Latest news with #DarkSouls3
Globe and Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Globe and Mail
Anime convention in Toronto brings together comics fans and cosplayers
Costume-clad Skylar Spalla stood on the curb at the Toronto Congress Centre on a recent weekend, watching hundreds of fellow cosplayers pass by. His twin brother flitted around him, making sure Spalla's massive suit of armour, which they strapped on using zip ties, held together. Every few minutes, a person approached to ask for a photo with him, from muscle-bound warriors to little kids with their parents. The art student's costume, a recreation of the character Havel from the video game Dark Souls 3, was made of little more than papier mâché, paint and pop tabs. It took him countless hours to make, and showing it at Anime North, an annual fan-run convention celebrating anime, manga and video games, he said, brings him a great sense of pride. Anime North is not only Toronto's biggest anime convention – it is also a fashion show where everyone is a star. Outside of the convention buildings, people gathered in the shade or on the grass near the food trucks to take photos and make friends. One was dressed like Star Wars' Kylo Ren, amplifying their voice with a speaker. Another was costumed as A.B.A., the shy homunculus from the game Guilty Gear with her demon-axe partner Paracelsus (made out of pool noodles and cardboard). One man came to Anime North with a Furby head fashioned with remote-controlled eyes and mouth. For many cosplayers, the annual convention provides a chance to show off their costuming handiwork, and make others happy by bringing beloved characters to life. 'Coming to a convention like this gives me the opportunity to share in the joy that this brings me with so many other people,' said Elijah Kamaras-Garland, a photographer and cosplayer from Toronto who dressed in multiple costumes over the convention weekend as characters from the video game Star Fox. He was accompanied by a friend cosplaying as King K Rool, the malevolent crocodile from the video game Donkey Kong. That costume, made of foam mats, 'had to be built around him by a couple of his friends,' Kamaras-Garland said, because it was so large. Since the late 1980s, Japanese comics (or manga) and cartoons (also known as anime) have found an audience outside of their home country. That popularity has exploded over the past decade, as major television channels such as YTV and streaming services have offered anime shows in English for international audiences. This year's convention (attended by an estimated 36,000 visitors) hosted a variety of panels and workshops where attendees could learn about Japanese culture or their favourite fan pursuit, including a Japanese tea ceremony demonstration, a talk about the philosophy of the series Attack on Titan, a comedic live reading of poorly-written fan fiction and a discussion of accommodating cosplay for people with chronic illnesses. Huge halls were dedicated to artists selling their work. Many vendors were Canadians who said that events like Anime North offer exposure and revenue that keeps small businesses afloat. 'It's a great opportunity to be your own boss, and be able to make a living off of something you actually like' said Vincent Leclerc, an assistant of Savage Mojo, a French-Canadian artist, illustrator and animator who specializes in fan art of fantastical dinosaurs. Conventions like Anime North also provide a real-life space for people to meet fellow hobbyists. While anime fandoms have flourished in online spaces including Reddit and Tumblr, it can be difficult to connect in person with others who share the same interests in shows or games. That community is part of why so many people return to Anime North. It was Maxx Romphf's second time at the convention. 'I've seen every anime you can think of [and] video games,' said the Monster High series cosplayer. 'It's just really nice.' At the end of the convention, visitors headed home in their bright, colourful outfits, many to ready themselves for work the next day. Like the day after Halloween, the costumes go back in the closet and it's back to business as usual. But judging from the smiles on attendees' faces, it was an unforgettable weekend for them.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Elden Ring Nightreign patch 1.01 is out even if the game isn't – and welcome back FromSoftware, these patch notes don't tell us a darn thing
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. No matter where you live or play, it's not Elden Ring Nightreign release time just yet, but that hasn't stopped developer FromSoftware from releasing the game's first patch. Elden Ring Nightreign patch 1.01 is rolling out ahead of release, and in classic FromSoft form, we barely know anything about what it does. This is one of those patch note stories where I can very easily share the entire list of contents verbatim: Improved handling of playable characters Soundtrack addition and adjustments Text adjustments Balance adjustments Added character scenarios Bug fixes Elden Ring Nightreign director Junya Ishizaki recently told us that he and the team have been working on game balance "until the last minute," and the "handling of playable characters" and miscellaneous "balance adjustments" sound like they'd fall under