| 14 | THE FOREST | Call of Duty: Black O
Röki is a multi-award winning adventure game inspired by Scandinavian folklore, and arrives on PlayStation 5 on October 28. Set in the stunning, snow-capped wilderness, you play Tove. She’s a young girl plunged into a living fairytale, where you must solve puzzles, collect curiosities, and uncover a tale of tragic loss. Your quest is to rescue your brother Lars from Röki; a gigantic pitch-black creature with a mysterious smile. Like the movie Jaws, our game is eponymously named after its monster, although there may be more to Röki than meets the eye…
As Tove, you explore the enchanting 3D world, find long-forgotten objects, talk with misunderstood monsters, and solve ancient puzzles to unlock paths deeper into the wilderness. You can also dive into the pages of Tove’s handwritten journal that she scribbles in as you explore, charting her adventure. This includes notes of folklore, loot, and wilderness “badge” achievements, as well as some of her inner thoughts and reflections.
The game’s combination of fairytale adventure, emotional storytelling, and signature graphical art style has won it many accolades, accumulating in nominations for Best Debut Game at The Game Awards and Best British Game and Best Debut Game at the BAFTA Game Award, which was amazing for us as a tiny indie team.
Adventure for all
Röki is our take on modernizing the classic adventure games we loved growing up – games like Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, and Grim Fandango. We wanted to capture the storytelling and spirit of adventure from those games, but more importantly, update the play style for audiences today. You take direct control of Tove with the pad and can explore the world in 3D, rather than directing her with a cursor. Not only does this make the game feel more immediate and r
In Adventure Mode, follow Tanjiro Kamado through the story from the “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” anime by diving in and taking control yourself!
This game includes the events of “Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc” where Tanjiro would begin his journey, join the Demon Slayer Corps and fight a variety of demons, as well as “the Movie: Mugen Train” where he was accompanied by the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku!
The fights against the demons from the anime are given new life with incredible graphics!
Introducing a part of what’s included in Adventure Mode!
Butterfly Mansion Arc
Take control of Tanjiro as you undergo Breathing and reflex training by playing the Gourd Breaking and Tea Throwing mini games respectively!
Learn to master the Total Concentration: Constant technique as you train!
In Adventure Mode, follow Tanjiro Kamado through the story from the “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” anime by diving in and taking control yourself!
This game includes the events of “Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc” where Tanjiro would begin his journey, join the Demon Slayer Corps and fight a variety of demons, as well as “the Movie: Mugen Train” where he was accompanied by the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku!
The fights against the demons from the anime are given new life with incredible graphics!
Introducing a part of what’s included in Adventure Mode!
Butterfly Mansion Arc
Take control of Tanjiro as you undergo Breathing and reflex training by playing the Gourd Breaking and Tea Throwing mini games respectively!
Learn to master the Total Concentration: Constant technique as you train!
In Adventure Mode, follow Tanjiro Kamado through the story from the “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba” anime by diving in and taking control yourself!
This game includes the events of “Tanjiro Kamado, Unwavering Resolve Arc” where Tanjiro would begin his journey, join the Demon Slayer Corps and fight a variety of demons, as well as “the Movie: Mugen Train” where he was accompanied by the Flame Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku!
The fights against the demons from the anime are given new life with incredible graphics!
Introducing a part of what’s included in Adventure Mode!
Mount Natagumo Arc
Tanjiro and his friends face the incredibly powerful Lower Rank 5 demon, Rui, and the “family” to whom he’s given a part of his power!
Song in the Smoke is a game of survival. It’s a simulation in which the player is alone in the wilderness, with only their wits, strength, and perception on their side in the struggle to live another day. It’s not simply an expression of “man against nature,” but rather an attempt to capture the timeless feeling of tuning into nature—paying attention to its frequencies, making thousands of small decisions that together make up the difference between life and death. It’s a game that tries to connect players to a form of existence that modern life has largely disconnected us from.
A typical day in Song in the Smoke begins before dawn, with light slowly peeking over the horizon through the misty air. As I wake from my slumber, I watch warily as the final embers of my campfire crackle, making sure to ride it all the way up until sunlight.
As is always the case, I have much to do today. Night will always be cold and dangerous, so my first order of business is preparing for this immutable reality. I actively begin the search for firewood; I can only carry so much, and must think strategically. My campsite is a potential base for tonight, so I leave some of the logs and branches I’ve gathered there. But one never knows where they’ll end up by nightfall, so I’m sure to keep plenty of wood in my satchel as well.
I’m also constantly looking for raw materials of all sorts. Specifically, I need to fix my club—it’s a good, sturdy club, but the rock is about to break, so I keep an eye out for a suitable one to replace it with. I’m also running low on leather straps, which are a key to building dependable clothing and tools. In this case, I’m fortunate to have some on my camp’s drying and tanning rack, otherwise I’d have no choice but to go hunting.
The other key to survival is, of course, food. Nature provides enough small snacks for regular sustenance—berries and mushrooms make up much of my diet. But I need a big meal every day or two, and out here in the wild, animal flesh is my only option. I’m not going hunting on this particular day, as hunting and harvesting occupies a good chunk of my daylight hours. Today, I want to travel light and forge ahead to reach new territory, so I bring along some dried meats that I’ve been saving.
I’ve also packed a whole suite of arrows to protect me against predators; my bow is cleanly tuned and ready for action. Danger comes in many forms out here, and even the best laid plans can be laid bare by a lion waiting in ambush. I keep a lookout for small stones that can be converted into arrowheads, should I need more.
