One of the first major releases this year is Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, the first brand-new console game in the series since 2010’s The Forgotten Sands (yes, really!). And recently, developer Ubisoft has unveiled the upcoming release’s frame rate, resolution and accessibility options on Switch.
And it’s good news for Switch owners for this upcoming Metroidvania-style take on the legendary franchise. Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown will run at 60fps on the Switch, both handheld and docked. This was stated by The Game Awards’ host Geoff Keighley way back in the summer of 2023, but it’s good to get the official word. Handheld, the resolution will be at 720p while docked it’ll be 1080p — standard stuff, then.
Every game is Who Framed Roger Rabbit now – or, less charitably, a metaversal hellscape where canonical integrity matters far less than providing a platform through which to sell cosmetics.
Apex Legends is the latest live service game to take the plunge with its first crossover event. It’s with Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and it’ll bring the Buster Sword, Aerith, and other elements from the JRPG to the battle royale on January 9th.
PlayStation has listed the Metal Gear Solid 3 remake, officially Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater (the Δ is pronounced delta), as a 2024 game.
A trailer advertising various PlayStation 5 games coming in 2024 (below) includes lots of entries with established release dates (like The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth), but also quietly listed the release window for the highly anticipated remake.
Publisher Konami is yet to confirm any sort of release date or window itself, though given it was announced by PlayStation in 2023 and is coming to the PS5, it likely knows it’s stuff. IGN has reached out to Konami for comment.
I have been bouncing off Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, partly because the new protagonist design leaves me cold, and partly because it being a 2D affair has me yearning for something closer to the 1989 Apple II original, with its finicky platforming and sword-fighting. Katharine says it’s decent, however, and the latest trailers are intriguing. One is an overview of the new metroidvania’s locations, of which you can read much more in Katharine’s last preview. The other is a quick dive into the game’s approach to accessibility, which appears to be a lot more holistic than you’ll find in many games.
The latest Nintendo Download update for North America has arrived, and it’s bringing new games galore to the eShop in your region. As always, be sure to drop a vote in our poll and comment down below with your potential picks for the week. Enjoy!
Switch eShop – New Releases
4×4 OffRoad Collection(Boomhits, 25th Dec) – Experience the thrill of Trials Driving! Make it through the rock mazes, bumpy terrain “test tracks”, through mud paths and rivers, over incredible log bridges, hill climbs and cross-country races! Control the power of your cars to make it around in one piece. You’ll have to summon the skills required if you want to be the Ultimate Off-Road Driver!
Yakuza is a storied franchise that keeps on giving. Each installment in the series leading to 2020’s Yakuza: Like a Dragon has offered something new and innovative, along with consistently satisfying expansions to the evergrowing story of main characters Kazuma Kiryu and Ichiban Kasuga.
I’m glad to say that after a hands-on preview of Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, the trend continues. There is almost too much here for Yakuza fans, both new and old, to sink their teeth in and enjoy. This latest entry features a fusion of the series’ original beat-em-up and current turn-based roleplaying style, an island-building mode, and even more charm than ever.
With all this present and more, I’ve found that the title Infinite Wealth might just describe everything the game offers and how long it may last. Read on for a few highlights revealed during my gameplay session.
Get your walking shoes (and segways) ready
Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is the first title in the Yakuza series to take our favorite motley crew out of Japan and into new territory. Kasuga and Kiryu’s missions lead them to this new location: Honolulu, Hawaii, where they decide to team up.
Not only is this locale full of many new sights, sounds, allies, and enemies, but it is the most extensive map ever featured in the Yakuza series. It was so large that during my hours of playing, I wasn’t even able to explore even half the map. There’s no dead air to be found here. Enemies, missions, activities, and lively characters surround each corner. The only decision you have to make is what to tackle first.
Your friendly neighborhood ex-Yakuza
Personality points are nothing new to Like a Dragon, but Infinite Wealth gives a new way to allow Kasuga to move up the ranks. By being a friendly and outgoing tourist, you can constantly grow friendships with Honolulu’s population and boost your personality levels each time.
