One of my all-time favourite gaming laptops is £300 off at Ebuyer UK today. The Lenovo Legion 5 Pro offers sterling performance in a slim, stylish chassis, and now you can pick up a model with an 11th-gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 512GB NVMe SSD and RTX 3060 graphics card for £899.98.
Mike Ybarra, the president of Blizzard Entertainment, has clarified the global release times for Diablo 4 and confirmed that those who pre-ordered the Deluxe and Ultimate editions will be the first to play on June 1, 2023.
Ybarra took to Twitter to correct a previous tweet of his that discussed the global release times of Diablo 4, and he shared exactly when fans can jump into the highly anticipated game that just ended its very well-received beta.
Oops, I was wrong! Early access for Deluxe and Ultimate pre-orders in the US is Thursday 6/1 at 4PM, 6/2 at 12am in Europe, 6/2 at 8am in Asia. Regular launch 6/5 at 4pm, 6/6 at 12am Europe, and 6/6 8am Asia. https://t.co/ArlnmZE3AJ
— Mike Ybarra (@Qwik) April 5, 2023
“Oops, I was wrong! Early access for Deluxe and Ultimate pre-orders in the US is Thursday 6/1 at 4PM, 6/2 at 12am in Europe, 6/2 at 8am in Asia. Regular launch 6/5 at 4pm, 6/6 at 12am Europe, and 6/6 8am Asia,” Ybarra wrote.
In follow-up Tweets, he confirmed the US time was in Pacific, so that would translate to 7pm ET. For Europe, he meant British Standard Time, and for Asia, he meant Korea Standard Time.
As for our impressions of the Diablo 4 beta, we said it was “extremely impressive so far.”
“I’m more convinced than ever that this hellish action RPG is on track to deliver something truly special,” IGN’s Travis Northup wrote. “I continue to adore its build-crafting system, the joy of spontaneous alliances that its online model allows for, and the surprisingly engaging combat, which was made even better with the new classes in play.”
Blizzard also shared a bit of info on the beta, including how many times players died, which classes were the most played, and more.
For more, check out the eight biggest changes in Diablo 4 and watch as a streamer successfully solos world boss Ashava.
Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
The awkward silent moments that linger between conversations when meeting new people at restaurants or cafes, waiting for the food to arrive. Your mind looks for distractions. Your thoughts go wild.
Persona Theory Games wants you to not only experience that discomfort but also to understand its purpose through their latest game Kabaret, a dark fantasy folklore visual novel based on Southeast Asian culture and myths.
It may seem easy to just click your way through the entirety of Kabaret, but players must find patience in themselves as they go through the game. The game’s intentional slow pacing forces the player to ponder and soak in the experience, while allowing the mechanics of the game to inaugurate the story that’s being told.
With Kabaret, the game’s main focus is the narrative. The gameplay mechanics and minigames found within the game exist to bring out the narrative behind the world through its characters, which is the essence of Kabaret. The tea ceremony is a representation of Southeast Asian culture and one of the many mechanics built in as design to give the player a subliminal lesson in patience.
Persona Theory Games believes that the slow pacing of Kabaret mimics the feeling of boredom with a specific purpose in mind.
In recent studies, social neuroscientists have found that boredom can foster creative ideas, refill dwindling reservoirs, replenish the energy for work and provide an incubation period for embryonic work ideas to hatch.
It is this exact feeling and purpose that Persona Theory Games want people to experience. Being bored is an essential part of being human and one of boredom’s purposes is to drive us to take action. This feeling is an essential part of slow cinema – a genre of film characterized by long takes and a minimalist aesthetic – and Kabaret draws inspiration from slow cinema to immerse you in its dark universe.
Slow cinema puts the viewer in a sensory-deprived situation that forces them to think. The lack of stimuli will either create internal chaos or allow the viewer to realize a sense of peace in the mundane. Without editing or splicing, it makes the viewer feel real time, an essential aspect of slow cinema that creative director of Persona Theory Games, Buddy Anwardi, admires.
