Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a new AR mobile game from Niantic, the makers of Pokémon GO. It’s similar to that of its predecessor and allows players to bring the universe of Harry Potter into the real world.

The main gameplay loop involves exploring the world around you, freeing ‘Foundables’ (like catching Pokémon) and interacting with nodes scattered across the map. Unless you’re in a rural area, when you fire up the game for the first time you may see spires and structures looming in the distance. There are three Harry Potter: Wizards Unite locations that you can visit while you’re playing the game, each which will help you collect Foundables.

These locations are Inns, Greenhouses, and Fortresses. Understanding the purpose of the Wizards Unite locations and how you interact with them isn’t made as clear as it could be, so we are here to help!

Harry Potter: Wizards Unite Locations | What does each location do?

Let’s take a look at all of the Harry Potter: Wizards Unite locations and see exactly what each of them do.

Inn 

An Inn corresponds to real world location (often a pub, cafe or something similar) and will appear on the map as a house-like structure. As you come across one, you can enter it by simply tapping on the screen. Once inside, you’ll be prompted to trace a Glyph (swipe with your finger) to activate the Inn. Completing this task will reward you with a meal, which will in turn reward you with Spell Energy. The amount of energy you get depends on the meal you eat… we’ve seen as low as 2 or 3, but as high as 10. The meal you get will depend on your real-world location.

If the name doesn’t give it away, you’ll need Spell Energy to cast spells in Wizards Unite. You cast a spell every-time you try to ‘catch’ a Foundable (and like in Pokémon GO, you sometimes need to try several times before it works or disappears). You also cast spells when you interact with Fortresses (see below). Every time you cast a spell, you will lose some Spell Energy, so it is going to be important to be mindful of how much you have left. If you’re just starting off, you can only hold 75 Spell Energy. While this isn’t a lot, it will be enough to allow you to do at least a day’s worth of activity without needing to visit an Inn, which will help you level up!

Different Types of Inns

There are five different types or ‘colors’ of Inns. Each color represents the real-world location that it is likely to be found in. For example, a Green Inn will be found in rural areas and will offer better meals, since they are hard to come by. On the other hand, Pink Inns can be found in both rural and urban areas and offers meals that give out less Spell Energy.

Below is a list of all the different Inn colors, locations, and maximum Spell Energy:

• Green Inn – Rural areas; Up to 10 Spell Energy
• Purple Inn– City areas; Up to 7 Spell Energy
• Blue Inn – Rural and Urban areas; Up to 6 Spell Energy
• Brown Inn – Rural and Urban areas; Up to 6 Spell Energy
• Pink Inn – Rural and Urban areas; Up to 3 Spell Energy

Different type of Inn meals

As stated above, visiting the different Inn locations will reward visitors with a meal that will replenish their spell energy. After-all, you cannot cast a good spell on an empty stomach. There are a total of ten meals that you can eat at Inns in Wizards Unite, each giving players 1-10 Spell Energy.

Below is a list of all of the meals and their corresponding Spell Energy rewards:

• Tomato Soup – 1 Spell Energy
• Afternoon Tea – 2 Spell Energy
• Bertie Bott’s Every Flavour Beans – 2 Spell Energy
• Pumpkin Juice – 2 Spell Energy
• Violet Pudding – 3 Spell Energy
• Bangers and Mash – 5 Spell Energy
• Fish and Chips – 6 Spell Energy
• Honeyduke’s Chocholate Bar – 6 Spell Energy
• Butterbeer – 7 Spell Energy
• Turkey/Chicken Dinner – 10 Spell Energy

If you have played Pokémon GO, it will be best to think of Inns as Pokestops. You aren’t going to need to visit this Harry Potter: Wizards Unite location multiple times a day if you’re just a casual player. So, it’s best just to keep it in the back of your mind and remember to stop by one if you are out and about!

Dark Detectors

Inns have a secondary screen that allows you to place ‘Dark Detectors’ – these are in-game items you can earn (or buy) and act like Lures from Pokémon GO. If you place one in an Inn, you’ll be able to find rarer traces for the next 30 minutes.

The main purpose of Dark Detectors is to help players collect Foundables faster. During the 30-minute period that they are active, you will earn increased XP and have a chance at locating Foundables that you might not normally come across. Dark Detectors can also be stacked with up to three per Inn.

Greenhouse

Greenhouses are small glass buildings, which contain pots that are able to grow various plants, which can eventually be turned into potions. When you come across a Greenhouse, you can go inside and choose from three randomized plant pots to grow your plant. After collecting the ingredients from you plant, you’ll need to leave the Greenhouse for 5 minutes before returning.

