Exploring the Stunning Cel-Shaded Art Style of The First Berserker: Khazan

Jimbo Kim, Brand Manager, Nexon America

Summary

The First Berserker: Khazan is now available for Xbox Series X|S.
This hardcore ARPG, set in the Dungeon & Fighter universe, features immersive 3D cel-shaded animation and unforgettable boss encounters.
Born to rage –embark on Khazan’s journey of revenge to become the first berserker.

With today’s worldwide release of hardcore ARPG The First Berserker: Khazan, set in the iconic Dungeon and Fighter (DNF) universe, we want to highlight one of the game’s standout features — its breathtaking 3D cel-shaded art style. This visually striking direction combines cinematic realism with stylized animation, offering players a completely new and immersive experience within the DNF universe.

A Fusion of Realism and Stylization

The art direction for The First Berserker: Khazan introduces a powerful combination of photorealistic textures and 3D cel shading, giving the game a look that is both immersive and visually striking. The photorealistic textures create depth and grounding in the world, while the cel-shading technique brings a vibrant, animated quality that ensures the game retains the dynamic, expressive appeal of the DNFuniverse.

For those not familiar with the universe, it is a dynamic and action-packed world where ancient legends clash with dark forces in a fight for survival. Known for its fast-paced, combo-driven combat and deep character customization, the game immerses players in a realm steeped in rich lore and myth, making each battle feel like a piece of a larger, epic narrative.

This innovative fusion of styles is designed to appeal not only to long-time fans of the series but also to newcomers, who will find the art style instantly engaging. It maintains the visual identity of DNF while pushing boundaries to create something that feels both modern and timeless.

Immersive Boss Encounters

Boss encounters in The First Berserker: Khazan are elevated by the game’s art style, with each boss meticulously designed to reflect its power, personality, and role within the story. These larger-than-life characters are not just imposing figures; they are key components of the narrative, with their designs serving to enhance their storytelling impact.

The stylized visuals play a crucial role in making each boss battle, such as Blade Phantom, feel like a cinematic event. The game’s use of 3D cel-shading enhances the visual drama by emphasizing the bold outlines, vibrant colors, and high contrast, which help bring the bosses to life in a striking and exaggerated way. The detailed design of Blade Phantom, with his fluid movement and imposing presence, is crafted to heighten the intensity and emotional weight of the fight. These visuals ensure that each encounter feels like a significant, high-stakes moment, where the player can feel the gravity of the battle through both the gameplay and the stunning visual presentation

The visual design of the bosses is central to their role in the game, making each fatal encounter more than just a challenge, but an unforgettable moment in the story.

The Power of Cel-Shading

The decision to use 3D cel-shading helps create a visually striking art style that complements the narrative and emotional tone of the game. The bold outlines and vibrant colors, characteristic of cel-shading, bring out the dramatic aspects of the world and its characters.

The high contrast visuals amplify the emotional weight of key scenes, helping players immerse themselves more fully in the story and feel a deeper connection to the game’s events. This visual approach not only enhances the game’s aesthetics but also supports the storytelling by making it more engaging and expressive.

This art style allowed the team to play with intensity in ways that wouldn’t be possible with traditional approaches. The result is a game that visually communicates the high stakes and drama of Khazan’s story, making each moment feel alive and powerful.

For more information, visit the official homepage for The First Berserker: Khazan.

The First Berserker: Khazan Deluxe Edition

Nexon Korea Corporation

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

$69.99

Get it now

[DELUXE EDITION Bonus]
The First Berserker: Khazan DELUXE EDITION includes the following content:

1. The First Berserker: Khazan (main game)

2. Hero’s Weapon Set
・ Hero’s Dual Wield
・ Hero’s Spear
・ Hero’s Greatsword

3. Hero’s Armor Set
・ Hero’s Helm
・ Hero’s Wristguards
・ Hero’s Pauldrons
・ Hero’s Leggings
・ Hero’s Combat Boots

4. Digital Artbook
・ The digital artbook features concept art from The First Berserker: Khazan. It can be accessed from the in-game main menu screen.

* The Hero’s Weapon and Armor Sets are The First Berserker: Khazan DELUXE EDITION exclusive items and cannot be obtained through alternative means at a later date.
* The Hero’s Weapon and Armor Sets can be used cosmetically. These sets can also be upgraded and/or have their options adjusted, allowing for continued usage.
* Clear Mission 2 and open the reward barrel in the Crevice to obtain the Hero’s Weapon and Armor Sets.
* Updating to the latest version of the game may be required to access this content.

[About This Game]
Experience the brutal action of The First Berserker: Khazan, a hardcore Action RPG adventure set 800 years before the events of the Dungeon Fighter Online (DNF) Universe. You will experience the vast universe and journey to the continent of Arad and discover the untold story of General Khazan. Master deep and immersive combat mechanics while you engage in strategic battles against a diverse array of foes and bosses. Will you embrace the path of the First Berserker and embark on Khazan’s path of revenge?

THE FIRST BERSERKER
The Great General Khazan is falsely branded a traitor and mercilessly tortured. After narrowly escaping death, Khazan forms an unlikely alliance with the ghostly entity Blade Phantom, gaining otherworldly powers. Witness Khazan’s journey for revenge and learn his path to becoming the first berserker in the DNF Universe.

BATTLE-HARDENED GENERAL
Khazan is a master of combat, wielding an arsenal of dual-wield weapons, spears, and great-swords with unmatched prowess. Collect, upgrade, and combine these weapons with various armor sets to create your own unique combat style. Develop Khazan’s abilities through multiple in-depth skill trees, allowing players to customize their playstyle and specialize in different combat techniques. While challenging for hardcore gamers, the two difficulty settings and variety of combat and skill mechanics make the game approachable for players of all skill levels.

LEGENDARY BOSSES
Khazan engages in unforgettable boss battles, where each foe presents distinct attack patterns, exploitable weaknesses, and unique abilities. These battles require strategic thinking, precise timing, and a deep understanding of the combat system, encouraging players to adapt and learn quickly. By mastering Khazan’s versatile weapons and skills, players can effectively customize their tactics to conquer various boss types and navigate diverse combat scenarios.

ANIME MEETS AAA
The First Berserker: Khazan’s striking 3D cel-shaded graphics bring the world of Arad to life with the vibrant look of animated films. The essence of the Dungeon and Fighter Universe is captured and reimagined with a unique blend of bold, cel-shaded art and realistic textures, creating an immersive visual experience.

The First Berserker: Khazan

Nexon Korea Corporation

☆☆☆☆☆
133

★★★★★

$59.99

Get it now

The First Berserker: Khazan DEMO

Nexon Korea Corporation

☆☆☆☆☆
233

★★★★★

Get it now

This is the demo version of The First Berserker: Khazan.
The demo contains the first two missions from the game.
Progress made in the demo can be carried over to the full game via your save file.
Difficulty settings can be adjusted after clearing Mission 1.

The First Berserker: Khazan is a hardcore action RPG based on the Dungeon Fighter Online (DnF) universe, Nexon’s flagship IP with more than 800 million players worldwide. Set 800 years before the events of DnF, the game unfolds on the continent of Arad and explores the untold story of Khazan, the first Berserker. Players will experience Khazan’s legendary journey firsthand as they master intricate and engaging combat mechanics and strategic battles that bring his epic tale to life.

