For instance, there’s the Classic Ladder for running through all four acts as a fresh character. Hardcore Classic Ladder is the same but you get only one life. Expansion Ladder is the same as Classic but includes the Lord of Destruction expansion. Finally, Hardcore Expansion Ladder offers all five acts to play through but with only one life.

Once the season ends, a Ladder character will migrate over to the non-Ladder modes along with any items equipped or in one’s inventory. Players must retrieve any items before the start of the season after next or else they’ll be lost forever. Check out some of the patch notes below and full notes here.

Diablo 2: Resurrected Patch 2.4

QUALITY OF LIFE UPDATES

General

• Added language support for non-ASCII written language
• Added player messaging for when a player tries to launch the game on an out of date patch version
• Added ‘Message of the Day’ capabilities to the main menu to allow us to share important game updates with all players

New Feature – Legacy Graphics Emulation

• There is now an option in the Graphics Settings Menu under ‘Legacy’ that allows you to choose between 3 different emulation options for the Legacy game graphics. The options are ‘GDI’, ‘Glide’, and ‘Resurrected’.
• ‘GDI’ emulates the software rasterization of the original legacy game and does not apply any filtering
• ‘Glide’ emulates the hardware accelerated backend of the original legacy game with bilinear filtering
• ‘Resurrected’ uses the Glide emulation with additional fixes in place to address an artifact that would occur with the original Glide rendering

Developer Comments: We feel ‘Resurrected’ is the definitive emulation mode players should use, but we noticed feedback during PTR that some players preferred the style of legacy graphics released at launch, which did not have any filtering and most closely resembled the software rasterization of the original legacy game. We hope these emulation modes provide players the means to choose the legacy graphics they prefer.

AI

• Improved the reliability of pets, summons, and mercenaries teleporting to the player instead of being despawned

Barbarian

• Updated Barbarian Leap and Leap attack animation behavior to give it a smoother trajectory that should keep the Barbarian on-screen at all times, and reduce jerkiness when he lands

Character Selection

• Newly created characters will now sort to the top of the character selection list

Gameplay

• When holding down a mouse button to target an enemy with a skill, the skill will continue to execute after that target dies
• Minimap will now automatically re-open after death if you had it open prior to dying
• Arrow and Bolt max quantity increased to 500
• Throwing weapon quantity has been increased by 50%
• Blocking will no longer interrupt a player while performing a skill or attack. If a player character triggers a block during this time, the damage will still be negated, but the animation will not play
• Changed how attack speed is determined while dual-wielding weapons. Swapping weapons between hands should no longer result in dramatically different attack speeds
• Character hit recovery will now have diminishing returns when being hit by another player
• Quick cast skills behavior has been unified such that left click quick cast skills behave in the way the right click behavior operated

Developer Comments: We want to fix some of the awkward lockouts that reject player input from casting skills. For PVP, we added a way to reduce hit recovery spam to prevent edge cases of characters being locked out for too long.

Mercenaries

• Mercenary UIs will now display if the mercenary cannot use a skill because they are too low level

For this PTR test, developer is focusing on Ladder’s presentation in the front end and how the new balance changes affect it. Once the Ladder season ends, a character transitions into non-Ladder modes with any items or loot they may have garnered. You’ll then have until the start of the Season after next to retrieve items from a shared stash stab. “For example, once Season 1 ends, you have until Season 3 begins to retrieve items from your Season 1 stash. Any items not retrieved will be lost forever,” says the developer.

As for Uber Diablo, players can continue summoning it by selling Stone of Jordan rings. The difference with patch 2.4 is that it will now spawn for all players within the same region instead of the same server. Summoning progress is also tracked separately for each game mode but new messaging is being added to inform players when Uber Diablo spawns next.

Diablo 2: Resurrected for Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Nintendo Switch. Check out our review here.

The update comes via a dev blog on the Steam page of the game, sharing information regarding what players can expect from it this year. The dev team made it clear right off the bat that their priority as of now lies in adding the much requested friends list feature and the quality of life improvements the team planned for the game.

