Month: December 2020

Mass Effect Legendary Edition Is Up for Preorder

It’s official: the Mass Effect Legendary Edition is real, and it’s set to release for PS4, Xbox One, and PC sometime in spring 2021. BioWare says the game will also run on PS5 and Xbox Series X, with “targeted enhancements.” Mass Effect Legendary Edition preorders are now available for all platforms (see it on Amazon).

This new collection features the single-player content from all three games, plus all the DLC, promo weapons, armor, and packs made available since their original release. All content from all of the games will be fully remastered, with cleaner textures, faster frame rates, and 4K UHD optimization.

If you’re ready to lock in a copy of Mass Effect Legendary Edition for yourself, read on to see where it’s available, what comes with it, and how much it costs.

Preorder Mass Effect Legendary Edition

mass-effect-legendary-editionPS4 / PS5

Xbox One / Xbox Series X

PC

So far, no preorder bonuses, extras, or anything fancy has been announced to come alongside Mass Effect Legendary Edition. But just getting the full trilogy in 4K UHD should be good enough for many fans of the Commander Shepard saga. If BioWare announces any extra bells and whistles, we’ll update this page here.

BioWare announced Mass Effect Legendary Edition with a tweet and a blog post in November. In addition to the remastered Mass Effect trilogy, EA has also announced a new Mass Effect is in the works, though it’s still early in production.

Other Preorder Guides

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Chris Reed is a commerce editor and deals expert at IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @_chrislreed.

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The Witcher: Season 2 Set Photos Released During Witchmas Celebration

Netflix has released three official set photos from The Witcher Season 2 after the majority of fans voted for a “surprise” on the first day of Witchmas.

The Witcher’s official Twitter account posted a sneak peek of Season 2 on Wednesday after 67.5% of voters opted to invoke the “law of surprise” in the first official poll of the Witchmas celebration, which is running for six days from December 16 to December 21. Showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich also shared the behind-the-scenes shots, teasing myths, medallions, symbols, and swords.

Image credit: Netflix
Image credit: Netflix
Image credit: Netflix
Image credit: Netflix
Image credit: Netflix
Image credit: Netflix

“Today, you’ve chosen destiny,” the tweet revealed. “Honor the witchers who came before, now look around and let your curiosity explore.”

Netflix also updated the interactive map of the continent on The Witcher website, where the ‘6 Days of Witchmas’ have been marked out ready for the content drops that will be added in association with the results from each daily vote. The text accompanying the first marker now reads: “You can’t move forward on The Continent without honoring the past.”

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A few hours later, The Witcher Twitter account published the next poll in the Witchmas celebration, offering fans the chance to vote to receive another gift. This time, the poll asked participants to vote for a “Season 2 script page” or the “law of surprise,” with the winning choice set to be revealed tomorrow together with the next gift offering and vote.

“A chance to look ahead, or will you accept your fate and leave the surprises up to the bard’s choosing. I mean, up to destiny…” the tweet teased.

Fans of The Witcher will probably be hoping to see more Season 2 surprises over the course of the Witchmas celebration, especially after previous social media drops revealed exclusive photos of Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia in all-new armour, Anya Chalotra’s bound and bloodied Yennefer, and Freya Allan’s Ciri who looked just about ready to start her training at Kaer Morhen, per our slideshow below.

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While you’re waiting to receive more Witchmas gifts, check out our breakdown of all the clues about The Witcher Season 2 so far, then dive further into the extraordinary world of the hit fantasy series by watching Netflix’s behind-the-scenes specials Making The Witcher and A Look Inside the Episodes. Also, find out why we think Netflix is actually the best place for video game adaptations.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Here’s How to Get 4-Months of Game Pass Ultimate for $29.99 (Existing Members)

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is one of the best deals in gaming at the moment. It’s the highlight of Xbox consoles in last-gen and current-gen, and it’s all Xbox Series X gamers can talk about (apart from how pretty Cyberpunk 2077 looks on the console).

Now, if you’re not a current Game Pass Ultimate member, you’re in for a treat. You can currently get 3-months of Game Pass Ultimate for just $1. Yes, $1. The best deal in gaming just gets better. But, that’s not all. Current Game Pass Ultimate members can use this trick to get an extra 4-months for $29.99.

