Author: Game Infliction

Review: Rugrats: Adventures In Gameland (Switch) – Captures The Show’s Spirit With Affectionate 8-Bit Homage

A baby’s gotta do what a baby’s gotta do.

That Rugrats has somehow managed to remain in the public consciousness for so long is impressive in its own right. This is in part down to Nickelodeon continuing to screen it for younger generations, and that the show ran for 13 years across 172 episodes and spawned two feature films. The most important reason for its extended shelf life, though, is its unexpectedly broad appeal. Formulated by Hungarian-born Gábor Csupó and his wife, Arlene Klasky, Rugrats appeared to be a show about babies for babies, but it was actually a show about babies for children and adults. Thanks to clever writing and a deeper maturity — commonplace during the Simpsons-inspired ’90s — those who loved it 30 years ago will still enjoy it today.

Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland’s most essential victory, then, isn’t necessarily its stage design or graphical style, but tapping into the show’s intelligence. It’s a shame the original voice cast is unavailable, with exchanges instead represented in text, but you can still recall Tommy’s raspy tones in your head.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Destiny 10th Anniversary: PlayStation Studios devs reflect on their time as Guardians

Can you believe it’s been 10 years since Destiny first launched on PS3 and PS4? 10 years since players first chose Hunter, Titan, or Warlock and jumped into Bungie’s expansive sci-fi world to build up their fledgling Guardian. I can still vividly remember my first time facing off against a daunting Fallen Walker in the Cosmodrome during the Destiny alpha all those years ago.

To celebrate the series’ decade-long run, we asked developers from PlayStation Studios to share their fondest memories playing Destiny and their developer perspective on what makes the game so sticky and satisfying.


Destiny 10th Anniversary: PlayStation Studios devs reflect on their time as Guardians

With no further ado, happy 10th anniversary, Destiny!

“When Destiny first launched, and after I played for a bit, I actually reached out to my old high school friends who live in another town and convinced them to buy a PS4 and immediately join me. We had such a great time that it kickstarted our weekly game night that has been going on since 2014. Destiny was basically the reason why we reconnected and became even better friends.

I usually can’t play a game without analyzing the animations. I’ve always been impressed with Destiny’s cinematics and enemy animations. Each faction has always felt very distinct and unique from each other with varied personalities coming through their movement. Bungie’s use of runtime, full-body IK rigs has always been amazing as well.“

– Bruno Velazquez, Game Director, Santa Monica Studio


Destiny 10th Anniversary: PlayStation Studios devs reflect on their time as Guardians

“I got Destiny two months after release as a birthday present to myself, and it gave me so many moments of joy throughout this past decade, and a fireteam of lifelong friends.

But the one moment I will never get over is the opening mission of the Shadowkeep expansion. One of my friends made it out of the Hive’s tunnels first and said: ‘Oh my god, you guys gotta get up here, now.’ I can still remember the awe and horror of turning the corner in the tunnels of the moon and seeing a huge pyramid embedded in the lunar rock, and processing what it meant. One of the best reveals I’ve ever seen done.

As a lighting artist, Destiny is a huge inspiration for me, from the beautiful skyboxes to the excellent use of color and silhouette to create interest, focal points, and lead the player throughout fantastical spaces. It’s a dream of mine to work on a game with such freedom of color and atmosphere!“

– Jen Carlin, Lighting Artist, Insomniac Games

“Destiny is a game I’ve been playing on and off since September 2014. I begged my aunt to get it for me as an early Christmas gift because even from the early trailers, I knew this game was special. Through high school, college, and my career at PlayStation, it’s always been there.

When I enter the Tower, no matter how long of a hiatus it’s been, it feels like coming home. Which of course made it all the more devastating when we lost the first one, and all the more elating when we found it again in the Pale Heart. Destiny has achieved an incredible symbiosis based on the dedication of not just the developers but also the players and community, which allows them to create this intense emotional connection. 

