Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio will release the New Game Plus mode for Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii as free downloadable content after facing controversy over charging for it in previous game Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.
RGG announced the New Game Plus mode during a Like a Dragon Direct today, January 9, though didn’t say when the “post release patch” would arrive exactly. Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii itself launches February 21.
Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii similarly has different editions but these just include digital extras such as new crew members and skins, while the most expensive version has some physical bonuses such as an eye patch and pirate flag.
The game is a spin-off sequel to Infinite Wealth, the eighth mainline entry in the Yakuza / Like a Dragon series (or ninth including Yakuza 0). It follows Majima as he wakes up with amnesia and becomes a pirate, exploring the likes of Hawaii along the way.
How are we coping, nine days into the year of the Switch 2? It’s been an utter onslaught of leaks and rumours and noise as everyone clamours to find out about Nintendo’s to-be-officially-announced console. C’mon Nintendo, it’s really time to say something.
Anyway, let’s cut through the noise for a second. Here at Nintendo Life, some of us have been asking a big question — literally — about the Switch 2. We’ve been having a bit of a debate in the office: Is the Switch 2 going to be a bit too big for a portable?
It’s been a minute, but the Savage Planet franchise continues! We’re back for number two… same folks, same franchise, same studio, but with a new name: Raccoon Logic.
Formerly Typhoon Studios, we originally developed Journey to the Savage Planet (originally released in 2020 and currently available as part of the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog). Now our new sci-fi co-op adventure Revenge of the Savage Planet, a comical survival story of explorers entertaining themselves to death, is set to blast off on PS5 and PS4 in May 2025.
You’ll build and customize your own habitat, explore the alien landscape, scan everything, catalog everything and hopefully figure out how to survive. With more planets, our sequel is a bigger and brighter universe. With co-op from the start and a new third person perspective, you’ll run, jump, shoot and collect your way through four vibrant planets, crafting and upgrading your abilities while uncovering hidden secrets within.
Today we’re revealing a fifth, secret planet filled with some… not so natural creatures, while members of our team share insight into the design philosophies behind its creation.
First, check out the video below!
In this new world, exploration is still a must! There are creatures to capture, lakes to swim, mountains to climb, rails to grind, and a secret den of fun to uncover. Our fifth world features an interior lair, a stark contrast to our organic and natural open worlds, with the goal of making our world anything but predictable! Here’s some of our team to explain more:
A world inspired by retro arcades and 90’s entertainment
“Filled with fresh challenges, insane verticality, and unique modified creatures, this final world answers all the game’s lingering questions.“
– Studio Head, Reid Schneider
“Our digital juxtaposition is a narrative vehicle to reinforce the mystery of something beyond the natural sights of our planets. We speak to Slappi’s character through this dark and dangerous lair he created. Of course, we still have all the weird and wacky alien creatures we’re known for.“
– Lead Designer, Steve Masters
“The sound design went in the opposite direction as well, contrasting our instrumentation with a very digitally produced feeling. We began with a pinball machine meets game show set tone, but as it evolved, we focused on being inside a giant computer with playful 8-bit sparkles.“
– Audio Director, Cameron Jarvis
“We wanted to bring entertainment value and robot toys are intriguing and fun! We looked back to various retro arcade gaming sources of inspiration to develop this nostalgic vibe. We embodied a hard surface modeling style with retro wave neon colors paying homage to 90s entertainment.“
– Art Director, Erick Bilodeau
Local and online co-op
In Revenge of the Savage Planet, there are many ways to play, including online co-op with cross-play and couch co-op (local split screen). And if you aren’t feeling up to sitting on the same couch with another real human being, we also have single-player mode!
“Our systematic design approach creates extraordinary interactions and outcomes that you can explore and experiment with. We’ve designed it into the world, the characters, your entire experience. Every time you play, you’ll discover something new and experience it differently.“
– Producer, Noemie L’Ecuyer
Wishlist on PlayStation Store to stay informed of the May launch week specials, including an in-game trash panda suit and launch discount. Pre-order, purchase, and launch details to be revealed soon.
Thanks for supporting the Savage Planet franchise. Revenge of the Savage Planet launches on PS5 and PS4 in May 2025. Onward and upward!
Attack on Titan Revolution Update 2.5 is kicking off 2025 for Roblox fans with a new Armored Titan Raid, a rework for Fritz, new Abnormal variants, and more.
