Category: Video Games

Xbox Game Pass in January 2023: Hi-Fi Rush, GoldenEye 007 and More

If you tuned into Xbox’s Developer Direct on January 25, you’ll already know about Hi-Fi Rush shadow-dropping on Xbox Game Pass after the presentation ended. But, that’s not all, as Xbox has also now confirmed every game hitting the service before the end of the month, and a few more for the start of February as well including Hot Wheels Unleashed, GoldenEye 007, Age of Empires 2, JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R, Grid Legends, and more.

Games to already hit Game Pass this month include Persona 3 and 4, alongside Monster Hunter Rise and Stranded Deep. For now, here’s everything coming to Xbox Game Pass in January 2023.

Hi-Fi Rush is Available on Xbox Game Pass Right Now

Tango Gameworks’ next game is Hi-Fi Rush, a rhythm adventure game under development exclusively for the Xbox Series X|S, and it’s coming out tonight. Announced during the Xbox Developer_Direct showcase, the trailer revealed a bombastic comic-like art style, original tunes and rhythm-based movement and combat. Tango Gameworks has already released the game, including on Xbox Game Pass, and you can install it right now if you want to.

Everything Coming to Xbox Game Pass in January 2023

  • Stranded Deep – January 3 (Console, PC, Cloud)
  • Persona 3 Portable – January 19 (Console, PC, Cloud)
  • Persona 4 Golden – January 19 (Console, PC, Cloud)
  • Monster Hunter Rise – January 20 (Console, PC)
  • Hi-Fi Rush – January 25 (Console, PC)
  • GoldenEye 007 – January 27 (Console)
  • Roboquest (Game Preview) – January 30 (Console)
  • Age Of Empires 2: Definitive Edition – January 31 (Console, Cloud)
  • Inkulinati – January 31 (Console, PC)
  • JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure All-Star Battle R (Cloud, Console, and PC) – January 31

Bonus Games We Now Know About for February on Game Pass

  • Darkest Dungeon (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 2
  • Grid Legends (Cloud) EA Play – February 2
  • Hot Wheels Unleashed – Game of the Year Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – February 7

Persona 3 Portable and Persona 4 Golden on Xbox Game Pass

After January 19, Persona 3, 4, and 5 will all be available for Xbox Game Pass members on console, PC, and cloud gaming. This was initially announced back at Xbox’s summer showcase, and we have since seen Persona 5 Royal enter the service in October 2022.

Everything Leaving Xbox Game Pass in January 2023

  • Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Nobody Saves The World (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Pupperazzi (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • The Anacrusis (Game Preview) (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • We Happy Few (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Windjammers 2 (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Donut County (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Taiko no Tatsujin: The Drum Master (Console and PC)
  • Telling Lies (Cloud, Console, and PC)
  • Worms WMD (Cloud, Console, and PC)

Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct January 2023

The Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct for January 2023 aired earlier today, as Microsoft and its partners shared updates on games including Redfall, The Elder Scrolls Online, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and more. Read more here to learn about everything announced at today’s event, including brand new release dates for Minecraft Legends (April 18, 2023), Redfall (May 2, 2023), and more.

Robert Anderson is a deals expert and Commerce Editor for IGN. You can follow him @robertliam21 on Twitter.

Edifier’s R1280T speakers are some of the best under £100 – and now they cost £84 shipped

two of the seven slots to their designs. One that doesn’t feature on that list but has attracted strong reviews elsewhere is the Edifier R1280T, a 2.0 studio speaker set that delivers excellent sound for the money. These speakers are normally normally around £100, but today on Overclockers you can grab a pair for £84 – lower than they’ve ever been before.

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Redfall Gets May Release Date, Reveals New Gameplay Footage

Developer Arkane Studios will be releasing their story-driven shooter, Redfall, on May 2, they announced at today’s Xbox Developer Direct.

They also revealed some new gameplay footage, showing off more details on the players’ unique abilities, as well as the titular setting of Redfall, Mass, giving a glimpse at a lighthouse story mission. Redfall features both single-player co-op multiplayer modes, with players choosing from one of four protagonists — cryptozoologist and inventor Devinder Crousley, telekinetic student Layla Ellison, combat engineer Remi de la Rosa, and supernatural sharpshooter Jacob Boyer — to fight off vampires who took over and ruined Redfall after a failed scientific experiment.

