Developer Trialforge Studio and publisher Tate Multimedia have announced the upcoming soulslike Deathbound will be releasing in 2024.

Deathbound A Techno-Medieval Action-RPG Soulslike Coming in 2024

A new party combat soulslike is coming in 2024 by the name of Deathbound. Developer Trialforge Studio and publisher Tate Multimedia have shared the title will be coming to PC via Steam next year.

Set in the world of Ziêminal, the city of Akratya is brimming with dangerous and ruthless monsters. It is up to a party of heroes to conquer, using traditional swords and shields. Using a range of skills and abilities, players can craft their own playstyle. What’s unique about Deathbound is that players can switch between heroes in their party on the fly. Using Binding, players can combine powers to unleash Morphstrikes. This could mean the difference between life and death, turning the tide of battle.

Discovery Through Memories

It’s also through binding that the memories and identities of the fallen will be discovered. The narrative is told through not only items and environment but the essence will unravel the world of Ziêminal and its inhabitants. Through conflict caused by divergent essences, its effects will impact gameplay and the story.

Trialforge also promises Deathbound will deliver some challenging enemies and bosses to face. They are based on the theme of the five stages of grief. The world is a mix of a technological past and a medieval present. The game is inspired by the likes of Mortal Shell, Steelrising and Thymesia. The trailer shows some insight into combat using in-game footage, as well as the crusader-esque theme. Its aesthetic is a stark contrast to the more dark and moody fantasy settings, as the colour palette seems more on the vibrant side.

Deathbound will be released in 2024.

For a rundown of recent RPG news, you can find it here in This Week in RPGs – August 6th, 2023.

The post Deathbound A Techno-Medieval Action-RPG Soulslike Coming in 2024 appeared first on Fextralife.

Happy weekend from Fextralife! If you’ve been too busy to keep up on the latest in the games we cover or are looking for a refresher we’ve got you covered! Here’s a bite-sized version of the Top RPG news of the week. Taste all the latest news across the Fextralife Wiki Network.

Check out the video above and read on for the text!

This Week in RPGs – August 6th, 2023

This week in RPG News, we’re going to be talking about the upcoming Gamescom 2023 lineup for Xbox, Baldur’s Gate 3 launch, Remnant 2’s success. The Action-RPG Wo Long Fallen Dynasty will be getting not one but two collaborations with soulslike Nioh and Lies of P. Path of Exile 2 is so big it’s a standalone game and Phantom Blade Zero updates. Plus the long running MMORPG FF14 coming to Xbox.

Just a quick shout-out to Roccat and Turtle Beach for sponsoring us, to get a gear discount. You can find it in the description below. Now onto the news.

Path of Exile 2

• During ExileCon 2023 developer Grinding Gear Games revealed that the sequel, Path of Exile 2 will be a full standalone game. Path of Exile 2 will no longer be an expansion of the first game.
• Originally announced in 2019 to be an extension of POE1, the scope of the project has grown making it a full-blown sequel with its closed beta on June 7th 2024.
• Originally, the game was meant to be a part of Path of Exile 1, with the client containing both campaigns. As the developer continued to work on the game, it’s become so big it’s now its very own standalone sequel. This means a whole new campaign, new enemies, classes, mechanics, leagues and more.
• This outcome is a result of also realising that they’d be doing away with POE1, ultimately “destroying a game that people love for no reason”.
• The sequel is going to be pretty huge with 100 bosses to battle each with unique mechanics to master. Six acts with 600 monsters to meet.
• There will be six new classes introduced, together with the original makes 12 total in Path of Exile 2. New classes are Sorceress, Monk, Huntress, Mercenary, Warrior and Druid. New ascendancies are also coming, with three for each class totalling 36 to choose from. Adding some further movement, all characters have the ability to dodge roll, which can cancel a skill at any time. 
• What do you think about Path of Exile 2 being a standalone? Let us know in the comments below. For more on this news find it here in Path of Exile 2 Will Be A BIG Standalone Sequel.

Phantom Blade Zero

• The kungfupunk Action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero made an appearance recently at ChinaJoy 2023. The title which debuted during Playstation’s May Showcase, is a mix of Wuxia-styled combat mixed in with some steampunk. A 30-minute demo was announced to be planned for sometime in 2024. The title will be coming to both PC and PS5.
• According to a recent interview with Wccftech, the title which is being developed with Unreal Engine 5, is aiming to support two modes, 2K at 60 fps and 4K at 30 fps.
• Developer Soulframe also discussed the difference between switching from purely mobile development to PC and consoles. They highlighted how the experience means more freedom in terms of “actual creativity” and fewer hardware limitations.
• Phantom Blade Zero will focus on Action-RPG with “character progression elements”. While they didn’t go into detail how this will be carried out, you can expect a rich storyline and gameplay. You will also be able to team up in co-op but it looks like the main campaign will be a solo experience.
• Inspirations are drawn from games such as Nioh, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Ninja Gaiden. Throw in some classic Hong Kong films, Japanese manga and some John Wick revenge plot, you’ve got a smorgasbord of martial arts combat.
• Phantom Blade Zero will be heading to PC and PS5. No release date has been announced but a demo is expected to launch in 2024.

