Month: January 2020

Super Smash Bros Ultimate Patch Notes–Every Fighter Adjustment In Update 7.0

Donkey Kong Other Increased shield size.
Made the head briefly invincible after deactivating shield. Link Other Increased shield size. Samus Dash Attack Increased the power of the beginning of the attack. Samus Up Smash Attack Extended launch distance. Samus Down Smash Attack Extended launch distance. Samus Up Throw Extended launch distance. Samus Other Increased power of midair grab.
Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts for midair grab.
Increased shield size. Dark Samus Dash Attack Increased the power of the beginning of the attack. Dark Samus Up Smash Attack Extended launch distance. Dark Samus Down Smash Attack Extended launch distance. Dark Samus Up Throw Extended launch distance. Dark Samus Other Increased power of midair grab.
Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts for midair grab.
Increased shield size.
Made the right arm briefly invincible after activating shield. Yoshi Other Increased shield size.
Made the head and both legs briefly invincible after activating shield. Kirby Other Increased shield size. Fox Other Changed the animation when receiving attacks from opponents while shielding. Pikachu Other Increased shield size. Captain Falcon Neutral Attack 1 Made it easier to hit multiple times. Captain Falcon Other Increased shield size. Bowser Other Increased shield size. Ice Climbers Other Increased shield size. Sheik Down Smash Attack Increased attack speed.
Made it easier to hit multiple times. Sheik Grab Increased grab range of stationary grab. Sheik Neutral Special Reduced vulnerability when landing after using the move in the air. Sheik Side Special Reduced vulnerability after using the move on the ground and in the air.
Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts for the explosion.
The explosion will no longer get negated. Sheik Up Special Extended launch distance for the explosion. Sheik Other Increased shield size. Zelda Side Tilt Attack Increased power.
Extended launch distance. Zelda Neutral Air Attack Reduced vulnerability when landing after using the move.
Made it easier to hit multiple times. Zelda Up Air Attack Increased attack range.
Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts.
Decreased power for the latter half of the time hit detection lasts.
Extended launch distance when hit in the high-damage range. Zelda Side Special Increased the high-damage range.
Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts. Zelda Down Special Increased power.
Extended launch distance. Zelda Other Increased shield size. Dr. Mario Side Tilt Attack Increased power.
Extended launch distance. Dr. Mario Down Tilt Attack Increased the amount of time opponents will be in the damage animation.
Shortened launch distance. Dr. Mario Neutral Air Attack Increased the power of the attack in the high-damage range.
Extended launch distance when hit in the high-damage range. Dr. Mario Down Air Attack Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts. Dr. Mario Up Special Extended launch distance when hit in the high-damage range. Pichu Other Increased shield size. Falco Other Increased shield size. Young Link Neutral Attack 1 Increased attack speed. Young Link Up Smash Attack Extended launch distance. Young Link Up Air Attack Extended launch distance. Young Link Forward Throw Extended launch distance. Young Link Other Increased attack speed for midair grab.
Adjusted launch angle for midair grab.
Increased the amount of time opponents will be in the damage animation.
Increased shield size. Ganondorf Other Increased shield size. Mewtwo Other Changed posture while shielding to reduce vulnerability to a shield stab.
Increased shield size. Mr. Game & Watch Other Increased shield size. Meta Knight Other Increased shield size. Pit Other Increased shield size. Dark Pit Other Increased shield size. Zero Suit Samus Down Special Shortened the time opponents are buried when stomped on. Zero Suit Samus Other Increased shield size. Snake Other Increased shield size.
Made the head briefly invincible after activating shield. Squirtle Other Increased shield size. Charizard Other Increased shield size. Diddy Kong Other Made the arm briefly invincible after deactivating shield. Sonic Other Increased shield size. King Dedede Other Increased shield size. Olimar Other Increased shield size. Lucario Other Increased shield size. Toon Link Dash Attack Reduced vulnerability. Toon Link Down Smash Attack Extended launch distance. Toon Link Back Air Attack Increased attack speed. Toon Link Down Air Attack Increased the power of the attack in the low-damage range.
Extended launch distance when hit in the low-damage range. Toon Link Other Increased the amount of time hit detection lasts for midair grab. Wolf Other Increased shield size. Villager Other Increased shield size. Wii Fit Trainer Other Increased shield size. Rosalina & Luma Other Increased shield size. Little Mac Other Increased shield size. Greninja Other Increased shield size. Mii Brawler Side Special 3 Made it easier to grab opponents. Mii Swordfighter Other Increased shield size. Palutena Up Tilt Attack Increased power of the last attack.
Extended launch distance for the last attack. Palutena Down Smash Attack Extended launch distance when hit in the high-damage range. Palutena Neutral Air Attack Shortened launch distance.
Reduced the range of the last attack against opponents in the air. Palutena Downward Throw Extended launch distance. Palutena Other Increased shield size. PAC-MAN Other Increased shield size. Bowser Jr. Other Increased shield size. Duck Hunt Flurry Attack Increased the amount of time opponents will be in the damage animation. Duck Hunt Other Increased shield size. Ryu Down Tilt Attack (Heavy) Adjusted launch angle. Ryu Down Smash Attack Now possible on hit to cancel the attack animation into a special move.
Reduced the power against shields. Ryu Neutral Special Increased the opponent’s downtime when shielding against Hadoken.
Made it easier for Shakunetsu Hadoken to hit multiple times. Ryu Side Special Made the pivoting leg invincible while rotating when used on the ground.
Increased power.
Extended launch distance when hit in the high-damage range. Ryu Other Increased shield size. Ken Down Tilt Attack (Heavy) Adjusted launch angle. Ken Down Smash Attack Now possible on hit to cancel the attack animation into a special move.
Reduced the power against shields. Ken Side Special Made the pivoting leg invincible while rotating when used on the ground.
Made it easier to hit multiple times. Ken Other Increased shield size. Cloud Dash Attack Extended launch distance when hit in the high-damage range. Cloud Side Smash Attack Made it easier to hit multiple times. Cloud Up Smash Attack Extended launch distance when hit with the sword tip.
Increased attack speed. Cloud Up Special Increased the speed of the edge-grab timing. Cloud Down Special Increased the speed at which the gauge fills up with Limit Charge. Cloud Other Increased shield size. Corrin Other Increased shield size. Bayonetta Other Increased shield size. Ridley Other Made one part of the wing briefly invincible after activating or deactivating shield.
Changed posture while shielding to reduce vulnerability to a shield stab. King K. Rool Other Adjusted the shield’s center and center of the posture during shielding to match.
Increased shield size. Incineroar Side Special Extended launch distance when opponents that are not grabbed with a side special are caught up in the lariat or back body drop. Piranha Plant Other Made the lips briefly invincible after deactivating shield. Joker Neutral Special Reduced the range when shooting downward in the air. Joker Other Reduced the amount of time Arsene is summoned for when receiving damage while Arsene is summoned in battles with two or fewer opponents.

