Commander Fury

An all-new multiplayer party battler and a remastered blockbuster headline PS Plus for August! Hilarious multiplayer party title Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout makes its PS4 debut on August 4, giving PS Plus members launch day access to its online competitive free-for-alls and co-op challenges*. Also this month, Infinity Ward’s thrilling sequel to the critically-acclaimed classic Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered blasts onto PS4 with upgraded visuals. Let’s take a closer look at both titles. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout Play Video Survive a series of hilarious challenges until one victor remains in this colorful 60-person online multiplayer party game*! Test your mettle in brutal free-for-alls or co-op challenges where only the winning team advances to the next round. Bend, bounce and bash your way through hilarious physics-based obstacles, from smashing through doors, to balancing on massive see-saws, to racing up mountains riddled with traps. Add a touch of style to your Fall Guy by customizing them with everything from classy pineapple couture to flattering prehistoric fashion. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout will be available to download Tuesday, August 4, until Monday August 31. Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered Relive the incredible single-player campaign from 2009 blockbuster Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, fully remastered for a new generation. Following immediately on from the dramatic events of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered immerses you in a gripping, action-driven adventure in which you must face off against a deadly new threat hellbent on bringing the world to the brink of collapse. The single-player campaign has been fully remastered with improved textures, animations, physically based rendering, high-dynamic range lighting and much more. Rediscover classic missions like Cliffhanger, The Gulag and Whiskey Hotel as you once again join Soap, Price, Ghost and the rest of Task Force 141 in a globe-spanning fight to restore order to the world. Underwater Demo Team Classic Ghost Bundle not included. Can’t wait to play it? Good news: the game will be available to download tomorrow, Tuesday July 28 until Monday August 31. Free multiplayer weekend* Another free online multiplayer weekend is coming to PS4 next month, starting Saturday August 8 at 12:01am through Sunday August 9 at 11:59pm local time. *Online multiplayer games sold separately. Requires internet connection and PlayStation Network account. PS Plus 10th Anniversary PS4 Theme As a reminder, a free PS4 theme celebrating the past decade can be downloaded for free on PS Store for a limited time – our way of saying thanks for supporting PS Plus these past 10 years. For PS4 players in North America and Latin America, head here. For PS4 players in Europe or Asia, head here. Last chance to pick up July’s PS Plus games And remember, you’ve still got time to download this month’s PS Plus games. Become a legend on the court with NBA2K20, take on another challenging adventure as Lara Croft in Rise of the Tomb Raider: 20 Year Celebration, and solve a gripping murder mystery in cinematic thriller Erica. These games will be available until Monday August 3. *Internet connection and PS Plus membership required for online multiplayer. View the full article

Hello PlayStation Nation! Today, we’re excited to announce that we’re partnering up with some of the biggest professional gaming teams in the world for a one-of-a-kind tournament. Beginning August 3, we’re kicking off FIFA 20 PS4 Tournaments: Pro for a Day where you can compete for the chance to represent your favorite gaming team and win cash prizes. Sign-ups start today. The FIFA 20 Pro for a Day competition is open to all eligible participants* in Brazil, France, Germany, Spain, UK and US. Play For Your Favorite Team Get the opportunity to represent some of the biggest professional gaming teams in the world, such as Team Heretics, Vitality, SK Gaming and G2 — in this series you’ll be representing the teams that are assigned to your country. Open Qualifiers run from August 3–24 in a Swiss tournament format. The top 32 finishers per Open Qualifier will earn a spot in the Team Final. Team Finals will take place August 25–26 in a single-elimination format. The winner of each Team Final will advance to the Country Finals. The Country Finals will be held on August 28 in a Group Stage tournament format, where the winners of each Team Final will face the three rival winners of the other Team Finals for their country. Win Cash Prizes Take home a share of the Team Finals and Country Finals prize pool for placing in the top four in your Team Final or competing in the Country Finals for your chosen team. See the full rules for the prize amount splits in your local currency. Show Your Skills Earn a place in the Country Finals for the chance to show the world what you can do in match broadcasts hosted by PlayStation. Matches for the Country Finals will be broadcast remotely – one broadcast for each country.** Finally, check out the below list for the four teams that are taking part in this program for each country: Brazil Detona Gaming Red Candids INTZ Vivo Keyd France Vitality Solary LDLC G2 Germany Mousesports Fokus SK Gaming G2 Spain Vodafone Giants Team Heretics Movistar Riders DUX Gaming United Kingdom Hashtag United AJ3 G2 Bateson 87 United States Complexity Gaming Misfits Gaming Team Envy Team Liquid Have you got what it takes to be a Pro? Visit compete.playstation.com to learn more and sign up to play. *Active PS Plus membership required for online multiplayer. Restrictions apply. See full rules for more info: Brazil / France / Germany / Spain / UK / US **Only residents of the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain and Brazil will be eligible for broadcasts. See full rules for more info. View the full article

Hello everyone, and welcome to the dark and beautiful world of Othercide. Othercide is a tactical RPG cast in black, white, and red where you control an army of Daughters, echoes of the greatest warrior to ever live, against the forces of the Suffering Other. With bullet, blade, spear, shield, and all the wit you can muster, you must defeat Suffering and save reality. Sound fun? We think it is, and it’s coming your way on July 28. In this blog, we’re laying out a load of the basic systems of the game, as well as giving advanced tips for your war. Remember: never give up. Use the Dynamic Timeline System. There’s a reason we’ve been talking about this so much in the lead-up to release — the Dynamic Timeline System is everything in Othercide, and it’s how you’ll win the day. Rather than turn-based battles, Othercide’s action takes place on a timeline of actions, reactions, and interruptions. Moving around the timeline — speeding up your forces, slowing down enemies, and placing traps, hazards, and exclusion zones to trigger at specific times is vital to victory. Moving your units and enemies around the timeline is an extremely powerful ability, giving you the first strike and follow-ups at key moments. Just a small delay can turn a devastating defeat into an incredible combo of hits for triumph. Save your action points. Action points are what determine what you can do at any one time, and also how fast you can act again on the timeline. Using half (50) or less of your action points will let you act again sooner. Burst actions, expending all your AP, are tempting but will massively reduce how often you can act. The forces of Suffering are swift, so this may leave them with several actions before your next moment to move and attack. Of course, expending all your AP means more damage, more moves, better positioning now – what’s the best bet? Plan carefully. Use combos. Play Video Othercide’s three classes have various abilities that can trigger off other daughters defending against or striking enemies. The gun-wielding Soulslinger may stop enemy attacks or react to them taking damage. The Shieldbearer can protect nearby allies or herself, and delay enemies or move them around the battlefield at will. The Blademaster can hit any enemy that comes close to her, as well as being the perfect way to start off a combo with her huge basic attack damage. There are even more mysteries to discover as you progress, with rumours of other daughters lost to the darkness of forgotten memory. Teamwork is your incredible advantage over the forces of Suffering — their individual power should not be underestimated, but together you are far stronger. Experiment, explore — combine for victory. Embrace death. In Othercide, failing is not the end and is an expected and encouraged part of the game. Your defeat will come but every failure is a learning experience and holds its own rewards. Pushing deeper into the Age of Shattering will unlock new Remembrances, and these can be used to enhance your future attempts. They’re powerful, and there are plenty of choices to be made on what options to pick and how to exploit the bonuses they give. Plus, a new run doesn’t mean resetting to zero – Daughters and progress can be kept, for a price. Play strategically. In a similar vein, do not hesitate to do a run only to unlock specific bonuses and Remembrances that will make your life easier in the future. You can check the unlock requirements and rewards as part of the codex. This combines with the Memories system, allowing you to customise every one of your skills towards a specific purpose. Some Remembrances even improve or provide additional Memories. Experiment. There are a dozen ways to handle almost any situation in Othercide, from how to customize a daughter to the correct way to play a fight to which Remembrance buffs to take for a run. You will be forced to change strategy depending on era, boss, enemies, the daughters you’ve developed, and what your goals are. Write nothing off and make every choice carefully — it may be her last. Don’t forget to heal. In Othercide, the only way to heal a Daughter is to sacrifice another. It may cost you, but healing is important. One sacrificed daughter is better than three dead ones. This is the only way to complete your fight against Suffering. It also transfers a new trait to the healed daughter, giving her a large boost and likely turning her into one of your premier fighters. What will you do to protect her now? Sacrifice smartly, play smarter. Play Video Who you heal and who you condemn to the abyss will not only affect who you have access to, but change the traits of those that survive. This allows for further customization and can make the difference between victory and defeat. Try not to take unnecessary hits — Othercide is brutal and unforgiving, so you must strike first and be decisive. There’s much, much more to discover in Othercide when it launches on July 28 on PS4! We, and Suffering, look forward to seeing you then. – Anders Larsson (CEO, Creative Director at Lightbulb Crew) and Ben Barrett (Creative Producer at Focus Home Interactive) View the full article

