Author: Game Infliction

EA Boss Says BioWare Has Returned to Its Strengths With Dragon Age, Predicts ‘Breakout Potential’ Thanks in Part to ‘Limited Competition’

EA CEO Andrew Wilson says BioWare has returned to its strengths with the impending release of Dragon Age: The Veilguard, praising its reviews while predicting that it has “breakout potential” thanks to what he characterizes as limited competition.

Speaking with investors in EA’s quarterly earnings call, Wilson reflected on some of BioWare’s troubled recent history, which has been defined in part by the failure of Anthem — a multiplayer game Wilson described as “very, very different than something that would be known as a BioWare game.” In the wake of Anthem, Wilson said a “big shift happened” that saw “BioWare really returning to BioWare-type games; really returning to BioWare’s strengths.”

“BioWare has rallied around what made BioWare a fan-favorite studio and a fan-favorite brand and the types of games they make – incredibly rich worlds, incredibly nuanced characters, really powerful and compelling stories with comaraderie and friendships and relationships, and decisions that matter in the context of gameplay,” Wilson said. “And I think it’s been that return to what made BioWare great and giving the studio time to deliver against what makes BioWare great in the context of the Dragon Age world is what amounts to Dragon Age: The Veilguard.”

BioWare has rallied around what made BioWare a fan-favorite studio and a fan-favorite brand and the types of games they make…

Wilson’s comments come in the context of what has been reported to be a sometimes fraught relationship with EA. Rumors over the years have suggested that BioWare has been pressured to match the success of highly profitable modes like Ultimate Team, though the studio is adamant in saying that EA has been supportive of the studio. Our report on how BioWare managed to get Dragon Age: The Veilguard to the finish line after a tumultuous decade details some of the challenges that the studio has faced over the years.

Looking ahead to The Veilguard’s release, Wilson praised its solid reviews and suggested that it has “breakout potential” thanks to BioWare’s existing fanbase and the relatively clear release calendar. “We’re going into a market with limited competition for this category of game given some of the moves that has happened across the broader industry,” Wilson said, likely referring to Ubisoft’s decision to delay Assassin’s Creed Shadows into 2025.

Elsewhere, EA reported record earnings for its second quarter while adding around 15 million new players to The Sims 4 in 2024, and suggested that it isn’t interested in making Apex Legends 2. Dragon Age: The Veilguard, for its part, releases October 31.

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.

Save 30% Off Stellar Blade for PS5 Ahead of Black Friday

PS5 gamers rejoice, because a popular exclusive game is on sale ahead of Black Friday. Amazon Best Buy is currently offering Stellar Blade for only $49.99 shipped after a 30% price drop. This is the first time we’ve seen this game discounted at all (it was full price during Amazon Prime Day), and I doubt this price will drop any further on Black Friday.

Update: This deal is already sold out on Amazon, but it’s still available at Best Buy.

30% Off Stellar Blade

Stellar Blade, the first stateside non-gacha IP from Shift Up, is a well-reviewed game that’s best known for its challenging souls-like gameplay, outstanding graphics, killer soundtrack… and of course its suggestive character design. In our Stellar Blade review, Mitchell Saltzman wrote that “Stellar Blade stands out as a gorgeous and well-crafted action game with very impressive strengths and very clear weaknesses. Both its story and characters lack substance, and some of its RPG elements are poorly implemented, like dull sidequests that very often require you to retrace your steps through previous levels with very little done to make the return trip feel unique or rewarding. But its action picks up most of that slack thanks to the rock solid fundamentals of its Sekiro-inspired combat system, a deep well of hideous monstrosities to sharpen your sword against, and plenty of hidden goodies that do a great job of incentivizing exploration throughout.” IGN officially rated Stellar Blade a 7/10, although I personally loved this game and would have given it a higher score.

