Game Freak, the primary developer of Pokémon games, has suffered a serious data breach. Employees’ personal details have been published online, as well as a huge trove of documentation on Pokémon, including source code for complete builds of past games.
In a statement, Game Freak said the leak was a result of “unauthorized access to our servers by a third party,” and it apologized for the release of over 2,600 items of personal data. It said the breach took place in August 2024 and that the affected server had already been rebuilt.
Information obtained from the leaked files began to appear widely on Saturday and Sunday, and Game Freak’s statement surfaced online on Sunday. However, the statement is dated Thursday, Oct. 10. The statement addresses the leak of employees’ personal details but does not mention the release of any confidential game data.
“Game Freak […] has discovered that personal information of our employees and others was leaked in connection with unauthorized access to our servers by a third party in August 2024,” the studio’s statement said (via machine translation). “We sincerely apologize for the great inconvenience and concern this has caused to all those involved.”
Game Freak said it was contacting affected employees individually. “We have already rebuilt and re-inspected the server, and will strive to prevent recurrence by further strengthening our security measures,” it said.
Polygon has contacted The Pokémon Company for comment. Game Freak is one of three stakeholders in Pokémon, alongside Nintendo and Creatures Inc., developer of the Pokémon Trading Card Game.
Elden Ring Speedrunner Mitchriz joined Dave Klein (DaveControl) to breakdown some of the ways speed runners break Elden Ring in order to achieve their world record times.
Toei Animation announced today that One Piece is taking a break from the Egghead Arc until next year, but you’ll still have some anime to keep you going.
It’s rare that the One Piece anime takes a particularly long break, but after a long uninterrupted stretch of episodes, it’s finally taking one. As announced by Toei Animation earlier today, the anime is on break until April 2025, a full half a year, and during a One Piece News special, it’s apparently so the team can “recharge”, an understandable reason given how hard the anime has been going over the past year. I wouldn’t worry too much though, as Toei has also announced that you’ll still have some One Piece anime to keep you going, it’s just some anime you will have seen before.
📢 The Egghead Arc is now on break and will resume in April 2025. #OnePiece will still continue with ONE PIECE LOG: FISH-MAN ISLAND SAGA, a special edited version of the original arc from the series! Begins late October in an abridged story with enhanced visuals! #OnePieceLOGpic.twitter.com/lT7lbYAVTD
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Later this month, on October 27, a special version of the Fish-Man Island saga is being released, with a synopsis explaining: “promised day has arrived. The Straw Hats have made it back to Sabaody Archipelago after two arduous years of separation. In the very same place where they once lost to Pacifista, the Straw Hats have proven themselves to be stronger and ready to begin their journey to the New World. With the Thousand Sunny now equipped to travel underwater, the next stop is the Fish-Man Island. One Piece Log: Fish-Man Island Saga is a special edited version of the original arc from One Piece, in an abridged 21-episode story with an enhanced contemporary visual look.”
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This sounds more like a Dragon Ball Z Kai situation rather than anything like what Netflix is doing with its own One Piece remake, so don’t expect it to look brand spanking new. For those not in the know, the Fish-Man Island Saga is the first one in The Final Sea: The New World Saga, which is where the time-skip takes place, so not necessarily the best jumping on point given it’s halfway through the story.
Speaking of the Netflix remake, Wit Studio’s Takeshi Wada shared the simple but slightly silly reason as to why One Piece is getting remade at all a few months back.
With the release of Vessel of Hatred, Diablo IV has seen its most significant changes since its original launch in June 2023. Adding a completely new region, Nahantu, along with a wealth of added characters and modes and a brand-new story, the expansion pack is the very definition of a game changer. But it goes even further than that, bringing in entirely new ways to upgrade items, a revamp of the World Tiers, new animal-morphing classes, and a new level cap. However, we meet change without fear, offering a litany of guides to get you up to speed.
For instance, Diablo IV now has NPC Mercenaries you can hire to come with you on your brawling, but you’re only going to find them by following a specific series of quests. Then there are those Spiritborn classes that let you pick between being able to possess the powers of a Jaguar, Eagle, Gorilla, or Centipede…Wait, centipede? No, we’ve checked, that’s definitely correct—and apparently one of the best choices for end-game content.
And this all follows on from piles of massive changes earlier this year, which saw the introduction of loot-fest The Pit, a new way to improve loot called Tempering, the addition of Mythic Uniques, and Infernal Hordes to battle. It’s mayhem!
But worry not, as here we’ve collected every guide we’ve published for Diablo IV’s big changes, which will see you flying toward the new level cap in no time at all.
This is the latest guest column from Push Square, the voice of the PlayStation community, offering passionate, in-depth coverage and insight into the world of Sony. Its goal is simple: to keep you informed, engaged, and part of the conversation surrounding all things PlayStation.
Sony sparked discontent among the PlayStation fandom in February this year when it said during an earnings call there’ll be no sequels or updates to “major existing franchise titles” on the PS5 before March 2025. With the platform holder keeping its content roadmaps close to its chest, the comments were largely taken out of context and many assumed this would be a lean year for the company’s new-gen console.
There seems to be a sentiment on social media that a game doesn’t count unless it comes from a wholly owned first-party studio, but PlayStation has done a particularly good job of working with partners to keep its portfolio packed this year.