The dev blog then breaks down further plans, saying that the quality of life improvements specifically will target UX improvements, as Innersloth has been slowly adapting to the sudden popularity of the game and wants to ensure that aspects of the game flow are not confusing to understand.

Apart from the above, Innersloth also shared some more smaller details in regards to Among Us, such as the game getting a Nendoroid series of figurines (which are available for pre-order), free skins, a one-shot manga, which is slated to release in April of this year, and new merch available to purchase.

Innersloth also revealed that Among Us was the most downloaded game on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 in December, taking the #1 spot on both consoles, and that they will reveal more about Among Us VR soon.

Honestly, it seems the game will keep on growing in the future, as it is still one of the most-played online games out there. Here’s hoping Innersloth can keep this momentum going.

Pointed out by the Twitter account Does It Play?, which comprises of a community regularly testing and checking video games and consoles for playability without an online connection (they maintain a very useful Excel sheet covering the games and consoles they have tested), Diablo 2: Resurrected on consoles has a DRM check where the game needs to go online at least once every 30 days for it to be playable offline. This means that if a user’s console is completely offline over 30 days, the game has to connect to the internet for it to do the necessary security check with the authentication server before it can be played.

This is concerning, given that in a situation where the authentication server goes down, the game will become unplayable. Similarly, if any of the consoles lose their internet functionality, the game is just unusable. The issue plagues both the offline physical disc and the digital version of the games.

As mentioned the aforementioned tweet, it does set a dark future for the preservation of video games, as DRMs like these risk the game into going to obscurity because of an online check.

No official statement by Activision Blizzard has been made about the issue yet.

In more news regards to the company, Activision Blizzard is being acquired by Xbox.

You cannot play Diablo 2 resurrected after 30 days of being offline, one of the first console games to feature check in drm.

It serves no real purpose and can be removed with hacks.

Dark times pic.twitter.com/EVnPVhXisD

— Does it play? (@DoesItPlay1) January 17, 2022

According to the publisher, “Glitched is a choice-heavy, fourth wall breaking, existential RPG. When a glitch appears in the video game world of Soren, an NPC named Gus becomes aware of you—the player. Travel together to solve the mystery of the glitch and save Gus’s friends, hometown, and digital world.”

The choices players make will chance Gus’s essence, changing his personality, how other characters interact with him, and his abilities. In addition, the choices players make will also change the story. The game will feature a unique turn-based combat system, and will not have random encounters. There are also more than 20 potential party members in the game, a romance system, multiple endings, and most important of all, frogs.

You can watch a trailer for the game below:

Sony has revealed the first details for this year’s Days of Play event. The PlayStation player celebration will be a part of the event this year, and players will be able to unlock new avatars and PS4 themes if the combined playerbase plays enough games and unlocks enough trophies across both PS4 and PS5.

After players sign up, any game they play for more than an hour and any trophy they unlock will be added to a cumulative total. If that total surpasses certain goals, players will unlock new PS4 avatars and dynamic themes. If players meet every goal, players will unlock a total of 17 new avatars and 3 new dynamic themes. Not a bad haul.

The competition will occur in three stages, each of which will feature a normal and bonus goal. The dates and goals are:

Stage 1: May 18, 12:00 AM – May 24, 11:59 PM PDT

• Goal: 2.4 million games, 7.2 million trophies. Rewards: 1 avatar, 1 theme
• Bonus goal: 3 million games, 8.8 million trophies. Rewards: 3 avatars

Stage 2: May 25, 12:00 AM – May 31, 11:59 PM PDT

• Goal: 2.9 million games, 8.5 million trophies. Rewards: 5 avatars
• Bonus goal: 3.6 million games, 10.4 million trophies: Rewards: 3 avatars

Stage 3: June 1, 12:00 AM – June 7, 11:59 PM PDT

• Goal: 3 million games, 9 million trophies. Rewards: 1 avatar, 1 theme
• Bonus goal: 3.7 million games, 11 million trophies. Rewards: 3 avatars

If every goal is met, players who took part in each round of the beta will receive an additional dynamic theme. Targets are not cumulative, and will be reset each week. Sony also announced that there would be a Days of Play sale on the PlayStation Store sometime later this month, as well as a free multiplayer weekend on the PlayStation Blog.

