Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice appears to be a mainstream video game that approaches the subject of mental illness thoughtfully and sensitively – which may well be a first.
Senua, the protagonist of Hellblade, suffers from psychosis. This isn’t a new thing for video games, but in general, only smaller indies have managed to pull off depcitions of mental illness without contributing to stigma, perpetuating negative stereotypes, recycling lazy tropes or just being flat out, offensively wrong.
Hellblade developer Ninja Theory is trying to avoid those missteps by consulting both experts in psychiatry and people who have actually experienced psychosis. This doesn’t at all guarantee a good result, but as you’ll see in the video below, those who contributed their knowledge to the project seem really happy with the results, which is a good sign.
So Hellblade: Senua’s sacrifice looks like it might have something interesting to tell us about psychosis as well as being an ass-kicking action game with Ninja theory’s trademark cinematic pizazz. It comes out next week for PC and PS4, but not at retail.
We’ve been waiting on Hellblade for several years now, and it’ll be great to see how Ninja Theory’s daring bid on “AAA indie” and open development pans out.
Player Unknown’s Battlegrounds is supposed to be really hard, so why does the equivalent of mashing random keys have better scores than the majority of players?
Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds is the latest gift of crowd-controlled, livestreamed video game bots, and it’s, uh, better than a lot of actual human players. Many of you are still working on breaking into the top ten, but Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds managed to take third recently.
It’s going to be hugely embarrassing if Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds gets a chicken dinner before you do. We’ve published several sets of tips but since you’re probably well aware of the basics right now, my pick of the lot is Sherif’s veteran PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds strategies.
Just as a reminder in case you’ve forgotten this phenomenon, Twitch Plays is when someone hooks Twitch chat up to a bot that feeds the commands into a video game. As soon as the stream gains even a handful of viewers it descends into chaos as everyone screams LEFT LEFT MENU LEFT MENU ATTACK and whatever, and even when everyone works together and really tries, it’s very difficult to get anything to happen.
Nevertheless, in the same way those infinite monkeys with typewriters will eventually produce the works of Shakespeare, somehow or other Twitch Plays bots have finished every Pokemon game and had a good old try at games like Dark Souls and more. So far, Twitch Plays PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds has “only” managed to come third, both solo and as a group, but it’ll get there eventually, no doubt.
Have you had much success in PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds? If good old Twitch Plays can get so close to winning, so can you.
Battlefield 1: In The Name of the Tsar takes us to the site of a 1917 battle for the frozen reaches of Estonia.
Battlefield 1 players on PC have been lucky enough to check out a third map from the upcoming In The Name of the Tsar expansion over on the CTR server.
Battlefield expert Westie naturally put in some time with the new map, and has all the goss. Called Albion, the map is the first real all-out battle environment Battlefield 1 has seen. It’s a large, expansive map, the likes of which we haven’t seen since Battlefield 4, with some twists on Battlefield 1 gameplay.
Albion is a coastal Conquest map. The German faction can spawn directly onto a ship, or onto small boats nearby. This is the perfect chance to try out the landing boat, which has a ramp allowing disembarkation, and room for multiple players in the hold as well as two machine gunners in addition to the helm. Swimming is not recommended as it takes forever.
There are seven flags, and most are clustered on some islands. The very exposed A point (a lighthouse) and less worrying B point (a fishing village) are both on a large outer island comfortably near to the German spawn – but B borders on Russian territory, so must be defended closely once captured.
C point is in the middle of the map on a small island, and can be accessed by bridges from the A and B points, or by boating, swimming or parachuting in. All of these approaches are very exposed.
D and E points are on another large island close to the Russian spawn – and you’ll find two massive, destroyed Russian artillery there that can be repaired at the start of the match for long distance bombardment. The F point is also on this island but is right at the water’s edge by the Russian spawn, so the Germans won’t hold it for long – especially as it’s only separated from G flag by a few trench lines.
A new bomber is available on the map with four seats – two sidegunners, a cannon gunner and the pilot. It’s a very slow moving plane and so big that it makes a very tempting target. There are two behemoth vehicles, one for each faction – the Germans get a dreadnought, while the Russians get an airship.
Although the huge map really provides a good opportunity to use air and sea vehicles, the infantry play is satisfying because there’s so much danger to ground troops. That means taking and holding points will be much riskier than it has been in Battlefield 1’s Conquest mode to date.
In the Name of the Tsar arrives in Battlefield 1 in September.
Injustice 2 offers you the chance to make your main even shinier and plump up those prize pools while you’re at it.
Available in Injustice 2 right now, the new tournament shader shown in the video below bring a touch of class to your outfit with shiny gold highlights. We’re assuming the link here is gold medals and victory, which is what you’ll be chasing if you enter any tournaments. It’s available for every character.
Warner Bros. and NetherRealm haven’t given us many details on the premium DLC, but did say that “a portion of the proceeds” of sales of the tournament shader will be put “towards Injustice 2 tournaments and community events”.
“Purchasing the Tournament Shader is a great way to support the Injustice 2 esports scene,” the companies suggested – something like the way Dota 2 fans help fund the International, probably.
The shaders have been added to Injustice 2 with today’s patch, which runs to 1.05 GB and also adds the Bizarro skin.
The update also makes an absolutely whopping number of changes to Injustice 2’s balance and gameplay, which has been mostly stable since release. It looks like NetherRealm waited to iron out the bugs before it started really messing with things. You can check out the full patch notes on Shoryuken.
BioWare has confirmed the death of a friend and colleague.
Corey Gaspur, a veteran designer with credits on some of BioWare’s most beloved games, has died.
The news comes via the BioWare blog and provides no details on Gaspur’s death. Judging by the shocked reactions of BioWare staff on social media (which, no, we’re not going to embed), it was not expected news, and has left current and former colleagues across all of BioWare’s studios reeling.
Previously a member of Turok developer Propaganda Games, Gaspur joined BioWare nine years ago. He contributed to Sonic Chronicles, Dragon Age: Origins and Mass Effect 2 gameplay and level designer, and served as as lead combat designer on Mass Effect 3 and its multiplayer; arguably BioWare’s most successful attempt at action to date.
Most recently, Gaspur was a lead designer on Anthem, the studio’s upcoming science fiction shared-worlds shooter. His contribution to BioWare’s games was significant indeed.
“Corey was a talented designer and an even better person. We offer our condolences to Corey’s family and everyone that knew him. We will miss you,” BioWare’s statement said.
Anthem, Gaspur’s final project, is currently slated for release in late 2018. Our thoughts are with Corey’s friends, family and colleagues at this time.
With the iOS platform approaching a decade of existence, there are quite a few titles you could denote as classics when talking about the history of mobile gaming. Jet Car Stunts [$1.99 / Free] is without a doubt one of those titles. Launching in the fall of 2009 with the App Store still in its infancy, Jet Car Stunts married the unique capabilities of iOS devices with some seriously fun stunt track racing. There really was no greater feeling that launching your little digital rocket car into the air, spinning and twirling, and totally nailing the landing on the other side. Or finding some obscure shortcut that gives you a leg up on the highly competitive online leaderboards. Yes for some Jet Car Stunts was an obsession, and for me personally it brings back great memories of the early days of iOS gaming. However, 2009 was a LONG time ago, and the last significant update to Jet Car Stunts was way back in July of 2012 when the game received long-awiated Universal iPad support and some performance improvements. Well, with iOS 11 and its lack of support for 32-bit apps likely coming in just a couple of months, many fans were holding out hope that this oldie but goodie would get some 64-bit update love from developer True Axis. Today that update love has arrived.
