News:: PUBG breaks 2 million concurrent players on Steam

As time marches on, so does the player count for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds. According to Steam, the battle-royale style shooter has reached a new peak of over 2 million concurrent players - 2,016,498, to be exact. 

This information comes after months of steady growth. Just last month PUBG surpassed Dota 2's peak concurrent player count by reaching 1,349,584 million concurrent players, a feat that no one thought could be done. However, with PUBG continuing to grow at a rapid pace, gaining over 600,000 concurrents in just a month, the question has to be raised: How long can this massive growth continue?

Along with its consistent growth in concurrent player count comes sales figures, and boy has PUBG done a double-backflip in that regard. According to SteamSpy, the game has sold over 15 million copies. To put that in perspective, we reported last month that PUBG broke 10 million in sales, which means, you guessed it, this monster of a game sold 5 million copies in a single month. 

What's more, it's unlikely that the shooter will cease growing, at least for now. PUBG will carve its way onto Xbox One sometime this year, and Bluehole is in talks with Sony about a potential version of the game for the PS4 too. 

What do you guys think? Are you still playing PUBG? Are you eagerly awaiting a version on your preferred gaming console? I'm still playing it with buddies from time to time, even if my video settings are so low that I continue to mistake heaps of cardboard boxes for a Dacia. 

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News:: What's your most-played SNES Classic game so far?

There are 21 games included on the SNES Classic -- which one are you most into right now?

My playing habits have been all over the place since the mini console launched. I beat Mega Man X's iconic intro after booting up the system. (Ahh, it's so good!) I meticulously cleared the expectation-setting opening level in Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts with much-needed assistance from the rewind feature. I finished all of Donkey Kong Country because, dang, that game is way shorter than I remember.

But the SNES Classic title I've spent the most time with, by far, and enjoyed more than anything else? Why that's gotta be EarthBound. This is actually a huge deal for me.

I never played the cherished RPG as a kid or even knew anyone with a copy, and my attempts to get into it since then -- as recently as the Wii U Virtual Console release -- have fizzled out. Now, in 2017, I've just defeated Master Belch for the first time. The adventure is in its early days, but I know I'm going to see it through to the end; I'm too engrossed to lose interest. I genuinely want to chat with the NPCs!

While I still regret not growing up with EarthBound, I'm happy beyond words to finally have the game click for me, thanks in no small part to the Classic's save states and rewind ability. It just feels right playing this on official hardware with a proper SNES controller while sitting way too close to my TV. If any of you are thinking of making your way across Eagleland, don't forget the incredible player's guide.

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News:: ‘Fortnite: Battle Royale’ claims 10 million players

We were initially skeptical of Epic's attempt to repurpose its zombie tower defense-shooter Fortnite into a battle royale mode -- after all, the genre's champion PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds sold ten million copies only six months after it launched. We shouldn't have doubted it. Fortnite: Battle Royale just surpassed the ten-million-player milestone last weekend just two weeks after it launched.

Via: Glixel

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News:: Loot boxes aren't considered gambling, claims ESRB

The first major appearance of loot boxes in the western marketplace was in September 2010, when Valve transitioned Team Fortress 2 from a pay-once model to a free-to-play model. Players could earn "crates" that could be opened with purchasable keys, and since then, this model has evolved and become extremely popular in the marketplace -- regardless of the game's price.

The practice ranges from simply offering cosmetic items, such as the case with Overwatch, to potentially giving an edge early into the launch of the game's multiplayer, which many are now criticizing the upcoming Star Wars Battlefront II for allowing. Games like Battlefront II and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor have resulted in players voicing their concerns on how far the line is being blurred between microtransactions and what many are now considering straight-up gambling.

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News:: Physical copies for Harvest Moon: Light of Hope heading to PS4 and Switch

Natsume in a Q&A yesterday on their Facebook page confirmed that the PlayStation 4 and Switch versions of Harvest Moon: Light of Hope will be receiving both physical and digital copies of the game, while the PC version will be strictly digital through Steam.

They also revealed a number of new details regarding the upcoming game, including new festivals, livestock, and an update regarding the development and release window:

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News:: Mass Effect: Andromeda will be free on EA Access before the end of the year

More than half a year removed from Mass Effect: Andromeda's launch, BioWare's underwhelming RPG is set to make a reappearance during the holiday months. It seems like the exact type of game that will be a staple of Black Friday video game deals. It's also going to be a major player for EA's subscription service.

Today, EA shared its rough roadmap for EA Access through the end of the year. Among Need for Speed: Payback and Star Wars Battlefront II early trials, it's noted that Mass Effect: Andromeda will make its way to EA Access sometime between now and the end of the year. It'll be available on both PC and Xbox One; PS4 doesn't have any sort of EA Access.

Given the tepid reception to Andromeda, this seems like the natural conclusion for it. Long gone are the days where it's raking in full-price sales. Now it's destined for deep discounts and to drive EA Access subscriptions. There are surely people willing to take a $10 flyer to spend a month seeing what all the fuss was about.

Coming Soon to EA Access and EA Origin [EA]

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News:: Square Enix is remastering Star Ocean: The Last Hope for PC and PS4

2009's Star Ocean: The Last Hope is resurfacing this year in Japan with a remaster for PC and PlayStation 4. Launching November 28 for 2,800 yen, the digital-only game will support "full HD" on PS4 and 4K on PS4 Pro along with image settings for shadows, blur, and the like.

As for the PC version, Square Enix will include mouse and keyboard support and let players hide the user interface for more immersive screenshots, something I always like to see officially supported.

I think many of us would agree there are countless other Japanese role-playing games from the last console generation better suited for this sort of remastering, but hey, they went with Star Ocean 4, and I'm not about to complain. Let's hope Square Enix continues to dip into its backcatalog for PC.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope - 4K  & Full HD Remaster [Square Enix via Gematsu]

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News:: You can now play Beyond Oasis while sitting in Agua Caliente

There once was a time when rival game companies were willing to bring the fight straight to Nintendo's biggest franchises. Beyond Oasis was one of Sega's attempts to best The Legend of Zelda series and while it was moderately successful in its day, the series has since faded into obscurity after a rather plain Sega Saturn prequel. Regardless of all that history and rumination on what could have been, the Genesis classic will now get a second lease on life thanks to SEGA Forever.

Available on iOS and Android, this new port of Beyond Oasis will include such modern amenities like cloud saving, Bluetooth controller support and leaderboards. It is also completely free with some limited ad support, though you can pay $1.99 to remove them. Not a bad deal, if you ask me.

I think my strong bias for Nintendo's legendary series has tainted my perception of any copycats. Beyond Oasis definitely has a strong art direction, but I could never quite get into its story or mechanics. I should give it a fair shot someday, since I would like to see other developers at least attempt to make a Zelda-like adventure.

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News:: Bungie has a fix for Destiny 2 social space crashes

Crashing in a loot-driven game stings, especially if it occurs as you're en route to collect rewards. You've put in the work and you need that sweet dopamine release, stat! Now's not the time for bugs.

Some Destiny 2 players have had issues with a crash while loading into (*spoilers for those of you who are waiting for the PC version or haven't yet cleared the campaign spoilers*) the game's second social space, the Tower. Bungie issued a hotfix today to stop those crashes, thank goodness.

I don't think I've ever run into a full-on crash there, but sometimes I'll load into the Tower and see nothing but a black screen and have no choice but to return to orbit and fly back in or just call it a night.

Destiny 2 Hotfix - 10/11/2017 [Bungie via reddit]

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News:: Podtoid ain't afraid of no ghosts (but we do like spooky questions)

Like a macabre coven of unwashed bloggers, Steven, Darren, Brett, and I are assembling this evening to take part in an ancient rite. Its true name is wasted on the tongue of man, but many know the act as "podcasting." When the clock rings at the appointed hour, our group will don dark robes and peer into the endless void, searching for answers to questions some might say are better left unasked.

And that's where you come in. You, the seeker of the unknown; the bystander who yearns for the truth. Ask us about the arcane workings you see in your dreams. Dare to send us questions about the whisperings you hear on windy nights. Leave us a comment with your spooky queries, and we will return from our ritual with the answers you so desperately want.

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News:: Wargroove's map editor sounds fantastic

It's been too long since we've last touched on Wargroove, a turn-based tactical game from Chucklefish that should really speak to fans of Fire Emblem and Advance Wars. I know I'm not the only one around here who's super into this idea and hopes they're able to capture some of that same essence.

Today the studio has shared another look at Wargroove's scenario and map editor, which will enable fans to make their own story missions complete "with sub-quests, plot twists, ambushes, and hidden secrets." Heck, you'll even be able to create whole modes and "let players make decisions that affect the outcome of this AND of future missions (if you're making a campaign)."

Chucklefish's blog post walks through an example with gifs to help explain the process. The developer also notes that "this is the tool that we ourselves are using to make the campaigns of Wargroove, so expect to be able to do anything you'd expect to see in the campaign of a game of this genre!"

While I still heavily associate the game with Nintendo Switch, it's worth stressing that Wargroove will also be available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One when it launches next year.

