Persona 4 has a treasured soundtrack with many great tunes that'll get you pumped for battle or grinning from ear to ear as you hear the Junes Theme playing. It also helps establish the season as the school year passes, like "Snowflakes," which plays during the final months of the game. While you're in battle, on the other hand, the rocking beat of "Reach Out To The Truth" keeps you focused on every attack. I am thou, thou art I, here are the best Persona 4 songs, ranked!

Note: This list includes Persona 4 and Persona 4 Golden tracks, no spin-off titles.

10. "Specialist"

https://open.spotify.com/track/0nAeo4gKT75vw5QmkZLdHB?si=da8e4145411d4e78

There are very few shopping video game themes that are cooler than this. This piece has a pleasant, chill melody highlighted by a jazzy piano and an awesome percussion beat that will put on a smile on your face. You can't help yourself while you bob your head up and down to the rhythm.

9. "Reverie"

https://open.spotify.com/track/28AYf50QPbB8AhC4OYU7uQ?si=2a4960c3020c43c7

Honestly, there's not much to say about this piece. "Reverie" plays when Yu and the gang reflect on what just happened. The piano plays a beautiful tune while whirring instrumentals that float above the piece give a melancholy vibe. It's a striking song that perfectly reflects the situation the team is in whenever it plays.

8. "Never More"

https://open.spotify.com/track/7wsNi1SE40YS9YYCj44EQ4?si=b3462e0c7a264256

This ending credits song is a wonderful track that establishes the strong bonds between Yu and the friends he's made along the way. The vocals are lovely as Shihoko Hirata sings about the memories the investigation team has made over the past year. The piano in the track also gives a neat reference to "A Corner of Memories" from the beginning of the game. As Persona 4 is such a long game, it actually feels nostalgic in a sense as you've known these characters for weeks, maybe months.

7. "Your Affection"

https://open.spotify.com/track/6idKSeBnFz49htgvyWoMro?si=44ac27cc45d54733

Rolling through Inaba, it was always a delight to listen to "Your Affection." It's a happy-go-lucky song as it encourages you to turn "your misery into meaningfulness" and take "pride from fear." This song is the levity we need after going through all the dungeons during the Midnight hour. During sunny days, it matches perfectly with the colorful visuals of this lovely small town.

6. "The Almighty"

https://open.spotify.com/track/2SzaLThldhzZgZBOLJoYuK?si=9ca468f6c8db4e3b

This song is steeped with so much drama. The strings and heavy bass at the beginning illustrate a great tension, and then the gripping main melody from the guitar seeps in. About a minute in, the percussion goes faster, adding stakes to the boss battle. You then get a soothing, echoed piano and guitar taking over the piece, likely showcasing who you're fighting for, like Nanako and all the residents of Inaba. Later on, the main guitar and the soothing section collide in an epic clash that somehow works together. It's a unique take on a boss battle theme as it switches between the two styles constantly; it's like a tug of war about who's winning the fight.

5. "Signs of Love"

https://open.spotify.com/track/32NyN0Tby1YpKObfd8nrzN?si=3554fce9e1514dfc

"Signs of Love" has everything I love about the Persona 4 soundtrack: a funky beat, charming lyrics, and some entertaining jazzy overtones that keep the track riveting. There are also strings in the background that reflect the slight tension that befalls the teenage protagonist. It's a great track that I'm happy to listen to over and over again as each in-game day passes.

4. "Reach Out To The Truth"

https://open.spotify.com/track/7JR73H8enwnGiYFS2I6eWW?si=183dea8a012f4691

"Reach Out To The Truth" is a fantastic battle theme. The rocking guitar gives tasty jams, while the jazzy keyboard provides more character to the piece. The drums also keep up the intensity while the Hirata nails her performance. It does get more repetitive than the other battle themes on the list, but it's still an exciting piece for many Persona 4 players.

3. "Snowflakes"

https://open.spotify.com/track/3Ybug08EbRV4RZfcw8WZMk?si=7f97b3f31c7e4ce9

Persona 4 Golden adds a beautiful track called "Snowflakes" that establishes the journey is almost over. It's a sad, yet calming track that fits into the winter season. It talks about the "friendship that is built to last" and the "laughter from this treasured place" that will stay in each character's memories. Similar to "Never More," it gives us a nostalgic feeling, reflecting on the past year, similar to thinking back on the past year during New Year's Eve. The tune from the piano, vocals, and beats are also stunning to listen to.

2. "Time to Make History"

https://open.spotify.com/track/3fHtkMIsiv9kC0Tv2iSS3h?si=f25f817629ac422b

Goodness, I love this song! The bass absolutely slaps as the delightful vocals get us hyped to "step on up to the plate" and "time to make history." It's an absolute jam.  It's fun how all of the instruments ramp up together during the chorus, and the drums once again make their presence known in the best way. When I played Persona 4 Golden, I was always more excited to hear this number over "Reach Out To The Truth."

1. "I’ll Face Myself (Reincarnation)"

https://open.spotify.com/track/1PraA0CrjHLo16lwUw6NSq?si=814328a804dd47bd

Drama. Intensity. High stakes. This is what "I'll Face Myself (Reincarnation)" brings to Persona 4. You have a slow unassuming beginning that ramps up quickly to an intense battle theme. The emotional strings play well with the intense drums. The flow also keeps changing, giving you unexpected twists and turns in this epic boss battle music. Composer Shoji Meguro wasn't afraid to include slower pieces to this boss battle theme, adding an emotional element to the track. He went all out with the ebb and flow of this piece. It's remarkable and is one of the best Persona 4 songs, absolutely.

The post Best Persona 4 songs, ranked appeared first on Destructoid.

A hot season starting to cool down

This year's summer has been chock-a-block with incredible games from Final Fantasy XVI to Street Fighter 6, but things are starting to cool down with the August 2023 games lineup. There are still some great games like Sea of Stars and Baldur's Gate 3 on the horizon. However, we can take a bit of a breather as most of these anticipated titles are fairly niche. Here's everything you can expect from the August 2023 games release schedule.

[caption id="attachment_392530" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via From Software and Bandai Namco[/caption]

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: From Software and Bandai Namco
Developer: From Software
Price: $59.99
Release Date: August 25
Trailer
Our Preview

The legendary studio behind Dark Souls and Elden Ring (From Software) is bringing back a mech favorite with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon.  The Steam page claims it's bringing the developer's "signature action gameplay" into the mix with "fast-paced, omni-directional battles." Each fight will be set in "massive stages," and now with better graphical fidelity, the action will look even more intense and stunning. While there isn't any Souls-like combat from this sequel, you can deeply customize your mech just how you'd like it.

Your judgment will impact your mech's movement and even its battle style. The Steam page claims that "each mission can be approached with a unique mech strategy." Something you'd expect from From Software is boss battles; this game comes with them in spades. Hopefully, this game lives up to the extremely high expectations of the developer's huge fanbase after its 2022 magnum opus Elden Ring. From the pedigree alone, this is one of the most anticipated August 2023 games.

[caption id="attachment_392533" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Larian Studios[/caption]

Baldur's Gate 3 (PC)

Publisher: Larian Studios
Developer: Larian Studios
Price: $59.99
Release Date: August 3 (PC) and September 6 (PS5)
Trailer

RPG fans, rejoice! Baldur's Gate 3 is finally leaving early access on August 3. There is deep customization in the game, allowing you to pick from 12 classes (with 46 subclasses) and 11 races (including 31 subraces) for your hero/heroine. Larian Studios also claims your decisions will leave an impact on the storyline. "Every choice you make drives your story forward, each decision leaving your mark on the world," says Larian on the game's Steam page. "Define your legacy, nurture relationships and create enemies, and solve problems your way."

We'll see how grandiose the story is when the game fully releases, but it certainly sounds promising. As the game is set in the Dungeons & Dragons universe, it will be based on the 5e ruleset. You'll be rolling the dice for your actions during combat and can interact with the environment in unique ways. Oh, and you can have romantic relations with a bear...if that's your thing.

[caption id="attachment_392534" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA[/caption]

Immortals of Aveum (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: EA
Developer: Ascendent Studios
Price: $59.99
Release Date: August 21
Trailer

If you're tired of guns and want a bit of a change-up, there's Immortals of Aveum with magic instead of ammo. You'll be blasting away all sorts of foes with 25 different spells at your disposal. There are also 80 talents to learn in this FPS single player campaign. As one of the battle mages, you're tasked to save the world from villains who plan to send it to the abyss.

The game looks exciting with plenty of intriguing enemies to fight and a sense of verticality within its level design. The graphics look pristine as well with gorgeous visual effects and grand environments.  It's one of the more intriguing August 2023 games on this list.

[caption id="attachment_392536" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via EA[/caption]

Madden NFL 24 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: EA
Developer: EA Sports
Price: $69.99
Release Date: August 17
Trailer

EA has a busy month in store because Madden NFL 24 is also dropping in August. Instead of slinging spells, you'll be throwing footballs and handling them better with an improved version of FieldSENSE. EA claims on the game's Steam page that it's "giving you greater control and delivering realism to all the ways you play." Additionally, there's a new feature called the SAPIEN technology. Apparently, it adds more realism to the body definition and variation of the athletes' physiques. EA claims this results in "realistic player movement."

EA also says that your teammates' ratings and situational awareness have improved since the last game with better AI. Thankfully, Madden NFL 24 will include crossplay, allowing you to play with your friends on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. While this is not my particular cup of tea (soccer should be called football, damn it), this year's Madden seems to be a big step up. It might be worth waiting for it to come to Xbox Game Pass, however, like Madden NFL 23.

[caption id="attachment_392538" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Sabotage Studio[/caption]

Sea of Stars (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PC)

Publisher: Sabotage Studio
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Price: $34.99
Release Date: August 29
Trailer

Sea of Stars is the standout indie out of the August 2023 games list. Sporting wonderful 16-bit inspired graphics, Sea of Stars will wrap you up in some good ol' JRPG goodness. It's seemingly inspired by classics like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. There's a turn-based combat system that relies on timed button presses. If you time them correctly, your damage will increase. As the game proceeds, each combo will progress in difficulty.

The animations are absolutely gorgeous within the art style, adding even more of a nostalgic rush to the game. The game does feel modernized, however, with no random encounters and no grinding to speak of. Go at your own pace and stop The Fleshmancer performing their evil doings. To keep you entertained, there are other activities in Sea of Stars, such as fishing, cooking, and a tabletop game called Wheels.

[caption id="attachment_392540" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Fireplace Games[/caption]

Honorable Mentions

• Thronefall (PC) - August 2
• Flutter Away (PC, Switch) - August 3
• Atlas Fallen (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - August 10
• Moving Out 2 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC)  - August 15
• En Garde! (PC) - August 16
• Marble It Up! Ultra (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC) - August 17
• Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (PC, Switch) - August 18
• The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC)
• Ride 5 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - August 24
• Goodbye Volcano High (PS4, PS5, PC) - August 29
• Samba de Amigo: Party Central (Switch) - August 29
• Under the Waves (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC) - August 29
• The Shape of Things (Switch) - August 31

The post Most anticipated game releases – August 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Share your dreams with the world

Media Molecule's Dreams allows players to unleash their creativity, and the results have been nothing short of awe-inspiring. The latest update to Dreams' content policy gives creators greater freedom regarding how they use their creations. This update comes as the studio prepares to pull its live support.

[caption id="attachment_391914" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Media Molecule.[/caption]

Changes are coming to Dreams

Earlier this year, Media Molecule announced that it would be ending its live support of Dreams on September 1, 2023. This decision was taken to allow the studio to focus on a new project.

Although it'll still be possible to play the game and share Dreams with others, the studio won't be releasing any more updates. It isn't time to abandon the game just yet because some significant creator-friendly changes have been made to its content policy.

[caption id="attachment_257758" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Media Molecule.[/caption]

Dreams' New Content Policy

The new content usage terms allow players to use music, animation, films, and art created in Dreams for both commercial and personal purposes. There are a few terms and conditions attached to this.

As Media Molecule's FAQ explains, to use creations outside of Dreams, the creations must be original and created by you. If you use someone else's creation in your work, you'll need to acquire their permission. The creations also have to comply with the PlayStation Network's code of conduct and Media Molecule's community guidelines.

Despite the myriad of rules, players still have plenty of freedom. Music can be posted to streaming sites, and images can be printed onto clothing and posters, for example. This opens even more avenues for creators to profit from their Dreams projects.

The end of Dreams' live support may be disappointing to some. However, the changes to the content policy ensure fans can make the most of their creations even as the studio moves on to a new project.

The post Media Molecule lets Dreams players use some content for commercial use appeared first on Destructoid.

Trash Can Children

The Garbage Pail Kids are a bit out of my wheelhouse. I don’t particularly like gross-out humor. Even some of the stuff in Ren & Stimpy is too much for me. I respect gross-out humor. I think it’s probably healthy to find amusement in bodily functions that we all experience but, for some reason, choose to demonize. That doesn’t change things, though. It doesn’t tickle the atrophied humor muscle in my brain.

Except for butts. Butts are forever funny.

However, the NES is part of my domain. So when Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum arrived, I couldn’t turn down the opportunity to pick up a physical copy of it for NES. To be clear, I bought this myself. When I covered Blazing Rangers back in February, First Press Games had offered me a copy of it. I’m not sure Iam8bit even has my contact information, and I’m too polite and shy to actually ask for anyone for review copies.

[caption id="attachment_390217" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum (NES, Switch, PS4, Xbox One, PC)
Developer: Retrotainment Games, Digital Eclipse
Publisher: iam8bit
Released: October 25, 2022
MSRP: $9.99 (Digital), $79.99 (NES)

If you’re unfamiliar with the Garbage Pail Kids, it was an attempt to take the Cabbage Patch Kids and turn it into the most unwholesome, disgusting mutation possible. They were chiefly a series of trading cards, but they eventually spun off into a movie that has been described as “the worst ever” and a cartoon series that got canceled before it even hit the air. My husband says the cartoon is “interesting” but that I “definitely wouldn’t like it.”

