Dark Souls 2 Fan Shows Off Incredible Paintings of Majula

The Dark Souls games are famous for being extremely difficult dark fantasy RPGs which keep players coming back for more due to their unique brand of atmosphere and storytelling. The Dark Souls series sees players slowly and carefully exploring a dark medieval world with a heavy and oppressive atmosphere. However, each game also contains a safe haven where the player can let their guard down. Dark Souls 1 and 3 both have Firelink Shrines, and Dark Souls 2 has the peaceful abandoned village of Majula.

The first Dark Souls game was praised for its Metroidvania style world, which loops back on itself and allows multiple shortcuts to be opened between different areas. In Dark Souls 2, however, the coastal village of Majula acts as a hub area which leads to all the other areas of the game. Majula is also the only place that players can level up, and so throughout an average playthrough of the game, players will have possibly passed through Majula hundreds of times.

Dark Souls 2 is a polarizing game in the series among Dark Souls fans, but despite this, its players still have fond memories of Majula as the only point of safety in the game's otherwise oppressive world. Over the course of the game, many of the NPCs that the player encounters will also relocate to Majula, which lends a kind of communal feeling to the area. Now a talented artist on Reddit named ArtbyAEB has shared two incredible paintings which perfectly capture the peaceful atmosphere of Majula in Dark Souls 2.

ArtbyAEB’s paintings show Majula from two different locations and angles, both of which will be recognizable to players of Dark Souls 2. But both of the Reddit user’s paintings are focused on the same point, which is the monument built on the cliffs overlooking the coast and which can be used in-game to check the total death count for Dark Souls 2 players. ArtbyAEB’s paintings perfectly capture the calming sanctuary of Dark Souls 2's Majula and its permanent golden hour sunset.

A look at the Reddit user’s Instagram account, named artbya.e.b, reveals that not only are they extremely talented, but they are also very proficient in creating art inspired by the Dark Souls series, with many more paintings of locations like Ash Lake from Dark Souls and characters like the Soul of Cinder from Dark Souls 3. ArtbyAEB has also painted scenes based on other FromSoftware titles such as Bloodborne and Elden Ring.

The Dark Souls series' unique visual designs have inspired countless artists to recreate areas or characters from the games. But for such a difficult series full of horrifying designs, it is surprising how many artists choose to capture the rarer peaceful moments from the Dark Souls games instead.

Fall Guys Fan Makes Working Controller That Looks Like One of The Game’s Beans

Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout is one of the most popular party games in recent times. Players compete in rounds featured on stages comprised of different obstacles as they try to be the last one standing. The game has gained a lot of popularity, to the point that there is now a version of Monopoly based off of Fall Guys.

One of the most memorable aspects about Fall Guys are the characters that gamers play as, which have been dubbed "Beans." Players can customize the Fall Guys Beans in a variety of different outfits in order to stand out from the crowds every round, winning crowns in their own style. The characters have become a part of video game pop culture for their cute and simple aesthetic.

A modder known as Rudeism made a special controller shaped like one of Fall Guys' Beans, and a short video on Twitter shows the process of making a controller that looks like one of the iconic characters. The clip features Rudeism explaining step-by-step how they constructed the game pad, which started with creating the buttons necessary to play Fall Guys. The controller has seven buttons and two joysticks, which are housed in a hollow Bean and are accessible from the back. The controller is green and stands in a permanent T-pose, with the character's face displayed on the front.

A commenter stated that the controller looks uncomfortable to use, while another asked if it was sturdy enough to slap other gamers with while playing Fall Guys. Many tweeted that they would like to have one as they do like the look of it, with a few asking where they can purchase it. Despite the controller being quite bulky, it is a nice collectable that would look good in any gamer's collection.

Fall Guys recently changed to a free-to-play model, as well as finally releasing on Switch and Xbox consoles. While there were some issues with servers when the game switched to free-to-play, Fall Guys reached over 20 million players within 48 hours of the change. The fact that the game came to new consoles likely contributed to it reaching the milestone, though developer Mediatonic did not share which systems had the most players. While some were worried that Fall Guys' quality would drop when it moved to being free, there have been no noticeable drops in its stylish gameplay so far. The competitive platformer seems to be holding on, but only time will tell at this point.

Cyberpunk 2077 Mod Reinstates E3 2018 Visuals

Often, during the development cycle, games will go through changes between showcased demos and the final release. One example of this is Dying Light 2's changes from its E3 demo to the retail version. The first Watch Dogs game is perhaps one of the most classic examples of this, and Cyberpunk 2077 seems to be no exception, either. Given this, someone has managed to create a mod for the latter, which attempts to re-implement the visuals that were present in the game when it was shown off in 2018.

