System: Switch
Release date: June 25, 2019
Developer: ArtPlay
Publisher: 505 Games
Castlevania has been an incredibly important series for the entire medium of gaming. It has also had a long, illustrious life and popularity due in part to longtime series producer Koji Igarashi. The terms Metroidvania and “Igavania” had since been coined thanks to Castlevania’s unique direction of gameplay that usually requires the players to uncover large sections of a map by simply exploring. A huge portion of the fun comes from uncovering the area and seeing how seamlessly it all connects with each other as you run into locked doors and keys in various rooms and levels that intertwine before progressing even further. Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, the newest creation from Igarashi, would be a return to form to a more nostalgic time in video game history, with very little hand-holding and a freedom of exploration only interrupted by a player’s lack of curiosity. It’s without a doubt one of my favorite games to come out this year, but unfortunately, the Switch version of the game should not be the platform of choice when deciding to tackle an otherwise truly fantastic experience that’s been long overdue for fans of the genre.
Summoning Focus: Weekly Revival 5 is now live on Fire Emblem Heroes. 5-star Heroes who appeared before the start of Book II are here as focus Heroes, and the focus lineup changes each week. You’ll also notice that 5-star focus Heroes have an initial appearance rate of 4%.
Summoning Focus: Weekly Revival 5 will be in Fire Emblem Heroes until July 14.
It’s been quiet on the Nintendo maintenance front as of late, but things are about to ramp up once again. Four different sessions are currently planned for Switch over the next week.
Here’s the schedule as of now:
At Japan Expo 2019 this week, Nintendo showed off Astral Chain with nearly a half hour of footage. Get a look at the gameplay below.
As we first found out at Anime Expo, One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is in development for Switch. We have a few screenshots and pieces of art from the game below.
One Piece: Pirate Warriors 4 is slated for sometime in 2020.
Retailers have shared the official boxart for the Switch version of Dead by Daylight. We’ve attached the game’s packaging image above.
Dead by Daylight can be pre-ordered on Amazon here.
Nintendo has once again shared a piece of art for Splatoon 2’s final Splatfest. Next up is Jelfonzo – we have his design above.
Nintendo noted the following of Jelfonzo siding with Team Order:
Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield finally let players control the camera in the Wild Area. Although this isn’t present throughout the entire experience, it’s a step closer to letting fans explore the world in a full 3D area.
Speaking with Metro, when asked if splitting the game between having a fixed camera and a more modern open-world-type game, director Shigeru Ohmori had this to say:
Despite fans clamoring for a sequel, Pokemon Snap 2 has never happened. After the original game landed on the N64 many years ago, the idea hasn’t been revisited since.
In an interview with Metro, Game Freak’s Junichi Masuda (and Shigeru Ohmori) said that there isn’t any interest in creating “the same thing again.” A follow-up would require “a very unique twist,” he said.
Pokemon games tend to have a habit of introducing new features with each entry, only for them to be abandoned when the next games are introduced. Mega Evolutions and Z-Moves didn’t stick around long, for example. Having Pokemon follow the player as they’re exploring has also never been consistent.
While speaking with Pokemon Sword/Shield director Shigeru Ohmori, Metro decided to ask why this happens. Ohmori had this to say when asked if Dynamax will stick around in the long-term:
