Humble Bundle launched a fund to aid the victims of the recent earthquake disasters in Turkey and Syria. The bundle includes a mixture of both tabletop and video games, alongside comics. It also features some work by Turkish creators.

To help support Turkiye-Syria earthquake relief efforts, we’ve joined forces with our industry friends for a bundle of games & books to lend aid to the people of the region.

100% of proceeds will go to @DirectRelief, @IMC_worldwide, and @SaveTheChildren.https://t.co/unv9sLdRCE pic.twitter.com/SA1nmjio0b

— Humble Bundle (@humble) March 1, 2023

Elden Ring will be getting its first expansion, “Shadow of the Erdtree”, hinted to be possibly taking place before the main events of the game. The expansion is currently still in development and developer FromSoftware’s announcement has not elaborated on much more beyond a shiny piece of new concept art that has Elden Ring players rabidly speculating. Elden Ring has sold about 20 million copies since its initial release.

God of War Ragnarök finds itself sweeping claim on many nomination categories in this year’s BAFTA Games Awards. The other games nominated include Cult of the Lamb, Stray, Olliolli World, and A Plague Tale: Requiem.

Blumhouse Productions is reportedly in talks of doing a Dead by Daylight movie adaptation. Blumhouse is known for producing primarily horror films, such as the Paranormal Activity franchise, The Purge, Get Out, and M3GAN.

The FTC officially rejects Sony’s motion to quash the Microsoft-Activision merger. Microsoft maintains that its merger would not impact competition in the industry, and has allowed the subpoenaing of Sony to gain access to internal documents to review during the initial lawsuit. Microsoft has been meanwhile maintaining leverage by conducting deals with other companies, ensuring that games like their Call of Duty franchise are to remain unaffected on their respective platforms and storefronts. Just last week, Nintendo has negotiated with the company to now allow Xbox games on Nintendo consoles.

But once again, Activision Blizzard is possibly in trouble for what the Communication Workers of America (CWA) has set forth in filing as an unfair labor practice in the recent, unprecedented firing of two QA workers. The employees in question had to undergo a series of disciplinary meetings that resulted in their termination, due to what management testifies as their use of “strong language” in response to Activision’s recent attempts to bring workers back to an in-person schedule, the CWA reports.

Meanwhile, Electronic Arts abruptly laid off more than 200 QA testers for Apex Legends. Workers allege the sudden move was retaliatory against slowly growing unionization efforts.

The Wolf Among Us 2 has been delayed and will not foresee a 2023 release. According to Telltale Games, the team had wanted to avoid burnout, and the game’s development is also now taking a pivot to using the Unreal 5 system. No new release date has been given.  The original Telltale Games was forced to shutter back in 2018, assigning their assets to LCG Entertainment, who has since been working under their name.

Babylon’s Fall has officially ended service this week. The co-op RPG developed by PlatinumGames was unfortunately considered a commercial failure, and has barely lasted half a year in service.

Hot off the presses and on top of Forspoken developer Luminous Productions being disbanded to merge with the company, Yosuke Matsuda will no longer be President of Square Enix. He will be succeeded by Takashi Kiryu, rising from his position as the Chief Strategy Officer. Matsuda was President of the company since 2013.

And finally, enemy of the site Yuji Naka has come around to fully admit that he has indeed, committed crimes. He has acknowledged he was fully aware of unreleased information that enabled him to engage in insider trading. Yuji Naka was one of three former Square Enix employees who were arrested and indicted for insider trading around the tail end of last year in 2022. Naka spared no breath in getting arrested a second time, not that long after for the same offenses.

The post The Bulletin: Fool Me Once appeared first on Gamesline.

And we’re back, John, Rose, and Maverick are here to talk about the games they’ve been playing and all the news around the games industry. John’s still playing Witch on the Holy Knight when he’s not been playing Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin. Maverick also been on the VN grind with The House in Fata Morgana while playing a bunch of Pizza Tower. Both he and Rose have been digging into Hi-Fi Rush and Rose has been playing Fire Emblem Engage, the Steamworld Build demo, Trails in the Sky The 3rd, and Neptunia Sisters vs Sisters.

In the news, even more Games as Service games got shut down alongside Rumbleverse with Knockout City, Crossfire X, Back4Blood, Love live School Idol Festival, and the mobile versions of Battlefield and Apex Legends. EA also cancelled a single player game in the Apex Legends/Titanfall universe that was for all intents and purposes Titanfall 3. None of the big 3 console makers are going to have a presence at the new E3, and The Sims 4 has a trans inclusive update adding top surgery scars to the character creation.

