What To Expect From The Umbrella Academy Season 2 On Netflix

The entire first season of The Umbrella Academy is now available to watch on Netflix and boy, it’s a phenomenal series. Not only does it manage to adapt the zaniness and straight insanity of the comics, but the characters also feel like they’re ripped from the pages of the source material.
Created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba, The Umbrella Academy is meant to be a deconstruction of the comic book genre, similar to Alan Moore’s Watchmen and Grant Morrison’s Doom Patrol (which is cited as a direct inspiration).
The Netflix series marks the beginning of a new era for meta and self-aware comic book adaptations, along with the DC Universe’s Doom Patrol (which debuted on the same day as The Umbrella Academy).
Before I discuss what to expect from The Umbrella Academy Season 2, I will have to mention events and revelations from the first season, so if you haven’t watched the new series on Netflix yet, now is the time for you stop reading.

Still here? Great! The Umbrella Academy Season 1 may be a bit confusing even to those who’ve read the source material, seeing as showrunner Steve Blackman decided to adapt not only the first volume (Apocaplyse Suite) of the original comics but also bits and pieces from the second volume (Dallas).
The problem with this is that there are currently only two complete volumes of the comics available, with the third volume (Hotel Oblivion) still ongoing and slated to end later this year. Due to this, it will be slightly more difficult to predict where the series will be going in Season 2, as it only leaves what little remains of ‘Dallas’ and ‘Hotel Oblivion’ to derive from.
As such, no one can really know what’s going to happen in The Umbrella Academy Season 2. However, taking what we’ve learned from the first season, and what I know from the comics, here’s what I think is likely to happen next season.
The Commission Will Be The Main Antagonists

At the end of the first season, The Umbrella Academy actually failed to stop the apocalypse from taking place. As a solution, Number Five proposes that the whole team travel back in time to stop the apocalypse by “fixing Vanya” before she becomes the White Violin. We see the entire family disappear into the time portal/vortex just as the world ie engulfed in flames.
All of this is a major departure from the source material, as the apocalypse was successfully stopped, which means that there’s no reason for them to travel back in time in the first place. Therefore, we have nothing from the comics to go on.
Let’s see the cards we do have on this metaphorical table. The Commission is still operating, despite the death or deaths of its Handler. Since the organization’s responsibility is to maintain the status quo, it wouldn’t be stretch to speculate that the Commission will be playing an even bigger antagonistic role in The Umbrella Academy Season 2.
The fates of Hazel and Cha-Cha, on the other hand, are unknown and they could still theoretically reappear or resurrect in Season 2 to be a pain in the butt in the Umbrella Academy’s efforts to stop the impending Apocalypse.
Also, in the comics, the true ‘boss’ of the Commission (or Temps Aeternalis as they are referred to in the source material) is a man named Carmichael, who has a Shubunkin Goldfish in a bowl for a head. Number Five later kills this guy and eats him. I’m not kidding. Perhaps we’ll be seeing this guy as some kind of superior to the Handler? Time will tell.
Yep, Number Five literally eats him (Carmichael).
Klaus Will Be Key In Stopping The Apocalypse

While Klaus was a seemingly useless junkie and unimportant member of the team for most of the first season, his new powerful ability to make his dead brother, Ben, momentarily corporeal in the final moments of the season finale was what saved the entire team from being killed by the temporal assassins of the Commission.
We also know that Klaus has the biggest untapped potential out of all his brothers and sisters, as mentioned by his dead father Reginald Hargreeves in the afterlife. God also appeared to Klaus, which means that he must be pretty important in the scheme of things.
In the comics, meteors also fell to the earth thanks to Vanya’s powers. However, Klaus singlehandedly stopped the meteors by using his newfound telekinetic abilities, effectively stopping the Apocalypse.
That could be what will happen in The Umbrella Academy Season 2 as well, with Klaus unlocking more and more of his potential latent abilities, especially now that he’s mostly sober from the effects of drugs. Perhaps he’ll even find a way to make Ben completely corporeal for good.
Who Assassinated President JFK?

For those who don’t know, The Umbrella Academy takes place in a timeline where President JFK was never assassinated. We already know from the first season of the series that Number Five’s last task (which was to assassinate President JFK) was ultimately not completed, which was what led to Hazel and Cha-Cha’s hunt for Number Five in the first place.
In the source material (Dallas), Diego, Luther, and Klaus actually travelled back in time to prevent the assassination of President JFK, while Number Five and Allison wanted to ensure that the opposite happened. It’s complicated, but this was the setting for the climax of the plot in ‘Dallas’. In the end, it was Allison that killed President JFK by using her “Mr.President…I heard a rumour that the back of your head is about to explode.”
Yep, Allison killed JFK in the comics.
Come to think of it, all of this was already hinted at in the first season of the Netflix series. If you rewatch Episode 5 ‘Number Five’ during the scene in which the older Number Five was supposed to assassinate President JFK, the radio announcer clearly states that President JFK still died despite not being shot in the head by Number Five.
I believe that this means the JFK assassination will be playing a more integral part to the main plot in The Umbrella Academy Season 2. Someone else killed President JFK, and I think that will be answered next season. Here’s hoping it happens like it did in the comics. That would be a cinematic sight to behold.
We might even be able to see a showdown between the current younger-looking Number Five and the younger older-looking Number Five. Bear with me, I know it’s complicated.
Number Five vs Number Five

Those are my speculations and predictions for The Umbrella Academy Season 2 for now. At the time of writing, Netflix has not officially renewed the series for a second season. In the meantime, here’s what The Umbrella Academy creator Gerard Way has to say about Season 2 (via Den of Geek):

“I think right now there’s only been a couple things used from Dallas (in season 1). If there’s a potential season 2, I would think you would see some things potentially from â€˜Dallas.â€™”

That’s very interesting, especially due to the fact that I’ve basically derived all my theories based on what happened in ‘Dallas’. All ten episodes of The Umbrella Academy Season 1 are now available to stream on Netflix.


The World’s Most Prolific Fighting Game Player From The US Is Now A Free Agent

Justin Wong is synonymous to fighting games. When he’s not taking fools down easily in the Marvel Vs. titles while unintentionally inspiring others to “never give up”, he’s busy getting that Street Fighter V money and acclaim, placing at least top 8 in major tournaments with his fancy-ass Menat play.

Taking the advice of Mister Mister, Justin Wong is taking his broken wings and learning to fly again so free (like a free agent). Okay, they’re not broken, but he was under the Echo Fox brand for quite a while. The news was made public on his personal Twitter feed a few hours ago.
The message reads:

“Iâ€™m here to announce I am currently a free agent and I have not resigned with @echofoxgg.They are an amazing team and wish them the best but I want to see what other opportunities are out there. DMs are open for everyone. Please spread the word would love to find a new home.”

I’m here to announce I am currently a free agent and I have not resigned with @echofoxgg
They are an amazing team and wish them the best but I want to see what other opportunities are out there.
DMs are open for everyone.
Please spread the word would love to find a new ? pic.twitter.com/PbKXvMpJVx
— Justin Wong (@JWonggg) January 16, 2019

Echo Fox recently parted ways with the majority of their acquired players last yearÂ like Momochi, Punk, JDCR, Scar, Saint, and Theo.


Wild Hearts: A Hands-On Preview Of The Massive Monsters You’ll Fight Next Year

We got hands-on with a demo for Electronic Arts and Koei Tecmo’s first joint venture together, a revolutionary take on Capcom’s Monster Hunter franchise Wild Hearts.
In the demo, we got a little glimpse into the story but things that everyone’s keen to hear about are the monsters or Kemono as they’re dubbed in the game. When fighting the kemono for the first time, you will quickly learn that each and every one of them has its own attacks and algorithm that you have to adapt to. With all the kemono there are a number of “stages” that can change depending on how strong your character is, or if you have other players helping you.
Usually, the stages go like this; after you deal a certain amount of damage to the kemono, the kemono will run away to a new area. This will require you to chase the kemono and that’s when the next stage begins. Depending on how long it takes for you to kill the kemono, the stages will progressively get harder so the faster you kill them, the easier it will be. While playing solo, the minimum amount of stages I managed to kill a kemono in was two stages. In contrast, the longest was five stages—against the strongest kemono available in the demo, the Kingtusk.
All kemono also have an enraged mode that it enters when you’re nearing the end of the battle, this is where you get to see first-hand the kemono’s ability to twist and change the terrain around it. Here’s a breakdown on what we fought:
Ragetail

The Ragetail is the first kemono I encountered in the game. A rat-like monster with a wrecking ball for a tail. The smallest of the major kemono in the game, the Ragetail is also the easiest to face in my opinion. The rat-like monster’s move set was probably the easiest to read too as there are blatant cues as to when the Ragetail will attack.
Even when the Ragetail became enranged, the moves were extremely easy to dodge and read.
Sapscourge

Honestly, I had the most trouble with this kemono. The Sapscourge is a giant racoon that has the ability to shoot burning Amber which slows you down. This is the second major kemono I encountered and I had a lot of trouble dealing with its final stage which is in the Sapscourge’s nest. When fighting in the dark and eery cave that is the Sapscourge’s nest, the only light source is the scourging hot amber the Sapscourge shoots.
Because of this, I found it extremely difficult to recognise the cues of the kemono, almost dying twice to it in its enraged mode.
Kingtusk

And lastly, you have the Kingtusk, a giant boar-like monster that has the ability to shoot tree roots from the ground. I encountered this particular monster towards the end of the demo as it acted as the first serious boss fight. The Kingtusk—while tricky to fight due to its damage—is possible to solo.
The Kingtusk probably has the simplest algorithm to follow as its move set is extremely limited. Although due to its size, there is one particular move that is close to impossible to dodge without utilising the karakuri system (build feature). What also makes this kemono annoying to fight is that in between stages, the Kingtusk travels the longest distance, meaning unless you utilise a certain exploit, it can take you some time to catch up to the beast.

All in all, Koei Tecmo and EA have shown a lot of promise with this similar-yet-fun action title. We hope to see more of this in the coming few months, as well as see how big and challenging these kemono can get. Wild Hearts is slated for Xbox, PlayStation, and PC in 17 February 2023.


Did Sekiro Make Me A Soulsborne Convert?

Platform: PS4, Xbox One, PC
Genre: Soulsborne, Action RPG, Stealth
In my hands-on first impression of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, I stated that this might be the game that finally makes me a Soulsborne fan.
I was wrong.
I don’t have to tell you that From Software games are notorious for being extremely difficult to the point of inducing screaming fits of controller-throwing rage-quitting sessions. Everyone knows that, but it seems like every review of Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is content at just saying that and nothing much else.
There are less-explored questions out there: how accessible it is to newcomers? Does this game really needs to be so punishingly hard for those with little to no experience with Soulsborne games? Can’t From Software keep up with the times where other action game makers give low and high skill players a choice to have their cake and eat it too?
I can answer all that because I too am a Soulsborne beginner myself.
Is Sekiro Newcomer-Friendly?

