Cardy and Matt are putting on a two-man show this week as they discuss the pure joy of Astro Bot, the bloody delight of Space Marine 2, and PlayStation’s Concord disaster. There’s also a time for a quick chat about two of the best films of the year: coming-of-age comedy Didi, and beautiful toilet-cleaning drama Perfect Days.
Remember to send us your thoughts about all the new games, TV shows, and films you’re enjoying or looking forward to: ign_ukfeedback@ign.com.
In Astro Bot, our little robot friend bumps into many familiar faces of his fantastic planet-hopping adventure. Tasked with reuniting the crew of his PS5 mothership, he’ll have to rescue over 300 bots on his journey, of which 173 are cameos from other PlayStation games. Needless to say, that’s a lot of references and easters eggs to pack into one game.
Well, we’ve found them all, which you can check out in either the video above or slideshow below. With a vast range of characters from the expected such as Kratos and Nathan Drake to the more obscure end of the scale like Mister Mosquito and Boku no Natsuyasumi, it really is a treasure trove of PlayStation history, with some not being obvious at first exactly who they are. So, we’re here to help you out. Here’s every single PlayStation character who pops up in Astro Bot and where they’re from.
Concord is set to shut down today, September 6, and what players the game has remaining are waving goodbye to a shooter they were only able to play for two weeks.
“While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended,” Ryan Ellis, game director at Sony-owned developer Firewalk Studios, said at the time. “Therefore, at this time, we have decided to take the game offline beginning September 6, 2024, and explore options, including those that will better reach our players.”
Some Concord players have suggested the game may return in free-to-play form, but Sony has made no such guarantee. And so today’s shutdown may end up being the last we see of Concord — ever.
Now, Concord’s community is sending its regards. “Been gaming for 35 years and have never experienced anything like the whiplash of Concord,” redditor Two_Bear_Arms said. “TBH it was pretty fun to be part of. Jumping in and enjoying the game, seeing all the drama online and now watching the dramatic death of Concord – just nuts!! I appreciate getting the refund and hope that Concord does make a return (in a significantly more appetizing form).”
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.
Microsoft has announced a return to the Tokyo Game Show later this month with a special Xbox broadcast event.
The Xbox Tokyo Game Show 2024 Broadcast is set for Thursday, September 26 at 7pm JST / 3am Pacific / 6am Eastern / 11am UK.
In a post on Xbox Wire, Larissa Hazel, Director, Gaming Integrated Marketing, Asia, said Microsoft will share content from Xbox Game Studios, Activision, Blizzard Entertainment, and Bethesda, as well as an “exciting lineup of games from third-party partners primarily based in Japan and across Asia, including games coming to Xbox Game Pass.”
So, what can fans expect from the show? Microsoft has a long list of first-party studios currently working on various games due out across the next few years, but the mention of Activision, Blizzard, and Bethesda perhaps narrows down the list. Activision is set to release Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 in October, so perhaps the shooter will make an appearance. Blizzard, fresh from releasing World of Warcraft expansion The War Within, has Diablo 4 expansion Vessel of Hatred out in October, as well as ongoing updates for mobile game Diablo Immortal. Bethesda operates MMOs Fallout 76 and The Elder Scrolls Online, has Starfield expansion Shattered Space waiting in the wings, and is set to release MachineGames’ Indiana Jones and the Great Circle in December, and Id Software’s Doom: The Dark Ages in 2025. Obsidian’s Avowed, recently delayed to February next year, may also turn up.
As for the games from third-party partners based in Japan and across Asia, perhaps Square Enix will finally announce Final Fantasy 16 for Xbox, and maybe even the Final Fantasy 7 remakes for Microsoft’s consoles. Microsoft recently announced that MiHoYo’s megahit Genshin Impact is finally coming to Xbox, so maybe that game will make a big splash, too.
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.
Let’s start with a confession about one of my greatest weaknesses. I absolutely adore the HD-2D visual aesthetic from the Octopath Traveler series, and I’ll play anything that employs it. Is your game unpolished with a bug that may or may not ruin save files? I’ll take my chances with it in HD-2D. Am I also looking at a 30-hour plot that reads like your intern randomly threw up gobstoppers labelled with names, places, and plot twists? How concerning—now gimme my HD-2D.
Obviously, if you choose to wrap this modern-meets-ancient art-style around one of the most celebrated RPGs of the golden age of gaming, well, winged serpents could not drag me away from your HD-2D quest.
I’ll clear my calendar for such a rejig, even if I didn’t grow up with the NES original because it didn’t launch in my country. For a few Aussies, like me, our introduction to DQ3 was a Game Boy port of the SNES refresh, which sold a million cartridges on launch day in ’96. Apparently, it also caused 300 Japanese fans to be arrested for truancy—a bit of gaming trivia I love almost as much as HD-2D.
Speaking of delaying education, I’m going to tell you what to expect with Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake in two shakes of a Jackanape’s tail. For now, though, let’s service the needs of the “mind’s already made up” types, because I know you exist. If that’s not you, by all means skip the window shop by clicking here to continue.
The standard edition comes with the game, along with the preorder bonus (detailed below), which includes a handful of in-game upgrades for your team of heroes. Don’t worry if you don’t see your store of choice in the list above. We’ll add new retailers as the listings become available.
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Preorder Bonus
Preorder the game from any retailer, and you’ll receive the following in-game items:
Elevating Shoes x1
Seed of Agility x3
Seed of Magic x3
Seed of Defense x3
Seed of Strength x3
Seed of Life x3
Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake Impressions
Here’s the basic overview: Dragon Quest III HD-2D Remake is a brand-new version of a classic RPG that first blew minds on the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1988. It’s a faithful remake that, despite the significant graphical revamp and refined narrative elements, doesn’t stray too far from the source material.
If you’re already an uber fan, you’d know that the first three Dragon Quest games represent the Erdrick Trilogy, and (kinda sorta spoilers) this third installment was actually a prequel that outlines the first steps of the adventure. Semi-confusing, no?
Anyway, you must fill the 16-bit boots of a 16-year-old child of a hero named Ortega, who was sent to defeat the villainous Baramos. Your old man cocked it up, so the king sends you and a group of companions to rectify his mistakes.
By the by, it should also be mentioned that you’re not going to hit end credits and be left in a narrative lurch for long—Dragon Quest 1 and 2 HD-2D upgrades are in the pipeline for 2025. It’s very much worth getting in on the ground floor now if you’ve been wondering what all the fuss is with this (soon to be) 12-games-thick franchise.
While I only had roughly an hour’s worth of hands on with DQ3, I found it to be surprisingly delightful and engaging, despite the somewhat creaky bones source material. I’m told that there will be new story elements and never before seen vocations for its heroes. Sounds like cutting room floor stuff that the diehard faithful will drool over.
Getting into the technicals, I noted Performance and Graphics modes on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and S, and more. The former translates to 60 frames per second, and the latter is a 4K resolution. Not sure why we can’t have both there, to be honest. This being a turn-based combat affair with the only major motion being your top-down traipsings across the overworld…I just went 4K and was perfectly happy.
I also noted that the devs are offering a choice between two protagonist appearances and three difficulty settings. If you do take the plunge there, you can always fall back on some quality of life features, including autosaves (with manual saves still available). Given that the combat here is light on the animations to preserve the OG feel, I was glad for the ability to speed the fisticuffs up with my shoulder buttons. Just give me my XP and a host of victory affirming, 16-bit-esque sound effects, please and thank you.
Other welcome additions included two camera modes, and a mini map which could be toggled on. I also love this feature and wish it was in more RPGs that I have to finish in dribs and drabs—an NPC conversation log that saves the last 30 interactions.
Looking back through my notes, it seems I also appreciated the now vestigial visual aesthetic where towns in the overworld appear like miniatures when compared to your super-deformed party. It’s also cool that the level designers add in rolling topography to what were once pancake grid overworlds, not to mention some gorgeous dappled light caused by foreground trees and moving clouds up beyond your vision. It’s modern things such as this—like the day/night cycle shoehorned in—that really make one appreciate the extra effort gone into enhancing this in sensible, non-destructive ways.
Unless my eyeballs and instincts are deceiving me, this package already has the feeling of being built by a team who worship the original article. Playing a remake like that is always an infectious experience, and I can’t wait to fill the gaps in my understanding of the “in the beginning” of a series I came to love later in the piece. November 15th can’t arrive soon enough.
Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube.
Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 is already off to a strong start, netting a 24 hour peak of 134,302 concurrents. Its start was good for fifth overall on Steam’s charts despite only being able to players who purchased the Gold and Ultra editions of the game.
But it wasn’t an entirely flawless victory for the anticipated sequel. Players soon reported problems with joining the server, including members of the IGN staff. Fans quickly took to X/Twitter and other forums to express their frustration with the experience.
Fix the servers. “Joining server” is killing all of us. And being stuck on “joining server” after completing a mission isn’t fun. We have to close the game and reopen just to be told to redo the mission we just completed
Similarly, while Space Marine 2’s Steam reviews currently sit at “Mostly Positive,” a few fans complained about graphics drivers and a lack of ultrawide support, among other issues.
