Video games can use many different styles to create a unique look and feel. For Clash: Artifacts of Chaos, we knew from the beginning that we wanted to use a very colorful and non-realistic one for many reasons: to set it apart from other games in the genre, to allow us to stylize and exaggerate the animation and color palette, and to approximate the illustrations and punk-fantasy art that inspired the creation of the world in the first place.
Stylized rendering is a powerful tool that highlights that “What to draw?” and “How to draw it?” are two different questions. This is the third time we have visited the surreal world of Zenozoik and its primitive humanoid animal inhabitants, but it is the first time we are approaching the “how to draw it” with a really different technique!
There are many ways we could have gone, and we tested several different styles before landing on the one we used. By choosing what to simplify and what to exaggerate, you get very different effects. One of the more interesting styles we tested was a painterly thick brushstroke look (above). It allowed very expressive shapes, a messy almost impressionistic look, and was certainly very different.
We eventually decided against this style because of the excessive simplification it produced: our artists always wanted to add more small details to characters and environments, details which would not really shine in this impressionistic style.
The rendering style we ended up going for is called hatching, or crosshatching. It is a drawing style that creates shading and conveys lighting by drawing closely spaced lines. The closer the lines are together, the darker the area will appear. This style is often used in traditional drawings, illustrations, and comic books, and gives the artwork a hand-drawn look. This technique allowed us to achieve an illustrated style while still preserving detail.
By separating the lighting information and conveying light intensity and detail mostly with the ink pencil linework, we can treat color as a separate layer. This allows us to use more artificial color schemes which would look strange in a realistic rendering style but feel consistent with the look of an illustration. Violet and orange skies, characters with blue or yellow skin, orange dirt, cyan and green mineral deposits in the mountain walls… we intentionally use saturated colors, or color combinations hard to find in nature to convey this is a different world.
One of the main challenges to make the hatching style work was to make sure that it worked at different distances and different levels of detail. It is not just drawing lines on the surfaces, because what works for small details up close might not work for a mountain at a distance. Also some features must be preserved more carefully, like character eyes which are a focus point and must always remain well defined and sharp. The linework needs to be consistent to seem like it was all done with the same tool.
Finally, while we have designed a very specific look for the game, we still chose to enable configuration options for players to personalize the look. Players can choose a cleaner look or add and remove effects. We even left in a comic book inspired black and white mode, which is not ideal for readability, but is still very cool to play with!
Clash: Artifacts of Chaos will be released on March 9 and is available now for pre-order on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. If you are interested in keeping track of all future news, devs blogs and trailers, don’t hesitate to follow us on Twitter or join our official Discord server.
The Wizarding World beckons when Hogwarts Legacy launches on PS5 and PS4 February 10. Crafting the magical grounds of everybody’s favorite magical school is a labor of love by the dedicated team at Avalanche.
Explosions of color and light erupt from students’ wands across Hogwarts, harnessing the graphical potential of the PS5. Players can soar through the open world atop their sturdy broom or loyal mount, tapping into the super-fast SSD loading in the fantastical environment.
Starting this year, it’s now easier than before to find a PS5 thanks to increased console supply, which is great news for prospective Hogwarts students. To help players get a sense of what’s in store, Hogwarts Legacy Jose Villeta, Director of Software Engineering, shares some developer insights on how the Avalanche team tapped into the PS5 to enhance the magical journey.
We’re also excited to announce a brand new, limited edition Hogwarts Legacy DualSense wireless controller coming to the US and UK to celebrates the game’s launch on PS5. Artists Vanessa Palmer and Jeff Bunker at Avalanche Software talk about the design inspiration behind this magical DualSense controller.
Making magic with PlayStation 5
What were your first impressions when first learning about the power and capabilities of the PS5, from a developer perspective?
Since the first day I got early disclosure about the PS5, I knew we had on our hands a great gaming console. My video game career started with the launch of the original PlayStation and to know how much technology advancements have occurred since then was a dream come true. The DualSense controller felt next-generation right away. The fast accessing of assets through super-fast SSD combined with stunning 4K graphics and visuals set a foundation of what we will be able to deliver for our game.
