Before PlayStation 5 launches this holiday, we wanted to give you one more look at some of the great games coming to PS5 at launch (and beyond!).
Our next digital showcase will weigh in at around 40 minutes, and feature updates on the latest titles from Worldwide Studios and our world-class development partners.
Tune in live on Twitch or YouTube this Wednesday, September 16 at 1pm PDT / 9pm BST / 10pm CEST to see what’s next for PS5.
Website: LINK
The Essential Picks promotion is unleashed on PlayStation Store on Wednesday, September 2. Offering up to 50% off an array of PS4 titles, it’ll let you enjoy all-new adventures for less.
Headlining the digital sale is Naughty Dog’s critically acclaimed action adventure The Last of Us Part II. While continuing the story of Ellie and Joel, it also introduces new intriguing characters, all of whom are swept up in the dramatic events that unfold in a post-apocalyptic world.
Want to get historical with your adventuring instead? Heads to ancient Greece to explore an open world rich with intriguing stories in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. In the mood for high speed pursuits instead? Also joining the promotion is the kart-based chaos of Crash Team Racing Nitro Fueled.
There are plenty more games available in the Essential Picks promotion. Below are the titles that are on sale in both Europe and North America. Check out the full list on PlayStation Store from Wednesday, September 2 (EU players, head here and American players, here) to see your local discounts*.
*The Essential Picks promotion runs until 23.59pm local time on Wednesday, September 16.
Website: LINK
More so than ever, video calls have become a daily norm for many. And there comes a time when you tire of seeing the same background to your hangouts and would happily trade it to transport yourself — and those you’re conversing with — to somewhere more exotic or exciting. So let the creative talent of some of the best PlayStation developers do just that.
Below you’ll find a gallery of dazzling imagery curated from the likes of Sucker Punch Productions, Naughty Dog, Insomniac Games, Santa Monica Studio, to name just a few. Vistas from newer hits like Death Stranding and Concrete Genie join classic views from Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. There’s a lot of choice.
Click on any image to load up its high-res version. A right-click and Save As is all you need to get these downloaded onto your device, ready to use for any video call service that allows custom background uploads.
Website: LINK
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This week, Justin’s back! He and Kristen talk about hopping back on the skateboard and dropping in to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2’s Warehouse Demo.
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.]
Website: LINK
It’s my first day in Seattle. Ellie and Dina are exploring a side room of a ruined synagogue. As has happened with frequent regularity since the game’s start, I open up Photo Mode. Naughty Dog’s latest is quickly proving to be a treasure trove for the photographic eye.
I pan round to compose my shot, looking to capture expressions, body language. To work out the best position for lighting. In doing so I spot Ellie’s gaze seemingly drawn to a painting in the room. I can’t interact with it, there’s no dialogue attached to its presence. Yet her facial expression gives every indication that she’s mulling the artwork over. Could Naughty Dog really have created subtle reactions for everything in the game?
Spoiler alert: This post contains story details about The Last of Us Part II
The answer, in a way, remarkably, is yes. The illusion is carefully crafted from multiple game systems working simultaneously. All built to depict the most realistic rendering of in-game character models possible.
These models sit separate from the motion capture tech utilized to render real-world actors in-game for cinematics. When those end and gameplay begins, that’s when the careful handiwork coordinated between multiple teams in the studio kicks in.
Taking me on a tour of this is Keith Paciello, the studio animator who masterminded the in-game facial tech after his internal pitch was greenlit and who collaborated on numerous other animation processes.
“In that instance,” he explains during our video call after I describe the scene to him, “you as a player are aiming with the controller for Ellie to look at the painting, which is triggering a ‘look at target’ placed by a designer. On top of that, I animated small eye darts (saccades) within the character’s facial idles to try and indicate an overall thought process. So animated eye saccades sitting on top of the eye-aim, work together to create what looks like focus and thought process.”
It’s an example of that close collaboration between the different teams during development, but also helps highlight the work being performed by Paciello’s Emotional Systematic Facial Animation system. In simplest terms, it picks a facial expression from a range of nearly 20 different emotional states for any of the 25 key characters that are on-screen. That covers leads, co-op partners, enemies, even Infected to an extent.
Facial animation working in unison with eye movements, body language, breathing… all interlinked and triggered by script beats, dialogue, encounters or ambient moments, like Ellie seemingly being absorbed by a painting. The illusion of emotion is constructed with mathematical precision. “It brings a depth to the characters that we’ve never seen before,” says Paciello.
After 17 years working as an animator, nine of which have been spent at Naughty Dog and most recently working as Lead Cinematic Animator on Uncharted: Lost Legacy, Keith was already invested in finding the best way to visually capture a character’s feelings.
Yet the epiphany to create something groundbreaking for The Last of Us Part II came from, of all things, a single blade of grass.
“Everyone was stepping up their game for TLOUII,” recalls Paciello during our video call. “We were looking at and talking about how to make a blade of grass even better [in game]. In doing so, we panned up, and there was this blank face on the character. I was like, “Oh.” It was then I wondered how we could simply, across the entire game, add these emotional beats to the characters, so at any point, you can tell what that character is feeling.”
Most of his development time would be spent solving that riddle. Using the Ellie facial model as a base, he started by sculpting expressions based on seven universally recognizable emotions: joy, sadness, fear, anger, surprise, disgust and contempt. Liaising with the dialogue team, they tagged emotions to be triggered at specific lines, building a solid foundation and allowing characters to smoothly transition from one to another. “We could emotionally pace out our characters from the absolute beginning of the game to the absolute end of the game and blend in and out of cinematics seamlessly.”
Paciello was then asked to support melee, fashioning realistic reactions for combatants. He also aided in animating the breathing system (“six animations, from small breathing all the way up to exhausted”) which would go to such lengths as to see characters switch from open to closed mouth breathing depending on their proximity to an enemy. “That was one of my favourite collaborations on the project,” reminisces Neil.
Outside of script-specific triggers, characters would also have a number of ‘neutral’ idle states with emotional overlays. He also brought his expertise to hand-sculpting poses for each character to match their emotional states. Some 40 poses for each of the 15-20 emotion sets. By the end of production, he’d totted up an impressive 15,000 individual, hand-sculpted poses.
That hard work was paying off. When the system was fully activated, positive feedback was universal: staff, playtesters, even Keith himself were finding a deeper emotional connection with the game’s cast during gameplay.
Paciello points to a pivotal moment when Ellie is at Joel’s grave as an example of the seamless transitions between cinematic and gameplay, “Flip the camera [after the cinematic ends] and you see that she’s still devastated,” he explains.”I talked to the character team to see if we could get the textures and make sure it looks like she was just crying, so everything blends together nicely.”
Yet even with the system in place and working as it promised to, the teams continued to fine tune every scene, further polishing each character’s emotional state. Ellie’s obvious exhaustion during the Santa Barbara sequence was the subject of additional focus. “We didn’t know if you wanted to go with pain, because she’s just gotten punctured. Ultimately Neil was happy with the exhausted look.”
And certain scenes demanded additional, unique flourishes to reinforce key character beats. Ellie’s reaction to seeing the Tyrannosaurus Rex statue during a flashback “was specially made for that moment,” while for the climactic beach fight, Paciello went in and redid all of Abby’s emotional sets to give the scene the gravitas it deserved.
“We all learnt a lot from that,” says Paciello. “When I first got to it, Abby, being so emaciated, still looked savage. I talked to Christian and said ‘I’m going to duplicate all her emotional sets for melee and I’m going to make them all exhausted.’ That way you choose between fierce and exhausted, so maybe she musters up enough strength but after she throws [a punch], goes into her exhausted state.”
