Out this Wednesday, redesigned for consoles.

No other theme park management sim has ever quite managed to reach the highs of the classic Roller Coaster Tycoon games, but the attempts keep on coming as it's announced Parkitect will debut on PS5, PS4 later this week in a Deluxe Edition format.

The release bundles together the original title with two DLC packs (Booms and Blooms and A Taste of Adventure), and features new button mapping options and a redesigned UI to make the experience "comfortable" on consoles. You can see it in action in the trailer above, with the PS5, PS4 launch set for this Wednesday, 3rd July 2024. The Deluxe Edition on PC costs just under £40 / $45, so expect a similar pricepoint on PlayStation consoles.

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Probably still a ways off.

Let's be honest — everything we're playing right now is just filling time until the new Crazy Taxi is out. As part of a big new push to bring its beloved back catalogue into the modern age, SEGA is producing a brand new Crazy Taxi, and a recent recruitment video has revealed some new details about the arcade racer.

Various people from the development team talk about the new entry, discussing how it differs from previous games in the series. The two main things to take from this are that it'll be set in an open, explorable, "theme park-like" city, and that it'll be multiplayer.

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Shadow clone.

It might not be topping the chart, but both physical editions of Elden Ring are currently in the UK's top 10. The regular version of FromSoftware's celebrated action RPG is currently in fourth, up from number 15. Meanwhile, Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree Edition — which includes a voucher code for the DLC as well as the main game — is at number six, down from its debut in second.

The rest of the list is more or less what you'd expect. Luigi's Mansion 2 HD debuts at number one, pushing down EA Sports FC 24 to second place. Hogwarts Legacy holds steady at number three, and the never-ending marathon continues for Grand Theft Auto V, which sits at number nine.

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"What rumor?".

A Song of Ice and Fire author and official Elden Ring lore contributor George R.R. Martin appears to have teased a movie or TV adaptation of the FromSoftware game really could be in the works. Following on from comments made by creator Hidetaka Miyazaki, who didn't see any reason to "deny another interpretation or adaptation of Elden Ring", Martin added more fuel to the fire.

In a new post on his blog, he said: "Oh, and about those rumors you may have heard about a feature film or television series based on ELDEN RING… I have nothing to say. Not a word, nope, not a thing, I know nothing, you never heard a peep from me, mum mum mum. What rumor?"

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It's not a surprise, is it?

There are fewer people playing Helldivers 2 now than there were when the game absolutely exploded to an unprecedented level earlier in the year – but probably still more than anyone initially expected. A slew of headlines about the game’s supposed decline started circling on social media during the slow summer weekend just gone, which pointed out that the title attracted a 24-hour peak of “just” 45,315 gamers on Steam over the last 24 hours. That’s obviously a lot less than its all-time high on the platform of 458,709.

Of course, all games experience some kind of decline in popularity in the months immediately following their launch – it’s as normal as night transitioning to day. Arrowhead will obviously want to pull players back in with future content updates, and while it clearly never planned for this kind of success, we know it’s ramped up its roadmap after selling over 12 million copies to date.

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Pulling power.

After a long, public development cycle – influenced by several closed beta tests – Genshin Impact and Honkai: Star Rail developer HoYoverse will launch its latest title Zenless Zone Zero this week, on 4th July. And those looking to dive in to the urban fantasy RPG on day one will be rewarded with a whopping 100 free pulls.

Pulls, or draws, are used by the gacha system to unlock new characters and weapons. The rewards will be spread out across story progression, in-game events, and login bonuses, so you’ll need to make some progress to get them all. However, those of you who put the hours in will get 1,600 Polychromes, 70 Master Tapes, and 20 Encrypted Master Tapes. There’ll also be 80 Boopons to collect, which can be used to unlock supporting pet-like characters.

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Plus or minus?

July 2024's PS Plus Essential games have been officially revealed, with another three PS5 and PS4 games up for grabs starting from the 2nd July. Now, we don't want to try and colour your perception right out of the gate, but we do think this is a somewhat shaky selection.

The headline act is Borderlands 3, and we're just left wondering who hasn't played Borderlands 3 since its initial PS4 release in 2019. Gearbox's looter shooter has been on sale countless times over the years, and it's always been popular.

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Peanuts.

Another week has come to a conclusion, and things are hotting up weather-wise. All the more reason to close the curtains and play some games, then. Here's what's keeping us occupied.

Echo Apsey

I'm currently planning to continually get destroyed in Elden Ring's DLC as I get to the second half of it. But, I'm gonna break up the deaths by checking out Valorant's ranked mode which launched alongside the new Act earlier this week!

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PS5 alive.

Whether we want to believe it or not, we're now halfway through 2024. As we've written numerous times over the last few months, we think the first half of the year has been really good in terms of new PS5 games — although we'll admit that the summer has been rather dry, and as a result, we've found ourself looking towards the future.

We had originally planned on penning this Talking Point a bit sooner, but we wanted to wait until Summer Game Fest and its surrounding showcases had come to a close. After all, we did get a bunch of release dates during the various events, and it certainly helps to have a more definitive timeline for a discussion like this.

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S-S-Deee.

Astro Bot is a big, full-sized 3D platformer, and it's got the file size to prove it. The upcoming title from Team Asobi is its largest game yet, with more worlds to explore and new power-ups to toy with than in any of the robot's previous outings. Backing this up is the game's file size on PS5 which, according to the back of the retail box (thanks, Genki), is approximately 66GB.

By way of comparison, Astro's Playroom, the free PS5 pack-in, is about 11.7GB, putting the new game at roughly six times the size. Obviously that doesn't translate directly to Astro Bot's broader content, but it does generally highlight the bigger scope of the upcoming project.

