Mini Review: Toree’s Panic Pack (Switch) – A Third Pop Of 99¢ Platforming Pleasure

The only moral Toree.

Toree’s Panic Pack costs 89p. 99¢. That’ll probably either perk up your ears, or make your face twist in reasonable scepticism. Luckily, as with all the previous Toree games, it’s absolutely worthy of the former and certainly not the latter.

Previous games in the series of short and colourful 3D platformers have had a mantra of ‘easy to pick up, difficult to master’, and if you’ve indulged in any of them and have been hankering for something a bit more ‘difficult to pick up, aching to master’, well you’ve struck gold here, sunshine.

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Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: How Capcom Created a Prequel Story Through Traditional Japanese Puppeteering

Category: Games

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: How Capcom Created a Prequel Story Through Traditional Japanese Puppeteering

The lush Mt. Kafuku, home of the Goddess.
The source of turmoil, the defilement.
The defilement corrupts the mountain, and the 12 masks containing the power of the Goddess are stolen.
The Maiden Yoshiro & her guardian Soh purge the defilement and perform a ritual.

Embracing the company slogan, “From Osaka to the World,” Capcom will release Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess tomorrow, July 19. An original action-strategy hybrid that weaves its gameplay into a unique Japanese-inspired world, players take on the role of Soh, the guardian of the Maiden Yoshiro, and must protect and fight for her, making use of the two phases; day and night, to prepare for and fend off the looming threat of the Seethe respectively.

The game takes inspiration from several Japanese traditions, helping inform everything from the aesthetic to how Soh fights in a “sword-dancing” style – and the influence is far more than skin-deep. With the release of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess coming on Friday, July 19, Capcom has partnered with practitioners of one of Japan’s oldest traditional performing arts, Ningyo Joruri Bunraku (known more simply as Bunraku) – a comprehensive art form that integrates Tayu (narration), Shamisen (a three-stringed Japanese musical instrument), and puppeteering. A special video titled “Ceremony of the Deity: The Maiden’s Destiny,” featuring living national treasure and master puppeteer Kanjuro Kiritake the Third, portraying the priestess, has been released as a prequel to invite players into the world of Kunitsugami: Path of the Goddess.

Ahead of the release of the video, the Xbox Wire Japan team participated in an interview at the National Bunraku Theatre in Osaka, where the performance was staged and filmed. The interview features Master Kanjuro Kiritake, Kunitsu-Gami director Shuichi Kawata, and Capcom’s Tairoku Nozoe, who scripted for the Bunraku performance. The team talked us through the influence of Bunraku on the game, the unique creation of a Bunraku performance for the game, and more.

First, we’d like to hear more about the background of this collaboration. We understand that the challenge to collaborate began when the Capcom team reached out with the idea, and Master Kanjuro graciously accepted to help out. Could you tell us about the process leading up to this?

Nozoe: If we were to trace things back to its origin, it might be when Kawata, who was developing the concept for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, shared his passion for Bunraku with me. Kawata is a fervent fan of Bunraku, and his enthusiasm led us to attend a performance together. We were both deeply moved by the performance, and it made us realize that such fascinating art form existed out there, convincingly withstanding the test of time. This inspired us to reach out to the National Bunraku Theatre. Kawata’s connection with the world of Bunraku also helped, allowing us to have various discussions and propose the idea for this collab. Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess was created with a sense of traditional arts and performances in mind, so I am incredibly moved that this collaboration has come to fruition in such a big way.

Kunitsu-Gami puppeteers and creators Image — From left to right: Capcom’s Suichi Kawata, Master Kanjuro Kiritake, Capcom’s Tairoku Nozoe.

Master Kanjuro, when you first heard about the proposal to work and collaborate with a game through the arts of Bunraku, what were your initial thoughts?

Master Kanjuro: I remember feeling a bit troubled because I couldn’t immediately organize the concept in my mind, and I wasn’t sure how to make the project a reality. However, given my extended experience with various collaborations and my inherent love for collaborations through the art of Bunraku, I offered to help if I could. I believe that by the time of filming, I had managed to clear my mind and focus, resulting in the wonderful video.

Kunitsu-Gami Bunraku Image — The National Bunraku Theatre preparing for the performance of Ceremony of the Deity: The Maiden’s Destiny Video.

Master Kanjuro, do you personally play video games? Or do any of the people close to you enjoy playing games?

Master Kanjuro: Games are fascinating because they allow you to immerse yourself in the story happening on the screen, and moreover share various narratives that are embedded in Japanese culture with the world. All of my children love games, and I also enjoyed the early, simple video games when I was younger. I remember having to guide my children to play in moderation, as they tended to play a little too much under the past standards. Now, it’s mainly my grandchildren who play games, and they often invite me to join. When I have time, I enjoy playing with them. I still get very absorbed in gaming, so I try to be a bit careful [laughs].

