It’s been a long old journey, but we’re thrilled to finally be able to say critically acclaimed Online RPG Final Fantasy XIV Online is officially available on Xbox Series X|S!

Today’s launch into Open Beta offers Xbox players the full breadth of content available in the much-hyped Free Trial, with more to come when the full release arrives. Better yet, all progress will carry over, so let’s take a look at what’s on offer as well as give you some tips and tricks about how to start your adventures in Eorzea!

What is Final Fantasy XIV Online?

We covered this in detail last time, but Final Fantasy XIV Online is an online massively multiplayer role-playing game boasting a global community over 30 million adventurers strong, and widely regarded as having one of the most welcoming communities on the internet.

Despite the title, a key point is that Final Fantasy XIV Online is a standalone game that doesn’t require any previous experience with the franchise, making it the perfect place to jump in. Expect a world filled with bustling cities, towering forests and deadly deserts, with a constantly updated and ever-engaging world taking you to the far reaches of the land—and beyond—with a captivating and ongoing story.

If multiplayer games feel a bit overwhelming, FFXIV includes a feature called the Duty Support system that enables tackling content with a party of NPC allies as opposed to other players. This now spans all the main story dungeons currently in the game, meaning you can experience the award-winning narrative all on your own.

What’s Available Now… and What’s Coming Next?

Today’s launch into Open Beta brings all the content available in the Free Trial to Xbox Series X|S. This means you can enjoy the entirety of A Realm Reborn as well as the award-winning Heavensward and Stormblood expansions up to level 70, with no restrictions on playtime!

All progress made will carry over to the full release when it arrives, giving you plenty of time to get up to speed before our newest expansion, Dawntrail arrives in Summer… but more on that another time!

Any Tips and Tricks for Beginners?

With a world as big as FFXIV’s, it can be a bit overwhelming to know where to start. Thankfully, our Starter Guide series has your back. The seven-part video series offers early tips and tricks for new players to get the most out of their adventures in Eorzea. The series follows the journey of new player Kaz and his mentor Mayra, who guides him through his first steps in FFXIV.

Each episode is designed to assist with beginning your journey, whether playing solo at your own pace, or joining others to explore the world together. If you’re a more experienced Warrior of Light, feel free to share this series with friends who are just taking the first steps of their adventures!

You can check out the whole series in a playlist here, or click on the first episode below.

That’s all for today – we’re so excited to welcome you to Eorzea, and can’t wait to share more information on Dawntrail very soon indeed! Until then, happy adventuring!

FINAL FANTASY XIV Online – Free Trial

SQUARE ENIX

☆☆☆☆☆
94

★★★★★

Get it now

Play FINAL FANTASY XIV Online for FREE!

The FINAL FANTASY XIV Online Free Trial includes three award-winning titles – FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm Reborn the base game, and the first and second expansions: FINAL FANTASY XIV: Heavensward and FINAL FANTASY XIV: Stormblood.

Join over 30 million adventurers worldwide and take part in an epic and ever-changing FINAL FANTASY. Experience all the hallmarks of the best-selling franchise – an unforgettable story, exhilarating battles, and a myriad of diverse and captivating environments to explore.

Party up with friends or play solo! Experience all the main story dungeons on your own by calling upon NPC allies to fight by your side.

The FFXIV Open Beta is only available for newly created Square Enix accounts.
• Users will not be able to link existing accounts during the Open Beta period. If you would like to link an existing Square Enix account, please wait until the full launch of FFXIV on Xbox.
• If you create a new Square Enix account in order to play the Xbox Open Beta, please be aware that you will not be able to link it to another Square Enix account in the future.

If you wish to play FFXIV on Xbox with an existing Square Enix account and its associated characters, please wait until the full Xbox launch.

IMPORTANT:
• Requires game purchase and on-going subscription to continue playing after the Free Trial.
• All editions of the game require user registration.
• Age restrictions and other terms and conditions apply. Please refer to the User Agreement (https://sqex.to/ffxiv_agreement) and Square Enix Account Terms of Use (https://sqex.to/ffxiv_terms) for the terms and conditions of registration and service. Please visit the FINAL FANTASY XIV website at https://www.finalfantasyxiv.com/ for additional information.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Online Open Beta Now Available on Xbox Series X|S appeared first on Xbox Wire.

• Category: Games

Balatro Wants You to Play Poker – and Then Break It Apart

When I first heard about Balatro (out now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One), I wondered how you could make a roguelike deckbuilder – a genre already stacked with greats like Slay the Spire, Monster Train, Inscryption, Hand of Fate, and more – using only poker as an inspiration. After accidentally playing 15 hours of Balatro in only a few short days, I’ve come to realize that this isn’t about playing poker, it’s about breaking poker – and it’s incredible.

Balatro has a simple premise – every poker hand is assigned a points score, and a multiplier for that score. You’re dealt a hand, offered the chance to discard up to five cards at a time, and then try to find the best possible way to hit the highest points total. There are no opponents, per se, just higher and higher points totals you’re tasked with beating (although there are “boss levels” that introduce extra, often painful, mechanics to work around). It’s a simple, elegant set-up. But the ways you can go beyond that set up are anything but simple.

Between each round, you can purchase new cards and abilities from an in-game shop, using money earned by playing each round efficiently, or stylishly. The key to understanding Balatro is to realise that everything you can add to your deck isn’t a way to cheat as such, but a means of literally changing how poker works. The most obvious of these tools comes in the form of Jokers, cards that live separately from your deck, and offer 150 different ways to change how your other cards react – from buffing certain suits, to earning you more money to spend, to truly wild abilities I won’t spoil.

But beyond Jokers there are ways to add extra abilities to your deck as a whole, enhance the potency of certain hand types, add extra cards to your line-up, remove or change suits, and much, much more. It’s overwhelming at first, but as you begin to understand how many variables there are, and how they interact, you start to realise that the game of poker, in Balatro‘s hands, is a mutable, mercurial thing.

I’ve built decks where a simple pair is more powerful than a straight flush. I’ve built decks that mean straights no longer work the way they should, and allow me to create wild combos more frequently. I’ve built decks where I’ve experimented and discovered that there are valid poker hands here that don’t even exist in the real-life game – five of a kind, anyone?

I’ve discovered a new way to play Balatro on every single run I’ve played, quite literally –and I’ve played a lot. This isn’t a game about working within the rules to succeed, it’s about changing the rules to help you redefine what success is. I’ve already hit point scores I didn’t necessarily think were possible when I started playing – and, looking in the unlocks menu, I’ve realised that there are point scores that still feel baffling this far into my time with the game.

Speaking of unlocks, this is where Balatro offers you a meaningful sense of progression. Every new run is a total reset – you can’t keep abilities or receive passive upgrades, but hitting (often very specific) targets will unlock new cards for you to use in future runs. I’m now looking through menus between each run, working out what bizarre goal I want to hit next – a run where I somehow have 30 club cards in my deck? Let’s give it a try.

Perhaps my biggest reservation going into Balatro is that there was no story to anchor this all to – I’ve loved roguelike deckbuilders’ many approaches to slowly but surely offering up a narrative through what amount to simple games of cards. But I’ve come to realise that part of the beauty here is that this game swaps story for atmosphere.

There’s a digital spookiness at work, from the faux-CRT scanlines across the screen, to its heavy reliance on tarot imagery, to the general sense that something is broken about all of this – like we’re playing a virtual poker machine in some haunted casino. I’ll never truly know what’s going on beyond my newest deck’s abilities, and that feels like the point.

Balatro already feels like a game to file alongside the pinnacles of the genre, and I know I’ve only seen a portion of what it has to offer. I can’t wait to see where the cards take me next.

---

Balatro is out now on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One.

Balatro

Playstack Ltd

☆☆☆☆☆

★★★★★

Get it now

Balatro is a poker-inspired roguelike deck builder all about creating powerful synergies and winning big.

The poker roguelike. Balatro is a hypnotically satisfying deckbuilder where you play illegal poker hands, discover game-changing jokers, and trigger adrenaline-pumping, outrageous combos.

Combine valid poker hands with unique Joker cards in order to create varied synergies and builds. Earn enough chips to beat devious blinds, all while uncovering hidden bonus hands and decks as you progress. You’re going to need every edge you can get in order to reach the boss blind, beat the final ante and secure victory.

The post Balatro Wants You to Play Poker – and Then Break It Apart appeared first on Xbox Wire.

A New Villain will be joining My Hero Ultra Rumble from February 21, 2024.

A bit high-strung and not overly coherent in word and deed, but he’s a villain who loves his friends – Twice joins the rumble!

My Hero Ultra Rumble has many characters with visuals and Quirks that are faithful to the original manga. Twice is one of them, and players can experience the same skill as shown in the original, including the iconic skill that create alter egos with the Quirk “Twice”.

We’re thrilled to bring this popular character to this battle royale. Here to tell you more is our game producer, Aoba Miyazaki, who has put together some tips and insights on the Twice character development so you can maximize, and dare we say, duplicate your best efforts with his Quirk!

Skill Introduction

Defeat your opponent, get their measurements, and create clones of yourself or your enemies with your Quirk when you choose Twice.

“The charm of Twice in the original story has been incorporated into his techniques as a playable character,” says Miyazaki. “He has a tricky special action that lets him duplicate the enemy, and we hope you will use it to cause mischief and add a new element of excitement to your battles.”

“We put a lot of effort into keeping his voice and visuals to be authentic and just as appealing as the original, and we hope you will connect with him in game!”

Quirk Skill – Dagger Shot

Feature: Long-range attack utilizing multiple thrown knives. Strike your opponent in a burst of blades.

Tips: As you will be throwing multiple knives, it is possible to limit the opponent’s movement by aiming for hit stops with multiple hits.

While the Quirk Skill is hitting, and the opponent’s movement is slowing down, work together with your allies to inflict massive damage.

Quirk Skill – Self Duplicate

Feature: Create a clone of yourself. Clones disappear after approaching and attacking an opponent.         

Tips: When fighting in an area with many objects, use them to hide yourself or get out of sight of your opponent, and aggressively use the Quirk Skill to confuse your opponent by attacking in such a way that they cannot tell whether you are the main body or an alter ego.

Quirk Skill – Foot Boost

Feature: Move in the direction of your extended measuring tape and use knife to attack. It can be used as a means of transportation, as it can travel to the tip of the tape measure.

Tips: Since it can also be used to move vertically, this Quirk Skill can be used while looking up to move on top of buildings in the new U.A. Island stage, which has many buildings. The Quirk Skill can be used for both surprise attacks and evacuation, allowing the user to move freely around the stage.

Special Action – Mud Imitation

Feature: Deals the final blow to a downed opponent and creates a clone of them. The clone will remain active until they are defeated or the opponent is revived.

Tips: The HP of the alter ego created by a Special Action is based on the character’s HP. Currently, there is no upper limit to the number of alter egos that can be created by a Special Action, so Twice players can actively aim to create alter egos of characters with high HP and overwhelm the battlefield.

PUR Costume for Twice – Paper Bag Disguise

This costume is from the original anime, and it is faithfully reproduced down to the handles of the paper bag.

The costume also comes in color variations original to the game. We hope players will have fun expressing themselves by unlocking color variations that suit their personal styles.

And there you have it! Confuse your opponents and overwhelm the battlefield with countless imitations of your fallen foes when Twice joins the fray on February 21.

MY HERO ULTRA RUMBLE

Bandai Namco Entertainment America Inc.

☆☆☆☆☆
412

★★★★★

Get it now

Season 3 is here!
A new stage, U.A. Island, is added in Season 3!

Don’t miss out on battling on a new stage which includes new areas, such as U.A. High School and shopping malls!

Izuku Midoriya’s Quirk skill set, Full Bullet, is now available!
Change Izuku’s Quirk skill set for a new way to achieve victory!

Don’t miss out on Season 3 Licenses and new PUR costumes!
New characters will be added during Season 3!

LET’S GET READY TO RUMBLE!
Leap into the fray with your fellow heroes…and villains! Use communication, tactics, and synergize Quirks with your team of 3 to be the last ones standing in this 24-player Battle Royale!

MAKE THE MOST OF YOUR QUIRK!
Pick up your favorite characters from a quirky roster divided into 5 archetypes: Strike, Assault, Rapid, Technical, and Support. The strengths of each character are completely different depending on their unique Quirk.

COLLECT ITEMS AND GET STRONGER!
Find items, interact with civilians, and defeat opponents to improve your abilities and get the upper hand over other teams!