Garbage Pail Kids went away for the ‘90s but came back in the ‘00s, as you can’t keep a good property down. They’re the perfect storm of parents hating them and kids loving them that made them memorable.

There was never a video game spin-off of the property, but there probably should have been, so Retrotainment Games got the license and went straight to correcting history. They created Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum for the NES hardware. Iam8bit picked it up as publisher, and last year it hit consoles and PC with the help of Digital Eclipse. Now, it’s been pressed to an NES cartridge, which feels absolutely poetic.

https://youtu.be/E4lcgpH6V88

Butts are forever funny

Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is a platformer that feels like a mash-up of a lot of different games while also being its own thing. You can swap between four characters at any time, which feels sort of like Little Samson or Bucky O’Hare. However, the levels, while linear, have some exploration elements to them, which prevents the game from just feeling like a clone. It still feels like a license-focused platformer but in a more favorable sense. Like Duck Tales.

Also, like Duck Tales, you get to select the order of levels. There are six in total that cover a range of locations and time periods. Your team of grotesque children doesn’t earn any new skills as they progress, so the order you tackle them is completely up to you.

The children themselves are diverse. They provide the skills of melee, jumping, projectiles, and also projectiles, but these projectiles arc downward. They each have their own health bar, but the different characters are one of the low-points of Garbage Pail Kids’ design.

Leaky Lindsay is easily the most useful, having a direct projectile attack that keeps you out of the way of enemy attacks. Mike is okay for dealing damage to bosses. Patty Putty is exclusively used for jumping, as Garbage Pail Kids doesn’t make for a good hop-and-bop. However, as each kid has their own health bar, they can also die individually. This means you might have to use Leaky Lindsay sparingly, and being stuck with only Patty Putty left alive is just a drag. As you lose children, the experience just gets worse and worse.

[caption id="attachment_390218" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Top of the trash heap

Otherwise, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is a pretty solid NES title. Some of the levels drag a bit, but on the whole, they’re diverse and interesting. The sprite work is solid, the music pops, and there’s a well-stocked buffet of bosses to take on. It doesn’t really feel like a homebrew game. You could easily mistake it as a title that came out in maybe ‘91 or ‘92 during the twilight days of the NES.

They even managed to work in trading and collecting cards. You pick them up from knocked-over trash cans and can swap them with NPCs scattered throughout the levels. Some of them help you out by resurrecting kids or nuking the screen, but others are just to collect. If you have them all at the end, you get a little certificate telling you that you managed to get them all. It’s fun stuff.

Of course, it’s also really gross. You could probably guess that by the fact that one of the children is perpetually caked in slime and shoots boogers as a projectile. It didn’t disgust me beyond my tolerance, but the gross-out humor is definitely still here.

[caption id="attachment_390221" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image by Destructoid[/caption]

The grossest gang of goofs ever

The cartridges were done by NESInfiniteLives. Some early images showed the two colors of cartridge, blue and pink, as being opaque. It seems like the production cartridges are transparent, as that’s what I got, which I’m not as much of a fan of. It’s still a quality product, though. They’re just not going to fool anyone into believing these are authentic. The game also doesn’t come with a dust cover, but the boxes are sealed and have stickers on them that look like price tags but really just denote the size of the production run.

Most importantly, though, it works in my NES. The manual it comes with is also very informative and includes a foreword by one of the developers. Iam8bit doesn’t seem obsessive about nailing the authenticity of the product, but they definitely get the job done. Although, it might be a bit more expensive than it should be.

Buying the physical copy also nets you the Steam version of the game if you don’t have it already. The PC version comes with bonus videos and filters that obviously can’t fit on the NES hardware, so it’s nice that you don’t have to miss out on the special features just because you want it on a cartridge.

[caption id="attachment_390219" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Better than the movie (probably)

Really, though, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum is just a decent game. It’s top shelf for the console, but maybe not tippy-top. Like, it’s not a top 10 game, or a top 20. Top 50 is a bit more believable, but at the very least, it’s a top 100. It’s comparable to, say, Vice: Project Doom’s level of quality. Like Shatterhand or S.C.A.T. Not quite great, but better than good, you know?

In a lot of ways, Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum demonstrates how far the homebrew market has come. Here we have a licensed game released nearly 30 years after the end of the NES lifespan. It contains all the graphical trickery and polished gameplay of a latter-day title, and you could almost believe that it really is a lost prototype brought back to life. It may be gross, but if you’re a fan of the console or the Garbage Pail Kids, you should definitely find some way to rub it all over yourself.

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

The post Review: Garbage Pail Kids: Mad Mike and the Quest for Stale Gum appeared first on Destructoid.

Humbug!

It certainly isn't a "Silent Night" while playing Ebenezer and the Invisible World. Instead of three French hens and four calling birds, your relatives will hear a ruckus as you scream at the game. There's a lot to like, but the combat needs to be refined before this Metroidvania's release. The visuals call back to those old Christmas specials you watch as a kid, but other than that, there's a lot to be fixed in this holiday-themed game. Here's a preview of the stunning, yet currently flawed Ebenezer and the Invisible World.

[caption id="attachment_389609" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ten lords a-leaping for a great art style

Set after the events of the Christmas Carol storyline, Ebenezer Scrooge is now fighting for the city's people with the help of the spirits he meets along the way. While the demo doesn't particularly show an intriguing storyline, the environments truly stand out with the premise. You see a prosperous holiday version of London with gorgeous architecture, lighting, and seemingly hand-drawn characters across the city. It really pops on the screen and the art style reminds you of straight-to-video/TV animated movies like Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer and The Snowman.

During the main boss battle of the demo, you can see the shimmer of the ice below while Big Ben is beaming in the distance. Buildings around the area are also adorned with greenery and garlands. The way the game uses the forefront is also striking; for example, the lantern on the bottom left of the picture above adds depth to the scene. It's almost like a painting.

While the visuals look fantastic, it does make me wonder if the London area may get dull after a while. The observatory at the end of the demo and the sewers show that there may be other major environments to find in the game.

[caption id="attachment_389615" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The disappointing combat is certainly a Grinch

While the graphics are certainly promising, Ebenezer and the Invisible World's combat certainly isn't. The biggest issue is how your enemies aren't impacted by your strikes. Like Buddy the Elf jumping through crowds for Santa, your attacks do not stagger your foes during their animations. You can't stun them with your strikes, and that befuddled me so many times. As a larger enemy begins to swing its heavy sword, your strikes should interrupt or slow their movement; however, they still carry on with the heavy thud of their weapon. A dodge feature or a way to counter the incoming strike would be appreciated.

Additionally, there's a frustrating foe that throws grenades at Ebenezer. They're hard to avoid and tough to attack. However, there's one spirit that can provide a diagonal attack, which helps greatly. There is a magic meter, on the other hand, so they might not be able to perform the action. You'll have to conserve your magic, like Scott Calvin in The Santa Clause 2. Other foes have annoying patterns that should be addressed during development. For example, there's a flying lantern that sends fire towards Ebenezer. It's just outside of the old man's reach so you need to jump, and if you come into contact with it, you'll take unnecessary damage.

More checkpoints would be a "Joy to the World."

These issues are compounded by a checkpoint system that is too far apart, and the time it takes to run through empty spaces to get to where I was can be supremely irritating. The light platforming, with the help of a friendly spirit, can be entertaining enough to keep you going. With the new abilities you gain along the way, I expect it will be satisfying to revisit previously inaccessible areas.

Despite this demo featuring 30 minutes to an hour of gameplay, I already witnessed a copied battle stance from one enemy to the next. They slam the hammer toward you and have it stuck to the ground; this happens with two different foes so far. Hopefully, there's more variety in the full game like Bloodstained. 

Please change the music

Christmas movies often have catchy songs and imaginative music that captures your heart. Think of The Polar Express' "Spirit of the Season" and the North Pole theme from the Santa Clause movies. Unfortunately, Ebenezer and the Invisible World lacks that holiday spirit in its soundtrack. There are depressing 30-second loops that have some elements of jingle bells, but the overall composition is such a downer. During my playthrough of the demo, I had to turn off the game's music and put on some Castlevania tracks. It was a much better experience after that.

If it wanted to go for a dark take on the Christmas season, it would be intriguing to hear the composer's creepy takes on classic Christmas tunes like "Silent Night" or "Jingle Bells." Perhaps, it could also take inspiration from Danny Elfman's Scrooged movie score, which has a darker edge than most holiday flicks.

The elves have a lot of work to do

There is so much potential in Ebenezer and the Invisible World. It has a unique holiday-themed world to explore, and the spirits may provide fun Metroidvania elements to the game. The combat system needs to be refined heavily, though, for me to not regift this title.

The post Preview: Ebenezer and The Invisible World doesn’t have a lot of holiday cheer appeared first on Destructoid.

Ray'zing the bar

If you’re only a casual or intermediate lover of scrolling shoot-’em-ups, it’s easy to drown in the deep end. The genre has been unfathomably popular in Japanese Game Centres for decades, so just about every publisher of arcade games at the time had multiple series going. So, you’ll have to excuse me if I haven’t played every game featured in the Ray’z Arcade Chronology. I mean, I’ve heard of them. Not that I could tell you when and where because the names RayForce, RayStorm, and RayCrisis are so laughably similar that I can’t keep them straight.

That’s okay. A lifetime of experience with the genre has given me ample framework to appreciate each of these games, and appreciate them I did.

[caption id="attachment_389830" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Ray'z Arcade Chronology (Switch [Reviewed], PS4)
Developer: M2, Taito
Publisher: ININ Games
Released: June 30, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

Ray’z Arcade Chronology consists of three games in the “Ray” series. This is 1994’s RayForce, 1996’s RayStorm, and 1998’s RayCrisis. This is why you need to be careful with your nomenclature. We’re left with Ray’z to cover the whole series. Who’s Ray? I don’t know. Some guy who likes arcade shooters.

In any case, each of these titles is fantastic and brings something of their own to the table. RayForce is 2D, using a layer stacking technique to give the whole experience some 3D depth. RayStorm takes the series into actual 3D, which results in quite a ride. RayCrisis has the whole thing take place inside a supercomputer. This might sound lame, but there’s a feature where you’re given a specific route through the game, and your initials keep track of which ones you’ve cleared so you’re presented with a different series of levels each time you pick it back up.

The collection was overseen by M2, which should tell astute readers everything they need to hear. M2 is generally considered the gold standard when it comes to porting games, and scrolling shoot-’em-ups are their specific area of expertise. I probably don’t have to tell you they did an immaculate job with the Ray’z Arcade Chronology, but I will anyway: They did an immaculate job with the Ray’z Arcade Chronology.

Rather than just bare ports, each of the games gets a bunch of bells and whistles. You can play with the DIP switches to customize the experience. The borders are filled with more UI stats than you could even need (including one that tells you the name of the music track currently playing). You also get an HD version of both RayStorm and RayCrisis that literally does just that. It increases the resolution so you don’t get a pixellated look. I love the pixellated look, but maybe you don’t, weirdo.

https://youtu.be/dm1DyVDmkV8

RayCast

Anecdotally, I see RayForce as being the most highly respected of the bunch. It’s not hard to see why, as the sprite work is fantastic. It also has a smooth transition from level to level, making the whole thing seem continuous. It introduces the series staple of having a lock-on, which is necessary for hitting enemies that appear in the distance.

RayStorm is a lot of fun too. It might be my favorite in the bunch, but it’s harder to describe why. On paper, it really just sounds like RayForce in 3D, but while it loses the stylish transitions, it still feels like a great trip. It really knows how to make good use of the backgrounds to heighten the action without getting in the way.

On the other hand, I enjoyed RayCrisis far more than I thought I would. It feels more innovative than the other games, and gives more incentive to replaying and building up your skill. Not only do you get a different set of levels on each playthrough, but you’re also graded based on how well you do. You’re given an incentive to prevent enemies from simply exiting the screen unscathed. Considering most shoot-’em-ups are less than an hour long and replay value is usually just reducing continues used and increasing score, I appreciate something more tangible to help elevate it.

The downside is that, because it takes place in a computer, the levels aren’t quite as cohesive. They just sort of happen. In a way, the progression of RayCrisis is the antithesis of the one-take of RayForce. It’s not a deal breaker. It’s more like a compromise to get the sweet, sweet replay value.

[caption id="attachment_389831" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

RayTracing

Unfortunately, if you want to play the prototype for R-Gear, you need to order through Strictly Limited Games. R-Gear was initially in development as a sequel to RayForce that would have retained the 2D art style, but development instead moved to RayStorm’s full polygonal 3D. It’s just a prototype, and it only includes one level, but it would have been cool to have it as part of the digital version. Maybe I’ll just have to pony up for a physical copy. Goodness knows I enjoyed Ray’z Arcade Chronology more than enough to justify it.

Oh, hey, that leads us to this little summary paragraph. Ray’z Arcade Chronology is really good. It’s a great collection of great ports of great games. That’s it. No notes (aside from the ones already provided). If you haven’t played any of these games, you definitely owe it to yourself to check out the collection. If you have played them, this is just a great way to get all the titles together with some bells and whistles. I could scarcely ask for more.

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

The post Review: Ray’z Arcade Chronology appeared first on Destructoid.

Rick-rolled

We've had some real treats join the humongous Arcade Archives range this past month. Not only did we get rare puzzler Tetris: The Absolute Grand Master 2 and run 'n' gun classic Rolling Thunder 2, but this week sees Hamster delve back into the Namco catalog and emerge with its controversial horror scrapper, Splatterhouse!

Released to Japanese arcades in 1988, before heading west the following year, this ultra-iconic release has managed to retain its brand power over the ensuing decades, despite ultimately being a series of visually exciting, but fairly average titles. Inspired by an array of hyper-violent horror franchises, Splatterhouse sees hero Rick sally forth into the mansion of Dr. Henry West, on a do-or-die mission to rescue his girlfriend, Jennifer, from the truly unholy creatures that reside within.

