PlayStation VR2 Reportedly Off to an Underwhelming Start

Sony's PlayStation VR2 is reportedly off to an underwhelming start with the virtual reality headset only expected to sell 270,000 units by the end of March.

As reported by Bloomberg, the figure comes from research firm IDC and, while 270,000 is still a lot of headsets, reports last year indicated that Sony was looking to produce two million PSVR 2 units to be sold by the end of March.

Vice president of data and analytics at IDC Francisco Jeronimo told Bloomberg that Sony would need to cut the price of the PSVR 2 to stop its launch being a "complete disaster". The headset, which already sits at $549.99, is made even pricier by the additional $499.99 cost of the required PlayStation 5.

"Consumers around the world are facing rising costs of living, rising interest rates, and rising layoffs. VR headsets are not top of mind for most consumers under the current economic climate," said Jeronimo. "I suspect a price cut on the PSVR2 will be needed to avoid a complete disaster of their new product."

The headset launched on February 22 with 42 games, including headlining title Horizon: Call of the Mountain and a variety of virtual reality updates for critically acclaimed games like Gran Turismo 7 and Resident Evil Village.

In our 9/10 review, IGN said: "With top-notch visual quality and immersively tactile Sense controllers, PlayStation VR2 represents a quantum leap over its predecessor, setting a new standard for console VR gaming."

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

PlayStation Plus Games for April 2023 Announced

Sony has announced that the PlayStation Plus games for April 2023 are Meet Your Maker (PS4 and PS5), Sackboy: A Big Adventure (PS4 and PS5), and Tails of Iron (PS4 and PS5).

As revealed on the PlayStation Blog, all three games will be made available at no extra cost to PlayStation Plus subscribers on April 4.

Meet Your Maker is a post-apocalyptic, first-person building and raiding game from Dead By Daylight developer Behaviour Interactive, where every level is designed by other users. Players can team up with a friend or stay solo to build their own creations or take on others', choosing different loadouts to match each challenge.

IGN has high hopes for Meet Your Makes, which launches on PlayStation Plus day one, saying in our preview that we "only got a few days out of it, but this game is shaping up to be a truly unique entry in a genre that's just waiting for its next big thing."

Sackboy: A Big Adventure was a PlayStation 5 launch title that swapped the LittleBigPlanet series' creation tools for something more akin to a Mario game, resulting in a colourful action platformer.

In our 8/10 review, IGN said: "Sackboy: A Big Adventure is a charming LittleBigPlanet spin-off that trades its creation tools in for a more straightforward Mario structure."

Quite the opposite of Sackboy's whimsical and colourful adventure, Tails of Iron is a dark and gritty hand drawn RPG set in a grim land plagued by war. Players take on the role of Redgi, heir to the Rat Throne, on a mission to restore their broken kingdom.

These three games will be available at no extra cost until May 1, while last month's games — Battlefield 2042, Minecraft Dungeons, and Code Vein — will be leaving the service on April 3.

Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelancer and acting UK news editor. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.

Forspoken's In Tanta We Trust Expansion Announced for May

Square Enix and Luminous Productions have revealed the story expansion In Tanta We Trust will be released for Forspoken on May 26.

The DLC expansion takes place 25 years before the events of Forspoken, with Frey continuing on her quest to eradicate the Break from Athia permanently. She follows a mysterious voice and ends up being transported into the past during the Purge of the Rheddig, the battle that destroyed Athia and led to its current state in the present.

Frey will team up with Tanta Cinta as well as unlock brand-new magical abilities to fight off the invading Rheddig forces and save Athia again.

Forspoken: In Tanta We Trust launches May 26th for PS5 and PC.

Discover Athia’s past and the battle that drove the Tantas to madness, in this #Forspoken story DLC. pic.twitter.com/s1ALORDjnC

— Forspoken (@Forspoken) March 29, 2023

The DLC shows that Square Enix is still supporting Forspoken despite its underwhelming sales and the fact Luminous Productions is being folded back into Square Enix on May 1. The studio was made up of developers at Square Enix who worked on Final Fantasy 15 and was responsible for creating new projects using the Luminous Engine, the same engine utilized for Forspoken.