As a Narrative and Mission designer, the longevity of the story, the depth of the world-building, and the memorability of not just the main campaigns but the seasonal stories have left a profound impression on me that makes me wish I could experience it all over again and hope to emulate in the future of my career.“

– Sam Jordan, Designer, Insomniac Games

“My earliest memory of Destiny is running Relic Iron loops on Mars for a friend, but my favorite memory would have to be my raid team beating Nezarac on contest mode after we wiped during the final stand, all thanks to one friend’s insistence on using Osteo Striga.

The player expression through buildcrafting is what keeps me constantly interested in Destiny, especially the minutia of how a build can differ from person to person. I love fine-tuning my support builds to help my teammates, whether that’s printing orbs on Arc Hunter, locking down the battlefield on Stasis Warlock, or creating safe havens on Void Titan. Happy 10th anniversary Destiny, you’ve definitely become legend!“

– Matthew Makuch, Senior Technical Designer, Bend Studio


Destiny 10th Anniversary: PlayStation Studios devs reflect on their time as Guardians

“Each raid has a physical jacket you can buy if you complete it in the first week. My favorite is my first, the Crown of Sorrow jacket. The jacket features a chalice and my gamer tag. I didn’t have a clan, but that was worth trying LFG. At minimum Power, the difficulty got ridiculous. Most hits would put me one shot from death. Eventually, the group kicked me, and I went to bed dispirited and disappointed.

The next day, I joined another LFG for one last shot an hour before reset. In the group were speedrunners from Fast who’d set the world record two weeks later. I only realized when they flew across and skipped the whole jumping puzzle!

At the final boss, random crystals spawned which required two players to melee them. I was so focused on surviving I’d often miss the spawn, so I heard a constant chorus of “Behind you!  Hurry up!”  With ten minutes before reset, we wiped on an enrage [an attack that’s unleashed if players take too long] just before we killed the boss.  But we rallied and got the kill with only minutes left. In less than 24 hours, I had gone from the lowest to the highest point in my Destiny journey.“

– Jeffrey Lininger, Senior Game Designer, Guerrilla

“One of my favourite things about Destiny is that it’s like a social sandbox and a TV show I can’t get enough of rolled into one. Guiding a group of my friends through Vault of Glass, their first raid, was a brilliant experience!

My first instinct when I find anything cool is to tell someone about it. So it was so much fun to be able to share one of my all time favourite experiences, take them through each encounter and watch them, well, die over and over but also get excited as they figure out each mechanic and eventually succeed.

At the same time, it’s a world that’s so fascinating to explore and delve into. Reading through the Books of Sorrow and the work of the amazing writing team is as impactful to me as exploring the Pale Heart or finally defeating Skolas when we foolishly (or bravely?) tried that week Lightswitch was the modifier. Good times. Telesto is also the Besto.“

– Luke Gillard, Senior Functional Tester, Guerrilla / PlayStation QA


Destiny 10th Anniversary: PlayStation Studios devs reflect on their time as Guardians

“The most memorable moment for me is the entrance of the Witch Queen expansion as you cannonball (quite literally) through an endless bound of beautiful locations that left me speechless.

Destiny 2 is a masterpiece in visual quality and graphical standards; the carefully crafted environments are rich with narrative design and especially to me, the lighting. The artistic lighting since Destiny began has had such a significant influence on the methods that I use to approach lighting in similarly enriched environments. From the use of colour, compositions and implementation to gameplay, the artistic talent of the team truly sets one of the highest standards for our industry and they continually prove that with each new expansion.

“

– Daniel Sewell, Senior Lighting Artist, Haven

What are your earliest and fondest memories from Destiny’s past 10 years?

Minecraft Retires Mob Vote After Players ‘Unionize’ to Put an End to It, Promises More Frequent Updates

Last year, Minecraft players who were fed up with the game’s annual mob vote (which lets players pick the next creature added to the game) “unionized,” spreading war propaganda-inspired posters on TikTok and creating a Change.org petition that garnered over 500,000 signatures. Now, Minecraft has revealed that the tradition is coming to an end as part of a new game update structure.

Today, Mojang announced that Minecraft Live, its annual news livestream, is abandoning the mob vote and being split up into several smaller broadcasts via a post on its blog. The new broadcasts, described as “more focused,” will happen twice per year.

