There's a whole new fantasy world ahead of you

Skyrim is one of the best-selling games of all time, and for good reason -- its expansive map, detailed cities, and compelling questlines make for some of the most immersive, fantasy-themed gaming you're gonna get. Skyrim also has a robust modding community, so though aspects of the game might be dated now, you can make some changes to get your gaming experience to your exact specifications. If even that isn't enough to keep your Skyrim playthroughs feeling fresh, then maybe it's time to move onto something new. Thankfully, there are plenty of games out there that are perfectly-suited to fill the Skyrim-shaped hole in your heart.

Dragon Age: Inquisition

The most recent mainline entry in Bioware's flagship fantasy series, Dragon Age: Inquisition is a perfect game to try out if you're missing the snow-capped mountains of Skyrim. The game's cast of colorful characters make for some interesting choices along the way, including combat where players can control each of their party members in a fight. Inquisition may not be as full-out of an open-world game as Skyrim, but it should be able to scratch that high-fantasy itch.

The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt

I would say that the title for best open-world fantasy game of all time is probably tied between Skyrim and The Witcher 3, so of course we had to include it on this list. If the idea of an incredibly immersive, high fantasy game with great storytelling and a monster-hunting twist sounds like fun, The Witcher 3 is a must-play. There's also a chance that if you love Skyrim, you love games that you can easily sink hundreds of hours into, which is just as easy to do with The Witcher 3.

Fallout: New Vegas

The Fallout series may not have fantasy theming, but if that's not a deal breaker, it's absolutely worth a shot. Created by the same studio that released the Elder Scrolls series, Bethesda Games, long-time Skyrim players will know what they're getting themselves into by way of design conventions. Fallout: New Vegas, a 2010 spin-off of the series developed by Obsidian Entertainment, is widely renowned as the best game in the Fallout series, so it has my endorsement as the first game from to series to try.

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Breath of the Wild may not have the same serious tone or visuals that Skyrim does, but it has some of the best gameplay design of the open-world genre. You've still got the melee and ranged bow combat you're used to in Skyrim, and the rune powers add that extra layer of magic and complexity in gameplay. Breath of the Wild is a masterpiece that deserves to be played regardless, but if you're looking for a fairly easy, beautifully simple game to follow up Skyrim, BOTW is a safe bet.

Elden Ring

Skyrim's combat isn't exactly the easiest thing in the world, but if you're looking for a real challenge, Elden Ring makes it look like a frolic through the park. I'll admit that combining FromSoft's stylish worldbuilding and punishing gameplay and an open-world map is a pretty ingenious idea, but it does take an extra level of patience when you're getting absolutely decimated trying to do even the most simple of tasks. What can I say, sometimes us gamers have a taste for pain.

The post Fus Ro Dah no more: The 5 best games similar to Skyrim appeared first on Destructoid.

It's fun 2B fashionably late

NieR: Automata was first released in 2017, just close enough to the Switch launch date that it could have helped define the console's larger identity. It's definitely a "Style over Horsepower" game, and did little to tax the hardware of the now last-gen PS4. It's also developed by PlatinumGames, who've done a lot to build their audience on Nintendo consoles in recent years. Between The Wonderful 101, the full Bayonetta franchise, and Astral Chain, the Switch is where the bulk of their character action games live now. That's another reason why it's felt a little weird to see NieR: Automata on every major platform but Switch for all these years, but then again, weird has always been Nier's thing.

Now the game is finally headed to Switch on October 4, 2022, and I'm happy to report it's been made slightly more strange along the way.

Before we get into all that, let's do a quick recap of some of what makes NieR: Automata different. You might not already know, because people really don't like explaining this game. Even talking about how it plays may spoil some of it, because many of its mechanics are tied directly to its story. But it's safe to tell you upfront that Automata is more "arcade-y" than most character action games. It even starts off with a traditional shmup-style sequence, setting the stage for a massive amount of mechanical death to follow.

After that opener, the action largely sticks to the third-person melee-and-guns action that fans of the genre have come to expect. The only initial clue that there's more going on here comes from a short warning. Ironically enough, the game doesn't "automatically" save, so you can't turn it off anytime you want without killing your progress.

Again, there are story reasons for that. Like Undertale and Chrono Trigger, NieR: Automata is meant to be played through again and again for different endings, so when and where you save counts in a big way. After you see them all, these endings all work to sort of explain why 2B (the Hamlet-inspired star of the game) is fighting against an army of trash-can-looking robots named after guys like Karl Marx and Soren Kierkegaard.

The fact that so many of those last-gen, occasionally pitiably automatons look alike probably helps NieR: Automata to run so well on Switch. There just isn't a lot going on here to cause the current-gen hardware to chug. I didn't notice any new slowdown or frame rate drops when playing the game in handheld or docked mode. Load times were also a non-issue.

I was surprised to see that my only problem with the visuals of this Switch port came from how loyal it is to the source material. Like in the original version of the game, the camera sometimes zooms way out and 2B gets really small on-screen. That was fine on a big TV, but on the original Switch, it can be hard to keep track of her.

Having the camera switch to a side view, a landscape view, or a top-down angle is yet another way that the gameplay relates to the underlying narrative themes. Taking "multiple perspectives" is a big part of what series creator Yoko Taro wants players to do with all the Nier games. But for handheld players, that might mean getting your girl lost in a hail of purple bullets and rusty, rotted-out androids.

As for additional content, the game comes with the previously released Automata DLC, some exclusive skins, and also optional motion controls. I didn't see that last one coming. The character action community historically hates motion controls. Back in the Wii days, fans of the genre almost lobbied immediately to have traditional control options added to the No More Heroes and MadWorld franchises, and they succeeded on both fronts. Nintendo even made motion controls optional in its Switch re-release of Skyward Sword, a game designed from the ground up for them.

So it's fitting that NieR: Automata on Switch flies in the face of convention yet again by jamming motion controls into the game just for the heck of it.

At least, it might be just for the heck of it. After testing them out and seeing that they work fine (if you don't care about a touch of input lag), I went back to button presses right away, but I wouldn't at all be surprised if there is a new Switch-exclusive "waggle only" ending hiding away in there somewhere. Given Yoko Taro's interest in making an adult video someday, we can guess how that might turn out.

All in all, there aren't a lot of reasons to double-dip on NieR: Automata for Nintendo Switch, but the motion controls are a cute novelty, and having the option to get some of those extra endings while you're on the go (or in the bathroom) in handheld mode is always a good thing.

As a slightly obsessive Platinum fan, it will be fun for me to see Automata's icon lined up alongside the full Bayonetta trilogy on my Switch dashboard by the end of October.

The post NieR: Automata on Switch ought to have come earlier but it’s nearly perfect appeared first on Destructoid.

If you somehow haven't played Skyrim yet, it's out...again

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Anniversary Edition is out now on Switch, thanks to a sudden eShop drop from Bethesda. Wait, the Switch already had Skyrim?! About that!

As a reminder, nearly five years ago, Skyrim came out on Switch (and subsequently, every device ever). "I knew it!" you're all saying right now. The one that's coming out today on the platform is actually the "Skyrim Anniversary Edition," which has the following features:

"The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim celebrates 10 years of adventuring in stunning detail. The Anniversary Edition includes a decade worth of content: the critically acclaimed core game and add-ons of Skyrim Special Edition, plus pre-existing and new content from Creation Club including quests, dungeons, bosses, weapons, spells, and more."

What does Skyrim Anniversary Edition on Switch actually have?

Those features, to be exact, include:

"The core game, pre-existing and new Creation Club content, plus all three official add-ons: Dawnguard, Hearthfire, and Dragonborn."

Nintendo of Europe points out that in addition to buying this new "complete bundle" for $69.99, you can also upgrade your existing version for $19.99. Of course, it's almost parody at this point: putting some convoluted version of Skyrim out on some other platform randomly without warning.

(Cue the old man voice) Back in my day, we played Skyrim with no mods or DLC! And it was...sort of OK! But eventually small-to-large DLC packs came out for it, some mods rose in popularity (and were integrated into the game by proxy), and then a GOTY edition came, and the rest is history. We're stuck in an endless time loop of Skyrim, with Skyrim Anniversary Edition being the latest version.

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World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic launches globally today and Destructoid sister site Icy Veins is here to tell you all about it, including an assortment of guides.

Global Release Times

Wrath Classic launches in the Americas, Europe, Taiwan, Korea, and Australia/New Zealand simultaneously. Check the details below for the exact time you can log in to the game and explore all that the new expansion has to offer.

What's New?

