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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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. 

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Square Enix revealed the goods available as part of the new FFVII Ever Crisis online kuji lottery for the 1st anniversary of the release of the game. The merchandise items feature the major playable characters in the game, and the lottery is available until October 20, 2024 from the Square Enix online e-store.

Each entry for the online lottery costs 770 yen (or about $5.15.) The first A rank prize is a visual board featuring the characters from the game, drawn by FFVII Ever Crisis character designer Risa Fujise. The art features Cloud, Tifa, Zack, Vincent, and young Sephiroth. Meanwhile, prize B acrylic character stands featuring Cloud, Barret, Zack, Glenn, Matt, young Sephiroth, and Vincent. Similarly, prize C is one of the acrylic character stands in the second volume, including Tifa, Aerith, Lucia, Yuffie, Red XIII, and Cait Sith.

For prize D there are acrylic keychains featuring FFVII Ever Crisis in-game home screens of characters wearing seasonal and event costumes, featuring Cloud, Barret, Tifa, Aerith, Red XIII, Yuffie, Zack, Glenn, Matt, Lucia, and young Sephiroth. Finally, prize E includes metallic pin badges of the same characters as in the previous prize with different costumes. Furthermore, for every 10 tickets purchased, customers will receive one out of 5 possible character unique costume bromides, including Cloud, young Sephiroth, Tifa, Aerith, and the 1st anniversary art.

You can check out the new items for the FFVII Ever Crisis 1st anniversary kuji lottery here:

Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis is available for Android and iOS, and PC via Steam. The new FFVII Ever Crisis lottery is available until October 20, 2024 in Japan.

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The Pokemon Company International announced that it is now possible to get a shiny Meloetta in Pokemon Home following the 3.2.2 update. However, it isn’t an unconditional giveaway. It is tied to Pokedex completion.

Here’s how it works. You need to have your copy of Pokemon Home synched up with Pokemon Scarlet and Violet on the Nintendo Switch. This is because you need to have the full Pokedex for the main game, which is the Paldea Pokedex, as well the ones from the Blueberry and Kitakami Pokedex ones from the two areas in the expansion pass. If you did that and confirmed it within Pokemon Home in “Games,” you get the Shiny Meloetta as a Mystery Gift. Once that is in your boxes, you could then move it to one of your games.

There’s also a screenshot showing the Shiny Meloetta in the Pokemon Home app. The Normal and Psychic type will be at level 50 when it arrives. The one shown in the screenshot has 170 HP, 82 attack, 162 special attack, 92 defense, 148 special defense, and 110 speed. The Modest nature boosts special attack at the cost of attack. Serene Grace also makes it more likely Meloetta’s attack effects will trigger. The character arrives knowing Echoed Voice, Psybeam, Relic Song, and Sing. So Serene Grace would affect Psybeam and Relic Song. 

Here’s how the character will look:

Pokemon Home is available on the Nintendo Switch and mobile devices. It is compatible with games up through the latest Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Switch entries.

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When it comes to a personality test, it honestly might be better to think of it as a game or hypothetical, rather than a reliable determination of who you are as a person. (Especially if you’re just doing so online.) Refind Self: The Personality Test Game leans into that by basically giving you a light slice-of-life experience following a grieving android coming to terms with recent events while also going about their day and considering what to do next.

Within the “world” of Lizardry and Playism’s Refind Self: The Personality Test Game, you are taking a test designed to help someone recover and determine who they are by playing through said game about the android. You’re warned that you can only take so many actions while exploring and interacting before your “heart is full,” which will then result in an assessment based on what you did and decisions you made. From there, you’re tossed into the life of an android who’s just lost the Doctor who acted as a parent to them and go about your day.

While this is a personality test of sorts, I think it is better to think of Refind Self: The Personality Test Game as a life sim that might be different each time you play it. The first time you go into it blind is probably when you’ll both get the most and least accurate assessment of who you might be, since you’re given no guidance beyond “live.” There are no instructions. Provided you didn’t look up details online, you won’t know what to expect. Also, since you likely won’t turn streamer mode on, you’ll be making decisions naturally and not considering the fact that the game is actually keeping track of how long it takes you to do certain things as part of the determinations as well.

The world of  Refind Self: The Personality Test Game is a homey and relatively peaceful one. After heading down from the hill, you can visit with other human and robotic inhabitants of the village. It is possible to investigate things, collect items, and shop. You’ll learn about possible tasks or activities, which you can take part in. So in a way, it really does feel like it could be an assessment of who you are. After all, there are a lot of choices as to what you might do.

As such, I found the second and third runs of Refind Self: The Personality Test Game were more satisfying than the first. During the second, I had a better idea of where everything was an knew what I hadn’t gotten around to the first time. So I had more of an idea what to expect and perhaps even felt like I enjoyed it more since I better understood what was possible. But in the third, I actually started working toward some of the potential “objectives” or activities that really feels like you’re supposed to be pushing yourself toward a certain way to get something done. Also, the more you play, the more you unlock and know about the game.