The update, which is live now for players across all platforms, launched earlier today and seeks to set the Attack on Titan simulator up for a colossal year. Arriving alongside the ongoing Christmas festivities, every gameplay tweak and cosmetic addition gives players new anime-themed gear and challenges to enjoy.
The aforementioned Armored Titan Raid tops the list of additions, with the team behind Attack on Titan Revolution describing it as a two-phase event that tasks soldiers with defending rescue boats while fighting off the plated beast. With this comes new Raid Artifacts, such as the Scars and Rifle, and cosmetics, like the Young Reiner’s Outfit and Marleyan Band.
The Fritz rework, meanwhile, includes extra defense and support perk slots with an assortment of smaller tweaks, as well as the skills Founder’s Vengeance, Founder’s Will, and Chaos. As for those new Abnormal variants, Roblox players can expect to fight off the Leader, Rager, Ducker, and Iceburst, with each featuring unique qualities to keep players on their toes. The Leader, for example, stands apart with glowing yellow marks and can buff titans in close proximity.
Another headline from Attack on Titan Revolution Update 2.5 involves the new Thunderspear gear. The full patch notes detail the obtainment method, which involves reaching Prestige 1 and completing a series of quests, and how the new explosive tools can be used to gain the upper hand in battle. Finally, fans can expect a series of quality-of-life changes, bug fixes, and other smaller, foundational changes to greet them when logging in for Update 2.5 for the first time. Highlights include an automatic detonation setting for Spears, an extension for battle pass 2, and an additional free memory storage slot.
Attack on Titan Revolution is kicking off 2025 with more content themed after one of anime’s most popular stories. For more on how to enjoy this Roblox take on omnidirectional action, you can find our full list of active codes here. You can also check out the full 2.5 Update patch notes below.
Attack on Titan Revolution Update 2.5 Patch Notes
Update 2.5 + Christmas Event
New Christmas Event:
Christmas 2D Lobby
Christmas-Themed 3D Lobby
New Winter Tokens Currency
Obtained from killing titans with Christmas hats
Spawn Rates:
Elf Hat titans have a 1/5 chance to spawn and drop 1 Winter Token
Santa Hat titans have a 1/50 chance to spawn and drops 10 Winter Tokens.
Can also be obtained through robux
New Event Cosmetics:
Grumpy (Exclusive) [Armored Titan Skin]
Santa Hat (Exclusive)
Elf Hat (Exclusive)
New Event Market Section + Buying Boosts
Christmas Crate Cosmetics:
All cosmetics have an equal chance of appearing at 11.11%
Candy Cane Blades
Christmas Gear
Christmas Sheath
Cookie
Gingerbread Blades
Hot Chocolate
Pointy Candy Cane Blades
Santa Sack
Snowman Head
Armored Titan Raid:
Defend the rescue boats while fighting the Armored Titan
Two phases:
Phase 1: Weaken the Armored Titan – During this phase, players must attack weak points on the Armored Titan in order to expose its nape. This phase ends when the Armored Titan’s HP reaches 50.0%.
Phase 2: Defeat the Armored TItan – During this phase, the Armored Titan has been sufficiently weakened, allowing all parts of its body to take damage.
New Raid Artifacts:
Scars (Mythical)
Rifle (Legendary)
Backpack (Epic)
New Raid Cosmetics:
Young Reiner’s Outfit (Legendary)
Marleyan Band (Rare)
Fritz Rework:
Passives:
Unlock any family exclusive shifter skills
Extra Defense Perk Slot
Extra Support Perk Slot
20.0% Shifter Stats
15.0% Crit Chance/Damage
10.0% Damage in Raids
10.0% Gem Gain
10.0% Damage
10.0% CD Reduction
10.0% Awakening Bar Gain
10.0% Gold/Bar XP Gain for all party members
Skills:
Founder’s Vengeance
Founder’s Will
Chaos
Thunderspears:
Obtainment Method: (Requires Prestige 1+)
Thunderspear Quests:
Thunderspear Handle:
Create 3 watch towers in Outskirts [Skirmish Objective]
Escort 1 horse carriage in Outskirts [Skirmish Objective]
Thunderspear Thruster:
Collect 3 Ice Burst Stones in Utgard [Skirmish Objective]
Thunderspear Base:
Retrieve 3 Missing Supply Crates in Giant Forest [Skirmish Objective]
Defend the Missing Supply Crates in Giant Forest [Skirmish Objective]
New Thunderspear Skills:
Offense:
Grasp Blast
Flashbang
Hellfire Barrage
Meteoric Rain
Dual Shot
Revolving Pierce
Defense:
Homing Missile
Combustive Counter
Ackerman/Shiki
Thunder Barrage
Lightning Bolt
Additional Thunderspear Information:
Has a max kill cap (TS limbs hit) of 3 by default.
