Jimmer-jammer

I wish the stellar production values of Assassin’s Creed could be paired with the stellar combat and progression of Rise of the Ronin.

It’s hard to comment on anything definitively without the data but putting that aside, I think it’s a great idea and I’d actually like to see more select games release between the two platforms with parity day and date.

This is awesome! I’ll definitely be doing this with the kids.

The harsh reality of consolidation rears its ugly head yet again. We should be cheering on partnerships, not acquisitions; independent wealth, not corporate greed. Brutal news but unfortunately not surprising.

A corporation is an entity conceived and designed for the sole purpose of generating as much profit as possible - and here’s the caveat- within a given market. To do this effectively, a human touch is required and folks are paid big bucks to make what works on paper actually work in practice. This is not a market that Sony can waltz into and dictate their status quo, that much is clear. You can’t take your golden calf into the lions den and expect to make it out alive without respecting the lions’ nature. This whole thing’s been mildly fascinating to watch unfold.

I had a lot of fun with Hades and felt the writing in particular was exceptional. Sounds like it’s shaping up to be a great sequel!

This is great! If the end result of this fiasco is a tongue in cheek cape, I’d say Sony and Arrowhead have sailed through this potential disaster brilliantly.

At this point in the situation, was there really any other option? Sony ultimately brought this on themselves and at the end of the day, arrived at a pretty democratic resolution.

Sony might want to look this word up:

Blunder - A gross error or mistake resulting usually from stupidity, ignorance, or carelessness.

Followed immediately by the words ‘Effective’ and ‘Communication’

Yikes

@amatmulisha Yeah it really is, though I’m excited to see what Bend is cooking up next!

@Deityjester Well, between you and I, that’s two, and I think we could safely add many zeroes to that number just from folks on this site alone if engagement on past Days Gone articles is anything to go by. The passion is real 😄

First party: Demon’s Souls, Astrobot, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal and Spider-Man 2.

Third party exclusive: Final Fanrasy XVI, Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldivers 2, Rise of the Ronin and Stellar Blade.

That’s 10 PS5 games. Combine that with not insignificant cross-gen releases such as God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West and Sackboy, I see a varied menu of high quality releases only found within the PlayStation ecosystem. I haven’t even touched third party or indie.

PS5 also launched (successfully) in the midst of a world altering pandemic, of which the effects are still being felt in the supply chain, labour force and economic climate. In order to develop games at the fidelity players expect, and without crunch, in a situation where they are more expensive and take longer to make than ever before, I think Sony’s strategy is working out just fine all things considered. It’s fair to say that some mistakes with resource management have been made behind the scenes but it’s precisely this strategy of diversity that has kept these mistakes from becoming critical.

A lot of PS4’s biggest titles, such as Ghost of Tsushima, released far into its lifespan and beloved titles such as Days Gone and The Order 1886 reviewed far lower across the board than the current “ugly duckling”, Rise of the Ronin.

I think Sony has bought the time they need to get their ducks in a row and are going to smash the latter half of this console’s lifespan out of the water.

I’ll be making a hard push towards finishing up and maybe collecting the platinum for Rise of the Ronin. It’s been an absolute pleasure. Happy gaming!

“It serves up a series of replayable combat trials, and unlocks yet more Eikonic abilities for Clive.”

What’s this I read? Now I’m really itching to get to Kairos Gate!

Game development is such an iterative creative process, it’s especially primed for just about every pitfall imaginable. Shipping any game is a minor miracle. Should be a good watch!

I’ve been looking forward to Ghostrunner 2 but just haven’t picked it up yet. I’m pretty happy with this.

I chose to support Remedy and purchased this at full price digitally, something I rarely do. I did my part. Unfortunately, I also felt the game was a real step back for Remedy. Perhaps the product just isn’t resonating with enough players to justify such high development costs. It’s hard to manufacture an audience.

@Rich33 If you’re sensitive to it, I’d recommend holding off a bit longer. Performance is all over the place. Sometimes it’s a rock solid 60fps and other times it’s just not. A shame as the world is extremely well crafted.

I’m loving my time with it. Not everything lands but it’s a really fun game that I also happen to think is quite beautiful. Hope it does well, Team Ninja is onto something with this formula.

@get2sammyb Thank you! I’m pretty excited for this after reading the review.

Sounds like a lot of fun! I’m hoping the dodge mechanic has improved since the demo as I personally felt it bordered on broken. The parry and blink were rock solid though.

@get2sammyb How is the environmental variety? Are there lots of diverse locations or is it mostly ‘broken down city lost to nature?’

I like how the title looks like it was slashed into place by a sword. The angular font adds so much depth and dimension to the piece, while the overtly symmetrical composition communicates a sense of power and control: you have the means to keep chaos at bay. It’s fantastic box art.

I would assume this is mostly in reference to the game’s violence. Regardless, the double standard is real.

https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/ea-japan-exec-criticises-japanese-rating-board-for-banning-dead-space-but-passing-stellar-blade/

I’ve put Rise of the Ronin on the back burner in order to rip through the two FF XVI DLC’s. Happy Gaming!

