Author: Trafficblast

Alongside the numerous other games jumping on the Epic Games Store bandwagon–including Borderlands 3, Metro Exodus, The Outer Worlds, and more–indie studio thatgamecompany is following suit. The official Epic Games Twitter account announced that the California-based studio’s Grammy-nominated title, Journey, will arrive on PC via the Epic Games Store.

According to the tweet, below, Journey is headed to the platform sometime in the near future. There is no confirmation on an exact release date as of yet. However, Journey is currently available for pre-purchase through the Epic Games Store for $15 USD or $5 USD via the ongoing Epic Games sale.

The Epic Games Store has been on a buying spree as of late, picking up game after game in a bid to compete against Valve’s Steam since its December 2018 debut. CEO Tim Sweeney said the Epic Store will alter its exclusivity policy if Steam changes how developers and publishers are compensated. “If Steam committed to a permanent 88% revenue share for all developers and publishers without major strings attached,” he said. “Epic would hastily organize a retreat from exclusives (while honoring our partner commitments) and consider putting our own games on Steam.”

In our Journey review, we awarded the game our coveted and rare 10/10 rating, saying, “Journey’s real rewards aren’t so pedestrian. Journey offers you comfort. It gives you companionship in a lovely but forsaken world. It gives you reason to dream even when facing loss.”

One of the biggest new features in Super Mario Maker 2 is the addition of multiplayer. Not only can you build courses with a nearby friend simply by passing them a second controller, you can play any of the stages uploaded to the online Course World hub with up to three other players around the world. However, it appears the online multiplayer options will be limited strictly to strangers.

Super Mario Maker 2 offers two online multiplayer modes: Versus and Co-Op. As their names suggest, Versus is a competitive race to reach the goal first, while Co-Op has players working together to clear the level. You can play both modes with friends if they’re gathered in the same room, but according to Nintendo Life, the modes will only match you up with random players when you’re playing online.

There are also some hurdles to overcome if you want to play locally. While all four players can play Co-Op mode on the same console, if you want to face off with your friends in a Versus match, each player will need their own Nintendo Switch console and a copy of Super Mario Maker 2, and the player who hosts the group will need to have a persistent internet connection to connect to Course World.

In addition to multiplayer, Super Mario Maker 2 introduces a number of other new features, including a Story mode. The game also expands the course editor with a load of new tools, customization options, and enemies, including the angry sun from Super Mario 3 (although it looks weirder than ever in certain game styles). Unlike the original Super Mario Maker, you won’t need to wait to unlock course parts; almost all of the game’s tools will be available from the start.

Super Mario Maker 2 launches for Switch on June 28. We had a chance to go hands-on with the game recently and came away impressed by its range of tools and options. You’ll need to have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription in order to play and share levels online, but Nintendo is offering a bundle that includes a 12-month membership with the game for $70. You can read more in our Super Mario Maker 2 pre-order guide.

Game director Hideo Kojima recently began teasing an impending announcement for Death Stranding. A subsequent tweet suggested a reveal of some sort was coming this Thursday, May 30, but that came from a Japanese account, so for those in the US it may actually come on Wednesday. Those teases weren’t terribly clear on what to expect, but now we have a better idea of where you should keep an eye.

The PlayStation Twitch channel has had a full Death Stranding makeover, complete with a banner for the game and the title, “Death Stranding: Tomorrow Is In Your Hands.” Appropriately enough, the placeholder video while we await the stream shows various handprints appearing and then vanishing. Sometimes the handprints stay static long enough to see snippets of video playing behind them. You can watch the stream below.

It’s all very vague and eerie, but that’s par for the course for the mind-bending game from Kojima. Previous trailers have been similarly odd, and the fan community has already begun speculating about what it could all mean.

This stream puts a Death Stranding reveal a few weeks ahead of E3 2019. Sony is officially skipping the event, but promised it would be “exploring new and familiar ways to engage our community in 2019.” Part of that has been its new State of Play streams that debut new game announcements and trailers. This Twitch takeover appears to be another avenue for Sony to show its wares without a big trade show press conference.

The next Zelda game, officially titled Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Featuring the Legend of Zelda, will seemingly launch this week for Nintendo Switch. On the surface, Nintendo of America’s website simply states the game will be released this “spring,” but inspecting the site’s source code reveals a line that reads, “Release date: May 30, 2019.”

If correct, that would have the game launch one whole day before the end of spring. It seems a plausible date, especially since Nintendo reportedly included the game in a newsletter promoting Switch games coming out this May (thanks, NintendoLife).

Cadence of Hyrule was announced in March. It’s a crossover between Nintendo’s famous Zelda series and indie rhythm hit Crypt of the NecroDancer, which first launched in 2015.

The new game is being developed by the same team behind the original, Brace Yourself. Its art style has been revamped since then, however, to match that of past Zelda games such as Minish Cap. You can watch Cadence of Hyrule’s reveal trailer above.

Team Sonic Racing has stormed into first place in the UK physical games chart, according to sales monitor Chart-Track. Sega’s new PS4, Xbox One, PC, and Nintendo Switch racer finishes at No.1 in its debut week as Days Gone and FIFA 19 continue to chart well in No.2 and No.3, respectively.

Last week’s No.1, Rage 2, drops to No.4 for the week ending May 25, as Red Dead Redemption 2 rounds out the top five by maintaining its No.5 position. Aside from Team Sonic Racing, new releases this week include Everybody’s Golf VR, which debuts at No.22, and Total War: Three Kingdoms on PC. The latter fails to reach the top 40, though the chart doesn’t account for digital sales. Finally, Assassin’s Creed 3: Remastered‘s new Switch port helps the game climb back into the top 40 at No.15.

Team Sonic Racing is the first game starring the blue hedgehog to finish at No.1 since 2008’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. We enjoyed the racer here at GameSpot, with critic James Swinbanks awarding it a 7/10 in our Team Sonic Racing review.

“The essence of Team Sonic Racing is good,” he wrote. “Its handling feels tight and smooth, drifting has a good flow to it, and the items are fun to use, as are the tracks to race on. It doesn’t bring much new to the genre, but it delivers where it counts. The racing is fast and fun, and the team aspects offer enough of a change to the formula to make Team Sonic Racing the endearing arcade racer it is.”

You can read the full top 10 sales chart for this week below, courtesy of UKIE and GfK Chart-Track. Note this table does not include digital sales data, and so should not be considered representative of all UK game sales.

1. Team Sonic Racing
2. Days Gone
3. FIFA 19
4. Rage 2
5. Red Dead Redemption 2
6. The Division 2
7. Mortal Kombat 11
8. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
9. Grand Theft Auto V
10. Forza Horizon 4