Category: Games

When you release a game like Monster Hunter: World, it’s hard to go back. While Monster Hunter has always been a massive success in Japan, it was originally a more niche series in the West. But now that World has officially become Capcom’s best selling game of all time, with more than 16 million copies sold as of September 2020 (and we’re not even counting Monster Hunter World: Iceborne’s additional 7.2 million units), it’s safe to say that Monster Hunter has become a worldwide phenomenon. Back in 2017, after the success of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Nintendo’s Eiji Aonuma suggested that Breath of the Wild might become “the basis” for future entries in the series, and it seems that Capcom is taking a similar approach with World for Monster Hunter’s foreseeable future.

It’s no coincidence that Monster Hunter Rise, Capcom’s newest installment in the series developed exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, is a seamless hunting experience with maps of approximately the same size as World’s vast environments. That’s impressive to say the least, especially when you take in account that it runs on a hybrid home-handheld console significantly less powerful than the dedicated home consoles.

A Monstrous Standard to Live Up to

Interestingly, Rise’s development started long before the release of World under an entirely different team. Director Yasunori Ichinose tells IGN in an exclusive interview that the team originally planned areas separated by loading screens, as was standard for Monster Hunter games before World.

“On the Nintendo Switch, we thought it would be difficult to preserve visual quality and detail in a sandbox environment. However, as development progressed we started realizing that open environments had become more and more the norm for blockbuster titles, and the success of World inspired us to take on the challenge,” Ichinose recalls.

Shrine Ruins, the area showcased in the demo that launched on the Nintendo eShop back in January, is a testament to the efforts of Ichinose and his team. Not only did they manage to fully realize a seamless hunting experience on a similar scale as World (though with slightly less detailed environments), the game looks stunning on the Switch.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/02/monster-hunter-rise-somnacanth-complete-quest-gameplay-ign-first”]

Watch the newest exclusive gameplay footage of Monster Hunter Rise above.

Open environments are not the only idea Rise borrows from World. With a more user-friendly design overall, World successfully introduced the series to a new audience. Quality of life improvements like wishlists that make it easy to keep track of the material necessary for weapon and armor upgrades, the ability to return to the camp from wherever you are on the map, allowing players to change equipment without having to go back to the hub, weapon trees that provide information you previously would have had to look up in walkthroughs before – the list goes on. “In this regard, there are certainly a lot of changes that we have adapted from World,” Ichinose says.

A More Action-Oriented Beast

But Rise isn’t a title that simply leans on World’s success to play things safe. It utilizes World’s foundations to deliver a whole new vision for what a Monster Hunter title can be. The moment you hop into a mission, it becomes apparent that Rise is a much more action-oriented beast, literally speaking. With Palamutes (a new dog-like Buddy) that you can mount and Wirebugs you can utilize to swing through air and run up walls, the help of these creatures makes exploring the environments a breeze. While World showed you its detailed environments by having you examine footprints and other clues that would slowly lead you to your target, in Rise you will be swinging your way to the monsters in no time.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=every-monster-in-monster-hunter-rise-announced-so-far&captions=true”]

The Scoutflies that guided you to the next track in World are gone too, and instead the locations of monsters are indicated on the map from the start. While you don’t know the identity of the monster until you encounter it, and the details of each area until you actually explore it, it remains obvious that Rise aims for a much more fast-paced flow of exploration. For players who were put off by the time-consuming search for monsters in previous entries, Rise lowers the bar significantly by allowing players to enjoy its exploration and combat more like a pure action game.

