Puzzles on a bigger screen

Monument Valley, the picturesque puzzle game series where players must navigate maps full of optical illusions, will no longer be exclusive to mobile devices. The complete Monument Valley Panoramic Collection is set to arrive on Steam on July 12th and gives players a broader point of view that isn’t limited by the vertical orientation of phones and tablets.

Ustwo, the developer behind Monument Valley, says it had to make some adjustments to account for a wider perspective, as well as for the transition from touch to mouse controls. Kirsty Keatch, a programmer at Ustwo, said in a behind-the-scenes interview that while they designed the mobile version’s touch controls for “large fingers that might occlude the rotators and draggers,” the PC port changes things a bit. Keatch explained that Ustwo wanted to make it clear to PC players that their actions “could reveal different levels of interactivity” in Monument Valley’s world, and they did this by “glowing the draggers and the rotators” when users hover over them with a mouse.

The trailer for Monument Valley Panoramic Collection shows just how open the expanded worlds look, almost certainly warranting another playthrough just to experience the more immersive view. Even if you don’t want to replay the two games, you might not have to wait much longer for a new adventure, as a third Monument Valley is in the works.

We first heard about Monument Valley 3 in 2019 when Ustwo posted a job listing for the project. There haven’t been too many rumors about the third game since then, but John Lau, the senior producer at Ustwo, hinted at a new installment during the Pocket-lint Podcast in April. Lau noted that Ustwo is “staffing up for the next installment of Monument Valley” and that they’re currently in the “concept phase.”

Both Monument Valley and Monument Valley 2 will come with the same DLC packs available on the mobile versions, including Forgotten Shores and Ida’s Dream for the first installment and The Lost Forest for Monument Valley 2. The games are available separately for $7.99 each on Steam, or you can get 15 percent off by purchasing them in a bundle.

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The post Monument Valley’s puzzles will reach PC gamers on July 12th first appeared on Get2Gaming.

Malenia ain’t nothing.

Elden Ring director Hidetaka Miyazaki has revealed which of the action RPG’s many bosses is his favorite, as well as his thoughts on a few of the game’s other characters and design principles.

Speaking about Elden Ring in an interview published on Xbox Wire(opens in new tab) ( translated by IGN(opens in new tab)), Miyazaki was asked which of the game’s bosses was his favorite. Although he had some difficulty choosing, he picked one of the game’s most recognizable, late-game foes.

“It’s tough to decide”, Miyazaki said, “but I’d have to say Radahn. As an individual character, he’s really alluring, and I really like the Radahn Festival situation. There’s a literal sense of festivity and exuberance, but also a unique tinge of sadness and loneliness.”

He went on to say that when he first proposed the idea of the Radahn Festival – a choreographed set-piece that triggers when you square off against Radahn – “no one on the team took it seriously”. They must have been brought around by the time it was added to the game.

Miyazaki added that Godrick, the Grafted and Rykard, Lord of Blasphemy are his next favorite bosses. The Fingercreeper – the gigantic disembodied hands that scuttle about Caria Manor like spiders – while not a boss, is also high up on his list.

“Spider Hand is one of my favorite designs,” Miyazaki said. “It’s something you don’t want to even look at because it’s so horrible.

“I wonder if the way to overcome your issue is to face it head on and beat it,” he added, responding to the interviewer’s fear of the monster.

Inspiration and iteration

Elsewhere in the interview, Miyazaki was asked if any other open-world games inspired the design of Elden Ring. Rather than identifying a single title, he said he’s played many open-world games that have all provided some level of inspiration, and named The Witcher 3, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and The Elder Scrolls series as standout games in the genre.

As for how that open world was designed, Miyazaki describes an iterative process. The position of Elden Ring’s bosses across the map was set near the beginning of its design. From there, the team took a dynamic approach, designing the map to fit the bosses’ gameplay, and adjusting the gameplay of the bosses to suit the map’s environment.

Finally, Miyazaki said he was both happy and surprised by the scale of Elden Ring’s success, but doesn’t appear to attribute it to a change within FromSoftware. The studio, he said, has always tried to make games that are interesting and new, and didn’t change their attitude for their latest release. Elden Ring is just the latest statement of that vision.

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THE POPULAR PES MODE IS STILL SOME WAY OFF, KONAMI SAYS

Konami has confirmed that eFootball won’t be getting a Master League mode until 2023.

The mode, which was popular among fans when the series was previously known as Pro Evolution Soccer, is essentially a career mode where players take control of a team and improve it by buying and selling players while trying to win leagues and cups.

