The new Edens Zero game will appear on PS5, on top of the previously announced Xbox Series X and Windows PC. Konami first unveiled the game during the October 2024 Xbox Partner Preview showcase.

Here’s a trailer for the upcoming Edens Zero game:

This is the same trailer from the showcase. It shows off some of the special moves that the main characters will be able to use, as well as some scenes from the story. In terms of the genre, it’ll be an action RPG. From the trailer, it seems like you’ll be able to chain together combos and play as multiple different characters, and more information on its battle system will likely appear closer to its release date. There will be an original story with lots of exploration. According to a press release, you’ll be able to travel all around Blue Garden.

Hiro Mashima and Kodansha—the original author and the publishing company—supervised the game during its production. This is to maintain accuracy to the source material. Aside from his work on Edens Zero, Mashima’s better known as the manga author and artist of Fairy Tail, which is one of the best-selling manga of all time. He also wrote Rave Master and contributed illustrations to media like Bakemonogatari.

The Edens Zero video game will come out in 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. There is an official website as well, though it's pretty barebones at the moment.

The post Edens Zero Game Will Come Out on PS5 As Well appeared first on Siliconera.

HoYoVerse shared new details about three Honkai: Star Rail characters in a Genius Society report, and among the discussed individuals is the secretive Polka Kakamond. While she’s been referenced by Herta in the game so far, we’ve never heard from her or seen her. 

HoYoVerse’s new insights into Honkai: Star Rail’s Polka Kakamond don’t show any actual pictures of her, as the Genius Society member is known for having destroyed all images of herself across the galaxy. She’s described as an assassin and the person who possibly took out Emperor Rupert, a fellow society member, during the Machine Empire Crisis and First Emperor’s War. It also referred to her as the “Lord of Silence” and is rumored to have killed others in the group. She’s also tied to the Aeon Nous and follows their path of Erudition. 

Rubert and Rubert II were also brought up. Rupert was a computer and former member who also declared themselves an emperor of the Machine Empire. They created the Anti-Organic Equation to kill what they considered “inferior” organic life. They started The First Emperor’s War and were killed as part of it, leading to the rise of Rupert II. Rupert II was involved in the Second Emperor’s War and created the Scepter system that acts as computational interference devices. The IPC gave that to the Intelligentsia Guild, which has since led to the Scholar’s Strife war. 

The third Genius Society Honkai: Star Rail character discussed by HoYoVerse is Dr. Primitive, who came up in discussion with Galaxy Rangers like Boothill and among Herta, Screwllum, and Ruan Mei. He despises and experiments on human beings. He’s also known for creating memetic viruses, leading the Galaxy Rangers on chases, assaulting the planet Vonwacq, and loving bananas. 

Odds are, we won’t get to see any of these new Honkai: Star Rail Genius Society characters for a while. The 2.6 patch is going to be focused on some Penacony adventures. It will introduce the Galaxy Ranger Rappa, who will debut as the latest 5-star unit in the game. In 2.7, Fugue and Sunday will appear.

Honkai: Star Rail is available on the PS5, PC, and mobile devices. The 2.6 update arrives on October 23, 2024.

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Overwatch 2 is no stranger to collaborations, and received a series of My Hero Academia skins on October 17, 2024. Famitsu interviewed Art Director of Overwatch 2, Dion Rogers, which revealed how the collaboration came to be, and what decided certain characters receiving specific skins. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

Dion Rogers, the Art Director of Overwatch 2, said this concerning how the skins were chosen for the My Hero Academia crossover.

The team has a list of series that more or less match the "theme" of Overwatch 2, including things we've loved as children or have become interested in or addicted to! One of them is My Hero Academia, which we're collaborating with right now. My Hero Academia has that same positive outlook when it comes to being a hero, which is great.. I think the collaboration has good synergy.

Dion Rodgers, Blizzard Entertainment

When it came to deciding which character would receive skins, the team decided based on personality and circumstance. Rogers stated that Trace and Deku have similar personalities, and that their origin stories are similar. At least in terms of meeting an aspirational figure and that more or less deciding their initial journey.

Reinhardt was given an All Might skin, which the development team decided was a natural choice. This was due to Reinhardt's bombastic personality and booming voice. However, there were a lot of adjustments made to his face to make sure he encapsulated the character. A "withered" All Might skin was also considered, but it was too difficult to implement, and that idea was subsequently shelved.

Overwatch 2 is readily available for free on the PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Switch, and PC. The My Hero Academia crossover skins will be available until October 30, 2024.

The post Here’s How the Overwatch My Hero Academia Skins Were Decided appeared first on Siliconera.

An update to Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero will appear in late October, which includes a balance to Yajirobe. Additional adjustments include changes made to certain stage on lower difficulty settings, improved responsiveness to controls in online matches, and general stability. This information appeared on the official Dragon Ball Games X (or Twitter) account.

You can view the announcement in English below:

One of the most notable, or interesting, bits of information concerning the announcement involves the developers deciding to rebalance Yajirobe in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero. While not the most popular character in the Dragon Ball franchise (that probably goes to Vegeta or Goku, given how many variants of those two characters are in the game), he has more or less dominated the competitive scene.

One of the least surprising announcements is the adjustment being made to difficulty levels to specific stages in the game's Episode Battles. While Bandai Namco was not specific as to which Episode Battles will be impacted, consumers have en masse reported struggling against the Ape Vegeta battle.

Other updates that will appear include more responsive controls in online battles and general improvements. Bandai Namco has not provided a concrete date as to when this update will appear. Only that it will release sometime in late October 2024.

Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero is available for PS5, Xbox Series X and PC. You can read our review here.

The post Yajirobe Being Rebalanced in Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco shared a free costume for Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream, and it is based on an outfit worn by SAO theme song singer ReoNa. All female characters can now get a One-Man Concert Birth 2024 outfit, which is called Dark Otherworldly Singer, to wear if someone uses the code Birt-h202-4. 

