Going Torrent-less in Elden Ring: Shadow Of The Erdtree reminded my why it won’t beat old Souls

I mentioned it briefly in my Shadow Of The Erdtree review, but there’s one area of the DLC where your steed Torrent is so scared they refuse to be summoned. That’s because said area is a woodland that’s been steeped in shadow and chaos for so long, large goats don’t dare clop their hooves. What I hadn’t expected was that relying on my own two trotters would be so… revelatory. It’s made me reconsider exploration in Elden Ring’s open world, and conclude that using Torrent as a taxi service contributes to a feeling of disconnection.

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Frostpunk 2 Beta Feedback Sparks 2 Month Release Date Delay

11 Bit Studios has delayed Frostpunk 2 from July 25, 2024 to September 20, 2024.

Frostpunk 2 is a promising city-survival sequel set 30 years after an apocalyptic blizzard ravaged Earth, transforming our world into a harsh, icy wasteland. IGN recently played the first three hours of Frostpunk 2’s story mode and found it to be “brutal, cruel, and very fun.”

The developer said feedback from the recent beta as well as prioritizing certain features it’s already working on sparked the decision. “We know that this is not the news you wanted to hear,” 11 Bit Studios said. “However, we believe that these additional features are something you deserve to see in-game from day one, not in a patch added after the release.”

In an additional message posted to Steam, game directors Jakub Stokalski and Łukasz Juszczyk said the average rating players gave the beta was 8/10. As a result, it intends to “bring to the front” certain features and modifications the developer believes players will “enjoy the most.”

Highlights include new additions to the game mechanics, “extensive” UI and UX enhancement and, “by popular demand”, a new city feature called Zoom Stories, which are basically zoom-ins available in specific city parts that allow you to watch the day-to-day life of your citizens. Early feedback on these additions have been very positive, Stokalski and Juszczyk said.

“That’s why we hope these few weeks of additional waiting time that we need to implement all the new features will be met with your understanding and won’t test your patience too much,” they added. “From now until the release, we will share with you behind-the-scenes updates so you can see how these additions are coming to life.”

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.

Wife pestering you about every little pregnancy? Crusader Kings 3 will soon let you decide which messages are important

You will be able to arrogantly ignore the advice of your wife and councillors in whole new ways in Crusader Kings 3, thanks to a small but mighty update to the game’s message settings. Players are due to be given much more granular control over what scrolls and missives appear on their troubled monarch’s war table, thanks to the free update that will accompany the Roads To Power DLC. Paradox talk about this and other upcoming changes (including a new start date) in an update post on Steam. Some rulers among you will be excited by all the Byzantine bureaucracy that will headline the DLC. But real kings care about filtering information in extremely picky detail. Still don’t know why this is big Crusader Kings news? Come with me, you insolent wretch.

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Shigeru Miyamoto Addresses Concerns About His Age And Role At Nintendo

Legendary creator turns 72 this year.

Nintendo recently held its latest Annual General Meeting of Shareholders, during which questions were raised about the company, its practices, and of course, future hardware.

Rather unexpectedly, however, one question raised concerns regarding Shigeru Miyamoto’s age and role at Nintendo, with the attendee noting their wish that creators “take care of their bodies”.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Someone Is Already Beating Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Bosses at Level 1

Elden Ring DLC Shadow of the Erdtree has been out for less than a week, and we already have absolute sickos beating the new content’s bosses at level 1. Just because they can!

A content creator known as LastDarkHope has been quietly plugging away on their YouTube channel for the last few months, defeating Elden Ring boss after Elden Ring boss with absolutely no rune levels gained, and no equipment leveled up. That’s impressive enough on its own, but when the Shadow of the Erdtree DLC dropped last week, this incredible player simply started beating those bosses too. Again, this is without using runes to level up at all, and without using any smithing stones to upgrade equipment.

Critically, LastDarkHope does seem to be using Scadutree Fragments. These fragments only impact the DLC content, but they do give damage negation and damage output increases that are far from negligible. As we’ve mentioned elsewhere on site, the Elden Ring community has been really struggling with the difficulty of some of Shadow of the Erdtree’s bosses. Scadutree Fragments are the DLC’s way of countering its heinous difficulty, and you’re very much encouraged to seek them out if you’re having trouble. But it seems that even these buffs weren’t enough for many, pushing FromSoftware to drop a patch today that increases the benefits from earlier Scadutree Fragments before leveling out their buffs later on.

That said, what LastDarkHope is doing is still a wildly impressive feat. Most people who are struggling with these bosses and stocking up on Scadutree Fragments are doing so at levels well beyond 100, while LastDarkHope is still stuck at 1. No 60 Vigor, no wildly high Intellect or Strength, and no ability to wield certain weapons with specific stat criteria. What’s more, they don’t even seem to be going that hard on Scadutree Fragments despite collecting a few. Checking out their most recent stream, it looks like LastDarkHope was barreling around Castle Ensis with just three Scadutree levels. That’s certainly lower than I’d personally be comfortable with, and I’m running around with a level 168 mage trying to sneak attack dudes with Comet Azur.