The number on the left is the distance the player is away from being able to trigger the thunderspear
The more green it is, the closer the player is, and the redder it is, the further the player is from the thunderspear
There is a setting to control whether you want to detonate the thunderspear manually or automatically after unlocking Scout’s Instinct
Thunderspears will automatically explode if:
It has been in the air for 5 seconds without hitting anything
It has been 10 seconds since it’s hit something
The player is 1000 studs away from the thunderspear
Season 2 Battlepass:
New Cosmetics for Thunderspears:
Icarus Equipment [Tier 75] (Premium)
Icarus Gear [Tier 100] (Free)
New Abnormal Variants:
Leader:
Titan with glowing yellow marks that buffs nearby titans by screaming.
Causes nearby titans to become enhanced with 25% stat boost in walkspeed, nape health, and damage.
The enhancement from Leader variants is cancelled when the leader is killed.
Rager:
Titan with glowing red marks, a 100% stat buff in speed, and the ability to scream.
Ducker:
Titan that has no cosmetic indicators at first sight, but evades nape attacks by rolling backwards, and can thrash wildly when attacked from the front or sides.
Iceburst:
Spawn exclusively in Utgard map on Hard+ difficulty
Drops ice burst stones for thunderspear quest
In order to defeat them, players must hit their nape 3 times in quick succession (within 7.5 seconds after each hit) which causes an explosion, making their nape vulnerable.
New Thunderspear Perks:
Maximum Firepower (Body) [Mythical]
Spear Speed increases by 20.0%~40.0%
Spear Count increases by 2~4
Spears no longer have recoil when being fired
Everlasting Flame (Offense) [Mythical]
Blast Radius increases by 15.0%~30.0%
Each explosion does 10.0%~30.0% burn damage
Munitions Master (Support) [Legendary]
Spear Count increases by 2~4
Munitions Expert (Support) [Epic]
Spear Count increases by 1~2
Thunderspear Conversion Stats: (When Thunderspears are equipped, these stats will convert for perks and artifact substats)
ODM Damage = TS Damage
ODM Control = TS Control
ODM Gas = TS Gas
ODM Speed = TS Speed
ODM Range = TS Range
Blade Durability = 0.5x Conservation Chance
Swing Duration = Blast Radius
ODM Limbs hit = 0.5x TS Limbs hit
New Thunderspear Memories (Can only be rolled after unlocking thunderspears):
Afterimages (Offense) [4-Star]
Spear explosions create a smaller explosion in their wake, doing 30.0% DMG
Steel Frame (Defense) [3-Star]
All explosions deal 25.0% less self DMG and grant immunity to any explosions for 5s
Marksman (Offense) [3-Star]
Increase DMG by 0.4% for each 5m traveled per spear (Max 465m)
Surgeshot (Offense) [1-Star]
Holding your Spear’s M1 for longer increases the BLAST RADIUS
New Gamepasses:
Memory Bag
Increase the maximum amount of memories that you can hold by 3 (Default 1 without gamepass)
Auto Sell
Automatically sell selected rarities for perks/artifacts that are obtained from crafting/missions/raids
Balancing:
Talent “Overslash” now procs from where the titan dies instead of where your player is
Skill “Command” now affects stat “Conservation Chance”
To get the ‘Warbringer’ achievement, you now need 25.0% damage
Armored Shard cost lowered to 24,999
QOL Changes:
Added Setting ‘Automatic Detonation’ for Spears
Added 1 free memory storage slot
‘Battlepass 2’ extension that lasts 2 weeks
Bug Fixes:
Fixed perk “Tyrant’s Stare”
Reduced lobby loading times a bit(?)
Maybe fixed losing random body parts when ragdolled(?)
