Julius

Reviews are dropping and so far they're a doozy to look at. We'll see where it lands over the next few days, I'd expect it to drop a few points, but it's looking like it's going to be From Software's best reviewing game based on the early aggregate scores (for reference, Bloodborne currently sits at the top of their pile with 92 on Metacritic), and potentially one of the highest reviewing of the generation. RISE...YE TARNISHED!

The game's soundtrack is being released in three waves on all streaming platforms, starting with Volume 1 on Friday:

Anime inbound:

Launch trailer (which is immediately going in a spoiler tag to save anyone accidentally opening it up, I'm not watching it either as launch trailers tend to show far too much): Reviews are dropping tomorrow. I think I'll probably only check out one or two from outlets I trust to not show too much, see the hype-inducing scores, and then I'll be going dark on it before the conversation of difficulty rears its ugly head. Less than three days to go! I'm not going to make the mistake I did with Dark Souls last year, I'm going in and will probably be relatively quiet until it's done. But I'm very excited

First look at the PSVR2 headset:

But actually, think it was this: and/or this:

The logo legitimately looks like a free-to-play mobile game letting you know you've got 6 notifications to bug you into buying some microtransactions. But even more damning: I do wonder if they'll change the logo, it really is abysmal. Also, am I the only who hates the fact that they went with the cardinal '6' over the Roman numeral 'VI' this time? Roman numerals are far cooler in practically every case. The earlier Street Fighter titles show that they're aware of that. Capcom, sort your stuff out. I'd be pretty surprised if this were PS5 exclusive to be honest, firstly considering that if that were the case, why not share that here or save it for a State of Play? And secondly because it feels like the FGC has grown quite substantially since V, with many multi-platform successes. EVO is probably the biggest thing going for exclusivity in my mind, but I think Capcom would be silly to limit their install base, especially if it's not a feature complete game at launch in the way that V wasn't. I wasn't even massively into games at that point and I still heard a lot about the blowback there. Also... It'll be interesting to see how this one shakes out. Curious: when does everyone imagine this will release? Capcom has had a pretty tight ship over the last few years, and while I know we've heard a lot about trouble behind the scenes on this one, this is surely arriving before the end of 2022, assuming smooth sailing, right?

More of a look at the facelift the opera scene has got in VI's Pixel Remaster, courtesy of Famitsu: Just...just go all the way with it already!

All but confirmed for Western release seeing as a stream is dropping in a bit with the same title as the Japanese stream, imagine we'll get confirmation on a Western release date: I don't even know where you'd place that bet and while the platform choice is suicide in Japan, it's not exactly the centre of the universe for the sales of niche Japanese games anymore. The West has become much more receptive to such games in the last 5 years or so. At the end of the day, say that there is moneyhatting going on as we had evidence for with MH, then these Japanese devs are getting their cake, and eating it too, and then some. Using Capcom and MH as an example, because that's the one where it's undeniable: they got a PlayStation marketing deal alongside probably some extra to keep it off Switch (where, let's be honest, it wouldn't have run great or would have been drastically pared down), then got crazy PC sales some 6+ months after launch, then got a console exclusivity deal with Nintendo for Rise, and then got crazy PC sales for that game again. Oh, and both games will have huge paid expansions when all is said and done, too. I doubt Capcom is complaining in that case, and in ATLUS's case, I don't doubt that we'll see it come to Switch in the future. They've done similar with 13 Sentinels: came out on PlayStation and Steam, great critical reception, now a year and a half or so after its release it's coming to Switch for what are probably going to be even stronger sales on a comparatively larger install base compared to where the Switch was in September 2020. It's up to these companies at the end of the day whether they want to take that money if that is part of the equation (so it's hard to blame a company for doing it if they're going to be receptive to deals like that), but with a game like this I think it makes sense to hold fire on a Switch release anyways to get double-dipping and new portable customers down the line. Now, I'm not saying this is a good thing if it is being moneyhatted. But I think it's a wise move on ATLUS's part with or without that being the case.

