In case you haven’t heard, Baldur’s Gate 3 is pretty hot right now. Our own Eric “Blast Man” Van Allen is loving what he’s played of it so far, noting that it showcases “a clear love for the role-playing craft at its heart.” Now, that’s all well and good for those who live and breathe D&D. But what about those of us who know basically nothing about Dungeons & Dragons outside of the existence of dungeons and–I’m going out on a limb for this one– possibly some dragons? Well, we've got a Baldur's Gate 3 guide for you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5Wx7eFMGkY

Our video team is here to help. In “Ultimate Beginner's Guide for Baldur's Gate III,” even total newbies will learn how to navigate the game’s early hours. This includes tips like how to build your character, and how to warm up shopkeepers with your spare garbage. As a total D&D newbie, even I felt like I could succeed in Baldur’s Gate 3 after watching this. Whether you’re here for the information or some silly jokes, you should find something to like here.

Of course, this comes hot on the heels of our ongoing Baldur’s Gate 3 coverage. Eric “Sticky Hands” Van Allen shared his own 10 tips for Baldur’s Gate 3, which contains unique tidbits you’ll want to read. He also shared some thoughts about how much Act 1 has changed since the game’s early access build (spoilers: it’s a fair amount). Expect to hear more from us about Baldur’s Gate 3, especially as we make our way through this massive title.

The post Kick back and watch our beginner’s guide video for Baldur’s Gate 3 appeared first on Destructoid.

I remember where I was when Blue Dragon was announced. Although I already had an Xbox 360 and was ready for it, some folks I knew bought one just for it given who was involved (Nobuo Uematsu, Hironobu Sakaguchi, Akira Toriyama): as Mistwalker and Microsoft Game Studios made a mad dash to put out more games from Japanese studios on the Xbox ecosystem.

So how did it actually go? Well, it depends on who you ask. For some, it was a dazzling RPG that stayed with them long after the credits rolled (no doubt in part due to famed artist Akira Toriyama's character designs), and helped pave the way for better games just like it. For others, it was a run-of-the-mill project that relied heavily on its presentation, without bringing a whole lot to the table compared to similar games before it. It's also roughly 50 hours long (originally across three discs), so if you aren't into it early on, odds are you'll fall off way before the end.

You can find out for yourself how it all went down with our new Lost in Time series, which will be airing every other week on the Destructoid YouTube channel. It's also still on sale digitally for $19.99 on the Xbox storefront and is playable on Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.

If you're interested in hearing more about this often-forgotten RPG, check out the video on it below. The video team is currently looking for feedback on this series and what you might want to see in the future: so let them know in the YouTube comments!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlE0Sbt-jqU

The post Did you play Blue Dragon? Whatever the case might be, it deserves to be remembered appeared first on Destructoid.

Some of the best Star Wars tales came from these games

The video team at Destructoid has been busy cooking up some new stuff for the community, and I'm pleased to present the "History of" series, and it's starting out with a bang! Brett Medlock and company are looking at Star Wars action games: which have a long and storied history dating back to early consoles and the PC platform.

Having experienced Star Wars games basically since they started taking hold on the NES, I've seen an unprecedented amount of massive hits mixed with poor decision-making across the board. Star Wars is so massive that Lucas and Disney respectively could not and cannot currently contain it, and licensing projects out to other studios is just a cold reality. But as we moved out of the relatively safe zone of '90s console platformers and PC flight sims, things got a little dicier. If you're curious, yes, the flood of prequel games is covered in the video (that all starts roughly 3:00 in!).

Thankfully, there are tons of bright spots like Dark Forces (which evolved into Jedi Knight, augmenting itself to the very spine of the IP itself) and KOTOR to help carry on the "Star Wars video game" name as it were. A lot of that light and legacy also shone through for some of the modern hits, like Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. There is still plenty of room for fun and innovative Star Wars titles, so long as creatives are willing to take risks.

But don't just take it from me, watch the video below!

A visual history of Star Wars action games

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8fjdkNo2oBs

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Bring it back, Nintendo

With a full suite of Super Mario Game Boy Advance titles hitting the Nintendo Switch, it's really easy to perk up and go "but what about that [X] other GBA thing I liked?" That system had so many bangers it's nearly impossible to keep track of them all, but one that really wormed its way into my heart forevermore is The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords: emphasis on the Four Swords bit.

This little sub-franchise ended up having a relatively long (albeit niche) lifespan, as it was brought back in anniversary form on the DS and the 3DS for a limited time. But what about the still-trapped-on-GameCube classic Zelda: Four Swords Adventures? Well, we might be waiting a bit longer for that one, which is a shame.

Watch our video on why Zelda: Four Swords Adventures is so special

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=so5uRnRrS4Q

So what's the impetus for all this Four Swords talk (besides, I don't know, a massive Zelda release)?

Well, the Destructoid video team has cooked up a wonderful little retrospective on Four Swords Adventures, and it's definitely worth a watch. I have a lot of personal experience with this oddball project, complete with the full setup of the GameCube hub + Game Boy Advance controllers. At launch, I spent the entire weekend at my friend's house playing it, hosting various other people who dropped in and dropped out as we continued to forge onward. Years later we reunited for Four Swords Anniversary on the DS, and it felt so good.

Given that Four Swords Adventures came out in 2004 and has never seen the light of day on another system; it makes sense that a lot of people likely wouldn't have played it, or only heard its name in whispers. If you can't get a copy of it, at least you can relive those glory days by proxy with the video above!

The post Have you ever played Zelda: Four Swords Adventures? Well, you should! appeared first on Destructoid.

The Pride of the Thunderfoot Tribe

During a recent visit to Capcom's European HQ, I was afforded the opportunity to check out the Arcade Mode adventure for Lily, one of the many exciting newcomers headed to incoming scrapper Street Fighter 6. I was able to take a look at the Thunderfoot princess' narrative, engage in a few battles, and even lock horns with a mighty Truck in the sequel's returning Bonus Round.

Lily is a descendant of Mexico's Thunderfoot Tribe, the same clan that previously brought us the Super Street Fighter II warrior T.Hawk. While much more diminutive in stature than ol' Timothy Hawk, Lily retains his strength and power through her indomitable spirit and proud nature. Armed with weighted clubs, Lily is also afforded very deceptive reach, and can also use the weapons to conjure up the Spirit of the Wind, ("Windclad Stocks"), which buffs damage to a variety of her special attacks.

https://youtu.be/JSyL0llQplw

Meet interesting people, and beat them up

Our young hero lives to travel. To see the mysteries and wonders of the world, while soaking up the spirit of nature and the good of the planet's lifeblood itself. As depicted in her Arcade Mode story, Lily has embarked upon a globe-trotting adventure, living on the road and relying on the kindness and generosity of strangers to facilitate her journeying — while protected by her tribe's overseer, the spirit Toyno'Ikonoi.

