Horizon Forbidden West has a new update available today on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5, it was announced during the June 2022 State of Play Presentation.
That new update includes a Performance Mode, which improves visual fidelity on PS5 and PS4 Pro; the transmog feature to switch outfit looks; the ability to redistribute skill points; ultra hard difficulty; and New Game+, which allows replaying with endgame gear.
Guerrilla Games shared the full list of patch notes on Reddit, which includes new weapons, trophies, and dyes and face paints for Aloy. The patch also includes fixes for several bugs in the main and side quests.
The update was far from the only Horizon news announced during today’s State of Play. Horizon: Call of the Mountain, the Horizon series’ VR spinoff, also got a new gameplay trailer, showing new methods of traversal.
Stray, the game about a cat navigating a cyberpunk city, will be released on July 19 for PS4 and PS5.
Shown at Sony’s State of Play event today, the PlayStation console exclusive puts players in the furry little feet of a cat lost in a futuristic cyber city that’s falling apart. Separated from its family, the cat must solve an ancient mystery and find its way home with the help of a small robot friend known as B12.
It was also announced that Stray will be on PlayStation Plus at launch for members of the “Extra” tier and above.
In a PlayStation blog post, BlueTwelve Studio producer Swann Martin-Raget reminsced on Stray’s seven-year development, and the challenges that came with making a believable, playable cat:
“Trying to control a cat – whether it’s in real life or when making a video game – is definitely not a walk in the park! From the very beginning, we knew that the controls and animations of our star character needed to be absolutely spot-on in order to properly convey this exhilarating feeling of skills and movement. So Miko, our cat animator, took the challenge to heart and spent considerable time looking for images and video references. The good and somewhat surprising thing we found is this: It really seems that the whole internet was basically invented for the sole purpose of hosting loads of cute cat pictures and videos! So we ended up having a lot of very good material to work with for references.”
Of course, there are plenty of real-life cats around Stray’s team, too. Apparently, around 80% of their studio has cats at home, and they have two office cats named Oscar and Jun. Unfortunately, the blog post did not include any photos of either of them.
We are delighted to announce that IGN Expo – our exclusive showcase that will feature new announcements, never-before-seen gameplay, and world premieres – will be returning in 2022 as part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming.
IGN will of course be carrying the IGN Expo stream and, as usual, this watch guide will provide you with everything you need to know to watch the show, including when it starts, a list of places you can watch it with us, and what you can expect to see.
IGN Expo 2022 Start Time
IGN Expo 2022 will take place on June 10, 2022, at 9am PT/12pm ET/5pm BST. If you live in Australia, that translates to June 11 at 2am AEST.
Where to Watch the IGN Expo 2022
If you’re interested in watching the IGN Expo, we’ll be hosting the stream here and across our many channels on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Twitter, Facebook, and more. Here’s the full list of places you can watch the IGN Expo for 2022:
What to Expect at the Upcoming IGN Expo 2022
As previously mentioned, IGN Expo 2022 will feature new announcements, never-before-seen gameplay, and exclusive gaming reveals from some of the best developers around the globe. While we aren’t ready to unveil exactly what surprises are in store for this year’s show, we encourage you to look at our recap of 2021’s IGN Expo to get an idea of what to expect.
In 2021, some of the biggest stories out of IGN Expo included Doki Doki Literature Club Plus, World War Z Aftermath, and the reveal of a new studio from the Call of Duty Zombies creator in partnership with PlayStation.
IGN Expo is only one of the many events that are part of IGN’s Summer of Gaming in 2022. Be sure to check out our schedule to ensure you don’t miss any of the biggest gaming and entertainment events of the year, including Netflix Geeked Week, Summer Game Fest Kickoff, the Xbox & Bethesda Showcase, and much more.
Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.
Deus Ex actor Elias Toufexis has denied working on a sequel to 2016’s Mankind Divided after rumours circulated as a result of a misinterpreted tweet.
