Genshin Impact Tsurumi Island Guide: How To Clear The Mist

Genshin Impact’s 2.2 update introduces a new location to explore: the mysterious and fog-heavy Tsurumi island. There’s a pretty hefty sidequest that requires you to fetch a mysterious musical instrument for an author residing in Inazuma City.
Here’s the walkthrough.
Genshin Impact Through The Mist World Quest
To access the island, you’ll have to start the “Through The Mist – A Particularly Particular Author” quest. Talk to Katheryne in the Inazuma City Adventurerâ€™s Guild. Then, Talk to an NPC named Sumida whoâ€™s also in Inazuma City.
Finally, talk to an NPC named Kama whoâ€™s found in Ritou. Kama will take you to Tsurumi Island. After a brief intro, head to the Statue of the Seven nearby to unravel the island.
As you can see, there’s a ton of mist at parts here and there. Your main quest here is to help a boy named Ruu and clear the mists all over the island. To do this, you’ll need to touch a nearby ancient tree, collect the three purple feathers nearby the place (use Elemental Sense to find its location), then collect them. Once you collect the feathers, head back to the nearby tree and touch it. The fog in the area will clear out.
You’ll be doing this for three major areas on Tsurumi Island. We’ll break it down here.
Autake Plains (West)
This one’s a standard “chase the flying feathers within the location and defeat the mist wolves and other encounters” bit; be sure to stay close to the lanterns or else you’ll get lost in the mist and have to start over from the last non-mist spot you’re in. Talk to Ruu and interact with the tree, then start collecting the purple feathers.
The first one is fairly close to the hill. The second one is further along the path next to a hut. You’ll have to fight a Thundercraven Rifthound (giant Electro wolf thing) to progress further.

The third feather is off to the side of the hill. Youâ€™ll see a Thunder Bough next to it. The feather will float inside the barrier, so get the Electrograna buff and enter it.
Shirikoro Peak (Northwest)
This one’s a tad complex.Â After touching the tree in the area, you’ll have to submerge the water to reach the feathers and solve a few Relay Stone puzzles to open doors to get to the other feathers.
Here’s a video to show you how it’s done.

Chirai Shrine (East)
Touch the tree in the area to get started. The first feather isÂ at the bottom of the ruined shrine.

The second feather is southwest of the first feather. See the Relay Stone Puzzle nearby? That’s where it is. You may need to kill the Rifthounds nearby.
The third feather is on a ridge near the tree. It’ll fly away as you approach it, so follow it. You’ll need to use a phase gate at one point to reach it.
Once you’ve purified these three locations of fog and mist, you can return to the ceremonial shrine in central Tsurumi Island. Just pick up the â€œMaushiroâ€ object on the ground, then go back and talk to Kama near the Statue of the Seven/Waverider Waypoint.
Heâ€™ll take you back to Ritou, and you can fast travel to Inazuma City to speak with Sumida. This will conclude the Tsurumi Island “Through The Mist” questline. Bravo!
Tsurumi Island: How To unlock Moshiri Kara Domain
So the spot where Tsurumi Island was? There’s a domain you can unlock. All you have to do is finish the three challenges within the area. You can head to them using the phase gates within the vicinity.

Genshin Impact Through The Mist – Octave of the Maushiro World Quest Guide
After you’re done with the previous World Quest, you’ll now get to complete this quest for Sumida. Head back to Tsurumi Island again, go through the giant gate, and then meet up with Ruu. Then you’ll get a special purple feather item that you can use at the special Thunderbird statues scattered throughout the island.
The quest is rather straightforward, though the puzzle bits for each segment can be a bit tricky. Here’s a walkthrough of each of these segments (with timestamps).

Once you’re done with the World Quest, you can return to Tsurumi Island and activate all the Thunderbird statues for loot and profit!
Genshin Impact Through The Mist – The Sea of Fog & Rite of the Trees Walkthrough

So those perches you’ve been using in Through The Mist Day 1? You’ll have to destroy them in this next Through The Mist world quest segment.
Talk to Kama in Ritou for the whole backstory of Tsurumi Island. Then, look for Ruu on Tsurumi Island. He’s not there, and the area is still covered in fog. You’ll have to destroy all the perches you’ve approached earlier on at the first southmost area, as well as the perches on Autake Plains, Shirikoro Peak, and Chirai Shrine.
To destroy the perches, hit them with your attacks. When you’ve downed them to half life, the perch will then shoot out electrical balls within the vicinity of the perch’s area.

You’ll have to seek these balls out and destroy them with non-Electro skills and Bursts. You’ll have enemies occasionally swarming you when you approach the last few balls, but it’s nothing you can’t handle.
Once you’re done with all three perches, head to Moshiri Ceremonial Site. You’ll trigger a few scenes involving Ruu. Once that’s done, head back to Ritou to talk to Sumida and Kama. Quest’s done, for now.


New Breaking Bad Movie Trailer Shows First Look At Jesse Pinkman

Netflix unveiled a new trailer for El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie during the Emmys 2019 earlier today. Running at just over one minute long, this one actually shows new footage from the upcoming movie, instead of re-using snippets from the series like in previous trailers.
The new El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie trailer marks the first time that we see this version of Jesse Pinkman, with Aaron Paul reprising the role. It looks like the immediate aftermath of the events of Breaking Bad‘s final episode, with Pinkman still on the run in the El Camino car in the middle of nowhere, listening to the radio for news on the tragic events that he escaped from.
The radio news broadcast goes:

â€œA horrific scene with multiple victims.
It started when neighbours reported hearing hundreds of gunshots fired.
When Albuquerque police arrived, they discovered the bodies of nine male victims.
Many shot multiple times.
Veteran police officers calling the level of carnage quote â€˜staggeringâ€™.
Apparently, a remote-controlled machine gun was used in the killings.
Investigators are looking for a person of interest who fled the scene.
Anyone with information of this massacre is asked to call police immediately.â€

El Camino: A Breaking Bad MovieÂ is slated to release on 11 October 2019 on Netflix worldwide. In the meantime, check out the latest trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xw7Aii1Fyq4&w=560&h=315]


Borderlands 3 Reveals Wild West-Themed DLC, Out End Of June

I find it rather funny that after talking about how cool Red Dead Redemption was, Gearbox goes ahead and announce a Western-themed Borderlands 3 expansion.
Dubbed Bounty of Blood: A Fistful of Redemption, this DLC takes place on a new planet called Gehenna, a world filled with gangs of “beast riders” you need to take down. The new tale is a “harsh story of revenge and redemption” featuring a new cast of characters like reformed brawler Juno and your tour guide Rose. You also get a Jet Beast mount which you’ll use for just that planet; it’s half-machine, half-dinosaur.
Another interesting tidbit is that the samurai Western town, Vestige, will change based on your actions in the DLC, like storefronts reopening and the local theatre showing lost film reels.

And of course, the DLC will be introducing more Legendary weapons and armaments. A shame that there aren’t any cameos of Borderlands characters like Salvador, Athena, and Fiona; we had Timothy the Doppleganger and Gaige the Mechromancer in past DLCs. What happened?
At least we have this tease of the fourth DLC to look forward to. Hello, Krieg the Psycho!

Look out for this DLC when it’s out 25th June.
But Wait, There’s More!
There’s going to be a new Takedown raid called Takedown at the Guardian Breach. This new Takedown will be an extreme challenge four-player raid featuring trick puzzles, areas where the team needs to split up temporarily, and low-gravity platforming, along with oodles of high-level enemies to defeat.

If these new Guardians are anything like the previous ones we’ve fought, you’ll need to start packing shock weapons to get a leg up. This Takedown will be available on 4th June; basically when the Cartel mini-event is done.
And here’s a SHIFT code for more Golden Keys for your troubles: CB53B-WJTTJ-HJCZC-HBK3T-F3RX5.


New Shaman King Anime Is Coming To Netflix In 2021

Netflix has unveiled a trailer for the upcoming new Shaman King anime with English subtitles. This confirms that the reboot of Hiroyuki Takei’s Shaman King manga adaptation will be coming to Netflix sometime in 2021.
In Japan, the anime will premiere on 1 April 2021 and will adapt all 35 volumes of the manga’s new complete edition. The first Shaman King anime ran from 2001 to 2002 for 64 episodes, though it deviated from the manga, which was incomplete at the time.

The anime’s cast includes:

YÅko Hikasa as Yoh Asakura.
Katsuyuki Konishi as Amidamaru.
Megumi Hayashibara as Anna KyÅyama.
Inuko Inuyama as Manta Oyamada.
Romi Park as Tao Ren.
Kousuke Takaguchi as Bason.
Masahiko Tanaka as Ryunosuke Umemiya.
Wataru Takagi as TokagerÅ.
YÅ«ji Ueda as Horohoro.
Megumi Nakajima as Kororo.
Michiko Neya as Tao Jun.
Tooru Sakurai as Lee Pailong.
Nana Mizuki as Tamao Tamamura.
Takumu Miyazono as Ponchi.
Noriaki Kanze as Konchi.
Takehito Koyasu as Faust VIII.
Masakazu Morita as Mosuke.
Minami Takayama as Hao Asakura.
Rina Hidaka as Pirika.
Yoko Soumi as Lyserg Diethel.
Motoko Kumai as Joco (Chocolove) McDonell.
Yui Horie as Jeanne.
YÅ«ichi Nakamura as Marco.

Joji FurutaÂ (The Seven Deadly Sins: Revival of The Commandments,Â Uta no Prince Sama Maji Love Kingdom,Â Double Decker! Doug & Kirill,Â Ä“lDLIVE) is directing the new anime at studio BridgeÂ (Fairy Tail,Â The Royal Tutor).
Shoji YonemuraÂ (PokÃ©monÂ franchise,Â Wave, Listen to Me!) is in charge of the series scripts.
Satohiko SanoÂ (Heybot!,Â Welcome to Demon School, Iruma-kun,Â Talentless Nana) is designing the characters.
Yuki HayashiÂ (My Hero Academia,Â Haikyu!!) is composing the music, with King Record as the music producer.
Fans will be happy to learn thatÂ Megumi Hayashibara will return to perform the anime’s opening song “Soul salvation” and ending theme song “#Boku no Yubisaki” (My Fingertip). She previously performed two opening songs and two ending songs for the 2001 Shaman King anime.

Check out the synopsis for Shaman King, according toÂ Kodansha USA PublishingÂ andÂ Comixology Originals (via Anime News Network):
In the world ofÂ Shaman King, shamans possess mysterious powers that allow them to commune with gods, spirits, and even the deadâ€¦and Manta Oyamada’s about to learn all about them, because his class just welcomed a new transfer student: Yoh Asakura, a boy from way off in Izumoâ€¦and a shaman in training!


Halo Infinite Weapons & Power Items Guide: The Best Ones To Use In Multiplayer

Halo Infinite is out now in open beta form and its multiplayer is free-to-play, so you have no excuse not to miss out on this wild ride. Long story short: this is the comeback Halo needs as it plays really well, has great netcode, and is fun with loads of people on a map to team up and/or kill.
As with any new first-person shooter, there are weapons to use and master. Before we list out the weapons and equipment, here’s one general rule you need to follow:
Master Your Basic Weapons & Melee
The weapons you start off with are the Assault Rifle(AR) and MK50 Sidekick. At times, you will probably switch your AR with the Battle Rifle or VK47 Commando rifle because they’re readily available and there’s a good chance a dead Spartan might drop that.
Halo is also the series that made melee very strong; two hits and your enemy is down. You will need to master the art of shooting someone and then immediately meleeing them when they’re pretty close. It takes a lot of practice to master this dance, and you will die a lot just getting the hang of the dance of death where you fire, go back and forth, go flanking, then homing in for the melee when your enemy’s shield is empty.
A good way to ensure you survive this deadly tango more often than not is to have a firm grasp of the reach of your melee hits. Players with a weak understanding of this tend to try closing in which is suicidal.
Practice All Weapons On The Weapon Drill

Halo Infinite also introduces the Weapon Drill mode in its training options: you can play through a bunch of weapon challenges for a high score. The Weapon Drills also let you experiment with the weapons so that you can get a feel for them in a non-PvP setting. Get all your weapon practice on this mode. Learn the recoil patterns and as a rule of thumb, try not to fully squeeze the trigger.
When you start a PvP round, almost everyone will go after a Power Weapon by default. This means while one or two enemy Spartans will chase them down, you can ambush them with your default weapons with your own team. One common tactic is to load up the area with a grenade or two; you can down enemies quick enough and then steal their Power Weapon for your team’s benefit.
If You’re Not Good With A Weapon, Drop It For Your Pal
Arm your allies by dropping guns for them. Press and hold the Weapon Swap button to drop the weapon you’re holding (Y on Xbox controller, V on keyboard). Better for your teammate who’s a crackshot with a sniper rifle to handle that rather than you struggling with it.
With that said, let’s break down each weapon and equipment.

UNSC/Spartan Weapons
Assault Rifle (AR)

Old faithful. Master its range and aiming. You’ll be relying on this since it’s your starting weapon. A solid all-rounder for close and medium-range fights. Can surprising pick off opponents from far away too if your aim is godlike.
MK50 Sidekick
Another old faithful. We used to call this the Magnum. It does strong headshot damage and has a decent fire rate (12 shots in a full magazine), but its range is mid to close. If your primary gun is close to empty (prompting a reload), switch to the Sidekick to deal the finishing shot.
Switching to a pistol is faster than reloading your primary gun. And as FPS games do, headshots are punchier than your average body shots.
Battle Rifle (BR)
The BR is also another classic weapon in the Halo franchise. If you can’t handle the game’s Sniper Rifle recoil and firing rate, the BR is the next best thing for long-ranged combat. This weapon rewards accuracy, so you’ll get lots of kills if you can handle its recoil and range.
VK47 Commando
A hybrid between an AR and a BR, this precision tactical rifle has a fully automatic firing mode and a 3x tactical optic sight, but has a slower fire rate and high recoil. To compensate for this, practice single shots in quick successions.
Bulldog Shotgun

A classic Halo weapon, this shotgun has pump action but it’s fully automatic this time around. It fires much faster and sports 7 rounds. It cannot kill enemy Spartans with one shot, but at least its range is buffed so you can unload 2 shots at mid-range before going for a melee kill.
Just like with any shotgun in an FPS, this gun works best in corridors and corners. Do not use this in an open field; you might as well be a sitting duck when other enemies have long-ranged BRs to pick you off.
S7 Sniper Rifle
The classic S7 sniper rifle has 4 rounds in its magazine, a couple of zoom options, and can one-shot anyone if you’re aiming for the head. If you’ve used this in Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, it’s pretty much the same weapon here. In fact, this weapon can still penetrate multiple targets so it is possible to multi-kill enemies in a single firing line.
SPNKr Rocket Launcher
The game’s rocket launcher. Very effective and has decent splash damage. Best weapons for multikill frenzies and against vehicles in Big Team Battle. The splash is damaging, so be careful not to fire this too close. In 1v1 situations, it’s always best to aim for the floor or the wall closest to your opponents.
Hydra
This rocket launcher/grenade launcher hybrid fires small micro-missiles that can lock onto enemy infantry. This weapon has two firing modes: normal mode that shoots rockets incredibly fast, and tracking mode that locks onto targets. Normal mode deals more damage than tracking mode. We recommend using this in closed quarters – like when your enemies are bunched up in a room or direct hit to any vehicle.
Banished Weapons
Pulse Carbine
This weapon is a combination of Halo’s Plasma Rifle and Covenant Carbine. Close-to-medium range, burst-fire, and takes down shields super quick. The weapon can overheat, though it doesn’t need reloading. This is another weapon benefiting from not holding down the trigger when firing.
Needler
This awesome rapid-fire SMG is back. This version of the Needler has 26 rounds and fires quicker than past iterations, while also having homing properties when the reticle is red and on an enemy. Land enough hits with the gun and it’ll make your target explode in a classic pink mist. This weapon is meant for close-quarter combat, so don’t use it at mid-range or long-range. Great for chasing enemies down corners.
Plasma Pistol
The energy handgun of the series can no longer EMP vehicles. Still, this handgun has its uses: you can charge up and fire off an EMP shot to take down enemy shields, then switch to a precision weapon to kill them quick.
Energy Sword
A one-hit kill melee weapon with decent lunge range. You have a few uses with this weapon before it’s out of “ammo” though, so make your hits count. Best to use with Grappleshot or Thruster.
Gravity Hammer

Halo 3’s awesome shockwave AoE melee weapon is back. It’s much slower to swing compared to Halo 3’s version, but its AoE smash is slightly bigger and focused in front of you. You cannot panic-slam with this weapon as you’ll be killed by fast-gunning Spartans, so you’ll need to pre-empt your attack before charging in blindly. Still, the results are, heh, smashing if you master its timing.
Mangler
A slug-shooter handgun that fires high-powered rounds. Three headshots can get you a kill in PvP, but requires precision on the player’s part.
Disruptor
An auto pistol that is decent against enemies in PvP because of its damage-over-time shock effect. The Disruptor is better against vehicles since it can EMP them, disabling it while you kill its driver/pilot and hijack it for yourself. Best to use in Big Team Battle, since the majority of players will be using a vehicle or two in there.
Shock Rifle
A long-ranged weapon, this special Banished sniper rifle can still one-shot enemies via headshots. Its Shock damage can arc between nearby enemies so you can soften nearby targets up for nearby allies. Most importantly, the Shock Rifle can disable vehicles.
Stalker
A slow-firing long-range weapon that replaces the Beam Rifle sniper in past Halo games. This weapon is more of a marksman kind of rifle, so it’s best to pick off enemies from afar bit by bit while letting your team on the ground finish them off. The weapon can overheat if you fire it too fast in rapid succession. It also takes a while to vent too, so keep in mind that the gun has 7 rounds before it overheats.
Ravager
A new Banished grenade launcher that packs a punch. it fires a volley of exploding plasma balls. If you charge it, you can fire one big plasma ball that leaves a burning pool on the ground; great for controlling space in capture maps and Big Team Battles where you see a bunch of enemy Spartans trying to commandeer a vehicle.
Skewer

This power weapon works like a sniper rifle, but for vehicles. You can one-shot weaker vehicles and heavily damage bigger ones like the Warthog. Spartans go down like flies with this. However, it only has one shot in the magazine, so you better find a good place to hide while you reload it.
Forerunner Weapons
Heatwave

This plasma gun can fire in a vertical or horizontal “straight line” pattern; you can switch between firing modes using the aim/iron sights button. You can kill enemy Spartans with two shots of the vertical firing mode. If you see more than one enemy Spartan, switch to horizontal firing mode to cover more areas. The plasma projectiles can also ricochet off walls, so using it in a room can lead to a lot of bouncing projectiles shenanigans.
Sentinel Beam
A laser gun that saps shield really quick. Mid to long-range weapon. Can penetrate targets, so you can line it up to hit multiple foes in a straight line.
Cindershot
A pretty good anti-Spartan grenade launcher. This requires skill to use as it can bounce and ricochet off of surfaces and cover. Landing two direct hits onto something is guaranteed to kill it. The Cindershot also has an alternate firing mode that converts the grenades into laser-guided micro-missiles.

Equipment

Halo Infinite has seven equipment/gadgets that you can score for that added PvP advantage. Some are old while others are new. Any equipment item in the game is automatically picked up unless you have it stored. The number on the bottom right next to your grenade counter tells you how many uses it has.
You can only hold 1 at a time though, but you can use a piece of Power equipment, then pick up a different equipment item while the Power equipment is active. All equipment items have short cooldowns between use, with the exception of Overshield and Active Camo. Some are barely noticeable like the Grappleshot while the Drop Wall has quite a wait.
Here’s a breakdown of each of them.
Grappleshot

Default number of uses: 3
Max number: 5
The highlight of the Halo Infinite campaign trailer, you can use this grappling hook in multiplayer. You can grapple enemies to close in for a melee/close-ranged kill (ie: Energy Sword), use it to quickly travel across the map, or climb up hard-to-reach ledges for perfect sniping spots. You can even pick up weapons and CTF flags from afar. When your targeting reticle is a yellow dot when you have the hook equipped, that’s to tell you that the target is in range of your hook.
Keep in mind that you can cut the line early by pressing the equipment button again or the crouch button. You can also break the grappling line if you look away from the hook point too much. Use this if an enemy sees you coming and you want to cut your trajectory short for fear of being a clay pigeon.
Drop Wall
Default number of uses: 2
Max number: 3
This equipment is a one-way shield that serves as temporary cover you can use anywhere on the ground. You can shoot through the shield from the back but not the front. It’s also not a solid object, so enemies and vehicles can pass through.
The shield is divvied up into 15 panels, with each panel only being able to take up to 3 Assault Rifle shots before it dissipates.
Threat Sensor
Default number of uses: 2
Max number: 4
A piece of equipment that can reveal the positions of nearby enemies. The sensor pulses for six seconds, giving you some time to survey the area. The sensor does not counter Active Camo, so be mindful.
Thruster
Default number of uses: 3
Max number: 5
This piece of equipment gives you a couple of charges that make you do a short-range rapid dash. It’s the game’s evasion tool that can help thrown an enemy’s aim off while also taking cover nearby. You can also use the Thruster to close the gap between you and an enemy, if you happen to use a Shotgun or an Energy Sword.
Overshield
A classic power-up. Classified as a Power Equipment, so 1 use only. Adds an extra layer of shielding to your health bar that decays over time; about 40 seconds to fully decay. This makes you twice as hard to kill, so activate it when you’re in a group fight, or if you feel that you can take on three enemy Spartans from behind and need insurance.
Active Camo
This power-up is classified as a Power Equipment, so it’s 1 use only. Using this makes you almost invisible for 30 seconds. You’ll be hard to spot, but the invisibility temporarily stops if you shoot your weapon, melee, throw a grenade, or sprint. If you walk normally with it, you’ll stay near-invisible. You also won’t show up on enemy radar. The only way your opponent can spot you is if they can see the slight faint shimmering that’s from your Active Camo.
Repulsor

Default number of uses: 3
Max number: 5
Use the Repulsor to fire out a wrist-mounted blast that knocks things back. Works on enemy Spartans and vehicles, as well as grenades and rockets. You can also boop enemies off the map ala Overwatch’s Lucio with the Repulsor. If your opponent has no shield, you can boop them onto a wall to kill them.

Halo Infinite Weapon Tier List

Battle Rifle – Best precision weapon that isn’t the sniper rifle.
Rocket Launcher – Best Power Weapon so far; great for multikills and for anything.
Skewer – Like a sniper rifle, but for vehicles as well. Yes, you can multikill a bunch of Spartans riding a Warthog with a well-timed shot from this thing.
Assault Rifle – Best default weapon. Most games are won by people just sticking to their guns, literally.
Heatwave -Best weapon to use in a room and in close-quarters. Alternate between horizontal and vertical fire modes depending on the situation.
Cindershot – A Power Weapon that requires a bit more skill, but can still wreck teams nonetheless. Play the Weapon Drills to practice and perfect your usage of this killer weapon.


TikTok Partners With FIGHT Esports For TikTok Gaming Carnival 2021

TikTok joins forces with FIGHT Esports to activate the TikTok Gaming Carnival 2021 in Malaysia and Singapore. The event will kick-start from 9 July to 23 July 2021 with a #GCMLBB hashtag challenge, where Mobile Legends fans in Malaysia and Singapore will stand a chance to win a total of 80 skin series by uploading MLBB content on the popular social-sharing platform like gameplay highlights, skins showcase, or tips and tricks on how to play the game.
50 skins will be allocated for Malaysian fans and another 30 skins for Singaporeans. The top prize skins will be the 515 series, while the others will be at random. Winners will be announced on 30 July 2021.

TikTok will also feature eight (8) content creators; six (6) Malaysian teams and two (2) Singaporean teams are invited to participate in an exclusive MLBB Invitational Content Creator Showmatch on 25 July 2021. Fans may tune in on the FIGHT Esportsâ€™ TikTok account via @fightesports from 2pm (GMT+8) onwards to watch their favourite creators battling for the prize pool of US$300.
FIGHT Esports head Matthew Ho said:
â€œWe are thrilled to be able to get in on the action of further empowering the local gaming community through events and tournaments such as the TikTok Gaming Carnival 2021.
At FIGHT Esports, we are committed to bring gamers in the TikTok community together by delivering immersive and engaging gaming experiences, as well as paving ways for them to flex their gaming skills and share them with other passionate gamers.â€

TikTok Strategy Operations Manager Darren Quek said:
â€œTikTok is the new home for gamers online and activities such as the Gaming Carnival helps grow and solidify the community.
The addition of rich and relevant gaming content adds diversity to the platform, enabling people to be part of online communities they wish to belong to, across varying interests, including gaming.
Through this, the platform is able to continue bringing joy and inspiring creativity among all of its users.”
FIGHT Esports entered a year-long partnership with TikTok in Southeast Asia in February this year, marking its first foray into connecting with the gaming community on the platform with the Philippinesâ€™ #TikTokGGPH Creator Cup Tournament, in collaboration with TikTok Philippines.
The partnership then moved forward with the launch of the ongoing FIGHT Esportsâ€™ inaugural regional varsity tournament, FIGHT Campus League. Designed specifically to showcase a pro-level playing field for university students, FCLâ€™s multi-title tournaments are hosted in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the Philippines with their own unique mechanics.

Ho added:
â€œThe long-lasting partnership with TikTok in Southeast Asia has been a highly collaborative partnership and rewarding learning experience for FIGHT Esports.
As we continue to focus on interest development within the gaming community, weâ€™ll not only expand our reach on TikTok but also across different relevant platforms.
After launching and organizing our first few series of tournaments on TikTok, FIGHT Esports continues to work closely with TikTok to determine the best way to bring gamers of all ages closer together and deliver more personalized experiences to them, no matter where they are.”


Sony Pictures Unveils New Trailer For Historical Action Film, Sisu

Sony Pictures Malaysia has unveiled a new trailer for Sisu.
The synopsis reads:
During the last desperate days of WWII, a solitary prospector (Jorma Tommila) crosses paths with Nazis on a scorched-earth retreat in northern Finland. When the Nazis steal his gold, they quickly discover that they have just tangled with no ordinary miner. While there is no direct translation for the Finnish word “sisu”, this legendary ex-commando will embody what sisu means: a white-knuckled form of courage and unimaginable determination in the face of overwhelming odds. And no matter what the Nazis throw at him, the one-man death squad will go to outrageous lengths to get his gold back – even if it means killing every last Nazi in his path.

Sisu premieres in Malaysian cinemas on 27 April 2023.
Check out the trailer below:


SoundScape: The Best of Jeremy Soule’s Orchestral Works

My past few SoundScape videos have been focused on Japanese music composers, so it’s time we changed that. In the next few months, I’ll be doing these discography “best of” video features primarily spotlighting the best composers the US and Europe have to offer.
First up: Jeremy Soule. Check out the video mixtape feature below to check out his history of aural works. We’re starting from his one sole Squaresoft SNES work all the way to his PC game compositions.
Also, it’s the 25th anniversary of Morrowind, so this video feature is appropriate for this time of celebration. Go pick up a free copy, why dontcha?Â
Let’s roll!


[Rumour] Capcom Is Working On A Resident Evil 4 Remake

Will Capcom be making reimaginings of past Resident Evil games after Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3? Do they love money? “Yes” to both questions, but which entry will be next?
Sources close to Video Games Chronicle said that Capcom will be remaking Resident Evil 4. The project has entered full production and will have a release window set in 2022. The game will be developed by Osaka-based M-Two, the new studio founded by former PlatinumGames head Tatsuya Minami. Capcom’s internal teams and external studios will lend their support to complete the project.
In the meantime, we may be getting a Resident Evil 8 for current and next-gen consoles in 2021. I said “may” because Capcom still hasn’t made this official yet. Honestly, I’m not sure if RE4 needs a remake as every Resident Evil game for the past few years have been using part 4’s third-person camera shift.
I think this is just Capcom possibly buying into their own hype and thinking they can do no wrong with more Resident Evil rehashes and reiterations. Last we checked, part 3 has its issues.Â


Community Gets A Movie, 6 Seasons Later

We’ve had 6 seasons of campus-focused comedy show Community, and now we’re finally getting the movie we fans deserve.
A Deadline report stated that a Community movie is in the works for NBC’s Peacock streaming service. Joel McHale, Danny Pudi, Alison Brie, Gillian Jacobs, Jim Rash, and Ken Jeong will be returning, reprising their roles as Jeff, Abed, Annie, Britta, Dean Craig Pelton, and Ben Chang.

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As for the other cast members -Donald Glover, Chevy Chase, and Yvette Nicole Brown- it’s still up in the air. Everyone knows the controversy between Community’s creator Dan Harmon (of Rick and Morty fame nowadays) and Chevy Chase, but for the other two? We’ll see as the show progresses in development.
Speaking of which, Dan Harmon will be attached to the project. Here’s the official press release blurb:
“Six seasons and a movie’ started out as a cheeky line from Community’s early seasons and quickly ignited a passionate fan movement for this iconic, hilarious and cool NBC comedy. We’re incredibly grateful that 15 years later, we are able to deliver fans this promised movie and can’t wait to get to work with Dan Harmon, Andrew Guest, Joel McHale, Sony, and our partners at UTV to continue this epic comedy for Peacock audiences.”
Community first debuted in 2009 and went on for, well, six seasons. The show is renowned for its of-kilter humour, meta-commentary, and pop culture parodies. It also had epic paintball episodes, a claymation episode, and even a G.I. Joe cartoon spoof.


One Of This Decade’s Finest Retro Platformers Is Going Open Source

Remember VVVVVV? The 2D gravity-flipping platformer made by one Terry Cavanagh with the awesome soundtrack?
Here’s a quick reminder. Keep in mind: you can’t jump in this game. You have to rely on flipping gravity whenever. Fun! And brutally difficult on your first few tries.

To celebrate this awesome platformer’s 10-year anniversary, Cavanagh decides to make the game open source. The news was revealed at this year’s AGDQ today, so go help yourself with the source code now at GitHub.
Here are some notes from the creator himself:

“I think even a peek of the source code will quickly reveal that VVVVVV is not a technically sophisticated game! Even by the standards of self taught indie devs, itâ€™s kind of a mess.
I was young and more interested in getting something on the screen than implementing it properly. Maybe the best thing about VVVVVVâ€™s source code is that it stands as proof of what you can hack together even if youâ€™re not much of a programmer.”

Inspirational words, Cavanagh.


Star Wars Visions Volume 2 Drops In Spring 2023

During Star Wars Celebration 2022, it was announced that Star Wars Visions Volume 2 will premiere on Disney+ Hotstar sometime in spring 2023.
However, not much details have been revealed, which is understandable. The second volume will bring together new stories from creative teams in Japan, India, UK, Ireland, Spain, Chile, France, South Africa, and California in the United States. However, no specific studios have been named as of yet.
In Volume 1, seven different has been given the reins to bring their unique talent and perspective to the anthology series. These included Kamikaze Douga, Geno Studio (Twin Engine), Studio Colorido (Twin Engine), TRIGGER, Kinema Citrus, Science Saru, and Production I.G.
The first season also boasts a bunch of big Hollywood names (check out the full list here). In the meantime, you can check out our review of Star Wars Visions here.

