Gaming Bolt News, Tips, Tricks, Ideas

Moon Studios’ action RPG No Rest for the Wicked, currently in Steam Early Access, has received a new hotfix. Hotfix 4 offers one performance improvement, fixing a GPU culling leak, but adjusts several gameplay features. One of the most important is that Bounties and Challenges will no longer be deleted if you abandon them, which is excellent news.

Gunfire Games’ latest paid DLC for Remnant 2 is live with The Forgotten Kingdom, with players exploring a new biome in Yaesha. Check out the launch trailer below, which outlines the new environments and enemies.

In 2021, we commented on the development of Cygames’ Project Awakening and how Granblue Fantasy: Relink wasn’t the only action RPG taking a while to cook. Fast-forward to 2024 and while Relink has done well for itself, the former is still nowhere to be seen. Fortunately, the development team updated fans on Twitter, assuring them that the game hasn’t been cancelled.

Rabbit and Bear Studios’ Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series, is now available. It’s playable on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC (along with Game Pass). Check out the launch trailer below, highlighting the different heroes and villains that players will encounter.

A new trailer is available for Bungie’s Destiny 2: The Final Shape, with the returning Cayde-6 (voiced by Nathan Fillion), outlining his experience waking up inside the Traveler. Far from the afterlife, the former Hunter Vanguard recognizes that The Witness is infecting it and consuming it from within.

With all the twists and turns that Honkai: Star Rail’s Penacony storyline has seen, many assumed Firefly (voiced by Analesa Fisher) would become a playable character. miHoYo has confirmed the same in new “Extraterrestrial Satellite Communication” splash art. As a limited 5-star character, she deals Fire damage and follows the Path of the Destruction.

SNK has released a fighting guide for Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves ahead of EVO Japan 2024, outlining all the mechanics players should know. The REV System is the central focus, but there’s also the return of Just Defense and Hyper Defense from Garou: Mark of the Wolves.

Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora came and went without making too much of a mark for a great many people who played it, but developer Massive Entertainment has continued to put out new patches for the open world title since its launch in December, with another one now having gone live in the form of Title Update 3.2.

There are many reasons to look forward to Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, Atlus’s enhanced version of its acclaimed 2021 RPG. However, one of the biggest wildcards is perhaps Yoko Hiromine. The new character isn’t just essential to the story – she’s also controllable during combat.

With EVO Japan set for April 27th to 29th, SNK has released a new guide for those checking out the Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves demo. The sequel to 1999’s Garou: Mark of the Wolves features several new and returning characters, plus new mechanics like the REV System.

Since it launched on Nintendo Switch in 2021, there have been rumors and anticipation for Shin Megami Tensei 5 on other platforms. It’s finally happening with Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance, launching this Summer for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC (along with Switch).

Hot off its showcase for Metaphor: ReFantazio, where it revealed cities, exploration, dungeons and whatnot, Atlus has announced Atlus Fes for June 8th and 9th in Bellesalle Akihabara, Tokyo, from 10 AM to 6 PM JST. It will feature playable demos forReFantazio and evenShin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance.

Veteran Atlus artist and character designer Kazuma Kaneko has left the Japanese company. Kaneko departed in 2023, ending a tenure that lasted 35 years, joining Tokyo-based publisher and developer COLOPL. He revealed the same in an official interview recently published by his new employer.

If you’ve held off on playing Shin Megami Tensei 5 since its launch for the Nintendo Switch in 2021, your patience is set to be rewarded. Not only is the upcoming Shin Megami Tensei 5: Vengeance set to bring Atlus’ acclaimed RPG to non-Switch platforms, it will also bring with it a truckload of new content in the form of a new playable character, over 75 hours of additional gameplay, and much more. Also included in that deluge of additions is a host of new music- which, of course, is always a crucial part of Atlus-developed games.

Along with announcing an October release date for Metaphor: ReFantazio, Atlus has revealed a bunch of new details on the fantasy RPG’s combat and dungeons, cities and exploration, and much more. In addition to that, with pre-orders for the title going live today, the company has also revealed a physical Collector’s Edition that players will have the option of picking up.

Atlus broadcast a digital showcase for Metaphor: ReFantazio, its next big role-playing game, outlining its different elements. To kick things off, developer Studio Zero revealed that it will launch on October 11th worldwide. Check out the trailer below.

