Dead Space’s remake treatment has produced a piece of gory greatness, some Steam Deck wobbles notwithstanding. Vid bud Liam touched on the visual upgrades in his review, but since it’s been shaking my bones even harder than the original did, I wanted to dive even deeper into the mottled flesh of the modernised Dead Space to examine how all those new polygons and effects aren’t just there to please nerds. They do, in fact, make the remake scarier.
Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed, the asymmetical multiplayer ghost-hunting game based on the popular films, has unveiled its first free DLC including a new map, ghost type, and other updates. And it’s all out today.
The new DLC includes The Facility, a new map set in an abandoned health center closed in the 1980s, but set to reopen…if its construction crews can get past the ghost problem. We’ll also see a new ghost type, the Glutton, a class that includes the Muncher ghost and two other variants. Developer Illfonic says the Muncher is the most-requested ghost type thus far – we were first introduced to the metal-eating ghost in in Ghostbusters: Afterlife.
Additionally, the DLC will bring new character customization options, improved matchmaking, and improve AI behavior both for teammates and ghosts.
Illfonic reiterated that it plans to continue releasing free DLC each quarter of this year for Spirits Unleashed, so we should expect more content along these lines at least three more times this year.
We enjoyed Ghostbusters: Spirits Unleashed at launch, finding it an entertaining asymmetical multiplayer game, but did lament that it was held back by some balance issues and map wonkiness at the time. We noted that it also badly needed more content, which this DLC and future ones hopefully will alleviate.
Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.
12 months later, The Settlers: New Allies is all the better for it. An extended delay is never an easy decision to make, yet the team at Ubisoft Düsseldorf (formerly Blue Byte) has seen this additional development time as an opportunity to reach out to those most familiar with the series. “We learned [more] than just what was needed for the game,” creative director Christian Hagerdorn tells me during a recent preview event. “One of our biggest focuses was to be absolutely transparent with the players. Not just on where we were standing, but where we were going. We’ve been collecting the feedback as we were developing”.
job listings have revealed some details about The Molasses Flood’s upcoming Witcher game, codenamed Project Sirius. The studio behind Flame In The Flood were acquired by CD Projekt Red back in 2021, and CDPR first mentioned Sirius in an investor call last October. The project was initially described as “an innovative take on The Witcher universe telling an unforgettable story.” We now know that this “unforgettable story” could potentially be told inside of a multiplayer game, or at least a game with multiplayer and social elements.
Marvelous XSEED has revealed that Loop8: Summer of Gods, the time-travelling RPG from the producer of the Grandia and Lunar series, will be launching in the West on Switch on 6th June 2023.
The game was originally coming to our shores sometime in the Spring, while Japan would be getting it on 16th March. However, Marvelous revealed that Japan will also be getting the game in June — 1st June on consoles, and 6th June on PC.
Welcome to Deceive Inc. – the multiplayer PvP game of social deception and subterfuge. The teams at Sweet Bandits and Tripwire Presents have been hard at work polishing this game for release. We’re all incredibly excited for the coming weeks, and now it’s time to share that excitement with you!
About Deceive Inc.
Deceive Inc. is a multiplayer hero shooter with an emphasis on social stealth and deception where 12 players (either solo or in teams of 3) are tasked with becoming the Agents and successfully extracting with an objective.
Every Agent spawns undercover, cloaked as one of the many NPCs populating the map. Armed with their unique weapons and abilities – plus a couple of hi-tech spy gadgets for good measure – they must use their knowledge of spycraft to suss out other players, avoid detection, gather intel, purchase upgrades, and ultimately locate then extract the precious cargo.
Deceive Inc. launches globally March 21
Deceive Inc. will launch on PlayStation 5 on March 21 of this year. We’ll also be hosting an Open Beta featuring full crossplay support starting March 10 – free for all players who want to try the game out.
Meet the Agents
Deceive Inc. will have 8 playable agents available at launch, each falling under one of four archetypes:
Vanguard: Well-rounded, self-reliant fighters that can get through the thick and thin
Tracker: Focused on finding, singling out, and hunting down targets
Scoundrel: Sly, cunning, and use dirty tricks to get ahead of the competition
Disruptor: Experts at controlling space and disturbing the flow of fights
As Deceive Inc’s youngest agent, Squire constantly feels the weight of his mentor’s legacy on his shoulders. However, don’t let his impostor syndrome fool you. He’s a top of the line operative, capable of the best.
Tamar Zaken aka “Ace”
Relentless Huntress
Starting Weapon: ‘Queen of Diamonds’ Scoped Sniper Rifle Archetype: Tracker
A sharp-eyed mercenary, Ace’s unique skills have made her one of Deceive Inc’s pillars. She tracks her rivals without fail. Believe us, once you figure out you are her target, it’s already too late.
A true legend of the spy world, Chavez uses his strength and his kind heart to fight the good fight. He’s supposed to be retired by now, but he’s back for one last mission… or so he says.
There are a lot of rumors circulating about Madame Xiu, her past, and her abilities. Deceive Inc. can’t confirm any of them without breaching their contract with her, which is a dangerous game to play with such a cutthroat and enigmatic lady.
Once a head honcho of a super criminal empire, Hans used to have it all. Now forced to serve his sentence as a Deceive Inc. agent, he swears he’ll regain back his former power and glory.
Brash detective Cavalière leaves no stone unturned… And if her deduction skills are not enough to keep you in check, her serious combat abilities learned during her globe-trotting days will do the talking.
