Former PlayStation president Shuhei Yoshida will be joining the cast of voice actors for Promise Mascot Agency, as revealed by the studio Kaizen Game Works. Other members of the voice cast include Ayano Shibuya, Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro, and Takaya Kuroda.

The voice cast for Promise Mascot Agency features a diverse range of Japanese actors and notable figures. Shuhei Yoshida, former President of Sony Worldwide Studios, is among the cast, playing a kappa mascot who loves games. He is joined by Deadly Premonition director “Swery,” who plays a priest. Ayako Shibuya (The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom) and Eri Saito (Chainsaw Man) voice major roles. Finally, the protagonist is voiced by Takaya Kuroda, best known as Kazuma Kiryu from the Yakuza/Like a Dragon series.

Promise Mascot Agency is an upcoming game about managing a mascot agency in a world where mascots are a living species. You play as a disgraced yakuza named Michi who is now trying to make a new life for himself with the assistance of a finger-shaped mascot named Pinky. The game will feature management sim mechanics, driving sections where you control a kei truck and visual novel storytelling. Promise Mascot Agency was developed by Kaizen Game Works, whose previous game was the surreal detective game Paradise Killer. Early development assistance came from Ikumi Nakamura, who helped give the game an authentic Japanese feel.

Shuhei Yoshida is an odd choice for a voice role in Promise Mascot Agency, as his background is mainly in management, not acting. However, Yoshida is a popular figure within the games industry and his presence is likely to be met with positive reception. He recently announced his retirement from Sony.

Promise Mascot Agency is set for release in early 2025 for the PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch and PC.

The post Shuhei Yoshida Is a Character in Promise Mascot Agency appeared first on Siliconera.

The Pokemon Company issued a statement addressing availability issues for the Pokemon TCG Scarlet & Violet: Prismatic Evolutions expansion. The set will see a full release outside of Japan on January 17, 2025.

The statement issued on social media stated that demand for the Pokemon TCG Scarlet & Violet: Prismatic Evolutions expansion is exceptionally high, and it warned that some players may experience difficulties obtaining the expansion after it is released. It’s not clear if this affects the pre-orders from the Pokemon Center specifically or if this is likely to affect other retailers. The Pokemon Company said it will be issuing reprints as quickly as possible and be working to full capacity to meet demand as best as they can.

Here is the full statement:

The Pokemon TCG Scarlet & Violet: Prismatic Evolutions expansion focuses on Eevee and its evolutions, all appearing as Stellar Tera Pokemon. The new cards are releasing as part of an Elite Trainer Box containing booster packs and gameplay accessories. The boxes also contain exclusive rare promo cards. Those ordering from the Pokemon Center will receive a second promo card featuring the Pokemon Center logo. Other collections include the Binder Collection, which contains five booster packs and an album that can hold up to 378 cards, and the Poster Collection, which comes with a two-sided poster featuring Eevee.

While Prismatic Evolutions is the latest expansion for the Pokemon TCG, the next expansion has already been confirmed. Journey Together is set for release in March 2025, which is set to focus on special Pokemon belonging to major trainers from the main game series.

Scarlet & Violet: Prismatic Evolutions is set for general release on January 17, 2025, although this is likely to be affected by availability issues.

The post Pokemon TCG Prismatic Evolutions Expansion Availability Issue Addressed appeared first on Siliconera.

Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe, a pop-up restaurant based on the games, is opening in Georgia. It will be opening in Chamblee, Georgia on January 18, 2025.

The Georgia location of the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe is the fifth location of the restaurant. It opened in multiple spots across the US prior to this. The first appeared in San Diego, California in 2023. Other locations included a second California spot and one in Texas. It’s a collaboration between Sega and the Secret Sauce Society, and as usual the new installation will feature a selection of Sonic the Hedgehog food and merchandise. It will take over the Won Kitchen location temporarily.

The menu for the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe will, of course, feature chili dogs, along with onion rings themed around the series' iconic rings. Other menu items include the fried chicken Knuckles Sandwich, Piko Piko Tenders, Fast Fries and Green Hill Vegan Chili Cup. New items for the Georgia location include Rogue’s Kickin’ Chicken Sando (fried chicken sandwich with pimento cheese), Chaos Spear Fries topped with marinara and Drop Dash Cookies (deep-fried Oreos).

