No Man’s Sky is getting a big new Worlds update which treats the space sim’s gazillions of planets to a sumptuous overhaul, using technology devised for stablemate fantasy sim Light No Fire, which only has one planet, albeit a “literally Earth-sized” one with dragons. Catch a deep dive trailer for the Worlds update below.
Gerudo or Gerudon’t?
After decades of patiently explaining to elderly relatives, “No, Zelda is the princess”, 2024 is going to be the year that Grandma is finally right. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom is boldly going where no mainline series entry has gone before by putting the titular princess in the driver’s seat. How shocking! How bold! How unlike anything that we Zelda fans have been calling for for years. Ahem.
The ‘Zelda is the hero’ reveal was only surprising because of how long it’s taken. Aside from the obvious protagonist confusion, the series has been crying out for the Hylian monarch to take a starring role. She shines as Sheik in Ocarina of Time (our apologies to those who have avoided that spoiler for the last 25 years), she edged into the spotlight in Spirit Tracks despite it very much still being Link’s adventure, and Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom really leaned into the cool magic shenanigans. Sounds a lot like a game-leading hero, if you ask us.
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There’s no doubt that Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn stands as part of a lineage of action-RPGs – developer A44 has been open about calling its new game a “Soulslite” for some time. But having spent several hours with the game, even in its early stages, it’s clear that that’s only a part of the picture.
Flintlock introduces an all-new fantasy world with, for want of a better term, a ‘gunpowder-punk’ aesthetic . You’ll guide the tortured Nor on a quest to reclaim her beleaguered world and exact revenge on vicious gods that have brought armies of the undead along with them. Accompanied in an uneasy alliance by a lesser God, Enki, Nor uses melee axe combat, old-fashioned gunplay, copious explosives and magic to make her way through the world.
And the influences are far from simply coming out of FromSoftware’s Souls series. Flintlock is a true melting pot of gaming ideas, seamlessly combining familiar concepts from some truly unexpected sources. If you think you have a handle on what kind of game this will be, you might be surprised to learn some of the tricks it’s pulling. To help you prepare, here are some of the nods I’ve noticed along the way.
We’ll start with the most obvious – the Souls games are a key text for Flintlock. Like those games, travelling through the world is a case of finding checkpoints (in this case, these can be Campsites or Loadstones), taking on enemies who can take you down in just a few quick hits, and banking currency (here, it’s Reputation) which will be lost upon death and needs to be reclaimed when you return.
Like FromSoftware’s games, Flintlock is exacting, and not afraid to punish you for a lack of concentration (although difficulty levels are offered here). And like those games, it lends a sense of excitement and dread to every new area, every new enemy type and, most particularly, every boss.
Flintlock’s combat may borrow mechanical ideas from Souls games, but in practice there’s a flexibility and snappiness that may remind you more of classic action series, from Devil May Cry to God of War. Combining axe combos, gunplay (which is both a ranged attack and an attack-interrupting parry of sorts), and magic – Enki can be used both for stat debuff attacks and powerful ‘Ultimates’ – is a faster, more frenetic process than most Souls games.
There’s also an element of reward for skilful play here too – the game actively pushes you to chain together long combos and utilize different tactics, which brings me onto the next section…
This is where it begins to get truly unexpected. One of Flintlock’s key ideas is in how you collect Reputation. Practically every action you take in combat will offer you a certain amount of Reputation, and defeating enemies offers a chunk each time. But there’s a twist: for every kill, you gain a multiplier to the amount of Reputation you’ll take home. But take a single hit, and all of that is gone. When you’re happy that you’ve done as well as you can, just hold left on the D-pad and you’ll bank all that Reputation.
It effectively adds an aspect of gambling on yourself against the game – do you trust yourself to perfectly take down another enemy after a tough fight, or do you bank and start the process again?
Flintlock’s story revolves around reclaiming the world from its invaders, and that’s reflected mechanically, too. Aside from having a slightly more explorable world than many of the games it’s drawing on, Flintlock also introduces an idea we’re more familiar with from the likes of Far Cry or Assassin’s Creed – conquerable enemy outposts.
