The long-awaited Version 2.0 update of Honkai: Star Rail is just around the corner! An announcement on YouTube delivers details regarding banners and new content coming to the game. If you missed it, or don’t have time to sit through an hour-long presentation, here’s a summary for you!

Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.0: If One Dreams at Midnight will be live on February 6 and last for seven weeks.

2.0 livestream Stellar Jade codes

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Redeem these codes either in-game or on the official site. Each code grants 100 Stellar Jades as well as a few other materials. They expire about a day after the stream, so redeem them now!

New characters

Three new characters will be joining the Star Rail roster:

Black Swan is a 5-star Wind Nihility character specializing in damage over time using tarot cards.

Sparkle is a 5-star Quantum Harmony character. She can restore Skill Points for your team while also buffing their damage.

Misha is a 4-star Ice Destruction character. He is a hotel employee who deals AoE damage to enemies using guests’ luggage.

Version 2.0 banners

The first half of 2.0 will consist of the 5-stars Black Swan and Dan Heng Imbibitor Lunae with the 4-star Misha. The Light Cones Reforged Remembrance (Black Swan’s signature) and Brighter than the Sun (DHIL’s signature)

The second half will feature the 5-stars Sparkle and Jing Yuan. Their respective signature Light Cones, Earthly Escapade, and Before Dawn will also be available. Going by the seven-week update schedule, these banners should go live on early March

New content

Version 2.0 has Trailblazers heading to a new world: Penacony. Penacony is a luxury hotel with a unique connection to dreams, enabling visitors to explore certain shared Dreamscapes while asleep. A new Trailblaze mission will accompany the new region, continuing the main story of Honkai: Star Rail.

New events include Hanu’s Prison Break, from which they can claim a 4-star character of their choice as a reward. Other events include Dreamchaser Bulletin, Dreamjolt TV, and Penacony Food Fest. There will also be two login events that grant a total of 20 pulls.

There will also be two new Relic sets and new Ascension materials for the new characters. New Light Cones will also be available in the Manifest store. 

We can also expect various quality-of-life upgrades, including a visual representation of past stories, more support character options in your profile, and a more streamlined Relic upgrade system.

We also got a tease of some real-life Star Rail events on the horizon, including carnivals and concerts.

It looks like there’s a lot to look forward to in Honkai: Star Rail Version 2.0. I’ll see you all in Penacony!

The post Honkai: Star Rail announces next banners and Version 2.0 date appeared first on Destructoid.

Genshin Impact’s Special Program for Version 4.4 is here, detailing all the new areas, events, characters, and banners coming in the next update. Here’s a summary of all the new content coming to Genshin Impact Version 4.4: Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze!

Version 4.4 is expected to drop on January 31st (or the evening of January 30 for most Americans).

4.4 livestream Primogem codes

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MT88AYHCZ2UR
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Each code grants 100 Primogems and various other materials. Redeem them either in-game or on the official site. They expire about a day from when the Special Program aired, so be quick!

4.4 new characters: Xianyun and Gaming

Xianyun (aka Cloud Retainer) is a 5-star Anemo Catalyst user who buffs plunge damage. Her Burst increases the jump height of your entire party, allowing anyone to become a plunge DPS. She grants buffs to her party’s Plunging Attacks and deals a bit of damage of her own. On top of unlocking a new playstyle for every character, Xianyun’s Burst also offers healing, making her a great potential partner for Furina. Xianyun’s Skill is a unique triple jump that ends with a dive bomb Plunging Attack.

Gaming is a 4-star Pyro Claymore user and a Wushou dancer. He appears to specialize in Plunging Attacks with his Burst and Skill, allowing him to take full advantage of Xianyun’s plunge-oriented kit. His Skill has him rush toward an enemy, then leap into the air, from which he can execute a special Plunging Attack that consumes some of his own HP. Gaming’s Burst summons a little suanni pet that runs some distance from him after using his Skill combo. When the pet runs back to Gaming’s location, his Skill cooldown is reset, allowing him to spam Skills and Plunging Attacks as quickly as he can retrieve his pet.

4.4 banners

The first half of 4.4 will feature the 5-stars Xianyun and Nahida, as well as the 4-star Gaming. The weapon banner will consist of Xianyun’s signature weapon, Crane’s Echoing Call, and probably Nahida’s signature, A Thousand Floating Dreams.

The second half Version 4.4 will feature Xiao and Yae Miko. They will likely be accompanied by their signature weapons: Primordial Jade Winged-Spear and Kagura’s Verity.

New area: Chenyu Vale

A new explorable area is being added to Liyue: Chenyu Vale. Chenyu Vale has been teased as a mystical area known for its high-quality tea production. Baizhu’s lore in particular is tied to Chenyu Vale, as this is Changsheng’s homeland.

Chenyu Vale is a verdant, mountainous landscape with rivers flowing between them. Qiaoying Village and Yilong Wharf are the primary human settlements. The people of Chenyu Vale seem to have a unique culture somewhat distinct from the rest of Liyue. While most of Liyue sees Rex Lapis as the land’s sole ruler in its antiquity, Chenyu Vale’s residents recall a time when other gods and adepti protected their ancestors.

There will also be a new world boss in Chenyu Vale: the Solitary Suanni. It appears to have Anemo and Hydro elemental attacks in its arsenal. Given the new characters coming this patch, I would expect either Xianyun or Gaming to use materials from this boss.

4.4 events

It’s that time of year again, and this year’s Lantern Rite event is called Vibrant Harriers Aloft in Spring Breeze. There will be three minigames as part of this event. Participation will reward you with a free Xingqiu skin and your choice of any 4-star Liyue character. The 4-star character selector includes Gaming, so if you can’t pull on the new banners, you can still obtain Gaming for free!

There will also be a login event where you can claim a total of ten Intertwined Fates. We’ll be receiving an additional three Intertwined Fates via in-game mail.

A cooking event called Receiver of Friends from Afar has Travelers playing minigames to cook meals, then decorating the dishes to serve to our friends.

Journey through Hiligmatic Terrain is a two-part event. One part is a stealth mission where you use a special device to follow hilichurls and infiltrate their camps. The other part is a combat domain where you face off against a giant samachurl boss.

Triumphant Frenzy is a combat event using trial characters only. It looks like we’ll be able to choose two to four trial characters from a randomly selected pool to complete combat challenges.

Finally, Overflowing Mastery makes a return with double drops for Talent books.

New skins for Xingqiu, Ganyu, and Shenhe

Xingqiu, Ganyu, and Shenhe are receiving new skins! Xingqiu looks quite dapper in a more Western-style outfit, while Ganyu and Shenhe are dressed in sleek black outfits.

Xingqiu’s skin can be obtained for free during Version 4.4 by participating in the Lantern Rite event. After the end of Version 4.4, we can expect it to be included in the store for Genesis Crystals for those who missed it.

Ganyu and Shenhe’s skins will be sold in the in-game store for Genesis Crystals. For the duration of Version 4.4, these skins will be discounted.

Other additions in Version 4.4

Genius Invokation TCG is receiving another update, adding cards for Sayu, Thoma, Cryo Hypostasis, and Millennial Pearl Seahorse. 

A fast equip function is being added for artifacts, which we previously covered in detail.

A new collaboration was announced with OnePlus, with a Keqing-themed phone coming in late February. More details will be provided via OnePlus’ official channels.

The second Fontaine OST, “Pelagic Primaevality,” will be released sometime during Version 4.4.

As always, there’s lots to look forward to in Genshin Impact. Best of luck to everyone, and happy Lantern Rite!

The post Genshin Impact announces 4.4 release date, banners, characters, and more appeared first on Destructoid.

HoYoverse has released a new Developers Discussion previewing some new quality of life changes coming to Genshin Impact Version 4.4. One of these is a new artifact loadout feature that, while exciting at first glance, might not be what players expected.

Not the loadouts we’re looking for

From very soon after the launch of Genshin Impact, players have voiced the need for artifact loadouts. By this, they meant a system similar to Honkai 3rd’s Plans that allows players to save a character’s equipment set, making it easier to switch builds on the go. Genshin Impact characters often have multiple builds or share gear with other characters, so an artifact loadout system has been a common demand within the community for the past three years.

Instead, it looks like the loadouts being implemented in Version 4.4 will consist of artifact recommendations using the artifacts in your inventory. The “quick loadout” recommendations will be based on user data, but you can also customize your criteria to some degree with “custom loadouts.” No matter which method you use to generate your recommended set, there is no mention of being able to save your equipped set or saving multiple sets of gear.

It’s worth noting that Honkai 3rd, another HoYoverse game, has had its Gearing Plans system since April 2019, more than a year before Genshin Impact’s release.

Even if it’s not what veteran players wanted, the quick loadout function could still be useful for casual players. If nothing else, it lets us quickly equip our characters with something usable while using minimal brainpower. I imagine it’ll be nice to have a character fully geared up with one click. 

The custom loadout function looks like it requires a few more brain cells to set up though, and those who really care about min-maxing their artifacts probably already use Genshin Optimizer or other calculators.

Various other quality of life upgrades

Aside from artifact loadouts, it looks like we’ll be getting plenty of other general system upgrades. 

The Encounter Points system was added in Version 4.1, allowing players to bypass daily Commissions. Starting in Version 4.4, you’ll get a reminder alert to talk to Katheryne to claim additional daily rewards. Apparently, many players were forgetting to talk to Katheryne after doing their dailies, myself included.

The number of party slots you can save will be increased from 10 to 15. Additionally, when completing character trials, you can now start the next character’s trial immediately without having to exit back to the overworld. If you’re playing on a PC, there will also be a new setting for borderless windowed mode. 

There will also be a new “Dynamic Character Resolution” function that dynamically changes the details of character models to maximize performance. I can’t see much of a difference between HoYoverse’s example images, but the edges of Aether’s ring-shaped ornament and pauldron do seem a bit smoother after optimization.

Serenitea Pot optimizations

The Serenitea Pot will be receiving some updates too. Certain furnishings will be recategorized for more intuitive searching. After placing a furnishing, your place in scrolling menus will be remembered so that you’re not automatically booted to the start of the list. Companions will show their Friendship Level in the Companions menu. 

There will also be some ordering changes to the images for the furnishing Lingering Moment. This furnishing is a framed photo that showcases each ending for character Hangouts. Starting in Version 4.4, the furnishing will prioritize images from Hangouts you’ve already completed. This part of the Developers Discussion is worded a bit confusingly, so we might have to wait for more details during the Special Program.

When can we expect these updates?

All of these changes are slated to go live in Genshin Impact Version 4.4, which is expected to drop on January 31st. A Special Program has been announced for January 19 at 7:00 AM (UTC-5), which will detail all of the new characters, events, and other content coming in the next version update.

Regardless of their exact implementation, I’m still glad to see the Genshin Impact team continuing to roll out quality of life updates. Who knows? Maybe one day, we’ll have the artifact loadout system we really need.

The post Artifact loadouts finally coming to Genshin Impact, but not the way players expected appeared first on Destructoid.

Drip marketing is here for Version 4.4 of Genshin Impact, introducing a playable version of Cloud Retainer and a brand-new character named Gaming.

