Month: November 2020

The PlayStation 5 DualSense controller has been going out to customers ahead of the PS5 launch, and it’s already gotten picked apart quite a bit by the community. One such deep drive into the hardware shows what appears to be a previously unknown customization feature.

As seen in a video from YouTuber John Glasscock, the black piece of the DualSense faceplate can be easily removed. That suggests it could be replaced with a customized faceplate. Though Sony has not announced alternative plates, it seems likely that this could attract third-parties to offer their own designs.

But, it’s not clear whether Sony would allow this kind of sale. A third-party had planned to sell customized PS5 faceplates for the console hardware itself but changed its plans after Sony issued a legal notice. Instead, the company is offering vinyl skins, which cost less than the plates.

While waiting for the PS5 hardware, those who have received DualSense controllers have been putting them through their paces with controller teardowns and deep dives into features like the adaptive triggers. It even works with the Nintendo Switch, with a bit of finagling. For more, check out our PS5 preorder guide.

In this video, Persia shows off a few gift ideas that would be perfect for any PC Gamer you’re looking to surprise this holiday season.

From games like Bugsnax to The Medium to equipment that will optimize any PC setup like headsets and keyboards, we’ve got you covered.

If you are looking for even more gift ideas, then be sure to see our full PC Gamer Holiday Gift Guide on GameSpot.com

The Demon’s Souls remake for PS5 is an exciting prospect for longtime fans and newcomers alike. It offers the chance to relive a beautiful new version of From Software’s seminal Souls game or to check out the game that laid out the template for From Software’s titles for the first time.

But, naturally, there are a lot of questions surrounding the details of the remake effort. After all, it’s being handled by Bluepoint Games, alongside Sony Interactive Entertainment Worldwide Studios. Bluepoint Games is called the master of the remaster, having knocked it out of the park with Shadow of the Colossus and Metal Gear Solid HD Collection, among others. But a completely remade Souls game not involving From Software still makes fans nervous.

Thankfully, I was able to talk to Gavin Moore, creative director at SIE Worldwide Studios External Development, and get some answers to a few of my big questions. Having done so, I feel a little more at ease about the game, mostly having learned about some of the new features and tweaks. So, settle in; here are eight things you need to know about the remake.

Love, From Software

First up, you might want to know the project’s history and how much From Software is involved. According to Moore, it was Bluepoint’s work on Shadow of the Colossus, which he said “redefined” what a remake should be, that gave Sony the confidence and knowledge to take on Demon’s Souls. It started development immediately after Shadow of the Colossus. That game was released in February 2018, but I imagine production on Demon’s Souls started much before that. On the PlayStation Blog, Moore said the game has been in development for three years.

As for From Software’s involvement: The Japanese developer, and the game’s director Hidetaka Miyazaki, gave their blessing for the project to go forward. However, they were not involved in the day to day production, which was handled entirely by Worldwide Studios and Bluepoint.

“We made sure that we stayed true to their original vision,” Moore said in our interview. “That’s incredibly important. We’re massive fans of Miyazaki’s games, and so making sure that what we created was true to his vision, that was the gold standard.”

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How much of the game has changed, and how does Bluepoint make sure it stays true to the original? According to Moore, the answer to that is by both Sony and Bluepoint being their own worst critics. “We don’t put anything in this game without really thinking about how it will affect the core of the game and how it will affect that experience,” he said. And that is true to every aspect of the game.

In our interview Moore specifically called out the PS5 features like haptics, visual upgrades, and audio upgrades, saying that they needed to figure out how they could use those in a way that makes sense. In terms of combat, it was important not to change animations’ cadence because that changes the gameplay and the game. However, Moore did say that the riposte animation shown during the gameplay is something new that the team has added, with proper consideration given.

