Developer Round8 Studio and publisher NeoWiz have announced Lies of P, a Souls-like action-RPG that’s inspired by the story of Pinocchio. It doesn’t have a release date or window just yet, but it’ll be released on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC when it’s done.
The developers describe the gameplay as having “a unique ‘lie’ system where what you do and say as the main character dynamically affects gameplay.” NeoWiz offered a bit of insight on the announcement trailer (which you can watch at the top of this page), saying that it’s narrated by someone other than the protagonist (that’s all they’d hint at for now) and the events in the trailer serve as a prologue to the game’s story.
The development team is over 60 people so far and still hiring, with the intent of making a Souls-like that competes with any of the best games in the genre. You can see a bit more of Lies of P in the screenshots above. We’ll have much more on it as development progresses!
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Ryan McCaffrey is IGN’s Executive Editor of Previews. Follow him on Twitter at @DMC_Ryan, catch him on Unlocked, and drop-ship him Taylor Ham sandwiches from New Jersey whenever possible.
A cheaper, ad-supported version of HBO Max will launch in the first week of June for $10 a month, the company announced today.
“We plan to supercharge HBO Max’s growth this year with the launch of the ad-supported HBO Max,” WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar said during today’s Upfront.
The only major difference between the ad-supported tier and the regular tier ($15 a month) is access to day-of releases like Godzilla vs Kong. Those on the cheaper, ad-supported tier will not be able to watch Same-Day Premieres, as WarnerMedia refers to the simultaneous release. It’s unclear if customers on the ad-supported tier will be able to purchase them as part of a one-time purchase within the app.
WarnerMedia executives have touted the cheaper tier for months. After launching at $15 a month (on par with HBO’s cable subscription and earlier streaming services like HBO Now), executives acknowledged that it might be too expensive for many Americans. As HBO Max starts its global expansion, having a cheaper tier that is more inline price wise with Netflix or Disney+ plays to HBO Max’s advantage.
“The team feels really good about their momentum,” AT&T CEO John Stankey said during an earnings call in March. “We haven’t seen our best days.”
Up until today, details about what an ad-supported version of HBO Max looked like remained pretty unknown. We knew ads wouldn’t play before or during HBO originals, like The Nevers, Sex and the City, or The Sopranos, according to WarnerMedia CEO Jason Kilar. We also knew that ads would feel light, as Kilar also noted during an analyst day earlier this year.
But that’s it. We didn’t know what those ads would look like on television sets, mobile, or desktop. We didn’t know how often they’d play, or if they would be the same ad over and over again (a la Hulu).
Now, there’s a new world of uncertainty for HBO Max and WarnerMedia. Today’s news, alongside a flurry of other announcements made during WarnerMedia’s annual Upfront presentation to advertisers, comes just two days after AT&T announced it was spinning off WarnerMedia. The entertainment company is merging with Discovery (home of Guy Fieri and the Property Brothers) in a deal valued at $43 billion. The goal is to create a super entertainment company.
How this deal affects HBO Max overall is still unknown. It’s likely that we won’t know what HBO Max becomes for a little while longer. For now, however, people who wanted HBO Max but didn’t want to spend $15 a month can now get it for slightly cheaper — as long as they don’t mind dealing with ads.
We already knew that Oculus Air Link – a feature that allows you to wirelessly play PC VR Games on your Quest 2 headset – would support a 120Hz refresh rate at some point. What we didn’t know is that it would be getting a surprise release today.
The feature was first pointed out by a Reddit user, and then confirmed by UploadVR, who demonstrated that the feature was available following the Quest and Quest 2 v29 update.
Previously, if you wanted to play these games at this refresh rate, you needed to connect your VR headset through an Oculus Link cable or a third-party USB-C cable, but a wireless alternative was available through third-party virtual desktop software.
UploadVR tested out the feature, noting that the experience was “very smooth” while playing PC VR games, but adding that performance will vary depending on the strength of your internal network connection.
After the previous v28 update, Oculus’ newer Quest 2 VR headset could already run several native Quest games at 120Hz via Air Link, but the latest v29 update allows users with the gadget (who also happen to have a good gaming PC) to run all VR games that support 120hz to do so wirelessly.
