That was…slightly cheeky of me. The Tomoe you play in parry-ful action adventure Bloodless is not the same Tomoe that was conspicuously absent from undeniable influence Sekiro. They might be based on the same historical figure, but that’s simply Sek-ulation. However! You can make your mind up yourself for zero money, since Bloodless has a free demo on Steam. Trazzer below.
It’s all in the mouth.
Masahiro Sakurai is back with another game development video and today’s lesson is all about Manga-like visuals.
The legendary game designer discusses the expressive and unrealistic techniques employed by manga and anime artists to achieve the most expressive result, specifically, how a character’s mouth appears in profile and from the front.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
It’s time to see which PS5, PS4, PS VR2, PS VR, and free-to-play games topped the download charts last month. The launch of the huge new expansion Shadow of the Erdtree catapulted Elden Ring back up the PS5 charts across US and Europe, while the PS VR2 list saw Beat Saber rocking back to the top of the chart in the US and European regions.
Check out the full listings below. What titles are you playing this month?
| US/Canada | EU |
|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto V | Grand Theft Auto V |
| ELDEN RING | ELDEN RING |
| NBA 2K24 | Sea of Thieves |
| Sea of Thieves | NBA 2K24 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III | The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt |
| MLB The Show 24 | EA SPORTS FC 24 |
| V Rising | V Rising |
| Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege | It Takes Two |
| Madden NFL 24 | F1 24 |
| HELLDIVERS 2 | Hogwarts Legacy |
| Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 | Assassin’s Creed Mirage |
| Mortal Kombat 1 | Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 |
| Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game | Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege |
| Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR’S CUT | Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III |
| UFC 5 | Cyberpunk 2077 |
| Hogwarts Legacy | Gran Turismo 7 |
| EA SPORTS FC 24 | HELLDIVERS 2 |
| It Takes Two | Mortal Kombat 1 |
| Cyberpunk 2077 | Ghost of Tsushima DIRECTOR’S CUT |
| Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus | UFC 5 |
*Naming of products may differ between regions
*Upgrades not included
| US/Canada | EU |
|---|---|
| Minecraft | Minecraft |
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | Red Dead Redemption 2 |
| Firewatch | Firewatch |
| Grand Theft Auto V | Grand Theft Auto V |
| NBA 2K24 | THE FOREST |
| Watch Dogs 2 | Watch Dogs 2 |
| Gang Beasts | A Way Out |
| THE FOREST | Kingdom Come: Deliverance |
| A Way Out | Gang Beasts |
| Bloodborne | EA SPORTS FC 24 |
| theHunter: Call of the Wild | NBA 2K24 |
| Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III | Unravel Two |
| Injustice 2 | Assassin’s Creed Odyssey |
| Far Cry 5 | Assassin’s Creed Origins |
| Madden NFL 24 | Bloodborne |
| Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands | Far Cry 5 |
| STAR WARS Battlefront II | Sid Meier’s Civilization VI |
| God of War | God of War |
| Kingdom Come: Deliverance | STAR WARS Battlefront II |
| Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege | Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Wildlands |
*Naming of products may differ between regions
| US/Canada | EU |
|---|---|
| Beat Saber | Beat Saber |
| Among Us VR | Arizona Sunshine 2 |
| Arizona Sunshine 2 | Kayak VR: Mirage |
| Pavlov | Pavlov |
| Job Simulator | Among Us VR |
| Kayak VR: Mirage | Job Simulator |
| Doctor Who: The Edge of Time | Crossfire: Sierra Squad |
| Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition | Creed: Rise to Glory – Championship Edition |
| Crossfire: Sierra Squad | The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR |
| cyubeVR | Shave & Stuff |
*PS Store purchases only. Game upgrades or games bundled with hardware not included
| US/Canada | EU |
|---|---|
| ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission | Sniper Elite VR |
| The Walking Dead Onslaught | ASTRO BOT Rescue Mission |
| The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR | Batman: Arkham VR |
| Job Simulator | Job Simulator |
| Batman: Arkham VR | The Walking Dead Onslaught |
| Creed Rise to Glory | Creed: Rise to Glory |
| Beat Saber | Beat Saber |
| Sniper Elite VR | The Guy VR |
| SUPERHOT VR | DOOM 3: VR Edition |
| Arizona Sunshine | The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim VR |
| US/Canada | EU |
|---|---|
| MultiVersus | MultiVersus |
| Roblox | Fortnite |
| Fortnite | Stumble Guys |
| Call of Duty: Warzone | Roblox |
| Fall Guys | Call of Duty: Warzone |
| Stumble Guys | Rocket League |
| Rocket League | eFootball 2024 |
| Apex Legends | Fall Guys |
| Destiny 2 | The Sims 4 |
| The Sims 4 | Destiny 2 |
Ubisoft has apologized after using a Japanese historical re-enactment group’s flag in concept art for Assassin’s Creed Shadows without permission.
