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Video: Motion Twin Promotes Dead Cells: Rise Of The Giant DLC With Humorous Animation

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 07:10:00 GMT

Lovely stuff.

The small team responsible for Dead Cells has done a tremendous job improving the game since it was released on the Switch in August last year. Last month, the friendly folk at Motion Twin even revealed a substantial new DLC update was on the way.

To promote this free downloadable content, officially titled Dead Cells: Rise of the Giant, a humourous new animation has been shared on the Motion Twin YouTube account. It was created with help from the French animation producer Bobby Prod.

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EA Laying Off Around 350 Employees Across Multiple Divisions

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 05:30:00 GMT

"This is a difficult day".

Video game publishing giant Electronic Arts is laying off around 350 employees across its marketing, publishing and operations divisions.

In an email to employees, EA CEO Andrew Wilson said the company had "a vision to be the world's greatest games company" and to do this, it would streamline its organisation to meet the needs of its players. Part of this will involve "ramping down" its current presence within Japan and Russia and finding "different ways" to serve players in these regions. Globally, it wants to provide higher-quality games and services and also improve its Frostbite tools, network, and cloud technology to further unite its community.

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Level-5's Snack World Video Game Appears To Be Getting Localised

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 04:30:00 GMT

Snack attack.

It looks like Level-5's video game and television series The Snack World is still receiving a western release in the near future, with the help of the localisation company 3Beep. The company's website reveals the following information:

3Beep is working with Level-5 to create the English language versions of the television series and video game.
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Take To The Skies In The Next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Spirit Event

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 03:29:00 GMT

Spread your wings and fly.

The next Super Smash Bros. Ultimate spirit event "Kings & Queens of the Sky" starts this Friday and runs for a total of three days. If it wasn't already clear, this event is all about flying spirits.

During this event, you'll encounter more winged spirits than usual. You can expect to see flying-type Pokémon, Squawks from Donkey Kong and other characters such as Rouge the Bat from the Sonic series. If you defeat them, you'll earn more Spirit Points than usual.

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Role-Playing Card Game SteamWorld Quest Hits The Switch On April 25th

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 03:00:00 GMT

Triumph over evil with the hand you’re dealt.

Thunderful Publishing and Image & Form have confirmed SteamWorld Quest: Hand of Gilgamech will be released next month on 25th April, after its launch date was revealed ahead of schedule last week. The game will be exclusive to the eShop "for the foreseeable future" and will set players back $24.99 / €24.99 / £22.49.

This latest entry in the series is Image & Form's first RPG and is switching things up with card-based battles, where you must build, craft and upgrade your heroes decks. You'll lead a party of aspiring heroes on an exciting quest filled with treasure, dragons, vivid worlds, magic, knights in shining armour and turn-based combat.

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Random: Store Your Cardboard Creations In This Official Nintendo Labo Box

Wed, 27 Mar 2019 01:30:00 GMT

This box rocks.

As fun as it is making Nintendo Labo cardboard creations, finding a place to store them can be a real hassle. If you haven't already found a space for these kits inside your home, Nintendo is releasing an official Labo-themed box for 800 yen in Japan.

If you're wondering what the catch is, there isn't one. It's a standard box you use to store your Toy-Con. The below video demonstrates how to fit all of the Vehicle Kit components inside of it. The box also has the ability to fold down. Amazing stuff.

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Rumour: This Year's 'Budget' Switch Could Take The 2DS Route And Ditch A Killer Feature

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:45:00 GMT

You know, for kids!

We've heard rumblings that Nintendo is working on new Switch hardware all year, but yesterday's report from The Wall Street Journal was the most convincing yet; it claims that Nintendo is working on not one but two new SKUs for the console.

One is aimed at the 'Pro' sector of the market, and will apparently include additional features to draw in early adopters who already own a Switch system. It's the same kind of upgrade path Nintendo has used in the past, with the likes of the Game Boy Light, GBA SP, 3DS XL and New Nintendo 3DS.

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Random: Someone Cloned Axelay On The NES, Because Why Not

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 17:15:00 GMT

Seriously impressive stuff.

It never ceases to amaze us how far modern-day developers can push retro hardware. From elaborate tech demos to fully-fledged ports, programmers are willing to push vintage systems to the absolute limit, forcing them to produce visuals that, back in the day, would have been unthinkable.

Take the work of French developer @upsilandre, who has managed to create a clone of Konami's Axelay on the NES, complete with the cool 'barrel' perspective on the horizon.

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Did The Latest Streets Of Rage 4 Trailer Just Reveal Two New Playable Characters?

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:45:00 GMT

Bare those knuckles, guys.

A new gameplay trailer for Streets of Rage 4 has been released which gives us a better idea of what the final product will look like when it eventually hits the (ahem) streets.

Currently in production at Guard Crush Games, this highly-anticipated sequel will feature the artistic talents of Lizardcube, the studio behind the sublime Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap remake. DotEmu is handling publishing, and is yet to actually confirm that the title will be coming to Switch... but put it this way, if it doesn't, we'll happily consume not only our own hat, but yours as well.

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Final Fantasy XIV Director Still Wants The Game On Switch, Talks With Nintendo Are Ongoing

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 16:15:00 GMT

Cross-platform play essential.

The Switch has become a small haven for Final Fantasy fans in recent times; Final Fantasy IX launched just last month, Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age and Final Fantasy X | X-2 HD Remaster both arrive in April, and Final Fantasy VII just so happens to be launching today. One game that hasn't made the jump just yet, though, is Final Fantasy XIV.

Originally released back in 2010, XIV is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game (or MMORPG) currently only available on PlayStation and PC. Naoki Yoshida, the game's director, has been talking about getting the game running on Switch since way back in 2015 when the console was still known as 'NX'.

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Random: Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man Comic Features A Cool Super Mario Bros. Tribute

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 15:30:00 GMT

The Amazing Spider-Mario.

Mario's all over the place at the moment. In the last two years alone, he's appeared in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe, Super Mario Party, Mario Tennis Aces, Super Mario Odyssey, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, and plenty more besides. We can't get rid of him.

Now, he's even popping up in places he shouldn't belong. Well, kind of anyway.

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Rumours Of New Switch Models Cause Nintendo's Share Price To Significantly Rise

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 14:45:00 GMT

Investors seemingly on board.

Yesterday, we shared a report from the Wall Street Journal which states that Nintendo is planning to release two new Switch models later this year. These claims haven't been confirmed or commented on by Nintendo itself, but the company has seen a significant share price rise as a result.

The report suggests that both a cheaper model, with some key features taken away, and a more expensive device which will have “enhanced features targeted at avid video gamers" are on the way. Investors seem to like the sound of these hypothetical consoles, with Nintendo's shares climbing as much as 6.8% in response - the largest increase Nintendo has seen in a single day since last August, according to BloombergQuint.

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Elden: Path Of The Forgotten Brings Top-Down Horror To Switch This Year

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 14:00:00 GMT

Medieval cosmic horror.

Top-down pixel art action title Elden: Path of the Forgotten is scheduled to launch on Nintendo Switch in 2019, it has been confirmed.

Elden: Path of the Forgotten is a medieval cosmic horror game with a focus on "storytelling through nontraditional methods" and environmental storytelling. It has been in development since late 2015 by the one-man team at Onerat Games, being picked up by publisher Another Indie for the Switch release coming later this year.

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The Final Episode Of The Walking Dead's Final Season Is Out Today On Switch

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 13:05:00 GMT

Clementine's story comes to an end.

Telltale's The Walking Dead: The Final Season has finally reached its end today, with its final episode 'Take Us Back' now available on Nintendo Switch and other platforms.

As you may well be aware, Skybound Games picked up development of the Walking Dead series after its original developer, Telltale, closed its doors last year. Some members of the original Telltale team joined forces with Skybound to complete the game and the final result of this collaboration can now be fully experienced by players.

Skybound Games CEO Ian Howe has shared the following in a press release today:

“It’s been an amazing experience working with the Still Not Bitten team to finish the final two episodes of TELLTALE’S THE WALKING DEAD for fans. I’d like to thank the team for their dedication to completing Clementine’s story, and the fans for embracing Skybound Games as we worked to help bring closure to a story near-and-dear to so many.”
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The Lord Of The Rings: Gollum Could Come To Switch, My Precious

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:30:00 GMT

It's ours it is and we wants it.

We're getting a new Lord of the Rings game, and it's one that will focus on perhaps the most interesting character across all of Tolkien's works: Gollum.

Twisted and tortured by his desire for The One Ring, Gollum is a key figure in both The Hobbit and its sequel, and would make a great central character for any game. That's clearly what publisher Daedalic Entertainment thinks, as it is creating a point-and-click adventure with The Artist Formerly Known As Sméagol in the lead role.

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Talking Point: There's Room For A Switch 'Family' If Nintendo Nails The Messaging

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 12:00:00 GMT

Three's a crowd, no?

Another week, another fresh batch of Switch rumours. The most recent include renewed whispers from the Wall Street Journal concerning potential hardware revisions for your favourite ‘homeheld’. The paper reported back in October last year on Nintendo’s potential plans to introduce a smaller, portable-focused model in 2019 – a rumour to which Nintendo issued the standard “nothing to announce” statement back in February – but sources now suggest that two new SKUs (say that quickly five times) are on the cards.

If these rumours turn out to have real substance, that would mean three different versions of Switch available to purchase. On the surface, that might seem like a bad idea - while consoles invariably see updated iterations across their life cycle, three variants of a handheld that's only just celebrated its second birthday is surely going to confuse the general public. Of course, Nintendo has form when it comes to marketing upgraded/downgraded versions of handheld hardware, as evidenced by the convoluted 3DS family tree and its confusing mixture of 'New' prefixes, 'XL' suffixes, and numbers that go down instead of up. It's fine for people like us who keep on top of these things, but it's not immediately obvious to a non-gaming parent that the original 3DS is technically inferior to a New 2DS. That's a problem that needs to be managed carefully. The long-rumoured Switch ‘Mini’ – a cheaper model without detachable Joy-Con or HD rumble – would presumably be aimed at the exact market that the 2DS theoretically caters for at the moment, so it's imperative that Nintendo doesn't muddy the waters too much.

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Buy Smash Bros. Ultimate At Nintendo's UK Store And Get A Second Copy For Half Price

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 11:30:00 GMT

Smashing.

We love Super Smash Bros. Ultimate here at Nintendo Life, but one thing's for certain: there is definitely more fun to be had when playing the game with a friend.

If you're wanting to play the game with one of your friends online, this new deal from the Nintendo Official UK Store might be just the perfect thing. While stocks last, buying a copy of the game gives you a 50% discount on a second copy, perfect if you want to keep one and give the other to a friend. Or perhaps you could both go halves on the pair, essentially both snagging a cheeky discount.

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Random: Sony's PS4 State Of Play Presentation Made 'Nintendo Direct' Trend On Twitter

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 11:00:00 GMT

Not the desired effect.

Yesterday saw the very first 'State of Play' presentation from Sony, a new video presentation series which will cover PS4 announcements going forward. Although Sony never described it as such, many immediately compared the series to Nintendo's 'Direct' video presentations - a format with which we're sure you're already very familiar.

The show failed to live up to the same levels of hype people expect from a Nintendo Direct, but all things considered, it does have the potential to evolve into something just as exciting for PlayStation players going forward. These promising signs were overshadowed online, however, as - mostly negative - comparisons to Nintendo's broadcasting series came flooding in on Twitter, actually making '#NintendoDirect' trend on the social media platform.

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Dead Cells Now Has Its Very Own Glorious Making-Of Artbook

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 10:30:00 GMT

'The Heart of Dead Cells'.

If you're a fan of the super-popular Dead Cells and love nothing more than learning all there is to know about your favourite games, then this could well be absolutely for you.

We actually reported on this book last summer when it was first announced, but it has now been released and is available to order as we speak. A new press release reminds us of what you can expect:

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Reminder: Final Fantasy VII Finally Launches On A Nintendo System Today

Tue, 26 Mar 2019 10:00:00 GMT

After 22 years.

After more than 20 years of waiting, we can finally say that - as of right now - Final Fantasy VII is playable on a Nintendo System. The game has launched on Nintendo Switch today.

Originally entering development for the SNES, before then being reworked as a 3D title, Final Fantasy VII was eventually moved to the PlayStation after Square faced several technical difficulties with Nintendo's hardware. The shift to 3D meant that Square essentially had to choose between the PlayStation and the Nintendo 64, and after being impressed by the increased storage capacity offered by Sony's machine, the studio moved development for all of its projects away from Nintendo.

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