The official announcement on social media offered an idea of what to expect. It showed what Yuna would look like if she wore the outfit. It is an entirely black outfit with a jacket over a dress and boots. The back of the jacket reads, “Hello, UNHAPPY. ReoNa.”

ReoNa and her music are quite closely tied to the Sword Art Online series, with tracks being used as opening and ending themes for the anime and games up through SAO Fractured Daydream. The latest one is “Our Song,” which was used as the opening theme for this game. Here’s how that sounds:

Some of her other recent songs used in SAO shows or games include “Anima” and “Forget-Me-Not.” She also appeared as a character in Sword Art Online: Alicization Lycoris.

Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream is available on the Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X, and PC via Steam.

The post Sword Art Online: Fractured Daydream ReoNa Costume Code Shared appeared first on Siliconera.

Square Enix announced it added a FFXIV Adventurer’s Supply Kit to the Final Fantasy XIV Online Store, and it provides a quick way to get items like one Menphina’s Earring and 99 Aetheryte Tickets. The bundle is an account-wide one that works with all of your characters, and it costs $9.99.

Normally, Aetheryte Tickets can be paid for or earned in-game in FFXIV. So, for example, you can trade Allied Seals or Centurio Seals for them if you are a part of a Grand Company. This pack gives you 99, allowing for quick teleports on demand. 

As for the Menphina’s Earring, originally they were a bonus for certain Final Fantasy XIV purchases, such as the Xbox Series X version of the game or the FFXIV Endwalker expansion. This marks the first opportunity to get the earrings outside of that. When equipped by a character under level 80, you get 30% more experience than usual. 

The other items in the FFXIV Adventurer’s Supply Kit bundle involve cosmetics. You can change your appearance with the one included Fantasia. If you use Ballroom Etiquette: Improper Praise #4, you can learn the Cheer On: Bright emote. That was previously only available in a 6.4 event. The Rising Red Moon Parasol is also a part of it.

Here’s how the emote looks:

Final Fantasy XIV is available for the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC, and the Adventurer’s Supply Kit is now sold in the FFXIV Online Store.

The post FFXIV Adventurer’s Supply Kit Has Menphina’s Earring, 99 Aetheryte Tickets appeared first on Siliconera.

PM Studios announced it will be in charge of the Black Myth: Wukong physical copies, and that people who pick them up at retail will get the Deluxe Edition DLC for the game. There’s no release window for them yet, beyond “soon.” 

People will be able to find the Black Myth: Wukong Deluxe Edition physical copies worldwide. PM Studios confirmed it will be sold in Australia, Europe, North America, and South America. It seems Asian and African countries are left out of the rollout. The online storefront for the publisher will also sell it, though there is no listing for it yet. So far, VGP is the only store with a product page live at time of writing.

The Black Myth: Wukong Deluxe Edition comes with some extra equipment and a copy of the soundtrack. So you can put the Destined One in armor inspired by Folk Opera, thanks to the included four-piece set. The Wind Chimes curio included lets you move faster than normal. You can also choose to wield the Bronzecloud Staff, which makes it 2% more likely you’ll land a critical hit.

While the price and release date weren’t shared, the cover art was. It features the Destined One. Here’s how that will look:

Black Myth: Wukong was well-received at launch. For example, the player count on Steam alone passed two million people. Game Science also teased that it is working on an expansion.

Black Myth: Wukong is available for the PS5 and PC, and a physical copy is heading to retail stores worldwide.

The post Black Myth: Wukong Physical Copies Head to Retail appeared first on Siliconera.

Not only are Raids the highest level of content in World of Warcraft, they're often also a climax point in an area's storyline, or even of a whole expansion. There have been a whole lot of Raids added over the game's 10 expansions, but here are our picks for the best of the lot.

Ulduar (Wrath of the Lich King)

Beginning with a unique, vehicle-based assault on a mountaintop alien research facility, before ending with a showdown against an imprisoned chthonic deity, Ulduar was a wild swerve into WoW's more space-fantasy side. The raid and especially its special optional boss encounter also gave us some more information on the Titans, who may yet be less benevolent than first assumed. Oh, and there's a chance to earn a flying mount shaped like a mechanical gnome's head, and who wouldn't love one of those?

The Temple of Ahn'Qiraj (Classic)

Grand, ambitious, and full of bugs in more ways than one, the Gates of Ahn'Qiraj were one of WoW's biggest early updates. After a lengthy quest chain and an enormous cross-faction event, players were finally able to delve into two new raids set in an underground city of Old God-aligned insects. While today the raid is massively outclassed in terms of design and graphics, at the time its size was unprecedented and frequently caused the game (and player's internet connections) to buckle as they gathered for the 40-man raid.

Trial of the Crusader (Wrath of the Lich King)

Nowadays, Trial of the Crusader is mostly known as the origin of the highly meme'd upon Lord Jaraxxus, Eredar Lord of the Burning Legion and objectively Hearthstone's best card. But it was also a really creative series encounters with interesting mechanics, even without some of the narrative weight of other raids. One encounter even emulated a Player versus Player battle, pitting raiders against a team of NPC's from their opposite faction!

The Eye (Burning Crusade)

Floating above the shattered remains of Outland, Tempest Keep is a series of dungeons culminating in a raid where players throw down with Kael'thas Sunstrider himself. It's also set inside several enormous, crystalline space-ships like the ones the Draenei race use as a home city. To us, this era of space-fantasy technology fueled by neon crystals is as iconic as any of the more traditional faux-medieval aesthetics used in other expansions. Due to being portioned up, the raid itself is also not as much of a maze as some can be, instead being a short and sweet run of 4 bosses including a souped-up Fel Reaver and gauntlet of Kael'thas' lieutenants.

Antorus, the Burning Throne (Legion)

Climax of the fondly remembered Legion expansion, Antorus was at once the highpoint of a decades-long plot line and another foray into WoW's space-fantasy side. Alongside classic Warcraft anti-hero Illidan Stormrage, players would assault a demonic space fortress and fight giant robots, demonic generals, and eventually the soul of an entire planet. It also has, for our money, some of the coolest armor sets available.

