Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE
Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music.
[Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.]
2023 is well underway at this point, and with it comes the promise of another year of (hopefully) spectacular games that will make us laugh, cry, and just have the best old time. As it stands (before delays start piling in), we have such potential classics as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Starfield, and so many more games to look forward to. However, which game are you most excited for? Over the past week, we asked IGN’s audience to let us know which games they can’t wait to play, and the results are in.
After thousands and thousands of battles with matchups like Star Wars Jedi: Survivor vs Final Fantasy 16 and Dead Space Remake vs Resident Evil 4 Remake, the most-anticipated 2023 game, according to you, has been decided. Who took the top spot? Drumroll please…
Yes, in what you may call a bit of an upset considering the behemoth that is The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has taken the ultimate prize by winning 65,038 of its 79,160 battles. Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 appears to be the big PlayStation exclusive on the horizon and everyone loves that friendly neighborhood spider. This entry also looks to ramp things up even more by bringing Peter Parker and Miles Morales together to face Venom.
The battle, which was one of the closest and biggest in Face-Off history, saw Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s 82.2% win percentage be enough to take down The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom’s 82.1% win percentage. Yes, the margin between victory and defeat was less than 1,000 votes.
Star Wars Jedi: Survivor took third place with a 80.4% win percentage and earned enough votes to hold off Starfield and Hogwarts Legacy in the top five. It’s interesting to note that three of the top five games are console-exclusives, and the other two are from two of the most popular IP in the world in Star Wars and Harry Potter.
Rounding out the top 10 were some more big hitters, including Final Fantasy 16, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Dead Space Remake, Assasin’s Creed Mirage, and Diablo IV.
Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon, a spin-off in the Bayonetta franchise, placed right above The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and was surpassed by Kerbel Space Program 2, Company of Heroes 3, Minecraft Legends, Homeworld 3, Payday 3, Sons of the Forest, Ark 2, and The Expanse: A Telltale Series.
Many of these games are spin-offs or sequels to popular franchises and, while they may not be at the top of the list, they will likely be well worth a look. Sons of the Forest is one in particular to keep an eye out for as our recent exclusive preview said it “could not only provide a huge leap forward for the series, but the survival game genre as a whole.”
Are you wondering where your most anticipated 2023 game landed, like maybe Hades 2? (It took spot #13!) For all the rankings, you can check out the full list of where all 45 2023 games that competed in the Face-Off ended up.
Welcome to the inaugural issue of our new, weekly Nintendo Voice Chat column. We’re kicking things off by tackling a user-submitted question for our Question Block segment. Listeners of the show are no doubt familiar with the fact we will run into… time constraints… where we can’t give your questions the time they deserve. What better way to tackle this problem than to pick one of our favorite user-submitted questions of the week and answer it here?
Super Ninfriendo Tracy Vincent asked: “Is there a game that came out in your youth, but you didn’t get around to it until much much later? Why did it take you so long to play it – and what are your thoughts when you finally did. Do you think you would’ve enjoyed it more or less had you played it around when it was originally released?”
Kat Bailey
It wasn’t always easy getting hold of NES games during Nintendo’s 8-bit heyday. Castlevania was one of many popular games from that era that never seemed to be on store shelves – not even the gas station where I rented Battletoads and Batman over and over again (Beetlejuice was also there, but not Konami’s equally spooky and far superior platformer). One of the few hints I saw that Castlevania even existed was through my dog-eared copy of the Ultimate Unauthorized Nintendo Game Strategies, which barely even included screenshots. Still, Castlevania was to be one of the best NES games among my circle of friends, with Simon’s Quest being particularly popular. Castlevania continued to bounce around in the back of my head until I headed off to college a decade later, where I discovered a copy of Symphony of the Night in a random record store. I picked it up for $25 (a steal!) and decided to see if Castlevania indeed lived up to the playground hype.
Would I have loved the original Castlevania if I had played it growing up? Almost certainly.