CUSTOMIZE YOUR EXPERIENCE!
Unlock new characters and customization options by gaining experience and completing missions. Participate in seasonal events and try your luck with tickets to glam up with exclusive items!
The game will be updated each season to include new elements, focusing on new characters and costumes!
Jump in and get a hold of the rapidly changing battle conditions!

*This game is meant to be played online only. It cannot be played in offline mode.
*An internet connection is required to play this game.
*The service and its contents are subject to change or end without prior notice.

The post Fool Them Twice in My Hero Ultra Rumble: Villain Twice Joins The Roster appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Chaos threatens humanity once again. Reports of a mysterious plague named ‘the Bloom’ emerge from the Tyrtaeus sector, and the arrival of an Imperial Inquisitor sets in motion a chain of events which will test your tactical prowess to its limits.

In Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters, you’ll take command of the Grey Knights, an elite chapter and secretive order of Space Marines, tasked with aiding the Inquisitor in the eradication of this foul corruption.

Force Commander, given the grave nature of this new threat, I have been authorised to distribute the following confidential military doctrine to assist your encounters with this plague. I hope that these Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters tips serve you well. For the Emperor!

Turn-based tactics, Space Marines style

A single Grey Knight is an army unto itself, whether executing enemies at distance or purging them in melee combat. Your elite soldiers don’t miss their shots, offering you total precision when they open fire on the forces of Chaos. Repeatedly attacking foes will stun them, creating an opportunity to target specific body parts and reduce your foe’s effectiveness or even unleash a stunning execution to boost your entire squad with an extra action.

Take Down the Reapers of the Bloom

Force Commander, early reports indicate that the Grey Knights will take on towering, powerful boss enemies in the form of the Reapers of the Bloom, from Greater Daemons such as Aeger the Benevolent, to the hulking corroded Chaos Knight, Cruciatus the Generous. Each will require you to rethink your tactics in order to achieve victory. But an even graver threat awaits those who discover the Bloom: Mortarion, the Death Lord and Primarch of the Death Guard.

Personalize the Grey Knights

As Force Commander, you can customise each battle-brother to your liking, tweaking crests, skin colour, hair colour, armour pieces and more. Grey Knights arrive trained as a particular class, starting with the Justicar, Interceptor, Apothecary and Purgator. An additional set of four advanced classes unlock throughout the campaign. As your Grey Knights gain experience, you will be able to further shape their training to suit your style on the battlefield, sharpening their skills until they become the ultimate weapon against the darkness.

An Unpredictable Enemy

Across an expansive campaign, our prognosticars suggest you will face a wide variety of Nurgle’s threats such as Poxwalkers, Helbrutes, Plague Marines, and Myphitic Blight-haulers as you battle the Bloom. Enemies will mutate across combat missions depending on which strain of the Bloom is present, visually changing them and offering combat buffs such as additional armour.

Psyker Power

Each Grey Knight has a reserve of Willpower, which is spent on psychic powers, and is primarily regained by slaying enemies on the battlefield. Psychic powers range from increasing the power of melee attacks to area of effect buffs for your Knights. Additionally, by supporting Inquisitor Vakir’s research into the Bloom, you’ll gain the ability to deploy powerful single-use psychic abilities called Stratagems which can turn the tide of an entire battle.

Purging the Bloom

Between battles, you’ll preside over command of the Strike Cruiser, the Baleful Edict. From the helm, you’ll respond to the growing Bloom threat, monitoring its spread via the Star Map and deciding where to go next. But be warned, you will have to make tough choices in order to limit the Bloom’s spread. The longer you leave an outbreak unchecked, the more enemy resistance you can expect.

The Changing Battlefield

Combat zones will change over time as the Bloom takes hold, offering new cover opportunities as well as new hazards. Players can also utilise the environment to their advantage, unleashing massive plasma battery explosions or collapsing pillars on foes. Players can set waypoints for their Grey Knights as they tactically move around each map, avoiding parts of the level where an enemy might be in overwatch stance, or where noxious corruption might otherwise damage them.

Upgrades on the Baleful Edict

The Baleful Edict acts as your command centre, where you’ll find key areas in need of your attention. The Manufactorum lets players first repair and later upgrade their vessel, enhancing its response capabilities significantly. In the Armoury, Grand Master Vardan Kai offers equipment requisition to boost the war effort. Finally, in the Libris Malleus, Inquisitor Vakir will enhance the Grey Knights’ combat abilities and unlock tide-turning psychic abilities called Stratagems.

