Your Lie in April is a heartfelt story about Arima Kousei, a prodigal pianist whose career is derailed by a traumatic event. However, a chance encounter with Kaori Miyazono, a free-spirited violinist, reignites a passion he thought had long faded.
What makes Your Lie in April interesting is, for the most part, it doesn’t focus on the romance between Arima and Kaori. Instead it explores their complicated personal issues and uses these to bring them closer in a way that feels natural and authentic.
Arima’s destructive relationship with his mother and its lasting impact on his psyche is a dark cloud surrounding him. When his fingers touch ivory keys, the traumatic memories envelop and overcome him to the point where he’s unable to hear what he’s even playing.
Kaori’s infectious energy and tenacious drive to see him fight through the darkness becomes his guiding light. Together, they both learn what music really means to them and, in time, what they mean to each other. Your Lie in April is as much about finding what you love, as it is falling in love.
Shenmue 3 finally released in 2019 after years of waiting and delays, but the game isn’t done just yet. A Story Quest Pack DLC will be available next week, and it brings back a classic character.
Available on February 18 for $6 via the PlayStation Store and Epic Games Store, the Story Quest Pack DLC is also available as part of the Complete DLC Collection pack. The story features Zhang Shugin from Shenmue 2, who is shown in the pack’s promotional screenshots to have the exact same haircut and wide grin as before.
Shenmue 3 is a love letter to the original two games, and despite its new coat of paint, it contains many of the same mechanics as its predecessors. That comes with its perks for fans, but it also means the gameplay hasn’t evolved in significant ways. In GameSpot’s Shenmue 3 review, Heidi Kemps found the combat particularly frustrating, though the game still oozes charm.
Shenmue 3 was first announced back at E3 2015 with a Kickstarter campaign. By the time funding wrapped, it had received more than $6 million in donations, but missed its target release date by almost two years.
Late is better than never, however, and the user review score for the game on GameStop sister site Metacritic suggests fans are pleased with what they got in the end. It’s available now on PS4 and PC, and remastered versions of the first two games are available on PS4, PC, and Xbox One.
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After a four-year run in Steam Early Access, Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem is out now. The Diablo-like isometric action RPG, originally called Umbra, was Kickstarted back in 2015, raising over $406,000. Developer Wolcen Studio described Wolcen’s launch as “the end of a long journey” and “the beginning of a new adventure.” According to the team’s announcement post, their goal is to support Wolcen “for a very long time,” with new features, content, and fixes based on community feedback. One question the community has seemed to ask over and over is whether or not Wolcen will come to PS4, Xbox, or even Switch. While the developers don’t have a definitive answer regarding a console release, they do have an interest.
According to Wolcen Studio on Twitter, there is “no ETA” for a console version of Wolcen, as the team has been hard at work on the PC version for several years. However, the devs have said a few times that they would like to work on a console version if the PC version is successful.
First on PC, and if the game is successful enough, we would like to extend it to consoles, yes 🙂
Wolcen’s launch saw such a massive spike in new players that it led to server and progression issues, which the developers are preparing to push a hotfix for. Issues aside, the numbers are a good sign–as of writing, Wolcen has peaked at over 90,000 concurrent players, placing it in Steam’s top 10 games by player count for the day, under giants like Dota 2, GTA5, and Rainbow Six Siege. According to Wolcen Studio’s most recent Steam post, its highest peak before this was just 1,934. Steamspy puts current owners between 200,000 to 500,000.
If Wolcen continues to see success, players may get that console version one day. But for now, the developers have only expressed an interest–no actual plans have been announced. You can purchase Wolcen on Steam for $40 or grab the soundtrack bundle for 10% off.
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At long last, the Sonic the Hedgehog movie is in theaters. In his review of the film, GameSpot’s Phil Hornshaw wrote, “As video game adaptations go, Sonic the Hedgehog is among the stronger ones. It’s smart enough to stand on its own, making use of longstanding aspects of Sega’s supersonic mascot and his franchise, while making sure that what really shines through are its characters.” Now you can see for yourself whether the movie lives up to the game–and how many Easter eggs can be packed into a single film.
The live-action adaptation of the video game franchise sees the speedy little blue furball (Ben Schwartz) facing off against the nefarious Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey) for the first time, in a very fast cross-country battle filled with drones, chili dogs, and lots of jokes.
As previously mentioned, the movie also happens to be stuffed full of Easter eggs and references to Sonic’s long video game history, which kicked off in 1991 with the first Sonic the Hedgehog video game on Sega Genesis. With almost 30 years of games, cartoons, comics, and more to pull from, the Sonic movie had no shortage of material to nod to and slings the references faster than Sonic’s spin dash.
