biteho.com

Wednesday’s Nintendo Direct gave us a closer look at a number of Switch games still to come this year. Nintendo had already said the presentation would share more details about Luigi’s Mansion 3 and Pokemon Sword and Shield, but it also touched on one of this month’s biggest Switch releases: The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.

Along with showing off some new footage of the upcoming game, Nintendo revealed some additional Amiibo functionality. The company had previously confirmed that tapping a Legend of Zelda Amiibo allows you to add “plus effects” to dungeon rooms in the new dungeon editor mode. During the Direct, we learned that you will also be able to save your custom dungeon layouts to the Zelda Amiibo figures, allowing you to bring them with you and tap them into another player’s game.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening for Switch is a remake of the classic 1993 Game Boy game of the same name. While most of the adventure appears to be unchanged, barring the updated visuals and other quality-of-life improvements, Nintendo has added some new content to the title, such as the aforementioned dungeon editor. As you progress through the game, you’ll acquire Chambers, or dungeon rooms, which you can then arrange in a new area called the Chamber Dungeon to create your own custom labyrinth.

We recently had a chance to play the Link’s Awakening remake at PAX West and thought it was as fun as it is cute. You can hear our thoughts in the video above. For more details about the game, be sure to check out our roundup of everything we know about the Link’s Awakening remake.

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening arrives on Switch on September 20–the same day that both the Nintendo Switch Lite and the humorous Untitled Goose Game release. The game will be available in standard and limited editions; you can read more about those and take a look at what pre-order bonuses are available at different retailers in our Link’s Awakening pre-order guide.

See the Link’s Awakening Amiibo at Best Buy

Sony Interactive Entertainment Japan Asia previously outlined its plans for the upcoming Tokyo Game Show, which runs from September 12 to 15 at the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan. The company announced it would be showcasing numerous games on the show floor and in a nearby mega-theatre, including Final Fantasy VII Remake, Nioh 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Death Stranding. The most notable news to come out of Sony’s plans, however, was the absence of a pre-show press conference, following in the wake of Sony’s no-show at E3 and its decision not to host the annual PlayStation Experience this year.

Nevertheless, Sony has now revealed the full lineup of games slated to appear at TGS, and it’s a pretty huge list. There’s a mixture of first- and third-party titles for both PlayStation 4 and PSVR set to appear on the show floor, but the one that grabbed most people’s attention is Ghost of Tsushima. The last time we saw the samurai action game was back at E3 2018 when a lengthy trailer was featured during Sony’s press conference. The TGS lineup lists it as having a trailer, so everyone assumed new footage would be shown. Unfortunately, Sucker Punch communications manager Andrew Goldfarb soon shut down any notions of seeing something new from Ghost of Tsushima at TGS.

“I’d imagine they’re just showing our old trailers at the booth, we have no plans for TGS,” Goldfarb told a fan on Twitter. Presumably, we’ll have to wait until next year’s E3 to see more from Sucker Punch’s latest.

In the meantime, Sony plans on streaming live shows throughout the event that will include games like Death Stranding, Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot, Yakuza: Like A Dragon, and the mysterious new Resident Evil game Project Resistance.

Here’s the full lineup of games appearing at TGS, courtesy of Gematsu:

PS4

• 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim (Atlus) – Trailer
• AI: The Somnium Files (Spike Chunsoft) – Trailer
• Atelier Ryza: Ever Darkness & the Secret Hideout (Koei Tecmo) – Trailer
• Biped (Next Studios) – Trailer
• Borderlands 3 (Take-Two Interactive Japan) – Playable, Trailer
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (SIE) – Playable, Trailer
• Code Vein (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Concrete Genie (SIE) – Playable, Trailer
• Contra: Rogue Corps (Konami) – Trailer
• Control (Marvelous) – Trailer
• Cyberpunk 2077 (Spike Chunsoft) – Trailer
• The Dark Pictures Anthology: Man of Medan (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Death Stranding (SIE) – Trailer
• Destiny 2: Shadowkeep (SIE) – Trailer
• Digimon Survive (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Divinity: Original Sin 2 Definitive Edition (Spike Chunsoft) – Trailer
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (Bandai Namco) – Playable, Trailer
• Dreams (SIE) – Trailer
• PES 2020 (Konami) – Playable, Trailer
• FIFA 20 (EA) – Playable, Trailer
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake (Square Enix) – Playable, Trailer
• Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Remastered Edition (Square Enix) – Trailer
• Fortnite (Epic Games) – Playable, Trailer
• Genshin Impact (Mihoyo) – Playable, Trailer
• Ghost Recon: Breakpoint (Ubisoft) – Trailer
• Ghost of Tsushima (SIE) – Trailer
• Granblue Fantasy: Versus (Cygames) – Playable, Trailer
• Gungrave G.O.R.E. (Iggymob) – Trailer
• Inazuma Eleven Ares (Level-5) – Trailer
• Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? Infinite Combate (Mages) (also on PS Vita) – Trailer
• Little Nightmares 2 (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Marvel’s Avengers (Square Enix) – Trailer
• Medievil (SIE) – Playable, Trailer
• Mega Man Zero / ZX Legacy Collection (Capcom) – Trailer
• Monkey King: Hero is Back (SIE) – Playable, Trailer
• Monster Hunter World: Iceborne (Capcom) – Trailer
• Need for Speed: Heat (EA) – Trailer
• New Guilty Gear (Arc System Works) – Trailer
• Nioh 2 (Koei Tecmo) – Playable, Trailer
• One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 (Bandai Namco) – Playable, Trailer
• One-Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Persona 5 Royal (Atlus) – Playable, Trailer
• Project Resistance (Capcom) – Playable, Trailer
• Project Sakura Wars (Sega) – Playable, Trailer
• ReadySet Heroes (SIE) – Playable, Trailer
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms 14 (Koei Tecmo) – Trailer
• Romancing Saga 3 (Square Enix) (also on PS Vita) – Trailer
• Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin (Marvelous) – Trailer
• SD Gundam G Generation Cross Rays (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Shenmue 3 (Koch Media / Deep Silver) – Trailer
• Star Ocean: First Departure R (Square Enix) – Trailer
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (EA) – Trailer
• Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Tales of Arise (Bandai Namco) – Trailer
• Trials of Mana (Square Enix) – Playable, Trailer
• Watch Dogs: Legion (Ubisoft) – Trailer
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Sega) – Playable, Trailer

PS VR

• Concrete Genie (SIE) – Playable, Trailer
• Deemo Reborn (Unties) – Playable, Trailer
• Marvel’s Iron Man VR (SIE) – Playable, Trailer
• Hatsune Miku VR (Degica Games) – Playable, Trailer
• Sairento VR (Initiative Media) – Trailer
• Stumper (Thirteenth Floor Corporation) – Trailer
• Throw Anything (Visual Light) – Playable, Trailer

Stage live show

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (SIE)
• Death Stranding (SIE)
• Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot (Bandai Namco)
• Final Fantasy 7 Remake (Square Enix)
• Gran Turismo Sport (SIE)
• Nioh 2 (Koei Tecmo)
• Project Resistance (Capcom)
• Yakuza: Like a Dragon (Sega)

Cliff Bleszinski was the creator and lead designer on the first three Gears of War games before leaving developer Epic Games in 2012 after 20 years at the company. After some time away, he set up a brand-new studio called Boss Key and went on to release LawBreakers and the battle royale game Radical Heights. The studio unfortunately shut down shortly thereafter, and Bleszinski said he would probably never make another game for a number of reasons.

That hasn’t stopped him from playing games, though. The Gears of War creator recently tweeted out a picture of the Gears 5 start screen, thanking Rod Fergusson, the studio head of developer The Colation, for the early game code. Bleszinski may not have been involved in the series since 2011’s Gears of War 3, but he’s still keeping up with the continued adventures of Marcus Fenix and co.

However, the most interesting tidbit arrived in a follow-up tweet. “Not gonna lie, seeing a woman on the cover of a Gears game makes me happy,” Bleszinski said. “I was told for decades ‘games with female leads don’t sell.'”

Women have featured on the cover of Gears before, but never front and centre, and never when Bleszinski was helming the series. If there’s one example of the changing times, it might just be Gears of War gradually moving away from featuring four muscle-bound men to putting the spotlight on a female lead. “Instead of focusing on JD and his relationship with Marcus as in Gears 4, the sequel recenters on Kait, who lost her mother to the Swarm at the end of the last game,” GameSpot’s Gears 5 review explains. “Gears 4’s ending suggested that Kait has a connection to the Locust horde that Marcus helped to genocide 25 years ago, and a good portion of Gears 5 is about exploring that connection and uncovering secrets long buried by the COG government.”

