Alone with You tells a surprising story about relationships, love and friendship -- surprising because it stars just one living human as he attempts to escape an abandoned planet that's scheduled for implosion. His only companion is the space colony's artificial intelligence system and holographs of dead colonists. Through interaction with the AI system and nightly conversations with digital ghosts, the survivor discovers details about the people who used to inhabit the planet and how their lives collided.
Gabe Newell recently held an AMA (ask me anything) on Reddit and people were obviously drooling at the chance to question the existence of Half-Life 3. While that was deftly avoided by Gaben, there were some interesting hints dropped about a potential spin-off to the series that could be in the pipeline. When questioned about whether Valve was actively working on any kind of single-player game, Gabe responded with, "Yes."
After that, another user further clarified the question by asking whether Valve was working on a new IP that is set within the Half-Life/Portal universe. Gabe also replied with, "Yep." Now, this could mean a number of things, but more than likely, it has to do with the HTC Vive. Gabe did bring up the possibility, later stating, "We think VR is pretty important as a tool for interesting games."
While that could be anything, Valve actively backs the HTC Vive, so that would clearly be its target device. You could also take this to mean that Valve is currently working on two separate projects, one in VR and one as a spin-off. Then again, The Lab is a fully VR tech demo that takes place within Portal, so who is to say what is really going on?
Source 2 is also mentioned in the AMA and Valve seems to be going full force with their new engine. While it has only debuted with DOTA 2, so far, it looks like Valve is not giving up on their technology. "We are are using it as the foundation of some unannounced products," Gabe confirmed.
Someone else also brought up the potential movies that Valve was working on with J.J. Abrams. Apparently those are still in the works, so I guess we can look forward to those not sucking...maybe.
For those who are unaware, there is a thing on the internet called pornography. I’ve been told it’s quite salacious and pretty popular, making up roughly 99.9999475% of all Google searches. People say in these pornographic motion pictures and pictorials, you'll find males and/or females, often in groups of twos and threes, interacting in ways that would not be accepted in a decent and morally righteous society. Some of these images are modeled after protagonists from popular pieces of entertainment, such as from phenakistoscope discs, telephote programs, and teletype games. Why I’ve heard these illustrations are so widely regarded that even titans of industry take to the public forum to send word and good tidings about these lubricious works of art.
Overwatch released a video earlier today in which director Jeff Kaplan talked for a bit about the Public Test Realm (PTR) and how it relates to the main game. Among the topics discussed were the differences between the PC and console versions of Overwatch and some of the reasons for the changes currently being tested.
Kaplan starts by explaining the purpose of the PTR. While most players understand it's made available so that they can offer feedback on upcoming changes, Kaplan explains that the primary reason for it is to check the stability of patches and make sure that they're ready to go live. As for why it's available on PC and not on consoles, Kaplan explained that since Blizzard owns the platform on the PC (Battle.net), they're the ones who have to fix things if they break something. That's not the case if a patch messes something up on the Xbox One or PlayStation Network, which is why every patch that gets put out has to go through a certification process on the consoles. On the plus side, the time it takes for these patches to go through certification allows Blizzard to test them thoroughly on the PTR and release them simultaneously on all three platforms.
One thing that comes up frequently among the Overwatch players I play with is that there really isn't any incentive to play on the PTR other than seeing what we can expect next month or whenever the next patch goes live. Kaplan said that his team are looking into ways to make playing on the PTR more enticing, including possibly allowing the experience you earn on the PTR to migrate to the main game, or providing PTR testers with loot box rewards. He mentioned that either of these solutions would take some development time to implement, which would unfortunately take time away from developing new content.
Kaplan closed the video by discussing some of the balance changes that are currently being tested on the PTR. While he didn't say as much, it's pretty clear that the changes being tested are intended to break up the triple-tank metagame that's been dominating top level play for the past couple of months.
