RELATED: Super Mario Bros. Movie Sequel Will Feature Characters That are “Really Deep Cuts”

At this time, the future of the amiibo line is somewhat in question. It doesn’t sound like Nintendo has plans to end the line anytime soon, but there are currently no new figures slated for release. The release of Echoes of Wisdom seemed like the perfect opportunity to offer a new version of Zelda, but Nintendo instead reprinted a version based on the character’s appearance in The Wind Waker. It’s possible Nintendo is holding off on making new figures to coincide with some Switch 2 games next year, and that we could see designs based on the rumored 3D Mario game in development. That would be in keeping with what we saw with Super Mario Odyssey, which received a trio of figures based on Mario, Peach, and Bowser.

Are you planning to buy any of these amiibo reprints? Which amiibo figures would you like to see brought back next? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Nintendo Bringing Back Rare Amiibo After Several Years appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Creating a new video game franchise is difficult. Development is a time consuming process, and the cost of making a AAA game has been steadily rising. It’s a huge risk creating something big and new, as there isn’t anything established to build on. That was the crux of the argument made by Bruce Nesmith in a recent interview with VideoGamer. Nesmith served as a designer on Starfield, before leaving Bethesda in 2021. The designer notes that on games like Skyrim, the team was able to improve on elements that had already proven successful, and that leaves him optimistic for Starfield 2, should the game ever happen.

“When we built Skyrim, we had the tremendous advantage of Oblivion, which had the tremendous advantage of Morrowind. All that stuff was there for us,” Nesmith told VideoGamer. “All we had to do was continue to improve and add new stuff in. We didn’t have to start from the ground up. If we’d had to start from the ground up, that would have been another two or three years of development time.”

For that reason, Nesmith argues that Starfield 2 will prove to be “one hell of a game,” as the developers will be able to focus on polishing the areas that need work, and improving on elements that are already well-regarded. The argument makes a lot of sense, as there have been plenty of video game sequels that are more fondly remembered than the original; Nesmith specifically mentions franchises like Assassin’s Creed and Dragon Age, which needed a sequel or two before they were able to reach the highs both of those series are now known for. Unfortunately, sequels are rarely a guaranteed thing, and there has been no announcements about a Starfield sequel at this time. Bethesda is still adding new content to the current game, and it seems The Elder Scrolls 6 is the publisher’s big priority after that. Whether that means the company will even have time to work on another Starfield is anyone’s guess!

RELATED: Xbox Series X and S Users Surprised With Starfield Freebie

While a Starfield sequel is not a guarantee, we do know that the game will be supported with DLC for the foreseeable future. The game’s first major expansion, Shattered Space, was released last month. Director Todd Howard has also indicated that players can expect to see yearly expansions, which could help to improve the current game’s standing.

That’s not to say that Starfield was a critical flop. The current game was mostly well-received, with ComicBook’s official review awarding it a score of 4 out of 5. In his review, Tanner Dedmon specifically stated that the game had “room to grow,” citing many areas where Starfield fell short of Bethesda’s best. It remains to be seen whether Starfield will be able to live up to its potential, but hopefully we can get a sequel that builds on the best parts, with the benefit of hindsight. As Nesmith notes, it should take significantly less time to develop, at the very least.

Do you think a Starfield sequel will ever end up happening? What elements would you like to see improved on for a potential sequel? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Starfield 2 Will be “One Hell of a Game,” Says Former Bethesda Developer appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Popular streamer Asmongold — whose real name is Zack Hoyt — is set to return to Twitch very soon, according to a new social media post from the streamer. Earlier this month, on the 15th, Asmongold was banned from Twitch following a controversial stream filled with controversial remarks about the Israel-Hamas war. Among these remarks, Asmongold referred to Palestinians as “terrible people” who “come from an inferior culture that is horrible.”

