Today marks the start of the early access beta available to those who preordered the full game or got a code by eating Kentucky Fried Chicken, while next weekend will host anyone looking to start their adventures early in the open beta.
Taking to Twitter while facing wait times of upwards of an hour, players took the opportunity to warn their fellow demon slayers and make light of the situation.
To everyone waiting for the Diablo 4 Beta servers/queue to stabilize:
Queue will soon be cleared up once everyone that got beta by eating KFC goes to the toilet for hours pic.twitter.com/5CVbm4QL3Z
The overloaded servers and long wait times have persisted into the afternoon. The official Diablo Twitter account recently commented on the issues, saying, “We are aware of the issues impacting Open Beta Early Access, leading to long queue times and server disconnections. The team is managing the rate of players entering the game until we have a full fix for the connection issues.”
Previously, Blizzard had warned players to anticipate wait times and warned that players should not leave the queue even if they remain stuck on a waiting screen after the queue timer has elapsed:
“Users may experience a queue while logging into Diablo IV during Early Access Beta Weekend. Please note that the countdown may finish and go beyond the duration listed on the queue timer. Do NOT leave the queue as this will restart the queue. We will have more accurate timers in place for Open Beta Weekend.”
Meanwhile, Blizzard forums have been overflowing with users posting their issues and frustrations, including a thread of console players who have been repeatedly booted after waiting the duration of the queue’s wait time.
Wait times and server issues are not new for betas, which are particially intended as stress tests before a full launch, especially for games as hotly anticipated as the next entry in Blizzard’s longrunning ARPG franchise.
Still, wait times never feel good. Here’s hoping the issues clear up soon so I can begin recruiting my undead necromancer army. For more, check out the first 17 minutes of Diablo IV’s beta.
“Even Stronger” is the perfect tagline for WWE 2K23. Last year’s reinvention laid a solid foundation, and every aspect of it has been refined for the better this year. Combat is flexible without becoming burdensome, and the MyRise campaign mode focuses on telling more focused stories without compromising its open-ended gameplay. MyGM is more user friendly and lets you invite a larger number friends to get in on the action, too. Even the 2K Showcase, which has maybe the most glaring inconsistencies of all the modes, subverts expectations in creative ways. The pickings are slim for full sim-style pro-grappling alternatives, but WWE’s flagship game has never been more deserving of its spot at the head of the wrestling game table.
2K wrestling games have been largely hit or miss when it comes to how they look and sound, but 2K23 has to be the best “hit” this series has had in years. There are still several characters who’ve adopted newer looks and attitudes than the ones captured here, but with only a handful of exceptions everyone at least looks good. Cover boy John Cena and the son of a son of a plumber, Cody Rhodes, are standouts on the high end, which ironically makes some of the low-end models like poor Dana Brooke feel like that much more of a missed opportunity. New lighting effects and reflections give an overall boost that make stages shine and title belts sparkle. Menus are clean and colorful, a step up from last year’s bland layouts, all without sacrificing legibility. Visually, 2K23 is a grand slam.
Literally no one should be surprised that combat in the squared circle of 2K23 is much like it was in 2K22. This is an annual sports game, after all, and the wheel has not been reinvented, especially when last year’s big overhaul was widely considered a huge success. The simplified grappling layouts and a combo-based striking system add a bit of depth to each of the close to 200 wrestlers that are either available to play at launch or unlocked with in-game currency. There are a few noticeable changes, though: the pin minigame now has an optional stick-flick mechanic instead of simple button-mashing, which is one of my favorite improvements. 2K22 had a timing-based button press alternative, but flicking a stick up at the right time mimics the dramatic kick out in a very satisfying way, which stylishly solves the problem of fatiguing yourself in real life by bashing a button manically. It would have been nice if the philosophy of removing button-mashing were consistent, though. You still need to mash to recover back to your feet after getting dropped, and when fighting your way out of submissions.
Stamina – and specifically the lack there off – is a way bigger deal.
Stamina – and specifically the lack there off – is a way bigger deal as matches go on. Without it, it’s tough to run faster than a crawl, and you become way easier to counter and beat down. Spamming offense relentlessly risks tiring you out early, and the only way to regain your energy is to hang back and idle for a few seconds. Knowing when to slow your roll and when to hit the gas can give matches between evenly skilled opponents a fun rhythm.
The payback system, a set of special abilities individual characters have that can have massive consequences on matches, has been expanded as well. Each wrestler can have up to two abilities, giving them more flexible options in a pinch compared to last year. They’re still only one use per match, but now you have a secondary scenario in which you can turn the tables. Using your Resiliency to instantly win a pin or submission minigame doesn’t have to be the only trick up your sleeve anymore.
Some old payback options that were missing last year are back as general defensive options that you can spend a portion of your special bar to use. Being able to instantly recover from attacks or play possum for a quick hit or surprise roll-up pin helps keep you in the match even when you’re on the wrong end of a mud-hole stomping. The risk-reward relationship of the special bar makes you think as well: these defenses can be used to great effect to stop taking damage during vital moments, but if you fill that bar completely, either by dealing or receiving damage, the Signature move you unleash could do more to turn the tide in your favor. This is the kind of resource management usually only seen in traditional fighting games like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter, but it fits like the perfect pair of boots in 2K23.