Castle Nathria (Shadowlands)

While Shadowlands is an expansion many players would rather forget, Castle Nathria really gave the people what they wanted: Vampires. Gothic architecture, macabre masquerades, and suitably vampy armor sets awaited players as they fought through a host of vampiric residents and misbegotten pets. One encounter even flips the usual dynamics and mechanics by having players heal and defend the soul of Kael'thas Sunstrider, who proved that each of his previous defeats were merely a setback.

Battle of Dazar'alor (Battle for Azeroth)

The Alliance must have felt pretty miffed when Battle for Azeroth gave them a British port town while the Horde got a gold-encrusted South American city full of dinosaurs, so they decided to invade it. Thus the Battle of Dazar'alor took place, set within the Horde's capital city for the expansion and featuring a climactic final fight against Warcraft heavy-hitter Jaina Proudmoore.

While most raids tend to be fairly faction-neutral, Dazar'alor has both faction-specific bosses and sections where you get to play as a member of the opposing faction. It also served to show off some of the variety in each faction's allied races like the Dark Iron Dwarves and Kul Tiran Humans, while taking place in the city where some players will have spent a lot of time gave the raid palpable stakes other areas struggle to match.

Siege of Orgrimmar (Mists of Pandaria)

Take what I said about thematic weight of setting a raid in a faction city, and but make it one player's have known for several years instead of a single expansion. Beginning with an excursion in Pandaria, players must then join the Horde revolt on the beaches of Durotar and fight through the forces of Garrosh Hellscream's loyalists, some of whom players will have been fighting alongside for much of the expansion!

So that's our picks for some of the best Raids in World of Warcraft. Let us know which ones you think are best, or simply have fond memories of running, in the comments below!

World of Warcraft and The War Within expansion are immediately available on PC and Mac.

The post The Best Raids in World of Warcraft appeared first on Siliconera.

As a developer that often worked on Mega Man games, we often see Inti Creates create original titles that are clearly inspired by them. In the case of Card-en-Ciel, we have a game that has a Mega Man Battle Network approach when it comes to aesthetics and gameplay. However, while it may look familiar and feels inspired by the other title, it lacks its charm of the other series.

In a world filled with VR full-dive games that people jump into, there are incidents that require accomplished hackers and detectives to solve. After getting an urgent message from someone working alongside a Rust Tactics VR game development team named Ancie, Neon the Gaming Chair Detective finds himself dealing with corruption and data tied to many different games. There involve abnormalities, bugs, characters from other titles are appearing where they shouldn’t, and Muses are buffing certain enemies with their songs. It’s up to us to work alongside Neon and Ancie to set things right in dungeons based on certain other “games” invading Rust Tactics. 

The thing is, Inti Creates isn’t great at telling a story in Card-en-Ciel or making its world appealing, something Capcom excelled at when it came to the Mega Man Battle Network games. When we go through the story dungeons based on full-dive games, each one looks practically identical. The structure of square rooms connected by brief “bridges” gets incredibly repetitive, especially considering the similar Mega Man titles managed to inject so much personality into the “net” we’d visit as MegaMan.EXE. When you enter an area inspired by an in-game series, there are no outward or immediately recognizable distinctions. Just the same blocks. Even the enemies you fight aren’t only drawn from that “title,” as instead Inti Creates pulls from its actual game library and original ones created for Card-en-Ciel. 

While this can make the idea of going through Card-en-Ciel dungeons a little boring, I feel the turn-based, deck-building gameplay actually improves upon the Mega Man Battle Network formula. When you’re dealt cards or pick them up after fights and while exploring, you’ll find they either deal HP or break damage to opponents. HP damage wears the enemy down and defeats them. Break damage affects the attack meter, keeping them from being able to take action against you and weakening their defense against HP attacks. Each round, you start with three points, and cards can require between 0-3 points to use. 

All cards are also used for movement to evade attacks or move so you can target enemies. Icons on each one show if they’ll move Neon up, down, left, or right. So you need to get out of ranged of the telegraphed attack under your feet that happens in X number of turns, you need to play one of your cards to move instead of taking the action shown on it.

While those are the three basic uses for cards, there are other factors to consider. Some are yellow. If you see the opponent’s timer counting down to show they are about to attack, you can play that card to counter and take action during that turn. Cards can have additional effects that add buffs, cause clones to appear, create 0-cost cards that deal damage and break damage, ensure cards of the same type get a boost, or affect future turns. 

There are also Muses to content with as you play Card-en-Ciel. You tend to start with one available when you enter a dungeon, with additional ones found in fights on floors. Once you collect one, you can trigger their buffs in battle by meeting requirements. So you may need to play the same card twice in a row, which means ensuring your deck is stacked with duplicates of a certain type. Another Muse might require you to play a three-cost card or for there to be exactly five cards in your hand after taking an action. Likewise, enemies can have Muses on their sides too, providing them buffs and adding junk cards to your hand that could force movement or affect your deck. 

It’s really quite clever, and I loved whenever I’d see a cameo from a returning Inti Creates game character in Card-en-Ciel. For example, Azure Striker Gunvolt and Gal Gun folks are here! But at the same time, since the story isn’t really compelling or well-executed, the cards and enemies based on “original” characters aren’t very appealing. In many cases, it feels like they’re excuses to insert some extra fanservice. But since we don’t know who they are until this title, it rings a bit hollow and doesn’t have the same appeal as it would if it involved actually recognizable people. Though personally, I also found the Muse and Ancie fanservice a bit overdone here. Others might enjoy it! But it was so out of place in the roguelike that it struck me as being more odd than appealing.

Once a fight is over, you will see certain options available in the “node” where you fought. You can choose to recover some HP. You can enhance one of the cards in your deck. It is also possible to station one of the characters in the cards you have, removing them from your deck in the process, for buffs. There can also be random events triggered after a fight is done that affects your cards and deck. Not to mention if you avoid fights for too long or make certain choices in those events, your Memory Gauge goes up and inflicts negative effects in fights until you battle enough to reduce it.