• New Continent: Northrend - Heroes will begin their journey in one of two zones in Northrend -- Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord. A vast new continent awaits!
• New Hero Class: Death Knights - Available to both factions at Level 55, Death Knights harness the powers of darkness to help combat the evil that threatens Azeroth. In Wrath Classic, Blizard is bypassing the requirement for a player's first Death Knight character, unless they decide to pick a fresh realm.
• New Profession: Inscription - Scribe mystical glyphs that modify the properties of spells and abilities or create powerful trinkets and off-hand items.
• Achievements - Show off your accomplishments and earn various rewards in WoW Classic!
• Dungeons & Raids - Multiple new dungeons and 3 raids will be available during Phase 1.

Wrath of the Lich King Classic is included with existing World of Warcraft subscriptions. If you subscribe to World of Warcraft, you can also play Wrath of the Lich King Classic at no additional cost.

New Hero Class: Death Knight

Death Knights are a new Hero Class available in Wrath Classic. They start at Level 55 in Ebon Hold and have 3 specializations to choose from: Blood, Frost, and Unholy. You do not need an existing Level 55 character on the same realm to create your first Death Knight in Wrath Classic. Fresh start realms are an exception to the rule. Any Death Knight created after your first one must be on a different realm, and requires an existing Level 55 character on the same realm. Completing the Death Knight intro in Wrath Classic rewards the Frostbrood Proto-Wyrm mount on live servers.

If you're playing a Death Knight in Wrath Classic, we have a set of guides specifically tailored to help you with leveling, gearing, talents, addons, and macros.

Inscription is a new Profession that lets you craft powerful items called glyphs that enhance spells and abilities. Scribes can create various trinkets and off-hand items.

Rankings in Wrath Classic Phase 1

Dungeons

Professions

The new maximum skill cap for all professions is raised to 450. In Wrath Classic, professions offer various bonuses to your character. Our profession guides provide you with clear instructions on how to effectively level up your professions and reach the max cap.

The post Wrath of the Lich King Classic global launch times and guides appeared first on Destructoid.

It debuted at TGS, but there's a full English audio translation

While Octopath Traveler 2 is slated for release on February 23, 2023, on PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch, we can catch a chunk of it now. If you wanted some Octopath Traveler 2 footage following the recent Nintendo Direct reveal, you got it! Square Enix just gave us 20 minutes of it thanks to a TGS stream. Don't worry though! Although the stream was done for TGS, there's a full live English translation baked in as audio commentary.

Kicking off at roughly 25:00 in the below video, we get a full 20-minute walkthrough of the game, and some of the aesthetic and design changes in the sequel. One big element that the team showcases is elevation, which brings "height and depth" to the maps. There's a bit of variation involved with the game's designs, with footage of a forest village and an "old west-like town."

Based on this Octopath Traveler 2 footage, natural time progression is in, too, and there will be "drastically different music" in some day/night cycles, including tracks that sound unique compared to the original. The team wanted to ensure that there wasn't a sense of repetition between playing the original and the sequel, and it gave them a good excuse to "explore different genres" of music to boot. The developers mused on how much of an undertaking it was, having to design day/night music for all of the locations in the game, only a portion of which were shown off via a brief look at the world map (31:00 in).

Ideally, Octopath Traveler 2 will address some of the common complaints of the original (including how things homogenize after the individual character stories are completed): because so far, they're still nailing the aesthetic.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XuTb462yCg&t

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Nothing to show at TGS

More Final Fantasy XVI footage is still a little ways out, according to producer Naoki Yoshida at Tokyo Game Show 2022.

As reported by Gematsu, Yoshida took the stage at TGS this past weekend to accept a Future Division Award for Square Enix. While he had the mic, he took the opportunity to explain why Final Fantasy XVI wasn't at the show: "I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to the marketing or public relations teams at all, so I’m not sure how much I’m allowed to say, but I think we’ll probably be able to release the next trailer next month or so… And after that, I hope to be able to give a rough idea of when it will be released."

We could get the Final Fantasy XVI release date in October

Yoshida is famously known for not wanting to show things unless there's more concrete info to actually showcase, which is counter to how Square Enix infamously reveals a lot of their projects. The two big takeaways from this statement from Yoshida not only hint at an October trailer release/an event of some sort, but a potential release date.

At the moment, we do have a window though! It's still "summer 2023" on PS5 as of this month.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2doNGaUZ1Q&t=2871s

The post The next time we’ll see Final Fantasy XVI footage is probably in October appeared first on Destructoid.

Discovering an all-time great as an adult: Leaf Green

_{[Featured Image Source: Thibault Miniou on ArtStation]}

If you’ve read any of my features in the past, you’re probably well aware that I didn’t seriously get into games until I was in college. I had some consoles when I was younger, like a PS2, a Game Boy Advance SP, a Nintendo DS, and a Wii, but pretty much all of the games I played were “girly” horse-related, Barbie, or licensed Disney Channel spin-off games.

I had a great time with those games (which have merit in their own right), but I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed in retrospect that I missed out on some of the all-time greats. The good news is, now I’m an adult with my own time and money, and I’m fortunate enough to have a job centered around games — which means I can go back and play any game I want.

The obvious first choice was the Pokémon series, as much like Harry Potter, the franchise was outright banned in the fundamentalist Christian circles my family ran in. I spent my entire life not getting what all the hype was about with those little pocket monsters, and eventually, I decided it was time to change that.

The journey begins

Luckily, my closest friends are all Pokémon fanatics, so they were kind enough to help guide me on my journey. The decision of which game to start me on was unanimous: Leaf Green. So, my best friend downloaded an emulator, and we were off to meet Professor Oak.

I’m someone who can tend to blaze through a game without paying attention sometimes, so he made it a point to stop me and let me in on what a big deal it was to choose my first starter, which is arguably one of the most important decisions one can make in a game. He made it clear that this was the kind of decision that was irreversible — it’s the kind of thing you’d talk with your friends about at school, and that others would classify what kind of person I was based on my starter, like a star sign.

After much deliberation, I decided on Bulbasaur, and never once did I regret that decision. He’s obviously the cutest starter (a very important factor to me), and Venusaur came in clutch on quite a few occasions in the late game.

I think what I love most about the old Pokémon games is how simple, yet effective they are. After playing some of the newer games on my Switch, I understand how they’re iterations of the classic formula, but I have to agree with the fans who say that the modern games don’t stack up to the originals.

As I went through Leaf Green, my friend encouraged me to look at it as if I was a kid playing it on release day, and man… it just really clicked for me. I know for its time, it was one of the most advanced titles out there, but going back to it now, the game design of the early series really holds up. It’s simple and streamlined in a way I wish more modern games would replicate.

Feeling like a kid again

While it feels good to play now, I can also see it as a product of its time — it takes a while to get through, and can feel somewhat grindy, but that’s because in 2004 you’d sit down with your Game Boy and play through it over the course of a summer. At least, that’s how my friend describes it through his rose-colored glasses. With enough imagination, that's a feeling I try to channel when I sit down to play it myself.

Pokémon Leaf Green is the kind of game I wish I could have had as a kid. As many cash-grabbing licensed games are, pretty much everything I played when I was little was mechanically shallow — although my love of Hannah Montana and High School Musical was enough to get me through.

Either way, playing classic games now isn’t just something fun to do in my spare time, but something to help heal my inner child, as cheesy as that sounds. Plus, it’s pretty awesome to understand why Pokémon is the GOAT now. I have a lot of games in the series left to play, which means I have a ton to look forward to — that’s a feeling I was missing from games for a long time.

The post I’m nostalgic for Pokemon games I never played appeared first on Destructoid.

For PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Switch

Today, as part of the TGS festivities, Konami has revealed the Suikoden I & II HD Remaster project for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. It's due out in 2023, and will pack in both games under the "Gate Rune and Dunan Unification Wars" moniker.

As for what's actually remastered, Konami touts "HD background illustrations, updated pixel art, new environmental sound effects, an auto-save feature, a battle fast-forward mechanic, a conversation log, and extra HD battle effects." The trailer also shows that moving diagonally is possible. This might excite some hardcore fans, too: "All character portraits have been updated in HD. Junko Kawano, who designed the characters for the original version of Suikoden released in 1995, has newly re-drawn all the character portraits for Suikoden I HD Remaster Gate Rune War."

This is seemingly the reveal that Konami had teased for TGS from a storied franchise. It actually has a Steam page up now if you want to peruse some more info. I mean, while this isn't huge news to some, it's great news for Suikoden fans. Not only do they have another cheaper option to play these two Suikoden games, but there's also the whole Eiyuden Chronicle spiritual successor series, which currently has one released game and another one planned.

Sadly, the rest of the Konami TGS presentation was filled with a sleepy series of Yu-Gi-Oh presentations, as well as brief looks at Super Bomberman R 2, Cygni: All Guns Blazing (a shmup they showed off a few weeks ago), and eFootball (the series formerly known as Pro Evolution Soccer, or PES). The Suikoden I & II HD Remaster was pretty much all they had to show!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibpBLv47IaY

The post A Suikoden I & II HD Remaster is coming in 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Another action RPG (like that's a bad thing)

Depending on how you slice it, the highlight of today's State of Play was either Like a Dragon: Ishin from Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio or Rise of the Ronin from Team Ninja. (Why not both?) The developer shared its first look at this PS5 open-world action RPG, which is seven years in the making. It's another historical-inspired tale with over-the-top flair, as you'll quickly see in the trailer — a mix of "gameplay and in-game cinematics."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gwsQvDGh4o

"Set in the late 19th century, Japan is facing the darkest of times as it struggles with its oppressive rulers and deadly diseases while western influence permeates as civil war continues to rage between the Tokugawa Shogunate and the Anti-Shogunate factions," noted director Fumihiko Yasuda. "Here in this time of mayhem, you embody a Ronin character, a warrior bound to no master and free to make choices of its own."

Going a step further, Yasuda calls Rise of the Ronin the "most ambitious and challenging project for Team Ninja Studio to date," promising a "multilayered story" and "unrestricted open gameplay." The action-game fundamentals can always get this team's foot in the door for me — so while I'm already "in," so to speak, I am curious to hear concrete info.

For now, there's that cool glider and rifle-stabbing animation. I love a good finisher. From everything we can glean, this looks like another skillful action romp. Keep 'em coming.

[caption id="attachment_344298" align="alignnone" width="1600"] _{Riding on horseback, aka gamer catnip.}[/caption]

Rise of the Ronin will launch in 2024 and it's said to be a "PlayStation 5 console exclusive," which opens the door for a (well-advised) PC version.

Considering Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty (the Three Kingdoms-inspired Nioh successor) is coming up first in 2023, that far-off timing makes sense. We're feasting as action fiends.

The post Team Ninja is on a roll with Rise of the Ronin appeared first on Destructoid.

67 songs, including a bunch of boss music

You can count on FromSoftware to deliver memorable music, and if you're in an Elden Ring mood but aren't quite ready to commit to (yet another?) playthrough right now, you can at least soak up the vibes while going about your day-to-day. The Elden Ring soundtrack is now streaming on Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, Apple Music, and other platforms — here's a handy catch-all link — and at 67 songs, it's a big collection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV7IJLbKYzg

It's the obvious pick, but thinking back, I can't shake the game's main theme. Ahead of a long journey, it felt so empowering and ominous. Every time I would start up the game, I'd just hover there on the menu, waiting for the music to hype me back up before continuing.

Speaking on the PlayStation Blog, composer Tsukasa Saito says that the title theme — "Elden Ring" — is the track he's "most emotionally attached to."

"We spent a long time obsessing over and fine-tuning the details and tonal qualities of this piece, and I think as a result we achieved something that embodies the themes of the game, and became a strong directional pillar for the rest of the music," Saito continued.

"I think we made a good piece for when players start up the game, stirring their motivation and excitement for heading out on their adventure to become Elden Lord."

Early on, the team honed in on words and phrases like "an epic tale," "composure and resilience," and "eloquence," which certainly sound like themes in a Hidetaka Miyazaki game. FromSoftware wanted the Elden Ring soundtrack to "reflect the fact that this was something different from the Dark Souls series or Bloodborne," according to Saito.

It's a big game with an appropriately big soundtrack. Bouncing around, you'll spot tracks for familiar locations like Limgrave, Caelid, and Leyndell, the music for the character creator, and many boss-focused tracks, as is customary. There are boss spoilers.

We've had plenty to say about Elden Ring this year, and those conversations will carry into the eventual game of the year discourse. Listening to the music, it's all rushing back to me.

The post Elden Ring’s huge soundtrack is streaming on Spotify and other services appeared first on Destructoid.

Announced on a producer livestream

Everyone involved with Live A Live Switch has a lot to celebrate, as a recent livestream just confirmed that the game has shipped + digital sold over 500,000 units. The news was confirmed by series steward Takashi Tokita on air at roughly 16:30 in the below video. Takashi Tokita served as director for the original game (among other duties), and was also a producer on the 2022 Switch edition.

It's hard to believe that Live A Live clawed its way up from a 1994 SNES exclusive only released in Japan, to where it is today. It was only a glimmer in the eye of many JRPG fans, back in an era when importing was even tougher to do; but now it's easily accessible on a worldwide marketplace, on the widely successful Switch no less. It just goes to show you how far game preservation can come when it's done with care.

As of late, Tokita has been sharing a ton of fan art for the game, as well as stories from fans all over the world. Many of those fans are located in Japan, but there's a wide spread of folks from multiple regions: showcasing the staying power (and wide appeal to this day) of Live A Live. How many other forgotten classics could get the same treatment? It'll be fun to find out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_nWg76IatI

The post Live A Live Switch shipments/digital sales jump to 500,000 units appeared first on Destructoid.

She gives dance battle a whole new meaning

Unconventional controllers are one of my favorite gaming content niches. They're something I've enjoyed out of the corner of my eye for years, with my personal favorite being Rudeism's full-body goose costume/controller to play Untitled Goose Game. The Twitch streamers are back at it again, but this time the spotlight is on an Elden Ring streamer MissMakkaa, and her build that uses a dance pad peripheral as a controller.

Basically, she got one of those at-home dance pads you use for games like Dance Dance Revolution and hooked it up to Elden Ring, which is already a funny enough concept on its own. What's even more impressive, then, is that she's already beaten five of the game's bosses to date (thanks, Eurogamer), and she isn't stopping there.

https://twitter.com/JakeSucky/status/1563205863451418624?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1563205863451418624%7Ctwgr%5E8e07232dce4a82b27d9c2dcfc0b8b7f344afab6a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.eurogamer.net%2Ftwitch-streamer-dancing-through-elden-ring-with-a-dance-pad

Other than having to do a little jig when things get intense, another challenge MissMakkaa faces with this build is that there are fewer buttons on a dance pad than there are on a PlayStation controller, which means she sometimes has to perform tasks like controlling the camera directly on the PC. My brain can pretty much only handle one task at a time, so it's insanely impressive that she's made it this far with this setup.

Of course, MissMakkaa is used to a good challenge — recently she completed another Elden Ring run where she not only remained Level 1 the entire time, but also played with one hand. And to think I couldn't even beat Godrick normally. Some people are just built differently. Leave it to Twitch streamers to make one of the hardest games available even harder.

Twitch can be a toxic place sometimes, but content like this reminds me that sometimes gamers can be awesome, actually. The whole point of playing games is to have fun, and partaking in goofy challenges like this only amplify that fun.

The post This Elden Ring streamer is kicking ass on a dance pad controller appeared first on Destructoid.

Souls on a budget

Hello hello! Tonight on stream we'll be trying Thymesia, an action RPG with a plague theme and a similar feel to Dark Souls.

As an avid soulslike lover, I'm super interested, so I can't wait to share it with you guys! I think we're the perfect candidates to scope this one out. The combat system has high praise even though some reviewers have felt it falls a bit short of soulslike glory, but that comparison is difficult in the first place, so I'm excited either way.

See you tonight!

Drop by Destructoid’s Twitch channel at 9:00 p.m. Eastern to hang out.

The post We’re streaming Thymesia tonight appeared first on Destructoid.

$5 DLC releasing on September 13

Nobody Saves the World was a fun Game Pass romp from Guacamelee's Drinkbox Studios, and it's getting a bit bigger with the upcoming Frozen Hearth DLC. The best part of the game is completing combat challenges to power up your different character forms and unlock new variations, and on that front, we're getting a killer bee and mechanic form.

https://youtu.be/HUjnMN7aE9A

Once the $4.99 DLC launches on September 13, you'll be able to compete in The Tempering, "a series of puzzles and challenges that will push players' transformation skills and creativity." And after unlocking the mechanic and bee, they'll be usable in the base game. Speaking of which, I still need to finish my New Game+ run for the platinum trophy.

Today's trailer also showcases mini-golf. Sure, why not?

"When we shipped the original game, there were so many ideas we had to leave on the cutting room floor, and this DLC gave us a chance to bring some of them to life," said lead designer Ian Campbell. The developers "had a blast creating even more forms."

[caption id="attachment_341889" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Ranking up every form is a big part of the game's appeal.}[/caption]

As you can see from this Frozen Hearth screenshot, the mechanic and killer bee are their own offshoot from Nobody, and they cause blunt and sharp damage, respectively.

I liked Nobody Saves the World quite a bit — enough to want to get some modestly-priced DLC. It's one of those games you can point to when talking about how fun grinding can be, and as far as action-RPGs go, the scenario is pretty out-there. It's got that Drinkbox charm as well as outside-the-box character abilities, which funnel into inventive builds.

If nothing else, DLC or no DLC, I'd encourage you to look into the base game if you missed out the first time around — it's now widely available on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5, PC, and Nintendo Switch. Heck, there's even local co-op, too.

The post Nobody Saves the World gets killer bee and mechanic forms with Frozen Hearth DLC appeared first on Destructoid.

We need more "offline-ifications" of MMOs

It feels like forever ago that I was clamoring for Dragon Quest X offline, and it's finally coming out: in Japan only!

You can find the trailer below, which refreshes the 2012 MMO original for its new offline packaging. If you're interested and want to pick up the Japanese version, Square Enix has a website dedicated to pre-orders. In classic Square Enix fashion there's some extras to be had, as well as the opportunity to pick up the PC, PS4, PS5, and Switch editions of the game.

As for details, it's still being billed as a single-player RPG, which kind of goes with the territory of the offline pivot. Dragon Quest X offline will arrive on September 15, 2022 in Japan, but there's also going to be an "ultra large expansion" coming in spring of 2023. The standard edition will run you roughly $60 US, while the special edition is about $115 US, and includes the expansion, physical pins, a slime mug, and a spoon for said mug. The list of in-game items can be found here.

You can also go for the digital deluxe edition that nets you the core game and the expansion for about $95 US. Options! Well, for folks who want to pick up the Japanese edition of the game, at least.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHAYsq3Uuk8&t=45s

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A short teaser from Something Wicked Games

It wouldn't be Gamescom Opening Night Live without a handful of vague teasers to set the mood and put out the feelers for newly-established studios looking to staff up. With that in mind, here's the briefest of looks at Wyrdsong, an open-world preternatural RPG from Something Wicked Games, a team founded by Bethesda's Jeff Gardiner.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5s48vY3Du8

Cool audio design, a sinister historical backdrop, and... not much else.

"Wyrdsong is an occult historical fantasy RPG set in a fictionalized Portugal in the middle ages," according to the studio. (Ooh, they used the "O" word!) "Players will be challenged to question both their reality and the choices they make as Wyrdsong is set to expand, question, and re-define aspects of what makes up the current Role Playing Game genre."

The Wyrdsong teaser trailer led with the team's prior experience, which included games like Fallout 3 and New Vegas, Skyrim, Dragon Age Inquisition, and The Outer Worlds.

From what we've seen today, there isn't much to show yet, so we'll have to put a pin in it. I fully expect this game to show up again at a future showcase. As intriguing as the occult-infused fantasy world could be, it's just a blip on my radar until we start to see it up close.

The post Former Bethesda devs tease open-world RPG Wyrdsong appeared first on Destructoid.

Night Swimming

Sometimes I just pick games on sight. It worked out for Metal Max Xeno Reborn, but it’s probably not the best policy to live by. So, Dusk Diver 2 sold me with its glowing hair. Why would you even want to play as one of the characters whose hair doesn’t glow? A radiant mane is always the superior choice.

Its aesthetic is striking in general, and its combat seemed entertaining in that Musou sort of way. Plus, it touts some RPG character-building to top it off. But looks aren’t everything, I realize. Sometimes you bite into a delicious-looking eclair and find out it’s filled with nothing. What you thought was going to be a delicious treat is just an empty promise.

Dusk Diver 2 (PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4 [reviewed])
Developer: Wanin International
Publisher: Idea Factory
Released: August 30, 2022 (Console), February 24, 2022 (PC)
MSRP: $49.99

Dusk Diver 2 is the direct sequel to Dusk Diver. You get a primer at the beginning of the narrative, but it’s rather brief and doesn’t introduce who any of these characters are. The developers claim that you can dive straight into the sequel, but I’m not sure I’d recommend it. A lot of the world concepts aren’t explained, and the characters don’t present any compelling new reasons to care about them.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: you’re a college freshman, and you fight demons from another dimension. With your friends, don’t forget those. It also takes place in a real-world location: the Ximending district of Taipei.

The whole thing is so adjacent to Akiba’s Trip that they’re in a dispute over whose property the hedge is on. The combat is different, and Dusk Diver 2 doesn’t let you peel the clothes off your foes, but between running around a shopping district, beating up possessed people, and doing side quests, the two games are so close that they’re grinding on the dance floor.

[embed]https://youtu.be/yYRhdc9c4_4[/embed]

Twilight plunging

The problem is that Akiba’s Trip had that stripping hook that made it stand out. The most glaring issue I had with Dusk Diver 2 is how generic it is. I was almost waiting for it to get those genre-typical hooks in me. In particular, I kept telling myself that the character-building was eventually going to suck me in, and it never happened. It’s way too measured, restricting certain places you can level up your character until you’ve reached certain equipment levels. It helps to keep you from over-leveling, but not very well.

Part of the problem is that the characters are all pretty uninteresting outside of their visual appeal. They don’t even seem all that invested in what’s going on. They’re doing it all for their friends, and I can’t relate to that. I’ve never done anything for my friends, just ask them.

While on that topic, you can switch between any of the characters in your party and play as them. You can, but once I started piling experience and equipment onto one character, it made the prospect of switching to another feel pointless. They all share the same experience, which is spent on stats like currency. It tends to be in short supply, and it doesn’t feel worthwhile to scatter it across all your characters when you can just make one extra beefy.

At the very least, they have diverse combat styles to pick from. So maybe before you start spreading that beef around, you’ll want to see who pops up in your party. Or just pile it all on Yumo; that works just as well.

More power, less clothing

And really, as generic as Dusk Diver 2 is, there’s very little in the way of glaring flaws. The combat isn’t very exciting, but it works. The combos are limited, and new special attacks come way too rarely, but it’s not frustrating. It would be nice if there were more enemy types and maybe if it would throw more of them at you rather than just increasing the size of their life bars, but it gets the point across. The fighting could be better, but it’s not bad, either.

The environments are nice, but as far as exploring a chunk of a real-world neighborhood, it’s no Yakuza. You eat at various places to buff your party and gain experience, and that’s about it. It feels like it was backed by a tourism board. Some side quests are just visiting different shops, and there’s one that consists entirely of hearing the history of a building. Cool, I guess. Something neat could have been done with it to make me want to look it up on Wikipedia later, but instead, I guess I’ll just glance through text boxes.

I guess there’s one other thing you do in the city: fight possessed people. They just kind of stand around, immersed in their own stench cloud, minding their own business. Then you ride up, suck them into a pocket dimension, and beat the chaos beasts out of them.

Dusk bin

It’s difficult to talk about Dusk Diver 2 because it isn’t badly designed, poorly developed, or egregious in any significant way. It’s just nothing special. If you liked the original game, or if what you see just strikes you as compelling, then there’s a good bet that you’ll find what you seek here. At the very least, it won’t likely be a tremendous disappointment.

However, if you’re looking for something new to scratch the anime RPG-brawler itch, Dusk Diver 2 most certainly is not something new. If you give me a year, I’ll probably have even forgotten the name. It’s a reasonably polished experience, but it takes no risks. It set its goals low and met all of them. That’s maybe the best-case scenario for this sort of game. Personally, I'd prefer an ambitious game with lots of jank than a solid game with little imagination, and Dusk Diver 2 sits firmly in the latter category.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

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Jumping Jack Frost

I'm a simple man: I see a Shin Megami Tensei game, and I'm interested in it. Although the cadence has been off and on for various subseries, Atlus managed to muster up Soul Hackers 2, which is a follow-up to the 1997 original — and the first Devil Summoner game in roughly 14 years.

It's a good thing Devil Summoner doesn't miss.

Soul Hackers 2 (PC, PS4, PS5 [reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X)
Developer: Atlus
Publisher: Sega
Released: August 26, 2022
MSRP: $59.99

Despite going with a setup that could be considered confusing in some other works, Soul Hackers 2 is surprisingly frank and forthcoming with its narrative conceit.

As an organic avatar named Ringo, your job is to save humanity at the whim of Aion, an AI. Aion has determined that it needs two key people to survive to prevent an impending cataclysmic event, which is where you come in. Using a demi-god-like ability called a "soul hack," you can save a portion of someone's soul, and cheat death. The kicker is that doing this too often can mess with the fabric of reality. Again, all of this is easy to follow, conveyed naturally through dialogue, and there's even reminder story text on loading screens (as well as chat logs in case you accidentally skipped a cutscene or forgot what just happened).

