Why is the Elden Ring DLC taking so long?

The Elden Ring Shadow of the Erdtree DLC has been in development since April 2022 according to Lead Game Designer Kenneth Chan’s LinkedIn profile, spotted by @Ziostorm1 on Twitter. Rumors have indicated the expansion is quite sizeable and this is likely to be why the developer is taking their time.

FromSoftware has only revealed the DLC to be an expansion set in the Lands Between. Other rumors purporting to show trailers and other story and gameplay information have been proven to be false.

The developer is yet to reveal a release date or even a release window for the upcoming DLC expansion, although this is expected to be some time after Armored Core 6, whose release date is sometime this year. What is more certain, though, is that FromSoftware’s attention is currently divided between this DLC and Armored Core 6, and there is no other game in development.

The post FromSoftware’s Unannounced Game Turns Out to Be Elden Ring DLC appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Armored Core 6 release date might be announced at Summer Game Fest

As spotted by Gematsu, a rating for Armored Core 6 popped up on South Korea’s rating board website, giving fans some much-needed hope that it won’t be delayed into 2024. However, age ratings hardly indicate whether a game will be delayed or not.

If Armored Core 6 is still on track to release this year, there’s a possibility we’ll get a gameplay reveal and release date at Summer Game Fest. Arguably one of the year’s most important game shows with E3 out of the picture, Summer Game Fest is scheduled to take place on June 8th, hosted by none other than Geoff Keighley.

Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon is in development for the PS5 and PS4 among other platforms. The legendary Hidetaka Miyazaki was revealed to be its “initial” game director, with Masaru Yamamura later taking over.

The post Armored Core 6 Release Date Might Be Announced Soon appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Tekken 8 is the first time the series will feature cross-play

In response to a fan, Harada revealed that Tekken 8 wouldn’t have been the first time a mainstream entry featured cross-play between all platforms, had it not been for Sony and Microsoft famously being at loggerheads.

Harada said that he had proposed adding cross-play to Tekken 7 but “the two platformers” (read: Sony and Microsoft) continued to turn him down because “they were at odds over their mutual interests.” The companies also expressed concerns about peer-to-peer security issues.

As far as rollback netcode is concerned, Harada revealed that it has already been implemented in Tekken 8. Apparently, Bandai Namco Entertainment refrained from announcing both cross-play and rollback netcode because, in Harada’s words, “even if we make big announcements, people like you will only say things like, ‘waaaa! That’s normal in this day and age.'”

“So shut up and sit the hell down,” he eloquently added.

Powered by Unreal Engine 5, Tekken 8 is being co-developed by Bandai Namco and Arika. A release window for the game has yet to be revealed.

The post Tekken 8 Will Have Cross-Play and Rollback Netcode appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Elden Ring 1.09 update patch notes

New feature

Ray Tracing support has been added for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC versions.

Ray Tracing can be activated in the settings menu:

• PS5 / XSX: Game Options > Ray Tracing
• PC: Graphics > Ray Tracing Quality

PvP-exclusive balance adjustments

The adjustments in this section do not affect single-player or cooperative play.

• The Inescapable Frenzy incantation power and grab angle have been increased.
• The Lifesteal Fist skill power, range and grab angle have been increased.
• Decreased the power of two-handed jumping attacks.
• Decreased the power of heavy and heavy running attacks of Fist and Claw weapon types.
• Decreased the power of the Founding Rain of Stars spell.
• Decreased the spell enhancement effect of the Terra Magica spell.
• Decreased the damage and poise damage of the Wave of Gold skill when hitting an opponent over a certain distance.
• Decreased the effectiveness of the Determination and Royal Knight’s Resolve skills.
• Decreased the effects of the Contagious Fury skill of the Jellyfish Shield.
• Decreased the effectiveness of the Claw Talisman.
• Decreased the effectiveness of the Lord of Blood’s Exultation Talisman.
• Decreased the attack power buff granted by the White Mask head armor.
• Decreased the jumping attack damage buff granted by the Raptor’s Black Feathers armor.
• Decreased the damage buff granted by Magic-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Flame-Shrouding Cracked Tear, Lightning-Shrouding Cracked Tear, and Holy-Shrouding Cracked Tear when activated with the Flask of Wondrous Physick.