As Card-en-Ciel is a roguelike, there are elements that put you in a better position for future runs if you win. You can forge Wild Cards, which give you a chance to do better in a pinch during a fight. When recuperating with Ancie after a run, you can put points into determining if rarer cards come up, Neon’s HP goes up, Treasure Chests show up after battle, or other benefits come up. There are also different difficulties to choose from when heading in, which can help with players’ experiences. 

Though to be honest, I didn’t get much out of the PvP mode. This feature unlocks after a few runs. It offers a daily dungeon with leaderboards or an opportunity to face others. The daily dungeon is fine, but I got nothing out of the fights against others and would just… rather go through the base dungeons on different difficulties instead. 

I enjoyed Inti Creates’ approach to gameplay in Card-en-Ciel and appreciate how it built on the tactical deck-building found in the Mega Man Battle Network series. While it looks similar, it feels like its own thing. That’s great! Unfortunately, the actual story surrounding Neon and Ancie’s adventure is pretty weak and not handled well, and there’s no personality to any of the dungeons we explore. It’s a case where there’s some good gameplay we can sink our teeth into, but the style isn’t quite there even with colorful characters and some fun cameos. It can be entertaining, but lacks Mega Man Battle Network's charm.

Card-en-Ciel will come to the Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC on October 24, 2024, and a demo is available on the PC via Steam and Switch. 

The post Review: Solid Card-en-Ciel Card Lacks Mega Man Battle Network Charm appeared first on Siliconera.

Even though Renji Abarai was one of the first confirmed Bleach Rebirth of Souls playable characters, Bandai Namco didn’t share a character trailer for him until now. We now can see what the 6th division lieutenant is capable of if we choose him as a fighter in the game.

Appropriately enough, Renji faces off against 6th Division Captain Byakuya Kuchiki in his character trailer. He wields his Zanpakuto Zabimaru both in his standard and awakened state. Things begin with his Sweep signature move, which features his sword extending like a whip. From there, we see two Spiritual Pressure Moves. One is the Tsumuji Kaze attack, and the other is the Oath of the Soul buff.

Here’s the full character trailer showing how Renji will work in the game.

Here’s the full list of all of the Bleach Rebirth of Souls characters who got their own trailers before Renji Abarai did.

• Byakuya Kuchiki
• Gin Ichimaru
• Ichigo Kurosaki
• Ichigo Kurosaki (Bankai)
• Kaname Tosen
• Kenpachi Zaraki
• Kisuke Urahara
• Rangiku Matsumoto
• Rukia Kuchiki
• Soi Fon (Sui-Feng)
• Toushiro Hitsugaya
• Ulquiorra Cifer
• Uryu Ishida
• Yasutora “Chad” Sado
• Yoruichi Shihoin

Bleach Rebirth of Souls will come to the PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X, and PC in early 2025. The Bleach anime, including Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War, are streaming on on Disney+ and Hulu. Viz Media handles the manga series outside of Japan.

The post Bleach Rebirth of Souls Renji Abarai Trailer Finally Appears appeared first on Siliconera.

Poncle announced a second Vampire Survivors crossover with Konami, this time being the Ode to Castlevania DLC. It will debut on Halloween 2024, adding characters and the largest map so far. It will be on the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices for $3.99 on October 31, 2024.

As this is a Castlevania add-on with no vampires, it means other iconic characters from the series will be playable instead. Poncle confirmed over 20 will be available. It noted that many of them will be from the Belmont and Belnades families. 

So far, the following folks are all confirmed.

• Charlotte Aulin
• Eric Lecarde
• Maria Renard
• John Morris
• Jonathan Morris
• Richter Belmont
• Shanoa
• Simon Belmont
• Sonia Belmont
• Sypha Belnades
• Trevor Belmont
• Yoko Belnades

Poncle confirmed over 40 weapons for the crossover too. Alucard’s Shield, Spear, and Sword will all be present. Eight different kinds of whips will appear, building on the one in the base game. The announcement also confirmed Glyphs, elemental magic, and projectiles will show up. 

Here’s the animated announcement trailer, which showed many of the characters we’ll get to use when the add-on appears. It also hints at Soma Cruz and Alucard’s inclusions. 

As a reminder, the Vampire Survivors Konami crossover prior to the Castlevania DLC involved Contra. Characters and stages from that game showed up in the Operation Guns add-on.

Vampire Survivors is available for the PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, PC, and mobile devices, and its Ode to Castlevania DLC launches on October 31, 2024. 

The post Vampire Survivors Ode to Castlevania DLC Adds No Vampires appeared first on Siliconera.

Koei Tecmo confirmed Tamaki will be the fourth character in Venus Vacation Prism - Dead or Alive Xtreme. Players of the upcoming romance simulation game will be able to choose her as one of the six dateable heroines. Saori Onishi will also return to reprise her role as her Japanese voice actress role.

The fashion designer Tamaki made her debut in the original Japanese version of Venus Vacation in April 2018. She later joined the Asian English server roster in July 2019. Tamaki is arguably one of the title's most popular characters, as Koei Tecmo and Team Ninja actually added her to Dead or Alive 6 as a DLC character with an Aikido fighting style in March 2020.

The teaser trailer featuring Tamaki in Venus Vacation Prism is available to view via the game's official X account:

The first three characters revealed for Venus Vacation Prism are Misaki, Fiona, and Elise. All four characters revealed to date, including Tamaki, made their debuts in the original Venus Vacation free-to-play title. Koei Tecmo will reveal the last two characters on the next two Mondays.

Venus Vacation Prism - Dead or Alive Xtreme will be available for PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam and DMM Games in Southeast and East Asia including Japan in early 2025.

The post Tamaki Will Join Venus Vacation Prism DOAX Roster appeared first on Siliconera.

Horror games are so iconic. Few games immerse the player in an evocative and memorable world as well as horror titles. Famous, classic Japanese horror series like Resident Evil and Silent Hill keep putting out games. In fact, the recent release of Silent Hill 2 shows there is plenty of room for more horror remakes. This are our picks for the classic horror games that need a sequel or remake next.

