The Digital Insider | Month: April 2024

LawBreakers Is Making An Unofficial Comeback Thanks To Fans

The 2017 low-gravity hero shooter LawBreakers is coming back from the dead. However, this isn’t an official revival but rather due to the work of a dedicated group of fans.

LawBreakers was created by Boss Key Productions, a team led by Gears of War lead designer Cliff Bleszinski. Upon launching for PlayStation 4 and PC in August 2017, it garnered a generally positive critical impression (read our review here). However, it failed to find its place in the competitive multiplayer shooter market of the time, resulting in poor sales and low player engagement that eventually led to its early demise in September 2018.

Now, a team of passionate fans has worked to bring LawBreakers back. Dubbed The RELB Project, the project has been in the works since at least 2020. Its FAQ states that “This is a project to bring back the game LawBreakers, it’s done by creating ‘fake’ servers that the original game client uses. You can join by downloading the launcher, patching your game and playing like normal.”

RELB’s website allows you to download the launcher. Despite this revival being an unofficial project, Cliff Bleszinki (who has been vocal about wanting to see LawBreakers come back) has given it his blessing and enthusiastically shared RELB’s Discord on Saturday.

Somehow LawBreakers is coming back, see below!!!
—
If you’re interested in this weekend’s public test or future tests, join the RELB discord server to learn how to get set up and keep up with the current news! https://t.co/1COV57FZQ5

— Cliff Bleszinski (@therealcliffyb) April 13, 2024

The RELB Project is still very much a work in progress, but the team held its first series of public playtests this past weekend. Although several modes and features from the game were disabled, these sessions appear to have been largely successful. The next playtest has not been scheduled, and the team is currently seeking more developers.

What did you think of LawBreakers and are you excited to see it playable again? Let us know in the comments!

Using Speech AI & Accent Softening to Transform the Future of Work

We live in a world where the diversity of human culture and language converges, yet, a fundamental human challenge persists: the struggle to communicate across the mosaic of global accents. In our society, people from every corner of the globe, speaking a kaleidoscope of languages, molded…

Power of Rerankers and Two-Stage Retrieval for Retrieval Augmented Generation

When it comes to natural language processing (NLP) and information retrieval, the ability to efficiently and accurately retrieve relevant information is paramount. As the field continues to evolve, new techniques and methodologies are being developed to enhance the performance of retrieval systems, particularly in the context…

OpenAI chooses Tokyo for its first Asian office

OpenAI has announced the opening of a new office in Tokyo to drive its expansion into the Asian market. The new office aims to foster collaboration with the Japanese government, local businesses, and research institutions to develop AI tools tailored to Japan’s unique requirements. Tokyo was…

Dave The Diver Serves Guests On PlayStation Next Week

Last year’s acclaimed Dave the Diver is coming to PlayStation next week on April 16. The scuba diving exploration/restaurant simulator has also been enhanced with a few Sony-exclusive perks.

Dave the Diver is also coming to PS4, but a new trailer shows off the PS5 version’s DualSense-specific features. That includes using the controller’s haptic feedback to “sense the movements of the deep sea.” The adaptive triggers add a kick to firing Dave’s speargun and a vibrating tension to the harpoon gun. Sound effects, such as phone call ringtones, are emitted through the controller speaker.

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Dave the Diver stars the titular diver as he explores undersea environments to locate and capture various marine species. After fishing, players then use these ingredients to operate a growing sushi restaurant.

As editor-in-chief Matt Miller wrote in his 8.75 out of 10 review, “You might question whether a sushi restaurant management sim crossed with underwater diving is your cup of tea, but that would be missing the point. Dave the Diver is a unique and memorable vacation away from expectations, and it’s the very fact that you don’t usually play games like this that makes it so satisfying.”

Dave the Diver is already available on Switch and PC, and has a Godzilla-themed crossover coming in May.

We’re Getting Our First Tales Of The Shire Trailer Later This Month

Developer Wētā Workshop and publisher Private Division have announced the first trailer for Tales of the Shire, the cozy Middle-earth/Lords of the Rings-inspired game announced last year, is coming later this month. More specifically, we’ll finally get a good look at the Shire in the new trailer on April 22.

As for what to expect, Wētā Workshop has shared little about the game beyond its initial reveal teaser. We know the game promises to let players live their best cozy Hobbit lives, and that sounds great on its own, but we’re excited to see what that entails from a gameplay perspective. If I had to guess, Tales of the Shire will fall somewhere between a life sim and a farming sim, akin to something like Animal Crossing but with Hobbits.