Xianyun, aka Cloud Retainer

Xianyun appears to be Cloud Retainer in a human disguise. She has an Anemo Vision, though her weapon is still up in the air. Given her design and popularity, it’s hard to imagine that Cloud Retainer will not be a 5-star character. Her Constellation is listed as Grus Serena, which is Latin for “serene crane.”

It’s unknown why Cloud Retainer has decided to live among the humans, but she seems to be getting along well. The residents of Liyue Harbor only have good things to say about her, describing her as a talented artisan with a kind heart. There are those who know her true identity, such as her fellow adepti and Rex Lapis himself, but they appear to do a good job of helping to maintain her disguise.

Gaming

Yes, his name is Gaming. It’s actually based on the Cantonese pronunciation of a real name: 嘉明, pronounced “gah-ming.” It’s time to take bets on whether the English voiceover will say “gaming” or “gah-ming.”

Gaming has a Pyro Vision at his waist, but his weapon and rarity are unclear. His Constellation is Leo Expergiscens, Latin for “awakening lion.”

Gaming works as an armed guard for the Sword and Strongbox Secure Transport Agency, escorting valuable cargo as it’s transported from place to place. However, he moonlights as a Wushou dancer. Given the little lion mask that holds his Vision and references to suanni, Wushou Dance could be Teyvat’s version of a Lion Dance. This could indicate some interesting martial arts/Lion Dance themed animations, which I’m very excited to see!

When are Cloud Retainer and Gaming coming to Genshin Impact?

Since we’re about to go into Genshin Impact Version 4.3, Cloud Retainer and Gaming should be coming in Version 4.4. If the six-week update schedule holds, Version 4.4 should go live around January 30, just in time for Lunar New Year and Genshin’s annual Lantern Rite celebration. 

Given how past Lantern Rite rewards were structured, we can expect to be given a free Liyue 4-star character of our choice. If either Cloud Retainer or Gaming turn out to be 4-stars, they should be added to the selection pool, letting you pick up a new character for free!

The post New characters Xianyun and Gaming announced for Genshin Impact appeared first on Destructoid.

Genshin Impact Version 4.3 is just around the corner, and its special program tells us everything we need to know. In case you missed it, here’s a summary of everything new coming to Version 4.3: Roses and Muskets!

4.3 Livestream Primogem Codes

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Each code grants 100 Primogems and a few other materials. They expire less than a day from when the Special Program premieres, so redeem them now!

4.3 New Characters: Navia and Chevreuse

Navia is a 5-star Geo Claymore character. She appears to be a DPS who takes advantage of Crystallize reactions to increase her damage. Her Skill fires Geo projectiles in an area in front of her, and it appears you can aim it to some degree. The damage depends on the number of Crystallize shards she picks up and how many projectiles hit her enemy. Using her Skill also infuses her Normal Attacks with Geo for a few seconds. Navia’s Burst summons several cannons that create a shower of Geo DMG in an AoE around her.

Chevreuse is a 4-star Pyro Polearm character. Chevreuse looks to be a healer support specializing in Overload teams. Her Skill fires a shot of Pyro damage. After firing her shot, Chevreuse will continuously heal the active character. Her Burst deals one instance of Pyro damage and summons several secondary explosive shells that detonate after a very short delay. If a party member triggers Overload, and her party members consist of only Pyro and Electro teammates, the enemy will have 40% reduced Pyro and Electro RES. This allows Chevreuse to replace a 4pc Viridescent Venerer holder in Overload teams, though she won’t be able to make up for the lack of crowd control.

Chiori made an appearance in a surprise cameo. We don’t know her element or weapon yet, but we do know that she’s from Inazuma and owns a fashion boutique in Fontaine. She designed Navia’s outfit for her, so she clearly knows her way around Fontanian fashion. We didn’t get to see her Vision, but her clothes are primarily yellow, red, and brown, so she might be Pyro or Geo. Chiori won’t be playable in Version 4.3, but she will have a presence in the Version events.

4.3 Banners

The first half of 4.3 will feature the 5-stars Navia and Ayaka. They will likely be accompanied by their signature weapons: Verdict for Navia and Mistsplitter Reforged for Ayaka. Verdict is a new 5-star Claymore that looks like an axe.

The second half will feature Raiden and Yoimiya, as well as 4-star Chevreuse. Raiden’s signature Polearm is Engulfing Lightning, and Yoimiya’s signature Bow is Thundering Pulse. While these weapon reruns aren’t confirmed, I would consider them very likely.

4.3 Events

The flagship event for Version 4.3 is called Roses and Muskets and will involve a series of minigames. These minigames are quite a mixed bag, ranging from a sniper sim, combat trials, herding balloons, and a shoot-your-own-film minigame. Event rewards will include an event-exclusive 4-star Claymore called Ultimate Overlord’s Mega Magic Sword. With a name like that, it must really be something special.

Itto’s beetle-fighting game returns in Arataki Blazing Armor Beetle Battle Boot Camp. Pit your Onikabuto beetle against ever-stronger opponents and see who comes out on top.

Lost Riches is coming to Fontaine with yet another treasure-seeking seelie. Visit various sites around Fontaine and follow the seelie to find treasure! As an added twist, this new seelie can swim underwater with you and is joining the roster of mini-seelie pets you can adopt as part of the event.

Dance of Resolute Will is a combat event. Battle through five stages with various teams. Each stage will confer different buffs that encourage different types of teams. Defeat as many opponents as you can before the time limit for the highest possible score!

Liben will also return for Marvelous Merchandise. Talk to Liben once a day to trade some junk for Primogems and special prizes! We’ll see what lore crumbs he gives us this time.

All the major miscellaneous/quality of life additions from Genshin Impact 4.3

Two new artifact sets are being introduced in Version 4.3: Nighttime Whispers in the Echoing Woods and Song of Days Past. We have yet to see details on set bonuses, so we’ll have to wait for more news to see how they will work.

Here are some other key takeaways from 4.3:

• Several new character and monster cards are being added to Genius Invokation TCG. These include Lyney, Lynette, Thunder Manifestation, Signora, Azhdaha, Dvalin, Layla, Yelan, and Alhaitham.
• Artifact optimizations are being added, like the ability to see artifact recommendations for characters. You’ll also be able to automatically lock artifacts with certain stats as soon as you obtain them. Additionally, artifact filters in the inventory will be optimized, allowing for more precise filters. The process of leveling up artifacts will also be streamlined, speeding up the process and reducing the number of times you need to click.
• Character and weapon leveling are also receiving the same level of polish. The new systems will allow you to auto-add materials and level up more quickly.
• Starting in Version 4.3, challenging a domain again after claiming rewards will spawn the player inside the arena instead of at the domain entrance.
• Certain quests have been optimized, eliminating prerequisites for some Liyue Archon quests.
• When going on Expeditions, you will be able to claim rewards and re-dispatch characters automatically.
• Finally, a new underwater Fontaine-themed realm is being added to the Serenitea pot. Now you can fully immerse yourself in your dream Atlantis-core home.

The post Genshin Impact Version 4.3 Special Program summary and Primogem codes appeared first on Destructoid.

I'm an efficiency monster. Min-maxing, goal-setting, and achievements — they’re all part of my milestone-driven playstyle in most games. My quest for powerful builds or ideal stats often adds a layer of challenge that games don’t demand, but I rarely deviate from the strategy. Coral Island makes optimization impossible though, and I think I love it.

Starting out

The only things I really knew about Coral Island were that it involved farming and had extensive romance options. I went in with a few specific goals: romance a certain villager, create a profitable farm, and beat the game. Get in, get out.

Right off the bat, I realized my to-do list wouldn’t be so easy. I needed to speak to the carpenter, but their store was closed for the night. Okay. I tried to visit the general store instead. Nope, it’s also closed for the night and closed on Wednesdays. Who closes their store on a Wednesday? So, I decided to return home and get some farm work done instead.

I opened up my map, looking for a way to fast travel to my farm from the town. Failing to find anything resembling fast travel, I looked online to see if I was just missing it. As it turns out, the feature unlocks by performing specific tasks that activate waypoints. For the time being, I would be hoofing it. I trudged home and went to bed.

The next day, I resolved to meet as many villagers as possible to find the one I was looking for. In Coral Island, villagers you haven’t met yet are marked on your map as question mark icons. I found myself chasing down each question mark icon, periodically opening my map to see where a villager had gone when I failed to find them. There were dozens of them, and they appeared to wander quite a bit. I hadn’t even unlocked any waypoints yet, so there was no easy way to catch up with someone I wanted to meet.

At this point, I turned off the game in frustration. It felt like Coral Island was actively preventing me from making progress, directly in conflict with the part of me eager to set my own frantic pace.

“It’s just farming.”

I turned to one of my friends, who has been playing Coral Island since its alpha stages. He was surprised when I described how frustrated I was, as the exact things that made my experience so unpleasant were the things he enjoyed the most. The stores closed at (mostly) reasonable hours, mimicking realistic business hours. The NPCs moved around and led lives of their own, like actual people. He didn’t mind walking around and exploring the world before unlocking fast travel.

Most importantly, he assured me there was no time limit to any objective in Coral Island. It didn’t matter if it took a few more days to introduce myself to everyone. It didn’t matter if the crops I chose to grow weren’t optimal for profits. “It’s just farming,” he said, “Relax.” 

Relax? I’ve got romance brewing, crops to grow, a village to please — how do I relax?

When I booted up Coral Island again, I forced myself to ignore the main mission objectives. I watered my plants, then walked all the way to town to chat up my neighbors. Moving along to the beach, I gathered up some trash and then started the trek home. I tried to walk to town again, but got distracted by insects and ended my day by picking flowers. I failed to progress my main objectives, and I had yet to find the villager I was looking for.

Yet, strangely, I didn’t feel stressed about it. It turns out that when you embrace the idyllic lifestyle of Coral Island, the game is…actually pretty relaxing. I still wish there was one automatically unlocked waypoint in the town for easy fast travel, but I didn’t mind walking when there was so much to collect along the way. I’m spending more time on my farm, just clearing the junk out of my plot of land. Sometimes, I chat with NPCs just to see what they have to say. And maybe one day, I’ll progress the story and find the love of my life, but that can wait.

Learning to relax

I don’t think Coral Island was created for people like me, who derive satisfaction from efficiency. But I’ve learned to appreciate the peaceful sim for forcing me to take a step back. Maybe things don’t always need to be optimized to be fun. Now that I have no goals, I’m free to do whatever I want in whatever time frame I want. It’ll be hard for me to give up my min-maxing habits anytime soon, but it turns out serenity can be nice, too.

The post How I learned to stop min-maxing and embrace serenity in Coral Island appeared first on Destructoid.

Check any HoYoverse social media thread, and I guarantee you’ll find a microcosm of netizens communicating in the infinite languages of online slang, memes, and pop culture references. Those conversations are often some painful mixture of absurdly awkward, endearing, or aggressive, and the writing in Honkai: Star Rail’s latest event perfectly captures that spirit.

The flagship event for Honkai: Star Rail Version 1.5, A Foxian Tale of the Haunted, follows a streamer named Guinaifen, who investigates ghost sighting claims. You and a few other characters work together to put these rumors to rest and grow Guinaifen’s social media presence. It's a lesson in ghost-hunting and clout-chasing, basically.

Star Rail knows something about posting

The event has you join a paranormal activity forum where people post about various supernatural events around the Luofu. These forum posts become leads to investigate, starting a short quest for each one. When finishing an investigation, you make a forum post of your own to share your findings and put the public at ease.

Every post on the forum garners comments from various netizens. The comments range from thoughtful discussion to, well, this.

There’s even someone barking. What’s extra fun is that Honkai: Star Rail has a race of fox-people called Foxians. Maybe the barking is real? Is it possible that Foxians in Honkai: Star Rail actually do bark at each other to express thirst?

Of course, there are also people using the posts to get attention for themselves. There’s one guy begging Guinaifen to reply to their DMs. Even Guinaifen’s brother uses her posts to try to get more followers himself. Or maybe he’s not even her brother, just someone fishing for followers.

There’s also a nod to the rise of generative AI to churn out low-effort content, with one commenter accusing us of using a similar tool to create our posts.

We even have haters and white knights. Someone makes a post criticizing our content, and people come to our defense in the comments. The top comment has been removed by a moderator, and another has been censored for profanity. Yikes.

The rest of the event's pretty great too

Aside from the painfully accurate internet “discourse,” I actually like the event as a whole. I haven’t played Honkai: Star Rail in earnest for some time, and this is the event that got me to download it again. There’s a new event story with unique dungeon puzzles, the featured characters have some fun dialogue, and the cutscenes are great. The combat portions of the event have unique mechanics that are actually fun to play around. You get a light cone as part of the event rewards, and unlike Genshin Impact, it appears you’ll be able to partake in the event storyline even after the event concludes.

I’m impressed at how much effort was put into creating an immersive event complete with internet spam. At the same time, I’m faced with how utterly wild and incoherent the internet can be, and I’m not sure if I like it.

The post Honkai: Star Rail gets painfully online with its perfect Internet speak appeared first on Destructoid.

The Genshin Concert came to Los Angeles on Sunday night, attracting thousands of Teyvat's fans from all over. Online gaming communities can have a bit of a reputation for being toxic, and Genshin Impact’s is no exception. In person, though, that shadowy cloud of internet hostility didn't hang over the theater as we congregated around our favorite game and an orchestrated celebration of its music.

Fast Traveler

HoYoverse kindly provided me with a ticket to the concert, so I hurried on over to the Peacock Theater and arrived at the venue about half an hour before the doors opened. This was fairly late, and a sizable crowd had already gathered in a sea of intimidating lines. Some were just here for the merchandise, having waited for hours to buy official concert gear. Many were wearing Genshin-themed clothing or accessories, with some decked out in full cosplay. It may have been a bit chilly, but Yelan fully committed to her cosplay and absolutely rocked it.

I started chatting with the people in front of me in line. They were a group of three, one of whom had traveled all the way from Arizona to be here. They asked me who my main was (Venti), when I started playing (since launch), and whether I was up to date on the Archon Quests (mostly). I overheard similar conversations around me. Concertgoers got to know their neighbors through discussions on favorite characters, events, and other Genshin-related topics.

Once the doors opened, it was a mad dash for two additional merchandise stations set up inside, and the lines filled quickly. Two employees in a sea of cardboard boxes frantically tried to serve as many people as possible before the concert started. I got lucky, barely snagging some merch before I took my seat.

The concert begins

The concert began with pieces from Mondstadt, starting with the main theme and taking us through Dragonspine and Dawn Winery. Scenes from the game flashed on three large screens, punctuated by close-ups of the orchestra as they played. 

After a brief intermission, we moved on to Liyue. The audience yelled when Zhongli appeared on screen for Rex Incognito, a major fan favorite. After another intermission, we heard pieces from Inazuma and Sumeru. Raiden Shogun’s theme was adapted to better suit the orchestra, toning down some of its harsh trap elements but remaining punchy. We didn’t hear much of Sumeru’s music, but the audience roared to life again as Port Ormos’ theme began to play.

Unlike some of the performances in Asia, the Genshin Concert Orchestra didn't feature many ethnic instruments that are integral to creating the unique sounds for each of Genshin Impact's nations. The Genshin Concert Orchestra playing for the American and European leg of the tour appears to be much smaller than Shanghai's orchestra, which featured a full choir and more diverse instrumentation. I did see one woman playing the guzheng and filling in for other instruments as best as she could.

We also appear to have missed out on a few fan-favorite songs that HoYoverse offered in other locations, perhaps because of the limited orchestra. I would have loved to hear more of Sumeru's music in general, even if parts wound up pre-recorded.

Aside from the excited but generally respectful cheers, there were a few disruptive callouts during the songs themselves. One particularly amorous fan screamed, “MY WIFE!” as soon as Ayaka appeared on the big screen. Perhaps they were emboldened by being in a crowd of like-minded people, but come on, guys. We’re better than this.

There were also a few people doing public pulls during the intermissions. They logged into Genshin Impact on their smartphones and held them up so that people in the rows behind them could see the screen. We then watched as they pulled on the current rate-up banners. Judging from the congratulatory cheers that erupted around them, one person appeared to have gotten what they wanted. Another lost his 50/50 to Keqing, and we consoled him for his loss.

A community of like-minded people

This is the best part of gaming communities — despite all the drama and in-fighting, we share an adoration for Genshin that's unifying. Thousands of fans were able to come together in person and enjoy being with others who played the same game. It's hard out there to find friends with similar interests, and the Genshin Concert was a great environment for fans to unabashedly express themselves. Who knew the Genshin community could be so wholesome?

The concert ended with a bit of trolling from the conductor, Eric Roth, who took a bow and walked off-stage as if the show was over. He returned a moment later to play us a few Fontaine songs, and after one final round of applause and cheering, the concert was truly over. It took a moment for most people to realize everything was said and done, but it was. People eventually started making their way outside, laughing and smiling as they started the journey home.

If you weren’t able to make it to the concert, Zy0x posted a completely accurate summary of events on Twitter. I was there, and I can vouch that everything mentioned in the thread is 100% true (it’s not). Okay, but even as something tongue-in-cheek, the thread's tone and spirit are totally indicative of the Genshin Concert crowd experience.

Even if Venti himself didn’t make an appearance, I was absolutely thrilled with my experience at Genshin Concert 2023. With some luck, maybe I’ll see you at Genshin Concert 2024, and we can discuss our favorite characters while braving those endless lines as a community.

The post Genshin Concert Los Angeles highlights the best part of gaming communities appeared first on Destructoid.

Have you ever been unable to decide between playing Genshin Impact and Pokémon? Or maybe you hate killing things in Genshin and want minions to do your dirty work instead? Well, now that Furina is here, I’ve been able to live my dreams of becoming a Pokémon trainer in Genshin Impact.

So, how do you play Pokémon in Genshin? Certain characters, like Fischl, can summon creatures to fight for them. Fischl can summon a crow familiar named Oz, who stays on-field and deals damage. There are others, too, like Kokomi, who summons a jellyfish, and Xiangling, who summons a small bear named Guoba. Combine multiple summons like this, and you end up with a field full of Pokémon ready to do your bidding.

Taking this concept, I tried to fully clear the current Spiral Abyss with Pokémon teams. Here’s how that went.

Pokémon Bloom

This team is made up of Nilou, Furina, Dendro Traveler, and Yaoyao. Furina summons three Salon members: an octopus, a seahorse, and a crab. Yaoyao can summon three to four Yueguis during her Burst. Traveler summons a lamp. It may not be an animal, but we do have a lamp Pokémon already, so I'm going to say it counts. Nilou is just there to buff the Bloom reaction.

I set up Nilou’s Bountiful Bloom passive, dropped down Furina’s and Dendro Traveler’s summons, and then Burst with Yaoyao. Then, I stay on-field with Yaoyao and run around the enemies. I don’t even need to attack. All of my Pokémon do my fighting for me.

The result is chaos. The entire screen turns green and fills with numbers. There are radishes and Bountiful Cores everywhere. Furina’s Salon members are somewhere in there, too. I can’t even see my own character. After a few seconds of green explosions, the enemies are dead, and the “challenge cleared” screen appears. That's a success in my book, even if I couldn't see anything that happened.

Pokémon Vape

Next, I tried Kokomi, Furina, Bennett, and Xiangling. Kokomi’s jellyfish and Xiangling’s Guoba join Furina’s Salon members on-field, creating a menagerie of Pokémon. Bennett doesn’t create any summons, but I need him to buff and provide Energy for Xiangling.

The team works by putting down everyone’s summons and using Kokomi on-field to heal the team. Between her Normal Attacks, the jellyfish, and Furina’s Salon members, there’s plenty of Hydro to let Xiangling Vaporize all her Pyronado hits. My favorite part is that it’s incredibly easy to play.

Did this team do well? Of course it did. Furina and Xiangling are both powerhouses, and Kokomi does a great job at keeping everyone’s HP full. It feels a bit like cheating, though, and not just because this team is so foolproof. Can it really be called a Pokémon team if most of the damage comes from Xiangling’s Burst and not the summons themselves?

Sukokomon

There’s always the OG Pokémon team. The team consists of Sucrose, Kokomi, Fischl, and Xiangling. This team combines Sucrose's wind spirits, Kokomi's jellyfish, Fischl's Oz, and Xiangling's Guoba to chain as many reactions as possible.

This one is a bit trickier to play. Part of it involves using Sucrose’s Skill right when Xiangling’s Guoba is about to breathe fire. This triggers Swirl on Guoba himself, applying Pyro onto surrounding enemies and causing chain reactions. There are detailed videos on how to pull this off, but I don’t think I was able to do it consistently.

Regardless, these elements create a messy soup of reactions that keep chaining into one another. It’s a spicy mix of Swirl, Vaporize, Overload, and Electro-Charged that fills the screen with more numbers than a math test. I don’t know if I got an A, but I did clear the chamber with plenty of time to spare, so I guess that means I passed?

Other Teams

These are far from the only Pokémon teams in Genshin Impact. If you want maximum Pokémon, then try Furina, Yae Miko, Dendro Traveler, and Yaoyao. Between Furina’s three Salon members, Yae’s three fox totems, Traveler’s lamp, and Yaoyao’s Yueguis, you can have up to 11 summons on-field at a time. I don’t have Yae, so I had to make do with Fischl. It’s a little scuffed since Yae and Fischl don’t make the best Hyperbloom triggers, but it works decently. Still, I wouldn’t call this one my favorite.

I got my full clear of Spiral Abyss, but I’m still experimenting with other Pokémon teams as I go. I’m also dying to try other creative Genshin teams, Pokémon-themed or not. It’s always fun to find new ways to enjoy Genshin, and I hope everyone is enjoying Fontaine as much as I am.

The post My favorite Pokémon teams in Genshin Impact appeared first on Destructoid.

Genshin Impact Version 4.2 is on the horizon, and with a new Version comes drip marketing for new characters. This time, we’re getting more details on Navia and the introduction of a brand-new character named Chevreuse!