Siliconera Speaks Up: Horror Games That Need a Remake or Sequel

I'm kind of loathe to think of Siren: Blood Curse as a remake of the original game since it's SO different in terms of…well, everything. It's more a reimagination, really. While a much more faithful remake of Siren would be nice, I'm one of those people who believe that if you're going to play it, you should play the original, horrible, janky version and get that true frustrating experience. It's part of the charm. -- Stephanie (1/2)

Siren 2, on the other hand, seemed to have genuinely wanted to provide some quality-of-life upgrades. As such, it would be nice to see a proper remake of that one. Heck, a Siren 3 that's similar to the first two in terms of gameplay and writing would be great too. It might be difficult though, since the main creative team for Siren seem to be at Bokeh Game Studio now and I don't know who even has the rights to the IP anymore. -- Stephanie (2/2)

I have to agree with Stephanie. Siren should come back. It's such a memorable story, and the gameplay was so unusual and different. It genuinely felt desperate and horrifying when you knew the Shibito were everywhere, you were outnumbered, and it would be so easy to panic and slip up. -- Jenni

I’m a wimp when it comes to horror games so I mostly stick to visual novels. Though not outright horror games, I keep hoping and praying for new games in the Zero Escape and Danganronpa series. They both have light spooky elements, especially 999 with the “knocking” part that actually made me jump when I first played it. Both series made me fall in love with the visual novel genre and I just need more of both. This is particularly painful for Zero Escape since I will stand by that Zero Time Dilemma’s most horrifying part was its terribly unfinished ending that needs a sequel someday. -- Cody

The post Which Classic Horror Games Need a Remake or Sequel Next? appeared first on Siliconera.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is a booming success for Atlus, with plenty of good reviews and sales milestones hit almost immediately after its official release. But with so many things from the game nagging at me, I find it difficult to partake in the celebrations. While the ultimate message is well-meaning, it’s delivered in such a tepid and messy narrative that even now, I struggle to care about or even remember what it has to say.

This article contains heavy spoilers for the entire story of Metaphor: ReFantazio.

Before we begin, I’d like to reiterate that this is my personal opinion on why the story in Metaphor: ReFantazio didn't work. If you enjoyed the story, then great. I’m happy for you, genuinely. I would love to hear why you liked it, because I have no idea what redeeming quality people are finding in the narrative. Nonetheless, lots of people saw what I couldn't, considering the slew of perfect scores other sites gave it. While I gave it an 8—a high score in retrospect, whereas some noted that it was a “low” one—the more I think about it, the more I believe that I was being far too generous as a result of the battle system and music.

For starters, without talking about the themes, the pacing of the story in Metaphor: ReFantazio was awful. It feels like you spend lots of time with Strohl, Hulkenberg, and Heismay. But Junah, Eupha, and Basilio join, and they jump right into business. The story doesn’t dedicate as much time, fluff, or events into giving them depth or showing how they interact with the others. It leads to them feeling a little out of place in the overall party dynamic.

Basilio getting his awakening scene after the grand moment when he and Fidelio protect innocent children and Fidelio dies in his arms was such a weird creative choice. The ghost fist bump was a neat touch though. The revelation of what Rella did to the prince, as well as her death, elicited no emotion from me either. I don’t know this girl, nor do I particularly care about her relationship to Junah. If I felt anything, it was surprise that she was revealing her crimes so quickly. The pacing from Louis’ soiree forth felt insanely rushed and off, and I don’t really understand what could’ve happened behind the scenes for the story to end up this way.

Louis remaining the sole main antagonist was also a bit of a surprise. He really felt like someone who would be a first act boss and then disappear to make room for a more dangerous foe. Nothing really wrong with Louis being a constant antagonist, outside of the fact that for the most part, he wasn't very interesting. As per usual with Atlus games, story beats and themes are introduced and then discarded without much time on them. The Protagonist turning into a monster, the Protagonist merging with the prince, and Louis being elda are some major revelations in the last act that the game glosses over. They don't get anywhere near the appropriate narrative weight.

In my review, I mentioned that it reminded me of Zootopia. This was due to similarities in how if you spend even a second thinking about the world, the allegory falls apart. As well, the Japanese audience ate it up as a “perfect” analogy of real-world politics but still dolled up in a fun family-friendly film. The more I think about Metaphor: ReFantazio, the more I realize how apt I was with that comparison because under even a little scrutiny, it’s easy to see just how shallow the world of Metaphor is. In fact, I’m willing to say that Zootopia presented a more interesting world than Metaphor did.

Euchronia is not a compelling setting at all. The world of Metaphor is akin to a cardboard cutout. It exists solely as a backdrop to discuss racism and discrimination, yet there's no real structure or depth to it to make said racism or discrimination work. Look at Zootopia and try to picture the titular city beyond what was in the film. There’s enough lore and thought put into it that you can imagine how the animals live, how the city works, and how the society functions. The same goes with other fantasy worlds, even in gacha games like Genshin Impact or Honkai: Star Rail. The fiction feels alive, even when you turn off the screen. While I praised the individual cities of Euchronia for how distinct they felt, the entire country itself feels like nothing more than a convenient prop.

Now let's delve a little deeper into the narrative Atlus gives us. The game presents us with two favorites for the crown: Sanctifex Forden and Count Louis. The Protagonist is one too, thanks to the visions of a united world under the prince’s rule, but the people don’t really give him the time of day until the halfway point. Under Forden, the system would remain the same as it’s always been, with preferential treatment for nobles and devout Sanctists.

Meanwhile, Louis means to set up a meritocracy in which those with strength—and only those with strength—deserve to live. Neither of them are trying to bring about a world or society that seems genuinely helpful for the people, thus leaving no real moral quandary as to whether or not they’re in the right. The Protagonist’s vision of a fair and united world, free of discrimination based on your birth, is very idealistic and all. But at no point does he or the party members actually say how they’re going to do bring that about.

It seems that for most of the game, those kinds of logistics will come later, after they restore the prince to the throne. Unfortunately, the prince never wakes up, technically speaking, and he simply merges back with the Protagonist. This means that we never get to actually hear how the Protagonist will solve any of the ongoing issues in the game. Him being a silent protagonist contributes to this problem, but I'll touch on that later.

I personally prefer stories, if they’re going to tackle such difficult themes, to present a real trolley problem of sorts. In Persona 5 Royal—which I no longer have qualms about comparing Metaphor: ReFantazio to since Atlus was pulling our legs when it said that Metaphor: ReFantazio would be different—Maruki presented a really interesting choice. Stay in a dream world where all the bad things in your life didn’t happen, or choose to face the more bitter and painful reality? While the game presents the latter as the right one, it’s hard to argue against the former. If such a choice existed, would you be so quick to discard it?

There’s never any question in the game in regards to Forden or Louis. Forden ruling the country would be bad, but Louis ruling the country would be bad too. Ergo, the only one who can and should rule it is you, or the prince. Well, let’s look at how the Protagonist interacts with people to see how they'd better the world. Whenever you talk to an NPC in the game, they start out quite hostile and prejudiced. But if you're nice, the NPC gives some excuse for their bad behavior and then becomes much friendlier. Perhaps Atlus wanted to use this to show that not everyone is a bad person at heart. But it just feels lazy. Do I want the characters to be mean and racist to me? No. However, if that’s going to be in the game in the first place, why resolve it this quickly?

I feel like a huge part of why the discrimination thing doesn’t work for me personally is that it doesn’t feel real. It feels very forced and informed. In my review, I chalked this feeling up to everyone being really humanoid save for the eugiefs, but now that I’ve had more time to compile my thoughts, I think I know why. It doesn’t feel organic. Think about the cultures and races in real life that have a bad reputation. There should be some stereotype that gets repeated a lot, right? Whether it has to do with bad apples, cuisine, or a physical characteristic, there’s some reason as to why they’re viewed with a lot more disdain than others.

As a Chinese person, I’ll list a few: we eat anything and everything, we’re loud, we’re cheap, we’re colorist, and so on and so forth. Is there real grounds for all of that? I mean, yeah, kind of. Some Chinese people practically yell at each other in public, and everyone uses the “HoYoVerse is a Chinese company and the beauty standards favor pale skin!” excuse when people want to discuss the lack of darker-skinned characters. The historical bad blood between nations like China and Japan can also lead to prejudice among the population. There’s a distinct lack of that kind of stuff in Metaphor: ReFantazio, outside of some mean-spirited comments about physical appearance. The one time I opened up the memorandum in game was to look at the races and see why certain races are “lesser” than others, because the story made it impossible to understand. That's not great.

The themes of prejudice and racism never feel impactful because you see it in such an artificial setting. That it never evolves beyond racism and religious fervor is kind of ridiculous too. So there’s no ageism or sexism? No discrimination against people with disabilities? It’s not as if the game is solely about racism either; it’s technically about anxiety. There are so many things they could’ve done to add onto it and still keep the themes of injustice though. For example, Maria is half-blooded, and while she deals with people calling her a weirdo, the issue of her not being ishkian or rhoag enough doesn’t come up. This is a very common struggle that people from two heritages face. Her being ousted as a “freak” feels so similar to all of the other stories in Metaphor that it would be nice if Maria’s social link introduced yet another angle.

Another thing that makes the setting seem thoughtless is that there’s no one even attempting to pass, yet prejudice is such a large part of it. You mean to tell me that Louis is the only person in the entire course of history who thought to fake clemar heritage? No paripus thought to simply wear a shawl and baggy clothing, put on some face make-up, and pretend they're a prudish rhoag? The Protagonist is an elda—a tribe so rare some don't believe they exist yet somehow everyone recognizes you as one. Elda also have no defining racial traits, making them quite the blank canvas. Gallica tells you to keep your head down in Grand Trad, but the thought of using fake horns or ears never crossed her mind?

These are topics and questions that might’ve or should've come up during the conceptual stage. This game was in development for so long, but I wonder how much of it Atlus had to scrap and cut away. I also wonder how much of it was executive meddling forcing the development team to keep a lot of these Persona elements. It certainly doesn’t feel like they spent as much time as they needed to create a whole new fantasy setting. How can I care about a world and characters that hardly feel like a world and characters? 

It’s clear from all angles that a writer who is in his country’s majority wrote the story. That’s not anything Hashino can fix, but he could’ve certainly done more research. Foreigners, citizens of non-Japanese descent, and multiracial people all deal with prejudice. Considering Japan’s culture of conformity, I’m sure that Hashino or someone else could’ve found some people talking about their experiences online in order to add some grounded nuance to the tale. The racism in the game is either allegorical in nature (intentional or not) or cartoonishly blatant. I'm glad that it included more realistic scenes like how one's race affects their job prospects, at least.

During the last act of the game, the narrative shifts slightly to focus on themes of anxiety. Anxiety and fear in real life can manifest as prejudice and racism, for sure, but it feels like it came out of nowhere. The ultimate theme of how anxiety is the cause of all the problems feels really incongruent with the set-up thus far. I don’t believe that the party came together because the Protagonist soothed their anxieties. It feels like they all unite behind the Protagonist because he’s open to listening to them and understanding them.

In my opinion, the awakening sequence, in which characters rip out their heart and it’s a mic and they give a speech into it, plays really well with that idea. Eupha’s and Maria’s social links, while a little heavy-handed with the writing, also work well in that it presents the usual discrimination problem, but the way they go about overcoming it and befriending their neighbor feels a lot more realistic than what was in the main story. It might be a little cheesy with how overly sincere it is. But considering how heavy-handed Metaphor: ReFantazio is as a whole, that’s not a bad thing.