I ask Paciello if he has any personal favourite moments from the game that shows the system at work. Understandably, he quickly rattles off several (“Dina and Ellie’s conversation back and forth on horseback, or Lev and Abby. Yara, in the aquarium talking about Lev.”), but ultimately he comes back to that climatic beach scene. He sees it as the culmination of everything the teams had worked on and proof that the system had achieved its goal. As Ellie and Abby come to the end of their respective arcs in an explosive, exhaustive clash, the emotional scars are clearly etched on their faces.
“It made me really made me feel like, ‘Okay, we’ve really pushed it.’ It’s what I wanted, it’s what I dreamt of when I pitched the idea of the system.”
Website: LINK
Override 2: Super Mech League is a competitive mech brawler from Modus Games set to make its towering release on PlayStation 4 this December and PlayStation 5 later this year.
Super Mech League is tuning up the original Override’s gigantic robot fighting action with an all-new emphasis on competitive play and multiplayer depth. Today, let’s take at what’s new in Override 2: Super Mech League.
Override is a 3D mech-based brawler, where players control skyscraper-sized mechs and duke it out across various game modes ranging from 2 to 4 players.
In the original, Override: Mech City Brawl, these giant mechs were created to eradicate an alien threat known as the Xenotypes. Seven years after the Xenotype invasion has ended, the colossal machines that were once the planet’s defenders, are now the world’s entertainers in global sports style combat. In the sequel, you’ll start as new mech pilot honing and displaying their skills to rise through the competitive ranks of the Mech Leagues.
The first Override captured the pure essence of controlling a gigantic mech and leveling cities. In Override 2, punches, kicks, and ultimate attacks all have an improved weight and impact to them.
Battles will take place in arenas located around the globe, all including unique and interactive environmental hazards. These features include fiery lava geysers, electrifying mines, and explosive canisters that can be picked up and thrown. The goal we’re striving for in Override 2 is in service of amping up intensity with quicker and more thrilling battles.
Override 2 includes 20 mechs at launch with a handful of brand-new mechs and a revamped set of returning bots. One of the new mechs making their debut is Aura, a deadly, but graceful brawler with powerful and mesmerizing ranged attacks. Sprinkles is also a newcomer with a certain ‘sweetness’ to her moves and is equipped with a gigantic gum ball cannon powerful enough to batter metal.
Override 2 features a slew of match types including 1v1 ranked, 2v2 matches, and free for all battles of up to four players locally and online. We’re also excited to share new game modes such as King of the Hill, where players must lock-down and control points of an arena. Xenoswarm is also a new coop game mode pitting you against hordes of Xenomechs, machines that were created to simulate the past alien threat!
Override 2: Super Mech League features a unique and loveable roster of mechs with gear-smashing abilities and stylish finishers, and arrives this year for both PS4 and PS5.
Website: LINK
Hey everyone – Chris here from the Codemasters team, back with something we’ve been dying to show you for quite some time…
Dirt 5’s launch on PlayStation 4 on October 16, followed later this year by PlayStation 5, has already been shaping up nicely. Whether it’s the star-studded Career mode starring Troy Baker and Nolan North, the 10 new and stunning racing locations with over 70 routes, four-player split-screen, livery editor or plenty more, we’ve had fun showing you what Dirt 5 has to offer. But, all the while, we’ve kept something hidden up our sleeves – until now.
Welcome to Playgrounds – Dirt 5’s all-new mode, where players design, edit, share and race on user-created racing arenas. Let loose your creativity and use a huge suite of objects, from drift zones and jumps to rings of fire and loop-de-loops, to invent all manner of dream racing maps, and search through the database of community of designs to compete on the most stunning creations.
We want everyone to create, share and discover in this all-new mode, but as it’s such a fresh addition for the franchise, I figured you could do with a few pointers to get you started. So, make a note of the five tips below when you dive into Dirt 5’s Playgrounds mode!
Every Playground you create or download to race on will be centred around one of three event types. There’s Smash Attack, where racers are challenged to find and collect objects in the quickest time possible, avoiding the dreaded penalty objects; Gate Crasher is a time-attack style event, with checkpoints to race through as quickly as you can; and Gymkhana allows everyone to design their own arenas full of jumps, donut markers, drift gates and more, scoring points for speed, style and flow.
Each event is a very different experience, so test out a few of each in our database of Playgrounds to find out which your favourite is. When creating a Playground, in the pause menu is where you’ll find the option to change your event type – and doing so will make the relevant objects available to place. So, make sure you’ve chosen a Gymkhana event if you want to place those drift markers, speed gates and 360 spots!
Verticality. Get it in your vocabulary people, because you’re going to need it.
In Playgrounds, there isn’t just a huge amount of scope to what you can create on the ground. Think bigger – think higher! Our tools allow you to build routes, structures and more, high up in the sky, adding a new layer of challenge and awe to anything you create. Build death run Gate Crasher routes, where the slightest error could cause a spectacular fall from grace. Build a Gymkhana arena where certain trick spots are only accessible if you nail a jump to an island in the sky.
All this and more is possible, and allows you to stretch those creative muscles in a unique way for a racing game. Just one piece of advice: Don’t. Look. Down.
Regardless of what you create in Playgrounds, any car from our roster can be chosen as its assigned car – from extreme off-road trucks, to modern rally machines, to Sprint cars, and so much more in between. The design of your Playground should have the assigned car’s characteristics kept in mind, just to make the experience and flow is spot on.
If you’re going with a vehicle like our monstrous rock bouncer, or our rough-and-ready trucks and buggies, they’ll be more capable of handling anything you throw at them in terms of bumps and jumps. Our classic off-road stars, like the Fiat 131 Abarth Rally or Ford Mustang Fastback Rally, may need some smaller gaps between those jumps, but are more manoeuvrable between and around objects.
Subtle design choices based on the car you’ll be tearing around your Playground can be the difference between a decent design, and an outstanding event that rakes in the Likes from the Dirt 5 community, sending your creation into our Featured categories. Speaking of which…
The Discover area of Playgrounds is the place to find every single design uploaded by the Dirt 5 community. Browse and search to pick out the Playgrounds that take your fancy, download them, take on the event, and post your top score or fastest time to the event’s global leaderboard. Retry the event as many times as you want, or head back to Discover to find another Playground.
As there’ll be a huge variety of arenas to search through, make sure to use the options and menus we provide to narrow down your search. Discovery will have sub-menus that show the Playgrounds that have been played the most, or have been Liked the most by other players. On top of that, you can use a classic text search to find a specific design, or choose to only see Playgrounds that include specific labels or characteristics that match what you’re looking for.
The Dirt 5 team will also be regularly hand-picking some of the best creations to place in Featured areas of Discover. Design something amazing and you just might have your name up in lights, as we showcase your Playground both in-game and the official Dirt social channels!
We’ve mentioned that there’s the ability to ‘Like’ Playgrounds after you’ve played them, which is just the beginning of how you can interact with this mode to help shape it with us. You’ll have options to Like or Dislike any Playground post-event, which contributes to its stats that are visible to other players, and help us decide whether to feature the design in Discovery. There’ll also be an option to report a Playground, so we can take a look at any designs you have a concern about.
Finally, we’ll constantly be chatting with the Dirt 5 community about their Playgrounds creations and experiences. Over on our official Discord server, we’ll have dedicated areas for players to discuss the mode and share their creations, so others can easily find them in-game.
