Update 1.014 adds a few things to the game, such as new scenarios in the Franchise mode, fixing the “Red Route” WR Screen issue , and more. Additionally, the update also increases the unlock percentage for Scouting, adds additional goals for Franchise staff, and also brings stability fixes. There is also a fix for a draft issue where users couldn’t select a player during their turn, scouting tunings, and more.

The patch notes for the update list out a number of tweaks and changes made to the game. You can check them out in their entirety below. Madden NFL 22’s update 1.014 is now live on PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. 

UPDATE NOTES:

Key Highlights:

• New Scenarios added to Franchise
• Increase to unlock percentage for Scouting
• Additional Goals added for Franchise Staff
• “Red Route” WR Screen issue addressed

Gameplay Updates: 

• General Stability Fixes
• Fixed an issue with Play Art taking too long to update when flipping a play
• Fixed the Red Route WR Screen issue that was causing coverage defenders to crash and attack the QB as soon as he left the pocket. 
  • DEV NOTE: This issue was caused by logic that would have defenders break to defend a scrambling QB during a WR Screen play call. Now the defense will react appropriately and stay back in coverage when a Smoke Screen Hot Route is used on any passing play.

Franchise Updates:

• Fixed a draft issue where users were unable to select a player on their turn for both solo and multiplayer Franchise leagues.
• Scouting Tuning:
  • The General Scouting portion of scouting now provides a 10% unlock of information for prospects
  • Increased the Tier Bonus for scouts:
    • Tier 1 Scouts 2% > 5%
    • Tier 2 Scouts 5% > 15%
    • Tier 3 Scotus 10% > 25%
• Scenario Updates:
  • X-Factor Hot Streak: The X-Factor Hot Streak scenario occurs when facing an X-Factor defender coming off a big game in the previous week. Depending on the position of the player, you will be tasked with slowing them down in different statistical categories and extinguishing the fire. To make matters more challenging, when this scenario occurs, the player will start the game with their X-Factor activated meaning you’ll need to direct attention to them immediately or risk them wrecking your game early. But if you manage to keep them in check, you’ll be able to earn rewards that can be anything from XP to temporary boosts as well as staff points.
  • Team Turmoil: The Team Turmoil scenario emulates growing frustrations between a thriving offense and struggling defense. If you find yourself on a losing streak with one of the league’s best offenses while also fielding one of the league’s lowest ranking defenses, you may find yourself at a crossroads and having to answer questions about a divide in the locker room. This will provide your defense with the opportunity to step up and quell some of the frustrations in the locker room. But beware as another poor performance from the defense could send the whole team spiraling and looking for answers.   
  • Unstoppable Force: How do you stop the vaunted “Unstoppable Force?” That’s what you’ll be tasked with tackling when facing one of the league’s best offenses coming off a strong performance in their previous game. Formulate a gameplan around creating constant pressure, stuffing the run, or creating turnovers and take that challenge into your game that week for the opportunity to provide your defense with a momentum boost moving forward.
  • Weak Link: The Weak Link scenario fires when your team has made the playoffs despite fielding one of the league’s worst defensive units. The media will question not only your ability to make a deep playoff run but also your ability to even win a playoff game. Similar to the Unstoppable Force scenario, you’ll be tasked with how you need your defense to step up that week and based on the results of the game and their success, you have the opportunity to build momentum to help you make a Super Bowl run.
  • Bye Week: We’ve updated our Bye Week scenario from text messages to modular cinematics with all new choices and impacts. During your bye week, you’ll be asked how your team is handling the week off. You’ll be posed with choices of taking a team bonding retreat to build team chemistry, self-scouting to identify weaknesses to correct coming out of the bye or continuing to grind through the week to help with the development of your players. Each choice comes with a different positive and negative effect and as the coach, it’s on you to decide what your team needs and how to put them in the best position to succeed in the stretch run of the season.
• Goal Updates:
  • Added Score 30 Points or More Head Coach Goal
  • Added Hold Opponent to Under 17 Points Head Coach Goal
  • Added Score 2 Offensive Touchdowns Offensive Coordinator Goal
  • Added Score 21 Points or More Offensive Coordinator Goal
  • Added Get 2 Turnovers Defensive Coordinator Goal
  • Added Allow 275 Pass Yards or Less Defensive Coordinator Goal

For this month, subscribers of the service can claim EA Sports’ Madden NFL 22, Paradox Interactive’s Surviving Mars, and more. The full list of games offered is down below.