Email us at PSPodcast@sony.com! Subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google or RSS, or download here PlayStation · Official PlayStation Podcast Episode 372 – Perilous Rituals Hey y’all! This week Tim and Kristen chat with Obsidian about The Outer Worlds: Peril on Gorgon DLC, and the team shares their favorite gaming rituals. Stuff We Talked About Ghost of Tsushima The Last of Us Part II Skater XL Pistol Whip The Cast Sid Shuman – Senior Director of Content Communications, SIE Kristen Zitani – Content Communications Specialist, SIE Thanks to Cory Schmitz for our beautiful logo and Dormilón for our rad theme song and show music. [Editor’s note: PSN game release dates are subject to change without notice. Game details are gathered from press releases from their individual publishers and/or ESRB rating descriptions.] View the full article

Last week, we asked you to reflect through your journey as the Ghost of Tsushima, and share moments using the game’s stunning Photo mode. From sun-warmed vistas to detailed armor, dangerous duels and serene moments of contemplation, you shared your best shots using #PS4share and #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: Jin sheathes his katana in this share by AreeLyBadPun. It’s always worth following a golden bird, like in this share by ClemSsoH. Dande_Lion55 shared this dramatic portrait of Jin. Jin duels with a ronin in this share by NoomiPlay. This share by lamq1993 in Kurosawa Mode is electric. Rodri81017517 shared Jin playing his flute in this poster-like shot. Search #PS4share and #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? Theme: Ghost of Tsushima – Motion Share by: 9am Pacific on Wednesday, July 29 Next week, create animated moving images using Ghost of Tsushima’s robust Photo Mode. Share your best motion clips using #PS4share and #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. Need some inspiration? Make sure to check our Ghost of Tsushima Photo mode tips guide. View the full article

When Adam Ferrando, the artist and creative genius behind Demon’s Tilt, showed me the first prototype of this game I knew exactly what it was. As a youth, pinball seemed old-fashioned compared to arcade video games of the early 1980s. It was my uncle’s game — it was for old people. That is, until I experienced the unexpected combination of bleeding-edge 16-bit video gaming with pinball in the form of NAXAT’s Crush series. Flipping around this early version of Demon’s Tilt brought me back to my basement in 1990, trying to decipher the secrets and techniques of these classic games. I knew I had to publish this. Flash forward nearly a half decade and Demon’s Tilt arrives for PlayStation 4 on July 28. It’s been almost 30 years since video pinball games were commonplace. Demon’s Tilt is a new generation’s introduction to this intoxicating mixture of chunky retro 2D visuals and the tense, unpredictable frenzy of pinball. What’s the difference between pinball simulations and video pinball? Pin sims, as most pinball video games are these days, aim to be the most realistic facsimile of a machine you might see in the arcade. Video pinball does the impossible: gruesome creatures wander the playfield, magic flying about, and of course, screen-filling bosses! Yet, for all the fantasy, Demon’s Tilt’s Pinball roots are still apparent. Adam notes in some early feedback, “playtesters describe the game as more pinball than pin sims, while also being more of a video game.” There are several modes in Demon’s Tilt. Normal is the basic game. Hardcore gives you a single-ball challenge tuned for extra difficulty. EX-Mode is the final and most elaborate. In Adam’s words, EX-Mode contains a revised ruleset for faster, more challenging gameplay, and three bonus sub-tables for extra content. Inspired by the bonus content of yesteryear (i.e. European Extreme/Black Label), EX-Mode was a happy addition. One of the three rooms contains the “Final True Boss,” something I mused about forever and finally got to implement. Finally, Demon’s Tilt has a heavy metal chiptune soundtrack forged in hellfire by Charlie Heinrich AKA ec2151. As Charlie said, “Demon’s Tilt contains a lot of music that I am very proud of – even if I am not good enough at the game to trigger all the music I wrote!” Charlie landed on four distinct Themes which can be selected from the Options Menu. Next Tuesday, prepare to unlock the secrets of the Cathedral’s Dark Ritual and do battle on the leaderboards in Demon’s Tilt. PINBALL NEVER DIES! View the full article

Today we release our WW1 FPS Tannenberg on PlayStation 4! Veterans who have played our previous title Verdun will recognize the devastating gas and artillery barrages, the ferocious melee combat, and the variety of authentic weapons, uniforms and maps. Tannenberg has been carefully optimized for top performance on the PlayStation 4, with 40-player battles on large maps — including the brand new fortress of Przemyśl! Up to 20 bots can fill out the roster when a game is getting started, and the (optional) gore effects are of the same standard seen in the remastered version of prequel Verdun. Those who own a PS4 Pro will benefit from a higher resolution, more detailed shadows, and many other graphical extras. As icing on the cake, we’ve also created eight PlayStation avatars featuring soldiers and officers from the Russian, German and Austro-Hungarian armies. The avatars are added in the WW1 Games Bundle together with six avatars from Verdun. Battle on the Eastern Front The main game mode in Tannenberg sees 40 players fighting for control of key sectors on the battlefield, each one offering a distinct strategic advantage. The war on the Eastern Front was much more mobile than on the Western Front, and the gameplay in Tannenberg reflects that. It’s certainly very different from the gritty trench warfare that typified the Western Front as depicted in our first game Verdun! Choose a squad from the major powers of Russia, Germany and Austria-Hungary, or fight for a smaller nation like Roumania, Bulgaria, or Latvia. Every squad in the game has several roles, each with different equipment loadouts. Whether you fight with a saber and carbine as a Russian Cossack or a Bulgarian soldier with the venerable but outdated Martini-Henry rifle as a Bulgarian soldier, every weapons has been painstakingly modeled based on references from literature and, where possible, real guns used by re-enactors. Similar attention has been paid to the uniforms and map design. While the battlefields of Tannenberg aren’t real locations, they are directly inspired by actual regions where fighting took place, and based on extensive libraries of reference photos and drawings from the period. For instance: Przemyśl Fortress The new map added in this release is Przemyśl. This fortified town was the site of the longest siege in the First World War, with the Russians eventually capturing it from the Austro-Hungarian defenders after 133 days. The presence of large fortifications make this a very different battlefield compared to the generally more open areas seen in many Tannenberg maps. There are fields around the buildings of the fort itself, but much of that space is filled with hastily dug trenches and gun emplacements abandoned as the battle sweeps over them. Designing the maps When designing maps we use a lot of historical reference materials. Photographs of course are invaluable, but still quite rare during WW1, particularly on the Eastern Front. Maps are very useful to get a sense of how trenches might be laid out or what terrain was considered tactically crucial at the time. Sketches by soldiers offer a similar insight to photographs, especially those done by military artists – though this was again more common on the Western Front, where positions were more static. Things moved faster in the East, and intelligence could quickly become out of date. Finally, you can read history books and the accounts of soldiers themselves. Even better, you can talk to expert historians who have dedicated their lives to the topic! This is a great way to learn about details and sources that might be missed in more commonly available books. We’ve used all these methods when creating Tannenberg and putting together maps which feel like real battlefields. We can’t wait to see what the PlayStation community thinks of the Eastern Front. Remember, keep your rifle ready and your gas mask close. Good luck out there! View the full article