First-person action RPG Dead Island 2 is out now on Steam.Dead Island 2, originally released back in April 2023, first came to PC exclusively via the Epic Games Store. Having spent a full year exclusive to the digital distribution platform, Dead Island 2 is now also available on Steam.

As promised, developer Weta Workshop and publisher Private Division have premiered the debut trailer for Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game, their upcoming life sim title, showcasing glimpses of its cozy setting, art style, core mechanics, and more.

Riot Games has released a new trailer for its upcoming fighting game 2XKO, this time around, offering up an in-depth look at a new addition to the game’s roster—Illaoi, the Kraken Priestess. Check out the trailer below.

Developer Passtech Games has released a major new update for Ravenswatch. Titled the Fall of Avalon, the update was originally announced earlier this month during the Triple-i Initiative showcase. Check out the new trailer celebrating the update’s release below.

Sony’s multiplatform release strategy has accelerated rapidly in recent years, with the company now viewing PC as a much more prominent part of its larger strategy, especially where live service titles are concerned. Earlier this year, for instance, Helldivers 2 launched simultaneously for PS5 and PC, and it’s fair to say that the majority of game’s unexpected success has been thanks to PC audiences. Now, interestingly enough, it looks like Sony might be considering ways to bring even larger audiences into Arrowhead Game Studios’ acclaimed co-op shooter.

Developer FuturLab has announced that PowerWash Simulator has been played by 12 million players. Celebrating the milestone, the studio states that the game’s various collaboration DLC releases, including ones with SpongeBob SquarePants, Back to the Future, and Warhammer 40,000, had a hand in hitting the number.

Sega has declared 2024 the year of Shadow the Hedgehog, which means fans of the Ultimate Lifeform (as he likes to be referred to) have plenty to look forward to in the coming months. That, of course, includes Keanu Reeves voicing him in Sonic the Hedgehog 3, which will release in theaters worldwide this December, but Sonic fans in the gaming space won’t be left behind either.

Atlus has shared extensive new details on Metaphor: ReFantazio with a deep dive showcase dedicated to the upcoming fantasy RPG. Along with announcing an October launch date for the title, the developer has also offered new information on what to expect from the game’s overarching structure, the locations you’ll be visiting across its fantasy setting, and more.

Iron Gate Studios has released its latest and most challenging region for Valheim yet with Ashlands. Available for public testing on Steam, the penultimate biome sports lava everywhere, the menacing Valkyrie and other horrors, though there’s new armor and weapons to make it worthwhile. Check out the first gameplay trailer below.

After nearly a year of layoffs and companies like Saber Interactive and Gearbox Entertainment departing, the Embracer Group has announced that it will split into three publicly listed companies operating as standalone entities. The companies in question are Asmodee Group, Coffee Stain and Friends and Middle-earth Enterprises and Friends.

Shift Up’s previous trailer for Stellar Blade highlighted the Beta Skills that Eve could unleash on the Naytiba, but the latest showcases Burst Skills. These are even stronger abilities that require Burst Energy but unleash even more devastating (and impossibly stylish) attacks. Check out some of them below.

Fallout games have enjoyed considerable boosts in terms of sales and player numbers over the last week or so, thanks to the success of Amazon Prime’s Fallout series, and that continued over the weekend. Fallout 76, in fact, once again hit a new all-time peak of concurrent players on Steam on Sunday, surpassing its previous record of over 39,000 players (which it set last week), and nearly doubling it to land at 73,368 concurrent players (via SteamDB).

Since before Sonic Frontiers even launched, Sega made it abundantly clear that future instalments in the franchise would be building on the foundations laid down by the open world platformer, and with Frontiers having sold as well as it did, it’s safe to assume that the company is probably sticking to those plans. In fact, a direct sequel to Sonic Frontiers seems to be in development.

After Aventurine’s event banner recently went live in Honkai: Star Rail, miHoYo has confirmed that Version 2.2’s Special Program livestream will air on April 26th at 4:30 AM PST. It will introduce new characters, Boothill and Robin while previewing the next main storyline, events and other rewards.

Konami and Bloober Team have been unnervingly quiet about Silent Hill 2’s upcoming remake, but though official details have been hard to come by, some interesting new tidbits have seemingly emerged that hint at changes being made to the game behind the scenes based on feedback from fans.

Xur has returned in Bungie’s Destiny 2, which is seeing an uptick of interest thanks to Into the Light. He’s in the Arcadian Valley on Nessus until the next weekly reset and carries Exotics like Skyburner’s Oath, an Energy scout rifle.

