Category: Video Games

The First Descendant developer Nexon has released update 1.0.4 across PC via Steam, PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X and S alongside the patch notes, below.

The patch tweaks the popular ‘Valby run’ farming method. Set in The Fortress Outpost on hard mode, the Valby run involves destroying generators and damaging the boss enough to trigger its ball immune phase, then using the character Valby’s ability to deal continuous damage while moving around the outer ring of the arena in an endless loop. With the Valby run farming method, players were able to gain hundreds of thousands of in-game gold and loads of XP in just a few minutes.

The First Descendant update 1.0.4 patch notes in full:

Content Improvements

• Module storage limit has been increased from 1,000 to 1,500.
• Cooldown for “Vulgus Strategic Outpost” has been reduced from five minutes to one minute.
• Spawning time between monster respawn has been increased, and the reward amount has been adjusted at the “Vulgus Strategic Outpost.”
• Void Fragments will now drop when defeating monsters in Special Operation. There will be the most void fragment drops at the Special Operation “Neutralize Void Experiment.”
• Using “Mark for Arrest” item obtained from Special Operation will grant 10 times the usual amount of gold. When “Mark for Arrest” is used from ‘consumable’ tab, it will convert to 100,000 gold, and “High-Value Mark for Arrest” will convert to 1,000,000 gold.

“With this adjustment, the reward amount at Fortress outpost has been reduced,” The First Descendant director Joo Min-seok explained.

“However, to ensure that ‘Valby run’ remains a popular hunting ground like Ambush Point and Refined Run, we have set the reward efficiency significantly higher than originally intended. We hope to provide numerous farming spots in The First Descendant, each with unique characteristics and usefulness to different Descendants. Instead of reverting Valby run to its original design intent, we have adjusted it to offer similar efficiency to other high-reward hunting grounds.

“Additionally, we have shortened the cooldowns for all outposts so that players can play them more frequently without deliberately failing and no longer need to search for outposts with shorter cooldowns by moving around the map. We have also added gold rewards to Special Operations and adjusted four types of Void Fragments to be randomly dropped, allowing players to choose and utilize various hunting grounds.

“Through issues like the Fortress Outskirts and Valby run, we are learning what kind of playstyle our players enjoy. The experience of sweeping through and farming monsters is of significant value in our game.

“Your feedback and interest are what drive the continuous improvement of The First Descendant. We will always listen to your feedback and improve the game.”

Joo Min-seok also offered a week five preview for The First Descendant, which goes live next week and adds a new Descendant called Luna. The details are below:

The First Descendant week five update patch notes preview:

Sea of Emerald, “Ultimate Valby”

Finally, the Magisters have completed the ultimate project for Valby. This ultimate equipment, called “Sea of Emerald,” has fulfilled Valby’s long-held desire. It is a nano suit that replicates Valby’s former body color and texture. Although covered in a thin layer, Valby feels like regaining a long-forgotten part of herself.

Ultimate Valby’s Modification Modules

• Spiral Tidal Wave: Replaces the Bubble Bullet, which was difficult to aim, with a projectile that flies straight. Spiral Tidal Wave attracts the impurities of Gluttony, making it an excellent choice for intercepting Gluttony.
• Hydro Pressure Bomb: Instead of “Plop Plop,” it leaps forward and deals damage to enemies around the landing area. The more enemies in the laundry state, the more powerful the damage, making Hydro Pressure Bomb a strong finishing blow. Instead of diving into the water, leap joyfully forward!

A New Descendant, “Luna”

The Mad Artist Luna has returned to Albion after a long wandering performance. Luna’s synthesizer gun becomes more powerful when fired in rhythm, enhancing allies’ abilities based on the performance. When Luna dances to upbeat music, allies’ skill power increases, and when dancing to relaxing music, allies’ mentality recovers and resource consumption decreases. Invite everyone to Luna’s concert. Unfortunately for Virgus, it will be their last stage, but Luna’s performance is just beginning!

Luna’s Modification Modules

• Nimble Footsteps: Enhances Luna’s mobility and amplifies the effect range of her performance, allowing for more effective ally support.
• Noise Surge: Transforms Luna from a supporter to a combat dealer. Dashes towards enemies in rhythm, dealing damage to nearby enemies. When the inspiration gauge is full, summons a stage to recover mental strength and shields. Provide enemies with a terrifying musical experience with Noise Surge!

Gluttony

The mutated Devourer-type Gluttony is a giant that indulges in Void Energy. It is equipped with systems to mine Void Energy and a cooling system to cool the heat generated during this process. To counter Gluttony, you need measures to withstand its cooling performance and the judgment to exploit its greedy temperament. Intercept Gluttony and collect new ultimate weapons and external components.

New Ultimate Weapon “Peace Mediator”

When meditation is necessary to bring peace to Ingris, the new ultimate weapon Peace Mediator is the perfect solution. This powerful hand cannon is effective even with single shots but can unleash a burst of bullets to deliver powerful firepower under the right conditions.

New Ultimate Module “Arche Concretion”

Provides Arche Concretion effect, which increases defense and mentality when using skills but decreases movement speed and attack power. It is particularly useful for Luna and Ajax and can be a good choice for players who want stable skill use. Your choices are free; combine various Modules to create your unique build.

Balance Adjustments

In the week five update, we have decided to make balance adjustments for some Descendants and Ultimate weapons.

First, we are adjusting Valby, Blair, and Freyna, who use AOE as their main skills. We hope to see these Descendants more effectively dominate the battlefield, creating large AOE zones and leisurely watching enemies fall from the rear. Look forward to improved performance for these wide-range covering Descendants.

Additionally, there will be improvements to Ultimate weapons that enhance critical hit chance and damage. Enduring Legacy (machine gun), Secret Garden (tactical rifle), and Nazeistra’s Devotion (hand cannon) will be improved to boast more powerful firepower with critical settings.

Moreover, Greg’s Reversed Fate (tactical rifle) will be adjusted to activate its unique effect in more chances. We are also improving the functionality of single-shot weapons, allowing players to choose between single-shot and rapid-fire modes. Please look forward to it.

Lastly,

There will also be more improvements for convenience to be included in the week 5 update. Plus, new cosmetics that many players have been waiting for will be out, so please wait just one more week!

Nexon’s free-to-play co-op focused looter shooter has enjoyed enormous popularity with over 10 million players in just 10 days. But it has been heavily criticized for its ultra aggressive monetization, which includes the cost of Ultimate versions of its playable characters. Last week, IGN reported on one player who spent an eye-watering 200 hours to unlock every Ultimate Descendant currently available in the game without paying money.

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.

Activision reportedly sold an “AI-generated cosmetic” for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in late 2023.

In a report from Wired on the impact of generative AI on the video game development industry and concern among many within it about the threat to their livelihoods, it is alleged that Activision “made an AI-generated cosmetic available for purchase on the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 store.”

The cosmetic in question is not named in the article, but it is linked to: the Yokai’s Wrath bundle released in December 2023. The store did not disclose any use of generative AI for this bundle.

This bundle was sold for 1,500 COD Points, the premium virtual currency sold for real-world money that generates hundreds of millions of dollars for Activision each year. 1,500 COD Points is approximately valued at $15.

It’s worth pointing out that Wired did not specify which part of this bundle was AI-generated, or indeed whether all of it was. The bundle contained a number of virtual items, including an Operator skin, a weapon blueprint, a calling card, a weapon sticker, and a loading screen, all below.

IGN has asked Activision for comment.

Nobody Wants to Die starts at a drive-thru theater, our protagonist James taking in a black and white movie with his wife Rachel. You spend this peaceful moment joking around with her through conversation options amidst the pouring rain, but that respite is quickly destroyed. Rachel vanishes and the scene zooms out to reveal the dark, 24th century hellscape where James lives. It’s a great setup, showcasing everything you need to know about this moody cyberpunk detective noir. The world might be familiar, but the developers at Critical Hit Games have managed to fill it with fun details and a few moments that flip your expectations. Unfortunately, that strong start doesn’t quite hold up throughout Nobody Wants to Die’s roughly six-hour runtime; there’s a bit too much hand-holding during its investigation scenes, and it’s missing important features that would make its branching story structure easier to explore. But what it might lack in polish it makes up for in style.