The Dark Souls franchise (and Bloodborne) had steep learning curves, expecting players to learn the games’ inner mechanics through trial and error -an ode to their earlier seriesÂ King’s Field. This is the same case with Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, though the developer has introduced a bunch of new gameplay mechanics to make it feel fresh and different from its brothers.
Picking up Sekiro is relatively quick and easy at first, thanks to the brisk and helpful tutorials at the beginning of the game. However, unlike past Soulsborne games, there is no stamina meter. You’d think that the lack of a stamina meter would make dodging easier just by spamming it, but the new Posture mechanic begs to differ.
Here’s how it works. Actions, like deflecting enemy attacks and successfully striking them slowly, fill up the Posture meter. When the Posture meter is full, it renders them vulnerable to a devastating finishing move called the Deathblow (which will either kill them outright or take an entire health bar).

Want to abuse blocking and dodging in Sekiro? All I can say is good luck. One, you have your own posture meter (which will leave you as vulnerable as an open clam once it fills up), and two, dodging will feel like hell because the game just doesn’t work that way. What do I mean by that?
Sekiro punished me for simply slashing and chipping away at my enemy, which is a laborious way to fill up the Posture meter. This is a huge problem, especially with bosses who often have more than one health bar, requiring more than one deathblow to kill them. These bosses hit back hard, and they ended my life with just one or two hits at most.
The game clearly encourages deflecting or parrying more than the act of dodging, thus subverting the expectations of even the most veteran Soulsborne players. Deflecting requires impeccable precision and timing, but will fill up the posture meter considerably faster. Utilizing this mechanic would be ideal if not for the absurd difficulty.

It’s a furious ballad of swords and sparks when the combat works. I learn to anticipate the enemy’s movements and patterns every time I die. This continues until luck finally comes to my side and I manage to somehow overcome a powerful boss. I then put my controller down and catch my breath, basking in my glory.
But wait, Sekiro is a From Software game. The game never failed to remind me, as I immediately get my ass handed to me by the next enemy I encounter just minutes after dying a gazillion times to beat that previous boss.

Is that truly fun? Sure, it’s “fun” if you submit to the reality that all your sweet victories will feel incredibly short-lived.

I’ve lost count over how many times I died throughout the course of the game. A new mechanic alleviates the usual frustrations with death because players are given the option to either resurrect themselves or respawn at the nearest checkpoint. While that might make death more acceptable, there are still consequences to dying, including losing half of the experience points and money the player has gained.
Spider-Wolf

The grappling hook is quite simply the best gameplay mechanic in Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. It makes you feel somewhat like Spider-Man, but I’d say the experience tend to feel more like the Just Cause franchise, which also features its own grappling hook mechanic.
It lends a different dimension to situations, as I can use the grappling hook to reach places I never thought I could reach or escape a floor littered with a bunch of enemies. The latter is how I always used it, bypassing entire areas of enemies without spilling any blood (theirs or mine).
Several boss battles also utilize the grappling hook in unique ways, to avoid their sometimes unavoidable attacks. There’s this one giant snake which had me frantically jumping from hook to hook. That setpiece definitely put the fear of snakes in me.
Git Gud

One massive caveat with Sekiro is with the game’s sense of progression for the protagonist, Wolf. There are no stats or attributes to build or increase for the player’s character. Instead, there’s only Vitality (health) and Attack Power (damage), which can only be increased by obtaining key items from bosses and stronger enemy types.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice may feature light RPG elements but don’t expect anything from this aspect of the game. There aren’t any weapons or armour to collect. Wolf only has his trusty katana from beginning to end, but oh, he does have his prosthetic shinobi arm, which can be outfitted with all manner of equipment capable of everything from shuriken-throwing to flame-blasting.
I’ve only found a few of these prosthetic arms but they don’t seem to be of much help in combat situations. They’re either incredibly specific (some type of enemies are weak to fire) or not really useful in combat situations unless you’ve upgraded them (which is a moot point, considering how scarce money actually is due to how much you die in the game).

The experience points you gain can be used to unlock active or passive skills. Active skills are often only useful in certain situations, including a flurry of slashes and the like. Passive skills do make the game a tad easier but ultimately doesn’t do much, ranging from decreasing footstep noise and replenishing health with every Deathblow.

Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice can be best encapsulated as: “Git Gud” with what you already have because you can’t grind. This isn’t a conventional RPG and you won’t naturally get stronger just by killing more enemies.

Am I A Soulsborne Fan Yet?

The occasional feeling of utter satisfaction and relief (plus adrenaline) was probably what Dark Souls and Bloodborne players feel too when they overcome the gameâ€™s punishing gameplay.
Most of the time, however, you’ll find yourself in a pit of rage-quitting despair, desperately crawling to get out. If you persevere and try hard enough, you may be able to escape. Don’t count on it though.
I’ve played Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice for close to 15 hours now, and I’m probably more than halfway through the game. It’s punishing difficulty has left me hitting a brick wall, which has halted any and all progress for now.

Sekiro isn’t a bad game by any means. It’s an exceptional action game, but it could have been made a bit accomodating (and less spiteful design-wise) in its first 15 hours. I guess the game’s just not made for gamers like me.

Until I finally ‘git gud’ and finish the game, this is my review for now.
Pros:

Basking in the glory of overcoming an enemy (albeit how short-lived it is).
Grappling hook mechanic.
Great graphics.

Cons:

Punishing difficulty, which can only be solved by ‘getting good’.
Loose “RPG” mechanics leads to a limited sense of progression.

FINAL SCORE: 70/100
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice was reviewed on a PS4 Pro, via a review copy courtesy of Activision and PlayStation.


Spider-Man: No Way Home Just Confirmed Two More Classic Villains

Marvel’s upcoming Spider-Man film is set to be the biggest Spider-Man-focused film in history. Thanks to a recent Empire Magazine reveal, we now have two more classic Spider-Man villains joining the fray.

According to the magazine, Rhys Ifans’ Lizard/Curt Connors and Thomas Haden Church’s Sandman/Flint Marko will be joining the list of villains in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Rhys Ifans was in The Amazing Spider-Man starring Andrew Garfield while Thomas Haden Church was in Spider-Man 3 starring Tobey Macguire.
You can check out the magazine scans and Empire cover teasing Sandman below.

Confirmed lizard in the first pic too! "World's which include Rhys Ifans The Lizard.." #SpiderManNowWayHome #SpiderMan3 #NoWayHome pic.twitter.com/dt8kQDGxTh
— Everything CBM (@EverythingCBM) October 27, 2021

The subscriber cover for our #SpiderManNoWayHome issue is a bold blast of kaleidoscopic comic-book colour, illustrated exclusively for Empire by @Murugiah_.
READ MORE: https://t.co/1L405T7zL5 pic.twitter.com/7ipfkbt2uN
— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) October 22, 2021

Previously, the Spider-Man: No Way Home trailer teased Willem Dafoe’s Green Goblin and Jamie Foxx’s Electro, alongside the reveal of Alfred Molina’s Doctor Octopus. Yeah, sounds like we’re getting some form of the Sinister Six enemy group in this new MCU Spider-Man movie; we’re just missing The Vulture for now.
Spider-Man: No Way Home will hit cinemas on 17th December.


Hideo Kojima Breaks Two Guinness World Records

Hideo Kojima is, for better or worse, arguably the most popular figure in the video game industry. He’s friends with famous Hollywood directors and actors, as well as has the uncanny ability to inspire ardent and frantic fandoms.
Now, the creator of the Metal Gear franchise has broken two Guinness World Records only several days from the launch of his latest game, Death Stranding. What are those two world records? Unfortunately for his fans, they have nothing to do with any of his games, and more with his status as a public figure.
Kojima can now boast of being the game director with the highest number of followers on both social media platforms, Twitter and Instagram. At the time of writing, he currently has 2.8 million followers on Twitter and about 888,000 on Instagram. Check out a video of him receiving the awards on the official Guinness World Records Twitter account below.

Game creator Hideo Kojima (@HIDEO_KOJIMA_EN) is now a record holder for:
âœ… Most followers on Twitter for a video game director
âœ… Most followers on Instagram for a video game director#DeathStranding#WorldStrandTour2019 pic.twitter.com/dywSzoNwlE
â€” GuinnessWorldRecords (@GWR) November 10, 2019
However, Kojima isn’t exactly the most followed figure in the games industry. That distinction goes to Minecraft creator Markus â€œNotchâ€ Persson, who has 3.7 million followers on Twitter alone.
Other famous figures in the games industry include Oculus CEO John Carmack with 867,000 followers, former Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime with 459,000, Undertale creator Toby Fox with 674,000, and NetherRealmsâ€™ Ed Boon with 567,000.

pic.twitter.com/s564LP4ClN
â€” å°å³¶ç§€å¤« (@Kojima_Hideo) November 10, 2019

In the meantime, check out our review of Death Stranding here, which is out now for the PS4.


Netflix Is Teaming Up With CLAMP And Other Japanese Creators

Netflix has announced that it is partnering up with manga artist group CLAMP and several other manga authors to produce more anime.
As reported by Anime News Network, the other creators are:

Shin Kibayashi (author of The File of Young Kindaichi)
Yasuo Ohtagaki (author of Mobile Suit Gundam Thunderbolt)
Otsuichi (author of Summer, Fireworks and My Corpse)
Tow Ubukata (author of Mardock Scramble and Le Chevalier D’Eon)
Mari Yamazaki (author of Thermae Romae)

The anime website also noted that the anime produced by this partnership will stream in 190 countries and territories.
Netflix Japan made several tweets which contained statements from the manga authors as well. In one of them, Kibayashi expressed his excitement at being involved in the project. We can’t wait to see what this partnership cooks up for us.


Kakuchopurei Best Games Of 2019 â€“ PART 2

This is part 2 of our 6-parter Best Games of 2019 video, where we select 30 of this year’s finest. We now talk about #6 to #10.


Here Is When The Next Steam Summer Sale Will Start

While people are enjoying the many free demos from Steam Next Fest, we should remember that there’s a Steam Summer Sale oncoming later this month and the next. That’s the day when PC games on Steam are dirt cheap and your backlog starts piling up.
The Steam Summer Sale starts on 24 June 1am GMT+8 and ends on 8 July 1am GMT+8. The recent video below suggest that the next Steam Sale will feature an RPG game quest that will help with your additional discounts when buying titles on the platform.

Here are the list of games that will be on sale during the Steam Summer Sale period.

Ghostwire: Tokyo
Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga
The Sims 4
V Rising
Red Dead Redemption 2
Total War: Warhammer III
God of War
Dying Light 2
Cyberpunk 2077
Forza Horizon 5
WWE 2K22
Core Keeper

There will be a lot more titles on sale, so keep an eye out for a future feature we’ll be doing about this.


Epic Games Store Finally Giving A Highly Sought Feature

For many many years, Steam has been the go-to online storefront and digital platform for millions of PC gamers around the world. When the Epic Games Store (EGS) was unveiled, it was touted to be a serious competitor to Steam. Unfortunately, it lacked a lot of features and has been drawing criticism from most of its users.