Street Fighter 6's Arcade Mode feeds each character's story through slight cutscenes, accompanying their words and thoughts will some delightful and expressive artwork, daubed by Hiroaki Hashimoto, which followed Lily as she hitches her way through the Americas and beyond, inspired by the proud tradition of her fellow tribespeople who have come before her.

https://youtu.be/2fZWF0yxkiM

Keep on Truckin'

Street Fighter 6's Arcade Mode can be set to either five or twelve stages, with the player battling it out against a respective number of opponents as they travel from country to country. Around the halfway point, the layer's character will step into the ring with a solitary truck, a new variant on the franchise's iconic vehicular destruction-based. You can watch me do a real poor job of this fun time-out in the video below — where I'm constantly whiffing throws as my muscle memory repeatedly attempts T. Hawk's Condor Spire input (ReverseDP+P) instead of Lily's Condor Spire input (qcf+P).

https://youtu.be/mypZLhBjaps

After the bonus round, my limitations with the Street Fighter 6 Arcade Mode were met, so I'm afraid I'm unable to divulge anything in the way of the finale for Lily's exciting escapades. But, thanks to my short time with the bright-eyed bruiser, I do know that she's going high on the list of pocket characters once Street Fighter 6 finally launches, June 2, on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms.

In the meantime, be sure to read my full report on the final build, as well as my countdown of 50 things I loved in the beta, and my suggestions for 10 World Warriors who would fit right into the new title as post-launch DLC.

Related: All Street Fighter 6 editions compared on Dot Esports

The post Lily travels the world on her journey to become Street Fighter 6 champion appeared first on Destructoid.

Winding back the clock?

NetherRealm Studios has released a video thanking its fans for three decades of devotion to the Mortal Kombat series — The video ends with a cryptic image that appears to be the first tease for a brand new title, presumably Mortal Kombat 12.

Backed by the awesome "Subway" theme from Mortal Kombat 3, the video sees various members of the NetherRealm team offer the community their thanks for sticking by the super-gory fight franchise since its inception way back in 1992. On deck are a plethora of studio names new and old, including graphics dude John Vogel, audio director Dan "Toasty" Forden, designer Derek Kirtzic, art director Steve Beran and, of course, co-creator and NetherRealm director Ed Boon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsX8jGhBHgo&ab_channel=MortalKombat

The video then ends with a cryptic clip, featuring a torrent of sand trickling from the hourglass of the time-twisting boss of Mortal Kombat 11, Kronika. After the final grain leaves the hourglass, its shatters into endless grains, which would perhaps suggest a full restart of the timeline, or even a shakeup into multiple timelines. While Mortal Kombat's reboot, which began in 2011, definitely redefined storytelling in the fighting game genre, there's no denying that the timeline very quickly painted itself into a corner, struggling through the events of MKX and really hitting the wall in MK11.

MK11's visuals, characters, action, motion capture, and vocal performances were stellar, (for the most part), but there was a definite struggle to reconvene the interminable "Revenant" angle, which ended up becoming an anchor around the narrative's neck. A new start — however the studio wishes to implement it — would definitely be welcomed by many.

And this time around, let's have way, way fewer guns and PMCs, ah'm beggin' ya.

Exciting news for MK fans in general and the fighting game community as a whole. We will, of course, keep you fully informed when NRS has more exciting news to reveal.

The post Mortal Kombat 30th anniversary video appears to tease MK 12 appeared first on Destructoid.

We should numerical notation this dapper dude

As those of an age may remember, when Crimson Viper first made her debut in 2009's Street Fighter IV, there was a common opinion that in character design, personality, and playstyle, the Secret Agent Mom felt like SF's answer to the fashion-forward King of Fighters roster. C. Viper fit like an (electric) glove, but something about her just felt different — distinctly different from her SF brethren.

I recently visited Capcom HQ, where I had the chance to check out a full build of Street Fighter 6, complete with its launch roster. And while many of the new characters felt familiar — retaining the skills of fighters who had maybe passed through the World Warrior ranks before — one character really stood out, featuring a playstyle that felt borrowed from not just one, but many other fighting franchises.

And that character is the charming but extremely unnerving gentleman, JP.

https://twitter.com/ChrisxMoyse/status/1653297535694372865?s=20

JP's fighting style is one of extreme zoning, mind games, and, ultimately, full-screen frustration. The sinister industrialist fights with emotional apathy, content to stand the full length of the screen and prevent his opponent from gaining any ground. JP is equipped with multiple ethereal projectiles, ("Torbalan"), that are able to attack at multiple heights, and, dependent on the version used, can contain the properties of overheads, lows, and even unblockable throws.

In addition to these attacks, JP's "Triglav" allows him to stab his cane directly into the ground, launching thorns at optional distances that create knockdown potential at full range, while also defending him from incoming projectiles and airborne opponents. If this arsenal wasn't enough, then "Departure" sees him create up to two portals at will, that can throw out further thorns on timed release, ("Departure: Shadow"), or also act as teleportation portals, ("Departure: Window"), for when things get a little crowded.

https://youtu.be/VeiRp0J7iqQ

It doesn't end there, as JP is also able to counter melee strikes into "Amnesia", which sees a bomb of pure Psycho Power chase down and attach itself to the opponent, detonating in a fashion to leave them open to attack or combo extensions — ala Rose's Soul Sattelite, or Manon's orbs. And even if an opponent does manage to lock our man down, then he can send them reeling backward with "Stribog" a swift, hard attack with his cane, that also wallsplats at the cost of meter.

Ultimately, JP's game plan is to keep his opponent practically full screen, close down all their routes of entry, push back on any advance, and then surprise them with teleports — either for the purpose of escape or attack. Essentially it is a combination of prediction (for him) and frustration (for them).

He's a frightening entity. Which might see him become a very popular choice in SF6's launch days.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTYp2nCHldo&list=PLs4LjNCY15zO3ahXBcPZKf36kevvHyOXh&index=12&ab_channel=StreetFighter

With his oddly-shaped, ghostly projectiles, myriad directional options, homing attacks, on-screen "traps", and his exquisite visual design, he reminds me of a typical Guilty Gear fighter, while his barrage of tough-to-read, full-screen specials recalls the ungodly King of Fighters bosses from the '90s, or even Lost Warrior from DNF Duel.

Perhaps most bizarrely of all, JPs array of projectiles, diagonal air strikes, ground thorns, and "keep away" gameplay instantly recalls the controller-snapping irritance of facing Mortal Kombat 11 Elder Goddess, Cetrion. On first impressions, JP is a reminder of so many different, non-SF fighters.