Stellar Blade is a technically demanding game and I run it in “Performance” mode to maintain 60fps. If you’re planning to pick up a PlayStation 5 Pro, which is set to be released on November 7, you may be able to get the best of both worlds and play in “enhanced” 4K mode and still get great framerates. According to this official PlayStation blog post, “With PS5 Pro, players will be able to enjoy Stellar Blade in 4K resolution at 50fps or more, with smoother gameplay, and you’ll notice an improvement in grain and detail in the game in PSSR upscale mode. Plus, the HFR (high framerate) option is supported, allowing you to enjoy a fluid gaming experience at 80 fps (120hz display support required).”

For more discounts on games, check out the best PS5 deals going on today.

Eric Song is the IGN commerce manager in charge of finding the best gaming and tech deals every day. When Eric isn’t hunting for deals for other people at work, he’s hunting for deals for himself during his free time.

Guide: Best Ys Games Of All Time – Switch And Nintendo Systems

Where does Ys X: Nordics rank?

What’s the best Ys game on Switch? Falcom’s long-running action RPG series has been going for longer than Final Fantasy, and it’s a genre-defining franchise, but it’s not the most well-known series in the world. But those who love it, absolutely adore it

With the release of Ys X: Nordics last week, we’ve compiled a list of all Ys games available on Nintendo consoles, including Switch. However, we’ve excluded import-only titles such as Ys V — one day, perhaps, Falcom will remake that one. One day…

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Major Disney Dreamlight Valley Update Reveals Storybook Vale Expansion Pass and 2025 Roadmap

The Disney Dreamlight Valley showcase has revealed details on the incoming Storybook Vale expansion pass, Sew Delightful update, new editions, and more.

The showcase revealed The Storybook Vale arrives November 20 with several new editions of Disney Dreamlight Valley coming alongside. The Gold Edition of the game will be phased out and replaced by the Storybook Vale Bundle at $59.99 and Enhanced Edition at $79.99.

The base game will remain at $39.99, with expansions like A Rift In Time and The Storybook Vale costing $29.99. Fans can also pick up the Magical Edition of The Storybook Vale for $49.99, which comes with 10,000 instead of 5,000 Moonstones, the Autumn Manor House Style, Storybook Vale Dress & Ensemble, and Baby Pegasus Companion & House.

The Storybook Vale includes two main content drops, with the November 20 date adding Welcome to the Vale content. This introduces Flynn Rider from Tangled, Merida from Brave, Hades from Hercules, and Maleficent from Sleeping Beauty. The second content drop arrives in summer 2025 and is called The Unwritten Realms.

The showcase also announced the next free update to Disney Dreamlight Valley: Sew Delightful. This arrives December 4 and brings the Frost & Fairies Star Path featuring Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. It also adds floating islands, which act as extensions to Valley biomes that give players more space to create.

Further down the line, Aladdin will join Disney Dreamlight Valley in early 2025, Alice in Wonderland in spring, and some sort of Peter Pan update in summer.

Disney Dreamlight Valley arrived in December 2023 as a life simulator meets adventure game set in the worlds of Disney and Pixar. “Disney Dreamlight Valley is an incredibly strong early access start to a bewitching, Disney-infused life sim,” IGN said in our 8/10 review.

For more, check out our list of all the Disney Dreamlight Valley codes and how to redeem them.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Firewalk Studios Officially Closing Following Concord’s Disastrous Release and Subsequent Shutdown

Sony is shuttering Firewalk Studios in the wake of its disastrous release of Concord, the PS5 shooter that lasted less than two weeks before being shuttered. The news was first reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier.

Firewalk Studios’ closure follows the reported departure of director Ryan Ellis, who stepped down after Concord was taken offline. Sony Interactive Entertainment publicly posted the internal email from Studio Business Group CEO Hermen Hulst with a statement on the closure, which you can read below. Hulst wrote that SIE had “spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options,” but ultimately decided to sunset the studio, which it had acquired in April 2023. The email also announces SIE’s decision to close Neon Koi, a German studio working on a mobile action game.

Dear Team,

Today, I want to share some important updates from Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Studio Business Group.

We consistently evaluate our games portfolio and status of our projects to ensure we are meeting near and long-term business priorities. As part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen SIE’s Studio Business, we have had to make a difficult decision relating to two of our studios – Neon Koi and Firewalk Studios.