[Game Overview]
1. Epic Boss Fights and Action-Packed Gameplay
The First Berserker: Khazan captures the essence of Dungeon Fighter Online with its blend of flashy hack-and-slash combat and hardcore difficulty, delivering polished, high-impact action. Intense boss battles maximize tension, while hard-earned victories provide a deep sense of accomplishment, offering players a thrilling combat experience.
2. A Gripping Story of Revenge
In the 89th year of the Pell Los Empire, the Great General Khazan is falsely accused of treason and banished to the snowy mountains. Having narrowly escaped death, Khazan embarks on a quest for vengeance. Witness his growth as he uncovers the conspiracies that led to his downfall, masters lost combat skills, and unveils the truth about the empire.
3. 3D Cel-Shaded Graphics
Built with Unreal Engine, the game’s 3D cel-shaded style captures the essence of animated films. The continent of Arad has been reimagined through a striking blend of bold, cel-shaded art and realistic textures, offering a vivid and immersive experience.

[Game Features]
1. Dynamic Item Collection and Progression System
Khazan wields a wide range of weapons with unmatched skill, including dual-wield weapons, spears, and greatswords. Collect and upgrade these weapons, along with various pieces of armor, and complete gear sets to develop your own distinct combat style.
2. Vast Skill Combinations
Each weapon comes with a variety of skills that can be combined to create a combat style that’s entirely your own. Go beyond simple attack and defense mechanics and experience gameplay that rewards strategy and creativity.

The First Berserker: Khazan is the ultimate experience for players looking for a hardcore action RPG with an incredibly immersive story. Join Khazan as he overcomes the challenges that lie before him and becomes the legendary Berserker.

The post Exploring the Stunning Cel-Shaded Art Style of The First Berserker: Khazan appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Play Anywhere with the New Backbone One Xbox Edition Mobile Controller

Category: Consoles

Play Anywhere with the New Backbone One Xbox Edition Mobile Controller

The power of Xbox is now in your hands—anywhere, anytime. The new Designed for Xbox: Backbone One Xbox Edition transforms your phone into the ultimate companion for gaming on mobile.

Enjoy your games with an enhanced D-pad for precise control and magnetic adapters that secure your phone in place, even with your phone case on. Quickly access your Xbox dashboard with a single press of the Xbox button and jump straight into games like Halo Infinite and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle. All this, with a look that captures the classic Xbox design, featuring a stunning translucent green inspired by the original Xbox.

Stream with cloud gaming and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, play natively, or use remote play from your Xbox console or PC—wherever you are. Designed for low-latency and responsive controls, Backbone One Xbox Edition keeps you in the game.

The Backbone app unifies your gaming experience, connecting your favorite titles, streaming services, and social features into one intuitive hub. And to kickstart your adventure, each purchase includes one month of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate at no cost (for new members only), unlocking hundreds of games ready to play on the go.

Backbone One Xbox Edition is available now for $109.99 USD through Backbone in the U.S. and coming to additional markets in April 2024. The device is compatible with iPhone models with USB-C (15 and up) and Android devices running Android 6.0+.

Take control. Push limits. Play anywhere.

The post Play Anywhere with the New Backbone One Xbox Edition Mobile Controller appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Lies of P’s Future Begins with a Journey into the Past

Category: Games

March 26, 2025

Lies of P’s Future Begins with a Journey into the Past

Jeff Rubenstein

Every generation or so, a new game genre ascends in popularity, carving out a spot in player’s hearts, with its breakout hit spawning countless imitators: think the Platformer, the FPS, the Open World, the Soulslike.

While dozens of games have followed the path blazed by FromSoftware’s seminal Souls games, very few have approached the bar set by Hidetaka Miyazaki and co. Lies of P, with its blend of tight, challenging action and a haunting take on Carlo Collodi’s “The Adventures of Pinocchio,” is one such genre standout.

Now 18 months since its initial release, Neowiz is finally sharing what’s next for Lies of P, the expansion Lies of P: Overture. At last week’s Game Developers Conference (GDC), I was able to sit down with Game Director Ji-won Choi to talk about what we can expect.

Xbox Wire: Before we get into the new stuff,I want to ask about the team and what the last 18 months have been like. I think it’s a year-and-a-half since Lies of P first came out, and so I would love to just sort of start there.

Ji-won Choi: If I had to choose one distinctive change from the beginning and then now, 18 months later, it’s that for the fans, there was a sentiment of worries and concern and that changed to trust, support, and expectation.

In our case, that sort of switch also happened to us. First, the worries and concern to modesty, because the lovely reaction and the feedback the fans actually share with us became a constant source of motivation for us to do better.

Xbox Wire: Lies of P was a fantastic addition to the Game Pass library in its first year. What was the Xbox/Game Pass partnership experience like in helping to bring Lies of P to the global stage?

Ji-won Choi: So, thank you so much for all the love and support that you have shared with us on Xbox, we really appreciate it, and we also want to share our love and appreciation for the fans of Xbox and Lies of P on Xbox. Our goal was always to bring our content to as wide a set of audience around the world as possible and Xbox allowed us to make that happen, and we are very grateful for it. And because of that, we have now heightened expectations to really continue to satisfy and improve our content to an even broader fanbase around the world- so we now have a lot of work to do.

Xbox Wire: Let’s talk about Overture, the recently revealed DLC expansion. So – and I’ll try to avoid super spoilery things here – at the end of Lies of P, which by the way I wear it as a badge of honor that I did beat the game, there’s a scene that seems to imply where Lies of P could go next. I found it a bit surprising that Overture will take us back in time. How was the decision made to see the city of Krat before it fell?

Ji-won Choi: Congratulations on beating the game! And yes, the character that we teased about, I can definitively say that that the character is not going to be in the expansion this time. For the expansion, we were putting all our effort into delivering Lies of P’s base game at first when we launched. Even before that, we had an even bigger vision and narratives that we wanted to put in. But because we had to focus on really completing the base game experience as a solid experience without issues, we had to cut out a lot of branches at that point.

Now, thanks to all the fans’ support and love and reception that you shared with us around the world, we now have a chance to really complete the experience that we couldn’t deliver at first when we launched the base game. So please consider this extension not as a separate entity, but it is actually the experience Lies of P was supposed to be delivered at first. Now you have the complete experience.

Xbox Wire: I’m curious how Overture integrates within the main game of Lies of P. Do you need to have completed the main game and then something happens that sends P back in time? Or is this something where a new player can enter as part of their original playthrough, and even bring the new Legion Arms and new moves in the expansion and bring them back to the main game?

Ji-won Choi: I cannot quite share with you exactly how the mechanism of how you jump into the expansion, but if you go and play to just about Chapter 9, with all the knowledge base and capability up to that point, it will let you very seamlessly jump into the world of the expansion. That is for the same for anyone who even completes the game at the end; even if you join in after completing the game, or if you join in by just simply playing up to the chapter 9ish, you have a satisfying experience together. So, the content itself is going to be both for the fans who are familiar with the franchise, and for brand new players.

Xbox Wire: I watched the recent Overture trailer and then I went and watched some very detailed fan videos that broke down every bit of the trailer frame by frame, to try to guess what’s happening. What do you want people to take away from the trailer? Anything they should be paying extra special attention to?

Ji-won Choi: I also saw those frame-by-frame analyses from the fans. First of all, that made me realize how much love that we have been receiving from our fan base around the world. I was deeply touched by that. What we wanted to really convey to the fans was quite simple: we wanted to let the fans know that we have gotten a lot of feedback, very meaningful feedback and reception of all kinds for a very long time. And we wanted to deliver content for the fans that they will intuitively know that we listen to them. And that’s what we wanted to deliver in our trailer.

Xbox Wire: I’m very curious about that. Lies that P was made, I would expect, with not a lot of expectations, externally. I mean it looked good, but nobody knew really what to expect. Now people know how good Lies of P is, and are anticipating Overture, so when you hear the fan feedback, I’m curious which things you are taking into account, or do you have to shut some of that out to complete your vision?

Ji-won Choi: Really meaningful question. We see this whole process as a collaboration and we take it seriously – a collaboration between developers and the customers. We carefully study all these elements all together and the key is to understand what we are doing well is resonating, and to understand what we’re doing wrong and how we identify it and improve upon it. So, when we get this type of feedback to ourselves, there are elements that are easily acceptable, and there are other elements that are sort of debatable, but we don’t just discard them. What we usually do is we bring those elements internally to our development team and we get to write it down and we start testing very quickly. Based on that, we can validate if those claims work out well for us or it doesn’t. We take it seriously: we test it, and we validate.

Xbox Wire: Going back to the trailer, my personal take away is that in the base game, it’s a very lonely experience most of the time. Yes, you can come back to the Hotel Krat and you get to see other people, which is great. But when you’re out in the world, you’re alone. And in this trailer, P is not alone very often – P blows the horn, and and I think it’s Aladoro comes smashing through the window, we see this masked stalker fighting alongside P. Is Overture going to be a less lonely affair?

Ji-won Choi: The whole feeling of loneliness and any other emotion, that’s something that’s hard for me to sort of predict… What we really focused on was to really elaborate on the attractive characters we started developing. When you play the base game, you see many different characters… or actually you only heard of through some hints throughout the game. When you experience the expansion, you will get to learn far more about these characters that we have hinted quite a bit. We want you to make sure that you have a much more thorough and complete experience of the attractive characters that we begin to introduce here again.

Xbox Wire: Any final thoughts?

Ji-won Choi: To emphasize, Overture combined with the base game is going to be the holistic experience of Lies of P – how it was meant to be experienced. Because of that, it’s highly intertwined together, so what I recommend or suggest to the fans would be to take time, experience the base game in time for our Overture launch, and enjoy.

Xbox Wire: This summer, right?

Ji-won Choi [enthusiastically!]: “This summer!”

Lies of P: Overture

NEOWIZ

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Cross the Bounds of Time

Lies of P: Overture is a dramatic prequel to the acclaimed soulslike action RPG, Lies of P. It transports you to the city of Krat in its final days of haunting, late-19th-century Belle Époque beauty. On the brink of the Puppet Frenzy massacre, you follow a legendary Stalker—a mysterious guide—through untold stories and chilling secrets. As Geppetto’s deadly puppet, you’ll journey through Krat and its surroundings, uncover hidden backstories, and face epic battles that shape the past and future of Lies of P.

As Geppetto’s Puppet, you encounter a mysterious artifact that transports you back to Krat in its final days of grandeur. In the shadow of an impending tragedy, your mission is to explore the past and uncover its dark secrets—haunted by surprises, loss, and vengeance. The choices you make ripple through the past and present in the world of Lies of P, revealing hidden truths and leaving lasting consequences.
Embark on an unforgettable adventure where the symphony of steel clashes with the haunting melody of the unknown. Dare to unravel the mysteries of the past, for in the heart of darkness lies the key to unlocking the secrets of a timeless tale reborn.
“Geppetto’s puppet… We need your help.”

Lies of P

NEOWIZ

☆☆☆☆☆
663

★★★★★

$59.99

Get it now

Lies of P is a thrilling soulslike that takes the story of Pinocchio, turns it on its head, and sets it against the darkly elegant backdrop of the Belle Epoque era.

You are a puppet created by Geppetto who’s caught in a web of lies with unimaginable monsters and untrustworthy figures standing between you and the events that have befallen the world of Lies of P.

You are awakened by a mysterious voice that guides you through the plagued city of Krat – a once lively place that has been poisoned by madness and bloodlust. In our soulslike, you must adapt yourself and your weapons to face untold horrors, untangle the unfathomable secrets of the city’s elites and choose whether to confront predicaments with the truth or weave lies to overcome them on the journey to find yourself.

・ A DARKLY ELEGANT AND CRUEL WORLD
Unearth the secrets of the city of Krat – a place soaked in the style of the Belle Epoque era which once thrived due to its puppet industry and now sees its streets covered in blood.

・BATTLE WITH TWISTED INSTRUMENTS
Develop a unique combat style to counter vicious enemies and terrain by weaving together dynamic weapon combinations, utilizing the Legion Arms, and activating new abilities.

・WHAT’S IN A LIE?
There will be times when you will be confronted with choices where you can give comfort to others in sorrow or despair by lying…or you can choose to tell the truth.

Carve your own path.

・A CLASSIC REIMAGINED
Experience the beloved fairy tale of Pinocchio reinterpreted as a dark, grim narrative that allows players to discover the secrets and symbols hidden within the world of Lies of P.

The post Lies of P’s Future Begins with a Journey into the Past appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Introducing More In-Game Benefits for Free-to-Play Games with Game Pass

Category: Announcements

March 26, 2025

Introducing More In-Game Benefits for Free-to-Play Games with Game Pass

Steve MaslineProduct Marketing Manager, Xbox

Starting this week, we’re rolling out even more value to Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members with in-game benefits for free-to-play games.

Members will get items like cosmetics, characters, in-game currency, and more for additional games, including Heroes of the Storm, Naraka: Bladepoint, and The Finals. Plus, we’re adding even more benefits starting in April 2025, like Call of Duty: Warzone and Enlisted. With seasonal content drops, members always have new benefits to look forward to.

These new additions expand upon existing in-game benefits, including unlocking the full roster of champions in League of Legends, six skins in Overwatch 2, all Agents in Valorant, and more. Whether it’s customization, personalization, or progression, players get even more from Game Pass.

To access all these in-game benefits, Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members just need to log in with their Xbox profile or link their Xbox profile with each game’s account. Then, simply launch the game with Xbox on PC or console and your extra benefits will be available in-game. For Game Pass Ultimate members, these benefits will be available when playing with Xbox across cloud, console and PC.

New In-Game Benefits Coming to Game Pass

Starting this week, Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members will have access to in-game benefits for the following games:

Heroes of the Storm (PC) – Link your Battle.net account
In this realm between realms, anything is possible – play and unlock 30 Heroes from across Blizzard Entertainment’s universes as we welcome you to the Nexus!

Naraka: Bladepoint (Cloud, Console, and PC) – Use your Xbox profile to log in
Unlock all heroes, exclusive Xbox headgear, and the Phoenix Princess Pack (Justina Gu).

Smite 2 (Console and PC) – Link your account
Unlock the exclusive High Velocity Hecate Skin, 5 gods (Ares, Anhur, Hecate, Hercules and Nemesis), the OP Title, and GG Emote with the Smite 2 Welcome Pack.

The Finals (Xbox Series X|S and PC) – Link your Embark ID
Unlock the Stryker Grid Set, sponsored by Ivada, featuring a full outfit, three weapon skins, a charm, and a 25% boost to Match XP. Players also unlock 500 Multibucks when they claim their prize!

We’ll be bringing even more in-game benefits for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members regularly. Starting in April 2025, players will get access to in-game benefits for the following titles:

Asphalt Legends Unite
Call of Duty: Warzone
Enlisted
War Thunder

Plus, Don’t Miss These Existing In-Game Benefits

Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass members can also take advantage of existing benefits for Overwatch 2, League of Legends, Valorant, and more when they link their Xbox account.

