Developer and publisher Lilith Games has just announced that it is once again expanding the world of its globally popular idle-RPG AFK Arena through a new collaboration with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.

Welcoming Geralt of Rivia and Yennefer of Vengerberg from the monster-ridden world of The Witcher, the realm of Esperia gains new playable heroes to protect the realm and further bolster AFK Arena’s hero roster.

As part of the crossover, Doug Cockle reprises his role of Geralt for voice-acted lines in the collaboration.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled to work with The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt IP!” said Don, AFK Arena Developer. “Many of our production team staff, including myself, are big fans of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. For this collaboration, we’ve designed gameplay inspired by the wondrous world of The Witcher, and all of the content is exclusive to AFK Arena. We’re so looking forward to releasing the crossover to our players!”

The collaboration presents an exciting marriage between one of the most critically acclaimed open-world role-playing games of all time and AFK Arena’s massively popular idle-RPG action.

A multi-award-winning title, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s expansive lore and imaginative world meld perfectly with the fantasy environment of AFK Arena. Both Geralt and Yennefer will bring a unique set of gameplay mechanics to the battlefield, giving players the chance to test out who better suits their team’s battle style.

Geralt, a fierce warrior, utilizes a mix of sword-based melee combat and alchemy, while Yennefer, a powerful magic caster, focuses primarily on arcane spells that target groups of enemies. Having done battle with the plague of the Wild Hunt, both Geralt and Yennefer are more than prepared to protect the realm of Esperia from the evil that threatens it.

The two newest hero additions from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt join AFK Arena’s impressive roster alongside other recognisable characters such as Joker and Queen from Persona 5, Ezio Auditore from the Assassin’s Creed series, and Overlord’s Ainz Ooal Gown and Albedo.

Currently there’s over 30 million AFK Arena players today.

AFK Arena is a F2P casual idler mobile game.

AFK Arena’s traditional role-playing themes and deep lore-filled storyline are punctuated by its highly detailed, fairy tale-esque art style and smooth, precise gameplay.

Boasting more than 100 hero units from seven separate factions, every hero possesses their own fleshed-out storyline. As the name suggests, AFK Arena “plays itself” while players have the freedom to enjoy the idle experience or take part in the game’s many active objectives, like progressing the storyline, which is divided into chapters. Levelling up in AFK Arena (during idle gameplay) earns players Diamonds, the in-game currency.

Rewards are also earned through guild events, clearing labyrinths, completing weekly quests, and competing in ranked battles with other players’ teams. With enough Diamonds, players can summon new heroes and continue climbing the levelling system.

AFK Arena is a free-to-play mobile game for Android and iPhone. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt crossover is begins towards the end of September 2022.

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Warner Bros. Games has just announced MultiVersus, an all-new free-to-play, platform fighter videogame that introduces a team-based 2 vs. 2 format combined with an ever-expanding cast of iconic characters and legendary universes.

MultiVersus will showcase a variety of beloved heroes and personalities to team up with or compete against in epic battles, including Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Harley Quinn (DC Super Heroes & DC Super-Villains); Shaggy (Scooby-Doo); Bugs Bunny (Looney Tunes); Arya Stark (Game of Thrones); Tom and Jerry (Tom and Jerry); Jake the Dog and Finn the Human (Adventure Time); Steven Universe and Garnet (Steven Universe); an extraordinary original creature named Reindog; and many more to come.

Featuring matches with a strong emphasis on online cooperative gameplay, every fighter will be outfitted with a deep set of combat mechanics that distinguish the game’s fresh take on 2 vs. 2 gameplay.

This allows combatants to boast customisable movesets that combine dynamically with other characters as they battle for supremacy. From Wonder Woman and her Lasso of Truth attack being unexpectedly paired with Shaggy and his sandwich projectile, to Arya Stark’s face-swapping ability being used to complement Superman’s laser vision, the impossible can become possible through surprising team combinations and matchups.

The game’s fun filled multiplayer bouts can be set against the backdrop of various reimagined environments from awe-inspiring worlds, such as Batman’s Batcave, Jake and Finn’s Tree Fort and many others. MultiVersus will also include intense 1 vs. 1 clashes and a 4-player free-for-all mode where only one fighter can come out on top.

