Starting from scratch Hello trainers! I’m so excited to play and stream the newest Pokemon release, Pokemon Legends: Arceus, tonight...

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With only weeks standing between the highly-anticipated Elden Ring and its ravenous fans, game director Hidetaka Miyazaki has opened up about the difficulty discourse that has long surrounded From Software’s games.

Discussions regarding difficulty in games aren’t anything new, of course. In recent years, a community push toward accessibility has brought about significant analyses of difficulty and how it can be tailored for inclusiveness. From Software frequently draws the ire of some gamers who feel its popular role-playing games, which include the beloved and demanding Dark Souls series, provide too steep a challenge and should include difficulty options.

Some fans of the aptly-named Souls-like genre disagree with the assessment that such games need a difficulty setting, feeling strongly that the games benefit from their cryptic design choices and precise, punishing combat. From Software itself has long stood by this stance, too, imploring all gamers to embrace the challenge so that they can feel an equal sense of reward by overcoming it.

Despite this, speaking in an interview with PlayStation Blog, Miyazaki made it clear that he believes the conversation is still one worth having. “It’s a valid discussion,” he said. “I feel like our approach to these games, not just Elden Ring, is to design them to encourage the player to overcome adversity. We don’t try to force difficulty or make things hard for the sake of it. We want players to use their cunning, study the game, memorize what’s happening, and learn from their mistakes.”

Miyazaki went on to share that he believes the barrier of entry has been lowered in Elden Ring as well, due to design choices that now provide additional player agency. “In Elden Ring, we have not intentionally tried to lower the game’s difficulty,” he said. “But I think more players will finish it this time. As I mentioned, the player’s level of freedom to progress through the world or return to a challenge later are all elements that I feel will help people get through the game at a more leisurely pace.”

In addition to general design changes, Miyazaki states that he hopes “players embrace that idea of receiving help from others,” promising that the multiplayer function of the game has been streamlined to put an emphasis on working together to overcome Elden Ring’s toughest challenges. With this in mind, Miyazaki feels confident that Elden Ring will have the highest rate of completion in From Software’s Souls-like library.

Miyazaki’s interview also included confirmation that Elden Ring will feature a New Game Plus mode and multiple endings, two components that have become a core part of what makes From Software’s games endlessly replayable for die-hard fans.

Elden Ring launches February 25 on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC.

SANTA MONICA (January 22, 2022): Team Liquid is proud to announce the acquisition of Limit Guild, one of the largest signings in the organization’s history. Led by Max “Maximum” Smith, Limit Guild is one of the world’s most popular raiding guilds, with over 30 million viewed hours as they raced to make PvE history. As […]

The post Team Liquid Acquires Limit Guild, Enters MMORPG Esports appeared first on TalkEsport.

It’s between Koichi Ishii and the legendary Yoshitaka Amano If someone says the name “Yoshitaka Amano” in any gaming context,...

The post This Final Fantasy XI Amano interview delves into the history of the entire series appeared first on Destructoid.

Guerrilla Games has said that unlike a lot of modern […]

The post Horizon Forbidden West Will Have a Single ‘Strong and Impactful’ Ending appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

This bulked-up beast is gonna ruin my day in the Lands Between, I just know it Are bears cuddly and...

The post Let’s talk about that absolutely jacked bear in Elden Ring appeared first on Destructoid.

The Xbox One has been around for more than eight years, and during that time it has amassed a sizeable collection of free-to-play games across several different genres. If you can't afford (or just don't want to) spend cash on a game or you're just not sure if you're going to like the latest hit, free-to-play games on Xbox One are a great option. And if you're holding out to buy an Xbox Series X, having all that extra cash is a big help. We've rounded up the best free Xbox One games so you can have a great time without breaking or even touching the bank. Don't even think about a bank, in fact--unless you start buying microtransactions in any of these games, of course.

Apex Legends

It's fitting that Apex Legends--a spin-off of the criminally underappreciated Titanfall and Titanfall 2--would also happen to be one of the best free-to-play games on Xbox One. Set in the same universe as the Titanfall games but with a hero-based battle royale spin, Apex Legends draws just as much inspiration from Call of Duty and Overwatch as it does from Titanfall. With an emphasis on the different playable characters' unique roles, team composition is an important part of success, and both the maps' verticality and plethora of gear you can pick up add an element of strategy not seen in some other online shooters.

See our Apex Legends review.