Genshin Impact (Console) – Link your HoYoverse account
Travelers who reach Adventure Rank 2 will unlock the “Wings of Fate’s Course Intertwined” as a gift in their in-game mailbox upon logging into Genshin Impact on Xbox. Plus, unlock Intertwined Fate ×2, Northlander Billet Trove ×1, Hero’s Wit ×10, Mora ×100,000, and Mystic Enhancement Ore ×15.

League of Legends (PC) – Link your Riot account
Unlock all 160+ champions, get day one access to new champions, and enjoy a 20% XP Boost to account leveling.

Legends of Runeterra (PC) – Link your Riot account
Unlock all cards in the Foundations Set.

Overwatch 2 (Console and PC) – Link your Battle.net account
Unlock six skins, including Cardboard Reinhardt and Turtleship D.Va! Plus, you’ll get a one-time grant of 30 Mythic Prisms, and a 10% XP boost with access to Shop cosmetics from the past three seasons (excludes Battle Pass, Collab, Mythic, and other Promotional content).

Teamfight Tactics (PC) – Link your Riot account
Unlock 1-Star Rare Little Legend Tacticians and 1 skin on a monthly rotation.

Valorant (Console and PC) – Link your Riot account
Unlock all Agents, get day-one access to new Agents, and enjoy a 20% Match XP Boost to Battle Pass, Event Pass, and active Agent Contract progress.

In-game Benefits Are Getting Easier to Find

Starting this week, we’re making it even easier for players to discover the in-game benefits available with their Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass memberships.

Launch Xbox on PC, navigate to the Game Pass tab and click “More Benefits”, or navigate to a participating game’s page to see available in-game benefits.

Getting Started

Step 1: Become a Game Pass member
Join Game Pass Ultimate or PC Game Pass to get in-game benefits for some of the biggest free-to-play games.

Step 2: Link your Xbox profile
Launch a participating game and sign in with your Xbox profile, or navigate to a participating game’s website and link your Xbox profile with your game account.

Step 3: Claim your benefits with Xbox on PC or console
Launch the participating game with Xbox on PC or console and your benefits will be available in-game.

We can’t wait to see how you customize, personalize, and progress with Game Pass. Be the first to learn about future updates by looking for the “Coming Soon to Game Pass” announcements on Xbox Wire.

To learn more about eligibility for these benefits, players can reference the table below:

Game	Account	Help Article
Heroes of the Storm	Battle.net account	https://us.battle.net/support/en/article/357105
Overwatch 2	Battle.net account	https://overwatch.blizzard.com/en-us/news/24107758/
The Finals	Embark ID	https://id.embark.games/the-finals/support/faq/70-account-faq
Enlisted	Gaijin account	Log in with your Xbox profile
War Thunder	Gaijin account	Log in with your Xbox profile
Asphalt Legends Unite	Gameloft Club account	https://gameloft.helpshift.com/hc/en/15-asphalt-legends-unite/faq/640-how-do-i-link-my-account-to-save-or-transfer-my-progress/
Genshin Impact	Hoyoverse account	https://genshin.hoyoverse.com/en/news/detail/126848
Naraka: Bladepoint	Naraka: Bladepoint account	Log in with your Xbox profile
League of Legends	Riot account	https://www.riotgames.com/en/riot-game-pass-benefits
Legends of Runeterra	Riot account	https://www.riotgames.com/en/riot-game-pass-benefits
Teamfight Tactics	Riot account	https://www.riotgames.com/en/riot-game-pass-benefits
Valorant	Riot account	https://www.riotgames.com/en/riot-game-pass-benefits
Smite 2	Smite 2 account	https://support.hirezstudios.com/en/articles/10366500-smite-2-account-linking-instructions-faq

The post Introducing More In-Game Benefits for Free-to-Play Games with Game Pass appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Indie Selects for March 2025: Spring Into Your Next Adventure

Category: ID@Xbox

March 26, 2025

Indie Selects for March 2025: Spring Into Your Next Adventure

Raymond Estrada, Joe Olk, Steven AllenID@Xbox Life Coaches

The year is flying by, and March came through with the heavy hitters – and inevitably that means you’re hit with decision paralysis. Believe me, we’ve all been there. There’s a lot of great games out there and it can be hard to hear the call to adventure amongst all the chatter. Don’t you worry, the ID@Xbox team have handpicked six Indie Selects that will kickstart your next big adventure.

Be warned: some of these daring escapades are more than meets the eye. You may uncover a demon world or two, find heroism in a little slimeball, or you might find that diving into personal grief and trauma could be its own harrowing, cathartic and surprisingly melodic adventure. Don’t ask questions, just take a leap of faith and raid some tombs with us, because March Selects are calling! Here’s what we’ve got for you this month (in no particular order):

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

Don’t Nod, the creators of the OG Life is Strange, return to the narrative adventure genre to deliver a tale of four young girls who experience an unforgettable summer filled with coming-of-age hijinks… and something more inexplicable. That mystery thread of “what happened?” kickstarts a current day reunion of friends piecing together their adolescence to resolve what exactly transpired during that fateful summer – an experience still affecting them now. This is the first chapter, with a second installment arriving in mid-April.

I loved the original Life is Strange series with its young adult angst, ennui, and sci-fi reality bending. It made those classic, outsized teenage “the world is ending!” dilemmas 100% literal in the case of protags Max and Chloe. Don’t Nod revisit that vibe but find a way to ratchet up the stakes and vagaries that surround the journey of Swann and her childhood friends by taking the “teens in trouble” trope and toeing the line in urgency between the feel-goodness of an all-girls’ Goonies and the not-so-feel-goodness of Showtime’s ‘Yellowjackets’.

The nerdy, always camcorder-ing Swann navigates shyness and her pending move out of small-town America via narrative, choice-based relationship building in a way that punched a familiar knot of dread in my tummy, no matter whether it was the threats of bullies or otherworldly situations. But throughout, the script, VO, and attention to circa-1995 details do wonders in grounding the experience of pre-social media adolescence. I’m now very excited for the second chapter to drop, not least for the amazing, period-perfect soundtrack (a Don’t Nod specialty). One serious Cocteau Twins needle drop may just have ’80s and ’90s shoegaze kids digging deep into their 4AD record label era – a throwback I’m still luxuriating in.

Lost Records: Bloom & Rage

DON’T NOD

☆☆☆☆☆
156

★★★★★

$39.99

Get it now

Rewind back to the 90s and live the defining summer of four high school girls as they forge bonds through their growing friendship, their punk band, and an unexplained event that will forever change their lives.

Experience the story in two thrilling parts! Tape 1, “Bloom”, launches February 18 and Tape 2, “Rage”, launches April 15. “Rage” will become available as a free downloadable update when it is released.

A 27-YEAR PROMISE

Navigate between dual timelines and shape both narratives – in 1995 and 2022 – with each offering a piece of the larger puzzle: the life-changing secrets they uncovered back then and why they’re reuniting now, after all these years. Together, in this place, they’re forced to try and remember clearly the fateful memories that have eluded them for the past 27 years.

CAPTURE & CONNECT

Connect with your newfound sisterhood through lifelike interactions and conversations that feel real: engage in immersive dialogue that changes based on where you look and what you say; where you can do things like interrupt and ignore. Grab your camcorder and explore, filming Velvet Cove and capturing the essence of its people, places, and lush nature. Film just for the fun of it or try to find the dark secrets tucked away.

GIRLS TO THE FRONT

Play as Swann and get to know your new friends, each with their own lives and battles. Come out of your shell and embrace rebellion over the summer as you form friendships with Nora, Autumn, and Kat. Through your actions and words, you’ll shape your relationships with each of them on your journey to self-discovery. Will your bond wither over the years or will it feel like you were barely separated at all?