The latest update to the platform paints a better picture of the future. EGS users probably have noticed that they store page now looks much better thanks to games now being categorised according to lists such as “New Releases”, “Top Sellers”, and so on. It also finally has a genre browsing feature, something it sorely lacked during launch.
Our brothers and sisters in Thailand should be thrilled to know that the EGS now has Thai language support. Aside from that, other improvements include adding 3D Secure for Europe which basically ensures credit card purchases are more secure and also optimising the EGS servers which took a hit when there was 350% traffic increase during the Fortnite – Chapter 2 event.

What’s truly exciting is the list of upcoming improvements that the developers are working on which includes adding a wishlist feature. Similar to the Steam wishlist, users will be notified when games in their wishlist are on sale or included in any relevant promotions.
Another highly anticipated feature that’s being worked on is critic reviews. If you’ve never used the EGS before, you’re probably dumbfounded by this piece of information. The EGS has never had a review system for any of its games so its users have never been able to judge a game directly through its EGS store page.

One thing to note about the EGS implementing critic reviews is that Epic CEO Tim Sweeney has previously expressed that he wanted to implement a review system that would avoid issues of review bombing which happens every now and then on Steam because players are unhappy with things that might not be related to a game’s core design such as the game developers’ political stance or something of that sort.
Epic still believes that their storefront view can be improved and I’m sure most people would agree. So it’s good to hear that the team is constantly making improvements in that aspect.

As a Malaysian EGS user, I’m hoping that they introduce prices in MYR soon. Besides that, there’s also the glaring issue of the store not having a cart which doesn’t let its users by multiple games at once which will become a big issue whenever there’s a sale offering lots of games at low prices. That’s exactly the thing that pissed off a lot of people when Epic had their first Epic Games Store Mega Sale earlier this year.


Nike Partners With League of Legends as Exclusive Sponsor For Pro League

Nike, a brand that needs no introduction, has step foot into the world of esports as the brand announced that it will serve as the official and exclusive sponsor for China’s Tencent League of Legends Pro League (LPL).

Nike signed a four-year partnership which would have them outfit LPL players with custom designed apparel and footwear for all 16 teams until 2022. The LPL players will be equipped with an all-new team kit ahead of the 2019 World Championships. The fans also will be able to obtain the gear to show support to their teams.

Eric Wei, Vice President of Category Marketing at Nike in Greater China, said that “esports athletes share the same determination and competitive spirit as all athletes, they spend their lives preparing for intense competition, working relentlessly to improve their reflexes, coordination, vision, mentality and teamwork”.

The sports brand also said that they will emphasise research and development on training programs and sports sciences for the players to be at their peak.
The LPL is the first esports property in the world to adopt a Home & Away model. Last year, the Home & Away model had five teams adopting their home cities in China and playing in dedicated esports arenas. This year, the LPL roster was expanded to 16 from 14 with the introduction of SinoDragon Gaming and Victory 5 into the league.
In 2018, the LPL had a magnificent year with players from the league coming home victorious from the World Championships, the Mid-Season Invitational, and the Asian Games.


Singapore-Made Puzzle Game The Signal State Made Back Its Development Cost

Game publisher Iterative Digital announced that its recent puzzle game The Signal State broke even within 3 days.
During an opening segment in Gamescom Asia 2021, the publisher said that its puzzle game made back its development cost in 3 days. In addition, the game will receive a new Puzzle Designer (via Steam Workshop) and a Sandbox Mode update soon.
The Signal State is a puzzle/simulation game inspired by other puzzlers like Shenzhen IO and TS-100. It’s available right now on PC for RM39. You can check the game’s demo out on Steam too.


EVO 2022: The Full Schedule & Results [Update]

EVO 2022 is happening this coming weekend, with the best fighting game players from all across the world converging for one major tournament hosted in Las Vegas, USA.
Here is the schedule for you to refer to. All times are in GMT+8.
Disclaimer: this feature will be updated with results and player names.
How To Watch EVO 2022
Highlights

Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/evo, http://twitch.tv/PlayStation

?
YouTube (EVO Lounge): https://www.youtube.com/playstation
SNK Sound Team Special Live Session

EVO 2022 Schedule

6 August
Main Stage
Special Event Panel: 1am
Skullgirls Top 8: 10am
Stage 2
Guilty Gear Strive (Round 1 pools): 2am
Stage 3
Granblue Fantasy Versus (Round 1 pools): 1am
Tekken 7 (Round 1 pools): 9am
Stage 4
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate (Round 1 pools – Top 24): 1am

7 August
Main Stage
Mortal Kombat 11 Ultimate Top 8: 1am
Granblue Fantasy: Versus Top 8: 5am
Dragon Ball FighterZ Top 8: 11am
Stage 2
Guilty Gear Strive (Round 1 Pools – Top 24): 1am
Stage 3
Tekken 7 (Round 1 pools – Top 48): 1am
Stage 4
Granblue Fantasy Versus (Round 2 pools-Top 24): 1am
MultiVersus (Top 32 – Finals): 5:30am
Stage 5
Street Fighter 5 (Round 1 pools to Top 48): 1am
Stage 6
KOF XV (Round 1 pools): 1am
Dragon Ball FighterZ (Round 2 pools – Top 24): 5am
Stage 7
KOF XV (Round 1 pools – Top 48): 1am

8 August
The King of Fighters XV Top 8: 1am
Tekken 7 Top 8: 5am
Street Fighter 5 Top 8: 8am
Guilty Gear Strive Top 8: 11am

Results
Guilty Gear Strive
1. RZR| UMISHO (Happy Chaos)
2. ANKAA| Slash (May)
3. TSM| Leffen (Zato-1)
4. Moist| Hotashi (Nagoriyuki)
5. Daru_I-No (I-No)
5. PepperySplash (Zato-1)
7. MI| TempestNYC (Leo)
7. Bean (Chipp)
Street Fighter 5
1. HB| Kawano (Kolin)
2. iDom (Laura, Poison)
3. RB| Gachikun (Rashid)
4. Rohto| Tokido (Urien, Luke)
5. BST| Daigo Umehara (Guile)
5. UYU| Oil King (Rashid, Seth)
7. Mister Crimson (Dhalsim)
7. EMGG| Justakid (Juri)
Tekken 7
1. DRX| Knee (Feng)
2. FATE| Khan (Geese)
3. FATE|Arslan Ash (Zafina)
4. DH|JeonDDing (Julia, Eddy)
5. Super Akouma (Akuma)
5. KDF|Meo-IL (Geese)
7. Donuts|Pinya (Raven)
7. Donuts|Rangchu (Julia, Panda)
The King of Fighters XV
1. Brook| ZJZ (Kula, Krohnen, B. Jenet)
2. Brook| E.T. (Kula, B. Jenet, Krohnen)
3. XiaoHeyTW (Benimaru, Rock, Kyo)
4. KOR| Lacid (Meitenkun, Shermie, Ash)
5. AMTRS| Score (Yashiro, Chizuru, B. Jenet)
5. KR| Pako (Luong, Chizuru, Elisabeth)
7. SP| Mok (Kukri, B. Jenet, Krohnen)
7. SW| Seix mx (Kula, Chizuru, Kohnen)
Dragon Ball FighterZ
1. MBS| Wawa (Blue Gogeta, Vegito, Adult Gohan, & more)
2. Rise| Nitro (Lab Coat 21, Blue Goku, Android 21)
3. SLY| Yasha (Blue Gogeta, Vegito, Android 17)
4. Kayne (SS4 Gogeta, Lab Coat 21, Tien)
5. CAG| Fenrich (Blue Gogeta, Vegito, Lab Coat 21)
5. LegendaryyPred (Teen Gohan, Lab Coat 21, Android 21)
7. Zane (Fused Zamasu, Lab Coat 21, Beerus)
7. GIA| Shanks (Base Vegeta, Cell, Janemba)
Granblue Fantasy Versus
1. GS| Gamera (Djeeta, Vira, Zooey)
2. Tororo (Percival)
3. Tako. (Belial)
4. PGW| Ren (Charlotta, Avatar Belial)
5. WIZ| Dragoi (Belial, Avatar Belial)
5. Kamiki C (Beelzebub)
7. Shinku (Vira)
7. ZomBmu (Cagliostro)
MultiVersus
1. NAKAT (Wonder Woman) / CLG|VoiD (Tom & Jerry)
2. RoseJ (Velma) / mirrorman (Bugs)
3. Synume (Batman) / Leviathan (Shaggy)
4. T1FF4NY (Velma) / Stahly (Superman)
5. U (Velma) / Oopstier (Superman)
5. Rexehh (Bugs) / Cosolix (Velma)
7. Zage (Velma) / Courage (Taz)
7. 2eZ (Velma) / Blaizzy (Bugs)
Skullgirls: 2nd Encore
1. EG| SonicFox (Ms. Fortune, Annie, Robo-Fortune)
2. EG| Dekillsage (Filia, Big Band, Annie)
3. Yesu| PenPen (Ms. Fortune, Big Band, Annie| Ms. Fortune, Robo-Fortune, Annie)
4. RW| Cloud (Valentine, Cerebella, Double)
5. DSKV| LazyBakeOven (Ms. Fortune, Eliza)
5. Wingzero (Filia)
7. Dudeguy M.B. (Beowulf)
7. Stuff (Painwheel, Robo-Fortune, Cerebella)
Melty Blood Type Lumina
1. Jing (Hisui)
2. EMGG|Masoma (Vlov Arkhangel)
3. Kiri (Noel)
3. Kiri (Noel)
4. ScrawtVermillion (Mario Gallo Bestino)
5. SOBASABA| Uncle_akkey (Shiki Tohno)
5. ul (Shiki Tohno)
7. Safe (Vlov Arkhangel)
7. MSGK|Lunar (Dead Apostle Noel)
Mortal Kombat 11
1. T7G| ScorpionProcs (Fujin, Kabal, Kung Lao, Liu Kang)
2. Rewind (Kano, Kotal Kahn, Liu Kang)
3. T7G| Nicolas (Kabal, Fujin, Kung Lao)
4. A F0xy Grampa (Robocop, Sub-Zero, Kitana, Nightwolf)
5. EG| SonicFox (Joker, Cassie Cage, Robocop, Shang Tsung)
5. Han Rashid (Fujin)
7. CGL| KingGambler (Sub-Zero)
7. Venon| KillerXinok (Spawn)


BlizzConline 2021 Schedule Teases Overwatch 2, Diablo IV, & More

BlizzConline 2021 is now less than two weeks away and Blizzard has revealed the full schedule for the upcoming digital event.
The opening ceremonies begin at 6am GMT+8 on 20 February 2021 and are scheduled to run for an hour across six separate channels. After that, each dedicated channel will focus on different games: including World Of Warcraft, Hearthstone, Diablo, Overwatch, and Strategy, which will cover StarCraft, Warcraft 3, and Heroes Of The Storm.