And all of them are a menace.

While some characters should have little trouble gaining ground between these attacks — think Blanka Ball, Sumo Headbutt, or Yoga Teleport — I think we'll find, in time, that the key to defeating these smothering specials will be deft use of the Drive Gauge. Drive Impact to power through his close-distance pushback efforts, and Parry Rush proving the key to responding to JP's projectiles — closing the gap before he can recover.

Still, these are not beginner skills, and I can't help but wonder whether Online JP is to be crowned the first Street Fighter 6 nightmare in the early going...

...Well, you all did want a villain, right?

Street Fighter 6 launches June 2 on PlayStation, PC, and Xbox platforms. Be sure to check out my other thoughts on the new build, as well as my report on Lily's Arcade Mode. In addition, here are 50 things I loved in the beta, and my suggestions on the 10 World Warriors who would fit right into the new title as post-launch DLC.

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Charting a history of dramatic shirt-off moments

There are few moments as blood-pumpingly dramatic in a Yakuza/Like a Dragon game as when someone rips their shirt off and unveils their tattoos. It is the peak of a fight, often reserved for special showdowns or the height of the story's arc.

Sega—for a reason I can't really discern at this moment—recently posted a compilation celebrating just that: the epic back tattoo reveal moments of Ryu Ga Gotoku's Like a Dragon series. From the original Yakuza games up through Like a Dragon, there are many. And they're all spectacular.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Joowq-IM6PA

Of course, we see many of the usual suspects here: Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, Taiga Saejima, and newcomer Ichiban Kasuga. Plenty of villains too, including Akira Nishikiyama and one of my favorites, Daisaku Kuze. All of them baring their incredibly detailed and gorgeous back tattoos.

Art in motion

Part of my motivation for writing about this was just the strangeness of Sega posting this on a seemingly random Friday, as if someone was bored and chopping together footage that someone, somewhere, gave it a green light. Maybe it's sowing some groundswell. Like a Dragon: Ishin! just came out, but there are still a few modern Like a Dragon games in the works, too. That's just my red-strings-on-corkboard theory, though it could just as easily be a fun video to fire off on a Friday.

But even more than that, I just love highlighting what I think is an excellent character development tool for Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio. The tattoos these characters bear often reflect who they are as a person: their values, their drives, and their ambitions. Nishikiyama's koi tattoo is a beautiful foil to Kiryu's dragon. And when Kiryu shows his tattoo in Yakuza 0, it's stenciled and uncolored; he is still becoming the Dragon we see him as in later games. Kotaku ran a feature around the release of Yakuza 0, delving into this and more around the imagery used for these tattoos.

So yes, it's not just a blood-pumping moment of hype, but these art pieces also add fantastic touches of character work to the memorable cast Yakuza and Like a Dragon has had over the years. So yes, we will take some time to celebrate that today.

The post Sega celebrates Yakuza’s tattoo reveals, and so should we appeared first on Destructoid.

R-Trope

You might find yourself doing a double-take at this week's Arcade Archives release — And nobody could blame you for suffering something of a sense of deja vu, as Hamster reaches into the bottomless well of old-school shmups and pulls out Allumer's suspiciously familiar Rezon.

Released to the arcade market in 1991, Rezon is a space-themed horizontal shmup, which puts the player in the cockpit of a hi-tech vessel, blasting off in a hazardous mission to the stars. As you battle your way through waves of enemy ships, ground walkers, and snaking, pattern-based baddies, your ship can be outfitted with a variety of cool new weapons and abilities, all of which will be more than necessary to redress the balance, as Rezon is nothing if not absolutely rock solid — borderline relentless.

Check out the action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber Martinoz.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwXmOUfCpEQ&ab_channel=Martinoz

But let's address the elephant in the room: It's R-Type. It's shamelessly R-Type. Not in the sense that titles such as SNK's Last Resort are "kinda R-Type". Rezon is almost a direct clone, with carbon copy stage layouts, enemies, weapon designs, and general gameplay flow. Allumer's rip-off doesn't have the excellent bosses of Irem's 1987 hit, but it has practically everything else.

Unsurprisingly, Rezon did not make its way to any home platform, perhaps more than aware of the questionable legal situation it might find itself in if too many eyes looked its way. Still, despite its xeroxed nature, it should be noted that Rezon provides a helluva challenge for hardened arcade fans, and is still worth a quick blast for the more dedicated of shmuppers.

Rezon is available to download now on PS4 and Nintendo Switch, priced at around $8.

The post Shameless R-Type knock-off Rezon jets into the Arcade Archives appeared first on Destructoid.

Harvest McDoom

While "cozy" games are all the rage on the indie scene these days, perhaps one of the gold standards for relaxing, casual-grind-based gameplay is Natsume's iconic farming series, Harvest Moon — And the franchise seems to have had something of a strange effect on YouTuber Cloudie McDoom, who woke up yesterday morning to find themselves occupying a live-action recreation of the beloved franchise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8pCxPlryaI

Whilst I won't spoil the work that has gone into this short, but authentic take on Harvest Moon's hard-working world, Cloudie's video raises more than a few smiles thanks to its U.I implementation, use of flailing limbs and stop-start photography to truly capture gaming's classic "zero-turning-circle" animation style. The sounds, music, and fade-outs only complete the effect.

There are no squawking chickens, fox attacks, or trips to the market, unfortunately, but I dig the real-life recreation of Harvest Moon's "square-by-square" gardening techniques. And if you enjoyed the Harvest Moon video, be sure to check out Cloudie McDoom's channel over on YouTube for more parodies and recreations of classic video games.

The latest Harvest Moon title, Harvest Moon: One World, is available now on Nintendo Switch.

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Knuckles takes a wrong left turn somewhere

The next Sonic game isn't too far off, and today Sega released a video setting the stage for the hedgehog's new adventure. A new Sonic Frontiers Prologue video puts the spotlight on what Knuckles has been up to.

This prologue, called Divergence, follows Knuckles as he tends to the Master Emerald on his island. We get a little lore refresher on his backstory, before seeing him make a new discovery on his island.

Some old tech whirs to life after he tinkers with it, and he winds up in a new location. As it turns out, it looks like Knuckles is in a Sonic Frontiers locale.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gjszHTDjzo

While Knuckles can certainly fend for himself, it looks like he's not strong enough to hold off this antagonist. Seems like Sonic, and by extension the player, will need to lend a helping hand.

A new frontier

This is one of several lead-in stories, meant to set the stage for Sonic Frontiers. It seems like we're dealing with a strange new foe, and that means a little more table-setting than "Eggman's at it again."

Still, we're somehow only a week out from the release of the new Sonic game. Revealed at The Game Awards in 2021, Frontiers has been the subject of both curiosity and scrutiny.

We've seen a fair bit of Frontiers already. There are its larger areas to explore and puzzles to solve. And there are some more familiar designs, akin to older Sonic entries.

Whether this new look for Sonic comes together, I just hope Knuckles turns out okay. I don't like the look of that Matrix bubble prison one bit.

Sonic Frontiers will launch for PlayStation 4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and PC on November 8.

The post Sonic Frontiers prologue animation puts a spotlight on Knuckles appeared first on Destructoid.

The Silver Hawk takes flight

Following a string of relative obscurities, this week's Arcade Archives entry is no stranger to any coin-op fan worth their weight in pocket-jingling quarters — Taito's legendary shmup, Darius, is now available to download on Nintendo Switch via the eShop.

Released to arcades in 1987, before making its way to a slew of home platforms, Darius is one of the most recognizable and beloved franchises in the shmup genre, rendered iconic thanks to its dazzling visuals, exciting two-player action, typically great Taito soundtrack, and, famously, its enormous arcade cabinet, which sported a huge, three-screen panoramic display. Darius puts players in the cockpit of the mighty Silver Hawk space vessels, tasked with defending the titular planet from the Belsar Empire.

Check out the widescreen action in the video below, courtesy of YouTuber World of Longplays.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dw2PMdIpHdE

The incredible success of these arcade and home ports would see the franchise stamp its identity as one of the all-time shmup classics. Taito would release a sequel, Darius II, in 1989, and a remixed version of the original game, Darius Plus, in 1990. Since these halcyon days, the franchise has been visited multiple times in the form of various remasters, sequels, and spin-offs. The most recent iteration, Dariusburst: Chronicle Saviours, is available now on PS4 and PC. It is also worth noting that Darius, along with several follow-up releases, is also available via the two Darius Cozmic Collections.

Darius is available to download now on Nintendo Switch, priced at $8. It is already available on PS4.

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A video on Kirby and frame rates have come out since its debut

Just a few days ago, the Smash Ultimate screen-a-day fun ended, but another journey began: a Sakurai YouTube channel. He kicked things off by posting three videos: one that introduced the channel, one that introduced himself, and another that talked about the development concept of lingering.

In just two days he's now amassed nearly 300,000 subscribers (283K at the time of publication), and has posted two more videos, which you can find below. He also has a Japanese YouTube channel, which has a comparable 246K subscribers at the time of publication. Since he provides English subtitles for his aforementioned English channel anyway while speaking in Japanese, the main difference for the latter is that the on-screen text is actually in Japanese — in addition to native language subtitles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBRt2D2YN44

Kirby's Dream Land:

For five minutes, Sakurai talks about Kirby's Dream Land in the new Sakurai YouTube channel clip. The 1992 Game Boy classic kicked off the series — and was also the first game Sakurai directed!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rjdmi7628GM

Frame rates:

In a topic that isn't touched upon that often by folks who work on first-party Nintendo games, Sakurai walks us through the basics of frame rates in the video game industry. Sakurai's YouTube channel video even goes into the "standard" of 30FPS and mentions Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Shadow of the Colossus in his lecture.

The post The new Sakurai YouTube channel is approaching 300K subscribers as he posts more dev videos appeared first on Destructoid.

Bungie lays the groundwork for those who want to jump right in

A bunch of Destiny 2 news dropped yesterday, as part of the Destiny 2 showcase that revealed its new season and the coming Lightfall expansion. If you were interested by what you saw, Bungie has a new Destiny 2 lore video to help fill you in on the basics.

This video, dubbed "Destiny 2: The Light and Darkness Saga - Destiny Calls," is short and sweet. It essentially covers all the bases, from the origins of the Traveler to different enemy factions that Guardians fight against.

At just about five minutes and change, this video lays out the foundation of Destiny 2 lore.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om28A9hTST0

While it doesn't go into too many specifics with regards to campaign stories, it's a nice summation of Destiny 2 lore for folks looking to hop in and play right away. There's the Light, the Darkness, a bunch of angry enemy armies, and a whole lot of loot to pick up.

The battle for the Light

It's extra helpful, seeing as Destiny 2 is making all of its campaigns free to play this week, as part of the showcase festivities. If you were waiting to see what all the fuss is about, this is a good start to catching up.

Bungie revealed Destiny 2: Lightfall yesterday, confirming that the Guardians are indeed heading to Neptune. The neon city of Neomuna looks very cyberpunk, and while there, Guardians will pick up the ability to swing around using Strand powers. I think that makes it a strand game?

Alongside some quality-of-life features that should make life easier, Bungie also confirmed a big plus for Destiny 2 newcomers. The studio says it won't sunset future Destiny 2 expansions like it did with the Forsaken campaign. This should hopefully make it even easier to hop on and catch up with the most recent Destiny 2 lore yourself.

Destiny 2: Lightfall goes live on February 28, 2023.

The post Bungie’s new animated Destiny 2 lore video sums up the basics for newcomers appeared first on Destructoid.

Revealed directly after he stopped doing the "daily Smash Ultimate screen" tweets

Just this week, we were reminded by Super Smash Bros. boss Masahiro Sakurai that the "daily Smash screens" fun was coming to an end. On August 22, 2023, the dream was over, and the last screen was posted. But the beloved designer had another trick up his sleeve: an entire YouTube channel! The era of Sakurai YouTube has begun.

Dubbed "Masahiro Sakurai on Creating Games," the channel will deal with creative topics pertaining to game design; with Sakurai speaking in Japanese, alongside English subtitles. It has a similar feel to his humble Smash DLC reveals, with Sakurai hanging out and talking (with purpose!).

At the time of publication, he's put out three videos on his channel to kick things off. If you're remotely interested in game design and/or Sakurai himself, all of these videos could be considered must-watches. They're generally two to seven minutes long, and concisely touch on various topics utilizing Sakurai's level of expertise.

A Sakurai YouTube "About This Channel" rundown:

Sakurai walks people through why he started the channel, and states upfront that people shouldn't expect him to stream games from it. Rather, he'll be "talking about topics like game development and what makes games fun." Part of the purpose of the channel is to provide a wide net of education, which Sakurai says is more effective than speaking at an event to a limited crowd, or even giving talks at conferences like GDC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7M-DnOIeasA

Masahiro Sakurai's Creative Works:

This extremely short sizzle reel is a quick speechless rundown of Sakurai's career. His credentials, as it were! Some text is provided to explain a few concepts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frNXwWqZpkI

Game Design Specifics: Stop for Big Moments:

As the first major game design video, this clip has Sakurai explain "stop effects"; specifically "hit stop," something he uses liberally in the Smash Bros. series. In short, he explains how stuff like zooming in and slowing down the action when finishing someone off in Smash Bros. can create more dramatic tension. Fascinatingly, he showcases that he's been using that concept since the early days of the Kirby series, when you finish off a boss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OdVkEOzdCPw

The post Smash boss Sakurai’s big surprise is a new YouTube channel appeared first on Destructoid.

'Forced Poking' some fun at video game marketing

I have nothing but respect and empathy for the poor souls who were tasked with creating the now infamous Forspoken "Talking to a cuff!" trailer.

The whole thing stinks of producer tampering. I imagine the original script might have had lead character Frey say "And oh yeah, I'm talking TO MY SLEEVE!", which would work fine in a cutesy, family Sci-Fi wort of way. But then the "Business Strategy and Branding Lead" came in and said "Oh no you can't say 'my' because those magic talking sleeves are going to be sold as NFTs to players across the world in 2024. We want everyone to feel like they can own one, not just Frey. And you can't call them 'sleeves' either because we're going to call the NFTs 'Tough Cuffs'. The SEO on that shit is pure dynamite."

And that's how Forspoken "Talking to a cuff!" trailer was (probably) born.

It was with that nightmare in mind that I've started posting new re-recordings of that god forsaken Forspoken dialogue every day until the game is released on January 24, 2023. That's 165 days, folks! 11 days in and I haven't missed an upload yet, though doing most of the acting on the videos on my own may make my brain melt soon enough.

You can find a thread of them in progress on Twitter, and for your convivence, my collaborators and I have compiled the best of them (so far) in the video below. They aren't all keepers, but I'm semi-proud of my Solid Snake and Louie Armstrong impersonations. Just listing to them is sure to make your throat sore with empathetic laryngitis.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ujaVynx7xw[/embed]

The post The Forspoken “Talking to a cuff!” trailer, Solid Snake edition appeared first on Destructoid.

Sit down to a Redfall interview with the game's developers

When Arkane announced its new open-world shooter, Redfall, I think it's safe to say that we were all pretty excited, even if we don't know exactly what to expect. Well, the studio is helping us out on that front, because they've just released a deep-dive interview in conjunction with Xbox as part of QuakeCon 2022 that provides players with all kinds of details as to what it'll be like to play Redfall, including environments, character skills, and weapons. (Thanks, PC Gamer.) The Redfall interview included Arkane studio director Harvey Smith, as well as creative director Ricardo Bare and art director Karen Segars.

The team touched on just how big Redfall's open world is going to be for players to explore. Segars said that the space station in Prey, which has the biggest map of any Arkane game up until Redfall is released, will look tiny in comparison. Smith also clarified specifically what players can expect to see within that open world:

"Ultimately we hope that players will play single-player if that's what they want, and it will feel like an Arcane game but it's more expansive. It's an open world, but it's not an open world based on the scale of vehicles. It's an open world based on foot. And so it's like a familiar setting, New England, it's spooky. Traverse the place, go into mom-and-pop grocery stores, apartments, get on the roof of buildings. And we try to put as many environmental storytelling scenes around as we possibly can, and so it feels very lived in."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zaBgmJ9Trec

That sounds amazing to me, because when open-world games are scaled up too much, they can feel kind of empty because of how much space there is. I'm looking forward to exploring Redfall's map and finding as many secrets as possible.

The Redfall interview also went into detail about the character progression. There are four playable characters in the game, and each one has its own set of skills and abilities, which are unlocked through a skill tree unique to that character. The idea is that whichever character you pick can be played in any way you like based on how you choose your build.

The developers also covered the "part RPG, part shooter" arsenal, including standard fare like assault rifles and shotguns. There will also be more unique weapons like a UV beam and a stake gun (because of course, you're killing vampires), which you can stock up with items you find around the world, like the broken ends of pool cues or mop handles.

It sounds like they've really thought through some in-depth mechanics for us, and I wouldn't expect any less of Arkane.

While this interview is mostly good news, there is one detail divulged in a prior interview the devs had with IGN that fans aren't terribly thrilled about: when playing in co-op mode, the host player is the only one who will progress through the game's story. It's not game-breaking news by any means, but it is a bit of a bummer that you'll likely have to do another playthrough if you're not the host the first time around and you want to complete the campaign.

You can check out the full video of the Xbox interview if you want to hear more about what Redfall is going to have to offer. If this is the first big look at what Arkane has in store for us, I think it's safe to say that there's gonna be a lot to look forward to with Redfall.

The post Arkane released a Redfall deep-dive interview detailing what to expect from the open-world FPS appeared first on Destructoid.

'STAAAAAAAARS etc"

One of video gaming's most unstoppable, unavoidable, and most dedicated monsters is coming to a living room near you soon. As unveiled by merch-makers JustGeek, Resident Evil 3's terrifying stalker, Nemesis, has been immortalized in statue form, and is ready and waiting for your pre-order.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=32LJ9H9cN9Q

The PVC statue stands just under 11 inches in height and sees the Umbrella Corps' most devastating asset depicted in all of his hideous, gory glory. A mess of torn leather, twisted sinew, melted flesh, and bin bag clothing, JustGeek's new statue hopes to disgust as much as it bemuses, with attention paid to every crease, fold, and tear in both Nemesis' clothing and his face. And as if his huge frame wasn't enough to get your inner Jill running, yer boy is equipped with his wall-shattering rocket launcher. Kaboom.

The Resident Evil Nemesis statue is now available to pre-order over on the JustGeek store. Nemesis retails for £99.99, (or roughly $120 USD), not including shipping or any potential customs charges. Payment options are also available. Nemesis is expected to ship in November 2022, although this is subject to change given the general material and production woes impacting the general industry.

For more details, images, and payment options, go check out the official JustGeek website.

The post JustGeek’s Resident Evil Nemesis statue will ward off (tiny) intruders appeared first on Destructoid.

A lot of it covers the first five hours

Nintendo just debuted a Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview video on the company's Japanese YouTube account, and it's pretty comprehensive! Despite the fact that it's in Japanese, it's actually very easy to tell what's going on.

Here's what the Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview touches on, vaguely:

• Intercut big picture/conflict story elements, and the war between the two major factions
• The interpersonal relationships between the six core party members
• Lots of footage of overworld exploration
• An in-depth look at combat, the different roles, combos, and swapping between party members
• The Ouroboros system unveiled in one of the first debut videos
• The "guest" party system (this is arguably the most spoiler-heavy part, as it showcases a ton of characters at once)
• Township wandering/camp use/gemcrafting
• A season pass recap and an amiibo support explanation (ours is more informational!)