Navia was first introduced in the Fontaine teaser trailer and has had a presence in the Fontaine Archon Quests. Now it appears she’s making the leap from NPC to playable character. She’s a Geo character with an Ousia Arkhe. From her presence in the teaser trailer, we can reasonably guess that she will be a 5-star character. Other than that though, her character introduction doesn’t include many new details. It looks like we’ll have to wait patiently for the leader of Spina di Rosula to become playable.

Chevreuse is an entirely new character we’ve never seen before, possibly hinting that she’s a 4-star. She has a Pyro Vision, and we can just make out the top of an Ousia Vision shape in the background. She is the Special Security and Surveillance Patrol Captain of Fontaine’s police force, with what appears to be an unorthodox approach to law enforcement.

Are there guns in Genshin Impact?

Interestingly, Chevreuse is depicted holding a rifle. Firearms have been present in Genshin Impact, but never on a playable character, unless you count Clorinde shooting a pistol in the Fontaine teaser trailer. Does this mean Chevreuse will debut an entirely new weapon type in Genshin Impact? Probably not. It’s not uncommon for characters’ art to show them wielding a different weapon from what they have in-game. 

I think it’s more likely that Chevreuse will wield one of the five established categories of weapons. She might pull out her rifle as part of her attack animations, but her primary weapon will probably be something like a Bow, Sword, or Polearm. If there was going to be a new weapon type in Genshin Impact, I would expect more fanfare and an announcement ahead of time. Still, anything can happen in Genshin Impact, and if HoYoverse is consistent about one thing, it’s that they’re willing to break patterns and surprise us.

When are Navia and Chevreuse coming to Genshin Impact?

Navia and Chevreuse can be expected sometime during Version 4.3 of Genshin Impact. If things remain on schedule, we can expect Version 4.3 to drop around December 19.

In the meantime, enjoy the upcoming Version 4.2! It looks like we’ll have a lot of new content to look forward to while we wait.

The post New characters Navia and Chevreuse announced for Genshin Impact appeared first on Destructoid.

Suika Game is a game about fruit. It’s also one of the most addictive, yet infuriating things I’ve ever experienced.

Suika Game (aka “Watermelon Game”) on the Nintendo Switch is a charming, simple affair. You start with a box into which you are instructed to drop various fruits. When two fruits of the same type touch, they merge together into a bigger fruit, generating points. The goal is to merge as many fruits as you can to eventually create the largest fruit: a watermelon.

It feels like Suika Game should be a fun and relaxing experience. The screen is filled with colorful fruit with little faces on them. The music is bouncy, and there are satisfying little popping noises when fruits merge together. The gameplay is simple. So why do I feel like throwing my Switch against a wall? 

Part of the game is luck-based. The fruits you drop into the box are random. You really need a grape, but the game keeps giving you oranges? Tough luck. The physics of how the fruits interact can be pretty unpredictable too. They bounce and roll around, ending up exactly where you don’t want them to be. When a merge happens, it often triggers a cascade of other merges, shuffling around the entire contents of your box. This is extremely satisfying to watch, but can also result in unfortunate fruit placement depending on how things settle.

Look. Look at this. If the two melons above would just close the tiny gap between them, they would merge into a watermelon. But they don’t. I piled more fruit on either side of them to try to wedge them together, but that plan failed and resulted in a game over.

Returning to the title screen shows me the titular watermelon. It winks at me. Mocks me. “One more try,” I mutter to myself. It is three in the morning. I’ve said the exact same phrase eight times already.

I am very much aware that my frustration is entirely a skill issue. At the end of the day, I am a well-adjusted adult capable of emotional regulation and I will not throw my Switch around. I will, however, commit violence against a melon the next time I go shopping for groceries.

Sour grapes aside, I can see why Suika Game has been gaining traction on the internet. It has a fun, addicting gameplay loop with very low stakes. If you’d like to try Suika Game yourself, it is currently available on the Switch eShop for $2.99. There’s also a Halloween update that adds a spooky background and turns all watermelons into jack-o-lanterns. 

If you do try Suika Game out for yourself, I hope your endeavors are fruitful. May your apples always fall right where you need them to.

The post Suika Game has me raging about watermelons appeared first on Destructoid.

HoYoverse has posted a new developers discussion detailing some quality-of-life changes coming soon to Genshin Impact in Version 4.2. While the developers note they are "still working on many other optimizations," the fixes revealed below should streamline several things for long-time players.

Skip prerequisites for weekly bosses

First on the list is a change to how weekly bosses are unlocked in Genshin Impact. Some weekly boss domains are normally unlocked by progressing through certain quests. If you don’t have time to complete these quests, those domains remain inaccessible in your world, meaning you don’t have easy access to valuable weekly drops.

With a new change to the weekly domains, you can now access the boss fights through the Adventurer’s Handbook starting from Adventure Rank 40, bypassing the quests entirely! You’ll still have to do the quests if you want the domains to be accessible from the overworld, but you’ll no longer have to rely on finding a co-op host to fight those specific bosses.

Accepting story quests

Under the current system, when you unlock character Story Quests, the new quests are automatically added to your active quests list. This can sometimes lead to conflicts with other quests that feature the same characters.

Starting in Version 4.2, you’ll be able to unlock Story Quests but not activate them right away. This lets you save those quests for later when you have the time to play through them. It also makes it easier to spend your Story Keys so you can get back to earning more. You’ll also be able to check prerequisites for Story Quests and Hangouts from a new menu.

More map pins

Are you running out of custom map pins? I ran out mid-Sumeru. Thankfully, the maximum number of pins is being increased from 150 to 200. You’ll also be able to batch select existing pins to delete them more efficiently. Quite nice of them, considering the size of Teyvat’s map has more than doubled over the past couple of years.

TCG features

If you enjoy Genius Invokation TCG, there’s good news. There will be a speed-up function that increases animation speed for dice rolling and other interface animations during duels. HoYoverse didn’t specify whether character attack animations will be affected. Either way, this should make duels feel snappier.

You’ll also be able to share TCG decks you’ve created with other players using a code. Conversely, you can also use another player’s code to import their deck. This will be nice for players looking to try new decks but don’t want to spend time making one from scratch. Or for players like me, who are bad at TCG and just want to use a pre-made deck.

None of these changes are huge, but they’re still welcome additions. It’s nice to see that the Genshin Impact team still cares about user experience instead of focusing solely on new content.

The release date for Version 4.2 of Genshin Impact has not been officially confirmed at this time. However, a "special program" showcasing the update will go live on Twitch on October 27.

The post Genshin Impact announces streamlined boss fights, other quality-of-life changes for Version 4.2 appeared first on Destructoid.

There’s a new web event for Genshin Impact to promote the release of its new OST album, but some seemingly AI-generated artwork featured in the event leaves a lot to be desired.

The web event is called “Glad Tidings from Afar,” and you’re supposed to listen to some of the new Fontaine OST tracks, then send them as gifts. The recipients include various Genshin Impact characters, represented by chibis. When you send some music to a character, you’re “rewarded” with an animated version of their chibi emote. 

The problem is that some of these animated Genshin Impact chibis were very clearly made using some kind of AI tool. Tighnari, for example, can’t decide how many fingers he’s supposed to have or which way his thumb is supposed to be facing.

Yun Jin has a blinking animation that squooshes the area of her face where her eyes are. This is all well and good, except one of her eyes is already closed in a wink. The outline of her bangs also gets pulled down during this motion, resulting in a weird black smear.

Speaking of bangs, what on earth is going on with Diona’s hairline here?

Aside from these specific examples, every single character’s mouth moves in an unsettling way that social media users have compared to Annoying Orange. You can view all of the animated emotes in this album.

The web event as a whole seems to represent a noticeable drop in quality compared to previous ones. The Genshin Impact logo on the top left corner of the landing screen is cut off for me. Web events usually have an info page that lists the rules of the event, but that page is missing this time. Some of the text is unnecessarily small and uses a font color that’s difficult to read. There’s no account integration, so rewards are given via codes, which results in a limited quantity. I know it’s just a web event, but it’s hard to believe that it was made by the same people who created the other web events in the past.

The sad part is that if the Genshin Impact team had just used still PNGs instead of taking shortcuts with AI animation, people likely wouldn’t have noticed anything amiss. Sure, there would still be some issues, but the atrocious AI animation draws a spotlight on everything else that’s wrong with the event. There’s already been a Reddit post on this topic, and the replies to HoYoverse’s original announcement share similar sentiments.

Where can I find this web event?

If you’d like to see the emotes in context, check out the web event on its official page. You’ll see different animations depending on whether you gift a piece of music to the right character.

The web event lasts until October 28, and you can get 40 Primogems from completing it, though the Primogem rewards are limited in quantity. Act fast if you want those freemos.

The post Genshin Impact’s new web event uses nightmare-inducing AI animation appeared first on Destructoid.

I have a long history with the Borderlands franchise, with a few hundred hours in Borderlands 3 on PC. Now it’s available on the Nintendo Switch as well. So how does one of my favorite looter-shooters hold up on the little handheld console?

Fairly well, actually, especially given its size. The main game takes up 8.4 GB. The DLC is an additional 10.4 GB, or 15 GB if you include the additional voiceover language pack. Compared to the 138.9 GB of the Steam version, Borderlands 3 on the Switch is tiny!

The game itself runs quite well on the Switch. Framerates felt pretty stable in the 30-45 FPS range, rarely dropping to a noticeable degree. The controls feel fine, and there are plenty of button customization options if something isn’t working for you. The gameplay is still good ol’ Borderlands. The guns are punchy, the reloads are snappy, and the action skills are spicy.

Some corners were definitely cut, though. You can see it in the lighting, which looks flatter overall compared to the PC version at high settings. Some of the textures have a noticeably lower resolution, most apparent when looking at your hand holding your gun. Some particle and distortion effects have been reduced. The Borderlands art style holds up well, though, and the stylization goes a long way toward masking a lot of the toned-down visuals.

The biggest downgrade is in the co-op function. The Switch version of Borderlands 3 only supports 2-player co-op, not the 4-player party that’s normally a Borderlands staple. Crossplay is not available, so you’ll only be able to co-op with other Switch players. I tried to matchmake with another player for co-op but was unable to find a match.

Bugs, and I don’t mean varkids

Aside from the co-op limitations, my biggest complaint is the bugs. There are several issues that aren’t game-breaking but very much noticeable. Here are just the ones I found over several hours of gameplay:

• Some Vault Hunter body customizations don’t work with skins.
• There’s no physics for clothing items, so Vaughn’s cape and Tyreen’s coat just hang rigidly from their shoulders.
• Skag calls always sound very close, even when they’re far away.
• Subtitles are displayed over a black bar, and the black bar sometimes persists through combat or cutscenes.
• Ammo models sometimes refuse to load for a minute or so.

None of the above make the game unplayable, but they do introduce a bit of jank. Some players have been reporting frequent crashes, though I haven’t experienced a single crash myself. I hoped the update shortly after the game’s launch would fix a few of these issues, but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Hopefully, at least some of them get addressed in a future patch.

What does the Ultimate Edition get you?

The Ultimate Edition of Borderlands 3 brings more than just the base game to Nintendo Switch. The full list of DLC comprises of:

• Moxxi’s Heist of the Handsome Jackpot
• Guns, Love, and Tentacles
• Bounty of Blood
• Psycho Krieg and the Fantastic Fustercluck
• Designer’s Cut
• Director’s Cut
• Various cosmetic packs

The first four are story DLC, each featuring a story campaign with new characters in new locations. All four are absolutely worth downloading and playing. The story campaigns in each DLC are (in my opinion) better than the main campaign in the base game. They add some neat DLC-exclusive loot too, some of which are absolute game-changers for certain classes.

The Designer’s Cut adds a new skill tree for each class, adding more build variety and room for creative gameplay. It also adds the Arms Race mode, which has been generally positively received, even if I personally found it repetitive.

The Director’s Cut includes some smaller missions that center around Ava solving a murder mystery for her podcast. There’s also a new boss — Hemovorous/Vermivorous the Invincible — and some behind-the-scenes bonus content that can be accessed from the main menu. There are also three Vault Cards that function like battle passes.

The cosmetic packs are okay, or they would be if some of the cosmetics weren’t bugged. They include some body type customizations for each Vault Hunter, and these look different enough from the default. The problem is that some of the bodies appear to be incompatible with skins, which change the Vault Hunter’s colors and patterns. This is exclusively a Switch issue; I couldn’t replicate this bug on PC.

Tl;dr: Borderlands 3 on Switch is fine

Borderlands 3 on the Nintendo Switch is a complete experience. There’s plenty of content to enjoy, and the actual gameplay is solid. Co-op is limited to two players with no crossplay. There are a handful of bugs that do dampen the experience, but they’re generally not game-breaking. It may not be the best way to enjoy the game, but it’s definitely still Borderlands 3.

[This piece is based on the Ultimate Edition of the game provided by the publisher.]

The post Borderlands 3 Switch impressions appeared first on Destructoid.

The Serenitea Pot is a system in Genshin Impact that allows players to craft furniture and build their own custom homes and landscapes. Players have come up with plenty of lavish builds, but if you take things too far, you can completely disable your furniture crafting function altogether.

Reddit user u/Enmityaz found this out the hard way. They’ve been on a years-long grind crafting more and more Pine Folding Screens until the game itself eventually told them, “no more.”

How did this happen?

When the Serenitea Pot function first launched in Genshin Impact, this particular piece of furniture was the most resource and space-efficient way to obtain the most points. Players who wanted to maximize their teapot points quickly figured out that crafting dozens of Pine Folding Screens and packing them into neat rows was the best way to min-max this otherwise relaxing game mode. This practice is called crypto mining within the community, since a roomful of screens looks a lot like rows and rows of crypto mining rigs.

When most players reached the points threshold where they unlocked all meaningful rewards, they stopped crafting additional screens. But not Enmityaz. They had a goal, a vision. Let the other players have their fancy mansions and hot tubs. Enmityaz would have screens upon screens — nothing but a sea of glorious Pine Folding Screens as far as the game could render.

So they kept crafting. Each screen takes 16 real-life hours to craft, and you can only craft five of them at a time. There are some ways to speed up crafting, but this would still be a painfully long endeavor.

They soon ran out of space in their teapot, but continued to hoard screens in their inventory. They posted updates to Reddit when they reached 3,334 screens. Then 8,002. Finally, in October 2023, they posted the glorious final update: 9,999 Pine Folding Screens, the absolute maximum that Genshin Impact allows in their inventory.

But they needed more. Curious and determined, they filled up their five furniture crafting slots with five more Pine Folding Screens. After the 16-hour crafting time, they came back to collect the finished furniture.

Except the game wouldn’t let them. Their inventory was full on this particular item. Oops. The crafting slots couldn’t be cleared without claiming the finished screens, but furniture can’t be deleted from the inventory either. Stalemate. Enmityaz can no longer craft anything in their Serenitea Pot, folding screen or otherwise. Their furniture crafting function is as good as bricked.

Can it be fixed?

As one does when encountering an in-game issue, Enmityaz contacted customer support. Hours later, they received a response to the effect of, “Your inventory is not limitless, that's why you're not able to collect the next furnishings.” Well, we already knew that. That’s not helpful. There hasn’t been another follow-up since.

Hopefully, HoYoverse is able to figure out a solution to this predicament. I honestly don’t blame the developers for this design oversight. I doubt that any other player has ever reached 9,999 of the same furniture, and developers probably never even considered the possibility. Who knew someone would be willing to spend years crafting the same item over and over again?

Realistically, it seems the solution would be to give players a way to destroy crafted items without claiming them. It seems Enmityaz would prefer some other way to continue hoarding though.

Until a solution is implemented, Enmityaz is stuck with a broken teapot, unable to craft anything new.

But why though?

All this leaves me wondering…why? Why embark on this years-long journey of crafting nothing but Pine Folding Screens? When another user asked this question, Enmityaz replied:

“When teapot came out, these were unlocked by default and were worth a lot of Adeptal Energy, so people crafted loads of this so they can max out the Serenitea coins ASAP. When I was finished, I had 80 of these. 80 was enough for me to consider going for 9,999.”

-u/Enmityaz

…Which boils down to, “just because.” And honestly? I aspire to this level of dedication. We could all learn something from Enmityaz. What that lesson is, I don’t know, but there is something to be learned here.

The post Genshin Impact player breaks their crafting function through excessive screen-making appeared first on Destructoid.

HoYoverse revealed its trailer for Version 1.4 of Honkai: Star Rail, titled “Jolted Awake from a Winter Dream.” Here’s a summary of all the new features coming to Trailblazers on October 11!

New characters

Three new characters are debuting in the next Version: Jingliu, Guinaifen, and Topaz. Seele also returns with her first rerun banner.

Jingliu will be in the first half, while Topaz and Seele will be in the second. They will be accompanied by their respective Light Cones: I Shall Be My Own Sword (Jingliu); Worrisome, Blissful (Topaz); and In the Night (Seele).

Jingliu is General Jing Yuan’s previous master. She disappeared after losing a confrontation with her apprentice, but she has returned to the Luofu for an unknown reason. Jingliu is a 5-star Ice Destruction character who deals AoE damage with her sword and mara-cursed powers. She is voiced by AmaLee in English, who you may know as the VTuber Monarch.

Guinaifen is a 4-star Fire Nihility character. She’s a street performer with a distinct traditional Chinese flair. Her attack animations feature adorable little Chinese lions that run in and detonate firecrackers. As a Nihility character, her kit will likely center around debuffing enemies.

Topaz (and her Warp Trotter Numby) work for the IPC. It appears Numby’s ability to sniff out wealth comes in useful when settling debts and other disputes with the IPC. Topaz is a 5-star Fire Hunt character who likely deals high single-target damage.

New areas

Two new areas have been revealed on Jarilo-VI: the Old Weapons Testing Ground and Pillars of Creation. You’ll be able to access and explore these areas as the main story continues. It looks like Topaz will be integral to the story in some way, but we’ll have to play the story ourselves to see just how they tie in.

Events

Version 1.4’s flagship event is Aetherium Wars, a combat event where you team up with companions in order to win a tournament. You’ll need to collect and train Aether Spirits to help you attain victory. This event is accompanied by Planar Infinity, in which the Simulated Universe undergoes a few unexpected changes as a result of Herta’s testing.

Outside of the game, it looks like there are a few upcoming collaborations with various fast food outlets around the world. There’s nothing in the America tab yet, but the fact that it exists hints that there might be something coming to the United States soon.

PS5 launch

With Version 1.4, Honkai: Star Rail is finally launching on the PlayStation 5! Both cross-play and cross-save will be supported, so you’ll be able to befriend Trailblazers on different platforms and transition to other devices if you need to. 

Honkai: Star Rail’s Version 1.4 update comes to all available platforms October 11. 

The post Honkai Star Rail Version 1.4 livestream details Jingliu banner, new areas appeared first on Destructoid.

I first sat down to play Dave the Diver expecting a few hours of casual fishing fun. 30 hours of game time later, I’m realizing that Dave the Diver goes much deeper than you’d expect from a $20 title. Its writing is hilarious, its art is simple but gorgeous, and its gameplay scratches my exploring/collecting itch in a way that’s supremely satisfying.

Dave the Diver was developed and published by Mintrocket, a brand-new subdivision of Nexon. Though Dave the Diver is the first game from Mintrocket, Nexon has a long history of mostly free-to-play online games like Maplestory and Blue Archive. Dave the Diver is neither free-to-play nor online though, and it offers a complete experience for the price of the box.

Dave the Diver (PC [Reviewed], Nintendo Switch)
Developer: Mintrocket
Publisher: Mintrocket
Released: June 28, 2023 (PC), October 26, 2023 (Switch)
MSRP: $19.99

Dave the Diver’s premise is simple. You are Dave, a professional SCUBA diver currently enjoying a tropical vacation. Suddenly, your best buddy Cobra calls, inviting you over for the best darn sushi of your life. Unable to resist, you hurry over to find that there is no sushi…yet. Cobra wants to open up a sushi restaurant, and he needs your help to manage it and catch fish.

From there, the gameplay is an addicting loop of exploring the Blue Hole, a mysterious undersea region full of fish from around the world. You’ll work with the sushi chef Bancho to add new fish to the menu, manage your restaurant to improve its rating, and even do some farming. While all this is going on, there is an overarching story involving an enigmatic lost civilization of Sea People.

The story is silly, yet endearing. The game as a whole doesn’t take itself too seriously, and it’s not afraid to exploit clichés or use over-the-top visual gags. It’s full of references to internet memes, anime culture, and hilarious writing all around. The cutscenes are true works of art and I refuse to skip a single one.

Each and every one of the NPCs is memorable. Bancho is technologically inept, but a master sushi chef. Duff, your weapons dealer, is a basement-dwelling anime girl superfan. Sato, who collects trading cards based on the fish you catch, is straight-up an adult Ash Ketchum. I didn’t have to look up any of these characters’ names. I remember them all because I love them all.

Diver by day, restaurateur by night

You’re able to do two to three diving trips each day: once in the morning, afternoon, and evening. These diving excursions are used to gather materials, cooking ingredients, and of course, fish. Fishing is done primarily with a harpoon that can be aimed in the 2D space around you. As you continue playing, you unlock various types of weaponry to dispatch larger, more aggressive creatures. There are also nets and traps, giving you some flexibility in what method you want to use to capture your quarry.

The Blue Hole is ever-changing though, with different landscapes every time you dive and random items found in each chest. No two dives will go the same way. Dave the Diver isn't a roguelite, but it might help to go in with the same "take what you get" mindset that roguelites encourage.

Your oxygen meter doubles as your health bar, and taking damage drains your oxygen. Return to the surface before you run out, or find one of the many oxygen canisters scattered around the Blue Hole. If you run out of oxygen underwater, Cobra will rescue you, but you’ll only get to keep one of the items you acquired during your dive. It sucks to lose a bunch of fish, but I've never felt pressured to load a previous save because of it.

