Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail launches with two new jobs, and the Final Fantasy VI-inspired Pictomancer joins Viper this summer as the second DPS addition. If you were hoping to discover when exactly during Fan Fest, sorry — you'll have to wait a bit. However, FFXIV Patch 6.55 launches this month, on January 16.

During this year's Tokyo Fan Festival, director and producer Naoki Yoshida took to the stage to show off Dawntrail's Dawntrailer in its entirety. The new, lengthier footage features Krile joining the Scions as the vibrant casting Job, Pictomancer, and a request to hang tight on a specific release date. It's coming, but the best he can do for now is still that summer window.

"We will not be releasing on Square Enix time; we will be releasing on [Final Fantasy] XIV time, which means properly in summer," Yoshida said. "So we will work very hard to get you that info as soon as possible and will have it for you next time, so thank you for your patience."

Yoshi-P explained his rationale behind the decision, noting he didn't want another Endwalker situation. For those who weren't around for the ordeal, the game saw a two-week delay for its Endwalker release rather close to the actual launch. While some of the community was rather understanding, others were a bit frustrated given the last-minute nature.

As for Pictomancer, it's another caster job joining the FFXIV roster, this time taking its inspirations from Final Fantasy VI's adorable artist, Relm Arrowny. Krile fits the bill for the roll well, and another one of those reasons I'd encourage my Lore-hungry friends to dive into Eureka.

Square Enix announced its fifth FFXIV expansion, Dawntrail, at its Las Vegas Fan Festival event last year. At the follow-up event in London, Yoshi-P and his team also shared other FFXIV update staples, like a new job announcement, with the reveal of Viper. Version 7.0 ushers in a new era of the MMO as it wrapped up several major story beats in 2021's Endwalker.

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There's just a couple of winners left to announce as Destructoid's GOTY awards wrap up for the year, and that includes our staff pick for the Best PC Game of 2023.

This year offered a healthy spread of genres, and studios big and small wound up making our cut. Some of our favorite indies that didn't wind up competing for that genre's award wound up here, as Slay the Princess, Cocoon, and BattleBit Remastered compete for a spot among PC greats.

Starfield is competing here too — there's no reality in which I'm playing that on consoles without mods, and it seems a lot of us are in the same boat. There's also Baldur's Gate 3, Dave the Diver, and Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty on our nominees list, but Larian's brain tadpoles ultimately win here.

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It's 2023 and my miles-long PlayStation 2 backlog is still eyeballing me, but there sure were a lot of good games on PS5 this year worth jumping on — with a few of those available on PS4, too.

Over the last few weeks, the Destructoid crew has been juggling around nominees and winners for our GOTY 2023 picks, and this year's line-up didn't make those conversations very cut-and-dry. On the PlayStation front, our best PS4/PS5 game nominees list could easily pass for something over a decade old; it's very Destructoid.

Final Fantasy pops up twice, once with a proper mainline entry, FFXVI, and again as an adorable rhythm game spin-off in Theathrythm. We also saw gems like Armored Core 6 and Alan Wake 2, games I wouldn't have put money on as getting sequels but was happily proven wrong. Octopath Traveler 2 debuted earlier this year, too, with a refined, brilliant formula. Then Marvel's Spider-Man 2 and Street Fighter 6 round things out with additions to both namesakes we're all still rambling about.

Whatever your favorite, we could only pick one, and it's going to the Square Enix RPG. Okay, I reckon that's not specific enough — Destructoid's winner for Best PS4/PS5 Game of 2023 is Final Fantasy XVI.

Final Fantasy XVI is full of departures from series norms and still faithful to weaving its namesake in through and through. As an action game, combat is more Devil May Cry than anything else, and the massive jump from turn-based systems remains one of its most divisive directions.

This one marries a lot of Final Fantasy XIV with the series' usual single-player approach, too. FFXVI telegraphs its battles in ways XIV players should find familiar, putting heavy emphasis on timing. A successful encounter feels a little more like nailing a dance number, while older entries favor Chess. And for those of us bad at both, it's at least worth playing for another Cid.

As one of the industry's most formative RPG series, escaping the shadow cast by beloved creators and older Final Fantasy games remains a constant obstacle for newer entries. Regardless of feelings on some of its execution, it does that and delivers something worthy of its spot among series greats.

So here's to you, Final Fantasy XVI. Congratulations to our other nominees as well. This year was rather hellish, but just the process of spinning up our favorite picks was a good reminder of how much creativity and talent we saw this year. As a reminder, our nominees included:

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As we head into one of the last holiday weekends of the year, we're wrapping up GOTY-related announcements with more nominees. This time, it's for Destructoid's best PC game of 2023, and I reckon you already know it's a competitive bunch.

We've already hit the PlayStation and Xbox consoles, along with more specific categories like best indie and ongoing game. Looking back, I realize 2023 is one of the toughest years for GOTY choices I've had in ages, and I'm thankful this was a staff-wide endeavor; otherwise, this list would've taken until next year to shape up.

As always, our platform categories don't mean the game only released on that platform. Plenty of the nominees here launched on both console and PC, but our formula still keeps games limited to one nomination in any given category. In the spirit of PC gaming, we approached this with more of a "Is this the preferred way to play?" — same with consoles. Anyway, here's some really good games.

Starfield

Look, as far as I'm concerned, until we get mod support on Xbox then Starfield is a PC-only release. I'm joking (kind of), but Bethesda's modding community is too damn good to ignore. But on that note, perhaps put the open-world RPG on your wishlist any way you can, as our swiss-army knife of a staff writer Steven Mills gave it the rare 10/10, making it one of Destructoid's "essentials."

In his review, Steven concluded:

"I wasn’t sure if it could be done, but Bethesda has managed to raise the bar for sandbox games even higher. In the end, Starfield is an epic sandbox open-world RPG with a beautifully immersive universe, a captivating story, and fun and compelling gameplay the whole way."

Cocoon

Cocoon is among the year's major visual delights. Even as someone who long grew tired of more puzzle-focused titles, Geometric Interactive demands attention with Cocoon's bright pops of color and bizarre biomes. It's got this smooth balance in its gradual incline to the more difficult mysteries, and even for those of us who don't immediately rise to the challenge, it's satisfying to poke around and fail.

Perhaps it's no surprise, but the puzzler comes from the lead gameplay designer on Limbo and Inside Jeppe Carlsen. It's not nearly as grim as the two of those, but there's still a lot to the alien world that's hauntingly mysterious and loaded with "aha!" moments of brilliance.

Slay the Princess

What a damn good year for indies, doubly so if you're into cosmic horror and visual novels. Slay the Princess delivers on all fronts, with a premise and art style just as striking as its name. In hindsight, my image choice makes this look like a very nice, to-the-point, Princess Peach rescue-style situation. It's not.

Usually, senior editor Eric Van Allen's tastes line up well with my own, so his word was enough for the sale. In Eric's review of Slay the Princess, he's got plenty of praise to offer, and sums it up with:

"It’s about the interpersonal relationships that can wound us, make us versions of ourselves we never imagined, yet teach us. It is a damn good story, and one worth experiencing."

Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty

I'll say it right off the bat: I'm not in the camp of belief that you can't count Cyberpunk 2077: Phantom Liberty as its own thing or even as something that was ongoing. Expansions, add-ons, DLC — whatever, there's a whole valid debate there for next year on where we need to see new categories, but the RPG delivered on PC with more cleanup and intrigue in a "fitting swan song for Cyberpunk 2077."

Our senior editor's description fits, as CDPR's RPG, for real this time, just launched its last big update on December 5 with the Ultimate Edition. Whatever becomes of the series' future, Phantom Liberty was a good place to bookend our adventures in 2077's Night City.

BattleBit Remastered

It's always nice to find another gem playable on my ancient relic of a laptop. BattleBit Remastered low-poly massive FPS battleground is easy to pick up and put down for some satisfying chaos with friends or just 200-something strangers. It's a nice change from some of its massively online genre cousins, and even in the chaos of having way too many people around you in a firefight, BattleBit plays keeps up just fine.

This was one of those games that hit big in the year and somehow missed until the very end, but the arsenal of vehicles, combat role focus, and destructible arena scratch an itch I'm not getting from the more mainstream. Bonus points here for keeping anti-cheat woes top of mind; when I get a new Steam Deck, it'll (hopefully) join my very short list of multiplayer games where EAC didn't rain on the portable experience.

Baldur's Gate 3

If there were a "game with most characters Andrea would like to kiss" award, it'd go to Baldur's Gate 3. And while I really don't want to put words in their mouth, I think the sentiment rings true for all two of us named Andrea at Destructoid. Contributor of excessively good takes, Andrea Gonzalez, wrote about how BG3 is a delightful dating sim. Andrea Shearon approves.

Okay, okay — outside of all the love-dovey stuff, BG3 is the incredible culmination of a CRPG that spent years in early access, with developer Larian Studios tweaking the formula with fan feedback along the way and delivering this massive, choice-driven adventure. It's also one I refuse to play on a console, so here we are.

Dave the Diver

I've always heard it's pretty damn hard to find success as a restaurateur, and Dave's experience here says as much. Developer Mintorocket's adventure RPG drops the pro Scuba diver into a cheeky journey with his friends opening a sushi business. At night, you'll deal with the restaurant. In the day, you'll fight underwater creatures like a half-crab, half-tractor (?) abomination.

It's all to keep the business going. The juggle between grinding for fish and managing the sushi spot was one Destructoid contributor Christine Choi adored. In her review, Christine mentions how she "can't put it down" as Dave the Diver aces the balance between gameplay styles and delivers something lighthearted, engaging, and easy to take at your own pace.

What’s next on Destructoid’s GOTY schedule

We're reaching the halfway point as Destructoid's nominee announcements draw to a close. Next week, on December 18, check in again as we reveal this year's winners.

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Deck the halls, write to Santa, and update your respective consoles before the traditional Christmas network outages. 'Tis the season, so we're wrapping up another year of gaming at Destructoid with 2023's best games, and that includes a heavy-hitting category of PlayStation nominees.

Destructoid's process is pretty simple, our very own Eric Van Allen explains as much in his Indie Nominees rundown. Games can only be nominated in one category, and our 'year' begins in December 2022 — December 2023 games don't make the cut.

Anyway, in the spirit of kicking another holiday hornet's nest, here's our nominees for best PS4 / PS5 game of the year.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2

Insomniac's last Spider-Man game launched in 2018, thus kicking off this category's theme of "What year is it again?" — I had to double-check that after suggesting we just got one of these within the last couple of years.

Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is the quintessential Sony recommendation for folks looking to buy the current-gen PlayStation. It's polished to a degree that remains beyond impressive and captivating, even to those not into the whole superhero scene. Miles Morales steals the show as a series favorite, and all of the usual staples like webslinging, New York neighborhoods, and, of course, Venom, return in a show of Spider-Man's best. It's one that really sold me on Spidey's direction going forward, and I certainly wasn't the only one.