#StarWarsVisions returns. Volume 2 streaming Spring 2023, only on @DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/zCAlj8lBiv
— Star Wars (@starwars) May 29, 2022


Here’s How You Can Watch The Versus Masters 2019 Finals

There’s a ton of grassroots-level and high-level fighting game goodness happening this weekend, especially if you’re keeping track of the Tekken World Tour.
If you happen to be in Singapore this weekend, good for you! Head down to Singtel Recreation Club @ Comcentre at 31 Exeter Road. If not, don’t worry: you can tune into the livestream of the fighting game event below.
SoulCalibur 6, Street Fighter V, etc.

Watch live video from versusasia on www.twitch.tv
Tekken World Tour Dojo
Watch live video from GameStartAsia on www.twitch.tv
Here’s a breakdown of the finals:
11am: MK11 Top 4 (Nintendo Switch version)
12pm: SoulCalibur 6 Top 8, Super Smash Bros Ultimate Top 4
1pm: Under Night In-Birth (UNIST) Top 4
3pm: Tekken 7 SGEA Top 4
5pm: Street Fighter V Top 16, Dragon Ball FighterZ Top 4
7pm: Tekken 7 Tekken World Tour Dojo Top 4
Check out the entire schedule below.

It is rather strange that Beast Of The East/Eliphant are not roping in BFFs Armaggeddon as sponsors.Â  Doesn’t matter; fighting game fans in the region should not miss out on this if they want to learn what Malaysia, Singapore, and Southeast Asia is capable of.
(top image credit: Versus Asia)


Samurai Shodown 2019 Slices Its Way In English Earlier Than Japan; Offers Free Season Pass…

Previously, we reported that Samurai Shodown (the 2019 version) will be out in Japan on 27 June. The US and UK side will instead be getting the game in English two days earlier: 25 June.
The release date is for the PS4 and Xbox One versions. The PC and Nintendo Switch version will be slated for a Q4 2019 release. The best part? If you order the game before 30 June, you’ll get the Season Pass for free.

Samurai Shodown features mainstays like Haohmaru, Nakoruru, and Iori prototype Genjuro (below). New characters include shipwright Darli Dagger and Feng Shui master Wu-Ruixiang.

The game will feature a few modes like training, online play, and Dojo Mode. The latter allows the game to gather data of your playstyle during offline modes so that it creates an online “ghost” for you to spar with. Conversely, you can download ghosts of your favourite top players to practice with to better your skills. So far, the Xbox One/PC title Killer Instinct is the only fighting game to implement this before SamSho came in.
If you want to find out more about the game’s mechanics, try this video on for size.


Riot Games’ Valorant Esports To Implement Partnership System

Riot Games has announced that they will implement a partnership system to Valorant in 2023. The new model will introduce a stipend system, in which Riot Games will provide select teams with financial support to enter a partnership with them. Then, the Valorant teams will compete in international LAN tournaments against teams from different regions.
According to the official website, Riot Games will host three international leagues across Asia, Europe, and the Americas where teams will compete against each other to earn a spot at global events such as Masters and Champions. The leagues will be held on LAN with live audiences if health and safety conditions are met.
The first league will include teams from North America, Latin America, and Brazil, while the second will feature squads from Europe, Russia, Turkey, and MENA. The final league will include teams from Southeast Asia, Korea, and Oceania. Selected teams that partner with Riot for the international leagues will also be able to collaborate on esports-branded content exclusively in Valorant.
Teams will be selected by Riot Games via an application process that will begin in 2022. Selection will be based on “a track record of building great esports experiences, developing players, and can meaningfully contribute to the long-term growth of Valorant esports”. While selected teams will compete in international leagues, Riot Games will also continue to host domestic competitions.
These leagues will be integrated alongside a new in-game tournament mode, where players can form teams to qualify for the domestic leagues. Each Valorant player will have access to the tournament mode from the client and it will act as a supplement to the existing leaderboard. Besides that, the dedicated female Valorant league Game Changers will also receive a Championship event in 2023.


MapleStory M Third Anniversary Adds New Playable Character & More Content

MapleStory M, the free-to-play mobile MMORPGÂ forÂ iOSÂ andÂ Android, is continuing its third-anniversary celebration with the introduction of Angelic Buster and a host of events for players to enjoy.
Born as a disgraced Nova without a tail or magic, Angelic Buster inherited the powers of Eskalade, an ancient dragon residing inside an ancient relic of Pantheon. Equipped with a dragon-shaped arm cannon, known as Soul Shooter, Angelic Buster blasts waves of enemies with ease.
In her second slot, this Nova Pirate holds on to the power of Eskalade in a special ring, known as Soul Ring, transforming her into Angelic Buster and allowing her to use her special skills. New characters between levels three and 120 can level up to two additional bonus levels each time they level up through the Mega Burning event.
This update also includes a slew of opportunities for new players to get acquainted with the systems and contents of the game and get right into the action. Upon reaching level 10, new characters will be rewarded for completing missions. New users will be able to power up and adorn legendary items through treasure boxes. Additionally, both new and returning players alike will be able to enjoy abundant bonus items upon using the payment option for the first time.
MapleStory Mâ€™sÂ Third Anniversary Events include:

Crafting Merry-Go Round Event:Â Players will be able to hunt for materials from dungeons, upgrade their merry-go-round up to four ranks and get their very own customized chair with the opportunity to obtain a fancy chair.
Magical Land Parade Event:Â All players who log in during the event will get an all-time buff for all characters in the world where the buff is activated.
Coin Drop Event:Â During the event, all hunting has the chance for a coin drop, where players can use to purchase items at the Magical Land Coin Shop.
Jumping Cloud Cat Event:Â Special game where players navigate riding a cloud cat to eat bubbles resulting in coins.
Angelic Busterâ€™s Dressing Room:Â Special fabric dropped during the event can be exchanged with an NPC to create a dress. Players will also be able to customize the looks of their style items throughout the event.
Angelic Busterâ€™s Concert Hall:Â Players can obtain extra EXP when attending Angelic Busterâ€™s Concert Hall, where users can listen to her songs.
Water Splash Event:Â All players will be given three free tickets for this mini-game, where players are rewarded for dodging various items in a fixed amount of time.
Mr. Kimâ€™s Gift Event:Â Characters above level 100 will gain a surprise gift when interacting with Mr. Kim and entering inventory. This gift is limited once per account.
Sunshine Point Event:Â When consuming crystals, players will be awarded Sunshine Points that will offer them extra rewards through the achievement system.
Clash! Slimeshot Event:Â A player vs. player balloon shooting mini-game contest that is available at any amusement park.

To learn more aboutÂ MapleStory M,Â visit theÂ App StoreÂ orÂ Google PlayÂ StoreÂ page and followÂ @PlayMapleMÂ on Twitter for the latest updates.


Ming-Na Wen Pimps The Elden Ring In Serious Commercial

Thailand isn’t the only one in on the Elden Ring commercial gig.
Star Wars: The Book of Boba Fett’s s co-star Ming-Na Wen, who also plays Chun-Li in that one so-bad-it’s-good Street Fighter movie, is the latest star in the Elden Ring commercial.
Not only does she mention a bunch of wisdom-laced quotes, she also lists down her past accomplishments on a checklist scroll which are referencing her past roles in 90s films and television.

If you’re curious, the list is:

Claim the bad crab (Joy Luck Club)
Work in a hospital (ER)
Topple a dictator (Street Fighter)
Save a dynasty (Mulan)

Elden Ring is out now for PC, Xbox Series, Xbox One, PS4, and PS5. It’s an awesome RPG that’s immersive, filled with loads to explore, and well-made and designed. It’ll also kill you lots of times if you get complacent; all that and more on our review.Â


Is The Fable Series Making A Comeback?

Fans of Xbox and PC RPG Fable (the trilogy and that odd card game) may be in for a treat. Turns out that Microsoft may have plans for the series, as it’s doing a trademark renewal for the title.
According to IGN, the trademark application was filed on 26th June and is still awaiting examination. Of course, this could mean that the company is just holding onto it for safeguarding, but the filing comes with the “intent to use” application. After the initial six months, they can keep filing for the trademark “with intent to use” for as long as five extensions, which is up to three years before they really have to do something new with it. Like make a Fable 4 or a Fable trilogy remaster, for instance.
Guess we’ll have to keep an eye on this Fable Twitter account and even this Perfect Dark account as well then, in the meantime.


A Massive Warhammer Bundle Is Up For Grabs On Humble Bundle

For a limited time only (until 28 July 2020), Humble Bundle is offering up to 11 games in their Humble Warhammer Bundle 2020. The games are valued at nearly US$300 in total when factoring in the normal prices, but the Humble Warhammer Bundle 2020 is offering them for as low as US$1, and up to US$13.
As usual with the Humble Bundle, you can choose how much to pay and how much of your money you want to donate to charity. WarhammerÂ has existed as a tabletop game since it was originally created by Games Workshop in 1987. They started venturing into the world of video games in 1992 through turn-based tactical games and more.
RTS to FPS, Games Workshop released a multitude of games and modes to explore the world of Warhammer, ranging from RTS to FPS and even multiplier co-op games. For instance, all three of the popular Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War series are available within the bundle across the different price options.
For US$1.50, buyers have access to Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War, Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team, Legacy of Dorn: Herald of Oblivion, and Warhammer: End Times- Vermintide.

If you pay US$7.32 or more, you’ll receive all of the aforementioned games and more, including Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II, Battlefleet Gothic: Armada, Warhammer 40,000: Sanctus Reach, and Warhammer 40,000: Deathwatch- Enhanced Edition.

To unlock all of the above and additional games like Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine Collection, Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War III, and Blood Bowl 2- Legendary Edition, you only have to pay US$13 or more.

Whether youâ€™re a big fan of the Warhammer series, interested in donating while enjoying a bunch of great games, or delving into the Warhammer franchise for the first time, the Humble Warhammer Bundle 2020 is worth having a look at.
Even if you bought everything in the Humble Warhammer Bundle 2020, that translated to roughly only RM55+. You can purchase the Humble Warhammer Bundle 2020 at the official website here.


This Bonkers Resident Evil 3 Mod Turns Every Enemy Into Nemesis

The Resident Evil 3 demo has been out on Steam for several days now, but it didn’t take FluffyQuack nearly that long to create their nefarious mod. On the date of the demo’s release itself, they uploaded a video of the demo… where all of the enemies are Nemesis. All of them.
Witness as t-posing Nemeses (or is it Nemesi?) inch with sinister intent towards Jill Valentine. It’s funny yet terrifying, then turns purely terrifying when they snap out of their t-poses to walk menacingly and swing punch at Jill.

If the thought of living in a world filled with Nemeses pleases you, you may head over here to download the mod.