We have an exciting announcement to make: Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition is coming to PS4 on December 4! This updated version of the original Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age, which released on PS4 in 2017, is no simple re-release. It’s dramatically enhanced, with entirely new story content, new ways to play, and more additional features than you can shake the sword of Erdrick at. To give you an idea of what to expect from the game, we thought we should dig into some of those enhancements and show you just how definitive this edition really is. For example: There’s extra character stories If you’ve played Dragon Quest XI before, you know that the friends and allies you gather over the adventure are brimming with charm and personality. In the Definitive Edition of the game, you get to spend even more time with these awesome characters. These new bonus stories that put the focus squarely on their exploits. These aren’t new cutscenes or short sequences either — they’re meaty additional chapters that provide hours of new gameplay. Players will be able to enjoy learning more about many of their companions, including: Erik’s story: Separated from the party, and in real danger, quick-fingered thief Erik must rely on an unexpected ally for help. What follows is an emotional adventure that asks: what are you willing to sacrifice for your friends? Sylvando’s story: The eternally optimistic Sylvando encounters a world full of danger and darkness. He resolves to restore joy and laughter to the stricken people – and enacts a daringly flamboyant plan. Jade’s story: As a skilled fighter, Jade’s not one to run from injustice. But the evil she encounters in the city of Octagonia may be more than even she can handle… Rab’s story: When the magician Rab chases after a pretty face, he finds himself back in a familiar and nostalgic place. Forced to confront the past and relive happier times, will he ever want to leave? These stories are worked into the main story of the game – they’re not hidden, so everyone will enjoy them in the normal course of play. Which is good, because they’ll make you laugh, cry and gain a better understanding of uniquely loveable cast. 16-bit world of Tickington Early on in the adventure, you’ll encounter a creature called a Tockle. It will introduce you to the wonderful world of Tickington – a charming town created with retro 2D visuals. This place is special — not just because of its weird residents, but because it lets you travel back to previous Dragon Quest adventures – all recreated in the same charming 16-bit art style. You’ll visit key locations and events from the series to solve side-quests, battle monsters and more. For fans of the series, it’ll be nostalgia overdrive – a way to relive happy memories of adventures past. For those of you who are new to Dragon Quest, it acts as a fantastic introduction to the series as a whole — and will give you an understanding of how important and influential it’s been to gaming. Or you could just ignore it — it’s entirely optional after all. But I’m willing to bet that once you start digging into the history of the series, you won’t want to stop. The whole game is playable in 2D One look at the screenshots will tell you that Dragon Quest XI S is a beautiful game, with a vibrant, colorful 3D world. It’s also a beautiful game with a vibrant, colorful 2D world. If you want your adventure to have a little retro flair, you can switch to a 2D mode and play the entire game this way. This not only changes the look and layout of the world, it also slightly alters the mechanics so that it plays like a classic Dragon Quest game. For example, in the 3D mode, battles play out command by command — you give a character and order, and they immediately execute it. In the 2D mode, it plays like the older games – you give your whole party their orders upfront, and then the battle plays out. It’s up to you which style you prefer – and you might be conflicted because they’re both fun in slightly different ways. Fortunately, you don’t have to commit to just one. You can switch modes at any save point, and restart that chapter in the different mode. New photo mode Speaking of beautiful visuals, wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to capture them so you can share them later? Some kind of… ‘photo mode’, if you will. Yes, there’s now photo mode in Dragon Quest XI. It gives you lots of options on how to compose shots too. You can move characters around, pose them in different ways, fiddle with the angles and more. Fully orchestrated soundtrack as standard All players can now choose to enjoy their journey with an orchestrated soundtrack. From Serena’s beautiful harp, to the rousing battle theme, the orchestrated soundtrack has a rich, full sound that enhances the action brilliantly. If you’re a fan of game music, you don’t want to miss this one. That said, fans of the synthesized soundtrack don’t have to worry — that’s included too, and you can switch between the music options instantly through the game’s menu. New ultra-fast battle mode One thing the team wanted to focus on when working on the Dragon Quest XI S: Definitive Edition was to give the players more choice on how they play. For example, one new addition to the game that will please fans is a new ultra-fast battle mode. This lets you select from three different speeds to progress through fights in a short space of time. It’s perfect for occasions where you want to explore an area for rare treasure, or are hunting for a specific loot drop from foes. Just be aware that it won’t suit every fight – you’ll want to switch back to normal speed for boss battles, for example. Fortunately, you can adjust speeds at any point while playing, even mid-battle. New Japanese voice track While Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is known for an amazing English voice cast, we understand many JRPG fans like to play games with the original Japanese voices. The new Definitive Edition features a Japanese voice track, so you can play through the whole game this way if you prefer. A treasure trove of quality of life enhancements In addition to all the new content, there are dozens of quality of life enhancements such as: A new quick command menu lets you access common functions in seconds The ability to summon your horse (almost) anywhere outside of towns and dungeons The ability to craft items in any location More voiced dialogue New cosmetic-only appearance options All of these combine to make the game smoother and more convenient to play. As you can see, Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age – Definitive Edition is as packed with enhancements as its name is long. That new story content’s particularly exciting — Sylvando and Erik’s tales struck a particular chord with me, though you’ll likely find your own favorites when the game launches on December 4! View the full article

Hello everyone! I’m Yuji Naka, and I’m delighted to finally be able to give you all a sneak peek at a brand-new game we’ve been working on for a long time now. You may know me as the creator of Sonic the Hedgehog, but today I’m here to share some information with you on my latest endeavour: Balan Wonderworld. Our new action-platformer is set in the mysterious world of people’s hearts, Wonderworld. In everyone’s hearts, there’s a mixture of positive emotions – happiness and joy – and negative emotions – restless fears and worry. When the balance between positive and negative emotions is destroyed, the door to Wonderworld will open. The main characters are Leo and Emma. After a fight with a friend, Leo has stopped letting anyone get close to him. Meanwhile, Emma is surrounded by people who shower her with praise, but she worries about what they say behind her back. Carrying their worries with them, the two find themselves led into Wonderworld by an enigmatic maestro named Balan. They’ll need to restore the lost balance in the hearts of the inhabitants of Wonderworld and discover what is important to themselves. But what about the gameplay I hear you ask? Well, of course the game contains all of the action you could want in a platformer: obstacles that require care and skill to navigate and plenty of puzzles to solve! And to make it through these hurdles, you’ll need something essential for any show – a costume! In the game we have a huge selection of more than 80 different costumes for Leo and Emma can discover. Not only do these change up their appearance, they also give them special powers! They obtain the outfits in the world of Wonderworld, and each unique costume allows them to make use of amazing skills. They can bash their enemies, walk in the air, freeze time or manipulate all kinds of objects… the possibilities really are endless! Each of the 12 chapters depicts the inner world of someone trapped by negative emotions, and you can obtain different costumes in each chapter. As you work your way through each chapter, you’ll have to use all the costumes at your disposal to set free the heart of the troubled inhabitant, who has turned into the formidable boss of their world. Balan Wonderworld is being made by a team of amazing and dedicated developers from our all-new action gaming brand within Square Enix, Balan Company. Along with myself, Balan Company is a collection of video game developers, visual artists, composers, and more, who have joined forces to make a platformer with a moving story. Within this team I’m thrilled to be joined by the legendary Character Designer Naoto Ohshima — who I worked together with in the 1990s to create Sonic the Hedgehog. It’s been more than 20 years since we last worked on a project together so it’s really exciting to collaborate once again and create a Wonderworld full of new characters! Oshima’s style is imbued not only in the character designs, but also throughout over 80 different costumes for the player, the stage decorations, and even the boss designs! Balan Wonderworld will take to the stage in Spring 2021 and is coming to both PS5 and PS4. What’s more, those who purchase the PS4 version will be able to upgrade to the PS5 version for absolutely free. We have so much more to show and tell you about the game and we can’t wait for you to see it in the near future. Be sure to follow our social media channels for the latest updates. See you when the show begins in Wonderworld! View the full article

Greetings, colonists, and welcome to the Gorgon asteroid, Spacer’s Choice’s second-best-kept secret (after their surprisingly accurate Prototype Light Pistol). This is a state-of-the-art* research facility where the company’s best and brightest** minds dedicated themselves to the development and manufacture of Adrena-Time, Halcyon’s most beloved*** injectable drug. At this point in the tour, I am legally obligated to inform you that Spacer’s Choice has shut down all operations related to Adrena-Time and denies any presence — current or former — on the Gorgon asteroid. Furthermore, they will not be held liable for any death, dismemberment, or Board-issued citations that result from unauthorized tours such as this one. Good? Good. The first thing you’ll notice as we explore Gorgon is the bodies (it’s always the bodies). Science is not for the faint of heart! The second thing is probably the Sprat Shack, conveniently located near Gorgon’s landing pad. SubLight has taken the place over, and it’s a good spot to grab a drink, stock up on supplies, and pick up some jobs from the locals. They’re a nice enough bunch, just make sure to check with Von Hoffman, the bouncer, on your way in. He keeps some of the… more eccentric characters out, and he doesn’t mess around. Now that we’ve restocked and gotten leads on some work, it’s time to explore the asteroid proper. As you step outside, take a deep breath. Feel the faint chemical burn at the back of your throat. That’s the sweet smell of science, held in by the asteroid’s Apex Mark 5 KAISO**** Atmospheric Dome. It’s also nothing to worry about. Probably. But if you see a golden gleam between the rocks? Congratulations, you’ve found Compound X, a little-understood organic compound and the primary active ingredient of Adrena-Time! Take a good look, but definitely do not touch and/or smell and/or lick it. There are completely unfounded reports of unusual deaths among the miners who first discovered and harvested Compound X. Gorgon is unlike any other place you’ve visited in Halcyon. It’s a canyon, full of high precipices, deep ravines, and — if you’ve got sharp eyes! — nooks and crannies concealing both dangers and treasures left in Spacer’s Choice’s wake. There’s rumor of a hidden lab somewhere around here where a few of the original scientists were working on a secret side project. But if anyone asks, you didn’t hear it from me. You’ll find lots to explore on Gorgon — abandoned R&D centers perched high on cliffs and refineries set into the ravines below. You’ll have to look around to find your way in, but the journey is just as important as the destination, right? Just watch your step. Make no mistake, Gorgon is treacherous. It’s full of marauders, monsters warped by science, and enough toxic pools, unsecured ledges, and out-of-warranty machinery and to give a corporate actuary a coronary. Still, if you find yourself getting lost in the canyons, just look up — you can see the glowing dome of the Synthesis & Manufactory Center from almost anywhere on the asteroid. If that fails, there’s always Ambrose Manor orbiting just above. But don’t keep looking up. Fatal falls account for approximately 36.2% of all accidental deaths on Gorgon. We’re looking forward to seeing you here on September 9. * By Spacer’s Choice’s standards, anyway. ** See caveat above. *** According to a recent poll of twelve Board-appointed marketing executives. **** Keeps Air Inside & Space Outside View the full article

