Month: May 2021

Dead By Daylight is getting a Resident Evil crossover to celebrate its fifth anniversary. The asymmetric multiplayer horror game has welcomed characters from other hit horror franchises before, perhaps most notably Silent Hill. However, this is the first time that Resident Evil characters like Jill Valentine and Nemesis (aka The Tyrant) have joined the fray.

Dead By Daylight’s Resident Evil chapter launches on June 15, and it includes many elements that will be familiar to fans of Capcom’s storied horror franchise. Resident Evil stalwarts Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy will be added to the ranks of playable survivors, and the many-tentacled antagonist Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 will join the game’s gallery of horror villains.

The Resident Evil chapter also includes a new map, the Raccoon City Police Station featured heavily in Resident Evil 2. The Police Station map will feature AI-controlled zombies that help the player-controlled killer track down the survivors, which is a first for the franchise. It also includes vaccines that prevent survivors struck by Nemesis’s tentacles from succumbing to the monster’s influence. All-in-all, it sounds like a familiar experience for fans of the series.

Most recently, Dead By Daylight crossed over with Left 4 Dead as part of its latest DLC, which included lore about that game’s survivor Bill. As mentioned above, Dead By Daylight previously included a crossover with the long-dormant Silent Hill series, which caused horror fans to wonder if Konami might announce a new game. So far, no dice. In fact, the company recently announced that it will not be attending E3 2021.

Gwent fans aching for a new set of cards are about to pay the price as the game’s first-ever Expansion Set, The Price of Power, has been officially announced.

The Price of Power is a set of three upcoming story expansions, each coming with its own new cards and features, releasing between June and October 2021. The first expansion–titled Once Upon A Pyre–will bring 26 new cards with new abilities and game mechanics when it releases on June 8.

Expansion Sets are unique to Gwent in that each tells an overarching story across its three expansions, as opposed to previous additions with smaller, more insulated tales. The Price of Power centers around “the main theme of magic and how different factions seek out, fight for, or exploit its power,” according to the official release.

A limited-time Expansion Pass is also available for $60, which will give players access to everything offered in the individual expansions, premium versions of each card, as well as an special in-game coin that can be used immediately after purchase.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is the standalone version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s popular minigame. It was first released in October 2018 for PC and has seen six expansions since the initial launch, with The Price of Power being the seventh. Gwent is available on PC, Mac, and mobile devices, with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions being discontinued in June 2020.

June 23 marks Sonic the Hedgehog‘s 30th anniversary, and Sega will celebrate Sonic’s legacy and the franchise’s multiple spin-offs with a fan appreciation video and a virtual event called Sonic Central.

Taking place on May 27 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, Sonic Central will feature Sega’s Sonic team, special guests, and new announcements about future Sonic projects, partnerships, and more. Viewers can access the stream on the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube and Twitch channels. Ahead of Sonic Central, Sega also released a celebratory video titled Unstoppable–a fan appreciation video that takes a trip down memory lane.

From the original 1991 game with the iconic golden rings to the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie, the franchise featuring the super fast blue hedgehog has been going on strong for decades. The Sonic the Hedgehog movie achieved the best opening weekend for any game-to-movie adaptation, surpassing Pokemon: Detective Pikachu’s opening earnings.

The sequel to 2020’s movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, is slated to come out in 2022. According to a leaked copyright listing, Knuckles will make a villainous appearance and Sonic’s human friend, Tom (James Marsden), might pretty much be absent for most of the film.

In other recent Sonic the Hedgehog news, the franchise is getting both a card game and an animated Netflix show. Titled Sonic Prime, the Netflix show will be in 3D animation and isn’t coming until 2022. Man of Action, the studio behind Big Hero 6 and Mega Man: Fully Charged, is working on the title in conjunction with Sega and Wild Brain Studio. As of now, details like plot beats are sparse, but it’s likely that we’ll see more information about Sonic Prime in the upcoming Sonic Central showcase.

Details around Sonic the Hedgehog’s card game are also unknown as of this time. Steamforged Games, a company that made Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry: The Bloody Palace, and both a card game and board game for Dark Souls, is in charge of producing Sonic the Hedgehog’s card game.

