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Bayonetta voice actor Hellena Taylor has shared that she didn't reprise the role for Bayonetta 3 as she was offered only $4,000 to do so. Furthermore, she has asked fans to boycott the game and donate to charity instead. Taylor took to Twitter to share a few videos of her speaking to a camera and share her side of the story following the announcement that Mass Effect's Jennifer Hale would be replacing her in Bayonetta 3. Taylor has voiced the character since the original game, and couldn't stay silent anymore after how she was treated. Friends, Worldlings, Bayonutters. Hear ye! #PlatinumGames #Nintendo #Bayonetta #Bayonetta3 #Bayonutters #Boycott #NintendoEurope #NintendoAmerica #NintendoJapan pic.twitter.com/h9lwiX2bBt — Hellena Taylor (@hellenataylor) October 15, 2022 "The Bayonetta franchise made an approximated $450 million, and that’s not including merchandise," Taylor began. "As an actor, I trained for a total of seven and a half yea...

I Played a Video Game About a Dungeon in Purgatory Filled With Nihilistic Adventurers and Then I Wrote This Article

For the last nine years or so, Damien Crawford has been making games they don’t think people would want to play. Crawford is the sole developer and head of Cannibal Interactive. They’ve made over 20 games through the label, most of which have been released primarily on itch.io. They came to game development after several years of struggling to fit into other jobs such as fast food and mundane government work. A relationship falling through and a need to cut loose from parental support eventually pushed them to try something new. “I thought if I failed the safe path, then what do I want to do? And so I started making games.” Their first project, Legend of Moros, took two and a half years, and did not do well – not even $100 in release day sales. So, on another contrarian whim, Crawford spent a month making a game they thought no one would want to play; an “atrocious” (their words) RPG where 99 characters band together in a single fight, all piled in on one side against the enemy. I...

Nintendo Switch Sports Online Play and Save Data Backup Are Currently Down

Following a bug found in its Ver1.2.1 update, Nintendo has taken the Nintendo Switch Sports servers offline while it works to fix the problem. This means online play and save data backup are both currently down. Nintendo shared the update on Twitter, saying this bug has been causing the game to close during the pre-match loading screen for some players. "A bug has been found in the #NintendoSwitchSports Ver1.2.1 update which causes the software to close during the pre-match loading screen," Nintendo wrote. "This is unfortunately affecting both online and offline play modes. We have therefore temporarily suspended the rollout of this update. "While we investigate to find a solution, #NintendoSwitchSports servers will be temporarily taken offline and online play will not be available during this time. Save data backup is also temporarily suspended. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience." There has been no timetable given for a fix, but we will upda...

Overwatch 2 Has Reached Over 25 Million Players In Its First 10 Days

Overwatch 2 has reached over 25 million players in its first 10 days and it has already achieved a "daily player base spread near-even across EMEA, Asia, and the Americas that’s nearly triple the previous daily player peak from the original Overwatch." Blizzard announced the news in a press release and it arrives following a rough launch for the free-to-play game. Despite the issues, players have continued to show up in droves. "The launch of Overwatch 2 has been such an important moment for Blizzard. We’re thrilled to bring new players from around the world into Overwatch’s vibrant universe while welcoming back the existing Blizzard community,” said Mike Ybarra, president of Blizzard Entertainment. “This is only the beginning—there are so many possibilities to explore in the world of Overwatch, and we cannot wait for players to experience everything the team is building for the live game.” As for that rough launch, Blizzard also detailed a bit about how they will...

Gotham Knights Will Only Run at 30 FPS and Will Offer No Performance Mode on Consoles

When Gotham Knights arrives on consoles on October 21, it will do so with no performance mode and it will run at only 30 FPS. As spotted by those like Wario64 on Twitter, the news was shared by Gotham Knights executive producer Fleur "Flaoua" Marty in the game's Discord channel, and she wanted to take the time to address this question for console players. "I know many of you are wondering about the availability of a performance mode for Gotham Knights on consoles," Marty wrote. "Due to the types of features we have in our game, like providing a fully untethered co-op experience in our highly detailed open-world, it's not as straightforward as lowering the resolution and getting a higher FPS. For this reason, our game does not have a performance/quality toggle option and will run at 30FPS on consoles." This news follows the announcement of Gotham Knights' Heroic Assault mode, which will be a free four-player co-op mode that will launch...

