There are free rewards for everyone.

Chinese juggernaut HoYoverse has another hit on its hands: Zenless Zone Zero has surpassed 50 million downloads since launching earlier this week, on 4th July. That number is accurate across all platforms, so includes PS5 as well as PC and mobile. The game did have 40 million pre-registrations prior to launching so the number isn’t a massive surprise – but it’s still a staggering statistic when you step back and think about the kind of figures being thrown around here.

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Rest period.

The video game release schedule continues to slow while the sun just about hangs in the sky for some acceptable UK temperatures this weekend, so it should come as little surprise that we don't have much going on in the industry right now. Our own pre-season, if you will. Still, we've managed to find one or two games to pass the time with.

Aaron Bayne

An out-of-the-blue pick for me this week, but the lads and I have been surviving the asylum in The Outlast Trials which is a great laugh with friends.

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It's about time.

Despite its overall popularity, Bleach has always been severely underrepresented in video games — especially compared to the likes of Naruto and One Piece. That's about to change, however, with Bleach: Rebirth of Souls. Freshly announced at Anime Expo 2024, this adaptation covers a good chunk of the source material, through to the Arrancar arc.

It's being categorised as an 'action fighting' game, but from what we've seen, it's essentially an arena fighter with a story mode. Gameplay has a focus on turning the tides of battle with devastating strikes — just like in the manga and anime.

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Live from Anime Expo 2024.

Want to watch the Bandai Namco Summer Showcase 2024? Well, you've come to the right place. The Japanese publisher's event will be livestreamed straight from Anime Expo 2024, which is happening this weekend in Los Angeles. As such, you can expect announcements and news surrounding anime-based titles from Bandai Namco, such as the upcoming Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero.

A new Bleach game, called Bleach: Rebirth of Souls is also set to show up, but we don't yet know what it's about, and which platforms it's in development for. Beyond that, there's a chance that we hear something with regards to the next Tales title, but we'll have to wait and see.

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First strike.

Classically-styled 2D fighter Blazing Strike finally has a release date. The Street Fighter-inspired title's been floating around for years, but we've now got confirmation that it's launching in just a few months, on the 17th October. It's coming to both PS5 and PS4.

Sporting some lovely sprite work along with an eye-catching cast of characters, Blazing Strike has certainly looked the part ever since it was first announced. Its four-button gameplay has been described as accessible but with plenty of depth for those who go looking for it, while all of your usual modes will be present at launch. That includes Story, Arcade, Versus, Training, and online matches.

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Breaking.

The West is now coming very close to being completely caught up on the Trails series. Trails through Daybreak 2 has just been confirmed for a Western release — and that's crazy, because its predecessor, Trails through Daybreak, only just launched today at the time of writing. It's a seriously impressive turnaround by publisher NIS America and developer Falcom.

Just like the first game, Daybreak 2 will arrive on PS5 and PS4. Western fans are now just one game away from being up to date on the franchise, as the third title in the Daybreak saga — Kai no Kiseki: Farewell, O Zemuria — is set for a Japanese release this September.

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Game of thrones.

Assuming you haven't already seen enough of Metaphor: ReFantazio, the RPG just got a fantastic story trailer, fresh from Anime Expo 2024. In it, we get a bit more background on some of the main characters — including the protagonist — and a glimpse of the world-shattering stakes that form the core of the game's narrative.

"Fight for the truth, awaken your resolve, and enter the tournament for the throne," reads the one-line description. We're loving the tension in this trailer, and there seems to be real potential for a cracking character-driven plot.

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Halfway there.

Now that we're officially halfway through 2024, it's time to take a look back at all of the PS5 games we've played so far this year and decide on the current Game of the Year contenders. From where we're sitting, it's been a solid six months, which have offered up some fantastic titles across a range of genres.

In order to talk things through, we've gathered the usual suspects from the Push Square editorial team. Read about our favourites, and then vote for your own in the poll at the bottom of this article. Oh, and feel free to completely disagree with our opinions in the comments section as well!

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Zzz or ZZZ?

Yet another gacha-based craze is currently sweeping PlayStation in the form of Zenless Zone Zero — an action RPG with a quirky futuristic setting. This is the latest release from ridiculously prolific developer HoYoverse, and we'd bet on it making the company a whole lotta money.

HoYoverse is the Chinese outfit behind fellow free-to-play giants Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail, so it's fair to say that it knows what it's doing in the live service space. But Zenless Zone Zero stands apart from its kin thanks to a focus on the kind of frantic, combo and dodge-based combat that you'd find in a more traditional action title.

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Roughly one year after release.

Roughly one year after its release on PS5 and PS4, Capcom has announced that it's ending support for Exoprimal. To be clear, the action-shooter will remain online and nothing's getting taken away from players — but there won't be any new content coming beyond the end of Season 4, which cuts off on the 11th July. After that date, Capcom will simply rotate the game back through its previous seasons.

"Thank you for playing Exoprimal. With the release of Title Update 4, all planned Exoprimal seasonal content has been finished," writes the developer in an official statement. "After Season 4, which concludes on July 11th, Season 1 will return. From there, a new season will begin on the first of each month. In addition, Season Passes 1-3 will be available for sale again. This will allow players to obtain items from all seasons."

