Terminator 2: Judgment Day launched with a PUBG mode

NetEase’s latest sandbox 3D mobile action shooter game – Terminator 2: Judgment Day has launched in China for iOS and Android recently. The game is featuring a multiplayer battle-royale mode which PUBG (Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds) fans will find it familiar, but it comes with a twist.

The battle-royale mode allows up to 120 players (more than PUBG) participating in a deathmatch where only the last man standing will be the winner. Other than playing solo, you can also form a squad of 2 or 4 and battle together. There are plenty of vehicle and weapons available, you can combine different weapon parts for different effects too.

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The game actually looks pretty decent among the PUBG clones so if you want to give a try, you can find the APK from their official website.
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Tags: AndroidiOSMobileNetEasePlayerunknown's BattlegroundsPUBGTerminator 2Terminator 2: Judgment Day


Oddworld: Soulstorm Nintendo Switch dubbed Oddtimized Edition

The Oddworld: Soulstorm Nintendo Switch edition has been officially dubbed the Oddtimized Edition. You can pre-order it in Limited Oddition or Collector’s Oddition flavours at participating retailers to receive the game’s Original Soundtrack and a Digital Artbook.

Here’s an overview of the game:

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Oddworld: Soulstorm, the award-winning sequel to the best-selling Oddworld: New ‘n’ Tasty, is an explosive action-adventure epic platformer. Optimized for Nintendo Switch to take advantage of the platform’s unique features, this version features the same amazing Soulstorm gameplay currently found on the other platforms (PlayStation, Xbox, Steam, and Epic Games Store), with a delightful Switch flavor!
In Soulstorm, you must help Abe on his hero’s journey to free more than 1,000 Mudokons from the oppressive chains that enslave them.  Confronting an uncertain future and a forgotten past, use your instincts and skills to allude detection, survive insurmountable odds, and maybe provide a spark that sets a revolution ablaze.
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Armed with an array of tactics, from stealth to going full on ballistic by utilizing scavenged trash to craft powerful and incendiary weapons, decide how best to bring the fight to your oppressors and save all the Mudokons.
In-game decisions and the number of lives saved in each level will impact the game’s outcome. With four unique endings, the choices you make will impact the game’s powerful conclusion, potentially unlocking the final two fiery chapters.
Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition is already available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X | S, Epic Games Store and Steam. You can read more about the Oddworld: Soulstorm Oddtimized Edition limited editions here. Learn more about the Oddworld franchise here.

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Tags: MicroidsOddworld InhabitantsOddworld: SoulstormOddworld: Soulstorm Oddtimized Edition


Jian Xia Qing Yuan R Open Beta Test Begins Today!

With the start of a new year comes a new battlefield as popular MMORPG 剑侠情缘R (Jian Xia Qing Yuan R – JXQYR) will be launching its first open beta test today on the 5th of January for Malaysia and Singapore.

It is being developed by Kingsoft and published in the region by VNGGames (OMG God’s of Three Kingdoms), the game is a remake of the original Jian Xia Qing Yuan that was released for PC over 18 years ago with improved gameplay, graphics and adapted for mobile devices.

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What is 剑侠情缘R

Jian Xia Qing Yuan R is an MMORPG based on the Wuxia genre of Chinese cinema that involves martial arts and traditional three kingdoms-style fantasy warfare set to the backdrop of medieval China.
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The game revolves around two factions, Song and Jin, who are locked in eternal conflict for control of the land. Across their many battles, various warriors from different martial arts schools across all of China have come to aid in their fight on either side. That’s you and other players of course.
The popularity of the original game would spark a heavy interest in the genre across the Asia Pacific region.  With the remake JX1M, that bold wuxia aesthetic returns with several updates that streamline the game while also retaining its faithfulness to the original.
Schools and Swords

When you start the game, you’ll be able to pick between 10 different classes from famous schools of Chinese martial arts like the Shaolin, EMei, and Wu-Dang. Each of the schools also corresponds to a different element based on the Chinese Wuxing elements: Earth, Fire, Water, Wood, and Metal with two schools per element. Each class has its own strengths and weaknesses so it’ll be up to you to decide which one best suits your playstyle.
You also can obtain a variety of weapons that you can pick up on the battlefield and sell them in-game when you no longer need them.
With its highly storied lineage and support of popular ambassadors like Christopher Lee, there’s no reason to not be interested in Jian Xia Qing Yuan R.
The game launches its open beta test on the 5th of January for Mobile Devices. You can download the game here. Don’t forget to follow its official Facebook fan page for more tips and the latest news.
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Jian Xia Qing Yuan Online RPublisher: VNG GamesDeveloper: KingsoftRelease Date TBCAndroid, iOS
Jian Xia Qing Yuan Online is an MMO RPG set in a Wuxia-style fantasy world. The game revolves around the many martial arts and sword skills found in the genre for a creative style of gameplay. Back in 2003, it pioneered the Wuxia setting and helped bring the genre and culture to greater popularity in China and other Asian regions.

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Tags: Jian Xia Qing Yuan RJX1MSponsoredVNG Game Studios


Shibuya Scramble Figure Will be Releasing a 1/7 Chainsaw Man Statue

Figurine brand Shibuya Scramble Figure have announced that they are producing a 1/7 statue of Denji also known as Chainsaw Man from the manga of the same name.

According to PR Times, pre-orders for the Chainsaw Man figure will go live on the 5th of July and will end on October 31st. It will be a joint production between Shibuya Scramble Figure and Studio Mappa who are currently working on the upcoming Chainsaw Man anime adaptation.

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“From the TV anime “Chainsaw Man” comes a 1/7th scale figure of Chainsaw Man! The figure is sculpted with a power that can be heard screaming at any moment. The figure also depicts the moment when the chainsaw rips through a piece of flesh and cuts through the air with great gusto. The bold blood splatter shows the intensity of the battle. Please enjoy the dynamic figure of the zombie demon as it boldly slashes its way through the zombies.”
The 1/7 statue seems to be based on the art for the first-ever volume of Chainsaw Man just with the green blood replaced with crimson red blood.
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The price of the figure is 46,200 yen or RM 1,495.98. The exact size of the figure is a Height of 281mm x Width of 241mm x Depth of 256mm.
As previously mentioned Chainsaw Man will be getting an anime adaptation from Studio Mappa which is expected to be premiered sometime in 2022 alongside the second part of the manga.

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Tags: Chainsaw ManMAPPAShibuya Scramble Figure


Spellbreak to Feature Cross-progression Across All Platforms!

Poletariat, the ones who developed Spellbreak just announced that their game will now support cross-progression when the game launches for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and for the Nintendo Switch.

Players will now be able to create their Spellbreak accounts and then access it through any of the supported platforms that were mentioned previously to maintain their in game-progressions, customization, as well as game statistics.

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Players will now also be able to use their accounts to find friends across all platforms to create the all-star team.

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– Game Summary –
Spellbreak is a AAA fantasy battle royale setting, but with Magic.

Players are able to cast a wide variety of elemental magical spells at their disposals to fend off against opposing battle-mages on the battlefield. Players are able to choose a certain magical class, weave a plethora of spell combinations and claim your rightful title as the all-powerful battle-mage.
Spellbreak features an in-depth item and class system which allows players to dominate the Hollow Lands either as a solo mage, or you could rally up with your friends in a non-stop quest for survival.
Seth Sivak, the CEO of Poletriat had said that “Breaking new ground in multiplayer titles had always been Poletriat’s mission from the beginning”, in this case would be the incorporation of cross-progression in the game Spellbreak. Cross-progression allows your in-game progress to follow you on whichever platform you’re playing on.
For more information about the game, you can check out their official website.

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Tags: Cross-progressionEpic Game StorePlaystation 4SpellbreakXbox One


Ange Vierge developer announces new game

Japan-based f4samurai has just announced via its special livestream that it will be working on a new Ange Vierge game for the Android and iOS platforms. Ange Relink, as it is tentatively known, will act as the direct sequel to Ange Vierge ~ Girls Battle ~. Curiously enough, the latter will be ending its service on 20 December 2021, so this is the best time to get into the game if you have never tried it before.

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Little has been divulged regarding the mobile RPG at this juncture, other than the fact that the roster will include both old and new characters. Ange Relink will boast a hybrid 2D and 3D art style, though that will function in reality remains to be seen. For the time being, we are going to just have to settle with the various in-game illustrations shared.
Published by Kadokawa’s Fujimi Shobo and Media Factory,. Ange Vierge was originally a digital collectible card game that made its debut back in 2013. Given the predecessor’s impressive eight year run, it is safe to assume that the sequel will have quite the pedigree going for it. Of course, it does not automatically guarantee success as many game franchises have shown, so the developer is going to have to bring something new to the table. For more details, be sure to drop by the official Twitter account.
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Tags: AndroidAnge ViergeiOSRPG


Welcoming the New Dance Era with Just Dance 2023 Edition Announcement

During the Ubisoft Forward 2022 livestream event, Ubisoft had revealed that the newest installment for Just Dance franchise will launch Just Dance 2023 Edition this holiday season for the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox Series X & S console platforms.

