NLG - Next Level Gaming

For over six years, one game franchise has remained a consistent part of my gaming regimen. Destiny and its sequel hit a lot of sweet spots for me, combining engrossing sci-fi/fantasy world-building, role-playing-style character upgrades, and immaculate action/gunplay. It’s a hobby I’ve enjoyed for a long time, and I’m intensely excited for Beyond Light . But that doesn’t mean the game always works for me in every way. Even as I’m thrilled to experiment with new stasis powers  or witness the return of The Stranger , the thing I most want out of Destiny 2 at this point is a relief from the exhausting time-wasters. Like many adult gamers, the demands of balancing work at home, childcare, and increased inconveniences due to the ongoing pandemic hasn’t made for more free time, but less. When I sit down to play a game outside of work hours, I am looking for a getaway and for the time I invest to feel worthwhile. Contrary to some detractors, I think Destiny 2 has a lot to offer in this re

Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered for PS5 will offer an updated experience for the Insomniac Games adventure that smashed records and was a perfect hit for Marvel fans. For those looking to scoop up this version of the game, not only will you get a newly recasted Peter Parker, but you'll be getting three new Spidey suits to go with him.  While not all three of the suits have been revealed, we do have our first look at one of them with the newly added The Amazing Suit. Like the other Spidey gear found in-game, the Amazing Suit remains faithful to the source material with that spiffy modernized flair:  Insomniac Games The new suit looks stunning and the attention to detail is beyond incredible. As mentioned in our previous coverage , the team has made quite a few notable upgrades to the Remastered version of Marvel's Spider-Man beyond new suits. From a new face for Peter Parker to targeted 60 fps performance, the Remastered edition of the Insomniac Games hit is the perfect

Mental health is important and 2020 has not made taking care of ourselves easy . For those looking for a journey to dive into for positive mental health, here are just a few suggestions we have that may help.  Whether it is anxiety, depression, or anything else can impedes mental health, games are a solid way to help cope and they also can be an escape when needed. For this list, we want to offer a variety of games to choose from that can tackle different areas of mental health.  Florence | Loss Click here to watch embedded media Florence is a beautiful story that centers around a character that feels stuck, a feeling most of us have related to at one time or another. Florence's life changes when she meets a cello player named Krish as he helps her see the world through an entirely new lens, as well as how she sees herself.  This game is a perfect journey to begin no matter what, but it has especially helped me when I went through a major loss and life shift. Letting go, find

Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment Developer: Insomniac Games Release: September 7, 2018 Rating: Teen Platform: PlayStation 4 Marvel's Spider-Man: Remastered for PS5 will offer an updated experience for the Insomniac Games adventure that smashed records and was a perfect hit for Marvel fans. For those looking to scoop up this version of the game, not only will you get a newly recasted Peter Parker, but you'll be getting three new Spidey suits to go with him.  While not all three of the suits have been revealed, we do have our first look at one of them with the newly added The Amazing Suit. Like the other Spidey gear found in-game, the Amazing Suit remains faithful to the source material with that spiffy modernized flair:  Insomniac Games The new suit looks stunning and the attention to detail is beyond incredible. As mentioned in our previous coverage , the team has made quite a few notable upgrades to the Remastered version of Marvel's Spider-Man be

The next generation of gaming is just around the corner, but just because we are going into a new cycle of games doesn't mean we have to leave older experiences behind for good. With both the Xbox Series X/S and the PlayStation 5 offering backwards compatibility, playing old favorites is easy to do. With the new Xbox offering backwards compatibility across four generations , Cloud saves offer an incredibly effective way to pick up previous adventures as if we've never left.  Xbox's Larry 'Major Nelson' Hryb shared a small video showcasing how Cloud saves positively impact the gaming experience, saying "Cloud saves and our generations of compatibility means I pick up right where I left off in Fallout 4 from the comfort of my Xbox Series X."  In the video, Hyrb not only shows off how fast Fallout 4 loads, but also shows off how his progress and saves import into the newest generation flawlessly.  Cloud saves and four generations of compatibility means

Click to watch embedded media Razer is no stranger to making a joke gone viral an official  piece of merch and that is very much true of the company's latest addition to its retail lineup: Respawn gamer gum. To go along with the Razer Respawn energy drink mix that debuted last year, the gum aims to achieve the same goal of improving mental performance and focus. So, does it work?  What's in it?  The Razer Respawn gum has a ton of B vitamins in it, which is good for focus, in addition to green tea extract. It is also sugar free, which is pretty common for gum in general.  The line comes in three different flavors: Pomegranate Watermelon, Tropical Punch, and Cool Mint. While it didn't give me focus, which could honestly just be because I'm a complete scatterbrain by nature, I will admit it does taste pretty good. The Pomegranate Watermelon was especially tasty, even if it didn't make me an actual good Apex Legends player. Maybe one day... Does it work?  While i