While Asmongold is one of the top streamers on Twitch in terms of popularity, the Amazon-owned platform was quick to ban the streamer over his viral, controversial clips. The ban was not permanent though, as a new post from Asmongold on X reveals.

According to the streamer, he “should be unbanned tomorrow.” It is unclear if he will pick up immediately following the ban with a stream right away, but he did confirm he plans on streaming Dragon Age: The Veilguard when it releases later this week on October 31.

Asmongold’s Twitch return follows a pair of public apologies from the streamer where he admitted to regret over the remarks and to being in a poor mental state.

“Looking back on it, I was way too much of an a******e about the Palestine thing. My bad,” said the streamer in the first apology via a Twitter post. “Of course no one deserves to have their life destroyed even if they do things or have views I find regressive You guys deserve more than me saying stupid s**t like that, I’ll do better.”

This first apology was followed up by a much meatier apology shortly after that was issued via his personal YouTube channel. In it, he castigated the “horrible, disgusting, mean-spirited” things he said.

It remains to be seen how this recent controversy will impact the streamer’s popularity. Before the ban, he was trending as the platform’s third most popular streamer. This is bolstered by nearly three million subscribers on YouTube.

At the moment of publishing, Twitch has not commented on the return of Asmongold. We don’t suspect this to change for a variety of reasons, but if it does, we will be sure to update the story accordingly.

The post Asmongold Announces His Twitch Return appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One of the great PS1 games is currently being locked away on PS5 by PlayStation behind a paywall. When most PlayStation fans think of the greatest generation of PlayStation, they probably think of the PS2, the best-selling video game console of all time and a time where PlayStation dominated the console market. In comparison, what console doesn’t get as much love is the PS1, which simply may be the result of this generation of gaming coming before many PlayStation gamers. Also, a lot PS1 games don’t hold up very well.

One PS1 game that does hold up pretty well, and is a fan-favorite among many PlayStation fans, recently came to PS5 alongside a release in PS Plus Premium, the most expensive tier of the subscription service. The majority of PS1 games released via PS Plus Premium are available to non-subscribers as standalone purchases, usually for $9.99 or sometimes even less.

Every once in a while though, PlayStation deviates from this path and locks a a retro PlayStation game behind a PS Plus Premium subscription. And it has done this with one of the biggest PS1 games re-released on PS5 this year.

Those on PS5 who want to play Dino Crisis — which was recently re-released on PS5 — can’t currently buy the game outright like many other PS1 games on PS5. Rather, a PS Plus Premium subscription is needed. This means either forking over $17.99 for a one-month subscription or subscribing at the yearly $159.99 rate. Whatever the case, it is going to cost you more than it does to typically purchase PS1 games on PS5.

Whether this will change over time, we don’t know. This is obviously a play from Sony to get PS5 users to to PS Plus Premium, which means it may eventually remove this restriction, but there is no guarantee this will happen or even any indication to believe this will happen, especially if the strategy works.

For those who are not familiar with Dino Crisis, it released back in 1999 as a PS1 exclusive. From the creator (Shinji Mikami) and the Capcom team behind Resident Evil, it released to an 84 on Metacritic and to decent commercial success, both of which combined to spawn a series of the same name that spanned 1999 to 2003 across four releases.

“A covert mission to investigate an isolated research facility goes awry when a world-renowned scientist is found alive three years after his reported death,” reads an official blurb about the game for those unfamiliar with it. “Shockingly, he’s not the only thing back from the grave. Experience the thrill of survival against prehistoric threats in this horror classic!”

It has been 22 years since the last we saw Dino Crisis. For PlayStation to finally bring it back and make it one of the few PS Plus Premium PS1 games locked behind the subscription service is a decision that has not sat well with many PlayStation fans. Right now though, it appears to be a decision it is sticking to.

The post Popular PS1 Game Is Being Locked Away on PS5 by PlayStation appeared first on ComicBook.com.

