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Ubisoft apologized to the Sekigahara Teppo-**** infantryman reenactment group after unknowingly using the organization's banner in the development of *********'s Creed Shadows. The next mainline entry into the long-running *********'s Creed series is already no stranger to controversy. However, Ubisoft has now also drawn criticism due to one of the flags used in the game's concept art and its potential infringement on a local troupe's design. View the full article

The First Descendant players have had their matchmaking prayers answered today after Nexon announced it will be implementing player pairing changes for Hard Mode activities, including Infiltration Operations and Void Intercepts. Nexon confirmed public matchmaking is on its way for endgame activities in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on July 9, as well as a short statement in The First Descendant‘s Discord server. It comes after days of complaints from speedy players who had reached the tough but rewarding Dungeons after the main story but realized there was no matchmaking system, which forced them to link up with other players through world chat or third-party apps. View the full article

I've fallen in love all over again. The object of my re-affections is Ghost of Tsushima (the PC director's cut, specifically), but there's also a ***** fine discount on the PS edition today. Please, if it somehow passed you by, give it a ******. Gorgeous-looking. Great characters and plot. The ability to insta-***** multiple idiots with a quickdraw mechanic. What more do you even need? In retro news, I've baked a big "12" cake for Tokyo Jungle, a PS3 cult-hit that's criminally under-loved and under-remastered. How can I explain this to you in a way that doesn't make it sound like a fever dream? Humans have just vanished overnight, and it's every city-based animal—cat, dog, bird, race horse, zoo-escaped lion—for itself. Yep, it's rogue-lite survival as you try to game the food chain, feast upon the delicious calories of predators well out of your league, and then find some ******* to breed the next generation of **** Maximals before your 15-year timer is up. Clocking Soulslikes is fun and memorable for me—but not even they have matched the sense of pride I felt when forging a line of Pomeranians into apex wolf-killers with a decades-long reign of ******* behind them. This Day in Gaming Aussie birthdays for notable games. - Street Fighter Alpha 3 (ARC) 1998. Remaster - Advance Wars 2: ****** ***** Rising (GBA) 2003. Ebay - Tokyo Jungle (PS3) 2012. Ebay Table of ContentsNintendo SwitchPCXboxPlayStationNice Savings for Nintendo Switch Expiring Recent Deals Hardware Watch How much to make the switch to Switch? [/url] Back to top Purchase Cheaply for PC Expiring Recent Deals Hardware Watch Slay your pile of shame. [/url] Back to top Exciting Bargains for Xbox Expiring Recent Deals Hardware Watch How many bucks for a Box? [/url] Back to top Pure Scores for PlayStation Expiring Recent Deals Hardware Watch How much you'll pay to Station. [/url] Back to top Adam Mathew is our Aussie deals wrangler. He plays practically everything, often on YouTube. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Deep in the hearts of Icewrack in Dota 2 ***** the Severed Head, your normal everyday pub packed with patrons ordering pints and playing host to battles of epic proportions. These battles are the centerpiece of Sleet Fighter, a new Dota 2 minigame. Sleet Fighter is a fighting game built into the Dota 2 client and is free for all players. You’ll pick from five heroes and go toe-to-toe in the pub, throwing hands and battling using abilities just like you would in classic fighting games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. View the full article

Open-world survival game Once Human has finally launched PC and despite its mixed reviews is already enjoying a healthy heaping of success when it comes to everyone filling up its post-apocalyptic servers. With many gameplay aspects relying on other players, you may want to find out how many people are playing Once Human before diving in. View the full article

Fallout's creator Tim Cain has recently shared a new theory about how many vaults Vault-Tec was actually supposed to build and how it ********* the project. The Vaults that were designed by Vault-Tec have always been a subject of both interest and horror. These underground shelters in the Fallout games were initially built to protect Americans from nuclear war, but they soon became sites of cruel experiments on their inhabitants. View the full article

