ShogunRok

@Flaming_Kaiser For what it's worth, the original Path of Exile is a very good example of free-to-play done right.

@Tecinthebrain @Juanalf I thought it'd be a long, long time until we got a better looking Dragon Ball game than Dragon Ball FighterZ, but this might actually take the crown.

@ProfessorNiggle @Atreus97 This is sadly the nature of comments sections, as I've observed over a whole decade of writing on this site!

There's obviously nothing wrong with disliking the game, but the vast majority of people who click this article simply read it and then leave. The only people who feel the need to comment are the people who either A) want to get their personal point across or B) want to engage with the site / community.

And let's face it, people are much more inclined to comment when they feel the need to air a potentially unpopular opinion because ultimately, they're looking for justification from others. From there, it's usually a snowball effect.

@Cloud39472 That wasn't us — I reviewed both Forspoken (6/10) and Rebirth (8/10). I'm not the biggest Rebirth fan but it's definitely, definitely better than Forspoken!

@sanderson72 We don't know yet, but I'd be surprised if all three are completely locked behind Premium since previous PS1 classics have been sold standalone.

@SuperSilverback DQ8 mentioned

@BamBamBaklava89 Whether we like it or not, something like CoD being on Game Pass will impact the wider industry, including PlayStation. We'll probably end up reporting on how it all goes down.

@Bettyswollocks @UltimateOtaku91 One is called Final Fantasy — one of the most well-known game franchises in the world — the other isn't. Completely different expectations from both publishers and shareholders.

@colonelkilgore The R-rated Astro Bot spinoff, Arse-tro Bot.

Let's be real, Shift Up's played a blinder here. Wouldn't be at all surprised if this entire saga was planned to some degree — this is, after all, from the same company that develops an incredibly popular gacha game and probably has an entire department committed to player behaviour and psyche.

@atthegates Yeah, a six-month deal by the looks of it. Was added to Extra in December 2023.

@MaccaMUFC 3pm last year. It ain't looking good.

@PapaGlitch @BlaizeV Jim Ryan clearly left PlayStation to go into politics. This is his doing.

@thefourfoldroot1 In my experience, it's... kind of worked. At least, I think it has. Most of my playtimes seem fairly accurate, although there are definitely some that seem completely wrong.

Those 'most played' stats emails PlayStation sends out at the end of the year have often been incorrect for me as well. I remember one year, it said Skyrim was my most played game, despite only having booted it up to check out the mod update or something. Had me down for 200 hours or something crazy.

So yeah, it's definitely hit and miss!

@FuriousMachine Can't give you a concrete reason as to why it's decided to disappear, but we do want to bring it back. We're looking into it!

@NEStalgia @lacerz Just to be clear, Hookshot (Nintendo Life, Push Square, Pure Xbox, and Time Extension's parent company) is independent and always has been.

We posted about it on social media when the news broke: https://x.com/hookshotmedia/status/1792962023854342231

"Our ad sales partner Gamer Network was today acquired by Ziff Davis/IGN

We want to clarify that our teams at @nintendolife
@pushsquare @purexbox & @timeextension64 are unaffected by the redundancies, and we continue to operate independently

Our thoughts are with those affected"

@Nem For the record, we did ask if there are any plans to continue the Stories series, but Capcom sadly couldn't answer.

@Intr1n5ic Yeah I think the stuff in the 'Complete' edition is purely cosmetic.

@somnambulance The survival mechanics in V Rising are a bit... lighter than they are in those games. It's more about gathering resources and using them to craft things like potions and useful stuff for your castle.

Think Diablo with a base-building system and you're on the right track.

@GamingFan4Lyf A disgraceful performance tbh.

@UltimateOtaku91 @GamingFan4Lyf Copied the wrong chart by mistake — that was actually the chart from two weeks ago which I was cross-referencing. Fixed now!

Ridiculous. Modern Capcom is unbelievable.

@Deoxyr1bose That's the kind of stuff that really stands out to me now that the closures have happened. Every interview with Spencer and the other suits had them fawning over Hi-Fi Rush, how it was the perfect project for Game Pass, how it surpassed all expectations, and how it was a symbol of everything that Xbox wanted to do going forward.

Then the studio gets shut down out of nowhere. Say one thing, do the other. Classic corporate degeneracy.

He's right in that AI can and most likely will be used as a tool to improve game development efficiency. There's a lot of work that can be streamlined by using AI, especially in the concept stage.