Halo Infinite (multiplayer)

Microsoft went to a different release model with Halo Infinite than past games, opting to make the campaign a premium experience while offering the multiplayer for free across Xbox consoles, PC, and the cloud. This change has led to a few rough edges--the progression system needs some work--but Halo Infinite's multiplayer is also the best competitive mode in the series since Halo: Reach. Fantastic map design, a good mix of old and new weapons, and a focus on the simple "shoot the other team" gameplay that made the original games work is key to its success. Oh, and you can put cat ears on your Spartan, if you want.

See our Halo Infinite multiplayer review.

Fortnite

Could there possibly be a list of the best free-to-play games without Fortnite? The most popular video game on the planet--and one that has remained on top for several years--Fortnite's success story is odd in that it began its life without having its signature battle royale mode at all. Since that pivot, however, it's grown into a juggernaut, complete with in-game concerts, crossovers, with just about every major franchise you can think of, and a bizarre in-universe lore that has made way for massive changes to the battle royale map. With cross-play support, you can play it with friends on just about any system, too.

Rocket League

Free now after previously costing 20 bucks for years, Rocket League seems like it was conceived by a seven-year-old who wasn't paying attention during class. Essentially a big game of soccer but with rocket-powered cars in place of the players, the hectic sport sees vehicles zipping across the pitch and through the air as they attempt to knock the giant ball into their opponents' goal while defending their own. While a simple enough premise in theory, Rocket League is very difficult to master, with the best players maintaining expert control as they knock a ball into the net.

PUBG: Battlegrounds

The battle royale game that kicked off a massive trend across the industry--though it wasn't the first game in the genre--PUBG: Battlegrounds (formerly PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds) doesn't have all the bells and whistles of its competitors. There's no building structures and there aren't character classes. Instead, it takes a slightly more realistic approach to the concept, dropping you on a gritty island as you scavenge for weapons, ammunition, armor, and medical gear. Stealth and escape are often the best tactics in PUBG: Battlegrounds, as it only takes a few shots to send you to an early grave.

See our full PUBG: Battlegrounds review.

Warframe

Sure, Destiny has certainly improved a lot over the years, but there was a point when a free-to-play game was pretty much eating Bungie's lunch. Warframe combines multiplayer action, third-person combat, and extensive character customization together, and the game will also be getting a cross-play feature in 2022. This way, all your friends can squad up and take on its tough cooperative challenges--all for free--even if one person is on an Xbox One while another is playing on a Nintendo Switch.

See our full Warframe review.

Splitgate

"Halo meets Portal" might sound like an idea that someone only thought of for a few seconds before tossing it in the trash, but somehow, Splitgate takes that crossover concept and turns it into one of the most compelling multiplayer shooters around today--free or otherwise. By giving you the ability to create portals on the map and shoot through them, the basic gameplay loop of shooting, finding cover, and shooting again has been flipped on its head. Nowhere is safe, because an enemy 50 yards away is also, potentially, right next to you. The strategies you use in just about every other shooter won't work in Splitgate, and that's what makes it so successful.

Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis

Phantasy Star has been one of the most compelling RPG series for decades, beginning as a Final Fantasy competitor that instantly differentiated itself with sci-fi elements. With the updated MMO Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis, it continues to impress through gorgeous environments and flashy combat. For action fans who may not usually be interested in the skill-bar-based combat of some other online role-playing games, New Genesis is a great alternative, and with six different classes available, you can find one to fit your own play style.

Dauntless

Monster Hunter, but free? Not exactly, but that's basically the elevator pitch for Dauntless. Just like in Capcom's series, you'll be teaming up with other players as you venture out into the unknown and take down mon… er, "Behemoths," though the game's style take it in a more science-fiction direction than Monster Hunter ever has. Because of cross-play support, you can play it on Xbox One with friends across PlayStation, PC, and even Nintendo Switch, and special modes like Escalation will challenge your boss-killing ability in a marathon of combat.

See our full Dauntless review.

Call of Duty: Warzone

Call of Duty first entered the battle royale scene with Black Ops 4's Blackout mode, but it was perfected in the free-to-play Call of Duty: Warzone. Expanding the universe of several of the series' games, including Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War, Warzone manages to seamlessly fit the twitchy Call of Duty shooting into a battle royale while also offering plenty of reasons for players to keep coming back. One of the biggest is the new Pacific map, which features a radically different layout and color scheme than its European predecessor.

See our full Call of Duty: Warzone review.

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