Soul Hackers 2 takes a bit to get going in earnest, but until then, you're quickly united with new summoners that become core party members. You slowly learn the details of Aion's aims and the real world alongside your buddies; including the wrinkle of needing to locate covenants (powers that, when gathered, can cause destruction). The vibe is still very much occult (with demons galore) and cyberpunk, but there's also an air of mystery and espionage to the day-to-day critical path events. It helps that in true SMT fashion, the cast doesn't take itself too seriously. Although there are moments of stoic heroism, things can get goofy and relaxed, all backed by lovely (dual audio) voice acting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiHU6riu1UQ

The neon-adorned city is another character too (which can be viewed in a performance-based 60 FPS or 4K visual toggle). There's bars, shops, quest-givers, demon fusion stops, all the stuff you've come to expect from an Atlus RPG. All of that slowly opens up as you explore more of the city, which fits the crescendoing nature of the narrative that you're discovering with Ringo and her crew. From there you can choose if you want to start going on sidequests — usually in areas you've already been, with a heavy focus on returning to explored dungeons — or keep going with the story.

Speaking of dungeons, they're mostly straightforward, and a few of them do blend together. It's decidedly "hallway-based," and player choice typically distills down to "enter the door you need to go into/walk to the dead-end and get an item." This isn't unique to Soul Hackers 2, but going into two "underground" locations nearly in a row didn't feel great.

This feeling is accentuated by "Soul Matrix" dungeons, which allow you to delve further into the psyche of each party member and learn more about them — garnering rewards and progression in the process. It's mostly the same-looking location, but the more you progress with the story, the farther you can go and the more you can do. There are teleport waypoints in every dungeon (and an early-access spell where you can instantly leave a dungeon), so it's not like they're insurmountable challenges per se, so much as time-consuming.

Whenever I would feel down, a character moment would pop up in the middle of a dungeon and make me smile again. Or I'd do something really cool in battle, or figure out a new tactic, and soldier through. As an Atlus staple, a lot of the foundation of the game is held up by the cast, and the way they interact (especially at the bar, where you have most of the game's heart-to-hearts).

One fun little mechanic of exploration though is "demon recon," where you'll send demons out into the map upon entering it. Coming across them could grant a health bonus, a gift in the form of an item, or an encounter that lets you potentially recruit a new demon. It can get rote over time, but I appreciate the attempt to mix things up, and finding new demon party members is always exciting.

Combat is menu-based, with teams (usually the player first) taking full turns, and each member acting — then the other team gets a full turn. It can lead to some nasty dogpiling either way, so you need to plan ahead for it, pay attention to your synergies/weaknesses, and heal up/defend/buff accordingly.

Soul Hackers 2 has a similar weakness system as other SMT games, but this time your bonus is linked to a "Sabbath" super-like ability that's triggered by consecutive weakness hits per turn. More weakness hits equal more damage when the Sabbath is unleashed. In other words, if you hit any enemy with any weakness four times (for your standard party of four), you'll get a Sabbath rating of four, and that does more area-of-effect (AOE) damage once your turn is done. You can skip the Sabbath animation and it's fun to try and run the numbers up, especially when you account for strategic play like keeping an enemy low without finishing them off, allowing the Sabbath to do it for you.

One thing you do need to keep in mind with Soul Hackers 2 is that it generally does ask players to pay attention to their loadouts. Not only does your elemental kit matter (heading into a fight with no enemy weakness access can be killer), but your equipment generally should stay up to date, as should your item synergies (like boosting the element of choice for that summoner). Progression-wise, it behooves you to max out a demon, get a gift once it's maxed, then try something new. It's a very simple and effective loop, topped off by demon fusing and purchasing, where you can try out new mechanics and upgrade bit by bit. Even on normal mode, things can get dicey if you're under-level and ill-equipped.

At one point when I noticed my party wasn't as powerful as I'd liked, I spent around 20 minutes in various shops, upgrading my stats and abilities, and fusing demons. I noticed an immediate difference, as fusing allowed me to unlock more area-of-effect abilities to wipe out groups of enemies, while maintaining options for boss fights with a greater variety of weakness access. Roughly 10 hours in you'll unlock "commander abilities," which are like sparingly used supers that Ringo can trigger for the party. It's really satisfying to see all these little puzzle pieces fall into place, and in true SMT fashion, there's a lot of customization involved.

But unlike a lot of past games, getting stuck doesn't spell disaster; nor should you ever need to quit in frustration (I'm looking at you, old-school Nocturne players). Easy mode is incredibly forgiving to the point where you can continue an unlimited amount of times in combat (like, pick right back up inside of the current fight without a game over screen), and can be toggled on at any time. Coupled with saving anywhere and fast travel, the big quality-of-life stuff is standard.

I wandered into Soul Hackers 2 expecting a general sense of quality from Atlus, and ended up getting sucked into its world. While dungeon design can feel samey at times, it's not enough to distract from the flashiness of the game as a whole. As usual, Atlus really nails the details; it was fun to hang out with this crew and see where things went.

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It's the hard-knock life for us

Partway through today's THQ Nordic Digital Showcase, which is low-key giving me old silly Konami E3 vibes, we got an updated look at Gothic 1 Remake. The 2001 role-playing game is coming back on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, and whether you're in or not will likely depend on your connection to the original back in the day — or maybe a fascination with of-their-time games returning with glossed-up remasters or remakes.

Here's a cinematic trailer to (re)introduce the mining colony and the Minecrawlers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf4Wd29mRqw

Players will "manage the fate of a lifetime convicted prisoner who must survive in a world of wild animals, creatures, and convicts of dangerous reputation."

Game developer Alkimia Interactive promises a "modernized combat system" for Gothic 1 Remake, though it hopes to retain an overall "faithful" vibe. That's a tricky balancing act for any revival, especially one with a cult following. 20 years can be an eternity in gaming.

In December 2019, THQ Nordic released a Gothic Playable Teaser on Steam, which generated no shortage of fan feedback to take into consideration. As a first introduction, it arguably missed the mark. But as a public test, I think it served its purpose.

Despite this latest promotional push, Gothic 1 Remake doesn't have a release date. It's still tagged with a vague "coming soon" on Steam, and will also release on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S — when it's ready. The slow but steady burn continues.

THQ Nordic sure has an interesting collection of games these days.

The post Gothic 1 Remake has a trailer, but no word on a release date appeared first on Destructoid.

The game is aiming for this fiscal year, with Switch, PS4, and Xbox One versions coming later

With a second delay in effect, Marvel's Midnight Suns won't be showing up in October 2022 as previously planned, and even then, it'll have a scaled-back launch when it does arrive.

As it stands, 2K expects the tactical superhero game to land before the end of March 2023 — but that only goes for the PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S versions. The other console versions, which are still on the way, don't have a release window yet. So if you've been keeping tabs on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, or Xbox One editions of Midnight Suns, they're even further out. I hope they aren't ultimately canceled as we get closer.

The development team spoke about the game's delay on Twitter.

"After discussion with the team, we've made the decision to move back the launch timing of Marvel's Midnight Suns to ensure we are delivering the best possible experience for our fans," said Firaxis Games. "We will launch later this fiscal year on Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5, with the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch versions following at a later date."

"We know fans are looking forward to playing Marvel's Midnight Suns and we will use this extra time to make sure we are delivering the best possible experience for everyone. Marvel's Midnight Suns is easily the biggest game we've ever made and we're incredibly appreciative of all the support players have shared with us throughout the years."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdybYCJtzTE

If it's been a minute, I'd suggest flipping through the game's YouTube channel — the hero-centric breakdowns have piled up in a meaningful way. Here's the latest, Captain Marvel.

October is shaping up to be a busy month for gaming after a relatively quiet summer. And with numerous 2022 games slipping to (or otherwise arriving in) 2023, next year is looking pretty packed from where I'm sitting. I wouldn't have expected Marvel's Midnight Suns to take a step back so close to launch, but if a delay is necessary, that's how it has to be.

As fatigued as I am with Marvel in general, and as much as cards can be a turnoff (well-justified or not), Firaxis makes compelling games. And, come on — Blade is in it!

The post Marvel’s Midnight Suns delay prioritizes PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S appeared first on Destructoid.

The legendary is your "partner" and will allow you to explore the map

Thanks to a new Pokemon Presents stream, we have new info on some Pokemon Scarlet and Violet features.

Nothing in terms of major bombshells dropped, but there's plenty of stuff for fans to unpack. The narrative includes "attending an academy as a student," with the core objective of embarking upon a treasure hunt with "three grand stories." Of course, one of them is a series of classic gym battles.