Final Fantasy XVI

Though it just launched in June this year, Final Fantasy XVI was one of those games I was certain came out last year, but no, I'm just turning into dust. The hazy time-lapse is equal parts owed to the build-up and fanfare around another entry to the Final Fantasy series and how much of the year RPG lovers spent sequestered off with a screen.

In our review, Eric confirmed one of my biggest suspicions: Final Fantasy XVI is a Final Fantasy game. Perhaps it's not my favorite, but that's not much of a critique in a series full of titans that established and inspired developers for decades. Clive's journey is a flashy, Devil May Cry-inspired adventure fusing some of the best inspirations from the sights and sounds of FFXIV: Heavensward into a lengthy, single-player RPG.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon

As a mech girly, I'm always rooting for any game with gargantuan robots and metal-on-metal sparkling firefights. Thankfully, this year didn't leave me wanting as Armored Core 6 debuted to critical praise, and that includes our own review where Destructoid's head honcho Chris Carter reassured longtime fans that "the spark of the series is still very much alive" in Fires of Rubicon.

After such a lengthy stint between series releases, Armored Core's 2023 resurrection was certainly among the year's bigger surprises, but FromSoft more than delivered yet again. I've probably hit a fail state in Armored Core VI more times than all of the other games on this list combined, but I keep going back to it for more. That's more impressive when you consider there's a rhythm game below.

Street Fighter 6

There's a reason talk of a Capcom "Golden Age" keeps happening, and Street Fighter VI feels a bit symbolic of that. The classic fighter saw plenty of praise and held its own in a year packed with other Capcom darlings like Resident Evil 4 and Monster Hunter.

As a button-masher, it's one of the few fighting games I'm willing to revisit when the shine of "new release" wears off and my friends have moved on. Its sprawling roster, upcoming collaborations, and support from Capcom turn Street Fighter VI into a constant spectacle that's just as much fun to bumble your way through as it is to watch on the big screens of EVO.

Theathrythm Final Bar Line

Ah, the bane of my existence, Theathrythm. I say that in the most loving way possible, as my endless Theathrythm replays on 3DS destroyed my handheld's buttons, and I figure the same is soon true for my PlayStation controllers.

That's a very roundabout way of saying Final Bar Line absolutely rules. While the bar (ha, bar, get it?) for spin-offs isn't very high, there's nothing about this latest entry that feels like a cheap afterthought. It's just as much proper rhythm game as it is impassioned love letter to Final Fantasy. All year long, I've lost nights to replaying a handful of tracks, desperately honing my skills to crank the difficulty up just a little more. And even if that's not your cup of tea, its guided tributes to the past are still worth the time.

Alan Wake 2

As an editor, I'm obviously partial to the work my team does, but if we had a category for 'review of the year,' I'd throw Smangaliso Simelane's piece on Alan Wake 2 into the ring for the title without a second thought. In the 9/10 review, Smangaliso concluded:

"I can say that it’s one of my favorite titles in an extremely competitive year. Not only has it redefined what I believe video game narratives are capable of, but it also left me invigorated to see how Remedy will innovate once again."

Sold — anyway, with how everyone talks about Alan Wake, I deeply regret not diving into the first one. Remedy's gorgeously dismal setting calls for me in many of the same ways Control initially did, using bold, striking pops of light and color for the initial hook. Then, it's suddenly 3 a.m. on a Monday, but I swear I only meant to play an hour or two.

Octopath Traveler 2

It's 2023, but this looks like what I imagined games would as a little thing in the late '90s and early '00s. Octopath Traveler 2 squared up in a year full of other gorgeous pixel art games like Sea of Stars, but held its own as an RPG powered by industry veterans.

Even as someone just a few hours in with an end-of-the-year cram session, the second game seems to fix some of my pain points from the original Octopath Traveler, all while maintaining the art direction and music I adored. Of course, once again, my RPG-enthused coworker Eric Van Allen reviewed the classic throwback, noting: "It somehow has everything I’d want out of an RPG inspired by the old days, but moving forward into new ones too. "

What's next for Destructoid's GOTY?

For those of you curious as to where we'll land, check back on December 18 for our best of PlayStation winner. And with all of that said, here's our quick, bulleted nominees list to refresh you for discussions:

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Whenever I revisit my earliest RPG loves, I often find that the thick fog of '90s nostalgia does more harm than good. I’ve spent far too much time fondly recalling the way I saw certain games as a kid with a big imagination, only to realize some of those adventures don’t quite measure up in the same ways now.

As much as we like to ask for remakes of beloved classics like Chrono Trigger or Final Fantasy IX, the thought of such remade experiences makes my jaw reflexively clench. Messy remakes not only muddle fond memories, they occasionally blunder the wonders and themes of the originals. And while I’ve embraced more remasters and faithful from-the-ground-up rebuilds over the last few years, I always feel a tiny pit of anxiety looming when RPGs I adored roll back into the spotlight.

Thankfully, Star Ocean: The Second Story R absolutely bucks that trend. Ahead of its November 2 launch, I’ve spent ample time with Star Ocean 2’s ambitious remake, and the adventure remains a delight more than 20 years later. In fact, The Second Story R is a rare trip down memory lane that modernizes the original game while retaining all the qualities I loved so much as a child.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R (PC [Reviewed], Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5)
Developer: Gemdrops, Inc
Publisher: Square Enix
Released: November 2, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

A tale of two worlds

While I’m admittedly a fan of all things Star Ocean — yes, all things — The Second Story on PlayStation remains my favorite to this day. The 1998 sequel didn’t invent every formula the space-faring series follows, but it definitively raised the bar for Action RPGs. The 2023 iteration in Second Story R is only additive, polishing away the imperfections that often come with decades-old ideas.

In the spirit of a new adventure into the unknown, I played as Claude C. Kenny in my initial playthrough, and, whoops, that’s something I should’ve done back in the day. The Second Story R still sports its dual-protagonist system, and though I was endlessly faithful to Rena’s Dias-exclusive route ages ago, I see how Claude’s introduction may better set the tone for anyone unfamiliar with some of Star Ocean’s twists and tricks.

Either way, pick who you want. The Second Story R remains just as packed with the same charm, drama, and existential musings as its ‘90s and early 2000s RPG contemporaries. You’ll dabble a little in the ethical dilemmas posed by space travel, fight otherwordly beasties, save the universe, and still make time for late-night angst at the inn. When I say it’s got the staples of the greats, I mean that in every regard.

Bright and bloomy

Claude, Rena, and the rest of their gang would be nothing without the original’s enchanting static backgrounds and expressive sprites. Despite adoring the look and feel of modern throwbacks like Octopath Traveler 2, I had my reservations about how that 2D-HD aesthetic would affect a world already so endeared. I've been burned too many times seeing timeless pixel art ruined with blurry abominations and painfully performing ports.

However, if the present were to apologize to the past, I reckon the apology would look something like The Second Story R. Those overly animated sprites and whimsical environments added so much soul to '90s RPGs, and Star Ocean completely retains those qualities. Rather than fix what isn't broken, it instead merges that beautiful art style with 3D landscapes crafted fittingly to memory. The cleaned-up dialogue and translation certainly help in this case, too.

If you recall an NPC there and a town here, chances are Second Story R remembered it, too. It’s certainly no one-for-one journey, but the big pieces all remain. Frankly, if I hadn’t pulled up maps to compare this remake against the original, I would’ve told you they're both the same content-wise. Thankfully, my recollection of the world map aided me through my second pass, which is better served by new designs, lighting, and animations.

Better served is no exaggeration, either. While I love some of those old, open-world maps from way back then, the new look makes retreading the same handful of locales less of a slog. There’s water refraction! And clearer details in the distance dotted with defined landmarks! There’s also enough bloom to light the world for miles, but honestly, I dig the heavy-handed lighting. It’s another layer to the fantastical here, which makes every frame of those introspective or exciting story moments pop even more.

That said, a few of those moments don’t hit quite the same as they did when I was a kid. That resounding thud my heart makes as it hits the floor after one dramatic, early story sequence isn’t as loud now as it was back in the day. Perhaps it’s thanks to the bitterness of age, or maybe those PlayStation graphics just made the situation look far more dire than it was. Fortunately, this wasn't a problem I often encountered. Second Story R’s makeover stays faithfully stunning overall.

Third Evolution

Meanwhile, Second Story R spares no expense in modernizing its mechanics. And though I have a heart for those original visuals, you'll find no sentimentality from me when it comes to negotiating those tired and trodden systems. For example, someone, somewhere, asked why we spent five to seven business days moving between towns and dungeons in the original game. As a result, the remake wastes no time offering you the means to transport anywhere with Fast Travel. Don’t worry — the Bunny Call remains. If you know, you know.

My delight doubles when you couple Fast Travel with The Second Story R’s new map markers and the original game's Private Action (PA) system. Star Ocean’s PAs are mini cutscenes between party members, with some only available under certain circumstances. If you aren’t careful, they’ll disappear if you move the plot along too far. That always felt punitive considering there are ending cutscenes locked behind triggering dozens of these events, with no clear indication of how these moments impact your party members or their relationships with each other. If you weren't following a guide back then, those systems were purely vibes-based.

Now, instead of anxiously exploring for these secrets between story beats, the Fast Travel map flags sub-events and Private Actions for your attention. They aren’t cleverly disguised or ambiguous; scenes gated by time limits are presented in clean, straightforward directions that don’t activate my fight or flight from clutter. Additionally, you can freely toggle in and out of Private Action mode now. On the PlayStation, I remember leaving and reentering cities between each cutscene — praying I’d exhausted any sequences in the zone before I was locked out.

An RPG of Second Story’s scope was, and still is, a lot of trial and error. But when you remove barriers that feel more like mean-spirited time sinks, the error part of that equation doesn’t aggravate or demoralize its player into begrudgingly moving on or hitting reset with a sigh.

In with the new

In the past, I'd never recommend playing the original PlayStation incarnation of Star Ocean 2 without an arsenal of decades-old guide tabs cluttering your browser. However, I’m perfectly comfortable recommending Second Story R without an encyclopedia of resources now. Sure, you may miss out on some min-maxing, but I fumbled my way through Claude’s story with the hazy memory of Rena’s campaign lighting the way. My run even included easily recruiting two party members — Opera and Ernest — that I didn't even know existed in the original game. I realize there are 20-something years separating the occasion, but let’s chalk it up to streamlined designs.

Quality of life tweaks extend beyond the broader world and into character menus too. I can double-check party member relationships between events with handy heart indicators, giving me a clear sign to reload when I’ve upset Celine again. The rest be damned, I’m just trying to make her and Opera happy.

I didn't notice any changes to recruitment paths or party capacity. However, there's a new system to implement sidelined characters through support-like functions called Assault Actions. If you’ve ever played a fighting game that lets you tag in a second character for an attack, it’s much of the same here.

Assault Actions assign slots to party members you’ve retired, providing a strategic helping hand on a limited cooldown. Along the way, I picked up a few key items, unlocking visitors from other entries, too. They didn’t impact the world beyond battle, but I do love being a guy named Claude C. Kenny summoning another guy named Fayt Leingod to back me up — very Star Ocean.