Growing a Plant

The main purpose of a Greenhouse is to grow a plant which will give players ingredients that can be used to create Potions. Every once in a while, you’ll come across seeds while playing Wizards Unite. You can add these seeds to your collection and use them to grow a specific plant in a greenhouse. You can see the different seeds that you have collected by going to the Vault and clicking the seed icon on the right side of the screen.

There is a total of 10 plants that you can grow in the Wizards Unite Greenhouses, each which are able to be used in different Potions. Everyone who contributes to growing a plant will be able to reap its crop. However, once a plant has finished growing, players will only have 30 minutes to pick its ingredients.

Below, you’ll find a list of all the plants in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, along with the materials required and the time it takes to grow them.

• Snowdrop – Snowdrop Seed (1), Water (15) – 1 Hour
• Wormwood – Wormwood Seed (1), Water (7), 1 Hour
• Bitter Root – Bitterroot Seed (1), Water (15) – 7 Hours
• Ginger Root – Ginger Seed (1), Water (12) – 7 Hours
• Lovage – Lovage Seed (1), Water (9) – 7 Hours
• Scurvygrass – Scurvygrass Seed (1), Water (7) – 7 Hours
• Sneezewort – Sneezewort Seed (1), Water (1) – 7 Hours
• Sopophorous Bean – Sopophorous Bean Seed (1), Water (1) – 7 Hours
• Valerian Root – Valerian Seed (1), Water (7) – 7 Hours
• Leaping Toadstool – Leaping Toadstool Spore (1), Water (12) – 24 Hours

After you have turned your seeds into plants, you can use the ingredients to create potions that will help you throughout the game. Potions are not unlockable until Level 4, so if you haven’t made it that far yet, you aren’t going to be able to do anything with the Greenhouse plants you collect.

However, once you have reached Level 4, if you click on the suitcase icon on the main screen, you’ll be taken to a menu where you’ll be able to choose from five icons. The Potions icon is located on the bottom left hand side of the screen, simply click on it to view all of the Potions that you have available and their needed ingredients. Additionally, if you go to the Vault and click on the ingredient’s icon, you can see a complete list of all of the ingredients that you have collected.

Pots vs. Rental Pots

Each Greenhouse will have three pots that are available to use for free. If all three pots are currently being used, then you’ll have to either wait it out or use a Rental Pot. These are pots that can be bought with in game currency and will come with all the ingredients that you need as well as reduce grow time.

Below is a list of the different rental pots costs and time availability:

• Rental Pot A – 35 coins – 180 minutes
• Rental Pot B – 70 coins – 480 minutes
• Rental Pot C – 140 coins – 1440 minutes

Both the Rental Pots and the free pots work fine to grow a plant. Using a Rental Pot is not going to reap you a benefit that a regular pot won’t. It’ll simply save you some time and supply you with the necessary seeds needed to grow your desired plant.

Fortress

The final of the three Harry Potter: Wizards Unite locations is known as a Fortress. These are really tall buildings that will allow players to complete a series of challenges in exchange for exclusive rewards. They won’t be hard to recognize, as they are the tallest building on the map.

Once you enter a Fortress, you and up to four others can compete in a series of challenges where you choose the difficulty. As you enter the Fortress, you and your partners will be able to fight a series of opponents, who are guarding some of the rarest and most powerful Foundables around.

Runestones

Before you begin a fight, you’ll have to hand over a Runestone, which will determine the strength of your enemy. So, if you give up a higher level Runestone, you’ll face a higher-level enemy. If you hand over a lower level Runestone, you’ll face an easier enemy.

Runestones can be gathered while you’re collecting Foundables and as you level up the various sections in your registry. Runestones are located in Treasure Trunks, which are earned by returning Foundables. Each Runestone you receive will correlate to an area of expertise, or as the game calls it, a Family.

However, just because you hand over a low level Runestone doesn’t mean you won’t face a difficult enemy here or there. If you are playing solo, it is safe to assume that whatever level Runestone you put in is going to reflect the types of enemies you fight. However, if you’re playing with others, the water becomes a bit muggy since the more players you add, the more difficult the Fortress will be, because they will also be adding Runestones into the mix.

In addition to all of this, as you continue to move through the Fortress, the enemies are going to get stronger and stronger. The different floors are referred to as ‘Chambers’ in the game, and the rule of thumb is that the higher the Chamber, the harder the enemy. If you plan to fight through a lot of Chambers, you’re going to want to bring a couple of players with you.

