Psychonauts 2 to Feature an Invincibility Toggle as ‘All People Should Be Able to Enjoy Games’

Double Fine has revealed that Psychonauts 2 will feature an invincibility toggle as it believes that “all people should be able to enjoy games.”

Double Fine shared this bit of news on Twitter in response to Xbox’s Twitter saying that “beating the game on the lowest difficulty is still beating the game.”

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“If you beat Psychonauts 2 with the invincibility toggle on, you still beat P2.” Double Fine wrote. “All people should be able to enjoy games. All ages, all possible needs. It’s an ongoing and important process for our industry and a challenge we need to met [sic]. End of the day? We want you to have fun, to laugh, to experience a story that affects you. On whatever terms you want.”

The studio also shared a satirical quote that pokes fun at those online who try to gatekeep games and say not everyone should play a game.

“‘uh, excuse me I beat Sword Guy Serious Time on a no hit hard mode and if didn’t do that I don’t respect you. and like, can you even comment on things if you’re not diamond six rank in shooty mcBlam? I don’t think so,'” The quote reads.

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In response to the fake quote, and to emphasize the point, Double Fine added, “cool bud. you’re soooo cool!”

This debate on game difficulty has been an ongoing one for years now, but the truth of the matter is that difficulty is relative to individual players in so many ways. By adding an invincibility toggle to Psychonauts 2, this in no way impacts the player who wants to play on the hardest difficulty. It only allows more players to enjoy a game that just may become their next favorite of all time.

Psychonauts 2 and its invincibility toggle will be released on August 25, 2021, on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, and PS5 via backwards compatibility. Oh, and it will be available on Xbox Game Pass on day 1.

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

The White Lotus Miniseries Premiere Review – “Arrivals”

The White Lotus premieres Sunday, July 11 at 9pm ET/CT on HBO.

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Mike White, the writer/actor behind School of Rock and HBO’s smart-but-small Enlightened, is back with a new satirical look at privilege and dysfunction in The White Lotus. This series is a deeply unsettling but quietly hilarious look at wealthy guests attempting to unwind, as a posh Hawaiian resort (the titular White Lotus) and the staff whose job it is to pamper them and treat them like “special chosen baby” children.

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In a wise bit of mentoring by White Lotus manager Armond (Murray Bartlett) to a first-day trainee played by Jolene Purdy, he explains that guests of the White Lotus are inclined to make a fuss about things to feel seen. Complaints are rarely about the money and more about feeling important and acknowledged. Immediately, this likens the main characters we follow — played by the likes of Connie Britton, Steve Zahn, Jennifer Coolidge, and Jake Lacy — to infants, and in turn allows the viewer to watch them through an entirely different, and funnier, lens. This character-building approach helps because these are all sublimely frustrating and unnerving characters to behold.

The more we watch how Armond caters to them, while also manipulating them and playing off their insecurities and peculiarities, the more The White Lotus can blossom into something more than just a parade of mostly awful people. Kind of like how HBO’s Succession can transcend beyond the fact that it’s showcasing fundamentally rotten people and transcend into a new form of engrossing hilarity. Also, Armond still has to frantically put out fires in a fun Basil Fawlty manner, so there’s farce thrown in to liven up some of the dryer, more cynical humor involving fundamentally miserable folks with untreated and unaddressed emotional issues.

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In “Arrival,” the premiere episode of this six-episode limited series, we meet the central players while also finding ourselves within “TV-trope of the past few decades,” the in media res opening, in which the story kicks off one week after the events of the series, revealing that someone has died during their stay at the White Lotus. Someone perhaps connected to Jake Lacy’s “his family’s rich” Shane, with the top suspect being Shane’s new bride Rachel, played by Alexandra Daddario. As we meet them both minutes later, diving into the main story, we learn that the two don’t know each other very well despite having just gotten married. Though she ostensibly married him for his money, she’s kind, while he is a profoundly bitter and disquieted soul who exemplifies the aforementioned need to feel important.