Not everything PlayStation has touched has turned to gold. Its complete misreading of the market with first-person shooter Concord will go down in history
It’s been a quietly colossal year for PS5 then, and you get the sense the best is yet to come. The company’s largely kept its blockbusters close to its chest but 2025 should see the release of Ghost of Yotei and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, with Marvel’s Wolverine waiting in the wings. These are the “major existing franchise titles” the Japanese giant was referring to in that aforementioned investor call.
Many may still argue this has been a light year for PS5 but the catalogue of content Sony has amassed paints a very different picture. The most exciting thing is that it’s successfully filled the time while its first-party teams continue to cook. A huge second-half to the generation now awaits.
Sammy Barker is the Editor of Push Square. He’s been living and breathing the wonderful world of PlayStation for decades now – and has the tattoos to prove it. You can find him on @_get2sammyb.
Super Mario Party Jamboree Switch NSP Direct Download:
Super Mario Party Jamboree represents a delightful evolution in the beloved franchise, capturing the essence of friendly competition and engaging gameplay that has long characterized the Mario Party series. Released for the Nintendo Switch, this installment introduces fresh mechanics, vibrant graphics, and an array of mini-games that beckon both seasoned players and newcomers alike. At the heart of Super Mario Party Jamboree is its emphasis on cooperative and competitive play. The game features a variety of game modes, including traditional board-game experiences and innovative party modes that encourage collaboration among players. Europa
This balance between teamwork and rivalry enhances the overall experience, fostering a sense of camaraderie even amidst fierce competition. The mini-games, which are a hallmark of the series, are diverse and cleverly designed, ensuring that there is something to appeal to every player’s strengths. The inclusion of both motion-controlled and traditional button-press challenges maintains an engaging pace and keeps gameplay dynamic. The party atmosphere is further enriched by the colorful art style and upbeat music, reflecting the whimsical world of Mario. One notable aspect of Super Mario Party Jamboree is its accessibility.
Features and System Requirements:
Along with competitive gameplay, it includes cooperative mini-games where players team up to achieve goals.
Some games might use motion controls for an immersive experience.
Special abilities tied to specific characters, which can affect gameplay on the board or in mini-games.
Screenshots
System Requirements
1 :: Operating System :: Windows XP/7/8/8./10.
2 :: Dual Core 2.4 GHz
3 :: Ram :: 4 GB RAM
4 :: DirectX: Version 9.0
5 :: Graphics:: 1GB VRAM / DirectX 10+ support
6 :: Space Storage:: 15 GB space
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on Steam
Installation Guide
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
Breeze through today’s Wordle with our help. A quick look over our tips will give your Sunday puzzling a boost, and if you need a little more our hint for the October 13 (1212) game is definitely going to help you out. Need something more to the point? Coming right up. Today’s answer is never more than an easy click away if you need a guaranteed Wordle win.
On the one hand, I can see how the clues I found quickly led me to today’s answer. But on the other, how on earth did I manage to connect the dots like that? The joy of letting Wordle flow through me is pulling a quick win out of thin air. I just wish I knew how I did it.
Wordle today: A hint
(Image credit: Josh Wardle)
Wordle today: A hint for Sunday, October 13
If someone is susceptible to something they might be called this. The same word can also be used to describe someone lying down on a flat surface, face down.
Is there a double letter in Wordle today?
There are no double letters in today’s Wordle.
Wordle help: 3 tips for beating Wordle every day
If you’ve decided to play Wordle but you’re not sure where to start, I’ll help set you on the path to your first winning streak. Make all your guesses count and become a Wordle winner with these quick tips:
A good opener has a mix of common vowels and consonants.
The answer could contain the same letter, repeated.
Avoid words that include letters you’ve already eliminated.
You’re not racing against the clock so there’s no reason to rush. In fact, it’s not a bad idea to treat the game like a casual newspaper crossword and come back to it later if you’re coming up blank. Sometimes stepping away for a while means you can come back with a fresh perspective.
Today’s Wordle answer
(Image credit: Future)
What is today’s Wordle answer?
Enjoy your win. The answer to the October 13 (1212) Wordle is PRONE.
Keep up to date with the most important stories and the best deals, as picked by the PC Gamer team.
Previous Wordle answers
The last 10 Wordle answers
Previous Wordle solutions can help to eliminate guesses for today’s Wordle, as the answer isn’t likely to be repeated. They can also give you some solid ideas for starting words that keep your daily puzzle-solving fresh.
Here are some recent Wordle answers:
October 12: STAIN
October 11: GUSTY
October 10: CARVE
October 9: MOMMY
October 8: JOINT
October 7: FLOUR
October 6: LAGER
October 5: MINER
October 4: TITLE
October 3: WAGON
Learn more about Wordle
(Image credit: Nurphoto via Getty)
There are six rows of five boxes presented to you by Wordle each day, and you’ll need to work out which five-letter word is hiding among them to win the daily puzzle.
Start with a strong word like ALIVE—or any other word with a good mix of common consonants and multiple vowels. You should also avoid starting words with repeating letters, so you don’t waste the chance to confirm or eliminate an extra letter. Once you’ve typed your guess and hit Enter, you’ll see which letters you’ve got right or wrong. If a box turns ⬛️, it means that letter isn’t in the secret word at all. 🟨 means the letter is in the word, but not in that position. 🟩 means you’ve got the right letter in the right spot.
Your second guess should compliment the first, using another “good” word to cover any common letters you might have missed on the first row—just don’t forget to avoid any letter you now know for a fact isn’t present in today’s answer. After that, it’s just a case of using what you’ve learned to narrow your guesses down to the correct word. You have six tries in total and can only use real words and don’t forget letters can repeat too (eg: BOOKS).