A NOSTALGIC DREAMSCAPE

In a picturesque corner of Michigan in 1995 lies the seemingly sleepy little town of Velvet Cove. Between dense woodlands and serene lakes, it’s a place where beauty meets the bizarre. Cloaked in a carefully crafted dreampop soundtrack that blends nostalgia and ethereal vibes, you’ll definitely find it all nice and relaxing…

Sorry We’re Closed

A celestial mystery filled with demonic delights and heavenly bodies; Sorry We’re Closed is an absolute treat. You play as Michelle, a lonely shopkeeper working in an odd London neighborhood with a bizarre and colorful cast of characters. Her reality cracks after a harrowing visit from a sleep-paralysis demon who is infatuated with Michelle’s heartache. And from there, all hell breaks loose (I’m sorry, I couldn’t resist).

This retro-style survival horror is inspired by the halcyon days of the genre and utilizes its classic fixed camera angle. For the uninitiated, this can take some getting used to. While this design choice can initially seem limiting, it offers a more cinematic and thoughtfully paced experience, which is crucial for quality mystery storytelling. But it’s not all old-school, as the developers at À La Mode Games have added a twist in the form of first-person combat. You’ll need to switch into firs-person mode on the fly, while using your demonic third eye to stun demons and exploit their weak hearts. This becomes a delicate balance – while you’re in first-person mode, Michelle is unable to move, adding a layer of tension and strategy to the combat that kept it feeling engaging.

Where things really start cooking are the incredible art style and stellar soundtrack. The combination of classic graphics and painterly character art make this a beautiful blend of old and new, while the soundtrack features catchy hip-hop and hauntingly chill beats, with a menu theme that I left on in the background for hours while I was working. Seriously, it’s on right now.

If you find yourself in the mood for some retro-horror and quality storytelling, Sorry We’re Closed is an absolute must play.

Sorry We’re Closed

Akupara Games

☆☆☆☆☆
45

★★★★★

$24.99

Get it now

Free Trial

Sorry We’re Closed is an eccentric story-driven survival horror game about angels and demons that mixes fixed-camera exploration and arcade-style shooting. Michelle must use her Third Eye to see between worlds and uncover secrets.

Follow the final days of Michelle as she battles to break the curse placed on her by a powerful archdemon looking for love. Help (or hinder!) the lives of curious residents in Michelle’s bustling London borough as she pursues freedom from her own untimely demise.

Sorry We’re Closed is a fusion of nostalgic survival horror with a new perspective on combat, combining atmospheric environments with fixed-camera angles and the thrill of arcade-style first person shooting. Collect items and manage resources to help Michelle survive. Optional tank controls are available for those who enjoy the classic survival horror experience.

Michelle’s time is split between the perilous demon world and mingling with the locals on her residential street. Everyone’s battling their own inner demons and through Michelle you can help guide them. Multiple endings are available through RPG-style dialogue interactions with the extravagant cast.

Afterlove EP

Have you ever played a game that felt like it was speaking directly to your soul? Afterlove EP is one of those gems. It’s a unique blend of visual novel, narrative adventure, and rhythm game set in the bustling city of Jakarta, Indonesia. You step into the shoes of Rama, an indie band frontman who’s grieving the loss of his girlfriend, Cinta. From the moment you start, you’re drawn into his world of sorrow and hope.

The game kicks off a year after Cinta’s death, and Rama has pretty much isolated himself from his bandmates and life in general. Your mission? Help Rama navigate his grief, reconnect with his bandmates, and prepare for a comeback show that could change everything. Sounds intense, right?

Over the course of 28 in-game days, you guide Rama through various activities. Each day brings new opportunities to mend neglected relationships, form new ones, pick up your guitar, and get ready for that critical gig! The choices you make will shape Rama’s journey, leading to branching storylines and multiple endings. And who likes rhythm game elements? This guy! They add a real interactive layer to the narrative, letting you immerse yourself in the music and emotions that drive Rama’s story (fair warning: you may want to bring tissues).

The game’s art style is a splendid recreation of 21^st Century Jakarta, with vibrant hand-drawn visuals that bring the city to life. As you explore the streets, you’ll encounter bustling markets, serene parks, and lively cafes, each contributing to the immersive experience. The soundtrack, composed by Indonesian musicians, enhances the emotional impact of the game. The melodies resonate with Rama’s feelings, creating a powerful connection between you and the character.

Playing Afterlove EP was a profoundly personal experience. As I joined Rama through his emotional journey, I found myself reflecting on my own experiences with loss and recovery. The game’s deep narrative and rhythm elements work together to create a captivating and emotionally resonant experience. If, like me, you enjoy games like Florence, which also combines narrative and rhythm elements, you’ll find Afterlove EP equally compelling. It’s a testament to the raw power of indie games to tell deeply personal and emotionally impactful stories. If you haven’t played it yet, now is the perfect time to dive into the melodic world of Afterlove EP and experience this emotional journey for yourself.

Afterlove EP

Fellow Traveller

☆☆☆☆☆
5

★★★★★

$19.99

Get it now

Taking place in the vibrant city of Jakarta, capital of Indonesia, Afterlove EP is a blend of visual novel, narrative adventure and rhythm game from the creator of Coffee Talk and What Comes After.

Step into the shoes of Rama, a young musician struggling to move on with life after the death of their girlfriend, Cinta.

Whilst his close friends and bandmates are all determined to help him move on, Rama has been stuck for more than a year. He’s neglecting his music, his mental health and his relationships.

Making things harder, he’s hearing Cinta’s voice inside his head, unsure if she is a spirit or part of his imagination.

Now he has just one month to get it together!

Rama’s band has a critical gig in one month’s time. Either he gets serious about his music and delivers the new songs he has been promising or the band will move on without him.

KEY FEATURES
• An emotional new story from the creator of Coffee Talk and What Comes After.
• Set in a vibrant and authentic recreation of modern day Jakarta, Indonesia
• A blend of narrative adventure, visual novel and rhythm game elements – explore, talk, jam out!
• Multiple endings and story paths – over 28 days and nights, it will be your choices that determine the path Rama takes.
• Featuring the distinctive art of renowned Indonesian indie-manga artist, Soyatu.
• Featuring an original soundtrack from popular Indonesian band, L’alphalpha.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered

If you’re a fan of action-adventure games, the Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered collection has got to be on your list. This collection brings together three classic titles from the iconic series, beautifully remastered for modern platforms by indie publisher and developer Aspyr. These games follow the adventures of Lara Croft, the fearless archaeologist, as she explores ancient tombs, solves intricate puzzles, and battles formidable foes. The genre is a perfect blend of action, adventure, and puzzle-solving, offering a rich and immersive experience.

I remember the first time I played Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation (Tomb Raider IV). The sense of wonder and excitement as I guided Lara through the ancient ruins of Egypt was unparalleled. The remastered version has only enhanced that experience, with graphics that would have stunned me back then, and improved controls that make the gameplay smoother and more enjoyable. It’s like revisiting an old friend, but with a fresh new look.

Tomb Raider Chronicles (Tomb Raider V) and Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness (Tomb Raider VI) continue Lara’s adventures, each with its unique storyline and challenges. Chronicles offers a series of flashback missions that delve into Lara’s past adventures, while The Angel of Darkness introduces a more mature narrative. Both games have been given a new lease on life with the remastered collection, making them accessible to both longtime fans and newcomers alike.

If you enjoy games like Assassin’s Creed, the new Indiana Jones, or Prince of Persia, you’ll find a lot to love here. The gameplay mechanics and storytelling are reminiscent of these titles, but with Lara Croft’s unique flair that made her an iconic character in the first place.

