IGN Video Games

IGN Video Games

Fortnite on Nintendo Switch to Get Improved Performance, Consistent Framerate, and More

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 10:07 AM PDT

Fortnite on Nintendo Switch is getting a significant upgrade that will improve the battle royale game's overall graphical performance, Epic announced Tuesday.

As of today, a new update to Fortnite on Switch is upgrading the resolution and framerate on both docked and handheld mode. Handheld mode is moving from 1000x560 to 1170x660, while docked mode's resolution is moving from 1390x780 to 1560x880.

If those numbers mean nothing to you, Epic has provided an image to illustrate the upgrade's effects. You can obviously see a decent upgrade to the foliage of the tree in the foreground, allowing for sharper looking leaves and other details.

[caption id="attachment_2493771" align="alignnone" width="418"]Before Before[/caption] [caption id="attachment_2493770" align="alignnone" width="419"]After After[/caption]

As for framerate, Epic promises "fewer hitches, resulting in a smoother experience overall." Fortnite on Switch features dynamic resolution to help ensure a consistent framerate, but Epic says this will be less necessary with the new update.

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One final change is that the new update frees up about 140MB of storage. That's not a lot by any stretch, but every byte counts on the Switch's smaller internal storage.

Don't forget to check out our Fortnite hub for more quest walkthroughs and skin guides. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joseph Knoop is a writer/producer for IGN, and he's gonna chug jug with you.

Cyberpunk 2077 Multiplayer 'Reconsidered' - Possibly Delayed or Cancelled

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 10:01 AM PDT

Cyberpunk 2077 was supposed to get a multiplayer mode, at some point, though at most recent check-in likely not until 2022 or beyond. But now, it's possible we may not see this mode at all -- or at least, CD Projekt is being a bit cagey about how or when it might be implemented in the future. In a strategy update from CD Projekt today, president Adam Kiciński said the studio was adjusting its strategy around online experiences in its games, saying it was focusing on bringing online into all its franchises one day and working on an online technology that can be integrated into all its games. But, he continued, that means a change of some sort to how Cyberpunk 2077's planned multiplayer mode might be implemented. As Kiciński put it: "Previously we hinted that our next AAA would be a multiplayer Cyberpunk game, but we have decided to reconsider this plan given our new more systemic and agile approach instead of primarily focusing on one big online experience or game we are focusing on bringing online into all of our franchises one day." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/02/what-will-cyberpunk-2077-multiplayer-be-like-unlocked-472"] This doesn't exactly clarify the nature of what's going on with Cyberpunk multiplayer, though. Earlier this year, Michał Nowakowski confirmed that this mode was the "triple-A" title CD Projekt Red was developing previously in parallel to Cyberpunk 2077. But now, it's not clear if multiplayer has been delayed even further, or if it simply will not be implemented at all. We do know that CD Projekt is setting up to start developing games in two AAA franchises -- The Witcher and Cyberpunk -- simultaneously, beginning in 2022, and is staffing up and working on technology and support systems to enable that. It's also going to be far more cautious about its marketing going forward, including how early it announces new games. IGN has reached out to CD Projekt for comment and clarity on the status of Cyberpunk 2077's multiplayer. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Next-Gen Version Coming in the Second Half of 2021

