Top Story
Fortnite x Batman event this weekend?
Fortnite is one of the biggest games in the world, and consequently all manner of big names are lining up to have crossover events with Epic’s shooter, from Marvel to Stranger Things. Now dataminers have dug out a bunch of details suggesting the the next event will be Batman-related – and it’ll probably happen this weekend.
Fortnite leaker Lucas7Yoshi has dug out a set of images that point to a new Batman limited-time mode called Welcome to Gotham City. There will be new items, challenges, rewards, skins, and it’s looking like Tilted Town will be transformed into Gotham City for the course of the event. Since this Saturday, September 21st is (no joke) Batman Day, that’s probably when the crossover will start.
Dance with the devil in Tilted Town
The two new items are the Explosive Batarang and Grapnel Gun, which are bat-variations of existing items. New Challenges include lighting up batsignals around Gotham, defusing Joker Gas canisters, and using the Grapnel Gun.
Rewards include new bat-symbol sprays and glider variations, and we wouldn’t exactly be astonished if Batman, Joker and other character skins become available too. And that’s not the only Batman-related event Epic has up its bat-sleeve! There’s a huge bundle of free Batman games available on the Epic Game Store, right now.
Batman Day is basically Christmas, but batter.
Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?
What was the first free game given away on the Epic Games Store?
- Super Meat Boy
- World War Z
- Journey
- Subnautica
The answer will be revealed at the end of this issue!
News Bits
Farfetch’d evolves at last in Pokemon Sword and Shield
After 23 years, classic Pokémon Farfetch’d from the original Pokémon Red & Blue will finally be able to evolve into Sirfetch’d, apparently “after experiencing many battles”. Farfetch’d is one of the original 151 Pokemon and has always been a fan-favourite, mostly because he just looks like a duck holding a leek.
Now that leek looks more like a, uh, spring onion sword, is accompanied by a salad shield and the little ducky is considerably buffer. Sirfetch’d will be exclusive to Pokemon Sword, so if you want him, make sure you don’t pick up Shield by mistake.
Daily Fact
Spider-Man and Batman were both enemies of Sega’s Shinobi
As reported in today’s top story, there’s a Fortnite x Batman event coming up, incidentally the first time DC’s Batman has appeared in the same game as Marvel’s Avengers. However, the Dark Knight has been in at least one game alongside Spider-Man – not exactly officially, though!
The game was The Revenge of Shinobi, the first 16-bit game in Sega’s long-running series of ninja platformers. Not only did Batman and Spider-Man both make somewhat illicit appearances, they were bosses Shinobi had to beat – in fact, they were the same boss, Metamorpher, who transforms into both heroes!
The funniest thing is, Sega eventually procured a Marvel license, and officially turned the boss into Spider-Man in later re-releases. Unfortunately, that meant Batman had to be made even more demonic to avoid upsetting Marvel. But for a brief, glorious moment Sega defied the laws of the comic universe – or maybe just the laws of copyright – and featured both the caped crusader and your friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man in the same game. Why don’t anyone do things like this anymore?
Oh, because Marvel would sue them to smithereens. That’s probably why.
Daily News
Free Borderlands 3 updates revealed
Borderlands 3 is out now and while it’s got plenty of content already, it can always get a little more! Gearbox revealed the first batch of post-release content at PAX West this week, and some of it will be free. Bloody Harvest will be a “spooky” update that’s coming first, and will be followed by Maliwan Takedown before the first paid DLC arrive sometime this winter.
Maliwan Takedown will include new enemies, bosses, and a whole new map but not much was revealed about the first big update, the presumably Halloween-themed Bloody Harvest. Fortunately, thanks to dataminers looking into Borderlands 3’s files, we’ve got some info at least – including the slightly unexpected news that rapper Ice-T will appear.
Trick or Treat
According to a video by Borderlands 3 dataminer Stephen Chapman, there are clues in the game’s code that give some idea of what to expect. Additional customization options will be added, including new heads, skins, and weapon trinkets along with new challenges, presumably as a way to win those items. There’s no indication of new bosses, maps, or quests, but there will be at least two new enemies: the Haunted Punk and the Bloody Harvest Ghost.
Most notably, Balex – the AI trapped in a teddy bear voiced by Ice-T – will be involved in the event somehow, and may even be hosting it. A few of Balex lines are revealed by the game’s files, including “During Bloody Harvest, all drinking water will now be pumpkin spice-flavoured. You’re welcome” and “All right, it’s the Bloody Harvest. I wanna see costumes, people! Slutty robot, slutty Vault monster, I don’t care – just make it slutty!” Classy as always, Borderlands!
While it’s not clear when Bloody Harvest will be added to Borderlands 3, it seems obviously Halloween-themed (as was a similar event for Borderlands 2) so presumably it’ll land sometime in October, complete with Ice-T.
Astral Chain director has ideas for a sequel, but is unsure if it’ll happen
Astral Chain is the latest game from PlatinumGames, the developer behind Bayonetta and Nier: Automata – and the Switch exclusive spectacle brawler mostly lives up to its legacy. The big question is, was it successful enough to warrant a sequel?
BunnyGaming interviewed director Takahisa Taura, who pointed out that a sequel was dependent on how well the game sold. While he didn’t share sales figures, he added that “I can only say that the idea of a sequel at this point is something I am unsure of… but I will be very happy if the game is well received and sells well!”
Astral Chain requests that we lighten our burden
Taura then corrected a previous comment suggesting Platinum was planning a trilogy, which apparently was a mistranslation. While they have no plans to make another Astral Chain game, Taura is ready if sales are strong enough: “I actually meant to say that I do have a lot of ideas at my disposal and if there’s an opportunity to make a sequel or more entries, I’d be able to do so.”
Sadly, Taura couldn’t confirm whether Nier: Automata would appear on Switch: “You already know the answer, it’s – ‘please ask Square Enix!’” The same goes for Google Stadia, although we’re sure people would prefer a Switch port – especially since Astral Chain and the Bayonetta games suggest lots of Switch owners are PlatinumGames fans too.
