Discord confirmed the release in a blog post (as spotted by VGC), announcing that the option to connect PSN accounts is “gradually rolling out to U.S. Discord users with additional countries soon to follow”.
“If you’ve ever connected your Discord account to another service that allows you to display your activity, it works similarly here: once your Discord account is linked, the game you’re currently playing on either PS4 or PS5 will be shown as your activity,” the post explains.
Players will have the option of displaying their PlayStation Network ID on their Discord profile, allowing online friends to invite or join in on gaming sessions. Discord adds that “it’s especially great for knowing if your friend is currently playing a game that supports cross-play on another platform.”
Players will first need to link their PSN accounts through the Discord app on their phone or through the desktop app or web browser. The option to add a PlayStation account will be found under User Settings > Connections. From there, users can sign into their Sony account and begin sharing their status.
However, Discord also notes that “your ‘PSN Online Status’ and ‘Now Playing’ visibility must be set to ‘Anyone’ for your status to be visible on Discord.”
At the time, SIE CEO Jim Ryan said, “teams are already hard at work connecting Discord with your social and gaming experience on PlayStation Network,” and that the company planned to “bring the Discord and PlayStation experiences closer together on console and mobile starting early next year”.
Destiny 2 players on non-PlayStation formats may have panicked today when Sony announced its acquisition of developer Bungie. Fear not though – the sci-fi shooter won’t be turning into a PlayStation exclusive any time soon.
However, speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan says that “everybody wants the extremely large Destiny 2 community, whatever platform they’re on, to be able to continue to enjoy their Destiny 2 experiences. And that approach will apply to future Bungie releases. That is unequivocal.”
Instead, the move may be more to do with Sony’s broader businesses and potential to expand the Destiny universe into other media.
“Back in 2016, we set out a vision for ourselves to create worlds and inspire friendships. We wanted to become one of the world’s great entertainment companies,” Bungie CEO Pete Parsons told GamesIndustry.biz.
“You can’t help but look at Sony’s accomplishments, not just as a great platform, and having easily some of the best development teams in the entire world. But also one of the greatest entertainment companies in the world,” Parsons added. “We saw this great opportunity to build – not just Destiny, we’re working on more than Destiny – these great interactive experiences, which we think we’re good at. But also being able to explore these worlds even more.”
The purchase of Bungie may not be the only significant acquisition PlayStation has planned, though, as Ryan says, onlookers “should absolutely expect more” in the months ahead.
“We are by no means done. With PlayStation, we have a long way to go. I will personally be spending a lot of my time with Pete and the team at Bungie, helping make sure that everything beds down right and that autonomy means autonomy,” Ryan said. “But elsewhere in the organisation, we have many more moves to make.”
Specifically, PlayStation Now subscribers will be treated to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition, the upgraded version of the game that launched as part of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy.
However, the open-world criminal endeavour will only be on the PS Now service for a short window, with the PlayStation Blog saying that “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – The Definitive Edition is available until Monday, May 2″.
Vice City will be joined by HandyGames’ Little Big Workshop, a 2020 title originally released for PS4 that challenges players to build and manage their own tiny tabletop factory. Sony describes the game with: “play a factory tycoon in charge of your very own tabletop factory. Organise the factory floor, manage your workers, purchase machinery, and design efficient production lines – all within the time-limit and to your client’s satisfaction.”
Other games joining the service in February include Through the Darkest of Times, an indie strategy set in 1933 Germany, where players must guide a small resistance unit seeking to undermine the rise of the Nazis, and Death Squared, a multiplayer puzzle game where players must guide colourful cuboid robots to safety.
All four games will be available starting tomorrow, February 1.
Developed by Capcom and Armature Studio, the VR remake of one of Resident Evil’s finest instalments was well-received when it launched in October 2021. Now, an entry on the Quest Blog details that Resident Evil 4 VR’s first post-launch update “has overhauled mobility and comfort settings in response to player feedback, and has enhanced gameplay to give players more options.”