Just as Endwalker opened with you and the crew setting sail for the distant city of Old Sharlayan, Final Fantasy XIV’s Dawntrail expansion kicks off with a long cruise to a place we’ve never been before. But instead of connecting with a long-referenced society, you step into an entire region no one from Eorzea knows very much about. From the outset, venturing into the Mesoamerican and ****** *********-inspired land of Tural might lead you to believe that this is a summer vacation for a band of heroes that has saved entire realms from calamity. However, I can assure you that whatever you thought Dawntrail was, that’s exactly what it’s not. It’s the start of a new era for the MMO, and the growing pains of that transition can be apparent at times – but Dawntrail manages to prove once again why FFXIV is the standard-bearer for the Final Fantasy series. This latest expansion explores culture, family, and legacy in ways FFXIV hasn’t in the past – and before long, it begins to ask questions about the lengths we’ll go to preserve the things we hold dearest. On the surface, that will sound familiar to anyone who has stuck around all these years, but Dawntrail takes its own angle on these themes as to not retread well-worn territory. Instead, it offers new perspectives that, at times, hit just as hard as anything in the MMO’s 14-year history. The main scenario quest (MSQ) takes you in unpredictable directions, blending its deep real-world influences with high-tech sci-fi that incorporates concepts seen in the cyberpunk genre, and then manages to weave in the Final Fantasies of yore and have it all still make sense. It takes some work to get there, however. I appreciate the groundwork Dawntrail lays in the first half of the main questline, painting such a vivid picture of Tural with all its cultural context at the forefront. Deep cuts are tucked underneath the more obvious references to the inspirations it draws from – we all know what tacos and mezcal are, but having a quest focus on the in-world cochinita pibil recipe is one example of several nice touches. From the architecture of the hub city of Tuliyollal to the vibrant environmental design of its early zones, Dawntrail wears its influences on its sleeve, naturally fitting those societies and the peoples who embody them into an already-rich fantasy world. At critical points, I was reminded that FFXIV always gets me in my feelings in ways no other piece of fiction can, game or otherwise. But for as fascinating as the cultural exploration is, there’s a noticeable lack of momentum in the way you experience the story, which doesn’t surprise me given the nature of establishing a whole new story arc. For roughly the first half of MSQ, you travel across the lands of Tural alongside a new character named Wuk Lamat, a naive but always-optimistic female Hrothgar who has a heart of gold. She’s in the middle of an anime-like tournament arc against her siblings in hopes of becoming the new Dawnservant, or ruler, of Tural. This leads you to gain an intimate connection with the region’s people and bridge gaps between the seemingly disparate societies of each zone. It's structured so that you go through similar motions for very long stretches, and the story itself in the early goings is written in a way that’s uncharacteristically surface-level. Not everything needs to be poetic and profound (and Dawntrail eventually gets there), but conflicts are brought up and resolved in a rather simplistic manner that isn’t as powerful as the story seems to want you to feel they are. Instead, I found unraveling the complicated relationships between the siblings to be one of the highlights in the front half, which is an interesting dynamic that ******** consistent throughout. Initially, I was quite surprised that Wuk Lamat is essentially the main character of Dawntrail while you, as the Warrior of Light, and your Scion friends are put in supporting roles. However, she is the link that connects you to the new region and having her as your lens while being part of her traveling band provides the necessary context as for why you’re involved in the first place (other than not having much to do back in Eorzea and seeking adventure for the sake of it). I like Wuk Lamat as a character since she has the heart to carry Dawntrail’s themes, but she isn’t really given the depth needed to be a de facto protagonist. FFXIV hasn’t really used this kind of approach to its characters before – even as the Warrior of Light, the supporting cast has always played their part in uplifting the story as a whole. The closest thing in past expansions is the Crystal Exarch from Shadowbringers, but his personality immediately shined and his impact was unmistakable whether he was on-screen or not. So, when Wuk Lamat extolls the virtues of peace without fully grasping the nuances that come with that, it tends to ring hollow. With a tinge of shonen-style “power of friendship” energy, Dawntrail has its heart in the right place – and although it sometimes seems superficial, it’s nice to have a story that outright says that embracing our differences and engaging in an honest cultural exchange would make the world a better place, which Wuk Lamat does represents admirably. Its quest structure can sometimes be unexciting, but I’m hesitant to say that FFXIV is finally showing its limitations or anything because I’ve seen quests (main and optional) be truly creative within the confines of its MMO bounds over the years. Rather, it’s apparent that Dawntrail’s storytelling priorities mean it has a lot to get through while moving you along at a pace that tries not to drag on too much. There were a few times where I began to question what Dawntrail was really building towards. Every expansion has a sense of momentum to it right from the beginning, and this one’s new start presents a challenge that FFXIV hasn’t really had to face since A Realm Reborn. However, some well-designed dungeons, engaging boss fights with fresh battle mechanics, and hype moments in story-based solo instances kept me engaged and invested – and if anything, I was just happy to be along for the ride. That’s also because I knew I would inevitably hit a turning point in Dawntrail, like all of FFXIV expansions tend to have – and when I got there, it left me floored with revelations that ripple throughout the MMO’s long history. The switch flipped in the second half, which ushers you into FFXIV’s version of the old-timey ********* West. Hearing a Texan accent, let alone an ********* one, in FFXIV for the first time gave me whiplash on the same level as any plot twist. It’s charming as ***** how another piece of the real world effortlessly blends into the rest of the expansion’s personality. That’s also to say that what it has up its sleeve deeper in creates a stark contrast that is both conceptually and aesthetically superb. The high-tech sci-fi aspect of Dawntrail is pretty well-known in the lead up to its release – the main city of Solution Nine was revealed well beforehand, but it’s the reasons for bringing you there