General balance adjustments

• Added an invincibility window when respawning in the colosseum.
• Increased the scaling of the following attributes when infusing weapons with certain Ashes of War:
  • Magic / Fire / Flame Art / Lightning / Sacred
• Increased the attribute scaling of the following weapon types:
  • Colossal Sword / Great Axe / Hammer / Flail / Great Hammer / Colossal Weapon
• Increased the speed, range and recovery time of some attacks for the following weapon types:
  • Great Hammer / Great Axe / Great Sword / Curved Greatsword
• Flail weapons changes:
  • Increased the speed of some attacks.
  • Reduced attack recovery time.
  • Increased poise when using two-handed attacks.
• Increased running attacks speed and reduced attack recovery time for the following weapon types:
  • Straight Sword / Curved Sword / Katana / Twinblade Sword / Axe / Hammer / Halberd
• Increased the first attack speed for the following weapon types:
  • Straight Sword / Curved Sword / Whip
• Increased the speed of guard counters for the following weapon types:
  • Straight Sword / Great Sword / Colossal Sword / Great Curved Sword / Katana / Twinblade Sword / Axe / Great Axe / Flail / Great Hammer / Spear / Great Spear / Halberd
• Reduced the attack recovery time for Whip weapons.
• Increased the damage of Claw weapons.
• Added Holy damage and Faith scaling to the Great Club.
• Increased damage negation when blocking Holy damage and decreased damage negation when blocking damage from other affinities.
• Increased the effectiveness of the Twinblade Talisman.
• Slightly reduced rolling travel distance for light equipment weights.
• Decreased the hitbox size for some attacks of the following weapon types:
  • Thrusting Sword / Heavy thrusting Sword / Spear / Great Spear / Halberd

Ashes of War adjustments

• Lifesteal Fist
  • Increased target grab range.
• Surge of Faith
  • Increased projectile generation speed.
• Flame Spit
  • Increased the guard speed and blocking amount of the skill.
  • Adjusted the angle of the fireball.
• Tongues of Fire
  • Increased the guard speed and blocking amount of the skill.
• Great Oracular Bubble
  • Increased projectile generation speed and reduced the recovery time.
• Viper Bite
  • Reduced the time before rolling is possible after using the skill.
• Shriek of Milos
  • Increased close range poise damage.
• Spearcall Ritual
  • Increased projectile generation speed.
• Cursed-Blood Slash
  • Increased projectile generation speed and reduced the recovery time.
• Gold Breaker
  • Reduced the recovery time.
• I Command Thee, Kneel!
  • Increased attack generation speed.
• Starcaller Cry
  • Increased the speed of follow-up attacks.
• Spinning Wheel
  • Increased attack generation speed.
  • Added a roll & heavy attack cancel timing while using the skill.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where the Scarlet rot status buildup was not properly reflected when giving the Antspur Rapier a Cold affinity.
• Fixed a bug where the Scarlet rot status buildup was not properly reflected when giving the Rotten Greataxe a Blood affinity.
• Fixed a bug where some attacks of the Partisan, Death Ritual Spear, and Lucerne had unexpected Physical attack scaling.
• Fixed a bug where the Nightrider Glaive did not increase the damage of horseback attacks.
• Fixed a bug where the Duelist Greataxe and Rotten Greataxe did not increase the damage of charged attacks.
• Fixed a bug where the Roar Medallion Talisman effect didn’t increase the power of some incantations. 
• Fixed a bug that reduced the power of some skills while under the Golden Vow effect.
• Fixed a bug that caused the effects the Determination and Royal Knight’s Resolve skills when casted from a left-handed weapon to be added to other skills casted with a right-handed weapon.
• Fixed a bug that reduced the critical hit power of right-handed weapons while having Determination or Royal Knight’s Resolve active on a left-handed weapon.
• Fixed a bug where status build-ups were unintentionally added to some Weapon Skills
• Fixed a bug where the power and special effects of a left-handed weapon could be added to a skill cast with a right-handed weapon.
• Fixed a bug that caused an equipped Sacrificial Twig to be consumed when a player died in the Colosseum.
• Fixed the camera positioning when respawning in the Colosseum.
• Fixed a bug where a player could receive credit for a kill in the Colosseum when dying due to the Death status effect, instead of the player who inflicted that status effect.
• Improved stability in Colosseum matchmaking.
• Fixed a bug related to level correction when an invader used the Phantom Bloody Finger.
• Fixed a bug that could cause disconnections with other players in certain locations during multiplayer.
• Improved online multiplayer stability.
• [PS4] Fixed a bug that occurred when using the Finger Severer on summoned NPCs while offline that could cause the game to crash.
• Fixed a bug related to some enemies not rendering or behaving as expected.
• Several performance improvements and other bug fixes.