A user going by the name Kratoes, with the contributions of other modders, has created an add-on for Cyberpunk 2077 that is simply called "E3 2018 LM," and screenshots of the mod in action appear to show a gloomier version of the game. The purpose of the add-on, according to the description on Nexus Mods, is to bring the game's graphics more in-line with the way they were for the E3 demonstration. However, users are warned that this add-on is not compatible with any mods that affect the weather or the game's general lighting.

According to one fan in 2021, there are some differences between the E3 version of Cyberpunk 2077 and the final game. Some of these changes include the removal of a vehicle's windshield HUD, while one user has suggested that the game's opening prologue was shortened for the retail release. Another alteration shows that the E3 demo has NPCs using elevators. However, it's been theorized that this was removed for the final version as it could impact the player's ability to use elevators quickly if other characters are using them. In general, there have been numerous changes between the 2018 demo and what finally hit shelves and digital storefronts at the end of 2020.

While the game's developer has been criticized for its poor handling of the initial release, new findings came to light recently which may absolve the company somewhat. A QA report shows that CD Projekt Red may have been lied to about Cyberpunk 2077's bugs. The company responsible for quality assurance, Quantic Lab, may have kept the studio in the dark about the issues that were plaguing the game. The report suggests that CDPR was truly not aware of just how much of a mess the game was prior to release.

However, the damage was still done on that fateful day in December 2020. Despite the work that's gone into making it more stable and less buggy, Cyberpunk 2077 is still considered to have had one of the most disastrous launches in video game history. Things are definitely much better now, but CDPR's reputation, even if improved with this new report, is still in tatters for some gamers at the moment.

Tencent Patents System for Converting 2D Video Into a 'Three-Dimensional Format'

Tencent has come a long way since its first appearance in the gaming industry, and the conglomerate now commands an impressive array of products, developers, IPs, and trademarks. An established presence in just about every gaming niche, the company doesn't seem to be afraid of experimentation in any way, shape, or form.

It's not too strange, then, to see Tencent attempting to trademark an interesting new way of experiencing so-called "immersive media," which references video games, news reports, episodic content, and more. The company's latest submitted patent describes using artificial intelligence to convert these media formats from 2D to 3D and then streaming it to the requesting end-user.

Whereas the majority of gaming company patents are generally relatively tame, such as Valve's patent to improve content recommendation pipelines using specialized techniques and processes, Tencent has its sights set on something a bit flashier this time around. Its 2D conversion patent describes the use of a dedicated neural network to ingest baseline media and then translate it into fully fledged volumetric 3D. It is implied that this process wouldn't necessarily take place locally, but may rely on various networking and streaming implementations to drive its AI.

In many ways, the patent is reminiscent of Sony's older PlayStation streaming patent, in that it generates a new way of experiencing existing content on the fly. Tencent's new patent is admittedly significantly more exotic and even goes so far as to reference various fledgling and/or unrealized technologies, too. For example, there are mentions of holographic displays, dense light field displays, and lenticular light field displays, which this patent would - according to Tencent - enable and support.

For what it's worth, this may well be little more than Tencent paving the way for potential future developments. Even though the patent claims it could be put to work using existing tech, and could perhaps even be used to develop weird augmented reality games, the question remains whether currently available AI could properly translate legacy 2D content into proper 3D experiences. That may change in the coming years, however, and may be the eventuality that Tencent is preparing for.

Of course, the company has plenty of other trademarks and patents pending alongside this one, most of which seem immediately more practical and feasible. For example, Tencent recently filed a new IP trademark, which seems to be a live-service title of some sort. The so-called Origin of the Wild game may be Tencent's mysterious AAA production, and if that's the case, it's bound to be more relevant in the here and now than any hypothetical content conversion algorithm.

The Quarry Online Multiplayer Delay Was Due to Russian Invasion of Ukraine

The Quarry developer Supermassive Games reveals the reason behind the recent delay of the narrative game’s online multiplayer mode.

The Quarry, Supermassive Games’ latest interactive narrative-driven title, released on June 10 and gave players the chance to once again control a cast of teenagers who find themselves in a dire and life-threatening situation. So far, The Quarry has received predominantly positive reviews from critics, while user scores on Metacritic reflect a slightly less enthused player base.

