Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2 has lost another senior developer after its narrative lead Brian Mitsoda and creative director Ka’ai Cluney left the project earlier this year.
In a statement issued to PC Gamer, Paradox Interactive noted that Bloodlines 2’s senior narrative designer Cara Ellison has left developer Hardsuit Labs. “We can confirm that Cara Ellison has decided to leave Hardsuit Labs and is no longer working on Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines 2. Cara brought fresh ideas to the project and many of her contributions will be present in the game launching next year. We thank her for her work on Bloodlines 2 and wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.”
Many had surmised that Ellison had left the project after she removed references to Bloodlines 2 from her bio and announced on Twitter that she had started working for the Australian studio behind Armello, League of Geeks, as a senior narrative designer.
It’s not clear whether Ellison has simply completed her work on the project and is moving onto new games, but another major creative departure like this projects uncertainty around the project, especially in light of the way Mistoda and Cluney were unexpectedly dropped from Bloodlines 2 earlier this year.
PC games store GOG gives out free games regularly on its homepage, and the next freebie available for shoppers is Paradox Interactive’s grand strategy game Europa Universalis II. To claim the game, simply head over to GOG’s homepage and click the “Get it free” button on the banner at the top of the page. The game will immediately be added to your GOG account, and you can download and start playing the DRM-free copy right away. The giveaway is only running for a few days, ending October 24 at 6 AM PT / 9 AM ET, so claim it now or whenever you have a chance.
Spanning the years 1419 through 1820, Europa Universalis II casts you as the leader of a country fighting for dominance. You’ll command everything from military and political alliances to scientific development and exploration of the New World, and you’ll also experience true historical events and people like Joan of Arc and Napoleon. Europa Universalis II also features expanded systems for diplomacy and trade, including the ability to demand gold, provinces, or diplomatic agreements as a result of peace, and its new tutorial makes the game far more approachable than its predecessor. The game received an 8.5/10 in GameSpot’s Europa Universalis II review.
“Europa Universalis II requires more subtlety and more work to play than the first game, as events often crop up to keep you from zooming through times of peace at higher game speeds,” wrote critic Sam Parker. “Although the new game doesn’t represent the jump in production values that some might have hoped for, the gameplay changes should give fans of the first game plenty to work with. For those who haven’t played the first game, the better documentation makes this a much more accessible way to try out one of the most engaging serious strategy games of the year.”
Children of Morta giveaway
There’s another freebie up for grabs at GOG, but it’s not free-free–you have to spend some money to nab it. GOG has partnered with VISA to give away free copies of the story-driven action-RPG Children of Morta to those who spend $25 USD or more using a Visa card and save their card details for future payments. If you’re planning to do some shopping at GOG anyway–and there are some great deals running right now–it’s worth registering for the promotion. Children of Morta is a great game worth playing and earned an 8/10 from GameSpot for its wonderful pixel-art style, variety of play styles, and engaging narrative.
If you want that free copy of Children of Morta, it’s worth browsing the current deals at GOG. The Europa Universalis series is celebrating its 20th anniversary this week, and to celebrate, GOG is running a big sale on Paradox strategy games, including Stellaris (and a bunch of its DLC), Surviving Mars, and Age of Wonders. Check out some of the best game deals available right now at GOG below.
Google has announced that all Stadia users will get access to a handful of demos over the course of this week, including Ubisoft’s upcoming action-adventure game Immortals: Fenyx Rising.
Over the next three days–October 20, 21, and 22–Google will update the list of available demos Stadia players can check out. The demos themselves will be live for one full week.
The demos Stadia players can check out include Humankind, Immortals: Fenyx Rising, and Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle. Mega Tunnel Battle’s demo is available to play now, while Humankind goes live on October 21 and Immortals: Fenyx Rising drops on October 22. Immortals: Fenyx Rising, previously called Gods and Monsters, is an open-world action-adventure game set against the backdrop of Greek mythology. It, along with Genshin Impact, have garnered a lot of comparisons to Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The headlining game of the list–besides Immortals: Fenyx Rising–is Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle. A Google Stadia exclusive, Mega Tunnel Battle takes Pac-Man and combines it with the trappings of Tetris 99 to create a 64-player battle royale experience. You’ll need to use your wits, and Mega Tunnel Battles newer power-ups, to become the last Pac-Man standing. Bandai Namco celebrated Pac-Man’s 40th anniversary this year with new arcade cabinets.
These demos will be live for one week on Google Stadia.
Google notes that a Stadia Pro subscription is not necessary to play these demos, nor is a purchase of any kind. These demos are completely free for all Stadia players.
