Master Detective Archives: Rain Code PS5 Preorders Include Prequel Novel While Supplies Last
Spike Chunsoft’s detective adventure game Master Detective Archives: Rain Code is making the jump from Nintendo Switch to PS5, Xbox Series X|S, and Steam with a new Master Detective Archives: Rain Code+ version on October 1. Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus will include the base game plus all five DLC packs from the Switch version, a new gallery mode, and performance enhancements like quicker load times, upgraded graphics, and 4K support. Preorders for the game are available now in standard and limited editions, and the first printing of the PS5 version comes with a special tie-in novel.
Let’s go over all the versions of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus available for preorder and where you can purchase them.
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus preorder bonus
The first print run of Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus on PS5 includes the original novel, How to Be a Master Detective: A Halara Nightmare, which follows one of the protagonists from the game, Halara, on an all-new detective adventure taking place before the storyline in the game. Physical versions of the novel are included with preorders of the standard PS5 and Lucid Noir Limited Editions of the game. Digital PS5 preorders include a download code for the ebook edition of the novel. The book is not included with the PC or Xbox versions.
$60
The Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus standard edition includes the base game, and PS5 copies include a physical edition of How to Be a Master Detective: A Halara Nightmare novel. Only the first printing of the game will come with the book. A digital standard edition is available for PS5, Xbox, and Steam.
Preorders for the physical PS5 edition are currently available at Amazon. We expect it will be available at more retailers soon as well.
$70
A digital deluxe edition is also available for PS5, Xbox, and Steam. This version includes:
- The base game
- “The Book of Death” digital art book
- “Noise of Neon” digital soundtrack
- How to Be a Master Detective: A Halara Nightmare ebook preorder bonus (PS5-only)
Preorders are available now for PS5. Xbox and Steam preorders will also be available ahead of launch.
$100
Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus is also available in a PS5-exclusive Lucid Noir Limited Edition that includes:
- The base game
- PlayStation 5 Steelbook case
- 6.5-inch Shinigami plush
- Official Soundtrack
- Collector’s box
- How to Be a Master Detective: A Halara Nightmare novel preorder bonus
Preorders for Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus Lucid Noir Limited Edition available for $100 Amazon, and it’s likely to show up are more retailers in the coming days.
$55.50 (was $60)
If you don’t want to wait for Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Plus to launch on October 1, you can grab the standard edition of the original Switch release for $55.50 at Amazon right now, which is a slight discount from its standard $60 price point. This version only includes a physical copy of the Nintendo Switch game and lacks the Plus version’s graphical upgrades, performance fixes, and bonus content, but it’s available for those who want to play the game right away.
$110
For the collectors out there, Best Buy still has the Master Detective Archives: Rain Code Mysteriful Limited Edition for Nintendo Switch available for $110. This package includes the base game for Nintendo Switch (meaning none of the Plus version’s content or upgrades are present, nor the PS5-exclusive tie-in novel), and comes with a Steelbook case with unique artwork, a 6.5-inch Shinigami plush, soundtrack, artbook, and collector’s box.
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Berserk Golden Age Arc Anime Blu-Ray Preorders Live At Amazon
Berserk fans looking to rewatch one of the more infamous adaptations of the manga can soon make space on their Blu-ray shelf for a new Golden Age release. Specifically, Berserk: The Golden Age Arc Memorial Edition, a new collection of the 2012-2013 films. Available to preorder now at Amazon and Crunchyroll Store, this film trilogy will be released in the coming months.
Amazon lists the release date as June 18 with free launch-day delivery for Prime members. Meanwhile, Crunchyroll marks the date as August 27. So unless Amazon really is getting the Blu-ray a lot earlier than Crunchyroll for some unknown reason, one of these dates has to be wrong. Preorders at Amazon currently cost $70, and you won’t be charged until your order ships. You’ll get the set for the lowest price offered between the time you order and release, so there’s still a chance that Amazon will wind up matching Crunchyroll’s generous discount that drops the price to $52.49.
The films in this release will feature both English and Japanese dubs, and for extras, you’ll get textless opening and ending songs in the two-disc set. While the cover art says it’s not final, it looks like this release will feature stunning art of Guts in a berserker rage.