Sony revealed its October freebie lineup, now it's Microsoft's turn. Each month, Microsoft offers four free games for Xbox Live members to enjoy, two from the current generation and two blasts from the past that can be enjoyed via backwards compatibility. This month's lineup is a solid tribute to the festivities of October for those already getting into the Halloween spirit.  Xbox Games With Gold October Lineup Click here to watch embedded media While some months can be hit or miss, this month is actually a great opportunity for gamers to experience something new that they may not have heard of, including my personal favorite with Maid of Sker. Maid of Sker brings that traditional British horror experience to life and is perfect for those that enjoy games like Amnesia .  Also included is a very campy adventure that is the perfect throwback to classic 80s horror with Slayaway Camp: Butcher's Cut. In this title, players assume the role of the evil Skullface whose so

Every month, Sony offers two free games for those that have an active PlayStation Plus membership. As September wanes down into its final days, the free PS Plus October 2020 games lineup has been revealed and includes a nice little horror treat ahead of Halloween.  PS Plus October 2020 The two games that are being offered for October includes Need for Speed: Payback and Vampyr; one will have those cars racing while the other aims to get that blood pumping. Literally, it's a game about vampires.  As a personal recommendation, I can't recommend Vampyr enough. Created by the studio that gave us Life is Strange, Dontnod crafts an intriguing and dangerous tale set in 1918. This action RPG has resounding narrative choices that can result in hefty consequences. Though the game itself was met with mixed reviews due to pacing perceptions and less than stellar mechanics, the story itself more than makes up for any technical issues that players experience. At least as a personal re

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War embraces the full multiplayer experience with a suite of traditional offerings, Warzone for battle royale, and a tentpole of Treyarch, Zombies. Today, Treyarch unveiled details regarding the upcoming 4-player co-op experience. You'll play as part of Requiem, a CIA-backed international response team helmed by Grigori Weaver (you may remember this charcter from Black Ops!) to check out a WWII bunker. It sounds a little like the 2008 British horror film Outpost so far, but let's keep digging in... As is often the case when going back to examine the Third Reich in Call of Duty Zombie fare, occult machinations are part of the horrible discoveries that players are set to make. Requiem also encounters The Omega Group, a rival team of Russians that are looking to uncover the same surreal secrets for their own purposes. What will these conflicting bands of soldiers and scientists find when they start poking around where they don't belong? I don&#

Even as the popularity of both tabletop and digital gaming continues to rise, the links between the two grow ever stronger. With every year, we see more board games adopting app-aided designs and other features from the digital world, while the video game milieu has had a long practice of borrowing tactical elements, storytelling concepts, and leveling from the board game and tabletop role-playing sphere. The two mediums are inextricably linked. A new event is coming this October 21st through 26th, a joint venture between Valve and Auroch Digital, aiming to curate and celebrate this crossover between physical and digital gaming. Announced today, the event aims to highlight several big-name designers, including the likes of Steve Jackson (Munchkin, Ogre), Elizabeth Hargrave (Wingspan), Ian Livingstone (Games Workshop co-founder), and Sandy Petersen (Call of Cthulhu RPG). Events include a livestream highlighting the next big update coming to the Gloomhaven early access release on Stea

A voucher code for Marvel's Spider-Man Remastered is included with the upcoming Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales: Ultimate Edition on PlayStation 5. This next-gen remaster takes advantage of all that next-gen has to offer and also brings with it some additional cosmetic bonuses like three new suits. Click here to watch embedded media One of the biggest changes is that for some reason, they've recast the face of Peter Parker. From the PlayStation Blog:  "We loved working with John Bubniak on the original game; however, to get a better match to Peter Parker/Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal’s facial capture, we have cast Ben Jordan to be the face model for Peter Parker on the PS5 console. He looks incredible in-game, and Yuri’s moving performances take on a new life." The PlayStation 5 offers a targeted 60 FPS performance mode, which you can check out in a clip below! There's also much faster loading and a new photo mode. You can read more about Marvel's

The word is out that some publishers are changing that once-sacrosanct price point of $60 to $70 for the next-generation. The waters since the days of pulling a paper slip off the wall at a retailer and walking it up to the cash register have been muddied quite a bit. Often you're not even getting the "full game" anymore with that initial price tag, as DLCs, battle passes, and other cash-gated experiences are part of a full-price title. So where does it end? If you could know for sure that you could get an "entire game" for $100, would that be a good price? How about $150? Is it better that the initial cost of the game is kept down under the $100 price tag to keep them affordable, keeping addons and additional content available for purchase? The future is rife with possibilities where technology becomes its own arbiter of content and control, so perhaps there are other alternatives to simple price increases. The beast of microtransactions has been wild and l

