Category: Technology

Xbox-only gamers have had to patiently bide their time until Baldur’s Gate 3, one of the biggest titles of 2023, hit Microsoft’s consoles. The RPG came out of early access on PC in August and it landed on PS5 the following month. However, technical issues held up the Xbox Series X/S version until now. 

Developer and publisher Larian Studios had pledged to release the Xbox version by the end of the year and said it would reveal the exact date at The Game Awards. True to its word, Larian announced that the Xbox version of Baldur’s Gate 3 is out right now. 

Along with Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3 had the most nominations (eight) of any title at The Game Awards 2023. It ultimately won six: Best Performer, Best Role Playing Game, Best Community Support, Best Multiplayer Game, Players’ Voice and the big one, Game of the Year.

The Xbox delay was due to a technical problem with the Series S. As Larian’s director of publishing Michael Douse wrote in July, “We cannot remove the split-screen feature because we are obliged to launch with feature parity, and so continue to try and make it work.” However, Larian said the following month that, after meeting with Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer, it had found a solution that would allow it to support split-screen on Series X but not Series S.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/baldurs-gate-3-is-available-now-on-xbox-series-xs-040406055.html?src=rss 

Monster Hunter is one of Capcom’s biggest franchises at this point, so of course the company has been cooking up another mainline entry. It’s called Monster Hunter Wilds and it’s coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC in 2025. 

The trailer shows the player character and several creatures trying to escape a dust storm before lightning strikes. The air then clears to reveal a lush landscape teeming with wildlife. There wasn’t a whole lot else to the announcement clip other than the appearance of a dragon, but hey, it looks pretty and it gives fans of the series something to look forward to. 

Series producer Ryozo Tsujimoto said at The Game Awards his team plans to show off much more of the game in the summer of 2024. In the meantime, fans can keep themselves occupied with the likes of Monster Hunter Now and a Monster Hunter crossover that’s set to go live in Exoprimal next month. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/capcoms-next-big-monster-hunter-game-is-wilds-coming-in-2025-042312977.html?src=rss 

The first Final Fantasy XVI DLC was not only announced at the Game Awards 2023; it’s already available on the PlayStation Store. Echoes of the Fallen, set before the base game’s final battle, is out now, while a second DLC installment, The Rising Tide, arrives in spring 2024.

The PlayStation blog says Echoes of the Fallen “unlocks a whole new story, battles, weapons, accessories, level cap and more.” You’ll follow Clive and the gang as they run into “a group of suspicious traders,” which points them to an abandoned Fallen tower, the Sagespire. “Terrible secrets” lie in store.

A bonus awaits those who buy Echoes of the Fallen or the game’s Expansion Pass, in the form of the Buster Sword from Final Fantasy VII. In addition, it adds the “Away (1987)” Orchestrion Roll, unlocking a chiptune version of the song as new hideout background music.

As for The Rising Tide, Square Enix promises a climactic confrontation between Clive and Leviathan, the legendary Eikon. In addition, if you haven’t played the base Final Fantasy XVI game yet, it’s discounted on the PlayStation Store through December 11.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/the-first-final-fantasy-xvi-dlc-echoes-of-the-fallen-is-out-now-043119823.html?src=rss 

Hideo Kojima officially unveiled his upcoming game (that leaked in 2022) at the Game Awards 2023. Previously described as something “no one has ever experienced or seen before,” the cinematic OD (previously known as Overdose) will include a collaboration with horror director and comedian Jordan Peele.

OD’s 90-second trailer includes intimate closeups of actors reading nursery rhymes and other dialogue as they grow increasingly frantic. In the clip’s final moments, you catch a glimpse of a door opening in the reflection of their eyes (with a creaking sound hammering the point home). Wherever the game’s plot takes us, the trailer makes it clear it falls squarely in the horror genre (as expected).