For the most part, players seemed to enjoy the campy horror flick atmosphere of The Quarry, as well as the game’s graphics, replayability, and character development. Some of the primary complaints have been the AAA price tag for a relatively short experience, as The Quarry can be beaten in about 10 hours; the relatively safe story that doesn’t stray too far from standard; and, for some, the lack of an online multiplayer mode.

While couch co-op was available upon release, allowing players to pass a controller around for a shared experience, The Quarry’s online multiplayer mode was delayed and given an early July release date. In a recent IGN interview, Supermassive revealed that the postponement was due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. Part of the studio’s development team was based in Ukraine, said Creative Director Will Byles, “so we had to delay the multiplayer because they had to move.” In fact, for safety reasons, the entire server had to be relocated from Kyiv, Ukraine, to Warsaw, Poland. Therefore, although the multiplayer mode is completely finished, it still requires a few weeks of testing to make sure everything is working properly.

The online multiplayer mode in The Quarry allows up to eight people to play together, with one person serving as host. The seven other players are primarily spectators and vote on critical decisions. A third game mode, Movie Mode, lets people sit back and watch events in The Quarry play out as if it really were a film, with pre-selected outcomes.

While some people will strive to get everyone killed and see the game’s worst possible ending, others will find it just as challenging to make it through to the end with all characters alive. This is where The Quarry’s new Death Rewind feature comes in, which gives players up to three chances to try again if a character dies during the game.

One of the strong points, and something that players have praised in reviews, are the many branching paths in the game, which give a lot of options for multiple playthroughs. Supermassive has stated that there are nearly 200 endings in The Quarry, as well as a number of collectibles like tarot cards and story-related clues. This means that there should be plenty to keep players busy while they wait for the game's online multiplayer mode to be released.

Warhammer 40K: Darktide Gets First Gameplay Reveal

Warhammer 40K: Darktide is the latest co-op horde action game from Vermintide and Vermintide 2 developer Fatshark. The upcoming game has seen multiple delays, as initially Darktide was set to release in 2021. However, due to development issues and constraints caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the game was pushed to a September 2022 release date, something that Fatshark only revealed in April. Confusingly, the new date was announced on April 1, causing quite the confusion among Darktide's fan base.

With Darktide's release date approaching, Fatshark has begun to roll out more trailers and teases for the game. Darktide's story trailer gave fans a closer look into the Chaos-infested Hiveworld of Warhammer 40K that the players will have to fight through, with extra "Vox Transmissions" giving new details on the game's lore piece by piece. A magazine interview with Fatshark also revealed that there will be a new class coming to Darktide, as well as how the game will implement some live-service elements. Now, fans have gotten a proper look at Darktide gameplay, something they've been wanting for a while.

The new Darktide trailer only runs about two minutes long, but that is enough for fans to get a general sense of how the game and new missions will work. What might be the most obvious change from Fatshark's previous Warhammer horde game Vermintide is that the missions follow a more complex structure than just having the players go to a certain place and wipe out enemies or caputre and destroy certain objectives. It seems that puzzles and minigames will feature in Darktide, using the advanced technology of Warhammer 40K to give players something to do besides killing Chaos worshippers.

The action and combat are of course where Darktide wants to excel, and it seems from the gameplay shown in the trailer that Fatshark has kept much of what made Vermintide and its sequel so successful. There are even re-used enemy attack animations from Vermintide 2, which drew criticism from some of the fan base. Also, it seems that many of the classes in Darktide will have similarities with the playable classes in Warhammer Vermintide, including ultimate abilities that can either help to bring down a particularly strong enemy or rapidly wipe away waves of foes.

While there appear to be similarities between Darktide and Fatshark's other successful Warhammer games, there are plenty of differences to make the newest game stand out, such as the new character creation feature. Previously, each class in Vermintide was tied to a certain character, and in Darktide players will be able to make whatever character they want, complete with a new set of pre-recorded voices to choose from. Some showed concern that this new feature would result in a lack of character banter, but Fatshark was quick to calm those fears in a developer blog where it stated that Warhammer 40K: Darktide will have thousands of voice lines for its characters.

Heartbreaking Red Dead Online Screenshot Shows Lawman Grieving Over Dead Horse

Red Dead Redemption 2’s horses are some of the most complex pieces of design found in video games. They one of the game’s many highly detailed animals, with mannerisms and quirks that reflect their real-life counterparts. Horses are also a core gameplay mechanic, as they serve as the player’s primary mode of transport around the massive game world. A huge amount of effort was put into making Red Dead Redemption 2’s horses look realistic in their movements.

