The Grammy’s Will Now Include A Category For Best Video Game Soundtrack

After years of demand, video game soundtracks are now eligible to win a Grammy award. The new category–Best Score Soundtrack for Video Games and Other Interactive Media–comes as a part of the Recording Academy’s annual changes to the award ceremony, which also includes the addition of four other categories.

Introducing this year’s updates to the GRAMMY Awards process! 🎶 These updates will apply to the entire submission, nominations, and voting process for the 65th #GRAMMYs and include new Categories, a new Special Merit Award, Category amendments, and more.https://t.co/hYKasZLRJT

— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) June 9, 2022

The new category will make its debut at the 2023 Grammy Awards, which is scheduled to air January 31, 2023. According to the Academy, eligible candidates include “score soundtrack albums comprised predominately of original scores and created specifically for, or as a companion to, a current video game or other interactive media released within the qualification period.”

The qualification period for the 2023 Grammy Awards is October 1, 2021 through September 30, 2022, meaning the time to release a game soundtrack eligible for a Grammy nomination is nearly up. As far as what game soundtracks might be nominated for the prestigious award, Horizon: Forbidden West, Halo Infinite, Pokemon Legends: Arceus and Elden Ring are all possible contenders.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

The Quarry Best Ending Guide: How To Save Everyone

The Quarry is the latest narrative horror game from Supermassive Games, the makers of Until Dawn. The Quarry sees a group of camp counselors enjoy one last night at camp after all the campers have gone home, but something is amiss. Throughout The Quarry you will need to make choices and complete quick-time events to keep the counselor alive. This guide will help you make it through the night without anyone, except for the villains, biting the dust. It’s important to follow the guide as closely as possible, as messing up even one choice or QTE can result in a character dying. Spoilers ahead.

Prologue

The prologue opens with Laura and Max in the car together. There is one quick QTE related to the map before you exit the vehicle. Outside the car, head to the trunk and open it, where Laura will find a rejection letter. Laura will speak with Max and you should pick the Compliant option. Laura will briefly walk through the woods, following the main path. After returning to the car a cop, Travis, will approach you and you should pick the following dialogue options; Honest, Honest, Friendly, Compliant, and Relieved.

Despite telling the cop they would go to a motel instead of the camp, Laura and Max head to Hackett’s Quarry summer camp. After a brief cutscene, head downstairs and look in the direction the car’s headlights are pointing. Laura wants to break in and you should choose Take Wrenches and the Confident dialogue choice. The pair will head down into the bunker and Max will be attacked. Choose the option to help Max and the prologue will end. There will be a brief cutscene with the narrator before the first chapter, choose to Move On.

Chapter 1

Chapter 1 begins with the camp counselors saying goodbye to the campers. While waving goodbye the campers will speak to each other and you will be presented with a dialogue option, pick the Reflective option. You will now pay as Jacob and have the ability to walk around. Pick up the bags on the stairs to advance, where you will talk to Kaitlyn. Here you will need to pick Playful, Mischievous, and Brave. After that you will need to steal the rotator arm. After that there will be a QTE event to catch the phone before the conversation ends with the Friendly dialogue option.

You will now switch over to Abigail, who is hanging out with Emma. There will be a quick QTE, and then you need to choose the Break In option. Head to the left and pick up the teddy bear and choose to Keep It. Now head to the end of the area where Emma is hanging out. While talking with Emma the sequence is Enthusiastic, QTE, Scenic Route, and Supportive.

After that you will drive back with the group where you should Nudge, Friendly, Supportive, and Understanding. Now, camp director Chris Hackett shows up and Ryan follows him to his office, where Chris takes a phone call. Here you need to Eavesdrop, Concerned, Apologetic, and Inquisitive.

The pair heads outside, where there will be two QTEs, followed by a conversation where you need to choose Compliant, Insistent, Supportive, and Reluctant. This ends the chapter and you will need to once again choose the Move On option with the narrator.

Chapter 2

Every chapter ends with a recap from the narrator.

Chapter begins with you playing as Emma and you will need to choose to Kick Door when prompted. This is an area you can explore, but there aren’t any necessary items you need to interact with. Instead head to the door where you will get to call Call Jacob. Inside the room, Jacob will grab the beer and you should grab the shotgun which has the safe code on it. Leave the room and head towards the exit. With the safe code Emma will automatically open the safe where you need to choose Leave Fireworks and Affectionate.

Next we head to Dylan and Ryan in Chris’ office. Pick the Friendly option and then you can explore the room as Dylan. Once again, there are no necessary interactions here so go ahead and move to the door next to the shotgun on the wall, which will prompt a QTE. Interact with the wardrobe and pick the Mischievous option and inspect everything inside the wardrobe. After that, return to your charging phones on Chris’ desk and pick the Head to Party option to move on.