We already knew the title would be published by Xbox Game Studios, relying heavily on Microsoft’s cloud technology. Previous leaks indicated Death Stranding actor Margaret Qualley would play the protagonist, although she was nowhere to be found in the trailer. The billed cast in the trailer includes Sophia Lillis, Hunter Schafer and Udo Kier.

You can watch OD’s cryptic trailer below.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/hideo-kojimas-xbox-game-is-the-cinematic-horrorfest-od-024342457.html?src=rss 

After what feels like countless delays (seriously, our first hands-on with it was in mid-2017), Ubisoft’s Skull and Bones finally has a release date. As revealed at The Game Awards, the action-adventure game is at last set to land on February 16, 2024. Ubisoft+ subscribers and those who pre-order can hop in three days earlier.

As this name suggests, this is a game all about piracy. You can choose to set sail on a pirate ship by yourself or team up with a friend or two in co-op play. You’ll battle settlements and other ships, “defy legendary pirate myths” and face off against fearsome creatures from the deep.

If you have a pirate-sized itch to scratch and Sea of Thieves isn’t quite cutting it for you, you can register for the Skull and Bones closed beta, which will run from December 15 to 18. The game is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC and Amazon Luna. At one point, Skull and Bones was supposed to arrive on Google Stadia, but the cloud gaming platform has both debuted and died since the game’s first delay.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/ubisofts-long-delayed-skull-and-bones-is-finally-set-to-arrive-on-february-16-031617196.html?src=rss 

Arkane Lyon, the developer of Deathloop, is making a game based on Marvel’s resident vampire hunter Blade. There’s a trailer, but it’s just a cinematic with no gameplay. Still, this is very exciting news as Arkane Lyon is the talented team behind Prey and the Dishonored 2. It also made the vampire shooter Redfall, which had some good ideas that were marred by, well, some very bad ideas. Here’s hoping the second time’s a holy watered charm.

This doesn’t have anything to do with Marvel’s upcoming Blade film, which has been in and out of development hell these past few years. It’s an original game set in Paris that adapts the comic book character. Arkane calls it a mature single-player adventure, so it’s likely to feature more gore than other Marvel games because, well, that’s kind of Blade’s whole bag. As usual, Marvel Games is on board, as VP and creative director Bill Roseman took the stage at The Game Awards after the trailer reveal.

Marvel is fairly hands-on with its games nowadays, and recent titles like Spider-Man 2 and Guardians of the Galaxy had its stamp of approval. There’s no release date and no announced platforms for Blade, though the entire team at Arkane Lyon is currently “pouring so much love” into the game.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/arkane-lyon-is-making-a-blade-game-and-were-all-very-excited-032148485.html?src=rss 

Not content to rest on its honkin’ laurels after the success of 2019’s indie smash hit Untitled Goose Game, House House unveiled the first teaser footage for its new adventure title at the 2023 Game Awards Thursday night. 

Big Walk looks to be a significant departure from its predecessor in both tone and scope. The team describes it as “a cooperative online walker-talker” that encourages players to “hang out and get lost with close friends in a big world.” 

The online coop game is set on an expansive bruch-covered island that’s overflowing with mysteries to uncover and challenges to overcome. In the trailer we can see a group of oddly-limbed avatars strolling around a hillside, solving puzzles, exploring strange caves and setting off signal flares. Cooperation will be a big part of the game. Players will need to work together to navigate through the terrain and keep in contact with one another while out and about. 

“Our favourite part of playing online coop games is when they give you enough direction for the group to keep up a good momentum, but it’s relaxed enough that you’re mostly just able to enjoy spending time with your friends. We hope Big Walk gives players that direction, and space, to focus on and enjoy those group dynamics, whether you’re playing with one friend or as a big group,” Jake Strasser, developer at House House, said in a Thursday release. Big Walk is slated to arrive on Steam and the Epic Game Store in 2025.     

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-walk-is-the-next-project-from-the-untitled-goose-game-team-014503842.html?src=rss 

God of War Ragnarok is a game so large that it practically has a whole second game tucked away inside. And yet that still doesn’t seem to be quite enough Norse action for Kratos. During The Game Awards, Sony revealed a Valhalla-centric expansion for the 2022 hit. 