I heard that when discussing the project, you felt a personal connection with Capcom’s catchphrase, “From Osaka to the world”.

Master Kanjuro: Exactly. Bunraku is an art form that was born and raised in Osaka, just like how Capcom has continued to nurture this same land. I felt a strong connection with the idea of sharing and spreading our efforts further, beyond Osaka, to the rest of the world.

As the project progressed and you saw the game footage and concept art for Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess, you became very enthusiastic and offered various advice on the creation of the puppets. Could you share your impressions when you first saw the game footage, and your thoughts as the project progressed?

Master Kanjuro: First and foremost, I was captivated by the visual beauty and found the character designs very interesting. Having been away from games for a while, besides playing with my grandchildren, I was honestly amazed by the advancements made in modern games. At the same time, it increased the challenge of figuring out how to create these characters as puppets. My expertise lies in performing in “jidai-mono”, which focuses on historical events and people, and not in fiction. So I initially thought this project would involve simply making and perhaps slightly manipulating the puppets, but when I learned that a full story and script were being written, I realized the collab was transforming into a very profound, enjoyable, and expansive project.

The script was apparently written by none other than Capcom’s Nozoe-san.

Master Kanjuro: At first, I didn’t know who had worked on the script. But after a read-through, I found it to be very profound, packed with just the right ingredients, and felt it was very compelling. What I found particularly interesting about this script was that, unlike many other scripts where it is difficult to pair with a suitable musical accompaniment, I could envision what type of music would be best fit from the first read. Although the final music will always be composed by the shamisen player, I had a strong impression of how the music would feel like, and I believe it turned out to be something truly exceptional.

As a result, I ended up being busy with this project throughout June, a month when I was supposed to be on a break with no performances assigned. However, my original aspiration when I was young was to be a manga artist, and I have always loved illustrating, creating things, drawing, and designing. The feeling of anticipation, seeing the puppets gradually nearing their final forms, made June a truly fulfilling month. Incidentally, the magatama decoration [a ceremonial, comma-shaped object considered sacred] on the Maiden puppet was entirely handcrafted by myself.

Do you have any comments you would like to make, with the collaboration between Bunraku and Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess soon coming to a full circle?

Nozoe: Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess is a game that values tradition while also embracing new challenges. For this collaboration project, the focus was not so much on expressing the essence of the game through the world of Bunraku, but rather on how to align and highlight the charm of Bunraku within the world of the game. Given that, what impressed me the most when Master Kanjuro supervised the script was how skillfully he adjusted everything with a keen sense of balance. He knew exactly when to align with the expressions that Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess has, and carefully incorporated the elements we felt should retain a Bunraku-esque touch. As a result, I feel the Ningyo Joruri Bunraku that came out of this project maintained a very satisfying balance.

Master Kanjuro: I am very glad that you are happy with the outcome. Would you like to consider a sequel?

Nozoe: Yes, please!

Master Kanjuro: I don’t want to trouble everyone at the theater, but I’d like to try performing this as a full-length play. It would be interesting to turn this into a play and adjust the story to work on the stage. I’m delighted that such new attempts can be made with Ningyo Joruri Bunraku, which originated, rooted, and grew in Osaka. The “3-man manipulation” technique, now considered standard, was devised in 1734, about 290 years ago. It’s both fascinating and gratifying to see that the Ningyo Joruri, which has preserved this technique for so long, is now connected with the latest technology and content in gaming.

Nozoe: During the development of the game, we were always inspired by the direction and movements of Ningyo Joruri Bunraku. Even before discussing the collaboration, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess was already heavily infused with elements of Bunraku. Additionally, the method used to create the environmental elements in the game was quite unique, where we first created miniatures and then digitized them. This emphasis on realism, which is very important to Kawata-san, made our efforts within the collaboration align well.

I am aware that some people may read this blogpost before watching the performance, while others might read the article after having already seen it once and then are motivated to watch again. Could you share any tips for those who are experiencing Bunraku for the first time?

Master Kanjuro: As a puppeteer, I’d like you to carefully observe the synchronized movements of the puppets performed by the three puppeteers. The omozukai (head and right hand), hidarizukai (left hand), and ashizukai (legs) are three entirely different individuals working together in synchronicity to animate a single puppet. This technique has been refined over approximately 290 years, and through this, you can experience just how well-crafted the art of Ningyo Joruri Bunraku is. While it may be challenging to grasp everything in one viewing, I believe that if you watch it multiple times, there will be moments when its beauty may resonate with you. Once that happens, you’ll likely begin to enjoy any performance you watch. Some may feel unsure about what is being said or narrated, but don’t worry. The narration is crafted in the most beautiful Japanese language, and over time, you will be able to deepen your understanding with the help of a synopsis at hand. I hope you will pay close attention to these aspects.

