Tales of News, Tips, Tricks & Ideas

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Tales of Hearts R, Tales of Xillia 2, and Tales of Symphonia Chronicles were recently delisted from the PlayStation Store in North America without any previous warning from Bandai Namco. The sudden delisting also affected Bandai Namco games from the Tales of series in other areas such as Europe and Japan.

Mutsumi Inomata, an illustrator who served as the main character designer on a number of mainline Tales of series titles, passed away on March 10 at age 63, her official Twitter account announced. A cause of death was not shared.

Here’s the rub: Metroidvanias are dime a dozen these days. We’ve only just got done with the exceptional Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, and now Surgent Studios is following it up with Tales of Kenzera: ZAU on 23rd April. This is being billed as a “heartfelt” adventure about the “transformative power of loss”, as you assume the role of a grieving hero hellbent on bringing back your father from the dead.

Publisher Electronic Arts and developer Surgent Studios have released the gameplay reveal trailer for side-scrolling platformer Tales of Kenzera: ZAU.

Fantasy role playing game Tales of Arise has sold three million copies ahead of arriving on the PlayStation Plus Games Catalog and Xbox Game Pass.

Almost two weeks after announcing that it sold 2.7 million units, Bandai Namco’s Tales of Arise has reached over three million players. The action RPG launched in September 2021 for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PS4, Xbox One and PC, and recently joined PlayStation Plus Extra/Premium and Game Pass.

Total worldwide shipments and digital sales for Tales of Arise have surpassed three million units, Bandai Namco announced. The achievement comes 21 months after the announcement that the game sold two million units.

Microsoft has revealed the titles they’ll be adding to Xbox Game Pass on PC and consoles in late February and very early March, and it’s a varied lineup. Madden NFL 24 released on Game Pass earlier this month, but now it can be played via the cloud. Players can also look forward to Bandai Namco RPG Tales of Arise, Warhammer 40K: Bolt Gun, and more. Of course, if you have kids, your Xbox will likely be monopolized by them playing Bluey: The Video Game.

Bandai Namco’s epic RPG Tales of Arise is now available on Xbox Game Pass. It will be joined this month by the adorable Bluey: The Videogame, Indivisible, and Space Engineers among other titles, according to Xbox Wire.

Microsoft has announced new titles coming to Xbox Game Pass in late February, which includes Tales of Arise, Indivisible, Space Engineers, and more.

I recently had the pleasure to speak with Abubakar Salim, founder of Surgent Studios and creative director of Tales of Kenzera: Zau, about founding his gaming studio and how his childhood, grief, and becoming a father were essential building blocks in the development of Tales of Kenzera: Zau coming to PS5 April 23. Listen to the full interview below.

If you were watching the 2023 Game Awards, you would have seen the stunning announcement trailer for an upcoming game from Surgent Studios, Tales of Kenzera: Zau. With beautiful art, stunning gameplay footage, and hints at an even more beautiful story, Tales of Kenzera: Zau will be one of the best games released in 2024 and will leave a massive impact on the gaming community.

Microsoft has yet to officially unveil the next set of games coming to the Xbox Game Pass subscription service. Typically, we receive two waves of titles that are added to the service each month. We already have the first wave of games confirmed, with the majority of those titles being released, but it looks like Bandai Namco Entertainment has confirmed Tales of Arise will be one of the games on the list for Microsoft’s second wave. 

The lineup of games being added to Game Pass’ library over the course of February was revealed earlier in the month, and though it was already looking quite strong with the likes of Resident Evil 3, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, and more, another major title has now been confirmed to be joining the service’s ranks.

Sony has announced the next range of titles coming to PlayStation Plus Extra and Premium starting on February 20th. Subscribers in both tiers get access to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Roguebook and Tales of Arise on PS4 and PS5. It’s worth noting that Tales of Arise will also be coming to Game Pass on the same day.