It feels clunky to embed this tale with, almost, a murder mystery narrative, but it’s also as if Mike White realized that to get viewers to sit with a selection of needy and empty rich people the story required one of them to die. And for us to know this from the start. Most every trial, or issue, that befalls these guests is, at the root of it about something else. Whether it’s Shane complaining about his room or Steve Zahn’s Mark frantically waiting to hear important medical test results from the mainland — or even Steve’s wife, Nicole (Connie Britton), not seeming too concerned about said test — the actual problem facing these folks is exacerbated by some other underlying unhappiness in their life.

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Jennifer Coolidge’s Tanya, for example, who freely admits to becoming toxically attached to people, starts to become unhealthily fixated on spa manager Belinda (Natasha Rothwell) after receiving a completely impromptu and half-hearted scalp massage from her. What was just part of a job for Belinda, in which she had to improvise as someone in the hospitality field, is seen as a direct and special connection by Tanya, who has no social or spatial awareness whatsoever. A resort like The White Lotus is designed to make people feel like they’re the center of the universe, which is ultimately the only sensation ultra-wealthy people can chase. When you can buy anything, all that’s left is reshaping your own reality to the best of your ability. It makes for some truly awkward, but also rewarding, comedy.

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FIFA 22 Release Date, Cover Star, and Gameplay Trailer Revealed

EA has officially announced that FIFA 22 will be released on October 1, 2021, and that Paris Saint-Germain’s striker Kylian Mbappé will be its cover star.

The release date and cover star news was accompanied by a gameplay video that highlighted FIFA 22’s new HyperMotion Technology. This tech combines “Advanced 11v11 Match Capture and proprietary machine learning technology to deliver the most realistic, fluid and responsive football experience for next-gen consoles and Stadia, unlocking the raw emotion, passion and physicality of the world’s game.”

HyperMotion tech enabled the “22 professional footballers playing at high intensity.” This, in addition to EA’s proprietary machine learning algorithms, allows for the game to create “new animations in real-time to create organic football movement across a variety of interactions on the pitch.”

FIFA 22 will also feature many of the fan-favorite returning modes like Career Mode, VOLTA FOOTBALL, Pro Clubs, and FIFA Ultimate Teams. A big focus of this year was also placed on a “complete goalkeeper system rebuild, an all-new Create a Club experience in Career Mode, reimagined gameplay in VOLTA FOOTBALL, and the introduction of FIFA Ultimate Team Heroes, completely new items that represent the stories and glory of cult players and fan favorites.”

The game will include over 17,000 players across over 700 teams in more than 90 stadiums and 30 leagues. FIFA 22 will also include such competitions as the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, brand new UEFA Europa Conference League, Premier League, Bundesliga, LaLiga Santander, CONMEBOL Libertadores and CONMEBOL Sudamericana.”

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Fans who pre-order FIFA 22 Ultimate Edition by August 11 will receive an untradeable FUT Heroes player item from December 1. This edition will also include up to four days Early Access, Dual Entitlement, FIFA points, and more.

FIFA 22 will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PC via Origin and Steam, and Google Stadia. FIFA 22 Legacy Edition will be released for Nintendo Switch owners.

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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.

Summer Games Done Quick 2021 Online Raises $2.8 Million for Doctors Without Borders

Summer Games Done Quick 2021 Online, the video game speedrunning marathon that raises money for charity, has just raised over $2.8 million for Doctors Without Borders.

SGDQ ended its week-long 24-hour charity stream earlier today, July 11, and it was highlighted by such incredible runs like “Plexa’s run of Golden Sun: The Lost Age, teddyras’s run of Gone Golfing, JCog’s cartridge-swapping run of Paper Mario, havrd’s perfect-score GeoGuessr run, and ZooKetra’s Nintendogs run, which was spoiled by the antics of a hilariously disobedient labrador retriever.”

The team also shared dates for its upcoming events, including the all-women speedrunning event Flame Fatales from August 15-21 and Awesome Games Done Quick 2022 from January 9-16, 2022.

According to SGDQ’s official donation tracker, there were 153 runs, 218 prizes given out, 82 bids to participate in, 22,621 donors, and 40,329 donations.

While still dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, Summer Games Done Quick 2021 Online was an improvement over SGDQ 2020’s still incredibly impressive $2.3 million.