Redfall was initially surprise-announced at the Xbox and Bethesda E3 2021 showcase on June 13, 2021, and then delayed, along with Starfield, to the first half of 2023.

Redfall will release on Xbox Series X/S and PC, and will be available on day one on Game Pass. See all the announcements from today’s Xbox Developer Direct, including updates from Minecraft Legends and Hi-Fi Rush, here.

Alex Stedman is a News Editor for IGN, leading entertainment reporting. When she’s not writing or editing, you can find her reading fantasy novels or playing Dungeons & Dragons.

What Is Hi-Fi Rush, the Surprise Game Out of Developer_Direct?

I’ll put it out there – as surprised as I was that Tango Gameworks had secretly made and released a new game, I was more surprised that it very quickly had me fighting a giant, cel-shaded robot to the beat of Nine Inch Nails’ ‘1,000,000’. Because Hi-Fi Rush is something practically unique: a rhythm-action game in the most literal sense — a classic action game driven by rhythm.

While the initial shock might be that it’s available to play on Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC today (and free to those with an Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass subscription), the follow-up feeling will be surprise that this is a Tango Gameworks production. For a studio best known for its horror leanings – having created The Evil Within series and last year’s Ghostwire: Tokyo – this is a much warmer, funnier, weirder new game than we could ever have expected.

If you’re still trying to get your bearings, let me give you a rundown based on just the first hour of the game (so no spoilers here!):

Perfect Sound Forever

Think of this as a game-length concept album, telling the story of Chai – a wannabe rockstar who just wanted a sweet robotic arm from the Vandelay corporation – who gets caught up in a tech company conspiracy when his music player is accidentally embedded in his chest, and begins syncing the wider world up to his own personal playlist. He’s quickly deemed a defective model, and scheduled for violent decommission – and you’ll be guiding him through his escape.

Hi-Fi Rush is something like the ‘Baby Driver’ of video games. It’s not just a game set to music, but a game driven by it in every respect. Combos need to be hit in time to the music for the highest scores, enemies telegraph their attacks more with sound than animation, and platforming challenges rely on you being able to read the music as much as the environment. Hell, Chai’s idle animations see him finger-snapping along to whatever you happen to be listening to at the time.

All of this is driven by a guitar-heavy soundtrack worthy of the most well-curated dive bar jukebox. The bulk of levels are underpinned by music created by Tango Gameworks itself, shifting as you progress, and beautifully growing in tandem with your own combat prowess. The more damaging and in-rhythm your combos are, the more stems you’ll add to the track itself. Once you hit an S-level combo, the soundtrack will be in full force, driving you to keep fighting with finesse just to hear more of the song.

But hit a major story moment or a boss battle, and things kick into high-gear with the addition of licensed music. The opening of the game features an intro set to The Black Key’s ‘Lonely Boy’, and ends with a boss battle set to the aforementioned Nine Inch Nails cut. The feeling of driving some classic tracks by sheer force of your action game prowess is something to behold – and doing it through combat is a fresh new way to recreate the joy of the plastic instrument era of rhythm games. I cannot wait to find out what else the playlist has in store.

Hi-Fi Rush screenshot

The Look of Love

As all great bands know, however, your sound is only part of the appeal, and Hi-Fi Rush has the looks to match its tracklist. This has the vibe of some lost ’90s Saturday morning cartoon, with an eye-searing neon color palette, thick lines, and over-the-top animations. Cutscenes are a treat, driven by some lovely facial animation tech that brings Chai to life, and instantly marks its cast of villainous bureaucrats as love-to-hate nemeses we’ll be butting heads (and metallic guitar-clubs) with over the course of the whole game. It backs up that look with a story tone as warm as its visuals – this is a comedy first and foremost, and it’s delivering visual gags from minute one.

All of that’s augmented by some lovely comic book-like touches that bring to mind ‘Into the Spider-Verse’ – onomatopoeic words pop up around you, major moments (delivering the final blow to a boss, for instance) are given a splash page-like redraw, and you can even see Ben Day dots making up some of the textures in the backgrounds of scenes.

