NLG - Next Level Gaming

This month's PlayStation Plus free games lineup consists of Mass Effect Legendary Edition, Biomutant, and a brand new platform fighter called Divine Knockout.  Because Mass Effect Legendary Edition includes three games, this month's lineup technically consists of five games: Mass Effect, Mass Effect 2, Mass Effect 3, and the other two aforementioned games. Here's what PlayStation has to say about each game:  Biomutant | PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4 "Mix melee, shooting and mutant ability action in this open-world, post-apocalyptic kung-fu fable RPG. A plague is ruining the land and the Tree-of-Life is bleeding death from its roots. The Tribes stand divided. Explore a world in turmoil and define its fate – will you be its savior or lead it to an even darker destiny? Re-code your genetic structure to change the way you look and play, Mix and match parts to create your own unique slash, crush and pierce melee weapons, revolvers, rifles, shotguns and more. The PS5 v

Narrative dinosaur adventure Goodbye Volcano High has remerged from dormancy with a new gameplay trailer and a 2023 release window. The title, unveiled in June 2020 as one of the first PlayStation 5 titles, will now arrive sometime next summer. Goodbye Volcano High is a choice-driven teenage coming-of-age story starring Fang, a high school student, aspiring musician, and if you didn’t notice, a pterosaur. Alongside their bandmate Trish and other friends, the dino teens are faced with making the most of their final days together. Developer KO-OP describes the narrative as a tale of “personal growth, acceptance, and the power of community.” A new teaser trailer provides the first look at gameplay, showing off the dialogue interface and rhythm mechanics.  KO-OP initially planned to release Goodbye Volcano High in 2021. However, last August, the small team pushed the launch into 2022 due to COVID-related development challenges and the decision to reboot the game’s narrative. The game

15 years after its release on PSP, Crisis Core is being remastered for the current generation of consoles. Join Kyle Hilliard and Charles Harte as they took a look at the new, retooled version of the game and reflect on this new era of Final Fantasy VII. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII Reunion releases December 13 on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. For more previews of some of the biggest games of 2022 and beyond, be sure to head over to our  YouTube page  for NGTs about  Save Room ,  Pokemon Scarlet ,  Resident Evil Village: Shadows of Rose ,  Persona 5 Royal on Switch ,  Scorn ,  LEGO Bricktales ,  God of War Ragnarok ,  Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope ,  Saturnalia ,  Betrayal at Club Low , and more.

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red has revealed that its upcoming remake of The Witcher will be open-world.  This news comes by way of a quarterly financial call held yesterday by the company in which CDPR briefly touched on this remake being handled by developer Fool's Theory, as reported by VG247 .  While not much was revealed, CDPR did reveal in the slide pictured below that Codename: Canis Majoris, which we now know to be The Witcher Remake, will be a "story-driven, single player open-world RPG" and a "modern reimagining of 2007's The Witcher." This might come as a surprise because that 2007 game wasn't open-world and instead took players through small hub-like levels in the city of Vizima.  Unfortunatley, this slide is essentially all that was revealed in regards to The Witcher Remake. It might be a while before we learn more about this remake, too, considering that CDPR told fans to "please be patient" because "it's go

Developer Offworld Industries, the studio behind Squad, has revealed Starship Troopers: Extermination, a new 12-player cooperative FPS coming to Steam Early Access next year.  Offworld is making Extermination in collaboration with Sony Pictures Consumer Products and in the game, players will engage in squad-based FPS combat to exterminate the arachnid threat fans of the 1997 film will know really well. Those squads will need to work together in order to complete objectives, acquire resources necessary to continue the fight, build and defend a base of operations, and ultimately, escape to the one extraction point as a team.  Check out the Starship Troopers: Extermination reveal trailer for yourself below :  "Starship Troopers: Extermination puts players on the far-off front lines in an all-out assault against the Arachnid menace," a press release for the announcement reads. "Squad up as a Trooper in the Deep Space Vanguard, an elite Special Forces group within the Mo

