Author: Game Infliction

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for March 13 to 17

Welcome to Next Week on Xbox! In this weekly feature we cover all the games coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Windows, and Game Pass! Get more details on these upcoming games below and click their profiles for further info (release dates subject to change). Let’s jump in!

Great New Games Spotlight 2023

Great New Games Spotlight has officially kicked off and we’re excited to bring you a ton of games every week for the next six weeks — more than 100+ new games will launch on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One between February 28 and April 10 – and if you spend $50 on eligible games and movies, you can receive 2,500 Microsoft Rewards points! Get more details here.

The Forest Cathedral Box Art Asset

The Forest Cathedral – March 14
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

A first-person environmental thriller set on a remote island. Playing as scientist Rachel Carson, you must figure out why the island won’t let her leave. The game tells the reimagined story of the attempted silence of Rachel Carson leading up to her discoveries on the harmful pesticide known as DDT.

Valheim Box Art Asset

Valheim (Game Preview) – March 14
Xbox Game Pass

Now available on Xbox Series X|S! A brutal exploration and survival game for 1-10 players set in a procedurally generated world inspired by Norse mythology. Craft powerful weapons, construct longhouses, and slay mighty foes to prove yourself to Odin!

Vernal Edge Box Art Asset

Vernal Edge – March 14

With the help of some abnormal martial prowess and an amnesiac automaton named Chervil, Vernal will need to make her way across a mysterious land if she wants to satisfy her need for revenge — and the truth – in this beautiful pixel art metroidvania.

The Wreck Box Art Asset

The Wreck – March 14
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

At 36, Junon’s life is in pieces: her career has stalled, she’s emotionally numb, and her personal life is falling apart. Things come to a head when she’s called to the ER to find her estranged mother in a critical condition. This is the most important day of Junon’s life, and unless something changes, it might be her last. Relive the past, alter the present, and embrace the future in this 3D visual novel.

Anno 1800 Console Edition Box Art Asset

Anno 1800 Console Edition – March 15
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Welcome to the dawn of the Industrial Age in this city-building real-time strategy game. Experience one of the most exciting and fast-changing periods of all time as you discover new technologies, regions, and societies, implement your own strategy, and build a new world to your design. Play solo or use the online mode to play PvP or co-op modes: How the world remembers your name is up to you.

BigChick Box Art Asset

BigChick – March 15
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

The islands are sinking… Chickenfolk can’t swim and fox bandits won’t miss an opportunity to gobble up a bird or two even on the verge of apocalypse… What a disaster! Fortunately, Big Chick is here to save the day! Use poultry magic to summon new patches of land from the ocean depths and micromanagement skills to lead your people to the safety of the sacred Big Barn.

Kung Fury: Street Rage – Ultimate Edition Box Art Asset

Kung Fury: Street Rage – Ultimate Edition – March 15

Get blown into another dimension as you experience the gut-busting fun with Kung Fury: Street Rage – Ultimate Edition. Beat up Nazis and stop the evil Kung Fuhrer and uphold the law the only way you know how: with your fists!

Tricky Thief Box Art Asset

Tricky Thief – March 15
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

Take the role of a slippery burglar as you hug the walls of each room and collect coins while outwitting the patrolling guards across dozens of top-down single-screen stages, presented in charmingly minimalistic 3D style as you navigate the brainteasing chambers of Tricky Thief!

Backbeat Box Art Asset

Backbeat – March 16
Xbox Game Pass / Smart Delivery

Stephanie “Watts” Watson, an aspiring bassist, bounced from audition to audition, never finding music that really resonated with her, that is, until she discovered the magic of funk. Caught up in the groove, she recruits a group of hometown amateurs to take on art school darlings La Tormenta at the Battle of the Bands.

Defend the Rook Box Art Asset

Defend the Rook – March 16

A roguelike tactics board combat combined with tower defense elements. Defeat the invading hordes to stay alive and save the land by deploying your heroes to outsmart the enemy. Enjoy more tactics than your average TD game, like being able to turn the tables on invaders with the aid of devastating spells. Can you overcome the odds and outsmart the enemy?

