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Microsoft has announced that May 2022's Games with Gold are Yoku's Island Express, The Inner World - The Last Wind Monk, Hydro Thunder Hurricane, and Viva Piñata: Party Animals. As revealed on Xbox Wire , the four Games with Gold will be available to anyone with Xbox Live Gold or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, with Yoku's Island Express and Hydro Thunder Hurricane available starting on May 1. Yoku's Island Express is an open-world pinball game with Metroidvania and platforming elements. Players take on the role of Yoku, a pint-sized mailman turned hero as he traverses and works to save Mokumana Island. We named it among our top ten Metroidvania games (that aren't Metroid or Castlevania) , and in our 8/10 review said: "Yoku’s Island Express is a novel Metroidvania-pinball hybrid that stands as something wholly unique and incredibly fun." Also available on May 1, but only until May 15, is Hydro Thunder Hurricane. This rocket-powered speedboat racing game

PlayStation Cat Game Stray Pushed to Summer 2022

PlayStation has quietly announced a delay to it's cat game Stray with a release now expected this summer. The release window was previously set as spring 2022 , but in a tweet (below) advertising indie games coming soon spotted by Eurogamer , PlayStation sneakily confirmed the delay. Stray's launch on PS5, PS4, and PC will mark two years since it was first shown at the PS5 reveal event , when it was originally expected to be a 2021 release. 🐈 Stray 🎤 We Are OFK 🐑 Cult of the Lamb These are just three of the can't-miss indies coming soon to PlayStation. Discover more at https://t.co/u40zhqkUoy pic.twitter.com/fkYbz7MoRl — PlayStation (@PlayStation) April 28, 2022 Developer BlueTwelve's objective is simple: "Our goal is to create a unique experience playing as a cat," they said at the time. But this isn't your average house cat, as the players controls the kitty as it explores a robotic cybercity and tries to return home with the help of a

Final Fantasy 16 Is in the 'Final Stages of Development'

Final Fantasy 16's producer Naoki Yoshida has said the game is in its final stages of development. Yoshida confirmed the progress in a pamphlet that accompanied the franchise's official clothing line , translated by Twitter user @aitaikimochi , saying "We're in the final stages of development for the numbered game in the series, Final Fantasy XVI." Yoshida added that he thinks the game's story, which is obviously a very different experience from Final Fantasy 14 Online (which he also produces), is a fleshed-out experience that will bring older fans back. Yoshida Naoki says that FF16 is already in the final stages of development, and he says the story is a very well fleshed out one. His comment was released in the Final Fantasy 35th Anniversary Uniqlo magazine. Here’s the full translation! pic.twitter.com/X23AFqOXfJ — ☆オードリーAudrey☆ (@aitaikimochi) April 29, 2022 "Unlike an online game that involves many players at the same time, Final Fantasy 16

Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi Explained - What Is the Animated Anthology Series?

While Star Wars Celebration 2022 is still weeks away, we already know one of the new projects Lucasfilm will be revealing at the convention. Thanks to a now-deleted panel schedule posting, we've learned a new animated anthology series called Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi is in the works. Fans of the classic Legends timeline will probably recognize that particular branding. Tales of the Jedi is a name with deep significance to the Star Wars mythos. The original Dark Horse Comics series was among the first Star Wars stories to flesh out the ancient history of the Jedi Order and their war with the Sith. Will this animated series follow that example? We don't know much yet, but this is a good opportunity to look back at Tales of the Jedi and how the original comics may inform the newest animated Star Wars series. These are the topics we cover here: Tales of the Jedi: The Basics The Plot of Tales of the Jedi The Knights of the Old Republic Connection Tales of the Jedi: The

