Save The Autobots In Niantic’s Next AR Game

PC Gaming Show 2021 highlights

The PC Gaming Show featured loads of PC game reveals and updates, and even a brief chat with Gabe Newell.

• PC Gaming Show @ E3 2021

Highlights included Vampire: The Masquerade – Swansong, Orcs Must Die 3 developer commentary, WarTales gameplay, and a cautionary tale of scientific hubris in Ixion.

There will be post-apocalyptic sailing in Far: Changing Tides, creeping about in Hello Neighbor 2, frantic melee combat in Soulstice, radioactive survival horror in Chernoblyite, and surreal puzzle-solving in Silt.

Pixel monsters in Project Warlock 2, STALKER-flavoured post-Soviet action in Pioner, side-scrolling bounty-hunting in They Always Run, kaiju multiplayer brawling in GigaBash, and food fights in Rawmen.

Other highlights

• Techland talks about the Dying Light 2’s story
• Short teaser trailer for Killing Floor 2: Interstellar Insanity
• Teaser montage of upcoming New Blood Interactive titles
• Trailer teasing big reveal of Warhammer 40,000: Chaos Gate
• Build a city on the back of a wandering creature in The Wandering Village

What gritty film was almost made into a video game by Papaya Studio?

a) Scarface
b) Bad Lieutenant
c) Taxi Driver
d) Dirty Harry

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.

Verboten! It was the Badds all along

Bionic Commando for NES was called Hitler no Fukkatsu: Top Secret in Japan, which translates into The Resurrection of Hitler: Top Secret. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Western localization decided to back slowly away from the whole Hitler thing.

The bad guys are no longer nazis, but The Badds. Their leader is no longer called Weizmann but Killt, and the final boss is called Master-D rather than Hitler – even though he still looks suspiciously like him.

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

Fans find possible Elder Scrolls 6 easter egg in Starfield Trailer

An eagle-eyed but perhaps excited fan claims that a dent in a piece of metal in the Starfield teaser trailer is actually an Elder Scrolls 6 reference.

Sure enough, the dent or etching or whatever it is at 1:18 in the video looks a bit like High Rock and the Iliac Bay, home of the Bretons and incidentally where the second game in the series, Daggerfall, was set.

Computer, enhance: You can probably make up your own mind by staring at this comparison shot until your eyes cross. Is it a geographical feature from Tamriel? Or is it just a stain on a space ship interior? Only your OCD can tell.

Niantic’s AR Transformers: Heavy Metal

Niantic has announced a new augmented reality mobile game called Transformers: Heavy Metal in collaboration with Hasbro and TOMY Company.

Like Pokémon Go, it will use real-world maps from Niantic's Lightship platform and shunts players into the Guardian Network to assist the Autobots in their eternal struggle against the Decepticons.

AR Prime: "Transformers is the perfect franchise for AR," says Niantic CEO John Hanke. "Battling and interacting with giant robots in the real world is an amazing experience.”

Turn-based: Expect turn-based battles between Autobots and Decepticons in real-world locations in 2021. No word on the what characters have joined the struggle, except that Optimus Prime and Bumblebee will lead the charge. The official website also mentions that a beta will be available in certain markets soon, so we'll keep you posted on that. 

We’ve got 5 copies of adventure Backbone for PC

Furry noir detective adventure Backbone is out now on PC, and we've got 5 Steam keys to give away so you can release your inner sleuth and unravel the mysteries of Vancouver as raccoon private dick Howard Lotor. It will be available on PS4, Xbox One and Switch later on this year. 

Poke holes in alibis, hide liquor in your drawer, and size up crooks by participating in our Backbone Giveaway!

• Hand-drawn indie adventure Minute of Islands out now for PC and console with a release trailer
• Mario Kart recreated in Game Builder Garage and you can check it out using the following game ID: G 001 X6H M41
• Stranger of Paradise Final Fantasy Origin demo chaos after players report problems downloading and playing the trial, but the good news is that this has now been fixed.
• YouTuber Parris will host Xbox Games Showcase: Extended and the show will air on June 17th
• New gameplay footage from Sonic Colours Ultimate spends two lovely minutes in Tropical Resort Act 2

What gritty film was almost made into a video game by Papaya Studio?

ANSWER: Taxi Driver!

Like most sane individuals watching Taxi Driver, you probably thought “I sure wish this depressing tale of isolation and descent into brutal violence could be a fun videogame instead” and it will probably break your heart to know that it almost was. Papaya Studio actually worked on a Taxi Driver adaptation for PlayStation 2 and Xbox.

It was supposed to continue the story of Travis' heroic travails, mixing taxi driving and, well, violence. Martin Scorcese, who directed the movie, was not exactly thrilled but couldn't stop the game since he didn't own the rights. Turns out he didn't have to since Papaya Studio ran out of money and halted development. The studio shut down in 2013, taking our hopes and dreams with them.

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!