While some games have played with this, embracing death as a game mechanic, like Planescape: Torment, or rejecting it entirely, like Fable 2, the big shake up for dying in games came with Dark Souls and chums. Suddenly death mattered beyond simply losing progress. I’m not going to go into detail, for fear of stealth Soulsborne article accusations, but if you’ve carefully edged through a tough area to reclaim your lost souls/echoes/rings, you’ll know what I mean....

This new Marathon project will take the form of a three-person squad-based extraction shooter, Insider-gaming reports, and is currently in a pre-alpha state. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there’s also suggestion of this new Marathon game being run as a live service, with season rewards and progression worked in. Eurogamer has contacted Bungie for comment. While work on Destiny 2’s final set of expansions continues, Bungie has previously acknowledged plans to release at least one other project by 2025....

The Zombies community has this week surfaced a disconnect message called “Sail 630 nuclear bug”, which has popped up on the PC version of Treyarch’s shooter. Players have reported receiving this error message, which forces a return to the main menu, after reaching a reasonably high round in Zombies (between 40 and 70, reports indicate). Some players reported receiving this “Sail 630 nuclear bug” message alongside getting banned from the game via Battle....

“It’s an entertainment adventure,” Call of Duty narrative director Brian Bloom explained recently (via PCGamesN). “And as far as real people and real places doing real things, you know, these are not based on actual events.” Bloom went on to state the team is, however, inspired by real-world events. “We want you to feel like when you play the game, it’s happening in the world that you live in, and our heroes are here to do things that put the world back the way it was, in the way we left it, to restore it,” he continued....

As reported by Reuters (thanks, PC Gamer), Chinese government agency The National Radio and Television Administration has justified the move by insisting that “for a period of time, issues such as chaotic online livestreaming and teenage addiction to games have raised widespread concerns in society and effective measures need to be taken urgently”. The statement seemingly comes after some fans were able to view games China deems as “unauthorised” - such as Elden Ring - via Chinese streaming platforms, even though many are not available to buy in the country....

Speaking via Instagram, Pratt said that getting to play Mario was proof “dreams come true” after he used to steal quarters from a local wishing well to play the Super Mario Bros. arcade game. “There was this coin-operated laundromat by my house and it had Super Mario Bros., the original arcade game. I loved that game. I never had a quarter… I’d steal them from the wishing well. “That’s wild....

Religion functions in largely the same way as previous Civ games - cities and units can exert pressure to convert others nearby, and many Beliefs are shared by all who follow that Religion, rather than just the founding Civ. However, the Religious Victory condition is of course completely novel, and as such we’ll be explaining how to spread the holy word far and wide, below. Before doing so however, a quick reminder of our Scientific Victory and Military Domination Victory guides, too - because there’s no point in mastering Religion only to be pipped by a Space Race or suprise nuke that you could have seen coming!...

Speaking to BBC News on the 30th anniversary of the original Civilization’s release, Meier issued a stark warning that progress in game development was beginning to forget about gameplay itself. And on NFTs, Meier warned that chasing this form of monetisation risked alienating players altogether. “The real challenge and the real opportunity is keeping our focus on gameplay,” said Meier. “That is what is unique, special and appealing about games as a form of entertainment....

Yesterday, the Polish developer released a detailed timeline documenting all its upcoming games for the foreseeable future. This included the next game in the Cyberpunk series, which is codenamed “Orion”, along with updates on its Witcher series and a new IP known for now as “Hadar”. Following this announcement, CD Projekt Red’s global PR director Radek Grabowski shared that the company would establish a new studio, known as CD Projekt Red North America, to lead its next Cyberpunk-based project....

The Devil in Me starts at H. H. Holmes’ famed “murder castle”, with an utterly caricaturish Holmes as host, indulging in ominous wordplay that his guests - a pair of playful newlyweds - let fly over their heads. I fail an early heartbeat-rhythm quicktime event while sneaking around and watch the wife collapse into giggles, earning a warning from Holmes that’s dripping in dramatic irony: we wouldn’t want to fall and dash our skulls open, would we!...