In Blightbound, players form parties in the classic trinity (Tank, DPS, Healer) to take on a variety of dungeon delves. Until today, that meant using matchmaking or asking your friends to come with you to take on bosses and battles. Now, if you can't find anyone else to play with, A.I. fills those positions and lets you keep crawling. The Helping Hands update also includes a variety of smaller enhancements. Blightbound is currently available in Early Access on Steam. Check out the trailer below for more details. Click here to watch embedded media

In 2017, we saw the release of blockbuster titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Horizon Zero Dawn. Because of this, Nier: Automata flew under my radar. Nevertheless , this past spring was the perfect time for me to finally traverse Automata’s desolate and beautiful open world. If someone had told me three years ago that Platinum Games’ thought-provoking action/RPG would play a large role in influencing my decision to pursue a master’s degree in game design, I wouldn't have believed them. And yet, here I am – back in school, and discovering all the ways Automata continues to influence my creative process. Last week, we finally got a release date and new trailer for the upgraded version of the original Nier. Nier Replicant ver. 1.22474487139 (yes, that’s its real name), is a remaster of the first game – except it’s based on a version that never released in North America. The events of Replicant connect to the sequel's bleak-yet-thoughtful story, so if you

Publisher: InnerSloth Developer: InnerSloth Reviewed on: PC Also on: iOS, Android Among Us released over two years ago, but the jellybean/astronaut online game is currently seeing a massive surge in popularity that began in early September. The world may have started out quarantine by playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons , a wholesome game about friendship and taking care of our islands, but after many months of pandemic life, we're hungry for the void of space filled with chaos and deceit. That’s what Among Us is all about. Developed by InnerSloth, the foundation of Among Us is simple: a social deduction game where a player is either a crewmate or the lone imposter. The imposter must pretend to do the assigned daily tasks in the game while stealthily killing off each crewmate one by one. If a body is discovered, a crewmate can call an Emergency Meeting to have a group chat trying to figure out who the imposter truly is. There is only one level aboard a spacecraft whe

Netflix has delivered several animated series based on video games in recent years, adapting projects like Castlevania , Dragon’s Dogma , Resident Evil , and (probably) Splinter Cell . That’s a good start, but some major contenders are conspicuously absent. That’s why we’ve put together this list of 10 games that we think deserve their own animated series. No one wants a show that just tries to follow the events of a game exactly; something is bound to get lost along the way, leaving fans upset and newcomers confused. So what makes a game a good candidate for this sort of adaptation? The world should be full of characters and stories worth telling, and have a distinct visual vibe that would look great in an animated format. It doesn’t need to replicate the exact magic of playing the game – the show can be its own thing. Different media do different things well, and that’s okay. So here’s what we’re thinking would work well for our games of choice.

Talk about the pricing of games for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S has been a hot topic with many studios confirming that this new price point will be a common occurrence for select games. Among the upcoming titles with the new $70 price, as confirmed by Counterplay Games and Gearbox Publishing, is Godfall.  The studio behind Godfall has confirmed the pricing for the three editions of the game coming out on November 12, with pre-orders now available. For those interested in scooping up the upcoming title, here are the three different versions that are available to pre-purchase:  Godfall Standard - $69.99 Godfall Deluxe Edition - $89.99 Godfall Ascended - $99.99 All versions, if pre-ordered, will come with a special Godfall Starter Pack:  Godfall Starter Pack: Set of Augments and Trinkets Chrome skins for three Valorplates Zer0's longsword from Borderlands Yellow Valorplate skin for Typhon The Deluxe Edition will come with the first expansion and the Ascended ver

Click to watch embedded media Yakuza: Like a Dragon will be releasing a few months later for PlayStation 5 users, but PS4 game owners will receive a free upgrade when March 2, 2021 rolls around. Unfortunately for those planning on scooping up the PS4 version of the game in November, those save files won't transfer to the PS5 in March.  Ryu ga Gotoku Studio (RGG Studio) took to Twitter to clarify that though both the physical and digital version of the PS4 title will be upgraded to the PS5 version for free, the save data between the two generations will not also transfer.  To clarify, physical owners of Yakuza: Like a Dragon on PS4 can also use the original disc to upgrade to the PS5 version when it releases on March 2, 2021. Save data will not be transferable between the PS4 and PS5 versions of the game. — RGG Studio (@RGGStudio) September 28, 2020 "To clarify, physical owners of Yakuza: Like a Dragon on PS5 can also use the original disc to upgrade to the PS5 versio

