‘Rebel Transmute’ launches next month.
Publisher Jandusoft has announced that Rebel Transmute will launch on the Nintendo Switch on 14 March, 2024.
If you’re unfamiliar with the title, it’s a pixel art Metroidvania that takea a few cues from the likes of Metroid and Axiom Verge in which you explore a vast world filled with weird and wonderful creatures that you’ll need to blast to smithereens. Lovely.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Helldivers 2 developer Arrowhead Games Studios has rolled out a new patch to address a range of matchmaking, performance, and stability issues affecting the popular co-operative shooter.
“Recruits, help is on the way!” wrote the developer in a Twitter/X post announcing the patch. “We have issued a patch to PC and PS5 players to address general stability (crashes) and stuttering, Defend Events, and matchmaking.”
Patch 01.000.006 brings a number of fixes for cutscene-related crashes, including one that was known to occur during extraction at the very end of a mission. Other crashes linked to text-to-speech functionality and menu elements have also been addressed.
Arrowhead has also worked to improve Helldivers 2’s ‘backend connectivity’, which will hopefully make for a more seamless matchmaking experience and reduce the risk of disconnecting during missions.
Overview
Fixes
The February 8 launch of Helldivers 2 saw over 360,000 players concurrently attempt to login and join the effort to spread managed democracy by calling down all manner of overpowered weapons on the bug-like Termanid hordes and robotic Automaton armies. This wave of enthusiasm stressed the game’s online infrastructure, leaving many players frustrated with progression issues, and others struggling to login at all.
Arrowhead has since deployed a number of “rapid fixes” to remedy the most prevalent issues, though one such update had to be partially rolled back after players reported a degredation in performance on PC. The developers have since apologised to affected customers, and promised to hold an ‘increased reward event’ to compensate the community for any lost progression.
Technical issues aside, Helldivers 2 is a hit with players, with many lauding the game’s dynamic enemy encounters, and generally being goodwilled when it comes to the inevitable friendly fire events that come hand in hand with high explosive orbital bombardments. Some members of the community are even working to establish rules of etiquette that players can adhere to in order to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable time, and no-one finds themselves on the wrong end of a descending Hellpod.
Earlier today Helldivers 2 hit another engagement milestone, as over 200,000 players consecutively logged in to play on PC. Helldivers 2 is Sony’s biggest game ever on PC, beating the likes of God of War.
If you’re thinking about donning the Helldivers cape and joining the fight, then be sure to check out IGN’s Helldivers 2 review in progress, and to avail yourselves of our guides on how to defeat some of the apex lifeforms terrorising democracy.
Anthony is a freelance contributor covering science and video gaming news for IGN. He has over eight years experience of covering breaking developments in multiple scientific fields and absolutely no time for your shenanigans. Follow him on Twitter @BeardConGamer
Insomniac’s Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 has hit another sales milestone: it’s now up to 10 million copies sold as of February 4, 2024.
Sony said previously Spider-Man 2 was the fastest-selling PlayStation Studios game over a 24-hour period when the PlayStation 5 exclusive sold more than 2.5 million copies in a day. That sales milestone put Spider-Man 2 ahead of Sony Santa Monica’s God of War Ragnarok at the top of the PlayStation day-one launch sales chart.
Spider-Man 2 went on to sell five million after just 11 days on sale. And now, Sony has confirmed it’s sold 10 million after 107 days on sale. To put that into more context, Marvel’s Spider-Man, which launched on PlayStation 4 in 2018, sold nine million copies after 80 days on sale, and 13.2 million after 325 days on sale.
The release of data stolen from Insomniac late last year revealed internal concern at the growing cost of the developer’s games. According to Kotaku’s report on the breach, Spider-Man 2 development costs ran $30 million over the original $270 million budget, and ultimately needed to sell 7.2 million units to break even. The latest sales figures suggest Spider-Man 2 has now veered into profitable territory, although Sony has yet to confirm that itself.
While Spider-Man 2 appears to have been successful for Sony, the company signaled a sparse year for big first-party exclusives. Sony said it will not release any major existing PlayStation franchise games before April 2025, ruling out big new sequels in the likes of its God of War and Spider-Man series.