Keep the fluff

Perhaps the affair could have felt much shorter since Gemdrops’ take on Second Story streamlines content without major sacrifices. But the developer and Square Enix added to its bulk, too. Item Creation and Specialties — the game’s plethora of specific crafting systems and other extras — remain, but with a few extra ingredients.

I found myself straying off dozens of times. Not for Private Actions or missable characters, but so I could chip away at the RPG’s new questing features that propelled those mechanics along. Guild Missions offer to-do lists between cities, assigning you special crafting projects that double as a handy way to encourage experimental play.

Challenge Missions build upon that with four difficulty options — they’re like mini-achievements. For someone who often complains about frivolous bloat embedded within the genre, I sure found myself enamored with completing goals like composing 15 songs or reaching max rank Master Chef before it ever mattered. Second Story R even adds fishing to the mix, and while there’s nothing even marginally special there, I sure did embark on lengthy voyages to complete my fish database.

A Divine Force

Over the years, Star Ocean never quite blossomed into a series so universally beloved as some of its RPG siblings. The PSP editions offered a spark of hope that I’d see the name return with less divisive staples to the genre, but generations of consoles came and went with newer games only souring the name's reputation. I’ve spent decades insisting that Till the End of Time isn't so bad if you simply ignore half of it. But truthfully, it’s only with an earnest sense of cheek I remind you of the series’ goofier side.

Star Ocean 2, by comparison, requires way fewer asterisks to recommend. And if you ever wanted to know why so many fans still continue to stick up for this series, this is the game that will explain it. It was a classic when it came out decades ago, and it's still a classic today. Even if you don't root for the series after playing this one, it's still a game that every RPG fan should check out. And with the remake, there's arguably never been a better time to experience Claude and Rena's stories for yourself.

Star Ocean: The Second Story R recaptures all the otherworldly wonder of its PlayStation predecessor. The rough edges of the original are now smooth to the touch, and the enhanced visuals amplify that classic pixel art aesthetic in a way that few remakes pull off. It’s a thoughtful snapshot encapsulating RPGs of the era, retaining all the passion and whimsy I remember so fondly. I loved this look back at Star Ocean's past, and I hope this marks a new beginning for the series' future.

_{[This review is based on a retail build of the game provided by the publisher.]}

The post Review: Star Ocean: The Second Story R appeared first on Destructoid.

Your citizens may not have the best life in Cities Skylines 2 right now, but Paradox and Colossal Order are working on performance issues in the new city builder. And while there's a long list of what's wrong, citizens' teeth aren't among the biggest concerns - so says the devs.

Right - I'm talking about the people of your fantasy city having resource-hogging teeth, but apparently it's not quite as bad as players initially worried over. On Reddit, user Hexcoder0 shared an image of... teeth. Well, more like a screenshot of teeth meshes you can find on citizens by poking around game files.

Originally, they hypothesized Cities Skylines 2 performance issues were made worse by the game rendering individual teeth and no LOD (level of detail) to generate those chompers with less detailed versions of the models. To their credit, they noted there could be mechanisms in place they're unaware of, and the inspection uses third-party performance tools to inspect what's causing stress on your PC.

According to the devs, the character models do need more work, but they aren't affecting performance in the ways you may think. In a statement to Destructoid, Publisher Paradox Interactive and developer Colossal Order said:

"Citizen lifepath feature does not tie to citizen geometry and does not affect the performance figures of the characters. We know the characters require further work, as they are currently missing their LODs which affect some parts of performance. We are working on bringing these to the game along general LODs improvements across all game assets. Characters feature a lot of details that, while seemingly unnecessary now, will become relevant in the future of the project."

Colossal Order and Paradox reference further plans for the Lifepath features in Cities Skylines 2. Not all citizen-related aspects are in Cities just yet, but they do note this is important for later use. However, the statement acknowledges the lack of LOD and some performance hits, but it sounds like that's not major concern.

As for other Cities Skylines 2 performance fixes, the developer just launched another patch yesterday addressing optimization. For now, the patch is only available on Steam, but should follow up soon on the Microsoft Store. Some updates include improvements to fog, Depth of Field, stuttering, and Global Illumination. It sounds like the teeth cleaning check-up comes later.

The post Cities Skylines 2 devs say teeth are not responsible for performance problem appeared first on Destructoid.

Today's Xbox showcase debuted new footage and releases for games headed to Game Pass and Series X|S devices, including Ark, Like A Dragon, Alan Wake 2, and more.

New reveals for other games, like Robocop: Rogue City, The Final, and Ikaro: Will Not Die, were also featured at the show. While they aren't all brand-new titles, we did see gameplay reveals and demonstrations for games planning a 2024 launch, and even a few coming up soon. For a full list, keep scrolling; we've included the TLDR plus the Xbox Showcase trailer.

Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth adds Animal Crossing

Release Date: January 26, 2024
Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, PC (Steam, Windows), PS4, PS5
Yakuza can, and will, get all of us into the series someway, somehow. During today's Xbox Partner showcase, developer Ryu Ga Gotoku debuted footage from Like a Dragon: Infinite Welath's DonDoko Island getaway mode. It's like Animal Crossing, just not for the small children in your life. Anyway, the island looks to maintain the endearing series humor, and I dig it.

First look at Metal Gear Solid Snake Eater

Release Date: TBD
Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC
The 2004 PlayStation 2 MGS3 is back, almost 20 years later, as Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater. The Xbox showcase delivered Konami's first in-engine look at the remake in Unreal Engine 5. It's drastically different from the game I played as a child, but if you asked me to describe it back then, it'd probably be something this dramatic and intense.

Ark: Survival Ascended gameplay footage

Available Now
Xbox Series X|S, PS5
Ark, one of the earlier go-to survival games, is getting a top-to-bottom remake. This Unreal Engine 5 version adds cross-platform modding and major overhauls to the dino adventure you're familiar with. New creature intelligence, physics, lighting, and rendering systems aim to deliver Ark, plus all of its DLC, in a modern, upgraded experience.

Alan Wake 2 launch trailer featuring Saga

Release Date: October 27, 2023
Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC (Epic Games Stores)
We're close to Alan Wake 2's big day with just two days left. Today's Xbox Preview showcase delivered one more tease to hold fans over until it's time to revisit the writer's horror story. In the latest footage, we get a glimpse of Saga Anderson's side of the tale and a few monsters that I really nail the whole demonic-ex-smoker vibe.

Still Wakes the Deep

Release Date: 2024
Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass, PS5, PC (Steam)
I can't believe it's taken us this long to get a game about a hellish oil rig — it seems so obvious now. The studio behind Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, The Chinese Room, is working on a horrifying, first-person action game delivering just that. The latest trailer is an eerie tour through the collapsing oil rig full of distant screams and nerve-wracking dives.

Dungeons of Hinterberg

Release Date: 2024
Xbox Series X|S, Game Pass
Dungeons of Hinterberg appeals to the cottagecore, Zelda lover in me. Another look at this action-adventure RPG showed off combat, cozy hangouts, and how you'll grow relationships as Luisa. Developer Curve Games cheekily calls it a "slaycation," as you'll balance dungeon challenges with socializing in the Austrian Alps. It's a striking one, with its vibrant, almost coloring-book-style art and charming designs. My list of cozy games grows longer.

Spirit of the North 2

Release Date: TBD
Xbox Series X|S, PS5, PC (Steam, Epic Games Store)
I'll never grow tired of a sad-looking animal game. Once again, Spirit of the North follows a lonely fox (this one's different) and adds a Raven companion to the journey. The original adventure from Infuse Studio was all about atmosphere and nature in a journey to find your way home. The sequel looks like a lovely return to the same spirit but given the added benefit of time and new consoles.

Manor Lords

Release Date: April 26, 2024 (Game Preview)
PC Game Pass, Steam
This city builder goes back to Ye Olde Days. Instead of highrises and bus routes, you'll build the village well and marketplace. The latest trailer shows off Manor Lords' regional divides, wars, and day-to-day life. It may not offer any modern marvels, but it certainly looks like there's a lot to do for folks itching to try another city-building sim.

The post Everything shown at the Xbox Partner Preview appeared first on Destructoid.

It’s hard to tell when you’re done with a game like Cities: Skylines 2. I’ve got a habit of playing anything with a similar hook until I hate it. It’s typically weeks upon weeks of fascination, and then I drop it when I’ve exhausted every point of novelty backward and forwards. It’s not my usual habit, but when I find a sim, a survival game, an MMO, or something of that nature, and it just clicks, that’s usually my go-to for a while.

I find there’s a lot of that pull in most games even tangentially related, whether it’s the building mechanics in Valheim or the budgeting of another Theme Park sim. If you ask me where you’ll find Cities: Skylines 2 on my scale of teeth-grinding fury to infinitely satisfying, it’s hard to say right now. It’s somewhere at the intersection of tedium and delight — at any given moment, I can’t tell if I’m more frustrated or charmed by its sea of menus, alerts, and tools.

In its current state, Cities certainly has its problems, most of which involve performance. Developer Colossal Order has been upfront about as much, and for the purposes of my review, I've played two builds. This latest one I've gotten pretty recently, so I can't speak to the game as a whole, but I can share my experience thus far until I work out a final perspective.

Cities Skylines 2 (PC [Reviewed], Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5)
Developer: Colossal Order
Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Released: October 24, 2023
MSRP: $49.99

Zoned for improvements

Perhaps you’ve inferred as much from the screenshots, but I’m no civil engineer. I do, however, get a real kick out of perfectly lining up tiles in Cities: Skylines 2. I like zoning off new buildings for construction, eagerly waiting to see what type of business pops up from my random selection of tiles. It’s usually followed by a whirr of satisfaction as my little town — lovingly named Mississippi 2 — acknowledges I’ve yet again met the citizens’ needs. I named it after my home state; the two is there because I probably should’ve built more storm shelters in the first one. I abandoned it at the first sign of bad weather and no funds. True to its namesake, at least.

Anyway, that’s how all of my games start, and it’s easy enough to focus on a budding little corner of the map as Cities gets rolling. I use the City Information meters in the lower left to tell me how things are going at a glance, while clicking the menu delivers a more detailed report. A lot of the menus in the sequel are familiar, improved versions of what fans of the original building sim already know, but this one gets more in the weeds while remaining easy to read. Instead of a vague "we need residential buildings," my citizens explain exactly what types of housing they're looking for.

That's part of the balancing act — the things I adore about the sim so easily become what I hate. I spent what felt like forever in tutorial after tutorial, with most of those things never really clicking until I was actually doing them. If you're already just vaguely familiar with the first, it shouldn't be a problem, but if this is your first god-mayor gig, just prepare for a hefty learning curve. Cities: Skylines 2 is not really good at teaching you how to play, but when you get it, there's plenty of pride and satisfaction to unlock hidden behind the game's Milestone and Development reward trees.