As always, you can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo,  @john_michonski, @Mavsplainiamania, and @horngal

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

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The post VGCC Episode 425: Hi-Fi Pizza Time appeared first on Gamesline.

First off, Iron Galaxy Studios has announced that Rumbleverse will be shuttering its servers at the end of the month. The melee-based wrestling-inspired battle royale was truly a shakeup to the system between its multiple beta tests that took into consideration the player requests and the inclusion of various moves and items, including a whole keyblade. There was much fun to be had, and in a final offering back to its community the Rumbleverse battle pass is free to everyone with all items unlocked as of what the game had planned. Head over to Grapital City while you still can, but still keep some hope in your heart as Iron Galaxy might have future plans for this series in whatever form it may have.

On the trend of virtual closings happening this week, Knockout City announces that it will shut its servers down on June 6th.  The dodgeball battle royale game saw similar excitement in its initial beta and, while disheartening to see, the game will be seeing some form of postmortem existence in the form of a private hosted server version of the game available for download on Windows PCs later this year. And if you thought EA related shutdowns would end there, Apex Legends Mobile and Battlefield Mobile will be shutting down this year. EA CEO Andrew cited multiple reasons for the shutdown from issues of immersion with the screen size to the inability of retaining casual audiences in a way that would feel justifiable given the teamwork mechanics inherent to each. There might be a chance for both mobile shooters to make a return, but for now you can expect Apex Legends Mobile to shut its servers down on May 1st at 4PM PST.

In brighter news, The Sims 4 releases an update that allows for more trans inclusive looks. Among inclusions like shapewear and hearing aids, this update also includes the usage of binders and inclusion of top surgery scars as a means to reflect the trans members of the player base in an effort to push diversity and inclusion.

But in more bummer news, EA and Respawn canceled a single-player game in the Apex/Titanfall universe this week. Follow up news has reported this wasn’t Titanfall 3, but all the same gamers are bummed at the fact that we can’t just get more of the product multiple people would enjoy.

The post The Bulletin: Sunrise, Sunset appeared first on Gamesline.

We also dig deep into the Apple vs. Epic courtroom saga, Humble Bundle walking back their slider removal, new games like Lost Judgement and Nintendo’s Game Builder Garage, E3 still being a thing that exists, Discord coming to Playstation, and of course we reminisce about the good old days of Giant Bomb after Brad, Vinny, and Alex all announced their departures. We close it all our with your questions about Pokémon, misleading adds and more.

As always you can support us on our Patreon, and follow us on Twitter @VGChooChoo, @john_michonski, @SolaireHazard, @horngal, and @CurryDraco

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our Discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Hipcast, direct download, or listen below!

The post VGCC Episode 357: NieRly Unspeakable Games appeared first on Gamesline.

As always you can support us on our patreon, and follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo, @john_michonski, and @horngal

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Hipcast, Direct Download, or listen below!

The post VGCC Episode 346: Everything’s Better with Wesker appeared first on Gamesline.

Realistically, this was one of the more nihilistic years of my life, especially for video games. I’ve been used to the hell that is mainstream gaming for quite some time now, but there was something truly heinous about the back and forth over who gets praised or ridiculed this year. Watching Naughty Dog take home multiple awards (including a best studio win!) for their abuse of workers and the general bad vibes they’ve emitted over the year was incredibly depressing, and don’t even get me started on Cyberpunk.

Despite that though, things are looking better for the future. Workers are continuing to organize, more and more AAA gamers seem to be getting fed up with the status quo. And there’s a hotter indie market than ever before, with localization becoming more and more feasible for small teams to pull off and spread their ideas across the world. If I had one word of advice to impart before telling you what games I think are fire, it’s that taking a chance on a game you’ve barely heard about can be one of the best decisions you’ll ever make.

Also I’m a Vtuber now: this is what evolution looks like.

MINI LIST OF GAMES THAT DON’T PLACE SO THEY GET THEIR OWN AWARDS:

Most Unrestrained Developers Award: YS VIII

A Fine Dark Soul to You Award: Dark Souls 3 – The Ringed City

Best Edgelord Award: Code Vein

Worst Game That Wasn’t TLOU2 Award: Sino Alice

The Vergil Award: Devil May Cry 5 – Vergil DLC

The Mega Man Battle Network Memorial Award: One Step From Eden

The FFXIV Award: Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers Patch 5.3

10. Spelunky 2

There are a lot of problems with Spelunky 2, but when it succeeds it feels just as good as its predecessor. I really wish that I could have said “It feels even better than Spelunky at its best!” but then it wouldn’t be number ten here would it? I’m not saying it’s a bad game by any stretch of the imagination, it’s still quite good, but the overall game balance feels like it was made for people who were speedrunning around with eggplants in Spelunky for a year straight, rather than your more average Spelunky fan.