If you decide that a Fortress is too difficult for you after putting in a Runestone, you can leave the lobby before the 30 second time runs out and your Runestone will be returned to you. However, once that 30 second timer is out, your Runestone is gone for good.

Floor Stats

One thing that is important to note is that while you can be in a Fortress with up to four other players, all battles will take place solo. This means that each player will fight their own battles, even though they are working as a team. While teammates can help the fighter by using spells when they are not in combat, it is ultimately up to each player to defeat their individual opponent. Different Professions are stronger and weaker against different types of enemies, so being smart about who fights which enemy is important (more on this later).

There is a total of 20 Fortress Chambers in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, each having its own player levels and base ratings. Additionally, each Chamber will have a limited number of times allotted to players, meaning they must pass the Chamber before the time runs out. If you run out of time, then you forfeit the Fortress.

Below is a list of all the Chamber levels, time limits, minimal player level, and base ratings:

• Chamber 1 – Time: 300 seconds – Player Level: 1 – Base Rating: 0
• Chamber 2 – Time: 300 seconds – Player Level: 1 – Base Rating: 170
• Chamber 3 – Time: 300 seconds – Player Level: 2 – Base Rating: 340
• Chamber 4 – Time: 360 seconds – Player Level: 2 – Base Rating: 510
• Chamber 5 – Time: 360 seconds – Player Level: 3 – Base Rating: 680
• Chamber 6 – Time: 360 seconds – Player Level: 3 – Base Rating: 850
• Chamber 7 – Time: 420 seconds – Player Level: 4 – Base Rating: 1020
• Chamber 8 – Time: 420 seconds – Player Level: 4 – Base Rating: 1190
• Chamber 9 – Time: 420 seconds – Player Level: 5 – Base Rating: 1360
• Chamber 10 – Time: 480 seconds – Player Level: 5 – Base Rating: 1530
• Chamber 11 – Time: 480 seconds – Player Level: 6 – Base Rating: 1700
• Chamber 12 – Time: 480 seconds – Player Level: 6 – Base Rating: 1870
• Chamber 13 – Time: 540 seconds – Player Level: 7 – Base Rating: 2040
• Chamber 14 – Time: 540 seconds – Player Level: 7 – Base Rating: 2210
• Chamber 15 – Time: 540 seconds – Player Level: 8 – Base Rating: 2380
• Chamber 16 – Time: 600 seconds – Player Level: 8 – Base Rating: 2250
• Chamber 17 – Time: 600 seconds – Player Level: 9 – Base Rating: 2720
• Chamber 18 – Time: 600 seconds – Player Level: 9 – Base Rating: 2890
• Chamber 19 – Time: 600 seconds – Player Level: 10 – Base Rating: 3060
• Chamber 20 – Time: 600 seconds – Player Level: 10 – Base Rating: 3230

As you can see, towards the beginning a Fortress won’t be too tough. However, as you go on, you’re going to want to have some help from other players.

Strategic Spells

While you’re fighting, you’ll need to keep your health bar in mind, as running out of health will result in a loss. So, be mindful of how much health you have as you continue through the Chambers. To help out, players will be able to cast different types of spells based on their Profession, which can weaken an enemy or heal a player. If you haven’t unlocked Strategic Spells yet, then you’ll need to continue to increase your expertise in your Profession.

There are three different types of Professions in Harry Potter: Wizards Unite which are going to determine what kind of Strategic Spells you can cast. Below is a list of the different Profession classes and a short description of each.

• Auror – Aurors deal extra damage against Dark Forces and take extra damage from Beasts.
• Magizoologist – Magizoologists deal extra damage against Beasts and take extra damage from Curiosities.
• Professor – Professors deal extra damage against Curiosities and take extra damage from Dark Forces.

If you plan to go far into a Fortress, you’re likely going to want to have a nice variety of Professions on your team. While all of them are important, the Magizoologist Profession will offer a significant advantage during Fortress battles. They are able to heal your teammates during battle as long as they are ‘sitting out’ of the fight.

There are tons of different Strategic Spell casting strategies in Wizards Unite. There isn’t really a right or wrong way to go about it. It will likely come down to personal preference and the resources you have available to you. Just make sure you and your team are thinking things through and you’ll likely be okay!

Enemy Types

There are four main types of enemies that will appear in a Fortress – Dark Forces, Curiosities, Beasts, and Neutral. Each of these enemy types are weak to certain Professions and will deal increased damage to other Professions.