In IGN’s Forspoken review, we said: “Forspoken’s flashy combat and parkour can be fun, but they aren’t enough to make its cliche story and barebones open world very interesting to explore.”

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He's been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

Endless Dungeon: The Final Preview

It’s been almost a full year since I first played Endless Dungeon, successor to 2014’s roguelike tower defense game, Dungeon of the Endless, and it’s come quite a long way in that time. Whether it’s a drastically expanded roster of characters, some much-needed meta progression to make each run feel like a tiny step forward, or combat and an upgrade system that feels much more tightly tuned, so much of this exceedingly difficult defense game feels far more fleshed out. And while I only had a few hours to test my mettle against it, so far it seems like Endless Dungeon will be the roguelite evolution that fans have been waiting for.

Like Dungeon of the Endless before it, Endless Dungeon is a four-player tactical hybrid tower defense game that had me trying to escape a supernatural space station. While last year I only had two options to pick from, this time I was immediately surprised to see that the roster has grown to eight, including some of my new favorites: Fassie, a fashionable alien bartender who relies on his mixology skills whilst dungeon delving; and Comrade, a revolution-loving robot who uses his personal turrets to fight the power. Together, with a squad of friends, I dove back into Endless Dungeon’s unforgiving hallways filled with extremely rude machines and ferocious monsters.

The biggest change since I played Endless Dungeon last year is the existence of a meta progression system. Previously no progression existed, and what was planned was largely horizontal progression where new characters and items unlocked, but I couldn’t actually become more powerful except through honing my skill. But the people at Amplitude seem to have shifted that philosophy a bit. Now there were also Chips – essentially modifiers – which gradually built up my characters so they could do things like passively increase their defenses, give buffs to the Crystal Bot I was charged with protecting, or reduce the cooldown of my character’s Ultimate Skill.

Repeated failure is a hallmark of any good roguelike or roguelite, but knowing each defeat got me a little closer to giving my characters a boost here and there certainly made those losses less humbling. None of these buffs were so powerful that I could brute force my way through a level, and as roguelites go my ability to grind my way to victory was substantially lower, but I’d be lying if I said the extra help wasn’t welcome.

"Endless Dungeon remains a brutally difficult gauntlet."

That’s because Endless Dungeon remains a brutally difficult gauntlet that proved incredibly challenging even with several of Amplitude’s own developers as my crewmates. Enemies were relentless and came at me from every angle, and very careful planning, resource management, and communication was required to keep the enemy at bay. This wasn’t my first time in these cutthroat hallways, so I fared much better than a year ago, but clearly merciless difficulty remains a central focus, and as someone who enjoys a good challenge, that was nice to see.

Luckily, Endless Dungeon gave me more upgrades and ways to beef up my character mid-run than was possible in the last preview build, as a whole slew of interesting weapons were now common loot drops to give me an edge in battle. In one run, I found a flamethrower capable of making quick work of giant, fire-averse bugs, while in another I found a laser cannon capable of ripping through robotic foes. On the spot upgrades to my character’s stats, like one perk that gave my turret-loving Comrade an extra toy to leave behind on the battlefield, were especially useful.

Where Endless Dungeon originally had my interest, the version I played more recently has my attention. Here’s hoping I can overcome its formidable corridors when it’s released later this year.

Bloober Team Clarifies Release Status About Silent Hill 2

Bloober Team has come out and clarified rumors surrounding the Silent Hill 2 remake release status, as well as some inaccurate translations and out-of-context statements. This comes after Bloober Team president Pitor Babieno gave an interview with the Polish site Bankier.pl last week, reportedly saying that the game was “technically ready.”