If you need any further advice feel free to check out our Wordle tips, and if you’d like to find out which words have already been used you can scroll to the relevant section above.
Originally, Wordle was dreamed up by software engineer Josh Wardle, as a surprise for his partner who loves word games. From there it spread to his family, and finally got released to the public. The word puzzle game has since inspired tons of games like Wordle, refocusing the daily gimmick around music or math or geography. It wasn’t long before Wordle became so popular it was sold to the New York Times for seven figures. Surely it’s only a matter of time before we all solely communicate in tricolor boxes.
“Studio Ghibli” is a genre of game, in the same way “Aliens” and “Blade Runner” are genres of game. Blue skies, wind rustling grass that’s a just-so shade of green, a preoccupation with flight? Welcome to Ghibli town, friend.
You’ll find all of the above and several other familiar pieces of iconography in Europa, a puzzle and story-led adventure that’s out now.
Tomb Raider fans, bless them, spend a lot of time wondering how the series all syncs up. If the Lara Croft we saw in the original ’90s games is the same one as the rougher-around-the-edges Lara from the Survivor trilogy, then what happened in between to have it all make sense?
Luckily, answers appear on the horizon. Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics has already paraded around a new design for Lara that incorporates her post-Survivor trilogy look with throwback costuming, a commitment to the “unified” timeline. But as far as the story goes, the new Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is doing some major lift.
Earlier this month, showrunner Tasha Huo told Polygon that her goal for the Netflix animated series was to chart the gap between the Survivor trilogy and classic games. But Lara doesn’t get there by the end of season 1, even after defeating the Light, finding closure over the death of Conrad Roth, re-bonding with his daughter Camilla Roth, hugging it out with Jonah, and accepting her first pair of dual pistols. That’s because Huo knew that if the show was a hit there’d be more stories to tell, and she didn’t want OG Lara to suit up quite yet.
“I don’t want to just fast-track her to becoming classic Lara because it takes a lot to build that woman,” the showrunner says. “So season 2 will build upon what we’ve already seen and grow her even closer.”
Specifically, Lara will set off on a search for Sam, her filmmaker friend who first appeared in 2013’s Tomb Raider. Sam was working on a job “overseas,” last Jonah heard from her, but a dropped phone call from the old friend is enough to put Lara on high alert. The ending of season 1 only teases a few scant details of where the adventure may lead her: in Sam’s apartment, Lara finds signs of a struggle — a broken coffee mug, a tipped-over chair, a shattered picture frame — and a yarn board tying some stolen artifacts to a shady tracksuit-wearing dude with a scar and photos of cocaine.
Huo wasn’t ready to spoil any plot details, but says it’s carefully plotted so that Lara continues to grow and has room to venture on if Tomb Raider was to earn even more seasons. A top priority in season 2: Continue to draw out Lara’s sense of humor.
“Maybe she finds it in Sam,” Huo says. “Sam has a lighter personality. There’s also just a lot more for Lara to learn. So in success and in these infinite seasons, we get to explore all the lessons and how those adventures actually challenge her to take those increasing steps closer to being the woman we remember from the ’90s.”
For Huo, that classic version of Lara is also hyper-composed, in a way that she just isn’t at the stage of her life in which Tomb Raider: The Legend of Lara Croft is set. Yes, Lara Croft would rather raid a tomb than go to therapy — but Huo intends to help the character find her composure in the next archeology-fueled globetrotting mission. Just as the history-buff showrunner wants to inject Tomb Raider with tons of real history and culture specificity, she also wants to bang the drum for legit self-care.
“So much of that comes from meditation, balance, having all of these messy things inside you yet still somehow finding a way through calmness and self-composure,” Huo says. “I’m a big proponent of therapy and self-analysis as a way to just grow as a human being. It’s fantastic. And I’m glad Lara can do it. She hates therapy! So using adventure as therapy is a really great way for Lara to learn how to be better.”
Katsura Hashino knows exactly what he wants when it comes to video games. The legendary game director, who is responsible for the modern Persona games and more recently Metaphor: ReFantazio, believes that, in a world obsessed with pixel count and frame-rates, only one thing matters: the people who made it.
“I want something – even if it’s not complete, even if it’s really rough, even if it’s something really unfinished – to give me a glimpse of the humanity behind it. [I want to know] who created it and for it to give me a glimpse of the emotion that inspired it,” he explains.
It’s a philosophy that has served him well over the past 30 years and it’s one of the reasons the Persona games have such a devout following. Yes, the art direction is impeccable, as is the attention to detail, even down to the UI, but it’s the characters who populate this fantastical series that really make a difference. Chie, Junpei, Ann… They all feel like real people, with traits and emotions we can relate to, so much so they feel like old friends rather than characters from a video game. That’s entirely intentional and it’s what drives Hashino to make games – a personal approach that runs counter to some of the bigger projects out there that are required to meet the expectations of both fans and company shareholders alike.
I want something – even if it’s not complete, even if it’s really rough, even if it’s something really unfinished – to give me a glimpse of the humanity behind it.
Hashino is a longtime director at Atlus, having worked on several of the company’s Shin Megami Tensei games, the much-loved RPG series that merges the occult with more grounded settings. In a world dominated by ‘traditional’ Japanese RPGs like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, they’re a sort of goth alternative that has steadily grown in popularity over the years.