February’s Game Catalog lineup for PlayStation Plus brings together racing thrills, sci-fi adventure and a selection of entries from a classic RPG series. Take to the streets in Need for Speed Unbound, blast off into space in The Outer Worlds: Spacer’s Choice Edition, then experience some acclaimed RPG fantasy action in the Tales of… series. These and many more titles are playable from February 20. Let’s take a closer look at each game in turn. 

An upcoming farming sim will take place in a magical world of spirits and monsters where you restore a deteriorating countryside inn and explore the town and region populated by people, monsters, and more.  The game plans to launch with cooperative play, and it'll also have a neat-looking twist: By wearing ancient masks, you can use the power of creatures and monsters—one example is using the rooting power of a boar to till fields.

ACE Entertainment has released a four-minute gameplay trailer for Tales of Seikyu, its upcoming oriental fantasy-style farming simulation adventure game.

Tales of Kenzaru: ZAU is an action adventure platformer that was announced during The Game Awards. The game is about dealing with loss with the themes of the story drawn from Abubakar Salim’s, founder of Surgent Studios, own experience of life after losing his father. Tales of Kenzaru: ZAU is a roguelike too, so there will be challenges to overcome.

Last night brought a first look at Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a personal project from Abubakar Salim — the voice of Bayek in Assassin's Creed Origins and star of HBO's Raised by Wolves.

EA have announced Tales of Kenzera: Zau, a side-scrolling metroidvania from Surgent Studios, the developer founded by voice actor Abubakar Salim. It's being published under the EA Originals label, and is inspired by the myths of African Bantu cultures. It's also something of a memorial project, shaped by Salim's own experiences of grief, though you might not get that impression from the trailer, which is a blaze of magical battles and aerial stunts.

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The Game Awards are packed with eager looks at highly anticipated games, but the ceremony is full of plenty of surprises too. One of them is a flashy Metroidvania called Tales of Kenzera: Zau, the debut game from Surgent Studios.

The Game Awards 2023 has revealed yet another upcoming game, and this time, it is Tales of Kenzera Zau, a thrilling metroidvania that seeks to explore grief in a new way. 

Every once in a while, we get to see a pretty original game take the stage at The Game Awards 2023. And Tales of Kenzera: ZAU certainly seems like it’s taking a fresh look at its genre inspirations, bringing something new to action-platforming next April.

The next game from EA Originals, Tales of Kenzera: Zau, got a gorgeous first look at today's Game Awards, along with a release date: April 23, 2024.

Developer Surgent Studios has announced its new side-scrolling action game at The Game Awards 2023, focusing quite a bit on the developer’s African heritage for its themes. Titled Tales of Kenzera: ZAU, the trailer shows off quite a bit of the game’s hack-and-slash gameplay, as well as traversal abilities. Check out the trailer below.

The EA Originals label has put out a pretty solid collection of games from smaller indie studios over the years, so there’s always interest in what it’ll have lined up next, and it seems the next game to be released under the label has been leaked.

Tales of Kenzera: ZAU from Surgent Studios under the EA Originals labels has supposedly leaked ahead of an official announcement.

The expansion for Tales of Arise, Beyond the Dawn has been two years in the making. And while it doesn’t hit all the notes, it’s a fitting addition to an already fantastic RPG.

The perfect combination for Lord of the Rings and tabletop game fans is Magic: The Gathering. The Universes Beyond crossover from Magic introduces the world of Tolkien to the universe of Magic, bringing new artwork and new character versions and breathing new life into both Magic and Lord of the Rings.

Softstar Entertainment has announced Tales of Three Kingdoms: The Mortal World, a 2.5D turn-based RPG coming to PC via Steam in 2024.

Two years after its release in September 2021, Tales of Arise gets a new expansion in Beyond the Dawn, the first DLC for a Tales game that serves as a direct continuation of the game's main story.

Tales of Arise enjoyed solid critical reception upon its release a couple of years ago, and the action RPG has continued to sell well in the time since then. At last count, as of April last year, the game had sold over 2 million copies worldwide, and now, Bandai Namco has provided another update on its sales figures.

Over two years since its release, Tales of Arise’s first expansion, Beyond the Dawn, is available on Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5 and PC. Set after the main story, it sees Alphen, Shionne, and their allies encountering the mysterious Nazamil. As the daughter of a Renan Lord and Dahnan Slave, they seek to protect her and perhaps change her fate. Check out the launch trailer below, though be warned of spoilers for the base game.

When Tales of Arise dropped in 2021, producer Yusuke Tomizawa confirmed at the time that the game would not be getting any story expansions via DLC or updates. That seemed like a fine deal, at the time – Tales games aren’t exactly known for getting post-launch expansions, and it had a pretty satisfying narrative conclusion that left a smile on my face. Sure, the ramifications of the ending left some big ideas unexplored, but they felt more like inconsequential background details when compared to the character-driven drama that was really pushing things along. Despite a satisfying conclusion and promises of no DLC continuation, a massive post-game DLC has now arrived for Tales of Arise called Beyond the Dawn, and while it’s nice to be able to return to this world and these characters, I’m still not fully convinced we needed to.

A new trailer for Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn has arrived. The expansion is out in just under a month, and as the name suggests, it depicts a world that's busy rebuilding after the events of the main game. This latest video shows a bit more of what you'll be doing in the DLC outside of its central story, with quests that detail the post-credit happenings of characters and cities. It also looks like Alphen and the gang will be called upon to help with the aforementioned rebuild.

Bandai Namco has released a new trailer for the upcoming Beyond the Dawn DLC for Tales of Arise. The trailer (check it out below) showcases the introductory quests for the DLC.

Bandai Namco has released a new trailer for Tales of Arise expansion “Beyond the Dawn,” introducing some of the new sub quests players will be able to experience.

You will want to know where the Assassin’s Creed Mirage Tales of Baghdad locations are in order to complete all six tales.

Publisher Private Division and developer Wētā Workshop have announced Tales of the Shire, a brand new game in the Lord of the Rings universe. Coming to PC and consoles sometime in 2024, it's described as a «heart-warming» new game all about your «cosy Hobbit life». The above new teaser trailer has just been unveiled, and certainly gives off those vibes.

Cozy games have carved a chill little niche for themselves, and you don’t get much cozier than the Shire. The home of the Hobbits is the subject of a new game from publisher Private Division and developer Weta Workshop. The two paired up to announce Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game, currently planned for 2024. 

In August of last year, Private Division and New Zealand-based studio Weta Workshop that they were collaborating on a new game set in the Lord of the Rings universe. That game has now been officially unveiled as Tales of the Shire: A Lord of the Rings Game.

Tales of the Shire is a cozy new game set in The Lord of the Rings universe and it's coming out sometime next year. Developed by Wētā Workshop, the New Zealand-based special effects and props company that worked on Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings movie trilogy, and published by Private Division, Tales of the Shire promises to let players live their best cozy Hobbit life. 

Weta Workshop is entering the video games industry with a new video game based on The Lord of the Rings, named Tales of the Shire.

The scourge of Cosy/Cozy Gaming has finally come for Middle-earth, and more specifically the Shire, which I guess was pretty cosy/cozy to begin with. Wētā Workshop and Private Division have announced Tales of the Shire, a "heart-warming" experience that will release on PC in 2024. I've got a live action trailer for you, in which a young person doodles pictures of Hobbits, while seated at a desk intriguingly strewn with modern appliances such as laptops and assorted Lord of the Rings paraphernalia. The book she's doodling in contains sketches of celebrated locations such as the Green Dragon pub in Bywater, and there are drawings of dolls, Hobbit-holes and onions. Take a peek!

A new Lord of the Rings game, Tales of the Shire, has been announced for PC and consoles.

A cosy new hobbit-based Lord of the Rings spinoff game has been teased by Wētā Workshop and Private Division. Yes, it is actually happening.

An official teaser trailer has been released for Tales of the Shire, offering the first insight into what we can expect from a new Lord of the Rings game from Wētā Workshop and Private Division. 

