Latest news with #Playstack
Yahoo
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Soulsborne Sequel Gets Very Metal Trailer Full Of E3 2008 Energy
Today, during Summer Game Fest, Mortal Shell 2 was announced with a trailer that made me miss the days of E3 circa 2008 or 2010. The dark and twisted souls-like is coming to PC and consoles in 2026. Here's the first trailer for the upcoming action RPG, which kicked off the whole Summer Game Fest event, from publisher Playstack and developer Cold Symmetry: And here's how the publisher describes the standalone third-person RPG sequel to the first Mortal Shell, which launched to positive reviews in 2020. 'Mortal Shell II is a standalone sequel to Mortal Shell that significantly expands on the original with unrestricted, adrenaline-charged combat, deeper weapon design with extensive upgrade options, and an emphasis on free exploration. This action RPG offers an immersive, interconnected open world, expansive yet deliberately compact, designed to unfold its twisted landscapes and hidden structures while respecting the player's time. This metal-infused Mortal Shell II trailer really reminded many of us at Kotaku of the kind of over-the-top but fun trailers we'd seen back in the mid-00s. The screaming metal, the angry executions, and the mention of what the song is at the start. Very 2010 or so energy. And I'm here for it. The devs have removed any kind of stamina system from Mortal Shell II, according to a press release shared by Gematsu. 'Mortal Shell II's combat system is agile yet grounded,' say the devs. 'Unrestricted by stamina, players exploit multiple tactics to shatter enemy posture and strike critically.' Mortal Shell II is set to launch on consoles and PC in 2026. No specific console was shared, but I expect it will arrive on PS5 and Xbox sometime next year. .For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Game Developers Choice Awards 2025 Names ‘Balatro' Game Of The Year — Complete Winners List
LocalThunk's Balatro, developed by Playstack, was deemed a royal flush as it was crowned Game of the Year at the 25th Game Developers Choice Awards. Handed out on Wednesday at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, Balatro also snagged wins for Best Design, Best Debut and the Innovation Award. Other winners included Astro Bot, which won Best Audio and Best Technology. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth garnered a win for the Audience Award while the Best Narrative went to Metaphor: ReFantazio. Black Myth: Wukong and Astro Bot came into the ceremony with a leading seven nominations apiece. Baldur's Gate 3 dominated last year's GDC Awards, taking three awards, including Game of the Year. More from Deadline Game Awards Names 'Astro Bot' Game Of The Year - Complete Winners List The Game Award Nominations: 'Final Fantasy VII Rebirth' Slices Its Way To Leading Seven Nominations Harvey Fierstein Says He's "Banned" From Kennedy Center Amid Trump Takeover: "How Freedom Ends" This year's Game Developers Choice Awards honored indie developer Lucas Pope known for cult hit puzzle games Papers, Please and Return of the Obra Dinn, with the Pioneer Award. Another honoree also included Remedy Entertainment's creative director Sam Lake, fresh off of numerous industry wins for the critically praised Alan Wake II, with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Reflecting on his three decades in the industry, he offered advice to his fellow gaming peers and developers in training. 'It's important to find your team, your unique voice to stand out and go where your passion takes you. Trust your vision. Be patient with this, but stay true to it and keep pushing forward, but also always be a team player. Always listen to the good ideas from the talented people around you and find ways to incorporate those ideas in a way that compliments your ideas. Hide in as much art as you can get away with. This is your vital secret mission,' the Finnish director continued. 'Art is what makes you excited, what gives you joy and what makes you proud. Roll with the punches when you face an obstacle and you have to change your ideas, take it to mean you've been now given an opportunity to come up with something even cooler and better. I feel that we are easily laced with our initial ideas. Obstacles force us to be creative and something creative can come out of that and often does.' Here are the winners of the 2025 GDC Awards: Best Audio Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Silent Hill 2 (Bloober Teams SA / KONAMI) Best Debut Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Honorable Mentions: Manor Lords (Slavic Magic / Hooded Horse), Mullet Madjack (HAMMER95 / Epopeia Games), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Best Design Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (Grezzo, Nintendo Entertainment Planning & Development / Nintendo), UFO 50 (Mossmouth) Innovation Award Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Honorable Mentions: Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (Simogo / Annapurna Interactive), Thank Goodness You're Here! (Coal Supper /Panic), The Plucky Squire (All Possible Futures / Devolver Digital), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light) Best Narrative Metaphor: ReFantazio (ATLUS / SEGA / Studio Zero) Honorable Mentions: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth (Square Enix), Frostpunk 2 (11 bit studios), Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix), Neva (Nomada Studio / Devolver Digital), Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios) Best Technology Astro Bot (Team ASOBI / Sony Interactive Entertainment) Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso/ Bigmode), Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (Threyarch, Raven Software, Beenox, High Moon Studios, Activision Shanghai, Sledgehammer Games, Infinity Ward, Demonware /Activision), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), Tekken 8 (Bandai Namco Studios Inc / Bandai Namco Entertainment) Best Visual Art Black Myth: Wukong (Game Science) Honorable Mentions: Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack), Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree (FromSoftware Inc. / Bandai Namco Entertainment), Senua's Saga: Hellblade II (Ninja Theory / Xbox Game Studios), Tiny Glade (Pounce Light), Ultros (Hadoque / Kepler Interactive) Social Impact Life is Strange: Double Exposure (Deck Nine Games / Square Enix) Honorable Mentions: Closer the Distance (Osmotic Studios / Skybound Games), Distant Bloom (Ember Trail / Kina Brave), Dragon Age: The Veilguard (BioWare / Electronic Arts), Tales of Kenzera: Zau (Surgent Studios / Electronic Arts) Game of the Year Balatro (LocalThunk / Playstack) Honorable Mentions: Animal Well (Billy Basso / Bigmode), Helldivers 2 (Arrowhead Game Studios / PlayStation Publishing LLC), Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio / SEGA), Satisfactory (Coffee Stain Studios / Coffee Stain Publishing), UFO 50 (Mossmouth) Best of Deadline 'The Last Of Us' Season 2 New Cast: Who Is Joining The Next Installment?