Hi-Fi Rush screenshot

Vandelay Technologies, the tech campus-turned-prison that makes up the game’s world, is a jagged, futuristic skyline set under perfect blue skies, and its twisting corridors are built to hide hidden collectibles, humorous lore drops and mountains of loot – all of which will come in handy once you reach your hideout hub base. This is where the game’s more traditional action chops (not a huge surprise, given Tango’s connection to legendary action designer Shinji Mikami) begin to show themselves, offering the ability to tweak your fighting style to your needs, and up those combo scores.

It’s that final point that has me truly excited to play more. Within the first hour, I already knew that Hi-Fi Rush’s unique premise would work for me, and that its looks had charmed me. But that promise that there’s so much more under the surface – the churning mechanical works of action game mechanics we’re more used to from the likes of Vanquish or Devil May Cry – is what I’ll want to dig into as I undoubtedly set this particular playable playlist on repeat.

Hi-Fi Rush is available today for Xbox Series X|S and Windows PC. The game is free to download with an Xbox Game Pass or PC Game Pass subscription.

Related:
Xbox & Bethesda Developer_Direct Showcases Games Coming to Xbox, PC and Game Pass
Redfall: Release Date and New Gameplay Revealed
Play Hi-Fi Rush Today!

4 ways Deadpool brings his fourth-wall breaking antics to Marvel’s Midnight Suns

We’re now just one sleep away from the January 26 release of the first Marvel’s Midnight Sun’s DLC*. You’re likely already aware that “The Good, the Bad, and the Undead” adds Deadpool to the Midnight Suns roster of playable Marvel heroes**, but did you know that it also tells the story of how and why the Merc with a Mouth joined the team? Did you know that he employs a unique En Fuego resource on the battlefield, or that his food truck is parked right outside the Abbey? Read on for more details!

Deadpool has his own Story missions

Deadpool joins the Midnight Suns after crossing paths with the Hunter (and Hydra forces, and vampyres, and Red Skull’s granddaughter Sin) while attempting to stealthily liberate an artifact from the NYC Museum of Art. The story of this botched burglary and subsequent confrontations with vampiric enemies plays out across a series of new missions in which Deadpool, fully aware that he’s appearing in a video game, takes things considerably less seriously than his new allies.

“You should expect Deadpool to regularly break the fourth wall, both in and out of combat,” shares Creative Director Jake Solomon. “It’s like playing the game with a mouthy but lovable friend.”

It’s worth noting that while Deadpool’s storyline is separate from the main campaign, you can include him when assembling a team for any mission once he joins the hero roster. And you should, not only because his wisecracks are brilliantly voiced by Nolan North, but also because…

Deadpool can deal SO much damage!

Deadpool’s unique En Fuego resource has the potential to make him increasingly powerful as a mission progresses. Many of his ability cards incorporate the En Fuego keyword and, providing he has at least one stack of En Fuego, these cards are more powerful and/or have additional effects when played.

“If you can maximize Deadpool’s En Fuego bonus, he becomes a ‘one man Delete key’ for enemies,” says Jake. “Watch him draw an absurd amount of cards, shoot five enemies, and then absolutely destroy the biggest, baddest enemy on the map. All in one turn.”

Deadpool’s En Fuego meter is fueled by KOing enemies using his ability cards, granting him an additional stack of En Fuego after earning a number of KOs. However, Deadpool will lose a stack of En Fuego anytime he takes damage. So, while Deadpool’s innate ability to self-heal a percentage of his health each turn means he doesn’t require a babysitter, teaming up with a tanky hero like Captain Marvel or Captain America who can Taunt enemies away from him helps to maximize his damage output.

Eating at Deadpool’s food truck helps you stay Regular alive

When Deadpool joins the Midnight Suns, the team’s secret Abbey base is upgraded to accommodate his flashy Food Truck in a spot by the pool. Emblazoned with a colorful picture of the man himself astride a bearded unicorn, the truck advertises the “World’s Best Turduckens” but actually delivers something far more useful, if not quite as tasty.