As reported by Siliconera, Ubisoft Japan issued an apology on X/Twitter and admitted it used the flag in two pieces of art without permission. It also claimed to have apologized to the flag’s owner Sekigahara Teppo-tai, a historical re-enactment group made up of volunteers who perform to the public at festivals and other events.
Eagle-eyed fans noticed the identical recreation of the flag, which can be seen below, in a piece of concept art for the Japan-set Assassin’s Creed released alongside its full reveal. It was raised to a leading member of the Sekigahara Teppo-tai, X/Twitter user @matchlock_kage, who posted a photo of the real flag taken on October 27, 2019, and expressed concern at it being used by Ubisoft without permission.
Ubisoft has now apologized for using the flag, however, and said it will no longer use the associated artwork with one exception: the presumably already printed physical art book featured in the Collector’s Edition of Assassin’s Creed Shadows. Ubisoft has said it strived to make the world of Assassin’s Creed Shadows as “authentic as possible.”
Assassin’s Creed Shadows was fully revealed in May 2024 as a Japan-set entry where players take control of two protagonists: the stealthy shinobi Naoe and the action-orientated Yasuke, who’s a real figure from Japanese history.
IGN had a wealth of exclusive content on the reveal, and you can read about all the gameplay changes, story beats, and open-world assassinating coming with Shadows in our extensive interview with the development team.
If that’s not enough, check our analysis and explanation of where and when Shadows is set and 40 key details we’ve learned about the game. You can also watch our full breakdown of the cinematic trailer to discover all its hidden details, Easter eggs, and more.
Shadows launches November 12, 2024 for those buying the Gold, Ultimate, or Deluxe Editions, while the Standard Edition is available on November 15, 2024.
Image Credit: @matchlock_kage on X/Twitter
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
According to the wikihow page “how to fall safely”, the best thing way to minimise injury while falling is to stay loose, keep your arms and legs bent, and roll on impact. According to ragdoll-prone shooter Helldivers 2, however, it’s better to stand to attention in mid-air and perform a crisp salute. It’s long been known that the game’s emotes confer unexpected defensive advantages, with emergency hugs sometimes shielding you against artillery fire, but now, one redditor has proven via careful scientific experimentation that they also protect you against the force of gravity.
From Zenless Zone Zero to The First Descendant, we seem to be experiencing a free-to-play explosion. Despair, ye time-constrained adults, for your carefully engineered shortage of pocket money offers no bulwark against the onslaught of games that want a slice of your evening or weekend. Today’s big release, Once Human, at least features a giant schoolbus on monster legs, together with a less exciting but customisable van that just has wheels. In this open world survival shooter, you are a “Meta-Human” making your way around a landscape corrupted by Stardust, which has warped the scenery and will slowly drive you nuts.
2023 and 2024 have shown that 2TB PS5 SSD upgrades are actually worth the price. In 2022, prices for 1TB PS5 SSDs averaged around $150, whereas 2TB SSDs hovered closer to $300. Now, we’re seeing 1TB SSDs trickle below the $70 price point and 2TB SSDs can drop to around $100 or sometimes even lower if there’s a good sale. It’s worth noting, though, that you can’t use any old SSD and expect it to perform well on the PS5 console. You’ll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid-state drive with at least a 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive.
Note that Sony recommends a heatsink attached to your SSD and not all SSDs listed here have pre-installed heatsinks. For the ones that do, we’ll be sure to mention it. For the ones that don’t, all you have to do is purchase your own heatsink (like this one for $9) and install it yourself. For our top recommended picks for 2024, check out our full breakdown for the Best PS5 SSDs.
As part of its early Prime Day deals, Amazon is offering the TEAMGROUP MP44Q 2TB SSD for just $109.99. It, unfortunately, does not have a heatsink so you’ll have to invest in one, but you can easily do that here for under $10. It also offers transfer speeds of up to 7,400MB/s read and 6,500MB/s write.
With sequential read/write speeds up to 7400 MB/s and 6700 MB/s, this is an excellent SSD for your PS5. It currently has a nice little discount at Amazon, down to $139.99 from its MSRP of $169.99, but it does not come with a heatsink so you’ll have to invest in one.
Right now, Amazon has the WD_Black 2TB SN850X SSD available for just $149.99. Normally priced at $189.99, this 2TB SSD features speeds up to 7,300MB/s to ensure your games load as fast as possible. This model will work with PS5, but you will need to purchase a heatsink to go with it (which you can do here for just $9).
This is another 2TB SSD deal that’s well worth taking advantage of. This option from XPG has dropped 17% in price, from $179.99 to $149.99, and even features a built-in heatsink. It also has a read speed of 7400MB/s and a write speed of 6800MB/s.