For more Gears 5 coverage you can check out our review roundup to see what the critics are saying, find out how to play the game for only $1, and check out a musical easter egg.

Nintendo’s latest Direct presentation was filled to the brim with exciting news for Nintendo Switch owners. The leaked Switch version of Overwatch was confirmed right out of the gate before Nintendo shared more information on Pokemon Sword/Shield and Luigi’s Mansion 3. There was also a surprise announcement for Deadly Premonition 2: A Blessing In Disguise, the arrival of SNES games on Nintendo Switch Online, and plenty of other reveals you can catch up on in our roundup.

One of the games making its way to Switch is the free-to-play monster slayer Dauntless. We recently saw footage of Phoenix Labs’ game running on Nintendo’s hardware at PAX West, and last night’s Direct confirmed that the Switch version will feature cross-play support between PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, as well as frequent content updates to maintain parity across all platforms. No specific release date was given, but Dauntless is due out on Switch later this year.

GameSpot reviewed Dauntless back when it initially released in May. Ginny Woo said, “Overall, Dauntless is clearly an experience that has been optimized to deliver the most stress-free multiplayer session possible. From the seamless cross-play to the way that anyone can hop into a game and confidently take up arms against formidable foes, it’s refreshingly accessible and looks great to boot. While it can feel a little empty, and there are bugs that mar the experience here and there, its fresh look and lively spark are more than enticing enough to warrant a spin.”

If you’re clamouring for something new to play on your Switch today, we’ve got you covered with the full list of games released during Nintendo’s Direct.

Fortnite is currently in the midst of a surprise crossover event with upcoming looter shooter Borderlands 3, but that hasn’t stopped Epic’s popular battle royale from teasing yet another pop culture crossover. It Chapter 2 is just one day away from hitting cinema screens, and antagonist Pennywise might soon be appearing in Fortnite to strike fear into players in a similar fashion to the sight of an approaching B.R.U.T.E. mech.

Multiple Reddit users have reported seeing mysterious red balloons all over the game’s map, from Salty Springs to Pleasant Park. These balloons are attached to storm drains in case the hint wasn’t already obvious enough, and they emit a creepy laugh if you interact with them. All of these elements are, of course, synonymous with It and Pennywise. With the movie set to release on September 6, a Fortnite crossover event is likely to coincide with its theatrical debut. What this might entail remains to be seen, however, as Fortnite’s collaborations tend to vary in breadth.

The current Borderlands crossover event is fairly comprehensive, featuring a new Rift Zone based on the planet of Pandora, as well as themed challenges, Borderlands flavored rewards, and The Psycho Bundle. In the past we’ve also seen Thanos from the final Avengers movies appear in the game with his own limited-time mode, a Fortnite x Stranger Things crossover event, and John Wick featured as a skin. Whether Pennywise will be a skin or part of something much bigger is up for debate. Fortunately, we won’t have to wait 27 years to find out.

If you’re interested in It Chapter 2, GameSpot has you covered in our review for the upcoming horror flick. With an incredible ensemble cast and a handful of genuinely terrifying and subtle scares, Meg Downey says it’s fun as hell to watch these characters come together to face down a terrifying clown monster.

The PS4 exclusive Days Gone is getting an update soon that will add a few new bells and whistles including a New Game Plus mode. It also packs two more difficulty modes, which can be played fresh or in New Game Plus regardless of your original difficulty setting. The update is coming on September 13.

According to the announcement, a New Game Plus file will retain all of your weapons, bike upgrades, NERO boosters, skills, recipes, encampment trust, credits, collectibles, and trophy progress. To start a NG+ file, you need to have finished the “I’m Never Giving Up” storyline. You can also use perks from challenges in NG+.

The update will include new Hard II and Survival II difficulty modes. These add another layer of challenge to the regular difficulty and post-launch Survival modes, and you can play them with your NG+ file for a leg up. If you’re brand new to Days Gone and just want to take on a tough challenge from the start, though, you can play them that way too. You can also earn new trophies in the NG+ and new difficulty modes. The announcement teases a special weapon from a shadowy agent as well.

Finally, Bend Studio announced that the Days Gone soundtrack will be available on vinyl through Mondo. It features 25 tracks, and pre-orders will begin on September 11 through the Mondo merchandise website.