Death Stranding 2: On The Beach

A new Kojima Productions title is like an event unto itself, and Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is no exception. Bigger, weirder, brimming with new concepts and gameplay mechanics, it takes Sam Porter Bridges to a new continent to attempt to reconnect it. A heavier focus on action, new traits and proficiency levels, new BTs, a day/night cycle, deeper stealth mechanics, changing weather, new characters, Magellan Man – all of this is only scratching the surface. One thing is for sure, though – it’s distinctly Hideo Kojima. Death Stranding 2 arrives on June 26th for PS5.

Mario Kart World

Everyone expected Grand Theft Auto 6 to roll in with an $80 price tag, but as it turns out, it was-a Mario all along. Based on the tens of millions that Mario Kart 8 Deluxe sold, Mario Kart World is unquestionably the killer app. And to be fair, Nintendo hasn’t been slouching in terms of evolving the mechanics. Tracks are now part of a large open world, teeming with optional activities, collectables, and challenges. Tons of new racers and karts await alongside cosmetics to unlock. The core gameplay is rife with new power-ups, moves, and even things like Rewind. There’s a lot here, but is it enough? We’ll find out when Mario Kart World launches on June 5th alongside the Switch 2.

Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour

Is Welcome Tour going to be a surprisingly fun experience like Astro’s Playroom? Most likely not, but as a playable exhibit gamifying all the mechanics of the Switch 2, Nintendo could do worse. With mini-games and quizzes, it promises a learning experience into everything that makes up Nintendo’s console. “Free” would have been the best price point, but as it stands, $10 isn’t too much to ask. Let’s hope it offers some bang for our buck when it launches alongside the Switch 2.

Yakuza 0 Director’s Cut

Like a Dragon has evolved beyond the confines of Yakuza into brand new locations and gameplay mechanics, but Yakuza 0 remains timeless. It’s coming to the Nintendo Switch 2 as the Director’s Cut, packing new cutscenes (some of which provide a sense of closure, per the voice cast) and English voiceovers. You can also team up with other players in online PvE battles, selecting from 60 characters. Don’t let the fact that it was originally launched in 2015 distract you from playing arguably the best Yakuza game in the franchise.

MindsEye

How can a game generate hype despite the lack of extensive gameplay and details, especially about two weeks from launch? Your guess is as good as mine, but Build A Rocket Boy’s MindsEye has inexplicably figured it out. The idea of a single-player action adventure in a futuristic city from Leslie Benzies of Grand Theft Auto fame is certainly appealing, make no mistake. But MindsEye could end up sublimely brilliant or precisely what the short teasers have revealed. Either way, we’re keen to see the result when it launches on June 10th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine – Master Crafted Edition

As if upcoming updates for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2, like the free Horde-like Siege Mode, weren’t enough, Sega, Relic Entertainment, and SneakyBox are bringing back the original Space Marine. Launching on June 10th for Xbox Series X/S and PC for $40, the Master Crafted Edition features improved visuals, including 4K resolution support, remastered audio, and modernized controls. It also packs in all the DLC, like armor sets, Golden weapons, Map Packs, and Chapter Packs, and promises cross-play for its 8v8 PvP matches. While it’s a shame that PS5 players will miss out, Space Marine 1 is a must-play for any fan of 40K.

The Alters

Numerous teases of conflicts and gruesome outcomes later, 11 bit studios’ oft-delayed sci-fi survival/base-building title The Alters is finally launching on June 13th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC. As Jan Dolski, players arrive on a hostile planet and discover the rest of their crew dead. With no other recourse to managing the giant moving base and needing to outrun a deadly sun, he creates Alters – each a living, breathing Jan with unique skills, occupations, wants, needs, and mood swings. Harvest materials meet their demands, survive various hazards, and maybe you make it back home with all limbs intact.

FBC: Firebreak

Years after Control, the Hiss still occupies the Oldest House. With resources depleting and no other options, the Bureau turns to Firebreak, which ventures into different locations to tackle paranatural threats. As a three-player co-op shooter, players choose a Crisis Kit, Perks, and weapon before diving into a Job, from destroying hundreds of thousands of sticky notes to stopping a powerful Furnace. It’s a new initiative for Remedy, better known for its single-player titles, but with no FOMO, a $40 price, and free content updates, FBC: Firebreak may be worth checking out when it launches on June 17th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC.