Just Dance 2023 will be entering a new eta as a dance-on-demand platform which will bring in players free content updates on an ongoing basis as well as introducing a set of new features:

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Online Multiplayer
For the first time in the Just Dance franchise, players can enjoy the full game online that supports up to five of their friends or other players around the world with Online Groups.
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Players will need be connected to the host’s menu, which allows them to interact with one another through the new emote stickers system, choose songs and hit the dance floor together regardless of where you’re are. Online Groups will support crossplay, while players can continue to enjoy local multiplayer as well.
New Art Direction and Redesigned User Interface
Players will be able to jump into a whole new world of Just Dance which is completed with a fresh coat of paint to both the looks and feels of the game, bringing in an immersive 3D world along with intuitive navigation menus.
Powerful Recommendation System
Just Dance 2023 will being in a brand new and improved recommendation system that offers players a personalised and curated playlist of songs which can be accessed easily at their fingertips.
Progression and Rewards
Players will be able to move up the ranks with the game’s brand new progression system which allows them to earn in-game points everytime they complete a dance. These points can be exchanged to unlock new rewards such as customisable dancer cards where players can personalise to fit their own tastes by modifying the avatar, background, name badge and alias. The points can also be used to redeem in-game stickers, which can be used to communicate with other players in Online Groups.
Free Content Updates
Just Dance will be providing regular and ongoing updates so that players can expect new game modes, songs and themed seasons.
Just Dance 2023 Edition Song List Reveal

Just Dance 2023 Edition will be featuring 40 new songs and universes ranging from chart-topping hits, viral internet phenomena and original songs, which include:

“Physical” by Dua Lipa
“More” by K/DA Ft. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE, Lexie Liu, Jaira Burns & Seraphine
“CAN’T STOP THE FEELING!” by Justin Timberlake
“Love Me Land” by Zara Larsson
“Locked Out of Heaven” by Bruno Mars
“STAY” by The Kid LAROI & Justin Bieber
“Sweet But Psycho” by Ava Max
“Rather Be” by Clean Bandit Ft. Jess Glynne
“If You Wanna Party” by The Just Dancers
And more to be announced

Additionally, the Just Dance Controller App will allow you to turn your smartphone into a control with its phone-scoring technology that allows up to six players to dance without any additional accessories and its available for both Android and iOS for free.

For more information, do check out the official Just Dance website here.

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Tags: Just Dance 2023 EditionUbisoftUbisoft Forward


The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles available on Switch, PS4 and PC now

The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, the latest title in the Ace Attorney series is now available on Switch, PS4 and PC via Steam.

Over 50 hours of content packed into one title!

All 10 episodes of ‘The Great Ace Attorney: Adventures’ and ‘The Great Ace Attorney 2: Resolve’ – together and ready for you to tackle! You can start the game from the episodes which you would like to play at first.

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*Average play time estimate

New to the Ace Attorney series is the Story Mode!

Story Mode allows players to sit back and watch the game’s thrilling story unfold without having to perform any added detective work. The collection also features “Autosave” and newly recorded English voices, giving players the option to experience the game’s audio in either English or Japanese with English subtitles.
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*Autoplay and Story Mode can be turned on or off at any time during gameplay

Truly immerse yourself in the world of The Great Ace Attorney with Special contents

Special contents are also added to the game that can let you further enjoy the world of The Great Ace Attorney, including the Special Videos of “Adventures” that were shown exclusively at events, and the new “Escapades” written by series director Shu Takumi. In addition, newly commissioned art from series art director Kazuya Nuri is also included! Clear the game and check it out!

Early Purchase to obtain the “Art and Music From the Vault” bonus!

From character design sketches to unused music tracks, obtain 54 additional pieces – viewable anytime in the in-game Special Contents section.
Check out The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles on the Switch eShop, PS Store and Steam.

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Tags: Ace AttorneyCapcomThe Great Ace Attorney Chronicles


Special Events of Mobius Final Fantasy Here!

Mobius Final Fantasy by Square Enix announced several special events to be launched in celebration of its 10-million-players milestone and the 20th anniversary of Final Fantasy VII. A special collaboration event with Final Fantasy VII Remake “Eclipse Contact” brings Midgar to the game too!

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As Mobius Final Fantasy has achieved over 10,000,000 players globally, a special campaign is launched from February 7 to February 28. In this period, player will get daily login bonus and gifts such as Summon Tickets and Growstar Cards. Besides, to celebrate the release of Windows version with French and German language support on February 6, the following items will be given out to all players during February 7 to February 16:

Elixir x1
Phoenix Down x1
Crystal x1
10,000,000 Gil

Several gameplay improvement and the increasing of skillseeds reward amounts also arrived with this update too. Check out the details here!

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To commemorate the FFVII REMAKE collaboration, the game also introduces a new Legend job – SOLDIER 1st Class. Players will have the chance to grab some limited-time FFVII collaboration Ability Cards too. Batch 1 event continues until February 18 while batch 2 is coming soon. Check out for detailed information here.

There is another FFVII REMAKE Campaign which brings the high-tech capital city of Gaia and the base of power of the villainous Shinra Electric Power Company, Midgar to the game. Players will be able to visit Midgar for a limited time for some useful items and the strengthened versions of Masamune. The event is separated into 3 parts, from February 7 to April 1. Again, you can check for the event details here.

Last but not least, Mobius Final Fantasy is now launched on the Steam. Be sure to check them out too. Here is a link to their official website for you as well!

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Tags: AndroidFinal FantasyiOSMobileMobius Final FantasySquare Enix


Octopath Traveler 2 Revealed, Releasing February Next Year

Square Enix has announced that Octopath Traveler 2 will be released for Nintendo Switch on February 24th, 2023.

The game was announced in the recent Nintendo Direct. You can watch the trailer here:

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“Eight new travelers journey through the land of Solistia, each with their own story to tell. What will happen when their paths intertwine, and where will their adventures lead them … and you?”
The original Octopath Traveler was released for Nintendo Switch in 2018. The game is often considered the first major RPG released for the console. It also pioneered the 2D-HD art style consisting of high-definition sprite work. The art style was later used for Square Enix titles, Triangle Strategy, and Live A Live.
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Like the original game, Octopath Traveler 2 will see you take control of eight different characters with their own goals and stories for traveling around the land. The game uses a turn base battle system as well as a job system to change the characters into different classes.
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Octopath Traveler 2 will release for the Nintendo Switch on February 24th, 2023. The original Ocotpath Traveler was a timed exclusive that was released for PC around a year after it did for Switch. It is possible that the sequel will do the same.

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Tags: Octopath TravelerSquare Enix


Sail the Abyssal Ocean in the Maelstrom: Gauntlet update!

Forthright Entertainment and Gunpowder Games are inviting all fearless captains to raise anchor and take on The Gauntlet, an epic new solo and co-op challenge set on the waters of the Abyssal Ocean in Maelstrom on Steam. Play Maelstrom alone or with friends in this massive free expansion to the hit fantasy naval combat, providing entirely fresh gameplay, alongside a new upgrade system gives players even more tactical options than before.

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Accepting the Gauntlet’s challenge will see players take on five progressively challenging PVE encounters either alone or in a flotilla of up to four friends. Each run of five stages pits these captains against fearsome dangers that lurk above and below the surface of the Abyssal Ocean’s dark waters. Encounters feature primary and secondary objectives which tie together into a larger themed mission.

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One encounter revolves around the Hunt, where players must sail between islands and sink pirate ships to lure out an elusive pirate captain, all while trying not to get sunk. Players will be awarded loot at the end of each run, depending on their performance. The loot can then be used to upgrade their ships to better face the challenges that lie ahead. All improvements can be carried into both the PVP battle-royale and Gauntlet modes, so players can play and level-up as they choose and won’t need to miss a beat when moving between modes.
Gain a new level of tactical flexibility with the Maelstrom: Gauntlet update, with the introduction of Captains’ Traits. Only ships could be upgraded previously, but now Captains will have the ability to gain power to supercharge them and turn the tide of naval battles.

As an example, Axton Harrowfel from the Phoenix Empire now has a skill tree offering a range of buffs including faster cannon reloads and improved ship acceleration. The new Captains’ Traits ensures that there are now even more ways to customize and upgrade your Ship, Crew and Captain.
Maelstrom can be downloaded for free on Steam. Players that begin their adventure today can launch directly into the classic PVP mode or jump into the PVE Gauntlet update solo or with friends.

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Tags: Forthright EntertainmentGunpowder GamesMaelstrom


Kamen Rider: City Wars now out for smartphones

Kamen Rider: City Wars, Bandai Namco’s latest Kamen Rider game is now made available for Android and iOS devices, following a brief pre-registration run.

In Kamen Rider: City Wars, you take on the role of a city administrator of sorts, where your Kamen Riders, who act as guardians, become stronger as the city expands. You will need to do battle with your enemies, as they drop material necessary to upgrade your city. The Kamen Riders can either be controlled manually or left to their own devices in the auto-battle mode. The game will be quite a nostalgia trip for fans, as not only does it include all Kamen Riders, their accompanying theme songs are in as well. Joining now will get you Kamen Rider Den-O for free, so be sure to get on it.

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Tags: AndroidBANDAI NAMCOiOSKamen Rider City WarsStrategy


The wind and the rule of cool: Interview with Nate Fox, Creative Director of Ghost of Tsushima

By now, most of you should have seen the most recent State of Play, covering roughly 18 minutes of Sucker Punch Productions‘ next title, Ghost of Tsushima. If you haven’t already seen it, then you can read up on our coverage here. On call with us today is Nate Fox, creative director of Ghost of Tsushima, where you play as Jin Sakai, a samurai, and the titular “ghost”. “Samurai movie” might have been something you’ve heard tossed around a lot, but let’s just take it step by step. Incidentally, the game is expected to clock in at least 50 hours of gameplay, so certainly much longer than a “typical” movie.

Nate Fox, Creative Director of Ghost of Tsushima.
The combat is incredibly fluid in the presentation, essentially showing off a no-damage run. Games often have health bars, so we had to know how much punishment Jin can take.