AMAZON PRIME GAMING MARCH 2022 LINEUP:

• Madden NFL 2022
• Surviving Mars
• SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech
• Crypto Against All Odds
• The Stillness of the Wild
• Look Inside
• Pesterquest

The games are currently free to claim on the service, and an active Amazon Prime subscription is required to claim them. Apart from the above, subscribers can also claim rewards in other games, such as a Prime Gaming capsule for League of Legends, virtual items for Roblox, and more.

Check out the webpage for Prime Gaming to learn how to claim these rewards.

For starters, Mass Effect: Legendary Edition, which has been available on Xbox Game Pass and PC Game Pass for some time, is now available via Game Pass for cloud as well. Meanwhile, February 17 will also bring a number of major additions, most notably with Sega and Creative Assembly’s Total War: Warhammer 3 coming to the service day and date on PC at launch. Lawn Mowing Simulator (on Xbox One) and Madden NFL 22 (console and PC) will also be added on the same day.

Following that, February 22 will bring the early access co-op FPS Roboquest (PC), with 4X strategy game Galactic Civilization 3 (PC) and baseball sim Super Mega Baseball 3 (console) arriving a couple days later on February 24. Finally, Alice: Madness Returns (PC) will arrive on February 28 to close out the month.

The games that are about to leave the Game Pass library soon as Titanfall, Hypnospace Outlaw, Killer Queen Black, Stealth Inc 2, and Touhou Luna Nights.

The PS5 dominated proceedings for hardware, being the best-selling console of the month in terms of both, revenue and units sold. This ends a 33-month streak that saw the Nintendo Switch leading the charts in terms of units sold, starting in December 2018, right up until August 2021. The PS5 is still the best-selling console of the year in dollar sales, while the Switch still leads in unit sales.

On the software side of things, it was a pretty eventful months, with a number of new releases seeing impressive debuts. Madden NFL 22 is still on No. 1, where it was last month. It is the fourth best-selling game of the twelve-month period ending September 2021, and the second highest-selling game of 2021. Beyond that, however, there’s plenty of new releases to speak about.

Tales of Arise, for instance, debuts at No. 4, and in the process, sets a new record for launch month dollar sales for the series. Bandai Namco has already confirmed that the RPG has gotten off to a solid start where sales are concerned, so this doesn’t come as much of a surprise. Meanwhile, Life is Strange: True Colors at No. 10 does the same for its own series.

In the charts, we also have FIFA 22 (No. 2), NBA 2K22 (No. 3), Diablo 2: Resurrected (No. 5), Deathloop (No. 6), and Sonic Colors: Ultimate (No. 13). WarioWare: Get it Together! also comes in at No. 15, and sees the best launch for a WarioWare game since 2007’s Wii title, WarioWare: Smooth Moves.

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On many occasions, there will be man-to-man or 1v1 scenarios taking place. Knowing how to defend in these cases is the key to victory. To best optimize your defense in these scenarios, press Y or Triangle when the round begins, then press either again for more options. You can then select the defenders that go against each attacking player.

Another useful trick is shade coverage – simply press Y/Triangle and then point the right stick towards an area on the field. This will provide defense in 1v1 scenarios. Right flicks are most useful when guarding on the outside – left flicking will guard the inside. Top flicks are, as the name indicates, providing shade coverage in the topmost areas while flicking down will cover areas below.

When planning your attack, knowing all of the routes on the field and how your opponent will tackle them is key. Keep track of your receivers’ locations and where they can be positioned. Using corner routes is still a viable strategy but try not to exploit them too heavily. Mix up your plays and try out different kinds of formations.