So why in the world is the game like this? What could be the cause? To give a short answer, I think the longer Atlus spends on a game, the more the story suffers for it in exchange for sheer “fun” value. Honestly though, I think part of the issue is the Persona gameplay loop. The calendar system naturally limits what you can do with the narrative. Not only is this due to player freedom, but it also sets an arbitrary limit on patience. It can be frustrating when the game eats away at your "time" with too many days that railroad you into doing the main plot. This works in, say, Persona, because the world in Persona is our own. But in a fantasy world like Metaphor: ReFantazio and with a story that’s so reliant on worldbuilding, it’s a double-edged sword.

The player simultaneously has too much and not enough control. The social links also work against it because there’s a lot of important information in them that someone might not get to. The paripus igniter experiments, for example, seems like a major incident in the history of the world and is a very interesting bit of lore. The effects it had on paripus may have also contributed to the overarching in-game reception of the race. But because the details and aftereffects are stuck behind Basilio’s story, some players may not see it in their first playthrough. Junah's past as a slave is something that seems important to her character and how she grew up with Rella after that would be a great way to make you care about them both. Yet this is trapped behind Junah's social link, which barely gets into that anyway.

Metaphor: ReFantazio should’ve done away with the Persona gameplay loop of story, then a long objective with a deadline, and then more story. It should’ve just stuck with a more conventional JRPG narrative structure. This way, they can make sure all players are on the same schedule, receiving the same information and experiencing the same story. It also leaves Atlus free to add more if it pleased, since there's no longer the worry that players would be scrambling to meet deadlines. This is an interesting attempt, for sure. But with so much going on and so much that it needed to convey to the player, it should’ve exercised more control rather than letting people do whatever they wanted whenever they wanted. Yes, there are some segments when the game railroads you into certain activities, but that’s only a fraction of the story.

Speaking of Junah and Basilio, the final three party members feel like glorified tagalongs in the main story half the time. Everything interesting about them are behind their links. While Heismay, Strohl, and Hulkenberg also have their own separate arcs, the story does enough to present them in an endearing way. My favorite scene is when the Protagonist, Strohl, and Hulkenberg are banging their pots and pans, and they’re yelling their frustrations at each other and the situation, much to Strohl and Hulkenberg’s chagrin. Then, Heismay comes wobbling out more like an annoyed neighbor than a wanted criminal. His behavior as a captive made me like him a lot too. It makes sense that they’d hang around with the Protagonist, and they get enough scenes or dialogue that they feel like well-rounded characters even if you don’t do their links.

On the other hand, Junah, Eupha, and Basilio felt like Haru in Persona 5 where they join after the story accelerates to the point that's the only thing we focus on. I already mentioned how little I cared about Junah and Rella, as well as what could've been done to ameliorate that. Basilio gets it better because we got to know him and Fidelio prior. Meanwhile, Eupha’s entire experience outside of the island is behind her social link, making her feel like an accomplice who exists only for the Louis assassination. Again, a simple fix to this is to make their social links part of the main story or as optional side quests, and without a calendar system that may lock you out. The paripus stuff, as well as Junah’s past, all feel important to the themes and world, so why risk people missing them?

Yet another culprit that ties into the Persona gameplay loop is the lack of meaningful side quests. There are a lot of side quests that boil down to people being in trouble because of X monster in Y dungeon, so you have to go and slay said creature. They're similar to Mementos requests from Persona 5, which would be fine if the world wasn't a fantasy world separate from ours. Side quests could flesh out the characters, the setting, and the themes some more. Think about all the side quests from Nier Automata that do exactly that. It's one more element of the game that, through under-utilization, lends to the entire world lacking any interesting depth. And if the world isn't interesting, the story and characters that take place in that setting naturally feel pretty bland as well.

Finally, the Protagonist being a silent protagonist doesn't really work in Metaphor. I've mentioned my distaste for this trope before, but I really mean it this time. Characters like Maria, Eupha, and Catherina all present a way in which the people can work together to overcome social inequality and injustice. It's nice to see. The problem is that their scenes are, again, trapped behind social links. The main story does little in presenting an alternative to solely relying on a monarch to enact change. The Protagonist provides no solutions to any of the issues the game poses outside of referencing More's novel. He's a cute little airhead, but he can be a cute airhead and still be his own character. Considering the themes the game wants to tackle, the protagonist lacking any ideals of his own, serving more like a yes-man to others, is really unfortunate.

It’s common knowledge among writers that one of the worst things a reader can think is: “I don’t care what happens to these people.” I hate to say it, but for half of the time I was playing Metaphor, I was thinking that word for word. The people in Euchronia, outside of the misfits you hang out with in social links, are wishy-washy sheeple who spend more time complaining than they do thinking. Hmm, kind of like the citizens in Persona 5. Half of my party consists of people I don’t really know. Louis’s motivations for wanting to rule the kingdom under Darwinian laws aren’t very compelling. Heck, even Thanos had a more interesting reason than he did. Did I still like the game? I mean, yeah, it’s a fun game. But an RPG is more than just its battle system.

I admit that I’m quite critical of Atlus writing, and director Hashino in particular. However, I never scrutinized, say, Persona 3 with the same vigor I did Persona 5. It’s because of the difference in thematic scope. Persona 5, like Metaphor: ReFantazio, wants to commentate on the world and society as a whole. And the problem is that Hashino’s takes are simply not that good or revolutionary. So many story beats and themes in Metaphor derived from ground Persona 5 already tread. The setting was what Atlus needed to really draw a line between the two and unfortunately, the writers dropped the ball. Metaphor: ReFantazio was at its best when it focused entirely on the fantasy epic and while I’m not denying real-world politics’ place in fiction, it’s more effective when the creator presents something substantial, rather than repeating empty ideals and platitudes.

Metaphor: ReFantazio is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X.

The post The Metaphor: ReFantazio Story Fell Flat for Me appeared first on Siliconera.

Sword Art Online left an indisputable imprint on the anime landscape since its adaptation in 2012, and it continues to influence shows that are coming out today. Of course, with the premise centered on people playing a VR MMORPG, many video games naturally followed. Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is unequivocally made for veteran fans of the franchise, which might sound great on paper, but it packages itself into a niche category that only die-hard enthusiasts will find the experience cathartic, isolating much of its casual audience.