Fortunately, we don’t have to wait too long to find out because the first trailer for Tales of the Shire arrives on Monday, April 22.

Are you excited for Tales of the Shire? Let us know in the comments below!

Fight Vikings While Riding Dinosaurs In New Medieval Strategy Game Dinolords

Danish developer Northplay and publisher Ghost Ship Publishing have revealed Dinolords, a medieval real-time strategy game where you fight Vikings and defend your lands alongside dinosaurs and more. In a new teaser trailer published during today’s Triple-i Initiative Showcase, we get glimpses of dino-powered armies, action RPG combat mixed with real-time strategy, and more.

“We’re honored to be showcasing our brand new trailer thanks to the Triple-i Initiative amongst so many incredible games and developers that make up the amazing indie corner of the games industry,” Northplay CEO Michael Flarup writes in a press release. “We’ve poured a lot of love into Dinolords and we can’t wait for players to get their hands on it when it launches into Early Access next year.”

Check out the new Dinolords reveal trailer for yourself below:

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Northplay says while mixing real-time strategy with action RPG gameplay, players will also have to gather resources, build cities, construct fortifications, and command units in widescale medieval warfare.

Dinolords takes place in an alternate history in which the King of Denmark launches the first dinosaur-powered conflict with his invasion of England, according to a press release. Players take on the role of an English Lord, defending their land against the ferocious invaders and taming their own primeval beasts for battle.

Here are some Dinolords screenshots for your viewing:

Dinolords is set to hit Early Access in 2025.

Are you going to check out Dinolords next year? Let us know in the comments below!

Slay The Spire II Announced, Hits Early Access Next Year

Mega Crit Studios has announced Slay The Spire II, a sequel to its mega-popular roguelike deckbuilder Slay The Spire released in 2019. Since that original release, the game has made its way to various other platforms beyond PC, including PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, and even mobile devices. Now, players can expect the sequel to hit Early Access (presumably on PC) starting next year.

This news was announced during today’s Triple-i Initiative Showcase with a quick cinematic trailer highlighting the game’s beautiful animation. We see a few monstrous creatures and characters, presumably the ones we’ll control, before “Slay The Spire II” flashes on-screen.

Check it out for yourself in the Slay The Spire II reveal trailer below:

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As you can see, this Slay The Spire II reveal trailer doesn’t contain any gameplay, but it does say the game hits Early Access in 2025.

In the meantime, read Game Informer’s Slay The Spire review.

Are you excited for Slay The Spire II? Let us know in the comments below!

Vampire Survivors Is Getting Contra DLC Next Month, PS5 Release This Summer

Developer Poncle has revealed that Vampire Survivors will finally hit PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 this summer. Before that, though, Vampire Survivors will cross over with Contra in Operation Guns, a new DLC featuring characters, weapons, and more from the series, on May 9.

This was revealed during today’s Triple-i Initiative Showcase with a new trailer highlighting what Contra in Vampire Survivors looks like, and perhaps to nobody’s surprise, it looks awesome. This trailer also reveals that PlayStation players can play Vampire Survivors this summer. The game is already available on Xbox, Switch, PC, and mobile devices.

Check out the Vampire Survivors: Operation Guns and PlayStation reveal trailer for yourself below:

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As you can see, Operation Guns looks like an exciting boost of weaponry, characters, enemies, and more to Vampire Survivors. And it’s right around the corner, too, hitting the game on Xbox, PC, and Switch on May 9. It will presumably be available from the jump when Vampire Survivors hits PlayStation platforms later this summer.

In the meantime, read Game Informer’s Vampire Survivors review.

Are you excited for Vampire Survivors’ Contra DLC? Let us know in the comments below!

The Rogue: Prince Of Persia | New Gameplay Today

We went nearly 15 years without a wholly new Prince of Persia game after the release of The Forgotten Sands in 2010, but now, in 2024, we will play two brand new Prince of Persia games within six months of one another. The excellent Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown released in January, and today we learn about The Rogue: Prince of Persia, which will be entering early access in May.

The game comes from developer Evil Empire, the co-developer of Dead Cells, and the lineage shows. The game is a 2D platformer roguelike that has a lot in common with Dead Cells, but after spending some hands-on time with the game, it also has its own identity. Join Marcus Stewart and me as I share details about my hands-on experience with the next Prince of Persia.

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Head over to Game Informer’s YouTube channel for more previews, reviews, and discussions of new and upcoming games. Watch other episodes of New Gameplay Today right here.