Ary and the Secret of Seasons has a release date of September 1.

That is news enough, but if you need more info about why I am so amped for this one, well there is a trailer below showing off the features of this charming looking game.

Blurb:

Indie publisher Modus Games and developer eXiin today share a new features trailer alongside the news that Ary and the Secret of Seasons, the captivating action-adventure following a young girl and her awakened ability to shift the seasons around her, will launch September 1 on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.
 
Today’s announcement joins Ary via a new trailer as she dashes, climbs, and dives through the gorgeous world of Valdi, a lush but troubled land that’s lost its once perfect balance of eternally consistent climates.

Players will use the powers of the seasons throughout their grand adventure to alter their surroundings; throwing the winter sphere, for example, will create icy stalagmites to reach new areas.

Using spring’s sphere can cause vines to grow in order to traverse up once-insurmountable cliffs, and refreshing summer pools allow Ary to swim across yawning chasms.

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The table is set! Dust of your Sunday suit and get ready for this crazily chaotic indie dinner date! A meaty campaign, scrumptious multiplayer, juicy visuals, and ambrosial beats make Spitlings a four-course meal that you don’t want to miss!

Spitlings will be available starting August 4th, on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. 

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PlayStation Network has a Winter Sale on now with some pretty sweet deals.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider: Definitive Edition is especially worth checking out for under $35 but there are plenty more bargains if that isn’t your speed.

Uncertain of which digital experience to snuggle up with this Winter?  We can recommend a thrilling escape through an undead-ravaged Raccoon City (Resident Evil 3), surviving the sprawling American Frontier (Red Dead Redemption 2) or wield a lightsaber against the evil Empire (Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order).

But don’t let indecision make you miss out on the deals: the Winter Sale is only available until Wednesday August 19. Note, some games will leave the sale earlier than this date, so please check the game’s product page on PS Store for its end date.

Additionally, you’ll find discounts on a huge selection of movies as part of Winter Sale! Head to PlayStation Store on your PS4 to check out what titles are available.

Check out all of our brrrr-illiant deal here.

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One of my personal most anticpated games of the year, Cris Tales, has a demo out now on Nintendo Switch, PS4 and Xbox One.

All I can say is I can’t wait to get home and download it, it’s gonna be a long day.

Modus Games announced today that fans of the upcoming JRPG Cris Tales can now play a demo for the game on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (Switch version available in the Americas today, available July 21 on the Nintendo of Europe eShop). Cris Tales was one of the top demos in Steam’s Summer Game Festival, and now console fans can experience the beginning of Crisbell’s journey for themselves. As players use the protagonist’s powers to not only see the past, present and future simultaneously, they’ll learn how to use this innovative mechanic to their advantage ahead of the game’s launch on November 17.

Today’s console demo launches on Colombian Independence Day, celebrating a country that Cris Tales is heavily inspired by and where it is currently being developed by Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK. Players can see this inspiration first-hand in the architecture, culture, and even character design of the game, allowing for the developers to share their culture through ‘endemic fantasy’ by infusing their personal connections with Colombia into the game itself.

Learn more about the game’s Colombian influences here: https://modusgames.com/news/cris-tales-reveals-colombian-inspirations-launches-console-demo.

Also a part of the demo is a look at the game’s Colosseum mode, in which players will work with party-member Wilhelm to take on eight waves of battles that will increase in difficulty every round, ending in a mini-boss fight and giving players a small glimpse of the full mode they’ll encounter at launch.

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Two warriors circle silently, hands on the hilt of their blades. Who will strike first? The bandit yells in my face, but I am unmoved. He leaps for the kill. Too slow. My katana cuts through the air, followed by an arc of blood. The bandit drops dead to the earth. I sheath my blade, whistle for my horse and ride towards the pillar of smoke on the horizon.

This is but a small taste of my embarrassing samurai wish fulfillment that Ghost of Tsushima brings to life, set to some of the most beautiful art direction I have seen on a PS4.

Made by Sucker Punch of Infamous fame, Ghost of Tsushima is available exclusively on PS4 and PS4 Pro in New Zealand from 17 July 2020. I reviewed the game on a standard PS4.

Battle like its 1274

It’s 1274, and the Mongols have launched their invasion of Japan on the island of Tsushima. Faced with overwhelming odds, samurai Jin Sakai will do what he must in order to return peace to the island. Decent of him, really.

Ghost of Tsushima lets you be any type of Kamakura era badass you like, historical accuracy be damned. Through Lord Sakai you’re a sword-slashing samurai, an archer, or a stealthy assassin depending on your mood. 

Sword combat is smooth and satisfying to master, employing traditional parry, block, dodge and roll mechanics. Different enemy types can be countered by changing stance or using ninja-esque “Ghost” techniques. Melee combat sometimes devolves into spamming the heavy attack button, but the stances help provide some variety. Gunpowder-based items make an appearance – a nod to their use in the real-life invasion of Tsushima. 

