Knockout City Encounters Issues With Block Party Rewards, Dev Working On A Fix

EA’s new “dodgebrawl” game Knockout City is out now, and it’s run into an issue for EA Play and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscribers. In a social media post, the developers at Velan Studios said not everyone is receiving their promised rewards for taking part in the ongoing Block Party event.

Velan is currently working on a fix, but it might take “another day or two,” or potentially longer for those who haven’t logged in yet. “We’ll get these bonuses added to your account, hang tight!” the studio said.

Additionally, some people who bought the standard or deluxe edition of Knockout City aren’t having the Block Party or deluxe content added to their inventories. This is another known issue that Velan is currently working to address.

“It could take a few days, but everything will be fixed. Thanks for your patience,” the studio said.

Knockout City’s Season 1 kicks off today, May 25, and it adds a new map, Jukebox Junction, as well as more contracts and new playlists. Check out the Season 1 trailer below to learn more about what’s coming to the game today.

Inspired by dodgeball, Knockout City is a multiplayer game where players try to knock out other players using a ball, which can have all different types of special properties. The game is developed by Velan Studios, which is the team that made Mario Kart Live: Home Circuit.

Knockout City is off to a great start, attracting 2 million players. The game is currently free as part of the Block Party event, but the trial period ends May 30. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members can keep playing for free after the Block Party event ends, it seems.

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Destiny 2 Update “Fixes” New Hunter Exotic, Nerfing Star-Eater Scales; Read The Patch Notes

One of the stars of Destiny 2‘s Season of the Splicer has been the new Hunter Exotic boots, Star-Eater Scales. They quickly became a favorite for PvE content and were so powerful that Bungie disabled them for the World’s First competition for the Vault of Glass raid. But apparently, Star-Eater Scales were too powerful, and with its latest update, Bungie has patched the Exotic to bring its perks down to where they were intended to be.

Bungie shared the full patch notes for its new update, Hotfix 3.2.0.2, on its website. The update fixes a bunch of bugs and issues with the way certain elements were interacting and, for the most part, boosting Guardians’ power more than they should have.

Star-Eater Scales is the biggest of these; the new Exotic allows you to gather extra Orbs of Power to overcharge your Super ability, making it do more damage. It also fires off a healing burst when you cast your Super, and if you power it up fully with four extra Orbs, you receive an overshield as well. The trouble was, Star-Eater Scales wasn’t just boosting Super damage, it was also giving a huge boost to regular weapon and grenade damage, essentially making Hunters into damage powerhouses, especially in raids.

Hotfix 3.2.0.2 reels in Star-Eater Scales pretty significantly. First, it removes the damage boost to regular weapons and grenades, which Bungie says the Exotic shouldn’t have had anyway. Next, it also makes powering up the Exotic to its full damage bonus power a little tougher–instead of picking up four extra Orbs of Power, you now need to pick up eight Orbs. That’s going to make Star-Eater Scales significantly less cool than it was a day ago, and although it’s still pretty powerful, it remains to be seen whether this will continue to be the new go-to Exotic for Hunters in PvE activities.

Other changes include Bungie fixing another new damage-boosting element in Season of the Splicer: Energy Accelerant. This mod, found on the Seasonal Artifact, increases the power of perks like Firefly, Chain Reaction, and Dragon Fly–and it had the side effect of making the Exotic fusion rifle Telesto about twice as powerful as it should have been. That mod has been fixed so that Telesto does the right amount of damage.

The release of the new update coincides with the launch of the Destiny 2 cross-play beta. You can read the rest of the patch notes below.

GAMEPLAY AND INVESTMENT

ARMOR

  • Fixed an issue where Recovery-focused Umbral Engrams would sometimes not award armor with a sufficiently high Recovery stat.
  • Fixed issues where some Common, Uncommon, and Rare armors would provide stat bonuses when used as ornaments as a part of Armor Synthesis.
  • Energy Accelerant mod:
    • No longer increases damage against players.
    • No longer increases the base damage of Symmetry, Telesto, Black Talon, and Deathbringer.
      • Telesto has also received another sternly worded lecture.
  • Sundering Blast no longer causes Overload champions to exit their stun state when damaged by the explosion created by the mod.
  • Fixed an issue where Star-Eater Scales was erroneously applying its damage bonus to weapons and grenades instead of only Supers as intended.
    • Increased the maximum number of stacks required for the full damage bonus from four stacks to eight stacks.
  • Fixed an issue where players could spawn too many noble seekers with Boots of the Assembler by stepping in and out of a Rift.
    • When Warlocks wearing Boots of the Assembler are extending the duration of a Rift, class ability regeneration pauses.
    • Design note: The reason for this change was both to prevent game crashes caused by too many rifts being placed in a single activity, and to restore some of the advantage to running Sanguine Alchemy over Boots of the Assembler.