The v29 software update also introduced additional features and functionality to the Quest line of VR headsets, including the new Live Overlay casting feature, allowing you to superimpose yourself over the content display from within your headset while also providing the ability to concurrently record gameplay and yourself.
[poilib element=”accentDivider”]
Taylor is the Associate Tech Editor at IGN. You can follow her on Twitter @TayNixster.
Darkhawk is a Marvel hero with a devoted fan following. Maybe it’s the snazzy armor, or maybe it’s the appeal of watching an ordinary teenager swap bodies with a powerful android. But while Darkhawk has only played a sporadic role in the Marvel Universe in recent years, that’s poised to change this summer. Marvel is kicking off a new Darkhawk limited series in August, and there’s a brand new hero at the helm.
The new Darkhawk series is written by Kyle Higgins (Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Radiant Black) and drawn by Juanan Ramirez (Web of Venom), with a new character design from Pepe Larraz (House of X) and covers by Iban Coello (Venom). Rather than focus on Chris Powell as past Darkhawk comics have, the series will see the mantle pass to a new character named Connor Young.
To get an idea of what this new series holds in store, first check out an exclusive preview of Darkhawk #1 and the redesigned Darkhawk armor in the slideshow gallery below. Then read on to learn more about the new Darkhawk and why the time has come to reinvent an iconic cosmic hero.
Chris Powell’s last hurrah as Darkhawk was recently chronicled in the pages of Darkhawk: Heart of the Hawk #1. Higgins and Ramirez laid the foundation for their new series in the final story in that issue. Chris has apparently died, sacrificing his life to stop a mysterious enemy from crossing through a breach point in space. All that remains of Darkhawk is Chris’ amulet, which now contains all the recorded memories of its previous owner. That amulet will return to Earth in search of a new owner worthy to wield the power of Darkhawk.
Fans may well be wondering – why kill off Chris Powell on the character’s 30th anniversary? Why is now the time for a new Darkhawk?
“I wouldn’t say the decision to introduce a new heir was so much about it being ‘time,’ so much as, it’s a direction that I was really intrigued by,” says Higgins. “The last six years, form Power Rangers to the Winter Soldier to Ultraman and now Radiant Black, I’ve really fallen in love with building contemporary superheroes, with origins for our times. This current generation. And so, thinking about a character like Darkhawk, who was always designed through contemporary Everyman lens, it made sense to think about what a teenager right now might be like. And then, taking things one step further, what a teenager who is destined for greatness and can’t wait to achieve it, so he can give back to his community… what it’s like when that path is seemingly shut down. For good. What do you do then? How do you reinvent yourself and find purpose? When the thing you were meant to do, you no longer can?”
Higgins is notable for combining elements of superhero comics and Japanese Tokusatsu in his work, particularly with recent projects like Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, The Rise of Ultraman and Radiant Black. Higgins teased that there are some Tokusatsu elements to be found in this new series, even if it’s a bit more on the traditional superhero end of the spectrum.
“There are some elements that are similar, aesthetically at least,” Higgins says. “A staple of the Tokusatsu genre is the transforming hero archetype —Super Sentai, Kamen Rider, Ultraman — and Darkhawk, with its body swap dynamic, certainly fits that mold. I also find that I really respond to the more soulful and spiritual components to a lot of Tokusatsu. And I think, when you have cosmic elements, those two can be a nice mix. So, we may touch on some of that in Darkhawk. Plus, different weapon manifestations, forms and tons of magenta energy. We’re going to have fun in New York City. Especially when a certain contemporary web head swings by…”
Art by Iban Coello. (Image Credit: Marvel)
Darkhawk: Who is Connor Young?
Darkhawk is an interesting study in contrasts – an ordinary teenager from Queens who becomes bonded to a sentient android from “Null Space.” In many ways, Darkhawk is as much an everyman hero as Spider-Man. And that won’t necessary change as the mantle passes from Chris Powell to Connor Young, even if the details of Connor’s life are quite a bit different.
“As we celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Darkhawk — and Chris Powell — my approach to the mantle and the book in general comes from the same place that some of my other recent superhero work comes from: building something new and contemporary, while staying respectful to what’s come before,” Higgins says. “And, to stay true to the spirit of the concept, pushing it in ways that take full advantage of its potential. Hopefully, when it comes to Darkhawk, we’ll be taking the body-swapping-with-an-android-but-still-controlling-it-with-your-consciousness-despite-not-being-genetically-compatible, in some pretty different new directions. And at the core of that, is Connor Young. And the sudden medical diagnosis that upends his entire life.”
