Final Fantasy 14’s fifth expansion has a name, a (rough) release date and a first look at what seems to be a notable shift in tone from the apocalyptic climax of Endwalker. Dawntrail will be a summer-themed continuation of FFXIV’s story into a “new story”, bringing new jobs, various content additions and a major visual revamp for the MMO.
If you love point-and-click adventure games, you’ve probably heard of Syberia (if you haven’t, where have you been?). If you haven’t jumped in yet, you are in luck! As part of IGN Rewards, we are giving away 10 console Collector’s Edition bundles for Syberia: The World Before, the latest entry in the series.
Haven’t thrown your name in the hat yet? Enter the giveaway on the IGN Rewards page.
Syberia (from Microids) is a four-game series of point-and-click adventure games focusing on the travels of Kate Walker, an attorney who is caught up in a journey when she tries to handle the sale of an automaton factory. Now, in Syberia: The World Before, while Kate is imprisoned and forced to work in the mines, she receives tragic news from the United States, which kicks off her new journey.
Back in 1937, a talented young musician named Dana Roze finished her classes in Vaghen and was thinking about going to Paris to continue her studies. Players bounce between Dana in 1937 and Kate in 2004, solving puzzles, learning more about the world, enjoying beautiful music, and more.
10 copies of the Collector’s Edition of Syberia: The World Before are up for grabs in this giveaway (including 5 for PlayStation and 5 for Xbox), and the winners will receive the following:
IGN Plus is the paid membership program for IGN, and right now you can grab an annual membership for just $29.99, or just $4.99 a month, if you prefer to go that route. You can also try it for just $1 for 30 days.
What you get as an IGN Plus member:
Brian Barnett writes reviews, guides, features, & more for IGN & GameSpot. You can get your fix of his antics on YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Bluesky, & Backloggd, & check out his fantastic video game talk show, The Platformers, on Spotify & Apple Podcasts.
Sonic Mania 2 isn’t in development and never was, according to the devs behind the celebrated 2D revival of the blue hedgehog. Contrary to rumours, that’s not because of a falling out between publisher Sega and Sonic Mania’s devs, but because both sides of the creative team decided they wanted to make something new.
Update: Powers shown off in new trailer.
Update : Game Informer has shared a brand new interview with Sonic Team’s Creative Officer Takashi Iizuka showcasing all of the Emerald Powers.
All of the powers are the same among all four characters, except for the White Emerald’s. Some can be used for movement, while others can also be used to help your allies.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
After much anticipation, it’s finally confirmed – critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV Online is officially coming to Xbox Series X|S.
First announced at the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest 2023 in Las Vegas by FFXIV Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida and CEO of Microsoft Gaming Phil Spencer, let’s break down the announcement and reveal and what it means for Xbox gamers now that one of gaming’s most welcoming communities is set to get even bigger!
Firstly, if you’re not familiar with Final Fantasy XIV Online, as the name would suggest, it’s the fourteenth mainline game in the highly esteemed Final Fantasy series. As with all mainline numbered Final Fantasy games however, each entry is a standalone game that doesn’t require any previous experience with the franchise. If you’ve never played a Final Fantasy game before, FFXIV is the perfect place to jump in!
FFXIV takes place in the world of Hydaelyn – a vibrant planet blessed by the Light of the Crystal. Amid azure seas, encompassing the westernmost of the Three Great Continents, there lies a realm embraced by gods and forged by heroes. Her name — Eorzea. It is here that your tale begins to unfold. Beckoned by the Mothercrystal — the source of all life — you must embark upon a quest to deliver the land from an eternity of Darkness.
As an online massively multiplayer role-playing game, FFXIV offers a realm where you and 27 million adventurers worldwide can embark on epic quests together. Filled with bustling cities, towering forests, and deadly deserts, FFXIV’s constantly updated, and ever-engaging world takes you to the far reaches of the land and beyond, with a captivating and ongoing story. But it isn’t just about defeating massive monsters with your personalized Warrior of Light. You can also gather materials and craft items, enjoy series staples including Chocobos, Moogles, and Airships, enjoy a day of mini-games and mahjong at the Gold Saucer, and even buy a house.
If all this sounds a bit overwhelming, never fear! Though initially designed to be played online with others, FFXIV includes a feature called the Duty Support system that enables tackling content with a party of NPC allies as opposed to other players. In fact, by the time the open beta launches it’ll be possible to complete all the main story dungeons from A Realm Reborn through Endwalker solo, enabling you to comfortably experience the stories of Eorzea on their own.
Final Fantasy XIV Online is set to launch in open beta on Xbox Series X|S as part of the Patch 6.5x series, which means you can expect it very soon indeed! Alongside 4K support on Xbox Series X, both consoles will enjoy fast loading times, making sure your time in Eorzea looks and plays great.