Gears 5 Is Getting New DLC Later In 2020

Remember the Xbox One/PC exclusive third-person shooter Gears 5? The shooter that ditched “of War” from its title for shorthand marketing reasons? If you’re still playing it, then you probably heard that there’s going to be new content a-coming.
Gears 5 developer The Coalition (consisting of ex-Epic Games & Gears staff members) is getting a significant update later this year. These include a new game+ for its campaign featuring WWE’s Batista as a guest character, versus changes in Operation 5, and a story DLC called Hivebusters. This DLC will also add in more visual overhauls (for the Xbox Series X/S versions) to make it as humanly pretty as possible. As shiny as a post-apocalyptic Locusts-filled sci-fi future can get.
On a related note, here are the new features that are coming on 10th November.

Two new difficulty modes (Ironman and Inconceivable)
Character Skins for Kait, Del, and JD
Weapon Skins
Jack upgrades carry over
Mutators (Big head mode, etc)
New achievements

Gears 5 is available now. It’s pretty fun if you’re into cover-based shooters and multiplayer.Â


It’s Red Hood Vs Nightwing In New Titans Season 3 Trailer

A new trailer for Titans Season 3 has revealed a clearer look at Curran Waltersâ€™ Jason Todd in action as the Red Hood and it looks like he will be fighting against Brenton Thwaites’s Dick Grayson AKA Nightwing.
In the new trailer, we also see glimpses of Anna Diop as Koriand’r AKA Starfire in her new comics-accurate costume and the other returning members of the superhero team, as well as Vincent Kartheiser as the famous Batman villain Dr Jonathan Crane AKA Scarecrow.
The series also stars Teagan Croft as Raven, Ryan Potter as Beast Boy, Conor Leslie as Wonder Girl, Joshua Orpin as Superboy, Alan Ritchson as Hawk and Minka Kelly as Dove.

Jay Lycurgo will also join the cast forÂ TitansÂ Season 3 as Tim Drake in the characterâ€™s live-action debut, who is probably my favourite Robin of all time in his live-action debut. Savannah Welch will also portray Barbara Gordon, who is now the Gotham City Police Commissioner.
TitansÂ Season 3 will premiere exclusively on HBO Max with its first three episodes on 12 August 2021 and subsequent episodes on a weekly schedule, following the shutdown ofÂ the DC Universe streaming service.
In the meantime, check out the new full-length trailer below:


Indonesia Wins Gold In Asian Games 2018 Clash Royale Tourney

The finals of the second Asian Games 2018 tournament, which featured mobile game wunderkind Clash Royale, was a doozy.
China and Indonesia were the finalists of the Clash Royale tournament at the Asian Games 2018 Esports Exhibition Tournament at Jakarta, Mahaka Square. In fact, China’s Lciop was pretty close in winning another esports gold medal, since they really clawed their way to the top from loser’s bracket and eliminated India’s Jin Kazama and Vietnam’s Legend. Who knocked him down earlier in the first place? Indonesia’sÂ BenZer Ridel.

So you can understand China’s need for revenge.Â The two countries are equal in Clash Royale strength. Lciop had a tough fight since he had to fight 2 sets of BO3 to win due to loser bracket rules.Â Even with that valiant struggle, Indonesia’s BenZer Ridel was better in the long run. He had a number of viable tactics, but most of them revolved around balloons. Lots of red balloons, Royal Hogs, and a bunch of minions and spells to distract China.

You have to remember: the Balloon in Clash Royale is fragile but formidable. When it’s up-close to a tower, it will start throwing damaging bombs and if it’s destroyed, it drops a big bomb that deals significant damage. Naturally Lciop wants to deal with it as soon as possible, butÂ BenZer Ridel was already a few steps ahead and made calculated risks after going through three early losses. Three games later during the last BO3 fight,Â BenZer Ridel won the gold medal.
Check out the games below to see the magic.

China won the Silver medal while Vietnam won the Bronze medal. Still, it’s quite a monumental feat to see another esports Olympics-level tournament come to a satisfying close, especially for Clash Royale fans wishing to see high-level play in Southeast Asia.


A New Dragon Ball Super Movie Is Coming In 2022

To celebrate Goku Day 2021, Toei Animation has officially announced that a brand new Dragon Ball Super movie will release in 2022.
The new Dragon Ball Super movie is a sequel and follow-up to Dragon Ball Super Broly, which released back in 2018. Dragon Ball creator Akira Toriyama is writing the story for the upcoming movie, but Toei Animation has not revealed the film’s official title or logo yet.
Toriyama issued an official statement in the form of a signed fan message:
“An all new movie sinceÂ Dragon Ball Super Broly is currently in the making!
Just like the previous movie, I’m heavily leading the story and dialogue production for another amazing film.
I really shouldn’t talk too much about the plot yet, but be prepared for some extreme and entertaining bouts, which may feature an unexpected character.
We’ll be charting through some unexplored territory in terms of the visual aesthetics to give the audience an amazing ride, so I hope everybody will look forward to the new movie!”

Written by Toriyama and illustrated by Toyotarou, theÂ Dragon Ball Super manga originally premiered in June 2015 as a sequel to Toriyama’s original Dragon Ball manga, which initially ran from 1984 to 1995. The Dragon Ball Super anime launched in Japan one month after the manga, running for 131 episodes from July 2015 to March 2018.
Dragon Ball Super Broly premiered in 2018 as the first film to carry theÂ Dragon Ball SuperÂ branding. It is also the 20thÂ Dragon Ball feature film overall, though only the third to be made with Toriyama’s direct involvement after 2013’s Dragon Ball Z Battle Of Gods and 2015’s Dragon Ball Z Resurrection F.
In the meantime, you can check out my review of Dragon Ball Super Broly by heading over here.


Bad North: A Minimalist Real Time Tactics Strategy Game That’s Easy On The Eyes

This review is courtesy of the awesome gaming website Frags of War. Check out their strategy game reviews & features at fragsofwar.com
Bad North, by new indie studio Plausible Concept, is a real-time tactics game that was released as a timed-exclusive on the new Discord Store. It takes the core concepts of a strategy game to present a fresh new take on the tactics sub-genre. Read on for my review of Bad North.
What is Bad North?

Bad North takes inspiration from a couple of places. It has elements that borrow from roguelites and tower defence game. As a real-time tactics game, it takes the simple premise of defending an island, and expands that into a replayable and procedurally generated single-player campaign.
Island Hopping
The single player campaign is made up of a series of islands that you must protect against viking raiders. As the viking longship roll up against the tile-based island, youâ€™ll have to move your units to the landing tile to defeat the vikings.
Hence the tower defence like gameplay sans towers. On each island, there are a bunch of houses. If the vikings manage to burn down all the houses, itâ€™s game over.

You start all over again when youâ€™ve lost, which is the roguelite element. The problem here is that unlike a traditional roguelite where there is some form of memorisation so that you do better in the next run, Bad Northâ€™s procedural nature means you wonâ€™t be able to play the same scenario again.
So the only way youâ€™ll do better than the last run is to simply… get good. Mastering the different units and knowing the different types of enemies will be key to victory.
But there is definitely some element of luck involved here. Throughout my playthrough of Bad North, Iâ€™ve found the difficulty of each new island can be quite inconsistent. You might come across an island further down your campaign that simply isnâ€™t as challenging as the previous islands.
Perhaps this is the gameâ€™s way of giving the player a break from the frantic action and difficulty. Or maybe it comes down to issues with the randomness of the levels not working quite perfectly.
There are branching paths throughout the campaign that sometimes reward you with rare items that give your units a buff.
As youâ€™ll be facing greater odds in later levels, getting the rare items helps to give you a small advantage.
The Battles
Bad North doesnâ€™t have a huge variety of strategic depth. In terms of the different units you have and will face or the abilities you can use.
But what it does well is in using the limited scope of rules and units to offer a wide range of challenges.

There are three types of units you can upgrade to get:
Swordsmen
The main backbone of your army. Perhaps the most versatile and most useful for most occasions. Swordsmen have shields that protect them against arrow volleys from enemy archers. They are great for offense or even defending a tile.
Spearmen
These guys have long spears that make them perfect for defending a tile. As long as the enemy doesnâ€™t get to get close to them, spearmen could decimate countless vikings that dare to land on your island. They are susceptible to arrows though so keep them away from enemy archers.
Archers
A very limited use, or rather you could say, specialised use unit. Archers are bad in melee combat, they canâ€™t defend themselves and are challenging to use well. Place them on high ground to pepper the vikings with arrow before theyâ€™ve even landed on your island. Their special volley ability is an excellent last-ditch life saver to even the odds out when youâ€™re losing.

The combination of units and enemy types youâ€™ll face give your greater variety of challenge. It has to be said, another element that impacts your tactics are the procedurally generated islands themselves.
In the beginning, the islands are pretty straightforward. Flat relatively square land. But as you progress through the campaign, Bad North starts generating some interesting terrain.
Islands begin to have multiple tiers of hills with chokepoints. There was even this one island I played that was essentially like a puzzle on itself, with unreachable areas and strong chokepoints.

While youâ€™ll die many times, it never crosses the frustration threshold for most strategy gamer. Because the islands and much of the game is procedural, thereâ€™s no memorisation of levels and rethinking tactics for specific islands. Youâ€™ll simply have to rethink how you use your units better to face the combination enemies.
Conclusion
Bad North is an absolutely beautiful game. The way the waves crash into the beach, the raindrops on the water, the vegetation swaying to the wind… everything looks phenomenal in a minimalist way.
That minimalist aesthetic goes beyond looks though as Bad North keep to a basic gameplay mechanic with just the right amount of variation with its procedural islands and combination of units.
Itâ€™s not going to replace your go-to strategy game, but itâ€™s the perfect in-between games that you hop in to get a couple of rounds in. In short, a great game for short bursts. You can get it from the Discord Store here.


Games Done Quick Raises US$400,000 For COVID-19 Coronavirus Relief

In the world’s “new normal”, it’s still noteworthy to find charity endeavours being done via gaming. Such is the case of the recent Corona Relief Done Quick livestream which recently ended and net itself US$400,000 to support Direct Relief.
While that amount is lower than GDQ’s main Awesome Games and Summer Games speedrun events, it’s still a “new high for [its] side event efforts” according to the organizers.