Toufexis posted on June 1 that he’s been voicing a character “in this huge AAA game for a few years”, causing speculation that he was talking about a fifth mainline Deus Ex game. Toufexis’ best known role is as Adam Jensen, the protagonist of Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Deus Ex: Mankind Divided. The latter game ended on a cliffhanger fans have been hoping will be resolved for many years.
I tweet about anything in gaming and then articles come out saying I’ve confirmed Deus Ex. Guys, I’ve done something like 30 games since Deus Ex. I’m on a couple right now that are even bigger than Deus Ex.
“I tweet about anything in gaming and then articles come out saying I’ve confirmed Deus Ex,” he said. “Guys, I’ve done something like 30 games since Deus Ex. I’m on a couple right now that are even bigger than Deus Ex. Don’t worry, I will let you know when I know anything.”
It’s currently unknown what Eidos-Montréal is working on next, but as mentioned previously, its new owner Embracer Group is seemingly eager to revisit Deus Ex. Based on Toufexis’ comments, he’s heard nothing yet, but we can hope.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer who occasionally remembers to tweet @thelastdinsdale. He’ll talk about The Witcher all day.
Walmart will be offering PS5 consoles beginning today at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET. The console drop is part of its upcoming Walmart+ weekend, and as the name suggests, only Walmart+ members will get access to new PS5 stock this time around.
There are two ways to get Walmart+: you can either pay a $98 annual fee, or you can sign up for the month-to-month $12.95/ month alternative. Both methods are perfectly acceptable if you’re looking to get a better chance to secure a PS5, and you can even save money, too. Walmart is offering users $25 off your next $50+ order when you join as a monthly member, or $50 off your next $75+ order when you join as an annual member. For more details on how this works, see here.
Click “start paid membership”
Walmart+ Membership
Note, this offer isn’t included in the free trial, so click the “start paid membership” button to take advantage.
PS5 Walmart Restock Is Happening Today, June 2
PlayStation 5 Digital
3 PM ET/12 PM PT for Walmart+ members.
New DualSense Wireless Controllers Down to $59 (was $74.99)
How to Get $12 Off a PS5 With Walmart+
So here’s the deal, you’ve got to pay to access Walmart’s PS5 drop on June 2. In other words, the free trial membership doesn’t qualify you to get access to PlayStation 5 availability. But, here’s another deal, you can actually save $25 on your next purchase of $50 or more when you sign up for the monthly membership. It costs $12.95/ month – but with that extra saving you’re effectively cancelling this out and actually saving around $12 on the PS5.
It’s not been confirmed whether this will work on the PS5, but if you are really desperate to get the console, I’d absolutely say it’s worth the gamble. Worst case scenario is that it doesn’t work on the PS5, but you can still buy a brand new game at $12 off. Not a bad deal overall.
How to Buy a PS5 in 2022: Tips and Tricks
First of all, make sure you’re following @IGNDeals on Twitter, and stick notifications on for good measure. We’ll inform you immediately when the PS5 stock goes live, and you can be quick to the mark. Remember, Walmart likes to release inventory in short bursts averaging every 15 minutes.
If you can’t get a console on your first try, keep at it, there will be more stock. Walmart drops can last anywhere between 1-3 hours, so it’s worth multiple attempts once it goes live. Otherwise, here are a few other tips and tricks to help you successfully purchase that PS5.
Sign into Walmart on multiple devices (Laptop, Tablet, Phone, etc),
Have your credit card and delivery address setup before 12 PM PT
Add PS5 Digital and PS5 Disc to your Walmart Shopping List
If buying from the listing fails, try from your Shopping List
More PS5 Stock Drops Expected Soon
If you’re not interested in signing up for Walmart+, have no fear, more stock drops are here (soon). If there’s any more PS5 availability we’ll announce the details on our deals Twitter page @IGNDeals. For now, here are all the other retailer pages you’ll need to keep primed and ready for when stock is available.
When Will the PS5 Be Coming Back in Stock?
Walmart will have PS5 stock today, June 2, at 12 PM PT / 3 PM ET, you need to be a paid Walmart+ member to get access to the drop.
When Is the Sony State of Play?