By splitting up Final Fantasy 7’s story across a trilogy of full-fledged games with its ongoing remake trilogy, Square Enix has been able to flesh out its world and characters much more than it would have been able to do with a more conventional remake. Where the latter are concerned, that has also included entirely new characters who weren’t part of the story in the original game itself, coming in the form of secondary members of the cast who still end up having fairly important roles to play.

Respawn Entertainment’sStar Wars Jedi: Survivor will be available for EA Play subscribers on April 25th. Of course, it’s also playable for PC Game Pass and Game Pass Ultimate members.

Microsoft has announced another edition of the ID@Xbox Digital Showcase, its annual event focused on indie games, which is returning a week from now, on April 29, at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET / 6 PM BST.

Slavic Magic’s medieval city-builder Manor Lords has hit a new wishlist milestone before its Steam Early Access launch and has hit a new wishlist milestone. After reaching two million wishlists as of January 2024 and crossing 2.5 million earlier this month, it’s now at a whopping three million.

During a recent showcase, Atlus announced an October release date for Metaphor: ReFantazio, which was followed by an extensive deep dive detailing various elements that players can look forward to in the upcoming fantasy RPG.

2020’s Watch Dogs: Legion was considered by many to be a dip for Ubisoft’s open world franchise, with its “play as any NPC” premise not having landed the way many had hoped it would, but four years on, questions about the future of the franchise are growing louder by the day. It seems, however, that the franchise has no future- not for some time to come, at any rate.

Moon Studios’ No Rest for the Wicked launched into Steam Early Access last Thursday and received a mixed response due to various issues, including performance. Nevertheless, the development team has been quick to address many of these. Its second hotfix is now available, improving the overall performance of rendering, visual effects and fog.

While Square Enix recently released the benchmark tool for the upcoming Final Fantasy 14: Dawntrail, producer and director Naoki Yoshida has taken to a blog post on the game’s official website to reveal that the software will be getting a new version to improve what has been described by players as the “lifeless eyes” of characters.

Given the reputation Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door continues to enjoy to this day, two decades on from its GameCube launch, the level of excitement surrounding the release of its upcoming Nintendo Switch remake isn’t surprising in the slightest. And as the RPG draws closer to launch, Nintendo is continuing to show more bits and pieces.

Developer Pieces Interactive and publisher THQ Nordic have released a new trailer for horror game Alone in the Dark, celebrating the positive responses the game has received from certain outlets and critics. You can check it out below.

While Destiny 2’s free Into the Light update has received positive feedback from fans, there have been concerns over how long the content will remain. Onslaught will shift to the Vanguard Ops playlist once The Final Shape launches, but what about everything else?

Arrowhead Game Studios CEO Johan Pilestedt believes that the studio will have to simultaneously add more content to Helldivers 2, while also fixing any issues that players might encounter in order for the game, to “stay relevant”. Responding to a thread on Reddit, Pilestedt talked about how the studio has been working towards this goal.

A new short trailer for Shift Up’s Stellar Blade is available, focusing on the different Beta Skills wielded by Eve. These will look familiar to those who played the free demo, but it’s still a stylish showcase for some of Eve’s stronger skills. Check out the trailer below.

Just under 10 years since its release, LittleBigPlanet 3‘s servers have been taken down. Sony confirmed that the servers for the game, which were originally offline temporarily in January 2024, will be kept offline indefinitely.

When The Wolf Among Us 2 was re-announced five years ago, many had hoped that the game would finally have a smooth development cycle on the road to launch, but it has hit a number of significant stumbles behind-the-scenes since that time, and that launch has continued to be pushed back. Recently, developer Telltale Games broke months of silence on the game by sharing four new gameplay screenshots, accompanying which, the developer has also issued a brief statement.

The second paid DLC for Gunfire Games’ Remnant 2, The Forgotten Kingdom, sees players returning to Yaesha to combat Lydusa, a wrathful stone spirit. There are new weapons, mods, rings and amulets to collect and bosses to tackle, but perhaps most exciting is the new Archetype – the Invoker. The developer outlines the new class and its powerful abilities in a new trailer – check it out below.

11 bit Studios’ Frostpunk 2 isn’t even out yet but is garnering praise for its recent beta. A new accolades trailer highlights what critics think of the social survival sequel. Check it out below.