However, according to a message on the official eFootball Twitter account, Master League won’t be coming to the game until next year, and “will be available as additional paid content during 2023”.

In a somewhat confusing message, the tweet also states: “The number of teams that can be used in leagues and club teams will be expanded and distributed as additional paid content by the end of 2022.”

It’s not clear whether this means the existing ‘Match’ mode, which only gives players access to nine licensed teams for offline and CPU friendly matches, will be getting extra teams as paid content, or whether there’s a separate League mode coming.

In terms of free content, the statement adds:

• “Lobby Match in which users can create rooms online and play matches between teams created in Dream Team is scheduled to be available after summer 2022”
• “Some editing functions will be available in winter 2022”
• “Cross-platform across consoles and PC will be available in winter 2022″

eFootball is currently in the middle of a lengthy four-day maintenance period, to prepare for the launch of its second season of content.

When the downtime ends, the game’s version 1.1.0 update will be ready, with Season 2 coming a fortnight later.

“Version 1.1.0 update will include improvements of win/loss decision-making in online matches, enhancements of server capacity and preparation for future initiatives such as data sharing between console and mobile,” Konami said earlier this month.

Paid Content
– The number of teams that can be used in leagues and club teams will be expanded and distributed as additional paid content by the end of 2022
– Master League will be available as additional paid content during 2023

— eFootball (@play_eFootball) May 31, 2022

The first version of eFootball was released in September 2021 to widespread criticism. The football simulator, which was panned for its poor gameplay and comical graphics, was named the worst reviewed game of 2021 by Metacritic.

In an attempt to turn things around, Konami delayed the planned November 2021 release of its major version 1.0.0 update, instead launching it in April 2022.

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To celebrate the 25th anniversary of RPG Final Fantasy 7, Square Enix is opening a limited-time themed cafe based on the video game.

Square Enix is celebrating many anniversaries across its different titles this 2022. The Kingdom Hearts series just reached its 20th anniversary, the Final Fantasy franchise as a whole is celebrating its 35th year, and the original Final Fantasy 7 PlayStation game marks its 25th anniversary this 2022 as well. Though Square Enix has yet to make any announcements about the sequel of FF7 Remake, the company has given other updates concerning the series’ 25th year milestone. Recently, the company has revealed that it is opening a themed cafe in Japan in celebration of the occasion.

Many fans are likely holding on to the hope that major updates will be shared soon about FF7 Remake. This hope is kindled by the game’s co-director Tetsuya Nomura, who recently announced that major Final Fantasy 7 announcements will be revealed in June 2022. Aside from this piece of news, fans seem to have nothing else to go by, except for Square Enix’s occasional social media postings about anniversary activities. This includes the FF7 anniversary virtual exhibit and now, the upcoming themed cafe.

On the Japanese Twitter account of Final Fantasy 7, official dates of the 25th anniversary themed cafe have been announced. The cafe will be open from June 11 to July 22, 2022, and will be hosted by both of the company’s already existing cafes of Artnia in Shinjuku, and Square Enix Cafe in Akihabara. Reservations are needed if fans want to visit the cafe and enjoy the themed menu. Those who order a food item will get one random placemat while those who order drinks will get one random coaster. These items feature favorite Final Fantasy 7 characters, scenes, and artwork from the series.

#FFVII25th 記念！🎂
6/11(土)〜7/22(金)、 #スクエニカフェ と #アルトニア にて「FFVII25th ANNIVERSARY CAFE」合同開催決定！
席の予約開始は明日27（金）18時～！
ぜひ、お越しください！☕️#FF7R

詳しくはこちら！#sqex_cafe ：https://t.co/ZAxuLSsfN0#ARTNIA ：https://t.co/WABKwqvkFQ pic.twitter.com/V353KtlLU8

— FFVII REMAKE (@FFVIIR_CLOUD) May 26, 2022

Since there will be two locations for the themed cafe, fans who visit both and participate in the stamp rally can receive a special coaster with a secret design. A region-locked Square Enix account is needed, however, to make reservations online, so fans will either need to create one or visit the actual cafe locations to inquire about available walk-in slots. Final Fantasy 7 25th anniversary products are also available for purchase in both cafes, so for those who are unable to get seats to the actual cafe can still buy official merchandise.

Unfortunately, Square Enix has not shared if any of the official cafe merchandise will make their way outside of Japan. Hopefully the upcoming reveals this June will shed light on both the Final Fantasy 7 Remake sequel as well as the Final Fantasy 7 25th anniversary products.

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Geoff Keighley has revealed the partner line-up for Summer Game Fest 2022.

Over 30 companies set to participate in Summer Game Fest were announced on Tuesday, with more to be confirmed at a later date.