Additionally, you may have seen some copypasta lurking around the internet pertaining to a certain free trial… well, rest assured, the Final Fantasy XIV Online Expanded Free Trial will indeed be coming to Xbox Series X|S, meaning you too will be able to enjoy the entirety of A Realm Reborn as well as the award-winning Heavensward and Stormblood expansions up to level 70 with no restrictions on playtime!
We’re thrilled to finally be launching on Xbox Series X|S, and this is just the beginning of our journey together. We’re looking forward to sharing much more information in the run-up to launch and welcoming you all to Eorzea! Until then, may you ever walk in the light of the Crystal!
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Hi all – Luke Karmali here from the FFXIV PR team, writing to you from our Fan Festival 2023 in Las Vegas!
After a pandemic-forced hiatus, this year sees the return of our physical Fan Fests, and we’re thrilled to be able to share a first look at our fifth expansion, Dawntrail, with our community in-person.
There’s a ton to unpack, but they say a picture paints a thousand words, so let’s start by checking out the newly released Dawntrail teaser trailer that offers a glimpse of the adventures to come:
As you can see, the Warrior of Light is stepping foot in more tropical climes than ever before – those of the New World, Tural! Alongside Alphinaud, Alisaie and Erenville, Dawntrail will begin with a voyage across the Indigo Deep. A visitor from the New World seeks your aid in a rite of succession to determine the land’s next ruler, with rumours that events could even lead to the fabled gates of a city of gold…
As part of his keynote presentation, Producer and Director Naoki Yoshida gave us a first look at what to expect from Dawntrail when it launches in Summer 2024. In addition to the new story, there’ll be an increased level cap, multiple new jobs, sprawling new areas, new allied tribes, new dungeons, and new core battle content such as FATEs, Hunts, Treasure Hunts, sidequests, and much more.
Here’s a glimpse at just some of the fresh content to look forward to:
As if that wasn’t enough, Yoshida also revealed the game’s first major graphical update will be arriving alongside the expansion, bringing significant improvements to both character and world visuals. The update is planned to improve screen-wide aesthetic appeal, with higher-resolution textures and shadows, and improved materials qualities. We’re excited to share a closer look at this in future!
And on top of that, there’s an Even Further Expanded Free Trial on the way. With the launch of Patch 6.5 later this year, our third expansion Stormblood (and in fact all through Patch 4.58) will be joining the Free Trial, meaning newcomers can venture all the way up to level 70 and try out the Red Mage and Samurai jobs, still with no limit on playtime. To paraphrase a film about another adventure that started on the open sea…we’re gonna need a bigger meme!
There’s quite a lot to process here, but we promise it’s just the beginning for Dawntrail and our continued adventures in FFXIV. We’ll be back sharing more information in the next leg of our Fan Festival 2023-2024 tour, which is taking place in London on 21st October 2023.
Until then – happy adventuring, and may you ever walk in the light of the crystal!
Final Fantasy 14 is at last coming to Xbox consoles, after years of fan requests.
Today during Final Fantasy Fan Fest 2023, Phil Spencer made a surprise appearance at the end of the keynote to announce the news. He spoke about his own enjoyment of the game as well as the close collaboration between Xbox and Square Enix to make the game the best it can be on the console.
Xbox Series X and S versions of Final Fantasy 14 will come with faster loading, and 4K support on the Xbox Series X. It’s currently planned for release in spring of 2024, with an open beta scheduled for patch 6.5. This means that the upcoming new expansion, Dawntrail, will be playable on Xbox when it launches in summer of 2024. Of course, the Xbox release will feature cross-platform play, meaning you can pick up your existing accounts on Xbox and play with others on PC and PS5. You will need to purchase a copy of the game separately on Xbox to play, however (unless you’re enjoying the free trial, which will soon go all the way up through the Shadowbringers expansion).
We learned a lot more today about planned major updates in the Final Fantasy 14 universe, including a ton of new details about the coming new expansion, Dawntrail. Dawntrail will include numerous updates including a major graphical overhaul, new jobs, a “New World” called Tural with a summer vacation theme, and even more.
Final Fantasy 14 itself has been on fire in recent years, ever since it revamped its original experience as A Realm Reborn and released multiple new critically-acclaimed expansions. We gave the most recent expansion, Endwalker, a 9/10 and said of it that, “if this is how Final Fantasy XIV’s showrunners end a story, then I’m more than ready to walk with them from the beginning to the end of the next one.”
Rebekah Valentine is a senior reporter for IGN. Got a story tip? Send it to rvalentine@ign.com.