Whereas up until now preparing for the hunt was a big part of Monster Hunter’s identity, Rise allows players to prepare entirely on the way. Various types of Endemic Life are scattered throughout Rise’s areas, and by collecting these creatures on the way your stats will increase until the end of the quest. The Endemic Life you encounter depends on which route you take, and heading for your target in a straight line will make the hunt significantly more challenging.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/01/11/monster-hunter-rise-hunting-101-wirebug-trailer”]

While it’s still possible to eat meals before heading into a quest, Endemic Life alone offers plenty of stat-boosting for players to head straight into the action without having to regret doing so later on. Similar to World, items like Whetstones, fishing rods and capture nets are all fixed items, and while maintaining weapon sharpness with Whetsones is still a thing, you can do so while riding your Palamute on your way to the monster’s whereabouts, so you don’t need to stop – like with Iceborne’s Raider Ride. Furthermore, while in previous entries you would be in trouble if you forgot to prepare a Hot Drink when heading into a cold area like Frost Islands, Ichinose has announced that this item won’t be making a comeback. For players that enjoyed Monster Hunter’s action but were overwhelmed by its layers of preparation, Rise seems to be a much more forgiving experience.

More Accessible, Still Challenging

That doesn’t mean that the action itself has become a piece of cake. As the demo’s Intermediate Quest indicates, slaughtering a monster can still be as exhausting and nerve-racking as ever, providing a good challenge even for the more seasoned player. But here, too, Capcom has found a way to make it more accessible. By eating meals before heading into the quest and catching as many Endemic Life creatures as possible to max out their stats before heading into battle, players can take on the challenge with more advantages than ever before. The beauty lies in that while Capcom still chooses not to implement difficulty settings, you can balance the difficulty for each individual quest yourself by choosing how many stat boosts you pick up on the way. If you want the hardcore experience, ignore both meals and Endemic Life entirely.

“I think that the more experienced hunter doesn’t need to make detours before heading into a fight, but if you want a well-balanced challenge you probably want to at least pick up the Endemic Life you come across while going after your target,” Ichinose advises.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=monster-hunter-rise-locations-key-art&captions=true”]

Still, the nature of Monster Hunter’s challenging and ultimately rewarding battles remains intact. If you’re new to the series, expect to get your ass kicked several times on the more difficult quests, even with your stats maxed out. To make the learning curve a bit more approachable, Ichinose advises beginning players to start with the Village Quests. In previous Monster Hunter games, Village Quests are the single-player only story quests.

“We have scaled down the difficulty for Village Quests, so they should function as a good entry point for new players,” Ichinose tells us.

Stronger Together

As in previous entries, Buddies will be there to aid you on your quest. Palicoes, the series’ beloved feline critters, can support the player in various ways, ranging from offensive Palicoes that will charge at monsters together with the hunter, to Palicoes that will heal you when you need it most. But the aforementioned Palamute hounds create an entirely new layer of support and comfort. Not only do they make exploration much faster-paced, but you can also perform synchronized attacks together as well, making it possible to quickly head into close combat for a surprise attack.

“You can choose up to two Buddies. Of course, the most basic and balanced combination is to take along one Palico and Palamute each. But if you’re a gunner, for example, choosing two Palicoes instead can be an effective strategy as well,” Ichinose explains.

If even with your Buddies the hunt is too intense, there’s always the option to switch to multiplayer. Ichinose tells us that connecting with other players has become streamlined as well. Whereas in World your friends would only appear in the Gathering Hub on the fourth floor of the village, in Rise the entirety of Kamura Village can be explored together with other players, making gathering a lot less confusing.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=the%20entirety%20of%20Kamura%20Village%20can%20be%20explored%20together%20with%20other%20players”]

You can even head into the Training Area together to test your teamwork without any threat before heading into actual quests. And while there are separate tutorials for mastering the wire-jumping action, Wirebugs can be used within the village as well. You can always fast-travel to any facility in the village, but swinging your way around can function as a way to get used to the game’s new mobility in a safe environment. Ichinose proudly tells us that he himself has become able to swing around and land exactly in front of the village’s facilities and NPCs.

The Training Area has evolved as well, as players can adjust the attack patterns and position of the head of the giant mechanized Tetranadon in the center of the area. This allows players to practice for different situations with their weapon of choice.

Weapons Are Still Hard to Master, Easier to Upgrade

[poilib element=”poll” parameters=”id=eae67d32-d397-4fee-b99f-a5f8d6f51c3f”]

Speaking of weapons, Ichinose hopes that players will switch weapons more frequently than before. While he understands the fun of becoming an expert in one specific weapon, with 14 vastly different weapons available, such players will only experience one fraction of Monster Hunter’s diversity.