Alongside the 64-bit support is some extra welcome additions. The game now properly supports all the various resolutions of the larger iOS devices that have come out since the last Jet Car Stunts update, and everything is looking nice and sharp on my iPhone 7 Plus. In an even cooler move True Axis has included the game's DLC level pack for free. This pack of 26 additional levels launched back in July of 2010 and originally was a $1.99 IAP. Now the levels are free for all to enjoy. Additionally, the lite version of Jet Car Stunts has also been updated so there's still a free way to try out this game if you haven't before. The lite version levels are different from the ones in the paid game, but some time back they were added into the paid game as an extra level pack so you could literally have everything Jet Car Stunts all packed into a single app. Jet Car Stunts really is one of the best games in the entire history of the App Store, and nothing makes me happier than seeing it updated so it can live on for another day.
Umbrella is one of the busiest publishers/developers on the App Store, and today they've set the release dates for two of their many upcoming mobile games they're planning on launching this year. The first is for a game called Tidy Robots which we originally were given a hands-on demo of back at GDC in March. The game is about a bunch of toys who come to life and have a big old party in the toy shop where they live while it's closed, but come morning time they've left an awful mess and must work to clean things up before the shop owner gets wise to what happened. That cute little premise and the colorful visuals in Tidy Robots are deceptive though, as the game is actually a series of logic puzzles that will test every ounce of your brain matter. Here's the official trailer.
Tidy Robots is set to release on September 21st on both iOS and Android and will come with 80 hand-crafted levels as well as brand new levels released weekly. It'll be "Completely FREE to play" but no word on if there will be any sort of full game unlock or ad-removal IAP. Coming quite a bit sooner than Tidy Robots is a game called Fast Track. This one comes from developer Nathan Malville who you may remember as the creator of Plicplic [Free], one of our favorite games of 2012, among several other mobile titles since. Fast Track is a straightforward avoidance game with sick visuals and a cool track-tilting effect that looks really neat in motion. As said this one is coming quite soon and will be available on August 17th so keep an eye out for it then and check out the launch trailer for Fast Track below.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds’ future is looking very bright, with big features in the pipeline.
Some of those are coming as early as this week with the monthly patch, while others are still early in the works.
We’ve covered everything developer Bluehole announced so far, but there are so many of them we thought we’d round them all up in one page for easy access. And to make things even more interesting, Arekkz made a video of the top nine things coming soon to PUBG.
Without further ado, here’s what you can look forward to in the game’s future patches:
–The Mk14 EBR marksman rifle
This weapon is similar to the SKS, in that it’s a semi-automatic rifle. It also fires 7.62mm bullets, but unlike the SKS, it’s a crate-only weapon.
It’s also going to be more powerful than the SKS, but we’re not yet sure if that just means damage.
–The new rolling animation
Earlier today, PlayerUnknown gave everyone a sneak peek at a new set of animations for what could be a new rolling feature. It’s also possible this is what the character will automatically do when going prone after running or going prone after strafing.
Regardless, it looks very cool and it wouldn’t be outside the norm for PUBG when you consider the game’s Arma roots.
–Mantling, vaulting, and climbing animations
Right now, getting over obstacles, even as small as a picket fence, is a chore. If you’re not looking to go the long way around, you can always try your luck with jumping over them.
The result of these jumps are inconsistent, and depend a lot on your forward momentum. Soon, though, this will be a thing of the past when these new vaulting animations make it into the game. They were revealed a couple of times already, but it looks like implementing them is harder we imagined.
First-person servers do exactly as you imagine: locking your view to first-person only, and just removing the crosshairs. For this to work, the game needed to have an FOV slider, which is thankfully also out the same day.
At launch, first-person will be available in Solos and Duos, for North America and Europe. The rest of the world will get it afterwards.
–New cosmetic items in crates
We’re finally getting new skins and clothing items to chase after in PUBG, but not everyone is happy. These will be part of a new crate-and-key system that’s rolling out with the monthly patch.
Three crates have been announced so far, and only one of which requires a key to open. A key costs $2.50, but the rest are completely free. If you’re not too fused about the cost, you’ll be happy to know that clothing sets are seemed around the Battle Royale movie, which the game is inspired by.
Further down the round, new character customisation items will be available, such as tattoos and face paints. The goal is to let players customise their characters “to a T.”
–More options in custom games
Custom games offer a fresh set of rules that turn the game on its head. Custom severs can only be hosted by PUBG partners – typically streamers and big YouTubers, but anyone can join them depending in the game size.
The settings menu they have access to is still not that extensive, and it shows in game modes like zombies where friendly fire needd to be turned off for the zombies. This and many other options have been added to the custom server menu, but a lot of them do not work at the moment.
–New maps and weather effects
There are currently two announced maps being worked on. The first is smaller than the current one, and is set in a desert town. The other one is of a similar size to the main map, and takes place in the Adriatic Sea and features snow mountains.
We’ve obviously only seen teaser images of one map, but it’s not likely we’ll be seeing any of them in the game anytime soon. PlayerUnknown previously said maps is the thing that takes the most development time.
–A fully-featured 3D replay system
A replay system is one of the big features Bluehole is currently working on. This will manifest itself in two systems, one that tracks player movements during a match and gives you an idea of where you were in relation to other players.
The other is pretty big. A fully-fledged 3D replay system that allows you to rewatch the entire match from any perspective you want. This will be great in helping players identify their mistakes, but it’s also a good way to make videos.
Bluehole didn’t say when we should expect this to make it into the game, but it’ll likely take a while.
Castle Burn is an upcoming real-time competitive strategy game that hopes to offer a fun take on the Clash Royale formula. Castle Burn uses a card-based army system that allows you to discover new units and upgrade existing units, but also appears to add some wrinkles to the Clash Royale recipe with the ability to add new cards to your deck as you play and with buildings being more important to the overall economy. Castle Burn also has heroes you can deploy as you try to tilt the battle to your favor. It's hard to judge how close to Clash Royale the game will be, and it might be unfair to describe a game as a Clash Royale clone just because it uses the same map style. We'll have to play it and see.
Castle Burn will be soft launching for Android in the Philippines August 11 followed by an iOS soft launch in Thailand and Australia late August-early September. The developers hope to release the game Fall 2017. In the meantime, go find out more about the game in our Upcoming Games forum thread.
So it’s heartwarming to see its creator, Brendan Greene aka PlayerUnknown, have a positive stance towards others modding his game. Speaking to CNET, Greene said that he definitely wants to see mods for his game.
“I’ve said this before: I want to find the next PlayerUnknown,” Greene said. “I want to try to find someone who creates a game mode or a mod for my game that propels them to fame, and gets them to make their own game too.”
That said, enabling modding in PUBG isn’t as easy as it may seem. There’s a number of challenges that’ll need to be worked out first before this could happen, and piracy is chief among them.