Mojang also revealed that it will release free content updates more often, straying away from its larger annual updates and sticking to smaller updates like the smaller Armored Paws update that came earlier this year.

Alongside this update, Mojang announced that it’s “focusing on long-term initiatives to ensure we can continue to evolve Minecraft long into the future.” Currently, this includes working on the native version of the game for PlayStation 5 that was announced this summer, although the blog post also hints at improvements to multiplayer across all platforms.

Mojang talks about Switch support and what to expect from future updates

In a separate interview with IGN, Minecraft’s Ryan Cooper talked about how big fans can expect the updates to be. “Well, we don’t always use size as the measurement for big. And I don’t mean to sound like size of an update doesn’t matter. I mean, some updates will be large in content size, some might be a bit smaller. What we’re really going for is the impact. We want to deliver more features and content to players based on what we’re hearing, what the community’s telling us. And some of those features might appear to be small from a content size perspective, but they will be really, really impactful for players,” he said.

“And I think that if you look at the last six to eight months, we’ve been experimenting with these game drops going all the way back to last December, and we’ve had a really fantastic positive response from our community. Starting with the bats and pots update. We moved into the spring and we had an armored paws update, which included eight new wolves variants with armor. We also included armadillo. And so we found that the response of that was really, really positive. And so those are the kinds of things that we’re looking forward to going forward. Some of them will really large and some of them will be on the smaller size in comparison, but really we’re going after impact. We really want players to be excited about the game drops.”

I wouldn’t consider Switch old or legacy

As for legacy platforms like the Switch, Cooper said that Nintendo’s platform is still relevant. “I wouldn’t consider Switch old or legacy. I would consider the Switch community a very, very important community. We could call it a sub community, if you will, or a platform community. So yes, I mean we’re focused on all platforms, all platforms equal. It’s very important to us that everyone receives the very best experience possible. And when things do pop up on a specific platform that requires our attention, we’re all hands on deck to make sure those experiences are great.

“And we’re also looking ahead to the future always. And so we absolutely want to continue to make Minecraft available on as many platforms as possible because we’re really a platform-agnostic experience. We want as many people on earth to play Minecraft and experience it because of its uniqueness. It is obviously a game that promotes creativity. It’s a game that brings people together. It’s a game that connects people. And that’s why we do what we do is we want as many people as we can playing the game.”

One way or another, it seems like Minecraft fans are in for some big changes. However, as the game celebrates its 15th anniversary, updates aren’t the only thing in store — Netflix also has a Minecraft animated series in the works (and, of course, we couldn’t forget the trailer for the Minecraft movie that’s seemingly divided the internet).

In the meantime, Minecraft’s most recent major update, Tricky Trials, brought trial chambers, a new weapon, and new paintings for the first time since 2012.

Additional reporting by Kat Bailey.

Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN who loves all things indie and Nintendo. Outside of IGN, they’ve contributed to sites like Polygon and Rock Paper Shotgun, and they recently released a game called Garage Sale. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.

Pokémon TCG: Full Release Schedule for 2024

The Pokémon Trading Card Game (TCG) continues to thrive in 2024, compelling everyone from kids to adults, and certain individuals in art galleries to “catch ’em all!” maybe a little too enthusiastically. This year’s lineup is packed with thrilling releases, from new mechanics to nostalgic throwbacks. It’s been a good run already, but here’s what’s on the slate for the rest of the year. Plus, keep an eye out on IGN as we watch over the best deals for Pokémon TCG here and on socials via @IGNDeals

Upcoming Pokémon TCG Sets In 2024

Pokémon TCG: Stellar Crown (September 13th)

Stellar Crown is set to launch on September 13, 2024, as the seventh main expansion in the Scarlet & Violet series. This highly anticipated set introduces the Legendary Pokémon Terapagos and a new wave of Stellar-type Tera Pokémon. With over 170 cards, including over a dozen new Pokémon ex and a variety of Trainer and ACE SPEC cards, Stellar Crown is packed with powerful new mechanics and stunning artwork.