What’s next for Insomniac? Spider-Man 2 gets its long-awaited update in March, and is working on a Wolverine game for PS5.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
“What’s here is generally very well done”.
Tomb Raider I-III Remastered arrives on the Switch this week and the tech experts at Digital Foundry have already got a video up about the performance and frame rate across each system.
In case you missed it, the Switch version of this remaster runs at a native 1080p and 60 frames per second in docked, and 720p at 60 frames per second in portable mode. Digital Foundry also notes how it did not encounter a single frame rate hiccup, so it really is a silky smooth and “near perfect” experience in terms of performance.
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
A few other titles have also made use of it.
During the Switch generation, Nintendo has sometimes developed the odd title on a different engine. We’ve seen Yoshi’s Crafted World and more recently Pikmin 4 utilise the Unreal Engine and now it appears the upcoming release Princess Peach: Showtime! might have also been created in Unreal.
This discovery stems from a post on social media (shared by Akfamilyhome via X), which shows the Chinese game box for Peach’s new game, and on the back of it, you can see the Unreal Engine logo:
Read the full article on nintendolife.com
Hi, everyone! Wynn, here. Back with another Xbox Insider Team interview. Today we’re chatting with Evie—a Game Release Support Manager who helps Xbox launch and support their first-party titles. How’s it going, Evie?
It’s going really well, Wynn! Very excited to be here talking with our Xbox Insiders.
Well then let’s dive right in. Let’s tell everyone a little about Evie.
Well, first things first. I’ve loved gaming my entire life. So much so that I knew from a fairly young age that I wanted to go to school for game design / work in the gaming industry.
Was there a particular game or experience that influenced that decision, or was it something you just always wanted to do?
A little bit of both. I always thought games were awesome, but there was a specific moment that really solidified my decision. My older sister had gotten stuck on this mission in the original Assassin’s Creed game. Well, I was watching her, and she asked me to try and get her past this one spot—as she was heading out to meet some friends—but to stop after I finished that mission. She didn’t want to miss any of the story.
Haha. I think I see where this is going.
Oh yeah. I literally couldn’t stop playing! I beat the rest of the game that night; I just loved it. The way it blended real history into the story was just so fascinating to me. I had never played a game like that before. Then, I played the second one when it came out a few years later, fell even more in love, and the rest is history. From that point on, I knew I wanted to make games that impacted others the same way that the Assassin’s Creed series impacted me, so I went to school for game design and graduated with honors in 2021.
Much better than my route. Loved games and wanted to go to school for it. But I ended up dropping out of college to go the “starving artist” route. Did a lot of starving and much less art than I would’ve liked.
Oh, I feel that! Everyone’s journey is different, for sure, and mine had its ups and downs. I loved every second of my game design college experience, though. It was a really tough curriculum, but it pushed me to be a better artist and I’m grateful for it.
So, you’re fresh out of college, ready to design games. What happens next?
It’s funny you should ask. I actually started at Xbox the day after I finished college! The timing was unreal. I legit turned in my last college assignment at 6:00pm on a Sunday and then started at Xbox at 9:00am the next day.
All right. Well, I’m unbelievably jealous. That’s incredible.
It really was. A few years before Xbox, I was working at my local mall at a LUSH cosmetics store that was across from one of those Microsoft Specialty Kiosks. I was always over at the kiosk talking to the team about the newest games and tech during my breaks. When a spot opened on their team, they told me to apply since I was so passionate about the industry… and I got it!
Oh, that’s sick! I started off in MS Retail as well. Love to see fellow Retail peeps making it big.
Absolutely! My time at Retail was a lot of fun—I met amazing people, made a lot of great memories, and I learned a lot. But, of course, it wasn’t without its own struggles.
Pray tell?
Well, barely three months after I started at Microsoft, they closed all of the Specialty Kiosks. I lost my job. I was seriously so devastated. The remaining Microsoft “full-line” store in my city only had a single spot on their team available at the time, and everyone I knew that got let go applied for it. For some reason, I just knew that my story with Microsoft wasn’t finished yet, so I applied for it too. I really hoped that they’d see my passion/potential and give me a shot despite only being with the company for a few months. Thankfully they did, and I got the role!