The Golden Age arc of Berserk was an interesting experiment to revisit the manga. An anime adaptation originally aired in 1997, but made several major deviations from the source material, something the Golden Age films attempted to avoid. Far more faithful to the manga, the films mixed beautiful animation with CGI to mixed results, but overall, this is still a fantastic retelling of Berserk’s first major arc and it ends during the infamous Eclipse sequence. While the 1997 anime’s take on that brutal event is still horrifying, the Golden Age version is pure nightmare fuel in comparison. Some might say it’s almost as terrifying to watch as Berserk 2016.
Of course, if you’re a firm believer in Berserk 1997, you can get the show in its best format right now at Amazon. The Blu-ray release has regularly sold out several times since its initial release in March, but fresh stock of the 25-episode series is available again at Amazon and Crunchyroll:
Finally, you can never go wrong with the manga. The late Kentaro Miura’s dark fantasy series has been collected in several editions over the years, but the beautifully oversized hardcover volumes are the best of the lot.
Berserk Manga Deluxe Editions
New Study Reveals The Main Reasons People Want To Play Games
GameSpot parent company Fandom has released its fourth annual Inside Gaming report, and one of the key takeaways is that personal expression within games is increasingly important to players. The Inside Gaming report is based on data from Fandom’s 350 million monthly unique visitors, 45 million pages of content, and 250,000 wikis.
The report found that the main reason people play games is to unwind and relieve stress (54%), but a close second was “creation, imagination, and self-expression” (46%). This is up 10% from 2023, demonstrating a growing trend. Within games, the top five in-game customization players seek out to express themselves include character personalization (76%), Gamertags and usernames (48%), communication (35%), signatures and emblems (31%), and emotions and gestures (30%).
The report also found that there is a significant gap between how people express themselves in real life versus online. 80% of respondents said their “gamer personality” is different than their real-life personality. And then 64% said it’s easier to be themselves online rather than in person.
The Inside Gaming report went on to say that 60% of people believe self-expression in gaming is more important than ever before, with the study specifically calling out titles like Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox for offering extensive options to personalize their characters. Anyone who has played those games knows very well the depth and scope of what kinds of items, skins, and other in-game wares players can acquire to deck their character out as they see fit.
Additionally, the report touched on how 64% of respondents said gaming communities represent “vital safe spaces” where they feel free to express themselves, unlike how they might be able to in real life.
“From character customization to cosplay and content creation, video games have empowered gamers to explore, express and enhance their identity–nearly two thirds of gamers claim it’s easier to be themselves with a controller in their hands,” Fandom CMO Stephanie Fried said. “With the growing significance of gaming as a means for self-expression and personal evolution, it’s crucial for brands to connect to these motivators to help players bring their gaming personas to life in the real world.”
For more, check out the full study.
10 Years Later, Transistor’s Artistic Rebellion Is More Necessary Than Ever
Transistor is celebrating its 10-year anniversary today, May 20, 2024. Below, we recall how its vision of the future was more prescient than we’d realized at first glance.
In 2014, a singer having her voice captured and digitized against her will was a novel sci-fi conceit. Ten years later, it sounds eerily familiar. With the ever-increasing presence of AI and deep fakes, as well as digital homogenization all around us, Transistor’s tale of payback against the Camerata doubles back as a prescient artistic rebellion.
Designers, journalists, and painters were all targeted by the elite group one by one. The Camerata methodically ripped the city of Cloudbank of not just key citizens, but also character and grace. As protagonist Red cruises through the fading streets of Cloudbank, she witnesses how her surroundings lose color, progressively matching the Camerata’s attire. Yet, despite the odds, Transistor reminds us of the importance of latching onto mundanity, and what represents us.
One of the first examples you encounter is the work of Amelia Garbur, an associate editor who covers the slow decay of Cloudbank. The story of Transistor is told in snippets, emphasizing environmental cues and bite-sized details for you to piece together what transpired in a disappearing district or inside a room before your arrival. Therein come the OVC Terminals, which are posted across the city and offer either surveys or news reported by Garbur, informing the citizens of the latest developments outside their homes.
“Incident at the Empty Set,” reads a headline detailing the events that transpired at the venue where Red was attacked. “Postponed: Hammers vs. Clientele,” says another later that day, indicating that the two popular sports teams won’t be playing after all. Toward the evening, “Traverson Hall Is Gone” marks a poignant beginning of the end.
Most of the citizens you encounter are either soon-to-be or already deceased. Red, using the namesake sword that was originally held by the Camerata, is able to retrieve a fragment of theirs and take them inside. Mechanically, doing so gives you a new ability to mix and match during combat. But this process also adds them to a database, providing information about who they were and what influential role they had in the city.
Garbur is one of the few characters who avoids this digitization. Instead, her work speaks for herself, right until the bitter end. “As I stand here on the eastern perimeter awaiting the inevitable, I am surrounded by my community, and I am at peace,” reads the entry for “Farewell to Cloudbank.”
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In late 2023, Futurism reported on a series of articles in Sports Illustrated that were written by fake writers, their personal information and their work being AI-generated. Despite resistance from staff under its suite, G/O Media rolled out AI tools in mid 2023, which quickly proved to just churn factually inaccurate pieces. Others like CNET and BuzzFeed, the latter shuttering its news division in the process, followed suit. The integrity of the reporters doing the work every day was compromised for the sake of producing articles en masse, even when readers would quickly notice incongruences, as well as a simple lack of human touch.
The seemingly imposing push for AI extends beyond journalism. Microsoft recently announced a 4 billion euro investment in cloud and AI infrastructure. If you’ve been trying to search for something on Google and received a garbled response, it’s possible that it wasn’t written by a human being at all. From dating apps like Bumble to voice acting and development tools for video games, CEOs and corporations are betting on a future where they can further automate not only jobs, but our everyday lives, despite the proven monetary and environmental costs, workers’ livelihoods notwithstanding.
Sadly, AI also goes hand in hand with deep fakes, which are digitally generated images or videos that mimic the likeness of a real person, whether it is their image or their voice. During the Met Gala, images of artists like Rihanna and Katy Perry went viral, despite being fake. In Arizona, workers are being trained to prepare themselves for misleading images ahead of the 2024 elections. In March, New York representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez announced she’s co-leading the Defiance Act of 2024, which would allow victims of deep-fake creations to sue the people behind them.
The dystopian future depicted in Transistor isn’t filled with one-on-one premonitions of our current reality. Yet, the parallels hit too close to home for comfort. There’s an enemy type that “attacks” Red by taking pictures of her. During New Game Plus, one of the bosses sings a corrupted, digitized rendition of the song that was played during the fight originally, mimicking Red’s voice. Witnessing Cloudbank being consumed by a rampant and uniform process resonates with digital homogenization, and how human interactions are being diminished by the online spaces we inhabit.
Revisiting these themes through a modern-day lens can leave us with a defeated feeling. But the central message of Transistor is one of hope, not despair, reminding us that the human touch can be mimicked, but never replaced.
Red leaves the sword outside a restroom before entering, being playful while maintaining a now begone boundary with his partner, who’s stuck inside of the weapon. Further into the story, she uses one of the OVC Terminals to communicate with her companion, if only for a brief moment, twisting the original purpose of leaving a comment under an article. Even without her voice, she can’t stop herself from humming over the heart-soothing songs that play in the background throughout her entire journey, refusing to abandon her artistic spirit.
As companies continue to be hellbent on attempting to replace human identities, obsessed with the idea of succumbing to a reality forged by algorithms and faux tech revolutions, Transistor remains inspiring 10 years later. It’s comforting to know that the silk in Red’s dress remains silk until the bitter end, despite the attempts to imitate her liking. There’s a special solace in knowing she’s reading news from an actual human being, even as the city collapses around her.
Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom Link Figma Collectible Preorders Back In Stock At Amazon
At long last, a Figma figure of Link from The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom is on the way. Figma toys are some of the best when it comes to striking a pose, as they have an incredible range of articulation, plenty of accessories, and fantastic detail. Legend of Zelda fans can choose from two Link figures to add to their collection, as the standard version and the DX edition are both up for preorder. Amazon initially sold out of its preorders for the standard and DX versions of the figure, but the standard edition is back in stock for $70. The figure doesn’t release until next summer, but you won’t be charged for your preorder at Amazon until your order ships.