The Epic Games vs. Apple lawsuit continues with the most recent hearing on September 28. The lawsuit began when Epic Games implemented their own pay system in the mobile version of the game, effectively bypassing Apple's 30 percent cut regarding in-game purchases. While still ongoing, the latest update favors Apple's stance that this move was a breach in agreement and a security concern, with the judge stating that Epic lied by omission.  Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers says that Epic Games was "not honest" with their intentions regarding in-game purchase actions, even stating that Epic's defense actually bolster's Apple's initial claims that the former took a contract-breaking stance when implementing its own programs against Apple's app review standards.  "You did something, you lied about it by omission, by not being forthcoming" stated the judge during the most recent hearing. She continued, "That's the security issue. That'

PlayStation 5's Demon's Souls is an exciting remake that looks to immerse Soulsborne veterans and newcomers in a classic, hardcore adventure. However, the remake isn't merely an upgraded carbon copy of the original action/RPG. The Demon's Souls pre-order content includes the Reaper Scythe – an enemy boss' weapon that appeared in the old game. But in a recent PlayStation tweet, we can get a clearer picture of all of the never-before-seen gear and consumables that will come with the Demon's Souls Deluxe Edition.  First look at the Digital Deluxe Edition of Demon's Souls, coming to #PS5 on November 12: https://t.co/nFRBshdAdR pic.twitter.com/p6z4h8fS1o — PlayStation (@PlayStation) September 29, 2020 Like the Reaper Scythe, some of the weapons belong to Demon's Souls bosses like the Golden Skeleton and Hoplites. Other items like the three Grains and the Ring of Longevity are a mystery. Demon's Souls releases alongside the PlayStation 5 on Novem

In an answer to player queries, Insomniac Games released a tweet affirming that Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales saves are transferable. Players that own the PlayStation 4 version of Spider-Man: Miles Morales will not only get access to a free next-gen upgrade of the game, but they can rest assured that their save data will be easily available too. Insomniac Games plans to release more info on the transfer process closer to launch. The original Spider-Man game will come as a remastered addition to the Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition but, unfortunately, it will not have transferable saves.  Hi there, you will be able to transfer your save to PS5. We'll share details closer to launch — Insomniac Games (@insomniacgames) September 29, 2020 You can purchase the base version of Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales for $50 or the Ultimate Edition for $70. The game launches for PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 on November 20. 

Publisher: Ubisoft Developer: Ubisoft Montreal Release: November 10, 2020 ( Xbox Series X/S , PlayStation 4 , Xbox One , Stadia , PC ), November 12, 2020 ( PlayStation 5 ) Rating: Mature Platform: PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Stadia, PC A new Assassin's Creed Valhalla story trailer has arrived bringing with it a deep dive into the legacy that is Eivor. Additionally, Ubisoft also revealed a new podcast documentary series called Echoes of Valhalla that talks more about the historical inspiration behind the latest tale.  We've seen quite a bit of Eivor previously , but the latest video goes deeper into who they are in terms of their impact and relation to their identity as a Viking and what happens when duty interferes with family.  Click here to watch embedded media After Eivor's clan was driven out of Norway because of war and a dimming allocation of resources, it's up to Eivor to carve out a new future for their clan and place in the kingd

A new Assassin's Creed Valhalla story trailer has arrived bringing with it a deep dive into the legacy that is Eivor. Additionally, Ubisoft also revealed a new podcast documentary series called Echoes of Valhalla that talks more about the historical inspiration behind the latest tale.  We've seen quite a bit of Eivor previously , but the latest video goes deeper into who they are in terms of their impact and relation to their identity as a Viking and what happens when duty interferes with family.  Click here to watch embedded media After Eivor's clan was driven out of Norway because of war and a dimming allocation of resources, it's up to Eivor to carve out a new future for their clan and place in the kingdoms of England.  Throughout Valhalla, players will transform into Eivor as they encounter notable and powerful names in history, including the sons of Ragnar Lothbrok. There are also a few mysteries to uncover as well, including a looming threat that is intrica

Genshin Impact is a hot new open-world game right now that the internet seems to love, we've even been streaming it ourselves quite a bit here at Game Informer. That being said, there have been a lot of comparisons to the look and feel of Genshin in relation to Nintendo's Breath of the Wild. This comparison is accurate in the way that Breath of the Wild did inspired Genshin Impact, but the devs want gamers to know that their adventure is still "very different."  Studio miHoYo has been adamant since launch that the visuals of Genshin were inspired, but not limited, by Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, but it seems that some are taking those comparisons too far. With accusations that Genshin is a 'carbon copy' of the hit Nintendo game, the devs want fans to know that the visual stylization does not dictate the game's overall appeal.  In a recent interview with FreeMMOStation, a representative of miHoYo mentioned that the studio has always held Breath