It’s been over a year since Elden Ring launched and developer FromSoftware is still supporting the game with post-launch patches. This is despite the dev also reportedly being busy working on an unannounced game since 2022.

Ray tracing is sure to look a treat on PS5, though FromSoftware has noted that enabling it may impact frame rate and resolution. With the game already struggling to consistently hit 60 FPS in Performance mode, players may have to play around with the in-game settings to find a good balance between visuals and smooth performance.

While ray tracing sure is a nice visual upgrade, I imagine most players are waiting for news on the “Shadow of the Erdtree” expansion.

The post Elden Ring 1.09 Update Patch Notes Reveal PS5 Ray Tracing Support appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

How many times did players die in Elden Ring?

Players have managed to tot up more than 9 billion deaths in nearly 13 months since the game’s release. According to the death stats, over 6.2 billion were because of enemies and NPCs, while around 180 million were because of another Elden Ring player. This left approximately 1.26 billion players to fall to their death, and 1.35 billion players to die from status effects like Poison, Scarlet Rot, Blood Loss, Frostbite, Sleep, Madness, and Death Blight.

Buy Elden Ring on Amazon

There has been nearly 6 billion attempts to take down a boss in the Elden Ring. Malenia is by far the most popular of those with 329 million boss battles, with the game’s first boss Margit coming second with 281 million and Limgrave a close third with 277 million. Elsewhere, Rock Sling was the most popular spell while Blessing of the Erdtree was the most acquired incantation, perhaps as players prepare for the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree DLC.

The post Elden Ring Death Stats Revealed, Here’s How Many Times Players Died appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

When is the Elden Ring DLC predicted to be released?

The Elden Ring DLC release date will not be until the end of 2023 at the earliest. Sources told Exputer that FromSoftware is prioritizing the release of Armored Core 6 and only after this game hits retailers will the Elden Ring DLC become the next focus.

Armored Core 6 only has a 2023 release window at the moment. However, the same sources claim the game is aiming for September or October 2023, with a late September release date looking to be the most likely scenario. However, internal delays could see the game be pushed back, therefore also delaying the Elden Ring DLC.

Very little else is known about the upcoming Shadow of the Erdtree expansion aside from its title and a brief glimpse of concept art showing a land filled with ghostly shadows, mist, and ruined buildings. All of this sits in the shadow of the giant Erdtree. Hopefully, there will be more information soon.

The post Elden Ring DLC Release Date Will Be After Armored Core 6 – Report appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

Other Tekken games are planned for the future

Throughout the next financial year, “new titles in the Tekken series” are planned for release, although no further details were given on what the games may be. Having already been revealed during a PlayStation State of Play, Tekken 8 is an extremely likely candidate to be released between April 2023 and March 2024 even though it doesn’t have an official release date window yet.

There is also an anonymous joint venture with FromSoftware, which was listed separately from their Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon game that is currently scheduled for 2023. A lot of players will be hoping this is a sizeable Elden Ring expansion instead.

Finally, there will be games developed by overseas studios. These include Park Beyond from Limbic Entertainment and more games in The Dark Pictures Anthology from Supermassive Games, including Directive 8020. Of course, there’s plenty of time for more surprises too.

The post Tekken 8 Release Date Likely to Be Before April 2024 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

God of War Ragnarok and Elden Ring will duke it out in several categories

Full list of categories and nominees are as follows:

Outstanding Achievement in Animation

• Cuphead – The Delicious Last Course
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Moss: Book 2

Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Stray
• The Callisto Protocol

Outstanding Achievement in Character

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 – Alejandro Vargas
• God of War Ragnarok – Atreus
• God of War Ragnarok – Kratos
• Horizon Forbidden West – Aloy
• Return to Monkey Island – Guybrush Threepwood

Outstanding Achievement in Original Music Composition

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Metal: Hellsinger
• Moss: Book 2