Nozoe: Since Kunitsugami: Path of the Goddess is the focal point for this collaborative development, it might be good to first get to know its story. In the original work, there are the main characters: the guardian, Soh and the Maiden, Yoshiro, and their story is something that has been repeated many, many times. The game itself only highlights one of the many. Given this, “Ceremony of the Deity: The Maiden’s Destiny” can be considered a prequel to the main story of Kunitsugami: Path of the Goddess. How does Soh and the Maiden featured in this prequel connect to the main story? That is a mystery you might unveil once you play the game, and then come back to watch the performance again.

Kawata: We have prepared mechanisms that will further your understanding of Kunitsugami: Path of the Goddess when you watch the play after playing the game. Additionally, if you reflect on the ending of the main story while watching the Ningyo Joruri performance, you will find yourself saying, “oh, that’s why”.

Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess will be available on July 19 for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One and Windows PC, and Xbox Game Pass subscribers will be able to play the game from day one. In addition, this title is compatible with Xbox Play Anywhere, allowing cross-play and transfer of saved data between Xbox and Windows 10/11.

The post Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess: How Capcom Created a Prequel Story Through Traditional Japanese Puppeteering appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Mortal Kombat 1: Takeda’s disarming Brutality revealed

The New Era established in Mortal Kombat 1 has seen many classic characters from the series evolve in new and interesting ways. Resetting the Mortal Kombat Universe allowed us to experiment with their narratives to sharpen relationships, increase connections, and heighten conflicts. We’re taking characters in bold new directions while also honoring their pasts.

Before we dive into the backstory of Takeda joining the Mortal Kombat 1 roster, let’s take a first look at his Brutality finishing move.

Mortal Kombat 1: Takeda’s disarming Brutality revealed

When the team decided that Takeda Takahashi should join the roster of Mortal Kombat 1, we were faced with an intriguing narrative challenge: How do we make a character, who was previously a second generation kombatant, a peer of his immediate ancestors? We chose to alter Takeda’s history to root him firmly in the New Era’s present day.

Mortal Kombat 1 introduces reimagined versions of iconic characters in a way that as they’ve never been seen before, and in this New Era created by Fire God Liu Kang, Takeda is Kenshi Takahashi’s cousin, not his son. As a fellow Takahashi, he has also served the Yakuza. As a fellow hero, he also eventually chooses to reject them. But that doesn’t mean that he and Kenshi are thick as thieves. As was the case in the prior Mortal Kombat era, the two men have different agendas which bring them into conflict. Where Kenshi’s sole focus is extracting his family from the Yakuza’s embrace, Takeda seeks its destruction as well as the destruction of Earthrealm’s entire underworld. Kenshi is no fan of Takeda’s larger and deadlier agenda.

Even with these changes, Takeda’s backstory still retains key narrative elements from its prior iteration. As before, Takeda spends significant time living among the Shirai Ryu. He trains with Scorpion, blending the latter’s Shirai Ryu technique with his own style of kombat.

As we began writing Takeda’s scripts, we realized that his world needed to be more deeply integrated with that of his fellow kombatants. To do so, we brought the criminal Red Dragon clan into the mix. They make their first appearance in the New Era as the shadowy bosses responsible for all of Earthrealm’s and Outworld’s organized crime.

Takeda Takahashi will be available on July 23 as part of the early access period for Mortal Kombat 1 Kombat Pack owners on PlayStation 5, followed by wide availability on July 30. Additionally, Takeda will be playable for the first time ahead of his release at the Evolution Championship Series (Evo) fighting game tournament in Las Vegas from July 19 to 21. This opportunity will be available exclusively for event attendees and located within the Mortal Kombat 1 booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center West Hall.

Horror game The Mortuary Assistant is turning into a job sim, thanks to an “endless embalming mode” update

We’ve had a glut of articles about gloomier video games on here today, Rachel’s bright and breezy Dungeons Of Hinterberg review notwithstanding. Tomorrow, I promise, it’ll be wall-to-wall wholesome life sims, pastel petals and hug emojis as far as the eye can see. But before then, a quick piece on well-received DreadXP-published horror sim The Mortuary Assistant, which will shortly be updated with an “endless embalming-only mode” that strips out the game’s supernatural scares and turns it into a very downbeat job sim.

Japanese Charts: Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Gets Off To A Flying Start

But it can’t scare off Luigi.

Famitsu‘s latest look at the Japanese gaming charts is in and it’s another clean sweep for the Switch.

Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD holds onto the top spot for the third week in a row — way to go, bro — but there are also two new entries this time around which have snuck into the proceedings. Aerial action was clearly a popular choice this week, as Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Deluxe Edition flew into second place with 14,322 sales in its debut. Princess Maker 2 Regeneration also nabbed a spot in the top ten, with 3,685 units sold.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

How to Navigate the Shadows in Schim, Out Now on Xbox

After more than four years of working on Schim we are excited to share it with the Xbox community! As two developers (Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman) it is amazing to be able to release the game on Xbox as well. Ewoud did all the porting and has very fond memories of playing on his first Xbox (360) many years ago. With this post we want to give you some insights and invite you into the world of our first indie game Schim.

Shadow Jumping in Schim

Schim is a game in which you jump from shadow to shadow to get back to your person. We designed the colorful abstract world with influences from cities in the Netherlands. The levels in Schim invite you to play around. Schim is a very relaxing and forgiving game with optional challenges and a slight difficulty curve. A great game to destress with. We have seen players race through levels and just as many players who take their time and explore all nooks and crannies to experience the little stories that can be witnessed and influenced.

Interacting with Shadows

Shadows are the platforms in Schim but you can also interact with them. Every type of shadow has its own unique interaction that triggers the essence of the object, person or animal. Some things change their state like a traffic light while others make a sound like a car that honks its horn. The interactions influence the flow of the level and at times can create new paths in the world. We added loads of these unique interactions to reward exploring and experimenting in this magical world.

Reunite with Your Shadow

The story of Schim revolves around the Schim and their person. The person starts as a child at the beginning of the game. In the first ten minutes you get to grow up with them. You can hop out of their shadow or run around controlling the person when you are in their shadow. Numerous live events occur in rapid succession and we see them grow up. At a certain point they experience a horrible day where everything just doesn’t go their way. They get fired, their bike stolen and they stumble and fall. This is the moment where you as the Schim get disconnected from your person. You will have to find your way back to them. In most levels you will see your person try to get things in order again in the world as you chase them. It’s up to you to get back to them.

The Shadow Creatures of Schim

Every shadow in the world has its own Schim. In the game you will come across many of them. Some will need your help as they have lost their shadow just like you.

These objects can be found and placed back into the world. They also serve as the collectibles in the game. Some are hidden and give enough room to explore the world to find all of them.

Different Times of Day

Depending on the time of day the shadows are longer or shorter. There are also some levels that you will visit more than once. Multiple of these levels will be experienced both in daylight and in nighttime. During nighttime you will only be able to traverse in shadows that are cast by lights in the level. Anything that is darker but still moonlit does not count as a shadow. This makes these levels feel very different from their daylight versions.

Thank you for reading. We welcome you in the world of Schim!

Available now on Xbox One and Xbox X|S

SCHiM

Extra Nice

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$24.99

Get it now

SCHiM is a game about jumping from shadow to shadow, while interacting with a relaxing and lively environment.
A schim is the soul and spirit of an object, thing, or living being. Everything in the world has one. A schim should never be separated from their thing! This does happen to your schim, this schim who is attached to a human being is separated from them early on in the game.

Can you get back to him before it’s too late?

The post How to Navigate the Shadows in Schim, Out Now on Xbox appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Concord Open Beta gameplay tips

Freegunners, Concord’s Open Beta launches today, granting you a weekend’s worth of galactic action on PS5 and PC. Jump aboard the spaceship Northstar, meet the Freegunners, then head planetside to take on rival crews across multiple different game modes. Open Beta gives you a chance to try out the 16-strong character roster, and get to grips with Crew Builder, the Job Board and more.

You’ll find additional gameplay details, tips and lore in the ‘How to Play’ section of the Open Beta’s main menu. To bolster that info and arm you with additional gameplay tips ahead of launch, we sat down with Firewalk Studios’ lead gameplay designer Claude Jerome and lead character designer Jon Weisnewski to dig into the intricacies of the multiplayer shooter’s gameplay mechanics and systems.

A Freegunner for everyone

Concord’s 16-strong character roster offers a lot of variety from the off. But there are certain Freegunners in the lineup that are a good fit for certain players based on their experience in the multiplayer shooter genre.

“We actually have a number of characters that are designed specifically to be entry points for players who feel anxiety or stress that come into a game like this,” says Weisnewski. “For that player who’s never played a shooter before, I’d recommend Lark. Lark was designed from the ground up to be inviting [to those players]. Their weapon, the Razor Pod Launcher, blasts out this little sphere that floats in the air. When an enemy gets close to that sphere, it detonates and spawns little homing projectiles that will track down the enemy and do damage… so right out the gate, we have a gun that doesn’t require players to be precise with their aiming.

“One of Lark’s Abilities is to drop a Spore Seed. It creates an area that buffs your team and debuffs the enemy team – you’ll get faster mobility, a little bit of damage resistance. That Spore has a high uptime, so you can be constantly planting. You’ll help your team by running around the map and planting Spore Seeds in key locations. Their other Ability is the Transplant Pod. On first activation they create this little plant, and on second, they teleport back to it. There’s a ton of high level strategic play, but [for newcomers], they have a weapon they don’t have to aim, an Ability that always helps their team and if they get stressed during combat, they can teleport out.”

