Category: Games

Indie developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has been aiming the ambitious Stardew Valley 1.5 update for this year, but if you’ve looked at a calendar lately you know there’s not much of this year left. But fret not, fellow farmers: Barone says he may still be able to release the update this year on PC.

In answering a fan on Twitter, Barone said it might come out on PC this year, though console players will still have to wait for early 2021. This was only a “might,” so it seems he may still be working through some last remaining bugs and polish, as he said in November.

Previously, Barone has said that most of the new content is aimed at endgame players who have developed their farms, though there will be new features that players will be able to enjoy if they start from the beginning too. At least one new feature is split-screen cooperative play, which may support up to four players depending on the platform. Barone also teased a new door in the back of Willie’s shop, but where it goes or what it does is unknown.

Stardew Valley was based on classic Harvest Moon games, and it has sold more than 10 million copies to other farming fans.

The much-anticipated next-gen update for Control: Ultimate Edition launches in February, developer Remedy Entertainment has announced. This will bring technical enhancements to the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S versions of the game; as it stands, those platforms can only play the existing, backwards-compatible version of the hit sci-fi action game.

This update offers two different graphics settings to choose from on next-gen hardware. Performance mode offers 60fps gameplay, which–if it’s able to stay locked–would come as a very welcome addition given the frame rate inconsistencies of playing Control on last-gen hardware. The alternative is Graphics mode, which drops the frame rate to 30fps but introduces ray tracing features.

The brief video above demonstrates the two running on PS5, with the silky smooth frame rate of Performance mode looking quite nice–although it’s shown in a scene without any combat or effects that might put a strain on the hardware. It also quickly shows off the implementation of ray tracing, which will at the very least involve ray-traced reflections based on what we see. It’s a stark contrast to see the windows shift from milky panes to offering such accurate reflections, but it’ll be up to you to decide whether you prefer ray tracing or a higher frame rate. Fortunately, it looks as if you can flip between the two from the in-game settings menu without having to restart.

Remedy will launch the digital version of Control: Ultimate Edition on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on February 2, 2021, followed by the physical version on March 2, 2021. If you own the existing version of Control: Ultimate edition, you’ll be able to upgrade for free. However, owners of the base game–even those who have also purchased the DLC, meaning they have everything in Ultimate edition–will not be eligible for the upgrade.

Control was one of 2019’s best games and has since expanded with a pair of DLC expansions, The Foundation and AWE, both of which are included in Ultimate edition.

Gears Tactics released earlier this year on PC and just last month on Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One. Since launching on console, it’s practically always been on sale for 50% off. But Amazon’s current deal discounts Gears Tactics to its lowest price yet for a limited time. Right now, you can grab a digital copy of Gears Tactics for only $20. The code is cross-platform and works on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC.

As this is an Amazon deal, there’s no telling how long it will be available. However, it seems unlikely we’ll see Gears Tactics discounted to a lower price any time soon, so if you’re interested in the game, we’d suggest snagging this deal as soon as possible. It’s worth noting that Gears Tactics is available on Xbox Game Pass, which may partially explain the steep discount so close to release.

The fast-paced turn-based strategy game earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Gears Tactics review. “Though Gears Tactics wears itself a little thin by the end of its protracted campaign, the rush of pulling together a victory from the jaws of defeat carries an exciting, chaotic energy,” critic Mike Epstein wrote. “Unlike most strategy games, playing well doesn’t necessarily make you feel like a mastermind, so much as though you’ve cheated death. Every successful plan, even a last-ditch effort, feels like a small stroke of genius. That’s no small feat.”

If you’re looking for more games to play on Xbox Series X|S or Xbox One during the holiday, make sure to check out the Xbox Store’s Countdown Sale, which features more than 800 games. PC players should also take a peek at the Epic Games Store’s Holiday Sale and GOG’s Winter Sale.