Expanding beyond PlayStation devices and crafting engaging online experiences alongside our single-player games are key focal areas for us as we evolve our revenue streams. We need to be strategic, though, in bringing our games to new platforms and recognize when our games fall short of meeting player expectations.

While mobile remains a priority growth area for the Studio Business, we are in the very early stage of our mobile efforts. To achieve success in this area we need to concentrate on titles that are in-line with PlayStation Studios’ pedigree and have the potential to reach more players globally.

With this re-focused approach, Neon Koi will close, and its mobile action game will not be moving forward. I want to express my gratitude to everyone at Neon Koi for their hard work and endless passion to innovate.

Regarding Firewalk, as announced in early September (An Important Update on Concord), certain aspects of Concord were exceptional, but others did not land with enough players, and as a result we took the game offline. We have spent considerable time these past few months exploring all our options.

After much thought, we have determined the best path forward is to permanently sunset the game and close the studio.   I want to thank all of Firewalk for their craftsmanship, creative spirit and dedication.

The PvP first person shooter genre is a competitive space that’s continuously evolving, and unfortunately, we did not hit our targets with this title. We will take the lessons learned from Concord and continue to advance our live service capabilities to deliver future growth in this area.

I know none of this is easy news to hear, particularly with colleagues and friends departing SIE. Both decisions were given serious thought, and ultimately, we feel they are the right ones to strengthen the organization. Neon Koi and Firewalk were home to many talented individuals, and we will work to find placement for some of those impacted within our global community of studios where possible.

I am a big believer in the benefits of embracing creative experimentation and developing new IP. However, growing through sustainable financials, especially in a challenged economic environment is critical.

While today is a difficult day, there is much to look forward to in the months ahead from the Studio Business Group and our teams. I remain confident that we are building a resilient and capable organization driven by creating unforgettable entertainment experiences for our players.  

Thank you for your continued support.

Developing…

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.

Indiana Jones And the Great Circle redefines the gun-toting archaeologist as a grabby Lucasfilm fanboi

Going by three hours with a preview build last month, the Indiana Jones of Indiana Jones And The Great Circle has the hungriest hands this side of Thief 2014. They’re always surging into view, reaching restlessly toward objects as you explore, for there is ever so much to touch: photos and letters; pipes, frying pans, and other blunt implements; relics that translate into “Adventure Points”, used to “unlock” books of skills; camouflaged levers and other chunks of fusty comicbook exotica that harbour clockwork secrets. Sometimes, Indy’s magic fingers help you glean an object you need from the game’s religiously-sourced piles of Lucasfilm memorabilia. Sometimes, they exhaust you: please, Dr Jones, for the love of George. Stop trying to pick things up. Let me look at “ancient history” for a while.

Read more

Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind Morphs Its Way Onto Switch This December

Ai ai ai ai ai!

Digital Eclipse has announced that Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind will be launching on the Nintendo Switch on 10th December 2024.

Priced at $34.99, the retro action game is based on the original Power Rangers series from the ’90s and sees the team fight against Rita Repulsa and her minions in a story that both respects and remixes the franchise lore. Gameplay is a spin on the popular brawler genre, but will also add a few neat surprises to mix things up a bit.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind remixes 90’s arcade games, out December 10

“Let’s make a 90’s arcade game!” This sounded like a pretty good idea to us at Digital Eclipse back in 2022, when the first seeds of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind took root. 


Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind remixes 90’s arcade games, out December 10

Arcade gaming was firing on all cylinders when MMPR debuted in 1993. The 16-bit home era was well underway and the original PlayStation was still a year from its release in Japan, so coin-operated games still raked in tons of tokens. So if we wanted to give the Power Rangers the high-energy arcade game they always deserved but never got, let’s make the ultimate version of the game that never existed. 