One of the great Wii U games may be getting a remaster very soon. The Wii U was undoubtedly a low point for Nintendo. Not only is it the worst-selling Nintendo console to date, but it was complete and utter financial disaster for the company. It wasn’t just a low point, it was rock bottom. If the Wii U was rock bottom, what followed was its sky high moment. And makes the Wii U all the more peculiar as it is sandwiched between Nintendo’s second best-selling console, the Wii, and its best-selling console, the Nintendo Switch.

While the Wii U was a complete and utter flop, it did have some great software. Its catalog of games is no doubt the weakest of any Nintendo machine, but even at a low point for Nintendo it was still pumping out some great games.

One example of a great Wii U game hails from 2015. In 2015, most RPG fans were busy with Bloodborne, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and Fallout 4. Those on Wii U though were busy playing Xenoblade Chronicles X, the second game in the Xenoblade Chronicles series that began during the Wii era and has continued during the current Nintendo Switch era.

Nine years later, a Nintendo leaker may be teasing its return. Over on social media platform X, user Samus Hunter recently teased that there are plenty more Nintendo Switch games releasing before the Nintendo Switch, which itself is rumored to release in 2025.

When asked for specifics, the leaker teased that the app, X, is a tease itself. This could be a tease for a few games, but considering Xenoblade Chornicles X has both X in its name and was in development under the codename X, a Xenoblade Chronicles X remaster on Nintendo Switch seems the most likely candidate.

That said, take both the tease and the speculation it has created with a grain of salt. The source in question has proven reliable in the past, but they’ve also been off the mark plenty of times as well. Right now, there is no way to know which camp this new rumor falls into.

At the moment of publishing, Nintendo has not commented on this rumor and speculation in any capacity. It very rarely comments on rumors and speculation so we don’t expect this to change, but if it does we will update the story accordingly.

The post One of the Great Wii U Games May Get a Nintendo Switch Remaster Very Soon appeared first on ComicBook.com.

A new Pokemon Trading Card Game promotion is set to go live next month. Fans that spend $15 on qualifying Pokemon cards at participating retailers will receive two free promo cards. The cards include Pokemon that debuted in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, including Sprigatito, Fuecoco, Quaxly, and Terapagos. All four Pokemon cards also have a Pokemon Horizons: The Series stamp. Getting all four cards will require about $45 or more in purchases, as each of the Paldean starter cards has been paired with Terapagos. The card two-packs will be found at the following retailers in North America:

The promotion for these cards will begin on November 8th, which happens to be the same day that the Surging Sparks expansion is released in North America. That timing works out pretty nicely, as Pokemon TCG fans will have plenty of new products to spend money on that day. That should make it more worthwhile to obtain these promo cards, as opposed to releasing them when there isn’t anything new. For those unfamiliar with the expansion, Surging Sparks will feature cards from multiple sets that have been released in Japan, including SuperCharged Breaker, which just debuted in the region earlier this month. In total, the expansion will feature more than 250 cards.

Unfortunately, it’s not clear if the GameStop and Best Buy promotions will be available to those who purchase the cards online, or only at physical store locations. We also don’t know if this will apply to those that have already preordered any of the Surging Sparks products. As of this writing, neither company’s website has any information about the promotion. With Surging Sparks and these promo cards set to be released in less than two weeks, we should get more information sometime in the near future. Fans planning to make a purchase through Pokemon Center should note that the retailer has free shipping for orders over $20, which is just $5 more than the limit needed to get the Quaxly and Terapagos promo pack.

RELATED: Pokemon PSA: Pokemon Vending Machines May Be Rolling Out Near You

It’s not really clear why the promo cards were given a Pokemon Horizons stamp, other than the fact that these four Pokemon all play major roles in the animated series. The show’s cast does not appear alongside these Pokemon, and the artwork doesn’t seem to be designed to look like it does on the show. The only explanation is that The Pokemon Company wants to continue building awareness around the show, which will be getting its next batch of episodes on November 22nd. The series is currently streaming on Netflix, and features a cast of new characters in the lead following the departure of Ash Ketchum.