Demon’s Souls remake has many unique new animations for different weapon types, so a spear, polearm, rapier, and katana will have distinct attacks, akin to the lift and slam attack shown in the gameplay demo. Importantly, however, Moore said, “the cadence is all the same as the original. So the gameplay doesn’t change, the speed of the attack is the same. We’re visually just adding extra details and flourishes to really bring that world alive.”

Instant Transmission

One of the things that I was curious about was how the PS5’s SSD changes the game’s feel. As we saw in the gameplay video, loading–and by extension fast traveling around–was incredibly quick. However, there’s a certain kind of pacing and cadence that is important to Souls games. When you die, you have time to reflect and feel the weight of what happened. There’s so much you can dawn on you in the time it takes to get back into the game, so how does virtually eliminating or at least shortening the downtime impact that?

We made sure that we stayed true to their original vision. We’re massive fans of Miyazaki’s games, and so making sure that what we created was true to his vision, that was the gold standard.

Gavin Moore, creative director at SIE Worldwide Studios External Development

According to Moore, the team has paid attention to the timing of specific aspects of the game. For example, traveling on an elevator will take the same amount of time since it’s crucial to build tension and think about what’s ahead; that’s not changed.

However, instantaneous loading is being used to let players jump into the game quicker, so loading from the Nexus into a location will be quick because you want to get from an Archstone to 1-1. And when you die, the game will hold the moment for a beat to provide that time to reflect. It’s just enough to take a breath, prepare, and get back into it. So, it seems they’ve paid close attention to the pacing of downtime.

Roll Safe

One thing fans picked up on in the gameplay demo was the rolls during the Vanguard battle. During this fight, the player character can be seen diving in a way that suggested that four-way rolling would be back from the original. Of course, in the time since, Souls games have been less restrictive with evasive maneuvers available to the player. So I asked if the remake was sticking to the letter of the original’s law or if it was being updated.

Sony and Bluepoint previously said that the game was going to appeal to players accustomed to modern controls. As part of that, Moore confirmed that the remake features omnidirectional evasion so that you can roll in eight directions.

“We had to make sure that we made quality-of-life improvements to the game that people expect,” he said, adding that making the change didn’t “make a big difference to the gameplay or the core in any way” and “it was just what people wanted.”

The other thing fans talked about is the camera, which looked different in the gameplay video; it had a bit more of a cinematic framing. Moore confirmed that the camera has changed. The camera in the original Demon’s Souls, as players will know, tended to get stuck on collision or would clip through walls, which is less acceptable these days. So it has been altered.

However, the developers have included the option to switch to the old camera if you miss it. So, in Moore’s own words, “If you don’t like what we’ve done, we’ve left the old system in there.”

So The Dialogue Might Be Mended

If you watched the gameplay demo and picked up on what sounded like added dialogue from the Maiden In Black, then well done, gold star to you! Bluepoint and Sony are adding some new content when it comes to writing and spoken dialogue.

According to Moore, one of the things that the team noticed was the lack of variety in voice-over, so characters would say the same thing over and over. To remedy this, the developers have added variety. What that means is that characters are conveying the same information, but they’re just saying it differently, so, quote, “they feel more alive and more natural … and they’re staying true to the intent of what the original would have been.”

Bluepoint and Sony went out and found as many of the original cast as they could and got them to come back and perform their iconic roles once again. As well as voicing the new stuff, all the dialogue has been re-recorded.

For the audiophiles out there, it’s worth knowing that Bluepoint and Sony have “remade thousands of thousands of new sound effects to add into” levels. Then using 3D audio on PS5 brought that to life. Moore said you’ll be able to hear arrows fly past your head creatures crawl out of the slime in the Valley of Defilement.

Demon’s Souls, Filtered

Yes, Bluepoint did change the Tower Knight and Flamelurker scenes shown in the gameplay demo. Fans noted that the Tower Knight battle felt more bright and heroic than in the original, while the Flamelurker looked to have had its face changed entirely. After seeing the response, the developers agreed that the Flamelurker, at least, was a step too far and tweaked it to be closer to the original. So they are listening to your criticisms–just remember to keep it constructive.