Interact with players, show off your creativity, and find a constant stream of new creations to take on. That’s what Playgrounds is all about – and we can’t wait for you all to dive right in. Playgrounds will be available on both the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of Dirt 5, with any creations and progress you make carrying over from current-gen to next-gen!
Website: LINK
Hey everyone,
Today, we are excited to share a new extended look at Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart that we revealed as part of gamescom: Opening Night Live. We know many of you wanted a chance to see the gameplay at 4K*! This is a game that wouldn’t be possible without the power of PlayStation 5. We’re introducing more vibrant worlds than ever before, the speed of the SSD allows us to leap across the galaxy nearly instantly, and special effects like ray-tracing shows off the capabilities of the new console.
In this demo video, which takes place early in the game, Ratchet and Clank find themselves at odds with their archnemesis, Dr. Nefarious. Only this time, he’s equipped with the dangerous Dimensionator, a device with the power to open portals to other dimensions. As usual, Nefarious’s plan goes off the rails, and our beloved intergalactic duo go dimension hopping. Along the way they’ll encounter a cast of familiar and new faces.
What you won’t be able to experience by just watching the video of the demo is the amazing DualSense wireless controller and 3D audio. You’ll also see Ratchet’s brand-new arsenal on full display in this demo video, which includes new weapons such as the Burst Pistol, Topiary Sprinkler, Shatterbomb, and the Enforcer. Thanks to the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers on the DualSense wireless controller, we are able to make each weapon in Ratchet’s out-of-this-world arsenal feel unique and more powerful than ever. Take the Enforcer for example. This double barrel shotgun has multiple fire modes. Pull the trigger halfway and it fires a single shot. Squeeze passed the first stage and you will unload a double barrel blast instead! And with the 3D audio, you will be fully immersed – hearing everything above, below and surrounding you.
This is just a small taste of the game and we cannot wait for you to experience these features for yourself. Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart is its own stand-alone adventure and uniquely compelling story, featuring the trademark humor and wit the series is known for. As we head towards the game’s upcoming release within the PS5 launch window, we’re excited to share more with you including our first ever playable Lombax not named Ratchet!
*A 4K display device is required to view in 4K.
Website: LINK
In Thor’s battle against Galactus, the Heroes and Villains of Marvel — accompanied by their world — have ended up on the Island. Drop into Fortnite Chapter 2 – Season 4, the Nexus War, and join the fight to save Reality from Galactus as you battle other players to be #1.
New powers, places, and equipment are on your side this Season. Become super as you take up powers like Doctor Doom’s Arcane Gauntlets, Silver Surfer’s Board, and more arriving later in the Season. And become a multiskilled shooter with the Stark Industries Energy Rifle, Stark Labs’ latest invention. Made for versatility, this distinct weapon has a different benefit depending on how you aim.
As you can expect from worlds colliding, this Season brings new places to discover on the Island. Explore iconic locations like Doom’s Domain, Sentinel Graveyard, and more to come through the Rift between worlds.
This new Season introduces the Chapter 2 – Season 4 Battle Pass. As part of its 100 unlockable rewards, unlock and suit up as Marvel Heroes and Villains Thor, Iron Man, Storm, Doctor Doom, She-Hulk, Mystique, Groot, and Wolverine. Manifest each of these Legend’s memories via their Awakening, a built-in Emote that awakens within them after completing their special quest.
To discover how the Heroes and Villains of Marvel found themselves on the Island, experience the whole Nexus War: Thor comic story in the Helicarrier room in Fortnite or at Marvel.com.
Website: LINK
Hi everyone! I’m overjoyed to talk about Puyo Puyo Tetris 2, the latest installment of the hybrid lovechild (one might call it the best … match … made in history) of two of the video game world’s most beloved puzzle franchises. First with the fun news: Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 comes to PlayStation 4 on December 8, and PlayStation 5 during Holiday 2020!
Players will experience a brand-new delightful story filled with an eclectic cast of characters in Adventure mode and develop new strategies for play utilizing special item cards in Skill Battle.
This thrilling new adventure continues the legacies of these two iconic titles: Puyo Puyo, one of Japan’s biggest and most enduring puzzle games, and Tetris, one of the most well-known video game franchises in the world. By incorporating core elements of both, we landed on a combination that we think is as fantastic as peanut butter and chocolate!
Tetris was created in 1984 by Russian computer programmer Alexey Pajitnov and became an instant hit among his colleagues and friends. In 1989, the handheld release helped cement the series as one of the greatest and most successful games of all time.
Over the years, The Tetris Company has overseen the licensing of the Tetris IP, ensuring that every version follows a set of tested guidelines to guarantee consistency and fluidity across every iteration and platform. We stood on the shoulders of giants when we decided to build the Puyo Puyo Tetris series atop the template that Mr. Pajitnov set back in 1984. Some call Tetris one of the greatest games of all time, and we don’t disagree. We just had to add something new to one of the most revered and popular pieces of entertainment ever made. No pressure, right?
Puyo Puyo might not be as known in the West as Tetris, but it has a cool history and legacy of its own! Originally created by developer Compile in 1991 on the MSX2 in Japan, Puyo Puyo was a puzzle game spinoff of the Madou Monogatari (which translates to “Sorcery Saga” in English) RPG series, adopting the game’s super cute characters and colorful aesthetic. The puzzle game spinoff soon overtook the original series’ popularity and spawned a ton of unique iterations of its own.
Different variations of the Puyo Puyo series made its way to the U.S., taking on different IPs and monikers in the process, including Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine (1993) and Puyo Pop (2003). The series finally got its original name (and its groove) back and has gone by “Puyo Puyo” since Puyo Puyo Tetris in 2017. Across the decades, under other names, Puyo Puyo has charmed its way into the grizzled hearts of gamers everywhere.
The addictive nature of these iconic puzzlers will have you bouncing around with as much enthusiasm as the Puyos you’ll be popping — and what’s even better, you and up to three of your friends can play together!
Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 embraces both the similarities and differences of the two franchises, molding them together in a way that reinvigorates your gaming experience. Both franchises require quick reaction time, agile maneuvers and strategic play. Both require thoughtful planning and quick thinking, but strategy varies. In a Tetris game, patterns and shape matter most, whereas in Puyo Puyo, color matching is key. Each of the seven distinct Tetriminos must be carefully organized, regardless of their specific color, to completely fill a horizontal line, whereas Puyo groupings can be separated and color-matching matters. This means you’ll need to adjust your strategy depending on which drop puzzle you are playing.
As drop puzzles, they rely on similar mechanics, but ask players to plan and react in different ways. Putting the two games together means exercising every part of your brain and thumbs. You set the stage with each new board, working to anticipate best placements and the smartest moves to score big against your pals. It’s combos galore out here with myriad gameplay modes bringing opportunities to earn points and gain special skills.
In a constant balancing act between speed and strategy, Puyo Puyo Tetris 2 will give players both new ways to play and a chance to revive memorable modes from the previous installment in the franchise. With dynamic character-based skills in the brand-new Skill Battle mode, the ability to journey into the worlds of Puyo Puyo and Tetris with a new story and quirky cast of characters in Adventure mode, and improved online gameplay, we can’t wait to see what the community can achieve in Puyo Puyo Tetris 2.
Now that you’re up to speed on Puyo Puyo Tetris history, we can’t wait for the next chapter of its history to unfold. We’re looking forward to seeing what kinds of strategies you’ll come up with for launch. Start training your reflexes now so you can make an explosive entrance once this holiday season rolls around!
Website: LINK
Hi there, I’m Dan McDonald, Series Producer of The Dark Pictures Anthology. Back in March we officially announced our new game in the Dark Pictures Anthology – Little Hope and I’m looking forward to telling you more about it today.