Warner Bros. Discovery revealed last month that it had hired Peter Safran and Marvel Studios alum and director James Gunn ( Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, Peacemaker ) to lead as co-CEOs of DC Studios, as reported by Variety . Since then, Gunn has been fielding questions about DC Studios, the DCU's future, and what his plans are as a new lead within DC's entertainment output.  When asked on Twitter yesterday if he and Safran are "planning to give more DC characters TV shows that'll add to the story for the DCEU," Gunn responded , "Yes, most definitely, the DCU will be connected across film and TV (and animation)." In a follow-up tweet, another user asked is there are plans to connect games to this larger DCU canon as well, to which Gunn simply responded , "Yes."  Yes. — James Gunn (@JamesGunn) November 27, 2022 It's an interesting response and idea, especially given that it seems clear Warner Bros. Discovery wants its D

I’ve been excited about developer Flying Wild Hog’s Evil West since its reveal at The Game Awards in 2020. So much about it immediately captured my attention. Despite Red Dead Redemption’s best efforts, I’ve always felt there’s a shortage of wild wests in video games, although some games use a western’s formula to tell a story set elsewhere. Evil West’s premise also feels reminiscent of something you’d see in the PlayStation 2 era: cowboys who protect mere mortals from the secret horrors of the world, such as vampires and other creatures. My mind can’t help but see Darkwatch, a game I played repeatedly as a child, when I see Evil West.  Even more generally, that era was great for third-person action westerns – Gun, Red Dead Revolver, the aforementioned Darkwatch, and Call of Juarez (although Techland released this during the next generation, its 2006 release year is close enough to the PS2 that it feels at home here). All of this is to say that playing Evil West makes me feel like a

In each issue, Game Informer prints questions that are submitted by readers via email and standard mail. We'd like to give our website readers the chance to make the magazine as well. You'll need to log in to your GI account and click "okay to print" for your letter or question to go through. We'd also love it if you included your location (city, state, or country will do). We'll look through the questions and pick a few to include in our next issue, which releases on December 20. For each issue, we ask our community a question for our SoundOff section. This time around, we want to know... "What's the best gaming-related gift you've ever received?" You can answer this question and/or include any other feedback you want. Thank you again for your support throughout the years, and we hope many of you get the chance to have your letter printed in an upcoming issue! Submit Your Question or Letter You must be logged in to use this form. Lo

As of writing, the fastest runthrough of Neon White’s “Smackdown” level is 9.56 seconds, earned by player “earlobe” on September 6, 2022. Standing in contrast is the work that went into it. According to designer and creative director Ben Esposito, the earliest iteration was in March 2019, more than three years before its release in June 2022. In that time, there were more than 50 different iterations. Sometimes changes were small. Other times they fundamentally altered the level. Every designer who worked on the game has touched Smackdown in some form. Nevertheless, load into it now; chances are all that labor is invisible to you. Before sitting down to write, I beat it in just 11 seconds. Neon White is a game built around speedrunning. Levels are short. If you’re playing as intended, you hardly notice your surroundings before moving on. But the only way that works effectively is if levels are meticulously designed to facilitate that movement; they have to be made so that it feels n

The Nintendo Switch has an incredibly strong library of games, with many worth recommending. For our 10 absolute favorite games, however, you can check out the list below. It's a list we will be updating as often as games worthy of inclusion release. We will kick games off and add new ones as the Switch's library grows. Please note that while the list below contains 10 entries, we aren’t actually ranking them – if a game has made it this far (and managed to stay here), it’s a must-play, period. As such, we’ll be listing entries in reverse chronological order . Also, you’ll find a rundown of previous entries at the bottom of the list. While those titles have gotten bumped for bigger and better experiences, they are still all great games in their own right and worth exploring if you’re already caught up on the latest hits. Here are Game Informer ’s picks for the top 10 games on the Switch. Neon White Release: June 16, 2022 Engrossing, exciting, and dripping with style, Neo

Despite an avalanche of entries since its original release in 1991, many still consider Sonic the Hedgehog 2 the pinnacle of the series. Sonic the Hedgehog 2 was showered with praise upon release in 1992 and surprisingly, that sterling reputation hasn't faded decades later. We asked the people behind the game's success to share how Sonic's second outing became one of Sega's driving forces in its fight against Nintendo. Coming off of the massive success of the Japan-developed Sonic the Hedgehog, Sega relocated development efforts for the sequel to the newly founded Sega Technical Institute in the U.S. Sega tapped Mark Cerny to lead the STI, who has since gone on to help create other mascots like Crash Bandicoot and Spyro the Dragon. Key members of the original development team, such as series creator Yuji Naka, moved stateside to work on the sequel to Genesis' flagship title. "The development team moved to San Francisco when developing Sonic the Hedgehog 2, a

