Sonic Frontiers’ First Major Content Update Adds Jukebox, Photo Mode, New Modes & More

Out today.

The first content update ‘Sights, Sounds, and Speed’ has officially been released for Sonic Frontiers on the Nintendo Switch.

If you missed the initial announcement, this free DLC update adds new challenge modes (Cyber Space Challenge and Battle Rush), a new photo mode – allowing you to capture special moments throughout the Starfall Islands and a Jukebox.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution PS VR2 Review

Over three years after its initial release, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners remains one of my favorite VR games, holding its ground next to the likes of Half-Life: Alyx and Gran Turismo 7 VR. That’s why it was such a major disappointment when its long-awaited sequel, The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners – Chapter 2: Retribution, was released as a Meta Quest 2 exclusive back in December. It came with a slurry of bugs and performance issues that left such a middling taste in my mouth that I genuinely wondered whether it was even intended as a sequel to begin with, especially given the lack of a proper PC VR version at the time. Fast forward three months and we now have a PC re-release, plus a PlayStation VR2 version that visually blows everything about the original Quest 2 release out of the water. It’s still not quite as polished as Chapter 1, and its ideas are safer than I would’ve hoped for a full-blown sequel, but its increased action is far tenser with the horsepower to sustain it.

Assuming you’ve heard absolutely nothing about The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners or its sequel, it’s basically a VR roleplaying game that uses a mishmash of survival horror elements to propel its branching storyline. This formula usually does a good job of adding tension to its action and exploration. In my own playthrough of the 2020 breakout hit, I got involved in complex faction politics between all the looting and surviving, but through my choices, I influenced my own personal stakes in a post-apocalyptic New Orleans. Chapter 2 seems to mostly do away with these kinds of choices across its 12-or-so-hour campaign, disappointingly railroading me into a set path, but featuring way more opportunities for combat to try and make up for it. Moreover, it expected me to know the original’s story pretty well, doing the absolute minimum to bring me up to current events.

Story aside, there’s nothing I love more than darkness in a survival horror VR game, where a swarm of flesh-eating monsters can potentially creep into view and outnumber me at any moment. So it’s great to see that the PlayStation VR2’s HDR OLED panels display dark scenes with such accuracy that playing Chapter 2: Retribution on this headset is – quite literally – a night-and-day difference from playing on a Quest 2. True blacks breathe life into Chapter 2’s biggest new addition over the original: night missions. Crawling around the dilapidated Rampart High School at night was once more annoying than it was spooky, but on the PS VR2, it’s downright terrifying.

It’s such a big difference that I found myself actually enjoying Chapter 2: Retribution’s story, though still not for its lackluster characters like the overly-talkative Pawn King and the single-minded group of ragtag rebels you’re basically expected to team up with. The original worked so well because its sparse interactions with NPC characters blended into a story about a vulnerable lone survivor making their way and defining themselves through their own actions, but there really isn’t the same sort of leeway here for subtlety in Chapter 2. I found myself disappointingly locked into a linear series of events where I absolutely must face retribution for deeds I might not have even chosen to do if I didn’t play the original and that I didn’t even really remember doing when I played it back in 2020. Its momentum can be jarring at times, especially given how little time we’re given to connect with the decently-voiced but boringly one-note characters, but if you prefer action combat over dialogue, there’s plenty here to enjoy.

The PS VR2 displays dark scenes with way more accuracy.

Chapter 2’s hectic new weapons like the Chainsaw and the Sawed-Off Shotgun come in clutch during the aforementioned night missions, where Retribution’s biggest payoffs await. Loot is wildly better at night when I’m brave enough to seek it out, but walkers are more aggressive and far more numerous, leading to unintentionally climactic showdowns between myself and the ravenous horde. These intense walker battles only showed a promising start on the Quest 2 – but thanks to the thicker guts of the PS5, these skirmishes finally came to life in frightening detail on the PlayStation VR2, where a much larger number of enemies could spawn on the same map. I often needed to sneak through, redirect, or fend off entire swarms of walkers, forcing me to make intelligent use of all the tools in my arsenal. Mixed with the haptic feedback of the Sense controllers and the 3D audio in my Pulse headphones, the whole experience was way more coherent on the PS VR2 than I remember it being when I played it just three months ago on the Meta Quest 2.

