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Final Fantasy XV‘s Wild Secret Dungeon Was Designed By One Man

If, like me, your favorite part of Final Fantasy XV was the mind-boggling Pitioss Ruins, here is a fun fact: It was designed by one person, according to director Hajime Tabata. Speaking with me in Seattle at PAX West last weekend, Tabata said he was surprised when I told him that I loved the Pitioss…

Hands On With Nintendo Switch’s Big Holiday RPGs

The Switch is such a familiar part of the gaming landscape now that it’s strange to consider that Nintendo’s hybrid device is about to head into its first holiday season. What’s even stranger is that for Baby’s First Christmas, Nintendo’s lineup is overloaded with deep single-player fantasy adventures: role-playing games Skyrim and Xenoblade Chronicles, and…

My Liner Notes For Mother, EarthBound Beginnings‘ Vinyl Soundtrack

In 2015, the indie record press Ship To Shore Phono Co. put out an officially-licensed pressing of the soundtrack to Nintendo’s beloved RPG Mother, which had just been released that year in the U.S. as EarthBound Beginnings I backed it on Kickstarter (obviously!) and a representative from the company then reached out to ask if…

The Cam Girls Who Also Stream on Twitch

In many ways, Geisha Monroe and Mandy Morbidare typical Twitch streamers—they’re gamers who share their play experiences with an online following. They cosplay, they collect game-related memorabilia, they tweet Overwatch memes. And like most streamers, Twitch isn’t their job. But what does pay their bills makes them unusual among Twitch streamers: they’re cam performers. If…

Monster Hunter Stories Is The Best Pokémon Game I’ve Ever Played

Monster Hunter Stories takes the popular hunting series and mixes it up into an adorable roleplaying game all about hatching cool critters. Players take the role of a “rider” who befriends monsters instead of chopping them into bits. The main Monster Hunter games focus on sprawling locales and multiplayer monster hunts. Monster Hunter Stories is…

Don’t let the shoddy console-grabbed screenshot fool you. Lego Worlds is out on Nintendo Switch this week, and it looks and plays as well as the other console versions, with the added benefit of portability. Exploring is great on the go, but I’d recommend TV mode for precision building.

Horror Game Takes You Through A Murder Mystery In Tokyo

Tokyo Dark is a game about a cursed mask and ritualistic murder, but under the surface, it’s also a game about hurt people hurting people. Its complex writing and unique take on a sanity meter make it easy to care about the characters trapped in its tragic, bloody world. Tokyo Dark is an adventure game…

New South Park Game Gets Harder If You Play A Black Character

South Park: The Fractured But Wholes’ difficulty slider will change players’ skin color. As reported by Eurogamer, the game’s character creator will have an effect on gameplay, altering how NPCs respond and affecting how much money characters will make. Gameplay captured at a preview event shows that creating a South Park character with lighter skin…

Celebrating 25 Years Of Batman: The Animated Series With A Toy Jailbreak

Twenty-five years ago this week, Batman: The Animated Series changed the way comic book characters are translated into cartoons. DC Collectibles celebrates the series with the release a box set of villains, safely imprisoned in their cells at the Gotham City Police Department. Or at least they were. Announced earlier this yearand shipping this month…

Pokémon The Movie: I Choose You! makes its theatrical debut outside of Japan via a pair of special showings November 5 and 6. Moviegoers will score a special trading card and a QR code to unlock a hat-wearing Pikachu in Sun and Moon. Check Fathom Events for tickets and locations.  

Hellblade’s Design Captures The Trauma Of Loss

Focusing on themes of grief and trauma, Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice employs a number of level design and mechanical tricks to help players empathize with the main character’s struggle. We take a closer look in this critical video. SPOILERS AHEAD Transcript: Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice tells the story of a warrior on a quest to revive her dead…

Life Is Strange: Before The Storm, As Told By Steam Reviews

Life Is Strange is back with a prequel, Before The Storm. It hasn’t disappointed fans, who are documenting the feels it gave them all over the Steam reviews. I was a little worried about Before The Storm. I didn’t think we needed a prequel, Chloe’s new voice actor sounded a little off, and I was…

Destiny 2 Players Fume Over One-Time-Use Shaders (And Microtransactions) [UPDATE]

Destiny 2, a video game apology for all the time we wasted in Destiny 1, is excellent in many ways. But the game has one new quirk that’s infuriated players across the world: Shaders can now only be used once. Shaders, in Destiny parlance, are special items that change the coloring of your gear. In…

Rockstar Announces L.A. Noire For Switch, PS4, Xbox One, VR

The detective game L.A. Noire is coming to Switch, Rockstar said today, blowing the minds of Nintendo fans everywhere. Also, it’s coming to PS4, Xbox One, and HTC Vive. This new version of the game will be out on November 14. The HTC Vive version will feature only seven of the game’s cases, while the…

Nioh’s final DLC Bloodshed’s End releases on September 26th Among the additions will be a perpetual battle mode called ‘The Abyss,” which I guess means the bloodshed isn’t really ending at all.

One Piece Spoiler Websites Lead To Arrests 

In what’s being called a “first” for Japan, several individuals have been arrested for allegedly uploading One Piece spoilers before the manga officially went on sale. According to ANN, NHK and Sankei (via Anime News Network and Tokyo Reporter), 30 year-old Yo Uehara, 23 year-old Shizuka Nagaya, and 31 year-old Ryoji Hottai were arrested for allegedly…

Smartphone game Dx2 Shin Megami Tensei: Liberation has been officially announced! Teased earlier this week, the game is being developed by Sega. No word yet about a release date, the game is slated for iOS and Android. The official site doesn’t state whether or not the game is worldwide.

Xbox One S Sold As Ultra HD Blu-ray Player In Japan 

Yes, things are terrible for the Xbox One in Japan. Everybody knows that. But did you know that one major retailer is selling the console as an Ultra HD Blu-ray player? It’s true. The Bic Camera in Yurakucho, one of the biggest electronics stores in Tokyo, is selling the Xbox One S as first and…

Purple. Minneapolis, MN. By Kris Godfrey. JPGs is a photo peek into wherever gamers might find interesting. If you’re a photographer and have images you want to share, drop us a line! 

Evangelion Sneakers Are Surprisingly Tasteful

There’s an official Evangelion x New Balance line of sneakers coming out in Japan and China this weekend. There’ll be four colours available, each in a very subtle scheme, while they’ll also come in nice padded zip-up boxes that feature Evangelion imagery. They’ll go on sale for around USD$100. More pics at Hypebeast