Every weekend, indie devs show off current work on Twitter’s #screenshotsaturday tag. And every Monday, I bring you a selection of these snaps and clips. Well, on Tuesday this week, thanks to the four-day Easter weekend. But the games look just as attractive and interesting as they did on Saturday, so what’s the hurry? Check these out!
While I can’t honestly call myself a diehard MechWarrior fan – I’ve never played the pen-and-paper roleplaying game, for instance – I have enjoyed many of the video games over the years, from MechWarrior 3 to both MechAssault games on Xbox. I skipped the original version of MechWarrior 5 because, while it was by most accounts a good game, its content was all procedurally generated. It wasn’t narrative-driven. And I love a good story-first MechWarrior campaign.
MechWarrior 5: Clans, then, appears to be exactly what I’ve been asking for: a narrative-led MechWarrior campaign that also happens to offer five-player co-op. It picks up immediately where 2019’s MechWarrior 5: Mercenaries – itself the first single-player MechWarrior game of any kind since 2002 – left off. I got a first-look demo of Clans and really liked what I saw.
Clans casts you as Smoke Jaguar clan in, as usual, the 31st century amid ongoing clan-based Mech warfare. You’ve got five teammates to work with: Jayden, Liam, Mia, Nasir, and Ezra. You’ll hear the most from Jayden, the star’s leader (a star is a group of five Mechs in the BattleTech universe, if you weren’t familiar). When playing in single-player you can either take direct control of any of them at any given time, or you can issue orders from either a quickly accessed radial menu or a battlefield map that you can pull up anytime – all of it in real-time without any pausing of the combat. For what it’s worth, they seem reasonably good at executing those orders if you leave the friendly AI to do the work.
Naturally, all of the usual MechWarrior features are here: jump jets, tons of Mech variety (my demo driver was piloting a Shadow Cat, though I’ve always favored the slower but harder-hitting Assault class Atlas myself), and plenty of weapon loadouts, from guns to missiles to lasers to gauss cannons. As ever, you can try to scattershot enemy Mechs with as much damage as possible with no regard to where those shots land, or you can pinpoint specific areas of each Mech, such as trying to blow off its arms or causing it to topple over by blasting off one of its legs.
Speaking of controls, mouse and keyboard input and output looked smooth, from what I could see, and developer Piranha Games promises slick gamepad controls as well, which should please folks who plan to play Clans on Xbox or PS5. On that note, Piranha aims to ship both the PC and console versions of Clans simultaneously. Furthermore, you can opt for a first-person camera or see your Mech from a third-person perspective.
While the underlying action seems solid – as you’d expect after Piranha’s already taken a bite at the MechWarrior 5 apple – it’s the 31st-century sci-fi struggle I am most eager to see from the story. I enjoyed seeing orders come in from Sarah Weaver through a picture-in-picture window as you stomped around the battlefield, and I’m eager to see where this MechWarrior’s story takes us. Gameplay, meanwhile, seems faster than what I remember from the joystick-preferred older MechWarrior offerings on PC, but certainly not as speedy as the Xbox’s classic MechAssault games.
It’s great to see single-player take center stage once again in a MechWarrior game, though the fact that you can bring along up to four friends in five-player co-op is a nice bonus for Clans. It’s due out later this year. I, for one, can’t wait to get back to the future.
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s executive editor of previews and host of both IGN’s weekly Xbox show, Podcast Unlocked, as well as our monthly(-ish) interview show, IGN Unfiltered. He’s a North Jersey guy, so it’s “Taylor ham,” not “pork roll.” Debate it with him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan.
Like an aggressively competitive thane at a reindeer-piss guzzling contest, 2D tac-and-slash roguelite Sons Of Valhalla never lets up the pace for even a moment. Whether you’re charging across its pixel-art battlefields slashing and burning increasingly tough-to-crack strongholds, or making quick decisions to get the upper hand in its tug-of-war tactics, the only times Thorald is not doing cool violence, commanding others to do cool violence, or upgrading his camps so that he may act in cooler and more violent ways, is when he’s restoring stamina with a cool slug of mead or violently gnawing at health-boosting meat.
Viking Thorald Olavson is a man possessed. A rival Jarl burnt his village and nicked his wife Raya. In his quest to find her, he’s prepared to do anything – even visit England. As Thorald, you’ll butcher your way up a chain of command in your search for Raya across six stages, each of which sits somewhere between the side-scrolling tactics of Kingdom Two Crowns, the lane strategy of a Warpips, and the slashy/blocky/shooty/dodgy of any 2D ARPG you care to name.
Order Up.
One of the best ways that studios have capitalised on April Fool’s Day in recent years is by announcing a seemingly absurd project that couldn’t possibly have been greenlit for real, only for it to wind up being a wonderful reality.
This time, retro specialist Nightdive Studios is tackling one of the most ridiculous, polarising FPS games from the ’90s: PO’ed.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Explore the mysteries of the nocturnal world with the uniquely created Nocturnal Vapor Special Edition Xbox Wireless Controller. Inspired by nature at night, every color swirl is an expression of that expansive landscape with a design that’s unique to each controller – each with its own energy and pattern. A striking addition to the Vapor series, alongside Stormcloud Vapor and Dream Vapor, this controller features a dynamic smoky design blending style seamlessly with performance.
The Nocturnal Vapor’s design is a strong contrast of dark and light green. The swirl effect mixes these two colors across the top case and textured side grips, all while being accented by the surrounding parts. Feel the allure of the rubberized, green diamond-pattern grips on the back case, elevating your experience with a touch of sophistication.
The Nocturnal Vapor Special Edition packs the performance punch you need. Wield the smoke and stay on target with the textured side and back grips that let you hold on to the action. Embark on your gaming odyssey with confidence, boasting up to 40 hours of battery life (varies with usage and other factors). Enjoy gaming anywhere you desire with Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth technology, allowing you to connect seamlessly to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One consoles, PC, iOS, and Android devices (see xbox.com/controller-compatibility for more details; use with controller compatible games).
No matter where you play, you’re going to want to listen to your game with crisp, clear audio. Utilize the 3.5mm audio jack to plug in your favorite compatible headset, perfect for listening to your game or chatting with friends. Share clips with your friends with the dedicated share button or use the Xbox Accessories app to remap your controller buttons and create custom controller profiles for your favorite games, giving you endless potential to elevate your play.
The Xbox Wireless Controller – Nocturnal Vapor Special Edition is available to preorder today in select Xbox markets worldwide for $69.99 USD ERP. Visit Xbox.com or your local retailer, including the Microsoft Store, for more information.
The post Own the Night with the Nocturnal Vapor Special Edition Controller appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Eventually, we all will contend with grief. It can come in many forms and from many different sources. Surgent Studios’ (founded by Abubakar Salim) debut game, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, is a 2.5D story-driven, action-exploration game all about facing those emotions and discovering how love gives us the courage to press on after a devastating loss, and it’s coming to the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog at launch on April 23rd, 2024! (Available with PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium memberships).
Players will take control of Zau, a young warrior-shaman from Amandla, who seeks out Kalunga, the God of Death, to bargain with him to bring his Baba back from the realm of the dead.
Wielding two powerful masks imbued with the cosmic power of the sun and the moon in a beautiful and chaotic dance, Zau travels across Kenzera, a rich mystical realm inspired by Bantu tales, fighting tough ancestral spirits and platforming obstacles to find the 3 mighty beings that have eluded the God of Death.
Zau will discover and unlock new powerful abilities and skills during his quest to become a worthy Nganga and reclaim his lost Baba. These include mighty Spirit Attacks like the ferocious Lunar Beam blast that can be unleashed to obliterate enemies using the Moon Mask…
…and the engulfing fire Supernova that can be used to scorch nearby foes with Shamanistic fire using the Sun Mask.