7-Months of Game Pass Ultimate for $30.99

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Alongside the $1 promotion from Xbox, current Ultimate members can get 4-months of Game Pass Ultimate for $29.99. All you need to do is purchase 12-months of EA Play, and once you insert the code it’ll be auto-converted to 4-months of Game Pass Ultimate. Result!

New members will want to do this alongside the 3-month for $1 deal, meaning you’ll be packing Game Pass Ultimate for 7-months, all for just $30.99. Considering 3-months of Game Pass Ultimate would cost $44.99, I think this is definitely worth checking out.

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What is Xbox Game Pass?

Xbox Game Pass is a gaming subscription service available for Xbox consoles and PC. Over 100 games are available to download at no extra cost from your subscription, and you’ve got access to some of the best games ever released on consoles.

Game Pass has gone through a few recent improvements, including the inclusion of EA Play with Game Pass Ultimate memberships. Game Pass Ultimate is definitely the way to go when it comes to Game Pass, you’ll be getting your Live Gold subscription, Game Pass, Game Pass for PC, and EA Play, all bundled into one tidy package.

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Robert Anderson is a deals expert for IGN. Send him awesome Cyberpunk 2077 screenshots @robertliam21 on Twitter.

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Halo TV Show: Everything We Know About Showtime’s Video Game Adaptation

Halo TV Show: Everything We Know About Showtime’s Video Game Adaptation – GameSpot

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If it feels like you’ve been waiting years for the Halo TV show to actually happen, it’s because you have been. It was back in 2013 when a Halo series was first being developed, with Steven Spielberg as executive producer. That never happened, though. Thankfully, the story doesn’t end there.

While we haven’t seen any actual footage, the Halo TV series is real. It’s coming to Showtime eventually and is already deep into production. It remains to be seen exactly when it will premiere, but it’s been written, it’s been cast, and it’s as real as it gets.

What do we know about it, though? Quite a bit, given that there’s been no actual footage revealed at this point. The cast has been revealed, along with a number of production and story points of interest you should probably know about. Take a look below at everything we’ve learned about Showtime’s Halo TV series thus far.

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What's the story?

What’s the story?

Quite honestly, we don’t know much about the story Halo will be telling yet. What we do know is that it’s an original one. Appearing on Gary Whitta’s Animal Talking web series, Kiki Wolfkill, who works for Halo game studio 343 Industries, said that adapting Halo for a new medium allows them to tell the story differently. “With television, we get long-form storytelling. We get to develop characters,” she explained. “We get to really dig into their backgrounds and their motivations and who they are emotionally. And they can express it as themselves as opposed to needing to reflect who they are through some of the other characters as we do in the games.”

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Is it filming yet?

Is it filming yet?

Yes, production on the Halo series officially kicked off in 2019. However, like practically every other global production, filming was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. On November 11, series star Pablo Schreiber shared a photo of himself on the show’s set, writing, “We’re baaaack!”

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Where are they shooting it?

Where are they shooting it?

The series is filming primarily in Budapest, Hungary.

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Who is in charge?

Who is in charge?

There are actually two people in charge of Halo. It was revealed in early 2019 that the series would have two showrunners–one in the United States leading the writing team and another on set in Hungary. Steven Kane (The Last Ship) is the showrunner in charge of the writing team, while Kyle Killen (Awake) is the on-set showrunner.

The first season of the series will also feature a single director, Otto Bathurst (Black Mirror), who signed on to direct and executive produce the series in February 2019. He stepped in after Planet of the Apes director Rupert Wyatt left the project due to scheduling issues.

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Who's playing Master Chief?

Who’s playing Master Chief?

Pablo Schreiber, who you’ll most likely remember as Pornstache the prison guard on Orange Is the New Black, is taking on the role of Master Chief in the series. He’s the lead on the show, meaning Chief will be a main character, though there are plenty other familiar and new characters that will populate the series. You’ll learn about them below.

Image credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Stringer/Getty Images

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Will we see Master Chief's face?

Will we see Master Chief’s face?