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“One thing that makes a samurai sword battle, like you see in classic samurai movies, so tense is that with just 2 or 3 hits, people die.”
Fox praises their player, saying he knew how to do everything right, and thus the flawless display of taking Mongols down in a single hit. Likewise, this applies to Jin himself, where a well-placed strike will kill you at once. The game will be very challenging, even with the option to select the difficulty. Skill is still required, but if you’d prefer an breezier – heh – time to simply experience the story, then yes, you can set it to Easy.
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You might have seen the Ghost Meter appearing in screenshots, and this represents Jin’s transformation in the game. The so-called “Code of the Samurai” is the “correct” way of fighting enemies, but in the face of overwhelming odds, Jin is forced to give up at least part of the code he was raised with in order to perform assassinations and traverse unseen to even the odds. Jin’s legend as “the Ghost of Tsushima” will grow as more people know him, feeding into the abilities he can learn. Technique points will be spent in a traditional skill tree and players choose how they will build their playstyle accordingly.
In an amazing player’s hands, you’ve seen the moves Jin can pull off. Coming off the Infamous games which had more fantastical powers, we asked how they kept Ghost of Tsushima looking grounded while still being stylish. They took what they learnt from Infamous to apply to a grounded, classic samurai movie, recreated in an interactive medium. You’ll get the immediate feed from the tensest of combats for that snappy, precise response to your inputs in battle.
“At Sucker Punch, we believe the game must be fast, fluid and fun, that the controller must evaporate in your hands, and you can just do what you want in the game world.”
You’ll be facing down the Mongols – and only Mongol, in a break from historical accuracy – and their armoury of weapons that the people of Tsushima have never seen before. Fox mentions the falcons the Mongols have kept as pets, used in game as a way to see Jin coming from a mile away. The diversity in weaponry will also keep players on their toes, to ensure they do not get used to just one enemy type. While the Mongol army did have other nationalities within their ranks, they chose to not include them to make a “more direct fictional story”.

Speaking of fiction, the first Mongol invasion of Japan saw 80 samurai face down the invaders on the island of Tsushima, where they made the first landfall. All those samurai were slain, but for Ghost of Tsushima, they have taken inspiration from this event and had a few of these samurai survive. The story will see the survivors reinvent themselves to strike back against superior numbers, the designated villain of this samurai story.
“We knew we wanted to give players the opportunity for players to become a samurai, like the character you see in classic samurai movies and explore feudal Japan.”
With the concept of “wandering samurai in feudal Japan” in mind, there has to be plenty of content that they may decide on cutting or keeping throughout the game’s development. Fox makes it sound easy to decide: anything that rewards your curiosity to explore Tsushima, stays. Something that seems like “you’ve seen it before”, or “an action movie trope and not a samurai movie trope”, gets cut.
Japanese culture is certainly a large contrast with western culture, considering how Sucker Punch Productions is based in America. They are fans of samurai movies and comics, but acknowledged they were totally unprepared to do this on their own. Fox credits being part of the Playstation family as being one of, if not the, biggest help: the Japanese studio led them on a research trip to Tsushima Island, even doing sound recording to ensure authenticity. They have also reached out to experts from religion to clothing and architecture, early in and throughout game development as well. He’s found the process extremely worth it, even if it may slow down the overall process.

Going back to the game itself, Jin is aided by nature: from the wind, to the birds and foxes as guides. There are no mythical aspects to this game, but instead, Fox suggests it is the island itself who wants to help Jin, as he in turn is working to help Tsushima. The “natural” elements tie in to their efforts to have no “gamey” UI that can distract you from really looking at the game world. You will not be exploring a one-to-one recreation of the actual island of Tsushima, but you’ll be wandering the various elements you can expect to find in feudal Japan.
“We want to make sure that as a player, you can decide to not follow the wind, to go all on your own and explore. Your curiosity about a strange shaped tree, or a lake, is rewarded with content; either something valuable to pick up, or a story to discover, or maybe even a new weapon.”
Fox talks about how they sculpt out the world, then ride through it themselves to see what they are drawn to. Some of these elements may or may not be embellished, but the encouragement to simply wander is there. The player is eased into getting into the loop of asking, then choosing to pursue their curiosity, or not. The wind often comes up in samurai movies too, in which two warriors, unmoving, will still radiate sheer power and will, due to the billowing wind disturbing the grass and trees, playing into their theme. The wind will change accordingly to Jin’s identity, and how the people react to him, while being under your command. Ask it to take you to a waypoint, or let it be.
As you make your way through these branches, you will be meeting various characters throughout Jin’s “transformation” from samurai to ghost. These characters will be having their stories and problems, for you to choose to engage and delve into their deeply personal quests, should you stop by from location to location. “The game is a big anthology of stories,” Fox says.
“We’ve done full playtests where people play it everyday for five days, and at the end of those week long tests, many of our players haven’t reached the end of Jin’s story because they keep engaging in the side stories.”
Some of these stories will culminate in the climax of samurai stories: the epic duel between two very skilled warriors. Fox says there’ll be plenty of these, dubbing them the most challenging combat in the game. The one-on-one, extremely personal battles, will require you to read your opponents, understand their attacks and find how to best counter. When you do triumph, you’ll be rewarded with the sense of accomplishment of besting a worthy foe.

But wait, what about the “Ghost” gameplay? You’ll be both at the same time, Fox explains. Just because Jin learns “dishonorable” methods, it doesn’t mean he’s forgotten the sword. “Ghost” and “Samurai” are merely gameplay styles, and there will be points you need to pick up your blade. There’s just many other instances of problems in which you can approach them in a method you prefer.
While you’ve seen the expert parries and dodges in the State of Play presentation, you can choose to be more aggressive and take down your highest priority target. You’ll merely have to be prepared to face down the Mongols who would doubtlessly be standing in your way. In which case, you could turn their own weapons against them, such as the torching of gunpowder in the demo.
Fox assures us that the Hard Mode of the game will be extremely tough, specially tuned to the players who seek the challenge. As mentioned, even Easy still requires a level of skill if you don’t pay any attention. He understands that those who put the game on Hard want that satisfaction of overcoming a very stiff, but nonetheless fair, gameplay challenge.

For those of you wondering about the armour and skills, you can certainly mix and match around the pieces and techniques for the playstyle you want best. However, Jin Sakai is THE hero, with Ghost of Tsushima being his personal story, and thus you will not be able to make changes to how he looks at his core. As for his loadout, well, Fox is coy and wishes for players to find out the rest of the weapons he may find for themselves, besides his trusty sword, the kunai and smoke bomb they’ve demoed.
“The discovery is a big part of the game and I don’t wanna ruin the surprise by just talking about it right now.”
Let’s close off with the whole “samurai cinema mode”, the de-facto “rule of cool” of the game, you might say. The Samurai Cinema Mode will not just change the colors to black and white: weather effects will be intensified, film grain and scratches will be added, and the audio will be reminiscent of the classic movies of yore. Fox doesn’t seem to think it will be the “main visual selling point” of Ghost of Tsushima.
“Samurai Cinema Mode is absolutely beautiful and it is us trying to show how much we respect the source material, but the game is gorgeous in full colour. I think the game’s graphics. and how it makes you feel like you’re in a samurai movie are the biggest accomplishments, and the colour really helps that. It’s personal preference, but it is the way I choose to play. I ride through the fields in Tsushima, and drink in the view, like going on a hike, or being outside.”
Last but not least, Jin’s cape. We’re sure you know of memes of objects clipping through, and that would only ruin the immersion. Fox sounds especially excited about the “romantic ideal” of samurais as seen in the classic movies: the wind being Jin’s guide, the sea, and the whole package giving the game that cinematic feel.
Of course it’s been rigged to not go through his body. I think the most intriguing thing to me – I don’t know if you’ve noticed – but that he has no bow on his back when he has a cape, and that bow shows up when he doesn’t it. We dynamically remove it because it’s so cool to have a cape!

With the whole photo mode also in the game, we think we can, at the very least, eagerly keep an eye out for the various clips that people will doubtlessly create with the locale of Tsushima. This in itself, is yet another story, one that doesn’t necessarily need to be tied to Jin, to be told, don’t you think?
How will Jin’s legend grow in your hands? With the passion of the team behind Ghost of Tsushima, we surely can be assured of one of the greatest stories to be told in the coming decade. May the wind be your guide, as you travel through uncharted hills and plains. What will you find? We will all find out come 17 July 2020.

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Tags: Ghost of TsushimaNate FoxSucker Punch Productions


GamerBraves Newsletter vol. 35 – What to Look For When Reviewing Games – Part 1

Reviewing games sounds like the best job and the world (and it is), that is until you really start thinking about the simple question of what makes a game good. Are the graphics good, is the story overbearing, is it too difficult, or too easy. It’s ultimately all subjective but it can be daunting with how much you really need to look at.

It certainly doesn’t help so many different kinds of games seem to be emerging out of the ether. In the past three weeks we’ve had, a souls-like (Elden Ring), fighting game (Persona 4 Arena Ultimax), JRPG (Triangle Strategy), racing game (Gran Turismo) and we’ll soon be getting a platformer (Kirby and The Forgotten Land) and a horror-action title (Ghostwire Tokyo). It’s pretty packed and if you’re not familiar with a certain genre, it can be pretty hard to figure out what fans are looking for from a game.

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That’s why in this week’s newsletter, we’ve come up with a review cheat sheet of sorts. Something that can help you figure out what features to look out for when judging certain game genres. Since we’ve got a lot of game genres to cover, this newsletter will be split into two parts. For this first part, we’ll be looking at horror, sports, rogue-like, and platformer games.
The second will go live in the next newsletter so stay tuned. If you’d like to read either of these articles for tips on reviewing games, sign up for our newsletter with your email below (it’s Free!):
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Give it a read and let us know what you think!

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Tags: FIFAGamerBraves NewsletterResident Evil 2 RemakeRisk of Rain 2Super Mario BrosSuper Meat Boy


Pokemon Quest to release for Nintendo Switch and mobile

Other than the announcement of Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu! and Pokémon: Let’s Go, Eevee!, there is another Pokemon RPG – Pokemon Quest being announced recently! The action RPG by Game Freak will be free-to-play for both Nintendo Switch and mobile (iOS and Android), while the Nintendo Switch version has gone live globally today.

