Author: Game Infliction

Coffee Talk: Blending fantasy with reality

In a blindingly fast world, with so much to keep up with, is there a space to escape where everything slows down and we can sip our favorite beverage in peace? That’s what we, Toge Productions, want to serve in our Coffee Talk series, which soon will have its second game in Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly.

Before I continue, let me introduce myself! My name is Arya, Toge Productions’ PR & Communications Manager, and I’m here to tell you a story about how Coffee Talk came about. How it connects to you – the players, the importance of its diverse fantastical cast of characters, a little scoop on the ever-mysterious barista, and everything in between.

Coffee Talk’s origins came from an internal game jam of Toge Productions crew, and it was first called Project Green Tea Latte. Andrew Jeremy, our Music Producer, said that the premise was to recreate the calm vibe of a coffee shop into a game, where we could listen to lo-fi music, hear people talking, and just enjoy the atmosphere. Following the positive player reception to the early demo we were convinced of the game’s potential and decided to give it a go.

What most people don’t know is that we almost chose other games to develop! A detective game and a shop simulation game… We postponed the detective one because we wanted to take some of Coffee Talk’s mechanics for it, so we decided to go with Coffee Talk first.

And the rest, at least for the original Coffee Talk, is history…

Now let’s talk about the sequel, Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly, shall we?

In Hibiscus & Butterfly, we try to create more of the same vibe from its predecessor and progress the story of our beloved characters, but now with a richer narrative and new characters. Our fans wanted a deeper narrative, so we obliged with more branching and impactful storylines. Some branches even have bigger consequences!

To accomplish this, we added two great writers to our menu, Junkipatchi and Anna Winterstein. Junki, as the lead writer, focused on the main arc, while Anna expanded the stories of old characters like Hyde, Gala, Bayleys, and others. We really want to create a deeper and more expansive story in this sequel, while not forgetting the chill vibes of Coffee Talk, we have all adored!

We have two new characters here, Riona and Lucas, who have contrasting personalities. Riona is a banshee who, opposite to her kind’s stereotype (terrifying wails and bad luck), wants to be an opera singer. People on social media bullied her for her aspirations, so she really resents those online platforms. On the other hand, Lucas is a loud, slightly brash, and vivacious satyr-influencer, who may have his own layers that you’ll gradually discover as you play the game. With those personalities, you can imagine the dynamics between them would be interesting!

Talking about characters, Hibiscus & Butterfly still has the same diverse cast, with the return of established favorites plus these new faces.  Dio Mahesa, our Lead Artist and Art Director, said that the designs were inspired by his love for D&D creatures like orcs and elves. We chose to create fantasy-inspired characters so we can explore – and ultimately break – the stereotypes that come with them. Then, we pour some real-life problems into the mix to create relatable stories for many of our players.

The strength of these diverse fantastical characters, for me personally, is they can relate to a broader audience, as players can see the characters as they are, their personality, without the shell of their race… or species even.

And of course, we’ll meet the enigmatic barista again. Who that person is is for you to decide. What we do know, and design, is that the barista is the bond that pulls the characters together, like a neutron in an atom, where the stories and characters circle around. And like a neutron, we designed the barista to be as neutral as possible. The barista is like that because, in Coffee Talk, you are here to listen. So, with that being said, are you ready to enjoy some more Coffee Talk warmth?

Coffee Talk Episode 2: Hibiscus & Butterfly will land on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 20 April 2023.

Obsidian’s Aliens RPG was canned because of dysfunction and slow progress, Josh Sawyer reveals

Pentiment director and long-time Obsidian developer Josh Sawyer has shed some light on the Aliens RPG that was in production at the studio and sadly cancelled by publisher Sega. Looking back at cancelled games is always a fun “what if” exercise, especially in this case. Obsidian’s role-playing chops in an Aliens game? Were our charisma stats going to protect us from the ever-murderous Xenomorphs?

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UK Daily Deals: Last Chance to Save Over £16 on Your Star Wars Jedi Survivor Preorder

This might be the absolute best Star Wars Jedi Survivor deal we see before release day on April 28, but you’ve only got the rest of the day to secure it (April 18). You can currently get 15% off select purchases from trusted retailers at eBay, and this includes the Star Wars Jedi Survivor listing at The Game Collection.

Down to just £53.51 after using the promo code APRIL15 at checkout, you’re saving a total of £16.49 on your preorder. This is an awesome deal on one of the most anticipated games of 2023, and well worth checking out before the promo code expires today.

It’s a big few weeks for games as well, as The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is also out on May 12; preorders are also down to £44.99 at Currys with code ZELDA25 at checkout. We’ve left some handy links to the preorder deal just below, and make sure you’re following @IGNUKDeals on Twitter for more updates.

TL;DR – Best UK Deals Right Now

Best Star Wars Jedi Survivor Preorder Deal (Use Code APRIL15)

Just a quick reminder, that this is you’re absolutely last chance on this deal, as the APRIL15 promo code will expire after midnight on April 18. You’ve got until the end of the day to secure this preorder, so don’t hang around if you’re looking to play on release day.

Incredible LEGO Discounts on Amazon

Whether you’re looking to build your collection or buying a gift for someone else, Amazon has plenty of LEGO deals that are worth checking out. From new sets like the Star Wars BD-1 Posable Droid to even more obsecure sets like the Harry Potter Hungarian Horntail Dragon, there’s something for everyone.

Best Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Preorder Deal (Use Code ZELDA25)

Bonus: Where to Preorder Tears of the Kingdom – Switch OLED Model

If you’re looking to add the special Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED model to your collection, then look no further. Preorders for this special edition console are still available and will launch on April 28, just a few weeks before the new game.

PC Accessories Brand Week at Amazon

Amazon are running a bumper sale on a range of PC and gaming accessories this week. Steel series items are still discounted, which we’ve covered this week already, but there is also a range of Logitech PC accessories at slashed prices now too. Check it out.

3-Months of Audible for 99p (was £23.97)

This is a great deal on Audible. For 99p you’re essentially getting three audiobooks of your choosing (one per month), alongside the whole Audible podcast catalogue. Some of my favourites I’ve listened to on Audible this year include Cinema Speculation by Quentin Tarantino, Strong Female Character by Fern Brady, and I Am Not Nicholas by Jane MacSorley.

But there’s plenty else to choose from as well, such as The Sandman, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Dune, Lord of the Rings, and more. For 99p, you’re getting plenty of value out of Audible, so I defintiely recommened giving it a go. (This is for new and returning subscribers only)

Latest 4K UHD Preorders and Deals: Mario Movie, The Last of Us and More

There’s some pretty awesome 4K UHD and Blu-ray preorders that the IGN UK audience have been loving recently. At the top of these is The Last of Us Season 1 steelbook, but we’ve had a couple of new popular preorders announced recently as well. Both John Wick 4 and the Mario movie are getting the special edition or steelbook treatment, and you can check out the preorders for both just below as well.

Latest UK Random Deals: My Top Picks Right Now

It’s a roll of the dice. These are my absolute favourite deals that are available right now, but don’t necessarily fit anywhere else, making them a little bit more random compared to everything else in Daily Deals.

Check Out These PS5 and PlayStation Spring Sale Deals

PlayStation’s Spring Sale has brought with it a number of excellent deals on PS5 consoles and bundles, alongside some wonderful physical and digital PS5 video game deals. This includes the likes of The Last of Us Part 2 for £8.74, Dead Space for £44.99, Hogwarts Legacy for £44.99, Ratchet and Clank for £29.99, and plenty alongside. You can also save even more on digital purchases if you invest in some discounted PlayStation gift cards from ShopTo.