“As the Bloober Team, we don’t comment on rumors. However, this time we need to take the floor, as some recent statements have been taken out of context, due to inaccurate translations,” the developer said in a statement on Twitter. “Our company’s messages did not contain sales forecasters of specific titles. The figures connected to Silent Hill 2 refer to the potential success of the type of games we will be focusing on in the future.”

pic.twitter.com/OeMPmvOMjk

— Bloober Team (@BlooberTeam) March 28, 2023

Bloober Team continued: “It is also not true that we have announced that Silent Hill 2 is ready for release. Regardless of the development stage, all of our activities are focused on obtaining the highest quality for the finished product—the quality that fans of Silent Hill 2 deserve. We are aware that players are waiting for more information about Silent Hill 2. As soon as such information becomes available, we are sure that Konami, the publisher for the game, will share it with fans.”

According to the interview, Babieno reportedly said that the Silent Hill 2 remake was close to being finished, as well as the game’s release schedule and promotion, were dependent on other partners like Konami.

Now, the studio has issued a statement clarifying the situation. First revealed in October 2022 during a State of Play presentation, there hasn’t been a release date or window confirmed for the remake of Silent Hill 2 just yet. The game will launch for PC and as a timed-console exclusivity for PlayStation 5.

George Yang is a freelance writer for IGN. He's been writing about the industry since 2019 and has worked with other publications such as Insider, Kotaku, NPR, and Variety.

When not writing about video games, George is playing video games. What a surprise! You can follow him on Twitter @Yinyangfooey

Donnie Yen Calls Out Tarantino Over 'Cartoonish' Depiction of Bruce Lee

Donnie Yen had some things to say about how Quentin Tarantino handled Bruce Lee's portrayal in one of his movies — and they were not pretty.

The John Wick: Chapter 4 star commented in a recent interview with Variety about the late martial arts master's portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in which he was painted as a pompous actor on set. Lee was played by Mike Moh in the 2019 film.

"Everyone is entitled to their opinions. Quentin Tarantino is a renowned filmmaker, and he is entitled to his status — and I'm entitled to state my own view," Yen said. "Obviously, he was making fun of Bruce. It was cartoonish."

Back in 2021, Lee's daughter Shannon Lee spoke out on her father's controversial portrayal following Tarantino's guest appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience to promote the novelization of the film, saying she was extremely fed up with how Tarantino and other white male directors treated him when he was alive.

She went so far as to write a guest column for The Hollywood Reporter about the director's comments regarding the criticism he received over his caricature of Lee in the film — specifically the scene in which stuntman Cliff Booth (played by Brad Pitt) knocked him out over claims he could beat Muhammad Ali in a fight — saying it was "inaccurate and unnecessary."

"And while I am grateful that Mr. Tarantino has so generously acknowledged to Joe Rogan that I may have my feelings about his portrayal of my father, I am also grateful for the opportunity to express this: I’m really f****** tired of white men in Hollywood trying to tell me who Bruce Lee was," she wrote at the time.

Two years before her column was published, Shannon filed a complaint to the China Film Administration to alter her father's portrayal in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood prior to its release in the country. China ultimately pulled the film's originally planned Oct. 25, 2019 release after Tarantino refused to remove the scene.

Cristina Alexander is a freelance writer for IGN. She has contributed her work to various publications, including Digital Trends, TheGamer, Twinfinite, Mega Visions, and The Escapist. To paraphrase Calvin Harris, she wears her love for Sonic the Hedgehog on her sleeve like a big deal. Follow her on Twitter @SonicPrincess15.

10 Awesome Details We Saw From the Tears of the Kingdom Gameplay

After years of nothing but teaser trailers, Nintendo has finally blown the doors open with a 13-minute The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay showcase. The Breath of the Wild sequel is out in just a month and a half, and many Nintendo fans have been surprised at just how little we've seen of what's set to be one of 2023's biggest games.

