A new update for Animal Crossing: New Horizons is now available, but it doesn't make any major changes to the game. According to the patch notes on Nintendo's support website, the 1.2.1 update "addressed issues to further ensure an enjoyable gaming experience." The notes don't delve into any specific changes, but one of the issues that appears to have been resolved is the item duplication glitch.You'll need to install the latest update to continue playing Animal Crossing: New Horizons online. If the update isn't installed automatically, you can do so manually by highlighting the game's icon on the Switch dashboard, pressing the Plus button, and then selecting Software Update.New Horizons is in the midst of its Stamp Rally event to celebrate International Museum Day. The event runs through May 31 and has you collecting stamps from different stations that are hidden around the museum's fish, fossil, and insect exhibits.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Niantic's annual Pokemon Go Fest event is returning once again this summer with some major changes. While the event is traditionally held in-person at Chicago's Grant Park, this year developer Niantic is transforming Pokemon Go Fest into "an entirely global event in a virtual format."Pokemon Go Fest 2020 will take place on July 25-26. Not many other details about the event have been announced yet, but Niantic says that all ticket holders will be able to attend both days and the new virtual format will allow players to join the festivities regardless of where they're located."While we'll miss the traditional congregation of Pokemon Go fans, we're thrilled to bring a special Pokemon Go Fest experience to Trainers," Niantic wrote in a blog post. "Not only are you in for an exciting weekend of bonuses, Pokemon encounters, and Special Research, there will also be exciting ways to connect with other Trainers and experience other fun surprises throughout the entire summer."Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Developer Naughty Dog unveiled some new information about The Last of Us Part 2 in today's State of Play livestream. During the showcase, director Neil Druckmann confirmed that the upcoming sequel features "some of the largest environments" Naughty Dog has ever created.While talking over various gameplay sequences before showing off an extended look at The Last of Us Part 2, Druckmann divulged some interesting tidbits about the sequel and its world. He confirmed that Ellie can perform various traversal movements--including climbing, jumping, swinging from ropes, and swimming--while exploring a dilapidated Seattle and other locations "previously unexplored" in the game's universe. These additional traversal mechanics will allow you to discover new areas, resources, and side missions.While talking about the new additions made to The Last of Us Part 2, Druckmann said that the game features incredibly large environments never-before-seen in a Naughty Dog title before. As such, horseback riding and boat sailing are necessary components to making your away across The Last of Us Part 2's world.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Keen for more Apex Legends in your life? Respawn Entertainment and EA have just announced the Apex Legends summer esports circuit as part of their existing four-month Global Series.The Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS) will award $500,000 in prize money to whoever is victorious after all of its circuits, with the summer circuit being Respawn's remote solution to the traditional in-person format of the tournament.According to Respawn and EA, the summer circuit of the ALGS will kick off on June 11 and go until September 13. Regionals will take place in the months of June to August, with the Last Chance qualifying round to be played on August 16. Play-offs will then take place on September 12 and 13 as shown in the calendar below, taken from the official Apex Legends blog about this latest esports circuit.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Dragon Age writer David Gaider's new game, Chorus: A Musical Adventure Game, is going through some tough times right now due to the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. In a post to the game's Fig page, the developers said the global pandemic has led to a "loss of productivity, inevitable delays, and many difficult days." Overall, however, the developers at Summerfall Studios say that Chorus is "fine" and "progressing as well as can be expected."Three members of the Chorus development team have either contracted the coronavirus or been tested for it, the studio said. "Almost all of us have been through mandatory isolation periods. The rest of the time, we've been self-isolating to do our part in helping stop the spread, and still are!" the statement reads.