When he’s introduced, Connor is a character who seemed to be on top of the world – a high school basketball star with the promise of a lucrative NBA career in his near future. Unfortunately, Connor’s plans are upended when he’s diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. Stumbling across a powerful alien amulet only further complicates his shattered life. Higgins makes it clear the new series aims to balance the everyday drama of Connor’s world with the cosmic trappings that come with the Darkhawk amulet, just as previous incarnations of the series have done.
“The Darkhawk technology, the android, its weapons, etc. all have a sci-fi cosmic touch. But first and foremost, Connor is going to be focused on what he knows and cares about: Earth. New York. Woodlawn Heights. His dad and his friends. And now, also, navigating this life-changing diagnosis,” Higgins says. “But, that’s where the cosmic and the grounded start to come together: the way the Darkhawk technology work, a user doesn’t actually transform into Darkhawk. What happens, is that they instantly transport and swap places with an Android, which the user — in the case of humans because of their biology and incompatibilities with the technology — still controls with their consciousness.”
Darkhawk character designs by Pepe Larraz. (Image Credit: Marvel)
Higgins adds, “So what happens when that user has a neurodegenerative condition? How does it affect his abilities? His ability to sync with the android? Are there enhancements? Detriments? What does it mean for his multiple sclerosis? All of that is at the root of this new Darkhawk.”
Darkhawk’s distinctive appearance has certainly played some role in the character’s success. He debuted in 1991, a time when the comics industry was obsessed with flashy, muscular, heavily armored heroes. Between Larraz’s redesigned Darkhawk armor and Ramirez’s interior art, Higgins is adamant the new series will live up to the standard set by the original ’90s comics.
“The Darkhawk design is bold and striking. There’s a reason why the character has really lasted over the last 30 years, despite appearing infrequently. And I think a big part of it is how memorable his look is. In my opinion, the look of a new superhero is 90% of the battle to creating a character that has the potential to stand the test of time. To become potentially iconic, they have to look iconic. Darkhawk is that for me. So, in approaching the modernization of the Android armor, Pepe Larraz was kind of enough to grace us with his immense design talents. The results speak for themselves — they’re so ridiculously cool. Juanan, I’ve known for some time, and have worked on a few small projects together that never quite came to fruition (yet). So, when Marvel included him as an option for Darkhawk, I was really excited by the prospect of building this with him. It’s been so much fun.”
Darkhawk #1 will launch in August 2021, and the series will span five issues in total.
A Batgirl movie is in the works for HBO Max, The Hollywood Reporter says, and it will be directed by the duo behind last year’s breakout hit, Bad Boys For Life, Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah.
This particular movie has been in and out of development for several years, dating back to 2017 when it was initially announced that Joss Whedon was in talks to write and direct on the project as part of the DCEU. However, in 2018 he departed. In 2018, Bumblebee and Birds of Prey’s Christina Hodson was brought on to write the script. Since then, the project has been actively shopping for directors, which it has now found in Al Arbi and Fallah, who are coming off of another superhero franchise as the showrunners and directors on Disney+’s MCU TV show, Ms. Marvel.
Though the Batgirl mantle has been held by multiple characters in DC history, the film will reportedly center on Barbara Gordon, the second person who claimed the codename after her debut in the live-action Batman ’66 TV show where she was played by Yvonne Craig. Since her TV debut, Barbara made the jump to the comics where she acted as Batgirl until she was infamously shot and paralyzed by the Joker, which lead to her creating a new superhero identity for herself: tech genius and Batfamily cornerstone Oracle.
However, following the universe-wide continuity reboot of the New 52, Barbara’s history was given a slight revamp and her paralysis was reversed by experimental surgery, allowing her to reclaim the Batgirl mantle.
The movie will be produced by Kirstin Burr (Cruella), who says “With Batgirl, we hope to take the audience on a fun ride and see a different side of Gotham. Christina’s script is crackling with spirit. Adil and Bilall have an excited and joyous energy which is infectious, making them the perfect filmmakers for this Batproject.”