WEAPONS

  • Fixed an issue where the catalyst for Cryosthesia 77K was incorrectly accruing progress from energy weapon kills.
  • Fixed an issue where the catalyst Triumph for Cryosthesia 77K was being displayed in the wrong weapon category.
  • Fixed an issue where Cryosthesia 77K could fire multiple freeze shots without losing the charged shot buff.
  • Fixed an issue where existing drops of THE SWARM with Unrelenting switched to Bottomless Grief.
    • This fix only works in cases where players didn’t select the Bottomless Grief node.

ACCESSORIES

  • Fixed an issue that prevented the Vie for Glory Sparrow from taking shaders.

POWER AND PROGRESSION

  • Fixed an issue where the reward for completing the weekly Vendor Challenge on the Splicer Servitor did not reward Pinnacle gear as advertised.
    • Upon completion, the weekly Vendor Challenge should now reward a Pinnacle piece of Seasonal gear.
  • Fixed an issue where completing Presage as a weekly Activity Challenge was not rewarding Pinnacle gear.

UI/UX

  • Fixed an issue where the Armor Synthesis ornament creation tutorial does not show up for Titan characters when reaching the armor ornament creation step.

GENERAL

  • Players will no longer be able to claim the 150 Synthstrand from Ada-1 during the NUX quest if their inventory is full.
    • This will prevent players from losing the material and they will need to clear out inventory space to claim their Synthstrand.

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Xbox Super Saver Game Sale Is Live – Here Are The Best Deals

The Xbox Store has kicked off its Super Saver Sale, featuring big discounts of at least 50% off loads of games. The sale primarily includes older games, but if you’ve waited on some to hit the right price before jumping in this may be the time. This sale runs through May 31, so you have all week to decide.

The sale includes some deluxe editions with DLC and extra goodies, like The Witcher 3: Game of the Year Edition for $10, Far Cry 5 Gold Edition for $18, Tekken 7 Ultimate Edition for $20, and Resident Evil 2 Deluxe Edition for $20. You can also get Control for $7.50, and A Way Out is down to $6 in case It Takes Two from Hazelight has made you curious about the studio’s previous co-op adventure game.

Dragon Ball fans can get Dragon Ball FighterZ with the FighterZ Pass for $15 and the Dragon Ball Xenoverse / Xenoverse 2 bundle for $17. On the extremely cheap side, you can get Batman: Arkham Knight for $5 and Titanfall 2 for a mere $4.

Best deals on Xbox Store

Lena Headey And Karen Gillan Are A Mother-Daughter Killing Team In Gunpowder Milkshake Trailer

The first trailer for the new action movie Gunpowder Milkshake has arrived, showing Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and Karen Gillan (Guardians of the Galaxy) as a mother-daughter assassin duo who are out for blood.

Headey plays Scarlet, a professional assassin who had no choice but to ditch her daughter Sam (Gillan) to escape with her life. Growing up without a mom, Sam became a hitwoman herself and, after a “high-stakes mission spins out of control,” she eventually reunites with Scarlet to save an eight-year-old girl (Chloe Coleman). Together with Paul Giamatti, they seek revenge on those who have wronged them.

“There’s not a single person on Earth I’d rather kill people with,” Scarlet says to Sam in the trailer. Sam replies, “Thanks, Ma.”

Gunpowder Milkshake also stars Michelle Yeoh (Crazy Rich Asians), Carla Gugino (Watchmen), and Angela Bassett (Black Panther). It’s directed by Navot Papushado (Rabies, Big Bad Wolves).

The movie will come to theaters in worldwide markets like the UK, France, Germany, Australia, and New Zealand, while Netflix paid an eight-figure fee ($10 million or more) to acquire the rights in the US. It will debut in the US on Netflix on July 14.

Gunpowder Milkshake is just one of many new films that Netflix has coming up this summer and through the year. In fact, Netflix has a new movie set to debut every week all throughout 2021.

Dead By Daylight Celebrates Fifth Anniversary With Resident Evil Crossover

Dead By Daylight is getting a Resident Evil crossover to celebrate its fifth anniversary. The asymmetric multiplayer horror game has welcomed characters from other hit horror franchises before, perhaps most notably Silent Hill. However, this is the first time that Resident Evil characters like Jill Valentine and Nemesis (aka The Tyrant) have joined the fray.