What are the most significant ways that developing the PS5 version of Hogwarts Legacy enhances the overall experience for the player?
As we designed our game, we built it around the following five tech pillars.
DualSense controller
Fast loading times
3D audio
4K graphics and visuals
Activities and Game Help
Each of these pillars contributed to the development of a complete, groundbreaking, gaming experience. We invested and leveraged the power of PS5 around them. From controlling our player avatar on foot or flying on broom to fast traveling to multiple game locations in a large open world to an audio sensory 3D experience to stunning, great looking environments and characters to the mission tracking and immersive gameplay, the PS5 version of Hogwarts Legacy allows the player to be the wizard or the witch wants to be on the Wizarding World universe.
Visually-stunning magic is a cornerstone of the Wizarding World. How does Avalanche tap into the PS5’s capabilities to create visual effects that “sell” the fantasy of the game’s spells?
From the early development days, we wanted to make sure we deliver amazing visual effects for all the spells and magic around the Wizarding World. Leveraging Unreal Engine, next-generation Niagara visual effects system combined with large computing and rendering capabilities of the PS5, Hogwarts Legacy delivered dozens of unique spells, each one with its own casting, impact and area of effect graphical presentation and treatment. We built a visual language for each spell and as you gain experience you get access to more powerful and advanced visual effects.
The DualSense wireless controller offers a unique level of immersion thanks to its haptics and adaptive triggers. What implementation of the DualSense wireless controller are you most excited about in Hogwarts Legacy?
The DualSense wireless controller enabled us to build a unique gaming experience leveraging key technologies like adaptive triggers, haptic feedback, LED light feedback, touchpad usage, speaker audio and tilt controls. The most exciting part of our game is the amazing combat experiences controlling your wand and casting all kind of unique spells. The combination of adaptive triggers with haptic feedback made our combat encounters felt authentic and totally immersive. You feel like you are in total control of your avatar and as you perform combos and finishers you get rewarded with stunning visual effects and enemy reactions.
Hogwarts Legacy DualSense wireless controller
We’ve said it before: The PlayStation 5 DualSense wireless controller is an extension of your wand in Hogwarts Legacy, seemingly putting the magic of the game directly in your hands. We’ve also detailed the DualSense features that will connect you with that magic, from haptic feedback providing unique sensations throughout the game to adaptive triggers that enhance spellcasting. Extending well beyond just spells, the DualSense wireless controller immerses you in Hogwarts Legacy’s 1800s wizarding world like never before, letting you feel the flap of a hippogriff’s wings and sense whispers of the mysterious Ancient Magic.
With that in mind, we were really excited at the prospect of creating a limited edition Hogwarts Legacy DualSense controller. We knew we wanted something special that looked as good as it felt to hold. But when it came time to land on a specific design, that was a much more difficult process to parse.
The Wizarding World franchise has so many elements to pull from, how could we possibly distill this game down into a single controller design? Do we go with a wand motif to represent that connection with the controller? Perhaps we lean into Hogwarts Legacy’s unique Ancient Magic themes? What about drawing inspiration from the four Hogwarts houses, or even “light” and “dark” to represent the choices you can make? But through the many ideas we had to choose from, we always came back to the thing that lies at the center of this whole experience: Hogwarts itself.
With so much consideration and thought being put into this design, I went directly to Avalanche Software Artist Vanessa Palmer and Art Director Jeff Bunker to get some insight into how the design of the limited edition Hogwarts Legacy DualSense wireless controller came to be:
Vanessa Palmer: “We wanted the controller design to combine magic with the decorative elements of the Victorian period. The sweeping magic and stars draw you to Hogwarts itself, creating a blend unique to our game and time period.”
Jeff Bunker: “We are thrilled to have had the opportunity to work with the PlayStation team on the creation of this new DualSense controller for the upcoming game, Hogwarts Legacy. Our goal was to bring a hint of the in-game experience into the player’s hands…literally. Many themes were considered, from the representation of the different houses, magic wands, beasts or even the sorting hat. But it was clear very early that we should focus on the star of the game, Hogwarts itself. So we centered the iconic castle and incorporated swirling motifs of Ancient Magic into the design, highlighting the player’s special role within the story.
