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Catch your first glimpse of Xbox Series X gameplay next week
Hot on the heels of the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla reveal, we’ll get to see it in action on the Xbox Series X next week.
Hot on the heels of the Assassin’s Creed Valhalla reveal, we’ll get to see it in action on the Xbox Series X next week.
The Assassin’s Creed Valhalla reveal was a strange thing, wasn’t it? Following a very slow teaser – in which artist Bosslogic unveiled the game’s Nordic setting via the medium of digital painting – we’ve today been “treated” to a 15-minute long cinematic trailer.
(Expect to see more of these weird reveals as publishers reshuffle their presentation deck from what would’ve been E3 week in June.)
It’s very big and it’s very impressive – and it’s been duly noted that all the cinematics were captured in-engine, fair play – but do you know what people really want to see, Ubisoft? Gameplay.
Luckily, uncle Phil Spencer over at Xbox is here to help. Next week, Inside Xbox will be hosting a stream featuring Xbox Series X gameplay footage from a number of “global developers partners” [sic] which will include Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay, as confirmed by Ubisoft Nordic, one of 15 studios working on Valhalla.
We will be happy to reveal our first Assassin’s Creed Valhalla gameplay trailer during the First Look Xbox Series X Gameplay on Inside Xbox. Stay tuned! https://t.co/1KjtTI1FdF
— Ubisoft Nordic (@ubisoftnordic) April 30, 2020
In addition to Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, expect to see other games. Which ones, we wonder? Given Ubisoft’s participation, we might also see Watch Dogs Legion, Gods and Monsters, or Rainbow Six Quarantine. Square Enix’s Outriders is a definite possibility, and on the first-party front, we might see Hellblade 2, Everwild, and of course, Halo Infinite.
Microsoft is always keen to remind us of the backwards compatibility capability of the Xbox Series X, so perhaps we’ll see some cross-generational titles, like those Ubisoft games listed above, and maybe even Cyberpunk 2077.
Either way, we’ll see you on May 7th at 4 pm BST (11 am Eastern, 8 am Pacific) for the Xbox Series X gameplay reveal. Exciting stuff.
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New PlayStation 4 releases (June 1-5, 2020)
Here’s our guide to every new PlayStation 4 video game released on the PS Store over the next week.
Here’s our guide to every new PlayStation 4 video game released on the PS Store over the next week.
At the time of writing, there’s just a handful of new PS4 games confirmed for release. It’s not unusual for the time of year – typically E3 would only be a few weeks away – and many PS4 titles may have made way for The Last of Us Part II, which, at one point, was due last week. In any case, here’s what we know. We’ll update this page as more titles are confirmed.
Fans of retro-style platformers can look forward to going on another perilous adventure in Awesome Pea 2. It looks like another simple but lovingly crafted game from developer Sometimes You. The sublimely executed Game Boy style visuals are also very appealing.
If you miss the great outdoors, Tour de France 2020 and Pro Cycling Manager 2020 give fans of lycra and velocipedes the chance to race across France at reasonable speeds.
We were also expecting Game Freak’s Little Town Hero to be released on PS4 this week, but it seems the game has been bumped to June 23. Likewise, Rock of Ages III: Make & Break appears to have been pushed back to June 21. Again, we’ll update this page should things change.
Here’s the full list of new PlayStation Store releases for the PS4, PS VR, and PS Vita as it stands.
New PlayStation 4 releases: June 1-5, 2020
Monday, June 1, 2020
- No releases
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
- No releases
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
- Strawberry Vinegar
- Awesome Pea 2
Thursday, June 4, 2020
- Tour de France 2020
- Pro Cycling Manager 2020
Friday, June 5, 2020
- Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio
- The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle (Expansion)
Catch up with next week’s new Xbox One releases.
Bookmark the Thumbsticks new releases page for the latest games. You can also follow us on social media via Flipboard, Facebook, Google News, and Twitter.
Enjoyed this article?
Found it interesting, entertaining, useful, or informative? Maybe it even saved you some money. That's great to hear! Sadly, independent publishing is struggling worse than ever, and Thumbsticks is no exception. So please, if you can afford to, consider supporting us via Patreon or buying us a coffee.