Then, less than a year later in March 2020, all the physical Microsoft Stores permanently closed due to COVID. All retail folks were moved to digital sales, which I did for about a year and a half while I was finishing school. About a month before I graduated, they opened a nationwide offer for 10 people to join Team Xbox. There were hundreds and hundreds of people that applied, and I was able to be one of those lucky 10!
Wow! That’s impressive. Literally batting 1.000 with your survival streak.
Yeah, I’m incredibly grateful for all the opportunities that I’ve had throughout my Microsoft career.
Big same. So, you get this Xbox gig. Was that on this team?
Not originally. We all started as Customer Success Managers who worked on the Xbox Forums. We answered questions and escalated issues that customers were reporting. We’ve all since spread throughout Team Xbox, and a few of us made our way over to this team!
Excellent. Love to hear there’s even more Retail people here.
So, I know you’ve only been on the team for a couple of years, but has there been anything you were just super psyched to work on?
Working with the first-party studios—like Turn 10 and Bethesda—has been the most exciting thing I get to do on the daily. Which is actually part of what I was most stoked about doing last year. I supported Bethesda with the Starfield launch! Working with the studio and developers during the months leading up to the launch was an amazing experience.
What a coincidence! The Starfield launch window was literally when I was finding out I was getting this role, so it holds a special place in my heart too.
Aw, I love to hear that! That’s amazing.
Is there anything you’re working on right now that you can tell us about?
Unfortunately, things have to be a little tight-lipped for most of my projects. I’m working on some exciting releases throughout the rest of the year, so I can say that our Xbox Insiders should be on the lookout for some cool game flights coming down the pipeline!
We absolutely love to see it.
Okay, let’s do some rapid fire. Normally I start with favorite game, but we’ve got that covered. What’re you jamming to recently music wise?
My music tastes are seriously all over the place. I like to listen to everything from hardcore to indie folk. Phonk and Darkwave are probably some of my favorite genres right now. I really like to listen to that kind of stuff while I’m gaming, especially when it’s games like CoD.
I’ve also been super into the band Heilung recently.
I’m not sure I’m familiar with them.
They’re the band that’s doing the soundtrack for the second Hellblade game!
Oh! The one we had on stage. That’s super cool.
Yeah, I saw them in concert a few months back and I just cannot stop listening to their music. Listening to them and seeing them live is like being transported back to the Iron Age. I think they’re just amazing.
I’ll have to check out their stuff then.
Moving on. Any shows you like to binge or movies you like to re-watch?
I really like binging competition shows. Like, I will drop everything and binge The Great British Baking Show whenever a new season drops! I’m also shamelessly into romance / period pieces like Bridgerton or Outlander. Scary shows like The Haunting of Hill House, and the French horror series Marianne, are some additional all-time favorites.
All of Mike Flanagan’s Netflix stuff is top tier. The Fall of the House of Usher was sublime.
Right? He’s so good.
Aside from shows, I do have a few comfort movies. The Dark Knight trilogy is a fave. The 2005 Pride and Prejudice is amazing. Oh, and I love The Lord of the Rings trilogy… Extended Edition only of course. Those get yearly rewatches for sure.
I’m resisting the urge to spend the next 15 minutes debating which Pride and Prejudice is better, but I’ll just say that Colin Firth is the best Mr. Darcy.
Mmm. Agree to disagree! Haha.
Do you have any interests or hobbies outside of gaming/tech?
Let’s see. I cross-stich, I garden, I just started making candles, and I really like baking.
Oh, and I want to start making mead!
Oh, got it. You want to live in Pride & Prejudice. This is all making sense now.
You’re not entirely wrong! I also love animals, always have. I volunteer for a wildlife rescue on the side, which came in handy a few months ago when I had to save a bat that flew into my apartment.
I’m sorry. What’s good?
Haha. Yeah, it was pretty intense.
I bet! I’m kinda petrified of bats because of the whole, “They can bite you without you knowing and transfer a disease to you that kills you before you know you’re infected” thing.
Like a totally rational person.
That was definitely something I was keeping in mind! Bat bites and diseases are no joke. Luckily, I took many precautions while handling / caring for it, before delivering the little one to the wildlife rehab center the next day.
Well, aside from apparently being a professional bat-wrangler, is there anything else of note?