Short answer: Obviously, it did. Of course, what I didn’t know was that Symphony of the Night was a radical reinvention of the Castlevania series, thereafter splitting fans between those who preferred “Metroidvanias.” Years later, I sat in a Japanese hotel room with Jeremy Parish – ironically one of the people to popularize the term “Metroidvania” – and watched as he blew through a Famicom Disc System version of the original game, pointing out all the unique details that made it special as he went. Would I have loved the original Castlevania if I had played it growing up? Almost certainly. It remains a striking achievement on the NES, with its soundtrack being a particular highlight. I may have even finished it, which is a feat I’ve yet to accomplish as an adult. One way or another, though, Castlevania remains a classic. Maybe one day Konami will bring it back.
Reb Valentine
Growing up, I pretty much only owned and played Nintendo devices – GameCube, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, etc. So I missed a lot of the classic games that came out on other hardware. But my senior year of college, I finally purchased a beat-up, outdated, used PlayStation 2 on Amazon, and that’s how I was finally exposed to a lot of classic RPGs (that have since made it to Switch) like Kingdom Hearts, Chrono Cross, and most importantly – the Final Fantasy series. I played Final Fantasy 7 for the first time over a decade after it came out, and honestly, I didn’t love it. By 2012 it was seriously dated – movement was clunky, it wasn’t nice to look at most of the time (have you seen Cloud’s goofy arms?), and ugh, the writing! I didn’t understand why people raved about it!
I did eventually get into other Final Fantasy games, playing Final Fantasy X that same year and liking it much better, and then I picked up Final Fantasy 6 a few years after and loved that one. But FF7 never landed, and I never even finished it. That said, after hearing about the big twist of Final Fantasy 7 Remake, I played that all the way through last year, and I think I get it now. Had I played FF7 when it first came out, before people had hyped it up as one of the greatest games of all time and before thousands of other games figured out how to make characters move in 3D environments infinitely better, I think I would have fallen in love just as everyone else did. I’m glad Remake exists both as a challenge to the very idea of a Remake, but also as a gateway to help me understand what made that original so special in the first place.
Seth Macy
This will sound like crazy talk, but I never played Metroid in a serious capacity until adulthood. Which is kind of weird because I distinctly remember playing it on a demo kiosk at a JC Penney sometime in the 1980s, making it one of the first NES games I ever played. Being a Nintendo kid in the ’80s also meant it was almost impossible to overlook anything made by Nintendo. I knew about the ‘JUSTIN BAILEY’ password, and even knew Metroid was a girl! (note: I actually knew the main character’s spoiler ending but didn’t know until much later her name was actually Samus).
So as to why I didn’t play it in the heyday of the Nintendo Entertainment System, I just don’t know. It was an earlier game, which probably led me to pass it over when picking out games to rent for a weekend, and to the best of my recollection, none of my friends close enough to loan me a game owned a copy for themselves. I actually played Super Metroid and Metroids Prime 1 and 2 before I got around to the original, and I gotta say, I’m glad I waited. It’s still a solid game, one that holds up today. It’s not the flawless user experience of modern games of the genre, but with a good guide and a few free hours in the day, you can make your way through it fairly easily.
I was pretty excited to discover it still held up when I finally did get around to playing it, and I’ve played through it several times since then. Full disclosure, I still haven’t gotten the best ending. As to whether or not I would have enjoyed it more or less as a kid, I can say its setting and art style definitely appealed to me as a kid, but the game itself probably wouldn’t have.
As I said before, it’s pretty easy to get through now, but back then, I would have found it much more difficult. Not only because of my crappy kid reflexes, either, but because access to game help was nowhere near as easy as it is today. Back then there wasn’t a gaming vocabulary for a “Metroidvania.” The concept of impassable areas, ones you could only traverse with later upgrades, just wouldn’t have clicked with me and I would likely have become frustrated with the game series and never experienced the glory of Super Metroid and the first Metroid Prime.
Peer Schneider
I’m a kid of the ’70s, so I literally grew up with video games. From the Fairchild Channel F’s blocky magic to Atari 2600 and then home computers like Commodore 64 and Atari 800, I devoured – this time, not literally – thousands of games in the ’70s and ’80s. But my big blind spot happened in my late teens, when everyone was going nuts over console gaming’s second coming: the NES.
My big blind spot happened in my late teens, when everyone was going nuts over console gaming’s second coming: the NES.
The Legend of Zelda is my favorite video game franchise of all time. Yet somehow I missed both the original game and Zelda II when they first came out. My first steps with Nintendo were definitely in the arcades – Donkey Kong in particular delighted and pissed me off at the same time – yet I somehow never felt the need to go and buy a Nintendo Entertainment System. It honestly wasn’t even on my radar, and that entire era of gaming initially passed me by. I think I was still playing Winter Games and The Eidolon when the Zelda craze kicked off.
It wasn’t until a few years later when I picked up the Japanese version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past for my Super Famicom that I discovered the greatness of Link’s adventures. My mind was blown. I had hit pause on gaming for a few years and I couldn’t believe how good games at home looked and sounded… and they PULLED ME BACK IN. Now, I had played games like Ultima that let you explore expansive worlds freely, but it never came with such great visuals and tight controls. It was the combo of (seemingly) free, open world exploration and the use of tools and weapons that made me instantly fall in love.
I would eventually go back and play the many NES games that preceded my SNES favorites. In hindsight, I bet if I had played The Legend of Zelda when it first came out, I would’ve figured out a way to get a NES or even a Famicom Disk System and spent way, way too many hours exploring its world. Going back years later just isn’t the same, as you already understand the language of the game, know the use of many of its items, and even attack patterns of recurring enemies. I’m sure it would’ve been love at first sight, but I don’t have any regrets. A few years without games meant that I was able to focus on college applications, figure out my life, and actually get to where I am now.
Warzone 2‘s second season will drop on February 15th, and bring it with it new content and several changes to Call Of Duty’s battle royale mode. One of those changes is being celebrated by the community: the return of the first game’s 1v1 Gulag fights.
Remember how we were begging for Team Ladybug’s gorgeous-looking shmup Drainus to make its way to Switch? Well, it looks like someone was listening! PLAYISM is bringing the 2D side-scrolling shooter to the eShop on 2nd February.
The port was announced a few months ago, but publisher PLAYISM only revealed the game’s release date today. The stunning visuals should be no surprise to anyone who’s played a Team Ladybug game — this is the team behind Touhou Luna Nights and Record of Lodoss War: Deedlit in Wonder Labyrinth, two pixel art games that look breathtaking in motion.
Monster Hunter Rise is available now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10/11, and with Game Pass (including Cloud Gaming).
Why should you play Monster Hunter Rise? Here’s an introduction to the world, monsters, gear, and gameplay, plus a few helpful tips.
We also got Capcom producer Hiroyuki Minamitani to tell us what’s different about the Xbox and Windows PC versions.
The day has finally come! Monster Hunter Rise is out now for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10/11, and with Xbox Game Pass – with Xbox Cloud Gaming offered with a Game Pass subscription. Whether you’re an experienced hunter with hundreds of hours logged in the New World, or are checking out what the fuss is all about, welcome!
With Game Pass, Monster Hunter Rise has become accessible to even more players than before. We’ve been thrilled to see the excitement from everyone online, especially those who have never played a Monster Hunter game before. With that said, allow us over at Capcom to share a few things you should know!
How does Monster Hunter Rise differ on Xbox, Windows PC and Cloud Gaming?
As Monster Hunter Rise makes its debut on Xbox and Windows PC, it’s been tweaked and improved for those new platforms. Speaking to Xbox Wire Japan, Capcom Producer Hiroyuki Minamitani said, “the team didn’t really struggle with porting the game itself. The Xbox Series X offered great performance levels, and we only needed to harness it. Overall, the porting process was very smooth.”
