A new Baldur's Gate 3 hotfix is now live, fixing a critical issue that was corrupting save files, forcing those afflicted to start the game all over from the beginning.
24.07.2023 - 16:15 / gamesindustry.biz
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The recent release of Pikmin 4 has been highly awaited among fans of new and old, with many relishing in the idea of collecting trinkets and admiring cute creatures.
Since its debut on the GameCube in 2001, the Pikmin franchise has spawned four main title games and two spin-offs. Pikmin 4 has been in the works since 2015, and the wait has certainly paid off. At the time of writing, the game has a Metacritic score of 87 out of 74 reviews, matching that of its predecessor Pikmin 3, released on the Wii U in 2013.
In their 9/10 review for Nintendo Life, PJ O'Reilly noted that as a franchise, Pikmin "has never quite managed to establish a proper foothold in what could be considered the mainstream gaming space." However, it has long been a prized jewel in the crown of lifelong fans like IGN's Jada Griffin, who said her "heart grew two sizes" the day she picked up the latest Pikmin title.
"While the earliest hours started out slower than I would have liked, it reminded me of an onion - in the best kind of way - in that every layer I peeled back added more and more depth, eventually growing into the best version of the idea at the heart of it," Griffin wrote in her 9/10 review of the game.
The tides are changing for the Pikmin franchise, but that's not to say that Nintendo has strayed far from its original story.
In typical Pikmin fashion, you're dropped on an Earth-like planet after a crash landing. But this time, players take on the role of a recently recruited member of the Rescue Corps and are tasked with rescuing Captain Olimar.
Unlike the stressful nature of the previous Pikmin titles, "there's no limit to the number of days you have to finish the story like in the original, nor is there any threat of running out of supplies," Griffin explained in her review. Pikmin 4 is "more of a casual rescue mission than a race against the clock."
The Pikmins "have never been so full of life and character," as O'Reilly wrote in his review, adding that "they react to pretty much every scenario that's presented in entertaining ways" - including two new variants: Ice and Glow Pikmins. However, the element that stuck out to most reviewers was Oatchi.
This dog helps wrangle the Pikmin and has his own abilities to aid in exploration and combat, which can be upgraded as players progress through the game. The general consensus is that Oatchi is an all-around good boy who deserves every bone he can find.
Nintendo has geared Pikmin 4 towards newcomers to the series with mascots like Oatchi and the ability to customise characters for the first time. But it's added several quality-of-life improvements to satisfy fans as well.
One such
A new Baldur's Gate 3 hotfix is now live, fixing a critical issue that was corrupting save files, forcing those afflicted to start the game all over from the beginning.
Upon its launch a couple of weeks ago, Pikmin 4 dominated the weekly Japan physical sales charts with over 400,000 units sold at retail, and followed that up with over 115,000 units sold in its second week. As per the newest data released by Famitsu, it has topped those charts yet again, making it three weeks in a row for the strategy title, selling over 78,000 units during the week (with lifetime physical sales in Japan climbing to nearly 600,000 units).
Intel fixed the security flaw known as "Downfall(Opens in a new window)" this week, which is described as a "critical weakness found in billions of modern processors" by the researcher who discovered it.
Pikmin 4 saw a stellar debut in Japan upon its launch last week with over 400,000 physical copies sold, and it has continued to enjoy strong sales in its second week. As per the latest weekly hardware and physical software sales charts released by Famitsu, Nintendo’s strategy title topped software charts for a second week running, with over 115,000 physical copies sold in Japan in its second week (taking its total physical sales in the region to over 517,000 units).
On its surface, Pikmin is a cute strategy game about growing little plant people and gathering treasure. Delve deeper into its lore, however, and you'll find fans debating the series' apparent commentary on human extinction, and all sorts of timey-wimey shenanigans going on to make its many story elements match up.
Nintendo has released a new accolades trailer, this time for Pikmin 4. Its long-awaited sequel in the Pikmin series was recently released for Nintendo Switch and garnered exceptional praise from critics. Check out some of it below.
It may be hard to picture it, but it’s already been a week since the release of Pikmin 4. Yeah, where does the time go? We honestly don’t know, but the truth is that the game has been in the works for a long time, so it’s a relief to finally see it out in the wild. Despite the game being the fourth in a series, many people are hoping that this would be the game to “breakthrough” the wall that has been labeling it a “niche franchise” for some time and open it up to all manner of players.
Poise for the win.
Pikmin 4 has enjoyed a bumper debut in Japan. The long-awaited real-time strategy sequel released for the Nintendo Switch last week, and with three days on the market, topped the latest weekly charts for physical sales in Japan, as per data released by Famitsu. It’s also the biggest ever launch for a Pikmin game in Japan to date, exceeding what Pikmin 3 Deluxe managed upon its release for the Switch in 2020 (over 171,000 physical units sold upon release).
With a whopping nine varieties of Pikmin that can be found and used in Pikmin 4, there is almost always a Pikmin for the job. The further you get into the game, however, the more niche they become. None are quite as niche as the Winged Pikmin, however. Even after landing 100% in the base game, you only encounter these pink wonders once.
Pikmin 4 introduced arguably the most powerful variety of Pikmin – the Glow Pikmin. These green ghosts make every other Pikmin seem pointless because they do just about everything, and they do it very well. The catch with these little critters is that you can only use them at night during Night Expeditions.
Elden Ring patch 1.10 will be deployed later today on July 27.