There isn’t too much new content here, given that only a handful of the 12 zones are new at all. Most of the time you’ll just be wandering around in the original world to scavenge for loot and complete quests. But thanks to performance improvements, human AI is once again as vicious and tactical as I remember it being in the original, leading to unexpected scenarios between myself, hostile humans, and prowling walkers. And with the added difficulty comes a reason to approach situations with more nuance. For instance, I can focus my fire on a single human, killing them in a way that allows them to turn – creating a distraction behind enemy lines as I close the gap between myself and my opponents. These dynamic situations are way more interesting than the forced setup with axe-wielding secondary antagonist Gerrick, who notably looks a bit creepier with increased details that finally indicate what that weird red stuff hanging around his neck in the Quest 2 version was. Spoiler alert: it’s walker entrails. It was always walker entrails.

It’s even more satisfying to return to my home camp with a fresh load of loot after a day’s adventure, and this time around, I’m not worried about breaking anything if I choose to decorate my abode with loose items. Collecting items and dropping them into your recycling bin allows you to level up your crafting stations, making you more powerful and better equipped to head back out the next day, and despite the addition of two new crafting stations that introduce interesting new items like the Sap Gloves, Laser Sights, and the SMG, this loop is pretty much unchanged from the original. That said, the story itself still isn’t quite as intricate, often sending me on fetch quests where I fight the same type of enemies over and over again. You’ll spin those wheels as things heat up between you and the main antagonist, who’s loomed over your time in New Orleans since the first chapter.

Framerates are at least way more consistent now, allowing the action to run smoothly at what appears to be 90hz with no reprojections. Unfortunately, there are still a frustrating number of glitches that likely stem from this aging corpse of a game engine. To be clear: I ran into several experience-ruining bugs on the PS VR2 which likely had nothing to do with the hardware itself, and the two biggest offenders were significantly worse than many of the problems I ran into when I reviewed the Quest 2 version last year. About five hours into my PS VR2 playthrough, a quest completely stopped updating with new progress, forcing me to scrap my save altogether and start anew. Later on, during my new playthrough, I ended up in a situation where I was hindered from finishing a quest because a group of enemy humans cheap-shotted me and camped out by my corpse, seeing and shooting me through walls and floorboards and rendering me unable to retrieve to my weapons, which I couldn’t survive without.

How to Play Minecraft For Free on PC, PS5, Xbox, and Mac

Minecraft is a phenomenon that continues to take the world by storm even 12 years after its full release. Selling over 238,000,000 copies worldwide, the game is just as captivating an experience now as it was upon its debut..

If you are among those that have yet to jump into the blocky digital world of one of the best-selling video games of all time, you may be surprised to hear there are multiple ways for you to play Minecraft (and its various spinoffs) for free!

Minecraft Free Trial

For those wanting to get a taste of the endless hours of entertainment that Minecraft can provide, but are yet unwilling to pay the entry fee, there is in fact a free trial of both Bedrock and Java versions of the game. Via Minecraft’s official website, you can access links that will lead to the download pages for the Bedrock Edition, available on Windows, Android, PS3/4/5, and PS Vita.

In terms of the Java Edition, which is available exclusively to Windows, Mac, and Linux, an additional set of links are available lower down on the same page, with specific instructions on how to download and install each respective version.

The free trial (regardless of the Edition or your platform) is the full game as paying customers would experience it; there is no barred content that will be inaccessible. To ensure this isn’t exploited, you have a time limit imposed once you begin the trial. The time limit varies from platform to platform, but always averages out at around 90-100 minutes, equating to around 5 in-game days.

Whilst the restriction can be frustrating, this is more than enough time to try out the various mechanics in the game, and familiarise yourself with the gameplay loop if you’re uncertain as to whether you’ll enjoy it. If you’re considering buying Minecraft on your preferred platform, this is the optimum way to experience the game a little and know for sure before you spend your money.

Play Minecraft Classic for Free

As part of the 10 year anniversary for Minecraft back in 2019, Mojang released a completely free, browser-based version of the original build of Minecraft creative mode for you to enjoy. As this version is a replica of the OG mode, there are only 32 blocks available to use, it contains all the original bugs that were part of that version. Also, because it’s browser-based, you are unable to save your builds should you close the browser.

Upon generation of a world, you can copy the link it creates and share it with up to nine friends, letting you all play together! Whether you’re wanting a nostalgia trip to where it all began or fancy dipping your toe in for the first time, you can access this free version of Minecraft at https://classic.minecraft.net/.

