Welcome back to the WIRED Games newsletter, friends. I'm here with a public service announcement: Stop torturing the poor Koroks in Tears of the Kingdom. They never did anything to you! But also yes, the new Zelda game is still the one thing everyone's playing, and that's not a bad thing. It has managed to sell more than any previous Zelda game in the franchise, and virtually everyone that I know, at least, is playing it. Enjoy, because the fall release hype is coming. This time next month, we'll be basking in trailers and announcements from Summer Games Fest. So let's start with Tears of the Kingdom, shall we? Megan Farokhmanesh has an amazing interview with game director Hidemaro Fujibayashi and game producer Eiji Aonuma that hits on a number of topics, from how they came up with the Ultrahand to why it was so important to build creativity and crafting into the game in a way that gave players power instead of a chore. They also hit on a very important topic to me: Which Link smells the worst, out of all of the iterations of the character? No spoilers, you'll have to read the article to find out whether you agree with the devs on that answer. Next up, Megan also got a chance to look at the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI, which she says looks like it's being "game of thrones'd," or in other words, in an attempt to grow the franchise up, as she reported back in February, the developers have gone all in on backstabbing subplots, murder, and definitely more gore than the franchise has seen in the past. Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily, she writes: It could appeal to gamers who are looking for something more visceral in their storytelling, and dispel some notions of what Final Fantasy is for a lot of people. The part she played was fun, Megan wrote, but it was a fraction of what we'll see in the full game. And speaking of growing up, Mike Orcutt has an excellent analysis of the potential that blockchain has to underpin games with impermeable worlds where gamers can have more free, unrestricted experiences that aren't limited by franchise, server, or even title. If that sounds like something from the 2020-2021 crypto-bro past, you'd be right, but there are some folks who are using the technology to prototype something that may catch on in the future, maybe. I won't hold my breath, but you should read and decide for yourself. Back in reality, our Gear Team just updated our list of the best Nintendo Switch games for every kind of player, so if you've fallen back in love with your Switch and want to take a break from Tears of the Kingdom and play something else, we have recommendations for you. Also, Simon Hill has a review of the Govee AI Gaming Sync Box, which has little to do with actual AI, but it is a vibrant RGB lighting system that's compatible with Amazon Alexa, Google Home, and will make your gaming setup look absolutely sick. It's pricey though. At $300, it's definitely a splurge at best. But Simon gives it an 8/10, and runs down all the pros and cons in the full review. |
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حبيبي ليس يعدله حبيب *** ولا لسواه في قلبي نصيب حبيب غاب عن بصري وسمعي *** ولكن في فؤادي ما يغيب يا حبيب ...