Ember Lab shares new details about ‘Kena: Bridge of Spirits’
Kena: Bridge of Spirits developer, Ember Lab, has revealed further details about the new PS5 title coming later this year.
In a new interview with GamesRadar, Ember Lab’s co-founders Josh and Mike Grier touched on Kena’s story and characters as well as how next-gen technology will impact the game’s mechanics.
The developers shared information about the game’s protagonist Kena who is a “novice spirit guide searching for a sacred place of knowledge”.
The player will also explore Bridge of Spirit‘s several open regions in a Balinese-inspired fantasy world, uncover secrets and use Kena’s powers to defeat corrupted, animal-like enemies.
In terms of gameplay, Kena can use the Rot (a form of spirit that can be collected by the player throughout the game) to infuse with her abilities to defeat enemies.
“The Rot can swarm attackers, create piercing projectiles, and even form a shape- shifting cloud to pummel enemies,” the developers said. “Finding and growing a larger Rot team enables more powerful attacks and unlocks additional upgrades.”
The player will also be able to strengthen and upgrade Kena’s combat skills and equipment, such as her staff which can be turned into the energy bow.
The developers also shared that they have taken PS5 next-gen technology into consideration, saying that when the player transforms the staff into the bow, the mechanic “takes full advantage of the DualSense adaptive triggers.”
Kena: Bridge of Spirits is a third-person action adventure game set to launch on the PS5, PS4 and PC on August 28.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
Xbox backward compatibility arrives on cloud gaming
Microsoft’s cloud gaming has just got a shot of nostalgia as backward compatible games have been added to the in-beta service.
As announced via Xbox Wire, 16 original Xbox and Xbox 360 titles can now be streamed on Android phones and tablets, with a few even including touch controls as an option.
The full list of backward compatible games playable on Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) are as follows:
- Banjo-Kazooie
- Banjo-Tooie
- Double Dragon Neon
- Fable II
- Fallout: New Vegas
- Gears of War 2
- Gears of War 3
- Gears of War: Judgment
- Jetpac Refuelled (touch controls enabled)
- Kameo
- Perfect Dark
- Perfect Dark Zero
- The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
- Viva Piñata (touch controls enabled)
- Viva Piñata: TIP (touch controls enabled)
As games are connected through the Xbox network, it is also possible for players to bring past saves with them to continue where they left off.
The game are available via the cloud now, with more titles to come in the future.
It’s just the beginning of the Xbox cloud gaming program’s expansion. Last December, Microsoft confirmed that cloud gaming would roll out for PC and iOS this spring.
The latter is being done via web browser in order to bypass Apple’s terms that require every title to pass through its own certification system.
Unfortunately, the past is not looking as good for PlayStation. After earlier reports this month, Sony has confirmed that it will be shutting PlayStation Store support for PS3, PSP, and PS Vita this summer.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
CD Projekt RED acquires Digital Scapes studio
Polish video game developer CD Projekt RED has announced its acquisition of Canadian gaming studio Digital Scapes.
The Polish developer announced the new acquisition via its website on Tuesday, March 30. Per its announcement, the acquisition was signed and approved one day prior, on March 29.
Digital Scapes is a Canadian gaming studio founded in 2012 by veterans developers from from studios such as BioWare, Radical Entertainment and Relic. Digital Scapes specialises in multiplayer game development.
CD Projekt RED and Digital Scapes’ working relationship dates back to October 2018, when Digital Scapes was approached to aid CD Projekt RED in the development of Cyberpunk 2077.
Per its announcement, CD Projekt RED has also confirmed that Digital Scapes will now be renamed to CD Projekt RED Vancouver. Paweł Zawodny, Head of Production and CTO at CD Projekt RED shared that Digital Scapes will be “the perfect foundation upon which to build a wider CD Projekt RED Vancouver team”.
Zawodny also noted that “in addition to contributing to our projects the new team will help us perfect our technologies and will broaden our competences in this respect”.
“We are very excited to join a studio that forges the incredibly engaging, vastly scoped experiences, such as The Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077. We believe our contribution in the area of gameplay and technology can make them even more captivating,” said Digital Scapes head Marcin Chady.
It is currently unclear if CD Projekt RED Vancouver’s first project will be the multiplayer mode for Cyberpunk 2077.
In other news, CD Projekt RED released the massive Patch 1.2 update for Cyberpunk 2077 earlier this week. The update includes over hundred of bug fixes and improvements to open world design, cinematic design, graphics, level design and more.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
CD Projekt RED acquires Digital Scapes studio
Polish video game developer CD Projekt RED has announced its acquisition of Canadian gaming studio Digital Scapes.
The Polish developer announced the new acquisition via its website on Tuesday, March 30. Per its announcement, the acquisition was signed and approved one day prior, on March 29.