Next is Nick and Abigail walking in the woods. You will be presented with a fork in the path, head to the Rocky Road. After walking a short distance, you will get a cutscene where you need to pick the uncertain option. Head down the stairs for the next cutscene where it goes Sincere, QTE, QTE, and Cheerful.

There is a quick scene with Kaitlyn at the lake that goes QTE, Serious, and Stern. Next is a quick scene with Nick and Jacob that goes Hopeful, followed by an event where you have to shoot melons (can’t fail) with Gloating at the end. The chapter ends at the campfire where you need to choose Interrupt, Truth, Mischievous, Kaitlyn, and Mischievous. The chapter ends with the narrator.

Chapter 3

This opens with Abigail, who needs to move forward and exit the woods to trigger a cutscene with Nick. This cutscene goes Call Back, Honest, Cautious, Kiss, after which a monster will attack Nick. From this point forward failing a QTE will likely cause a character death, so be careful. Now you need to Help Nick, QTE, Run, Smash, Don’t Climb Tree, and Hold Breath. If successful, the monster will leave without biting Abigail.

Next up is a cutscene with Jacob and Emma talking, but there aren’t any choices to make. After that you can walk around as Jacob. Head up to the boat house and interact with Emma to advance, starting a conversation. When talking to Emma your choices should go Enthusiastic, Don’t Splash, Flirt, Dive In, Grab, QTE, Detangle. Next is a scene as Ryan, where you need to choose Worried, Assertive, Shortcut, QTE, Shortcut, QTE, Shout, and Shoot. This leads to a quick scene with Jacob before the chapter ends, where you need to pick Don’t Call Out, Smash, Pleading, and Don’t Throw Dirt.

Chapter 4

It’s going to take some perfect QTE skills to keep everyone alive.

Next up is a cutscene as Ryan, where you are inspecting Nick’s wound. Here you need to Apply Pressure, Smash, Dismissive, Call Out, Don’t Shoot, Don’t Shoot, Questioning, Let Go, QTE. If you choose to shoot, you will kill Jacob. Next is Emma walking on the island. There are two paths, both of which lead to a tree house. Inside the tree house you will need to QTE, Smash, Spray, QTE, QTE, Block Door, Use Trapdoor, QTE, QTE, Smash. This results in Emma sealing the trapdoor shut, so the monster can’t get in and kill her.

Next up you are playing as Dylan, heading into a building with a couple other characters. Here you need to pick Optimistic, Hopeful, Determined, Suspicious, Calm, Defensive, and Give Gun. We head back to Emma, where you only need to do two things before the chapter ends, Reel Slowly and Don’t Speed Up, after which the chapter ends.

Chapter 5

This chapter opens up with Nick and Abigail talking, where you need to choose Grateful, Don’t Speak Up, and Reassuring. We cut to Kaitlyn in the lodge, where you need to do QTE, QTE, Hold Breath, QTE, after which the game cuts back to Nick and Abigail. Here, you need to Confident, Intrigued, Hide, and Hold Breath.

Next is Dylan and Ryan walking to the lodges. There aren’t any choices here until you reach the lodge, where you need to pick Confident. Inside there are a bunch of options you need to choose while they are attacked by a monster. The flow here is Interested, Concerned, Apologetic, Don’t Shoot, Aggressive, Confident, Calm, Desperate, Chainsaw, and Uncertain. After that, there are no more choices while the rest of the cutscene plays out, concluding the chapter.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 starts with Jacob roaming around. Head to the right to run into Emma, which starts a cutscene. Here you need to go Delighted, Apologetic, QTE, Hide, Hold Breath, and Pry Open. Next we quickly move over to Kaitlyn, where you need to pick Compassionate, Intervene, and Help Nick. Now we move over to Abigail in the pool house, where you can roam around. Head over to Nick to advance, where you need to pick Calm and Compassionate. After that you will be prompted to shoot Nick with the shotgun. Shoot Nick. This might seem counterintuitive, but if you don’t shoot Abigail dies, but if you do shoot, Nick turns into a monster and lives.

Now we switch over to Emma who needs to walk through the forest. There are two paths ahead, but both lead to the same place and there isn’t anything important on either path, so just advance forward. Once you get to the top of the hill, the next cutscene will kick in. Here you need to Don’t Run, Reassuring, Suspicious, and Interested, which will end the chapter.

Chapter 7

Chapter 7 starts out with Laura in jail, speaking with the cop. In the first cutscene, the action sequence is Don’t Call Out, Compliant, Compliant, Intrigued, Pleading, Don’t Lash Out, Concerned, Disappointed, Compliant, Worried. Now you get to walk around the cell. Head to the left corner and interact with the bed, where you will find a spoon. The cop returns for another cutscene, which goes Fearful, Serious, Reflective, Encouraging, Empathetic, Calm, Curious, Optimistic, Skeptical, Don’t Call For Help, Compassionate.

