Today’s big news from the other side is that a tuned-up PS5 Pro is on the way, and a base spec, Blu-ray-driveless model will set you back £700. Or $700, in Ameridollars.
That’s a lot of cheddar for a living room games box, and while us Windows lot can’t quite claim pointing and laughing privileges – speccing a 4K-capable, DIY build desktop for seven hundred quid is certainly beyond me – the fact is that if you can get some pretty nifty PC kit for less. While still, let’s not forget, being able to play most of the PS5’s bestgames. It would not surprise me if someone from Sony’s PC division is already trying to entice Astro Bot underneath a cardboard box held up by a stick.
Sometimes, FromSoft craft the most masterfully tense boss duels you’ve ever seen, and sometimes, they aim laser pointers at both your eyes, cut off your feet, and expect you to dodge invisible leopards spitting lighting from the cockpit of a fighter jet made of other, more invisible leopards – as was the case with Shadow Of The Erdtree’s final boss’s final phase. If you had absolutely no trouble with this boss, I’m happy for you, as long as you go sit in the corner and keep it to yourself. For everyone else, you’ll be happy to learn the RPG‘s latest patch has “Improved the visibility of some attack effects” for the boss, alongside some other tweaks.
Patch 1.14, the full notes of which you can find hereabouts, comes bearing the following tweaks for Erdtree’s final boss:
It’s easy to dazzle us Nintendo fans with a giant Wiimote, a Toad barbershop quartet and a wall of pristine NES games, but to make a manhole cover exciting? That feels like a bit of a stretc- oh my GOD is that Pikachu?!
Nintendo has revealed a special manhole cover which will be housed in Kyoto’s Nintendo Museum and it’s quite the looker (thanks, GoNintendo). Nope, we never thought we’d be saying that about a manhole cover either, but here we are.
Life Is Strange: Double Exposure Brings Back Max Caulfield By Taking on a Whole New Gaming Genre
Max Caulfield became something of an unexpected video game icon in the course of the first Life Is Strange. In a medium often associated with over-muscled, under-dressed lead characters, stepping into the shoes of an ordinary person, with relatable hopes and fears (and, yes, just a dash of superpowers) felt quietly revolutionary.
Discovering the mysteries of Arcadia Bay was the headline of that game, but helping Max discover who she was through the course of our adventure became the thing I remember most about the first installment in what’s become a major gaming series.
So, as I picked up the controller to play a slice of her unlikely return, I expected all of this to feel familiar – a character, her powers, and a vibe that still live in my mind, years later. I’m thrilled to say I was wrong.
We knew that the Max Caulfield of Life Is Strange: Double Exposure would be older, with a life history for us to catch up on, but that translates into a game that feels equally evolved. Double Exposure is set years after the original, and places Max (and us) in the midst of a supernatural murder mystery. Her best friend, Safi, is killed, awakening a whole new power in Max – the ability to shift between two timelines, allowing her to see a world in which Safi never died alongside her own.
In my demo of the game, set a few hours into the game, I see quite how much those new powers change the fabric of Life Is Strange as a whole. Where Max’s original power to rewind time effectively played with the idea of a Choose Your Own Adventure – the virtual equivalent of putting your finger in the page before you turn to a new one – timeline shifting goes some way towards changing the genre entirely. Double Explosure is more of a puzzle game than this series has ever allowed for before.
My demo sees me aiming to help Moses, a (seemingly innocent) friend suspected of Safi’s murder – inadvertently incriminating evidence is locked in a Caledon University science lab, and Max needs to find and remove it before a suspicious detective can stumble across it himself. Max can only shift timelines through what amount to rips in space-time, offering me a way into the lab that’s otherwise inaccessible.
Initially, it’s pure Life Is Strange – I enter the lab and ask other-Moses where he might safely keep a secret, building a picture of the situation entirely through dialogue. But soon, this becomes another kind of game entirely. I’m tasked with figuring out not only how to make my way around, but piecing together the mystery across both timelines – clues from one affecting how I proceed through another. There are elements of stealth, as I avoid the detective in the “dark” timeline, and even an entirely new power, allowing me to switch objects between timelines and change the rooms around me. This is not the Life Is Strange you remember, and it’s all the more enticing for that.
It’s a whole new take on puzzle solving for Life Is Strange – there are still the pivotal dialogue choices, deeply personal histories to uncover, and carefully chosen diegetic indie music, but with a new focus on classic game design weaving it all together. Like Max, Life Is Strange is learning how to become something new.
Life Is Strange: Double Exposure launches for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC on October 29 this year – and those who pre-order the Ultimate Edition can play both Chapters 1 and 2 from October 15.
Max Caulfield, photographer-in-residence at the prestigious Caledon University, discovers her closest new friend, Safi, dead in the snow.
Murdered.
To save her, Max tries to Rewind time – a power she’s not used in years… instead, Max opens the way to a parallel timeline where Safi is still alive, and still in danger!
Max realizes the killer will soon strike again – in both versions of reality.
With her new power to Shift between two timelines – can Max solve and prevent the same murder?
ORDINARY GIRL, EXTRAORDINARY POWER
Max is thrust into a thrilling supernatural murder mystery – more dangerous than ever before!