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 09:47 AM PDT

After Cyberpunk 2077 CD Projekt Promises Better Marketing

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 09:47 AM PDT

CD Projekt is taking the lessons from Cyberpunk 2077's long marketing campaign to heart. In a new strategy presentation, CD Projekt is promising multiple changes to the way it markets future games, including focusing on shorter marketing campaigns and better manage expectations for what the game will look like at launch. Much of these changes feel like a direct response to the criticisms of Cyberpunk 2077's marketing campaign, which spanned nearly 8 years and built up considerable hype that critics say couldn't be met. In fact, one of CD Projekt's goals for marketing in the future is to "properly manage expectations across all platforms." CD Projekt's senior vice president of business development Michal Nowakowski appeared during the pre-recorded strategy video today to share how CD Projekt can avoid the mistakes with regards to marketing it had with Cyberpunk 2077. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/11/cyberpunk-2077-graphics-comparison-ps5-vs-ps4-base-model"] Aside from the long marketing campaign, Cyberpunk 2077 sent mixed messaging regarding gameplay elements, like full life-paths and 24-day NPC cycles that ultimately didn't make the final release version. Perhaps most glaringly, CD Projekt didn't share what Cyberpunk 2077 looked like on non-PC hardware such as the PS4 and Xbox One until closer to launch, and even then many say PS4 gameplay videos didn't prepare them for the actual state of the game on last-gen consoles. All this will change, according to CD Projekt. Marketing campaigns will be much shorter and the company says it will wait until its games are closer to launch "before showing things like trailers, demos, or going in-depth about mechanics." CD Projekt also says "when campaigns do start we aim to properly manage expectations across all platforms. This means focusing communication on polished game footage, not concepts," and showcase game footage on all platforms they will be released on. The company says it will still release teasers early in a game's development "if it makes sense," but the actual marketing campaign won't kick-off until much closer to launch. Compare this strategy to something like what Bethesda did with Fallout 4 which was announced in June 2015 and released later that year. A major shift will be how CD Projekt maps out its plans for the public. In the past, the company released five-year plans but going forward CD Projekt will shift to annual roadmaps to be more "agile." cdpr_roadmap For 2021 for example, CD Projekt's roadmap includes next-gen update, free DLC, and patches and updates for Cyberpunk 2077. On the Witcher side of things, there are plans for a next-gen update, more Gwent development, and The Witcher: Monster Slayer AR game. In 2022 CD Projekt will begin parallel AAA game development. All this is to say CD Projekt felt the marketing for Cyberpunk 2077 backfired and many of its changes announced today are direct responses to that campaign. Shorter marketing cycles versus long ones, and more focus on confirmed, polished gameplay across all platforms verse concepts and ideas that could ultimately be cut. Cyberpunk 2077 meanwhile continues to receive patches with the latest 1.2 patch fixing hundreds of bugs. But Cyberpunk 2077 still isn't in the PlayStation store. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor.

Xbox Games with Gold for April 2021 Announced

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 09:47 AM PDT

Microsoft has announced that April 2021's Xbox Games with Gold are Vikings: Wolves of Midgard, Truck Racing Championship, Dark Void, and Hard Corps: Uprising. Announced on Xbox Wire, Vikings: Wolves of Midgard and Dark Void will be available on April 1, while Truck Racing Championship and Hard Corps: Uprising will arrive on April 16. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/30/xbox-april-2021-games-with-gold-trailer"] Vikings: Wolves of Midgard, which will be available until April 30, was released in 2017 and takes players to a world based on "mythology with a fantasy twist." You will join a band of Viking warriors and take up the fight against Jotan and the beasts of Ragnarok. Truck Racing Championship, which will be available until May 15, was released in 2019 and let's you take the wheel behind 45 giant 5-ton, 1,000 horsepower semi-trucks in 14 worldwide circuits. Dark Void, which will be available until April 15, was released in 2010 and takes you to a sinister parallel world that is full of hostile aliens and deep mystery. In our Dark Void review, we said that it "is all over the place. The story's never explained adequately, the combat's pretty much always a chore, and flying isn't nearly as fun as it should be. I don't hate Dark Void, but I don't care for it, either." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2011/02/16/hard-corps-uprising-video-review"] Hard Corps: Uprising, which will be available until April 30, is a retro run-and-gun action title that lets you "write your own legend in the grueling trenches of Arcade mode or upgrade and build your soldier in Rising mode." In our Hard Corps: Uprising review, we said, "It's definitely classic Contra, but at the same time feels new and exciting... If you've ever been into Contra or Metal Slug or action movies, Hard Corps: Uprising is for you." If you've missed out on the Games with Gold for March 2021, there is still time to download Warface: Breakout, Vicious Attack Llama Apocalypse, and Port Royale 3. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com. Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

CD Projekt to Develop Witcher, Cyberpunk AAA Games Simultaneously Starting in 2022

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 09:31 AM PDT

After a long, drawn-out development for Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt is preparing to shift gears for future AAA projects, and work on games in both The Witcher and Cyberpunk franchises simultaneously beginning in 2022. During a Strategy Update presentation today, CD Projekt outlined how it's going to achieve its goals to develop two AAA games in two different franchises simultaneously, saying it intends to staff up over the next year and have development teams working on both projects at once, including leads. It's also planning to adjust the capabilities of its internal game engine to allow features like NPC routines and player character control to be adapted in multiple games at once. "We want to be sure that we can work with two global brands at the same time while ensuring top quality of our products," said CTO Paweł Zawodny. "We emphasize technological advancements and we want to set up versatile teams which combine various specializations and competencies. These teams will be further assisted by a cross-projects group of experts, who – owing to their expertise – can contribute to key aspects of development. All these changes aim to enable us to work on multiple AAA games and expansions in parallel, starting in 2022." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/07/cyberpunk-2077-review"] Though the presentation did not specify what either of these games would be, as CD Projekt made a point to say it was going to be more careful with how early it made announcements in the future given criticism of Cyberpunk's transformations from its original announcement, it did say it wants to continue adding onto the traditional RPG. The Witcher, for instance, began as a traditional RPG, added action elements, and Cyberpunk took those genres and added shooter elements as well. It also addressed (albeit indirectly) criticisms of massive crunch at the studio ahead of Cyberpunk 2077 despite reassurances from studio leadership that they would do no such thing, saying that it was putting in place new support systems to "minimize stress" and "prevent burnout," including more mental health support -- though CD Projekt did not go into specifics. It also outlined its plans for 2021, saying Cyberpunk 2077 would receive patches and updates, free DLC, and a next-gen update, while the Witcher franchise would see The Witcher: Monster Slayer, next-gen updates for The Witcher 3, and further development for Gwent. CD Projekt also announced today it has acquired Digital Scapes, and gave an update as to how it will do its marketing going forward. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Rebekah Valentine is a news reporter for IGN. You can find her on Twitter @duckvalentine.

CD Projekt Acquires Canadian Development Studio

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 08:42 AM PDT

CD Projekt has announced that it has signed contracts to acquire Canadian studio Digital Scapes. Digital Scapes Studios, based in Vancouver, has been working with CD Projekt for three years during the production of Cyberpunk 2077. The studio will become CD Projekt Red Vancouver, and join the developer's portfolio of teams that includes the three existing ones based in Warsaw, Krakow, and Wroclaw. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/12/07/cyberpunk-2077-review"] "We believe that the hugely talented Digital Scapes crew is the perfect foundation upon which to build a wider CD Projekt Red Vancouver team," said Paweł Zawodny, Head of Production and CTO at CDPR in a statement announcing the acquisition move. "This is a great opportunity for Canadian developers to get involved with CD Projekt Red's incredible IP and for CD Projekt Red to tap into Canada's deep talent pool and game-making craft," added Marcin Chady, the head of Vancouver studio. Large video game developers often work with studios outside of their native country in order to have access to worldwide talent and allow for development to continue beyond the timezone of the headquarters. A base in Vancouver will certainly offer this to CDPR, and already the studio is looking to recruit. For more from CDPR, check out the hugely detailed notes for Cyberpunk 2077 patch 1.2, which contains hundreds of changes. It's available now. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

RDO: Claim a Free Care Package, Role Bonuses, and More This Week

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 08:17 AM PDT

Pikmin AR Game: First Details Revealed, Including Gameplay, Modes, and More

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 06:48 AM PDT

Last week, Nintendo and Niantic revealed that they had partnered once again to release a Pikmin Augmented Reality game similar to Pokémon Go, with the goal being "to make walking more delightful." Niantic has begun testing its Nintendo-partnered Pikmin Augmented Reality app in Singapore and, via an anonymous source, IGN has seen the early version of the game, currently simply titled 'Pikmin App', and read through its help centre section for a rundown of the game. As a result, we can reveal some details about how it will work when it launches worldwide. Of course, with the game in testing, some features could change before the final version). Two features that will almost certainly change from this version are a lack of any microtransactions, and Points of Interest (similar to Pokémon Go's Pokestops) being currently non-interactable. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/10/28/pikmin-3-deluxe-review"]

Gameplay

Pikmin are first seen as dormant seedlings that you must find, pluck and grow by walking around the real world with your smartphone. Walking accumulates energy which you can use to pluck and collect the Pikmin, adding them to your squad (and you can manually rename Pikmin too). Places of Interest in the Pikmin App may well be based on Ingress' Portals and not Pokémon Go's Pokestops. Once Pikmin have grown, they can be added to a Squad (not unlike Pokémon Go's parties). Once you've got a Pikmin squad, if you walk with them they will accumulate fruits that can be turned into Nectar. Just like the mainline Pikmin games, Pikmin who partake in the nectar will bloom leaves, buds, and flowers, and when the flowers glow, players can collect petals by tapping the bloomed Pikmin. Petals are used for the Flower Planting mode, described below. Different Pikmin offer different coloured petals, and petals have a recovery period before you can collect them again. Collected Pikmin also have life meters, represented by small hearts. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2019/06/29/harry-potter-wizards-unite-review"]

Modes

There are a number of modes in the Pikmin app. Expedition mode allows players to send their collected Pikmin to locations that they have previously visited in the app to collect seedlings, fruit and postcards. Postcards will depict Pikmin on their adventures framed against a picture of a real-world location submitted by Pokémon Go and Ingress users. Players will be able to report and remove inappropriate postcards. A Flower Planting mode is also available, which will leave a trail of flowers behind the player as they walk. Players will need Flower Petals from their Nectar-bloomed Pikmin to partake in this mode, which will make Seedlings easier to find and improve Pikmin growth speed. Players can plant flowers solo or with other users, and co-operative flower planting will let you share your data and your Pikmin squad with other players. If you are planting flowers, your flower trail will be visible to other players and will widen depending on how big your Pikmin squad is. Lifelog is a seciton of the app used to catalog your journeys in the game. Players will be able to see their stats and record activities, photos and thoughts in a journal reflecting on their adventures. Your Lifelog entries will include steps walked, flowers planted, places visited, photos captured, and any written entries you add. You'll also be able to see an animated summary of your progress in the app over the past day, with chances to earn more items in this mode if you've gone on some long walks. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2016/07/12/pokemon-go-review"]

Pikmin Types

The game's help centre reveals the species of Pikmin in the game, each of which will have different characteristics (although those differences aren't described in detail here). The Pikmin species will include:
  • Red Pikmin
  • Blue Pikmin
  • Yellow Pikmin
  • Purple Pikmin
  • White Pikmin
  • Rock Pikmin
  • Winged Pikmin
There's also a sub-category, Decor Pikmin. Decor Pikmin can be found in Big Seedlings, and regular Pikmin can transform into them after being interacted with. Decor Pikmin will wear special clothing reflective of the place in which you found them. It's not clear if they offer other benefits, or if they act as the Pikmin app's take on Shiny Pokémon. The Pikmin app is due to launch globally later this year, and we'd expect it to soft launch in more regions before the full launch. Niantic has also been teasing what seem to be AR glasses. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Jordan Oloman is a freelance writer for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.

Dota 2 Dragon Knight Pick Rate Increased Following Netflix Show

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 06:39 AM PDT

The pick rate for Dota 2 hero Dragon Knight has increased since Netflix launched its animated Dota show. While Dota 2 does not have a lead character among its roster of playable heroes, Dragon Knight is the star of Netflix's Dota: Dragon's Blood. And as PCGamesN points out, since the show was made available on March 24 the pick rate for Dragon Knight has spiked. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/25/dota-dragons-blood-season-1-review"] Take a look at tracking website Dotabuff and you can see Dragon Knight's pick rate currently sits at 8.7%, and peaked on March 27 at 9.2%. For comparison, the average hero pick rate is 8.33%, and Dragon Knight has typically trended below average by a few decimal points. While Dragon Knight is being played more often by players, the Netflix show does not appear to have encouraged new players to take up Valve's second-most-popular game. Over the past month, SteamDB - the Steam database tracking site - shows a relatively unchanged set of peaks and troughs for the past few months. For more, check out our review of Dota: Dragon's Blood, as well as our round-up of the best PC games. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Ninja Gaiden 1 & 2's Code Has Been Lost, So Don't Expect a Ninja Gaiden Black Remaster

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 06:00 AM PDT

The Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection team was "unable to salvage" code for the original versions of Ninja Gaiden 1 and 2, meaning it had to include the newer Sigma versions of those games. That also means that we'll likely never see new versions of Ninja Gaiden Black or Ninja Gaiden 2 outside of their original Xbox home. Speaking to IGN, head of Team Ninja Fumihiko Yasuda explained the choice of the Sigma editions in Master Collection: "The reason we chose these 3 titles for the collection is because they represent the latest installments of the numbered series and they are also the most polished versions featuring many additional modes and costumes. Furthermore, when we worked on Sigma and Sigma 2, we went and collected as much of that data as possible and organized it. And since we could fully utilize this data, Sigma and Sigma 2 became clear choices for this collection. "However, we were unable to salvage the varying assortment of data we had left from Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2. And for that very reason, we currently don't have any plans of remastering Ninja Gaiden Black and Ninja Gaiden 2 on non-Xbox platforms." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/ninja-gaiden-master-collection-announcement-trailer"] The Sigma versions of Ninja Gaidens 1 and 2, as well as Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge all made changes to the original versions of the games (as well as Ninja Gaiden Black, itself a 'remixed' version of the original Ninja Gaiden). Yasuda made clear that the versions of those games inside the Master Collection would remain identical in terms of gameplay, but would see resolution and frame rate improvements depending on what platform players choose. However, multiplayer modes have been stripped out of Ninja Gaidens 2 and 3, a decision Yasuda said came down to resource constraints: "In order to perfectly replicate the online system used from the past, not only would it require a great deal of time and money, it would also place limitations on the platforms we could release it on. And given that dilemma we decided to increase the number of platforms we would release the collection on in order to reach as many players as possible rather than pursue the multiplayer feature." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2018/03/02/ninja-gaiden-black-lets-play-final-episode-will-we-die-at-the-very-end-part-10-ign-plays"] If the past of Ninja Gaiden is now constrained to the Sigma versions, what about the future of the franchise? It's been 9 years since the release of Ninja Gaiden 3, and we asked Yasuda if he'd like to make a new installment after the re-releases. "Well, while it is a remastered version, we were able to announce something new for the series," Yasuda replied, "and it's something I've been waiting a long time to do, so I'm very happy about that. We at Team Ninja are always thinking of ways to bring back the series. Ninja Gaiden: Master Collection gathers together Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ninja Gaiden 2 Sigma, and Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge. It will arrive for Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC on June 10. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Magic: The Gathering Artist Suspended After Fan Art Plagiarism Claims

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 04:37 AM PDT

Wizards of the Coast have suspended a freelance artist after discovering claims that they plagiarised fan art during the creation of artwork for a new Magic: The Gathering card. The art in question can be found on the new reprint of Crux of Fate, available as part of the new Strixhaven set. The card features an image of two dragons - Nicol Bolas and Ugin, the Spirit Dragon - engaged in battle. The image of Nicol Bolas is almost identical to a piece of fan art created by Kitt Lapeña, which they uploaded to DeviantArt in 2016. Lapeña, who uses the name Scarypet online, posted a video to Twitter that demonstrates the lengths of the plagiarism. While the pose Nicol Bolas is positioned in on the card is not identical to Lapeña's fan art, by simply rotating the dragon's limbs you can see that the silhouette and even many of the fine details of the artwork are identical. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/09/07/magic-the-gathering-arena-first-gameplay-video"] In response, Wizards issued the following statement: "It has come to our attention that the card Crux of Fate from the Strixhaven: School of Mages Mystical Archive may overtly feature Magic: The Gathering fan art and the contracted artist did not receive permission for this incorporation. These actions do not reflect the values of Wizards, and, as a result, we will be suspending future work with Jason Felix until we have been able to bring this matter to successful conclusion." If you're not a Magic: The Gathering player, you can try it out easily via its digital variant, Arena. Available on PC/Mac, it has also just come to iOS and Android. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Sega Accidentally Accuses SteamDB of Yakuza Piracy

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 03:51 AM PDT

Lawyers representing Sega have accused SteamDB, a database website that tracks games on Steam, of illegally distributing Yakuza: Like a Dragon. In a post on Twitter, Pavel Djundik, creator of SteamDB, said: "[Sega's] lawyers are trying to take down Yakuza: Like a Dragon's SteamDB page claiming that we distribute the game." The claim is incorrect, as SteamDB simply provides analytical information on the games available on Steam, rather than any actual games. "SteamDB does not support piracy," said Djundik, in a follow-up Tweet. "It does not provide downloads, it does not sell keys, it does not link to any websites that do any of these activities." It appears, then, that the situation is an accident/misunderstanding from Sega's legal team. Djundik notes in his Twitter thread that SteamDB receives at least one DMCA takedown notice per year from companies that mistake the website for an illegal distributor rather than a database. He also notes that he is in touch with a representative of Sega of America to resolve the situation, although establishing contact with the company proved tricky. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2020/11/04/yakuza-like-a-dragon-review"] For now, the Yakuza: Like a Dragon page of SteamDB has been removed from the site. Search for the game, and a message is displayed: "This page was taken down because SEGA is claiming we distribute their game here (we don't)." SteamDB is an excellent resource for tracking how well games are doing, such as watching Valheim's skyrocket success. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer. 

Pokémon Go Dev's Pikmin Game Is Already Playable in Singapore

Posted: 30 Mar 2021 01:22 AM PDT

Niantic, the creator of Pokémon Go, has announced that it's begun testing for its Pikmin AR game in Singapore. The game, which was only teased for the first time last week, will be released this year globally, but Singaporean players will be the first in the world to try it. No matter where you are, you can pre-register to test the game in when it comes to your region.

At time of writing, exactly how the game works is still unknown, with Singaporean player Elias Chew explaining on Twitter that the game displays confidentiality notices when played. Chew did explain to another Twitter user that the game uses a Google Fit step count to grow Pikmin as you walk.

Niantic hasn't said when the game will be coming to other countries, although it has previously soft-launched both Pokémon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite in Australia and New Zealand, so it wouldn't be surprising to see it hit those regions earlier than full release. The Pikmin game is the start of a new partnership between Niantic and Nintendo, who will "jointly develop mobile titles" using Niantic's AR technology and Nintendo's characters. The news comes a day after Niantic CEO John Hanke seemed to tease that the company was creating AR glasses to help aid its games. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/star-wars-director-rian-johnsons-pokemon-trailer-pokemon-go-fest-2020"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Joe Skrebels is IGN's Executive Editor of News. Follow him on Twitter. Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to newstips@ign.com.

Can’t Drive This Review

Posted: 29 Mar 2021 11:55 PM PDT

The tangled result of taking Tetris and Trackmania Turbo and tossing them into a tumble dryer, Can't Drive This is a clever and compulsive co-op puzzle racer. With one player literally building a road out of random tiles as the other navigates the chaotic, impromptu track that results, Can't Drive This is one of the most inventive driving games I've played in recent years, although its modest selection of modes makes it a multiplayer experience best enjoyed in short bursts rather than an all-night party classic-in-the-making.

[ignvideo width=610 height=374 url=https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/02/23/cant-drive-this-official-trailer]

Replace Tetris' iconic tetronimoes with assorted chunks of stunt racing track and you're most of the way to understanding how Can't Drive This delivers its own brand of puzzle-like track pieces. Every new slab will be something random – one might be a simple square of asphalt while the next has a devilish swinging hammer designed to hamper your progress. However, some may not be square at all – they'll be 90-degree bends or banked corners that need to be rotated before they're placed – and others won't even be asphalt – they'll be a deep mud pit to mess with your grip or a giant yellow dome to throw you off-course. The variety of tiles and obstacles is decent, although the hydraulic press is a nightmare. While it appears as if you just need to skirt around it, as it slams down it seems to send out a powerful shockwave that knocks trucks from the track without touching them. It was funny at first to watch my teammates struggle to survive it, but ultimately it became regularly irritating.

If You Build It, They'll Have Fun

Assembling the track in Can't Drive This is ultimately like trying to piece together a slot car set on the dining table before your little sister drives your favourite car off the end of it. There's really no time to think it through. The driver can't simply park and wait for their partner to carefully or artfully string a track together because if the truck stops too long it'll explode, so reacting to the pieces as they arrive and plonking them down quickly is the only way to succeed as a team.

There are certainly times where it feels like you're getting shafted with combinations of tiles that are extremely difficult for a driver to deal with – like a series of boost pads into a jump that a driver may find themselves committed to before the builder has even had time to set down a landing area – but with a couch full of players laughing at this predicament it's generally more funny than aggravating.

