Although Bethesda has already confirmed it will hold a press conference at E3 2019, don't expect to see two of last year's biggest announcements during it. At PAX East, Bethesda announced that it will not be showcasing or revealing additional details for either The Elder Scrolls VI or Starfield at this year's E3. Both games were announced and given tiny teasers during E3 2018, alongside more detailed reveals for Fallout 76 and Rage 2."That's just a little sneak peek at the technology that we've been building," Bethesda executive producer Todd Howard said during a PAX East panel, in regards to further details about a new game engine. "People are going to see [the tech] at first, actually, in Starfield. And so that tech will have like the second version of it in TES6, and--before everyone asks--please be patient. It's going to be a long time. It's not something we're going to be talking about at E3--either of those games--this year. And so patience, please. But given the [Elder Scrolls] anniversary, we did want to give everybody a taste."It's not that much of a surprise to hear that neither game will be shown at this year's E3, given that their showings from last year's event implied both titles are still in the early stages of development. Howard has said he already knows the release dates for both games, but he's "not going to tell" as it "would be foolish to say it."During PAX Australia 2018, Bethesda marketing boss Pete Hines and ZeniMax Online Studios game director Matt Firor said The Elder Scrolls VI is still a long way off, most likely releasing on the next generation of console hardware. Howard said something similar about Starfield during last year's E3, but clarified, "I can't absolutely say yes to [leaving current generation consoles behind]. We're not going to limit the game that way yet. I'm willing to [leave current generation consoles behind] but it's not a priority right now. I'd put it that way."Next to nothing is known about Starfield, other than it's the first new IP Bethesda has announced in 25 years. The first and only trailer for the game showcases a planet outlined by a distant sun, only for the camera to pan down and focus on a small space station which is seemingly sucked into some sort of black hole.Even less is known about The Elder Scrolls VI. According to its trailer, the game takes place in a mountainous region. There are some trees and patches of fog. That's about it. Even with so little information, though, fans are still theorizing and trying to piece together The Elder Scrolls VI's setting.In the meantime, Bethesda has plenty of other games to occupy players as they wait. Fallout 76 has already received the first of three major expansions, and the other two are scheduled for later this year. The Elder Scrolls: Blades has technically released as well. Also, Rage 2, Doom Eternal, and Wolfenstein: Youngblood (all published by Bethesda) are all scheduled to release in 2019--the latter of which comes with a pretty cool incentive to upgrade to the Deluxe Edition.Info from Gamespot.com

The upcoming remaster for Crash Team Racing channels much of the same energy and cartoonish personality that made the classic PS1 title such a well-loved game. Developed by Beenox, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Refueled also manages to go a bit further than updating the original, including more content than people had anticipated. During PAX East 2019, we spent some time racing on the different tracks in Nitro-Refueled, which included the return of some tracks found from the sequel Nitro Kart.Speaking with GameSpot at PAX, Beenox co-studio head Thomas Wilson described the approach they took with the remaster, and what sort of content they wanted to include with the game."With the name Nitro-Fueled, we wanted to see how we could complement the original experience," said Wilson. "We did that by adding new tracks that originated from Crash Nitro Kart, and which we decided pretty early on we were going to do that. We felt it was the right decision, and it was all about creating a more well-rounded package for fans."During our hands-on time, we got to play across four different tracks pulling from CTR and Nitro Kart. One thing that the original game was known for was its challenging difficulty, and that's certainly present here. I really found myself struggling to keep up with other opponents--both AI and other players. One sudden hit from an enemy's missile or driving straight into a vial of chemicals almost inevitably put us in a bad way. With that said, I still felt that Nitro-Fueled managed to recapture that same sense of fun from the original, which was present in the updated art style that looks more vibrant than ever.This remaster also includes a number of changes and revisions to the core gameplay. For instance, all the anti-gravity sections from Nitro Kart's tracks have been removed in order to keep it consistent with the courses from the original game. Nitro-Fueled also offers an upgrade to the original's car combat mode. Featuring only the standard battle mode, the remaster will also incorporate the maps and modes from Nitro Kart as well, bringing it to a total of 12 different battle maps with multiple game types, including standard combat and capture the flag. From our recent hands-on, Crash Team Racing: Nitro-Fueled is shaping up to be a solid remaster that will rekindle the fast-pace and fun of the original.For more from PAX Eat 2019, including the latest on Borderlands 3, and other games that caught our interest in the show, be sure to check outInfo from Gamespot.com