All it takes is a simple hello. By pressing square when walking by certain marked NPCs, Kasuga will release a welcoming, Helloooo! and get a good response back. Sometimes, these greetings will even unlock a small task like buying a kid a hot dog, which grants Kasuga a more significant personality increase. These increases unlock extra abilities like more skill slots, enhanced resistance to status ailments, better healing, and more guts. Plus, it’s just charming to make Kasuga into an even nicer guy than he already is.
Tourism buffs
Being a good tourist isn’t limited to just greeting bystanders. Kasuga and the gang eventually find a tourism company called Alo Happy Tours. Specified for Japanese visitors touring Hawaii, Alo Happy Tours is a place where you can pay to jump into activities like surfing, yoga, and fire dancing. But these vacation sessions aren’t just for fun.
Each new skill learned through Happy Tours leads the party to unlock a new job and fighting style. For example, learning to fire dance unlocks an attacking mage style, learning to host gives access to a buffing support job, and learning to be a pop idol lets characters heal and cure allies. And there are so many activities and styles to learn that it felt nearly endless. Not to mention the amount of party combos you can come up with.
Past wishes fulfilled
Kasuga isn’t the only one with a new way to unlock abilities through means other than fighting or the usual activities. Kiryu’s new ailment and decision to not get treatment have put his life on a clock. With his new friends Seong-Hui and Yu Nanba, he’s decided not to let it go to waste and tackle a bucket list before he checks out.
This bucket list isn’t just a plot element, but a gameplay mechanic. Kiryu can awaken his soul (Brawler fighting style), tech (Rush fighting style), and body (Beast fighting style) by completing items from this bucket list. Whether it’s a simple fishing trip or tasting some food he’s always wanted to taste like candy, Kiryu’s strength grows by living life to the fullest. I nearly shed a tear when he talked about everything he wanted to do without the fear and need of trying to look cool for people around him.
A game within a game
Download the image
To round out the hands-on time with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, I visited Dondoko Island, which can be best described as an entirely different game within Infinite Wealth. This island build and curation segment of the title tasks Kasuga with going around an island on the verge of obscurity. Being the nice guy he is, he decides to take matters into his own hands, helping its owner clean up trash, build new attractions, and bring visitors and life back to Dondoko.
If you’ve ever played a building simulator, then you know what you’re in for here. As soon as this mode started, I was hooked. Walking around and decorating the island in my own style, gathering supplies to create new items, catching fish and bugs, and fending off enemies were some of the most addicting elements I was exposed to so far in Infinite Wealth. And the fact that we’ll be able to visit the islands of other players makes the whole thing even more exciting. I’m just scared that my life might become absorbed by this mode so much that I won’t even finish the RPG side of the game.
Join Kasuga and Kiryu’s variety-packed trip to Hawaii when Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth drops on PS5 January 26.
Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has revealed the game’s Phantom Liberty expansion has sold more than five million copies.
Revealed in a post on X/Twitter (below), the developer confirmed the sales milestone and thanked players for their support. “Over five million agents have infiltrated Dogtown,” it said. “Thank you for all your support, and good luck on your mission.”
Though no exact timeframe was released, CD Projekt Red said the five million copies were sold in 2023, and as Phantom Liberty launched on September 26, it reached the milestone in just over three months.
In our 9/10 review of the expansion, IGN said: “Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty completes an immense turnaround for CD Projekt Red’s future RPG kickstarted with the anime spin-off, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners and its latest 2.0 Update.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Korean publisher Nexon have been fined 11.6 billion won – around $8.9 million – for secretly altering the drop rates of coveted items in free-to-play MMO gacha game MapleStory. The fine, issued by the Korea Fair Trade Commission, is the largest penalty ever doled out for violation of South Korea’s Act on Consumer Protection in Electronic Commerce.
Russian Roulette is just an edgy version of Snakes & Ladders. It’s pure luck gussied up with high stakes and the cool aesthetic of spinning a six-shooter. A grizzled mafioso whose cheeks glitter with fragments of other people’s teeth has as much chance of winning Russian Roulette as a sleepy five-year-old in SpongeBob pyjamas. But take Russian Roulette, swap the revolver for a pump-action shotgun, mix up live and dud rounds, and add Inscryption-esque items which let you change the rules, and now you have a more skillful game. That’s Buckshot Roulette, the latest from Mike Klubnika, the dev behind those excellent horror games about operating machinery. Great weird machines here too.