In other Xenoblade-related news, Nintendo even came out with a digital calendar for July, which has a cheeky marked-off spot on July 29 to celebrate the release of the game. To grab it you'll need to spend 50 My Nintendo platinum points (just remember that it's a digital download, not a physical calendar).

Hopefully we'll get some news as to what the My Nintendo physical reward is soon enough! Typically that info comes within seven days of the game's release, give or take a week.

[Update: As of July 20, Nintendo has provided a new English version of the trailer. You can find the original Japanese video and the additional English one below.]

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview trailer (Japanese):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2ueds3EWAU

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview trailer (English):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nmLXU2Yzqfo

The post If you really want to be spoiled, here’s a massive eight-minute Xenoblade Chronicles 3 overview video appeared first on Destructoid.

Snug Boy

We love Game Boy (and Game Boy-shaped) hardware mods around here, and this new project — a Game Boy "like no other" — is worth a look. Creator Obirux imagined what an original Game Boy with the GBA form factor might look like, and then got to work.

https://youtu.be/p3Tl4aOVnvo

This video is a snappy overview of the "landscape" Game Boy prototype, which was created with two Game Boy shells, other original Nintendo parts, and a modified DMG IPS kit — so the overall design is spot-on, and the games themselves look sharp, too.

As iconic as the original Game Boy looks and feels — and even with lots of fond memories coloring my perspective to this day — I'm sure my hands would get along so much better with this GBA-style handheld. There's a passionate market for custom handhelds, and I'll be curious to see if anyone else follows suit (or if this creator decides to offer a mod kit).

Here's a side-by-side shot with the original Game Boy and Obirux's landscape design:

[caption id="attachment_334362" align="alignnone" width="1920"] _{Nintendo fans would pay a pretty penny for this handheld.}[/caption]

The design is a winning combo, but Obirux isn't currently selling "landscape" kits. That said, the London-based modder does have a shop with lots of neat modified handhelds.

"The retro gaming community keeps me buzzing and I can’t thank them enough for pushing tech and design to new and exciting levels," Obirux said on their website.

Whether it's a slow or fast gaming news day, projects like this give me life.

[Via The Verge, Gizmodo]

The post This GBA-style Game Boy sure is sleek appeared first on Destructoid.

It doesn't suck, but...

Naming characters is a notoriously difficult part of writing fiction, but for my six-year-old son, it's apparently pretty easy, at least when it comes to Pokémon. We looked through a catalog of Pokémon Vivid Voltage cards a few days ago, and much to my surprise, he spontaneously renamed 150+ Pokémon. He actually didn't have much of a choice, because he's a little too young to read on his own. I suppose he could have forced me to read through the book for him, but that would have been pretty boring for both of us. Instead, he did it his own way, and I know I'm biased, but I think the results are pretty adorable, even when (or especially when?) they veer into bizarre potty humor territory.

https://youtu.be/MC_Ce6dbh3c

Picasso once said that it took him a lifetime to learn to paint like a child.

Freeing your brain of self-criticism and the need to do things the "correct" way ain't easy, but it's the only way you're ever going to come up with new Pokémon names like Cocoon Butler and Jiggly Horror. Let's hope my kid stays young and wild long enough to get a few more of these videos out before the cold hand of teenage self-consciousness squeezes the innocence out of his heart like a sponge.

The post My six-year-old renamed 150+ Pokémon and the results are adorable appeared first on Destructoid.

Pre-recorded footage used in bonus speedrun

The Games Done Quick (GDQ) team has announced that it has rescinded a World Record run that took place during last week's Summer Games Done Quick 2022 event. The run, which featured hack 'n' slash actioner Metal Gear Solid: Revengeance, has been nullified after the SGDQ runner admitted to using footage spliced together from previous offline attempts.

While most of the event's speedruns were showcased on-site, a small handful were held in an online capacity for logistical reasons. A Russian speedrunner tackled Revengeance' "Blade Wolf" DLC as part of a viewer donation bonus incentive, and proceeded to achieve a world-best clear time in the process. However, the player has since confessed to having faked the feat by simply playing an edited, pre-recorded video on stream.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlkWSqA4VFU

"The Blade Wolf DLC run incentive people paid for is a pre-recorded, segmented run," confessed the runner to GDQ enforcement team after the event. "I haven't mentioned it anywhere, neither during the submission process or the email I sent to the committee. It was supposed to be a real-time run, but I've changed my mind at the last second after switching the saves."

"I've done an actual bad thing, and I shouldn't have done this on the event... I acted selfishly and I haven't put more time thinking about others. I am sorry for doing the thing I've done. Truly."

The GDQ team has since removed the run from its YouTube archive and banned the player from participating in future GDQ events. Despite the honest confession, GDQ seems to believe that it was understood by the player that the subterfuge would not be publically outed by the GDQ team. This, obviously, has not been the case.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_Ui0Sk1DAM

"This is absolutely unacceptable and attempts to undermine the integrity of the speedrunning community that we love and support," wrote the team in a statement to PCGamesN. "The exact result they desired was unclear from the document, but it is clear that they believed we would not be willing to speak out about their behavior. However, we believe it is in the community's best interests to know why this run was removed by GDQ. We have removed [the player's runs] from our YouTube archive, and will not permit him to run in the future."

Summer Games Done Quick 2022, returning to the Double Tree Hilton in Bloomington MA for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic forced the events offline, saw some of the fastest and finest players in the world gather together to smash through a huge catalog of new and classic video games. When the curtain fell on Saturday, the event had raised an incredible $3.01 million USD for charity Medecins Sans Frontieres. You can check out (almost) every run from the event on the official GDQ YouTube channel.

The next online GDQ event, Flame Fatales, will take place between August 21-27.

The post SGDQ 2022 Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance World Record run confirmed fake appeared first on Destructoid.

Art exhibition coming to Tokyo this summer

This year sees the 20th anniversary of the cult JRPG franchise .hack//. To celebrate two decades of dystopian sci-fi action, publisher Bandai Namco has announced several different endeavors that will look back at the video games, manga, anime, and novels set within CyberConnect2's new millennium.

The original run of the .hack manga has been digitally republished and is available for Japanese fans to purchase between now and July 4 directly from the CyberConnect2 website. In addition, a special anniversary book will launch on July 19, looking back at every release in the series — from the original  2002 PS2 release .hack//Infection through collectible card title .hack//Enemy. Unfortunately, Bandai Namco did not announce any plans to localize these re-releases for western fans.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ulUhubUdYc

A special exhibition will also be installed at Yurakucho Marui in Chiyoda, Tokyo between the dates of August 9 and August 28, 2022. The installation will feature original concept artwork and other audio/visual elements celebrating the multimedia franchise. In December, a second commemorative anniversary book will also be released, alongside a special three-CD set of .hack's evocative and melodramatic score.