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You can rewatch all the speedruns on Games Done Quick’s YouTube channel, and learn more about donating and getting involved at their website.

For more speedrunning goodness, also be sure to check out our Devs React to Speedrun series for games like the original Star Fox, Mass Effect, Fallout: New Vegas, Hades, and more.

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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.

A Sealed Copy of Super Mario 64 Sells for $1.5 Million, Becomes Most Valuable Game Collectible Ever

A sealed copy of Super Mario 64 has just sold for $1.56 million at auction, making it the most valuable game collectible of all time.

This copy was sold on Heritage Auctions, and it broke the record of $870K set by a copy of NES’ The Legend of Zelda just a couple of days ago on July 9. While that particular copy of The Legend of Zelda had a rating of Wata 9.0 A, the copy of Super Mario 64 had a rating of Wata 9.8 A++.

According to Wata, a “Wata certification reveals the true value of your treasured video game. It eliminates uncertainty, measures the game’s condition against an absolute scale, and gives buyers and sellers complete confidence in their transaction.”

A rating of 9.8 A++ means that it is in Like New Condition and, besides scoring a 10.0, is the best score a game can hope to get.

“Well — we’re a bit speechless on this one,” Heritage Auctions’ description reads. “What can we even say that would do this copy the justice it deserves? The cultural significance of this title and its importance to the history of video games is paramount, and the condition of this copy is just so breathtaking that we’re really at a loss here. If you have had your heart set on obtaining the highest graded copy of the single best-selling video game on the Nintendo 64 — the first 3D adventure of Nintendo’s mascot, Mario — we only have one piece of advice: this is not an opportunity to waste.”

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Nintendo auctions have made the news a lot in the past few years, as a copy of Super Mario Bros. sold for $660,000 in April 2021 and a prototype of the Nintendo PlayStation console sold for $360,000.

If you don’t have the million dollars needed to purchase one of these copies, rest easy knowing you can play it for much cheaper thanks to Super Mario 3D All-Stars. Oh wait, no you can’t.

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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.

Black Widow Sets Pandemic Record With $80 Million at Domestic Box Office, $60 Million on Disney+

Marvel’s Black Widow has achieved the largest domestic box office opening since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and that’s in addition to bringing in more than $60 million on Disney+ with Premier Access.

Disney announced the news in a press release, sharing that the newest Marvel Cinematic Universe film has earned more than $215 million globally, with $78 million of that coming from the international box office.

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Black Widow is also the largest domestic box office opening since Star Wars Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker in December 2019. Furthermore, its combined theatrical and Disney+ Premier Access opening made it the only film to surpass $100 million in domestic consumer spend on opening weekend since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Lastly, It had the highest domestic opening for any MCU origin story after Black Panther and Captain Marvel.

“Once again, Marvel has delivered an exceptional film to the delight of fans worldwide with Black Widow achieving numerous milestones in the current marketplace,” said Kareem Daniel, Chairman, Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution. “Black Widow’s strong performance this weekend affirms our flexible distribution strategy of making franchise films available in theaters for a true cinematic experience and, as COVID concerns continue globally, providing choice to consumers who prefer to watch at home on Disney+.”

In our Black Widow review, we said, “While it has action and humor aplenty, Marvel’s Black Widow still isn’t quite the stellar solo film the fallen Avenger deserves.”

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For more on Black Widow, check out our explainer of the post credits scene and ending, our look at Taskmaster’s true identity, and as we chat about Red Guardian and Captain America.

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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.

Yiga Stealing The Master Sword In BOTW Explained

This trick was recently found taking the internet by storm, again pushing the possibilities of things you can do in Breath of the Wild. In the video above, we go in-depth with the whole process including when it was found, how to pull the Yiga clan out of the hideout, and extra glitches that make this process much smoother.

Take The Trip Of Your Dreams With This Mega Travel Bundle

Everybody loves to travel. Leaving where you’re from to go experience a new world and culture has long been what most people fantasize about. Whether it’s a short trip to a relaxing beach or an exciting foray into a bustling city, travel has something for everyone. However, for many reasons it can be difficult for most of us to get away–not only can it be intimidating to visit a place where you don’t know the language; travel can also be difficult logistically and (perhaps the biggest limiting factor) very expensive. Thankfully, this discounted travel bundle has you covered.

