Category: Games

Digital Extremes’ popular free-to-play shooter Warframe is headed to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. The game will be playable on the new consoles, and Digital Extremes has now outlined some of the benefits that players will receive when playing on the new machines.

The game will run at up to 4K/60FPS on both consoles. Additionally, there will be “drastically” improved load times, while the game will look better too with dynamic lighting. “The light from the sun now casts long shadows through the trees, foliage creates dynamic shadows as you stalk through it, and the reflections of the dense Cetus market can be seen across your Warframe as you stroll through,” the developer said in a statement.

The studio also built a “game-wide texture remaster” that helps Warframe look more detailed and rich, while this has also created a reduction in download size.

Digital Extremes also confirmed that Warframe will offer cross-gen multiplayer, but details are limited right now. The studio confirmed that PS4 and PS5 users can play together and their progress will move between each platform. The Xbox situation is not as clear, as Digital Extremes said further announcements about cross-gen between Xbox One and Xbox Series X will be announced later.

On PS5, Warframe will use the console’s new Activities feature to allow players to get right into the Sanctuary Onslaught Challenge right from the menu. Additionally, the game makes use of the DualSense controller to make weapons feel more realistic.

“At launch using the PS5’s adaptive triggers, players will experience the impact of every shot fired with each trigger pull, bringing a new level of immersion and thrill to your actions without comprising the tight, fast, fluid, and responsive controls that you can only get in Warframe,” Digital Extremes said.

The studio added that it plans to make use of the DualSense’s haptic feedback in a future update. Some examples provided included having the controller rumble to make it feel like you’re walking on snow and in the dust.

Digital Extremes has also partnered with Sony for a special freebie. PS5 and PS4 owners can get the PlayStation Plus Booster Pack, which contains a PS5-themed Sedai Obsidian Syandana, boosters for experience and currency, along with allotments of credits and premium credits.

Control is getting upgraded for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, but players looking to revisit the title with an improved frame rate and ray tracing on consoles will need to wait longer. Developer Remedy Entertainment has announced that the game, expected during the next-gen launch period, will arrive in “early 2021”.

No exact date has been announced beyond this, with Remedy tweeting that more time is needed to ensure that the final release is as “awesome” as they want it to be. The Ultimate Edition contains the original game and both of its expansions, The Foundation and AWE.

This next-gen version is expected to be on par with the PC version. The game, which has been a showcase ray tracing title on PC, runs okay on base PS4/Xbox One systems–but there’s a clear room for improvement.

Control: Ultimate Edition is already available on Xbox One, PS4, and PC. The next-gen update has been controversial, because it will only be available as a free upgrade for players who bought the Ultimate Edition on PS4/Xbox One.

This means that players who bought the game and the DLC earlier will miss out, or need to buy the game again. This is particularly strange as some Xbox One players who own the base game and DLC were briefly given the Ultimate Edition.

Control recently came to Nintendo Switch via cloud gaming. This version received a 7/10 in GameSpot’s review.

The Medium–one of the very few launch-period Xbox Series X games not also coming to Xbox One–has been delayed. The game, which was due on December 10, will now arrive on January 28, 2021. It’ll be available on Xbox Series X/S and PC.

The game has been delayed “due to the COVID-19 situation in Poland, as well as the current schedule of other games on the market,” developer Bloober Team announced in a tweet. By “other games,” they likely mean Cyberpunk 2077, which is due December 10.

The game is a psychological horror game about Marianne, a medium who moves between the real world and the “spirit realm” at will, solving puzzles between the two using her psychic abilities.

This is not the first game to get out of Cyberpunk’s way–Path of Exile delayed an expansion, too. Everspace 2 has also moved into January from a December release date, citing Cyberpunk as the reason.

The Xbox Series X/S launch November 10, and The Medium is one of the system’s major “launch period” exclusives. The game was actually in the works for Xbox 360 many years ago.

The Medium will release through Xbox Game Pass when it arrives on systems next year. You can nab a bonus soundtrack and digital artbook if you preorder on Steam.

Bloodborne is one of the PS4’s most important games for many players, and there’s been a lot of speculation on how it might be improved on PS5, as many titles will be. We can now confirm that–at launch, at least–the title does not receive a significant framerate improvement. However, some other titles made by developer FromSoftware are in better shape.