TRAVERSE TWO TIMELINES
Forge allies and pursue suspects across two versions of reality, shaping both timelines through unforgettable choices.
RACE AGAINST TIME
A relentless detective has Max in his sights, and Safi’s killer grows closer with every clue uncovered. Can Max survive long enough – to do the impossible?
DECIDE THE FATE OF CALEDON
Explore two versions of a vivid winter campus, each packed with clues, secrets, and tough decisions.
EXCLUSIVE SOUNDTRACK
A rich original score, new songs, and thrilling licensed tracks!
The PS5 Pro has finally, officially been announced with a monumental price tag of $699.99. Preorders aren’t live yet, though you can keep your calendar marked for September 26 on PS Direct (October 10 for other retailers), and the console will officially release on November 7. It was also revealed during the 9-minute presentation that the new console does not come with a disc drive or the vertical stand. So, before preorders go live, we thought it best to point you in the direction of these items so you can purchase them now in the event they sell out. The PS5 Disc Drive will cost you $79.99 and the vertical stand will set you back $29.94.
SSD prices have been rising in 2024 but, with significant discounts available, now is the perfect time to buy. This is one of the best deals on a 2TB SSD at the moment: You can score the WD Black SN850X 2TB SSD (with a heatsink!) for just $135 at the WD Store. Make sure you use the code ‘NVGDAY10‘ at checkout to take full advantage of this offer. You can see even more of our favorite SSD deals below.
Best PS5 Headset Deals: 63% Off the Razer Kaira Pro Dual Wireless Gaming Headset & More Deals
There’s no shortage of PS5-compatible headsets. If you’re constantly having to turn down the volume when you play, you might want to pick up one of these, then you can listen to your games as loud as you darn well please. And if you’d like to see even more options that are worth buying, check out our collection of the best gaming headsets.
If you’re looking to trade in your old PlayStation consoles, you can do so at select retailers in-store and online. Often, the most widely available retailers are GameStop and Best Buy. However, you can also trade your used devices online at retailers such as Amazon and Microsoft.
Some retailers will offer you cash for your used goods, while others may provide you with a gift card that can be used in-store and online. This is a great way to offload your old gaming gear and get some money that you can put towards a newer console and games.
While trading devices in at retailers will often net you the lowest amount for your used consoles, there are also online marketplaces such as eBay, Craigslist, and OfferUp that may fetch higher prices, but you’ll often be responsible for packing and shipping costs, or be required to meet someone in person for the transaction, the latter of which poses its own risks.
With how expensive gaming is getting in 2024, we’re trying to save you as much money as possible on the games and other tech you actually want to buy. We’ve got great deal roundups available for all major platforms such as Switch and Xbox, and we keep these updated daily with brand new offers. If you’re trying to keep costs down while maintaining your favorite hobby, stay tuned for more incredible discounts.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
Commence Star Wars rolling prologue screen: A minority Ubisoft investor has written an open letter to Ubisoft’s board outlining their “deep dissatisfaction with the current performance and strategic direction of the company” and threatening a full-blown coup against the Guillemot brothers, Ubisoft’s founders, and their backers at Chinese juggernaut Tencent.
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is set for an update for all platforms in addition to the recently confirmed PS5 Pro Enhanced patch.
Last night, Sony announced the $700 PS5 Pro alongside a list of first and third-party games that will have what are called PS5 Pro Enhanced updates when the console comes out on November 7, 2024. Sony has indicated up to 50 PS5 Pro Enhanced games will be available for launch.
Capcom’s action RPG Dragon’s Dogma 2 is among them. Like Sony’s announcement of the PS5 Pro, Dragon’s Dogma 2’s PS5 Pro Enhanced patch is light on details. All Capcom has said so far is that it will offer “a gaming experience that takes advantage of PS5 Pro’s features.”
The hope is that Dragon’s Dogma 2 will run at 60 frames per second and 4K resolution on PS5 Pro flawlessly. Dragon’s Dogma 2 launched in March on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X and S with a number of performance problems that subsequent updates have sought to tackle. Frame-rate is a particular problem especially in areas with lots of NPC. Now, Capcom has indicated that more updates are to come.
“We will soon be releasing an update for all platforms that will further improve CPU load, reduce crashes and bring additional adjustments,” Capcom said. “Further details will be announced as soon as they are ready.”
In our 8/10 review, IGN said: “More of a redo than a sequel, Dragon’s Dogma 2 is a strange and wonderful action-RPG that bolsters the original’s strengths without addressing its weaknesses.”
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.
Abandon all hope, ye who are shackled to your workmates in Chained Together. The “co-op” game about escaping hell now has a map editor that’ll let you make your own infuriating obstacle courses for condemned souls to throw themselves upon. Finally, you can make the endless mountain of perdition you have dreamed about since being emotionally scarred by Getting Over It.
“We just have to ask for everyone to give us time”.
Konami has reiterated its plans for a second volume of the Metal Gear Solid: Master Collection but admits it doesn’t want to rush development after “all the issues” it had with the first collection.
This was shared by reputable leaker billbil-kun of Deal Labs, and now the same source has expanded on this – with claims multiple new Switch bundles (including the Mario Wonder one) are on the way to Europe very soon. In total, there are five deals listed. Here’s a translation via ResetEra:
