Author: Game Infliction

Lies of P‘s DLC has been patched to reduce monster difficulty in repeat playthroughs and “adjusted stats” for some of the field monsters you encounter in your first playthrough of Overture.

Director Jiwon Choi previously said the team didn’t think Soulslike games like Lies of P should have difficulty options, and it shipped without any, but has since had a change of heart, saying: “We wanted to make sure a wider audience of players could play the game.”

Similarly, players have complained about the DLC’s “intended” difficulty, Legendary Stalker. There have been so many comments — both for and against the DLC’s difficulty spike — that the Lies of P subreddit has had to merge them all into a “megathread” to stop the community from being overwhelmed by complaints. It prompted developer Neowiz to acknowledge that some areas “did not turn out quite as intended.”

Now, as well as addressing some bugs such as the progression issue after you give a bottle of beer to the Old Fisherman, or another that causes visual bugs when wearing certain items, Neowiz has applied “combat balance adjustments” with patch 1.9.0.0, which went live earlier today, June 20. You can also now unlock the DLC from Chapter 5 instead of Chapter 9 from your second playthrough onwards.

Here’s the full patch notes, as taken from the Steam page.

Lies of P Update Notes Version 1.9.0.0

Important Notice

• Using software or data not officially distributed by the developer may cause the game to crash.
• Failing to do so may result in crashes, save data errors, or even irreversible data loss.If you are starting the game after installing from a disc, be sure to update to the latest version before playing.
• Please be sure to check your Storage for the item.

Major Changes

• Please read any on-screen prompts carefully.
• Combat Balance Adjustments
  • Reduced monster difficulty in repeat playthroughs.
  • Adjusted stats for certain field monsters in the first playthrough of Lies of P: Overture.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where benefit items were not delivered properly.
  • If you experienced issues with benefit items such as the “Azure Dragon Crescent Glaive” or “Winter Festival Peaked Hat” not being received, please update the game to the latest version and check if the issue has been resolved.
  • If your Bag was full, these items may have been sent to the Storage. Please check your Storage as well.
• If you encountered this bug, update the game to the latest version and try speaking with Salao again.
• Fixed a bug that allowed movement to unintended areas outside the normal route.
• Fixed a bug that sometimes caused the character to be launched into the air when using the Blade Fable Arts of “Monad’s Rose Sword.”
• Fixed a bug where using the Blade Fable Arts of “Monad’s Rose Sword” in Hotel Krat while listening to a record would skip the current record.
• Fixed a bug where the triggered effect of the “Solutionist’s Amulet” would persist even after the item was unequipped.
• Fixed a visual bug affecting the Legion Arm “Flamberge” when wearing the “Blazing Death’s Hunting Apparel.”
• Fixed various minor issues, including icon display errors, localization and text errors, monster-related bugs, and other miscellaneous bugs.

Developer Neowiz also confirmed today that Lies of P has topped 3 million copies sold.

Lies of P developer Neowiz shadow-dropped DLC Overture during Summer Game Fest, introducing new locations, new enemies and bosses, new characters, weapons, and the very controversial decision to add in two easier difficulty options.

We had a good time with Lies of P, awarding it 8/10, and Overture itself also secured a 8/10. “Even if it’s clearly dancing on the same old strings, Lies of P: Overture is an excellent expansion that adds a whole lot more to a game that was already great,” we wrote.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

Critical Role’s Robbie Daymond will join the cast of Assassin’s Creed Shadows next week, as a new character you can recruit as an ally for Yasuke and Naoe.

Daymond will play Rufino, a character he originally created for an Assassin’s Creed Shadows promotional one-shot. A quick glimpse at the character shows Rufino wearing a Portuguese-style doublet and sporting a lavish moustache.

Rufino will arrive as a recruitable ally in Shadows’ next game update, due next Wednesday, June 25. This will be the latest free drop of additional story content made available post-launch, following an earlier mission that served as a crossover with Dead by Daylight.

So far, Shadows’ extra story add-ons have been brief, with little more than 20 minutes gameplay each time. But as a recruitable ally — one of only half a dozen in the game — there’s scope here for Rufino to make more of an impact.

Still, it’s unclear exactly how large Rufino’s role will be. Will you be able to call upon him in battle, as your other allies can be? Will you be able to romance Rufino, even — something other allies are open to exploring. Or will Rufino simply just be another face that hangs around your hideout? Next week, we’ll find out.

Okay so imagine: feudal Japan, hidden blades… and Critical Role? Robbie’s in. Luc’s in. You should probably be in too.#ACShadows #CriticalRole #ACxCR pic.twitter.com/guT6cagwE7

— Assassin’s Creed (@assassinscreed) June 19, 2025

Ubisoft previously stated that its June content update for Assassin’s Creed Shadows would also include new difficulty settings, gameplay immersion options, and an open-world alarm system to keep players on their toes. A much requested option to keep headgear on or off during cutscenes will also be added.