Another neat thing about me is that I am a twin! Fraternal, not identical. She’s awesome. We’re super close and she’s my best friend. Also, in case anyone is curious, I am the older twin. By two minutes!
As an older sibling, I know the importance of making that distinction.
Well, it’s been great chatting with you Evie. Any final words for the Community?
Just that I’m so excited to be part of the Xbox Insider Team and I think 2024 is going to be an incredible year for the entire program. There’re all kinds of amazing things happening. I’m excited for everyone to see what we have in store!
Beautifully said, Evie. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Xbox Insiders, be sure to be on the lookout for more content all throughout February including more interviews from the team, a trip down memory lane, and so much more. All of our 10th Anniversary content can be found on our Hub Page.
Until next time! Wynn/
The post Get To Know Our Team: Evie – Game Release Support Manager appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Team Cherry is years into development on Hollow Knight: Silksong, a sequel to its acclaimed 2D action-adventure game that IGN crowned the all-time best Metroidvania (that isn’t a Metroid or Castlevania game).
In anticipation of the sequel to Hollow Knight, we’ve put together this breakdown of everything you need to know about Hollow Knight: Silksong as of February 2024.
Jump to:
There is no official release date or window for Hollow Knight: Silksong. A 2024 release seems most likely given it was previously slated for the first half of 2023, though there’s been no official word from developer Team Cherry.
Last May, Team Cherry delayed Silksong beyond its initial First Half 2023 release window, saying: “We had planned to release in the 1st half of 2023, but development is still continuing. We’re excited by how the game is shaping up, and it’s gotten quite big, so we want to take the time to make the game as good as we can. Expect more details from us once we get closer to release.”
As of mid-February 2024, Team Cherry has not shared further details on the release date.
Hollow Knight: Silksong will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC. It’ll be available day and date on Xbox Game Pass. The official PlayStation account tweeted Silksong is coming to PS4 as well, though the platform is absent from the game’s official website and press kit.
A price has not been announced for Silksong. The first Hollow Knight retailed for $15, though there’s no guarantee the sequel will cost the same.
If you were one of the 2,158 people who backed the original Hollow Knight on Kickstarter, you’ll receive a copy of Silksong for free, according to Team Cherry.
Team Cherry has purposely been quiet about Silksong’s gameplay details. “Discovery is a huge part of Hollow Knight so we don’t want to spoil all the new systems and surprises,” it said. However, from two trailers and a handful of blog posts, we’ve learned a bit about what you can expect gameplay-wise.
Hornet, equipped with her needle and thread of silk, is described as an “acrobatic” fighter; she moves quickly and gracefully, as evidenced by the most recent gameplay trailer from 2022.
The sequel will feature tons of new enemies (165 as of late 2019). These include “beasts and hunters, assassins and kings, [and] monsters and knights.” Outside of combat, Hornet has the ability to craft weapons, traps, and “mechanisms to confound your enemies and explore new heights.”
As detailed by Team Cherry, Hornet uses silk to Bind (i.e., heal), similar to how the Knight uses soul to Focus in Hollow Knight. New for the sequel is the speed in which Hornet can Bind — “it’s lightning-fast” — and her ability to heal in mid-air. At the start of the game, one Bind will restore three masks. Bind consumes all of Hornet’s silk, and if she’s hit mid-heal, “the healing effect will be wasted and the silk will be gone.”
Upon death, Hornet will leave a cocoon, akin to how the Knight left a Shade. Each cocoon will contain a full supply of silk, creating a tactical decision for the player on when to break it open.
As with Hollow Knight’s labyrinthine Hallownest, Silksong’s world, Pharloom, must be mapped as you progress through its twisting layout. Team Cherry says the process uses the “same tools and restrictions” as the original game, though this time around, Hornet will be aided by the warrior Shakra, a master cartographer who provides charts, compasses, and other tools for navigation.
Silksong will feature Silk Soul Mode, available after you complete the game for the first time. Silk Soul Mode, like Steel Soul Mode in Hollow Knight, “spins the game into a unique, challenging experience.” Further details have not yet been announced.
We got our hands on Silksong back in 2019 and said, “It’s unmistakably Hollow Knight, but with the speed cranked up to 11 thanks to the nimble nature of its new protagonist, Hornet.”
