Much like many of you, I suspect, I too would love a Dishonored 3, but I’m not entirely confident it will ever happen. Arkane Austin was obviously shut down last year, and Arkane Lyon are making a Blade game, which leaves little room for a Dishonored sequel. But is there any possibility of one happening all the same? Well, still no, probably, but Arkane Studios founder and Dishonored co-creator Raphaël Colantonio did recently say that he could at the very least see himself working on a follow-up.
“There’s a lot of advancements that have been made”.
Months of rumours and leaks meant that yesterday’s announcement that Nintendo Switch 2 will come with an LCD screen wasn’t all that big of a surprise. We had been preparing to say goodbye to the OLED for a while now, but Nintendo is keen to point out that the change isn’t a decision that the team took lightly.
During a roundtable discussion with Kouichi Kawamoto, Takuhiro Dohta and Tetsuya Sasaki at yesterday’s Nintendo Switch 2 hands-on event in New York, Sasaki admitted that “There’s been a lot of advancement that has been made in LCD screen technology” since the release of the Switch 1, and the team “took a look at the LCD technology that is available to us now” during Switch 2 development.
What is it? What’s the formula, the secret ingredient to make a VR game bring pure excitement and adrenaline to the players? How can we make them smile and go “wow” after they take off the headset? For us devs at Something Random working on Harpagun, it all comes down to a few simple elements. Let’s take it from the top.
Movement that matters: Speed, control, and immersion
Action games are all about movement. An issue mostly already solved in flat screen games but still problematic in VR. Some forms of locomotion allow for precision but are pretty slow and unresponsive. Others let you zoom around the locations, but can be uncomfortable. Those that are, are limiting or take you out of the illusion of “being there”.
In Harpagun we needed a system with a clear set of goals: comfort, simplicity, responsiveness, speed and immersion. In a proper arcade game players have to be able to react in a blink of an eye, immediately focus on what’s the most important, change their position to avoid danger or get a better shot at an enemy.
We managed to achieve that with our “pylon and anchor” system. Players move between sets of points with their eyes anchored to points of interest such as a path forward or center of the combat area. The movement is smooth but fast enough to be comfortable while allowing for total control of the battlefield.
Grab, smash, throw: The power of the Magnetic Ray
The first thing everyone wants to do in VR is to grab something and throw it. Sadly it requires the player to come very close to an object and can sometimes be very finicky and actually ruin the illusion of presence due to the limitations of the medium (mass of objects, pressure on hands etc.). But you need to do it. You need that interaction with the world and enemies, that’s what VR is for. So how can we have a cookie and eat a cookie? Use a Magnetic ray of course. (not for the cookie, for the interactions).
Distance grabbing is a well-known concept in VR at this point so the challenge here was to make it as juicy and essential to the gameplay as possible. You can use it on enemies and each will react differently. Some may be squashed on the ground, others reveal their weak point or may part with parts of their bodies. The ray can also grab projectiles, move around elements of the environment from as small as tin cans to as big as fridges and tractors. Of course all of them can then be used to smash some more enemies.
Juice it up: Impact, chaos, and a soundtrack that slaps
It wouldn’t be much fun if you zoomed around and squashed grey boxes in grey locations now, would it? You need “juice”, a lot of it. Animations that show personality and intent. Hit reactions give you a sense of impact and power of weapons. Splashes and explosions telling you that an enemy turned into a pile of marmalade under a falling sentry turret. Add to that audio and music. A proper squeak of an alien jumping on your face, followed by a thud of a tv set hitting it and a splat when it, well, splats all over the place. In terms of music for Harpagun we settled with a mix of army marches, jazz, balkan beats and a touch of slavic folk. Hey, stop, don’t close this page – I assure you, it all works – the soundtrack slaps.
A quirky universe to unravel
Two important elements of the experience – a “what?” and “where?” If you want players to continue playing beyond the first few minutes you need to give them a reason. Places to discover, people to meet, quest to complete. Going too “over the board” wouldn’t serve an action game though. Who wants to read lengthy lore snippets when there are enemies to unalive? You might want to make it a bit simpler, something like – a team of space junkers wanting to strip an abandoned planet from natural resources loses contact with an expedition member and sends a deck hand on the planet to check it out. Seems basic enough.