Lance McDonald, a modder whose work with From Software games is quite prolific (see, for instance, his restoration of cut Sekiro content) has been testing From Software’s games on PS5, and has found that Bloodborne is, sadly, still locked to 30fps. “Bloodborne is still 30fps with bad frame pacing,” he confirms.

On the other hand, Sekiro and Dark Souls III both have improved framerates. McDonald has confirmed in a tweet that both games run at 60fps on the next-generation Sony system. Both of these games were released by FromSoftware after Bloodborne.

Dark Souls III and Sekiro were both locked to 30fps on a base PS4, and uncapped on PS4 Pro–but they did not hit 60fps. In our own experience, Sekiro also hits 60fps on Xbox Series X.

McDonald has previously made his own 60fps patch for the game–and it remains a possibility that the Sony-published game will still be patched in the future to take advantage of the new hardware.

One of the major PS5 launch titles in a remake of an older title in the From Software catalog. Demon’s Souls started the “Souls” series on PS3, and now it has been remade for the next-generation. It will be available alongside the PS5 on November 12.

Xbox Games Pass’ Twitter account is teasing some upcoming Star Wars-related news with an image of both The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda / The Child.

Xbox Game Pass Tweeted out, alongside the previously mentioned image, “All we’re gonna say is that we’re not posting The Mandalorian and The Child for no reason.”

What could it be hinting at? One possibility is that Disney+, where The Mandalorian exclusively streams, will be added as an Xbox Game Pass perk, or at the very least will include some introductory promotion.

This also could be something related to the news that Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order is sort of coming to Xbox Game Pass, as it is being added to EA Play on November 10, the same day EA Play is being added as a perk for Xbox Game Pass subscribers.

The Mandalorian most recently aired the second episode of its second season on Disney+, and in our review, we said “much like the Season 2 premiere, “The Passenger” balances some of its narrative shortcomings – most notably its standalone storyline and lack of momentum – with some satisfying character beats that give us further insight into Mando’s priorities.

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Whatever this news ends up being, it looks to add to the celebration of the launch of the Xbox Series X/S on November 10, 2020. You can check our Xbox Series X review and Xbox Series S review to hear our thoughts on Microsoft’s next-gen consoles.

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

Daemon X Machina released in September 2019 for Switch, and has now, in November 2020, released its first anniversary update. No judgement here–time has stopped making sense this year–but the good news here is that everyone who owns the game can access some free content.

Daemon X Machina is also available on PC, and both versions have received an update.

The first anniversary update, version 1.4.0 on Switch (1.0.2 on PC), comes with numerous cosmetic elements, and one bonus mission, which lets you battle Eclipse Q, a powerful enemy that will grant you a new blueprint for an Arsenal if you defeat it.

Here are all the freebies added in this update, via Nintendo Life:

• “Grossfeiern” Arsenal skin
• “Grandemon” Outer suit
• “Eclipse RT: Omega Destruction Strategy” Order – Battle against the strengthened Colossal Immortal “Eclipse Q.”
• Three Arsenal decals
• Three Preview backgrounds

Daemon X Machina earned a 7/10 in GameSpot’s review of the Switch version. “The missed potential of the story and minor issues with mech-vs-mech combat and multiplayer loadouts make Daemon X Machina fall just short of its potential, but the foundation is strong,” wrote reviewer Steve Watts. “As a total package, it’s on the verge of greatness; it just needed a little more time in the shop tinkering.”

Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a major PS5 launch game, but one feature will be missing when it releases alongside the system on November 12. Ned Waterhouse, a design director at developer Sumo Digital, has revealed in a post on PlayStation Blog that the game will launch with couch co-op, but you’ll have to wait to play it online with friends.

The game, which is coming to PS4 as well, will feature 2-4 player co-op throughout the entire campaign, as well as some co-op only levels. From day one, you’ll be able to play through these on a single system.

This update is promised “by end of 2020”, and it will also add cross-generation multiplayer between PS5 and PS4, as well as game save transfers that will let PS4 players carry on their games when or if they switch to PS5.

Online multiplayer has always been a major part of the LittleBigPlanet series, which Sackboy comes from. While this new game will not let players build their own levels as that series did, it has maintained the focus on co-op.

GameSpot has previously talked to Waterhouse about what the team is achieving in this new adventure, and you can read that interview here. If you want to pick the game up alongside your new PS5, check out GameSpot’s preorder guide.