Pow Pixel Games slices its way onto the indie game scene with Abathor, an arcade-style throwback to fantasy belt scrollers of the ’80s and ’90s. It’s a pleasingly old-fashioned hack-‘n’-slash platformer that will conjure memories of childhood couch co-op.
Golden Axe is the obvious influence, despite the side-on perspective, but there are also shades of more recent pixelated homages. A heavy metal aesthetic recalls the dark fantasy of Slain and Blasphemous, though its tone is much lighter than those games. Character designs, power-ups, and enemies are ripped straight from genre media. Abathor wears these influences proudly. It isn’t trying to do anything different and it’s all the more entertaining for it.
Headbang with Motörhead and Rob Zombie as Metal Fest’s main acts
Learn how the developers worked on the new content, including a canine cameo
Get a preview of the tune-ups made to World of Tanks Modern Armor
World of Tanks Modern Armor: Metal Fest is back for 2024, with Motörhead and Rob Zombie as the main acts! New vehicles, Commanders, and more heavy-as-TOG-II content is ready to blast your eardrums as soon as you fire up World of Tanks Modern Armor.
Here, you’ll get insight from the developers themselves on the creation process, followed by a preview of what’s to come throughout the Heavy Metal season. If you thought the game was loud before…
This edition of Metal Fest brings two legendary acts whose integration was as epic as their legacy. According to Art Director Andy Dorizas, the team followed the bands’ lore to the letter to ensure that everything was both unique and loyal to the source material.
Starting with the tanks, you have the Thunder Chief Object 452K (Motörhead) and the Dragula T-55AGM (Rob Zombie). These are two collector’s tanks with unlockable discounts (more on that below) that play their associated songs when on display in the garage ꟷ “Ace of Spades” for the Thunder Chief and “Dragula” for the Dragula T-55AGM. The same will also happen with the band-specific Skins that will be released in special Metal Fest bundles.
New Commanders
Metal Fest also brings three new 3D Commanders to the fray. Who wouldn’t want to have Warpig, Lemmy Kilmister, and Rob Zombie as 3D Hero Commanders by their side?
Yep, you read that right. World of Tanks Modern Armor worked directly with Motörhead to create a true-to-life version of the band’s legendary frontman. The band was thrilled to be involved in integrating the Lemmy’s legacy into a video game – something that he really enjoyed
Bringing Warpig to life has an even wackier story. Audio Director Brendan Blewett says that when working with Motörhead, the band contributed several ideas around the voice design for the Warpig 3D Commander, based on Motorhead’s iconic mascot of the same name. They wanted a character that was across between a wild, free-wheeling-no-rules biker, and an English bulldog.
This will be the first time that fans and players hear Warpig’s voice, so it needed to feel authentic to the character and the band. Following the directions of Motörhead, Blewett recorded hours of his sister in-law’s puggle (Ollie) snorting and grunting, and mixed them together with a British voice actor’s lines to bring the band’s mascot to life as an imposing 3D Hero Commander.
As for the Rob Zombie Commander, the man himself picked the in-game 3D model he liked the most, according to Dorizas.
New Tanks
Once your lineup’s ready, stage dive into Metal Fest’s community event and Earn Challenge!
For this event, choose between Team Rob Zombie or Team Motörhead and earn points with the community toward team-specific rewards and discounts for both the Thunder Chief Object 452K (pictured) and the Dragula T-55AGM. If you side with Rob Zombie, you’ll earn the HMH AMX Modèle 58 as your final reward, and if you pick Motörhead, you’ll receive the HMH Huntsman Centurion. Both vehicles belong to the game’s legendary Heavy Metal Heroes roster.
Metal Fest is set to rock your socks off! With it, you can also expect new tank contracts, returning Metal Fest content from last year, and more! It’s a great build-up for the upcoming World War II Soviet line and new light tank of Brazilian origin for World War II mode.
San Diego Comic-Con is back, and while its future is still shrouded in mystery, this year’s convention is set to provide a slew of news and announcements from the entertainment world.
If you cannot attend SDCC 2024, no worries. IGN is covering it live and in-person, bringing you all the biggest news, from upcoming films in the MCU to the latest comic books and things you can expect to hit the small screen soon.
Here’s everything announced at San Diego Comic-Con 2024.
Monty Python and the Holy Gail Is Coming to Magic: The Gathering
IGN can exclusively reveal that Monty Python and the Holy Grail is coming to Magic: The Gathering. This new collaboration will be released as two limited-edition Secret Lair drops, featuring reprints of classic Magic cards with new art based on the 1975 British comedy film.