Imbued with the power of the mysterious "Terror Mask", and armed with an array of improvisational weaponry, Rick presses on through seven surprisingly tough stages, (though this is frequently down to his sluggish movement rather than challenging design). Going beyond your regular ghouls 'n' ghosts, Splatterhouse boasts a disgusting array of enemies, from strange-skinned fetuses to creepy water ghouls, possessed furniture, limbless demons, and grossly vulgar body horror monstrosities.

You get check out all the guts 'n' gory glory in the trailer below, courtesy of Hamster itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlxd6O1CW8

Splatterhouse is hardly a deep or even competent title, but it is, undeniably, arresting from a design standpoint. Shamelessly horrific and as unashamed of its own violence as much as its plagiarism. It also features a monster wielding a chainsaw and wearing a sack on its head before Leon S. Kennedy had even brushed his first fringe. Splatterhouse walks a line between being repetitively easy and hard-as-nails and, while flawed, is oddly compelling in its own clumsy fashion.

The arcade edition of Splatterhouse would receive heavily censored home ports on the PC Engine and several Japanese computers, before receiving two sequels on the Sega Mega Drive. Perhaps one of its most enjoyable iterations is the very silly Famicom version, known as Splatterhouse: Wanpaku Graffiti, which is well worth checking out. In 2010, Splatterhouse returned in a hack 'n' slash remake for PS3 and Xbox 360. This release was critically panned, but fans of the series were able to find fun in its janky nature, which seemed oddly fitting given its predecessors.

Whether we ever see Splatterhouse again remains to be seen, but it would be a shame for the franchise to remain undead and buried for too long.

Splatterhouse is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Namco’s iconic gorefest Splatterhouse hits the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Yay or neigh?

Cygames revealed Umamusume Pretty Derby: Nekketsu Hachamecha Dai Kasha-sai as part of Japan’s Nintendo Direct yesterday, but there was little indication of its release plans. The publisher has now confirmed that the game will be coming to North America as Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash.

The pixel art visuals are cute, but what grabbed my attention is the obvious nods to the Nekketsu/Kunio-Kun series. There are four events in this party Grand Prix: Hurtling Hurdles, Blazing Baskets, Dodgeball Demolition, and Gourmet Gauntlet. Alliterations are fun. Three of those events bear a resemblance to games in the Kunio-Kun series. In particular, the Blazing Baskets game has three nets stacked on top of each other, which was part of Nekketsu Street Basket.

https://youtu.be/M8SzQG-VLjU

Homage aside, it’s definitely not just a straight copy. There are a lot of new things mixed in with these games, like turning someone into a penguin for some reason. Collectibles of some sort are on the playing field. It looks like all events are a free-for-all. There actually isn’t a whole lot to go on in this press release, but I think the trailer speaks for itself.

We’re promised a “star-studded cast of Umamusume to play as.” I don’t know what that means beyond them being horse girls. I’m going to be honest with you, I know nothing about Umamusume. This is actually the first time I’ve heard of it. I do watch anime from time to time, but it’s part of a very sparse likelihood that I’ll watch a TV show at all. This trailer doesn’t really get me interested in the show, but the game looks fun.

Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash is coming to PS4, Switch, and PC sometime in 2024.

The post Umamusume: Pretty Derby – Party Dash is galloping westward in 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

Take a breather

Gaming hasn't slowed down since 2023 began. Hit after hit after hit has ensured that cash has been frequently relinquished from our wallets. Fortunately, the industry is cooling down a little with these July 2023 games.

[caption id="attachment_387557" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Disney Interactive[/caption]

Disney Illusion Island (Switch)

Publisher: Disney Interactive
Developer: Dlala Studios
Price: $29.99
Release Date: July 28
Trailer

Mickey Mouse is a keyblade wielder, a mascot at Disney's theme parks, and a part of the Funhouse Friends, but he hasn't been in a platformer for a long time. Thankfully, he and his pals are featured in an all-new 2D adventure on the Nintendo Switch. Developed by Dlala Studios (Battletoads), Disney Illusion Island's visuals are brimming with color. In fact, the Nintendo eShop listing states that you can "be a part of an authentic Mickey cartoon." With four-player co-op, you can bring friends and family to an island that has running, swimming, swinging, and jumping platform action along with bosses to defeat and puzzles to solve. There are also "hidden secrets" to find along the way.

[caption id="attachment_387560" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Capcom[/caption]

Exoprimal (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: Capcom
Developer: Capcom
Price: $59.99
Release Date: July 13
Trailer

Sometimes it's cool to mix two unlikely things together. Pineapple and pizza, carrots and peanut butter, and fries with gravy are all examples of this. That's also the case with Exoprimal as it features mechs fighting massive waves of dinosaurs. The mixture perhaps shouldn't work, but the intense action of gunfire and high maneuverability of the mechs seem to work well against the rampaging dinos. There are three classes to consider as well, adding more depth to the seemingly simple gameplay. The game's coming to Xbox Game Pass, so hopefully, you can team up with your Xbox buddies and succeed.

[caption id="attachment_387675" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Netflix[/caption]

Oxenfree II: Lost Signals (Switch, PS4, PS5, PC, Netflix)

Publisher: Netflix
Developer: Night School Studio
Price: $19.99
Release Date: July 12
Trailer

One of the most anticipated July 2023 games in the indie scene is Oxenfree II: Lost Signals. In this sci-fi follow-up, you will meet and shape the stories of those around the protagonist Riley. "Your choices impact who Riley becomes, your relationships, and the story options available to you at every turn," says Netflix on the game's Steam page.

Thankfully, for myself and others, you don't need to play the original to understand the sequel. However, Netflix suggests you'll be able to "dive deeper by playing the original." You'll explore the town of Camena, will discover the strange source of radio signal disturbances, and will try to thwart the Parentage from making a new portal. It sounds like an exciting, narrative adventure full of danger and mystery.

[caption id="attachment_387677" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Nintendo[/caption]

Pikmin 4 (Switch)

Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Price: $59.99
Release Date: July 21
Trailer

The long-awaited Pikmin 4 finally touches down on Switch systems next month. In this adventure, you'll be creating your own explorer and, with the help of the Pikmin, rescue others like yourself. The unique spin on this sequel sees players explore a world of huge household items. Plants, benches, binoculars, you name it. You'll be collecting treasures and taking them to your ship as you solve environmental puzzles and have the Pikmin escort your objects safety.

The new ice Pikmin freeze enemies and immobilize them quickly. There's also a space dog named Oatchi who can take out obstacles in your way. It's not my personal cup of tea, but hopefully, the long wait for Pikmin 4 will be worth it for fans. Let's gather in the "Forest of Hope."

[caption id="attachment_387678" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Gearbox Publishing[/caption]

Remnant 2 (PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC)

Publisher: Gunfire Games
Developer: Gearbox Publishing
Price: $49.99
Release Date: July 25
Trailer

Remnant: From the Ashes kicked ass when it released in 2019. The follow-up is hoping to continue the excellent third-person shooting gameplay. Each biome requires different gear and weapons as you approach "cunning enemies and large-scale boss battles," according to the game's Steam page. The sequel touts "endless replayability" as there are branching quest lines, lots of crafting options, and like many other live service titles, awesome loot. Gearbox Publishing says that "playthroughs will feel challenging, varied, and rewarding as players succeed against unrelenting odds." Hopefully, it will live up to the fantastic first game when it releases in July.

[caption id="attachment_387679" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via Thunderful Publishing[/caption]

Honorable Mentions

• Atelier Marie Remake: The Alchemist of Salburg (PS4, PS5, Switch, PC) - July 13
• Jagged Alliance 3 (PC) - July 14
• My Friendly Neighborhood (PC) - July 18
• Viewfinder (PS4, PS5, PC) - July 18
• Punch Club 2: Fast Forward (PS3, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, PC)  - July 20
• The Expanse: A Telltale Series Episode 1 (PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC via Epic Games Store) - July 27

The post Most anticipated game releases – July 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Mars Needs Cheerleaders

Following a fortnight of run 'n' gun action and top-tier puzzling, we're going back to the stars with Hamster's favorite genre, the shmup — Available on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, it's the Arcade Archives' newest entry, Taito's Megablast!

Released to the coin-op market in 1989, Megablast is one of a tidal wave of (admittedly forgotten) shmups that filled out smoky arcade centers up and down the country. While the action is fairly typical of the era, the storyline is one for the ages. Essentially, World Peace has been achieved on Earth, but the planet has been ravaged by an en masse disappearance of women. As it turns out, a dying intergalactic populace known as the Zancs cannot interbreed, and is instead abducting Earth's women in order to help it repopulate its own race. Big ol' yikes on that one, Taito.

And there's no sign of Roddy Piper anywhere.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jlaXGd-SUbY&ab_channel=WorldofLongplays

And thus, fighter pilots Dawnson and Bogey are dispatched to confront the Zancs, speed up the extinction process, and bring back the planet's ladies, one of whom is Dawnson's own gal pal. What follows is standard horizontally-scrolling shmup action, depicted in Taito's typically oversized and kinda vulgar fashion. Power-ups can be gathered in order to boost the players' weaponry. Not explained is how our heroes plan to bring all of the women back to Earth in their two tiny, one-man vessels. But if ask too many questions, then the minute of this carefully crafted narrative begins to come undone. So don't.

Megablast is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at $8.

The post Rescue Earth’s women in Arcade Archives’ oddly-plotted Megablast appeared first on Destructoid.

Back to the Little Tail Bronx

It felt like we weren’t going to see a sequel to 2021’s Fuga: Melodies of Steel. For starters, it ended rather conclusively. It also only sold modestly, and it feels like Cyberconnect has been trying unsuccessfully to get the Little Tail Bronx series to take off since Tail Concerto in 1998. Yet, here we are, with Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2.

I couldn’t be happier. The original Fuga was a surprisingly well-executed design that got a lot of mileage from what could be considered very simple mechanics. So, how do you expand on that? What can you do to improve what has already been polished to such a gloss?

Not much, I guess.

[caption id="attachment_387012" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: CyberConnect2
Released: May 11, 2023
MSRP: $39.99

Taking place one year after the events of the first game, Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 sees the children reunite. However, before they even have time to catch up with one another, an ancient evil is re-awakened, a friend of theirs is killed, and they’re left chasing a new foe. Surprisingly, even though the kids still find themselves at the wheel of the giant Metal Slug-like Taranis, the plot manages to be mostly different.

In particular, I like the way Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 improves on its cast. While the children are all still children, one year is an eternity when you’re pre-teen. They’ve all grown from their experiences during the war and now have new strengths and insecurities. Characters who I maybe didn’t love in the first game, like Jin and Wappa, are given the chance to shine anew. Likewise, two boss characters from the previous title make their way aboard the Taranis, and in the new light of their diminished status, they add a nice flavor to the happenings on the tank.

That said, the narrative still has some of the same problems as the first game. The overarching plot seems to be stretched out to accommodate character growth. This time, it has trouble focusing on any significant event. Something happens to shake things up, and then it’s quickly resolved, and we move on. It’s definitely not terrible, but it’s not as interesting as the previous story, and that one was already not spectacular, to begin with.

https://youtu.be/hydneoxIkJ0

That's a big metal slug

The gameplay is more-or-less remixed rather than changed. Each of the characters has been gutted of their old skills, and they get an entirely new set of them. Once again, they commandeer either a machine gun, grenade launch, or cannon on the Taranis, and they may have something different this time around.

There are more widespread changes. The grenade launcher, for example, is where you’d commonly find the attacks that hit multiple targets in the first game. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2, these are spread out across the machine guns and cannons. The changes don’t make the game dramatically different, but they do mean that you’ll need to adopt new strategies to succeed.

The enemies have also been tweaked. While the enemy was defeated in the previous title, you still largely fight their tanks. This (along with many other questions raised at the beginning of the game) isn’t initially addressed, but you eventually do find out why you’re fighting zombie tanks. But while they’re the same old machines of war, various mutations within them mean that they have a lot of new tricks up their sleeve. Overall, there’s more variety here, even if some of the units are quite familiar.

[caption id="attachment_387013" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Powered by a forsaken child

Perhaps the most harrowing difference is with the Soul Cannon. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel, you could chamber a child in this massive metal appendage and destroy anything in your path with a single blast of terminated innocence. However, doing so would net you one of the less satisfactory conclusions to the game. Less tragically, it would kill the child.

That wouldn’t cut it for Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2. You’ve already had one game to build up your skills, and it’s less likely you’ll need to lean on a “get out of failure-free” card. Now, if you find yourself on a losing trajectory – say, your health drops below 50% in a boss battle – the Taranis will select a child at random to load into the cannon. You then have 20 turns to finish the battle, or that child gets a one-way ticket to the other side of your opponent.

To offset this, the Taranis also has access to the Managarm, which uses children as ammunition. However, the Managarm only leaves the child injured and isn’t a guaranteed win like the Soul Cannon. It also means you don’t get experience points from the battle you used it in, but it might be better than having to scrap unrealized potential off the wall.

[caption id="attachment_387014" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Unconventional ammunition

You’ve probably figured this out already, but it’s best if you play Fuga: Melodies of Steel before moving on to the sequel. There’s a recap available if you want to know what happened in the first game, but Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 works more as a continuation of the story rather than a completely new entry in the series.

To that extent, Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 might be a bit too conservative when it comes to advancing forward. Many of the assets are completely recycled, which I don’t usually count as a bad thing, but they’re not repurposed, just reused. So, many of the stages take place in the same areas of the first game, and the backgrounds feel mostly unchanged. Aspects of the game have been touched up but otherwise left the same. I feel like the intermissions and the plumbing of ruins for loot could have been completely revamped just to give players something fresh to do, but they weren’t. They feel the same.

To be fair, I played the two games back to back and didn’t really feel bored or underwhelmed. There’s an extreme sense of deja vu in Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2, but the core gameplay still proves to have longevity beyond its simple mechanics.

I have mixed feelings about how similar it is to the previous game. For one thing, the $39.99 asking price – while reasonable when you consider the length and quality of the game – feels like a lot when held up to its contemporaries in the small-budget space. On the other hand, if cutting corners was needed just to allow the series to continue, then I’m all for it.