Arrow’s Finale Sets Up Huge Things for One Key Character

This interview contains full spoilers for Arrow’s series finale, “Fadeout” (read our review here).

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Oliver Queen may have died during the Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, but as Arrow’s series finale proves, the Emerald Archer’s story will continue to have ripple effects throughout the DC TV multiverse for years to come. Dead characters like Moira Queen, Quentin Lance, and Tommy Merlyn are now alive again thanks to Oliver’s sacrifice; Team Arrow members John Diggle, Dinah Drake, Laurel Lance, and Rene Ramirez have new jobs and missions ahead of them; Roy and Thea are finally getting married; Mia Queen is safely back in the future and all teed up to star in a potential Green Arrow and the Canaries spinoff; and Oliver and Felicity can look forward to an eternity together.

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And even though Oliver’s story is technically at an end, it doesn’t necessarily guarantee that we’ve seen the last of him – he is the Spectre, after all.

Below, Arrow executive producer Marc Guggenheim, showrunner Beth Schwartz, and star David Ramsey break down some of the biggest moments from the finale and the repercussions we might see in other Arrowverse shows like The Flash, Legends of Tomorrow, Supergirl, Batwoman, and the upcoming Superman and Lois spinoff.

Will John Diggle Become a Green Lantern?

In the final minutes of Arrow’s series finale, the show finally paid off a fan theory that has been years in the making. As John Diggle (David Ramsey) prepared to pack up his life in Star City and move his family to Metropolis following Oliver Queen’s funeral, he had a close encounter with some burning space debris, discovering a mysterious box in the wreckage that, when opened, emitted a bright green light…

We didn’t get to see exactly what was in the box, but DC fans probably have their suspicions, especially since Arrow has been teasing a connection between Diggle and the Green Lantern mythology for multiple seasons now.

Talking to reporters following a screening of the Arrow finale, Ramsey was coy about what the moment might mean for Diggle moving forward.

“So he did get a green box and it was very exciting. I don’t know what that means, but he does go to Metropolis and he got a green box, and we’ll see… we’ll find out [what that means].”

Arrow co-creator and executive producer Marc Guggenheim said they had to be purposefully vague about a potential Green Lantern connection because of an agreement the Arrow producers made with DC: “This was something that was worked out over a year ahead with DC Entertainment. We very specifically negotiated and discussed the parameters and I feel like to say anything beyond what we have shown you would violate our agreement with DC.”

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Ramsey admitted that it felt very exciting to be able to pay off the long-held fan theory that John Diggle is connected to Green Lantern John Stewart in some small way: “I think there’s been a bit of a payoff, but we’ll see what all that means. But I’m with Marc; anything [we say] beyond that I think is kind of violating these parameters that we’ve been given by DC that we have to honor. But I think we’ve done some justice to the six-year tease that we’ve had so far.”

“David and I have actually talked a lot about Diggle’s and David’s post-Arrow future,” Guggenheim teased. “We’ve got some really good ideas and I’m going to stand pat on that. I will also say David has become a remarkable director. So we’re as interested in him behind the cameras we are in front.”

Fans will remember that back in April 2019, Arrow introduced Diggle’s estranged stepfather, General Stewart, while 2018’s Elseworlds crossover saw The Flash from Earth-90 (played by John Wesley Shipp) pointing out that it was odd that “John” wasn’t wearing his ring when he met Diggle, implying that the Diggle of Earth-90 was indeed a Green Lantern.

For now, all we know is that Diggle and his family are headed to Metropolis, where The CW’s upcoming Superman and Lois spinoff will be set – so chances are good we might get a hint about Diggle’s destiny when the new Arrowverse series hits our screens next season.

And don’t forget that HBO Max has greenlit (no pun intended) a new Green Lantern series that is also being produced by Arrow executive producer Greg Berlanti. In the meantime, Diggle will also appear in the February 4 episode of The Flash, although Ramsey told reporters that his presence in Central City won’t be tied to that mysterious scene at the end of Arrow.

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“There’s a whole cast over there on the Flash that they’re still recovering from Oliver’s death. And part of the connection to Oliver is Diggle, obviously. And so Diggle’s presence there serves as kind of that conduit, a way to grieve,” Ramsey said. “But there’s also a case, there’s something to solve that’s going on over there in Flash’s world that Diggle’s a part of. But in terms of what happened at the end of Arrow, following that over there on Flash, no, that doesn’t happen. It is John Diggle over there as John Diggle and we’re working on a case.”

Oliver and Felicity’s Happy Ending (and Why Felicity Wasn’t in the Flashback Storyline)

The Arrow Season 7 finale set up a long-awaited reunion between Oliver and Felicity, although at the time we didn’t know the context for why they had been separated.

Schwartz revealed that they had known the vague plan for Oliver and Felicity’s reunion since Season 7, but had figured out the exact beats of that emotional final scene between them in June 2019, when Guggenheim wrote it after meditating.

