Mario Day is almost upon us (10th March – MAR10, get it??) and Nintendo is wasting no time with getting the celebrations underway. Those who want to make the most of the calendar event of the year can now pick up a 14-day Nintendo Switch Online trial for free.
This offer will be sticking around until 18th March at 6am GMT / 5am CET / 1am ET / 11:59pm (17th March) PT and grants you access to all of the features of a standard Nintendo Switch Online subscription. As well as getting involved in online play, you will also be able to hit up the entire NES, SNES and Game Boy NSO libraries.
A Treacherous Visual Novel Set in Italy about Friendship, Desire, and Grief.I’m thrilled to announce the release of Mediterranea Inferno on Xbox Series S|X, a mature visual novel set against the backdrop of the Italian south. My name is Lorenzo Redaelli, also known as Eyeguys, a multimedia artist from Milan, and I’ve made this game to offer a glimpse into Italy that goes beyond the usual clichés. Together with the team at Santa Ragione, we’ve worked to create a narrative that draws from personal experiences and cultural reflections, aiming to present a story that resonates with both its authenticity and depth.
In the game, you join Claudio, Andrea, and Mida in their travels as they try to recover from the collective trauma of the 2020 pandemic. These three young men in their early 20s reconnect after two years of forced isolation, hoping to rekindle their friendship. As you pick their daily activities, you’ll discover their darkest fears and obsessions, and, as the reality of their failed expectations emerge, so does their hunger for revenge and retribution.
Drawing on my personal experiences, the inspiration for Mediterranea Inferno comes from the summers I spent in Southern Italy, particularly in Martina Franca, Puglia. These visits, retracing my mother’s childhood, were filled with family traditions and rituals that shaped my view of the region. From spending time at my great-uncle’s countryside home to enjoying meals with Aunt Maria and participating in local festivities, these experiences offered a mix of comfort and monotony, highlighting the dual nature of familiar rituals. There’s a bittersweetness in being distanced from friends during summertime and an acute awareness of the passage of time, reflected in the aging eyes of our relatives year after year.
In terms of art direction, the visual style of the game is influenced by Italian horror cinema, with references to directors like Dario Argento, Mario Bava, and Lucio Fulci, incorporating vivid neon colors and exaggerated dark themes. Additionally, the photography of Luigi Ghirri, particularly his work on Puglia, has been a significant inspiration, bringing a metaphysical quality to the game’s environments. This blend of horror elements, illustration, and photographic realism aims to create a nostalgic yet unsettling visual experience.
Through the game’s characters, I tried to capture the concept of boredom as a status symbol, inspired by the films of Luca Guadagnino. They represent privileged Milanese youth, reflecting on the contradictions and challenges of life beyond bourgeois confines. This exploration is intertwined with Italy’s rich religious iconography, drawing from the influence of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s films and the omnipresence of Catholic imagery in Italian culture. The game incorporates these elements to delve into the complex relationship us Italians have with our cultural and religious heritage.
Mediterranea Inferno’s objective is to blend personal memories and critical reflections on our society. Through this game, I hope to contribute to the broader discourse on game narrative and continue the tradition of Italian creativity. I can’t wait for you to play it, Mediterranea Inferno is available on Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S starting today!
What’s better than a sensual summer retreat in the South of Italy? Join Claudio, Andrea, and Mida in their travels as they try to recover from the collective trauma of the 2020 pandemic.
Three young men in their early 20s reconnect after two years of forced isolation, hoping to rekindle their friendship; an exceptional bond that made the trio truly special! A mythological force well beyond the sum of its parts! Or so they think…
As you pick their activities for the day, you’ll discover their darkest fears, their obsessions, and, as the reality of their failed expectations becomes apparent, their thirst for revenge and retribution.
A lazy afternoon by the pool, a lustful night at the club, or even a morbid visit to the local cemetery: you’ll decide how to spend this summer vacation, but wherever you go, something or someone will be waiting, offering an additional, forbidden trip through the arcane inner spaces of conscience.
Eat the Fruit of Mirages and fight for your endless summer!
The spirit of competition in Destiny 2 is alive and well with today’s launch of the Guardian Games All-Stars 2024 event. The annual competitive event pits Warlocks, Hunters, and Titans against one another to try and take the top step of the Guardian class podium. Last year, Titans took the win, their second in Guardian Games history, and this year’s event features new twists to spice up the competition. Additionally, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen expansion is available today as a PlayStation Plus Monthly Game and we dive deeper into the rad new Skimmer vehicle.