You now get to free roam the police station as Laura. The most important thing here is to head upstairs into the third office, open the locker, and grab the syringe. Feel free to explore, but nothing else in the police station is necessary. Head back to the cell, hide the syringe in the left wall and go to sleep.

Laura wakes up for another cut scene with Travis, which goes Honest, Confident, Don’t Take Gun, Confused, Encouraging, Resigned, Empathetic, QTE, QTE, Anxious, Reassuring, Show Bite. Because you hid the syringe, you can knock out Travis without angering him. Next is a short cutscene with Jacob where you need to choose Pleading.

Chapter 8

Next up is a cutscene with Ryan and Laura, where you need to pick the options Uncertain, Curious, Suspicious, Guarded, Compassionate, Friendly, Inquisitive, Reflective, Compassionate. Now you will get to explore this cave as Laura. Head to the tunnel exit and go through the door. Next is a cutscene as Kaitlyn, where you need to pick Honest and Encouraging.

This moves to you walking as Ryan with Laura in the Hackett’s basement. Head to the tunnel with the red light to trigger the next cutscene. This one flows QTE, Don’t Open Cage, Stop Laura, Help Jacob, Choose Breakers 1 and 2, Continue, Choose Breakers 2 and 3. This releases Jacob from his cage, which saves him from a later death. After a few cutscenes, the chapter ends.

Chapter 9

There is a series of short cutscenes with only a few choices. It starts with Dylan and Kaitlyn, where you should pick Positive and Curious. Next is Abigail and Emma, where you should pick Curious and Curious.

We head back to Laura and Ryan, where Laura struggles with the old woman. While struggling Shoot Gun, QTE, Don’t Pull Knife. The old woman will die, but since she is one of the Hackett’s she doesn’t need to live for the good ending. Ryan gets stabbed here, but it’s fine. Now, as Ryan, you get to move around the room. Interact with the cabinet and the bed. After that check the left door, which triggers the next cutscene. Here you need to pick Hide, In Cabinet, Hold Breath, QTE. This moves us over to Laura, where you need to Hide and Hold Breath.

Laura moves into a new room. Head to the door, which will cause Jediah Hackett to enter. In the cutscene there will be three QTEs, Attack, and Smash, resulting in the death of Jediah. Now we move over to Ryan. This sequence goes QTE, QTE, Hold Breath, Stab, Sympathetic, Accept, Don’t Pull Away.

Next is Dylan and Kaitlyn in the scrapyard. You get to explore for a bit, with the yellow crane advancing to the next cutscene. Approaching the yellow crane starts the next series of choices, which go Encouraging, Warn Kaitlyn, QTE, Sound Horn, Smash, QTE, Smash.

This moves us to Abigail in the bunker basement. Head towards the left, across from the staircase, where you will find the fuse box. Inside are some silver bullets, which are necessary. After that head up the ladder. This moves us to Laura in the attic of the Hackett house, where two cutscenes will play out once you walk forward. Laura turns into a monster and kills Bobby Hackett. Next you play as Ryan, where you must Shoot Monster. This kills Chris Hackett, which lifts the curse on Laura. Travis arrives and doesn’t kill Laura because you didn’t shoot him in the police station. You need to pick the Suspicious option, which ends the chapter.

Chapter 10

Kaitlyn get to start the final fight, with Laura ending it.

Since you killed Chris, Max’s curse is lifted and you begin this chapter as him. As Max head towards the campfire where you will find a pink cap. After that walk towards the dock, triggering a cutscene where you need to Stay.

Next is Kaitlyn in the lodge. You can free roam once again, with the option to trigger the final encounter by interacting with the portrait. This sequence goes Run, Beam, Smash, Run, Investigate, Shoot. This kills Caleb Hackett and moves us to Laura with Travis and Ryan.

Here you need to follow the sequence: Inquisitive, QTE, Grab Gun, Take Cover, QTE, Determined, Give To Ryan, Probing, Reflective, Don’t Raise Gun, Fail the QTE, Shoot Monster Silas. This is the end of the game. It’s important to note that this is the only QTE you need to intentionally fail. The reason is that this results in the death of Travis and if you pass the QTE it can result in the death of Laura, which would void the good ending. There is an epilogue after this, but there are no choices to make during it.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 Remaster Releases This Summer

A remaster of the fan-favorite Dungeon and Dragons video game Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance 2 is on its way. This was probably inevitable after the previous re-release of the original Dark Alliance. While no specific date was specified, Dark Alliance 2 is due out this summer.

Dark Alliance 2 will release on most video game platforms, including PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, as well as Nintendo Switch. It’s also verified for Steam Deck. This remaster supports local co-op play, but not online multiplayer. Though, if you grab a Steam copy, you can use Remote Play to play with a friend over the internet. You can wishlist the game on Steam and GOG right now; store pages for consoles and the Epic Games Store will be live soon.