Nobody Wants to Die is a story you’ve probably seen before: James is a detective with a tragic past he doesn’t remember, and who drowns himself in booze to dull the pain in a city full of flying cars, giant holographic ads, and buildings so tall you can’t see the ground. When he’s pulled into a case that ends up being bigger than he could’ve ever imagined, both his will and his skills as a detective are put to the test as he gets caught in a conspiratorial plot. On paper, it looks pretty basic; maybe even outright boring. And there are moments where it does stick to that script a bit too much.

But this isn’t just any detective story; it’s a cyberpunk neo-noir that isn’t shy about its artistic and narrative influences. There’s a lot of Altered Carbon in its premise, specifically in how people can swap bodies after death (or just whenever they want). The sleek, jaw-dropping aesthetic is very reminiscent of Blade Runner, but with a 1950s Dark City pastiche instead of a Japanese one. It’s also not hard to see some Cyberpunk 2077 here, both in its basic cyberpunk elements and in how you can reconstruct crime scenes with gadgets that run on technobabble. Of course, there’s also the early 20th century detective noir of it all — complete with femme fatales, constant rain, lots of alcohol, and monologues from James that straddle the line between perfectly melodramatic and a bit too over the top. It’s true greasy, wet pulp.

Critical Hit Games wears an “eat the rich” attitude on its sleeve. The body swapping system seemingly allows for immortality, but you have to purchase a subscription when you come of age. If you can’t afford it, you’ll get arrested, with your brain put into “bank” storage; if you’re rich, you can just buy new bodies and switch out whenever you want. Sadly, the class warfare this concept enticingly establishes is mostly just used to move the plot along. It’s more an opportunity to call the rich “assholes” rather than make a more complex point about that inequality and why it exists.

Despite taking a lot of its elements from other places, the developers have added a lot of their own unique details. We’ve seen body swapping in cyberpunk fiction before, but I don’t think I’ve seen a system that outright says how many disadvantages that can have if you get a body that was addicted to drugs or has allergies. I also love how James’ apartment building is such a shithole that he has to summon a shared bathroom to use, which leads to a hilarious interaction with a neighbor who was still bathing.

There are also tiny aesthetic details that don’t make much sense, like how many locks require you to input a numbered code with a rotary dial. Why is a world in the 24th century not utilizing computers more? How is James able to find a drive-in theater that plays nearly 400-year-old black and white movies? These odd tidbits are all in service of the compelling atmosphere, and it’s super easy to accept them when you can tell the Critical Hit Games is having a lot of fun just putting anachronisms together in new ways.

The setting and world-building pieces pay homage to the 1950s and film noir, but that doesn’t mean it’s held on a pedestal. Many of James’ monologues and musings about the grimy lives of others, the oppressive system they all live under, and the violence he has to face are overtly poetic and corny, and sometimes he or other characters — especially his partner, Sara — call him out on it. Sara is a great foil for James; they have compelling platonic chemistry, with her talking him through the case and his thoughts through a receiver in his ear, and he does the same for her.

With multiple dialogue paths to choose from in most conversations, you can either take a serious route during your investigation or go for the stupid answer – that could be listening to your corrupt police chief boss or ignoring him and stealing evidence. I played my first run straight, and while not every choice was “morally” correct, the darker tone felt genuine to James. I leaned into the silly options on my second playthrough and it created hilarious moments, like how James is afraid of the light from his UV detection tool because they cause cancer. He’s the kind of guy who sits on neon signs outside his apartment on the 500th story of a building, drinking or smoking (do not play this game if you’re afraid of heights) as a melodramatic loner, and Nobody Wants to Die takes every opportunity to make fun of him for that.

