[My dearest community, it has been several fortnights since I last promoted to you. I long for the days when I may see you again, but the war rages on and I'm afraid Breath of the Wild and NieR: Automata just won't play themselves. Thankfully, soldiers like Flegma continue on with their thoughts on their first experiences, such as with Dear Esther. Sincerely, Sergeant Strider]
Dear Esther,
It has been three months since we last met, and I already miss you.
Do you remember? We first met in May. It was some Steam sale -- one like any other. Once again, I had bought far more games than I had interest to play: Dustforceand bunch of Wolfenstein games. I haven't touched them since that May five years ago.
Sometimes I like to get long-winded with these posts, but not today! Nope, I'm going to save my breath for Podtoid when I get to talk to my BFFs Steven and Darren. Us three chuckleheads should have a lot to discuss like Mass Effect and how the pizza Darren eats in Mississippi is very cheap but also not very good.
We can't do it alone, though. We need some content from you. What burning questions are on your mind? What's the longest sitting we've ever burned through a game? Why does it burn when you pee? What's the best way to burn your neighbor's house down? All questions we'll answer if you want!
Leave some questions or interesting stories in the comments here. I know you got 'em. If you don't want to tip your hand too early, just shoot us an email. Podtoid [at] destructoid [dot] com is how you can get all our eyes on your Darren-as-Sonic-but-wearing-a-polo-shirt fanfic.
I completely forgot about the new Fortune Street game, announced back in September of last year. It's a 30th anniversary celebration of Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest for both PS4 and Vita, and a ton of characters are coming along for the ride.
Just this week Minifillia (FFXIV), Balther (XII), Squall (VIII), and Lightning (XIII) were confirmed, as well as Erinn, Carver, Jessica Albert, and Angelo from the Dragon Quest side. There's no set release date yet but the team seems far enough along.
The Fortune Street story is a fascinating one. It was actually created by a Dragon Quest designer for the third Dragon Quest game, so the series has always been steeped in Square Enix history. In a Geometry Wars-like twist of fate it ended up becoming its own series, and has been showcased on multiple platforms -- perhaps most notably the Wii, which was the only iteration that was released outside of Japan.
Murder is messy. Think about it; dropping even a single body means a pool of blood, evidence, and potential witnesses. To get away with murder, you have to either think quick or know someone willing to get their hands dirty.
We're approaching the three-episode mark for Telltale's The Walking Dead: A New Frontier and that has me feeling particularly anxious for this series to wrap up so I can get on with the binge session already.
The third episode, Above the Law, suggests that with tensions ever rising, "It may be time to choose between the family you're born into and the family you've made..." Decisions, decisions.
If you're playing these as they come out, Tuesday's the day on PC, PS4, Xbox One, iOS, and Android.
April is a solid month for Xbox's Games with Gold program, but not in the way it usually is. Typically, of the four free titles, there are one or two standouts that makes the whole month a success. That's not quite what's happening here.
Instead, April has four games that draw some degree of enthusiasm, just not an overwhelming amount. That's fine though! These services don't always need to all bangerz. Sometimes they do just as well to offer titles that you're interested in but not quite interested enough to actually buy. Then subscribers get a chance to finally check those out.
A perfect example of that is Xbox One's first free game of the month, Ryse: Son of Rome. Available the entire month of April, Ryse is something that was slagged upon release but has found its share of defenders since then. A lot of people were likely turned off by the initial negative reception but were always a bit curious to see the cinematic centurion game. Now's a good opportunity.
It's a similar situation with Telltale's The Walking Dead: Season 2, which is free from April 16 through May 15. Some folks have an aversion to Telltale titles because the style isn't quite for them. Still, most of those games are beloved and critically acclaimed. This is a low-stakes way to reevaluate.
The Xbox 360 freebies are Darksiders and Assassin's Creed: Revelations (all playable on Xbox One through backward compatibility). Again, titles that anyone could've easily missed but they wouldn't be opposed to giving a shot. That's April's Games with Gold in a nutshell: A bunch of things you might want to give a shot. Always shoot your shot.
A week from now, you should think about popping Titanfall 2 back in -- even if only for a few rounds.
Respawn Entertainment is bringing out Colony Reborn, based on the dense town center map from the original game, as well as the R-101 with an ACOG scope and a nasty "curb check" execution. That's all coming for free next Friday, along with some paid Titan cosmetics for Northstar and Legion.
Whenever I see trailers like this for multiplayer games, I count my sweet blessings that I don't have to play against these folks. They'd tear me to shreds! Thankfully, there's another Titanfall 2 free weekend trial event on the way (March 30 to April 3) with access to the full multiplayer experience, Training Gauntlet, and campaign mission The Beacon. That'll give us an influx of fresh meat.
"The best way to get a snake to look like a snake is to find someone who's owned a snake."
The thing that first drew me to Snake Pass was the curious fact that its creator, Seb Liese, used to be a biology teacher. Now Sumo Digital is talking shop about how one might convincingly achieve snake movements in a video game (divide that sucker into spheres), and I'm drawn right back in.
All the way back in February 2015, developer Playtonic invited YouTube personality Jon Jafari, aka "JonTron," to be in their game Yooka-Laylee -- which is about to launch next month. It was as simple as Jon giving the studio a "callout" on Twitter, a gesture that can make or break small indie projects (just see Elijah Wood's tweet about Ridiculous Fishing). But based on the controversy that he's been embroiled in the past month, Playtonic has had a change of heart and has removed him from the game.
Playtonic gave a pretty clear reason for the cut, as reported by GamesIndustry.biz: "JonTron is a talented video presenter who we were initially, two years ago, happy to include as a voice contributor in our game. However, in light of his recent personal viewpoints we have made the decision to remove JonTron's inclusion in the game via a forthcoming content update. We would like to make absolutely clear that we do not endorse or support JonTron's personal viewpoints and that, as an external fan contributor, he does not represent Playtonic in any capacity. Playtonic is a studio that celebrates diversity in all forms and strives to make games that everyone can enjoy. As such, we deeply regret any implied association that could make players feel anything but 100% comfortable in our game worlds, or distract from the incredible goodwill and love shown by our fans and Kickstarter backers."
Unless Jon discloses who he recorded audio for, we may never know the identity of the character. It's tough to even tell individual characters apart due to the gibberish speak, regardless.
A veteranMass Effect player and a complete novice walk into a bar.
This isn't the beginning of a terrible joke: Instead, it's the premise of a conversation between Engadget associate editor Timothy J. Seppala and senior reporter Jessica Conditt, both of whom have been playing the latest Mass Effect game, Andromeda, over the past few weeks. Tim has devoured and adored the Mass Effect series for almost a decade while Jessica has never touched the games before.
How does Andromeda compare to previous Mass Effect games? Does it stand on its own as a worthy addition to the sci-fi genre? Are the animations always this messed up? In the following conversation, Tim and Jessica discuss Andromeda's highs and lows from two vastly different perspectives -- and somehow, they end up with similar conclusions.
Spoilers for the entire Mass Effect series reside below; you've been warned.
Previously available as a companion during certain parts of Gravtity Rush 2, you can now play as Raven in a free bit of DLC that was just released. It's a brand new story called "The Ark of Time: Raven's Choice."
The best part about the add-on? You can play it right away as it doesn't spoil the plot of the second game. Instead, it deals with the aftermath of the first entry, almost like an epilogue of sorts. The Ark of Time is roughly two hours long, and contains some combat bits and some exposition for Raven. It flows well and is easily worth playing if you've finished the core game.
Plus, having this missing link alongside of the anime, and both entries on PS4 is amazing -- I hope we get to see a Gravity Rush 3.
Since basically every other Resident Evil is coming to PS4 and Xbox One (where are the Outbreak games?!), Code Veronica may as well join them. It was recently rated for the German USK on PS4, but since all of them have hit Xbox One as well it's only a matter of time if this rating is accurate -- and it'll probably be the Code Veronica X HD version from 2011.
For the uninitiated, Code Veronica is ham incarnate. The past games dabbled in camp, but this one reveled in it, for better or for worse. I occasionally go back and replay it, and the pure silliness always gets me -- it's never going to be at the top of the list for just about anyone, but it's a fun romp if you can get it on the cheap.
It's a really weird Nintendo Download this week, as there's a ton of different platforms to juggle. For one there's Android, as Super Mario Run finally lost its iOS exclusivity. In other portable news, Japanese Rail Sim 3D and Super Destronaut 3D arrive on the 3DS today.
In Switch news Has-Been Heroes is hitting the eShop on March 28, and the Splatoon 2 Global Testfire (read: beta demo) is live on March 24 throughout the weekend. ACA NeoGeo Turf Masters, New Frontier Days: Founding Pioneers, and Othello also will make it onto Switch, having debuted in Japan at launch. Even the Wii U is getting in on the fun with Mahjong Deluxe 3, Aqua TV, and Armored Acorns: Action Squirrel Squad.
Kid Icarus: Uprising deserved a sequel on the New 3DS. It was one of the best games I've played in the past 10 years or so, despite the occasional cramping due to the controls -- but I even managed to get used to it with huge hands on an original 3DS.
Either way like a lot of iconic Nintendo franchises the series is in limbo, and paraded out occasionally for promotions like this one. My Nintendo has a heap of new Kid Icarus discounts available, mostly focusing on the NES, Game Boy, 3DS Classic, and 3DS games -- which are coincidentally the only Kid Icarus projects in over 30 years!
While a lot of series really need to go big or go home (Metroid), I could deal with a 2D continuation, or another shooter on the Switch some day for Kid Icarus. I hope they don't forget about him!