Major League Baseball’s 2020 season has arrived, and now is the perfect moment to celebrate Opening Day with MLB The Show 20 Standard Edition, now available for $29.99 MSRP through August 5, 2020. Whether growing your player in the RPG-inspired Road to the Show or competing in online Diamond Dynasty, the development team at San Diego Studio are excited to share new features and content that give everyone the power to be a hero and live their ultimate baseball dream. Online Roster Updates By connecting online, Player attributes will now be updated every week to more closely align gameplay to recent player performance. Roster sizes will remain as they would for a normal 162-game season. Opening Day Moments Are Here Play some of the most highly anticipated hitter-and-pitcher match-up moments from Opening Day online beginning today, July 23. Complete this group of moments to unlock a Diamond Live Series player item to use in-game for your custom player in Road to the Show or with your team in Diamond Dynasty. Topps Now Moments Return The fun doesn’t end after your favorite Major League Baseball teams finish a series. Go online to unlock Topps Now player rewards to use in Diamond Dynasty as you relive the best plays, comebacks and walk-offs with new moments each week during Major League Baseball’s 2020 season. Monthly Awards With Major League Baseball’s return, MLB The Show 20 recognizes the best performances each month with new Programs in-game after connecting online. Win missions and moments to progress towards earning the Lightning player of the month. Developer Live Streams Join the team of San Diego Studio developers on Twitch and YouTube as they share the latest in MLB The Show 20 content and news, like announcing the backwards-hat Ken Griffey Jr. Home Run Derby Series Collection Reward. Tune in tomorrow, July 23 at 3 PM PT, as they reveal key details surrounding upcoming 6th Inning Program content. Limited Time Promotion With continuous new content and game modes designed for every gamer, it has never been a better time to join the MLB The Show 20 community. To fully celebrate the start to Major League Baseball’s 2020 season, MLB The Show 20 Standard Edition is available for $29.99 MSRP through August 5, 2020 and Stubs are up to 40% off regular price through July 28, 2020. In the meantime, please make sure to watch The Show Nation and our Twitter page for the latest updates. Let’s play ball. View the full article

To coincide with the northern hemisphere’s blazingly hot weather comes a scorcher of a sale on PlayStation Store. It’s cunningly titled the Summer Sale and it starts today. If you’re joining us from Europe, you’ll find the full list of games on sale here. North American players, take a scan of the following. Uncertain of which digital experience to escape to for summer? 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 Summer Sale discounts are only available until Wednesday August 19 at 23.59pm (PST and BST). 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 Summer Sale! Head to PlayStation Store on your PS4 to check out what titles are available in your region. View the full article

Composing music, like any creative task, is about making a series of choices — you reach a fork in the road and choose a direction to take. For every choice you make, at least one other option remains unexplored — perhaps there are parallel universes where all of these other compositions exist. But composing music using carefully-controlled randomisation to make choices between several different ideas allows you to explore multiple options, and many different versions of a piece of music can exist at once. When I first played an early demo of Creaks, finally launching on PlayStation 4 today, it struck me that you can die a lot, but you never run out of lives. So it’s possible that the player has to replay a level from the start many times while trying to solve the puzzle – and I wanted to avoid the music being repeated exactly the same way, every time you restart a level, which can quickly lead to listener fatigue. This was my first game soundtrack, so discovering software for creating adaptive music for games was a revelation which opened up a whole new world of composition techniques. My inexperience with game soundtracks combined with a background in many genres and styles of music, and my interest in using technology to manipulate real instrumental recordings (such as ‘automatic remixing’ and ‘infinite soundscapes’ projects), has hopefully led to some interesting and innovative processes. I explained what I wanted to do to a game sound designer friend (Ali Tocher of LookListenAudio), who then introduced me to the amazing FMOD Studio software. Thanks to this, I was able to create music for each level which has a high degree of randomisation built-in – there are so many variables that there are thousands of possible combinations and variations (of structure, arrangement, effects, etc.) — and the music will never sound exactly the same twice. It self-generates arrangements, and can play infinitely without repeating. The structure of each piece is determined by the player’s progress through each level – moving on to the next section of the piece as each stage of the puzzle is solved. There’s something very exciting for me about knowing that every time the music is heard in the game it has never been heard like that before, and never will be again. This ‘living soundtrack’ was incredibly inspirational to create. When it came to making locked-down versions for a conventional OST release, I found a new challenge in trying to make decisions about the structure and arrangements that were as effective as those created by the conditional logic which I programmed into the game music. It was also hard to condense over 100 pieces of infinitely-long music (which lasts a minimum of about 6 hours in the game), into a single album. At the same time, it was very enjoyable remixing these infinite and randomised compositions into short album tracks, with freedom from the complex set of rules that I had to construct, and bringing out characteristics which are underplayed in the game – for example, beats are much more present in the OST, whereas in the game they are mostly only used as end-of-level celebrations, to avoid distracting you while solving the puzzles. Another thing that struck me about Amanita’s work is the use of hand-drawn artwork, which is animated and manipulated electronically — a marriage of analog and digital procedures. This fits well with my own ethos of never using fake synthesised instruments – always working with real musicians and instruments, but using composition and production techniques from sample-based music. Each of the characters in the game is represented by a different instrument – for example, here are some of the different zithers I used for the main hero character: The music in the game reflects the progression through time in the artwork’s aesthetics, and becomes more complex as the puzzles also become more intricate. We start in a primitive world, where the music is mostly created from simple ancient styles of instruments (zithers, flutes, percussion) and some home-made instruments such as this harp made from an egg-slicer: Then we go into a gothic/baroque world, filled with bells, organs and choirs, and these tunable chimes I made from a deconstructed glockenspiel: Then a Classical world, dominated by pianos and strings, and an Electronic world filled with textures, rhythms, basslines and melodies created on a modular synth, finally ending up in a futuristic dark magical world full of bass clarinet. The OST features a broad cross-section of these styles. I had the great pleasure of featuring some of my favourite regular Hidden Orchestra musicians, as well as some new players. Though I am playing more twenty instruments myself – here is a selection of some of them. I’m a Classically-trained composer, and self-taught producer, with a wide range of experience in many different musical styles and sound art projects, and so I was able to draw on a lot of different influences and ideas to create a soundtrack which uses multiple genres. For example, the Classical/Folk technique of ‘canon’ allowed me to take a single short melody and turn it into an infinite composition. This can be heard in a number of electronic tracks featured in the inventor’s futuristic Workshop world, but also the Classical cello piece in the Palace world, called ‘One and One’ on the OST. This piece is essentially a single rising solo cello line lasting two minutes, which I recorded at three different octave pitches. Every 40 seconds, another layer is triggered – choosing between the three different pitches, silence, and a slightly ornate version of the melody – with the result that you have an infinite cello trio piece that is constantly changing, but uses only a very small amount of raw material. Another example of a technique I developed for the game, using the incredible FMOD Studio software (primarily designed for creating things like organic-sounding gunshots and atmospheres, but with immense capabilities for reactive music), can be heard in the track ‘Lifting’. The track is based around rippling piano chords – I recorded 15 different chords which the software plays in a random order – and also in three layers of different speeds and pitches (half-speed, normal, double-speed). This is combined with eight different modular synth patterns, four organ chords, and a selection of percussion and beats. On top of all this, there are dozens of different cello melodies, which the software also selects at random. The randomisation is all within the range of carefully-defined limits and probabilities, which evolve throughout the piece. So very quickly, you have thousands/millions of different combinations of sounds, harmonies, melodies, and structure – it will always sound like the same identifiable piece of music, but will never be exactly the same twice – much like the experience of going to see a band or musician play live – they play a song you know and love, but part of the joy of the experience is that it might be longer, or have a different beat, or an improvised solo, or a different arrangement. View the full article