The result is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita’s Rewind, a love letter to the franchise which launches on December 10 on PS5 and PS4. We hinted that the game was more than merely a brawler when we announced the project this past summer, and with about 70% of the gameplay focused on beating up Rita Repulsa’s army of Putty Patrollers, anyone looking to clean house with melee attacks and combos should feel very comfortable. The remaining gameplay takes inspiration from Sega’s innovative super-scaler games, like Space Harrier and Out Run. Before polygons ruled the earth, these games simulated 3D movement with a series of fast-moving 2D sprites. These are designed to deliver fast, in-your-face scrolling action, and we thought they’d be a perfect way to let MMPR fans take down some of the Rangers’ most famous foes. 

Case in point: Players can expect to travel through the canyons and rooftops of Angel Grove in the first segment of Rita’s Rewind, learning about the twisty time-travel plot and encountering enemies that simply shouldn’t appear this early in Rangers history. But after brawling and defeating Goldar, Rita Repulsa predictably throws her magic wand down from her lunar palace to give her champion a second chance – and turn him into a skyscraper-sized behemoth.

That’s where the super-scaler gameplay comes in. Each Ranger jumps into their appropriate Dinozord and charges into the Z-axis in hot pursuit, blasting all obstacles and enemies with powered-up weapons like missiles and dual lasers. This gameplay really draws on that Sega legacy, throwing back to games like Galaxy Force and After Burner – constant movement, waves of insistent enemies, and powerful attacks to take them out of your way. 

Once Goldar is caught, the gameplay shifts again, this time to a first-person fighting game, where the Power Rangers form the mighty Megazord to slug it out directly with the boss. It’s his face versus your fists, once again utilizing that 2.5D visual approach found in vintage arcade games. Each player gets a chance to wear the boss down, contributing whatever they can to the cause and ultimately defeating the bosses with the Power Rangers’ ultimate weapon: teamwork. 

Mixing all these different genres felt like the right thing to do to keep Rita’s Rewind perpetually fresh, but it was a heck of a lot of fun for us, too. We love brawlers, but they can get repetitive; we’re hoping that mixing in racing, blasting, and punching will make Rita’s Rewind a thrill for players who have always dreamed about what Jason, Trini, Zack, Billy, and Kimberly’s game would have been like had they walked into an arcade in the mid-1990s.

In fact, one of the concepts that drives a lot of what we do at Digital Eclipse is the desire to make games the way you remember them playing, even if your memories have made those experiences a little sweeter and cooler than they might have actually been back in the day. Our goal with Rita’s Rewind is to make a game that could have existed, and certainly should have existed, but probably wouldn’t have existed with all this variety in one place. Since we have the benefit of looking at arcade gaming in the rearview mirror for 30 years, we’ll take advantage of that to try to deliver something better than you would have remembered.  

Rita’s Rewind will debut on PS5 and PS4 on December 10, and you can pre-order it now. When that day comes, we hope you enjoy heading back to the 1990s with us, both in terms of Power Rangers history and arcade gameplay – even if it’s your first visit. 

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition Comes to Nintendo Switch in March

Xenoblade Chronicles X: Definitive Edition is coming to Nintendo Switch on March 20, 2025.

Nintendo announced the re-release of the 2015 Wii U role-playing game from Monolith Software with a trailer, below, saying it comes with “enhanced visuals” and “brand new story elements.”

“Earth has been destroyed by an intergalactic war between two alien races, and humanity is on the brink of annihilation,” reads the official synopsis.

“A small number of survivors, aboard the USS White Whale, crash land on the vast and untamed planet Mira — and now it falls to you, as a member of Blade, to help bring humanity back from the edge of extinction with the aid of powerful giant robots called Skells.”

Wii U titles have slowly but surely made the jump to Nintendo Switch over the years. The console infamously underperformed for Nintendo so its best games perhaps didn’t get the attention they deserved.

The likes of Mario Kart 8, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Super Mario 3D World, New Super Mario Bros. U, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze and much more have all been ported to the more successful platform. Ports are also an easier way to fill up the release calendar as Nintendo gears up for its next console, colloquially known as the Switch 2.

In our 8/10 review of the original, IGN said: “Xenoblade Chronicles X is a massive RPG with enough surface area, sub quests, and customization to keep you busy.”

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.