The X-Men came to WonderCon and they brought some pretty massive treats with them. To promote the upcoming movie Dark Phoenix, the cast of X-Men shared some brand new footage at their WonderCon panel. Beware: The following contains spoilers for Dark Phoenix.All told, there were two different--and lengthy--clips shown. The first, which clocked in at around 10 minutes, sent the X-Men to space. Pieces of this sequence have been seen in trailers, but there's quite a bit more context to be had. As it so happens, the X-Men are tasked with rescuing a NASA shuttle, which was struck by the Phoenix Force, essentially leaving it dead in the water.Though she ultimately absorbs the Phoenix energy--and it looks very cool--it's not just Jean (Sophie Turner) getting in on the action in space. The clip shows just how great a team the X-Men has become, with everyone knowing their role and working together. The clip also shows Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) calling the shots in the field, giving the idea that she's second in command behind Charles Xavier (James McAvoy).That's explored even further, when back on Earth she accuses Charles of sending the team into a dangerous situation, putting their lives at risk to save the lives of non-mutants. According to Charles, he's just trying to keep the peace.Mystique also points out--after Jean essentially saved them all in space--that the women on the team are the ones doing the heavy-lifting. "The women are always saving the men around here," sher said. "You might want to think about changing the name to X-Women." This potential divide in their relationship is especially intriguing, given what we know about Mystique's fate in the film.The second clip finds the X-Men at their lowest. Jean, who's done full-on Dark Phoenix by this point, has been tracked down in New York City. Beast (Nicholas Hoult) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) are determined to kill her after the death of Mystique, which was previously revealed in a trailer.Meanwhile, Charles, Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Storm (Alexandra Shipp), and Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) plan on stopping them. What follows is a mutant fight on the streets of NYC. It's the kind of thing that, for comic book fans, is a sight to see. If you've been waiting to see Cyclops vs. Beast, this is going to be something you'll enjoy.If the clips are any indication, the tone of an X-Men film has never been darker than in Dark Phoenix--and the scale has never been more epic. What remains to be seen is if this is the final chapter in the franchise, following Disney's acquisition of Fox. If this is the end of the road for the X-Men as we know it, at least it's finishing with a story as massive as the Dark Phoenix Saga.Dark Phoenix is in theaters on June 7. Info from Gamespot.com

Valve has announced it will slow down on pushing out updates for Artifact in order to start focusing on the digital card game's larger issues. The company published a blog post on Steam explaining its reasoning."Obviously, things didn't turn out how we hoped," Valve game programmer Jeep Barnett wrote. "Artifact represents the largest discrepancy between our expectations for how one of our games would be received and the actual outcome. But we don't think that players misunderstand our game, or that they're playing it wrong. Artifact now represents an opportunity for us to improve our craft and use that knowledge to build better games.""It has become clear that there are deep-rooted issues with the game and that our original update strategy of releasing new features and cards would be insufficient to address them," Barnett continued. "Instead, we believe the correct course of action is to take larger steps, to re-examine the decisions we've made along the way regarding game design, the economy, the social experience of playing, and more."Specifics are not listed for which "larger issues" will be addressed outside of the general descriptions supplied in the quote above. Barnett does warn, though, that the "process of experimentation and development" will most likely "take a significant amount of time." So you probably shouldn't expect new updates for Artifact anytime soon.Artifact is Valve's first new game in years. Conceptually based on Dota 2, Artifact is designed by Richard Garfield, who previously created the Magic: The Gathering card game. Artifact is available on PC, with plans to bring the game to Android and iOS this year. Valve did not announce whether the mobile port will now be delayed on account of the shift in focus to address the game's larger issues.Despite the game's issues, in our Artifact review, we gave the game an 8/10, describing the title as "a capable reimagining of modern trading card games."Info from Gamespot.com

It's been a long time coming, considering the leaked images and rumors, but today Valve finally revealed its virtual reality headset, the Valve Index. A page dedicated to the Index went live on Steam, Valve's PC games distribution platform. The page includes the first official image of the VR headset.As of now, there isn't much information since no details on price, technical specifications, or its functionality have been given. Index does have a release window, though: May 2019. Judging from the official teaser image, it'll have at least two built-in sensors (or cameras) on the headset itself, and what appears to be IPD and viewing distance adjustment notches. No indication has been made about whether or not the SteamVR Knuckle controllers will be a part of Index, although an updated prototype was shown last year.The first look at the Valve Index VR headset.Valve previously partnered with HTC for the development of Vive the headset and integrating it into the Steam ecosystem. Valve Index isn't the only new thing coming to VR gaming this year; Oculus announced two new headsets slated for Spring 2019 release. The Oculus Rift S will be an upgraded version of the Rift that'll feature built-in tracking sensors, a higher resolution, and a more ergonomic head strap. Those looking to go completely untethered will want to lookout for the Oculus Quest, a standalone VR headset powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 processor. Both Oculus headsets will launch at $400 USD.Info from Gamespot.com