“From the beginning, we had a vision of a simple, clean and sophisticated aesthetic. White, blue, and aqua, amongst a number of other colors, were tried but in the end, we chose matte black as the primary color for the controller, not only because it contributed to our desired aesthetic, but also because it hints at the darker themes that players can expect in the game. To add a touch of authenticity, we incorporated old-gold Victorian intaglio etching into the designs of the castle and Ancient Magic swirls, highlighting the era in which the game takes place.
“It was an exciting and fun process to bring a piece of the virtual world of Hogwarts Legacy into the real and interactive physical world of the controller. We can’t wait for players to get their hands on it and fully immerse themselves in the game.”
At Avalanche, our passion for the Wizarding World is poured into everything we do, whether it’s bringing fans an authentic Wizarding World video game experience or creating a custom controller with which to play it. We hope fans love the limited edition Hogwarts Legacy DualSense controller as much as we do.
Get it directly from PlayStation
The DualSense Wireless Controller – Hogwarts Legacy Limited Edition will be available in limited quantities and exclusively on direct.playstation.com in the US and UK only.
In the U.S., starting at 10AM PT on Friday, February 10, 2023, DualSense Wireless Controller – Hogwarts Legacy Limited Edition will be available for pre-order (while supplies last) on direct.playstation.com with a US launch date of February 28, 2023.
In the UK, starting at 10AM GMT on Friday, February 10, 2023, DualSense Wireless Controller – Hogwarts Legacy Limited Edition will be available for purchase (while supplies last) on direct.playstation.com with a UK launch date of February 10, 2023. Stay tuned to direct.playstation.com for more information.
I thought Voidtrain might be relatively new, but it’s actually been knocking around for a couple of years. It’s been in early access on the Epic Games Store since 2021, and after announcing a Steam release for October 2022, the game got indefinitely delayed. Voidtrain’s Steam page currently has a vague release date of sometime in 2023, but the demo is a good reason enough to check it out while the team is still tightening some loose screws.
While the latest trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gave fans plenty of new things to get excited about, it also appeared to show a classic enemy from the N64’s Ocarina of Time.
The infamous ReDead monster can be seen nestled between a Lizalfos and what appears to be a giant Bokoblin in a gameplay trailer shared during February 8’s Nintendo Direct.
The trailer only showed the ReDead for a couple of seconds, but those familiar with previous Zelda games will understand how it fits into a darker version of Hyrule.
While they’ve also appeared in Majora’s Mask and The Wind Waker, ReDeads are arguably most known from Ocarina of Time, where they haunt Castle Town’s ruined market place following the time jump.
Appearing as zombie-like creatures with spooky wooden masks, ReDeads would release a terrifying scream that paralyses Link before they skulk over and attack.
While ReDeads’ appearance have changed a little over the years to suit each game’s art style, their attacking behaviour has remained the same, meaning Tears of the Kingdom players will likely have to come face to face with one of the Zelda series’ scariest enemies once again.
It’s been four months since we last saw The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, but with less than a hundred days to go until we get the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo couldn’t help but give us another look at the game.
Despite two new trailers within months, we’re still not any closer to learning more about what is happening in Hyrule during the events of Tears of the Kingdom. We do, however, get a better glimpse of some of the new gameplay mechanics we’re sure to see when we dive back in.
Here are the biggest surprises we saw in the new Tears of the Kingdom trailer.
Vehicular Fun
Do you remember how weeks after Breath of the Wild released players began sharing videos of themselves creating homebrewed airplanes and cars made from barrels and baskets? It seems like Nintendo thought those were pretty good ideas and decided to integrate vehicles directly into the sequel, Tears of the Kingdom.
The ancient Master Cycle Zero was obviously added to Breath of the Wild as part of the Champions’ Ballad expansion, but the trailer highlights many more new vehicles players can ride, including some kind of hovercraft, a land rover, and a hot air balloon.
However, these vehicles might not just be items you come across fully built in the world. At the 1-minute 39-second mark, you can see Link pull out what looks like a wheel from a swamp. Moments later, he’s riding a vehicle that uses that exact same wheel. Furthermore, the hovercraft looks to be held together by some kind of green glue substance, which might be a crafting item found in the world. One thing’s for sure, the DIY ethos from the first game is returning and with even more toys to play around with, it’s exciting to imagine what else players can create in Nintendo’s sandbox.
