It’s that time of the year. The weather is getting colder. It gets darker quicker. You want to have a cosy evening in, and what a better way to spend it than with a good old murder investigation?
14.09.2023 - 13:31 / gamingbolt.com / Bandai Namco / Out Now / Nintendo
Bandai Namco’s Baten Kaitos 1 and 2 HD Remaster, a duo of remasters for Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean and Baten Kaitos Origins, is now available for Nintendo Switch. Developed by Monolith Soft (of Xenoblade Chronicles fame) and tri-Crescendo, it sees players “possessing” different heroes and forging bonds to strengthen them. Check out the launch trailer below.
The HD Remaster offers higher-resolution visuals, wide-screen support, the option to increase the game and battle speed by 300 percent, and a revamped UI. You can also enable Instant KO to slay foes quickly, enable auto-battle or turn off encounters entirely to focus on the story. There are even some New Game Plus options to dive into.
Both Baten Kaitos titles have an interesting reputation, being generally well-liked by critics when they were released for the Nintendo GameCube but not selling very well. The voice-acting and story have issues, but the soundtrack and gameplay are generally compelling.
It’s that time of the year. The weather is getting colder. It gets darker quicker. You want to have a cosy evening in, and what a better way to spend it than with a good old murder investigation?
Sony's latest firmware update for PS5 is here, and it's the one that's been in a beta testing phase since the end of July. System software version 23.02-08.00.00 is available to download and install now for all users, and it's a big one, adding support for Dolby Atmos, larger capacity SSDs, and much more. The update is just over 1GB in size.
I continue to have astrophysics on the brain, and over the weekend, managed to spend an hour in Void Crew from Hutlihut Games and Focus Home. It's part of the surprisingly prosperous genre of "team up to complete some big unwieldy task with multiple moving parts" games, and while it hasn't yet hit the highs of Overcooked or reached the terrible depths of Barotrauma, I think the recently launched Early Access build might be worth your time. Amongst other things, it's trying for a curious blend of jolly party game and macabre theocracy work simulator. And it does have some rather swanky-looking ships.
Wizardry may not ring a bell instantly in younger gamers’ minds, but it’s one of the most iconic RPG games of all time. Way back in the 80s, this bad boy stood as the first party-based RPG ever, and as one of the first Dungeons & Dragons-inspired video games. Digital Eclipse set out to remake the masterpiece, recreating Wizardry over the original game’s code. As if the developer’s reveal of the remastered version isn’t enough to get us excited, the studio also just released the new game in its early access state.
AK-xolotl, one of the most-anticipated (and easily the cutest) roguelikes of the year, is out now.
Ubisoft’s latest open-world racing game, The Crew Motorfest, is out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S. Alongside the game’s release, Ubisoft has also announced the game’s free trial is now live, and will be available until September 17.
Construction Simulator has been out a while, but we’ve seen a few additions since release to make one of my favourite simulation games to date, even more enticing for fans of the franchise.
Star Ocean: The Second Story R, a remake of the second game in the Star Ocean franchise, has received a free demo available now on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam. Also, a brand new gameplay trailer has been released, showcasing a variety of new features, including upgraded visuals.
If you’re a fan of the fiendishly-clever perspective shifting puzzler Fez, then we have a treat for you. Enter Sky Islands, a brand new mobile platformer that draws inspiration from the indie champion.
Okay, today’s Nintendo Direct was pretty cool, but the fun isn’t over for RPG fans. And on a day that saw an update for the Super Mario RPG remake and a Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doorannouncement, that’s saying something. Square Enix has released a demo for the upcoming Dragon Quest Monsters: The Dark Prince for Nintendo Switch, which you can download right now on the eShop.
Starfield officially launched last week, and while the reaction has generally been fairly positive, as with most Bethesda games, there’s still some missing features to be added and a lot of bugs to clean up. Today, Bethesda provided a bit of an update and what they’re working on – perhaps most excitingly, while the AMD-partner game only launched with FSR, it seems DLSS support is already in the works. That’s welcome news that hopefully means players will have the full suite of upscaling options before the end of year (modders have tried to step in to provide DLSS support, but the results aren’t always that stable). In addition to that, players can look forward to a proper FOV slider, HDR calibration options, ultrawide monitor support, and more. Here’s a brief rundown of what you can expect…
The first paid DLC for Game Freak’s Pokemon Scarlet and Violet, The Hidden Treasure of Area Zero Part 1: The Teal Mask, is out now. It adds several new Pokemon, primarily from older generations like Snivy, Squirtle, Mudkip, Totodile and Treecko. Check out the overview trailer below to catch up on the story and learn more about the DLC’s plot.