PlayStation Indies Initiative Revealed, 9 Games Announced
Sony's Shuhei Yoshida has announced the PlayStation Indies initiative, which will spotlight new games from smaller developers. During the course of today, 9 new indie games for PS4 and PS5 will be revealed (you can see an evolving, full list at the end of this story).
In a post on the PlayStation Blog, Yoshida writes, "With PlayStation Indies, we hope to spotlight and support the best of the best indie games being published on PlayStation and the entire indie community as a whole. Our goal is to make PlayStation the best place to develop, find, and play great indie games."
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How exactly that will manifest itself is yet to be confirmed, but Yoshida confirms that a new indie game will be added to the PlayStation Now service every month, beginning with Hello Neighbor this month. Perhaps most importantly, Yoshida also confirms that he, like all of us, has not been able to stop singing the Bugsnax song (which you can listen to above, if you too want to succumb to the curse).
We will update this story with the games announced today, with Yoshida writing that they will be "nine imaginative and exciting titles coming to both PS4 and PS5." Some of these games will be coming to other platforms besides PlayStation.
Full List of PlayStation Indies Revealed
F.I.S.T: Forged In Shadow Torch (PS4) - This 2D action-platformer sees an anthropomorphic bunny with a giant metal fist fight his way across a dieselpunk-inspired Metroidvania map. It launches for PS4 "soon". [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/fist-forged-in-shadow-torch-story-trailer"] Maquette (PS5, PS4) - A first-person puzzle game from Graceful Decay (and published by Annapurna Interactive) bound to garner comparisons to The Witness, Maquette has you manipulating objects in simultaneously simulated, recursive worlds to create solutions to progress. It's hard to explain without seeing it in action, so here's a walkthrough trailer: [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/maquette-gameplay-walkthrough-trailer"] Where the Heart Is (PS4): A narrative adventure game coming this winter, the new game from Armature follows a family throughout their lives. Choices made by the main character, Whit, will affect family members across their lifetimes, seemingly radically changing the locations you visit along the way, which include realistic and surreal landcaspes. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/where-the-heart-is-official-trailer"] Creaks (PS4): Coming in "a few weeks", Creaks is a hand-drawn adventure-puzzle game by Amanita Design (Chuchel, Machinarium). The game tasks you with discovering the secrets of a mansion, avoiding the eponymous Creaks, and collecting a series of crudely animated, bizarre paintings. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/creaks-gameplay-trailer"] Heavenly Bodies (PS5, PS4): This 2D, physics-based action puzzler casts you as a cosmonaut trying to fix your space station in zero gravity, and can be played in co-op. Arriving in 2021, the game will uses the PS5's DualSense controller's features, using adaptive triggers to simulate the density of objects you're gripping, and haptic feedback to communicate the feel of the ship around you. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/heavenly-bodies-reveal-trailer"] Recompile (PS5): Explore, fight and hack your way through a virtual landscape that'll react to your actions as you try to escape deletion in Recompile, the upcoming exploration-based hacking platformer. Recompile is headed to PlayStation 5. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/recompile-gameplay-trailer"] Carto (PS4): Carto is an upcoming adventure game that utilizes a world-shifting puzzle mechanic. Use this power to explore mysterious lands, help a quirky cast of new friends, and guide Carto on her journey home. Carto is headed to PlayStation 4 in fall 2020. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/carto-announcement-trailer"] Haven (PS4): Share the journey of two lovers, escaped to a lost planet in a desperate attempt to stay together. Play as Yu and Kay, gliding over the grassland of a shattered planet, unraveling its mysteries to find a way to settle for good. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/haven-glide-free-trailer"] Worms Rumble (PS4, PS5): The upcoming game introduces a real-time, arena-based, 32 player, cross-platform extravaganza that puts a new spin on your favourite warmongering invertebrates. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/07/01/worms-rumble-announcement-trailer"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.Fallout 76 and Soulcalibur VI Lead July 2020’s New Xbox Game Pass Games
Fallout 76, Soulcalibur VI, CrossCode, and Out of the Park Baseball 21 are all being added to Xbox Game Pass in July 2020.
As revealed by Xbox Wire, Out of the Park Baseball 21 (PC) and Soulcalibur VI (Console) are both now available, and CrossCode (Console) and Fallout 76 (Console & PC) will both be available on July 9.
Fallout 76 was originally released in 2018 and is an open-world online game set in West Virginia 25 years after a nuclear war. The Wastelanders DLC, which was released in April 2020, brought with it human NPCs with full dialogue trees, a new main quest, and choice and consequence, some of which were missing from the original game.
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In our review of the Wastelanders DLC, we said it "at least solidifies Fallout 76 as something that’s worth recommending to series fans who are interested in multiplayer. The new storyline is great, but not as easy to play with friends as it should be."
Soulcalibur VI was also released in 2018 and is the newest entry in a franchise that began in 1995 as an arcade game. This new game features such guest characters as Geralt of Rivia from The Witcher and 2B from NieR: Automata.
In our review of Soulcalibur VI, we said "despite some minor issues, the soul of Soulcalibur 6 is so strong that they don’t do much to bring down what is one of the best entries in the series."
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CrossCode was originally released on PC in 2018 and is headed to Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch on July 9. It is a retro action RPG that's set in the distant future in "the veins of Secret of Mana and Zelda."
Out of the Park Baseball 21 is the newest release from the award-winning baseball strategy franchise that features authenticity licensed by MLB and the MLBPA, and "a bounty of offline and online experiences found nowhere else"
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While we will be getting these new games in July 2020, there will be a few games leaving Xbox Game Pass on July 15, including Blazing Chrome, Dead Rising 4, Metal Gear Solid V, Timespinner, Unavowed, and Undertale. If you wish to keep these games, you can purchase them for up to a 20% discount before July 15.
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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Nintendo Stops European Retailers From Selling First-Party Digital Game Codes
Nintendo has stopped European retailers from selling digital game codes of its first-party games.
UK retailer ShopTo noted the change on Twitter, stating that "due to a Nintendo decision for all EMEA territories" the company is no longer able to sell full digital Nintendo games - but that they will still be able to sell online membership and DLC codes. In a statement issued to Nintendo Life, Nintendo confirmed and expanded upon the decision:
"After careful examination of the evolving European marketplace in recent years, Nintendo has decided to end the availability of download codes for its own-published software via retailers, effective 1st July 2020," the statement reads.
"Customers will still be able to purchase Nintendo eShop funds, Nintendo Switch Online memberships, and add-on content such as the Pokémon Sword and Pokémon Shield Expansion Pass, at retailers across Europe. Download codes for Nintendo Switch software from other publishers will also still be available."
This means that only first-party Nintendo games will be affected by the change, and consumers will still be able to purchase third-party digital codes from retailers such as ShopTo in the future. Only Nintendo's first-party games such as Lugi's Mansion 3 and Animal Crossing: New Horizons will be removed from sale - you'll only be able to pick them up digitally at full or sale price from the Nintendo eShop. In other Nintendo news, the company has formally apologised for the Joy-Con Drift issue that has affected many Nintendo Switch users. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.Hi, just to let everyone know, due to a Nintendo decision for all EMEA territories, as from Tomorrow 30/06/20 at 23:00 we are no longer able to offer/sell Nintendo digital full games.
We will however, be continuing to offer/sell online membership and add ons, so, with this in… pic.twitter.com/11hrqvEU1m — ShopTo (@shoptonet) June 29, 2020
Cyberpunk 2077’s Wall-Running Mechanic Removed ‘Due To Design Reasons’
CD Projekt Red has cut the wall-running mechanic seen in previous Cyberpunk 2077 gameplay trailers "due to design reasons."
In an interview with GameReactor, Cyberpunk 2077 level designer Max Pears explained the decision. "Ah, the wall running - that is something that we removed due to design reasons, but there's still going to be a lot of flexibility in how you move, that's for sure."
Previously, gameplay has shown the player-character using Mantis Blades (the game's sword-like appendages that can be hidden inside your own arms) in combination with wall running, in order to perch in hard to-reach spots. You can see the wall-running in action via this timestamped link to the 48-minute gameplay demo from 2018. In the clip, V uses her Mantis Blades to run along a wall, scan some goons, before leaping down and assassinating them.
