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Have you ever seen a soccer team move to the lower division due to a string of poor performances? Today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue, “lowers in rank,” asks you to find an official formal word that you’d use to describe a team or a person who goes down in rank. If today’s NYT Mini Crossword clue is proving to be difficult, then you can use our hints and answers below to beat the puzzle easily. View the full article

Honkai: Star Rail has finally revealed Sunday's upcoming release as a playable character, confirming the longstanding rumors about Penacony's former Oak Family leader. The debut of the HoYoverse sci-fi RPG's newest world saw plenty of new additions to the game's playable cast, with Penacony bringing a wide variety of characters to the game. New roster members like Acheron, Sparkle, and Firefly have quickly become some of the game's most popular characters, while others like ****** Swan and ***** have become popular picks for specific teams. However, one Penacony character is still waiting for their debut. View the full article

Pre-orders are now open for RetroTime's upcoming Bluetooth hub for the NES. It is the first attachment for the system's mysterious expansion slot in almost 40 years. Read Entire Article View the full article

Sonic X Shadow Generations has leaked two weeks ahead of launch, with spoiler filled videos and images of the game being posted online. Sonic X Shadow Generations is currently one of the most anticipated releases from ***** and Sonic Team, as not only is it a remaster of 2011's Sonic Generations, but it also features a new, parallel campaign focused on Shadow the Hedgehog. Shadow's side of the game has him fighting off ****** *****, who has mysteriously come back after his defeat at the end of Shadow the Hedgehog. View the full article

Image: Atlus Atlus’ game tackles tough subjects with refreshing nuance, catapulting it beyond simply being ‘Persona with swords.’ Continue reading… View the full article

Undisputed developer Steel City Interactive says it is investigating solutions for multiplayer matches being affected by sync issues and the wildly overpowered power punches, which can currently break through an opponents guard with ease. Although Undisputed was in early access for almost two years, a major issue with power punches is causing fans to blast the games multiplayer as unplayable, but Steel City now says theyre working on a fix. View the full article

Honkai: Star Rail has finally revealed one of the game's longest-rumored characters, with Fugue confirmed to be coming with the Version 2.7 update as a new version of Tingyun. The roster of the popular sci-fi RPG from HoYoverse has featured plenty of unique characters for players to choose from, with many having different playable versions. Multiple members of the game's cast of starter characters have seen new forms released, including March 7th's Hunt variant and five-star character Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae. Now, another popular character is set to return to Star Rail in a new way. View the full article

In Metaphor ReFantazio, you’ll meet several characters that will help you along your journey. One of the most critical ones to your party is Strohl, a young Clemar with a resolve for justice. Here are all the right answers and how to bond easily with Strohl. Metaphor ReFantazio – Strohl Bond (Social Link) guide and answers Strohl will be with you from the very start. Screenshot by Dot Esports Strohl is the first party member the protagonist meets early on in Metaphor: Refantazio. He joins your party and develops his first archetype. The moment he does so, he also forms a bond with the protagonist. However, to fully develop their bond and gain the gameplay benefits in the process, you’ll have to spend time with him through Bond quests. Strohl’s Bond unlocks in Nord Mines as part of the main story on 6/6 after completing the Regalith Grand Cathedral dungeon. Each bond event has dialogue choices, and depending on your choice, you will earn extra MAG. View the full article

While Helldivers 2 might be in a much better place after a few months of community consternation, it's been long enough since launch that you and your liberty-loving crew might be on the lookout for the next great co-op game. Starship Troopers Extermination might just be that answer. Having just reached its full launch after more than a year in early access, it offers co-op FPS action in the iconic sci-fi setting with support for up to 16 players at once. With a 'very positive' Steam rating to its name, developer Offworld now outlines its plans for the future, with "an exciting 2025" ahead. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: If Helldivers 2 has left you disappointed, the perfect sci-fi FPS just hit 1.0 Helldivers 2 rival Starship Troopers Extermination details 1.0 revamp Helldivers 2 rival sets Steam 1.0 launch with new single-player mode View the full article

Epic Games has released a brand new Fortnite update on October 12, marking the beginning of the highly anticipated Halloween event, Fortnitemares. The event will feature a plethora of new cosmetic items, challenges, and weapons, and will run until the end of Fortnite Chapter 5 Season 4, which is expected to conclude on November 2. View the full article

This week, Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the company's latest innovation, the Cybercab robotaxi, at the We, ****** event at Warner Bros Studios in Burbank, California. The tech mogul made a dramatic entrance by arriving at the sci-fi-themed function in the vehicle dressed in his signature ****** leather jacket and... Read Entire Article View the full article

The "Bros" part of Super Smash Bros. has always been a bit of a mystery, but series creator Masahiro Sakurai has shed some light on what it means. Read more View the full article

Metaphor: ReFantazio has peaked at 75,899 concurrent players on 12 October 2024 a day after release. View charts and more statistics on our website.View the full article