Play Minecraft on Game Pass

An obvious inclusion for those in the know, Xbox and PC Players who have an Xbox Game Pass subscription can access Minecraft for “free” as part of their subscription, though you’ll need to continue paying the subscription to keep your access to the game. To play Minecraft: Java & Bedrock Edition with Game Pass on PC, you’ll just need to install the Java & Bedrock Edition from the Microsoft Store page or from the Xbox app for PC. You can then install and play each separate version from within the Minecraft launcher!

For Xbox players, you can install Minecraft on your Xbox if you have an active Game Pass Ultimate or Game Pass for Console subscription.

Other Minecraft Games and Spinoffs

Minecraft Dungeons, the hack and slash dungeon crawler released in 2020, is similarly available on Game Pass for subscribers. For PlayStation players, Minecraft Dungeons was included as a PlayStation Plus monthly free game for March 2023. If you didn’t redeem the title during its availability however, you’ll need to purchase the game should you wish to play it.

Similarly for PlayStation players, the full version of Minecraft’s base game is not available to download and play via PlayStation Plus. If you wish to play the game beyond the free trial, you’ll need to purchase it via the PlayStation Store.

For those that are looking for a more narrative-focused Minecraft tale, there was Minecraft: Story Mode, an episodic point-and-click adventure from Telltale Games. Minecraft: Story Mode is however unavailable on any/all platforms after being discontinued due to the closure of Telltale Games in 2018. This means that unless you already have the game downloaded and installed on your platform of choice, you will be unable to play this game.

One final game to mention is Minecraft Legends, an action-strategy spinoff set for release on April 18th, 2023. The price for the game will vary depending upon your chosen platform, though if you have a Game Pass subscription, the game will be available for free day of release.

Redfall Isn’t Using Unreal Engine 5 After All

As we inch closer to the release date of Arkane Studios’ first-person shooter Redfall, it has been confirmed that it will not be using Unreal Engine 5.

Harvey Smith said in a WccfTech interview that the game will be running on Unreal Engine 4. He noted that while they were developing the game, “Halfway through the project, Epic came up with Unreal Engine 5, but the game is based on Unreal Engine 4.26. If we had more time, we would have probably gone with UE5, but it was a lot of work just upgrading to 4.26.”

It is worth mentioning that Arkane has said in the past that they wouldn’t be using Unreal Engine 5. Over on the Redfall FAQ page, you’ll find a question asking, “What game engine is Redfall utilizing?” with the answer being Unreal Engine 4.

Redfall is the most recent title to come out of Arkane Studios. The game is projected to come out on May 2, 2023, for PC and Xbox Series X|S. There was originally going to be a PlayStation 5 version of the game, but Microsoft scrapped it when it acquired Bethesda, Smith revealed in a recent interview with IGN France.

Luis Joshua Gutierrez is a freelance writer who loves games. You can reach him at @ImLuisGutierrez on Twitter.

Talking Point: What’s The Best Year In Gaming?

Cream of the crop.

Games are so good, right?

Looking back over the years and decades, it’s difficult to actually think of a year that’s been objectively bad in terms of gaming output; generally speaking, with the wealth of consoles and developers out there, there’s always been at least a handful of games every year that spoke to us in a meaningful way and made a positive impact.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

“When Everyone Reduces Emissions, Everyone on the Planet Wins” – Explaining Xbox’s New Game Development Sustainability Tools

Xbox’s Director of Gaming Sustainability, Trista Patterson, joined the Xbox Podcast this week with a very clear message: 

“Gaming sustainability is something that Xbox is very proud of, and making big strides in. But, with climate [change], you can’t beat your competitor at it. You have to compete against your own best self in every category. And just like we’re saying, ‘When everyone plays, everyone wins,’ the same goes for, ‘When everyone reduces energy and emissions, everyone on the planet wins.’ No doubt about it.” 

Appearing on the podcast following Xbox’s announcement of a new suite of developer tools designed to reduce energy use and emissions through game code, Patterson explained how she and her team have been making ground-breaking strides to help the entire industry apply more sustainable thinking, and to “create powerful good using the gaming industry” 

It’s not been a simple task. “For a long time, the industry has maintained that there’s no gains to be found in greening game code,” Patterson explained. “And that’s because there’s an enormous complexity between the hardware, the software, the electrical and other engineering, the design, and then the game code itself that creates the power that is required in order to create the gaming experience.” 