Persona Theory Games believes that this aspect of the game is able to create a sense of mindfulness and awareness that we all take for granted with the overload of information from social media forums like TikTok, Youtube and others.
As gamers of today seek the adrenaline hit from fast-paced gameplay, the goal of Kabaret is to encourage mindfulness while playing. Understand the story, think about the meaning and value of life, which explains the many life decisions the player must make in the game.
In the world of Kabaret, the dwellers are made up of ghosts and monsters who are either coping with regret or hoping to find their true selves. Are they still human? Is it so wrong to be a monster? What does it mean to continue suffering in the afterlife after all the hardship found in real life?
We understand that life can be full of suffering, but it is rewarding in its own way. Taking the time to understand the horrors and suffering that these characters have gone through is a big part of the narrative experience. Serving these Southeast Asian mythical creatures tea, waiting for it to brew while embracing the uncomfortable and still silence that we so often fear. Understand their pain and maybe you can find out who you really are.
The losses you feel when playing Guli with ghosts from old wars that taunt you. Understand the intricate game of Congkak with a trickster monster laughing at your horrible math skills. The lessons of strategizing, being prudent and accepting defeat. Realize that every calculative action you make has far reaching consequences.
People are searching for ways to escape the fast pace of the modern world. Why not find a sense of renewal and develop a sense of belonging by serving the dwellers at Kabaret. Let the music and experience of Kabaret give you a new perspective on what it means to save your humanity or be a monster.
Kabaret is available on Xbox Today! You may follow Persona Theory Games on Twitter to stay notified about the game’s release and updates.
Persona Theory Games
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At the start of the Nintendo Switch’s life, we were treated to what is widely considered to be one of the best, if not the best, game ever created: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. After years of waiting, as we approach the end of the Switch’s life, we’re getting a follow-up: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. It’s set in the same Hyrule, kind of. It stars the same main characters… probably. There’s still a lot we don’t know!
Basically, all we know for sure is you can fuse items together to build things. Is your spear not long enough? Fuse it to a stick. Boom. Stickspear. I’m sold. Well, to be fair, I actually preordered it years ago without knowing much more than “it exists, it’s a Breath of the Wild follow-up, therefore I need it.”
If you’re interested in preordering Tears of the Kingdom, there’s no shortage of places to do so. Some retailers are tossing in cute little extras to entice you to plop down your money with them. For example, Best Buy will toss in a free art print (a $9.99 value!) while GameStop is offering a wooden plaque. I guess they’re hoping freebies will take a little away from the sting of a $70 Nintendo Switch game, the first-ever at that price point.
If you can’t wait until May to get a little bit of Tears of the Kingdom in your life, you can get yourself a Nintendo Switch OLED Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Special Edition console. The Joy-con and dock are adorned with designs evocative of the game’s aesthetic, and honestly it’s one of the best special-edition Switch consoles of all time, at least in my opinion.
It’s very easy to get your hands on one of these consoles, as all major retailers have them in stock and available for preorder ahead of their April 28 release. If you’re still using your day-1 Nintendo Switch, it might be worth an upgrade. The OLED screen makes a huge difference in hand-held mode, with bright, vibrant colors that just pop so hard. If you’re a collector, I don’t know why you’re reading this, because you already preordered one.
There’s also the Tear of the Kingdom special edition Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, which is impossible to get. It sold out very quickly, and hasn’t come back into stock yet. Will it? Maybe. It’s kind of hard to say. Nintendo is nothing if not unpredictable when it comes to how they handle their special edition hardware. You can still get a special edition Animal Crossing Switch, for example, but good luck finding a much-less attractive Let’s Go Pokemon Switch.
You also probably won’t be finding the Tears of the Kingdom Collector’s Edition in stock any time soon, or at all. But again, Nintendo! They might have tens of thousands of them ready to deploy, or they might not. It’s like gambling, basically. If you do manage to score one, you get the game, a steelbook cover, a set of pins, an art book and a Tears of the Kingdom poster. It’s pretty sweet. Not sure if it’s $129.99 sweet, but I managed to secure one anyway. For research purposes, obviously.