Lord Sakai is also a master of the sneak. Standing on the shoulders of stealth games before it, Ghost of Tsushima contains all the crouching, listening and aerial assassination that gamers have come to expect. While the stealth gameplay in Ghost of Tsushima feels clean and unforced, it never compares to starting a fight with a “standoff”. There’s something about the recklessness of challenging enemies to a one-hit-one-kill duel that never gets old.

While Sakai can initially be defeated by two or three hits, I found the quick accumulation of buffs and the ease of the combat system to substantially drop the difficulty level. There are also little to no penalties for death, due to generous autosaving. I didn’t mind this, as it encouraged creative and risky play. 

Partial to particles

You have to hand it to them – Sucker Punch pushed PS4 particle effects to their very limits. Ghost of Tsushima features an endless and almost unrealistic amount of reactive leaves, flower petals and fireflies. The citizens of Tsushima must be constantly pulling leaves out of their hair, there’s that much debris flying around. 

Lighting is also a strong point, with individually lit blades of grass fluttering through a beautiful night/day cycle. Characters are decently animated, complete with moving beads of sweat and gritted teeth. Dialogue sometimes slightly de-syncs to facial animations, but that could have only stood out due to how good expressions were in general.

I know that’s a lot of compliments, but trust me – go use Sucker Punch’s brilliant in-game photo mode and see what this beast is capable of. The art direction is so mind-blowing that practically anywhere will make a good screenshot. 

Speaking of photo mode, that’s also a great place to go listen to Ghost of Tsushima’s exciting traditional Japanese-inspired soundtrack without distraction. 

Sucker Punch have drawn heavy inspiration from old samurai movies, not unlike Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai from 1954 (but with 21st century pacing). There’s even a black and white “Kurosawa” mode with muted sound like an old film. It’s successful at creating an authentic, cinematic vibe and is a fun novelty. However, the colours of the game are so beautiful that I felt like I was missing out. Some enemy attacks also use colour as an attack indicator, and while the light can still be seen in black and white, it can be difficult to retrain your reactions.

Everything the light touches is our kingdom

While Ghost of Tsushima’s opening scenes are fast-paced, time slows to crawl once you reach open world as is so often the case in this genre.

And you know what? This didn’t bother me at all. 

Exploration is obviously intended to be the soul of Ghost of Tsushima. There’s no mini-map to speak of, so you’re guided to waypoints by the wind. Points of interest are visually sign-posted, including by smoke, birds, or foxes who lead you to secret shrines.

And yes, you can pet the fox.

I’ve been waylaid for hours doing Uncharted-style ledge-grabbing, led by smoke signals and birds and wondering what’s over the crest of the next hill. The incredibly beautiful vistas combined with a large draw distance meant I was easily distracted on my way to save a village, but in the best way (well, maybe not for the villagers). 

There’s no real wrong way to play the game, so you can just as easily stumble upon a major side-quest as you can that collectible you were hunting. Collectibles are fun to collect rather than a chore, and mostly provide either a combat (or in my opinion, more importantly) an aesthetic benefit. 

Exploration of human settlements can be a tad dull due to the lack of unique interactables, but they do have merchant NPCs and random quest-givers to guide you to further places of interest. I also love a good “save a village/return when it’s bustling/feel like you made a difference to the lives of these sad peasants” mechanic.

The ends justify the means

Ghost of Tsushima asks whether it is more important to stick to your principles, or do what it takes to get the job done. It lays on the guilt for using Ghost techniques so thickly that I wondered if it was possible to complete a play-through without using any Ghost techniques at all (it’s not). 

While never verging into grimdark, Tsushima is not exactly happy-go-lucky. Side quests have bittersweet endings as often as happy ones, and many of the main characters are perpetually angry and unlikable. Tonally, this feels appropriate. The real life invasion of Tsushima was a massacre. The Mongols were only stopped by a storm that destroyed their fleet – the earliest known use for the term “kamikaze” (divine wind). Ghost of Tsushima is a fantasy impression of Japanese history, with Jin Sakai acting as the metaphorical storm.

Beyond the main storyline, Ghost of Tsushima contains “tales” best described as an anthology of side-quests. These quests can be very formulaic, mostly comprising of taking over Mongol outposts, tracking people via footprints or stealthily following targets.

“Mythic” tales are the clear exception to this. While still employing similar tasks, these standalone side-quests feature incredible illustrated cut scenes, huge rewards and some of the most stunning locations in-game, not to mention some of the best boss-fights. 

Truly, do the mythic tales. Treat yo self.