He took over the Persona series starting with Persona 3, following the departure of the previous Persona director Kouji Okada. Hashino brought over some of the darker themes from Shin Megami Tensei and mixed them with Persona’s more stylish pop vibe, resulting in a vibrant anime-influenced aesthetic, set against a high school backdrop that grappled with mythic ideas like gods and demons, as well as psychology. It’s a series that has established Hashino as one of gaming’s most respected directors. On the eve of his latest game, Metaphor: ReFantazio, IGN sat down with Hashino to look back at his past work and what drives him to make games.
Persona 3 catapulted the series into mass popularity and coincided with a renewed interest in anime in North America. However, despite its cartoon visuals there’s a lot of depth to the game and, importantly, the characters, as Hashino explains: “I think the gap between the kind of realism of the characters themselves and the anime aesthetic is a really interesting and important part of the game. You might first look and see these very anime-style characters and this anime-style world, but then might be surprised and interested to see there’s a very real [world] underpinning to them. Looking beyond the anime and seeing the realism is really a wonderful part of our games.”
I feel like if you have these super highly polished games that look like they were designed by a bunch of people in a CEO boardroom, that doesn’t really excited me
This realism – the effort Hashino and his team goes to, to ensure every character feels real – is what drives every decision in the design process, from broad ideas to specific dialogue, as Hasino explains: “There’s this little girl named Nanako [in Persona 4] who’s in elementary school. When we were first writing her dialogue, we wrote [it] to be really, really cute. But then we took a step back and thought, ‘Wait a minute, all of her lines are so cute and they’re so well done that it doesn’t feel like any actual human girl would [talk like that] at that age’. It just felt like too much.”
Rather than lean into the fact Nanako is a video game character and thus might have dialogue that doesn’t sound truly authentic, Hashino and his team went back to the writers’ room. “We started cutting back on those overly cutesy dialogues and tried to root it in reality instead. So even though Persona 4 is a modern fantasy game, we wanted it to feel closer to something that could be happening next door to you.”
One thing that becomes clear when speaking with Hashino is the love he has for the well-being of the characters in his games. When discussing his favorite moment in Persona 5, he tells us it’s when the cast of characters are able to hang out in the retro-style cafe in Shibuya that the Phantom Thieves make their hideout.
“In Persona 5, a lot of the characters don’t really have a place where they feel safe,” Hashino explains. “So I wanted to find a place where they can go and just really have that sense of security. And in Shibuya [a neighborhood in Tokyo] it’s really hard to find that location. There’s lots of roads, lots of corridors, but there’s not really a place where [you think], ‘Okay, you guys can just sit here and chill out and just use it as your base’. Finding a place [where] they’d be welcome is really difficult. So for the characters in Persona 5, I was trying to give them a place where they would be welcome. That’s when I came up with the idea of what we call in Japan a junkissa, which is an old-style cafe.”
Unsurprisingly, Hashino’s love for the characters he creates is something that’s echoed by fans, and even though Metaphor: ReFantazio steps away from the familiar Persona setting – it’s set in a new, fantasy world rather than Tokyo – it has a lot in common with the games he’s made before. Similarly, the characters you’ll meet in Metaphor, despite being different from the Phantom Thieves we’re familiar with, are faced with many of the same emotional pressures such as prejudice, fear, and anxiety.
“Metaphor is a game where the characters are around teenage age, but they’re not facing [traditional] teenager problems,” Hashino says, inferring that the characters you meet will struggle with a lot more than typical teen drama like peer pressure and romance. “They’re facing anxiety and all these other big things that affect everybody, no matter who they are, where they are, or how old they are.” So while Metaphor: ReFantazio presents a new world with new characters, many of its themes can be found in Hashino’s other games.
Indeed, whether it’s Persona, Shin Megami Tensei or Metaphor, getting under the skin of each character is core to the experience. It’s something Hashino believes comes from the people who make the games, and that he prefers projects in which you can see a developer’s true self: “I feel like if you have these super highly polished games that look like they were designed by a bunch of people in a CEO boardroom, that doesn’t really excited me — it doesn’t really interest me”, he admits, bluntly. “But when I see these sorts of games [which reveal a little about the people that made them], it really fills me with the motivation to keep developing,” he says. “That these artists, these creatives, had something they really wanted to say is where I get all of my inspiration from, and the drive to continue to be creative myself.”
Matt Kim is IGN’s Senior Features Editor. You can reach him @lawoftd.
The Fortnite Halloween party always adds a few spooky weapons and items. This year is doing the same, though it’s also adding a few new weapons to the loot pool, and they’re some of the game’s most intense items yet. Here’s all the Fortnitemares loot you can expect to find during the event:
Wood Stake Shotgun
Pumpkin Launcher
Witch Broom
Boom Billy
Chainsaw
Fortnitemares veterans will be familiar with those first three, though the last two are new to everyone. Boom Billy sends a Billy The Puppet, from Saw, tricycling toward the enemy before he detonates with an explosion. If you hear his twisted laugh, run away fast.
Meanwhile, a chainsaw is also coming to the game, and it has both offensive and traversal capabilities. You can lunge at an enemy with it, or rev it into the ground, which will then propel you forward. It sounds like it could join the community’s list cool traversal items, like the Shockwave Hammer, Kinetic Blade, and Spider-Man’s Web Slingers.
Though it isn’t exactly a loot item, there’s also a new on-island event you’ll see during Fortnitemares. Interact with a Billy The Puppet TV across various places on the island and you’ll be given a target to eliminate among players who have also opted into the challenge.