“I meditate every morning and this one morning I came out – this has never happened to me before or since – I came out of the meditation with the entire scene in my head. Literally, word for word,” Guggenheim said. “It just felt so right. And I very excitedly texted Beth, I’m like, ‘I wrote the final scene, I’ve got to send it to you,’ and of course, the big question was ‘is Emily [Bett Rickards] coming back to be in it?’ I’m like, ‘well now she really has to because I really love this scene.'”

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“We didn’t even think of another ending,” Schwartz admitted. “We didn’t have a backup plan at all. We were just like, ‘Emily needs to do this.’ And luckily she did.”

Guggenheim did reveal that they had initially hoped that Rickards might be able to return for long enough to take part in the finale’s flashback storyline, but the scheduling didn’t work out.

“The original plan was for it to be something with Oliver, Felicity, and Diggle, probably circa… right after episode 114 when Felicity was brought into the circle of trust. The problem was that Emily was only available to us for two days. And that meant basically if we had a third day with her we would have been able to tell that story,” Guggenheim said. “Once that didn’t materialize, we were like, ‘okay, well our backup plan is do something post-105 after Oliver and Diggle have started working together, and just tell a piece of the story you didn’t see, which is really the start of their relationship.’ And I think … as partners and, as Diggle says later, as brothers you see, as Oliver says, the proof of concept of what that relationship could be. And I think what was very nice and rewarding for us to see was how that and the eulogy speak to each other. And you really do see how much things have changed [between them].”

Why did Earth-2 Laurel Survive the Crisis Instead of Earth-1 Laurel?

Another emotional moment in “Fadeout” came from Earth-2 Laurel’s reunion with a resurrected Quentin Lance, with the former Black Siren wondering why she still existed when the aftermath of the Crisis had brought back many of the people who were most important to Oliver, but not his version of Laurel.

“We went back and forth on that a great deal. Truth be told, that was really driven by the spinoff. I think if we weren’t doing a spinoff we probably would’ve gone a different way,” Guggenheim said. “We had a lot of conversations … basically which version of Laurel did we want on the spinoff? We’ve really fallen in love over the years with the Earth-2 version of Laurel. We love Katie’s take on that character. We love writing for that character. We love the complexities of that character’s moral seesaw. She’s just always been a more interesting character to us.

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“In Seasons 7 and 8, she was really able to redeem herself,” Schwartz added. “And we felt that that was such an important story for her character. She’s come such a long way from murdering people all the time to becoming the hero she was at the end of Season 8 and will continue to be in the spinoff hopefully. So it just felt like we would shortchange her if we didn’t really honor the growth that her character went through.”

But, Schwartz added, just because they established the rules of the resurrections, in that it’s “the people who were important to Oliver that have come back, that doesn’t mean we won’t surprise you, if the spinoff goes, or on the other shows, if there’s another character that might come back.”

Will Stephen Amell Return to the Arrowverse as the Spectre?

Although Oliver sacrificed himself during Crisis on Infinite Earths crossover, that doesn’t rule out a return at some point – as he says in the finale’s opening voiceover, he’s become something else. 

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“The whole point of making him the Spectre was just to give us story opportunities because who knows what’s going to happen in the future?” Guggenheim said. “And the one thing I always say, every time a character dies on any of these shows, it’s like, we’ve got alternate realities; we’ve got time travel; we’ve got flashbacks, you name it. We have all these different devices – no one’s ever really gone … So, while I would always love to see Stephen back … I think it would be how we brought him back and when? If we brought him back in the seventh season premiere of Flash, it would probably diminish this a bit. Fortunately we have some sway with those folks.”

“There’s always an opportunity to cut to him and Felicity in the afterlife,” Schwartz quipped. “Just hanging out.”

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What did you think of the Arrow series finale? Share your thoughts below.

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What Arrow’s Green Lantern Tease Means For The Future Of The Arrow-Verse

Just like that, Arrow, the series that launched a universe of superhero shows on The CW, has come to a close. The series finale gave closure to nearly every character on the show. However, it also teased something that could come in the future.