Below, we’ve compiled 42 of the best Easter eggs for the movies. You gotta go fast to catch them all, so make sure to check them all out to see what you missed. While you’re at it, don’t miss our look at the weirdest characters from the long history of Sonic the Hedgehog.
The long weekend is nearly upon us, and with it comes a bunch of great deals on video game and tech hardware. Best Buy and Ebay have both revealed their slate of discounts, and now Google Shopping has joined the fray with some of the best deals we’ve seen so far. The Pokemon Sword / Shield edition of the Nintendo Switch Lite–featuring legendaries Zacian and Zamazenta–is on sale, as are a number of great laptops for gaming and more. And if you need a new pair of headphones, then Apple AirPods and a great pair of Bluetooth headphones are both discounted as well.
Many of the deals require the use of a code to get the full discount, but Google Shopping makes that easy. It displays the code right on the product’s page, and when you go to checkout, there’s an option to apply said codes–you don’t even need to copy and paste it. Be sure to do that before you place your order.
Google Shopping’s Presidents Day deals last until February 24 or while supplies last. Even if you don’t get the specific deals listed below, Google Shopping will compile the best prices from around the internet, so you won’t be completely out of luck. Of course, some items–like the Zacian and Zamazenta Switch Lite–are harder to find stock for.
Best video game console deals
Nintendo Switch Lite – Zacian & Zamazenta edition
$209.29 ($260)
The Switch Lite is Nintendo’s handheld-only version of the Switch. It features a proper D-pad, but it can’t be docked and played on a TV. You can still connect Switch-compatible controllers to it, but you will need to play on the Switch Lite’s screen. Launching in time for the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield, the Zacian and Zamazenta edition was the first special edition Switch Lite.
Xbox One S 1TB All-Digital Edition
$134.10 ($250)
The Xbox One S All-Digital Edition can do everything a regular Xbox One S can do, except play physical discs. If you’re okay locking yourself into a completely digital library, then the extra money you save with the All-Digital Edition is well worth it. This particular bundle comes with Minecraft, Sea of Thieves, and Forza Horizon 3.
Best gaming laptop deals
Alienware m15 15.6-inch gaming laptop
$1,196.10 ($1,500)
This particular Alienware m15 gaming laptop boasts a 15.6-inch display with a 1080p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. It also comes with an i7-9750H processor, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and a GTX 1660 Ti 6GB graphics card.
Dell G7 17.3-inch gaming laptop
$1,000 ($1,400)
Dell’s G7 laptop comes equipped with a 17.3-inch screen that features a 1080p resolution and 60Hz refresh rate. That’s backed up by an i7-8750H processor, 16GB RAM, a 256GB SSD, a 1TB HDD, and an RTX 2060 graphics card.
Best laptop and tablet deals
Dell XPS-13 9380 13.3-inch laptop
$870.30 ($1,200)
GameSpot sister site CNET called the Dell XPS 13 one of the best laptops of 2020 for good reason. It’s ultraportable and comes with an i7-8565U, 8GB RAM, and a 256GB SSD. It boasts excellent battery life and great performance in an incredibly small form factor.
MacBook Pro 16-inch 512GB SSD
$1980 ($2,399)
If you’re partial to the Apple ecosystem, then this MacBook Pro deal is worth looking at. For more than $400 off, you get a MacBook Pro that’s equipped with a 512GB SSD, 16GB RAM, a 2.6Hz CPU, and a Radeon Pro 5300M graphics card.
iPad (7th-gen) 128GB Gold Wi-Fi
$320 ($429)
The latest generation of iPad is a good one, despite the relative similarity with the previous gen’s specs. This time around, it’s compatible with Apple Pencil, which means you can draw and write to your heart’s content.
Best headphone deals
Apple AirPods 2
Apple’s true wireless AirPods are an expensive pair of earbuds, so any discount is appreciated. Google Shopping has both the wired and wireless charging case versions on sale.
Sony WH-1000XM3 Bluetooth headphones
$221.93 ($350)
There’s a reason Sony has been a mainstay in the audio space for decades. The company makes great products, and their WH-1000XM3 Bluetooth headphones are exemplary of that. However, they’re also quite expensive, so this deal is especially appealing. The WH-1000XM3 Bluetooth headphones can last for up to 30 hours on a single charge, and they feature a microphone in case you need to answer a quick call or talk to your phone’s virtual assistant.
Matt has seen the film about the quick, blue hedgehog and lets us know what he thinks of it. Cardy has been lost in Dreams but has kindly woken up to tells us all about it. Alex has been playing a game that hits just a tad too close to home. There’s also a smattering of discussion about Rainbow Six Siege and whether Anthem has a chance of replicating its successful turnaround.
There’s also a nail-biter of a quiz that goes down to the wire.
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“Obviously at the moment we’re focused on PS4 and I would actually hope that it extends the life of the PS4 to be honest with you, then maybe when other companies start making games for it, the community will carry on making games for it, but if it’s as successful as we hope it is then it’s an obvious progression,” he said about bringing Dreams to PS5.
VGC suggested that the backwards compatibility of the PS5 should make the PS4 version of Dreams automatically playable on Sony’s next-gen console. “Well yeah, so I mean it works by default then, doesn’t it, that’s the thing,” Healey said. “I mean, we want to support it going forward, so we want to be there for the full story really.”
Healey added that as he considers Dreams a platform itself, “ideally in the future we’ll migrate to whatever is relevant.” But don’t hold out for a PC version just yet, as while Healey said “that would be cool,” he added “that’s not something that’s happening right now.”
That’s not to say a PC version of Dreams would never happen. “I think a lot of that depends on where the games industry goes in general, I suppose,” Healey remarked. It’s also worth noting that there are rumours that Sony has recently changed tack when it comes to publishing its exclusives on other platforms, with a PC version of Horizon Zero Dawn apparently on the way.
Dreams allows you to tap into your imagination and create music, cooked breakfast art, and even whole games using its tools. But it also comes with a proper story mode that’s worth playing through too.
It’s actually out today on PlayStation 4. We have it a 9 in our Dreams review, saying that it’s “a highly ambitious concept, and one that has been magically brought to life.”
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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
The 50-second clip, titled ‘From Russia with Love,’ opens in the sprawling frozen fields of what appears to be a Russian facility, as a group of people perform manual labour on a snow-covered railway track. The camera focuses on one specific individual who is quickly identified to be a shaven-headed Jim Hopper, played by David Harbour.
“We’re excited to officially confirm that production on Stranger Things 4 is now underway — and even more excited to announce the return of Hopper!” the Duffer Brothers said in a statement. “Although it’s not all good news for our ‘American’; he is imprisoned far from home in the snowy wasteland of Kamchatka, where he will face dangers both human… and other.
“Meanwhile, back in the states, a new horror is beginning to surface, something long-buried, something that connects everything. Season 4 is shaping up to be the biggest and most frightening season yet, and we cannot wait for everyone to see more. In the meantime — pray for the American.”
Devil May Cry 3: Special Edition on Nintendo Switch will have a completely new and exclusive co-op mode.
Capcom has spent the past few weeks announcing the three new features it’s added to the Switch version of Devil May Cry 3. Now the third one has been revealed and it’s local co-op for the game’s Bloody Palace mode.
The co-op will work with Joy-Cons as well as the Switch Pro Controller, and any combo of them both. You’ll have to beat the intro mission before being able to start a co-op session of Bloody Palace. One player is Dante while the other is Vergil, and you’ll have separate save files for each, and can also have different controller setups for each character.
Bloody Palace is survival mode in which you have just one life as you try to climb up 9999 floors of a demon-filled tower. When you beat a floor, you get the choice of three portals to go through, letting up ascend one floor, 10 floors, or 100 floors.
The other two exclusive features that the Switch version of Devil May Cry 3 has are on-the-fly combat style switching, and on-the-fly weapon switching. In the original game, you had to switch weapons before starting a mission, or could do it mid-mission at a Divinity Statue. In the Switch version, you can switch styles and weapons wherever you want, and whenever you want.
Devil May Cry 3 comes to Nintendo Switch on February 20, 2020. Our Devil May Cry 3 review of the original 2005 game gave it a 9.6, so you know, it’s certainly worth checking out if you haven’t played it before.
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Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot was the best-selling game in the U.S. for the month of January, according to NPD.
Kakarot brought in the third-highest first month sales total for a Dragon Ball video game, coming in behind 2018’s Dragon Ball FighterZ and 2002’s Dragon Ball Z: Budokai.
Grand Theft Auto V notably returned to the top five for the first time since August. As noted by NPD, it remains the best-selling video game of all time in the U.S.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the best-selling game of 2019, finished second in January’s U.S. sales totals, dropping slightly from its spot atop the list in December.
For the fifteenth consecutive month, Nintendo Switch was the best-selling console. As of December 31, 2019, Nintendo has sold over 52 million Switch units.