Check out the schedule on the official website now, which will sync with your timezone automatically.
One of the highlights of the event is the Community Showcase, which will begin at 5am, GMT+8 on 21 February 2021 and run across all six BlizzCon channels. Hosted by voice actor Darin De Paul (who has played roles in Overwatch, Hearthstone, Heroes Of The Storm, World Of Warcraft, and more), the 2021 showcase will “shine a spotlight on the very best art, talent, storytelling, and cosplay from the Blizzard community.”
You should also look out for the “Behind the Scenes at Overwatch 2” stream (at 7.10am on 20 February 2021) and a “Diablo: What’s Next?” show (at 7.10am on 20 February 2021).
Unlike previous BlizzCon events (which required a “Virtual Ticket” to fully access), this year’s show will be free for everyone from beginning to end. Even if you miss any of the shows live, Blizzard is going to post everything in the BlizzCon video archives after the show is over, so you can also view them all as VODs after BlizzConline 2021 ends.


Atomic Heart Guide: The Best Weapons & Guns To Unlock

The first-person shooter action-adventure title Atomic Heart wouldn’t be remembered just for its sci-fi setting; it’s also packed with an arsenal to remember. While your skills and abilities are great, they only feel complete with guns and weapons.
In Atomic Heart, you can craft any weapon as long as you have the blueprint and the materials required. They also take up an amount of space in your backpack: the bigger damage they deal, the more inventory slots they take up.
To gain blueprints, just progress through the main story and loot a ton of enemies and chests while you’re at it. You’ll eventually get the blueprint you need for better weapons.
Here are our top picks:
KS-23 Shotgun

The gun you start with is surprisingly awesome and can last you through the majority of Atomic Heart, provided you use your other skills like Shok and Frostbite to back it up. Our inventory space in the game is half healing items and half shotgun shells; no joke.
The best upgrades are the Muzzle Brake barrel which improves damage and rate of fire, and the Extended Magazine which lets you fire more than the default 3 shells.
MP Handgun
The MP starts out weak, but you will collect more ammo for this weapon as you progress through the main story. The gun also becomes a resource saver with the Muzzle Barrel and Extended Magazine upgrades; ammunition for it is very cheap and is found in loot boxes and common loot. It’s best to be used on regular enemies and cannon fodder; save your shotgun and energy weapons for the bosses.
Dominator Plasma Rifle

One of the better energy weapons around. It shreds through any enemy, but uses up a lot of energy. It also has a secondary fire that shoots out a slow-but-deadly giant ball of plasma.
The best upgrade for this rifle is the Vector Transducer upgrade. You may also need to pick Energy Management in your skill tree.
Pashtet Blade
Melee weapons are required in a game where ammo and resources can be scarce, so why not equip yourself with one of the fastest damage-dealing blades around? Atomic Heart’s Pashtet lets you deal with weaker foes quick thanks to its quick and hard-hitting slashes and slices.
The best upgrades for the Pashtet is the Steel Blade and Ergonomic Handle upgrades.
Kalash Assault Rifle
Want a reliable assault rifle? The Kalash is the best way to go, especially since you will accumulate some of its ammo in the middle portion of the game. It’s got auto fire and hits pretty hard, though crafting ammo for it can be costly.
The best upgrades for the Kalash assault rifle is the Muzzle Brake barrel and Collimator sight upgrade. The former reduces its recoil and ups its fire rate. The latter tracks enemies easier.
For more Atomic Heart help, check out our best skill & upgrades guide.


Project Magnum Is A Looter Shooter That Reminds Us Of Vanquish; That’s A Good Thing

Nexon subsidiary NAT GAMES is hard at work developing a new looter shooter game for the PS5, PS4, and PC.
It’s called Project Magnum and it’s a game that combines RPG gameplay with third-person shooter combat. It also seems to star a protagonist who looks like a carbon copy of Nero from Devil May Cry, but without the demon bits on him. Oh, and grappling hooks; lots of climbing and traversing with grappling hooks to go with the over-the-top shooting and explosion-making.
Here’s the official description:
PROJECT MAGNUM is a PC/console-based game that combines RPG play with third-person shooter combat. It presents beautiful visuals and attractive and unique characters based in a sci-fi style player vs. environment worldview. It also provides exciting battles using various skills, actions, and guns, as well as the fun of high quality PvE shooter battles that target huge bosses.
Honestly? It’s looking more and more like Vanquish and Lost Planet’s bastard child. Check out the bombastic gameplay trailer below.

I’m hankering for more looter shooter games that look and plays like that PlatinumGames classic; let’s hope to see more actual gameplay later down the line. Project Magnum has no release date as of yet.


Controversial Valorant Anti-Cheat Tool Is Doing Its Job Very Well One Year Later

Riot Games’ Vanguard anti-cheat technology garnered some controversy among Valorant fans last year. The anti-cheat program loads at boot by default and lurks quietly in the background. While it’s easier to set it up to your preference, you still need to run the program if you want to play Valorant.Â
One year or so later, Riot Games can proudly say that its anti-cheat program is doing its job. The developer said that Valorant cheating is now at an all-time low. Riot anti-cheat analyst Matt Paoletti said on a Riot Games post that the rate of reports is the lowest the company has seen. Riot Games has been staying ahead of hardware-based cheats and machine learning algorithms.
“Despite what developers may say, the words ‘artificial intelligence’ do not make a cheat undetectable. Not only that, weâ€™re tackling unique forms of cheating outside of the typical aimbots, such as cheats that look to tamper with the game engine and assets. As of today, report rates are at an all-time low.”
Nonetheless, the act of cheating in Valorant will still be present, so Riot Games is going to keep on developing Vanguard while taking advantage of more general advances in cybersecurity. These include security upgrades in operating systems, such as Trusted Platform Module 2.0 requirements on PCs running Windows 11. Vanguard’s kernel level anti-cheat is also making other companies use it for its online multiplayer games; one great example is Call of Duty: Warzone and the upcoming Call of Duty: Vanguard.


The Quintessential Quintuplets Visual Novel Coming To Switch & PS4 This September

MAGES. just dropped some news on their latest game release, The Quintessential Quintuplets: Five Promises Made with Her, and it’s set to hit PS4 and Switch on 7 September in Japan.
And get this, it’s only gonna cost JP¥8,580! For you high rollers out there, they’re also offering a limited edition for JP¥12,980 and a “Special Box” for JP¥19,980.

This isn’t the first time MAGES. has created a romance visual novel for The Quintessential Quintuplets, but this time around the theme is “heart-pounding summer vacation dates.” Sounds exciting, right? Unfortunately, we don’t know much else about the storyline at this time, but keep your eyes peeled for future announcements.


Japan Asserts Dominance In Evo Japan 2019’s Street Fighter 5 Tournament

Unlike Tekken 7 and SoulCalibur 6, this year’s outsiders and away team players were no match for Japan’s top Street Fighter 5 players. The top 8 was filled with 6 Japanese players, 1 US player (Punk), and 1 Taiwanese player (OilKing). Fans and players hoping for a turnaround from the US and Taiwanese representative during the top 8 were sorely disappointed.
OilKing was taken out by the top US player with his smooth Karin Season 4 buffs.

To his credit, Punk did struggle and fought his way out of loser’s bracket with his solid reads and plays.

However, his roadblock is Fuudo, a veteran player he has beaten when he previously mained R.Mika. Here he is sorting out Nemo’s Kolin.

With Fuudo’s pocket character in tow, Punk and his Karin has his work cut out for him. Keep in mind that Birdie can afford a few missteps and eat a mixup or two thank to his high health and burst damage opportunities. Oh, and Birdie’s crouching LP is still a sick move.

Fuudo finally got his revenge against Punk for all those times he trashed his R.Mika. With US sent home, Fuudo then proceeded to topple Powell’s Cammy with, who else, a character with more health and reach than the Delta Red soldier.

Now it’s down to the wire, with two veteran players against each other: Fuudo and Momochi. The former stuck with Birdie while the latter went with Kolin.
At first, Fuudo was picking up steam and actually went for the bracket reset out of losers.

But somehow or other, Momochi got into Fuudo’s rhythm and played carefully, only doing combos when he only gets a solid confirmed hit, doing mixups only when he’s in V-Trigger mode. Fuudo’s neutral game wasn’t enough to counter Momochi’s mind games via multiple throws and punishes.

So there you have it: Momochi is your Evo Japan 2019 Street Fighter 5 champion. Momochi will be buying a gift for his wife Chocoblanka with all that money he won being first place; that’s what he said during the post-fight interview FYI. The top 8 players were also graced with the presence of wrestler and fighting game fan Kenny Omega.

Update: it seems that Momochi may only take back US$900 out of that prize money. According to this tweet from Jiyuna, he can only take back a certain amount of the prize money since he does not have a Pro License.

Congratulations Momochi. But…
I can’t personally confirm it, but the word in Japan is that since Momochi does not have a Pro License, he can only win 100,000 yen ($9k~) per event according to Japanese Laws. I hope it’s not true and he gets everything he’s earned. #EVOJAPAN2019
— J I Y U N A (@jiyunaJP) February 17, 2019

Unfortunately for stream monsters out there, Capcom didn’t announce any new content for Street Fighter 5. Guess we’ll have to wait later this year for more Season 4 content. But hey, great Street Fighter 5 play from Japan, US, and Asia, right?
In case you missed it, check out the other Evo Japan 2019 recaps I did:

Tekken 7 recap
SoulCalibur 6 recap

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Neon Genesis Evangelion Creator Announces Shin Ultraman Movie

Neon Genesis Evangelion creator Hideaki Anno co-directed 2016’s Shin Godzilla (also known as Godzilla Resurgence) alongside Shinji Higuchi. It was a great movie, dealing with politics and introducing a new King of Kaiju returning to his more villainous monster roots (instead of the hero he’s been depicted in recent years).
The Ultraman franchise will soon be getting the same treatment. According to Gizmodo, Tsuburaya Productions, Toho, and animation studio Khara have announced a new Shin Ultraman movie project. Slated for release in 2021, it will be directed by Higuchi, with the screenplay by Anno.
The official announcement reveals that Anno will only be joining the Shin Ultraman project after completing Evangelion 3.0+1.0, the concluding installment to his rebooted Neon Genesis Evangelion reimagining series of movies.
It will be fascinating to see how Anno ultimately deconstructs the Ultraman franchise, the same way he did with Shin Godzilla. More details will probably arrive in the near future, so stay tuned on Kakuchopurei.
In the meantime, check out Shin Godzilla if you haven’t.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6BIrQPNo-8&w=560&h=315]


Kena: Bridge of Spirits Is Delayed To 2021

Bad news: fans of whimsical action games.
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is delayed from its 2020 holiday release date. It’ll now be out on Q1 2021. The delay is due to the fact that the game needs more polishing that meets developer Ember Lab Team’s vision and player expectations.

***An update to our Kena community*** pic.twitter.com/rKoy33YWKZ
— Kena: Bridge of Spirits (@emberlab) September 11, 2020

That’s good news, as 2020 is already knee-deep with a ton of games that are already out and upcoming megaton bombs like Cyberpunk 2077. Carry on developing & tweaking, Ember Lab Team folks! Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be out for PC (Epic Games), PS4, and PS5.