Do you plan on grabbing any of these Pokemon TCG promo cards? Were you already planning on buying some Surging Sparks cards? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Pokemon TCG Reveals How to Get Exclusive Surging Sparks Promo Cards appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard reviews posted this morning, and right now the new BioWare RPG is sitting at two different Metacritic scores, depending on the platform. On PC, the game boasts a 79. On PS5, it boasts an 84. Meanwhile, there is no score for the Xbox Series X|S version. This is a decent return, but when you factor in how long the game’s development was, how expensive it likely was, and the pedigree of the studio, it is a somewhat underwhelming return.

Compared to the lows of Anthem and Mass Effect: Andromeda, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a major improvement. That is a low bar for a studio with a legendary past though. While it is faring better than these games, its Metacritic scores don’t come close to the highs of BioWare, including the highs of Dragon Age.

To this end, BioWare has released 21 games since its inception. Three of these games don’t have any Metacritic data. That leaves 18 games. Of these 18 games, 12 of the releases are higher than Dragon Age: The Veilguard on Metacritic, while only five are lower. In other words, BioWare is still far from its best.

• Shattered Steel – 1996 – N/A
• Baldur’s Gate – 1998 – 91
• MDK2 – 2000 – 83
• Baldur’s Gate II: Shadows of Amn – 2000 – 95
• Neverwinter Nights – 2002 – 91
• Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic – 2003 – 94
• Jade Empire – 2005 – 89
• Mass Effect – 2007 – 91
• Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood – 2008 – 74
• Mass Effect Galaxy – 2009 – N/A
• Dragon Age Origins – 2009 – 91
• Mass Effect 2 – 2010 – 96
• Dragon Age 2 – 2011 – 79
• Dragon Age Legends – 2011 – N/A
• Star Wars: The Old Republic – 2011 – 85
• Mass Effect 3 – 2012 – 93
• Dragon Age: Inquisition – 2014 – 89
• Mass Effect: Andromeda – 2017 – 71
• Anthem – 2019 – 59
• Mass Effect Legendary Edition – 2021 – 87
• Dragon Age: The Veilguard – 2024 – 84

Without context, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is a decent return for BioWare. The more context you add though, the more the return is actually underwhelming. What is more important though is how the game will land commercially. If it sells well, none of this will matter.

For more Dragon Age: The Veilguard coverage — including all of the latest news, all of the latest rumors and leaks, and all of the latest speculation — click here.

The post Dragon Age: The Veilguard Is Far From BioWare’s Best appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Pokemon Legends: Arceus made significant changes to traditional Pokemon battles, but it seems things were almost drastically different. According to a recent leak, the game nearly featured a system where Pokemon would have auto battled one another by default, with an option where the trainer could command which moves it used. As noted by Centro Leaks, rumors about this option were circulating online in 2021, but the recent leaks from Game Freak have now confirmed that the developers were at least experimenting with the option. We also now have footage, showing how these battles would have played out in the game.

Footage of these in-game battles was shared on YouTube by user DaBomb772, and can be found in the video below.

While the change would have been an interesting one, it’s possible these auto-battles would have made Pokemon Legends: Arceus a lot less strategic and less enjoyable. The game offered some of the most challenging battles in the mainline franchise, and it would have been a shame if we lost that. A lot of RPG franchises have abandoned turn-based systems over the last few years, but Pokemon has remained one of the most notable holdouts. It’s possible the auto-battle system would have proven enjoyable, but it could have turned off a lot of diehard fans of the series. Over the last few years, Pokemon Legends: Arceus has become one of the most highly-regarded games of the Switch era, so it seems things worked out for the best!

It’s worth noting that Game Freak continued to experiment with auto-battles in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. However, auto-battles in that game became something of an extra, as opposed to replacing the classic turn-based system. It’s possible that the auto-battles from Legends: Arceus evolved into the Scarlet and Violet option, but it’s hard to say for sure. Regardless, it will be interesting to see if Game Freak continues to experiment with the concept in Pokemon Legends: Z-A and the next full Pokemon generation.

