Category: Games

Bravely Default II arrives on Nintendo Switch later this month, and ahead of its release, Nintendo and Square Enix have shared a new trailer that provides an overview of the game’s unique battle system.

Like many classical RPGs, Bravely Default II features turn-based combat, but it weaves in an extra layer of strategy with its titular Brave and Default mechanics. Selecting Default makes your character assume a defensive stance, forgoing their turn to amass one Brave Point. The Brave command, meanwhile, lets you use bankedBrave Points to perform multiple actions in a single turn. As the new trailer explains, carefully utilizing both the Brave and Default commands will be vital to defeating many of the game’s tougher adversaries.

Despite the number in its title, Bravely Default II is actually the third proper entry in its series. This entry follows four heroes of light–Seth the sailor, Gloria the princess, Adele the mercenary, and Elvis the scholar–as they set out on an adventure across the continent of Excillant to restore the magical Crystals. The game was originally slated to release in 2020 but was pushed back to further fine-tune the experience.

If you’re interested in trying the title out ahead of its release, a free demo of the game is available on the eShop. The demo takes place partway through the story and lets you tinker around with several different job classes. As an added bonus, you’ll get 100 My Nintendo Platinum Points if you download the demo before Bravely Default II launches.

Bravely Default II is out on February 26. You can read more about the title in our Bravely Default II preorder guide.

Netflix is developing a feature film and TV series based on Brian Jacques’ Redwall books.

According to Variety, the streaming giant recently inked a deal with Penguin Random House Children to secure the rights to the sprawling 22-book Redwall saga, which follows the fantastical adventures of the anthropomorphic animals living at Redwall Abbey. On the back of this deal, Netflix has already revealed plans to develop an animated feature and an event series from the franchise.

Check out Pierre Breton’s visual development art for the adaptation below:

The animated film is being penned by Patrick McHale, the writer of Guillermo del Toro’s forthcoming stop-motion Pinocchio, and will adapt the first book in Jacques’ series, titled Redwall, while the TV series will be based on the character of Martin the Warrior, the mouse co-founder of Redwall Abbey, who headlined the sixth Redwall novel.

“We couldn’t be more delighted to announce this deal,” said Ben Horslen, fiction publisher at Penguin Random House Children’s.”These perennially popular stories have been etched onto the hearts of millions of readers, and we are thrilled to partner with Netflix to bring those beloved characters on screen for families worldwide to enjoy.”

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The deal between Netflix and Penguin Random House Children marks the first time that film rights to the entire book series have been held by the same company, and it’s the first time that any of Jacques’ works have been adapted into a feature film, per Variety’s report. However, three of the books were previously adapted for television — that animated series ran for three seasons from 1999-2002.

Netflix’s Redwall adaptations join a slate of upcoming animated features on the streaming service, including Richard Linklater’s Apollo 10 ½: A Space Age Adventure, Chris Williams’ The Sea Beast, Nora Twomey’s My Father’s Dragon, Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, an Aardman sequel to Chicken Run, and an all-new animated Sonic the Hedgehog series, which is set to premiere worldwide in 2022.

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Adele Ankers is a Freelance Entertainment Journalist. You can reach her on Twitter.

Valheim has already surpassed one million sales in its first week on Steam Early Access. The PvE exploration and survival game is set in a procedurally generated purgatory inspired by Viking culture. Up to 10 players can populate a single server to raise mead halls and farms, forge weapons and armor, build and sail ships, and defeat primordial bosses of myth and legend.

Valheim has been an early hit right out of the gate, with a peak of 160,000 concurrent users and over 127,000 peak viewers on Twitch. Developer Iron Gate Studio says it’s hard at work addressing some of the issues players have reported since the game’s launch on February 2.

The studio also has plans for the next year of Early Access, though details are relatively sparse right now. Valheim’s roadmap promises four significant updates throughout 2021, along with some other bonuses “If Odin wills it.” The first, titled Hearth and Home, will presumably focus on home customisation and fortification, while Ships and the Sea will improve the game’s sailing. Cult of the Wolf is more mysterious, and the final update of the year will introduce a new biome.

While PC players are currently enjoying Valheim, Iron Gate Studio says a Mac version will be released if there’s enough demand. As for a console release, the studio says there are no plans at the moment, but it won’t rule out console versions in the future.

Valheim’s not the only game to prove incredibly popular on Steam recently. The service just broke its record for the most concurrent users, topping out at more than 26 million users logged in at one time.

Quick video proof using Xbox Series X Controller, Windows 10 PC & Xbox One X. Important: Learned through feedback this does not work to switch between Xbox & Xbox Wireless Adapter. Only Xbox & Bluetooth connection pic.twitter.com/6ROCXNMI6H

— Timo Wolf (@OmitFlow) February 8, 2021

If you’re looking for a fun game to play with friends or loved ones while social distancing, there’s a new freebie up for grabs on the PlayStation Store. We Were Here, the 2017 co-op puzzle game from Total Mayhem Games, is free to download until February 23 for PS5 and PS4.

We Were Here is a two-player online co-op game set inside an abandoned castle in Antarctica. You and your partner have been separated. One player is locked away in a small area in the castle, while the other player must work through the rooms in order to find them The end goal is to escape the castle, and in order to do this, you’ll have to communicate effectively through a walkie-talkie. Along the way, you’ll solve puzzles by working together. Essentially, it’s a giant escape room, with each player assuming a unique role.

We Were Here currently holds a “Very Positive” user rating on Steam. Due to the premise, you cannot play local co-op, and a PlayStation Plus subscription is required to play We Were Here.

Make sure to snag We Were Here before February 23, and if you like what you play, the next two entries in the series will be available to purchase on the PlayStation Store that day: We Were Here Too and We Were Here Together.

For more great co-op games to play with loved ones, make sure to check out our list of the best games for couples to play this Valentine’s Day.

This season of Fortnite continues to get even weirder, as Epic Games is following up some recent legendary characters with what appears to be a Tron skin. In a teaser video posted on the game’s Twitter account, what’s described sounds a whole lot like the classic Disney film.

In the latest “Reality Log” vid, we’re told that the next target is only available via an “incredibly old computer,” and then warns someone to not “wear out all your bikes.”

Just based on that alone, it’s clearly Tron being teased, and the line “make yourself comfortable” is also from the original film, and we’ve heard “fight for the user” before, as well. Further confirmation came when players discovered a new portal had opened up on the battle royale map.

As you can see in YouTube creator AKF_BIN’s video, if you look into this portal, you can clearly see the Tron cyber-world. Its blue hues are recognizable even to casual fans, but it’s a little odd for a crossover given that the franchise hasn’t exactly been that prominent recently. Jared Leto says he’s starring in a third movie, but Tron: Legacy released over a decade ago. It will be interesting to see how many of Fortnite’s younger players even know what Tron is.

Then again, the same thing can arguably be said for franchises like Terminator, which began in the ’80s and have seen much less success with more-recent releases. Epic Games certainly seems to know what it’s doing, though, so we won’t question these guest appearances.

Persona 5 Strikers launches February 23 on PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, and PC, and reviews have already gone live for Atlus’ action-focused sequel to Persona 5. Even though Strikers switches gameplay styles from its predecessor, most critics agree that the Phantom Thieves’ return is a triumphant one.

Set during the summer after the events of Persona 5, Strikers sees Joker and the gang set out on a cross-country road trip, and this latest adventure has resulted in mostly positive reviews from various outlets.

In GameSpot’s Persona 5 Strikers review, we scored the game 8/10. “For all its shortcomings, Persona 5 Strikers reminds me why I loved the Phantom Thieves to begin with and shows how they’ve matured since we last saw them,” critic Michael Higham wrote.

We’ve got several reviews listed below from other outlets, and you can also check out GameSpot sister-site Metacritic to read up on what other critics have to say.

• Game: Persona 5 Strikers
• Platforms: PC, PlayStation 4, Switch
• Developer: Omega Force, P-Studio
• Release date: February 23
• Price: $60 / £50 / $68 AUD

GameSpot – 8/10

Once you get your head around it, the action-RPG combat is a challenging thrill, and no one can pull off flourishes in the same fashion as these characters. I almost forgot I was playing a musou-style game developed by Koei Tecmo and Omega-Force, and I think that’s a testament to how sharp Strikers is as a Persona game. If you have any love for Persona 5, what say you save the world one more time with some old friends? — Michael Higham

IGN – 8/10

Its lack of Persona’s signature social and calendar systems are the only places its spin-off status becomes a bit of a letdown, but even replacing turn-based combat with real-time action doesn’t stop it from recapturing the feel of its predecessor overall. Its structure is far closer to action-JRPGs like Kingdom Hearts than the musou’s Omega Force is best known for, but the varied playstyles of each character and the story that pulls them along made the fairly simple act of hacking through shadows enjoyable to the very last surprise. — Tom Marks [Full review]

Game Informer 8.5/10

While not every disparate element comes together as well as it did in Persona 5, I was more than happy to go on another adventure with the characters I developed such bonds with back in 2017. The action may play out completely differently, but the heart of the series remains intact. — Brian Shea. [Full review]

Eurogamer – No score

There’s a whole lot of good here that easily balances out the bad if you’re already a fan of Persona 5, and I’m pretty sure that if P-Studio made approximately 5 more sequels we would eventually arrive at the perfect version of Persona 5. There’s just always so much of everything, from plot strands to enemies to fight and food to eat, that I had a great time while simultaneously feeling pretty exhausted by it all. Though that’s just videogames for you. — Malindy Hetfeld [Full review]

Dualshockers – 9/10

Persona 5 Strikers may look and feel a bit different from the original, but at its heart, it still revolves around the Phantom Thieves that we know and adore. As a love letter to a group of characters and setting that I quickly grew attached to, having the chance to jump back in and steal some hearts with Joker and the crew is entirely worth the return trip to Japan. For that, Persona 5 Strikers is a fitting reunion for players that are looking for one last surprise from everyone’s favorite Phantom Thieves, no matter where the road takes them next. — Ryan Meitzler [Full review]

Polygon – No score

Now when I look forward to Persona 6 or the next adventure of the Phantom Thieves, Strikers will remind me that the speed of the combat doesn’t matter, as long as there’s a new heart to steal. — Ryan Gilliam [Full review]