Not only that, it’s free. And it’s coming next week, on December 12, to both PS4 and PS5 versions of the base game.

Much like with the No Return mode in the upcoming The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered, Sony is leaning into the roguelite format here. In the trailer, Kratos is shown getting slammed into the ground by a wyvern. He then wakes up to hear Mimir telling him there’s “no shame in what just happened. It’s all part of the process. Let’s go again!”

On each run, you’ll have to contend with fresh combinations of enemies and some surprises, according to the PlayStation Blog. The more enemies you take down, the more resources you’ll earn to put towards permanent upgrades. While you’ll have access to Kratos’ skill trees from the main game, you’ll need to stick with one shield and one Spartan Rage path on each run. You’ll also unlock temporary perks as you progress through each attempt.

And don’t worry too much if that all seems daunting. There are five difficulty settings to choose from and there will still be an extensive array of accessibility options at your disposal. 

It seems the DLC will dig into a new part of Kratos’ story as well. “Embark with Kratos to Valhalla on a deeply personal and reflective journey towards a future he never thought possible,” the trailer’s YouTube description reads. That suggests the expansion will lead into the next game in the series. While you can jump into Valhalla at any time, the developer recommend finishing the base game’s main story first. That’s because the DLC acts as an epilogue.

There have been rumors floating around for a while that Santa Monica Studio was working on DLC for God of War Ragnarok. That it will be available at no extra cost (and so soon!) is a nice little holiday treat for fans.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/god-of-war-ragnarok-is-getting-a-free-roguelite-expansion-next-week-015012803.html?src=rss 

No Rest for the Wicked is the new project from Moon Studios, the team behind Ori and the Blind Forest and its sequel — and it looks as beautiful as you’d expect. It’s a top-down action RPG set in the year 841, in a kingdom that’s just lost its king. His arrogant and inexperienced son has taken over, and the Pestilence is sweeping the land. The turmoil has led a powerful religious leader to expand her influence in the region, and groups on the fringes are fighting for control wherever they can. You play as a holy warrior called a Cerim, imbued with magic and destined to fight the Pestilence.

No Rest for the Wicked emphasizes action and precision in a gorgeous medieval setting, and it includes online co-op for up to four players total. It’s due to hit early access on Steam in the first quarter of 2024, and it will eventually come to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.

Moon Studios debuted the project at The Game Awards with a cinematic trailer, promising more details during a digital showcase called Wicked Inside on March 1. Private Division is publishing the game.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/no-rest-for-the-wicked-is-a-medieval-action-rpg-from-the-ori-team-020119459.html?src=rss 

Supermassive Games just dropped a trailer for its forthcoming single-player interactive story game set in the Dead by Daylight universe. The Casting of Frank Stone is a character-driven narrative adventure that features all of the character choice and tension of Supermassive-developed titles like Until Dawn and The Quarry.

The developer promises “powerful life or death choices” and an entirely new cast of characters. Supermassive says this is a “whole new way for horror fans” to experience the franchise, and that’s something of an understatement. Dead by Deadlight is an asymmetrical multiplayer title in which one player is the killer and the others are trying to survive. It’s like a really intense version of hide and seek. Obviously, a single player adventure would have to be completely different, which the trailer certainly leans into. 

As you can see, the game looks slow, moody and cinematic, which is a stark departure from the source material. The trailer’s short of actual gameplay details, but there are some first person shots of a flashlight in the woods, so that’s something. 

We already knew this crossover was in the works, but the trailer debut at The Game Awards is our first real look at the game. Supermassive is known for putting its own B-horror spin on things, so The Casting of Frank Stone should be a good time when it launches in 2024 for Xbox X/S and PC via Steam and Windows. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/supermassives-dead-by-daylight-spin-off-is-the-casting-of-frank-stone-020153336.html?src=rss