The line-up includes 2K, Activision, Atlus, Bandai Namco, Bloober Team, Capcom, Coffee Stain, Deep Silver, Devolver Digital, Digital Extremes, Dotemu, EA, Epic Games, Focus Entertainment, Frost Giant Studios, Level Infinite, Mediatonic, miHoYo, Netflix, PlayStation, Raw Fury, Samsung, Sega, Square Enix, Skybound Games, Steam, Studio MDHR, Tribecca Festival, Warner Bros. Games and Xbox.

The core of Summer Game Fest 2022 will take place from June 9-12, but announcements are expected to be spread over a matter of weeks in June.

Notably, Sony Interactive Entertainment will stream a new State of Play presentation on June 2 at 3pm PT / 6pm ET / 11pm BST. It will include nearly 30 minutes of announcements and updates on PlayStation games.

This year's #SummerGameFest will feature events, activities and updates for fans from more than 30 partners, with more to be announced.

It's going to be a great month for video game fans.

Get ready! pic.twitter.com/vLaRGnbtBK

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) May 31, 2022

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It looks as though the H.R. Giger inspired horror title Scorn is still on track for a 2022 release as the developer teases more footage and details.

The gaming world is currently in the midst of a golden age of horror. With rumors that the Resident Evil 4 remake may be revealed soon and with a possible 2023 release, as well as the ongoing success of Capcom’s flagship series overall, now is a pretty splendid time to be a fan of scary games. There’s also the indie scene to look towards as well, with the likes of MADiSON and Mortuary Assistant being ones to check out, not to mention Ebb Software’s Scorn, which is coming this year.

Speaking of the latter, the studio recently unveiled some new gameplay videos for Scorn, this time with a focus on the weapons. In fact, an update post on Kickstarter specifically talks about the weapon system in general and what players can expect in terms of being able to defend themselves. While it appears as though the game will feature defensive tools of some kind, the developer states that it won’t be a typical shooter. The videos and images on the page show the design of some of these weapons, all sticking with that H.R. Giger-esque look.

Like all good horror games that feature weapons, there still needs to be that element of fear. With a shotgun or rifle and loads of ammunition, the player can too easily feel overpowered, and that can take the edge off any intended sense of terror. The Kickstarter post, with words from Ebb Software’s Creative Director Ljubomir Peklar, says that limited ammo will create a “careful balance” between maintaining the horror without making the game “one-dimensional” by having no ammo at all.

There was also a quick note on development. It looks as though Scorn is still on track for release this year and will likely come out this October. It was originally supposed to launch last year, but was pushed back. Since then, fans have been asking for details about when the game is likely to come out and, in fact, some controversy was drummed up not long ago when the studio lashed out at some who were impatient after waiting so many years for the game to release.

There’s also a possibility that Scorn could be featured at this year’s Xbox and Bethesda Showcase, which is happening on June 12. In any case, it seems as though Ebb Software is well on its way to launching the game. After being in development since 2015, many horror fans will be relieved that the wait is finally over and hopefully the delay will be worth it.

Scorn is scheduled to release in October 2022 for PC and Xbox Series X/S.

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IT ALSO IMPROVES THE SPEED AND RELIABILITY OF DETECTING UPDATES.

Microsoft has announced details of June’s Xbox system update.

It introduces the ability for players to reveal details about secret achievements including the title, achievement description and Gamerscore.

“You will also see improvements to the speed and reliability of detecting available updates, both in your collection and when you launch a game,” Eden Marie, an engineering lead at Xbox, wrote in a blog post published on Tuesday.

Earlier this week, Marie also suggested it’s unlikely Microsoft will bring back Xbox’s Snap feature, which enabled Xbox One players to use a secondary app like YouTube on the right side of their screen while playing a game.

“While we all miss snap, I don’t think it’s coming back,” she tweeted.

The feature was removed in 2017 in a bid to “improve multitasking, reduce memory use, improve overall speed, and free up resources going forward for bigger things”, according to former Xbox executive Mike Ybarra, who is now president of Blizzard Entertainment.

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MASUDA DIRECTED A NUMBER OF POKÉMON GAMES AND WILL NOW “DEVELOP NEW SERVICES AND PRODUCTS”

Game Freak co-founder Junichi Masuda has left the developer for a new role at The Pokémon Company.

Masuda, who was managing director at Game Freak, left the studio on May 31 and becomes the chief creative fellow at The Pokémon Company as of today.

As one of the three co-founders of Game Freak, Masuda has been involved in the development of nearly every game the studio has developed since its inception in April 1989.