For more on this news find it here in Phantom Blade Zero Demo Set for 2024.

Baldur’s Gate 3

Baldur’s Gate 3 had its full launch this week. The CRPG has fully launched after spending a few years in early access. Celebrating version 1.0, Larian Studio has released new details on how mind flayer powers or Illithid Power work in the game. This hidden skill tree lets you use powers granted by a particular parasite. Search high and low inside jars and pools of brine. Larian hints you can even discover them in the skulls of the infected. Once you find them simply gobble them up as if they’re brain food, yum!

Baldur’s Gate 3 has had a massive launch on PC. It has now topped over 400,000 concurrent players in just a few hours, marking it the biggest 2023 launch for the platform. It’s also become the top-selling game on Steam now. Twitch also told a similar tale with a mass of 480,000 viewers.

Speaking of Twitch. If you want to celebrate the launch in style you can now gain Twitch drops for the Camp Clothing Set. This is a range of purple clothing that will have your character looking their best. You can earn these drops by watching our Baldur’s Gate 3 Twitch streams for at least 2 hours to earn the whole set.

We’ve already dropped a Beginner Guide to get you started, covering everything from proficiency to feats. You also watch our review impression if you’re still deciding whether to dip your toe in the adventure. If you’re currently making your way through the Forgotten Realms don’t forget to check out our content. We will have plenty of guides, builds and more so make sure you are subscribed to our YT channel. For further help drop by our Baldur’s Gate 3 wiki.

For more on this news find it here in Baldur’s Gate 3 Tops 400,000 Players on PC Just 4 Hours In, Baldur’s Gate 3 Mind Flayer Powers, PC Launch Times, Twitch Drops & More Revealed and Baldur’s Gate 3 Review Impressions Hands-On Spoiler-Free.

Remnant 2

• Publisher Gearbox and developer Gunfire Games have announced the third-person shooter RPG Remnant 2 has now passed the one million mark for units sold. This milestone is across platforms PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. According to the press release the sequel to Remnant: From the Ashes has now doubled its concurrent players at launch, breaking the franchise record. Celebrating the news, a new accolades trailer has been released for Remnant 2.
• In case you missed it Remnant 2 stormed onto the scene last month, gaining some stellar reviews, We gave it an 8/10, praising its improved gameplay, exploration and carving its own identity in the sea of soulslikes. The sequel pits players in co-op survival, with new unseen worlds. Its reroll element for worlds adds an interesting way to explore. You can go it alone or team up with other players. The multiclass system also adds further customisation with a variety of Archetype combinations.
• If you’re looking for some help unlocking the myriad of world exploration in Remnant 2 be sure to drop by our wiki for all the latest.

For more on this news find it here in Remnant 2 Has Sold Over 1 Million Units on PC, PS5 & Xbox Series.

Final Fantasy 14

• Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest brought great news for players of the MMORPG Final Fantasy 14. The fifth expansion was announced called, Dawntrail coming in the Summer of 2024. The expansion is teased as “the very best summer vacation a hero could possibly have”.
• It marks the first steps into a new story for the game taking place in a “New World” known as Tural. It will be up to the Warriors of Light to help assist in the succession of the next ruler of Tural. But there maybe some upheaval over it, ultimately dividing the Scions into two factions.
• The expansion promises a new hub, new level cap going from 90 to 100, new skills, new jobs which are confirmed to be new DPS roles a melee and ranged magical DPS. New Dungeons, raids, enemies, gear, lifestyle content, and a PVP update.
• Also in the news recently Final Fantasy 14 will be coming to Xbox Series X|S in Spring 2024. This will be the first time the MMORPG has come to the platform. Previously it’s only been available on PC and Playstation. An open beta is expected to take place sometime before the launch of patch 6.5 with progress carrying over.
• What also makes this news sweeter is that the free trial is also getting an update. This will now extend up to the the Stormblood expansion with level 70.

For more on this news find it here in Final Fantasy 14 Will Usher in New Era Coming to Xbox Finally.

Wo Long Fallen Dynasty

• Koei Tecmo have announced plans for upcoming free content for Wo Long Fallen Dynasty along with a paid DLC as part of the 2023 roadmap.
• This also includes paid DLCs “Conqueror of Jiangdong” and the “Upheaval in Jingxiang”. These bring new stories, new weapon types, new Divine Beasts, bosses and much more.
• Along with paid content, players will gain free updates starting with one this August. The first update adds some additional missions to get stuck into, plus a Boss Rush mode Part 2. It will also bring some balance adjustments and improvements.
• November has a Nioh collaboration. The Action-RPG will be getting crossover content from the challenging soulslike. That won’t be the only crossover as Lies of P will also be coming to the game in September which is its launch month.
• Wo Long has already had a crossover with the fast-paced action game Naraka Bladepoint. Upcoming collaborations may be similar in scope, providing some content inspired by these awesome RPGs.
• If you’re currently making your way through the Three Kingdoms, be sure to drop by our Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty wiki to stay on top of challenging bosses, armor, weapons and more.

