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Nintendo Partner Showcase, Microsoft's Summer Fest Party

TODAY: Did you know there was a wireless peripheral for Game Boy Color? — Microsoft's Summer Game Fest starts today, featuring loads of demos — If you like 8-bit Castlevanias, you'll love Curse of the Moon 2

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Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase

The Nintendo Direct Mini Partner Showcase went live today, the first in a series showing off upcoming third-party games.

“With this new Nintendo Direct Mini: Partner Showcase, we are delighted to be shining a spotlight on great games from our development and publishing partners,” said Nintendo of America’s Steve Singer. “With multiple showcases this year, we can continue highlighting the breadth of games and the variety of experiences all types of players can get on Nintendo Switch.”

Mini Partner Showcase highlights:

  • Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Feat. The Legend of Zelda by Brace Yourself Games - DLC Packs Trailer
    • DLC Pack 1: Character Pack - now available
    • DLC Pack 2 & 3 launch ‘before end of October’
    • Season Pass now available, including bonus items
    • Cadence of Hyrule with all DLC included launches October 23
  • Rogue Company by First Watch Games/Hi-Rez Studios — Gl1tch Trailer — TBA 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch
  • WWE 2K Battlegrounds by Saber Interactive/2K Games — Showcase Trailer — September 18, 2020 for PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
  • Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne HD Remaster by Atlus — Showcase Trailer — Spring 2021 for Switch
  • Shin Megami Tensei V by Atlus — Showcase Trailer — TBA 2021 for Switch

Time For A Quick Daily Quiz?

What’s the official name of the infamous blue shell in Mario Kart?

  • The Spiny Shell
  • The Blue Shell
  • The Lucky Save
  • The Absolute Jerk

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

Pokémon Crystal was the first to offer wireless trading of Pokémon

Pokémon Crystal for Game Boy Color was the first game in the series that allowed you to trade your Pokémon wirelessly. Every earlier game required you to hook up two Game Boys using a link cable to complete trades.

Pokémon Crystal is an enhanced version of Pokémon Gold & Silver, and the Japanese version featured the Mobile Adapter GB which enabled connection via mobile phone. Crystal also allowed you to choose your trainer's gender for the first time.

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

This Week In Gaming

Can the Switch really run Crysis?

Not the most exciting week in gaming, but Rock of Ages 3 and Tannenberg – an online shooter set in the Battle of Tannenberg in WW1 – are out for PC and console, and we will finally find out if Switch can run Crysis on Thursday.

Tuesday - July 21

Thursday - July 23

  • Carrion launches for PC, Xbox One and Switch
  • Crysis Remastered launches for Switch

Friday - July 24

  • Tannenberg launches for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One

Microsoft Summer Event

Play upcoming Xbox and PC games

Microsoft's Summer Games Fest Demo event is underway, featuring “more than 60 brand-new” demos for upcoming Xbox and PC games.

These aren’t your typical game demos, however: The were designed to resemble the kinds of builds usually showcased at events like PAX, E3 or Gamescom. Since all those events were cancelled, Microsoft is making the demo builds available until July 27th.

Floor demos: “Many of these demos are early, and some are for games that won’t be out for quite some time. We’ve never done this before; what that means is that you’ll get to experience these games early - some way early - which is awesome,” explained Microsoft. “...think of these as akin to “show floor demos” and not necessarily indicative of the final product.”

Just games: You can access the demos through the Game Fest Demo tile on the Xbox One dashboard during the next week. Microsoft is also preparing the Xbox Games Showcase for July 23rd, promising that it's all about the games and nothing else.

Game Review

Bloodstained: Curse of the Moon 2

Version Played: Nintendo Switch

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Developer: Inti Creates

Konami keeps ignoring the Castlevania series, so Bloodstained has taken over the gothic RPG platformer throne. Curse of the Moon was an 8-bit-style companion game to Ritual of the Night, and was successful enough to warrant a sequel of its own.

Like most other retro tributes, the story is pretty straightforward: Zangetsu is a demon hunter, and he thinks demons suck. Other demon hunters who also think demons suck join him to kick demon ass and save the world. What the setup lacks in substance it more than makes up with style. It's a Castlevania tribute, but the level design goes way beyond the 8-bit Castlevanias, and different characters can use their unique abilities to find different paths through the levels.

Some characters return from the first game, while others are brand-new. Dominique is an exorcist who can bounce around on her spear like in Duck Tales or Shovel Knight, while Robert is the only character to pack serious heat in the form of a gun. Then there's Hachi, a corgi who pilots a magic steam mech into battle. There's also local co-op, a surprising and welcome addition.