When you enter an outpost – known as Hamlets here – you’ll be tasked with finding and dispatching the leader of the enemy faction stationed there. When you finally do, you’ll unlock that Hamlet, cleaning up damage, returning its population to the streets, and opening up checkpoints, fast travel, shops, and side quests. It lends a real feeling of progression to your journey, seeing Nor physically taking back lost locations as she goes.
To go along with that sense of exploration, Flintlock offers Nor a wider moveset for getting around. In the earliest stages, you gain the magical ability to use gunpowder for double jumps, or longer dodges, which can be combined to help you reach ledges or cross longer gaps. But soon, Enki steps in to offer something more unusual – Rifts.
Rifts are magical warp points, unlocked by finding shrines adorned with skulls – get near a Rift, and press Y, and you’ll transport to it, subsequently offering you to option to drop down, boost out, or jump higher. Soon, you’ll be flying from one Rift to another, and the game will start offering up puzzles about how to reach certain locations by using a network of Rifts. It lends Flintlock an extra string to its bow, not to mention a sense of verticality we don’t often see from this kind of game.
It’s perhaps the clearest marker that A44 are doing things very differently here – I’d recommend you take a look for yourself when this unique action-RPG arrives on Thursday, July 18 for Xbox Series X|S and PC, coming day one with Game Pass.
Kepler Interactive
Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn
From games studio A44, makers of Ashen, comes an explosive Souls-lite, where Gods and guns collide in a battle for the future of humanity.
The Door to the Great Below has been opened unleashing the Gods and their armies of the Dead. The lands of Kian are besieged, the city of Dawn is on the brink of destruction. It’s time for the Coalition army to fight back. Embrace vengeance, gunpowder and magic as you embark on an epic journey to defeat the Gods, close the door and retake the world.
Your battle begins now.
Kill. All. Gods.
The post Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn’s Unique Gaming DNA – From Souls Games to… Gambling? appeared first on Xbox Wire.
The competition heats up in season 5, introducing wrestling royalty as WWE superstars join a packed roadmap of content including new Multiplayer maps and modes, the final Zombies story mission, the return of the Atlas Superstore, and much more across Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone.
Season 5 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone launches July 24 on PS5 and PS4.
Bait (launch): Catch a win in the Sunshine State deploying dockside on this mid-sized map featuring poolside tiki floats and a central boat house.
Yard (launch): Crush your enemies in this small cel-shaded map set in a junkyard in the Sonoran Desert.
New Variants: At launch, play new cel-shaded map variants Toonoxide (Rust) and Celship (Shipment). At the mid-season, battle amongst the bold outlines of Ink House (Stash House).
Slam Deathmatch (in-season): Earn points by downing and then eliminating opponents with a Finishing Move during the WWI SummerSlam event. All Finishing Moves will be randomized WWE Finishing Moves.
COD Warrior (launch): Compete 2v2v2 in a series of randomized, quickfire minigames. Every round win awards one point, and the first team to reach five points wins. Adapt quickly: with 15 minigames in all, you never know what’s coming next.
Arcade Playlist (in-season): Power up with new abilities including increased jump height, the Ground Slam, and Forcefield while fighting for possession over five new power weapons like the Sledgehammer with increased knockback ability and Akimbo Dragon’s Breath pistols.
Face the ultimate challenge and confront the Entity in a new area of the Dark Aether. Avoid the horde using Aetherium launch pads to soar through the air and survive the climactic final boss battle to unlock a cinematic and acquire the first piece needed to access the new Dark Aether Rift.
Be alert for clues to opening a lucrative and lethal Dark Aether Rift. Earn powerful new rewards including permanent unlocks for completing the perilous challenges within. Discover three new Schematics to aid you along the way:
Disciple Bottle: Spawn a friendly Disciple to wreak havoc against your foes.
Grenade Bandolier: Replenish your Lethal and Tactical Equipment over time, allowing you to regularly bombard enemies.
Stash Increase: Increase your stash size to 30.