Further down the line, Ubisoft is working on a New Game Plus option and additionally story drops, including more crossovers. And before 2025 is out, Shadows will receive its first major expansion — Claws of Awaji — that is set to pick up from the game’s ending and add a new region of Japan to explore.

Tom Phillips is IGN’s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social

In its first Q&A since Dune: Awakening launched on June 10, developer Funcom responded to questions on what’s next for its survival MMO, and in particular changes due to come to its endgame.

Funcom said it’s “currently formulating a plan” to improve PvP in the Deep Desert, which players have previously branded as “toxic” due to griefing. Funcom has already patched out the ability for players to squish other people with their Ornithopter, but senior game director Viljar Sommerbakk also revealed the team was considering tweaking Ornis further, such as equipping them with rockets that “reduces overall maneuverability and max speed”.

The team is also considering making Scout Orni rockets cost slightly more heat to fire, something Sommerbakk said would limit its combat usefulness relative to the Assault Ornithopter “while still allowing it to be an aerial threat.”

“We have a lot of plans to address [players’] points about respawn times and revives,” creative director Joel Bylos added. “Full loot is a decree that can be obtained via the Landsraad (so compete there if you want to make it a reality), there are control points in the deep desert already, we have no plans to reduce the DD size. As we work on the game, we will continue to work on making PvP more rewarding (I am sure you will note I am not being very concrete but that is because we are planning and watching how people are playing and finding the right points to address).”

Lead producer Ole Andreas Hayley said: “The Deep Desert will always stay a PvP free-for-all area, but we might consider adding other locations that offer factional warfare.”

“We want players to make meaningful decisions about what they bring with them and how they outfit their vehicles,” Sommerbakk continued. “Once players have engaged in PvP, we want the experience to be reliable, responsive, and clearly understood. This determines how PvP as a whole feels and how players make their moment-to-moment decisions in a fight. To ensure a more reliable experience in ground combat, we are continuing to address issues with movement desyncs and rubber banding, as well as ability activation reliability.”

There’s also some quality of life tweaks on the way, too, including named storage containers and vehicles, to help you differentiate, as well as “deposit/extract all” buttons for water storages and the like. We should also expect boss encounters as part of future dungeons as the team continues to evolve PvE content.

Interestingly, Hayley also teased that we could receive additional maps in the future, also.

“The Dune universe has a lot of interesting locations and worlds to explore, and we’re looking forward to continuing to build on top of the foundation we have,” he said.

Right now, there are no plans to make it easier to distinguish between NPCs and other players — “this is in line with the vision of the game” — and when asked if it would be possible to skip all dialogue and animations, Bylos said: “Absolutely not.”

We gave Dune: Awakening a Great 8/10 in our review, writing: “Dune: Awakening is an excellent survival MMO that captures Frank Herbet’s sci-fi world incredibly well, mostly to its advantage and occasionally to its detriment. The survival climb from dehydrated peasant to powerful warlord of Arrakis is a joy almost every step of the way, and the story and worldbuilding filled this nerd with absolute joy.

“There’s still plenty for Awakening to work on though, as its combat never really hits its stride, the endgame is a bit of a chaotic mess not worth the effort, and there’s quite a few technical bugs yet to be squashed, but even these rough patches felt like tiny desert mice next to the leviathan shai-huluds that are this survival game’s wonderful successes.”

Dune: Awakening has enjoyed a superb launch, with a ‘very positive’ user review rating on Steam. Within hours of going live on June 10, Funcom’s survival MMO had clocked up over 142,000 concurrent players on Valve’s platform, and hit a new high over the weekend of 189,333 players.

If all that’s got you interested, make sure to check out all the Dune: Awakening classes you can choose from, and keep an eye on our in-progress Dune: Awakening walkthrough for a step-by-step guide to the story. To help you survive on Arrakis, we’ve got Dune: Awakening resource guides that’ll help you find iron, steel, aluminium, and more.

Vikki Blake is a reporter for IGN, as well as a critic, columnist, and consultant with 15+ years experience working with some of the world’s biggest gaming sites and publications. She’s also a Guardian, Spartan, Silent Hillian, Legend, and perpetually High Chaos. Find her at BlueSky.

A giant advert for Metroid Prime 4: Beyond at London’s Oxford Circus tube station states that the game is now available, sparking confusion from Nintendo fans on their morning commute.

First off, if you’ve seen the advert yourself, no — the current London heatwave hasn’t melted your senses. The advert, now spotted by multiple fans, really does say the game is “out now”.

Officially, Nintendo has not announced a Metroid Prime 4: Beyond release date other than a vague promise it will launch this year. But even if the game isn’t out now, its appearance on an advert in such a prominent location is giving Nintendo fans hope its launch is right around the corner.

“Any idea why the MP4 Beyond ad in the London Underground says ‘out now’?” Nintendo fan orchestar wrote on reddit. “I’m genuinely confused. Do they mean the Switch 2 is out? I wish the game was truly out though haha.”