As I make my way north, I’m exploring the new space and peeking my head into all its nooks and crannies. I’m searching for all manner of raw materials, but also statues and carvings from my ancestors who came before me. I can only place three campfires per world; as such, I need to consider their locations carefully, in order to cover the entire area over the course of the day. Space mapping is therefore an essential part of life out here in the wild.
I’m constantly, acutely aware of the passage of time. As the light starts to fade into a warm red, and the crickets and cicadas come to life, I realize it’s probabl
Feel that chill in the air? That means it’s time… time for the return of Fortnitemares! From now until November 1, Fortnitemares will be having a spooky yet special impact on the Island.
What’s in the Cards?
Navigating through a Fortnitemares season is not a good idea without a little foresight, so we have come up with a plan: fortune telling. In Fortnitemares 2021, fortune-telling cards will reveal what monsters — as well as what Fortnite characters with Halloween twists — will come to the Item Shop. Your fortune must be good today, because the cards are already about to reveal two iconic monsters soon to be lurking their way into the Item Shop.
The cards are showing… Frankenstein’s Monster and The Mummy, both a part of the Universal Monsters Set. Frankenstein’s Monster will be available in the Item Shop starting October 5, 2021, with The Mummy arriving later in Fortnitemares. And there are still many more cards to be revealed. Keep track of the cards by following along with Fortnite’s social channels and the evolving page on Fortnite’s website.
Brave the Fortnitemares Experience in Creative
They’re alive! The all-new Creative games, that is. In August, we asked our talented community to make Creative games that embodied the spirit of Fortnitemares, and the community did not disappoint. Test your will in these scary Creative experiences by entering the “Fortnitemares” section in the playlist menu.
Get Some Scares at Shortnitemares
There are few better ways to wrap up the season of frights than short films . Short Nite is back, and it will be filled with Halloween-themed shorts. To truly get the movie experience, community creator team Quantum Builds have built a theater that players can watch the shorts in. Each short will have its own individual room that it will be played in, but you can also go to the festival room to watch them all in a loop.
Outfits so sweet they are scary, new thrilling experiences in Creative, and even a chance to kick back to some shorts. There’s a lot in your fortune for Fortnitemares 2021.
Welcome, everyone, to Jungle Island – home to AiAi and his monkey gang! I’m Masao Shirosaki, citizen of the island and producer of the Super Monkey Ball series.
Please grab a banana and join me while I share the story behind the latest title in the series, Super Monkey Ball Banana Mania, out today on PS4 and PS5.
A new beautiful monkey world
What led to the creation of this title? When we released the last Super Monkey Ball game, we received a ton of requests from fans around the world wishing for a remake of the original Super Monkey Ball and Super Monkey Ball 2. This project started as a direct answer to those fan voices.
Starting with the original stage data from a game that is now 20 years old (happy anniversary AiAi!), our first step was making the monkey gang’s world more colorful and vibrant, upping the texture resolution and remaking the environments and decorations in detail. We also fully remade the UI to give the new game a modern look. Plus: adding more bananas so it feels even better to roll through the stages.
Another important focus was play tempo. We shortened the time between “Fall out” and “Retry” as much as possible so you can get right back to playing without loading time.
Stage adjustments won’t ruin your memories
In terms of the stage difficulty, we made sure to keep it as close to the original as possible to honor the memories fans have of the original games. However, there were some stages in the original that were so hard it made you want to stare blankly at the sky. I’m sure there are some of you who know what I’m talking about…
For instance, “EXAM-C” from the original Super Monkey Ball. This stage has a beautiful nighttime landscape but the stage was so difficult you had no time to enjoy the view. There were elevations and incredibly narrow, curved paths that required your entire focus at all times. We made some slight tweaks to the stage, extending the completion time and widening the curved path in the second half of the stage so you can play a bit more relaxed. I’m sure now you can at least somewhat enjoy the beautiful view while you play!
Another classic stage is “AR
Hi everyone! I’m Max Rea, founder of Black Matter and game director of Hell Let Loose.
We’re extremely excited to celebrate the arrival of Hell Let Loose on PlayStation 5 on October 5 through November 1 as part of the October 2021 PlayStation Plus lineup.
Hell Let Loose is a large-scale, online strategic first-person shooter featuring teams of 50 vs 50 with combined arms of infantry, tanks, and artillery; a dynamically shifting front line; and a unique resource based real-time strategy inspired metagame.
We know this style of hardcore FPS may be new to some PlayStation players, so before venturing into the game’s authentic and brutal battlefields of World War II, we wanted to put together some top tips to guide you during your first hours!
Fight in some of the most iconic battles of the Western Front, including Purple Heart Lane, Omaha Beach, Foy, and many more. This is combat at a whole new scale, with lumbering tanks dominating the battlefield and crucial supply chains fuelling the frontlines, and individual players are key cogs in the machine of colossal combined arms warfare.
Hell Let Loose puts players into the chaos of war, complete with deep player-controlled vehicles, a dynamically evolving front line, and crucial unit-focused gameplay that commands the tide of battle.
Featuring nine sweeping maps modelled on real reconnaissance images and modern satellite data, each battlefield is divided up into large capture sectors. These allow for emergent and unique gameplay that pits the two forces into a fight to the death across fields, bridges, forests, and towns on an ever-evolving front line. When a sector is captured, resources are generated for your team, creating a complex metagame that will influence a team’s march to victory.
An epic theatre of war
Take to the battlefield in
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