Author: Game Infliction

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk Is Coming to Xbox and PlayStation in September

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, Team Reptile’s upcoming action-adventure game heavily inspired by Jet Set Radio, is coming to Xbox and PlayStation on September 1 – two weeks after the game releases on PC and Nintendo Switch.

Bomb Rush Cyberfunk was announced back in 2020 by Team Reptile with confirmation that the game would release on Steam and the Nintendo Switch. The game will have players traverse around the in-game world, spraying graffiti and using boostpacks to reach new heights.

More interestingly, when the game was first revealed over three years ago, the developer also confirmed that Hideki Naganuma, the composer for Jet Set Radio and Jet Set Radio Future, would compose the music for the game.

The game was originally supposed to launch last year, but in August, Team Reptile confirmed that it would delay the release to summer 2023 while also confirming that Bomb Rush Cyberfunk would come to other consoles shortly after its initial release on PC and Switch. In April, the developer revealed that the game’s new release date for Steam and PC would be August 18.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

New Game From Patapon Creators Funds Its Kickstarter in Under an Hour

We already knew that Hiroyuki Kotani, the creator of Patapon, was working on a spiritual successor to his 2D indie darling and that a Kickstarter page for the project would go live this week. And today, we discovered that the game has already hit its funding goal in under one hour.

The Kickstarter went live today with a funding goal of $141,098, which the project successfully reached in just 47 minutes. At the time of reporting, the project has surpassed over $200,000. While the project has hit its funding goal, the campaign is running until September 1, so there’s still ample time to back the project.

Ratatan is an upcoming rhythm and strategy game announced earlier this month at BitSummet. In addition to Kotani working on the project, Kemmiei Adachi, the musician for the original Patapon, is also tied to the project.

Patapon was originally released back in 2007 on the PSP and spawned two sequels, with the most recent release being Patapon 3 in 2011. While PlayStation remastered the first two installments in 2017 and 2020, respectively for the PS4, the series has remained dormant since.

No word on which platforms Ratatan will release on, but the Kickstarter page notes that those who back the project can expect rewards to be delivered on April 2025.

Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.

Bandai Namco Warns Tekken 8 Fans Against Playing Cracked Closed Beta Build

Bandai Namco has issued a stark warning to Tekken 8 players, insisting they do not continue to play the recently-released closed network test.

The latest Tekken 8 closed network test ran on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and S, and PC over the weekend, and let players get hands-on with the upcoming fighting game ahead of launch.

Predictably, this closed network test was cracked, and it didn’t take long for users to continue to play the build beyond the closed network test period.

In a tweet, Bandai Namco said doing so breaches its terms of service, as well as the Tekken World Tour code of conduct. The unauthorized download or distribution of the game is “illegal”, Bandai Namco insisted, before threatening to ban anyone caught playing the CNT from its tournaments.

“Your cooperation in preserving the fairness and competitive integrity of our competition is highly valued,” Bandai Namco said.

Bandai Namco doesn’t want some players gaining an unfair advantage by playing Tekken 8’s training mode indefinitely when others can’t or choose not to. A similar situation occurred ahead of the launch of Street Fighter 6, which saw some players continue to play a cracked version of an early beta after it officially ended.

While Tekken 8’s closed network tests have proven popular with fans, they’ve caused Bandai Namco some headaches. Players used Cheat Engine to access the PS5-only test build that was live two weekends’ ago, and revealed mention of a number of unannounced characters.

Check out IGN’s Tekken 8 closed network test preview to find out what we think of the game. At San Diego Comic-Con 2023, we had the chance to interview Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada and producer Michael Murray, who revealed feedback is making them a bit nervous as it’s been “overwhelmingly positive”. Tekken 8 does not have a release date yet.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.

Final Fantasy 14’s last updates before Dawntrail tease moon dungeons, more FFIV bosses and its Fall Guys crossover

Final Fantasy 14 has teased what to expect from the MMO’s upcoming patches, the last updates to hit the game before the release of incoming expansion Dawntrail next year. As usual, there’s a lot of stuff planned, from new dungeons and trials, to quests and XIV’s upcoming Fall Guys crossover.

Read more

Soapbox: These Everyday Items Trigger Me Now, And I Blame Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom

Tears of life.

Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, Evan explores the life-ruining properties of TOTK…

It happened in Yellowstone National Park. Removed from society, cruelly separated from cell phone service, I’d embarked, begrudgingly, upon a technology cleanse. I was receiving no texts, no emails, no DMs, no WhatsApps; I had only the park’s sullen, rag-faced buffalo and hypnotic, deadly thermal pools to keep me company. Ultimately, the lack of contact was transformative, healing; it allowed me to be present and to engage all of my senses. Then, one day, during a particularly meditative hike, I noticed an innocuous pile of lumber along a trail.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Wield powerful mindflayer powers in Baldur’s Gate 3 – skills explained

A seasoned wizard who infects her foes with the irresistible urge to dance. A high-level sorcerer who sows the seeds of chaos in battle with strategically placed portals. A bard that wields the psionic powers of a mindflayer (a.k.a illithid). Who will you become at the pinnacle of your power in Baldur’s Gate 3? That’s completely up to you.

