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After almost four years, the last 'Nier: Automata' secret has been found
A cheat code lets you skip almost the entire game.
‘Babylon’s Fall’ is the next Square Enix PlatinumGames collaboration
Square Enix and Platinum Games last worked together on Nier: Automata. Now, as announced during the Square Enix livestream from E3, the two companies are partnered up again for a brand-new game titled Babylon's Fall. It looks to have a 2019 release date for PS4 and Steam.
Yoko Taro's 'Nier: Automata' comes to Xbox One on June 26
Nier: Automata was one of the most surprising games of 2017. The Japanese RPG had a mind-bending story, conceived by Nier and Drakengard director Yoko Taro, and a snappy combat system refined by Bayonetta developer PlatinumGames. It was a huge success for Square Enix, shifting more than 3 million copies and winning countless awards. Now, the game is coming to Xbox One. A special Become As Gods edition will hit the Xbox Store on June 26th, bundling the base game, the 3C3C1D119440927 expansion, and a slew of in-game skins and accessories, including a Grimoire Weiss-themed robot companion. Hopefully the extra sales will solidify a sequel, or an entirely new project by Taro and his team.
The best PlayStation 4 games
There's a big reason why the PlayStation 4 is the best-selling console: It has a smattering of games that you can't play anywhere else. Think: blockbusters like Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, Horizon: Zero Dawn and Bloodborne. But even if Indiana Jones simulators and massive open worlds where you hunt down robo-dinosaurs aren't your thing, there are still plenty of exclusives to pick from. Whether it's the best baseball video game franchise, a choose-your-own-adventure horror or an engrossing social simulator/JRPG hybrid, there's a lot to play on Sony's latest console. And then there are games from massive third-party publishers like Activision and Ubisoft, along with quirky indie offerings to round out the selection.
An appreciation of 2017's in-game shopkeepers
In-game shops are more than handy outlets to transform random metal scraps and tired old gear into new and useful items. Shops offer a reprieve from the action of whichever digital world you've entered, allowing you to take a moment, breathe and consider the situation from afar. Do you want to play as a gun-toting tank or a sneaky spy? Is your bow powerful enough for the battles ahead? Do you have enough health potions? Does your character look better in green or purple? Only the shop can provide the answers. Overseeing all of these calculations -- and guarding stores' impossibly large piles of loot -- are the shopkeepers. The past year has been incredible for video games, as we've discussed at length, and this infusion of creativity extends to the stingy store servants selling wares and wiles along our adventures. From Cuphead to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, 2017 has offered up a buffet of adorable, wacky and nostalgia-ridden shopkeepers for us to enjoy -- so we might as well get to it.
How 'NieR' was brought back from the dead
Taro Yoko, director of NieR: Automata, leans forward in his chair. "The stories I write really aren't very good at all," he says, through a translator. "They're a big pile of shit. So I wouldn't have great expectations for the game if I were you." He's joking, I think.
The cancellation of 'Scalebound' is a huge blow for PlatinumGames
Scalebound is no more. Platinum's Xbox exclusive has been canceled by Microsoft, killing the dream of a Devil May Cry–meets–Last Guardian mashup. What a shame. I saw the game behind closed doors on two separate occasions and was left positively smitten with the concept. It centered on Drew, an arrogant, headphone-loving twenty-something lost in a world filled with dragons. With Thuban, an eventual friend and fire-breathing combat partner, he would scour floating islands and decimate mythical enemies large and small. Throughout the game you would control them both, slashing as Drew and throwing out commands to Thuban.
