Month: August 2019

The survival game Vigor will be free-to-play on Xbox One the weekend of August 8, Bohemia Interactive has announced. The free weekend will let you sample the Xbox timed exclusive game, currently in early access (or “Game Preview,” as Xbox calls it) to put it through its paces.

The free period will last through August 11, and comes right alongside the recent 0.9 Update. That update, nicknamed “Aid,” made big changes to the shooting mechanics and introduced new features like weapon skins, daily challenges, customization, spectator mode, gestures, and more.

So far more than half a million players have tried Vigor, and Bohemia says this free weekend is aimed at expanding the player base and testing new features ahead of its free-to-play release coming later this summer. If you enjoy the free time and want to keep playing, you can purchase a Founder’s Pack for $20 / 20 Euro and get some extra loot.

Vigor is a survival game set in Norway, from the studio behind DayZ. Bohemia previously explained that Sony’s lack of an early access program led it to launch Vigor exclusively for Xbox, at least at first. It will come to PS4 sometime later. A PC release has not been announced.

With crunch becoming an increasingly hot-button topic in the games industry, many developers are speaking out against the ruthless work environments employees at high-profile studios like Epic Games and Rockstar routinely face. The Outer Worlds developer Obsidian Entertainment is one such studio, saying it is “very committed” to keeping its work environment crunch-free.

In an interview with PCGamesN, The Outer Worlds’ senior designer, Brian Hines, said crunch is not in the studio’s development formula. “Obsidian is not a crunch studio, which is one of the things that keeps people staying there for a long time,” Hines said. Though he admitted employees are sometimes asked to stay longer in order “to meet a deadline,” Hines assured that these extra hours were “always [just] a request” and last for only “a week or so.”

Hines also confirmed the individual developers always have the right to exercise their autonomy, declining the request if they so choose. “There really hasn’t been a crunch or a death march or anything like that with the studio for quite a long time, as far as I can remember anyway,” Hines said. “That’s definitely one of the things that as a studio we’re very committed to. [W]e’d rather cut something than try and get people to not have a life outside of the industry.”

The Outer Worlds is set to launch on October 25 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The upcoming first-person RPG is also coming to Nintendo Switch, though no release date has been confirmed as of yet. It might not be “politically charged,” but The Outer Worlds is shaping up to be a modern homage to Fallout: New Vegas.

Let’s face it: Space is scary. Between the endless, uncaring void, the potential for chest-bursting aliens, and the omnipresent threat of catastrophic tech failure and accident, the cosmos itself is already horrific enough just on its own. But, if you needed yet another reason to be made extremely uncomfortable by the prospect of the abyss–don’t worry. Variety has reported that Paramount and Amazon are teaming up to develop a TV adaptation of the 1997 sci-fi horror classic, Event Horizon.

Though no details are currently available, it has been reported that Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs. Kong, Blair Witch, You’re Next) will be leading the charge. Whether or not the show will be a reboot of the movie, a continuation of the story set within the same universe, or something else entirely remains a mystery.

Originally directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, the man responsible for bringing us the first live-action Mortal Kombat movie, Event Horizon featured Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburn on an ill-fated space mission that, eventually, culminated in them piercing the cosmic barriers between our reality and a horrifying hell-dimension, all while trying to run a rescue mission on a derelict space ship. That’s right: Neill and Fishburn were sent to Space Hell, and it went about as well (and as brutally) as you could imagine.

One part Alien, one part Danny Boyle’s Sunshine, ten parts Hellraiser, Event Horizon blurred the lines between the metaphysical realms of spirituality, ghosts, and demons with the hard facts of scientific theory and space-age engineering with all the charm and practical effects of its late-’90s era.

Don’t worry, we may not have a ton of information on this one just yet, but there is still plenty of horror to look forward to this year. And some of it is already streaming.

Almost every day, streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, or Shudder deliver brand-new content to subscribers. This week, the three latter companies have something coming out during every day of the week. Here’s what you can watch on Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and AMC’s horror service Shudder.

Amazon Prime Video doesn’t have a lot coming out this week. The majority of the content from that service arrives in the second half of the month. However, the streaming service is premiering a new documentary series you may want to check out. On Friday, Season 1 of Free Meek will be released. The docuseries follows the 2017 arrest of rapper Meek Mill for a probation violation. Additionally, the series delves into justice reform and police corruption.

The biggest release on Hulu this week is Season 3A of Attack on Titan. The anime series follows humans trying to survive in a walled-off city while expressionless, gigantic humanoids try to force their way in and eat everyone. Don’t get attached to any of the characters though because everyone tends to meet their demise at some point. The new season arrives on Tuesday.