LEGO Unveils New Star Wars and D&D Sets
Ahead of SDCC 2024, IGN exclusively revealed two new LEGO sets based on the Star Wars and Dungeons & Dragons franchises.
The first LEGO set based on Jedi Bob’s Starfighter. This new LEGO set will commemorate the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: Rebuild the Galaxy special, which arrives on Disney+ on September 13. However, the LEGO set will be available for purchase starting August 8, retailing for $39.99.
The second LEGO set features minifigures based on 12 characters from the Dungeons & Dragons series. Some of the minifigures include a Dwarf Barbarian, an Elf Bard, and a Dragonborn Paladin. These miniatures will sell for $4.99 starting September 1 and are packaged in a mystery box, providing a randomized component.
Oni Press Reveals the Twisted Future of the EC Comics Horror Line
During SDCC 2024, Oni Press confirmed that the horror anthology series Epitaphs From the Abyss is expanding from its initially planned 5-issue run to a 12-issue maxi-series. The comic series is set to conclude sometime next Summer; following its conclusion, a new EC Comics title will debut.
Additionally, Oni confirmed that a holiday-themed anthology special will be released this December. The first issue of this comic, titled Shiver Suspenstories, will feature a fusion of horror, sci-fi, and military-themed tales.
Lastly, Oni announced Cruel Kingdom, a successor to the 5-issue run sci-fi anthology comic series Cruel Universe. Cruel Kingdom will debut next January.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Whoopi Goldberg has gracefully accepted the “Key to Hell” from the Blizzard Entertainment team one year after calling them out over the release of Diablo 4.
As reported by Entertainment Weekly, Diablo general manager Rod Fergusson attended ‘A Night With Whoopi’ on July 20, an event celebrating the actress’ cannabis brand, Emma & Clyde. He joined Inarius and Lilith cosplayers to gift Goldberg a replica of the Diablo 4 key that unlocks the gates of the underworld.
While there are no guarantees it unlocks any doors, it might be the key to Goldberg’s heart after the Star Trek actress shared an impassioned plea to Blizzard last year to release Diablo 4 on Mac shortly after she bought the action RPG and discovered she couldn’t play it because it was only available on PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.
“You know how much I love Diablo. I would like y’all to let those of us who use our Apples to play… allow us to play on the Apple. Take Diablo 4 and let us do it and have a great time,” she said in a now-deleted social media video. “Give me my [Diablo] 4, because I paid for it, I was all excited for it, I went to play on it, and I’m telling you, this really p***ed me off.”
Entertainment Weekly noted that Goldberg also demanded a refund, which she received after getting the studio’s attention. Fergusson publically addressed the matter on X/Twitter at the time, writing in a post: “I did not have ‘Whoopi Goldberg yelling at me on Instagram’ on my #DiabloIV launch bingo card.”
Diablo 4 released last year and became a mega-hit for Blizzard despite some controversy regarding updates and monetization. IGN gave the game a 9/10 in its review, calling it “a stunning sequel with near-perfect endgame and progression design that makes it absolutely excruciating to put down.”
S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl, the beautifully grotty sci-fi shooter sequel from Ukrainian studio GSC Game World, has been delayed once again. It’s a relatively good-spirited delay, though: first off, it’s not that long, with the previously planned September 5th launch pushed back just a few weeks to November 20th. There’s also clever little in-universe announcement video (one which gives the fourth wall a study kick on its way out), and an accompanying promise of a meaty “developer deep dive video”, set to reveal much more of the game’s radioactive hellscape on August 12th.
Fly the Union Flag, plate up some beans on toast, and get the kettle on for a good brew – Fallout: London is finally here. The ambitious, long-awaited mod for Fallout 4 is now available for PC players to download for free. But diving into the British wasteland isn’t quite as easy as booting up a new videogame. Depending on what platform you’re using, Fallout 4 might require a little tinkering before it’s ready for Fallout London. Have no fear, though, for this guide will help you to keep calm, carry on, and get Fallout: London installed on your PC.
What you need to play Fallout: London
To play Fallout: London, you need to own Fallout 4 and all of its DLC packs. That’s easily acquired by purchasing the Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition, which is the complete package. If you already own Fallout 4 and the odd one or two DLC packs, you will need to purchase what you are missing. Here’s a list of everything you need to own:
Fallout 4
Automatron
Far Harbor
Nuka World
Wasteland Workshop
Contraptions Workshop
Vault-Tec Workshop
You can use the High Resolution Texture Pack (available for free) if you wish, but it is not a requirement.
You will also need to downgrade Fallout 4 to make it compatible with Fallout: London (more on that later in the guide). On top of all that, you will also need the Fallout: London mod itself. This is available to download from GOG, using the GOG Galaxy launcher. Create a GOG account if you don’t already have one and add the free mod to your account using the green button on the Fallout: London store page. Then download GOG Galaxy, find Fallout: London in your library, and download it.
Steam vs GOG
Fallout 4 for PC is available on both Steam and GOG. Fallout: London can be played using either version (sorry, the Epic Games Store version is incompatible), but if you are buying Fallout 4 on PC for the first time specifically to play Fallout: London, then we recommend buying from GOG.
Why? Because the installation process is much, much simpler. Team FOLON, the developer behind Fallout: London, has a partnership with GOG. Using the GOG Galaxy platform, you’ll be able to simply download Fallout 4: GOTY Edition and then install Fallout: London after. Then it’s just a case of launching the game and playing.
If you own Fallout 4 on Steam, things are a bit trickier. You may have previously read about how the recent Fallout 4 ‘next-gen’ update created compatibility issues with many mods. Fallout: London was impacted by this (hence the delayed release date) and so it requires a previous, ‘last-gen’ version of the game to work. Where GOG Galaxy only allows this older version to be downloaded to ensure compatibility with mods, Steam automatically downloads the ‘next-gen’ version of Fallout 4. As such, you’ll need to force Steam to download an older version of Fallout 4 to play Fallout: London.
How to install Fallout: London on Steam
To install Fallout: London using a Steam version of Fallout 4, you will need to access the old 1.10.163.0 version of Fallout 4: Game of the Year Edition. The easiest way to do this is by using Team FOLON’s downgrader tool, which is available from Nexus Mods. If this is your first time modding a PC game then this is probably your best option.
After downloading, run the Fallout London Downgrader .exe app. This will open a window that will ask for you to select the install path. Click the folder icon to the right of the window and search for where Fallout 4 is installed (by default, that’s “C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonFallout 4”).
The next window will ask you to log into your Steam account. This is so the downgrader tool can access the older versions of the Fallout 4 files and install them to your system. Enter your username and password, and then follow the prompts to authorise the log-in via Steam Guard. If you’re uncomfortable with logging into your Steam account via the tool, then you can manually downgrade Fallout 4. See below this section for instructions on how to do that.
With your Steam account logged in, the downgrader tool will begin the process of installing the correct version of Fallout 4. This will take a long time so you’ll need to be patient. When the process is complete, hit ‘finish’ to exit the tool.
With a freshly downgraded version of Fallout 4 ready, you now need to install Fallout: London. Boot up GOG Galaxy, find Fallout: London in your library, and download the mod. (Yes, even if you have Fallout 4 on Steam, you need to use GOG to play Fallout: London). When downloaded, you can hit ‘play’ to launch the installer. The system should automatically detect your Steam version install folder, but just double check before hitting the install button (again, by default this is “C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonFallout 4”).
After the install process is complete, you will be able to launch Fallout: London from GOG Galaxy. It will launch straight to Fallout: London’s bespoke main menu and play like a standalone game.
Two final things to note: you cannot change your graphical settings from the Fallout: London main menu and the game will likely launch in a low resolution. To adjust settings, launch Fallout 4 in Steam and use the ‘Options’ menu in the pre-game launcher.
You should also disable cloud saves for Fallout 4 in Steam just to prevent any issues. From the Fallout 4 library page, click the cog button and go to the properties menu. In the general tab, turn off the Steam Cloud option.
How to manually downgrade Fallout 4 on Steam
If for some reason you don’t want to use the downgrader tool, you can manually download an older version of Fallout 4 using Steam’s command console. To begin, we recommend deleting everything from your Fallout 4 install folder (which is, by default, located at “C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonFallout 4”) and then following these steps:
Type steam://open/console into the address bar of your internet browser. This will prompt Steam to open its console tab.