[caption id="attachment_387016" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Old friends

That’s the most important thing to keep in mind: Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is a continuation of the first game. While it remixes a lot of things to give you a fresh experience, nothing has been overhauled or upgraded to give you something new. If you wanted more Fuga – and who could blame you? – then that’s what you’re getting here. However, if you didn’t enjoy the first title, then there’s no hope for you here.

Yoann Gueritot, one of the directors who has now moved on to Platinum Games, has stated that Fuga is planned as a trilogy. I’m definitely on board with that, but I also kind of wish the series was doing more to earn that. A cohesive series of games is fine, but I prefer to see things evolve, expand, and reach for perfection as CyberConnect2 soldiers on. Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 is complacent. It’s great, but we’ve already seen its greatness. Eventually, it’s going to need to load something new into its cannon if it wants to get its dazzle back.

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

The post Review: Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

In my armor-plated womb

The Phantom Limb from Venture Bros. explained to someone that “The Mona Lisa isn’t a better painting, merely a more famous painting.” It’s a quote that is an effectively concise way of explaining that something being mainstream is not necessarily an indicator of its quality. In the realm of video games, it is particularly useful, as the hyper-commercialized nature of it ensures that the cream doesn’t always rise to the top. Year after year, my favorite games are rarely the ones that are considered the period’s “big releases,” and that isn’t because I’m a snob. Sorry, I mean, that isn’t solely because I’m a snob.

2021’s Fuga: Melodies of Steel is an example of that. I personally overlooked the game for a couple of reasons. The first is that it didn’t get a whole lot of press, and the second is that, at $39.99, it has a high price tag compared to the games it appears to be competing against. Largely, the latter reason is a combination of me not having any money and small-budget games having been undervalued by a race to the bottom in mobile, PC, and XBLIG markets.

If my meandering around the point hasn’t made it clear, I think that’s a shame. Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a wonderful RPG experiment that shouldn’t be missed.

[caption id="attachment_386955" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Fuga: Melodies of Steel (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: CyberConnect2
Released: July 28, 2021
MSRP: $39.99

Fuga: Melodies of Steel takes place in the Little Tail Bronx (Tail Concerto, Solatorobo: Red the Hunter) universe’s world of floating continents and furries. Unconnected to the previous games in the setting, Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a thinly veiled parallel to World War 2. The country of Gasco is suddenly invaded by the Berman Empire (I’m serious), who go to work rounding people up for unknown reasons. A group of children, narrowly escaping capture, find a massive abandoned tank – the Taranis – in a cave and set out with it to save their families.

Between this and Blaster Master on NES, video games really make it seem easy to just come across buried tanks. I feel like this is a widespread childhood experience that I’m angry I missed out on.

It may sound somewhat trite, but the mix of storybook whimsy and harsh reality is one of the things that makes Fuga: Melodies of Steel so interesting. Early on, you’re presented with a mechanic that allows you to load one of the children into a cannon that allows you to instantly kill any enemy at the expense of the child. Literally, and according to lore, someone developed a giant cannon that specifically uses children as ammunition. Finally, a way to make children useful.

I can make it sound as amusing as I want, but the soul cannon, as a concept, is dark as heck. Forget a good/bad morality system, Fuga: Melodies of Steel just allows you to sacrifice a character to prevent losing progress. It’s made somewhat obvious that by using the cannon, you’re setting yourself up for a less desirable ending, but there’s always new game plus.

https://youtu.be/CbjXMMH0JzI

Rhythms of Iron

Despite setting itself up as a narrative-focused game, Fuga: Melodies of Steel isn’t super heavy with exposition. There are plenty of cutscene interruptions, but most of them are quite brief. It makes the smart choice of spreading the tale out across the entire experience so it doesn’t get too bogged down.

The gameplay itself is quite unique. You build up a cast of 12 children, field 6 of them at a time, but only three are active in battle at a time. The other three you have in the immediate wings are there as emotional support, building up a gauge based on their relationship with the current gunner ahead of them, allowing you to unleash powerful attacks based on your combination once the gauge is full.

Each child commandeers one of three types of weapon: machine gun, grenade launcher, and cannon. While these are largely stacked in the order you’d expect – machine gun is light and accurate, cannon hits hard but is less reliable, and grenade launch is an all-arounder – that’s only part of the story. Enemies all have icons on them that denote a specific weakness, but they don’t take more damage from the indicated weapon. Instead, if they have three blue icons on them, for example, hitting them three times with a machine gun delays their next attack.

It’s a lot to get into, with the children’s skills, additional ammunition types, statuses, and good old-fashioned luck playing a role. The end result, however, is a deceptively engaging layer of strategy. In RPGs, I’m used to just leaning against a few moves and largely brute-forcing everything. In Fuga: Melodies of Steel, that isn’t really an option. I had to think ahead and consider my moves. Otherwise, I’d be firing children out of a cannon.

[caption id="attachment_386956" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Juvenile artillery

Each chapter has your tank lumbering along a set path, and you simply choose which direction you take whenever it branches. Again, this is deceptively simple. Tracks are clearly labeled as “Safe, Normal, and Dangerous.” Dangerous paths will put more enemies in your way, but you’ll also collect more loot for upgrading your tank. If your tank has gone through the wringer, it might be better to choose a safer path, but it’s always tempting to embrace the danger when it means it might make things easier later on.

Fuga: Melodies of Steel’s greatest strength is making the most out of very little. You alternate between upgrading your tank and keeping the children’s spirits up, making choices on the world map, plumbing ruins for loot, and being in combat, and that’s about it from start to finish. However, because it’s so highly polished, it feels like more than enough to carry it through its 20-or-so-hour length.

Its only real vulnerabilities are in a couple of areas. The first is that the narrative isn’t that great. It’s told with care for its characters and love of its settings, but the overarching plot isn’t anything special. It’s not bad, but it’s a lot of being led from location to location with nothing substantial happening.

It also has really specific criteria for reaching the best ending. It’s something that you’re given little heads up on, and unless you’re trying to achieve it, you’ll probably miss it. Originally, this almost necessitated going through again in new game plus, but a later update relaxed this a bit. Now, if you get the worst ending, you can start again from where you’re required to start working toward a better conclusion. It’s not exactly the most heinous sin committed by a game, and I’m not sure them blatantly telling you what the requirement is would be a better solution; but if you’re set on not getting a bad ending, you may want to look up the criteria beforehand.

[caption id="attachment_386957" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

King Tiger

Fuga: Melodies of Steel is a masterclass of efficient design. A lot of breadth in gaming is achieved through padding, and a lot of depth is created through the layering of mechanics. It’s rare to see a game that achieves so much simply by polishing its core to an absolutely lustrous shine. It manages to earn its considerable longevity despite having a very tight loop. I can't help but find it admirable.

That’s not to say it’s going to appeal to everyone. Its deceptively simple gameplay won’t likely appeal to a more action-oriented and straightforward mindset. Likewise, the cute animal children might be a difficult taste to swallow for those who prefer their drama to be between hairless bags of flesh and chemicals. However, there’s a thoughtful earnestness to Fuga: Melodies of Steel that should really connect with anyone whose soul hasn’t been used as ammunition.

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

The post Review: Fuga: Melodies of Steel appeared first on Destructoid.

Wake the dog up

It's been quite a while since the last Armored Core. FromSoftware has been steadily working on successful Souls and Souls-like games, but the first Armored Core is one of its oldest titles. And now, years later, FromSoftware is returning to mech action with Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. And the series is certainly back.

We were invited to view a hands-off demo of a stage in Armored Core VI, where the player's mercenary needs to infiltrate and take command of a catapult held by a hostile faction. This means flying in and doing a whole lot of blasting. The progression still looks to be very Armored Core: it opens with a briefing, with lots of intel and screens, and then you're into the thick of it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlSfr6Wa5sc

Bridging the gap

It's going to be very easy to draw comparisons between Armored Core and Souls. As I noted above, it's been a long time since the last Armored Core game—a decade, to be exact—and the Souls series has reached astronomical heights in its absence. While there are plenty of AC fanatics familiar with the form factor of this series, I imagine there will also be people coming into Armored Core VI with a different set of expectations.

The reassuring thing is, even with that split in mind, Armored Core VI looks like it could bridge the gap. Sure, you're piloting a mech rather than guiding a wandering swordsman or robed mage. But the weight and heft, the ballet of movement, is still here.

[caption id="attachment_386756" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bandai Namco[/caption]

It was driven home when I saw just how Armored Core's mechs move. Boost options have been retained, including a blazing forward boost that feels like a charge maneuver. Small jets lining the mech can fire to create omnidirectional movement options, something the studio emphasized in our briefing. But when those rockets fire, there's a moment of thrust and take-off; when the mech lands, there's a thud and skid, especially if it came in at high speeds. There is a feeling that, even if your mech feels normally sized on-screen, it is hulking and heavy in the world.

Taking up arms

Weapons carry a similar tangibility. Missiles fire in big plumes of smoke and detonate with resonance. Guns spray empty shell casings out the side, and you can see your ammo count start to dwindle as the mission carries on.

Yet there's also a definite speed to the action. Our demo driver was boosting around, dodging to the side, and then blasting headfirst into the enemy with a sword attack. At one point, they slammed an enemy off an edge and let gravity do the work for them. There is a stagger meter that can build up over time, leading to big damage opportunities against enemies vulnerable to this style.

[caption id="attachment_386754" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bandai Namco[/caption]

The mission layout will feel familiar to Armored Core fans, as the mech dives deeper and deeper into the complex. A voice over the radio taunts along the way, commenting that it seems like no ordinary merc has shown up today. This ends in a big boss battle with a cleaner unit, which I feel needs to be described as a Roomba-like tank with massive arms. It rules and is a kind of spectacle I can really get into. We didn't get to see much of it, but "armored Doom-Roomba with grinder arms" is intriguing enough as-is.

[caption id="attachment_386755" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Bandai Namco[/caption]

Building for war

Of course, the really good stuff was found in the menus. Part of Armored Core's appeal is its almost Gran Turismo-like approach to customization and design. As our demo player opened the menu, we could see tons of options, ranging from parts and weapons to aesthetics. The mech garage is accessible, too. In our demo, the player was able to head back to the assembly, reconfigure, and then start back from a checkpoint after death.

The draw for this, and what I think will rope many new players in, is all the options they can use here. Both the build-crafting of Souls and the recent inventiveness of Tears of the Kingdom players have me thinking that the general game-playing populace is ready for this level of customization.

And as someone who played a good deal of Armored Core in its PS2 era, I'm quite happy too. It's hard to get a definite gauge on just how it all feels from a hands-off demo, but seeing Armored Core VI in action, it felt like seeing a polished and modernized version of the mech battles I'd envisioned as a kid. The garage full of parts and customization options, for fine-tuning the perfect mech for every situation, feels like it will be a Lego bucket of possibilities.

Suffice it to say, I'm very into Armored Core VI, and think this is the perfect chance for FromSoftware to parlay all of its Souls success into a classic, dormant franchise. But even if this just ends up being a labor of love for the Armored Core faithful, I'm still very glad we're seeing it come together and come together well at that.

Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon arrives on August 25, 2023 for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

The post Armored Core 6 looks ready to make mech sickos of us all appeared first on Destructoid.

Explore Apollo's backstories on new hardware

The Ace Attorney series is getting another collection, this time focusing on the second trilogy of attorney adventures. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy will bring more of the series to modern platforms in early 2024.

Announced at last night's Capcom Showcase, the trilogy collection will contain three Ace Attorney titles. Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies, and Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirt of Justice are all included in the compilation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4M9VfoAC68

The games will be in full HD, and include seven language options as well as voice recordings. Not much more has been shown about it, other than that it brings the three entries together into one bundle. I imagine it will be packaged the same as the original trilogy collection was.

And justice for all

This compilation is a very intriguing collection of games. While the original trilogy followed the first three games, showing lawyer Phoenix Wright's early career and journey, this second trilogy switches gears and looks towards Apollo Justice.

Apollo is a personal favorite of mine, and I'm really happy to see his trilogy get a collection. These games were part of the 3DS catalogue, so seeing them escape the shutdown is nice. As far as the actual games, I feel like reception on them is a bit more mixed compared to the original Ace Attorney trilogy. That said, I personally enjoy these entries quite a bit. Spirit of Justice actually contains one of my favorite cases in the entire Ace Attorney series!

Hopefully, having three collections at this point—the original, the Apollo games, and the Great Ace Attorney duology—means a new entry is a possibility. If Layton can stage a comeback, so can Phoenix, Apollo, Athena, and the gang.

The post Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney Trilogy heads to PC and consoles in 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.

Bravo, man

There's nothing a love more for a Saturday than giving you all the good word on a particular oddity joining the Arcade Archives range — And this week's entry sees "oddity" doing some heavy lifting, as Hamster unleashes Bandai Namco's Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman onto PS4 and Switch.

Released to the Japanese coin-op market in 1986, Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman, (also known by the far less interesting name of Bravoman), is a simplistic side-scrolling actioner in the vein of the tokusatsu genre, as a mild-mannered salaryman dons the costume of a powerful superhero in order to stop the machinations of the evil Dr. Bakutu, (Dr. Bomb). Utilizing his telescopic limbs, Bella Bowman battles an army of minions across 33 stages, gathering powerups, defeating bosses, and receiving occasional assistance from his super-heroic friend, Lottery Man.

Check out the very sill action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSKS5U5b9o4

On release, Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman was highly praised for its colorful and satirical visuals, cute animation, as well as its fun score, and use of pressure-sensitive buttons, (which frequently broke). Today, however, it's frankly pretty terrible, although there is no denying the absolute charm with which it depicts the tokusatsu aesthetic.

While frustratingly difficult and not a whole lot of fun, it's still pleasing that this rarity is now finally available in the Arcade Archive catalog, as it represents not only a window into gaming culture, but also one of Japanese pop culture. As such, it retains a level of intrinsic value in spite of its gameplay shortcomings.

Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

The post Transcendent Lovers Bella Bowman brings its gorgeous name to the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Three, two, one, go!