The second leg of Pokemon Go‘s Luminous Legends Y event is now underway, and it’s introduced a brand-new Pokemon to the game: Sylveon, the Fairy-type evolution of Eevee. Like previous Eeveelutions, there are a couple of ways to get the new Fairy Pokemon in Niantic’s mobile game, so here’s a rundown on how to evolve Eevee into Sylveon in Pokemon Go.

Earn Buddy Hearts

The standard way to evolve Eevee into Sylveon is simply to earn enough hearts with it while it’s set as your Buddy Pokemon. You’ll earn hearts with Eevee by feeding, playing, and taking snapshots of it. You’ll need to earn 70 hearts for it to evolve into Sylveon, however–so while this process is straightforward, it’s also a bit time-consuming. Once you’ve earned 70 hearts, the question mark on Eevee’s Evolve button will change to a silhouette of Sylveon.

Nickname Trick For Guaranteed Sylveon

As with other Eevee evolutions, you can also get Sylveon by giving Eevee a specific nickname. In this case, change your Eevee’s name to Kira and you’ll be able to evolve it into Sylveon without having to earn any Buddy hearts. However, this method only works once, so you’ll only be able to evolve Eevee into Sylveon this way one time. If you’d like to add more Sylveon to your collection, you’ll need to evolve them through the aforementioned Buddy heart method.

The second part of the Luminous Legends Y event runs until May 31 and is themed around Eevee. As part of the event, other Eevee evolutions such as Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Espeon, and Umbreon will appear in three-star Raids, and you’ll have a chance to catch Eevee and some of its evolutions by completing event-exclusive Field Research tasks. You can read more about the event on the official Pokemon Go blog.

Sylveon isn’t the only new Pokemon introduced as part of the Luminous Legends event. The panda Pokemon Pancham was also added to the game during the first part of the event, while Yveltal is appearing in five-star Raids. The Legendary Destruction Pokemon will be available throughout the entire event.

Developer Insomniac has just released a new cinematic trailer for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and it serves as a solid introduction to the game’s plot. Narrated by the character/weapon Zurkon Jr., the video gives players some quick hits of what to expect from the upcoming PS5-exclusive adventure game.

Packaged into just a minute, Zurkon Jr. explains the set up of the game: Ratchet, a lombax, and his robot sidekick Clank, are tasked with saving the world from an evil villain, Emperor Nefarious–an alternate-dimension version of the main enemy throughout the Ratchet and Clank series.

For the first time in the series, Ratchet will be joined by another lombax, Rivet (again due to the alternate dimensions in Rift Apart). The video also briefly mentions the inclusion of pocket dimensions, side areas that feature mishmashes of other levels or physics that defy “normal” rules, as well as puzzle levels that have players take control of Clank.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launches on June 11 and is one of the first big PS5-exclusive releases. In addition to expanding the arsenal of weapons, the game also virtually eliminates load times by leveraging the PS5’s internal SSD. Insomniac also recently revealed Rift Apart’s trophy list. Be sure to read our Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart preorder guide, and if you want to learn more about what you’ll be doing in the game, check out GameSpot’s extensive preview of Rift Apart.

South Korean mobile publisher Netmarble can thank Marvel and The Seven Deadly Sins anime franchise for a stellar start to the year, as evidenced by the company’s Q1 2021 earnings posted earlier this month.

The company generated $512 million in revenue in the first three months of the year–a seven percent increase over the same period last year–while net profit saw an eight percent gain to $56 million. North America was the most lucrative region for the company, accounting for 36 percent of the revenue gained, with Korea in second at 29 percent and Europe third at 12 percent.

Nine games accounted for 61 percent of Netmarble’s Q1 revenue, with The Seven Deadly Sins: Grand Cross leading the pack at 15 percent. Marvel: Contest of Champions held a close second at 12 percent, while Seven Knights 2 (11 percent), Lineage 2 Revolution (8 percent), and Blade & Soul Revolution (6 percent) rounded out the top five.

