Hello, I’m Shigeo Komori, the Game Director at Atlus and we are excited to bring Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance to PlayStation fans. In celebration of today’s new trailer, I want to share more details about the game ahead of its June 14 launch on PS5 and PS4.
Battle system
SMT V: Vengeance introduces a multitude of new skills across 270 new and familiar demons, including powerful new Magatsuhi Skills. These unison skills are unlocked after receiving a new kind of talisman called a periapt, which states the skill and demons required to use it. Gather these demons as your allies to command the tactical advantage in battle: unleash fearsome attacks, improve your chances with support skills, or bestow life-saving healing effects on your team.
More powerful skills mean more powerful foes – explore the apocalyptic netherworld known as Da’at and encounter glowing red enemies called Magatsuhi demons. These enemies are stronger than your typical demon and will hunt you down if you’re not careful! Emerge victorious and you will be rewarded with higher amounts of Macca, EXP, and even stat-boosting Incense. Be on your guard, as unlike normal enemy encounters these demons will wield fierce Magatsuhi Skills.
As a reward for our devoted fans, when certain conditions have been met the level cap will be increased from 99 to 150. Additionally, upon completing specific tasks the game will unlock the punishing Godborn difficulty mode, with all enemy demons now level 150 – a challenge that will test the prowess of even the most hardened SMT veteran.
The battle system has also received various updates and adjustments, such as being able to use magic skills during auto-battle. These system updates and new elements will be applied to Canon of Vengeance and Canon of Creation.
New demon experiences
Players can now take control of an individual demon during special side quests. During these quests the player will guide the actions of a demon, such as fan-favorites Alice and Pixie, as well as new characters like Nahobeeho, to complete a variety of non-combat tasks around various locations throughout the game. These quests give players a better understanding of an area by using each demon’s particular skills for exploration and allow players to spend more time with their favorite demons. They also allow players to better understand demons and their personalities, especially their thoughts about humans. Upon the quest’s completion, the demon may become your new Demon Navigator!
SMT V: Vengeance also adds more ways to interact with demons through a new feature called Demon Haunts. Here the player can enjoy special conversations with demons, friends, and even Aogami to improve the Nahobino’s abilities. Receive new rewards and level up through conversations, and even take a nostalgic picture of your favorite demon or ally with the free camera mode (available only in Demon Haunts). Talking with your demon party members will increase their stats as well, so be sure to return to these safe areas to chat often and create an unstoppable team!
Greater field exploration
Map exploration has been enhanced by including elements like Magatsuhi for fast travel, a sky view for a wider look around the area, and a full map view unobstructed by the Abscesses that previously blocked the path. Magatsuhi Rails provide shortcuts and open more areas to explore compared to the original, including secret locations that can only be discovered via rail travel. The Canon of Vengeance storyline includes entirely new locations in Da’at, and we hope players feel a sense of wonder as they explore the vast Shinjuku Ward and mysterious dungeon Shakan.
Traversing Da’at is never a chore with a Quest Navigator by your side, and with a greatly increased number of friendly allies we know you’ll find the perfect companion to accompany you on your epic journey. Netherworld investigation is also even easier with the addition of two support features for Quest Navigators: they now leave a vapor trail to track their movements, and stopping points will emit a pillar of light from the spot where they are first discovered. Reading the map is also easier with additional unique icons and quest markers.
New accessibility features
There have been dozens of small updates and revisions to make things more interesting and accessible, such as the increased pick-up range of relics, the ability to read tutorials at any point, gaining the initiative even after enemy detection by striking them from behind, reduced ambushes from aerial enemies, an increase in the number of Miracles (which have various positive effects), and the further enhancement and variety of actions for demon encounters.
Lastly, there are two big changes from the previous game: the ability to save anywhere on the map rather than the limited leyline founts, and Estoma, a shield to avoid enemy encounters has been updated from a skill to a Miracle, allowing the player to spend Magatsuhi instead of MP, freeing up a valuable skill slot.
Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance launches June 14 on PS5 and PS4. I hope you enjoy the game!
I was a diehard WipeOut player as a kid. Seriously, me and the boys used to roam the streets of Bradford looking for F-Zero players to bully, at least till the RollCagers rocked up and stole our lunch money. Mind you, I think I was probably less interested in WipeoUt’s racing than its trackside landscapes, which remain exquisite decades on – all those sweeping album-cover facades with their animate fixtures that thickened and solidified into full-blown peripheral cities as the series progressed.
I am similarly hooked by the worlds of Ghosts Ehf’s Phantom Spark, which are a million lightyears from WiPeout in terms of their influences and atmosphere, much as the underlying hover-jockeying is a million lightyears away from WipeouT in terms of its gentleness and lack of combative elements. But these spaces are just as mesmerising to fly through and think about when not focussed on finding the perfect line through the next corner, or avoiding a patch of grass. Small wonder, given that the game’s art director is Joost Eggermont, whose streaking astral contraptions and “small interactive moments” I’ve long admired, but never managed to write about until now.
As Bungie launches Destiny 2 expansion The Final Shape, fans think one developer has teased Destiny 3 with a series of cryptic tweets.
The Final Shape concludes Destiny’s overarching story by placing the player inside the Traveler in a face-off against the mysterious The Witness. It’s the culmination of 10 years of often bewildering Destiny storytelling, and will hopefully provide answers for the game’s player base.
But in previous videos, Bungie developers have teased that The Final Shape is not the end of Destiny 2 or even the series, with the developer – now owned by Sony – also working on multiplayer game Marathon. In a series of tweets marking the release of The Final Shape, Bungie executive creative director, Luke Smith, discussed the road to The Final Shape’s release and the effort its developers put in to make it happen. But it’s the mention of the word Hope three times, each capitalized, that has set the cat among the pigeons within the Destiny community.
Here’s the tweet in question:
Our Hope is always the same with Destiny games, expansions, seasons, DLCs, exotic missions, secret missions, in-game events, merchandise, et cetera – we genuinely Hope you enjoy the time you spend with it. Anything we’ve made or will make, that’s the Hope.
That tweet was enough to set off a number of Destiny content creators on the future of the series, and there’s rampant speculation across social media and forums.
Or, this could be nothing, and Smith may in fact be referencing Paul McCartney’s infamous Destiny song Hope for the Future, which, if you’re so inclined, can be watched below:
For anybody who doesn’t know in 2014 to coincide with the release of Destiny 1 Paul McCartney released “Hope For The Future” McCartney provided multiple bases for the iconic Destiny themes.
For now, the focus is on The Final Shape and its three planned episodes. Echoes kicks off next week on June 11, Revenant is set for October 2024, and Heresy rounds The Final Shape off in February 2025, although of course the plan may change.
Beyond that? Bungie is yet to say. Destiny 3 could be an opportunity for Bungie to reset the series with a potentially next-gen entry-point that would bring in a wave of new players. But, after 10 years of Destiny, the studio may decide to leave Destiny behind for new franchises, as it did when it left Halo behind all those years ago.
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.
From the moment I understood the weakness of my flesh, I thought: no bother, like. Everyone has different skills. Then, I realised that some other people might be less enlightened than me about the whole ‘having limits’ things, and that there was a lot of money to be made hawking implants. Enter spacestrategy story-spewer Stellaris, specifically, it’s spost specent spee-LC The Machine Age. It adds many options for your space civs, most of which I’m too rusty with the ever-yawpening sandbox’s myriad nuances to appreciate. But what’s this? A new origin that lets you play as techno-religious corpo-cult obsessed with transcending the limits of their meat prisons through cybernetic augmentations? I recognise that from toys! Let’s do some clicking.