Being able to instantly recover from attacks or play possum helps keep you in the match.
This year’s 2K Showcase focuses on John Cena’s biggest losses, which is an interesting take on the marquee game mode. Cena’s spent so much of his 20-plus-year career winning that it’s refreshing to see him run down the monumental Ls he’s occasionally taken from greats like Kurt Angle, Brock Lesnar, and Triple H. I enjoyed the winding trip down memory lane, though there were a few notable bumps in the road. A few omissions are understandable, as some of the major names involved are currently contracted outside of the WWE and not willing or able to play ball, but it was strange not to see folks like JBL and The Miz. Cena himself also provides some moments of reflection on the ones that made it in, but they are oddly sterile and surface level considering he is known for being a deep thinker when it comes to pro wrestling. His monologues between matches offer no real insight beyond largely juvenile “I went in there and tried my best” mantras, which is a shame because it doesn’t do some of his best character work any justice.
The structure of the Showcase is similar to past ones, but there’s a great twist: since this is all about Cena losing, you get to play the gauntlet of matches as his opponents. This keeps the action fresh from match to match, but it will mean you’ll need to relearn character movesets every time, which could be a little jarring – especially when different versions of the same character (The Undertaker circa 2003 versus 2014, for instance) may have similar moves but mapped to different buttons. Thankfully, the objectives you’re given do a good job of laying out exactly what’s being asked of you, down to the exact button combinations needed to execute a particular maneuver.
Since this is all about Cena losing, you get to play the gauntlet of matches as his opponents.
At the same time, the interlacing of old WWE footage into gameplay doesn’t feel as clever as it used to, especially when the live-action video has awkward music playing over it with no commentary, fake crowd reactions, and censored referee and commentator faces. Also, the objectives are a bit inconsistent with how it attempts to get you to reenact some of the old classic matches. Sometimes you’ll need to hit a specific move, and when you do it will trigger an old clip to fill in what happens next. Other times you just have to stand someone up and attack, and the match will play out a whole sequence of moves like AJ Styles hitting his signature Pele kick and crushing Cena with his patented Styles Clash that would have probably have been more fun to do yourself than they are to watch. On more than one occasion a simple attempt to attack or grapple started a clip that led directly into the end of a match, with no further input required.
The tail end of the showcase throws a few fun curveballs that you won’t see coming, but the overall package remains an earnest but rough attempt to do the impossible. It would seem that you can’t truly recreate specific wrestling moments and capture the drama and magic in a playable way.
The other major single-player mode, MyRise, is split into two separate stories. Of the two, I preferred The Lock, which has you jump into the boots of a global sensation whose talents have finally elevated him to the WWE. Its tale about the conflict between attempting to be yourself versus trying to be what the machine of the WWE wants you to be clicked with me more. The Legacy, a story about debuting in the shadow of your Hall of Fame aunt, is also a solid tale about living up to expectations, and the various ways that old rivalries and bad decisions in and out of your control can make that challenging.
The conflict between attempting to be yourself vs what the WWE wants you to be clicked with me more.
Both modes give your progression to the top of the card some real focus. Where last year’s MyRise often felt like I was just running around doing quests simply because they were there, this year the main thread wrangles you into very clear-cut chapters. Instead of running between different locations to find the proper NPC or scrolling through the in-game social media feed to start beef with people, your main and side objectives are laid out clearly in the story progress menu, and all of the appropriate people to talk to in order to initiate these quests are all in one area. The story is also separated by acts, and the progress menu will show you all the distractions you could get into before moving on to the next one.
The open-endedness of last year’s MyRise still exists, though. Between matches during the main storyline you can interact with accessory characters and make choices that can determine how story arcs end, or what kind of side quests you end up on. Some of them are simply one-off matches that net you some points for customizing your character, while others can be whole multi-match feuds. I wish that the back and forth you have to do to start many of the side feuds were more than text blocks on a fake social media platform, but the parts that are voice acted feel more consistent across the board than last year. I’m not sure any of this will make you a MyRise fan if you weren’t already, but a strong story mode is a wrestling game staple, and I’m glad it finally feels worth the time again.
For folks looking for more of a sandbox approach to superstardom, Universe is back and, with the exception of some slight tweaks in the story building tools, it’s practically identical to 2K22’s version. For Classic Mode fans, this means you can have a field day tweaking every single detail of your own version of the WWE, from the shows you produce, the stars and feuds between them, and even the belts they can win and defend. Its top-down approach is a little too big for my tastes, with too many knobs to twist and not enough reward outside of the satisfaction of simply doing the thing. I preferred Superstar Mode during the relative time I spent with Universe, so I could put my created grappler through an endless career of rivalries and title shots.