“Kyps is similar,” Jerome continues. “She’s a spy robot that can plant surveillance traps, she can go into stealth [on dodging]. She can be an effective help for the team in this low anxiety way. The traps can spot people behind walls.

“That feeds into a dynamic of our philosophy – brains versus aims. We want both to matter. It matters if you have thumb skill, but we also want this cerebral approach to combat. Be thoughtful of every move you make, to feel like it matters to the outcome of the match.”

“For the highly competent shooter player, someone who is already very, very skilled at these games, just wants to pick it up and, and be effective right out the gate, I would recommend Teo,” concludes Weisnewski. “Teo was intentionally designed to feel familiar to people who have played shooters. He’s got a very military-inspired loadout: a Guild Guard Rifle, a side arm pistol he can swap to. He has Cluster and Smoke Grenades. He’s got a double dodge. He’s quick. If you’ve played any shooter, he should just feel immediately familiar.”

Crew Roles

Rather than traditional archetypes, each of the 16 Freegunners fall into one of 6 Roles – Anchor, Breacher, Haunt, Ranger, Tactician and Warden. Each has been defined and designed around play styles, with further variety found in the characters that fall within those Roles. “We have three different Rangers,” examples Weisnewski. “Each has a distinct feel to them. We have a more support-leaning character, a defensive-leaning character and a more traditional offensive-leaning character… we hope players will gravitate to one that actually feels like it was made just for them and how they want to play.”

“One of our philosophies we’re talking about is this concept of like recipes versus ingredients,” explains Jerome. “Recipes are this authored, crafted thing that you have to play this way, right? We just give you a bunch of tools and you can pick the way you want to approach combat.” You’ll see each Freegunner’s Role displayed on the Character Select screen.

Character Abilities and Skillful Loops

Every Freegunner has two unique Abilities, mapped to L1 and R1. Not all recharges are built around cooldown time: they differ per Freegunner and are built around the most fun, effective way to reinforce that character’s personality. It’s a resource model Firewalk coin as “Skillful Loops” or “Sloops” for short. “I think Jabali was the pioneer of sloops,” says Weisnewski, the concept successful enough to inspire the studio to apply it all Freegunners. “Take a character like Lennox, a precision shooter. A character with a lot of trust in their thumbskill will have an extremely higher DPS than others. So that’s the skill we’re trying to encourage, train and reward. So Lennox gets his Throwing Knife Ability back on landing a kill.” In contrast, 1-Off’s Trash Bomb recharges by vacuuming up projectiles or items in the world. Find out more about the Ability conditions for each Freegunner in the Character Select screen or in the Freegunners section of the main menu.

Crew combos

“This goes back to that recipes versus ingredients analogy,” says Jerome. “Combos are these implicit combinations of actions and status effects” with Freegunner combative options pairing nicely together. “DaVeers’ Burnite grenade launcher leaves these purple chemical splashes where its projectiles hit. If they hit those with their Ignition Dart, they’ll ignite and explode. But if another character like Haymar uses her fire abilities, it’ll also ignite those chemicals.” Start experimenting during matches and get a feel for complementary skillsets.

Support items

Some Freegunner Abilities are permanent, deploying an item into the combat space that can help your crew or hinder rivals. Examples include Daw’s Heal Pads that top up an ally’s energy bar, or Duchess’s Construct Walls which block paths or provide cover. These will remain even between match rounds, or until the enemy team does something about them. So for multi-round matches, there’s value in long-term strategy by populating the map with useful gear. “It allows you to take advantage of characters beyond their lifespan [during a match],” explains Jerome.

Crew Builder and rolling over Role Perks

Each of the six Freegunner Roles has a Crew Bonus. Rangers, for example, have Improved Weapon Recoil, Tacticians, faster reload speed. In Concord, if your next deployed Freegunner has a different Role, the previous character’s Role-specific perk stacks on top of theirs, ultimately letting you play a much more capable combatant infused with the buffs of 6 Roles. It’s an extra layer of strategy played out over a match as you play through Freegunners to adapt to the situation at hand. Crew Builder, selectable within the Freegunners option on the main menu, allows you to build custom team compositions, deck builder style, to take into specific modes. There’s more details in the “How to Play” menu.

Complete Jobs, get paid

Freegunners are mercenaries, guns-for-hire who roam the galaxy and do high-stake jobs to keep them going. “We want each match to [feed into that fantasy],” says Jerome. “So that shows up in our progression system. The Job Board shows all the different things you can be rewarded for doing in that match. That could encourage Ability usage, kill combinations… when you complete those jobs, those challenges, that gives you XP. Your payout. That unlocks more options, more customisation for your characters.”