For more on this news find it here in Wo Long Fallen Dynasty Gets Free Updates and Paid DLC in 2023 Roadmap.

Gamescom 2023

• Gearing up for Gamescom 2023, Microsoft has announced their lineup of games presentations including Starfield, Ara: History United and Forza Motorsport. First-party playable titles will include the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Towerborne.
• Not only that, but there will over 25 playable third party titles at their booth.  Set to be featured include the highly anticipated expansion Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Then there’s also the fiery mech fighter, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. It was confirmed earlier by Bandai Namco to be present. We’ll also get to see more of Persona 5 Tactica the turn-based RPG. Others include PAYDAY 3, Under the Waves, Jusant and more.
• Not attending Gamescom 2023? Not to worry, as we’ll have you covered with all the latest news. You can check out the livestreams as they happen, with Xbox FanFest on August 23rd at 11:30 AM PT. Further schedule updates will be announced in the run-up to the conference. But they have 3 hours of livestreams planned for over the course of 3 days.
• Which game are you most looking forward to seeing more of at Gamescom? Let us know in the comments below.
• Gamescom 2023 will be taking place in Cologne, Germany from August 23rd to 27th with Opening Night Live on August 22nd.

For more on this news find it here in Microsoft Announces Gamescom 2023 Lineup Plus 3 Hours of Livestreams.

Well, that’s it for the Week in Wikis. Please join us next week for yet another great week of gaming! Remember to check out our VIP program for some exclusive supporter benefits, and budding writers should take advantage of our Become an Author initiative! Thanks again for being a part of this great community. Keep checking in with us for news, reviews, YouTube streams and vids, and general wiki goodness!

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The post This Week in RPGs – August 6th, 2023 appeared first on Fextralife.

Baldur’s Gate 3 surpassed 400,000 players on Steam just a few hours after launch.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Tops 400,000 Players on PC Just 4 Hours In

Baldur’s Gate 3 has had a massive launch on PC. It has now topped over 400,000 concurrent players in just a few hours, marking it the biggest 2023 launch for the platform. It’s also become the top-selling game on Steam now. Twitch also told a similar tale with a mass of 480,000 viewers. But the number keeps growing with now over 590,000 concurrent players on Steam.

Recently Larian Studios went over some finer details about the lovely parasite mechanics in the game. The Illithid Powers which can grant some powerful abiltiies. Wield your influence on the unexpected, use them like a puppet and even shake them like a rag doll. Of course, it’s not all a party as it will take a toll on your body, mind, realm and even cause some complications with your companions.

Don’t miss out on the celebration as you can get some in-game drip by watching a Baldur’s Gate 3 Twitch stream. So why not our Twitch stream? Gain the Camp Clothing Set in a wonderful range of purple to look the part through Twitch drops.

Previously Larian Studios has talked about what’s next after Baldur’s Gate 3. It looks like they would love to return eventually to Divinity Original Sin.

Excited for the launch? We are too! That’s why you better keep an eye on our Baldur’s Gate 3 content and Twitch stream. Don’t forget to venture to our BG3 wiki for all your Forgotten Realm needs.

Baldur’s Gate 3 will be released on August 3rd on PC. Playstation 5 players will get to play as soon as September 3rd if they pre-order the Digital Deluxe Edition, or September 6th for everyone else.

For more news find it here in Phantom Blade Zero Demo Set for 2024 and Path of Exile 2 Will Be A BIG Standalone Sequel.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Tops 400,000 Players on PC Just 4 Hours In appeared first on Fextralife.

Final Fantasy 14 Fan Fest made the major announcement of the fifth expansion Dawntrail coming in summer 2024. It also announced the MMORPG finally coming to Xbox.

Final Fantasy 14 Will Usher in New Era Coming to Xbox Finally

The long running MMORPG Final Fantasy 14 has been only available in the past on Playstation and PC. That’s all about to change as the announcement came at FF14 Fan Fest that the game would be coming to Xbox Series X|S in Spring 2024. This is ahead of the upcoming expansion Dawntrail.

What also makes this news sweeter is that the free trial is also getting an update. This will now extend up to the the Stormblood expansion with level 70. Since the MMO requires you to play through previous content, that’s quite a generous amount of free content to access. Of course the free trial does have some limitations on interactions and level cap, but that’s not bad considering.

Enjoyed being onstage with Yoshi-P and Kiryu-san to announce Final Fantasy XIV coming to Xbox. We’re thrilled that the Xbox community will join the Warriors of Light and we look forward to partnering closely with Square Enix on future games. pic.twitter.com/zq0ETkDFq1

— Phil Spencer (@XboxP3) July 28, 2023

The fifth expansion was announced called, Dawntrail coming in the Summer of 2024. The expansion is teased as “the very best summer vacation a hero could possibly have”.