Lost in Random: The Eternal Die

Zoink’s underappreciated Lost in Random is getting a rogue-like sequel courtesy of Thunderful, and this time, the focus is on the former Queen. Now going by Aleksandra, she’s trapped inside the Black Die. Together with Fortune, she must escape its four regions, facing various enemies and bosses to escape. With more than 100 relics to custom, fast-paced real-time action and the same gorgeous art style, Lost in Random: The Eternal Die launches on June 17th for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch.

Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition

Who could have thought that Night City, in all its glitz and gore, would ever become playable on a Nintendo console? Probably not PS4 and Xbox One players who can’t experience Phantom Liberty. Cyberpunk 2077: Ultimate Edition brings the base game to Switch 2 players with every update and the acclaimed expansion, with relatively decent performance. Best of all? The physical version contains the entire package on a cartridge. No Game-Key shenanigans. Like every other Switch 2 title, it’s out on June 5th.

Rematch

Sifu developer Sloclap’s newest title is something…unexpected. Launching on June 19th for Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PC, Rematch is a soccer (or football for the rest of the world) title where players compete in 5v5 matches. Promising an accessible experience with deep mechanics and a focus on player skill, its open beta saw a positive response on Steam last April, with almost 134,000 peak concurrent players. Here’s hoping the game can capture that magic and keep the momentum going, especially at $30.

System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster

Almost six years after its announcement, System Shock 2’s enhanced edition will launch on June 26th for Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch and PC. Now known as the 25th Anniversary Remaster, it includes mod support on PC, new Trophies and Achievements, Ultra-widescreen support, and 4K resolution support. PC players can select 144 FPS, while Xbox Series X and PS5 can opt for 120 FPS. If it’s as compelling as System Shock remake, expect System Shock 2: 25th Anniversary Remaster to be another winner.

Tron: Catalyst

After the visual novel mystery of Tron: Identity, Bithell Games is back with Tron: Catalyst, an action-adventure take. This time, players control Exo, who gains the Glitch, a mysterious power that could upend the Arq Grid. With beat ’em up mechanics, light cycles and the ability to rewind time with glitches, Catalyst could be another solid addition to the franchise when it launches on June 17th for Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, PS5, and PC.

Street Fighter 6 Years 1-2 Fighters Edition

With Mortal Kombat 1 support ending and Tekken 8 recovering from Season 2’s changes, Street Fighter 6 remains the premiere mainstream fighter. It’s coming to Switch 2 on launch day, and along with all DLC fighters from Years 1 and 2, it includes cross-play and two exclusive modes. Gyro Battle has players fighting with gyro controls and Calorie Contest, which is pretty much the same but with a calorie mechanic. Regardless, you still get an excellent fighting game with a stellar roster (including the upcoming Elena) and some great online features.

Zombie Army VR

For those still gaming in VR, be it on Steam, Quest 2 or PlayStation VR2, Rebellion’s Zombie Army series should help fill the increasing void. Out on June 12th, the campaign is new but offers the same World War 2 weaponry and over-the-top action of the franchise, complete with gruesome X-ray Kill Cams. There’s only two-player co-op, but it’s better than nothing.

With Sony and Microsoft both looking at launching iterative upgrades on their respective consoles with the PS4 NEO and the Xbox One Scorpio respectively, a new paradigm of console game development is now set to come into play, as the age old notion of console generations begins to blur into a more continuous hardware platform for developers to target.

But that’s not the only change that the PS4 NEO and Xbox One Scorpio will bring to the table, either- you see, with the PS4 NEO being a more conservative upgrade, and Microsoft going all out with the Scorpio, the tables will turn, and Xbox will now be the more powerful platform over PlayStation.

That was the question we decided to ask David Martha of Neocore Games, who has worked on Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor – Martyr- will the launch of these new consoles give Microsoft a leg up in the graphics and resolution wars that they have been losing ever since the Xbox One and PS4 first launched in 2013?

“At the moment we’d rather refrain from any comparisons between the NEO and the Scorpion,” Martha said. “Each of them is a unique hardware with its distinctive software environment and we are happy to work with both.

He went on to explain that there would be other factors that would define how good (or not) a game went on to look on the PS4 NEO and the Xbox One Scorpio, beyond just their hardware.

“Surely there will be games performing better on NEO, other games would favor the Scorpion, but the bottlenecks are always different during each and every development. Development teams sometimes prefer working on one particular platform or they have more experience with the other, which means that this is a very complex process where the hardware is the foundation of the project, but there are numerous others factors in play as well.”

It actually sounds like a very reasonable answer to me- though of course, software and optimization solutions can only go so far to compensate for a gap in pure hardware power. Just ask Microsoft and the Xbox One, and all the various fixes they’ve tried to bridge the difference and lead the PS4 has over them!

But until we know for sure what the PS4 NEO is, and can thus make an informed assessment on the matter? Any comparison will be, at best, speculative. It’s best to wait until we have more information on hand.

NeoCore Games, the developers behind the upcoming Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr have a great experience in developing games for PC. In a recent interview with the development team at NeoCore, GamingBolt asked their thoughts on DirectX12 and how it will speed up and enhance game visuals on PC and Xbox One.

“Direct X 12 is not something that allows you to play around with new shiny effects during the development. It’s more of a big, structural development that gives the programmers a lot more opportunity by providing them easier access directly to the GPU,” Producer, Zoltán Pozsonyi explained to GamingBolt. “This means that they’ll have a lot more wiggle room for performance optimization and making the code run faster; if you’re able to squeeze out higher performance out of the GPU, that can be translated into framerate or more beautiful content in the game. DX12 supports asynchtonous compute shaders, which for example allows you to use more and better quality special effects and post process stuff, a lot faster (screen space ambient occlusion, screen space reflection, better quality shadow mapping, transculency, tone mapping).”

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr will be heading to the PS4 and Xbox One alongside PC and Mac when it launches next year. What kind of challenges did the development team faced while developing for consoles and what prompted the decision to go beyond the PC for this release?

“Consoles have always been on our radar, as you might have heard The Incredible Adventures of Van Helsing trilogy is also coming to Xbox One and PlayStation 4,” Lead Narrative Designer, Viktor Juhász states. “The new console generation’s architecture is very similar to the PCs and the machines are also powerful enough, so our biggest challenge is to make the controls feel just as intuitive with controllers, as it is with a keyboard and mouse setup.
In both the PC and console versions we wanted to find the balance between being faithful to the lore and to the requirements of a great ARPG. We had to overcome some serious technological challenges when we decided to revamp the engine. We still have a long way to go, like the creation of the persistent open world.”

Warhammer 40,000: Inquisitor Martyr will be out in 2016 for the PS4, Xbox One and PC. Stay tuned for our full interview in the coming days.

If you thought that Total War: Warhammer would be the only new Warhammer game coming up (along with maybe the heavily rumored Dawn of War III), well, it looks like Sega isn’t done meting out the Warhammer love just yet. Today, they announced Warhammer 40,000: Inquisition Martyr, which is a brand new persistent sandbox action-RPG. The game will be hitting Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PC in 2016, and will be developed by NeoCore Games.

Apart from offering players an epic and brutal single player campaign, the game will also continue to offer players endless adventures after the story has concluded via emergent storytelling, thanks to its gory sandbox.

“There’s a reason why we chose the world of Warhammer 40,000: it’s intense, brutal, visceral – a perfect material for an action RPG,” said producer Zoltán Pozsonyi in a statement. “Working with Games Workshop, we’re doing our best to bring a high quality game to the community. We’re huge fans as well, so we care deeply about this game.”

Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

You know what Warhammer 40,000: Regicide is? Stop whatever you were about to say, because it almost certainly isn’t what you think it is. Instead, it is a new take on Warhammer from a mechanical perspective- a Warhammer take on the game of chess, which involves hunting down the other team’s ‘king.’ The press release claims that the game will let you “turn a chessboard into a defensive gun line, power up your pieces, call in airstrikes, cast spells, and score a checkmate at the end of a chainsword.”

