Very Very Valet Is A Cooperative Game About Parking Madness

Very Very Valet is a new cooperative game about parking cars in zany ways. The game, developed by Los Angeles-based studio Toyful Games, debuted during Nintendo’s Indie World broadcast on Tuesday.

“One to four players control an ‘elite’ team of puppet valets, working together to overcome any and all valet-related challenges,” reads Toyful Games’ official site. “It’s going to take teamwork and a certain ‘just park it anywhere’ mentality to save the world from a severe parking crisis! It’s not enough to just be a valet – be a VERY VERY VALET.”

Very Very Valet will include more than 20 levels, including city streets, cliffsides, bowling alleys, airports, and trainyards. Toyful Games will also offer “accessible driving controls” for easy pick-up-and-play fun.

Very Very Valet looks to be another entry in the increasingly popular genre of madness-inducing cooperative games. Its crazy premise, while unique, could lead to gameplay that feels similar to Overcooked, Moving Out, and other games that are as fun as they are stressful.

Toyful Games is a two-person studio made up of former Disney and NBCUniversal developers. Very Very Valet, which launches in early 2021, is their first project as a studio.

Nintendo’s Indie World broadcast included a number of new announcements. Among Us and Grindstone both launched on the Switch today while Spelunky and Spelunky 2 are coming in 2021.

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Adorable Cat Fighter Fisti-Fluffs Revealed During Nintendo Indie Showcase

During the December 2020 Nintendo Indie World livestream, developer Playfellow Studio and publisher Rogue Games revealed the very cute and very vicious cat brawler Fisti-Fluffs

The game is a 3D action-brawler with up to four-player local and online multiplayer featuring fighting cats. Players can create their feline fighter and dress them with an assortment of accessories while clawing at their friends. There are six fully-destructible stages to play on with five different game types, including a cat food defense mode called Kibble Defense.

A demo of Fisti-Fluffs is available on both itch.io and Steam for Windows PCs, with a release planned for early next year. The game hits Nintendo Switch early next year as well. It’s also coming to Android and iOS devices, though a release date for those has not been specified. Check out some screenshots, as well as the system requirements for Fisti-Fluffs, down below.

Fisti-Fluffs PC System Requirements

  • Minimum:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: 64-bit Windows 7 / 8 / 10
    • Processor: Intel i5, 2.4 GHz or better
    • Memory: 4 GB RAM
    • Graphics: GTX 660, R9 270
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 3 GB available space
    • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible
  • Recommended:
    • Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
    • OS: Windows 10
    • Processor: Intel Core i5
    • Memory: 8 GB RAM
    • Graphics: R9 280, GTX 960
    • DirectX: Version 11
    • Network: Broadband Internet connection
    • Storage: 3 GB available space
    • Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Gallery

Other news out of the December 2020 Nindie Showcase was release dates for Cyber Shadow and Super Meat Boy Forever, as well as a launch window for Spelunky and Spelunky 2, and surprise releases for Among Us (with cross-play) and Grindstone.

Now Playing: Nintendo Indie World Showcase 12/15/2020 – Full Presentation

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Engineer Gets Ray Tracing To Work On SNES

There are many engineers out there who solve problems that the vast majority of people can’t even properly comprehend, and there are others who go the extra mile to find problems that most of us aren’t even aware of. A software engineer and game developer named Ben Carter has figured out a way to get ray tracing working on an SNES, and the results are pretty incredible.

As any hardcore SNES fan knows, several of the console’s most popular games relied on a chipset that was included as part of the cartridge itself in order to help the SNES achieve certain technological goals. The best-known example of this is the Super FX chip that powered the original Star Fox. Carter has designed a chip in that mold that he calls the SuperRT that allows the SNES to perform ray tracing.

Carter’s video shows off what the SuperRT is capable of, and it includes all of the very finicky details on how he got it to work. Essentially, however, it works on the same principle as the Super FX chip: the SuperRT constructs the scene and feeds it to the SNES’s processor in language it can understand. The nest of cables shown in the video isn’t due to any particular technical wizardry on Carter’s part; most of them are level shifter cables that allow the SuperRT’s field-programmable gate array board and the SNES to run at the same voltage.

As far as whether or not this would have been possible to make during the SNES’s lifespan, Carter says that it would have been possible, but way too expensive to use in a shipping game. Still, as a proof of concept, it’s very impressive.

Now Playing: SNES Classic Edition Review

Apple TV+ Releases Trailer For Billie Eilish Documentary

Apple TV+ has released the first official trailer for Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, a documentary film centered around the titular singer-songwriter. As the movie subtitle suggests, the documentary chronicles the artist’s experiences recording her explosive debut 2019 album, When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go?, which catapulted her to fame and irreversibly changed her life. Check out the trailer below.