“With MultiVersus we are creating a distinct competitive game that allows us to combine a deep roster of celebrated WarnerMedia franchises for gamers to enjoy,” said David Haddad, President, Warner Bros. Games. “We are partnering with the talented team at Player First Games to bring together a free-to-play, online platform fighter with a wealth of iconic characters that fans know and love, from Wonder Woman and Bugs Bunny to Shaggy and Arya from Game of Thrones. And this is just the beginning, as we are excited to support upcoming seasons and ongoing game content.”

“MultiVersus is a dream project for our team at Player First Games, and we’re excited to officially reveal the game,” said Tony Huynh, Co-Founder & Game Director, Player First Games. “We’ve built MultiVersus from the ground up to be a cooperative, social game that embraces teamwork and strategy. We’re also focused on providing first class online gameplay through dedicated server-based rollback netcode so that friends and rivals can enjoy a seamless competitive experience as they duke it out with our diverse roster of characters.”

Additionally, MultiVersus will feature an all-star cast of talent lending their voices to the game, including Kevin Conroy (Batman: The Animated Series, Batman: Arkham series) as Batman, George Newbern (Justice League vs. the Fatal Five, Injustice 2) as Superman, Abby Trott (Carmen Sandiego) as Wonder Woman, Tara Strong (Batman Ninja, Batman: Arkham series) as Harley Quinn, Matthew Lillard (Scooby-Doo) as Shaggy, Eric Bauza (Looney Tunes Cartoons) as Bugs Bunny and Tom and Jerry, Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones) as Arya Stark, John DiMaggio (Adventure Time) as Jake the Dog, Jeremy Shada (Adventure Time) as Finn the Human, Daniel DiVenere (Spirit Riding Free) as Steven Universe, Estelle (Steven Universe) as Garnet and Andrew Frankel (Jellystone) as Reindog.

Developed by Player First Games, MultiVersus is scheduled for worldwide release in 2022 on PlayStation 5 (PS5) and PlayStation 4 consoles, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One consoles and PC with full cross-play support, dedicated server-based rollback netcode and content-filled seasons.

Pre-registration for upcoming playtests is available now at MultiVersus.com.

The post WARNER BROS. GAMES’ MULTIVERSUS appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

People all over the world are doing the right thing by staying home to help contain the spread of COVID–19.

Sony Interactive Entertainment is deeply grateful to everyone practicing physical distancing and takes responsibility as a home entertainment platform seriously and they are asking their community to continue supporting the safe choice and the need to Play At Home.

As a thank you to all who are doing their part to lessen the impact of this pandemic, Sony Interactive Entertainment is pleased to announce the Play At Home initiative.

Free Games to Play At Home: UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey

As part of the Play At Home initiative, PlayStation is offering free games to try and make those occasionally dull moments more exciting. UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey will be available for free digital download for a limited time from tomorrow, April 16th, 2020 at 11am NZST through May 6th, 2020 at 11am NZST.

For most of you, UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection will need no introduction.

UNCHARTED: The Nathan Drake Collection is a three-game collection from the masters at Naughty Dog includes Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception, all meticulously remastered for PS4.

There’s no better time for globe-trotting adventures with Nathan Drake, an iconic cast of characters, and thrilling treasure-hunting action gameplay.

Then there’s Journey, a beautiful, celebrated adventure that is as moving as it is mysterious. The game’s life-affirming message is timeless, and perhaps more important now than ever before.

Independent developers are vital to the heart and soul of the gaming community and PlayStation understand the hardships and financial struggles that many smaller gaming studios are facing.

With that, SIE has developed a fund to support them during this time, having have earmarked $10 million to support their independent development partners.

More information about the fund, including participation criteria, will be made available soon.

The post PlayStation has announced the Play At Home Initiative appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Go back to the early 90s with pixelated gameplay on ‘Throwback Arcade’ available on Krispy Kreme New Zealand’s Instagram page.

Yup, a huge and addictive revisit to the days where games were simpler – yet still tricky enough to cause a bit of sweat and alot of tears as you aimed to get through the ensuing Levels and aim for that all important high score.

There were no Save Points, no Checkpoints, just perseverance.

Krispy Kreme New Zealand has four retro-tastic short to mid play games on offer for mobile, accessed via their Insta.

Finger Bun Fighter hearkens back to the early days of Street Fighter, except you are a doughnut, of course. Perform crazy super moves, kick and punch you way to sugary glory in the best of two doughy fisticuff rounds.

Cookie Dough’s Krispy Kart sees you taking on the doughnut kart against opponents across varying tracks in old skool top down view as you race against your opponents, collecting boosts and power ups and all the while aiming to stay on the track. Harder than you think.

Fairy Bread Fantasy was my favourite. Evil Snacks have invaded and they have switched off your Hot Light. It is up to you in this coin collecting, enemy pouncing and sprinkle spraying 2D platformer to save your friends from the impending darkness… and presumably uncooked sweeties.

Finally we have Brownie Batter Bash and I’ve saved the most addictive to last.

Brownie Batter Bash is a take on the classic Pong. Your doughnut is the ball and there are many treats and bonuses to be collected at the top of the Arcade screen.

Bounce your doughnut from the board and reap the tasty delights, but of course timing and a lot of skill is necessary.

Having played alot through all four mini-games I thought it would be a breeze – but nope. Prepare to be severely tested with these pixelated bite sized addictions.

Krispy Kreme know that the 90’s gaming era was a memory that all of us who were around then and old enough to have birthday parties with school friends, go to the Arcades or play on our SEGA Master Systems or Super Nintendo’s is a memory that we have all held on to.

To coincide with their retro mobile game offerings Krispy Kreme New Zealand also has four doughnut flavours for their Throwback; Cookie Dough, Fairy Bread, Finger Bun and Brownie Batter.

Both the free to play games and the doughnut range are for a strictly limited time – so get in to these button mashers on Krispy Kreme New Zealand’s Official Instagram and play while you can and chomp on down to party favourites from yesteryear.

The post Krispy Kreme Retro Game Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Camex Games based in Shanghai, China has em,braced World Cup fever with their Tactical Monsters update.

Free to play, in celebration of the World Cup in Russia they have introduced their latest monster “COACH GRIZ”. To further the fever-pitch players can join in to the celebration of the Dragon Boat Race in China with an additional new monster “BABY WUSHI”  and get their rumble on and join in to the fight to participate in the NEW E-sport event and try to win ” Wushi” and ” Griz”. Details in trailer below.

The post TACTICAL MONSTERS – New Update for Russia World Cup appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Mobile games, especially free to play ones, always make me apprehensive. How much game is there going to be and how much of it is going to be trying to convince me to spend money, and how much money is fair to spend, are always issues I struggle with. Might and Magic: Elemental Guardians falls on the better side of those issue, but it still pulls you a little.

Might and Magic: Elemental Guardians is a turn-based battle and monster collecting game. As weird as it may be to see as the describer of the game, as they are usually aspects of something else like an RPG, the game is boiled down to those two aspects.

Monster collecting is based around a loot box system, or better described as a loot gem system. Throughout the game you get a lot of gems to crack open, and each time you do so you get a creature to add to your collection for the upcoming fights. This is a clear point where you can spend a lot of money if you’re not careful, but the game does dole out gems to crack open regularly. This makes it feel less dirty, but you need to be careful to not get hooked.

Monsters are ranked on a star scale, and when their hit their level cap you can rank them up to increase their leveling capacity. You are also able to strengthen your beasts using runes, which having varied stat boosts, such as increasing attack, defense, and accuracy. You level these runes up as well, using a system where you commit resources, and it decides if it does or doesn’t level it up randomly. This is one of those mobile systems that seems gross as you can burn resources for no gain, letting you spend some real money.

The other way to boost your beasts is with evolution, to make sure the monster collecting doesn’t feel too much like another pocket monster collecting game. Evolving gives more stat boosts, and makes your creatures look more impressive. Monsters vary from looking like witches, orcs, elemental wolf cubs and baby griffins, so evolving them is fun watching them become more impressive looking in your team. Evolving my little fire griffin was especially satisfying as it looked awesome in every stage of the transformation.

Leveling your beasts, their skills, runes, and evolving them involves a lot of resources. Resources are dropped regularly thanks to reasonably short battles, and a massive list of achievements that completion nets a lot said resources, and gems for monster hatching. Making sure you keep an eye on these is the best way to get the most from the game without spending a lot of coin.