The pitfalls of perfection

In the trial and error phase, I'm sure I made enough little towns to start my own disastrously run country, but that's part of the fun in getting it just right. Cities offers to let you build with unlimited funds and everything unlocked from the jump, but I prefer the highs and lows of burning my world down through poor budgeting before building it right back up. Taking those lessons learned from one community right into another and in the next, so maybe instead of going broke at the Busy Town rank, I make it to Metropolis instead.

And while the journey between Milestones is mostly driven by the little dings of satisfaction and figuring out the formula, the tools to make it work feel a bit finicky. I don't mind the 30-something infographics in the corner, reporting on everything from sewage systems to tourism. What I do mind is that my road tools, seemingly for no reason, decide they can't make the elevation leap from point A to point B, even when I've conquered less complex designs elsewhere on the map. All of my furious clicking doesn't seem to indicate, "I don't know what you're colliding with, but just pave over it."

I don’t like building on slopes; that one’s definitely in the annoying pile. I found ways to work around that obstacle, though. When I start a new city, I typically flatten the whole damn thing out with the Terrain Tool, and so far, at least, that one is fairly easy to use, considering the nature of it. It saves me a lot of headaches later, and as I buy up surrounding tiles to expand my city, it's easy enough to gently slope up or down to any new zones and connect them. But if you're a visitor in the great, sprawling metropolis of Mississippi 2, Coerthas, or Mt. Destructoid, don't laugh at my very flat, very obvious starter tile.

Most of the customization frustrates me; the limited look and feel of building types lose their appeal when it's the same hospital shape or bus terminal for the millionth time. I reckon that's a lot of my longing for mods, and though I didn't play the first as much as other sims, I was a fan of how involved and creative the Cities: Skylines scene for user-made content is.

I'm still trying to get a feel for exports and imports. One of my latest adventures involved making a rather conservative rail system to help my city as the population really took off, but the flow of cargo facilitated by shiny new trains didn't seem to make much of a dent in growth. My city quickly floundered, despite how careful I thought I'd been, and though I kept cranking down service costs, pausing some operations, and completely cut expansion, I couldn't tell you why my rail system bled money so fast. Just as the tutorial advised, I dropped it in close to a neighboring city's line with the hopes of paving the way to a new trade route, but I would've been better off not spending hours tinkering with the perfect setup.

Instead, I'd advise most people to keep making new, messy cities over and over until they nail the formula. As it is, clunky systems and their complexities are miserable if you've spent too much time invested in the perfect road curve or park placement. It's easy to become fixated on those things, but not worth the effort until you've learned what's supposed to happen.

It's a construction zone

Ultimately, what I'm getting to is, just like the appeal in the first, there's a delicate place to balance just how frustrating some of these city-building tasks can be before they're more of a bummer, but I do find in this latest build, there's a little improvement. Many of my frustrations seem to stem from stability and performance, leaving little patience for any clunky, early tool woes. The first build crashed on me quite a bit, but calmed down after cranking all of the settings down to low.

This new update doesn't break in the same ways, but my Level of Detail is still set to Very Low at the request of the developer. I've been tinkering with the settings on my own, but there's not much that seems to make it look better for now. Usually, my city looks a bit smudged or blocky, but those are the things I care less about; I just want to build. If you're eager to play around in the photo mode though, that's not great.

Regardless of the ugliness, there's still promise there, and I'm into the loop enough that it compels me to push further. Just last night, I was Googling city plans, trying to make heads or tails of how those things work like I'm qualified or something. Obviously, that career has yet to pan out. For now, Cities: Skylines 2 feels like something that needs more time than anything. The options, customization, and fine-tuning tools dampen the experience, but they're all obstacles that feel manageable. Worst comes to worst, I'll probably turn to the modding scene once it gets going, but my hope is that Colossal Order cleans up the bones of it for a smoother launch experience.

The post Review in Progress: Cities: Skylines 2 appeared first on Destructoid.

Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.5 launched with the final tier of its Myths of the Realm Alliance Raid earlier this month, and it's still packing secrets to discover. The new 24-man raid apparently has a little easter egg for players familiar with the MMO's fishing lore, and it involves shooting your shot with one of the realm's 12 gods, Llymlaen.

In the Thaleia Raid, if you catch her at just the right time, using the '/blowkiss' emote on Llymlaen causes her to stop and scold you. "Oi, cut it out, you!" she chides, before hitting you with True Damage and taking you down to one HP.

The Japanese FFXIV fan site Umadori first chronicled player encounters with Llymlaen last week. The attack she uses is Navigator's Dagger, a fish found in La Noscea, where, you guessed it, Llymlaen is the patron god. The in-game description notes these long, blade-like fish are the "knives thrown by Llymlaen at Her enemies." The bigger version of that fish, Navigator's Brand, adds, "Fishers believe that this wavekin was the blade that Llymlaen threw at Oschon in Her fury at having Her naked form espied."

Anyway, in the name of science, I tested the FFXIV easter egg myself. I'm happy to report Llymlaen kicked my ass. Sorry for the uh, messy screenshot. I was a little too antsy about getting the watcher of the seas to stab me to death, so quality wasn't top of mind.

I couldn't tell you the exact moment I caught her, but I did spam the 'blowkiss' emote with the chatlog option turned off — didn't want to spam the chat. But at some point, I did get her to turn to me, stun my poor Warrior of Light, and take her down to one HP. I was stunned for so long I died, but worth it. I got the kiss and the clear, and now I'm off to try this on Halone.

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Final Fantasy XIV’s next major patch series starts soon and ahead of another major update, FFXIV Patch 6.5, Growing Light, received its preliminary patch notes. As usual, we're getting our first bulleted-style list of changes and rewards coming to the MMO.

A lot of this stuff you may already know thanks to recent FFXIV Live Letters, but Growing Light has some of us a little more antsy than usual. As the last few patches lead the way to Dawntrail, I'm holding my magnifying glass up to every little detail. That includes the meaningless stuff, too. Like my growing pile of housing junk.

I'm buying these flowers day one, if you know you know.

Anyway, this isn't the complete version of the FFXIV patch notes, those should launch next week, on October 2. Until then, let's hit the TLDWTLL (too long didn't watch the Live Letter, duh) and cover the preliminary update.

FFXIV patch notes for Growing Light, 6.5

• New Main Scenario quests, beginning with 'Seeking the Light'
• Myths of the Realm alliance raid, Thaleia
• Additional Bicolor Gemstone rewards at zone vendors
• More seeds for flower pots, aquarium fish, orchestrion rolls added
• Triple Triad Cards for Halone, Nophica, Nymeia, and Althyk
• New Island Sanctuary materials, structures, areas, and rank 20
• Hairstyles for Hrothgar and Viera, finally
• Faux Hollows ditches Zurvan for Thordan Unreal
• More emotes, housing items, minions, and mounts
• Lynx of Righteous Fire and Lynx of Fallen Shadow drop increase
• Sacks of Nuts can be traded for Divine Twine and Divine Shine

And that's enough, I don't have the time to do the rest. Kidding. In FFXIV 6.5, there's still a ton more the notes only loosely list out, but some of its smaller details already guarantee my attention. I'm pumped the Omega-F and Omega-M attire kicked the silly gender lock, and I'm ready for the new Wondrous Tails rewards.

I love that annoyed, half-asleep fox. I'll make time somewhere in new extreme trial farming sessions to snag a pair of Faux Fox earrings. Right now, the only details Square Enix shared was that they come from Khloe's Gold, Silver, or Bronze Certificates somehow.

At any rate, we'll have our how-to answers soon. The FFXIV 6.5 patch notes are live over on the Lodestone and should receive another round of details as the servers go offline next week.

The post FFXIV Patch 6.5 preliminary notes preview housing items, Wondrous Tails rewards appeared first on Destructoid.

Final Fantasy XIV's official Fan Festival isn't the only thing uniting the MMO's community. This weekend, the unofficial, player-run event LunarCon returns for its third year of panels, parties, and charity initiatives. Get the glams ready.

Tomorrow, September 29, LunarCon kicks off on FFXIV's Crystal Data Center with opening ceremonies, lessons on Au Ra history, and a live song and dance troupe. The online festivities run through October 1, closing up the first two with a little late-night clubbing in The Goblet.

If you're unfamiliar with fan events like the LunarCon FFXIV celebrations, it's worth checking out. As a free convention established by a group of friends, it's as easy as a server visit or teleport away. Panels are hosted on Twitch, outlined in the con's official schedule, and interested players can line up outside of in-game player housing to see themselves as part of the crowd.

Plenty of other LunarCon activities are worth a shout, too. On Saturday, you can participate in the cosplay contest, attend a concert to see community-favorite creator Husky by the Geek, or learn to improve your Frontlines game. Also, as the weekend rages on, LunarCon will raise money for Extra Life, with its current goal set at $10,000.

It's not the first time LunarCon stole the fandom spotlight. Last year, I attended the player-hosted convention all weekend with a few friends — it made for some of my most memorable in-game moments (also some of the most hilarious). There's also the, uh, nightlife scene, and I adore it. Shout out to the stranger from last year who traded me a stack of questionably named reagents.

And while Square Enix may not have officially acknowledged it, there were a few instances of FFXIV's data center travel breaking or backing up with a queue. Those moments never seemed to last long, but it was pretty damn cool to see fans making so much noise at a thing also run by fans.

I'll be there for all of it, but catch me lining up early for the event's Triple Triad panel. And if someone gives you a little Ishgardian Tea at the Pride party, that's probably me.

The post The FFXIV player-hosted event LunarCon returns this weekend appeared first on Destructoid.

Epic Games will lay off around 830 employees, or 16% of jobs at the company. The Fortnite maker says it has no plans for further cuts and cites slimmer margins from its shared revenue as part of the decision.

The report first came from Bloomberg News reporter Jason Schreier, who said Epic Games would lay off employees. Bloomberg's source said the announcement came from Epic Games through an internal memo. Schreier's follow-up post stated Epic cut Slack access to affected employees ahead of the news breaking internally.

Epic Games has since confirmed its sweeping layoffs. In an official statement, Epic shared CEO Tim Sweeney's email to employees announcing layoffs for around 16% of its workforce. It will also divest in Bandcamp, which it acquired in 2022, and most of SuperAwesome. It estimates around 250 jobs from those layoffs are cuts from both companies.

"For a while now, we've been spending way more money than we earn, investing in the next evolution of Epic and growing Fortnite as a metaverse-inspired ecosystem for creators," wrote Sweeney in his email to Epic employees. "I had long been optimistic that we could power through this transition without layoffs, but in retrospect I see that this was unrealistic."

The Fortnite maker will offer six months base pay and healthcare for employees in the US, Canada, and Brazil. In its FAQ regarding layoffs, Epic also claims there will not be more layoffs and that it continues to hire for "critical roles, while maintaining a net-zero at our [Epic Games] new size." Epic plans to hold a follow-up company meeting later in October to discuss its new direction.

The company cites operating at lower margins as a reason for the cuts, and while it claims "Fortnite is starting to grow again," that growth is "driven primarily by creator content with significant revenue sharing."

Epic Games joins other industry giants in a spree of mass games industry layoffs. Just within the last year, Embracer Group announced its restructuring plan, which led to cuts at the Tomb Raider studio, Crystal Dynamics. BioWare also eliminated "approximately 50 roles" in recent layoffs, while Firaxis Games used the same 'trimming up' reasoning to cut some 30 jobs.

Destructoid reached out to Epic Games for comment but did not receive an immediate reply.

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A lot has changed since Final Fantasy XIV’s Heavensward expansion. The MMO’s community saw explosive growth in the advent of Endwalker, and it's long since said goodbye to the good ole days of melding Accuracy Materia and healing in Cleric Stance. If that means nothing to you, good.

While I’ve fond memories of old Heavensward encounters, I’m not interested in evangelizing those days. I am, however, very interested in telling you about my hellish Thordan Extreme ordeal, how bad I was at healing, and what’s changed since.

On the personal growth front, I’m still bad at FFXIV. I've just gotten better at brute forcing my way through, a strategy you may know as "getting carried." And while discussions around the MMORPG’s best eras of battle content remain a touchy subject, I still believe the game is more my opposite — FFXIV Extreme Trials and Savage Raids grew better with time.

All of that leads me to storytime; a little explainer of why I care so much about some of these Unreal trials, particularly the retuned Patch 3.1 trial, The Minstrel's Ballad: Thordan's Reign. Just seeing that name makes me panic heal and clench my jaw. I both hate it and love it.

Anyway, in FFXIV Patch 6.5 the primal pope and his knights return in a freshly tuned Unreal encounter. The Unreal trials aren’t new, since they're part of the Faux Hollows weekly challenge. We’ve defeated a rolling roster of old Extreme fights Yoshi-P and his team revisited, breathing new life into encounters that lost their luster years ago. When Thordan EX was current content, I was extra terrible at FFXIV. If you played in Heavensward and I'm on your blacklist, I'd bet money you met me fighting Thordan.

Thordan Unreal and a Heavensward humbling

I was feeling a little cocky around Heavensward's launch. The me of today knows I sucked eight years ago, but 2015 Andrea? She was far too confident. By the grace of the Twelve, I'd cleared the once-challenging Ramuh EX using my cobbled-together macros for callouts and a group of random dudes from Reddit. I'd struggled to finish any of Bahamut's raids within a timely matter, and I couldn't make a dent in Alexander's Gordias Savage encounters. But, for whatever reason, I convinced myself it was everyone else's fault I couldn't clear Thordan EX.

In my 2015 defense, most people struggled with Alexander until the final tier, Creator. FFXIV didn't really have the same community resources back then as it does now, plus a lot of us just didn't quite get the MMO's fundamentals. And, for lack of a better technical term, the game was pretty damn janky. The original Thordan launched in this climate.

For the Stormblood and beyond crowd, imagine rolling up to an Endwalker boss and seeing all of those flying numbers replaced with "Miss" as your White Mage takes aggro from the tank for breathing too loud. Then, for whatever reason, your Bard is a caster, so they refuse to move, and your Scholar tries to save it all with a clutch heal. Unfortunately, the heal does nothing because they forgot to swap their stance.

It's me, I'm the useless Scholar.

Time and time again, I rolled into Thordan Extreme and his ten-billion phase fight, hardly making it to the halfway point. My bad habits managing the job's healing buddy, Eos or Selene, often meant their abilities went out at the worst times imaginable, if they went out at all. I threw myself at Thordan and his group of enthralled lackeys for weeks, convinced I just had bad luck.

Eventually, a friend who was far better by this point pulled me aside to explain some of my biggest mistakes. I was equal parts embarrassed, in denial, and annoyed the game hadn't clicked with me in the way I thought it had. I unsubscribed from FFXIV, taking my first break until a few days before the next Heavensward patch. That's when Sephirot came out. Raiding friends took me under their wing, and I was in good enough shape to solo heal my first "tough" fight when it was relevant.

This is all a lot to say, my Thordan days weren't a very good look. Back then, I wasn't receptive to feedback from my party nor interested in learning. It was a while before Thordan's trial became easy to bulldoze through, and I conquered the king and his knights god knows how many times after. He launched when I was just on the cusp of having anything in FFXIV truly click with me, and I regret my era of hard-headed pride holding me back the way it did.

I know Thordan Unreal isn't the exact same, but I'm excited and optimistic about round two. It's my chance to show up actually prepared, with years of practice behind me. The game is different now, my Scholar kit has fancy new tools, Selene doesn't even exist, and maybe Expedient means I won't eat all of his meteor mechanics. It's still a chance for me to give it another shot a little closer to when it was fresh, though.

That's what I dig about all of these Unreal trials, too. They're a chance for me to relive some of my old FFXIV highlights and redeem my uglier performances. The Warring Triad's Sephirot, Sophia, and Zurvan were all fond memories to revisit through the Heavensward tour, but I think this is my first real showdown with an Unreal boss that gave me serious hell when the fight launched.

FFXIV Patch 6.5 is out on October 3 with the next Unreal. So, I'll put down my Astrologian globe and bring out Eos to show Thordan that I've read a tooltip or two this time. Until then, I'll beat up on the current baddie, Zurvan, a few more times and look forward to my Unreal victory lap.

And if it sounds like Thordan's trial taught me a lesson in staying humble, it didn't. Nidhogg sure did, though. But that's a story for another day.

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The next big Final Fantasy XIV update launches in just two weeks. At this year's Tokyo Game Show, Square Enix revealed FFXIV Patch 6.5 goes live on October 3, 2023.

As the first of a three-part update, FFXIV's follow-up patches launch as 6.51 in late October and 6.55 in mid-January. The October 3 update, Growing Light, lands with a hefty batch of new content as Square Enix begins its countdown to the next expansion, Dawntrail.

In two weeks, players can dive into version 6.5, with new additions like:

• Main Scenario Quests, including the Lunar Subterrane Dungeon
• The Abyssal Fracture Trial and its Extreme difficulty
• The Singularity Reactor Unreal (Thordan Extreme)
• Myths of the Realm's final Alliance Raid
• Duty Support updates that make all FFXIV MSQ playable solo
• Job adjustments
• PVP updates, including Series 5 and UI changes
• Island Sanctuary added ranks, materials, animals, and rewards
• Custom Deliveries: Margrat
• Additional minions, mounts, emotes, accessories, and QoL glamour changes

FFXIV Patch 6.5 and the road to Dawntrail

As for the rest of the schedule, you'll have to wait a bit for features like Variant or Criterion Dungeons and other updates to the Endwalker relic questline, Tribal Alliance quests, and Tataru's Grand Endeavor, among other goodies. Also, it's not the last of Patch 6.5's MSQ additions either, as FFXIV begins its lead into the next big expansion when Dawntrail launches in the Summer of 2024.

With the advent of FFXIV Patch 6.5, there's a lot to keep on your radar. Director and Producer Naoki Yoshida just wrapped up the MMO's latest Live Letter at Tokyo Game Show, and the game has its next big celebration at the end of October with the London Fan Festival. Plus, Final Fantasy's creator, Hironobu Sakaguchi, will be at the event as a special guest, spawning all kinds of fan speculation.

Before you get too excited, don't forget FFXIV's Moogle Tomestone event ends when Patch 6.5 begins. It's a great time to grind out some of those Rival Wings wins or clean up any unfinished story threads. Regardless, there's a ton to do, so you may want to get to grinding before next year's big 7.0 debut.

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Nintendo has announced a Sora amiibo, featuring the Kingdom Hearts protagonist as he appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. The company also dated The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom figures and the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 duo.

Finally, the time has come, and no, you aren't seeing things. Nintendo's Sora amiibo is the real deal, as revealed in today's direct, and will launch in 2024. For his Switch figure, Sora sports his original Kingdom Hearts look, just as he does in Smash. He'll look perfectly out of place next to your Sephiroth and Cloud amiibo on the shelf.

The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom also got an update on its figures. Both Zelda and Ganondorf make their debut on November 3, 2023.

Finally, Nintendo announced new Xenoblade Chronicles 3 amiibo launch on January 19, 2024. The next duo features another pair to collect, this time with Noah and Mio. They're another 2-pack, just like Pyra and Mythra from back in July.

Even if you aren't really itching to get your hands on a Sora amiibo, the latest Nintendo Direct showed off quite a few surprises. Games like Trace Memory saw an enhanced port announcement, and Super Mario RPG showed off new footage. Quite a big day for older games making a return to strut their stuff on the Switch.

For a full list of characters, including the Sora amiibo, we gave full lineup readily available.

Update - The next wave of amiibo are up for pre-order - except Sora

The second round of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom amiibo, as well as the Noah and Mio amiibo, have gone up for pre-order at multiple retailers in the US. That includes Best Buy and GameStop.

The Sora amiibo is not available for pre-order at the time of this update. Typically retailers provide online pre-orders for figures that have a release date, and with Sora's "TBA 2024" window, we'll need to wait a while until that comes into focus.

The post Nintendo announces Sora amiibo, dates Zelda and Xenoblade figures (Update) appeared first on Destructoid.

During the Sony State of Play, Square Enix announced its Splatoon-like multiplayer shooter Foamstars will host an open beta test at the end of this month, starting September 29.

The online paint war kicks off its Open Beta Party with two game modes, both pitting players against each other in chaotic arenas with teams of varying sizes. The Foamstars test run launches with two game modes, Smash the Star and Happy Bath Survival.

As for dates, Square Enix included a Foamstars open beta schedule adjusted based on timezone.

• September 29, 6pm - October 1, 11:59pm PDT
• September 30, 2am - October 2, 7:59am BST
• September 30, 3am - October 2, 8:59am CET

In Smash the Star, you'll compete in a team deathmatch mode where the rules change as challengers are knocked out. Happy Bath Survival — what a name —whittles teams away into a last-team-standing affair.

If you choose to go all in earlier, your progress in the Foamstars open beta won't carry over to the game's full release. It's also only available for folks on PlayStation 5, though the multiplayer shooter will launch for the PS4, also.

Today's State of Play ushered in a handful of new announcements, like a demo for Ghostrunner 2 out today and a look at Sony's new PlayStation controller offerings. However, Square Enix still stole the show with its update on Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, showing off brand-new footage and a fancy collector's edition featuring the series' best-conditioned baddie, Sephiroth.

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Ghostrunner 2 isn't out quite yet, but developer One More Level and publisher 505 Games revealed a demo for the cybernetic sprinter.

The trial run launches today, as announced during Sony's State of Play. One More Level's latest preview included a new trailer, sharing a peak at the upcoming sequel for those still enduring the wait.

Ghostrunner 2 launches October 26 on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S.

(Story Developing)

The post Ghostrunner 2 Demo launches today appeared first on Destructoid.

Games like Chrono Trigger aged well, and Sabotage Studio knows as much. It’s evident in the open-world encounters, ambitious soundtrack, vivid environments, and even a few overarching plot ideas within Sea of Stars, the developer's latest, classically-inspired RPG.

You can't mention it without some combination of Japan's RPG legacy greats coming up, and for good reason. Sea of Stars embraces the games that inspired it and the generations of roleplaying adventures that followed, creating a delightful mishmash that doesn't fall into heavy-handed uses of do-you-remember-when moments. There's clear adoration for the threads it's woven together, but Sabotage Studio still crafted an experience memorable in its own right.

A touch homesick

Admittedly, I’ve long managed an awkward push-and-pull relationship with games clearly crafted from nostalgia. Plenty of my favorites fall flat when they’re no longer contextualized by the original era. Some gameplay gimmicks lost their flavor somewhere between the ‘90s and today's conveniences, while other tributes falter when revisiting the magic of some of those stories.

Right, I'm a sourpuss when it comes to some ham-fisted throwbacks. Perhaps that comes with trying one too many games that tease an ode to an old favorite, or maybe I just didn't love a few of those games as much as I thought. Regardless, I've softened in the last year or so with my adoration for Chained Echoes and now Sea of Stars.

Sea of Stars (PC[Reviewed], Nintendo Switch, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S)
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: August 28, 2023
MSRP: $34.99

The tale begins with Valere, a staff-wielding monk aligned with the moon, and Zale, her blade-wielding counterpart with an affinity for the sun. Destiny marks them as Solstice Warriors, and that's where Sea of Stars begins its traditional storytelling with a battle of good versus evil.

As kids, you'll learn there was some level of dissent over handing down the duty. The more powerful figures in their lives wished to see them grow as normal children, while the elder mage Headmaster Moraine committed to raising them both as Solstice Warriors to protect their world from a repeat tragedy. Valere and Zale embrace their training, spending years at the Zenith Academy before striking out to defeat monsters spawned by the world's big bad, The Fleshmancer.

In the interest of sparing you from spoilers, I'll refrain from in-the-weeds story details beyond the game's first few hours.

To far away times

On its face, Sea of Stars comes off a little bare bones, but it weaves and twists along the way to its normal end, unlocking the way to a follow-up true ending. Even as someone with limited experience playing The Messenger, I surely missed any winks-and-nods to Sabotage's original project; I found the journey constantly endearing. There's nothing tiresome about its retro approach to establishing the world and its strife, but even as just a vehicle for the characters to play along in, it's well worth the ride.

That brings me to the moment, the ah-ha! moment where everything clicks, and I'm too charmed to step away. After a series of underground mining puzzles helping a village of magical mole guys, I was already a tad fluttery. The combination of Malkomud's over-dramatic dialogue — one of the aforementioned mole guys — and defeating his adorably dopey lizard pet escalated the pace after back-to-back tutorials. That, plus solving the underground puzzles, had me feeling a bit genius. Simple and satisfying, just enough to make me feel like I'd learned something from all that tutorial exposition.

So, I save the day as Valere, and mosy along to an outdoor elevator, and I'm greeted by The Sleeper; he's my hook. The Sleeper is a giant dragon wrapping itself around the mountainside, and the party teased their resident chef friend, Garl, for his shock and awe upon seeing the massive serpent. I was left in the same place, so no worries, Garl. Even as someone who had no idea, no context for whatever this thing was supposed to be or do, The Sleeper had me enamored. It's an early tease of one of Sea of Stars' greatest strengths. When you meet The Sleeper, the game combines the beast's magnificent rumbling, scale, and design into something special.

I didn't know what was happening, but I wanted to do it again. And since that was the moment, I quickly went from PC to Steam Deck.

There’s something so charming about the moments of shock — the disbelief Sea of Stars’ pixelated party shows in their portraits and, sometimes, sprites. The moment-to-moment adventuring is delightful, sure, but the distinctly retro style combined with Sabotage's vibrant, colorful environments thrills the child in me. The little girl who crept forward too close to the TV, with controller in hand and eyes as wide as they'd go.

Sabotage delivers on that bewilderment in big ways, like introducing The Sleeper, and small, like finding a hidden chest behind a waterfall or discovering off-the-beaten-path enemies. The exploration between zones often contrasts in significant ways, with big leaps between environments, music, and even some puzzle gimmicks. The game uses those modern sensibilities again with a major emphasis on verticality. It's not enough to roam those 2D landscapes like they're simple, open boxes. There's paths tucked away to new treasures, and the road forward isn't always obvious, with options to climb, jump, or swim elsewhere.

Perfect timing

On the note of beloved childhood RPGs, Sea of Stars healed an old wound left behind by Final Fantasy VIII's battle system. While I remain an FFVIII apologist until death, and I won't defend most of the combat design, I've got pretty irritating memories of trying to time Squall's damn Gunblade trigger just right.

Sea of Stars certainly plays better in that regard, but I don't, and it doesn't matter. The traditional turn-based combat concepts I get, no problem. There's flashy combo attacks, and its Lock system that roulettes its way through different damage types, indicating which you'll need to utilize against enemies to break their cast. Those pieces clicked, but I'm absolutely terrible with the game's trigger mechanic.

Even after dozens of hours, I'd still sit straight up for another boss encounter to watch for the perfect moment to strike. Battles require attention with their use of timed blocks and hits, that is to say, if I want that number to go up Valere's bouncing Moonerang skill then I better watch with my bumper finger ready. And yes, it did take me a pathetic amount of time to get the achievement for 25 hits in a row, but I did it.

A faithful recipe

It's layer after layer of the little things, with Sea of Stars. There's nothing overly complicated about those puzzles or even the more personally challenging bits, like timing a hit just right. There's no need to reinvent the wheel, but we can certainly spruce it up a bit. It's a matter of taking those pieces that work but not mimicking those retro experiences wholesale because, again, some of those elements just didn't fly.

We can compare it to just about anything of that era, and it's not technically wrong, but it's one that became more and more personal to my own taste with time. On more than one occasion, there were those moments of reflection with "the tone is kind of bizarre, like Earthbound" and "look, everyone is following me, remember Secret of Mana?"

As a kid growing up alongside some of those early Super Nintendo and PlayStation RPGs, Sea of Stars feels like the classics I remember; and I mean that in the purest sense. When you’re toddling about, hardly old enough to understand some of the words on the screen, nostalgia often compensates for aspects that may have grown less appealing through the years. However, if I were to dream up any old favorite from memory, I'd imagine it'd turn out something like this. Sea of Stars is endlessly charming, bright, and packing a ton of heart — another timeless addition among the classics.

The post Review: Sea of Stars appeared first on Destructoid.

During the latest Direct presentation, Nintendo announced Another Code — known as Trace Memory in North America — will launch as a new Nintendo Switch bundle as Another Code: Recollection next year.

According to Nintendo, the Another Code: Recollection package includes both the original DS game and its sequel and will be released on January 19, 2024. Both games are "fully enhanced" for the new experience, and the presentation included a lengthy trailer.

The unreleased Wii sequel, Another Code: R - A Journey into Lost Memories, makes its debut in North America in this bundle, too. Originally, A Journey Into Lost Memories only launched in Europe and Japan.

For those unfamiliar, Trace Memory follows teenage protagonist Ashley as she searches for her father. As Ashley, you'll travel to Blood Edward island and search for pops, solving puzzles through her visions of the past and piecing together clues.

Another Code: Recollection is already up for pre-order, and the full $59.99 price tag nets both games.

Today's Nintendo Direct featured plenty of surprises for the Switch. Kingdom Hearts fans finally get their long-desired Sora amiibo, while the company also announced Luigi's Mansion 2 HD launches next summer, in 2024.

The post Another Code: Recollection announced, includes Trace Memory and its Wii sequel appeared first on Destructoid.

The Texas Chain Saw Massacre launches its next update today, September 12, 2023, and players irritated by those long lobby queues may see some relief.

Patch notes for today's quick fixes add a lot of little tweaks that add up to big changes. Notably, Gun and Sumo Digital took out the lobby timer that was added in a previous update following community backlash. Sumo intended to give players more time to fill lobbies, but the patch notes seems to acknowledge it backfired:

"The community generally disliked this change, and we have therefore reverted it back to the standard 3 minutes."

The seemingly endless lobby timer starting and stopping was occasionally my experience, too. There's quite a few threads hanging out on Reddit and Steam complaining about waits and changes to the system. Now, you'll wait three minutes, and the Texas Chain Saw Massacre's community lead, Matt Shotcha, noted player feedback on a few occasions.

"Maybe they can add a prompt or sound if 6 of 7 players ready up or it cuts the timer to a minute or 30 seconds," wrote one player. Shotcha responded it was "something we can consider for the future."

Other fixes include the funky matchmaking queue with active players continuing to countdown long after everyone readied up. This happened a few times within my own pre-made groups. But now, assuming everyone selects ready, you won't have to wait for the full-timer to expire to find another lobby.

As for the rest, they're mostly things that didn't impede in my matches, but are noteworthy. Bone scraps now limit players to three uses, and the car battery begins Texas Chain Saw matches fully charged. The full list is worth a read, even if you aren't adding new victims or family to the roster. Queue hiccups aside, I've had a blast in it, terrifying grandpa jokes and all.

The post Texas Chain Saw Massacre update axes the long lobby timer appeared first on Destructoid.

Final Fantasy series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi digs the MMO entries, so much so he's got Final Fantasy XIV's Fan Festival on his schedule. Next month, Square Enix heads to London for its second FFXIV Fan Fest, and Sakaguchi's on the special guest list.

Square Enix announced its plans to include Sakaguchi on social media and the Lodestone update blog. The father of Final Fantasy joins for both days at the EU event and will answer fan questions about his adventures through Eorzea and beyond. Welcome to Naoki's Room, the Day 1 panel, serves as the Q&A segment and includes director and producer Naoki Yoshida as its host.

https://twitter.com/FF_XIV_EN/status/1701188904861454637

On Day 2, A Stroll with Yoshi-P includes Sakaguchi and Yoshida yet again, where they'll discuss content and development tales from the series' history. Moderators on FFXIV's official forums also started a thread for Sakaguchi's Q&A panel, where you can already type up your questions now. It's a neat little chance to chat with the creator, but the fanfare has some historical basis.

It's all just speculation, but Sakaguchi's attendance is a big deal to eagle-eyed FFXIV players. In Stormblood and Shadowbringers, the Alliance Raids both featured guest creators from Square Enix, and the community is hopeful for the same in Version 7.0, Dawntrail. While FFXIV revealed its next expansion at July's NA event, fans expect more details and footage at the London show.

Sakaguchi is a major FFXIV fan and hasn't been shy about it. The series creator often shares his Savage raiding progression, glamour, and housing adventures on Twitter. He's joined Yoshida on past panels, chatting everything from old RPG design ideals to the newer Final Fantasy XVI. In 2021, Sakaguchi tore through the expansions pretty quickly, devouring story content faster than the game can update. He's just like me, for real.

https://twitter.com/auuo/status/1454665445416468481

You can catch the full FFXIV Fan Fest schedule for 2023's EU event over on the MMO's official site. Fans at home can join in and watch through Twitch or YouTube on October 21 and 22.

The post Father of Final Fantasy Hironobu Sakaguchi to attend FFXIV Fan Fest appeared first on Destructoid.

Final Fantasy XIV is celebrating its tenth anniversary since the Realm Reborn relaunch, and the MMO seems keen on making us a bigger part of the decision-making process. So far, we've seen in-game events like The Rising celebrate some old favorites, but now Square Enix is asking what we want to see.

More specifically, they're asking who we want to see. The new FFXIV survey inquires about all the important personal details, like favorite mounts and minions, how you describe the game, and so on. Then there's a question at the end about which characters you'd like to see receive short stories. And y'all, I love those short stories.

On my end, Square's survey prompted a flurry of frantic Discord and Slack messages urging everyone within direct messaging distance to go answer. Some of those conversations are to my delight, others I'm ambivalent over, and some have me scrunching my face like I've sucked a lemon.

So here I am, arguing with my coworkers and giving Discord friends the stink eye after hearing their responses. Square Enix accidentally set me off for the afternoon, endlessly badgering everyone I know with some product survey I've turned into a friendship and/or potential partner litmus test for the masses. That's my solid, completely serious life advice. Use this Q&A to judge everyone.

You can check out the FFXIV survey for yourself, but if you're interested, I've kind-of included my answers below.

[caption id="attachment_403211" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot by Destructoid[/caption]

An FFXIV Survey turned OKCupid Q&A

Anyway, forget respecting opinions and all that jazz. I hope you're cartoonishly enthusiastic about my Leofard Myste ramblings and can accommodate my weaknesses, like tanking. We can't all queue into the four-man as a healer; that's silly. And if you get pedantic over that, we would never get along anyway.

As for the questions, Square Enix phrases these like the million others I've filled out before, but I'm fielding the FFXIV version better than questions about my medical history.

"Do you have a history of playing MMOs?" I prefer not to disclose. "Do you have a history of playing other Final Fantasy games?" Yes, all of them, but I'm still enchanted by IV, VIII, IX, and X. They don't actually say it like that, but they should.

There's the less important points to hit, too. I've been playing since A Realm Reborn's beta, and no, it wasn't thanks to the free trial meme. My roommate at the time talked me into it, and originally I resisted because I hated my whopping four or five hours logged in Version 1.0.

There's some pretty important stuff there, though. Like, critical level I-need-to-know facts, such as: What's your main Job? Your favorite home point? Any favorite minions? Mounts?

Myself? I'm a Scholar main. Originally, I played Dragoon (my static claimed it wasn't "helpful" of me to stay dead in the wall). Right now, I play a ton of Astrologian and Machinist because I have issues with showing myself a sliver of kindness — but historically, I'm a Scholar.

As an Estinien and dragon enjoyer, I probably spend most of my time in Radz-at-Han and Ishgard. And one of my darkest secrets is that I love collecting in-game junk, so I'm only missing about 10 minions. Usually, I've got the Sand Fox from Faux Hallows paling around with me, and my favorite mount is probably Aeturna from Eureka Orthos (it looks like a Zoid) or the Blue Mage's Morbol reward.

[caption id="attachment_403209" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

Those are your basic, fielding-them-out questions. The most important of those are at the bottom, and I'm scrutinizing the hell out of your answers.

"Who or what would you consider your most formidable foe?" is the first. Go ahead and judge me for poor comprehension skills, but I automatically assumed it was asking to list favorite villains. It's not, but when I told our guides editor Timothy Monbleau the Zenos-likers wouldn't vibe with my taste, we broke out into the Slack equivalent of a fistfight. Tim likes Zenos, I guess.

There's an option here for every expansion, and if we were to lament on about actual favorite FFXIV villains I'd deliver a PowerPoint presentation on Nidhogg, Emet-Selch, and Hermes. But we aren't, so I'll just say Shadowkeeper Savage in Shadowbringers — say that three times fast — was my "most formidable foe" because I can't tell left from right.

As for the really, really important one, the FFXIV survey demands, "Choose ONE character whom you would like to be featured in a side story."

First of all, that's asking me to pick a favorite child. Second of all, Lord Speaker Aymeric de Borel. I was gonna say Estinien, but he's got plenty, and I don't know where Aymeric's gotten off to post-Garlemald role quests. I'm assuming he's still caged up in that office, doing whatever Lord Speakers do.

My answers ruffled some co-worker feathers, despite me being very right. We broke out into further debate, arguing about why our favorite was the favorite (even though no one was fighting for anything you could really disagree with). The conversation somehow wound up with senior editor Eric Van Allen declaring he was leaving to go live amongst the Au'Ra from Stormblood. I told him he was boring and my Warrior of Light would rather spend time fixing Emet.

When reached for comment, Eric said "y'all can catch me in the Azim Steppe" and immediately set an out-of-office responder.

The post This Final Fantasy XIV survey poses the greatest challenge: pick a favorite appeared first on Destructoid.

It's almost that time again; in October, FFXIV Patch 6.5 launches with a batch of new story beats, dungeons, glamour, and sidequests. As is tradition, Square Enix revealed its Patch 6.5, Growing Light, key art ahead of time as a teaser.

The FFXIV Patch 6.5 art accompanies its special site launch, detailing features headed to the game in early October 2023. Most of the patch features we already learned about during the Live Letter in July, but the key art is new and gives us a little of the tone heading into Growing Light.

It's not like there's a ton of official Zero art out there since she made her debut not long ago, so I'll take it. There's also the precious angel Varshahn, the love-of-my-life Estinien, and Alisaie looking the happiest she's ever been around these people.

https://twitter.com/FF_XIV_EN/status/1699724260049330499

Anyway, I dig it. It's a little more hopeful than what I expected, but knowing the game, FFXIV Patch 6.5 could just as easily take a turn for the grim. As for new features, here's the lengthy list organized by version:

FFXIV 6.5 and 6.5x

• Main Scenario Quests - Growing Light
• Alliance Raid - Myths of the Realm, Part 3: Thaleia
• Dungeon - The Lunar Subterrane
• Trial - The Abyssal Fracture and Extreme version
• Unreal Trial - The Singularity Reactor (Thordan Unreal)
• Margrat's Custom Deliveries
• Island Sanctuary updates
• Duty Support updates
• Xbox Open Beta
• Expanded Free Trial
• Mounts, Minions, Emotes, PvP Gear, and Fashion Accessories
• Fall Guys Collaboration (Patch 6.5x)

FFXIV Patch 6.51

• Variant Dungeon - Aloalo Island
• Criterion Dungeon - Another Aloalo Island/Another Aloalo Island (Savage)
• Crystalline Conflict - New Arena
• Tool Enhancement Quests - Splendorous Tools

FFXIV Patch 6.55

• Somehow Further Hildibrand Adventures
• Weapon Enhancement Quests - Manderville Weapons
• Tataru's Grand Endeavor
•  Tribal Alliance Quests

In FFXIV Patch 6.5, we'll (likely) see the Void's solemn tale come to a close. As is tradition, the final patches typically lead into the next major arc for the game. Things with Endwalker are a bit of a wild card since this last expansion positioned itself as a capstone to the overarching, major story beats. Regardless, we're winding in preparation for something major next year — that's when the Dawntrail expansion launches.

As a reminder, don't forget to finish up your Moogle Tomestone grind before the FFXIV Patch 6.5 update. It's a great time to farm the MMO's massive Rival Wings PvP mode and a chance to get the Kamuy of the Nine Tails mount. There's also the 2023 edition of The Rising, with this year's version offering a sentimental tribute to an old hero with the limited Rising Phoenix mount.

FFXIV Patch 6.5 goes live sometime in early October, Square Enix should share an update later this month. Until then, I'll be getting steamrolled in PvP.

The post Final Fantasy XIV Patch 6.5 key art puts Zero front and center for next update appeared first on Destructoid.

As far as I’m concerned, Baldur’s Gate 3 is my game of the year. It’s the experience finally rekindling my love for games as lengthier affairs without feeling like a drag. I can't get enough of the cast, the environments are enchanting, and the dialogue is spot-on. I've played it a little every day since launch with no signs of slowing down.

And looking at the rest of 2023, I don’t see anything dethroning the RPG, not even a messy glitch here or there, but oh god, did I ever break BG3 last night. Something’s definitely gone horribly wrong with my install, or right, as a glass-half-full kind of gal.

You see, I really enjoy modding — check the Scion tattoo — but if a game can be broken, I’m breaking it. And out of my friend group, I seem to have the most bizarre tech problems, leading us down complex rabbit holes for fixes or clumsy workarounds. A few of us enjoy playing dolls with fan-made tweaks, which leads to the occasional headless Tav surprise or a floating set of eyes, but we’ve seen it all.

Except I thought we’d seen it all. Last night, I broke Baldur’s Gate in a way I’d never broken it before. After work, I loaded up the game and played normally for an hour or so. Then I took a break, installed some new mods, tried to start a new game, and bam — genital jumpscare.

Warning: This is NSFW for nudity. It’s all things you can see in the character creator, though. This tweet shows everything, but here's the artistic censored version.

[caption id="attachment_402791" align="alignnone" width="1400"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

Yes, that’s the default Dark Urge model. And yes, that’s eight naked dudes.

I couldn’t tell y’all what on earth broke BG3 to do this, but instead of pulling up the character creator… this is the scene I was greeted with. I feel like I’ve walked in on something I wasn’t supposed to see, but I still stood there. Staring. Out of shock or delight, I don’t know, but I laughed so hard I started that gasping-crying number.

That’s it, too. That’s all I did. I installed some hair mods, clicked new game, and instead of the character creator, Baldur’s Gate 3 whisked me off to an ethereal plane where everyone's naked and ruled by a dragon. There’s so much going on that makes this perfectly hilarious. They all look like the man-standing emoji, and the four portraits on the side kill me. Also, where am I? Why is the Dark Urge here? Is he some sort of poetic metaphor for whatever is going on?

Anyway, I mean, if you’re here to laugh at me, valid. But also, if you’re here because you’ve somehow managed to break BG3 in a way that you’re surrounded by eight naked guys and a dragon person, I’ve got your back. Somehow, I managed to fix it.

Simply uninstalling my mods didn’t work; every time I tried starting a new game, BG3 greeted me with the Dark Urge and their nudey band again. Instead, I uninstalled my mods and loaded an older save file — not the most recent, that didn’t work either for whatever reason — then exited the game. Afterward, I could start a new game and go back to “normal” BG3 character creator activities, like making girlfriends for Shadowheart.

Now, I’m back to playing Barbies with Larian’s incredible workshop like I didn’t just cause the weirdest BG3 glitch ever. I’m still trying to finish my first run, so I hope we never meet again, but I’ll remember the Dark Urge and their eight-man streaking party fondly.

The post A Baldur’s Gate 3 mishap made it rain men, hallelujah appeared first on Destructoid.

