Ghost of Tsushima got a standalone release and it’s all we wanted!

Ghost of Tsushima got a new game mode on September 3, “Rivals”, which expanded the gameplay into a supernatural world from the Japanese mythology. It’s a completely free add-on, which is now available as a standalone title; however some of the unlockables are only available if you finish the single-player story campaign

PVP or PVEVP?

In Rivals you compete with another team in order to win. You control a team of two competing against another team to defeat waves of enemies. With each defeated foe, you’ll collect Magatama that you can use to harm the other team.

Both teams start in their own identical gauntlet. You hunt the demonised Mongol soldiers, who drop the in-game currency Magatama when killed.

This ethereal currency can be spent in shrines where you can drop distractions and curses upon the enemy team. For example, you can spend Magatama on Shades to block your opponents’ purchases, Curses (health drain, exploding bodies, etc), Hwacha fire, and more.

Each of them will vary as you rotate between the Rivals maps currently available.

You also can not just hold onto your Magatama. To progress to the second half of a Rivals match, you and your partner need to spend a total of 65 Magatama. This will unlock a control point that you need to defend for three waves, each wave packing stronger foes.  

Complete these before the opposing team to win!

From 110 to 120!

Rivals introduces a new mastery gear mechanic to the game. This is a new expansion of the progression systems and rewards for Legends. Players who’ve earned 110-level gear will now be able to bind it to a class and activate “Mastery Challenges.” This will allow a piece of gear’s Ki level to be upgraded to 120 and eventually unlock a second perk slot! As you activate Mastery Challenges, you can also unlock a new Ability and new Techniques for each class

Uncover the Tale of Iyo

“The Tale of Iyo” also came with the update, a three-chapter raid that will require four players who are geared up and ready to coordinate. However, “The Tale of Iyo” will not support matchmaking, so players will need to find their group outside of the game, either through online meetings or real-life friends. Also, your gear level needs to be at a level minimum of 100.

This raid rolls out with a new set of weekly challenges. There will be two-player story missions and four-player survival missions with weekly modifiers. Those missions will reward gear, which is a great way to get ready for the Tale of Iyo raid and leaderboards. These missions can also get tougher if players complete bonus objectives, and they reward better items in return.

Rivals builds on what is already such a groundbreaking PlayStation hit, and game producer Sucker Punch Productions has promised there’s even more to come!

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J.V

João Victor, most commonly known as JV, is a Brazilian writer and musician who currently lives in Ottawa. He loves Basketball, good vibes and sleeps way too much. Twitter: @blognotfortnite

Pokemon Brilliant Diamond & Shining Pearl. Worth it?

Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl dropped for Nintendo Switch on November 19th

What is new?

The game remains faithful to the original Diamond and Pearl: the camera is overhead and the characters remain presented in their chibi models.

However, everything else has been remade. There are new 3D models, new textures and Pokémon features. The new textures make the game feel more alive - especially when your Pokémon is always strolling behind you, which they had previously implemented in Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee and the Sword and Shield downloadable content (DLC).

The Pokémon Super Contest Show is also returning with different categories. The developers could have made the mini-game more complex since this release is on the Switch, but it remains a simple rhythm game. During the competition win, you can use a pre-chosen move to “wow” the judges.

I was very happy with the Pokémon battles being 3D, and also glad that my trainer was full-sized and not the chibi model during the battle sequence. EXP Share still applies to all Pokémon in your party once the battle is over. I know some people wanted a more faithful game but I’m happy with these changes. They make traversing the region easier and I can enjoy the ride instead of grinding and having to battle every single NPC I find.

The Bidoof effect

Another change that I’m happy with has been the use of a Bidoof as an overall HM move instead of equipping that move in each different Pokémon. Honestly, it makes no sense whatsoever, but I will take the convenience over wasting move slots that could surely come in handy.

Character customization is in the game, which is more than welcome. It’s a great feature especially when you play online and everyone is not looking the same. Customization shakes things up a bit. However, it’s not perfect. You have pre-determined looks to choose from, but I will take that over no customization at all.

The Grand Underground

The Underground becoming the Grand Underground has been a great addition to the game. Players can still excavate items, but now you can find Pokémon statues to decorate your secret base. These affect which Pokémon you will see in the wild Underground rooms that are now called Hideaways. If you’re lucky enough, you might find a rare shiny statue! You can also capture Pokémon you couldn’t in the earlier games. The level of the Pokémon scales to your current badge total as well, which helps if you want to add a new team member.

If you just got the game, you have until February 21 to get your Manaphy in the mystery box, and if you have a save file from Pokémon Let’s Go Eevee or Pikachu you can get gifted a Mew. Also if you have a save file from Sword and Shield, you can get gifted a Jirachi

Overall, the game is great! I definitely would struggle to play the original versions. Trainers that are supposed to be a challenge do feel tougher; they use heals and have a sense of strategy this time around, which makes the combat feel fresh. However, enemies can spam the same move, and it gets annoying very quickly. The game feels like it definitely worked overall and it’s a definite catch, so what’re you waiting for? Start shiny hunting.

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J.V

João Victor most commonly known as JV, is a Brazilian writer and musician who currently lives in Ottawa. He loves basketball, good vibes and sleeps way too much. Twitter: @blognotfortnite

Back 4 Blood and Left 4 Dead, what's new?

Is Back 4 Blood really something new or just a remastered left 4 dead?

Back 4 Blood is a game developed by Turtle Rock Studios and published by Warner Brothers.

If you were looking for more Left 4 Dead, then look no further. Sure, Back 4 Blood might have more objectives and a new gameplay, but it feels more like a large Left 4 Dead DLC rather than a unique zombie game.

The game has a huge emphasis on ADS, but a lot of guns can be hip fired. The weapon feedback is good, but i had to spend a lot of time adjusting the settings just to find a comfortable controller sensitivity. Everything felt slow and clunky.

Character movement feels quick enough to make you feel competent, but also restrict enough to make some encounters or bad positioning feel pretty dangerous.

The game feels like it needs some strategy and preparation for some levels but sometimes it feels like it doesn’t matter because the game will throw chaos right into your lap. For example, the game spawns multiple enemies from thin air, or lets you fortify an area so the enemy comes from the side that you didn’t need to fortify.

The biggest differences

Its not to say the game isn’t good, I have been enjoying my time with it and there is different mechanics from its predecessor.

The card system is the biggest thing that separates the two games, it allows the player to build a character and play any way they want.

You can choose up to 15 cards some of them can give you boosts to your health, reload speed and more. This system allows you to take on the zombie horde in a way that feels best for you, which is awesome.

The apocalypse (which this time around feels like the apocalypse) is hard to deal with even in the easier difficulty or levels, Classic B4B is harder than any extreme L4D level; there are more enemies to deal with and ammo and healing items are extremely hard to come by. The player can even mess up and call the zombie horde upon everyone.

The final thing is how modernized it feels, and I don’t mean in just a graphic way. Back 4 Blood lets you climb, sprint, and vault, and it even has aim down sight, things we didn’t have in Left 4 Dead.

As I said before the game seems like a remastered version of Left 4 Dead but that does not mean the game is not fun. As a matter of fact I am having fun with it, and it’s definitely an apocalyptic game any flesh-eating zombie lover will enjoy.

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J.V

João Victor most commonly known as JV, is a Brazilian writer and musician who currently lives in Ottawa. He loves Basketball, good vibes and sleeps way too much. Twitter: @blognotfortnite