Concord’s Open Beta is available on PS5 & PC July 18 – 21. You can listen to an extended interview with Firewalk in the Official PlayStation Podcast, the new episode of which drops tomorrow.

A Quiet Place: The Road Ahead’s New Gameplay Footage Faithfully Recreates the Tension Found in the Films

IGN can reveal new gameplay footage for Stormind Games and Saber Interactive’s upcoming horror game A Quite Place: The Road Ahead.

In the new footage you can view below, we can view roughly 10 minutes of new gameplay footage. As we saw in the previous two trailers and those familiar with the horror movie franchise, it is based on the fact that A Quite Place: The Road Ahead emphasizes moving in silence to avoid being killed by a hostile alien creature. Even the smallest sounds, like a rat scurrying and kicking an empty can, will alter nearby enemies.

Based on the gameplay footage, this is an early section of the game. The start of the footage reveals that it has been 119 days since the world went quiet. Towards the end of the footage, we can see the alien creature appear close to the character, with the HUD showcasing when the enemy is too close to the player.

More interestingly, the HUD for A Quiet Place: Day One is relatively minimal, akin to horror games like Visage. Imagery appears when the character switches between holding a flashlight or a sound detection device. In addition to remaining discrete as you traverse the world, we learned the playable character is asthmatic, requiring players to ensure the character ensures any possibility of having breathing difficulties with a status bar of her lungs.

A Quite Place video game was announced in 2021 with the project’s original developers, a collaborative effort between iLLOGIKA and EP1T0ME. The game was supposed to be released in 2022, but news on it was scarce following its initial announcement. That would change three years later when publisher Saber Interactive announced the game’s official title, revealing that Stgormind Games was assigned development duties with a target release window of 2024.

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

Corpus Edax is a Deus Ex-style immersive sim with a frankly irresponsible number of violence-based verbs

A good immersive sim, by its very nature, offers myriad varied approaches to solving problems. And yet, I find myself wanting to get hyper-specific when writing about the action of Corpus Edax, because it has an incredibly gratifying metal pipe sound, whether you’re stealthy wrapping it around the back of a blissfully unaware fool’s noggin, or lobbing it directly at their knee caps. In fact – although the game does have a delightful array of classic verbs, along with a few surprises – many of them are simply conducive to a stirring round of fisticuffs, to write my most British sentence of the week.

The First Descendant Patch 1.0.3 Makes More Big Changes, Nexon Previews New Descendants Coming With Next Update

Nexon has released another big patch for The First Descendant and in the process made some important changes to the game.

The headline here is a change to the icons that were found to be similar to those in rival looter shooter Destiny 2. Nexon had confirmed plans to change these icons in response, and with the release of patch 1.0.3 across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox, it’s done just that.

“The First Descendant has been developed with deep affection and respect for various looter shooters, and we take feedback regarding other similar games very seriously,” Nexon insisted in the update 1.0.3 patch notes, below.

“Through this hotfix, we are trying to reflect the unique identity of The First Descendant. We will continue to improve the game for the fans of the genre.”

It’s also worth noting that this patch adds “away from keyboard (AFK)” to the player report menu in response to the prevalence of AFK farming and players going AFK during co-op missions. In the patch notes, Nexon said it’s taking a “cautious approach” to how it handles The First Descendant’s AFK problem, and once again called on the community to show restraint as it works out what to do.

“We have been keeping a close eye on recent trends regarding AFK, and we agree that AFK hinders the game play for other players,” Nexon said. “However, we believe that a cautious approach is required in this matter. This is because AFK judgment mechanisms can sometimes be bypassed with simple shooting or moving actions, and the AFK kick system can be exploited for other purposes.

“First, we are trying to learn the patterns of AFK players with AFK reports. Through this, we plan to collect the information necessary to separate AFK players in matchmaking and prepare an appropriate measure in the future.

“We are considering ways to resolve the AFK issue so that everyone can enjoy the game together. We ask you to respect other players in the meantime, and if you have an idea on this matter, please let us know.”

Nexon said it will skip next week’s patch in favor of releasing the game’s fifth week update on August 1. This adds the new Descendant Luna and Ultimate Valby, new intercept battles, new ultimate weapons, modules, external components, and skins.

Nexon’s free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter has enjoyed enormous popularity with over 10 million players in just 10 days. But it has been heavily criticized for its ultra aggressive monetization, which includes the cost of Ultimate versions of its playable characters. This week, IGN reported on one player who spent an eye-watering 200 hours to unlock every Ultimate Descendant currently available in the game without paying money.

The First Descendant Update 1.0.3 Patch Notes

Content Improvements
(1) UI/UX
– An option has been added to turn off other players’ effects (projectile explosion).
– In order to improve the visibility, the explosion effect and the duration of ‘Vestigial Organ’ have been reduced.

