Ash Parrish

Former Video Games Reporter

Ash ParrishFeb 5, 2024

Placidusax Minus One.

It’s been a minute since we’ve check in with the Elden Ring mod community, let’s see what they’re... holy shit. X user @twistedgwazi has created this sick-ass attack for the late-game dragon boss Placidusax that takes its inspiration from the coolest moment in Godzilla Minus One.

Here’s how twistedgwazi describes it. “The lightning strikes in the beginning were meant to mimic the back spikes clicking into place, and the audio cutting out just before it hits was based on Godzilla’s spikes going back down as he fires the beam.”

Damn, that’s cool.

Halo’s Black History Month armor shaders are unintentionally hilarious

Ash ParrishFeb 1, 2024

Konami just stealth launched a Silent Hill game

Ash ParrishJan 31, 2024

Metro awakens in VR.

Metro Exodus, the post-apocalyptic first-person shooter from Deep Silver, is getting a VR spinoff that looks very creepy. It’s called Metro Awakening, and it’s coming to the PSVR 2 later this year.

Ash ParrishJan 31, 2024

Sonic and Shadow sitting in a tree.

Sonic Generations was released 14 years ago this November (god I’m old) and in celebration of this slightly odd anniversary, Sega is remaking the game. But this time, instead of Sonic being front and center, the game will feature his longtime rival (or lover... or both depending on the kinds of fanfiction you read) Shadow the Hedgehog.

Sonic x Shadow Generations (which has to be the title of a fanfiction somewhere) will feature an all-new story mode starring Shadow with new levels and bosses. Sonic x Shadow Generations launches in fall 2024.

Spec Ops: The Line permanently removed from Steam and other digital stores

Ash ParrishJan 30, 2024

This is not “Play Nice, Play Fair,” Blizzard.

It seems as if Activision Blizzard’s Overwatch and Call of Duty esports teams are getting hit with layoffs. On the Overwatch side, the entire observation crew has reportedly been let go along with long-time broadcast talent Soe “Soe” Gschwind and Matt “Mr. X” Morello.

On the Call of Duty side, according to a post from Scott Parkin, senior esports operations manager, Blizzard made the CDL team work a major event over the weekend without telling the team if their jobs were safe — only to lay them off on their first day off. It’s unknown if these layoffs are new or part of the 1,900 people let go last week.

Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees

Tom Warren

Jan 25

Ash ParrishJan 30, 2024

Even Spec Ops: The Line’s developers don’t know what’s going on.

Yesterday, Wario 64 posted that military shooter with a message Spec Ops: The Line had been delisted from Steam. While the game still shows up on other storefronts, its removal has confounded the game’s developers. On X, director Cory Davis wrote that the removal, “makes no sense” and that the game’s tackling of war crimes and their human cost — something military shooters have tended to ignore — are relevant now more than ever.