Sombra got a minor buff, and her hack ability's casting time was reduced from a full second to 0.8 seconds. This makes it a little easier to hack someone you've gotten the drop on, since they don't have as much time to react and shoot at you to disrupt the hack. Kaplan said that they don't want to change Sombra too drastically right now because the development team believes she's a powerful character, but that "a lot of players haven't mastered how to play her correctly yet." He said that her role is more of a disruptor than an assassin, sort of a hybrid between support and attack.
Roadhog is the hero who's receiving the biggest change in the next patch. His hook has been a source of contention since the game came out, but the changes on the PTR do seem to make it more fair. If you hook someone and then one of you goes around a corner, they won't be pulled, and line-of-sight checks are now done from Roadhog's position rather than the hook's. Targets that are hooked will now be pulled directly in front of Roadhog instead of straight to him, meaning there shouldn't be any strange situations where you successfully hook someone and they end up somewhere they don't belong. Kaplan said that his team must represent both sides, hooker and hookee, and that their goal is to make the hook more consistent. Having played a little bit with the changes, I'm happy to report that the hook feels much more fair from both sides now.
D. Va is getting a nerf after her huge buff in the last patch. Her mech suit currently has 200 health and 400 armor, but in the next patch it'll be changed to 400 health and 200 armor. Additionally, her mech's guns are having their bullet damage reduced, but will fire more bullets per shot. Kaplan says that D. Va feels like she's "doing too much right now." He explained that the team likes her mobility and her ability to get in, disrupt an enemy team, and then get out, but that her survivability is a little too high right now. Reducing the armor should help with that. Playing Reaper against a D. Va right now feels like your shotguns are blowing her kisses, so this is probably for the best. Kaplan said the team will keep a close eye on D. Va, and "if we get her wrong we will fix her."
Ana was the last hero Kaplan discussed, but she's probably the character who's getting nerfed the most. Her Biotic Grenade's healing boost on allies has been reduced by 50%. Previously, it had boosted any healing done on an affected target by 100%, which could lead to some crazy situations like a boosted Roadhog healing himself in the middle of Reaper's ultimate. Kaplan said that the team wants to scale back her overall healing on coordinated groups, but that they don't want to see Ana disappear. She still has a lot of utility, but will require more finesse to provide value after the change.
[Just a friendly reminder of this month's bloggers wanted prompt! I think I've found a few promotions this past week while I was goofing off at wor- I mean during expressed hours of downtime. ~Strider]
We in the Destructoid offices (which totally exist) mulled over a lot of New Year's resolutions these past few weeks. Finish our backlogs, catch up on what we missed, or even not get so invested in certain games. But for whatever reason, at some point someone thought, "Well, fuck this new year and fuck a New Year's resolution, I'm going to be bad this year."
This week the NFL rolls out its conference championship games, but if you're not a sports fan there's still plenty to look forward to. On Sunday night, CBS kicks off its The Running Man-ish (book, not movie) reality TV show Hunted, while Netflix is ready to release the second season of Voltron: Legendary Defender. Teachers is also returning on TV Land, Baskets is back on FX and The Flame in the Flood has launched on PS4. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
When it was released last year, The Flame in the Flood garnered a lot of attention for its big name developers and unique take on the wilderness survival genre. Today, PlayStation 4 players who have been missing out the experience will finally get to take a trip up the game's fictionalized Mississippi river and through a dystopic version of the American South.
When Resident Evil 7 releases next week, it'll tell the story of Ethan Winters and the terrors in Louisiana. But Ethan's story isn't the only one that'll get told. Capcom has more up its sleeve.
As reported by Famitsu (and as translated by Gematsu), Capcom is planning a free DLC chapter called "Not a Hero." Little is known about it, but it's said to not be a part of Ethan's arc (although it's most likely tangential). It'll release sometime this spring.
Not a Hero is only one of the add-ons to Resident Evil 7. The game's season pass lists three more: Banned Footage Volume 1, Banned Footage Volume 2, and an unnamed chapter. The horrors just keep comin'. You can run but you can't hide.
I can't stop thinking about New Donk City. The Super Mario Odyssey locale and its troublingly human citizens just won't leave my mind. Are they people-people? If so, what is Mario? And how, exactly, does the Kong family fit in? These are questions perhaps best left permanently unanswered.
This well-edited video by CrowbCat, in which "Mario discovers the real world but it isn't as fun as he thought it'd be," doesn't provide solace. But it is funny as hell, and I'm surprised it's still up on YouTube.
Watch Dogs 2 is still on my backburner, but I keep seeing tweets about the clothing options that kiiinda make me want to get into this game just to play dress up and screw around in San Francisco.
Rather surprisingly, Ubisoft has issued a three-hour demo for Watch Dogs 2. It's out now on PlayStation 4 (download here) and coming to Xbox One on Tuesday, January 24. There's no word of a PC release.
The trial is the "full experience," including multiplayer, so you can play with friends who own the full game or just the demo version. Any progress you make will carry over, should you decide to upgrade.
One month after the release of critically-acclaimed Inside, Playdead co-founder Dino Patti left Playdead. The departure was framed as career move, that Patti was off to seek new challenges after leaving his mark with Limbo and Inside. New details have surfaced that indicate everything was far more complicated than that.
Danish newspaper Borsen published a story (that was translated by a NeoGAF user) about the power struggle between Playdead co-founders Arnt Jensen and Patti. Apparently, the two had been at odds since 2015 when they quarreled over who owned the company's games. Eventually, Jensen and Patti refused to speak directly to one another and would only communicate through their respective legal teams.
In November 2015, Jensen released a statement that effectively stated he wanted to find other avenues to creatively express himself. Patti took this as an explicit resignation from Playdead, so he removed Jensen from the company's business registration with the country of Denmark. Jensen's attorneys clarified that he had resigned from his position as creative director, not as a co-founder who still owned part of Playdead.
Eventually, things got so heated that the Danish Business Authority intervened. Patti was forced out and paid 50 million Danish krones (approximately $7.2 million) for his 49 percent stake in Playdead. Jensen won't offer comment; Patti says he's hurt as if he broke up with a significant other.
It's also said that Patti doesn't feel he was compensated enough for what the studio is actually worth and that he'd willingly give it back for his original stake. A look at his Twitter feed corroborates this sentiment. Despite not being financially vested anymore, Patti routinely shares praise for Inside. It's apparent that he's proud of what the studio created, even if he isn't a part of it moving forward.
While Blizzard was initially well-tempered in its ability to release multiple roles, they've been in a routine as of late with Heroes of the Storm. The last four characters have not only been from the Warcraft universe, but they've also been assassins to boot. While I'm generally okay with this, as Varian was partially a warrior and Ragnaros is one of the most fun heroes to date, they've going a bit overboard with Valeera -- the fifth Warcraft assassin in a row.
She's well-crafted in general MOBA terms, but the stealth/melee combo archetype is already covered well enough by Zeratul.
It's been relatively quiet on the PlayStation VR front, but here's some good news for the not-too-distant future: the cyberpunk hacking puzzle game Darknet is getting a port in "early 2017," priced at $15.
In his review of the Oculus Rift version, Chris described Darknet as "something that could technically work in a traditional, non-VR environment," but said its immersive nature felt "justified."
The PSVR port, a collaboration between E McNeill and Archiact, sounds largely the same. There will be enhanced art for the "in-network nodes, the user interface, and the main menu," as well as Trophies.
A major obstacle currently facing VR is the fact that the headsets themselves (generally) have to remain tethered to a bulky desktop tower. With the new Zbox Magnus EN1070K from Zotac, however, that tower is now barely bigger than a Mac Mini.
The EN1070K is part of Zotac's gaming line of ultra-compact PCs, but don't let its miniscule footprint fool you. It offers the current Intel Kaby Lake Core i5 processor, an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070 GPU and can accommodate up to 32GB of RAM. That's more than enough processing power to run a VR setup such as the Oculus Rift.