Currently, Batgirl has no announced release date. It will reportedly head straight for HBO Max.
Gears 5’s latest update is out, and it adds in a number of usability, accessibility, and multiplayer changes. In addition to now allowing players to disable camera shake and turn on more clear path signaling, the update also overhauls the way that competitive leaderboards work.
In Gears 5’s Operation 7 patch notes for this week, developer The Coalition revealed that it’s adding a number of welcome accessibility options. These include allowing players to turn off the shaky camera effect and turn on the Target Lock feature on difficulties up to Advanced. In addition, the studio’s added a brand-new feature that it calls Navigation Ping – Escape Mode. This essentially adds additional options for adding UI elements to reveal the main path through the game.
Click To Unmute
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
For example, you can turn on “Full Path Always” which will add a permanent ping to direct you to the right path; or you can enable “Doorways Always” which constantly pings main exits to each area of the map. If that’s too much, there are variations on those two options where they’re only enabled when Taccom is active.
Another significant change added in this update is a complete overhaul of multiplayer ranking. The previous Ranked mode has been replaced by Competitive mode, which no longer uses ranked tiers. Rather, the leaderboard system is now based on points, with everyone starting from scratch this week. Extra points are awarded for the following situations:
Winning a match
Winning a round
If you complete a match and your team has had players quit
If you play solo (not in a party)
If you are the top player on your team
Many more changes are implemented in this update, including tweaks to Horde mode, weapons, and the economy. You can see the full Gears 5 Operation 7 patch notes below. In other Gears 5 news, Operation 7 also added new characters and forced cross-play to be enabled across console and PC players.
Gears 5 Operation 7 Patch Notes
General
Players will now receive Gear Coins when earning unusable duplicate Skill Cards.
Unusable Skill Cards earned prior to this title update will be retroactively exchanged for coins up to a limit of 100,000 Gear Coins
Common–5 Coins
Rare–30 Coins
Epic–100 Coins
Legendary–400 Coins
For each level 6 skill card earned after this update, you’ll earn the following Gear Coins for each rarity
Common–5 Coins
Rare–30 Coins
Epic–100 Coins
Legendary–400 Coins
Prescott now plays audio when retro charging and chainsawing enemies.
An issue that resulted in the size of Civilian Anya’s hands being enlarged has now been addressed.
Captain Hoffman should once again no longer have Marcus’ voice lines.
Harbour: A particular piece of cover should no longer allow Grenades to clip through it.
Tomb: A Level of Detail pop on some sandbags near the COG side has now been addressed.
High Tea: The Gnasher/Boltok weapon tile will now match the weapon preview.
The Simple Omen will no longer go away before a player is completely healed.
Adjusted the gib range slightly to compensate for the changes made to gib calculation in Operation 6.
A rare instance in which the Torque Bow arrow would attach outside the player.
The option to disable cross-play has now been removed.
Known Issue: The icon to distinguish if a player is playing Gears 5 on PC has now been removed. This will be re-added to lobbies as soon as possible!
The classes section in Customization will now correctly tell you the number of classes you have maxed out.
Field of View options have now been added to all Xbox One consoles.
The stats menu has been updated and will now automatically show your stats for currently active playlists in Gears 5, this has additionally fixed issues where certain modes wouldn’t appear in the stats menu at all.
Competitive mode uses a points-based leaderboard system and will no longer use the rank tier system. Everyone will start from scratch.
In particular scenarios extra points are given when the following occurs in your match
Winning a match
Winning a round
If you complete a match and your team has had players quit
If you play solo (not in a party)
If you are the top player on your team
A seasonal leaderboard and all-time leaderboard can be viewed to view your progress through each mode.
Each player’s stats can be individually viewed for that respective mode.
Passing certain point thresholds on the seasonal leaderboard also grants rewards
100,000 points = Mark, XP, and coins.
500,000 points = Mark, XP, and coins.
1,000,000 points = Banner (different for each mode, XP, and coins.
The top 1,000 players in each playlist at the end of a season receive a unique Heroic reward.
TDM: You can now queue up as a party of 4 in Competitive TDM
Situations that allowed players to “wrap” their shots around cover have been addressed, the wrap shot technique is now much more difficult to perform as a result.
In some instances, users were able to aim around cover without physically leaning around the cover piece, this has now been fixed.