9. Genshin Impact

What if they made Breath of the Wild, but the developers actually cared about the world they were making, and didn’t think it was time to make offensive jokes or racist caricatures? That would be pretty good right? That would be one of the best games ever as long as they didn’t make it into a gach—

Jokes aside, Genshin Impact is really good. While it’s lacking in the puzzle department (which was one of the few areas of BOTW that I whole-heartedly adored), Genshin manages to perfect the groundwork laid by that last big Zelda game. The only reason it’s not higher on this list is that it’s also probably going to be responsible for an incredibly bad trend in games going forward, and it’s really hard for me to wholeheartedly endorse gacha as brutal as this as the years go on. Still though, the vibrant and colorful world that Mihoyo has created, and the all too rare view of genuine traditional Chinese aesthetics and ideas is a wonderful breath of fresh air in the open-world genre, and it gets better every day.

Paimon.

[8.] [13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim]

It’s really hard to put into words exactly why 13 Sentinels owns so much, but I’ll try my best regardless. Usually when games go for a nonlinear form of storytelling it either rips with some caveats, or just plain sucks, but 13 Sentinels manages to pretty much exclusively rip. It’s easily one of the most gorgeous games ever made as well, with even the more basic pared down combat graphics having its own sense of beauty. While the ending is a bit too heterosexual (derogatory) for my tastes, all of the characters are wonderful in their own way, and I loved getting to know each of them and all of their quirky mannerisms.

7. Yakuza: Like a Dragon

It’s the seventh Yakuza game, what else is there to say? They made it an RPG this time, which actually worked a lot better than I thought it would, and provided a great change of pace from the beat ‘em up genre the series had gotten really good at, then really bad at, then really good at again, then really bad at again (seriously what was up with that). I think it has some issues in terms of tonal consistency, but when you get down to it a JRPG about a bunch of 40 year olds is genuinely inspiring stuff. We need more media that showcases that life doesn’t end at like, 21, and Ichiban and his crew are wonderful in almost every way. 

6. Nioh 2

Nioh 2 made everything about Nioh better by introducing two concepts: 

1. You’re a character-created Oni
2. You’re a Blue Mage

With these two changes, and a tighter more focused design, Nioh 2 is easily one of the best action games ever made. If you fell off of the first game, I still recommend checking 2 out only by virtue of just how much Team Ninja managed to learn from their mistakes and deliver an absolute banger.

5. The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky

My New Years resolution for 2020 was to attempt getting through the entire Legend of Heroes series, as my first foray into Falcom games (a major blindspot in my JRPG knowledge base). 2020 turned out to be a lot more than we bargained for, and turning my plan into a more social experience with my girlfriend meant that it took a lot longer to finish even the first game than I thought it would, so now, over a year later, I’m still only just about a quarter of the way through the second game….in a ten-game series. Oops!

Trails in the Sky is this really incredible game about this stupid-as-rocks girl named Estelle, and politics in a faux 1800s fantasy Europe. If you’re looking for a classic JRPG feel, but aren’t keen on the works of Square Enix, I could not recommend a game more highly for you than this one. There’s something about its budget 2000’s PC aesthetic, and ye olde anime artstyle that’s just completely enthralling to me, and even with some colorful hair, the way each character looks like they could just be a person is a nice change of pace from, I don’t know, your Dragon Quest spiky Toriyama nightmare men.

The localization is also just downright incredible, with every NPC actually changing what they say to you after like, literally anything happens. That might sound overwhelming, but Trails in the Sky is so casual and easygoing that even when it’s intense, and the stakes are high, it’s really hard not to feel relaxed as you watch Estelle fuck around and make things worse, or better, or sometimes both. While the sequel is a lot better in several respects, I had to give this spot to the first game, if not only for it’s absolutely insane out of left field ending that completely redefines the entire trilogy.

4. Hades

When old men talk about being a child and seeing the Final Fantasy VI opera scene for the first time, being blown away by the future potential of games, I used to wonder if I had ever experienced a medium defining moment like that. Whether I’ve actually witnessed one or not, I can safely say that I am incredibly impressed by what Hades has managed to accomplish within a genre that always seemed like it would remain focused entirely on gameplay and mechanics. Not only did Supergiant games manage to make an incredibly fun roguelike with beautiful aesthetics and those hot Darren Korb tunes, they also somehow used blood magic to not only give a Roguelike a good story, but a story that works because of the cyclical nature of the genre.