It may be tempting to go for the bomb with your quarterback as much as possible to gain lots of yard coverage. However, it can lead to more interceptions as well (along with making you predictable). Sticking to different strategies and mixing things up will ensure success in the long run. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to try out different offensive playbooks to gain an advantage. For more details on the best playbooks, check out our guide here.

Madden NFL 22 is currently available for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, and PC. Read our official review here for more details.

Thanks to the launch of its Director’s Cut on PS4 and PS5, Ghost of Tsushima became the second best-selling title in August. Considering it was at 110th place in July, this is a pretty big uptick. Amplitude Studios’ Humankind also did very well, ranking fourth in the overall best-selling titles for the month and first among the tracked PC titles. Year-to-date, it’s currently the fifth best-selling PC title of 2021.

Check out the full top 20 best-selling games in the United States for August below. September’s sales should be interesting following the release of NBA 2K22, Deathloop and Tales of Arise so stay tuned.

Rank 6 upgrades are special though – you need an item to upgrade the player along with owning a Core Elite card for them. So what are the benefits of upgrading characters? Usually obtaining slots for Superstar and X-Factor abilities, Positions (though this is limited to positions on the player’s team), Chemistries and so on. Mixing and matching the right abilities is key, though it also depends on the player’s role so choose the best combination that fits your play-style. Keep in mind that refunding upgrades is possible but will only return half of the Training Points invested.

Even if you’re swimming in Training Points, Training Items and Power-Up Cards, it’s still important to focus on certain players to upgrade before others. Let’s take a look at some of the best options available.

• Bobby Anderson – A former Washington player, Anderson is a halfback who does very well with catches. If you’re looking to invest in a player for the short-term, you can’t go wrong with him.
• Montez Sweat – Another Washington player, Sweat is very fast and plays the Defensive End. A good choice if you favor speed.
• Saquon Barkley – With an 89 OVR, Barkley boasts some fairly high Speed, Agility, Jumping and Agility stats. A great running back for the New York Giants.
• Justin Reid – Playing for the Houston Texans, Reid is also a very fast player and can compete against Sweat for the top spot. Upgrade him if you need a reliable free safety player and hit power isn’t too important.
• Deion Jones – The Atlanta Falcons linebacker is pretty good overall. Worth upgrading if you need an all-around performer.

For more tips on which players to upgrade, checking out Zirksee’s video guide below. Swift’s video is also useful for tips on earning more Training Points.

Much of what’s made recent Madden games so heavily criticized in recent years is their general lack of innovation on both gameplay and structural fronts, and both are addressed this year to a certain degree. Starting on the gameplay side, there are a few front-and-center additions that reinvigorate the minute-to-minute experience, namely the new Momentum system. Depending on the flow of the game, either team will be impacted in a tangible way, either positively or negatively. The more one-sided the flow of the game, the more severe the benefits or punishments. I appreciate this addition to gameplay because it adds more of a fan-centric way of playing the game that gives a bit more arcadiness to the experience, building a way to manifest how fans feel when their favorite team is losing a lead or mounting a comeback. I only wish the effects themselves were a little more balanced. They range from things you have to take the game’s word for, like receivers being better at catching, to highly noticeable changes, like your play art being incorrect. While with dozens of these effects, it’s inevitable that some are going to be less useful than others, it seems like there are a select few that aren’t always even the most severe on the meter that made a bit more of a difference than they were probably intended to.

"Madden 22 doesn’t fully answer all the criticism recent Maddens have received and does introduce a few new issues of its own, but at least it’s finally past the point of apathy."

There aren’t many major updates to gameplay outside of the Momentum effects. There are the usual updates to things like movement and animation, and it certainly feels better than any recent Madden, especially combined with the upgraded audio and beautiful visuals on the new consoles. It’s been true in the past and it continues today that if you’ve played a Madden game before, you know what you’re getting into. I wish there were more noticeable improvements, especially to things like the AI, which continues to be questionable in situations on and off the field, from clock management to CPU-controlled players running straight out of bounds for no reason. With that said, it’s still as refined a football experience as the series has ever provided, and I found myself enjoying it surprisingly more than normal right off the bat.