Any fish you take back to your restaurant can be served to customers in the form of sushi or other, fancier dishes. I enjoyed designing my own wacky menu based on what ingredients I have and my customers’ tastes. The restaurant opens every evening to serve customers and earn money. As you get busier, you’ll be able to hire employees to help you with cooking, serving, and acquiring ingredients.

The diving portion and restaurant management portion of Dave the Diver work together to create a wholesome, satisfying gameplay loop. You explore and fish during the day and run your restaurant at night, making more money to buy more upgrades so you can catch ever more exotic fish. I always grin when I see that I’ve beaten my all-time sales record or caught my biggest fish. But I know that I can make more money and catch even bigger fish. And so I hop back into the water even though I really should stop playing and go to bed.

That's not all, though. There’s so, so much more to Dave the Diver than just diving and running a restaurant. You can open a fish farm, a vegetable farm, and a seaweed farm. You can race seahorses, gamble, play rhythm games, and even raise a Tamagotchi-like virtual pet. Each of these events are introduced gradually over the course of the story, preventing you from getting overwhelmed at the start.

Most importantly, you don’t have to partake in these activities. Sure, farming will help you get more ingredients for special recipes, but you don’t regularly need to keep up with your farm in order to progress the story. If the management aspect becomes too much, it’s perfectly fine to ignore these extra mechanics until you actually need them.

Deceptively simple, supremely satisfying

My one core criticism of Dave the Diver is that a few of its gameplay elements are poorly explained. There were a small handful of moments during my playthrough where I wasn’t sure how to properly pour a beer or why my seahorses were seemingly disappearing. Still, these issues were infrequent and easy enough to overcome. The boss fights and puzzles are generally fairly easy for those with video game experience. Dying to a boss respawns you at the start of the fight, allowing you to try again immediately. There are a couple of puzzles that don’t spoon-feed you the correct answer, which I appreciate.

In a world full of fear and uncertainty, Dave the Diver is here to offer a lighthearted story and engaging gameplay. It doesn’t try to follow trends or emulate big AAA titles. It doesn’t have an in-game shop to try to get you to spend more money. It’s simply a silly, fun game about a diver named Dave, and I can’t put it down.

Also, you can pet the baby whale. 9/10 would pet again.

_{[This review is based on a retail copy of the game purchased by the reviewer.]}

The post Review: Dave the Diver appeared first on Destructoid.

Drip marketing for Genshin Impact Version 4.2 is here, and the new playable characters are confirmed to be Furina and Charlotte. Announcements were made via HoYoverse’s social media channels showing off the new character art and teasing some new details.

We’ve seen both of these girls before. Furina is the Hydro Archon and she’s played a prominent role in the Archon Quests so far. Charlotte made her debut as an NPC back in Version 3.7. With this announcement though, they are both confirmed to be joining the playable roster soon.

What do we know about Furina and Charlotte?

Furina is a charismatic drama queen. She’s the ruler of Fontaine and her people adore her. Despite her popularity though, the flavor text included with her announcement hints that she might actually be a bit lonely. She is shown holding a fancy rapier or cane with Hydro elements around it, possibly hinting at her weapon. 

Furina’s Constellation is Animula Choragi, which could mean a couple of things. “Animula” is a diminutive form of Latin “anima,” meaning spirit or soul, so this could be translated as “little soul.” Choragi were the patrons of Greek drama, but a singular choragus could also refer to the leader of the choir. Either way, it’s interesting that HoYo picked the plural form of the word.

Charlotte is a reporter for the Steambird. She’s confirmed to be Cryo with a Pneuma alignment. We didn’t learn too much new information about her other than her Constellation: Hualina Veritas. This one’s easier to translate than Furina’s; it just means “transparent truth.” Fitting for a reporter!

It’s also a little suspicious that the background of Furina’s portrait image is lacking a Fontaine Vision. There is usually a Vision shape at the top of the background elements for character announcements, and you can see one in Charlotte’s background. Archons aren’t exempt from this either; Nahida and Raiden’s art include their nation’s Vision shape. I can’t imagine this is an accident, so maybe HoYoverse is trying to hide Furina’s Arkhe alignment for whatever reason.

Other than their element, gameplay details are unknown at this time. It looks like Furina might use a Sword, but Charlotte’s weapon is unspecified. We’ll have to wait for the 4.2 Special Program to find out how they play.

When are Furina and Charlotte coming to Genshin Impact?

Furina and Charlotte are coming in Genshin Impact Version 4.2, which if the schedule holds, should be coming on November 7. You’ll have all of 4.1 to save Primogems, assuming you don’t spend it all on the 4.1 characters!

The post New characters Furina and Charlotte revealed for Genshin Impact appeared first on Destructoid.

Dave the Diver is a game about making delicious sushi and other dishes using exotic sea life as ingredients. The game doesn’t take itself too seriously, but I feel compelled to point out that attempting to eat some of Bancho’s dishes might not be the most pleasant experience. Would Bancho Sushi pass a health inspection, or would it kill some of its patrons? Let’s take a look at some of the…interesting food items in Dave the Diver.

Stinging Jellyfish

Let’s start with jellyfish. You can make sushi with several types of jellyfish, including the infamous box jellyfish. These things are among the most venomous living things on Earth, capable of killing swimmers in minutes if they get caught in their tentacles. And in Dave the Diver, Bancho serves them up raw with rice and nori. Strictly speaking, the bell portion of jellyfish should be safe to eat, since the stinging cells are only on the tentacles. But the in-game art features some tentacles served on the side. It’s unclear if they’ve been treated in some way to disable the stings (no, urine does not work), but I personally would push them to the far side of the plate.

Other jellyfish, like barrel jellyfish or fried-egg jellyfish, probably won’t kill you even if you touch their tentacles. Their venoms are much less potent than the box jelly’s, though getting stung still isn’t pleasant. Despite the danger, many cultures around the world regularly consume jellyfish. (Speaking from experience, it’s kind of crunchy.) It’s important to note that some species of jellyfish are poisonous if not prepared properly, so let’s hope Bancho knows what he’s doing.

Poisonous fish

Speaking of poisonous seafood, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention pufferfish. Almost all pufferfish are poisonous to varying degrees, and the two species in Dave the Diver are no exception. Preparation of pufferfish as food is heavily regulated in Japan and Korea. It appears that Bancho does indeed have a pufferfish license, so it should be safe to eat the pufferfish he serves. Still, if you start to feel a numbing or tingling sensation in your mouth while eating, it’s probably best to put down those chopsticks.

Many predatory reef fish like triggerfish, barracuda, and moray eels can be poisonous as well. Depending on what the fish have eaten, they can accumulate high levels of ciguatoxin in their flesh. The toxin doesn’t hurt the fish, but in humans, it can cause an illness called ciguatera. While you’re unlikely to die from ciguatera, it can lead to numbness, vomiting, diarrhea, and serious neurological issues. On top of this, the same chemical properties that made it hard for the fish to expel the toxin also apply to you. Once it’s in your system, ciguatoxin is difficult to get rid of, and symptoms can last for days to years depending on how much you ate. 

Just plain gross

Food doesn’t have to be deadly in order to be unpleasant. Bancho serves a lot of shark dishes in various forms. Sharks have massive amounts of bitter-tasting urea in their flesh and blood. We humans excrete urea through our urine, but for sharks, the urea helps prevent them from dehydrating. When they die, the urea starts converting to ammonia, which has a foul odor on top of an acrid taste. There are ways to mitigate this, but in my experience, the smell and taste of ammonia can be so overpowering that the dish is nearly inedible. Shark meat isn’t something I recommend for the faint of heart.

Deep-sea fish in general have their own problems. Many of them, like the barreleye and snailfish, are uniquely adapted for extreme pressures. Bringing them to the surface causes the gases in their bodies to expand, damaging their internal structures and turning their flesh into gelatinous mush. I guess it would technically be edible, but it would be difficult to make sushi out of.

Interestingly, nautiluses are entirely edible. You do need to get them out of their shell though, and their meat doesn’t have the classic brown stripes that are on the shell. The in-game art for nautilus sushi is definitely striped though, so is Bancho serving you the shell too? I can’t imagine you’re supposed to crunch up and swallow the inedible shell. Maybe you’re meant to remove the shell before eating?

Is Bancho a star chef or a murderer?

So far, it doesn’t look like anyone’s died from eating Bancho’s food. Dining at Bancho Sushi is probably perfectly fine, especially given those high ratings in Cooksta.

Just exercise caution when eating seafood in the real world. Do your research before putting things in your mouth and make sure your food is prepared according to safety guidelines. 

The post A look at Dave the Diver’s dishes and their IRL dangers appeared first on Destructoid.

Yu-Peng Chen, the lead composer for most of the music in Genshin Impact, is leaving HoYoverse to pursue his own dreams.

The announcement comes via his personal Weibo and Bilibili accounts, which have been translated and reposted by @_mika60_ on X (formerly Twitter) and u/super-grey on Reddit. Chen states that he is leaving HOYO-MiX (HoYoverse’s in-house music studio) to pursue his own career goals. He expresses confidence in the team he is leaving behind and announces plans for a solo album next year.

“I'm very sorry to disturb everyone! According to the plans for my personal creative endeavors, after careful consideration for some time and several discussions with the company, I have chosen to leave miHoYo and the HOYO-MiX team to continue pursuing my music dreams! Seeing my fellow composers at HOYO-MiX team constantly growing, witnessing Genshin Impact's music progressing step by step (Fontaine Music is really great👍), and recalling the support and help the company and colleagues have given me during the music production process... It's truly the most beautiful and unforgettable memories! I earnestly request everyone's understanding and respect for my decision, and in the future, I will continue to explore the path of music. I plan to release a new album of purely instrumental music next year, and specific plans will be announced in the future. I hope you will continue to support my creations.

In the future, I will continue to explore Teyvat's wonders together with everyone as a Traveler!”

-Yu-Peng Chen, translated by u/super-grey

The news comes after weeks of speculation after fans noticed that Chen was missing from the credits of many Fontaine tracks. Still, the new Fontaine music in Genshin Impact has been universally well-received.

Chen’s departure has yet to be acknowledged on Genshin Impact or HoYoverse’s official channels.

Yu-Peng Chen in Genshin Impact

Yu-Peng Chen has composed music for various films, video games, and TV series since 2009. Most of these had more of an Eastern audience, and it was Genshin Impact that propelled him into the hearts of Western fans. His fanbase only grew as more tracks were added to Genshin’s soundtrack, earning him nicknames like Yu-Peng Chad or the Music Archon.

He was the sole composer for most of the music in Genshin Impact until partway through Inazuma’s release, when more composers began to appear in the credits. Even then, the tracks produced by other composers were kept to such high standards that players looked forward to each and every release.

On top of his compositions, you can listen to the voice of the man himself during the Scaramouche boss fight. The track Polumnia Omnia features Chen as the primary vocalist. You can hear him talk more about creating Sumeru’s music in this behind-the-scenes video. Azhdaha’s boss fight music is another iconic track that’s further explored in its own video. Other similar behind-the-scenes videos can be found in this list, if you’d like to see the creative process for older tracks in Genshin.