A new scoring system will be in place to keep everyone on their toes, including new Diamond-tier Medallions (the most valuable offered yet; earning these will help your class’s standings in a significant way, so these Medallions are limited to three per week). In addition, Guardians will be able to earn daily glow effects that come from a variety of sources, including individual achievement (such as being the “best in Tower” Guardian or showing your performance in modes like Supremacy or Competitive Nightfalls) as well as group achievements (like being part of that day’s winning class).
Focus Activities are new limited-time boosts to Guardian Games activities that will grant bonus Medallions for the winning class. These events will only be open for a few hours each day, and you’ll be able to earn rewards packages by completing them; in fact, the class that dominates a particular Focus Activity will also earn a special champions rewards package that will earn your class a bunch of Medallions for the day’s competition.
By taking part in Guardian Games events, every player can also unlock sweet rewards, including new Legendary weapons such as Hullabaloo (a new Compressed Wave Frame Heavy Grenade Launcher), a new Exotic Ghost shell, and even a new form of transportation: the Skimmer.
Gettin’ tricky with it
Perhaps the most exciting reward coming for Guardian Games All-Stars, the Skimmer is the first new vehicle option offered in Destiny since the Sparrow, and it’s available to all Guardians at no additional cost (simply pick it up from Eva Levante in the Tower after completing the first Guardian Games All-Stars quest and banking your first Medallion). All players will be able to use the Skimmer during Guardian Games All-Stars, and Guardians who complete a one-step quest during the event will be able to keep the Skimmer permanently once the Games have ended.
A sci-fi take on skateboarding and snowboarding, the Skimmer is a bold new expression of Guardian mobility in Destiny 2, allowing players to perform sweet tricks and sick grinds on their way to their next destination.
“The very beginning of the Skimmer’s development started with a simple question: What is the Guardian version of a Cloud Strider’s skyboard?” said Bungie senior design lead Ben Wommack. “Imagine a Guardian saw a Cloud Strider zipping around in the air and thought, ‘Yeah, that’s neat, but how about this!’ and pulled out something that’s cooler, more stylish, and most importantly, fun to use.”
“We wanted to make sure that we were not doing just a different Sparrow skin with a Guardian standing on top but something that really fulfills new fantasies,” said Bungie staff technical animator Matt Kelly. “The original Sparrow was a blend of a jet ski and a superbike. For the Skimmer, we took inspiration from surfing, snowboarding, and skateboarding, strapped some boosters on it, and blended that up with some space magic.
“In the time between original Destiny and now, player movement abilities when traversing spaces on foot has dramatically changed and expanded, and the gameplay space has held up well. This allowed us to be comfortable pushing the edges of what we could do by adding new verbs into vehicles as well.”
Skimmers are just as zippy as their Sparrow counterparts, and they are capable of a host of new tricks and grinds that will make travel time even more fun. Guardians will be able to pull off four base tricks that map to the emote buttons: a tre flip, a Tamedog, a 360 grab, and a 360 spin where the Guardian leaves the board. There are also four grinds: a 5-0, a boardslide, a backside darkslide, and a crooked nosegrind. In addition, the dev team has also added a variety of grounded turn dodges inspired by carving while surfing as well as some air dodges with grab spins to avoid obstacles (or slam into an unlucky enemy that gets in your way). Finally, there’s a vehicle jump ability that will launch your Guardian into the air, complete with a nice ollie grab as a finishing touch.
“We are lucky enough that we have a massive group of excited skaters, snowboarders, and surfers who were extremely excited about pointing out their favorite boarders and tricks to implement,” said Kelly.
“We also had a bunch of animators who were able to dive in and really put the polish on some amazing and difficult-to-animate moves. Inspiration was everywhere.”
One final thought to whet your Skimmer appetite. During development, Bungie testers found some creative uses for Skimmers when combined with Strand’s grapple ability. Bungie test engineer Thomas Duda explains:
“Without any design specifically going towards this interaction, we discovered during a playtest that players can grapple the hoverboard while another player is using it. A player with Strand grapple can hook on and get pulled along with the grind, and they’ll be taken wherever the grinding player steers. If you’re in a firefight that’s not going too well, a friend can glide over you, and you can skyhook your way out of there, like the scene in The Dark Knight where Batman extracts from the high rise in Hong Kong.”
Test your medal
As if competing for the glory of your chosen Guardian class isn’t enough, we also have an additional incentive for Guardians who want to embody the spirit of the Guardian Games All-Stars event. Players who complete the Gold Event Challenge by March 26, 2024, at 9:59 AM PT, will earn the Bungie Rewards offer to purchase a physical 2024 Guardian Games All-Stars Medal through the Bungie Store.