These enhancements include “new controller-directional movement” so that players can steer walking direction with their hand, the option to switch the dominant analogue stick movement hand, “which is a big boon for left-handed players”, and height adjustment settings.
“Additionally, there are new accessibility settings for adjusting waist and chest holder positions,” the announcement continues, “as well as an option for changing the colour of the laser sight on weapons.”
Other minor changes include more reloading settings, fixes for known issues affecting saving, and “other optimisations that enhance various facets of the experience”.
Although the update brings no new gameplay content, it seems to lay the groundwork for the upcoming The Mercenaries mode, which was announced in November 2021. While there’s still no official launch date for the mode, the blog post says it is “coming later this year”.
The Mercenaries is a horde mode of sorts that was introduced to the Resident Evil series with the original release of Resident Evil 4 back in 2005. It typically tasks players with fighting off waves of enemies, all while attempting to escape the zombie apocalypse by reaching a helicopter.
The Quest blog says the VR version of Mercenaries features “tons of action and unlockable characters” and “will come as a free addition to the game”.
The usability update is live in Resident Evil 4 VR now and is said to be “only the beginning for Resident Evil 4’s continued support in 2022 on Quest 2.”
League of Legends developer Riot Games has issued an apology after hitting a Ukrainian comic creator with takedown requests over a comic with a similar title to its Netflix animated series, Arcane.
Creator Kutty Sark had been publishing the comic Arcane Flames, a gothic fantasy series, on webcomic site Tapas.io since 2019. However, on January 28, Sark revealed that their TeePublic store had removed a t-shirt featuring the art of their original character Al’vis following a DMCA Takedown Notice from Riot, “claiming that said design is their intellectual property”.
Riot Games claimed that my original artwork is their intellectual property. I'm just some girl from Ukraine and have no voice if such a big company as Riot Games claims that my work belongs to them, even if all facts prove them wrong. The only thing I can do is to speak here. pic.twitter.com/I7InAI1uFl
The issue seems to have been down to Riot aggressively defending its trademark for the animated League of Legends spinoff series. However, Sark tried contacting TeePublic to explain that the work was original and not owned by Riot, but was told, “we are unable to reinstate this design because it was a DMCA claim from Riot Games.”
Sark said on Twitter, “I’m just some girl from Ukraine and have no voice if such a big company as Riot Games claims that my work belongs to them, even if all facts prove them wrong.”
Riot has since issued an apology (as spotted by PCGamer), saying, “we want to thank players and Rioters for alerting us to the takedown notice issued to an artist earlier today. Like many large companies, there are a number of teams and third party agencies working to protect our IP. While we’re still investigating what happened here, it’s clear that this takedown request was made in error. We apologise for this experience and wanted to assure you that we’re actively reviewing.”
Sark acknowledged the apology, and thankfully the story has a happy ending, with Sark’s artwork restored today (January 31). However, Sark notes, “My situation was solved because I was lucky enough to be seen, but a lot of small creators around the world face similar problems. I do really hope that my situation would bring some awareness regarding such issues.”
As noted by games industry business site GI.biz, Pokémon Legends: Arceus accounts for almost half of all boxed game sales in the UK last week, and beat out another new entry, Uncharted: Legacy of Thieves Collection.
Part of the appeal of the latest Pokémon game may be that it is a major departure for the series. It updates many of the franchise’s core mechanics and takes place in a mostly-open world where Pokémon can be caught in real-time and eliminates much of the rigid linearity of the core titles. Set in the distant past of Diamond and Pearl’s Sinnoh region, Pokémon Legends: Arceus also introduces never-before-seen Pokémon and alternate forms for familiar critters.
Pokémon Legends: Arceus is now the fourth-biggest UK launch for a Pokémon game in history, beaten only by Pokémon Sun and Moon in first, Sword and Shield in second, and Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby in third. However, given it is a standalone game with no ‘partner’ title, its success may be considered even more impressive.
The game is currently under development with the existing Gwent development team, and has the working title “Project Golden Nekker” (thanks, IGN). The game is also expected to be an entirely new game, not requiring players to have any existing version of Gwent before jumping in.
“It’s not another Witcher Tales [game] but something different,” CD Projekt RED’s Paweł Burza told IGN. “We’re aiming to provide a captivating single-player for players who prefer it over competitive multiplayer Gwent.”
In The Witcher universe, a nekker is a relatively weak monster, but usually encountered in packs, where they try to overwhelm their enemies through sheer force of numbers. What prominence a golden specimen might have in the upcoming game will likely be something the fandom speculates on in the coming months.
Early concept art released for the game shows what appears to be the eponymous goblinoid creature, along with pieces showcasing some sort of viking fellow, a fire golem, and some living flame. Other shots appear to be environmental concept art, one with the golden nekker in a study.
Gwent began life as a game described in the original Witcher novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski, before appearing as a mini game in The Witcher 3 in 2015. In 2018, it was split off into its own competitive game, available on PC, Mac, Android, and iOS. A recent update for the ‘regular’ Gwent added a dozen new cards to the game, split across each of the game’s factions.
While no firm release date has been confirmed for Project Golden Nekker, the studio is targeting a 2022 release.
Voice actor Troy Baker – known for roles in numerous video games, including Joel in The Last of Us and Sam Drake in Uncharted, has reversed plans to partner with a company aiming to create NFTs of actors’ voices.
Baker announced his partnership with Voiceverse earlier this month (January 14), attracting criticism for supporting a company that many saw as potentially automating the performance work of voice actors. The announcement also drew significant backlash for Baker’s antagonistic tone, telling followers, “You can hate. Or you can create. What’ll it be?”, a statement he almost immediately apologised for.
The overwhelmingly negative reaction to the initial announcement seemingly forced the normally social media-active Baker to take a sabbatical from Twitter. Now, in his first tweet in 17 days, Baker has announced that after “careful consideration”, he has “decided to not continue the partnership with VoiceVerseNFT.”
Thank you all for your feedback and patience. After careful consideration, I’ve decided to not continue the partnership with VoiceVerseNFT. Intentions aside, I’ve heard you and apologize for accusing anyone of “hating” just by simply disagreeing with me.
No further details have yet been provided, although Baker added that “intentions aside, I’ve heard you and apologize for accusing anyone of ‘hating’ just by simply disagreeing with me.”
In response, Voiceverse has tweeted “We have mutually decided to end our partnership with Troy Baker, and will double-down our resources and efforts to execute on our roadmap, further our vision as the voice of Web3.0, and strengthen our community as well as the broader NFT ecosystem.”
Voiceverse plans to use AI-driven “voice NFTs”, ostensibly in partnership with real actors. However, it emerged that Voiceverse had been publicising its project not with its own work, but rather AI voices generated by 15.ai, an explicitly non-commercial voice synthesizer. Voiceverse apologised, saying that “Our marketing team was in a rush and the best voice they could find was not ours but 15.ai, and failed to give credit.”
In related news, UK publisher Team17 has announced a line of NFTs based on its long-running strategy franchise, Worms. However, the company appears to be hedging its bets by emphasising that it “is licencing the Worms brand to our newest third-party partner”, and that it “has no plans to introduce NFTs or play-to-earn NFT mechanics into any of its indie games label titles.”
Twitch streamer and creator Dreggas13 has been utilising Valheim’s settlement building aspects to craft a version of Riften, one of the nine major cities found in Skyrim (as spotted by PCGamesN). Found in the southeast of the continent, the heavily forested area borders key Elder Scrolls locations Morrowind and Cyrodiil.
Dreggas13 has been showing off their work as part of an ongoing “Skyrim comes to Valheim” series on their Twitch channel, alongside showcasing developments on Reddit. The most recent development is the recreation of Riften’s Honeyside house, a property that can be purchased in Skyrim.
Beyond just crafting the surface details of the area, the creator has also dug down into Valheim’s depths to present an authentic take on Riften’s sewers. It wouldn’t be a nod to an Elder Scrolls game if there weren’t plenty of scurrying about underground, after all.