A new Warzone cutscene shows Black Ops protagonist Frank Woods dishing out orders from a wheelchair, appearing to confirm a Black Ops 2 ending as canon and offering our first look at the character in the upcoming Black Ops 6.
The intro, added to the battle royale ahead of Microsoft’s big reveal of the upcoming Black Ops 6, sees fan-favorite character Woods talk about the discovery of a “mole”, presumed to be Russell Adler from Black Ops Cold War.
But it is Woods’ appearance in a wheelchair that has caught the attention of the Call of Duty community, and sparked excited discussion about the storyline running through the Black Ops series.
First, some background: in 2012’s Black Ops 2, Woods is tricked into killing his best friend and fellow soldier Alex Mason during a mission set during the 1980s. Woods is then shot in both legs, consigning him to a wheelchair. The game later shifts to the year 2025 and we see an older Woods in a wheelchair.
This new intro suggests Woods will appear in the Black Ops 6 campaign, rumored to be set during the ’90s Gulf War. The cutscene also acts as our first look at Woods in Black Ops 6. Perhaps Woods serves the function of being an ‘intel guy’ in the campaign, dishing out information to the player ahead of, and maybe even during, missions over comms.
Frank Woods in a wheelchair in #BlackOps6 in the 90s means Black Ops 2 is canon.
This means: – Jason Hudson is no longer alive. – Alex Mason may no longer be alive. pic.twitter.com/ZVN1EAfCxC
There are some unanswered questions, however. Black Ops 2 has two different endings, one in which Alex Mason survives, the other in which he is dead. Perhaps Black Ops 6 will resolve this by making one of the two endings canon.
As for the Woods intro, Warzone players are currently trying to work out what causes it to appear. It seems random, but there may be some mechanic underpinning its appearance. Meanwhile, there are a number of Black Ops 6-related challenges in Warzone right now, encouraging players to jump in to connect the dots between releases.
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.
Yes, I’ve played a portion of Elden Ring’s expansion Shadow Of The Erdtree and I think it’s brilliant. But there’s one thing I didn’t flesh out in the preview and that’s the DLC’s standalone levelling system, brought to our attention a month or so ago. Well, here I am to flesh it out! Be warned, though, the role of the system is a jarring thing to condense into words.
Soapbox features enable our individual writers and contributors to voice their opinions on hot topics and random stuff they’ve been chewing over. Today, it’s time to celebrate Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door’s Vivian, and Alana does it with Pride.
Nintendo’s track record with LGBTQIA+ characters has been… mixed, to say the least. The Big N hasn’t exactly been the most forward company in making statements, even going as far as to say “we were absolutely not trying to provide social commentary” by not giving the option for same-sex relationships in the 3DS life-simulation game Tomodachi Life back in 2014.
13 Things Every Elden Ring Fan Should Know About Shadow of the Erdtree
Even before getting to play the game a couple of weeks ago, I honestly don’t know if I’ve ever been as excited for a piece of DLC as I am for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree. With nearly 500 hours in Elden Ring across six full playthroughs, the game may not be my most-played game ever (tips cap toward Destiny 2), but it’s definitely one of my all-time favorites. Now, after playing Shadow of the Erdtree for several hours, I can already tell that it’ll continue to have its Godskin Peelers in me for the foreseeable future.
With that in mind, there are a number of elements of Shadow of the Erdtree that really stood out to me during my all-too-brief time with the game. Let’s take a closer look so my fellow Elden Ring sickos know what to expect when they dive into the DLC on June 21.
Touch the Withered Arm
If you played Elden Ring, there’s a good chance that you saw the withered arm hanging limply out of what appeared to be an egg in Mohgwyn Palace. That’s precisely where the DLC kicks off and it means that players will need to defeat Mohg (Lord of Blood if you’re nasty) before they can dive in. Once the area is clear, you’ll meet a new character named Leda. After briefly introducing yourself, she urges you to “touch the withered arm,” which teleports you to a brand-new area called the Realm of Shadow.
