As Cyberpunk 2077 is an open-world action-RPG, you are expected to approach the game and its many challenges in a variety of ways. During the Cyberpunk 2077 deep-dive livestream, developer CD Projekt Red detailed the game's various playstyles and how they function in Night City.In the 15-minute deep-dive gameplay video, CD Projekt Red showed off two distinct ways to play Cyberpunk 2077: a Netrunner build, intent on stealth, hacking, and battlefield control; and a Solo build, focused on blunt force and immediate action. Though not showcased in the gameplay video, CD Projekt Red talked about one more playstyle called Techie, which hones in on Night City's various hardware.Netrunners can use their exceptional knowledge of cyberware and hacking to get around enemies and obstacles without a peep. You may hack the environment so it does your dirty work, or you can hack enemy implants from a distance to disrupt their functions. Almost everything is connected to a network, which means you, as a Netrunner, have free rein to hack and take advantage of it all.Quest design coordinator Philipp Weber said Netrunning skills give you "opportunities to be creative in how you play the game." After breaking through access points, you are given the ability to use quick hacks on them. In one instance, you can use cameras to scope out vantage points or turn them off completely. In another, you can take control of turrets to make them fight for you. There are other "fun things" you can do as a Netrunner, like hacking a robot training dummy or vending machine to cause distractions. While stealthy by nature, Weber said the Netrunner is not "just a stealth character," as there are "cool, aggressive Netrunner abilities" you can add to your build. For example, you can use main character V's nanowire to hack an enemy's hand to do things like shutting it down or blowing it up.Solos prefer a direct approach, using their superior strength and weapon efficiency to plow through enemies and accomplish tasks. As such, you can rip the gun off turrets and force open doors to live out your Terminator power fantasy. As a Solo, you will gain access to melee cyberware and specialized skills, like using enemies as human shields, as the story progresses.Lead quest designer Pawel Sasko said the Solo build comes in a plethora of flavors. A Strong Solo can "shove people into trash bins and pick up heavy guns," while a Fast Solo will be able to "double jump to access places and slide around using your katana or nanowire." Solos offer a more straightforward, brute-force approach to Cyberpunk 2077, giving you the opportunity to theoretically melee everything to death.As the name suggests, the Techie specializes in the physical technology in Night City. As a Techie, you'll be able to "dabble with cables and whatever [else that] drives machinery," said senior level design Miles Tost. Techies get access to a companion called Flathead, a spider-bot that's really just "very sophisticated military hardware." It's an autonomous robot that listens to your commands, which allows you to send it out to manipulate devices or cause malfunctioning objects to fall on enemies. Flathead is added on top of the various skills afforded to the Techie, which CD Projekt Red didn't divulge too much of.The Cyberpunk 2077 deep-dive livestream featured a few other notable details. Weapons come in three distinct varieties: smart, tech, and power. Though there are different weapon types and varieties, you will have to option to play through Cyberpunk 2077 non-lethally. The game will include more organic sidequests, with CD Projekt Red establishing a brand-new team dedicated to them following The Witcher 3's success. And Cyberpunk 2077's character creator sounds surprisingly deep and varied.Cyberpunk 2077 is set to launch on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 16, 2020. The game is also scheduled to release on Google Stadia some time in 2020.PAX West is here, and there is surely more news to come out of the event, so check out our hub for more Cyberpunk 2077 news and more.Info from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red hosted a deep-dive stream and delivered a whole lot of information on the game. Among the deluge of details was a breakdown of what the Netrunner character class will be capable of. The team has made it clear that all of its classes and the gameplay opportunities are flexible and malleable to some degree, but from what we saw the Netrunner definitely looks like one that players who like to cause mischief will enjoy.On the stream, quest designer Phillip Weber explained what opportunities Netrunners will have open to them, saying that it's a class that lets players be "very creative in how you play the game."He continued: "We have access points and in the world of Cyberpunk they can control all the different devices in the area, which of course as a Netrunner is pretty useful because you can hack that access point."If you successfully do that you can now use quick hacks. You can, from a distance, take over different devices like a camera for example. You can do many different things; look through the camera and have a completely different view, or just turn it off if it's in your way. You can take over a turret and make it fight for you."We also tried to come up with nice custom things, depending on where you are--let's say if you're in a gym where there are some nice boxing robots. Of course, maybe you can do some fun things with that."The gameplay shown during this explanation featured a robot boxer taking on a mostly human opponent in a sparring match but, after the Netrunner had done its thing, the robot delivered a punch so hard that its opponent's head erupted into a shower of blood."If I would use lots of Netrunning skills, it's also useful to use cool skills that make me really good at stealth and [be] really under control. Netrunner can also be really good at using distractions like, if there's a vending machine make it spit out some drinks and people may look at that."As previously mentioned, flexibility is a key part of Cyberpunk 2077, so netrunners don't have to be sneaky and use subterfuge if they'd rather bulldoze their