Player's Choice Video Game Superstore

Author: dpugh007

  • Valfaris Full Metal Mode Adds New Game+ to Excellent 2D Shooter

    Here’s the encore.

    We hope you didn’t miss out on Valfaris when it head banged its way to PlayStation 4 last November. The 2D shooter was an excellent way to cap off the year, delivering intense action and impressive boss fights worthy of a headline slot at any heavy metal gig. That was proven in the 8/10 Push Square review, but the experience is about to get even better with the addition of Full Metal Mode.

    What is essentially New Game+, Full Metal Mode is a free PlayStation 4 update which makes things even harder, adds new weapons, and gives enemies a bit of a boost in the health department. You’ll need to have beaten the game once to access it, but those looking for another run through Valfaris look like they’re in for a treat.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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  • Evo 2020 Main Lineup Announced, Mortal Kombat 11 and BlazBlue Dumped as Granblue Fantasy Versus Jumps In

    Fatality.

    Set to kick off on the 31st July, Evo 2020 has officially announced its main lineup of games. The annual event will play host to eight main fighting game tournaments as well as a special Marvel vs. Capcom 2 invitational.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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  • Rockstar Games Co-Founder and Writer of Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption Set to Leave Company

    22 years later.

    Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games, will be leaving the company in March 2020, a Take-Two document reveals. Houser and his brother, Sam Houser, have long been instrumental in shaping the developer’s creative vision. Dan Houser, whose official titles include Vice President, is credited with being a writer on every Grand Theft Auto title as well as Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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  • News: The PlayStation 5 price is presently a “question of balance,” says Sony

    Pony up

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  • News: Platinum Games wants to return to Scalebound, but the buck stops with Microsoft

    It is, after all, the roaring ‘20s

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  • Wii U Exclusive The Wonderful 101 Will Come to PS4

    Platinum raises $500,000 for remaster.

    Update: Well, less than three hours after posting this article, The Wonderful 101 has reached its $500,000 stretch goal on Kickstarter. Therefore, the former Wii U exclusive will indeed release on PS4 via a remastered version. It’s planned to launch in April 2020.

    Read the full article on pushsquare.com

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  • Key Teamwork Tips for Apex Legends

    Key Teamwork Tips for Apex Legends

    I’ve been playing Apex Legends regularly since it was released early last year, and while I fall more on the casual side of the player spectrum, I play enough to feel like I have some teamwork tips that are worth sharing.

    Before we go any further, this advice is for people that a) aren’t playing with friends and b) aren’t using voice chat. This is primarily how I play (via matchmaking, no voice) and I’ve definitely found that it’s very possible – and a lot of fun – to leverage the in-game systems to greatly aid both communication and strategy. So if that’s how you play, read on.

    Pay attention to squad requests

    This one tip can be divided into two sides. As much as you should pay attention to incoming requests from your squad, you should also become familiar with making your own requests. On the off chance you are unfamiliar with this system, it’s very simple: in addition to pinging things in the world, you can also ping from your inventory.

    Let’s say you have just picked up the Peacekeeper shotgun. If you’re familiar with this weapon, you’ll know that you can fit various attachments to it (including a shotgun bolt, a hop up, and a scope). You can ask your teammates to keep a look out for these attachments by hovering your cursor over their placeholder icons in the inventory and pressing the ping button. Your character will then verbally ask for that item, and the specific request will pop up in the chat/event log on the top-right of the screen. This is just one example, of course – by placing your cursor over various parts of the inventory you can request different things, like a body shield, helmet, backpack, health, shields… and so on.

    The big advantage, of course, is that if you request something, your squad is more likely to keep an eye out for that item. They can then ping the item if they find it for you. And vice versa – you should always pay close attention to squad requests and take extra care when you’re item-hunting to alert squad mates to items they’re specifically looking for.

    At a high level, the strategic benefits are obvious. For one thing, different players may prefer – and be extra skilled with – various weapon/attachment combinations. The faster a team can establish the load out they prefer, the more effective they’re likely to be in the match.

    I’d argue that there’s also a kind of “soft benefit” here: if you are genuinely helpful to your squad (by demonstrating that you’re paying attention to their needs), then you’re more likely to be trusted, and more likely to be assisted in return. In my view, this makes the overall match a whole lot more fun. When I am in a squad that is effectively requesting-and-responding through a match, it feels more satisfying, constructive, and enjoyable.

    Teamwork makes the dream work.
    Teamwork makes the dream work.

    Guide squad mates toward generic upgrades

    The previous tip is based around making and responding to specific requests. But this isn’t the only way in which you should be thinking about your squad and how you can support them through a match, especially in terms of equipment.

    When you start every match, you all start with nothing – this is a Battle Royale game, after all. And – depending where you land on the map – your chances of immediately coming across high-tier gear is pretty low. Of course, you can improve your chances by landing in a known high-tier area or you can land in one of the spots designated on the map with a blue shaft of light (which indicates high-gear loot placement; these locations can change dynamically with each new match). But regardless, chances are that your squad is going to be looking to acquire improved gear throughout the game.

    There are some obvious things you can do here. For one thing, pay attention to the little squad tags on the bottom left of the screen. There, you’ll see each squad member’s health and shield bars (more on that in a moment). Make sure to pay attention to the shield bars, especially the colour – if there are no shield bars, it means that squad member doesn’t have a body shield. So, in that scenario, you’ll want to ping any body shields you come across to help rectify that situation. But even when everyone in the squad has shields, they might all be level 1 (indicated by two white bars). If you come across anything higher-level than this (blue = level 2, purple = level 3, and gold = level 4) then you’ll want to ping these to help your squad mates find them.

    Although you can apply this principle to almost any kind of equipment, it’s always useful to help your squad improve their armour as quickly as possible. But this concept also dovetails with the idea of paying attention to squad requests: if someone is requesting a shotgun bolt (so you know they’re using a shotgun), you’ll always want to alert them to higher-level shotgun bolts where possible. The same rule applies to any item that you know is important to your squad mates (everything from scopes to stocks, for instance).

    Keep an eye (and ear) on your squad’s status

    This is so easy to do, but so powerful. Don’t ignore your squad, even if they aren’t specifically requesting something. You’ll always see their status tags on the bottom left of the screen. No matter where your attention is at a given time, it’s easy to keep your squad mates’ status in mind because those tags are always in your peripheral vision.

    As mentioned above, the status tags show player health and shields status. If you see that a squad member’s health is low for a while – and they aren’t healing – then they might require a healing item like a syringe or med kit. Make sure to offer it to them (either ping one you find, or if you have spares, drop it on the ground and ping it for them). This doesn’t take much effort, but it’s a kind gesture that demonstrates care for your team, and that is just strategically smart anyway.

    The status tags are also useful because you’ll be able to see when squad mates are firing their weapon and when they are actually taking fire themselves. If you see that a squad member is taking fire (indicated by their tag flashing), you’ll want to immediately look for them either in the world or on the mini-map. Your immediate priority in this scenario is to understand where the attacking squad is located, so that you can respond appropriately.

    So, the status tags tell you a lot about what’s going on at a glance. I think they’re such a great example of clever UI design – these tiny tags communicate so much within such a small space. They’re incredibly convenient. But remember, too, that the characters in the game often communicate verbally even when you aren’t pinging stuff – they’ll often yell out when they’re under fire, or they’ll call out when they shoot down an item bot, or when they use their special ability. All of these cues are vitally important to pay attention to as a way of giving you real-time information about what’s happening on the battlefield.

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    Let your squad know what you’re doing

    Almost everything I’m recommending here involves the use of the ping system. So, it’s probably worth mentioning at this point that you don’t want to abuse that system – don’t randomly ping stuff that isn’t useful, and don’t repeatedly ping the same thing over and over again. It’s annoying, and it communicates to your team that you’re impatient, impertinent and potentially untrustworthy. Don’t do it.