Below is a list of the four main enemy types along with their strengths and weaknesses:

• Dark Forces – Deal increased damage to Professors; Take increased damage from Aurors
• Curiosities – Deal increased damage to Magizoologists; Take increased damage from Professors
• Beasts – Deal increased damage to Aurors; Take increased damage from Magizoologists
• Neutral – Deal and take neutral damage to all Professions

You’ll want to pay attention to what type of enemy you’re facing, so that you will know who in your group is the best matchup for each fight. For example, a Professor shouldn’t fight a Dark Force enemy, because they are capable of dealing increased damage to players of that Profession. In the same light, an Auror should fight a Beast when possible, because they can deal increased damage to that enemy type.

Along with the four main enemy types, there are six different ‘levels’ that and enemy could be. For example, the first few Chambers will probably have Common enemies while the final few will likely have Fierce enemies.

Below is a list of all of the different Enemy levels that will appear in a Fortress:

• Common – Normal enemy
• Formidable – Increased Defense and Proficiency Power
• Elite – Increased stats for some or all active enemies
• Imposing – Increased Proficiency Power, Deficiency Defense, Defense, and Defense Breach
• Dangerous – Strongly increased Proficiency Power, Deficiency Defense, Defense, and Defense Breach
• Fierce – Extremely increased Proficiency Power, Deficiency Defense, Defense, and Defense Breach

Hopefully you found this useful and are ready to go out and explore your surroundings. We’ll have some more Wizard’s Unite content for you over the coming weeks, but let us know if you have any burning questions you’d like answered sooner rather than later!

We hope to see you there. ? #Borderlands3 pic.twitter.com/JxDfmkSwcM

— Borderlands 3 (@Borderlands) July 12, 2019

Following the shock news that Konami are planning to release a PC Engine Mini console (TurboGrafx-16 for our US readers) we have been eagerly waiting to slam down a pre-order as we’re sure that these will sell out quicker than the original NES Mini due to limited supply at launch.

Amazon UK is now listing the pre-order for the PC Engine CoreGrafx Mini priced at £99.99 and it is currently set to ship on 19th March 2020. That’s lovely, but don’t fret if you’re jealous of the more attractive PC Engine version – that can also be pre-ordered, provided you can get your head around how to place an order on Amazon Japan. And if that wasn’t enough, the US TurboGrafx-16 Mini can also be pre-ordered from Amazon US also for $99.99.

Which of the three shall we choose? The correct answer is, of course, all of the above, although our bank balance is still reeling after getting hit by the Sega Genesis / Mega Drive Mini. That mini PC Engine is calling us, though, despite not being much smaller than the original console.

If Amazon Japan is proving tough to navigate, we’ve also added Play Asia links, although these are not fully active at the time of writing. Be sure to check back to catch them once they’re up and running.

Please note that some of the links on this page are affiliate links. If you click them and make a purchase we may receive a small percentage of the sale which helps support the site. Please read our FTC Disclosure for more information.

Let us know if you plan to pick up one of these lovely retro delights with a comment below.

Gears 5’s rootin-tootin chainsaw-gun-wielding COG soldiers won’t be blowing any smoke when the game launches later this year. That’s because Microsoft-owned developer The Coalition has announced the development team is working to remove all depictions of tobacco use and smoking after urging from Turner and anti-smoking advocacy group Truth Initiative.

The cause-and-effect of this decision is actually rather notable, as The Truth Initiative began this push by approaching Turner, who has exclusive rights to broadcast Gears 5 esports events through the ELeague sports division. According to Variety, Turner then worked with The Coalition and Microsoft to ensure Gears 5 would be the first Gears of War game where characters didn’t use cigars or cigarettes.

Senior VP of Turner Sports Sales pointed out to Variety that while it may seem hypocritical to keep Gears’ intense violence while removing smoking, there’s a large amount of research indicating a correlation between depictions of tobacco use in media and use among smoking in young people (who are the target audience for Turner’s ELeague). The link between game violence and real-world violence is a far fuzzier correlation.

Gears of War development veteran and studio head of The Coalition offered a particularly interesting perspective on what Truth Initiative’s ask meant for the Gears of War 5 team. “I’ve seen firsthand the devastating impact of smoking.”

“It’s always been important for me to not use smoking as a narrative device, which is why we made the conscious choice to avoid highlighting or glorifying smoking in ‘Gears 5’ and throughout the Gears of War Universe moving forward.”

The following blog post, unless otherwise noted, was written by a member of Gamasutra’s community.
The thoughts and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not Gamasutra or its parent company.

