What the Golf?, Triband’s hilarious anti-golf game, is now available on Steam, and it comes with a cool new feature. For the first time, players will be able to craft their own unique courses for the game.
The level editor is a surprise addition, and it’s in a permanent state of “early access alpha beta preview,” Triband designer and co-founder Tim Garbos said in a statement sent to press. The editor has been added because the team’s inbox is full of level ideas sent in by players.
What the Golf? is $20 on Steam, but has a 30% launch week discount.
The level editor in action.
As of right now, different versions of What the Golf? contain unique features. The Switch version has Party Mode, the Apple Arcade version contains the Sporty Sports update, and the Steam version is the only “complete” version. GameSpot reached out to the devs to ask if all versions would eventually have parity.
“Sporty Sports will be available on Steam, Epic, Apple Arcade, and soon all the rest,” a PR representative told us. “The same goes for all our updates. They will roll out to all platforms.” The only exception is the Party Mode, which might not come to the Apple Arcade version.
GameSpot has reviewed What the Golf? twice: once for the Apple Arcade and Epic Store versions, once for the Switch version with Party Mode. The two-player mode was enough to bump the game’s score up from an 8/10 to a 9/10.
While there won’t be the same 120fps/4K optimizations for Halo 5 on the next-gen consoles, Halo 5 will enjoy faster load times and higher resolutions overall thanks to the power of the new machines.
“While Halo 5 is not getting the same optimizations for Xbox Series X and Series S as MCC, owners of the next-gen hardware are still going to see the benefits of faster load times and consistently higher resolution gameplay,” Microsoft said in a blog post. “We’re excited for you all to jump on and give it a go with that extra power!”
Halo 5 is coming up on an anniversary–the game turns five years old next Tuesday, October 27. To celebrate, the game has been offering double XP all month.
Spellbreak has received a major new update, adding the game’s first new mode and a prologue chapter to the free-to-play magic-based battle royale. The Prologue: The Gathering Storm update is now available on PC, Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.
The new mode is called Clash, and it’s a 9-on-9 team deathmatch mode where each team is simply aiming for the highest kill count. It’s described as “low on stress, but high on fun”, with a heavy combat focus. Each side has three squads of three players, and you can still gather gear and level up skills across a match as you can in Battle Royale.
The circle is still present, and it will lead players around the map to keep the battle tight, while also ensuring that players are funneled into areas that suit this sort of gameplay. Upon being defeated and “exiled,” players will get to keep their gear and levels, but will also drop equipment that can be looted by the other team (or their own team members, if they manage to finish off whoever took you down).
The introduction of Clash mode means that Duos is being disabled. Spellbreak will continue to rotate playlists and and out of the game as it goes on.
This update also begins the “chapter system“, which is how Spellbreak will deliver on-going content. The Prologue gives you 25 levels of unlockable rewards, tied to completing missions for Avira Emberdane–you can earn outfits, cloudbursts, afterglows, titles, cards, and gold. Every week there will be new quests to complete, and the Prologue will be free so that everyone can try it out. Further chapters will likely be paid, as this is essentially the game’s Battle Pass.
Spellbreak is also celebrating “Hollowed Eve” with new horror-themed cosmetics available in the shop. Some of these are bundled at a discount, so players looking to dress up for Halloween can do so.
This update also contains various tweaks and fixes, some universal, some tied to specific platforms. For more, check out the full patch notes.
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As we’re less than a month away from the release of Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, we’ve decided to compile everything we know about the game. So if you’re looking to educate yourself on the next entry in one of Ubisoft’s flagship series, you’ve come to the right place.
The 12th mainline game in the franchise, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla continues the story of Layla Hassan, first introduced as the new modern day protagonist of the franchise in 2017’s Assassin’s Creed Origins. We still don’t know what the modern day storyline for Valhalla is yet, only that it follows the fairly elaborate series of events that occurred during the The Fate of Atlantis DLC expansion.
In Origins, Layla relived the life of Egyptians Bayek and Aya, the latter of whom became the first Mentor of the Hidden Ones, the precursors to the Assassin Brotherhood. Layla’s story continued in 2018’s Assassin’s Creed Odyssey, where she relived the life of Kassandra/Alexios, a mercenary in Ancient Greece whose powerful bloodline lives on in their descendants, most notably Aya. Now, in Valhalla, Layla will relive the life of Eivor, a Viking looking for a new home.
If you haven’t already, you can preorder Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Doing so unlocks a bonus mission in the game, The Way of the Berserker. Like previous entries in the franchise, there are several editions available for preorder–in this case, five.