The company also confirmed release dates for two games coming to Stadia: Pac-Man Mega Tunnel Battle launches on November 17 and Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order drops on November 24.
In other Google Stadia news, the company announced that the hotly anticipated Cyberpunk 2077 comes out on the same day as all other platforms. CD Projekt Red’s action-RPG went gold earlier this month, meaning it’s primed and ready for its November 19 release date.
On November 10, Borderlands 3 will see the beginning of its Year 2 content with the Designer’s Cut update. In addition to the new Arms Race mode, another big highlight from this new content drop are the new skill trees for each of the vault hunters, allowing them to use additional action skills and buffs to alter their playstyles even more.
GameSpot had the chance to get some early hands-on time with the Designer’s Cut, and we spent some time experimenting with the new builds for the vault hunters. Throughout this week, we’ll be sharing details and gameplay showcasing the new skills vault hunters can utilize in combat. Starting off with Amara and Fl4k, we have new gameplay and a more detailed breakdown of their new skills below.
We’ve spent some time playing both characters and fleshed out their respective skill trees, so here’s a quick rundown of some of their new abilities and how they can alter Amara and Fl4k.
Amara’s 4th Skill Tree: Enlightened Force
Amara’s New Abilities
New Action-Skill:
Phaseflare — Creates an orb of elemental energy that deals elemental damage to nearby enemies.
Noteworthy skills
Glow Up: Instead of Splash Damage to enemies, Amara’s orb grants nearby allies health regeneration.
Shooting Star: Amara’s orb of elemental energy can fire smaller orbs of elemental energy at the last enemy that attacked the player.
Light Fantastic: When Amara attacks an enemy, the orb will travel to that enemy and deal damage to them.
Amara’s skills rely upon her complex Siren powers, and her new abilities utilize powers from the Enlightened Force skill tree. This new tree opens up access to the new Phaseflare action skill, which allows the Siren to summon a massive orb of elemental energy that can deal damage to surrounding enemies, and it can even be used as a large wrecking ball against foes. If you happen to strike the orb with your melee attacks, you can send it flying towards nearby enemies, which can potentially amplify the damage of the Phaseflare skill. Depending on your build, Phaseflare can also send out mini-projectiles and even heal nearby allies.
Fl4k’s 4th Skill Tree: Trapper
Fl4k’s New Abilities
New Action-Skill:
Gravity Snare — Fl4k tosses out a trap that knocks up and temporarily stuns nearby enemies.
New Pet: Ion Loader — Fl4k is joined by a loyal Mini Ion Loader bot companion, armed with a shock sniper rifle and homing shock orb that can trigger a shock nova.
Noteworthy skills
Forage: Whenever an enemy trapped by Fl4k is knocked into the air, they drop ammo, health boosters, and shield boosters.
Wide Net: Fl4k’s trap gains increased duration and increased radius.
Trap Card: If Fl4K would go into Fight For Your Life while their trap is readied, they automatically throw a trap at the enemy that downed them.
Blind with Anger: Fl4k’s trap no longer knocks up or stuns enemies. Instead, the trap confuses nearby enemies, causing them to attack their allies for a short time.
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Borderlands 3 Fl4k New Trapper Skill Tree Gameplay
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Fl4k is a hunter, and their new abilities focus more on wrangling crowds of enemies and relying on a new pet–an upgraded Hyperion bot that has a unique arsenal of guns of its own. In the new Trapper skill tree, Fl4k’s skills can be modified to focus more on containing and neutralizing crowds of enemies. The latest action skill that Fl4k can use is called the Gravity Snare, an anti-gravity trap that stuns and immobilizes enemies that get caught within its reach. Playing into their hunter background, the Gravity Snare is a great skill to temporarily control the field and take down some of the pesky foes, opening them up to attacks. Depending on how you flesh out Fl4k’s skill tree, you can also upgrade your trap to have a greater reach and also give your pet and bodyguard more defensive and offensive skills of their own.
For more on the new content coming to Borderlands 3, be sure to check back with GameSpot on Thursday, October 22 at 9AM PST to see Zane and Moze’s new skill-trees and abilities. Later on in the month, there will also be more to share about the upcoming Arms Race mode as well.
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On November 10, Borderlands 3 will see the beginning of its Year 2 content with the Designer’s Cut update. One of the big highlights for this new content drop are the new skill trees for each of the vault hunters, allowing them to use additional action skills and buffs to alter their playstyles even more. GameSpot had the chance to get some early hands-on time with the Designer’s Cut, and we spent some time experimenting with the new builds for the vault hunters.