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Ys please.

Ys X: Nordics now has a confirmed release date on PS5 and PS4. Falcom's action RPG launches on the 25th October, which means that it's surrounded by heavy hitters like Metaphor: ReFantazio (11th October), Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake (14th November), and Assassin's Creed Shadows (15th November). The last few months of 2024 are looking really busy.

Ys X launched in Japan last year, where it was well received. Although it still has the series' frantic hack-and-slash gameplay at its core, Nordics serves up some interesting additions, like naval battles. Longtime protagonist Adol is also joined by a young warrior named Karja, as the game adopts a dual-hero approach. In combat, you can switch freely between the two leads, and then pair them up to perform devastating team attacks.

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Sin-tillating.

Guilty Gear Strive's very own anime series, Guilty Gear Strive: Dual Rulers, will air in 2025. The show got its first teaser trailer during Anime Expo 2024, which you can watch above.

To be clear, this isn't just a retelling of Strive's already completely cinematic story mode. This is an additional narrative that focuses on Sin, consistent protagonist Sol, and a new character who apparently hates Gears. If that sentence makes no sense whatsoever, then we're hoping that the anime itself will make things easier to understand. To say Guilty Gear's lore is convoluted would be a drastic understatement (even though it is pretty cool).

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KAKAROT!

When it comes to commercial success, you should never bet against big-name anime games. Case in point: Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has just topped 8 million sales — a figure that most titles couldn't even dream of reaching.

Kakarot is an open world action RPG that retells the story of Dragon Ball Z (and a few others through DLC). It first released for PS4 in 2020, and an improved version arrived on PS5 much more recently, in March of this year. We happen to think it's a solid game, and as an adaptation of Goku's adventures, it's actually a lot more in-depth than you might think.

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First!

After what feels like an age of alpha and beta testing periods, The First Descendant has finally arrived on PS5. This free-to-play looter shooter is a little bit like a third-person Destiny, but instead of creating your own protagonist, you select playable heroes from a roster. Each of them is equipped with their own specialisations and abilities, and of course, if you want to bypass the grind, you can cough up real cash to unlock more of them.

In fact, The First Descendant's microtransactions are already a hot topic. Especially expensive in-game purchases have been highlighted, with comparisons to long-standing titles like Warframe proving to be pretty damning for the new kid on the block.

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Bandai Namco! Atlus! SEGA! NISA!

Anime Expo 2024 is happening in Los Angeles this weekend (starting on Thursday the 4th July), and it should actually be a pretty important event when it comes to gaming. Numerous Japanese publishers will be present — including Atlus, Bandai Namco, and SEGA — and most of them are hosting their own panels and exhibition booths. It's incredibly likely that we'll get a bunch of announcements over the next few days.

Now, naturally, anime games will be the sole focus of said announcements, but we're still talking about a wide range of projects here. From Metaphor: ReFantazio — which has its own panel on Friday — to the usual suspects like Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero and Sword Art Online Fractured Daydream, there's a lot to look out for.

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Horizon Zero Adaptations.

A new report from Rolling Stone claims that the TV adaptation of Horizon Zero Dawn is "no longer moving forward".

The news comes as part of a wider story concerning showrunner Steve Blackman; he has been accused of toxic behaviour by several anonymous sources who have worked with him on the show The Umbrella Academy. Projects that Blackman is attached to — one of them being PlayStation Productions and Netflix's Horizon adaptation — have subsequently been shelved. That's according to reporter Cheyenne Roundtree in a follow-up to the main story:

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To Erd is human.

Bandai Namco and FromSoftware have just released a new game update for Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, available to download and install now on PS5 and PS4. Version 1.12.3, as it's called, is largely aimed at tweaking the balance of certain weapons and attacks, mostly nerfing some overpowered abilities.

In PvP, the Swift Slash skill has had its damage and damage animation decreased. Meanwhile, balance adjustments have been made to the Carian Sorcery Sword, and the throwing attack range of the Smithscript Dagger and Smithscript Cirque has been increased.

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Four-year absence is over.

PlayStation will officially return to the Tokyo Games Show this year after being announced as part of the 731 company-strong list of exhibitors for the event. This is said to be the most exhibitors the Japanese expo has ever had, with a total of 3,190 booths showcasing the latest games and accessories both within Japan and overseas.

The last time Sony had a presence at TGS, it signed up for three days of livestreaming focusing on various PS4 titles releasing around the time. The biggest was a Death Stranding demo, which was complemented by in-depth looks at other games such as Final Fantasy VII Remake, Nioh 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and Yakuza: Like a Dragon. It hasn't announced any plans for 2024 yet besides the fact it'll be there at the show.

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Hollow victory.

Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse’s next big thing, the uber-stylish urban fantasy RPG Zenless Zone Zero, is playable for free on PS5 right now. The game, which weighs in at a little under 50GB, sees you assume the role of a so-called Proxy, as you deploy a colourful cast of collectible Agents into Hollows to investigate all sorts of aggressive threats.

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