7 Binge-Worthy Crime Series on Netflix You Should Watch

All you budding Nancy Drews and Sherlocks out there are spoilt for choice when it comes to crime series on Netflix. There’s so much content that the streaming service has presented the seven most binge-worthy ones for all crime buffs out there!
Breaking Bad

One of the most critically acclaimed shows of all time, with a total of 16 Emmy awards under its belt. It tells the story of a high school chemistry teacher dying of cancer who teams up with a former student to secure his familyâ€™s future by manufacturing and selling crystal meth. All 5 seasons of the series are now available on Netflix.
Orange Is The New Black

Six seasons in and Orange Is The New Black is still going strong.
Ozark

A financial adviser drags his family from Chicago to the Missouri Ozarks, where he must launder $500 million in five years to appease a drug boss.
El Chapo

The true story of the notorious Mexican drug lord Joaquin â€œEl Chapoâ€ Guzman, and his rise/downfall.
Evil Genius: The True Story of Americaâ€™s Most Diabolical Bank Heist

This baffling true crime story starts with the grisly death of a pizza man who robs a bank with a bomb around his neck — and gets weirder from there.
The Investigator: A British Crime Story

After 40 years of inconclusive evidence, renowned criminologist Mark Williams-Thomas re-examines a string of mysterious murders.
Narcos: Mexico

Starring Michael Pena, Diego Luna, and Tenoch Huerta, this Narcos spinoff chroniclesÂ the true story of the Guadalajara Cartelâ€™s ascent during the Mexican drug war in the 1980s.
Although I might not be much of a crime buff myself, check out my own personal recommendations fro most binge-worthy crime shows on Netflix below:
Broadchurch

Starring former Doctor Who star David Tennant, this UK crime whodunit is especially recommended for its sinister atmosphere and compelling story.
Breaking Bad

The adventures of Walter White and Jesse Pinkman grabbed me until the end. This series by Vince is a masterclass in television.
Lucifer

Loosely based on the Vertigo Comics of the same name, this might seem like a typical procedural crime show at first but thanks to its charming and devilish protagonist played by Tom Ellis, this series offers huge fun.
Blue Bloods

This series focuses on an entire family filled members who work in law enforcement, be they lawyers, police officers or detectives. It features great drama and one of the best family dynamics I’ve ever seen in a series.
CSI

This series might be past its heyday but you can’t go wrong with the granddaddy of crime procedural shows.
NCIS

If you’re looking for more action and national security levels of criminal activity, look no further than NCIS.
Sherlock

Written by Steven Moffat, this series offers a unique modernized take on the detective we all know and love.


Sifu & The Path of Righteous Revenge: The Game’s Concept & Ending Explained

In this feature video about Sloclap’s new action game with loads of kung fu, we talk about how Sifu handles the concept of Wude and how it ties in to the game’s plot and antagonists. Major spoilers & ending talk inside, so be warned.

Timestamp:
0:00 – Intro
2:28 – [SPOILERS START HERE] Necessary evils
4:50 – Self-reflection
8:42 – Becoming a master
For more videos like these, head on over to Kakuchopurei’s YouTube page.


Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 Is A Fantastic Fusion of Form, Function, and Fashion

The Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is more than just a gimmick. It is a near-perfect smartphone.
The Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a wonderful amalgamation of cutting edge technology, style statement and an awesome throwback to the late 90s and early 2000s. It was a unique point in time when mobile phone makers pushed the limit not only in what a phone was able to do but how they looked like before for some odd reason, settling into what is prevalent in today’s market.
In a sea filled with smartphones resembling identical slabs of glass and metal, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a breath of fresh air. It stands out like a strawberry on a sundae. A Star Wars cosplayer at Star Trek Convention. Yours truly in Sunday school.
Note the “near-perfect” in the opening sentence? This phone does come with its flaws. But more on that later.
But before we go any further, here’s a quick lowdown of what you get straight right out of the box; the phone itself unfolded, a sim card ejector pin and a USB-C to USB-C charging cable. Add these with several instruction papers and the plastic covering sheath for the phone, you can tell that Samsung just knows where your focus would be which is the phone itself. And on that note, we’ll dive right onto the star of the show.
Clam Up

Samsung’s second (third if you count the Z Flip 5G variation as a separate model) jab at the foldable clamshell factor, the Flip 3 ironed out most of the kinks and faults found in its predecessors. The reason they added the 3 you ask? your guess is as good as ours but we feel it was purely for marketing reasons since this model is being shipped out alongside the chunkier Galaxy Fold 3.
Before we delve much deeper with the specs and features, it is worth mentioning the biggest draw for the Z Flip 3 by far is its retail price. Starting at US$999 (or RM3999), while still commanding a flagship-tier retail price, the Z Flip 3 is much more affordable now compared to both its predecessors and rival brands alike.
If you are to spend almost a month’s worth of salary on a phone, it better be a unique head turner right? And with this phone, you are ticking several boxes at once. As the saying goes; don’t judge a book by its cover. For phones, ‘Never judge a phone build quality by its price’.
The biggest surprise we got when picking up the review unit for the first time was how sturdy this phone is. One of the biggest weaknesses of the original Z Flip was its build quality. Not only were the covers fingerprint magnets, they felt almost comically toyish. Thankfully the engineers at Samsung were fully aware of this when it came to designing the Z Flip 3, almost entirely wiped out all the negatives of the first Z Flip.
On the outside, the Z Flip 3 is a scene-stealer despite its size. It easily captivates attention even when lying prone on the table and multiply that attraction factor by 10 when you whip it out. It is no larger than your average computer mouse and weighing only 187g makes it a joy to carry. Say goodbye to unsightly bulges when carrying your phone and for the ladies, the Z Flip 3 can be easily tucked into your purse and handbag.

Unhinged
Under the hood, the Z Flip 3 is equipped with the same processor and GPU as the brilliant S21 Ultra allowing a super fast and responsive device. Navigating through the menus, you’ll instantly know it’s one of Samsung’s best devices in the market right now. Needless to say, we have nothing but praise when it comes to the user experience when operating this phone.
After much testing, we conclude that this year’s model is much more robust. Solid when closed, equally secure when laid open and best of all, is waterproof. The Z Flip 3 is rated IPX8 which means despite being able to dispel water, dust remains its kryptonite. This is mostly due to its folding mechanism which is definitely still susceptible to being failed by that stray grain of sand, dirt or even pocket lint. But that’s the compromise of living with a phone that comes with a hinge. It is quite ironic since in our books, the hinge is the star of this iteration.
Even when held screen facing down, the sturdy build ensures the phone remain firm in an opened position. When propped up in a ‘seated’ mode, the screen can be adjusted and remains in place – like a reclining chair turning the phone into a perfect accessory for teleconferencing utilizing either front-facing or its main rear cameras.
Speaking of screens, the Z Flip 3 main screen is made of Samsung’s proprietary Ultra Thin Glass which is coated with a special panel layer and protective film. According to the boffins at Samsung, the glass on the Z Flip 3 is ‘80% more durable than last year’s model and withstands up to 200,000 folds.’
REAL-WORLD CONTEXT: Now assuming you are a medium user and you stare at your phone about 50 times a day on average, that’s 4000 days of constant usage until things start to fall apart!
Not only is this year’s screen tougher, but it’s also brighter and faster too. The 120hz Dynamic AMOLED display is brilliant and is a joy to the touch. Measuring at 6.7 inches, the Z Flip 3 sports an awkward, tall-ish and narrow display. Not the most wieldy if you have small hands, but once tilted, is turned into an awesome media machine.
Movies and shows appear crisper; almost in the form they were intended to. The gaming experience on the Z Flip 3 is significantly improved mostly due to the additional screen space granted by this unconventional form. In Call of Duty Mobile, for example, my thumbs are now less obstructive to the overall view while on Mario Kart, the wider view provides easier steering.
Some may wonder whether the crease right down the middle of the screen is an issue and we can assure you this; you’ll get used to it. Visual-wise, it sort of blends into the background and is only visible at specific angles. It is more noticeable to the touch especially when scrolling and one of the few compromises of using a folding screen.
Folding causes creases. It is just how physics work.
The cover screen also received a massive spec-bump. From a paltry 1.1 inch display on the original Flip, this year’s make is almost double the size and is three times the fun. You can customize the cover screen with selective widgets to show the weather, time and even perform a number of limited tasks.
While you are also able to read your text messages, you cannot reply to them via this front cover, forcing you to open the main screen instead. We hope this little issue is remedied with a larger screen on next year’s Z Flip 4 perhaps. As a side note, I never owned nor used a pager but swiping about on the cover screen to check my notifications with the phone closed is somewhat… satisfying and weird at the same time.
Like last year’s model, you can also use the cover display as a preview screen for all three cameras available – one front-facing and the other two at the back.
Some may gripe about the lack of cameras on the Z Flip 3, which is a fair criticism. Equipped with a 10MP front-facing and two rear 12MP cameras, unlike the Fold 3, the Flip 3 has no telephoto camera in its arsenal. You can shoot 4K videos at up to 60FPS or even 960FPS if you set the resolution down to 720p. Generally, cameras on the Z Flip 3 are great but won’t be winning any shootouts against other flagships currently in the market.

However, cameras have never been the major selling point of the Z line anyway. If you are on the hunt for a phone with the best camera in the market, the Z Flip 3 is not for you. We recommend the Galaxy S21 Ultra instead.
The Z Flip 3 has stereo speakers pumping out sound from the top and bottom of the phone but sadly lack a 3.5mm headphone jack. These speakers pump out a fairly decent, punchy sound – as expected from a device at this price point – but the fact that you can redirect the sound simply by adjusting the angle of your phone’s tilt puts them on a different level.
The fingerprint scanner is responsive and is built into the power button. Some reviewers complained about the ‘odd placement’ of this power button but in my experience, works just fine. A light touch on the power button is all you’ll need to unlock your device and you can even keymap it to launch specific commands by double-tapping it.
When in hand, you’d be forgiven to forget that in your hand is a device that carries flagship-tier internals with a screen that folds in half into a clamshell form. Those who grew up at the dawn of the millennium would instantly understand the allure of having a flip phone. They are just that cool but there are compromises.
First up, the battery life. With the host of spec bumps given on almost all other aspects of the phone, Samsung seemed to have left out the battery department in their list of things to improve on. The Z Flip 3 only comes with a 3300 mAh battery which for an average user, will take them through the day but that’s about it. Based on my personal average daily use, I’d usually have about 20-35% of battery left by 7pm and by bedtime, my phone is on its last legs. Tack in several quick rounds on your favourite mobile game and watch the power reserve plummet.
Then again, you’re not buying this phone for a prolonged gaming session, right? At the time of writing, not many of us are out and about due to travel restrictions which means a power socket would always be within reach. But in 2021, a 3300mAh battery in a flagship-tier phone is unacceptable.
Another gripe is the lack of expandable storage in the Z Flip 3. We understand that with a device sporting such a unique form, something’s got to give and like battery size, internal storage also got the short straw with the maximum capacity of the Z Flip 3 being capped at 256GB. I hope to see 512GB storage space being set as the bare minimum for modern phones moving forward.
On the Flip Side…
The arguments about battery capacity and non-expandable storage seem petty when you consider that no one in their right mind buys the Z Flip 3 for battery capacity or how many 4K videos they are able to cram into the device. No one does. 3300mAh is more than enough to get an average user throughout a normal day – up to four hours of screen time – and anyway, if you need to stare at your phone that long in a day, perhaps you should be getting a proper laptop or device from the Note or Fold line instead.
Once you take a step back and look at the bigger picture, you will begin to understand that it is the novelty, engineering and coolness factor – all in one compact package – which should be the main reason to sway one’s decision to pick up a Z Flip 3. These factors are what you’re paying for in spite of the setbacks listed earlier.
Overall, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 is a brilliant foldable device that can only get better with further iterations down the road. Samsung banked on nostalgia, gave it a modern spin and presented in a wonderful construction made of hard glass and aluminum. Samsung has gotten the build and general concept bang on but sadly held back by the sub-par battery and lack of expandable storage.
If you enjoy being one of the earliest adopters to new technology, has gotten tired of the boring old candy bar phones and is willing to trade battery-induced inconveniences for a device that would excite even an iPhone store employee, then this phone is perfect for you.
Pros