Now let’s add to it alien plant-mushroom-creatures, Slavic retro-futurism, dark humour, incompetent crew “helping” the hero, some happy-go-lucky attitude and voila. A world full of quirky characters and colorful locations is ready and waiting to be discovered. “Smacznego”.
Stir it up and serve hot! Smacznego!
Pretty simple, isn’t it? Just follow those few steps for three years – working hard, putting effort and love into what you’re doing. Then, hopefully, you’ll end up with an action game that VR enthusiasts enjoy and cherish as much as you do.
Incidentally we’ve just made a thing like that – it’s called Harpagun and you’ll be able to play it as soon as April 10 on PlayStation VR2. Give it a go and tell us if any of our theories are actually true. See You Space Junker!
NetEase Games is fundamentally changing its Marvel Rivals post-launch roadmap to shorten its seasons and deliver at least one new hero every month as it battles to maintain live service momentum with its players.
It’s a major update to the existing content release schedule that was teased during the new Marvel Rivals Season 2 Dev Vision Vol. 5 video. Included in the 15-minute upload were details about how Season 2 will introduce its new Vanguard, Emma Frost, at launch April 11, as well as Ultron, whose class will be revealed closer to his mid-season launch. Both promise to keep Marvel Rivals fans on their toes with new abilities, but the real changes to how playable heroes will impact matches truly begin in Season 3.
In Marvel Rivals Season 3, which is currently without a release date, NetEase will shift season lengths from being three months long to just two months. It means major content updates will progress rapidly without changing the team’s initial promise to drop at least one new hero every half-season. So, while you’ll have to wait a month and a half to play as Ultron after Emma Frost launches next week, that wait will be cut down significantly after the hero after that drops.
“Since the launch of Season 1, we’ve been deeply contemplating how Marvel Rivals can continuously deliver fun and engaging experience for you all,” Marvel Rivals creative director Guangyun Chen explained in the Dev Vision video. “During this time, several discussions on social media have certainly added some pressure on us to keep the game as exciting as it has been since December. To a certain extent, we agree.”
With our goal of keeping the audience’s excitement alive just like our opening months, the real adventure with Marvel Rivals is just beginning.
Chen went on to explain that NetEase wants Marvel Rivals “to fulfill everyone’s fantasies about Marvel Super Heroes,” and that means exploring new modes and flooding the scene with a dense roster of varied characters. Following what he called “extensive internal discussions and thorough evaluations,” NetEase will adjust its systems to account for the increased flow of content. More information on how this will affect players will be revealed before the launch of Season 3.
“With our goal of keeping the audience’s excitement alive just like our opening months, the real adventure with Marvel Rivals is just beginning,” Chen added.
NetEase pulled back the curtain on Marvel Rivals Season 2 just hours ago, revealing that it will soon swap out its vampire takeover theme in favor of a new storyline that focuses on the Hellfire Gala. That means new fancy outfits, maps, and characters are on the way, with more information primed to be revealed in the coming weeks.
Marvel Rivals was a smash hit when it launched in December, securing 10 million players in three days. NetEase’s free-to-play superhero team-based PvP shooter launched on December 6 across PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X and S. On Steam the launch was particularly huge, with 480,990 concurrent players. January’s Season 1 then drew an incredible 644,269 concurrent players, making Marvel Rivals the 15th most-played game ever on Valve’s platform.
But those concurrents have been on a downward slide ever since, which may have sparked the drastic roadmap change from NetEase. Still, Marvel Rivals remains hugely popular, and is one of Steam’s most-played games. The launch of Season 2 will no-doubt prove a shot in the arm, and again with Season 3.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
I started playing Pokémon Scarlet when it first came to the Switch back in November 2022. I was excited to get back into the usual Pokémon formula again after Legends Arceus mixed it up. The open world gameplay combined with the standard gym battle progression had me feeling like a little kid again.
Unfortunately, when the game first launched it was riddled with problems. In IGN’s Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Review, we loved a lot of things about it, but found that it just ran terribly. The game has since received various patches and updates to help resolve the major issues, but it’s the free Nintendo Switch 2 upgrade that is likely going to finally bring this game to its full potential.
