Baldur’s Gate 3 modding has arrived for PC players. After a closed alpha in June and an open beta in July, the long-awaited Patch 7 — which may be the game’s last big update — is now available. It lets you play around with user-created weapons, armor, classes and subclasses, spells, dice skins and just about anything else you can imagine.
Mods are available through an official (mod.io-powered) in-game Mod Manager and external channels. “We will never prevent modding outside of our own official pipeline,” Larian Studios wrote. But the developer says its officially approved mods are targeted for stability and cross-platform compatibility. “It’ll also ensure a smoother experience, at the cost of more script-focused modding, which can still be done outside of our pipeline,” the studio wrote.
Larian said earlier this summer that Baldur’s Gate 3 mod support would arrive on PC first, with Mac and console support “shortly after.” But the developer clarified in an update today that console (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S) and macOS players can expect Patch 7 in October.
That presents some short-term compatibility issues. If you want your game save files to work across PC and console, you’ll need to hold off on installing Patch 7 on your PC. However, cross-platform save compatibility will return in October when the update lands on PlayStation, Xbox and Apple devices.
Larian Studios
Larian says Patch 7 in Baldur’s Gate 3’s console versions will include “an additional curation process” to determine which mods will be available across platforms. “While not all PC mods will become available for console, we’ll be sure to publish guidelines to help you understand what kind of content will pass our necessary checks — without blocking any unsupported creative mods on PC — so that we can continue supporting the modding community both inside and outside our official pipeline,” the studio wrote.
Mod support isn’t just a fun bonus for gamers; it’s also a way for Larian to keep the game alive as it pivots resources to new projects. CEO Swen Vincke said in June that opening the gates to modding would allow the developer “to say ‘ok, now it’s yours fully,’” according toEurogamer. Of course, the studio will still push updates for critical bug fixes, but today’s arrival of Patch 7 is likely the first stage of calling it a wrap on one of 2023’s best games.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/you-can-now-officially-create-and-use-baldurs-gate-3-mods-on-pc-210006703.html?src=rss
Are you tired of feeling safe and happy all the time? Is your daily life overrun by feelings of security, contentment and peace? Do you want an escape from all of the oppressive niceness around you? Well, look no further — these are the games for you.
Here, we’ve collected more than a dozen of the most evocative and disturbing horror games in recent memory. These selections cover a wide range of genres and styles, but each one comes with at least a tinge of unsettling terror. So take a peek, find your game, and prepare your skeleton for some fresh air because you’re about to jump out of your skin.
Astro Bot is not just for kids. Team Asobi clearly designed it for players of all skill levels, and that includes children and newbies, but at its core Astro Bot feels purpose-built for video game fans. It’s a skill-driven celebration of everything that makes the format so memorable and joyful, and at the same time, it’s an excellent introduction to the language of games. With precise and responsive controls, adorable characters, and an exciting variety of mechanics and environments, Astro Bot is easily one of the best games that Sony has ever produced.
Astro Bot is technically the fifth entry in the Astro universe, though it’s the series’ first fully fledged — and fully priced — installment. It follows The Playroom (a 2013 mini-game collection for PS4), The Playroom VR (a 2016 PlayStation VR jam), Astro Bot Rescue Mission (a 2018 PS VR platformer starring just the bots), and Astro’s Playroom (a 2020 DualSense demo that’s pre-loaded on every PS5). Astro Bot takes ideas from these earlier titles and compiles them into a focused 3D platformer with dozens of main worlds, a bevy of additional unlockable planets and a wide range of satisfying mechanics. On top of this, the robot protagonists are super cute in every situation. The fact that some of the characters and settings in Astro Bot are recognizable from popular video games only makes the whole thing sweeter.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Players are on a mission to rescue all 300 of their robot friends after an alien intercepted their spaceship, a super-charged PS5, and scattered the crew across six dangerous galaxies. Perched atop a lone DualSense, Astro scours 50 total planets and collects other bots by punching or kicking them — you know, in a friendly way — and then storing them inside the touchpad of the on-screen controller before dumping everyone on a secure world. At the same time, Astro is searching for the missing parts of the PS5 spaceship, which are being guarded by bosses in each galaxy.