To give you a bit of a recap — The Dark Pictures Anthology is a series of standalone cinematic horror games, each featuring a brand-new story, setting and characters. Each game is playable in single player or in two multiplayer modes – two-player online Shared Story mode and up to five-player couch co-op Movie Night mode.
The response to Man of Medan from the PlayStation community has been fantastic and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on Little Hope in October.
All the games in the series are standalone so you don’t have to start with the first game, and whilst the games have similar mechanics — the stories, characters and settings are all totally different!
However, we have also made some changes to the game mechanics based on community feedback. We always want to iterate on our games and certainly take all feedback seriously. So now in certain scenes we have given the player more control of the camera. Players will have 360-degree control of the camera giving them more visibility of their surrounding area and more opportunities to explore the environment. We now have context sensitive icons in exploration giving players more detail on the action or activity you need to take, such as looking at an item or whether a door is open or locked.
We listened to feedback around Quick Time Events (QTEs) arriving too suddenly – now you will notice an icon appearing before a QTE which will give you time to prepare and give an indication as to the type of action your character will be trying to take.
Additionally, within some of the action scenes we have added in some dynamic character swapping – giving the player control over a couple of characters in quick succession, going back and forth between the two as the action intensifies. This leads to a heightened sense of drama and more agency for the player.
So, in the last game you were stuck on a ghost ship adrift in the South Pacific this time you are trapped in a deserted New England town called Little Hope. Abandoned and all alone after their bus crashes in bad weather, four college students and their professor become stranded. Trapped by a mysterious fog, they search desperately for a means of escape whilst terrifying visions from the past haunt them from the shadows. After bearing witness to the town’s gruesome past, and the terrible events of 17th Century Witch trials, hellish beings pursue them relentlessly. Trapped in Little Hope, they try to figure out the motivation of these demonic apparitions before the evil forces at work drag each of their souls to hell!
As with all The Dark Pictures games, your characters can live or die depending on the choices you make, and the story and outcomes you receive can change dramatically depending on the decisions you make in the game. This is also true in multiplayer — both players make decisions that impact the same story and change it for both of you. Sometimes you are together, sometimes apart in totally different scenes, but the actions either of you take will determine the fate of all the characters.
Our games have heavily branching narratives, built with replayability in mind and the outcome you receive will change from one playthrough to the next.
Thank you for reading. We hope you enjoy these videos and we can’t wait for you to get your hands on the game on October 30.
Website: LINK
Hey fellow survivors! I’m Evan, founder of Dead Drop Studios, solo indie developer, and creator of the Outbreak series. In case you haven’t heard of Outbreak before, it’s a series of retro-inspired survival horror games designed to drag you kicking and screaming back to the ‘90s.
Each title pays tribute to the origins of the genre in different ways, such as fixed camera angles, a limited inventory, and even co-op multiplayer.
The series began with the release of Outbreak on PC in early 2017 and over the last few years has gained a strong console audience. I’m pleased to announce the entire series is finally coming home to PlayStation, the platform that birthed survival horror as we know it.
Every title will launch on PS4 over the coming weeks, starting with Outbreak: The New Nightmare on Thursday.
Retro survival horror is all about making difficult choices with the odds stacked against you. You won’t find checkpoints, quick saves or really any hand holding in this undead apocalypse. Your only chance for survival is to meticulously manage your inventory, explore your environment thoroughly, pick your battles and when everything else fails, run like hell. Each title in the Outbreak series forces these constraints (and more!) on you as you take on the role of normal everyday people trying to survive this nightmare. From exploring a hospital burning down around you to find the cure; to searching for your lost daughter in a treacherous storm, you’ll be pushed to the limit and forced to deal with a world where there’s no happily ever after.
I’ve been gaming on PlayStation since day one and it’s where I experienced survival horror for the first time. It’s been a dream of mine to bring the series home to the console that birthed the genre. Although I’m typically a one-man show for every aspect of coordinating and developing these titles, working with PlayStation has been a breeze and took a lot of the burden off my shoulders. Every title includes all of the polish, enhancements, content, and bug fixes added over the years since their original releases, including local split screen co-op for Outbreak: The New Nightmare, Outbreak: Epidemic and Outbreak! In addition, each title has a PS4 Pro patch featuring higher resolution, better framerates, faster load times and many other benefits that help make PlayStation the best place to experience the series!
The first title you’ll experience is Outbreak: The New Nightmare. It’s unlike anything available today — featuring fixed camera views, strict inventory management, optional tank controls and all the gameplay rough edges you’ve come to love from ‘90s classics like Resident Evil and Silent Hill. Featuring 16 scenarios across three game modes, you’ll select your survivor from a wide cast and fight through the Campaign, Onslaught Mode and Experiments Mode. Each survivor has their own unique starting equipment, abilities and more. As you play through the game, your survivor will level up and unlock new abilities unique to them — such as increased damage, a larger inventory and even the ability to start with powerful new equipment like a magnum revolver.
During each scenario, you’ll need to quickly scramble to search your immediate area and find any weapons or supplies before you’re overwhelmed by the undead. As you explore, you’ll need to keep a careful eye out for clues in the form of written logs or environment details to solve puzzles and overcome obstacles. Rely heavily on your map as you plan your routes and make every round in your magazine count. If you take too long, you’ll eventually be overpowered by the undead and brutally killed. To make matters worse, you only have a single life — there are no checkpoints or restarts — you’re right back at the beginning of the scenario if you die.
Outbreak: The New Nightmare launches on Thursday and is just the beginning! Coming soon after is Outbreak: Epidemic on September 10, followed by Outbreak: The Nightmare Chronicles on September 24, Outbreak: Lost Hope on October 8, and finally Outbreak on October 22! Although each title shares the same universe, they are all self-contained stories that you can play in any order and they will all be available in time for Halloween!
Get ready to return to the world of survival horror and best of luck surviving the apocalypse. You only have one life — make it count!
Website: LINK
Chicken dinners and shoryukens are on the PS Plus menu this September. Take on 99 other competitors in PUBG: PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds or challenge the world’s greatest warriors to a scrap in beat ‘em up Street Fighter V.
Let’s take a closer look at both titles.
Parachute into a treacherous battleground with only your wits for protection, as you loot gear and outsmart your enemies in a fierce battle royale. Build the ultimate soldier from scratch and test your mettle against up to 99 other players across multiple unique maps. Only one life. Only one shot at victory per match. Wreak havoc on your own or take on the challenge in a squad of up to four players to increase your chances of survival — and glory.
New competitors and iconic world warriors square off in Street Fighter V, Capcom’s blisteringly ferocious fighter and the latest entry in the legendary Street Fighter series! Sharpen your skills in a variety of single player modes, then prove you’ve got what it takes to best the globe’s finest fighters in online matches!
What’s more, we’re kicking off Street Fighter V PS4 Tournaments starting September 4 in the U.S. and Canada. These events will offer eligible fighters of all skill levels in those regions the opportunity to compete for cash prizing, a unique PS4 theme and a custom in-game title! Restrictions apply. More details to come.
Both games will join PS Plus on Tuesday, September 1 and be available to download for PS Plus subscribers until October 5.
And remember, you’ve still got time to download this month’s PS Plus games. Take part in the multiplayer* hilarity of Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout or save the world in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered. Both games will be available until August 31.
*PS Plus membership and internet connection required for online multiplayer.
Website: LINK
Can virtual food look so good that you can taste it? Can visuals and sound alone evoke the sensation of hunger?