Fans can look forward to the first English appearances of Illustration Rare cards for classics like Squirtle and Bulbasaur, alongside chase cards like Special Illustration Rare versions of Hydrapple ex, Galvantual ex, and Terapagos ex. This set also introduces innovative strategies with cards like Briar, Sparkling Crystal, and the ACE SPEC Stadium card Great Tree, which could revolutionize Tera-focused decks.

Pokémon TCG: Surging Sparks (November 3rd)

Releasing on November 8, 2024, Surging Sparks will be the last Pokémon TCG Scarlet & Violet series main expansion for 2024. Adapted from the Japanese sets Supercharged Breaker and Paradise Dragona, this expansion combines the raw power of electric Pokémon with the majestic strength of Dragon-types like Alolan Exeggutor ex and Latias ex.

With over 250 cards, including new ACE SPEC cards and Stellar Tera ex Pokémon, Surging Sparks has exciting new additions that will shake up the competitive scene and include some epic chase cards for collectors. Beyond the headlining Pikachu ex, Surging Sparks offers a diverse range of powerful cards, including nine regular ex Tera Pokémon, 23 illustration rares, and six golden secret rares, making it a must-have for any serious Pokémon TCG fan.

Honorable Mention: Pokémon TCG Trick or Trade Booster Bundles

If you’re looking to get into the Halloween spirit a little bit early, Pokémon’s 2024 Trick or Trade BOOster Bundle is officially available to buy for $14.99 (see it at Amazon). This year’s bundle comes with 35 mini packs that each contain 3 cards, so there’s plenty of treats within to enjoy.

The BOOster bundle makes for a fun alternative to candy to give out on Halloween night. And if you were to hold onto a pack or two (or 10) for yourself, who’s to know or care? Check it out at various retailers at the links below.

Pokémon TCG 2024 – Released Sets So Far

Recent Releases: Shrouded Fable (August 2nd, 2024)

Shrouded Fable brings Pokémon from the Mochi Mayhem mission to the TCG. This set features woodcut-style illustration rares and introduces new ex-cards for Pecharunt and The Loyal Three. With unique cards and showcase collections, Shrouded Fable promises to be a visually stunning and strategically rich set.

Recent Releases: Twilight Masquerade (May 24)

Twilight Masquerade is inspired by the Teal Mask DLC from Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. This set features four different Ogerpon ex cards, each with unique types and abilities based on the mask it wears. New Ace Spec cards are also introduced, adding strategic depth to the game.

Stay tuned for more exciting Pokémon TCG releases throughout 2024. With each set bringing unique themes and mechanics, there’s something for every fan to enjoy. While waiting, why not check out today’s best Pokémon TCG deals? That’s right, we’re that awesome!

Paldean Fates Set (January 26th – February 23rd)

Paldean Fates released in three waves, offering a unique approach with no individual booster packs. Instead, products like the Elite Trainer Box and Premium Collections provided a variety of boosters and exclusive cards. The set’s focus on Shiny and Baby, Shiny Pokémon with vibrant foil treatments, made it a hit among collectors and players alike.

Combined Powers Premium Collection (Late February 2024)

This collection brought back exclusive cards from the 2023 Pokémon TCG Classic set, offering a more affordable way to acquire these Legendary Pokémon. With foil variants and multiple booster packs, it was a must-have for collectors and competitive players.

Mabosstiff ex Box (Late February 2024)

This box features the Dark-type Pokémon Mabosstiff ex and its Basic form, Maschiff. It provides powerful cards with efficient energy costs. Including four booster packs, it’s a practical addition for players looking to strengthen their Dark decks.

Houndoom and Melmetal ex-Battle Decks (February 23)

These ex-Battle Decks were perfect for intermediate players. They offered ready-to-play decks focused on specific Pokémon types. The balanced design and included accessories made them great for refining strategies and exploring new deck combinations.

Paldea Adventure Chest (March 1st, 2024)

Though aimed at younger fans, the Paldea Adventure Chest included valuable promo cards and fun accessories. The high price might be a barrier for some, but the unique contents and attractive packaging made it a delightful addition to any collection.

2023 World Championship Decks (March 1)

These decks offered a glimpse into the strategies of world champions, providing excellent value with powerful cards and themed accessories. While not tournament-legal, they were ideal for casual play and honing advanced tactics.

Ninetales and Zapdos Deluxe ex Battle Decks (March 22)

Arriving on March 22nd, the Deluxe ex Battle Decks feature Ninetales ex and Zapdos ex. These decks are designed for experienced players and include a Pokémon coin, themed playmat, damage counters, condition markers, a strategy sheet, and a Pokémon TCG Live code card.

Temporal Forces (March 22)

Temporal Forces, releasing on March 22nd, is the next main set following Paradox Rift. It includes booster packs, boxes, and two Elite Trainer Boxes, each with its exclusive foil promo card and themed accessories. This set continues exploring time-based mechanics, offering exciting new cards and gameplay possibilities.

Iono Premium Tournament Collection (April 5th, 2024)

The Iono Premium Tournament Collection, launching on April 5th, celebrates the popular Supporter Iono with themed accessories, booster packs, and four Iono cards, including a full art variant. This collection is ideal for fans looking to enhance their decks with powerful support cards and stylish accessories.

Grafaiai ex Box (April 5)

Releasing alongside the Iono Premium Tournament Collection, the Grafaiai ex Box includes:

  • A foil Grafaiai ex card.
  • An oversized version.
  • A holographic Shroodle card.
  • Four booster packs.
  • A Pokémon TCG Live code card.

We also have a full preview schedule available for Magic the Gathering, if you’re interested in cracking on with some other collectible card games this year.

Christian Wait is a UK-based freelancer for IGN, you can follow him @ChrisReggieWait on Twitter/X.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’s First Update Detailed

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 publisher Focus Interactive and developer Saber Interactive have detailed the game’s first update.

The patch, due out this week, “should” make:

  • Multiple crashfix (start of the game, 1st cutscene crash, etc…)
  • Improvement to CPU overheat issue
  • Server improvements
  • Render bug improvements

Since Space Marine 2’s early access launch, players have complained about numerous server problems and crash issues. The server problems in particular, and the dreaded “joining server bug,” have made co-op play difficult for some problems, and even caused lost progression and rewards.

Space Marine 2’s global release date is today, September 9, so it’s early days in the melee shooter’s life. But already its developers have talked about upcoming changes. IGN has reported on the addition of class matching for co-op, after players found themselves locked in a class standoff ahead of Operations mode missions.

Meanwhile, we also have details on what fans can expect from Space Marine 2’s seasonal post-launch content model. Season 2 runs from October until the end of 2024, and includes a new Operations map, a new enemy, a harder difficulty level, a new weapon, and various other improvements.

Generally speaking, Space Marine 2 has enjoyed a huge early access launch and it looks set for increased popularity as it heads into its first full weekend on sale. IGN’s Space Marine 2 review returned an 8/10. We said: “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 may not break the third-person shooter mold, but it looks amazing, makes good use of its Warhammer lore, and has brutal combat that just feels great.”

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.

In strategy card game Roots Devour you are that tree the villagers warn people away from

I recently moved to a suburban neighbourhood where there is lots of relatively “wild” parkland and a few raggedy patches of woodland. I like to walk in the woods around evening time, after a hard day of writing stupid listicles about Call Of Duty. Forests are a critical preoccupation of mine, actually – check this lumpen thinkypiece I wrote about Alan Wake 2 – but they’re also spaces for retreat and reflection, where I can shrug off the angst and lose myself in the spectacle of sycamores and silverbirch, arching over the path. Except. Except that sooner or later I start thinking about the roots.

Read more

Tears Of The Kingdom’s Master Works Has Some Suggestions On Kass’ Whereabouts

No light to illuminate our paths.

The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is absolutely stuffed to the brim with characters, mechanics, enemies, and things to do. However, one glaring omission is Kass, Breath of the Wild‘s travelling Rito minstrel. Luckily for fans, the recently released Master Works Book does propose a few scenarios as to where Kass may be in the sequel.

