A long while ago I wrote about Vampire Survivors-likes needing to stop overwhelming you with visual clutter. I’ve since played a few games of a similar ilk that don’t hammer you with a chaos that’s impossible to dissect with your eyeballs. One of these is Bloodshed, an old school FPS take on the VS formula that actually works pretty well and did have me thinking the treacherous phrase “just one more run”.
Baldur’s Gate 3’s players numbers are up compared to this time last year, seemingly due to official mod support from developer Larian Studios.
Larian director of publishing Michael Douse shared the improvement on X/Twitter, revealing the average daily active users is up 20% over 2023. “Mods are very good,” Douse said of the improvement, referencing the release of official mod support as part of Baldur’s Gate 3 Patch 7.
The Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game, which released in August 2023, is also enjoying an increase of 3% in average daily peak concurrents and a 61% boost in Steam Deck users compared to last year.
This increase is impressive for a largely single-player game. Baldur’s Gate 3 does have cooperative multiplayer but is not a live service that may be expected to enjoy a boost in player numbers year-on-year. And while Larian has continued to update Baldur’s Gate 3 with new features and improvements, it has not released DLC for it.
Mods, which are even available on console and not just PC as standard, are proving incredibly popular among Baldur’s Gate 3 players. Players downloaded more than 50 million mods via the official mod support tool in less than two months, and this number doesn’t include the thousands made unofficially.
Mods released so far include one that adds real-time combat to the otherwise turn-based RPG and another that brought entire new maps to Faerûn, including the highly requested Avernus.
Patch 7 otherwise added official content including an “absolutely metal” ending for Karlach and a hidden evil ending. Players will also be relieved to hear that it’s not the final major Baldur’s Gate 3 patch after all.
In our 10/10 review of Baldur’s Gate 3, IGN said: “With crunchy, tactical RPG combat, a memorable story with complex characters, highly polished cinematic presentation, and a world that always rewards exploration and creativity, Baldur’s Gate 3 is the new high-water mark for CRPGs.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Ninjas in 3… 2… 1…
Earlier this year, the Switch emulator Yuzu was shut down after being caught in the fiery gaze of the great eye of Nintendo. A follow-up based on the same source code, Suyu, appeared shortly after, though it unsurprisingly met the same fate. Now, over eight months on, there’s another new kid on the block (thanks, Overkill).
Citron is the latest Yuzu fork, now available in early access on Android. According to AndroidAuthority.com, the Switch emulator is much the same as its predecessor, with a couple of “minor upgrades and optimisations” to keep things slightly distinct.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
EA is currently investigating issues with the PlayStation 5 Pro version of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor but fell short of revealing when fans who spent $699.99 on Sony’s latest console can expect a fix.
Following reports yesterday that Star Wars Jedi: Survivor was one of several games with issues on PS5 Pro, alongside the likes of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Silent Hill 2, and Alan Wake 2, EA has confirmed it is at least aware of the issue.
“We’re aware of issues with Star Wars Jedi: Survivor on PlayStation 5 Pro and are actively investigating,” it said on X/Twitter.
Digital Foundry discovered what it called “severe image quality problems” in the PS5 Pro version of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. “There are severe image quality concerns when elements like foliage interact with ray tracing,” it said. “The end result is a strobing image quality downgrade that makes this Pro patch difficult to recommend.”
The PS5 Pro arrived November 7 as Sony’s now standard mid-generation upgrade. More than 50 games received PS5 Pro specific patches upon its launch but, as this list includes Alan Wake 2 and Black Ops 6 among others receiving complaints, it’s worth proceeding with caution.
In our 7/10 review of the PS5 Pro, IGN said: “The PlayStation 5 Pro is an impressive console with noticeable boosts in performance and graphics for games that take advantage of its powerful hardware. But for $700, you’ll need to think twice about whether or not the upgrade is worth the price tag.”
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
I am a very casual enjoyer of Metal Slug games. I’ve never actually paid for one of these side-scrolling shoot ’em ups, except for all the countless coins I happily pumped into arcade machines as a child. To this day, if I see a rare glittering cabinet running one of these crunchy shmups, I will go ham for twenty or thirty minutes, and walk away satisfied that I have seen a lot of very good pixels. These games, I am convinced, were never really designed to be completed, but to be played exactly like this, as a coin-gobbling invitation to become a bandana-wearing sisyphus, a tiny Rambo pushing a bouncy, juddering tank up a hill occupied by cartoon nazis. You die a bunch and say: “ah, that was good.”
So what happens when you rearrange the molecules of this run and/or gun ’em up into an isometric turn-based strategy game? You get Metal Slug Tactics, an off-kilter nod to Into The Breach and other grid-based turn-takers, but secretly housing the aggressive notions of an unhinged pyromaniac. You still die a lot. And you still walk away feeling fairly happy about it.
Good morning, how about a nice big bowl of your favourite breakfast cereal: Corporate Consolidation? Sony are in talks to buy Kadokawa, the parent company of Elden Ring developer From Software. Sony is eyeing up the company as a hefty snack because they want the various manga and anime owned by Kadokawa, according to a report by Reuters. But also because they want all the tasty games owned by them too, such as the Danganronpa series, the Octopath Traveler games, and the biggest corn flake of them all, the Dark Souls series.
Sony is reportedly in talks to buy Kadokawa, whose subsidiary FromSoftware is behind smash hit Elden Ring, the Dark Souls and Armored Core games, and PlayStation exclusive Bloodborne.
Reuters reports that Sony is looking to add to its entertainment portfolio. Kadokawa’s business extends into areas that fit into Sony’s broader entertainment offering, which includes anime, manga, TV, and film. Kadokawa is a prolific publisher of anime, and Sony already owns anime streamers Crunchyroll and Funimation. As well as FromSoftware, Kadokawa owns Danganronpa developer Spike Chunsoft, Octopath Traveler developer Acquire, and RPG Maker and Pixel Game Maker developer Gotcha Gotcha Games.