My name is Tj Hughes, I’m the solo founder of the colorful vibe-oriented indie studio Terrifying Jellyfish. It’s wild to be writing that Nour: Play With Your Food is coming to PS5!
Nour: Play With Your Food is an interactive exploration into the aesthetics of food and drink. Nour — as in nourish — refuses to adhere to traditional goals or objectives; you’re free to play with your food however you see fit, whether that be making a mess, or assembling the bowl of ramen of your dreams! Relive those childhood memories of fiddling with your food, without the all-too-real mess to clean up afterwards. Once you’ve created your in-game masterpiece, you can enter photo mode, and live out the food blogger’s dream, taking pictures and video of your dish for the scathing eyes of social media to judge!
What inspired such a project? The influences are super eclectic, ranging from Instagram food blogs, lovingly rendered anime food, and the experience of having bubble tea for the first time. These tastes were something that I had an insatiable need to express through art, so back in 2015 I started a side project. Being a fun little experiment to work in my spare time, I never could have guessed how excited people would get about the project. But it taught me something: food is universal, and is something that we all have strong memories of. This is a project that hopes to remind us of our food memories in a positive light. And also make 3D food look just as good as anime food. Seriously, how do animators draw food that well?
This game encourages you to experiment with its controls. No button is off limits! Press different combinations of buttons to interact with the game. Think outside the box and you just might discover a secret 😉 With 20+ food vignettes, and reactive musical compositions to accompany each, this is bound to be the tastiest multi-course meal to hit next-gen. We have major plans to take advantage of the new DualSense controller’s features. Imagine the satisfaction of cutting a virtual peach with a knife, the resistance being reflected by the controller’s adaptive triggers increasing in tension, and the glide of the knife being modeled through the controller’s haptic feedback. It’s the best thing since Instagram slime videos.
This is a project I’ve been working on for quite a while now, and I’m awed and excited to announce that Nour: Play With Your Food is being published by Panic. I’ve been a fan of the Portland-based company ever since Firewatch, and have followed them throughout the announcement of Playdate and Untitled Goose Game. If you told me years ago that I would be working with them, I for sure would’ve thought you were playing me; but alas here we are! So much love to Panic for believing in my unusual interactive food project and helping me bring it to fruition.
This game is a project that has brought me all over the globe through demo opportunities and art exhibitions, and I’m excited for its next destination to be PlayStation 5. It feels like a platform that will embrace the arthouse nature of the project, while enabling us to show off the most souped-up version of the game possible, on next-gen hardware. Every polygon shall look delectable.
We’re working hard to deliver the game to you as soon as we can. When we pull the game out of the oven we’ll make sure it’s not undercooked nor overdone, but just right.
Strange? Yes. Experimental? Definitely. Regardless of how you’d categorize it, Nour is a weird, playful, and joyous art experience that I think will be right at home here on PlayStation.
Website: LINK
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, the direct sequel to the iconic original Black Ops game developed by Treyarch, launches worldwide on Friday, November 13 for PlayStation 4. Black Ops Cold War is also scheduled for release late 2020 for PlayStation 5.
The old team is back together. CIA operatives Alex Mason, Frank Woods, and Jason Hudson return to the world of covert operations, pulse-pounding action, and global conspiracies. Those who don’t know their history are doomed to repeat it…
It’s 1981 during the height of the Cold War. The threat of nuclear war looms as decades of conspiracies come to a head. Welcome to the world of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Picking up where the first Black Ops left off, our returning heroes engage in deniable operations alongside new allies and old friends in a high-stakes race in the latest installment of this blockbuster series.
The Black Ops Cold War Campaign is an immersive single-player experience that arms you with an array of cutting-edge ’80s weaponry. Discover enemies and allies as you work to unravel conspiracies in a mind-bending and harrowing journey where you’ll come face to face with an unexpected enemy.
Available now, the free-to-play blockbuster battle royale experience, Warzone* will share content with Black Ops Cold War. Black Ops Cold War includes shared progression features with Warzone, adding inventory items that can be used in both titles. Plus, Warzone players will still have access to Modern Warfare content they earned previously, like Operators and weapon blueprints. More information on Black Ops Cold War and Warzone will be announced at a later date.
Black Ops Cold War is a cross-generation and cross-platform title, meaning players can party up with friends on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and other platforms for a truly connected experience. And, when you move over to a PlayStation 5 console, you’ll take your profile, progression, and stats with you. For more information on these features, visit Activision’s FAQ.
Ready to get hands-on experience with Black Ops Cold War? Read on for details on available editions, digital pre-order rewards, and how to get early access to the open beta, first on PS4.
Players can pre-order Standard, Cross-Gen, or Ultimate digital editions of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, and all digital editions include the Confrontation Weapons Pack, available for use in Black Ops Cold War.
Standard Digital Edition ($59.99 MSRP): Includes the game on PlayStation 4. Players can upgrade to the PlayStation 5 version of the game for an additional $10.** Read this FAQ for more intel.
Cross-Gen Digital Edition ($69.99 MSRP): Includes both a PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 copy of the game.**
Ultimate Digital Edition ($89.99 MSRP): Includes both PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions of the game**, the “Land, Sea, and Air Pack,” and the Battle Pass Bundle (includes 20 immediately activated Tier Skips) to purchase a Battle Pass for any post-launch Season of Black Ops Cold War.
Purchasing the Ultimate digital edition from the Modern Warfare or Warzone Store grants players 10 tier skips that immediately advances your current Modern Warfare and Warzone Battle Pass system progress 10 tiers.
The “Land, Sea, and Air Pack” is a robust nine-item bundle containing three Operator skins, three vehicle skins, and three developer-crafted weapon blueprints to confront the enemy across three domains of warfare. Use these items to help you master deniable operations in the field and pose a threat to your enemy no matter where the battle takes you. Get more details on the Land, Sea, and Air Pack here.
Unlock more goods each Season with the Battle Pass, which includes earnable weapons, unlockable Operator skins, earnable Call of Duty points, and more. With the Battle Pass Bundle, gain access to unlock all tiers of the Battle Pass system and instantly advance to Tier 20, then progress through the tiers and unlock more items just by playing the game.
Choose your preferred digital edition.
All digital pre-orders (Standard, Cross-Gen, and Ultimate) include the Woods Operator pack, available for immediate use in Modern Warfare and Warzone.
The Woods Operator pack includes the legendary soldier and SOG operative from the Black Ops series and an assault rifle weapon blueprint. His bundle also includes a unique quip and Finishing Move. Instantly activate the Woods Operator pack for battle in Modern Warfare and Warzone with your digital pre-order.
In addition, digital pre-orders receive early access to the open beta, first on PS4.*** Ready up for signature Black Ops combat and stay tuned for more details and dates of the Black Ops Cold War Open Beta.
Read more about all digital pre-order incentives in the FAQ.
Purchase Black Ops Cold War in Store
Players can pre-order the physical Standard PS4™ or PS5™ editions now at participating retailers.
Physical PS4 Standard Edition: Includes the full game on PlayStation 4****. Get more details at the official Activision FAQ about upgrading to the next-gen experience.
Physical PS5 Standard Edition: Includes the full game on PlayStation 5.
Physical pre-orders are not entitled to any bonus content (Early Access Open Beta, Woods Operator Pack, and Confrontation Weapons Pack) that comes with digital pre-orders. Consult the Activision FAQ for more details on physical editions.
Pre-order digital now to secure early access to the open beta, first on PS4, and drop into Warzone with Sgt. Frank Woods to familiarize yourself with Black Ops past. Know your history, then fight to uncover secrets hidden in a decades-long conspiracy. Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches globally on PS4 November 13 and on PS5 in late 2020.