Those ported Xbox and PC versions bring a ton of performance improvements to the game, including 4K resolution, high frame rates, spatial audio, and super-fast loading times, which makes Monster Hunter Rise look and feel even greater than before. Minamitani said that: “Loading into the field map after accepting a quest has never been faster, and took a mere few seconds when doing so, and that felt amazing.”
“With Xbox running the game at 4K resolution, you will be able to observe the game through a high-fidelity lens,” Minamitani added. “Weapon designs, background objects, and as well as the monster’s scales will look so much more in detail.”
Thanks to Xbox’s console, PC, and cloud ecosystem, you’ll also be able to play the same game on multiple devices, no matter where you are. “Monster Hunter Rise will be available on Xbox and Windows PCs, with crossplay and cross platform progression,” Minamitani explained. “This means you will get to join the hunt with many others using a variety of platforms from the get-go. The Xbox platform also offers flexible gameplay where you can play on your console at home and jump right back into the hunt on your laptop even when outside.”
The battles can even continue on mobile with the use of Cloud Gaming through an Xbox Game Pass subscription – and Capcom has accounted for how the game will look on a mobile screen: “We also have custom UIs prepared for gameplay on smartphones,” said Minamitani. “That means you will get to play Monster Hunter Rise with a new set of controls, as well as with optimization for gameplay on smartphones.”
Why Play Monster Hunter?
Fighting big monsters is fun.
We could leave it at that, but there’s a lot to the Monster Hunter experience that has helped it endure as a unique series for nearly 20 years.
At the heart of Monster Hunter is the feeling of overcoming a challenge with the skills you develop as a hunter. While Monster Hunter Rise isn’t a punishing game, the experience of learning your weapon, understanding a monster’s quirks and move set, and finally taking it down is core to the hunting journey.
While that feeling of personal progression is key, the progression that happens with your gear and hunting rank is a huge part of that. Each time you slay or capture a monster, you’ll earn new materials that allow you to craft stronger armor and weapons. You may also find yourself going back to hunt the same monster in a new locale or with different circumstances around the quest. Mastering a particular fight and getting better at it each time is a satisfying feeling!
As you keep improving your gear and improving your rank, new monsters will continually be introduced as well. At the start you’ll be battling threatening, but smaller monsters like the Great Izuchi. But over time you’ll progress to powerful threats like the familiar flying wyvern Rathalos, and the game’s flagship monster Magnamalo.
Hunting? Isn’t that a little mean?
In the Monster Hunter series, hunters aren’t simply hunting monsters for sport. The story of Monster Hunter Rise involves a calamity called The Rampage that took place fifty years ago. During this calamity, a huge pack of frenzied monsters attacked Kamura Village – the town the player and their friends call home – and nearly wiped it out. Hunting is a matter of survival for the people of Kamura!
Throughout the story of Monster Hunter Rise, you’ll take down monsters that threaten the peaceful village and encounter some powerful beasts that threaten the very balance of nature itself.
Choose Your Weapon!
At the start of your journey as a hunter you have immediate access to all 14 weapon types in the game – no need to unlock them over time. While this can feel a bit overwhelming, keep in mind that there’s no right or wrong way to choose one. Think of it like choosing a character in a fighting game. Each weapon has its own unique move set with unique mechanics, strength and weaknesses, and playstyle.
Want to bonk monsters on the head with a giant hammer? How about vaulting through the air and attacking foes with the greatest of each with the Insect Glaive? Like in a fighting game, sometimes choosing the one you think looks the coolest is a great place to start. Over time and with more hunts under your belt, you’ll feel yourself getting more and more proficient with your weapon of choice. Growing your skills and getting better as the game introduces tougher challenges is a great feeling and one of the best parts of the Monster Hunter experience.
