Do you want to know what’s next for the gaming industry? Join gaming executives to discuss emerging parts of the industry at GamesBeat Summit Next in October. Learn more.
Anyone who even knows me in passing knows what I’m most excited about this week. Bayonetta 3 finally comes out in October. Just a few days before Halloween, in fact. For those of you who somehow haven’t picked up on it yet, Bayonetta is my favorite game and I’ve been waiting for what feels like a lifetime on the third installment. So my fall includes Bayonetta 3, Slime Rancher 2, A Plague Tale: Requiem – I’m not going to be bored for a moment. I better not.
I saw some users on Twitter speculating about why Nintendo didn’t announce this news in a Direct. I can answer that: First, Bayonetta doesn’t have to share space with everybody; and second, her gameplay doesn’t need to be explained or told. Bayonetta’s style speaks for itself, thank you very much. I could speculate (don’t exaggerate) for days about the possible story implications of multiple Bayonettas, who the hell Viola is and whether the game is meant to be a crossover with Astral Chain… but I’ll save that for now. my personal blog.
A few things happened this week that I thought I would briefly discuss. For starters, the Assassin’s Creed: Liberation debacle. In case you haven’t heard, Ubisoft is removing the multiplayer features and some DLC from a few older titles, including Liberation. Then for a while a message on Steam suggested that the game itself would no longer be playable after September 1. No one can get a straight answer from anyone whether that is true or not. I hope it doesn’t – Liberation is a charming entry in the series and deserves more attention than it gets. Besides, taking a game out of people’s mouths who paid for it is just a bad look.
In other news, PlayStation is introducing a rewards program called PlayStation Stars. Players can get rewards for completing challenges or ‘campaigns’ in different games. They can acquire digital collectibles – “certainly not” NFTs, according to the Washington Post – as well as loyalty points that can be used to purchase PlayStation Store games and wallet credit. Aside from all the other implications of this initiative, my first thought was that these campaigns could be a way to draw attention to games that PlayStation deems underplayed for whatever reason. Oh well, at least it will be free when it launches later this year.
What to play this week?
What’s new
- loopmancer
- Neon Blight
- Time on Frog Island
- Escape Academy
- PowerWash Simulator
- Stones Keeper: King Aurelius
- Eyes in the Dark: The Curious Case of One Victoria Bloom
New on subscription services:
- My friend Peppa Pig (Xbox Game Pass)
- Overwhelm (Xbox Game Pass)
- PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls (Xbox Game Pass)
- Relicta (Xbox games with gold)
- Torchlight (Xbox games with gold)
- Pokémon Puzzle League (Nintendo Switch Online)
- Wonder Boy: The Dragon Trap (GeForce Now)
- Dead Age 2 (GeForce Now)
- Huntdown (GeForce Now)
- Beyond: Oceans of Time (GeForce Now)
- Titan Quest Anniversary Edition (GeForce Now)
- Subway Surfers Tag (Apple Arcade)
The GamesBeat credo when talking about the game industry, is ‘where passion and business meet’. What does this mean? We want to tell you how important news is to you — not just as a decision maker in a game studio, but also as a game fan. Whether you’re reading our articles, listening to our podcasts, or watching our videos, GamesBeat helps you learn and have fun with the industry. Learn more about membership.