The survivors can all potentially **** in the Until Dawn Remake. ******** everyone is even required for one of the PlayStation 5 Trophies - "This is THE End." How they meet their demise can affect further story and plot elements. It can change who the next protagonist is, alter scenes, or completely bypass sections. Additionally, the remaining characters may be traumatized by the loss of a loved one, relish that a rival perished, or try to console others. This makes seeing various deaths in different parts of the game worthwhile. View the full article

Metaphor: ReFantazio takes a lot of inspiration from Persona, but that's not always to its benefit. Borrowing the concepts of Personas (which it calls Archetypes), Social Links/Confidants (which it calls Bonds), and awakenings (which it calls...awakenings), Metaphor isn't exactly a Persona sequel, but with little more than a name change, it certainly could be. It's not just a carbon copy of the rest of the series, either; in many ways, it builds on classic franchise tropes, blending Persona and the wider Shin Megami Tensei series to create the next evolution of the Atlus formula. View the full article

SUCCESS Corporation has announced they’re working on a new Aero Fighters game, the first new entry for the series in nearly 27 years. The new Aero Fighters game was announced during Hamster Corporation’s “502nd Arcade Archiver Super Valley ’91 Special!” broadcast, where SUCCESS staff Nagatomo Shinya announced the new ****** ’em up game. Originally known […] Source View the full article

Developer Ocean Drive Studio has announced a release date for Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch, their new spinoff strategy RPG set within their fantasy universe. Lost Eidolons: Veil of the Witch is launching on November 5th for Windows PC (via Steam) in early access, and is described as a “feature-complete” version of the game, and is playable […] Source View the full article

Image: A24 A curated selection of the best new horror games, movies, and TV shows to check out. Continue reading… View the full article

While it is possible to use any Archetype for your party members in Metaphor ReFantazio, there are some that feel like more of a natural fit than others in terms of optimal builds and stats. Standing out as one of the most interesting early-game Followers, it’s important to pick a good Archetype for Strohl. Here, we’ve picked out the best Archetype for Strohl in Metaphor ReFantazio, including tips on how to build a solid party with this character in mind. View the full article

Everyone pretty much already knew that Payday 3 had a really terrible launch, and in a recent interview developer Starbreeze has admitted as such, even as it makes some hopeful promises. Read more View the full article