If you played Monster Hunter World and Iceborne and perhaps didn’t click with a weapon there, give it a try again in Rise! Each weapon has seen adjustments and changes, plus the addition of Switch Skills. These are special moves specific to each weapon and can change up the feel of each weapon significantly.
A Few Words of Advice
If the above breakdown has you onboard, great! Here’s a few more essential tips to make your hunting life a bit smoother.
Don’t forget to eat
Grabbing a meal before every hunt is an essential step in Monster Hunter Rise. Before leaving for a hunt, take a seat and grab some Dango to eat at the canteen. At the start of your journey, you’ll start out with a decent selection of Dango to give you helpful buffs for your quest. Regardless of the buff or if the Dango effect is activated, you’ll get a big boost to your health and stamina. Every little bit counts!
Brew some potions!
Chugging a bunch of potions during a hunt is never something to be ashamed of, and is essential even for the most experienced hunters. Always be sure to stock up on Potions and Mega Potions before a hunt, with the latter being necessary to making sure your health is topped off. Mega Potions can be crafted by combining a standard potion with Honey, so be sure to grab some while traversing the map.
Before every hunt, double check to make sure you’re stocked back up. If you’re in the middle of a hunt, you can head back to camp to stock back up before heading out once more.
Speaking of camp, at the start of most hunts you’ll see a supply box stocked with a few helpful items, such as First-Aid Meds and EZ Rations. These items are useable only in the quest instance, so don’t be afraid to make good use of them! If you’re playing in multiplayer though, remember that the Supply Box is shared, so make sure to leave some for your fellow hunters.
Spiribirds Spotting
You might notice that at the start of a hunt, your health and stamina will fall short of the maximum. Before heading over to the monster’s location, collect a few of the flying Spiribirds around the locale. These buffs last for the duration of the hunt, with different colors imbuing bonuses to health, stamina, attack, and defense. These are a must for making sure you’re ready to take on the monster ahead!
Stay Sharp!
Keeping your weapon sharp is one of the most important factors in a successful hunt. If your weapon loses sharpness, it might bounce off a monster or deal significantly decreased damage. Use your whetstone to maintain the sharpness of your weapon, but do so from a safe distance or while riding your Palamute.
These are just a few helpful tips to get you started, but there’s plenty to learn while playing. At the end of the day, don’t worry about getting intimidated and focus on having fun and enjoying the journey ahead!
Here’s a Little Something…
For our new hunters out there, we’ve deployed a few helpful bonuses to get you started. The new Guild Cross armor series and Novice Talisman are great beginner equipment to give you a bit of help as you get a grip of the basics. “We’ll be launching a new armor set named the “Guild Cross” series,” explains Minamitani, “and it will give you an advantage during the early stages of the game with its high defense stats. The talisman also complements the Guild Cross series, and will help when gathering materials, as well as give you even more defensive stats.”
Also, thanks to the combined efforts of the global Monster Hunter community, we’re giving all new players on Xbox platforms and Windows 100 free Honey! You can never have enough of it as it’s crucial for crafting healing items like Mega Potions. Visit Senri the Mailman to claim it as part of Kamura Village Welcome Set 1, which includes some other helpful items as well.
On To The Hunt!
That about wraps it up for our quick intro the Monster Hunter Rise! It’s out now on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows 10/11, and Xbox Game Pass. We can’t wait to welcome many new hunters to the fold! Remember to have fun and enjoy the ride!
Stay up to date with everything about Monster Hunter Rise with the official Monster HunterTwitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Pre-order bonus
– Palamute Retriever Costume layered armor
– Palico Forest Cat Costume layered armor
– Novice Talisman for some extra assistance in the early stages
Rise to the challenge and join the hunt! In Monster Hunter Rise, the latest installment in the award-winning and top-selling Monster Hunter series, you’ll become a hunter, explore brand new maps and use a variety of weapons to take down fearsome monsters as part of an all-new storyline.