Also, you can now preorder the Tears of the Kingdom Link amiibo for your collection. Hopefully the new game will have improved amiibo integration over its predecessor. The original was great, don’t get me wrong, but I crave more. The downside for me is any improvements could end up making me regret selling my Wolf Link amiibo.
If you’re looking to show off your Legend of Zelda fandom, we have a ton of Zelda apparel and collectibles at the IGN Store, and it covers the entire series, from the OG on the NES all the way up to Breath of the Wild. So whether or not you’re a Toon Link or crave a more ultra-realistic version, there’s something for you to enjoy.
For bucking up on your Zelda knowledge, Dark Horse has an excellent series of books: Hyrule Historia, Art & Artifacts, and The Legend of Zelda Encyclopedia. Hyrule Historia introduces a timeline for the series, and while I personally think it’s kind of silly, a lot of people get really mad at me when I question its validity. The three-book set is definitely worth getting, but any one of them is a great standalone Zelda experience. I’m particularly fond of Art & Artifacts, because I just like looking at super-detailed illustrations of the Master Sword. But I’m also not normal.
Viz Media handles publishing of the many Legend of Zelda manga adaptations, and you can buy them one at a time or in various boxed sets. They’re quite lovely. You should check them out.
There’s also a spectacular Link to the Past manga collection, also by Viz Media, written and illustrated by Shotaro Ishinomori. It collects the comics that originally ran in the early 1990s in Nintendo Power, and as someone who was both alive and a loyal Nintendo Power reader, I read and reread those particular issues until they were tattered. Having them all in one book is both convenient and delightful. Highly recommended.
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom arrives May 12, which isn’t very far away, but also seems like an insurmountable amount of time to wait for what will probably be the best game ever created. I’m very optimistic, if it weren’t obvious already. Hopefully you can snag some of the cooler items in the meantime, and if not, you can find something to fill the Legend of Zelda-shaped hole in your heart.
Last time, you decided that time loops are better than resuming interrupted reloads. We thankfully won’t need to re-run that result, but we cannot fully leave the past behind us. One eagle-eyed reader observed that time loops and staged reloads “aren’t really comparable”, and I cannot overstate my embarrassment at having made such an obvious mistake. My deepest apologies to everyone who has trusted me to conduct this research with great rigour. I must do better. So reader dearest, I now ask you to pick between two things we can all agree are two of a kind. What’s better: dark darkness, or bioluminescence?
Phil Harrison, vice president of Google and former head of Stadia, has confirmed he has left the company.
According to a report from Business Insider, two employees familiar with the matter said Harrison quietly left Google around the time the company shut down the short-lived game streaming service after it failed to gain traction in a competitive gaming market. His LinkedIn profile has been updated to say he ended his time with the search engine giant this month.
A veteran of the gaming industry, Harrison joined Google in 2018 after working at Sony for over a decade and three years at Microsoft. From Stadia’s announcement at GDC 2019, he championed the platform as the “future of gaming” as it gave players access to their favorite games, including Assassin’s Creed Odyssey and Cyberpunk 2077, through Google’s cloud service without the need to purchase expensive consoles. He even hosted two Connect streams, where he would announce the games being added to the service in a format similar to Nintendo Direct.
In 2021, as Stadia struggled to attract gamers, Harrison wrote a blog post on The Keyword announcing the closure of Stadia Games and Entertainment (SG&E) and disappeared from the public eye. On September 29, 2022, he announced that Stadia would be shutting down for good this January, and Google began issuing refunds to those who purchased the Stadia controller and games through the Google Play Store.
Where Harrison will head next is currently unknown. Google recently admitted that it didn’t do well creating a cloud gaming service on its own via Stadia, but it is now doing better partnering with game companies to support their live-service games on Google Cloud.
Photo credit: Bloomberg / Getty Images
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.
Covering the good, the bad and the ugly.