“We want to [let people mod PUBG], but we have to do it carefully because we’re very protective of our server files,” Greene pointed out. PUBG does not currently allow users to host their own servers, meaning everything has to go through developer Bluehole.
“Allowing people to run their own dedicated servers would mean releasing the server files and that could lead to piracy.
“It’s something we want to do, but it might take us a bit of time to actually implement it, because we really have to figure out the best way to do it so the game still stays secure.”
If Bluehole plans to one day allow modding, it’ll open the doors for anyone with a game mode idea to implement and run it. Genres evolve over time, and who knows, maybe there’s a better version of the current setup we’ve yet to play.
If you're one of the many waiting for the final Telltale The Walking Dead [Free] season so you can wrap up a story that started many years ago, you might want to watch this brief video of Telltale developers talking more about the way they will develop the final season and how player decisions and feedback feed into the development of upcoming episodes. The developers admit that they develop the episodes while players are playing the season, which puts more pressure on the developers but also allows them to deliver the experiences players want. At the same time, it does make me wonder whose voice gets heard during this process.
There's also a short video that talks about how important Clementine has become to the franchise and how she started up as something to worry about and become a symbol of hope. They go into more about Clementine's development and evolution (which, of course, comes with spoilers), but it's a great video for those who like the character and can't wait to get to play her in the final season. We've seen parts of this video in the earlier Telltale announcement, but this time around we get a bit more context on the development side of the series.
Sit down boys and girls because it's time for another Ben Brode Hearthstone [Free] rap. After delivering a rousing Journey to Un'Goro rap, Brode couldn't resist repeating the musical feat for the upcoming Knights of the Frozen Throne expansion. This time around, we get to hear the story of Arthas, AKA the Lich King, accompanied by visuals from the good old days. While the rap is pretty funny by itself, it does actually serve a purpose: to fill in the lore details for those who don't know the story of the Lich King. And what better way to deliver lore than with a Brode rap (Brap?). The rap is over 5 minutes long, which goes to show how complex the Lich King's storyline is.
The Frozen Throne update is definitely getting closer (some say it could be just a week away), but there's still plenty of time to catch up on why the Lich King matters to Warcraft fans and why you should be excited to finally see him in Hearthstone. Enjoy the rap video (make sure to switch to 1.5 speed), and here's hoping you get a rap battle soon.
Minecraft's huge Better Together update is getting closer, and today the beta has gone live for Android and Windows 10 (sorry, iOS players, we are out of luck, again). The beta going live is a good sign that we are getting closer to getting some huge new features in the game that should change the way we play. If you are an Android player, you can go here to find out how to access the Better Together beta. It's not complicated, but you do need to own a copy of the game purchased through the Google Play Store. And you should definitely back up your worlds before joining the beta because, well, it's a beta and bad things can happen. Keep in mind that you can jump into the beta and then leave it if you decide you'd rather go back to normal, functioning Minecraft.
If you don't remember what Better Together is bringing to the game, the update will unify mobile, Windows 10, and XBOX One versions and make them all one game, which opens up great opportunities for cross-play shenanigans. We are also getting features like stained glass, fireworks, parrots, banners, armor stands, jukeboxes and music discs, recipe books, and ravines. And community servers are coming to the game as well. There's a long FAQ with more on the latest update that you can read here. Can't wait to get my hands on it.
Niantic got quite a bit of negative publicity after the disastrous Pokemon GO [Free] event in Chicago a week and a bit ago, and it looks like it wants to avoid a repeat of that. So, it announced today that the August 5th and 12th events in Europe will be postponed until a date later this Fall in order to guarantee the best possible gameplay experience. The August 5th events were to take place in Copenhagen and Prague, and the August 12th ones in Stockholm and Amsterdam. The events on August 14th and September 16th remain unaffected, so if you were planning on attending those, you should be good. Niantic (of course) apologizes for postponing these events and directs player questions to its help center. And no compensation will be offered to those who have already made arrangements.
To make up for canceling the events, Niantic will ensure that some Pokemon rarely seen in Europe will be appearing in certain European cities soon. Although the announcement doesn't reveal which cities, I'm pretty sure those affected by the postponement will see some of those Pokemon. Were you planning on attending any of the cancelled events?
We’re getting more teases of new PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds animations.
After developer Bluehole gave us our first look at vaulting, and mantling animations back at E3, the team has now offered up some new combat animations currently in the works.
The two animations represent combat rolls. This move is not something you can currently do in the game, since there’s no dedicated roll button. However, from the looks of it, this animation may play automatically when you hit the deck as you’re moving side-ways.
Unfortunately, PlayerUnknown did not reveal any details about exactly what we’re looking at here, just that they’re being worked on. It would be great if the game actually allowed you to perform a roll to quickly avoid danger.
Until then, we have more exciting items to look forward to in the next few days, such as the first-person mode, FOV slider, and the rest of the features coming to the game with this weeks patch.
Before Bluehole confirmed the official list of notes, many believed this patch would be the one to add the animations revealed at E3, but this is sadly not going to be the case.
Welcome to another Touchstone Tavern, our weekly Hearthstone [Free] roundup of the best stories and videos. As expected, last week was all about the upcoming expansion, Knights of the Frozen Throne, especially because the community has been trying to keep track with and evaluate all the revealed cards. Most in the community seem to be happy with the cards we've seen so far, and I hope that optimism continues even after the expansion arrives. It does look like Blizzard is starting to figure out the kind of content the community enjoys, so hopefully we'll get the best expansion to date. There's a few weeks to go until that, though, so for now enjoy our weekly roundup.
Stream Reveals Frost Lich Jaina and More
Last week we got to see another one of the Death Knight Heroes, specifically Frost Lich Jaina. The Mage Death Knight costs 9 mana and has 5 armor, and will be all about Elemental decks, since it summons elementals and also gives Elementals in your deck Lifesteal. The stream also revealed many other cards, so it's definitely a good watch. Read our whole story here and watch the stream below.
Analyzing Frost Lich Jaina
This writer takes an early swing at analyzing Frost Lich Jaina. He sees it as Mage's answer to Lord Jaraxxus on the Warlock side. She should work well with Elemental Mage and has plenty of synergies with all kinds of other minions. Secret Mage can also find this card useful because it can use secrets to stick around until Turn 9. The writer believes that the best way to go about defeating Frost Lich Jaina is Freeze Mage or Quest Mage, if the card draws work in your favor. And, of course, you could also go aggressive and try to win before Turn 9.
Card Reveals Will Always Make Players Mad
After days of anticipation, we finally got to see a new card (emphasis on the singular), and even though the reason was some (unannounced at the time) technical issues, players got mad at getting to see only one card after all that anticipation. As the story points out, the question is why all this anger.
He goes into explaining how losing in a game you've put money into results in pent-up anger that, at some point, leads to an explosion of discontent. He also goes into Lifecoach's departure from the game and the fear that his would be the first of many big-name departures from the game. It's an interesting article that examines in depth what most of us feel at one time or another (and, to be fair, not just with Hearthstone). Read it all here.