IGN UK Podcast #642: Overwatch 2 is a Playable Thing that Exists

The Overwatch 2 beta is live, so of course, we’re going to talk about it. To do just that are Cardy, Matt and Alex who delve into just how new it feels. We also have impressions of Switch Sports and Richard Linklater's latest film, Apollo 10 ½. Then there’s the stuff you care about, such as milk, out of date chocolate, and father and son bonding stories. Want to get in touch to talk about digging graves? Or maybe about chocolate? Feel free to send us an email at ign_ukfeedback@ign.com. IGN UK Podcast #642: Overwatch 2 is a Playable Thing that Exists IGN UK Podcast #641: Grave Digger 4000 IGN UK Podcast #640: The 2013 Build-a-Game Workshop IGN UK Podcast #639: Three Bunged Up Boys IGN UK Podcast #638: The Steam Deck Is a Big Boi IGN UK Podcast #637: Ghostwiring and Smelly Feedback source https://www.ign.com/articles/ign-uk-podcast-642-overwatch-2-is-a-playable-thing-that-exists

Skull & Bones: Gameplay Leak Shows Combat, On-Foot Exploration, and More

Gameplay from Ubisoft's pirate game Skull & Bones has leaked online, giving us a look at several mechanics, including naval combat and on-foot exploration. It's unclear which version of the game this "technical test build" is from, as Skull & Bones received a major reboot before entering an alpha stage in July 2021. Ubisoft invited some players to test an early version last month, however, meaning this leaked gameplay , shared by Wesam_L on reddit , could well be from this Insider Programme . In this version of the game, Skull & Bones gameplay revolves around a hub area – similar to The Tower from Destiny 2 – that players will frequent in order to craft items, visit shops, take on missions, and so on. The hub, called Sainte-Anne, is "the centre of pirate activity" and thus where players are encouraged to socialise (through emotes) and organise their teams of up to three players. Players will then head out into the world to complete quest

The First Few PS Plus Premium Retro Games Seem to Have Leaked

A handful of retro games likely coming in PlayStation Plus's upcoming Premium tier have seemingly leaked online. Tekken 2, Worms Armageddon, Worms World Party, and Mr. Driller for the original PlayStation have all appeared on the PSN backend, alongside Ridge Racers 2 for PSP. Reddit user the_andshrew spotted the hidden games, as reported by Eurogamer , which will likely be part of the most expensive PS Plus tier when the service is refreshed in June . The Premium tier, which will cost users $119.99 a year, will include 340 retro games from the PS1, PS2, and PSP, plus the ability to stream PS3 games and access to around 400 PS4 and PS5 games that are included in the previous Extra tier. PlayStation itself has yet to confirm which games are coming to the service, meaning these leaks aren't official and need to be taken with a pinch of salt, but the games definitely have been added to the PSN backend complete with artwork. With the refresh due for release as early as May

Showa American Story Is a Wild and Sexy Chinese Depiction of America as Set in Showa 66

"Actually, we didn't really do any research in particular. I just wanted to depict what I imagined America would look like if it had been invaded by Japanese culture in the early nineties," says X.Y. Luo, creative director of Showa American Story. His words will surely come as a surprise to anyone who's seen the trailer released this January. This game developed by the Chinese studio NEKCOM Games is set in a fictional America decorated with carp streamers and Jizo statues, having become culturally colonized by Japan in the year Showa 66, a parallel 1991 where Japan's Showa era didn't end in 1989. The Statue of Liberty is wearing a kimono, while a massive paper lantern with the Japanese character for "gold" written on it hangs from the Golden Gate Bridge. I doubt I was the only one who saw the game's billboards and flyers oozing with Showa aesthetics and assumed it was made by creators well-versed in Japanese and Showa culture. I've lived in

Rocket League New Mode Is Battle Royale For People Who Hate Battle Royale

You're probably thinking "not another battle royale" and you'd be justified. However, Rocket League's new Knockout game mode seems to be for people who hate battle royale games. Knockout is part of Rocket League's spring in-game event called Knockout Bash, which goes from April 27 to May 10. This new game mode involves using the driving/soccer skills you'd use in the normal game in an eight player destruction derby-type battle royale. In addition to the existing movesets, there are three new skills to master: Attack, Block, and Grab. Attack is basically dodging into an opponent to send them flying if placed right. Block is essentially a parry which reflects Attacks back onto the opposing player with proper timing. Grab allows you to, well, grab other players and throw them. Knockout also adds secondary mechanics which are basically enhanced versions of existing moves such as boosting, jumping, and lock on. For example, you're able to do a triple