What Madden 22 has clearly put more effort into changing for this year’s entry is its presentation, particularly modes like Franchise and Face of the Franchise. Franchise mode has long been problematic for both how little it has evolved and how much it was falling behind comparable modes in games like NBA 2K or MLB The Show. Luckily, Franchise has taken a hefty jump this year thanks to a handful of new features that give you a lot more control. Major additions are things like more detailed control over staff and the ability to control your weekly strategy. Your weekly strategy options aren’t as complex as it might want you to think, since they’re almost always the same week-to-week options of prioritizing or defending the outside run, inside run, or different levels of passing attacks, with a blitz or two thrown in there, but it’s definitely a start. Even mid-week conversations with the media and in the locker room feel a bit more engaging, even if you’re still answering many of the same questions. They feel more long-term now. The objectives like throwing a certain number of touchdowns or holding an opponent to a certain number of scrimmage yards in a game are still there, but I was faced once with the threat of retirement from my star Edge Rusher if we didn’t win enough games.

The Face of the Franchise mode is updated, too, with a brand new path-to-stardom story. Like last year, you choose a college and can play in the College Football Playoff for the national title, all as part of a training camp you, as the presumed number one overall pick, go through with other stars. From here on out, you begin your career as a rising NFL star, all with your agent, team mentor, and some major online personalities by your side in a story that I generally didn’t care about as much as in previous years. It’s a little jarring to see how the game deals with you being the number one overall pick in the 2021 draft compared with reality, or, more accurately, how it doesn’t deal with it, as Trevor Lawrence is still on the Jaguars’ roster and the game bafflingly calls out that the Jaguars had two number one overall picks this year Regardless, once you make your way to the NFL, you settle into a weekly routine where you have a cutscene or two and make a decision for how to spend your week, whether it’s watching film, repping your brand, or putting in work at the gym. What’s more is that the choices commonly give you short-term benefits, as do gameday effects, so you might have an increased throw power because you went to the gym but decreased agility because there’s a blizzard on its way. It’s a really interesting way to keep you on your toes for what to expect for the coming week.

"Franchise has taken a hefty jump this year thanks to a handful of new features that give you a lot more control. Major additions are things like more detailed control over staff and the ability to control your weekly strategy."

The issue that I have with these two modes comes less from their individual characteristics and more from their interplay, because on a purely gameplay front, Franchise and Face of the Franchise are converging to the same mode. From the gameplay itself to the mid-week decisions and conversations, much of what I experienced in either was almost indistinguishable, and the fact that I played my Franchise mode team with a highly-touted rookie quarterback at the helm didn’t help matters. The Momentum system, short-term stat changes, and weather effects are all always present regardless of the mode, and even the menus, though they have been nicely refreshed from past years and offer a modern new style, look identical to the uninitiated. Both modes are great on their own, but without much of a difference in structure, or even menus, they begin to feel a bit samey over time.

The gameplay differentiation comes from the rest of the modes Madden 22 offers. The Yard, the backyard football equivalent that was introduced last year, has had some major upgrades, including a new surprisingly meaty faux-campaign. It has five full chapters in different backyard stadiums, including boss battles from superstars like Patrick Mahomes. The core gameplay is the same as it was before, and the shaky AI sticks out like a sore thumb here, but I still find this mode to be as refreshing to Madden as the XFL wanted to be to real-life football. Otherwise, Ultimate Team is almost unchanged, and smaller options like Superstar Knockout and Championship Series are still there but have little staying power compared to the rest.

It’s worth noting that I encountered a good number of small bugs and mishaps that range from funny to frustrating. In-game animations frequently synchronize, character models when not in fully voiced cutscenes aren’t always in the right place or correctly timed, and I noticed a handful of typos and misplaced descriptors lying around. It’s more frustrating that, at least on Xbox Series X, the game’s reliance on connecting to servers almost negates any possibility for Quick Resume, and I encountered one or two crashes in my time. None of it was experience-breaking, but it did take me out of the moment a few times and will hopefully be fixed with future patches.