The World Traveler Bundle ft. Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription has everything any would-be world traveler might need to stop dreaming about destinations online and start jet-setting. Best of all, this bundle is currently available for a great price. The combined value of all the products in this bundle is $1,784, and it’s currently on sale for $199 (that’s already a savings of 88 percent). On top of that, you can take an additional 20% off by using promo code TRAVEL20 at checkout, dropping your final price to $159.20.

This bundle has something to offer to everyone and is truly the ultimate traveler’s best friend. Maybe you’re thinking of taking a break from gaming or watching movies. Maybe you’d like to take your first trip abroad, or you’re a seasoned world traveler looking to enhance your next trip–no matter what, you can’t go wrong with this travel bundle.

First off, it includes a three-year premium subscription to Matt’s Flights, a subscription based travel site that allows people to take the trip of their dreams while saving up to 90% off traditionally found flights. By exploiting mistakes made by airlines and endlessly scouring the internet for deals, Matt’s Flights helps subscribers snag flights at unbelievable prices. Matt’s Flights has been featured on The New York Times, Thrillist, The Hustle, and Kind Traveler.

Concerned that when you arrive you won’t speak the language or understand anything about the culture? Fear not, the bundle includes a lifetime subscription to all 24 of Rosetta Stone’s languages so you can brush up on your rusty language skills or tackle one for the first time. Finally, this travel collection of services also includes the 2021 Travel Hacker Bundle, which helps you to get the most out of your time by providing more flight-booking, language-learning, and travel-hacking tips to aid your trip.

Go on that vacation you’ve been wanting to take forever, or get out and see the world on a backpacking trip. The world is yours with the World Traveler Bundle ft. Rosetta Stone Lifetime Subscription, currently discounted to $159.20 (reg. $1,784) with promo code TRAVEL20 at checkout.

Price subject to change

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Daily Deals: Save up to $15 On Nintendo Switch Games

This weekend has brought with it a set of Nintendo Switch deals. Once upon a time this was a rare thing, but we’re increasingly seeing bigger and more frequent discounts on the Nintendo library of games, which is ultimately a win for us as consumers. Several major titles are on sale, as well as Bravely Default 2, which also happens to be having it’s own discount at the same time. Skyward Sword HD comes out shortly as well, so we added that preorder to our list just in case you wanted to lock down a copy in advance. Of course, we’ve got other stuff as well, including a nice Corsair Headset at Newegg, and an interesting foldable electric bike at Best Buy.

Daily Deals for July 10th 2021

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Greta Gerwig to Direct the Barbie Movie Starring Margot Robbie

Lady Bird and Little Women director Greta Gerwig has officially signed on to direct Barbie, a film based on the iconic toy that is set to star Suicide Squad’s Margot Robbie.

As reported by Variety, Gerwig has been part of the Warner Bros. project since 2019 when she signed on to co-write the script with Marriage Story’s Noah Baumbach.

During British Vogue’s 2021 issue, Robbie casually mentioned that Gerwig would be taking on the role of director alongside saying a project like this “comes with a lot of baggage! And a lot of nostalgic connections.” Variety’s sources have also confirmed Gerwig’s role as director.

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“But with that come a lot of exciting ways to attack it,” Robbie said. “People generally hear ‘Barbie’ and think, ‘I know what that movie is going to be,’ and then they hear that Greta Gerwig is writing and directing it, and they’re like, ’Oh, well, maybe I don’t…’”

Barbie, which will be a new, big-screen take on one of the most celebrated toys in the world, is set to begin production in early 2022 for a planned theatrical release date in 2023.

Robbie will be producing the film alongside starring in it with her LuckyChap Entertainment production banner, which most recently produced Promising Young Woman.

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This Barbie film was once set to be released by Sony and had both Amy Schumer and Anne Hathaway attached to star at various points in its development.

Image Credit: Greta Gerwig (Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images), Barbie (Mattel Inc./Liason)

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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.