Under $10k left! We're SO CLOSE #CRDQ
— Games Done Quick (@GamesDoneQuick) April 20, 2020

We've DONE IT! Thank you to everyone for donating to make this Level 1 Critical mode Sephiroth happen! What a way to cap off this marathon! #CRDQ pic.twitter.com/c4rmFmmXmH
— Games Done Quick (@GamesDoneQuick) April 20, 2020

“As always, 100% of the donations go directly to the charity.Â Direct Relief is coordinating with public health authorities, nonprofit organizations and businesses in the U.S. and globally to provide personal protective equipment and essential medical items to health workers responding to coronavirus (COVID-19).
We’d like to thank all the sponsors, donors, runners, and volunteers who helped make this event such a success! Although our event has ended, we hope that you continue to support the battle against COVID-19 in any way you can. Thank you for your support!”
You can catch all the speedruns and marathons here on the GDQ YouTube page, which ranges from a two-screen Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time 20-minute-or-so speedrun to a Halo: Combat Evolved 1-hour-and-a-half playthrough.


Torchlight 3 Will Leave Early Access This October, But Is That Good News?

One should be excited that the true successor to the action RPG Diablo series, the Torchlight games from Runic, is already in its third iteration. One would even be elated that the third Torchlight game is exiting Early Access this 13th October.
Judging from the Steam reviews so far, people are anything but excited. But let’s recap the recent news first before we dive into the whys. Torchlight 3 will be gearing up for a full launch, though this sequel is developed by Echtra Games, who took over the project after its original creators Runic closed its doors. Originally a shared-world RPG called Torchlight Frontiers, the game was delayed and changed up to become Torchlight 3. And will get a price tag of US$40 once 13th October has hit.
Back To Why This Is Bad News
Simple: because Torchlight 3 is a step back from Torchlight 2. The third game stripped out attributes and reduced the number of skills, going so far as to resemble a mobile RPG that’s masquerading as a PC action RPG. To quote a few helpful reviews on Torchlight 3’s Steam page, the sequel is “a mobile game in disguise”, “very boring and repetitive” even for action RPG grinding standards, and is “simplified and downgraded than what it was in part 2”.
Most fans would rather play Torchlight 2 instead, a game that’s 10 years old and still kicking. Sure, you can’t respec and reset all your spent points in the base game, but that’s what mods are for, right?


Dead Cells’ Castlevania DLC Is One More Reason To Go Back To This Fine-As-Heck Action Game

Platform(s): PC, Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch, Mobile
Genre: DLC to 2018’s best roguelike Metroidvania slasher featuring a headless guy
Dead Cells came out in 2018 to thunderous reception due to its tight controls, roguelike nature, crazy-but-fair difficulty, and a plethora of weapons and traps at your fingertips. Due to its roguelike nature -if you die in your run at any time, you start over- everything about the game screams multiple replayability, with secrets to uncover and weapons/new buffs to unlock for subsequent runs. Dead Cells has also been kept healthy and alive with its yearly DLC drops and they’re all worthy additions.
This year’s DLC release for the search action title, Return To Castlevania, is Motion Twin’s tribute to the series that spawned Dead Cells in the first place. And it sure as heck does justice to the source material, so don’t act too shocked if you find yourself going back again to this action title.
A Miserable Little Pile Of Secrets?

Dead Cells: Return To Castlevania is essentially a bunch of new levels that are based on the iconic Konami action game series, with the Beheaded going through the outskirts of Dracula’s Castle that leads straight and then upward. Then, you’ll have to navigate inside the maze that is Dracula’s abode, and then fight a couple of Castlevania bosses. You’ll get some guest appearances from Castlevania’s Richter Belmont and Alucard through the course of the run to make sure you’re on the correct path.
Action-wise, the stages are fun, challenging without being too unfair at times, and feature a good number of awesome musical remixes from Dead Cells composer Yoann Laulan. The DLC not only brings in some new levels to explore and fun bosses to fight from the Castlevania lore, it also introduces new weapons and costumes from the series for replayability’s sake. Dead Cells is all about getting as many cells to unlock permanent power-ups and weapons in the pool; having staple Castlevania weapons like Alucard’s shield, the Vampire Killer whip, to even Death’s scythe brings in a new bunch of fun abilities. The latter is clearly my favourite for any run: it summons dead souls from enemies you killed to be made into explosive “soul” projectiles, and comes with an area-spanning 3-hit combo arc. Even the costumes are worth grinding for if only because the novelty of wearing an Alucard or 80s Simon Belmont outfit while killing bad guys in Dead Cell’s esoteric world never gets old.
Having said all that, the path to getting to the DLC’s stages is a bit odd, considering you can only access the second version of Dracula’s Castle in a separate run after you kill the first Castlevania boss. It’s a bit strange why you couldn’t do all of this in one single run, though the whole point of Dead Cells is replayability and getting a good run, so it’s a quirk that longtime fans are used to.
(Bloody) Tears Of Joy

Long story short, you should just buy the new DLC because you’re going back to playing Dead Cells with new stages, levels, and awesome weapons, alongside a secret stage where you play as one of the Belmont vampire hunter members in his own run-and-whip segment. The graphical nods, easter egg collectables like the Belmont and Belnades outfits, and remixed Castlevania music using the game’s classical strings and ambience; all of it tie in well and is catered to both search action and 90s platforming action fans involving vampire killing. Chances are you’re playing Dead Cells because you are a fan of the search action genre, so it’s only fitting you would appreciate the slice of love Motion Twin has made from this humble-sized DLC.
You don’t need more reasons to go back to Dead Cells time and again just because of how addictive the fight, die, repeat mechanics and flawless controls are. However, this 2023 tribute proves that the 2D search action roguelike’s headspace is still in the right place. Even if its main character doesn’t have one.
Final Score: 90/100


Diablo 3 Season 26: The Best Classes To Use In Echoing Nightmare

Diablo 3’s latest Season 26 is available now, and features the Echoing Nightmare challenge. It’s basically a survival horde mode where you and your party fight against tons of monsters and try to survive. It’s fun and features a ton of loot for the picking.
Of course, with each new Season comes new classes and builds/sets that work well. For our top classes and builds list, we’re avoiding Legacy of Dream builds as they’re tough to make and are very gear-dependant. We’re going for builds that are set-dependant since a number of them can be easily acquired by completing the earlier Season challenges.

MONK

Inna Mystic Ally
The best Monk set and build in the game still resides high on the class and build throne. The Inna Mystic Ally build is tanky and makes you go through the Season’s content pretty quick, and has useful pets with variable elements. Make sure the Dregs of Lie Soul Shard on your weapon is the one that buffs up your Mystic Allies. The best part? Season 26’s Haedrig’s Gift will net you the full Inna set when you complete the first four challenges!
Skills
LMB -Way of the Hundred Fists (Assimilation)
RMB – Cyclone Strike(Implosion)
1 – Mystic Ally (Fire Ally)
2 – Dashing Strike (Radiance)
3 – Epiphany (Desert Shroud)
4 – Serenity (Ascension)
Passives: Beacon of Ytar, Seize the Initiative, Near Death Experience, The Guardian’s Path
Kanai’s Cube Powerup: Messerschmidt’s Reaver, Bindings of the Lesser Gods, Ring of Royal Grandeur
Gear
Armor & Set: Inna’s Radiance (1x Diamond), Inna’s Vast Expanse (3x Diamonds), Inna’s Hold, Inna’s Favor, Inna’s Temperance (2x Diamonds), Aughild’s Power (craft), Aughild’s Search (craft), The Crudest Boots.
Weapon: Shenlong’s Fist of Legend (Dregs of Lies), Shenlong’s Relentless Assault (Emerald).
Amulet/Ring: Focus (Bane of the Trapped), Restraint (Gogok of Swiftness), Squirt’s Necklace (Enforcer).

Crusader

AoV Heaven’s Fury
This Armor of Valor set is the best Season starter if you’re into the tanky gameplay of the Crusader. If you love targeting single enemies and would trade speed for survivability, this build is a good choice. Basically this build let you use Heaven’s Fury and Fist of the Heavens one after the other. The build’s near infinite Wrath means you can do this forever against mobs and bosses.
Skills
LMB – Fist of the Heavens (Divine Well)
RMB – Heaven’s Fury (Blessed Ground)
1 – Iron Skin (Flash)
2- Judgment (Debilitate)
3 – Laws of Valor (Unstoppable Force)
4 – Akarat’s Champion (Prophet)
Passives: Heavenly Strength, Holy Cause, Hold Your Ground, Finery
Kanai’s Cube Powers: Holy Tower, Aquila Cuirass, Ring of Royal Grandeur
Gear
Armor & Set: Crown of Valor (1x Diamond), Brigadine of Valor (3x Diamond), Spaulders of Valor, Gauntlet of Valor, Greaves of Valor, Captain Crimson’s Girdle (craft), Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Diamond, craft)
Weapon: Fate of the Fell (1x Emerald), Shield of Fury
Amulet/Ring: Hellfire Amulet (craft, Esoteric Alteration), Justice Lantern (Bane of the Stricken), Convention of Elements (Bane of the Trapped)

Demon Hunter

Marauder Sentry
With so much nerfing going on with the Gears of Dread Hungry Arrow build, it’s only a matter of time  until the meta changes for the frail-but-high-DPS Demon Hunter. The Marauder Sentry build lets your Demon Hunter put up turrets and gets damage buffs from said turrets. Also, the turrets will fire the Multishots and other primary attacks/enemy-seeking shots you have equipped. Easy gameplan, and a great way to clear the room really, really fast.
The Marauder Sentry’s few downsides include low mobility and heavy reliance for positioning, since you are setting up turrets and finding the best place to fire your Cluster Bombs to get max damage and AoE on mobs. Still, this build is the way to go if you want a top-tier Demon Hunter that can go solo. The best part about this set is that you can acquire it easily via Haedrig’s Gift for this season’s early rewards.
Skills
LMB – Evasive Fire (Focus)
RMB- Multishot (Arsenal)
1- Sentry (Polar Station)
2 – Companion (Wolf Companion)
3- Vault (Tumble)
4 – Vengeance (Seethe)
Passives: Cull the Weak, Ambush, Custom Engineering, Ballistics
Kannai’s Cube Power: Dead Man’s Legacy, Zoey’s Secret, Ring of Royal Grandeur
Gear
Armour & Set: Marauder’s Visage (1x Diamond), Marauder’s Spine, Marauder’s Gloves, Marauder’s Carapace (3x Diamond), Captain Crimson’s Silk Girdle (craft), Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Diamond, craft)
Weapon: Yang’s Recurve (1x Emerald), Bombardier’s Rucksack
Amulet/Ring: Focus (Bane of the Trapped), Restraint (Enforcer), Squirt’s Necklace (Zei’s Stone of Vengeance)