Make Your Own Adventure! [Wargroove]

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News:: Praise the lord! Civilization VI gets a religion update

While Civilization VI is an excellent game, its not without some flaws. The most noticeable shortcoming as with the religious victory path. Not only was the combat pretty brain dead, but it was far too easy to amass a small convent of priests and have them convert other cities to your creed. The tile based nature of the game map also meant that religious units often occupied spaces that your army would travel on, thus making military action harder to accomplish.

While not everything is changing about how religion works, the system seems to be getting tweaked for the better. In the upcoming Fall update, religious victories will be getting expanded with new beliefs and units. The coolest sounding of these is the Warrior Monk, which makes me want to create Shaolin and take over the world with Ip Man. There will also be a Guru support unit that can heal your priests, which was definitely lacking before.

Firaxis is also improving the AI to be more aggressive on the oceans, a factor that was lacking on lower difficulties. Before, if you sieged an ocean based city, the AI often had no comeback for your units. It looks like naval ships will now play a stronger role in their strategies, which should make for more intense battles.

Wrapping it all up are some UI tweaks, specifically the Diplomacy screen. The amount of info on screen in vanilla Civ VI could be a bit staggering, so I'm all for streamlining some of the information. Hopefully this all improves the game, as I've had a blast playing it over the last year. I could always go for one more turn, even when I'm hyper busy.

Religion Gets a Reboot in the Civilization VI ‘Fall 2017 Update’ [Steam Community]

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News:: Japan's next Splatoon 2 Splatfest is getting physical, physical

Nintendo has tweeted out some new art to promote Japan's next Splatfest, which will once again see teams battle it out on popular shooter Splatoon 2 in order to settle a somewhat pointless debate.

This time around, Marina and Pearl will do battle over... umm... which is the best element of physical prowess: Agility or Endurance. Pearl clearly thinks it's all about slick movement, whereas Marina believes it's all about how long you can last. Frankly, in the wake of Europe's "Which way do you hang your toilet paper?", some of these debates are getting a little random.

The Splatfest is promoted by some more neat artwork, featuring the gals working up a sweat in the great outdoors. Pearl is representing Agility by... stepping in and out of a ladder, or something, whilst Marina showcases Endurance, and her weird left foot, with some spine-twisting yoga.

Wait, Octopus have no spine... I... I don't even know anymore, folks.

North America will do battle over the far more sensible matter of Vampires vs Werewolves during their own Splatfest, which begins October 13.

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News:: Destiny 2 has a really fun Overwatch homage if you can manage to do well in PVP

Although Destiny 2's Lord Saladin sounds like Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) in the flesh, he's actually played by Keith Ferguson, who also happens to voice Reaper in Overwatch. Now I think you know where this is going, given that Activision Blizzard is keen to stuff Overwatch references in nearly everything.

Yep, if you happen to play Iron Banner in Destiny 2 and score a 20-person kill streak, you'll trigger a "Die! Die! Die!" voiceline from Saladin, a reference to Reaper's Death Blossom ultimate. As a cute cutaway Saladin coughs and proclaims that he's been "watching too many Iron Banner matches," keeping the whole thing in-character.

This is the right kind of balance -- I doubt anyone will find this obnoxious unless you really hate Overwatch.

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News:: Razer will debut its first smartphone on November 1st

Those rumors of a Razer smartphone for gamers just got much, much more tangible. Razer is teasing an event on November 1st with a preview image that shows a man holding a conspicuously phone-sized device. The company isn't wasting much time taking advantage of its Nextbit acquisition, then. While Razer is unsurprisingly shy on details, it describes the event as its "biggest unveiling" -- whatever it shows in November is important enough that the company wants to build as much hype as possible.

Via: 9to5Google

Source: Razer, Twitter

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News:: The Evil Within 2 receives creepy, action-packed launch trailer

This week sees the release of survival horror sequel The Evil Within 2. Developers Bethesda have released a final trailer to get the blood pumping for the gun-blazing, haunted chicanery that awaits players on launch day.

The cheesily-tagged "Red Band Trailer" gives a brief overview of the game's backstory, before hitting us with a montage of gory ghouls, ballistic action and snippets of the friends and foes that protagonist Sebastian will encounter while hunting for his missing daughter, Lily.

It looks like it might be a pretty slick third-person action-adventure, with some scares to boot. Players can find out for themselves if they've got the guts when The Evil Within 2 launches Friday 13th of October on PC, PS4 and Xbox One. Not for me though. Too Spoopy.

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News:: Oculus reveals the Oculus Go, which is wireless and costs $200

It's no secret that virtual reality has had a tough go of it trying to make its way into the modern home. Most headsets on the market are either too expensive or too low quality. Oculus has a new product that hopes to split the difference.