I’ve spent countless hours exploring every nook and cranny of these games, and I can confidently say that they are worth every minute. The learning curve is there, but it’s part of what makes the experience so rewarding. Whether you’re a seasoned Tomb Raider fan or new to the series, this collection offers a fantastic journey through time and adventure.

Tomb Raider IV-VI Remastered

Aspyr

☆☆☆☆☆
55

★★★★★

$29.99

Get it now

Her legacy lives on!

Play the next series of Tomb Raider adventures in this remastered collection of the Darkness Trilogy.

Included Game Titles

-Tomb Raider: The Last Revelation – Lara Croft discovers the lost tomb of the Egyptian God Set, unwittingly unleashing him and fulfilling an ancient prophecy—one that plunges mankind into darkness.
-Tomb Raider: Chronicles – Following the events of The Last Revelation, Lara Croft is buried in an Egyptian tomb and is presumed dead. At her memorial, those closest to her reminisce about secrets from her past.
-Tomb Raider: The Angel of Darkness – Accused of murder, Lara becomes a fugitive on the run, while uncovering a sinister conspiracy involving alchemical experiments and the search for ancient artifacts.

Key Features

See the Classic & Remastered Visuals: Play with the original polygonal models or swap to the remastered graphics at any time
Travel the Globe: Follow Lara Croft around iconic locales including Cairo, Rome, Paris, and many more
Experience Lara’s Darkest Adventures: Uncover the secrets of Lara Croft’s past and shed light on the mystery of her disappearance

Ultros

Looking for a familiar genre with an unexpected twist? Then you need to check out Ultros. This game is a vibrant, psychedelic journey through a cosmic landscape known as The Sarcophagus. It’s a unique blend of Metroidvania and roguelite genres, offering a fresh and captivating experience.

During my first run through I was struck by the visuals, which were both immediately captivating and almost hallucinogenic. The art style was unlike anything I’d seen before. Navigating through The Sarcophagus felt like I was on a trippy space ride, uncovering secrets and battling bizarre creatures. Ultros isn’t just about its stunning visuals, though. The gameplay is engaging, with a mix of exploration, combat, and puzzle-solving. The world is easy to get lost in, but that’s part of the charm. The game’s big differentiator is a time-loop mechanic, which adds an intriguing layer to the gameplay, making each run feel fresh and challenging. The learning curve is there, but it’s what makes the game so rewarding.

If you enjoy Xbox games like Ori and the Blind Forest or Hollow Knight, you’ll find a lot to love in Ultros. The gameplay mechanics and storytelling are reminiscent of these titles, but with a unique psychedelic flair. This game just grabs you and won’t let go, as I am still exploring every corner of this game, and believe me, it’s worth every minute. Whether you’re a seasoned Metroidvania fan or new to the genre, Ultros offers a fantastic and visually stunning adventure that just feels right.

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Slime Heroes

Set in a world where slimes are the heroes, not the villains (for once), Slime Heroes is a delightful 3D action-adventure debut from indie studio Pancake Games. This whimsical game combines elements of RPG and puzzle-solving, seeing you take control of an adorable, customizable slime on a grand adventure to save the Slime Kingdom from impending doom.

I was hooked. It felt like reconnecting with an old friend, reminiscent of the classic games from a bygone era. The vibrant, colorful graphics and whimsical soundtrack immediately drew me in. The gameplay is a perfect blend of open-world exploration and deceptively formidable combat—think of it as a cute version of Dark Souls. There’s an abundance of challenges and fun to be found here. You must think on your feet to survive and make it to the checkpoints, all while enjoying the lighthearted, gooey antics of your slime kingdom, which has been overtaken by mysterious corruption.

One of the things I personally love about this game is the sense of progression. As you advance through the game, you’ll encounter a variety of enemies, and upon defeating them, you’ll unlock their unique skills and special powers. This keeps the gameplay fresh and exciting, as you’re constantly discovering new ways to tackle challenges. Plus, the game has a charming storyline that keeps you invested throughout your adventure.

If you’re a fan of games like Dark Souls or the Zelda series, you’ll feel right at home with Slime Heroes. The game strikes a perfect balance between being accessible to newcomers and offering depth for seasoned gamers. It’s easy to pick up, but mastering the various slime abilities and strategies will keep you coming back for more. Whether you’re a casual gamer or a hardcore enthusiast, this game has some gooey-ness for everyone.

Slime Heroes

Whitethorn Games

☆☆☆☆☆
4

★★★★★

$29.99

Get it now

Journey with your fellow slimes to save the ancient guardians from a mysterious corruption taking over the land. Explore a whimsical world filled with secret passageways, challenging puzzle dungeons, and forgotten treasures. Consume special gems and dynamically combine them to create unique magical skills. Level up and fight back against the corrupted minions to restore the land.

Dynamic Abilities
-Collect an arsenal of skill gems consumed from defeated corrupted creatures.
-Dynamically mix skill gems to craft unique skill sets at any time.
-Discover all the different types of enemies to complete your gem collection.

Co-Op
-Jump into your friends’ game at any time and drop right into the action.
-The entire game can be played with a friend.
-All loot is shared; no fighting over that one pretty gem.
-Create different magical abilities that complement each other when playing with a friend.

Expansive World
-Discover secret passageways and challenging puzzle dungeons in a whimsical open world.
-Find the six gods of the realm and defeat the corrupted version of each. Once freed they will aid you on your quest!

The post Indie Selects for March 2025: Spring Into Your Next Adventure appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Check Out the In-Game Event for A Minecraft Movie

The post Check Out the In-Game Event for A Minecraft Movie appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Dreamhaven Showcase Recap: All the News From a New Publisher With a Legendary Past

Category: Games

March 25, 2025

Dreamhaven Showcase Recap: All the News From a New Publisher With a Legendary Past

Jackie Cole, Community Lead, Dreamhaven

Summary

Dreamhaven founder Mike Morhaime revealed the publisher’s full slate of games in today’s showcase presented by The Game Awards.
Wildgate, developer Moonshot Game’s edge-of-the-galaxy multiplayer shooter with ship-on-ship combat, was unveiled for the first time.
Also revealed were release dates for Sunderfolk and the 1.0 release of Lynked from the publisher’s line-up.

In today’s showcase presented by The Game Awards, our founder Mike Morhaime shared the most in-depth look yet at Dreamhaven’s upcoming slate of games. Sitting down with Geoff Keighley, Morhaime unveiled Wildgate, a brand-new crew-based PvP shooter set in the far reaches of space, alongside official release dates for Sunderfolk and Lynked: Banner of the Spark—and much more.

Commit Space Crimes in Wildgate, Unveiled Today

We were thrilled to debut Wildgate with not one, but two full-length trailers, showcasing the high-stakes action of this spacefaring PvP shooter from Moonshot Games. In Wildgate, four-player crews must navigate a vast, procedurally generated map, outmaneuvering rival ships, claiming valuable loot, and upgrading their vessels to survive the dangers of deep space.

Wildgate is set to launch later this year on Xbox Series X|S, and players eager to test their skills and explore the Reach early can sign up for the playtest happening next month at playwildgate.com.

Sunderfolk Launch Date Revealed

We’re excited to confirm that Sunderfolk, our innovative couch co-op tactical RPG, launches on April 23! Designed to capture the magic of game night, Sunderfolk brings players together with a fresh approach to turn-based combat and exploration. With up to four players controlling the action using a free app on their smartphone or tablet, Sunderfolk makes it easy for adventurers of all experience levels to jump in and play.