that make for quintessential FFXIV storytelling. It goes for some wild swings, and in this second half, contains truly stunning moments I’m still trying to wrap my head around. It fills me with joy to be genuinely surprised by a game I thought I’d known so well. Having been so invested in FFXIV for all these years and carrying many of my favorite story moments into my own life, I can’t always expect it to keep reaching those highs. Yet, Dawntrail does it again – perhaps not as consistently or elegantly, but it has left a significant impact nonetheless. It questions what makes family important, asks why we harbor such resentment for those different from us, and shows what’s possible when we work together. More effectively, it also builds on the questions posed in Shadowbringers and Endwalker, about how we handle loss, mortality, and the inevitable passage of time sweeping away the things we hold dear – and the uncomfortable truth that we ascribe value to life because it will end. This expansion is a worthy extension of FFXIV, and it leaves a world of fascinating possibilities. At critical points, I was reminded that FFXIV always gets me in my feelings in ways no other piece of fiction can, game or otherwise. Much of that can be attributed to the fact that certain characters I’ve loved continue to grow and be voices of reason to give clarity when everything else in my life feels like utter chaos. Yes, you are venturing into new and compelling beginnings in a land foreign to the characters you’ve been with for years, but Dawntrail is made stronger for the way it remembers where it came from. Part of me feels like Dawntrail conjoins two very different halves, and I often imagine the depth to which FFXIV could have explored its larger themes had it dedicated more time to one or the other. But with just enough connective tissue for its hard-hitting moments to not ring hollow, it’s able to land with the same kind of impact that previous expansions have, and for its own reasons. If there’s one particular theme to point toward, it’s that peace isn’t just the absence of war but a two-way street that must be worked for – whether that be peace in the world or the struggle for inner peace amid indelible heartbreak and tragedy. For all its shortcomings in the earlier hours, it certainly makes good on the ideas it tries to build. The way Dawntrail wields its final zone as a storytelling device, conceptually and visually, left me shocked and with my stomach in knots. The absolute onslaught of its last few dungeons had me on the edge of my seat frantically executing my ******* rotation. The creative battle mechanics that even surprised me as a long-time Savage raider left me grinning as I took those Damage Down debuffs like a champ. And to have fought almost all those battles alongside my favorite characters through the Duty Support system let these gameplay sequences also shine as peaks in its storytelling. The emotional core that always ushers FFXIV’s best moments is found in its music. Composer Masayoshi Soken alongside the sound team has broken new ground for the MMO, and for Final Fantasy as a series, here in Dawntrail. The Spanish and ****** ********* influences have been effortlessly woven into the songs that fill the new zones and towns with wonder and excitement, and the Flamenco-style battle theme is stuck in my head as I write this. The wistful melodies of the old western guitar riffs in Xak Tural standout as catchy tunes that set an unmistakable mood. Then you have synth-infused metal and trance tracks for pivotal battles that pack a punch unlike anything else in Dawntrail’s eclectic soundtrack. And yes, there are some really sweet lo-fi beats to chill or study to. Oh, and let’s not forget the jazzy swing theme of the new hub city of Tuliyollal. Regardless of style, Soken and company create incredible music that bends, fuses, and elevates genres while consistently incorporating the classical musical themes that naturally become part of the storytelling experience – just another common W for FFXIV. Story may be at the forefront of Dawntrail’s launch, but with a new expansion comes tons of new content on top – most notably the two new Jobs: Pictomancer and Viper. After leveling Pictomancer and perfecting its ******* rotation full of adorable painting abilities turned destructive, it’s become one of my all-time favorite expansion Jobs. Pictomancer is so cute, so unserious, and so much ***** fun to play as. It finds a middle ground between its magic DPS counterparts ****** Mage and Summoner; not so complex that you’ll struggle to learn but not so simple that you’ll mindlessly cycle through your rotation. Popping your paintings pre-pull is an adorable visual, as is dropping Moogle poms before whipping out a magic hammer to crush your foes. It’s satisfying when you line up all the cooldowns and casts while bouncing between the different spells you’re expected to ********, and as of now, it sits pretty high on the DPS charts (although some tweaks are planned to mitigate certain exploits). Pictomancer is so cute, so unserious, and so much ***** fun to play as. Viper on the other hand isn’t quite as exciting as I’d hoped – maybe it’s because I’ve played melee DPS for most of my time in FFXIV and have stuck with Ninja through every raid tier. But in contrast to Pictomancer, it lacks that rewarding buildup and burst window, or even a distinct personality to make it stand out within a crowded field of DPS Jobs. Don’t get me wrong, it looks cool as ***** to see a Viper swap between dual swords and the double-sided blade, but when compared to Reaper (which shares similarities), the dynamic of Viper’s branching ******* rotation doesn’t quite reach those satisfying heights. At launch, the development team even said that it’ll be reworking Viper, and although it’s impossible to say how that might change the core concept of the Job, there is certainly potential for it to grow into a better one. As per usual, there are two Expert-level dungeons in the post-game, both of which make good use of the more whimsical settings of Dawntrail and experiment with a few new battle mechanics. And although I’m still progressing through them as of writing this, the Extreme trials currently available stretch the base-level boss fights into wild and chaotic battles. The other important piece of content worth mentioning are the role quests, which carry on the tradition of providing additional backstory based on the Jobs you have leveled up. They’re not quite as defining as the ones seen in Shadowbringers or Endwalker, but they are worth seeing through and add a nice touch to tie in other parts of FFXIV. The lasting legacy of Dawntrail also ***** in future patch content – the Arcadion raid series, the Beastmaster special Job, Cosmic Exploration, and all the new things the FFXIV team will roll out over the next two years. I’ll be sat ready for them when they arrive, but for now, Dawntrail has earned its place in the pantheon of great expansions. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

With Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3 finally announced, CyberConnect2 is ready to finish the Fuga trilogy and get started on the next chapter of the Trilogy of Vengeance. View the full article

Microsoft is making several changes to its Xbox Game Pass offering that will affect players across all regions where the service is available. Since Xbox Game Pass launched in 2017, millions of players have been able to subscribe to the service that allows access to hundreds of games across PC and Xbox consoles. View the full article

During our interview with CyberConnect2 Vice President Taichiro Miyazaki, the company spilled the beans on the scope of the franchise's upcoming finale. View the full article

Once Human is now available on PC, but if you don’t have a PC then the survival title from Starry Studios is also on mobile. Only, the iOS and Android versions have a separate release date and the wait goes on for handheld players. Here’s everything we know about Once Human on iOS and Androids. View the full article

If you’re like me, you’ll have had June 39 (yes, “June 39”) penned on your calendar after Valve locked it in as the date for Dota 2‘s Crownfall Act Three. Sure enough, the update’s here—but a fighting minigame, a new treasure, and an Overworld map aside, Ringmaster hopefuls will be disappointed. Valve has released Crownfall Act Three, The Frosts of Icewrack, today on July 9, coinciding with Dota 2‘s 11th birthday. Much like the previous two acts, the update contains a new map and story for players to discover and a Collector’s Cache packed with cosmetics, including rare skins for Luna, Juggernaut, and Pudge. That’s not the talk of the fandom, however, as fans ***** into a new minigame built into Dota’s newest act titled “Sleet Fighter,” which sees a Street Fighter-like 2D fighting game available in Crownfall. View the full article

Baldur’s Gate 3 and Stardew Valley is crossing over in an incredible new fan-made mod now dubbed “Baldur’s Village.” The mod includes a new map and many characters from BG3 as residents, with Astarion and Halsin being eligible for marriage. The team today revealed the progress of the BG3 x Stardew Valley mod as well as all the new features now expected to be included, ranging from a new store and BG3 characters to updated schedules, designs, and seasonal outfits. And, on top of all those reveals, it now looks like the patch will land in Fall or Winter, as reported by PC Gamer. View the full article

