Pathfinder: Kingmaker – Definitive Edition – the 2018 RPG inspired by the likes of Baldur’s Gate and the original Fallout games – is coming to PS4 and Xbox One on August 18.
Announced exclusively as part of today’s IGN Expo, the game will launch on console with all six DLC packs released for the PC version, and with a new turn-based mode feature.
The primary new addition to the console version of the game is the ability to switch from the main game’s real-time combat into a turn-based mode that should offer more precise control on a gamepad.
Adapting the tabletop role-playing game of the same name, Pathfinder recreates much of the real-life game in digital form, and allows you to conquer and manage a kingdom alongside its dungeon-crawling.
There’s much, much more to see from today’s IGN Expo, and we’re running the Summer of Gaming throughout June – here’s the Summer of Gaming full schedule. All month, we’re supporting some incredibly important causes – the World Health Organisation and The Bail Project – if you are able, help us support them too at donate.ign.com.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.
We’ve gotten an exclusive look at the Western version of Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and it looks brilliantly ludicrous – right down the fact that you can make friends with a crawfish called Nancy.
Revealed during today’s IGN Expo, the gameplay shows off exploration, the game’s new party-based turn-based battles, and minigames from the 8th installment in the Yakuza series.
You can watch it, accompanied with an interview with senior localization producer Scott Strichart, below:
Yakuza famously balances weighty stories about Japanese organised crime with absurdist substories and over-the-top combat, and Like a Dragon doesn’t disappoint in that regard.
Lead character Ichiban Kasuga is obsessed with retro gaming, which accounts for this game’s switch to turn-based battling. It also means that enemies literally transform in his mind’s eye, and the resulting monsters can be catalogued in Kasuga’s “Sugidex” app (and if that sounds familiar to you, that’s a purposeful choice).
Battles aren’t the only place things get weird. Substories will continue to include weird and wonderful escapades, including the ability to meet a lone crawfish called Nancy on a bridge and make friends with her. As Strichart puts it, “for the most part, the substories lean pretty hard into the nonsense side of things.” I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Mini-games will include a “Dragon Kart” kart racing game featuring rocket launchers and satellite strikes and “Can Quest”, a game in which Kasuga needs to collect discarded cans while taking down rival recyclers and avoiding aggressive garbage trucks.
Like a Dragon’s take on a business management activity will see Kasuga taking over a failing confectionary company, recruiting managers, assign them to properties and take on “shareholder battles” against the company’s investors.
Taking a leaf out of fellow Sega property Persona’s book, the game will also feature a relationship system that allows you to level up Kasuga’s personality and begin dating NPCs in the new Yokohama area.
Yakuza: Like a Dragon will arrive on an unspecified date for PC, Xbox One and PS4, and will be a launch game for Xbox Series X (which will support Smart Delivery upgrades from the Xbox One version).
There’s much, much more to see from today’s IGN Expo, and we’re running the Summer of Gaming throughout June – here’s the Summer of Gaming full schedule. All month, we’re supporting some incredibly important causes – the World Health Organisation and The Bail Project – if you are able, help us support them too at donate.ign.com.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter.
A Sony patent, potentially for the PlayStation 5, indicates how the console’s UI might look, and alludes to the dynamic use of in-game stats, tips and videos from previous gameplay.
The patent, published yesterday (although originally filed several years ago) and discovered by TheGamePost, includes several diagrams of a UI design. On first glance, it’ll be very familiar to PS4 users, but seemingly with more detail offered to the player:
UI Design Diagram – USPTO.GOV
If the above diagram does represent the PS5 UI, it suggests that the core console menus will be more thoroughly subdivided – games, for instance, have their own tab – and that individual game tiles will offer an array of extra information, including your status in the game, potential hints and tips, and videos of your recent play.
As with all patents, Sony may have decided not to use this design, or only elements of it. However, there are further interesting elements listed within the patent documents that support previous speculation. Sony has also patented a system that uses behaviour metrics to dynamically show players hints depending on their performance in-game.
One of the images shown in the full patent listing, Figure 4B, offers a situation where the game will tell you how to “go around hill and jump over truck” if you were struggling with this part of the game previously.
Alongside the hint, you could potentially see in-game statistics including kills, player level, points earned and even a set of coaching videos. The system will determine what to display to the player depending on these metrics, and in the Figure 4B example, this could arrive in the form of a hint, a video or simply some statistics.