Yahoo
24-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Balatro is about to hook a lot more players now that it's on Game Pass
Everyone's favorite sorta-poker game Balatro is set to cause yet another dip in global productivity levels. The roguelike — which encourages you to bend and twist the rules of poker in all kinds of wild ways — is available on Game Pass Ultimate, PC and Standard. Apple Arcade subscribers also have access to it at no extra cost. A trailer that premiered during Monday's ID@Xbox showcase also revealed the latest batch of cosmetic crossover card decks that are now available on all platforms. They include tie-ins with Critical Role, Dead by Daylight, Assassin's Creed, Fallout, Bugsnax and Rust. Those follow collabs with the likes of Cyberpunk 2077, Stardew Valley, The Witcher 3 and Vampire Survivors. Seems like everyone wants to be pals with Balatro developer LocalThunk! Meanwhile, it emerged on Monday that PEGI, the body that runs the age rating system for games in Europe, has reclassified Balatro after determining it is suitable for players aged 12 and older. The board upped the age rating from 3+ to 18+ shortly after Balatro was released just over a year ago due to it containing "prominent gambling imagery and material that instructs about gambling," per publisher Playstack. The game was also temporarily removed from digital console storefronts in some markets. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. Playstack contended at the time that "Balatro does not allow or encourage gambling." Following an appeal, PEGI's complaints board has at last lowered the age rating to 12+. "Although the game explains the various hands of poker, the roguelike deck-building game contained mitigating fantastical elements that warranted a PEGI 12 rating," the complaints board concluded. Following that and a separate successful appeal for Luck Be A Landlord (which is also now rated 12+), PEGI plans to revise its guidelines for games that have gambling-related elements. "At this moment, any teaching or glamorization of simulated gambling automatically leads to a PEGI 18 rating," it said in a statement on Monday. "On the basis of these appeals, the PEGI Experts Group will develop a more granular set of classification criteria to handle gambling themes and the simulation, teaching and glamorization of gambling in different age categories, which will now include 12 but also keep 18 as an age category for games that simulate gambling typically played in casinos and betting halls."
Yahoo
10-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Balatro 1.1 will include new jokers plus a revamp of a really confusing existing one
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. In a new interview with Bloomberg, Balatro creator LocalThunk revealed some new details about the chaotic poker roguelike's major gameplay update coming later this year. Now titled update 1.1, publisher Playstack first revealed that more Balatro would be headed our way in 2025 back in August. The famously secretive and anonymous LocalThunk was reluctant to reveal too much of what's coming in update 1.1. "I'm not going to get into exactly what's going to be in it, because that also means I can't pivot if something new doesn't work," he told Bloomberg. "I think it's healthier if I keep my cards close to my chest, then give you the best version of whatever this new content update is." LocalThunk was still willing to spill some of the beans, though: In addition to adding new Jokers to the game, the update will see an overhaul to at least one pre-existing card, Matador. As it stands, Matador gives a cash boost whenever your hand triggers a boss blind ability, but the Balatro Wiki notes that it "doesn't work with all boss blinds, and can occasionally give results inconsistent with what one might expect." The other confirmed change is coming to the blue stake, a difficulty modifier that lowers your number of discards by one. "I play a lot too, and notice flaws all the time," LocalThunk said, and it sounds like he's still considering whether he wants to keep tweaking the game after 1.1. "I don't have any imminent game ideas I want to make," he said. "I have thought of other game ideas in the past, but every time my mind goes down that road, I immediately think, 'You can't do that right now, you're in the middle of something else,' which I think has served me very well." We certainly agreed, so much that Balatro clinched our overall game of the year award for 2024, beating out the likes of Shadow of the Erdtree, Helldivers 2, and Metaphor: ReFantazio. 2025 games: This year's upcoming releasesBest PC games: Our all-time favoritesFree PC games: Freebie festBest FPS games: Finest gunplayBest RPGs: Grand adventuresBest co-op games: Better together
