Cyberpunk 2077’s Launch Results, Super Mario 64 Browser Edition

Cyberpunk 2077 is doing brisk business

Cyberpunk 2077 may not have had the smoothest launch, but judging by the numbers it was a gigantic success.

According to CD Projekt RED's 2020 financial report, the company had $563 million in sales revenue, four times that of 2019. Cyberpunk 2077 had sold over 13.7 million copies by the end of 2020.

Few refunds: Although there was a lot of noise around refunds immediately after launch and CD Projekt RED was forced to launch a customer service initiative called Help Me Refund to deal with dissatisfied customers, only around 30,000 purchases were actually refunded, totaling $2.23 million in lost sales revenue. The total cost of refunds, however, is projected to be $51.2 million by the end of 2021.

Big growth: That figure includes the estimated loss of revenue after Cyberpunk 2077 was pulled from the PlayStation Store, as well as direct refunds to retailers. Overall, the financial report is highly positive and optimistic, and CD Projekt RED is in nothing short of rude health.

Which pinball table did Ed Boon lend his voice to?

a) Funhouse
b) Black Knight
c) Earthshaker!
d) No Fear: Dangerous Sports

The answer will be revealed at the bottom of today's issue. Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss what the answer could be.

Good looks can be destructive

Hi-Rez Studios mythologically inclined MOBA Smite got a bit carried away with their character based on the Hindu goddess Kali, who had a rather revealing outfit. They eventually introduced a more demure costume for her during the game’s beta, with some speculating displeased Hindus might have spurred the effort.

The Norse deity Ullr also appears, and he references the arrow-in-the-knee meme from Skyrim in one of his lines: “I used to know an adventurer like you, until I shot an arrow in his knee”.

Join our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today's fact.

Gotta photograph ’em all

New Pokémon Snap is the much anticipated sequel to the Nintendo 64 classic, and it is out for Switch this very week. Rome gets a facelift in Total War: Rome Remastered, while the sleeper hit Terminator: Resistance is enhanced for PlayStation 5.

Tuesday – April 27

• Death end re;Quest for NS

Wednesday – April 28

• Genshin Impact for PS5
• To Hell With It for PC

Thursday – April 29

• R-Type Final 2 for NS, PS4, XBO, XSX
• Total War: Rome Remastered for PC

Friday – April 30

• New Pokémon Snap for NS
• Returnal for PS5
• R-Type Final 2 for PC, NS, PS4, XBO, XSX
• Terminator: Resistance Enhanced for PS5

After Players Cup III, Friendship Day

The Players Cup 3 wrapped up this weekend, and the finals were fought in Pokkén Tournament DX, Pokémon Sword & Shield as well as the Pokémon trading card game. The Pokémon Go Friendship Day event also started.

Pokémon Go

• Friendship Day event
  • First debut begins rollout
  • Grass-types and extra XP

Pokémon Sword & Shield

• Players Cup III has concluded
• Wild Area Event shift with Extra Event
  • World Penguin Day celebrated with Eiscue
  • Shiny Eiscue also available

Pokémon Masters EX

• Champion Stadium returning to Kanto Challenge
  • Lasts from May 3rd until May 31st
  • Trainers face the Kanto Elite Four and Champion

Review: Before I Forget

Developer: 3-Fold Games

Version Tested: Nintendo Switch

Before I Forget is the story of Sunita, who suffers from early-onset dementia. As you look around her flat trying to find her husband and discover notes left behind by Sunita's caretaker, you learn about her work as a cosmologist and her husband's career as a concert pianist.

It's a short game, but all the more impactful for it. The perpetual sense of unfamiliarity and loneliness that Sunita's apartment invokes never loses its sting, and the bittersweet moments where she discovers some kind of memento of her past and struggles to remember what they mean remain touching until the end.

As you explore the apartment, colors grow more vibrant or fade away depending on Sunita’s memories. There are also flashbacks to her childhood in India, where her aunt taught her about constellations and you hunt for particular stars in the night sky.

As you amble around in Sunita’s apartment, you often end up investigating the same items more than once, triggering repeated voice lines, unfortunately revealing the artifice of the experience. Since Before I Forget has such simple gameplay, every inconsistency detracts considerably from the whole.

Unfortunately, the ending doesn’t do the experience justice. It is unexpectedly bombastic, but fails to be dramatic since the resolution is rather obvious and neither cathartic nor particularly resonant. It makes sense, but is simply not particularly engaging.

Before I Forget makes an admirable attempt to both simulate and explore dementia, and it is both earnest and honest in its treatment of the condition, and never wavers from the essential melancholy of its story or subject matter. If you can forgive the weak ending, the rest of the game is full of memorable moments and reminders of how precious memories are.

PROS:

• Heartbreaking narrative
• Honest portrayal of dementia
• Striking use of color

CONS:

• Disappointing ending
• Repetitive voice lines

Before I Forget is available now on the PC, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Developer 3-Fold Games kindly provided a Nintendo Switch code to DailyBits for free for the purposes of this review.

• Evercade VS is a retro home console with multiplayer featuring 1080p output, WiFi and a library of 260 fully licensed games
• Godfall for PlayStation 4 rated by PEGI and listed with an April 23rd launch date, suggesting a delay
• Cotton Guardian Force Saturn Tribute announced for PlayStation 4 and Switch for September 30th
• Steam's Golden Week Sale begins on April 29th and celebrates games from Japan until May 6th
• Play Super Mario 64 in the browser with gamepad or keyboard and mouse on froggi.es/mario

Atelier Mysterious Trilogy DX Codes

The Atelier Mysterious Trilogy Deluxe Pack is now available on digital stores and last week we had some Switch and PlayStation 4 codes to give away to DailyBits subscribers.

Here are the winners!

• Stefanie Vlcek
• BroPool360
• Johannes Wiese
• Mark Wilson
• Ramesh Sahani

Which pinball table did Ed Boon lend his voice to?

ANSWER: Funhouse!

You probably know Ed Boon for his work on Mortal Kombat, but he actually started out making pinball games. After he graduated from college, Williams Entertainment hired Boon to work on their pinball games. He programmed tables like Banzai Run and Taxi, but also made a different kind of contribution to Funhouse.

Boon voices the Funhouse board’s villain, a dummy head named Rudy. Rudy follows the ball with his eyes, and your goal is to launch the ball into his mouth. You can play a digital recreation of the game in Pinball FX3, which you can find in the Williams Pack Volume 6 and a chance to hear Ed Boon say something other than “Get over here!”

Today's issue of DailyBits was written by Gavin Herman, Nick Akerman, Erlend Grefsrud, Simon Priest, and Jamie Davey. If you have any feedback or news tips for the team, please email us!