“One reason for players to stick with the same weapon was always the fact that it takes so much time to upgrade weapons, which is why we decided to significantly reduce the amount of materials necessary to upgrade weapons for Rise,” Ichinose tells us.

Considering that grinding for materials in previous titles could easily take hours, this tweak sounds like another huge step forward in welcoming more casual players.

[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=…we%20decided%20to%20significantly%20reduce%20the%20amount%20of%20materials%20necessary%20to%20upgrade%20weapons%20for%20Rise”]

Mastering weapons itself is as challenging as ever, and tutorials still only scratch the surface of the many combos each weapon has. Ichinose tells us that the team did consider teaching the player more combos, but they ultimately came to the conclusion that this would be more confusing and overwhelming than helpful for most players.

When asked the best weapon to start with, Ichinose says that the Sword & Shield used to be his standard answer, but the weapon has evolved so much that it has become difficult to recommend as a starter option.

“I think that the Long Sword may have become the best weapon for beginners, as you can easily deliver a good flow of attacks by simply pressing the buttons while not having to master how to block,” Ichinose says.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/24/monster-hunter-rise-long-sword-trailer”]

With sword-drawing techniques based on katana swords, the Long Sword should be a great match with Rise’s Japan-inspired setting, too!

Monster Hunter Rise is due for release on Nintendo Switch on March 26.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Esra Krabbe is an editor at IGN JAPAN. When he’s not out hunting, you can usually find him on TwitterIGN sits down with Monster Hunter Rise Director Yasunori Ichinose to learn what the team has done to make the series more accessible than ever before..

Chloé Zhao, the director of Nomadland and the upcoming Marvel’s Eternal, is teaming up with Universal Pictures to write, direct, and produce a project based on the iconic vampire Dracula.

As reported by THR, this Dracula project will be developed through her production company, Highwayman, and is said to be “described as an original, futuristic, sci-fi western.”

“I’ve always been fascinated by vampires and the concept of the Other they embody. I’m very excited to work with Donna, Peter and the team at Universal to reimagine such a beloved character.” Zhao said.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/09/09/nomadland-official-trailer-1″]

Count Dracula first appeared in Bram Stoker’s 1897 gotchic horror novel Dracula, and Universal is celebrating the 90th anniversary of its Dracula film that debuted in 1931 and starred Bela Lugosi.

There were reports of a Dracula film being in the works in 2020, following the success of The Invisible Man, and is just one of the many Monster movie projects underway at Universal alongside those from Phil Lord and Chris Miller, James Wan, Paul Feig, Elizabeth Banks, and Dexter Fletcher.

Nomadland received four Golden Globe nominations, including Best Motion Picture (Drama), Best Screeplay, and Best Director. The best director nomination was the first for an Asian woman.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=the-25-best-horror-movies&captions=true”]

In our Nomadland review, we said it is “a radiant celebration of humanity and community. Chloé Zhao takes the seeds of real stories and nurtures them with location settings, real people, and a non-judgmental eye at a misunderstood American subculture. Watching this film, I was swept away from my comfy but small apartment to the sprawling but intimidating expanses of the American West made a silent sidekick to a rebel riding a rickety van instead of a trusty steed.”

Marvel’s Eternals, which is set to be released in theaters on November 5, 2021, had the best pitch Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige had ever heard.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Completing the Harbinger mission in Destiny 2 gets more than different versions of the Exotic hand cannon Hawkmoon. It can also earn you a special Exotic ship called Radiant Accipiter–but only if you put in the time for multiple runs of the mission. To get the ship, which doesn’t show up anywhere else in the game, you need to complete a special quest from The Crow called Bird of Prey. Finishing it requires you to search through the Harbinger mission each week to find special collectibles called Paracausal Feathers.