Thanks to today's gameplay showcase, we can put some of our questions to rest. Zelda series producer Eiji Aonuma showed off a quartet of key new abilities for Link, including the new Fuse mechanic which easily stole the show. We also saw an expanded demo of the vehicles teased in the most recent trailer, as well as gameplay of Tears of the Kingdom's newly-dubbed Sky Islands.

Here are the biggest gameplay reveals from today's Tears of the Kingdom showcase, as well as a few secrets Nintendo quietly snuck into the footage.

Weapon Durability Is Back

Breath of the Wild's most controversial feature was weapon durability, where Link's swords, shields, and bows would permanently break after too much use. Aonuma wasted no time in confirming the mechanic's return, as Link's Tree Branch quickly snapped while fighting the first enemy Link encountered in the gameplay footage. It seems players will once again have to accept that nothing is permanent in the world of Hyrule. Fortunately, there's a brand new mechanic that could prolong the life of some of your favorite tools, which we'll get into next.

Fusion Frenzy

Link has four brand new abilities in Tears of the Kingdom. While Bombs, Magnesis, Stasis, and Cryonis were nowhere to be seen today, Link's mysterious new corrupted arm appears to be the host for Tears of the Kingdom's new mechanics.

The power that the internet can't stop talking about today is the new Fuse ability. This allows Link to combine different objects together to create brand new combinations. The first example of Fuse was combining a rock with a Tree Branch to create a makeshift hammer that has improved durability compared to the Tree Branch on its own. This seems to be the primary way to improve the durability of your weapons to keep your favorites in your inventory longer. It's all very Nintendo in the best way — what's the Zelda team's solution to the controversial durability mechanic? Just slap a rock on it. Genius.

Other Fuse examples shown include attaching a Keese Eyeball to an arrow to give it homing powers, using White Chuchu Jelly to give arrows freezing properties, adding a Puffshroom to a shield to create a smokescreen effect, and attaching a stick to a pitchfork to create a comically long weapon. The possibilities appear endless, and Fuse seems to be the main expansion to Breath of the Wild's already-impressive sandbox. The Fuse mechanic may partially explain why Tears of the Kingdom has been in development for so long — just thinking of the testing required is a daunting task.

New Material Menu

To facilitate the new Fuse mechanic, Nintendo has introduced a new material menu shortcut. In Breath of the Wild, players had to navigate through the pause menu to access the materials they'd gathered. But now, holding up on the D-pad will open the material menu, which appears to function similarly to the returning weapon and shield shortcuts. The new arm mechanics are assigned to the L button, but we didn't see what it looks like to swap between which one you have equipped.

Ultrahand Is Link's Power Glove

Next up in Link's fresh arsenal is the Ultrahand ability — which is a fun nod to Nintendo history. For Link's purposes, the Ultrahand allows him to lift objects in the world, similar to Magnesis. Although this is a powered-up version of the BotW ability, as it's no longer restricted to exclusively metal objects.

Aonuma used Ultrahand to construct a boat that allowed Link to sail across a river with ease. This is the main way Link will build the vehicles seen in Tears of the Kingdom's latest trailer. And just like Breath of the Wild's stellar emergent gameplay, Ultrahand can go as far as your imagination takes you.

The Ultrahand segment is where Nintendo hid a small tease for what could be in store for Tears of the Kingdom. Eagle-eyed fans on Reddit quickly noticed that the big platforms in the background of the Ultrahand demonstration were also eligible for Link to grab. This implies Link can rearrange parts of the Sky Islands in ways we haven't yet seen.

Recall Is Tears of the Kingdom's Take on Time Travel

The Zelda series often plays with time travel, but the mechanic was absent from Breath of the Wild. Tears of the Kingdom is introducing a clever new take on time manipulation in the form of the new Recall ability. This allows Link to rewind the timeline of an object. In the gameplay demonstration, Recall was used to rewind a fallen rock back into the air to reach the Sky Islands. Traversal is just one possibility for Recall, as a previous Tears of the Kingdom trailer showed Link rewinding a spiky ball back up a hill to take out a line of enemies.