"I encountered a good number of small bugs and mishaps that range from funny to frustrating. In-game animations frequently synchronize, character models when not in fully voiced cutscenes aren’t always in the right place or correctly timed, and I noticed a handful of typos and misplaced descriptors lying around."

For a series that has repeatedly been criticized for resting on its laurels, Madden has at least aimed higher this year than in many recent years. While the actual gameplay remains much the same, some of the in-game stat and ability modifiers make things a little more dynamic on the gridiron. There’s no denying that Franchise mode has taken a healthy step up as well, even if it and Face of the Franchise are coalescing, because the entire experience has improved overall, especially when considering the continued greatness of The Yard. Not everything in Madden 22 is better, nor has every issue been addressed, but this year’s entry into the classic football franchise has begun laying the groundwork for some major changes to the formula with a few great gameplay modes to boot.

This game was reviewed on the Xbox Series X.

Twelve Minutes

A husband and wife quietly celebrate in their apartment when suddenly, a police officer barges in, proclaiming the latter to have killed her father. After both are restrained and his wife dies, the husband finds himself at an earlier part of the day. Sadly, it wasn’t all a bad dream as the same 12 minutes unfolds again. What can he do to save his wife? Why is time repeating? These are some of the core mysteries in Twelve Minutes.

As the story unfolds, the player can try different things, whether it’s picking up a knife to attack the officer, or hiding in the bathroom. Each new loop provides additional information and dialogue choices, prompting new actions that will hopefully break the cycle. Twelve Minutes is out on August 19^th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One and PC along with Xbox Game Pass.

Ghost of Tsushima Director’s Cut

A little over one year later and with 6.5 million copies sold, Ghost of Tsushima is getting a Director’s Cut with some quality of life improvements and new content. These include support for the DualSense’s haptic feedback and adaptive triggers, 3D audio support, options for 4K and 60 FPS, faster load times and full lip-syncing for the Japanese VO on PS5. The new Iki Island expansion becomes available from Act 2 onwards and sees Jin traveling to a new region to battle a new Mongol threat.

New story missions, armor, weapons and of course, more animals, await along with other side content and activities. Releasing on August 20^th for PS4 and PS5, the Director’s Cut will cost $19.99 as an upgrade for PS4 owners and $69.99 for PS5 players. You can also upgrade from the Director’s Cut on PS4 to PS5 for $9.99 or go from the base PS4 version to the Director’s Cut on PS5 for $29.99.

Madden NFL 22

Another year, another iteration in the Madden franchise. Madden NFL 22 is in a weird spot, seeing as the past few titles have received blow-back from fans for various reasons. This year’s title is even more geared towards Xbox Series X/S and PS5 players with exclusive new Dynamic Gameday that looks to keep things exciting. This is in addition to changes with the movement, blocking, catching and tackling, updated Playbooks, the return of The Yard with solo and co-op options, a new story in Face of the Franchise mode and much more. Between new classes, abilities and changes to the Madden Ultimate Team Auction, it seems like a lot to look forward to on paper but time will ultimately tell. Madden NFL 22 releases on August 20^th for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Google Stadia.

Kena: Bridge of Spirits

Ember Lab’s Kena: Bridge of Spirits has been quite the standout since its announcement last year thanks to its animated art-style and interesting premise. Players control Kena, a spirit guide who ventures to an abandoned village and tries to help the deceased move on into the spirit world. Along with a staff that can be used as a bow to fire arrows, she can also call upon the Rot, little spirit creatures that will help in battles and when solving puzzles. With its mix of exploration, platforming and combat, Kena: Bridge of Spirits is looking like a solid action-adventure title with an emotional story. It’s out on August 24^th for PS4, PS5 and PC.

Psychonauts 2

It’s been a long, long, long wait but the sequel to the cult-classic Psychonauts is almost here. Taking place immediately after Psychonauts in the Rhombus of Ruin, the story sees Raz venturing to Psychonauts HQ. Not everything is well though – second in command Hollis Forsythe is investing in some shady dealings, like necromancy, and there may be double agents sneaking about.