Hearthstone's Frozen Throne Compared to WoW Lore
If you're into lore, you should read this article because it looks at how the WoW Frozen Throne content has been translated for Hearthstone. There are details about all kinds of characters, and it's definitely a fun read that will get you more into the spirit of the upcoming expansion.
Arthas Is Coming
As lead mission designer Dave Kosak announced in a recent stream, Arthas Menethil is coming to the game, given you can defeat the Lich King with all 9 classes. This Paladin skin won't be for the weak, but it's a fun challenge to have. Kosak also gave us more info on the missions part of the upcoming expansion, including a video of the Lich King showing off his ability to bend the rules. Read the whole story here.
As this story points out, Dreadsteed is about to get nerfed once Frozen Throne releases, so get ready to get some dust back. The nerf will make the card return to the board at the end of the turn rather than the moment it's killed. The reason for the nerf is that the new Defile card would cause an infinite loop with the old Dreadsteed, and we couldn't have those kinds of shenanigans. And since the card will be nerfed, we will be getting full dust like in other similar situations.
It's a Good Thing Cards Are Getting Complicated
After suffering through what has been called "curvestone," players are about to get their hands on more complicated cards this time around, and this writer believes that's for the best. Cards like Fatespinner, Defile, and Corpsetaker will offer more strategic depth and make matches more unpredictable. Therefore, matches should be more fun. Read the whole story here.
Rogue Gets Weapons Augmentation
A common player complaint is that Rogue just doesn't have enough cool weapons, but the upcoming Vampiric Poison spell could make those players a bit happier. The 2-mana card revealed recently gives Lifesteal to your weapon, which might be an interesting boost. Maybe the card will see play if it synergizes well with other upcoming cards, although that remains to be seen.
Frozen Throne Card Review Part 1
As is always the case, the moment we start getting new expansion cards, we get plenty of reviews. This story reviews a ton of new cards, going in-depth on whether they will work or not, what their potential is, and much more. Even if you don't care about card reviews—especially since not all the cards are out yet—articles like this one can teach you how to evaluate cards, a skill that's very useful when trying to build new decks and aren't that much into deckbuilding.
Library of the Revealed Frozen Throne Cards
If you want to keep track of all the Frozen Throne cards as they get revealed, head over to HearthHead's library. It's updated constantly and will help you keep on top of the deluge of reveals. We've had a ton of cards revealed in the last few days, so it's definitely hard to keep track of them all, especially since the reveals are coming from all kinds of sources. Check out the card library here.
PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds developer Bluehole is making some changes to how player data is being reported on the game’s leaderboards.
For starters, no server data will be recorded from now until tomorrow, August 1, effectively turning everything into unranked mode.
Another reset will take place tomorrow, erasing all data recorded since the previous reset. In fact, this is what’s going to happen every month going forward. At the start of every month, and after 24 hours of non-ranked play, a new season will start until the following month.
This is done to help the developer test new ranking algorithms and implement elo-based changes. Elo is ranking system that uses a specific set of parameters to identify player skill and match them with others who are slightly better.
Don’t fret, though, as all older data is being backed up and saved. There’s currently no way for players to view this data, but Bluehole said it’ll implement the ability to browse historical records soon.
Leaderboards will begin recording data once again beginning 7pm PT, 2am GMT, 3am BST, on August 1. The studio made it sound like future seasons of the game will be longer than one month.
PUBG’s next big patch isn’t far off. It releases on August 3, and it’s poised to be one of its most feature-rich thus far.
Hello everyone, and welcome to the week! It's time once again for our look back at the noteworthy updates of the last seven days. I think someone must have stuck a broomstick in the update machine last week, because we got quite a few more interesting ones than we've been getting lately. Of course, you can keep an eye out for updates yourself using AppShopper or by participating in the TouchArcade forums, but this weekly summary is here to fill in the things you might have missed. Let's dig in!
Nimian Legends : BrightRidge HD, $1.99 Wow, this one got two updates last week. Hey, have you all played Nimian Legends yet? You really should, it's quite nifty. Anyway, these updates add a bunch of things to the game, including an expanded day/night cycle, improved quality settings, fireworks, falling damage, and more. The updates also included an assortment of bug fixes and other minor improvements. Seriously, it's only a couple of bucks, give it a go.
MARVEL Avengers Academy, Free Wheel of Tiny Co, turn turn turn, is your latest event cool or a burn? After a surprisingly enjoyable event based on Spider-Man Homecoming, Avengers Academy is on to the next thing. The Armor Wars event is a sort-of mini-event to fill in the gap until Defenders hits Netflix. It pits Tony Stark against the Crimson Dynamo, and it includes a lot of Iron Man odds and ends. Riri Williams is here as a premium character, and Young Avenger Iron Lad joins his compatriots who have already been added in previous events. Whiplash and the Darren Cross version of Yellowjacket are also recruitable, and a few very lucky players will be able to get some Hulkbuster armor for Stark. But how is the event itself? Well, Sky-Cycles. D'oh.
TypeShift, Free The next of TypeShift's promised monthly updates is here, and while it lacks much in the way of sizzle, I'm sure fans of the game will be happy with it anyway. There are two new clue puzzle packs you can buy via IAP, giving you more of the crosswords-style fun to master. This update also adds sorting options for the pack list, which is a timely addition given the increasingly large assortment of them to scroll through. More content for those who want it, plus a UI addition for everyone. Isn't that what updates are all about? Wait, where are the bug fixes? And performance improvements? WHERE ARE THEY?
Phoenix II, Free At long last, Phoenix 2's anniversary update is here! Let's see what's in the box, friends. Phew, a lot. So, the highlights include new Ultimate Upgrades for all Auras and Zen modes, Ultimate Upgrades for all weapons, a new ship interface, reworked weapon types, three new ships, updates to the game engine itself, a bevy of balance changes, and yes, bug fixes! If you're using an iPhone 7 or an iPad Pro, you're going to see some serious... stuff with this updated engine. For everyone else, you certainly can't sneeze at all of that new content. I mean, you can. I'm not the sneeze police. But you ought not to. At any rate, this is the coveted UMMSMotW award winner this week. Nice work, Firi Games.
Wonderputt, $0.99 Here's this week's nice example of rising from the grave. Wonderputt was one of the many games that needed an update for 64-bit compatibility. Developer Damp Gnat didn't just stop there, however. They made this once-iPad exclusive title universal, added some new achievements, threw in some new controls to improve how the game plays, and restored retina display functionality for the recent iPads that support it. Since it was iPad-only, I feel like a lot of iOS gamers haven't tried this one out, but you really ought to now. It's a blast.
Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed, Free Watch out, friends. Dynasty Warriors is off of its leash, and it's going to... like... pee on every hydrant. All of them. No hydrant is without sin. So, this little experiment seems to be going well enough for Nexon. They've added a new campaign in their latest update to Dynasty Warriors: Unleashed that continues the Battle of Red Cliff. There's also a new officer skill upgrade item, and new things to buy. Just be careful the game doesn't dig up your flowerbed.