*A one-off nominal cost of €0.25 for age verification for Call of Duty: Warzone applies to non-PS Plus members in Germany.
**PlayStation 5 console (launching holiday 2020) required to play PS5 version
*** Open beta available on PlayStation 4, five days prior to other platforms.
**** Upgrade offer is to a digital version of the game. Account for PlayStation Network required. PS5 Digital Edition does not play PS4 discs and only offers upgrades for digital PS4 games.
Actual platform availability and launch date(s) of MP Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details. Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only, while Early Access Beta Codes last, at participating retailers. Internet connection required.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare / Call of Duty: Warzone on PlayStation 4 required to redeem Woods Operator and Blueprint. Sold/downloaded separately. Must be redeemed by Nov. 13, 2021.
Website: LINK
Get ready to rule the ring – Street Fighter V Tournaments are being hosted on PlayStation 4! This is your chance to compete as your favorite fighter with the chance to win unique prizes.*
The tournament is open to all eligible participants in the U.S. and Canada, and there are multiple opportunities to qualify for the finals where winners of the monthly finals could win a share of the $1,000 prize pool, as well as unique prizes that are unavailable anywhere else.
Don’t have Street Fighter V on PS4 yet? No problem – the game will be included as part of the PlayStation Plus monthly games lineup for September 2020. Street Fighter V will be available for PS Plus members to download from September 1 until October 5.
Got what it takes? Sign up through the Events tab on console, or via the Competition Center – the home of all PlayStation competitive gaming content. Find out more at compete.playstation.com/programs/SFV-PS4.
Additionally, make sure to check out the Competition Center for these upcoming PS4 Tournaments:
You can also read up on all the player and game settings so you are well prepared for the first fight! Remember, no matter your skill level, you will be able to compete against both friends and others in the PlayStation community. For more information on all PS4 Tournaments, visit compete.playstation.com. Sign up today!
* Active PS Plus membership required for online multiplayer. Must be 16+ and resident of US or Canada. Void where prohibited. Other Restrictions apply. See full tournament rules at compete.playstation.com/programs/SFV-PS4
Website: LINK
Hello! I’m Sean Murray from Hello Games, and I’d like to share a little news about our game — The Last Campfire. Most PS4 players know Hello Games from No Man’s Sky, a huge open-world sci-fi experience with a procedurally generated near-infinite universe to explore. It is a lot of fun to work on with a lot of technical challenges and there is plenty more to come from the No Man’s Sky team.
Some folks may even remember a PS3 game called Joe Danger, our first title, which we really enjoyed making and paved the way for us to do even more ambitious things. We look back fondly on being a team of four working on Joe Danger, and we wanted to make sure we were fostering others to have the same learning experience.
For the last few years a couple of members of the team had that opportunity to work on something more hand-crafted for PlayStation, a game called The Last Campfire.
It’s a game about loss, hope and empathy. You play as Ember, a lost soul in a charming but dark world. On your path you find others like you, some of whom have lost their way and turned forlorn. It’s up to you as a player to choose who to help.
At its heart this is a game of exploration in a world filled with puzzles. You learn new skills as you travel through the world allowing you to take on more difficult challenges. You find a flute which allows you to manipulate the world around you, and a boat to sail back through parts of the world you couldn’t reach before.
The world of The Last Campfire is surprisingly large, and at times can be challenging, so we also have an explore mode for those who want to take in the world and talk to its inhabitants.
You are passing through this world that is filled with weird and mysterious characters, each with their own lore, who have existed long before you. Some you can perhaps help, others you must leave behind. We want this to feel like a forgotten storybook or a lost myth, and as you travel through the world a narrator tells your story.
This game has been a passion project for a couple of the team here for the last few years, and we’re so excited to finally let everyone play. We hope you enjoy!
Website: LINK
Back in May we brought you Dutch 2025, but Predator: Hunting Grounds would not be a true love song to the ’87 Predator film if we didn’t bring the community a classic Dutch playable character. The opportunity to tell a new story with Dutch, and to represent his iconic look was so good, we had to do both! And just like Dutch 2025 you will get all the character lines voiced by the one and only. This Paid DLC will also get you 8 tint customizations and early access* to Dutch’s fully automatic, hard-hitting Mercenary weapon featuring an underbarrel grenade launcher and steady hip firing action. We will be releasing this Paid DLC Tuesday, September 1st!
Last week we shared details of this month’s 2.0 Patch, coming on August 28th, and how excited we all are for it. Today we’re revealing that August 28th is also the start of a Free Trial for Predator: Hunting Grounds; and the game will be on sale on the PlayStation Store. If you have been waiting to check out the game, or have a friend who has been waiting, this is the perfect time to join the hunt.
The trial will be open from 7am PT / 3pm BST / 4pm CEST on August 28th to 7am PT / 3pm BST / 4pm CEST on August 30th on PS4 for players with an active PS Plus membership. If you don’t own Predator: Hunting Grounds just visit the PlayStation Store, download the Trial, and join your friends in the hunt. And don’t worry, the progress you make over the Free Trial Weekend will carry over if you decide to purchase the game. And just in time for Dutch ‘87!
And don’t worry, the progress you make over the Free Trial Weekend will carry over if you decide to purchase the game. And just in time for Dutch ‘87!
The IllFonic dev team is looking forward to seeing Dutch ‘87 join Dutch 2025 in the jungle very soon! Don’t forget that next month’s Free Update will include the new map and mode. And it doesn’t stop in September, we have a lot more being created by the team. Until then, see you in the hunt!
*Dutch’s Mercenary weapon is unlockable to all via gameplay by October 2020.
Website: LINK
At our fifth annual TennoCon held just a few weeks ago on August 1, we introduced our third open world, the grotesquely beautiful Heart of Deimos. Overrun by the Infested faction, the newly revealed moon over Mars is different from the previous open worlds. Unlike the low-rolling hills of the Plains of Eidolon or the pink and purple gaseous atmosphere of Fortuna, Deimos is crawling with the alien, horrific and dangerously uncontainable Infested, a sentient colony organism poised to take over more worlds than Deimos, unless the Tenno can stop it.
To help orient and introduce players to the Heart of Deimos, which launches today on PlayStation 4, we’ve created a primer here to answer those first questions: How do I get there? Who are these people? What do I need to know? And how can I get my hands on one of those Necramechs!
Like the Plains of Eidolon and Fortuna before it, the Cambion Drift node that’s part of the Heart of Deimos update is located on one of the earliest, most accessible planets, giving new players access to it relatively right away. It’s an open world, filled with a main storyline quest, constant battle, progress goals, fun resource-gathering activities, and a living breathing world populated with creatures, people, and things all endemic to Deimos.
Once players have completed the Earth to Mars Junction on the Star Chart they can assess Deimos and will be given the Heart of Deimos Quest. The new Quest will appear in your Codex. On the Star Chart, Deimos will appear where the Orokin Derelicts once were, off of Mars.
Piloting your Liset to the Camboin Drift location, you land in a location never before seen in Warframe. Crawling with giant tendrils reaching into the sky, layered with tangled webs, cords, brain hubs, and organic “flora,” the moon on which you arrive bursts with Infested life.
While not necessary to get there, some gameplay features are worth unlocking beforehand. Two of those recommendations include Archwings and K-Drives, which provide a faster way to get from point A to B and a gorgeous top-down look at the huge, detailed world below. We recommend spending time in both Plains of Eidolon and Fortuna to see why Deimos’ geography is so vastly different from the other open worlds. Though it’s not necessary to access Deimos, you’ll need to have completed the Second Dream cinematic quest and discovered its secrets to use the Necramechs.