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New Xbox One releases (June 1-5, 2020)
Here is next week’s lineup of brand new Xbox One releases. One title is quite literally awesome.
Here’s the full lowdown on next week’s lineup of brand new Xbox One video game releases. One title is quite literally awesome.
There isn’t a huge amount to be excited for on Xbox One next week, but we promised you an awesome game, so let’s talk about one.
Awesome Pea 2 is the follow-up to Sometimes You’s enjoyable 2018 retro-platformer. The original was a slight, but occasionally tricky game, starring a heroic vegetable. The sequel promises a larger serving of everything, including dungeons, enemies, and loot. The pea-souper visuals also return, beautifully recalling the dingy display of the Nintendo Game Boy.
Other new releases include Strawberry Vinegar, a quirky visual novel about making food to save your soul, and We Were Here Together, a mysterious puzzle adventure set in the wastes of Antarctica.
The latest addition to the Thumbsticks ‘Big Book of Bland Game Names’ is called Cyber Protocol. It’s a fun retro-style puzzler. Finally, the long-awaited Eco Lifestyle expansion comes to The Sims 4.
Each new release can be purchased from the Xbox One digital games store and Microsoft online store. Here’s the full lineup.
New Xbox One releases: June 1-5, 2020
Monday, June 1, 2020
- No releases
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
- No releases
Wednesday, June 3, 2020
- Strawberry Vinegar
- Depth of Extinction
- Awesome Pea 2
Thursday, June 4, 2020
- Tour de France 2020
Friday, June 5, 2020
- Tcheco in the Castle of Lucio
- Outbuddies DX
- The Sims 4: Eco Lifestyle (Expansion)
- We Were Here Together
- Rigid Force Redux
If you’re looking for some video game bargains, read our roundup of this week’s rockin’ Xbox One sales.
Bookmark the Thumbsticks new releases page for the latest games. You can also follow us on social media via Flipboard, Facebook, Google News, and Twitter.
Enjoyed this article?
Found it interesting, entertaining, useful, or informative? Maybe it even saved you some money. That's great to hear! Sadly, independent publishing is struggling worse than ever, and Thumbsticks is no exception. So please, if you can afford to, consider supporting us via Patreon or buying us a coffee.
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New Super Lucky’s Tale is coming to PS4 and Xbox One this summer
New Super Lucky’s Tale is on its way to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year.
New Super Lucky’s Tale is on its way to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year.
Playful Studios and PQube have announced that the super okay New Super Lucky’s Tale is breaking free from its Nintendo Switch bastille and will be released on Xbox One and PS4 this summer.
Pitched as a love letter to classic 3D platformers, New Super Lucky’s Tale was first released as plain old Super Lucky’s Tale in 2017, where it was an Xbox One X launch title. The revised and expanded “new” version debuted on Switch in 2019 to warm reviews and nods of moderate appreciation.
The foxy 3D adventure platformer is getting a physical and digital release on PS4 and Xbox, but there’s no news on if the game is being updated to take advantage of the increased hardware power.
You can see Lucky in action in this accolades trailer. If you own a Switch, you can also download a free demo to sample it for yourself.
Summer is a slightly vague release window, so we’ll make a prediction and see how close we end up being. Let’s lick our finger and stick it in the air… June 25, 2020? That’s our entirely random hunch.
Bookmark the Thumbsticks new releases page for weekly updates on the latest Xbox One, Switch, and PS4 games. You can also follow us on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard.
Enjoyed this article?
Found it interesting, entertaining, useful, or informative? Maybe it even saved you some money. That's great to hear! Sadly, independent publishing is struggling worse than ever, and Thumbsticks is no exception. So please, if you can afford to, consider supporting us via Patreon or buying us a coffee.
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June’s free PlayStation Plus games are War-full
Sony confirms the two free PS4 games coming to PlayStation Plus in June 2020.
Sony confirms the two free PS4 games coming to PlayStation Plus in June 2020.
June’s free PS Plus games are perfect for players who would like to shoot things, with the choice of a historical epic, of a futuristic, erm, even more historical epic.
First up is Call of Duty: WWII, the ‘boots on the ground’ FPS from Sledgehammer Games. The 2017 game is as subtle as a sledgehammer, but it’s one of our favourites from the franchise’s recent history. And it’s available to download right now.
It’s joined by the infamous Star Wars: Battlefront II, the game that caused millions of voices to cry out in terror at its microtransactions. With two-and-a-half years of changes and content updates under its belt, the game is much improved and probably the second-best Star Wars adventure of the generation.
June’s free PS Plus games are available to download from June 2 – July 6, 2020.
PlayStation Plus free games – June 2020
- Call of Duty: WWII
- Star Wars: Battlefront II
May’s PlayStation Plus games – Cities: Skylines and Farming Simulator 19 – remain available to download until next Tuesday.
Bookmark the Thumbsticks new releases page for weekly updates on the latest Xbox One, Switch, and PS4 games. You can also follow us on Facebook, Google News, Twitter, and Flipboard.
Enjoyed this article?
Found it interesting, entertaining, useful, or informative? Maybe it even saved you some money. That's great to hear! Sadly, independent publishing is struggling worse than ever, and Thumbsticks is no exception. So please, if you can afford to, consider supporting us via Patreon or buying us a coffee.
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Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is free on the Epic Games Store
Grab Borderlands: The Handsome Collection from today through Thursday on the Epic Games Store.
Grab Borderlands: The Handsome Collection from today through Thursday on the Epic Games Store.
Handsome Jack. You love him or you hate him. He has a diamond unicorn called Butt Stallion. You think that’s funny or deeply stupid. He’s a smarmy prick, with a hidden tragic backstory. That either makes him sympathetic or just a smarmy prick with a hidden tragic backstory.
How you feel about Handsome Jack will likely determine how you feel about this week’s Epic giveaway. Borderlands: The Handsome Collection includes Gearbox’s Borderlands 2 and the 2K Australia-developed spin-off, Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel. Both star the titular Hyperion President. In Borderlands 2, Jack is a villain and constant voice in your ear. Pre-Sequel, though — which, confusing title aside, is just a prequel — charts Jack’s fall from grace.
Both games are worth checking out if you haven’t already. The original Borderlands defined the loot-shooter, fusing solid FPS mechanics with RPG progression and procedurally generated loot. Borderlands 2 refined everything the first game did, expanded it, and did a significantly better job of telling a story.
Pre-Sequel transplants the action to a moon of Pandora, the lawless desert planet that served as setting for the first two games. The new environment brings new mechanics with it. The moon’s lower gravity means that gunfights and traversal have a vertical component. And, the lack of oxygen will push you between conveniently placed domes of air.
I never finished Pre-Sequel but I enjoyed the bits that I played of it. It’s a shame that 2K Australia closed shortly after its release.
The meme-y humour of Borderlands 2 and Pre-Sequel doesn’t hold up especially well (you can go ahead and use “Butt Stallion” as a litmus test for whether you’ll think it’s funny or not). But, they’re still a blast with a few friends at your side.
And, given that both are free right now, it should be pretty easy to round-up a co-op party. Here are Tom’s impressions of Borderlands 3 if you’d prefer something more current.
Enjoyed this article?
Found it interesting, entertaining, useful, or informative? Maybe it even saved you some money. That's great to hear! Sadly, independent publishing is struggling worse than ever, and Thumbsticks is no exception. So please, if you can afford to, consider supporting us via Patreon or buying us a coffee.
Recommended for you
New PlayStation 4 releases (June 1-5, 2020)
New Xbox One releases (June 1-5, 2020)
New Super Lucky’s Tale is coming to PS4 and Xbox One this summer
June’s free PlayStation Plus games are War-full
Borderlands: The Handsome Collection is free on the Epic Games Store
Save up to 95% in this week’s rockin’ Xbox One sales
11 key takeaways from The Last of Us Part II’s State of Play presentation
This week’s Nintendo Switch releases (May 25-30, 2020)
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