As the trailer above shows, the film rewinds well before and zooms way out beyond that album’s recording sessions and shows childhood home movies of Eilish and her brother, Finneas O’Connell, acting out a concert performance in Eilish’s bedroom. Given that Eilish is 18 (and turning 19 later this week), the movie promises to be a fascinating look at how someone so young comes to terms with massive fame so early in life.

Directed by R. J. Cutler (The September Issue, The War Room), the film is due for Apple’s streaming service and also expected to hit theaters February 26, 2021.

Meanwhile, the Apple TV+ app has been recently rolled out to gaming consoles, making the platform even easier to gain access to.

Cyberpunk 2077: How To Find And Upgrade Iconic Weapons

Cyberpunk 2077’s tiered loot system can be confusing at first glance. Like most RPGs, it offers weapons of various rarity, from common to legendary, but separate from its rarity is whether or not the weapon is iconic.

While you can find epic and even legendary weapons scattered around the place throughout your journey through Night City, iconic weapons are much harder to come by and require a little more effort to use effectively. In the above video, we explain the benefit of using iconic weapons, the best places to find iconic weapons, and how to upgrade them.

Cyberpunk 2077 is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Stadia.

Best Games Of 2020 – Hades

Over the next week, we will be posting features for what we’ve nominated to be the best games of 2020. Then, on December 17, we will crown one of the nominees as GameSpot’s Best Game of 2020, so join us as we celebrate these 10 games on the road to the big announcement. Be sure to check out our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best Games of 2020 hub.

Your first trip through Hades, like most, will end in death. But that first run is an exciting one, revealing an evolution of the isometric action-RPG combat that Supergiant has been mastering since 2011’s Bastion. You’ll see how you can utilize your dash to avoid danger or press the attack; discover how positioning matters due to dangerous traps littered throughout levels and the bonus damage you can deal to enemies from behind or by knocking them into walls; and get a taste of the upgrades that you’ll be able to encounter and equip to ensure each run feels distinct.

It all makes for an immediately satisfying combat system. Then you die, maybe after encountering a boss or, more likely in those early runs, by falling prey to a seemingly innocuous foe or a trap you set off. Whatever the case, you head back to the House of Hades, chat up some of the residents–including your father, Hades–and set out again. You’ll die once again, maybe after making it a bit further, or perhaps even sooner due to overconfidence or sheer bad luck. However you earn your trip back to home, you’ll again speak with Hades and others, and the true core of the game will begin to reveal itself.

The brilliance of Hades lies in not just offering a very fun action-based roguelike, but in how Supergiant did what arguably no game in the genre has ever managed: to tell a compelling story. It does this in a way that is perfectly suited for the context of a roguelike, where the gameplay loop involves attempting to escape from Hell, dying, and then starting all over again. Your failure is inherent to the story, and by building that into the basic concept and allowing for an ever-evolving narrative and sense of discovery with each character you interact with, Hades delivers something truly special.

For instance, your repeated fights with the game’s first boss, Megaera, and conversations with her back in the House of Hades, allow you to develop a rivalry, learn of her vulnerabilities, and develop empathy for her. This gives each subsequent fight an added layer of character development and meaning, along with opportunities for humor, rather than simply being a chance to show off how much your mastery of the game’s combat and understanding of Magaera’s attack patterns have grown.

What elevates Hades to another level is that the strong writing stands on top of what is an excellent game in every facet.

Your relationship with Megaera, and indeed, every character, is bolstered by the strong voice acting. Despite only appearing as static images on screen, the performances are able to forge a real connection with you and to infuse the diverse cast of characters with distinct personalities. Whether it’s the endearingly nervous energy of Dusa, the dismissive, distant-father energy of Hades, or even the harsh yet dulcet tones of the narrator, the performances are first-rate across the board (although the unsung star of the show is the chef at the House of Hades, ever silent, chopping away at ingredients).

But it all comes back to the writing. Whether it’s imbuing those characters (who, with good reason, have had people talking all year about how hot they are) with distinct personalities or reinforcing the experience you just went through in your last run, it’s an absolute master class in how a genre that seems to stand at odds with telling a good story can actually do so. When Zagreus returns to the House of Hades after a death, he’ll often comment on what killed him. Other characters will also comment on the specific nature of his demise, while conversations with the other inhabitants also help to advance your understanding of the world bit by bit in a very natural way. But it’s specifically the highly reactive nature of the script–some examples of which almost sound too good to be true–that stands as such an achievement.