Dead By Daylight’s Resident Evil chapter launches on June 15, and it includes many elements that will be familiar to fans of Capcom’s storied horror franchise. Resident Evil stalwarts Jill Valentine and Leon S. Kennedy will be added to the ranks of playable survivors, and the many-tentacled antagonist Nemesis from Resident Evil 3 will join the game’s gallery of horror villains.

Now Playing: Dead by Daylight – Official Stadia Announcement Trailer

The Resident Evil chapter also includes a new map, the Raccoon City Police Station featured heavily in Resident Evil 2. The Police Station map will feature AI-controlled zombies that help the player-controlled killer track down the survivors, which is a first for the franchise. It also includes vaccines that prevent survivors struck by Nemesis’s tentacles from succumbing to the monster’s influence. All-in-all, it sounds like a familiar experience for fans of the series.

Most recently, Dead By Daylight crossed over with Left 4 Dead as part of its latest DLC, which included lore about that game’s survivor Bill. As mentioned above, Dead By Daylight previously included a crossover with the long-dormant Silent Hill series, which caused horror fans to wonder if Konami might announce a new game. So far, no dice. In fact, the company recently announced that it will not be attending E3 2021.

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Gwent Pays The Price Of Power With First Expansion Set Beginning June 8

Gwent fans aching for a new set of cards are about to pay the price as the game’s first-ever Expansion Set, The Price of Power, has been officially announced.

The Price of Power is a set of three upcoming story expansions, each coming with its own new cards and features, releasing between June and October 2021. The first expansion–titled Once Upon A Pyre–will bring 26 new cards with new abilities and game mechanics when it releases on June 8.

Expansion Sets are unique to Gwent in that each tells an overarching story across its three expansions, as opposed to previous additions with smaller, more insulated tales. The Price of Power centers around “the main theme of magic and how different factions seek out, fight for, or exploit its power,” according to the official release.

A limited-time Expansion Pass is also available for $60, which will give players access to everything offered in the individual expansions, premium versions of each card, as well as an special in-game coin that can be used immediately after purchase.

Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is the standalone version of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt‘s popular minigame. It was first released in October 2018 for PC and has seen six expansions since the initial launch, with The Price of Power being the seventh. Gwent is available on PC, Mac, and mobile devices, with the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions being discontinued in June 2020.

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It’s Sonic The Hedgehog’s 30th Anniversary, And Sega Is Hosting A Virtual Celebration

June 23 marks Sonic the Hedgehog‘s 30th anniversary, and Sega will celebrate Sonic’s legacy and the franchise’s multiple spin-offs with a fan appreciation video and a virtual event called Sonic Central.

Taking place on May 27 at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET, Sonic Central will feature Sega’s Sonic team, special guests, and new announcements about future Sonic projects, partnerships, and more. Viewers can access the stream on the official Sonic the Hedgehog YouTube and Twitch channels. Ahead of Sonic Central, Sega also released a celebratory video titled Unstoppable–a fan appreciation video that takes a trip down memory lane.

From the original 1991 game with the iconic golden rings to the 2020 Sonic the Hedgehog movie, the franchise featuring the super fast blue hedgehog has been going on strong for decades. The Sonic the Hedgehog movie achieved the best opening weekend for any game-to-movie adaptation, surpassing Pokemon: Detective Pikachu’s opening earnings.

The sequel to 2020’s movie, Sonic the Hedgehog 2, is slated to come out in 2022. According to a leaked copyright listing, Knuckles will make a villainous appearance and Sonic’s human friend, Tom (James Marsden), might pretty much be absent for most of the film.

In other recent Sonic the Hedgehog news, the franchise is getting both a card game and an animated Netflix show. Titled Sonic Prime, the Netflix show will be in 3D animation and isn’t coming until 2022. Man of Action, the studio behind Big Hero 6 and Mega Man: Fully Charged, is working on the title in conjunction with Sega and Wild Brain Studio. As of now, details like plot beats are sparse, but it’s likely that we’ll see more information about Sonic Prime in the upcoming Sonic Central showcase.

Details around Sonic the Hedgehog’s card game are also unknown as of this time. Steamforged Games, a company that made Resident Evil 2, Devil May Cry: The Bloody Palace, and both a card game and board game for Dark Souls, is in charge of producing Sonic the Hedgehog’s card game.

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Edgar Wright’s Last Night In Soho Trailer Delivers Time-Travelling ’60s Horror

The first trailer for Last Night In Soho is here. The latest movie from Baby Driver and Shaun of the Dead director Edgar Wright is a time-travelling horror movie, and it releases on October 22.