If you’re lucky enough to grab a PS5 during the Walmart+ restock, then you’ll be extra excited for 6 PM ET/3 PM PT, when Sony’s State of Play broadcast goes live. The State of Play will run for 30 minutes and you can watch it right here.
Monster Hunter producer Ryozo Tsujimoto has explained why fan-favorite monster Lagiacrus won’t be making a return in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak.
Tsujimoto and Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak director Yoshitake Suzuki spoke to IGN about the upcoming expansion, and detailed why Lagiacrus was passed over, even though “the desire is definitely there.”
“Unfortunately Lagiacrus is just a very technological…difficult monster to implement. It’s very snake-like, its parts are all kind of touching the ground at different moments,” Tsujimoto explained. “So it’s very like a writhing sort of ground-based monster.”
Tsujimoto continued to explain that the variety of terrain – and its many inclines and drops – in recent Monster Hunter games makes it especially difficult to implement monsters like Lagiacrus.
“We’d like to look back on it sometime, but just the technological difficulties, they are kind of daunting,” lamented Tsujimoto.
Lagiacrus was introduced as one of the first Leviathan monsters in Monster Hunter Tri as a flagship monster. Though there are other Leviathans in Rise, like Monster Hunter Generations’ Mizutsune and newcomer Almudron, Lagiacrus has a few additional design difficulties that the other Leviathans don’t seem to share.
One, neither Mizutsune nor Almudron drag their bodies on the ground quite like Lagiacrus does. Some of Mizutsune’s chest may touch the floor, and both possess special movements, but neither have as many contact points to the ground like Lagiacrus does during normal modes of movement.
Two, both of Rise’s Leviathans were created to battle it out with hunters on land. Lagiacrus on the other hand was originally designed to fight fully submerged underwater a majority of the time, to take full advantage of Tri’s unique underwater combat mechanics. It’s clearly not an easy transition to make into new games.
As reported by Gaijin Hunter, Monster Hunter World executive director Kaname Fujioka described why they didn’t use Lagiacrus for Monster Hunter World in an episode of Capcom’s Monster Hunter Radio podcast. Essentially, the problem is that much of its body is laying on the ground, echoing the explanation from Tsujimoto. Fujioka said a team even took a second shot at getting Lagiacrus to work for Monster Hunter World’s expansion, Iceborne, but were unable to make it happen. The explanation doesn’t bode well for another “snake-like” monster in the series, Najarala, whose body also has many contact points with the ground.
Contrarily, Lagiacrus did make an appearance exclusively on land in Monster Hunter Generations (and Generations Ultimate). It probably didn’t hurt that both games were built with the same engine, plus, Monster Hunter Generations was meant to be a celebration of 10 years of Monster Hunter, so the absence of a flagship cover monster would have been pretty glaring, even if the alternative was to include it with an impaired, land-only kit on mostly familiar maps.
The Flooded Forest, introduced in Tri and remade for Rise, is one such map familiar to Lagiacrus, and one of the reasons fans may have hoped for its triumphant return. In Tri, Flooded Forest featured fully underwater environments. But, by Lagiacrus’ confirmed absence, we can assume underwater combat is out for now, too.
When deciding which monsters to include, the developers said the “design goal is to ensure every monster has an impact,” and for returning monsters, “for them to mesh well with the unique gameplay elements of the new title.”
A new randomizer mod for Elden Ring gives PC players the ability to completely change the way the game plays by changing the location of enemies, bosses, and even key items needed to complete the main quest.
Modder Matt Gruen announced the Item and Enemy Randomizer back in April, but in a tweet posted Monday, he confirmed that the mod is now “feature complete.” Gruen promises a host of fixes and expanded features for the future, but for now, at least, it appears to be ready for everyone to dive into.
Elden Ring in VR Screenshots
Item and Enemy Randomizer allows players to completely alter the game’s overall layout by randomizing the placement of various elements like items and enemies.
Gruen shows this off with a short clip of one of the game’s most challenging endgame bosses, Malenia, waltzing around the open fields of Limgrave – Elden Ring‘s first biome.