By far the coolest looking smartphone out there
Lightweight yet sturdy build
Now waterproof (yay!)
Solid hinge construction = confidence in opening and closing phone
Larger outer screen adds wow factor

Cons

Battery life
No expandable storage

Final Score: 90/100

Vital Statistics
Platform: Android 11, One UI 3.1.1
Body: Unfolded 166 x 72.2 x 6.9 mm; Folded: 86.4 x 72.2 x 15.9-17.1 mm (183g)
Build: Plastic front, glass back (Gorilla Glass Victus), aluminum frame – IPX8 water resistant (up to 1.5m for 30 mins)
Chipset: Snapdragon 888 5G (5 nm)
CPU: Octa-core (1×2.84 GHz Kryo 680 & 3×2.42 GHz Kryo 680 & 4×1.80 GHz Kryo 680)
GPU: Adreno 660
Display: Foldable Dynamic AMOLED 2X, 120Hz, HDR10+, 1200 nits (peak)
Cover display: Super AMOLED, 1.9 inches, 260 x 512 pixels
Memory (Internal, non-expandable): 128GB 8GB RAM/ 256GB 8GB RAM UFS 3.1
Main Cameras: 12 MP, f/1.8, 27mm (wide), 1/2.55″, 1.4Âµm, Dual Pixel PDAF, OIS; 12 MP, f/2.2, 123Ëš (ultrawide), 1.12Âµm
Vide: 4K@30/60fps, 1080p@60/240fps, 720p@960fps, HDR10+
Sound: Stereo speakers. No jacks given
Battery: Li-Po 3300 mAh – Fast charging 15W, fast wireless charging 10W, reverse wireless charging 4.5W
Price: MYR 3999 (128GB/ 8GB); MYR 4199 (256GB/8GB) via Samsung Malaysia
A review unit of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 3 was sent to us for review courtesy of Samsung Malaysia.


Whalien – Unexpected Guests Is A Quirky & Vibrant Game You Can Finish In One Go

Platforms: PC via Steam
Genre: Third-person puzzle adventure
It’s still early in the year (January 2023) and it’s the best time for smaller indies to take the spotlight in the absence of big AAA games. It’s also nice to play short games that you can finish in one night, and Whalien Unexpected Guests from Austrian developer Forbidden Folds is definitely one of those types of games.
A Whale Of A Good Time

Whalien Unexpected Guests is a third-person puzzle adventure where you play as Ernest Hemingwhale, who lives in a mechanical whale named Fin. After the mysterious Squiddies appear within the whale, Ernest has to help Fin by cleaning out his insides and getting rid of the slimy creatures. Ernest is basically an old plumber dude who just wants to get the job done, so there’s not really a ton of dialogue in the game, especially since Whalien Unexpected Guests is one of those Sims-like games where the characters speak in cute gibberish.
The best thing about Whalien Unexpected Guests is how easy it is to pick up and play. It’s primarily a platformer with a physics-based puzzles. The controls are so simple, there’s even no attack button. The only button you’ll use is the jump button (A on the Xbox controller), but the core mechanics of the game utilize the four shoulder buttons. Basically, Ernest can use a sort of Force-like push ability (by pressing RT) and a Force-like pull ability (by pressing LT). He can also throw two living pearls (Mr. Push and Mrs. Pull) that can unleash a spherical force field that either pushes outward (by pressing RB) or pulls inward (by pressing LB).

Those are the only buttons you’ll be using in this game, and there’s no combat, so you’ll be using all of those force pushes and force pulls and what not to solve the game’s puzzles. A lot of them will require a combination of the various abilities, so there were some instances where I really had to think outside of the box. It did get frustrating a few rare times when the puzzles were too vague, and I was left wandering around until I eventually discovered how to solve the puzzle by random chance. There was one puzzle near the very end that I almost gave up on because it seemed like I couldn’t do anything. I had to really scour the level for a while before I finally solved it.
It’s fun to navigate through the world that the developers have created due to how colourful, vibrant and quirky it is. It’s like being in a cartoon with all sorts of charming elements such as living springs or spring-people who are NPCs you can interact with. All that being said, Whalien Unexpected Guests is extremely short at only 2 to 3 hours. Puzzle-savvy could probably finish it in just 2 hours since it only took me 3 hours plus because I had trouble with the last puzzle. That could be a pro or a con, depending on your preference.
Short But Sweet

Ultimately, it’s nice to have a game like Whalien Unexpected Guests that you can pick up and play in one sitting. It’s sort of like watching a movie and it’s great for gamers who don’t have the time and energy for longer games. The gameplay is solid, the visuals are vibrant and it’s a game worth picking up if you want to have something to play on one of those rare nights when you’re free and want to just unwind with a fun game.
PROS

Quirky and vibrant visuals.
Fun and simple-to-understand core mechanics.

CONS

A bit too short (2 to 3 hours).
The puzzle at the end is a bit too vague.

FINAL SCORE: 60/100
Whalien Unexpected Guests was reviewed on PC based on a review copy provided by Forbidden Folds. It is now available for PC via Steam.


Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

Hey all, gamers and readers from all over. We’d like to wish everyone a merry Christmas/Xmas, happy holidays, and a happy new year!
Because of this, we won’t be posting much from today until the 2nd of January. Yeah, you will see our Best Games of 2020 still going on every day, as well as a video surprise & a couple of guides next week (thanks to the magic of scheduled posts). But unless something major happens in the gaming industry -and that will not happen since the majority of game companies and publishers are on holiday these next few days- you won’t hear much.
We’ll resume work on the 2nd of January. Until then, take care and have a lovely next few days resting and gaming while saying good riddance to 2020.


Kakuchopurei’s Best Of 2019: Prelude

It’s only a month or so left until it’s 2020. So what better way to celebrate these next few weeks than with every video game news site’s favourite activity: vanity project features where we talk about our favourite gaming things of 2019?
To which we say “let’s take things up a notch.” We can’t just pick one game of the year: there are way too many nominees to take into account.
So how about we vote 30 of them? Not 10, not a 100 because we don’t want to count subpar or average titles. Just 30.

Starting next week, we will be publishing 30 writeups about the 30 best games of 2019 in 30 working days (16th December to 24th January). Once per day, we feature one game that blew our minds and is worthy of your attention this year; the articles will go up at 5pm GMT+8.
This isn’t just some simple list; this is a group effort from us. We wouldn’t be here were it not for our readers, so we want to do something more fun and personable for your entertainment and for your knowledge-strengthening.
Also, you’re wondering why we are publishing this in the middle of the month instead of earlier? Because there are a few other games this month to keep an eye out for, and they might be on this list. Unlike other game awards shows or vanity projects, we make sure to cover ALL of 2019.
So stay tuned as we end 2019 with this incredibly special month-long feature. We’ll still have our patented Best Of 2019 awards too, but it’ll mostly be for extra-special categories and will just be a one-day thing that will pop up somewhere in January just before we reach our 30th game.
P.S: We’ll be updating Kakuchopurei less starting 23rd December until 13th January. Happy early holidays!


Yakuza 7 Will Have You Fighting Soldiers And Summoning Miso Soup

When I wrote that headline, I thought I would a little bit more surprised at what I was typing but seeing as how we’re talking about a Yakuza game, nothing is ever too crazy for this series.
Sega has just released some new information regarding the enemies we’ll be fighting in Yakuza: Like A Dragon. There’s also details on two new “Delivery Help” summons. Here’s the English translation of all the information (thank you, Gematsu):
â–  Enemy Characters
A great variety of enemy characters appear in Yakuza: Like a Dragonâ€”the most in the series history. A great number of enemies with RPG-like personalities and traits have been prepared, from power monster-types to magic users and thieves that steal your items. Several â€œfamiliesâ€ of enemies exist. Most enemies belong to a family in which their strength level (grade) differs. For example, in the â€œGangsterâ€ family depicted below, we see the weakest â€œColor Gangster,â€ the stronger â€œMad Gangster,â€ the even stronger â€œGangster Ace,â€ and the strongest â€œGangster Boss.â€
Gangster Family
From left to right, low grade to high grade: Color Gangster, Mad Gangster, Gangster Ace, and Gangster Boss. The Gangster family exhibits a different level of violence from the yakuza and hoodlums that cause trouble in the city.

The two lowest level members of the Gangster family (Color Gangster and Mad Gangster) only fight with their firsts, while the two highest level members (Gangster Ace and Gangster Boss) are tough enemies that mercilessly shoot their guns. Gunfire is a dangerous attack that cannot be defended against, so make sure to buy equipment and recovery items to protect yourself.

Military Family
From left to right, low grade to high grade: Military Otaku, Lone Soldier, Slice-Up Commando, and Armynater. With a kukuri knife in one hand and a bow gun in the other, the Military family can attack at ranges both far and near.

The higher the grade, the greater the Military memberâ€™s mastery of weapon-based skills such as knife slashes, grenade blasts, and rapid-fire bow gun shots. The highest level member, the Armynater, can shoot a â€œDestruction Beamâ€ from its eyes. Whether it is human or not, it is an enemy shrouded in mystery.

â–  New Delivery Help Characters
â€œDelivery Helpâ€ is a system that lets you pay in-game money to summon strong support characters that assist you in battle. Following the previous introductions of Delivery Help characters Slaughter Hell Basami Nancy-chan and Mr. Delivery Help: Gary Buster Holmes, today we will introduce two new characters.
Name: Kiyoe Shirakawa â€“ Skill: â€œMadonnaâ€™s Soup-Runâ€
A recovery-type service where a kind-hearted woman makes a bowl of pork miso soup. The heart-warming pork miso soup will heal all party membersâ€™ MP (Mental Points).

Name: Striking Falcon â€“ Skill: â€œIdaten Danceâ€
A service where the leader of a bike gang assaults enemies with his bike. This attack mows down all enemies, and the heat from the tire has a fixed chance of inflicting the â€œheat damageâ€ status ailment.

So now we know that enemies will often belong to a Family of some sort with stronger varieties scaling up according to levels. The “Delivery Help” summons have never been implemented in any of the primary Yakuza games but summons are a common feature in JRPGs and since Like A Dragon is going that route, it’s great to see them injecting the Yakuza wackiness in them.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon is scheduled to be released on 16 January 2020 in Japan and sometime later in the same year worldwide. So far, it’s only been confirmed for the PS4. For more news on Yakuza 7, stay tuned on Kakuchopurei.