The Dark Alliance games are action-focused spin-offs of the more cerebral Baldur’s Gate computer role-playing games. Dark Alliance 2, like its predecessor, takes cues from Diablo. It tasks players with leveling up one of five playable characters, crafting and improving customizable armor and accessories, and fighting ghouls and dragons across various difficulty levels. If you are looking for the more fantasy novel, text-heavy style of the mainline games, it won’t be found here. That is in no way a bad thing, especially if you are looking for nostalgic hack-and-slash thrills. Sometimes, you want to slice up a goblin or cast magic missile at a troll without heady narrative implications or a clunky retro interface.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

How To Watch Saturday’s Not-E3 Gaming Showcases

Not-E3 season is upon us, which means there is a seemingly endless amount of livestreams, presentations, and showcases to dive into this weekend. With Summer Game Fest‘s kickoff behind us, it’s time to dive into what everyone else is doing. This Saturday, June 11, alone has a whole host of shows worth tuning into. That’s great news for you all, since that means there should be more game announcements than ever between the whole lot of them.

GameSpot will be hosting streams for many of Saturday’s presentations. Here’s the full day’s lineup:

Guerrilla CollectiveWholesome Games DirectFuture of Play DirectFuture Games ShowNetEase Games Livestream

Guerrilla Collective 3.0

The Guerrilla Collective is a mainstay of these summer showcases at this point and this year will be no different. The Guerrilla Collective is back with its third showcase this summer, which promises looks at a bunch of fresh new indie titles arriving over the coming months and year.

You can watch Guerrilla Collective 3.0 on June 11 at 8 AM PT over on GameSpot’s Twitch and YouTube channels. The Guerrilla Collective’s Twitch and YouTube channels will also be streaming the showcase, as well as Twitch’s dedicated gaming channel as part of Twitch’s Summer Gathering event.

Guerrilla Collective start time

8 AM PT11 AM ET5 PM CET

Wholesome Games Direct

If you’re looking for especially cute games with the coziest vibes, look no further than the Wholesome Games Direct taking place this weekend. The Wholesome Games crew will also be back with a showcase that will be predictably jam-packed with a slew of the softest games you’ll see all year.

You can tune into the Wholesome Games Direct on June 11 at 9:30 AM PT on GameSpot’s Twitch and YouTube channels. The Wholesome Games Twitch and YouTube channels will also be streaming the presentation, and it will also be a part of Twitch’s Summer Gathering event.

Wholesome Direct start time

9:30 AM PT12:30 PM PT6:30 PM CET

Future Of Play Direct

If you’ve ever wondered about a shortage of V-tubers in gaming showcases, wonder no more. The Future of Play Direct from GLITCH is back and so is its V-tuber host Melios. This time around, the show will have new premieres and musical performances to entertain folks who stop in to catch the show.

The Future of Play Direct will air on June 11 at 10:30 AM PT on GameSpot’s Twitch and YouTube channels. It will also air as part of Twitch’s Summer Gathering.

Future of Play start time

10:30 AM PT1:30 PM ET7:30 PM CET

Future Games Show

Not to be confused with the Future of Play Direct, the Future Games Show will also be returning to round out the day of presentations. Once again prepared and hosted by GamesRadar, this show will feature about 40 upcoming titles and is being hosted by the voice actors behind The Witcher 3’s Geralt and Yennefer.

The Future Games Show will start on June 11 at 12 PM PT. You can watch the showcase on GameSpot’s Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as GamesRadar’s Twitch and YouTube. The Future Games Show will also be a part of Twitch’s Summer Gathering

Future Games Show start time

12 PM PT3 PM ET9 PM CET

NetEase Games Livestream

NetEase will be partnering with IGN to unveil a look at what the company is calling a “New Weird Sandbox Survival Game.” The NetEase Games Livestream will be airing on June 11 at 11:30 AM PT as part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming event.

NetEase stream start time

11:30 AM PT2:30 PM ET8:30 PM CETRead MoreGameSpot – Game News

How Memes And An Immortal Soundtrack Have Revived Metal Gear Rising

Almost a decade after it first launched, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance recently found a new audience for its unique blend of over-the-top action, fast-paced soundtrack, and its legacy for spawning memes. As subtle as a napalm strike and sharper than Jetstream Sam’s Masamune blade, people are once again experiencing what vengeance with a side of revenge feels like.

According to the NPD Group’s executive director for games, Mat Piscatella, Twitch viewership for the game has reached the highest levels seen since January 10, 2015, and the recent Steam peak concurrent user count is higher than it has been at any point since December 20, 2014. “Sales started noticeably rising in December 2021, and since then January through April sales in 2022 are higher than the comparable months in any year other than the game’s 2013 launch window,” Piscatella told GameSpot last week.

Data analysis group PlayTracker recently provided a chart showing how Metal Gear Rising’s concurrent player count has climbed 1,000% since last April, with that surge in popularity largely being attributed to one meme in particular.

