Yume Nikki Mysteriously Arrives on Steam
Cult classic horror game Yume Nikki unexpectedly appeared as a free download on Steam today, alongside a two-week countdown timer teasing “the next Yume Nikki project.” For years, the unofficial English translation had mostly been available as a downloadable .exe on various fansites, with a browser version launching in July 2016, making its sudden arrival on Steam quite an exciting moment for fans of the little-known Japanese horror game.
The new Steam version lists its publisher as AGM Playism, a Japan-based distributor focused on localizing and publishing indie games from around the world. IGN has reached out to Playism for comment regarding Yume Nikki’s arrival on Steam.
Forgotton Anne Lets You Play Anime in a New Way
Forgotton Anne’s hand-drawn backgrounds and animations are beautiful. There’s no disputing that. And it’s easy to see the inspiration behind the style: anime greats like Sprited Away’s Studio Ghibli, and Tokyo Godfathers' Satoshi Kon.
Forgotton Anne’s art director, Anders Bierbelg Hald, told PC Gamer, "Ever since I started working as a digital background painter, I have been looking at the backgrounds of Studio Ghibli and Studio 4C, so a lot of my artistic education was through looking at how they solved visual challenges and then adapting that to a digital medium, and most of the time, a western environment.”
Is the Phoenix Really Resurrecting These X-Men?
In the first two issues of Phoenix Resurrection: The Return of Jean Grey by writer Matthew Rosenberg and artists Leinil Francis Yu and Carlos Pacheco, it looked like just about every dead X-Men character would be returning along with Jean Grey. Now with the release of Issue #3, drawn by Joe Bennett, we have a better idea of what’s going on.
Warning: full spoilers ahead!
Art by Leinil Francis Yu. (Marvel Comics)
Robots Are Everywhere and It’s the Best Part of CES
It's strange how everyone just assumes a robot uprising will be bad for humanity. What if it turns out it's great? Robots don't have to be evil, perhaps they want to overthrow their human masters so we can be free?
Robots and humans, living side by side, teaching each other, but also learning. That's the future we should be expecting. That's a glass-half full scenario. Too often we assume things will be like Terminator, with metallic endoskeletons crushing our bones beneath their chrome-plated heels.
The field of robotics is getting better every day, and there are so many applications for educational, medical, industrial, and more, it seems extremely unlikely we'll be living in anything short of a robot utopia. But that could all change if someone introduces Warbot, the robot that wages war. Only time will tell.
PUBG Loot Crate Drop Rates Revealed
The drop rates for PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds loot crate boxes have been revealed.
As detailed on a Steam Community blog post, the new paid Desperado and the free Biker boxes have a 40% drop rate, which is far better than the 10% drop rate for the previous Wanderer and Survivor boxes.
The developer also unveiled the drop rates for each Desperado and Biker item. Below are the drop rates for some of the rarest items, with the full list available here.
The Sci-Fi Writer You Didn’t Know Wrote Everything
Philip K. Dick is easily one of the most influential science fiction writers ever to put pen to paper. Dick's high-concept stories and distinctive voice profoundly shaped the genre in the 20th Century and earned him a legion of hardcore fans the world over. Even if you're not much of a reader, you've probably experienced some of Dick's work in cinematic form. His stories have inspired a lot of great (and some not so great) sci-fi movies and TV series over the years -- from Blade Runner to Total Recall to The Man in the High Castle and beyond.
And now a new anthology series based on the author's work is debuting on Amazon in the U.S. (it's already available internationally). So what better time to celebrate the many Philip K. Dick adaptations that have come before? Click through the slideshow below for the many Hollywood projects that drew from his stories.
Black Panther Beats Fandango MCU Preorder Sales Record
Black Panther has a set new Fandango record as the top-selling MCU film in the first 24 hours of ticket presales.
Fandango managing editor Erik Davis revealed on Twitter Black Panther sold more advance tickets in one day than the previous record holder, Captain America: Civil War. Though presales have been great, it remains to be seen if Black Panther will repeat Civil War's $179 million opening. The third Captain America film went on to gross over $1.2 billion worldwide.
GTA, BioShock: Celebs’ Favorite Adventure Games
Welcome back to Best. Game. Ever., our new series where we ask entertainers, athletes, comedians, and creators to weigh in on their favorite video games of all time. From Mario to Master Chief, 8-bit to 4K, we're celebrating the best games ever, and in our fourth episode, we're taking a look at the best action/adventure games.
In Episode 4, actor Breckin Meyer, Smosh Games' AmRa Ricketts, Future Man's Josh Hutcherson, and more discuss their favorite action/adventure games, covering everything from BioShock to Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption. Check out the episode in the player above to see if your favorite action/adventure title gets a mention.
Starz’s Counterpart Is the Best New Series of 2018 So Far
Oscar winner J.K. Simmons takes a break from doing Farmers Insurance commercials to sink his teeth into this excellent new science fiction thriller from Starz, premiering on January 21st. If you’re a fan of shows like Fringe and Sliders, then Counterpart is right up your alley.
Simmons plays Howard Silk, a cog in the wheel of a U.N. spy agency in Berlin. After 30 years of doing the same old thing, Howard is desperate for something new and interesting to come along. And boy does he get his wish.
Apparently, there was a Cold War experiment that opened a doorway to another identical dimension and only a select group of people are aware it exists. As if that wasn’t weird enough, Howard gets a harsh awakening when he discovers that there is another Howard Silk that looks just like him. This is where Counterpart gets interesting.
Darkest Dungeon Switch Release Date Announced
Darkest Dungeon is coming to the Nintendo Switch on January 18.
Developer Red Hook made the announcement, confirming the game will support touch controls, and both already released DLC packs will arrive on the Switch eShop alongside the main game and be available for separate purchase.
Darkest Dungeon will be available for $24.99, while The Shieldbreaker DLC will cost $3.99 and The Crimson Court will cost $9.99. Although Red Hook does not have a timeframe, it has confirmed the upcoming DLC The Color of Madness will also come to the Switch.
For more on Darkest Dungeon, be sure to check out IGN's Darkest Dungeon review, which gave the game a 9.1, praising the game's deep combat system and unpredictable and tense atmosphere. Darkest Dungeon was also one of IGN's 2016 Game of the Year nominees.