FX's Legion panel at WonderCon 2019 kicked off with an exclusive look at the upcoming Season 3, which the network has stated will be the show's final season. The clip was from the new season's opening episode.The lengthy footage starred a new addition to the cast in Season 3, Lauren Tsai, who plays a character named Switch. The clip didn't have a lot of dialogue or many clear connections to the story as we know it, although we can infer some things. We essentially followed a day in Switch's life: She eats breakfast with her father via teleconference on the screen of a 1960s style TV (the show remains era agnostic, as always), she goes to school, she listens all day to an audiobook called "Lessons In Time Travel."In the footage, we only got one glimpse of her using that power--as she encounters increasingly strange coincidences throughout her day, including mysterious flyers posted around the city, she eventually tunes a radio to a specific station to catch a secret message. Having missed it by seconds, she draws a line in the air, and the scene apparently rewinds a few seconds to her plucking the radio from a closet again. A voice tells her without ambiguity: "Follow the yellow bus." And the voice sending the message? It sounded a whole lot like Dan Stevens' protagonist-ish hero-turned-villain, David Haller.The bus led her to a back alley door leading into a bright white room filled with racks of clothing, shifting desks, and singing hippies. After a funky musical number, the desks all shifted together to form a tunnel. As Switch crawled on her hands and knees, she passed through skyscrapers, office buildings, a forest, a ship, the bottom of the ocean, and more, the scene shifting around her in a kaleidoscope of weirdness. Finally, on the other end, she was greeted by an unfamiliar woman, and the scene ended.Tsai shared during the panel afterward that this is her first work in scripted entertainment. "It's crazy for me to watch it now," she said. "I'm really excited for you all to see and get to know Switch. It's going to be a very interesting season, and it's been a crazy time of learning for me."The panel included Tsai and Stevens, as well as Amber Midthunder (Kerry), Jeremie Harris (Ptonomy), Navid Negahban (Amahl Farouk), Aubrey Plaza (Lenny), Rachel Keller (Syd Barrett), Dan Stevens (David Haller), Marvel Television's Jeph Loeb, executive producer Lauren Schuler Donner, and creator Noah Hawley. They spent the first part of the panel reminiscing about how they started on the show, and various moments from the previous two seasons.For example, Plaza said she wasn't initially interested in the role of Lenny, a character who was originally written as a man. That was until Hawley told her that her character would eventually be killed, and her body taken over by a psychic mutant.They did tease a few extremely tantalizing details, though: Legion Season 3 may be the show's last, but it might not be the final collaboration between Hawley (also known for FX's Fargo) and Marvel. Loeb himself raised the prospect of Hawley working on another Marvel show, or even something else within the Legion universe--eliciting cheers from the crowd."[Legion Season 3] is the end of this particular story," Loeb teased. There's a lot to potentially read from that statement, including the real possibility that Legion will somehow continue after the end of Season 3. Unfortunately, that was the extent of the tease.Hawley also spoke at length about ending the story of Legion--or at least this chapter of it. "In looking at a story about a character who is mentally ill, there was a sense of kind of the path of the illness and recovery that [David] goes on," he said. "I feel like where we left him at the end of the second season, again at his lowest point, there's only two ways that he can go--he can either get back to a healthy place, or he can go off the bottom of the map. And once we decided which one of those he's gonna do, it felt like the end of the story, because otherwise you start the loop all over again. But it's not an easy decision to end a story.""Obviously it's bittersweet, but a story has no meaning without its ending," he continued. "And the old paradigm of television was, major corporations don't usually do a mic drop after a success--you have to keep going, and there's something about being allowed to tell a story, where the length of the show is dictated by the length of the story, that makes television better."Besides being Legion's alleged final season, Season 3 will also introduce a beloved X-men character: Professor Charles Xavier, who's being played by Game of Thrones' Harry Lloyd. When an audience member asked what other Marvel characters they'd like to fold into Legion's world, Stevens issued his own tease: "You might be pleasantly surprised by Season 3."Lastly, a question for Aubrey Plaza at the end stole the show, as far as any Parks and Recreation fans in the audience were concerned: How would her character April Ludgate react to being possessed by Legion bad guy Amahl Farouk? "I think she'd like it," Plaza said. "I don't think she'd be very different. And she'd probably be better at her job. And she'd probably kill Jerry once and for all."Legion Season 3 premieres on FX this June. Info from Gamespot.com

At Wondercon in Aneheim, California, DC Universe held a panel showing off its upcoming additions for 2019 and early 2020 to its streaming service. Said panel was full of information including premiere dates of new and returning shows, a look at Stargirl, and the announcement of the Syfy series Krypton headed to the service.First and foremost, panel-goers got the first look at Courtney Whitmore dressed in the Stargirl costume from the upcoming original series of the same name, set to air in early 2020. The show is based on the 1999 DC comic book character Stargirl, who is a legacy hero and member of the Justice Society of America, DC Comics' oldest superhero team. You can see the costume for yourself below.However, that's not all DC Universe had in store. The next original series in the service's canon, the horror show Swamp Thing, will premiere on May 31. Like all other original programming, a new episode of the series will come to the DC Universe app every Friday.Additionally, the second half to the animated series Young Justice: Outsiders will debut on July 2, but that's not all. Season 2 of Titans will arrive this fall. While Titans may have had a slow start, it ended up being incredible and vastly exceeded expectations. After Titans Season 2 airs, the Harley Quinn animated