Throughout Zau’s adventure, players will earn experience from exploration and combat. This experience can be spent on skill points split between two skill trees, one for the Moon mask and one for the Sun mask. These skills will enable Zau to become more powerful and learn new formidable attack combos and feats , becoming a fierce warrior-shaman.
Along his journey, Zau will also find ancient Shaman Shrines which gift him unbelievable abilities, such as the power of Gliding across the plains to cover long distances or slow his descent…
…or the cosmic Pulse ability which can enable him to to break down and reconstruct barriers in his path.
Players will discover a rich universe with untold lore of chaos & order and journey through mystical biomes inspired by the emotions and questions that humans face along the journey of grief, giving you key thinking points to reflect on as you and Zau travel across Kenzera. like the gloomy swamp-filled Woodlands and the Deadlands, home to fatal lava pools, biomes all bursting with colour and depth
Humanity and healing is at the heart of Tales of Kenzera: Zau. On this journey, Zau will encounter other characters who are also going through their own personal journey of grief, who aid him to learn and grow from their experiences.
Players will find great Baobab trees during their adventure. These trees offer great meaning to Zau, as his Baba would take him to these very trees to meditate. While exploring these, you will witness those moments of remembrance and healing that Zau goes through without even realising.
These enthralling visuals are accompanied by a captivating and enchanting original soundtrack by multi-award-winning composer Nainita Desai.
Zau will also encounter Yumboes, creatures who hail from a world of ever-present joy, and offer respite to Zau at their campfires. You can also fast-travel between discovered campfires.
There’s not long to go until you can explore the beautiful and treacherous lands of Kenzera and embrace the dance of the shaman with the launch date scheduled for April 23, 2024.
We look forward to seeing PlayStation fans exploring Surgent Studio’s Bantu inspired universe and their adventures with Zau when Tales of Kenzera: Zau launches later this month!
Dave the Diver was also announced today as a Day 1 PlayStation Plus Game Catalog title. Learn more from developer Mintrocket.
The latest surprise Steam hit is Content Warning, a Lethal Company-style game that’s enjoying enormous success on Valve’s platform off the back of a ‘free to keep’ promotion that ends soon.
Content Warning launched April 1 with 100% off for the first 24 hours, after which the game will cost $7.99. This promotion, plus the fact the game looks like a hoot, saw a concurrent players peak of 90,000 and rising.
“Every year for April 1st aka Landfall Day we do something special,” said publisher Landfall Publishing. “This year we’re releasing Content Warning for free for anyone who downloads it between now 9am PT and 9am PT tomorrow April 2nd.
“We do this as a special treat to our community so that as many people as possible will have the chance to play the game.”
The promo clearly worked, with Content Warning in the top 10 most-played games on Steam, over 7,500 reviews already, and an ‘overwhelmingly positive’ user review rating. But what is Content Warning? The co-op horror indie game tasks you with filming your friends doing scary things to become “SpookTube famous!”, according to the official blurb. It works similarly to Lethal Company, which was a surprise hit on Steam when it launched last year — and is still going strong. You team up with friends to visit a scary world, get spooky footage, and (hopefully) make it back alive. Assume you do so, you upload your footage to SpookTube then watch the money roll in. If only it were that simple in real life!
Like Lethal Company, Content Warning is tailor made for streaming, so it’s no surprise to see it doing decently on Twitch. The question of course is how will the game fare when it costs money to buy? Until then, you’ve got four hours to grab it for free.
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.
So, how was everyone’s long weekend? I don’t want to alarm anyone, but I think I may have even sensed the fading ghost of an immeasurably whisper-thin ray of sunshine at one point. Enough! Says a new patch for co-op shooter Helldivers 2. You know who else enjoys basking in the pleasant glow of mildly enjoyable weather when there’s freedoms that need fighting for? Bug sympathisers, that’s who. As such, the developers have gone and added new planetary hazards in the form of blizzards and sandstorms, alongside the usual balance tweaks.