The execution also makes doing so something of a pleasure. Playism noted a playthrough can last about an hour, but it might even be shorter than that depending on what you do. It’s easy to go through and fun to explore. Not to mention it’s quite a pretty diversion, with fantastic spritework and a subdued color scheme that matches the tone of the experience perfectly. I ended up taking to playing it either between other games or before heading to bed each night to relax. I eventually felt like I wanted to go out of my way to earn personalities I hadn’t seen yet, just to get feedback on that mindset, get a look at the fun outfits, and see how to trigger that result.

Refind Self: The Personality Test Game may not be the best at accurately assessing who you are, but it is absolutely entertaining. I really liked the relax atmosphere and presentation. Plus, its length encourages you to return and see what you might discover and unlock next. It’s an enjoyable way to briefly spend some time thinking about your actions.

Refind Self: The Personality Test Game is available on the Nintendo Switch, PC and mobile devices.

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The final character in the Persona 5 Royal collaboration in Identity V will be Kasumi Yoshizawa, or Violet. You’ll be able to claim her for free by participating in the crossover event.

In order to get her, you’ll need to collect seals. This will likely be currency you obtain in the game after completing in-game quests.You’ll also be able to get emotes, a portrait, and Inspirations. With 1388 Echoes (premium currency), you’ll be able to unlock the Path of Investigation.

“Faro Lady” is the character who will get the Persona 5 Royal Kasumi Yoshizawa skin in Identity V. She’s a Survivor who specializes as a decoder, and she has the passive skill to disappear when the hunter is close, leaving behind a different kind of trail. Her unique item lets her shoot out paths similar to the trail she leaves behind, with tricking the hunter making up part of her strategy. As for why NetEase chose to give “Faro Lady” the Kasumi skin, it likely has to do with the fact that Kasumi wields a rapier and “Faro Lady” has a stick. Identity disguise is also a core part of Kasumi’s backstory, which is the same with “Faro Lady.”

Identity V is readily available on mobile devices and Windows PC. The second part of the Persona 5 Royal collaboration will start sometime soon.

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Bandai Namco in China will release PotePotte plush dolls of the characters Jing Yuan, Jingliu, Kafka, and Blade from Honkai: Star Rail. These folks are part of the first batch to come out. [Thanks, Genshin Goods!]

These Honkai: Star Rail PotePotte plush dolls are about 35 centimeters in height and have a unique design that lets them sit up without you needing to prop something behind them. They were originally something you could only get in China. However, Animate has them available for pre-order now. Each doll costs 6380 JPY ($42.55) and will come out on January 28, 2025. When you purchase one, you can also get a card featuring the character’s splash art. As well, you can get a rubber charm that displays the character’s chibi art, along with a battle quote.

As a note, you can also purchase these items via the miHoYo flagship store on TMall. Other Honkai: Star Rail goods you can get include apparel that draw inspiration from characters like Silver Wolf. You can also get gift boxes of Aventurine-themed items. The miHoYo flagship store also features items from games like Genshin Impact, such as a recent Zhongli set of clothes and items.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices. The next patch, 2.6, will come out on October 23, 2024 with Rappa as the sole new playable character to debut.

The post Honkai: Star Rail PotePotte Plush Appear Outside China appeared first on Siliconera.

Hyte will be holding a launch party on November 2, 2024 to celebrate the release of its limited edition Honkai: Star Rail Silver Wolf case bundle. You’ll be able to attend it at the Micro Center in Tustin, California.

An event is on Eventbrite for those who want to go. It’ll start at 12:00 PM on November 2 and end at 6:00 PM of November 3. Doors will open at 11:30 AM, and the event itself is free for everyone. You’ll be able to get prizes like bags and stickers, as well as some special boba drinks from Boba Street. The names of the drinks are from the game, so you’ll be able to get Immortal’s Delight and Startaro Bubble. Other activities include a scavenger hunt and meeting HoYoCreators.

The Silver Wolf Y70 bundle from Hyte is a limited edition collaboration with HoYoVerse’s Honkai: Star Rail. On the PC tower, you’ll see pictures of Silver Wolf, along with the Quantum symbol from the game. It’ll also come with fan shrouds. Hyte also has pre-orders open for a desk mat and desk mat bundle, also featuring Silver Wolf. You can pre-order these via its website, and they’ll ship out some time in Q4 2024.

Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices.

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Sanrio and Sunblink announced that there is now a Hello Kitty 50th anniversary event in-game that involves popping bubbles, collecting bows, finding Collectible Cards, and taking part in a new quest. While some of these are limited time activities only available until November 15, 2024, the new quest will be around even after the event ends. 