The Super Mario Bros. Movie is finally out today and we have some thoughts. There are thoughts about things that we liked, thoughts about things that we didn’t like, and thoughts about all things in between. We managed to get a lot of these down into our review, but a movie of this size was always going to benefit from the ol’ conversation treatment too, so that’s exactly what we’ve done.
In the above video, Alex and Jim team up to discuss their thoughts on the movie, covering the story, animation, score and that all-important voice cast. While the chat steers clear of any major spoilers, the pair do discuss several plot points, so if you want to go in completely blind, we would say that this is best watched after you have seen the movie — that way, you can join in and see if you agree or disagree with our comments.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Greetings, Adventurers!
The Fox-summoning “Do” wielder of the Jwado School and newest addition to the roster, Maegu, is available now for Black Desert on Xbox! Maegu has similar, yet distinct characteristics and combat style from her twin sister, Woosa, who was released last December. We are very excited to introduce this new class as she has quite the (Fox) Charm; let’s take a look at her weapons and key skills.
Signing a deal with a revered fox spirit, Maegu lures her enemies with the Fox Charm, then lands a fatal blow with the Binyeo Knife.
Maegu channels various spells through the Fox Spirit Charm. She can tackle enemies from long distances, and spread a dazzling display of Fox Spirit Charms.
Much like a fox, Maegu is cunning on the battlefield. Her swift movement enables her to instantly avoid enemies and dodge incoming attacks.
Maegu can also collaborate with the revered Fox Spirit on coordinated attacks that can confuse and devastate approaching enemies.
Maegu flows in with an array of combat moves and abilities that would make any enemy turn and run. Skills such as the Tethered Souls ability enable her to throw her Fox Charm and disrupt opponent movements, gaining the opportunity to then thrust her handy Binyeo Knife in their chest as shown below.
Maegu can also take a more stealthy and cunning approach by using the Foxspirit: Deceiver ability. With it, Maegu creates a doppelganger to freely switch between in the midst of battle in order to confuse enemies. Whatever skill you choose to utilize in combat, Maegu has you covered for every strategy in your arsenal.
Along with the new class release, Black Desert is also launching a new season. If you are just starting out, this is a perfect time to create a new seasonal character and start your journey. The season servers are designed to focus on character growth, making it easier for Adventurers to get accustomed to the world of Black Desert.
Season servers are only accessible during certain periods, and only season characters can access these special servers. As you progress through the season server and gain valuable experience, season characters can graduate and enjoy the rest of the content available in Black Desert. Season servers not only have special equipment, but also a variety of benefits.
This season, new fishing benefits have been added so players can exchange Season server-exclusive fish for seasonal growth items. Fishing on the season servers will not only get you great items, but also Combat XP!
You can enjoy Black Desert on Xbox Game Pass today. Jump into the game this weekend during Black Desert’s Xbox Free Play Weekend — No Game Pass subscription necessary!
Pearl Abyss
Black Desert is a living-world MMORPG. Experience fast-paced, action-packed combat, hunt monsters and huge bosses, fight with friends in a guild to siege nodes and region castles, train your life skills such as fishing, trading, crafting, cooking, and much more!
Players will enjoy jaw-dropping graphics,
intuitive skill-based combat, and an immersive story encased in our expansive
world that’s just waiting to be explored. Accompanied by a Black Spirit, a
companion whose destiny is intertwined with their own, players will discover
the secret of the Black Stones and the history of their corrupting effects.
In a medieval fantasy setting, the game
chronicles a conflict between two rival nations, the Republic of Calpheon and
the Kingdom of Valencia. With a battle based on achievements and personal
qualifications, Black Desert gives full control to players that can directly
aim, escape and make numerous different skill combinations.
[Accolades]
– Join over 10 Million Registered Users in Black Desert
– The 10 Best MMOs of 2017 – MMORPG.com
– 2016 Best new MMORPG – MMORPG.com
– 2016 MMORPG OF THE YEAR – MASSIVLY OP
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The God of War Ragnarök New Game Plus (NG+) update is available now. To make sure you’re ready to jump back into the Nine Realms, we’ve put together everything you need to know below.