There will be two game modes, the eponymous Regicide, which sees you trying to hunt down the enemy team’s King, and Classic, which sees you “sharpen your tactics based on traditional chess rules, brutally executing violent kills in diverse battlefield terrains.”

The game is currently de out on PC, with a release for mobile platforms planned as well, for a later date.

Stay tuned for more coverage, and check out some of the screens for this game in the gallery above.

We have some new information from Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium. The game’s release date hasn’t been announced yet, but check out the complete info below. Tell us what you think in the comments section below.

Game Design Notes:

• Relic is lending a very small hand in the overall development of dmo. Winking, a chinese based developer is also on board. They helped with Spacemarine as well.
• Vigil is doing 90% of the work. Most of the shared work load is art, and animation.
• Spacemarine is built on the same engine as darksiders (and darksiders 2 respectively)
• Dmo is using the same engine, with gameplay (at least combat) akin to Spacemarine.
• Contrary to what I was told, the art style is NOT like Spacemarine, rather the whole game is more like darksiders (1 & 2), very stylized. The videos released at the last E3 are fairly accurate to the current state of the art style. Less realistic.
• Revision to what I was told by the rep, is that Spring 2012 is unlikely… maybe for more announcements on the game’s progress. Though a Darsiders 2 release in spring is likely, Vigil is working on both.

Class related notes:

• Races broadly put into forces of “Order” and “Disorder” similar to 40K World-wide campaigns.
• The “spacemarine” is a class, with a chaos counterpart.
• Tactical, heavy, assault as specialties.
• Each class starts as something familiar, and through progression changes.Ie. Scout to Marine
• Other classes include: psyker, techpriest, and assassin
• The assassin starts as a guardsman-esque character.
• Chaos have similar counterparts, cultist themed.
• Instead of an assassin, think demon host.
• Orks are with Chaos (disorder), Eldar are with the Imperium of man (order)
• Ork class rundown: Nob, mekboy, runt herda, mad dok
• Eldar class rundown: Scorpion, Avenger, Warlock, Reaper
• Expect Tau & Dark Eldar later, likely an expansion, though dark eldar npcs will be present on release, as well as Necron, and Tyranids. (Interesting idea, going for the ‘faceless’ races as NPCs, though I suspect you won’t be getting quests from the Swarmlord!)
• 60 character levels.

Gameplay related notes:

• A crashed space hulk will be one of the zones.
• Another zone will take place on an Imperial Cruiser, and Chaos Cruiser.
• Expect several instanced missions much like WoW, as well as open world.
• It will include instanced & open world pvp.
• Players will be able to dual weild things like pistols and melee weapons… yes that means two chain swords.
• The featured chapter is Black Templars. (As evidenced by the banner art)
• The featured chaos god is Khorne, at least for playable
• Word Bearers will also take a major role in the Playable chaos faction
• Nurgle & Fabius Bile will have a big Chaos NPC presence. (I suspect not Nurgle himself, but perhaps Typhus?)
• Possible shooter/RPG mode controls, like StarTrek Online.
• Third person action, plays like Gears of War/Space Marine mixed together for shooting.
  Melee is more like Space Marine/Darksiders, with the target lock on.
  Blocking melee attacks is a maybe, sheilds may be NPC only.
• NPC creatures vary from: Necromunda like humans, Chaos Cultists, Dark Eldar; from Grotesques to Warriors, Chaos Daemons and beasts, Orks, Grots, Guardsmen, defected Guardsmen, most of the minor Demons, Dreadnoughts, Tyranid Warriors, Genestealers and more.
• Forgeworld things may be present. Thunderhawk, terrain sets, Aquila landers, FW-esque equipment on vehicles.
• Environments range from snowy mountains, to the innards of a crashed space hulk… from cities destroyed, and orkified, to ancient eldar cities, overgrown with nids… from ancient battlefields, littered with the carcases of Titans and tanks, to a hive city, nostalgic with necromunda…. from the halls of Imperial Cruisers, to tge desecrated throne rooms of Chaos.
• Everything is large, beefy, and sticks to 40k very well. People already invested in the background and game will progress at a snails pace, as we will be distracted by everything.
• Left mouse uses the weapon in your character’s left hand, Right mouse uses the weapon in your character’s right hand. Rather cool mechanic.
• All abilities have a cooldown… No spamminh your “3” key like most MMOs. This will likely annoy WoW diehards. This pleases me.
• Melee combos – dual weilding gives new moves
• There is sprinting.
• “Guilds” will be present.
• Team/party/squad size is 5
• “Raid” size is 50… subject to change.
• Ranged weapons have infinite ammo, but there is reloading, overheating, venting, and reloading.
• Weapons rarely get to take full advantage of their range when inside… lots of cover and turning corners, it’s very dynamic.
• Hero classes are possible, unlocked once you get a character high enoigh level.
  • Imperium: Grey Knight
  • Chaos: Chaos Sorcerer
  • Ork: ‘Ard boy or Weird boy
  • Eldar: Farseer
• Hero classes will begin at higher level…
• Likely 40.