Gentleman thief and professional borrower, Larcin has made quite a name for himself with his peculiar savoir faire and showmanship. His charms are such that you won’t even be mad when noticing previous items missing from your pockets.
Brilliant and happy-go-lucky, Yu-Mi’s enthusiasm to be a part of Deceive Inc. is only matched with her ability to create and break things around her. Some may say she’s a stubborn brat, but her tactical capabilities and her inventiveness tend to make her rivals eat their words.
Pre-order and Black Tie Edition bonuses
Deceive Inc. will also launch with a ton of great cosmetic items for players to unlock. On top of that, we also have some amazing cosmetics designed specifically for those agents who’d like to show up to the job in impeccable style.
Microsoft has announced that it will raise the recommended retail price (RRP) of the Xbox Series X|S in Japan, starting on Friday February 17.
“After carefully evaluating the market condition in Japan, we have decided to change the suggested retail price of Xbox consoles in the country,” said a Microsoft representative in a statement to Famitsu, which was translated by Gematsu.
“We regularly evaluate the impact of local pricing to maintain reasonable consistency across regions. This price revision affects our customers and was a difficult decision to make, but going forward we will continue to provide the ultimate Xbox experience that our customers expect.”
The price of the Series X is set to rise from ¥54,978 ($423) to ¥59,978 ($462), while the Series S will similarly rise from ¥32,278 ($248) to ¥37,978 ($292) for a price rise of roughly $40 each.
“I do think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things, but going into this holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices,” Spencer said. “We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games, and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things.”
In December 2022 Microsoft announced that the price of games developed exclusively for the Xbox Series X|S would rise from $60 to $70 in order to account for the “content, scale, and technical complexity” of upcoming titles including Starfield and Forza Motorsport.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
PowerWash Simulator is heading on another unexpected mission, this time to Final Fantasy 7’s industrial city of Midgar. You’ll need to wait a little longer to help Cloud and friends clean up the city, as we don’t have a release date for the free Midgar Special Request DLC yet. The crossover pack’s announcement (via the Square Enix Extreme Edges Twitter account) did tease a few of the things we can expect to clean up, including the Seventh Heaven bar, and FF7’s first boss the Guard Scorpion. The teaser image also shows off the motorcycles from FF7’s mini-game, so I’ll be expecting to hose that down in time for a quick escape.
Dragon Ball and Fortnite have crossed over once again with Piccolo and Son Gohan from Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero making their debut in the Battle Royale.
Announced on the Fortnite website, both new skins include the regular inclusion of additional accessories. Son Gohan comes with Gohan’s Cape Back Bling, Gohan’s Beast Axe Pickaxe, the Capsule No. 576 Glider, and the Charging Up emote to switch to Super Saiyan.
Piccolo comes with Piccolo’s Cape and Turban Back Bling, Piccolo’s Demon Symbol Back Bling, Piccolo’s Handheld House Pickaxe, the Red Ribbon Army Aircraft Glider, and his own Charging Up emote that turns him into the Power Awakening version.
The Kamehameha attack item and Nimbus Cloud mobility item are also returning to Fortnite, and as before will increase in frequency as the storm closes in meaning games will often end in anime-esque battles.
Dragon Ball Adventure Island is also returning, letting Fortnite players explore iconic locations from the Dragon Ball anime including Goku’s house, Kami’s Palace, the Room of Spirit and Time, and Beerus’s Planet. A weekly quest on the island starting on January 31 will unlock the Gohan Beast Spray and a weekly quest starting on February 7 will unlock the Orange Piccolo Spray.
Epic Games has promised that other Dragon Ball items will be returning to the Fortnite shop in the future, but didn’t share more on which items or skins will return.
Disgaea 7: Vows Of The Virtueless, the next instalment in the long-running JRPG series, is coming to PC this year. Disgaea 7 was actually released in Japan just a few days ago, but it’ll see an overseas release on Steam this autumn. NIS also announced rereleases for Rhapsody 2: Ballad Of The Little Princess and Rhapsody 3: Memories Of Marl Kingdom coming this summer.
Dead Space’s remake treatment has produced a piece of gory greatness, some Steam Deck wobbles notwithstanding. Vid bud Liam touched on the visual upgrades in his review, but since it’s been shaking my bones even harder than the original did, I wanted to dive even deeper into the mottled flesh of the modernised Dead Space to examine how all those new polygons and effects aren’t just there to please nerds. They do, in fact, make the remake scarier.
The Settlers: New Allies. After an eight-year absence, the next entry in Ubisoft’s beloved city-building series was 
job listings have revealed some details about The Molasses Flood’s upcoming 
PowerWash Simulator is heading on another unexpected mission, this time to Final Fantasy 7’s industrial city of Midgar. You’ll need to wait a little longer to help Cloud and friends clean up the city, as we don’t have a release date for the free Midgar Special Request DLC yet. The crossover pack’s announcement (via the Square Enix Extreme Edges Twitter account) did tease a few of the things we can expect to clean up, including the Seventh Heaven bar, and FF7’s first boss the Guard Scorpion. The teaser image also shows off the motorcycles from FF7’s mini-game, so I’ll be expecting to hose that down in time for a quick escape.
Disgaea 7: Vows Of The Virtueless, the next instalment in the long-running JRPG series, is coming to PC this year. Disgaea 7 was actually released in Japan just a few days ago, but it’ll see an overseas release on Steam this autumn. NIS also announced rereleases for