Both players will be clad in bear masks from Saw, and if neither player (or squad) eliminates their target before the timer goes off, well, they both explode. Those who win the showdown will be gifted with a Boom Billy and a Witch Broom, among other randomized loot.
Play it on: PC, Switch, PlayStation, Xbox Current goal: Make my stronghold a little nicer
If I’m honest, most of my gaming time this weekend will probably go, once again, toward the incredible UFO 50. (I now have my first two cherry carts!) However, it’s probably time I start mentioning other games on occasion here in the Weekend Guide, so instead I’ll talk about something else I’ve been playing lately, Pillars of Eternity, the 2015 fantasy CRPG from Obsidian Entertainment which follows in the footsteps of genre-defining classics like Baldur’s Gate and Icewind Dale. It’s absolutely epic in scope, immediately thrusting you into a world with its own rich, captivating history and lore—a world we’ll soon get to revisit in Avowed—but it’s also intimate and personal, with exceptionally well-written characters navigating life in a world filled with conflict and strife.
Early on, your character is awakened to their skills as a Watcher, someone who can see and interact with the souls of others. This not only allows for some great fantasy RPG plot hooks, but also brings the history of the game’s world to life in a way it otherwise wouldn’t be. You might, for instance, encounter someone who, in a past life, was part of the marauding hordes driving others out of their homes, and see how their soul was marred by the trauma of participating in something so monstrous, or you might be pulled into the experience of someone who was persecuted by those hordes. William Faulkner famously wrote, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” It’s true of our world, I think, and in Pillars of Eternity’s Eora, you really feel the way that the past lingers, shaping and haunting the present.
Of course, all the great pleasures of CRPGs are here—gorgeous lands to explore, engaging tactical combat, epic quests—and all of that is crucial to what makes Pillars of Eternity so exceptional. But for now, I’m particularly smitten by the writing, so smart and so rich, and characterized by a tremendous respect for the player, trusting us to come to grips with the world and its history upon being thrown in head-first, and trusting us to appreciate its profound thematic depth without needing to spell things out for us or lampshade what it’s doing. It’s so great to encounter genuinely mature writing in a game, especially when it’s married to gameplay as rich and captivating as what’s on offer here. — Carolyn Petit
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Kenneth Shepard, Carolyn Petit, Zack Zwiezen, Ethan Gach, and John Walker
Fight for the United Citizen Federation in Starship Troopers: Extermination, a 16-player online co-op FPS set in the universe of the 1997 cult classic film Starship Troopers. As a member of the Deep Space Vanguard, it’s your duty to defend the Federation’s planets from Bug incursions by establishing bases and battling swarms together with your fellow Troopers.
With the game’s launch on Xbox Series X|S, we’re thrilled to reveal two new ways to crush Bugs: by rubbing shoulders with a Starship Troopers legend in single-player, and together with many more Troopers in online campaigns.
Welcome to the Special Operations Group
The Special Operations Group (S.O.G.) is a boot camp designed to introduce core mechanics like Bugs, resources, base building, and this expansive universe to new Troopers in a thrilling and engaging way. The single-player campaign features 25 missions starring the hero of planet P himself, General Johnny Rico — a role reprised by Casper Van Dien from the original Starship Troopers film.
The first chapter of the S.O.G. — ‘Answering the Call’ — has you following General Rico’s orders through a gauntlet of underground missions, winding down the infested tunnels and caves of Valaka that lead to an Arachnid hive.
Three original characters form the rest of your squad and will help you learn more about the importance of combat roles. Jackson “Moose” Callahan is a Demolisher, a master of explosives who believes force can be overcome with greater force. Taral “Scorch” Ashcroft is a Ranger, nimble and effective in close-range combat. Rounding it out, Olivia “Jensen” Jensen is a quick-thinking Medic who’s always got her fellow Troopers’ backs.
More chapters will be released in the future, so even if you’re a veteran Trooper, you’ll want to stick around to see what happens next!
Storm the Galactic Front
Remember the mission: everyone fights, no one quits! There’s a wider galaxy waiting for you in the Galactic Front, a brand-new online campaign where many players can work together to overcome threats too big for your usual Trooper squads. Join a Company of players and enlist in Company Operations, where you can work together to achieve collective goals.
The first Galactic Front revolves around Boreas, a newly discovered ice planet in an unexplored system. It’s rich in resources that could turn the tide against the Bugs, so make sure you beat the Bugs to it.
Unique rewards await, including special cosmetics, and your actions may impact the ongoing story of Starship Troopers: Extermination. Check back often for new phases of the Galactic Front, and make sure you’re doing your part in this galactic struggle!
Innocent Au-pair: Restart the story restarts the original game. David’s wife, Ala, decides to hire a girl to help with household chores. To make it more cost-effective, she also opts to hire an au pair. How this decision will affect them is something we’re about to discover. Step into the shoes of David, a local businessman, or Alex, his son, as you navigate the ebbs and flows of family dynamics, business operations, and personal relationships. Watch as David and Alex each try to impress Tasha, a new arrival au-pair in their family who tries to find her own journey. All under the watchful eye of Ala, who commands her own space in this lovely family. Dominate Them All
Features and System Requirements:
The game could include puzzles related to child-rearing or managing household duties, requiring players to balance tasks, time management, and problem-solving.
The game could feature immersive, detailed environments, from cozy family homes to vibrant cityscapes where the au-pair goes on errands or takes the children out for adventures.
It could have a relaxing or slow-paced gameplay loop, appealing to players who enjoy life-simulation games or visual novel elements, focusing on narrative and character interaction.