The Valheim community recently took another step in making the game closer to Skyrim, with a mod that adds pet dogs to the game. While wolves could already be encountered in the game, the mod brings in wild dogs roaming the Black Forest area when it rains. If players tame them with treats, the dog can join them as a companion – a slight upgrade on Skyrim’shousebound pets.
The next official update for Valheim will be the mountains biome update, which is expected in early 2022.
In 1998, comic book artist Joe Madureira – fresh off a still-respected run on Marvel’s Uncanny X-Men – launched the fantasy series Battle Chasers. Set in a world that merged swords and sorcery adventure with magically powered machinery, and fronted by a young female lead, it was a huge success (albeit plagued by delays and remaining unfinished to this day).
What’s this got to do with 40 Giants Entertainment’s Reverie Knights Tactics? Well, aside from it also being set in a world that merges swords and sorcery adventure with magically powered machinery and also being fronted by a young female lead, it adopts a visual style that draws heavily on comic book aesthetics. Character designs are reminiscent of Madureira’s own, and even the lettering fonts evoke a feel torn from the printed page. It’s also a turn-based tactical RPG – not a million miles away from 2017’s Battle Chasers: Nightwar, Madureira’s attempt at reviving the property in another medium. Whether coincidence or deliberate inspiration, the similarities are hard to overlook.
It’s not just the comic book world that’s being drawn on though – this is also an ode to the likes of Vandal Hearts and Disgaea, classic tactical RPGs that were formative moments for the genre. Thankfully though, the game isn’t just an exercise in cross-media nostalgia, as Reverie Knights Tactics provides just enough tweaks on the formula to carve out its own identity – but only just.
That’s in large part down to its characters, which will be recognisable to fantasy fans but have enough twists to be more than just genre-typical archetypes. Take main character Aurora – an ice-wielding cleric, devoted to the god of knowledge Tanna-Toh, rather than an overly-familiar fiery mage. She’s driven by intellect and curiosity rather than burning vengeance, balanced by an emotional drive to rescue her father Marius, lost in an expedition to a continent overrun with Goblinoids. Then there’s her best friend Brigandine – your classic ‘tank’ of a knight, specialising in close range melee attacks and defensive manoeuvres on the battlefield, but also serving as the game’s comic relief, dedicated to partying and good food at the expense of almost anything else. At every point, Reverie Knights Tactics‘ cast neatly dodges expectations.
It’s not just the characters that impress though, as the main story regularly subverts tropes. While Aurora and company set out to find Marius – meeting Fren along the way, the closest to a genre staple as the game offers, a haughty elf ranger-type who blends plant-manipulating attacks with mind tricks to control enemies and beasts alike – there are hints from the very beginning that the situation is far from a Tolkien-esque “goblins = bad” scenario.
While the team are advancing towards the Goblinoid city of Rarnaak – formerly the Elven capital Lenórienn – the game establishes early on that the territory was stolen by Elves in the first place. Similarly, Fren’s prejudices towards the Goblinoid enemy forces, presuming them too stupid to strategise or use magic, are regularly upended, as the story dips its toes into themes of colonialism and oppression. It’s not exactly a graduate thesis on these complex matters, but there’s more depth here than might be expected going in.
Mechanically, it’s all a little more formulaic though. Battles take place on a top-down, isometric grid, with moves issued to each member of your party before the opposing side enacts all of its units’ actions. Each character will have a basic attack that can be utilised on an enemy one square away, then three specials that drain MP, with varying ranges of effect. There are also powerful Focus Attacks – Limit Breaks, to borrow a Final Fantasy term – that can unleash splashy attacks, usually over a wide area.