Tales of Kenzera: Zau has been on many radars since its announcement at The Game Awards last December, and now, with its launch right around the corner, EA – which is publishing the indie title under its EA Originals label – has released a launch trailer to hype up its release. Check it out below.

With Destiny 2’s The Final Shape raid out on June 7th, players will have minimal time to prepare. Thankfully, the Fireteam Finder tool will be in place to help find other players without venturing outside of the title, like with previous raids. Bungie has confirmed that the feature has exited the beta stage.

Before its next showcase for Granblue Fantasy: Relink on April 25th, Cygames has confirmed that Seofon and Tweyen will be added to the roster for free on April 26th. The stream will provide a “deep dive” into Version 1.2.0 and likely reveal new content tied to the two Eternals.

Ubisoft and developer Massive Entertainment haven’t spoken as much about Star Wars Outlaws’ space sections as they have about its many planets and moons and the gameplay opportunities they will present, but what little has been said so far has certainly indicated that the game’s grand scale and ambition will be reflected in the parts of its intergalactic map where protagonist Kay Vess will be piloting her ship, the Trailblazer.

Star Wars Outlaws’ promise of a vast map where players are able to seamless travel from open world planets and moons into outer space has been one of its more enticing aspects, but there’s still plenty yet that we don’t know about when it comes to what kind of content and gameplay opportunities the game’s space areas will bring. Developer Massive Entertainment has said that space in Star Wars Outlaws will be “full of things to do”– but what things exactly?

Ori developer Moon Studios launched No Rest for the Wicked into Steam Early Access yesterday, and it’s seen mixed impressions from players for various reasons. These include performance issues, lack of key rebinding in-game, untranslated text, etc.

Bungie’s next expansion for Destiny 2, The Final Shape, launches on June 4th. As the conclusion to the Light and Darkness saga, it sees players venturing into the Pale Heart of the Traveller to defeat The Witness. Alongside a single-player campaign, players can partake in a new raid as the final battle against The Witness.

Dragon’s Dogma 2 has no shortage of devious tricks up its sleeve with which to take players by surprise in the meanest way possible, but none of them can hold a candle to Dragonsplague. The disease is contracted by Pawns and is highly contagious, which means Pawns can infect other players’ games if summoned, and if signs of the disease are ignored, the results can be (literally) catastrophic.

Stardew Valley’s 1.6 update led to new peak concurrent records on Steam, with a whopping 236,614 players jumping in last month, per SteamDB. Developer Eric “ConcernedApe” Barone has since released update 1.6.4, which contains bug fixes and improvements but also packs 40 new mine layouts.

Releasing for PlayStation and Windows in 2021, Kena: Bridge of Spirits was one of the highlights of its year, but nearly three years on from release Ember Lab’s acclaimed action-adventure title has still yet to make its way over to additional platforms. That, however, could be changing soon, if a recent age rating is anything to go by.

Square Enix’s Visions of Mana is the next big title in the long-running action RPG series, with a story focused on Val as he accompanies his friend Hinna to the Tree of Mana. Combat incorporates special abilities via Elemental Vessels, which can also result in different classes. However, it won’t have one thing that the series is renowned for: Co-op multiplayer.

World of Warcraft executive producer Holly Longdale has revealed that the studio still has discussions about a possible console release for the MMORPG. Speaking to VGC in an interview, Longdale didn’t necessarily rule out a possible console release for World of Warcraft.

Developer Owlcat has released a new trailer for its sci-fi RPG Warhammer 40,000: Rogue Trader, which released in December. The trailer is essentially a guide highlighting one of the game’s lesser talked-about aspects, showcasing the game’s space combat between spaceships. Check it out below.

Plenty of long-awaited video games remain in development for years, seeing starts, stops and even restarts. Telltale Games’ The Wolf Among Us 2 is no exception, but like the Big Bad Wolf himself, it’s still kicking. Summer Game Fest and The Game Awards host Geoff Keighley announced that the project has entered production and shared some new images.

Less than a month after having released the Beach Properties DLC for Cities: Skylines 2, Colossal Order CEO Mariina Hallikainen and Paradox Interactive deputy CEO Mattias Lilja have taken to the game’s forums to offer an apology for the state of the game, as well as for the poor state of the DLC. The DLC, which at the time of writing currently sits with aggregated Steam user reviews of Overwhelmingly Negative, with only 4 percent of reviews being positive, is being turned into a free DLC and those who purchased it are being refunded.