This is One Expansive Expansion
As anyone who played the excellent Ashes of Ariandel and The Ringed City expansions for Dark Souls III can attest, developer FromSoftware excels at creating fresh and memorable environments outside of the core game area. Shadow of the Erdtree looks to carry on (and even improve upon) that tradition by offering a massive new area for Elden Ring fans to explore. Although I spent several hours exploring the wide-open plains and labyrinthine corridors of the Realm of Shadow, much of the map was still shrouded in fog, indicating that I was only scratching the surface of what it has to offer.
It’s Certainly a Vibe
My entry to the Realm of Shadow was through the Gravesite Plain, which stretched out before me and was chockful of spectral gravestones and shambling, easily-dispatched low-level enemies. After riding my steed around the area and hitting the nearest map stele to unlock a better view on my map, I decided to do some exploration before forging ahead on the suggested path. Sure enough, I found spooky mausoleum to explore, as well as a dragon peacefully napping in the middle of a small lake. I decided to take a close look at both. After all, what’s the worst that could happen?
I’ve Made a Huge Mistake
As I noted above, I’ve played a lot of Elden Ring. So much so that I apparently forgot how unmercifully (and wonderfully!) challenging the game can be. Strolling up to the dragon awakened him and he looked at me for a moment… before launching himself into the air and scorching everything around me with black flame. Yes, Black Flame Dragons are now a thing, and I learned quickly that they are not to be trifled with. After several failed attempts to take the winged beast down, I decided to make my way back to the mausoleum, only to be met by Blackgaol Knight (reminiscent of the Crucible Knights) that summarily beat me down a half dozen times. Ahhhhh, yes, now that’s the Elden Ring I know and love!
You’re Only as Good as Your Gear
There are a number of new elements in Shadow of the Erdtree that will help you along your journey. I got a chance to try out the Milady, a light greatsword with several balanced attacks that I am already looking forward to using more. I also utilized some new armor from the Oathseeker Knight armor set that looks pretty slick (and offers a good deal of protection for its weight). The most important items I found, however, were the new Scadutree Fragments, which bolster the players Scadutree Blessing. This Blessing, effective only in the Realm of Shadow, allows the player to deal more damage and negate more damage from enemies. Finding as many of these as you can will likely go a long way in determining your long-term success.
Remember Fingercreepers? They’re Back… in Spirit Ash Form!
Fingercreepers (also known as Hand Spiders or Spider Hands or The Worst Enemy Ever) made an immediate impact on even the most diehard Souls-like fans, popping out of the ground to swarm and grab players. Well, they’re back in Shadow of the Erdtree, this time as a Spirit Ash that can be summoned to help the player in battle. I also had the chance to play around with two more additions to the Spirit Ash menagerie: the airborne Gravebird and the powerful Black Knight Commander Andreas. I’m not sure if any of them will ever take the place of my precious Mimic Tear, but it’s nice to have some flexibility.
Double (and Triple and Quadruple and…) Cross
After getting back on track, I came to a crossroads (quite literally). At the end of the main road through the Gravesite Plain, I reached a tree where the road split. Nearby was a glowing yellow cross and some NPCs named Freya (a former ally of our old friend Radahn) who explained that the crosses dot the land and are Miquella the Kind’s (???) footprints. Another character, Hornsent, gave me a map and explained that I could find more of the crosses if I explored. Further up the road, on the way to a large fortress, was another cross and another one of Miquella’s NPC followers. Ansbach, as he was called, asked me to figure out what Kind Miquella (again, ???) was doing in the Realm of Shadow.
What’s the Story, Mourning Glory?
As you might have ascertained from my liberal use of question marks above and as you probably might guess if you’ve played any of From’s other games, Shadow of the Erdtree’s plot is intentionally and deliciously murky. It’s up to the player to put the story’s puzzle together and you can be sure that there will still be a few pieces missing once you finish. The beauty of these games is letting your imagination (or, in many cases, the rabid and lore-obsessed community) fill in the blanks. Personally, I can’t wait to learn more about why Miquella was there in the first place, what the crosses represent, and what he wants with the titular Erdtree.