It’s an interesting new means to help players perform in-game. Another figure shows the player being able to choose what kind of hint they receive. PS5 system architect Mark Cerny has previously mentioned a more flexible home screen on the console, and these innovations certainly fit into that more dynamic experience.
Adam F. Goldberg, the creator of the ABC series The Goldbergs, has revealed that he has been working on a script for The Goonies 2 to pitch to Richard Donner, the director of the original 1985 adventure comedy.
Goldberg might not have found One-Eyed Willy’s rich stuff but he could be about to strike gold anyway, as he recently announced that he set-up a meeting with Donner to discuss a potential Goonies sequel before the coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown.
Taking to Twitter shortly after Josh Gad’s reunion special with the original cast of The Goonies, Goldberg assured fans that the sequel would happen “when life resumes,” as he shared a photo of his script for “The Goonies II: Never Say Die,” which he says he has been writing for the past nine years.
At the foot of the script’s title page, it states “Richard Donner Presentation” alongside what we assume would have been the date for the since-cancelled meeting.
As further proof that this is his time, Goldberg shared a piece of exclusive concept art with Slash Film. The illustration, created by Michael Barnard, features a large skull with doors for teeth, set on the back wall of a shadowy cave.
The skull is engraved with Spanish writing, which translates to “One mistake shall rain down fear / Feel the wrath of the Devil’s Tears.” At the forefront of the image, a female is pictured holding a treasure map with several silhouetted figures just ahead of her.
While the artwork offers fans a glimpse of Goldberg’s vision for a Goonies sequel, no further story details have been shared at this time.
It has been 35 years since the Richard Donner-directed film hit the big screen but the quest for a sequel still remains, with fans continuing to campaign for a follow-up flick.
Back in late April, Capcom announced that the free fourth title update for Monster Hunter World: Iceborne was indefinitely delayed due to production difficulties caused by the coronavirus crisis. Now, the publisher says that the update will come in early July, with a firm release date coming soon.
This update was originally scheduled for May and will introduce the fan-favorite black dragon Alatreon, along with his attendant weapons and armor. There’s no word on future content besides the promise of more monsters later in the summer, as the content roadmap provided by Capcom in late April ends with the fourth title update.
GameSpot has officially kicked off Play For All–a celebration of all things gaming. Join us as we bring you the summer’s hottest news, previews, interviews, features, and videos, as well as raise money for COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter with the help of our friends from around the gaming world. Check out the Play For All schedule for more.
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Igarashi released a video thanking players and fans around the world who have played the new IP, as well as all the people who have contributed to its development and publishing. The producer says this sales milestone was the overall goal set internally, letting development on additional free updates and DLC continue without the worry of having to break even.
Ritual of the Night will be receiving more free updates throughout the year, with some arriving over the next few weeks. In a blog post on the official website, a timeline lays out free updates scheduled for the rest of the year, including new game modes, playable characters, and more. You can read the full list of upcoming updates below.
In addition to free content updates, the post also mentions that Bloodstained will be getting paid DLC in the future, too. Developers ArtPlay and WayForward aren’t detailing yet what this might entail, but Igarashi says this sales milestone allows development to move into a second chapter, suggesting support for Ritual of the Night will continue for some time.
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Free DLC Roadmap
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night was received well by critics, especially as a spiritual successor to one of the most revered Castlevania games ever made. In GameSpot’s Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night review, critic Steve Watts scored the game an 8/10, saying, “With more flexible combat and level design that always beckons to check just one more room, Bloodstained shows that a modern Metroidvania can stand alongside its predecessors as an equal.”
Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night Free DLC Update Plans
Q2 2020
Boss Revenge Mode
Take control of one of four in-game bosses and use them to battle the heroes of Bloodstained!
Chroma Wheel
The salon is back in business with more options than ever for character customization, including hair, clothing, and skin color. Switch up your look with a true color selector and eliminating pre-set options previously available.
Boss Revenge and Chroma Wheel will launch on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on Tuesday, June 23rd, and Nintendo Switch in July
Q3 2020
VS Mode (Local/Online)
A tense survival mode where players compete by indirectly attacking each another.
Chaos Mode (Local/Online)
A specialized boss rush for 1 or 2 players. The mode includes randomized drops and special sub goals that will grant more equipment when completed. Collect the best, drop the rest as you build power to defeat all the bosses!
