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Meet Darth Vader in VR, Fan-made Mario 64 port

TODAY: E3 may be cancelled, but nothing can stop the deluge of game announcements — Streets of Rage 4 is just what you need to get over your COVID-19 frustrations — Fan-made Super Mario 64 port is out for PC

Duel with Darth Vader in VR

Vader Immortal coming to PlayStation

Ever dreamed of facing Darth Vader in a light saber duel? Of course you have, and thanks to ILMxLAB that dream is coming true on PlayStation this summer.

Vader Immortal: A Star Wars VR Series will include “all three episodes and Lightsaber Dojos”, and tells a brand new story about everyone’s favorite Sith lord as well as bringing the Star Wars universe to life in virtual reality.

Your father’s lightsaber: The developers had always dreamed of making a Star Wars VR game, and obviously they wanted lightsaber duels: “Wielding a lightsaber was right there at the top of that list, but we knew that if we were going to do that, we had to do it right,” said ILMxLAB ‘s Mark Miller.

Face a Dark Lord: “The moment when Darth Vader first approaches you is something that can’t really be explained (but I’ll try). It’s intense when his gaze follows you and he speaks directly to you,” he continued.

Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?

Which Naughty Dog game accidentally left an easter egg for The Last of Us before its official announcement?

  • Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception
  • Jak and Daxter Collection
  • Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
  • Jak X: Combat Racing

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.

Daily Fact

Dragon Ball FighterZ sold like hotcakes even before it was launched in Japan

Arc System Works’ 2018 brawler Dragon Ball FighterZ quickly became the fastest-selling game in the series, shifting no less than 2 million units in its first week – and that was even before the game launched in Japan!

That’s quite a feat for a fighting game based on a decades-old anime. Not long after launch, hackers started playing with the camera in the menu and discovered signs of two game modes that didn’t make it to launch: Z League, represented by a golden Mr. Satan statue, and Raid League, represented by a Saiyan pod. Both menu options had simply been moved off-screen.

Join up with our community on Twitter and Facebook to discuss today’s fact.

Digital Events: EA Play Live Dated

Upcoming online game showcases

Since GDC, E3 and other conferences and trade shows have been cancelled, publishers and studios are reaching their fans and making their announcements via digital showcases instead.

The biggest event is Geoff Keighley’s Summer Game Fest, which is starting now and will last until August. Summer Game Fest will feature announcements from a bunch of studios, plus time-limited playable demos. Of course, not every single studio and publisher is participating – some are hosting their own events too:

  • EA Play Live
    • June 11th at 4.00pm PT / 12.00am GMT
  • Nintendo Direct
    • June broadcast was delayed, no new date announced
  • Ubisoft
  • Devolver Digital
  • Sony – PlayStation
  • Microsoft – Xbox
  • Gamescom 2020

Not for everyone: Bethesda will not be hosting any online events or showcases, but Pete Hines did tease they have “lots of exciting things to share about our games and look forward to telling you more in the coming months.” That could mean that they will appear as part of the events of platform holders, or that they have something completely different in mind.

Game Spotlight

Streets of Rage 4

Version tested: Nintendo Switch

Streets of Rage is back! The whole cast from the original trilogy is back to take on a new menace: The Y-Syndicate, led by none other than Mr. X’s twins. The old-school pixel art is gone, replaced by a striking comic book-style interpretation that looks fantastic in motion.

There are 12 stages, each lasting just under 10 minutes, but don’t let the length discourage you: it’s just as replayable as the old games, and features no less than 13 unlockable characters with unique stats and moves that ensures no two fights are the same.

Each stage awards you a rank based on your score, which depends on keeping your combo alive. If you get hit during combat, your combo ends and you lose the score bonus it would have been worth. This makes every fight into a little puzzle that requires you to figure out the best way to both rack up and keep a combo.

The combat has been improved too, thanks to a new focus on special moves with invincibility frames that help you keep your combo alive. Enemies have been designed with these in mind, and you’ll need to use your special moves to counter otherwise unescapable attacks. This means the game works as a deep single-player game and not just as a co-op button masher like the old games.

Though Streets of Rage 4 is fun alone, it really comes to life with friends. Two players can brave the streets together online, while up to four can lay down the smack locally. In other words, this is everything you could have asked for: A game that’s as engaging alone as with friends, stuffed with content and challenges suitable both for old hands and new fans.

It also runs at a silky-smooth 60FPS on Switch in handheld mode, and is available on Microsoft’s Xbox and PC Game Passes.

Score: 9/10

This Week In Gaming

This Week in Gaming – John Wick Hex and roguelike shooter Void Bastards

It’s pretty quiet this week, with only two notable releases: John Wick Hex brings its turn-based action choreography to PlayStation 4, while Void Bastards swear it up on PlayStation 4 and Switch.

Tuesday – May 05

  • John Wick Hex launches for PlayStation 4

Thursday – May 07

  • Void Bastards launches for PlayStation 4 and Switch

What Else Happened Today?

Esports Bits

Valve delays The International 2020

Valve is delaying the International, the world’s biggest Dota 2 tournament, until 2021. The date is not set in stone yet, since Valve has no idea how the COVID-19 pandemic will develop or how long various restrictions will be in effect.

Like previous International tournaments, 25% of the prize pool will be funded by sales of the next Battle Pass, which should become available soon despite delays since Valve’s staff is working from home.

Sinatraa is going all-in on Valorant

Reigning Overwatch League MVP Jay “Sinatraa” Won is retiring from Overwatch to play for Sentinel’s Valorant team. Won explained his decision on Twitter: “straight up just lost passion for the game. idk what the real killer was for me but maybe it was 2-2-2 lock maybe it was bans im not sure… i just know it was hard for me to log on to play and i didnt have fun in scrims/ranked at all anymore”.

Won was one of Overwatch’s biggest names, and his departure follows reports of waning audience interest in Overwatch, part thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic and part because the league is now broadcast on YouTube Gaming rather than Twitch.TV.

Windigo finally receives WESG prize

Bulgarian Counter-Strike: Global Offensive team Windigo has finally received their prize money from WESG 2018. According to WESG, the delays were due to “bank regulations and the current global pandemic”, which sounds a bit suspicious considering the COVID-19 pandemic only picked up a few months ago. Unfortunately, it’s too little too late for Windigo, who disbanded last year. How far could the Bulgarians have gone if they got that cash in time?

Quiz Answer - Did You Get It Right?

Which Naughty Dog game accidentally left an easter egg for The Last of Us before its official announcement?

Answer: Uncharted 3: Drake’s Deception!

Played Uncharted 3 lately? If not, have another go and play until you get to the London bar brawl.

If you stay in the pub, you can find a newspaper lying on the counter. It can be tricky to read, but the headline says “Scientists are still struggling to understand deadly fungus”. That’s right, the kind of infection that leads to the end of the world in The Last of Us.

If you missed it the first time around, you’re not alone. According to The Last of Us creative director Neil Druckmann, the team had forgotten all about the Easter egg. Fortunately, no eagle-eyed fans figured out that it was a reference to Naughty Dog’s next game, so the surprise was kept a secret.

Today’s issue of DailyBits was written by Simon Priest, Gavin Herman, Erlend Grefsrud, Christian Vaz and Jamie Davey.