biteho.com

Developer Cold Symmetry has announced that its Dark Souls-inspired RPG Mortal Shell launches on August 18 for PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The studio shared a release date trailer showcasing the new Ballistazooka ranged weapon, which you can check out below.

Published by Playstack, Mortal Shell can be purchased from digital retailers–the Epic Games Store, Microsoft Store, and PlayStation Store–for $30, with a Steam version slated to drop sometime in 2021.

“Launching Mortal Shell worldwide is a dream come true,” said Cold Symmetry’s four co-founders in a joint statement. “Our commitment to our fans is to create a souls-like game that is authentic, uncompromising and unrelenting. We were humbled by the popularity of the beta and we closely studied the feedback we received to create something that we are incredibly proud of.”

The studio also announced that Mortal Shell’s beta had more than 350,000 downloads in one week and surpassed more than six million views across Twitch and YouTube.

“Mortal Shell is already achieving the kind of pre-release metrics that would turn heads at any publisher, be it indie or triple-A,” Playstack chief executive Harvey Elliott said. “I am delighted that Playstack has delivered a publishing and marketing campaign that ensures the game gains the exposure and response it truly deserves. More than anything I can’t wait for fans around the world to finally play it from August 18th.”

Mortal Shell was revealed earlier this year and drew plenty of comparisons to Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Warframe. We went hands-on with the game last month, where editor Phil Hornshaw called Mortal Shell “a tough and punishing game like those that inspire it [that also] found ways to take elements of the Dark Souls formula and recombine them into something new.”

Ninja is back on Twitch, and he’s received a raucous response from viewers. Over 100,000 viewers tuned in to watch Ninja play Call of Duty: Warzone with Lupo, and the number is holding steady at around 60,000 now.

Arguably the most famous streamer in the world–he had over 14 million followers on Twitch before he switched platforms–Ninja signed a $50 million deal to stream exclusively on Microsoft’s Mixer back in August 2019. However, Microsoft announced that Mixer would close earlier this summer, triggering speculation as to what platform Ninja would stream on next.

Though he briefly streamed on YouTube last month, this is the first time Ninja has streamed on Twitch in a year. According to a tweet from esports consultant Rod Breslau, as with YouTube, this Twitch stream is not the result of a deal with the platform, and both he and fellow big-name streamer Shroud are still negotiating with the different platforms.

As previously claimed by Breslau, Ninja and Shroud were offered “insane” contracts to join Facebook Gaming that were almost double their original Mixer deals, but they both turned them down. Ninja reportedly made $30 million from the buyout.

Developer Mediatonic has shared the extent of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout‘s launch day traffic, and the numbers are mightily impressive for a new indie game. During its first 24 hours on sale, the wacky 60-person battle royale had over 1.5 million new players. This number is split between both Steam and PlayStation 4, where the game is available for free on the latter if you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber.

Fall Guys launched yesterday to immense popularity. The massively online party game already took Twitch by storm during its beta period, becoming the most-watched game on the streaming platform during the weekend of July 27. So it’s no surprise that the game’s servers struggled to handle the load in the hours following its release.

According to SteamDB, the peak for concurrent players on PC currently stands at 76,520. Mediatonic also announced yesterday afternoon that the overall number of concurrent players on both platforms was over 120k, but that number may have risen since then. PlayStation Plus has certainly contributed to those 1.5 million new players, but that hasn’t stopped Fall Guys from reaching the top of the Steam top sellers list either.

Mediatonic says it’s working on the first patch for the game and is listening to community feedback and ideas (fewer team games, please). There are already plans for new levels, features, and costumes in the future as well.

Developer Obsidian Entertainment has certainly been busy ever since Microsoft acquired the studio back in 2018. It just launched Grounded, the arachnophobic survival game, in Early Access on both PC and Xbox One, and just last month it unveiled the first-person RPG Avowed during Microsoft’s Xbox Series X Showcase Event.

As it turns out, the famed RPG developer also has another project in the works. Studio design director Josh Sawyer, who led the development of Fallout: New Vegas and both Pillars of Eternity games, has revealed that he’s working on something new. This tidbit of information cropped up after Sawyer posted a blog post on Tumblr describing his job role at Obsidian. In response to the post, a Twitter user expressed sadness that Sawyer isn’t overseeing his own project, to which the design director replied that he’s heading up something new that isn’t Avowed.

It’s surprising that Sawyer isn’t handling director duties on Avowed. We don’t know too much about the upcoming RPG, but it’s been established that it’s set in the Pillars of Eternity universe which Sawyer is intimately familiar with. We do know, however, that he won’t be working on another Pillars of Eternity sequel. Despite reviewing well, Deadfire didn’t sell, and Sawyer says a third game will only happen if the devs can get “jazzed” about it.

Obsidian’s newest game was awarded 6/10 in GameSpot’s Grounded Early Access review. “Grounded has the foundation needed to turn into a great survival game, but it has a long way to go yet,” said critic Joab Gilroy. “The titular term comes from aviation–when a pilot finds themselves, for whatever reason, unable to fly, they are Grounded. It’s a pretty apt name for the current state of Obsidian’s foray into the co-op survival genre. But like a balsa wood airplane, Grounded sits at the outstretched tension point of a strong rubber band. It is pure, unadulterated potential energy, and all we can do is sit back and wait to see if that rubber band snaps or if the game achieves take off. I think it’s gonna fly.”

Dipping into the well of under-appreciated Wii U titles again, Nintendo has announced Pikmin 3 Deluxe for Nintendo Switch. It’s out on October 30 and will retail for $60 USD.

Pikmin 3 Deluxe brings with it the traditional Pikmin formula, where you’ll amass a small platoon of brightly color-coded Pikmin to help you in combat, puzzle solving, and resource gathering. The deluxe version coming to the Switch will include all the game’s original DLC, as well as new prologue and epilogue missions with Olimar and Louie. Additional difficulty options will also be included in the remaster.

The entirety of Pikmin 3 Deluxe will also be playable in co-op, including its included DLC and new missions. The action should be more seamless too with new lock-on targeting options and additional hints for those who might need them. A new Piklopedia has also been added, giving you more insight into the creatures you’ll encounter throughout the campaign.

Pikmin 3 originally launched for the Wii U in 2013 and was praised for its creativity and whimsy. In GameSpot’s 8/10 Pikmin 3 review, critic Tom Mc Shea wrote, “There’s nothing quite like Pikmin out there, and its delightful combination of survival strategy and unflinching cuteness should entertain you throughout this lengthy adventure.”

Pikmin 4 was announced all the way back in 2015 but hasn’t had any significant updates since. Shigeru Miyamoto did confirm in 2016 that the project was still in development, but that it was a difficult title to fit into Nintendo’s list of priorities. Since then Nintendo has launched the Nintendo Switch as well as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Super Mario Odyssey, Splatoon 2, and more in its more popular franchises, so perhaps that slate is looking a little more flexible now.

If you’re looking for something to play on your Nintendo Switch, GameStop’s Deal of the Day for August 5 discounts three fairly recent games: Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, Daemon X Machina, and Dragon Quest Builders 2. These deals are only good until 9 PM PT / 12 AM ET, and it’s possible they’ll sell out sooner.

All three deals are on pre-owned copies of the games. Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is down to $40, Daemon X Machina is $30, and Dragon Quest Builders 2 is $40. These are the best prices we’e seen on Tokyo Mirage Sessions and Daemon X Machina, but we should note that we’ve seen Dragon Quest Builders 2 for around $30. Still, it’s a wonderful game that regularly goes for $50, so this is still a good price.

Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore, an enhanced port of the 2016 Wii U game, released earlier this year on Switch. Developed by Atlus, Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE Encore is an amalgamation of Fire Emblem and Shin Megami Tensei with a musical bent. The original Wii U release earned an 8/10 in GameSpot’s Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE review, so if you’re in need of a 50-plus hour JRPG, it’s worth a look.

Daemon X Machina is a third-person mech game that released last year on Switch, offering fun solo and cooperative mech combat that’s highly customizable. It earned a 7/10 in our Daemon X Machina review.

For fans of Minecraft and action-RPGs, Dragon Quest Builders 2 makes a strong impression. The much-improved sequel has a lavish open-world to explore, great building mechanics, and varied quests to keep the lengthy experience fresh after dozens of hours. We gave it an 8/10 in our Dragon Quest Builders 2 review.

Nintendo has announced that Pikmin 3 Deluxe will be released on Switch on October 30, 2020 for $59.99 USD.

Pikmin 3 was originally released on the Wii U in 2013, and the deluxe version adds co-op for the whole story mode and new side-story missions that can also be played with a friend. Furthermore, all the Mission mode DLC stages from the original Pikmin 3 will be included.

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/08/05/pikmin-3-deluxe-announcement-trailer”]

The side-story missions see Olimar and Louie exploring planet PNF-404, and Pikmin 3 Deluxe will also have a head-to-head multiplayer mode in Bingo Battle. There will also be a new Piklopedia feature that allows you to collect information on creatures and earn in-game badges by meeting certain conditions.

New difficulty options have been added to this version, as well as lock-on targeting, optional hints, and the choice to “play at a more relaxed pace.”

In our review of Pikmin 3, we said it “is a delight. There’s nothing else like its gentle combination of exploration, strategy and discovery, and it made me feel both empathy and responsibility for virtual creatures that most games would treat as disposable fodder.”

[ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2013/07/22/pikmin-3-video-review”]

Pikmin 3 Deluxe was announced in a similar fashion to Paper Mario: The Origami King, in a Tweet as opposed to a part of a Nintendo Direct.

It’s been a while since the last full Nintendo Direct, and while we know such big games as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2 and Metroid Prime 4 are on their way, there is a lack of known release dates for the Switch.

There have been reports of Nintendo planning a 35th anniversary celebration for Mario by re-releasing such games as Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario 64, and Super Mario Sunshine. However, we have yet to hear anything official from Nintendo.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=pikmin-3-deluxe-screenshots&captions=true”]

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

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.

It’s a rare and splendid thing to find first-party Nintendo Switch games on sale, and right now both Best Buy and Amazon are offering some of the best Nintendo Switch games of all time (and some of the best games, period) for 17% off.

Best Buy’s selection of discounted Nintendo Switch games is better than Amazon’s, but Amazon has Donkey Kong: Tropical Freeze on sale for $49.99, which includes new Funky Mode at no extra cost.

Nintendo Switch Game Deals at Amazon

[poilib element=”commerceDeal” parameters=”slug=amazon-nintendo-game-deals”]

Nintendo Switch Game Deals at Best Buy

[poilib element=”commerceDeal” parameters=”slug=best-buy-nintendo-game-deals”]

Be sure to bookmark our best Xbox deals and best PS4 deals, since we update them all the time to bring you the newest and best deals. Spoiler: deals for those two consoles are hard to come by thanks to the impending release of Xbox Series X and PS5. But a deal’s a deal!

[widget path=”ign/modules/recirc” parameters=”title=&type=articles%2Cvideos&tags=us-shopping&count=3&columnCount=3&theme=article”]

Seth Macy is Executive Editor, IGN Commerce, and just wants to be your friend. Find him on Instagram @sethgmacy.

Last year, Samsung upsized its biggest flagship phone with the Galaxy Note 10 Plus and now it’s introducing an even larger phablet with the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra.  Featuring a bigger 6.9-inch screen, faster Snapdragon processor, and the lowest latency pen yet, the Note 20 Ultra aims to be the most powerful smartphone you can buy for a hearty sum.

What Are the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra’s Specifications?

As with last year, the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 comes in two sizes. The regular Note 20 features a 6.7-inch FHD+ (2,400 x 1,080) display while the larger Note 20 Ultra integrates a 6.9-inch Quad HD+ (3,088 x 1,440) screen. The larger phone not only has a bigger display, but it also hits a higher refresh rate of 120Hz.