Alongside offering a lengthy apology for the state of Cities: Skylines 2 as well as its recently-released Beach Properties DLC, CEO of developer Colossal Order, Mariina Hallikainen, and Paradox Interactive deputy CEO Mattias Lilja, have revealed that the console release of the city builder is being pushed back.

This will not come as a surprise to anyone, given the widespread acclaim that Amazon Prime’s Fallout series has enjoyed since it premiered in full last week, but the show has now been officially greenlit for a second season.

Ubisoft and Massive Entertainment are promising an expansive open world experience with the upcoming Star Wars Outlaws, which is being billed as the ultimate scoundrel fantasy, and though that will involve a lot of juggling of different criminal syndicates and maintaining your reputation with each different faction, that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find the time to sit down and, say, play some cards.

Moon Studios delivered two excellent Metroidvanias with its Ori games, and though its next project, No Rest for the Wicked, is heading in an entirely different direction, it’s also looked increasingly promising. The action RPG has, of course, launched in early access on Steam, giving players the chance to dive in and see how the experience is shaping up, and as detailed by Moon Studios co-founder Gennadiy Korol, it’s already got plenty of meat on the bone.

Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 is out this year, and while Warhorse Studios’ first title had a massive scale, the sequel is much bigger. The developer revealed it’s “twice as big” as the first game, with two maps to explore. Coupled with a story that sees Henry of Skalitz involved in the “problems of kings,” there’s much to look forward to.

Red Hook Studios’ acclaimed roguelike turn-based RPG Darkest Dungeon 2 is finally launching for PlayStation. After launching last year on PC on the back of an extended early access period, the game will be releasing for PS5 and PS4 on July 15, Red Hook Studios announced in a PlayStation Blog post. Check out the game’s PlayStation announcement trailer below.

Warhorse Studios finally announced Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 after various rumors, and it sees Henry of Skalitz returning as the protagonist. The open-world action RPG has a much larger scale than its predecessor, with spokesperson Tobias Stolz-Zwilling calling it a “behemoth” of a game that’s “twice the size” of the original.

Stunlock Studios’ V Rising exits early access next month for PC, and while the Legacy of Castlevania content is getting attention, the launch update features tons of other new content. It includes the Ruins of Mortium, an end-game zone where players battle the Legion of Noctum, Dracula’s generals and eventually the head bloodsucker himself.

EA Sports and Codemasters have released the first gameplay footage for F1 24, the next title in its long-running racing sim series. It showcases some stunning visuals and the legendary Max Verstappen himself. Check it out below.

After rumors and an accidental trailer leak, Warhorse Studios and Deep Silver have officially announced Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2. The sequel to the 2018 open-world action RPG launches this year for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Check out the announcement trailer and 14-minute gameplay reveal below.

Baldur’s Gate 3 has been the biggest success story Larian Studios has seen to date, having enjoyed universal critical acclaim and impressive sales to match, but with its next steps, the developer is looking to head into uncharted territories. Larian founder and Baldur’s Gate 3 director Swen Vincke revealed last month that the studio’s next game wouldn’t be related to the Dungeons and Dragons IP, and the team has now provided further tidbits on where it’s headed next.

As it celebrates Baldur’s Gate 3 winning Game of the Year at the BAFTA Games Awards, Larian Studios is prepping for its next big patch. Patch 7 adds improved evil endings to the experience and promises “even darker conclusions” for the “most sinister playthroughs,” even if you’re not playing as The Dark Urge. It then posted two short GIFs of new cutscenes for the evil endings (be warned of spoilers).

Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t receive any paid expansions, and Larian isn’t keen on developing a sequel, but that doesn’t mean fans can’t look forward to more updates. Patch 7 is in the works, and alongside the improved evil endings, with new cutscenes and music, it also marks the arrival of official modding tools.

Bethesda’s Fallout games are continuing to benefit from the ongoing resurgence of interest in all things Fallout, courtesy of Amazon Prime’s recently-released acclaimed adaptation.

The latest update forDying Light 2 Stay Human is pretty massive, adding Nightmare Mode, its new highest difficulty. However, there are also several night-time changes, Gear Loadouts, visual improvements and more.

Rabbit and Bear Studios’ Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes launches next week, nearly four years since its Kickstarter went live. As a spiritual successor to Suikoden helmed by the series’ creative leadership, it’s highly anticipated, especially among old-school RPG fans. However, even before its release, the developer has confirmed it’s “moving forward” with a sequel.