In this video, we have some new gameplay of Amara utilizing powers from the Enlightened Force skill tree, which grants her the new Phaseflare action skill. This particular skill allows the Siren to summon a massive orb of elemental energy that can damage in its reach, and it can even be used as a large wrecking ball against foes. If you happen to strike the orb with your melee attacks, you can send it flying towards nearby enemies, which can potentially amplify the damage of the Phaseflare skill. Depending on your build, Phaseflare can also send out mini-projectiles and even heal nearby allies.
In addition to Amara’s new skill tree, we’ve also got gameplay for Fl4k’s new abilities that focus on trapping enemies and opening them up for attacks. We’ll have more info on the other vault hunters coming later, so be sure to check back with GameSpot for more information on what’s to come with the Designer’s Cut update, along with some upcoming details on what the new Arms Race mode is all about.
On November 10, Borderlands 3 will see the beginning of its Year 2 content with the Designer’s Cut update. One of the big highlights for this new content drop are the new skill trees for each of the vault hunters, allowing them to use additional action skills and buffs to alter their playstyles even more. GameSpot had the chance to get some early hands-on time with the Designer’s Cut, and we spent some time experimenting with the new builds for the vault hunters.
In this video, we have some gameplay of the Fl4k’s new crowd control skills, along with their new pet–an upgraded Hyperion bot that has a unique arsenal of guns of its own. In the new Trapper skill tree, Fl4k’s skills can be modified to focus more on containing and neutralizing crowds of enemies. The latest action skill that Fl4k can use is called the Gravity Snare, an anti-gravity trap that stuns and immobilizes enemies that get caught within its reach. Playing into their hunter background, the Gravity Snare is a great skill to temporarily control the field and take down some of the pesky foes, opening them up to attacks. Depending on how you flesh out Fl4k’s skill tree, you can also upgrade your trap to have a greater reach and also give your pet and bodyguard more defensive and offensive skills of their own.
In addition to Fl4k’s new skill tree, we’ve also got gameplay for Amara’s new Phaseflare ability, which allows her to summon a giant orb of energy that can be knocked into foes. We’ll have more info on the other vault hunters coming later, so be sure to check back with GameSpot for more information on what’s to come with the Designer’s Cut update, along with some upcoming details on what the new Arms Race mode is all about.
Like the Assassin’s Creed games that came before it, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is getting a heap of post-launch DLC, some of which is free, and other parts are included with a $40 season pass.
The season pass includes two major expansions, as well as a special quest themed around Beowulf. The Legend of Beowulf quest focuses on the hero Beowulf, leading up to players uncovering the “monstrous truth” behind the character. This quest will be available on launch day for season pass owners, but Ubisoft did not say when or if the quest will be made available to everyone else.
DLC 1: Wrath of the Druids
The first of the expansions is titled Wrath of the Druids, and it’s scheduled for release in Spring 2021. “In this new adventure, players will journey to Ireland and unravel the mysteries of an ancient and mysterious druidic cult, tracking and discovering their members,” reads a line from the description. “Diving into Gaelic myths and folklores, they’ll need to fight their way through haunted forests and dazzling landscapes while gaining influence among Gaelic kings.”
DLC 2: The Siege of Paris
The second expansion is called The Siege of Paris, and it’s due out in Summer 2021. This expansion lets players experience the historical viking battle, featuring “key historical figures” from the event. “During this key moment in history, players will infiltrate the fortified city of Paris and the River Seine under a prolonged siege, uncover enemy secrets, and form strategic alliances to safeguard their clan’s future,” reads a line from the official description.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla DLC roadmap
Seasonal Content
In addition to this paid content, everyone is getting free seasonal DLC that comes in the form of “new narrative content” and in-game events. The seasons will last for three months, and each will include a lot of new content. December 2020’s Season 1, for example, includes a new settlement area, the Yule festival event, a new River Raids mode, and new skills and abilities.
Valhalla Season 1 Content:
A new settlement area, allowing players to continue to grow and evolve their settlement.
A traditional Viking Festival: the Yule Festival, for players to experience in their settlement.
A new game mode: the River Raids. Building on Valhalla’s core raiding mechanic the mode will deliver a dynamic, challenging and highly replayable raid experience.
The addition of the Ranks for Jomsviking: in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla players can not only create their lieutenant to be part of their raiding crew, but also recruit some from their friends and the community. In Season 1, players will see an update to the Jomsviking feature which will allow their Jomsviking to earn XP and rank up – the higher will be the rank of the lieutenant, the more silver players will earn when recruited by other players.
Finally, as for each season, Season 1 will also come with new player skills and abilities, weapons and gear, and cosmetic items for the settlement, longship, horse and raven.