Removed an animation that exposed players in low cover when holding the left thumbstick.
Additionally, fixed numerous covers that allowed shots to pass over them.
TDM: If a user joins near the end of a match the game will now consistently finish.
Players are now able to earn progression in private Versus matches.
This includes Multiplayer XP, Stars for time played, Daily and Tour of Duty Objectives, and Ribbons.
Players are now able to enable a selection of Mutators in Custom matches
Headshot explosion (both AOE damage and Confetti options)
Health Regeneration (on damage, only in cover, only in cover + damage)
Low Grav Death (gibs of dead players float)
Voiced gun sounds
Screen effects (20 options)
The following weapons as available swaps in Custom Versus:
Pipe
Snowshot
Cluckshot
Cupid’s Torquebow
Golden Gun
A unique esports variant of Control has been added to the custom match selector
DBNO damage mitigation has been enabled.
Weapon respawns now work based on pickup not on use.
Reduced ammo in power weapon pickups (based on the table below)
Weapon spawn times adjusted (based on the table below)
Players can now suicide while DBNO
The initial starting hill for each map will now always be the same.
Ring orders for each map are now static.
Weapon
Initial Ammo
Time to Respawn
Longshot/EMBAR
6
120
Torque Bow
4
120
Boomshot/Dropshot
2
120
Boltok
18
90
Retro Lancer
80
90
Frags/Incends
2
120
Shocks
1
90
Horde
Added Lambent Drone, Lambent Grenadier and Lambent Theron to Horde and Horde Frenzy.
Fixed an issue where Lambent death explosion did not deal damage to players or enemies.
Fixed an issue where Lambent units would frequently spawn too close to Locust or Swarm units.
Wardens that spawn in the context of being a mini boss will now display the boss locator and health bar.
Reduced base health of Wardens spawning outside of boss wave to 10,000HP from 15,000HP.
Rebalanced boss combinations in Horde Frenzy to avoid combining bosses that rapidly invalidate low cover positions (Kestrel, Sentinel, Swarmak, Flock, Predator)
Matchmaking into Horde Frenzy will no longer frequently place players in Daily Challenge lobbies.
Added the Flashbang Grenade to the Fabricator.
Users can no longer stall the time between transitioning waves by pausing their game.
Horde Classic can now be selected in custom matches as a mode. Horde Classic is similar to Gears of War 2 Horde, there will be no cards and fabricator.
You can select to play this mode with either 12 or 50 waves.
Escape
Fixed an issue on Forever where occasionally certain enemies would fail to spawn.
Fixed an issue on The Blight, The Clock, and The Trap where custom door functionality was not working correctly.
An issue that resulted in significantly increased loading times in the safe room has now been addressed.
Brawler
Scorcher Master will now work correctly.
Soothing Warmth card will now correctly regenerate your health when near a burning enemy.
Pilot
The Silverback Scorcher card will now work correctly.
Tactician
The duration of the Tactician’s ultimate has been reduced by 50% in Horde.
Demolitions
Fixed an issue where Demolition’s “Gambit” Skill Card was not allowing the correct number of planted grenades.
Mechanic
Changed Ultimate ability from “Reinforce” to “Turret”.
Changed the Skill Card “Bloody Shrapnel” to “Shredder Rounds”. This Skill Card now causes bleeding damage for any player using the Mechanic’s mounted turret.
Combat Medic
Intervention will now revive multiple downed players simultaneously.
Protector
Changed Passive from “Every 6th Headshot Drops Pilfer” to “Heal for 50% of bleeding damage dealt and resist 30% melee damage”
Lowered regeneration delay of Protector’s “Regenerative Field” Skill Card to 4.25s for all levels of the card.
Increased stim gained per second on Protector’s “Regenerative Field” Skill Card from 2 Stim per second to 12 Stim per second (Level 6).
Increased additional damage of Protector’s “Gnasher M45 Mod” Skill Card from 30% to 60% (Level 6).
Increased bleeding damage of Protector’s “Bloody Blade” Skill Card from 110% to 130% (Level 6).
Increased the multiplier of Protector’s “Drop Shield Duration” Skill Card from +60% to +100% (Level 6).
Increased the range of Protector’s “Close Range Recharge” Skill Card from 3m to 5m.
Increased the base duration of Drop Shield from 10s to 15.
Decreased the cooldown of Drop Shield from 300s to 200s.
Changed “Critical Damage” Perk to “Damage” Perk.
Changed “Increased Health” Perk to “Damage Resistance” Perk.
Changed “Ammo Capacity” Perk to “Increased Movement Speed” Perk.
Architect
Decreased the cooldown of Hologram from 300s to 150s.
Increased the base duration of Hologram from 5s to 7s.
Lowered regeneration delay of Architect’s “Regenerative Field” Skill Card to 4.25s for all levels of the card.
Increased stim gained per second on Architect’s “Regenerative Field” Skill Card from 2 Stim per second to 12 Stim per second (Level 6).
Changed the behavior of Architect’s “Hologram Extend” Skill Card from “Snub damage from behind extends ultimate” to “Ballistic damage extends ultimate”.
Changed the behavior of Architect’s “Custom Snub” Skill Card from “Deal 60% extra damage with the Snub” to “Deal 200% extra ballistic damage from the side or behind” (Level 6).
Renamed “Custom Snub” to “Deception”.
Slugger
Changed the behavior of Slugger’s “Heavy Preparations” Skill Card from “115% additional heavy ammo capacity” to “Plant 6 additional grenade traps simultaneously” (Level 6).
Renamed “Heavy Preparations” to “Lethal Preparations”.
Increased the amount of grenade damage on Slugger’s “Modified Frag” Skill Card from 130% to 200% (Level 6).
Update the description of Slugger’s “Modified Frag” Skill Card to accurately state the increased explosive radius per level.
Renamed “Modified Frag” to “Grenade Proficiency”.
Changed the behavior of Slugger’s “Stopping Power” Skill Card from “230% increased stopping power” to “Ballistic rounds penetrate unlimited targets and deal 60% additional damage” (Level 6).
Renamed “Stopping Power” to “Power Shot”
Changed the behavior of Slugger’s “Tough Skin” Skill Card from “Resist 32% melee damage” to “Resist 32% damage within 15 meters”.
Changed the behavior of Sluggers “Follow Up” Skill Card from “Successive shotgun hits recharge ultimate for 8.5s” to “Active shotgun hits within 10m stun drones for 3s” (Level 6).
Renamed “Follow Up” to “Impact Receiver”.
Changed Passive from “Damage taken recharges ultimate” to “Resist 50% explosive damage”.
Changed “Shotgun Damage” Perk to “Damage” Perk.
Changed “Max Health” Perk to “Damage Resistance” Perk.
Changed “Increased Movement Speed” Perk to “Grenade Resupply” Perk.
Decreased cooldown of Heavy Hitter from 300s to 200s.
Swapped loadout slots so that the Gnasher is on the right.
Striker
Decreased cooldown of Enhanced Melee from 300s to 200s.
Increased the bleeding damage of Striker’s “Bloody Breaker” Skill Card from 55% to 130% (Level 6).
Increased the damage of Striker’s “First Strike” Skill Card from 35% to 100% (Level 6).
Increased the amount of stim gained from Striker’s “Stim Siphon” Skill Card from 23HP to 120HP (Level 6).
Changed the behavior of Striker’s “Team Up” Skill Card from “Resist 32% damage near Slugger class” to “Resist 50% melee damage” (Level 6).
Renamed “Team Up” to “Melee Armor”.
Changed Passive from “Damage taken recharges ultimate” to “When hit, move 50% faster for 4s”
Changed the behavior of Striker’s “Melee Rush” Skill Card from “Close range damage increases passive by 210%” to “Melee or bleed kills reduce ultimate cooldown by 35s” (Level 6).
Changed “Max Health” perk to “Damage Resistance” perk.
Changed “Movement Speed” perk to “Damage” perk.
Swapped loadout slots so that the Overkill is on the right.
Tour of Duty–Daily Challenges
Arcade daily challenges have been removed
The challenge for “Assists in a single versus match” has been removed.
The challenge for “Assists in versus” has been removed.