- Amazon
- Goodsmile
Both figures feature the same overall design–a colorful and sharp sculpt from the talented hands of Shinji Koshinuma at Max Factory–and you can essentially make Link do any pose you want thanks to the wealth of joints on this figure. Want him to glide around your room, kneel on a rock to survey the land around him, or have him swing the Master Sword around to clear the space around him? You can do just that and more with this Figma figure.
Both figures come with three faces you can easily swap in or out–smiling, neutral, and shouting faces–a Master Sword, Hylian Shield, Hylian hood, and a base to pose Link on. The DX version comes with many extras, including a paraglider, rocket, rocket effect parts, Construct bow, arrows, Ascend ability effect parts, traveler’s shield, rock hammer, and King Rauru’s right arm. These are expected to ship out in 2025, but if you’re looking for some other Legend of Zelda figures to help you pass the time, there are several options.
The new Tears of the Kingdom Link figure isn’t the only premium Zelda collectible on the horizon. Bandai Namco’s Tamashii Nations collectible brand is releasing a beautiful replica of the Master Sword later this year. The 41-inch Master Sword Proplica comes with a blue-and-gold sheath and display stand.
Call Of Duty: Warzone And Modern Warfare 3 Season 4 Will See A Gundam Crossover
In what capacity remains to be seen, but Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare Season 4 will see mecha from Gundam appear in the game. A new teaser shows the shadow of one of the giant robots appearing on a building.
The official Call of Duty account on X (formerly known as Twitter) teased the Gundam crossover. Along with the short 10-second clip, the post says: “It’s time for the shadows to rise up” with an emoji of crossed swords. No other specifics were detailed, so don’t get your hopes up this will turn the FPS into a Titanfall competitor.
What we do know is that Season 4 will start May 29 for Call of Duty: Warzone and Modern Warfare 3. The upcoming season will also bring back an iconic rifle: the bolt-action Kar98k. Currently, there’s a “Sally” weapon blueprint in the game that seemingly teases the rumored Black Ops 6. In fact, there’s a file text that could possibly, maybe hint at the next Call of Duty being revealed this month.
In addition to Gundam, Season 4 could see collaborations with Fallout and The Crow, according to dataminers. These wouldn’t be the first big-name crossovers for Call of Duty, either. Previously, the FPS has seen skins and modes based on Warhammer 40,000, The Walking Dead, and The Boys from Prime Video.
Looking ahead, a Call of Duty showcase will supposedly take place on June 9, following the Xbox Showcase.
With Two “Very Ambitious” Games In The Works, Baldur’s Gate 3 Dev Opens New Office
Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian Studios has announced the opening of its newest studio. Located in Poland, the company’s seventh studio worldwide–Larian Studios Warsaw–will assist in the development of the company’s upcoming unannounced games.
“With two very ambitious RPGs now starting development, what better way to see our visions realized than by growing the team and opening a seventh studio in the heart of Poland’s lively gaming scene!” the company wrote on social media.
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The new team in Warsaw joins Larian’s existing studios in Ghent, Barcelona, Dublin, Guildford, Quebec, and Kuala Lumpur. There are numerous open positions available at the Warsaw office across a variety of disciplines.
The announcement of Larian Studios Warsaw comes just days after Activision announced the opening of a new studio Elsewhere Entertainment, which is also based in Warsaw. Other gaming companies with offices in Warsaw include CD Projekt and 11 Bit.
Larian has not announced its next game, but it will not be another Dungeons & Dragons title. Larian is moving beyond the fantasy series and creating something new, though Hasbro has said it intends to do more with Baldur’s Gate in the gaming landscape.
“That’s not what we were made for,” Larian boss Swen Vincke said about making Baldur’s Gate 4. “That’s literally the opposite of what Larian is about. We want to do big, new things. We don’t want to rehash the thing that we’ve done already.”
Speaking to GameSpot, Vincke explained that Larian’s next game won’t actually be the company’s super-ambitious “very big RPG,” but will be a step toward realizing it.
“I think there is some tech that we don’t have yet,” Vincke said. “And I don’t know what the specs are on the next-gen [of gaming systems] yet, but I hope that it’s going to bring us closer.”