There's no word yet on when the EN1070K will be released, or for how much. Given that the last generation E-series cost around $1,500, you can pretty safely bet the new one will retail for roughly the same, depending on the specific components you elect for. So even though it may be small enough to fit into a VR backpack, the EN1070K's price tag may be too big to fit into your budget.
Little Nightmares looks like a spooky good time. That's what I used to think, anyway.
What changed? Now I've seen this trailer detailing some of the ways in which your little character Six can perish during the platforming adventure, and I've gotten a too-good look at the long-armed monster man (starting at 0:13 in the video). I want nothing to do with him. Nothing at all!
Publisher Bandai Namco has confirmed an April 28, 2017 release for the game on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, including a physical collector's edition shown below. I'm gonna play Little Nightmares, don't get me wrong, but good lord am I dreading some of these sequences.
If you like your super heroes violent, grim, and brooding, DC has got you fam. The latest story trailer for Injustice 2 has more scowling and rage-screaming than you could shake a stick at. More interestingly however, it also has some clues as to the plot of the sequel and some interesting character reveals.
While Nioh isn't exactly a PVP game, it will be getting the capability at some point in the future. Although it'll ship as a PVE experience, director Yosuke Hayashi told Gamereactor that they already have a PVP mode in the works, and will add it as a free download, separate from the season pass.
I'm really interested in seeing how the netcode is for this, or how this even plays out, given the relatively poor multiplayer in Ninja Gaiden 3, but I don't really even need this gametype. Really, I'm just invested in conquering the campaign and figuring out the stance mechanic -- even after all that beta time I still feel rusty.
Without a doubt, the big surprise of last week's Nintendo Switch reveal event for me was Fire Emblem Warriors. I'm so into the game conceptually that even its bare-bones teaser trailer was enough to get my mind racing just thinking about the possibilities and potential roster. I gotta know more!
As previously covered, we'll get details soon. There's a Nintendo Direct scheduled for Wednesday, January 18 at 2:00pm Pacific that's "focused on upcoming Fire Emblem titles." It was already known that Warriors would be featured, but today, Nintendo of Japan added that the Fire Emblem mobile game (scheduled for release by the end of March 2017) will also be covered during the presentation.
Coming off the excellent Hyrule Warriors, I'm eager to see how Fire Emblem translates and what kind of approach Nintendo will take for the series' mobile adaptation. In theory, both should be great.
After the big Nintendo Switch conference, it was revealed that Zelda: Breath of the Wild would be launching on Wii U the same day as the Switch version. But what they didn't tell you is that it would have a mandatory install on Wii U -- even if you own the disc version.
According to the official site, roughly 3GB of space will be required to play the game, which Nintendo recommends that you don't install on a flash drive (a standard HDD with a power cable is okay). This isn't the first time that Nintendo has allowed installs for disc-based games, but it is the first time it's not optional.
Xenoblade Chronicles X had a similar situation with its "loading packs," but those weren't required to play. If you have a gigantic HDD for your Wii U you're fine, but if you're still somehow rocking a base Wii U, plan ahead!
Third party AAA rakes in a lot of cash for the likes of Valve, Sony, and Microsoft, but once again it appears as if Nintendo will be missing out on a few big publisher's shared wealth.
In addition to EA having a "wait and see" approach, and Ubisoft's "one foot in one foot out" tri-port strategy, Gearbox just straight up not going to have one of their biggest games on the Switch at this time. Speaking on Twitter, CEO Randy Pitchford noted, when asked about a Switch port, "I do not see that as happening. We were talking to Nintendo, but that stopped for some reason. They have other priorities."
We don't know what that means exactly, or if that will change at some point given that we don't even have a release date for Borderlands 3, but that's not great to hear. Say what you will about Gearbox and Pitchford, but Borderlands 3 is likely going to sell, and it would be great to have parity between all three systems.
We know Pokemon Go made a lot of money if it was leaping up on the mobile charts, but just how much? Research firm App Annie estimates that it cleared roughly $950 million in revenue in 2016.