series will follow. DC Universe wants to have a new episode of an original series every Friday without any lapses.On top of the original content, DC Universe is also bringing over the Syfy series Krypton, which follows Superman's grandfather on his home planet. It is much better than it sounds. Season 1 arrives on April 5. DC Universe will also be releasing the home video release of Justice League vs. The Fatal Five on April 16, the same day it comes to 4K, Bluray, and DVD.DC Universe release dates:Krypton Season 1: April 5Justice League vs. The Fatal Five: April 16Swamp Thing: May 31Young Justice: Outsiders Season 1B: July 2Titans Season 2: Fall 2019Stargirl: Early 2020Finally, the service is expanding its comic book section of the app, offering individual issues 12 months after their original publishing date. Subscribers can stay up relatively up to date on series they don't normally read or catch up on series they may have missed.Info from Gamespot.com

In English, most fairy tales lead with the phrase "once upon a time." In Hungarian, they begin with the word "Operencia," which roughly translates to "far, far away." And that's exactly where Operencia: The Stolen Sun transports you--to a realm steeped in magic and mystery, wonderfully detached from all things real.Operencia is a dungeon-crawler RPG set in a fantasy world. It begins by plunging you into the salivating jaws of a three-headed dragon. However, as soon as you slay the colossal serpent, the prologue ends. Before you know it you're no longer a dragonslayer, but a runaway farmhand determined to follow their dreams. Those mad powers you had ten seconds ago? Gone. You'll have to make your own destiny if you're to retrieve the mythical land's stolen sun.Composed of 13 different levels, the world of Operencia boasts some breathtaking vistas. You explore a variety of locations, from the murky depths of a castle cursed by tears to the metal wilds of The Copper Forest--which is infested with copper soldiers sporting chainsaw-like utensils for hands. The diversity of the game's art makes for a journey that is at all times fresh, awe-inspiring, and wonder-inducing. Its bright colors and intricate art style create an aesthetic that complements the mystique imbued in its magic, and it boasts a score that screams tales of monsters and creepy crawlies told around the warm hearth of a dirty tavern. This envelops you in a world of imagination and fantasy, more concerned with evoking a sense of wonder than any sort of fantasy realism.After you embark on your journey across this fantastical realm, you slowly begin to come across a whole host of intriguing companions. These characters all speak in pre-written conversations, leaving you no option to intervene with your own dialogue. However, conversations between characters are so well-written that it doesn't really matter. The banter between companions while resting at bonfires--which replenishes your health and energy--is no less arresting. Every companion you come across is their own person and has their own sense of humor--the witty Joska hurls jests at everyone in the party, whereas the strong-willed Kela ensures that you don't falter on your quest. I enjoyed sitting back and drinking in the conversation more so than I experienced a longing to interject with my own thoughts. This world is so wonderfully weird that it's better for telling you its stories, rather than affording you the chance to write your own one within it.Combat in Operencia is fast-paced, fluid, and engaging. It revolves around turn-based mechanics, involving a mix of physical, ranged, and magic attacks. The magic attacks utilize a strength/weakness system based on elemental typing such as frost, lightning, and fire. Your build can either lean heavily into one fighting style, or encompass all of them in order to gain versatility at the expense of specialization. While maxing out a single stat allows you to deal devastating damage in some cases, immunities can render you completely ineffective if you've overcommitted to one particular attribute. I played as a mage, as I usually do in fantasy RPGs, but without my Strength-based companions I would have been Ancient Elemental bait before I could say abracadabra. After battles, you'll gain experience and loot. For every level you gain, you'll get three ability points to pump into attributes. Leveling up feels well-rewarded, and the game allows you to carve out a combat niche for yourself with its myriad permutations of attribute/ability point combos.Managing the ability cooldowns and energy point costs of each individual character in your four-person team can be tough, especially in the late-game when a mistake can mean death, or game over if you're playing with permadeath enabled. As a result, it's important to play smart. Even the strongest of enemies can be quickly incapacitated if you're willing to exploit their weaknesses and be savvy with your potions.Operencia's combat takes customary turn-based RPG mechanics and makes them feel fresh with its own pacing and style. The only thing it could use is a little bit more versatility, as at times it feels as if your own character is a bit vanilla compared to the more advanced predetermined builds boasted by late-game companions. At the same time, you have seven characters to build a team of four from, so you can always change things up if frost spam is starting to get a little watery. As for enemies, there is a whole range of different beasties of all shapes and sizes who would love to eat you for dinner. Some of their niches can be very annoying, but not in a way that seems unfair.Traversal in Operencia is tile-based, creating opportunities for intriguing environmental puzzles. However, at times this system complicates attempts to look at the finer details of the world's beauty. There were moments where I wanted to look at objects caught between tiles or move an inch closer to the horizon in order to take the perfect screenshot, but I couldn't because the traversal system got in the way.Operencia: The Stolen Sun transports you to a realm steeped in magic and mystery, wonderfully detached from all things realMost of