PUBG Mobile Pro League MY/SG Season 2 Kicks Off This Week

Season 2 of the PUBG MOBILE Pro League (PMPL) MY/SG 2020 is now set to run as the 24 competing teams have been established and are ready to fight for the US$150,000 total prize pool.
For the Malaysian teams, there are 20 slots where 15 slots consist of the invited teams from Season 1, and 5 slots consist of the qualified teams from PUBG Mobile Malaysia National Championship (PMNC) 2020.
For the Singapore teams, 4 slots consist of the qualified teams from the Singapore Qualifier of PMPL MY/SG held from 7 to 8 August 2020.

With its recent conclusion, 8GMT, Kingsmen, PPG and Steel Hearts Esports have successfully secured their slots to compete in the Regular Season of PMPL MY/SG.
Teams competing in PMPL MY/SG Season 2:
15 Invited Teams from PMPL MY/SG 2020 Season 1
AXIS NRL MPXDamansara EsportsDingoz MZEVOS VIPFLASHVISIONGeek FamJ8 EsportsN.E.D BrotherhoodResurgenceTARA AssasinoTeam No RecoilTeam SecretTeam SMGWestar XpertYoodo GANK
Top 5 teams from PMNC 2020
AKA EsportsEZZY LXMARLINOTeam BosskurrTRX Elementus
Top 4 teams from Singapore Qualifier of PMPL MY/SG 2020 Season 2
8GMTKingsmenPPGSteel Hearts Esports
Starting from 19 August 2020, PMPL MY/SG will be running from Wednesday to Sunday for four-weeks long, thereafter culminating into the Grand Finals from 25 to 27 September 2020.
The tournament will be live-streamed on PUBG Mobile Facebook page with both Bahasa Malaysia and English languages available.

In addition to the tournament livestream, there will also be the livestream of the â€œPMPL Talk Showâ€, hosted by J Hunter every Tuesday at 8 PM (25 August 2020, 1 September 2020, 8 September 2020, 15 September 2020) to bring exclusive discussion and analysis of the week for the Regular Season.
Joining in with J Hunter will be weekly guests from the PUBG Mobile Pro scene to provide their expert input towards the matches, upcoming predictions and the latest happenings.
As the 24 teams battle it out at PMPL MY/SG, the top three teams to emerge will move on to compete in the PMPL SEA Finals Season 2. From there, they stand a chance to represent the SEA region and battle with the best teams from all over the world at the World League.
You can stay tuned for more news and updates on here and here.


Steam Cracks 25 Million Concurrent Users To Celebrate The New Year

Congratulations, Valve.
As of 2nd January 2021, Steam’s all-time peak concurrent connected user count has broken the 25 million mark (via SteamDB). The actual number is 25,415,080.
For reference, 8.1 million gamers were in-game in March 2020. So which games caused this 25 million all-time peak?

Counter-Strike GO, which is currently at 1 million players.
Dota 2, which is at 691,000 players right now.
PUBG at 400,000 players.
Single-player games like the CRPG Cyberpunk 2077 and Stardew Valley contributing at the top 15.
Other multiplayer titles like GTA 5 (the online bit) and Rainbow Six: Siege also taking up their top 10 spaces.

2020 is generally a great time for games since everyone’s mostly confined at home with not much to do. Hence, PC games that do not require a high-end desktop or laptop to run like the first three games mentioned. 2021 is probably going to be the same if the COVID-19 situation doesn’t change, so don’t act too shocked if that 25 million count doubles in the next six months.


The Best Gaming Deals From The Steam Winter Sale

What better way to wrap up 2020 not with a giant roundhouse kick to its face, but to buy a ton of games on the Steam platform?
Here are the best deals from the Steam Winter Sale 2020, which will last from 23rd December until 6th January GMT+8. We’ll be adding in more and more games periodically as time goes by.
Octopath Traveler (RM95/S$34.95)

One of 2018’s best JRPGs with the best damn soundtrack ever is on sale at 50% off. Go battle the crap out of foes turn-based style with eight travelers, each with their own roles to play.
Halo: The Master Chief Collection (RM39/S$29)

All six Halo games from the Xbox and Xbox 360 era are available in remastered form, as well as improved multiplayer. Now retrofitted for PC!
Disgaea 4 Complete + (RM42/S$24)

One of the better Disgaea sequels is out now on PC and with a sexy price tag too! Features leveling up overload up to 9,999, custom maps, and OP turn-based battling goodness.
Hades (RM32.20)

Even at full price, Supergiant Gamesâ€™ latest game is a steal. Itâ€™s been dubbed a GOTY 2020 candidate for good reason, even capturing the hearts of gamers who donâ€™t usually play roguelikes (including KKPâ€™s own Alleef Ashaari).
Check out our full review of the game here in case you aren’t convinced. 2020 (and 2021) is as good a time to play Hades.
Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout (RM31.20/S$14.80)

The best competitive game of 2020 is now on sale. Hope you like battle royales with Takeshi’s Castle challenges that comes with questionable platforming physics!
Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown (RM62.37/S$21.41)

One of 2019’s best flight sims is also on discount for 67%. Fly the bright blue skies while delving into its nonsensical political plot.
Persona 4 Golden (RM63.20/S$19.12)

It ain’t Persona 5, but it’ll do.
Two Point Hospital (RM25)

The true successor to Theme Hospital is at 75% off; you really have no excuse not to play this quirky simulation.
Ikenfell (RM31.20)

Combine the tactical turn-based RPG gameplay of Final Fantasy Tactics with classic 8-bit pixel art and you’ll get the charming game that is Ikenfell. Even at full price, this game is worth it for fans of RPGs, especially with its Harry Potter-esque story and diverse cast of characters.
You can check out our full review of the game here.
Phoenix Point Year One Edition (RM47.50)

Phoenix Point comes from the creators of the original XCOM. After languishing for one year on the Epic Games Store, the game finally launched on Steam earlier this month.
If you love the XCOM franchise, this game is essentially for you. The Steam version also comes complete with all its previously-released DLC.
Samurai Jack Battle Through Time (RM45.50)

Developed by Soleil and published by Adult Swim Games, Samurai Jack Battle Through Time launched in August 2020 and was relatively ignored.
Its hack and slash combat isn’t anything to shout about but fans of the series will want to play this game.
Star Wars Squadrons (RM95.40)

Despite the gameâ€™s flaws, Star Wars Squadrons is currently the only modern Star Wars game that truly fulfils the fantasies of many fans; allowing them to experience the epic space combat that theyâ€™ve seen in the franchise for more than forty years.
The game has only been out for two months and itâ€™s already getting a 40 percent discount.
In the meantime, check out our review of Star Wars Squadrons here, or head on over here for a full in-depth guide on how to be the best pilot in the galaxy.
Total War Three Kingdoms (RM79.50)

If you have a decent PC or gaming laptop, you should definitely check out any of the Total War games by Creative Assembly for their epic real-time battles.
Total War Three Kingdoms is the latest historical title and itâ€™s great fun even if you donâ€™t know your Cao Caos from your Lu Bus.
Control Ultimate Edition (RM79.50)

Control Ultimate Edition contains the main game and all previously released Expansions (â€œThe Foundationâ€ and â€œAWEâ€). For that price (after a 50 percent discount), you canâ€™t miss what was one of the best games of 2019.
Itâ€™s a mind-bending Metroidvania sci-fi extravaganza that you have to experience for yourself, and of, protagonist Jesse Faden has telekinetic Jedi-like powers too.
Check out our review of Control here to find out why the game is so well-praised.


Call Of Duty Warzone Gains Promotion for Next-Gen Consoles

Activision has released a new high-resolution texture pack for Call Of Duty Warzone and Call Of Duty Black Ops Cold War. However, it’s exclusively for the PS4 Pro, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC.
According to VGC, the size is about 7GB, which adds support for 1440p displays. This is why the update is not available for the base PS4 and Xbox One. Also, this is the fifth texture pack released for Call Of Duty Warzone so far since launch as previous texture packs have featured upgrades like improved visual detail for guns and character models.
Earlier this month, the next-gen version of the game also received 120hz support, which requires HDMI 2.1. However, we’re still waiting for a full next-gen version of the game, which was confirmed by creative director Amos Hodge back in April 2021. In the meantime, stay tuned on Kakuchopurei.


The 30 Best Games Of 2021: #18

Every day from December to January, we’ll be posting our top 30 games of 2021 daily. Here’s number 18.
#18: Solar Ash

Platforms: PS4, PS5, PC
Indie games usually don’t have photorealistic graphics, but games like Solar Ash prove that it doesn’t need all that.
Solar Ash’s visuals and fast-paced gameplay make for a brisk but fun experience. In the game, you’re practically skateboarding around these gorgeous visuals, with some exciting and thrilling platforming sections that require some amount of skill to pull off.
The skating mechanic in the game turns traversal into a fun part of gameplay. The boss fights and puzzles are challenging but not too hard as well. If you’re looking for a slick 3D action platformer, look no further than Solar Ash from the same developers who gave us the brilliant Hyper Light Drifter.
Read the full review here.


Open World PC Shooter Everspace 2 Out This January

Everspace 2 had a rough start in 2020. Its Early Access release was postponed twice: once because of COVID-19 and twice due to not wanting to mess with December’s Cyberpunk 2077 release. We definitely do not blame them.
Still, things are looking bright for developer Rockfish Games; they will be releasing the Early Access version of Everspace 2 on 18th January for the Steam platform. What’s the game about? It’s an open-world space shooter where you pilot a spaceship of your choice and explore a ton of star systems not unlike Freelancer back in the 2000s. Well, you get two systems in the Early Access; they will add more as well as additional player ship subclasses on a quarterly basis.
Rockfish CEO Michael Schade said that players will enjoy “twice as much story content plus lots of worthwhile endgame activities” in the final game. In other words, the Hades approach to game development is certainly rubbing off on other folks the right way. Check out the trailer below if you fancy some space wars on your PC.