    With that public service announcement out of the way, you might be wondering what I mean by “let your squad know what you’re doing”. Well, bear in mind that there are plenty of cases where you aren’t always in close proximity to your squad. There are a million reasons why this might happen – maybe you split from the squad after leaving the jump ship because you want to land in a different (but hopefully relatively close) location. Or maybe you’re exploring and you want to make a dash towards some storage containers away from your squad to hunt for equipment.

    Splitting up from your squad is fine, and it’s sometimes actually desirable for tactical reasons. But – and we’ve all been here – you’ll sometimes play a match with a total hero who won’t pay any attention to the other two squad members, who won’t suggest (or respond to) waypoints, and who will somehow end up on the other side of the map pursuing their own agenda. Hopefully these folks will disappear from the multiplayer if a single player mode is permanently introduced, but I digress.

    The bottom line is (aside from not behaving like a lone wolf in a game that relies on multiplayer cooperation), it’s always courteous – and sometimes strategically helpful – to let your squad know when you’re taking a little detour. When you bring up the ping wheel, you can suggest waypoints for the whole squad to follow. But you can also indicate a “solo” waypoint: it’s the equivalent of calling out “Hey everyone, I’m not leaving you, I’m just checking out this area over here.” You can ping a location-based waypoint, but you can also ping a loot-based waypoint (the equivalent of “Hey everyone, I’m checking for loot in this location.”) Helpfully, your character will verbally call out a version of each of these phrases where relevant.

    Let fallen squad members know you haven’t forgotten them

    No matter how great you are at Apex Legends, it’s more likely than not that you and members of your squad will succumb to death at some stage. One of the great design elements in Apex Legends is that death is a multi-stage process; and it’s possible to come back from the brink, even when the odds seem hopeless. Apex Legends provides unprecedented space for epic comebacks, which is a huge part of the fun.

    When you’re downed by an enemy, you essentially bleed out for a short period of time. During this period you can slowly crawl around, but you can’t attack or really do much of anything (although you can ping, which is awesome, because you can at least communicate enemy locations to the living members of the squad). The other people on your squad can heal you during this period, too. But if help doesn’t arrive before you’ve bled out, you’ll die, and you’ll leave a death box in place of your corpse (containing all of the items you had on you when you died). What’s awesome here, though, is that death will trigger another timer – your squad will have a period of time to pick up your banner from your death box, and take it to a respawn beacon to bring you back into the action (if they fail to do this in time, you’ll be permanently dead, as the respawn window will have timed out).[poilib element=”quoteBox” parameters=”excerpt=If%20a%20squad%20member%20dies…%20you%20should%20ping%20their%20death%20box.%20This%20will%20let%20everyone%20know%20that%20you%E2%80%99ve%20acknowledged%20their%20death%2C%20and%20that%20you%20plan%20to%20retrieve%20their%20banner.”]

    I’ve noticed an increasing trend (which I’m going to specifically touch on in a moment), and it’s worrying: more and more players who die will disconnect from the game well before their respawn timer is up. Aside from this likely being due to sheer impatience in some cases, I think it’s also at least possible that players may sometimes think their squad is ignoring their death box – therefore, they don’t see a reason to stick around and wait.

    So, my advice here is really simple, but important: if a squad member dies and their respawn timer starts up, you should ping their death box. This will let everyone know that you’ve acknowledged their death, and that you plan to retrieve their banner. It’s often really not advisable to pick up a banner immediately upon death unless it’s convenient – this is because one or more enemy squads are likely nearby, and the death box itself can become a trap if you aren’t careful (as a clever squad will keep it in their crosshairs, ready to take out helpful folks trying to resurrect squad mates).

    It’s also advisable – once you’ve picked up the banner – to ping the respawn beacon that you plan to use. Again, it’s sometimes not practical to use the nearest beacon (maybe it’s about to be outside the circle, or there are enemies nearby, etc…). But it does indicate to your fallen comrade (who is likely spectating the match at this point) that you do plan to respawn them, and they just need to wait a little longer for that.

    Don’t you dare disconnect early

    Okay, I have to admit it, this is my single biggest pet peeve with Apex Legends. It’s also a trend that I’m noticing more and more recently – again, it’s just anecdotal, but I’m personally seeing more and more cases of folks disconnecting from the game early.