GM Mode is my preferred management sim mode, and this year’s version is even bigger and more robust than ever. Besides giving us more brands to control, managers to work with, and power cards to choose from, now up to four players can try to out-promote each other across multiple season games. New surprises like the Shake Up – big, game-altering passive abilities that you can select after big shows – helps keep your opponents on their toes. Bonuses like lowering the stamina cost it takes for wrestlers involved in certain kinds of matches may seem like a small buff, until you realize that it means you can pull more risky matches off more often, pulling in better match ratings and more fans with fewer injuries.
Finally, little quality-of-life changes help make it easier to see the benefits of certain actions over others. Something like popularity bonuses you’ll receive for booking a certain arena were in the previous game, but it’s much clearer here. Specific match types can also accelerate the ferociousness of a rivalry better than others, and now that’s clearly identified as well. But figuring out how to make popular, highly rated matches over long periods of time is still a steep learning curve.
The freaky little hooded creature, Xûr, is now live in Destiny 2 for the weekend until next week’s reset. If you’re looking to get your some shiny new Exotic armor or weapons for your Guardian, look no further.
Each week, Xûr has a random assortment of Exotic armor, one for each Guardian class, as well as a random Exotic Weapon and an Exotic Engram available for purchase. In addition to his Exotic wares, he’s got a random collection of Legendary weapons and armor to deck out your Guardians.
We’ve rounded up all the info on Xûr for the week including where to find Xûr, which Exotic weapons and armor are available, as well as which Legendary weapons you should pick up, either for PvE or PvP.
Where Is Xûr Located Today?
Xûr’s location can be found at Winding Cove in the EDZ on March 17 through March 21. To reach him, travel to the landing point at Winding Cove. When you arrive, make for the rock cliffs at the far end of the cove and look for a cave winding up to a platform next to some Fallen. There you’ll find the retail monster who inspires us all.
What’s Xûr Selling Today?
Exotic Engram
Lord of Wolves – Exotic Shotgun
Lucky Raspberry – Exotic Hunter Chest Armor
14 Mobility
8 Resilience
13 Recovery
21 Discipline
10 Intellect
2 Strength
Total: 68
Crest of Alpha Lupi – Exotic Titan Chest Armor
3 Mobility
17 Resilience
11 Recovery
2 Discipline
21 Intellect
10 Strength
Total: 64
Geong Stabilizers – Exotic Warlock Boots
22 Mobility
8 Resilience
4 Recovery
10 Discipline
6 Intellect
17 Strength
Total: 67
Hunters and Warlocks have some truly cool rolls, both spikey and useful in a variety of builds (though I sure wish Resilience were higher on both). Still, with stats that high, I’d say either of these is worth picking up!
Exotic Weapons
Hawkmoon – Exotic Hand Cannon
Paracausal Shot
Arrowhead Brake
Alloy Magazine
Rangefinder
Heavy Grip
Dead Man’s Tale – Exotic Scout Rifle
Cranial Spike
Corkscrew Rifling
Flared Magwell
Outlaw
Composite Stock
Both rolls for these exotics this week are just okay. Hawkmoon with Alloy Magazine and Rangefinder is nothing to turn your nose at (though Xur’s definitely offered better rolls), and DMT is much more exciting to me, though Outlaw is always good to have.
Legendary Weapons
Firefright – Auto Rifle
Corkscrew Rifling/Polygonal Rifling
Extended Mag/Armor-Piercing Rounds
Fragile Focus
Surrounded
Extrovert
Range Masterwork
Judgement of Kelgorath – Glaive
Tempered Truss Rod/Lightweight Emitter
Alloy Magazine/Light Mag
Immovable Object
Close to Melee
Ambush
Charge Time/Shield Duration Masterwork
Blast Battue – Grenade Launcher
Countermass/Smart Drift Control
Spike Grenades/High-Explosive Ordnance
Threat Detector
Wellspring
Reload Speed Masterwork
Deafening Whisper – Grenade Launcher
Volatile Launch/Linear Compensator
High-Velocity Rounds/Implosion Rounds
Killing Wind
Threat Detector
Blast Radius Masterwork
Death Adder – Submachine Gun
Arrowhead Brake/Hammer-Forged Rifling
Appended Mag/Steady Rounds
Feeding Frenzy
Quickdraw
Handling Masterwork
IKELOS_SMG_V1.0.3 – Submachine Gun
Arrowhead Brake/Hammer-Forged Rifling
Extended Mag/Alloy Magazine
Killing Wind
Tap The Trigger
Rasputin’s Arsenal
Handling Masterwork
Eternity’s Edge/Crown-Splitter/Quickfang – Class Sword
Sword & Perks vary by class
My top picks this week are Death Adder and Judgement of Kelgorath. Death Adder with Feeding Frenzy and Quickdraw are a great synergistic set of perks that will get you into the fight fast and keep your ammo stores stocked up. Judgement of Kelgorath is an extremely rare glaive drop from Xur that’s a nice change of pace from his usual stock. Plus, with Close to Melee and Immovable Object are both great glaive perks!