This is very much a first teaser–it’s packed with striking imagery but barely contains any dialogue. The movie stars Thomasin McKenzie (Jojo Rabbit) as a young fashion designer working in London who finds herself transported back to the city in the 1960s, where she inhabits the body of a singer named Sandy, played by Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit).

But as fun as ’60s London initially looks, there’s clearly something dark and dangerous happening there. It’s not clear what exactly, but it might involve former Doctor Who star Matt Smith, who is very menacing here. It looks like another must-see movie from Wright–check the trailer out below:

Last Night In Soho also features several veteran ’60s British icons, including Rita Tushingham, Terence Stamp, and Diana Rigg in her final performance. The movie is written by Wright and Krysty Wilson-Cairns, who also co-wrote Sam Mendes’s acclaimed 1917.

In an interview with Slashfilm, Wright stated that Last Night In Soho would be “very different” from his previous movies. “Last Night starts in a more psychological realm and then starts to get increasingly intense as it goes along,” he said. “And I always like to gravitate towards making a film in genres I miss, and there’s a certain type of psychological horror film that you got more in the ’60s and ’70s that have something of an operatic nature. I’m using that kind of visual grammar.”

Pokemon Go Sylveon Guide: How To Evolve Eevee Into Sylveon

The second leg of Pokemon Go‘s Luminous Legends Y event is now underway, and it’s introduced a brand-new Pokemon to the game: Sylveon, the Fairy-type evolution of Eevee. Like previous Eeveelutions, there are a couple of ways to get the new Fairy Pokemon in Niantic’s mobile game, so here’s a rundown on how to evolve Eevee into Sylveon in Pokemon Go.

Earn Buddy Hearts

The standard way to evolve Eevee into Sylveon is simply to earn enough hearts with it while it’s set as your Buddy Pokemon. You’ll earn hearts with Eevee by feeding, playing, and taking snapshots of it. You’ll need to earn 70 hearts for it to evolve into Sylveon, however–so while this process is straightforward, it’s also a bit time-consuming. Once you’ve earned 70 hearts, the question mark on Eevee’s Evolve button will change to a silhouette of Sylveon.

Nickname Trick For Guaranteed Sylveon

As with other Eevee evolutions, you can also get Sylveon by giving Eevee a specific nickname. In this case, change your Eevee’s name to Kira and you’ll be able to evolve it into Sylveon without having to earn any Buddy hearts. However, this method only works once, so you’ll only be able to evolve Eevee into Sylveon this way one time. If you’d like to add more Sylveon to your collection, you’ll need to evolve them through the aforementioned Buddy heart method.

The second part of the Luminous Legends Y event runs until May 31 and is themed around Eevee. As part of the event, other Eevee evolutions such as Flareon, Vaporeon, Jolteon, Espeon, and Umbreon will appear in three-star Raids, and you’ll have a chance to catch Eevee and some of its evolutions by completing event-exclusive Field Research tasks. You can read more about the event on the official Pokemon Go blog.

Sylveon isn’t the only new Pokemon introduced as part of the Luminous Legends event. The panda Pokemon Pancham was also added to the game during the first part of the event, while Yveltal is appearing in five-star Raids. The Legendary Destruction Pokemon will be available throughout the entire event.

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New Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart Cinematic Trailer Explains What You Need To Know About The Story

Developer Insomniac has just released a new cinematic trailer for Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, and it serves as a solid introduction to the game’s plot. Narrated by the character/weapon Zurkon Jr., the video gives players some quick hits of what to expect from the upcoming PS5-exclusive adventure game.

Packaged into just a minute, Zurkon Jr. explains the set up of the game: Ratchet, a lombax, and his robot sidekick Clank, are tasked with saving the world from an evil villain, Emperor Nefarious–an alternate-dimension version of the main enemy throughout the Ratchet and Clank series.

For the first time in the series, Ratchet will be joined by another lombax, Rivet (again due to the alternate dimensions in Rift Apart). The video also briefly mentions the inclusion of pocket dimensions, side areas that feature mishmashes of other levels or physics that defy “normal” rules, as well as puzzle levels that have players take control of Clank.

Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart launches on June 11 and is one of the first big PS5-exclusive releases. In addition to expanding the arsenal of weapons, the game also virtually eliminates load times by leveraging the PS5’s internal SSD. Insomniac also recently revealed Rift Apart’s trophy list. Be sure to read our Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart preorder guide, and if you want to learn more about what you’ll be doing in the game, check out GameSpot’s extensive preview of Rift Apart.

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