One interesting thing that I learned was Demon’s Souls remake has several filters that you can play the game with, including black and white. One of the filters is a “classic” one, so you can use that if you’d like an experience that harkens back to the PS3 days. It’s a starker and darker look that, according to Moore, drives a little bit more fear into the game.

Moore does say that he would like fans to play through the game in the way Sony and Bluepoint have remade it first, though, so they can see the power of the PS5 and the treatment they’ve given the game.

Build ’em Up, Break ’em Down

Will Demon’s Souls have a respect option? Not really, but there does seem to be a character switching option that may allow for using multiple builds. Moore was a bit vague about it, owing to wanting to maintain some mystery around it and because we were rapidly running out of time, but here’s what he said.

“What we have done is we’ve updated the character creator. And we’ve given thousands upon thousands of new permutations where you can create, and you can play. And then once you’ve chosen a character, what you can do is after you’ve paid several souls for it–in the Nexus–you can actually store your character and then go in and change your character in the Nexus. So that’s the quick interpretation of it, I guess. I’ll leave it up to you to find out where it is and how you do it.”

Of course, that’s something entirely new added to the game, and we’ll have to see how it works in the game and the implications.

Matters In Brief

Ok, here are a few final things worth noting about Demon’s Souls remake. Fractured Mode has been a big mystery, but no longer: It’s a Fractured World that effectively serves as a mirror mode where the map is reversed. It sounds like it’s a more challenging version designed to pull the rug out from underneath veteran players.

There is no easy option in the game. The reaper scythe pre-order bonus doesn’t make the game trivial, as some feared. Moore also said, “we have added new content to the game,” hinting at more additional weapons, potentially. However, everything in the PS3 version is in the standard edition of the game, so that you won’t be missing out on the core experience.

The Old Monk fight, which leverages online connectivity to turn another player into a boss, will work the same as in the original.

World Tendency is also the same. The only thing that developers have done is to adjust the UI to make it a little bit easier for the player to understand which state the World Tendency is in.

The healing system is also the same, so be prepared to chew some grass. And finally, the all-important question: Is Bluepoint fixing the sixth Archstone in the Nexus and restoring the cut content. Here’s what Moore said: “So there was a long and hard discussion. There is no sixth Archstone. There are only five Archstones in the Nexus. It’s true to the original; there’s no new Archstone, there’s no new world.”

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The recently released The Witches remake skipped theaters, headed straight to HBO Max on October 22, and also has landed studio Warner Bros. in hot water over criticism from the disability community. In the Robert Zemeckis-directed adaptation, Anne Hathaway’s character, known as the Grand Witch, is portrayed as having missing fingers–though many with disabilities have pointed out her hands seem to have been modeled on ectrodactyly, a rare limb condition that is commonly referred to as “split hand.”

Advocates fear that the portrayal perpetuates stereotypes and also send the message that disabilities are scary. Paralympic athlete Amy Marren, for example, took to Twitter to speak out against what she felt was a thoughtless interpretation and exaggeration of the movie’s source material: Novelist Roald Dahl’s 1983 children’s book of the same name.

Warner Bros. has heard the concerns and via a release, extended an apology: “In adapting the original story, we worked with designers and artists to come up with a new interpretation of the cat-like claws that are described in the book,” the statement reads (via Variety). “It was never the intention for viewers to feel that the fantastical, non-human creatures were meant to represent them. This film is about the power of kindness and friendship. It is our hope that families and children can enjoy the film and embrace this empowering, love-filled theme.”

The original book describes these characters–the titular witches–as having square feet with no toes, blue spit, bald heads, and clawed fingers. Though, it should be noted that Dahl’s work has retroactively and repeatedly come under fire for its problematic content. In 2017, The New York Times published a Q&A with the author’s widow about his struggles to portray and challenge racism as it existed in society when writing Charlie and the Chocolate Factory–an earlier draft bearing the title Charlie’s Chocolate Boy offers a deeper insight into Dahl’s intent both here and with The Witches.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

At Halloween Havoc, Johnny Gargano became the North American Champion for a second time after beating Damian Priest in a Devil’s Playground match. The newly-crowned NXT secondary title-holder has big plans for his upcoming run though, including who he’d like to defend his title against.