The Elder Scrolls: Legends Heroes of Skyrim, Free Ever since Elder Scrolls Legends launched, we here at TouchArcade Towers have been inundated with letters asking when Bethesda was going to update the shucky-darned thing to support iPhone. We've always had to reply to those letters with a heartfelt SADFACE emoji, but we've gone and fired up the HAPPYFACE and SUNGLASSES emoji machines because the game is now universal. This update also changes some cards and fixes some bugs, things which we do not get letters about but will SUNGLASSES emoji to anyway.
Dawn of Crafting, $2.99 Speaking of games we get a lot of mail about, we've got something like seventeen bags full of letters about Dawn of Crafting, all from the same address. It's pretty weird, but at least it gave us something to do with Carter's old office, now dubbed La Salle des Too Many Freaking Dawn of Crafting Letters. Right, update stuff. Well, it looks like this update has some new surprise game endings, new items, redesigned quests, and some other stuff. I like how every line of the update notes thanks the person who brought the subject to the developer's attention. That's kind of sweet.
Mr. Crab 2, Free You gotta do what? You gotta pinch knees! Ba-da-daaa-da-da. Hello, Mr. Crab. It is summer, you are having a very nice time, I'm sure. Unless you are an Australian crab or a crab from anywhere else in the Southern Hemisphere, in which case you are probably having a disagreeable winter. Let's pretend it's the former, though. So how do you celebrate this hot weather? With twelve new levels, of course. Just as I used to do in my younger years. Yes, sir. I would finish my school year, loudly announce that it was summer, and suddenly grow twelve new levels. Of what? Oh, friend. Don't ask questions you don't want the answers to.
Oh...Sir! The Insult Simulator, $1.99 I have to say, Oh...Sir! has a pretty odd assortment of guest characters. Serious Sam, H.P. Lovecraft, and now... the Postal Dude? They even got his original voice actor, Rick Hunter, to reprise the role. You'll have to figure out how to unlock him, of course. But now I'm wondering who else is going to show up. Bubsy the Bobcat? Art Carney? The cast of Cheers? Boogerman? Don Cherry? The possibilities are endless here! Actually, that last one would be great. Look into it Vile Monarch, he can't be that expensive. He's Canadian, after all!
Injustice: Gods Among Us, Free Wait, what? The sequel is out and they're still adding stuff to this one? Well, I guess if it's still putting butts in seats, there's no harm in adding the odd character here and there. I can't help but think that effort would be better put towards the rather thin roster of the sequel, but what do I know? Nothing except how to renew a Canadian passport in Japan, friends, and that's hardly relevant here. This update adds Arkham Asylum Killer Croc and the data for a couple of future characters, Arkham Knight Batgirl and Yellow Lantern Hal Jordan. The new multiplayer season character is Flashpoint Aquaman. Have fun!
That about wraps it up for last week's significant updates. I'm sure I've missed some, though, so please feel free to comment below and let everyone know if you think something should be mentioned. As usual, major updates will likely get their own news stories throughout this week, and I'll be back next Monday to summarize and fill in the blanks. Have a great week!
Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption is a new game from Hong Kong-based studio Dark Star, taking inspiration from from Dark Souls, and Shadow of the Colossus.
The game was officially revealed this week by publisher Another Indie Studio. The team behind it, Dark Star, is made up of ex-Ubisoft, Konami, and Blizzard developers.
Sinner’s setup is very interesting (via PCGamer). It looks like a boss rush game with Dark Souls-style baddies, though some resemble Shadow of the Colossus more than Dark Souls. Each boss represents one of the seven deadly sins, and defeating them is the only way for redemption.
That’s not all, though, as the hero must pick an attribute to level down before each fight, making him weaker. This is part of the game’s sacrifice mechanic.
“The action is framed by a desolate afterlife in which Adam seeks to restore his memories and atone for his sins. How he interacts with each boss will ultimately decide his fate in one of multiple endings,” the game’s pitch reads.
Apart from the announcement trailer above, off-screen footage of the game made its way online recently. It definitely does look a lot like Souls here, even down to the lock on icon.
Sinner: Sacrifice for Redemption is out in Q1 2018 for PC, PS4, and Xbox One. It’ll be playable at Gamescom next month, and PAX West in September.
VR is a fun gimmick, but it’s incredibly difficult to make it feel like more than that.
I love breaking out a VR headset when friends are over. It’s a laugh to throw them into Resident Evil 7’s Kitchen or let them bask in the absurdity of Job Simulator or I Expect You to Die. These are all great games, but they’re mostly made great by the sight of others experiencing them. For the first time, however, I’ve found a VR game I want to play alone – and that feels like a major step for the medium.
That game is Lone Echo, the latest release from Oculus Studios developed by Ready at Dawn, the developer best-known for the PSP God of War spin-offs and The Order: 1886. It’s one of the first VR experiences I’ve played that feels like a truly, fully fleshed out triple-A experience that isn’t focused on multiplayer or other sandbox, make-your-own fun experiences. This is a full-on story-driven adventure – and it’s one that feels perfectly suited to VR.
“I’m still something of a VR skeptic, but Lone Echo is the type of game that we need to keep seeing to prove this medium’s true potential.”
Lone Echo casts you as Jack, an AI robot chap that’s aboard a space station with a bunch of other robots less intelligent than you and Olivia, the human captain. The opening hour or so of the game is a gentle, slow burn that teaches you how to move in the environment and introduces you to the cast, of which the station itself is a major member.
Movement is the first place where Lone Echo seems like it’s truly approached VR from the bottom up, the end result a hugely satisfying and comfortable way to move around. With the Oculus Touch controllers and some decent room space you can move around 360 degrees simply by twisting yourself this way and that, but deeper movement takes advantage of the fact Lone Echo is set in space brilliantly. Firstly, you have access to basic jets at your wrists that can be activated with a press of a button on the Touch controllers. You can angle your hands in a direction and boost yourself slowly in that direction via that. Simple.
The jets are slow however, and the real way to get around is presumably not that dissimilar to how it really works in space – by grabbing hold of walls, tables and other surfaces and pulling yourself along, using momentum to propel yourself across a room in the direction you desire. The simple, intuitive design of the Oculus Touch controllers means this all feels very natural, and in no time at all you’ll be comfortably grabbing onto surfaces to clamber and sling your way around the station while using the jets to make fine adjustments.
Resident Evil 7 in PlayStation VR has been my favourite story-based, in-depth VR experience so far, but even that suffered from movement problems. Moving about using control sticks in VR is a recipe for disorientation, and that’s the most surprising thing about Lone Echo’s deft solution to the problem – it feels entirely natural, and at no point did it give me motion sickness.
It’s also by far and away the VR character movement solution that has been the least illusion-shattering to my brain, with the suspension of disbelief coming easily. The movement is hard to completely articulate, but watching a video of the game will make how it works very clear.
Much else about the controls is similarly intuitive and tactile-feeling. To activate a scanner or other such tools you’ll have to use one hand to prod at buttons on the other wrist – and it feels natural. There’s something deeply satisfying and tactile about how Lone Echo’s control systems interact. Crucially, it all feels natural.
You might have an item in hand and need to scan it; you’ll thus release it to weightlessness in order to activate your scanner with two hands, then grab the item again and scan it. You might need to cut something with a laser with one hand while steadying yourself to hold steady in place with the other hand. It becomes a cool little test of speed and dexterity, and there’s not much to say other than it simply works. In VR, which has had very mixed fortunes, feeling so natural and right is actually a bit of a revelation.