Once you’ve earned 100 feathers by defeating bosses in Harbinger and finding feathers hidden in the mission, you’ll complete the Bird of Prey mission. But you don’t get Radiant Accipiter automatically–you have to head back out into the EDZ and find it, hidden inside the dam where Harbinger takes place. It’s a confusing path, but we’re here to help.

Here’s how to navigate the dam and unlock the Radiant Accipiter.

Complete Bird Of Prey

You’ll need to run Harbinger probably three times, across three separate weeks, to earn enough feathers to complete Bird of Prey. Each week, the mission changes slightly, with Paracausal Feathers appearing in different locations. There are five feathers to find in the mission, and you’ll earn more for completing a big fight in the middle of the mission and for beating the end boss.

Check out our guide for finding this week’s Paracausal Feathers.

Head Back To The EDZ

With 100 feathers, Bird of Prey will be completed, but you’ll need to seek out the hawk made of Light from the Harbinger mission in order to proceed. Return to the EDZ and spawn in at Trostland. You want to head to the same building on the east side of the map where you first entered Harbinger through the broken fireplace. Look for the golden hawk, perched on a piece of debris, on its facade.

Take The Path At The Top Of The Building

The good news is that you don’t have to take the tight platforming pathway from Harbinger to return to the reservoir. Instead, climb to the top of the building where you see the hawk and push to the back of the building, where you’ll find an open door. Follow that path, which will take you to the start of the jumping portion to reach the dam in Harbinger. From here, you can now enter the rusted pipe just ahead, which during Harbinger is normally sealed.

Through The Reservoir

The pipe will eventually lead you into the reservoir. From here, the path is fairly straight, although expect to fight some Taken enemies along the way. Proceed until you hit the room with the fence in the middle and hang a right, then follow the hallway. You’ll cross a few more rooms, including a cylindrical one with catwalks, but the only path is pretty straight. Exit into a big room with an A on the wall; fight through and drop down to exit through a doorway that’s normally blocked, which will take you to the arena room where you usually fight the Harbinger mid-boss.

Fight Ishrasek, Lightbinder of Savathun

In the arena room, you’ll face a boss Taken character who sports a white shield. This guy is immune to damage until you take the shield down, but this is a mechanic you’ve seen before. Ishrasek is ringed by minions called Lightseeker Taken Acolytes, and if you kill them, they drop orbs (or “relics”) you can throw at the boss.

Clean out the Lightseekers and huck the orbs at the boss until its shield drops. With everyone else dead, you should be able to just pour on damage with whatever weapons you like. Once it takes enough hits, Ishrasek will disappear, summoning a bunch more enemies to fight you, including new Taken Knight bosses named Teorax, Lightseeker of Savathun and Velox, Lightseeker of Savathun. No special mechanics here, you just need to kill everything in the room, including those two bosses.

The tough part of this fight is really just how many enemies you have to deal with, so keep moving. Eliminating the Taken Wizards will help your survivability significantly, but really, this isn’t too hard a fight, especially if you’re quick about knocking out targets.

When everything is dead, jump up to the doorway on the third floor of this room, where the golden hawk will be waiting. You’ll get a prompt that says “Commune with the Traveler,” which will open the door to leave the room.

Find The Ship

Follow the hallway until you can make a right turn to enter the hangar where the Radiant Accipiter is parked. You’ll unlock it when you approach its left wing and, again, Commune with the Traveler.

With that done, you no longer need to worry about finding Paracausal Feathers, but you can continue to replay Harbinger each week for additional Hawkmoon rolls.

1997’s film adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella, starring Whitney Houston, Brandy, Whoopi Goldberg, and more is coming to Disney+ on February 12.

The film originally debuted on ABC in November 1997 and earned seven Emmy Award nominations. It received praise for its diverse cast, starring a young Brandy Norwood as Cinderella and Whitney Houston as the Fairy Godmother.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ign.com%2Farticles%2Fnew-to-disney-plus-february-2021-movies-tv-shows-originals&captions=true”]

The film is based on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s theatrical musical, which was originally broadcast in 1957 with Julie Andrews starring. The 1997 film features songs from Rodgers and Hammerstein, including “Impossible,” “In My Own Little Corner,” “Ten Minutes Ago” and others. It also featured choreography from Broadway director Rob Marshall.