Season 2 is slated to begin in March, and it will add a new game mode to be named later, a new Jomsviking refresh, more festivals, and additional gear and cosmetic items to collect. There will be at least two more seasons, Season 3 and 4, though no details about them have been announced yet. You can see a rundown of the Season 1 content below, as written by Ubisoft.
In a press release, Ubisoft said there will be even more content beyond all of this. “There will be more to come as the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla development team is committed to support the game and continued improvement of the core experience with additional content, yet to be revealed,” the company said.
Assassin’s Creed Valhalla releases on November 10 for Xbox Series X/Series S, Xbox One, PS4, and on PC through the Epic Games Store and Ubisoft’s own PC store, but not Steam. The game will also be available on PS5 when the console releases starting November 12, as well as Amazon Luna when it’s released.
On November 17, Halo: The Master Chief Collection will become fully optimized on Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, and will feature 120FPS in Campaign and Multiplayer, Split-screen improvements, up to 4K on Series X, and more.
Announced by Xbox on Twitter, this update will be available for free to existing owners or those who are subscribed to Xbox Game Pass.
Aaron Greenberg, GM of Xbox Games Marketing at Microsoft, has also confirmed that Halo: The Master Chief Collection will also support “cross-gen play & adjustable FOV.”
These updates are another part of Halo: The Master Chief Collection’s future that will also include crossplay between Xbox One and PC, a custom game browser, PC fileshare, per game graphics and audio options, mouse and keyboard support on Xbox One, and more.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection was released in 2014, and while it had a few issues at launch, it has been continuously supported and improved. In our re-review in 2019, we said, “overcoming its deserved reputation after a notorious launch, today the Halo Master Chief Collection is a polished, super-deluxe package of content that successfully links three generations of amazing Halo games together in a way that feels like it was made by and for people who care deeply about this legendary shooter franchise.”
Like many games with an online component, Red Dead Redemption 2 is also preparing to celebrate Halloween. After a new October event that appears to be taking some inspiration from Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare was leaked earlier in the year, developer Rockstar Games has confirmed the existence of the Halloween Pass for Red Dead Online.
It’ll cost players 15 gold bars to purchase, or if you haven’t been saving your gold while exploring the old frontier, you can also pay $10 USD for 25 pieces of the in-game currency.
The Halloween Pass has 20 levels of rewards that can be unlocked through experience points gains, and each earned rank will give players items such as the skeletal Zavala machete, painted ram horse masks, and mystical variations of full weapons.
Once you reach level 20, you’ll also be able to renovate your moonshine bar with more gothic décor, provided that you have already purchased and unlocked the Moonshiner role. Here’s the full list of what you can unlock starting from level one on the Halloween Pass:
5 Blending tonics and Flayed Bison mask for your horse
Abandoned House photo studio backdrop
Reaper variant for Rolling Block rifle
Select Naturalist Role Items
Spooky reaction
Skull and Daggers – A graphic flag for your camp
Predator camera filter
Gallows Blindfold
Cemetery photo studio backdrop
Painted Ram mask for your horse and The Ripper reaction
Zavala machete and Gothic bar decor
You’ll be able to earn all of those rewards from now until November 16, with items such as the Phantom Buck Horse Mask and the Noir Advanced Camera filter being free as part of a membership to the Wheeler, Rawson & Co. Club in Red Dead Online. Rockstar Games also increased its workforce numbers last week, acquiring Crackdown 2 developer Ruffian Games and rebranding the Scottish studio to Rockstar Dundee.
Stadium is a third-party application that allowed streaming from Google Stadia on iOS devices by providing a web-based bridge between the service and your device. Essentially, Stadium was just a new web browser that was able to reliably run Stadia games, while supporting Bluetooth controllers connected to your iOS device. It turns out that last feature is part of the reason why Apple is kicking the app off its App Store, which isn’t surprising to its developer.
Zachary Knox, the developer of Stadium, explained in a Reddit post that the app utilized extensions that allowed controllers to communicate with Apple’s internal WebKit API (the backbone of all browsers on iOS). This is in violation of Apple’s rules, which were cited as the reason for the app’s removal. The functionality of the app, which allows game streaming despite Apple’s own reservations over native streaming apps, was not mentioned.
“While I am obviously disappointed by this, I don’t resent Apple for this decision,” Knox wrote. “They didn’t want their native frameworks and WebKit interacting how I had them working.”
Knox says that users still interested in using Stadium should download the app now before it’s removed, while existing users will be able to continue streaming as long as they do not delete the app. Knox is also planning to release the source code for the app soon.