Witch Doctor

Arachyr Spiders
Arguably the easiest set to get in the first few hours if you’re grinding and farming for the Witch Doctor, depending on your luck. This build has high DPS and is fun to play, and its starter gear is easy to get thanks to the Season 25 buffs and Soul Shard powerups. Your Corpse Spider is going to be your main attack here, with your Horrify making your enemies stay in place, and your Locust Swarm and Pirahnas mopping up the floor with their amplified damage (being Creature spells thanks to the set armour’s bonuses). The Spirit Walk makes you invincible for a set time while you can go about your merry way attacking with your spider army.
Skills
LMB- Soul Harvest (Languish)
RMB- Corpse Spider (Leaping Spiders)
1- Horrify (Frightening Aspect)
2- Pirahnas (Pirahnado)
3- Locust Swarm (Cloud of Insects)
4- Spirit Walk (Jaunt)
Passives: Pierce the Veil, Confidence Ritual, Grave Injustice, Swampland Attunement
Kanai’s Cube: Echoing Fury, Mask of Jeram, Ring of Royal Grandeur
Gear
Armor & Set: Arachyr’s Vision (Sliver of Terror), Arachyr’s Mantle, Arachyr’s Claws, Arachyr’s Carapace (3x Topaz), Arachyr’s Stride, Brood of Araneae, Lakumba’s Ornament, Depth Diggers (3x Topaz)
Weapons: The Spider Queen’s Grasp (Dregs of Lies), Shukrani’s Triumph
Amulet/Ring: Traveler’s Pledge (Enforcer), Compass Rose (Bane of Trapped), Ring of Emptiness (Simplicity’s Strength)
Zunimassa Poison Dart
Season 26’s Haedrig’s Gift contains the Zunimassa set for the Witch Doctor, which is pretty good this season. The build uses the set’s bonus for the majority of its damage; it’s tailored for ranged combat and features pets and fast combat. The downside? You can die if an enemy so much as grazes you, so you need to be on point with your Spirit Walk.
Skills
LMB- Poison Dart (Spined Dart)
RMB- Pirahnas (Pirahnado)
1 – Spirit Walk (Jaunt)
2 – Fetish Army (Legion of Daggers)
3 – Soul Harvest (Languish)
4 – Horrify (Frightening Aspect)
Passives: Spirit Vessel, Grave Injustice, Fetish Syncophants, Pierce The Veil
Kanai’s Cube Powers: Echoing Fury, Mask of Jeram, Ring of Royal Grandeur
Gear
Armor & Set: Carnevil (1x Diamond), Zunimassa’s Marrow (3x Ruby), Zunimassa’s Finger Wrap, Zunimassa’s Trail, Depth Diggers, Aughild’s Power (craft), Aughild’s Search (craft)
Weapon: The Dagger of Darts (1x Emerald), Zunimassa’s String of Skulls
Amulet/Ring: Zunimassa’s Pox (Simplicity’s Strength), Convention of Elements (Enforcer), Squirt’s Necklace (Bane of the Stricken)

Wizard

Firebird Flame Blades
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Firebird builds for Wizards are still darn good. You still can die if a demon so much as sneezes at you, but its high DPS and fast-paced gameplay make it worth the trouble. The Shard of Hatred and Remnant of Pain can help mitigate some of the weaknesses and nerfs of the set.
Skills
LMB – Spectral Blade (Flame Blades)
RMB – Disintegrate (Chaos Nexus)
1 – Explosive Blast (Chain Reaction)
2 – Teleport (Safe Passage)
3 – Black Hole (Spellsteal)
4 – Frost Nova (Bone Chill)
Passives: Audacity, Evocation, Elemental Exposure, Unwavering Will
Kanai’s Cube: Orb of Infinite Depth, The Shame of Delsere, Ring of Royal Grandeur
Gear
Armor & Set: Firebird’s Plume (1x Topaz), Firebird’s Talon, Firebird’s Breast (3x Topaz), Firebird’s Tarsi, Aughild’s Search, Aughild’s Power, Captain Crimson’s Silk Girdle, Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Topaz).
Weapons: Fragment of Destiny (Remnant of Pain), Firebird’s Eye.
Amulet/Rings: The Traveler’s Pledge (Gogok of Swiftness), Convention of Elements (Bane of Stricken), The Compass Rose (Bane of Trapped).
Vyr-Chantodo Archon
Easy to learn, hard to master. This Wizard build focuses more on the Archon skill, where you transform into the Archon and deal huge damage and gather stacks for more damage and DOT effects. Due to the Archon’s huge cooldown timer, this build needs the cooldown reduction affixes for ALL the gear you find and may not be the best Season starter build to go for. It is rather rewarding if you can power through with this special.
Skills
LMB – Storm Armor (Shocking Aspect)
RMB – Arcane Torrent (Static Discharge)
1 – Black Hole (Absolute Zero)
2 – Archon (Slow Time)
3 – Slow Time (Time Warp)
4 – Magic Weapon (Deflection)
Passives: Evocation, Unstable Anomaly, Galvanizing Ward, Audacity
Kanai’s Cube: The Furnace, The Swami, Obsidian Ring of the Zodiac
Gear
Armor & Set: Vyr’s Sightless Skull (1x Diamond), Vyr’s Proud Pauldron, Vyr’s Grasping Gauntlets, Vyr’s Astonishing Aura (3x Topaz), Vyr’s Fantastic Finery (2x Topaz), Vyr’s Swaggering Stance, Ashnagarr’s Blood Bracer, Fazula’s Impropable Chain
Weapons: Chantodo’s Force (1x Emerald), Chantodo’s Will
Amulet/Rings: Convention of Elements (Bane of the Trapped), Halo of Karini (Zei’s Stone of Vengeance), Squirt’s Necklace (Bane of the Stricken)

Necromancer

Rathma Army of the Dead
The best Necromancer builds are all Legacy of Dreams-focused, so we have to resort to this Rathma set to make your life a bit easier. The Bones of Rathma Necromancer build is pet-focused & comes with a nuke: summon skeletons, bum rush them onto enemies, use Army of the Dead often and stay away from enemies. The Soul Shards on this build help amplify your minion’s strength and durability further.
Skills
LMB- Grim Scythe (Cursed Scythe)
RMB- Command Skeletons (Frenzy)
1- Bone Armor (Dislocation)
2 – Army of the Dead (Blighted Grasp)
3 – Blood Rush (Potency)
4 – Revive (Horrific Return)
Passives: Spreading Malediction, Eternal Torment, Swift Harvest, Grisly Tribute
Kanai’s Cube: Nayr’s Black Death, Fate’s Vow, Ring of Royal Grandeur
Gear
Armor & Set: Rathma’s Skull Helmet (1x Diamond), Rathma’s Spikes, Rathma’s Macabre Vambrace, Rathma’s Ribcage Plate (3x Topaz), Rathma’s Ossified Sabatons, Captain Crimson’s Silk Girdle, Captain Crimson’s Thrust (2x Topaz), Bonds of C’Lena.
Weapons: Jesseth Skullscythe (Essence of Anguish), Jesseth Skullshield
Amulet/Rings: Squirt’s Necklace (Gogok of Swiftness), Krysbin’s Sentence (Bane of the Trapped), Convention of Elements (Zei’s Stone of Vengeance)

Barbarian

Waste Whirlwind Rend
Still the best and most consistent Barbarian build ever. Spin to win using Whirlwind, but with Rend effects. Furious Charge to get to one spot super-fast and get all the buffs from Band of Might. The Essence Anguish makes it all the more painful for mobs.
Skills
LMB – Furious Charge (Merciless Assault)
RMB – Whirlwind (Wind Shear)
1 – Rend (Bloodbath)
2- Sprint (Marathon)
3- Ignore Pain (Bravado)
4 -Wrath of the Berserker (Insanity)
Passives: Rampage, Nerves of Steel, Boon of Bul-Kathos, Pound of Flesh
Kanai’s Cube: The Furnace, Mantle of Channeling, Band of Might
Gear
Armor & Set: Helm of the Wastes (1x Diamond), Pauldrons of the Waste, Gauntlet of the Wastes, Cuirass of the Wastes (3x Diamond), Tasset of the Wastes (2x Diamond), Sabaton of the Wastes, Lamentation, Mortick’s Brace.
Weapons: In-geom (Essence of Anguish), Ambo’s Pride (1x Emerald)
Amulet/Rings: Squirt’s Necklace (Molten Wildebeast’s Gizzard), Focus (Taeguk), Restraint (Bane of the Trapped).


9 Reasons Why Streets Of Rage 4 Is Great (And 2 Reasons Why It Isn’t)

Platform: PC (version played with Xbox One controller), PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch.
Genre: 2D brawler made in 2020, by beat-em-up fans and for beat-em-up fans.
Final Fight. Double Dragon. These are the iconic names you here when you bring up late 80s and early 90s beat-em-ups. While they’re fun and all, they don’t hold a candle to the oozing style and block-rocking beats that is the Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle series.
Made by Sega back in 1991, the legendary 2D beat-em-up was ahead of its time with its graphics and pumpin’ soundtrack. Its gameplay? Not so much, though it has seen various improvements over time with part 2’s special moves and part 3’s evasion maneuvers and branching paths. Along with a pretty nifty fan game made in 2003, there isn’t much being done with the brand.
At least until this week with Streets Of Rage 4. Many people were skeptical about the fourth official entry, but they’re mostly dispelled due to the pedigree behind it. While Sega gave its blessing and permission, it’s the trio of developers and producers that are behind this love letter project: artists Lizardcube, retro game publisher aficionados Dotemu, and developer Guard Crush Games. The latter group is known for its 2015 2D beat-em-up gem Streets of Fury EX, a goofy venture with a surprising amount of fighting game depth.
So, does it work? Is Streets Of Rage 4 a great mix of nostalgia and new-school beat-em-up? Yes, but not without some caveats. Let’s break it down eleven-fold.
1. The actual fighting is great!

Streets of Rage 4 is what happens when a 90s 2D beat-em-up gets a 2020 makeover from people who know the beat-em-up genre inside and out. Some aspects are preserved like the left-to-right “beat them all” objectives, the simple “defeat new syndicate that’s controlling Oak Wood City with a corrupted fist” storyline, and the brevity of the single-player mode.
Also, you still get food and money from conveniently-placed barrels and containers, and even opportunities to commit vandalism and potential murder via throwing thugs in bottomless pits. As well as even break out of a police station and inflict your own brutality.
However, the game’s new changes and updates are all for the better without wrecking the tried-and-true formula. The controls and action strike a fine balance between simple and meaty. See, this Streets of Rage 4 now gives you the option to use and chain your special attacks frequently. Pressing the Y button (either Y, forward +Y, or jump+Y) will unleash your selected character’s special move that you can cancel from your regular X button standard attacks.