Pokemon Quest is featuring the Pokemon from Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue but everything in adorable cube shapes. You will be able to befriend them, power up them and bring them into your adventures.

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The gameplay controls are simple, you only need to tap on the skills during battles as your Pokemon will automatically explore around and battle using their normal attack. You can also decorate your base camp and prepare foods to attract more Pokemon in it.

The mobile version for iOS and Android will launch in late June, we will get you informed when the release date is out! Meanwhile, you can enjoy the Nintendo Switch version for free if you have a Nintendo Switch. For more information, you can pay a visit to their official website.
Check out our gameplay below:

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Tags: AndroidGame FreakiOSMobileNintendoNintendo SwitchPokemonPokemon Quest


Gameloft releases exclusive gamplay footage of Iron Blade

Gameloft reviewed the gameplay of their new action RPG, Iron Blade on Facebook live stream several hours ago. The game looks pretty much like Assassin’s Creed.

Iron Blade – Exclusive Gameplay RevealJoin us for an exclusive look at our upcoming medieval, action-RPG, Iron Blade. Pre-register now at http://ironbladegame.com

Posted by Gameloft on Thursday, May 18, 2017

The game is now only available for Android users in the Philippines and for those who are outside of the Philippines, we can only pre-register on their official website for now. The game will launch worldwide in a couple of weeks.

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Tags: AndroidGameloftiOSIron BladeMobile


Mortal family forcibly adopts, and is adopted by, god child – Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin review

What happens when you have a strange collection of humans and a bratty god child? You have brief shenanigans, and then see yourselves exiled to an island populated by demons, tasked to find the root of the problem and also grow some rice to replace the entire warehouse you burned down while trying to chase out the humans from your Lofty Realm. That’s how the plot of Sakuna: Of Rice and Ruin kicks off; the rest is putting in the backbreaking work – kind of literal in this case – to continue the story.

MANEUVERING IN THE REALMS
In keeping with the theme of the mythical gods of yore in Japan, you have the traditional trappings of the olden days, replete with raiment and blinding beauty of the goddess, and the more humble child of man with relatively muted colours. When Sakuna herself loses her elaborate garments, she too looks more at home with her current modest accommodations, no matter how much she whines about it.

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Home sweet home.
I have to admit, one of my initial assumptions was that the game would look close to Okami, but besides the mythological inspirations and general setting, Sakuna has its own style. Between the dinners with the family unit and heading outside to hunt, the game gives me a “comfy” vibe. One thing I’d complain about is that the camera seems a bit too sensitive when you’re in the overworld, giving me slight motion sickness. When in combat proper, there’s no issue as it’s a side-scrolling 2D action platformer.
Unusually enough for a console game, the hotkeys can be rebound! I despised the default controls on the Nintendo Switch version, so I was extremely grateful for the option. You have both English and Japanese dub, with difficulty able to be set any time within the game. If you’re not used to action platformers like I am, then the lowest difficulty will be fine.
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You also have skills with your raiment.
With attacks, you have both your quick and heavy attacks with your one- and two-handed weapons, along with fighting skills which utilize a stamina bar that will appear under Sakuna. The raiment is your main form of mobility, swinging around enemies for rapid directional changes or latching onto terrain to haul yourself up. Your raiment can also be utilized for combo/control chains when you’re good at it! The raiment isn’t flexible though, as when you throw it out, it will stop you in mid air, which can be troublesome when you start out.
TOIL AND TROUBLE
Sakuna has a blend of so-called farming sim, and action platformer. The farming is pretty expected: it’s right in the name! Besides that, it’s kinda reminiscent of a “metroidvania” in that you’re encouraged to return to previously explored areas thanks to additional objectives in the maps. There’s also a day/night cycle, and there will be hunting you can do at night to. Let me just say it right now: don’t be a hero and try to fight the night demons when you’re starting out. No matter how skilled you are, the problem is the beefed up stats for the enemies which you’re not gonna chip through efficiently in the beginning. It’s also really, really dark.
General look of the overworld.
When you’re out exploring, you can regenerate health, but only if Sakuna’s not hungry. Once her fullness meter is depleted, you either leave to the world map to have dinner – which you can do at any time so long you’re not locked in to some boss battle – or try to carry on to clear the area. Time will continuously pass even if you idle in menus, and throughout exploration, so boss battles can suddenly become much harder. Dying doesn’t seem to have massive penalties, but I only died at a point I couldn’t escape to the world map, so I can’t judge it too accurately.
PUT YOUR BACK INTO IT
Instead of just a simple hoe and plant, here, you do have to manually do every step of the process:

Tilling
Planting

Weeding: While marked with exclamation marks and using a different button prompt, the weeds are honestly quite hard to see still…

Reaping
Drying
Threshing
Hulling

You take care of the little patch field outside your humble dwelling, putting in the labour accordingly. It feels like it’s grounding you, as Sakuna grumbles about her divine task. You can pass the work on to Tauemon, but when starting out, I will heavily discourage this. You learn skills the more you do the honestly quite thankless tasks to reap the bounties of the earth later on: both for making farming easier, and combat skills!
You can change the temperature reading to Fahrenheit for you Americans.
The soil can be fertilized too, with materials and amber you obtain from your hunts. The base is delicately scooped out from the outhouse, and there are three types of fertilizers: root, kernel and leaf. When you start out, you would not have much to really mix in besides spoiled food – yes, your food can spoil – so you can think of it as an early boost to the crops before you really study the delights of farming. If that’s your thing.
I find the controls a tad awkward especially when it comes to planting, but perhaps I need to get into a rhythm like with threshing. Hulling is basically breaking my joystick if I want to make white rice. It gets kinda fun, but the camera changing POVs every now and again during the threshing is honestly more distracting than adding anything to the experience.
You don’t start with this grid.
If you’re like me, you’d wonder how one plot of land can feed so many people, but more do open up in the story with the other characters said to be in charge of them. Gameplay wise, you only need to watch over the main plot, so depending on how much you like the farming, you might prefer managing multiple plots, or be glad you it’s just the one.
COOKING MAMA MYRTHE

One of your earliest quests is to obtain acorns for Myrthe, who will be in charge of dinner. The first one is a joke, and gives you an inkling into the whole gourmet thing. Ingredients will spoil, as mentioned, and you should definitely want to clear up these cooking related quests as soon as you can, especially the first one to unlock better food. Having a good dinner, besides getting character interaction and story, provides stats and passives for Sakuna to help her in exploring for the next day.
Later, you get the ability to preserve food, which is especially handy for the winter when your rice should have been processed accordingly, and also doesn’t spoil! You can adjust the menu to give you stats or passives as you need them, but you can just leave it to Myrthe to cook and you can work with whatever you get until you can more reliably get the ingredients to make the best foods for your plans.
A WAR GOD TOO
There’s a little training area you can practice your moves a little ways down from the house. I’d recommend just going in there even if you’re not up for swinging as you get some scrolls that explain more parts of combat. Sakuna wields both a one- and two-handed weapon, leading into quick or heavy attack combos both on the ground and mid-air. She also has access to techniques that use “SP” (basically stamina).
Daytime…
The game also has a parry system, but this won’t be explained to you early in the game. You’d probably do it by accident, when Sakuna makes an audio cue and the enemy flashes purple. Your equipment have their own requirements to upgrade, as well as having specific bonuses which can differ from seasonal bonuses, combo-related bonuses and more, and upgraded with treasures. Sending enemies flying into each other is a feature, as they damage each other when they collide. It deals quite a lot of damage too!
Nighttime.
You can continue your hunting after dark, but as mentioned, it’s, well, dark, so until you get a lamp, it’ll be, at best, an eyestrain, even if you have the stats to ping pong the demons about. In any case, you want to use your techniques a lot, as they improve the more you use them, just like with your farming.
YOUR POSSE OF HUMANS
As you progress through the game, completing additional map objectives to unlock more areas to explore, you can also get a dog (and multiple!!!). Besides being able to pet and carry the little shiba, you can send your humans off to gathering points for additional materials. They will get more the longer they’re out there, so you’d want to send them out first thing prior to hunting.
I don’t actually know how to put the dog down…
I send Kaimaru, the literal baby, out to gather, because I can. Besides doing vaguely concerning distribution of work, doing their quests unlock things like a smithy for Kinta, and a looming hut for Yui. Kinta will be where you make stronger implements of death and farming, and Yui will make the “armour”/clothes for you. I feel like unlocking clothing options is much slower than weapons, but I guess weapons are more important in general anyway.
DIVINE EXORCISM

I think Sakuna is a “comfy” game. That doesn’t mean “relaxing” by any means, but it’s nice to sit back, do a spot of farming, and then head out to bash some demons. I’m not very good at platforming, so the fighting can honestly get somewhat stressful until I can overwhelm the creatures with sheer stats from upgraded gear. They try to balance out the farming and fighting, but you’d probably spend far more time fighting as quite a bit of the rice growing process involves waiting. There’s gathering to be done outside the farm!
The tutorializing is kept pretty minimal, with advice and info concentrated in the scrolls you pick up. This is both good and bad: you can miss picking up the scrolls, and when you do read them, time will continue to pass which can be stressful. It’s good though, in that you can take your time absorbing the information rather than being forced to sit through lots of text to teach you parts of the game.
There are objectives you get here and there, but all in all, the game is much free-er than you might initially expect. Take your time learning and growing the rice; if you don’t feel like studying, you can ask Tauemon for the quick hits to immediately rectify any issues and go about your merry way.
All in all, the game is quite enjoyable as you learn the ways of the farm, interspersed with character growth from all the parties involved in this exile.