This is, perhaps, the most important question about the Halo TV series. In the games, Master Chief never shows his face. That might not be the case on the show, though. When asked by GameSpot about this very thing in 2019, Showtime president of programming teased, “It is a key question and an important part of our series is all I’ll say.”

If we had to guess, yes, fans will see Chief without his helmet. If it happens, though, chances are it’ll be in line with The Mandalorian. That series, which is led by a character in a heavily armored helmet, very rarely unmasks its hero, making it a special moment when it happens.

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Who else is in it?

Who else is in it?

A rather big cast has been announced for the show, including characters from the games and the companion novels, and even new additions. You can see the full cast list below.

  • Jen Taylor as Cortana, “the most advanced AI in human history, and potentially the key to the survival of the human race.”
  • Natasha McElhone as Dr. Catherine Halsey, creator of the Spartan supersoldier program.
  • Bokeem Woodbine as Soren-066, “a morally complex privateer at the fringes of human civilization whose fate will bring him into conflict with his former military masters and his old friend, the Master Chief.”
  • Shabana Azmi as Admiral Margaret Parangosky, who first appeared in the Halo: Ghosts of Onyx novel.
  • Bentley Kalu as Vannak-134, a cybernetically augmented trooper that serves under Master Chief.
  • Natasha Culzac as Riz-028, “a focused, professional and deadly, cybernetically enhanced killing machine.”
  • Kate Kennedy as Kai-125, “an all-new courageous, curious, and deadly Spartan supersoldier.”

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Wait, wasn't someone else was playing Cortana?

Wait, wasn’t someone else was playing Cortana?

You’re not misremembering things. While Jen Taylor is reportedly playing Cortana in the series, much like she does in the games, that’s not who was originally set to play the AI character. Instead, Natasha McElhone was initially going to portray both Halsey and Cortana. However, due to scheduling conflicts brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, she will not be playing Cortana, clearing the way for Taylor to portray the role once more.

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When will it debut?

When will it debut?

The last word that was given by Showtime is that the series will debut in 2021. Of course, given delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s no telling when it will actually premiere.

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Disclosure: ViacomCBS is GameSpot’s parent company


Tom Cruise Gets Very Angry About COVID Safety Breaches On Mission Impossible 7 Set

While movie and TV productions have restarted in both the US and UK, they are all under the very real risk of closing down if COVID-19 spreads throughout cast and crew. As a result, stringent safety procedures have been enacted across the industry. But that doesn’t mean that they are always followed, as a furious Tom Cruise discovered this week.

Cruise is currently in London shooting Mission Impossible 7 and 8, and he was extremely unimpressed when he saw crew members standing too close to each other. The star’s reaction was an angry one, and it was recorded and leaked to the British newspaper The Sun.

Cruise, who is also a producer on the Mission Impossible series, starts by saying that he wants the production to be the “gold standard” of safety and that the measures that have been put in place are being watched by Hollywood to show productions can operate safely. “I’m on the phone with every f***ing studio at night, insurance companies, producers, and they’re looking at us and using us to make their movies,” he yells. “We are creating thousands of jobs you motherf*****s.”

Cruise then proceeds to tell the offending crew members that he will ensure they are fired if they breach COVID safety again. “I don’t ever want to see it again, ever. And if you don’t do it you’re fired, if I see you do it again you’re f***ing gone. And if anyone in this crew does it–that’s it, and you too and you too. And you, don’t you ever f***ing do it again.”

At the end of the three-minute rant, Cruise returns to the fact that the entire industry is relying on big movies like Mission Impossible to act responsibly. “That’s what I sleep with every night. The future of this f***ing industry! So I’m sorry, I am beyond your apologies. I have told you and now I want it and if you don’t do it, you’re out. We are not shutting this f***ing movie down!”

Mission Impossible 7 started shooting in Venice in February, but production was quickly shifted to the UK when Italy became the first European country to be hit by the pandemic. After three weeks of filming there, production was halted entirely. Work on the film resumed in September.

Mission Impossible 7 and 8 are being filmed back-to-back, and Christopher McQuarrie is writing and directing both–he also wrote and directed Rogue Nation and Fallout. MI7 is scheduled to come to theatres in November 2021, with its sequel slated for November 2022.