Nintendo has listed the games that will be receiving free updates to improve performance or add extra features on the Nintendo Switch 2 console, and both Scarlet and Violet are on there. Additionally, Amazon is having a sale on physical copies of these games that brings the price down to well below many of the upcoming Switch 2 editions of older games. If you’re a Pokémon fan who has been on the fence about the latest games in the series, now is the time to buy before the new console arrives.
Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Deals at Amazon
The discount on these games aren’t exactly massive right now, but with the price of Switch 2 games being revealed at $70 and above, they feel actually reasonably priced. Both of these games are currently sitting at full price a the Nintendo eShop, and it’s unlikely that prices will drop much further than they are now once the free Switch 2 upgrade drops on June 5. If you are planning on getting the new Switch console at launch, you should check out our Switch 2 preorder guide for all of the details.
What Pokémon Games Are Coming to Switch 2?
Nintendo has stated that the Switch 2 will be compatible with most Nintendo Switch games. This means that you’ll most likely be able to play the full library of Pokémon Switch games on the Nintendo Switch 2 when it comes out in June. Only Scarlet and Violet will be receiving the free upgrades, however. Outside of those games, Pokémon Legends: Z-A is the next announced game and will be coming to both Nintendo Switch and Switch 2. There will also be a Switch 2 enhanced version of the game that will offer better resolutions and frame rates.
Anyone up for a little shindig? NetEase clearly are, as Marvel Rivals‘ second season is all about the Hellfire Gala, a fun little party gone wrong hosted by Emma Frost. As you’ll no doubt be aware, Emma Frost isn’t in the game currently, making her the first of the new characters to join this season, which kicks off next week, April 11th.
Both The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom are getting Nintendo Switch 2 versions for the new console. Alongside the in-game upgrades, Nintendo’s adding a number of additional features through the new Zelda Notes option in its Nintendo Switch App, including achievements.
The Nintendo Switch App (formerly known as the Nintendo Switch Online App) will get an update adding Zelda Notes, a game-specific service exclusive to the Nintendo Switch 2 versions of both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
This app was shown off in the Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, allowing players to use GPS-style navigation to reach landmarks in the Zelda games. For achievements, the app will track your play data and allow players to earn in-app medals based on their records. These account for opening chests, earning rupees, and more.
In the Achievements section, Nintendo lists categories such as “Quests and Adventures Cleared,” “Shrines of Light Cleared,” “Locations Visited,” “Lightroots Unlocked,” and others. Alongside tracking those numbers, the app will also let you see how you match up with other players on a global scale.
While the achievements seem geared towards completion, it’s interesting to see Nintendo experiment with these options. Granted, they exist in a phone app rather than on the Switch 2 console by itself, but I am curious to see whether other games get similar treatments in the future.
Other features of the Zelda Notes app include a Daily Bonus option for helpful resources, a Voice Memories section which adds more story and lore to the world as you explore, and an Autobuild Sharing tool. These do seem like handy tools, and especially geared towards people playing through this Zelda duology for the second time on their Nintendo Switch 2.
The Nintendo Switch 2 has a launch date set for June 5, 2025. Both Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom will have Switch 2 editions at launch, alongside a slew of other games both new and refreshed. Previews dropped this morning for some of the launch window games for the Nintendo Switch 2, including Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, and general hands-on impressions of the console.
Alright folks, quiz time: what’s the single best feature in the GTA series? I’ll give you a second. Got your answer done? If you wrote anything but the in-game radio, you’d be dead wrong, obviously it’s listening to boppin’ tunes as you crash into lamp posts for the umpteenth time, there’s nothing else it could be. I love an in-game radio, and as it turns out, Dune: Awakening of all games will include one (didn’t know they had radio on Arrakis).
Nick Arran, managing director of UK retailer GAME, has stated that digital games being cheaper than physical on the Switch 2 will be “a challenge”.
As reported by The Game Business, Arran commented on the cost of the Switch 2 console and games, stating that although the £75 price point for Mario Kart World “seems expensive”, he believes it’s necessary to cover the rising costs of production and publishing.