Hi, everyone, I’m Masayoshi Yokoyama. I’ve been the writer, sound director, and worked on producing all the numbered Yakuza games in the series since the first Yakuza in 2005. From Yakuza 5 and on, I’ve also been the chief producer, including the upcoming Yakuza: Like a Dragon. The world of the Yakuza series is driven by the strength of its characters and changing the protagonist has caused a shift in its very principles. Kazuma Kiryu was the kind of character who believed only in his own abilities, and he would often recklessly charge at his enemies. But when Ichiban Kasuga (Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s protagonist) is put into the same situation, there’s a dramatic difference. Ichiban’s irrational, inefficient, and unproductive, though that might be something that’s a little more specifically identifiable to Japanese audiences. He is an “upright, old-fashioned yakuza” who operates solely on how he feels, his emotions, humanity, and love. In some ways, he’s still similar to Kazuma Kiryu, but compared to Kiryu, who kept his cool (or at least tried to) no matter what, Ichiban Kasuga is more muddled and unflattering and pretty far from cool in what he says and does. This is a somewhat Japanese concept, but there are many characters in this game who have this yakuza-like heroic concept of themselves “talking with their backs.” It means if one’s actions speak louder than their words, they don’t have to speak to set an example. However, Ichiban is the type of guy who prefers to face people and talk things out. Ichiban is heroic and charismatic, but he’s not superhuman like Kiryu. He’s at the bottom of the pecking order in terms of both reputation and power in the underworld. So in order to portray Ichiban as a man who stands up to powerful forces, he needed some friends. Unlike Kiryu, Ichiban is a character who talks, laughs and plays a lot. His charisma is a total reversal of Kiryu’s, and that attracts people to him. Before he knows it, people who are initially drawn to him because they have the same intentions become his friends and his “party,” and together they’ll face powerful foes. In order to express the changes that Ichiban Kasuga brings to the game, we needed to dramatically change the game system itself, from the combat to the mini games across the city. In other words, changing the protagonist from Kazuma Kiryu to Ichiban Kasuga meant immense changes in everything about the game from the ground up. This change in protagonist was a huge opportunity for the development team, who have been working on this series for 15 years and 13 games, to lead us into completely new territory. Masumi Arakawa is a man at the mercy of the times. He treasures the traditions preserved by Japanese yakuza society since ancient times that bond a patriarch to men abandoned by their families. Masumi Arakawa becomes a yakuza himself under similar circumstances, after being forced to part with his blood relatives. As a result, Arakawa treats his yakuza family like they are real sons to him, but that is complicated by his relationship with his unexpected real son, Masato. What does it mean to be blood? What does it mean to be family? How far can one trust people? This character was created to convey these ultimate questions. In my mind, Masumi Arakawa is the “other” protagonist of this game, and the story actually opens with him. When I drew up the party, the concept was to create characters who would be a natural fit with Ichiban Kasuga and the setting of Yokohama. She is charming, but she is also very easygoing and quick to change her mind. Maybe she would have lived a similar life as Ichiban if she had grown up in the same situation as him. I think of her as a mirror reflection of him. What she has in common with Ichiban is that she’s kind of nosy. She can’t leave her friends in trouble, and she can’t help but do the right thing, even when she knows it’s dangerous. In order to make use of her personality, her jobs and abilities contribute to the concept of “supporting the party.” There was a need to introduce a homeless person for plot purposes, so he was originally created purely for the sake of the story, but it resulted in a character who becomes the second person to save Ichiban Kasuga’s life. In reality, the number of homeless people like the ones in the story are decreasing, and more and more people are living in public support facilities or in internet/manga cafes as their permanent home. However, in the story, I needed to depict the process of Ichiban Kasuga, who was on the verge of death, rising up by meeting people who were strong and resilient that lived in an environment even harsher than the one he was in in the past, so that’s how I created Nanba. It was important to me to set the age of the characters in this game realistically. Despite their age, the characters in Japanese entertainment works always have mature personalities, and when those works are made into films, for example, most of the actors who get cast are 10 years older than the characters. So there’s a gap between the image and the setting. That’s what I wanted to cut into for this game, and I thought about how actual 42-year-olds would act, and that’s exactly how I came up with the character Adachi, who is pushing 60. In Japan, many companies and civil services set the age of retirement at 60. But in reality, there are very few people who retire at that age, and compared to 20 years ago, the elderly are much healthier. There are many people closing in on 60 who are walking around having fun, and these types of people don’t care about the “retirement age” someone else set, and have a mindset of doing whatever they want to. Adachi is a character who represents the current “elderly” and I thought he would be the best choice for Ichiban’s new travel companion. In the story, his relationship with Ichiban starts out as a detective meeting a yakuza, but once they’re stripped of their respective backings, he becomes an important member of the team as a general planner and a mood-setter. Personally, I didn’t want to portray a detective as a profession, but rather as the type of companion you want to have by your side the most. And I think Adachi has done a great job of fulfilling that role. From the characters to the game system, everything has been rebuilt for this game. But the game still has a very strong “Yakuza” feel to it, to the point that even we were shocked by it. This feeling is difficult to convey in words, and it’s even hard to convey via trailers, so it really vexed me as a producer. But as a creator, there is nothing that could be more exciting, and once you play the game, I think you’ll understand what that means. RPGs don’t have to be limited to swords and sorcery, and it has served as a great storytelling tool for me to portray themes of friendship. The changes brought about by the new protagonist, Ichiban Kasuga, will become a page in the lives of those who play this game, and we believe that this will be the best game experience of all. We hope you’ll embark on an epic adventure with your unique cast of new friends! View the full article

Hey there, Pip from No More Robots here! I’m so excited to tell you all about Descenders, our heart stopping downhill mountain biking game, which is coming to PlayStation 4 on August 25! Descenders puts you behind the handlebars of your very own mountain bike so that you can trick, flip and scrub through nine different procedurally generated worlds at breakneck speeds. From the Scottish Highlands through to an active Volcano, you’ll need your wits about you to stay on course and land each trick cleanly if you want to make it to the bottom – just one bail could mean the end of your run and game over for you and your rider! The game is a roguelike at its core, seeing you weaving your way through each world and on to tackle one of the imposing boss jumps before moving on to the next. You’ll only have a certain amount of lives cross each world in, and while you can earn more by completing optional objectives and visiting medic camps, crashing can very quickly drain them – you’ll need to keep both hands on your handlebars to succeed! The first Career Mode sees you crossing rolling highlands, twisting forests, rocky canyons and snow-capped peaks, with a secret volcano world hidden for the best riders to go out and find! If you survive, you can pick up one of the three in-game teams to earn reputation for and ride against the world for a spot on the leaderboards! With enough reputation you can unlock Career Plus, which is a much trickier (and steeper!) set of tracks set across a flowing desert, dense jungle, steep and slippy glaciers and our favourite environment, the colourful favela! Of course through all these environments you can grab some friends and tackle them multiplayer, both as a chaotic competition with lives and leaderboards, or a slightly more sedate experience where you can all enjoy the tracks regardless of skill level – perfect for a game of bike or hide and seek! The multiplayer leaderboards can be organised however you’d like, so whether you are score attack fans or downhill racers, there’s a way to track who’s who! Descenders is definitely a game that is easy to pick up but hard to master, with its physics system designed to interact with every bump and dip in the road! Whichever way you like to play, the procedurally generated tracks show how steep, curvy and obstacle filled they’ll be, so you can pick the route that suits you the best to get to the boss jump! Getting good at Descenders takes some practice, but the freedom of tricking your way down a mountain is definitely worth it! The bike systems makes all your button presses feel like they really have some impact, and the smallest of changes to your rider can mean the difference between a clean landing and a heavy bail. Alongside all the main worlds and maps, we’re really excited to also be bringing Bikeout 1, 2 and 3 and Stoker Park to PlayStation 4, so you can play the best Bike Parks we have to offer! Each Bikeout map is a standalone, Wipeout-inspired challenge complete with sliding platforms, spinning foam arms and big red balls! Stoker Park is a beautiful, Canadian style park with winding routes and cleverly placed trick platforms, allowing for some super flowy runs. We can’t wait for you to hit the trails with us on August 25, we know lots of people have been waiting for PlayStation 4 support and we are so excited to get you all playing! View the full article