Warlock Legendary Armor
For Warlocks, Xûr is selling the Pathfinder set which includes:
Pathfinder Gauntlets
12 Mobility
10 Resilience
2 Recovery
10 Discipline
16 Intellect
2 Strength
Total: 52
Pathfinder Chest Armor
14 Mobility
12 Resilience
2 Recovery
10 Discipline
13 Intellect
2 Strength
Total: 53
Pathfinder Helmet
8 Mobility
6 Resilience
12 Recovery
7 Discipline
12 Intellect
6 Strength
Total: 51
Pathfinder Leg Armor
6 Mobility
2 Resilience
18 Recovery
12 Discipline
12 Intellect
2 Strength
Total: 52
Pathfinder Bond
Warlocks have some extremely bad armor this week and you shouldn’t consider any of it even a little!
Titan Legendary Armor
For Titans, Xûr is selling the Pathfinder set which includes:
Pathfinder Gauntlets
7 Mobility
7 Resilience
11 Recovery
9 Discipline
2 Intellect
16 Strength
Total: 52
Pathfinder Chest Armor
2 Mobility
10 Resilience
12 Recovery
25 Discipline
2 Intellect
2 Strength
Total: 53
Pathfinder Helmet
7 Mobility
20 Resilience
2 Recovery
12 Discipline
2 Intellect
15 Strength
Total: 58
Pathfinder Leg Armor
6 Mobility
8 Resilience
12 Recovery
6 Discipline
6 Intellect
13 Strength
Total: 51
Pathfinder Mark
Titans got shafted this week as well, folks. The only interesting roll is the chestpiece with 25 Discipline, but the stats are so low otherwise it’s really not worth considering.
Hunter Legendary Armor
For Hunters, Xûr is selling the Pathfinder set which includes:
Pathfinder Gauntlets
6 Mobility
2 Resilience
19 Recovery
15 Discipline
2 Intellect
12 Strength
Total: 56
Pathfinder Chest Armor
17 Mobility
6 Resilience
2 Recovery
13 Discipline
2 Intellect
13 Strength
Total: 53
Pathfinder Helmet
2 Mobility
6 Resilience
19 Recovery
6 Discipline
7 Intellect
14 Strength
Total: 54
Pathfinder Leg Armor
26 Mobility
2 Resilience
2 Recovery
6 Discipline
11 Intellect
6 Strength
Total: 53
PathfinderCloak
And to wrap things up, Hunters got a big ol’ goose egg as well. The 26 Mobility boots would be interesting if they weren’t terrible in every other category. Too bad!
Blizzard fans are freaking out about the only current way to access the long-awaited Diablo 4 beta: ordering KFC.
As the beta kicks off today, March 17, hopeful players are taking to the game’s Reddit to express their surprise, frustration, and amusement over the KFC beta code promotion. Players could previously preorder Diablo 4 to get a beta code, but this is no longer available now that the beta has begun.
Some users are ordering KFC simply for the beta code, with no intentions to eat the chicken sandwich, while some are protesting it altogether.
Reddit user kuroineko666 posted an “anti vegan beta key” post, asking why the only way to access Diablo 4’s beta other than preordering is “to order a dead chicken from KFC”.
Another user, MahiMatt, falls into the latter category. “Just ordered my KFC chicken sandwich with the Diablo promotion,” they said. “Question: do I actually have to pick up the sandwich to get the code?” Other users have expressed similar plans, while one called the collaboration a “dystopian nightmare”.
The beta code is available to anyone in the United States who orders a Double Down sandwich or other valid options, though a vegan or vegetarian meal is absent from the list.
Cardy, Emma, and Mat are here once again to talk absolute nonsense. In amongst that, though, Emma has played 5 hours of Dead Island 2 and tells us all about its delicious gore. Mat has had the pleasure and relative displeasure of seeing both John Wick 4 and Shazam Fury of the Gods. Plus, Cardy has finished Death Stranding so has some 3 year-delayed thoughts.
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.
In light of the high-quality remakes of Resident Evil 2 and 3 released in 2019 and 2020, it felt like a safe bet that Capcom would do an equally admirable job of rebuilding Resident Evil 4. Even so, when I hit the start button on this 2023 remake of the legendary 2005 action-horror game I wasn’t prepared for how forcefully it would knock my knees out from under me and suplex me headfirst into 16 hours of sustained tension and exhilaration. This fully revitalised campaign dramatically one-ups the original in almost every conceivable way. Its Spanish countryside setting is substantially more sinister, its pacing has been tightened to the point where hardly a single minute is wasted, and its controls have been modernised in order to allow its signature dynamic shooting mechanics to really shine. I’ve been waiting 18 years for a game to thrill me in the same way as Resident Evil 4; as it turns out, this whole time I’ve just been waiting for another Resident Evil 4.
The original Resident Evil 4 is a landmark installment in Capcom’s seminal survival-horror series that, for many, would need no introduction. However, considering it came out back when we assumed that Episode III would be the last Star Wars film and iPhones didn’t even exist yet, I should probably give it some context. At the time it was a big deal for Resident Evil to switch from the series’ traditional fixed-camera perspectives to a then radical over-the-shoulder viewpoint that brought us uncomfortably close to the gore and put the emphasis on reflexes and precision targeting, and as a result Resident Evil 4 was an action-horror epic without peer. Its influence has subsequently been felt in countless other third-person classics like Gears of War, Dead Space, and The Last of Us, and now its original DNA has been extracted, synthesised, and injected into a state-of-the-art host game, mutating it into a menacing new monster that’s breathtaking to behold and immensely intimidating to encounter.