Alongside these reminders that the war for democracy is never comfortable, the efficiently-named Patch 01.000.200 also includes a host of tweaks. Notable among these are balancing changes to the mission type ‘Retrieve Essential Personnel’, which now sounds more manageable. Enemy spawn points have been placed further away from the objective, “to give players a fairer chance of defending the location.” Additionally, fewer civilians are needed to beat the mission on higher difficulties.
That’s rad, dad.
If you’re fond of the charming Dadish series on Switch, then you’ll be pleased to know that it’s heading into the third dimension next month with Dadish 3D.
Launching on 23rd April, 2024, Dadish 3D stars, well, Dadish as he embarks on his ‘craziest adventure yet’ to locate his missing children, who were lured away suspicious pop-up advertising. Although transitioning from 2D to 3D, the game is said to maintain the same tight platforming gameplay and witty dialogue that made the original games so attractive.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Helldivers 2’s latest patch makes some significant changes to the game balance and adds more planetary hazards for players to contend with.
Patch 01.000.200, out now across PlayStation 5 and PC via Steam, makes balance changes to missions, Stratagems, weapons, enemies, and the Helldivers themselves, as well as general fixes and stability improvements.
On the gameplay side, developer Arrowhead has added two new planetary hazards: blizzards and sandstorms. On the balance side, Arrowhead has tweaked the Retrieve Essential Personnel mission type, moving enemy spawn points farther away from the objective “to give players a fairer chance of defending the location”, and making it so there are fewer civilians required to complete the mission on higher difficulties. The Destroy Command Bunkers mission type now has more objective locations because “the mission was too easy before compared to other missions.”
Crucially, Arrowhead has also halved the negative effect of operation modifiers that increase Stratagem cooldowns or call in times.
Perhaps of most interest to players is the sweeping balance pass made to weapons, with the likes of the Anti-Materiel Rifle, Breaker Incendiary, and Dominator buffed. The Slugger, meanwhile, is nerfed. The recently added Heavy Machine Gun sees its highest fire rate mode reduced from 1200 rpm to a more “moderate” 950. On Stratagems, the Patriot Exosuit’s rockets will now penetrate armor only on direct hit.
As for enemies, the Charger, Bile Spewer, and Nursing Spewer are nerfed, as are the Shriekers. The Bile Titan can no longer be stunned, however. The Helldivers themselves are buffed, with heavy and medium armor offering better protection.
And finally, the patch adds various fixes for crashes and other bugs. Arrowhead has improved the system that prevents hellpod steering close to large or important objects. “This system is intended to prevent softlocks where players can drop on important interaction points, or drop into unintended places,” Arrowhead explained. “We will continue to monitor the state of the system after the update to see if additional tweaks are necessary.”
There’s a lot going on in the world of Helldivers 2. Hours after liberating Malevelon Creek, Helldivers 2 players reported seeing enormous cloaked ships over Automaton worlds. Amid the push and pull of planets, new Stratagems were recently made available to players, with the promise of more to come. If you’re looking for more on Helldivers 2, check out IGN’s feature on the Let Me Solo Her of Helldivers 2, a player who has answered over 100 SOS Beacons as part of a mission to help others.
Helldivers 2 has become one of the surprise hits of 2024 since launching in February, topping the charts on Steam and reportedly selling around three million copies. According to at least one analyst, it’s still growing. Check out IGN’s Helldivers 2 review to find out why it’s going down so well.
Gameplay
Planetary Hazard additions
Balancing
Missions
Retrieve Essential Personnel
Destroy Command Bunkers
Primary, Secondary, & Support Weapons
Stratagems
Enemies
Balancing adjustments have been made to:
Helldiver
Balancing adjustments have been made to:
Fixes
We have improved the system that prevents hellpod steering close to large or important objects.
Ballistic Shield changes
Known Issues
These are issues that were either introduced by this patch and are being worked on, or are from a previous version and have not yet been fixed.
Various issues involving friend invites and cross-play
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.