Fans have speculated that the advert is perhaps outdated — maybe Nintendo did initially plan to launch Metroid Prime 4 now, and the wording wasn’t updated? Alternatively, we could be seeing a version of the advert not due until later, alongside the game’s actual release date.

For other Nintendo fans, keen to play the game soon after many years of waiting, the advert has sparked hope of a surprise release. This does seem unlikely, however, with Donkey Kong Bananza firmly positioned as Nintendo’s next big Switch 2 title.

IGN has contacted Nintendo for comment.

In a new entry on Sony’s official PlayStation blog, Sucker Punch Productions’ co-creative director Nate Fox shared more insight into the research trips the Ghost of Yotei team took to Japan. Following on from his previous PlayStation blog contribution (more on that here), Fox yet again emphasized the team’s commitment to portraying feudal Japan in a respectful way, this time focusing on the efforts they made to represent the culture of the Ainu.

The Ainu are an indigenous people from north Japan, especially Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido, which provides Ghost of Yotei’s setting. Their language, culture, beliefs, and traditions are distinctly different from the Yamato (also known as Wajin), the main ethnic group that makes up the overwhelming majority of Japan’s population today.

Ghost of Yotei is set at a pivotal point in the history — 1603 was the year the Tokugawa Shogunate was formed by Tokugawa Ieyasu, one of Japan’s great unifiers, putting an end to decades of civil war. Edo (now Tokyo) became Japan’s center of power, ushering in the peaceful Edo period in which Japan’s culture and society blossomed. However, at this time, Hokkaido was still a wild, sparsely populated island home to the Ainu, its formidable winter snow and rugged landscape making it a tough place to live.

“When setting a game in Hokkaido we knew a crucial element was doing our best to represent Ainu culture in a respectful way,” Nate Fox explained. “Thankfully we’d connected with an Ainu cultural adviser before setting out on our reference gathering trip.” Not only that, but they were invited by the adviser to meet her family, which led to the Ghost of Yotei team getting to forage for vegetables in the mountains. “It was a lovely way to make new friends and start our journey in learning about Ainu culture. That night we resolved to put foraging into our new game, we wanted players to be able to share (our) experience.”

According to Fox, the Ghost of Yotei team spent part of their research gathering trip in Oshima Peninsula, the southern part of Hokkaido that is closest to Japan’s main island of Honshu. In the 1600s, this was the domain of Matsumae clan, who would be given exclusive rights by the Tokugawa government to trade with the Ainu living further north. Fox observed that there are signs even today of how the mainland Japanese people of this time rarely lived any further north of Oshima. There is a “proliferation of cherry trees on the peninsula, brought there from Honshu, yet uncommon in the rest of the island. That really told the story of how sparsely settled Hokkaido was in 1603 by the Wajin people,” he noted.

“We’ve tried to mimic that quality in the game, leaning into areas of wilderness between homesteads.” This rugged wilderness will provide a backdrop for protagonist Atsu’s quest to take revenge on those who killed her family.

Fox and the team also went to the Nibutani Ainu Museum with their Ainu cultural adviser. Traditional Ainu houses (called cise) differ from traditional Japanese houses. The museum trip “really helped us get a sense for sorts of objects we’d see in the game and how they were used.”

We can get a glimpse of the inside of an Ainu house, with its large central hearth, in Ghost of Yotei’s official release date trailer (around the 2-minute mark). The woman protagonist Atsu is talking to in this scene seems to be Ainu, as she has a lip tattoo. This symbol of beauty for the Ainu would later be cracked down on by the Japanese government in the late 1800s, after it had fully annexed Hokkaido (source: Embassy of Japan in the UK). By then, measures to force Ainu to abandon their language and culture and integrate into Japanese society were in full swing.

(As a side note, J.K Goodrich’s 1888 account of Ainu houses paints a first-hand picture of the contrast, and complicated relations between the Ainu and Japanese at this time.)

Fox also touched on the time that the Ghost of Yotei team spent learning about Edo period Japan, which took them to Nikko Toshogu, one of the shrines in Japan dedicated to the unifying shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu, who kickstarted the Edo period. “While there we obtained a blessing for the game from the enshrined deity, Tokugawa Ieyasu,” Fox explained, adding that they proudly display the ema (wooden plaque) and omamori (protective charm) that they obtained from Nikko Toshogu at the studio as reminders of their trip.

Reflecting on the research trip, Fox explained that “while our version of Hokkaido is fictional, the feeling of authenticity we strive to create has roots in those real world experiences.” It will be interesting to see how Ghost of Yotei portrays the contrast between the Wajin/Edo culture, and that of the Ainu.

Verity Townsend is a Japan-based freelance writer who previously served as editor, contributor and translator for the game news site Automaton West. She has also written about Japanese culture and movies for various publications.