Developed by Secret Door, Sunderfolk will be available on Xbox Series X|S.

Lynked: Banner of the Spark Gets an Official Release Date

Lynked: Banner of the Spark—a colorful rogue-life RPG blending cozy town-building with challenging roguelite combat—is officially launching on May 22 for Xbox Series X|S!

In the year 30XX, an evil robot force has overrun the world, but hope isn’t lost. With your trusty Wyre grapple and a growing crew of Unibot allies, you’ll take on swarms of mechanical foes, scavenge their parts, and build a thriving community from the wreckage. Battle solo or in co-op, wield an arsenal of customizable weapons, and personalize your home and hero with deep customization options. Whether you’re rebuilding or battling, every spark counts—will you light the way?

A Haven for All Players

A passion for every kind of play is at the heart of Dreamhaven’s mission statement, and from the deep-space multiplayer chaos of Wildgate to the lively couch co-op adventures of Sunderfolk, their slate of upcoming games has something for every kind of player. Be sure to stay tuned for even more updates and announcements coming soon!

The post Dreamhaven Showcase Recap: All the News From a New Publisher With a Legendary Past appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Minecraft: Vibrant Visuals Transforms the Game Into What You’ve Always Imagined in Your Head

Category: Games

Minecraft: Vibrant Visuals Transforms the Game Into What You’ve Always Imagined in Your Head

At Minecraft Live, we got a glimpse of the future of Minecraft in the form of Vibrant Visuals – an upgrade that will transform the way players experience the game. Coming later this year to Minecraft: Bedrock Edition on selected platforms, Vibrant Visuals will give the game a huge visual boost, adding improved graphical elements such as directional lighting, volumetric fog, and much more – and will be available as a simple menu toggle, letting you switch between old and new looks at will.

The team at Mojang has a perfect way of summing up their intentions – Vibrant Visuals is designed to evoke how Minecraft looks in your head. This isn’t a total conversion, or a handbrake turn into a new visual style, but a deepening of Minecraft’s iconic look.

Art Director Jasper Boerstra spearheaded the project, and explained that it all began by seeing how the community approached Minecraft: “Vibrant Visuals was inspired by the streamers. When I was thinking about this project, I watched streamers build to see how people play with shaders and how they react to them. One thing I noticed is that players often turn off shaders when doing specific tasks, like building, because they want to see things more clearly. That inspired me to think about how we could create graphics that you don’t have to turn off—graphics that are comfortable to build with. That’s exactly what we aimed for: simple and impactful for players.”

I was lucky enough to visit Mojang Studios in Stockholm to see Vibrant Visuals in action, and that overriding philosophy is clear from the moment I drop into one of two maps created specially to show off the huge amount of work that’s gone into creating Vibrant Visuals. It’s one thing to see it in screenshots or trailers, but you truly can’t understand the effect of Vibrant Visuals without playing the game yourself.

On the first of these maps, I load into a cave, looking up a flight of stairs to a sunset sky. Light pours in from the outside, pooling down the edges of the stone walls, vines cutting twisting shadows through it, as hovering fireflies cast lazily dancing pools of light over water blocks around me. As I leave the cave, I’m presented with a mountainous desert, the low sun casting long shadows across the landscape. It’s an atmosphere that vanilla Minecraft has never had before.

Switching to the second map, I’m suddenly in a verdant valley at the height of the afternoon. Sunshine plays through the gaps in cherry blossom trees, and falling petals (added as part of the Spring to Life game drop) cast their own fluttering shadows around me. I dive into a nearby pool, and realize that light even plays a part down here, gold rays of sunshine spearing their way through the water. Every single block is touched by the change – you can see how light interacts on everything, even across the backs of scuttling wildlife living here.

Boerstra explained more about how Vibrant Visuals isn’t just a graphical overhaul, but a distinctly Minecraft-themed take on a modern look: “When you play, you’ll notice that the shadows in the game are pixelated. All the reflections are pixelated, too. When you drop an item and the sun casts a shadow on it, it’s also pixelated. We wanted to keep it Minecraft-y, and Vibrant Visuals is a great way to bridge familiar elements with new features. It’s about adding something to the world that feels immersive while staying true to the essence of the game.”

But perhaps the biggest testament to how successfully these enhanced visuals have been implemented is that, very quickly, I forget all about them. It’s not such an overwhelming shift that I’m constantly reminded that this is an all-new look – it feels perfectly pitched, retaining everything you know of Minecraft. In fact, the most incredible part of the demonstration was when I started using a single hotkey to shift back and forth between the old look and the new – I’d continuously find amazing looking vistas, then toggle back to the original visuals, and realise, all over again, quite how much has changed.

In the original look, mountain ranges surrounded me like the enormous chunks of blocks they are – but with Vibrant Visuals, volumetric fog effects mean that they disappear into a haze, offering a sense of depth to the map. It’s not just that it looks better, it feels bigger, adding a newfound sense of scale and mystery to the world around you.

And this is only the beginning for Vibrant Visuals. This isn’t a one-and-done moment for Mojang, but the beginning of an ongoing effort to improve what Minecraft can look like, without abandoning its signature vibe.

“Vibrant Visuals is not the end; it’s the beginning of our journey,” explains Executive Producer Ingela Garneij. “We want to keep working to add more visual updates, as our goal is to reach players across platforms with approachable graphics. We’ll continue to build on these features while staying true to what makes Minecraft’s art style so special and beloved by our community.” –

It’s also presented as an option for players – and not just in the fact that you can switch back to the original look at any time. Vibrant Visuals is planned for Minecraft: Java Edition in the future, but this doesn’t spell an end to community-created visual mods, or RTX-enabled maps. Vibrant Visuals is presented as a new way for a whole new swathe of players to upgrade the look of the game, without the more in-depth work that can take.

The benefit to us, the players, is clear – for longtime fans, this represents Minecraft evolving to match their imaginations. For new players, it helps modernize the game without ever losing what made it special in the first place. And for all of those players, accessing Vibrant Visuals is as simple as downloading the update.

We’re so used to Minecraft increasing its scope through content – new blocks, new mobs, new mechanics – that it’s fascinating to see the team take a totally different approach here. Vibrant Visuals doesn’t just feel like a new look for the game – it feels like a new dawn.

Vibrant Visuals will arrive for free in Minecraft: Bedrock Edition later this year.

Minecraft

Microsoft Studios

☆☆☆☆☆
2004

★★★★★

$19.99

$15.99

Get it now

Xbox One X Enhanced

Xbox Game Pass

CREATE
Build whatever you can imagine in your own infinite world that’s unique in every playthrough.

EXPLORE
Discover biomes, resources and mobs, and craft your way through a world filled with surprises in the ultimate sandbox game.

SURVIVE
Experience unforgettable adventures as you face mysterious foes, traverse exciting landscapes, and travel to perilous dimensions.

PLAY TOGETHER
Have a blast with friends, whether you’re sitting on the same couch in split screen or miles apart in cross-platform play for console, mobile and PC. Connect with millions of players on community servers or subscribe to Realms Plus to play with up to 10 friends on your own private server.

EXPERIENCE MORE
Get creator-made add-ons, thrilling worlds, and stylish cosmetics on Minecraft Marketplace. Subscribe to Marketplace Pass (or Realms Plus) to access 150+ worlds, skin & textures packs, and more – refreshed monthly.