My Little Prince - A jigsaw puzzle tale Box Art Asset

My Little Prince – A jigsaw puzzle tale – March 16

A jigsaw puzzle game to remember a beloved classic story. Contains illustrations created by Katia Numakura with inspiration from “The Little Prince” by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Peppa Pig: World Adventures Box Art Asset

Peppa Pig: World Adventures – March 16
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S / Smart Delivery

New York City is calling and so are Paris, Australia, London, and a world tour of other fun places! You and your friend Peppa can make pizza in Italy, walk down Hollywood Boulevard, sail on a cruise ship together, and more. There are new characters to meet, exciting quests to try, and countless accessories to dress up with!

WWE 2K23 Box Art Asset

WWE 2K23 – March 16
Optimized for Xbox Series X|S

Expanded features, gorgeous graphics, and the ultimate WWE experience. Hit the ring with a deep roster of WWE Superstars and Legends including Roman Reigns, “American Nightmare” Cody Rhodes, Ronda Rousey, Brock Lesnar, “Stone Cold” Steve Austin and more!

Related:
Play the Roguelike Board Game, Repel the Enemy and Defend the Rook on March 16
The Wreck is an Upcoming “Reality-Inspired Game”… What Does That Mean?
Next Week on Xbox: New Games for February 20 to 24

Become Mega in Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 2

How Mega will you be in Fortnite Battle Royale Chapter 4 Season 2? Will you spend your time in Mega City by riding the new grind rails or swerving the streets on a sports bike? There’s a lot to see in the Mega City, but don’t forget to venture out and explore the rest of the new biome: see the cherry blossoms of Steamy Springs, fish in the waters of Knotty Nets, sharpen your skills at Kenjutsu Crossing, and more.

A whole new part of the Island is waiting to be discovered by your squad!

Are you Mega fast?

A new city means new streets for you to ride on. You (and your squadmate) can grab the sleek, aerodynamic Victory Crown Rogue (a.k.a. Rogue Bike) and speed through the streets of Mega City and more. This two-person sports bike features high acceleration, sharp turning, and a boost-ready engine. Prefer a four-wheel approach? Get in the Nitro Drifter and use its handbrake to drift ‘round the tight turns of the city!

How about Mega sharp?

Seek to study the blade? Then hunt down a Kinetic Blade and perform the artful Knockback Slash. No time for mercy? Pull off the devastating Dash Attack.

Will you be Mega masterful?

There are more ways for you to get around Mega City besides the streets. If you see a grind rail, try jumping on it to skate around the buildings and your enemies. You can even use your weapons as you ride!

Or Mega frenetic?

Remember, you don’t need to be loud to cause havoc. Equip the silenced, highly accurate, and fully automatic Havoc Suppressed Assault Rifle. Prefer something less subtle? We’ve got you covered — grab the heavy-hitting Havoc Pump Shotgun and fight bold and brash.

What about Mega assisted?

New Reality Augments make their debut in Chapter 4 Season 2! Activate Dumpster Diving to find loot by hiding, Slap Surplus for some extra kick, Dignified Finish to refresh a Dash Attack, and more.

Be Mega fashionable

Sharpen your fashion sense with Chapter 4 Season 2’s Battle Pass Outfits. With the Chapter 4 Season 2 Battle Pass purchase, you’ll auto-unlock the fine-tailored “Renzo the Destroyer.” Progress through the Battle Pass to unlock other Outfits, including the streetwear savant “Thunder,” the elegantly casual “Highwire,” and more.

Later in the Season, the Outfit for anime protagonist Eren Jaeger will become available to unlock in the Battle Pass.

IGN UK Podcast 687: The Build-a-Horror Movie-Workshop

Cardy, Dale, and Jesse are here to talk all things chainsaws and dinosaurs following new looks at Resident Evil 4 and Exoprimal. Excitement for The Super Mario Bros movie continues to grow as well as Cardy’s long-delayed appreciation for Death Stranding. It’s all building up to the building of three Frankenstein monster creations of horror movies, though, as some truly unwatchable films are pitched.

Got a game for us to play, or just want to tell us the weirdest thing you’ve eaten for breakfast? Drop us an email: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.