In Baldur’s Gate 3, your late-game build can be as varied as you want it to be and can be changed at any time, giving you an opportunity to experiment with different spells and discover the class that complements your playstyle best.

Introducing illithid powers

In Baldur’s Gate 3, you and your companions each carry the burden of a parasite that dwells within you, a tadpole placed deep inside your brain that poses a constant looming threat of illithid transformation.

But as dangerous as these creatures may be, they are also a source of great power. For those who wish to experience their power, you need only to surrender to the tadpole within you and consume the parasites you find in jars and skulls throughout the Forgotten Realms.

Each consumed tadpole unlocks a new tadpole power in a skill tree of 25 powerful illithid abilities. These powers are split into five branches. Some can be used to manipulate and control those around you, pushing them to say things in dialogue they otherwise would not. Others endow you with psionic abilities to push and pull enemies like ragdolls in battle. You can even become a displacer beast, the iconic and monstrous tentacled feline from the D&D bestiary. The deeper you go through the illithid skill tree, the more powers you’ll discover.

Yet, while a tadpole can provide you with powerful benefits, it also requires sacrifice. Give in to the parasite within you and become half-illithid to gain the most potent mindflayer abilities at higher levels. In turn, you may lose a part of yourself. And remember, not everyone in your party will agree with your decisions to explore your psionic side, and your companions’ perception of you can undergo a significant shift based on your approach.

Respect your destiny

Whether you only want to make a few tweaks to your existing character build or you’re looking to experiment with completely new playstyles and class combinations, respecting your characters can be done at any time.

A simple trade of gold with a mysterious campmate is all that is needed to restart your build with new starting proficiencies, attributes, spells, and cantrips. This will affect your playstyle and abilities and alter your roleplaying experience as the world around you responds differently in dialogues to reflect your new class.

Respeccing isn’t limited to your customized protagonist either. Companions and pre-authored Origin characters can also be given completely new specializations. Already want to play a Rogue, but love the idea of Astarion by your side from here to Baldur’s Gate? You can respec Astarion into a Wizard, a Fighter, or whatever else you think suits him best. A suggestion? A Raging Barbarian Astarion is something everyone should see before they die.

However, this comes with some warnings and caveats, as some of our Origins stories are heavily tied to their classes. A non-cleric Shadowheart or a Wyll without his Warlock Pact will impact the roleplay options in dialogue and story. And while nothing will break, and their stories can still be told, it won’t be the exact story we intend for you to experience.

The freedom to craft your own build

Late-game builds in Baldur’s Gate 3 can be extremely varied if you want them to be. With Multiclassing, players have the freedom to apply points into any class when they level to forge class hybrids of their own making: warriors who wield arcane spells, rogues who are masters of divine magic, or spellcasters who dabble in martial arts.

Given the full range of possible combinations, having some background as a D&D player is recommended to make the most of this feature. But should you wake up and choose chaos, deciding to instead just evenly spread all your points into every class for no strategic reason whatsoever, the choice is yours – and obviously, there’s an achievement for doing that.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is coming to PlayStation 5 on September 6.

Face-Off: Which ’90s Video Game Is the Best?

It’s ‘90s week here at IGN and we are celebrating all the wonderful things that made this special decade one to remember. Movies and TV obviously had their standouts, but the ‘90s also saw the release of some of the most important video games and consoles of all time. With key moments, like the epic battle between Nintendo and Sega to the arrival of 3D games like Super Mario 64 and Final Fantasy VII that changed how we played forever, it’s hard to overstate the importance of those 10 years. However, which game was the best of the best? We can’t possibly hope to answer this question alone without your help.

Do you think Super Mario World deserves the top spot? How about The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time or Metal Gear Solid? We’ve selected 163 of the best ‘90s games to “Face-Off” against each other two at a time, and you’ll have to make the difficult choice between them to help us crown the ultimate ‘90s game. Will you choose Half-Life over Unreal Tournament? Resident Evil over Pokemon Red? The choice is yours…

(And don’t forget, you can pass on a Face-Off round if you don’t know a character by just hitting “skip” at the bottom of the page.)

Click here to start voting in Best ‘90s Video Game Face-Off!

What Is a Face-Off?

Like the name suggests, a Face-Off pits two games against one another and you decide which one is the superior of the two. In this case, you are voting to determine what the best ‘90s video game is. It’s possible to see certain games multiple times, so you can keep voting for your favorites to ensure they get ranked higher than the rest. IGN’s resident team of ‘90s experts pre-selected 163 games for you to choose from. These get randomly paired up and each time you pick a winner, it’s tracked.