PC Specs
If you’re planning to play Assassin’s Creed Valhalla on PC, you’ll need to know whether your machine can run the game. Below, we’ve listed out the minimum and required PC specs. Check out the full PC spec breakdown for the 4K requirements.
Additional note: Requires GPU with DirectX 12 (Feature Level 12_0) support
Story
In Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, you once again play as Layla, who is now reliving the life of Eivor, a Viking raider. The crux of the story takes place in Anglo-Saxon England in late 800 A.D. Eivor’s clan has left Norway in search of a new home, settling in England. As history dictates, Vikings weren’t exactly welcome in England at this time, and so Eivor will have to travel from kingdom to kingdom to make alliances with the country’s existing rulers in order to ensure their clan remains safe.
From the start, you can choose for Eivor to be male or female. Or, with the default option, Eivor will intermittently switch back and forth between male and female at random points in the game. Don’t worry, apparently there’s a good reason for that. Ubisoft has also stated that it will tell Eivor’s story with a measured hand, balancing their role as video game hero and villainous invader of someone else’s home.
It wouldn’t be an Assassin’s Creed game without the Assassin Brotherhood–or, in this case, the Hidden Ones (the group still hasn’t quite transformed into the Brotherhood we see in most of the other games). The Hidden Ones will set up a bureau in Eivor’s settlement, drawing the Viking raider into the conflict against the Order of Ancients (the precursors to the Templar Order). As opposed to one long narrative, Valhalla is divided into self-contained sagas, sort of like a slice-of-life TV show. There is a throughline that becomes more apparent the further you go in the game, but Valhalla is the first Assassin’s Creed that will be told in distinct chapters, each with its own separate story arc.
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Assassin’s Creed Valhalla – Official Story Trailer
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Like Origins and Odyssey, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla is an open-world action RPG. However, there are a few key differences. For one, Valhalla really leans into the RPG elements this time, utilizing the settlement to create a gameplay loop where you select a mission, head out, return home, talk to allies and upgrade equipment, select a new mission, and repeat. Additionally, the new skill tree is huge, providing you with agency in the minute developments of Eivor’s melee combat, health, defense, archery skills, special abilities, and proficiency for stealth.
The franchise’s traditional side quests are pretty much gone too. Instead, Valhalla features quick but memorable world events that pop up when you discover them, like recruiting a cat to your crew. This means there’s less chasing of waypoints and more time spent exploring the world. You can travel across England by foot or horse, or by the canals via your trusty longboat. You and your longboat crew can attack encampments as well–the new “raid” mechanic allows you to steal resources and treasure from outposts and castles to then bring back to your settlement. There are also plenty of optional activities to pursue, such as Viking rap battles or romances.
For $40 USD, you can buy the Season Pass for Assassin’s Creed Valhalla (the pass also comes included with select editions). At launch, the Season Pass gives you access to a quest titled The Legend of Beowulf. However, the main point of the pass is to get access to the two major pieces of post-launch DLC.
The first, Wrath of the Druids, is scheduled to release in Spring 2021. The expansion sees Eivor travel to Ireland to unravel the mystery surrounding a druidic cult, explore haunted forests, and earn the allegiance of Gaelic kings. The second, The Siege of Paris, is currently scheduled for Summer 2021. This second expansion takes place during the titular battle, another key moment from history that Eivor apparently took part in.
Valhalla will also get free seasonal content in-between these major expansions–everyone can access this content, regardless of whether they’ve paid for the Season Pass. Ubisoft has promised even more post-launch content beyond this, including a Discovery mode (where you’re allowed to explore the in-game world and get detailed real-world historical recaps of characters, locations, and events). So it sounds like Valhalla will be a lot like Odyssey, with the year following its release filled with DLC and extra content. This could mean that the next Assassin’s Creed may not come out until 2022.
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In this video, Persia talks about our first look at Tom Holland as Nathan Drake in the upcoming Uncharted movie. The costume design got the approval of Naughty Dog’s Kurt Margenau and Nathan Drake voice actor Nolan North. Filming just started this past July but is already almost complete. The film is expected to hit the theaters on July 16, 2021.
Persia also talks about the new DMC 5 performance modes coming to the next-gen special edition of the game. The four new modes have various combinations that vary between 4k and 1080p, ray tracing, and framerate. Ray tracing isn’t coming to the Series X version of the game on day one, but it will be patched in at a later date. DMC 5 Special Edition comes to Series X and S on November 10, and to PS5 on November 12.