NXT’s Triple Crown Champion–Gargano has held the NXT, North American, and Tag Team Championships–will be doing things differently this time around. “My last reign, I was way too worried and concerned about the climb, than the view from the mountain top,” Gargano told GameSpot during an episode of the Wrestle Buddies podcast. “I couldn’t enjoy the view. You know, I was so worried about getting that title, getting there. I think that’s been the story of Johnny Gargano with his titles. It’s always the fight to get the title. It’s always the rise to get [it].

“With this North American Championship, I want the opportunity to take that and elevate it, make it mean more than it already does; make it more important than it already is. I haven’t had that chance yet to have the true title reign that I’m proud of. So I think that is my goal with this title to take that North American title and make it mean so so so much more.”

And in order to accomplish that, Gargano plans on elevating the status of the title, which made its debut in the spring of 2018. “Growing up, the Intercontinental title was always like the work-rate title,” Gargano said. “There’s always a title you would look at as like, this is the match I got to see. That is my goal with the North American Title is to take that title and make it the most work-rate title you’ve ever seen in your life.”

And looking at the current NXT roster, there are plenty of contenders that can truly help make the North American Championship the title to keep your eyes on for great matches. Gargano himself has a few ideas of wrestlers he’d like to face in the ring. “The first name that pops in my head is Kyle O’Reilly. Johnny Gargano vs. Kyle O’Riley hasn’t happened one on one in an NXT ring. Another guy, I will say it’s Kushida. I have never faced Kushida in my life, it feels like mash up very well. We never crossed paths. So I think that would be a match as well. That could be something very special.”

You can see the North American Champion Johnny Gargano on Wednesday nights on NXT, which airs on USA at 8 PM / 7 PM CT.

For more with Gargano, make sure to tune into the November 12 episode of GameSpot’s wrestling podcast Wrestle Buddies. We will talk to the North American Champion about his feelings about NXT, his brief stint on Raw and Smackdown, and why he loves wheels so much. Additionally, make sure to check out the November 5 episode when we talk to former WWE announcer Lilian Garcia.

The hard drive space of consoles has become a hot-button issue for gamers over the last few years, as the size of games and updates has ballooned into the hundreds of gigabytes. For those who expect to pick up the Xbox Series S in a couple of days, a leaker has revealed some potentially upsetting news: the console only has 364 GB of usable space.

That represents about 73% of the console’s 500 GB solid-state drive, which is around the usual fraction of usable space for consoles. However, since the size of popular games like Call of Duty: Warzone can be over 100 GB–with patches that come in at dozens of gigabytes–that means that most players will have to be very judicious about what games they keep on hand. The Xbox Series X will ship with a 1 TB SSD, with 802 GB in the way of usable space.

Microsoft has developed some features to help with the limited space. For one, players can store games on an external hard drive, and backward compatible games can be played directly from that drive. For another, games can be 30% smaller on the Xbox Series S by targeting 1440p instead of 4K.

A similar leak revealed that the PlayStation 5 has around 650 GB of usable storage space on its 825 GB solid-state drive. Both consoles support expandable SSD storage, with Microsoft opting to develop plug-and-play SSD cards that slot into the back of the Xbox Series X and Series S. To expand the PS5’s memory, players can theoretically buy standard NVMe SSDs, but Sony needs to approve them, and the company hasn’t yet listed any compatible drives ahead of launch.

The Xbox Series X and Series S release on November 10, and the PS5 comes out on November 12. If you’re still trying to figure out which one to buy, check out our preview of the Xbox Series X and our hands-on impressions with the PS5.

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