“With Deadpool’s Food Truck upgrade you can discard a card from your hand once per encounter to gain a Move,” explains Jake. “This is a huge boon for positioning and using the environment during tactical missions, and Deadpool doesn’t need to be on the mission for your team to use it!”

Furthermore, if you upgrade the Food Truck you’ll gain a Shove as well as a Move when you discard a card, so you can push an enemy towards danger while backing your heroes away from it.

There’s more to Deadpool than violence and cooking

Like other Midnight Suns heroes, Deadpool can be found relaxing in and around the Abbey between missions, and if you’d like to pursue his friendship you can invite him to hang out. Just know that, because of his unstable and unpredictable nature, Deadpool doesn’t merely “like” any hangout activities; he either “loves” or “dislikes” any way that you spend time together!

Does Deadpool strike you as someone who’d enjoy playing video games, or do you think he’d prefer to lounge by the pool? Movie watching or bird watching? Invite him to activities that he enjoys and, once your friendship level with him maxes out, you can unlock his Legendary Midnight Suns ability and suit.

Deadpool’s arrival at the Abbey also affords an opportunity to conduct additional research with Tony Stark and Doctor Strange at the Abbey’s forge. Deadpool has pitched an idea for “basically an energy drink combined with a portable defibrillator” that, once researched, manifests as the new Effort Maximizer combat item that you can take into tactical missions. This Legendary-rarity item has the power to duplicate all of the cards in your hand for a selected hero while discarding all other heroes’ cards.

“The Good, the Bad, and the Undead” DLC for the PlayStation 5 version of Marvel’s Midnight Suns launches on January 26. It’s available for purchase separately and is the first of four DLC packs included in the Marvel’s Midnight Suns Season Pass.

* The Good, the Bad, and the Undead is included with the Legendary Edition of Marvel’s Midnight Suns and is included as part of the Marvel’s Midnight Suns Season Pass. Also available for individual purchase. Base game required.

**Characters may require unlocking through gameplay.

Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct January 2023: Everything Announced

The Xbox and Bethesda Developer Direct for January 2023 is underway right now, as Microsoft and its partners are sharing updates on games including Redfall, The Elder Scrolls Online, Forza Motorsport, Minecraft Legends, and more. Check out this article for live updates of everything announced as it happens during the event.

Minecraft Legends Gets April Release Date, PVP Details Revealed

Minecraft Legends is the upcoming action strategy game set in the Minecraft universe, and today we learned the game is coming out on April 18. Xbox also shared a look at the game’s PVP mode, which takes place in the same procedurally-generated worlds as the single player campaign. The gameplay showed off a lot of different strategies, including base building, mob recruiting, and using redstone to take the enemy team down.

Disney Dreamlight Valley to Add Lion King’s Simba, Encanto’s Mirabel in Coming Updates

The next stage of Disney Dreamlight Valley is almost here.

Posting on their blog today, Gameloft Montreal gave us one of our first glimpses into the 2023 roadmap for their Disney-themed life simulation adventure game.

The roadmap includes new characters like Mirabel from Encanto, Simba from The Lion King, and Olaf from Frozen, as well as the promise of new “realms” to explore, which are in-game worlds that can be visited as part of the story.

Gameloft Montreal also confirmed one of the game’s most-requested features, multiplayer support, which is a major part of genre peers like Animal Crossing, though the roadmap did not offer any specific timing for when that would be added.

Dreamlight Valley, which has yet to receive its 1.0 release, previously added Lion King’s Scar, Stitch, Woody, and Buzzlightyear after its early-access debut last year. They were also quick to make quality of life improvements to the often-buggy cartoon world.

Although anyone can pay to play the game now, Dreamlight Valley is planned to receive its full, free-to-play launch later this year, though no specific timeframe for that has been announced, including in this 2023 roadmap.

Even in its early-access state, IGN reviewed Disney Dreamlight Valley last year and liked it quite a bit.

Travis Northup is a freelance writer at IGN.

Pharaoh: A New Era will revive the classic citybuilder this February

citybuilder. In part because it was exactly the kind of game that could be found in the software section of your local supermarket, and in part because it appealed to dads, who would buy it and then their bored kids would play it in lieu of any other options.

Well, I’m the dad now, and the “full remake” Pharaoh: A New Era has a release date of February 15th.

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