In a reminder that 2023 continues to be a rotten ol’ year for the people making games, no matter what Geoff Keighley and Gonzo might tell (or not tell) you, indie devs Triple Topping Games have laid off the entire studio’s staff after declaring bankruptcy.
From Nintendo’s triumphant follow-up to Breath of the Wild to the hot pink perfection of Barbie and so much more, 2023 has been a landmark year for games and entertainment. Indeed, IGN has labeled 16 games, movies and TV shows a masterpiece over the past 12 months, with countless more worthy of your time and money. Admittedly, it’s also been a year of polar opposites, and Skull Island: Rise of Kong wasn’t the only stinker to receive a bad score (I’m looking at you, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey). The games industry suffered a huge number of lay-offs too, and Hollywood strikes put release calendars on hold as screenwriters and actors fought for better working conditions.
So while 2023 had its low points, we wanted to shine a spotlight on its successes and give recognition to everything that brought us joy, whether it was two hours of pure escapism in a movie theatre, being transported to another world for an experience like no other, or a moment that made us step back and gasp, “Holy fuck…”
As such, IGN Awards launches next week, a five-day celebration of the best games, movies, TV, anime, comics… Everything IGN, like you, is passionate about. Of course, as 2023 draws to a close you’ll see lots of awards lists popping up, but the IGN Awards aren’t distracted by what’s coming out next year and beyond. We’ve made sure that the list of awards categories is streamlined and focused, because we know you’ve only got so much spare time. We’ve made sure every award counts and is dedicated to something that you care about.
2023’s IGN Awards will therefore look a little different compared to last year. For starters, it’s no longer called IGN’s Best of – we wanted a name that better reflected the grandeur the winners deserve. That said, it is 100% still a celebration of the best of everything that IGN covers. We’ll still be crowning the best game and movie of the year, along with other returning categories such as role-playing game, TV series, anime show, and more. But we’ve also introduced new categories like Best Horror Game, Best Soulslike and Best Open-World Game, to reflect how gaming trends have changed over the past few years.
Elsewhere, we’ve asked the podcasting teams of Beyond, Unlocked and NVC to respectively pick the best PlayStation, Xbox and Nintendo games of the year, because no one knows those consoles and games better than the people who talk passionately about them week in, week out.
Finally, while we’re exceptionally proud of all the winners chosen by IGN’s editorial team, we also want to know what have been your favourites of 2023. Therefore you’ll find a poll alongside each award, which includes the same shortlist of nominees the IGN team picked from. Vote for the one you liked most in each category and we’ll showcase your winners at the end of next week.
So join us from Monday and throughout the week to see if your picks of the best of 2023 are crowned the winners. I’m certainly looking forward to sharing our choices, but more than that I cannot wait to see what moments made you shout “Holy fuck!” this year!
Alex Simmons is IGN’s Features Director. Follow him on X / Twitter.
The reboot of survival-horror series Alone in the Dark has seen a second delay, with its release date now landing toward the end of next March. Publishers THQ Nordic ascribed the roughly two-month slip to their efforts in avoiding development crunch.
Update: Previous patch did not fix the problem.
Update #2 : Earlier this week, Nintendo announced that it was aware of a bug in Splatoon 3’s latest Big Run event which resulted in players receiving the incorrect reward for their efforts. A patch was released earlier today to fix this problem, but it looks like the bug remains.
In a new post from @nintendo_cs (via @OatmealDome), Nintendo confirmed that ver. 6.0.1 has not fixed the bug, but the team is working on another patch to hopefully combat it in the future.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
We have just launched Metal: Hellsinger’s new Horde Mode, a free update that adds a new way to experience the heavy metal rhythm shooter. Horde Mode is all about distilling the game into its purest, burning essence, while adding a spark of something new into the mix: roguelite design.
We can’t tell you how excited we are to finally launch this update, and to see you all fight tooth and nail, guns roaring to every beat. Fear not as we dive into the belly of the beast, for metal thunders in our very souls.
What’s the expression, out of the frying pan and into the gaping maw of Leviathan? After wreaking blistering havoc in the Hells, The Unknown and Paz had their eyes set on the heavens, but fate is a fickle beast, and now they must escape through the teeth of the colossal Leviathan.
Your goal in Horde Mode is to fight through increasingly challenging waves of enemies in new arenas; floating rocks in a cavernous belly. A Hell within Hell. There are three stages on your way out of Leviathan. After the final stage, a new final boss will test you to your limits.
Horde Mode is designed for replayability. Every run is different. The stages’ layout changes between runs, and so do the powers you pick up between waves. After you fall – because fall you will – you can unlock permanent upgrades that you carry in each run.