Operencia's puzzles are excellently designed. In one case, you have to defeat four powerful enemies, all of whom drop a token. These tokens are then placed in slots around a magic circle; you need to place each one in the right position, and then spin the circle's three tiers to match animals with the tokens' likeness. This might seem like the kind of puzzle you'd come across in similar RPGs, but Operencia's aesthetic really makes the solution feel special. Before you know it, a surge of color and light encapsulates the circle and magical powers begin to work in wonderful and mysterious ways.The puzzles that aren't solved by environmental manipulation or visual prompts usually require you to use creative key items, which range from magic shovels to griffin feathers. These feathers can be attached to any object with a feather marked on it, and cause that object to become drastically lighter. This allows you to uproot trees and move heavy weights with the flick of a wrist. You even get magic beans to grow beanstalks with! The puzzles get progressively harder as you make your way through the game, but are almost always intuitive and fair.Some don't fit this formula, though. While optional puzzles used to unlock secrets and legendary items are understandably best fitted with esoteric solutions, ones that are tied to story progression shouldn't be as niche as they are. On one occasion, I spent almost an hour and a half looking for one of four keys, all of which were used to unlock a series of doors that led to the mould for yet another key. While the first of these was an easy find, the second one was randomly hidden far away from the cave and could only be found by using the magic shovel in a certain area. This made me decide to scour the whole map looking for hidden doors and buried treasure, of which I found neither.As it turns out, the third key is actually obtained by returning to a melting pot I used to acquire a different key. There are so many keys. When I solved the puzzle I felt annoyed, not relieved. And I still had one more to get. Lo and behold, the fourth key was right in front of the last door, requiring no puzzles or exploration. After such arbitrary solutions to the previous puzzles, this was subversive. It was also incredibly irritating. I couldn't stay annoyed for long though, as the joyous booming of your relieved companions is infectious, and the game picks up so quickly that you're bounding onward into the next dungeon before you can get sufficiently annoyed to stop playing.Operencia tells a wonderful story derived from Central European folklore, mythology, and history, and it does so with unwavering confidence in its makeup. Companion characters are funny, and the banter between them makes for a fun experience that's not without its heartfelt moments. In terms of combat, the strategizing is so engaging that you'll likely end up charging rat warriors headfirst instead of hopelessly attempting to avoid bumping into them. Best of all, though, this world is so stunning that you'll just look at the trees, the water, the rocks--everything. It’s a shame that some of the puzzle solutions are needlessly frustrating and present significant obstacles in getting through the story, but aside from that Operencia provides a truly special experience.Operencia transports you somewhere far, far away, and once you get there, you'll probably want to stay a while.Info from Gamespot.com

Bethesda has released a new trailer and release date for Wolfenstein: Youngblood, the standalone sequel to Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus. The company also revealed details about the game's Deluxe Edition, highlighting one particular feature that might make it a no-brainer for those interested in playing co-op with a friend.The standard version of Wolfenstein: Youngblood has a retail price of $30 USD, while the Deluxe Edition goes for $40 USD. The Deluxe Edition includes a cyborg-themed skin pack, which is roughly par for the course with a special edition like this, but more notable is the inclusion of what's called the Buddy Pass. That extra $10 might be worth it for the Buddy Pass alone, because it allows you to grant limited access to the game to a friend, making it perfect for co-op play.According to the Youngblood FAQ, you can send a Buddy Pass invite code to as many friends as you want. With the code, someone can play Youngblood with you in co-op for free. You can only play with one friend at a time, though, and you do need to be playing in order for someone else to use your pass.There are some limitations; anyone playing Youngblood via the pass won't be able to earn in-game Xbox One Achievements or PS4 Trophies, for instance. If they want to get those, they'll have to pay an upgrade fee to purchase the full game. Bethesda has not revealed whether the upgrade fee will be cheaper than just buying the game. Still, this might save you both some money if you know you want to play the game with a friend.The Cyborg Skin Pack includes a custom character skin as well as titanium alloy skins for all weapons, the hatchet, and the knife. The pack also gives you an armor-boosting pep signal. Youngblood includes a few other cosmetic packs as well. The Legacy Pack--which is a set of BJ Blazkowicz-themed outfits and weapons--is available as a pre-order bonus for both editions of the game. The Youngblood FAQ reveals there will be additional cosmetic items, all of which can be earned via in-game currency or bought with microtransactions. The full list of pre-order and Deluxe Edition bonuses follows below.Wolfenstein: Youngblood's release date on Xbox One, PS4, PC, and Switch is set for July 26. Bethesda has confirmed the Switch version of the game will be released the same day as the others. The game has you play as Jess and Soph, the twin daughters of Wolfenstein protagonist BJ Blazkowicz. After their father goes missing in Nazi-occupied Paris, Jess and Soph launch a rescue mission in order to find him and bring him home. The game can be played completely solo with an AI-controlled partner or co-op with another person.Wolfenstein: Youngblood Legacy Pack Contents (pre-order bonus)New Colossus Jacket power suit skinBJ's U.S. Army power suit skinOld Blood PipeOld Blood KnifeWW2 Weapon Skin Set, for all ranged weaponsWolfenstein: Youngblood Cyborg Skin Pack (Deluxe Edition bonus)Cyborg player skinTitanium alloy skins for all weaponsTitanium alloy hatchetTitanium alloy knifeArmor-boosting pep signalInfo from Gamespot.com