Screenshots
System Requirements
Recommended
OS: Windows 10 or Newer
Processor: Intel Core I3
RAM: 4 GB
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080
Storage: 2 GB
Support the game developers by purchasing the game on PATREON
Installation Guide
Turn Off Your Antivirus Before Installing Any Game
1 :: Download Game 2 :: Extract Game 3 :: Launch The Game 4 :: Have Fun 🙂
Hey folks! We’ve got a full house for this week’s pod, with the team talking news, next week’s releases, and all the spooktacular games we’ve been playing this month, including Until Dawn and Silent Hill 2.
Stuff We Talked About
Next week’s releases:
PlayStation Plus Monthly Games for October:
Dead Island 2
Two Point Campus
Gris
Return to Monkey Island
and more…
Neva devs detail design
Beat Saber: Britney Spears Music Pack launch
PlayStation Store: September 2024’s top downloads
Metaphor ReFantazio: hands-on details
Until Dawn
Silent Hill 2
Darkest Dungeon
The Cast
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Kristen Zitani – Senior Content Communications Specialist, SIE
Thanks to 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.]
How many Disco Elysium successor studios is too many? Trick question, no such number has yet been invented. For the second time today (and the fourth time total) a gaggle of former ZA/UM devs has announced they’re coming together to boot up a new studio. This one is called Dark Math Games, and it’s working on XXX Nightshift, which looks, huh, a little like Disco Elysium.
No, we haven’t accidentally published the same story twice. The other Disco Elysium successor studio announced earlier today was Longdue, which is also a studio boasting DE vets that says it’s working on an RPG inspired by the 2019 classic. Dark Math joins that studio, as well as Red Info and ZA/UM itself, as a pretender to the Disco crown. Did I sometimes get these studios mixed up writing this piece? Mind your own business.
Dark Math is based in the UK, and pitches itself as “a breakaway group from the original
development team of Disco Elysium” and has a team of 20 devs right now. Just which ZA/UM vets it has on-staff it is a little hard to say, though. The press release announcing the studio’s existence only names Timo Albert—former ZA/UM motion graphic designer—as one of the studio’s four founders, with everyone else going unnamed.
But maybe there’s a reason for that: A quick glance at the Companies House entry for Dark Math lists Heiti Kender as a current director, and his brother Kaur Kender as a now-resigned director. If you’ve not followed the drama that’s engulfed ZA/UM proper in recent years, Kaur Kender is one of the figures at the centre of it.
In court documents filed by Robert Kurvitz (ZA/UM founder and DE lead writer) and Alexander Rostov (founder and DE art director), the pair alleged that they were forced out of the studio with actions tantamount “to criminal wrongdoing punishable by up to three years imprisonment” that “were perpetrated by Ilmar Kompus and Tõnis Haavel with support from Kaur Kender” in the messy aftermath of DE’s release. Kender himself withdrew a lawsuit against ZA/UM’s majority shareholder and CEO in 2022.
So perhaps it’s none too surprising that the PR surrounding Dark Math doesn’t draw attention to that drama by mentioning any names beyond Albert, who says the goal with XXX Nightshift is “innovating the traditional RPG mechanics” to “bring something fresh to the table. You will see. And of course, a few less words. And a few more bullets, perhaps. In total: lot more fun.”
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It really does look like Disco Elysium, mind you, right down to the presentation of its dialogue in a strip along the right-hand side of the screen. Plus, you’re a kind of cop called a “Patrol Operative” and the game calls itself a “true detective RPG.”
Which, hey, I’m definitely keen to check out, even if I still have a few questions about Dark Math’s staff and their role in the fallout around ZA/UM. The dialogue trailer makes it look intriguingly moody, and the premise—you’re a cop stranded at a luxury Antarctic ski resort—is precisely the kind of weirdness I could see myself getting very into.
An arcade-style multiplayer horror beat ’em up based on Damien Leone’s cult-classic Terrifier horror movie franchise has been announced and is slated for release in 2025. Developed by Relevo and published by Selecta Play, the “blood-soaked retro beat ’em up” is a seemingly authentic retro experience. The reveal ties in perfectly as Terriifer 3 comes to movie theatres worldwide.
aterials, Terrifier: The ARTcade game is a 2D beat ’em up title in the Terrifier horror movie franchise. The game seemingly exists outside the established fiction of the series and appears similar to beat ’em up tie-ins such as the Scott Pilgrim vs. The World game.
Spanish indie game studio Relevo has brought its retro development acumen to this 32-bit project, with its storied past of bringing retro-inspired titles to modern and vintage consoles for 15 years. Its extensive platforming and beat ’em up catalog is viewable on itch.io. Beyond that, its 3D projects and upcoming Kickstarter-funded cyberpunk bullfighting title Bullfighter NEON are visible on its Steam page.
With a focus on authenticity to source material and hardware, Relevo positions itself as an up-and-coming indie retro developer:
“We’re passionate about [creating retro games] and challenge ourselves everyday to stay true to real retro game style unlike any other indie game studio out there.”
Relevo, ‘Our Passion: We Keep It Retro’ – Relevo Official Website
Cause Carnage Across Terrifier Movie Sets
Image Source: Selecta Play via Twinfinite
The game constructs a metanarrative surrounding Art and his allies rampaging through movie sets based on his in-universe murderous deeds. Seen in pre-release footage are levels themed on a snowy cityscape, a string-light lit forest, and a fittingly positioned retro arcade.