There's two difficulties: Veteran is for people who actually enjoy the jaw-clenching challenge of a 30-year-old game and Casual, for people who actually want to live and tell the tale. Casual gives you infinite lives and gets rid of the knockback on damage, but that doesn't mean the game ever gets easy. The stiff, old-fashioned Castlevania-style controls are present and correct, and still requires skill and dedication to master.

It's clear that Inti Creates knows what goes into a good retro tribute, and if you like the really old Castlevania games, you will love this – but if you don't know what you're getting into, the bottomless pits and the stiff controls might be frustrating – But if you like your melodramatic goth action hard as nails and with chunky pixel graphics, you'll die happy, over and over again.

Score: 8/10

Thumbs Up

+ Nice range of playable characters
+ Gripping retro aesthetic + A corgi in a mech suit

Thumbs Down

- Old-school Castlevania controls are awkward
- So many bottomless pits.

Esports Bits

VaynerGaming signs the 2019 Fortnite World Cup Champion

VaynerSports has opened a gaming division called VaynerGaming and have just signed their first player: 17 year old Kyle “Bugha” Giersdorf. Gary Vaynerchuk said: “I have been quietly paying attention to the gaming industry for over a decade, building relationships and following the trends. One of the most exciting things about it, for me, is the gamers themselves. And when I look at the culture, the interest in the sector from other athletes, artists, celebrities - it is enormous. This is a very significant expansion for VaynerSports.” Expect VaynerGaming to sign more talent in the coming months.

Complexity debuts their Valorant team

Complexity Gaming’s brand new Valorant squad will test their skills at the PAX Arena Invitational between July 22nd and 26th. Complexity describes their roster as “an interesting mix of hungry youngsters and experienced veterans”, consisting of David “Xp3” Garrido, Riley “Ohai” Nguyen, Mike “AGM” Abood, Corbin “C0M” Lee and Cody “Frisco” Day.

Keen-eyed Valorant fans may recognise Ohai, Frisco and AgM who have competed together in the same Valorant teams for the past few weeks. Xp3 and C0M are known from Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, though neither were top-tier. Check out the Valorant website to learn more about Complexity’s first match next week.

Call of Duty League criticised following player internet connection issues

Players from Seattle Surge have criticised the Call of Duty League after one of their team members disconnected during a match. Seattle Surge was in the lead when Josiah “Slacked” Berry’s lost his connection, leaving his team with four players and allowing London Royal Ravens to catch up and win 3-1.

Had the match been played on LAN as planned, the match would have been paused, but the match was continued since the problem was local to Berry. Berry complained about the league’s decision, apparently incredulous that there is no pause feature for online tournament play.

What Else Happened Today?

Gaming Deals

Today's Gaming Deal Highlights

There are so many great deals now that it felt wrong not to share some of them ahead of the weekend's bargain extravaganza.

Monster Jam Steel Titans Collector's Edition (PS4) $62.39 @ Amazon US

Tales of Vesperia - Definitive Edition (PS4) $15.99 @ Amazon US

The Last of Us Part II (PS4) £42.95 @ Amazon UK

Darksiders Genesis - Nephilim Edition (Nintendo Switch) $238.65 @ Amazon US

Mortal KOMBAT 11: Aftermath Kollection (PS4/Switch/XboxOne) $33.94 @ Amazon US

Pokemon Charizard 4.5" Battle Figure (Toys) $5.00 @ Amazon US

The Elder Scrolls: The Official Cookbook (Books) $17.99 @ Amazon US

If you buy any of these games by following our links, DailyBits will earn a small commission, so thanks in advance! Saturday will bring even more amazing video game deals, so stay tuned!

Quiz Answer - Did You Get It Right?

What’s the official name of the infamous blue shell in Mario Kart?

Answer: The Spiny Shell

I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed. Incredibly disappointed.

Can anything strain a friendship more than a well-placed Spiny Shell? With the press of a button, the merciless blue homing missile will steal your victory ... unless you know how to avoid it! In Mario Kart 8, the Super Horn can destroy the Spiny Shell, but in earlier games you could also boost away if you had a mushroom and impeccable timing.

The window for dodging the winged death sentence is pretty narrow, but if you activate your mushroom just after the shell spins around you but before it strikes, you can get away! If you ever find yourself wondering why the accursed shell is even in the game, Extra Credit has a good video explaining how it helps maintain balance (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFfga8-3SZI) .

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

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