Unfortunately, horses still act realistically even when one of Red Dead Redemption 2’s many gunfights break out, and so stray bullets can often catch an enemy's wandering horse. Rockstar's RAGE engine attributes realistic weight and momentum to the game’s horses, so when they do go down while running it can often be spectacularly hard, with both the horse and rider getting sprawled out on the ground.

This is exactly what happened to a Reddit user named soggymaggots after they accidently shot a lawman’s horse only to watch them both land in a curious pose on the ground. The lawman appears to be grieving over the dead horse while lying on the ground and holding its head in his hands. The dramatic nature of the pose calls to mind the tragic heartbreaking endings that cinematic games like Red Dead Redemption are known to have, but really the pair were likely one of 20 generic enemies killed during any given mission in Red Dead Online.

Players will sympathize with the tragic scene, however, since the player’s bond with their own horse is a stat that is tracked in Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online. Feeding the horse, cleaning it, and petting it will all increase the horse's bond level with the player, and so players will often become very attached to their horses. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a vast game, and it is designed to instill a sense of artificial isolation in the player as they explore the less populated areas of the map. This can leave the player's horse as their only companion for many in-game days at a time.

Gaming has produced many iconic pop culture horses such as Epona from The Legend of Zelda series. But while Red Dead Redemption 2’s horses are perhaps equally memorable, they are also far more unique to each player. This is because players will often choose and name their own horse from the wide variety available in the game and stick with that horse for the entire story.

Each member of the Van der Linde gang from Red Dead Redemption 2 has their own horse with its own name and mannerisms that are reflective of its rider. It is revealed in some subtle dialogue that the player character, Arthur Morgan, also had his own loyal horse that was killed in the events immediately preceding the game's story. This was likely done to allow the player the freedom to choose the style of horse they thought best suited Arthur.

Resident Evil Village Online Demo Uses Stadia Tech

Resident Evil Village, Capcom’s eighth entry in the highly successful survival horror franchise, launched in May 2021 to critical and player acclaim. Coming out four years after Resident Evil 7: Biohazard, which launched the new era of RE games fans are enjoying right now, Resident Evil Village became the fastest selling game in the series. In only a year, 5.7 million units were sold, which makes it hard to believe that there are still many gamers who haven’t played the action-packed title.

After the game’s launch anniversary passed without a peep from Capcom about any DLC, many fans looked hopefully toward Sony’s State of Play event on June 2 for news, to no avail. Instead, they got two things just as good: the announcements of a Resident Evil Village VR port and a remake of Resident Evil 4 due for release on March 23, 2023. Capcom already confirmed in 2021 that RE Village would be getting DLC; it’s just a question of when. Perhaps anticipation for the RE4 remake will hold fans over until more definitive DLC news is announced.

Possibly to keep up the hype for its upcoming RE projects, Capcom has made available a free demo of Resident Evil Village for those who haven’t yet begun the story of protagonist Ethan Winters. Using licensed Stadia technology, the demo can be streamed directly in Chrome and Safari (on iOS only) at up to 1080p resolution, without the need for a powerful gaming PC or console. And since it plays in a web browser, some people will even be able to try the demo on Android and iOS devices, as long as their phone or tablet can handle high-definition video. Whatever the platform, a download speed of at least 10Mbps is recommended to fully enjoy the demo.

The online streaming version of the Resident Evil Village demo is identical to the one available on other platforms, but the time limit has been removed and it can be played as many times as desired. And bonus, the demo is compatible with both the DualShock 4 and Xbox One controllers, as well as mouse and keyboard.

While waiting for news of Village DLC, fans of the franchise will be able to learn more about Resident Evil 4 Remake at the Capcom Showcase that takes place on June 13. Other than the tantalizing trailer shown at Sony’s State of Play, not much is known about the game, though that hasn’t stopped speculation. Some people noticed that in Capcom's press release, the company referred to RE4 as being “reawakened” rather than a “remake,” but it’s not quite clear what that means. Others have observed that the symbol seen in the reveal trailer seems to hint at a connection to Resident Evil Village, though only time will tell if that theory is on the right track.

Elden Ring Players Turn Into Carts, Race in Mine

Elden Ring and cart racing might just be the last things that one would expect to see in the same sentence, but sure enough, the game’s fan base has found a way to make it happen. A group of Elden Ring players has shared a video that sees them transforming into mine carts and racing through part of the Lands Between.