Music is the infernal engine of Metal: Hellsinger, and it’s always at the core of our game design. That’s why we also added a way to create your own playlist before you enter Leviathan. Choose any number of songs from the game’s multi award-winning original score and the game will pick one randomly for each of the three stages.
In the depths of Leviathan, your powers have been sapped. But as you slay, guns bucking to the beat, the essence of fallen demons empower the altar which you’ll find in every arena. Fill the altar sufficiently to complete the wave, then approach it to receive a Memory – a choice between three (to start with) power-ups. Combine these powers to achieve powerful synergies, rising beyond even the highest peaks of power you held in the campaign.
This is where Metal: Hellsinger sings to a new tune. Having to choose between powers, combining them into synergies, and having a different mix each run, is an inherently roguelite mechanism, and we were surprised at just how good it feels in our game.
For example, perhaps you want to become the ultimate bleed demon, in which case you can combine powerups that give improved bleed damage and duration with those that let you apply bleed in new ways (like with headshots or specific weapons, or both). Add the Memory that makes bleeding enemies take more headshot damage, and you have a bloody good time on your hands.
In practice, however, you often have to adapt to the choices you’re given. But sometimes, the stars do align.
As demons fall before you, they drop Void Echoes. At the end of your run, you can spend them to unlock a wide variety of permanent upgrades, from more health, to weapon specializations, to faster generation of your ultimate ability.
Sigils are a category of Dreams where you have the most choice from the start, that allows you to cover your potential weaknesses. If you have trouble timing those perfect reloads, pick up Ghost Rounds to make the first two to eight shots (depending on rank) after switching weapons consume no ammo.
Each time you shoot an enemy on the beat, your Fury grows, which directly affects how intense the music is and how much damage you do. Fury caps out at x16, which is where you will hear one of the many legendary vocalists in their full glory. If that sounds like a good time, the Unyielding Fury Sigil is for you. With it, you can never drop below 4x Fury, and you enter Leviathan already at 16x Fury, music blasting on all cylinders right out of the gate.
A particularly interesting Dream unlock is the Extra Memory, which does exactly what it says on the tin. With four Memories to choose from between each wave, your choices and ability to synergize are increased even further.
This free update has been a long time in the making. We knew we didn’t want to radically change the core gameplay. Slaying on the beat to absolute banger tracks is the soul of the game, and we know it resonates with players. Yet we wanted to offer something new.
To us, the roguelite progression framework and the pure flow-inducing rhythm gunplay is an epic meeting of genres. When in doubt, look to music: thrash metal, death metal, prog metal, power metal – and we’re still only in the realms of metal! Variety is the spice of life, especially in Hell, and we hope you enjoy it.
Riding shotgun with The Horde Mode Update, our Purgatory DLC is also available now, adding even more content, with a new weapon, three outfits, and three new original tracks performed by Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum), Joe Bad (Fit for an Autopsy), and Matt Heafy (Trivium).
Go forth, Hellsingers, and make Hell fear the beat.
Funcom
Every legend has a song. And yours is one of vengeance and destruction.
Part human, part demon, and bent on vengeance. Become The Unknown, and fight through the fiercest domains of Hell on an infernal ride to face the Red Judge herself. You have a score to settle. Slay in sync to the beat and feel the music get more intense.
Dream of the Beast:
• Two New Original Songs.
• Dream of the Beast, performed by Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil).
• Leviathan, performed by Will Ramos (Lorna Shore).
• New Weapon: The Red Right Hand. Fire in rhythmic bursts that vary in length.
• Three outfits with passive effects.
Purgatory:
• Three new original songs.
• Goodbye, My Morning Star performed by Matt Heafy (Trivium).
• Swallow the Fire performed by Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum).
• Mouth of Hell performed by Joe Bad (Fit for an Autopsy).
• New Weapon: Telos. Slay demons with arrows from a powerful bow.
• Three cosmetic outfits.
Essential Hits Pack:
• Gorillaz – Feel Good Inc.
• Muse – Uprising
• Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
• Icona Pop – I Love It (feat. Charli XCX)
• DVBBS & Borgeous – Tsunami
• Disturbed – Down With the Sickness
• Galantis – Runaway (U & I)
• Paramore – Misery Business
Note: The Song Layering feature is not available on licensed tracks.
The post The Secret Ingredient in Metal: Hellsinger’s New Horde Mode – Roguelite Design appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Last week, we asked you jump into the creative worlds in Fortnite and share epic moments using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights:
PinkyHarmonizer shares a close up of a green-haired girl in visor-like sunglasses
Mur4dQ shares a halo-ed character leans out the passenger side window of a blue vehicle, the driver laughing behind the wheel
xenobitz shares a character stands before a swirling chasm, with a purple block like structure looming in the sky
lifeofstevegaming shares two characters laughing in the snow, holding mistletoe and jingle bells
tenshi_marero shares a blue vehicle launches off a slope of snow
Ellie_Snake shares a portrait of a character in the Aloy / Horizon Zero Dawn skin
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: Cyberpunk 2077
SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on December 13, 2023
Next week, we’re headed to the neon-soaked streets of Cyberpunk 2077. Share stylish and action-packed moments roaming Night City using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured.