A player progressing as a marine will do so as follows:

Lv. 0: an adept, think a marine wearing just carapace armor.
Lv. 10: more or less a scout.
Lv. 20: equipped like the marine character in th sm codex… forgot his name.
Lv. 30: a standard marine
Lv. 40 honor guard or Sergeant, some decoration
Lv. 50 sternguard, maybe captain.
Lv. 60 artificer armor, iron halos, the whole sha-bang.

Grey knight fits in fairly well at around 40.

Other classes progress similarly.

Misc. Notes

• Tech priest are very, very pure adeptus mechamicus themed…Backpacks with a robot arm.
• A cover system is implemented.Waist high cover and standing cover.
• Cross platform is very possible.
• Shooting mechanics will have aim assist
• Similarly, melee attacks will lock on.
• Abilities work similar to Warhammer Online. A common resource, then each class has a unique resource used with abilities.
• Weapons inxrease in “coolness” as far as progression is concerned.
• A lv. 1 autogun may be it’s familiar form in necromunda and early IG… by lv 60, sone autoguns look cool enough for inquisitors to be using, lathered in fancy trim, aquilas, etc.
• Same goes for other weapons…. think Call of Duty, as you unlock the various weapon upgrades, you guns start looking cooler.

Each class has 3 specialties.

• Marine: Tactical, Devastator, Assault
• Assassin/guardsman: the major assassin type, callidus, vindicare, eversor (however you spell it)
• The Marine is by far the most flushed out.
• most abilities are still very WIP.
• Jump packs- not sure how they’ll work.

The co-operative Last Stand mode from Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution will be released as a standalone downloadable title expected to go live on 20th April.

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution- The Last Standalone will allow new comers to play all of the content available for the Last Stand without the need to own a copy of Retribution or any experience with RTS games. Players who then wish to experience competitive multiplayer or the single player campaign for Dawn of War II – Retribution can then upgrade their product to the full version at reduced price.

Jeff Lydell, Producer of Dawn of War II Retribution commented: “We saw this as a unique opportunity to introduce new players to the Dawn of War franchise as well as expanding the player base for the already popular Last Stand mode.”

Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War II – Retribution- The Last Standalone is scheduled to be available to purchase from Steam for $10 on 20th April.

Combining intense melee and ranged combat, Space Marine puts players into the boots of one of humanity’s elite soldiers, genetically engineered and equipped with state of the art weapons and armor. Players are dropped right into the action as they battle to defend an Imperial Forge World, from an invasion by the savage and brutal Orks, using the most devastating weaponry mankind has at its disposal.

Jonathan Dowdeswell, General Manager of Relic Entertainment commented: “The loyal PC audience is incredibly important to us here at Relic so we are delighted to be able to announce the PC version of the game.”

Travis Plane, Vice President of Global Brand Management commented: “Delivering great content the fans want to play is the key goal in the core games division at THQ so we are pulling out all of the stops to make this the best possible game for PC and console audiences alike.”

Set in the rich Warhammer 40,000 universe created by Games Workshop^®, Space Marine will be released worldwide for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 system and PC in early 2011.