We're partway through Season 8 of Fortnite now, but the hit battle royale game shows no signs of slowing down. Hot on the heels of the 8.20 update, Epic has released a new batch of challenges across PS4, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and mobile. Week 5's challenges run the gamut from dealing damage with scoped weapons to completing a lap around the race track in Happy Hamlet, with precious Battle Stars awaiting for each task you complete.As you clear this season's challenges, you'll level up your Battle Pass and steadily unlock the new Season 8 skins and rewards. There's another incentive to complete as many challenges as you can, however; if you finish all of the ones from a given week, you'll also complete one of this season's Discovery challenges, the reward for which is a special loading screen that leads you to a free Battle Star or Banner hiding somewhere around the island.Complete five weeks' worth of challenges in Season 8 and you'll unlock the loading screen pictured below. This one depicts a character striking a hero post and, in the background, you can see a volcano. This is the clue that'll guide you to the Battle Star. Take a look at the second image below, where you'll find the exact location. We've also included a map to the location.If you need more help finding the Battle Star, you can watch the video at the top of this guide to see exactly where you need to go. We've also marked its location on the map below. However, be aware that this particular Battle Star won't appear in the game unless you've completed the requisite number of challenges and unlocked the above loading screen, so you won't be able to collect it unless you've done all the necessary steps.If you have any outstanding challenges from this season, you can find all of our tips and guides in our full Fortnite Season 8 challenges roundup. You'll have until the season ends in May to complete these tasks, but it's in your best interest to finish them as early as you can, as you'll have a much better chance to unlock Season 8's mystery Legendary skin.The aforementioned 8.2 patch dropped on March 27 and introduced a new Poison Dart Trap to Battle Royale mode. As its name suggests, it'll fire darts when triggered, which will inflict damage directly to players' health over time. The update also marked the start of a brand-new limited-time mode called The Floor Is Lava, which gradually sees the molten liquid rise and cover the map as matches progress.Info from Gamespot.com

Monolith Soft, the developer of the Xenoblade Chronicles series, is working on a new Legend of Zelda title. The studio's website is putting the call out for developers to join the project, and recruiting for programmers, designers, and artists, among other roles. It does not specify precisely what Zelda game these positions would be working on.Although Monolith Soft is known primarily for its work on the Xenoblade Chronicles titles, it's no stranger to Zelda. The studio previously co-developed The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword and, more recently, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where it no doubt leveraged its expertise in creating vast open-worlds that players can explore.It's unclear what this new game is at this stage or whether it will fit the open-world mould established by Breath of the Wild. However, Monolith Soft's involvement with the project does certainly suggest it could be another grand adventure in the same vein as the Switch launch title. Whatever the case, this isn't necessarily a game being spearheaded entirely by Monolith Soft; it might simply be bulking up its teams that support Nintendo's internal studios responsible for the Zelda series.Nintendo has a number of other Zelda projects in the pipeline. Excitingly, one of those is a remake of the Game Boy classic The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening, which is being "reborn as a new experience" for Switch and is expected to launch in 2019. Nintendo has also announced Cadence of Hyrule, a crossover between its Legend of Zelda series and Brace Yourself Games' Crypt of the Necrodancer.Of course, if you're really in the mood for Zelda, there's probably still plenty left for your to do in the vast world of Breath of the Wild. In GameSpot's review, Peter Brown awarded the game a 10, saying it is "the most impressive game Nintendo has ever created."He added: "No matter how gorgeous its environments are, how clever its enemies are, and how tricky its puzzles get, the fact that Breath of the Wild continues to surprise you with newfound rules and possibilities after dozens of hours is by far its most valuable quality. It's a game that allows you to feel gradually more and more empowered yet simultaneously manages to retain a sense of challenge and mystery--which, together, creates a steady, consistent feeling of gratification throughout the entire experience. Breath of the Wild is a defining moment for The Legend of Zelda series."Info from Gamespot.com