Warning: The following contains spoilers for the Arrow series finally, titled “Fadeout.” If you haven’t watched yet and don’t want to be spoiled, walk away now.

In the final minutes of the series finale, Arrow finally paid off a fan theory that’s stretched over multiple seasons. As he was packing up his family to move to Metropolis, John Diggle (David Ramsey) was knocked off his feet by a meteor crashing to the Earth. Upon inspecting the crater, he found a box that contained something glowing and green.

While it’s not confirmed, this seems to point to Diggle’s future as a Green Lantern, which was teased on the show during the Elseworlds crossover. As for what this means for the larger Arrow-verse, that’s a bit more complicated.

“This was something that was worked out over a year ahead with DC Entertainment,” executive producer Marc Guggenheim revealed during a post-screening Q&A. “We very specifically negotiated and discussed the parameters and I feel like, to say anything beyond, you know, what we have showed you would violate our agreement with DC.”

However, for those keeping up with what’s coming to The CW, it was recently announced that Superman & Lois, a Metropolis-set series about the Man of Steel and the ace reporter, was ordered to series.

With Diggle and his family moving to Metropolis, does that mean we’ll see him again? While Guggenheim wouldn’t confirm that one way or the other, he explained, “We’ve actually talked a lot about Diggle’s and David’s post-Arrow future. We’ve got some really good ideas. And I’m going to stand pat on that. I will also say David has become a remarkable director. And so we’re as interested in him behind the camera as we are in front.”

That certainly is not a confirmation, but it’s also definitely not a denial. There’s also that Green Lantern series being developed by Arrow executive producer Greg Berlanti for HBO Max, though it has not been revealed whether or not that particular series is set in the Arrow-verse. Whatever the case, there’s hopefully plenty more Diggle (and by extension, Green Lantern) in the future of these shows for years to come.

Now Playing: Elseworlds: Every DC Easter Egg In The Arrowverse Crossover

Destiny 2–The Rollback Is Complete And The Game’s Coming Back Online

Destiny 2 players had a bit of a scare earlier, as servers were taken down after the latest patch saw players lose currency and materials. The game has not been playable, and Bungie has assured affected players that their goods would be returned to them.

Bungie has now confirmed, via Twitter, that the promised rollback is complete. The game is due to return online around 7PM PST on January 28, so there’s not long at all to wait if you need to get your Destiny 2 fix.

Players who were playing the game between 8:30-10AM PST were impacted. Here’s all the information that might affect you:

  • Players may have to redo any progress or quests they completed between 8:30 – 10 AM PST.
  • Purchases made between 8:30 – 10 AM PST will need to be redone. Silver spent during that time will be restored.
  • Destiny 2 Silver purchases from the platform store will be added back to player accounts.
  • ‘The Pidgeon and the Phoenix’ Lore being removed is a separate issue and will be resolved in a future update”

The good news is that the bug has been squashed, and players do not need to worry about their materials being lost. Freebies are coming to the game on January 29 for Twitch Prime subscribers, too, and the latest Exotic weapon, Bastion, is now up for grabs.

Now Playing: Destiny 2: Shadowkeep Video Review

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The Division 2’s Third Episode Takes Players To Coney Island–Check Out The Trailer

Fans of The Division 2 can gear up for the game’s third free episode next month. The episode will take players to a new location in search of a cure for the virus that kicked everything off. Episode 3 of The Division 2 will open up Coney Island, and will make use of the island’s amusement parks.

As is standard for the game now, the island has been seized by Black Tusk–but you’ll be able to take them out by equipping a flamethrower.

Episode 2 of The Division 2 released in October 2019. The game has received several major additions since launch, but this one–which looks like it could move the series’ plot forward in a meaningful way–is particularly exciting.

Ubisoft also released some screenshots from the episode, which are below.