Although it is almost 10 years old, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance is seeing numbers it hasn’t seen since launch.
📈 concurrent players up 1000%
🏆 peak in achievement activity across all platforms
The cause? Various meme templates featuring characters from the game went viral. pic.twitter.com/Ey6FmYAXJp

— PlayTracker (@PlayTrackerNet) May 23, 2022

Jetstream Sam, stroking his chin and pondering… something, has become a viral image online, with people on imageboards attributing the character to a false story of a Japanese ambassador pledging his sword to the nation of Ukraine when Russia launched its invasion.

That report of a politician geared up in Samurai armor is based on a photo of the Ukrainian ambassador to Japan, Sergiy Korsunsky, but in the context of Metal Gear Rising’s story about misinformation and genocidal US senators, it’s actually quite fitting.

Metal Gear is no stranger to memes, of course, as that idea cropped up in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, and in Revengeance the villain Monsoon spends time discussing them as “the DNA of the soul” before he squares off against Raiden. Metal Gear Rising leans hard into this idea, and even if it was inadvertent, the game’s absurd storyline, deliciously evil villains, and cheesy dialogue have made it a favorite amongst Metal Gear and Platinum Games fans.

On YouTube, Metal Gear Rising has been the subject of numerous videos praising just how ahead of its time it was and, considering its rocky development at Kojima Productions, how it’s a miracle that it even exists. Beginning as a spin-off project as an in-house Kojima Productions project, Metal Gear Rising was eventually handed to Platinum Games, with the collaboration officially confirmed by Kojima at the 2011 Spike Video Game Awards.

Raiden was back with a revengeance.

The end result was a game that was short, enjoyable, and wasted no time in introducing players to its core hack-and-slash gameplay. Combined with Metal Gear’s signature storytelling and some light–but ultimately pointless–stealth elements, Metal Gear Rising felt like a genuine collaboration between two distinct studios. Lifetime sales on PS3 and PC via Steam account for more than 1.2 million units sold as of 2018, though the game was also available on Xbox 360. Backwards compatibility on Xbox One and Xbox Series X has also likely pushed sales up, although exact figures are hard to come by.

You don’t need to look much further than the game’s opening mission for a prime example of how Metal Gear Rising quickly hits top gear and never slows down, as you’re thrown into a boss fight against the titanic Metal Gear Ray mech within mere minutes. The second that you start a quick-time event against the titanic behemoth and hear the song “Rules of Nature” roar to life, you know that Metal Gear Rising has firmly established its tone.

Having earned a reputation for unrelenting action in previous games such as Bayonetta and Vanquish, Metal Gear Rising’s gameplay elevated Platinum’s power fantasy formula to a new level. Defense requires throwing an attack at an attack, parrying offense with offense. From there, the action dials up to 11 as Raiden slices his way through the opposition, engages in a Judo match with Metal Gear Ray, and even has a sword fight with another Metal Gear that’s designed to single-handedly win a war. It’s both stupefyingly bold and outrageously fun when you don’t think too hard about these moments.

Beyond backwards compatibility, however, Metal Gear Rising has experienced a rebirth thanks in part to efforts from YouTubers. Max0r–creator of Incorrect Summary videos–has spawned a new generation of memes using the game as a foundation, and Jacob Geller’s video essay on the game highlights how its adrenaline-charged action that trades defense for stylish parries has become even better with time.

Only a Metal Gear game could get away with lines like this.

The game has also benefited from a substantial number of tweaks over the years from the modding community, pushing the visuals of Metal Gear Rising to a new level with 4K upgrades, stylish filters, and edits to the UI that are designed to streamline the HUD. While it’s unlikely that Konami will ever release a remaster of Metal Gear Rising, on PC the work has been done by a dedicated community and has helped Metal Gear Rising keep up with the times.

The soundtrack, composed by Jamie Christopherson and featuring the talents of Jason C. Miller, Logan Mader, and several other musicians, has been a fixture on various video game music charts. On YouTube, it’s not uncommon to see a single track crack a high view count, and numerous remixes of the score have been uploaded over the years.

Want to hear Jetstream Sam’s theme mixed with Scatman John and wonder how two diametrically-opposed genres of music can merge so well together? There’s a video for that, and numerous other mashups online.

That level of fandom has kept the soundtrack in circulation through online spaces, and it’s something that Christopherson himself appreciates.

“I like the remixes, but what I really love is hearing how people interpret the music and make it completely their own with new versions of the song covers. Whether it is with a full metal band or an acoustic cover, it’s fun to hear the different styles and how well the songs seem to work across genres and cultures,” Christopherson told us.

The best defense is offense in Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance.

Another key aspect in the sound of Metal Gear Rising that has resonated well with fans has been how it augments the power fantasy experience, as the game’s intense level of action has been an “adrenaline shot” for some people according to Christopherson.