    What I’ve noticed is that players mostly disconnect after they’ve died and are waiting for other players to pick up their banner. It’s worth pointing out that the two relevant timers (bleeding out/knocked down and respawn) are each 90 seconds. So once you’ve actually died, your team has 90 seconds to pick up your banner.

    By disconnecting before the respawn timer is up, you’re essentially throwing your hands up in the air and storming out of the room. You are prioritising your own impatience over and above your team. And it also eliminates the possibility of a last-minute comeback for the team, which can be incredibly exciting!

    I don’t have much more to say about this one. In my mind, you should never deliberately disconnect from a match early (the only exception, perhaps, is if you end up in a squad that is verbally abusing you over voice – I’ve experienced that very rarely, but it can happen, and in those cases it’s reasonable to pull the plug). But in general, don’t do this.

    [ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/30/apex-legends-season-4-revenant-abilities-loba-theories-explained”]

    As always, there are a million more tips for Apex Legends. Although there are numerous specifics in this piece, I think the overall message is clear: Apex Legends is a team-based experience. And thanks to the wonderful tools Respawn have included in the game, you don’t need to use a mic to communicate effectively with your team. In fact, the in-game tools provide valuable audiovisual indicators that can provide very specific information to everyone.

    No matter what, I think it’s always important to be courteous and helpful to your squad mates. This isn’t just for the sake of being nice, either (although that’s never a bad thing); on a practical level, your squad will always have a better chance of success if it is working together. And I believe the game itself really shines when a squad is communicating and operating as a team.

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    James Burns is a former contributor to numerous Australian gaming magazines. He is now Editor in Chief of Super Jump, and you can find him on Twitter here.

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  • Warcraft 3: Blizzard Issues First Dev Update on Reforged

    Blizzard has finally issued a statement since launch responding to early complaints about the recently released Warcraft 3: Reforged. The developer says it will address several issues in future updates, some arriving as early this week, but other elements of the game like the cutscenes will remain as-is.

    “First off, we want to say we’re sorry to those of you who didn’t have the experience you wanted, and we’d like to share our plans for what’s coming next,” Blizzard says in its first developer update for Warcraft 3: Reforged since launch.

    [ignvideo url=”https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/01/29/warcraft-3-reforged-blizzcon-2018-vs-launch-2020-comparison”]

    The forum post from Warcraft community manager Randy “Kaivax” Jordan goes into detail about some of the ways Blizzard will update Warcraft 3: Reforged. First, there will be a patch later this week that will fix, among other things, the bug causing colors and shading issues in Classic Mode. The patch will also address portrait animations, audio bugs, UI fixes, and more.

    However, in regards to the controversial animated cutscenes, or lack thereof, Blizzard says that it wanted to keep the cutscenes true to the original game.

    “[T]he main takeaway is the campaigns tell one of the classic stories in Warcraft history, and want to preserve the true spirit of Warcraft 3 and allow players to relive these unforgettable moments as they are (albeit rebuilt with new animations and the higher fidelity art).”

    So it appears that Blizzard doesn’t have plans at this stage to change how the cutscenes are presented, though they did receive visual improvements thanks to the remaster efforts.

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    Elsewhere in the blog post, Blizzard says it’s still working on standing up features like leaderboards and clans which are coming in a major patch at an unannounced date. Unfortunately, that means that the lack of these features will continue to impact all Warcraft 3 players, even those who haven’t purchased Reforged.

    Warcraft 3: Reforged players soon expressed displeasure with the launch version of the classic strategy RPG after it was discovered that key features were missing, along with some launch-day connectivity issues.

    A previously demoed cutscene animation was ultimately cut from the final version of the game, and network features weren’t present during the launch. Blizzard addressed these complaints in today’s blog post, but it will still be some time and additional patches for some of the issues to be addressed, if at all.

    IGN is currently working on a review for Warcraft 3: Reforged so keep an eye out for that to be published soon.

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    Matt Kim is a reporter for IGN. You can reach him on Twitter.