The Infested: Landing on Deimos, you will discover the moon is literally scuttling, slithering, and growing with the Infested. That’s right, the Infested is the first “character” you’ll meet. The infested can take on a variety of forms, sometimes monster-like in form, other times closely resembling a hybrid of creature and plant. You’ll recognize several forms from previous missions, plus several totally new creatures from the scuttling terror of the Deimos Carnis, the powerful slam of the Deimos Saxum and the subterranean terror of the Deimos Jugulus. As you explore the planet, you’ll face off against, meet and explore dozens more totally new forms of the Infested.
Loid and Otak: The very first talking characters you’ll converse with are the planet’s Cephalons (artificial intelligence constructs with personality), Loid and Otak. Loid is serious, logical, worried, while Otak is a bit of a joker, quirky, even naive. They’re a rich source of entertainment and relief in an otherwise dark and ominous world.
Mother and the Entrati Syndicate: There are two new Syndicates in Deimos, starting with the troubled Entrati. The first Entrati you’re introduced to is “Mother.” Disturbed, half-humanoid, half Infested, Mother is your central source for all Entrati Syndicate progress and Bounty access needs. We won’t say who else you’ll meet, but within The Entrati syndicate, you will work with others to ascend the ranks to earn rewards and the respect of this ancient Orokin bloodline. Without spoiling anything, we’ll say here that you’ll meet various characters who trade or help you earn weaponry, fishing needs, Floofs, Entrati standing, Mining (gems, ore, etc.), and other oddities.
The Necraloids: The Necraloids are the Operator Syndicate within the Necralisk. With the Necraloids, you’ll perform various resource gathering quests and activities to ascend the ranks, not to mention earning your very own Necramech.
Vome and Fass: And while you cannot talk to these “characters,” you will quickly meet Vome and Fass, the two giant Infested sibling wyrms that dominate the skyline, engaged in a constant battle for night and day. Vome’s watch is gentle, while Fass unleashes a spiteful anger upon the landscape by littering the landscape with deadly Infested enemies.
Xaku: Neither he nor she, Xaku is the wildly imaginative, community-created 44th Warframe. A composite Warframe assembled from others lost in the early Entrati Void expeditions, Xaku has mastered this power of the Void to terrify and bewilder their adversaries. Xaku’s blueprint is warned from the Quest and Xaku parts are earned from Entrati bounties.
The Velocipod: A living, Infested K-Drive, the Velocipod resembles a dragonfly that can be tamed and harnessed to command like a skateboard, or what we like to call “K-Drives.” Scattered around the Cambion Drift, Velocipods are flighty. But if you manage to catch one and mount it, you can pilot one like a temporary, organic K-Drive! AND NOW you will be able to shoot from the back of a Velocipod, just like any other K-Drive, providing it’s a secondary weapon. You can alternatively choose to ‘Conserve’ these creatures among many others, too.
For the first time in Warframe, you will get to control a full combat mech, or what we like to call Necramechs. These Ancient Orokin Necramechs are equipped with stunning firepower and mind blowing Abilities designed to fight hordes of Infested. Just like Archwings and Warframes, Necramechs can be upgraded, improved, and customized.
While parts of these fighting machines can be seen in the rummage of old battles, your first contact with one will actually take place during the main Quest. To control one, you must work with the Entrati to take down wandering hostile Necramechs and collect components, eventually completing a full Necramech of your own. Once strapped in to your first run, you’ll want more power! You can customize it by equipping different weapons — Cortege, for example, is a life-siphoning flamethrower that only Necramechs can wield — and by tinkering with Mods to buff Ability strength, health, shields, and more to wield even more devastating firepower.
It’s got four different Abilities to unlock and play with, too. Also, the Necramech is compatible with the powerful Archguns with Gravimags installed! Available at launch in The Heart of Deimos, these powerful tools of war, once obtained, will be playable in all open worlds. Of important note: Necramechs are high-level weapons. Because players use Transference and their Operators to command them, to obtain a Necramech, players must complete the Second Dream to control them.
While not specific to the world of Deimos, we’re introducing the fleshed out functionality of the Helminth in the Heart of Deimos update. What exactly am I talking about? The Helminth is a new game system enabling players to customize their Warframe’s Abilities at a depth never experienced before.
The Helminth System is an expansion of the Helminth room on your Orbiter. You may recognize this room as an infested space that allows you to remove the Helminth Cyst (early in the game). With the Heart of Deimos Update, the Helminth system enables you to customize your Warframes by infusing new Abilities in place of existing Abilities. Feed the giant mouth resources, subsume a Warframe to the Helminth, and you’ll be able to infuse a Warframe Ability in place of an older one to completely re-balance your Warframe. Once you’ve unlocked The Helminth System, you can fast travel to the Helminth Infirmary under the Equipment pause menu!
Another cool aspect of the Heart of Deimos update, but not part of Deimos is the new cinematic introduction and revised Tutorial. The New Player Experience continues the story introduced in the cinematic directed by director Dan Trachtenberg. Elements that have become central to Warframe’s core gameplay such as bullet jumping, are now part of the tutorial. Traverse the Plains of Eidolon to escape Captain Vor and begin your quest to uncover forgotten memories!
For those of you who have already played through the original Tutorial, you can play through the refreshed version by visiting the Codex Quest section under a new name ‘Awakening’ (also replayable!).
Hopefully, this gives you a good sense of what to expect in Heart of Deimos. Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Website: LINK
In addition to the three award-winning narrative episodes of Vader Immortal where you explore Darth Vader’s fortress on Mustafar, the series also includes the popular Lightsaber Dojo, where players can spend hours honing their skills with lightsabers and the Force against rounds of enemies.
As the Quality Assurance Lead for ILMxLAB, I’m afforded the opportunity to wear many hats: part QA Manager, requesting resources, and determining QA procedures; part QA Lead, deploying the test troops to carry out focused testing strategies; part Internal Support and Hardware Technician, helping people setup and troubleshoot their development rigs; and part Development QA Engineer, diving into the tools and code, to help investigate issues on the deepest levels.
Somewhere in there, I also manage to find the time to play through the complete Vader Immortal series and the Lightsaber Dojo modes countless times to ensure that you, our fans, get the best experience possible! All of this has helped me gain an intimate knowledge of the experience, and the best strategies to employ to hone your skills with a lightsaber and the Force… Today, I wanted to break down some of my best tips for the Lightsaber Dojo, so you can look like a pro from day one on PlayStation VR.
Remote droids will fire at you in volleys of three or more depending on their model. Use the lightsaber to deflect their initial shots at surrounding enemies, and deflect the final shots back, to destroy the attacking remote. This will maximize the damage you inflict.
Swing through melee attacks from weak Octodroids to parry. This will instantly stun the droid, making it vulnerable.
When a droid swings its blade at you, you’ll have a chance to riposte, provided the droid is within reach. As the droid swings at you, block its strike and notice if it moved in close when it attacked. If so, immediately counter with a swing of your own to riposte. This can significantly decrease the amount of time it takes to complete a round.
When you block an Elite Octodroid’s power attack with a solid block, it will instigate a Saber Clash. Hold your lightsaber steady, and then shove the droid’s saber to break the clash and stun the droid. You have them now.