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You can currently nab The Division 2 on PC for just $12, but act fast, because that deal won’t last long. A movie based on the game series is being planned, with David Leitch attached to direct it for Netflix.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Phantasy Star Online 2 Closed Beta Test Starts in February

The hugely popular Japanese online RPG, Phantasy Star Online 2, will commence its closed Beta in February on Xbox One after being announced at E3 2019.

A press release on Xbox Wire details the event which is only available to people in the United States and Canada, and reveals that it starts on Friday, February 7, at 5pm PT/8pm ET. It will run for a little over 24 hours, ending the following day on Saturday, February 8 just before midnight at 11:59 pm PST.

Interested players can sign up now using the Xbox Insider Hub and they will be able to download and install the game as of Monday, February 3 to have it ready for the closed beta.

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Once the beta goes live, logging in will give players the Photon Halo B accessory, as well as a consumable Beauty Salon Free Pass. Daily boosts to experience, drop chances, and more are also on offer for logging in.

For the duration of the beta, specific quests called Urgent Quests are planned for certain hours of the day. Urgent Quests are set to offer challenging boss battles, and completing them will offer special rewards for when the game officially launches.

There are also in game concerts to participate in where you can watch Quna perform at the Ship’s Shopping Plaza. Viewing a concert will also grant buffs to help you in other aspects of the game.

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Phantasy Star Online 2 has been a success in Japan since its original PC release in 2012, although it took a few more years to make it to consoles and mobile. It also expanded into an anime series. This will mark the first time Sega has officially brought the game to the United States outside of specific events, and the full game is expected to launch in Spring 2020.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]Hope Corrigan is an Australian freelance writer for IGN. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram.

Journey To The Savage Planet Review – A Pulpy Sci-Fi Romp

Journey to the Savage Planet is a fantastic name for a pulpy sci-fi game, but is a bit of a misdirect when taken at face value. A “savage planet” conjures up thoughts of hostility and survival, tapping into the inherent dangers of life on the frontiers of space. Sure, there are things that want to kill you in Journey to the Savage Planet, but they’re only a minor inconvenience rather than the main focus. Instead, developer Typhoon Studios places the emphasis on exploration, coupling this with genuine humour and a charming tone to present a lighthearted and singularly focused chunk of sci-fi adventuring.

The entire game takes place on a single planet located deep in uncharted space. You’re strapped into the space boots of an employee of Kindred Aerospace–a rinky-dink outfit that’s so proud of its standing as the fourth-best interstellar exploration company, it’ll make you shudder to think of how bad the fifth-best must be. Once your feet touch the planet’s surface, you’ll begin to catalog the flora, fauna, and life located across the various biomes of planet AR-Y 26 to determine if it’s fit for human habitation, what with the whole climate change thing ruining Earth.

Journey to the Savage Planet excels when it comes to the assortment of tools and equipment you can gradually craft and use to reach every nook and cranny of the planet’s surface. You’re immediately free to explore as you see fit, but it doesn’t take long to discover plenty of inaccessible areas. As such, much of the game is spent scanning the flora and fauna to reveal whether they have gameplay benefits or are just there to contribute to the planet’s vibrant and colorful aesthetic. Some plants may contain seeds that restore your health or produce projectile explosives, while most of the planet’s hodgepodge glossary of alien critters are filled with resources you can gather if you’re heartless enough to put a laser blast between their eyes. Gathering these resources and locating items that can be reverse-engineered using your ship’s 3D printer allows you to craft equipment like grappling hooks, double-jump upgrades for your jetpack, and other tools that make traversal and deeper exploration possible.

The whole game latches onto this palpable sense of momentum, as each new upgrade opens up more of the planet for you to probe. Your feet may be firmly planted on the ground in its opening stages, but by the end of the 10-hour adventure you’ll be gliding across natural ziplines hundreds of feet in the air, propelling across perilous chasms with a triple jump, and using a powerful ground pound to unearth new passages. Journey to the Savage Planet adopts the classic Metroidvania formula and executes it wonderfully, presenting you with an ever-growing arsenal of tools that are satisfying to use and feed into the game’s inherent focus on exploration.