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It's not clear from Pears' comments whether Mantis Blades could still be used to perch in some way - perhaps in designated spots rather than anywhere a wall-run could reach. Pears did make a point of noting that there will be other methods of traversal available to the player when the game launches on November 19.
In other Cyberpunk 2077 news, you can check out the PC-exclusive ray-tracing effects that were revealed last week by Nvidia. If you still haven't got your fix, check out this article running through 10 essential anime series that you should watch if you plan to check out Cyberpunk: Edgerunners when it launches in 2022.
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
Amazon’s Crucible Is Headed Back To Closed Beta a Month After Release
Amazon's free to play team shooter Crucible has been pulled back into closed beta just a month after its official release.
Crucible's developer Relentless Studios revealed the news on the Crucible blog yesterday, announcing that as of today, the game will shift back into a closed beta state once more, in order to "focus on providing the best possible experience for our players."
Despite the drastic change, Relentless is still following the roadmap it announced in early June when it decided to pull two of Crucible's three game modes from circulation after its player base dwindled just weeks after launch. The team are focusing on "map, combat, and system changes," and made it clear that the Crucible experience will remain much the same for those who have been playing since launch.
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"You'll keep all the progress and customization items you've already earned, and the battle pass, reward tracks, and in-game store will continue to be supported," the statement reads. Relentless is also setting up a "community council" of players who they'll be consulting for feedback, and the team will be scheduling dedicated time each week to play the game with the current community.
Crucible's most popular game mode, Heart of the Hives, has remained and Relentless is working on a number of new features, trying to improve the game using feedback from fans. You can check out the public Trello board here, which shows what the developers are working on at the moment, and which issues have priority.
We reviewed Crucible upon its official release in late May, giving it a 4/10 and calling the team-based shooter "a slog."
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Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.
Mr. Driller Drill Land Review – Digging Up A Classic
In the late '90s and early aughts, a little fellow named Mr. Driller burrowed his way into the hearts of puzzle game fans worldwide. The years that followed saw several Mr. Driller releases across multiple platforms, but after a while, Namco seemed content to entomb the series and focus on other things. Now, a little over a decade later, Bandai-Namco has decided to unearth one of the most beloved Mr. Driller games, the formerly Japan-and-Europe-exclusive Mr. Driller Drill Land, to release on Switch and PC for a new generation of fans to enjoy.
Mr. Driller Drill Land focuses on the titular Mr. Driller, aka Susumu Hori, and his extended gang of excavator friends and family (including his dad Taizo, who you might remember from Dig Dug). They're off to visit a new underground amusement park called Drill Land, filled with attractions that very coincidentally are based around the colored-block-drilling gameplay that defines the Mr. Driller series--with some notable twists. Challenges, cards, and plenty of collectibles abound in Drill Land, and you'll have to see if you have the chops to conquer each of the park's different attractions for high scores and goodies. (And you might just save the world, too.)
The core Mr. Driller gameplay is a neat twist on the "falling colored blocks" idea. You control Susumu (or one of his companions), using your drill to break up colored blocks and dig deeper and deeper into the earth. As you destroy blocks and work your way into the earth, you'll free up other blocks, which will fall and join up with (and also break) others of the same color. Your goal is to reach a certain depth, but that's easier said than done--you have a limited air supply that acts as a timer, and some poor drilling choices could lead to your driller getting smooshed under a landslide. This makes the game a tense, careful balancing act--while air pickups are frequently available, being too hasty with your drilling decisions when oxygen is limited could lead to disaster. It might sound intimidating, but it's much easier to understand once you play a few sessions and see for yourself how loose blocks fall, combine, and break. After you grasp the basics, you'll grow into a groove and skillfully obtain pickups, create chains to eliminate lots of blocks at once, and find safe spots among a cascade of falling earth.
Continue Reading at GameSpotMr. Driller Drill Land Review – Digging Up A Classic
In the late '90s and early aughts, a little fellow named Mr. Driller burrowed his way into the hearts of puzzle game fans worldwide. The years that followed saw several Mr. Driller releases across multiple platforms, but after a while, Namco seemed content to entomb the series and focus on other things. Now, a little over a decade later, Bandai-Namco has decided to unearth one of the most beloved Mr. Driller games, the formerly Japan-and-Europe-exclusive Mr. Driller Drill Land, to release on Switch and PC for a new generation of fans to enjoy.