The Witch Queen arrives with PlayStation Plus
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PlayStation Plus members, the threat of the Lucent Hive continues to loom, and we’re putting the call out to you all. Starting today, and for a limited time, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen is available to all PlayStation Plus members as a Monthly Game at no additional charge. Now is your chance to own one of the greatest chapters in Destiny history, as you take on Savathûn herself in a desperate bid to take back the Light. Experience the thrilling campaign from the start, explore The Witch Queen’s mysterious Throne World, and test your skills against Legendary mode. All of that and more, and it’s yours to keep once you download it.
If you’re a PlayStation Plus owner new to Destiny 2 or looking for the ideal time to jump back in, don’t miss out on this opportunity to experience one of the best adventures Destiny 2 has to offer. Head over to the PlayStation Store, grab The Witch Queen expansion, and prepare for the fight ahead.
A little while back, Embracer Group sadly shut down Timesplitter’s studio Free Radical Design in a typical case of Embracer-led restructuring. After the closure, a former Free Radical developer revealed they’d worked on a “clone” of Fortnite before it transitioned to a remake of Timesplitters 2. And now footage has emerged of the cancelled project, which certainly does look like a team shooter reminiscent of Epic’s epic.
Developers at Funcom, the studio behind upcoming massively multiplayer online game Dune: Awakening, “sort of sidestep religion” in their take on the beloved science fiction universe.
Speaking to Eurogamer, Funcom chief creative officer and Dune: Awakening creative director Joel Bylos said the team ignores a major part of the Dune universe but, ironically, it seems to be all for the sake of preserving beloved lore.
Dune: Awakening takes place a few years before the story fans of the books and films will be most familiar with, but still in an alternative universe where certain decisions are made differently.
“Things are slightly different in our universe,” Bylos said. “Many events are still the same, so it’s not like we’ve gone all ‘thousands of years ago, a rock slid in the wrong place and changed everything’. It’s just a few years back. But the significant thing… It’s really close to spoiler territory, which I can’t really go through, but let’s just say that for the large part, we sort of sidestep religion.”
Bylos was unable to say anything more specific about this missing aspect, but it seemingly refers to one specific moment related to religion instead of this key aspect of Dune’s universe being completely passed over. There’s also a “very spiritual set of things” that players who take spice will encounter, with consumption and addiction used as central mechanics.
Berserk Boy is the legally distinct lovechild of Sonic The Hedgehog and Mega Man X, on account of how it fondly emulates the Blue Blur’s speedy momentum and the Dorky Mega’s various power-altering suits. That anatomically tricky relationship is enticing by itself, but even if those retro action platformers just register as historical relics in your memory, Berserk Boy does enough that’s new and interesting that it doesn’t need to rely on aping its inspirations. My only beef is that credits rolled before I was properly given a chance to test my newfound robo-bashing muscles.
Horizon Forbidden West launches on PC in a couple of weeks, and ahead of its release date, developer Nixxes Software has unveiled the system requirements needed to run the port.
In a new PS Blog post, Nixxes Software Online Community Specialist Julian Huijbregts said the PC version of Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is optimized to run “on a wide variety of PC hardware,” including portable gaming devices such as handheld gaming PCs like the Steam Deck. This is unsurprising from Nixxes, given its track recording for porting games to PC.
“This allows gamers with the latest hardware to push their systems while also providing a great experience on less powerful PCs,” Huijbregts explained. The blog post offers an overview of recommended specifications, which you can find below. Nixxes recommends these specifications for various available graphical presets.
Interestingly, regardless of what CPU and GPU you have in your machine, Nixxes recommends using a solid-state drive (SSD) when installing the PC version of Horizon: Forbidden West. This became a criticism in Nixxes’ most recent PC port, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, with which an SSD was recommended, not required, to run the port. As Digital Foundry’s John Linneman pointed out in his technical review, the port was borderline unplayable if installed on a hard disk drive (HHD).
Alongside the system requirements, we learned that Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition’s PC port will join the growing list of games supporting Nvidia’s third generation of DLSS. Released in 2022, DLSS 3 is exclusive to the GeForce RTX 40 series graphics cards and can boost performance up to four times compared to simply rendering it at native resolution.
The PC version of Horizon Forbidden West Complete Edition is set to be released on March 21 on Steam and the Epic Games Store. It’s the latest PlayStation exclusive to launch on PC, following Horizon Zero Dawn,God of War,Uncharted 4, and Insomniac’sfirst twoSpider-Man games.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Considering it’s one of the most gawwwwjuss games you can get one o’ them PS5 machines, Horizon Forbidden West’s upcoming PC version has some pretty fair-looking system requirements. The newly released specs, which you can find below, suggest that pushing the open world, robosaur-slaying sequel to its most extreme settings will take a burly graphics card – but likewise, lower settings and resolutions can get by with much creakier hardware.