I mean, at this point, it's just an ATLUS thing. I'm sure it'll come, but considering it's on everything, there are some mental gymnastics to it being missing from Switch at launch coming down to PlayStation. Will be surprised if it's not on Switch within two years of launch. I don't think it's down to moneyhatting, I think they just want that sweet cash from people double-dipping to get a portable version down the road on Switch. That's what I'd do. And if, hypothetically, there is moneyhatting going on, I mean you're getting paid to make the smart move anyways. No confirmation for the West yet, but it's got to be coming if it's going to be on Xbox and Steam day and date, and ATLUS West retweeted the announcement. So it's just a matter of time...right?

Yeah, absolutely agree. If it were going to be an announcement like that, I think it'd be saved for the 27th -- so it'll probably just be an event of some sort. What, if anything, do we think we'll see on the anniversary proper on the 27th? Sword & Shield had their DLC revealed a month and a half or so after release (albeit as concept art), so I do wonder if Legends: Arceus DLC is on the cards. That and/or maybe the announcements of mythical events for BD & SP is about as far as my hopes go for the 27th.

That's a pretty boring logo, and I'm sure the RE Engine look will be divisive. Considering there was a week-long countdown to this, that's very little to decide to show. More news to come in the summer. Platforms still TBC.

Developer diary from IGN Game Fest: Pew pew pew pew This is going to be so much fun!

Digital Foundry's take on the newest update is up, for those curious:

Nice! Cleffa isn't too bad, you just need to go to... As for the starters... Out of those, Bonsly is probably the one that spawned the least for me, but I picked a few up while roaming around during the story. I think they're in the second area?

It's been so weird seeing how the launch edition has changed since the game resurfacing last summer at SGF. Regular boxes > what is now the launch edition + regular box > the current launch edition, which seemingly has no regular box but still shows the same slipcase. Super bizarre! What makes it even more confusing is this from the official Bandai Namco store, which still shows the current launch edition slipcase and steelbook + regular box? And in the description it's described as coming with an alternative steelbook. So goodness knows what actually is the case at this point, guess we'll see on Friday I do get it, though. Still irks me that Like a Dragon never got a standard PS4 box, and so I just picked up the steelbook in the end (I know PS5 had one, but meh, gets into a whole other weird thing I've got going on with some of my game collection). If this ever gets a standard release with a regular box I'll probably just pick it up on sale at some point anyways

Overview trailer is up, and it's beefy, and apparently shows a lot, so beware if you're avoiding stuff, as I imagine the launch trailer that will drop in the next week will be showing a lot too, and not to mention reviews (which I think are dropping on Wednesday?). I'm right there with you, I've rewatched a few of the trailers we've had for a while a lot over the last few days, and trying to pin it down to a game I can't quite remember one was the last which had me quite as excited. The PS5 launch was pretty hype-inducing, though I think that had a lot to do with the myriad of lockdowns just making it so much easier to pool all of my hype into one spot. I'm just going to be careful when I do get my hands on the game, as with Dark Souls the timing of me burning out on it (I think in part due to talking too much about it) lined up with Ornstein and Smough, and I don't want a repeat with Elden Ring. Also need to be careful I don't go too far the other way and actually get some sunlight well, heavily filtered sunlight, thanks English weather! What's everyone playing/doing to pass the time up until release? I think I'll try to finish off Ocarina of Time and maybe sneak in another shorter game, depending on when I do manage to finish OoT. Originally I was planning to go back to complete the Artorias of the Abyss DLC in Dark Souls, but trying to do whatever I can to avoid potential Souls burnout with Elden Ring less than a week away (!) I'll probably have to come back to it after.