And if you’ve been following streaming news the past couple of weeks, then you know I cannot shut up about Slumber Party Massacre II, coming to Shudder on Monday. A wonderful, cheesy, insane ’80s-slasher film, SPM2 follows a group of young women who go to a condo over the weekend to have practice with their rockin’ band, but they all end up getting stalked by a rockabilly murderer with a giant drillbit on his guitar. This movie is a masterpiece. You’re welcome for the suggestion.

Below, you’ll find everything coming to the aforementioned streaming services. Make sure to check out what’s coming to Netflix this week as well.

New To Amazon, Hulu, And Shudder this week:

Monday, August 5

Hulu

• The Kleptocrats (2018)

Shudder

• The Slumber Party Massacre (1982, Amy Holden Jones)
• Slumber Party Massacre II (1987, Deborah Brock)

Tuesday, August 6

Hulu

• Apollo: Mission to the Moon: Special (National Geographic)
• Attack on Titan: Complete Season 3A (Funimation)
• Bachelor in Paradise: Season 6 premiere (ABC)
• Plus One (2018)
• Swan Princess: Kingdom of Music (2017)
• The Swan Princess: Kingdom of Music (2019)

Wednesday, August 7

Amazon Prime Video

• All I See Is You (2016)

Hulu

• The Armstrong Tapes: Special (National Geographic)

Thursday, August 8

Hulu

• Apollo: Back to the Moon: Special (National Geographic)
• BH90210: Series Premiere (FOX)
• Mortdecai (2015)

Shudder

• NOS4A2 (2019) — New episodes on Thursdays through October 10

Friday, August 9

Amazon Prime Video

• Free Meek S1 – Amazon Prime Original
• Pete the Cat S1 Part 2 – Amazon Prime Original

Hulu

• The Beach Bum (2019)

WayForward has released a new trailer for River City Girls, an upcoming beat-’em-up. The trailer highlights the personality of Misako, one of the two playable characters in the game. You can watch the new trailer below.

In the trailer description, Misako is described by WayForward as “hot-blooded,” just like her best friend Kyoko. She’s also “tough, impulsive, and always ready for a fight.” Misako seems to have a bit of an angry streak to her as well, having no patience for her classmates who get in her way and aggressively punching her boyfriend Kunio after he steals the last piece of food that she and Kyoko were fighting over. In the trailer, we also get to see a bit more of River City Girls’ gameplay, which features traditional beat-’em-up mechanics like throwables, combos, and special attacks.

River City Girls is one of the better anime-like games we played at Anime Expo 2019. Developed by Shantae: Half-Genie Hero‘s WayForward and overseen by Dragon Ball FighterZ‘s Arc System Works, River City Girls is the newest entry in the River City franchise. The game begins with franchise main characters Kunio and Riki being kidnapped. Their girlfriends, Kyoko and Misako, embark on a rampage across the different districts of the city to find and save them.

To convey the same sense of style as the original River City games, River City Girls features 16-bit-style graphics, an ’80s-inspired synthpop soundtrack, and both solo and co-op play. River City Girls is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, Switch, and PC on September 5. Limited Run Games is also creating a physical version.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses is out now on Nintendo Switch, but there’s still a lot of content on the way for the game. In addition to an upcoming free update, Nintendo will be releasing several waves of DLC as part of the title’s expansion pass, and the company has outlined when fans can expect that content to arrive.

The first “wave” of DLC launched alongside the game and added male and female Officers Academy outfits for protagonist Byleth. Wave 2 is scheduled to release by October 31, 2019 and will introduce new Auxiliary battle maps, as well as “helpful in-game support items” and some additional content. The third wave of DLC will follow by December 31 and will add new quests and costumes, while the fourth is slated to arrive by April 30, 2020 and will introduce new story content, including additional playable characters and locations.

All four waves of DLC will only be sold as part of Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ expansion pass, which runs for $25 USD / £22.49 / $37.50 AU. You can read more details about the expansion pass on Nintendo’s website. Everyone who purchases a copy of the game is also entitled to receive Byleth in the mobile Fire Emblem Heroes game. To qualify, you’ll need to purchase a copy and register it via My Nintendo by June 29, 2020. You can read how to redeem the free gift here.

In addition to the planned DLC, Nintendo will release several free updates for Fire Emblem: Three Houses, one of which will introduce a more challenging difficulty mode. Nintendo hasn’t specified when that update will go live, only noting that it will be released “later this year.” The company mentions a couple of other free updates for the game in its DLC roadmap, but it hasn’t yet detailed what those will entail.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses launched on July 26 and has already proven to be a big critical and commercial success for Nintendo. The game has held onto the top spot of the UK game charts for the second week and garnered positive reviews from critics, including GameSpot–you can read our full thoughts on the title in our Fire Emblem: Three Houses review. If you’re just getting started, be sure to check out our spoiler-free essential tips and advice.