Now Playing: Mission Impossible – Tom Cruise’s 10 Craziest Stunts From The Series

New On Hulu January 2020: One-Punch Man, Blade Runner, Star Trek, And More

The year we thought would never end is nearly over, and we can actually begin to start looking forward to–and even seeing clearly–what we can plan to watch during the first month of 2021. While many of us will still be in quarantine and practicing social distancing because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, at least we still have plenty of ways to entertain ourselves thanks to platforms like Hulu. Here’s what you can expect to watch on Hulu in January 2021.

January will usher in a veritable avalanche of movies that will pretty much have something for everybody to watch. Craving horror? There’s Cujo and the Look Who’s Talking trilogy. Want to catch up on some sci-fi movies you somehow missed? There’s Blade Runner: The Final Cut, Star Trek Beyond, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, and Star Trek: First Contact. Want some comedy? There’s the Austin Powers trilogy, The Foot Fist Way, and Face/Off. Want to swoon with nostalgia? The Princess Bride. You get the idea–January 1 is the most packed day of new arrivals for the month, so it’s definitely worth a scan below to look beyond what’s been highlighted here.

Scattered throughout the month are new anime offerings like the dubbed Boruto: Complete Season 1 (January 5), though the inarguable highlight of the genre is the dubbed One-Punch Man: Complete Season 2 (January 10). If you’ve been snoozing on the latter, now would be a great time to start Season 1 of One-Punch Man–it’s a brilliant homage and parody of anime conventions, played to the hilt.

Take a look at the complete list of everything arriving on the platform next month below.

New to Hulu in January 2021

Available January 1

  • Dick Clark’s Primetime New Year’s Rockin’ Eve With Ryan Seacrest: Special (ABC)
  • Fire Force: Season 2, Episodes 1-12 (DUBBED) (Funimation)
  • 1900 (1977)
  • 1900 (Extended Cut) (1977)
  • A Night at the Roxbury (1998)
  • American Gigolo (1980)
  • Arachnophobia (1990)
  • The Arrival (1996)
  • Austin Powers In Goldmember (2002)
  • Austin Powers: International Man Of Mystery (1997)
  • Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999)
  • Bad Company (2002)
  • Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007)
  • Blood Diamond (2006)
  • Bloody Sunday (2002)
  • Blow (2001)
  • Boogie Nights (1997)
  • Breakdown (1997)
  • Broken Arrow (1996)
  • The Brothers McMullen (1995)
  • Bully (2001)
  • Changing Lanes (2002)
  • Chaplin (1992)
  • Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (2009)
  • Cloverfield (2008)
  • Coneheads (1993)
  • Constantine (2005)
  • The Cooler (2003)
  • The Core (2003)
  • Crazy, Stupid, Love. (2011)
  • Cujo (1983)
  • Dance Flick (2009)
  • Date Night (2010)
  • Dead Poets Society (1989)
  • Dead Presidents (1995)
  • The Dead Zone (1983)
  • Diary of a Wimpy Kid (2009)
  • Donnie Brasco (1997)
  • The Duff (2015)
  • Enemy at the Gates (2001)
  • Escape from Alcatraz (1979)
  • Eve’s Bayou (1997)
  • Face/Off (1997)
  • The Firm (1993)
  • The Foot Fist Way (2008)
  • Footloose (1984)
  • Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1974)
  • Frozen (2010)
  • The Gift (2000)
  • Girl Most Likely (2013)
  • Good Luck Chuck (2007)
  • Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
  • The Haunting (1999)
  • Hell or High water (2016)
  • Hondo (1953)
  • Hot Shots! (1991)
  • How Do You Know (2010)
  • In & Out (1997)
  • Indecent Proposal (1993)
  • Internal Affairs (1990)
  • Kiss the Girls (1997)
  • The Ladies Man (2000)
  • Last of the Mohicans: Director’s Cut (1992)
  • The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)
  • Like a Boss (2020)
  • The Longest Yard (1974)
  • Look Who’s Talking (1989)
  • Look Who’s Talking Now (1993)
  • Look Who’s Talking Too (1990)
  • Lost In Space (1998)
  • Love And Basketball (2000)
  • Major League (1989)
  • The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
  • The Mexican (2001)
  • More Than a Game (2008)
  • Mousehunt (1997)
  • My Best Friend’S Girl (2008)
  • New In Town (2009)
  • Night at the Museum (2006)
  • Paycheck (2003)
  • The Peacemaker (1997)
  • Places in the Heart (1984)
  • Poseidon (2006)
  • Pride (2007)
  • The Princess Bride (1987)
  • Push (2009)
  • The Quick and the Dead (1995)
  • Regarding Henry (1991)
  • The Relic (1997)
  • The Rules Of Attraction (2002)
  • Salt (2010)
  • Save Yourselves (2020)
  • Selena (1997)
  • Shrek (2001)
  • The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
  • Soul Plane (2004)
  • Species (1995)
  • Star Kid (1998)
  • Star Trek Beyond (2016)
  • Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
  • Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
  • Starman (1984)
  • Stephen King’s Graveyard Shift (1990)
  • Super Dark Times (2017)
  • The Three Musketeers (2011)
  • The Truman Show (1998)
  • Vampire in Brooklyn (1995)
  • Virtuosity (1995)
  • Walking Tall (1973)
  • War (2007)
  • Where Hope Grows (2015)
  • Wonder Boys (2000)
  • Young Adult (2011)

