Category: Video Games

Poll: What Did You Think Of The February 2023 Pokémon Presents, Then?

Feeling sleepy?

Another Pokémon Presents showcase has come and gone, with new announcements including DLC for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, a collaboration between Pokémon and Netflix in the form of Pokémon Concierge, the re-emergence of Pokémon Sleep, and more.

We’ll be honest, it wasn’t quite the knockout showcase we were hoping for here at Nintendo Life. With the prior announcements that Pokémon Stadium and Pokémon Trading Card Game would be coming to Nintendo Switch Online, we were perhaps looking to be surprised with some release dates or — dare we say it — shadow drops.

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Battle your Way through the Void in Neo-Noir Love Story El Paso, Elsewhere

Summary

  • From the mind behind Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator comes a neo-noir third-person shooter about killing the monster you loved.
  • Battle supernatural creatures from across space and time with an arsenal of deadly weapons.
  • El Paso, Elsewhere is coming to Xbox consoles and PC this Fall.

Sometimes, your greatest enemies are your own memories.

We’re telling a new kind of love story in El Paso, Elsewhere, the latest title from my studio, the developers behind Space Warlord Organ Trading Simulator, Strange Scaffold. A nightmarish one-way trip set deep beneath a motel in El Paso, Texas, you’ll unravel a tale about addiction and heartbreak as you shoot and stake monsters from horror movies and our own minds. El Paso, Elsewhere is coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC this Fall.

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The setup is, after learning that the world as we know it is going to be destroyed in an arcane ritual, recovering drug addict and Black folklore researcher James Savage returns to his hometown of El Paso, Texas. In a fight to save reality itself from being consumed by the Forces Beyond, he has to travel to a strange motel, clearing the floors that have mysteriously appeared beneath it of horrific creatures while saving hostages along the way. The lord of the vampires – and his ex – Draculae, is behind the plot, opening old wounds and abandoned coping mechanisms.

Inspired by the Max Payne-era of games, El Paso, Elsewhere is combining raw third-person action with a heavy, neo-noir narrative. As James Savage, you’ll be able to mow down the monstrous creatures you come across with a variety of weapons, including dual pistols, uzis, shotguns and – naturally – stakes. When you run out of ammo, you can always smash the wooden furniture located throughout the dimension-hopping biomes under the motel for more stakes. But you have to be careful: staking a creature means getting painfully close to the monsters guarding Draculae.

Interior

Savage also has some extra tricks up his sleeve, including Bullet Time. By diving or with the press of a single button, you can make the world slow down, letting you aim precise headshots or dodge attacks with ease. You can also leap into the air and bounce off of nearby walls to give your dive more airtime or a better vantage point. With near-inhuman movements and the ammo littering the floors you’ll explore, you will be able to tear through Draculae’s army.

But not every battle can be fought with guns. Through his descent, Savage will battle with his own memories – coming to terms with everything that brought him back to his hometown of El Paso, Texas and the fact that he might have to kill the monster he once loved. Through lush, minimal 3D cinematics, you’ll learn the tragic story of James and Draculae, and the roads they traveled to end up once again facing each other—this time, as enemies at the end of the world.

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El Paso, Elsewhere is set to launch this Fall on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC. Follow us on Twitter at @StrangeScaffold or visit https://linktr.ee/strangescaffold for more.

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Sons of the Forest system requirements, PC performance and the best settings to use

Sons of the Forest to be my leisure time bag, though it’s always entertaining to performance-test a PC game that’s constantly trying to kill you. This analysis and settings guide, then, is brought to you the ragged nerves of someone that’s spent several hours being screamed at by camouflaged cannibals, having only survived long enough to hear them by consuming several tins of cat food. Honestly, I am more cat food than man at this point.

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Pokémon Presents February 2023: Everything Announced During the Pokémon Day 2023 Celebration

Pokémon Day 2023 is in full swing and, as is tradition, The Pokémon Company hosted a special Pokémon Presents event on February 27 to unveil all the exciting developments coming in the world of Pokémon.