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Breaking from longstanding tradition, the next round of PlayStation Plus freebies began before the new month even arrived. PS4 users can now grab one of June's free games, Call of Duty: WWII. The second freebie will be announced later this week, and we imagine it will go live on June 2, the first Tuesday of the month.Developed by Sledgehammer Games, Call of Duty: WWII originally released in 2017 and brought the series back to its original World War II-era setting for the first time since World at War in 2008. Call of Duty: WWII is particularly known for having a strong single-player campaign, which clocks in around six hours. The online servers are still live, and while they aren't extremely active, you can expect the player count to tick up since far more people will have access to it on PS4.In addition to the campaign and traditional multiplayer playlists, WWII also has a fun narrative-focused War mode with unique maps and lengthy attack/defend objectives. The strong package earned the first-person shooter a 9/10 in our Call of Duty: WWII review: "Ultimately, if every shooter set in the European Theater of World War II is measured by how it depicts its D-Day landing--assuming it has such a mission--Call of Duty: WWII emphatically succeeds in its impactful designs and delivery. The sensation of riding the troop carrier as it approached the beach filled me with depression more than dread, knowing I'd survive eventually while many of my surrounding brothers in arms wouldn't. While not equally emotional, this battle's reinterpretation in War mode proves to be a highlight in a superb suite of competitive modes," we wrote. If you're looking to jump in, check out our Call of Duty: WWII tips and tricks roundup for all of our guides.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

May 2020's Games with Gold offerings once again lean into sports and racing, but there's also a pair of action-RPGs. The first of these games are available now for Gold members.For the whole month, users can grab V-Rally 4, a 2018 Xbox One off-road racing game that features more than 50 rallycross cars, buggies, and more. V-Rally-4 is more of an arcade racing game than a sim, with scenic tracks scattered across every continent.You can also head back to 2009 until May 31 with Overlord 2, a decent Xbox 360 action-RPG in the now-defunct series. It earned a 7.5/10 in GameSpot's Overlord 2 review, in which we praised the diverse combat mechanics and humorous story.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Darkest Dungeon is a fantastic, challenging roguelike that tasks players with crawling through horrifying, calamitous dungeons to slay monsters and claim treasure. The game puts an emphasis on the psychological tolls that adventuring brings, and if you're up for the challenge, then you can do so for free all weekend on Steam. This comes in time for the release of the free Butcher's Circus DLC, which launches May 28 and adds a PVP mode.Darkest Dungeon's free weekend runs from May 28 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET until June 1 at 10 AM PT / 1 PM ET. If you decide you want to keep playing Darkest Dungeon after the free period ends, you can snag it for $6.24 USD. There are a number of great DLC expansions that will also be available at a discount.The Butcher's Circus DLC's PVP combat doesn't work exactly like how it does in the single-player mode. Instead of the RNG-based initiative system, which decides turn order in the base game, The Butcher's Circus makes use of a coin flip. Whoever wins this coin flip gets to attack first, though the loser of the coin flip isn't at a disadvantage--they receive a team-wide buff that is active for the entire first round. Owners of the DLC are able to bring in DLC characters, which means if you don't own any of the expansions, you may see characters you don't have access to.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Microsoft has released a new Xbox app that aims to give parents more control over what games their children can access and how long they are allowed to play, among other things.The new "Xbox Family Settings" app lets you set screen time limits on a daily and weekly basis, while it also allows you to provide, for example, more time on the weekends and less during the week. The app gives parents the ability to set content filters. For example, you can choose to block mature-rated games for younger children or other variations based on age and content level.The Xbox Family Settings app also allows parents to limit in-game communication with other people. You can toggle the setting to only allow children to chat with friends or not at all, for example. Another feature in the app is activity reports, which are exactly what they sound like. These are gaming and usage reports sent daily or weekly to parents.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Hot on the heels of news about Denuvo anti-cheat being removed from Doom Eternal, Metro Exodus has also removed the same software from all PC versions of the game.Metro Exodus is available on Epic Games Store, Steam, and also via Xbox Game Pass for PC. All three iterations of the title have received a recent hotfix that removes Denuvo anti-cheat software from your installations. On top of that, owners of the Epic Games Store version of Metro Exodus can now back their saves up (which they were unable to do previously).The hotfix has just been deployed, and it also makes some minor tweaks to the Sam's Story expansion as well as to Epic save backups, as mentioned. The full list of hotfix changes is available below, as pulled from the official Metro Exodus site:Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