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"Fed false hope and poor information by people looking for likes".

Sony Bend community manager Kevin McAllister has apologised to the passionate fanbase built around PS4 favourite Days Gone after he feels the community was lent "false hope" by misleading comments from the studio's former staff members and a deceptive headline from an outlet reporting on those tweets.

John Garvin, the former director and writer of Days Gone, responded to queries from the game's community earlier this week about the possibility of a Days Gone sequel. It's already public knowledge Sony Bend is now working on a new IP, but Garvin responded by saying he and Jeff Ross (also formerly of Sony Bend) had a "full outline" for a sequel, and even intended to turn the series into a trilogy. Garvin claims to have had a "script, outline, map concept art" for a pitch before he was let go by Sony.

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"Those do not affect gameplay".

Concord, the PS5 and PC shooter from PlayStation's own Firewalk Studios, will follow the Helldivers 2 blueprint of monetisation. That is to say, it'll cost you $40 / £35 upfront, and then it'll try and persuade players to cough up more cash for cosmetics. Just about everyone was expecting this to be the case, but we've now got confirmation from the developer itself.

"There are purely cosmetic pieces that you can choose to further customize the look of your character, that you can choose to purchase. Those do not affect gameplay. We believe so strongly that the full experience should be available to all of our players," director of IP Kim Kreines told VGC.

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Both features updated and improved.

In a new episode of the Metal Gear: Production Hotline series on YouTube, Konami has revealed a brief look at how the camo and healing systems of Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater have been upgraded over the original. Detailed in the video above, both features go significantly more in-depth than the PS2 version, with visible marks left on Big Boss' body and clothing.

For the camo system specifically, it's said that "falling leaves will stick to your clothes", crawling through mud "leaves stains", and you'll notice "tears and bullet holes" in your clothing after taking damage. These little details all appear in "realtime, based on your gameplay".

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Come forth, Arisen.

If you've been tempted to try Dragon's Dogma 2 but you're yet to pull the trigger on a full purchase, you may want to give this new trial a shot. Available to download now on PS5, this is a two-hour preview where you can transfer your progress over to the game proper. There is a catch, though, in that the trial is only accessible between now and the 18th July.

Just to be clear, this isn't a PS Plus Premium trial — it's basically a demo.

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Record scratch.

DON’T NOD created Life Is Strange, but it’s no longer the steward of the series, which is owned by Square Enix. The latest entry, Double Exposure, developed by Deck Nine, is due out on 29th October – roughly the same time as Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, the spiritual successor to the franchise DON’T NOD birthed. Now, the French firm has announced it’s delaying its game into 2025, in order to give both narrative adventures the space they need to breathe.

“We know that many of our fans are eagerly awaiting this game, just as they are the recently announced next instalment of Life is Strange,” CEO Oskar Guilbert candidly admitted. “Let's give both titles the space they need to be enjoyed by our players within the large community we have built. We firmly believe that the wait for Bloom & Rage will be worth it. We look forward to sharing this new adventure, which we hope will become another memorable chapter in the DON'T NOD universe.”

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To the New Zealand of Eorzea.

Final Fantasy XIV's eagerly-anticipated next expansion, Dawntrail, is almost upon us (launching 2nd July), and it could be the relaxing tropical holiday from reality you need. In a shockingly involved bit of marketing, Square Enix has whipped up an in-universe travel website that extolls the virtues of Tural, even roping in the ever-delightful Rhys Darby (Flight of the Conchords) to play its cheerful interim tourism director.

The website contains a wealth of information on the new content coming to the game, presented as a send-up of travel sites. There is a Things to Do section, "Job" adverts, and a primer on Turali culture. We particularly like the services in the Health and Wellness section. Cactuar acupuncture, anyone? How about some Moblin meditation?

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Git gud, Miyazaki.

In what probably shouldn't be surprising news, but somehow still is, FromSoftware boss Hidetaka Miyazaki claims to not be very good at video games. Responsible for more gamer frustration, rage, and eventual triumph than any other developer working (probably), Miyazaki says that when it comes to Elden Ring, he takes every advantage and scrap of aid the game offers.

Almost certainly an evangelist of the Mimic Tear, Miyazaki spoke to The Guardian and explained he rarely plays his games post-launch: "Leading up to the release of any game, I'll be very hands-on playing it and getting as much time on it as possible. But after the release, I tend not to want to touch it because I know I will find things I left on the table or issues that will bug me."

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Your wallet's already dead.

Pay day is here for many of you we suspect, and Sony knows you’re feeling flush right now. That’s why it’s put a bunch of popular PS5 and PS4 games on sale, with many attracting their lowest prices ever. Dying Light 2, for example, is cheaper than it’s ever been at £21.99 – and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor has also hit a new low of £31.49.

We’ve included some of the highlights below, and will update when US pricing becomes available:

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Take your time.

It sounds like the upcoming Metaphor: ReFantazio will be quite the departure from recent Atlus efforts like Persona 5 or SMT V: Vengeance, with game director Katsura Hashino suggesting there is a "lot more freedom" in his high fantasy undertaking. While the central story is set in stone, how players decide to spend their limited in-game time means tough decisions will have to be made, meaning they won't see everything the game has to offer in a single playthrough.

Speaking to GameSpot, Hashino describes the situation, likening the experience to going on a holiday: "Imagine if you go on vacation. You go to a city and have ten places listed on your travel log. Some might take two days to enjoy, while others take half a day. Some might require a guide or more preparations, others might be safer. But you can't do it all. In this game, you travel a lot, and when you get to your destinations, you have a choice of multiple dungeons you can do. And all these dungeons have different difficulty levels, so it's up to you how you choose to spend your time. In this way, there's a lot more freedom."

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