Author: Trafficblast

Monolith Soft, the developer of the Xenoblade Chronicles series, is working on a new Legend of Zelda title. The studio’s website is putting the call out for developers to join the project, and recruiting for programmers, designers, and artists, among other roles.

Although Monolith Soft is known primarily for its work on the Xenoblade Chronicles titles, it’s no stranger to Zelda. The studio previously co-developed The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and, more recently, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where it no doubt leveraged its expertise in creating vast open-worlds that players can explore.

It’s unclear what this new game is at this stage or whether it will fit the open-world mould established by Breath of the Wild. However, Monolith Soft’s involvement with the project does certainly suggest it could be another grand adventure in the same vein as the Switch launch title.

Nintendo has a number of other Zelda projects in the pipeline. Excitingly, one of those is a remake of the Game Boy classic The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, which is being “reborn as a new experience” for Switch and is expected to launch in 2019. Nintendo has also announced Cadence of Hyrule, a crossover between its Legend of Zelda series and Brace Yourself Games’ Crypt of the Necrodancer.

Of course, if you’re really in the mood for Zelda, there’s probably still plenty left for your to do in the vast world of Breath of the Wild. In GameSpot’s review, Peter Brown awarded the game a 10, saying it is “the most impressive game Nintendo has ever created.”

He added: “No matter how gorgeous its environments are, how clever its enemies are, and how tricky its puzzles get, the fact that Breath of the Wild continues to surprise you with newfound rules and possibilities after dozens of hours is by far its most valuable quality. It’s a game that allows you to feel gradually more and more empowered yet simultaneously manages to retain a sense of challenge and mystery–which, together, creates a steady, consistent feeling of gratification throughout the entire experience. Breath of the Wild is a defining moment for The Legend of Zelda series.”

Pokemon Sword and Shield may be on the horizon, but The Pokemon Company isn’t done giving away freebies for the series’ latest 3DS installments, Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon. Players with a Pokemon Bank subscription can now claim two more free Pokemon in the seventh-gen games, and these are a little different from the ones you can normally catch.

For a limited time, you’ll be able to receive a free Oranguru and Passimian by signing into Pokemon Bank. What makes these particular Pokemon special is they come with their Hidden Abilities, which normally aren’t obtainable in the games. Passimian’s is Defiant, which raises its Attack any time one of its stats is lowered by the opponent, while Oranguru’s is Symbiosis, which will pass the item it’s holding to an ally in Double or Triple Battles when that Pokemon consumes its own held item.

You can claim Oranguru and Passimian in either of the Ultra games or the original Sun and Moon versions. To download them, you’ll need to insert your game of choice in the 3DS and access the Pokemon Bank app. After you see a notification that the gifts are available, you’ll need to open the game, then pick the Pokemon up from the deliveryman waiting inside any Pokemon Center. It’s unclear how long this distribution will run, so you’ll want to act fast.

Pokemon Bank is a paid cloud service that allows you to easily store and move Pokemon between all of the series’ sixth- and seventh-generation 3DS Pokemon games. Subscriptions cost $5 / £4.49 per year. As an added bonus, The Pokemon Company regularly distributes free Pokemon to subscribers; last year, for instance, it gave away all three Alola starters with their Hidden Abilities. You can also store Pokemon from the 3DS Virtual Console versions of Red/Blue/Yellow and Gold/Silver/Crystal on Pokemon Bank.

Oranguru and Passimian aren’t the only freebies still available for 3DS players. You also have until September 2 to claim an assortment of rare Berries via Mystery Gift. You can see all of the freebies available for Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon in our roundup.

Pokemon Sword and Shield are the next “core” installments in the Pokemon series, and they’re slated to launch for Nintendo Switch in late 2019. The Pokemon Company hasn’t revealed many details about the games yet, but we got our first look at their new setting and starter Pokemon. You can read everything we know about Pokemon Sword and Shield so far here.

Creature in the Well was revealed during the Nindies Spring Showcase, showing off its combination of hack-and-slash gameplay and pinball. We’ve gotten hands on with the game at PAX East 2019, and it leans much more into hack-and-slash gameplay than proper pinball. You simply attack balls to send them flying into bumpers–some of which will fire their own lasers in your direction–but there’s no risk of losing a ball or pressure to rack up a high score.

Instead, the “pinball table” in each room becomes something of a bullet hell. Your goal is to rack up enough points to open the exit door, but of course doing so is easier said than done when you’re managing multiple pinballs and dodging laser attacks.

You can see the first 10 minutes of the game above. Our gameplay shows off some of the opening rooms, a fast-paced boss fight, and even a secret chamber. Creature in the Well comes to PC and Nintendo Switch this summer.

Media Molecule has announced that early access to Dreams, its upcoming PS4 exclusive, will be available from April 16. Like the studio’s Little Big Planet series, Dreams enables players to create unique gameplay experiences as well as play what Media Molecule and other players have created. The early access part of Dreams will be limited to the creative tools, the studio said on the PlayStation Blog.

“The core of Dreams–the creation bit–is ready,” explained studio director Siobhan Reddy. “There is so much we want to do with and add to Dreams–but to start, we want players to be able to see their creations on their own TV screen and be able to have all the tools they need to make games or stories or art or music accessible from their couch.

“[Early access] won’t feature everything that the full release will have (our story mode being a big piece of that) but you’ll get our full tool set for creating, our interactive tutorials and arcade games, templates and additional content created by Media Molecule and access to what you, the CoMmunity, made during our Dreams Creator Beta. You’ll also be getting the first hands-on with new features and content as we add them.”

Early access is an opportunity for players to offer feedback to the developer, and Reddy said Media Molecule plans to make Dreams “an amazing space for creators and players alike for years to come.” Anything created in the early access will carry over to the full game.

The early access version of Dreams will cost $30/£25/CAD$40. It will be available in the US, Canada, and all European territories. Those that purchase the early access version of Dreams will get the full version when it is released. Media Molecule and publisher Sony have not yet provided a release date for the full version, however.

Media Molecule has also said that early access is limited, in terms of the amount of people that can purchase it. Although it added that “it’s a big limit,” the studio suggested players purchase as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Dreams had a beta in January and players were immediately coming up with interesting ways to use the game. One person, for example, created a battle royale-style game inside Dreams. Another remade Konami’s P.T. within the game.