Overwatch 2 Won't Be Rebalanced Until December

Blizzard has announced that Overwatch 2 won't be rebalanced until its Season 2 begins in December as it's currently happy with each hero's power level. As reported by Eurogamer , a blog post on Blizzard's website shared the developer's thoughts on the current state of the game now that most of its launch issues appear to have settled down . Outside of a targeted fix for Zarya in Total Mayhem on October 25 and (presumably) the return of Bastion and Torbjörn, who were removed from Overwatch 2 just days after it launched due to serious glitches , Blizzard said it won't implement any changes to its heroes for roughly two months. "While some heroes are performing better than others, and there are differences across player skill levels, we have been happy to see that no hero’s overall power level is far out of line with our goals," it said in the blog post, as each hero currently has a win rate of between 45% and 55%. Instead of making incremental t...

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Phone Number Requirement Will Only Affect Some PC Players

Update 10/14/2022: Activision has clarified that the controversial Overwatch 2 phone policy that was also thought to be in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 will only affect some PC players. As reported by PC Gamer , an anti-cheat blog post on Call of Duty's website made clear that only those on PC will need to register a phone number before playing Modern Warfare 2. Existing Call of Duty: Warzone players who've previously verified their accounts will not need to provide any further details, however. "The SMS policy for Modern Warfare II and Warzone 2.0 on Battle.net is the same as the requirement for Call of Duty: Warzone on PC, which was implemented in May 2020. A mobile phone number must be linked to your Steam Account to play Modern Warfare II on that platform," the post said. Original Story: The controversial Overwatch 2 feature that required players to connect a phone number to their account before playing is also coming to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2...

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Campaign Includes Significant Multiplayer Unlocks

Activision is incentivising players to jump into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's campaign by including significant multiplayer unlocks within the single player. A Call of Duty blog post outlines the 17 separate rewards that players can earn for completing missions in the campaign, including operators Hutch, Chuy, Reyes, and Nova. Also available are double XP boosts, unique calling cards and emblems, and Captain Price's M4 weapon blueprint. Activision didn't make clear if these are campaign exclusive items or if they can be unlocked eventually by playing multiplayer. Or, perhaps, through microtransactions. It did advertise its digital preorder bonus of campaign early access , however, which allows the campaign (and therefore all of these mission rewards) to be unlocked before Modern Warfare 2 officially launches on October 28. Players who preorder from the PlayStation or Xbox stores will therefore be able to enter multiplayer immediately with special unlocks and do...

Joe Manganiello to Co-Direct Dungeons and Dragons Documentary

Hasbro has announced that it is creating a Dungeons and Dragons documentary co-directed by Joe Manganiello and Kyle Newman. The untitled documentary will be released in 2024 to celebrate D&D' 50th anniversary and pull from more than 400 hours of early, never before seen footage of the game's creation in the early 1970s. Celebrity fans of the game will also feature in interviews. Manganiello will also produce alongside his brother Nick Manganiello, Anthony Savini, and Cecily Tyler, while Tara Long and Geno McDermott will executive produce with D&D scholars Jon Peterson, Adam F. Goldberg, and co-director Newman. Joe Manganiello - who's starred in films including Spider-Man and Magic Mike - is the official D&D ambassador and has previously written for the game and starred in Critical Role as a guest character. He's also the dungeon master of a star-studded Hollywood campaign that includes Vince Vaughn, Rage Against the Machine's Tom Morello, wrestler...

Scorn Review

Imagine if you had to stick your hands into a sink full of dirty, putrid-smelling water to fish around for clues to a mystery. You keep pulling out weirder and more confusing stuff, and you really don't want to go back in again – but what you've found so far makes you extremely curious about what other secrets may be hiding in there. That's the best way I can describe the overall experience of playing Scorn, a first-person puzzle game about exploring the ruins of a dead civilization. With a mesmerizing, biomechanical aesthetic inspired by the likes of H.R. Giger and Harlan Ellison's I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, it's far more disturbing and unsettling than it is horrifying. But the vibes it creates can be very potent. The most impressive bone in this mangled skeleton is the macabre art direction, which creates a cohesive world even when each of Scorn's hubs are distinct in their upsetting grandeur. The architecture and weird puzzle contraptions exist in...

Which Fighting Game Franchise Has the Most Iconic Characters?