This combination of new and old creates a pulpy mix of scenes that can swing wildly between depressive retrospection, outright tragedy, and self-aware nonsense, and it all somehow never feels out of place. In fact, Nobody Wants to Die’s dedication to that tonal dissonance is largely what lets it stand out despite its very obvious homages.

Nobody Wants to Hold Your Hand

While Nobody Wants to Die wants you to play out a neo-noir detective fantasy, there are some limits — namely in how it lets you solve cases, which isn’t much at all. Most of the actions you’ll take outside of the branching dialogue boil down to the detective work itself, which involves surveying a crime scene, gathering evidence, using futuristic tech to reconstruct gruesome, gory murders so they play out in front of your eyes, and then putting it all together with an evidence board.

How all the gadgets work is a bit confusing at first, but by the end of the first case, you fall into a routine. Use the Reconstructor to reconstruct events, fast forward or rewind through the three-dimensional footage to find new evidence or leads you want to pursue, analyze those pieces, and pull out your supplementary UV light and X-Ray to dig a little deeper. All of the data you gather will then be presented on the evidence board, where you can draw conclusions through a little activity where you’ll similarly be told outright if you’re guessing right or wrong.

It seems simple enough, and it is, especially because there are very few instances where you go about it on your own. You’ll usually get a prompt or a piece of dialogue that tells you exactly what to do, which tool to use, and how to think. You’re very much dragged through the story and forced to watch it play out instead of doing your own detective work, which removes any sense of accomplishment. There isn’t a time limit, nor is there fear you’ll miss an important clue. It can also be annoying when the figures moving throughout your reconstructions get in the way of your tools, blocking your view and causing you to make frivolous mistakes as you complete a series of mouse clicks to activate them.

The choice to remove all your agency during these investigation phases does at least allow you to experience the story more closely, since you don’t have to focus on other areas, like actually solving a case yourself. That’s especially true in how certain events impact each other to create more conversation options, but the rigid structure does also lessen the impact of your investigation quite a bit.

Thankfully, the dialogue system is worth paying attention to. It’s not the most robust I’ve seen, but there’s enough choice that you feel like you have a semblance of control over James and his actions while talking. His core personality never changes, but you can decide whether he answers Sara honestly about evidence he chose to steal from a crime scene, drink and drive, comply with the police, or even shoot somebody. How impactful your choices are varies, and there are multiple endings despite the story always arriving at the same tense confrontation, but Nobody Wants to Die understands that it’s about the journey. The final payoff is also satisfyingly dark, letting you ruminate on your choices – sometimes to the point of absolute despair.

Nobody Wants You to Save Your Game

If you’re invested enough to see all the different outcomes, you can start again on a new save file, but Critical Hit Games didn’t make it easy to run through a second time. While not giving you the option to manually save is a great way to make you sit and think about the consequence of each choice, it does make it quite difficult to see everything. There isn’t any new game plus or chapter select after your first playthrough, either. If you want to fast forward through long conversations, you only have the option to spam a skip button, which you have to click for each line of dialogue, and you can’t skip cutscenes at all. So if you want to experience the different endings, you’ll pretty much just have to play through the entire campaign again.

Granted, Nobody Wants to Die is only five or six hours long, and depending on the ending you get, there’s plenty of motivation to hop back in. I got a particularly bad ending that, to me, felt like the worst possible outcome for the story, so I of course wanted to see if I could get anything else — maybe something that didn’t make me feel dead inside (pun intended). Starting from scratch wasn’t a total slog, since I made new choices that unlocked conversations or paid off differently down the line. Still, I eventually looked up a compilation of all the endings, and while there are certainly happier ones than the initial one I got, none of them are “perfect.” James’ story is about a past that slowly emerges to haunt him, and your player skills aren’t going to stop his bittersweet conclusion.

The decision to not include these replayability features is an interesting one, as many branching narrative games want you to feel the weight of your choices but also give you the opportunity to change them. I have to give the developers credit on making such an audacious move, but does it make Nobody Wants to Die more “enjoyable,” whatever that vague term means? I’m not sure. Maybe I would feel differently if I got the “best” ending on my first try, but it feels like there should be an option to help speed up additional playthroughs after the first at the very least.