New equipment, an increased level cap, new Enchantments – all this and more is introduced with God of War Ragnarök’s NG+ mode. As soon as you’ve beaten the game, you’ll be able to dive right into a NG+ save to experience the story again with many more gameplay options available from the start.
Your equipment, weapons (including the Draupnir Spear), and skills will carry over from your previous save, so you’ll be able to use your entire arsenal from the beginning of your journey.
Please note that you will not start the game with access to Sonic and Hex arrows. All areas requiring either those arrows or the Draupnir Spear to access will not unlock until you have reached the point in the main questline in which they become available via the story.
Armor of the Black Bear
Rest assured, we’ve been taking note of the requests to add Kratos’ cloak from the opening scene since the launch of God of War Ragnarök.
The Armor of the Black Bear will keep Kratos bundled up against the Fimbulwinter frost even after the sled chase. Its stats focus on Strength and Defense with a perk that rewards your last-second evades with a volley of Bifröst shards.
Your NG+ run will begin with the Armor of the Black Bear already equipped.
Spartan Armor
If you want a serious test of your skills and to take on the toughest challenge you can get in God of War Ragnarök, the Spartan Armor is for you. With no Perk, no Stats, and locked at Power Level 1 – the Spartan Armor lets you take a more… well, spartan approach towards protection.
This set is perfect for those of you who want to strip down your power to the minimum and leave no room for error. If you’re brave enough to face the coming of Ragnarök pecs-first, then give the set a try!
If you’re more into the Spartan General look and less into the challenging gameplay, you can always transmog this armor onto another set to achieve the look without sacrificing protection.
The Spartan Armor can be acquired for Hacksilver at Huldra Brothers’ Shop.
Ares Armor
Returning favorites from God of War 2018’s New Game Plus are the Ares and Zeus armors with new visuals and Perks.
The Ares Armor rewards the lucky with a chance to drop a Health Stone on hit. When you stomp the Health Stone, you also get a rage gain alongside a bigger explosion.
The Ares Armor can be purchased for Hacksilver at Huldra Brothers’ Shop.
Zeus Armor
The Zeus Armor will enable the ultimate risk-reward playstyle. This set greatly increases your Melee and Runic damage, while also increasing incoming damage.
A single hit could be enough to take even Kratos down with the Zeus Armor equipped, so you’ll need to be mindful of where your enemies are while you prepare to deal out punishment with the raw power this armor provides.
The Zeus Armor can be acquired by defeating Gná the Valkyrie Queen and completing certain Remnants of Asgard on a NG+ save.
Spartan Aspis – New Shield
The Spartan Aspis returns in God of War Ragnarök and displays Kratos’ heritage boldly.
The Spartan Aspis is similar to the trusted Guardian Shield, but it has a significantly tighter Parry window. While more challenging to time, successful Parries yield a more damaging reward.
The Spartan Aspis can be purchased at Huldra Brothers’ Shop with Hacksilver.
For those of you looking to keep things fresh, we’ve also remixed 13 of our existing armors with new color combinations and styles that were previously unavailable.
These appearances can be bought at Huldra Brothers’ Shop and applied to any of your existing Level 9+ armor in the transmog menu. The new Berserker Armor appearance can be acquired after defeating the Berserker King on NG+.
In NG+, both Kratos and your enemies will become more powerful with an increased level cap. You will be able to convert all your Level 9 equipment (armor, weapons, weapon components, and shields) into new ‘Plus’ versions that will provide additional levels of progression.
Converting your equipment will also yield a Gilded Coin that can be used to purchase one of the new Enchantments from the shop.
We’ve also added a quality-of-life adjustment to the shop, so you’ll be able to purchase and sell resources incrementally. Buy and selling materials to get your equipment in tiptop shape for your NG+ run is now smoother than Kratos’ scalp.