The story of Hades might not be the most deep or complex, and it had a lot of existing literature to work off of with its Greek pantheon theming, but it’s still funny, poignant, and engaging in a way that I never thought a roguelike could be. Zagreus is an incredible lead, and every new god or creature you meet across your runs to escape the underworld are so colorful and unique that it was hard not to start jokingly quoting them in casual conversation. Plus, the game actually just has straight up normal polyamory, and while it is thematically appropriate to the source material, that alone would’ve been an A+ in my book anyway.

3. Final Fantasy VII: Remake

It’s Final Fantasy VII, but they remade it as a Yakuza game, but they also made the combat Sick As Hell!!!!!!! I am so glad that Square Enix used all the good juice they’ve been hiding in the Final Fantasy attic to make this game absolutely incredible from start to finish. They somehow managed to not only keep the insanely Bad-ut-ood 90’s feel of the original FF7, but also expand upon it and tweak it for a more modern and complex sensibility. While I’m not completely sold on its ending sequence, what it means for the future of Final Fantasy VII is incredibly exciting, and the fact that they made something as insane as that sequence with Zack Fair still makes me laugh far too much. Who knows when we’ll see Disc 2 of FF7 remade in incredible HD detail, but this game made me confident that when it’s here, it’ll fuckin’ rule.

2. Apex Legends

Gaming (Reupload)https://t.co/gQ94agWAmy pic.twitter.com/oqcaZKCAfV

— Rosie Maria (@horngal) January 28, 2021

Oh no I like a battle royale game now. 

Apex Legends is not a perfect game by any stretch of the imagination, but for the first time since Halo I have been mesmerized by the pick up and play nature that Respawn is just so damn good at in all of their games. While Titanfall is still better, everything in Apex feels so tight and fast, and it’s probably the only class-based shooter I’ve played where it actually feels like everyone is balanced fairly with their own fun gimmicks and quirks. The amount of Apex I’ve played in the last few months has been honestly nuts, and if you had told me even a year ago that I’d be in the state I am today I’d say you’re crazy but unfortunately, here we are.

1. The House in Fata Morgana

The House in Fata Morgana has quickly risen the ranks to becoming my favorite Visual Novel of all time. While I knew that its story was one of Gothic Horror, a genre that is very easy to get me on board with, I wasn’t expecting just how hopeful and sympathetic it would be. This is a story about horrible things happening to people both good and bad, but what really struck me was that while it examines themes of understanding those who have done you wrong, it preaches just as much about how you don’t need to forgive them to be a good person. When dealing with stories of trauma and the heavier themes of torture and familial abuse, a message like this is exceptionally important to run at the forefront.

I struggle to dig deeper into the parts of this game that truly resonated with me, only because I really want more people to go into it without knowing just how it all goes down. This is a story of twists and turns, and minor but effective techniques that only a visual novel could pull off. It’s supported by a unique and detailed visual style, and some beautiful Portuguese music that really keeps the atmosphere of each individual scene stuck in your mind long after you’ve reached the end of this story. I’m incredibly thankful that some weirdos online got mad about the localization for this game earlier in the year, because it helped push me into finally getting into one of my all time favorite games.

The post Famous VTuber Rose’s Top 10 Games of 2020 appeared first on Gamesline.

TFW You’re Juicin’ Your Game Hard (Presented But Not Sponsored By Gamer Goo) Award For When It Feels Good to Play a Game [The George Wood Memorial Toy Story Play Control Hard Core Award: The Sequel ~ Feat. Paimon]: Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2

Runners-up: Nioh 2, Mixolumia

If Juicin’ is all about getting locked into a rhythm and just feeling the flow of a video game, it almost seems like cheating to award it to Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2. At its best, this series is pretty much the definitive Juicin’ game, but after over a decade of sorry rereleases and sequels, it’s something special to boot THPS up and know that, alright, we’re BACK. From the moment you hear those first few notes of “Guerrilla Radio” to the second you pull off your first huge combo and clear every goal in the Warehouse in one fell sweep, playing 1 + 2 feels like coming home. They say that you never never forget how to ride a bike, but you also apparently don’t ever forget how to do a sick two minute combo full of reverts and manuals either. – Niall

Best Ongoing Game: 100% Orange Juice

Runners-up: Genshin Impact, Apex Legends

Fruitbat Factory’s little-game-that-could has been still updating with new characters and modes regularly since its initial release in 2013, and it’s about time it got recognized for its continued support. 100% OJ is still the game of royalty around VGCC, and whenever there was an update, a voice chat would get started in Discord and a few rounds would be played. Mod support was also recently added to OJ, so every card in the game for me has been replaced by a Yu-Gi-Oh! card of similar ability, because of course I did.

