Welcome to another week of Five of the Best, a series where we celebrate the overlooked parts of video games, like hands! And potions! And dinosaurs! And shops! They're the kinds of things etched unwittingly into memory, like an essential ingredient of a favourite dish you could never put a finger on. And I want to spark discussion, so please share memories as they flash into your mind. Today, another five. The topic...
Health pick-ups! Oh how very specific - but I need to be. I'm not talking about health systems but the things you pick up to heal yourself. Used to be all games did it this way, but then Halo came along with its recharging health and all of a sudden everyone wanted the same. Now that feels like the norm.
But there are old-fashioned health systems out there (and they'll probably take offence at being called old-fashioned, so I'm sorry, I don't mean it in a bad way!). I still see Overwatch health packs when I close my eyes at night, and potions, which I've written a whole Five of the Best on, are a dime a dozen in RPGs. They're still out there, still crucial to how we get through games.
The Double-A Team is a newish feature series honouring the unpretentious, mid-budget, gimmicky commercial action games that no-one seems to make any more.
Last week, we took to the skies with Dark Void. Today we're exploring Shadowrun. Not that one. The other one.
(Oh, and we have an archive of the existing Double-A Team pieces now. Enjoy!)
Celeste's long-awaited free DLC update, titled Chapter 9: Farewell, finally has a release date! It'll be launching on all platforms (although there's apparently potential for slippage on Xbox One) next Monday, 9th September.
Celeste's free DLC update was initially unveiled last December, when creator Matt Thorson revealed that the team would be releasing a set of "very hard" new levels in early 2019 to celebrate the critically acclaimed platformer having sold 500,000 copies.
Chapter 9: Farewell, which obviously now arrives somewhat later than expected, is a fresh story chapter containing more than 100 new levels (making for over 800 in total, if you're keeping track), incorporating a selection of new mechanics. There are no B- or C-Sides this time around, but it does bring 40 minutes of brand-new music, courtesy of Lena Raine.
Another week, and another twosome of gaming freebies fired up from the depths of the Epic Games Store, this time catching the light and taking the form of underwater adventure Abz and post-apocalyptic platformer The End is Nigh.
Abz is the brainchild of Matt Nava, who previously served as art director on developer That Game Company's seminal Journey, and there are clear similarities between the two games.
Both focus on a lone protagonist's slow, steady journey intruding upon magnificent natural sights, and both blend genteel puzzling with frequently breathtaking set-pieces, enriched by the music of Austin Wintory. Indeed, Abz 's stylised rendition of a lost undersea world, and its aquatic inhabitants, is never less than beautiful - even if the experience doesn't quite manage to deliver the emotional wallop that it's clearly aiming for.
Endless Space 2, developer Amplitude's 4X sci-fi strategy game, will be venturing further into the unknown next week, 12th September, with the arrival of its latest expansion, Awakening.
This latest Endless Space 2 expansion is being handled by NGD Studios (the same team responsible for Endless Legends' Inferno and Symbiosis expansions), and introduces a brand-new major faction in the form of the Nakalim.
The Nakalim ("a once vast galactic empire, now fallen into decline", according to Amplitude), are an extremely technologically advanced society, meaning those opting to play as the faction get a significant technology head-start, but weaker science.
As with previous campaigns in the series, Gears 5 collectables are strewn throughout the story, waiting to be found for those curious enough to explore.
Each one gives you a little more backstory on the events since the last game and the world around you - and finding them all gives you some Achievements as an added bonus, too.
Here's our in-progress guide to finding the various Gears 5 collectable locations, describing at what point in each chapter you'll come across them - as specific but as spoiler-free as possible - with some images to help.
Gears 5 has a lot of modes - a campaign, Horde, Versus and new mode Escape - and with it, comes a lot of Gears 5 Achievements to unlock.
As well as each one having their own dedicated set of objectives, there are also series of progression Achievements that track your progress across the entire game.
On this page:
Ahead of Gears 5's PC and Xbox One launch this week, Microsoft has shared details on the game's live-service-style Operations, set to introduce the likes of free maps and rewards to multiplayer on a regular basis.
According to Microsoft's latest blogpost, new Operations will come to Gears 5 every three months, and each will offer new modes, new arenas for Versus and Horde mode, new earnable characters with their own unique skills and abilities, new customisation items, and more, including new tiles and support for Gear 5's Map Builder.
Additionally, each new Operation will introduce a fresh Tour of Duty - a season-long progression system structured very much like the now widely adopted Battle Pass model, albeit entirely free - enabling players to unlock new cosmetic content through play.
One of the most memorable moments of this year's E3 - aside from the massive journalist data breach (thanks ESA) - was Ikumi Nakamura's appearance at the Bethesda press conference. You may remember her hopping around on the stage and enthusiastically talking about her upcoming game, GhostWire: Tokyo, which is being developed by Tango Gameworks and published by Bethesda/Zenimax.
It was an endearing presentation - one which won the heart of the internet, and shone a spotlight on her impressive background working on The Evil Within, Bayonetta and Okami. But only a few months later, Nakamura has now announced she is leaving her position as creative director and art director on GhostWire Tokyo.
In a tweet, Nakamura said that after nine years as a creative and art director at Tango and Zenimax, she felt she had reached the end of her journey there. There's currently no information on what she's doing next, but she has tweeted her LinkedIn bio and called for developers to get in touch if they want to work with her. I can't imagine she'll have a shortage of offers.
As Eurogamer turns 20, we thought, you know what? It's not all about us. It's also about the developers, the people behind the virtual magic that inspired the creation of Eurogamer two decades ago. Without the developers, we wouldn't be here. And so, we thought we'd ask a few of them (20, in fact!) to pick the games that defined the last 20 years, and see what would come of it.
We approached a broad range of people, from top executives and legendary talent to tiny indies. We asked them to pick a game that defined the last 20 years, but left it up to them to interpret the question. It could be a game that defined the industry, that meant a lot to them professionally or personally, or is just a favourite.
We're delighted with the responses (thank you to everyone who contributed!). There's some fantastic insight here, super cool anecdotes and the odd surprising choice. We hope you enjoy it!