I’ve said it before, but I really keep meaning to play Ctrl Alt Ego. Released last year, it’s a sci-fi immersive sim built all around classic abilities of the genre: remote control and possession. You bounce your digital consciousness between robots and devices and ach, I hear it’s great. I’ve bought it. I’ve installed it. I’ve played the first part of the tutorial. And then, who knows. One day. One day very soon. But right now, for people who have played it, good news: a free update has added a Sandbox mode generating squillions of new levels.
Nightmare Reaper’s procedurally generated stages are as rawly aggressive as the thrash metal motifs that drive it. Coined a looter-shooter, it’s a roguelite that revels in retro visuals, blazing speeds, and the ensuing spectacle of its bloodbath.
In a novel move, it procedurally generates levels, meaning each time you die or start over, things have changed. The aesthetic alters by chapter, shifting from watery pits and spiky tombs to hospital wards and cities; and, if you can find them, space stations where pets can be purchased that help you uncover secrets. The layouts are mostly unique with each new playthrough, but hitting switches, finding keys, or locating suspicious walls to kick through is a constant. At its best, the procedural element generates levels that feel deliberate, which is impressive considering its layering. That said, it’s not perfect, with sections occasionally recycling, dead ends cropping up, and on one occasion, an impassable early jump that forced us to quit the stage.
After giving us an early glimpse of its unstoppable raptor hordes in a closed beta test last summer, Capcom recently let us loose with the opening hours of their upcoming dinosaur multiplayer shooter, Exoprimal. Its final release isn’t far away now – its July 14th launch fast becoming the sole highlight of an otherwise desolate month – and I was excited to finally play the game that RPS vid bud Liam literally hasn’t been able to stop talking about ever since he first clapped eyes (and his thumbs) on its somersaulting T-Rexes. (You should also read his excellent interview with the devs while you’re at it, too).
I’ll hold my hands up now and say I didn’t get to play as much of Exoprimal as I would have liked, but the handful of missions I did play really are as daft and brilliant as Liam described last year. I won’t waste time repeating its fundamentals (you can read them here), but the basic setup is thus: in a world plagued by dinosaurs that periodically pour out of strange portals for some reason, you play a rookie dino hunter that gets pulled into a time-looping wargame set up by your company’s clearly psychotic AI called Leviathan. In order to gather valuable ‘combat data’ for its simulations to fight said dinosaur threat, Leviathan endlessly ropes you and other rookie exosuit wearers into deadly feats of speed and skill. It’s a neat, if patently preposterous setup for its 5v5 PvP multiplayer missions, but the thing that struck me most wasn’t its gloriously silly dinosaurs or Leviathan’s perfectly pitched ham lines. It was its bot companions, because heck, they’re great to play with, but absolute fiends if you’re on the wrong side of them.
Final Fantasy 16 producer Naoki Yoshida has said he thinks “Maybe it’s time we removed the numbers” from Final Fantasy games. In an interview with GQ, he talked about the baggage that inevitably comes with having a 35-year-old series with soon to be 16 numbered mainline games in it (not including the sequels and spin-offs, I might add), and the confusion it continues to create with new players. “Every numbered title we release in the series, we have to go into it like, ‘It’s OK, you don’t have to play the rest of them,'” he said, and removing them is “something that I’ve discussed with the higher-ups”. It’s an understandable problem, for sure, although I think I’d be quite sad to see the numerals go entirely. As long as they don’t pull a Mortal Kombat and go back to 1, though, we’re good.
Nintendo’s Japanese support service has announced that it will be ending repair support for the Wii U. When exactly? Well, that really depends on when its current parts inventory runs out.
The announcement was made on the Japanese Nintendo Support Page, confirming that the period of holding repair parts for the Wii U has now passed. As such, customers requiring a repair will need to book in sooner rather than later. Nintendo is unable to provide guidance as to when the repair support will end as this is contingent on remaining stock.