Darker World, Darker Story?
The trailer for Tears of the Kingdom has all been quite grim, and now we know that the Kingdom of Hyrule is in an especially bad place right now. There’s a menacing red moon hovering in the sky, the Bokoblins have free rein over the land, and everything is shrouded in dark, miserable gloom.
The darker tone follows a not-rare trend of Nintendo following up one of their Zelda games with a darker sequel. Think Majora’s Mask versus Ocarina of Time, or Twilight Princess after Wind Waker. The main imagery of the game so far — Link’s corrupted arm and the mummified Ganon — all paint a much darker sequel
There’s Gotta Be Two Worlds
I’ve seen Link jump from some sky plateau enough times that I’m fully convinced we’re going to get two worlds to explore, a sky world and a land world just like Skyward Sword. There’s just no way Link is shooting off into the sky, especially now that he can build himself a hover plane, just for a one-off dungeon.
Having dual worlds, especially one layered on top of each other, could effectively double the size of Hyrule, assuming that the base map stays the same (although Tears of the Kingdom’s version of Hyrule certainly has differences compared to Breath of the Wild).
There is reason to believe this might not be the case, however. The various areas shown so far appear to be broken in some ways, and the final scene of the new trailer shows some kind of terrible fracture happening across Hyrule, which could hint at cavernous areas underground (A third area? In this economy?). So whether Hyrule is intact during the events of Tears of the Kingdom remains to be seen.
Everything’s Bigger in Hyrule
The primary takeaway from the new Tears of the Kingdom trailer for me is “more.” There’s just more of everything players loved from Breath of the Wild in Tears of the Kingdom based on the two trailers we’ve received so far. From more kinds of enemies (from flying lizards that carry Bokoblins to fire-breathing dragons to what I’m pretty sure was a ReDead), more tools like heat-seeking arrows and some kind of bomb-thrower, and more ground (sky?) to cover thanks to the new hovercraft and hot air balloon technology.
While we’ll have to wait until May to see what Tears of the Kingdom truly has in store, the driving ethos behind the sequel appears to be give players more of what they want, and that’s exactly what the trailer promised.
12GB RTX 4080 that wasn’t. “Unlaunching” this GPU, rebranding it, and releasing it for £100 / $100 less may have bruised egos at Nvidia, but at least it’s left us with an intriguing silicone prospect. Finally, there’s a high-end, DLSS 3-capable, Ada Lovelace architecture-based graphics card that doesn’t cost four figures.
Nintendo is now adding to the hype surrounding the sequel’s release by lowering the eShop price of its predecessor, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, by a tasty 30%. This means that the smash-hit launch title is now available to download on its own for £41.99 / €48.99 / $39.99.
If you haven’t already seen, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is now available to preorder at its new price of $69.99 from various retailers. You can see our full preorder guide for all the details, alongside news on the Collector’s Edition preorders. But, some of us may just be after the new Link – Tears of the Kingdom amiibo. If you are, you’re in luck, as we’ve got all the current preorder details for the brand-new amiibo figure in one easy-to-access article.
Preorder Link – Tears of the Kingdom Amiibo Right Now
The new amiibo featuring Link in his new Tears of the Kingdom look will grant access to materials, weapons, and a special fabric for Link’s paraglider when scanned. It will cost $15.99, and releases the same day as the new game on May 12. It is currently only available to preorder from Best Buy, but we’ll update this article when we get any more news, or you can follow @IGNDeals on Twitter for instant updates.
Other Zelda Amiibo Will Also Work in Tears of the Kingdom
Scanning other amiibo from The Legend of Zelda series will unlock different designs for your glider, including one that looks like Majora’s Mask. According to Nintendo, other amiibo can help you receive helpful materials, weapons or a paraglider fabric based on the amiibo you scanned. Unforutently, the only one that’s widely available still is the Zelda and Loftwig amiibo, so I’ve left a quick link to that just below as well.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is launching on May 12, 2023 for $69.99. This confirms the rumored $10 price increase from previous Nintendo Switch first-party titles. Nintendo also showed off a look at Tears of the Kingdom’s Collector’s Edition alongside the brand new amiibo figure.