Focus Home Entertainment acknowledged the problems in a post to its official website, saying, “We are aware of the technical issues you’re encountering on #SpaceMarine2 and are sorry for the inconvenience. Our teams are currently working to fix them.Please keep providing feedback and make sure your read this note on the most common issues.”
We are aware of the technical issues you’re encountering on #SpaceMarine2 and are sorry for the inconvenience. 🙏 Our teams are currently working to fix them.
The full post lists some of the most common issues, including crashing on the first cinematic, controller problems, and infinity loading. It also notes that linking Steam and Epic accounts is not required to play the game, saying that the Epic Online Services installation was implemented to “support optional cross-play between Steam and Epic players and to synchronize friend lists between the two stores.”
Otherwise, we were generally positive in our review of Space Marine 2, writing, “Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 is a terrific third-person shooter with a compelling story, loads of weapons that are a blast to use, and a healthy variety of enemies to use them on. It once again borrows many of its ideas from the Gears of War series, but they’re good ideas, and Space Marine 2 does a fine job of making them its own. And while the Operations PvE mode that accompanies it doesn’t currently offer enough to keep me coming back, the deep customization options for your Space Marine do look promising if it’s supported in post-launch updates as planned. Besides, when you’re eviscerating aliens on planets as pretty as these, it’s hard not to leave satisfied.”
Space Marine 2 is slated to fully launch on September 9 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.
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.
Warning: The below story is packed with FULL SPOILERS for Baldur’s Gate 3, particularly Karlach’s new evil ending. You’ve been warned!
Larian Studios dropped its highly anticipated Patch 7 on PC today, and with it comes a slew of new cinematics for players doing evil runs. While fans hop back into the RPG and discover the new content, one origin character’s new evil ending is getting a particular amount of attention.
If you’re wondering why Karlach, everyone’s favorite tiefling Barbarian, was trending on X/Twitter today, that’s why. One fan showed her new evil ending, which you can watch below, and it’s going viral just by virtue of being “absolutely metal.”
— Gali | Currently playing DA2 (Blind) (@gali_le0) September 5, 2024
In the clip, we see Karlach, if you’re playing her as an origin character, after she’s taken control of the The Netherbrain, essentially making all of Baldur’s Gate her pawns. No longer the golden retriever of the group, Karlach is fully embracing her newfound control as she gives a menacing monologue to the citizens in front of her before summoning a hoard of enemies from Avernus.
And, in a truly metal twist, the clip ends with her yanking her infernal heart out of her chest. About time she got rid of that dang thing.
In addition to just how badass the whole cinematic is, fans are also praising voice actor Samantha Beart’s new voice lines. Beart even took the liberty of highlighting one fan’s, uh, passionate response to the new ending.
So the last patch of BG3 has been implemented, the evil endings are out (careful of spoilers, Karlach enjoyers), and I’m framing this 👇🏼 pic.twitter.com/yPzwzosbI4
Other fans talked about how the new scene displays the anger and darkness that Karlach has, as she also talks about Gortash, her friend/employer-turned-betrayer, in the clip. “THIS is the Zariel-brained anger filled darkness she has, absolutely unleashed,” one fan wrote.
HOLY SHIT this is utterly insane??? Woah,,,,, my heart aches for the path that would lead to this but DAMN THAT WAS AMAZING!?!?! https://t.co/QTuTlcZgTE
It’s somewhat ironic, too, that a Karlach ending is at the center of a Baldur’s Gate 3 conversation yet again. In a previous patch, Larian tweaked the ill-fated character’s non-evil ending to give her story “better closure.”
Karlach isn’t the only one getting a new evil ending, however, and Larian already previously revealed a dark new cinematic for a Dark Urge origin character. As for the console players waiting to dive into the Baldur’s Gate 3’s massive Patch 7, which also includes official mod support, Larian said earlier today that it should arrive on consoles sometime this October.
Alex Stedman is a Senior News Editor with IGN, overseeing entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.
Concord will remain in Amazon’s Secret Level despite its sudden cancellation, IGN has learned from a source close to production.
Secret Level, a series of 15 standalone short stories featuring a host of video game properties, initially included Concord in its announcement during gamescom. Its inclusion was thrown into doubt by PlayStation’s decision to take Concord offline, seemingly spelling the end of the troubled live service game.
Prime Video has yet to officially whether or not it will remain in Tim Miller’s anthology series, but IGN understands that the episode featuring Concord is indeed still slated to air this season.
Secret Level garnered attention at gamescom not just because of its large numer of familiar franchises, but because of Miller’s involvement in popular anthologies such as Love, Death and Robots. It’s currently slated to stream on Prime Video on December 10.
In our Concord review we wrote, “Concord isn’t the most innovative or content-heavy hero shooter you could play, but with such fantastic competitive gameplay, 16 compelling characters to master, and 12 well-designed maps, it’s got the makings of something that could go the distance in the months and years to come. In fact, it’s a testament to its FPS chops that even while it has a virtually nonexistent story and a serious need for a signature game mode, I still found myself losing dozens of hours to its PvP charms.”
Concord is scheduled to go offline on September 6.
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.
Sony may have just given gaming fans a sneak peek at the design of what is being referred to as the PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro) after months of rumors.
What might be our first look at a PS5 upgrade comes from an image that made its way into a PlayStation.Blog update from earlier today. As a whole, the post is meant to make players aware of how Sony plans to celebrate PlayStation’s 30th Anniversary, detailing upcoming offerings such as a free trial period of Gran Turismo 7 and digital game soundtracks. It’s a message that ends teasing that fans should “be on the lookout for more announcements in the near future,” but the biggest reveal starts at the top of the page.
If you take a close look between the PlayStation logo and the 30 in the image below, you’ll see what many fans have picked up on: a foreign PS5 design that features three stripes on its side.
Sony has released a number of PS5 plates since the console was first released in 2020. Although players have been able to pick up various cover colors and, more recently, the single-striped PS5 Slim, a PS5 with three breaks in its plates has never been officially revealed. Considering the likely tease accompanies the announcement that Sony’s 30th anniversary plans are on the horizon, we may not have to wait that much longer to see what could be an official announcement for what many are already calling the PS5 Pro.
Although Sony hasn’t gone as far as to reveal or name its long-awaited PS5 upgrade, fans have anticipated an announcement for months. Now nearly four years removed from the launch of the fifth PlayStation console, it’s high time for a mid-gen refresh that gives gamers more tools to play their favorite titles. There’s also the fact that, last week, reliable leaker billbil-kun shared what they said was the design of the PS5 Pro, publishing a picture that looks remarkably similar to what we’re seeing today. The time is right and the rumors are swirling more than ever, but until Sony confirms the news itself, it’s best to keep expectations for the PS5 Pro low for now.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
Remedy Entertainment will soon issue an update for the original Alan Wake that will remove one of its songs on PC.
The studio announced the news in a post on the official Alan Wake X/Twitter account, saying that the changes will arrive in a few days, starting September 10 at 11 a.m. UTC. It’s an update that will affect Steam, Epic Games Store, and GOG versions of the 2010 experience, removing David Bowie’s classic ‘60s tune, Space Oddity.
🛠️ Alan Wake (2010) will receive an update on September 10th at 11am UTC. The update will be to all PC versions (Steam, Epic Games Store, GOG).
This update removes the song Space Oddity from the game due to changes in licensing, and replaces it with a new original song by Petri… pic.twitter.com/Eem40e6vRd
The dreamy rock song appears in Alan Wake to bookend the story as it plays over its credits sequence. It’s a notable finale for the adventure that eventually picks back up in Alan Wake 2, but Remedy isn’t leaving fans without a proper replacement. When Bowie’s spacey song is removed from Alan Wake, an original song written by Petri Alanko called Strange Moons will take its place. The composer has worked with the studio on projects like Control and Alan Wake 2 in the past, so while we can’t hear what Strange Moons sounds like yet, expect it to fit in with the atmosphere fans love the series for.
Remedy notes that Alan Wake Remastered, which released in 2021, will not be affected by the impending update. Meanwhile, Alanko took to X to tease what Strange Moons has in store, saying that a slice of the song was once included in an original Alan Wake level that was “cut out long before release.”
Written from a point of view of an astronaut who does have quite a few problems. But even _that_ is okay, as it is what it is. It wasn’t completely out of scratch (heh), as a section of the song was originally in a level in OG AW, but that level was cut out long before release. https://t.co/eqnlzga4bK
Expired music licenses have impacted games in the past, so while it may be disappointing to hear Alan Wake join the list of affected titles, it isn’t a complete shock. Just earlier this year, Yager Development’s Spec Ops: The Line suffered an even worse fate when publisher 2K announced that it would be completely delisting the experience from a number of digital storefronts due to the expiration of “several partnership licenses related to the game.” While it wasn’t explicitly stated that the 2012 third-person shooter’s removal was related to music licenses, many believe the frequent appearance of notable songs in-game is to blame.
We gave the PC version of Alan Wake a 9/10 in our review, saying, “Remedy has built a world that, despite being a fantastical realm of twisting shadows and realities, is solidly anchored in authenticity.” With or without Bowie, the franchise will continue to be a part of Remedy’s connected universe of IP. The studio’s future plans include movies based on some of its franchises and Control 2.
Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.
Be sure to give him a follow on Twitter @MikeCripe.