Pros
Cons

Combat is fluid and involving
Info dump in missable scrolls

Hard work always gets rewarded

Finer points of farming can feel like unnecessary busywork

YOU CAN PET THE DOG

FINAL SCORE
8 / 10

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Tags: EdelweissSakuna: Of Rice and Ruin


Just Dance 2021 will launch 12 November 2020

Ubisoft announced Just Dance 2021 for the Nintendo Switch system, PlayStation 4, the Xbox One family of consoles and Stadia on 12 November 2020, as well as Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 once the consoles launch.

Just Dance 2021 offers players even more ways to dance:

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Over 40 New Songs and Universes– There’s plenty of music for everyone in Just Dance 2021, including “all the good girls go to hell” by Billie Eilish and “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa.
It’s never been easier to start dancing with the new quickplay mode. For those looking to get straight to playing, the game will have a randomized playlist ready from the Start menu.
Improved World Dance Floor– Challenge fellow Just Dancers from all over the world during permanent tournaments. You will be matched with players of a similar level as yours for a fair dance battle.

The first songs revealed include:

“Señorita” by Shawn Mendes & Camila Cabello
“Dance Monkey” by Tones And I
“Que Tire Pa Lante” by Daddy Yankee
“Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa
“Temperature” by Sean Paul
“Feel Special” by TWICE
“Juice” by Lizzo
“all the good girls go to hell” by Billie Eilish
“In The Navy” by The Sunlight Shakers
“Zenit” by ONUKA
“Heat Seeker” by DREAMERS

And many more to come!
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Along with these new songs, players will enjoy the return of classic Just Dance game modes:

Sweat Mode– Exercising has never been so fun! Start your own routine with Sweat mode and keep yourself motivated by tracking calories burnt and time spent dancing.
Kids Mode– You’re never too young to dance! Kids mode is tailor-made for the needs of the youngest players. They can enjoy eight new kid-friendly songs and choreographies for a fun dance experience.
Co-op Mode– Stronger together! Team up with friends and share the fun thanks to the return of Co-op mode. Get together and combine scores to rule the dance floor!
Just Dance Unlimited – Keep the party going! Access the Just Dance Unlimited subscription-based streaming service to (re)dance to over 550 songs! It doesn’t stop there, as new and exclusive songs are added throughout the year. Every copy of Just Dance 2021 comes with one month of free access!

Available on all platforms, the Just Dance Controller App makes the game more accessible for current-gen owners with its phone-scoring technology, which allows up to six players to dance without any additional accessories, available for free on iOS and Android.

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Tags: Just DanceJust Dance 2021Ubisoft


Destiny 2: Beyond Light will shine upon all 23 September

The next expansion for Destiny 2 has been revealed by Bungie, in Beyond Light, arriving 23 September 2020. The next season of Destiny 2 has also been unveiled, in Season of Arrivals, launching today. Both the Season and the expansion has been crafted for Destiny 2‘s single evolving world, revealing mysteries, new powers and the menace of the Pyramid ships to be explored.

For months, the mysterious Pyramid ships have been making their way to our solar system, their purpose unknown but their menace clear. In Season of Arrivals, the moon of Io will see the arrival of the first Pyramid ship, setting off a chain of events that will unfold throughout the Season, into the Beyond Light expansion, and beyond.

Destiny 2 will also be available on Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X, with Xbox One purchases of Destiny 2: Beyond Light transferring to Xbox Series X via Smart Delivery for free. Playstation 4 purchases will also be upgraded to Playstation 5 for free. Full details will be available in the coming months regarding the next generation consoles.

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BEYOND LIGHT

A new power is born out of the ancient Pyramid ship above Europa, and a dark empire has risen beneath. In the Destiny 2: Beyond Light expansion, Guardians will explore a changed universe, with a new destination, new adventures, and even new powers to explore.
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Explore Europa
In Beyond Light, Guardians will be called to a new destination: Jupiter’s frozen moon of Europa. Brave the unrelenting glacial frontier, infiltrate the Golden Age Braytech facility, and uncover the secrets that lie deep under the ancient ice.
Wield the Darkness
As a new threat emerges, so too does a mysterious new power – Stasis. Rooted in Darkness, Guardians will wield this new elemental power alongside Arc, Solar, and Void to summon epic supers and control the battlefield. Titans, Warlocks and Hunters will each use Stasis in a different way. More details on Stasis to come later this summer.
A New Raid
Below the frozen tundra of Europa lies the Deep Stone Crypt. For decades it has remained dormant. Guardians will test their skill and teamwork in this brand new six-person raid, where glorious rewards await.
The Rise of Eramis
The splintered houses of the Fallen have rallied and built their new empire on Europa, united under the banner of the Fallen Kell of Darkness, Eramis. Abandoned by the Traveler and left by the Light, Eramis is on her own journey into the Darkness, and towards a collision course with Guardians.
Players can pre-order Destiny 2: Beyond Light now to get instant access to a special Exotic Ghost Shell, Legendary Emblem, and bonus items! Digital Deluxe owners also receive instant access to the new Exotic Freeze Tag emote. Pre-orders for Destiny 2: Beyond Light are available now on Steam, Stadia, Xbox One, and will be available soon on the PlayStation Store.

Destiny 2: Beyond Light Digital Deluxe Edition
The Destiny 2: Beyond Light Digital Deluxe Edition will be available to pre-order on all platforms:

 Destiny 2: Beyond Light Expansion + Full Year of Seasonal Content (4 Seasons Total)
 With pre-order: Exotic Rimed Ghost Shell and Legendary Emblem
 Freeze Tag Exotic Emote
 No Time to Explain Exotic Pulse Rifle with Exotic Catalyst and Ornament
 Any Other Sky Exotic Sparrow

Destiny 2: Beyond Light Collector’s Edition
The Destiny 2: Beyond Light Collector’s Edition will only be available from the Bungie Store:

 Beyond Light Digital Deluxe Edition (digital code only)
 Die-Cast Splinter of Darkness Replica with lights
 Europa Explorer’s Bag
 Europa Exploration Canteen
 Mysterious Logbook
 Plus other discoveries from Europa

The Stranger Edition will also be available with an exclusive 10″ statue of The Stranger, sold with the Deluxe Edition at select retailers.

SEASON OF ARRIVALS

A dark omen enters the system and a signal howls through the emptiness of space. In the shadow of the mysterious Pyramid ship, Guardians must search for answers. The ongoing narrative in Destiny’s evolving universe continues with the launch of the eleventh Season: Season of Arrivals.
Starting today, players can embark on new activities to enjoy, discover new gear to pursue, and experience a new chapter in the Destiny 2 universe.

 New Dungeon: Later on today, Guardians will be challenged with a new dungeon, Prophecy, available to all Destiny 2 players. Face the mystery and unlock the new DAITO Foundry armour and reprised Trials of the Nine armour sets.
 Decipher the Darkness: Throughout the Season, Messages of Darkness will be found on Io. Journey to the Cradle on Io and uncover these hidden communications.
 Contact Public Event: Join Guardians in public events beneath the newly arrived Pyramid ship on Io, where an untapped power has summoned the enemies of humanity.
 New Rewards: By Focusing new engrams in Season of Arrivals, players can choose their rewards. The new engram Focusing system introduces the ability (once earned) for players to fine-tune their rewards.
 New Gear: Amazing new weapons await as players prepare to fend off the latest threat to humanity. Season Pass owners will instantly unlock the new Witherhoard Exotic Grenade Launcher and Seasonal armour set.

Destiny 2 is free to play and includes many of the new features being launched with Season of Arrivals. Season Pass holders have access to all activities with additional premium rewards and instant unlocks:

 New weekly mission
 New Exotic weapon quest
 Instantly unlocked Exotic Grenade Launcher
 Instantly unlocked Season armour sets for each class
 Bonus XP and more

 Download Destiny 2 via Steam NOW!

Destiny 2Release Date TBCMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Dive into the free-to-play world of Destiny 2 to experience responsive FPS combat, explore the mysteries of our solar system, and unleash elemental abilities against powerful enemies. Download today to create your Guardian and collect weapons and armor to customize your playstyle.

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Tags: BungieDestinyDestiny 2Destiny 2: Beyond LightDestiny 2: Season of Arrivals


XDefiant Preview: A Shooter That Pays Tribute To Ubisoft’s Various IPs

Ubisoft San Francisco was kind enough to invite us to an early preview of their new free-to-play game XDefiant. With a Closed Beta for the game launching today, here’s a quick look at what the game’s about and what it has in store.

Originally known as Tom Clancy’s XDefiant, the game was later rebranded as a Ubisoft Original IP. The most notable aspect of the game is that it acts as a homage to their many other franchises with different maps and factions based on the likes of Splinter Cell, Watch Dogs, and Far Cry. The developers explained that they wanted to evoke their love for “fast-paced and furious arcade shooters” with XDefiant, making it a smooth, pick-up-and-play shooter with plenty to master as you get deeper into it.

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Factions

XDefiant is a free-to-play competitive shooter game where the action centers on battles between unique factions. What makes the factions so interesting is they’re all inspired by popular Ubisoft franchises, representing each series through the faction’s unique set of skills. You’ll be given the freedom to pick a character from any faction to form a six-player team. From there you’ll also have the freedom to switch to different factions and loadouts to adapt to new strategies.
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Each faction in the game itself can be likened to a character class that has traits, special skills, and an “Ultra” attack that can contribute greatly to each match.
Here are some of the factions that the game brings:

Echelon (based on the Splinter Cell series) – This is a spy faction that can break the enemy’s focus with their ability to pry info. At the same time, they’re good at eliminating enemies quickly and efficiently. You could say that this is a faction that’s suitable for players who like to play solo or are good at flanking.
Cleaners (based on The Division series) – Cleaners are equipped with a variety of skills and playstyles that rely on fire as their main weapon. They can control the surrounding area more easily thanks to their attacks that are difficult to penetrate frontally. They can use a high-powered Flamethrower that is guaranteed to send enemies running.
Libertad (based on the Far Cry 6 series) – You could say that Libertad is a must-have faction in every team considering they’re the healer and support class. They can use recovery gadgets to secure themselves and their teammates to survive the onslaught of enemies. Their Ultra-skill can even withstand frontal attacks and give them a better chance of winning duels.
Dedsec (based on the Watch Dogs 2 series) – From the name alone, it’s safe to guess that this is a class of hackers. Sure enough, this faction allows players to hack into enemy hardware or lock them out of using their main skills. They’re even equipped with a sort of spider robot that can damage enemy focus at unexpected moments.
Phantoms (based on the Ghost Recon series) – Despite their ghostly name, Phantoms are the thickest of the faction and play the role of the tank in the team. They are equipped with high-tech gadgets to maximize defense. It’s a good idea to pair them up with a Libertad. This ensures that they get a constant stream of healing and can give a constant stream of defense.

The Weapons Loadout

A strong feature in XDefiant is that each faction can use whatever weapon loadout they feel best suits their playstyle. The game provides 24 weapons of various types such as assault rifles, SMG, LMG, marksman rifles, sniper, shotguns, and sidearms. These have all been adjusted in such a way as to give the most authentic sensation and have accurate balancing making them quick and fun to handle in the midst of battle.
Aside from weapons, you’ll also be given access to 44 attachments in order to customize your weapons to achieve the desired performance. From here, you can eventually combine them with different factions and loadouts to shape your character to your needs.
The Maps

Like the classes, XDefiant also features various maps inspired by Ubisoft’s iconic franchises. Pueblito, for example, is based on Far Cry 6 with tropical jungle warfare similar to the land of Yara. The map is set in a fishermen’s village. It’s mostly open areas but still littered with plenty of hidden paths that are suitable to use as flanking routes. It very much embraces the guerilla warfare of the Far cry series which is good for a tribute map.
Another favorite of mine is the Nudlepex, based on the modern campus in Watch Dogs 2, where players can engage in fierce battles for objectives inside the main campus building, plus a classic three-lane structure that ensures a smoother gameplay flow.
Game Modes

The main mode of the game is a 6v6 battle mode that’s easy to understand and play right off the bat. Other modes present in the game include Domination and Occupy both of which take elements from the classic arena mode where you have to defend an area from enemy attacks.
By far the most interesting mode is probably Hot Shot, which will involve you competing for bounties from defeated enemies to get the highest points. The player with the highest bounty will receive special bonuses. These include more agile movement, increased rate of fire, and double the score for each bounty captured. The bonuses are interesting, but the downside is that players in the lead position will also start being marked on the enemy HUD meaning they can be a target. It’s a lot like the Assassin’s Creed Brotherhood multiplayer but with less stealth and more guns.
We should also mention the modes, Zone Control and Escort. While these are pretty typical modes that appear in most team shooters, the game’s fast pace and flexibility in switching factions can contribute to more interesting gameplay.
 In order to maintain and attract more fans, the developers have said that they will add a variety of different new modes in the future. These include maps that have been adapted to their own unique gameplay concept.
Content Available in Closed Beta

The game’s Closed Beta which begins today on the 23rd of April will provide access to the following content:

All 14 maps that will be available at the launch
Four Ubisoft franchise-inspired factions
24 weapons
44 attachments
Five explosive devices

The game will also feature Crossplay between console and PC players and while you cannot transfer your save data from the beta to the full game, you can keep up to 10 exclusive cosmetic items on release. You can sign up for the beta on the XDefiant website.
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XDefiant will be released as a free-to-play game for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, and PC.

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Tags: UbisoftXDefiant


League Of Legends: Wild Rift alpha test goes live in June

Riot Games has just announced via its social media platforms that it will be launching a limited alpha test for League of Legends: Wild Rift in June 2020.

The developers weren’t kidding when they said it was limited, as only users in Brazil and the Philippines will be able to give League Of Legends: Wild Rift a go. Even then, the number of alpha test keys will be very scarce as well, so there is no guarantee of securing a spot even if you are from either countries. The full statement by Riot Games as follows:

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GOOGLE PLAY STORE

Many of you found a “testing” link that was briefly available on the Play Store. Opting into this test likely put your account in a weird state with an “Install” button that errored out. This one was our bad; we had accidentally toggled a setting that allowed you to “opt-in” to a non-existent Early Access test. If you’re affected by this, you might have to pre-register again, but everything else should be back to normal. Sorry about that!

We’ve also seen reports that push notifications have been sent out to some players saying the game is available. We’re still tracking down the source of where this is happening, but to be clear: the game is not available yet, so please don’t download anything fishy! Thanks to everyone that helped us troubleshoot so far.

MINSPEC

In order for us to build a League experience that feels great to play, we’re still working on what our minimum device specs will be when we launch. We’re aiming to make the game available to as many devices as we can while not compromising on Wild Rift’s core gameplay.

At launch, we hope to support devices with these specs and above: 1.5GB RAM, Qualcomm Snapdragon 410 processor, and Adreno 306 GPU. And yes, at launch, we’re working to support 32-bit Android processors.

For iOS players, we’re aiming to have Wild Rift run on iPhone 6 and above, which we know is a little higher than what we previously announced. We’ll provide more info on this as we continue developing the game, but please know we are committed to finding ways to optimize the game for as many devices as we can.

OH, ONE MORE THING

We’re temporarily raising the required device specs to support a very limited alpha test next month in Brazil and the Philippines. More info on that, and a bunch more, at the end of May.

Hopefully this helps—thanks for sticking with us! See you in a couple of weeks.

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League of Legends: Wild RiftPublisher: Riot GamesDeveloper: Riot GamesRelease Date: 2020-10-27Android, iOS
Dive into Wild Rift: the skills-and-strategy 5v5 MOBA experience of League of Legends by Riot Games, now built from the ground up for mobile. With smooth controls and fast-paced games, you can team up with friends, lock in your champion, and go for the big plays.

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Tags: AndroidiOSLeague of Legends Wild RiftRiot Games


Heroes of the Storm released new comic book – Rise of the Raven Lord, Dark Nexus skins and mounts

Good news for the fans of Heroes of the Storm, the HotS universe is expanding big this year with a new comic book titled Rise of the Raven Lord, new Dark Nexus skins and more! Before we move on to the details, check out the interview with Game Director Alan Dabiri and Creative Content Lead Kevin Johnson below where they will introduce you to the particulars of the Nexus.

The first issue of the new comic – Rise of the Raven Lord is now released and you can read it here. More installments will be arriving over the coming months so stay tuned to their official blog for the updates.

Those who have read Rise of the Raven Lord will see that Raven Lord has summoned some familiar faces but they come in a dark new look. As you may have guessed correctly, these are the new Dark Nexus skins which are now available in the game.
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Other than Alarak and Gul’dan’s new epic skins, we are getting the legendary Dark Nexus Hound Mount and epic Dark Nexus Manta Mount as well. All of the new skins and mounts are up for purchase in a limited-time bundle until 14 May, you can also find more details on their official blog.
Dark Nexus Hound Mount (Legendary)
The new Dark Nexus skins and mounts look so cool! We are looking forward to more big updates on Heroes of the Storm, aren’t you?

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Tags: Blizzard EntertainmentDark NexusHeroes of the StormPCRise of the Raven Lord


Death Stranding Director’s Cut PC will release March 2022

Death Stranding Director’s Cut will at last be arriving to PC via Steam and the Epic Games Store March 2022. PC players will be able to purchase Death Stranding Director’s Cut for $39.99 or upgrade at $9.99 when you install the base game and purchase through the in-game store front come 30 March 2022. The game is on a 70% discount through Steam’s Lunar Sale from 28 January 2022 to 4 February 2022.

The Director’s Cut further enhances the game’s stunning visuals with higher frame rates, ultrawide monitor support, and feature-rich photo mode for even better shots of the sweeping vistas. This is in addition to an expanded storyline, new stealth missions, combat abilities, equippable items, buildable structures, cosmetic options, and more. We reviewed its console release here, if you need any further convincing.

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From legendary game creator Hideo Kojima comes a genre-defying experience, now expanded in this definitive DIRECTOR’S CUT. As Sam Bridges, your mission is to deliver hope to humanity by connecting the last survivors of a decimated America. Can you reunite the shattered world, one step at a time?

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You can wishlist the game on Steam, and more information can also be found via the PC release’s website. The Steam page lists the following additional content:

“Selections From ‘The Art of DEATH STRANDING’” Digital Book (by Titan Books)
Backpack Patches
Bridges Special Delivery Team Suit (Gold)
BB pod customization (Chiral Gold)
Power Gloves (Gold)
Bridges Special Delivery Team Suit (Silver)
BB pod customization (Omnireflector)
Power Gloves (Silver)
Cross over content from Half-Life and Cyberpunk 2077

Death Standing Director's CutPublisher: Sony Interactive EntertainmentDeveloper: Kojima ProductionsRelease Date: 2021-09-24PlayStation 5
From legendary game creator Hideo Kojima comes a genre-defying experience, now expanded and remastered in this definitive Director’s Cut.

