Anticipated Souls-lite Flintlock: Siege of Dawn isn't too worried about dodging Dark Souls genre conventions: Soulslike is so much more than a combat mechanic - games news - NewsLocker (2024)

The developers behind anticipated upcoming Souls-lite Flintlock: Siege of Dawn aren't worried about adapting the genre for their own ends.Flintlock's twist on the genre is intended as the halfway point between traditional soulslikes such as Dark Souls and more freeform action RPGs - think God of War. Described by creative director Simon Dasan as a more accessible take that doesn't sacrifice the "rhythmic" combat of games like Dark Souls, it's a means of broadening the genre's already-growing app

Phil Spencer comments on all the studios Xbox just closed: "I have to run a sustainable business" and make "decisions that somebody needs to go make"

Xbox chief Phil Spencer says that the recent closure of several studios was a result of his need "to run a sustainable business."Speaking at IGN Live, Spencer said that "the closure of any team is hard obviously on the individuals there, hard on the [Xbox] team." Spencer has drawn criticism since the closure of studios including Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks for his relative absence from the public sphere. In apparent response to that, he said that "I haven't been talking publicly about this

Xbox owns the Doom: The Dark Ages studio, but Phil Spencer says the FPS is coming to PS5 because Doom is "a franchise that everyone deserves to play"

Despite Microsoft's recent spate of high-profile Xbox exclusives, including Starfield, Xbox chief Phil Spencer says that Doom: The Dark Ages is coming to PS5 because "it's a franchise that everyone deserves to play."Speaking at IGN Live, Spencer was asked why Doom: The Dark Ages, a slightly medieval twist on the iconic FPS franchise that was announced earlier today during the Xbox Games Showcase would be coming to PS5. That multi-console release is a distinct departure from Xbox's recent strateg

"Hallucinogens, fax machines, parapsychology, and TV guides": One of the decade's best detective games is getting a sequel - and the demo is already here

The Case of the Golden Idol was one of 2022's best games, a creepy, cultish detective story set among the British nobility of the 1800s. Now there's a sequel on the way, entitled The Rise of the Golden Idol - and with a playable demo that you can try out right now.I was lucky enough to get to try out the demo prior to release, and good news: it's basically more of the game that earned the oh-so-rare "Overwhelmingly Positive" review score on Steam the first time around, with some improvements and

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Finally confirming reports, Deus Ex studio and RPG veterans are helping the Fable 4 team "craft an unforgettable adventure"

It's been officially confirmed that Eidos-Montréal, the studio behind much of the Deus Ex series, as well as Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy, and more, is helping Forza studio Playground Games on its upcoming RPG, Fable 4.Eidos-Montréal's involvement with Fable was first reported on over a year ago by Bloomberg journalist Jason Schreier, when it was also claimed that a new Deus Ex game was in the very early stages of development. Since then, it's been re

Metaphor: ReFantazio is the first JRPG I've played that actually feels more stylish than Persona 5, so of course it was made by a crack team of Persona veterans

Atlus has made it very clear that Persona veterans like director and producer Katsura Hashino, character designer and art director Shigenori Soejima, and composer Shoji Meguro have been leading production on Metaphor: ReFantazio. Frankly, the publisher didn't have to say anything. Their fingerprints are all over this game; nobody else could have made it. Now that I've spent an hour with Metaphor at Summer Game Fest, this couldn't be clearer. This is the most Persona thing since Persona. But in m

Mixtape is a nostalgic Life is Strange-like adventure where music grants "cosmic talents" to its skateboarding hero, and it's coming in 2025

If you love games like Life is Strange, sweet 80s tunes, and the idyllic (false?) memories of skateboarding through your tiny mid-west town as a disillusioned teen at the turn of the decade, 2025 has the perfect game for you.One of the most interesting new games announced during the Xbox Games Showcase 2024 is Mixtape, a narrative-driven adventure that asks us to "experience the freedom of the teenage wasteland" through the transportive power of music. Through our heroine's "strange, almost cosm

This cozy upcoming survival game reminds me a lot of Don't Starve - except it's about a little mouse hoping to restore their childhood woodland burrow

Winter Burrow, one of the most adorable titles shown during this year's Summer Game Fest yet, debuted today - and it's a wholesome survival experience in which you play as a little mouse.Noodlecake Studios and Pine Creek Games revealed their upcoming survival game, Winter Burrow, during today's Xbox Games Showcase - an emotional adventure that places you in the paws of a small mouse hoping to rebuild their childhood burrow and survive the harsh wintery winds. When the brave rodent journeys back

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Gears of War: E-Day is rewinding the clocks, but The Coalition hints it still has eyes on Gears 6: "We're not retreating from that storyline in any way"

Fans of oversized soldiers and chainsaw-guns might be surprised to hear that Gears of War: E-Day, the iconic series' next outing, isn't continuing the story leftover from the previous two games. But don't worry, developer The Coalition has no plans to simply abandon Kait Diaz and Co.Rather than serving as a Gears of War 6, Gears of War: E-Day is throwing it back to Emergence Day - the day when the subterranean Locust army popped out of the ground and invaded Sera 14 years before the events of 20

Live Like A Mouse With Reveal of Winter Burrow

In a press release for the newly announced Winter Burrow, the game is described as a “cozy woodland survival game,” though we have some doubts about the cozy part, given that the tail end of the trailer features the protagonist’s friend being taken away to be eatern by a hungry owl.With that said, much of the rest of the game does seem to match an expectation of crafting, baking, resource gathering, and many of the other features you’d expect out of a survival game, albei

Ubisoft Forward 2024 stream - when it starts and how to watch it on YouTube, Twitch, and more

It's nearly time for the Ubisoft Forward stream to begin, which may just be the highlight of the Summer Game Fest 2024 schedule if you're keen on more Star Wars Outlaws or Assassin's Creed Shadows updates.Ubisoft says we're kicking things off early with a pre-show that focuses on updates to live games before we roll into the main show itself, which features a "deeper look" at games yet to come from the developer. Think "Star Wars Outlaws, Assassin’s Creed Shadows, XDefiant, and more.

New Stalker 2 trailer shows the monsters and mayhem of its open world, and the weapons you'll have to defend yourself

Stalker 2 has a brand new trailer showing off its open world, including different landscapes and monstrosities opposing us.As part of Summer Game Fest 2024, GSC Game World dropped a brand new trailer for Stalker 2: Heart of Chornobyl during the Xbox Games Showcase, which you can see in full just below. Voiced entirely in Ukrainian, the trailer shows life in the zone for our titular Stalker, Skif, and the landscapes they can explore in the sequel, as well as the human and mutated enemies facing t

Cover Reveal – Dragon Age: The Veilguard

This month, Dragon Age: The Veilguard (you read that right – Dreadwolf is no more) graces the cover ofGame Informer. After years developing Baldur's Gate and its sequel early in its history, BioWare struck out to create its own fantasy RPG. That series began with Dragon Age: Origins in 2009. It was followed up with Dragon Age II in 2011, and then Dragon Age: Inquisition in 2014. While the Dragon Age series' history has its ups and downs, fans have been patiently waiting for BioWare t

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is the biggest CoD game ever at launch with over 300GB of space needed on Xbox Series X/S

Prepare your consoles, because Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is going to take up over 300GB of storage space on day one.As per the Xbox Store, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is going to weight in at 309.85GB on Xbox Series X/S consoles at launch later this year. That's the biggest Call of Duty game to date - at launch, at least, before this game inevitably balloons to another hundred GBs later on.By now, we're pretty used to games taking up over 100GB of storage space at launch. I'd argue that Call of Du

Assassin's Creed Shadows' Naoe recalls the series' stealthier, RPG-less roots with a hidden blade, hood, and an awesome grapple

Assassin's Creed Shadows just debuted its first gameplay look at Naoe, one of the upcoming game's two protagonists.Assassin's Creed Shadows splits its runtime between Japanese history's first recorded Black Samurai, Yasuke, and a more traditionally sneaky assassin in the form of Naoe. The latest Xbox Games Showcase trailer shows both of our protagonists in action as they show off some wildly different movesets.Yasuke looks to be a bulkier, heavier, tankier fighter capable of taking on larg

Gears of War: E-Day is a prequel set 14 years before the original action game, and yes, Dom is back

At long last, we've been given our first look at the next Gears of War game. Officially titled Gears of War: E-Day, the next title in The Coalition's beloved third-person shooter series is actually a prequel, set 14 years before the events of the first game.As you might have gathered from the name, the next installment is set during Emergence Day, and will star younger versions of both Marcus Fenix and Dom Santiago. This time, they'll be facing the Locust Horde, which, in a post on the Xbo

Assassin’s Creed Shadows Highlights Character Differences

The new trailer for Assassin’s Creed Shadows was shown off today at the Xbox Showcase, in which we got a much more comprehensive look and understanding of the gameplay we can expect later this year.The video's opening shows off the ninja stealth action players will explore when playing as the shinobi named Naoe, with plenty of rooftop antics and nighttime assaults. The subsequent sequences showcase the samurai Yasuke, a bruiser who can hold his own in a big fight.Check out the trailer to s

Xbox reveals three new consoles out later this year, says it's "hard at work on the next generation"

Xbox has unveiled all-new digital hardware set to arrive later this year in 2024, but says it's also working on its next generation of consoles.Earlier today at the Xbox Games Showcase, Xbox's Sarah Bond appeared on stage for a pretty special annoucement. Xbox has the Xbox Series X Digital releasing later this year, an exclusively digital take on its more expensive and more powerful current-gen console, which comes in either 1TB or 2TB variants.Additionally, there's a brand new model of the Xbox

Xbox reveals new console out later this year, says it's "hard at work on the next generation"

Xbox has unveiled all-new digital hardware set to arrive later this year in 2024, but says it's also working on its next generation of consoles.Earlier today at the Xbox Games Showcase, Xbox's Sarah Bond appeared on stage for a pretty special annoucement. Xbox has the Xbox Series X Digital releasing later this year, an exclusively digital take on its more expensive and more powerful current-gen console.Right now, we don't have a release date for the new Xbox hardware beyond some point later this

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Preview - Hoping To Sprint In The Right Direction

Publisher:Activision
Developer:TreyarchThe Call of Duty franchise has undergone various transformations since its departure from the World War II setting. From modern and near-future settings to distant-future adventures in space, the franchise has explored the reaches of theoretical conflicts. However, the series may well be at its best when focusing on historical time periods and events, as has largely been the case with Treyarch's long-running Black Ops series. This subseries, which debuted

Avowed's new story trailer sets up a grand RPG adventure with factions vying for control over a beautiful magical world

Avowed's new trailer sets up a grand adventure with the player being forced to choose between multiple factions.Just in case there was any doubt whatsoever: yes, Avowed has the typical Obsidian factions vying for control. The new trailer, debuted earlier today at the Xbox Games Showcase, sets up a huge power struggle across Avowed's magical lands, and shows how you're going to be the one to decide who wins, and who loses.Avowed has the protagonist trying to put an end to the mysterious Dreamscou

Life is Strange: Double Exposure is bringing the series' first protagonist, Max Caulfield, back for a new adventure in October

The third day of this year's Summer Game Fest continues to impress as the Xbox Games Showcase brings news of a brand-new entry to one of the most iconic story-driven game series yet - Life is Strange: Double Exposure.In the upcoming adventure, protagonist Max Caulfield returns, albeit this time as a college student at the prestigious Caledon University. While there, the photographer-in-residence discovers that her best friend Safi has been brutally murdered and left for dead in the snow. In an a

Fable joins GTA 6, Monster Hunter Wilds and more in 2025's already packed game release schedule

Playground Games' Fable finally has a vague release window, and it's set to make 2025's already packed game schedule even busier.That's right, as was confirmed in today's Xbox Games Showcase, Fable is set to go up against GTA 6, Monster Hunter Wilds, and more at some point next year. No hints were given regarding what point in the year it'll be released, but needless to say, we're going to be very busy trying to keep up with all of the titles currently planned.The latest trailer introduces

Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred announces October release date in gnarly new cinematic that will have you reaching for the sick bag

The long-awaited Diablo 4: Vessel of Hatred expansion finally has a release date – and a super gory cinematic trailer along with it.Revealed during the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9 in perhaps the gnarliest trailer I've ever seen, October 8 marks the day that PC and Xbox Series X players will get to experience the dark new chapter of Blizzard's action-RPG. Warning: the trailer below contains all manner of blood, guts, and petrified screeching.Vessel of Hatred picks up at the end of Diablo

The Perfect Dark reboot suddenly resurfaces, and now somehow looks like a Deus Ex game with "elements of first-person shooters, immersive sims, and stealth-action"

The Perfect Dark reboot has resurfaced after its 2020 announcement, and it now somehow looks like an immersive sim game à la Deus Ex.Agent Joanna Dark returns in the game's latest trailer, which just debuted at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. The mission rundown has Joanna infiltrating a futuristic (and blindingly bright) Garden City, where she parkours across rooftops, bruises some security guards, sneaks through alleyways, and as I'd hoped, uses all sorts of high-tech gadgets. Hello, deep

Life is Strange: Double Exposure Revealed

We got a first glimpse at the new Life is Strange game at today’s Xbox Showcase. Life is Strange: Double Exposure brings the return of fan-favorite character, Max Caulfield, as she seeks to solve the mystery of her friend’s untimely death.The twist is that she experiences that death in one timeline, and her unusual powers allow her to transition into one where the murder didn’t happen, leaving her to try and figure out what happened, and somehow prevent the death in the first p

Hyped Soulslike riff Flintlock: Siege of Dawn sets release date for next month

Good news, soulslikers - the latest spin on the genre that everyone's excited for is coming next month.That comes from the Xbox Games Showcase at Summer Game Fest, where we learn that Flintlock: Siege of Dawn will be released on July 18, just over one month away. The news was revealed with a new trailer that shows off what developer A44 Games is doing with the genre. You've got plenty of soulslike staples, but also that of action-RPGs.Before the big release date reveal, we caught up with creativ

Flintlock: The Siege Of Dawn Sets July Launch

Today’s Xbox Showcase gave us a new look at Flintlock: The Siege of Dawn, an action/role-playing game all about taking down a host of ancient gods. The game is in its final days of development from A44 Games, the same studio that released Ashen.The trailer shows off the action in an open world that recalls titles like God of War and Elden Ring. The team has previously said that the action draws at least some inspiration from Soulslike games.With today’s announcement, we know we won&r

World of Warcraft: The War Within kicks off the MMO's Worldsoul Saga in August

World of Warcraft's next big expansion, The War Within, finally has a release date, and it's surprisingly soon.During today's Xbox Games Showcase, World of Warcraft fans were treated to a dramatic new cinematic trailer setting the scene for the upcoming expansion, which serves as the first chapter in the MMORPG's Worldsoul Saga. As exciting as that all is though, the best part definitely came right at the end, with the news fans have been waiting for – The War Within is set to hit PC on Au

South of Midnight, the upcoming action-adventure game from the ex-Arkane dev behind We Happy Few set in the Deep South, finally gets a release window

It's the third day of this year's Summer Game Fest, and the Xbox Games Showcase has given us a brand-new glimpse into South of Midnight's mythos - as well as an official release window.A year has passed since developer Compulsion Games, the studio behind We Happy Few, first revealed its upcoming action-adventure title set in a fantastical version of the American Deep South - South of Midnight. The team has now graced us with its first big gameplay trailer as well as South of Midnight's launch ye