This SSD offers 2TB of storage, excellent read and write speeds (read speeds of up to 7,300MB/s and write speeds up to 6,800MB/s), and a built-in heatsink all at a fantastic price. It’s currently available for $159.99 on Amazon, 11% off its MSRP of $179.99, so well worth picking up for your PS5.
This is a great deal for those looking to maximize their PS5’s storage. For a limited time only, this PS5 4TB SSD is available at Amazon for just $309.99 (see here). Normally, it has an MSRP of $699.99, but nowadays, this and many other 4TB SSDs have been sitting around $280-$300 recently. You’ll also have to grab a heatsink to go with it (which you can do here for $9).
This is the newest model from Crucial and it already has an excellent discount on Amazon. For a limited time, you can get 26% off this SSD, bringing it down to $294.99 from $399.99. It’s well worth the investment as well, as it offers crazy good sequential read/write speeds up to 14,500/12,700MB/s. If you feel the need for speed, this SSD will certainly get you there.
Amazon is offering a nice deal at the moment on the Crucial T500 2TB SSD, which is discounted down to $169.99. This SSD has a heatsink all ready to go, so you can install it right away in your PS5, and even offers excellent read/write speeds of 7,400/7,000MB/s.
The Samsung 990 Pro is an excellent SSD for your PS5. From a purely performance perspective, it’s overkill; the stock SSD in your PS5 will be the limiting factor. You’ll want to pick up a PCIe Gen4 x4 M.2 solid state drive with a rated 5,500MB/s read speed to match the PS5’s internal drive and the 990 Pro is much faster. This one does not come with a heatsink, though, so you’ll need to invest in one.
Sony recommends you install an SSD that has an attached heatsink. If the SSD you purchase doesn’t include one, it’s simple enough to buy one for $9 on Amazon and add it yourself. Most of these heatsinks are just attached using an adhesive like thermal tape.
There may be other SSD deals out there, but these are the PS5 SSDs we’ve tried ourselves and highly recommend. They also double up as outstanding boot drives for your gaming PC, in case you don’t need additional storage for your PS5 console.
It’s extremely easy! Removing the case cover is completely toolless. In fact, the only screw you have to remove is the one that keeps the cover for the SSD bay in place. You don’t even put it back when you’re done. Sony has a quick and easy YouTube video guide.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelance writer who works with the Guides and Commerce teams here at IGN.
Ever since the hat was invented by Valve Corporation in 2009, mankind has grappled with questions of fairness, worthiness, and pride – at least as they pertain to microtransations in free-to-play games. Shooty battle royale Apex Legends is the latest to posit an answer, that being “the Battle Pass should cost more money”.
No stone left unturned.
It has been a little over a year since The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom landed on Switch and for many of us, the adventure is over. Sure, we might drop into Hyrule to mop up a couple more quest, do some more exploring or get lost in the wonder of it all, but, generally speaking, we’re done.
The same cannot be said for speedrunner and content creator SmallAnt. After announcing that he had reached the hallowed 100% completion rate within the first two weeks of the game’s launch, you might think that the streamer would also be finished with Link’s latest adventure. You would be wrong.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Unicorn Overlord is now available for just $34.99 on PS5 in the early Prime Day sales. This discount is currently exclusive to the PlayStation version, but further discounts from other retailers across all platforms should follow soon. This is one of the top video game deals currently available during the summer sales at retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and Target. It’s also the lowest price we’ve seen for the PS5 version since its release.
IGN awarded Unicorn Overlord an “Amazing” 9/10. You can read our review to understand why it’s considered one of the best console strategy games in recent history. Here’s reviewer Eric Zalewski’s final verdict:
“Reflecting on the incredibly diverse and remarkably creative world I explored across my 45-hour journey, any issues I had with Unicorn Overlord ended up feeling like nothing more than nitpicks. The tactical combat system is unique and complex while also being easy to understand, expertly blending mechanics from many of its peers with smart new additions of its own.”
“The interesting terrain across the continent of Fevrith makes every fight feel unique, with some of the best map gimmicks I’ve seen in any strategy RPG. Because the campaign is told through the eyes of a diverse and creative cast, its trope-filled fantasy story is elevated in a way that a more traditional storytelling style wouldn’t manage. The shorter, more personal stories work wonderfully to support a loop of exploration and liberation that had me begging to see one more tale told, one more town rebuilt, and one more battle fought.”
These aren’t the only deals Amazon’s got going on at the moment. With Prime Day on the horizon (July 16 and 17, to be exact), there are quite a few discounts to check out. Some of our favorite early Prime Day deals include this excellent offer on Audible Premium Plus, where you can get 3 months of the service for free, and Kindle Unlimited is also offering 3 months of its service for free.
To learn more about what you can expect from the massive savings event this year, head to our Amazon Prime Day roundup for additional information on when the sales begin, what we expect to see, and what competing events will be going on around the same time.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