Men of War 2 devs Best Way have announced they will run a third and final beta weekend for their upcoming World War II RTS next month, giving us a look at its Classic and Realism modes before it fully hits PC screens in September.
Dawntrail will be Final Fantasy XIV’s fifth major expansion, Square Enix announced today. The new expansion was unveiled during the Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest keynote with a trailer featuring a summer vacation theme and multiple new jobs, all coming summer of 2024.
At Final Fantasy Fan Fest 2023, FF14 director Naoki Yoshida (affectionately known as Yoshi-P) took the stage to unveil the new expansion, joyfully declaring he wanted to continue to work on the game “until I die or even afterward.”
Dawntrail’s story is intended to be “the very best summer vacation a hero could possibly have,” in “a sudden change from the ending of Endwalker” and marks the first step into a “new story” for the game. It takes place in the “New World,” known officially as Tural, which lies over the ocean to the far west of Eorzea. There, the Warriors of Light will assist in a rite of succession to determine Tural’s next ruler. The rite involves a contest that eventually takes them to the gates of a “fabled city of gold.” Of course, the Scions will be involved in this, but Yoshi-P warns that the contest may divide the Scions into two factions…
In Tural, players will get access to a new hub city: Tuliyollal, a city with an emphasis on diversity located in a larger region called Yok Tural. It’s not very industrialized, but is inhabited by diverse groups of people focused on living in harmony with nature, and is ruled by Gulool Ja Ja, a two-headed Mamool Ja. The contest at the heart of Dawntrail is to determine who will succeed him.
Dawntrail includes a number of new content features, including new allied tribes such as the Pelupelu, a race that debuted in Final Fantasy X and X-2 who are short, wear bird-like masks, and excel at trade and beverage-making. Additionally, the 7.0 patch will bring the following:
Dawntrail joins Heavensward, Stormblood, Shadowbringers, and Endwalker in the line of expansions released for Final Fantasy XIV. The expansions have been lauded for their in-depth storylines, each of which is a roughly 60 to 80 hour RPG on its own.
Endwalker was a major successor for Final Fantasy XIV, coming at a time when World of Warcraft was suffering a great deal of upheaval. It was so successful, in fact, that Square Enix had to take it off sale to account for the server load.
Developing…
Myth: Gods of Asgard is a roguelike action RPG based on the fantastic world of Norse gods, beasts, and myths.You choose a god-hero and hack and slash your way through the legendary realms of Asgard, Midgard, Helheim, and more. Ragnarok is coming to wipe out mortals and gods alike, but if you triumph in boss encounters with the likes of Fenrir the apocalyptic wolf and the massive serpent Jormungard, the world might yet have a fighting chance.
Myth: Gods of Asgard’s ever-changing isometric battlegrounds and fast-paced action brings to mind the critically acclaimed Hades. If you’ve already conquered the Greek Pantheon, it makes sense to see what you can do as a warrior ordered to prevent Ragnarok. Moreover, if you’re a God of War fan, you’re already familiar with exchanging a Greek setting for the cold Norse winds. Just pack some shaggy underwear and you’ll be fine.
There are five gods to incarnate in Myths: Gods of Asgard, and your style of attack is determined according to which god you work with. Brundhild the Valkyrie favors a deadly spear capable of punching an enemy full of holes in the blink of an eye. The beefy warrior Siegfried wields an equally beefy sword that packs a massive punch. Ullr, the ice-rimed god of the hunt, shoots arrows that split for a wide area-of-effect attack. Freya, the ever-popular goddess of love, prefers magic attacks. Finally, Thor is capable of calling down the thunder, and he has the hammer to prove it. A large selection of classes lets you customize your warrior through countless builds. Experiment and find your preferred playstyle.
The characters in Myth: Gods of Asgard have a distinct Marvel comic book feel, but the game’s art style also harbors an anime streak that adds individuality and charm to its roster of gods, battlegrounds, skills, and weapons. Myth: Gods of Asgard’s graphics jump to life with powerful combat effects that bring a real sense with every strike.
And while the stars of Myth: Gods of Asgard may have their specialized styles of combat, you’re still encouraged to experiment with myriad character builds. Switching between the gods grants you new fighting styles, each of which has unique strengths and drawbacks in different combat situations. The terrain is treacherous, and you have to work closely with your heroes to overcome the unexpected challenges and surprises that pop up in roguelike games. Once you’re finished fighting against fate itself, you can turn your ethereal warriors on each other in guild-based PVP fights.
If your fingers have been twitching since Hades, Myth: Gods of Asgard might be what you need to scratch that itch (with a big hammer that shoots lighting). Become proficient with a variety of weapons, then sink them into some wolf flesh. It’s available on July 28th on the Google Play Store and the App Store!