Add to Your Arsenal

By showing its dedication to the chapter, your Strike Force is granted rewards over time such as additional Grey Knights, Master-crafted weapons, Armour and specialized Wargear. Completing optional combat mission challenges known as Glorious Deeds, which impose tougher limitations or objectives, will unlock additional requisition points to spend in the armoury.

Beware the Warp

Warp Surges are unpredictable combat mission events that can call in new enemy reinforcements, activate powerful mutations, and introduce unpredictable effects and hazards onto the battlefield, upping the challenge. The more corrupt the map, the more likely a Warp Surge event will occur, but enemy actions and Grey Knight abilities can further influence Warp Surges as well.

I hope these insights provide a guide for your investigations Force Commander. You can start your battle against the Bloom right now on Xbox. Share your triumphs with your fellow Grey Knights on our social media channels and strike down this foul corruption!

The post 10 Things to Get You Started in Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate – Daemonhunters appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Get To Know Our Team
Tyler
Technical Program Manager (Commerce & Subscriptions)

Hi, everyone! Wynn here again. Welcome back to another Xbox Insider Team interview. Today we’re sitting down with Tyler—a Technical Program Manager who focuses on the commerce and subscriptions side of the business. How’re we doing today, Tyler?

Feeling great, Wynn. Excited to chat with our Xbox Insider Community.

Fantastic. Let’s start by giving everyone a little background on yourself.

Diving right in, eh? Okay. So, I’m a little bit the “typical” Seattle tech guy. Completely native to the area, raised right here with Microsoft always in the backyard so I’ve always been impressed/inspired by the company.

So, Microsoft—even before your employment—has been a pretty big constant.

Yeah, it comes with the territory a little. My whole life has always been in Seattle. My wife and I are raising our daughter here, my entire family is here, and so it’s always seemed like a natural fit for my circumstances.

When did you end up starting?

It would’ve been back in early 2007. I got brought on in the Customer Support org for Windows and Office. I spent a few years there before moving to work in CS for Xbox.

Ah, another longtime Xbox worker on the team.

Kind of? Haha. I actually had a few different stops along the way. I went back to Windows for a bit, then dabbled with Inside Sales, before going back to Xbox Support in 2019 and then, finally, Xbox Insider Team in 2021.

Oh, wow! I’m actually previous Inside Sales as well. Spent three years in the Fargonian tundra selling Azure.

Sales is brutal sometimes man. I knew it wasn’t really for me after my time there.

Agreed on that.

So, you’re a bit of a newer member of Xbox Insider Team, and I know a lot of your work is sort of behind-the-scenes / under-the-hood. Is there anything you’ve worked on that you’re super proud of?

Absolutely! I think the subscription aspect might be interesting to people. Helping launch Game Pass Ultimate was really cool. I’m also proud of our market expansion work, like bringing PC Game Pass to Southeast Asia. It’s incredibly rewarding to see both Game Pass and Insiders grow as a result.

Yeah, that’s excellent. I don’t think anyone’s complaining about more Game Pass.

Is there anything you’re currently working on you can share with us for the 10^th Anniversary?

Unfortunately, most of my day to day falls firmly under the “not for public consumption” label. But I am working on some regular Game Pass Ultimate stuff and with things like EA Play and Ubisoft+, which is pretty awesome. You can bet I’m always working to make our experiences better based on what we’re hearing!

I’m sure everyone will love to hear that!

But let’s move out of the realm of work and to some more of your personal interests. What’re some of your fondest gaming memories?

Oh man. There’s so many. I mean, my first console was an NES, and I can still vividly remember opening that with the Super Mario Bros. Duck Hunt combo pack.

Bring back the Zapper! I want to blow a new generation of minds with the paper trick.

It was such a unique concept back then. It’s still wild how that was so popular. After NES, I picked up an SNES and played entirely too much Super Mario Kart. In a weird way, Duck Hunt and Super Mario Kart kind of informed my future tastes because my two favorite genres are shooters and racers. Though I’m definitely more of a sim-racer now.

I just can’t manage sim-racers. I remember playing Gran Turismo 3 A-spec on PS2 and I think I made it like 3 races deep. I gotta have that arcade-y feel. Like, Blur is my favorite racing game ever.

Haha. Totally understand. Man, you just took me back with A-Spec. I played so much of that game on my PS2.

Another game that holds a special place for me is Ocarina of Time. I played through that with my dad and being able to experience that game—from the jump in 3D to just how meticulously it was designed—with him is something I’ll always cherish.

We’ve had a few different “gaming stories with parents” on here and I absolutely love them every time.

Okay, let’s talk music. You grew up in Seattle, so I assume you’ve seen some of the greats?

Oh man. Hah. I’m almost a little embarrassed to admit it, but I was really into rap/hip-hop through most of my formative years. Dr. Dre, Eminem, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, OutKast, stuff like that. I didn’t really get into the alternative scene until after I had graduated college, so I missed all those shows.

Wow. My entire upbringing was around alt music. My dad was heavy into college radio, so he had plenty of deep cuts that weren’t super big. Throwing Muses, Jellyfish, Tripp Shakespeare. Like, everyone knows “Good” by Better Than Ezra, but I had listened to an entire album before that.

Yeah, I missed that whole initial wave. But, now that I’m more into the alternative and indie side of things, I’ve found a ton of great local music around Seattle. Like, my wife and I just recently went to see The Head and the Heart for the millionth time, and they were fantastic.

There we go. That’s your “we liked them before they were cool” band.

Exactly! I still have some Seattle cred.

I’m that way with a few of the mid-to-late 2000s “scene” bands. Like, I have the first piece of merch that Sleeping With Sirens ever sold, signed by the entire band, and then they’re selling out venues and amphitheaters around the world.

All right. I could talk music literally forever. Let’s move on to the golden/silver screens. Is there a show you always have on in the background?

Oh, like Crews? [Note For Reader: Crews is another member of the Xbox Insider Team.]

Haha. That’s exactly who I was thinking about when I drafted this question.

Man, I’ve fully succumbed to the streaming backlog here. I hardly ever re-watch stuff because there’s so much coming out or catching up on. Recently I’ve been enjoying Reacher though.

Big dude solves problems by being the biggest dude, you gotta love it.

Exactly. It’s really well done and close enough to the books. It’s just fun.

Do you have any hobbies outside of the comfort of the home?

Definitely. Skiing is maybe my favorite thing in the world. It’s an almost spiritual experience for me to be out there. Really just being in the mountains is deeply personal to me. Hiking, skiing, camping. Anything out in nature to give me that mental reset.

I like the idea of nature more than I like being outside in it. But I will say, some of my favorite experiences with that sort of thing have always been picturesque views in the mountains.

Oh, you have to see some of the views up here. Just breathtaking.

Well, we’re about out of time here. Any last thoughts for the Community?

Honestly, I know it’s a little cliché, but I just want to thank everyone for what they contribute to the program and for being so invested in making what we all do better. Across all of Xbox, we greatly appreciate it.

Definitely. We’re always happy to hear our Xbox Insiders give their feedback.

Well, it was great chatting with you Tyler.

Likewise! Glad I could make it.

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: Tyler – Technical Program Manager (Commerce & Subscriptions) appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Hello everybody! Hunter Bridges here. I am one of the co-founders of Evening Star, as well as both Game Director and Technical Director for Penny’s Big Breakaway.

Penny’s Big Breakaway is our team’s first 3D game, coming soon to Xbox Series X|S, and we built it using our in-house 3D engine, Star Engine. Building a 3D game engine from the ground up is hard work, but that’s okay with us. Evening Star’s philosophy is that, by blazing our own trails with technology, our creativity will be sparked in unique ways.

Today, I want to touch on our design motivations, how that informs the camera system as well as the control scheme, and the performance we were able to unlock with the Xbox Series X|S.

Thro’ Yo’ Yo-Yo!

When we first started Evening Star, we were eager to create a fully 3D game. We wanted to come up with a game concept featuring our own characters and world, all powered by our proprietary Star Engine!

While investing time in our engine, we started generating concepts for 3D games. One person’s idea from one day would inspire someone else’s idea the next day. Our team kicked around a seed of an idea about using a yo-yo, which quickly took root.