IGN UK Podcast 687: The Build-a-Horror Movie-Workshop

TT Games reportedly cancel multiple projects including a “Diablo-like” Disney crossover

Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga and a bunch of other Lego spin-offs – have cancelled several games featuring high-profile IP, according to a report from Nintendo Life. Up to five games have apparently been shelved due to various reasons including a “Diablo-like” Disney crossover, a Lego Guardians Of The Galaxy game, and a non-Lego shooter featuring various Warner Bros. characters.

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Gotham Knights Proves TMNT Deserves the Triple-A Treatment

This week’s reveal trailer for Mutant Mayhem has us extremely stoked for the next generation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on the big screen, but more than anything, it just makes me want a new TMNT game. As much as we loved last summer’s throwback beat-em-up Shredder’s Revenge, this is one pop-culture franchise that desperately needs the triple-A game treatment. And no, adding Shredder to Call of Duty doesn’t count (nor does it make much sense to bring a guy made out of knives to a gunfight.) But you know what really stings? We just got an incredible AAA open-world co-op action game that captured all the fun of TMNT… it just happened to be centered around Batman characters: Gotham knights.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one: four masked vigilantes take to the streets and wage war on crime using martial arts skills and gadgets. You’ve got the leader in blue, the tech expert in purple, the surly short-tempered heavy-hitter in red, and of course the youngest member of the team who offers some comic relief. They operate out of a cool hideout in the middle of the city where they train, park their extremely toyetic vehicles, play video games to unwind and receive guidance and/or scoldings from an elderly mentor who drinks a lot of tea. They fight a variety of animal-themed villains, but their biggest threat is a gang of ruthless assassins who operate from the shadows, and which has a high-ranking member whose namesake is something that can cut you.

All the above is true of both Gotham Knights and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Part of the reason I can’t unsee this is that the last big, triple-A non-LEGO, non-cartoony DC game was Injustice 2. In addition to a roster full of characters who appear in Gotham Knights, the Turtles also showed up as DLC. We’ve seen Raph and Leo taking on Harley and Mr. Freeze already, now let me take them bounding across skyscraper rooftops looking for gangs of street punks to beat up.

There are a variety of reasons why Gotham Knights is NOT a TMNT game, no matter how much I might want it to be. First and foremost, WB has full ownership of DC characters, while TMNT is a Nickelodeon property, and Nick is a subsidiary of Paramount Global, which is one of WB’s competitors. WB Discovery CEO David Zaslav has a historic dislike of talking animals that solve mysteries, so that could be a factor too. (Okay, not really, but he did shelve Scoob!: Holiday Haunt and I’m still sore about it.)

TMNT hasn’t had the same luck as Batman in the triple-A space, so Paramount might not think pumping millions into game development is exactly, uh, paramount. 

Also, WB Interactive has cracked the code to making solid Batman games. The sky-high expectations set by the Arkham series may have ultimately worked against Gotham Knights’ reception, but it’s also what paved the way for it in the first place. Either way, Ninja Turtles hasn’t had the same luck as Batman in the triple-A space, so the higher-ups at Paramount might not think pumping millions of dollars into game development is exactly, uh, paramount.

That said, between the massive success of Shredder’s Revenge and the possibility of Mutant Mayhem exerting some Turtle Power over the box office, maybe it’s just a matter of time before a big huge modern TMNT game comes out of the shadows.

In the meantime, I guess I’ll have to use my imagination. I can pretend that Professor Pyg is Bebop and Man Bat is Wingnut and Clayface is Muckman. And hey, maybe if I’m lucky, somebody will whip up some PC mods that mutate Gotham Knights into a TMNT game. After all, if someone made a mod where you can play through Spider-Man as IGN’s gotham knights review score, anything’s possible. Cowabunga!

Sons Of The Forest’s latest patch ends Kelvin’s treehouse-chopping antics

Sons Of The Forest has been a big success – so popular it may have crashed Steam – but players have had some quibbles about the survival sequel since its early access launch. Developer Endnight Games are looking to fix many of these problems, and add a bunch of new features, in the newest patch. Yesterday’s patch added a mid-game boss, a bucket of balance tweaks, multiple fixes for everyone’s absolute best friend Kelvin, plus much more. You can read the full list of changes in the developer’s Steam blog.