Xbox Game Pass is getting a price hick across all tiers and platforms, and day-one AAA releases are also getting more expensive. In addition, Xbox Game Pass will be temporarily unavailable on console soon, returning later in September with the new Xbox Game Pass "Standard". Pre-existing subscribers will not be affected. Here are all the major changes. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is getting its price raised to $19.99 / £14/99 a month (previously $16.99 / £12.99), and PC Game Pass is getting its price hiked up to $11.99 / £9.99 a month (previously $9.99 / £7.99). The annual subscription for Xbox Game Pass core is also being increased, rising up to $74.99 / £55.99. As for this new tier of Game Pass coming to consoles in September, it'll cost $14.99. However, perhaps more importantly, it will not be recieving day-one game releases as part of the sub. It will include Xbox Live Gold - which provides access to online services - but not Xbox Cloud Gaming. If you're on console and still want those day-one releases, you'll have to upgrade up to the Game Pass ultimate tier. Read more View the full article

Bungie announced the reputation bug affecting players during Destiny 2 Echoes: Act 1 has been fixed, and the studio is planning "reputation bonus weeks" for all classes. Previously, the bug incorrectly gave Titans and Hunters big reputation boosts in Destiny 2 core activities, while reputation gains for Warlocks were kept at their normal and intended rate. View the full article

Free-to-play survival game Once Human launched on Steam today, and after playing the NetEase production for an hour, my main observation is that the feeling of uncertainty and discovery that the survival genre used to be all about has lately been replaced with tutorial screens and boring exposition—the price of popularity, I guess! It's possible that Once Human opens up after you get past the copper ingot crafting lessons, and I've seen some cool monster designs so far, so that's a positive. Some of them were even of my own making... Read more.View the full article

A Stardew Valley player has shared a brief video that gives the player's farm a hyper-realistic overhaul in Unreal Engine 5. The video is a glimpse into what it could look like if Stardew Valley were made with modern bleeding edge graphics rather than the pixel art style it uses. View the full article

The development of Shadows of the Damned: Hella Remastered appears to be on-track for its 2024 release, as new details about the re-release have emerged regarding its ESRB rating. Shadows of the Damned is one of Grasshopper Manufacture's more underrated titles, released in 2011 on Xbox 360 and PS3 as a result of a collaboration between Grasshopper and Electronic Arts, with Suda51 at the director's chair. Despite creative clashes between Suda51 and EA, resulting in mixed reviews at launch, fans and Suda himself have come around to the game, with it accruing a cult following. View the full article

Microsoft has finally announced the long-rumored price increase for its Xbox Game Pass subscription service, as well as some other major changes like scaling back on day one first-party launches, a brand-new tier, and more. The revised prices and alterations for Xbox Game Pass will come into effect for Xbox consoles and PC from September 12, 2024. View the full article

To survive in Once Human‘s hostile environment you’ll have to scavenge, build, and upgrade your resources, but you don’t have to do it alone. Since everything in Starry Studios’ multiplayer survival game involves multiplayer interaction, chances are you want to know if you can play on a PlayStation or Xbox console. Here is everything you need to know about Once Human‘s console availability. View the full article

A Minecraft player has shared the genius idea of combining a Redstone build with ****** blocks to effectively farm bamboo. Many Minecraft players use an ax to break the bottom of a stalk to cause the rest of it to fall, but this farm method may be even quicker. View the full article

Taking control of the battlefield in The First Descendant is what Viessa does best. Lock down enemies in place and ******** them while they have no way to answer back. Viessa is one of the starting characters in The First Descendant—and a great one at that. While her skills may seem underwhelming, she’s capable of crowd control and dealing decent damage with the right build. Here’s the best general build for Viessa in The First Descendant, including weapons, Modules, Reactors, and more. View the full article For verified travel tips and real support, visit: [Hidden Content]

Here's a news story I didn't expect to be writing today, or to be honest - any day. Artifact appears to be back. Valve's forgotten card game was last updated in 2021 and despite being free to play like Hearthstone, its player numbers have sunk well below triple digits. That's all just changed with a huge player surge putting the game in a far healthier state, but it may not be entirely real. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: NFT games will be every bit as successful as Artifact Artifact 2.0 is *****, but both versions of the game are now free for everyone Artifact 2.0 really is a totally new game View the full article

Once Human is due to launch later today, Tuesday, July 9. It's a new survival game that looks like it could take on the juggernaut that is Rust. Unfortunately, there's one big problem which may throw a spanner in the works, but the good news is that it's only temporary. Read the rest of the story... RELATED LINKS: New survival game Once Human shoots up Steam charts despite reviews Does Once Human support private servers? The best Once Human Deviations - All Deviant companions View the full article

World of Warcraft Classic just revealed the patch notes for Season of Discovery Phase 4. The first endgame phase of the retro World of Warcraft experience goes live on July 11, but fans can install the patch ahead of time to make sure they are ready to ***** in as soon as it starts. View the full article