Iconic characters in fighting games like Street Fighter's Ryu and Ken or Scorpion and Mortal Kombat's Sub-Zero are often as famous as the games that made them. As the industry has evolved, numerous other iconic characters have entered the fighting game pantheon and made a lasting impact. Some franchise's more iconic characters even live on outside their individual games, like Soulcalibur's Ivy and Tekken's King. In honor of Street Fighter recently celebrating its 35th anniversary and Mortal Kombat its 30th: Which fighting game franchise has the most iconic characters? What makes a character iconic for you? Do any of the other franchises come close to matching Street Fighter's Ryu is or Mortal Kombat's Scorpion? Do you like to main these characters when playing their respective games? Do you think iconic characters get special treatment since they often represent their franchise? What franchise not featured in the poll has iconic characters that rival t...

Silent Hill's Most Iconic Villain Was Inspired by Braveheart

Pyramid Head, who is arguably the most terrifying and iconic villain from the Silent Hill franchise, was inspired by an unlikely source: a background character in Bracveheart. Silent Hill 2 director Masahiro Ito recemt;y took to Twitter to share that the "inspiration for the background of Pyramid Head from [Silent Hill 2] as the executioner. From a film Braveheart." The inspiration for the background of Pyramid Head from SH2 as the executioner. From a film Braveheart. pic.twitter.com/B2GAbHAsuB — 伊藤暢達/Masahiro Ito (@adsk4) October 13, 2022 Ito began designing Pyramid Head based on that Braveheart character, and he continued to refine the look by referencing other films and books where people put bags on their head and he "came up with the idea of an executioner of the old town." Ito also quote-tweeted a post he shared in 2017 of some of the oil and acrylic paints he made during his time as an art student. The four he shared were from his 'Strange Head...

The 15 Best Under the Radar Games - Steam Next Fest Oct. 2022

Three times a year, Steam puts on an event called Steam Next Fest, a week-long event that features literally hundreds of game demos of upcoming steam games. It’s an awesome event, but going through all those demos and trying to get through to the really good stuff – stuff like Cult of the Lamb, Toem, and Sable – just to name a few previous Steam Next Fest games, is time consuming to say the last. Which is why we called upon some of IGN’s biggest indie fans to divvy up the work and come back with our picks for the 15 Under the Radar Games You Don’t Want to Miss from the October Steam Next Fest. Note that these picks are not in any particular order. 15. 9 Years of Shadows Metroidvanias are a very common genre among indie games, but few manage to capture the essence and vibe of Castlevania like Nine Years of Shadows, and even fewer that aren’t actually developed by Koji Igarashi himself. This demo features gorgeous pixel art, tight controls, great enemy design (even if much of their ...

The First Descendant Beta Preview: Good Intentions, Middling Execution

As a new free-to-play looter shooter, The First Descendant faces heavy competition. Between established juggernauts like Destiny 2 and Warframe receiving regular expansions and the regular stream of smaller games, making yourself seen in this crowded genre isn’t easy. After spending time with The First Descendant’s upcoming beta test in solo play and four-player co-op, I don’t believe this will be the one to break through. What’s here is enjoyable enough, just nothing especially compelling. The First Descendant’s story wouldn’t feel out of place in a classic sci-fi novel; it’s that old tale of humanity fending off alien invaders. Here, you can choose one of ten playable Descendants, each bringing unique skills to repel the Vulgus. You’re initially limited to choosing between three, unlocking the rest later through a Research Institute. With differing stats and combat skills, differences aren’t just skin deep; be aware that you can’t customize a Descendant’s appearance. Nexon Games s...

EA Just Leaked Major FIFA 23 Content, Again

EA has once again leaked a major chunk of upcoming FIFA 23 content, this time releasing the Men's World Cup mode early on PlayStation 5. As reported by Eurogamer , PS5 users have shared their surprise on social media as they've been able to access the World Cup mode menus and team lists ahead of its official launch. While games can't currently be played in the World Cup menu, the leak has revealed that the upcoming DLC will contain four game modes when it releases later this year: FIFA World Cup Live (which will presumably let players emulate that day's real-life games), FIFA World Cup Kick-Off, Online Tournament, and FIFA World Cup 2022. How to access FIFA 23 World Cup Mode on PS5 ✅🫡 pic.twitter.com/A0yRf9WXCr — FUT Mentor (@FUTMentor) October 12, 2022 It also showed that the World Cup mode will include 48 teams in total, 16 more than the real World Cup's 32-team roster. It's unclear what these additional countries are, but EA usually adds a custom W...

The Metaverse Has Had a Very Bad Week