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  • Top New Games Out On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Month — February 2020

    Top New Games Out On Switch, PS4, Xbox One, And PC This Month — February 2020

    The month of love is here, and this episode of New Releases is taking a top-level look at some of the biggest games of February. The new month kicks off with The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance Tactics and closes out with One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows. In between, PS4 players can enjoy exclusives like Dreams and the Yakuza 5 remaster. Platinum Games fans can also revisit Bayonetta and Vanquish with their 10th Anniversary Bundle.

    The Dark Crystal: Age Of Resistance Tactics — February 4

    Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC, Switch

    Netflix created a series based on the cult-classic film, and now that series is getting its own game. As the name states, this is a tactics game, and it features over 50 skirmishes to win, 14 characters to lead into battle, and plenty of custom jobs to assign along the way as the war between the Gelflings and Skeksis rages on.

    More Coverage:

    Yakuza 5 — February 11

    Available on: PS4

    No Caption Provided

    The Yakuza Remastered Collection is a one-time purchase, but that buy-in gets you remasters of Yakuza 3, 4, and 5. Those three games got staggered release dates, but the final entry arrives this month. Taking after the “5” in its name, this particular entry is set across five different parts of Japan and features five playable characters, including everyone’s favorite ruffian Kazuma Kiryu.

    More Coverage:

    Dreams — February 14

    Available on: PS4

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    Media Molecule, creators of LittleBigPlanet, have crafted another deep tool set with Dreams. This PS4 exclusive lets you sculpt objects, build worlds, and create pretty much any type of activity you can think of–someone even remade Final Fantasy VII within the game. What will you dream up?

    More Coverage:

    Bayonetta & Vanquish 10th Anniversary Bundle — February 18

    Available on: PS4, Xbox One

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    These Platinum Games cult classics launched 10 years ago, and they’re being bundled together on PS4 and Xbox One to celebrate. Those of you with a PS4 Pro or Xbox One X can even experience them in 4K resolution at 60 frames per second. Seems like a good way to refresh yourself before we finally get Bayonetta 3.

    More Coverage:

    One Punch Man: A Hero Nobody Knows — February 28

    Available on: PS4, Xbox One, PC

    No Caption Provided

    Based on the smash-hit anime, this arena fighter stays true to One Punch Man in a clever way. Saitama does indeed win every fight with a single punch, but if you choose him for your team during any of the 3-on-3 fights, he’ll take a while to actually show up, leaving you to fight at a disadvantage until he arrives. Of course, there are plenty of other fan-favorite characters to choose from too.

    More Coverage:

    February is just getting started, and there are plenty of games on the horizon. Next week, we’ll dive into the souped-up release of Street Fighter V: Championship Edition and a new expansion for Dead Cells, called The Bad Seed.

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  • Now Playing: Bloodborne, Kentucky Route Zero, Street Fighter Alpha 3, And More

    Now Playing: Bloodborne, Kentucky Route Zero, Street Fighter Alpha 3, And More

    Though the GameSpot team is usually busy keeping up with the biggest releases, other times we’re catching up on games we missed, replaying old favorites, experiencing classics for the first time, or just dabbling in odds and ends for a spell.

    Below you can see a sampling of the games that folks on the GameSpot team are playing right now, the reasons we’re playing them, and what we love about them so far. But don’t just stop at reading our responses; we’d love to hear from you too! Please tell us what you’re playing in the comments section below.

    We’re hoping to make this a more frequent thing, not only for our sanity, but yours too! After all, we know how it is: you’re playing something that resonates with you, but most times, you don’t have anyone to talk to about it, so then you end up retreating into a hole and keeping it to yourself. It can be a real bummer, so we want to help end those moments. Join us in the cathartic release of screaming at the top of our lungs the overwhelming joys we’re experiencing playing video games.

    Bloodborne — Tamoor Hussain, Senior Editor & Global Head of News

    It’s been five years since I first stepped foot into Yharnam, and my mind has been stuck there ever since. Whether we’re in the thick of a busy release season or amidst the doldrums of a new year, I find comfort in returning to Bloodborne. I can’t stop thinking about it, and I can’t stop playing it.