But what in the way of new games? Well, Bandai Namco has not offered any such reveal, or even the announcement of a reveal, but mystery still surrounds the "Last Recollection" trademark, which the publisher filed back in April of this year. It is believed that this pertains to an as-yet-unannounced set of the four mainline titles in the .hack franchise, namely .hack//Infection, .hack//Mutation, .hack//Outbreak, and finally .hack//Quarantine. So just sit tight for new news, hack squad.

The post Bandai Namco celebrates .hack 20th anniversary with retrospective video appeared first on Destructoid.

I hereby announce a video that may be nothing

[Update: While the anniversary stream was almost entirely a recap of Dragon's Dogma's development, game director Hideaki Itsuno did confirm Dragon's Dogma II is in development using the RE Engine.]

During today's Capcom Showcase live stream, director Hideaki Itsuno put in an appearance to relay a message about the popular fantasy RPG series Dragon's Dogma.

While no actual announcements were made, Itsuno noted that the series celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, and that Capcom has prepared a special video to celebrate Dragon's Dogma and its games, lore, anime, and community. The video will go live on Thursday, June 16, at 15:00 PT / 18:00 ET / 23:00 BST. The video will be available on Capcom's social media channels such as YouTube and Twitter.

Now, it's understandable that this seemed like a potential tease, and that perhaps the upcoming Dragon's Dogma anniversary celebrations might be an opening to spotlight some new project related to the series — the hungry fanbase would surely love such an exciting development. But it might be better for your health to temper those expectations and just enjoy the video without too high a hope. You would think that if Capcom did have a remake, remaster, sequel, or some other new title to announce, then they might have done it during tonight's stream, or perhaps at last week's Summer Game Fest.

So, just, keep yo'self in check... FOR NOW... (but really, don't get your hopes up.)

The post Dragon’s Dogma will release a 10th anniversary celebration video this week appeared first on Destructoid.

[Extremely Shania Twain voice]: Let's go girls.

Sega is betting big on Sonic Frontiers this year, and just ahead of a June blowout, the company shared a "small preview" of the game's open-world action and exploration gameplay. Sega says to expect more info "all June long," but for now, here's roughly 20 seconds of honest-to-goodness (albeit chopped up and teaser-ified) gameplay footage.

Is this what you were expecting from Sonic Frontiers?

https://youtu.be/BS9YAiD9EP8

As someone who really only properly gets into Sonic's side-scrolling adventures, the idea of a 3D Sonic game that takes cues from Breath of the Wild has been intriguing, admittedly — enough for me to pay attention to the news and teaser videos like this one.

That said, talk about an incredibly tall order for Sonic Team. Many of us know to go in with modest expectations, and I'm sticking to that strategy until proven otherwise.

Try as we might, there's only so much to glean from this out-of-context Sonic Frontiers gameplay clip. A realistic-ish green landscape with floating rails dotting the horizon? Not exactly the strongest first impression. In the new footage, Sonic runs on a wheel to power up a radar (?), zips around robots in a combat encounter, and ultimately scales a big boy.

The promise of "open-zone freedom"

For me, whether this game succeeds or not will boil down to two general questions: is it inherently fun to traverse this world, and do I feel rewarded for exploring beyond the quickest path forward? If Sonic Frontiers can clear those bars, that'll be a good starting point for keeping my interest in the run-up to reviews and the game's launch this year.

Sega will be back with more Sonic Frontiers reveals starting tomorrow, June 1, on IGN.

Today's teaser didn't divulge any new release timing info, but Sonic Frontiers is confirmed for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch.

The post Here’s a smidge of Sonic Frontiers’ open-world gameplay appeared first on Destructoid.

The Equalizers

Compile Heart has launched a teasing website for an upcoming project set within the universe of niche Japanese franchise Galapagos RPG. The site — which you can check out right here — teases a "Galapagos RPG Evolve," which suggests a remaster, remake, or sequel to the cult adventure.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcmnKD2rrPI&t

The new website hosts a mysterious video titled "Evolve: Mashup," which sees the original Galapagos RPG brand logo ripped open to reveal two audio equalizers — each of which represents two different songs. The music tracks combine in a dramatic crescendo, also revealing the latter "F" on-screen. The songs separate once again as the video comes to an end.

While the "F" is likely a reference to the first title in the franchise, 2013's Fairy Fencer F, it remains a mystery as to what the new site is specifically advertising. Regardless, we won't have to wait too much longer to find out as Compile Heart will lift the curtain on the mystery title in this week's issue of Japanese publication Weekly Famitsu, which will hit the shelves later this week on May 19. We'll be sure to bring you any pertinent news or details as it pertains to this peculiar comeback.

Compile Heart launches "Galapagos RPG Evolve" new title teaser website [Gematsu]

The post Compile Heart launches teaser website for ‘Galapagos RPG Evolve’ appeared first on Destructoid.

Even digitally, I'll still be picked last

We're just under a month out from blowing the whistle on Nintendo's incoming sports release Mario Strikers: Battle League Football, and Nintendo France has released a new video featuring an entire match pulled from the silly soccer sim, which launches on Nintendo Switch June 10.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CUlQsDW4D4U

Taking place at a stadium built within Bowser's castle, the five-on-five action sees Mario, Toad, Peach, and Luigi take on an all-star team of Waluigi, Rosalina, Yoshi, and, of course, Big Bad Bowser himself. Home field advantage! Once the action gets underway, it looks like a solid bout of good, old-fashioned, knockabout fun, heralding Nintendo's ability to squeeze the joy and excitement out of a sport without getting too dry and technical about it — ala Mario Golf and Mario Tennis.

We get to see some of Mario Strikers: Battle League's wacky mechanics in action, including dropkick tackles, electrified fences, on-pitch power-ups, and special skills such as Bowser's spin attack and Mario's devastating Captain special. Other highlights include Bowser channeling Diego Maradona for a "Hand of God" goal, some really smart set play from Team Mario, and Rosalina's existence. The French commentator is great, and frankly should be included as an in-game option.

From this short match video, Mario Strikers: Battle League Football is already looking to be a lot of fun, especially for parties of four. We'll be sure to bring your word of the final product right here on Destructoid when it hits, June 10, exclusively on Nintendo Switch.

The post Check out this fun match from Mario Strikers: Battle League Football appeared first on Destructoid.

Bats in the Belfry

Spike Chunsoft, as it is wont to do, has opened a mysterious teaser website that appears to be counting down to a special reveal. While the "Hidden Bats" website does not openly state its intent, savvy fans deduce that it is related to brain-busting anime adventure franchise AI: The Somnium Files.