Mr. Driller Drill Land focuses on the titular Mr. Driller, aka Susumu Hori, and his extended gang of excavator friends and family (including his dad Taizo, who you might remember from Dig Dug). They're off to visit a new underground amusement park called Drill Land, filled with attractions that very coincidentally are based around the colored-block-drilling gameplay that defines the Mr. Driller series--with some notable twists. Challenges, cards, and plenty of collectibles abound in Drill Land, and you'll have to see if you have the chops to conquer each of the park's different attractions for high scores and goodies. (And you might just save the world, too.)
The core Mr. Driller gameplay is a neat twist on the "falling colored blocks" idea. You control Susumu (or one of his companions), using your drill to break up colored blocks and dig deeper and deeper into the earth. As you destroy blocks and work your way into the earth, you'll free up other blocks, which will fall and join up with (and also break) others of the same color. Your goal is to reach a certain depth, but that's easier said than done--you have a limited air supply that acts as a timer, and some poor drilling choices could lead to your driller getting smooshed under a landslide. This makes the game a tense, careful balancing act--while air pickups are frequently available, being too hasty with your drilling decisions when oxygen is limited could lead to disaster. It might sound intimidating, but it's much easier to understand once you play a few sessions and see for yourself how loose blocks fall, combine, and break. After you grasp the basics, you'll grow into a groove and skillfully obtain pickups, create chains to eliminate lots of blocks at once, and find safe spots among a cascade of falling earth.
Continue Reading at GameSpotIGN’s Summer of Gaming Award Winners
IGN's first-ever Summer of Gaming is over and it's time to choose the winners. Who had the best announcements? The best trailers? What moment stuck out the most? IGN editors have voted and chosen the best of the best from the monthlong celebration for all things gaming.
Although this is normally the month for an E3, the real-life COVID-19 pandemic has created a unique situation for us and our fellow gamers. But that didn't stop the video game industry to get together and put together a month of surprise announcements, highly-anticipated reveals, and a bunch of trailers. With that in mind, this year's awards will be a little different from past years where IGN awarded the best in show from events like E3.
Check below for a full list of nominee and winners from IGN's Summer of Gaming.
Best New Game Announcement
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/spider-man-miles-morales-announcement-trailer-ps5-event"] Winner: Spider-Man: Miles Morales Nominees: Metal: Hellsinger Spider-Man: Miles Morales Horizon Forbidden West Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart Skate Pragmata Returnal Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 [poilib element="accentDivider"]Best Trailer
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/deathloop-gameplay-trailer-ps5-reveal-event"] Winner: Deathloop Nominees: Deathloop Horizon Forbidden West Bugsnax Stray Demon's Souls Pragmata Mortal Shell Cyberpunk 2077 Star Wars: Squadrons Little Devil Inside [poilib element="accentDivider"]Biggest Comeback
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/17/new-pokemon-snap-official-switch-trailer"] Winner: New Pokemon Snap Nominees: Pokemon Snap Demon's Souls Skate Ratchet & Clank Rift Apart XIII Kingdoms of Amalur: Re-Reckoning [poilib element="accentDivider"]Best Gameplay Demo
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/25/cyberpunk-2077-braindance-gameplay-trailer"] Winner: Cyberpunk 2077 Nominees: Star Wars: Squadrons Mortal Shell Baldur's Gate 3 Rustler Hardspace Shipbreaker System Shock Marvel's Avengers Cyberpunk 2077 BioMutant Deathloop [poilib element="accentDivider"]Best Overall Moment
[ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/06/11/playstation-5-official-console-reveal-ps5-reveal-event"] Winner: PlayStation 5 Console Reveal Nominees: Pokemon Snap Reveal PlayStation 5 Console Reveal Skate Announcement Demon's Souls Reveal The Bugsnax SongKena: Bridge of Spirits Developers Share New Gameplay Details
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is an upcoming, next-gen action-adventure game that premiered at the PlayStation 5 reveal event. Developer Ember Labs appeared on IGN’s Summer of Gaming to offer a more in-depth, developer’s commentary for the debut trailer with additional gameplay and lore details.
