Beloved cat sim Stray comes to the Switch on November 19

Annapurna Interactive just revealed that its beloved cyberpunk cat simulator Stray will be released for the Nintendo Switch on November 19. We knew this was coming, and now we have an official date. Also, it’s no coincidence that Annapurna made this announcement on International Cat Day.

This was one of our favorite games of 2022, and for good reason. It’s a charming little adventure in which you control a cute cat as it navigates a cyberpunk dystopia. The game has been a huge hit for Annapurna and, as such, has slowly crawled onto just about every platform out there. The Switch is pretty much the final frontier, as it's already available for PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PC and even Mac.

There’s one feline-shaped elephant (?) in the room. The Nintendo Switch was already pretty much outdated, hardware wise, back when it was released in 2017. Now, it’s positively ancient. It remains to be seen how well the game will run on the Switch and what sort of trade-offs the developers had to make in order get it in decent shape. Some devs can strike gold on the Switch and others, well, not so much.

Publisher Annapurna hasn’t announced a price yet. Stray typically sells for anywhere from $18 to $30, depending on the platform. This being a Switch port, it’ll probably fall on the higher end of that spectrum.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/beloved-cat-sim-stray-comes-to-the-switch-on-november-19-184048780.html?src=rss

Vampire Survivors hits PS4 and PS5 on August 29

As developer Poncle promised, Vampire Survivors is making its way to PlayStation this summer and now there's a firm release date. Many people's pick for the best game of 2022 is coming to PS4 and PS5 on August 29. All of the paid expansions will be available on launch day as well.

PlayStation was the last remaining major platform for the all-conquering, vampire-less game to land on. After coming out of early access on PC and Mac in October 2022, it hit Xbox the following month and then mobile that December (an ad-free version arrived on Apple Arcade earlier this month). The Switch port dropped a year ago. The only place that's really left to go now is VR.

For the uninitiated, each character in Vampire Survivors has a unique starting perk and weapon, which fires automatically. All you essentially have to do is control your character's movement and make careful choices about weapon and perk additions and upgrades when you level up as you fend off literally thousands of monsters. Runs typically last for up to 30 minutes, if you can survive that long. It's terrifically chaotic and, best of all, the game costs just five bucks. 

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation/vampire-survivors-hits-ps4-and-ps5-on-august-29-134602924.html?src=rss

Meta shutters its first-party VR game studio Ready at Dawn

Ready at Dawn Studios, the game studio behind the Echo virtual reality series for the Meta Quest, has been shut down by its parent owner, Meta, effective immediately.

Android Central reported Meta’s decision to close Ready at Dawn Studios almost a year and a half after purchasing the game studio. The news comes on the heels of a mid-July report that Meta plans to cut its Reality Labs division’s budget by 20 percent by 2026 when it is reportedly scheduled to release the Meta Quest 4 and Quest 4s, its next VR headsets.

Ready at Dawn’s reach in the gaming industry goes all the way back to the days of Sony’s PlayStation Portable (PSP). The studio released its first game in 2006 with Daxter, a PSP spinoff of the popular Jak and Daxter series. Ready at Dawn also released three titles in Sony’s God of War series for the PSP including Chains of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta and the Olympus Collection that bundled its two earlier titles. The studio made the jump to consoles starting with the PlayStation 4 in 2015 with The Order: 1886. The Victorian-era third-person action adventure became one of the year’s most anticipated titles for its boundary pushing graphics. Following a wave of mixed reviews, Ready at Dawn took a stab at a multiplayer title with a cheerier disposition in 2017 called De-Formers for the PS4, Xbox One and PC. Engadget senior editor Jessica Conditt described the colorful character combat competition as “cannibalism combat in a 3-D cartoon.”

The rise of and ease of access to virtual reality prompted the studio to pivot again in 2018 to the new immersive game medium. The studio released the first two VR titles in its Echo game series including the free-to-play Oculus Rift and Quest virtual sport Echo Arena and the interactive, gravity-free sci-fi adventure Lone Echo. Both found a fanbase on the all-in-one VR headset leading to sequels including the free-floating arena shooter Echo Combat in 2018 and Lone Echo II in 2021.

Oculus bought the studio in 2023 and allowed it to continue operations in its California and Oregon offices. The same year, Meta shut down its free Echo VR game due to dwindling player numbers.

Meta has slashed more than 20,000 jobs since 2023, a period that CEO Mark Zuckerberg has characterized as a “year of efficiency.”

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/meta-shutters-its-first-party-vr-game-studio-ready-at-dawn-212212491.html?src=rss

Balatro is getting its first big, free gameplay update in 2025

Balatro, the terrific card game that pushes you to break most of the rules of poker to achieve ever-higher scores, is in line for its first major gameplay update. You'll have to wait until next year for that, but developer LocalThunk promises it will bring "new ideas and strategies to the game." What's more, it will be a free update "as a token of huge appreciation to the game’s brilliant and passionate community."