    No Caption Provided

    I’ve braved mobs of maniacal citizens, fended off twisted beasts, and gone toe-to-toe with wayward Hunters more times than I care to admit, and yet I always find myself drawn back in, week after week, month after month. Yharnam satisfies my wanderlust, it evokes nostalgia, and it instills a sense of tranquility. What once was hostile and unwelcoming is now familiar and safe. The baroque architecture envelops me, and although it once felt like pointed knives, it is now a warm blanket. The distant moans of insane citizens and the screeches of their sharpened weapons dragging across the floor have become soothing instead of threatening.

    Occasionally, I’ll find myself rejoining the hunt, pulled into a hair-raising, tense battle with a boss or even just a simple enemy patrolling the streets, but more often than not I play Bloodborne just to be in the world, to soak in the ambiance and enjoy the eerie, slightly unsettling atmosphere. There’s nothing quite like walking the cobbled pave stones of Yharnam as it’s draped in a cloak of red and purple light emanating from the Blood Moon hanging ominously in the sky. I’m not trying to wake from the nightmare anymore; I relish it. | Twitter: @tamoorh

    Kentucky Route Zero: PC Edition — Edmond Tran, Senior Editor & Producer

    Like a lot of people, I’ve been waiting for the fifth and final episode of Kentucky Route Zero for a long time–it’s been four years since Act IV came out, and would you believe Act I was released back in 2013?! Anyway, with the release of the complete package, I’m taking the opportunity to go back and replay it from the very beginning, both so I can remember what happens and so I can reappreciate just how amazing this whole series has been.

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    And boy, it still manages to pack a punch. It’s a point-and-click narrative adventure at its core, but the execution is downright masterful. Kentucky Route Zero’s themes and writing are beautifully nuanced, its concepts are strikingly surreal, and its locations and setpieces are downright breathtaking. It twists you in such weird and deeply complex ways that I have to hold myself back from yelling “DAMN, THIS BE ART” every 10 minutes to anyone within earshot.

    I’d need a lot more words to describe it adequately (though plenty of people have written amazing things about it), but it is absolutely one of the most beautiful (I already said beautiful, but screw it, it is beautiful) and well put-together games I have ever played.

    Also, I just finished the new Frostpunk expansion, The Last Autumn, and wow was that stressful. | Twitter: @EdmondTran

    Dragon Quest XI S: Echoes of an Elusive Age — Chris Pereira, Engagement Editor

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    I started Dragon Quest XI‘s Switch demo last August when it was released, but soon after, I tabled it because of all of the games that began to come out. On a lark, I recently picked it back up to see if I could get into the meat of the game and find out why people liked it; yet, the opening hours were as uninspiring as I was led to believe. After spending about eight hours with it–kudos to Square Enix for putting out such a substantial demo–I saw enough of the game’s potential and immediately picked up the full version, which let me transfer my progress.

    I’m now more than a dozen hours in, and with the world opened up to me, I’m having a great time juggling its many systems (like crafting and team-up “Pep Powers” that add consideration to party composition). But more than anything, I’m enjoying Sylvando, the flamboyant but mysterious character with a disturbing technique for winking. It does have some weird quirks–the quest log is miserable, the map isn’t great, and the feature to let NPCs lie to you is undercut by immediately telling you when things are lies. But there’s more than enough here to sink my teeth into, and this feels like the rare lengthy RPG that I’ll be sticking with for the long haul. | Twitter: @TheSmokingManX

    Borderlands 3 — Alessandro Fillari, Editor

    I have a particular fondness for the Borderlands series. While the vibe it gives off certainly isn’t for everyone, to me, it always succeeds at offering a fast and fun loot-grind with a wealth of ridiculous weapons and skills for the cast of vault hunters. I played a lot of Borderlands 1 and 2 back in the day, and I was looking forward to giving Borderlands 3 the same level of attention. I indeed got what I wanted from the game when it came out last September, yet it still left me wanting after finishing my playthrough with Moze. It didn’t help that, despite its many innovations and worlds to visit, Borderlands 3 feels like it’s about three years late to the party. Soon after I finished the story, I stepped away from the game.