The biggest improvement to the Note 20 series is how much faster the S-Pen will feel as you’re scribbling on the display. According to Samsung, the latency on the integrated stylus has been reduced to as little as 26ms on the Note 20 and 9ms on the Note 20 Ultra.

Internally both phones come running with a Snapdragon 865 Plus processor that’s a step above the regular Snapdragon 865 found in all of this year’s flagships including the Samsung Galaxy S20 and OnePlus 8 Pro. This new chip offers a higher clock speed of 3.1GHz over the normal Snapdragon 865 that runs at 2.84GHz.

You’re also looking at a minimum of 8GB of LPDDR5 memory in the Note 20 and 12GB of RAM in the Note 20 Ultra. Storage meanwhile starts at 128GB for both versions, but only the Ultra model offers a larger 512GB capacity that users can further expand with a Micro SD card.

The Note 20 Ultra also has a larger 4.500mAh battery whereas the Note 20 has a 4,300mAh battery.

What Cameras Do You Get on the Samsung Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra?

Following in the footsteps of the Galaxy S20, Samsung has shaken up the cameras on the Note 20-series by including high-resolution cameras and optical zoom lenses for combined hybrid Space Zoom features.

One change we find a little disappointing is the 16MP Ultrawide camera has been cut down to only 12MP in resolution.

Samsung Galaxy Note 20

• 12MP Ultra Wide Camera: FOV: 120-degrees, Aperture: f2.2
• 12MP Wide-angle Camera: FOV: 79-degrees, Aperture: f1.8, Super Speed Dual Pixel AF, OIS
• 64MP Telephoto Camera: FOV: 76-degrees, Aperture: f2.0
• 10MP Selife Camera: Aperture: f2.2
• 3x Optical Zoom
• 30x Super Resolution Zoom

Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra

• 12MP Ultra Wide Camera: FOV: 120-degrees, Aperture: f2.2
• 108MP Wide-angle Camera: FOV: 79-degrees, Aperture: f1.8, PDAF, OIS
• 12MP Telephoto Camera: FOV: 20-degrees, Aperture: f3.0
• 10MP Selife Camera: Aperture: f2.2
• 5x Optical Zoom
• 50x Super Resolution Zoom

How Much Will the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra Cost?

The Galaxy Note 20 starts at $999 and will be available in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Gray, Mystic Green. The Galaxy Note 20 Ultra starts at $1,299 and will be available in Mystic Bronze, Mystic Black, Mystic White.

When Is the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 Ultra Release Date?

Both the Samsung Galaxy Note 20 and Note 20 Ultra release on August 21st. Preorders for the Note 20 series open up on August 6 at 12:01 am ET.

[widget path=”global/article/imagegallery” parameters=”albumSlug=best-smartphones&captions=true”]

What Else Did Samsung Announce at Its Unpacked 2020 Event?

Of course, no Unpacked event would be complete without a few other announcements to go with Samsung’s smartphones. The most exciting side announcements of the event were Samsung first 120Hz tablets and a new pair of wireless earbuds with active noise-canceling.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S7 and Tab S7 Plus

Samsung’s flagship tablet is getting even bigger for 2020. Whereas the previous Galaxy Tab S6 had a 10.5-inch screen, the Galaxy Tab S7 has moved up to an 11-inch WQXGA (2,560 x 1,600) display. Samsung has also introduced a new Galaxy Tab S7 Plus model featuring its largest 12.4-inch Super AMOLED screen WQXGA+ (2,800 x 1,752). Both tablets also feature 120Hz display, four Dolby Atmos certified AKG speakers, and an octa-core processor. The Galaxy Tab S7 and Galaxy Tab S7 will release later this Fall for $649 and $849, respectively.

Samsung Galaxy Buds Live

Meet Samsung’s first pair of noise-cancelling truly wireless earbuds. These fully wireless earbuds feature 12mm drivers paired with three microphones. The Samsung Galaxy Buds Live will be available starting on August 6th for $169.

[poilib element=”accentDivider”]

Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Kevin Lee is IGN’s Hardware and Roundups Editor. Follow him on Twitter @baggingspam