In keeping with the title’s modern setting and murderous protagonists, the enemies fought in Terrifier: The ARTcade Game are not fictional creatures or nameless thugs. They are instead the emergency service personnel and film crew that would be present in the game’s film studio settings.
Co-op Characters From Across The Franchise
Image Source: Selecta Play via Twinfinite
Art the Clown is arguably the defining trait of the Terrifier horror movie franchise’s enduring success. However, the game does allow for local multiplayer with a varied cast of murderous characters.
As would be expected, Art the Clown is fully playable in Terrifier: The ARTcade Game. As such, he is seen scuttling and butchering his way across the screen. Seen prominently as the first Terrifier movie’s protagonist, Victoria Heyes has had a storied and tragic chronology in the film trilogy. Acting as Art’s second-in-command, the Little Pale Girl is shorter in stature but her bloodlust is as ferocious as Art’s.
Rounding out the game’s roster is a somewhat left-field pick in Miles County security nurse Adam Burke. As seen in Terrifier 2 and 3, portrayed by pro wrestler Chris Jericho, Burke appears to bring his imposing physicality to the title’s roster.
The roster’s fists and teeth would surely suffice to cleave their way through the game’s hordes of unsuspecting enemies. However, in classic beat ’em up fashion players can pick up a whole host of melee weapons from the ground.
Terrifier: The ARTcade Game Release Date, Rating, & Platforms
Image Source: Selecta Play
While no specific release date for Terrifier: The ARTcade Game has been relayed, a 2025 release window has been given. Although the trailer does provide a list of available platforms, it is seemingly skipping eight-generation consoles. Instead, Terrifier: The ARTcade Game is set to launch in 2025 for Steam, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.
Terrifier: The ARTcade Game is not a definitive tie-in to the most recent Terrifier film, as the game is slated for release next year. However, Terrifier 3 is out now and is garnering a somewhat divisive yet positive critical reception.
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A group of former members of the original development team of RPG darling Disco Elysium have today revealed their first new title under a new UK studio: XXX Nightshift. No, you’re not getting deja vu – this really has happened twice in one day, with this reveal following hot on the heels of the announcement of Longdue, another indie studio from former Disco staffers.
Dark Math Games’ first title will be a single-player science-fiction RPG that promises significant depth and unique mechanics.
XXX Nightshift sees players dropped into the role of ‘Patrol Operative’ Dinorah Katz in the year 2086. Katz is stranded at a luxury ski resort in Antarctica – trapped alongside a multitude of characters. You’ll be solving cases and working with companions to role play and unravel the mysteries of the resort and its inhabitants.
You’ll be interrogating suspects, engaging in sci-fi world-bending mechanics, and making a whole lot of story-altering decisions.
“Additionally to innovating the traditional RPG mechanics, we’ll bring something fresh to the table,” says Dark Math Games co-founder Timo Albert. “And of course, a few less words. And a few more bullets, perhaps. In total: lot more fun.”
This studio is the latest element to come out of fallout of the rancid vibes surrounding Disco Elysium’s developer, ZA/UM – a tangled mess of briefing, counter-briefing, and horrid stories. After key figures stormed out of the studio it appeared the writing was on the wall – but from those ashes come new studios, the latest of which is Dark Math.
XXX Nightshift is now up on Steam, ready to hit your Wishlist. A release date remains TBC.
October 11, 2024 –SEGA is thrilled to announce that Metaphor: ReFantazio, the latest RPG from ATLUS’s Studio Zero, has released on PlayStation®4, PlayStation®5.
About Metaphor: ReFantazio
・A New Undertaking That Captures the Essence of ATLUS
ATLUS is a console game developer that was formed in 1986. It has garnered popularity across the globe, with its Persona series reaching 22 million* units sold worldwide. ATLUS will celebrate its 35th anniversary this year.
*As of March 5, 2024
ATLUS has worked on many contemporary stories, such as Shin Megami Tensei and Persona, and provided players with its own unique worlds and experiences. After the immense success of Persona5, ATLUS is now set to explore the realm of classic fantasy.
A fantastical story that could not have been explored within the framework of modernity. This anniversary project offers a fresh new take on the fantasy RPG genre. Rather than seeking solace in the past, this new adventure has been driven by a philosophy of creativity and empathy and aims to break new ground.
・A Groundbreaking Project Helmed by Renowned Creators and Artists
A team of internationally recognized creators, who have earned accolades at various game awards, have assembled for this project to develop a totally new fantasy RPG, including director KatsuraHashino, character designer Shigenori Soejima, and composer Shoji Meguro. The team behind Metaphor: ReFantazio has an illustrious history, having developed Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5. Notably, Persona 5 has become the franchise’s biggest success, with 10 million units sold worldwide.
*As of December 22, 2023
Creators:
Director: Katsura Hashino (Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne, Persona 3, 4, 5)
Character Designer: Shigenori Soejima (Persona 3, 4, 5)
Composer: Shoji Meguro (Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne, Persona 3, 4, 5)
Joining this incredible team of creators is a team of equally exceptional artists, all united in their goal to deliver an out-of-this-world production.
・The Story, the Art and Sound, the Mechanics, All Unique
Story:
Lose track of time and immerse yourself. Mysterious and unpredictable events unfold in a realm replete with the anxieties and aspirations of its inhabitants, calling you on a grand journey with plenty to experience.
Art and Sound:
Distinctive and charming character designs. Beautiful and fantastical background art throughout the game’s world. With stylish UIbased on Western painting tradition, even just browsing the menus provides a sense of excitement.