To do this, no mods were required, as the Redditors instead used the Mimic Veil. This Elden Ring tool allows players to disguise themselves as an item found in their surrounding area, and it usually gets a lot of use in co-op play. For instance, plenty of fun Elden Ring invasions have seen a Mimic Veil used, essentially turning the invasion into a match of Prop Hunt. For a group of friends that are trying to goof off and have a fun time, though, the Mimic Veil can prove just as entertaining.

The clip in question comes from Reddit user and Elden Ring player bsmiff, and as soon as it begins viewers will likely find it hard to hold in a laugh. Seeing four mine carts follow each other down some stairs is hilarious, and while mines are usually full of enemies and smithing stones to upgrade Elden Ring’s weapons, this particular mine became a racecourse for this group of players. The clip only becomes more entertaining as the brief race continues.

After making it to the bottom of the steps, the group of players crosses one of the thin wooden beams found within certain Elden Ring mines. Normally, players will take it slow on these walkways, wanting to avoid a misstep. With a race in progress, though, these four players have no time to slow down. After speeding to the other side, bsmiff ascends another staircase and reaches the end of the track, falling off the wooden platform to their death - and seemingly winning the race in the progress.

While the clip would have been funny enough on its own, the reference to the Mario Kart series with the title Elden Ring Kart made it even better. The appropriate choice of music was another major highlight, as it suited the lighthearted tone of the video perfectly. While the Lands Between usually pushes players to encounter some terrifying threats, it is fun to see some fans having fun with the game’s mechanics. As such, the footage deserves the 5,500 upvotes it has received thus far.

There have been plenty of memorable co-op moments in Elden Ring already, and there will likely be many more as time goes on. Next time players get the chance, transforming into a mine cart and having a race could prove to be a nice break from the game's usual challenges.

How Fable on Xbox Series X Could Avoid Starfield's Mistake

Microsoft has a ton of first-party games in the pipeline for the Xbox Series X, but few are currently actionable. That’s where many Xbox fans are currently upset, as promises mean little if there are no games to support them. Sure, Avowed, Fable, Starfield, Elder Scrolls, and plenty more sound promising, but each game is some time away. As it stands, there’s no big Microsoft first-party game releasing on Xbox One or Xbox Series X this fall.

This could change. Microsoft could come out at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase ready to play, revealing a new game or one game to be further in development than previously thought. Many are hoping that it has something to replace Starfield’s delay, but it may not be able to, not to the same level. Everything is on the horizon. Some want it to be Avowed, but those expectations are unreliable.

What’s most important now is not that Microsoft releases a game in lieu of Starfield, but that Microsoft, Bethesda, and all companies under its banner approach big announcements more carefully. It's ultimately important that all Microsoft RPGs like Fable use this as a lesson.

Starfield’s Delay is a Lesson for Fable, Avowed, and More

Scalebound is a moment in Microsoft’s history that should never be forgotten; it’s a game that many want Microsoft and Platinum to someday continue. But the long and short of it is that the game was shown off quite a few times, major announcements were made, tons of hype was built, and it was unfortunately canceled. Phil Spencer commented on the Scalebound cancellation before, saying Microsoft would be more careful about news, reveals, and more from thereon.

To be fair, that’s largely true. But Starfield came out bold, and as the recent delay proves, it was too bold. If Microsoft had no game to release this fall, that would be disappointing. The fact that many thought it did makes the disappointment worse. Starfield hasn’t shown gameplay or much still, and while many chalked this up to Bethesda’s tendency to properly reveal a game just months ahead of release, it may have been a bigger problem now in hindsight. It led with a cinematic trailer and a release date, and release dates aren’t usually one of the first big announcements.

Sure, the release date was November 11, and that would be special to Skyrim, Starfield, and Bethesda overall. But it was too bold of an announcement in hindsight. Now, Starfield is still likely to be at the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase, but it’s better to think of this as a more traditional trailer and reveal with a bigger news cycle on the horizon instead of a pre-release showing.

Fable Should Not Make Bold Moves

This isn’t to say that Fable or any Xbox Series X RPG shouldn’t take risks, but it should make smart announcements. To lead with Starfield’s release date, in hindsight, was a mistake. To do so with Fable, or any other large announcement for that matter, would repeat this mistake. Maintaining hype ahead of releases is hard, but Microsoft’s future is promising.

Microsoft’s future is coming, however slowly. Fable and all Microsoft games should keep in mind this isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. Once, and only once Playground Games is confident in its release date and ready to show Fable should it. Once everything like Fable and Microsoft’s other acquisitions start rolling out games, bolder announcements would be less damaging, but it should make smart moves, not bold ones, in the meantime.