BEYOND!
On this week’s episode of IGN’s weekly PlayStation show, Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Brian Altano, Max Scoville, and Jon Ryan to discuss Jon’s trip to Bend Studio to learn more about Days Gone.
And, as you may have noticed, Beyond! is back in video form. You can find us in video, or in podcast form, each week at 3 p.m. PT on Wednesdays.
Timecodes for this week’s episode:
Since its bizarre reveal at E3 2018, we’ve heard very little about Respawn’s upcoming Jedi: Fallen Order – until earlier this week. We know we’ll be getting more details this weekend at Star Wars Celebration, but in the meantime, it’s got us here at IGN thinking about what we’d like to see out of the next game set in the Star Wars universe.
This list contains shows whose networks made their cancellation announcements in 2019. Series like HBO’s Game of Thrones and USA’s Mr. Robot made their respective decisions before 2019. We’ve added three new shows since our last update.
We’re keeping a running tally on all of the TV shows canceled or announced to be ending in 2019 so far. Some shows were fortunate enough to end on their own terms, like the CW’s Arrow, which will conclude after a shortened 10-episode eighth season.
The next Inside Xbox live stream is scheduled for April 16 at 2:00 PM PT / 5:00 PM ET / 10:00 PM BST. The show will cover pre-E3 news, as well as announcements for Game Pass and several upcoming Xbox One games.
The April Inside Xbox live stream is scheduled to be an hour long, and “will explore some exciting Xbox Game Pass news,” Xbox Wire editor-in-chief Will Tuttle wrote in a blog post. The show will also provide further details for the upcoming anniversary update for Sea of Thieves and footage of the beta for Warhammer: Chaosbane. An exclusive look at Rage 2 will also occur during the live stream, followed by “several surprises” for other games.
Rage 2 seems to be the focus of the live stream, as watching the show on Mixer while logged into your Microsoft account will unlock a Rage 2-themed avatar item. So far, most of the gameplay trailer for Rage 2 have focused on the game’s fast-paced combat–which incorporates destructive powers to make you feel like an unstoppable superhero. However, there haven’t been too many examples of the game’s driving components–which is surprising given developer Avalanche Studios’ work on Mad Max.
April 2019 sees another six titles join Xbox Game Pass, following three that were added earlier in the month. If you’re paying the $10 USD a month subscription fee to be a part of Game Pass, this month you gain access to Prey, Monster Hunter World, Resident Evil 5, The Walking Dead: A New Frontier, Life is Strange 2: Episode 2, and The Golf Club 2. We’ve given several of those games fairly high review scores, and listed Monster Hunter World as one of our game of the year finalists for 2018.
Prey and The Golf Club 2 arrive on Game Pass on April 11, Monster Hunter World and The Walking Dead: A New Frontier on April 18, Life is Strange 2: Episode 2 on April 24, and Resident Evil 5 on April 25. Earlier this month, Michonne, Marvel vs. Capcom Infinite, and Minecraft joined Xbox Game Pass.
Overwatch‘s next big event, Storm Rising, is coming on April 16. In the meantime, Blizzard is teasing some of the new cosmetics you can earn, and we got our first look at a brand-new skin. This one features the newest character, Baptiste, but it’s far from a heroic makeover.
The Legendary skin is called “Talon Baptiste” and features the soldier of fortune in his obviously evil red and black ensemble. Fans of Overwatch lore may recall that Baptiste was a Talon operative before having a crisis of conscience and abandoning the organization.
As it happens, the Storm Rising event revolves around another Talon operative, an Omnic named Maximilien. The Overwatch team of Tracer, Genji, Winston, and Mercy are dispatched to bring him in as a storm threatens to obscure his movements while he slips away again.
This is the latest in the Overwatch Archives series of events, which have featured PvE co-op missions that establish story material. Past events have had younger incarnations of the Overwatch heroes, along with different looks like Talon Widowmaker. The past Archives missions, Uprising and Retribution, will be playable as well.
Storm Rising will run from April 16-May 6. Blizzard is likely to keep dropping more early looks at cosmetics leading up to the event.
Niantic and Warner Bros.’ joint Harry Potter game, Wizards Unite, launches on iOS and Android later this year. While the title still doesn’t have a firm release date, the companies recently opened pre-registration for it on Android, and now those who’ve played one of Niantic’s previous games can reserve their same usernames for it.
From now until 11:59 PM PT on April 30, Ingress Prime and Pokemon Go players can reserve their in-game names to use in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. To do so, you’ll first need to go to Niantic’s website, then select the option to use either your Ingress Agent name or Pokemon Go Trainer nickname. Follow the prompts and your Harry Potter: Wizards Unite username will be set.
Niantic notes that there may be some instances where you can’t use your same username, specifically if it overlaps with one in a different Niantic title. If that happens to be the case, the developer says that reservations will be handled on a first come, first served basis.
Wizards Unite casts players as a member of Statute of Secrecy Task Force, and it’s your mission to explore the real world, locate Foundables (important people and items in the wizarding world), and dispel the Confoundable magic that’s trapping them. While the basic premise of the game is similar to Pokemon Go, it also bears many similarities to a traditional RPG, with a stronger emphasis on story and RPG elements like skill trees and potion brewing.
Harry Potter: Wizards Unite was originally scheduled to launch in 2018 before being delayed into this year. You can read more about the title in our hands-on impressions, and Android users can pre-register for it on Google Play.
Seeing an opponent leave an Apex Legends match early is one of the more irritating facets of the game, but fortunately developer Respawn has a fix in the works to penalize anyone who does go MIA. Unfortunately, the company accidentally set the feature live before it was ready, before quickly disabling it once again.
In an update on the Apex Legends subreddit, community manager Jay Frechette said the studio has been working on the feature, but “it wasn’t our intention or plan to have it go live with the [April 4] update.” He says the penalty turned on early due to a piece of missing script, and the studio has since fixed it to disable the penalty. He states he doesn’t have an ETA for “if or when” it will be released.
The 1.1 update included some quality-of-life changes, like allowing you to invite a member of your last squad into your party, and the addition of squad invites to the Friends menu. You can also mute from the Leegends select screen, so altogether it seemed aimed at making the game easier to connect with good teammates and ignore bad ones.
Still, the quit early penalty has been one of the most requested features among the community, since revolving around three-person squads means that a single premature exit can be a crippling blow to your team composition. The admission that the team doesn’t know if the feature will be implemented at all suggests that it is still weighing the idea, possibly against other ways to deal with team composition issues.
“My favorite [game] was Sonic the Hedgehog 2. So, I could never beat this game,” Woods explained to GameSpot before going into the most touching story of the afternoon. “And like, I guess like 9, or 10 maybe. I was living in an apartment with my sister and my parents in Dunwoody, Georgia. I finally get to the boss. I finally make it to the space station, and I pause the game and I run out into the living room like, ‘I’m at the end! I’m at the end of Sonic!’
“They all run in the room, and I sit down. I hit start, and I start playing. And they’re cheering, you know? Like, ‘Oh come on! Come on!’ Got three lives left. I die once. I die twice. Last life, they’re cheering me, and my dad’s hitting me, hyping me up. At this point, I’m still super socially awkward. Big, thick Coke bottle glasses. Like, I would wear my little polo button all the way up to the top. I go to school with comic books. I can’t talk to people.
“Which I still pretty much am–I just got Lasik. So I finally get hit one time, and then I lose all my rings. I get one ring back. I’m still fighting. I get hit again. I got no rings left. Finally hit him for the last time, and he blows up. And my parents and my sister lost their minds. They’re screaming. They’re hoisting me up in the air like on their shoulders and stuff. And like, that legit is the best memory I’ve ever had of any video games, cause it–this is gonna get emotional.
“It’s weird whenever I talk about this because it meant so many different things to me. For one, it was like, video games were my happy place. It was my safe zone. I could be anybody in a video game. I could be a hedgehog. I could be Tails. Eventually, I could be Knuckles. I could be whatever in these video games. But when my parents came in, and they saw something that I enjoyed. And they supported me doing that. And it was for lack of a better term, it was like meaningless.
“I’m not out there like catching footballs, or scoring goals in soccer. I’m playing video games. But they said, ‘This is what you enjoy. This is what we’re gonna support. Cause this is you. This is you in your most authentic phase of life. Child doing what a child wants to do.’ So that just solidified like my parents love me.
“Family’s important. Loyalty is important, but I got all those lessons in that one moment because of video games. So that’s why I’m so adamant about kids playing video games, to a certain extent. All things in moderation obviously. Get outside sometimes. But then sit down and mash out Red Dead, you know?”
