Currently, standalone copies of Sonic the Hedgehog 1, 2, 3, and CD can be purchased for between £3-4 a piece on Steam and the Xbox Store, putting their combined value significantly below the £32.99/$39.99 asking price of Sonic Origins’ standard edition. As of those games’ delisting on 20th May, however, the only way to purchase Sonic’s early titles digitally will be via Sonic Origins, with the one exception: the Sega Ages versions of Sonic 1 and 2 on Switch will remain on sale....

Much of it is built around the idea of Perilous Attacks, but there are also intricacies to learning how to deflect and parry effectively, how posture works and how to land Deathblows effectively, too. On this page: Sekiro Combat system explained - the basics There are two bars to bear in mind for every character in Sekiro - and that includes both your own bars and the enemies’. The first is your Vitality, or health, which is pretty standard, and represented by the red bar....

Top of the list of new additions for the kung-fu beat-’em-up is the aforementioned new scoring system, which will “take into account every punch, kick, sweep and finisher performed” in order to rank players based on smoothness, efficiency and variety. “Dismantle a group of enemies without getting hit,” Sloclap adds, “and players will be greeted with a score worth flaunting.” Elsewhere, next week’s update brings a range of modifiers designed to suit all tastes....

The controversial Skyrim Together mod is once again under scrutiny after its chief creator declared: “we don’t owe the community anything.” The programmer took to the Skyrim Together subreddit to respond to a thread titled “is something going to happen?” that was posted after months of radio silence on the project. Skyrim Together aims to add online multiplayer to Bethesda’s hugely popular open-world fantasy RPG, and pulls in an impressive $18,284 a month on Patreon....

Announced at the PlayStation State of Play, Insomniac’s superhero adventure was previously available as a console exclusive but will come to PC for the first time. It’s unknown if the Miles Morales follow-up will also be available in the future. [UPDATE: The PlayStation blog has now confirmed it will, this autumn.] Spider-Man Remastered follows the likes of God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn, and Days Gone as PlayStation Studio games coming to PC....

Tonight’s show also brought a fresh look at Next Wave, the new instalment of the series’ Salmon Run co-op mode, which now features a giant new Salmonid to shoot your inky paint at. Here’s the trailer: Splatoon 3 will arrive as part of an increasingly busy year for Nintendo Switch, which will include a new Mario Strikers, a new Wii Sports, Xenoblade Chronicles 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Advance Wars 1+2: Re-Boot Camp, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes - oh and 48 remastered coursed for Mario Kart 8 Deluxe....

While the game will remain playable and rankings will continue without the use of prize pass levels, no new characters or maps will be released, effectively ending support following the conclusion of Season 5. Meanwhile, sales of mythril, Chocobo GP’s premium currency, have been discontinued. The in-game mythril shop will disappear on 6th January. All purchased mythril becomes “invalid” then, too. Square Enix said it will not issue refunds for purchased mythril....

Expect a world premiere revealing the new project in the works at Eidos Montreal, plus more information on the lovely-looking Life is Strange: True Colors and a look at the Life is Strange remaster. Platinum game Babylon’s Fall will also be shown, and there will be an update on what’s next for Marvel’s Avengers, including its upcoming Wakanda expansion. Eidos Montreal is the talented studio behind 2011’s Deus Ex: Human Revolution and its 2016 sequel Mankind Divided, as well as 2018’s Shadow of the Tomb Raider....

The wheels started to fall off for us when Apex Legends introduced skill-based matchmaking (often shortened to SBMM). Yes, yes, I know it’s an unpopular view and something Respawn is unlikely to change, but I loathe SBMM in unranked play. I know it’s there to balance out lobbies and make it easier for newbies to get acclimated. But if you’re only a little above average in the game - or play with someone who is - your slightly-better-than-average arse is continually up against “Apex Predators” who melt you from across the map should you so much as glance in their direction....

You are the horticulturist, nameless and mostly voiceless, welcoming patrons into a shop that consists of many shelves of different vibrantly coloured plants and flowers, as well as a desk with a drawer. As a player, you can interact with the desk and its contents, as well as plants, of course. The core gameplay loop is rather simple - clicking on the bell on your counter simulates a customer calling on you, requesting a plant for medicinal use or other purposes....