that category. The text and soundtrack stuff, along with general bug fixes, is more generic still. "This update aims to improve gameplay and stability," the patch notes add. Good news, I suppose. Ahead of launch, the 1.01 patch notes have also included a small advisory for PC gamers, who will get access a few hours early. "If issues such as being unable to start the game occur on the PC version, they can sometimes be resolved by performing the following steps in Steam," FromSoftware advises. Just double check "Verify Integrity of Game Files" in your Steam library properties. Additionally, "we have confirmed that some PC configurations using the latest graphics cards may experience frame rate drops," the patch notes read. "We are currently investigating the cause." I'm now nervously eyeing my new 5080, which I assume falls under "the latest graphics cards" mentioned here, but thankfully FromSoftware has a possible solution: turn your graphics settings down. Thanks, FromSoftware. The director of Elden Ring Nightreign has been thinking about this game since Dark Souls 3, and "seeing the scope of Elden Ring" finally made it click in his mind. We've collected all the details in our Elden Ring Nightreign live coverage.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Elden Ring Nightreign Steam reviews are FromSoftware's second-lowest ever, as players hit back against its 60fps cap and lack of duos support
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Early Elden Ring Nightreign Steam reviews are the lowest of any FromSoftware game for nearly 16 years. While the Elden Ring Nightreign player count is already surging past the combined total of all three Dark Souls games on Steam, its user reviews are lagging behind. At the time of writing, it's sitting at a 'Mostly Positive' verdict of just 73%. To put that in some perspective, that's the second-lowest user score you can find under the 'FromSoftware Inc' developer tag on Steam. Only Dark Souls 3's Ashes of Ariandel DLC has scored lower (at a Mixed 59%), and you really have to go digging - all the way back to 2009's now delisted Ninja Blade and its 62% score - to find anything lower. The complaints seem to fall into a few major categories. The first is the lack of duo support - you can play Elden Ring Nightreign solo or in threes, but FromSoftware admits it neglected duo support - though says it might come in a future update. The second is the lack of ultrawide support, and the game's lock to a 60fps frame rate, which several reviewers suggest they're not prepared to accept in 2025. And the third major genre of complaint is poor keyboard support - that can obviously be dodged by those willing to use a controller, but still appears to be a notable disappointment. Of course, there are still players whose negative reviews are indicative of personal distaste or individual hardware issues. Our own Elden Ring Nightreign review, as well as the Elden Ring Nightreign Metacritic score both suggested that Nightreign might be more of an acquired taste than even its soulslike predecessors, and it does seem that's proving true among players. Regardless, players are still pouring into the game - the Elden Ring Nightreign player count hit 300,000 in just one hour, on Steam alone.
Yahoo
12-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dark Souls Remastered seamless co-op is officially coming from the creator behind the same Elden Ring mod, and it's set to include everything from PvP to scaling
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. A seamless co-op mod is finally in the works for Dark Souls: Remastered, and it's coming to the FromSoftware RPG from the creator behind the same Elden Ring mod. Yui, the talented modder behind seamless co-op for Elden Ring, Sekiro: Shadow Die Twice, and more recently, Dark Souls 3, is back in the limelight with some big news – a seamless co-op mod is on the way for Dark Souls: Remastered. A new Patreon post from Yui highlights the upcoming mod, detailing some of the features that fans can expect, including everything from no multiplayer boundaries to PvP invasions, and generally allowing friends to play through the whole game together without restrictions (rather than being kicked out of a session after defeating a boss, for example). "I'm pleased to announce that I have hit an important milestone in the development of the seamless co-op mod for Dark Souls: Remastered," writes Yui. "This is a a mod that aims to make the co-operative side of multiplayer in the game more fun. Features include: persisting multiplayer sessions after death, boss kills, teleports, etc., no multiplayer boundaries, a toggle for full progress synchronisation, PvP invasions, and optional difficulty modifiers." As for Yui's progress on the mod so far, it sounds like there's still quite a while to go. "The mod is still early in development, but I will post updates here once more progress has been made," explains the creator. "I'm still actively working on Dark Souls 3 seamless co-op to get it more stable, and I'm also going through my backlog of old/neglected projects and giving them a rework. I'll make a video when there's a bit more to show." The Elden Ring anime made entirely by fans of the RPG is almost here, and even Let Me Solo Her can't wait: "They're honestly cooking up something amazing"
