Author: Trafficblast

The fifth anniversary of Kojima Productions had very little to say about its future this week, but the studio isn’t done with its debut game Death Stranding just yet.

Death Stranding has crossed over with other games in the past, such as a promotional Half-Life: Alyx campaign that added a Headcrab and the Gravity Glove to Hideo Kojima’s postal-apocalypse game, but the next PC-exclusive collaboration will see it team up with Cyberpunk 2077 for a free and large content update.

Death Stranding will receive six new missions that feature characters and lore from Cyberpunk 2077 and a new hacking ability that allows players to stop MULE sensor poles from activating, stun enemy machines, and short circuit enemy vehicles.

There’ll also be a few themed cosmetic items, such as a Reverse Trike vehicle with improved jumping power, a silver hand gauntlet modeled after Johnny Silverhand’s robotic arm, and new holograms including a SAMURAI symbol signboard or an Atlas Trauma Team vehicle hologram. All that, and Silverhand’s iconic sunglasses.

The Cyberpunk 2077 crossover isn’t too surprising, as Death Stranding creator Hideo Kojima has a cameo in the CD Projekt Red game. Death Stranding also happens to be 50% off right now on Steam, if you feel like taking a plunge into Kojima’s mad hiking odyssey. Alternatively, the Cyberpunk 2077 content will also be available in the Epic Games Store version of Death Stranding.

Yesterday, it was something of a whirlwind for both Devotion studio Red Candle Games and GOG owner CD Projekt. First, Red Candle Games announced that Devotion–previously un-released on Steam because of controversies regarding a certain Chinese politician–would finally come back via GOG, but it only took a few hours before GOG reversed that decision. However, Red Candle Games isn’t giving up.

In a post on Twitter, Red Candle Games acknowledged GOG’s decision to not release the game and said it was “willing to understand and respect it,” but it also said it would not be giving up yet. There’s certainly not a drought of online game platforms in 2020, with Epic Games Store seeming like the most obvious choice after trying both Steam and GOG. However, the Chinese conglomerate Tencent does also own a piece of Epic Games.

CD Projekt’s decision to pull the game before it launched was odd given how quickly it seemed to have happened. The company said it received “many messages from gamers” regarding Devotion, resulting in its removal, but given the political controversy surrounding its original removal from Steam, there may be more to it. There is little divisive about the game other than one piece of art, and when the game was first announced to release on GOG, reactions were almost universally positive.

Cyberpunk 2077 is CD Projekt’s other main source of stress right now, with a rough launch, even on PC, that has reportedly resulted in studio executives losing up to $1 billion in stock. After initially suggesting those on consoles request refunds from Microsoft and Sony, developer CD Projekt Red said it didn’t have a special system in place to make this happen and even stopped recommending PS4 players request refunds. The game will be coming to PS5 and Xbox Series X|S with native versions, likely in 2021.

Nintendo’s most recent Indie World showcase was a big one, and while we were busy watching it, an exciting new game dropped on the system. Dicey Dungeons, the latest game from VVVVVV and Super Hexagon creator Terry Cavanaugh, is now available on the Nintendo Switch.

In Dicey Dungeons, players choose from numerous playable dice characters, all of which have unique abilities. As you move between the nodes of each level, you’ll come up against various enemies. Combat is based on dice rolls, with Yahtzee-like rules: you can play a rolled number on a corresponding attack, or you can re-roll dice several times to try and get numbers that better suit your abilities. As you go, you can power up and re-spec your dice, and if you die you need to start over.

The game costs $15 on Switch, with a 10% discount currently active for launch.

It’s also worth noting that there’s a bug in the game right now that does not let you increase animation speed again after decreasing it–this will be patched, but there’s also a workaround available for the problem right now.

Dicey Dungeons received a 7/10 in GameSpot’s review. “Dicey Dungeons is a charming and often rewarding game, as long as you learn to accept that sometimes the dice won’t roll your way,” the review states.

Call of Duty: Warzone is never gonna let you down. New songs, including Rick Astley’s classic Never Gonna Give You Up, have been added to the game as vehicle tracks.

One of the most exciting things you can do in Warzone is hop in a vehicle and soar through Verdansk while blasting the horn. Players can customize what sound they make when they honk their car horns–those options now include the infamous rickrolling song. They better hope that someone isn’t hiding on a nearby rooftop with an RPG.