Legendaries can be used as mounts, with "sprinting or drive mode" for land travel, "swimming and aquatic" for sea, and "gliding build/glide mode" in the air. You're encouraged to "ride your Legendary Pokemon to traverse the expansive Paldea region and explore every nook and cranny together."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZf-vIpVDLo

Multiplayer was a big focus of the trailer too. The "union circle" enables co-op for "up to three friends." You can run around the map together, and footage showed everyone riding their legendary mounts. Tera raid battles are in, borrowing a feature from Pokemon Sword and Shield: up to three other players are supported here too.

Named cast members include:

• Professors Sada and Turo (which change depending on the version, previously confirmed)
• Clavell (director of the academy - their suit seems to change colors based on the version too)
• Jacq (homeroom teacher of biology)
• Nemona (your friend, previously confirmed)
• Arven (upperclassman and cook)
• Penny (a shy student)
• Grusha (ice gym leader)

[gallery link="file" ids="337851,337852,337853"]

Named Pokemon shown off in the new footage include the following:

• Wooper (new Paldean form) — "Their bodies are heavy and they move slowly, but they can protect themselves by shooting powerful poisonous liquid from their gills."
• Fidough — "When these Pokémon become excited, they intimidate their opponents by puffing up their bodies to appear bigger."
• Cetitan — "Cetitan need to have tough muscles to be able to support their immense bodies, and physical attacks using their bodies have incredible power."

A gem-like form called the "Terastallizing" mechanic will be part of the new Scarlet and Violet festivities, which "boost Pokemon types, and make their moves stronger." Every Pokemon can apparently do this, and it can even change their types. An example given was a normal Eevee type that "could" change into grass or water type after Terastallizing. There will be "Pokemon with rare tera types." As usual, like Z-Moves/Megas and all of their ilk, I expect this to be divisive. Officially, it's known as the "Terastal phenomenon."

Here's a full recap of the stream!

The post New Pokemon Scarlet and Violet features include legendaries as “partners,” and land, sea, and air mounts appeared first on Destructoid.

I GOT SOMETHIN' FOR YA

After getting a glimpse of the first image for the original Xenoblade Chronicles so many years ago, I never in my wildest dreams assumed we'd be welcoming multiple sequels. Xenoblade Chronicles 3, arguably the most accessible entry so far, is yet another example of why I'm glad that Monolith Soft is sticking with it.

_{[This review is relatively spoiler-free, and will only be discussing specific story elements through chapter 2.]}

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Monolith Soft
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: July 29, 2022
MSRP: $59.99

With a relatable and easy-to-understand premise, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 has a much faster startup time than a lot of other JRPGs. Time and what you choose to do with it is a huge theme, and it's the emotional crux of the narrative. Our core six party members have a limited life span (with units called "terms"), all in service of one of two warring kingdoms (three people on each side). As a result of a twist of fate, they end up meeting under auspicious circumstances.

There's a lot of flashbacks interspersed into the story as time goes on (with some of them showing up really late), which both inform the macro-narrative and help flesh out the main characters. You get real wizard school vibes, as teams of kids with powers compete with one another and make choices that impact their relationships in the current day. There's a push and pull here that reverberates throughout the game.

The constant conflict of this world is what makes things interesting. We get to see plenty of examples of provincial life, as well some silly downtime, all juxtaposed to the horrific realities of the battlefield. Since dead soldiers' souls fuel the machines of war on either side, things can get heavy. Allowing the heart of the party (Noah and Mio) to serve as off-seers (trained officers who are meant to usher souls into the afterlife after falling in battle) provides for an emphatic, relatable lens through which to take in the story.

I have to say I bought into this world hook line and sinker just five or so hours in. At that point, I had met the main party, and I was addicted to finding out what will happen to everyone — given, you know, the concept of predetermined death and limited lifespans. It's deeply contemplative at times (without going over the top or waxing poetic with overly flowery dialogue), like that time Keanu Reeves made everyone cry.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwG04ZdXCOo

The relationships everyone has with one another are a huge part of why I bought in. Since each half of the core six comes from a different side of the war, each person has a different take on the situation, or a different attitude — and it doesn't always mesh well with the other faction. "Aging as an abhorrent foreign concept" is a classic sci-fi trope, but it's played with here in interesting ways that make sense within its own universe. I'm also a sucker for "marked for death" storylines because of the inherent tension within.

While a lot of people will likely balk at any form of Switch visuals, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is impressive looking by any standard. I took a ton of screenshots of this gorgeous world for fun that I look forward to drip-feeding out once the spoiler statute of limitations is done and dusted, and it's all backed by an incredible soundtrack that may or may not get snubbed at The Game Awards. One of my only hang-ups when it comes to the visual style is the animations during some cutscenes — they can look wooden, especially when characters move and run in and out of set pieces.

It does sport some really cool action sequences, and for those of you who don't dig the Xenoblade dubs, dual audio is there for you. With that in mind, I loved this dub. With dialogue like "spark that," "deffo," "how much magic power has this geek got," and "queen bitch," it runs the gamut of wonderfully campy to straight-up laugh-out-loud hilarious. The spirited performances can get downright sassy, especially if we're talking Eunie, the queen of sass. The stoic Nopon Riku also brings a nice counterbalance to the otherwise peppy and loud Nopon creatures in the series, and I'm always down to just hang out with this crew. Plus, who can not love an NPC vendor named ShillShill.

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 lets you know that yes, this is a Xenoblade sequel, but it also has its own rules. Exploration is a lot more fun because the sandboxes are generally bigger, and the ability to zoom in (all the way into first-person) or out, and swap party members is a nice touch in terms of immersion. Breadcrumb trails are available as an optional toggle to cut out aimlessness, and the map automatically checkpoints points of interest for you, without obnoxious maps full of pointless pins.

The game nudges you in the direction of participating without pulling teeth, encouraging players to talk to people for the first time for a small reputation gain. There's even bonuses for faster swimming, better meals (which provide timed bonuses), a quicker run speed, and so on. Quests are often uncovered in the overworld with traditional menu-based quest lists, or through talking with your party in a camp after hearing rumors while out and about. With supply drops (big bonus chests coming in from the sky) happening amid things like double-sided conflicts (where you can choose a side for a separate set of rewards), and shiny monsters indicating bigger loot rewards, there's always something going on.

Convenient fast travel and "save anywhere" features are back for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and although there are droves of tutorials, most of them are quick text boxes you can just skip. One of the only technical issues I had with the game involved a few framerate drops in specific areas where there's a lot going on, but in my personal experience, most of that was in cutscenes. I had encountered one stretch of the game where load times were a bit longer than normal (including areas I had already been to or warped back from), which was solved after rebooting the game. All told, any inconveniences were minor, but your threshold of framerate terror could be different.

Similar to other Xenoblade games, combat starts off very simplistic with an emphasis on auto-attacking, and occasionally popping an art (ability). At first, there's no real downside to just spamming arts when they come up, and you can't swap classes or try out new builds as readily. There are a few nuances, though, that carry on throughout the rest of the game.

Canceling auto-attacks (after they hit) into arts is optimal, as is canceling arts into supers (which are slowly charged up through arts or auto-attacking). Some classes can also throw down healing/buff rings, and select bosses toss debuff/damage rings on the ground to avoid. With easy-to-read aggro lines (blue means the enemy is centered on a tank), you can see how you need to adjust, or swap between party members to regain aggro or heal the party up. (All six core members can be swapped to in and out of combat, and be controlled.)

Roughly five to ten hours in (depending on your speed) you'll unlock the class system, which opens up party customization. Although everyone starts with a "core" function that's governed by three roles (attacker, defender, support [healer]), you'll slowly unlock the ability for any party member to swap to any role. As you level up, you'll unlock more accessory and gem slots, more classes, and it's off to the personalization races.

Passives, art alterations, combo potential, gems that have special effects (like drawing aggro at the start, or letting healers resurrect party members quicker), it's all on the table. I started to experiment with builds like offtanks that were mainly damage-oriented, but could grab enemies and take the heat off if the main tank fell in battle. The sheer number of support classes also encourages strategy beyond raw healing, with buffs and offensive spells in the mix. I eagerly maxed out every class in one of the three roles for each character so I could mix and match arts; opening up three more slots for cross-class arts (on top of the three you already have) is key.

So as I'm mentioning quite a bit in the review, the core party of six is static (though again, they can be customized and change classes), and you get a seventh "guest hero" party member too. Some are optional and off the beaten path, and several are required via the story. These are automated characters that have static equipment and presets, but they add a little fluff to combat, and can shore up party weaknesses if you want to go with an unconventional lineup.

Then you have the Ouroboros system, which, to be very vague and overly simplistic about it, combines two characters into one controllable mech in combat, sort of reminiscent of Xenogears. While there are naturally three combinations of Ouroboros links (two preset party members always sync up together), each person has their own unique Ouroboros form, and skill tree. I told you there would be layers!

In theory, using Ouroboros in combat presents an interesting twist, as it technically eliminates two party members in favor of one body, so you'd potentially lose out on a healer or tank (temporarily) by linking up. However, I wish the system was a bit more sparing in nature (perhaps only used in certain battles), or tweaked a bit. Depending on how you get on with it, it could be seen as an extra thing to micromanage, that takes you away from the fun builds you just spent a ton of time tweaking. While there is some light customization for Ouroboros, it's not nearly as in-depth as the class system, and the ability to freely swap into Ouroboros form wasn't as tantalizing or as satisfying as I expected it to be.

Of course, it has its strategic uses. If a party member is about to die or draws aggro when they shouldn't, you can swap to Ouroboros form for respite, which is protected by an overheat gauge rather than a traditional life bar. Once it overheats, you have to wait for a cooldown period to use it again with that particular pair. But in many encounters, especially overworld trash fights, you simply don't need it. Fighting elite foes (enemies with blue or orange title cards, seen in the overworld image above) can add some excitement to the festivities, but I found the Ouroboros system a tad oversaturated — and wanted to see a little more meat on those bones.

Once again though, Xenoblade 3 ties everything together and makes it all worthwhile. Ouroboros have a huge impact on the storyline, and every time I'd see the CPU make a decision to sync up two party members (accompanied by a voiceover shout not unlike popular Sentai media), I'd smile, as I'd recall the connections they had during the journey and their relationship. It evens out, and you don't even really need to use Ouroboros if you don't like it.

Because of the way everything funnels back into the emotional core, this isn't a bad "first dip into the pool" if you've never played a Xenoblade game before. Xenoblade Chronicles 3 didn't need to do a whole lot to keep me invested, as I was all-in very early on. The cast, the weight of the story, and the freedom of party composition are the power trio that won me over. Even during some of the slower moments of the narrative, I was fiddling with stats and loadouts, and still driven by a need to see where everyone ended up.

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September 26, 2022

Blizzard has finally spilled the beans on the World of Warcraft Wrath of the Lich King Classic release date, and it's ready to go on September 26, 2022.

It's set to arrive at 3PM PT on that date, and will once again follow suit with prior "classic" extensions in that it will be included for current subscribers without a separate fee. Starting with a Death Knigh at level 55, the achievement system, and the inscription profession are all back in, as are all 13 dungeons and nine raids from the base release.

As for what's new, it's a bunch of meta/account-related stuff, and Blizzard has provided further clarification on that today:

"In the lead-up to launch, players can experience Joyous Journeys, a 50%-bonus-XP event that will run until Wrath of the Lich King Classic’s September 26 launch. Prior to release, all WoW subscribers will be granted the ability to create one Death Knight per Classic realm, which they can bring to level 70 through Burning Crusade Classic content until September 26. In addition, players will also be able to purchase optional upgrades, including new cosmetic items and a level-70 character boost for those who might not yet have a fully leveled character."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7VBka-A3hc

Before the Wrath of the Lich King Classic release date, we'll get more retrospectives

The publisher clearly still holds this expansion in high regard, as they're putting out a retrospective celebration of sorts throughout the year. The first episode can be viewed here, and runs through topics from aesthetic choices unique to Wrath of the Lich King, to some insight into the technical aspects of the engine, and the advancements that they were able to implement going forward.

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Time after time

Before the internet was widely adopted (how to date yourself, 101), a lot of games lived in secrecy, particularly JRPGs. For me, Seiken Densetsu 3 was the granddaddy of them all. The phrase "Secret of Mana sequel" was enough to activate thousands of JRPG fan sleeper agents everywhere, which led to the proliferation of fan translations, and thus, the legacy of the game itself. But I couldn't play everything back then, and Live A Live was another big JRPG that eluded me — until now.

Live A Live (Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Square Enix
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: July 22, 2022
MSRP: $49.99

We're living in a golden age of gaming nostalgia, as far as many classic publishers are concerned. For other industries, it's commonplace to see old media reborn and resold again. But given that gaming really took off in the '90s, we're truly starting to unprecedented growth in nostalgia mining. For Square Enix, the demand went into high gear with Octopath Traveler opening up a go-to retro-modern aesthetic blueprint. The 2022 Live A Live remake is one of the results of the retro RPG revival floodgates opening up.

Originally released in 1994 on the SNES, Live A Live was a highly experimental RPG that juggled multiple eras and storylines in a very ambitious fashion. Not all of it worked in the '90s, and not all of it works now. But it's still just as mesmerizing, and just as inviting for people who want to try something wild and weird.

For reference, here are the "core" Live A Live time periods you'll be playing (I'll refrain from mentioning specifics for the two that are unlocked):

• Prehistory
• Imperial China
• Edo Japan
• Wild West
• Present Day
• Near Future
• Distant Future

All of these feature their own protagonists, narratives, and mechanics — and link up over time. While the vast majority of the game is held together by a grid-based JRPG battle system (more on that later), Live A Live is largely story-driven, and each age generally has its own gimmick.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbzZl49kklU

It's probably best to describe each time period as its own little micro game. Some of them, like Imperial China, are more straightforward than others. With the China-based story, you basically acquire your party like you would with many other JRPGs, and explore a small collective of maps that would amount to a town and a few surrounding areas in a bigger game. You're free to trek about with the addition of a radar (which shows you vaguely where to go next, as well as points of interest), or you can toggle that off and wander aimlessly.

A few stories are deeply traditional, but many of them branch off and offer up distinctly unique experiences. In Edo Japan, you play the role of a lone shinobi infiltrating a compound in a bid to save Japan from an unknown cataclysmic force. You'll sneak around attempting to avoid combat (as many enemies are straight up way stronger than you) with a cute little stealth ability, and map out the palace as you go.

The present-day storyline in Live A Live has you "training to become the best" (with a classic training montage straight out of an '80s action film), then selecting characters from a fighting game menu to battle, one by one, with no outward open map to speak of at the start. The near future era has a boy who can read minds, and is largely a story-driven experience, asking players to optionally trigger the ability to see what each NPC is thinking. You get the picture.

As you can imagine, not all of the periods hit as hard individually. Several can feel repetitive (especially ones that are combat-heavy without much in the way of progression or varied tactical nuances), and not every story is going to land for everyone. The micro-story strategy also has the unintended outcome of seeing strong narratives cut short, as there isn't enough time to sink your teeth into them. Conversely, a few overstay their welcome. It's the cost of the format.

Within each era, there's also some light leveling mechanics — a few will start you at what could essentially be considered "max level" to speed you along, or prop up the theme of being strong already — and equipment conceits. Most are glued together by combat. Combat in Live A Live is governed by a grid system, where nearly every action, including movement, costs time. Moving is considered an action of sorts, and a full bar will allow you to act, usually with an ability (that can typically buff, debuff, heal, or deal damage). Each game has its own set of abilities you need to pick up on, some of which start out at the ground level and gradually grow in size, while others will just dump six or more powers on you at once.

The core strategy lies in positioning and range — and even counters have specific range requirements. At first, I expect some folks to rush in (movement-wise), and get completely wrecked. But very quickly you'll start to learn the power of positioning, which is everything in Live A Live. When done correctly, you can use movement to your advantage, and almost lock out some enemies (especially if you have healing abilities). It's fun to figure out, and once you've "solved it," the game is mostly over. Again, it's a common theme with Live A Live.

Aesthetically, the "HD-2D" concept, as Square Enix calls it, is beautifully implemented. The Wild West might be my personal favorite, but Edo Japan looks absolutely beautiful as a standout way to show off the game. The use of color really helps all these worlds pop, but the team had a wonderful source to work with, as the character and environmental concepts in the original were already fantastic. As for what to expect, they're a few hours long each (or less), and, cementing the micro-game thesis, have their own opening and ending credits (and designers/artists).

If you do the math, accounting for a little extra time to finish everything up, that adds up to around 15-20 hours. At one time (read: the '90s especially), not being a 50-to-80-hour JRPG was a cardinal sin, so it was dinged by a lot of people for that. But now that a lot of those folks are grown up and have to budget their time, they'll relish a more compact experience. Live A Live is best experienced in spurts anyway. I had a lot of fun playing it on Nintendo Switch in portable mode for a bit, popping out of stories, then popping back in somewhere else. A few of them (Japan particularly) I preferred in TV mode.

As an experiment, even almost three decades later, Live A Live mostly succeeds. Because it's unconventional at heart, it's going to be a bit polarizing (especially at 50 bucks), just as it was back when it was released. Still, the juice is worth the squeeze if you're a particular type of person who likes oddities, and stories that go for broke.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Live A Live appeared first on Destructoid.