Zelda Lore shared an excerpt of the book on Twitter (thanks to Gaming Reinvented for the tip) which covers the potential whereabouts of Kass in Tears of the Kingdom. The bird isn’t present in Hyrule at all in the game, with no explanation at all given for his absence. He’s not even mentioned. At least, until the Master Works book.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Tune in tomorrow for a PlayStation 5 Technical Presentation hosted by Mark Cerny

Join us for a streamed presentation hosted by Mark Cerny, Lead Architect of the PS5 console. The 9-minute Technical Presentation will focus on PS5 and innovations in gaming technology.

How to watch

The stream will be broadcast in English on the PlayStation YouTube channel September 10 at 8:00am PT / 11:00am ET / 4:00pm BST.

Regarding co-streaming and video-on-demand (VOD)

Please note that this broadcast may include copyrighted content (e.g. licensed music) that PlayStation does not control. We welcome and celebrate our amazing co-streamers and creators, but licensing agreements outside our control could interfere with co-streams or VOD archives of this broadcast. If you’re planning to save this broadcast as a VOD to create recap videos, or to repost clips or segments from the show, we advise omitting any copyrighted music.

Destiny 2 Set for ‘Major Changes’ as Bungie Battles to Win Back Players

Destiny 2 is set for what developer Bungie has called “major changes” as it works to win back players amid troubling times at the studio.

The live service first-person shooter, currently seeing its lowest concurrent player count ever on PC platform Steam, will adopt a new model moving forward that includes the release of two medium-sized expansions and four major free content updates annually, Bungie said.

“This evolution aims to enhance the player experience through a new multi-year saga, introducing a non-linear story, more systemic innovation, and significant improvements to core game activities and rewards,” Bungie said.

This new expansion model kicks off with Codename Apollo, a nonlinear character-driven adventure due out in the summer of 2025. The winter 2025 expansion is Codename Behemoth, with the fourth major update of the 12-month period following the release of Codename Apollo due out spring 2026. Each expansion includes new stories, locations, missions, weapons, gear, raids, and dungeons.

The news arrives following a period of speculation and unrest within the Destiny community about the franchise’s future at Bungie. Uncertainty grew when the Sony-owned studio announced it would cut 220 staff in late July, with an additional 155 workers planned to move from Bungie into Sony Interactive Entertainment in the coming months. That left the developer with around 850 employees.

“I realize all of this is hard news, especially following the success we have seen with The Final Shape,” controversial studio head Pete Parsons said in a statement. “But as we’ve navigated the broader economic realities over the last year, and after exhausting all other mitigation options, this has become a necessary decision to refocus our studio and our business with more realistic goals and viable financials.”

Bloomberg then reported that Bungie would move away from large expansions and instead focus on smaller, potentially free updates for Destiny 2. Bungie reportedly has no plans for Destiny 3 and has canceled a Destiny spinoff project known as Payback. Development on its Marathon revival is said to still be ongoing.

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.

Astro Bot End Credits Spark Cameo DLC Speculation

Astro Bot’s end credits thank the various third-party developers and publishers who licensed their characters for use as cameo bots — including those currently not in the game.

The PlayStation 5 exclusive 3D platformer features 173 bot cameos from PlayStation games past and present (check out IGN’s feature, Astro Bot: Every PlayStation Character – Easter Eggs, for more).

But, as VGC spotted, Astro Bot’s end credits thank various companies whose characters have so far failed to show up, prompting speculation that the credits point to upcoming DLC.

Warning! Potential Astro Bot spoilers ahead:

The credits thank Ubisoft, for example, for the inclusion of Assassin’s Creed, Beyond Good & Evil, and Rayman, even though characters from those franchises are not in the game yet.

There’s also a mention of the recently revived Croc, Worms, and the more recently released Stellar Blade and Rise of the Ronin (both of which are currently PS5 exclusives). There is no mention, however, of Square Enix, whose iconic Final Fantasy characters are conspicuous by their absence in Astro Bot — an omission fans have picked up on in the context of Final Fantasy’s long-standing association with PlayStation.

Astro Bot developer Team Asobi is yet to confirm the exact nature of any DLC, although has said it’s working on adding new challenge levels at some point, and these will feature new cameo bots to unlock. In our 9/10 review of Astro Bot, IGN said: “A fantastically inventive platformer in its own right, Astro Bot is particularly special for anyone with a place in their heart for PlayStation.”

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.