Hollow Knight: Silksong features a new protagonist and game world. In the sequel, you’ll play as Hornet, who appears as a boss-turned-ally in the original game. Dubbed the princess-protector of Halllownest, Hornet is captured and brought to the unfamiliar, haunted land of Pharloom. She embarks on a journey to discover the truth behind her capture and ascend to the kingdom’s peak. Here’s the official story synopsis from Team Cherry:
As Hornet, princess-protector of Hallownest, adventure through a whole new kingdom ruled by silk and song. Captured and brought to this unfamiliar land, Hornet must battle foes and solve mysteries as she ascends on a deadly pilgrimage to the kingdom’s peak.
One new area, as detailed by Team Cherry, is Greymoor, wasted caverns that house “many mysteries, several new friends, and [a] duel with a lethal, lunging foe.” It’s described as “one of the biggest” areas in either Hollow Knight game. Other areas include lakes of fire, coral forests, mossy grottoes, gilded cities, and misted moors.
Hornet, unlike the Knight, is voiced. “Dialogue and narrative are there for those that seek it,” said Team Cherry. “For those that don’t, you’ll be able to ignore nearly all characters and get on with your exploring, hunting, and powering up.”
Team Cherry has also revealed some of the new characters Hornet will befriend or face off against in Silksong. You can see them alongside their character descriptions in the gallery above.
Hollow Knight: Silksong is being developed by Team Cherry, the Australian studio that created the original game. The development team consists of three people: Ari Gibson, William Pellen, and Jack Vine.
Silksong, announced in 2019, began development as DLC for the original game. “Almost from the very start, Hornet’s adventure was intended to take place in a new land, but as we dove in, it quickly became too large and too unique to stay a DLC, as initially planned,” Team Cherry wrote at the time of the announcement. “We do know that makes the wait a little longer, but we think the final, fresh world you’ll get to explore is worth it.”
Team Cherry is using Unity to create Silksong, as it did for the original. Composer Christopher Larkin is also back for the sequel; a two-song sample of the soundtrack is available on Larkin’s Bandcamp page.
The original game is available on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC as Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition, which bundles the base game with its four content packs: Hidden Dreams, The Grimm Troupe, Lifeblood, and Godmaster. It’s available with Xbox Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra. Otherwise, it retails for $15.
In his Hollow Knight review, IGN’s Tom Marks wrote, “With such a high density of secrets to find and fun, challenging enemies to face, it’s worth spending every moment you can in Hollow Knight.”
Jordan covers games, shows, and movies as a freelance writer for IGN.
Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters will make its way to Steam on February 19th. It’s a version of 1992 strategy classic Star Control 2 that takes advantage of updates from its long-running open source project, and it’ll be completely free.
The post Explore Universal Studios Like Never Before in Minecraft appeared first on Xbox Wire.
Amazon has discounted the Samsung EVO Select 512GB Micro SDXC Card down to $24.99, a 30% price drop from its original $35 MSRP. This is an excellent price for a 512GB Micro SDXC card from a well-known and respected brand. I’s fully compatible with the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, and ASUS ROG Ally portable handhelds. It also comes with a SD adapter for devices that only take full-sized SD cards. Check out all of the best Nintendo Switch deals for sales on other games and accessories.
If you’ve started compiling a collection of digital games, you probably already know just how limited the Switch’s base storage capacity. The Switch and Switch OLED consoles have 32GB and 64GB of internal storage, respectively, with some of it reserved for the OS. The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom uses up 16GB and Breath of the Wild about 13.5GB. If bought digitally, those two games alone would take up all of your internal storage on the OG Switch console. There’s only one expansion slot in the Switch console so you want to make sure you get the biggest card you can afford.
The Samsung EVO Select Micro SDXC card is compatible with virtually any device that accepts the Micro SDXC card standard. That includes the Nintendo Switch, Steam Deck, ASUS ROG Ally, any recently released smartphone that supports expandable memory, GoPros, cameras and much more. Despite its low price, the Samsung EVO Select is faster than your average Micro SDXC card. It has a U3 A2 rating and boasts transfer speeds of up to 130MB/s.