April marks the start of the spring anime season, which will continue until the end of June. Across Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hidive, Netflix, Hulu, and VRV, there are dozens of new anime airing in the US this spring, ranging across almost every genre. Below, we’ve outlined every new movie and series that’s been announced for these six streaming sites, and provided a brief description for each anime.
Although this spring sees the continuation of several Winter 2019 season premieres (such as The Rising of the Shield Hero and Dororo), for the purposes of this article, we’re only compiling anime seasons or parts that make their debut in April. If you’re looking for an anime that’s already completed its run, check out our Winter 2019 guide.
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Attack on Titan Season 3 Part 2 — Funimation, VRV
Attack on Titan’s third season finally concludes with a second part this spring, seeing the return of the well-animated action scenes and explosive drama that made this anime so popular.
Bakumatsu Crisis — Crunchyroll, VRV
This second season sees the return of a band of handsome swordsmen who band together to stop an evil time traveller hellbent on ruling the world.
Bungo Stray Dogs Season 3 — Crunchyroll, VRV
A detective agency composed of individuals with supernatural abilities inspired by famous writers and their respective novels continue to defend their city from powerful criminals.
Demon Slayer: Kemetsu no Yaiba — Crunchyroll, Funimation, VRV
After most of his family is murdered by a demon and his sister transformed into one, a boy embarks on a quest to discover the secret to making his sister human again.
Fairy Gone — Funimation, Hulu
An original anime, Fairy Gone takes place in a fantasy world where a war fought between humans killed off most fairies. However, some still remain, and they’re eager for battle.
One Punch Man Season 2 — Hulu (Crunchyroll for the UK)
The superhero who can defeat any foe in a single punch returns, continuing his search for a foe who can finally provide him the challenge he desires.
Ultraman — Netflix
The son of the original Ultraman takes up his father’s mantle to become a symbol of peace for the world and he won’t rest until he’s saved everyone.
Ao-chan Can’t Study! — Hidive, VRV
A high school girl quickly realizes–to her horror–that she is having impure thoughts about the cute boy in her class, and decides she must banish said impulses to appear normal.
Amazing Stranger — Crunchyroll, VRV
After buying a figure of his anime waifu, a man realizes the sixth-scale model is actually alive, and she’s armed with very real weapons.
The Helpful Fox Senko-san — Funimation
A stressed out man returns to his apartment one day to discover he’s been visited by a benevolent fox spirit, who promises to do all his chores so he can relax after a hard day’s work.
Hitoribocchi no Marumaruseikatsu — Crunchyroll, VRV
Hitori is incredibly shy–so much so that she’s only ever had one friend. But now that she and her childhood friend have gone to different schools, she needs to learn how to make new ones.
Isekai Quartet — Funimation
Characters from Re:Zero – Starting Life in Another World, The Saga of Tanya the Evil, Konosuba, and Overlord become high school classmates in this chibi-style anime.
Joshi Kausei — Crunchyroll, VRV
No character actually speaks in this anime that follows the everyday lives of cute high school girls, so each story is told entirely through facial expression, action, and musical score.
Pop Team Epic Special — Hidive, VRV
The ridiculous comedy returns with two new episodes, each of which have multiple versions that offer different takes on the ludicrous series of events that transpire.
An ex delinquent and a girl who only ever “speaks” by writing out senryū poetry forge an adorable connection over their shared love of writing literature.
Shonen Ashibe Go! Go! Go! Goma-chan Season 4 — Crunchyroll, VRV
First-grade student Ashibe and his baby spotted seal friend Goma-chan return for a fourth season of comical adventures.
Strike Witches: 501st Joint Fighter Wing Take Off — Funimation
Between bouts of war, the girls that compose the Strike Witches live their everyday lives, ones filled with battles against never-ending chores.
Yatogame-chan Kansatsu Nikki — Crunchyroll, VRV
A boy enjoys playfully teasing his kouhai about her countryside dialect–an accent he loves but she hates.
Fruits Basket — Crunchyroll, Funimation, VRV
This anime reimagines the beloved 2001 classic of the same name, while also finally finishing the incredible story of a teenage girl who moves in with a family that suffers an unusual curse.
Nobunaga Teacher’s Young Bride — Crunchyroll, VRV
The descendent of a Japanese emperor, Oda one day gets a visit from his ancestor’s wife, a 14-year-old girl who mistakes him for her husband to be.