With Dragon Marked for Death’s release on PlayStation 4, we here at Inti Creates thought it was about time to tell the story of this game’s storied development history. Dragon Marked for Death had been conceived many years before I ever stepped into my role at Inti Creates in 2014, so rather than take my word for it, I sat down the game’s director and producer, who have been in the fold with DMFD from the very beginning, to share their story with you. Enjoy! Aizu: I’m Takuya Aizu, Dragon Marked for Death’s producer. Ito: And I’m Ryota Ito, director on Dragon Marked for Death (which I’ll now refer to as “DMFD”). Ito: Now, some of you may already be aware of this, but we actually began development on DMFD about 11 years ago. Aizu: While it’s true that development did start 11 years ago, there was an even older design called “Dragon Contract” that was actually DMFD’s predecessor. After development ended on Mega Man Zero 4 (2005) and its sequel, Mega Man ZX (2006), those series’ main illustrator, Toru Nakayama, went to a new team inside the company. After that he worked together with Mega Man Zero creator Yoshihisa Tsuda and they wrote up a plan for a game called “Dragon Contract.” Ito: When I was looking into DMFD’s development history, I discovered the design document for Dragon Contract and it was indeed written in 2006. Aizu: To be honest, we actually released information about Dragon Contract one time. In 2007, we thought that releasing information on a real game as an April Fool’s joke might cause a stir, so we did exactly that with Dragon Contract. Ito: The design for Dragon Contract had a lot in common with DMFD, but there were still some big differences. Aizu: One main difference was that the game was designed as a fantasy-style Mega Man Zero with one main character that possessed a dragon arm that fired projectiles. He could enter a contract with eight different elder dragons and acquire new attacks by defeating enemy dragons. Ito: Early designs for DMFD shared a system with Dragon Contract — “Sacrifice.” The protagonist could offer the souls of his allies to the elder dragons in exchange for power. Using the dragon’s power would cause these allies’ souls to slowly erode though, which eventually rendered them unable to talk. Aizu: If you look at that first design document, the name “Dragon Contract” is written using the Japanese characters for “dragon” and “soul.” The fundamental idea for the game was forming a contract with a dragon in exchange for human souls. Aizu: The original target platform in that first design document was the PSP, and we planned to use its ad hoc feature for local multiplayer. We took that document to many publishers, but only one expressed any interest. When all was said and done, we were thrilled to receive backing and monetary support from Yoshifumi Hashimoto of Marvelous and development got underway. Ito: After talking it over with Marvelous, we decided to make the game multiplatform for PSP, PS3, and one other platform. We began development in earnest in 2009. Aizu: Ryota Ito was appointed director, the setting design was entrusted to KOU (Makoto Yabe) of the Mega Man ZX series, and Mega Man Zero artist Hirokatsu Maeda took the lead on sprite design. Ito: However, due to various circumstances at Marvelous, development was halted at the beginning of 2010 and that version of the game was unfortunately never released. Aizu: Even then, Mr. Hashimoto was very fond of the project, and twice provided funds (in 2011 and 2012) to port the game to mobile platforms, allowing development to slowly continue. During this time, “Azure Striker Gunvolt” series illustrator Yoshitaka Hatakeyama contributed many illustrations for the game. 　　 Ito: A lot of time passed before we were finally able to restart the development of DMFD. We got things back up and running about four years ago (2016), and if I remember correctly, it took another year after that for it to get into full swing. Aizu: In order to completely restart development, we needed to have Inti Creates self-publish the game and take on the full financial burden. We were able to do this thanks to strong worldwide sales of the Gunvolt series helmed by Mr. Tsuda, which helped convince Marvelous to give us the OK. We have our fans to thank as well, because it wouldn’t have been possible without their support. Ito: Since the game was on hold for a long time, many of the people on the DMFD team had really hard to get an idea of just how close to completion the game even was. Aizu: It was definitely a challenge. However, the main programmer of Mega Man ZX returned to the company after going freelance for a while and a multiplayer specialist programmer left a certain Osaka-based “C” company to join our team. With these folks on board, I felt that our newly powered-up team was up to the task. Ito: It’s good for the producer to be optimistic, but as director, when I first touched that old build of DMFD, the gameplay felt really outdated and I knew it was going to be a major task to modernize it. The only character with a dash was the Shinobi — everyone else could only walk — and the swords and axe attacks were very slow. Compared to other Inti Creates games, it just didn’t feel good; the pace was slow and it took too long to defeat enemies. Aizu: It really was slow. Ito: It took between 30 and 60 minutes just to clear a quest, and I won’t deny that the gameplay itself was quite simple and dull. When we exhibited DMFD at PAX West three years ago, we tried to improve the gameplay a bit by streamlining the quest in the demo. We didn’t have time to change the characters much however, and anyone who played it then may have left with the impression that it was quite a slow game overall. Ito: In order to dramatically improve the character action, we brought Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon director Miyazawa “Meijin” onto the team. Aizu: He had actually worked on DMFD 11 years prior creating graphics, but since that time he had proved himself as a planner and now contributes to a variety of Inti Creates games. Ito: He took a fresh look at each character’s gameplay and adjusted them all from the ground up to create the speedy and satisfying action of the game today. Thanks to him, DMFD’s gameplay would feel at home with the high-speed action of games like Mega Man Zero and Gunvolt. Aizu: We were developing Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2 at the same time as we were making updates to DMFD. That must have been a real challenge for him. Ito: DMFD isn’t all action, but also an RPG where characters’ levels and stats matter. It would be very difficult for players to play through it just like any other action game. Cooperating and working as a team in online multiplayer is a key aspect to the game as well, so we hope everyone gets a chance to experience the unique gameplay of DMFD together. Aizu: Countless people have worked on DMFD during the past decade. We are extremely proud to bring the latest version of DMFD to PS4 in what we feel is the ultimate form of the game. We hope you enjoy the game! View the full article

Control sandstorms and possess the power of a Valencian god when Hashashin arrives as a limited-time exclusive to Black Desert on PlayStation 4 today. His lightning-fast combat and elemental powers will make for a unique and engaging combat style. “The Blackstar shall deliver us all to paradise. We stand guard against the darkness ’till the day we breathe our last.” Only the fiercest Adventurers can take up the Shamshir to wield the power of Aal. Hashashin’s story began long ago, three years after the Blackstar fell in the west. His world was lost in the unforgiving tides of the holy war waging across the crimson sands. An endless stream of monsters barraged the land, and the hope his people’s elders had promised never came, at least, not the way they expected… “Hear me. For I am the curved blade of Aal, the master who shall unleash his raging winds and sands.” Hashashin engages in melee combat with the Shamshir as his main weapon, and also wields the power of the sands to attack, chase and even ambush enemies (or if all else fails, to quickly escape from danger). His main skill, the Apostle’s Descent, is an AOE attack where Hashashin jumps into the air and slams his Shamshir into the ground, sending out a ripple of sandstorms. Hashashin also possesses a special skill allowing him to imbue the memory of a specific nearby place in a sandstorm, then teleport to that place. Hashashin has minor passives that allow him to travel slightly faster in the desert. He also has a mildly higher resistance to desert diseases compared to other classes. “The Blackstar of Salvation has yet to descend, for there are those weak of faith.” “None but us, the souls who’ve endured through the tragedy of battle, can enter paradise.” The Hashashin endlessly wanders from battle to battle, yearning to reach paradise. But the journey is long. Every night as he slumbered Hashashin’s doubts and misgivings — the black energy — began to possess him, a dark seed growing deep within his heart, dampening his connection with Aal. In addition to the release of Hashashin, there is something Adventurers are excited about: the summer sale. From July 22 to August 19, new Black Desert bundles — Traveler, Explorer, Conqueror — will be launched and 50% discounted. This is the perfect chance to enter the world of Black Desert with a powerful new class. View the full article

World War Z has been out for just over a year now and we’re thrilled to continue bringing out free major content updates. After all, squaring up against several hundreds of sprinting zombies at a time with three buddies to back you up never goes out of fashion. Since Season 2 of free content began, we’ve brought new weapons, missions, special zombies, the endless Horde Mode, and more. In today’s update, we introduce the first ever new class to World War Z: The Dronemaster. In addition to this new class, the Dronemaster update brings more zombie-exploding firepower in the form of the new Advanced Combat Weapon, a short-caliber semi-automatic grenade launcher. As a rare pick-up, it’s excellent for deleting entire hordes of zombies, but don’t get too trigger-happy or you’ll risk blowing your team up too. As the centerpiece of this update, the Dronemaster is one of the most versatile classes in World War Z. Its unique ability lets you summon the trusty Quadrocopter, a nifty little ally that floats like a butterfly and stings like a flying robot with a mounted cannon! By default, your drone friend will follow you around as you lay waste to the undead, zapping any zeke that get too close to its master, including special zombies. This gives the Dronemaster fantastic survivability, able to escape death by charging Bull or leaping Lurker. Instead of being beaten into paste, your Quadrocopter will stun the Bull, provided it has enough ammo, so you can slink around and shoot it in the back while it’s stunned. To start with, the drone lasts for 12 shots, which you can customize to be stuns, pistol shots, or silenced pistol shots. Once the ammo is depleted, you’ll have to redeploy another drone. The true strength of the Dronemaster lies in its versatility. As you unlock perks, you’ll discover new ways to make use of your Quadrocopter, such as directing it to protect one of your teammates, hold position at a designated location, or (if you’re cold and heartless), sacrificing it in a kamikaze explosion attack. It can even defuse landmines and convert hostile automatic turrets. The drone grants buffs to whoever it follows, such as complete friendly fire immunity and temporary health boosts. The more powerful buffs, such as less damage taken and occasional ammo recovery, are prestige-rank unlocks. A second drone buddy can eventually be summoned for when the action gets a little too hot. With so many choices available, it’s up to you to choose what will work best. Will you place two drones at an important choke point, or send one to a front-line slasher while keeping the other on yourself? Coupled with the final perk, where the Quadrocopter will stun a large number of zombies in a wide radius around them when it’s depleted, you’ll be able to set up some deadly traps and killzones. We can’t wait to see how you’ll use the Dronemaster in ways we haven’t even thought of! The Dronemaster update is free for everyone who owns the game, and arrives on PlayStation 4 today! Look out for the Signature Weapons Pack DLC, a set of four new weapon variants inspired by in-game characters, coming on the same day as the Dronemaster update. View the full article