The hub world, where the ship and rescued bots live, has customization portals for the DualSense and Astro, a gatcha machine with items that bring your bots to life, and a safari zone where you can take pictures with animals you find. There are also small regions to fix up with extra puzzles for Astro and his friends. Outside of the hub planet, the game’s baseline loop involves collecting coins, puzzle pieces and bots by completing platforming challenges and surviving Koopa-like enemies, but new dangers and even-trickier environments appear at every turn.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Many of the planets that Astro lands on introduce new mechanics, such as spring-loaded boxing gloves that look like frog faces, an octopus that blows Astro up like a balloon, a mouse backpack that shrinks him at will, a penguin-propelled swimming booster, and a stopwatch that freezes time for a short while. Stages are designed around these unique mechanics and the diversity on display is impressive, from a spooky castle filled with toxic-green ghosts and invisible platforms, to a deconstructed space station in a delectable cosmic setting, and an entire planet built out of giant, neon-lit casino props.
Even before picking up any cool new toys, Astro has a laser-propelled hover ability that lets him destroy enemies while jumping over them, plus a standard punch and a chargeable spin move. These three abilities, plus whatever tool he picks up, are the entirety of Astro’s arsenal. This mechanical focus allowed Team Asobi to perfect each move and then apply them all in a thousand different ways, and the result is a rewarding and robust platformer. All the cuteness is just an added bonus.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
Astro Bot is not punishing, but it’s not easy either. Plenty of stages require patience, awareness and a high degree of platforming skill, though resets are generous and failure doesn't cost anything other than your time. Completionists will have a great time with this one — there are so many secret passages and hidden bots to find, most of them cleverly tucked away and easily missed unless you’re actively looking for them. On the flipside, speedrunners should enjoy Astro Bot as well, since it offers planets of platforming challenges with incredibly responsive controls.
There are 300 bots to find, and many are pulled from the wider world of gaming. Plenty of the branded bots originate outside of Sony’s stable, with big hitters from Capcom, Konami and Sega represented well — a few of them definitely made my partner yell in excitement, which was adorable in its own right. Some of the more memorable levels stem from popular Sony franchises like God of War, with Astro wielding Kratos’ ax on one planet. Team Asobi really mined Sony’s vaults, far beyond simple Crash Bandicootcallbacks, and into weird and wonderful games like LocoRoco and Vib-Ribbon.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
And now, allow me to really gush. Astro Bot is beautiful, and not just in a cartoony kind of way. Its landscapes are sharp and alive with interactive details, and it seems like every pixel has been polished to perfection. But it’s the game’s physics that energize everything — when Astro lands on top of a giant inflatable daisy, the material buckles under his little feet, indenting with each step and sway, and making the entire scene look utterly squeezable.
When skating in the snowy levels, Astro picks up speed and pivots on a dime, and the DualSense responds with the sounds and vibrations of a sharp knife slicing through thick ice. (Side note: I could happily play an entire game of just ice skating… as long as it’s not called Astro Glide.) Piles of tactile objects like sprinkles, dice, skulls and glass stars are scattered around the levels, and running through them is not only gratifying in an ASMR sense, but it sometimes uncovers a new secret. When rain hits Astro’s transparent umbrella hat, the sound is mirrored perfectly on the DualSense, along with the feeling of raindrops on the grips. Each stage has background music to match, funky or big band or synth-y, and always with a catchy hook. Astro Bot’s sound effects, haptics, graphics and physics harmonize flawlessly, transforming every surface into a playground. It’s magical.
Sony Interactive Entertainment
On the cute side of things, Astro reacts to his environments with endearing animations like shivering in the cold, quivering in fear and tapping his tiny metal feet in excitement, and his bot friends are similarly expressive. When Astro boops his head on an impassable ceiling, he makes the sweetest little flinching motion. The bots turn around and shake their booties at Astro right before he punches them into the DualSense. On the pause screen, you can flick all of your collected bots out of the digital controller and they flail in mid-air before landing safely back inside the touchpad. Pretty much everything the bots do is charming.
Astro Bot highlights the importance of play. It’s Super Mario Bros. for a new generation of video game fanatics, at once an introduction to common mechanics and also a significant challenge for seasoned players. In both cases, Astro Bot radiates joy. If this, alongside new titles like Lego Horizon Adventures, signals a new and less stuffy direction for Sony, then I’m excited to see what the future holds. For now though, you’ll find me trying to 100-percent Astro Bot, cursing and laughing the whole way through.
Psst: Astro Bot has now joined the hallowed ranks of our favorite PS5 games guide. You can view all of our picks — 21 at the time of writing — at The best PS5 games for 2024.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/astro-bot-ps5-review-one-of-the-best-games-sony-has-ever-made-120014494.html?src=rss
The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdomfeels like a kindred spirit to the 2019 remake of Link’s Awakening, both in challenge and in vibes. It’s a far cry from the incredibly intricate and complex worlds in Tears of the Kingdom, and while I only played for about 90 minutes (spread over two different parts of the game),I came away from the demo charmed by the gorgeous, tilt-shift art style. Not to mention being quite pleased to finally be playing as Zelda for the first time in the series that bears her damn name. And while plenty of adults will surely enjoy The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it also feels tailor-made as an entry point for younger players.
We already knew about the art style and playing as Zelda — what was most important about this preview was that I got a chance to see just how Zelda’s “echoes” worked in the game itself. As you’d expect, there’s a gentle tutorial that shows you the ropes. My playthrough started not long into the game, with Zelda imprisoned; my first challenge was finding a way to sneak her out of the dungeon. Fortunately, Zelda is equipped with the Tri Rod, a tool that lets her clone objects and beasts alike. Shimmering objects on the screen can be saved as echoes, the first of which was a humble crate. Once you learn an echo, you can summon it with a tap of a button — but echoes use up power so you can only have a few on the screen at once. Along with the Tri Rod is a little spectral creature Tri who helps you along and indicates how much power you have to make echoes at any given time.
Nintendo
I was surprised at how many random things I could turn into echoes and how useful they ended up being. After learning the crate, I also learned how to create an “old bed” — something that doesn’t provide as much height as the crate, but is long enough to span small chasms. Making three of them on top of each other made for a solid little bridge.
But you can’t fight off enemies with a crate — that’s where learning echoes of monsters comes in. The first bad guy I encountered was defeated by clobbering it with a boulder. But after that, I was able to summon the same gelatinous little bad guy with the Tri Rod and sic him on other enemies. Beating more monsters greatly expands your attacking capabilities. I soon took down a Keese, which I could then use to attack other aerial baddies. I further expanded my arsenal by taking down a spear-throwing Moblin and a powerful knight who has a wicked swing attack.
I’m very much looking forward to seeing what other echoes you can learn throughout the adventure and how you can combine them to bizarre and hilarious effect. For example, I was able to learn an echo for a trampoline, and then drop a Moblin on it and have him bounce up to a higher level in a dungeon to go after enemies up there. I’m sure that there are going to be a ton of wacky and creative ways that people combine echoes, especially as Zelda’s capabilities grow and you’re able to have more on the screen at one time. It’s not nearly as complex as the Ultrahand ability from Tears of the Kingdom, but it does allow players to figure out puzzle solutions in a variety of ways — there won’t always be a “right” way but there may be lots of ways to get the job done.
Nintendo
Zelda also has a “bind” ability, which lets her attach herself to objects that then follow her movements. The example of this shown off in a recent trailer is a great intro to the new power: after grabbing a giant boulder, you can just walk “down” the screen; the boulder follows and is then perched over a chasm that you can drop it into, clearing the path forward. You can also bind yourself to moving objects, like floating platforms, and grab a ride along with them.
Sometimes, though, just relying on echoes to do your dirty work for you won’t be enough. Fortunately, Zelda picks up a crucial new ability in the first dungeon I played: the ability to switch into “swordfighter” mode. To do this, I had to beat up a possessed version of Link, who you might remember as the hero in literally every other Zelda game. Once you defeat this pseudo-link, Zelda is outfitted with a cute shield and sword and can attack enemies head-on. The only catch is that she can only stay in this mode for a limited time. If you run out of power, you’ll need to grab crystals from downed enemies to refresh yourself and switch modes again.
This adds a fun way to get some of the classic Zelda experience in this game, but with a time constraint to make sure players don’t abuse it. Further complicating things is that you can’t use echoes when you’re wielding a sword, so you’ll need to pick your sports. The boss at the end of the Suthorn Ruins dungeon I played through was a great example of how you can use your powers in concert — using echoes and the bind ability, I was able to make the cartoonishly menacing Seismic Talus vulnerable, and then I switched to sword mode and walloped it until I took it down.
Nintendo
While most of my demo took place in the aforementioned dungeon, I was able to explore a relatively small slice of Hyrule. Rest assured, this map is quite different from other versions of Hyrule you’ve explored, though there are some classic traits from other games (mountains to the north, a castle smack in the center, a beach to the south). What I saw was colorful and vibrant, and tailor-made to using your echoes to get around more efficiently.
As for difficulty, this feels like one of the most approachable Zelda games I’ve played in a while — but it’ll present some challenges of its own. The first dungeon was short and sweet, but I did die a few times while I tried to figure out which echoes I needed to combat some powerful enemies. Similarly, the environmental puzzles aren’t too tough, but they differ significantly from other games because you need to use echoes to solve them. For me, it wasn’t always obvious what solution the game was pushing me towards. But I think that was primarily because I often forgot about some of the echoes I had at my disposal. Once I remembered the right tools, the solution was pretty evident.
Nintendo
Probably the biggest challenge that I can see is going to be managing all of those echoes. At the end of the demo, I had picked up more than a dozen, and the linear menu system that I used to switch between them could get extremely unwieldy once that list grows. If you’ve played Tears of the Kingdom, it’s similar to the menu you use to choose an item to attach to an arrow before you fire it, another pretty unwieldy system. I believe you can access different echoes through the pause menu, sort of like selecting weapons or items in the Zelda games of old, but I didn’t spend too much time messing around with such things.
From what I’ve seen so far, Echoes of Wisdom is simultaneously a throwback and a new adventure. The top-down presentation and overall vibe remind me of plenty of old Zelda games besides the obvious Link’s Awakening comparison. But the gameplay is completely different in a way that should provide experienced players with a totally different challenge, and the lower difficulty level will make it, along with Link’s Awakening, a great first Zelda game for younger adventurers.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/the-legend-of-zelda-echoes-of-wisdom-plays-like-a-traditional-zelda-game-remixed-130053301.html?src=rss
The X TV app — teased earlier this year — is out in beta on Amazon Fire TVs, Google TVs and some LG sets. The short teaser video included in the beta app announcement shows a typical-looking streaming video interface sewn into what looks like Google’s version of the X app. There are rows of links to videos for the very small number of original videos on the platform, like content from SpaceX, Tesla and… Tucker Carlson. Naturally, there might (should?) be a bigger range of video once it gets out of beta, but if you’re not a Musk fan, you’re probably long divorced from X anyhow.
The source code is in the Android Open Source Project.
Strangely missing from last month's Google Pixel launch event, Android 15’s source code is finally out. Android 15 will be available on select Pixel models soon, with support for phones from Samsung, Motorola, Nothing, OnePlus and Oppo coming in the next few months. Some of the more interesting features include smart volume adjustment and improved split-screen app access.
Google’s second foldable has arrived. The Pixel 9 Pro fold has refined hardware, superior cameras and a long-lasting battery. The Pixel 9 Pro Fold’s internal display has an almost square 1:1 aspect ratio, 8 inches wide diagonally, larger than its predecessor’s 7.6-inch panel. Google just needs to iron out a few software quirks — something we’re saying about most foldable.
Sony will refund everyone who bought the team shooter.
Developer Firewalk Studios says it’s taking Concord offline on September 6, just two weeks after its release, to “explore options, including those that will better reach our players.” You can no longer buy Concord digitally, and Sony will refund everyone who bought the $40 game. Game director Ryan Ellis wrote on the PlayStation Blog that the team recognized “aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended.” There are lots of reasons Concord didn’t take off, from its so-so gameplay and lack of captivating characters to heavyweight competition from other free-to-play team shooters, think Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone and Sony’s own Destiny 2.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/general/the-morning-after-the-x-tv-app-wobbles-onto-your-big-screen-111502220.html?src=rss
Sony's new team shooter Concord is not going to be playable for much longer. Developer Firewalk Studios says it will take the game offline on September 6, just two weeks after its release, to "explore options, including those that will better reach our players."
You can no longer buy Concord digitally and Sony will refund everyone who bought the $40 game on PlayStation 5, Steam and the Epic Games Store. Those who bought a physical copy can return it to the point of purchase to get their money back.
"While many qualities of the experience resonated with players, we also recognize that other aspects of the game and our initial launch didn’t land the way we’d intended," game director Ryan Ellis wrote on the PlayStation Blog.
While Sony hasn't disclosed sales figures, all indications suggested that Concordwas a flop out of the gate. The game debuted to middling reviews. It never had more than 700 concurrent players on Steam after its official launch, which is an abysmal result for a fairly high-profile game. Some analysts estimate that it sold just 25,000 copies across Steam and PS5 in its first six days — nowhere near enough to make it sustainable as a live-service game.
It's very uncommon for a major publisher to pull a game offline so soon after its debut. The most recent one that springs to mind is Amazon's Crucible back in 2020.
There are lots of reasons why Concord didn't take off, from its so-so gameplay and lack of captivating characters to heavyweight competition from other free-to-play team shooters including Overwatch 2, Apex Legends, Call of Duty: Warzone and Sony's own Destiny 2. Firewalk (which Sony bought last year) may well try to retool Concord as a free-to-play game, but this is nothing short of a major failure for Sony as things stand.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/concord-is-going-offline-two-weeks-after-its-ps5-and-pc-launch-163134728.html?src=rss
It sounds like Hopoo Games, the developer of cult hit and roguelike platformer Risk of Rain, is going on a hiatus. In an announcement on X/Twitter, the company has announced that its co-founders Paul Morse and Duncan Drummond, "alongside many other talented members at Hopoo Games," will now be working for Valve. The company is stopping the production of an unannounced game called Snail as a result, and it's not quite clear if it will ever pick up from where it left off in the future. Hopoo also didn't say how many of its staff members are joining Valve and how many chose to leave or had been left out of the deal. "...[F]or now — sleep tight, Hopoo Games," one of the company's tweets reads.
We're incredibly grateful to Valve for their partnerships in the last decade, and are excited to continue working on their awesome titles. However, this does mean that we are stopping production on our unannounced game, "Snail".
As Game Developer and several posters on the Steam subreddit notes, the former Hopoo staffers could be joining Valve's development of Deadlock, an upcoming MOBA shooter that it has been testing since 2023. Deadlock attracted thousands of early players before it was even officially announced, though it remains invite only and is still in early development with no release date yet.
Hopoo also developed a side-scrolling stealth-action game called Deadbolt, but it owes most of its success to Risk of Rain, which spawned a sequel and a remake. Risk of Rain was released in 2013, and while its 2D shooting and platforming mechanics are pretty simple, the game isn't easy. It becomes more difficult and throws stronger monsters at you the more you play, and you only get one life — you'll lose all the experience you've gained if you die and will have to start again.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/valve-hires-key-employees-from-risk-of-rain-developer-123034840.html?src=rss
Hideaki Itsuno, who directed the Dragon’s Dogma series and other major games for Capcom, announced on Saturday that he’s leaving the company. “From September, I will start developing a new game in a new environment,” he wrote in a post on X. Itsuno has been with Capcom since the '90s, and worked on a slew of popular series, including Devil May Cry, starting with the second game. He created Dragon’s Dogma, and the most recent title under his belt, Dragon’s Dogma 2, sold over 2.5 million units within 10 days of its release earlier this year. It also reportedly broke Capcom’s Steam record for concurrent players on launch day.
“I hope you will continue to support Capcom’s games and characters,” Itsuno wrote on Saturday, adding, “I hope to create fun, beautiful games that are as memorable as, or even more memorable than, the ones I have created so far. Please stay tuned for my next creation!”
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/dragons-dogma-director-hideaki-itsuno-says-hes-leaving-capcom-to-start-a-new-project-194511310.html?src=rss
Nintendo has provided a fresh look at The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, the upcoming Switch game that makes the titular princess the playable protagonist for the very first time. Like many folks, I've been looking forward to this one, but one key question remained unanswered until this preview: where the heck is Zelda's sword? Earlier gameplay videos focused on her ability to create "echoes" — i.e. copy objects and enemies — to use in combat.
Fret not, fans of adorable murder: Zelda will have a sword after all. The latest video revealed her swordfighter form, meaning that, yes, she can battle her foes head on. There is a bit of a catch, though. The swordfighter form is on a meter, so you can only use it for a little while each time. That makes it just one of several weapons at Zelda's disposal, meaning you'll need to be strategic in combat.
Zelda can use the sword she finds in the trailer to pull off the classic charge-up spin attack. You'll refill the gauge by finding a resource simply called energy. For what it's worth, it looks like the meter can be leveled up, so perhaps you'll get to stay in the swordfighter form for longer later in the game. Still, I have to wonder if you'll eventually obtain a Master Sword that you can use as much as you like.
The video reveals more details about gameplay and combat. Zelda will be able to enter the dimensional rifts like the ones that Link and the King of Hyrule were sucked into as she attempts to find them. On the other side is something called The Still World, in which people, objects and parts of the landscape that were swallowed up float in a void. It's not yet clear why this void doesn't seem to affect Zelda. You'll need to traverse floating platforms and create echoes to help you do so.
There are also dungeons for Zelda to battle through in The Still World. These, of course, include boss fights where you can put your sword to use. Alternatively, as the video shows, you can create an echo of a bed and simply take a nap (this would be my approach tbh).
Automatons are another type of weapon you'll have at your disposal. These are wind-up mechanical devices that can "release powerful effects," so they should complement your sword and echoes. The automatons are created for you by an engineer named Dampé. They're one of several friendly NPCs you'll encounter, alongside a cat and a Zelda staple, the Great Fairy.
The latest gameplay video should help to drive up anticipation for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom even more. Thankfully, it's less than a month away. It will land on the Switch on September 26.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/zelda-can-wield-a-sword-in-echoes-of-wisdom-after-all-143049937.html?src=rss
Owning a Playdate comes with the perk of already having access to 24 games at no additional cost from the bundled-in Season One — and some pretty good ones to boot. But there are a ton of great games outside the Season One offerings too, for when you’ve finished the whole batch or, for newer players, while you’re waiting for new games between the weekly drops. Here, I’ll highlight some of the best games I’ve played so far from the Playdate Catalog. It’ll mainly be split two ways: games that use the crank and games that don’t. There are also a couple of titles that aren’t quite games, but are worth checking out all the same.