Feed aggregator
Umamusume: Pretty Derby
Grifford Academy
Exo-Calibre
Pokemon Scarlet & Violet Switch 2 Review - More To Chewtle On
Switch 2 Version Update: With the launch of the Nintendo Switch 2, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet have received a much-needed performance boost. The free update adds 4K visuals while docked and a rock-solid 60 frames per second for both docked and handheld play. After several hours of testing, both Scarlet and Violet run and play significantly better. A stormy Casseroya Lake in the northwestern part of Paldea was particularly taxing on the original Switch and, even after a handful of updates, I dreaded going to that lake to collect items or shiny hunt. Now, on the Switch 2, it runs flawlessly regardless of where you are in the world. Additionally, the lengthy loading times have been reduced to a few seconds.
Despite these improvements, Pokemon Scarlet and Violet still isn't the most visually appealing Pokemon game to date. The world feels bland and barren, and character models--outside of the wonderfully detailed and expressive Pokemon--are simplistic and wooden. Despite the 4k resolution, there are still plenty of low-quality textures and visual bugs can occur during battle. It's a shame given how strong the visual identity is for something like Pokemon Let's Go! Pikachu and Eevee or even Pokemon: Legends Arceus, which received a fair bit of criticism for its visuals as well.
Though, oddly enough, the number of Pokemon that can appear on-screen has increased significantly, making Paldea feel slightly more lively. This is especially good news for shiny-hunting sickos like me as it's much easier to spawn and spot a rare Pokemon.
Continue Reading at GameSpotDiablo 4 Season 9 Will Bring Big, Permanent Changes To Nightmare Dungeons
One of Diablo 4's main endgame activities, Nightmare dungeons, will be permanently changed come Season 9, as Blizzard looks to make them both more challenging and surprising going forward.
As detailed in a new blog post, when Season 9 launches July 1, Nightmare dungeons will receive some major updates. Most notably, there will be a new activity within them called Horadric Strongrooms. Described as a "potent micro-dungeon," strongrooms will be found more frequently on higher Torment difficulties and can also be reliably found by using a Nightmare dungeon sigil that guarantees the appearance of a strongroom.
Once players are inside the dungeon, players can discover a portal that will take them to the strongroom. In a system somewhat similar to Diablo 4's Infernal Hordes activity, players will be able to select from a number of statues that add modifiers to the strongroom, increasing the challenge but also the rewards.
Continue Reading at GameSpotCivilization 7 Supports Steam Workshop On PC And Offers Larger Maps After Latest Update
2K and Firaxis released Update 1.2.2 for Sid Meier's Civilization 7 today. It's one of the most substantial updates for Civilization 7 since launch, adding Steam Workshop support, bigger maps, new Advanced Game options, and a lot more.
Civilization games always have healthy modding communities, and Update 1.2.2 strengthens official support for mods. From the player perspective, it'll now be possible to find and install mods right from Steam now that there's official Steam Workshop integration. Modders can also use Steam Workshop to promote their mod and use the official Civilization 7 Modding SDK to help speed up the process of creating and uploading them. This is an important addition to Civilization 7, although it's one that mainly benefits PC players.
Update 1.2.2 thankfully contains a lot of other improvements that equally apply to all platforms Civilization 7 is on. There are a lot of new Advanced Game Options for players to adjust for custom games. All map types now have Huge and Large versions, players can toggle certain Legacy Paths, Score Victories, and Crises on and off, and can now turn on the ability to turn on whatever new Civilization they want after an age transition.
Continue Reading at GameSpotDying Light Gets A "Retouched" Update Soon With All These Improvements, But It's Not A Remaster
A decade after Dying Light came out in 2015, developer Techland is revisiting the zombie game with a major new update to refresh the game's visuals and other elements--just don't call it a remaster.
The "Retouched" update, as it's called, launches on June 26. This update is focused on "squeezing out even more" from Dying Light, the studio said. "It's not a complete overhaul or remaster," the developer clarified, adding that the team has found new ways to "squeeze more from the tech we already have."
"One day, someone just started applying those learnings to some old assets--and it just clicked that we could do that across the whole game," technical game director Grzegorz Świstowski said.
Continue Reading at GameSpotFan-Made Ultimate Sonic Smackdown Has Big Marvel Vs. Capcom Energy
In 2020, the ArcForged team of fan developers released Sonic Smackdown, a fighting game featuring several characters from Sega's Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. Now, ArcForged has returned with an upgraded version of that game, Ultimate Sonic Smackdown. And as seen in the announcement video below, it's clearly inspired by Capcom's Marvel vs. Capcom games.
This project is not affiliated or endorsed by Sega itself. But it does look pretty polished for a fan-made creation.
Unlike its 1-vs-1 predecessor, Ultimate Sonic Smackdown has 3-vs-3 tag battles on tap. The roster isn't as deep as the 17 characters in the original Sonic Smackdown, but the primary characters are back including Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, Mecha Sonic, and Doctor Eggman.
Continue Reading at GameSpot