Humble Games has announced plans to restructure amid what it is calling “challenging economic times for indie publishing,” with several former employees reporting that they’ve been laid off. According to Polygon’s Nicole Carpenter, the layoffs affect 36 workers. [Disclosure: IGN Entertainment and publishing label Humble Games operate under separate divisions of the same parent company, Ziff Davis. Charity bundle platform Humble Bundle remains a subsidiary of IGN Entertainment.]

The announcement was part of a statement from Humble Games, which was published on Linkedin in the wake of several workers confirming their layoffs on social media. The statement emphasized “the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our developers and ongoing projects” while saying that the restructuring does not impact Humble Bundle.

In these challenging economic times for indie game publishing, Humble Games has made the difficult but necessary decision to restructure our operations. This decision was not made lightly; it involved much deliberation and careful thought, with the goal of ensuring the stability and support of our developers and ongoing projects. Additionally, the restructuring of operations at Humble Games will have no impact on operations at Humble Bundle.

We are acutely aware of the profound impact this decision has on our team members at Humble Games and deeply empathize with everyone affected. Our team’s contributions have been world-class and invaluable, supporting the launch of our games since we started publishing in 2017. We are committed to navigating this transition with as much empathy and understanding as possible.

Supporting our development partners and assisting former team members remains our top priority. We are committed to making this transition as smooth as possible for everyone involved. Thank you for your support and compassion during this challenging period. It is deeply appreciated.

Reached separately for comment, a Ziff Davis representative shared the statement posted above and said that the company is “not shutting down but is undergoing restructuring,” and that “all past and ongoing projects and upcoming releases are not affected and will continue to be supported and published by Humble Games.” The representative said they could not comment on the number of staff affected or remaining.

Humble Games is an indie publishing label with a portfolio including Bo: Path of the Teal Lotus, Signalis and Stray Gods. Several developers who worked with Humble Games expressed sympathy in the wake of the layoffs.

“My sincerest best wishes to all the former Humble Games staff, several of whom helped make [Unsighted] what it was,” wrote Unsighted developer Fernanda Dias. “Thank you so much for working so hard on so many amazing games. This is incredibly heartbreaking news holy shit.”

Humble Games is one of several indie publishers that has been forced to restructure amid uncertainty in the games industry throughout 2024. IGN reported in May that Take-Two was quietly winding down its Private Division label in the wake of shuttering OlliOlli World developer Roll7 and Kerbal Space Program 2 studio Intercept Games. Xbox, PlayStation, EA, and numerous other publishers have also suffered layoffs.

Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.

In April, USA’s team Jackpot won Nintendo’s Splatoon 3 World Championship, earning an in-game appearance that cemented its members as the first players to be commemorated in a Splatoon game. However, after racist messages sent by the team surfaced in the months following the event, Nintendo has now announced that it will invalidate the team’s win and remove their likenesses from the game.

Today, in a post on X/Twitter, Nintendo Versus announced that Jackpot’s win would be vacated and the team would not receive trophies due to its violations of the company’s community guidelines.

An update on the 2024 Splatoon 3 World Championship: pic.twitter.com/pYUMQzmj7S

— Nintendo Versus (@NintendoVS) July 23, 2024

Nintendo also pledged to adjust a Splashtag (or in-game profile banner) it had added to the game to commemorate Jackpot’s win. The adjustment will presumably remove the team’s characters from the banner and replace them with default characters.

Phantom Thief of the Heart, the Japanese team that played against Jackpot in the final, was not retroactively granted the win after the announcement, leaving the World Championship with no official winner.

“Nintendo cares deeply about our players and our community, and we take our responsibility to uphold our Community Guidelines seriously,” the post reads.

Nintendo’s move comes after the team’s racist messages circulated online in early June. Videos and screenshots (which can be seen in this thread — warning for offensive language) show members of the team using racist slurs and phrases in Discord messages and calls, with some even sending targeted messages to other players.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun, and they’re currently developing a game called Garage Sale. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.