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    After letting it sit for a couple of months, and seeing what new content and tweaks Gearbox was adding to the game–such as increased vault space, rebalanced skills, and the Halloween event–I gave the game another shot, and I’ve been hooked ever since. Even though it’s undeniably a familiar Borderlands game, there’s just something about getting a new legendary weapon that’s able to tear through waves of enemies with ease that I will never not find satisfying. The recent Moxxi DLC, focusing on a heist at Handsome Jack’s casino, was also a lot of fun, and even has some of the better writing and performances that Borderlands 3 has to offer–which, admittedly, isn’t a high bar. I’ve been playing B3 pretty regularly, and I’m currently working on a playthrough with my third character.

    In a lot of ways, Borderlands can be something of an acquired taste. The overall style and tone focuses a lot on abrasive meme humor and iconography borrowed from other sources. Yet I still can’t deny that it scratches a particular itch I’ve been trying to get at for a while. I’m already looking forward to seeing what comes next for the game, which hopefully will include some better locations to explore. | Twitter: @afillari

    A Plague Tale: Innocence — Steve Watts, Associate Editor

    January is an excellent time to catch up on games I missed or just left unfinished–and with the spate of recent delays, February and March might be too. So I was pleasantly surprised when A Plague Tale: Innocence, one of our picks for the Best Games of 2019, appeared on Game Pass. It’s an insidious little worm of a game, creeping into my thoughts when I’m not playing and keeping me occupied long past my intended playtime when I am. The story keeps pulling me through, always introducing one more layer to the mystery. The dreadful atmosphere peppers in just enough moments of warmth and levity to fully invest in the characters.

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    It helps that it’s an impressive technical achievement too. I was trying to explain to a friend the merits of what I can only describe as A Plague Tale’s rat swarming tech, and it occurred to me halfway through that I wasn’t sure if I was pitching him on why he should play it or convincing him to never, ever play it. The phrase “tidal waves of rats” might not have been quite the selling point I intended. | Twitter: @sporkyreeve

    Stardew Valley — Jenae Sitzes, Commerce Editor

    Instead of diving into my enormous backlog, I’ve recently found myself sucked back into a game I first played in 2016: Stardew Valley. The farming sim was an immediate success when it launched on PC nearly four years ago, and since then, it’s been ported to almost every gaming platform.

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    If you’ve never played or haven’t checked out Stardew Valley in years, there’s truly no better time to dive in. A massive 1.4 update just released in December, adding a slew of improvements to multiplayer mode as well as brand-new content, quality-of-life improvements, better controller support, and much more. There’s a new Four Corners map designed for co-op, and there’s even a new multiplayer mode that has players acquire wealth separately, adding a competitive element to Stardew for the first time.

    I never got far in Stardew Valley back in the day–the time limit stressed me out, and I was tired of watering my dang crops–but my relationship with the game was rekindled this past Christmas when, in a moment of boredom, I started up a multiplayer farm with my brother and boyfriend. Tackling Stardew’s challenges together helped me get past some of the game’s early struggles (the mines, daily watering, etc.), and I finally began to see why this game is still so popular, four years later. Once you start to automate your farm and earn real money, you begin to have more choices in how you design your farm and spend your time, and that fuels an increasingly addictive gameplay loop.

    I now have a solo farm as well where I’m in Year 3, married with kids, and rolling in money. And despite over 140 hours logged on my Nintendo Switch, I have no plans of stopping anytime soon. RIP, my backlog. | Twitter: @jenaesitzes

    Street Fighter Alpha 3 On CPS2 Hardware — Peter Brown, Managing Editor

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    One of my favorite avenues of my video game hobby is modifying and upgrading old game hardware. In the last year, that involved me dipping into arcade games–the proper hardware that would typically live in the guts of your favorite arcade cabinet. Capcom’s CPS2 platform is a good entry point for anyone interested in trying out arcade gaming at home. Not only is it designed in a somewhat console-like fashion, with a baseboard that interfaces with a separate game board (both encased in plastic for easy handling), but it was the home for several of Capcom’s most beloved games from the ’90s, including one of my favorite games of all time: Street Fighter Alpha 3.