In preparation for this review I returned to the original game for the first time in years and was shocked at how badly this remake was needed. The movement of main star Leon Kennedy felt ridiculously restricted; he struggles to get around as though he’s wearing an old pair of skinny jeans that haven’t fit him since his police academy days, and is immobilised anytime he gets his gun out as though he’s incapable of independent control over his hands and feet at the same time. By modern standards it’s absurd, and would absolutely put off a lot of newcomers before they could begin to understand why this game is so highly regarded.
Sight for Saw Guys
Thankfully, those days are gone. Not unlike the recent Metroid Prime Remastered, this Resident Evil 4 remake plays like a 2023 game. Luxuries like simultaneous twin-stick movement and targeting mean that you can cautiously back away while still keeping your gun trained on the advancing hordes, or side-step out of the way of an incoming crossbow bolt without having to remove your eye from the scope of your rifle. This newfound freedom of movement makes you better equipped to really make the most of the immensely satisfying area-specific damage effects; blowing kneecaps out to expose an enemy to a melee finisher, blasting sticks of dynamite held in the hands of attackers before they have a chance to throw them, or simply reveling in some of the grisliest headshots in the history of video game shotguns.
Resident Evil 4’s original DNA has been extracted, synthesised, and injected into a state-of-the-art host game, mutating it into a menacing new monster.
None of this will shock you if you never played the original, but trust me, it’s a big deal to those of us who are back for round two: the rough edges of a number of other interactions have been filed down, like how crates and barrels can be quickly smashed at the tap of a button rather than having to clumsily line up a knife swing, making it much faster to scramble for ammo and health pickups in the heat of a battle. Weapon switching is now performed instantly with a tap of the D-pad rather than having to pause to hop in and out of the inventory screen, and Leon’s combat knife can also be used to parry enemy attacks or bring a swift finish to staggered foes, or to take enemies out silently after he’s crept up on them with his new ability to crouch. (It must be those looser fitting jeans).
Crucially, though, this overhauled control setup makes combat more enjoyably fluid without compromising any of the challenge when played on the Hardcore setting recommended for returning players. (‘Standard’ and ‘Assisted’ modes are included if you want an easier time of it.) The added benefits of the knife are balanced by the fact that it takes damage with each use, so you can only rely on it sparingly – otherwise it will break like a tiny Master Sword and must be repaired at a merchant before you can resume stabbing.
Meanwhile, enemies move in dangerously erratic ways and have a tendency to quickly overwhelm in numbers, so you still have to make snap decisions when it comes to prioritising targets. They’ve also learnt a few cunning new tricks to trip you up with, like the sneaky way the homicidal villagers will lay down bear traps in the middle of a fight to keep you on your toes while you’re busy flexing your trigger finger. Resident Evil 4 may well give you a more expansive toolset to aid Leon’s survival, but you still need to keep your wits and reflexes sharp – because losing your head amidst a crowd crawling with a murderous mind-controlling parasite can swiftly result in Leon literally losing his. Thankfully, a new checkpoint save system minimises any arduous backtracking from your last manual typewriter save should Leon perish – but purists should take note that the unlockable Professional difficulty mode removes that safety net if you prefer a more punishing run the next time through.
No matter what difficulty you choose, a major strength of Resident Evil 4 is that enemy types are continually shuffled so that you can never really settle into a one-size fits all strategy. Just as you’re comfortably pulling off headshots, they start wearing helmets to force you to target their legs. Then, once you’ve busted more kneecaps than a debt collector, they start coming back to life with deadly whipping tendrils sprouting out of their shoulders. Then, when you’ve figured out how to take out these terrifying mutations efficiently, you come face to face with a seemingly unstoppable waddling tub of nightmare fuel that can regenerate every blown off body part like a T-1000 that was hand-sculpted by Clive Barker. Resident Evil 4 gives you a growing number of guns that all feel great to use, from submachine guns to rocket launchers and the especially powerful magnums, and does its absolute best to ensure you’re leaving very little in the chamber after each frenzied firefight.
I also love how the tactile nature of almost every element in your surroundings can be used as a tactical advantage, provided you can think fast enough on your feet. The chainsaw attacks from the terrifying, sack-hooded Dr. Salvador are just as deadly to Leon as they are to every other enemy in the vicinity, so baiting him into lunging at you and then steering him into a crowd of his own minions is a great way to thin the herd. Meanwhile, dangling oil lanterns can be shot and dropped onto an angry mob to set them all ablaze, but they can also be used to ignite hapless animals like cows who will rage out of control and scorch everyone in their path. When ammunition is always at a premium, it’s both practical and ridiculously entertaining to let a flaming hunk of hamburger do your dirty work.