way through problems."A Netrunner isn't just a stealth character," he continued. "There's also cool aggressive netrunning abilities, because we always want to give you a choice in how you want to play. We have the Nanowire cyberware, which is really good at hacking enemies from a distance and then taking over their cyberware. Most people in the world have cyberware and they're just like access points so, a good time for Netrunners. As an example, [you can] hack someone's cyberware in their hand and make them do some things that they might not want to have happen to them. The Nanowire, of course, is very sharp so you can use it as a weapon, a whip. So a Netrunner can be very effective at using skills in combat as well."Like the classes, Cyberpunk 2077's life paths are also quite flexible. Though, at the start of the game, the game will ask you to pick your allegiances--for lack of a better phrase--the decisions you make and actions you undertake will ultimately shape who you are.The stream also provided us insight into how Cyberpunk 2077's sidequests will work and revealed that the development team plans to address an annoying problem found in many RPGs.Info from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077 looks to be a massive game, and part of that will be the wealth of sidequests. These "Street Stories" are essentially how you live out your life as a mercenary, and CD Projekt Red says that its experience with The Witcher 3 taught the studio just how meaningful sidequests can be. So much, in fact, that it set up a dedicated team for them."After [The Witcher 3:] Wild Hunt, we actually founded a completely new team, the open-world team, which is creating some amazing content to fill this world with things that are meaningful," said quest designer Phillip Weber. "We want to make this [so that] you can do many, smaller things around the city, but they're all cool and unique in their own way."Senior level designer Miles Tost added that the lesson from The Witcher 3 was that "even simple tasks can be fun and exciting if you pack them up in a cool story."This came as part of a larger discussion on how sidequests will work in the upcoming open-world RPG. The deep-dive presentation covered everything from character creation to why the studio hired actual city planners to help create a vision for Night City.Info from Gamespot.com

Many RPGs often have complex systems and menus you need to manage as you build up your character, and CD Projekt Red's Cyberpunk 2077 is no different. There is a sophisticated inventory menu in the game where you can manage both your character's equipment, how they look, and their cybernetic prosthetic loadout.So do you want to deck your character out in that sick olive bomber jacket with that crazy light-up collar, or would you prefer the simplicity of a basic hoodie? You have the freedom to make your style dreams come true. Each piece of clothing has its own unique statistics; though, this probably has you wondering about the late game when you're min-maxing while still wanting to maintain a desirable appearance. According to Cyberpunk 2077 senior level designer Miles Tost, the team does have a solution to this often annoying issue. Though, he was unwilling to share exactly what it was during the recent deep dive gameplay stream.While you're likely to spend hours customizing your character's outfits, you'll probably be spending similar time tailoring their cyberware. These cybernetic prosthetic tools are your character's lifeblood and what you frequently install to upgrade their capabilities. For example, you might customize your legs to double jump or install a mod that silences your jumps to make you more stealthy. You'll typically go to Ripper docs to purchase and enhance cyberware, but there are some you can get on your own as you complete quests.There are also ways to enhance your cyberware on the fly via items called Shards. If you slot these onto your character, you can gain the power of other cyberware and see how it would be if you'd installed it into your body. Shards seem to offer you the ability to experiment without committing to installing full-on pieces of cyberware onto your body to see if it suits your playstyle.Cyberpunk 2077 is releasing on April 16 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For more Cyberpunk 2077 news, be sure to click from the links in the list below.Cyberpunk 2077 Created A New Team To Make Sidequests, After The Witcher 3Cyberpunk 2077 Netrunner Class Seems Perfect For Causing MischiefHow Cyberpunk 2077's Sidequests Will WorkCyberpunk 2077's Life Paths And Character Creation Sound Very DeepInfo from Gamespot.com

CD Projekt Red revealed a ton of new details about Cyberpunk 2077 during its latest deep-dive video. Among the topics the developer discussed were the different ways in which players could go about playing the game, and it turns out, that includes non-lethal playthroughs.During an interview that followed the gameplay demo, CD Projekt Red revealed that players can play through the entirety of Cyberpunk 2077 without killing another character if they so choose. "You can finish the whole game, you can finish the quests without killing a single person," quest designer Philipp Weber confirmed.That said, you won't be able to avoid confrontations entirely if you do attempt a non-lethal playthrough, but these encounters don't need to turn fatal. "The thing is, Night City isn't a very peaceful place, so you can never play like a full pacifist who is never engaging in any kind of combat because people will attack you sometimes," Weber said. " But you can choose to not kill them. Like in real life, sometimes if there's attacks, you don't immediately kill everyone; you can solve situations in different ways."Of Cyberpunk 2077's several character classes, the Netrunner seems the most suited for non-lethal playthroughs because it emphasizes stealthiness and hacking, but it isn't the only class capable of non-lethal runs; it turns out any type of character can play through the game without killing another character, but it may require a bit of ingenuity depending on how you've developed your avatar."Not only the Netrunner is