“Broadly considered, the industry decided that this was a completely intractable problem – in fact, within the UN’s Playing for the Planet Alliance, it was considered even as of a month ago to be an impossible problem to solve.” 

The solution to that seemingly impossible problem was to create resources for developers to identify ‘Energy Bugs’ – previously invisible problems created by coding that can unintentionally use more power than needed – at source, and fix them quickly. While Xbox has already taken strides to reduce power usage in consoles themselves, this new effort will aid developers in reducing power consumption caused by the games you play on them. 

“You can have fun breaking things in a game. And right now we’re not having fun breaking the planet. Let’s have fun fixing it.”

At GDC, Xbox announced the rollout of a new Developer Sustainability Toolkit, a power monitoring system, certification reports, power consumption dashboards, guides, case studies, and a pilot program that offers specialist assistance to game devs looking to work on their games’ energy consumption. The goal is to, “precision engineer the visual and analytical feedback that is needed for game developers to make changes to their code that will allow them to reduce energy consumption on the consoles in the living room of every gamer in the world.” 

That openness, that this isn’t only applicable to the Xbox platform, is key here: “The thing that I find really remarkable is that when a studio sees what a no-brainer it is to fix so many of these Energy Bugs, they fix them in a way that is not just reducing emissions on the Xbox console platform, but they’re instituting [them] to the entire game code. And that game code then gets released to almost every other platform that they are releasing to in the future.” 

The work won’t stop with Xbox developers, either: “We are empowering and inviting the rest of the industry to use these insights, these case studies, these tools, and also inspire their own investigations in order to be able to create impact, no matter how small or large their gaming studio is.” 

The overall goal here is to make the enormous size of the games industry not a problem for sustainability, but a part of the solution – and making use of the inherent positivity of that creative space: 

“In the environmental field, things are going haywire right and left. It’s a depressing field. If society focuses on everything going wrong all the time, and we’re encountering stories of loss and destruction, it’s true that statistically there are many challenges in front of us, but gaming opens up all of this remarkable, creative problem solving… You can have fun breaking things in a game. And right now we’re not having fun breaking the planet. Let’s have fun fixing it.” 

Related:
Find Your Elite: How There’s an Xbox Elite Controller for Everyone
Pleased To Eat You! Discover All You Need To Know About Dead Island 2’s Zombies
Start Your Kingdom Today in Ni no Kuni II: Revenant Kingdom – The Prince’s Edition on Xbox Game Pass

PS5 Creators: How Resident Evil 4 harnesses PS5’s power

Resident Evil 4, launching this Friday, March 24, is a remake of the acclaimed original. It preserves the essence of the 2005 survival horror while introducing modernized gameplay, a reimagined storyline, and vividly detailed graphics. 

We asked the game’s director Yasuhiro Ampo, sound director Hiroshi Tamura and art director Hirofumi Nakaoka how they leveraged PlayStation 5’s unique capabilities, including 3D audio, adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, and stunning graphic fidelity to create the game on PS5.

PlayStation Blog: What were your first impressions when first learning about the power and capabilities of the PS5 from a developer perspective?

Yasuhiro Ampo (Director): The enhanced data reading speed allows the game to handle higher volumes of assets, while also generating richer graphics and reducing loading times. Immersive horror is one of the key elements for the Resident Evil series, so it’s extremely beneficial that players can remain uninterrupted during their gameplay even during scene transitions.

3D Audio creates realistic soundscapes in games and it’s an essential component that brings something new to evoke fear and horror. How did you leverage 3D audio in RE4 to conceive an even more terrifying audio experience?

Hiroshi Tamura (Sound Director): 3D audio was essential for shaping the audio for RE4. In moments of quiet tension, we dynamically 3D-layered sounds, such as the irregular cracking of wooden houses settling or other subtle noises over the bass produced by Ambisonics audio (a type of 3D audio format). In intense combat sequences, we made sure most sounds are outputted as object-based 3D audio, so that enemy or object noises can be heard behind the wall or the floor above. Our goal was to create an immersive experience by amplifying the suspense and building a three-dimensional soundscape. In addition, all the music in this game was produced and mixed in 7.1.4 channels.

