Welcome to Digitally Downloaded’s regular catch-up news feature. With each issue we will bring you the best news that you may have missed. Grab the biggest mug you’ve got, fill it with your favourite brew, and catch up with us (and our favourite news anchor, Dee Dee)!
Final Fantasy XIV Patch 5.35, 5.4 on the way this year
Square Enix has officially announced that it will support the PlayStation 4 version of Final Fantasy XIV Online on the PlayStation 5, so that’s good news! The game will use the PlayStation 4 Pro display settings while the PlayStation 5 hardware allows for fast load times. Ready for more good news? Patch 5.35 and 5.4 are on the way, due out October 13 and early December, respectively. Here’s a shot from Patch 5.35:
Patch 5.35’s biggest update is the newest chapter in the Save The Queen quest line. The story is written by Yasumi Matsuno (Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII). The update also adds new area to explore as part of the Bozjan Southern Front battle content. Weapons obtained during earlier quests in this questline will be able to be enhanced by playing the new content.
Now onto the big one: Patch 5.4, titled Futures Unwritten. The Shadowbrings story officially ended in Patch 5.3, so it’s time for players to begin their next adventure. If they want to look back, though, there is a new Explorer Mode which allows them to take screenshots without the dancer of enemies. Now it’s time to look ahead. The third chapter in the Eden rail series will be available, as well as the next chapters in The Sorrow Of Werlyt questline and the final state of the Restoration of the Holy See of Ishgard. There is a new trial versus Emerald Weapon and as a new Unreal trial. Players can join up with others, or with non-player characters, in Matoya’s Relict, a new dungeon. Finally, there are updates to the Blue Mage job, playable instruments, the Save The Queen content, ocean fishing, mahjong, and treasure hunt dungeons.
The Medium’s release date has been revealed
Team Bloober is touch and go in my book. Layers of Fear and its sequel were phenomenal, but Blair Witch was cliché at best. I’m optimistic about the developers next title, previously announced as The Medium. Team Bloober has announced that The Medium will be available for PC via Steam and Xbox Series (seriously this is a stupid thing to call the next generation of Xbox but I guess I have to go with the flow on that one) on December 10. Sorry, current-gen console players, no game for you.
This third-person psychological horror game is about a mystery that only a medium can solve, and that’s the player’s role. They’ll travel to an abandoned communist resort and use unique psychic abilities to uncover all truths (mostly disturbing secrets). The medium will explore two realities at the same time, perhaps the game’s most compelling feature. The spirit world is a dark reflect of the “real” world. It’s rather unsettling, and a place where evil urges, unpunished evil deeds, and evil secrets (lots of evil here!) manifest as physical forms. The world is inspired by Zdzisław Beksinski’s work; Beksinski is an internationally-recognized Polish dystopian surrealist painter.
The medium will actually need to jump real-time between worlds not only to look around but to solve puzzles and unlock new routes. Out Of Body allows for the medium to investigate places they can’t go in reality. There is some combat involved in The Medium, as they can create energy shield and throw powerful spirit blasts to survive.
CESA announces TGS 2020 “attendance,” confirms 2021 event
The Computer Entertainment Suppliers Association (CESA) has announced its viewership for Tokyo Game Show 2020, an entirely online event (thanks, COVID-19) that aired September 23-27. Its total views, when combined from all streaming platforms, is over 31.6 million. That’s right, for all things TGS 2020, there are millions upon millions (and millions more) of individual hits.
Let’s break it down a bit. The exact number of total views sits at 31,606,942. About 10.5 million of those are from Douyin, Xigua, Toutiao in China. Twitter brought in the next amount of highest views (impressive!), with just over 7.5 million views coming from the social network. YouTube brought in about four million views, IGN has 3.3 million views, Bilibili had 2.3 million, Niconico had 1.7 million, and Douyu (China) had just over a million hits. Twitch and TikTok brought in the least number of viewers: Twitch had 875,000, while TikTok LIVE only had 98,000.
The people over at CESA seems very confident that a physical event will be able to happen next year. I will remain skeptical, but I’m also a pessimist that plans for the worst case scenario so that doesn’t mean much about what will actually occur a year from now. Tokyo Game Show 2021 is set for September 3 to October 3 and its usual location, Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan.
A card battle murder mystery RPG? Yes, please
I think this may be the first time I’ve heard the idea of card battle murder mystery RPG, but I’m all in because, well, a murder mystery is involved. Plus card battles. Plus role-playing. Everything I like has finally been mashed together in one video game, and I am already living for it. Here’s the trailer:
There are different Magisters to choose from, each with their own strengths and weaknesses; expect to see someone cunning, someone alcoholic, and someone smart and unable to sleep. Each character defines a different adventure. After that, though, the story is randomly generated. Everything from events to motives will change with every new beginning, but there is already a 14-day deadline. Players will build and customise their card deck to fight in battles. Cards include both physical and verbal possibilities, including Poison Slash and Long Talk. If fighting won’t work, there’s an option to try Tactical Diplomacy to reduce your foe’s rage to nothing. The Magisters won’t be alone, as they can recruit an assistant in the form of a mercenary, a spy, or a sage. Befriending a cat or dog can be extremely beneficial in battles.
Developed by Nerdook and published by Digerati, The Magister will be launched for PC via Steam and Nintendo Switch early next year. A demo is currently available on Steam, but only for a couple more days so grab it while you can!
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