“I think a lot of that has to do with the music speed and intensity, but more importantly how it is implemented into the gameplay. When the ‘Rules of Nature’ kicks in at the end of the Metal Gear Ray battle, there is no question how much that amps things up.”

Games come and go, but only a few select titles manage to carve out a place for themselves in an increasingly competitive landscape. Amidst giants and genre-defining masterpieces, Metal Gear Rising still slugs it out as one of the best-kept secrets in gaming. It’s a scrappy underdog with plenty of bite, charm, and razor-sharp commentary wrapped up in a cybernetic shell of explosive action.

Even if its sequel appears to be nothing more than a devilish tease, Metal Gear Rising lives on as a one-and-done showcase of exciting swordplay and some of the best boss battles of the 2010s. It’s a well-deserved comeback, one that’s reintroducing a whole new generation to memes and nanomachines, son.

Read MoreGameSpot – Game News

Netflix Games Showcase: New Titles From Downwell, Monument Valley Devs And More

Netflix is celebrating Geeked Week right now and to finish out the weeklong showcase, Netflix teamed up with Geoff Keighley to share an impressive selection of games coming to Netflix’s gaming platform like one based on The Queen’s Gambit, Lucky Luna from the creator of Alto’s Odyssey, and Poinpi from the creator of Downwell. These are games that you find within Netflix’s mobile streaming ap–there is a section dedicated to game–but you play the actual games outside of Netflix’s app. Netflix’s games also do not include ads or microtransactions and are included as part of your Netflix subscription. Here are the games Netflix shared that are on the way, as well as one that is already available now.

Shadow And Bone Destinies

Grishaverse rejoice! Our first game announced out of #GeekedWeek is a brand new Shadow & Bone game!
Shadow and Bone: Destinies is a narrative RPG in early development. pic.twitter.com/vM2mwkpogp

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 10, 2022

Based on the Netflix fantasy series, Destinies is a narrative RPG with roguelike elements. You make various decisions to decide your fate over the course of the game, which is being developed by Chimera Entertainment.

Too Hot To Handle

Did you watch Too Hot To Handle and think “I could easily win this”? Well, prove it. That’s right, there’s a Too Hot To Handle game on the way! #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/887ooPRbk3

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 10, 2022

The reality dating game show is getting an adaptation from developer Nanobit. The game, a dating sim, follows the same rules as the TV show and will feature innuendo, plot twists, and romance.

La Casa De Papel

It’s time to put on the Dali mask. A La Casa De Papel game is on it’s way to Netflix! #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/hUjTnYvjAK

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 10, 2022

Developed by Killasoft, the La Casa De Papel game is an action third-person stealth and heist game. It will feature safe-cracking, lock-picking, shooting sequences, heists going wrong, and a stealth game staple: vent crawling.

The Queen’s Gambit Chess

Developer Ripstone is creating a fully featured chess game based on the show (featuring the likeness of Princess Peach herself, Anya Taylor-Joy) that will include online play and a story. Characters from the show teach you how to play chess while you play in various familiar locations like Beth’s house, Beth’s orphanage, and Las Vegas. In terms of release, all that was offered was a vague “coming soon”.

Lucky Luna

Lucky Luna is an original game from developer Snowman. Snowman created the gorgeous endless runner, Alto’s Odyssey, but this game makes the player move downward instead of left to right. The story is based on the classic story, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter, and follows a character as they make their way down a deep labyrinth. There is no jump button so you must fall off ledges while dodging various obstacles. The game is releasing this summer and will also include an endless mode and challenge modes alongside the story mode.

Desta: The Memories Between

Desta is described a mix between Hades, the movie Inception, and dodgeball. It is being developed by the USTwo, the studio behind Minument Valley. The game is turn-based puzzle tasking the player with bouncing a ball around an environment while digging into a story about broken relationships and family issues. Desta: The Memories Between launches later this year and will also feature some rogue elements.

Poinpy

Arguably the most exciting announcement from the show is the new game from the creator of Downwell and publisher Devolver Digital. In the game you leap and climb upward dodging bad guys and outrunning a giant blue beast. You also feed the blue beast various collected fruits while making your way upward. The game is available today through Netflix.

Wild Things: Animal Adventures

This original match-three game tasks players with playing puzzles to help a collection of cute animals rebuild their homes. The game will be available later this month and will feature a variety of environments and animals.

Reigns: Three Kingdoms, Terra Nil, Raji: An Ancient Epic, and Spiritfarer

Spiritfarer: It’s a cozy management game about dying, and it’s coming to mobile for the first time on Netflix this year. #GeekedWeek pic.twitter.com/bUCdYMTQAw

— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) June 10, 2022

Alongside all those new games, Netflix also revealed it is bringing previously released games to its mobile games platform. Partnering with Devolver, Reigns: Three Kingdoms and Terra Nil will be be making their mobile debutes via Netflix.