However, it's hard not to be cynical. These publishers are already happy to close entire studios full of talented people. If they can gradually replace those people with AI, they absolutely will.

Bottom line is AI could be a game-changing tool for the industry. But there's no doubt it'll be abused by the suits, if they're given the opportunity.

@Korgon Vanillaware is the only other dev I can think of. Published by Atlus, of course!

@Shaunholio takes credit for the tagline. I wasn't going to miss a second time.

@Martijn87 @glennthefrog I think I'm in agreement with both of your comments. Part of me quite likes how weird things get, but at the same time, the impact of Aerith's death hits nowhere near as hard when you don't actually see it happen. I think the direction could have been much better.

I like that we get a moment where it looks like Cloud saves her. That was a real "holy sh*t!" moment for me. But then for it to cut between different realities and have her just be dead in Cloud's arms... The fake out could have been really meaningful with, again, clearer direction.

And yeah, it's one of those where it's much more effective if you're already familiar with FF7. Square Enix trying to sell this trilogy like it's great for newcomers still baffles me!

They should make this into an emblem while they're at it:

Just a funny joke lads, please don't review bomb me.

@HonestHick Same, the main story boss battles in particular are really the only things that have made me say "wow" on PS5. The spectacle is insane.

@HonestHick I'll 100% replay the whole of FF16 if it runs at 60fps on the Pro.

I don't think the lack of a consistent 60fps is a deal-breaker in the base game since battles tend to hit 60 anyway, but it would be nice to see it enhanced across the board.

How much does Take-Two's CEO make again?

@dskatter That's a very good spot, no idea how I've made that mistake not once but twice. Thanks!

@tameshiyaku I assumed "unplayable" was sensationalist when I first heard about this issue, but then I saw some of the gameplay videos and it really is a nightmare. The game can straight up freeze for a few seconds at regular intervals — as often as every ten seconds or so.

@SNARF @Marceezy From what I'm reading, this is a widespread issue introduced by the patch. I'm writing up a news article now.

@Scooby-Doo It's too good not to use, especially in this situation.

@TheEnygma Square Enix would be in serious trouble if it wasn't for FF14. That game has carried its console-facing business for about a decade at this point.

@JokerBoy422 The PS4 version has a new patch, but there's also a native PS5 version, which this review is based on. It's a free upgrade if you own the game on PS4.

@ApostateMage I'll give you Nick, probably my favourite character. I don't mind Piper either.

The criticism was more aimed at the game as a whole, especially in conjunction with the side quests. But you're right, most of the companions are pretty good.

@kyleforrester87 That PS5 picture says it's from performance mode anyway, so it looks like the textures in general have been improved, regardless of which mode you're using. The higher resolution will help as well, of course.

Don't get me wrong, still looks like a game from 2015 and it's full of pretty blurred textures, but this suggests there's been a decent jump between generations.

Really happy for her, finally got to meet Sammy 'Persona Sucks' Barker.

@GymratAmarillo No idea how it's still up, it's been around for years!

@rjejr Part of the game, thankfully!

The main story beats are basically the same as the ones in the anime, but being a game, it does expand on things quite a bit.

@GymratAmarillo Despite the buzz around it, that's not an official account.

@Mikey856 @anon_pel222 Still in development as far as we know. Wouldn't be surprised if it shows up again during Summer Game Fest. Geoff's been making deals with Korean companies for years now.

@anon_pel222 Deep Down always comes to mind as well!

@DeathlySW Now you mention it, I haven't actually checked if there's New Game+.

You can continue exploring the world and doing side quests once you're doing with the main story, though, and there are endgame bosses / bounty targets to track down.

@mrbone It'll probably take around 40 hours to beat the main story plus a good number of side quests. If you want to do absolutely everything, though, you could be looking at 60, maybe even 70 hours and above.

If anyone's got any questions about the game or the review, let me know and I'll try to answer them as soon as I can.

I read the original Sand Land manga god-knows how many years ago — still got it on my shelf! — and I always thought it was great.

It's been nice to see successful adaptations, and just goes to show how good licensed anime games can be when they're given the appropriate budget and development time (and they're not just watered down into an arena fighter).

@UltimateOtaku91 Hopefully the gameplay adjustments make it worth playing again. P5R's changes improved the game massively, so I'm hoping Vengeance is similar.

@Thumper Shin Megami Tensei V: ReVengeance