The temporary activities are designed to provide chances to get new furniture, clothing, and accessories. The Collectible Card sets appear across the islands throughout the event. Getting all 50 gets you a 50th Gala Outfit. The popping bubble activities are tied to new event recipes like 50th Anniversary Cake and 50th Anniversary Latte. If you find bows based on Hello Kitty’s, you can trade them in at the Resort Hub station to get new decorations and accessories. Themed furniture and outfits also appear.

As for the quest, it unlocks as you progress through the campaign. The goal is to prepare a birthday party for Hello Kitty, to tie in with her anniversary. Once you finish the event, you’ll gain access to the attic in My Melody’s shop.

Here’s the trailer for the Hello Kitty Island Adventure 50th anniversary festivities:

In the meantime, there’s also another event to consider. The Halloween-themed Spooky Celebration is live. We can participate in its activities until November 4, 2024. 

Hello Kitty Island Adventure is available on Apple devices via Apple Arcade, and the 50th anniversary event is available until November 15, 2024. The Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, and PC versions launch in 2025. 

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We live in a timeline where not only does the gelbana exist, but it actually tastes good?! M.G.K. will release a Steins;Gate gelbana drink on October 28, 2024. [Thanks, Famitsu!]

The drink depicts a bunch of bananas, ripped apart at a molecular level and turned into a green gelatinous substance, on the label. According to it, it is a soft drink with about 150 mg of caffeine in it. It costs 540 JPY ($3.60) per bottle, and each bottle is around 50 ml. The Steins;Gate gelbana drink contains soft-shelled turtle extract (not exactly an uncommon ingredient in Japan), sugar, honey, carrot extract, and more. Because of the caffeine, you should only drink a bottle a day.

This is part of the 15th anniversary campaign for Steins;Gate. Other products include acrylic keychains and thirteen different kinds of whipping cream. These products appeared in stores on October 15, 2024. There are thirteen different flavors of whipping cream and thirteen different acrylic keychains for all of the characters and mascots in the series. Each can costs 2500 JPY or roughly $16.70.

Steins;Gate is readily available on the PS4, Windows PC, and mobile devices. You can also watch the show on streaming services like Netflix. MAGES has confirmed that the video game series will continue in the future.

The post The Gelbana From Steins;Gate is Available as a Drink appeared first on Siliconera.

Hyte has launched its Honkai: Star Rail Silver Wolf Y70 character case, with the keycap set and desk pad bundle open for pre-order as well. These items will be available both from Hyte’s website, as well as through retailers like Micro Center.

Hyte first unveiled the items in the Honkai: Star Rail Silver Wolf set back in June 2024, with prices available back then as well. As a refresher, here are the prices and items that are part of this collaboration:

• “Contract Zero” Desk Pad: $29.99
• Official Y70 Silver Wolf Case Bundle - Early Bird Bundle: $299.99
• Official Silver Wolf Keycap Set and Desk Pad Bundle: $129.99

The case bundle will come with the Y70 case, complete with Silver Wolf and the Quantum symbol on the panels. It’ll also come with fan shrouds. The Y70 is a pretty large case, with the exterior dimensions measuring 470 x 320 x 470 mm. Not only does this mean you can fit a large and powerful graphics card in there, but it also helps with cooling capacity.

Meanwhile, the desk pad and keycap set are available for pre-order and will come out in Q4 2024. The desk pad depicts Silver Wolf with “You Lose” next to her, and it measures at 900 x 400 mm. As for the keycaps, they’re cherry profile and are made of dye-sublimated PBT plastic. They’re compatible with UK/ISO, ANSI, JIS, and AZERTY layouts, and there are enough for keyboards of all sizes and shapes.

The limited edition Honkai: Star Rail Silver Wolf Y70 case is immediately available for purchase via the Hyte website. Honkai: Star Rail is readily available on the PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices.

The post Hyte Y70 Silver Wolf Case Available For Purchase appeared first on Siliconera.

The Japanese Genshin Impact account on X (formerly known as Twitter) revealed the voice actors for Ifa and Ronova. Showtaro Morikuto will voice Ifa while Fumiko Orikasa will voice Ronova.

Ifa is a Saurian veterinarian from the Flower-Feather Clan, and he’s both an efficient and sociable worker. Several characters such as Kachina and Kinich have voice lines about Ifa, and the Natlan Archon Quest in Genshin Impact also references him. Morikubo is a veteran voice actor and singer whose prominent roles include Shikamaru from Naruto, Okita from Hakuouki, and Yosuke from Persona 4. He has also released several albums and singles, with some of his songs appearing as themes in the Rockman series.