able to do non-lethal playthroughs. Every player, however you want to skill your character, you're able to do it somehow," Weber said. However, your approach to each situation will depend much on your surroundings. "Let's say you're in some rundown ruin that doesn't have lots of netrunning abilities, of course a Netrunner still has ways to do [a non-lethal run], but he might not be able to use all of his netrunning skills."We learned a lot of other interesting tidbits about Cyberpunk 2077 during the deep-dive, including how sidequests will work in the game and how cyberware will change gameplay. CD Projekt Red also revealed it wants to solve an annoying RPG problem with the game, and that it's working with real city planners to design Night City.Cyberpunk 2077 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 16, 2020. The game is also coming to Google Stadia. You can read more about the title's collector's edition and pre-order bonuses in our Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order guide.Info from Gamespot.com

At PAX West, Gearbox announced the first stage of post-release content for Borderlands 3. The loot shooter has three content drops scheduled to release this year, with more on the way in 2020. The full Borderlands 3 Fall/Winter 2019 content calendar is pictured below.Following its release, Borderlands 3 will get a Halloween-themed limited-time event called Bloody Harvest. The event will include thematically spooky activities and side missions, and completing these will allow you to unlock unique rewards. Later in the year, a much larger expansion called Maliwan Takedown will release. This expansion adds a whole new map to Borderlands 3, and the area will contain brand-new enemies, a never-before-seen boss, and powerful weapons and rewards. Both Bloody Harvest and Maliwan Takedown will be free.Finally, before 2019 ends, Borderlands 3 will receive the first of its major DLC expansions. These larger expansions are not free, but they include a lot more content than the free add-ons. The DLC will also be included in the Season Pass, so pre-ordering the Borderlands 3 Super Deluxe edition unlocks all of its content automatically. Like the free add-ons, this DLC adds new side missions, enemies, and loot but it also expands on Borderlands 3 with campaign missions that act as a sequel to the game's story.It will be interesting to see how Gearbox handles Borderlands 3 going into 2020, given the landscape of loot shooter games. Post-release content for Borderlands 2 was largely new playable Vault Hunters or additional story missions that could be tackled with another person if you wanted. Including free pieces of content like holiday-themed events and map expansions in the post-release calendar is a new strategy for the series. Then again, Borderlands 3 changes a lot of what makes a Borderlands game a Borderlands game--such as adjusting how skill trees and active skills work, giving the Vault Hunters more personality, moving the setting off the planet of Pandora, and implementing movement mechanics inspired by modern day shooters like Titanfall 2.Borderlands 3 is scheduled to release for Xbox One, PS4, and PC on September 13. On PC, the game has a limited-time exclusivity deal with the Epic Games Store. Borderlands 3 is also scheduled to release on Google Stadia, a cloud-based game streaming service.Info from Gamespot.com

Cyberpunk 2077 takes place in a far-off future where man and machine are coming together as one and technology permeates every facet of our existence. Of course, what that means in a video game is that players will have a wide array of weird tools at their disposal. For those who find themselves in conflict, CD Projekt Red presents the option to use weapons to fight for survival. As discussed in the Cyberpunk 2077 deep-dive stream, the weapons on offer come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and capabilities."Our guns are divided into three main categories," explained quest designer Pawel Sasako. "There are smart guns, [which] basically shoot homing bullets that follow targets. There is also tech weapons, and the tech weapons are those that have additional capabilities to the--for instance, they could pierce cover."Then there are power weapons ... mainly focused on being street-grade weapons. They have additional skills and capabilities connected to the fact that have been [modified] in some way. For instance, there is a bursting shotgun or something like that. We have put plenty of work into making sure that the weapons feel [good] and they have weight."Naturally, weapons have various quirks to them that players will be able to use to their advantage. "There's lots of really cool examples that I can give. For instance, there's a handgun that, as you use it, it actually speeds up the bullets and the longer you use it the faster the bullets become, so they can do more damage," Sasako explained."There's a class of handguns that have been created by a Russian company to fight cyborgs and that weapon is able to heat up the bullet to the point where it almost becomes like melted plastic. It's done so you can shoot off a cyborg's arms, for example. There's always a small piece of story wrapped up around the weapon and what it does."What's interesting is you can use a second firing mode for a weapon. Not all weapons have them, but some of them if you use it in a specific way, like for example the tech rifle, it changes the way it collapses together and allows it to pierce through cover and enemies. Or you can bounce bullets off the walls using ricochet. We tried to put enough depth into the gun."Even as development continues, more outrageous weapons are being created. Sasako recounted seeing "an awesome shotgun that has eight barrels and it shoots out of them at the same time."Senior level designer Miles Tost added that a lot of the companies that make the guns and tech in Cyberpunk 2077's world have lore and history. That includes the brands and ads in the game, which are crafted by an entire team at the studio.Phillip Weber, another quest designer, also noted that there are a variety of melee weapons, ranging from broken bottles strewn around the city to knives. You can specialize in melee weapons--perhaps because you want to be a cyber ninja--and often there are weapons that cater to this style, such as katanas. Cyberware for melee also exists, as seen in previous demos where a character punched his way through different environments.The deep-dive had plenty more to offer in terms of details. We got lots of information on how sidequests will work in Cyberpunk 2077, as well as how cyberware will change gameplay. CD Projekt Red also teased that it wants to solve an annoying RPG problem with the game.Cyberpunk 2077 launches for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 16, 2020. You can read more about the title's collector's edition and pre-order bonuses in our Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order guide. Info from Gamespot.com

CD Projekt Red revealed more new details about its upcoming RPG Cyberpunk 2077 during a recent gameplay stream. In this presentation, the developer detailed a few of the significant playstyles in the game. One of the more exciting playstyles is Netrunner, which focuses more on hacking anything that's connected to a network. But as a Netrunner, one of the most practical and useful tools at your disposal is the Nanowire. With this handy wire you can hack an enemy's implants from a distance.According to senior level designer Miles Tost, the Nanowire goes hand-in-hand with the Netrunner playstyle, which makes sense since you're probably going to breach a lot of networks. With the Nanowire, you'll gain access to unique attacks and solutions, such as remotely detonating an enemy's hand grenade or hacking a benchpress weight to slam down onto an unsuspecting foe mid-lift.While the Nanowire is mostly a functional tool, it can also be used as a deadly weapon. If you're so inclined, you can whip it around at enemies and slice them into bite-sized pieces. It all sounds relatively brutal.Cyberpunk 2077 is releasing on April 16 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. For more Cyberpunk 2077 news, be sure to click from the links in the list below.Cyberpunk 2077 Created A New Team To Make Sidequests, After The Witcher 3Cyberpunk 2077 Netrunner Class Seems Perfect For Causing MischiefHow Cyberpunk 2077's Sidequests Will WorkCyberpunk 2077's Life Paths And Character Creation Sound Very DeepCyberpunk 2077 Will Allow For Non-Lethal Playthroughs, Here's How It'll WorkCyberpunk 2077's Weapons Come In Three Flavors, Here's What You Need To KnowInfo from Gamespot.com

Seeing Astral Chain in motion may be what catches your eye, but the graceful execution of attacks is something you have to experience for yourself. Astral Chain delivers gratifying, kinetic, and inventive combat that goes beyond genre conventions--and it retains that excitement from start to finish. Couple that with an attractive art style brought to life through fluid animation and cinematic-style cuts in battle and you have yet another standout action experience from developer Platinum Games.As an elite cop on the Neuron special task force, it's your job to investigate the ever-growing presence of the otherworldly Chimera that threaten the world. Catastrophic incidents are abound as Chimera spill in from an alternate dimension, the astral plane, but of course there's more to the phenomenon than meets the eye. To get to the bottom of it all, you simultaneously control both your player-character and a Legion, a separate entity with its own attacks and abilities--think of it as a Stand from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. This dynamic is at the heart of Astral Chain's combat.Astral Chain's sense of style bursts at the seams with each battle.It takes time to get the hang of it, but once you do, working in tandem with a roster of Legions feels seamless. You earn Legions over time, accruing a total of five, and each one offers their own set of skills and cooldown attacks to upgrade via a skill tree. While they can be sent into the fray to perform auto-attacks, swapping between them effectively to juggle specific abilities creates the satisfaction of tearing down the monstrous Chimeras.Initially, there are so many variables at play that it can be daunting. You have chain binds to lock enemies down for a few seconds, timing-based sync attacks that unleash devastating blows, and showstopping sync finishers that top off the wild spectacle (and replenish your health to boot). You can even get creative with combos, like utilizing the AOE stun, gravity pull, and crash bomb--all from different Legions--to concentrate a ton of damage on. Even an unchained combo lets you briefly unleash two Legions at once. And if that already seems like a lot to handle, you'll also have to consider executing special attacks from directional inputs when it's best to use them.When you dig deeper into Astral Chain's systems, you see some of its lineage--particularly the chip system of Nier: Automata, the game which Astral Chain director Takahisa Taura was lead designer on. That system manifests as Ability Codes that you equip on each of your Legions to grant them specific buffs and perks, which can significantly change how they function.Astral Chain isn't about running head-first into fights against monsters that seek to destroy you, though. You have to be smart about positioning, dodging, and the limited energy of your Legion. Enemies are more than just fodder; they can overwhelm you with sheer numbers, size, or speed. Some may require you to meet certain conditions to defeat them, forcing you to use non-combat abilities in the midst of the chaos. And bosses come at you with unforgiving attacks that'll test your skill as much as your patience.You have options for creating your own cool anime cop, it's too bad they never really talk.With a multitude of factors and challenges at play, combat places much more emphasis on devising the right tactics for the right situation. Astral Chain provides a tremendous box of tools that are effective in their own right and an absolute joy to use.If there's a fault gameplay-wise, it's that movement can sometimes feel imprecise--don't expect the same buttery smoothness of Bayonetta. For example, the Beast Legion's mount mode winds up in an unpredictable direction, and the pistol combo forces you to flip backward. It may result in falling off ledges or unintentionally getting in harm's way. Thankfully, it's an occasional frustration that doesn't detract from the core experience.Astral Chain delivers gratifying, kinetic, and inventive combat that goes beyond genre conventions--and it retains that excitement from start to finish.If you watch gameplay carefully, you quickly see how slow-motion, camera cuts, and subtle audio-visual cues in combat serve to signify opportune times to make your move. These flourishes are also how the game cements its bold sense of style. Popular manga artist Masakazu Katsura lent his hand to lead the character designs, resulting in some of the best-looking anime cops around. And when your bombastic actions in battle are matched by visually-striking momentum and tenacity, it delivers a unique thrill that makes Astral Chain special to see in motion.Further complementing the game's grand spectacle is its soundtrack. The groovy house tune heard in the police headquarters is infectious and the somber guitar melody at the stray cat safehouse hits like a reprieve from the chaos that envelops the world. Tense instrumentals and hard-hitting rock remixes of songs seamlessly bounce between one another during some combat missions. Unrelenting metal tracks propel boss battles and an ethereal Nier-like theme plays in the astral plane. Sprinkle in some J-rock worthy of an anime OP and Astral Chain rounds out the musical spectrum to great effect.Astral Chain isn't just about flashiness and stylish action, though. You're given room to breathe between combat scenarios that comprise its chapters (or Files, as they're called). Structurally, it's somewhere between the traditional open world of Nier: Automata and segmented stages of Bayonetta--chapters funnel you through hub areas where you're free to take part in side missions or explore for optional activities. Not everything is laid out on your map, so it takes some detective work to unveil all the hidden content.Astral Chain's shortcomings don't overshadow what it does best. It's an incredible execution of a fresh take on Platinum Games' foundation, standing among the stylish-action greats.Investigation scenarios are peppered within the main missions, where you analyze the environment and talk to locals to solve the mysteries at hand. Piecing the clues together properly awards you with a top rank, and it's no sweat if you get things wrong. You'll often jump into segments of the astral plane, which feature the more intense fights, and these areas incorporate light puzzle/platforming elements that ask you to use Legion powers in different ways.The activities you undertake outside of combat aren't exactly groundbreaking, but they provide enjoyable ways to engage with Astral Chain's vivid world. It's a welcome variety that also helps the pacing from chapter to chapter. Astral Chain never sits on one particular element for too long; it knows when to move on.Investigation is just one way Astral Chain breaks up the pace.Now, style doesn't always equal substance. The overarching plot touches on the conventions of evil authority figures who abuse the power of science for their own agendas, and it also relates to the nature of how you're able to wield the power of Legions, which are tamed Chimera. However, these themes are hardly explored. Rather, Astral Chain relies on cliches within its story and exposition. As a result, the more pivotal moments feel a bit less consequential. While some anime-esque tropes are just plain fun to see play out, others are borderline nonsensical even in context.While you choose to play as a customized male or female cop on a special task force, your sibling--who's on the same team--becomes the narrative focal point with fully voiced dialogue. Your own character is relegated to being an awkward silent protagonist. It's disappointing because Astral Chain has so much stylistic potential to build from in order to give its lead character a distinct attitude. I can't help but see it as a missed opportunity, especially when both characters are voiced when they're your partner. In the end, the narrative presents stakes that are just high enough that you'll want to see it to the end, and, thankfully, every other part of the game remains outstanding.Astral Chain's shortcomings don't overshadow what it does best. It's an incredible execution of a fresh take on Platinum Games' foundation, standing among the stylish-action greats. And its own anime-inspired swagger makes fights all the more exhilarating. You'll come to appreciate the calmer moments in between that add variety and offer a second to relax before jumping back into the superb combat. After 40 hours with Astral Chain, I'm still eager to take on the tougher challenges, and I'll be grinning from ear to ear as I hit all the right moves, one after the other, while watching it all unfold.Info from Gamespot.com

CD Projekt Red shared a ton of new details about Cyberpunk 2077 during its latest deep-dive stream. The gameplay demonstration gave us a look at Pacifica, a rundown district of Night City that has been overrun by two rival gangs, and we learned a bit more about these warring factions from series creator himself, Mike Pondsmith.As previously mentioned, two major gangs have staked out territory in Pacifica. First are the Voodoo Boys, a group mainly made up of Haitians who arrived in Night City after the environmental changes caused Haiti to be completely flooded."When I created [the Voodoo Boys] many, many years ago, I was looking at kind of a really interesting idea, which is what we would now call cultural appropriation: what happens when somebody comes in and tries to adopt a culture that they know little or nothing about and does it really badly," Pondsmith explained.He continued: "The Voodoo Boys in [Cyberpunk] 2077 are really Voodoo Boys. They inherited the name, but it was sort of a natural fit; they were coming from Haiti and the Dominican Republic, and they were the real thing, and they managed to take a lot of the elements of their original culture and meld it into the world of 2077, bring that cyberpunk vibe into a very old and respected culture. So they're a gang, but they're not really; they're more of a cultural phenomenon, they're more a way of cultural exploration."On the other side of the spectrum are the Animals, who are driven by their desire for strength. "They're in it to basically build themselves up and become the tigers of their particular urban jungle," Pondsmith explained. "They want to be big, they want to be bad, and they want you to fear them just because they exist."But the Animals are very simple. They have an ethos: get big, lift, get strong, lift. So unlike the Voodoo Boys, who have a culture, the Animals have a thing, and contrasting that is interesting because in 2077, you get a chance to see that not every gang is the same as every other gang, and what motivates them depends on the people you meet on the street."We learned a lot of other interesting details about Cyberpunk 2077 during the deep-dive video, including how sidequests will work in the game and how cyberware will change gameplay. CD Projekt Red also confirmed the game will allow for non-lethal playthroughs, and the studio is working with real city planners to design Night City.Cyberpunk 2077 releases for PS4, Xbox One, and PC on April 16, 2020. The game is also coming to Google Stadia. For more about the title's collector's edition and pre-order bonuses, be sure to check out our Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order guide.Info from Gamespot.com

The classic real-time strategy series Homeworld is coming back. The dormant series has been quiet for more than 15 years, aside from the Remastered Collection in 2015. But an official sequel, Homeworld 3, has been announced at PAX West.Development is being handled by Blackbird Interactive, which has some experience with the franchise having remastered previous Homeworld games. Fans can look forward to having the story pick up from where it left off, however, it may be some time before they can experience the new chapter. "Homeworld returns with the next chapter of the story. Homeworld 3 is the true sequel to the legendary space-faring RTS. Blackbird Interactive, founded by original Homeworld art director Rob Cunningham takes the helm on development, returning the series to its roots with a gripping continuation of the story, fully 3D combat, and the classic RTS elements you expect," its developer states. "Further supported by the veterans of Homeworld Remastered Collection at Gearbox Publishing, Homeworld 3 is coming to life and the teams couldn't be more ecstatic."It’s also already getting a crowdfunding campaign on Fig, with a bonus for backers: access to Homeworld Mobile, which was also announced at the presentation.Homeworld was a competitor with contemporaries like StarCraft and Red Alert, and its Remastered Collection showed that the classics still hold up. GameSpot’s Homeworld Remastered review praised the space battles and smooth learning curve, but suggested some changes from the originals weren’t for the better.“The Homeworld series' legacy, however, has always lain within its story-focused campaigns, whose excellent action and inherent beauty endure and excel, even in light of the 16 years that have passed since the original's arrival,” wrote Kevin VanOrd. “It is a huge universe out there, but Homeworld Remastered Collection makes a great case for asserting your presence within it.” Info from Gamespot.com

The Nintendo Switch has suddenly gotten a little more M-rated with the surprise-release of Bulletstorm. The Bulletstorm: Duke of Switch Edition, previously announced for the summer, is now available on the eshop for $30.As you may expect from the name, this version of Bulletstorm includes all the remastered “Full Clip” update from 2017, including the ability to play as Duke Nukem. The game was known for its crass humor and let’s say creative use of profanity, so Duke fit right in.Bulletstorm’s gameplay hook was a tether mechanic, which allowed you to bounce enemies back and forth like yo-yos as you dealt damage and racked up score bonuses. GameSpot’s Bulletstorm: Full Clip Edition review, awarded the remaster an 8/10."The experience absolutely holds up: the skillshot system remains wildly fun and inventive, the weapons are still a gruesome joy, and the writing...well, it's as distinctive as ever,” Scott Butterworth wrote. “If you missed Bulletstorm when it originally released--and based on sales numbers, you probably did--now's the time to treat yourself to a clever if cringe-worthy blockbuster."Info from Gamespot.com

Like CD Projekt Red's previous games, there are tons of ways to customize your character in Cyberpunk 2077 to suit your liking. This level of personalization even stretches into the game's various gun types, which come in three unique flavors.When it comes to customizing guns, there are two significant ways to do so. First, you can change your gun's appearance by applying different skins or paint jobs. In contrast, the most meaningful way to customize your gun is by applying attachments and modifications, such as silencers and scopes. You can also specifically boost a gun's specific individual statistics.Aside from customization, it's worth noting as your proficiency with specific guns increases, your reloading and shooting animations change. For example, your crosshair might become smaller, indicating that your accuracy is improving, or your reloading animation becomes faster. According to senior level designer Miles Tost, this was implemented to better feed into your character's growth. "You really get this sense of progression and your character evolving as you play the game," said Tost. "I think that's a special experience when you combine it with the way you customize your gun where you get this feeling that this is your signature gun and that you're really good at using it." We learned a ton of new details about Cyberpunk 2077 during its recent deep-dive stream, including more information about how non-lethal playthroughs will work, the three different playstyles, and more. If you're keen to grab the game, be sure to check out our Cyberpunk 2077 pre-order guide.Cyberpunk 2077 is launching on April 16, 2020, for PS4, Xbox One, and PC.Info from Gamespot.com