The Collector’s Edition will retail for $129.99 and include a physical version of the game, an artbook, a Steelbook case, a steel poster, and four pin badges. An amiibo featuring Link in his new Tears of the Kingdom look will grant access to materials, weapons, and a special fabric for Link’s paraglider when scanned. Scanning other amiibo from The Legend of Zelda series will unlock different designs for your glider, including one that looks like Majora’s Mask.
Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom was shown off again at Nintendo’s most recent Direct live stream, and featured a few minutes of new gameplay footage. The game is officially up for preorder in the UK, and will now cost £59.99 (and $69.99 in the US, unfortunately for them).
But, if you’re savvy enough you can definitely save some money on your preorder in the UK. Affordable gaming retailer Hit (previously Base), has still got it preorders for Tears of the Kingdom down at £48.85. Other retailers such as Amazon, GAME, and Argos have the game available to preorder as well, but now at the new price of £59.99. You can also now register your interest for the Collector’s Edition and Link -Tears of the Kingdom amiibo from Nintendo, but keep an eye on @IGNUKDeals as we’ll tweet when these are available to preorder as well.
Where to Preorder The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in the UK
The best Tears of the Kingdom (or Breath of the Wild 2 as many of us called it for years) preorder deal in the UK is still at Hit for £48.95. In case you’re wondering, Hit is a 100% legit retailer and used to be called Base. We’ve linked out to them before and had no complaints! I’ll leave all the relevant links down below for Tears of the Kingdom preorders.
Where to Preorder Tears of the Kingdom Collector’s Edition and Amiibo
You can register your interest in The Legend of Zelda Collector’s Edition (£119.99), or the Link – Tears of the Kingdom amiibo (£12.99) from Nintendo right now in the UK. Otherwise, follow and set notifications of for @IGNUKDeals on Twitter as we’ll tweet when the preorders go live.
Best Hogwarts Legacy Preorder Deals in the UK
These deals from Green Man Gaming are incredible, and definitely worth considering if you’re getting Hogwarts Legacy on PC or Xbox. This is especially good for those who use Steam, and even better if you’ve got a Steam Deck, as Hogwarts Legacy is confirmed to be Verified at launch.
For just £42.49 you can preorder the game and be ready to play on February 10 (or go for the Deluxe Edition for £50.99 and play on February 7 instead). See our full 9/10 review for the game here.
Save 20% With Code HOGWARTS20 at Currys
Amazing Password Manager Deal from Keeper (AD)
With Keeper, you can store all of your passwords, credit card info, and other sensitive data in one secure, encrypted digital vault. Plus, they use top-notch encryption technology to keep your stuff safe and have added bonus features like password generation, password sharing, and two-factor authentication.
Metroid Prime Remastered Is Now on Nintendo Switch
ICYMI, After years of rumors, Metroid Prime Remastered is real. If that wasn’t exciting enough, Nintendo is releasing the game today on the Nintendo Switch eShop. Physical copies of the game will also be available on February 22.
Best Gaming Deals for PS5, Xbox, and PC Right Now
Get the Switch Joycons for £59.99, Switch Pro Controller for £49.99, Bayonetta 3 for £29.99 on Switch, and Returnal on PS5 for £29.99.
Pick up the perfect PS5 1TB SSD for just £85.51 right now, or upgrade even further and drop £185 on a 2TB SSD instead (that works out at £92.50 per TB).
Best Random Deals I Love Right Now
These are the best deals that I want to highlight, but can’t necessarily fit anywhere else.
Steam Next Fest. Looking at both 
 woes, so we’ve compiled every PC game featured in last night’s direct. There were plenty of goodies coming to PC including paranormal detectives, retro throwbacks, a new game from Don’t Nod, and more. So let’s get started.</p><p><a href=)
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12GB RTX 4080 that wasn’t. “Unlaunching” this GPU, rebranding it, and releasing it for £100 / $100 less may have bruised egos at Nvidia, but at least it’s left us with an intriguing silicone prospect. Finally, there’s a high-end,