The teaser site, which is available in both Japanese and English language, features the surprisingly popular anime trope of TV sets stacked atop one another, alternately displaying hourglasses and simple static. Accompanying this disquieting image is an equally disquieting video, which you can check out below. The near four-minute clip features weird '90s CGI and some ethereal music. Cursed af.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahfp1lQW7VM&t

It wasn't long before commenters on Gematsu ascertained that the "Bats489" video title references a message in the previously released story trailer for AI: The Somnium Files — nirvanA Initiative, thus it seems that the new website is related to the upcoming release. AI: The Somnium Files, which launched on PC and consoles back in 2019, tells a tale of psychic detectives, able to enter the minds of suspects and victims in order to solve gruesome cases of murder and mayhem. nirvanA Initiative, the game's sequel, is currently in development at Spike Chunsoft.

Creepy stuff, regardless. Here's hoping that watching that video hasn't broken my brain. That would sure suck, especially right before the weekend. AI: The Somnium Files — nirvanA Initiative is currently in development for PlayStation, PC, Xbox, and Nintendo Switch platforms, with a release scheduled for June 24.

The post Cursed video and countdown site seemingly related to A.I. The Somnium Files appeared first on Destructoid.

Another well-matched movie/game mash-up

When I saw a thumbnail suggesting that Aragorn from Lord of the Rings had found his way into Elden Ring, I assumed the video was highlighting a mod, or just a running down the character creator settings needed to replicate him in the Lands Between. I should've known better! Content creator eli_handle_b.wav has been expertly inserting live-action movie and TV characters into video games, so of course Elden Ring was the next target.

I told myself I wouldn't overdo it with these memes, but they're too dang good.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8pOcrJVnec

This video isn't over-the-top with spoilers to the point that I'd advise against watching it if you're still getting through Elden Ring, but it does show Aragorn fighting a couple of bosses, including Radhan, and a cool optional zone (that's also prominently shown in-game during loading screens). I think you'll be fine! It's short and to the point.

Aside from all the charging, my favorite bit here is definitely Viggo Mortensen's infamous helmet kick; eli_handle_b.wav repurposed the painful stunt to fit perfectly in an encounter with Elden Ring's favorite pot-boy son, Alexander. It works so well.

The Elden Ring theme makes everything better

While it's just a background snippet, I'm chuckling at the thought of Aragorn having to deal with Varré's cryptic bullshit the moment he steps out and gets his bearings in Limgrave. I'd also be curious to see how he'd handle the "loathsome" Dung Eater and other NPCs who give off a sketchy yet intriguing "you should probably keep your guard up" vibe.

Like many of you, my journey through Elden Ring was meandering as hell and full of peril every step of the way. It's amusing to think about how this legendary character would've fared, especially without his friends. The next time you're struggling with a boss, try to channel his energy. Cover up those HP bars with Post-It Notes and trust in yourself.

As one commenter put it, "I know this is just a meme but this makes me want to watch all of Lord of the Rings and then do an actual Aragorn play through in Elden Ring." Same!

The post Aragorn takes the throne in Elden Ring appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh, and without a horse, or running even

Beating Elden Ring without rolling is impressive. Beating it without jumping is impressive too. And same for running. Or using a horse. How about we add all that together into one run? That's just what Iron Pineapple did.

Assisted by the "max equipment load" mechanic, they were thankfully able to curb any accidental rolls, jumps, or runs. So as most players know, there's three "weight states" in most Souls games. But you can actually go beyond that with "overloaded," which prevents running, dodging, and jumping: on top of a stamina penalty. I'm got massive Dark Souls III without walking vibes from this run.

I'll break down this particular challenge below, but note some minor spoilers (mainly names):

Here's how the Elden Ring without rolling run went:

• They chose the Vagabond class as they had a great starting stat spread for the run.
• To instantly push themselves past the equipment load (which isn't possible immediately), they edited two heavy weapons into their save, but didn't use them.
• Iron Pineapple decided early to not use the horse at all as an extra challenge (unless it was "necessary to progress"), despite it "not breaking the rules" of the original intent of the run.
• It took them five tries to clear the first boss, mainly due to a stage two snag.
• They took the side entrance around the castle, then found out they needed to jump to use it, so they ended up using the tough main entrance.
• After downing the second boss, they got the Green Turtle Talisman to help with the stamina issue.
• They picked up both sides of this medallion to sleaze into the Caelid castle, which had a ton of enemy fire at the front gate that was hard to avoid without running or rolling.
• Then they grabbed the gold needle and finished that questline by cheesing the sideboss with poison arrows.
• To beat the main Caelid region boss, they used the "quickstep" ability from a dagger, then cheesed the boss.
• The Greatshield Talisman helped their run greatly, which they picked up by walking up the back of a carriage on the side of it.
• They walked up the dragon wing and were able to reach the next set of bosses in the capital without issue (and without having to jump), surprisingly: then used scarlet rot arrows to seal the deal.
• Afterward, they went beneath the capital to try and secure the Fingerprint Stone Shield, but weren't able to get it without jumping; and needed to use the horse one time to briefly jump to enter the next zone (both of which were later neutralized by using the ground slam ability, more on that in a moment).
• To beat the big snow boss (of which phase two was "pure pain"), they went on a detour to get the Bull-Goat armor, and used scarlet rot arrows to assist in the kill, as well as summoning Alexander when phase two started.
• Taking on the dual boss fight, they used the classic sleep arrow strategy.
• Following that, they used to used the ground slam ability to slightly jump off the ground to reach a required critical path ledge [and went back to get the Fingerprint Stone Shield].
• From there, the Fingerprint shield made the run much easier, given how powerful it is: they beat the next boss with warming stones to counteract the blood health drain.
• The last four bosses were finished in quick succession, using the Fingerprint shield, the Great Stars great hammer, and the Prayerful Strike ash of war [Quickstep was used on the final boss].
• To show off, they cleared the infamous optional boss.

As usual, Iron Pineapple's commentary adds a new layer to the challenge itself. They point out that there's actually a soft "recovery roll" when you're knocked down (by tapping dodge), which isn't technically a roll roll. Blocking is absolutely key in this run. Note that without those sweet dodge roll iFrames you literally cannot avoid some attacks, and in many cases, you can't even backtrack/retreat to drink a potion: so you have to chug-tank and basically pray. Using a bow to pick off enemies was also crucial in swarm situations.

If you want to check out the entire video below, it's only 35 minutes: most of the fluff/walking is edited out!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LjwkTx--O8&t=702s

The post Iron Pineapple beat Elden Ring without rolling or jumping, here’s how they did it appeared first on Destructoid.