PS5 and PS4 Digital Spring Sale Deals

Save Big on Digital Purchases with These Discounted Gift Cards

If you’re buying anything in the PlayStation Digital sale, then here’s how you can save a little extra money along the way. UK online retailer ShopTo has currently got a brilliant selection of PlayStation Gift Cards at discounted prices; for example a £50 card for £42.85 instead. Not only do these make great gifts, but they’re also perfect for topping up your own PSN account as well.

The only catch with these is that the best value comes from spending £50 or above, so only do this if you’re planning on make lots of digital purchases, or a couple of big ones. For example, if you buy two £50 cards, gaining £100 in total, you’re only paying £85.70, which is a £14.30 saving right out the gate. There’s more gift cards available, so I’ve left some handy links just below. And don’t worry, ShopTo is a trusted seller, and we feature deals from them all the time so you’re absolutely in safe hands when purchasing.

PS5 and PS4 Physical Video Game Sale

Best PS5 and Xbox Series X Console Deals in the UK

This is the first big PS5 bundle deal we’re getting in the UK, with £40 off the original list price of £540. With PS5 consoles costing £479.99 right now, this essentially means you’re getting God of War Ragnarok for £20. It’s a great deal, but there are a few others to check out below as well.

Best Blanket Hoodie Deals in The UK Right Now

You love these, we love these. And to be fair, a blanket that you can wear, what’s not to love about that? These usually end up confined to the random deals section but we want to give you a nice selection today. Spring time in the UK means endless rain, get comfy and chill out in front of the telly.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

How has the cost of living crisis affected the way you play and buy games these days?

Hello folks. I come bearing a reasonably sensitive question for you today, and that’s how the current cost of living crisis has affected your day to day gaming habits. We know times are tough for a lot of people right now, but if you can spare five minutes to tell us about it in a new reader survey put together for us by our corporate uncle Reedpop, we’d be very grateful.

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Valheim details customisable difficulty settings and a sort-of creative mode

As one of the very best survival games on PC (according to us and RPS readers), Valheim is getting even more ways to play around in its Norse sandbox. Developer Jonathan Smårs took to Twitter yesterday to tease a bunch of difficulty presets and customisable sliders, letting you modify the Viking experience to your liking. The options include both a creative mode (a là Minecraft) and a more ‘immersive’ option.

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Random: New Pokémon Anime Ad Takes Over Shibuya’s Digital Billboards

A big screen event.

The newest Pokémon anime series, Pokémon Horizons, has finally kicked off in Japan and The Pokémon Company is ensuring that everyone knows about it.

Following the Japanese hour-long series premiere, a special promo was played across multiple digital billboards in Shibuya, showcasing a boatload of clips for the episodes to come (thanks, Comicbook).

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Myst studio Cyan are releasing their next first-person puzzler Firmament in May

The first-person puzzler Firmament is releasing on May 18th, developers Cyan have announced. The studio behind the influential Myst first teased the game back in 2018, before turning to Kickstarter a year later to fund their steampunk mystery, and now it’s ready for release, playable in both VR and “2D” – or flatscreen displays.

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Two Brand-New Game Boy Platformers Are Up For Pre-Order

Bitmap Soft is back with more neo-retro titles.

Although you might not believe it, the Game Boy remains a vibrant platform for small devs continuing to explore the handheld’s potential several decades after its 1989 launch and publishers are still producing physical games for it.

Bitmap Soft is one of the most prolific publishers in this neo-retro space, and it has two new Game Boy titles lined up for release in the middle of May, with pre-orders now live.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Monster Hunter Now Is the Next Game from Pokemon GO Developer Niantic

Pokemon Go developer Niantic and Capcom have announced Monster Hunter Now, a real-world action RPG mobile game that is set to be released in September 2023 on iOS and Android devices that will allow you and your friends to take down iconic monsters like the Rathalos and Great Jagras on your next walk around the neighborhood.