A lot of it covers the first five hours

Nintendo just debuted a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview video on the company's Japanese YouTube account, and it's pretty comprehensive! Despite the fact that it's in Japanese, it's actually very easy to tell what's going on.

Here's what the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview touches on, vaguely:

• Intercut big picture/conflict story elements, and the war between the two major factions
• The interpersonal relationships between the six core party members
• Lots of footage of overworld exploration
• An in-depth look at combat, the different roles, combos, and swapping between party members
• The Ouroboros system unveiled in one of the first debut videos
• The "guest" party system (this is arguably the most spoiler-heavy part, as it showcases a ton of characters at once)
• Township wandering/camp use/gemcrafting
• A season pass recap and an amiibo support explanation (ours is more informational!)

In other Xenoblade-related news, Nintendo even came out with a digital calendar for July, which has a cheeky marked-off spot on July 29 to celebrate the release of the game. To grab it you'll need to spend 50 My Nintendo platinum points (just remember that it's a digital download, not a physical calendar).

Hopefully we'll get some news as to what the My Nintendo physical reward is soon enough! Typically that info comes within seven days of the game's release, give or take a week.

[Update: As of July 20, Nintendo has provided a new English version of the trailer. You can find the original Japanese video and the additional English one below.]

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview trailer (Japanese):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ueds3EWAU

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview trailer (English):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmLXU2Yzqfo

The post If you really want to be spoiled, here’s a massive eight-minute Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview video appeared first on Destructoid.

This game led to another rebirth of Square Enix JRPGs

The fourth Octopath Traveler anniversary is upon us, seeing as the original release was back on July 13, 2018.

Square Enix is celebrating with a tweet, reminding us of the four-year anniversary, and providing a "commemorative illustration" of the crew from a member of producer Tomoya Asano's team: Tatsuaki Urushihara. They also remind folks that Live a Live is coming out later this month. So while we haven't gotten a direct sequel yet in the west (a mobile prequel called Champions of the Continent came out in 2020 in Japan, and is coming soon elsewhere), it's impacted many other projects since its launch, and has shifted Square Enix's priorities as a whole.

Octopath Traveler can be considered a bird of a feather with several other modern pushes for JRPGs within the company. One of the bigger waves involved Bravely Default, which came roaring in during 2012, and reminded people that yes, there is an audience for the genre still. There was another wave in 2016 with I Am Setsuna, which ushered in the creation of Tokyo RPG Factory, and led to Lost Sphear, and Oninaki.

The legacy of Octopath itself (amid this Octopath Traveler anniversary) is directly responsible for the existence of Triangle Strategy, as well as numerous other games in that same style. Square Enix even cited Octopath Traveler's aesthetic choice as an influence and drive to bring Live a Live back in the form of a remake.

https://twitter.com/OCTOPATH_PR/status/1547049576506736640

The post Octopath Traveler is celebrating its fourth anniversary, and it’s worth remembering appeared first on Destructoid.

I really hope the answer is "yes"

A Final Fantasy VII Remake open world confirmation is coming eventually for "Part 2" (Rebirth), as Square Enix has said that they'll tell us with the next announcement. Until then, we have a bit more info! Gematsu rounded up interviews from 4Gamer, Dengeki Online, Famitsu, and Gamer.ne.jp, and while some comments involved "more information to come," we did get some kernels of stuff, which, for Final Fantasy fans, is generally regarded as a meal.

Square Enix says that one of the reasons they waited so long to announce Rebirth is because "they weren't sure if it was going to be a two-part" Remake or part of a trilogy, which lines up with pretty much everything we've known about their planning process in the past few decades. They also reiterated the development strategy, noting that the "part" structure allowed not just key members of the team to continue on into Rebirth, but the bulk of the squad as well. Currently, Rebirth is in the "mass production stage," and the "fundamentals" are finished — so Q4 2023 seems reasonable (though with Square Enix, I'd realistically expect another delay). As for the third game, "plot and scenario work" is already being done.

So we don't have open world confirmation yet, but we do know that Square Enix is being very protective of the "image of the original," and that the second part will be "quite massive." That quote kind of shifts the Final Fantasy VII Remake open world potential to the "yes" side (as does the confirmation that the "PS5 was needed to travel the world comfortably" due to its SSD speed), but I'm not expecting it at this point.

Outside of that no major alterations are being done to character models (beyond "touch-ups") and the "focal point of the story hasn't changed," but there "will be some changes" to accommodate the trilogy foundation. The goal is to "essentially not cut anything," so things might appear out of order, but ideally, the crux should be there (so snowboarding then?).

When coupled with the Crisis Core confirmations, it's clear that the Final Fantasy VII sub-universe is alive and well, and here to say for the foreseeable future. I wouldn't be surprised to see several more spinoffs by the time we get to the third "part" of the remake trilogy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_4CkyOmuuU

The post Final Fantasy VII Remake team not quite ready to announce if Part 2 is open world, will reveal that in the next info drop appeared first on Destructoid.

The creator is fully aware of the "you shouldn't spread this around" comments!

As is the case with every fan creation that's openly shared on Twitter, YouTube, and plenty of other places directly by the creator themselves, I should note that this is yet another "the creator has directly shared this on Twitter" situation. Digital artist Finn shared the latest footage of their Super Mario RPG remake on Twitter, which reworks the graphical system of the game into a new charming modern style.

Note that Finn has their response to the "but you shouldn't share these types of things online" statement already ready to go:

"Just thought I’d put this out there since I’ve seen some stuff floating around: My SMRPG project, while made in a game engine, will not be available to play, for legal reasons:) similarly, I do not plan to remake a significant portion of the game as to not infringe on copyright."

That's why I put the phrase "mockup" in the headline. While this was initially shared around as a project that could see the light of day, Finn cleared things up themselves; noting that they wanted to share their artistry with the world without distributing it, or remaking the entire game.

Still, you love to see it. These types of fan projects lead to full official releases more often than you'd think, and although it would take a lot of legwork to get this one off the ground, I hope it happens one day.

https://twitter.com/huckori/status/1542926937055588352

The post A Super Mario RPG fan remake mockup? Sign me the hell up appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm glad this series still lives on

If it wasn't for the efforts of people like the folks behind Operation Rainfall, a lot of us may have never experienced the original Xenoblade Chronicles. Which, in turn, means we may have never played its sequels. Now there's a lot of "what ifs" in there, as Nintendo and Monolith Soft could have collectively decided to localize the series at any point — but I'm happy that everything played out the way it has so far. That includes the road that led to Xenoblade Chronicles 3, which could end up becoming my favorite of the series.

So we can't talk about much at the moment (I'll be brief!), but suffice to say I'm really pleased with what I've seen so far.

Combat takes a bit to get going (you really need an array of abilities, and even the class-change system to rev things up beyond an auto-attack-fest). The initial landscapes are more pointed, meant to draw you toward story beats. But in the grand scheme of things, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 doesn't take that long to crescendo into something a lot of JRPG fans will find themselves heavily invested in. As more and more game systems unlock, things get more interesting from a micro and macro standpoint. We'll talk about that more in the review.

The main thing I wanted to touch on today is the world itself, as the beating heart of Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is the cast. You get some backstory on Noah and his crew woven into the game as period cutscene interludes, then meet another faction a few hours into the game: kicking off the crux of the conflict, and adding even more drama into the mix. That faction has their own set of flashbacks, cleverly filling in portions of their personal stories as you trek on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fG_hINfOz28

At this point I felt comfortable going all-in. Not only did I want to see where the story went, I had to witness where these characters would end up. Linking six people together in the same party (with guests serving as the seventh member) is working out fantastically for Xenoblade Chronicles 3, as you get to constantly spend time with this crew and bond with them. I know some people will likely take umbrage with toiling away with the same party members (especially if you don't make a connection with any one of them), but this is a rare case where I'm delighted to learn more about every person involved.

My advice? Go in as blindly as you can. Most of what has been shown so far encompasses the first few chapters of the game, so even then you're mostly coming in fresh. I'm even keeping this piece as vague as possible! Expect our full review closer to launch.

The post So far, Xenoblade Chronicles 3 is everything I needed it to be appeared first on Destructoid.

From a certain angle, it's comfy

Hey there! I was going to be playing MADiSON today, a brand new horror game akin to Visage, as I heard it was released last weekend. Turns out it's been pushed til next weekend (hopefully) so today I’m pivoting to... Dark Souls II. I've always said I put it on pause for a rainy day, and today is that day, both metaphorically and literally.

The controls were the hardest part last time I played a few years ago, but I was also a noob. I’m definitely a pro and definitely ready for this now. See you tonight!

Drop by Destructoid’s Twitch channel every Friday at 9:00 p.m. Eastern to hang out.

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