Damage dealt challenge changes:
1 star: Increased from 15,000 to 25,000
2 star: Increased from 35,000 to 50,000
3 star: Increased from 70,000 to 75,000
Damage in Horde or Escape challenge changes:
1 star: Increased from 25,000 to 100,000
2 star: Increased from 50,000 to 200,000
3 star: Increased from 70,000 to 300,000
Damage in Versus challenge changes:
1 star: Decreased from 15,000 to 10,000
2 star: Decreased from 37,500 to 20,000
3 star: Decreased from 70,000 to 30,000
Drone Elites challenge changes:
1 star: Decreased from 7 to 5
2 star: Decreased from 15 to 10
Power in Horde challenge changes:
1 star: Increased from 10,000 to 15,000
2 star: Increased from 22,500 to 30,000
3 star: Increased from 35,000 to 40,000
Accessibility
Users can now disable camera shake in PvE going up to Advanced difficulty.
Users can now use the Target Lock feature in PvE going up to Advanced difficulty.
A new feature Navigation Ping–Escape Mode, has been added, when enabled the following changes are enabled:
This feature provides four options
Full Path Always (breadcrumb-style ping that constantly pings you to the right path),
Doorways Always (pinging on the main exit to each area of the map constantly)
Full Path on Taccom (breadcrumb-style pings that only ping when Taccom is active).
Doorways on Taccom (pinging on the main exit to each area of the map when Taccom is active).
There are unique pings when you need to interact with something or move over cover
Each ping is accompanied by a high contrast visual cue
The Batgirl movie will now be directed by the team of Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah, the duo that helmed 2020’s Bad Boys for Life.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, El Arbi and Fallah will direct the Batgirl film starring Barbara Gordon. The movie is planned as an HBO Max project, though it’s unclear if this means the film will forgo a theatrical run.
Bumblebee writer Christina Hodson, who also has screenwriting credits on Birds of Prey and The Flash, will write the script.
El Arbi and Fallah are best known as the duo behind last year’s Bad Boys For Life which grossed over $425 million worldwide. The team also directed episodes for the FX series Snowfall and are directors and executive producers on the upcoming Ms. Marvel show for Disney Plus. The two are also attached to direct Beverly Hills Cop 4
Nintendo Switch Online’s SNES and NES libraries are growing a little bigger next week with the arrival of five more games. As usual, however, this month’s batch largely consists of obscurities, with the biggest addition (outside of Japan, at least) being Nick Arcade staple Joe & Mac. The new titles are likely solid, as all the games Nintendo has added to the service thus far have generally been, but this unexciting selection highlights what has been an ongoing problem: Switch Online’s classic games libraries will never feel complete without major third-party releases.
While most of Nintendo’s own SNES and NES titles are already available on the service (with a few notable holdouts), Switch Online is still sorely lacking many third-party games that helped define those classic consoles. The NES would not have been as beloved as it was without, say, Castlevania or Mega Man, and the SNES had an incredible selection of RPGs like Chrono Trigger or Secret of Mana. These games are among the best on their respective systems, but none of them are available on Switch Online yet, which is disappointing.
There are undoubtedly hurdles to these games coming to the service. Secret of Mana, Castlevania, and Mega Man, for example, are all available on the Switch already as part of their own collections, which makes it unlikely that we’ll see them added to Switch Online. After all, what incentive would Square Enix, Konami, and Capcom have to give these games away to NSO subscribers when they could sell the titles and profit directly? But even if you’re content being able to purchase these games on Switch, there are still some classics–such as the original Metal Gear and the NES/SNES Final Fantasy games–that aren’t playable on the system in any form.
Click To Unmute
Nintendo Switch Online – NES Library Overview Trailer
Size:
Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?
Even some of Nintendo’s own SNES and NES games are still absent from the service. EarthBound and its NES predecessor, EarthBound Beginnings (which went unreleased in the West until Nintendo put it out on the Wii U in 2015) have yet to be added, and the same holds true for the beloved Super Mario RPG. Given how deliberately Nintendo metes out its classic game releases, there’s a good chance that these titles will be added sometime in the future; after all, the company only recently added the Donkey Kong Country trilogy, more than a year after NSO’s SNES library first launched. Even so, their absence does the service no favors.
That’s not to bemoan the deep cuts that we do get on Switch Online. It’s fun to see Nintendo unearth obscure titles that even an old fogey like me has never heard of, and some–like Vice: Project Doom–are now among my favorites. Still, these are no replacement for the likes of Final Fantasy or Castlevania, and they don’t drum up nearly the same level of excitement or interest among fans.