Raji: An Ancient Epic will also be making its mobile debut by way of Netflix later this year, as will Spiritfarer from Thunder Lotus games.

All of these games will be available soon without ads or microtransactions and be included as part of your normal Netflix streaming subscription.

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Drag Queens, Fighting Games and ‘Backroll’ Netcode: A Chat with the 2022 Winner of AT&T’s Unlocked Games

You may not have heard of Drag Her! before–not the most unusual thing for an unreleased indie game–but this drag queen fighting game is poised to take the gaming world by storm when it hits PC, Mac, and Nintendo Switch in 2023. And AT&T is helping to make it happen.

Among AT&T’s many efforts to support women in tech is the Unlocked Games competition, which showcases the work of independent game developers who identify as women. Drag Her! from Fighting Chance Games was this year’s winner, and we sat down with narrative designer Jessica Antenorcruz to chat about the spoils of victory, doing LGBTQ representation their way, and teaming up with all these awesome real-life drag celebrities.

“Our. Game. Is. Awesome!” she said. “It’s fun, it’s stupid, it’s silly, it’s campy. It’s just kind of a celebration of drag, but also video games, because we grew up playing just the most bonkers games…And we decided that a bunch of drag queens and drag kings should be in a fighting game!”

Jessica Antenorcruz

As Drag Her! is an independent game, however, money is always a concern. The team put together a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year, while simultaneously competing for $100,000 in the Unlocked Games competition. Antenorcruz said that money is going to change everything not just for Drag Her!, but also for her own personal life. Because it means that, after having to work a side gig at the library during much of the game’s development, she gets to draw a salary and focus her attention more fully on Drag Her!.

That money also led to some quality-of-life improvements to her home workspace–which she described as “not set up for me sitting here and working for eight hours”–and a fix for her headset that broke just minutes before they presented Drag Her! at AT&T Unlocked Games. “It’s really exciting to be able to have a salary and work on a video game. That’s a dream that was made possible by AT&T!”

And that’s a good thing, too, because Drag Her! is built to take full advantage of a modern, faster, low-latency connection, like 5G from AT&T. Fighting games are among the most fast-paced and twitch-oriented types of video games, and much lag simply isn’t tolerable. Fighting Chance uses rollback netcode–or “backroll” netcode as they like to joke–that makes playing against someone on the other side of the world feel just like playing with somebody on the couch next to you.

“We had a really interesting demo playthrough, and we played with people in the Philippines, and we played with people in Thailand, and there were no issues with lag or anything,” Antenorcruz said. “And that was really exciting to us.”

With all that stuff handled, it allows the players to focus on what really matters: the incredibly dope roster of drag stars that Drag Her! is bringing with it, which includes former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestants Alaska 5000, Manila Luzon, and BenDeLaCreme. It wasn’t easy putting this crew together–“nobody has really had drag performers in a video game before,” Antenorcruz said, so they had to figure out what the business side of things would even look like.

Fortunately, though, they “had a lot of really early support from local drag performers” in Southern California, Texas, and Pennsylvania, where the bulk of the team members live. And she cited Dragula season 2 winner Biqtch Puddin and season 1 contestant Pinche as two of those early supporters who helped pave the way for Drag Her! to actually happen. But it’s still an indie game, and money has been a limiting factor at times–they haven’t been able to work out deals with every drag performer they’ve tried to recruit.

But it doesn’t sound like Drag Her! is hurting too much from those omissions.

“Luckily, our current roster is insane and full of people who are like, ‘We love it, we see it, we understand what you’re doing, we want to be on board’.”

Naturally, of course, the Fighting Chance crew thought that Drag Her! would be a great opportunity to inject an LGBTQ perspective into gaming in a purely joyful way–no tragedies or sadness allowed.

“It’s obviously a very queer-celebratory game, not just in content, but in all of the facets of it, the team behind it, etc,” she said.

“I think a lot of times in games, it can be a very somber topic, right? There’s a lot of more serious stories about it, and those are important–and those are our stories, too. But why can’t we just have fun for one time, you know? We just wanted to throw out a really silly, fun game. And I think we’re doing it.”

* AT&T 5G requires compatible plan and device. 5G not available everywhere. Go to att.com/5Gforyou for details.

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Homeworld 3 Delayed To 2023

Homeworld 3 has been delayed. The game, previously set for release in Q4 2022, has now shifted to the first half of 2023, the game’s official Twitter account announced on Friday. Homeworld 3 is an RTS and the first entry in the main series since 2003’s Homeworld 2.

“Delivering Homeworld 3 at the highest quality is the top priority for Gearbox Publishing and Blackbird Interactive because we recognize the special place this series holds in the hearts of players,” the statement said. “This passion from players fuels the work and the additional time will allow us to make good on our commitment to quality in a healthy and sustainable way for all those involved.”

The statement goes to say that Homeworld 3 aims to be “the Homeworld game that players have always dreamed of.” Fans can look forward to the “deepest look at yet” at the game during Gamescom in August.