Ascend Is a Way to Avoid Climbing

The final main mechanic shown is called Ascend. This one was also previously teased, but we now know that Link can use it to move through any ceiling to advance to the floor above. There will be some limitations, but Aonuma said, "As long as there's a ceiling, you can use it anywhere". In many cases, Ascend's presence means climbing could be a thing of the past, which could help to give Tears of the Kingdom a unique identity from Breath of the Wild given the predecessor's heavy emphasis on climbing and stamina.

Goodbye Sheikah, Hello Zonai?

The Sheikah's presence appears to be entirely missing from Tears of the Kingdom so far. Shrines are nowhere to be seen, the Sheikah Slate has been seemingly replaced with Link's green arm, and the newly-revealed Constructs appear to take the role of Guardians.

While fans have been speculating that the ancient Zonai tribe will take the spotlight in Tears of the Kingdom, a brief clip today essentially confirmed it. Upon defeating the new Construct enemy on the Sky Island, Link looted a dropped Zonai Charge material. This implies that the new Construct is Zonai in origin, and the shared green color between the material and Link's arm likely means this story will revolve around the ancient tribe.

The Zonai are an ancient, unseen tribe in Breath of the Wild. Little is known about them so far, but through locations like the Zonai Ruins, and the Barbarian armor set, it's clear they used to have a big presence in Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom's Hyrule.

There Are Peaceful Constructs, Too

Basically the entire demo took place on one of Tears of the Kingdom's many Sky Islands, the floating land masses above Hyrule. These areas are where the Constructs reside, and while Link fought multiple hostile Constructs in the demo, there appear to be peaceful Constructs, as well. At 9:05 in the gameplay video, Link walks by a lizard-like Ranger Construct that is minding its own business. Its name appears above its head as if Link could stop and talk to it, rather than fight it. If you keep an eye on the minimap, you'll catch Breath of the Wild's shop icon on the Sky Island, meaning there may be some Construct merchants to interact with as well.

Mysterious UI Icons and X, Y, Z Coordinates

Speaking of icons, there are several mysterious symbols on the minimap throughout the demo. If you glance at the minimap at that same 9:05 mark, you'll see a Battery icon that resembles the meter shown for the fan, a blue icon that resembles the Shrine fast travel symbol from Breath of the Wild, and several brown, tunnel-like markers that can be checked off. It's clear that there are objectives on the Sky Islands Nintendo isn't talking about just yet. Another handy new feature is the presence of X, Y, and Z coordinates on the minimap, which will no-doubt make sharing discoveries (and reading guides) a heck of a lot easier.

New Glowing Towers on the Surface

Many longtime Zelda fans (myself included) are still crossing their fingers for the inclusion of classic Zelda dungeons. While this gameplay demo didn't confirm anything of that nature, there are definitely some mysterious man-made structures that we don't have answers for just yet. On the surface of Hyrule, you can see glowing towers that differ in design from Breath of the Wild's Sheikah towers. These are spread throughout Hyrule, and we don't know what purpose they serve yet. It's possible they could just be used to uncover the map again, but it's also possible these could be the dungeon-like experiences we're hoping for.

There are surely dozens of more secrets waiting to be uncovered in this meaty gameplay chunk, but it's clear that Tears of the Kingdom is doubling down on the sandbox structure that made Breath of the Wild a hit. It won't be long until we're exploring this redesigned Hyrule for ourselves when Tears of the Kingdom launches on May 12. For more, check out the newly-revealed Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED model.

IGN Buyers Guide: Preorder Tears of the Kingdom Switch OLED Model - See at Best Buy

Logan Plant is a freelance writer for IGN covering video game and entertainment news. He has over six years of experience in the gaming industry with bylines at IGN, Nintendo Wire, Switch Player Magazine, and Lifewire. Find him on Twitter @LoganJPlant.