At the time this piece was written, LastDarkHope had just published a video defeating Chief Bloodfiend and seems to have tackled at least some of Jagged Peak – though no video of the very curse-able Bayle just yet. What’s extra interesting is that LastDarkHope doesn’t seem to have finished all of the regular Elden Ring bosses yet – ultra-hard Malenia, for instance, isn’t listed, nor are the final bosses of the base game. We’ll be keeping an eye on their run to see how it progresses…as well as on the certain parade of ridiculously hard runs that other content creators start to drum up in the coming weeks and months. We reached out to LastDarkHope for comment for this story but haven’t yet heard back.

If this somehow isn’t impressive enough for you, as we were on the cusp of submitting this story, another wild kill emerged from a different content creator and threw us for a loop. GinoMachino posted their own video of a Level 1, no weapon enhancement, no Scadutree Fragment, no hit kill on legacy dungeon boss Rellana. GinoMachino has been on a roll performing all sorts of challenging Elden Ring feats, but this is one of their first cracks at the new DLC, with more almost certainly to come. Absolutely incredible.

We love talking to people beating Elden Ring bosses in cool ways. In the past we’ve interviewed community hero LetMeSoloHer, as well as MissMikkaa, who inexplicably beat Malenia using a dance pad. But if you just want to finish the DLC for yourself before reading about what others are doing, we highly recommend loading up on Scadutree Fragments even if you’re level 500. Here’s a guide to get you started.

Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.

Capcom Announces Summer Showcase 2024, Airing Next Week

It will focus on three select games.

In some industry-related news, Capcom has today announced it will be hosting a ‘Capcom Next – Summer 2024’ showcase on 1st July 2024.

This broadcast will run for 25 minutes and will focus on three titles – the newly announced Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster, Kunitsu Gami: Path of Goddess and Resident Evil 7 for Apple platforms. Capcom has also clarified there won’t be any updates on Monster Hunter Wilds or coverage of “other titles”.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom Is Available for Preorder

The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is set to release exclusively for Nintendo Switch on September 26. In the best kind of surprise, Nintendo announced this brand-new mainline Zelda game during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct. Better yet, it’s coming soon. And it stars Princess Zelda. And it features a unique and clever gameplay hook. Preorders are currently rolling out at the usual retailers. Read on for the details.

Preorder The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom

There are no special editions of the game, so the standard one is the one to get. And if you’re waiting on it to go up for preorder at Amazon, you may be waiting a while. Recent Switch games have only become available at launch – not for preorder.

What Is The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom?

Echoes of Wisdom is the first mainline Zelda game to star Princess Zelda, which is pretty cool. Fans have been asking for that literally for decades, so it’s nice to see Nintendo finally listen. It also uses the same almost claymation-looking art style as the remake of Link’s Awakening. It looks great.

As the game kicks off, purple rifts start opening in Hyrule and swallowing people up. Link gets sucked in, but Zelda escapes. So it’s up to her to save the kingdom (because apparently her military can’t do it for her while she runs the realm? I don’t really understand how the details hash out).

The standout gameplay feature is the use of echoes. Zelda has something called a Tri wand, which lets her summon items and enemies she’s encountered previously. She can use these summoned echoes to fend off other enemies and to solve puzzles and to access previously out-of-reach areas. It looks like it will require players to be creative, which was also a big part of Tears of the Kingdom. It’s cool to see that kind of creative puzzle solving come to a 2D-style Zelda game.

Nintendo Switch Lite Hyrule Edition

In addition to the new Zelda game, Nintendo is releasing a stylish new edition of the portable-only Nintendo Switch Lite console. It’s not available to preorder yet in the US, though it is in the UK (and it ships to the US). The casing is gold, with black buttons and sticks. It has a tiny Triforce symbol under the right stick. The back of the device sports a big version of the winged Triforce Zelda symbol thingy. It looks great.

It also comes with a free 12-month individual subscription to Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack. That lets you play a whole bunch of classic games from Game Boy, NES, Sega Genesis, SNES, Nintendo 64, and Game Boy Advance. You also get free access to massive expansions to games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Animal Crossing, and Splatoon 2.

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert for IGN. He also runs IGN’s board game and LEGO coverage. You can follow him on Threads.

Donkey Kong Country Returns HD Costs $60 On Switch

The price has some fans confused.

Last year, when Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was released, there were concerns raised about the game’s $70 USD price tag. It followed with Nintendo mentioning how pricing of its new releases would be based on a “case-by-case basis”. Now, the latest game that seems to be generating some discussion about its pricing is Donkey Kong Country Returns HD.

The price of this upcoming Switch release has been revealed on Nintendo’s official game page, and it’s been confirmed it will cost $60 (or the regional equivalent). It’s led to some fans questioning Nintendo’s pricing model after last year’s release Metroid Prime Remastered only cost $40. This news also follows the arrival of Luigi’s Mansion 2 HD, which is priced at $60.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com