Ferocious monsters with unique ecologies
Hunt down a plethora of monsters with distinct behaviors and deadly ferocity. From classic returning monsters to all-new creatures inspired by Japanese folklore, including the flagship wyvern Magnamalo, you’ll need to think on your feet and master their unique tendencies if you hope to reap any of the rewards!
Choose your weapon and show your skills
Wield 14 different weapon types that offer unique gameplay styles, both up-close and from long range. Charge up and hit hard with the devastating Great Sword; dispatch monsters in style using the elegant Long Sword; become a deadly maelstrom of blades with the speedy Dual Blades; charge forth with the punishing Lance; or take aim from a distance with the Bow and Bowguns. These are just a few of the weapon types available in the game, meaning you’re sure to find the play style that suits you best.
Hunt, gather and craft your way to the top of the food chain
Each monster you hunt will provide materials that allow you to craft new weapons and armor and upgrade your existing gear. Go back out on the field and hunt even fiercer monsters and earn even better rewards! You can change your weapon at any of the Equipment Boxes any time, so the possibilities are limitless!
Hunt solo or team up to take monsters down
The Hunter Hub offers multiplayer quests where up to four players can team up to take on targets together. Difficulty scaling ensures that whether you go solo or hit the hunt as a full four-person squad, it’s always a fair fight.
Enjoy an exciting new storyline set in Kamura Village
This serene locale is inhabited by a colorful cast of villagers who have long lived in fear of the Rampage – a catastrophic event where countless monsters attack the village all at once. 50 years after the last Rampage, you must work together with the villagers to face this trial.
Experience new hunting actions with the Wirebug
Wirebugs are an integral part of your hunter’s toolkit. The special silk they shoot out can be used to zip up walls and across maps, and can even be used to pull off special attacks unique to each of the 14 weapon types in the game.
Buddies are here to help
The Palico Felyne friends you already know and love from previous Monster Hunter adventures are joined by the brand new Palamute Canyne companions!
Wreak havoc by controlling monsters
Control raging monsters using Wyvern Riding and dish out massive damage to your targets!
Fend off hordes of monsters in The Rampage
Protect Kamura Village from hordes of monsters in an all-new quest type! Prepare for monster hunting on a scale like never before!
*This content is also available as part of one or more bundles. Please check your previous purchases to avoid duplication.
Last week, we asked you to share epic moments from Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, available as a PlayStation Plus Monthly Game for January. Here are this week’s highlights:
AreeLyBadPun shares The Second Sister reaches out sinisterly
Defalt368 shares Cal walking in the grass with a moon at his back
call_me_xavii shares Cal posing with a dual-sided lightsaber in a canyon
Ag_Beaver shares a Stormtrooper standing in the darkness
Retsu_Zankoku shares Cal leaping with his lightsaber drawn
RyoppyGamePhoto shares Cal standing in the opening of a massive round structure
Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week?
THEME: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order – Lightsabers SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on January 25, 2023
Next week, it’s all about Lightsabers. Share an epic moment with Cal or an enemy’s Lightsaber in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
Shelter 3, Lynx mums in Shelter 2, and the OG badass badger mum in Shelter 1. Sure it’s kinda terrible that the only major rep mums are getting in video games is in the form of Might and Delight’s animal tales, but I’ll honestly take any story about motherhood I can get my paws on.
As much as I love Shelter 2 (less so Shelter 3, unfortunately), Shelter 1 holds a special place in my heart, mostly because no other animal-focused survival game has come even remotely close to claiming the coveted title of “most brutal animal sim that made me ugly cry.”
Haven Park is like A Short Hike crossed with Animal Crossing, and it’s currently free to keep from GOG.
Factorio is bucking that trend. On January 26th it’s going to raise its price from $30 to $35, says its developer.
Warzone 2‘s second season will drop on February 15th, and bring it with it new content and several changes to Call Of Duty’s battle royale mode. One of those changes is being celebrated by the community: the return of the first game’s 1v1 Gulag fights.
Shelter 3, Lynx mums in