Featuring all manners of announcements from the Pokémon games, TCG, television series, and more, the headlining reveal was perhaps in Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s Hidden Treasure of Area Zero expansion.

IGN has you covered right here with every single bit of news, big and small, that was announced during the February Pokémon Presents event.

Pokémon World Championship Dates and Key Art Revealed

The Pokémon Company kicked off the special by announcing the dates for the Pokémon World Championship taking place in Yokohama, Japan, alongside the event’s key art.

From August 11 to 23, 2023, Pokémon players of the trading card game, Scarlet and Violet, Pokémon GO, and more will meet to compete for the title of Pokémon Master.

The key art, drawn in a traditional Japanese style, features Pokémon Scarlet and Violet’s starter Pokémon alongside Pikachu, of course, and can be viewed below.

Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic Announced

A new version of the original Pokémon Trading Card Game’s Base Set was announced next in the form of the Pokémon Trading Card Game Classic.

Though its exact nature is still unclear, this appears to be a one-off purchase, almost like a board game, of classic Pokémon card decks with a game board and pieces included.

Described by The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara as “a premium Pokémon TCG set that will last a lifetime,” the event asked we be patient and wait for more information.

Pokémon Concierge Is a Stop-Motion Animation Series For Netflix

Another surprise announcement followed in the form of Pokémon Concierge, a partnership between The Pokémon Company and Netflix.

The series will be created using stop-motion animation and features Haru, the concierge of the Pokémon Resort, and her trusty partner Pokémon Psyduck.

We don’t know much else about Pokémon Concierge, but it will be an original story and, from the looks of things, will be relatively light-hearted and bright.

Pokémon Unite Is Getting Sword’s Zacian

The legendary Pokémon Zacian from Pokémon Sword is officially coming to Pokémon Unite with its Sovereign Sword special attack.

Its addition to the game is also being celebrated with a special Zacian’s Weald event and players can also pick up a gold Zacian boost emblem using the Gift Code POKEMONDAY.

Details on the Pokémon Unite Asia Championship League was also shared, and The Pokémon Company promised that plenty more updates are on the way.

Pokémon Café ReMix Gets Scarlet and Violet DLC

Pokémon Café ReMix is getting DLC based on Pokémon Scarlet and Violet DLC as the three starter Pokémon, Sprigatito, Fuecoco, and Quaxly, are coming to the game.

Available as part of the mini-games or as a new member of staff, the three new Pokémon are also joined by Victini, Mimikyu, Eevee, and Celebi who are returning as delivery candidates.

Finally, a special outfit for Greninja is being made available in celebration of Pokémon Day in the form of the Great Chef.

Pokémon Masters EX Gets Rally With Six Classic Trainers

Six new classic Pokémon trainers are appearing in a rally in Pokémon Masters EX.

Cynthia from Diamond and Pearl, Iris and Alder from Black and White, Diantha from X and Y, Steven from Ruby and Sapphire, Lance from Red and Blue will be available to partner up with.

A handful of other announcements were made from the game, including for DLC inspired by Pokémon Sword and Shield.

Pokémon Sleep Wakes Up, Launching This Summer

Pokémon Sleep was officially re-revealed during the event with a release window of summer 2023.

The app will track your sleeping patterns and will show you different sleep styles of the many different pocket monsters you can encounter in the game.

It aims to “turn sleeping into entertainment by having a player’s time spent sleeping, and the time they wake up, affect the gameplay,” letting players “wake up with Pokémon every morning.”

Pokémon GO Plus+ Announced for Pokémon Sleep and Pokémon GO

The Pokémon Company may already have released the Pokémon GO Plus, but it has now announced the Pokémon GO Plus+ (said as plus plus).

The new gadget is designed to work with Pokémon Sleep and, of course, Pokémon GO, and will be available on July 21 this year. A Pikachu inside the device will sing players lullabies and gets friendlier the more sleep the trainer gets.

As for its Pokémon GO functionality, the device will finally allow players to catch Pokémon and spin Poke-Stops automatically, a feature that’s otherwise only been available through third-party alternatives.

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet Expansions Announced

Pokémon Scarlet and Violet are getting expansions akin to Pokémon Sword and Shields DLC, delivering two major story expansions to the games later this year.

The first will be available in fall 2023 and is called The Teal Mask, during which players will visit an area beyond the Paldea region called Kitakami. The second expansion is The Indigo Disk and will be released in winter 2023 and have players attend Blueberry Academy as an exchange student.

Pokémon Home connectivity was also announced for Scarlet and Violet, though only a vague “early 2023” date was revealed, while Pokémon GO connectivity is available as of today. Finally, the Walking Wake and Iron Leaves Tera Raid Battles are now available in Scarlet and Violet respectively.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.

Kerbal Space Program 2 early access review: a catastrophic re-entry

Kerbal Space Program 2. The extremely anticipated sequel to everyone’s favourite rocket-building space exploration game is a hot mess. A list of bugs longer than a Saturn V reads like a terrible medical diagnosis: quivering periapsis, unpredictable methane leakage, late-stage separation anxiety, loose payloads, non-stop burning, and sensitive nodes.

The developers, smiling bravely in circumstances presumably beyond their control, describe the launch as like dropping a kid off for their first day at school. Well the kid forgot their lunchbox, their uniform, their books and their pencil case. They showed up at the wrong school, on a Saturday during half-term. If you were stranded on a desert island and had to recreate Kerbal Space Program from memory using nothing but coconuts and string, it would look something like Kerbal Space Program 2. The game is nowhere approaching finished, it barely resembles the promotional videos, and it isn’t ready, even by Early Access standards.

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Pokémon Sleep Will Help You Get A Good Night’s Rest, Coming This Year

Be careful not to snore(lax).

In one of the more unexpected announcements from today’s Pokémon Presents presentation, the company announced that a new sleep tracking app called Pokémon Sleep will be launching later on this year.

Pokémon Sleep will measure how good of a night’s rest you get and store the results for analysis. By sleeping with your phone next to you, the app will measure your stages of dozing, snoozing and slumbering, with different Pokémon appearing on your screen depending on how well you kip.

Read the full article on nintendolife.com

How Obsidian is enhancing The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition for PS5, out March 7

We at Obsidian are excited to announce a version of The Outer Worlds upgraded for PlayStation 5 – The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition. Let’s dive into some of the exciting changes we are making to this Board-approved RPG and how we approached this task.


How Obsidian is enhancing The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition for PS5, out March 7

The Outer Worlds was received incredibly well from fans all over the world and won multiple awards, so having the opportunity to improve on something we know people love has been a real pleasure. 

If you aren’t too familiar with the game, here’s a brief summary: 

Lost in transit while on a colonist ship bound for the edge of the galaxy, you awake decades after your planned date only to find yourself in the midst of a deep conspiracy threatening to destroy the colony. Explore the various planets and locations of Halcyon, including the mysterious Gorgon Asteroid and the delightful distillery on Eridanos. As you encounter various factions, all vying for power, the decisions you make determine how the narrative unfolds.

The newest generation of consoles came out just a year after the game’s original release. So for us it made sense to freshen up the base game, bundle available content, take advantage of the PlayStation 5’s latest hardware capabilities and the DualSense Controller trigger feedback to help make sure it would live on and stay relevant for many more years to come. Hence, The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition.

Here’s how the teams did it.