[Video Game Deep Cuts is a weekly newsletter from video game industry ‘watcher’ Simon Carless (GDC, Gamasutra co-runner), rounding up the best longread & standout articles & videos about games, every weekend.

This week’s roundup includes a look at the Switch Lite announcement and Valve’s experimental discovery mechanisms, as well as some picks on 2019’s best games so far, indie pinball innovation, Dragon Quest Builders 2, and a bunch more besides.

Until next time…
– Simon, curator.]

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Nintendo’s Switch Lite doesn’t have to switch to be a success (Chaim Gartenberg / The Verge – ARTICLE)
“In the wake of the Switch Lite’s announcement, there’s been a lot of debate over whether the Switch’s idealism toward play-anywhere multiplayer failed or if people just weren’t using it with their TVs. But unless Nintendo decides to clarify the issue, that’s not the problem the Switch Lite is meant to solve.”

How developers build the tutorials you skip (Xalavier Nelson Jr. / PC Gamer – ARTICLE)
“It’s a common piece of knowledge in development circles that no matter how important it is, many players will avoid or miss pieces of your tutorial. They clearly need to know how to play the game—how do you move past their natural reluctance with as much success as possible?”

The Benevolent God-King of Traffic Exists and Here He Is Fixing Virtual Gridlock on YouTube (Michael Ballaban / Jalopnik – ARTICLE)
“America’s infrastructure is broken. Part of that is because we refuse to maintain it, but a large part is because it wasn’t designed correctly to begin with… But what if we could experiment with it, and improve it, on the fly? Just look at what this one guy does in Cities: Skylines to see what I’m talking about.”

Warframe developer on avoiding crunch: “it’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” (Emma Kent / Eurogamer – ARTICLE)
“At this year’s TennoCon, I sat down with Digital Extremes chief operating officer Sheldon Carter to discuss the ongoing development of Warframe’s Empyrean expansion (and all its newly-revealed features), along with topics such as how the studio is avoiding crunch, Digital Extremes’ future plans, and whether there will ever be a Warframe 2. [SIMON’S NOTE: you should pay more attention to this game – these self-contained fandoms are the future for GaaS (Games as a Service).]”

Hours Played 12:56pm – 3:10pm (Duncan Robson / YouTube – VIDEO)
“This is a proof of concept for a planned 24 hour video game supercut in which every piece of footage contains a clock, watch or has someone saying the the time. These are arranged so that if you play it in sync with the real time it also functions as a clock. [SIMON’S NOTE: I’m a buddy of Duncan’s, but independently of that bias – this is greeeat, please spread the word about it!]”

The deeproot Tour: Whitewood Wonderland and the Cart Before the Horse (This Week In Pinball – ARTICLE)
“Recently I was in Austin, Texas, not far from deeproot headquarters in San Antonio.  I asked Robert Mueller, the man behind deeproot Pinball, if it would be alright if I came by for a tour of the deeproot facilities to see how things were going there, and he graciously obliged. [SIMON’S NOTE: deeproot is a well-funded dark horse in new-school pinball design with bold claims to ‘reinvent everything’ – and I have no idea whether they will!]”

My Friend Pedro’s journey from Flash cult hit to indie success (Cian Maher / Gamasutra – ARTICLE)
“Developed by one-man studio DeadToast, this Matrix-esque amalgamation of bullets and bedlam quickly cemented itself as a cult classic, but was unfortunately lost in the bygone era of browser games. Recently, however, My Friend Pedro received a massive overhaul, to the extent that an entirely new set of systems and mechanics were assimilated into its makeup.”

A Guide To Auto Chess, 2019’s Most Popular New Game Genre (Nathan Grayson / Kotaku – ARTICLE)
“Over the weekend, Dota Underlords lured 200,000 concurrent players onto its checkered battlefield of swords, sorcery, and slot machines. Meanwhile, Riot’s Teamfight Tactics continued to duel with Fortnite for the Twitch throne. Also, I played Dota Underlords like it was my dang job. If it feels like these Auto Chess games have taken over the world overnight, that’s because they kinda have.”

The best games of 2019 so far (RPS Hivemind / RockPaperShotgun – ARTICLE)
“Just look how many videogames have escaped from their developers in the past six months and are now running amok through the blistering streets, getting stuck in the melting tarmac, like ants in jam. It’s unsanitary. So allow us to round up these unruly games and trap them in a handy list.”

Behind the Scenes with the Games Media at E3 2019 (Noclip / YouTube – VIDEO)
“Noclip investigates the evolution of E3. With behind the scenes interviews from CD Project, Twitch, IGN, Vice Games, Rebb Ford, Tim Schafer, Ben Pack, SkillUp and many others, we look at how the conference has changed over the past 25 years in response to the changing face of games coverage.”

Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge becomes a live-in video game with the Disney Parks app (Todd Martens / LA Times – ARTICLE)
“Nestled inside the 1-year-old Play Disney Parks mobile app is an exploration-encouraging experience called the Star Wars Datapad. Largely a home to mini-puzzles and short quests that can only be activated while inside Disneyland’s recently opened 14-acre area, the Datapad not only fleshes out the Galaxy’s Edge back story but also contains an ongoing game for control of the land itself.”

What Works (And What Doesn’t) In Apex Legends’ Second Season (Javy Gwaltney / Game Informer – ARTICLE)
“After spending several hours with Apex’s new additions, I’ve discovered that the new season does a lot to add enticements to keep the playerbase busy, but maybe not enough to chart a clear path forward to the amazing service game that Apex Legends could be. Here’s what works and what doesn’t work about Apex’s newest season.”

Who Shot Guybrush Threepwood? | Genre and the Adventure Game (Innuendo Studios / YouTube – VIDEO)
“We’re talking about adventure games again! Or, more accurately, we speaking in the context of adventure games about why some genres are hard to define, different ways of thinking about genre, and what genre is even for. [SIMON’S NOTE: there’s a transcript too.]”

Pirate our games, don’t buy them from key resellers, say indies (Leo Kelion / BBC – ARTICLE)
“Small video games studios are asking the public to stop buying their titles from “unauthorised” markets, saying the sales cost them more than they earn. Several have said it would even be better if consumers pirated their games rather than purchased discounted unlock codes from the “key resellers”.”

Spawnpoint: Nolan North and Troy Baker (Keza MacDonald / Spawnpoint / ACast – PODCAST)
“Keza MacDonald presents a video game podcast for tired people. Interviews with players, developers and creators on how parenting and gaming co-exist, plus discussion and opinion on games from a time-pressed perspective.”

Top 10 Most-Watched Twitch Content, First Half 2019 (Max Miceli / eSportsObserver – ARTICLE)
“League of Legends is on pace to break 1B hours watched as Fortnite sees a decline in viewership for the first half of the year. Meanwhile, Just Chatting’s emergence has generated notable growth for non-game-related content compared to its predecessor, the “IRL” category.”

‘Dragon Quest Builders 2’ Is a Giant To-Do List, and I Love It (Cameron Kunzelman / VICE – ARTICLE)
“Dragon Quest Builders 2 is cute. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is simple. Dragon Quest Builders 2 is the game that I’ve been playing until 1 AM all week, completing “just one more task” before bed. If this is a measure of whether or not a game is good, then the game is excellent. [SIMON’S NOTE: there’s also a very entertaining Tim Rogers video about this very game.]”

Steam’s new Interactive Recommender is built for finding ‘hidden gems’ (Adi Robertson / The Verge – ARTICLE)
“Valve is launching a new “Interactive Recommender” that generates personalized lists of Steam games users might like based on what they’ve played before. It’s not replacing the platform’s existing recommendation systems, but it’s supposed to give users another way to navigate Steam’s massive backlog of games — especially smaller titles that often get lost in the mix.”

It’s Becoming Impossible To Keep Up With More Than A Couple “Forever” Games (Caty McCarthy / USGamer – ARTICLE)
“The question that comes up the most when I meet others in the games industry is, how do I keep up? The answer is simple: I don’t. No one does, and no one can. There’s always the new thing. It’s an endless Las Vegas buffet of crab legs. I used to try though, until I realized it’s healthier to accept that there’s only so much I can play.”

Peter Jackson’s King Kong was the most innovative game of its console generation (Xalavier Nelson Jr. / Polygon – ARTICLE)
“King Kong’s combination of cinematic stylings, rudimentary but working ecosystems, improvisational combat, a minimal HUD that forces information to be shared through more clever means than numbers on a screen, muddy textures striving for realism, and focus on player freedom within tightly-scripted encounters, functions as a prophetic statement of intent for the generation that would come.”

Double Fine’s Psychonautical E3 2019 (Double Fine / YouTube – VIDEO)
“It’s been a couple of weeks since we returned from E3, but only now do we feel recovered; rejuvenated by a long weekend of BBQs and fireworks. It was one hell-of-a show though, possibly our busiest ever, and certainly the first time we ever had our own booth on the showfloor, which made it all the more exciting! [SIMON’S NOTE: great documentary work behind the scenes here – Dean Hall’s Rocketwerkz is also getting into the dev video game.]”

This Year’s Steam Summer Sale Was A Mess, Game Developers Say (Nathan Grayson / Kotaku – ARTICLE)
“Two weeks ago, Valve apologized and altered the sale’s meta game… after players found it unbalanced and confusing, and developers suffered a bloodbath of sudden wishlist deletions. Now, with the sale winding down, it seems that Valve’s efforts weren’t enough to undo the damage the confusing sale structure did to indie developers. [SIMON’S NOTE: the above misunderstanding didn’t help wishlists, but I think most of the indie issues are around the fact that Valve tends to boost games that already sell well, making them sell… even better. But this probably DOES maximize total store revenue. It’s just not that small/medium indie friendly.]”

The calm chaos of Samurai Shodown (Patrick Miller / Medium – ARTICLE)
“To me, the Samurai Shodown series has stood out as a remarkable example of fighting game design because when people play it, they routinely recreate moments that look like they were ripped out of a classic samurai drama, not because they’re landing elaborately animated cutscene supers, but because the game’s core combat rules are designed in ways that make fights feel like cinematic samurai duels.”

The Lost Soundtrack of SimCity NES (8-Bit Music Theory / YouTube – VIDEO)
“One of my favourite things about transcribing and analyzing music is trying to get inside the composer’s head and figure out what he or she was thinking. SimCity’s soundtrack for the SNES gives a perfect opportunity to do just that, due to an unearthed completed soundtrack for an NES version of the game that never saw official release. [SIMON’S NOTE: just discovered this whole YT channel, which is GREAT game music analysis.]”

Facebook AI Pluribus defeats top poker professionals in 6-player Texas Hold ’em (Jennifer Ouellette / Ars Technica – ARTICLE)
“Playing more than 5,000 hands each time, five copies of the AI took on two top professional players: Chris “Jesus” Ferguson, six-time winner of World Series of Poker events, and Darren Elias, who currently holds the record for most World Poker Tour titles. Pluribus defeated them both. It did the same in a second experiment, in which Pluribus played five pros at a time, from a pool of 13 human players, for 10,000 hands.”

Working group of game companies announces plan to tackle crunch and workplace stress(Colin Campbell / Polygon – ARTICLE)
“Take This, a not-for-profit dedicated to addressing mental health problems in the game industry, today announced a working group made up of five games companies: Big Huge Games, Bungie, Certain Affinity, Wooga and Zenimax. Human resources leaders from the companies will work with Take This on addressing the game industry’s excesses.”

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[REMINDER: you can sign up to receive this newsletter every weekend at tinyletter.com/vgdeepcuts – we crosspost to Gamasutra later, but get it first via newsletter! Story tips and comments can be emailed to [email protected]. MINI-DISCLOSURE: Simon is one of the organizers of GDC and Gamasutra & an advisor to indie publisher No More Robots, so you may sometimes see links from those entities in his picks. Or not!]

We know you’re busy and might miss out on all the exciting things we’re talking about on Xbox Wire every week. If you’ve got a few minutes, we can help remedy that. We’ve pared down the past week’s news into one easy-to-digest article for all things Xbox! Or, if you’d rather watch than read, you can feast your eyes on our weekly video show above. Be sure to come back every Friday to find out what’s happening This Week on Xbox!

Pre-order NBA 2K20 Today on Xbox One
The next iteration of the top-rated NBA video game simulation series of the past 18 years returns with NBA 2K20. NBA 2K has evolved into much more than a basketball simulation, redefining what’s possible in sports gaming with best in class graphics and gameplay… Read more

Psychological Investigative Thriller Dry Drowning to Hit Xbox One in 2020
A new game from a brand new publisher, pushing new boundaries with an old genre, and finding home on an especially well established platform: It’s no exaggeration to say it’s a genuine honour for us here at Studio V – the aforementioned fresh-faced publisher in your midst… Read more

New Games with Gold for July 2019
Welcome to another Games with Gold reveal for Xbox One and Xbox 360! In July on Xbox One, survive against all manner of threats in the mysterious Inside and then enjoy frenzied action against friends in Big Crown: Showdown. On Xbox 360… Read more

Find out the Latest on Battlefield V from EA Play
Did you miss all the big Battlefield V announcements unveiled at EA Play? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered in this recap. Find out all about Chapter 4: Defying the Odds and get a sneak peek of Chapter 5 and the front coming later this year – the war in the Pacific… Read more