Most impressive are team attacks, where between two and four party members can surround an enemy and combine abilities for significant damage, accompanied by unique attack animations for every possible character combination. As these combos replace the standard ‘free’ attack on the combat menu, they form one of the main tactical elements in the game, trying to arrange characters on the field to set up powerful attacks with no MP cost. However, while it’s a great system to incorporate into combat, neither it nor other tricks – such as setting off environmental traps to damage foes, or being able to shove enemies into hazards – are ultimately anything players won’t have seen in other TRPGs.
Where characters and combat intersect nicely though is in the game’s choice-based progress system. In between battles, Reverie Knights Tactics adopts an almost visual novel approach, with branching dialogue options. Often, these are just for flavour text, but pivotal decisions will have Aurora make a binary choice between actions that favour Chaos or Order. Occasionally, actions outside of dialogue screens, such as which battle to pursue next, will also tip the balance. Initially, these choices seem minor, affecting only how other characters perceive Aurora, but as the game progresses, alignment determines which skills might unlock, or key story moments. It adds a nice element of replayability for those who want to experiment with different combat applications, or see how the storyline alters.
That’s a good thing, as aside from replaying to see those divergences, Reverie Knights Tactics is extremely linear. There’s little in the way of random battles – the occasional interruption when moving from point A to point B on the world map, but even those encounters are scripted – meaning there’s also no real way to enhance or customise characters beyond where the game wants them to be at any given point. The only concession to customisation is in choosing between which three MP-devouring skills to have active, while Tomes and amulets can be equipped for a variety of stat-boosting or status effect-nullifying effects.
The closest the game offers to being able to level grind is offering bonus objectives for each battle, such as destroying a number of objects or ensuring certain characters survive. While failing to achieve these doesn’t lose the battle, completing them rewards bonus experience points and extra Cogni, a resource used to research the aforementioned Tomes. These bonuses are a nice target for perfectionists to pursue, but that’s about it. It’s also worth noting that battles can’t be replayed once the story has progressed, so those bonuses have to be completed at the time, if you want to collect them at all.
Sadly, while Reverie Knights Tactics proves a competent example of its genre, it’s also marred by a lack of polish. There’s only the slightest zoom feature in battles, frustratingly preventing players from scoping the whole field in order to plan moves, while also not even allowing the camera close enough to show off attack animations. There’s a half-hearted crafting system, whereby scavenged items can be traded to make healing items or bombs, but ingredients are scarce at best. With no money system or way of buying pre-made items, it makes the inventory frustratingly minimal, in turn reducing the tactical options available in battle.
There’s also evidence of mini-games and bonus objectives – lockpicking chests, for one – that feel underdeveloped, as if 40 Giants had planned for more elaborate implementation, didn’t quite finish them, then left what had been done in the game anyway. Worse, occasional animation errors mean characters will talk about having done something – Aurora seemingly freezing a hot spring that is attracting monsters, for instance – but nothing happens onscreen, while a glitch that sometimes makes the cursor disappear after battles can make it impossible to click on the “continue” option.
While Reverie Knights Tactics may surprise with the complexity of its story and characters, its familiar approach to turn-based combat and sometimes frustrating omissions and oversights mean it won’t ever impress. Even die-hard fans of the genre are unlikely to be blown away by what’s on offer here, but it is still a strangely satisfying ride – comfort gaming, even for anyone who’s seen this all before.
Reverie Knights Tactics launched on January 25 for PC, PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. We reviewed it on PC.
The Verdict
Undeniably a love letter to old-school tactical RPGs, Reverie Knights Tactics packs in enough charm and replayability to please fans of the genre, but won’t be knocking the likes of Fire Emblem or Disgaea off their respective perches any time soon. Its comic book aesthetic also takes a while to get used to, but like the nuances of its story or its branching character development, its charm grows as you play. However, it doesn’t really offer anything that fans of TRPGs won’t have experienced elsewhere, and the lack of final polish undermines its aspirations.
Pros
Unique characters that avoid excessive genre tropes
Story packs in surprisingly complex themes
Chaos and Order choices offer replayability for story and character development
Cons
Half-baked crafting system
There’s a lot of one step forward, two steps back
Several elements that feel like unfinished or leftover ideas
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