Going beyond visual enhancements

Sure, improving the visuals is part of the deal. We were able to update to 4K, 60FPS graphics, enhance volumetric lighting, improve particle systems, and enhance the environments with increased asset density. We also raised the bar in several additional ways: we made the combat and companion AIs smarter, improved the open-world sensation through better depth of field and by reworking existing vistas, updated varying weather conditions, and we reworked character models and animations. Don’t worry, we didn’t dare touch the core of what made The Outer Worlds great. There’s no point in reinventing the wheel, but fresh tires are always a plus.

That being said, a completely new and exciting feature set is the DualSense wireless controller adaptive triggers and haptics. When employing ranged weapons, players will appreciate different trigger effects depending on the type. For a weapon like the flamethrower, the player will sense linear pressure. When firing an automatic weapon, trigger kickback will generate a pulse-like effect for each round fired. And for single-shot weapons such as a sniper or a shotgun, the trigger pressure effect will mimic the sensation of squeezing a trigger until the pin fires and the resistance lessens. Pretty neat, right? The game won’t just look better, it’ll also feel sharper.

Enhancing a legacy

If the improvements we have already described were not enough to justify this new edition, we thought this Spacer’s Choice Edition would make even more sense if it included the base game’s DLCs: Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos. So we did just that. Now the experience is even richer! On a side note: we know that several spacers out there enjoyed the fact that this was an approachable experience, not too short but not too long either. Rest assured, both DLCs do not extend the main story line. They exist on the side, offering a fresh narrative arc to enjoy if and when you feel like it once you’ve reached the appropriate level. Oh, and we increased the level cap to 99, to give players even more ways to build their character from the seven branches of the skill tree.

If you already own The Outer Worlds base game and its associated DLC, Peril on Gorgon and Murder on Eridanos, for PlayStation 4, you will be able to upgrade to The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition on PlayStation 5 for a reduced price.*

The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition is out March 7.

*Based on Private Division’s suggested retail price for The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition. Actual price may differ. Limit of one upgrade per account. See platform store for details and terms.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition Announced for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC

The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition has officially been announced and will be bringing an improved version of the sci-fi RPG to PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on March 7, 2023.

The Outer Worlds, which was developed by Fallout: New Vegas’ Obsidian Entertainment, was first released in 2019 and brought players to a colony at the edge of the galaxy that has been overrun by corporations. Much like a Fallout game, players make choices, get into epic gun combat, interact with factions, journey alongside companions, and much more.

The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition packages the base game and both DLCs – Murder on Eridanos and Peril of Gorgon – and comes with “higher resolution graphics, a dynamic weather system, overhauled lighting and environments, improved performance and load times, enhanced details on characters, an increased level cap, and much more.”

If players already own The Outer Worlds and its DLCs for Xbox One, PS4, or PC, they can upgrade to the Spacer’s Choice Edition on the same console of PC Store (if applicable) for $9.99. If you’d like to simply buy the game, it will cost $59.99.

In our review of The Outer Worlds, we said, “Obsidian has found its own path in the space between Bethesda and BioWare, and it’s a great one. And considering that new RPGs from either of those influential developers are still years away, this game couldn’t have been timed any better.

“It’s not as explorable as one big open world but it still packs in a large portion of flexible quests and conflicts within its series of smaller ones. And the combat, character, and companion systems have enough new spins on existing ideas to make it feel like an homage with its own personality rather than a copy.”

This could be a great time to jump into or return to The Outer Worlds as Obsidian announced at E3 2021 that The Outer Worlds 2 was on its way. Very little has been revealed about the sequel, but its hilarious and fourth-wall-breaking trailer showed the humor and style will be in tact.

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 Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition improves visuals, jacks up PC system requirements

As previewed by Alice Bee, The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition doesn’t simply bundle up Obsidian’s spacefaring RPG with its DLC expansions. It’s also an unexpected remaster, redoing and fine-tuning everything from companion AI and facial animations to weather effects and dynamic lighting. It’s an enticing prospect for a game that never previously counted visuals as its strong suit, though there will be a catch: the Spacer’s Choice Edition will have significantly higher PC system requirements than the 2019 original.

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