But what elevates Hades to another level is that the strong writing stands on top of what is an excellent game in every facet. Each aspect of the game is top notch. Visuals? Stunning, with gorgeous vistas (those panning shots when you take the time to admire a new area are truly impressive) and easy-to-read environments and enemy types that let you keep up with the action. Music? Arguably the best of the year, or even recent years, particularly the intense rock music during boss fights that will get your blood pumping. Combat? It feels rock-solid, with an added layer of strategy that you might not expect at first glance. Replayability? There are so many layers of upgrades and different ways to approach a run, including wildly varied weapon types, that diving back into Tartarus feels like an exciting proposition, never a chore.

Hades not only redefines what a roguelike can be, it simply stands as an exemplary experience across the board. That makes it an easy case for being one of 2020’s best games.

Hades is available digitally on the Nintendo Eshop and Steam.

Now Playing: Hades – Game Of The Year 2020 Nominee

Animal Crossing Festive Guide: How To Get All Festive DIY Recipes

The holiday season has officially begun in Northern Hemisphere islands in Animal Crossing: New Horizons. Special holiday decorations and holiday lights start popping up around town on December 15. That means new seasonal items, too.

Outside snowflake and snowboy recipes, players can also get festive recipes. Things like ornament wreaths, reindeer lights, and trees can make your town into a little festive village. This guide will show you the best way to collect and craft them.

How Do I Get Festive Recipes?

Festive recipes are collected the same way as some snowflake recipes and other seasonal DIYs: by shooting down present balloons. Balloons are predictable, but the items they dole out are not. You’ll need to spend some time farming them if you want all the festive items.

Position yourself at whichever beach the balloons spawn at and wait. Balloons will spawn at either the fourth or ninth minute within every ten minute period. They’ll take a minute to reach land but you’ll be able to hear or see them by running up and down your beach. Shoot them down until you get your desired recipe. It’s a frustrating process but it’s the best way to collect these recipes.

What Do I Need For Festive Recipes?

Ornaments can be found in trees that are decorated with lights.
Ornaments can be found in trees that are decorated with lights.

You’ll need to collect gold, red, and blue ornaments in order to craft various festive recipes. These can be found in trees, just like acorns, after shaking them relentlessly. Make sure to shake as many trees as possible as ornaments come out randomly. Sometimes one tree will give you five different ornaments.

What Are The Festive Recipes?

Ornament wreath
Ornament wreath

The ornament wreath will be given to players by Isabelle.

Illuminated reindeer
Holiday candle
Jingle wall
Ornament Mobile

Other festive DIYs include:

  • Big festive tree
  • Festive tree
  • Festive top set
  • Illuminated tree
  • Tabletop festive tree
  • Illuminated snowflakes
  • Illuminated present

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UK Politicians Call For Legislation On Console Scalping

Over the past months, console resellers have made a fortune due to the ongoing PS5 and Xbox Series X / Series S shortages caused in part due to the Covid-19 epidemic. Now, according to VGC, six lawmakers in the UK are calling for legislation that would prohibit the sale of gaming consoles and computer components at prices that are “greatly above” the MSRP.

Six MPs from the Scottish National Party tabled a motion to call for this move, meaning that it’s very much early days for any possible legislation. The motion also says that the resale of goods purchased using automated bots should be made illegal. The MPs compare this potential legislation to already-introduced bills that control the activity of ticket resellers, who must divulge their identity and the exact details of the seat being sold.

Though it’s difficult to know how many PS5s and Xboxes have been resold this holiday season, every indication points towards a large volume. An analysis from a data engineer concluded that scalpers made $82 million in sales and $39 million in profit since September from next-gen consoles and high-end computer components, with services like eBay and PayPal taking a cut of around $6.6 million and $2.4 million, respectively. However, the analysis only included US listings, and did not take into account other marketplace sites like Facebook, meaning that the true market is much larger.

Now Playing: 9 Hidden PS5 Features

Fall Guys Season 3 Is Eliminating Everyone, Even If They Win

Fall Guys‘ newest season hit players everywhere today–although many wish it hadn’t. The season is full of bugs–including several that make players lose when they’d already won.

The new season brings games like Roll Off, a faster final round version of Roll Out, and Thin Ice as two new finales. It also introduces a new crown rank reward system that doles out prizes to players as they earn more crowns. A new playlist that focuses on new levels was also included in the update.

The story of the day, however, has been all of the new issues with Season 3. Many players have found themselves seconds away from victory–only for it to be snatched away at the last second.

Season 3’s newest levels, like Tundra Run and Ski Fall, are a ton of fun. They contain a number of new mechanics, obstacles, and designs that haven’t been featured in the battle royale before. The problems, however, currently outweigh the positives of the new season. Crown Ranks, which should be retroactive, aren’t showing up for a lot of players on top of the other gameplay bugs.

Mediatonic had to disable matchmaking (it’s back up now), disable Hex-A-Gone, and make a number of other last-minute changes to keep the game from frustrating more players. The UK-based studio is currently working on fixes and is tracking issues on its subreddit.

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