The Gearbox panel at PAX West announced Homeworld 3, but that’s not the only return for the real-time strategy franchise. The company also teased Homeworld Mobile, complete with a brief teaser-trailer showing off the spacefaring ships in flight.The spin-off is being developed by mobile studio Straosphere. Gearbox noted that the title isn’t finalized, because like Homeworld 3, it’s still in the early stages. If you back Homeworld 3’s crowd-funding campaign on Fig, you’ll get priority access to Homeworld Mobile.Homeworld has been relatively quiet since the release of Homeworld 2 in 2003. It received a Remastered Collection in 2015, which was well-received by critics, including in GameSpot’s Homeworld Remastered review.“The Homeworld series' legacy, however, has always lain within its story-focused campaigns, whose excellent action and inherent beauty endure and excel, even in light of the 16 years that have passed since the original's arrival,” wrote Kevin VanOrd. “It is a huge universe out there, but Homeworld Remastered Collection makes a great case for asserting your presence within it.” Info from Gamespot.com

Imagine that you wake up one morning and, to your horror, discover that you had inadvertently committed an act of infidelity. Think about the kind of confusion and dread that might race through your head at that moment. How did it happen? What the hell are you going to do? How on earth are you going to explain and amend the relationships with all parties involved? What kind of deep-seated anxieties might have led to this moment? In 2011, Atlus' Persona studio explored this predicament with Catherine, using a peculiar blend of social simulation and Sokoban-influenced action-puzzling. Eight years later, Catherine: Full Body is a remaster that demonstrates how well the game's distinctive premise and exploration of adult themes still hold up, even if its new additions to the plot don't fit in seamlessly.Vincent is a 32-year-old man in a long-term relationship with his girlfriend, Katherine, and at a stagnant point in his life where he isn't exactly sure what he wants for his future. His core group of friends are in different circumstances, but they share similar dilemmas; being in your thirties is hard. Vincent has recently found himself plagued by frequent nightmares of scrambling up a crumbling tower, and he's losing sleep and in a constant haze because of them. One morning, after a big night of drinking, he wakes up next to someone who is absolutely not his girlfriend, and what follows is a frantic, weeklong crusade to try and deal with the repercussions and decide what he wants to do with his life before Katherine can discover what's really going on.Central to Vincent's coping process is his aforementioned core group of friends. Every night after work, they all get together at their local bar, The Stray Sheep, to hang out. It's in these regular social scenarios where Vincent can confide in his friends, talk through his state of mind, sound off on his next course of action, and, hopefully, find a resolution. The conversations between characters are mostly predetermined, though the onus to spend Vincent's limited time having them is on you. A key component which you do have influence over, however, is your cell phone. Vincent will regularly be contacted throughout the night (by Katherine and his new fling, Catherine), and how you choose to respond to their text messages and calls, if at all, will impact Vincent's ethical compass--represented as a meter with opaque binaries.Time ticks along as you perform actions in the bar, and its patrons will come and go. You can skip these social sections entirely if you wish, but doing so robs you of the game's most engrossing component. Vincent's journey is a deeply introspective one, and though the plot's major beats unfold in the cutscenes that bookend each day, the nuances of his character come through in his interactions with other people. Managing Vincent's connection to his phone, and, in turn, how he treats the women in his life from a distance, sways how he might later react to significant plot points and revelations. Getting to know Vincent's deeply flawed but sympathetic friends, as well as peeling away at the backstories of the other bar patrons as the week goes on, helps to explore themes revolving around maturity and the nature of human relationships. Full Body's inclusion of the Japanese vocal track also provides an interesting and different take on character performances if you've already experienced the English version before.The ebb and flow of your social actions--chatting to your friends, ordering another drink, checking your phone intermittently, and spending time with Vincent's idle thoughts--make the ritual of whittling away time at the Stray Sheep strangely satisfying in its mundanity. The evocative soundtrack helps to foster this relaxed contemplative state, as does the game's holistic but understated audiovisual style. It's an incredibly pleasant atmosphere to be in, and it succeeds in replicating the quiet delight of spending a night drinking with friends with no particular occasion.It's nice to have that safe haven, because when Vincent goes home to bed each night, the nightmares start, and that's when things get really stressful. What's causing the nightmares is a mysterious unknown at first, but from the outset, it's clear that they act somewhat as a lucid metaphor for Vincent's internal strife. You need to guide Vincent up a sheer, crumbling tower constructed entirely of cubes and other cuboids, sometimes while being chased by a monstrous personification of one of Vincent's objects of anxiety. The tower is rarely more than three cubes deep, and while its construction might sometimes form a natural staircase for Vincent to climb, you'll frequently need to create a path upward yourself by pushing and pulling the cubes around in strict, grid-based arrangements.This task quickly escalates in difficulty, as the sheer tower faces become higher and harder to navigate. There will be fewer pieces to work with, while blocks with unique properties will also appear, such