Over the Nintendo Switch's two year life so far, owners of the hybrid device have been spoiled with a number of great platformers, with Super Mario Odyssey, Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, and more all gracing the console. Now, Switch owners get another new platforming game with Yoshi's Crafted World--but can it live up to its peers on the system?In our Yoshi's Crafted World review, critic Kallie Plagge says the game is a worthy addition to the Switch catalog, awarding it an 8/10. You can take a take a glimpse at more reviews below, or check out the full picture on the game's critical reception on GameSpot sister site Metacritic.Game: Yoshi's Crafted WorldDeveloper / Publisher: NintendoPlatform: Nintendo SwitchRelease date: March 29Price: $60 / £50 / AU $80GameSpot -- 8/10"Yoshi's Crafted World is at its best when it's relaxing and pleasant. The 2D-to-3D level design keeps you curious while the go-at-your-own-pace approach keeps the pressure off and leaves you to appreciate the small, imaginative details. Its most interesting ideas never evolve past their first introductions and are frequently confined to one or two levels, but individually, those levels both reward your curiosity and your willingness to slow down and look at what's around you--and it's those simple pleasures that provide the most joy." -- Kallie Plagge [Full review]IGN -- 7.8/10"Yoshi's Crafted World is an engaging and charming platformer that is absolutely worth playing, but it misses a clear opportunity to be more than that by not taking full advantage of its most clever ideas. It has enough creative collectibles to make completionists want to hunt down every last one, but I'm disappointed Crafted World didn't challenge me more in the way its last few levels proved it could have. Of course, I still thoroughly enjoyed every adorable hour I spent with it." -- Tom Marks [Full review]VentureBeat -- 65/100"Yoshi's Crafted World may be a good fit for young children or other gamers interested in the cute-factor. But as someone who prefers more fast-paced sidescrollers, I was too bored to let the clever, crafted world put a smile on my face. This is yet another Yoshi game that doesn't come close to reaching Yoshi's Island greatness." -- Mike Minotti [Full review]Game Informer -- 8.25/10"After a fun adventure through a world made of wool, Yoshi's transition to arts and crafts is a delight. With satisfying exploration, fun platforming, and a charming art style, Yoshi's Crafted World gives the Switch yet another strong platformer." -- Brian Shea [Full review]USGamer -- 4/5"The visuals in Yoshi's Crafted World speak for themselves. Every corner you turn presents something new to wonder at. The game's a bit on the easy side, but that's not necessarily a bad thing if you accept Yoshi titles are more about exploration and collecting than serious platforming. It's a great little "spring game" that should fill out your Switch library nicely." -- Nadia Oxford [Full review]GamesRadar -- 3.5/5"The difficulty in recommending this game is that it's an absolutely solid Nintendo platformer, but it doesn’t really do anything ambitious or use its conceit to great effect. I consistently wanted to soldier on to see what the next gorgeous world would entail, but when all was said and done, the experience felt slightly hollow, even if I’d had my eyes bleached by Yoshi's cute capers." -- Jordan Oloman [Full review]Info from Gamespot.com

In February it was announced that Kaz Hirai, who led the PlayStation business before being promoted to CEO of Sony, would step down and transition to the role of director, chairman. Now, Sony has announced that Hirai will be retiring from those roles effective June 18. Hirai will serve as senior advisor for the company and "will continue to provide counsel as requested by Sony's management team."In a statement, Hirai lent his support to Kenichiro Yoshida, who replaced him as CEO of Sony on April 1. "Since passing the baton of CEO to Yoshida-san last April, as Chairman of Sony, I have had the opportunity to both ensure a smooth transition and provide support to Sony's management. I am confident that everyone at Sony is fully aligned under Yoshida-san's strong leadership, and are ready to build an even brighter future for Sony."As such, I have decided to depart from Sony, which has been a part of my life for the past 35 years. I would like to extend my warmest gratitude to all our employees and stakeholders who have supported me throughout this journey."Yoshida added: "Hirai-san and I have been working on management reforms together since December 2013. While he will be retiring from both Chairman and our Board of Directors, we look forward to his continuing high-level support to Sony's management that encompasses a breadth of diverse businesses."Hirai was instrumental in launching the PlayStation 2 and PlayStation 3, and went on to become CEO and president of Sony. In February, the PlayStation business had a management reshuffle, with Jim Ryan being appointed president and CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment.2019 is set to be quite a different year for the PlayStation division, particularly in the way it communicates and promotes its products to its audience and the wider gaming community. The company has pulled out of E3, where it traditionally debuted and showed off its biggest upcoming games.Fans are looking to PlayStation Experience to be the tentpole PlayStation event for 2019. Sony opted to skip PlayStation Experience in 2018, so many are hoping to see it return this year. However, as of yet Sony hasn't indicated it has plans to host the show.Sony has kicked off State of Play, however. This is a series of smaller, streamed showcases in the same vein as Nintendo's Directs. The first one yielded a new Iron Man VR title, as well as information on No Man's Sky VR and Mortal Kombat 11. You can read all the news from Sony's first State of Play to catch up on what happened.Sony has said State of Play will return throughout the year to deliver updates on key titles. While the first episode wasn't exactly a barnstormer, the company has a number of big games on the way, including Death Stranding, The Last of Us: Part II, and Ghost of Tsushima, so upcoming episodes stand to be much more exciting.Info from Gamespot.com

Fortnite Season 8 seems to be whizzing by, as we're already in Week 5. For those with hopes of unlocking everything the Battle Pass has to offer, the clock is ticking. Luckily for you, there's a way to speed the whole process up: doing challenges. Every week developer Epic Games updates Fortnite with a fresh set of tasks for you to complete. Doing so unlocks Battle Stars which levels up your Battle Pass and makes cosmetics available. Here's what's on tap for Week 5 and how to complete them all.As always, there are two categories of challenges. The first is available to everyone playing the game, while the second is exclusive to those that have spent V-Bucks on a battle pass. Below you'll find a list of everything that you need to do in both categories. If you've been keeping up to date this season, completing your fifth complete week of challenges will let you track down the Week 5 secret Battle Star.First up in Week 5 are the free challenges. As part of this players will need to deal damage with scoped weapons, search chests in Paradise Palms or Shifty Shafts, and complete a lap of the race track in Happy Hamlet. If you've got the premium Battle Pass, you'll need to use the Bouncy Ball toy and get 15 bounces with it.You'll also have to complete a three-stage challenge that begins with getting shields from Mushrooms, and once that's done further stages will be revealed. You'll also need to use a Volcano Vent, a zipline, and a vehicle all in the same match, and head to pirate camps to take out three enemies. Take a look at the full list of challenges below.Fortnite Season 8, Week 5 ChallengesFreeDeal damage with Scoped Weapons to opponents (200) -- 5 Battle StarsSearch chests at Paradise Palms or Shifty Shafts (7) -- 5 Battle StarsComplete a lap of the Race Track in Happy Hamlet (1) -- 10 Battle StarsBattle PassGet 15 bounces in a single throw with the Bouncy Ball toy (1) -- 5 Battle StarsStage 1 of 3: Gain shields from Mushrooms (50) -- 5 Battle StarUse a Volcano Vent, a zipline, and a vehicle in the same match (3) -- 10 Battle StarsEliminate opponents at Pirate Camps -- 3 Battle StarsDeal Damage With Scoped WeaponsThis one is fairly obvious: grab yourself a weapon and make sure it has a scope. Once you've got one of those you'll need to land 200 points of damage on opponents, and in return you'll be rewarded with five Battle Stars. Fortnite has scoped sniper rifles, assault rifles, and a scoped revolver. For our money, we recommend looking for an assault rifle, as it's the most common and also much easier to land shots with.Search Chests At Paradise Pals or Shifty ShaftsAgain, another fairly obvious one. Drop into one of those two locations and, to speed things up, look for an elevated position. From there you should be able to spot nearby treasure chests that you can search. However, be careful as both these areas will likely be crawling with other players also looking to complete the challenge. If you're able to get there with a scoped rifle and are feeling confident, you could engage enemies and kill two birds with one stone.Complete A Lap Of The Race Track In Happy HamletThis is a nice, easy breezy challenge that lets you have a bit of fun. Happy Hamlet is located at grid reference D9 on the Fortnite map. Drop there, hop into a vehicle, and do a quick lap. Done!Get 15 Bounces With Bouncy Ball ToyIf you head to your emote locker you'll be able to select the bouncy ball and throw it for a good time. The easiest way to complete this challenge is to grab the resources necessary to build a high ramp, build up, and once you're relatively high in the sky, just throw down the bouncy ball and let physics take care of all the hard work for you. Alternatively, just build a 1x1 structure around yourself and throw the ball--even easier.Gain Shields From MushroomsMushrooms are consumable items in Fortnite that you're most likely to encounter in the dense forest areas of the map. We recommend heading to Wailing Woods, Dusty Divot, and Shifty Shafts to find them. However, given that they're relatively prevalent throughout the map, it's probably easier to just get on with the other challenges and keep your eyes peeled for them as you're out on your adventures.Epic Games also recently released update 8.20 for Fortnite. It introduces a new limited-time mode that tasks players with avoiding lava that is constantly rising. There's also a new trap weapon and a number of other tweaks to the way the game plays. Check out the full Fortnite 8.20 patch notes to see everything included in it.Info from Gamespot.com

Media Molecule has announced that early access to Dreams, its upcoming PS4 exclusive, will be available from April 16. Like the studio's Little Big Planet series, Dreams enables players to create unique gameplay experiences as well as play what Media Molecule and other players have created. The early access part of Dreams will be limited to the creative tools, the studio said on the PlayStation Blog."The core of Dreams--the creation bit--is ready," explained studio director Siobhan Reddy. "There is so much we want to do with and add to Dreams--but to start, we want players to be able to see their creations on their own TV screen and be able to have all the tools they need to make games or stories or art or music accessible from their couch."[Early access] won’t feature everything that the full release will have (our story mode being a big piece of that) but you'll get our full tool set for creating, our interactive tutorials and arcade games, templates and additional content created by Media Molecule and access to what you, the CoMmunity, made during our Dreams Creator Beta. You'll also be getting the first hands-on with new features and content as we add them."Early access is an opportunity for players to offer feedback to the developer, and Reddy said Media Molecule plans to make Dreams "an amazing space for creators and players alike for years to come." Anything created in the early access will carry over to the full game.The early access version of Dreams will cost $30/£25/CAD$40. It will be available in the US, Canada, and all European territories. Those that purchase the early access version of Dreams will get the full version when it is released. Media Molecule and publisher Sony have not yet provided a release date for the full version, however.Media Molecule has also said that early access is limited, in terms of the amount of people that can purchase it. Although it added that "it's a big limit," the studio suggested players purchase as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.Dreams had a beta in January and players were immediately coming up with interesting ways to use the game. One person, for example, created a battle royale-style game inside Dreams. Another remade Konami's P.T. within the game.Info from Gamespot.com