Welcome to Urgent Fury

It always comes back to Chloe Price and Max Caulfield. Through several games, branching narrative series Life is Strange has explored the consequences of love, friendship, and community, but the duo’s bond remains the beating heart of the overarching tale. As Life is Strange: Reunion is said to be the final chapter in Max and Chloe’s story, it’s no surprise that both characters have returned, thanks to the cumulative events of Life is Strange: Double Exposure. Although some of the more significant decisions you’ve made from the first game, such as Max and Chloe’s relationship and the fate of Arcadia Bay, have carried over as well. I spent some time with the game to dive into why fans should be excited about the partners-in-crime getting one last chance. Some more familiar faces return It’s not just about Max and Chloe making their comeback. Many characters from Life is Strange: Double Exposure appear, with Moses, a graduate, as a focal point because he is one of the victims of a fire that Max is trying to prevent. Dr. Yasmin Fayyad and her shapeshifting daughter Safi are present too, but Max’s friend Amanda was very much the focal point of the demo’s opening minutes. Which led to… Ready to Rewind again? My first task in the demo was to save Amanda from a demoralising heckler during her stand-up routine at the Snapping Turtle campus bar. It was a gentle reintroduction to Max’s Rewind ability, as once I failed my first attempt to stop the jeering troublemaker, I rewound our encounter with L1. Using the information I learned in our previous conversations, Max was able to talk to him again and make up a story that forced him to leave. Max’s ability can be accessed at any time, but fundamentally, its use in the demo was to get around tight-lipped people, such as realizing that spilling beer over Double Exposure’s disgraced university professor, Lucas, is the only way to get a sneaky peek at his hidden documents. The revelations from that action led Max to investigate the unsettling Abraxus House, triggering a more action driven use of Rewind. After bumping into another familiar character, journalism student Loretta, the two women were trapped in a creepy basement, under threat of discovery. Using a broom to barricade the door proved useless, but Rewind allowed me to find a far sturdier metal crowbar. But the danger wasn’t over yet. With the house due for early demolition, I then had to use Rewind to find and disarm all the detonators in the right order under a strict time limit, a fun sequence that showed off the potential for where the game might go later on. Chloe’s Backtalk returns Given that Chloe is playable, it’s only fair that her dialogue-puzzle-based Backtalk ability from Life is Strange: Before the Storm is here, too. Although its introduction in the demo focused less on withering sarcasm to get her way, and more on charismatic persuasion by bending the truth. After sneaking into the Snapping Turtle and then later being caught by security, I was asked to prove Chloe’s university credentials or risk her getting banned from campus. The Backtalk overlay popped up, offering a selection of replies under a time limit, with some responses carrying future consequences. The key to successfully answering lay in the scene’s prior setup, with the game giving me a chance to observe items around the bar and interact with others for information, I had to remember to make my lie sound convincing. So don’t worry if you’re put on the spot – as long as you’re paying attention and quick on your fingers, Backtalk is a blast. Both Max and Chloe are playable Becoming both characters in the demo created an interesting situation when they were reunited at a climactic point of my game time. Rather than forcing me to choose who to control or keep them entirely separate, Reunion allowed me to decide what each character said to the other, shaping the ebb and flow of their conversation and creating immediate cause and effect in their dialogue. Their journals are the perfect catch-up tool We also have access to both Max’s and Chloe’s journals, which provide backstory and world-building through their scribbled thoughts, stickers, and other ephemera. The same menu allowed me to read incoming text messages between characters, along with their previous texts, providing a rich insight into their prior relationships. You can take photos at any time Similar to previous games in the series, there are photo hotspots to uncover in Max’s scenes, for collectible compositions that save in her journal. But pressing up on the D-pad at any time while you’re controlling Max reveals a much-requested addition to the series – the ability to take an in-game photo whenever something catches your eye. Your personal snaps won’t be saved to Max’s journal, but are shareable with friends and via social media with a long press of the Create button. My short time with the game left me eager for more as Max and Chloe’s adventure together was just starting to heat up. March 26 is when we’ll all be able to experience the likely heart-wrenching decisions of what comes next when Life is Strange: Reunion launches on PS5. View the full article

Toronto is in turmoil! As the mysterious GCorp takes over the Queen City, the members of Sex Bob-Omb have been kidnapped by Metal Scott. Ramona, Scott and a couple of her evil Exes band together to venture across the City to save it from these ominous forces. One of the many places the gang will have to explore will be the shadowy halls of…Casa Vania. Scott Pilgrim EX is different from our previous two beat’em up titles: while it still has a lot of fighting, we wanted to add much bigger exploration and character interaction elements. The resulting game is a sort of “brawling adventure” hybrid. Players will be free to trek all over Toronto, visit shops, equip items and encounter their favorite characters from the Scott Pilgrim world. But of course, adventures require zones and a variety of environments. This led our team to create a warped version of Toronto for players to discover along with the game’s numerous quests. In The Hidden Castle, the third quest of Scott Pilgrim EX, the players must jump, punch and flip kick their way through demonic gangs in order to gain access to the somber staircases of Casa Vania. Credit: Scott Pilgrim moveset frames illustrated by Jonathan Kim Once they’ve entered the castle’s gloomy corridors, they find none other than…Goth Neil? Seemingly transformed, Sex Bob-Omb’s biggest fan has fallen under the thrall of a dark figure! While he seems like an invention for SP:EX, Goth Neil’s hails from the pages of Bryan Lee O’Malley’s own sketchbook: “In the original Scott Pilgrim books, there’s a big “Day of the Dead” party. I did some early sketches of Young Neil in a goth outfit, but he didn’t make the final cut. Those sketches were published in later editions of the books, and some fans loved them. That’s part of the genesis of Goth Neil. Young Neil is a character who is always a bit child-like and naïve.” I initially sketched him holding an “egg-like rock”, but we later flipped the concept so that he’s holding a regular rock, which he thinks is a dinosaur egg. The animators gave him so much quirky personality. I don’t remember who suggested he transform into a bat, but we thought it was so funny.” – Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim Goth Neil leaves the scene in his own inimitable style. But who rules over Casa Vania? Who has bewitched Young Neil so? None other than Lady Envy! In Scott Pilgrim EX, we wanted players to face colorful bosses while keeping in mind that fans of the Pilgrim world, whether they’re books, movies or animation, still wanted to see their favorite characters. We arrived at the idea that every “warped” environment would be headed by themed versions of recognizable faces from the Pilgrim canon. O’Malley tells us more about Lady Envy’s origins: “A project like this is a big collaboration between so many artists and storytellers. Lady Envy was one of the first bosses we discussed. She’s a mashup of so many fun references and homages to classic games we loved from the 80s-90s (“Casa Vania”). She might bring to mind a few more modern references, too. She’s a cool horror-vampire-pirate pastiche, plus some pop-star flair to make her feel like the Envy Adams we know and love.” – Bryan Lee O’Malley, creator of Scott Pilgrim Credit: Lady Envy & Goth Neil design sketches by Bryan Lee O’Malley As Quest 3’s boss, Lady Envy will challenge the players with her dual blades and magical attacks. Will you be up to the challenge? Save Neil, the rest of the band, Toronto and more in Scott Pilgrim: EX, available March 3rd on PS4 and PS5. View the full article

Death Stranding 2: On the Beach is making its way to PC! On behalf of the teams at Nixxes and Kojima Productions, I’d like to share the details on PC system requirements with all Porters that will start their journey on March 19. With its release on PlayStation 5, Death Stranding 2 established itself as an award-winning graphical showcase, with highly detailed landscapes and photo realistic characters. At Nixxes, when bringing games over to PC, we take pride in delivering a smooth experience with the best possible visuals on a wide variety of hardware. Death Stranding 2 for PC offers a range of Graphics Presets from Low to Very High, catering to both budget gaming PC’s and high-end systems. We’ve also added a Portable preset, aimed at handheld gaming devices, for those Porters who want to “keep on keeping on” while on the go. To ensure you are well prepared for the delivery of Death Stranding 2 PC next month, we’ve created an overview with our hardware recommendations for a variety of presets and resolutions: CategoryMinimumMediumHigh (Recommended)Very HighGraphics PresetLowMediumHighVery HighAvg Performance1080p @ 30 FPS1080p @ 60 FPS1440p @ 60 FPS4K @ 60 FPSGPUNVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 AMD Radeon RX 5500 XT 8GBNVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 12GB AMD Radeon RX 6600NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 AMD Radeon RX 6800NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4080 AMD Radeon RX 9070 XTCPUIntel Core i3-10100 AMD Ryzen 3 3100Intel Core i5-11400 AMD Ryzen 5 5600Intel Core i7-11700 AMD Ryzen 7 5700XIntel Core i7-11700 AMD Ryzen 7 5700XRAM16GB16GB16GB16GBOSWindows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Windows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Windows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Windows 10/11 (Version 1909 or newer)Storage150GB SSD150GB SSD150GB SSD150GB SSD Performance-enhancing options* The PC edition of Death Stranding 2 launches with support for NVIDIA DLSS 4, AMD FSR 4 and Intel XESS 2. Both upscaling and frame generation options are available for all technologies. For the first time on PC, you’ll find Pico as an option in Upscale Settings. This “Progressive Image Compositor” is developed by Guerrilla for the Decima engine and is the same upscaling technology that’s used for Death Stranding 2 on PS5. Pico upscaling can be used with all supported graphics cards and can be combined with the various options for frame generation offered in the game. All upscaling options can be used in combination with Dynamic Resolution Scaling, or with an upscaling quality setting of choice to improve performance. Native AA options are also available for maximum fidelity. Ultrawide views Sam’s second adventure can be enjoyed on PC with ultrawide aspect ratios. All cutscenes in Death Stranding 2 are meticulously crafted to be displayed in a 21:9 aspect ratio, for a true cinematic experience. Gameplay extends even further, filling up the whole screen when using a 32:9 display. An ultrawide monitor is not required for an ultrawide experience: players with high-resolution 16:9 monitors, can enable widescreen aspect ratios in the Display Settings, to experience the broader field of view. An option to play Death Stranding 2 in 21:9 ultrawide aspect ratios is also coming to PS5 via an update at the same time as the PC release. PlayStation logo inspired Porter wear We can also confirm that the previously announced Porter Suit: Link and Patch: Link, both inspired by the PlayStation logo, will be rewarded to all PS5 Porters via an update when the PC version launches. PC Porters will get access to these items as a bonus reward for connecting their account for PlayStation. Death Stranding 2: On the Beach for PC is now available for pre-purchase on Steam and the Epic Games Store. We can’t wait for Porters to find out if we should have connected, next month. *Compatible PC and Graphics card required View the full article

Today is a huge deal for our tiny team. We’re over the moon to announce that Revival is launching on PS4 and PS5 on February 26! Play Video The story of Revival began over 20 years ago, way back in 2003. Inspired by the Civilization series and the sci-fi novels of the Strugatsky brothers, especially Roadside Picnic and Noon World, we released our very first game on the Symbian platform. It was basically a tiny Civilization, just 100 KB in size, yet it delivered a full 4X experience: eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate. Revival: Recolonization takes place on Earth after an apocalypse caused by an superpower AI uprising. The forward-thinking remnants of humanity, the Emissaries, escaped into cryopods hidden deep underground. Your mission? Rebuild cities, research tech, explore dangerous lands for rare resources and mysterious anomalies, battle aggressive neighbors, and strike trade deals with friendlier ones. All in the name of restoring human civilization. On the map, you’ll meet diverse Peoples, survivors of the catastrophe who’ve regressed to a primitive state. Which clan you lead shapes your entire playstyle. It determines your faction’s culture, politics, special weapons, unique buildings, and even exclusive sciences to research. Each clan in the game belongs to one of five Peoples, each adapted to one of five climate types: Cold, Cool, Temperate, Hot, and Desert. Units that enter climates they’re not used to can lose health points, block building options, or not yield any resources at all. But hey, you can change the climate with edicts, an advanced technology from the past. It’s even possible to turn the climate into a weapon by altering the temperature in the enemy’s region. Oh, and that’s just the start. Edicts let you do all sorts of awesome stuff: raise or destroy mountains, grow forests, drench the land in acid, mind-control your foes, or even starting a zombie apocalypse. Every battle in Revival plays out on its own map, which reflects the climate and terrain of the global map. Before the fight, you get to scout the battlefield and place your units on the most favorable hexes. Plus, the Unit Editor lets you mix and match a ton of combinations, creating truly unique units with wildly different traits. As your empire grows, you unlock new sciences and resources, and even more ways to evolve your squads. Diplomacy evolves too, based on your relationship with other factions. Want to land a sweet deal? You’ll need to raise your standing with them first. And in Revival, you can trade more than just resources — swap techs and edicts too. You start the game with one clan and one region. The lands next to yours might belong to another faction… or be totally unclaimed. If a neighboring clan is independent, you can make them your vassal — and eventually assimilate them. How friendly a clan is toward you? That’s Loyalty. It shifts gradually, and you can influence it through your actions. A massive thank you to every player and fan of the Revival universe. Because of you, our little team made it this far, and brought our wildest dreams to life. Jump into Revival: Recolonization on PlayStation now! Take on the all-powerful All-Mind. Are you ready? View the full article

Last week, we asked you to explore the world of Nioh 3 and share moments fighting yokai using #PSshare #PSBlog. Here are this week’s highlights: KeenEyeVP shares their protagonist striking a artful pose Mayuchemaru shares characters wearing ornate armor kisa0315ragi shares their character reeling back to attack an enemy on horse sayaka693518 shares shares a character surrounded in red with a devilish smile flamfura shares a moment of respite near a shrine themarkplumb shares a masked character surrounded by red slashes Search #PSshare #PSBlog on Twitter or Instagram to see more entries to this week’s theme, or be inspired by other great games featuring Photo Mode. Want to be featured in the next Share of the Week? THEME: Framing SUBMIT BY: 11:59 PM PT on February 25, 2026 Next week, find unique ways to frame your subject using #PSshare #PSBlog for a chance to be featured. View the full article