Don’t forget to check out every new movie and show hitting Disney+ in February. Every season of the original Muppet Show are also hitting the streaming service a week later.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer/stepsister for IGN.

Actor Tom Holland says that the currently untitled third Spider-Man MCU film is “the most ambitious standalone superhero movie ever made” in an interview with Variety.

“I can say that it’s the most ambitious standalone superhero movie ever made,” Holland said on Variety’s Awards Circuit podcast. “You sit down, read the script, and see what they’re trying to do, and they’re succeeding. It’s really impressive. I’ve never seen a standalone superhero movie quite like it. And I’m just, you know… that lucky little shit who happens to be Spider-Man in it. We got a lot more shooting to do. We started before Christmas and shot for like seven weeks. We stopped for the Christmas break, and then we’re starting again. I’m just as excited as everyone else to see it, let alone be a part of it.”

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/10/is-spider-man-3-also-adding-daredevil”]

Holland’s comment would seem to bolster theories that Spider-Man 3 is whipping up some sort of multi-verse (Spider-verse?) storyline featuring actors from different film incarnations of the franchise. Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, the previous two Spider-Man actors, are rumored to appear, along with Kirsten Dunst’s Mary-Jane, although Disney and Marvel have declined to confirm the rumors of their casting. The sequel is also confirmed to star Doctor Strange actor Benedict Cumberbatch, with Alfred Molina expected to reprise his Spider-Man 2 (2004) role as Doctor Octopus, and Jamie Foxx returning as Electro (from Amazing Spider-Man 2).

Daredevil’s Charlie Cox is also rumored to have joined the Spider-Man 3 cast, having reportedly been spotted on set, but the news remains unconfirmed.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=%20Standalone%20Superhero%20Movie%20Ever%20Made&captions=true”]

Holland says that filming for Spider-Man 3 took a break over the winter holidays, but will resume in the near future.

You can check out everything else we know about the next Spider-Man movie here.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN.

Fortnite Season 5, Week 10 challenges have leaked early, and this time they’re pretty straightforward. You’ll be asked to eliminate five IO Guards, dance, swim, eat food, destroy a whole lot of sofas, beds, and chairs, and more. Check out the leaked challenges below and continue on for a quick breakdown of how and where to complete each challenge.

Use food consumables

Food consumables like corn and cabbage appear throughout the island in produce boxes or as forageable items like mushrooms and apples. You only need to consume three of these items to complete this challenge for 20,000 XP.

Eliminations with Common Weapons

This one can easily be completed while playing normally, but you’ll want to get it out of the way early in the game, before people start picking up higher-tier firearms. We recommend dropping in somewhere highly populated and finding a Common weapon as soon as you can–if you’re not aware, Common weapons can be identified by their white glow. It won’t be hard to find one–they are common, after all. You only need to get one kill with a common weapon to complete this challenge for 20,000 XP.

Go for a swim at Lazy Lake

Another easy one. Just hop in the lake at Lazy Lake and go for a swim. Here’s where you can find Lazy Lake.

Complete this challenge once for 20,000 XP.

Dance near Pleasant Park

Get your favorite emote ready and head to Pleasant Park to complete this challenge. Here’s where to find Pleasant Park:

Complete this challenge once for 20,000 XP.

Deal melee damage

For this challenge, you need to deal 300 points of melee damage. This can be tricky if you’re not great with the pickaxe. If you’re struggling with this challenge, we recommend you drop in with a squad. Down opponents as a group (or solo) and take out downed enemies with the pickaxe for an easy 100 points of melee damage. You will get 20,000 XP for completing this challenge.

Upgrade weapons

Several NPCs in Fortnite can upgrade your weapon mid-game. Upgrade three weapons in order to complete this challenge for 20,000 XP.