The catch? You will lose a bit of life, but it’s represented by a green section of your life meter. If you hit enemies continuously with regular attacks, you can gain that life back. If you get hit, you lose it all. That’s a really great way to allow players to risk it all for the sake of invincibility frames for specials and dogpiling a group of enemies continuously.
You can also use an ultimate big-radius AoE Star Move that can deal mega damage to every thug around your vicinity. This move is pretty powerful, you can only pull it off if you have a star available; you can collect these in the game just like your standard money and health-replenishing collectables.
You’ll need all the help you can get because the enemies can get tough and rowdy. Even your fodder like Galsia and Donovan can be dangerous with certain weapons in their hands. Noteworthy foes include the headbutting biker girls, the taser-wielding police who have fast high-priority grabs (unless you knock their tasers out), and the cyborgs that can levitate ground weapons and fling them at you. The last slew of boss fights with the Y twins is also worth bringing up.

Streets of Rage 4’s gameplay engine allows you to pull off cancels and combos when enemies are about to fall. Catching them mid-air lets you extend your combo meter further, meaning huge points for your score (which we’ll get to later).
Getting enemies to the edge of the screen means you can juggle them in the air further. Honestly, it’s really fun to lure mobs of Galsias and Donovans into the corner and then juggling them for more points.
2. Every character feels and plays different

If you thought the variety of playstyles in Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3 is nifty, you’ll be pleasantly surprised with Streets of Rage 4’s offerings. You have four default characters to pick from (and a few more unlockable pugilists), each with their own attacks, strengths, and weaknesses.
Veteran Axel Stone is balanced and comes with his trademark Grand Upper, crowd control “Flame Punch”, and some decent attack stats. Newcomer Cherry Hunter is fast and can cover more ground chasing most enemies, but she’s not that strong and has pathetic reach compared to the rest of the cast. Still, she’s the only one in the main cast who can run.
While bionic-armed Floyd is super-slow, he can dish out the most damage, can grab anyone from a mid-ranged distance with his special, and grab-and-walk like Sengoku 3’s Kongoh. Whether it’s Blaze and her combo potential or Adam Hunter’s hard-hitting style & far reach with certain long weapons (and his quick dashes), you’re bound to find a favourite to clear the game with. Multiple times. And with a friend or three.
There’s a huge gap between 1994 and 2020 when it comes to Streets of Rage games. Guard Crush Games basically have a lot of references and inspiration from a boatload of beat-em-ups, especially from stellar examples like Sengoku 3. Streets of Rage 4 clearly took nods and the best ideas from these retro titles and incorporated them anew, making for a fresh and enjoyable experience. The game’s fighting and roster is proof of this.
3. You can switch to different characters after each stage
The old-school trope of sticking to your selected character from start to finish has been laid to rest; now you can switch from Axel to Blaze (or anyone else) at the beginning of the next stage. You won’t be able to get certain achievements by doing this though.
4. The scoring system has a purpose

In Streets of Rage 4, you start off with a few lives by default (3 lives in Normal difficulty). As you rack up points by collecting money in barrels and food items when your health is full, you can earn extra lives when you reach certain score milestones. When you’re out of lives, you have to start from the beginning of the stage.
Again, the developers take an outmoded concept and flipped it anew so that it makes certain commodities like lives a lot more valuable.
5. The game’s difficulty changes exponentially

While Normal mode has its slew of challenges, real beat-em-up aficionados will want to experience the game in the harder difficulty settings. These will not only increase the enemy count and movement/attacking speed, but will also determine how many lives you start off with and how much life you will need to “cashback” if you use specials.
The highest difficulty, Mania, will make you a bit more cautious with specials as you’ll lose more than usual. In case Normal is a pushover for you, the harder difficulties will make you want to bring more friends along to help ease the chaos. Or not make you a prime target at the very least.
6. They mapped the grab command to a separate button.
Ever had that issue where you want to beat up someone in front of you but end up grabbing an item or power-up instead? Well, the developers solved that problem in Streets of Rage 4: just map that command to a separate button. Now you can continue your combo and pummeling without fear of interruption from your end.
Though this comes with a unique problem: whenever I’m holding onto a weapon and I want to pick up either a gold bar or a food item, I end up throwing it away instead. The pixel spot for picking it up is so precise that I usually just forgo whatever I’m holding.
Barring that, I do wonder why it took so long for other similar throwbacks to do this. It also helps that you can catch weapons mid-air if you time your button press right.
7. Four-player co-op & two-player online
Speaking of multiplayer, the game gets chaotic and hectic when you have a few extra pals with you playing on the couch. The enemy count gets a bit higher to accommodate the number of players, and it’s seamless to set up. There’s no drop-in and drop-out function in offline though, but since each stage is pretty short, it’s not a huge issue.
8. A messload of unlockables, upping its replayability

Once you finish the game’s Story Mode, which should take you about 3 hours or so if you’re pretty decent at beat-em-ups, you will unlock Stage Select mode, Boss Rush mode, and Arcade mode. These are all self-explanatory if you’ve played at least a couple of 2D action games.
Stage Select lets you go to any of the game’s 12 stages to boost your stage ranking, or just replay a cool segment or boss fight. Boss Rush gives you all of its bosses for you to fight in an arena with just one life. Arcade mode keeps things old-school; you start off with a set amount of lives and can only stick to one character. If you run out of lives, that’s it.
You can also unlock legacy characters like SoR 2’s Skate and SoR 3’s Dr. Zan in their glorious sprite-tastic form of ye ol’ 90s Megadrive era. And yes, playing as SoR 1 incarnations of Adam, Axel, and Blaze will let you call the legendary cop car as a star move. Getting these cool bonuses is just a matter of replaying the game and getting a good ranking out of it.
Coupled with some gallery options and even some profiles on the game’s playable cast and enemies, and you’ve got yourself a nifty reason to aim for that A ranking in the tough dojo stage. Did I mention that you can also switch the look of your collectables in-game? You can replace the big chicken with hamburgers or salad. It’s cosmetic, but it’s worth noting if you fancy some more detailed options in your beat-em-up.
9. Awesome sights and sounds

You probably saw this coming, but Streets of Rage 4 excels in its visuals and audio. The art style is a Lizardcube trademark, complete with detail and crafty sprite lighting. Our heroes and villains, both old and new, are given a great West-slash-East makeover that looks gorgeous both static and in motion.
From the insides of a police station’s cosy office (complete with “hush money” coming out of the commissioner’s desk when you break it) to the familiar-yet-detailed backdrops of an outdoor rave and art museum, you can see the massive detail, love, and work put in every corner of the 2D universe.
Every screenshot here is a work of art. You know the developers show a lot of love for a particular franchise when even its pixelated SoR1 characters follow the same lighting and shading properties as the hand-drawn characters.
I’ve talked a bit about the music, and after hearing the final ensemble and tracks in-game, I’d say that it’s a worthy successor. While it features new creations from series composer Yuzo Koshiro and Motohiro Kawashima that sounds nostalgic yet feels made for this era in gaming, the majority of the awesome work comes from Olivier Deriviere.

He knows how to pump up the tempo and add in escalating music that suits the mood of the stage pretty well. I can’t call it a total replacement to past SoR music; I’ll need more time listening to all of it to make comparisons. However, it’s a logical and appropriate evolution of the game’s background earwigs with that 90s-esque beat-em-up flair. A pretty solid offering and a possible contender for one of 2020’s better gaming soundtracks, in other words.
Now, on with the bad.
1. It’s not lengthy from the get-go

If you’re looking for an enriching story experience from your first playthrough, you’re in the wrong place. Streets of Rage 4 is built with replayability in mind, so it’s easy to see why the Story Mode takes a short time to complete.
It’s not built like an RPG like last year’s best beat-em-up River City Girls. However, if you’re expecting a longer campaign, you’ll be disappointed.
2. It’s tailor-made for fans of the genre, and only them
I get it; beat-em-ups are a relic of the past. Because of the quarter-munching nature of these games, most gamers who grew up on shooters and action-adventure fares for the past 10 years may not see the appeal.
Which is precisely why once in a while, it’s nice to see a game like Streets of Rage 4 wears its nostalgic sleeves proudly, albeit with a lot of noteworthy changes. Heck, I would complain about the reusing of certain bosses in some stages, but that’s just the developer’s way of paying tribute to the tag-team fights the series throws at you. Still, if you aren’t into the genre, this won’t change your mind at all. It’ll look nice to play for a few minutes, but you won’t appreciate what it offers replayability-wise.

Long story short, dock 30 points from the final score below if you fall in the non-fan camp; it’s a US$25 indie curiosity at best. To the rest of us, this is the true sequel to the Streets of Rage/Bare Knuckle series that’s a long time coming.
Pros

Great soundtrack & stylized art.
Fun beat-em-up action with tight controls.
Lots of diverse characters to use and unlock.
Pays homage to its source material really well.

Cons

Non-beat-em-up fans will not appreciate its short length & replayability.

FINAL SCORE: 90/100
*Review copy provided by Dotemu.


Level Up Is Teasing Something For June

The COVID-19 pandemic is certainly messing up physical events. Over here in Malaysia, we’ve already had AMG-Chan being postponed, while the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Professional League Malaysia and Singapore tournament is going for an online format.
Despite all this, Level Up is teasing something for June 2020. “”Guess who is having meetings or is planning some fun online ?!? Stay tuned to our social platforms for more!” they wrote on Twitter. It’s very vague for sure, but it certainly sounds like they’re planning an online event of some sort.

Guess who is having meetings or is planning some fun online ?!? Stay tuned to our social platforms for more!  #LEVELUPMY #letsbuildtogether #gamedev #gamerlife #announcement #staytuned pic.twitter.com/2G963VHubO
— Level Up MY (@levelupkl_my) April 23, 2020

It’s worth noting that this particular tease is unlikely to be related to any replacement of the main Level Up KL event, which usually happens in the last quarter of the year. This Level Up page still has a poster for Level Up 2020 too, with business days from 30 September to 2 October while public days are from 3 October to 4 October. But even if the physical event got scrapped, it’s unlikely that we’ll be having the online replacement on an earlier date.
However, the page also displays a poster for something called Level Up Spacebar, which will seemingly be held on 16 June. Perhaps the tease is related to that event.

In addition, we previously learned that the Level Up organizers have plans for online events around that same time frame. Back then, we wrote that “the organizers of Level Up KL are in the midst of preparing several contingencies for the event which is targeted for October”, and that “plans are already underway for smaller-scaled digital events aimed at stimulating the industry within the next two to three months”. It looks like we’re finally about to learn about those events.
At any rate, we’ll have to wait for the full announcement to know for sure. In the meantime, check out our coverage of Level Up KL 2019, where some pretty cool stuff happened.