Drink items on the menu include Blue Blur (blueberry) and Smashing Echidna (fruit punch) slushes and Team Dark (mocha) and Sweet Amy (strawberry) milkshakes.

Here are some of the items available from the menu:

The Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe will also sell exclusive merchandise, and food will be served in special Sonic-themed packaging. Some of the merch is available to buy through the Speed Cafe’s official website.

The opening of the pop-up restaurant comes at a good time for Sonic fans. The release of Sonic x Shadow Generations in October 2024 was met with positive reception and the third Sonic movie, featuring Keanu Reeves as Shadow, is currently doing well in theaters.

The Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe pop-up location will open in Chamblee, GA on January 18, 2025 for a limited time.

The post Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe Pop-Up Serves Up Chili Dogs appeared first on Siliconera.

Razer has announced a collaboration with Sanrio that will result in a new collection of Kuromi themed accessories. The collection will drop on January 9, 2025.

The Razer Kuromi collection was teased by the company via their social media accounts, although they’re keeping quiet about what the collection will contain. However, it’s likely that the collection will contain the same items as those released in China in August 2024. These items includes a headset featuring Kuromi’s ears, a mouse and keyboard (with wrist rest), mouse pad and speaker. The announcement for the Chinese release did ask what other countries they should launch the collection in, so it’s likely the latest announcement is gearing towards a global release. The collection is set to drop on January 9, 2025 at 9am PT.

The Kuromi collection isn’t the first collaboration with Sanrio that Razer have worked on. A Hello Kitty collection was also released via their website. The Hello Kitty collection contained similar items, including a headset, keyboard and mouse pad, but instead of a speaker, they released a gaming chair.

Razer has been producing a range of character-based headsets and accessories for other properties too. A Pokemon headset based on Gengar was released in China in October 2024. Similar to the Kuromi collection, the Chinese release was timed with a social media post asking fans what other countries they’d like the headset to be released in.

The Kuromi collection will appear on the Razer website at 9am PT on January 9, 2025.

The post Razer Kuromi Collection is On Its Way appeared first on Siliconera.

Toby Fox confirmed once again that Deltarune Chapter 3 and 4 will be available in 2025, continuing the game's story. He took to Bluesky to issue a New Years message confirming the release window.

In his New Years greeting, Toby Fox posted an image offering a reminder that Deltarune Chapter 3 & 4 would both be releasing this year. This news was delivered by a crudely drawn snake in cool shades to represent 2025 being the year of the snake in the Chinese zodiac. He did not provide any further updates on when in 2025 the latest chapters would be releasing.

Toby Fox has been providing updates on the game’s development via his newsletter. The next two chapters of Deltarune are in the final stages, with bug fixing and localization currently underway. An external company is handling the testing, with the PC version of Chapter 3 mostly complete. Console testing is still ongoing. In addition, the first pass of Japanese translation for Chapter 4 has been implemented and is also undergoing testing. He also has some additional team members doing some early work on Chapter 5.

Deltarune Chapter 3 and 4 were already confirmed for a 2025 release by Toby Fox at Halloween. He is determined to have a simultaneous worldwide release across PC and consoles, which is why these latest chapters are going to require additional work prior to release.

Deltarune Chapter 3 & 4 are in development for PC and consoles for release in 2025.

The post Deltarune Chapter 3 and 4 2025 Release Date Still Confirmed as Game Enters Testing Phase appeared first on Siliconera.

Sony revealed the first PlayStation Plus monthly games for 2025 with the January selection, and the lineup includes the live-service Suicide Squad title. The new trio of games will be available for all subscribers from January 7, 2025.

The three games available for PlayStation Plus in January 2025 will be led by Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League. This is Rocksteady’s experiment with creating a live service game, as Harley Quinn and associates set out to take down various members of the Justice League. Just be aware when you jump into this one that development on the game will officially end on January 14, 2025 and no further updates will be added. This game is exclusively available for subscribers on PS5.

Meanwhile, the other two January 2025 PlayStation Plus games include Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit Remastered and The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit is the 2010 edition of EA’s long-running street racing series. The version for PS Plus will be the PS4 remaster released for the game’s tenth anniversary.

The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe is famously bizarre metanarrative indie game where you play as an office worker named Stanley trying to defy an omnipresent narrator. Ultra Deluxe features a ton of additional content not seen in the original game. It’s available for both PS4 and PS5.

December’s selection of PlayStation Plus games are currently still available. These included It Takes Two, Aliens: Dark Descent and Temtem. They will be available until the release of the January selection of games.