Outstanding Achievement in Audio Design

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• God of War Ragnarok
• Gotham Knights
• Somerville

Outsanding Achievement in Story

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
• IMMORTALITY
• NORCO

Outstanding Technical Achievement

• A Plague Tale: Requiem
• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Teardown

Action Game of the Year

• Bayonetta 3
• Grounded
• Neon White
• Sifu
• Vampire Survivors

Adventure Game of the Year

• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• NORCO
• Stray
• TUNIC

Family Game of the Year

• Disney Dreamlight Valley
• Kirby’s Dream Buffet
• Lost in Play
• Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope
• Trombone Champ

Fighting Game of the Year

• JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: All-Star Battle R
• MultiVersus
• Rumbleverse
• SpiderHeck
• THE KING OF FIGHTERS XV

Racing Game of the Year

• F1 22
• Gran Turismo 7
• Need for Speed Unbound

Role-Playing Game of the Year

• Citizen Sleeper
• Elden Ring
• Weird West
• World of Warcraft: Dragonflight
• Xenoblade Chronicles 3

Sports Game of the Year

• EA SPORTS FIFA 23
• Mario Strikers: Battle League
• MLB The Show 22
• NBA 2k23
• OlliOlli World

Strategy/Simulation Game of the Year

• Dwarf Fortress
• IXION
• Marvel’s Midnight Suns
• Potion Craft: Alchemist Simulator
• Warhammer 40,000: CHaos Gate – Demonhunters

Immersive Reality Technical Achivement

• Among Us VR
• Cosmonious High
• Moss: Book II
• Red Matter 2
• The Last Clockwinder

Immersive Reality Game of the Year

• Cosmonious High
• Moss: Book 2
• Red Matter 2
• Tenatcular
• The Last Clockwinder

Outstanding Achievement for an Independent Game

• IMMORTALITY
• Neon White
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge
• TUNIC
• Vampire Survivors

Mobile Game of the Year

• Diablo Immortal
• Gibbon: Beyond the Trees
• IMMORTALITY
• MARVEL SNAP
• Poinpy

Online Game of the Year

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
• EA SPORTS FIFA 23
• FINAL FANTASY XIV: Endwalker
• MARVEL SNAP
• Rumbleverse

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• MARVEL SNAP
• TUNIC
• Vampire Survivors

Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• IMMORTALITY
• TUNIC

Game of the Year

• Elden Ring
• God of War Ragnarok
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Stray
• Vampire Survivors

The post God of War Ragnarok, Horizon Forbidden West Get More Nominations Than Elden Ring at D.I.C.E. 2023 appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

What’s in the One Piece Odyssey PS5 and PS4 demo?

The demo lets players get to grips with “the first part of the main game”. As such, players will start out on their journey as pirate Straw Hat Luffy and fellow members of the Straw Hat Crew as they find themselves stranded on a mysterious tropical island in the middle of the New World. Luffy finds himself separated from the others and sets out to find them while trying to discover a means to escape the island and its raging storms. The crew will meet a variety of brand-new characters created by Eiichiro Oda, including the “cheerful” Adio, and players will assume the role of several characters throughout the game.

Players will be able to transfer their One Piece Odyssey demo progress to the full game when they purchase it on PS5 or PS4. The game is due to be released on January 13, but for now, the demo can be downloaded from here.

The post One Piece Odyssey Free PS5 and PS4 Demo Now Available appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.

One Piece Odyssey demo coming January 10

Producer Katsuaki Tsuzuki appeared in a new game trailer to reveal that the One Piece Odyssey demo is launching on January 10. According to Tsuzuki, it will feature the “first 1-2 hours from the start of the main game.”

The demo will “include Luffy and his crew members landing on the mysterious island called Waford, meeting Lim and Adio at the beginning of the game giving you an introducing to this work, the purpose of the adventure and an experience of the basic game system.”

For those who play the demo and want to buy the full game, it will be possible to transfer save data from the demo to the full release. This means that players won’t have to replace the beginning twice.

It’s been 10 months since One Piece Odyssey was revealed with an announcement trailer. Fans don’t have much longer to wait!

Wondering if the previous One Piece game was any good? Check out the One Piece: Pirate Warrior 4 review for PS4 here.

The post One Piece Odyssey Demo Release Date Revealed in New Trailer appeared first on PlayStation LifeStyle.