The iconic Atlas Superstore is coming to Urzikstan. South of the Orlov Military Base, the Superstore fulfills all your shopping needs whether that’s new weapons, a perk set, armor plates, or other useful items. Prepare to fight across the aisles as other squads seek out these same goods.
Supreme Resurgence (mid-season): Deploy to a Rebirth Island filled with exceptional ground loot including meta-inspired Weapon Blueprints plus other changes to the Resurgence formula. Win your first match to unlock a new weapon camo.
Bounty Contest (launch): When this public event activates in Resurgence, every squad is given a Bounty Contract. Survive the target on your back and earn cash for every completed bounty.
Redeploy Drone (launch): Redeploy on your own terms with the portable R.D.B. Field Upgrade. Throw out a line for the whole squad and reposition fast.
Elite Contracts (mid-season): Seek out Elite Contracts to earn bonus rewards including an elite cache providing one of the following: the Foresight Killstreak, multiple Redacted Weapons, Specialist Perk Package, or an Advanced UAV.
Recon Flyover (mid-season): In two waves, a squadron of Advanced UAVs highlight scanned Operators as red player arrows on the map. Prepare for imminent battle.
PlayStation Plus members, don’t forget to grab the season 5 Combat Pack. This pack grants Élodie “Lockpick” a new Operator Skin: Apotheosia.
PlayStation Plus members will also receive the following: the Colosseum Vanquisher weapon Blueprint, the Pantheon Pummeler weapon Blueprint, the Augustan Assailant Large Decal, the Corinthian Conqueror weapon Sticker, the Golden Lion Charm, and the Aegis Emblem.
Rule the ring and unlock new content across Weekly Events like the WWE SummerSlam; prove your championship status by completing challenges across all game modes to unlock rewards including an Operator Skin mastery reward.
Earn more rewards across a variety of in-game events, including the Conquest Event plus new Field Rep events like Wildlife Most Wanted, Emotional Overdrive, and Echo Endo Live!
Superstars Cody Rhodes “The American Nightmare” and Rey Mysterio “The Ultimate Underdog” join new Tracer Pack Bundles alongside other Store offerings like Tracer Pack: Toon Force 141; take down your enemies, comic book style.
Expect more content in the season, like six new Aftermarket Parts and four new weapons, including a new SMG and assault rifle plus a spear and compound bow. Compete in new Ranked Play challenges across Multiplayer and Call of Duty: Warzone, disrupt enemy electronics with the EMP Grenade, and progress through a Battle Pass featuring highlights like Operator Skins for Rhea Ripley AKA “Mami” and Ivan Alexxeve, leader of Konni Group.
Purchase Modern Warfare III on PlayStation to enjoy the benefits of two additional loadout slots, monthly exclusive Double XP events, +25% PlayStation Party Bonus XP, +5 bonus Battle Token Tier Skips with a BlackCell purchase, and a free in-game bundle each season with the Combat Pack.
Stay frosty.
If DICE’s Battlefield series lacks for one feature, it’s surely the option to dig trenches. Properly dig them, I mean, not just waft them into existence with a wave of your magic trowel, a la Battlefield V. Think Minecraft, but with howitzers instead of Creepers. I have never been to war, but I do own several shovels, and let me tell you, if I ever hear artillery fire or even just dangerously raised voices round these parts, the first thing I will do is tunnel straight down.
Fuck it, I might do that if I read any negative comments on this news piece. Vex me not with your pestilent talk of “map balancing”. Watch this trailer for Flying Squirrel’s new FPS Over The Top WW1 instead. It abounds with trench-digging, and it looks like you can make some decent-sized craters, too.
This month’s IGN First is Star Wars Outlaws. We’ll be diving deep into Massive Entertainment’s open-world adventure into a galaxy far, far away throughout July, with new behind-the-scenes looks and features.
We’ve already explored how Massive brought the cinematic spectacle of Star Wars into an “open galaxy” setting, as well as introducing its crime syndicates, and now we’re thrilled to bring you a full mission of exclusive gameplay. Taking place on the classic desert planet of Tatooine, this expert mission takes Kay on a journey involving a Jawa and a Sarlacc pit as she journeys from the sand to the stars.
Stay tuned through the rest of the month to learn more about how Outlaws was made, and what you’ll be doing in the story set between The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi when it launches August 30th, 2024.
Simon Cardy knows better than to stand around the edge of Sarlacc pits. Follow him on Twitter at @CardySimon.
Back in 2011, Robot Entertainment released tower defender Orcs Must Die!, adding an exclamation mark to spark some urgency and also, irritate anybody who has to write about video games for a living, though not as much as the absolute maniacs behind Tom Clancy’s H.A.W.X. Evidently, players did not sufficiently meet their demand for wanton Orc-massacring, for Robot were forced to release two sequels, which I personally would have titled Orcs Must Die!! and Orcs Must Die!!! or perhaps Orcs Must Die!!?, to indicate a mounting existential crisis.
Now, Robot have stepped things up by announcing Orcs Must Die! Deathtrap, a newly roguelite, four-player spin on the goblin-farming formula, whose subheading throws bumbling Orc murderers a bone by specifying that you might try building a trap of some kind, a deathtrap possibly. Please find below a suspiciously innocent trailer, which I promise you isn’t covering a wall of arrow launchers or similar.
Last week, Nintendo puzzled fans by uploading an unsettling and cryptic teaser trailer for an unannounced game. We no longer have to wonder what this game is, as the company revealed today that it is the latest entry in the Famicom Detective Club series, due out on August 29 for Nintendo Switch.
In a new video published on YouTube, Famicom Detective Club lead scenario writer and series creator Yoshio Sakamoto revealed he is the producer for the latest entry in the franchise in 30 years: Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club. Sakamoto revealed that while the team was remaking the first two games, The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind, he felt Nintendo needed to continue the series beyond just those two entries.
“This is the first new Famicom Detective Club game in 30 years, and I was involved in everything,” Sakamoto explained. “[F]rom the foundations of the plot to small details of the script and cutscenes.”
In Emio – The Smiling Man: Famicom Detective Club, players control an assistant private investigator who is looking into the murder of a student who fell victim to Emio, the Smiling Man, according to the product listing on Nintendo’s official website. In addition to a brand-new story, Ayumi Tachibana, the protagonist from The Missing Heir, returns as a playable character in certain sections of the game.
Emio – The Smiling Man is the first new Famicom Detective Club game in over three decades, and follows the Switch remakes of the Famicom Detective Club: The Missing Heir and The Girl Who Stands Behind, both of which were announced and released in 2021 on Nintendo’s hybrid gaming console.
Taylor is a Reporter at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
I increasingly judge Souls-adjacent games not by the height of their bosses or the depth of their dungeons, but the cleverness of their shortcuts, and Flintlock: Siege Of Dawn has my favourite shortcuts in an age. Rather than just being routes around to the other side of a barred door – though there are plenty such Lordrannish loops to find in this game – they consist of aerial chains of magic, purple triangles that suck you toward them when you hold a button. They lend vigour to a branching, faux-Napoleonic world that might otherwise be a collection of atmospheric strolls between bonfire-equivalents and fights defined by taut resourcing systems. They’re idiot-proof grappling points from which you can launch yourself at another triangle, a ledgeful of upgrade materials, or a loitering musketeer who is in urgent need of a ground-pound.
Great discounts on 1.5TB, 1TB and more.
As you’ll likely be aware if you’ve been anywhere near our home page over the last two days, Amazon’s Prime Day sale is now well underway. There are some tempting deals on Switch OLED consoles and all sorts of accessories, but we’d argue that the event’s microSD card deals are the ones you really shouldn’t be missing.
For the remainder of today only, you can grab microSD cards of any size for fantastic prices – there are even great deals on the Sandisk 1.5TB microSD card, which should eradicate any Switch storage woes for good. These prices are about as good as it gets, making now an absolutely perfect opportunity to expand your Switch’s storage.
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