Eliminate IO Guards

IO Guards are tough NPCs that spawn in groups all around the map. Check out our guide on where to find IO Guards for more detail on how to track them down–one of last week’s challenges asked players to shakedown guards, so if you’ve completed that one already, taking them down should be no problem. Eliminate five guards to complete this challenge for 20,000 XP.

Destroy sofas, beds, or chairs

The legendary quest task this week is to destroy sofas, beds, or chairs–simple enough. You can earn up to 143,000 XP if you hit every milestone. That’s 100 sofas, beds, or chairs destroyed.

[UPDATE] Mahler walked back his comments, saying he “screwed up.”

In a statement, Mahler said, “I realize I wasn’t thoughtful in the way I presented my thoughts, nor did I choose the right tone or platform for it. After I made this thread, we had a pretty long conversation internally about all of this and I definitely didn’t represent Moon Studios the way I should have.”

You can read his full statement below:

The original story is below.

Game developer Thomas Mahler from Ori developer Moon Studios has published an impassioned forum post where he rips into “snake oil salesmen” in the video game industry who, he says, have a history of overpromising and underdelivering.

Writing on Resetera, Mahler started a thread with the explosive title, “Why are gamers so eager to trust and even forgive the snake oil salesmen?”

He said he’s been bothered by this for some time. In Mahler’s eyes, it goes back to Fable designer Peter Molyneux, who is often cited as a prominent game developer who overhyped his games.

“He was the master of, ‘Instead of telling you what my product is, let me just go wild with what I think it could be and get you all excited!’ And that was fine, until you actually put your money down and then the game was nothing like what Peter was hyping it up to be,” Mahler said. “He pulled this sh** for a good decade or more with journalists and gamers loving listening to Uncle Peter and the amazing things he’s doing for the industry. It took him to release some pretty damn shoddy games for press and gamers to finally not listen to the lies anymore.”

Mahler also called out No Man’s Sky developer Sean Murray. In Mahler’s eyes, Murray “learned straight from the Peter Molyneux handbook.”

“This guy apparently just loooooved the spotlight. Even days before No Man’s Sky released, he hyped up the multiplayer that didn’t even exist and was all too happy to let people think that No Man’s Sky was ‘Minecraft in Space’, where you could literally do everything (you being able to do everything is generally a common theme behind the gaming snake oil salesmen, cause hey, that sorta attracts everybody!)” he said. “Obviously there was massive backlash when No Man’s Sky finally released and the product being nothing like what Murray hyped it up to be.”

Mahler said people forgave Murray and the team because the studio released numerous updates that improved and expanded on the game in significant and meaningfully positive ways. “They released a bunch of updates, so let’s forget about the initial lies and deception and hey, let’s actually shower him with awards again, cause he finally kinda sorta delivered on what he said the game would be years earlier,” Mahler said.

Mahler also singled out video game veteran and presenter Geoff Keighley. No Man’s Sky was announced on one of Keighley’s programs years ago. Mahler said, “Thanks, Geoff Keighley. Rewarding that kinda behavior will surely help the industry grow stronger.”

Mahler then turned his attention to Cyberpunk 2077 as another example of what he believes is a game that promised more than it delivered.

“Made by the guys that made Witcher 3, so this sh** had to be good,” Mahler said. “Here’s our Cyberpunk universe and–trust us–you can do f**king everything! Here the entire CDPR PR department took all the cues from what worked for Molyneux and Murray and just went completely apesh** with it.”

According to Mahler, CD Projekt Red led people to believe Cyberpunk 2077 would be “sci-fi GTA in first-person,” with each marketing video carefully designed to leave a good taste in players’ mouths. “They stopped just short of outright saying that this thing would cure cancer. This strategy resulted in a sensational 8 million pre-orders,” he said.

When Cyberpunk 2077 came out, it was underwhelming to some portion of the audience–this much is clear. But Mahler went further. He said, “The product was a fraction of what the developer hyped it up to be and on top of that it barely even ran on consoles that it was supposed to ‘run surprisingly well on!”