That's with the game launching in July, mind, and it's only behind Monster Strike and Clash Royale. Odds are you've heard of the latter or seen commercials for it, but the former? I mean, I've played it, but that's a surprise.
Interestingly enough Go was in a unique spot where it didn't attract core gamers away from spending money on the rest of the mobile market -- but rather, it roped in the casual audience, and allowed for "non traditional" playtime during odd hours, while folks continued to play other games during the usual time periods.
The phenomenon is basically over when it comes to Go, but it'll probably have a long tail and in the short term, already made a ton of dough for everyone involved.
Was there ever any doubt that Lu Bu would make it into Musou Stars, the all-star collective of Warriors project that Koei Tecmo is set to unleash on Japan on March 2? Probably not.
But now he's set to join the fray along with Oda Nobunyaga (yes, it's a cat), Li Naotora, and Laegrinna. Yep, that last one is from the Deception series, bringing its representation up to two after Millennia. Who, by the way, you can catch in the newly minted character trailer below.
I can't believe how well her traps, which also appear out of nowhere in her series, translate to the Warriors formula. Also holy crap I want to play as an anime cat.
Back in 2012 (or 2010 if you're in Japan), Malicious kind of came and went. I knew a few people who were really into it given the relative drought of action games these days (at least, relative to the PS2 and beginning of the PS3 eras), but for the most part, people just respond with a blank stare when I talk about it.
Well, it's getting another shot, and will be reintroduced to the world as Malicious Fallen for PS4. It's a remastered version with new abilities, levels, and bosses, and still deals with using the Mantle of Cinders to defeat the big bad, called "Malicious." It's not years away, either, because while we don't have an exact date yet, Sony just put up an English trailer for it that you can watch below.
After an initial release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita, Benjamin Rivers' interpersonal sci-fi adventure Alone With You is set to appear on Steam beginning February 9, 2017. It's once again priced at $10, and during launch week, there will be an extra 15 percent discount offered.
The game has you, the sole survivor of a space colony, conversing with an AI and holo-sim recreations of deceased colonists. Besides that relationship aspect, there's also some exploration and puzzle-solving, including one of my gaming's most satisfying mechanics: the ability to scan things.
In his review, Peter described Alone with You as a game that "sticks with you well after the credits."
LiquidSky CEO Ian McLoughlin knows video game streaming isn't a new concept. For years, various companies have promised players they'd be able to load up any game on any device via cloud streaming. Play the latest Fallout on an Android tablet or boot up the new Witcher at max settings on a four-year-old MacBook Air. It sounds too good to be true, and since the early 2010s, it has been.
I'll be the first to admit that when a Western release of Fate/Extella: The Umbral Star was first announced, I couldn't help but be a little excited. Type-Moon's Fate universe is something that I hold a high level of adoration for, and I do enjoy picking up a Musou-like game and tearing my way through endless hordes of faceless enemy soldiers every now and again.
With that said, one of the most recent games I've played in this genre was the 3DS port of Hyrule Warriors, which managed to draw me in for many, many hours. In fact, both my Wii U and 3DS copies of Hyrule Warriors still get a lot of use to this day, and I often find myself once again succumbing to its addictive and cathartic gameplay.
Would Fate/Extella manage to draw me in just as much as Tecmo Koei and Nintendo's collaboration did? Sadly, the answer to this question is both "yes" and "no."
Why are there so many sketchy ads for fake goods on Instagram? Why have e-waste levels jumped? And why is LG boasting that its next phone won't burst into flames? That's a lot of questions for a Tuesday morning.
![Randy Pitchford: 'We were talking to Nintendo [about Borderlands 3 on Switch], but that stopped' screenshot](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tkezBTTJXGenxvfR5eCyTpjZDeWxiT5l0ybYnNTI5F5dx-T9YHR_MPL8sJ7V3-MyjQsStoatT_4g=s0-d)