    Installing an HDMI mod into my CPS2 setup was the perfect excuse to spend some time with Alpha 3, which I gladly play on occasion on other platforms anyway. Still, there’s something about playing it on the hardware it was designed for, which makes the experience feel that much more special. And no matter how many times I play it, Alpha 3’s roster, graphics, music, and selection of fighting systems make me just as happy today as they did back in 1999. I love a lot of fighting games, but Alpha 3 feels like home to me, insomuch as a game can. It means a lot to give the original version of the game a place in my own home over 20 years after I first fell in love with it. | Twitter: @PCBrown

    Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation — Kevin Knezevic, Associate Editor

    Despite my fondness for JRPGs, I’ve only played a small handful of Dragon Quest games in my life, and most for only a couple of hours. That said, I’ve always been intrigued by the series thanks to its monolithic status, so seeing Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation on sale on the Switch Eshop last month was the perfect excuse to give the classic a try.

    At the moment, I’m about 10 hours into the game, but I think it holds up remarkably well considering its age. Of course, it has all the archaisms inherent in an RPG from the NES era; random battles occur far too frequently, and your progression through the story relies almost entirely on speaking to random NPCs to learn clues about where to go next, which means it’s easy to forget what you need to do to advance if you don’t take frequent notes. Despite these complaints, however, I’ve been greatly enjoying my time with the title so far.

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    It’s particularly interesting to me to see just how indebted the entire genre is to this game. Dragon Quest has always been regarded as the grandfather of JRPGs, but now that I’ve played Dragon Quest III, its influence can clearly be felt not only in other RPGs, but in subsequent Dragon Quest games as well. I was particularly struck by how similar Dragon Quest IX for the DS (the only other entry I’ve put a considerable amount of time in) is to it, not only in terms of structure, but in how both give you the ability to roll your own party members.

    What I especially enjoy about Dragon Quest III is the sense of adventure the game can instill thanks to its vast overworld, which you can more or less explore freely (if you can stomach the high random encounter rate). It feels thrilling to wander around and discover a new town or dungeon. I have a terrible habit of not finishing JRPGs, so it remains to be seen if I’ll see Dragon Quest III through to the end, but right now, I’m eager to play more.

    Assassin’s Creed III — Matt Espineli, Editor

    As a burgeoning fan of the Assassin’s Creed franchise during 2012, I hated Assassin’s Creed III when I first played it. The game’s slow start, fragmented world design, and broken stealth mechanics left me feeling deeply frustrated. I held a bummer view about the game throughout the years, often voicing how low it sits in my ranking of the series with every passing entry. But that seems to have changed because I’ve been playing it these past few weeks for 30+ hours, and dare I say, I’m actually enjoying it.

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    I’m honestly shocked that I’ve been turning around on Assassin’s Creed III after all these years. So far, what’s been appealing to me are the questions it asks about the moral conflict between the Assassins and the Templars–something I was unwilling to unpack at the time for some reason or another. Connor’s struggle to maintain loyalty to his people and the Assassin Brotherhood while dealing with the brewing revolution is worlds more compelling to me in my older age. On the other hand, my enjoyment playing Assassin’s Creed III finally clicked after allowing myself to accept what it’s trying to be. What I’ve found is a world that rewards you when you engage with everything it has to offer. While not all of its activities are substantial or meaningful, the rewards you receive feed into the flow of playing the game in a way that’s continuously satisfying.

    Assassin’s Creed III remains a bit of a mess in parts, but I’m happy to report that my enjoyment of its accomplishments is finally outweighing the disdain I once had. There’s really something special about being able to reconcile poor feelings about an old game; I feel like a great weight has been lifted. Anyway, please excuse me while I spend the next seven hours collecting treasure chests, sending out convoys, sinking naval warships, and talking to George Washington. | Twitter: @MGespin

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