Available January 4

  • Call Me Kat: Season 1 Finale (FOX)
  • The Rookie: Season 3 Premiere (ABC)

Available January 5

  • The Bachelor: Season 25 Premiere (ABC)
  • The Wall: Season 4 Premiere (NBC)
  • Boruto: Complete Season 1 (DUBBED) (Viz)

Available January 6

  • Gordon Ramsay’s American Road Trip: Series Premiere (FOX)
  • Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)
  • Mighty Oak (2020)

Available January 7

  • Name That Tune: Series Premiere (FOX)
  • Vanderpump Rules: Complete Season 8 (Bravo)
  • Gretel & Hansel (2020)

Available January 8

  • The Hustler: Series Premiere (ABC)
  • The Chase: Series Premiere (ABC)
  • Celebrity Wheel of Fortune: Series Premiere (ABC)
  • Mr. Mayor: Series Premiere (NBC)
  • A Certain Scientific Railgun Part 2: Complete Season 3 (DUBBED) (Funimation)
  • Celebs Go Dating: Complete Seasons 6 – 8 (All3Media)
  • Tattoo Fixers Extreme UK: Complete Seasons 5 & 6 (All3Media)

Available January 10

  • One-Punch Man: Complete Season 2 (DUBBED) (Viz)

Available January 11

  • Lights Out (2016)
  • The Rhythm Section (2020)

Available January 12

  • A Little Late with Lilly Singh: Season 2 Premiere (NBC)

Available January 13

  • Prodigal Son: Season 2 Premiere (FOX)
  • The Resident: Season 4 Premiere (FOX)
  • Everyone is Doing Great: Complete Season 1 (Endeavor Content)

Available January 14

  • Call Your Mother: Series Premiere (ABC)
  • Alone (2020)
  • The Secrets We Keep (2020)

Available January 15

  • Endlings: Complete Season 2 (Hulu Original)
  • The Ultimate Playlist of Noise: Film Premiere (Hulu Original)

Available January 17

  • Is It Wrong to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon?: Complete Season 3 (SUBBED) (Infinite Frontiers)
  • No Escape (2020)

Available January 18

  • I Don’t Know How She Does It (2011)

Available January 19

  • 9-1-1: Season 4 Premiere (FOX)
  • 9-1-1: Lone Star: Season 2 Premiere (FOX)