Dragon Age 4 Quality Assurance Workers Are Applying To Form a Union

A group of quality assurance testers working on Dragon Age 4 have filed an application to unionise. The employees, who work directly with developer BioWare but as contractors of supporting company Keywords Studios, are attempting to unionize over issues of poor pay, a return to work mandate, and more. An anonymous source told Kotaku that Keyword employees would have to return to their Alberta-based office on May 9 despite cases of COVID-19 slowly rising since the start of April. Keyword employees would not be entitled to sick pay if they had to quarantine as a result of COVID-19, the source said, while BioWare employees are allowed to work from home completely. The return to work ruling was seemingly the final straw for the 15-20 QA testers who allegedly are already subject to poor pay. The source said some employees are being paid $16.50 Canadian dollars per hour - $12.82 U.S. dollars - which is considerably less than identical roles carried out by full BioWare employees.

Xbox and Bethesda Showcase Set for June 12

Xbox and Bethesda have announced that a summer showcase will air on June 12 at 10AM PT / 1PM ET. Save the date! Catch the Xbox & Bethesda Games Showcase on June 12: https://t.co/dmANSvXrbE | #XboxBethesda pic.twitter.com/AMFhrLhAtC — Xbox (@Xbox) April 28, 2022 We'll update you as soon as we have more information. George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @yinyangfooey source https://www.ign.com/articles/xbox-bethesda-showcase-e3

Mass Effect: Dark Horse Reveals Reaper Sovereign Ship Replica

Dark Horse Direct is returning to the Mass Effect series with another replica statue. This time around, the fearsome Reaper Sovereign ship is being immortalized in three dimensions. Check out the slideshow gallery below for an exclusive first look at the Reaper Sovereign ship replica: The Reaper Sovereign is cast in polyresin and was sculpted by Gentle Giant Studios. The piece measures roughly 14 inches in height and 11 inches in diameter. The display base is meant to depict the battle-ravaged terrain of the planet Eden Prime, with the statue itself inspired by the original Mass Effect game. The Reaper Sovereign is priced at $299.99 and is limited to 1000 pieces worldwide. The statue is available to preorder now on the Dark Horse Direct website , with an estimated release window of November 2022 to January 2023. This piece should pair nicely with Dark Horse's previously released Alliance Normandy SR-1 ship replica , which was also re-released with a metallic silver paint job

Return to Monkey Island Will Have an Easy Mode and Hint System

Always getting stuck on point-and-click adventure games? Return to Monkey Island has a solution. During an interview with Ars Technica , creator Ron Gilbert confirmed that the game will have an easy mode, as well as a hint system. “[One thing] that people really want in games today are built-in hint systems,” he explained. “If [players] don't have a built-in hint system, they're just going to jump over to the web and read a walkthrough.” Encouraging players not to do that, Return to Monkey Island will use a hint system that has been designed to make sense in-game. It will be “more than just a walkthrough,” he added. Of course, getting stuck is part of the fun of point-and-click adventures. Back when The Secret of Monkey Island was released in 1990, I spent hours upon hours clicking around looking for ways to solve puzzles and growing increasingly frustrated when I couldn’t solve them. But what you always remember is the satisfaction when it finally clicks. "[T

‘Dedicated Masochists’: Meet the Fans Still Spending Thousands of Hours Searching for Shiny Pokémon

Nobody asked Zetamasterx to devote a year and a half of their life to capturing Legendary Pokémon with slightly different colour variants to their regular counterparts, but once they started, it became an obsession. For the vast majority of trainers, capturing a Legendary at all is triumph enough – but there are a select few who strive for a prize much, much rarer than that. In the Pokémon community, these toiling prospectors are known as shiny hunters – a narrow demographic of players who regularly invest hundreds, if not thousands of hours into honing their trade long after the rest of the fanbase have moved onto the inevitable next generation. What this entails is simple: In Gen 8, the most recent generation of mainline Pokémon games, every ‘mon has a 1/4,096 chance to be a different colour to the rest of its species. These odds can be increased to almost 1/100, but even those chances make it a slow process. If you haven’t already guessed, the objective of shiny hunting is to l