However, there were a lot of occasions where I or one of my teammates found ourselves stuck clipping through a guardrail or bogged in a track tile that blinked into existence a fraction too late to let us continue, but a fraction too soon to allow the truck to actually plummet from the sky. It's an annoying purgatory to be trapped in, particularly when the truck refuses to explode and manually restarting your run from the pause menu is the only solution. This is at its most frustrating with three drivers. Fallen trucks can be resurrected if another player drives through the beacon marking the point on track they perished, but we had a couple of instances where our last surviving driver was fused halfway inside a track tile, unable to revive teammates or proceed.

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Monster Truck Madness

The monster trucks in Can't Drive This may look toy-like in scale but they handle with a good sense of heft and inertia. The trucks have a decent feeling of mass without being cumbersome, and they're responsive without feeling overly twitchy or sticky.

There's also a huge amount of truck customisation on offer but I haven't really found myself drawn to it. A monster truck with a beard and a cowboy hat is objectively brilliant, I admit, but I can't help but wonder if Can't Drive This would've been better served with a few more modes or ways to play it than such an extensive range of cosmetics.

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As it stands, there are three different multiplayer modes: Yardage, where up to three drivers and one builder attempt to simply go the furthest distance they can before all trucks either careen off the track or explode; Game of Drones, where two drivers and two builders partner up to collect an increasing number of floating cubes randomly scattered around an initial hub zone; and Capture the Egg, where two teams – each featuring a driver and a builder – square off in a capture the flag scenario.

The frantic and unforgiving Yardage feels like the core Can't Drive This experience, but I think I actually prefer Game of Drones; tracking down all the cubes requires building in all four compass directions rather than relentlessly trying to power forwards, and there's slightly more time to rebuild around errors – you just need to avoid the EMP mines dropped by the drone that will disable trucks and potentially send them spearing off the track or into an obstacle to become stuck and blow up.

That's it, though, and once we'd dabbled in each mode for a while sessions of Can't Drive This would begin to lose a bit of momentum. There's a fourth mode purely for solo players where you need to both build the road and drive it yourself as it subsequently assembles in front of you, but if this is the only way you'd be planning to play Can't Drive This I'd recommend against picking it up. Lone Racer really loses a lot of steam after a dozen or so attempts.

Animal Crossing: Every Item You Can Get With the Sanrio Amiibo

Posted: 29 Mar 2021 08:38 PM PDT

Monster Hunter Rise: How to Skip All Low-Rank Hub Quests

Posted: 29 Mar 2021 07:57 PM PDT

Monster Hunter Rise Pet Pals Winners Revealed

Posted: 29 Mar 2021 06:05 PM PDT

In celebration of Monster Hunter Rise's recent launch on Nintendo Switch, we held a contest that gave your dogs and cats the chance to be done up in the armor and style of Monster Hunter Rise's Palicoes and Palamutes. We had so many incredibly adorable entries, and we've gathered each and every winner together in the slideshow below. [widget path="global/article/imagegallery" parameters="albumSlug=monster-hunter-rise-pet-pals-winners&captions=true"]

Monster Hunter Rise Is Out Now on Nintendo Switch!

Monster Hunter Rise was released on Nintendo Switch on March 26, 2021, and will be released on PC in 2022. In our review of Monster Hunter Rise, we said that it "mixes classic Monster Hunter ideas with some of World's best improvements and a whole bunch of clever new mechanics of its own." [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2021/03/23/monster-hunter-rise-review"] [poilib element="accentDivider"] Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Pokemon Go Devs Tease New AR Glasses Design

Posted: 29 Mar 2021 03:39 PM PDT

Niantic founder and CEO John Hanke shared a small teaser of what looks to be a pair of AR or XR glasses from Niantic. The Pokemon Go developer has been looking into AR heavily, and this could be the next step for Niantic games beyond just the smartphone. In a short tweet, Hanke says progress is being made on "new kinds of devices" that leverage Niantic's AR platform. He also shared an image of the stem of what appear to be glasses, with some kind of strap with the Niantic logo. The glasses stem is also thicker and appears to feature some kind of speaker, possibly. Niantic's interest in AR glasses technology goes a long way back. In 2019, Niantic announced a collaboration with Qualcomm on an XR platform that combines XR, 5G, and AI along with Niantic's AR platform. This is the same AR platform that Niantic uses for games like Pokemon Go and Harry Potter: Wizards Unite. Niantic also demoed a version of Pokemon Go on Microsoft's HoloLens 2 and Microsoft Mesh platform. AR glasses it seems will allow players to see Pokemon out in the world, though at the time Hanke says its HoloLens demo was not intended for consumer use, according to The Verge. [ignvideo url="https://www.ign.com/videos/2017/03/24/pokemon-go-official-pokemon-go-plus-trailer"] The AR glasses space is heating up recently after years of VR goggles dominating the gaming space. Apple is reportedly working on an expensive, $3,000 VR headset with 8K displays as a trial product before launching a more consumer-friendly AR device. The Niantic-powered AR glasses could help take games like Pokemon Go and maybe the newly announced Pikmin game from Niantic to the next level. [poilib element="accentDivider"] Matt T.M. Kim is IGN's News Editor. Photo credit: Niantic

Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487139 - The Final Preview

Posted: 29 Mar 2021 02:37 PM PDT

It isn't easy to come up with a simple and convenient label to describe what Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487139 actually is, which is appropriate considering the fact that the Nier series itself is anything but simple.

Is it a remaster? Is it a remake? Well, the answer is that it's somewhere in between. Replicant Ver. 1.bunchofrandomnumbers takes Nier Replicant – a version of 2010's Nier that never released outside of Japan and features a younger protagonist – dramatically improves its visuals, brings its combat up to the literal Platinum standard set by Nier Automata, and provides voice acting for every character to bring its world to life, which is certainly going above and beyond your average remaster. That said, this is still largely the same cult classic that was released more than ten years ago.

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I've spent about 16 hours with Ver. 1.yourdoordashverificationcode, and while I'm limited in what I'm allowed to talk specifically about, my general impression so far is that if you're a fan of Nier, whether the original or Automata, there's a lot to like about what this new version has to offer. And if you're not, well Nier Replicant is the best opportunity there's ever been to get in on the ground floor.

Combat was a high point of the original Nier, but in comparison to Automata's graceful dance of swords and bullets, it's pretty dated. This new version of Replicant does a really good job of smoothing out the animations and making Nier's combat feel very close to Automata's. It still has the same basic combat system of having two attack buttons that can be repeatedly pressed for lengthy combo strings, or held down for special attacks that may have guard breaking properties, or are more adept at hitting multiple enemies at once.

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In short, it's very much an action game's combat system transplanted into an RPG, but make no mistake, this is no Bayonetta. The combat, while exquisitely animated and fun to look at, lacks much of the depth and progression that you'd typically find in an action game along the lines of what Platinum typically works on.

The thing that really makes Nier Replicant's combat sing is the wonderful Grimoire Weiss, a snooty book voiced impeccably by Liam O'Brien, who serves as the player's source of magical attacks. There are a wide variety of magical attacks, referred to as Sealed Verses, each of which can be easily swapped between thanks to a quick and intuitive menu that lets you map different spells and techniques to the four shoulder buttons.

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While there's a lot of fighting the same enemy types, Replicant at least does a good job of mixing up the situations in which you fight against those enemy types. It constantly plays with your expectations, switching between 3D, 2D, and top down perspectives fairly regularly, and sometimes even flipping the entire rules of the genre on its head. I don't want to spoil some of the best examples of this, but if you've played the original, you probably know which ones I'm talking about, and if you don't, it's probably best for you to experience them yourself anyway. The one part of the game that I can talk about is the Junk Heap, which has a great sequence where you have to ride a minecart through a bullet hell while sniping at turrets and enemies lining the walls.

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Perhaps the area that has seen the most improvement though is the visuals. The original Nier did a great job with character models, and that's reflected in this new version, but its environments were very drab and were often too big for their own good, resulting in a game that lacked detail and had a very blurry and smudgy visual quality to it. This new version on the other hand looks crisp, with draw distance that extends for miles, and really lets the artistic beauty of a region like the Aerie, for instance, to really shine through.

And that's really the limit of what I'm allowed to talk about on this preview build. Second chances are rare in the world of video games, and it's great that the success of Automata has seemingly earned the first Nier another shot at finding its audience. Be on the lookout for Nier Replicant Ver. 1.22474487139 when it hits PlayStations, Xboxes, and PCs on April 23.

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Mitchell Saltzman is an editorial producer at IGN. You can find him on Twitter @JurassicRabbit
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