- Remastered for the PlayStation®5 console – enjoy advanced combat and a new competitive ranking system.*
- Expanded content – use additional weapons and vehicles, take on new enemies and explore new locations with extra missions and minigames.
- New discoveries – experience an extended storyline in an expanded area.
- Social Strand System – stay connected with players around the globe.*

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Tags: 505 GamesDeath StrandingDeath Stranding Director's CutKojima Productions


WotV Global will launch 25 March 2020 [War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius]

Well, rejoice, everyone, as WotV Global, our good friend, War of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius, has confirmed its launch date for 25 March 2020 PST. Almost 8 months since its original release for Japan, the rest of the English speaking world, as well as in a variety of languages that include:

German
French
Spanish
Korean
Traditional Chinese.

A countdown has begun on the official Twitter as well. They’re still calling for pre-registrations to get the final milestone reward at 800,000 which, if you may recall, includes the following:

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50,000: 250 x Visiore, 20 x Gil Snapper (L)
100,000: 250 x Visiore, 5 x NRG Restore (L)
150,000: 250 x Visiore, Weapon – Excalibur (UR)
200,000: 250 x Visiore, Vision Card – Aquatic Songstress, Siren (UR)
250,000: 250 x Visiore, Unit – Y’shtola (MR)
300,000: 1,000 x Visiore
800,000: 1,000 x Visiore, 1 MR+ Guaranteed Unit Summon Ticket A

The Twitter account has been giving brief introductions into the various game mechanics, too, alongside the characters you’ll be seeing in the game.

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Equipping a vision card will bestow various effects to the unit it is equipped or to the entire party. Some of these effects include additional stats to the unit, and activation of certain abilities.
To get a head start into the game, we did write a beginner’s guide, which you can check out right here. Now, sit tight, and wait for the global launch of WotV come 25 March!

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Tags: Final FantasyWar of the VisionsWar of the Visions: Final Fantasy Brave Exvius


Uma Musume adds Mejiro Palmer: Should You Pull?

With a new banner refresh that will last until 30 May 2022, we have the addition of Mejiro Palmer to the Uma Musume stable.

★3[Line Breakthrough]メジロパーマー（CV：#のぐちゆり さん）が登場！
自慢の爆逃げで中距離や長距離を走り切る、頼れるギャルなウマ娘です！
ガチャで獲得すると今だけ「メジロパーマーのピース×90」がおまけで付いてきます！#ウマ娘 #ゲームウマ娘 pic.twitter.com/ksm0W8n31J

— ウマ娘プロジェクト公式アカウント (@uma_musu) May 20, 2022

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Joining the ever growing Mejiro stable, we have our first dedicated runner in the family in the form of Mejiro Palmer.

Mejiro Palmer joins a very exclusive club of runners with a heal for her unique character skill, which solves one of the bigger headaches of any training runs, since she shines in medium and long tracks. Of course, you are then required to pair a decent ability from other runners. Furthermore, she has training bonuses in three really good stats, which is always convenient. As part of her kit of very useful runner skills, Mejiro Palmer is the first character to have the gold version of Playtime’s Over, which grants her a nice speed boost if she is tailed by someone for over three seconds. You definitely will want to consider rolling for Mejiro Palmer as runners are always relevant for most scenarios, although the mainstay for Champions Meetings remain relatively unchanged for the foreseeable future. However if you can spare it and do not want mirror matches, give Mejiro Palmer a shot.
Uma Musume: Pretty Derby is currently available on Android and iOS for mobile, and DMM Games for the PC.

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Uma Musume: Pretty DerbyDeveloper: CygamesRelease Date: 2021-02-24Android, iOS
Horse girls take to the track! Train up these cute horse girls to be the best of the best.

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Tags: AndroidCygamesiOSSimulationUma Musume: Pretty Derby


Report: In 7 Years, Fate Grand Order Has Almost 4 Billion USD In Earnings

Fate Grand Order celebrated its 7th anniversary last week, with the long running mobile game boasting some of the highest earnings in its lifetime.

According to data from Appmagic, Fate Grand Order has earned 3.9 billion USD across all platforms, putting it as one of the most profitable mobile games of all time alongside PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings.

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Considering its status as one of the progenitors of the anime gacha game, it’s no surprise that Fate Grand Order is the king of earnings among its contemporaries- the game launched when many common rules about gacha mechanics weren’t implemented, having a wildly aggressive monetization system for players who wanted to max out their favorite servants.
This included a lack of a pity rate (a maximum number of pulls before you get a certain reward), as well as laughably low drop rates for featured units, with a 1% for 5-star Servants on the regular banner and 0.8% for the limited banner, as per the Fate Grand Order wiki.
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Combined with its strong head start, Fate Grand Order continues to trump titles like Genshin Impact in overall earnings, though in recent months its revenue has slowed down, being just shy of 50 million USD a month.
Image source: Appmagic
If nothing else, being behind PUBG Mobile and Honor of Kings is more a testament to just how wild the early days of mobile gaming were- Honor of Kings completely laps Fate with 8 billion USD in lifetime earnings, and PUBG Mobile, despite being 3 years late to the party maintained higher monthly revenue for most of the time between June 2019 and January 2022, with brief monthly blips where Tencent’s golden goose caught up.
That being said, the standards for meteoric growth have also changed in the 7 years- at the same point in the game’s lifespan as Genshin Impact is now, Fate Grand Order had earned over 924,000 USD- definitely phenomenon-worthy for its time. However, in this same 2-year window Genshin has walked away with 2.6 billion USD, without even accounting for the game’s console and PC purchases.
The Strength Of Fate

While it’s not nearly the powerhouse on the level of Honor of Kings, one thing Fate Grand Order can be commended on is its consistency. While many mobile games will have a surge of popularity before dipping Fate has largely avoided that, with large spikes for popular banners and a fairly regular monthly income otherwise giving it a fairly regular-looking graph, without too many dramatic dips.
It should be noted that it’s done this with a fairly limited release, too- while all the major moneymaking regions have access to the game, countries like the UK, Australia and Indonesia have been historically left out, with the first two only just being announced to get access to the game.
Couple that with the series longevity as an IP- branching into anime under the Fate Grand Order sub-brand as well as arcade games, and you have a series that’s far from being on its last legs.
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Fate/Grand OrderPublisher: AniplexDeveloper: DelightworksRelease Date: 2015-07-30Android, iOS
A new mobile "Fate RPG," presented by TYPE-MOON!
With an impressive main scenario and multiple character quests,
the game features millions of words of original story!
Packed with content that both fans of the Fate franchise and newcomers will be able to enjoy.

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Tags: AniplexDELiGHTWORKS Inc.Fate Grand Order


[LEVEL UP KL 2022] “Motion Capture Is Like a Brush” says Kenn McDonald, Senior Animation Manager At PS Studios Malaysia in Interview

During the Southeast Asian annual Game Developers Conference LEVEL UP KL 2022 that happened just last week, we had the pleasure to be able to chat with Kenn McDonald who is a Senior Animation Manager at PlayStation Studios Malaysia in an interview.

In our interview with Kenn, we asked him his thoughts on Motion Capture, Animation, applying at PlayStation studios and other technical aspects when working in Animation.

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We’ve also previously attended his talk titled: Introduction to Motion Capture in Games and if you’re interested in reading about that, you can click on the link here.
[Interview is edited for clarity]
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You have a very personal connection to Motion Capture, having been there from the early days of Beowulf and Polar Express. Considering the performances we’re getting nowadays with games like The Last of Us or Death Stranding, how do you feel about how far the medium has come?
Polar Express
I think it certainly has come a long way, and I think the motion capture that we’re getting in games now is on par with what we were getting in Beowulf. We got the animation talents, we got great actors, great performers that are playing these characters. A lot of them focus on doing game work and motion capture work, but we’re also getting a lot of actors crossing over from film and television who are working in games.
The technology I think has fully crossed over from visual effects, being up to par with the standards we usually see in movies. The only limitations that we have are the game engines, but I still think that the game engines that we have from the last generation have also come so far. What the consoles, game engines, and PC can do, I think it’s fully matured.

Do you think there’s any room for growth on that aspect then?
Oh yeah, there’s always room for growth, even in feature films and visual effects. I don’t think we’ve done a completely convincing and believable digital character. We’ve done very good digital characters that don’t feel weird or creepy but I think there’s still room to make it better.
When I see a digital character, I know immediately that I’m looking at one. Maybe that’s because I study it and I know what the little things are but I think we spend all our time interacting with everyday people and it only takes a little for you to realise that there’s something not quite right.
The day I can sit down and watch a movie and mistake you for a digital character, that’s when we really succeeded. But I don’t think it’s quite there yet, so we can keep improving.

When speaking to a lot of animators, they always says that it’s not about getting the frame by frame perfect rotoscope and that you still need to add the little things to make it more believable.
Straight perfect motion capture somehow feels kind of dead. A little bit of massaging by the animator, a little bit of pushing it or emphasising something. especially in facial performances goes a long way towards making a connection with the viewer.

Do you feel like audience, even the ones that didn’t go through artschool can appreciate all these little advancements?
I think it’s in their enjoyment of it, to be honest I don’t think they particularly care about the details of how we make these things. Some people do, they’re fans and they’re interested in the process but for the average person on the street, they just want to be entertained and want to lose themselves in a story. And if we’re creating characters that do that, then we’re doing our job and that’s what really comes down to.
The more they can connect with what’s happening on the screen, in that sense they appreciate it more but I don’t think about it much. Unless they complain about how terrible it was.

I think there’s one concern about motion capture in particular and it’s that it limits you into doing realistic things.
I don’t think so, you can use motion capture in other ways. Immediately after we did Polar Express, Sony did another motion capture project before Beowulf, it was a movie called Monster House. It was produced Robert Zemeckis and directed by Gil Kenan and they had these stylised and cartoony designs. They were made to look like stop motion puppets and they motion captured all of the character performers and re-target those performances onto those characterised performers. And I thought it worked really well, I thought it was really fun and the motion capture gave it an interesting stop motion kind of feel to it.
Monster House
Dreamworks have been using motion capture for years with Shrek. They originally did motion capture tests for Shrek where they considered motion capture for that. They’ve been using motion capture for background characters and crowd scenes for a long time.
You can use and mix it with other kinds of animation with stylised performances and you can get some interesting effects with it. So I don’t think it has to be just for realistic action/adventure stuff.