Mahler said these are all examples of how the developers he cited are examples of developers overhyping their games and making gamers feel like fools. Mahler also called out the gaming press for going along with it.

For Mahler, he sees this as a terrible situation. “From the perspective of a developer, all of this just sucks,” he said. Mahler acknowledged that writing these words might make him come across as bitter and that he’s “sh**ting on other devs.”

“No, I’m not. I’m shi**ing on liars and people that are okay with openly deceiving others. I’d argue that we should all agree that this sh*t is not okay,” he said. “If I go and buy a car and the car salesman sells me a car that supposedly has 300 horse power, but on the drive home after the purchase I notice that he switched out the motor when I wasn’t looking, I’d be rightfully pissed off, cause I was deceived.”

In summation, Mahler said he believes this is a non-starter of an issue because gamers and press don’t really care anyway because games can, and often do, improve over time with patches. But that’s not enough for Mahler.

“That is so not the point,” he said. “It doesn’t matter if the snake oil actually tastes fine. Don’t sell me on features that don’t exist. Don’t paint a picture that you’ll not be able to deliver. Just don’t f**king lie to me. You’re f**king over gamers, you’re f**king over journalists (that should know better, so shame on you!) and you’re f**king over other developers. There, I said my piece, felt like a chip I needed to get off my shoulder and I think this is a wrong that we should set right so that this won’t happen anymore.”

Moon’s latest project was Ori and the Will of the Wisps, which was released in 2020.

In response to Mahler’s forum post, prominent and outspoken industry developer Rami Ismail wrote a thread on Twitter taking aim at some of the points. You can see the full thread starting with the tweet below.

“It sours me a lot on a take that I otherwise somewhat agree with. There’s already a semi-antagonistic relationship between gamers and devs, and massive corporations lying without accountability, or indies misrepresenting their work without making up for it doesn’t help there,” Ismail said.

“But No Man’s Sky? An indie suddenly in massive spotlights, a designer suddenly in the public eye, an ambitious game that’s punching way above their weight, and almost half a decade of free updates to make the game what they promised, a tiny next project that’s exactly what it is.”

“Let indies grow, please. It’s OK to be annoyed by it, but equating an indie being blasted into the spotlight to a story of corporate leadership & misleading communication toward audience and board and suggesting equal levels of intentional malice seems a step too far for me.”

Apex Legends has had a transformative second year, and in celebration, the battle royale game is getting a limited-time Anniversary Collection Event. The event starts on February 9 and continues to February 23.

Anniversary Collection Event replaces the standard Play Apex with the Locked and Loaded Takeover, causing everyone to hit the ground running with a Mozambique, White Shotgun Bolt, HCOG Classic Scope, White Evo Shield, White Helmet, White Backpack, White Knockdown Shield, two Syringes, two Shield Cells, and one stack of shotgun ammo. All white-level attachments and equipment are also removed from the loot pool, meaning you’ll only find blue-, purple-, and gold-tier loot.

Additionally, the event adds Respawn red-recolored renditions of 24 fan-favorite legendary character and weapon skins that were released during the past two years, like Octane’s Jade Tiger (added in Season 2: Battle Charge) and Wraith’s Void Prowler (added in Season 6: Boosted). No new heirloom this time around; instead, if you buy all 24 items in this collection event, you’ll unlock 150 Heirloom Shards, allowing you to purchase whichever heirloom you want.

The event also has challenges to complete in order to unlock exclusive prizes on the reward track, like weapon charms, holo-sprays, and Apex Packs. To unlock the three special reward track badges, you’ll need to complete the following challenges:

• Nessie Badge: Complete 75 Daily Challenges
• Mozambique Badge: Deal 102,816 Damage (the number is reference to Titanfall 2‘s release date, which is October 28, 2016)
• Smolfinder Badge: Win with 8 different Legends

Just before Apex Legends celebrated its second birthday, the game got a new season. Season 8: Mayhem adds playable character Fuse, the 30-30 Repeater, and some welcome changes to Kings Canyon. The game is scheduled to release for Switch in March.