If you don’t know what it means to get Rickrolled, this link should be a good explainer.

Flight of the Valkyries had been one of the more popular songs to hear blasting from trucks and humvees as you explore Verdansk, but Never Gonna Give You Up may take the throne once players have had time to use it in-game. Other songs included in the 80’s Hits vehicle tracks include I Ran by Flock of Seagulls and Shout by Tears For Fears.

The new tracks were added as a part of Warzone’s newest update that integrates the battle royale with Black Ops Cold War. A ton of new content was added, including a number of issues that Treyarch, Activision, and Raven Software need to iron out. A new, smaller map called Rebirth Island was also included. Full patch notes for the update can be found right here.

Bravely Default II has received a second–and final–demo, allowing players interested in the RPG sequel to check it out ahead of the Switch title’s 2021 release. The demo is available now on the Eshop through the game’s store page.

The Bravely Default II final demo features the game’s four main characters some way into their adventure, meaning that many of the systems introduced early in the game are available to demo players from the start. Jobs and Abilities can be used and swapped, for instance.

Players who download the demo ahead of the game’s launch will also be able to nab 100 My Nintendo Platinum Points, which can be redeemed for rewards through the My Nintendo portal.

The demo weighs in at 3.3GB. The game releases on February 26, 2021, and is available to preorder now.

Bravely Default II is, somewhat confusingly, the third game in the Bravely series. The original Bravely Default on 3DS was followed by a direct sequel, Bravely Second. This Switch game has a new cast of characters and setting, though.

Developer Spry Fox has announced Cozy Grove, a new game set on a haunted island that’s giving off some serious Animal Crossing vibes. But whether or not this game has taken inspiration from Nintendo’s massive series, Cozy Grove’s big difference is that the island is swarming with ghosts.

The game, which is coming to Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC in the first half of 2021, casts players as a “Spirit Scout”. It’s up to them to seek out the ghosts of the island and help them, building up a camp and crafting new materials as you go.

You’ll also be able to go fishing, as the trailer below shows.

Spry Grove’s earlier games include Road Not Taken and the Alphabear series.

The game’s website promises that all the spirits you meet with have unique storylines, and that the game will last for 40+ hours if you really take your time getting to know everyone.

There is, of course, one ghost in Animal Crossing: New Horizons: Wisp, who appears at night sometimes and rewards you for gathering up his spirit. It looks like the quests offered by Cozy Grove’s ghosts will be more extensive, though.

Big Pixel Studios, the developer behind the popular Rick & Morty mobile RPG spin-off Pocket Mortys, is shutting down. The studio, which was bought by Adult Swim in mid-2018 after making the Pokemon-like adventure, will be shuttered at the end of 2020, leaving is employees out of work.

According to a report from Gamesindustry.biz, around 40 people are affected by this closure.

Developer Laurie James announced the news on Twitter, saying that the team’s next game won’t be released. “Some hella good people here, who made something proper cool,” he said. “Unfortunately you’ll never get to play it, because capitalism.”

In a statement to Gamesindustry.biz, an Adult Swim spokesperson said that this decision was made “as part of WarnerMedia’s larger transformation,” and that the games based on their IP “will continue to be a priority” going forward.

Pocket Mortys has continued to receive updates, but it’s unclear if this will remain the case going forward.

Hades players can now access their save files on both PC and Nintendo Switch. Supergiant Games released an update that added the cross-save feature earlier today, December 16.

Cross-save functionality was originally promised alongside Hades’ launch on Nintendo Switch, but Supergiant Games decided to push the feature to focus on the game itself. The studio said it delayed the feature so it wouldn’t have to delay the full release of the game.

Other improvements that had already been released on PC were also added to the Nintendo Switch with the update today. You can download it by launching Hades from the Nintendo Switch menu. Full patch notes for the update can be found on Supergiant’s website.

Hades originally launched in early access in 2018 and has been in continuous development up until its official launch in September. Supergiant Games is currently working on other updates and fixes for the game, but has no plans for other content. Creative director Greg Kasavin previously told GameSpot that the studio does not know what they are developing next.

Hades is one of GameSpot’s Best of 2020 nominees. Its innovative take on the roguelike genre that combines tight gameplay with a beautifully written story is unlike anything else we’ve played this year.