So to put it in other words, it’s like a brush?
Yeah, it’s like a brush! Brad Bird, the director who did The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and the Mission Impossible movie talked about this quite a lot and he says in the United States, we’re talking about motion capture is squeezed into this and in the states, animation for many years is considered as a kid’s medium. And Brad’s point was that animation is a tool for making movies, not a genre as animated films can be all sorts of genres.
Ratatouille
Animation is a vessel and the content inside the vessel is what kind of story you’re telling. And I think the same thing is true for motion capture since it’s a way of getting a performance onto a character but you can tell any kind of story with it.

I think there’s a big problem with how people measure the quality of animation, where they think “if it’s not a photo-realistic picture woman closing her eyes and screaming, it’s bad animation.” What do you say is the hallmark of good animation?
Good animation is animation that tells a story that connects with people and touches them. You could look at something and say that’s technically well animated, that’s proficient animation. But I’ve seen plenty of animation that’s very well done, but it feels dead, it lacks heart and soul to it. There’s more to it than just being technically good at it, whether you’re being able to do good drawings or being able to make a great model.
It’s the combination of story telling and performance of a story being told and the way people will react in their hearts to the animation.
There’s a great little film that’s probably 40 or 50 years old now called “Moonbird”. The film was done by a husband and wife animation team, and it was animated in a sort of child-like way, like a children’s drawing. The film was incredibly charming and very touching, I would still say it’s good animation even though it’s not slick and polished. It’s good animation because it draws you into the story of these little kids and tells you an emotional adventure.
Moonbird
So to me, there’s a lot to be said of knowing your tools, understand animation and knowing all the principles, and being able to use those to create beautiful animation. But to me, good animation is animation that captures the audiences entirely and moves them.

Just to clarify, when you said touching, it doesn’t always have to be about “Simba poking Mufasa’s dead body”, it can also be funny right?
It can be funny, something that’s just charming or it can be something that frightens you. It’s like I said, animation is a vessel, it’s a medium to tell a story, and you can tell any kind of story with it and be successful with it.

Going from features to games, what would you say is the biggest difference in the pipeline?
It really depends, the first few things I worked on in games were mostly doing cinematics and it was very similar to doing films. As I dove into it more, and got into positions where I was working within the development studio and overseeing a whole game, I had to learn a lot more about gameplay and working closely with level designers and programmers.
One game that I worked on was the new version of Hitman. I worked on the first season of that and when we started it. Hitman was a stealth game, there was fighting and killing but it is a stealth game at its core. So we took out time with the animation and see what happens if we them be really smooth. It looked really cool but it didn’t play well.
Hitman
When we started putting it through for play testers to play test the game were annoyed because they had to wait for the animation sequence to finish. It was only a few frames but it was enough to make them crazy.
So we started to tighten up the animation, making the motions a little shorter and using blending transitions instead of animating transition. We still kept a very nice look to it, but it felt better to play with more interactions. So for me, that was the biggest thing when I went from doing animated films and visuals effects.
In visual effects, you have the scene length but you got a lot of room in there to move things around. If you’re making an animated feature, and you say I need another 3 seconds in the scene, generally you can just open it up and do it. But in a game, you really have to pay attention to how long actions take and how gameplay affects things.
The cinematics are the fun and sexy part of it, but the gameplay is the heart of it, and you have to make sure you’re paying attention to that. I think for me, that’s where I had the most learning to do when I started working in games more.

I remember in school where they were like “when you’re doing games, when you say it’s 60 frames, it’s 60 frames“
In games like Tekken or Mortal Kombat, it’s 12 frames and I got friends who are masters of those games. They know they need to hit this button and flip this paddle and hit that tab at frame number 8, of this action to trigger a certain combination. It’s completely insane, but it’s amazing and the animation has to work at that level.
Tekken
It’s the exact number of frames and you have to be at this exact point in that motion to trigger the next motion that needs to comes out from that, so it’s incredible precise and technical and I think in general, animators that work in games and especially animators who focus on gameplay animation are really much more technical than your average animator working in visual effects. They have to be, because it’s so complex.
Mortal Kombat 11
Does motion capture help at all when doing that kind of animation? Since you only ever hear about that in cinematic content.
Yeah. When we did Hitman, we did motion capture for all of his kills and his stunts. In other games I’ve worked on, we’ve done motion capture for all of the gameplay, animation and everything. But it gets very heavily edited and it gets manipulated a lot so you got a lot of good basis as it feels pretty natural but it gets edited a lot in order for it to work within the requirements of being gameplay animation. And especially so for fighting stuff and things like that, you have to tighten it up a little bit.

During your talk, I noticed a recurring theme that you’ve bought up like the quality and the technical aspects of animation. Because you mentioned the 4D scanning and how they’re able to scan a person’s face as a mesh.
For 4D scanning, they’re able to scan a person’s face and capture their facial texture at a super high resolution, full speed, 60 frames per second and have someone go through a range of expressions and performances. You can grab a person’ expressions and that becomes the basis for a blend shape for that expression, or maybe it’s going to be a joint-based rig but you use that as a target that you’re trying to hit with the joint based deformers. Or maybe you’re using a joint based rig but your corrective shapes that get triggered when you go into that pose.
You can use that geometry in many ways. For example, you can use the texture and geometries to generate wrinkle maps, where you can get all these incredible references that you can use, and in some ways very directed usable to generate blend shapes.
With the rigs are appearing more often, and a lot of that is really being used in visual effects and it hasn’t made its way as deeply into games because the game engines are still somewhat limited as it needs to be rendered in real time and you can’t have 150 corrective blend shapes on a face rig.
We’re getting there, and it’s useful as reference and in a way to get the character expressions you want and targets to aim for with your real time rigs. And I find it to be amazing, because you can take a really quick scan of the metahuman and texture that you’ve done, put it in there a have a rig working in a few hours.

What do you think about performance capture being that easy? Because we have a whole industry of Vtubers who literally have a phone pointed at a person and it maps their actions onto the phone?
I think it’s amazing. You could go out and buy these helmets, these cameras and their rigs cost thousands of dollars. When I see people with a bicycle helmet where they have a pole here and an iPhone here, and they’re doing facial capture, I feel really happy about it.
I think that’s fantastic and that opens up this technology to people who are on a budget, you can start seeing it being used in small games and indie games. I think that’s amazing and I’m all for it, any kind of hacking that you can do to get the technology to be more available for people because then, people are going to start doing things with it that you wouldn’t expect.

PlayStation is undoubtedly considered the studio that makes these really good and realistic performances. I think if your new animator friend coming out of school might be a little bit intimidating to even want to apply and work in PlayStation.
It’s funny you say that, we do internships and we’ve done really well with them. We recently had 4 people go through internships and all 4 of them transitioned into full time employees. We also have three more interns who just started this week.
I’ll admit, we’re very particular about the people that we accept for our internships. We bring in people that we look at their work, and when we talk to them, we see their passion and the good skills that they’ve learned at school, we believe that there’s a really good chance that they’ll be successful.
But I’ve heard that some of the younger animators that we’ve hired into the studio as associated animators or mid level animators, they were very intimidated to apply. They almost didn’t apply because they thought there was no way they were going to hired at PlayStation. But they did.
PlayStation Studios Malaysia
They sent us their work and we look through them and saw that they had potential, we then called them up for an interview and they had a great attitude. You can see when someone was really passionate about what they do, have a set of skills and they want to learn. Those are the kind of people that we’re looking for, so nobody should be afraid of applying to PlayStation.

As someone who was on the job hunt before, there’s always this fear that your application was so bad that not only that they reject you but they also tell everyone else to reject you too.
I don’t know about that. Early in my career, I went through times when I put my portfolio in a place which was met with a really harsh review from somebody. I felt really terrible and two weeks later, somebody saw my portfolio and said “this is great! Why don’t you come work with us?”
I would just encourage everybody to just try, and don’t give up.

Before we wrap up, do you have anything you want to add and say to others?
Yeah. Figure out what it is that you’re passionate about, and what it is you care about. Animating, making games, making movies, it’s all pretty hard work, you don’t always need to work 80 hours a week but sometimes you work a lot of hours, it requires a lot of intense focus and there’s a lot of pressure. So you need to be passionate about it and you need to care and figure out what it is. If you love animation, what kind of animation you would like, what you like animating.
When I was a kid, there was a TV show called Johnny Quest that I loved. It was an original TV show from the early 60s, which revolves around Johnny Quest, his scientist father and his friends as they go on these crazy adventures. It was just this action/adventure genre and a lot of projects that I worked on over the years have been in that vein because I love the genre and stories they tell. And that was something that really motivated me, it started my love for movies, comic books and animation, and it stuck with me.
Johnny Quest
I always ask people when I’m interviewing them, tell me your origin story and what got you into this. Why did you want to be an animator, what’s something you saw whether if its a movie or a TV show, something that you saw and made you say “I want to do that” or “I wish I animated that”.
And if you can answer that, then you’re well on your way. But that’s an important one, knowing what it is. If you’re just going through the motions, you’re going to have a tougher time, animating takes a lot of passion.

We’d like to thank Kenn McDonald for taking time to answer our questions.
PlayStation Studios Malaysia are currently recruiting for more people to join their team to further contribute to the development of games and creating quality AAA masterpieces. For those who are interested in joining them, you can apply and submit your resume by clicking on the link here.

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Tags: InterviewKenn McDonaldLevel Up KL 2022PlayStation Malaysia