Month: August 2019

Blasphemous is a gothic pixel-art action-platformer that’s coming to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 10. Before then, however, PC players can sample the nightmarish world of Cvstodia early, courtesy of a demo that’s out on Steam right now. Be quick about it, though, because this early taste is only available until this Sunday, September 1.

In it, you play as The Pertinent One, the sole survivor of the massacre of the “Silent Sorrow.” Armed with a sword called the Mea Culpa and a pointy helmet filled with someone else’s blood, you’ll descend into a dangerous world only you can free from its twisted fate, discovering the “origin of your torment” in the process.

Developed by The Game Kitchen–whose only previous game is the psychological point-and-click horror game The Last Door–and published by Team17, Blasphemous promises “fast-paced, skilled combat” that combines with “a deep and evocative narrative core.” You’ll be able to explore a non-linear world, face off against gigantic bosses, acquire devastating new combos and special moves as part of its brutal combat, and customise your build with various combinations of Relics, Rosary Beads, Prayers, and Sword Hearts.

The demo showcases the starting areas of the game and its first boss. You can grab it now until September 1, or wishlist the game on Steam ahead of its September 10 release on PS4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC for $24.99 // €24.99 // £19.99.

Our IGN First game for August 2019 is Borderlands 3, and as the month draws to an end, we’re giving you one more look at the awesomeness of Borderlands 3 with an unboxing of its amazing Diamond Loot Chest Super Deluxe Edition.

To see all the real-life loot included inside, check out the video above.

The month of August brought us an onslaught of exciting Borderlands 3 first looks, including the first 14 minutes of Borderlands 3, a look at how Gearbox made true on its promise of Borderlands’ 1 billion guns, and plenty more.

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As the title suggests, Something Is Killing the Children is graphic and horrifying. When it was first announced, the comic seemed like it could be a Stranger Things riff, an adventure story about kids fighting a terrible monster. While it does have some of those elements, the first issue makes it abundantly clear that this story is going to take things to a much, much darker place.

“There are battles with monsters and whatnot, but this book is coming from the darkest possible emotions and those are the emotions I want to explore in the series,” writer and series creator James Tynion IV told IGN.

Tynion has been carrying the title of this series around for a long time. He originally attached it to a short story in college, but that story faded away while the title continued to rattle around in his brain. Even as Tynion moved to the big leagues, writing everything from Justice League Dark, Constantine: The Hellblazer and Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, ideas for Something Is Killing the Children would still come to him. It wasn’t until he brought these pieces to publisher Boom! Studios that he finally came up with the story that title was meant to tell.

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The GPU market is in a pretty interesting place right now. Nvidia introduced a 1.5 version of Turing with Super versions of its high-end RTX GPUs and some of its most affordable GTX graphics cards yet. Meanwhile, AMD introduced its Radeon VII and its first Navi graphics card are shaking things up a bit by giving gamers a 7nm GPU alternative to Nvidia’s fully-fleshed out Turing line-up.

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The Nintendo Switch has loads of fantastic local multiplayer games. But the exorbitant prices Nintendo charges for first-party controllers means you basically have to take out another mortgage to stock up on extras. Thankfully, Power A offers a number of high quality options at affordable prices. Its upcoming set of Switch controllers cost $49.99 each and they sport beautiful officially licensed Nintendo-themed designs. Some of them will ship on September 15, while others are slated for September 30. Let’s check ’em out.

Satin Blue Chrome Zelda Nintendo Switch Controller

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Post-apocalyptic turn-based tactics game Overland–think XCOM crossed with The Oregon Trail–launches for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC on September 19, a new trailer has revealed.

Indie developer Finji’s latest game puts you in control of a group of survivors in a post-apocalyptic America. You’ll travel across the country in a vehicle, stopping to scavenge for supplies, rescue fellow travellers, and fend off the game’s peculiar rock monsters. There are also dogs you can pet, and they even wear backpacks. Good doggos.

Each level and character you meet on your journey is randomly generated, making each road trip different from the last. There’s an emphasis on grabbing what you can and escaping back to your car before being overrun, and you’ll have to make some tough choices about who to save and where to travel to next as you continue the fight to survive.

Castle Crashers Remastered, the classic side-scrolling beat-’em-up from developer The Behemoth, is launching on September 17 for Nintendo Switch. A PlayStation 4 version is set to follow shortly after, but no specific date has been announced yet.

The Switch and PS4 version will be similar to the remastered edition that made its way to the Xbox One back in 2015, which is, of course, an upgraded version of the Xbox 360’s original 2008 release. It will contain the Back Off Barbarian mini-game, all previously released DLC, and various gameplay improvements and performance updates, such as 60 frames per second gameplay and improved textures. The Switch version also utilizes the system’s HD Rumble feature and four-player local Joy-Con support.