With so many to sample year-to-year, there aren't many games I stick with on a long-term basis. There are a few exceptions to that sweeping statement, though, and I count both Final Fantasy XIV and Baldur's Gate 3 as my current ride-or-dies. And as I'm lost venturing further into the weeds of Faerun, I'm still keeping up with my FFXIV dailies. So what happens when we combine both?

It's a recipe for FFXIV Baldur's Gate 3 mods. To my delight—and maybe dismay—Larian's ambitious RPG charmed others like me, rolling two of my favorites into one. It's not the biggest scene in the realm of fancy fan-made tweaks, but you're damn right "FFXIV" was the first thing I furiously typed into Nexus Mods' BG3 directory.

Long story short, my Tav is now a Scion. Specifically, this is Thancred. I call it the Twinning, I'll see myself out.

[caption id="attachment_402402" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

The FFXIV Scion tattoo for BG3 is from Winged Asarath on Nexus Mods. The mark is in the same spot as other Sharlayan scholars', so it's practically canon my Tav met the legendary Louisoix Leveilleur. If you tried to pass off the Circle of Knowing as a Baldur's Gate thing, I'd absolutely believe it.

Anyway, I jokingly told a friend I wanted to combine the two after browsing hair mods, and now we're here. The Archon marking is probably the most tasteful thing about my darling Yeva—that's my Tav. Otherwise, her clothes are often mismatched, and she's always covered in blood.

It's not the most obvious change, but that's mostly how I prefer to mod games. I've dropped it on another Tav with shorter hair, too. And while it certainly shows better there, I know it's on Yeva; that's what's important. It's a little wink-and-nod tribute to my favorite game, but not so bold that it feels out of place.

Unofficial FFXIV BG3 crossovers continue

There are other FFXIV-related creations, too, and I'm quite fond of the Aetherial Sea dice from the same creator. The Fantastical Multiverse fan pack even adds FFXIV races like Hyur, Elezen, Garleans, and Roegadyn. And while I haven't tested it myself, someone also modded Emet Selch's smug likeness into the realm through his signature hairstyle. Bookmarking this one for later so I can figure out how to stick it on Astarion.

Even if FFXIV isn't your thing, the BG3 mod scene is bountiful. We've got a list of some of the best, and I insist you delve into the UI customization over on Nexus Mods. The base game is fine, but there are truly helpful tweaks for the overly organized out there, like myself.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 mods pay tribute to my other love, Final Fantasy XIV appeared first on Destructoid.

Realm Reborn Red is old news; I'm after the FFXIV whiskey now. In celebration of the MMO's 10th anniversary, Square Enix is launching a new line of liquor as part of a collaboration event in Japan.

Thanks to @Aitaikimochi on Twitter, we've got a glimpse at the FFXIV whiskey labels and the starting cities they're repping. Apparently, it comes in three variants with labels for Gridania, Limsa Lominsa, and Ul'dah from Nagahama Distillery.

How to get the FFXIV Whiskey

[caption id="attachment_401168" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Square Enix and Nagahama Distillery[/caption]

The Amahagan whiskey collection comes from the Japanese department store Isetan and is one of several items available in its anniversary collection, A Decade's Journey. On September 28, both the Shinjuku location and its online store will sell goodies from its FFXIV anniversary event. Bottles cost $60 USD—easily five times the price of my usual wine.

For international buyers, you'll have a harder time. Shipping alcohol between borders is a pain, and it looks like Isetan's international shipping vendor doesn't work in this case. However, you may still have better luck once the event begins with other collaboration goodies. I'm kind of eyeing the Warrior of Darkness shirt myself, and don't laugh at my Mother Crystal earrings.

[caption id="attachment_401169" align="alignnone" width="640"] Image via Square Enix and Isetan[/caption]

In 2021, the MMO launched its very own Reaper-themed wine shortly after Endwalker made its debut. I never got a hold of that one—too many unanswered logistical questions—but this time, I'm pinging friends overseas. How much money do you need, and will you judge me for wanting all three? Will I even drink them? I don't know, but I need something after this year's Rising event had me sobbing.

The post Forget Realm Reborn Red, I want this FFXIV Whiskey appeared first on Destructoid.

In Final Fantasy XIV, achievement hunting often leads to awfully long grinds. Sometimes, new chores mean I’m committing to the same monotonous routine for months, and sometimes that means I’m queuing up for duties long-abandoned, like the MMO’s MOBA-like PvP mode, Rival Wings.

When it comes to achievement hunting, I’m one of those people. Outside of simply playing games I paid for, one of my favorite RPG chores is the thrill of making dinky little to-do lists. I like it when the list gets smaller. I like the satisfying ping with every new accomplishment. I like when Number-Goes-Up. In FFXIV, being one of those types is challenging, especially when queuing up for encounters in the Hidden Gorge. 

[caption id="attachment_400200" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

Forward and Back

FFXIV's less popular large-scale PvP mode debuted years ago in Stormblood. And to the thrill of 2017 me, it tickled the parts of my brain super into League of Legends. She's dead now, but I still adore the vie for control of map objectives and a thrilling base rush. Unfortunately, most other folks weren't digging it as much, and the Rival Wings queue times grew longer. On a typical day, I'm fairly certain the Duty Finder just displays "Who the hell knows?" as the estimated wait time.

Anyway, there's a long history of threads on the FFXIV official forum and subreddit eulogizing the 48-man PvP mode. A handful of dedicated community members out there coordinating times for players to get together certainly helps, but outside of that, trying to get in on a normal Tuesday is rarely a fruitful endeavor. I want those achievements, so of course I'm scrambling to find that information, but what about Rival Wings for folks with normal schedules?

That's where the Moogle Tomestone event comes in. If you're unfamiliar, the Moogle Treasure Trove is one of FFXIV's limited-time festivities, usually celebrating a patch, but this one is a little different. Instead of serving wholly as a hoorah for Patch 6.5's debut, we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of Version 2.0, A Realm Reborn, and its defiant relaunch. To incentivize queuing for older duties, FFXIV adds Irregular Tomestone bonuses to select instances. The currency earns you quest-limited rewards, along with other rare in-game goodies.

I'm still ill there are no MGP rewards, but this iteration of the event shapes up to make Rival Wings one of the fastest ways to grind tokens. We've seen it as an option in the past, but it's not usually this active. Typically, there's much faster routes to farm Irregular Tomestones—routes that don't involve this many people. But this time, y'all are stuck helping me add more Hidden Gorge battles to my 1,000-match goal.

[caption id="attachment_400202" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

No Mercy

That's a lot to say I am on the FFXIV Rival Wings train again, figuratively and literally. I'm kind of glad there are no faster Blue Mage-cheese alternatives. Rival Wings is chaotic, and I mean that in the best ways. Matches are fast enough that losses don't frustrate me long, but I love running the clock on a close 15-minute game.

It lacks the polish of a MOBA because, well, it's not a MOBA. The 48-man matches feel a bit like herding cats. It's not like Rival Wings explains itself very well, so usually half the instance has no idea what's happening. Sometimes, you'll get one brave soul who's prepared a few macros. They play some attention-grabbing sound, followed by callouts like "Defend north," "Help kill the merc," or "Are y'all intentionally feeding?"

[caption id="attachment_400198" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

In two days, I'd already added 50 matches to my achievement progress. That's a lot compared to the zero I was adding before, and I'm obviously not alone in the grind. Over on Reddit, players like Garuketo shared data documenting the Hidden Gorge player queues on one FFXIV data center, and survey says it's poppin' on Primal.

It's just refreshing to see an old mode I've got a soft spot for receiving another wave of popularity. Waits for a match are over almost as soon as I register, and swarming player masses are mostly in good spirits. The mode is far more dynamic than grinding a normal raid for hours and busier than the monotony of some Frontlines maps. In Rival Wings, there's always something I can do that feels like it makes a tangible difference in the way the match plays out, even if some plays are a little broken.

Gobbies Rise Up

Perhaps it's just my enchantment with the mode, but I think the community is feeling it this time, too. Trying to coordinate through the whole cat-herding thing rarely works out on all fronts, but I'm having a blast trying. When matches begin, some of us all rush to the middle objective, trying to secure goods from the mode's passing train. Others run to the fields to collect ceruleum tanks to power our mechs, and a few brave folks quickly suit up in a Cruise Chaser or Oppressor.

Sometimes, matches go poorly from the start, but I love the desperate plays that remind me of my League of Legends days. Even when all seems lost, I've had rounds where a desperate Brute Justice runs down the middle and somehow goes unnoticed by the enemy. If we manage to keep them safe, it results in a clutch win. More than anything else, I'm convinced map awareness is the biggest factor in how PvP goes.

[caption id="attachment_401107" align="alignnone" width="640"] Screenshot via Destructoid[/caption]

I don't think events are the only solution to revitalizing mostly dead content like Rival Wings, but they certainly help. I'd disagree the Hidden Gorge needs massive overhauls for balance and precision; that's already missing a lot of its appeal. However, Rival Wings—and a lot of other FFXIV fundamentals, frankly—would benefit from additional tutorials.

Anyway, I'm sure it'll be a ghost town again in a week weeks, but for now, I'm enjoying the resurgence. And if you see me in-game, being the only player getting hit by the mode's very obvious train, no, you didn't.

The post FFXIV’s Rival Wings PvP mode finds new life in Moogle Tomestone event appeared first on Destructoid.

Gamescom's first batch of big announcements includes another shift for the Granblue Fantasy Relink release date. During today's Opening Night Live, Cygames revealed its mobile game-turned-action-RPG will launch on February 1, 2024.

For those keeping track, yes—that is indeed a delay. Originally, the GBF open-world adventure was set to launch sometime this year, in 2023. The new date's trailer also showed off a few of Cygames' extra goodies, including a Deluxe and Collector's Edition. The beefier of the two includes a Proto Bahamut statue.

[caption id="attachment_398156" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot via thegameawards on Youtube[/caption]

So far, Cygames has confirmed several familiar faces from its gacha hit for Relink. We've seen series hero Lyria and her bodyguard, Katalina. The swordswoman Narmaya, dragonslayer Siegfried, ghostly Ferry, and, of course, both designs for the mobile version's silent player avatar. As you adventure with old and new series companions, players can invite a friend along for the ride; the GBF action game supports up to four players for co-op.

https://twitter.com/gbf_relink_jp/status/1694062296656724270

It's been a long wait for folks eager to see some of their favorite 2D heroes get the full-fledged action RPG treatment. Relink's first announcement goes all the way back to 2016. That's back when we knew it as "Project Re: Link," instead. After some developer limbo, a period of silence, and a change in studio involvement, we're finally getting there. Back in May, Relink made another appearance at the PlayStation showcase with its 2023 release window.

Pre-orders for the GBF RPG open on August 23, 2 am CEST. Granblue Fantasy: Relink launches on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and PC via Steam next year.

The post Granblue Fantasy Relink pushes release date into 2024 appeared first on Destructoid.