I was a Nintendo fangirl right through the GameCube. But in 2005, I needed a PlayStation 2. How could I resist? That year saw Shadow of the Colossus, Guitar Hero, God of War, and We Love Katamari. All of them were platform exclusives, and I couldn’t pass up any. I didn’t actually like God of War, but the rest of them? Those were the halcyon days.

We Love Katamari was my introduction to the series. I had wanted to play Katamari Damacy, but again, I was a GameCube jockey. It was also at a time when I was just learning that Japan is a place that exists. My frame of reference at that time was an anime called Sexy Commando, so it would take me about a decade to realize that Japan isn’t just this isolated land from space.

What am I getting at? I don’t know. It’s probably that We Love Katamari is awesome. It took Katamari Damacy’s relatively simple concept to its terminal location, which it would continue to spin on for each subsequent game. I mean, I love Katamari Forever, but the series definitely hit its peak at We Love Katamari because it couldn’t really go anywhere new from there. So, with that, the best version of a legendary series is here in We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie.

[caption id="attachment_385667" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie (PC, PS4, PS5 [Reviewed], Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: MONKEYCRAFT Co. Ltd.
Publisher: Bandai Namco Entertainment
Released: June 2, 2023
MSRP: $29.99

You could just tell me that Bandai Namco was doing an HD re-release of We Love Katamari, and I’d take it. What’s the price? Doesn’t matter. Gimme.

To be clear, We Love Katamari REROLL+ Royal Reverie is mostly just that. Very little about it is remade, and it succeeds mostly in giving We Love Katamari some modern comforts. There is some new content in the form of levels where you play as the King of All Cosmos back when he was just a prince. However, these are largely just remixes of stages from the main game with some cosmetic differences.

More disappointingly, however, is the fact the King of All Cosmos levels don’t count for much. You don’t even get some sassy comment saying how well you did, which makes them feel unsatisfying. The King just sits there. They’re not bad, but the complete lack of feedback makes them feel tacked on.

https://youtu.be/3L1HE7qYipM

Hop on. We're going to space!

Meanwhile, the main content is still there, and it’s still great. We Love Katamari’s greatest strength was its tangible progression. As you advance through the levels, it teases you by letting you build bigger and bigger katamari. This is drawn out by stages where you focus on soaking up fireflies, but eventually, you make your way to amassing Katamari of epic proportions. It’s all fed at such a pace that it feels earned.

This is all set against a backdrop of oppressive strangeness. Are you new to Katamari and wondering what Katamari is all about? It’s about Katamari. The narrative is literally about that. Katamari Damacy was really popular, so everyone is asking the King of All Cosmos to give them more.

So, as usual, he sends his son to give the people what they want.

This is actually a slight step down from the previous game’s story, in which the King of All Cosmos gets drunk and destroys the universe. To make up for this, we’re occasionally given vignettes of the King of All Cosmos growing up. His rebellious phase, his first romance, and even his relationship with his abusive father. It’s, uh, more charming than it sounds.

[caption id="attachment_385668" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Weaponized garbage

The game itself involves rolling a ball over garbage. As you amass trash, your ball of filth grows, allowing you to suck up more refuse. There are different objectives to this, such as trying to amass fireflies.

The absolute best is one stage where you roll a sumo wrestler over food until he’s heavy enough to defeat his opponent. Humans and animals don’t count as food, but just try and tell me that it won’t become your priority to get your sumo-man big enough to absorb people. Truly, the real appeal of Katamari is to amass a wad of catastrophe to devastate the world with.

We Love Katamari Reroll+ is definitely the best way to do this. But not by a lot.

It’s in higher definition, and it runs real well. It’s less blurry. Weirdly, though, smaller objects still pop in, which is just more noticeable in high definition. I don’t know how to illustrate this anymore clearly. This is absolutely the same game. The extra content is just kind of there.

But you know what? That’s a win. We Love Katamari is still a timeless and terrific game. A spit shine is really all that it needed to get me excited to play it again. If you’ve never played it before, you definitely should. If you have, it’s everything you loved about the PS2 release but less blurry. It’s one of the few games that allows you to weaponize a sumo wrestler to absorb bystanders on the street, and that's very important.

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

The post Review: We Love Katamari Reroll+ Royal Reverie appeared first on Destructoid.

An impressive sight

A Street Fighter 6 treadmill streamer has impressed fighting game enthusiasts worldwide on social media. Twitter user @thatMarcWithaC uploaded video Monday of the streamer, known as TalesofMrE, playing SF6 online while walking on a treadmill with his fight stick.

The British streamer has straps around his shoulders to keep it in place as he walks forward. What makes this even more impressive is that TalesofMrE achieved a Perfect K.O. while playing Zangief in this setup.

[caption id="attachment_384792" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot via TalesofMrE's Twitch channel[/caption]

Playing with a Street Fighter 6 treadmill setup

With almost 1,000 followers on Twitch, TalesOfMrE took his treadmill setup online in pursuit of the prestigious Diamond rank. He said he "almost tripped" during his June 5 stream but the streamer still managed to defeat his opponent, accompanied by an evil laugh. While the wire of his fight stick looks hazardously close, TalesofMrE notes that "the perspective of the camera makes it look a lot closer to [his] legs than in reality."

https://twitter.com/thatMarcWithaC/status/1665807673093242881

TalesofMrE eventually achieved Diamond rank, one of the highest ranks you can get in Street Fighter 6, sitting just under Master. Getting a decent workout and playing a superb Street Fighter experience sounds like a lot of fun. Still, succeeding in fighting games at that level requires plenty of concentration and precision, making this feat even more impressive.

When not fighting it out online with bizarre control setups, TalesofMrE also works in the FGC as a community manager at Square Enix!

The post Street Fighter 6 streamer defeats opponents while on a treadmill appeared first on Destructoid.

The true test of ergonomics returns

Another pretty special release has joined the Arcade Archives release, as publisher Hamster rolls out the intensely puzzling and bizarrely titled Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus — now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Developed by Arika and published by the last bastion of the coin-op, Psikyo, Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus, (known in the community as simply "TGM2" or "TAP"), hit Japanese arcades in 2000, launched as a last-minute update to the original TGM2 board. Much like its predecessor, Tetris The Grand Master, TGM2 is an expert-level iteration of Alexey Pajitnov's classic block-busting puzzler, and tasks players with using adaptation and forward-thinking to manage a rapidly filling playfield of Tetrominos.

Check out a bout of TGM2 T.A. Death in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Masterjun3.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcjqNkiT8q0

TGM2 retains the complex gameplay of its predecessor but adds a casual player-friendly "Normal" mode, as well as an evolved edition of "Master" mode, which features huge acceleration after level 500. Also part of the update is the incredibly challenging "T.A. Death" mode, which features fixes 20G gravity settings, as well as a consistently high speed from the get-go. It is considered one of the most difficult challenges in Tetris history. The arrival of TGM2, (and previously TGM), on the Arcade Archives plugs a gap that has been in the collections of Tetris fans the world over for generations.

Well, at least in an official capacity... Now get droppin'!

Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

The post Tetris The Absolute Grand Master 2 Plus drops into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Blizzard General Manager Rod Fergusson weighs in on the eve of the launch

Diablo 4 will be here real soon: in nearly 24 hours, actually!  When that zero hour actually hits, who knows what's going to happen?

There was a server slam stress test held on the weekend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom's release that supposedly went well, but you can't plan for everything. You can, however, plan to a point, and Blizzard has apparently done just that. Speaking to GamesRadar, Blizzard General Manager Rod Fergusson said the following about the publisher's prep work for Diablo 4's launch:

"We learned a lot from each of them [the previous D4 tests]. We're feeling better, like we feel good about that, like all the stuff that we've learned."

"We've done the work, and we've done a lot of testing, and so we're prepared. But you know, never say never. It might be a little bumpy on the first day, but our hopes are that, like we did on those weekends, we learn and adapt."

It's going to be hard to top Diablo 3's launch woes

If you're planning on taking a few days off of work to play Diablo 4, just note that "it might be a little bumpy on the first day" seems like a realistic vibe, even from a very optimistic company spokesperson. In any case, it's going to be extremely difficult to top the rocky launch of Diablo 3.

When Fergusson directly refers to Diablo 4's testing in the interview, it's clear that Blizard has learned quite a bit from Diablo 3's development. We haven't seen the full extent of Diablo 4's microtransaction monetization in 1.0, but there are likely lessons learned from Diablo Immortal there, too.

[caption id="attachment_383509" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

How is Diablo 4 faring on launch day?

[Update (June 1, 2023): Well, things were a little dicey out of the gate, as one may reasonably expect. It seems like Blizzard has opened at least one support thread for "license" issues, which are preventing logins. One of the last major updates from Blizzard is as follows: "Devs are looking into this as the issue’s more widespread than anticipated. If I hear anything else back from them I’ll let you know, but for now just keep trying every 15 minutes or so and it should self-resolve with no further effort on your end."

On a personal level: I cannot get in on PC, but was able to log into Diablo 4 on PS5 roughly an hour and a half after the floodgates opened (and have remained logged in since). Hopefully, tomorrow will fare better!]

The post Diablo 4 servers are ‘prepared’ for launch (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.

Come again?

What’s important to know about Loop8: Summer of Gods, and possibly the reason why we haven’t seen a demo for it yet, is that it’s not an RPG in the traditional sense. Yes, there are stats to build and monsters to fight, but the latter is a small part of the final package, while the former is achieved through completing a small number of tasks each in-game day. It’s better to think of Loop8 as a social simulator rather than an RPG. Just picture the Princess Maker series and you’re halfway there.

[caption id="attachment_383255" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Loop8: Summer of Gods (PC, PS4, Switch [reviewed], Xbox One)
Developer: SIEG Games
Publisher: Xseed Games
Release: June 6, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

As Nini, the newest arrival in the quaint seaside town of Ashihara, you’re there to protect the village from the invading spirits called Kegai while making friends, building bonds, and discovering the backstories of the only other 12 people in town. Each day, you’re free to do with Nini what you please. You can head to school for some optional summer learning, find a specific person to chat with, or build up your stats at one of Ashihara’s training areas. If you want to get to know a person, you can chat them up as they go about their day or ask them to join you as you move around town. Time moves swiftly each day, and when you engage in an activity like studying a map of Japan, it jumps the clock ahead.

Eventually, a Kegai will possess one of the town’s folk. You’re given hints on who it is, and when you figure it out and approach them in the right spot in Ashihara (or just happen upon them, as happened to me once or twice), a portal to a mirror version of the town opens up. Once somebody is possessed by a Kegai, you only have a few days to build your team up and defeat them. If you can’t get it done in that time or accidentally kill someone you meant to keep alive, Nini can reset the world back to his first day in town.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=451TyuMU-nk&feature=youtu.be

That is the titular gameplay loop of Loop8. Your objective is to survive until the end of the month, though the game really doesn’t spell this out for you. Loop8 is light on direction and purpose as it would rather players define their own adventure and tell their own story through its extensive social system. Xseed has done much to pump up the game’s “emotion-driven AI system,” otherwise known as the Karel System, but it might take you a few loops to see it have any sort of effect. The general idea behind it is every action you take in the game will impact what characters say and do. If you’re mean to someone, their hatred for you may come back to bite you in the ass should Nini face them in battle. In theory, the Karel System promises unique experiences through each loop you run. In practice…

Back at one

Looping narratives are nothing new. With most games, your protagonist is aware of what’s happening and uses their experience to improve the next run or loop they make. Loop8 takes a different approach. While some stats carry over across loops, everything else resets to their base when you start anew. Not only does this mean you’ll have to start training from scratch, but you’ll also have to start building up those relationships again, going through the same conversations, experiencing the same events, and watching as Nini has the same revelations.

To its credit, you can regain what you lost in the loop far more quickly than when you earned it the first time. So if you make progress building a budding friendship with Nanachi, the town otaku, you’ll be able to charm him quicker in your next run of it. The stats you get from training around town also rebuild quickly, even if their importance pales in comparison to the blessings you get.

Musasa, a mythical flying squirrel-thing, is a creature you’re going to see a lot in this game. Whenever you visit a shrine around town and often when you chat with a person, this little guy will pop up and offer a blessing from a god. Blessings build up your various stats, and they're the only things that carry over to the start of each loop. The type of blessing you get is largely random, but who is blessed depends on your actions. If Nini visits a shrine while alone, the blessing will go to him. If you visit a shrine with another person, or if Musasa appears after you talk to somebody, the blessing will often — if not always — go to them. The more blessings you receive for Nini and the rest of the people around town, the more useful they’ll be in the mirror world.

[caption id="attachment_383256" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Because Musasa pops up so frequently during this game, I highly recommend everyone updates to version 1.02 before playing as it includes the option to skip the blessing animations.

Trust me on this one.

It's just emotions taking me over

For the first 10 hours of Loop8, I struggled to get my bearings on what I should focus on. The Karel System didn’t feel like it was making any impact, whether in battle or in general conversations. I understood how my choices in chats improved or whittled away at my connections to people in town, but it’s hard to really care about those choices when oftentimes, your reward for moving your relationship forward was just a simple “thanks.” I also found it hard to care when some conversations triggered events almost at random. I’m sure they’re not random and there was something I had done, some relationship status I had met, to trigger these events. But I could not tell you the steps I took to unlock them.

Each character has three emotion levels — friendship, affection, and hate — that are impacted by the choices you make. The friendlier you are with someone, the more options you’ll have in conversations. As your friendship grows, you’ll be able to suggest activities, train together, and even go on dates. The more someone hates you…well, actually, I don’t know what happens when somebody hates Nini because everyone loved him through all of my runs. The only people who hated Nini were likely the ones I killed, but that was easy enough to reset with another loop.

[caption id="attachment_383254" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Understanding how the people of Ashihara feel about one another is the key to getting everyone to the end of August alive. Adding someone to your party who has a strong emotional connection with the person possessed by the Kegai can impact the outcome of the battle. I didn’t want to kill the people I killed in the game, but I wasn’t given an option for most of them because they didn’t have a connection to the members of my party. That's why it's important to figure out who is possessed early on, so you can build a rapport with those they share emotional ties with. It took me one too many loops to figure that out, but once I did, I got a clearer vision of how to proceed. Unfortunately, going forward sometimes meant going back to the start.