Your First Bite of The Delicious Last Course with an Update from Studio MDHR on Cuphead DLC
Hello, old friends and new! First and foremost, we wanted to thank the wonderful Xbox community for the kind words about our recent Free Content Update. From those who had been itching to play as Mugman, to players who were able to visit the Inkwell Isles… Read more

Coming Soon to Xbox Game Pass: Middle-earth: Shadow of War, Dead Rising 4, and More
Hey, Xbox Game Pass members! If you didn’t catch them on Twitter, it’s time for our IRL patch notes. Updates include: A major buff for The Sun. There is a new debuff: Sunburn, where overexposure to The Sun will cause damage over time and limited mobility… Read more

Free Play Days – Grip: Combat Racing
We’ve just launched our Grip Summer of Combat campaign and could think of no better way to celebrate than teaming up with Xbox for a Free Play Days event! The Free Play Days event begins Thursday, July 4 at 12:01 a.m. PDT and runs through… Read more

E3 2019: Watch Dogs: Legion Lets You Play an Entire City
London has gone to hell in Watch Dogs: Legion. An authoritarian organization called Albion has taken over the city, populating it with private soldiers, filling the sky with militarized observation drones, and controlling the population through data and fear… Read more

Showdown at Fort Truth in Rainbow Six Siege on Xbox One
Rainbow Six Siege is heading out west for Showdown, a special limited-time event on Xbox One. Available now until July 16, Showdown introduces a new 3v3 mode that pits the attacking team, The Law, against the defending team, The Graveltop Gang… Read more

E3 2019: Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Breakpoint Refocuses the Series on Spec Ops
Ghost Recon Breakpoint expands the open world gameplay of Ghost Recon: Wildlands to include more robust survival options, and a lot more drone fighting. This sequel features Jon Bernthal (“The Punisher”) as former Ghost Cole D. Walker, first seen… Read more

Burn Rubber and Shred Metal in Wreckfest, Coming Soon to Xbox One
Whether you’re sitting atop your lawn mower or behind the wheel of a hopped-up muscle car, it’s almost time to get racin’ in Wreckfest! The team at Bugbear sets Wreckfest apart with our true-to-life physics that allow you to not only feel the damage during competition… Read more

Prepare to Rise and Survive in Code Vein on Xbox One
Experience the power of blood and dive into the destructive world of Code Vein on Xbox One. With stunningly dark anime visuals and a connected dungeon experience, we’re excited to announce that Code Vein is now available for digital pre-order. In Code Vein… Read more

Welcome to Shadow Fencer Theatre, Available Now on Xbox One
“Hey, you look like you’re into puppets!” This is our icebreaker of choice when showing our game Shadow Fencer Theatre at conventions. The typical responses are along the lines of “What a weird thing to say” or “What about my face says that?” or just straight up… Read more

Riverbond Brings Co-op Craziness to Xbox Game Pass
Ahoy, friends! We’re proud to announce that Riverbond, a voxel shoot-and-slash dungeon crawler is available now on Xbox One and with Xbox Game Pass for Console and Xbox Game Pass for PC. We invite you and your friends to explore the eight hand-crafted worlds… Read more

Gears 5 Versus Multiplayer Tech Test Kicks off on July 17
At E3, we unveiled a brand new way to fight the Swarm in Gears 5: Escape. We wanted to show how we’re pushing the envelope by doing new things never seen in a Gears game before, and that throughout the summer, we’ll reveal more about Gears 5… Read more

Tune-in Today to ELEAGUE Gears Summer Series: The Bonds and Betrayals of Brotherhood: Episode 4
Stemming from Xbox’s partnership with ELEAGUE, the six-part docu series focused on the stories and players behind the world of Gears Esports on TBS aired its third episode last week. In Episode 3 of The Bonds & Betrayals of Brotherhood, the series dove into what… Read more

Next Week on Xbox: New Games for July 10 to 12
Welcome to Next Week on Xbox, where we cover all the new games coming soon to Xbox One! Every week the team at Xbox aims to deliver quality gaming content for you to enjoy on your favorite gaming console. To find out what’s coming soon to Xbox One… Read more

Killsquad is Now Available on Steam Early Access and is 20% off!*

Unleash hell on a coop A-RPG where bounty hunters raid planets for glory. Choose your quest on the Online Contract System. Unlock skills mid-mission to adapt. Wreak havoc with unique weapons. Scavenge materials to boost them. And, if you survive, spend your bounty on gear to live another day.

*Offer ends July 22 at 10AM Pacific Time

Click Here!