Suikoden spiritual successor Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes has been on a tear since its Kickstarter campaign launched. It’s recently crossed over $3 million in crowd-funding and there’s still 12 days left. The initial funding goal was $509,713 but that was achieved in a matter of hours.

In terms of stretch goals, Hot Springs, a monster raising minigame called “Catch ‘Em All” and Iris joining the roster have all been unlocked. For those unfamiliar with the title, Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is a new RPG from Suikoden veterans Yoshitaka Murayama and Junko Kawano. There are battles where six characters can be fielded, graphics that combine 2D sprites with 3D backgrounds and 100 different characters to recruit.

Other features include The Fortress Town, a base that can be upgraded to unlock weapon crafting, granaries and whatnot along with New Game Plus, a fishing minigame, Guild System and more. Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is currently slated to release for Xbox One, PS4, Xbox Series X, PS5 and PC in Fall 2022. Stay tuned for more details in the meantime.

The Kickstarter campaign for Rabbit and Bear Studios’ Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, a spiritual successor to the Suikoden series, went live recently. The initial funding goal was for $509,713 but backers have crushed it in rapid fashion, raising $1,209,845 and rising. The RPG was slated to be released on PC but will now arrive for current and next-gen consoles as well.

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes sounds like a dream come true for Suikoden fans. It features 2D sprites and 3D backgrounds with a six-character battle system and a story with 100 characters. It’s helmed by Yoshitaka Murayama of Suikoden 1 and 2 fame, and Junko Kawano of Suikoden 1 and 4 fame. Like previous games, it will be possible to recruit all 100 characters to your cause.

There’s also the deeper meta-game of rebuilding The Fortress Town, erecting walls to protect against enemy attacks, building granaries and farming, creating weapons and much more. There will also be a lot of cats apparently (the reason simply being “cats).

Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes is currently targeting a Fall 2022 release. Stay tuned for more details in the coming months.

The bizarre, off-kilter, and impressively hilarious Thimbleweed Park is currently on sale at Steam. However, if the 60 percent discount (which ends on February 11th) doesn’t impress you, then don’t worry. Terrible Toybox’s old-school point and click adventure will be free on the Epic Games Store from February 21st to March 7th.

Thimbleweed Park is developed by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, the minds behind Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion. It’s a murder mystery, but everyone seems concerned about other things. With five playable characters, satisfying puzzles, and two difficulty modes, Thimbleweed Park is definitely worth checking out.

Previous titles offered for free include Subnautica, What Remains of Edith Finch, and Super Meat Boy. The current free game on the Epic Games Store is Thomas Happ’s Axiom Verge, an excellent Metroidvania title with retro visuals. You’ll need to sign up and download the Epic Games launcher though.

Joakim “Konjak” Sandberg’s latest action platformer Iconoclasts has been available for PC, PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4 since January 2018. However, with the Nintendo Switch booming and indies receiving widespread attention, exactly when can we expect to see it on the hybrid platform?

According to publisher Dangen Entertainment, Iconoclasts will be out on August 2nd… for Japan, at least. Revealed by Famitsu, the game will hit the Nintendo eShop next week in the region. When will it arrive in the United States and Europe? Hopefully, more information will be provided on that front soon.

If you haven’t played it already, Iconoclasts is certainly worth a look. The story centres on Robin, a mechanic who helps people but operates without a license. When the Agents of One Concern decide to persecute her in the name of “Mother”, Robin has to escape and team up with some unlikely allies to survive.

Why is Ivory in short supply? What’s happening to the Moon? There’s a lot going on throughout the game’s numerous locations (which collectively house over 20 bosses to fight). Stay tuned for more details on the Switch version, which adds a Boss Rush mode and a new difficulty on top of the stellar base game.