This is the first of three Balatro announcements/surprises LocalThunk and publisher Playstack are revealing this summer (one of them has to be a mobile version, right?) just after the game reached two million sales. Some players might be a little nervous about the developer tinkering with a stupendously well-balanced title — which is surely going to end up on many people's game of the year lists — but LocalThunk has probably earned most fans' trust at this point given how exquisitely designed and tuned Balatro is already.

Meanwhile, LocalThunk this week doubled down on a promise never to let Balatro be used for gambling purposes. The developer says he's been approached by several parties over the last few months to license the intellectual property, "presumably to make Balatro-themed gambling games like slots or video poker." That's something LocalThunk has firmly opposed though, to the point the developer has made clear in his will that "the Balatro IP may never be sold or licensed to any gambling company/casino."

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/balatro-is-getting-its-first-big-free-gameplay-update-in-2025-161938348.html?src=rss

Castlevania comes to Dead by Daylight on August 27

Yet another video game crossover is coming to Dead by Daylight in the near future. Behaviour Interactive says the previously announced Castlevania chapter will go live on August 27. Those who can't wait that long for the official release can check it out on the Steam public test build right now.

The chapter brings both a new killer and survivor to The Fog. Of course, the latest killer to join the lineup is Dracula. Whenever he's the killer, you might see his castle looming on the horizon of the map.

He's also the first shapeshifting killer. In vampire form, Dracula "stalks his prey, able to conjure flames that sear flesh and render bone to ash," Behaviour says. As a bat, he can move quickly and quietly. When he's a wolf, Dracula is said to be a relentless hunter.

As for the new survivor, it's a Belmont, but perhaps not the first one that springs to mind. You can play as Trevor Belmont, a skilled vampire hunter. While he's maybe not the most physical member of the Belmont bloodline, his teamwork focus and ability to find allies in a pinch should stand him in decent stead in The Fog.

So far this year, Behaviour has brought Alan Wake, Tomb Raider's Lara Croft and Dungeons and Dragons to DbD. An original chapter will arrive in December. That's not all, though, as the publisher is gearing up to release a spinoff game called The Casting of Frank Stone on September 3. That will be a narrative horror-adventure along the lines of developer Supermassive's previous projects, such as Until Dawn and The Quarry.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/castlevania-comes-to-dead-by-daylight-on-august-27-190954431.html?src=rss

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is coming to PS4 and Xbox One on September 17

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is coming to last-gen consoles on September 17, including the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game was originally released for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC back in 2023.

For the uninitiated, this is a sequel to the absolutely fantastic Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. It’s a third-person adventure with a bit of Metroidvania flair that’s set in the Star Wars universe in between the events of Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope. It’s a very good video game, particularly for franchise fans.

Pre-orders are available now and early purchasers get some bonuses. These include in-game cosmetic items that will turn the protagonist into someone who resembles Obi Wan Kenobi and a new blaster set. As for the software, EA says it’s been fully optimized to run on those older consoles.

It’s worth noting, however, that the game has struggled to run on PCs. EA has issued several updates to address performance problems but some still linger. To that end, the company’s prepping a new PC update that’ll release “in the coming weeks.” This will bring “enhancements to the game’s technical performance, controls and more,” in addition to “a variety of quality-of-life improvements.”

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor also recently released on Game Pass. The PS4/XB1 version will cost $50. A third entry in the franchise has already been announced because, well, Star Wars loves trilogies.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/star-wars-jedi-survivor-is-coming-to-ps4-and-xbox-one-on-september-17-181004549.html?src=rss

Fall Guys is now in Fortnite’s battle royale mode for a limited time

Epic Games has brought two of its tentpole titles together in a fun way: Fall Guys has come to the Fortnite island for a limited time. A familiar-looking obstacle course has appeared in the skies above the sprawling battle royale arena. It'll be there until August 15.

If you happen to find a Bean Idol in the Classy Courts area of the map, your character will be transported to the obstacle course and turned into a Fall Guys bean (which, fact fans, is canonically six feet tall). If you're using an original Fortnite character rather than a licensed one, your bean will look like that skin. Otherwise, you'll have a default naked bean. You'll revert back to your regular more-boring humanoid look when you finish the course.

You'll have up to three attempts to finish the course but you can only complete it once per match. Once the course is in the storm, though, it'll be inaccessible.

There's a 120-second time limit and if you fall off, you'll respawn at a checkpoint or the start of the course. The faster you finish, the better the loot you'll get. So if you're good at Fall Guys, you'll suddenly be at an advantage in Fortnite. Finish in under 50 seconds and you'll get gold loot, likely making it easier for you to destroy those pesky Cybertrucks. There are quests you can complete for cosmetics like a Fall Guys bean-inspired back bling too.

Fall Guys is also now part of Fortnite's creative mode. There are a few pre-built islands you can check out that have new versions of iconic Fall Guys stages, including an unlimited version of Hex-A-Gone. You'll be able to build your own Fall Guys-themed islands in Fortnite too and publish them for others to check out. Whenever you're playing on these islands, your character will be in bean form.

Meanwhile, Epic has enabled proximity chat in creator-built islands. It'll be interesting to see that become available in battle royale modes eventually, as it could add an interesting wrinkle to gameplay.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/fall-guys-is-now-in-fortnites-battle-royale-mode-for-a-limited-time-171506216.html?src=rss

New Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom footage features cute horseback riding and uh, smoothie shops

Nintendo just dropped a rather lengthy new overview trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom. That’s the top-down Switch entry that stars the titular princess instead of Link. The six-minute video focuses on “traversing Hyrule,” so there’s plenty of cool stuff here about the kingdom and, more importantly, the overworld map.

This looks like a brand-new map. Many people had assumed this game would lift the map from The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Some of the landmarks, however, are in the same place. The castle is at the center, for instance, and the mountains are up top.

A map.
Nintendo

Otherwise, this game includes all of the various cultures and towns from 3D Zelda games. You can meet Gorons, Zora and even enter the all-female Gerudo Town. This is also the first top-down Zelda game to feature traversal by horse. There are a few horses in the trailer, though none look exactly like the world-famous Epona. It’s possible that Princess Zelda’s white stallion from Breath of the Wild is hanging around though. In any event, they are all pretty darn cute.

The trailer also shows off some deliciously kooky stuff, and we all love it when Nintendo gets weird. There are smoothie shops scattered throughout Hyrule, candy-obsessed Deku Scrubs and more.

Finally, there’s a newly-featured ability for Zelda called Bind. It forces objects and creatures in the game world to follow you around, likely for puzzle-solving purposes.

All of this is good news. This doesn’t look like a throwaway “end of a console’s lifespan” game. It looks adorable and inventive. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom comes out on September 26.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/new-zelda-footage-features-cute-horseback-riding-and-uh-smoothie-shops-154503850.html?src=rss

Prison Architect 2 is delayed indefinitely

Prison Architect 2, the sequel to the 2015 cult hit, isn't coming out this year as its creators had planned. The prison construction simulator's publisher, Paradox Interactive, has announced that its release has been delayed indefinitely. In its post, Paradox has admitted that its internal reviews and beta testing feedbacks surfaced the areas that need more attention, mainly the game's performance and content. "We need to raise the quality a bit more to meet the standards we'd like to achieve with this sequel," it wrote. 

This latest development comes after a series of delays. Prison Architect 2 was supposed to come out on March 26, but it was pushed back a couple of times so that its developers at Double Eleven and Kokku could resolve issues concerning memory usage and minimum spec configuration. This time, Paradox decided not to set a new release date. It says it will announce a new one once the Prison Architect 2 teams are done reworking the game's scope. 

Earlier this year, Paradox Interactive also had to deal with the overwhelmingly negative reception for Cities: Skylines 2's Beach Properties asset pack. Players weren't happy with the $10 DLC's contents, especially since they're still waiting for patches for the main game that was riddled with visual and mechanical bugs when it was released in 2023. Prison Architect 2's delay could prevent a repeat of what happened to Cities: Skylines.

Paradox explained that improving the game will take time, because it has "deep systems that all interact with each other." If one area is fixed, other parts of the game need to be fixed or adjusted, as well. For now, the publisher and the developers will refund all pre-orders. Those who purchased from Paradox directly will automatically be reimbursed, but those who purchased from the Xbox, PlayStation or Steam stores will have to go through those platforms to get their refund. Paradox will remove the option to pre-order the game entirely and will add the supposed pre-order bonus to the base game instead.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/prison-architect-2-is-delayed-indefinitely-160038125.html?src=rss

Valorant is now out of beta on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S

After a couple of months of beta testing on consoles to iron out some bugs, Valorant is now properly available on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S in some regions. You can dive into the free-to-play tactical shooter on the consoles if you're in the US, Canada, Europe, Japan or Brazil. Riot plans to open up the game to console players in other regions down the line.

Riot says it optimized the gameplay for consoles, which included the addition of a new Focus shooting mode that's a bit like hipfire, but with lower sensitivity for greater precision. There won't be any support for crossplay between PC and consoles so as to maintain competitive integrity, but you will have access to all your purchased or earned cosmetics and there will be shared progression across all platforms. Riot also notes that there will be parity between all platforms in terms of balance changes and added agents, maps, premium content and other features.

"We believe there are millions of players that would love to play Valorant, but currently can’t, and we hope to change that with bringing Valorant to consoles," Valorant production designer Arnar Gylfason said in a statement. "We aim to provide them the joy of the Valorant experience and all it entails: a core tactical shooter gameplay focused on mastery and player expression, a team-based competitive environment where match quality and fairness comes first, our amazing ecosystem with a unique style, high-quality cosmetics and a thriving community that values personal and competitive identity."

This is a significant step for Riot as Valorant is its first live-service game on console — the likes of League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics remain PC-only. However, the publisher plans to bring its upcoming LoL-based fighting game 2XKO to PlayStation and Xbox as well.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/valorant-is-now-out-of-beta-on-playstation-5-and-xbox-series-xs-160016521.html?src=rss