You now need to download each part of Fallout 4’s ‘last-gen’ version individually. There are 15 sections in total. Typing in the following codes will initiate the download of each section:
For Part A use:
download_depot 377160 377161 7497069378349273908
For Part B use:
download_depot 377160 377163 5819088023757897745
For the executable file use:
download_depot 377160 377162 5847529232406005096
For the English version use:
download_depot 377160 377164 2178106366609958945
For HD Texture Pack use:
download_depot 377160 540810 1558929737289295473
For Automatron use:
download_depot 377160 435870 1691678129192680960
For Automatron English language pack use:
download_depot 377160 435871 5106118861901111234
For Wasteland Workshop use:
download_depot 377160 435880 1255562923187931216
For Far Harbor use:
download_depot 377160 435881 1207717296920736193
Far Harbor English language pack use:
download_depot 377160 435882 8482181819175811242
For Contraptions Workshop use:
download_depot 377160 480630 5527412439359349504
For Vault-Tec Workshop use:
download_depot 377160 480631 6588493486198824788
For Vault-Tec Workshop English language pack use:
download_depot 377160 393885 5000262035721758737
For Nuka World use:
download_depot 377160 490650 4873048792354485093
For Nuka World English language pack use:
download_depot 377160 393895 7677765994120765493
The files will download into your Steam library folder (which by default is located at “C:Program Files (x86)Steamsteamappscontentapp_377160”). You should now be able to find them in this folder, with each of the sections in its own “depot” folder.
Create a new, temporary folder and move the contents of all the downloaded folders into this new folder. If prompted to remove or replace files, always choose ‘replace’. The aim is to create one single folder full of files, rather than a collection of depot folders. This will create the ‘downgraded’ version of Fallout 4.
Move the entire contents of this new folder into your Fallout 4 installation folder (which is, by default, located at “C:Program Files (x86)SteamsteamappscommonFallout 4”). Be sure this folder is completely empty before adding your new files.
To prevent Steam from automatically updating Fallout 4, you will need to deactivate the app manifest file. In the steamapps folder (“C:Program Files (x86)Steamsteamapps” by default) you will find a file called “appmanifest_377160”. Right click the file and select properties, then tick the ‘Read-only’ box at the bottom of the window. Hit apply and then close the window.
Download Fallout: London using GOG (this will require a GOG account and the GOG Galaxy launcher). If you do not want to use GOG, you can also manually install Fallout: London. This is advised only for advanced users, and full instructions can be found on the Fallout: London website.
Launch Fallout: London in GOG Galaxy and follow the instructions to begin the game.
With these instructions followed, you should now be able to play Fallout: London through either your Steam or GOG version. And if this is your first experience of modding, we hope we’ve helped make the process simple. Enjoy Fallout: London, and please mind the gap.
We are back with the latest look at the Japanese gaming charts thanks to Famitsu and, unusually, a new Nintendo release has not taken the top spot.
Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition winds up in third in its debut week, only shifting 27,391 copies. It’s hardly the biggest number for a physical debut (particularly from Nintendo) and it wasn’t nearly enough to topple the Japan-only Powerful Pro Baseball 2024-25, which sold 166,947 copies on Switch and 49,210 on PS4.
Evo 2024 is down in the books, and what an event it was. When the eyes of the entire fighting game community are in one place, it’s also the ideal location to showcase new information about updates: gameplay balances and additions, character DLC, and much more — and the announcements at Evo this year packed one heckuva punch.
Granblue Fantasy Versus Rising elevates its game even higher
GBVSR had a very strong showing at Evo this year, but it looks like it’s only the beginning of this game’s run as a community favorite. The beautiful yet terrifying Versusia was unveiled near the start of Evo, and she was playable at the CyGames booth. Versusia exudes an aura of raw power, with attacks that look and feel downright cataclysmic. She will be released on August 20, and it will be interesting to see how she affects the game’s dynamic. She’ll be accompanied by various gameplay adjustments, a new Grand Master rank, and additions to the game’s single-player story mode.
Also announced but not playable was Vikila, whose bubbly personality and smaller stature stand in stark contrast to Versusia’s chaos. She’ll be available in October of this year, with a gameplay reveal almost certainly coming before her debut. Vikila and Versusia round out the Season 1 DLC characters, but a season 2 teaser — along with a brief glimpse of beloved character Sandalphon — was enough to get the Evo arena jumping with excitement over what’s to come.
Guilty Gear Strive brings us something old, something new, and something very different
Guilty Gear Strive continues to thrive as one of the most beloved fighting games out there, and this year’s Evo grand finals were a perfect showcase of why this game brings so much passion from its players. Those fans have plenty to look forward to in the near future, as developer and publisher Arc System Works announced their full slate of upcoming DLC characters for Guilty Gear Strive’s fourth season.
Returning to the arena will be longtime series staples Dizzy and Venom, with new looks and, in Queen Dizzy’s case, a proper royal title. Details are sparse on the brand-new addition, Unika, but she’s a character that will prominently feature in the upcoming Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers anime.
Perhaps the most surprising announcement, however, was that of Guilty Gear’s first guest character from a completely different franchise. Lucy from Cyberpunk Edgerunners will step into the arena next summer, and it’s going to be interesting to see how she fits in among Guilty Gear’s famously eclectic cast.
Also coming to GG Strive: a 3-on-3 battle mode. It’s still under development, but you’ll be able to try out the open beta of the mode today, July 25. New stages and character colors will also be added into the mix, so fans have plenty to look forward to over the next year.
Hunter X Hunter Nen Impact packs a punch
The upcoming anime-based title from Marvel vs Capcom 3 developers Eighting and publisher Arc System Works was playable and received quite a warm reception. While the inputs for special attacks are simplified compared to other team-based fighters, the feel of the gameplay is still as frantic and strategic as ever, and the over-the-top personalities and techniques of the beloved Hunter X Hunter cast shine through beautifully. Merurem, the fierce insectoid warrior, was both announced and playable at Arc System Works’ booth. Who else will be revealed before Hunter X Hunter Nen Impact’s debut this winter? Only time will tell.
SNK showcases Fatal Fury: City of Wolves and continues King of Fighters XV support
SNK’s flagship franchise fighter King of Fighters XV, had another excellent year at Evo with a strong cross-national turnout, and they’re still working to keep the game fresh and fun. Two beloved characters were announced to be returning to the arena in December: the beautiful and deadly Vice and Mature.
Fatal Fury: City of Wolves had a huge showcase at the event. A booth offering demos of the game proved to be very popular throughout the weekend, and an exhibition featuring top players from the community showcased just how exciting and explosive the game could be, even at this early stage in development. A new but familiar character for FFCOW was also revealed at the event: Kevin Rian and his young buddy Marky make their return to the ongoing Fatal Fury storyline in their hunt for justice.
Finally, SNK had one more surprise: A re-release of the famous Capcom crossover fighter SvC Chaos is now available on PS4 and PS5 with rollback netcode.
Street Fighter 6 gives us a taste of Terry
Speaking of crossovers, Capcom gave fans a sneak peek of famous SNK and Fatal Fury fighter Terry Bogard’s look and gameplay in Street Fighter 6 right before Top 6. Terry’s coming from the streets of his native South Town to tackle the fiercest combatants in Metro City, and if this trailer is any indication, things are going to get quite rowdy indeed!
Tekken 8 reveals Heihachi Mishima… is alive.
By the time you read this, you might already be playing as Lidia in Tekken 8, who featured prominently at Bandai Namco’s Tekken stations on the Evo show floor. Lidia’s announcement at Evo Japan was met with a lot of fanfare, but things are about to get even wilder in the world of Tekken.
You didn’t think Tekken 8 would actually kill off its eternal patriarch, did you? In a stunning trailer, the Tekken Project team revealed the next DLC fighter: Heihachi Mishima, a man so powerful and unkillable that he has once again re-emerged to wreak havoc on all of his accursed bloodline.
Supporting Heihachi’s re-emergence from the fires of hell will be a new, free single-player story DLC that adds the DLC fighters into the ongoing saga — however, this DLC will be free for all players, so there’s no need to buy the DLC to enjoy it. Both Heihachi and the new story content are tentatively scheduled to be released this fall. Also announced were the dates and location of the 2024 Tekken World Tour finals, which will have its culminating event in Shibuya, Japan.
Under Night In-Birth II Sys:Celes delivers a creepy new combatant
Uzuki, the be-hatted and be-spectacled young lass, is the first DLC character from UNI2’s season pass. She will be available today, July 25 for all players. Uzuki was playable at publisher Arc System Works’ booth, where I got to try her out. She’s brimming with personality: besides having a host of macabre normal attacks packed with range and strength, she’s also got a bunch of tricks up her sleeve for special moves: a random item toss, a coffin full of chaos, and oh-so-many skeletons. Expect further information on the next two DLC characters, Ogre and Izumi, later this year.
With more Evo events planned globally in the coming years, the hype won’t be stopping, and you can expect plenty more announcements and surprises to accompany the competition.
Yet again, some good food. Following the news earlier this week that 241 Bethesda Games Studios staffers had formed what was at the time the biggest wall-to-wall under Microsoft, The Verge reports that over 500 World Of Warcraft developers have voted to form their own union, alongside the Communication Workers of America (CWA).
