Latest news with #multiplayer
Digital Trends
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 new Game Pass games to play this weekend (June 20-22)
Today marks the first official day of summer, so what better way to beat the heat than with some cool new Game Pass games? The middle and end of the month tend to be a bit slower for new games, but this week has not just one, but two day one additions to sink your teeth into. What makes my job of picking the best ones even easier is the fact that I am spoiled for choice in terms of variety. I have a great new co-op shooter, a deliciously dark action roguelike, plus a throwback platformer that anyone can enjoy. Each one can dominate your weekend, so let's skip right to the good stuff and talk about the three Game Pass games I know you will love playing this weekend. FBC: Firebreak Let's begin with the big new multiplayer shooter on the block, FBC: Firebreak. This is a spinoff of the Control universe from Remedy and is set in The Oldest House. Instead of playing as a new Director, you and your friends are general workers sent in to deal with all the oddball paranormal events as best you can. It has some Left 4 Dead vibes in terms of requiring teamwork and moving through a map completing objectives, but has a lot more variety. You can choose between three specialties with their own utility in missions, plus a handful of weapons and a ton of ways to customize your look. It's not incredibly deep, and you will be able to see all the missions within the weekend if you and your team are committed, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing in my opinion. Recommended Videos FBC: Firebreak is available on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Lost in Random: The Eternal Die The first Lost in Random was a cult hit that took place on a game board and was based around rolling a dice and playing cards to move and attack. This ambitious sequel keeps the dark atmosphere and random elements, but makes the combat much more engaging. Now with roguelike elements, combat is done in real time and is fast, frenetic, and satisfying. The dice mechanic is reworked to keep every battle distinct across the four major biomes. There's plenty to unlock and discover, just like the best roguelikes, but the distinct art style and soundtrack make this one worth getting lost in. Lost in Random: The Eternal Die is available now on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time Last up, who doesn't love a good revival? Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time packs a ton of meaning into its name. On one hand, it's been decades since the last numbered entry in the legendary platforming franchise. On the other hand, time manipulation is a core component this time around. The core mechanics still revolve around running through obstacle course-like levels across multiple worlds, collecting fruit, masks, and crystals. There's a ton to do here, and just because it looks family-friendly doesn't mean this game is easy. With the new Quantum Masks that allow you to alter levels in various ways, plus five playable characters with their own movesets, the platforming challenge on display is some of the toughest you can find. But, with that challenge comes immense satisfaction when you overcome. Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, and PC.
Digital Trends
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Borderlands 4 pushes the series forward while addressing past mistakes
Multiplayer shooters have evolved quite a bit since the first Borderlands was released in 2009, but I can appreciate that Gearbox Entertainment's series has stayed mostly the same over that time. Booting up a Borderlands game, I always know I can expect vibrant comic-book style visuals, solid solo or co-op shooter gameplay, charmingly grating humor, and a whole lot of loot. All of these things still ring true and louder than ever in Borderlands 4, but the latest Borderlands game is also shaping up to be the most experimental one yet. Last month, I visited 2K's headquarters in Novato, California, and played a couple of hours of Borderlands 4. The more traditionally designed, Destiny-like open world structure stood out, but all of the new movement options available during combat were also a real game-changer. The over-the-top humor and the number of legendary drop have both been drastically reduced, which gives Borderlands 4 a slightly different feel than Borderlands 3. All of this makes Borderlands 4 feel different than what has come before, but ultimately just as appealing. Gliding around Kairos Borderlands 4 completely leaves Pandora behind and takes place on a new planet called Kairos, which was ruled by a tyrant called The Timekeeper. His reign was disrupted when Lilith teleported the Pandora moon of Elpis near it at the end of Borderlands 3. Borderlands 4 picks up later as a new batch of vault hunters explore Kairos, fight The Timekeeper, and eventually save Lilith. This new setting allows Borderlands 4 to take on a more open-world structure with dynamic events and an emphasis on exploration. That seems to be working to the game's benefit so far. Recommended Videos Borderlands 4's comic book art style is as vibrant as ever, and the Fadefields area of Kairos feels more colorful than any area I've visited in a Borderlands game before. According to Art Director Adam May, the Fadefields area was intentionally designed to be quite vibrant, although players will explore more darkly colored areas as the adventure progresses. 'It is the most expansive Borderlands we've ever made, so we start you off early in some place that looks bright and beautiful so that you can dive into those darker, creepier spaces as you progress through the world,' May tells Digital Trends. While I don't think Borderlands 4 will revolutionize open-world game design, its new structure gives it a feel that's more similar to Destiny 2, especially now that players have a vehicle they can spawn at almost any time. The more impactful benefit that comes from this shift in design is that players now have significantly more traversal options at their disposal. I constantly found myself using the new double jump and jet pack to float in mid-air and get an edge in a firefight. Those systems, plus a grappling hook, allow Borderlands 4 to embrace verticality in a way the games have never been able to before. This was on full display during a boss fight in a vault I fought through, as the fight at the end of it required me to damage the boss from above and constantly grapple up to higher platforms. May admits this did come with some art design challenges, but also allowed Gearbox to play into the vast scale of Kairos. 'The glide especially is super troublesome if I'm trying to set up big, cool vistas where you want the player to go look out and witness everything,' May says. 'The problem is, if you can glide all the way across that area, you have to push everything back. So we did, and I had to focus on bigger, outside the gameplay space where vistas are big and massive, implying there is even more world because Kairos is a place we want to be able to explore further.' Making More Vault Hunters I think it'll be hard for me to go back and play previous Borderlands games once Borderlands 4 comes out, specifically because combat now has such a smooth, movement-focused flow to it. I also really like all the Vault Hunters introduced this time around. May walked me through the design process for Vault Hunters, explaining that each one is designed to offer some sort of fantasy fulfillment and appeal to a different kind of person. The art team went as far as to bring character concept designs around the offices at Gearbox to ask which ones people like the most. 'I feel like we've done a good job if we go through it and, depending on the group of people that I'm talking to, I get a different answer every time,' May says. There's still some unpredictability when it comes to Vault Hunter popularity, with May claiming that characters marketing and production think are least likely to be popular, like Zer0, often end up becoming fan favorites. At launch, Borderlands 4 will offer four new Vault Hunters to choose from. I got to play as two of them: the Siren Vex and the Exo-Soldier Rafa. I ended up preferring Rafa's more offensive abilities, which allows players to slash through enemies with blades or shoot them with even more bullets from shoulder-mounted turrets. Vex is no slouch, though, as her ability to spawn a powerful cat named Trouble or decoys of herself is incredibly useful during a firefight and doesn't quite feel like the play styles of any of the Borderlands sirens who have come before. May hyped up Amon, a beefy Forge Knight that I was not able to play during my time with Borderlands 4. 'I always like the big skull crusher guys, so artistically, a giant Viking-like character, I was super stoked about. He's kind of like a mix between a space biker and a Viking,' May says. 'This is the most interestingly diverse group of people we've ever had in our Vault Hunter lineup, so I'm interested to see when it comes out which one is actually people's favorite.' Showing some restraint These new Vault Hunters, gameplay tweaks, and locations Gearbox is introducing in Borderlands 4 are paying off so far. But just as it's showing innovation, Gearbox is also showing restraint in some key areas. For example, Legendary loot drops much less frequently than it did in Borderlands 3. I didn't obtain a single legendary item during my entire time playing the game. This made the more valuable drops I did find feel even more special, as I then eagerly equipped the new gun to see what parts of its abilities set it apart. Considering that Gearbox has increased the number of weapon manufacturers and now lets weapons feature parts from several different manufacturers, there's bound to be a lot more depth and variety on the weapons front that's not undercut by overly frequent Legendary gear drops. One area where I have more mixed feelings is in Gearbox's approach to humor in Borderlands 4. Retrospectively, Borderlands 3's humor and villains are widely considered annoying even by Borderlands standards. May tells me that Gearbox drastically wants to dial things back in Borderlands 4 in order to make this a more serious adventure. 'A lot of the feedback we've gotten on Borderlands 3, we had that feedback internally. Sometimes it's hard to see the forest for the trees, and as we were developing, things started to shift and change. By the time we got to the end of development, there were things that got a little bit off track tonally. A lot of the dark, black humor we wanted to bring back. In general, we want our games to be classic and enjoyable regardless of when we play them, so we didn't want to have too many things linked to memes or real-world events and instead focus it on the world of Borderlands.' I am worried Gearbox overcorrected a little too hard on the comedy front. During my time with Borderlands 4, I didn't find one joke very funny. Sometimes, comedic bits were non-existent; other times, jokes like a militia leader being overly wholesome to the point of annoying his cohorts, just didn't land that well. Those who prefer a lack of jokes to cringeworthy humor may appreciate this shift, but I have a feeling I'll be playing Borderlands 4 because of its silky-smooth gameplay rather than its storytelling, characters, or jokes. I don't need Borderlands to show comedic restraint; the abrasiveness is part of the charm for me. Even if I'm not completely embracing Borderlands 4's shift in humor, I can appreciate that Gearbox is taking a risk and changing a core part of the series like that. While I'm sure that players would've been happy with Borderlands 4 just offering more linear areas to loot and shoot in alongside some new hunters, Gearbox is making big strides in its approach to world design, character movement, and more in a way that feels ambitious. Borderlands 4 still feels like Borderlands, but there's a good chance this will be the best version of that formula. Borderlands 4 launches on September 12 for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and Nintendo Switch 2.
The Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Sun
Shooter game loved by 10 MILLION is closing in days – fans warned they'll have to pay for an upgrade to keep playing
AN ONLINE shooter game played by 10million at its peak will disappear from two popular consoles in a matter of days. Developers behind the title want to focus on newer platforms, meaning it will shut down on some older devices. 2 2 As such, affected players will have to bite the bullet and pay to upgrade their console if they desperately wish to continue playing. The game in question is The First Descendant a free-to-play multiplayer online role-playing looter shooter. It first burst onto the scene last July on Windows PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X/S and Xbox One. But almost one year on, and Xbox One and PS4 owners will be shut out. Producer Beom-Jun Lee said the move was going ahead with "much reluctance". But studio Nexon says it was needed to make the game even better with its next "mega season update". There is one reassuring bit of news to come out of the shake-up. Affected players can carry over their account details to any of other platform, so they need not lose everything. The all-important date all users need to note is June 19 for the switch off. Gamers have had mixed feelings about the upcoming overhaul. "This game came out in July last year, why the hell did they even bother with a PS4 version to begin with if it wasn't even going to make it a year?" one commented on Reddit. "They shouldn't have even bothered with PS4 support to begin with then," another wrote. A third added: "I feel sad for PS4 players but its a 12 year old machine its time to jump on ps5, last generation is hold this current generation of games back." WHY DO GAMES NEED TO CLOSE DOWN? By Jamie Harris, Assistant Technology and Science Editor at The Sun With most games online these days, tech companies need to maintain quite hefty servers to manage everything. It's no cheap business to operate with millions of gamers across the world. Naturally, people move on, leaving older games behind in the process. There comes a point where it's no longer viable to continue offering server access so studios shut them down. For some games that are entirely online this can render it completely useless. But others may have a way for you to continue playing solo still. You should usually see a prominent notification in the game warning you with instructions on what to do - provided you're still playing the game of course.
Digital Trends
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
3 PlayStation Plus games to play this weekend (June 13-15)
After the State of Play last week, followed by all the Summer Game Fest announcements, PlayStation fans have tons of upcoming PS5 games to look forward to. The only downside is we can't play them right now. That's where my weekly PS Plus game recommendations come in to save the weekend. This time around, I wanted to mix things up by celebrating Friday the 13th as well as give you some games to wet your appetites for a few of the more exciting game announcements. I've crammed in a classic multiplayer game, brutal single-player adventure, and cult classic strategy title here to cover as many bases as possible. Dead by Daylight Because the official Friday the 13th game has been shut down, I am turning to the next best thing to celebrate this unlucky holiday. Dead by Daylight started out with very clear homages to iconic movie slasher Killers, but eventually got the rights to use tons of official characters like Freddy, Ghostface, and Leatherface. Sadly, the one glaring omission is Jason. Even so, this is an amazing multiplayer horror game, whether you're one of the struggling survivors or a lethal killer hunting them down. It has been a huge hit with fans for over 10 years now so it must be doing something right. This is a great game you can play for just a night or two for some quick spooky fun, or get deep into the progression and play for months. Recommended Videos Dead by Daylight is available now on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Switch, Mobile, and PC. Nioh Out of all the announcements from the State of Play this week, I don't think anyone saw Nioh 3 coming. Now that Souls-like games are bigger than ever, I can't wait to see how Team Ninja is evolving the formula, but also think this is the best time to go back and hone my skills in the original. From a gameplay perspective, Nioh still feels amazing. It has the speed of a game like Sekiro or Bloodborne, but with some great twists like the stance system and abundance of loot. The one aspect that might feel a little dated after Elden Ring is the level-based structure, but that also gives it a much more approachable feel; you can dive in for one mission and feel accomplished or take on a dozen. If you've been sleeping on one of the best Souls-like franchises, now is the time to give it a shot. Nioh is available now on PS4, PS5, and PC. Jeanne d'Arc There was a small but passionate group out there who went wild when Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles was revealed. If you are one of them, you know there hasn't been anything that has quite scratched that same tactics itch since this classic title all those years ago. Now that we know it is coming, we need something to hold us over, right? That's where the PSP gem Jeanne d'Arc comes in to save the day. Not only is this a criminally underplayed tactics game, but it is also considered to be almost on the same level as Final Fantasy Tactics. Tactics lovers will find a wealth of gameplay options to tinker with, plus a gripping story that puts a magical twist on historical events. Jeanne d'Arc is available now on PS4 and PS5.
Digital Trends
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Digital Trends
Multiplayer returns to the Metal Gear franchise after twelve years
After an absence of 12 years, Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater is bringing back multiplayer, but Konami cautions fans to expect a completely different experience than the original Metal Gear Online. Announced at Konami's Press Start Live event, the new multiplayer mode titled Fox Hunt is something like hide-and-seek on steroids, with a dash of camouflage thrown in. According to Yu Sahara, director of the multiplayer aspect, 'Fox Hunt is a completely original online multiplayer mode. Although it shares the same world with Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater, the gameplay is completely different.' That said, he did acknowledge the nostalgia fans have for the original Metal Gear Online. 'When we say Metal Gear multiplayer, many fans will probably think of Metal Gear Online, but Fox Hunt will be its own new type of mode. We very much appreciate all the long-time fans of MGO who have always wanted to see it make a comeback, but the landscape of multiplayer games has changed a lot since MGO. It took a lot of careful consideration to think about what a new online mode should look like.' Recommended Videos Sahara continues, 'We challenged ourselves to make something unique that is more than just a shoot-out. We've used that back-and-forth tension or searching out the enemy to create an online experience unique to Metal Gear.' Our passionate team of developers take us on an extended look into the creation of METAL GEAR SOLID Δ: SNAKE EATER and its bonus content 🐍 ❗#KonamiPressStart — KONAMI UK (@KONAMIUK) June 12, 2025 Though the team shared no further details, Sahara said he will have more information later and asked fans to stay tuned to Konami's official pages to find out more. Konami also revealed more information about the main game, including updates to its AI and animations. In addition to news about Metal Gear Solid, the Press Start Live event also announced that the Suikoden I & II Remaster is coming to Nintendo Switch 2. Horror fans can celebrate, too: Konami also announced a remake of the first Silent Hill game is in the works.