Available January 20

  • 90 Day Fiancé: Self-Quarantined: Complete Season 1 (TLC)
  • A Very Brady Renovation: Complete Season 1 (HGTV)
  • Car Kings: Complete Season 1 (Discovery)
  • Cutthroat Kitchen: Complete Season 14 (Food Network)
  • Gold Rush: Complete Season 10 (Discovery)
  • House Hunters International: Complete Season 138 (HGTV)
  • House Hunters: Complete Season 163 (HGTV)
  • Property Brothers: Forever Home: Complete Season 1 (HGTV)
  • Puppy Bowl: Complete Seasons 14 & 15 (Animal Planet)
  • River Monsters: Complete Season 9 (Animal Planet)
  • Rob Riggle: Global Investigator: Complete Season 1 (Discovery)
  • Rock The Block: Complete Season 1 (HGTV)
  • Save My Skin: Complete Season 1 (TLC)
  • Torn from the Headlines: New York Post Reports: Complete Season 1 (ID)
  • Who Killed Jeffrey Epstein?: Complete Season 1 (ID)
  • Worst Bakers in America: Complete Season 2 (Food Network)
  • Worst Cooks in America: Complete Season 17 (Food Network)

Available January 22

  • Derek Delgaudio’s In & Of Itself: Film Special Premiere (Hulu Original)
  • The Sister: Complete Season 1 (Hulu Original)
  • Grown-ish: Season 3B Premiere (Freeform)
  • Terra Willy (2020)

Available January 27

  • Mixed-Ish: Season 2 Premiere (ABC)
  • The Haves and Have Nots: Complete Season 7B (OWN)

Available January 29

  • Jann: Complete Seasons 1 & 2 (Distribution 360)

Delisted Horror Game Devotion Added to GOG… Then GOG Decides Not to Release It

Update: GOG has now said that it will not list Devotion after “receiving many messages from gamers”.

GOG announced the news in a tweet, and has already pulled the game’s new store page. No further explanation has been given at time of writing.

With hundreds of replies already, reactions to the announcement tweet (above) have been broadly negative, with many assuming that GOG is bowing to political pressure, given the alleged Chinese government reaction that saw Devotion delisted from Steam last year.

It marks another controversial moment in a turbulent week for GOG owner CD Projekt, which has also been scrambling to explain an increasingly difficult launch for Cyberpunk 2077.

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Cult horror game Devotion will be re-released on PC later this month via the GOG distribution platform, after being delisted in February 2019.

Developer Red Candle Games revealed the news on Twitter. The tweet notes that all of the game’s content will remain the same, as will the price. Devotion will cost $16.99/€13.99 when it launches on December 18 on GOG.

It’s suggested that the game may have been originally delisted in February 2019 due to controversy surrounding the inclusion of a poster that contained the phrase “Xi Jinping Winnie-the-Pooh moron,” referencing Chinese President Xi Jinping, and censored memes that compare him to the Disney character.

The Taiwanese developer issued a statement in July of 2019 apologizing for the asset’s inclusion, noting that it would not be re-releasing the game “in the near term.”

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We reviewed Devotion upon its original launch in 2019, scoring it an 8.2 and calling it an “excellent psychological horror game full of surreal imagery.”

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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Exclusive Cris Tales Gameplay Shows How Time Travel Alters Combat And Story

Coming from co-developers Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK, Cris Tales presents a whimsical story and weaves in an unconventional approach to a high-fantasy adventure by giving players the ability to alter time at will. Earlier this year, we got a chance to check out an extensive look at the game. It wears its respect for the classics on its sleeve, yet it still presents several cool ideas of its own.

In this GameSpot exclusive, the developers of Cris Tales have shared an in-depth look at how Cris Tales’ approach to time travel adds a new dimension to exploration, storytelling, and the game’s turn-based combat. The story of Cris Tales focuses on the journey of Crisbell, a young adventurer who can alter the flow of time, allowing her to travel between three different time periods at will. In addition to exploring towns and interacting with characters across time, she can also use these abilities during battles to amplify her and her allies’ attacks and even weaken monsters by shifting the flow of time.

“We call [Cris Tales] our love letter to the classic JRPGs of the past,” said game producer Derek Neal in the walkthrough video. “And by that, we mean that this game takes a lot of inspiration from classics like Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, Final Fantasy IV and VI, Super Mario RPG, and more. But it also has a lot of its own style, personality and charm. Rather than just copying those games, we’ve done our best to build upon those elements that make them great.”