# Director’s Comment
As Gley’s infinite launcher build became popular, we took temporary measures to address an issue where the explosion effect was disrupting gameplay severely. Currently, we only provide the option to disable other players’ projectile explosion effects, but we are planning to enhance this feature for other effects as well.

– A system message has been added to make it easier to check the DBNO status of allies, and an extra measure has been added to the party member UI.
– Reduced the research completion visual effect duration for materials frequently used in research.
– ‘Away from keyboard (AFK)’ has been added to the player report menu.

# Director’s Comment
We have been keeping a close eye on recent trends regarding AFK, and we agree that AFK hinders the game play for other players. However, we believe that a cautious approach is required in this matter. This is because AFK judgment mechanisms can sometimes be bypassed with simple shooting or moving actions, and the AFK kick system can be exploited for other purposes.

First, we are trying to learn the patterns of AFK players with AFK reports. Through this, we plan to collect the information necessary to separate AFK players in matchmaking and prepare an appropriate measure in the future.

We are considering ways to resolve the AFK issue so that everyone can enjoy the game together. We ask you to respect other players in the meantime, and if you have an idea on this matter, please let us know.

– The UI has been updated so that major rewards obtained from quests that have already been cleared are checked in the quest list.
– A function has been added to view acquisition information directly in the target section of Library.
– Fixed an issue of scrolling to the top when moving from the target item of Library to the corresponding item list.
– Added Firearm types and Rounds types to the Library Weapon List.
– Fixed an issue where a player who joined the Void Fusion Reactor could use the Reconstructing Device even if there were no Void Shard after completing the mission.
– When completing a Void Fragment mission obtaining two types of Void Shard, the amount obtained has increased by approximately 1.5 times.
– Void Fusion Reactor mission tooltip has been updated to display the number of Void Shards.
– Added Linked Amorphous Material to Void Fusion Reactor mission tooltip.
– Void Shard attribute will now be displayed on the map directly.

# Director’s Comment
We discovered and fixed an issue where a party member’s ‘Abort Mission’ system was being exploited to repeatedly play the Void Fusion Reactor without consuming any Shards. While addressing this glitch, we also considered why players might resort to using it. We realized that the transition from Shard farming to actual Void Fusion Reactor missions was quite inconvenient and tedious. Therefore, we not only fixed the bug but also increased the amount of Void Shards obtained and improved the farming process to make it more convenient. Please wait a little longer, as we will significantly improve the Fragment farming routes in the upcoming Week 5 update scheduled for August 1st.

The Dev Team will continue to learn and grow from your playing experiences. We will always listen to your valuable feedback and strive to provide a better gaming environment.
– The number of Attached Items that can be registered has been updated to 1,000 each for weapons, reactors, and external components.

(2) Descendants
– ‘Thrill Bomb’ and ‘Lightning Emission’ with the Ultimate Bunny ‘High-Voltage’ module will now target nearby targets rather than random targets.
– ‘Allergy’ of ‘Reconstruction Serum’ of Yujin now applies to Colossus as well.
– Ultimate Bunny ‘Electric Charge’, ‘High-Voltage’ and Bunny ‘Electric Condense’ sound effects have been changed.
– ‘Use Bunny’s Skills to inflict Electrocution on enemies’ has been removed from the 2nd and 3rd stage evolution conditions of the bunny Evolving Skin ‘Speedy Awakened One’.

(3) Infiltration Operation
– You can now view mission results through the ESC menu after completing an Infiltration Operation.
– The time limit for destroying the Ironheart has been removed in the Infiltration Operation ‘Fortress – Heart of the Fortress’.
– The location of the supply droid in the Infiltration Operation ‘Fortress – Quarantine Zone’ has been moved to the battle zone, making it easier to supply bullets.

(4) Mission
– The position of immunity spheres of Named Monsters will not change anymore as the monsters move or rotate.
– The sequential sphere type of the Named Immunity of ‘Alternate Hand of Nazeistra’ that appears in White-night Gulch ‘Eye of Truth’ has been updated.

(5) Field
– The drop quantity on Hard difficulty has been increased by approximately 1.5.

(6) Miscellaneous
– The stack limit for consumable items has been increased from 1 million to 100 million.
– Updated some icon images.

# Director’s Comment
The First Descendant has been developed with deep affection and respect for various looter shooters, and we take feedback regarding other similar games very seriously. Through this hotfix, we are trying to reflect the unique identity of ‘The First Descendant’. We will continue to improve the game for the fans of the genre.

Optimization Improvements
– Fixed the memory leak that occurred intermittently in windowed mode.
– Fixed the memory leak when using Frame Generation.
– Fixed the issue of temporary frame drops when opening inventory with DLSS Frame Generation.
– Fixed an issue where frame limit was not restored even if additional options were changed to Off when DLSS Frame Generation or FSR Frame Generation is enabled.