Homeworld 3

Gallery

“Homeworld 3 is the realization of the vision of what we set out to create in the Homeworld series, with modern technology allowing us to push beyond our wildest dreams of large-scale dynamic space combat packed with emotional sci-fi storytelling,” Blackbird Interactive CEO Rob Cunningham said in 2021.

Homeworld 3 joins a long list of 2022 titles that have been delayed. For more, check out GameSpot’s roundup of all the delayed games in 2022. One prominent title that has not been delayed, apparently, is God of War: Ragnarok, which will reportedly launch in November.

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Snag Mario Strikers Battle League At A Discount On Launch Day

Mario Strikers: Battle League has arrived. The arcade soccer sim released today, June 10. If you didn’t preorder a copy, we have an exclusive discount that will allow you to save big on your order at Daily Steals. Simply enter promo code GSMSBL at checkout, and you’ll get Mario Strikers: Battle League for only $49.

We’ve yet to see Mario Strikers: Battle League preorders discounted at a major retailer, and as of late, Switch exclusives haven’t been getting their usual launch discounts at Walmart. And Nintendo’s first-party games in general are well-known for maintaining the full $60 price for a long time.

After a 15-year hiatus, Mario and his pals have finally returned to the soccer field. Developed by Next Level Games, Battle League features 5v5 soccer contests that, unsurprisingly, lean more into action and chaos than rigorous simulation gameplay. You can expect to see the usual suspects tagging along with Mario, including Luigi, Bowser, Wario, Waluigi, Princess Peach, and Yoshi.

Battle League injects some familiar competitive Mario trappings into the mix such as green shells for attacks. You even have the opportunity to add two goals to the scoreboard at once by using a high-powered Hyper Strike. As it’s a “battle,” players wear some war-ready gear that alters stats.

It earned a 7/10 in our Mario Strikers: Battle League review. “Mario Strikers: Battle League is a thin package, without very much variety in terms of game modes and options,” critic Steve Watts wrote. “But it is a more technically complex game than many of the Mario sports titles, which may give it legs for dedicated players. Sports are all about proving your skill in head-to-head match-ups, and that will have to be enough, because there isn’t much else to it.”

If you’re looking for more family-friendly multiplayer on Switch, you can get Mario Party Superstars for $40 at Daily Steals with promo code GSMPS.

Editor’s Note: Article updated on June 10, 2022

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Trials Of Osiris Rewards This Week In Destiny 2 (June 10-14)

After a week of Iron Banner activity, the first Trials of Osiris event of Destiny 2: Season of the Haunted kicks off this weekend. This new season of PvP competition also means that several new Trials-exclusive weapons and pieces of armor are up for grabs.

Bungie had previously shown off some of this new gear, which includes a new fusion rifle and sidearm, the Falcon’s Chase Sparrow, a Trials-themed Ghost shell, and sets of armor–one of which will make Hunters look like a baboon.

Season of the Haunted’s Trials armor sets.

As always, Trials be available from Friday’s daily reset at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET until the weekly reset at the same time the following Tuesday. We’ll have this post updated with a look at which weapons you can win this weekend, and which map you’ll be playing on so that you can formulate, once the weekly reset has kicked in. What we do know is this weekend will mix things up in Trials with another Freelance session that has Zone Control enabled.

You can also pay a visit to see what Xur is selling, as his inventory of Exotic and Legendary-class weapons could give you an edge in Trials.

Trials of Osiris is a weekend PvP mode that runs from the daily reset on Friday until the weekly reset on Tuesday, giving you four days to take part. Your goal in the Trials is for you and the other two players in your fireteam to achieve a “Flawless” run, in which you win seven matches without losing any. Go Flawless, and you’ll earn a trip to the Lighthouse and receive some special rewards, including the new Adept weapons. These have additional stat bonuses, making them among the most coveted items you can get your hands on.

Thanks to recent changes to Trials this season, though, the mode is a little easier to get into than it has been. The Trials of Osiris now features matchmaking, so you can jump into matches even if you don’t have a full squad of three players to take it on. Your Trials Passage, the card you purchase from Saint-14 that grants you access to the mode and tracks your wins, now does not track your losses–so you can keep playing and earning rewards even if you lose out on a Flawless run. Bungie has also adjusted Trials so that you earn rewards based on the number of rounds, rather than matches, you’ve won during your session, and added a reputation system that’s similar to the Crucible and Gambit, making it easier to earn some of the Trials of Osiris’s unique loot.

Finally, you’ll earn Trials Engrams for participating in the mode, which you can cash in with Saint-14 during the weekend you receive them. Thanks to the new update, you can tune those engrams to yield specific pieces of loot, or take your chances with random drops that will expand what’s available in your loot pool. So even if you’re just jumping into Trials alone, there are plenty of ways you can earn great new gear.

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