The propellers spin down, and I step off the puddle-jumper plane onto the tarmac of the tiniest airport I’ve ever visited. Instantly, I’m overcome by the scent of greenery – lush and humid, with a hint of maybe mint. Jungle surrounds this strip of paved runway in every direction. And I’m here, of all things, to see a video game. But first, I must explore a place on the other side of the world I hadn’t even heard of a month earlier – a narrow island called Lifou, part of a French territory known as New Caledonia, which sits some 750 miles east of Australia. I’m meeting a small team of game developers who have chosen to find inspiration for their new game in this remote locale. The team is toying with a big idea: Craft a game that’s rewarding in its own right but simultaneously introduces players of the world to a place most of them have never seen. Read more...

In today's New Gameplay Today, your hosts Wesley LeBlanc and Kyle Hilliard jump into Outer Terror , an upcoming pulp action-horror game coming to PC sometime soon.  The two discuss the game's visual style, how it plays, its similarities to Vampire Survivors, and everything else going on in this exclusive preview. This demo build features a small snippet of one of the game's five volumes and our gameplay showcases how the on-screen action works, the horrors from beyond, and how quests work in Outer Terror.  Check out Outer Terror for yourself below in this installment of New Gameplay Today :  As you can see, Outer Terror is shaping up to be a great time, perfect for those moments where you've got 10 or 15 minutes to blitz through hordes of the undead, monsters from beyond, and more. For more about Outer Terror and what to expect from the game, check out our coverage of the game from last month .  Outer Terror hits PC via Steam and the VoxPop Games Store  (with exc

<p><img src="https://ift.tt/bHyNUVd" width="800" height="450" alt="Pokémon Scarlet and Violet" typeof="foaf:Image" class="image-style-body-default" /></p> <p>Pokémon Scarlet and Violet sold more than 10 million combined units over its launch weekend, claiming the top spot for most three-day launch weekend software sales in Nintendo's history. The number, which includes physical and downloadable copies as reported by Nintendo, already places Pokémon Scarlet and Violet in the top 15 best-selling Nintendo Switch titles of all time.&nbsp;In this three-day number, Pokémon Scarlet and Violet have&nbsp;already outpaced&nbsp;lifetime sales of games such as Splatoon 3, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Nintendo Switch Sports, and Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury.</p> <p>The current overall best-selling Nintendo Switch title is Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which has sold just over 48 milli

Fighting aliens in video games have been an important part of the medium since its inception. The very first video game, Space War, was about a war in space. Space Invaders was an early cultural phenomenon that was rumored to have inhaled so many coins that it created supply issues for the currency in Japan. Halo, one of the biggest video game franchises ever created, is about an ongoing war with aliens. We enjoy fighting aliens in video games because it’s easy to make creatures from another planet the enemy and they can look like anything. The smaller, more personal alien invasion story, however, is a specific sub-genre of extra-terrestrial narrative we don’t often see in video games. When we fight aliens, it’s usually a power trip meant to offer a playground of action possibilities, but Somerville tells the story of a family just trying to figure out how to survive in the face of an unknown menace. You’re not trying to find the best weapon to hit the aliens’ weak point. You’re not

Over the years, what defines a game as the “action” category has gotten more ambiguous than ever, as many games now include aspects of multiple core genres. However, one thing remains certain – games in this category give the player a polished, exciting experience. So, what is this list all about? This isn’t a Top 10 Action Games of All Time list or a Top 10 Action Games of a Generation list. Instead, we’re tackling this one from the angle of what’s important, what’s incredible, and what’s fantastic right now. As in today. This week. This month. So when you don’t see a Dark Souls game on this list, that’s why even though I’d recommend a fresh playthrough of Dark Souls 3 every day. This ever-shifting list aims to capture the highlights of the now and what we think you’d love to be playing this very moment. Presented in no particular order, this list keeps it fresh. Let’s dive in! Bayonetta 3 Switch From a pure combat standpoint, Bayonetta’s third outing proves to be her stro