I don't want to fight you

Each loop I took added up to hours of repetitive gameplay. Going through the same conversations wears thin quickly, and each loop can last up to seven hours depending on your actions and how satisfied you are with your trajectory. I had a loop where I nearly made it to the end of the month only to have Saru, my BFF of that run, die in the closing seconds of battle. Heartbroken, I had a choice: do I loop and go through the motions again, or boot up my last save?

Obviously, I went with the latter option.

Playing through Loop8 is akin to a war of attrition. The game does its best to wear me down with its repetitious nature, while I did my best to persevere and earn all those blessings. Whatever fun I had in the first few hours of my time had run dry by the time I landed on the final day of my last loop. Even the battles of Loop8, while wonderfully cinematic in design, couldn’t turn the tide of my feelings toward the game.

Don’t expect too much fighting or any extensive dungeons in Ashihara. Nini and friends will only fight in a mirror version of the town, and while there are skirmishes to engage in, you can make a beeline for the boss without penalty. In battle, you have full control over Nini while your partners are controlled by the AI, allegedly making their decisions in battle based on their connection to you, your other party member, and the Kegai-possessed enemy. You can attack using one of the three emotions with hate doing the most damage.

However, the more you use hate, the more powerful your enemy can get. I stuck with friendship and affection attacks and did just fine, keeping the enemy's strength at a minimum for most of my battles. I did die or lose companions in my earliest loops, but as I completed more runs, received more blessings, and made stronger connections, whatever challenges I'd previously faced subsided. After many tries with things never quite going my way, I was finally able to get myself in a loop where it was clear everyone would still be breathing by the time September rolled around.

[caption id="attachment_383253" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

At that point, I had put in far more hours than I ever intended to or should have. And it didn’t feel like I was winning because of my strategy or skill. I was winning because I spent enough hours cheesing the Karel System until it was nearly impossible for me to lose.

Here you come again

As I made each loop in Loop8, I realized the systems I once found obtuse were rather elementary. Once I dropped my expectations of how I thought this game should be played — such as trying to build up the strength stat based on the misguided notion it would grant Nini stronger attacks — I started to see this game for what it is. Loop8 has a strong aura of “proof of concept” about it.

It’s an experiment in game design, one that doesn’t work as well as it should. The time-consuming repetition of each loop is an enthusiasm killer, while the Karel System doesn’t really have the impact it ought to. You’re given little aid in helping understand which actions lead to which results, and the conversation system at the heart of each personal interaction can feel like busy work, routinely forcing you to talk to someone five or six times in a row to get through all their preset dialogue before you get access to the conversation choices. To make it through to the end, at least if you want a good ending, you’ll need to rinse and repeat a lot, and I’m just not sure how many people will subject themselves to hours of limited gameplay and recurring dialogue.

For all of its rough edges, and there are plenty of them, I still think Loop8: Summer of Gods is one of the most interesting games I’ll play this year. It also might be the most disappointing game I’ll play this year. There is a lot of potential in the individual ideas and concepts on display here, but that potential is stuck behind some exhausting design decisions that drained the game of whatever joy it sought to provide me.

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

The post Review: Loop8: Summer of Gods appeared first on Destructoid.

Plus a Trek to Yomi

The PlayStation Plus monthly game lineup for June 2023 is out, and it's got a strange mix of titles. Sports fans, archaeologists, and sword aficionados will all have something to look forward to in June, at the least.

For June 2023 PlayStation Plus is getting NBA 2K23, the most recent entry in the basketball series, for PlayStation 4 and PS5. Reviews on this particular entry seem medium-warm, though I'll admit, I haven't played some virtual hoops in quite a while. My go-to is NBA Street, personally. But if you want to play the modern-day, professional basketball, this a cheap way to try it out.

Otherwise, if you're a bit more keen on dinosaurs, Jurassic World Evolution 2 is also on this month's docket. These dinos (probably) can't play basketball, but they can cause havoc for you and your parkgoers. Ever think you could run Jurassic Park and have it not turn into a terrifying mess? Well, this is your shot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g76Zx7zydXQ

If you just want a cinematically inclined, action-driven story about a swordsman, Trek to Yomi can cover that. Following Hiroki, a blademaster who fails in his vow to protect the people he cares for, you can expect a lot of slicing and dicing in this 2D action-adventure game.

Of course, a new month means we see some old games depart. If they look appealing, make sure to get them before they're gone. Here's everything coming and going on the PlayStation Plus monthly lineup in June 2023. You've got until June 6 to lock them onto your account.

Coming to PlayStation Plus monthly games in June 2023

• NBA 2K23 (PS4, Ps5)
• Jurassic World Evolution 2 (PS4, PS5)
• Trek to Yomi (PS4, PS5)

Leaving the PlayStation Plus monthly games on June 6

• GRID Legends
• Chivalry 2
• Descenders

The post June PlayStation Plus lineup includes includes basketball and dinosaurs appeared first on Destructoid.

A bowl! I got a bowl! Good for me!

I did an escape room once as an after-work company activity. I didn’t do too badly, but I wouldn’t say I was great. At least I wasn’t like the guy who was such a poor team player that he was fired, like, the last week. What I’m saying is don’t go to an escape room with your employer. It might actually reflect on your job performance.

Playing escape room video games is a lot safer. You (probably) won’t be fired if you do poorly.

Thankfully, there are a few of those. Last year, I played Madison and Escape Academy. But you know what neither of those had? Horror. Oh, no, wait. Madison was a horror game.

Anyway, here’s The Tartarus Key.

[caption id="attachment_383067" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The Tartarus Key (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: Vertical Reach
Publisher: Armor Games Studios
Release: May 31, 2023
MSRP: $19.99

The Tartarus Key is the classic story of waking up one day in a mansion with no memory of the preceding events. It’s happened to all of us at one point or another. However, this mansion doesn’t just have a pool full of discarded alcoholic vessels, it also has a lot of strange locks on its doors that require you to solve geography problems.

You control Alex Young, the only competent person in the room. All signs point to murder, so you don’t want any part of that. Your job is to try and thwart these puzzle-creating freaks and save everyone.

https://youtu.be/gOfpEme2xMI

Lock your doors

If there’s one thing to know about The Tartarus Key, it’s exactly what I’ve already told you. It’s an escape room game. It is such an escape room game that each escape room actually only consists of a room. Maybe two rooms, but the rooms will probably be joined in some way.

It’s actually a pretty smart design choice. Some games of the puzzle-heavy adventure genre will have you collecting random items like bowls that have no immediate function, which leads to moments where you’re rubbing everything against everything, trying to find the solution. In The Tartarus Key, your inventory only exists in the one room you’re in, and everything that you can fit in your pockets has a function. It doesn’t make The Tartarus Key any easier, but it does mean that you won't waste your time with backtracking.

In terms of puzzle design, The Tartarus Key is decent, leaning on the side of good. However, it does have an edge over other games of its sub-genre: death. As you journey through the death house, you meet other characters who need help with their puzzles. If you screw up, they might lose their lives. You don’t know these people. At least one of them actively sucks. But boy does The Tartarus Key turn the pressure on.

As you approach the final solution, you’ll get messages asking, “Are you sure about this? Like, really certain? ‘Cause this character is dead if you messed up.” That’s a pretty cruel thing to ask me because I have the self-confidence of a sparrow. I will readily doubt myself if you show the slightest hint of skepticism. So, while I’m not usually jazzed about having any added stress, I must say it’s an effective way of getting drawn in.

[caption id="attachment_383066" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Death house

I’m not sure what happens if you flub the puzzles. It never happened to me since I’m just so competent at everything I do. I’m guessing you don’t get to see the true ending, but that’s maybe not so bad. I have no information on whether or not I got the actual true ending, but I’m not sure what I could have possibly done wrong. It’s just such a bizarre way to close a game like this. I’m still reeling.

On the other hand, the characters are all pretty likable. Even the guy who completely sucks is enjoyable enough.

You won't find much reason to help these characters, either. They don’t actually help, leaving Alex to solve everyone’s problems. She gives her motivations in dialogue, so it’s not completely a mystery. But you, the player, don’t really wind up with much attachment.

This is all set under some lo-fi PS1-style graphics. These are rather well executed, as The Tartarus Key conveys all its necessary information with minimal clutter. However, the one thing that bothers me is the texture and model warping effect. I normally like this little curiosity from the days when 3D images went unfiltered, but it gets a little overwhelming in The Tartarus Key. The cinematics have a habit of slowly trolleying in on characters, and their edges start flipping out like they’re pasted over eels. You can turn this effect off, so it’s sort of a non-issue, but I just wish it was done a bit more sparingly.

[caption id="attachment_383068" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

What it's supposed to be

The best thing I have to say about The Tartarus Key is that it does what it says it does. Very little about it is new or unique, but it’s well-executed, and that’s an accomplishment in its own right. It’s maybe about 4-6 hours long, which means it doesn’t drag out. Unless you get stuck on a puzzle, but that’s your problem.

Really, I think I’m going to have mostly forgotten The Tartarus Key in a few months. It just doesn’t do enough to lock itself in my memories.

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

The post Review: The Tartarus Key appeared first on Destructoid.

We've been expecting you, Mr. Bont

Hamster has brought a real gem to the Arcade Archives this week, with the arrival of Namco's awesome run 'n' gun sequel Rolling Thunder 2, now available to download on PS4 and Nintendo Switch.

Released to arcades in 1991, as a release for Namco's popular System 2 hardware, Rolling Thunder 2 sees a returning Agent Albatross once again taking the fight to the villainous GELDRA organization, who plan to seize a colony of satellites for domination of the stars. Assisting Albatross in his mission is the beautiful agent Leila, who steps out of her original damsel-in-distress role to throw a little lead in harm's way.

As the WCPO agents, one or two players battle through flat-planed, two-level platforming action, taking on an army of evil henchmen and ensuring that laser-fast reactions and forward planning while preventing the fragile duo from biting the dust. Much like in the original, extra ammo and weaponry can be picked up on-site, and refuge can be found by ducking into handy doorways.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Media Pool.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0mKuRN3axQ

Rolling Thunder 2, while maintaining near-identical gameplay to its predecessor, is a surprisingly enjoyable title even today, thanks to its breathless game 'n' gunplay, necessity for fast reactions, and cool, jazzy soundtrack. The sequel would receive a nicely handed Sega Mega Drive port shortly after its arcade debut, which is how most fans will have experienced the sequel.

A second sequel, Rolling Thunder 3, was released for Sega Genesis in 1993, but this was limited to North America and represents the series swansong. I'm a big fan of the series, particularly the first two titles. And I hope that, somewhere down the line, a new sequel, remaster, or remake can be considered for this pioneering action series.

Until such a day, Rolling Thunder 2 is available now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post The wicked Rolling Thunder 2 runs ‘n’ guns into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Infinite shards for a finite time

By the time you're reading this, chances are Bungie developers will be hard at work at Destiny 2 headquarters trying to fix this rampant and easy-to-perform glitch, so let's get to it. There's a new method to easily acquire legendary shards in Destiny 2, and odds are it'll be gone before the weekend.

Want to get infinite shards in Destiny 2? Well, then this is what you have to do

• Meet up with Ikora at The Tower, and take one of the exotic quests. Any will do the trick, so maybe get the first one.
• Follow the quest steps until the fourth step. No more, no less.
• Head back toward Ikora, talk to her, then get away from her without taking the armor.
• Open the menu and chose to abandon the quest.
• Talk to her again, and congrats, you'll now be able to take infinite pieces of exotic armor.
• Now you just have to dismantle the exotic pieces of armor until you get tired of being rich or Bungie fixes the leaky golden fountain.

You'll get legendary shards each time you dismantle something, and you can keep doing it constantly. Youtuber Divide managed to blow this wide open, and you can watch their tutorial on how to use the glitch below:

https://youtu.be/x5KDoBoUh9Y

Bungie will surely make short work of this bug very soon, so we highly recommend you check out this sweet early summer gift as soon as you can.

[Update: Some players are reporting that there was a quick server-side fix that kicked them out of the game at roughly 6PM ET. If you're still in, you might be able to squeeze some shards in.]

The post Check out this glitch for infinite shards in Destiny 2 before it is gone appeared first on Destructoid.

Star Trek Resurgence is Resolute

Captain's Log: Star Trek Resurgence succeeds at telling a gripping story, like many episodes of the long-running series. However, in this game, you're taking on the important role of First Officer Jara and Petty Officer Carter on the U.S.S. Resolute. You'll make impactful decisions, solve mysteries, and truly think on your feet. It's exhilarating as a casual Star Trek fan, but the game does suffer from annoying bugs that detract from the experience.

[caption id="attachment_381702" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Star Trek Resurgence (PS5 [reviewed],  PC, Xbox Series X/S)
Developer: Dramatic Labs
Publisher: Epic Games
Released: May 23, 2023
MSRP: $39.99

A logical storyline

Over 20 former Telltale staffers—including writers, developers, designers, artists, and producers—are involved in Star Trek Resurgence, and it's clear their story-forward gameplay focus hasn't changed one bit. You're playing as two separate characters—Petty Office Carter and First Office Jara, second in line to the Captain—who have alternate missions throughout the narrative. Both of them have their own relationships they nurture or ruin as we've seen from Telltale games in the past. Thankfully, the vague meme of "blank will remember that" is replaced. Instead, there's a detailed explanation of each character's feelings toward your actions. It's a somewhat evolved form of the tried and true Telltale formula.

The narrative revolves around Jara and Carter as they face a new ancient threat. The game constantly switches between the characters as the plot moves on with each chapter. I won't go into spoilers, but the U.S.S. Resolute faces much more than a diplomatic matter between the Alydians and the Hotari, who are fighting over a valuable resource called Deurideum. As the plot continues, there are shocking mysteries you'll discover that lead to a grand threat to the galaxy. The U.S.S. Resolute and its crew will be fighting for their lives. Carter wants to protect his dear friends, while Jara hopes to maintain a steady ship that's lost so many lives before her tenure.