On December 17, Sony made the unprecedented move to remove Cyberpunk 2077 from the PlayStation Store and started offering full refunds for digital copies of the game. This decision was made after players ran into issues trying to receive a refund using Sony’s traditional request system, but the game doesn’t appear to be disappearing from the Microsoft Store.

According to a statement CD Projekt co-CEO Adam Kicinski gave to Reuters, the company isn’t in talks with Microsoft to have the game removed. However, this doesn’t mean that Xbox players are being left out in the cold.

Players have already reported being able to get a refund on their purchase when contacting Microsoft support. There isn’t a specific refund policy on the platform like there is for PlayStation. The game is still available for sale for Xbox and Xbox Series X|S owners, as well, though we can’t recommend purchasing it on last-gen hardware.

Cyberpunk 2077 launched in a woefully rough state across all platforms–we had plenty of issues while playing the PC version for our Cyberpunk 2077 review–but it was particularly unfinished on Xbox One and PS4. The issues ranged from physics and scripting problems to textures not loading correctly and full crashes. In the wake of these issues, four of CD Projekt’s executives lost an estimated $1 billion in stock value, and the company’s share price has taken a huge hit.

Cyberpunk 2077 has planned native Xbox Series X|S and PS5 versions in the works, likely for 2021, as well as a standalone multiplayer experience. It isn’t clear yet how the game’s launch issues will affect these plans, but what is clear is development on the versions already available is far from finished.

During the August Street Fighter V Summer Update livestream, Capcom announced that five new DLC characters would join the game’s roster as part of its fifth and final season. In a new video message, producer Shuhei Matsumoto revealed that the first of those new character additions, lovable goofball Dan Hibiki, will arrive in February 2021.

“As specified in the Season 5 roadmap we shared over the summer, our first character, Dan, is still planned for this winter and will be released in February,” Matsumoto said. “We understand many of you have been waiting patiently for the release of Season 5, and we would like to report that we are currently working to deliver this content to you as quickly as possible.”

Dan will eventually be joined by Street Fighter IV‘s Rose, one-armed hermit Oro–who hasn’t been playable since Street Fighter III–, Akira Kazama from Rival Schools, and a mystery fifth character.

If you’re wanting to get a crossover fix in Street Fighter V quicker, you can also take part in an Extra Battle mode event that runs until December 23, which will reward you with an unlockable costume of Skullomania. Once you’ve earned it, you can dress G up as Fighting EX Layer‘s iconic skeleton-suited superhero.

Select members of the public are now able to get their hands on a preview of Diablo Immortal, the mobile spin-off of Blizzard’s popular Diablo series. The technical alpha is limited to Australian players who pre-registered for testing through the Google Play store. Spots in the alpha will be assigned based on how early players signed up, provided their devices meet the minimum requirements.

The purpose of the technical alpha is to test server stability and game performance across a wider range of devices, but also for Blizzard to get wider feedback on the way the game plays. Blizzard is anticipating a few thousand players will participate in the alpha, which will run for a few weeks as the team collects data from players.

Despite being a mobile spin-off, Diablo Immortal still intends to tell a story within the universe, with its narrative sitting in between Diablo 2 and Diablo 3. While the game will launch with six playable classes–Barbarian, Demon Hunter, Monk, Wizard, Crusader, and Necromancer–the technical alpha will only include four of these, with the other two not quite ready for public play.

Diablo Immortal has already been subject to a lot of fan criticism since it was announced in 2018, with many players preferring a new full PC or console game that furthers the main story. However Blizzard has promised that the free-to-play game won’t be predatory or pay to win, saying in a blog post that “all the story, all the classes, and as much gameplay as you want,” will be free, and that paid content will only be cosmetic or “or serve to complement gameplay.”

Despite the fan reaction, Blizzard has said that Diablo Immortal is just a part of a wider mobile strategy, so players can expect to see more mobile spinoffs from the studio. Diablo Immortal doesn’t have a set release date yet.