The January 2025 PlayStation Plus monthly games will be available from January 7, 2025.

The post January 2025 PlayStation Plus Monthly Games Include Suicide Squad appeared first on Siliconera.

Clive Rosfield was announced as the final DLC character for Tekken 8 Season 1. It’s kind of cool seeing the protagonist of Final Fantasy XVI going toe-to-toe with the likes of Jin Kazama. Even better, unlike fellow Final Fantasy guest character Noctis in Tekken 7, we’ll get to dress Clive up in the goofiest outfits possible, as with any other Tekken character.

There’s just one problem. He’s the wrong Final Fantasy character.

This is not a new reaction. When Noctis was announced for Tekken 7, there was widespread confusion. Why is this character, best known for using a sword, appearing in a series based around unarmed martial arts? Why don’t they put him in Soulcalibur? It’s the same criticism for Clive, as he also uses a sword as his primary weapon, although, admittedly, there isn’t an imminent Soulcalibur game to direct him towards this time.

Noctis already felt like a weird addition in Tekken 7. His move list was considerably shorter than most of the roster, likely due to how limited the options from Final Fantasy XV were. His sword also gave him a wider range than most of the cast, offset only by his linearity. He was both less fun to play as and less fun to play against, and simply didn’t fit Tekken.

Clive in Tekken 8 isn’t as sword-heavy as Noctis based on the gameplay that’s been shown off. However, he does still appear to have the same issue of a limited moveset. As much as I enjoyed Final Fantasy XVI, it didn’t live up to the promise of a real-time action game as much as I would have liked because of how few moves Clive had available to. This already appears to be a problem for his Tekken moveset, as it draws heavily from the powers of the various Eikons. These look flashy and exciting in a trailer, but much like his home game, I can see their presence becoming repetitive and limited in the long run. Once again, there’s a feeling that he simply won’t fit well with the rest of the roster.

To counter the "sword user" criticism, you might say, there is Yoshimitsu. He’s been in Tekken since day one, always cropping up on the roster brandishing his mystical katana. But that’s the thing. Yoshimitsu is the notorious weirdo of Tekken. He’s deliberately unconventional, a guy who not only brings a sword to a fist fight, but also becomes a human helicopter, throws out poison gas and arbitrarily kills himself. His whole deal is that he’s not normal and was designed to be part of this roster with that in mind.

If Tekken must have a Final Fantasy guest character, there are much more appropriate choices. The Monk class has been around since the original NES game, and they fight with their fists. Any monk would be a more ideal fit for a cast full of practitioners of karate, taekwondo and assorted wushu styles. Many prominent characters across the series have been part of this class too, such as Zell, the hyperactive hot dog lover from Final Fantasy VIII, or Sabin, Final Fantasy VI’s resident train suplexer. However, there is one Monk character who is more iconic than all of them: Tifa Lockhart.

In fact, she is arguably the most requested guest character by the Tekken community. Any cursory glance at discussions around potential guests for the series are often topped by two main requests: a Yakuza character and Tifa. Yakuza is often a more free-form request. While Kazama Kiryu is inevitably brought up, rumors that Ichiban Kasuga might be in the game were met with positive reaction. Goro Majima is also, unsurprisingly, another popular request. It helps that Yakuza’s brand of angry fighty men in increasingly absurd situations matches Tekken’s vibe so well that anyone fits.

However, there are never requests that state they want "a Final Fantasy character". The requests are always specifically Tifa. This is why the presence of Clive has been met with anger at worst and confusion at best from the wider Tekken 8 community. Certainly, there are some who are happy with the choice and are willing to give Clive a chance, but overall, the reaction can be boiled down “we asked for Tifa though” and it’s hard to ignore that she would have been the better choice.

Tifa would be a perfect fit for Tekken. For a start, she has a fighting style that matches a fighting game in a more obvious way. While her martial arts style is officially undefined, her moves in Final Fantasy draw from a mixture of kickboxing and gymnastics. Tekken already has plenty of kickboxers in its history and the likes of Lili show off how well an acrobatic style fits. She wouldn’t be the first Tekken character to blend styles either. The Mishima style of karate is already a brutal deviation from the traditional style, after all, and it's the signature style of the whole franchise.

