Plus new pics from the rumoured Oblivion remake and a new Star Wars game is on the way
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SIFTER is produced by Kyle Pauletto, Fiona Bartholomaeus, Courtney Smith, Adam Christou and Chris Button. Mitch Loh is Senior Producer and Gianni Di Giovanni is our Executive Producer. Thanks to Audio Technica Australia and Apple for their support of SIFTER.
FIONA: Hi I’m Fiona Bartholomaeus
KYLE: and I’m Kyle Pauletto
FIONA: Welcome to Walkthrough, SIFTER’s weekly recap on the biggest news in video games.
KYLE: This week the long rumoured Oblivion remake looks real, Bungie shows off its next shooter Marathon and it’s now more expensive to buy a PS5 than on launch day! Great!
Here is the news for Sunday 20th of April, Happy Easter! Let’s go!
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FIONA: The Oblivion remaster hype train is full steam ahead this week after we were treated to the first look at the game.
It’s been over four years since we first heard the rumours that the 2006 banger RPG, The Elder Scrolls Oblivion, was going to be making a comeback with a full remaster, and we’ve been feeding off scraps of information ever since.
And earlier this week fans woke up feeling like kids on Christmas morning after finding out official screenshots had been found on the website of developer Virtuos.
KYLE: Of course the screenshots were found and posted by some big-time nerds over on the Oblivion subreddit, but the images authenticity has been confirmed by numerous trusted publications.
It’s expected that given these images were ready to roll, complete with side by side comparisons to show off the new Unreal Engine 5 build, that we are very close to the announcement of a release date.
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KYLE: After two years we’ve finally been given a proper trailer for Bungie’s latest game called Marathon.
Reviving the old Marathon IP, this new shooter is set in a sci-fi universe in 2850 where rival factions have hired Runners to scavenge for what’s left behind of a lost colony and these runners have biosynthetic shell with unique abilities and stats.
So you and your team of up to 3 players will fight across different zones and areas, and there can be up to 6 teams on the map.
There are also NPC enemies that you can come across and while the game is designed to be played in teams, you can also play solo.
Like with similar games there will be end-game challenges, ranked play, seasonal storytelling, community events, and more.
FIONA: The alpha test for the game starts on April 23rd with 4 different runners to choose from, with all of them having different abilities and play styles.
They have said that there won't be imposed limits on what characters you select, so you can all choose the same one if you want.
Bungie is definitely planning for this to be their next big title, with a livestream already done, a 20-min video of livestream highlights, and even a cinematic short written and director Alberto Mielgo from Love, Death, and Robots.
Although with a market that has a tonne of shooters, they’ll need to do a lot to make it stand out and not flop like Concord.
It’s coming to all platforms on September 23rd, so make sure you keep your eyes out.
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KYLE: Despite the fact that it’s been 5 years since the PlayStation 5 came out, the price hasn’t gone down, in fact it’s going up.
That’s right Sony is hiking up the price of the PS5, but only for people in Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the United Kingdom.
Sony has said that this decision was made in response to a challenging economic environment.
So for us here in Australia the cost of the PS5 Digital Edition will increase from $649.95 to $749.95, and the standard PS5 with the disc drive will now go for $829.95 which is up from $799.95.
FIONA: Honestly not sure how raising the price is going to make it easier for people to buy their product and therefore help the company financially.
Why is it that the madness in the US has to be paid for by everyone else?
However the PS5 Pro recommended retail price will remain the same, for now I’m assuming, and Sony has lowered the price of its external disc drive accessory.
This isn’t the first time they’ve raised the price, they have previously done this in August 2022 also citing challenging economic conditions.
Glad I got mine when I did.
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FIONA: Star Wars is getting a new game called Star Wars Zero Company.
It was revealed this week that it’ll be a single player turn-based tactics game set during the Clone Wars.
The game is in development by Bit Reactor and Respawn Entertainment, who did the Star Wars Jedi series, and of course Lucasfilm Games.
KYLE: With the Jedi series being quite popular it’s interesting to see them head to the turn-based tactics format.
A few screenshots leaked early ahead of the Star Wars Celebration Japan that’s happening after we put out this episode on Sunday, so we’ll bring you more news on this next week I’m sure.
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KYLE: That’s it for the headlines, here are the games coming out this week,
FIONA: Maliki: Poison of the Past is out Tuesday. It’s a really slick looking little indie RPG that has a great anime-inspired style. It’s like if Animal Crossing had turn-based combat and really fun animated cutscenes. That’s coming to PC and Switch.
KYLE: The rest of the titles out this week all release on the 24th.
Up first is Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. What a great name really rolls off the tongue. Another turn based one for this week, this time in a dark fantasy setting. That’s releasing on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S and if you remember this was the game that sold out of pre-orders so expect it to be hot.
FIONA: Fatal Fury: City of Wolves is the first new entry in the series in 26 years. And you think waiting for the next Elder Scrolls is hard, try being a Fatal Fury fan. City of Wolves is an incredibly faithful throwback fighter with a massive personality. That’s coming to all platforms.
KYLE: Big week for turn-based combat games. Next up is the Tactical RPG The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy. These names Fiona. I swear I’m going to lose it. Players have 100 in-game days to defend the academy which is under attack from mysterious creatures. It’s made by the developers of Danganronpa so you know what you’re up for. Grab it on PC or Switch.
FIONA: And last game out on the 24th is Tempest Rising, a real-time strategy game set in a post nuclear war earth, if you liked the Command and Conquer series from the nineties this seems to be pulling pretty heavily thematically from that. It's out on PC this Thursday.
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KYLE: This has been Walkthrough by SIFTER, my name is Kyle Pauletto.
FIONA: And my name is Fiona Bartholomaeus, thank you so much for listening.
KYLE: This week just eat some choccies, they are the random drop of the week! Plus people just give them to you? The best. Happy Easter.
FIONA: SIFTER is produced by myself, Kyle Pauletto, Adam Christou, Courtney Smith, Chris Button and Cat Jahne. The episode is edited by both Senior Producer Mitch Loh and Gianni Di Giovanni who is SIFTER’s Executive Producer and also Walkthrough’s script editor.
KYLE: Thanks to Brian Fairbanks from Salty Dog Sounds for composing the Walkthrough theme tune, and Audio Technica Australia and Apple for their support of SIFTER’s podcasts.
FIONA: We’ll be back with more news next Sunday, see you then.