We Never Learn: Bokuben — Crunchyroll, Funimation, Hulu, VRV
A hard-working student meets his match when he’s tasked with tutoring his genius peers–a math prodigy, a brilliant writer, and an exceptional athlete–in their weakest subjects.
Wise Man’s Grandchild — Funimation
A powerful wizard raises an infant, but realizes–only after the boy decides to venture out into the world on his 15th birthday–that he hasn’t actually taught his ward a lick of common sense.
Why The Hell Are You Here, Teacher? — Hidive, VRV
Despite his best efforts not to, an ordinary student continues to find himself trapped in erotic, risque situations with his frighteningly violent teacher.
Afterlost — Funimation, Hulu
The lone survivor of a mysterious event that caused hundreds of people to just vanish, Yuki seeks the aid of a courier to deliver her to her father–who somehow is still alive.
Ace of the Diamond Act II — Crunchyroll, VRV
Picking up at the start of a new season, the Seidou High School baseball team accepts new members and faces off against old rivals.
Carole & Tuesday — Netflix
In celebration of its 20th anniversary, studio Bones has created a story-driven anime about two girls from different backgrounds who both want the same thing: to become musicians.
Cinderella Nine — Crunchyroll, VRV
Upon learning her school has no baseball club, Arihara founds one and a slew of other girls soon join, each finding the support they need to overcome the trials of growing up.
The Idolm@ster Cinderella Girls Theater Climax Season — Crunchyroll, VRV
The Idolm@ster spinoff series that depicts what the music idols do in their time off away from the drama of the stage continues with a fourth season.
Kono Oto Tomare!: Sounds of Life — Funimation, Hulu
The sole remaining member of the koto club and a delinquent (who’s also a koto player) strike an uneasy bond after the former realizes he can’t judge someone for their appearance.
MIX — Funimation, Hulu
A sequel to the 1985 baseball manga Touch, MIX sees two step brothers work together to take their high school team to nationals, while also trying to escape the tragic legacy of their fathers.
Midnight Occult Civil Servants — Crunchyroll, VRV
The anime follows the newest member of a task force assigned to investigating and maintaining relationships between supernatural creatures.
Namuamidabutsu: Utena — Hidive, VRV
Two divine beings join forces with the 13 buddhas in order to combat the vices in humanity, but they’ll have to contend with the personification of Earthly desires in order to succeed.
RobiHachi — Funimation, Hulu
An unlucky man is trapped in a space shuttle with the debt collector assigned to hunting him, but the two decide to forge an uneasy alliance and find a rumored paradise planet.
Sarazanmai — Crunchyroll
An original anime, Sarazanmai is about three eighth-grade boys who magically transform into kappa in order to protect their city from zombies.
YU-NO: A Girl Who Chants Love at the Bound of This World — Funimation
Based on the 1996 visual novel of the same name, the anime follows the twisted tale of a high school boy who travels through time to learn the truth about his father’s disappearance.
PlayStation fans can rejoice, as the much-requested PSN ID change feature is finally coming to PS4 this week. Changing your PSN ID will be free for the first time; each subsequent change will cost $10 / £8, while PS Plus subscribers get a reduction to $5 / £4. The news is good, but there’s a catch: not every PS4 game might not play nicely with your new ID, and in some cases the problems could be significant.
As stated on the PlayStation Blog, “As a result of the preview program, we’ve found an instance where a game did not fully support the feature.” Sid Shuman, PlayStation’s director of social media, clarified that any game published on or after April 1, 2018 should support the feature. However, not every game has been tested with the feature implemented.
Sony has provided a tentative list of games that could present issues for those who change their PSN IDs. Sony says a “large majority of most actively played PS4 games support the feature,” and while you can rollback the change, you’ll want to be aware of the potential for issues.
There are two ways to change your PSN ID: on the PS4 itself or via a web browser. Once you’ve done so, be mindful when jumping into the games below, which are separated into those that have been found to have issues and those with “critical issues.”
Changing your PSN ID may cause the previous ID to remain visible or disappear entirely, user accounts to unlink, and settings to return to default in these games. Sony suggests that signing out and signing back in should resolve these non-critical issues.
Changing your PSN ID may cause you to lose progress and/or in-game currency in these games. Additionally, some parts of the game may function properly. Sony doesn’t recommend changing your ID if you want to keep entitlements and Trophies as it’s “possible to incur permanent game errors or data loss.”