@HeavymetalGordon Not only will I also be watching NHL playoffs but I’m also playing through Unravel 2 with my son and also missed the same trophy as you on my Elden Ring play through. I feel very understood right now 😂 Cheers!

@Ravix Loading up your ‘complete’ save file puts you back to the point of no return, which is where you need to be to start the DLC. 😄

Edit: Just to add to this, even if you didn’t save after completing the game for some reason, you’d still have your save before the point of no return. There’s basically no way to miss this unless you’ve deleted your saves.

Kairos gate sounds really neat, I had no idea it was a thing. I’m glad to see they’re all in on the wonderful combat system. I loaded up my ‘Origin Complete’ save last night, only to see that I had to complete a few quests in order to access the DLC (I had skipped most side quests on my FF run). It worked out though, as I needed to familiarize myself with everything again anyway. Hope to start both DLC’s proper tonight!

Really impressive debut for Ember Lab. I actually forgot this was exclusive to PlayStation. Glad to see them expanding their audience.

I lent out my copy but will be picking it up today 😄 Very excited to polish this off.

I just want to say that the picture accompanying the article rocks!

NieR: Automata is a masterwork of video game storytelling. At this point, I don’t see the comparison but I’ll wait to pass judgement. Still, those are some big stilettos to fill.

Well, I’m sold. Sounds wonderful.

Great interview, thanks! Can’t wait to fully wrap this journey up. I will be forever grateful for this black sheep of a Final Fantasy and they should be really proud of what they made.

Much needed photo mode improvements!!!

This is excellent news. Final Fantasy mode felt like the way the game was intended to be played, it’s just such a fun combat system when it’s balanced properly.

I hope Final Fantasy never loses its penchant for doing things differently with each entry. Each one has its unique ups and downs. At the very least, it’ll provide endless fodder for fans to argue about what Final Fantasy REALLY is. Loved XVI and can’t wait for the DLC.

I was really hoping this would have the gameplay to match its incredible visual style. This review reads pretty much how I felt about Alan Wake II but this time I think I’ll steer clear until it’s on a sale.

Rise of the Ronin and Unicorn Overlord. Gaming life is good.

@LikelySatan The Amulet series has been a big stepping stone for our kids. Definitely worth looking into, plus the final volume recently released so it’s a complete story.

I’m just glad to see Rise of the Ronin hanging in there!

To me, we simply don’t know enough here to really judge anything. Given the right circumstances and if communicated and executed effectively, being furloughed isn’t the monster it sounds like. Benefits and/or unemployment can often be collected and there should be a timeframe discussed. It can be much more preferable to a layoff.

Provided you’re willing to step outside of the AAA space, I see no shortage of variety currently on offer in gaming.

The name Fall Guys works because it is a double entendre. Stumble Guys is just…this can’t be real.

I’m absolutely loving Unicorn Overlord. I think it’s brilliant. I’m new to Vanillaware but their passion is seen, felt and heard in every frame of this thing. Most importantly, it’s extremely fun to play. By all accounts, they seem like a truly great studio as well. Thanks for this interview!

The best game I’ve played this year is Unicorn Overlord but my favourite is Rise of the Ronin. It’s got so much heart and is just so much fun to play. In some aspects it hasn’t met my expectations but in others it has assuaged and even surpassed them. Team Ninja should be proud of their first open world effort and have cultivated some real fertile ground for future projects here. If anyone’s looking for a challenging, classic open world samurai sim that prioritizes gameplay, don’t sleep on this one!

The difference between 30fps and 60fps is undeniable. I fully comprehend and appreciate the difference. A stable 30 still isn’t a deal breaker for me, depending on the game.

I got a chance to play this on Xbox for about 3 hours at a buddy’s house. I had a lot of fun! The way all of the systems interact with each other creates a lot of gaming gold. That said, my time with it convinced me to wait a bit on it. Especially if there’s an expansion coming (and potentially a PS5 Pro), I think it will be well worth the wait.

I had a good chuckle when I noticed the three seashells in V’s apartment!

@GilgaMax96 I wholeheartedly recommend it, though it’s only the second Vanillaware game I’ve played and I actually didn’t get on with 13 Sentinels (though I may give it another shot at some point), so take that for what it’s worth. I do really think Unicorn Overlord stands on its own as a fantastic strategy game.

Unicorn Overlord is the only game from this list I’ve played but it is a real showstopper. I’ve seen a lot of comments about how it plays itself but I can’t say I agree. I see those fights as more of a visually stunning reward, whereas the true tactical depth comes from managing the battlefield during stages: building well balanced units and matching them appropriately to adversaries, mobility and item/valour management, planning efficient routes so as to capture strategic fulcrum points, withdrawing and deploying units effectively… It’s really great stuff executed at an exceptional level.

Rise of the Ronin. Having a lot of fun, except when I lost what may have been my favourite picture I’ve ever taken in a photo mode because there’s no prompt asking, “Are you sure you want to exit?” Happy gaming!

It completely depends on the game for me. Shooters and anything first person or competitive should hold a stable 60fps. Outside of that, I’m not generally bothered by a stable 30fps. Both new God of Wars, Final Fantasy XVI and Alan Wake II are recent games that I played entirely in quality mode. They look amazing.