Monster Hunter Digital Event News, Bethesda acquisition Approved

Monster Hunter Rise demo back March 11

An updated version of the Monster Hunter Rise demo will appear for the Switch on March 11th, and you can also update the old demo to the new version if you’ve already downloaded it.

The demo was announced at the Monster Hunter Digital Event, where Capcom also dropped new trailers. The Kamura's Hope Trailer is almost four minutes long, and shows glimpses of some major battles and reveals a bit more of the game's story.

Storied monsters: The second trailer shows off Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin, which is launching for PC and Switch on July 9th.

Magnanimous: "If you already played the demo in January, you can update it to this new demo to add the Magnamalo quest," according to Capcom, which pits you against – you guessed it – the Magnamalo monster. The demo is limited to 30 attempts, but you can just delete your save game data to keep trying.

Before Rust, what sandbox title did Facepunch Studios make?

a) Garry’s Mod
b) Second Life
c) Roblox
d) Kadama 

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.

Light on gun but heavy on canon

No-one talks about Resident Evil: Dead Aim, but the story from the PlayStation 2 light gun adventure is actually part of the official Resident Evil canon.

Sure, no other game in the series references any of the events in Dead Aim, but it is part of the series timeline according to the book Inside of Biohazard The Darkside Chronicles. Oh, and you can move while you shoot!

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

Crash Bandicoot makes a return this week

EA’s battle royale Apex Legends is coming to Switch this week, and the delayed real-time strategy game Stronghold: Warlords is finally out for PC. We know what you’ve all been waiting for, though: Crash Bandicoot 4: It’s About Time is coming out for Switch, PS5 and Xbox Series this Friday.

Tuesday – March 09

• Apex Legends for NS
• Gensou Skydrift for PS4
• Stronghold: Warlords for PC

Wednesday – March 11

• Monster Energy Supercross: The Official Videogame 4 for PC, PS4, PS5, XBO, XSX, Stadia

Wednesday – March 12

• Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time for NS, PS5, XSX

Stronghold: Warlords review round-up

Stronghold: Warlords suffered a minor setback due to COVID-19 and the team needing to adapt to new conditions, but now the siege can begin in earnest. The biggest new feature in the city-building real-time strategy game is recruitable, upgradeable and commandable AI-controlled lords who help you maintain your fiefdom. The critics are suitably impressed.

Critic scores

• KeenGamer (Score 8/10) – ”Stronghold Warlords takes the winning formula of the series and returns to the original's near-perfect form while improving on almost all aspects of the game. The newly added warlords mechanic didn't strike my fancy in the way I suppose the developers would have wanted, but that's not because it's a bad addition, just that it needs some tweaking to make it a more integral part of the game.”
• Eurogamer Italy (Score 8/10) – ”Stronghold: Warlords is a competent and polished RTS that brings in the series an important gameplay addition, while keeping the original RTS firmly at the base of its proposal.”
• GameSkinny (Score 7/10) – ”If Stronghold: Warlords sees a little post-release love from the developers, it could turn into a great stepping stone for the franchise; there are some kinks that need to be ironed out, but it's got a strong base to build off of. If you're a long-term fan of the series or want something a little different with your next RTS, this might be what you're looking for.”
• IGN (Score 7/10) – ”Stronghold Warlords has a refreshing East Asian setting and satisfying castle building, but it looks and plays like an RTS that was asleep for most of the last decade or two.”
• PCGamesN (Score 7/10) – ”While missions can be frustrating and the new diplomacy system is nothing to write home about, Stronghold: Warlords should satisfy devoted fans with its new, gorgeously realised setting.”

Win the entire We Were Here series

What's better than winning a game? Why, winning three games, of course! The entire We Were Here series of first-person puzzle adventures could be yours since we have codes for all three games in the series to give away.

The trilogy was developed by the Dutch studio Total Mayhem Games, and challenges you to guide a team through challenging situations deep in the Antarctic. Check out the We Were Here Series Giveaway to find out how to enter the competition.

• The European Union has approved Bethesda acquisition allowing Microsoft to complete the $7.5 billion deal
• Watch Dog: Legion online mode delayed for PC, console version is on schedule for March 9th and Tactical Op on March 23rd
• Tales of Arise is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One later this year and Bandai Namco just dropped a new trailer
• Survival game Rust coming soon to PlayStation 4 and Xbox One says Facepunch Studios, who promises re-release this Spring
• Six Days in Fallujah is “inseparable from politics” admits publisher Victura, but they insist it voices “a variety of perspectives”

Before Rust, what sandbox title did Facepunch Studios make?

ANSWER: Garry’s Mod!

Rust’s multiplayer survival gameplay was a trendsetter with immense influence on streaming, but Facepunch’s first game probably had an even greater impact on culture. Garry’s Mod first appeared in 2004, and allowed players to play around with Source engine assets in a very, very pure sandbox. Make weird contraptions, make animations or even create your own games.

The mod spawned mods of its own, including Trouble in Terrorist Town, Gmod Tower and Jazztronauts. It was a gigantic success, selling over 10 million copies and the eagerly-anticipated sequel for Source 2 is coming to Steam Early Access later this year. Will new technology support even greater silliness – and will it support VR?

Help Us Improve DailyBits

We hope you've enjoyed today's issue of DailyBits! Please feel free to send any feedback or news tips over to team@dailybits.news. In order to make sure you keep receiving these emails, we'd also like to ask if you could please add us to your contact list, so that we don't land in your spam or promotion folders. Thank you!

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