Burn it with Fire!
At last, I made it to the first of the two fortresses in the section of the game I got to play. Upon opening the large doors, I was immediately greeted by a large, hairy scorpion/spider hybrid and nearly a dozen smaller ones that slowly dropped down from the ceiling to swarm me. That garnered a big old nope from me and I quickly moved to dispatch them with extreme prejudice before moving further into the sprawling castle and facing tougher and tougher enemies (though none were as icky as those arachnids).
Choose Your Own Adventure
Like every great FromSoftware game, Shadow of the Erdtree offers players a plethora of choices when it comes to exploration. Do you jump off the path to make your way across the rooftops? Could that dark and spooky hallway actually lead to a shortcut back to the nearest site of grace? Is there an enemy lurking right around the corner next to that shiny item? Playing Shadow of the Erdtree reminded me just how great FromSoftware is at creating environments that provoke emotional responses from players. Whether it’s triumph, revulsion, or relief, you’re guaranteed to feel something as you explore the detailed environs.
Who’s the Boss?
During my time with Shadow of the Erdtree, I managed to make it through both of the castles (full disclosure: I basically sprinted through one of them in an effort to see the second boss) and battle the punishing bosses within. Bosses are always my favorite part of From’s games and these two did not disappoint. The first was named “Rellana, Twin Moon Knight” and was a massive knight that wielded two swords and dealt fast, whirling attacks. Upon getting Rellana to half health, he let out a roar and imbued one of his swords with red fire and the other with blue magic. That fundamentally changes his attacks to deal those types of damage, and he made quick work of me over a dozen times before I finally put him down.
Dance, Lion, Dance!
The second boss I faced, on the other hand, put me down over and over and over. The Divine Beast Dancing Lion moves a lot like the dancing Chinese dragons that you’ll see in parades, but facing off against this monstrosity was no celebration. In addition to its herky-jerky and unpredictable movements, the Dancing Lion occasionally spewed out fog that made it difficult to see more than a few feet. Once it was taken down to half health, it began summoning lightning strike attacks that required precise timing to dodge. I gleefully banged my head against that particular wall over a dozen times before my time with Shadow of the Erdtree was, sadly, at an end.
Yes, this IS Dog
Yeah, that’s right, everyone’s favorite beshelled reptiles have returned! No word yet if any of them are of the papal variety, but now you’ve got an even better reason to explore the Realm of Shadow when Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree launches on June 21.
Pre-order now and get the following bonus content for the expansion:
– ELDEN RING Shadow of the Erdtree Bonus Gesture
This is a Gesture that can be used in-game for Shadow of the Erdtree content.
*Bonus content will be available in-game when the expansion releases.
*The player can also unlock this later in the expansion.
Winner of hundreds of accolades including The Game Awards Game of the Year and Golden Joystick Awards Ultimate Game of the Year, ELDEN RING is the acclaimed action RPG epic set in a vast, dark fantasy world. Players embark on an epic quest with the freedom to explore and adventure at their own pace.
The Shadow of the Erdtree expansion features an all-new story set in the Land of Shadow imbued with mystery, perilous dungeons, and new enemies, weapons and equipment.
Discover uncharted territories, face formidable adversaries, and revel in the satisfying triumph of victory. Dive into the riveting interplay of characters, where drama and intrigue intertwine, that create an immersive experience to savor and enjoy.
*Shadow of the Erdtree content requires the base game product.
*Other editions are also available. Be careful of duplicate purchases.
XDefiant developer Ubisoft San Francisco has issued an update for the free-to-download shooter, targeting a range of issues across all platforms.