Throwing weak enemies into each other will destroy them both in a single action. Weak enemies are also quicker to subdue with the Force, making them a convenient way to render stronger enemies vulnerable. Throw weak enemies into stronger ones to stun the stronger enemy. Then use the Force to immediately grab the stunned enemy, and use it to take out another.
When you throw the lightsaber, it will follow a single trajectory as it travels away from you. However, it will adjust its path to return to your hand. Try steering the saber through unsuspecting enemies, as the weapon comes back to you.
When it comes to the melee droids in the Dojo, there’s no match for a good blaster at your side. Shoot them to dispense the combatants quickly. When the blaster is spent, or you just don’t want to use it anymore, press the TRIANGLE button to discard it.
The complete award-winning Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series is out now on PlayStation VR! For all the latest ILMxLAB news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.
Website: LINK
With our third Outriders Broadcast concluded, we’re today excited to share the first details of our fourth and final class with you. Enter: The Technomancer!
“Right in front of our eyes, old tech and hardware we’d tossed away decades ago started shooting out sparks and coming back to life. We watched as the Altered bent and twisted the metal with his mind, shaping it into a machine of death that blew the enemy’s trench sky high.”
The premise of Outriders begins with a failed attempt by the last remnants of humanity to colonize a planet called Enoch. The root of this failure ties back to the existence of an electro-magnetic phenomenon known as the “Anomaly”, which essentially fried all electronic devices more complicated than a toaster. What was previously considered a hallmark describing the pinnacle of Earth’s greatest advancements, now only served to be part of ever-growing scrap heaps. That is, until the arrival of the Altered known as the Technomancers…
Technomancers are one of the four playable classes in Outriders, the other three being the Trickster, the Pyromancer and the Devastator. The ranks of these classes are filled by humans who came in contact with the Anomaly… and survived. Each class boasts its own unique set of skills, passives and mechanics, but today we’ll take a closer look at the Technomancer, as the final and recently revealed class.
As their name suggests, Technomancers are able to manipulate constructs, be they steel or flesh, to their own ends. A Technomancers main skills therefore focus around the construction or “summoning” of deadly weapons of war. They can materialize turrets with different effects, such as Cold or Toxic that will autonomously attack enemies and draw their fire. Alternatively, a Technomancer can also construct an automated surface-to-surface-barrage “Pain Launcher” which packs a tremendous punch while carpet bombing a corridor in front of it. Then there is also the equip-able construct “Tool of Destruction” – and this one’s a doozy. Depending on how you activate it, you will equip either a Rocket Launcher or a Minigun…
A Technomancer’s capability, however, extends beyond electric technology, allowing them to even manipulate the most complex of constructs: biological cells and subatomic particles.
“Trench legend tells of a cornered Technomancer who, desperate to stop an attacking monstrosity, suddenly took control of its subatomic particles to flash-freeze it in mid-air. Another legend tells of one who could hack the genetic code of living cells, making them instantly cancerous, turning his enemies’ own bodies lethal. Many Technomancers are known to help on the battlefield as well, rapidly restoring skin and cell bonds to mend their allies’ wounds. Just don’t expect to be remade exactly as you were before.” – Excerpt from a Journal found on planet Enoch.
But how does this class actually play and what differentiates the Technomancer experience from the other classes? Our latest trailer included gameplay of a Technomancer fighting alongside a Pyromancer and Devastator, which should give you a decent idea on what these classes look like in action.
However, a class’s playstyle is something you really only get a feel for over many hours of your own play and Outriders does give each player and class the ability to customize their build to one that they feel most comfortable with and is most effective. Each class can fulfil the role of a damage dealer, a tank or a support.
That being said, a Technomancer does have certain unique skills and passives that you won’t find with the other classes. For one, certain selectable Technomancer passives make this class most effective with Sniper Rifles. Their construct skills also allow them to add autonomous damage and agro to the battlefield, making them a particularly useful class for players who prefer to play by themselves and without co-op partners. For players who do intend to play with a squad, the Technomancer can bring a host of capabilities to a team mix that may otherwise be solely focused on damage output.
Many of the Technomancers’ skills not only deal damage, but they also include support or crowd-control effects. For example, a Technomancer’s “Fixing Wave” is the only skill in Outriders capable of healing yourself and allies with the press of a button. Additionally, skills such as the “Tool of Destruction’s” Rocket Launcher or the “Scrapnel” proximity mine will interrupt enemies, including bosses that are channelling a skill. With a view to such skills, players looking to get the most out of a Technomancer will need to think beyond raw damage and will need to analyze and be aware of a battles underlying flow. How can you best inflict status effects onto enemies that will allow the rest of your team to maximize the carnage dealt? When will you need to have a boost in healing to hand to prevent an ally going down? When will you need to stop a boss from wiping your team by stopping their skill channel?
“On the front lines, Technomancers create complicated new mechanisms out of burnt circuit boards and rusted metal, forging with their minds the deadly constructs of war from the detritus of the past. They offer a frightful vision of what humanity is becoming, but they are also a bridge to the past, and all that we have lost from Earth.” – Excerpt from a Journal found on planet Enoch.
As with all classes, there is plenty of nuance to the Technomancer that can only be experienced when playing the class. I do hope that you have enjoyed this little preview into Outriders though, and make sure to tune in to the next Outriders Broadcast if you would like to see more of the Technomancer and the other classes in action.
Outriders is a one to three player co-op RPG shooter set in an original, dark and desperate sci-fi universe. As mankind bleeds out in the trenches of Enoch, you’ll create your own Outrider and embark on a journey across the hostile planet. Outriders will release on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 in Holiday 2020.
Until then, stay safe!
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Hey everyone! This is Mike Rose from publishing label No More Robots, and we’re thrilled to say that Descenders, our multiplayer downhill biking game, is finally available for PS4. You can grab it today from PlayStation Store, or you can pick up a physical copy from your favorite retailer.
Descenders is extreme multiplayer downhill mountain biking in procedurally generated worlds, where mistakes have real consequences. As you ride through the more than half a billion levels in the game, never playing the same track twice, you’ll be earning Rep, which will unlock new worlds to ride and new bikes and kits to deck yourself out with.
But hey, it’s a lot easier to just show you how Descenders work — so let’s do just that!
As you ride through the many worlds of Descenders, you’ll earn Rep whenever you’re pulling off stunts, jumps and near misses. The crazier the stunts, and the longer the combo, the more Rep you’ll earn!
You’ll also start to attract the attention of the three big bike sponsors in the game — Kinetic, Enemy and Arboreal. Kinetic are watching for fast riders, while Enemy want to recruit bikers who can pull off cool tricks. Arboreal are all about off-road action and carving your own path.
Every world in Descenders ends with a completely off-the-wall “boss jump”, essentially a massive jump you need to complete before you can move on to the next world. These range from jumping over a train, to jumping an entire canyon, and they can be pretty fast and scary!
Once you’ve mastered all the regular boss jumps, you can then also discover and activate the special “fire ring” boss jumps, which add floating fire rings to each boss. If you can manage to jump through every fire ring in a single run, you may just find a super secret hidden world at the end…
Aside from the main career mode, there are a whole bunch of special modes and bike parks in Descenders, to play with your friends. The Bikeout worlds are some of the most silly experiences you can find in Descenders — a whole host of Wipeout-like challenges to complete, with swinging obstacles, rotating platforms, and giant bouncy balls to fall off.
Completing all the Bikeout levels is one of the greatest achievements you can muster up in Descenders, and it’ll take you a long while before you’re good enough to manage it!
We hope you all enjoy Descenders — it’s a fantastic experience on PlayStation, for you and three friends to share, and we can’t wait to see everyone diving into the game.
Website: LINK