It’s a small shame, really, because while it might have been impossible for The Last Guardian to live up all that hype, it managed to live up to my own lofty expectations; chiefly that it would find its place in the lineage of Ueda’s previous games, matching the majesty and icy magic of Ico and Shadow of the Colossus. Somewhat spectacularly, it’s done more than that, and with six years of distance I’m fairly comfortable saying The Last Guardian is my favourite of the lot....

Regardless, new artwork for the film has popped up online and is being shared around social media - including a first look at Mayor Pauline, last seen in Super Mario Odyssey, and a height chart for the film’s main stars. Join us back here a little later for that trailer! Pauline can be seen in the background of the artwork showing Brooklyn above. ORIGINAL STORY 28/11/22: Having given us all time to recover from the surprise the upcoming Super Mario Bros....

The attraction was due to finally open on 4th February, after a long delay from last summer. Originally, it had been planned to launch in time for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Things looked promising for a while: Japanese press were given a tour back in November, and the park’s website launched, providing new details only last week. But as Covid cases continue to rise again in Japan, the Osaka region where the park lies has now been placed into a state of emergency....

Though we can only take this as a rumour right now - no such DLC has yet been confirmed by Nintendo - a Reddit user (via VGC) reported that an advert on a YouTube video asked them which DLC pack they’re most likely to buy: Hot Wheels Unleashed, Mario Kart 8 DLC, Animal Crossing New Horizons Happy Home Paradise, Mario Party Superstars or “none of the above”. Interestingly, Mario Party Superstars is the only game on that list that hasn’t yet announced DLC or even released it - making it a curious choice for inclusion indeed if there really is no Superstars DLC on its way....

During Nintendo’s earning report, company president Shuntaro Furukawa said sales of the Nintendo Switch continue to grow and have already surpassed 100m units sold. While the rate of sales has slowed down over the last 12 months, something that has been attributed to the ongoing chip shortages that have also plagued PlayStation 5 sales, Furukawa is not concerned this is on ongoing trend. Rather, Furukawa believes Nintendo Switch is only “in the middle of its lifecycle” (via Bloomberg [paywall])....

Other changes will see redesigns to the game’s battle system and levelling, improved AI and a simplified user interface. See how it looks in the announcement trailer below. ORIGINAL STORY 25/7/22: Tactics Ogre: Reborn - one of the worst-kept secrets in video games - launches on 11th November on PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4, according to a fresh leak. Gematsu reports the release date and more information about the unannounced remaster was revealed via listings on PlayStation Store price tracking website PS Deals (PS5, PS4)....

In fact, Europe is getting two The Last of Us 2 inspired instruments - the aforementioned replica of Ellie’s guitar and a more affordably priced black and white custom Taylor GS Mini, featuring a design based on Ellie’s familiar tattoo. Ellie’s instrument - in actuality, a custom Taylor 314ce - is described by Sony as featuring a “distinctive rich tobacco sunburst top and a custom moth fretboard inlay in grained ivoroid”, while the GS Mini features “back and sides of layered sapele together with a solid mahogany top [producing] a bold, resonant acoustic sound with impressive volume and projection....

Even just within video games there’s a huge range of weird and wonderful things to be played, from those legendary role-playing adventures, of course, to handheld recreations of arcade pinball, virtual photography expeditions, or edutainment CD-ROMs. With that in mind, we’ve assembled our list below of the best Pokémon games based on any Pokémon video game that’s released so far. Expect plenty of classics, of course, but also some proper hidden gems - it’s often overlooked, but part of Pokémon’s brilliance is its ability to surprise....

These deals include many of the big names - Samsung, WD and Kingston - but also some brands that you may not be familiar with that still offer reliable performance, like XPG, PNY or Sabrent. For each drive, we recommend checking reviews, or consulting our roundup of the best gaming SSDs for our latest recommendations and more information on each option. With that intro out of the way, let’s move directly to the deals!...

Upcoming free DLC includes New Game Plus and a Hardcore Mode. These will be available from the 7th February. Meanwhile, as part of The Callisto Protocol’s season pass, players will be able to get their hands on the Outer Way skin collection (also coming on 7th February), the Contagion Bundle (coming March 2023) and the Riot Bundle (coming Spring 2023). The Riot Bundle will feature a new wave-based mode set in an “undiscovered area” of Black Iron Prison, while the Contagion Bundle will have a permadeath mode included....