Chen will continue to influence Genshin’s music even after his departure, if indirectly. He’s set a new standard for video game music, and if Fontaine’s tracks are any indication, HoYoverse has no intention of dropping them. Genshin also loves to use recurring themes and motifs, so we can expect to hear melodies of Chen’s past work woven into new music going forward. If nothing else, we get to hear the relaxing main theme every time we log into the game and sit on the start screen. Chen describes the development process behind the main theme in a video.

Where will Yu-Peng Chen go from here?

According to Chen’s announcement, we can look forward to an independent album release sometime in 2024. After that, he may continue to produce music either as standalone releases or for other films and media. He’s said he would make an announcement for his future plans, so we’ll have to keep an eye out if we want to be sure.

It’s the end of an era for Genshin. The future looks bright though, and Yu-Peng Chen is nowhere near done with his music career.

The post Genshin Impact composer Yu-Peng Chen is leaving HoYoverse appeared first on Destructoid.

Only Up!, the brutally difficult platformer that took Twitch by storm earlier this year, has been voluntarily removed from Steam by its creator.

Only Up! was created by SCKR Games, a studio consisting of just one person known as Indiesolodev. In a final update on Steam, they state that the game has been a source of stress over the past several months, and they now want to put the game behind them.

Indiesolodev will take the time off to grow as a developer, and they shared plans for a new game in the works called Kith.

“‘Kith’ - it will be a new experience and a new concept with realism, a completely different genre and setting, and the emphasis is on cinematography. This time I hope the project will be created by a small team. This is a challenging project on which I want to significantly improve my skills in game design.”

This is not the first time Only Up! was removed from Steam. It was taken down briefly back in late June amidst controversy regarding stolen assets. Indiesolodev quickly removed the problematic assets, and the updated game was back on Steam in a matter of days.

There has also been pushback to NFT artwork being featured on some assets in what many players saw as an advertisement for NFTs.

Despite the controversy and janky controls, Only Up! was quite popular on Twitch for a time, attracting the attention of let’s players and speedrunners. With the sudden increase in scrutiny, it’s no wonder the developer felt stressed. 

I’m glad Indiesolodev is taking some time for themselves. Hopefully, with the support of a team behind them, the development of Kith goes much more smoothly.

The post Only Up! voluntarily removed from Steam, this time for good appeared first on Destructoid.

Baldur’s Gate 3 is a massive CRPG that can engross you for hundreds of hours. It’s chock full of adventure, romance, and creative shenanigans that take multiple playthroughs to experience fully. But what if you’ve got dinner in the microwave and only have a few minutes?

Well, if you’re like Mae or ImTaiyl, you can beat Baldur’s Gate 3 in less than four minutes (not counting loading time) using a technique known as “Shadowboxing.”

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGBtcCBw-U8[/embed]

What is Shadowboxing?

In Baldur’s Gate 3, you can typically only throw objects a certain distance from you. If you try to throw an object to an invalid location, the game simply won’t let you and the object will stay at its original position. However, the game will store the location you tried to move the object to.

Let’s say the object is a box that has an opening animation. For some reason, this animation breaks all logic. If you open the box, trigger the animation, and move the box to a valid location, the box will instead move to the invalid location you chose earlier.

This is already brimming with possibilities, but how is this relevant to the speedrun? Well, let’s say you want to trigger a cutscene at the end of Act 2 that takes you to one of the game’s endings. You would normally trigger the cutscene yourself by walking into it, but walking is slow and boring. Why do that when you can throw the corpse of one of your companions into the cutscene trigger? It turns out that a dead companion counts as a valid entity that can trigger the ending cutscene.

Unfortunately for Shadowheart, she is the easiest companion to find and kill for speedrunning purposes. The route for the Baldur’s Gate 3 speedrun involves brutally murdering your companion, stuffing her corpse into a box, setting the box on fire, and then launching the box across the map to the end of Act 2. Because the box is on fire, it will break soon after it lands, releasing poor Shadowheart’s corpse and activating the cutscene for one of the endings.

The current world record actually uses this technique twice during their run to transport the party to where they need to go. If you’d like to try this for yourself, ImTaiyl has put together a helpful tutorial.

Where do Baldur’s Gate 3 speedruns go from here?

Baldur’s Gate 3 is still a very recent game, and Shadowboxing was only discovered a few days ago. It’s hard to imagine the route becoming more optimized than it is now, but there’s still plenty of time to discover new glitches or strategies that can help bring the time even lower. Mae and ImTaiyl are the first speedrunners to break the four-minute barrier, but there will certainly be others as more players perform their own runs!

In the meantime, enjoy your microwave dinner and marvel at what people can achieve in the time it takes to reheat it.

The post Baldur’s Gate 3 speedruns are less than 4 minutes thanks to a corpse and a box appeared first on Destructoid.

Nintendo has announced three upcoming Nintendo Switch bundles featuring Mario Kart 8 Deluxe and Animal Crossing: New Horizons. All three are set to go on sale on October 6 from select retailers. 

The first bundle is a Nintendo Switch console with blue and red Joy-Cons, a digital download of Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and a three-month subscription to Nintendo Switch Online. The MSRP for this bundle is $299.99, the price of a Switch on its own. The bundle does not include the Booster Course Pass DLC.

[caption id="attachment_402143" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Nintendo[/caption]

The other two bundles are handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite consoles paired with a digital download of Animal Crossing: New Horizons. These new Switch Lites feature the classic turquoise and pink colors with a special leaf design on the back. The turquoise version (Timmy & Tommy’s Aloha Edition) will be sold exclusively at Walmart while the pink (Isabelle’s Aloha Edition) will be found at Target.

Both have an MSRP of $199.99, the same as a Switch Lite console by itself. These bundles do not include the Happy Home Paradise DLC or Nintendo Switch Online, which you will need to purchase separately in order to enjoy online features.

[caption id="attachment_402141" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Images via Nintendo[/caption]

The Mario Kart 8 Deluxe bundle is a yearly tradition at this point. Variations of this bundle have gone on sale practically every holiday season since the game’s debut on the Switch. Still, Mario Kart is a classic, and Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is arguably the best entry in the series. The Booster Course Pass DLC adds 40 new tracks to the game, as well as a handful of exclusive characters. The DLC can be purchased separately for $24.99 or included with a Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass subscription for $49.99/year. Note that this is the higher subscription tier for Nintendo Switch Online, not the base tier included in the bundle.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons took the world by storm during the COVID-19 pandemic, and still has a dedicated player base. If you’d like to try escaping to your very own island town with cute animal neighbors, maybe this is the game for you. The Happy Home Paradise DLC can be purchased for an additional $24.99 if you want access to additional furniture options.

Switch vs. Switch Lite

The Switch Lite is compatible with the vast majority of the Switch library with very few exceptions. Opting for the cheaper, handheld-only Switch Lite won’t significantly limit the other games you can play. It just means you won’t be able to connect to a TV and certain motion controls might not work.

The post New Switch hardware bundles are on the way ahead of the holiday season appeared first on Destructoid.

The Kickstarter campaign for Ratatan, a new game from the minds behind Patapon, has ended with a whopping total of almost ¥220,000,000 Japanese Yen, close to $1.5 million USD, in pledges from more than 14,500 backers.

This makes Ratatan the 34th most funded video game in Kickstarter’s history. The campaign FAQs say that we can expect a full release of Ratatan by April 2025, with a closed beta starting in late 2024.

Ratatan is a strategy rhythm game where you play a Ratatan leading an army of adorable cyclopic Cobuns in battle. The gameplay is reminiscent of the Patapon series, originally released for the handheld PlayStation Portable in 2007. This is no coincidence. The campaign information proudly announces that many of the creative minds who made Patapon are also involved in this new project, making Ratatan a spiritual successor to the PSP classic. The dev team includes producer Kazuto Sakajiri, director Kenei Nakasha, game designer Hiroyuki Kotani, and composer Kemmei Adachi, among others. 

[caption id="attachment_400938" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Ratata Arts[/caption]

The original Kickstarter goal of ¥20,000,000 (around $137,000 USD) was reached in under an hour. (Disclosure: I also personally backed this Kickstarter.) From there, backers proceeded to fulfill several stretch goals to add features like orchestrated music and additional game modes. At campaign's end, the campaign tallied up ¥219,314,335 in contributions from 14,598 backers.

With the stretch goal for console releases being met, Ratata Arts has stated a desire to release Ratatan on all current-gen consoles (including Xbox Series X|S, Playstation 4 & 5, and Nintendo Switch) as well as Steam.

Jump to the rhythm

More gameplay details were revealed in a Kickstarter-closing livestream along with a brief liveplay demo. Player commands are issued using a seven-beat rhythm input system, and the Cobun chant a response while performing an action. The fever bar from Patapon returns, with higher combos filling the bar, strengthening your team, and increasing the intensity of the music. Like the various types of Patapon, there are different types of Cobun you can recruit into your army based on which Ratatan you are controlling.

The similarities to Patapon go beyond just the gameplay. Many of the character designs in Ratatan also feature a similar single-eyeball, small-bodied aesthetic, albeit with a much more diverse and vibrant color palette. There may even be a cameo of an old Patapon enemy named Dodonga, except he’s now called Dekadon and has had a bit of a facelift.

[caption id="attachment_400940" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Screenshot by Ratata Arts[/caption]

The Patapon series had a limited audience since it was released solely for the PSP, then remastered in 2017 and 2020 for the PS4. After more than 20 years, it seems we’re finally getting a fresh entry with this call-and-response tactical rhythm formula.

The post Patapon spiritual successor Ratatan Kickstarter ends with over $1.4 million raised appeared first on Destructoid.

Over the weekend, news of a malicious Genshin Impact hack began circulating around social media. Through use of third-party plugins, bad actors could abuse a Kaveh ability in Genshin Impact to explode Dendro Cores and delete any interactable entity in the overworld. The situation is now resolved, with the developer HoYoverse making a statement that the issues have been fixed and perpetrators have been banned.

Before the official statement though, there was a period of confusion and uncertainty among players. Some panicked. Others responded with memes. Here’s some of the best creative content that was produced during the ordeal.

Bloomenheimer

Created by @oreosu_ featuring art by @NawlienSuzu, this image is a reference to the film Oppenheimer. It seems Kaven has also earned the title “destroyer of worlds.” 

https://twitter.com/oreosu_/status/1695312347521597594

Careful what you wish for

Created by @neddyoo, this TikTok features Lyney gesturing to things he wants deleted, only to find himself in an unexpected situation. It should be noted that this clip is not an example of the hack in action, just a recreation for entertainment purposes.

https://www.tiktok.com/@neddyoo/video/7271642078604528897

Deleting Paimon

Joking about using Kaveh to delete Genshin Impact mascot character Paimon was a recurring theme in the community. Paimon is somewhat of a polarizing character due to her high-pitched voice and tendency to speak for the Traveler. Although she is beloved by many, there are some (like @zajef77) who would rather see her gone.

https://twitter.com/zajef77/status/1695224955435098349

Fancomics

Artist @nya_Deko created fancomics interpreting the Kaveh hack as canon to the world of Genshin Impact. Their adorable art style lends itself well to chaos as Kaveh deletes Childe from existence and meets Alhaitham with glitched hair.

https://twitter.com/nya_deko/status/1695356746175299772

@tinartss had a more somber interpretation with an 11-page comic where Kaveh is jailed for his actions. I wasn’t expecting to take an emotional hit from a comic referencing a video game hack.

https://twitter.com/tinartss/status/1695832177940799610

Thankfully, the hack is now fixed and it's safe to play with Kaveh in co-op. It's good to see the creative, humorous side of the community during times like these.