Game controls in RE4 have also been refined and modernized. How did you leverage unique PS5 features such as adaptive triggers and haptic feedback in the game?

Yasuhiro Ampo (Director): We wanted players to share the sensation that the game’s main protagonist, Leon, was experiencing inside the game. For example, the DualSense controller will intricately vibrate and play sounds when Leon reloads a gun. The resistance of the adaptive trigger also changes depending on the weight of the gun.

Thanks to updated graphics, RE4 enhances the original game’s feeling of isolation and its haunting environments. How did PS5 help you achieve this?

Hirofumi Nakaoka (Art Director): While preserving the distinctiveness of each defining area – which is at the heart of the original Resident Evil 4 – we modernized each location to accommodate the PS5’s capabilities, so that players will feel the chilling isolation when exploring the secluded European village surrounded by a forest. We didn’t just want to make the environment darker to evoke fear, but we put an emphasis on shadows and silhouettes, rather than light, to capture the essence of horror. This requires a console that can output high-quality lighting. In addition to shadows, we also put a lot of work into capturing the dynamic nature of the environment, such as grass and trees moving with the wind or fog to depict stagnant air. These sorts of precise environmental details can only be unlocked with the power of the PS5.

What are some things you wanted to change, or did not want to change in this remake?

Yasuhiro Ampo (Director): I played the original Resident Evil 4 ahead of the remake’s development, and I felt that there was some room to freshen up the game’s controls, the story, and the characters, so they’re in-line with the level of current-gen games. So those are some aspects for which we made modern refinements. On the other hand, we only made small changes to the core gameplay elements of the original Resident Evil 4, such as aiming and shooting, resource management and weapon upgrades. These are still equally enjoyable today, so we just made slight refinements to expand on the gameplay while keeping the essence of the original game’s direction.

As a gamer, which PS5 feature makes you the most excited? Or what do you think makes the game experience more immersive?

Yasuhiro Ampo (Director): Personally, the DualSense controller. You can hear the radio coming through the controller’s speakers, you can feel the gun in your hands with the haptic feedback, and you can see how much health you have left because the controller lights up when you’re playing in the dark. They’re fun little features that add up to create a great gaming experience.

Justin Roiland Issues Statement as Domestic Violence Charges Against Him Are Dropped

The domestic violence charges filed against Rick & Morty co-creator Justin Roiland have been dropped, IGN has confirmed.

A representative with the Orange Country District Attorney, which originally filed the charges, told IGN that they were dropped today as “we did not have sufficient evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt,” in addition to “additional information that came to light during the investigation.”

“I commend the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for conducting a thorough review of the facts and deciding to dismiss the case against Justin,” Roiland’s attorney, T. Edward Welbourn, told IGN in a statement. “I’m thankful justice has prevailed.”

Roiland also broke his silence today, speaking publicly on Twitter for the first time since the allegations became public.

“I have always known that these claims were false – and I never had any doubt this day would come,” Roiland tweeted.

“I’m thankful that this case has been dismissed but, at the same time, I’m still deeply shaken by the horrible lies that were reported about me during this process.”

“Most of all,” he continued, “I’m disappointed that so many people were so quick to judge without knowing the facts, based solely on the word of an embittered ex trying to bypass due process and have me ‘canceled.’ That it may have succeeded, even partially, is shameful. However, now that the legal case has ended, I’m determined to move forward and focus both on my creative projects and restoring my good name.”

The domestic violence charges, which were filed in May of 2020 over an alleged incident in January of that year, first became public early this year. At the time, Roiland had been charged with one felony count of domestic battery with corporal injury, and one felony count of false imprisonment by menace, violence, fraud, and/or deceit against an anonymous Jane Doe that he had been dating at the time.

Over a dozen hearings had already been held over the charges, and Roiland was next due back in court on April 27.

After the charges came to light, a number of companies cut ties with Roiland, including Adult Swim, where Roiland was co-creator, executive producer, and voice actor on Rick & Morty.

Additionally, Squanch Games, which released Roiland’s High on Life late last year, also revealed in a statement that Roiland had resigned from the company, and Hulu announced that it would no longer work with him on their comedies Solar Opposites and Koala Man.

Still, Roiland had very little creative impact on all the above shows, as reported in a THR article and confirmed by IGN sources. Rick & Morty is still on production on its upcoming seventh season.

Thumbnail credit: Leon Bennett/WireImage

Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.