Last july I was given the opportunity to play an early beta for Exoprimal, Capcom’s upcoming multiplayer shooter that pits you and a bunch of your mech suit-wearing buddies against unstoppable raptor hordes. In the nine months since I took command of a T-Rex and did a sick backflip, my life has not known peace. “I’m really excited to play Exoprimal” I’ll say to colleagues, unprompted, in important meetings unrelated to anything prehistoric in nature. “From what I’ve played, it blends PvE and PvP gameplay into a single multiplayer mode that feels very unique and hugely entertaining”. My tax return was voided because I drew a big stegosaurus on it. I have renamed the cat “Sniper Neosaur”, and I am disappointed that she has yet to emerge from a gooey purple orb.
It was my delight, then, to be given the opportunity to sit down with key members of the game’s development team to discuss Exoprimal’s inspirations, its inevitable comparisons to Dino Crisis and how Capcom plans to use it as a template for their live-service games moving forward. Alongside a fresh opportunity to check out the game, I hopped onto a Zoom call with Exoprimal’s director Takuro Hiraoka, technical director Kazuki Abe and art director Takuro Fuse.
Although the item system has already been updated, Axios reports a young gamer (with approval from his father) has filed a lawsuit in the US against the video game giant over supposed “immoral” microtransactions within the mobile racer.
Nintendo has issued a surprise update for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems. This bumps the system up to Version 11.17.0-50. As usual, it’s another “stability update” – with improved system stability to further enhance the overall user experience.
Dataminer ‘OatmealDome’ also notes how the system settings, eShop app and internet browser on the system were also updated. And in the US region specifically, the Home Menu has received an update.
Along with hearts and stamina, one of the most precious resources in The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is your battery life. And we don’t mean the battery of your Nintendo Switch that keeps running out from playing so much.
Link’s Zonai batteries power all of his machines when outside Shrines, and you’ll quickly discover that the single battery’s worth of power he has at the start of the game is hardly enough to be getting on with. And while a Zonai Construct explains how to increase your battery early on, the numerous terms it throws at you so early (Crystallized Charges! Zonaite! What?) can seem overwhelming – not to mention how annoying it is to return to Great Sky Island to get upgrade materials when you do manage to figure it all out.
Fortunately, there are ways to make this much easier. We have a upgrading your battery in ToTK guide (aka upgrading your Energy Cell) in Tears of the Kingdom, but here’s a short version if you just want some quick guidance on how to get more batteries in Tears of the Kingdom:
Collect Zonaite from the Depths
Whenever you’re beneath the surface, you’ll occasionally spot deposits of ore that seem to sparkle turquoise (not to be confused with glowing Luminous Stones). This is Zonaite, and you should mine all you can. You need three Zonaite to get one Crystallized Charge, and 300 to upgrade a battery one-third of the way. That’s a lot of Zonaite! There are other ways to get Zonaite, such as by defeating certain enemies, but this is the most common one.
Convert the Zonaite into Crystalized Charges
Once you finish one of the Regional Phenomena quests, you’ll be given another quest from Josha that sends you to the Depths. Do this as soon as possible, as it eventually leads to a Forge where you can trade Zonaite for Crystallized Charges. Before this point, you’ll have to return to the Great Sky Island to trade with the construct you met there. You can collect Crystallized Charges in other ways, too, but this is the most common one.
Trade Crystalized Charges Outside Lookout Landing
With Crystalized Charges in hand, head north from Lookout Landing and look for the large piece of Sky Ialdn that’s fallen just outside the gate. Atop it is a Zonai Construct that will forge 100 Crystallized Charges into an energy cell upgrade. In total, you can collect 21 upgrades to obtain eight full batteries. That means you’ll need 2,100 Crystallized Charges…or 6,300 pieces of Zonaite. Get mining!
For a full rundown of how to upgrade your battery in Tears of the Kingdom, dig into our guide on the subject. And for help with everything Tears of the Kingdom, take a look at our Tears of the Kingdom Walkthrough about making your way through Hyrule. In fact, you can start here:
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is an endless viral video generator. Since the game came out last week, players have surprised and delighted us with some of the things they’ve been able to do with Ultrahand. It’s truly a game best suited for the social media age, as watching other people’s gameplay clips could spark inspiration for something you want to try out yourself.