It marks the first steps into a new story for the game taking place in a “New World” known as Tural. It will be up to the Warriors of Light to help assist in the succession of the next ruler of Tural. But there maybe some upheaval over it, ultimately dividing the Scions into two factions.

The expansion promises a new hub, new level cap going from 90 to 100, new skills, new jobs which are confirmed to be new DPS roles a melee and ranged magical DPS. New Dungeons, raids, enemies, gear, lifestyle content, raids and a PVP update.

Final Fantasy 14 is currently available on PC and Playstation. It will be coming to Xbox Series X|S in spring 2024.

For more news find it here in Microsoft Announces Gamescom 2023 Lineup Plus 3 Hours of Livestreams and Wo Long Fallen Dynasty Gets Free Updates and Paid DLC in 2023 Roadmap.

The post Final Fantasy 14 Will Usher in New Era Coming to Xbox Finally appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Baldur’s Gate 3 article/video I’m going to give you Baldur’s Gate 3 First Impressions of the full version of the full game. We got a review code about four days ago, so we didn’t have enough time in my opinion to do a proper review. I don’t think it would be fair to give the game a proper review after that amount of time. Instead, here I’m just going to kind of do my first impressions after about the first 40 hours or so of the game and tell you what I think.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Review Impressions Hands-On Spoiler-Free

This is going to be a completely spoiler-free Baldur’s Gate 3 First Impressions. The gameplay we’ll be showing in the background is from Act 1. So if you’ve played Early Access you know this is stuff you’ve probably already seen before but with a little bit new UI etc. You will still be very familiar with this and I will not be talking about story spoilers at all. In about 40 hours, we managed to get through Act 2 or what I think is the beginning of Act 3. For an average player, for someone who hasn’t played Early Access, it will probably be closer to 50 or 60 hours to complete Act 2.

If you’re familiar with Early Access not too much has changed. The beginning parts of the game will have some differences and will feel familiar to you, speeding up your journey through Act 1. Those things out of the way let’s talk about Baldur’s Gate 3.

It’s a Matter of Choice

The first thing I can say about Baldur’s Gate 3 is that it’s the first RPG that I have felt like I didn’t regret a single decision that I made. A lot of RPGs, you’re either stuck with a good option, a neutral option, or a bad option. But in Baldur’s Gate 3, I felt like every decision I made was the right one for my character. Some RPGs give you many options that leave you overwhelmed by the sheer amount of choices.

I think Larian did a phenomenal job here of not giving you too many options but still giving you a really good range that there are enough choices for everyone out there. What’s utterly incredible about this is that there are choices there that are based on your class, race, background and even the characters that enter the dialogue. This won’t be the same for everyone, as it is down to your own personal character.

Tailor Made for You

Though there aren’t a million dialogue options, it is tailor-made to your character and I think that’s what makes this game so special. It makes it feel like Baldur’s Gate 3 is made just for you when playing. In my opinion, because of these narrative options, the game provides very strong and compelling characters. They are interesting, and well-acted, making you interested in just about every single character you meet in the game. You end up wanting to hear what they have to say and ultimately wanting to learn more about the game’s world.

Compelling Dialogue

I can’t remember the last time I played a game where I felt compelled to listen to every single line of dialogue that was spoken. I have played tons of RPGs and we have covered a number of RPGs on our channel/website. Not one that comes to mind as of late that really compares. The ones that I can think of that maybe come close are Mass Effect or Dragon Age Origins. Games that really draw you in, in terms of characters that keep you engaged to find out things. Often you forget what you’re doing, or what your quest objective is because I’m pretty happy spending hours finding out info. I typically wouldn’t do that in another game.

As I have had limited time to review this game before the review embargo, I find myself pressed for time to get guides up. With that time crunch in mind, the average player won’t have that added time pressure. This means they will feel even more engrossed and immersed than I even was, if that’s even possible!

Exploration

Piggybacking off of this, exploration in the game also adds a ton to the experience. The game world is large. While not completely open-world, the game kind of feels that way. You can tell the narrative is more linear in terms of narrative design, driving you through the game similar to that of Baldur’s Gate 2. However, you’re still picking up quest objectives along with the main narrative route and there’s plenty to see and explore. Exploration is rewarding if you’re paying attention. There’s plenty to see and do without getting bored. You’re always finding new things and I guarantee that in successive playthroughs you will still discover more.

NPC Interactions Like No Other

What stands out in Baldur’s Gate 3 is that NPCs and characters you interact with often appear in later Acts (based on how it went in Act 2) and you find out what happens to them. Often in games, characters will just give you gold or some type of reward and that’s it. Thanks for playing, here’s your reward, that will be it. Here, you will see whether they survived, find out what perils they’ve faced and the weight of your decisions.

Furthermore, I think this has been done in a way here that’s never been done in any other RPG. A lot of times in some of the best RPGs there are characters you can interact with, their stories advance and you’ll meet up later. Usually, you will find them in the same location, they stay in the same location, for example in the world of Mass Effect.

However, in Baldur’s Gate 3 they are constantly moving around. You will find them pop up in new locations, they’re advancing their story. Something that the developer Larian has done really cleverly in this game is they’ve created little checkpoints throughout the game. These advanced events in the game world so the world state is shifting when you hit certain points of the game. It changes previous areas of the game that you’ve already been to.

Checkpoints

Some people were asking me pre-launch when you hit one of these checkpoints whether it will give you a warning to wrap everything you were doing before, before commencing and whether you can you go back. And the answer is “yes”. While you might not find everything stays the same as before passing these checkpoints, I find this incredibly special. In many RPGs, this isn’t really a possibility. Often you don’t know the full extent of the ramifications of these checkpoints. I think it will be many months before we know what they all are but that was incredible for me.

Narration

Moving onto the narration of the game, it is absolutely on point, it’s outstanding. The voice acting is incredibly done and it adds something to the game. I don’t think the narration is necessary for every RPG. But when it does done well, like it is done in Baldur’s Gate 3 and in the Divinity Original Sin series it does make you wonder if it is something that RPGs need. It is the same with music in games. When a game has phenomenal music it just makes the game better, but it is not necessary to make it a good game. I feel the narrator really adds something to the game and I think people are really really gonna enjoy this aspect. If you’ve played Early Access then you know what I mean. This stays consistent the whole way.

Minor Bugs & Patching

If I were to make one critique here, is to point out even though the game does such a fantastic job of immersing you in the game’s world that when you hit a bug, it really pulls you out of it. It’s kind of like being in a trance and someone snaps their fingers right next to you and you wake up. That’s kind of what it feels like. There were a good number of bugs in this game so far from what I’ve seen. I was a bit worried about this after playing in Ghent because I saw a lot of bugs there.

Patching

I know Larian has been doing a lot of work on those bugs over the last few weeks. They’ve pushed a patch every single-day patching bugs out of the game since we’ve been playing the review copy. So I think these bugs are just gonna get wiped out over time. None of them was major, they’re just really bizarre bugs in a lot of cases. I’ll just give you a couple of examples. For example one time during character creation the fireball cantrip just disappeared from the screen. I couldn’t select it anymore with the character even though I should have been able to. Then I had a dialogue when I was in the Grove then experienced a black screen for like 30 seconds. I was like “what’s happening?”.

Casting Animations

One of the casting animations for spells had weird bugs with their animations. I’ve had a weird audio sound when I was disarming traps in one specific spot of the game. It would make a really loud noise and then it never appeared in the rest of the game. An example was when in the shadowed lands, I would load into the game and my torch would be lit which is important to this scenario. However, when I loaded the same save once again, the torch has not been lit, leaving my character in a bad situation. It would take another load for it to be lit once again, although sometimes this wouldn’t work.

Other Issues

Other issues I’ve had are with the wizard. The wizard would be in your camp sometimes when I load and other times he would not appear for the same exact save. There have been some really strange bugs in my experience, but nothing game-breaking. These odd bugs will be slowly patched out and the only reason I mention them is the immersion-breaking effect they had.

Controller Pros & Cons

As for control and how they felt. On controller they did a really good job in my opinion as it’s very intuitive. It takes you a little bit to get used to and I think players playing on a controller are going to be just fine. There’s a little bit of time that it takes to kind of get your muscle memory down as there are a lot of things you can do.

One thing I kind of wish they would have done with the controller UI is give you a lot more information that’s like readily available on your screen. You need to go hunting through in order to find the information that is more easily available compared to on a keyboard and mouse. This one little gripe I had, but otherwise they did a good job here. There is a completely different UI for controller which they must have had to be completely redesigned. I think players will find it very intuitive and easy to use.

Romance & More

The last thing I want to talk a little bit about which I know is a popular topic for Baldur’s Gate 3 is romance. Ever since the infamous bear scene, I think people have been talking about this a lot a fair bit about romance and sex in the game. I think that’s a serious understatement. I have never seen so much in an RPG.

So Much Freedom

There is so much freedom in terms of what you can do and who you can romance. I actually feel like it’s, believe it or not, harder to not romance and fall into a sex scene than it is to do it. I am almost tempted to make a guide on “How Not to Have Romance in Baldur’s Gate 3”. If you particularly like a character and want to be with them, you have to really dodge advances from others. I feel there needs to be a guide on how to or how not to.

There is a lot of romance and sex in this game. I think it’s refreshing to see that an RPG isn’t limiting creative expression in that way. Players can have the freedom to do that, that’s part of role-playing in my opinion. Finding a character that you have a bond with and exploring that is definitely something I feel like should be in more RPGs. You play games such as the outer worlds or something similar, there’s no romance. You’re like this is just not realistic at all. It is as if they played it so safely in that game when it came to romance this game.

The Naked Truth

This is the complete opposite but I would say you know if you have young kids or something probably don’t play when they’re around. Baldur’s Gate 3 is just a very adult RPG. Even though there are filters for these sorts of things, just to give you an idea, without giving any spoilers, you can make your whole party naked. I mean run around through the whole game naked, with all of your characters including all cutscenes. In combat, I’ve never seen that before in a game in my life. That’s something you can absolutely do if you want.

Final Thoughts: Game of the Year 2023?

So in summary, to wrap it up Baldur’s Gate 3 is almost exactly what I expected so far. A very story-driven heavily narrative game that makes you make tough decisions. But you also get to see the outcomes of those decisions in a story that feels like it’s tailor-made for you and that no two players will have the exact same experience Baldur’s Gate 3 is a game. That I very publicly and definitively have been stating it WILL win Game of the Year. I haven’t been saying it should win game of the year. Or it could win the game of the year I’ve literally been saying it’s going to win Game of the Year.

Full Review Coming

After seeing what I’ve seen so far I still believe this is the case we will probably have a full review of the game out in the next week. So if you want to see what our actual review score for the game is and whether I actually still think it’ll be the Game of the Year after the full game, make sure you stay tuned for that. But I’ll just say the only slight concern is the bugs.

These as I’ve said aren’t that bad these are things that are going to get patched out over time. So a couple of weeks from now they probably won’t even exist. I’ve had no performance issues in 40 hours. Not a single frame drop and I’ve had zero crashes in over 40 hours. The load times are lightning fast I’ve had no sound issues, nothing like that. Other than a few bugs here and there. The game runs like a dream and stays tuned for a full review.

What do you guys think so far if you’re playing the game let me know in the comments below.

We’ll be putting out more guides and content. In the meantime check out our latest Baldur’s Gate 3 Beginner Guide. You can drop by our BG3 wiki for all the latest info on classes, weapons, skills, interactive map and more.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 Review Impressions Hands-On Spoiler-Free appeared first on Fextralife.

Microsoft have announced their plans for Gamescom 2023 which includes Starfield, The Elder Scrolls Online Armored Core VI and more as part of the lineup. Roughly 3 hours of livestreams across three days.

Microsoft Announces Gamescom 2023 Lineup Plus 3 Hours of Livestreams

Gearing up for Gamescom 2023, Microsoft has announced their lineup of games presentations including Starfield, Ara: History United and Forza Motorsport. First-party playable titles will include the MMORPG The Elder Scrolls Online, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Towerborne.

There will be over 25 third-party titles also playable at the booth. Set to be featured include the highly anticipated expansion Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty. Then there’s also the fiery mech fighter, Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon. It was confirmed earlier by Bandai Namco to be present. We’ll also get to see more of Persona 5 Tactica the turn-based RPG. Others include PAYDAY 3, Under the Waves, Jusant and more.

As for the ID@Xbox Microsoft promises more of the turn-based strategy RPG The Lamplighter’s League. Also on the list Lightyear Frontier and SteamWorld Build.

Not attending Gamescom 2023? Not to worry, as we’ll have you covered with all the latest news. You can check out the livestreams as they happen, with Xbox FanFest on August 23rd at 11:30 AM PT. Further schedule updates will be announced in the run-up to the conference.

Which game are you most looking forward to seeing more of at Gamescom? Let us know in the comments below.

Gamescom 2023 will be taking place at Koelnmesse in Cologne, Germany from August 23rd to 27th with Opening Night Live on August 22nd.

For more news find it here in Wo Long Fallen Dynasty Gets Free Updates and Paid DLC in 2023 Roadmap and Remnant 2 Has Sold Over 1 Million Units on PC, PS5 & Xbox Series.

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Koei Tecmo have announced plans for upcoming free content for Wo Long Fallen Dynasty along with a paid DLC as part of the 2023 roadmap.

Wo Long Fallen Dynasty Gets Free Updates and Paid DLC in 2023 Roadmap

Free updates are heading to the soulslike Action-RPG Wo Long Fallen Dynasty. Koei Tecmo revealed a new roadmap for 2023 which also includes paid DLCs “Conqueror of Jiangdong” and the “Upheaval in Jingxiang”.

Along with paid content, players will gain free updates starting with one this August. The first update adds some additional missions to get stuck into, plus a Boss Rush mode Part 2. It will also bring some balance adjustments and improvements.

September will unleash the next paid DLC Conqueror of Jiangdong which will bring about a new story, weapon type, mission, difficulty level, Divine Beast. equipment level, new equipment and new end-game content. The DLC is part of the Season Pass which contains three DLCs including the already released Battle of Zhongyuan. 

While October’s update seems to be more balance changes and improvements. November has a Nioh collaboration. The Action-RPG will be getting crossover content from the challenging soulslike. That won’t be the only crossover as Lies of P will also be coming to the game in September which is its launch month.

Wo Long has already had a crossover with the fast-paced action game Naraka Bladepoint. Upcoming collaborations may be similar in scope, providing some content inspired by these awesome RPGs. Whether it will be Nioh or Nioh 2 or both themed content is still unknown.

In December another DLC arrives this time it’s the Upheaval in Jingxiang. Similar to Jiangdong, it will have new story, weapons, Divine Beast and end-game content. Details for end-game content shared that these will be separate from the additional difficulty levels. It will be based on a theme and provide new “strategy”. Rounding off the year, a free update will bring a new Wizardy Spell plus further balance adjustments.

If you’re currently making your way through the Three Kingdoms, be sure to drop by our Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty wiki to stay on top of challenging bosses, armor, weapons and more.

Wo Long Fallen Dynasty is available on PS5, Xbox Series, PS4, Xbox One and PC.

For more news find it here in Remnant 2 Has Sold Over 1 Million Units on PC, PS5 & Xbox Series and Baldur’s Gate 3 Mind Flayer Powers, PC Launch Times, Twitch Drops & More Revealed.

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Shooter soulslike sequel Remnant 2 has now sold more than one million copies across PC, Xbox Series and PS5.

Remnant 2 Has Sold Over 1 Million Units

Publisher Gearbox and developer Gunfire Games have announced the third-person shooter RPG Remnant 2 has now passed the one million mark for units sold. This milestone is across platforms PC, Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. According to the press release the sequel to Remnant: From the Ashes has now doubled its concurrent players at launch, breaking the franchise record.

Celebrating the news, a new accolades trailer has been released for Remnant 2.

A Sequel Two Good to Miss

In case you missed it Remnant 2 stormed onto the scene this month, gaining some stellar reviews, We gave it an 8/10, praising its improved gameplay, exploration and carving its own identity in the sea of soulslikes. The sequel pits players in co-op survival, with new unseen worlds. Its reroll element for worlds adds an interesting way to explore. You can go it alone or team up with other players. The multiclass system also adds further customisation with a variety of Archetype combinations.

My favourite Archetype so far has to be the new Handler which lets you bring a canine friend into battle. Have them rez you if things take a turn and even heal you by using the Support Dog skill. There’s even a secret archetype that’s been uncovered but I’ll leave you to uncover it for yourself or head to our wiki if you’re itching to know how to get your hands on it.

Uncover the Mysteries

Remnant 2 also has many enigmas to unearth as the developers have said that even after playing for 400 hours you may not uncover everything in terms of its secrets. But the game still remains “player friendly” when it comes to 100 percenting those trophies and achievements.

If you’re looking for some help unlocking the myriad of world exploration in Remnant 2 be sure to drop by our wiki for all the latest. Check out Beginner Guide for all the best tips. If you’re wondering what we thought of the game check out our review. Check out our latest guide in Remnant 2 Summoner & Hunter Build – Painbringer.

For more news find it here in Baldur’s Gate 3 Mind Flayer Powers, PC Launch Times, Twitch Drops & More Revealed and Phantom Blade Zero Demo Set for 2024.

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Larian Studios reveals more about the powers of the mindflayer known as Illithid Powers can be used in Baldur’s Gate 3. Twitch drops announced starting August 3rd.

Baldur’s Gate 3 Will Have You Wielding Mind Flayer Powers

Having your mind controlled by a parasitic creature that spells doom in Baldur’s Gate 3 might seem like an easy choice. But you might not be making that choice so lightly when you hear that they are a source of “immense power”. Yes, being mind flayed by a mysterious creature certainly will have its downsides, coming with a cost to not only your body, and mind but possibly your soul as well as the realm. But did you really need them anyway?

Illithid Powers

A recent post by Larian has unveiled a little more of what the Illithid Powers have to offer if you so choose to embrace it. This “hidden skill tree” gives you a way to command your new illithid abilities. In order to wield the powers you will need to find more of these parasites which can be discovered throughout the Forgotten Realms. Search high and low inside jars and pools of brine. Larian hints you can even discover them in the skulls of the infected. Once you find them simply gobble them up as if they’re brain food, yum!

With Great Powers Comes Great Complications

With each parasite comes a new Illithid Power to unlock, with 25 skills under the powerful mind-flayer. These are split into different themes, manipulation, health restoration, psionics and abilities that inflict damage. You can even use them to torment enemies, wearing them down over time. Make them your own puppet by controlling them, getting them to say things they normally wouldn’t. Or use the power of your mind to throw enemies like ragdolls in combat. It all sounds very evil…I’m totally in.

However, before you opt-in for a life under the parasite’s spell, there are some downsides. Side effects include companions not exactly being on board. It may even change the way they think of you. While companions can also drink the koolaid, they may not necessarily agree with your approach. The developers tease that things will get “complicated” but won’t spoil the fun by spilling the beans on this one.

While there have been some reveals through early access, BG3 has 600 spells which means there are quite a few things we haven’t seen yet.

Romance and Three’s Not a Crowd

Speaking of complicated, Larian also confirmed how NPCs romances work in the game. It is teased that in some cases characters can even be polyamorous. To clear up exactly who you can romance, there are three simple rules:

• A played Origin can romance an NPC Origin
• An NPC Origin cannot romance an NPC Origin
• Played Origins cannot romance other player Origins

Baldur’s Gate 3 Twitch Drops

To kick off the 1.0 launch of Baldur’s Gate 3, adventurers can tune in on Twitch (including our Twitch channel) to earn some in-game loot. You will need to watch for two hours to earn the full set of Camp Clothing Set. These include some snazzy Streamhopper Loafers, Channelers Trunks, Periwinkle Undergarments and Chatterbox’s Tabard. They’re all in a lovely shade of purple, which will make any character stand out from the crowd.

The campaign will begin Aug 3rd at 9:00 AM PDT ending on Aug 17th 9:00 AM PDT.

The Camp Clothing Set includes the following 4 items:

• Chatterbox’s Tabard
• Streamhopper Loafers
• Periwinkle Undergarments
• Channeler’s Trunks

Baldur’s Gate 3 Launch Times/PC Specs

If you’ve been wondering exactly what time Baldur’s Gate 3 will drop in your timezone, Larian has shared a handy map for the PC launch. There will be no pre-load and the game will take up roughly 122 GB. This game is big, and the file size definitely lives up to that expectation.

Cross-Save

While the PS5 version won’t launch until Sept 6th, cross-save compatibility will be available. Meaning you can start your adventure on PC/Steam deck and continue playing on PS5 if you wish. PC will support 4K and ultrawide monitors.

To play BG3 at 1440p at 60fps, you will need a decent CPU and GeForce 3060 or equivalent. To crank it up to 4K Larian recommends a high end GeForce 4080/4090 or AMD equivalent. Those who opt for Nvidia can take advantage of DLSS, and achieve lower requirements to make 4K work.

August 3rd

Los Angeles – 8 AM
New York/Quebec – 11 AM
Rio De Janiero – 12 PM
Dublin – 4 PM
Gent – 5 PM
Kuala Lumpur – 11 PM

August 4th

Tokyo – 12 AM
Sydney – 1 AM
Auckland – 3 AM

Excited for the launch? We are too! That’s why you better keep an eye on our Baldur’s Gate 3 content and Twitch stream. Don’t forget to venture to our wiki for all your Forgotten Realm needs. Check out our Preorder guide if you still considering whether to roll the dice.

For more news find it here in Phantom Blade Zero Demo Set for 2024 and Path of Exile 2 Will Be A BIG Standalone Sequel.

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S-GAME reveals at ChinaJoy 2023 that a demo will be coming for the Action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero in 2024.

Phantom Blade Zero Demo Set for 2024

The kungfupunk Action-RPG Phantom Blade Zero made an appearance at ChinaJoy 2023. The title which debuted during Playstation’s May Showcase, is a mix of Wuxai-styled combat mixed in with some steampunk. A 30-minute demo is planned for sometime in 2024. The title will be coming to both PC and PS5.

The prequel, a side-scrolling action game called Phantom Blade: Executions is expected to release on PS5. PS4, PC via Steam, as well as iOS and Android in 2023.

Director of Phantom Blade zero confirms a 30 minutes playable demo of the project will be available on 2024! pic.twitter.com/4ifrQojGTp

— Phantom Blade Zero (@pbzero_official) July 30, 2023

According to a recent interview with Wccftech, the title which is being developed with Unreal Engine 5, is aiming to support two modes, 2K at 60 fps and 4K at 30 fps. However, this may not be set in stone as the devs are still trying to get Phantom Blade Zero running at 4K at 60 fps.

Developer Soulframe also discussed the difference between switching from purely mobile development to PC and consoles. They highlighted how the experience means more freedom in terms of “actual creativity” and finding the switch more enjoyable compared to the “troubles” that came with mobile development. There are also fewer hardware limitations, now being able to make games run on more intensive platforms.

If you were wondering about character progression, Phantom Blade Zero will focus on Action-RPG with “character progression elements”. While they didn’t go into detail how this will be carried out, you can expect a rich storyline and gameplay. You will also be able to team up in co-op but it looks like the main campaign will be a solo experience.

We will design multiplayer experiences for some endgame content.

Soulframe Liang – CEO of S-Game – Interview via Wccftech

In case you missed it, Phantom Blade Zero follows the path of Soul who escapes the clutches of The Order. This ex-assassin doesn’t leave unscathed. He stumbles upon a mystic healer who has the power to save him…But there’s a catch. He has 66 days to live, to find out the truth behind what went down.

Developer S-Frame is relatively new to PC/console development, focusing on mobile games in the past. However, they are looking to bring their mix of Wuxia-styled combat and gorgeous dark fantasy visuals to current platforms in what they dub “kungfupunk“. Inspirations are drawn from games such as Nioh, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice and Ninja Gaiden. Throw in some classic Hong Kong films, Japanese manga and some John Wick revenge plot, you’ve got a smorgasbord of martial arts combat.

Phantom Blade Zero will be heading to PC and PS5. No release date has been announced but a demo is expected to launch in 2024.

For more news find it here in Path of Exile 2 Will Be A BIG Standalone Sequel. Get a rundown of recent RPG news here This Week in RPGs – July 30th, 2023.

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