With how popular Supergirl's become on TV, I'm glad she's getting a major push in Injustice 2. This newest story trailer, part three of "Shattered Alliances," shows a bit of her origin as well as teases how she fits into Injustice's world, and notably, how she gels with its aggressive Kal-El. Black Adam also rejoins the roster for the sequel and his look has majorly improved here.
His super is one of the best ones I've seen so far since it actually feels like an Injustice super with a major camera angle change and a real heavy feel. It seems like the photorealism has improved over the months as the cutscenes here look particularly impressive considering the less than appealing look of Supergirl when Injustice 2 was initially announced.
Destiny had a rocky start, but the first-person space shooter eventually ended up living up to the promise it showed back when it was announced. Time flies, though, and the original game is nearly three years old, and Bungie has promised a full sequel will be coming soon. Now, thanks to an poster image apparently leaked by an Italian retailer (and posted by Italian site Lega Network), we can be pretty sure that Destiny 2 will arrive this September. Friday, September 8th in Europe, to be precise -- which means the US release date could be the prior Tuesday, September 5th.
The King of Fighters XIV DLC characters have been delivering on every count so far. Sometime after Whip and Ryuji Yamazaki come to the game as DLC, fan-favorite boxing mom Vanessa joins the roster.
I've never been a big Vanessa user, but watching this trailer definitely makes her seem really fun to play. I've been set after Yamazaki was confirmed, but I'm sure this will make a lot of fans happy. Many of the comments for the previous two reveals were for "Baenessa," haha.
There's one more DLC character to reveal, so who do you want it to be?
Man, if only I had a disposable amount of income that would allow me to paint over an $80 Joy Con set, I would give experiments like this a go. The folks over at Boss Fight Props took the plunge, and managed to craft an amazing looking GameCube homage for the Switch Joy-Con Grip set, and even nailed the button coloring.
For months now the GameCube Virtual Console has been rumored, but we don't even have a concrete date set for the VC in general on the Switch. In case you forgot it didn't launch with the system, and we're still awaiting basically any information on it. The only thing we do know is that by subscribing to Nintendo's online service (which will be free until this fall) you get limited access to one VC game a month. That could change of course, especially after the general distaste for it.
While we wait for the original Destiny to die with drip-fed announcements of rehashed raids (which is actually kind of cool, but hella late), Destiny 2 is just around the corner. Or at least, based on everything we know so far it's slated to release later this year, including a recent leak from an Italian retailer.
According to his poster, Destiny 2 will launch on September 8, and will have a beta associated with it, just like the original did. Pre-ordering may guarantee you a spot in said beta at certain retailers, we aren't sure yet.
I think it's obvious that Activision is saving this for E3. While Destiny has had a bumpy ride since launch it also has a diehard fanbase of millions, so there's a chance it'll be one of the biggest announcements of the year.
Today on In Case You Missed It: The thought of watching a plant grow seems, well boring. But researchers from the Institute of Science and Technology in Austria used lasers, fluorescent lights and a microscope to track the growth of a flowering weed's roots. The end result is a close-up 3D video that looks more like a glowing burrowing worm than a plant. The researchers also twisted the plate the plants are growing on to see how the roots adjust to changes in gravity which could be helpful when we need to grow food in space.
With less than a month to go, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap developer Lizardcube has let out a nice surprise about its lovely Wonder Boy III remake: there's an option to play as Wonder Girl! And that even extends to the 8-bit visuals, should you decide to switch back to the Sega Master System look.
"Over the past few months we've showcased the various half-animal, playable characters, along with the popular Retro feature," art director Ben Fiquet shared on the PlayStation Blog. "But we haven't yet revealed the new human hero design, and speculation has been rampant. There's a simple explanation for keeping the character's identity a secret: we wanted it to be a surprise."
Also cool? This character development sheet:
This is yet another endearing tidbit that tells me these creators genuinely care about this remake.
Joining the absurd list of games coming out soon is Shiness: The Lightning Kingdom, a pleasant-looking action-RPG with a combat system not unlike what you might find in an arena fighting game.
Previously penciled in for a 2016 release, Shiness is now gold at last and gearing up for a PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One launch on April 18, 2017. It's a tough time to stand out, no doubt about that.
In a message to backers, developer Enigami explained the prolonged development schedule: "As you may remember, when the Kickstarter campaign ended, the console Stretch goal was almost reached but not quite. We decided to validate it anyway. We are glad we did it because Shiness will be available to a wider audience. However, this decision cost us a great deal of energy, since Shiness is the first game we have developed. It is also the main reason why the game was delayed and we apologize for this."
Welcome to your Thursday morning. Now relax: we tap technology for ways to relax and decompress, get excited by Netflix's next big budget project, and learn how Google is trying to make location sharing happen. Again.