Upcoming Netmarble releases for the rest of 2021 include global launches of Marvel Future Revolution and a game featuring the popular K-Pop band BTS. Japan and Korea, meanwhile, will see a new mobile-exclusive game in the Ni no Kuni franchise.

Netmarble is the largest game developer in South Korea, focusing primarily on mobile games. Other titles in its portfolio include The King Of Fighters All-Star, Marvel Future Fight, and popular MOBA Arena of Valor.

Red Dead Online is keeping the focus on horse races with this week’s update, which continues many of the bonuses, rewards, and offerings we saw last week. The main difference this time is the addition of eight new races to the game.

This week’s updates to Red Dead Online are listed in a blog post from Rockstar and detailed down below.

New Races Across The West

Starting this week, Red Dead Online players will be able to take part in eight new races across the game’s world. Each race has Point-to-Point, Lap, and Open variants, for a more classic racing experience. If you’re looking for something with a bit of danger involved, you can try out Target Races, which have players fire arrows at flaming targets as they speed across the map.

Anyone that takes place in any of these races will get a nice heap of extra rewards. Regardless of how they place, players participating in a race will earn three times the usual cash and XP. Similarly, placing in the top three positions in a race will earn players an offer for 40% off any saddle. If you complete any of the eight new races added to Red Dead Online this week, you’ll also earn an offer for half off an Improved Bow and 20 arrows.

One Last Chance For New Threads And Discounts

This week also marks players’ last opportunity to get some fancy new clothes for their cowpoke. The Fanned Stovepipe Hat, Eberhart Coat, Macbay Jacket, Chambliss Corset, and Danube Outfit are all leaving shelves and the catalog this week.

Players also have one last week to make good use of some decent discounts. For the next seven days, all Race Horses are 30% off, and saddlebags and stirrups are 40% off. If you need a new getup for your character, all outfits are also 40% off. Anyone looking to pick up a couple of new weapons can also get the Bow for 40% off and the Evans Repeater for 50% off.

Rockstar also mentioned Red Dead Online’s upcoming summer update in its post today. It’s not clear exactly when that update will be released, but we do know that it will let players get involved with the criminal underbelly of Saint Denis.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade is only a few weeks away, and today developer Square Enix revealed a bit more about what you’ll be doing in the game. In an interview on the PlayStation Blog, director Tetsuya Nomura detailed the gameplay changes and additions that come with the new playable character, Yuffie.

While Yuffie was a skippable side character in the original Final Fantasy VII release, she’ll be the protagonist in the new PS5-exclusive expansion coming in Intergrade, titled Episode Intermission. It will task players with taking control of Yuffie as she journeys into Shinra Corporation. Nomura explained that the decision to cast Yuffie as the main character in the expansion was the obvious one, considering where in Cloud’s story that the first episode of Final Fantasy VII Remake leaves off.

“The overarching story follows the original, so considering where this lies in the storyline, Vincent is still in his slumber and Cid is on Shinra’s side, so Yuffie was the only one who would be able to move freely,” he stated.

Nomura also said that in the base game, characters aren’t able to learn everything about Yuffie’s personality. Playing as her gives the developer time to fill in more about her characteristics, behavior, and feelings. “When considering Yuffie in a large group, you can’t help but notice how energetic she is, but I think she is also a character whose inner workings become more visible the closer you get,” he said. “In this episode, you will mainly be following Yuffie and a new character, her partner Sonon. So, I believe that you will be able to get closer to Yuffie than usual.”

In the post, Square Enix also shared a few clips of Yuffie’s gameplay, showcasing the way she moves through the world, her character design, and some of her combat mechanics. In the GIF embedded above, you can see how she and Sonon can use the Synergized Windstorm attack against enemies.

Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade launches for PS5 on June 10. If you already purchased the PS4 version, it’s a free digital upgrade that adds improved visuals and 60fps support. However, if you use the free upgrade, you’ll have to buy Episode Intermission separately. If you don’t already own Final Fantasy VII, you can preorder Intergrade now; the full game comes with the Yuffie episode.