I haven’t touched on the gameplay yet, because it’s not the most interesting thing. The game uses a rudimentary turn-based battle system, pitting your team against enemies, in waves. Your creatures each have some moves, and your character has a move that powers up throughout the fight. It’s a well-crafted simple turn-based battle system, but there not much more to it.

The story mode has you playing through a training scenario, which has huge leveling spikes. With minimal dialogue, and a lot of time between dialogue, it’s hard not to forget the story beats soon after you read them. This grinding throughout the modes is consistent, though you can use auto battle to complete repetitive battles while you watch something else.

Online is a bit more fun, which has you set up a defensive team. When you’re not watching, your defensive team has fights with opponents, and you can fight other people’s defensive teams when you’re feeling energetic. Wins net you a specific currency to spend, but it takes an age to afford anything.

Might and Magic: Elemental Guardians is a gorgeous game, that works well, and rewards you often. It’s grindy, which is clearly geared to spending money for time saving, but if you play it casually, you wouldn’t have to drop much coin to enjoy the game. T

he monster collecting, and evolving is fun, but takes so much time to complete. All-in-all it’s free to play enough that you can have a satisfying time, but it will put opportunities to spend money in front of you a lot.

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The post Might & Magic: Elemental Gardens (Android) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

gumi Inc. has revealed to us at STG a first look of its upcoming Japanese-style role playing game (JRPG), Brave Frontier: The Last Summoner, which will release to western territories on iOS, Android, and Amazon devices this summer 2018. The free-to-play heroic fantasy game is a spin-off of the globally renowned Brave Frontier title, and will be available at launch to audiences in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish languages.

Hironao Kunimitsu, CEO and President of gumi Inc., said: “Our flagship game, Brave Frontier, has captivated audiences for the past several years, as we’ve introduced the title and key collaborations to a growing fanbase worldwide. We are excited to announce today that we will be expanding the rich and vast Brave Frontier universe to players in our upcoming mobile title, Brave Frontier: The Last Summoner.”

Also unveiled today are exclusive high definition 2D style character artwork, and a gameplay teaser video featuring one of the game’s main characters, Brook, a young crystal harvester who will take arms and embark on a huge, epic quest that could unveil the untold story of the last summoner. This video also showcases the first glimpse of the game’s unique Army gameplay, displaying on-screen an incredible number of characters fighting each other like never before in the series!

Brave Frontier: The Last Summoner will be available for download for free (with in-app purchases) and will be available on the majority of Android and Apple devices available in the market at launch.

The post First Video Trailer for Upcoming Brave Frontier: The Last Summoner appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Free-to-play naval action MMO, World of Warships, has recently announced that one of the Royal Australian Navy’s most iconic vessels, the HMAS Vampire, is the latest addition to its ‘Ships of the Commonwealth’ fleet.

The ship’s arrival puts ANZ firmly on the map for the game’s 25 million players globally, and is a reward for World of Warships’ dedicated local fans, who have long requested that the celebrated destroyer be immortalised in the game.

To celebrate the launch, players are invited to take part in a ‘Vampire Marathon’ running from now until December 20th, 2017, in which time they can win the HMAS Vampire by playing just five battles (excluding training missions). After December 20, she will be available for purchase.

Travis Plane, Wargaming ANZ Country Manager, says Wargaming constantly listens to its players and uses their feedback to shape the most authentic battle experiences possible.

“The HMAS Vampire is the number one most requested Australian ship by World of Warships players. It is great to be able to listen and deploy her ahead of Christmas, bringing such an iconic RAN ship back to life 75 years on,” said Travis.

Originally launched by the Royal British Navy in 1917 to serve in World War I, the HMAS Vampire was transferred to the Royal Australian Navy, arriving in Sydney on 21st December 1933. After six years patrolling Australian waters, she was deployed to World War II to form part of the so-called ‘Scrap Iron Flotilla’, performing essential patrol and escort duties as battle for the Mediterranean escalated.

In 1941, the Vampire moved to Singapore, withstanding a barrage of attacks to rescue hundreds of lives in battle off the coast of Malaysia. She was eventually sunk by Japanese forces off Sri Lanka on 8 April 1942, her place in Commonwealth naval folklore assured after 25 years of outstanding service.

Using the ship’s original design schematics, the HMAS Vampire has been recreated in unerring detail by World of Warships’ expert team of historical researchers and designers.

World of Warships plunges players into the world of the most devastating sea battles of the 20th Century. Players are given several types of combat vessels at their command, including aircraft carriers, powerful battleships, versatile cruisers and light and agile destroyers. Each warship has its unique combination of firepower, speed, armour and endurance.

The post HMAS Vampire Bolsters World of Warships’ appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Death Adder has invaded the castle and has taken the king and princess prisoner – now it’s up to you to get them back. 

As of today (1st of September, 2017), Golden Axe has joined the SEGA Forever collection and is now available as a free-to-play mobile title with ad support. Those who dare can now download the game for free from the App Store for iPhone and iPad and Google Play Store for Android devices.

Golden Axe was originally released in 1989 for the SEGA Genesis / Mega Drive and was created by Makoto Uchida who is known for having developed another famous Genesis / Mega Drive title: Altered Beast.  In Golden Axe, players exact revenge on Death Adder by battling as one of three formidable heroes: Gilius Thunderhead the axe-wielding Dwarf, Ax Battler the Barbarian with a broadsword, or Tyris Flare the Amazon woman with particularly powerful spells. Collect potions and cast spells to battle your way to victory against Death Adder and bring peace back to Yuria.

With added features like leaderboards, cloud saves, and controller support, Golden Axe is the most recent addition to SEGA Forever, a growing collection of classic SEGA titles from every console era that are available free-to-play (with ad support) for mobile devices. Players who want to experience the games without ads can remove them for a one-time in app purchase priced at $1.99 USD. SEGA Forever games will be equipped with multiplayer capabilities in a future update, so please look forward to saving Yuria with the help of friends, family, or even the person who sits next to you at work!

Download Golden Axe now!

The post Golden Axe Joins SEGA Forever Collection in the App Stores appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Microsoft’s free to play flagship, button mashing, punchy and kicky fight game Killer Instinct has returned. Killer Instinct: Season 3 brings with it a wave of new colourful characters, maps and stories so you and your mates can virtually beat each other to a pulp, until your friend Dave gets so frustrated from losing, that he leaves and says he’ll never play another game with you again.

Killer Instinct itself is free, giving you a single character to play with and the option to spend more to unlock others, either individually or in bundles, Season 3 being one of these such bundles. Now it must be said I think that the free-to-play model is ruining this industry, but lets just put that to one side for now.

Killer Instinct is actually pretty damn fun, with manic, bright and fast paced graphics, updated with Season 3 to allow for as much visual carnage as your TV can fit. An absolutely gob-smacking amount of playable characters, (If you buy them, that is…) and a pretty funky little soundtrack. The controls are simple and intuitive, having a “Combo Assist” setting which makes button mashing not only an effective strategy but a deadly one.

A nice touch to allow newbies to get involved with experienced players and not get slaughtered.

The new season launched with four new playable characters including the Arbiter from Halo (that’s right you can now be cheap with energy swords in multiple games!)

Rash from the Nintendo classic Battletoads and Killer Instinct originals Kim Wu and Tusk. The Season launch also includes new outfits, maps, colour schemes and storylines ready to play immediately, although the Season boasts much more to follow.

Over the coming months the Season is set to release 4 more characters, a new multiplayer mode and most exciting of all a brand new and infinitely re-playable singular player mode called Shadow Lords. Little is known about Shadow Lords yet, although it’s been advertised as a Campaign style mode in which you create a team of fighters to punch and kick your way towards thwarting an alien invasion.

The Shadow Lords mode looks to give the player a solid reason to pick up the game in a single player capacity as your classic fighting games become stale fast if you aren’t playing them competitively anymore because Dave left.

Overall Killer Instinct is easy to pick up and even easier to get addicted to, although it can become boring quickly if you’re just playing by yourself. The music, graphics and wide swathe of characters alone make this game worth checking out although to get the most enjoyment out of it you’ll probably have to chuck some cash their way.

As far as fighting games go this one is solidly enjoyable for almost all types of gamers and even non regular gamers. It’s almost as good as Marvel Vs Capcom 3 (the greatest fighting game of all time in my opinion). So play Killer Instinct: Season 3 (and then go and play Marvel vs. Capcom 3).