Month: January 2019

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Diablo 3 has once again kicked off its limited-time event celebrating the anniversary of the original Diablo. The Darkening of Tristram event is running through the end of the month, and offers some exclusive rewards for plumbing the depths of its dungeons and taking down some tough bosses.

The event has you hunting down cultists until you find yourself in a familiar cathedral. The twist is that the event recreates the look and feel of old Diablo, with retro-style graphics and UI, classic bosses, and even limitations to your movement.

Completing challenges and taking down each of the four bosses will grant you banner elements, pets, transmog weapons, and special portraits. This is the first time the event is available to Switch owners, so if you picked it up on that platform you can earn yourself the rewards on the go.

This is the same event as in previous years, even down to including one pesky bug. Fans on the official blog and subreddit have complained that the Wirt’s Leg bug has been left intact. That transmog weapon is supposed to appear as a Legendary, but the bug has left it appearing as a less valuable blue item.

Most recently, Blizzard took the stage at its annual BlizzCon event to announce Diablo Immortal, a mobile-only addition to the franchise. This led to no small degree of fan backlash, which may have even impacted Activision Blizzard’s stock price. Our hands-on impressions of Diablo Immortal were fairly positive, while acknowledging a lot we don’t know yet about it.

“Immortal has translated the core framework and mechanics down to mobile devices in an impressive way,” wrote Alessandro Fillari. “While it certainly isn’t Diablo 4, it’s also clear that it’s not trying to be. I don’t see it as a true replacement for Diablo 3–the recent Switch version will keep me from doing that for sometime–but I can see myself playing this game during my usual downtime. I was surprisingly pleased with how Immortal played, and it’ll be interesting to see how the game will pan out once it launches in 2019.”

Anyone who likes shooters and wants a new or renewed PS Plus membership can get a nice discount this week. Between now and January 13, PS4 owners can get a good deal on a bundle containing the new-to-PS4 battle royale game PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds and a year’s subscription to PlayStation Plus for just $70. That saves you $20 off the cost of the items if purchased separately. Not a bad deal!

PlayStation Plus grants users access to online multiplayer, free games each month, and exclusive discounts on the PlayStation Store. Your PS Plus subscription doesn’t have to be up for renewal when you purchase the bundle, either. When you add it to your account, an additional 12 months will be tacked onto your subscription regardless of when it’s due to expire.

PUBG is a battle royale game whose matches involve 100 players dropping onto a map, searching for weapons and armor, and battling it out in a shrinking play area until only one player or team is left alive. The game launched in early access on PC in March 2017 before getting a full release in December of that year. It has since come to Xbox One and mobile, with its PS4 version launching just last month on December 7.

In GameSpot’s PUBG review, Michael Higham wrote, “Each phase of a match presents a different type of tension that is equal parts thrilling and terrifying, driven by the insatiable desire to be the last person (or squad) standing. Whether you play solo or in a group, successfully executing adaptive tactics to win intense, high-stakes firefights makes for an incredibly rewarding experience.”

If you’d like to save $20 on PUBG and 12 months’ worth of PS Plus, make sure you buy the bundle before the deal goes away on January 13.

Epic Games is giving away a free PC game every two weeks this year via its new Store, and the next of those free titles has now been revealed. What Remains of Edith Finch, one of 2017’s best games, will be available free of charge from January 10 until January 25.

All you need to do is create an Epic account on its Store and claim the game within those dates. You’ll then be able to play the game for free whenever you like, even after January 25. Currently, the free game on offer is Super Meat Boy, which is free until What Remains of Edith Finch takes over on January 10.

Edith Finch is a relatively short adventure game about a girl whose family have all suddenly died under mysterious circumstances. Playing from Edith’s perspective, you explore the family home to discover more about the events leading to each person’s death.

Our reviewer, Justin Clark, enjoyed the narrative-driven game immensely, awarding it a 9/10. “It’s not often that a game’s plot slips past the bitterness of grief to finally get to the acceptance, but that’s the triumph in What Remains of Edith Finch,” he wrote of the PS4 version in our What Remains of Edith Finch review. “Ultimately, if the game has any resemblance of a moral, it’s that the bravest, most beautiful thing every one of us does is choose to keep going, despite knowing what’s coming.”

The Entertainment Software Ratings Board has provided another indication that Catherine, Atlus’ narrative-driven puzzle game, will be released on PC. The Catherine ESRB listing has been updated to include PC alongside PS3 and Xbox 360, the platforms on which the game was originally released back in 2011. The listing also has Xbox One included in the platforms section, suggesting it may also make its way to Microsoft’s console at some point.

This follows a teaser that appeared on the Steam page for Bayonetta, another game published by Atlus’ parent company Sega. The teaser was a picture of a sheep, an animal used in Catherine to represent male characters that aren’t the protagonist, Vincent. These sheep are usually vying for the affection of Vincent’s love interest, Catherine, by way of competing in block-pulling puzzles.

Catherine is set to be re-released on PS4 and PS Vita as Catherine: Full Body, an updated version of the game that will feature new content. Since it’s the ESRB listing for the original version of Catherine that’s been updated, it could be that the PC release will be the vanilla version of the game, should it materialize.

In GameSpot’s Catherine review, Kevin VanOrd said the game is “mature and occasionally profound, exploring themes like sexual fidelity, personal responsibility, and trust. Catherine doesn’t just challenge your hand/eye coordination: It challenges your intellect and your emotions.”

Sony’s big January PS4 game sale is still ongoing, and now the company has discounted even more titles. Big games like Assassin’s Creed Origins, Far Cry 5, and Hitman 2 are going cheap in Europe in addition to the titles that were already discounted.

Ubisoft games make up a decent proportion of the sale’s new entries. Assassin’s Creed Origins is down from £50 to just £16 for example, while Far Cry 5 is just £25 and Rainbow Six Siege is on offer for £9.49. A few EA games are included in the promotion, such as a FIFA 19 and Madden NFL 19 bundle for £40 and another package that includes those two titles plus NHL 19 and NBA Live 19 for £73.59. Need for Speed Payback is discounted to £10, while Star Wars Battlefront II is also a tenner. Finally, IO Interactive’s Hitman 2 is on sale for £28, despite only launching in November.

These deals are in addition to a plethora of discounts that went live in December. Those included such promotions as Battlefield V for £30, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for £36, and God of War‘s deluxe edition for £25. The whole sale runs until January 18; for the full list of games on offer, head over to the PlayStation Store.

While you’re there, be sure to pick up the free PS Plus games for January 2018. This month PlayStation Plus members can pick up Steep, Portal Knights, Amplitude and more for no extra cost.