Unfortunately, the version I played had no subtitles for ambient NPCs. The dialogue itself is well-written and provides much-needed world building. It’s just hard to hear without swinging the camera around unnaturally. Even when playing with Japanese audio, subtitles aren’t present for ambient NPCs, meaning that many will miss out on the dialogue entirely. A further minor gripe is that NPCs, even if given a name in dialogue, are universally labelled “Peasant” in the subtitles. 

Telling a tale of Tsushima

Ghost of Tsushima is visually a masterpiece. It can’t quite escape the sometimes repetitive side quests that plague open-world games, but the locales were so gosh-darn beautiful that I wanted to keep exploring anyway. 

Sucker Punch have combined many of the hallmarks of this console generation, including slick melee combat, stealth and huge open-world exploration to create what will likely be one of the last great PS4 releases. 

The post Ghost of Tsushima review appeared first on 8-Bit Island.

AVICII Invector Encore Edition will be coming to Nintendo Switch on September 8^th , on what would have been Tim Bergling’s 31^st birthday.

Check out the trailer and blurb below for what looks like an amazing rhythm game that I will be checking out.

Blurb:

Created by Hello There Games, in partnership with Wired Productions Ltd., and supported by AVICII Music, AVICII Invector Encore Edition continues the vision set out by AVICII himself, fusing music with gameplay to give players a new way to experience the artist’s legacy.

In the spirit of celebrating AVICII’s music, AVICII’s friends and family have completed the project started by the Swedish DJ himself as  AVICII Invector Encore Edition takes players on a pulsating adventure, soaring through stunning environments with the precision and skill to master all difficulties. Tim Bergling’s vision for experiencing his music will see players turn up, tune-in and fully immerse themselves in an audio/visual dimension of serenely zen visualscapes.

Both the Wired Productions and Hello There Games teams are music fans through and through, and recognise its ability to make a lasting impact on the world stage. As such, all music royalties will support The Tim Bergling Foundation, which advocates for the recognition of suicide as a global health emergency and promotes removing the stigma attached to the discussion of mental health issues.

The full track list includes:

Broken Arrows – M-22 Remix
Can’t Catch Me
Fade into Darkness
Fades Away
For a Better Day
Friend of Mine
Gonna Love Ya
Heaven
Hey Brother
I Could Be The One
Lay Me Down
Levels
Lonely Together
Pure Grinding
Sunset Jesus
Talk To Myself
The Nights – AVCII by AVCII Remix
Tough Love
True Believer
Waiting for Love
Wake Me Up
What Would I Change it to
Without You
You be Love
You Make Me

Additional Encore Edition tracks also available for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One as downloadable content include:

Tim Song Pack

Bad ReputationFreakHeart upon my sleevePeace of mindSOS

Magma Song Pack

Addicted to you
My Feelings For You
Seek Bromance
Sunshine
Trouble

“AVICII was incredibly talented and wanted to share his music with the world, allowing people to feel it and experience it in this new way,” said Leo Zullo, Managing Director of Wired Productions. “AVICII Invector Encore Edition enables that vision to live on as a celebration of Tim Bergling’s wonderful spirit and life-affirming music.”

AVICII Invector is available now for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One and releases as the Encore Edition on September 8th 2020 for Nintendo Switch and PS4.

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Sold Out and Metronomik are delighted to announce rhythm-infused action-adventure No Straight Roads will release on the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on August 25.

The Nintendo Switch version will follow shortly after.

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Square has confirmed that Marvel’s Avengers will be coming to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Better than that, they have also confirmed if you buy the game on PS4 or XB1, you will get a free upgrade to the new system on Day 1. So no need to hold off for the new systems to upgrade.

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NIS America’s new rhythm platformer Mad Rat Dead is coming to PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on October 30 in North America and Europe, and November 6 in Oceania!

Directed by Yu Mizokami (Yomawari: Night Alone and Yomawari: Midnight Shadows), this game features the titular Mad Rat, who has been granted one more chance at life to fulfill his dream. The player must keep his heart pumping in time with the music and clear stages within a time limit…lest Mad Rat’s own time on Earth runs out! Funky visuals and addictive soundtracks, along with the ability to rewind, provide a unique experience unlike any other. 

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FL Interactive and Maximum Games have revealed a new gameplay trailer featuring freestyle moves and gameplay from their upcoming arcade sports game, Street Power Football.

The trailer showcases signature freestyle and trademark moves from the game’s ambassadors.

Street Power Football is coming this year to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and Steam.

Street Power Football combines creative style with high-energy action for an over-the-top soccer and arcade video game experience.

Street Power Football features six distinct game modes, tons of customisable options to style your team to your liking, pumped up music, stages and ambassadors from around the world, with more gameplay videos to be revealed soon showcasing Panna mode, Trick shot mode, Street Power match game mode.

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