Lastly, Persia talks about the confirmation of Kojima Productions starting its next game. There aren’t any details on the new game or if it ties into Death Stranding in any way. The studio is now hiring for multiple roles in game programming and design, sound design, art, writing, production, management, and localization, with fluency in Japanese being required for all roles.
This is your Save State for Thursday, October 22nd.
The spooky-season of October may be coming to an end, but did you know that you can still watch horror movies outside of the Halloween season? In fact, we recommend watching horror movies all year long. AMC’s streaming service Shudder focusses entirely on the genre, putting out movies, TV shows, and plenty of original content each and every month. And here is what’s coming to Shudder in November.
On November 12, the Shudder Original Lingering arrives. Originally titled Hotel Lake or Hotel Leikeu, the Korean film is directed by Yoon Een-Kyoung. It follows a woman who leaves her brother with a friend at a hotel where the friend’s mother committed suicide a few years prior. Of course, there’s now a malicious ghost haunting the halls and the woman must unravel a mystery before it’s too late. Check out the trailer below.
If you’re looking for something classic to watch, Tobe Hooper’s Salem’s Lot arrives on November 2. Based on a story by Stephen King, the 1979 two-part movie follows a successful writer who returns to his hometown in Maine. He finds the town is infested with vampires, and of course, he has to get rid of them.
Additionally on November 2, the ’90s slasher Urban Legend arrives. The movie follows a group of college students who are getting killed off, one by one. However, what sets this apart from other slasher flicks is that the murders are all connected to urban legends, like drinking soda after eating Pop Rocks.
Finally, that’s not a typo at the end of this list. There really is a movie titled Porno coming out on November 24. Porno is about a group of teens that work in a mall movie theater that find an old film in the basement, which unleashes a succubus that wants to kill them all by having sex with them.
Below, you’ll find everything coming to Shudder in November, and for more streaming news, check out what’s coming to HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, and Disney+ for November.
New to Shudder in November 2020
November 2
Emelie (Director: Michael Thelin)
Salem’s Lot (Director: Tobe Hooper)
Urban Legend (Director: Jamie Blanks)
November 5
Blood Vessel
November 9
Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life And Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (Director: David Gregory)
Cherry Tree (Director: David Keating)
November 12
November 14
Saturday The 14th (Director: Howard R. Cohen)
November 16
Are We Not Cats? (Director: Xander Robin)
Blood of Wolves (Director: Kazuya Shiraishi)
Coherence (Director: James Ward Byrkit)
Let the Corpses Tan (Director: Helene Cattet, Bruno Forzani)
Cyberpunk 2077 is launching very soon, and despite numerous Night City Wire presentations, there are still plenty of questions surrounding the game. Questions such as how big its open world is, if you can purchase different apartments around Night City, and how its vehicle and melee combat feels.
We asked our YouTube subscribers for their burning questions about the game, and there were hundreds to go through. To answer these questions, Lucy James is joined by Cyberpunk lore master Jean-Luc Seipke, and Jake Dekker, who has actually played a number of hours of the game.
They both write and host a series on the lore of Cyberpunk, which is also well worth checking out if you’re interested in the world that 2077 takes place in. Cyberpunk 2077 launches on PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Stadia on November 19, and will be playable on Xbox Series X/S and PS5. Optimization patches for the next-gen versions of the game are coming in 2021.
The Call of Duty Twitter account said Black Ops Cold War’s beta was the most downloaded in franchise history. There are no statistics to corroborate this. The statement also echoes what publisher Activision said in 2019 about Modern Warfare‘s beta being the “biggest ever in franchise history.”
Activision recently detailed Black Ops Cold War’s new 40-player game mode called Fireteam. It puts four teams of 10 against each other to complete objectives and engage in skirmishes. Upon death, players can respawn on a teammate, parachute into the map, or spawn in the seat of a teammate’s car. This makes it sound reminiscent of the Battlefield 1 mode Conquest.
Sucker Punch Productions revealed today that the Ghost of Tsushima: Legends raid will be released on October 30 and revealed the requirements players will need to meet to take part in ‘The Tale of Iyo’. The studio also announced that starting tomorrow, and every Friday after, Ghost of Tsushima: Legends will feature a two-player story mission and four-player mission survival mission with specific weekly modifiers.
“This is the culmination of the story in Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, bringing the fight directly to Iyo’s realm,” the announcement blog post reads. “This Raid is divided into three chapters and requires a full team of four Ghosts, as well as excellent coordination and communication.”