Gilded Coins – Engraving and Badge Enchantments
If you ever agonized over an armor choice because you couldn’t choose a favorite Perk, the new Enchantments available in the shop are for you! These take a selection of powerful and versatile perks from Armor (Engravings) and Shield Rönds (Badges), allowing you to equip them in your Amulet as Enchantments.
For example, you can purchase the Dragon Engraving, which has the Dragon Scaled Breastplate Perk, Dragon’s Fury (Blocks and Parries grant a Strength/Defense stacking buff). You can equip that in your Amulet while wearing a different chest piece like the new Cuirass of Ares, allowing you to combine two different chest armor perks at once.
The most powerful enchantments from the Gilded Coins will require certain Stat thresholds to be met to encourage and reward you for getting clever with your builds. With so many new options available, we can’t wait to see which combinations you make.
Berserker Soul Drops – Stat Boost Enchantments
Defeating the Berserker Souls on NG+ will also reward you with new Enchantments to equip. While not as flashy as some of the Perk Enchantments, these will give you big boosts to select stats so you can lean into whatever build you like best even more.
Burdens
Burdens are a new set of Enchantments that will allow you to equip negative Perks for a tailor-made challenge.
For example, the Burden of Evasion will automatically give Kratos the Frost status effect when he rolls.
For those of you seeking to ramp up the difficulty with an exceptionally brutal experience, you can combine Burdens with the Spartan Armor.
We’ve also added a new UI option called Show Difficulty (Difficulty HUD Visualization), which will display the current difficulty setting on the HUD, as well as how many Burdens you have equipped. Feel free to flex a little bit for your friends.
Burdens can be purchased at the Huldra Brothers’ Shop with Hacksilver.
New Skill Mod Plus
Upgrade your existing Skill Mod tokens using XP to further enhance the effects of your favorite Mods.
Platinum Tier Labors
Carry over any progress from your Kill Labors or Ratatasks and continue to unlock a new Platinum Tier of rewards.
Additional Stat Gains
Nornir Chests will now provide Yggdrasil Dew to allow players to push Stats far beyond their previous limits.
The Sparring Arena in Niflheim in NG+ will give you a ton of new options to play with! Alongside a selection of new enemies for you to face off against, you will now be able to play as either Kratos or Atreus and choose any of the following companion characters to fight beside you: Atreus (with Kratos), Freya, Brok, Sindri, Angrboda, Ingrid, Thor, and Thrúd.
With any companion combination possible, we can’t wait to see how creative you can get in gameplay and in Photo Mode.
Got comfortable fighting the Berserker Souls and the Valkyrie Queen Gná? We’ve made sure the toughest optional fights have a few switch-ups in NG+ so even if you’ve beaten them before, they’ll still pack a punch when you meet them again.
Available on All Difficulties in NG+
The Hateful and the Ormstunga, two of our optional mini-bosses, have been given a few new tricks. Be sure to pay them a visit when you can in your NG+ run.
Available on Give Me No Mercy and Give Me God of War in NG+
If you choose to play on Give Me No Mercy or Give Me God of War difficulties, all bosses and mini-bosses will have Runic Armor. Strategic Runic usage in these fights can make the difference between victory and defeat.
In NG+, enemies turning elite can now also happen on Give Me No Mercy in addition to Give Me God of War. Elite enemies will gain an increase in Power Level, so make sure you keep a special eye on them when you see one transform in combat.
Looking to experience the story again with a more cinematic twist? After you beat the game once, you will have access to a new Black and White Render Mode for any subsequent NG+ or standard New Game saves.
You can find the new mode under the Graphics & Camera settings menu.
We hope you enjoy NG+ in God of War Ragnarök, available now.
Nvidia have previewed the upcoming Overdrive Mode for Cyberpunk 2077, showcasing how it replaces the game’s already extensive ray tracing effects with full path tracing. Why Nvidia and not the developers, CD Projekt Red? Well, that might have something to do with Overdrive Mode being such a graphics card shatterer that it will supposedly take a GeForce RTX 40 series GPU – with DLSS 3 in effect – to run.