The Pokemon Company is getting a pop-up store in the heart of London for a limited time, to pair with the UK-inspired Pokemon Sword and Shield. The store will be located in the Westfield London from October 18-November 15.

According to the company, the store will offer a range of Pokemon products, including some exclusives. The announcement states that it is meant to pay tribute to the UK’s role in inspiring the new Galar region featured in Sword and Shield, which will release on November 15.

We’re also going to learn more about Sword and Shield later this week. The Pokemon Company announced a new Galar Research Update coming on August 7. The most recent one revealed Gigantamaxing and Sword and Shield have version-exclusive gyms among lots of other details. We’ll have to see what the company has planned for this next reveal.

Sword and Shield will launch on November 15, just a week after the special “Zacian and Zamazenta Edition” Switch Lite on November 8. These games have been the subject of some controversy upon word that you can’t transfer your entire collection. Producer Junichi Masuda even responded to the controversy in a statement.

For more details on Pokemon Sword and Shield, check out our pre-order guide. And to get your Pokemon fill in the meantime, check out our chat with Pokemon Trading Card Game artist Mitsuhiro Arita.

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Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launched with Blackout, Treyarch’s foray into the massively popular battle royale genre. Though the genre is rife with potential, it’s steadily becoming oversaturated with content, something developer Infinity Ward seems to be aware of. As it stands, Infinity Ward is uninterested in a battle royale mode for the upcoming Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

Joe Cecot, Infinity Ward’s multiplayer design director, told IGN that Black Ops 4 and Modern Warfare are different vibes, saying the studio is honing in on the core multiplayer experience. “[We’re] big fans of battle royale. We’re excited for large player counts and things like that, but right now we’re really focused on core multiplayer.”

So it seems Modern Warfare will feature nothing similar to Black Ops 4’s Blackout. Cecot explained, saying, “We really focused on Modern Warfare, authentic and gritty, realistic weapons and it’s a different experience. It’s really… just about pulling back to Modern Warfare and keeping that pure.”

Currently, Modern Warfare’s largest player count is found in Ground War, which supports up to 40 players. When the reboot launches this October, however, the plan is for Ground War to support more than 100 players in a single match. The new Gunfight mode is Modern Warfare’s smallest player count, featuring 2v2 battles reliant on skill and tactical positioning.

Starting in September, Infinity Ward will host private and public betas for Modern Warfare. Scheduled exclusively for those who pre-order on PS4, the first round kicks off on September 12 and 13. The second round, available to all PS4 owners, will run from September 14-16. Those who pre-order on PC and Xbox One can play between September 19-20. It all culminates to the final beta, accessible to anyone with internet access, which is scheduled to run between September 21-23.

It appears yet another leak for a Ubisoft game has made its way onto the internet. This time it’s for Rainbow Six Siege and the rumored Operators scheduled to release for the game’s Year 4 Season 3 expansion.

Two pieces of concept art for Siege’s next two Operators have leaked onto Reddit. On ResetEra, user Kormora–a reliable Siege leaker according to VG247–has confirmed the leaked images are legitimate and do showcase Year 4 Season 3’s two Operators. Both Operators seems to hail from, or at least work out of, South America.

The first appears to be some kind of demolitions expert and the second looks like an adventurous archaeologist. Both roles would fit with an earlier leak that revealed the gadgets for Siege’s next two Operators: one would carry a deployable shield that would release combustible canisters and the other would be armed with a grappling hook that would allow them to climb up through hatches on the ceiling. Both gadgets sound like something that an explosives expert and tomb raider would use.

A popular limited-time mode in Rainbow Six Siege, Outbreak, is being expanded into a full-fledged game called Rainbow Six Quarantine. Unlike Siege, which is primarily co-op PvP, Quarantine is a co-op PvE game. Outbreak saw several members of Team Rainbow break off from hunting terrorists to be part of a special task force–led by FBI agent Eliza “Ash” Cohen–to combat and cure a virus that was mutating humans into zombie-like creatures. Quarantine seems to pick up where Outbreak left off, but Ubisoft hasn’t confirmed story details for the new game. Rainbow Six Quarantine is scheduled to launch in early 2020, specifically before March 31.

Until then, Siege continues to be a popular co-op first-person shooter, with regular updates rebalancing Operators and creating a better experience with additional gameplay features. In GameSpot’s Rainbow Six Siege review, Scott Butterworth wrote, “My experiences weren’t always perfect, but when Siege works, there’s nothing else like it. It’s not designed to appeal to all players, and that’s exactly what allows it to be something special. With so much strategic depth, those periods between firefights actually become some of the most rewarding, while firefights themselves are made all the more intense by the knowledge that you’re fighting for your life, not just your kill/death ratio.”