Spanish Castle Magic
Many of you under 30 might have no clue what Resident Evil 4 is about: it’s perhaps best described as riding a rollercoaster that’s careening off the rails to crash through a row of spectacular haunted houses. What starts as a fairly straightforward rescue mission, with Leon sent into a small Spanish village in search of the US President’s missing daughter Ashley, soon hurtles into a heart-stopping series of battles against giant sea monsters and towering trolls, desperate defenses against crazed hordes in boarded up cabins, outrageous assaults on a heavily fortified castle, skulking sections through shadowy laboratories, explosive minecart chases, and countless run-ins with some truly twisted freaks infected with the mutating Las Plagas parasite, all of which look consistently incredible reimagined on Capcom’s RE Engine (which also powered the last two remakes). The original RE4’s famously flabby final third has been tightened up considerably, and it all builds towards an improved and genuinely imposing final boss fight that took all of my skill and ammo reserves to topple.
Of equal importance to its renovated environments and enemies is the anxiety-inducing audio design. It can’t be overstated how effective the sounds of Resident Evil 4 are when it comes to cultivating a genuine sense of dread. Whether it’s the manic chanting of its parasite-riddled peasant farmers when you enter a new area, the snarl of wolves as they whip through the leaves around you in the castle’s hedge maze, or the throaty rumble of a chainsaw motor idling in the distance, just listening to it all routinely had me inching towards the edge of my seat in anticipation for each enemy encounter, so when the the carnage kicked off and the tension spiked I had hardly any couch left to cling to.
Resident Evil 4 is like riding a rollercoaster that’s careening off the rails to crash through a row of spectacular haunted houses.
At every step of the journey there are enhancements, both big and small. The original’s gimmicky, quicktime-event-heavy knife battle against Major Krauser has been transformed into a gripping blend of parries and counter-attacks, while the frustration of escorting Ashley through certain sections has been reduced significantly by ditching her health bar so you don’t need to waste valuable green herbs on healing her, and her intelligence has been improved so she’s less prone to foolishly stumble into the hands of a bloodthirsty mob. Elsewhere, there have been considerable structural changes that make the environment feel more cohesive. For instance, in the original game the lake area primarily served as the backdrop to a boss fight, but now you can fully explore the lake and its surroundings by boat, docking at various inlets to scour cabins and caves for additional puzzles, valuable treasures, and hidden horrors lying in wait.
In fact, despite having played the original several times over, there still seemed to be something that surprised me around each and every corner, and the pacing of Leon’s plight never gets bogged down in the sort of storytime stroll that’s become so common in a lot of big-budget single-player adventures. With all due respect to the likes of The Last of Us and God of War Ragnarok – which are both excellent in their own ways – Resident Evil 4 has no time for dialogue-heavy deep and meaningfuls. Leon’s foppish haircut might scream noughties emo but his stoic attitude is all-out ‘80s action hero, and no matter how much I had to Tetris-swap the expanding selection of guns and ammo to fit his inventory case he always seemed to have plenty of room left up his sleeve for a winking one-liner to whip out after a thoroughly insane action sequence before sliding a fresh clip into his submachine gun and running headlong into the next.
The pacing of Leon’s plight never gets bogged down in the sort of storytime stroll that’s become so common in a lot of big-budget single-player adventures.
Stranger’s Things
When you do need to take a breather, the mysterious merchant returns to keep Leon topped up with a suite of dangerous devices like a quaint form of Q Branch, along with new recipes that allow you to craft the exact ammo types you want when out in the world rather than having to rely on randomised drops. He also pays the bounties on the optional side quests that have been added throughout the campaign, like shooting down hidden blue medallions or tracking down a rare golden chicken egg, which proved to be fun little diversions away from the story’s murderous main path. These bounties are paid in spinel gemstones which can be traded for unique items and upgrades outside of his standard inventory of wares, so although I was initially sad to see the iconic red dot sight removed from Leon’s starting pistol, it only took me a few short quests to be able to buy one and satisfyingly fit it myself.
One thing in particular that I appreciate about the remake’s merchant is that he’s a lot more generous when it comes to the trade-in value of your weapons. In the original it never really made sense to invest too heavily in upgrading the base pistol and shotgun early on, only for their value to drop dramatically when it came time to trade up for some beefier boomsticks. However, in the remake you’re effectively refunded close to the full value of each weapon along with the cost of any upgrades you’ve added to it, so you can re-spec your favourite guns and boost them towards their optimal forms without copping as big a penalty to your purse of Spanish pesetas.
The merchant also gives you access to the new bolt thrower weapon during your first encounter, and its reusable bolts come in handy in the story’s early hours when you’re still finding your feet as far as managing ammunition reserves and crafting resources goes. Yet despite his generous prices and fabulous wares, I couldn’t help but feel a little shortchanged after each transaction; his re-recorded dialogue isn’t delivered with quite the same kind of goofy charm as that of the grizzled original. However, in the scheme of things it says a lot for the overall quality of this remake when the only minor black mark I can give it is for its slightly blander black market dealer – and if this is your first time playing it won’t bother you in the slightest.