If classic games from other platforms like Game Boy and the Nintendo 64 were available on the Switch, these omissions wouldn’t feel nearly as glaring, but that is not the case. While Wii, Wii U, and even 3DS featured a robust selection of legacy games from older Nintendo consoles under their Virtual Console banner, the only classic Nintendo titles on Switch (outside of some Arcade Archives releases) are available exclusively through Switch Online’s SNES and NES libraries. We’re more than four years into the Switch’s life, and the only N64 game Nintendo has released on the system thus far has been Super Mario 64, and only as part of a limited-time compilation that is no longer for sale.
There is always the possibility we could see these big third-party SNES and NES games added to Switch Online sometime in the future. Castlevania, Mega Man 2, and Final Fantasy were all included in the NES Classic, while Chrono Trigger, Secret of Mana, and Final Fantasy VI were available on the SNES Classic, so there’s a chance Nintendo will work out some kind of arrangement to add them to the Switch service. As it currently stands, however, NSO’s SNES and NES libraries are primarily buoyed by first-party games, with a smattering of third-party releases and obscure gems–and unless that changes, the service will continue to feel like a missed opportunity.
Writer Cullen Bunn is one of the most prolific comic book creators around, especially when it comes to horror comics like Harrow County, Manor Black and Parasomnia. But Bunn’s latest horror project, Lucky Devil, veers pretty far off the beaten path. This new four-issue series is as much a comedy as it is a story of demonic possession, and it all starts with an exorcism gone wrong.
Lucky Devil teams Bunn with artist Fran Galán (Goya, The Sublime Terrible) and letterer El Torres. You can get an early taste of what the series holds in store by checking out an exclusive preview below:
Lucky Devil revolves around a downtrodden everyman named Stanley. Becoming possessed by a powerful demon is just the latest in a long series of misfortunes. But when the demon is banished from his body, Stanley finds he’s retailed all that unholy strength and power. Stanley immediately sets out to punish everyone who’s wronged him over the years, which leads to him becoming a messianic figure with an entire cult of worshipers. Unfortunately, the demons of Hell are none too thrilled about Stanley stealing the spotlight.
“Lucky Devil is a horror-comedy. There’s some real darkness in these pages, but there’s humor, too,” says Bunn in Dark Horse’s press release. “Stanley isn’t the type of guy you’d expect to see leading a mass movement to a new infernal religion, but he’s gathering followers who shout, ‘Hail, Stanley!'”
Bunn continues, “But he’s plagued by the demon lord who lost his gifts to Stanley, and he’s haunted by secrets he can never let slip free. He’s struggling to keep his relationship with his new girlfriend from falling apart, which can be tough when an exorcist shows up telling you he botched the ritual that set you free. And he’s got troubles ahead, because the devils that rule Hell don’t like the idea of a mortal wielding all that power. And they have demonic assassins on the case.”
My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero, an open-world action-RPG based on the anime and manga of the same name, is out now on Android and iOS. Though it’s free, The Strongest Hero does contain in-app purchases.
The Strongest Hero lets players control various My Hero Academia characters, including All Might and Izuku “Deku” Midoriya, to stroll through and battle in the city of Honei. Heroes are collected like trading cards and can be powered up through training and upgrades to make them more powerful on the battlefield.
Once collected, players can take their characters into fights as squads to defeat a plethora of My Hero Academia villains such as Nomu and Shigaraki. Players can also battle against each other in PvP or against the Allied Assault in co-op mode. On top of the single- and multiplayer features, The Strongest Hero will receive new content every month, including more playable characters.
A collaboration between Funimation and Sony Pictures Television Games, My Hero Academia: The Strongest Hero was revealed in April. An open-world action-RPG with said to feature some unique story, the game is available on Android devices via the Google Play store and iPad and iPhone via the Apple App store. The Strongest Hero was originally released in Asia back in December 2020.
Do you think Deku will break his fingers in The Strongest Hero?
Gallery
My Hero Academia is in the middle of its fifth season, which kicked off back in March. The new season, available on both Crunchyroll and Funimation, further explores the mentor-mentee relationship between All Might and Deku while the League of Villains ruminates in the background.