The main attraction of Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is supposed to be its multiplayer experience. But as you need to make a reasonable dent in the primary campaign to unlock the multiplayer and the characters available, let's dive into this aspect first. Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream harbours an independent brand new story tailored for the game, presumably occurring sometime after the Alicization Arc. Without going into spoiler territory, characters introduced in this arc play a pivotal role in the overarching story. A new, updated beta system called Galaxia has been added to ALfheim online, aiming to enable players to relive their most cherished memories of the game. However, a critical error has now ensnared Kirito within the Galaxia system. Kirito will now need to navigate Galaxia, assisted by many familiar faces throughout the Sword Art Online timeline, to figure out how to return to the real world.

Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream has the best storytelling and cutscenes across all the games, and some of the moments that transpire are superb. One that stands out vividly is right at the beginning of the game, where Kirito realizes he is participating in an anomaly of the programming, and a fight quickly ensues. It felt like the scene could have been ripped straight out of the anime, which will surely place a gleeful smile on any fan's face. My only critique is that the overall plot requires a good knowledge of Sword Art Online. The story can be very "meta" at times, as characters across the Sword Art Online multiverse interact with one another. It's like watching Avengers Endgame without seeing the prior Marvel films leading up. You can do it if you want, but you'll be confused about certain parts.

The gameplay structure of the primary campaign is where things get a bit iffy. There are five chapters in total, all with several quests. Initially, your character will be transported to a new location, and you will have to travel to specific points on the map while fighting monsters along the way. In order to conclude the quest and move on to the next part of the story, you must defeat a minor boss battle. As you can tell from that description, the setup is very basic. What also does not help is that every location in the game feels empty and rigid due to an invisible barrier stopping you from fully exploring the environment. This often made me awkwardly zig-zag across the map to find a direct route. There are a few collectables you can pick up as well, which I assume is an attempt to make the environmental space not feel barren, but they are tedious to gather because of the terrain layout.

The combat is somewhat of a mixed bag, but enough distinction between the classes make it more enjoyable than not. There are six fighting classes: fighter, tank, rogue, ranger, mage and support. Each character is automatically categorized into one of these classes and plays distinctively differently from one another, which adds a lot of diversity to the combat. Kirito, in the fighting class, has his iconic dual blades, which allow him to excel at close combat while moving reasonably fast across the battlefield. Agil, part of the tank class, will move slower in comparison but will be able to endure more hits, and Llenn in the rogue class will utilize a massive gun, allowing her to attack from far away, mimicking the Fatal Bullet gameplay format. Usually, in a quest, you will pick one character to be your main fighter and can then select additional characters to join your team, but sometimes, you'll have to play a particular character, forcing you to try out all the classes. If you want to complete the main storyline as soon as possible, you'll want to stick with the fighter class as they feel stupidly overpowered, but all the classes have some merit to them.

Regarding the real-time combat system, there is the standard stuff you would expect to see, like normal and heavy attacks. Each character also has special and ultimate moves, which are excellent to use if you find yourself in a tight spot. However, you will have to wait for a brief cooldown before reusing one of these manoeuvres, which encourages you to think before you act. But the lock-on system is what brought down the combat for me. The game encourages you to lock onto opponents, as you can then dash towards enemies and unleash a string of combos, but it rarely works. Most times, when I tried to implement it, I would be left in mid-air or at a strange slant, so I would often attack opponents without using it, which made any flying monsters a bit trickier than the game intended.

After progressing through an hour or so of the primary campaign, you will then unlock the multiplayer mode, which shares a lot of parallels with Granblue Fantasy: Relink, as it encompasses real-time combat mashed up with MMO gameplay mechanics. The multiplayer is divided into three modes: free roam, co-op quest and boss raid. Free-roam is by far the best, as you can leisurely walk around the entire map, fight enemies and take on daily challenges. This was a breath of fresh air compared to the main campaign, which constricted where you could explore (yes, the invisible barriers are a sticking point). It reminded me a lot of Dauntless's open terrain environment, which may not be a complimentary statement to some, but I always like the relaxed atmosphere the game attempted to encapsulate.

In comparison, the co-op quest inhabits a more frantic vibe as twenty players are split into five squads, running through a massive dungeon to reach a boss at the very end. You have thirty minutes, but most lobby groups should be able to do this within the 15-20-minute range. On successful completion of this mission, you will then be rewarded with better weapons and different cosmetic appearances. Although looking at the scoreboard at the end to see how your performance faired to other players was interesting, the rewards didn't really incentivize me much to continue playing.

The boss raid was easily the weakest mode out of the bunch. Again, twenty players are broken down into five squads, but this time, your goal is to defeat an astronomical boss battle while your team attempts to score the most points. It felt repetitive as there was not much cooperative play, as you're mainly just striking the enormous adversary with endless attacks. The enemy's fighting pattern is nothing special either, and they would repeatedly recycle the same moves. Honestly, I got bored during the first boss I took on. I did a few more for good measure, but it somehow became even more mind-numbing.

There was a clear executive effort towards the Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream multiplayer experience, but it's average at best. When you're trying to get players to commit hours to multiplayer content, you need to offer something unique and different, but throughout, I got a severe case of déjà vu because I've partaken in this repetitive action in endless other titles. Within a short period, I felt like I had seen everything, got the t-shirt and was ready to play something else. You would only start investing serious hours into the multiplayer if you were a massive Sword Art Online fan who wanted to gain every item possible. But you would probably be a lone ranger in this pursuit because convincing others to tag along would be hard unless your friends are also gigantic fans.

Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream shines in some departments but flops in others.  
I wish the game had concentrated more on the primary campaign because the story here is terrific, and with a few tweaks to the open map environment and battle mechanics, it could have been a quintessential play for any fan. But the multiplayer feels so half-baked and unrewarding that only hardcore fans will enjoy the long, tedious grind to grab every morsel item.

Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream is now available on the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

The post Review: Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream Will Only Appeal to Hardcore Fans appeared first on Siliconera.