The Oculus Go was announced at the Oculus Connect 4 keynote today. It's an "all-in-one" wireless headset that's priced at $200. Unlike Gear VR, the Go won't require a smartphone; everything's running off the hardware that's in the headset.

All of the specs haven't been revealed yet, but the Go is said to have a 2560x1440 screen, new lenses, and integrated spatial audio that doesn't require headphones (however, there's also a 3.5mm jack for private listening). Oculus also mentions that the Go and the Gear share the same controller input set. To help keep the price down, the Go doesn't have fully-tracked motion controls or inside-out tracking.

Oculus Go will ship sometime early next year. That's when we'll be able to better gauge if this is finally the product that turns more people into adopters. It certainly falls between the two extremes of the Gear and the Rift. That's probably a step in the right direction.

Pioneering the Frontier of VR: Introducing Oculus Go, Plus Santa Cruz Updates [Oculus]

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News:: Review: Middle-earth: Shadow of War

The word Mordor is so intrinsically linked to my experience of the "Middle-earth" action series that I simply can't escape it from my mind. I've typed "Shadow of Mordor" so many times it hurts, despite the fact that the sequel is indeed called Middle-earth: Shadow of War.

After actually getting my hands on it though the confusion seems to be warranted, as Shadow of War really isn't all that different from Mordor.

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News:: Respawn teases realistic VR warfare on Oculus Rift

Respawn Entertainment might be going back to its historic stomping grounds. In virtual reality. A quick tease from the Oculus Connect stage revealed that the team that made Call of Duty is working on what very well may be a VR take on wars of the past. Studio director Peter Hirschmann writes that it isn't Titanfall in VR, nor is it related to Star Wars, the game Respawn is working on for EA. "We really want to depict being a soldier in combat in a more fully fleshed-out and realistic way," CEO Vince Zampella says in the video below. No other details are available (not even a name) but the clip ends with a big "2019." Respawn has had a Rift development kit since at least 2013.

Source: Respawn

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News:: Ys VIII PC release coming December, NIS apologise for poor localisation

It's been a rough few days for fans and staff in the Ys universe. Yesterday saw NIS America President Takuro Yamashita apologise for the disappointing localisation of new release Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana, and today brings us the news that the PC release of said title is still delayed, pushed back to sometime in mid-December.

Yesterday's statement was released in response to criticism that the latest title in the decades-long RPG series featured poor translation, grammatical errors and some generally bad scriptwriting. NIS plan to re-translate the title, and even update some of the game's voiceover work, to better reflect the original intent of the writer's story and characterisations. These changes are expected to be implemented to the PS4 and PS Vita release by the end of November.

New news was also announced concerning the PC version of Ys VIII, which missed its original September release date. The PC port is now expected to launch on Steam sometime in mid-December. This delay will allow for gameplay improvements, bug fixes and the addition of the aforementioned narrative fixes.

Ys VIII: Lacrimosa of Dana is available now on PS4 and PS Vita though, clearly, you may want to hold off playing the RPG epic for another month.

Ys VIII apology [Official Site]

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News:: See how Fire Emblem Warriors stacks up to Hyrule Warriors

Hyrule Warriors might go down as one of my favorite Warriors games. The character variety is just so on point, as are the locales and the map mode -- one of the best postgame events in all of hack and slash-dom.

That's why I'm so anxious to see how Omega Force is following up their Nintendo romp with Fire Emblem Warriors, which is due out in the west very soon. Nintendo Life managed to grab some footage too, and directly compared it to the antics of Hyrule on the Wii U to see how it measures up.

Note that this is jumping an entire generation of hardware, but the improvements are obvious. While Hyrule Warriors has a fantastic art style that I like better aesthetically, Fire Emblem has the edge when it comes to performance. It's a very nice advantage, but I'm going to sorely miss the "one person plays on the Gamepad, the other on the TV" mode from the Wii U.

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News:: Nintendo file a new trademark on the original Game Boy

It has been tweeted by a Japanese trademark bot that Nintendo have filed a new trademark on the original Game Boy, originally released back in 1989, before going on to take the world by storm, ultimately becoming the then-best selling console of all-time.

No real details have been unveiled concerning the new trademark, although some outlets erroneously stated that "Game Boy Classic Mini" had been trademarked, which is in fact untrue. Regardless, it is an interesting time for Nintendo to re-stamp the iconic handheld, given that retro Nintendo gaming is going through an amazing resurgence.