The original Castle Crashers was one of the first games to establish Xbox Live as a viable marketplace for indie games and smaller-scale projects. As for why it’s coming to Switch and PS4 11 years after launching on the 360, The Behemoth co-founder Dan Paladin says it mostly boils down to game preservation. “With Alien Hominid not being ported often, we’ve seen it slowly become unavailable in most places,” he said in a recent blog post. “When we make games we want them to stick around. Taking advantage of the updated hardware of each generation is also very satisfying. Higher resolutions, higher framerates, chances to make tweaks, and better overall quality. Our debut title (Alien Hominid) was available on both Gameboy Advance and Nintendo Gamecube.”

GameSpot’s review praised the original game, saying, “The main storyline offers hours of bad-guy beating and princess-rescuing fun that it is sure to please. The ability to play with friends should make the experience richer, even if it is limited to a more local experience. As a testament to its entertainment, feature losses and some disappointing online play hardly slow this juggernaut of amusement down. This is an absurdly hilarious romp you won’t soon forget.”

Castle Crashers is launching on September 17 for Nintendo Switch, with a PS4 version to follow.

With Labor Day and a three-day weekend on the horizon for many in the US and Canada, there’s no better time to squeeze in some extra gaming time, and there are plenty of deals available this week in case you’re looking for a new game to play. On the PlayStation Store alone, there’s a massive August Savings sale going on all month long, and now Sony has kicked off a flash sale on PS4 and PS Vita games on top of the existing deals.

This is one of PSN’s smaller flash sales compared to previous ones we’ve seen–and it completely omits PS3 titles, with only a few Vita games up for grabs–but there are some gems to be highlighted. Notably, the Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection is 50% off, selling for $50 instead of $100. The rhythm game bundle includes Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight, Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight, and Persona 4: Dancing All Night, the latter of which is only available on PS4 through this collection. The Persona 3 and Persona 5 dancing games can also be experienced with PlayStation VR.

Other deals worth mentioning include MLB The Show 19, which is discounted to $24. Hitman 2 is on sale for $30. Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled, which just released June 21, is already on sale for $30, and you can grab its Nitros Oxide edition on sale for $45. You can also snag The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition for only $15 (assuming you don’t want to wait for the Nintendo Switch release). Quite a few Sims 4 bundles and DLC are marked down too.

The flash sale deals will be available in the PlayStation Store until Monday, September 2, at 8 AM PT / 11 AM ET. See some of the best discounts below.

• Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled — $30 ($40)
• Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled Nitros Oxide Edition — $45 ($60)
• Far: Lone Sails — $11.24 ($15)
• Hitman 2 — $30 ($60)
• Hitman HD – Enhanced Collection — $24 ($60)
• MLB The Show 19 — $24 ($40)
• MLB The Show All-Star Edition — $30 ($50)
• MLB The Show 19 Digital Deluxe Edition — $48 ($80)
• Persona 3: Dancing in Moonlight (VR) — $30 ($60)
• Persona 5: Dancing in Starlight (VR) — $30 ($60)
• Persona Dancing: Endless Night Collection — $50 ($100)
• Sega Genesis Classics — $18 ($30)
• The Sims 4 Bundle: City Living — $25 ($50)
• The Sims 4: Get to Work, Dine Out, Cool Kitchen Stuff — $25 ($50)
• The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Complete Edition — $15 ($50)
• This Is the Police — $5 ($20)
• Titan Quest — $9 ($30)

More great deals for Labor Day

Sony isn’t the only company offering special deals around Labor Day. Be sure to check out the other gaming sales happening now through the weekend, including a 12-month PS Plus membership for $40 at Ebay, free-to-play weeks for Rainbow Six Siege and The Elder Scrolls Online, discounts on brand-new games released this week, and more.

• PSN’s August Savings sale (PS4, PS3, and Vita games)
• Microsoft’s physical game sale (Xbox One games)
• Free-to-play week for Rainbow Six Siege, Elder Scrolls Online (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
• Disney+ limited-time deal: Save 33% on an annual subscription
• Epic’s weekly free games (Celeste and Inside)
• Humble Bundle’s free Steam game (Dirt Rally)
• GameStop’s Monday-only Labor Day sale (games, accessories, and consoles)
• GameStop’s Nintendo Switch trade-in offer: Get the new Switch with better battery life for $75
• Target’s 20% off digital downloads offer (games, DLC, add-ons, season passes, and in-game currencies)
• Control on sale for $10 off at Walmart, Amazon (PS4, Xbox One)
• Walmart’s release day discount on Astral Chain ($10 off the Switch exclusive)

Peter Brown breaks down his review of Control on the latest episode of GameSpot After Dark. Control is the latest game from Remedy, the developer behind Max Payne and Alan Wake.