PlayStation Plus Games for May 2022 Announced

Sony has revealed the PlayStation Plus games for May 2022 are FIFA 22 (PS5 & PS4), Tribes of Midgard (PS5 & PS4), and Curse of the Dead Gods (PS4). Revealed on the PlayStation Blog , all three games will be made available at no extra cost to all PlayStation Plus subscribers on May 3. FIFA 22 is the latest entry in EA's football series, which is now almost 'officially' the best football game on the market thanks to the pretty disastrous launch and subsequent updates to Konami's eFootball 2022 . Back to the freebie though, in IGN's 7/10 review , we said: "Microtransactions still loom large, but small iterative changes and the horsepower of new-gen consoles combine to make FIFA 22 feel like a worthwhile upgrade without needing anything revolutionary or terribly exciting from EA’s side." Tribes of Midgard is a co-op survival game based on Norse mythology, and it's up to the player (or players) to resist the incoming invasion of Giants duri

What's the Deal With PS Plus' New Game Trials? - Beyond 747

On this week's episode of IGN's PlayStation show, Podcast Beyond!, host Jonathon Dornbush is joined by Jada Griffin and Mark Medina to dig into the various bits of PlayStation news this week, including new updates for PS5, PlayStation Plus, and PlayStation's PC and preservation plans. After a brief Beyond Movies and TV podcast interlude about Everything Everywhere All at Once (no spoilers but you can skip ahead with timecodes below!), the gang dives into all the new reports surrounding PS Plus' new game trials. We break down what the deal is with these new game trials, how they affect PS Plus' offerings, what exactly they are as compared to traditional demos, and much more. We break down what it might mean for players, how it could raise questions for developers, and whether the practice might change the expectations for playing on PlayStation with its revamped subscription service Next, the group discusses Variable Refresh Rate coming to PS5, and also gets sid

Save on Nintendo Switch Sports Preorders Right Now in the UK

Nintendo Switch Sports preorders are currently available for just £30.59 in the UK when buying from Currys. All you need to do is use code SWITCHSPORTS at checkout to receive the discount and get a free Switch Sports wristband alongside as well. The game will release on April 29, so if you preorder now, you're guaranteed to get in on launch day. Digital versions of the game are available for £30.99 but the Leg Strap Accessory is sold separately and costs £8.99. But, with this bundle deal, you can both together for less than the RRP of the digital game. Otherwise, you can also get the same bundle deal for just £35 from Amazon as well . Save on Nintendo Switch Sports Preorders in the UK Right Now Both of these deals are a good choice in my opinion. The Amazon deal is great for those who have collected some extra Amazon vouchers recently and need something to spend it on. While the Currys deal is the cheapest you can find the bundle deal in the UK, just use code SWITCHSPORTS a

Sniper Elite 5: The First Preview

Prior to the infamous invasion of Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944, covert ops agents prepared the French theater of war behind enemy lines, and this is how Sniper Elite 5 sets the backdrop for one Sniper Elite veteran Karl Fairburne’s return to the PC and modern consoles late next month. Sniper Elite 5 reverts to – and improves upon – the series’ roots by placing you back into the third-person perspective and offering the expansive range of stealth options that Sniper Elite fans have come to know and love since the series started way back in 2005. However, it now has a few extra twists, including deeper weapon customization and expansive map layouts that offer plenty of ways to play, improving on (rather than revolutionizing) what fans already enjoyed about Sniper Elite 4. Naturally, it wouldn’t be a Sniper Elite game without impeccable sniping simulation – this accounts for everything from wind direction to Karl’s heart rate, and I found it astoundingly easy to change the outcome of

Elden Ring: New Patch Fixes Broken Malenia Boss Fight and More