South of Midnight: 6 Tips to Help You Thrive in This Dark, Fantastical World
Summary
South of Midnight launches on April 8, or play now with the Premium Edition.
The game arrives for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox app for Windows PC, Steam, cloud, and will be available day one with Game Pass. And with Xbox Play Anywhere, play on Xbox consoles, Windows PC, and cloud with full cross-entitlements and cross-saves.
To celebrate release, we’ve put together 6 tips to help you in both exploration and combat.
South of Midnight invites you into a dark, fantastical world drawn from tales of the American South – and while this might look like a fairytale, both the stories it tells and the challenges it poses are far from simplistic.
Telling the tale of Hazel, who gains the magical power of Weaving after her mother is swept away by a supernatural flood, you’ll need to cross a warped take on the South in your hunt to find her mother, and answers to what exactly is going on. Along the way, you’ll battle Haints – corrupted enemies borne from the sorrow of the world – and cure the wounds of Mythical Creatures, the subjects of real-life folktales brought to life by developer Compulsion Games.
Premium Edition owners can play from today (ahead of an April 8 release date for all players), and to celebrate we’ve put together some tips that cover both exploration and combat, which will help you prepare for this very unexpected journey:
Look Everywhere
Navigating each of South of Midnight’s chapters could be as simple as following your Guiding Strand – a feature that sees magical threads guide you to your next goal. But that’s far from all there is to discover. Each location is stuffed with hidden areas – some require platforming to reach, others need you to use your spells, while others will lead you into battles you might never have otherwise had. All of them will require a keen eye to find.
Your rewards for doing this usually come in the form of Floofs – the game’s upgrade currency – and we hugely recommend you take the time to look for them. With just a bit of concerted exploration, you can add upgrades to your skill tree (more on those later) much faster than by simply running from one objective to the next.
Even better, you may also find Life Filaments as you go. Most chapters contain one of these – usually in its most hidden side area – and collecting three offers a permanent upgrade to your health bar.
Expand These Stories
South of Midnight is all about stories – from the tale of Hazel’s search to find her mother, to the tragic backstories of the Mythical Creatures you’ll find along the way. But if you want to dig really deep, make sure to search each chapter for items, notes, and more. You’ll see these marked by small circles as you approach, often in out-of-the-way locations.
Far from your regular world-building, each chapter’s hidden notes add even more detail to the characters and stories you’re learning about along the core questline. You may discover hidden motivations for why characters are the way they are, simply because you took the time to read about their lives. It’s an enriching way to add to the wider tale.
Upgrade Early and Often
As mentioned above, you can speed through the upgrade tree with a bit of exploration – and when you start hitting harder combat sequences, you’ll thank yourself for doing it. Even on its regular difficulty level, South of Midnight’s combat packs a punch, with even the most basic Haint enemies removing whole chunks of your health bar after a single hit – never mind when you come up against a Mythical Creature. Upgrades are your means of turning the tables.
Upgrades tend to focus more on offering you added perks, rather than simply buffing an ability’s existing stats. When you Unravel a downed enemy to claw back some health, for example, you can add an area of-effect blast to stagger any nearby Haints before you get back into the fray. Adding a quick double-dodge to your repertoire, meanwhile, will come in very handy when you start meeting enemies that can quick-fire multiple projectiles. Take the time to explore the skill tree, and prioritize upgrades that look like they’ll solve problems.
Use Dodges as Attack and Defence
Hazel doesn’t have the ability to block attacks – but she more than makes up for that with a powerful bonus to her dodge. Hitting the dodge button will help you escape in any direction (with some invulnerability frames thrown in) – but hitting a perfectly timed dodge, just before you’re hit, comes with a nasty surprise for whoever was trying to hurt you.
Perfect Dodges send out a blast of energy, staggering any enemy around you and doing some nice damage, too. It’s worth paying attention to not just what attacks enemies can do, but the time it takes to pull them off – pretty soon, you can be doing almost as much damage by not attacking.