The Tale of Iyo raid will not support matchmaking, according to Sucker Punch, so players wishing to participate will need to arrange their raid team ahead of time. It’s also recommended that everyone’s gear be at KI level 100 as an “absolute minimum.”
Sucker Punch recommends completing all story missions and replaying story and survival missions on higher difficulties to obtain higher gear before the raid. If players complete all of the new weekly challenges and all bonus objectives, they’ll receive max-level gear perfect for the raid. Doing so won’t be easy because the weekly challenge missions will be Nightmare difficulty, “intended to put you and your team to the test.”
Phasmophobia is one of the latest breakout games on Twitch and for good reason. This thrilling early access horror game puts you and up to three other players in the role of paranormal investigators, equipping you with an arsenal of ghost-hunting items and letting you loose in a haunted location. Your goal is to monitor supernatural activity and gather up essential evidence to aid in identifying the ghost before it kills everyone.
But that’s easier said than done.. While understanding what each tool in your ghost hunting arsenal does is important, you’ll also have to consider other key factors and behaviors to follow as you explore and try to work out the ghost’s identity. Below, we’ve detailed some essential ghost-hunting tips to help you survive a job.
Keeping In Communication
First, we highly recommend using in-game voice chat once you and your team have found your footing. Discord is nice when you’re first starting, but it can make things a bit too easy and far less terrifying. The game does some fun stuff with audio implementation that makes the experience more immersive and tense.
For in-game communication, use V for proximity chat and B for global chat, courtesy of your handy walkie-talkie. Keep in mind that your walkie-talkie isn’t always super reliable, though. During high activity, your signal could get scrambled, and if you aren’t near your crew, you’ll have no idea what could be happening to them.
Keep An Eye On Ghost Activity Levels
You can alway check the ghost activity levels from the monitor in your van. Usually, it’s good to let your team know if there are any spikes. Low amounts of activity could mean flickering lights or moving objects, moderate spikes could mean direct contact with the ghost, and level 10 spikes often means the ghost is hunting.
It’s always good to let your team know if there are any spikes in ghost activity.
What You Need To Know About Level 10 Spikes And What To Do
If you’re in the van and see a level 10 spike, global communication will cut off, and your team will be on their own. At this point, the best thing you can do for them is to pray. If a level 10 spike just occurred and a question mark replaces someone’s sanity percentage, it means they’re dead. If you are using the in-game chat, deceased team members can’t communicate with you.
If you are in the house during a level 10 spike, your flashlight will start to flicker, the front door will lock, and you may see the ghost appear and disappear. If the ghost is weak to crucifixes, you can stop them from hunting by throwing it on the ground. If not, hide in another room, turn off the lights, and stay quiet. Closets work nicely for this.
If you’re dealing with a shy ghost, you can try using their name. Typically ghosts will get annoyed the more you say it. Before you head into the house, check the whiteboard in the van to see the ghost’s name and if they respond to everyone or just those who are alone.
Always Monitor Your Sanity
With each paranormal occurrence you witness, your sanity will drop. You can monitor your sanity in the truck. The lower it goes, the easier it is for a ghost to target you. You can regain sanity by using sanity pills, which are available to purchase before a job.
Be Careful Using Fancy New Gear
As you complete jobs, earn money, and level up, you will unlock new maps and new gear to test out. Additional equipment purchased and taken out into the field will be lost if you die, so be extra careful if you want to hold onto gadgets like thermometers, strong flashlights, and motion sensors. You do get an insurance payout, though, so it’s not a complete loss.
Additional equipment purchased and taken out into the field will be lost if you die, so be extra careful if you want to hold onto them.
Split Up When Playing The Bigger Maps
The bigger maps, such as the high school and asylum, may also force you to change your tactics. The best way to go about these jobs is to split into groups and clear out rooms methodically. Study the map in the van before you leave, come up with a game plan, and designate a regroup point for your team. If someone gets lost, you can check their location via the van’s map and guide them to safety using the walkie-talkie. Sanity pills are typically a must on these maps as they usually take much longer than most jobs. When you find the affected room, leave a glowstick outside of the door or have someone make a mental note of it on the map in the van.
When All Seems Lost, Check The Journal For Clues
There might be cases where it feels like you can’t find the third piece of evidence no matter how hard you try. If you’re struggling, you can check the ghost descriptions in your journal. This isn’t always the most accurate way to solve a case, but if you’re low on supplies and completely stumped, there’s no harm in checking the journal to see if there are any familiar patterns.