Elden Ring Enemy Randomizer is feature-complete for its first release, though it has many more fixes and features to go. You can customize it to create many different kinds of fun runs. Or you could choose to do… this. (late game boss spoilers)
By randomizing the locations of so many things, there’s an unfathomable amount of replay value to be had and no shortage of overwhelming challenges awaiting anyone brave enough to push the features to the max.
There is even a mode that can require you to collect every Great Rune before allowing you to fight the final boss, though the base game only asks you to secure two runes prior to accessing that climactic showdown.
Elden Ring Classes
A 4-player co-op mod is also in development and entered beta last week. In addition to allowing players to invite one extra person into their game, it also allows them to bypass some of the limitations imposed by the original summoning mechanics.
As you might have heard, there was a new Pokémon Scarlet and Violet trailer that dropped today. It included a look at three new Pokémon, some interesting new multiplayer features, and new NPCs.
But most importantly, it provided the internet the opportunity to make a lot of really good memes.
First off, there’s a lot of meme love for the two new professor characters, Sada and Turo, who appear respectively in Scarlet or Violet depending on which version you have. Fans really seem to like their designs…perhaps a bit too much?
Aside from being thirsty, fans have made a few good goofs about other trailer elements like the new elements of the world we’ve seen, and the briefly-shown legendary mascots Koraidon and Miraidon:
But the real meme fodder from today’s trailer was in the introduction of three brand new Pokémon. One of them, an orange floofball called Pawmi, was mostly just adored by the community for being cute.
But the other two have sent fans into a frenzy of memes. First, my personal favorite, Smoliv: who is – I kid you not – just a small olive. A smol olive. Smoliv!
Okay, okay, I know what we’re all really here for. The star of the show: Lechonk. Lechonk has absolutely destroyed us all by being a small, round piggy with an incredible name and a wonderful personality.
Last year, the company shared a vision for the controller and created and shared a limited batch of them with LGBTQIA+ players and creators around the world. The feedback was so positive, that this year, Xbox is making the design universally available via the Xbox Design Lab beginning June 9.
The Best Games to Play on Xbox Series X|S
The new controller’s design features a top case design with 34 different community flags “in a fine, interwoven manner to celebrate the nuance, complexity, intersectionality, and strength of the many LGBTQIA+ communities.” Xbox has even created an immersive experience detailing what each of the 34 flags on the controller stands for.
If you want to celebrate with even more awesome gear, the Xbox Gear Shop has a 2022 Pride collection. It features designs that pair Pride-centric themes with some of your favorite game series like Halo, Forza, and Psychonauts 2.
Besides the new controller release, Xbox is also donating $170,000 to LGBTQIA+ nonprofits. The company is also letting Microsoft Rewards members earn and donate points to organizations supporting LGBTQIA+ communities with Xbox.
It’s a big day for Toby Fox soundtrack appreciators: the indie developer and composer behind Undertale is working on music for the upcoming Pokémon Scarlet and Violet.
Today, Fox shared a Tweet alongside the new trailer and announced that he had composed the game’s field theme. According to Fox, Game Freak arranged a draft of his composition into various versions that will play throughout the game.
While the instrumentation doesn’t sound particularly Undertale-esque, bits of his signature musical style can still be heard in the trailer below.
I had the honor of composing the field music for Pokémon Scarlet and Violet! After creating a concept sketch, Game Freak arranged it into many versions that you’ll hear throughout the game. You can hear a bit of it in this trailer… https://t.co/dhjv4e9fQN
He’ll also be composing a few other songs for the games. This isn’t the first time Fox has composed a track for a Pokémon game — he put together a battle theme for 2019’s Sword and Shield, though today’s news marks a bigger step into the world of Pokémon music for Fox. “This time, my music is not optional!!!” he said via a reply.
More info about Pokémon Scarlet and Violet was announced today, including new Pokemon (such as the already beloved Lechonk) and a brand new 4-player co-op mode. Pokémon Scarlet and Violet will be released on November 18, 2022.
Amelia Zollner is a freelance writer at IGN. Find them on Twitter: @ameliazollner.
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