With this concept, our game designer Esteban Fajardo drew up a series of sketches representing different “verbs” our character could perform.

We felt like we were onto something. Even in this basic form, the character and yo-yo were kinetic and exciting! Some of these actions even made it into the final game… “throw”, “sleep”, “ride” and “swing” were all present from this early stage.

The team also wanted to create a colorful cast of characters, and we wanted them to live in a fantastical environment. Combined with the Yo-Yo mechanics, this led to fluid action in a unique world.

Putting the Right “Spin” on it

Once we decided on our core concept, we attacked it from every angle. We asked ourselves: What do we like about our favorite 3D platformers? What are elements we struggle with? What are some fresh things we could bring to it?

Our team surfaced a common point of contention: the camera. In most 3D platformers, the player is often tasked with managing the camera. We’re adding new mechanics designed around yo-yo moves. We wanted the player to focus on controlling that, instead of constantly attending to the camera’s position and direction.

We decided to go with a “fixed” camera that the player doesn’t control. The player never has to think about the camera, but it will always show them what they need to see and where they need to go. This decision profoundly influenced our gameplay and level design.

Bump if You Jump

Alongside the camera, we were exploring control schemes for movement and yo-yo actions. At this time, the character designs were taking shape too. We created Penny, and turned her regular yo-yo into her faithful companion… aptly named Yo-Yo!

A key design pillar was ‘expression’. We wanted to give the player maximum opportunity to move Penny and control Yo-Yo’s abilities, and reward their skill. The ideal is anyone can create their own “style” out of Penny’s strong core moveset.

Quick access to Penny’s Yo-Yo moves, in every direction, was essential to expressive movement. Assigning the right thumb stick was the clear answer.

Since the right stick became so crucial, we also wanted the player to play without ever needing to lift their thumb from it. This lent itself to a “bumper jumper” control scheme, where the jump action is mapped to the L or R bumpers.

We tried a control scheme with just analog sticks and bumpers. Immediately, we noticed the empty set of face buttons felt unnatural. We also felt that players might not adopt an unconventional control scheme. We met in the middle and assigned the face buttons more traditionally– A button to jump, X button to throw, and B button to ride.

The result is a control scheme that feels both familiar to newcomers but provides a level of movement control and flexibility that we believe is unique!

Penny Takes the Stage on Xbox

When talking about cameras and controls, responsiveness is the name of the game. It’s crucial that the player’s moves feel snappy and satisfying.

Xbox Series X|S can blast 120 frames per second! But that means our game has to run fast enough to keep up.

Thanks to the power of this Xbox Series X|S, Penny’s Big Breakaway can run at full resolution 120 Hz! On Series X, we support 4K (3840×2160), and on Series S we support 1440p (2560×1440). Plus, by using the new GameInput API, receiving input from the gamepad happens in tight sync with the high frame rate, minimizing player input lag.

Take a bow, Penny!

When you take a new 3D platformer, give it an expressive control scheme, and run it at a buttery smooth 120 Hz, the result is a visceral action game experience like no other!

But don’t just take it from me– you’ll have to try Penny’s Big Breakaway for yourself. Penny and Yo-Yo make their debut on Xbox early this year!

The post Inside the Dazzling Design of 3D Platformer Penny’s Big Breakaway appeared first on Xbox Wire.

Hello, I’m Alastair, the creator of PlateUp. I love deep roguelike games, which you can play over and over, with a different experience every time. And I love playing co-op games with friends. But it was hard to find a game that had the depth I wanted but was approachable enough for everyone to enjoy. So I left my job and made PlateUp – a co-op roguelite restaurant game – to be the game I wanted to play. After the amazing support the game has seen on PC, with over 1.5 million players, I’m excited to bring the game to so many new players on Xbox with Game Pass.

You’ll need to build up your restaurant from scratch to make it in the cutthroat world of hospitality. Spend your earnings each day to buy new appliances, then arrange your restaurant to optimise your performance. You’ve got complete control of the layout. Can’t reach the sink easily? Pick it up and move it closer. Kitchen too small? Move some things into another room. Customers too far away? Cook in front of them – just try not to set their table on fire!

It’ll start simple. You’ve got one meal to serve. Your customers behave themselves.