“There’s something deeply satisfying and tactile about how Lone Echo’s control systems interact. Crucially, it all feels natural.”
Lone Echo wraps all this up in a satisfying package that manages to pull off a compelling little story that you’ll want to see through. The fact that the game doesn’t seem to snag itself on the most basic of concepts such as character movement seems to really free it up to run with an interesting story that’s full of spectacle and fairly reminiscent of the movie Gravity – and that is said as a strong compliment.
Lone Echo also ships with Echo Arena as part of its package. Echo Arena is currently free stand-alone for three months, but Lone Echo owners get it permanently as part of the package. It uses the same basic movement design from the single-player campaign but in a Tron-like setting which is part Frisbee, part Rugby, and really surprisingly exhilarating.
Tossing a disc between players in daring passes while others try to intercept and block really lends itself well to the momentum-driven movement, as launching yourself too early or too late could prove a costly mistake indeed. The multiplayer is great fun and is arguably even more special than the single-player content – but I was drawn to Lone Echo by that narrative, a narrative that for once in VR feels supported rather than hindered by the unique control and presentation methods available in VR.
Lone Echo is ultimately a costly game – it’s a reasonable $39.99 / £29.99, but it will require the Oculus Touch controllers, the Rift itself, a powerful PC and ideally a third Oculus sensor to make the most of the tracking. If you have all of this already, however, Lone Echo could well be the single-player killer app VR has been waiting for. I’m still something of a VR skeptic, but Lone Echo is the type of game that we need to keep seeing to prove this medium’s true potential.
You may not be able to play Bloodborne on PC, but you sure can pretend with this Dark Souls mod.
Aptly named BloodSouls, the mod adds the Hunter character model along with the Saw Cleaver and Blunderbuss, two of the most recognisable weapons in Bloodborne.
It also changes up the HUD icons and the rest of the game sounds to resemble those of Bloodborne’s. If you’re curious, the Saw Cleaver is a replacement for the Dark Sword, and the Blunderbuss takes the Light Crossbow’s place.
It’s not ideal, but it’s the best we could have given Dark Souls’ limitations. You also can’t side-step, so you’ll continue to employ rolling to avoid hits.
The mod relies on DSFix (which you should be using anyway), and DSMODT to load in new textures. You can download it yourself and read the install instructions through here.
Any TouchArcade readers who have been following the website since 2013 will not only be awesome people, but will also likely remember an incredibly, err, eccentric game by the name of Alpaca Evolution [Free] from Japanese developer COCOSOLA. Even with some of the bizarre experiments released on a weekly basis on the App Store, the cannibalism/mutation simulator of Alpaca Evolution really stood out at the time for its inexplicable premise, and was well received in our TA Plays feature around its launch. While we have heard little from the developer since its breakout release, their latest title dropped onto the App Store out of nowhere this weekend, and it's certainly a major shift in direction from COCOSOLA's previous releases. The Witch's Isle [Free] is an incredibly intriguing point-and-click adventure game with some beautiful pixel art, and the Sword and Sworcery [$3.99] vibes I get from the screenshots can only be a good thing.
Considering their last major release featured cartoon graphics and alpaca cannibalism, The Witch's Isle is a significant step up in scope, scale and complexity. An ordinary villager in a town is visited by a witch, who condemns them to death unless they can find the witch's stolen url by 4am. In an attempt to escape this curse, you must explore an island and learn about its inhabitants while a timer in the top-left corner ticks away ever closer to your 4am deadline. The premise of The Witch's Isle, combined with the ominously bleak yet stunningly intricate pixel art, emphasise the lurking presence of death in the game, and the aforementioned Sword and Sworcery influences are perfectly complimented with Ghost Trick or The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask elements. The ability to make the camera follow other islanders is a particularly neat one, and means this point-and-click game isn't solely limited to interaction with a static environment, but also requires observation and patience amidst a ticking time-bomb of the curse.
The Witch's Isle, as far as I am aware, came out of nowhere to launch on the App Store this weekend, and it's hard not to be a little sceptical whether the developer can make such a major step up into the point-and-click genre, with all its meticulous and complex storytelling. However, early signs are promising, and the prospect of seven different endings suggests it may have the longevity that many similar games lack. As a free-to-download game with an option to donate a certain amount to the developer, The Witch's Isle is definitely worth a try, at the very least. If you decide to give the game a download, or want to know more about what to expect in The Witch's Isle, take a look at our forum thread for more information on this haunting adventure title.
Dota 2 has received a new update designed to make the game more inviting for new players.
The patch brought two features that Valve says will help remove “unnecessary challenges” that faced newcomers in the past.
First, the game’s hero selection screen has been changed to only show 20 heroes to new players. This list is curated by Valve, and will showcase heroes the developer feels new players should start with.
New players will continue to see the same group of heroes until they’ve played 25 games. The entire roster will then be unlocked.
The other big addition builds upon the first by matching new players only against those with “consistently high behaviour scores”. Meaning, you’ll only play with and against non-assholes.
This also takes player skill into consideration, but it’s the social experience that’s the focus. MOBAs are incredibly challenging games that demand a lot from players, so it’s easy to see how they could have a toxicity problem.
This comes after Valve recently introduced a story-driven, co-op mode to the game. It’s available only to Battle Pass holders, but it’s easy to see why it was included.
This update is now available, but the changes likely won’t impact those who already play the game.
It didn’t take long for it to attract 481,291 concurrent players. Impressively, Fallout 4 achieved its is 471,955 record at launch, and the numbers wen’t downhill from there, as they tend to do. This is the opposite of what PUBG did as it continued to grow.
The game has fair bit to go if it is to beat Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s 850,485 record. Though this may seem impossible now, consider how quickly it gained momentum, and how far it’s gone in a few short months.
This explosive growth comes days after the game surpassed six million copies sold, according to Steam Spy.
The next patch for PUBG launches this week, and it’s going to be a big one. New features include an FOV slider, first-person servers, a new weapon, and more.
This week’s chart looks very different thanks to price promotions, but Crash hangs on at No.1.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy is on a roll, having spent four of its five weeks since release at the top of the UK charts.
Fans of the series might be interested in the news that the game is rumoured for an Xbox One release. If it proves true, Crash can look forward to another shot at the top of the charts later down the line.
Splatoon 2 remains at No.2 and GTA 5 isn’t budging from No.3.
While the top three have been static since last week, both Crash Bandicoot’s and Splatoon 2’s sales are down by 28% and 56% respectively, while GTA 5’s sales are up 19%, according to GamesIndustry.biz.
Thanks to price promotions and hardware bundle deals, the rest of the chart has had a shake-up, with Bethesda reaping the benefits as three of their titles shoot up into the top 10. Fallout 4, Doom, and Dishonored are at No.4, No.5, and No.6, having all experienced over a 100% rise in sales.
Nintendo’s new 3DS release Miitopia enters the charts at No.7, while Hey! Pikmin only made it as far as No.29.
Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands is also back in the top 10 after a price cut, enjoying a 94% bump in sales.
More rumours of Crash Bandicoot N. Sane trilogy on Xbox One have surfaced.
Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy has been rumoured to be making the jump over to the Xbox One and you should go ahead and insert your own pun about Crash Bandicoot and jumping right here.
According to Press Start, Vicarious Visions artist, Kara Visa, who created the save/ load screens for the game, uploaded a video of some in-game footage to her portfolio that displayed Xbox control inputs.
The video has since been removed, but you can check out a screen grab below.
This has added fuel to the fire after a Crash Bandicoot N.Sane trilogy Xbox One listing popped up on Hungarian game site SuperGamer – as reported by comicbook.com.
PlayStation Ireland didn’t help matters when they tweeted that the game would be “coming to PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Pro first,” although they later tweeted that it would be a PS4 exclusive.
These days, it’s hard to get a straight answer on whether a game is an outright exclusive or a timed exclusive, so as always we’ll have to wait for the official word, but that won’t top the rumours from flying.
Crash Bandicoot is doing well on the PS4, with four weeks at the UK No.1 under its belt already, which isn’t too shabby considering it’s only been out for five.
Do you think we’ll see the series finally migrate to the Xbox? Chime in below.
The game will be free-to-play on release, but you can buy-in to play early, dropping between $39.99 and $149.99 on the various editions available.
If you’re still sitting on the fence, torn between fun-looking gameplay trailers and the lukewarm reviews, perhaps the sales numbers will help tip the balance, if you go for that sort of thing.
Absolutely humbled by the response to this week's @FortniteGame launch. 500k+ digital pre-order sales and just getting started! Thank YOU.
Darren Sugg, Fortnite’s creative director, tweeted that the game sold over 500k copies in 24 hours.
His tweet was met with a shower of praise, so there are a lot of happy campers out there.
There’s not a lot else out at the moment, so whether the impressive sales were due to genuine excitement of players who have been waiting years to get their hands on it, or because it breaks up the tedium of watching tumbleweed roll past in the summer dry spell remains to be seen.
A 2018 release window has been confirmed for the final free-to-play release, but an actual date hasn’t been nailed down just yet.
Have you been swayed? Let us know what you think of the game if you bought in to early access to help the rest of us decide whether we should follow suit,
Ark: Survival Evolved has been in Early Access for ages, so what’s a few more weeks?
Initially slated for release next week on August 8, Studio Wildcard shared the news that Arl: Survival Evolved will now launch at the end of the month, on August 29.
The devs confirmed that although Ark has gone gold, the “process took a little longer than expected,” pushing back the release date by a few weeks.
As a result, the Ragnorak DLC for PC and console will also be delayed, releasing alongside the full game on August 29.
“This extended time will allow further development of the map and you guys can expect a gigantic update, even bigger than we initially thought.”
This means that when the full game launches, the overground world will be much larger, “approximately one quarter, which is near-enough a ‘TheIsland-sized’ expansion.”
The update will bring new biomes, engrams, a Wyvern canyon on the coast, a new boss, and of course, ” something secret the Ragnarok team are cooking up”. What’s more, the custom creatures from Ragnorak can be transferred over to The Island, The Center, and Scorched Earth via the CrossARK system.
In the interim, expect patches to fix performance issues on PC and console, gameplay gripes like multiplayer bosses, and a “technical solution to stop jerks from going under the map and raiding people.”
On the subject of the delay, the studio wrote, “We’re deeply apologetic for those who were negatively affected by the delay; it sucks, it wasn’t what we had wanted, nor planned but where we currently stand. We wanted to address this sooner but did not want to make any statements until we were completely sure of what was going to happen.”
Destiny 2 is already one of the heavyweights of 2017. Here’s everything you need to know.
Destiny 2 makes a lot of changes to the formula established by the first of Bungie’s shared-world shooters, which had itself evolved a great deal in the three and a half years between its launch and final major update.
Whether you’re a returning Guardian or a brand new player, we’ve got everything you need to know about Destiny 2’s gameplay, story and setting, classes, subclasses, multiplayer, destinations, activities, Exotics, weapons and more.
We’ve also got plenty of Destiny 2 trailers and gameplay footage, details on the Destiny 2 beta, information regarding the PC version of Destiny 2, and much more.
All of that is available right here on our Destiny 2 guide: regularly updated, lovingly maintained, and hopefully ever-growing. Bookmark us and come back often; this is everything you need to know about Destiny 2.
Destiny 2 gameplay reveal
Let’s start off with Destiny 2’s gameplay reveal, which took place in Los Angeles on May 18. Bungie and Activision were proud to show off their new baby for the first time, revealing story, gameplay and more. You can watch the full Destiny 2 gameplay reveal above.
If you don’t have over an hour to spare, don’t worry – Bungie released a number of short videos presenting individual segments of the gameplay reveal for easier digestion, so you can cherry pick what you want to watch.
Although the montage edit doesn’t give you the full context for the mission, what it does do is show off Destiny 2 gameplay – shooting stuff. Yep. Guns a plenty to ogle in their brief appearances. You’ll also get a look at the new supers, and more.
Next up is a quick recap of what’s changed in Destiny 2 – the story and setting, new activities, the new subclasses, how weapons have changed, and more.
During the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal event, Bungie also released a new Destiny 2 cinematic trailer, which we’ll look at a little further down the page, too.
Destiny and its sequel are both set far in the future, in the wake of an event known as the Collapse. This event was the end of Humanity’s Golden Age, an era of scientific marvels and industry, brought on by the arrival of the mysterious Traveller. Unfortunately, the four races of the Darkness wanted the Traveller’s Light for their own, and their invasion of Earth and surrounds proved apocalyptic to Humanity. The last remnants survive in the Last City, sheltered by the Vanguard, leaders of the undead Guardians who channel the Traveller’s Light to protect the city. (That’s us!)
The main campaign of Destiny 2 is called the Red War. It kicks off when the Red Legion, an elite force of Cabal led by Lord Ghaul, invades Earth – or more specifically, the Tower. The attack is successful and the Vanguard are driven from the Last City.
Bungie has said that the story of Destiny 2 is focused on the Light, and what it means to be chosen by it. The Guardian’s connection to their Ghost and thus the Traveller comes under examination, and antagonist Ghaul is envious of the player’s Light. The Darkness will not play a major part in Destiny 2; Bungie has admitted it didn’t originally have a plan for what the Darkness was, and is ret-conning the first game’s descriptions of alien races as “minions of the Darkness”.
Earth
On Earth, the centre of human occupation shifts, and players will be exploring the European Dead Zone rather than the Cosmodrome in Old Russia. It’s the “largest destination yet” at twice the size of any area in Destiny the First. It features a lush forest, abandoned town and a cave system, as well as a Red Legion base. This is also where you’ll find the new social space, The Farm.
Titan
A moon of Saturn, Titan is a marine planet with no surface landmasses. Players will explore a series of crumbling Golden Age relice, platforms which were once the site of a utopia. Commander Zavala, the Titan Vanguard, is set up here.
Nessus
In our time, Nessus is an icy, minor centaur planet, but in Destiny 2 it has been almost completely terraformed and taken over by the Vex. It’s a land of majestic canyons and bursts of colourful vegetation lashed together with inexplicable Vex caverns. Cayde-6, the Hunter Vanguard, is questing here.