Publisher NIS America shared the announcement on Twitter, along with a brand new, if brief, trailer introducing us to Melchior of the Thorns, a member of the group Almata. We also get to see the main protagonist Van in action against another character. Van can transform into the Grendel, a very cool-looking armoured beast that looks to play a heavy role in the game’s story.
Coming to Xbox Game Pass: MLB The Show 24, Lightyear Frontier, Control Ultimate Edition, and More
Megan Spurr, Community Lead, Xbox Game Pass
Batter up, friends! We’ve got the next round of games coming soon to your download and install queue. Whether you want to bend reality in Control, check out Bikini Bottom, or more, we have your bases covered… er… loaded! Let’s play ball!!
Available Today
Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (Cloud, Console, and PC) Load up your Boltgun and unleash the awesome Space Marine arsenal to blast your way through an explosion of sprites, pixels and blood in a perfect blend of Warhammer 40,000, frenetic gameplay and the stylish visuals of ’90s retro shooters.
Coming Soon
PAW Patrol World (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 7 Explore the world of “PAW Patrol” like never before, in a 3D action adventure where anything is PAWsible. Play as your favorite pups, drive their vehicles, and save the day by taking on fun rescues and missions either in single-player or with your family in couch co-op. It’s the ultimate PAW Patrol playtime!
SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom – Rehydrated (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 12 Are you ready, kids? SpongeBob SquarePants: Battle for Bikini Bottom is coming to Game Pass! Play as SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy in this faithful remake and thwart Plankton’s evil plan to take over Bikini Bottom. Battle Plankton’s army of rogue robots – this time with friends in multiplayer mode! Meet all your favorite Bikini Bottomites, voiced by their original voice actors and show Plankton that crime pays even less than Mr. Krabs.
Control Ultimate Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 13 From developer Remedy Entertainment, this supernatural third- person action-adventure will challenge you to master the combination of supernatural abilities, modifiable loadouts and reactive environments while fighting through a deep and unpredictable world. Control Ultimate Edition contains the main game and all previously released expansions (The Foundation and AWE).
No More Heroes 3 (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 14 No More Heroes 3 follows the otaku assassin Travis Touchdown as he takes up his trusty beam katana once more and slashes his way through 10 of the deadliest fighters in the galaxy. Rack up combos with Travis’ beam katana and experience hack-and-slash action like never before!
Lightyear Frontier (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) – March 19 Available on day one with Game Pass: Start your interstellar homestead in this peaceful open-world farming adventure! Build your sustainable exofarm, grow alien crops, customize your mech, and explore a new world full of mystery with up to three friends!
MLB The Show 24 (Cloud and Console) – March 19 Available on day one with Game Pass: Swing for the fences, experience game-deciding moments, become a legend and live out your baseball dreams in MLB The Show 24. Want to hit the field early? Game Pass members can unlock up to four days early access plus deluxe edition bonus content with the purchase of the Digital Deluxe Add-On Bundle. Learn more about how MLB The Show 24 continues to tell important stories from the Negro Leagues on Xbox Wire.
In Case You Missed It
Dead Island 2 (Cloud and Console) – Available now A deadly virus is spreading across Los Angeles, turning its inhabitants into zombies. Bitten, infected, but more than just immune, uncover the truth behind the outbreak and discover who – or what – you are. Survive, evolve and save the world in this first-person zombie slaying adventure!
DLC / Game Updates
Age of Empires II: Definitive Edition – Victors and Vanquished – March 14 Embark on a thrilling journey with Victors and Vanquished! In 19 epic scenarios, play as Ragnar Lothbrok, Oda Nobunaga, Charlemagne, and more. Your strategy and choices decide your fate: will you emerge as the ultimate victor, or fall as the vanquished? Secure your pre-order now and save 15% – and be prepared to conquer the battlefield!
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks
Stumble Guys Retro Hot Dog Pack – Available now Show off your wackiness as you race to the finish line with your Retro Hot Dog skin, Fire Emote, 250 Gems and 50 Stumble Tokens. This Perk content requires Stumble Guys to use (Free to Play).
Century: Age of Ashes – Forgotten Bay Pack – Available now Brave the silence with the Forgotten Bay dragon, the Flaming Crude Cleaver axe and a 14-Day XP Booster. Requires Century: Age of Ashes to use (Free to Play).
Leaving March 15
The following games are leaving the Game Pass library soon. If you want to keep the fun going, be sure to use your membership discount to save up to 20% off your purchase!
Hardspace: Shipbreaker (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Ni no Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch Remastered (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Shredders (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Keep tuned in at @XboxGamePass or @XboxGamePassPC for updates for when these games are available, and we’ll catch you here next time for more games coming to Game Pass!