Difficult decisions

While I'd like more focus on side characters as the series does, the personalities truly shine through. The Vulcan Chovak is frustratingly hard to impress, while Captain Solano is more selfish and wants to preserve his own career over the crew.

Like any other Telltale narrative game, the new studio Dramatic Labs makes your decisions difficult. Each decision carries weight on the characters surrounding Jara and Carter. You'll impress one character, and the other will become upset by your actions. They'll also reference their issues or successes from your past judgment later on. Your decisions matter, and trust is a major factor in the game. As I reached the climax, I felt my choices mattered, and tension hung over me as I was forced to choose. The stakes of your decisions actually shocked me; it's a matter of life and death for your crew.

A slow start

Unfortunately, the plot is somewhat slow and meandering during the first quarter of the game as it dives into the conflict between the Alydians and Hotari. Trekkies will enjoy the deep-dive science found in the sci-fi genre. However, the pace was slow until the antagonist showed their face. It gives a bad first impression, but as the story continues, the riveting plot thickens. This is thanks in part to the excellent voice cast and the well-thought-out script.

As a casual Star Trek fan, there were some terms I didn't understand. It doesn't overall hurt the narrative, but it would have been helpful to have some sort of encyclopedia about the races or a character bio of each person you meet.

Something that could be worked on in a potential sequel is the ability to casually chat with your crew members. We go through the basics with each character's backstory, but I'd like to know more about Commander Westbrook or Lieutenant Bedrosian, for example. They weren't developed enough for me to care.

Almost a Star Trek simulator

[caption id="attachment_381342" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Many aspects of being a Starfleet First Officer and Petty Officer are included in this game. You'll be scanning objects with your handy Tricorder, flying a shuttle, and, of course, setting your phaser to stun as you shoot down enemies, among other activities. There's a certain attention to detail to each object in the game, and the Tricorder being used in puzzle segments is genius. As you're scanning, you're revealing hints about the plot and lore of these worlds.

It's cool to interact with the  U.S.S Resolute's functionality, like the transporter, and even harness technology from other ships. When you go out exploring each world, it's a rush, especially if you're a Star Trek fan. Dramatic Labs is even faithful to all of the ship and gadget sounds, and the visual aesthetics match the timeline this game is set in.

There is one particular mini-game that isn't explained well. At a few points in the game, you have to configure the Buffer Integrity, Signal Harmonics, and Pattern Gain to increase power. Unfortunately, the bars keep moving abruptly, reducing the power meter. For many minutes, I was so confused until I realized that the waves inside the bar determine the wavelength of your power bars. This wasn't explained at all, leading to much frustration.

In addition, flying a shuttle is boring. These sections last too long, and the controls aren't the best as you move up and down space. Other than avoiding rings in front of you, there's not much going on with the shuttle sections other than some conversations between your character and a crewmate.

A somewhat rough launch

[caption id="attachment_381343" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

With prior Telltale games, you expect jank, and despite using a new engine and forming a new studio, Star Trek Resurgence is no different. Despite the multiple delays, the game's pretty buggy. Faces blur, and hair loses focus whenever a character moves. I experienced moments when dialogue was repeated or wasn't activated whatsoever. Even some important subtitles don't show up during conversations. The game's also not a looker. The models aren't that detailed, and some of the characters' faces genuinely creeped me out.

But every once in a while, the art behind the rough graphics shows beauty. The inspiring attention to detail in each Star Trek computer system, the engrossing environments, and some facial animations strike you from time to time. It does make up for its visual shortcomings at points, like when entering unique alien ships and seeing set pieces such as the huge tractor beam shown below.

[caption id="attachment_381503" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Most narrative games of this ilk allow you to jump into multiple points of the storyline, so you can see the alternate choices take shape quickly. However, Star Trek Resurgence's replayability is hard to deal with as there's a maddening lack of a chapter-select feature.

The cutscenes last a long time, and it would have been nice to at least skip the text. There are multiple scenarios that occur from your decisions, but if you can't access them easily, it truly breaks the fun. Very few people will replay the game just to see each ending and character interaction because of how slow your progress is. You also have to keep in mind the sluggish opening hours as well. Unlike the Telltale games, there are no episodes, so you have to start the 10-hour game from the very beginning. This won't be logical for trophy and achievement hunters.

Engage!

Despite multiple graphical and audio issues, Star Trek Resurgence is worth checking out. The experience of the former Telltale employees shows in Dramatic Labs. Somehow, the engine is just as buggy, but the gripping storyline and characters shine bright. It's also cool how dedicated the studio is to recreating the gadgets from this Star Trek era. If you're a Trekkie or a casual fan, you should give this game a go.

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

The post Review: Star Trek Resurgence appeared first on Destructoid.

An interview with Shunsuke Minowa

Two-thousand and three was an absolute banger of a year for the video game industry. In that 12-month span, players got their hands on some absolute classics of the medium. Games like Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne, Tony Hawk’s Underground, Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, Beyond Good & Evil, Warcraft III, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, to name a few. Several franchises that are still going strong today got their start that year. Franchises like Disgaea. Arguably the first title people think of when they think of Nippon Ichi Software, Inc., Disgaea: Hour of Darkness landed on the PlayStation 2 in Japan in January 2003 and in North America that August. It had the unfortunate timing of launching the same day as Soulcalibur 2 and less than two weeks before Final Fantasy Tactics Advance in North America.

Both titles would ultimately suck all the air out of the room, but Hour of Darkness managed to strike a chord with players. IGN named it the “Best Game No One Played” during its yearly awards. And while it wasn’t the first title Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. released in the West, it was the first to establish the developer as a niche favorite outside of Japan. Disgaea: Hour of Darkness helped the company get its foot in the door. At the end of 2003, it established NIS America. It would no longer rely on established publishers to localize its games. NIS America would quickly become one of the most frequent publishers of AA and single-A games from small Japanese developers. Some titles were more successful than others, but the company’s crown jewel would always be the Disgaea series. With each release garnering solid reviews, it seemed like there was no stopping Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. or its prized IP.

But the company’s luck to a turn for the worse in 2019. That year, it released Disgaea RPG for mobile devices. The launch was anything but successful. On its first day, the game went into emergency maintenance mode. The maintenance nightmare ended up lasting months before the game was officially relaunched that November. A worldwide version wouldn’t hit app stores until 2021. The global version shut down for good earlier this month.

In 2021, Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. and NIS America released Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny. Like with Disgaea RPG, its debut didn’t live up to expectations. Reviews were muddled, an anomaly for a mainline entry in the franchise. The reception of that game was something Shunsuke Minowa, director of Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless, didn't shy away from in an interview with Destructoid.

“Disgaea 6 had two distinctions in that it was the first 3D game [of the series] and had fewer systems than previous entries to allow it to be a good starting point for new players,” he said. “The end result received mixed reception upon release. Due to this, we wanted to quickly get Disgaea 7 into players’ hands and create a game that we knew they would love.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCWjdX2GRwM

Minowa has the difficult task of righting the ship of the Disgaea series. A long-time Nippon Ichi Software, Inc. employee, Vows of the Virtueless marks his first time directing a Disgaea game after previously working as a programmer on Disgaea 5. Less than six months after the release of Disgaea 6 in Japan, development on its sequel started. It was a fast turnaround for the developer. While previous Disgaea games were released steadily every two to three years, there was a nearly six-year gap between the fifth and sixth entries in the series. At the start of development, Minowa and his team focused on player feedback from D6.

“With Disgaea 6, we tried various things to simplify existing systems in order to let new players acclimate themselves more easily,” he said. “One of those was the auto-battle feature. In a sense, we did accomplish this goal with this feature, however this feature removed one of the main joys of the series, which is actually playing through the stages. Through this, we lost a key aspect of Disgaea.”

He continued, “We had already started development from around June of 2021 and took into account all player feedback from Disgaea 6, including topics like the amount of generic character classes, the reimplementing weapon skills, and whether to remove auto-battle or find a way to improve it. What we learned from Disgaea 6’s feedback is that we should never remove elements from the series that make Disgaea what it is. We used these things as a base and aimed to create a “back to basics” title that was appropriate for the series’ 20th anniversary.”

[caption id="attachment_381725" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via NIS America[/caption]

This “back to basics” approach is at the heart of the story of Disgaea 7. Players can expect a largely scaled-back adventure when compared to the previous two titles. Disgaea 5 and 6 featured various Netherworlds in their narratives, but the decision was made at the beginning of development to just focus on one for Vows of the Virtueless, the Netherworld of Hinomoto.

As Minowa explained, “When we started to come up with what that setting would be, we looked over all of the different generic class characters and noticed that one referenced the word 'Bushido.' We thought about what that meant and how it could be the base for an interesting setting. After that we realized that this setting would work well with our goal of going back to basics, so we thought of a storyline of ‘reclaiming Bushido’ and that turned into the setting of a ‘historical Japanese-inspired Netherworld without Bushido.’”

Though the focus on a single Netherworld might feel like pared-down ambition, Shunsuke and his team are breaking new ground with the series and its protagonists Fuji and Pirilika. A lot of the pre-release advertising for the game has focused on the character Fuji, so much so that you might think he's the main character. But that's not the case.

“In the beginning stages of Disgaea 7, and for the first time in series’ history, the female lead Pirilika drives the plot and Fuji is there as a support character. However, Fuji also has his own motivations and as the plot progresses, each of their stories begin to interweave. This is one of the special points of Disgaea 7’s story.”

[caption id="attachment_381722" align="alignnone" width="1200"] Image via NIS America[/caption]

Minowa said the two characters were not looked at as “protagonist” and “heroine,” but rather as equal partners who are there to support each other through what should be a comedic and occasionally bonkers adventure. Of course, the two heroes of the tale will not be alone. There are at least seven featured characters in Vows of the Virtueless and 45 generic character classes, which is a massive step up from its predecessor. Four of these character classes are new, including Maiko, who is effective against male enemies, Bandit, who can help locate treasure and rare items, Zombie Maiden, who gets more powerful as allies die, and Big Eye, a demon held in high regard by other demons.

“Of the new characters, I particularly like the Big Eye as it is a character type that has not been in previous Disgaeas. It is also a large monster type but maintains a good visual balance, so I’m very satisfied overall with how it turned out.”

Minowa said he also has an affinity for Maiko and hopes players will build her up for end-game runs. If you’re the type of player who keeps on grinding long after the final villain is no more, the new Item Reincarnation feature is bound to eat up a lot of your time. Minowa describes this as one of the core systems for Disgaea 7 and is essentially a powered-up version of the series-staple Item World.

“In the Disgaea series, if you equip hand weapons, the character’s ability to counterattack is increased, if you equip shoes, their movement range is increased, so each item has its own characteristics. With Item Reincarnation, once you are finished powering up the item in the Item World, you can use Item Reincarnation to further augment its strengths and randomly have rare abilities carried over. In this way, items can be made even more powerful.”

[caption id="attachment_381726" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via NIS America[/caption]

Item Reincarnation isn’t the only way to gain an advantage on the battlefield. A new addition to Disgaea 7 is Jumbification, which basically turns a character or enemy into a kaiju. Characters undergoing Jumbification can attack anywhere on the field of battle, and each character has a unique ability for this mode that affects the entire field. As a lifelong kaiju fan, this is obviously the feature I’m most excited about.

Whether or not Disgaea 7 is able to correct the course for the series remains to be seen. The game was released in Japan this past January, less than two years after Disgaea 6 dropped in the country, selling 50,000 copies within a few days and scoring 8’s across the board from the reviewers at Famitsu. I’ve read a few Reddit posts from English-speaking players who’ve got their hands on the game, praising the changes the developers made. If this does restore the Disgaea name, it’ll be quite an accomplishment for Minowa and his team given how quickly they put this thing together.

Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless releases on October 3 in North America and October 6 in Europe on Nintendo Switch, PC, PS4, and PS5.

The post The Disgaea series is going back to basics with Vows of the Virtueless appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm still in a dream

Sony hosted its 2023 PlayStation Showcase today, spotlighting what's to come for the platform in the future. Both first and third-party games were shown off, some set for the near future, and others still a ways off.

It was an interesting showcase, all things considered. The third-party developers were pretty varied and interesting; seeing labels like Finji up alongside the likes of Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is a treat, and there were a few surprises, like the next project from the Gris team.

Still, some of the heavy hitters were known quantities, like Street Fighter 6 or Final Fantasy XVI, or reveals that seem fairly far-off, like Bungie's revival of Marathon. Even though the Spidey gameplay reveal was admittedly rad, it was strange to not see a date at the end.