Sony Bend stated it “does not share his sentiment” and nor do Garvin’s views “reflect the views of [its] team”. “Our studio is immensely proud of the work we accomplished on Days Gone and are thankful to every developer who poured their heart and soul into it,” Bend Studio wrote. “We are incredibly humbled by the support of our Days Gone community and we will continue to share your enthusiasm for our world and characters as we look toward the future....

Many activities in the game - particularly those offering high level loot - cap their rewards at once per week, so learning the day these activities reset and start over is key to helping you reach higher levels and try out new challenges. There is also a daily reset time, which rotates what’s available from vendors and other activities. If you’re interested in reaching higher levels in general, our levelling guide explains the ins and outs of how Destiny 2’s various progression systems work....

This class is easy to master, and has an amazing kit for you to face lots of enemies at the same time, and protect your allies in the hellish corridors you may find yourselves. Call for your holy powers to shield everyone, or to slash the evil you are facing. To work your way through Diablo Immortal’s content with this class, you must learn how to prepare your Crusader - with this page explaining best skills, gear, gems, and how to use your Paragon Points to be the greatest Crusader you can be....

The monster battling tactical role-playing game was once set to launch for PC, PlayStation 4, Switch and Xbox One in 2019, before being bumped back to 2020. Its release date was then delayed again last year, into 2021. “To Digimon fans patiently awaiting Digimon Survive, first of all, we’d like to thank you for your continued patience and support for Digimon Survive in 2021,” producer Kazumasa Habu wrote in a statement released via Twitter....

DLC packs for Dragon Age Origins and Dragon Age 2, plus Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 (except for that game’s multiplayer packs) are all now available without charge, EA has said in an email to fans shared via reddit. Remaining BioWare Points can be spent on those Mass Effect 3 multiplayer packs (if you still have any points lying around), before they disappear forever on 11th October. BioWare Points were an annoying currency from the early days of the PC Origin store era which you could buy to then spend on in-game content packs....

Six parties say they will support the motion, which would bring Dutch law largely in line with Belgium - where loot boxes were outlawed back in 2018 (thanks, Neowin). The motion describes loot boxes as “a form of gambling” and states “children in video games are manipulated to purchase” such items via in-game microtransactions. While not signed into law yet, the six parties make up over half of the country’s Senate and House of Representatives, suggesting the motion may well succeed....

Koei Tecmo and its studio Omega Force, which is also behind the Hyrule Warriors games for Nintendo, are working with EA on “the next great hunting game”, EA said in a note to press this morning. It’s described as an original intellectual property, and a “truly AAA experience” based in fantasy feudal Japan. More information will be announced later this month, EA added. Concept art is below: Omega Force’s new game is published by the EA Originals label, which is behind the likes of It Takes Two and Knockout City....

The remarks, posted publicly on Twitter overnight, reportedly follow an internal meeting within EA on LGBTQ+ issues, Kotaku reported. There, the publisher was again asked by employees whether it would make a public statement on these issues - and reportedly again kept to its previous line that these topics were subject to different points of view across the company. Last week, EA acknowledged its lack of public comment over the current threats to abortion rights, pending the US Supreme Court decision on the country’s key Roe v Wade ruling, and trans rights, which are the subject of ongoing legal battles in several states....

The comments were made in an interview in the latest issue of Famitsu, translated by VGC. “It’s the same for all past titles, not just this one, but it’s not a very pleasant time,” he said. “I’m sure I’m relieved, but I’m more anxious about it. I never get used to it.” Since launch, the game has seen high sales and positive reaction. It’s certainly the game of the moment....

On EA’s part, it has said freedom from the FIFA organisation will allow it to do far more with its football game. (It will also, of course, save the hefty sum it paid for those four letters on the front of its box.) As for FIFA, it has said its brand is the thing that matters, and it’ll be fine without EA. Indeed, to quote FIFA president Gianni Infantino, “the constant is the FIFA name and it will remain forever and remain THE BEST”....