Classic Mode
It’s Bloodstained 80s-style as Miriam faces off against a series of sub-bosses laid out across five harrowing stages and three difficulty levels.
Q4 2020
Playable Character
Bloodstained’s 3rd playable character after Miriam and Zangetsu (It’s not Dominique).
If you’re a Switch owners who’s been pining for a deal, you’ll want to check this out. Nintendo is running a Summer Game Sale on digital games at various retailers. This includes first-party titles like New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, as well as third-party titles like Dragon Quest XI, and more. The deals end on June 16, so get ’em while they’re here. Take a look at the deals below.
Game Pass is already a fantastic value in gaming, but beginning tomorrow, it gets some truly massive additions by way of No Man’s Sky, Kingdom Hearts, and more, and right now Amazon and Best Buy are offering 3-month Game Pass Unlimited subscriptions for $22.99.
Right now, Microsoft is running its Xbox Deals Unlocked sale, with huge discounts on tons of games and even consoles. The best deal in the sale, in my opinion, is for 3-months of Game Pass Ultimate. If you buy it today, you can be playing No Man’s Sky tomorrow and for three months after that.
At the metal heart of Disintegration’s multiplayer is an interesting idea: a first-person shooter that blends aerial vehicle combat with real-time strategy tactics. It’s a great pitch, but after jumping into the fray during a handful of pre-release multiplayer sessions, that concept doesn’t seem to live up to its exciting potential. Disintegration is undoubtedly different from any other competitive FPS out there, but the novelty of zipping through the sky on a hoverbike eventually gives way to its relatively shallow strategic core.
Each player in this 5v5 squad shooter pilots their own levitating gravcycle while also commanding a small team of AI robotic troops to fight from the ground and directly interact with objectives. But with guns bolted to your ride, you’ll act as both soldier and general, having to simultaneously engage in firefights while directing your team to support you, adding an extra layer of decisions to make during each encounter.
The first-person floating and shooting can be jarring to even the staunchest FPS player, but the controls are straightforward enough that it only took me a couple of rounds to get a hang of sky surfing. That said, it’s made more complex when you consider that there are nine different types of cycles to choose from, all with their own set of generally familiar weapons and maneuverability quirks to learn. Shotguns, for example, have that recognizable boom, but lack the recoil and devastating bite featured in most contemporary shooters – presumably because it’s mounted to a flying metal death machine and shooting other armored death machines.
I’ve come to really like zooming around the three mode-specific maps. They feature plenty of tall structures to weave between and low overhangs to dip under and over when you’re trying to lose a pursuer. Faster gravcycles feel especially fun to blaze around in, as the speed really ramps up the pressure during some tougher chases. Oddly, though, the selection of slower, tankier gravcycles don’t always feel more durable, and in my limited time with them often felt more like a liability than a force to be reckoned with.
While you’re chasing enemy hovercraft and dancing around oncoming fire, you’ll also need to issue commands to your ground units. This team features three or four robotic companions who range between balanced, assault rifle-wielding Warriors to heavy-duty Tanks that run headlong into the fight for melee attacks. Disintegration’s one-button contextual pinging system does an adequate job of intuitively issuing orders at a moment’s notice, but your tactical options are also extremely limited when compared to something like a traditional real-time tactics game. Telling all of them to focus on an enemy, move to a designated spot, or interact with an objective is pretty much the extent of your control outside of a few activatable abilities.
In the most hectic of matches, it can become overwhelming to trade fire in the sky while also giving effective directions to my ground squad. Keeping them safe rarely felt possible, as I was often too busy sparring directly with enemy pilots to get them behind cover. Their unique abilities, like tossing disorienting stun grenades or doing big damage in a large area with a mighty ground slam, are very useful against enemy crews, but they largely won’t affect their pilots. And since killing a pilot also kills their henchmen, it has so far felt like aiming for anything that isn’t the floaty, shooty thing in front of me is a waste of time and resources.
Before each match, you select a “crew” that dictates the stats and weapons of your cycle, the abilities of your squad, and your snazzy dress code. Gravcycle loadouts from crew to crew are satisfyingly diverse: putting on the pink and black leather of the Neon Dreams means you’ll be cruising through the arena with vehicle handling as sharp as your outfits, and its dual light machine guns and single-shot stun gun really spoke to me, as well. By contrast, the blue and orange King’s Guard are literal armored knights whose gravcycle features a charged bolt that is slow to fire but does big damage and slows enemies unfortunate enough to be hit by it.