Ronova is one of the Four Shades of the Heavenly Principles and like Ifa, she appeared as a mentioned character in the Natlan story. She is the god who controls the power of death, and helped the Yohualtecuhtin to create the Night Kingdom. Orikasa is also a veteran voice actress. Some of her more notable works include Rukia from Bleach, Riza Hawkeye in Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood, and Kyubei in Gintama. She’s also the voice actress for Chun-Li in entries past Street Fighter IV.

Genshin Impact is readily available on the PS4, PS5, Windows PC, and mobile devices.

The post Here Are the Japanese Voice Actors For Ifa And Ronova in Genshin Impact appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco joins a number of game industry companies that have begun canceling games and firing staff in recent months. In a report by Bloomberg, Bandai Namco has begun to fire 200 of its 1,300 employees, with 100 resigning so far. [Thanks, Bloomberg!]

Firing began in April of 2024, following the cancellations of numerous internal Bandai Namco projects. A special note was taken of the cancellations and shifting away from mobile and PC projects. During the Summer of 2024 Bandai Namco shuttered the smartphone entry in the Tales of series Tales of the Rays and has already made plans to close out Blue Protocol in January of 2025.

Development on other titles has also been slowed, paused, or in some cases outright canceled. This includes titles based on the Naruto and One Piece IPs being cancelled or shelved indefinitely, according to Bloomberg. In addition, a title commissioned by Nintendo has also been put on ice, according to this same report.

Bandai Namco is not the first studio to announce steps back from live-service and mobile games. Square Enix announced the shut downs of several of its mobile titles, including Dissidia Final Fantasy: Opera Omnia, NieR Reincarnation, and Final Fantasy Brave Exvius during the course of 2024. In addition, layoffs and employee firings have continued to hit across Western game development studios, including the likes Bungie, Activision Blizzard, and SEGA of America.

At this time, there is no information about what this means for the studios underneath Bandai Namco's umbrella or what could happen to other games currently in development.

The post Bandai Namco Is Canceling Games and Firing Staff appeared first on Siliconera.

HoYoVerse announced it will be easier to get past event Light Cones in Honkai: Star Rail, as they will be in Herta’s Store. This will be one of the additions in the 2.6 update when it arrives on October 23, 2024.

Here’s how it will work. As people go through the Herta Space Station Simulated Universe, they earn Herta Bonds currency. That can be spent in her Herta’s Store, which includes gacha passes and other items. After 2.6 arrives, past event Light Cones will eventually appear when the store “restocks” after updates.

Not all event Light Cones will be in Herta’s Store after the October 2024 Honkai: Star Rail update. At the start, three will appear. These are the ones from the Clockie: Dreamjoy Memoir, Foxian Tale of the Haunted, and Starhunt Game events. So the four-star For Tomorrow's Journey (Harmony), Hey, Over Here (Abundance), and Before the Tutorial Mission Starts (Nihility) event Light Cones will all be sold for 4 Herta Bonds each. Based on the initial screenshots, the Superimposition Materials will be sold for 1 Herta Bond each as well. HoYoVerse will limit how many of these event Light Cones and their materials can be purchased. 

This is the main quality of life feature coming in Honkai: Star Rail 2.6. There will also be additional Relic filtering options appearing alongside it. 

Honkai: Star Rail is available on the PS5, PC, and mobile devices, and the event Light Cones will be added to the Herta’s Store stock after 2.6 debuts on October 23, 2024. 

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Back at the end of September 2024, Square Enix teased events coming to Final Fantasy VII Ever Crisis for the rest of the year, and now the updated roadmap includes the FFVII The First Soldier Angeal update. However, the upcoming November Special Event still remains a mystery.

The October section of the FFVII Ever Crisis updated roadmap focuses on the appearance of Angeal in The First Soldier Episode 2, Chapter 1 and Pumpkin Fest. The other Soldier First Class joins the game on October 16, 2024. Meanwhile, the Halloween event is already live, with costumes for Cait Sith, Vincent, and Yuffie in the gacha this year. The other October 2024 events include multiple Branding Stones being added as a feature and a Shiva and Ramuh double summon. 

In November 2024, we’ll continue to see some familiar faces. The Crisis Core storyline continues with Chapter 5, so we’ll see more of Zack’s story in FFVII Ever Crisis. The Summon Ifrit event will appear, there will be new Weapon Enhancements, and there will be more items in the Gil Shop. November is also when a new “Special Event” will appear. However, we don’t know what that entails.

In December 2024, we’ll see more of Angeal in FFVII Ever Crisis with The First Soldier Episode 2, Chapter 2. It also looks like the Christmas and holiday-inspired The Holy Flame’s Gift event will return from 2023 as the seasonal event. Summon Titan will appear for the first time, and there will be a Year’s End Campaign leading into the January 2025 New Year’s event.

Here’s the official image of the new FFVII Ever Crisis roadmap. 

FFVII Ever Crisis is available for the PC and mobile devices. 

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