It feels like it was just yesterday when Rocket League launched on PlayStation as a PlayStation Plus title. We were overwhelmed by the love (and number of players) who hit the field and played the high-octane hybrid of driving and soccer. Now, five years later, we’re ready to start the next chapter of Rocket League. It all starts when it goes free to play this summer! Rocket League will be completely free to download and enjoy later this summer following the game’s biggest update yet. In this update, the menus will be overhauled to make them easier to navigate, and major features will receive key improvements like Tournaments and Challenges. Stay tuned for more information on these feature updates, as there’s a lot to reveal! Whether you’ve been playing Rocket League from day one or you just picked it up this year, you won’t have to worry about losing your inventory. Your items will follow you to the free to play update. Plus, anyone who has played Rocket League online before the launch of free to play will be rewarded with Legacy status, which includes: All Rocket League-branded DLC packs released before free to play “Est. 20XX” title that displays the first year you played Rocket League 200+ Common items upgraded to “Legacy” quality Golden Cosmos Boost Dieci-Oro Wheels Huntress Player Banner In addition, if you’ve played online before today’s announcement, you will also receive the Faded Cosmos Boost. Legacy rewards will be granted once the free to play version launches later this summer. It’s been an amazing five years on PlayStation, and we’re gearing up for five more and beyond! We can’t wait to introduce Rocket League to a whole new audience. Be sure to visit RocketLeague.com and follow us on Twitter for all the news as we approach Rocket League free to play! View the full article

Hi, I’m David Sirlin, and I love fighting games. I always loved Street Fighter, and was the lead designer on one version of it, then I went on to create the mechanically elegant, but strategically difficult fighting game, Fantasy Strike. Now, I have an announcement for you that I think is a big deal for the genre of fighting games. Fantasy Strike is now free to play. The term “free to play” has a wide range of meanings and we’re excited to tell you that we’re on the extreme end of the spectrum where all characters are free and you can play them immediately, with no grinding to unlock them, and no way to pay for any kind of power (just extra cosmetics and features). Specifically, you can play all characters in online casual play, online ranked play, offline practice mode, and offline “single match” mode against AI… completely free. Also we are also adding two new characters: Chancellor Quince and General Onimaru. Everyone gets these characters for free, too. Two New Characters To learn more about the gameplay of these new characters, check out the character spotlight videos for Quince and Onimaru. This is something we wanted to do all along. We know that it’s a huge benefit to the playerbase, not just in that they can play for free, but also in that it attracts a ton more opponents for everyone and helps vastly expand the community. The problem for us was always that in order to make the game free-to-play, we have to develop a bunch of other stuff to actually sell. Well, we did that. And we’ve been careful to keep the game completely competitively fair in the process. Thing You Can Buy If You Want There are three broad types of things people can buy. First, the core pack: this gives access to five additional game modes: Arcade Mode, Survival, the awesome powerup craziness of Boss Rush, local versus, and online friend matches (founders who already bought the game already have and will retain all these modes). Next, there’s a lot of new cosmetics. Players can buy (sensible!) alternate costumes as well as alternate (non-gameplay) animations such as intros and win poses. Finally, there’s an optional subscription called Fantasy+. New Cosmetics Costumes Intros Special KO Animations Fantasy+ (optional service) First, Fantasy+ gives you access to our new replay system. We tried very hard to give this feature awesome UI and usability. You can save replays of your own games, watch replays of others, and you even get four new “channels” in our Netflix-like video screen that are all devoted to replays. Advanced Search for Replays Replay Controls, Including Frame Step Forward & Back Next, every character has a special Master Costume that’s like their ultimate progression. These costumes can’t be bought in the item shop. They are only available to Fantasy+ members, and even then, only if you are level 20 or higher with that character. Fantasy+ members also get an XP boost to cross that threshold faster. (XP does not give any gameplay advantage.) Master Costumes Finally, Fantasy+ members get their names in green in the game to show their support. Every time you see someone with a green name, you know they are supporting more development of the game. To everyone who already bought the game, we want you to know that you lose nothing and you gain two free new characters to play. We also want you to know that for other people to have all the game modes you do, they’ll have to buy the core pack. And that our founders already have 60 additional costume colors that free-to-play players don’t have. Get Ready to Dive In Don’t miss the huge wave of new players that will come with this change. Get in on the game now. While it’s designed to be a deep game for experts, it’s also the perfect “second game” for everyone in the FGC because you can learn the basics so quickly and get right to the strategy. It also happens to be a great game for anyone wanting to try out fighting games for the first time. For experts, we have a tournament coming up on Saturday, July 25, and we challenge you to see how well you can do in this simple-seeming, but brutally difficult game. Welcome to the community! View the full article

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim now releases on September 22, and will arrive on PS4 with English Voiceover as part of Day 1 patch. This Vanillaware sci-fi adventure is a beloved title here at SEGA of America, and well worth the wait! Today I’m joined by a member of our localization team, Allie Doyon, who handled the voice recording for 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. She’s been in the booth for a while and has all the behind-the-scenes info. Ari Advincula: 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim has been winning a ton of awards in Japan. It’s even up for nomination for the Seiun Sci-fi awards, as the only video game nominated! Can you give us a quick intro of what 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is about? Allie Doyon: Sure! Honestly, this game is so unique that a straightforward explanation of the premise wouldn’t do it justice. I could sit here for hours pouring my heart out about it, but that’s part of what makes it so fun to experience for yourself. If I had to condense it down to a few themes, I guess I would say it’s a surprisingly heartfelt mystery across time, space, and human lives. You’ve got the love letter to sci-fi — giant robots, giant monsters (kaiju), suspicious men in black, the works — and then you’ve got the human elements of love, purpose, memories, and the self. Set against the gorgeous backdrop of Vanillaware’s signature audiovisual style, it’s all very compelling. AA: There are 13 characters and 13 intertwining narratives, that’s a lot of characters. How can the player keep up? AD: That’s part of the fun! As you play, you gradually unlock more and more of each playable character’s route. They all weave together, and you’ll start piecing together truths for one character as reveals happen in another. For example, in Iori Fuyusaka’s prologue, one of the first things that happens is she bumps into a guy named Ei Sekigahara and drops her student ID. He picks it up, and the player will notice that the ID is a key clue for him during his own story. If you ever find yourself lost among the various plotlines and mysteries at play, there’s a whole mode called Analysis that lets you dive into it all. Analysis mode contains two parts: the Event Archive, which lets you replay almost any story scene you’ve seen, and the Mystery Files, which function like an unlockable glossary collecting the facts as you know them thus far. Browsing through these is a great way to sit down and put all the puzzle pieces together as you play. AA: What has it been like handling VO during quarantine? AD: Oh man, it’s been quite an experience, haha. We started out recording as usual at the studio, but it wasn’t long before COVID-19 forced us out of that close-quarters environment. Everyone involved, especially the studio owners, engineers, and actors themselves had to come up with alternative solutions to get the job done. Actors’ safety is paramount — they need healthy lungs to do their jobs! — but nobody wanted to give up on this game’s incredible English voice track, either. It took some time to work everything out, but ultimately, we ended up recording the rest over video conference call. It’s not as simple as just calling in and talking — we needed studio-quality audio recordings, a way for the audio engineers to work with said recordings on the spot and afterwards, and a way for each actor to view the director’s screenshared script at a readable size. To help achieve that studio quality, actors set up makeshift studios in their own homes, which sometimes meant getting cozy in a closet with a nice mic! Needless to say, there were a lot of technical complications, but everyone really went the extra mile to make it happen. AA: Do you have any special stories you’d like to share about working with the voice actors? AD: If you think the story of 13 Sentinels sounds complex, just imagine what our voice director had to say to explain it to each actor as they entered the booth! I lost count of the number of times “wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey” was said over the course of recording. Since there’s no single “main character” of this game, each actor only saw their own side of the story, leaving many of them excited to see how it all comes together in the end. Without giving away any spoilers, I’d also like to say that certain aspects of this game presented an incredible acting challenge, and I’m so impressed with how well they all nailed it! There’s a real showcase of talent here, and I can’t wait for everyone to play it and find out what I mean. AA: Any final message for the PlayStation Blog readers? AD: Do you like food? I like food. Vanillaware likes food. Takatoshi Hijiyama from 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim likes food. If this game doesn’t make you want to urgently find someplace to buy yakisoba pan, I don’t know what will. If you’re looking for something fresh and interesting, give 13 Sentinels a try! It’s one of my favorite games I’ve ever worked on in over nine years in the industry, and we all put our hearts into doing it justice. I genuinely love each and every character in the game, and I hope they’ll grow on you as much as they did on me. Thanks for your time, Allie! You can pre-order 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim from physical retailers now to secure an artbook featuring Vanillaware’s painterly art. Digital pre-orders are coming soon! View the full article