Fixed perk slots sometimes just not appearing
Fixed perk slots sometimes not being interactable
Misc. Changes:
No titans spawn in raids after 15 minutes
Added ‘Follow’ rewards in the Main Menu (PERMANENT buffs)
Added ‘Onikiri Spear Gear’ and ‘Onikiri Spear Equipment’ obtainable from the Onikiri Raid (Must be using Thunderspears while in this raid for TS related drops).
0.3% (Hard)
0.9% (Severe)
3.0% (Aberrant)
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
The first time I died in Beyond Citadel, the game treated to me a close-up shot of my character’s scantily clad, bisected body lying in a pool of guts and ripped underwear. It turns out you can turn off a lot of the gore and nudity. You can also swaddle yourself in some nice, sturdy, PG-13 body armor. But you’re seemingly stuck with a certain base percentage of bulging, softcore gratuitousness in both the character portrait on bottom left, and in the mildly boobulent background art of the world. I’m not sure I can put up with all that, which is a shame, because Beyond Citadel is otherwise a promising, eerie FPS that mixes ideas from 90s shooters in pretty appealing ways.
Square Enix has shared the list of features available in the PC version of Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, which includes up to 4K resolution and 120 frames per second alongside Nvidia DLSS support.
A trailer for the PC version, below, arrived ahead of its January 23 release date and, while it stopped short of specifics, did confirm that Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will feature improved lighting and enhanced visuals compared to the PlayStation 5 version.
Not completely departing from its original platform, however, it does also include support for the DualSense wireless controller and all the additional features it brought. Mouse and keyboard support is available too.
Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth will offer three graphics presets (low, medium, and high) though Square Enix said it has “numerous graphics options.” This includes the ability to customize the number of background non-player characters appearing on screen.
The role-playing game arrived in February 2024 as the second part of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake trilogy. It follows Cloud, Aerith, Tifa and the rest of the party as they leave Midgar and explore an open world and its vibrant towns and cities.
In our 9/10 review of the original PS5 version, IGN said: “Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth impressively builds off of what Remake set in motion, both as a best-in-class action-RPG full of exciting challenges and an awe-inspiring recreation of a world that has meant so much to so many for so long.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
“I sometimes joke about it, but it’s like I need a war to start a new game,” Rasheed Abu-Eideh tells me over a call. “The specific thing that made me make Liyla And The Shadows Of War is the attacks on Gaza in 2014, and the specific thing that made me make Dreams On A Pillow is the attacks on Gaza in 2023.”
Dreams On A Pillow is a stealth adventure that tells the story of a young mother during the Nakba – the 1948 ethnic cleansing, displacement, and cultural suppression of Palestinian Arabs by Israel. As its funding campaign puts it, it’s a game about “a land full of people being made into a people without land.”
Microsoft has announced the return of its Developer Direct showcase, and confirmed what fans can expect to see.
Developer Direct is set for Thursday, January 23 at 10am Pacific / 1pm Eastern / 6pm UK. In a blog post, Microsoft said fans “will get an inside look at a selection of highly anticipated games coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass players this year.” That confirms a focus on 2025 games only.
Microsoft also teased that it will “visit a surprise location to see another studio’s brand new game.”
What is that brand new game? There’s a lot of speculation right now that Bethesda may be ready to reveal the much-rumored The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion remaster, which was listed in documents accidentally published as part of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) versus Microsoft trial over the buyout of Activision Blizzard.
Neither South of Midnight, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, nor Doom: The Dark Ages have release dates yet, so perhaps we’ll get those during the Developer Direct. Either way, Microsoft is set to firm up its 2025 lineup of games at the show.
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.
A long, long time ago I became obsessed with watching people play rally games beautifully. It was a blessing to see those disembodied hands sling virtual cars around with grace and precision, kicking up dirt in a way I could only dream of.
Now, though, I am going through a different phase. A less blessed phase. One where I watched the popular streamer and influencer Ludwig attempt to climb to Platinum rank in League Of Legends, all because he wanted to prove another popular streamer, who thought he couldn’t do it, wrong. I know I’ve already put you off, so I don’t blame you if you stop reading. Just know that I couldn’t stop watching his streams, even as it conjured up terrible memories of a time spent doing the exact same thing at uni.
Currently slated to release on 20th March 2025, the game is an enhanced version of the Wii U classic, boasting improved visuals and brand new story content. Clocking in at just over 3 and a half minutes, the new trailer sheds light on the game’s plot, backstory, and characters to bring you up to speed before its release. There’s also a small hint at some of the additional content that returning veterans can look forward to.