Her move list feels like it could be filled with much more fitting options simply based on her home games. Her basic moves from Final Fantasy VII Rebirth alone could be broken down to fill out a good chunk of a notoriously large Tekken move list. Her basic combos (including those initiated from a dodge) already include a jab flurry, several roundhouse kicks, a lunging punch, a slide kick and an overhead flip kick. All standard for most Tekken kits.

But on top of that, most of her Abilities would help round out that list and still feel like natural martial arts moves instead of the flashy Eikon moves filling out Clive’s list. Unbridled Strength also gives her an automatic Heat Engager, which means Omnistrike and Rise and Fall could easily become her Heat-exclusive moves. In other words, she’s practically already built for a transition into Tekken 8. Throw in some Dissidia moves where possible and you’re all set.

On a personal level, Tifa has always been one of the more enjoyable characters to play as in any game she’s available. In the FF7 remakes, she’s always in my party when I can get away with it, simply because I love switching to her fast flurry style. She was also a favorite in Dissidia 012. I can guarantee that if she was in Tekken 8, I would be genuinely tempted away from Xiaoyu, my typical main. I can’t say I feel as easily tempted to play Clive.

There is, of course, another major reason she would be the better addition. Final Fantasy VII and its cast are iconic. Tifa is a character that would get so many people excited, simply because of the fond feelings people have for her home game. It’s a level of fame and adoration Clive and Final Fantasy XVI can only dream of. However, I feel this may also be the reason she didn’t get in. After all, the choice of Clive or Tifa would come down to Square Enix, not Bandai Namco. Once you’ve figured that out, the decision to pick Clive makes sense from Square Enix’s perspective.

Either character could easily tempt some Final Fantasy players to play Tekken 8, but there’s a sense that most Tekken players are already aware of and have played Final Fantasy VII and its remakes. But for Clive, there could be a higher chance of getting those players to try out Final Fantasy XVI. Bandai Namco wins Final Fantasy fans over to try their game either way, but Square Enix only wins Tekken 8 fans over to their side with Clive. Which is almost certainly why things went the way they did.

Of course, there is an easy compromise to all of this. Simply let Clive channel his voice actor and let him wear Tifa’s outfit. It’s the only way.

Tekken 8 is out now for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI will be added as a standalone DLC character on December 20, 2024.

The post Clive is the Wrong Final Fantasy Character for Tekken 8 appeared first on Siliconera.

The Xuan-Yuan Sword series has historically been an ambitious one that aims to retell stories from Chinese history and mythology. The standalone game Xuan-Yuan: The Gate of Firmament recently appeared on the PS5 via a reworked version, allowing a whole new audience to experience this sprawling RPG. However, it does feel like this is a story that wasn’t worth retelling.

Sikong Yu is a young man living in a small village separated from the Shang dynasty’s rule. Everyone's life is precarious, moving from place to place, although Yu does his best to keep the village protected with an array of traps. However, his peaceful life within the village falls apart when a nearby bandit tribe attempts to raid his people, and in the process he meets a woman named Muyue. This mysterious lady initially refuses to speak and shows magical aptitude. She soon shared that she is desperately trying to return to a home she can barely remember. Yu ventures out with her to help her find her way, meeting a cast of characters who aid them in their quest.

Straight off the bat, Xuan-Yuan: The Gate of Firmament is a game doesn’t do itself many favors. While I could initially accept the early MMO level of FMV that kickstarts the story, the presentation plummets in quality as soon as we’re in-engine. Character models clearly show an attempt towards photorealism, but their doll-like standing poses and awkward animations throw the game straight down the uncanny valley.

The insult “it looks like a PS2 game” is often thrown around carelessly in some circles, which I feel is an insult in itself to the PS2 games that still look excellent to this day. However with Xuan-Yuan: The Gate of Firmament, I feel that’s the best description, as it features the kind of low-poly models found in some of the worst games on the system. But it goes beyond that. The animation jank, stiff camera movement and even the excessive use of dissolve wipes in cutscenes all feel like they’re ripped straight out of the 2000s. However, while I feel many games of that era did the best they could with the tech they had available to them, this doesn’t even manage that much when better tech is available.

One of the more egregious examples was a scene where Yu receives a gift from his mother before heading out. While characters handing items to one another is a persistent problem for animators, even in blockbuster AAA games today, there is a lot of creative camera work that covers it. Not so much here. The present is visibly glued awkwardly to Yu’s mother’s arm before she lifts it to hand it over. It then pops out of existence as Yu reaches out, in full view of the camera. This isn’t a budget issue. This is just sloppy.

However, I’m not someone who will let visual presentation completely kill my interest in a game. Sometimes games are made on low budgets and have to make do with what they have. I’ve played plenty of games that have had to make those compromises and sometimes that can lead to great experiences. I’ve enjoyed plenty of games with awkward presentation simply because they’ve thrown themselves heavily into the story or gameplay. Sadly, that isn’t the case with Xuan-Yuan: The Gate of Firmament, as neither of those elements managed to win me over either.

Let’s start with the story, which I’m not sure is poorly written or poorly translated, but either way, it had some of the worst dialogue I’ve ever encountered in a game. This is a game that loves to repeat itself. As an example of this, part of the early game sees Yu venturing into the woods to check his traps while his female friend from the village follows him. Yu feels it’s too dangerous for her and tells her to go back to the village. At the next trap, she reappears, saying she didn’t feel like going back. He tells her it’s too dangerous and she should go back to the village. This happened several times in one area, with no variation each time.

The repetitiveness even cropped up within single scenes. The initial meeting with party member Feng Yu sees Sikong explain that he’s escorting Muyue, to which Feng replies “You’re escorting her? Oh, I see you’re escorting her.” It’s a level of dialogue I expect from the original Resident Evil, and at least there it was entertainingly silly and quotable. Here it’s just tedious.

The voice acting also emphasizes this tedium, as none of the voice performances seemed to display a hint of emotion or personality. It was highlighted for me when Feng was referred to as “cheeky” and a huge contrast to Muyue’s cold personality. And yet, no one seems to have informed his voice actor, whose performance was just as flat as hers.

I’d love to say the gameplay improved this drastically, but I struggled to enjoy Xuan-Yuan: The Gate of Firmament on that front too. A lot of the game’s exploration takes place in bland, featureless environments that feel like they were assembled out of the most generic assets they could find.

Combat is not much better. It’s a real-time system, where your abilities are assigned to different face buttons on the controller. After using one, there is a short cooldown before you can use something else. It’s fairly straightforward and on first glance, it seems like this might be the game’s saving grace. Unfortunately, it’s missing a lot of features that would make this a fun system to work with.

For a start, your defensive options are minimal. There is a battle formation you can employ to generally increase your defense, but for a real-time system, I was shocked at how little I could do to reduce damage as a reaction. Battles take place in small arenas and while your characters will move about them automatically, there doesn’t appear to be any way to control their movement directly. Being able to position yourself to avoid certain attacks would have made battles feel more tactical instead of relying on the random chance of your character moving themselves out of danger on a whim.

This also extends to a lack of block or dodge mechanics. Plenty of other real-time RPG systems have these basic features, but The Gate of Firmament simply does not. It just adds to the bizarre nature of the system, which is built like a turn-based system but plays in real-time. It also doesn’t help that while you can switch your active party member, the others will act freely, often wasting items and resources, with no option to direct them to act a certain way until you take control.

Ultimately, Xuan Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament is a joyless experience. I will usually try and find something to like about games I play, but it was difficult with this. The narrative is poorly written and performed, it’s visually messy and combat mechanics feel half-finished. There really isn’t much left after that. I wanted to love Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament, and the potential for greatness is there, but sadly its execution never lives up to its ambitions.

Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament is out now for PCs via Steam and the PS5.

The post Review: Xuan-Yuan Sword: The Gate of Firmament Is Bland and Awkward appeared first on Siliconera.

Pre-orders are now open for the plugsuit Nendoroids of Rei Ayanami and Asuka Shikinami Langley from Rebuild of Evangelion. The figures are set to ship in July 2025, and they are specifically based on Evangelion 2.0. They are ￥6,800 (~$43) each.

The two Nendoroids depict Rei and Asuka in their plugsuits from Evangelion 2.0: You Can (Not) Advance. Pre-orders for both figures are available through the Good Smile Company website until February 12, 2025, though other retailers will start taking pre-orders ahead of launch as well. The Nendoroids are only available separately, as there's no option to buy them together. Each figure comes with a special round base if ordered direct through Good Smile Company, with each one depicting each girl’s respective Eva designation. Rei gets a yellow base depicting the logo for Eva Unit-00, and Asuka gets a red base depicting the logo of Eva Unit-02

The Rei plugsuit Nendoroid comes with three facial expressions – serious, surprised and smiling – and she also has Gendo’s glasses case as an accessory. The Asuka plugsuit Nendoroid also has three expressions – energetic, glancing away and blushing – and her accessory is the hand puppet she speaks to in the Rebuild of Evangelion series.