The post The best memes from the Genshin Impact Kaveh hack of 2023 appeared first on Destructoid.

Microsoft has removed the option to sign up for a 14-day trial of Game Pass for $1. This comes just ahead of Starfield’s release on September 6.

This was first reported by XGP, and you can compare what the Game Pass sign-up page looked like before and after the change thanks to a tweet by @Wario64. There used to be text in each subscription tier advertising 14 days for $1, and then full price afterwards. This text is now gone from the live page.

https://twitter.com/Wario64/status/1695809585389740466?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In the past, people were able to try Game Pass for a full month for the low cost of $1. This allowed people to sign up, play whatever was in the library for a month, and then cancel their service before paying the full subscription fee. Perhaps to curb this practice, Microsoft removed the $1 month-long trial in March before reinstating it in July this year. However, after about a month, the month-long trial period was reduced to just 14 days. Three weeks later, Microsoft has decided to remove the trial option altogether.

It looks like you can still get a free 14-day trial through the friend referral system. The program allows current subscribers to gift five people each year with a free 14-day trial of PC Game Pass. So if you know someone who already has Game Pass, perhaps you can ask them for a code.

Is it because of Starfield?

Maybe. Without a statement from Microsoft, we can only speculate as to why they are making this change. The timing certainly lines up with the highly-anticipated release of Starfield, so this seems to be the prevailing theory for now.

If you already have a Game Pass subscription, then this won’t affect you. The change only affects would-be new subscribers who planned to take advantage of the $1 offer to play Starfield on release day.

The full price for a month of PC Game Pass is $10, or $17 for the Ultimate tier. Subscribers can play Starfield when it launches on September 6 for PC and Xbox Series X|S. Those with the Premium Edition of the game can access the game five days early.

The post Microsoft axes $1 Xbox Game Pass trial appeared first on Destructoid.

HoYoverse announced via social media that a malicious hack in Genshin Impact has been patched. The hack allowed users to join other players in co-op mode and permanently delete any interactable entity in their world.

"The relevant issues have been fixed on August 25," reads HoYoverse's statement. "By August 26, our developers had fixed the accounts of the Travelers who encountered this error and contacted Customer Service for assistance. We have also notified Travelers regarding the status of the fix through Customer Service."

Additionally, HoYoverse says it's still monitoring reports from impacted users. The Genshin Impact publisher noted some accounts may not have all items restored yet, and asked anyone experiencing issues to contact customer service. Otherwise, it seems things are back to normal, and co-op mode is safe once again.

https://twitter.com/GenshinImpact/status/1696108032365846652

According to HoYoverse, third-party plugins facilitated targeting these exploits. Kaveh's world-destroying power wasn't something unsuspecting players triggered accidentally. The tool allowed bad actors to join worlds via the co-op function and delete crucial parts of Genshin Impact's world, like chests, teleporters, domain trees, or Katheryne. On Twitter, @_mika69_ chronicled player reports of the hack, with some users noting the item removal seemed permanent. Troubleshooting tactics, like reverifying files or swapping devices, did not restore missing items.

Over the weekend, moderators in the official Genshin Impact Discord pinned a warning message in the general channel. Mods urged other players not to participate in co-op momentarily. After HoYoverse resolved the Genshin Impact exploit, the company followed up with today's lengthier statement.

World Impact

To explain, the best examples and breakdowns of the hack come from Reddit. One lengthy thread shared videos uploaded to Bilibili showing set pieces within the world, like Domains and the Shrine of Depths, permanently removed. Additional clips included Kaveh one-shotting the RPG's most difficult bosses.

"This hack can delete most intractable [sic] objects," wrote pzlamma333.  "Including Katheryne, statue of seven, door of spiral abyss, waypoint, tree of domains, or even the domain doors themselves."

The explanation notes the hack relies on an exploit found that changes every object's ID to a Dendro Core ID, and then uses Kaveh to destroy those items. For those unfamiliar, Kaveh's abilities allow him to explode nearby Dendro Cores. So, by changing other item IDs to match Dendro Cores, players with third-party tools could delete Genshin's most important set pieces.

In addition to deleting items, HoYoverse also claimed some bad actors jumped in to either create memes or spread further panic while also using those hacks. For a while, it was rumored that Nahida could be used to delete things too, but this turned out to be false.

HoYoverse appears to be taking a firm stance against using third-party programs to disrupt others' experiences. While bans are a common punishment for online games, the publisher sounds willing to take things a step further. Today's statement also promises legal action - something the company has pursued in the past.

Ultimately, it seems safe for players to return to business as usual, and those affected will see their accounts restored.

The post Genshin Impact hack fixed, Kaveh no longer destroyer of worlds appeared first on Destructoid.

Ticket sales for Genshin Concert 2023 are now underway, and every location that has opened up so far has sold out almost immediately. Genshin Concert is a live orchestral performance showcasing some of the gorgeous music in Genshin Impact. Ticket sales are staggered based on location, with Singapore and Malaysia opening up first.

Both dates for Singapore’s concerts were sold out in a matter of minutes, described by one Reddit user as an “absolute bloodbath.” Malaysia’s ticketing website was overwhelmed entirely, resulting in an error where people couldn’t even join the queue.

It’s not just Asian locations that are mad for tickets though. Two American locations began their own ticket sales shortly thereafter. New York has two concerts, and both of them reached a ticket queue of over 4,000 people within five minutes of opening. At least the website is holding up though! The same can’t be said for the website handling Mexico’s sales, which was still returning a 508 error half an hour after opening.

Other locations in the US, Asia, and Europe have yet to open their ticket sales. Boston, Los Angeles, and Chicago tickets open tomorrow. If you’re at all interested in snagging a ticket for yourself, be prepared to camp out early to get your place in the queue and may the Archons be with you.

Ticket Gacha and Scalping

The mad rush for tickets has some people suggesting that ticket sales should be based on a lottery — adding a gacha element to the gacha game’s live concert. The idea is being handled with varying degrees of seriousness, with some users joking about buying multiple tickets for a chance at a VIP seat.

Scalping has already begun too. Sale listings for Singapore and Malaysia tickets have begun appearing on Carousell, a marketplace platform for Southeast Asia. Many of these listings are auction-style, with most bids going much higher than the original selling price.

The post Genshin Concert tickets sell out in minutes, scalping has already begun appeared first on Destructoid.

When I saw that Honkai: Star Rail was having a special collaboration event with Sunright Tea Studio, I was intrigued. Most HoYoverse collabs in the past have been exclusive to locations in Asia, so it’s a rare occasion for one of these to happen in the United States. On top of that, there happened to be a Sunright about 15 minutes away from me, so I decided to check it out.

The event officially began on July 19, and my brother happened to be in the area, so we paid a visit that evening. I wasn’t expecting too much of a crowd since, well, how many passionate anime gacha game lovers could there be in my little city?

Turns out, quite a few. The place was bright and bustling. A sports car wrapped in anime girl vinyl sat proudly outside. The store itself was full of boba enjoyers posing with cardboard stands and posters of Kafka and Blade, the two new characters in Honkai: Star Rail. Two baristas worked frantically behind the counter as a trail of paper tickets spewed forth from a printer.

After waiting in line to order, we made it to the kiosk. There are two themed drinks as part of the collab event: Kafka’s Blushing Blueberry Splendor and Blade’s Karmic Chocolate Matcha. They’re quite expensive at $6.75 before taxes — ”Star Rail robbery,” my brother called it. I ordered one of each, for review purposes of course. It took almost an hour from arriving at the store to receiving our drinks.

[caption id="attachment_397645" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via Destructoid[/caption]

Buy tea, get goodies

The primary reason Star Rail fans might want to attend this event is because of the additional items you get with each drink. Buying two or more of the collaboration drinks gets you:

• Two cards with an image of Kafka or Blade that come with codes for in-game items
• Two square cardstock coasters with chibi images of Kafka or Blade
• Two themed cardboard drink holders
• A few stickers featuring chibis of various Star Rail characters (amount can vary)

The Blushing Blueberry Splendor is a blueberry smoothie with some cheese foam and jasmine tea jelly. It’s quite sweet (I recommend 50% sugar) with a strong blueberry flavor. The jasmine tea jelly has a satisfying consistency, but I wasn’t sure if I liked having it in a drink. It was very thick and chunky, being a smoothie with bits of blueberries and jelly. Drinking the whole thing felt like I had eaten a full meal. Still, I thought it was tasty and worth trying.

The Karmic Chocolate Matcha is basically fancy chocolate milk with some matcha in it. I’m not typically a fan of matcha, but the slight bitterness of the chocolate and matcha together was quite nice. It was creamy, smooth, and sweet, but not too sweet. I preferred the chocolate matcha over Kafka’s blueberry smoothie.

Many of my friends are avid Honkai: Star Rail fans but didn’t have a Sunright Tea Studio location near them, so I ended up making multiple trips to grab some goodies for them. The crowds have thankfully decreased, so you probably won’t have to wait as long as I did on the first day. The collaboration event lasts until August 31, so there’s still some time for Trailblazers to try these drinks and get some souvenirs!

The post I tried Honkai: Star Rail bubble tea at Sunright Tea Studio appeared first on Destructoid.

HoYoverse announced via social media channels that two new characters will be coming to Genshin Impact: Wriothesley and Neuvillette.

What do we know about Wriothesley and Neuvillette?

Wriothesley (apparently pronounced “rizz-ly” or “rise-ly”) has a Cryo Vision and is the Lord of the Fortress of Meropide, which is some sort of prison at the bottom of the sea. He is Ousia-aligned; although his previous character art showed him with a Pneuma Vision shape, this was swiftly corrected. Aside from this, we know nothing about his weapon or kit, and will have to wait for further announcements to see how he plays.

Neuvillette is much more mysterious, with some of his information censored with triple question marks. We do know that he is the Chief Justice of Fontaine and some kind of father figure to the Melusines. He is likely very important to the main story in Genshin Impact, which would give a reason for all the secrecy. Neuvillette uses Hydro, but not through a Vision. What exactly he is and how he uses his powers are a great mystery, possibly with answers in upcoming Archon Quests.

[caption id="attachment_396793" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Image via HoYoverse[/caption]

When are Wriothesley and Neuvillette coming to Genshin Impact?

Drip marketing like this usually comes in two versions before the characters are released. This means we can expect Wriothesley and Neuvillette sometime in Version 4.1 of Genshin Impact. Whether they will be in the first half or second remains to be seen, along with who will accompany their banners.

If you are interested in either of these characters, you may want to start saving Primogems now.

The post New characters Wriothesley and Neuvillette announced for Genshin Impact appeared first on Destructoid.