If you were put off by the idea that Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League is an always-online game, I have some good news: Rocksteady Studios confirmed that it will make the story mode available offline, but only after the game releases.
In the official Discord server for Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, a Rocksteady employee confirmed in the announcements channel that the developer plans to add an offline story mode. As you can see from the screenshot below, the offline story mode won’t be available at release, but Rocksteady is “aiming to add this update in 2024.”
During a February State of Play held this year, Rocksteady confirmed that not only would Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League require an online connection even when playing in single-player, but it will also be a live-service game. Many fans were thoroughly disappointed by the news, with it turning off some from the game altogether.
The announcement came after a new trailer debuted last night at the 2023 Game Awards, with Rocksteady continuing to give us more glimpses at the DC title. To that end, Rocksteady also kickstarted a new developer diary series last month; in the first video of the series, it revealed that its version of Metropolis would be twice the size of Gotham City depicted in Batman: Arkham Knight.
Originally set to launch sometime in 2022 before getting delayed into early 2023, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League was supposed to come out on May 26. Rocksteady subsequently delayed Suicide Squad to February 2, 2024.
For more, check out our feature, where we take a closer look at how its first developer diary shed light on the game’s biggest plot mystery.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Last night, Geoff Keighley revealed dozens of trailers for upcoming video games, and interviewed some of his favourite celebrites and best palss from the games industry on stage. He also happened to hand out some awards to game developers. At his awards show. Titled The Game Awards.
During The Game Awards, Bandai Namco revealed a trailer for Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero, the newest entry in the beloved 3D fighting game series. Seeing as how it’s been nearly 15 years (10 years if you count the series’ lackluster spin-offs) since players received a new mainline Budokai Tenkaichi game, folks likely have a lot of questions about Sparking! Zero.
Naturally, IGN assembled the seven dragon balls and spoke with producer Jun Furutani to chat about the game’s five-year development process and get some insight into what players can expect when Sparking! Zero releases on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
Although several Dragon Ball games have released since 2007’s Budokai Tenkaichi 3 on PlayStation 2 and Wii, Furutani said now felt like the perfect time for the series to return and deliver an “evolved” Dragon Ball Z gameplay experience on next-gen consoles.
“What was interesting to see with [Sparking! Zero] was the effect on the environment. When Goku is charging his ki, you have a little bit of wind picking up,” Furutani said while pantomiming Goku’s zenkai boost. “When someone crashes through a boulder or a building [after an attack] it’s happening in real time. We’ll be using Unreal Engine 5, so the graphics are just that more real and immersive.”
Furutani says he drew inspiration from his time observing how players in Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s esports scene enjoyed recreating iconic battles from the anime to ensure players could relish in an identical experience with Sparking! Zero.
“Sparking! Zero is different than [Dragon Ball FighterZ, Dragon Ball Xenoverse, and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot]. FighterZ was created with esports intentions with 2D fighting. Kakarot was about experiencing the story. Xenoverse [had players] go in as an avatar into the world,” Furutani said. “The focus here is to push the limits of how much a player can completely immerse themselves into the world and how intensely we can make that [happen].”
Before the new Budokai Tenkaichi trailer made its world premiere earlier this year, fans referred to the previously unnamed title as Budokai Tenkaichi 4. Gematsu spotted a Bandai Namco trademark filing in September, revealing that the game would instead adopt the series Japanese title, “Sparking.”
Although the subtitle “Zero,” tends to indicate a game ostensibly serving as a prequel entry in an ongoing game series, that isn’t the case with Sparking! Zero. Rather, the name is meant to embody the game being an accessible starting point for longtime fans and newcomers alike.
Despite my best efforts, I wasn’t able to get Furutani to spill the senzu beans about the game’s roster size or, more importantly, if the series’ beloved loading screen mini-games would make its triumphant return. However, Furutani beckoned fans to look forward to more details in the future and expect a “robust game” when Sparking! Zero releases on Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Steam.
Isaiah Colbert is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow them on Twitter @ShinEyeZehUhh.
Okay, okay, I know the last two of these have only been fairly lukewarm interpretations of what I’d normally consider ‘good’, but listen, this is the real deal folks. Roto Force is excellent, and comes with a hearty recommendation for both twin-stick shmuppers and, you know, cool people in general. It’s also an excellent Steam Deck game.