IGN and other members of the press were able to attend a hands-off presentation of Monster Hunter Now and the team made it very clear that they want to keep the best parts of Monster Hunter intact during the transition to the mobile space. Additionally, Monster Hunter Now is meant to be accessible to newcomers and veterans of the franchise alike.

Some of these veterans and newcomers will be able to test that promise for themselves as Monster Hunter Now’s closed beta will begin on April 25. Players can register for the beta on MonsterHunterNow.com and the team confirmed that those accepted will be able to battle monsters with the Sword and Shield, Great Sword, and Light Bowgun. Now, on to the game itself.

Much like Pokemon GO, Monster Hunter Now will have players encountering monsters as they walk around the real world. However, it differs from Pokemon GO when the battles take place as it becomes an action RPG that is reminiscent of its console counterpart, if a bit simplified. Via taps and flicks, players will be able to use their favorite weapons to take down massive monsters in a stylish and powerful way. Niantic also teased that there will be a story of sorts in Monster Hunter Now and that new and familiar faces will show up along the way.

Players can adventure alone or with up to four friends, and there will be an option to team up with other hunters that are near you that are also playing Monster Hunter Now. Niantic wasn’t ready to get into all the details about how you can play with friends, especially those who may not live near you, but the multiplayer experience is a huge priority for the game.

As for the battles themselves, they will last up to 75 seconds and are aiming to be as fun and chaotic as a traditional Monster Hunter battle is. Parts will be flying off the monsters as you attack them, and the weapons and combat look similar to what fans are used to. Players will also have the choice to battle in vertical or landscape modes.

With the Paintball mechanic, you can tag a monster and then finish that battle once you get home or whenever it is more convenient for you.

Rewards from those battles will be resources and monster parts that, in traditional Monster Hunter fashion, will let players create and upgrade gear that they can then take with them to battle to become more powerful and repeat that loop again.

Two other integral parts of Monster Hunter Now are your Palico companion and the Paintball mechanic. The Palico, which fans of the franchise will recognize as the wonderful cat-like creatures, will accompany each player on their adventures and will also be able to utilize the aforementioned Paintball mechanic.

Monster Hunter Now encourages players to get out and walk around their hometowns, by their work, on their travels, and much more. However, things may pop up that will prevent you from finishing a battle or encountering a particular monster. With the Paintball mechanic, you can tag a monster and then finish that battle once you get home or whenever it is more convenient for you.

Furthermore, Palicos will hunt monsters even when you aren’t playing the game and will tag them with Paintballs so you can challenge them when you are home, at work, etc. Alongside this being a very useful feature for not missing monsters, it will also give friends and family more chances to fight together when the time is right.

As for how you find the monsters to fight, there will be Wayspots/landmarks around the game world that will offer players resources when they are found. Monsters will spawn around these, but they will also appear randomly in the wild, which will be helpful for those who live in rural areas or places without a ton of landmarks.

There will also be an option use AR to see these monsters come to life in your town. In a short video shown during the presentation, we saw a player running up to meet his friends in a city and, when the camera panned up, we caught a glimpse of a massive Rathalos hovering above them with the skyline in the background.

As previously mentioned, Monster Hunter Now will be released on iOS and Android devices in September 2023 and will be a free-to-play game with items to purchase at an additional cost. The team wasn’t willing to go into too much detail about the monetization strategy, but it was promised that there will be a “good balance” between the free experience and the one “enhanced” by the purchasing of items.

We also want to remind those interested that the Monster Hunter Now closed beta will begin on April 25 and registration is now open at MonsterHunterNow.com.

Monster Hunter Now has been in the works for about four years and it’s a project that garnered a ton of excitement right from the start. In fact, Ryozo Tsujimoto, a director and executive corporate officer at Capcom and the Monster Hunter series producer, said he can “still remember the first meeting. I immediately replied, ‘Let’s do it!” without a second thought.”

For more, check out all the details and our review of the Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak expansion, which will finally arrive on more platforms on April 28, 2023.

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.