It’s also a shame that The Mercenaries mode isn’t included at launch, although it’s reassuring to know that it will be coming as part of a free update sometime in the future, and I’m extremely keen to tackle its frantic time attack challenges with the benefits of Leon’s more malleable move set. In the meantime there’s a New Game+ mode and a lengthy list of in-game challenges to complete in order to unlock additional weapons, costumes, and concept art, though it seems that bonus modes Assignment Ada and Separate Ways that were present in older versions of Resident Evil 4 have either been scrapped or potentially saved for DLC. Their loss isn’t that big of a deal since they were never as huge a draw as The Mercenaries for me personally, but when a campaign is consistently this amazing, it’s hard not to feel greedy for a little bit more.
Bethesda’s upcoming RPG Starfield has received a Restricted rating due to its depiction of “interactive drug use,” the Australian Classification Board has announced. It is Australia’s strongest classification, meaning sales of Bethesda’s new RPG will be restricted to adults over 18 in Australia.
Violence was classified as having a “Strong Impact,” while nudity and sex received very low ratings. Drug use did the most to drive Starfield’s ratings, which its depiction being classified as “High Impact.” Starfield’s rating is stronger than Fallout 4, which received an MA-15 rating for its violence when it was released back in 2015.
Bethesda’s RPGs have long been known for their explicit content, including featuring a fictional drug called “Jet” that your character can get addicted to in-game. This is the strongest rating to date, though, offering a hint of what to expect when it’s eventually released later this year.
A little more insight into Starfield
While Bethesda has delved into some of Starfield’s systems and gameplay, there’s still a good deal we don’t known. Back in 2022 we interviewed director Todd Howard, where he talked about how it would mix handcrafted content with a procedurally-generated galaxy, among other features.
Starfield was originally supposed in late 2022, but was subsequently delayed into 2023. Xbox boss Phil Spencer supported the delay and said “the decision to give the team the time to build the game that they feel they should be building is just the right thing to do.”
Starfield is currently slated to release September 6 on PC and Xbox Series X|S, and has been confirmed to be available Day 1 on Xbox Game Pass.
Hyperkin, the company that makes retro-inspired gaming accessories for modern-day consoles, is at it again. Instead of making an original Xbox controller this time, the company has decided to jump a generation and create an Xbox 360-style controller for the Xbox Series X|S called the Xenon.
The Xenon is set to come out on June 6 and will be priced at USD 49.99. You’ll be able to buy the controller in black, white, pink, or red.
Additionally, the 360-inspired controller will come with precision analog impulse triggers, a view and share button allowing you to take screenshots and record gameplay, vibration feedback, a 3.5 mm headset jack, and a detachable Type-C cable so you can charge/update your controller.
The controller was announced last November and is named after the original codename given to the Xbox 360’s first console iteration.
This isn’t the first time Hyperkin has decided to pay homage older Xbox consoles. On its website, you can purchase a Duke wired controller that works on the Xbox Series X|S and even the iconic single-ear-piece headset used in the 360 era.
You can play a pre-order for the Xenon controller on the Hyperkin Website on May 5.
Hi Luis Joshua Gutierrez is a freelance writer who loves games. You can reach him at @ImLuisGutierrez on Twitter.
Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard has been confusing global officials for over a year. What’s even more confusing is a reference to PlayStation’s Superman in a case underway in the U.K.
The legal team representing Microsoft referenced a PlayStation Superman game in a document responding to the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) provisional findings regarding concerns the company’s nearly $70 billion acquisition of the publisher may render Activision Blizzard games exclusive to Xbox should the merger go through… but that reference was most likely a typo.
In Section 2.20, where it discusses the impact the merger will have on PlayStation exclusive titles on Xbox console sales, it wrote, “This applies for ‘big titles’ like God of War and Superman. There has never been evidence that exclusivity of one single franchise can drive console sales.”
The problem is, a Superman game hasn’t been made for the PS5 or PS4. In fact, the last time a Superman game was made for a PlayStation console was Superman Returns, the video game adaptation of the 2006 movie of the same name starring Brandon Routh as the Man of Steel, for PS2.
The superhero game Microsoft’s attorneys probably meant to write in that section is Marvel’s Spider-Man, as it was mentioned three times throughout the document. Insomniac Games made that game and Spider-Man: Miles Morales exclusively for PS4 and PS5. Although, both games aren’t necessarily PlayStation-exclusive titles anymore since they got ported over to PC last fall, especially the remastered version of the former.
If you tried looking for a Superman game on the PlayStation Store because of the typo, you’re out of luck. But don’t worry, you’ll get to see him in Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, which reportedly got delayed to later this year because of the backlash directed at the gameplay shown off during Sony’s recent State of Play live stream. The game also generated controversy over Rocksteady Games making it online-only, even in single player mode.
Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.
I’m not exactly sure why a developer best known for quiet, choice-filled games that border on interactive movies is so interested in turning them into arcade-style rail shooters, but Supermassive Games is taking another crack at exactly that – this time with the help of the new PlayStation VR2 headset. Like Until Dawn: Rush of Blood before it, The Dark Pictures: Switchback VR focuses less on storytelling and more on action to mixed results. While it’s fun to blast through ghouls and bats in my path, this spinoff is plagued by many of the same issues as its predecessor, including a disappointingly short runtime.
Switchback VR’s story feels like an afterthought, putting you in the role of an unnamed protagonist on a hellish rollercoaster ride across ten different stages. Most are locations featured in the first season of The Dark Pictures Anthology, but you’re never really told much about why the protagonist is visiting them or any of the few supporting characters they meet. That’s partially because Switchback VR is very short, only taking me about four hours to complete, but it’s disappointing all the same, given how good of a job Supermassive usually does providing backstory and depth to its characters.
But what it lacks in story, Switchback VR mostly makes up for in gameplay. While the on-rails nature of its action naturally limits where you can go, you are able to move your head to look around in any direction in VR. It was fun to quickly turn each time I heard eerie screams or enemies creeping up on me in the background or occasionally having to physically duck to avoid falling beams and leaning pillars. That situational awareness is key as enemies will sometimes sneakily appear to the left and right of your peripheral vision.
You will always have two guns to fend off enemies, each independently controlled with the PS VR2’s Sense controllers. While you start every level with the default pistols, you can grab ammo-limited alternatives like a revolver or a machine gun by shooting red crates that appear in convenient sections of each stage. It’s annoying that these special weapons are locked into the hand you initially shot the crate with, but you can still have some fun switching up your strategy for a bit when you find them. For example, you could use a machine gun to swiftly remove enemies close to your cart and conserve ammo by firing the pistol at enemies further away. Other weapons like a flare gun are required to solve certain puzzles and progress further – they do not require a lot of thought to solve, as you just need to shoot at certain objects to keep the track moving forward, but it is a nice change of pace from just shooting hordes of enemies.
Shooting feels responsive and the motion-controlled aiming is very accurate.
The shooting mechanics themselves have been simplified for VR, with firing and reloading both mapped to two buttons on each Sense controller since so few are needed overall. That’s not a bad thing as on-rail shooters focus more on throwing as many enemies at you as possible in a short period of time than nuanced gunplay. Still, shooting in Switchback VR feels responsive and the motion-controlled aiming is very accurate, which made headshots extremely rewarding each time I pulled one off.
The heads you’ll be popping vary depending on the stage you’re on, ranging from standard zombies to flying vampires. Most of these enemies will be familiar to those that played any of the first season of The Dark Pictures Anthology, each a faithful recreation of the monsters from those games. Killing enemies or destroying inanimate objects such as bottles, empty crates, and skulls will increase your score for a level, which is a nice incentive to deal as much damage as you can. There are even local and online leaderboards for you to compare scores with other players, but it feels like a shallow exercise when they don’t measure important factors like accuracy.
Switchback VR nails the creepy atmosphere and tension of each stage – from the dark and abandoned World War 2 freighter seen in Man of Medan to the sandy underground ruins of the ancient empire featured in House of Ashes. Unfortunately, the frequent overuse of cheap jump scares quickly overshadows any building suspense provided by a given location. While the first two enjoyably caught me by surprise, it doesn’t take long for them to become more annoying than alarming.
But while the jumpscares did little to keep me on the edge of my seat, the handful of sections where Switchback VR took advantage of the PS VR2’s eye-tracking were actually impressively unsettling. These areas have enemies that move closer and closer to you each time you blink, which is an incredibly novel experience for any game that left me wanting to see more. It’s a shame that only a few moments of Switchback VR make use of this concept, but the parts that do are a great showcase of the potential of this new tech in future horror games made for the headset.
The little bit of variety alternate routes offer isn’t very memorable.
Although Supermassive has done a good job of including some of the PS VR2’s new technology, Switchback VR still feels a bit technologically unpolished in a few places. I noticed a few performance issues while playing: Some background textures, like tree branches, would randomly appear as the cart moved closer to them, and I had three instances where the screen froze for a few seconds. These issues were relatively minor and didn’t totally throw my ride off the rails, but they were still noticeable and annoying on such a brief trip.
Despite its short length, Switchback VR does offer some replayability by letting you go down different routes that help shake up each run. Most of these decisions are made by shooting at specific gates that allow you to change your cart’s course, which is a nice way to blend that choice into the action. You even get a complete view of your route at the end of each stage, along with a tease of the alternate paths you could have taken, encouraging me to go back in and see what I missed. That said, the little bit of variety those routes offer isn’t very memorable when you can still see everything Switchback VR has to offer in two or three playthroughs.
In addition to changing your route, some stages give you an option to save, kill, or abandon survivors that appear in some stages. Each survivor is tied to an optional puzzle that gives you amount of time to at objects in a specific order. However, like most of Supermassive’s games, the majority of these small decision points have little or no impact on the overall story.
Boss fights are also included at the end of some stages, but their execution leaves a lot to be desired. These battles pit you against antagonists from their respective Dark Pictures entries, such as the final form of the Sailor Girl in Man of Medan, whose boss battle consists of her levitating and throwing projectiles at you. Most of the boss fights end up boring and unremarkable, like busy work to slow you down rather than an epic obstacle you must overcome to finish the stage.