Kena (pronounced kay-na) is a spirit guide who lives in a dense world filled with mystical creatures. Her primary tools in her journey to guide spirits are her staff, which she uses for combat, spells, and shields, and the Rot.
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The Rot are little spirits who can help Kena by moving heavy objects or help her purify certain sections of the land. Kena begins her adventure with zero but can collect more Rot along the way.
Ember Lab says they designed the world of Kena to be dense and explorable so that players can discover more of the world’s story, as well as any Rot that might be hiding. Once an area has been cleared of its corruption, players can go back and experience the area with new elements of it unlocked.
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Kena: Bridge of Spirits will be released sometime later on the PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, as well as PC via the Epic Games Store. Check out IGN for more from Summer of Gaming.
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Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN.
The Mandalorian: Lucasfilm Announces New Books and Comics
The world of The Mandalorian is about to get much bigger. Not only is the Star Wars series returning for a second season on Disney+ this fall, Lucasfilm Press has revealed a new publishing initiative aimed at further fleshing out the characters and worlds of The Mandalorian.
This new Mandalorian-centric publishing initiative was announced on StarWars.com, with the site revealing a number of new fiction and nonfiction books. Among these is The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season 1), written by Phil Szostak and featuring a wealth of concept art and behind-the-scenes details from the series. You can check out the cover to The Art of Star Wars: The Mandalorian (Season 1) below:
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Art by Doug Chiang. (Image Credit: Lucasfilm Press)[/caption]
This publishing initiative will include several new stories tied to the events of The Mandalorian. Among these is an untitled novel from The Burning Dark writer Adam Christopher and new comic book series from both Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. Lucasfilm will also release several YA and junior reader books, along with The Mandalorian: The Ultimate Visual Guide by Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo.
Currently, no plot details have been revealed for these new fiction projects, and it's unclear when these stories will take place and whether they'll explore the show's main protagonist, bounty hunter Din Djarin, or other characters like ex-Rebel trooper Cara Dune or Imperial warlord Moff Gideon. No doubt more announcements will be coming later in 2020, particularly as we get closer to the release of The Mandalorian: Season 2.
This news comes as Lucasfilm Press is also gearing up for an ambitious publishing initiative called Star Wars: High Republic. Set 200 years before the Star Wars movies, The High Republic will showcase the Jedi at the height of their power and explore the impact of an instigating event known as The Great Disaster. You can read an exclusive excerpt of Charles Soule's novel Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi.
No doubt The Mandalorian: Season 2 will pave the way for even more companion books. Season 2 will reportedly include Clone wars favorites like Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano and Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan Kryze. If you need a recap, here's Ahsoka's story leading up to the era of The Mandalorian.
Will you be picking up any of these new Star Wars books? Let us know in the comments below.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.
Art by Doug Chiang. (Image Credit: Lucasfilm Press)[/caption]
This publishing initiative will include several new stories tied to the events of The Mandalorian. Among these is an untitled novel from The Burning Dark writer Adam Christopher and new comic book series from both Marvel Comics and IDW Publishing. Lucasfilm will also release several YA and junior reader books, along with The Mandalorian: The Ultimate Visual Guide by Lucasfilm Story Group member Pablo Hidalgo.
Currently, no plot details have been revealed for these new fiction projects, and it's unclear when these stories will take place and whether they'll explore the show's main protagonist, bounty hunter Din Djarin, or other characters like ex-Rebel trooper Cara Dune or Imperial warlord Moff Gideon. No doubt more announcements will be coming later in 2020, particularly as we get closer to the release of The Mandalorian: Season 2.
This news comes as Lucasfilm Press is also gearing up for an ambitious publishing initiative called Star Wars: High Republic. Set 200 years before the Star Wars movies, The High Republic will showcase the Jedi at the height of their power and explore the impact of an instigating event known as The Great Disaster. You can read an exclusive excerpt of Charles Soule's novel Star Wars: The High Republic - Light of the Jedi.
No doubt The Mandalorian: Season 2 will pave the way for even more companion books. Season 2 will reportedly include Clone wars favorites like Rosario Dawson's Ahsoka Tano and Katee Sackhoff's Bo-Katan Kryze. If you need a recap, here's Ahsoka's story leading up to the era of The Mandalorian.
Will you be picking up any of these new Star Wars books? Let us know in the comments below.
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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.