Talks between Sony and Kadokawa are reportedly ongoing. If the talks are successful, Reuters said, a deal could be signed in the coming weeks.
Sony and Kadokawa declined to comment when asked by Reuters.
Kadokawa is the majority owner of FromSoftware, with around 70% of the company. Sony already owns around 14% of FromSoftware, with Tencent owning around 16%. FromSoftware has yet to announce its next game to follow this year’s Elden Ring DLC, Shadow of the Erdtree.
For Sony, its gaming business has already suffered significant layoffs this year and the closure of multiple studios, including Concord developer Firewalk. In February, it announced a round of layoffs affecting 900 staff, or about 8% of its global PlayStation workforce. The layoffs impacted a number of PlayStation studios, including Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Guerrilla, and Firesprite, but PlayStation’s London studio was hit hardest with a notice of closure. Since then, Sony-owned Bungie has also suffered devastating cuts as Destiny 2 struggles to find commercial success.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
Arriving in cinemas next month.
We’re getting closer to the final month of the year and that means the blue blur is ready to return in the Sonic the Hedgehog 3 movie.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Zelda, Metroid and Mario have all been nominated.
We’re fast approaching ‘The Game Awards’ for 2024 and the nominees across each category have now been revealed by the show’s creator and host Geoff Keighley.
Starting with the ‘Game of the Year’ contenders, the nominees include Astro Bot, Balatro, Black Myth: Wukong, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Metaphor: Refantazio and the DLC Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
The full list of Game Awards 2024 nominees has dropped, and one release in particular has been sparking plenty of discussion on social media and elsewhere.
Since the nominees were revealed Monday morning, fans have been discussing whether Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree deserves to be on a list that also includes Metaphor: ReFantazio, Black Myth Wukong, Balatro, and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. They mainly point to it being an expansion pack that can only be accessed by completing the main game, making it less of a standalone experience than comparable ones like The Witcher 3: Blood and Wine.
“As amazing as Shadow of the Erdtree was, it getting a GOTY nom just kind of rubs me the wrong way. Yes, it was expansive, but it wasn’t the first DLC for a game to be giant. Witcher, Xenoblade, Cyberpunk, etc. Would’ve rather seen an actual game,” one fan wrote on Reddit in what has become a common sentiment online. Others simply memed the decision.
Elden ring dlc in goty nominations pic.twitter.com/y47ujBGgCe
— Jonah (@NahImGhost) November 18, 2024
The Game Awards has made it clear that Shadow of the Erdtree falls within its official selection criteria. Its website includes a statement issued today reading: “The Game Awards aims to recognize the best creative and technical work each year, irrespective of the format of that content’s release. Expansion packs, new game seasons, DLCs, remakes and remasters are eligible in all categories, if the jury deems the new creative and technical work to be worthy of a nomination. Factors such as the newness of the content and its price/value should be taken into consideration.”
Certainly, there’s no doubt that Shadow of the Erdtree is one of the biggest releases of 2024. We awarded it a 10 in our review, writing, “Erdtree’s absolutely jam-packed with secrets, valuable treasures, challenging boss battles, and horrific monstrosities to face off against, as well as cool new weapons, spells, Ashes of War, Spirit Ashes, talismans, and more to play around with and use to find even more novel ways to tackle its memorably brutal battles. Add on some very interesting lore revelations, not to mention the same spectacular visual design and stellar music that accompanies its larger-than-life bosses, and you’ve got what is certainly one of the best DLC expansions I’ve ever played.”
It’s also not light on content, clocking in at a cool 51 hours for a completionist run on IGN’s sister site HowLongtoBeat. It came in second in our community GOTY Face-Off, surpassed only by fellow nominee Black Myth Wukong.
“I’m a bit ‘eh’ about DLCs being nominated, but SOTE is my favourite release of the year and is a very substantial gaming experience so I’m fine with it (not that I played the others lol),” one fan wrote. “Obviously it couldn’t function as a standalone game in its current state, but on the other hand, everyone’s been saying that Fromsoft could have easily released it as a sequel, it took almost 2.5 years to make, and it cost $40. It’s not really setting much precedent for a typical 6-12 months, 5-10 hour Fromsoft DLC to be nominated in the future. Like, they will still be lower down the list for being too iterative or not expansive enough.”
WHAT CHICANERY! FOR YEARS, DLCS HAVE NEVER COUNTED, BUT NOT OUR FROMSOFT! ANYTHING FOR PRECIOUS FROMSOFT! SILENT HILL 2 BLEW EVERYONE’S EXPECTATIONS OUT OF THE WATER AND THE $40 DLC GETS TO BE A NOMINEE? WHAT A SICK JOKE! https://t.co/Lq7Z0M60cf pic.twitter.com/Xed9XdddLo
— Chris Voiceman (@ChrisVoiceman) November 18, 2024
Still, some remain skeptical, calling for The Game Awards to add a “Best Expansion” category to account for highly rated releases like Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Plenty of others feel that other well-received releases such as Animal Well have been snubbed to make room for Shadow of the Erdtree.
One way or another, Shadow of the Erdtree figures to take home some hardware when The Game Awards streams on December 12. In addition to Game of the Year, it was also nominated for Best Game Direction, Best Art Direction, and Best RPG. Astro Bot and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth led the with seven nominations apiece.
Stay tuned for lots more GOTY coverage as 2024 comes to a close, and make sure to check out our list of the best video games of 2024 so far.
Kat Bailey is IGN’s News Director as well as co-host of Nintendo Voice Chat. Have a tip? Send her a DM at @the_katbot.