Of course, the other side of this equation is the planet itself, which is well worth turning inside out. AR-Y 26 is split into three distinct biomes. Each one is moderately sized, resulting in the planet’s scale feeling manageable and allowing you to explore freely without fear of getting lost. When presented with multiple paths, it’s easy to choose one over the other because you know getting back to that initial fork in the road is going to be relatively easy. This encourages you to poke your nose in every crevice, travel to every far-away cave, and check behind every waterfall. You’re often rewarded for doing so, with extra resources or important upgrade items hidden throughout the planet–not to mention the visual treats that are on offer in each disparate biome, whether you’re navigating through the craggy icy caves and glaciers your ship landed on, walking amongst the overgrown pink and turquoise mushrooms of the Fungi of Si’ned VII, or jumping between the floating islands of The Elevated Realm.

Journey to the Savage Planet isn’t a completely leisurely tour, though. Your first order of business is to develop a futuristic blaster pistol, but combat is a means to an end rather than a major part of the game, and it ends up being a drag. While most of the planet’s creatures are docile, there are outliers that become hostile as soon as they spot you. Defeating these aggressive predators involves a rinse and repeat pattern whereby you use a nifty sidestep or jump to avoid an attack before following up by shooting one or multiple weak points. There are only slight deviations on this back-and-forth that require you to lob an explosive or poison cloud at the enemy before you can pepper its weak spot. The pistol never feels quite accurate enough for the job, especially because you’re usually being asked to hit small targets, and each of the combat’s faults comes to a head during the game’s closing moments as you’re thrown into one fight after another before facing off against the final boss.

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You can play the whole game cooperatively with a friend, which does make combat slightly more bearable, but co-op doesn’t alter the moment-to-moment gameplay in any significant way. Conflicts are easier with two people, sure, but there’s nothing about the co-op experience that’s intrinsically built for more than a single player. You can explore the planet together or opt to split up and cover different ground, but that’s about it.

Playing with a friend can result in moments of emergent humour, but Journey to the Savage Planet is also genuinely funny due to the abundance of FMVs located on your ship. These short and incredibly eccentric videos mock and parody everything from exploitative corporate practises to the video game industry. There’s a commercial for a new game elegantly titled MOBA MOBA MOBA Mobile VR V.17 Golden Fleece; its main selling point is having more microtransactions than any other game, with one of its features being an in-game “Custo-mi$er” for your created character. The humour is somewhat frontloaded, but this does help the game’s irreverent charm establish itself early.

Journey to the Savage Planet borrows plenty of familiar elements from other games, yet it does so in a carefree way that sets it apart from other sci-fi exploration games, settling on a relaxing playstyle that’s informed by its single, vivid planet and tightly focused design. It only takes a couple of hours to reveal its humdrum combat, but this is the only significant damper on what is an entertaining slice of lighthearted planetary exploration.

Now Playing: Journey To The Savage Planet Video Review

Byleth Now Available in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for Nintendo Switch

Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ Byleth is now available in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for the Nintendo Switch.

Byleth arrives as the fifth and final character in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate’s first Fighters Pass. Alongside Byleth, Three Houses’ Garreg Mach Monastery is now a playable stage, and 11 tracks from the latest Fire Emblem title have also been added to the game.

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The update also brings the new Mii fighters – Altair from Assassin’s Creed, a Rabbid, Mega Man X, MegaMan.exe, and Cuphead – to Smash Ultimate, as well as the ability to pre-purchase the Fighters Pass Vol 2, which will add 6 more fighters to the already massive roster.

Byleth has low mobility, but they are a “distance demon,” according to game director Masahiro Sakurai. Byleth can use the Hero Relics, including the Sword of the Creator, the Areadbhar lance, the Aymr axe, and the Failnaught bow.

Byleth’s Final Smash is Progenitor God Final Heaven, and he/she will team up with Sothis for a powerful attack.

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Byleth is available in the first Fighters Pass, or he/she can be purchased individually for $5.99 USD.

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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN who can’t wait and is so excited he just can’t hide it. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.