Raz will once again venture into different Mindscapes, learning new abilities and powers, as he attempts to make sense of everything around him (including the curse that’s plagued his family). With epic new levels and the trademark Double Fine humor, Psychonauts 2 is looking to be a worthy successor. It releases on August 25th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4 and PC while launching day one on Xbox Game Pass.

No More Heroes 3

With all of the returns in gaming, it only makes sense for Travis Touchdown to re-enter the scene, this time squaring off against invading aliens to decide the fate of the world. No More Heroes 3 offers much of the same combat that fans have loved about the series, from the random benefits of the Slash Reel to Death Blows and wrestling moves. It does have a lot of new options though from Travis’s Fully Armored form to the Death Glove from Travis Strikes Again.

But make no mistake – this is No More Heroes through and through. You’ll take on volunteer work to earn money and enter ranked battles, engage in crazy death battles and encounter more crazy characters as the story progresses. No More Heroes 3 is out on August 27^th, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

New World

Despite Amazon Games having less than stellar success (which is a nice way of saying “no success whatsoever”), there is a decent amount of hype for New World. It’s a brand new MMO, one that’s set in the mid-1600s as players arrive in a new region to colonize it. There are three factions – Marauders, Syndicate and Covenant – and along with questing, players can control settlements and battle each other. PvE combat is fairly extensive – enemies have several attacks and there’s a bigger emphasis on blocking, dodging and timing as opposed to auto-attacking for players. While the real journey begins after its launch on August 31^st for PC, New World is still worth keeping an eye on.

Foreclosed

A narrative shooter with a cyberpunk twist, Foreclosed is set in a future where brain implants are foreclosed and auctioned off. Protagonist Eric Kapnos has suffered this fate and must now escape the city before it’s too late. With a sleek graphic novel style presentation, Foreclosed offers an intriguing premise and story while combat relies on a myriad of weapons (thanks to a shifting Symbiotic Pistol) and abilities like telekinesis, hacking and more. It releases on August 12^th for PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and Nintendo Switch.

Hades

As one of the best games last year for Nintendo Switch and PC, Supergiant Games’ Hades comes to Xbox One, Xbox Series X/, PS4 and PS5 on August 13^th (with a day one release on Xbox Game Pass). The isometric rogue-lite sees Zagreus, the son of Hades, looking to escape from the Underworld. Naturally, the Lord of the Dead doesn’t take kindly to this so you’ll have to battle the Furies in Tartarus, survive the lava-filled rivers of Asphodel and much more in order to survive.

There are a handful of weapons to select from the beginning of each escape attempt, complete with their own unique abilities and upgrades but Zagreus also receives help from the Greek Pantheon. Zeus bestows the power of Thunder which can Jolt foes; Ares offers delayed secondary damage with Doom; and Hermes is all about speed among other options.

But it’s the story-telling and writing of Hades that will draw you in. There are hundreds of thousands of unique voiced dialogue and the story evolves with each escape attempt as you learn more about Zagreus’s upbringing, the world and its history. Whether you’re into rogue-lites, solid hack and slash titles, or simply love a good story, Hades is well worth playing.

Aliens: Fireteam Elite

Between Back 4 Blood, Redfall, Warhammer 40,000: Darktide, and Rainbow Six Extraction, the next year or so is looking pretty good for co-op shooter fans. Aliens: Fireteam Elite releases the earliest and may be worth checking out on the basis of its premise. Taking place several years after the original trilogy, it focuses on a Marine fireteam that battles Xenomorphs across four campaigns, each with three story missions. Five classes are available – Gunner, Technician, Recon, Doc and Demolisher – each with their own unique abilities and load-outs while there’s an extensive amount of weapons and customization to be had.

Up to three players can embark on a mission, though you can also play solo with two AI teammates, and numerous difficulty levels really allow for ramping up the game’s survival horror aspects. Aliens: Fireteam Elite is out on August 24^th for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PS4, PS5 and PC. Cross-gen play is supported at launch for PlayStation and Xbox platforms but there won’t be cross-platform play (for now).