Bug Fixes
(1) UI/UX
– [Russian][Spanish][Portuguese] Fixed an issue where the material quantity text was cut off in Weapon Transmission.
– Fixed an issue where the top menu remained when Scroll Map > Top Library through Acquisition Information, and then moving to the screen with ESC.
– Fixed an issue where a black screen was briefly displayed when starting Special Operation.
– Symbol effects have been added for ‘Code Analyzer’, ‘Code Breaker’, and ‘Core Material’ dropped.
– Fixed an issue where account names starting with ‘#’ were not visible.

(2) Descendants
– Fixed an issue where the Descendant couldn’t be changed after completing the exclusive dungeon of the quest ‘To Bunny, Our Beloved Daughter’ in the Bunny quests.
– Fixed an issue where Bunny’s Lightning Emission was used even if there was no moving distance when rolling over a box or wall.

# Director’s Comment
We love how Bunny runs fast, unleashes electric energy to take down her enemies. Bunny is a Descendant who gains her power in proportion to the distance she travels. However, rolling around in a corner and using her skills was not what we expected from her, so we decided to fix this.

Additionally, we are detecting the use of various macros and unauthorized programs through our monitoring system, including the rolling in place macro. We are currently taking actions against macros and unauthorized programs, and will continue to strive to create a more enjoyable gaming environment for everyone.

– Fixed an issue where sound effect was not played intermittently when landing on the floor with Kyle’s ‘Superconductivity Thrusters’.
– Fixed an issue where the charging motion was repeated with Kyle’s ‘Repulsion Dash’.

(3) Modules
– Fixed an issue where the ‘Arche Acceleration’ module did not increase the speed and distance of projectiles.
– Fixed an issue where Ajax’s ‘Body Enhancement’ module did not reflect the max shield in the current shield after moving to the map.
– Fixed an issue where the Firearm ATK of the ‘Shoot Focus’ module was applied as a sum operation and not as a multiplication operation.
– Fixed an issue where the module list scroll was reset to the top after Module Enhancement.

(4) Mission
– Fixed an issue where monsters would not spawn if the first monsters spawned upon entering the Vulgus Strategic Outpost were immediately killed.
– Fixed an issue where the next quest could not be started under certain circumstances.
– Fixed an issue where the sphere would tremble when it was far away during the Named Monster’s sphere gimmick.
– Fixed an issue that prevented field change by removing the shield created during the ‘Upper Hatchery’ mission in the White-night Gulch Hatchery.
– Fixed an issue where monsters would spawn even without an actual battle in the White-night Gulch ‘Fortress Outskirts’.

# Director’s Comment
The Fortress Outskirts have become a popular farming area, with many monsters pouring in from the beginning of launch. We love the ‘run and kill’ play and believe running, shooting, and bursting are the fundamental aspects of a looter shooter. However, using the terrain to exploit and gather monsters without any action was not what we intended. If everyone simply stood still and hunted, the game’s enjoyment would quickly diminish. Therefore, we decided to make a change.

We maintained the spawn rate by keeping the 4 Vulgus Resource Storages active simultaneously, but monsters will not increase when players are idle. Run, shoot, and create some explosions! Many more monsters will continue to appear.

(5) Field
– Fixed an issue where ‘Code Analyzer’ was intermittently required when working with the Encrypted Vault in the Hard difficulty.
– Fixed an issue where falling while using a grappling hook in a certain section of the prologue caused you to spawn at the next location with the Mission Unfinished status.

(6) Void Intercept Battle
– Fixed an issue where the Removal did not happen intermittently and the grappling hook was maintained during a battle.

(7) Miscellaneous
– Fixed an issue where items were not collected when purchasing multiple items of the same product.

# Director’s Additional Comment
Thanks to the love and interest that you have shown us, we feel the brimming energy of the community. Hotfix 1.0.3 includes many fixes, which we hope will improve your gaming experience.

Recently, we saw a video in the community where the Colossus was defeated more quickly through module switching. If we had a bit more time, we would have liked to include a fix for this in Hotfix 1.0.3, but unfortunately, it didn’t make it into this update.

The Dev Team does not want module switching to become another strategy. This method makes combat tedious and does not fit well with the run-and-gun playstyle. The Dev Team wants skills, weapons, modules, and external components to be part of the strategy. We hope that in-depth build research will progress, but strategies requiring inconvenient control are not what the development team aims for.

Last but not least, we are planning to skip the patch next week for the upcoming 5th week update on August 1st. Please look forward to the new Descendant Luna and Ultimate Valby, new intercept battles, new ultimate weapons, modules, external components, and skins on August 1st.

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.