In addition, the game provides a new musical experience with a blend of orchestra, world music, choir, and chants, a sound developed from a reinterpretation of religious music.
Mechanics:
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A unique battle system combining quick action with turn-based combat. An unbelievably comfortable play tempo and exhilarating graphics. Players are given a high degree of freedom and ability to strategize, realized through Archetypes, a mechanic at the pinnacle of party customization.
Ride gauntlet runners on a journey to change the world. The Daily Life mechanics present in the Persona series have evolved, allowing you to experience an entirely new type of journey.
The Game’s Story
・Setting
A world separate from our own, inhabited by 8 different tribes.
Within one corner of this world exists the Kingdom of Euchronia.
The kingdom is an alliance of nations that began with its valiant first king and saw unification and governance over the ages by the powerful royal bloodline in its immense magical prowess. However, the kingdom began to decay over the long years, now deteriorating into a land without virtue divided by prejudice and disparity.
In addition to the vicious animals roaming its vast territory, the land is inundated with mysterious creatures known as “humans,” meaning not even the smallest of safe spaces remains outside of the cities.
Then, the kingdom’s prince and king are assassinated, bringing even further confusion and anxiety to its citizens who now have no ruler.
・Prologue
A young man embarks on a journey to lift a curse, with a fairy by his side
The Elda are a minority tribe shunned in the Kingdom of Euchronia.
The protagonist, a young Elda, is traveling alongside his fairy partner, Gallica, to lift the curse placed upon the kingdom’s prince.
There is only one way to lift the deadly curse that eats away at the prince:
Take the life of its caster.
As the young man travels across the vast continent, he will have many chance meetings, form bonds, and eventually learn the truth of the kingdom.
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The curtain unfolds after a terrible incident shakes the entire kingdom..
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・Introduction
A race for the throne decided by majority vote, imposed by the power of magic.
Just over ten years have passed since the Kingdom of Euchronia’s crown prince was assassinated. Then, the king himself is cut down, leaving the kingdom in chaos without any ruler or heir to the throne.
Who will be the next king? The sanctifex serving as head of the state religion, a lord or lady of a nearby nation, or perhaps a leader of the military…? As the royal funeral is carried out with various powerful parties all vying for the throne, a spell is unexpectedly cast at the funeral site.
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Time is finite before my soul departs this benighted world… Come October, there shall be a reckoning. A Day of the Hero. Upon that day, whosoever hath truly earned the greatest faith of the citizenry… shall ascend to throne and crown by right of kings.
Ringing in the sky was the voice of the king who had been declared dead. He had a grand spell set to activate upon his death that would pit every one of his citizens against one another in a race for the throne, to be decided by popular vote.
The people descend into utter chaos at the thought of electing their own king for the very first time. However, our protagonist decides he must throw himself into the fray in order to accomplish his mission.
And so begins the great race for the throne, to be carried out all across the kingdom. Over the course of his journey, he finds various allies to join him. What awaits them is a grand journey that will change the world as they know it.
Characters
・The Protagonist Elda and His Fairy
・Allies of Differing Backgrounds
Within this society rife with discrimination, allies belonging to various tribes come to join the protagonist. Each of them has their own reason for wanting to change the world, and when they come into contact with the protagonist’s awakened power, Heroic Embodiment (Archetype), they become able to use it as well.
Play through the beginning of Metaphor with the new demo! You’ll be able to carry over your save data to the full game once you’re done! To pick up the demo, simply head over to your platform’s store to download it.
*The demo’s content may slightly differ from the launch version.
*You can play the demo as many times as you like.
*All screenshots and footage shown during the broadcast are from the Japanese edition of the game, which is still under development. English support will be available at release.
While many gamers are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Grand Theft Auto 6, there’s still a ton of activity around the current iteration of the mega-blockbuster franchise. Fans are still role-playing on private servers, goofing around in the game’s online mode, or — in the case of two filmmakers — staging a film adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s most famous plays. Grand Theft Hamlet is co-directed by the married couple Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane. The movie was shot entirely within Grand Theft AutoOnline during the global pandemic; it’s coming to select theaters in the United States and streaming globally.
The two directors of Grand Theft Hamlet were out-of-work actors playing GTA Online together during the lockdowns in the United Kingdom. After the usual amount of gunplay and antics, the two found a theatre in the game, and decided to stage a production of Shakespare’s Hamlet inside the game. The inherent difficulty in such a task is that GTA Online is a sandbox full of murderous drug dealers flying invisible motorbikes and dropping orbital strikes. Coordinating these players is a mean feat, and in the effort to do so, we can learn more about the digital worlds we inhabit and what they are capable of.
The documentary asks what is this space? How do we use it now and what else is possible inside it? Can we transport this ancient story inside a brand new one? And will it still make sense? The cinematic potential of Los Santos is immediately apparent, with its glittering, mind-blowingly detailed cityscape and surrounding countryside, the ray-traced rendering of light, ever-changing weather systems and intricate sound design. By using the in-game phone camera we were able to get intimate close ups and cinematic pans across landscapes – enabling a more cinematic visual language and moments of pathos, emotion and lyricism to exist within the chaos and violence of this undiscovered country.
There have been other notable collisions between the traditional world of theater and online gaming, such as the Wasteland Theatre Company and their plays conducted within Fallout 76. It’s always interesting to see how players find new angles and ways to interpret the world of GTA Online, or any online space, to tell their own stories.