100% Orange Juice is a simple game, one that barely needs any additions to have a good time. Fruitbat didn’t rest on its laurels, however, and instead added new characters, brought in MOBA-esque free character rotations, then added further game modes to spice up the fun. As long as there are PreCure voice actresses that haven’t been hired yet, FF will continue to create unique characters that fundamentally change how the game is played. This is certainly Orange Juice that won’t expire any time soon. – John

Best Surprise: Among Us

Runners-up: Genshin Impact, Phasmophobia

Against all the big releases in 2020, not a single soul could have guessed that Among Us would take the scene by storm. With its modest art style brimming with character, and impeccably simple, effective design, Among Us was just waiting for a chance to prove itself. Unfortunately for everyone, the wait would span across two entire years, which made its rise to prominence all the more endearing. Social deduction games are standard fare in tabletop and video games alike, but what set Among Us apart was its ease of access. Knowledge is king, and while mechanical skill can help you accomplish tasks or murder targets more efficiently, it isn’t necessary to succeed. One’s ability to navigate meetings and suss out impostors or weak links in the crew is just as valuable as mechanical aptitude, and it’s for this reason that Among Us caters to a wide array of player skill sets and rewards performance in ways that are both intuitive and fun.

Beyond its gameplay accessibility, Among Us is notable for its availability on multiple platforms. PC, mobile, and console versions of the game can all play with each other, which makes finding players effortless and further bolsters the game’s playerbase. The mobile version of the game is even free to play, so those unable or reluctant to purchase the game can still play it. For a game which relies and survives on a populated playerbase, such ease of access is a strength not to be underestimated. Special mention must also be given to studio InnerSloth’s decision to cancel a sequel and instead focus on the strong game they’ve had all along. 2020 was a critical year for all of us, and while the pandemic certainly had a hand in Among Us’ surge to popularity, the game’s core strengths are what made it an instant classic, even if it took us a couple years to see it venting from Medbay. – Spencer

Bolo Reynolds Presents Worst Game: The Last of Us Part II

Runners-up: Bleeding Edge, Fast and Furious: Crossroads

The Last of Us Part II is still probably the worst game I have ever played in my life. Its libertarian and nihilistic worldview, and leanings on a pseudo-progressive version of prestige television theming, showcase exactly why it’s still so hard to take big budget games seriously. TLOU2 simultaneously wants to make sure you know that revenge is bad, and people are people, while consistently dehumanizing nearly every character involved with its inane and laughably bad plot. This is a game where at one point a character says “Don’t shoot her! She’s pregnant!” and another responds, completely seriously “Good!” At no point during its excruciating 20+ hour runtime does it ever stop to imagine the potential of people coming together and making things better, instead positing a world where the only response to anything involves a knife or a gun.

Even worse, outside the game, the accolades and praise heaped upon Naughty Dog post-release has taught studio heads everywhere that employee crunch is more than just acceptable, it’s encouraged and rewarded. There were incalculable hours of time and sums of money thrown away by poor management, but with the continued reverence of people like director Neil Druckmann (who has been promoted post-launch in light of the game’s success), the people behind it will only continue to rise up. The Last of Us Part II is representative of some of the worst aspects across the medium of games, and foretells a grim future across AAA games as a whole. – Rose

The post Game of the Year Awards 2020: Day Four appeared first on Gamesline.

As always you can support us on our patreon, and follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo, @john_michonski, and @horngal

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Hipcast, Direct Download, or listen below!

The post VGCC Episode 337: L33tStr33t appeared first on Gamesline.

As always you can support us on our patreon, and follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo, @john_michonski, @LVmaeparian, @Horngal and @PunkParfait

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Hipcast, Direct Download, or listen below!

The post VGCC Episode 334: Do You Think We Play Video Games for Fun? appeared first on Gamesline.

As always you can support us on our patreon, and follow us on twitter @VGChooChoo, @john_michonski, @JudgementScythe, and @Solairehazard

Also, don’t forget to rate and review us on iTunes, and tell a friend about the show! If you want to send in questions send them to our ask box at videogamechoochoo.tumblr.com/ask.

You can also join our discord channel at thegamezone.zone!

Our theme song is “Crush” by Melt Channel, from the album Magic is Real.

Subscribe via iTunes, Hipcast, Direct Download, or listen below!

The post VGCC Episode 330: No Strike Zone appeared first on Gamesline.