Masuda has played a notable role in the development of the Pokémon series, initially serving as composer and helping with programming on the original Pokémon Red, Green and Blue before taking on more senior development roles in later titles.

In particular, Masuda was the director of Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire, FireRed & LeafGreen, Diamond & Pearl, Black & White, X & Y and Let’s Go Pikachu & Eevee.

In leaving Game Freak, Masuda will presumably no longer be hands-on with development of future Pokémon games, and will instead oversee the production of Pokémon products in general in his new role at The Pokémon Company.

According to The Pokémon Company, Masuda “will utilise his deep understanding of the Pokémon brand to develop new services and products […] tapping into his years of experience and creative thinking”.

In a statement, Masuda said: “I would like to express my heart-felt thanks to all Pokémon fans.

“Going forward, I hope to transcend the boundaries of video games by trying to offer greater surprises, fun and excitement to people all over the world, while doing my utmost to connect people, expand the circle of ‘play’ and to help bring about a richer world for us to share. I appreciate your continued support in my new role.”

Earlier this week an industry consultant noted that The Pokémon Company has enjoyed a “record” financial year, with a net profit up 123% year-on-year, due to the releases of New Pokémon Snap, Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl and Pokémon Legends: Arceus.

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Summer is almost here, which means a new edition of the F1 racing game series is lining up on the grid. The F1 22 PC version arrives July 1, and this year’s edition will include some spiffy new features, including a built-in VR mode on PC.

A new trailer for F1 22 showcases the additions coming with this year’s edition of the official Formula 1 racing game. F1 22 supports the Valve Index, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift headsets, but you can also play in two-player split-screen multiplayer mode if you prefer a more shared racing experience.

Codemasters and EA Sports have added some helpful new features that will benefit both new and veteran players, too. There’s a new adaptive AI that’s better able to tailor the challenge to an individual player’s skill level, as well as a new accessible handling system that allows players to dial back on the complexity of F1 driving to find a point where they’re comfortable. Of course, experienced F1 drivers will find plenty to dig into, too.

Here’s the new features trailer:

F1 22 also features updates to this season’s circuits, which include Spain, Australia, and Abu Dhabi, as well as the Miami Grand Prix.

This year’s F1 also features a new F1 Life social hub, where you’ll be able to show off collectibles, achievements, cars, and fashion accessories you’ve picked up in the game. It also serves as F1 22’s multiplayer lobby, so you and your friends can compare trophies and hats when you’re off the track.

Check the F1 22 system requirements if you’re wondering whether your PC has the horsepower required this season.

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And that’s only the beginning

Microsoft has announced the next batch of titles hitting Xbox Game Pass this month, as it rolls out the first fruits of its new Ubisoft partnership.

Assassin’s Creed Origins and For Honor: Marching Fire Edition headline the releases. According to an Xbpx Wire(opens in new tab) blog post, they’ll be available to play on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Cloud Gaming.

They mark the start of a new partnership between Microsoft and Ubisoft that was announced back in April. Xbox Game Pass community lead Megan Spuur said Microsoft would be “working with Ubisoft to bring even more incredible games to the Game Pass Library”, telling us that “more Ubisoft Games [will be] coming to Game Pass” in the future.

Big changes are afoot

The full scope of that partnership hasn’t been fully detailed, but it could lead to some significant changes for the subscription platform. More legacy titles will likely be added to the service, such as Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, but it also opens the door to more launch day titles, too. Earlier this year, Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Extraction hit Game Pass on the same day of its retail release. If that trend continues, players will get to play forthcoming blockbuster Ubisoft games through their existing subscription – a major boon.

However, Ubisoft isn’t putting all of its pixelated eggs in one basket. In May, Sony announced it too had partnered with Ubisoft for its revamped PS Plus service. Members of the PS Plus Premium tier will get access to Ubisoft+, handing them a slate of older Ubisoft titles to dig into. As it so happens, that will include For Honor and Assassin’s Creed Origins.

For now, it remains to be seen if either Xbox Game Pass or PS Plus will be privy to triple-A Ubisoft titles on launch day. Such a partnership would especially be beneficial for Sony. The publisher has already said it won’t be adding its own first-party games to PS Plus on launch day for the foreseeable future, so any release day titles from other publishers will go far to improve the platform’s value.

• For Honor: Marching Fire Edition (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 1
• Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection (Console and PC) – June 2
• Assassin’s Creed Origins (Cloud, Console and PC) – June 7
• Chorus (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 7
• Disc Room (Cloud, Console, and PC) – June 7
• Spacelines from the Far Out (Console and PC) – June 7
  

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