I wish the aesthetics went beyond just color schemes and costumes, though. When you get into the action, all of the voice lines and sound effects are the same generic one-liners no matter who you’ve picked. Looking at The Sideshows, a crew full of killer clowns a la Twisted Metal’s Sweet Tooth, you would expect some fringe, Joker-fied quips to match, or maybe circus music to accompany their rapid-fire sticky grenades. Disintegration does the rest of a crew’s aesthetic so well that it’s disappointing and a bit jarring to see this part missing.
Of its three competitive game modes, I’ve thus far had the most fun with Retrieval. One team of attackers must grab explosive cores and take them to designated goals while defenders work to prevent that from happening. It’s the only time online where I felt incentivised to use my squad as more than just a ball of guns, as only they can carry the cores from point to point. Escorting them to the goal is properly tense, and the white-knuckle skirmishes that break out around core carriers is always engaging. Retrieval is similar in design to modes from several other online shooters, but the combination of first-person shooting and light RTS tactics really make it feel fresh here. This is the only mode that seems to fully embrace what makes Disintegration so unique.
In contrast, the other two modes, Zone Control and Collector, are your standard FPS fare. In Zone Control, ground teams must occupy a zone without enemy interference to contest it, but there’s no nuanced way to have your troops go in and secure those areas. Without being able to individually set certain troops in defensive positions based on their supposed strengths – for example, splitting more fragile units up behind different cover points to keep eyes on every approach angle – things often devolve into pinging your gang into a central killing zone and letting the AI figure it out while pilots hover in a circle shooting at each other. There could be deeper strategy still to learn here, but it doesn’t feel like I have the tools to enable anything more than an all-out brawl when fighting for a control point.
In Collector, there seems to be even less strategy, as killing enemies drops “Brain Cans” that need to be physically picked up by your squad to score points. More often than not, Collector games devolve into teams lining up, Revolutionary War-style, and firing into each other until one side breaks and runs. There’s almost no incentive to get creative outside attempting basic flanking maneuvers. I’m sure some of this brutishness is due to the community being young – time and experience often lead to techniques and play styles that will come to define a game. But so far Disintegration’s multiplayer doesn’t demand much of you outside of pulling the trigger.
Review in Progress Verdict
It may be too early to tell what kinds of clever tricks and strategies get teased out of Disintegration once it’s in the hands of a larger playerbase. But in its current form, this genre hybrid comes off as little more than a very interesting idea stuck in a very run-of-the-mill shooter. The mix of FPS and RTS never gels in a way where the inclusion of one fully justifies or elevates the other. Hovering gravcycles are fun to fly and shoot, but don’t spice up Disintegration’s otherwise uninspired game modes in any meaningful way. I still need to spend some time playing on its live, post-launch servers before I’m ready for a final decision, but right now Disintegration’s multiplayer isn’t much more than an amusing but thin curiosity.
No Man’s Sky will enable cross-play across every one of its available platforms from tomorrow, June 11. Tomorrow will also see the game join the Xbox Game Pass programme on Xbox One and Windows 10.
Announced in a press release, players playing the game through VR, PC, PS4, Xbox, Windows 10 or GoG will be able to connect online. The update is timed to coincide with the game being added to Game Pass, “to allow everyone in the community to benefit from the influx of new players that Game Pass brings.”
The Hello Games team has been working on the addition of cross-play for six months. According to head of publishing Tim Woodley, the developers have been “quietly reworking the networking back-end of the game to get all versions of the game onto one single multiplayer base.”
Aside from the benefit of being able to connect with previously unavailable friends on other platforms, this change means that the likes of huge planetary bases built on high-end PCs will now be available to visit for those on consoles.
This update will also add general improvements to the game, including speech-to-text, improved lobbies and fireteams, and a set of other tweaks to multiplayer, VR and the game as a whole.
Hello Games is teasing an “eventful summer” for No Man’s Sky, so it seems this isn’t the last update we’ll see in the near future. All of this is yet another step on the journey No Man’s Sky’s taken since launch, becoming one of the most notable gaming comeback stories of recent years.
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Joe Skrebels is IGN’s Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].