But every three days, the heat turns up. You’ll be presented with a choice of two new random challenges and you (and your team) will have to decide what to take on. You might opt to add more to your menu; maybe adding a side, a starter or a dessert. Or you could increase the complexity of one of your existing dishes by adding a sauce or swapping an ingredient out for a home-made version. Alternatively, you can keep your menu simple and handle more – and fussier – customers. Maybe you’ll need to remember your customers’ orders, or maybe from now on they’ll all turn up at the same time?

I wanted PlateUp to be a game everyone could enjoy. There’s lots of depth, but you only need two buttons to interact with everything. You can join your friends mid-session, and it doesn’t matter if you’re not as experienced as them – everyone can contribute without getting in the way. It’s not a blame game, and there’s no shame in losing; it’s all part of the process! I made it a roguelite, so that every time you start a new run you’ll get new dishes to serve, new challenges to overcome, and new tools to overcome them with. Everything you face will be something you’ve chosen to take on. Never get stuck on your least favourite level again.

Replayability is a core part of PlateUp. It’s great to have games to play with friends, but it’s even better when everyone can keep enjoying them. Each run you play will be different, with everything from the layout of your restaurant to the appliances you can buy changing every time. It’ll be a fresh experience for everyone, experienced and new players alike.

And as you play, you’ll unlock more content, including challenging game modes, dishes, and bigger layouts. You’ll also get a reward when your restaurant closes, which you can bring along to a later attempt, helping you get started. The more you play, the closer you’ll get to building the restaurant of your dreams.

Since the game first launched on PC, I’ve grown the PlateUp team and we’ve been hard at work improving the game. Over the last year, we’ve added relaxed coffee shop and bakery modes (no dishes to clean!); we’ve also added Turbo, a fast-paced way to turn up the pressure and push the limits. Throughout the year we’ve had seasonal maps, each with new gameplay and content. I’m excited to bring PlateUp – and all these new updates – to Xbox players, and we’ve added a brand new dish (the much-requested spaghetti) to celebrate.

I hope the PlateUp experience is something you’ll share with all your friends with Game Pass, both locally and online!

PlateUp!

Yogscast Games

☆☆☆☆☆
168

★★★★★

$19.99

$15.99

Get it now

PC Game Pass

Xbox Game Pass

PlateUp! combines chaotic kitchen and restaurant management with strategic planning and development to create a delightful roguelite dish unlike any other.

Up to four players build and run a restaurant from scratch, choosing dishes, buying and placing appliances – some of which can be daisy-chained together to create ambitious automatic kitchens – cooking food and serving customers.

Players have free rein to design their restaurant which will expand and develop between shifts – with additional content and challenges unlocked through progression.

Can you cook, serve and manage your way through 15 hectic days in your restaurant and unlock a brand-new franchise?

Classic co-op cooking action, with a wide selection of mains, sides, sauces, toppings, desserts, and starters.
Choose your equipment, lay out your kitchen, curate your menu and plate up your dishes.
From bubbling soups to sublime salads, tender steaks to hearty pies, there’s something for everyone.

Look after front-of-house: seating customers, delivering orders, and managing patience.
Equip your restaurant to handle the most fickle of customers and deliver them what they need, right when they need it.
Co-operate with your team like a well-olive-oiled machine or build a name for yourself going it alone.
Exceed your goals and take your franchise to greater heights at a new location, bringing with you new unlocks and upgrade

Upgrade and rearrange your restaurant to your personal taste: when the restaurant closes for the day, the planning begins!
Decide what new equipment to purchase, and place it wherever you want.
Want to go high-tech? Install the turbo-ovens, crank up the conveyors, and make way for the robo-kitchen of the future.
Fancy something a little more… fancy? Curate your art collection, fix up that wallpaper, enlist a friend as a maître d’ and get ready to provide the culinary experience of a lifetime.

Exceed your goals and start over at your next location, bringing with you new unlocks and upgrades.
Tailor your brand towards gourmet dining, or fine-tune your fast food franchise.
Every restaurant is procedurally-generated with its own climate, customers and conditions.
Return to your franchise HQ to view your achievements, customise your characters and upgrade your kit, ready for your next adventure!

The post PlateUp! A Delectable Kitchen Roguelite Combining Kitchen Chaos and Management appeared first on Xbox Wire.