Hey to the fans of all things PlayStation and cooking carnage! My name is Holly and I work over at Team17 as brand manager on the Overcooked! franchise. I’m super excited to say that we at Team17 have been working with Ghost Town Games to cook up something truly special for PlayStation 5: Overcooked! All You Can Eat. Overcooked! All You Can Eat sees Overcooked! and Overcooked! 2 blended together with all additional content and remastered up to 4K in a delicious definitive edition. Making use of the power of the PS5, Overcooked! AYCE offers stunning 4K visuals, cross-platform multiplayer, and rapid loading times — meaning more time for culinary carnage! A visual feast! Both games have been taken to the next level with stunning, enhanced 4K visuals — this is the best that the Overcooked! series has ever looked. Cross-platform multiplayer Enjoy the cooking chaos with all of your friends using cross-platform multiplayer and voice chat. A shared multiplayer queue means reduced waiting times for games. Overcooked! goes online You asked and we listened. Overcooked! has been rebuilt in the Overcooked! 2 engine, allowing for fully integrated online multiplayer. Revisit your favourite kitchens from the first game in stunning 4K and ONLINE! Assist mode! Because we know Overcooked! is a family favourite, we wanted to look at ways to make it easier for anyone to join in the fun, regardless of their gaming ability. Assist mode offers a number of options to allow for a less frantic game including slower recipe timeout, increased round timers and the option to skip levels. Accessible for all! We wanted to allow as many players as possible to join in the food frenzy and so have been investigating a number of options to increase accessibility. Scalable UI, dyslexia-friendly text and colour blindness options are all available. Tasty new content! Finally, Overcooked! AYCE will offer up some new, exclusive content: new levels, new chefs and new mayhem. More information will be coming soon on this but for now, here’s a sneak peak. Meet our adorable axolotl chef! Whether you’re new to the Overcooked! series or a seasoned chef, we truly believe that this is the best way to play and a natural fit for the PS5! View the full article

Suit up and drop into the action in Rogue Company, a fast-paced third-person shooter that combines the style of the runway with the explosiveness of the battlefield. Early access is available now with the purchase of one of the Founder’s Packs, so read on for a look at the cast of Rogues, and much more. Play as one of the Rogues, a collection of elite mercenaries who save the world for glory, riches, or perhaps more personal reasons. Take to the battlefield in 4v4 objective-based matches where you will need to rely on your squad to adapt and overcome each combat puzzle the opposition can throw at you. The Rogues Rogues are extraordinary people recruited from all walks of life to save the day, look good, and get paid. Some may approach a mission with a keen eye and tact, while others will be more suited to explode on the scene with guns blazing. Work with your teammates to create a balanced squad that can execute your mission strategy efficiently. Each Rogue is equipped with a unique arsenal of weapons they can bring to the battlefield that can be upgraded and modified between each round: Primary Weapons: These are the big guns. Whether you choose a mid-range assault rifle or an up-close-and-personal pump shotgun, this weapon will allow you to define your playstyle. Secondary Weapons: Every superhero needs a sidekick. Secondary weapons are smaller caliber weapons that can be swapped to at a moment’s notice to finish off an enemy agent or to help avoid the reload penalty. Gadgets: What would a world class hero be without a selection of high-tech gadgets at their disposal? As a Rogue, you can carry both offensive and defensive gadgets into battle that will help you create distractions, defend yourself, or cause a bit of mayhem. Perks: Tailor your playstyle as well as you tailor your outfits. Perks help fill in the gaps of your arsenal with special passive bonuses that will help to even the odds against enemy agents. Abilities: Each Rogue also brings something unique to the table. Abilities can be the difference between victory and defeat, if used wisely. Explosive daggers, shield walls, and barbed wire traps are just a few examples of special abilities that Rogues might bring to the mission. Play Now! Jump in today by purchasing any of the Founder’s Packs available at PlayStation Store. Get instant access, special cosmetics, currency, and more! Suit up your Rogues with skins, weapon wraps, wingsuits, emotes, sprays, and more so you always enter the mission in style. Earn Reputation to unlock new Rogues so you can always bring the right Rogue to complement your squad. View the full article

Welcome back to yet another Skater XL map reveal! We really think you’re going to like this one, especially if you like going big… At its core, our mission with Skater XL was to make skateboarding, in all its forms, accessible to as many people as possible. While street skating gets much of the shine today, ramps are a huge part of skateboarding and crucial to any true representation of skateboard culture. From the backyard vert ramps of the ‘80s to the boundary-breaking mega structures of more recent years, skateboarding’s history was written on plywood. While our outward development focus through Early Access may have appeared to be driven toward a focus on street skating mechanics, in the background we were quietly refining the transition skating experience with the same attention to detail. Many of the improved transition skating features released in our latest PC Early Access update have had very positive community reception, and we have continued to enhance the mechanics in advance of our launch on PlayStation 4. As with Skater XL’s controls on other terrain, you are in full control of the board at all times on ramps and have the same ability to add style and nuance to all of your tricks. From the technicalities of the perfect spine transfer, to tweaking a backside 540 melon over the 135’ gap in just the right way, the transition experience is designed to be just as satisfying as all other areas of gameplay. “But where are we supposed to use all these cool transition skating features? I’ve only seen street maps!” Well, I’m very glad you asked. Welcome to The Big Ramp! Modeled after the desert dwelling ramp structures that broke the barriers of what is possible on a skateboard, The Big Ramp is truly insane terrain! Encompassing many different sizes and shapes of vertical variety, this map is where you want to come to GO BIG! If you’re looking for a real crowd pleasing remake of your favorite gold medal run, start at the roll-in above the 135’ gap jump which lands straight into the massive 60’ quarterpipe. Here we are talking about some serious hangtime. Link together your best tricks, spins and grabs on your quest for the perfect run. You can also take the gap to rainbow rail or kinked ledge if you want to up the level of difficulty. This section is perfect for creating jaw dropping clips in the in-game replay editor. In the mood for a more straightforward vert skating experience? Check out the vert ramp section, complete with bowl corners and multiple height variations just waiting to be thrashed. Transition tech more your speed? Hit the mini zone, which is chock full of smaller quarterpipes and spines, just itching for all the lip tricks you can throw at it. Our unique game mechanic allows you to roll into and out of grinds without popping, allowing some of the smoothest coping grinds and stalls ever seen in a skateboarding game. Explore the area more to find other features like hips, tabletops, bank to ledges, and everything that make The Big Ramp a plywood paradise! Check out this map along with Downtown Los Angeles, Easy Day High School, Grant Park Chicago and more when Skater XL drops on PS4 July 28! View the full article

Cris Tales is a Colombian-developed title that merges inspiration from the team’s favorite JRPGs with their experiences living in Colombia to create something unique. Today, we’re extremely excited to give you the chance to play some of what Dreams Uncorporated and SYCK created in the demo, now available on PlayStation 4. Cris Tales will let you experience past, present and future both in and out of the game’s turn-based combat – and to sometimes remarkable results. In combat, you’ll be able to push your enemies into the past or future to see another version of them and to alter their powers. Play around a little bit with status effects, and you might find some interesting results! In the demo you’ll experience the beginning of Crisbell’s journey in Crystallis. You’ll witness the awakening of her unique power to see the past, present and future simultaneously, and meet the first of her companions: Matias, Cristopher and Willhelm. As the demo opens, you’ll find yourself in Crisbell’s hometown of Narim. The town’s central feature is a large cathedral within which Crisbell first discovers her unique powers. This cathedral is also one of the first places you might notice the developer’s Colombian heritage making its way into Cris Tales. Built inside a canyon of the Guáitara River in Colombia’s southern region of Nariño you’ll find the gorgeous Santuario de Las Lajas. This towering Gothic cathedral was built to defy gravity and rises within the canyon itself. It’s a man-made wonder within the natural wonder of the canyon itself. After visiting the Cathedral, Crisbell discovers her time powers and meets Matias, her friendly froggy companion. Matias can aid Crisbell by hopping into the past or future to do small tasks or help Crisbell learn information that might impact her present. This bright yellow frog also comes from Colombia – Matias is inspired by Colombia’s rana dorada, or golden poison frog. This endangered species of frog finds its home on the Pacific coast of Colombia in the Chocó Rainforest. If you find yourself face to face with one of these cute critters in the rainforests, snap a picture, but maybe don’t touch them – their glands contain enough poison to kill two African bull elephants. Historically, the residents have used this poison on their darts during hunts for food. If things get rough in Cris Tales, maybe you can feed Matias to your enemies? Matias isn’t the only golden part of Cris Tales though. St. Clarity is inspired by the port city of Cartagena in Colombia. The dress you’ll see in St. Clarity is inspired by the bright, flowy dress of this port city and beach destination, and the main gates of the upper terrace of St. Clarity reflect the golden yellow city gates and clock tower. When you reach St. Clarity in Cris Tales, you’ll see a grave disparity between the city’s working class and the rich. The lower section of the city experiences flooding and pulls directly from the flooding that occurs in areas of Colombian cities with poor drainage systems. In Cris Tales, you’ll have the option to do something about the problem, if you choose. Check out this gameplay spotlight of St. Clarity for more: Play Video While we’re not quite ready to dive deeply into the other locations of Cris Tales like the festive town of Neva Tulira and its bird-people, or the working-class city of Cinder inside an active volcano, rest assured that those locations and stories continue to pull from Colombia’s rich and diverse heritage. We can’t wait to share more about these areas, the game’s story, and how this endemic fantasy world of Cris Tales is coming together in the coming months. In the meantime, please check out the demo and if you like it, tell your friends and come chat with us on Discord. We’re always happy to talk. Happy gaming! View the full article