Today, New Zealand studio Wētā Workshop unveiled Tales of the Shire, its previously announced game set in Middle-earth. Not much has been shared about it other than the fact it'll be a 'cozy and heartwarming' game, as evidenced by the artwork and the teaser trailer. It's likely players will be asked to tend to their Hobbit farms and gardens rather than fighting orcs.

Publisher Private Division and developer Weta Workshop have announced Tales of the Shire: A The Lord of the Rings Game for consoles and PC. It will launch in 2024. Specific consoles were not announced.

Unlike similar expansions released for the Tales of series in the past, the Tales of Arise: Beyond The Dawn expansion isn't going to feature new tools with which to fight off enemies, according to the game's producer.

A new video has been released showcasing the upcoming Beyond the Dawn expansion for Tales of Arise. The expansion, which was originally unveiled just last week with a trailer, will revolve around what the party of heroes has been up to since finishing the base game’s story, as well as a young girl named Nazamil.

Take a look at an exclusive new clip of the upcoming story expansion for Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn. The expansion takes place one year after the events of Tales of Arise and follows a young girl named Nazamil as the main party of six find her by chance. The story will also explore what the party has been up to since.

In 2021, Bandai Namco’s Tales of Arise took home the award for Best Role Playing Game at The Game Awards. Since its release, it has gone on to sell over 2 million copies across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox.

Announced during Sony's latest State of Play, Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is a story-driven expansion for 2021's Tales of Arise. It takes place roughly one year after the events of the base game, which obviously leads to a lot of questions regarding the DLC's structure. Fortunately, Bandai Namco general producer Yusuke Tomizawa has detailed what we can expect over on the official PlayStation Blog.

Well, now we know what that trademark was all about! Announced during Sony's latest State of Play showcase, Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is a full-on story-based expansion for Tales of Arise, the 2021 action RPG that we were really rather fond of. Beyond the dawn releases later this year, on the 9th November.

Tales of Arise is getting a surprise, new expansion called Beyond the Dawn, two years after the game launched.

Tales of Arise, the latest entry in the JRPG series developed by Bandai Namco, is getting expanded in a little over a month with the Beyond the Dawn expansion.

Bandai Namco's hit action-RPG is getting new DLC story content called Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn and it release on November 9, 2023.

Bandai Namco has announced Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn, a large-scale expansion to the September 2021-released action RPG Tales of Arise. It will launch on November 9.

At today’s surprisingly brief State of Play online event, Sony revealed a diminutive slate of titles that are sure to please gamers in coming months. Bandai Namco showed off Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn, a direct follow-up to 2021’s Tales of Arise that is due to arrive later this year.

Two years after launch, Tales of Arise is getting another slice of story. Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn looks to add more onto the tale of Dahna and Rena on November 9, 2023.

Here's one that wasn't on the bingo card: Tales of Arise, Bandai Namco's 2021 RPG hit, is getting an unexpected expansion two years after the game first came out.

Bandai Namco has announced a standalone sequel to Tales of Arise, titled Beyond the Dawn. Tales of Arise: Beyond the Dawn is slated for release on November 9. The sequel was revealed with a new trailer during PlayStation’s recent State of Play. Check it out below.

We are honored to announce Tales of Arise – Beyond the Dawn. Through this expansion players will enjoy a story that depicts the world after the main story of Tales of Arise, which was released in September 2021.

Bandai Namco’s Tokyo Game Show 2023 line-up and livestream schedule have been revealed. The former includes titles like Blue Protocol, SAND LAND, Sword Art Online: Last Recollection and My Hero Ultra Rumble, all on stage. Some titles like Tekken 8 and Synduality: Echo of Ada will also appear on stage while being playable for attendees, whileTales of Arise will have an online-only appearance.

A brand new short story, ”Teeth of the Plague”is now out, concluding the Diablo IV  Tales of Sanctuary series.

Starfield is finally set for release on September 6th, and there are three new Starfield-related animated shorts in an anthology series called “The Settled Systems”. Each centers around different protagonists and gives us a peek into the cities in the systems.