I think it's a bit more complex than that. Beyond the bugs I remember seeing a whole range of opinions on how the game handled quite a bit, it never seemed like a game that was half great and half bugs from what I experienced, and from what I remember seeing and hearing from others at the time of release, the issues went deeper. That's not to say there's nothing to enjoy in it, I'm sure there is based on even just the opinions of people in this thread who either played on PC or were fortunate to not have too many issues on a next-gen console at launch, but if anything, I think it *might* be a case of eliminate the bugs = somewhere between good to great story/world, but not exactly a great *game*. I remember the world being very interesting, I enjoyed a quest or two and some of the characters, and the story was starting to pick up by the time I found myself putting it back on the shelf. I didn't get particularly far into it (well, I think I got to the second act, so maybe I was further along than I felt when I dropped it? Which I suppose might be more difficult to perceive when it's crashing pretty frequently), but to talk about it from a gameplay perspective, I remember driving around being pretty joyless, hand-to-hand combat had very little depth to it, and while the gunplay was a fine first attempt for CDPR, for what promises to be a first-person RPG and would naturally be 20+ hours of gunfighting at minimum in a single playthrough, it wasn't fun enough. I also remember it doing a terrible (read: sometimes non-existent and oftentimes very poor) job of explaining things at times, and some of it's menus were like diving into a hoarder's den. And this is just what I remember over a year out. As @martinist said, I don't think this game is out of the woods just yet, and for anyone like me who has been waiting to give the game it's second shot - while it seems to be running better and is a bit less buggy, I think it's definitely worth waiting for the Digital Foundry update on this if one is coming - I have a hunch that it might be worth waiting a little longer. The fact that this is a Version 1.5 rather than a 2.0; that it's getting these next-gen updates pushed out with very little fanfare behind it; and that it was so unceremoniously shadow-dropped the same week a game like Horizon Forbidden West released and just over a week from Elden Ring arriving makes me think that this isn't the update we've been waiting for to go back. If it was, I think it could have easily waited until April or May, when it could have got a lot more press and fanfare than it did, and I don't think anyone waiting would have been complaining. Personally, nothing I've seen or heard about this update so far has given me the confidence that I should be going back to Cyberpunk over playing something else right now. So I'll be waiting a bit longer, I think.

Yeah, I think that's also something they do when you get a game early too (it happened with me when my copy of Brilliant Diamond turned up half a week early). I can kind of get it for a full game release in some instances where you don't want reviewers or people with early copies going rogue and spoiling things for others, but it seems a bit extreme for a play test of a game specifically like this? Though, I suppose they want to make it clear that this isn't the final product and is a stress test, and would be concerned about people sharing footage of the game which isn't representative of that Anyways, great reading yours and @BowserBasher's thoughts. I didn't sign up myself for the Play Test in the end because I knew I'd be busy around the times of the tests, but reading that you guys are getting some proper enjoyment out of it and that the online is smooth is pretty much all I needed to see coming out of this

Somehow it's already been three weeks since launch, so Pokémon are now showing off some of the Pokémon and characters not shown off in the build-up to the game's release. I'll throw the video in a spoiler tag for now as I know some are still playing:

In case you missed it: the game is getting three expansions, and they will only be available through the Season Pass.

That's some badminton with attitude right there

One. More. Week!

I actually really like Duel of the Fates being used in the first cinematic, but to each their own for me it's because the fate of the galaxy is very much being decided in that cinematic in the same way it was The Phantom Menace (Anakin loses his father figure and potential mentor, which has a huge bearing on his trajectory) and Revenge of the Sith (Sidious and Yoda throwing senate seats at each other). Being choral it also brings that touch of timelessness and legend. I would totally agree with you when it comes to some of the other cinematics, though. Losing a battle with guys in white armour does not mean that Anakin's Dark Deeds needs to start playing. This a big problem when you have an audience going in with preconceptions about a character based on what's been scrapped as having any form of relevancy when it comes to what is considered canon and thrown onto the pile labelled 'Legends', unfortunately. I mean, not that I can really blame them, as there were some 43/44 years between his first appearance and The Book of Boba Fett, which is a lot of expectation to live up to. And it's probably not helped by all the winking and nodding we got about Boba's fate before he even appeared in Mando. Personally I don't think how he's presented in the show lives up to the promise of how he was presented in Mando at times, but meh, it's not big deal I mean, Luke's is a very different situation, but that doesn't at all excuse some of the behaviour you see from Star Wars fans. It's for kids. Always has been. It can absolutely fail to deliver despite that, but yeah, the treatment of the Star Wars cast and reactions to how characters have been presented since moving on from the original trilogy has been straight up inexcusable at times. That was true for the prequels, the sequels, and now everything since. Like you said, it's a very vocal minority (it almost always is on the internet), but it's a huge thorn in the side of the community. One of those franchise communities which is so massive that you'll be lucky to get a consensus at the best of times, and is at civil war at the worst.