Use Spells as Interrupts
As we mentioned, getting hit in South of Midnight can get very nasty, very quickly – and while Hazel has that handy dodge, it can sometimes be easier simply to stop an attack in the first place. Against most enemies, throwing out a spell – whether that’s a Pull, a Push, or a Weave (which incapacitates most Haints) – will break them out of an attack completely.
While it’s tempting to spam your spells as soon as they’ve cooled down, we’d recommend keeping one in reserve as an emergency interrupt – if you see an enemy winding up during your combo, simply hit them with a spell and keep thwacking.
Chain Your Spells
If you really want to keep an enemy locked down, you can use your full spell repertoire to keep attacks going without interruption. This is particularly useful once you have a few upgrades under your belt.
For example, you could Pull an enemy towards you, with an added Weave effect (which you can also upgrade to have them take more damage while tied up). As soon as they break free, Weave them again with that core spell – and when they break free again, use Push to deal some damage and keep your distance, before charging up your ranged attack to deal the killer blow.
With a bit of practice, enemies that felt like they took an age of dodging and poking to beat in the early game can begin to go down in a single combo – it’s extremely satisfying.
South of Midnight will be available on April 8, 2025, on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox App for Windows PC, Steam and cloud, and arrives on day one with Game Pass. Play from today by purchasing the Premium Edition, and get access to digital extras.
Immerse yourself into the macabre and fantastical world of South of Midnight with the Premium Edition, which includes the full game, up to 5 days early access, and digital access (in English) to:
• South of Midnight Artbook
• Original Soundtrack composed by Olivier Deriviere
• The Boo-Hag Comic book by Rob Guillory
• Music Video: Songs & Tales of South of Midnight
• Documentary: Weaving Hazel’s Journey, Director’s Cut
UNRAVEL THE PAST
From the creators of Contrast and We Happy Few, South of Midnight is a spellbinding third person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South.
As Hazel, you will explore the mythos and encounter creatures of Southern folklore in a macabre and fantastical world. When disaster strikes her hometown, Hazel is called to become a Weaver: a magical mender of broken bonds and spirits. Imbued with these new abilities, Hazel will confront and subdue dangerous creatures, untangle the webs of her own family’s shared past and – if she’s lucky – find her way to a place that feels like home.
A DARK MODERN FOLKTALE
When a hurricane rips through Prospero, Hazel is pulled into a Southern Gothic world of memory made real and must embark on a journey to rescue her mother and safeguard her hometown. In this folktale for modern times, Hazel will need to reconcile the weight of family, history, and legacy against her own identity.
CONFRONT MYTHICAL CREATURES
Wield an ancient power to restore creatures and uncover the traumas that consume them. Cast weaving magic to fight destructive Haints, explore the diverse regions of the South, and reweave the tears in the Grand Tapestry.
HAUNTING BEAUTY OF THE GOTHIC SOUTH
Discover the lush, decayed county of Prospero and its locals. Experience a crafted visual style, touching storytelling, and immersive music inspired by the complex and rich history of the South.
From the creators of Contrast and We Happy Few, South of Midnight is a spellbinding third person action-adventure game set in the American Deep South.
As Hazel, you will explore the mythos and encounter creatures of Southern folklore in a macabre and fantastical world. When disaster strikes her hometown, Hazel is called to become a Weaver: a magical mender of broken bonds and spirits. Imbued with these new abilities, Hazel will confront and subdue dangerous creatures, untangle the webs of her own family’s shared past and – if she’s lucky – find her way to a place that feels like home.
A DARK MODERN FOLKTALE
When a hurricane rips through Prospero, Hazel is pulled into a Southern Gothic world of memory made real and must embark on a journey to rescue her mother and safeguard her hometown. In this folktale for modern times, Hazel will need to reconcile the weight of family, history, and legacy against her own identity.
CONFRONT MYTHICAL CREATURES
Wield an ancient power to restore creatures and uncover the traumas that consume them. Cast weaving magic to fight destructive Haints, explore the diverse regions of the South, and reweave the tears in the Grand Tapestry.
HAUNTING BEAUTY OF THE GOTHIC SOUTH
Discover the lush, decayed county of Prospero and its locals. Experience a crafted visual style, touching storytelling, and immersive music inspired by the complex and rich history of the South.