The Corrupted Cauldron is a boss at the end of the Soggy Swamp area in Minecraft Dungeons. It's not the most challenging boss fight in the game, but it can be a little tricky--mainly because it's one of the first proper bosses you'll come across.The Soggy Swamp itself is home to many witches who have been brewing a variety of potions to distil a terrifyingly potent concoction for the Arch-Illager. The Corrupted Cauldron is where said concoction ends up, so to stop it from reaching the Arch-Illager's kingdom, you'll need to take it down in the deepest part of the Soggy Swamp.Below we detail how to defeat the Corrupted Cauldron boss. But if you're looking for extra tips on how to get better at Minecraft Dungeons in general, check out how the enchanting system works, or consult our list of essential tips and tricks. We've also put together a handy piece on everything you need to know about Minecraft Dungeons. You can also read our Minecraft Dungeons review.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Things have been quiet on the System Shock remaster front for a while, but today a demo for the game has suddenly launched. The demo, which is available now on both Steam and GOG, lets you test out all of the game's unlockable weapons within the Medical Bay. The game, which is set in 2072, is being remastered with a new visual engine, but it aims to present the same story and gameplay that players enjoyed in the 1994 original. It's being developed by Nightdive Studios, which also released an Enhanced Edition of the game in 2015, and is working on System Shock 2: Enhanced Edition too.The press release GameSpot was sent promises that we'll learn more about the future of the System Shock franchise soon. "Stay tuned for much more System Shock news coming in June," it teases.It's been an interesting month for System Shock news, as we also recently found out that Tencent is now involved in the development of System Shock 3, which was looking for a while like it might be in trouble. The IP and franchise is still owned by Nightdive Studios. For now, though, we can finally see how the System Shock remaster is shaping up. This is not the first time a demo has been made available--Kickstarter backers were given access to a pre-alpha demo--but this time it's available to everyone interested. Info from Gamespot.com

Acclaimed director Martin Scorsese tried for years to make The Irishman, but he struggled to find a home for it at a traditional studio before it eventually landed at Netflix. One of the reasons why, it seems, is that the budget for the film was astronomical. A new story from The Hollywood Reporter claims that The Irishman carried a budget of more than $225 million, which makes it one of the most expensive movies in history.Before release, it was widely reported that The Irishman had a $160 million budget, but THR's sources say it was considerably higher.The $225 million budget for The Irishman is likely only its production budget, so the true cost of the movie--factoring in marketing spend and other elements--surely brings the figure even higher.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Assassin's Creed Valhalla is in the works for the launch of both PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X (as well as PC and current systems), and it's going to introduce a few changes to the Assassin's Creed formula. The two most recent games in the series, Origins and Odyssey, have taken the series in a new direction by melding the action gameplay with RPG elements. Valhalla isn't necessarily dropping those, but it sounds like progression will be a bit different in the new game. It should serve as a more comfortable play experience for fans of the earlier games, which were pure action-adventure games with very little in the way of role-playing elements.Talking to Kotaku, creative director Ashraf Ismail has delved into the game's progression system, as well as how new missions will be doled out, among other details. Ismail says that one of the goals with this game is to prevent players from hitting progression walls, so that you're less likely to need to grind to level up."We have a new take on progression in this game," Ismail says. "We have more the concept of power, power that is gained through, let’s say, the player gaining skills." He wants to avoid "big progression walls" with this game, so that players can explore freely without being held back too much.Continue Reading at GameSpotInfo from Gamespot.com

Danganronpa, the cult-classic visual novel that recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in Japan, is now available on mobile for the first time. The first part of the trilogy is on both iOS and Android, and the store description specifically calls it "Part 1" of an anniversary release--because Danganronpa 2 and 3 are coming as well.The first game in the series casts players as Makoto Naegi, a new student at Hope's Peak, a top-class school that only invites students who are at the absolute top of their field--but Naegi has been invited as the "most lucky" student, having gotten in based on a lottery system.The students that arrive at the school soon find themselves locked off from the rest of the world and issued a challenge by Monokuma, a malevolent teddy bear (stay with me here)--the only way to escape the school is to commit a murder and not get caught during the class trial that follows. If one student can convince the others to unanimously declare the wrong party guilty, they'll be allowed to escape while everyone else is killed.It's a weird, fun adventure, and has become a cult classic since its 2010 release in Japan on the PSP. The Vita version received an 8/10 in GameSpot's review.The game is $15.99 on iOS and $17.99 on Android. It's also available on Vita, PS4, and PC. Release dates for the second and third games on mobile have not been announced as of yet. Info from Gamespot.com