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Fatal Frame: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse review: a frightfully frustrating flashback

Fatal Frame: Mask Of The Lunar Eclipse plunges players into the dreadful past of Rougetsu Island as three (Young women? Girls? I have no idea how old they are supposed to be and for some reason that’s not surprising.) survivors and a stalwart detective revisit the ruins of a hospital that was once home to a haunting ceremony. They all have amnesia, of course, because that’s a low-effort way to generate an air of mystery. Well, except the detective, who is just confused because he never really figured out what was going on in the first place.

Overall, it’s a thoroughly okay game from 2008 that’s been papered over with some hazy lofi graphics to justify selling it at full price in 2023. It’s up to you if you think that’s worth it – I bought the Mass Effect remaster, so I’m hardly one to judge – but while the graphics have been thoroughly airbrushed, that’s no cure for Fatal Frame’s dated gameplay and undead pacing.

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Fortnite’s Chapter 4 Season 2: MEGA Introduces Eren Jaeger Skin, Grind Rails And A Neon Cityscape

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2: MEGA, arrives today, bringing with it a host of map changes, new vehicles and traversal mechanics, an Eren Jaeger skin, and a whole lot more.

One of the biggest map changes is the introduction of the neon-lit urban playground of MEGA city. Beyond this seemingly cyberpunk-inspired cityscape, a range of new biomes have also been added, including Steamy Springs, Drift Ridge, Kenjutsu Crossing, and more besides.

Chapter 4 Season 2 also brings new traversal mechanics to the game. Players will be able to zip around MEGA city with the help of the omni-directional mobility gear (ODM) ripped straight from the anime Attack on Titan, which is not so coincidentally ramping up to an epic endgame that has been 10 years in the making.

Beyond that, players will be able to jump on grind rails to get around quickly, or make use of the two-person Rogue bike or the Nitro Drifter four-seater sports car.

Season 2 also comes with a fresh Battle Pass, the purchase of which will immediately unlock an outfit for the “fine-tailored Renzo the Destroyer”, while the “streetwear savant” Thunder, and “The elegantly casual Highwire” will also be available with a Battle Pass purchase. Later on, players will also be able to gain access to the Eren Jaeger skin.

New Reality Augments are also being added in Chapter 4 Season 2, seven of which will be available immediately, including the Munitions Slide, Shotgun Recycle, and the Dignified Finish.

Check out the official Fortnite blog for a full list of the updates coming to Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2.

Review: Mato Anomalies – Ambitious Detective RPG Is Overstuffed And Unengaging

Shanghai Surprise?

Arrowiz, the Shanghai-based development team behind 2021’s Hermitage: Strange Case Files, returns to Nintendo Switch with a determined attempt to replicate the general rhythm and vibe of Atlus’ all-conquering Persona series in the form of Mato Anomalies. This is an RPG that throws a whole bunch of ideas and gameplay mechanics at the player but, unfortunately, it all comes unstuck due to clunky writing, uninspiring combat mechanics and environmental design that quickly becomes repetitive.

Thrown into a neo-futuristic Shanghai cityscape pulled straight out of the likes of Blade Runner, players assume the role of two protagonists: Doe, a hard-boiled private detective who deals in out-thinking his adversaries, and Gram, his mysterious exorcist sidekick who gets to do all the fighting. Working as a team, the duo set out to investigate a series of strange anomalies affecting the city, bringing them face to face with demonic entities known as the Bane Tide.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Capcom 3DS & Wii U Games Available For Just $2.99 In Final eShop Sale (US)

Get Monster Hunter, Phoenix Wright & more.

The 3DS and Wii U eShops are shutting down at the end of this month. Ahead of this, lots of game developers have been slashing prices on their libraries across both platforms. Capcom is the latest to do this – with an absolutely massive sale taking place on both digital storefronts at the moment.

You can get 3DS titles for like Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate, all of the Phoenix Wright games, Resident Evil and even Street Fighter for just $2.99 USD. The same pricing applies on the Wii U eShop – with games like DuckTales: Remastered and Resident Evil Revelations also going for this price.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com