So that's my main takeaway: Sony has some neat stuff, in the hopefully-near future. There was a lot of multiplayer games too, and what felt like a reminder of Bungie's status as a Sony studio with two big reveals in one show. Here's the full rundown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4EKydVVvHk

Everything shown at the PlayStation Showcase 2023

• The show kicks off with Fairgame$, or I think that's how you stylize it. It's a new game from Haven, Jade Raymond's studio that was picked up by Sony last year. It was mostly a tone-setting trailer, but the tone seems to be techno cyber-heist.
• Helldivers 2 gets an appropriately themed reveal for this third-person shooter follow-up. The shift in perspective is interesting, but dang, this new entry does look gorgeous. That's headed to PC and PS5 this year.
• Magic-shooter Immortals of Aveum shows off some more spell-flinging action. You know, the magical military thing is kind of goofy, in a fun way. That's set for July 20.
• 505 and One More Level show off Ghostrunner 2, which just looks real neat. Nothing else much to say there. Felt like Ghostrunner was a bit underrated, and this new entry looks fast, gorgeous, and enjoyable. That arrives sometime in 2023.
• Going into this showcase, I didn't know what Phantom Blade Zero is, or even if there is another Phantom Blade I don't know about, but this looks fantastic. Sekiro fans should be writing this one down.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXUmt8SPfJk

• From Giant Squid, which you may know from The Pathless or Abzu, comes another astonishingly good-looking game: Sword of the Sea. The sand-surfing on top of a sword is exquisite.
• Puzzle fans get another entry in the Talos series, as The Talos Principle II has been announced. The first had some really neat puzzles, so I'm curious what the team has in store for its release in 2023.
• Ready to cry in the middle of a showcase? Because Gris developer Nomada Studio is here with Neva, and this looks just as gorgeous and heartbreaking in just its trailer. It's arriving sometime in 2024.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7qpQuCNgQo

• Cats! Quests! Pirates? Fans of all three and more will probably find something to like in Cat Quest: Pirates of the Purribean. Its arriving sometime in 2024.
• Square Enix shows up for something a little different: a party shooter called Foamstars, that's all about spraying foam and making your own terrain with it. No date, but it's coming to both PS4 and PS5.
• The Plucky Squire's storybook aesthetic is still adorable as ever. It's still aiming for a 2023 launch.
• The heist sim with mind-boggling terrain manipulation is coming to PlayStation 5. Teardown is a really fascinating game, and PlayStation 5 owners will get to stage their own voxel-robberies this year.
• Kept ya waiting, huh? After many rumors and reports, there is indeed a new version of Snake Eater on the way. Not sure what the triangle entails. Delta? Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. Sure. That's in development.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNX8QCeymFM

• We also got confirmation that Metal Gear Solid Master Collection Volume 1 will bring the first three Solid games (MGS, Sons of Liberty, and Snake Eater) to PS5 this autumn.
• Dreamlit showed off some footage of Towers of Aghasba, which looks like a giant open-world fantasy adventure. It's arriving with some big animal pals sometime in 2024.
• Square Enix is back, this time with the launch trailer for Final Fantasy XVI. It's not far off now from its June 22 release date, either.
• Alan Wake 2 will make it just in time for Halloween, as the writer's journey picks up a new playable character and locks in an October 17 release date. It's also going digital only.
• Another October release follows right after, as Assassin's Creed Mirage sets a date for October 12. It looks like a return to the roots for the series.
• Night in the Woods fans have something to look forward to in Revenant Hill, the new game from Finji. It looks gorgeous!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrTv9jjf3zI

• Granblue Fantasy: Relink shows off some more characters and confirms its winter 2023 global release window.
• Street Fighter 6 shows off more of its story and cutscenes, which do seem to be a big bullet point for this entry. After the recent open beta, I'm just eager to get some more matches in. That's arriving soon, on June 2.
• Ultros keeps the "new game with a fascinating look" streak going, as its a side-scrolling action game with some incredible colors and designs.
• A trailer for Tower of Fantasy is here, and I'm not quite sure what's happening. It looks gorgeous, but I also know very little about Tower of Fantasy. The robot-plant-lady boss looks kinda sick, though.
• Sound the horns and rejoice in the streets: here is your reminder that yes, Dragon's Dogma II is real and happening. We get some gameplay, some cutscenes, and some really exciting teases for what's in store here. No date or anything, but a nice surprise to see.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOCCI53JYBA

• Five Nights at Freddy's Help Wanted 2 is here, for those who would like more scary animatronics. That's arriving sometime in late 2023.
• Here comes the PS VR2 block, starting with a banger: Resident Evil 4 is getting a VR mode. To be clear, this looks like the RE 4 remake, and in PS VR2, so it's RE4 Remake VR2. A little confusing, but still neat. No date, as it's just confirmed to be in development.
• Here's Arizona Sunshine II, if you want irreverent zombie shooting in VR. I mostly just had a bizarre moment of neurons firing, remembering the first Arizona Sunshine. That arrives sometime this year.
• Crossfire is keeping on, with a VR game called Sierra Squad on the way. No date for that yet.
• Synapse is a dreamlike shooter that feels like Inception and Superhot crossed the streams. It's fun to watch the trailer player flip boxes and barrels around, though. That's out July 4.
• Beat Saber is out now on PS VR2, as is a pack of Queen's music that includes some Queen visuals. Please, don't stop me now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6y-e2krA3uE

• We exit the VR block into Bungie's reveal of a Marathon revival. The studio is launching its first new game in some time, a sci-fi extraction shooter that has its roots in a classic franchise for the company. I'm already very intrigued by the look of this game, if nothing else.
• Bungie also makes a big reveal: Nathan Fillion is returning to Destiny 2 for The Final Shape. A showcase is set for August 22 to share more.
• Sony studio Firesprite reveals Concord with a space-y trailer. That's headed to PS5 and PC in 2024.
• And now for something completely different: a trailer for the Gran Turismo movie. It's called Gran Turismo, and it hits theaters in August.
• Jim Ryan pops back on to close the showcase out with a few announcements ahead of the final reveal. Project Q is a dedicated handheld device for streaming remote play from your PlayStation 5 console, and Sony's also rolling out some PlayStation ear buds.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrPZSq5YXqc

• Lastly, we close things out with Marvel's Spider-Man 2. It's still set for a fall 2023 window, and today we got to see a lot of gameplay, ranging from Spidey-swapping and Web Wing gliding to Peter's new Symbiote skills, which seem to be giving him a bit of an attitude problem.

That's it for the PlayStation Showcase 2023. Let us know what you thought of the show down below!

The post Everything shown at the PlayStation Showcase 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Foam rules everything around me

Square Enix showed up twice for today's PlayStation Showcase. Once, for the anticipated RPG Final Fantasy XVI. And the other time, for the reveal of something a little different: a sudsy new shooter called Foamstars.

Foamstars is a new 4v4 shooter where players fight it out using foam. It looks bright and colorful, with some energetic vibes behind it all. Here's the trailer from today's PlayStation Showcase:

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

As producer Kosuke Okatani explains on the PlayStation Blog, foam is used as both a projectile and a piece of terrain. Foam seems to stick in place, creating walls that can also be used for movement.

Splatoon comparisons seem easy enough to make. But where Splatoon paints the level, the foam of  Foamstars seems to build up and form new terrain all its own. The same kind of territory control-focused party shooter, but with a different angle on it.

Don't pop the bubble

Not many more details were shared today, other than Foamstars is currently planned for both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5. More information is expected sometime in the future, and no release date was confirmed today.

I'm curious to see what Square Enix will do, even if I tend to have a bit of skepticism and concern when it comes to any new game that looks like a live-service project these days. It's rough out there for a new shooter, but at least Foamstars looks a bit different compared to the more bullets-and-explosions blasters you might see elsewhere.

We'll see how the Foamstars rise or fall as Square Enix shares more info about the new game.

The post Foamstars is Square Enix’s bubbly new party shooter appeared first on Destructoid.

The Emperor demands your life

I don’t know a whole lot about the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Space guys in ostentatious armor. Orcs dressed like orcs. It’s a lot to take in. However, I do know a lot about first-person shooters, especially those created in the ‘90s, and since Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is designed to look like one of those, it’s the perfect crossover.

However, the indie and small-budget market is pretty saturated in retro-inspired shooters right now, so without being a fan of Warhammer 40,000, does Boltgun still do enough to stand out to me? No. But also very yes.

[caption id="attachment_381154" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (PC [Reviewed], PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch)
Developer: Auroch Digital
Publisher: Focus Entertainment
Release: May 23, 2023
MSRP: $21.99

Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is the story of… something happening. You’re an inquisitor sent to a planet to quell the chaos there. That doesn’t mean much to me, but it does mean that there’s lots of squishy things to shoot.

You’re placed in a pair of stompy space boots and given a gun that is both entirely unremarkable and completely awesome at the same time. The titular boltgun is nothing more than an assault rifle, but it rips through smaller enemies and sounds like someone using a jackhammer on a bass drum. The first thing you should know about Boltgun is that it’s extremely explode-y. Everyone dies with enthusiasm, spraying blood and body parts everywhere, and it’s an awesome spectacle.

Boltgun lives for making you feel powerful. Beyond the eponymous boltgun, every weapon gives you the feeling of repeatedly slamming a car door on someone’s dick. There’s a taunt button, which is amazing because there is no multiplayer. The enemies have no feelings, so shouting at them is just something to do to feel awesome. Your space boots are constantly stomping around, and you can boost your health and armor up to 300%. Your melee attack is a chainsaw sword, and you bring down bigger enemies with it by revving it against their faces.

There are many first-person shooters out there with a philosophy built around making you feel powerful, but I don’t think any have nailed it quite like Boltgun.

https://youtu.be/DJzGLICnZrg

Die heretic!

Though Boltgun is visibly inspired by ‘90s FPS games, most of the aesthetic is achieved through a filter that reduces color depth and increases pixelation. It’s a reasonably effective technique that creates a vintage look without having to compromise level geometry or complexity.

It also does a few new things that I haven’t really seen in an FPS before. Many of the enemies take quite a few bullets to put down, but rather than just allowing them to be damage sponges, each one displays a health bar that lets you know how close you are to dropping them. It’s a small detail, and Boltgun gets a lot of the small details very right. Like when your boltgun’s clip is running dry, and it starts to let out a mechanical rattle to accompany every shot. There’s a lot of care taken to get the experience feeling great.

[caption id="attachment_381150" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The might of the Imperium will crush you

Unfortunately, the level design doesn’t support all of this, and it’s actually somewhat baffling. The levels can get confusing. Walkways will criss-cross overhead, and there’s no map to help you out. However, that’s not the biggest issue.

The problem is that there’s a stunning lack of consistency. The first few levels seem to imply that Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun subscribes to a Doom Eternal formula where you’re largely entering small combat nodes that you clear before moving on, but it doesn’t stick to this. That’s fine because I prefer just wading through enemies the whole time, but it winds up trapped between these two approaches.

The issues that arise from this are twofold. First, it struggles with item placement. Second, it has problems with pacing.

The pacing is perhaps the strangest wrinkle. It’s not like perennial games such as Doom or Duke Nukem 3D didn’t have moments where you backtracked through empty rooms, it just feels extremely out of place with Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. Stomping around, taunting the walls, and hoovering up supplies just feels horrible when placed next to exploding dudes left and right.

However, item placement is the biggest issue. Typically, Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun dumps ammunition and health on you. Little rotating models of crests and clips are everywhere. This makes it extremely noticeable when you’re trapped in an arena, and they’re nowhere to be found.

[caption id="attachment_381155" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

Your death is my glory

I remember a particular encounter late in the game where I actually came extremely close to running out of ammo and wound up taking down a Lord of Change with the chainsword. There were times when I got low on health and had to disengage entirely from combat in order to search for the smaller nooks and crannies where larger pick-ups were hidden.

Part of that problem is that Boltgun is absolutely terrible with communication. The levels are busy, noisy places where it’s easy to overlook a locked door. Sometimes I’d finish arena moments only to find that I had missed an entire section of the area because the grey corridor was hidden amongst all the grey walls. There are yellow splotches of paint and candles in some areas to draw your attention to the intended path, but I feel like these were late additions. There was one area where I missed a row of candles entirely because they were hidden among the debris and glowing portals.

[caption id="attachment_381156" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

The Emperor's hand will touch you

It lends to this confused feeling I got playing Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. For the first 20-or-so minutes after picking it up anew, I’d be having a blast. I’d feel like I was playing the best game ever. But after that initial blast of endorphins wore off I’d start feeling frustrated. I’d forge ahead until I reached a decent quitting point, put it down, then I never felt compelled to pick it up again. The only thing that really kept me going was the deadline for this review; otherwise, I think I probably would have stopped partway through and forgotten it at the bottom of my library.

That’s not to say Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun is bad. It’s definitely not. In fact, it nails so many things that other games tend to fall short on. It manages to be this extremely impressive and unrelenting spectacle for huge swaths of time. It’s just there are parts of it that are needed to support these high points, and they’re all a bit rickety.

It’s one of those moments where I may have my complaints about the game, and I feel it’s extremely necessary to voice them. However, I also think you should try Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun. This isn’t a lukewarm recommendation; it’s a hot one. Because despite all its problems, it’s something that needs to be seen and celebrated. There’s a chance that you won’t even notice the problems I outlined, and this will be a big hit with you. You might not even notice the same issues that I do. I think Boltgun deserves its chance, and you should definitely give it one, even if you have no connection with the license.

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

The post Review: Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh, Spider-Man 2099 is in too

After teasing an Across the Spider-Verse film crossover event for a week now with "Where is Miles Morales?" posters: we're entering the final stage of Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 with this latest spider-themed update. Accompanying a series of Week 11 quests are two new skins (Miles and Spider-Man 2099), alongside of the return of the Web-Shooter item.

This season is extremely motion-heavy, with katana airdashes, lightsaber double-jumps, and omni-directional mobility gear from Attack on Titan. It's a veritable buffet of crossovers and one of the most densely packed seasons in that regard. It's a bit much at times, but it's one of my favorite seasons in recent memory as there's a lot going on, no-build mode is still a staple, and weekly quests no longer operate on the FOMO system.

You can find a full breakdown of the event below. Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is still gunning for a June 2, 2023 theatrical release date, so this crossover is pretty timely!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3SrWHTJTFw

Fortnite Chapter 4 Season 2 Across the Spider-Verse Week 11 challenges/quests

• Collect the Spider-Verse Web Shooters
• Purchase an item from Gwen
• Swing onto a Grind Rail using the Spider-Verse Web Shooters
• Hit an opponent while airborne
• Swing 10 times using the Spider-Verse Web Shooters before landing

[gallery columns="2" size="large" link="file" ids="381122,381123"]

Fortnite Across the Spider-Verse skins

• "The Spider-Man (Miles Morales) Outfit comes with the masked Earth 1610 alt Style and includes the Spider-Verse Portal Back Bling. Also available in the Shop, perform a pork chop with the Spider-Ham's Mallet Pickaxe. Get hammy and go whammy: Spider-Ham’s Mallet Pickaxe has the built-in Put 'er There Emote."
• "Included with the Spider-Man 2099 Outfit is the 2099 Web Cape Back Bling, fresh from the future. (This Back Bling is reactive — watch it dematerialize when you go DBNO!) If you’re wanting to splice n’ dice, the dual-wield 928 Axes Pickaxe is also available in the Shop."

The post Fortnite just got an Across the Spider-Verse Miles Morales crossover appeared first on Destructoid.