as being immovable or shattering after being stepped on twice. These scenarios stop you from creating an ordinary staircase, and they force you to think of more unorthodox ways to arrange and move around the tower. Vincent can hang on the edges of blocks, and blocks will support each other so long as a horizontal edge connects; both these rules are fundamental to many of the techniques required to work your way up.Finding that potential path takes careful consideration and forward-thinking, and this can be nerve-wracking. You need to keep up your momentum, lest the stage crumble under your feet and you fall, and the soundtrack--rousing renditions of an inspired selection of classical pieces--ratchets up the urgency of your ridiculous predicament to a high degree. It's very easy to put yourself in a dead-end situation, even with the game's generous undo mechanic, and at times you might stare at the pieces you have to work with for what seems like an eternity without any inspiration. But when you do have a sequence of moves in mind, successfully put them into practice, and start flying up the tower without pause, that sense of mastery and accomplishment is incredibly exciting.This remaster also includes a number of additional difficulty options and assists, however, if reaching those moments of elation are too few and far between. These include, among other things, a "Safety" difficulty level, which eliminates failure, and an auto-climb option that can be disabled on a whim. Catherine's puzzle difficulty does spike in places, so it's a boon over the original for anyone who wants to keep up the momentum with Vincent's story. If you love the puzzles, though (and I certainly do), Full Body also includes a handful of additional modes, which dramatically increase the amount of available stages. The story mode offers a "Remix" variant featuring new block types and stage layouts; the in-game "Rapunzel" arcade cabinet boasts a buffet of new stages in the same vein, too. Babel returns as a discrete puzzle mode with challenging, randomised stages for one or two players, and there's also a head-to-head competitive mode with local and online options. There's a lot here, but the biggest addition to Catherine is the inclusion of another potential love interest for Vincent, named Rin.While Katherine is sensible and Catherine is uninhibited, Rin acts as a sheepish but wholehearted personality for Vincent to fawn over. She's introduced right from the get-go and woven into the game's existing story beats, both in new cutscenes and into the social segments at the Stray Sheep. However, perhaps unsurprisingly, Rin's integration isn't an entirely seamless one. On a superficial level, story moments involving Rin will often play following whatever cinematics were part of the original game, and with that come some pacing issues. These new scenes have a strong, stylish direction, featuring more interesting edits and creative shot compositions than existing ones, but they unfortunately make the rhythm of cycling between social simulation, nightmare puzzles, and stretches of cinematics feel a little unbalanced. More significantly, though, the integration of Rin completely dismantles the game's enigmatic sense of mystery.If you've played the original version of Catherine through to one of its many different endings, then you'll have at least some idea of how Vincent's real-world difficulties and his nightmarish tribulations are related. However, it was previously hard to get any tangible sense of how things might fit together until the original game's penultimate chapter. Conversely, as soon as Rin appears on screen in Full Body, it is immediately clear that something is amiss, and this feeling of peculiarity is ever-present whenever Rin is involved in a scene. Even though her arc is an enticing new mystery in itself, and does feel additive to someone who already knows everything about the original Catherine's narrative, it's a shame. As soon as Full Body starts, Rin acts as a big, flashy distraction from the largely grounded and plausible story that Catherine revels in during its real-world sequences for most of its running time.Chasing Rin through the new branching path in the story feels a little inelegant overall, too. Actively choosing to pursue either Catherine or Katherine as Vincent's ultimate goal always feels like trying to hit a moving target. Trying to push Vincent in a certain direction on the game's ethical meter was difficult because of how hard it was to decipher which choices represented what--not just in Vincent's text messages, but also during the series of confronting "confessional" questions that you're asked in-between nightmare levels (eg. Would you rather kiss an alien or a corpse?). Pursing Rin feels far more blatant--a series of questions are flagged upfront as opportunities to "break" the meter and set off on a whole new path.Once you do break onto that new path, things go to some fascinating places. But the broad feeling of the new story branch is that it feels, well, too broad. Rin's enthusiastic earnestness rubs off on the direction of the new content a little too much, and even though the scenarios posited are genuinely interesting to see unfold, it lacks a more grounded subtlety that invites a similar level of contemplation to the existing branches for Katherine and Catherine. What's more dismaying is that the ultimate conclusion to Rin's story branch actually feels like it undermines the otherwise positive themes the new chapters work so intensely to convey, seeming to suggest that the kind of love that Rin and Vincent can potentially share is fantastical in nature.But Rin's presence still brings an intriguing new edge to Vincent's crisis, and Full Body still tells a fascinating, personal tale. The nightmarish block puzzles are still weirdly intense and satisfying to surmount, and the Stray Sheep is still a wonderful bar to spend your nights in. Full Body does a great job in refining and refreshing the Persona studio's fascinating foray into the social lives of adults, and Catherine continues to stand out as a game that feels both incredibly bizarre and authentically intimate. Info from Gamespot.com