The XDefiant Y1S0.2 patch (Ubisoft uses a patch naming convention based on the year and season from now on) fixes issues across social play and other parts of the game. As has become XDefiant’s style, Ubisoft has had a bit of fun with the patch notes, below, picking out a change on PlayStation 5:
Fixed a thing on PS5 where people could sneak into places they shouldn’t via PS5 Activities.
XDefiant launched its pre-season last month and Ubisoft’s Call of Duty competitor appears to be off to a decent start, earning praise from competitive shooter fans hankering for an old-school experience. IGN’s XDefiant review returned a 7/10. We said: “The fundamentals of XDefiant are good, but conflicting ideas and mechanics stop it from standing above a crowded shooter field.”
Ubisoft San Francisco has said it plans to fix a number of issues with the game as development continues, including the busted hit registration.
XDefiant is not available on Steam, so we do not have an idea of concurrent player numbers, but according to a report from Insider Gaming, XDefiant hit 1.5 million players within just a few hours of launch. Of course, Ubisoft’s hope is XDefiant proves popular enough long-term to make its free-to-play live service a money-spinner throughout the rest of 2024 and beyond, with Activision reportedly preparing Call of Duty Black Ops 6 for release in late October.
XDefiant Y1S0.2 patch notes in full:
Social
While in a party, we now display the most restrictive Crossplay setting among the party members, as it applies to the whole party. Also fixed an issue where party members with differing Crossplay settings couldn’t matchmake.
Fixed an issue with displaying incorrect player names on some Social screens.
Fixed a crash caused by spamming open/close View Party Invites, but who would even do that, calm down.
On consoles, Ubisoft Connect party invites could display as if they were coming from Xbox or PlayStation Network friends. Fixed that, along with some other weird invite-related things.
Miscellaneous
Fixed some missing terrain textures when players joined matches in progress on some maps.
Input-Based Matchmaking setting status now updates correctly after changing it on Xbox.
Fixed a thing on PS5 where people could sneak into places they shouldn’t via PS5 Activities.
Security improvements, various.
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.
Furniture store IKEA will pay people £13.15 / €14.80 per hour to work in a virtual store it’s opening inside Roblox.
The Co-Worker Game, as it’s called, will let players “experience working in IKEA’s virtual universe”, the company said. “Fans will be able to live their home furnishing dreams and get paid for it, with a limited number of paid roles available,” IKEA continued. Applications run to June 16, with the game itself launching June 24.
“The immersive experience gives players the opportunity to experience IKEA’s unique approach to careers where non-linear career journeys are the norm and lateral moves across departments are commonplace,” IKEA said. It is IKEA’s first foray into mainstream gaming.
There are paid shifts on offer for 10 successful applicants. They’ll help customers and get promoted to move departments, working in different sections of the store like the Showroom and Bistro, helping people choose their furniture, and even serving meatballs.
“We’re excited to be the first brand to launch paid work on Roblox to showcase how we do careers differently, bringing our unique careers philosophy to life,” commented IKEA’s Country People and Culture Manager, Darren Taylor. “At IKEA, there is no set route to career progression. Our co-workers are able to change roles, switch departments, and grow in any direction they choose, both in the game or in the real world. There are many ways to learn and grow at IKEA, and that’s what IKEA on Roblox is all about.”
Digging into the detail, virtual interviews for shortlisted applicants take place for the fully remote virtual role between Thursday, June 14 and Tuesday, June 18. Each successful applicant will be paid an hourly IKEA Co-Worker rate for their time on the game. You have to be 18+ and in the UK or Republic of Ireland to apply. Successful applicants will be paid £13.15 (approx $16.78) per hour, the IKEA hourly rate of pay for a London member of staff. The wage matches the London Living Wage set in the UK, rather than the lower National Living Wage.
Roblox, which has an incredible 77.7 million daily active users, is used by a number of companies to promote their brands with virtual experiences. But the platform and the company behind it has been accused of “exploiting” children who develop many of the experiences available to play. Roblox has denied this.
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.