When we highlighted some of the best Tears of the Kingdom player creations last week, we showed you some genuinely impressive mechs and vehicles. This time, we’re getting a little funnier with it, as players have been sharing some hilarious contraptions and moments that look like they came straight out of a Looney Tunes cartoon.
Link Tricks a Bokoblin Into Getting Crushed
Sure, you can just whack a Bokoblin with a stick a few times to take it out, or you can do this. Over on Reddit, u/Youngstown_Mafia posted a hilarious clip of what can happen when you take a Bokoblin’s weapon away.
Here’s how they did it. Using a Zonai Mirror, Link blinds the Bokoblin, causing it to drop its weapon. Our hero runs over and snatches the weapon away before the enemy has a chance to recover it. Naturally, the Bokoblin starts scrounging around for a new weapon. But when it picks up the weapon the player rigged to a trap, it’s instantly crushed by a giant crate. To complete the show, explosions ensue, of course.
In a similar post, Twitter user @gw0001 posted a video clip where Link tricks a Moblin to walk straight into his trap. The Moblin is chasing Link down through Hyrule field, but Link leads it straight to a spring device he’s created using Zonai materials and wood. The sound of the spring crunching on impact is super satisfying, as the Moblin is sent flying.
Now This Is Podracing!
We’ve seen your crazy gundam mechs, but how about a podracer straight out of Star Wars? Reddit user meatswipe posted a video of Link zooming around the Tarrey Town race track on a very impressive Star Wars podracer with a Zonai spin. Constructed with wheels, fans, a wooden beam, a steering stick, and a handful of other parts, this player was able to channel their inner Annie while flying around the course. Hopefully this Link doesn’t grow up and turn to the dark side…
Ultrahand has been getting most of the love on social media, but don’t forget about Fuse! Twitter user @Jiikae wanted to learn what would happen if you fuse a Zonai Balloon to Link’s weapon. The answer? It absolutely launches enemies across the map, giving us another fun Looney Tunes-esque clip for the highlight reel.
IGN’s own Brendan Graeber — who also recently showed off his Tears of the Kingdom Korok house party — posted another clip where an enemy gets fooled into picking up Link’s weapon. This time, it’s a Zonai Time Bomb attached that detonates shortly after our poor Moblin picks it up, causing it to get launched off the edge of a cliff.
Crash Landing
Tears of the Kingdom is just Nintendo’s answer to Looney Tunes prove me wrong pic.twitter.com/u6tZ4uuqRR
One of my favorite things about Tears of the Kingdom so far is that the failures are just as fun and memorable as the accomplishments. And usually, the times where things go wrong are way funnier than when they go right. This next clip is an example of just that. Coming from @liccnuke on Twitter, Link was for some reason trying to haul a pile of explosive barrels on a Zonai wing. Well, Link’s Zonai battery runs out of charge, the Wing slams into the ground, and… You can probably guess what happens next.
— sephiroth big naturals @ anext (@giratinasdad) May 15, 2023
Slapstick violence is a hallmark of Looney Tunes, and players are channeling that energy into their Tears of the Kingdom combat encounters. In a video posted on Twitter, the once-fearsome Lynel has been reduced to the butt of a joke, as Link uses Ultrahand to repeatedly whack the Lynel in the head with a boulder. And believe it or not, it actually works.
Our final clip today is a little bit different, this time focusing on the many horses that roam around Hyrule. While Twitter user @aquatic_ambi isn’t the first to give Link a new career (like a truck driver, for example) it’s the first we’ve seen of Link entering the animal care business. At Steed Sprayer Shower Service, Link has created a place for horses to get squeaky clean. But when the fountains are activated, it’s clear the horses don’t like it. Like, at all. Eventually, one of the horses breaks out of the building, causing damage to the business. Hopefully Steed Sprayer Shower Service has good insurance.
Do these creations inspire you, or make you feel like your Link is a caveman by comparison? What’s your favorite Tears of the Kingdom creation so far? Let us know in the comments.
And for help with everything Tears of the Kingdom, take a look at our Tears of the Kingdom Walkthrough and Guide about making your way through Hyrule. In fact, you can start here:
Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over seven years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.