Here is what the Rei Nendoroid looks like:

Here is what the Asuka Nendoroid looks like:

Good Smile Company first announced the plugsuit variant Nendoroids of Rei and Asuka at Smile Fest 2024. However, no prototype for either figure was shown at the time. They’re not the first Nendoroids of the Evangelion girls, as Good Smile previously announced doll variants wearing their school uniforms, also from Rebuild of Evangelion.

The Rei and Asuka plugsuit Nendoroids are available to pre-order now. They will be shipped in July 2025. The Rebuild of Evangelion films are available on Amazon.

The post Evangelion 2.0 Rei and Asuka Plugsuit Nendoroids Are Ready for Launch appeared first on Siliconera.

Netflix shared a video of Eiichiro Oda, the creator of One Piece, speaking with and interviewing the live-action Luffy actor Inaki Godoy. The video also offered some behind the scenes information on the upcoming second season, which is currently in production. The first season is on the service now.

The discussion is led by Godoy, the actor who played Monkey D. Luffy in the live-action version of One Piece since the first season. He conducts the interview entirely in Japanese, which he had been learning for almost a year, specifically so he could talk to the One Piece creator more directly. The discussion happened on the set of the show in South Africa, after Oda had been given a tour of pieces created for the second season. He talked about how impressed he was with the crew’s work on the sets, props and other elements.

During the discussion, Inaki Godoy asked One Piece creator Eiichiro Oda about the Grand Line, which is a major setting for season two. The actor asked why it was so challenging and joked that he was tired from filming. Oda explained that it was simply because the audience needs to be challenged, and the difficulty of the Grand Line seas were an effective way to add that challenge. They also discussed Oda’s thought process when it came to creating Luffy as a character, which he explained as wanting someone with the carefree nature of a child, free from adult responsibilities that people face in the real world. Oda also complimented Godoy on his live-action depicition of Luffy.

Here is the full interview:

Filming for season two of the Netflix live-action One Piece show is underway. Netflix previously showed off some of the behind the scenes work in a preview during Geeked Week 2024. The actors for various characters set to appear in the next season have also been announced.

The second season of the live action One Piece adaptation is currently in production. No release date has been announced yet. The anime is on Crunchyroll and Netflix. Viz Media handles the manga outside Japan.

The post Netflix Live-Action Luffy Actor Meets One Piece Creator Eiichiro Oda appeared first on Siliconera.

Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley narrated a special video about Monster Hunter for Capcom. It’s designed to give some background on the world of the games and their history for new players ahead of the release of Monster Hunter Wilds on February 28, 2025.

The new Monster Hunter video starts with Daisy Ridley explaining the role that Hunters play within the games and the history of the world. There’s a lot of discussion of the world’s ecosystem and how Hunters help maintain the balance of nature. By taking down powerful or over-abundant creatures, they prevent disruptions to the balance. Hunters are described as caretakers and scientists.

It also shares a bit of information on the work done by the Hunters’ Guild, mostly in handing out quests. In the process it also discusses how monsters are used to create new armor and items. This is all information known to existing players of Monster Hunter, but useful to know for newcomers to the series.

Here's the full trailer:

Naturally, several monsters from the series are highlighted in the video. If you’ve ever wanted to hear Daisy Ridley try to say the names of Monster Hunter creatures, Seregios and Lagiacrus are mentioned by name as examples of the beasts players can take down. There is also a highlight on more powerful foes such as Elder Dragons, particularly Fatalis.

The video has appeared ahead of the release of Monster Hunter Wilds. It offers no new surprises for existing fans of the series and is mostly constructed from clips of older games. For anyone looking for new information, Capcom has been releasing info on new monsters on a regular basis. Uth Duna was recently highlighted, for instance. If you’re curious who the narrator of this recent Monster Hunter video is, Daisy Ridley is best known for her role as Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

Monster Hunter Wilds will release for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on February 28, 2025.

The post Daisy Ridley Explains Monster Hunter in New Video appeared first on Siliconera.

The Wuthering Waves Version 2.0 Special Broadcast now has an official air date. The broadcast will be streamed on YouTube and Twitch on at 3am PT/6am ET December 21, 2024.

The Special Broadcast will provide a deep dive into what players can expect out of Wuthering Waves Version 2.0. This update will introduce the new region of Rinascita, and the Special Broadcast will likely show off some of the locations that can be found in this area. The Broadcast is also likely to contain information on the many new characters who will be joining the game as part of the update. These characters include Phoebe, Brant, Roccia, Zani and Carlotta, who have been previously revealed although their kits have yet to be announced.

Version 2.0 of Wuthering Waves will release on January 2, 2025. A PS5 version of the game has been confirmed to release on the same day. The Special Broadcast is likely to detail any crossplay features between the PS5 and other platforms.

Wuthering Waves is out now for PC and mobile devices. Version 2.0 and the PS5 version will both release on January 2, 2025.

The post Wuthering Waves 2.0 Special Broadcast Airs This Week appeared first on Siliconera.

The developer of Helltaker, Lukasz Piskorz, revealed that his new game Awaria is out soon. He made the announcement via social media, revealing the game will release sometime today.

Awaria is a top-down puzzle game about fixing generators under constant time pressure. Parts of the system will explode or fire projectiles that you need to avoid. After you do that, then you manage time effectively to get all the broken parts in an area fixed.

Appropriately enough for a game from the developer of Helltaker, the Steam page for Awaria promises potential ghost kissing in the final game. The developer also promised it will become a bullet hell in later stages of the game, as the challenge ramps up and more projectiles will be thrown at the player.

The soundtrack for Awaria, composed by previous Helltaker collaborator Mittsies, will release on December 16, 2024.  The soundtrack will premiere on YouTube at around 9am PT/12pm ET. The game itself will release “soon after” according to Piskorz, although he did not specify an exact time.

Awaria comes from Lukasz Piskorz, aka vanripper, who previously developed Helltaker. This was a game about gathering a harem of demon girls to your side. It proved popular enough to get a set of Nendoroids.

Awaria releases on December 16, 2024 for PC.

The post New Game from Helltaker Developer is Awaria appeared first on Siliconera.

Astra Yao, a new character for Zenless Zone Zero, was revealed at The Game Awards 2024. This trailer showed a brief preview of the performer and celebrity singer ahead of Version 1.4's release on December 18, 2024. However, it doesn't share when she might be playable in the game.

The trailer showed Astra walking through Sixth Street and into a concert hall, pursued closely by a second, unknown character. As well as the brief reveal trailer, we also learned that Astra is a major celebrity in New Eridu, although not much else is known about her at present. She will likely play a larger role in a future update.

Here's the full video:

While it's unknown if Astra Yao will be making an appearance or how big a part she'll play Version 1.4 of Zenless Zone Zero will contain some significant changes for the game. These include the removal of TV mode, so no future missions will contain navigation through a map of TV screens. Old missions will allow these sections to be skipped entirely. Version 1.4 will add the new characters Hoshimi Miyabi and Asaba Harumasa.

Zenless Zone Zero is out now for PC, PS5 and mobile devices. Version 1.4 will release on December 18, 2024.

The post Astra Yao Is a New Character Coming to Zenless Zone Zero appeared first on Siliconera.

Bandai Namco revealed that Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI is the final DLC character for Season 1 of Tekken 8. The trailer debuted at The Game Awards 2024. Clive will be released early for Season Pass holders on December 16, 2024 and the full release will be on December 20, 2024.

In the reveal trailer, we see Clive going up against Jin Kazama in a fiery stage similar to the Liquid Flame fight from Final Fantasy XVI. They share a special intro, with Jin's single devil wing reflected in Clive showing one of his Phoenix wings. Ifrit plays a part in his moveset, appearing as part of his Rage Art.

Clive isn't the first Final Fantasy character to make an appearance in Tekken. Tekken 7 featured Noctis from Final Fantasy XV as a playable DLC character. Speculation was high for a Final Fantasy character to appear in Tekken 8, with Tifa from Final Fantasy VII being the biggest fan request.

Clive Rosfield is the final character revealed for the Winter slot of Tekken 8 Season 1. Previous characters have included Eddy Gordo, Lidia Sobieska and Heihachi Mishima for Spring, Summer and Fall respectively.

Tekken 8 is out now for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Clive Rosfield will release on December 16, 2024 for Season Pass holders and December 20, 2024 for general release.

The post Clive Rosfield from Final Fantasy XVI Headed to Tekken 8 appeared first on Siliconera.