Io
Io is the last place the Traveller touched before the Collapse, and is sacred to Warlocks – which is why Warlock Vanguard Ikora Rey is hanging out on this moon of Jupiter. Now tainted by the presence of troops of the Darkness, it’s a land of strange technological wonders.
Because we’re jerks, we’ve put together a giant three part feature on how the first Destiny’s story woes lead directly into what Bungie’s doing with the sequel. Keen?
Quite a lot has changed in Destiny 2 compared to Destiny the First. We won’t rehash every Destiny system here (you can visit our Destiny guide for that sort of thing), but instead offer information from the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal of most use to returning veterans:
There are new activity types. The full list revealed so far is Story Campaign, Strikes, Patrols, Quests, Public Events, Crucible (returning), as well as Adventures, World Quests, Lost Sectors and Flashpoints (new).
Adventures are side missions granted by NPCs.
Lost Sectors are dangerous dungeons, again unlocked through NPCs.
You’ll still receive limited supplies of more powerful ammo, but only the first player to chest gets power ammo. That means there’s a much smaller chance of having your whole team go down while crowding around the ammo crate – and fewer chances per player to use their big guns. Since power weapons also include things like shotguns, this should mean we see players more reliant on primary weapons than ever before.
Bungie has revealed a new Destiny 2 PvP mode called Countdown in which teams are designated offence and defence, and play one round in each role. The attacking team must deliver a bomb to the defending group’s base, and keep it safe long enough for it to explode. Revives are limited.
Another new PvP mode in Destiny 2 is Survival. In the mode, players only have a limited pool of revives to share out amongst their whole team; once you’ve run out, death is permanent for the rest of the round.
The developer has also made significant changes to Control mode in Destiny 2. Teams will start with control of one zone each, can capture zones without neutralising them, and capture zones more quickly. However, they’ll no longer enjoy a capture speed bonus for having multiple players on one control point.
Wondering which class and subclass to choose? We have a handy guide to picking a Destiny 2 class, produced for the beta but applicable at all times.
All three original classes return in Destiny 2 – Hunter, Warlock and Titan – and each will have multiple subclass options. The three classes and their skill trees have been overhauled. Each of three classes now has a unique class skill shared across all subclasses, which comes in two variants.
Warlocks can conjure a Rift that continually heal or buff teammates.
Hunters can perform a Dodges that reload their weapon or increase melee energy.
Jump abilities return and, like class abilities, are shared across all subclasses. Grenade, passive skill trees and supers are unique to their associated subclasses.
As in the original Destiny, Destiny 2 players will be able to freely switch between subclass and upgrade paths at any time.
We’re waiting on confirmation on which original subclasses will also appear in Destiny 2, but we do know that the Hunter Gunslinger, Warlock Voidwalker and Titan Striker return.
The new Hunter subclass is called Arkstriker. The super summons a staff of Arc.
The new Warlock subclass is Dawnblade. The super summons a sword of Solar.
The new Titan subclass is Sentinel. The super summons a Void shield, which can be thrown.
The new Destiny subclasses seem to replace subclasses from the first game – Hunter Bladedancer, Warlock Sunsinger and Titan Defender. Bungie has said the Sunsinger’s resurrection super was boring – but that it’s possible we’ll see other support-focused subclasses in Destiny 2 one day. We haven’t been too impressed by some of the returning classes; Gunslinger is very weak in PvE, judging by the beta.
Destiny 2 subclass guides
We’re putting together detailed guides on every subclass in Destiny 2 – things have changed since the first game. These guides will list every skill and passive ability as we discover them, giving you full details so you can plan your build and co-ordinate with your buddies for co-op.
Each of these pages includes gameplay footage of the subclass in action, so you can see how your chosen Guardian will play in Destiny 2.
As of Year 2 the original Destiny had nine subclasses. We’re waiting to find out whether Bungie has three more hidden up its sleeve or is waiting for the inevitable first Destiny 2 expansion, but the missing Arc Warlock, Solar Titan and Void Hunter subclasses turn up you can be sure to find them here as soon as we get a whiff of them.
Exotics and weapons
Destiny 2 will put narrative front and centre, but c’mon – we all know why we’ll be lining up. Although it’s early days yet, we’ve already had a look at a slice of Destiny 2’s arsenal; here’s what we know so far.
Destiny 2 will release on September 6, 2017 on PS4 and Xbox One. The PC version of Destiny 2 will release on October 24, 2017.
This Destiny 2 release information is current as of E3 2017, when Activision revealed the PC date and brought the console date forward from its originally announced window. Bungie has said it made this decision so that Destiny 2’s servers wouldn’t melt at launch, since the previous date was a weekend.
Destiny 2 beta
July 2017 saw the arrival of the Destiny 2 console beta, allowing lucky Guardians to try out the sequel ahead of release date. Content was similar to that experienced by attendees at the Destiny 2 gameplay reveal event; you can see the full list of Destiny 2 beta content here.
We expect the PC beta to be have different goals to the console build, as Destiny 2 marks the franchise debut on the platform. However, it’ll probably still be worthwhile keeping an eye out for Bungie’s Destiny 2 beta error codes and known issues.
Destiny 2 pre-orders are now available through retailers and digital portals.
If you’re ready to preorder Destiny 2 (gotta get that Destiny 2 beta invite, right?) you have several options to choose from when it comes to editions, with some digital and physical goodies on offer.
In addition to pre-orders through Battle.net, the PlayStation Network and Xbox Live, most online and bricks-and-mortar retailers are carrying Destiny 2 pre-orders. Some retailers are offering extra bonus content like figurines, steelbooks and more in addition to digital bonuses.
Destiny 2 pre-order bonuses vary depending on where you buy the game. Here’s the rundown, as simply as we can render it:
*One or more of the asterisked bonuses may be offered as part of the retailer-specific package. Check with your local stores.
Destiny 2 Limited Edition and Collector’s Edition packages are sold out at some retailers, but you can use Bungie’s tool to find retailers in your country that carry it, and check in with each of them to see if they have any allocation remaining.
Special Editions: Limited and Collector’s contents
Bungie and Vicarious Visions have made changes to gunplay specifically for the PC version. For example, recoil works differently in Destiny 2 – but don’t worry, Bungie’s trademark, real-feeling boomsticks are still very much present.
Bungie has not yet given final PC specification requirements for Destiny 2, but did supply the following guidelines for those thinking up upgrading before the shooter’s October release:
We know Destiny players can import their characters to Destiny 2. But at present, Bungie has not announced whether players will be able to import Destiny the First characters to Destiny 2 while hopping between platforms – say PS4 to PC, or Xbox One to PS4, or whatever.
Nor has Bungie said whether Destiny 2 will have persistent accounts or cross-play, allowing you to play on and switch between multiple platforms after the game is live.
As such, your choice of platform could be pretty important – do you want to keep your existing character (even though you can’t bring your powers or guns)? Where are all your friends going to play? We’re hoping to get an answer on this soon.
Is there anything else you want to know about Destiny 2? Have you seen something we’ve missed? Let us know. Keep it locked here, Guardians; we’ll be updating with everything Destiny 2, as it happens.