Digital Scapes is a Canadian gaming studio founded in 2012 by veterans developers from from studios such as BioWare, Radical Entertainment and Relic. Digital Scapes specialises in multiplayer game development.
CD Projekt RED and Digital Scapes’ working relationship dates back to October 2018, when Digital Scapes was approached to aid CD Projekt RED in the development of Cyberpunk 2077.
Per its announcement, CD Projekt RED has also confirmed that Digital Scapes will now be renamed to CD Projekt RED Vancouver. Paweł Zawodny, Head of Production and CTO at CD Projekt RED shared that Digital Scapes will be “the perfect foundation upon which to build a wider CD Projekt RED Vancouver team”.
Zawodny also noted that “in addition to contributing to our projects the new team will help us perfect our technologies and will broaden our competences in this respect”.
“We are very excited to join a studio that forges the incredibly engaging, vastly scoped experiences, such as The Witcher trilogy and Cyberpunk 2077. We believe our contribution in the area of gameplay and technology can make them even more captivating,” said Digital Scapes head Marcin Chady.
It is currently unclear if CD Projekt RED Vancouver’s first project will be the multiplayer mode for Cyberpunk 2077.
In other news, CD Projekt RED released the massive Patch 1.2 update for Cyberpunk 2077 earlier this week. The update includes over hundred of bug fixes and improvements to open world design, cinematic design, graphics, level design and more.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
Tenth anniversary of ‘Morrowind Rebirth’ brings huge new update
Morrowind Rebirth celebrates its tenth anniversary today (March 29), and a massive update has just been released.
Taking over a decade to create, Morrowind Rebirth is a remaster mod for The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind that has gained significant popularity in the ten years since its release. The update has polished, retextured, and added many assets and locations to the game.
Version 5.4, as the update is named, has added assets and rescripts to NPCs in locations like Tel Aruhn, Balmora, Dagon Fel, Maar Gan, Suran,and Ebonheart. The total number of upgraded locations is 16, with various fixes and edits made to each.
New armour in the form of the Silver Saint Shield and the Cephalopod Gauntlets have been added, along with Voroyn’s Ring and Dread. Multiple items of weapons and clothing have also arrived in Morrowind, alongside four new spells and a new creature – the Silver Saint.
The four new spells each have three types (Strong, Great, or Wild), and are Burning Touch, Freezing Touch, Shocking Touch, and Poisonous Touch. Ten new magic armour types and five magic clothing items have also been included.
Due to the amount of updated material, the Morrowind Rebirth devs have recommended players start a new game when updating to 5.4. In the update announcement, they described the update as “So massive in fact that pretty much every settlement and settled area have been altered in one way or another.”
In February it was announced that the comprehensive fan-made Skyrim mod Enderal will soon be compatible with Skyrim Special Edition and will also see a standalone release on Steam. Released during 2019, the mod received positive reviews from fans and critics alike, and currently has a “very positive” review rating on its Steam page.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
‘Anthem’ director Jonathan Warner leaves BioWare
Jonathan Warner, the lead developer behind BioWare‘s Anthem, has left the company this week (March 26).
In a tweet from his personal account, Warner said: “today is my last day at BioWare, I’m moving on to do new things. BioWare has been home to my grateful heart for nearly 10 years and I want to wish them all the best.”
Warner signed off by saying: “DA [Dragon Age] ME [Mass Effect] and SWTOR [Star Wars: The Old Republic] are in good hands and I can’t wait to play from this side of the screen.”
So, today is my last day at BioWare, I’m moving on to do new things.
BioWare has been home to my grateful heart for nearly 10 years and I want to wish them all the best. DA ME and SWTOR are in good hands and I can’t wait to play from this side of the screen. #ThankYou #BioWare pic.twitter.com/g5zp7hkSV5— Jonathan Warner (@Zen_Warner) March 26, 2021
Warner was the director of Anthem, Mass Effect: Andromeda. He was also credited as a producer for the version of Mass Effect found within the Mass Effect: Trilogy, and Mass Effect 3: Citadel.
The departure of Warner comes after Mass Effect director Casey Hudson and Dragon Age executive producer Mark Darrah left BioWare in December 2020.
EA’s chief studios officer, Laura Miele, said of the departures: When I think about BioWare’s future and the next generation of talent in place, I could not be more confident or optimistic.”
In February of this year, BioWare cancelled Anthem Next, the update which was planned to reboot the failing MMO. The overhaul was cancelled less than a year after its announcement.
Executive producer Christian Dailey’s statement linked the cancellation to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, saying: “Working from home during the pandemic has had an impact on our productivity and not everything we had planned as a studio before COVID-19 can be accomplished without putting undue stress on our teams.
- Published in PC Game News, What's New