EA & Koei Tecmo Are Teaming Up To Bring Us a Brand New IP

EA Originals has announced a joint venture with the teams behind the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games to bring us a new AAA game.
That’s right, Omega Force and Koei Tecmo are teaming up with Electronic Arts to bring us a brand new IP that is based in fantasy feudal Japan, with more details about this exciting new title coming later this month.
“It’s an honour to be partnering with EA Originals and to have the support of a team with such an incredible track record of releasing groundbreaking new games,
The EA team fully embraces our creative independence and have become invaluable partners offering both development and publishing support. Adding the global resources of EA with our own will help us introduce a new kind of hunting game to a global audience of players and expand our reach into global markets. I’m really looking forward to the day that gamers from around the world can play this new game.”
– Yosuke Hayashi, Executive Vice President of Koei Tecmo Games.
Omega Force is a subsidiary of Koei Tecmo and is responsible for iconic games across a range of genres, from hack-and-slash games in Dynasty Warriors to action RPGs in Toukiden. If their resume wasn’t already impressive as it is, the studio is known for its work on series like Attack on Titan, Dragon Quest, Fire Emblem, Hyrule Warriors and more.
“Building on the incredible success of EA Originals, which includes the recent releases of It Takes Two and Knockout City™, we’re thrilled to be partnering with the amazingly talented Omega Force team,
They’ve elevated the hunting genre to the next level, merging their proven talent for combat gameplay with unexpected and innovative mechanics. We can’t wait to introduce their groundbreaking new adventure to the world later this month.”
– Jeff Gamon, General Manager of EA Partners


Star Wars Visions Volume 2 Trailer Teases Various New Animation Styles

During Star Wars Celebration 2023 in London, Lucasfilm unveiled the first trailer for the upcoming Star Wars Visions Volume 2.
Star Wars Visions Season 2 will premiere on 4 May 2023, which is also known as May The Fourth or Star Wars Day amongst fans of the franchise.
The shorts included in Star Wars Visions Volume 2 were created by the following international animation studios: El Guiri (Spain), Cartoon Saloon (Ireland), Punkrobot (Chile), Aardman (United Kingdom), Studio Mir (South Korea) Studio La Cachette (France), 88 Pictures (India), D’art Shtajio (Japan), and Triggerfish (South Africa). D’Art Shtajio’s short was created in collaboration with Lucasfilm Ltd. (United States).
Waugh serves as executive producer on Star Wars: Visions Volume 2 along with Jacqui Lopez and Josh Rimes.
Check out details on each short and filmmaker below:
TITLE: “SITH”
Studio: El Guiri
Writer-director: Rodrigo Blaas
Rodrigo Blaas is an Emmy Award®-winning director who has spent more than 20 years in animation. After co-founding Stromboli Animation in 1997, Blaas joined Blue Sky Studios in 2000, working on the feature film Ice Age, before transitioning to Pixar Animation Studios. There, he worked on such projects as Finding Nemo (2003), The Incredibles (2004), Ratatouille (2007), and Wall-E (2008) and on the Oscar®-nominated short film La Luna (2011). More recently, Blaas partnered with Guillermo del Toro to develop the award-winning series Trollhunters, served as creative director for Mikros Animation Paris and, in 2021, created El Guiri Studios in Madrid with his partner, Cecile Hokes. He also wrote and directed 2009’s award-winning short film Alma.
TITLE: “SCREECHER’S REACH”
Studio: Cartoon Saloon
Director: Paul Young
Paul Young is a co-founder of Cartoon Saloon, an IFTA winner and Oscar®, Emmy® and BAFTA nominee. He produced the animated features My Father’s Dragon, WolfWalkers, The Secret of Kells, Song of the Sea, and The Breadwinner as well as award-winning TV series including Puffin Rock, Dorg Van Dango, and Viking Skool.
TITLE: “IN THE STARS”
Studio: Punkrobot
Writer-director: Gabriel Osorio
Gabriel Osorio majored in Fine Arts at Universidad de Chile, later specializing in 3D animation. After working in commercials, movies and television series, he founded Punkrobot Studio. Since 2008, he has directed projects for children’s television including Flipos, Muelin y Perlita, Soccer Girls, and television spots. In 2016, his short film Bear Story became the first Latin American project to win an Oscar® in the animated short category.
TITLE: “I AM YOUR MOTHER”
Studio: Aardman
Director: Magdalena Osinska
Magdalena Osinska is an award-winning director who has been with Aardman for eight years. She has directed stop-motion, CGI, 2D and live-action commercials including Wallace & Gromit’s “The Great Sofa Caper” and “Share the Orange.” Osinska directed development of the children’s series Joyets and has also directed films including Spirits of the Piano and Zbigniev’s Cupboard. A graduate of the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield, UK, as well as the Polish Film School in Lodz and Art College in Warsaw, Osinska is currently developing the feature film Jasia, based on her grandmother’s memories of WWII Poland.
TITLE: “JOURNEY TO THE DARK HEAD”
Studio: Studio Mir
Director: Hyeong Geun Park
Rising star Hyeong Geun Park had already made a name for himself when he entered the Korean animation industry in 2017, thanks to his strong drawing and animation sensibilities. He has directed animation for dozens of cinematic game trailers and has since expanded into animated series, working on projects including Dota: Dragon’s Blood: Book 3 (2022) and Lookism (2022). Journey to the Dark Head is the first title he has executive produced from start to finish.
TITLE: “THE SPY DANCER”
Studio: Studio La Cachette
Writer-director: Julien Chheng
Julien Chheng is CEO of Studio La Cachette, an Emmy Award®-winning French animation studio he co-founded in 2014 with fellow Gobelins school’s alumni Oussama Bouacheria and Ulysse Malassagne. Chheng was trained in visual development at Disney and has worked as a character animator on acclaimed 2D animated features The Rabbi’s Cat, Mune, and the Academy Award®-nominated Ernest and Celestine. In 2021, he won an Emmy Award® as animation executive producer of Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, for which he also served as animation supervisor. In 2022, Chheng directed with Jean-Christophe Roger the Cesar-nominated feature Ernest and Celestine: A Trip to Gibberitia.
TITLE: “THE BANDITS OF GOLAK”
Studio: 88 Pictures
Director: Ishan Shukla
Ishan Shukla started his career as a CG artist in Singapore. For more than a decade, he spearheaded projects ranging from TV commercials to series and music videos. His 2016 animated short, “Schirkoa,” was long listed for the Academy Awards® after receiving dozens of awards and playing at 120 international festivals, including SIGGRAPH Asia where it was named Best in Show. He then set up his own animation studio to work on adult-oriented animated feature films including a feature-length version of Schirkoa, set to hit festivals in summer 2023.
TITLE: “THE PIT”
Studios: D’art Shtajio and Lucasfilm Ltd.
Writer-director-executive producer: LeAndre Thomas
Co-director: Justin Ridge
LeAndre Thomas is an award-winning writer and director from Oakland, Calif., whose most recent film won Best Director at the Pasadena International Film Festival. In addition to his independent films, Thomas is a part of the franchise studio team at Lucasfilm Ltd. where he has worked for more than 11 years being credited on recent titles such as Light & Magic, The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Star Wars: Tales of the Jedi, and many more.
Justin Ridge executive produced the Emmy®-nominated series Star Wars Resistance. His credits also include Star Wars Rebels, Storks, The Cleveland Show, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Avatar: The Last Airbender.
TITLE: “AAU’S SONG”
Studio: Triggerfish
Writer-directors: Nadia Darries and Daniel Clarke
Nadia Darries is a director, animator and co-founder of Goon Valley Animation, with an avocation for songwriting. Born in the Cape Flats in South Africa, Darries has worked on high-end animated film and motion design as an animator, project manager, creative director and director since 2015. Her experience includes animating at Triggerfish Animation Studios on the award-winning BBC films Stick Man, Revolting Rhymes, and Highway Rat.
Daniel Clarke is a Cape Town-based director and artist working in animation, film and illustration. He started his career in animation in 2008 at Triggerfish Animation Studios, where he has served as production designer, art director and director on projects such as the feature film Khumba, BBC’s Stick Man, and The Snail and the Whale. In 2018, along with James Clarke and Daniel Snaddon, he completed the graphic novel Kariba.
In Season 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.


Final Fantasy XVI Will Be Action-Oriented & Feature Story-Focused Mode

Final Fantasy XVI producer Naoki Yoshida appeared during the â€œGame Hackâ€ corner on the latest episode of Tokyo FM radio showÂ One Morning in Japan recently. He revealed several new details about the highly-anticipated Final Fantasy XVI.
According to Yoshida (via Games Talk and translated by Gematsu), Final Fantasy XVIÂ will be “action-oriented” but feature both story and action elements. However, players who aren’t good at action games can still enjoy the game’s story in a special mode that will probably provide an easier difficulty. Yoshida noted that the gameplay will be smooth and easy to get the hang of.
He said:

We really want players to enjoy the story, so weâ€™re preparing a mode for players who want to focus on story.
Since we have quite the substantial support actions, weâ€™re of course preparing something easy to operate and smooth to play. Donâ€™t worry too much (players who arenâ€™t good at action games.)
Iâ€™m from the generation that has been playing theÂ Final Fantasy series from the first game in real-time, Iâ€™m almost in my 50s.
I think the Warriors of Light have grown up in their own worlds, so I want to create a world ofÂ Final FantasyÂ that those who know the good and bad of reality can also be passionate about.
I believe there are certain hardships that are experienced when becoming an adult, so I want to make the main theme of this game something that those who grew up playingÂ Final FantasyÂ and understand reality can still enjoy, get something out of, and think about.

Final Fantasy XVI is slated to launch for the PS5. Late last year, we learned more about the deep lore and several of the main characters in the game, which you can check out here.
The next major announcement for the game will arrive sometime in 2021.


SF Shock’s Sinatraa Grabs 2019 Overwatch League MVP Award

San Francisco Shock’s Jay â€œSinatraaâ€ Won has been crowned the MVP (Most Valuable Player) of the 2019 Overwatch League season.
He first debuted with the Shock during Stage 3 of the inaugural Overwatch League season. He helped lead the Shock into this year’s playoffs, accumulating over 20.91 Eliminations and a league-leading 11,849 damage across 27 hours and 32 minutes of action.

winning mvp is truly a dream come true. biggest shoutout to our coaching staff and players, this definitely wouldnâ€™t be possible without them. IM SO HAPPY :))) pic.twitter.com/7UaNl7IOoa
â€” Jay Won (@sinatraa) September 6, 2019
His total number of Eliminations is second only to the Vancouver Titans’ Minsoo “Seominsoo” Seo. Sinatraa has stood out throughout the past season as one of the best Zarya and Tracer players, performing brilliantly in a meta that favoured three tanks and three support characters.
Over 600,000 fan votes were cast for the 2019 Overwatch League MVP award, with Sinatraa being one of five players nominated. The nominees included his fellow teammate Matthew â€œSuperâ€ DeLisi, the Vancouver Titansâ€™ Choi â€œJJANUâ€ Hyeon-woo and Lee â€œTwilightâ€ Joo-seok, as well as Xu â€œGuxueâ€ Qiulin from Hangzhou Spark.

Shock Fans, please welcome your new @OverwatchLeague MVP, @Sinatraa!!!
This is YOUR moment… We couldn’t ask for a better player, personality or leader âš¡ pic.twitter.com/icn7pndBmK
â€” San Francisco Shockâš¡ (@SFShock) September 6, 2019


New WWE 2K20 Trailer Features WWE’s Two Current Main Superstars

Ahead of its release later this month, 2K Games has released a brand new trailer for WWE 2K20.
The WWE 2K20 Step Inside trailer features cover Superstars Becky Lynch and Roman Reigns alongside the Four Horsewomen, WWE Legends, rising stars and a terrifying guest.
Besides that, the developer has previously revealed the full soundtrack list for the upcoming game (which you can listen to on Apple Music), as well asÂ improved multiplayer,Â more focus on female wrestlers, andÂ Halloween-themed pre-order bonuses.
WWE 2K20Â is slated to release for the PS4, Xbox One and PC on 22 October 2019. In the meantime, check out the WWE 2K20 Step Inside trailer below.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIGeSeedvJs&w=560&h=315]