While most other games use time travel as a story mechanic, Cris Tales presents a more hands-on approach. When playing as Crisbell, you can view three different timelines at once–the past, present, and future. As you would expect in every time-travel story, choices made in the past will impact future events. With a constant view of the past and the future, you can see opportunities around your environment, resulting in new events playing out in the proceeding periods. In addition to following the throughline of the main plot, you can also find other side encounters with citizens in town. As you look into the future, you may find a character down on their luck. When you view that same character in the past, it’s possible to change their fate for the better by offering them help when they need it. Doing so will change not only their circumstances in the future, but can also open up opportunities in the present and future.

The mechanics of time travel are also at work in combat. Taking cues from turn-based JRPGs like Chrono Trigger, battles will have you prime up your attack and ready it for use against your foes. Along with Crisbell are other party members who have their own unique skills to complement the protagonist’s abilities. This element comes into play by shifting periods during battle. During a boss fight shown in the video, you can use your time powers to age up enemies to make them slower and weaker and even accelerate the effectiveness of status effects, such as fire damage. With Crisbell setting up the enemies, her allies can swoop in to deal more significant damage. This added layer of altering time adds an even greater level of strategy, which can make for some engaging battles with your allies.

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Originally, Cris Tales was set for release this year, but has since been pushed back to 2021. We’ve had some time with Cris Tales before, and we were impressed with how well the time-travel mechanics were woven into this RPG. Along with that, the game’s visuals do a lot to convey whimsical adventure that shows great optimism but can also show some surprising emotion from its core cast of characters. Cris Tales currently doesn’t have a release date, but it is set to release on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Stadia sometime in 2021.

Now Playing: 14 Minutes Of Exclusive Cris Tales PC Gameplay

GameSpot may get a commission from retail offers.

Amazonian Roguelike Beat-‘Em-Up Tunche Is Coming To Switch In March 2021

This week’s Indie World Showcase from Nintendo had plenty of games to show off, but Tunche from Peruvian developer LEAP was one of the highlights. Animated with hand-drawn art and inspired by Latin-American mythology, Tunche is a beat-’em-up roguelike set in the Amazon rainforest. In case you missed it, you can see the trailer for the quirky adventure game below.

Tunche’s story can also be played in four-player co-op, and its combat system is described as having a “stylish” grade system, not too dissimilar from Capcom’s Devil May Cry series which pushes players to earn SSS-rank scores during enemy encounters. Taking control of Rumi, Qaru, Nayra, or Pancho and beating down an army of minions will eventually result in players facing off against one of the fantasy beast boss monsters who have become the masters of their jungle territory.

Players can also uncover more backstory for each of Tunche’s main characters, who all have specialized rooms that can be discovered in levels. Once a player enters a Story Room, they read a short comic that has been drawn and painted by one of LEAP’s artists, which tells a chapter in the life of each hero.

Tunche will be released on the Nintendo Switch on March 23, 2021, and also features a crossover appearance from A Hat In Time’s protagonist, Hat Kid.

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Netflix Is Adapting Yu Yu Hakusho Into Live-Action Series

Netflix is developing Yoshihiro Togashi’s popular manga Yu Yu Hakusho, and subsequent equally popular anime by Noriyuki Abe, as a live-action series. The series has already been made into a slew of video games, but this will be the first time Yusuke Urameshi and his ghost-busting crew of Hiei, Kurama, and Kazuma Kuwabara translate to live-action.

The series follows 14-year-old juvenile delinquent Yusuke Urameshi, who dies after getting hit by a car and is resurrected in order to become the Underworld’s detective of paranormal events on Earth. With each case he gets, Yusuke meets several characters such as his great rival Kazuma Kuwabara, the demon Kurama, and the sword-wielding fire demon Hiei.

The original manga has 19 volumes that were published between 1990 and 1994 and the anime series has 112 episodes that originally aired in Japan from 1992 and 1995, eventually coming to America in 2002.

This is not Netflix’s first live-action adaptation of a manga/anime as Death Note came to the streaming service back in 2017, but was mostly panned by fans and critics. There is also the live-action Cowboy Bebop series with John Cho as Spike Siegel currently in production as well as a One Piece series announced back in January. Where this will differ is that it’s likely it won’t have an American cast with Netflix contents acquisition director Kazutaka Sakamoto serving as executive producer.

No release date has been set or cast reveal at this time.