Katsura Hashino knows exactly what he wants when it comes to video games. The legendary game director, who is responsible for the modern Persona games and more recently Metaphor: ReFantazio, believes that, in a world obsessed with pixel count and frame-rates, only one thing matters: the people who made it. “I want something – even if it’s not complete, even if it’s really rough, even if it’s something really unfinished – to give me a glimpse of the humanity behind it. who created it and for it to give me a glimpse of the emotion that inspired it,” he explains. It’s a philosophy that has served him well over the past 30 years and it’s one of the reasons the Persona games have such a devout following. Yes, the art direction is impeccable, as is the attention to detail, even down to the UI, but it’s the characters who populate this fantastical series that really make a difference. Chie, Junpei, Ann… They all feel like real people, with traits and emotions we can relate to, so much so they feel like old friends rather than characters from a video game. That’s entirely intentional and it’s what drives Hashino to make games – a personal approach that runs counter to some of the ******* projects out there that are required to meet the expectations of both fans and company shareholders alike. I want something – even if it’s not complete, even if it’s really rough, even if it’s something really unfinished – to give me a glimpse of the humanity behind it. Hashino is a longtime director at Atlus, having worked on several of the company’s Shin Megami Tensei games, the much-loved RPG series that merges the occult with more grounded settings. In a world dominated by ‘traditional’ ********* RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, they’re a sort of goth alternative that has steadily grown in popularity over the years. He took over the Persona series starting with Persona 3, following the departure of the previous Persona director Kouji Okada. Hashino brought over some of the darker themes from Shin Megami Tensei and mixed them with Persona’s more stylish pop vibe, resulting in a vibrant anime-influenced aesthetic, set against a high school backdrop that grappled with mythic ideas like gods and demons, as well as psychology. It’s a series that has established Hashino as one of gaming’s most respected directors. On the eve of his latest game, Metaphor: ReFantazio, IGN sat down with Hashino to look back at his past work and what drives him to make games. Persona 3 catapulted the series into mass popularity and coincided with a renewed interest in anime in North America. However, despite its cartoon visuals there’s a lot of depth to the game and, importantly, the characters, as Hashino explains: “I think the gap between the kind of realism of the characters themselves and the anime aesthetic is a really interesting and important part of the game. You might first look and see these very anime-style characters and this anime-style world, but then might be surprised and interested to see there’s a very real [world] underpinning to them. Looking beyond the anime and seeing the realism is really a wonderful part of our games.” I feel like if you have these super highly polished games that look like they were designed by a bunch of people in a CEO boardroom, that doesn’t really excited me This realism – the effort Hashino and his team goes to, to ensure every character feels real – is what drives every decision in the design process, from broad ideas to specific dialogue, as Hasino explains: “There’s this little girl named Nanako [in Persona 4] who’s in elementary school. When we were first writing her dialogue, we wrote [it] to be really, really cute. But then we took a step back and thought, ‘Wait a minute, all of her lines are so cute and they’re so well done that it doesn’t feel like any actual human girl would [talk like that] at that age’. It just felt like too much.” Rather than lean into the fact Nanako is a video game character and thus might have dialogue that doesn’t sound truly authentic, Hashino and his team went back to the writers’ room. “We started cutting back on those overly cutesy dialogues and tried to root it in reality instead. So even though Persona 4 is a modern fantasy game, we wanted it to feel closer to something that could be happening next door to you.” One thing that becomes clear when speaking with Hashino is the love he has for the well-being of the characters in his games. When discussing his favorite moment in Persona 5, he tells us it’s when the cast of characters are able to hang out in the retro-style cafe in Shibuya that the Phantom Thieves make their hideout. “In Persona 5, a lot of the characters don’t really have a place where they feel safe,” Hashino explains. “So I wanted to find a place where they can go and just really have that sense of security. And in Shibuya [a neighborhood in Tokyo] it’s really hard to find that location. There’s lots of roads, lots of corridors, but there’s not really a place where [you think], ‘Okay, you guys can just sit here and chill out and just use it as your base’. Finding a place [where] they’d be welcome is really difficult. So for the characters in Persona 5, I was trying to give them a place where they would be welcome. That’s when I came up with the idea of what we call in Japan a junkissa, which is an old-style cafe.” Unsurprisingly, Hashino’s love for the characters he creates is something that’s echoed by fans, and even though Metaphor: ReFantazio steps away from the familiar Persona setting – it’s set in a new, fantasy world rather than Tokyo – it has a lot in common with the games he’s made before. Similarly, the characters you’ll meet in Metaphor, despite being different from the Phantom Thieves we’re familiar with, are faced with many of the same emotional pressures such as prejudice, *****, and anxiety. “Metaphor is a game where the characters are around teenage age, but they’re not facing [traditional] teenager problems,” Hashino says, inferring that the characters you meet will struggle with a lot more than typical teen drama like peer pressure and romance. “They’re facing anxiety and all these other big things that affect everybody, no matter who they are, where they are, or how old they are.” So while Metaphor: ReFantazio presents a new world with new characters, many of its themes can be found in Hashino’s other games. Indeed, whether it’s Persona, Shin Megami Tensei or Metaphor, getting under the skin of each character is core to the experience. It’s something Hashino believes comes from the people who make the games, and that he prefers projects in which you can see a developer’s true self: “I feel like if you have these super highly polished games that look like they were designed by a bunch of people in a CEO boardroom, that doesn’t really excited me — it doesn’t really interest me”, he admits, bluntly. “But when I see these sorts of games [which reveal a little about the people that made them], it really fills me with the motivation to keep developing,” he says. “That these artists, these creatives, had something they really wanted to say is where I get all of my inspiration from, and the drive to continue to be creative myself.” Matt Kim is IGN's Senior Features Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd. View the full article

The SAW collaboration is in full swing in Fortnite, and you can use the ***** Billy item to deal explosive damage to unsuspecting enemies and gain the upper hand in fights. The ***** Billy item in Fortnite is one of the explosive items in this year’s Fortnitemares, which puts Billy in a tricycle that constantly looks for enemies after being deployed. Once an ****** comes close to its proximity, Billy chases the ****** with its glowing red eyes and detonates itself to damage the player. If you’re looking to get your hands on this item in your matches, you will need to get lucky or overcome hard challenges. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

It's been confirmed that Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 will be launching without some fan favorite game modes. Call of Duty: ****** Ops 6 is one of the most-hyped new Call of Duty games in years. Developer Treyarch has a ton of goodwill with franchise fans, and so many are looking forward to the next installment in the long-running series. View the full article

Rangers are an often overlooked class in Baldur's Gate 3 and Dungeons & Dragons, which is a shame as they are a brilliantly customizable class with many awesome features. Larian Studios was able to adjust many of the elements for rangers that didn't work well, making rangers tons of fun to play and wonderful for multiclassing. So, whether making a custom ranger or adding Minsc to the party, there are certain items every ranger will want. View the full article

A set of new leaks about Genshin Impact 5.2 indicate that, despite the lack of new Archon Quests in the region with the patch, Natlan will see some major development throughout the update. Version 5.2 is the next major patch for HoYoverses action RPG. Two new Natlan characters have been confirmed to become playable with the update, though the content should not revolve around the Nation of Pyro. The developer has already confirmed that the Archon Quests will take a pause in Version 5.1, the same patch that introduced Xilonen in Genshin Impact, and return in Version 5.3. View the full article