How Is the Winner Determined?

When voting ends on August 3, we’ll tally up the total number of “wins” and “losses” each ‘90s video game has and create a ranked list based on your choices that will go live on August 4. The game that won the most match-ups will be crowned the “winner,” and in the event of a tied number of “wins,” the game with the least “losses” will take the top spot. If you continue to keep voting for your favorite game, they’ll have a better chance of ranking high on the list. You can vote as many times as you want until the Face-Off closes.

How Do I Know When I’ve Clicked Through Everything?

It’s difficult to know when you’ve seen every ‘90s video game included because they are matched randomly, and there are many possible match-ups. Playing until you vote for all your favorites or ensuring that certain games don’t get in the winner’s circle are different options you can take with a Face-Off. By deciding the winner throughout all these match-ups, you’re ensuring that your picks for the best ‘90s video game will have a fighting chance to reach the top of the list.

Which ‘90s Games Have You Included?

This list of ‘90s video games has been created without considering limits of console, region, or otherwise. The only criteria was that it had to be released somewhere in the 1990s and it had to be a game we feel deserves the chance to fight for the crown. Are we missing one of your favorite games? Be sure to let us know in the comments below!

Click here to start voting in Best ‘90s Video Game Face-Off!

For more, check out our welcome to 90s week @ IGN letter and our look at how Dreamcast killed Sega’s hardware reign.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

With Nintendo’s Next-Gen Console Reportedly Targeting 2024, the Switch’s Late Lifecycle Lineup Comes Into Focus

Nintendo’s next-gen console is reportedly due out during the second half of 2024. Assuming that’s true, we’re finally entering the late lifecycle of the all-conquering Nintendo Switch, which means now is a good time to check in on announced games coming to the console – and some that may skip it entirely.

Nintendo’s recent Direct showcase gave fans a decent idea of what to expect for Nintendo Switch for the remainder of 2023. First up we have Detective Pikachu Returns, which launches October 6.

This new game promises to dive deep into the origins of Detective Pikachu and let players solve a tonne of mysteries across Ryme City alongside Tim Goodman and other Pokemon.

Next we have the wonderful-looking Super Mario Bros. Wonder:

Super Mario Bros. Wonder is a brand new 2D, co-op platformer that features playable characters such as Princess Peach, Princess Daisy, and Yoshi, as well as the likes of Mario, Luigi, and Toad. It has a brand new power-up that transforms Mario into an elephant. Expect Super Mario Bros. Wonder to hit Nintendo Switch on October 20, 2023.

Next, Nintendo Switch gets WarioWare: Move It! on November 3.

WarioWare: Move It! has over 200 micro-games to play, many of which are designed to get players up and moving with their Joy-Cons. Using two Joy-Con controllers, players move their entire body to strike different poses as they take on the various micro-games. You can play in local co-op, with up to four players in party mode.

Soon after, Nintendo Switch gets a Super Mario RPG remake.

This remake of the 1996 SNES classic is due out on Nintendo Switch on November 17, 2023, and sees the return of original composer Yoko Shimomura. This adventure, which stars Mario, Bowser, Princess Peach, Mallow, Geno, and more, sees our heroes attempting to take down the Smithy Gang while collecting seven stars to repair the Star Road.

Down for fall 2023 and winter 2023 is the two-part The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet.

In this story, you’ll leave the Paldea region and dive deeper into the world of the Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet games. Part 1: The Teal Mask has a planned release date of fall 2023 and Part 2: The Indigo Disk has a planned release date of winter 2023.

Other Nintendo Switch highlights include the release of Tears of the Kingdom’s Zelda and Ganondorf amiibo during Holiday 2023. Will DLC for the open-world masterpiece also come out then?

Looking to 2024, a visually enhanced version of Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, originally released on Nintendo 3DS, is in development for Nintendo Switch. And Princess Peach will star as the main character in her own new game, which Nintendo has said will be available in 2024.

Conspicuous by its absence from June’s Nintendo Direct was the long-delayed Metroid Prime 4, which has suffered a dramatic development and is still without a release window six years after it was announced. Could that game be Nintendo Switch’s last hurrah in the summer of 2024? Or will Nintendo bump it to its next-gen console as a launch title?

One question mark hanging over Nintendo’s next-gen console is whether or not it will support backwards compatibility with Switch games. If it does, perhaps some of these Nintendo Switch games listed above will be playable on the next-gen console. If it doesn’t, that leaves the door open to Nintendo and third-parties to charge Nintendo fans for them again.

How do you feel about the end of Nintendo Switch’s life, and the upcoming launch of Nintendo’s next-gen console? Let us know in the comments!

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.