The trademark covers a range of clothing and accessories, including keychains, jewelry, phone cases and the like, so it could merely be Nintendo reaffirming the Game Boy's visual design for accessories such as these. The trademark does also cover "home video game console programs", however, so it will be interesting if this is just Nintendo resigning their properties, or whether some news is forthcoming concerning the handheld that revolutionized the industry.

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News:: Facebook is working on VR 'Venues' for live concerts

Mark Zuckerberg wants virtual reality to be less isolating, and to hep that, Facebook is working on "Venues." Think of them like VR social spaces where you can meet up with friends to watch concerts like the ones Live Nation is pumping out. Venues make a lot of sense when you consider Facebook's push for live video, sports and putting things like VR streams and 360-degree photos and video into the News Feed. Zuckerberg said that Venues will also play host to movie and TV premieres as well.

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News:: Review: Axiom Verge (Switch)

The original Metroid casts a long shadow, and it's clearly had an enormous influence on current-day game creators. The concept of an interconnected world where progress is gated by your abilities never really gets old, and it's resonated in the minds of those who grew up in the 8- and 16-bit eras. There's no question indie breakout Axiom Verge is a love letter to Metroid, but it also borrows from other classics like Contra and Bionic Commando to create something more than the sum of its parts. 

Last month was great for fans of Metroid-style gameplay, as we got the fantastic SteamWorld Dig 2 as well as the long-anticipated, well-executed reimagining of Metroid II. Axiom Verge has been ported to almost every system available since its launch in 2015, and it still holds up great on Nintendo's latest hardware.

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News:: ’The Swift Life’ is a social network app for Taylor Swift fans

Glu Mobile is the company behind freemium apps such as "Kim Kardashian: Hollywood," and now it has partnered with a new celebrity: Taylor Swift. The company is creating an app called "The Swift Life" that's designed to be a gathering place for the singer's fans. It could even provide an opportunity to interact with Swift herself.

The app will be beta released in limited countries soon. Platforms aren't specified, but Glu cites Google Play, the App Store and the Amazon AppStore in its release, so it's likely to be broadly available across mobile devices. You can see a first look at the app in the video below.

Source: Business Wire

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News:: The SNES Classic sold better than the NES Classic in Japan

Over in Japan, the SNES Classic (Super Famicom Classic) is doing quite well for itself, having sold 368,000 units in its first four days of release -- yes, that's quite a lot of dough for a system that houses decades old games. For comparison's sake, the NES Classic (Famicom Classic) sold 262,000 units over the first four days when it launched in November of 2016.

Although there's plenty of speculation to be had as to why it did better, the sheer numbers are all in favor of the NES, which sold better than the SNES in nearly every region in the world. No, it's likely due to enhanced stock, as Nintendo actually did deliver somewhat when the SNES Classic hit retail -- whereas the NES Classic presence was almost non-existent at brick and mortar locations.

Hopefully they'll keep pumping them out and not halt production altogether like they did with its predecessor (although Nintendo claims they're going to make more NES Classics, it's yet to be seen).

SNES Classic [Famitsu via NeoGAF]

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News:: Tekken 7 pops an impressive 2 million sales in three months

Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada took to Twitter to proudly announce that the latest installment in the series, Tekken 7, has sold over two million copies since its release in June until September.

Whilst Harada's figure was a reply to a fan asking how many copies had been sold "on console" it is unclear whether Harada was including the game's PC sales figures, which are some 300,000 copies in and of themselves, a solid number for the series' PC debut.

To give context in the bigger picture of mainstream fighting games, Capcom's Street Fighter V failed to sell two million copies in eighteen months, whilst NetherRealm Studios comic-book fighter Injustice 2 sold just shy of 1.5 million units within its own first three months of release. Of the three titles, Tekken 7 is the only one available on three major formats.

Tekken 7 received critical praise on launch for its huge roster of characters, solid gameplay, hefty story mode and fun customisations, though was criticised by many for its lack of reinvention and poor approach to tutoring new players.

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News:: New Zelda: Breath of the Wild tip channel highlights rusty weapons and Octorok renewal

Nintendo keeps chugging along with official Zelda: Breath of the Wild tips, and I really think they could do one per week for several years and still not run out of material.

This one involves a very cool tip that started circulating when the game launched -- if you give a Rock Octorok (in Death Mountain) a rusty weapon, it'll turn it into a shiny version. For those who aren't in the know, Nintendo has been running official tip announcements in the "news" section of the Nintendo Switch main menu, which typically provide players with the power to pick up an unlimited amount of items. They're small time stuff like pieces of meat or fire rods, but it's free nonetheless!

Here you'll get your hands on a rusty broadsword, and if you screw up the throw you can just quit out of the game, load up the channel, and try again.

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