The post Minecraft: Vibrant Visuals Transforms the Game Into What You’ve Always Imagined in Your Head appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Designing the Iconic Liquid Metal T-1000 Terminator for Mortal Kombat 1

Category: Games

March 25, 2025

Designing the Iconic Liquid Metal T-1000 Terminator for Mortal Kombat 1

Joe Epstein, Combat Designer, NetherRealm Studios

Do you think there’s a villain cooler than the T-1000? Get out of here, no you don’t. The T-1000 in Terminator 2: Judgment Day stands right on the intersection of early ‘90s cool, late 20^th century technological advancements, visionary storytelling, and a perfect match of performer to role. One of the guiding lights we use to decide on which guest characters to incorporate in Mortal Kombat 1 is simply… who’s the coolest fit that we haven’t included yet? Enter the T-1000.

In contrast to the tank or trucklike brute-force-instrument qualities of the T-800, the T-1000 is a sportscar. Instead of the T-800’s towering, aloof, biker-jacketed demeanor, you get Robert Patrick’s gracile and intense police officer impersonator. The T-1000 fights, shoots, and sprints without wincing, blinking, or heaving for air. He walks and scans in a hawklike, inhuman way. But when needed, he’s a better social chameleon than his predecessor. Patrick’s T-1000 can plausibly question civilians as a friendly cop and demonstrates emotions like frustration and arrogance in places the T-800 would not. Surprisingly, extreme moments are when Patrick’s T-1000 seems most human (realizing you have a live grenade round implanted in your midsection qualifies as extreme).

Screenshot of the T-1000 character from Mortal Kombat 1

That’s just talking expressions and demeanor. The kicker here is what the T-1000 is made of. While the T-800 is a solid cyborg—machine endoskeleton surrounded by living flesh—the T-1000 is an experimental android composed of a cloud of liquid metal material, described in the movie as a prototype ‘mimetic polyalloy.’ With a chrome flicker that ‘resets’ its surface to a reflective silver blank slate, it can reshape itself to mimic humanoids, objects, and simple weapons. It can pour through small openings or around obstacles like an evil molasses, it can flatten and extend its mass to blend into the floor or run along it like a live oil slick, and it can extrude and then harden portions of itself to act as improvised blades, bludgeons, or prybars depending on what the situation requires. The rule in the fiction is, if the T-1000 has touched something or someone, it has scanned for information and is now capable of impersonating appearances.

The upshot for us as developers is a faster, more flexible, and cunning infiltrator than the classic T-800 Terminator (itself a guest character in Mortal Kombat 11), with an abundance of reference material to draw from, and seemingly unlimited gameplay, special effect, and cinema potential. Spoiled for choice is the expression.

But flavor-wise, its lack of blood needed addressing. A T-1000 getting slashed up by Baraka wouldn’t send red matter everywhere. At best it would be small chrome drops of the goop it’s made of getting flung away from the main mass. And that stuff wouldn’t just sit wherever it splatted, either. After the initial shock of being scattered, pieces would dust themselves off and go looking for the main entity.

An even bigger issue: Mortal Kombat 1 is filled with dozens upon dozens of signature Fatalities, Animalities, Brutalities, Fatal Blows, etc., and each one of these finishing moves is a bone crushing cinematic moment with various unpleasant things happening in detailed X-ray and cross-sectioned ultra-HD views. Well, the T-1000 is a liquid metal android so you can imagine how pulling or slicing the machine apart might be sort of like ballistics tests through dense fluids. Dedicated attention was paid to every cinema to convey the T-1000’s unique viscous characteristics when meeting grisly ends as a losing kombatant.

Screenshot of the T-1000 character from Mortal Kombat 1 in combat

Then there’s the limb and form morphing. It was decided early on gameplay-wise what the T-1000 would be about, broadly—as not just a Terminator but the most advanced Terminator, he should seem implacable, always steadily forward moving, and feature an arsenal brimming with every direct movie reference we can cram in, alongside fun extrapolations we can add.

Direct film references include numerous attacks where some or all of the T-1000 reforms. For example, forearms reshaping into large blades or hooks and fingers extending into thin needles, which you’ll see throughout most of the character’s arsenal of moves. And as a police officer imposter, it’s clear the T-1000 has acquired service pistols that provide a kinetic way to stand off at range or to slowly advance. A particularly strong enhanced special move combines the two, with the T-1000 sprinting while shooting, before lunging with extended spear-arms, just like in the hospital corridor scene in the 1991 movie. A couple normal combo chains feature bladed finger extensions that skewer like little spears or the T-1000 extending a portion of itself to use as a rebar-like bludgeon mid-combo, both callbacks to the iconic steel mill setting towards the end of the film.

Some moves take creative license, embellishing to open new gameplay avenues and display more of the T-1000’s capabilities. Taking inspiration from the character dropping through the ceiling of a ruined elevator in a poured-liquid form, it can quickly reform in midair and fall to the ground as a dense fluid droplet. And like after being frozen, shattered and thawed, the T-1000 can dive into a surging blob form low to the ground, closing distance before emerging with bladed attacks. For a move that’s in between a mid-range poke and a long-range projectile attack, it can melt halfway into the floor to send out a spiny tendril of liquid metal, quickly forming the base for a rising stalagmite-like spear. The most whimsy is displayed within the T-1000’s moveset that clues eagle-eyed fans it has faced familiar Outworld kombatants before, picking up a duplication trick or two along the way.

Implementing a character design isn’t always straightforward, depending on the nature of the fighter. Of course, most characters are complicated with different moves, animations, and FX, and T-1000 has just about every complication possible. Throw animations—anything where a grappler and their victim need to be synced up—are trickier to design, motion-capture, animate, and implement than typical strikes. Moving, warping, and morphing options set up all kinds of potential variables to account for. FX themselves can be complex, involving cross-discipline efforts to solve lighting, physics, and model issues that get in the way of coordinating the intended look and feel.

Doing justice to the T-1000 was a full-team effort, and we couldn’t be more excited to add this amazing guest fighter to the Mortal Kombat 1 roster. The T-1000 Terminator is available today on Xbox Series X|S as part of the Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Expansion, or a la carte via separate purchase.

Mortal Kombat 1: Khaos Reigns Kollection

Warner Bros. Games

☆☆☆☆☆
582

★★★★★

$89.99

$29.69

Get it now

New to Mortal Kombat 1? Get started with the Kollection Edition! Mortal Kombat 1 ushers in a New Era of the iconic franchise with a New fighting system, game modes, and fatalities.

Includes instant access to the Base Game, Kombat Pack, and Dragon Krystals. Gain access to the upcoming Story Expansion, Kombat Pack 2 and more!

Khaos Reigns Story Expansion

Kombat Pack 2*
Khaos Reigns Fighters Available At Launch:
Noob Saibot
Cyrax
Sektor
Guest Fighters Available Post-Launch (includes 1 week early access)
Ghostface (Scream Franchise)
T-1000 (Terminator 2)
Conan the Barbarian

Kombat Pack (Available Now):
Omni-Man (Invincible)
Quan Chi
Peacemaker (DC’s Peacemaker)
Ermac
Homelander (The Boys)
Takeda Takahashi

Kameo Fighters (Available Now):
Tremor
Khameleon
Janet Cage
Mavado
Ferra

Jean-Claude Van Damme Skin for Johnny Cage (Available Now)
1250 Dragon Krystals (Available Now)

*Separate Kombat Pack 2 character bundle not available

MK1: T-1000

Warner Bros. Games

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

The T-1000 embodies the ultimate evolution of assassination technology. This pack includes playable character the T-1000, including all new move-sets based on Terminator 2

The post Designing the Iconic Liquid Metal T-1000 Terminator for Mortal Kombat 1 appeared first on Xbox Wire.

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MK1: T-1000

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