RELATED: Pokemon Leak Reveals Horrifying Mega Jynx Concept Art

Game Freak tends to be a very secretive company, offering little information about the development process; we’ve actually heard nothing official in about a year regarding Pokemon Legends: Z-A. However, a recent leak offered fans an unprecedented amount of information about existing and cancelled Pokemon games, as well as concept designs that didn’t end up used. The Pokemon Company has publicly acknowledged that the leak happened, but it has avoided discussion or acknowledgement of any leak in particular. That’s par for the course with these types of leaks, and it makes sense for Game Freak; the company often repurposes cut content in subsequent games. Sometimes, an unused Pokemon design evolves into another, or a feature gets fine-tuned and added in a future game.

Are you happy that this auto-battle system was scrapped from Pokemon Legends: Arceus? Do you think it was a smart move to keep the traditional battle system? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Pokemon Legends: Arceus Nearly Made a Massive Change to Pokemon Battles appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard reviews have begun to populate online, which in turn has revealed the Metacritic score of the new BioWare RPG. The new Dragon Age game won’t release until October 31, however, those on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S looking forward to the RPG have a decent idea of what to expect now that reviews are posting. To this end, at the moment of writing this, Dragon Age: The Veilguard is sitting at an 84 (PS5) and an 78 (PC) on Metacritic. Averaged out, the score comes in at an 82.

For context, Dragon Age: Origins, the first game in the series, boasts a 91 on Metacritic as its highest score. Its sequel, Dragon Age II, meanwhile has a score of 82 on Metacritic as its highest score. And then the third and most recent game, Dragon Age: Inquisition, has an 89 on Metacritic, with its low end being an 85. Taking into the high end and low end, Dragon Age: The Veilguard looks set to come in behind Origins and Inquisition, but above DA2.

Based on early impressions — including previews — this score is about what most expected. The question for BioWare was never going to be the game’s critical performance, but what its commercial performance will end up being, and whether it can make its money back on a very long and costly development.

Dragon Age: The Veilguard is set to release worldwide on October 31, priced at $69.99. When it releases, it will be available via PC, PS5, Xbox Series S, and Xbox Series X. For more coverage on the upcoming Dragon Age game — including all of the latest Dragon Age news, all of the latest Dragon Age rumors and leaks, and all of the latest Dragon Age deals — click here.

“From the storytellers at BioWare comes Dragon Age: The Veilguard, an all new single-player fantasy RPG experience,” reads an official blurb about the game for those unfamiliar with it. This bold, heroic adventure is built to deliver on what the series is best known for: rich storytelling, fantasy worldbuilding, companions & fellowship, and a world where you matter. In Dragon Age: The Veilguard, you’ll embark on a quest to face powerful Elven gods and stop the destruction they’re unleashing on the world. You are known as Rook, battling on the front lines alongside a compelling cast of companions with individual storylines and motivations. In true Dragon Age fashion, companions are central to the experience and as Rook, you must rise up, rally your crew and forge relationships to become the unexpected leader others believe in.

The post Dragon Age: The Veilguard Metacritic Score Revealed, Lower Than Inquisition appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Over the weekend, the latest Splatfest event was held in Splatoon 3. This time around, the game featured a Halloween theme, with players choosing what they would be if they lived in a fantasy world: a Wizard, a Knight, or a Ninja. The results have now been tallied, and Team Ninja brought home the win with an impressive 500 points! This marks another win for Big Man, who repped Team Ninja, while Shiver was Team Wizard and Frye was on Team Knight.

Players that missed out on the Halloween festivities over the weekend can still celebrate the holiday in Splatoon 3 thanks to some free in-game avatar options. Nintendo has added a few Halloween inspired items that might look familiar. Players can get the free avatar items by accessing the “News” section on the Switch home menu and launching Splatoon 3 from the link. By going to the lobby terminal from there, players will receive a Hockey Mask, Anglerfish Mask, Kyonshi Hat, and Li’l Devil Horns. These items were originally given out during a Splatoon 2 Splatoween event, and are now available free to all Splatoon 3 players. An image of the free avatar items can be found below.

At this time, we don’t know when the next Splatfest will take place, or what theme we can expect. Following the conclusion of the Grand Festival last month, Nintendo confirmed that content for Splatoon 3 is starting to wind down. Unlike the original Splatoon (which went offline earlier this year), Splatoon 3 isn’t going anywhere; fans can continue to enjoy the existing single-player and multiplayer options for the foreseeable future. However, it’s likely that Nintendo’s focus has started to shift towards the future of the series. Nothing has been confirmed at this time, but there’s a lot of speculation that Splatoon 4 is in development for Nintendo’s next console.

RELATED: New Nintendo Switch 2 Game Confirmed

The tentatively titled “Switch 2” does not have a set release window yet, but we know the console will be revealed at some point before the end of March 2025. Assuming the new system will launch at some point next year, it’s a safe bet that a new Splatoon won’t be too far behind. The series has become a major one for Nintendo, and a new Splatoon could help move Switch 2 consoles in Japan, where the series has a large following. Splatoon 2 played a big role in the current Switch console’s success, arriving just a few months after Switch launch. It’s very possible that history could repeat with Splatoon 4. On top of all that, 2025 happens to be the 10th anniversary of the series, so we could see Nintendo make an effort to celebrate the occasion. Much of this is just speculation, so fans will have to keep spending time with the current game until we hear something official!

Did you participate in the Splatfest over the weekend? Did your team win it all this time? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

The post Splatoon 3 Reveals Halloween Splatfest Results appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered it set to release on PC and PS5 in three days on October 31. When it does, it will bring the graphics and performance of Horizon Zero Dawn to the standards of its PS5 sequel, Horizon Forbidden West. To this end, much of the game has to be upgraded to make this happen. Whether these upgrades will ultimately justify the existence of the remaster, let alone drive demand for it, remains to be seen. Still though, this isn’t the most straight forward remaster, as some have suggested.

One upgrade PlayStation fans did not expect, however, is that the game will feature not one, not two, but ten hours of additional motion-capture data for characters. According to developer of the remaster, Nixxes Software, this is exactly what it has. And according to Nixxes Software, this makes the game’s conversations between characters “much livelier” and more akin to the interactions in Horizon Forbidden West.

“Horizon Zero Dawn has almost 300 conversations and well over 3100 dialog options, so we needed to find a way to easily integrate this huge number of updated animations into the conversations,” said Mark Bazelmans, Senior Technical Artist, of the upgrade. “We created a tool with Python to process the almost 2500 mocap files that Guerrilla provided to replace the original animation in the conversations, removing deprecated events and replacing those with the mocap and setup.”

Baselmans continued: “We then focused on creating a pipeline in Maya for our animators to easily load, edit and re-export the individual mocap files for any other edits that were needed, such as finger animation, art direction feedback and fixes. Animators could select the conversation and subsequent dialog option from a list which created the scene from scratch, or simply opened it if it already existed. Our tool referenced the characters and imported the dialogue audio, so the animators could time the movement better and create the camera cuts and layout. Later, we extended this pipeline to also include existing animations for both conversations and cinematics, as some of these also required edits. Our animators could then go into Guerrilla’s DECIMA engine and edit or change the updated conversation.”

Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered is set to release worldwide on Halloween, October 31, via PS5 and PC. When it releases, it will cost PlayStation fans and PC gamers $49.99. However, those who own it on PS4 already will be to upgrade to the PS5 version for just $9.99.

The post Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered Features an Unexpected Upgrade appeared first on ComicBook.com.