Month: July 2023
Hollow Knight Silksong release date, gameplay and everything we know
Here’s when Hollow Knight Silksong is expected to come out, as well as a look at gameplay, trailers and all of the latest news.
The Hollow Knight Silksong release date is right at the top of many gamers’ minds currently, given that the game recently missed its early 2023 release window, and has been announced for quite some time.
From what we’ve seen so far, Silksong looks to be one of the most promising upcoming games of 2023, so we’re hoping it comes out sooner rather than later. So far, Team Cherry has revealed a fair bit of gameplay, a couple of trailers, and provided an update on the development of Hollow Knight Silksong just a few months ago.
There’s still plenty to learn about Hollow Knight Silksong, namely whether or not it can measure up to the lofty legacy of its predecessor. Here’s what we know about the upcoming sequel so far, including a look at gameplay, all of the latest news, and what’s been said about when Hollow Knight Silksong is coming out, and on what platforms.
Hollow Knight Silksong – Cut to the chase
What is it? The sequel to Hollow Knight, a modern-classic metroidvania gameWhen does it come out? TBA What can I play it on? PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo SwitchWho is making it? Team Cherry
Hollow Knight Silksong release date and platforms
(Image credit: Team Cherry)
There is no official Hollow Knight Silksong release date right now, but it is expected to arrive in late 2023. This is due to the game having been originally planned for release in the first half of 2023 before a Tweet from the game’s marketing director confirmed a delay. When it does launch, Hollow Knight Silksong will be available on PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and Windows PC. We’ll be sure to update this page once we hear more.
Hollow Knight Silksong trailers
The most recent trailer we’ve seen from Hollow Knight Silksong arrived as part of the Xbox and Bethesda Games Showcase event in late 2022. This trailer, which you can view below, shows off gameplay, as well as a look at the new protagonist and setting.
There have been a few more trailers released for Hollow Knight Silksong over the last four years or so. We’ve included some of them throughout this article, but to see all of them you can head over to the game’s official YouTube channel.
Hollow Knight Silksong story and setting
Hollow Knight Silksong is set in the haunted kingdom of Pharloom. Visually, it is a gilded, gloomy sort of area, not dissimilar to the deepnest setting of the first game. Hornet will start at the very bottom, having been brought there after being captured. From there, she must climb higher and higher, hunting down foes and ultimately determining the fate of the world around her.
Much like in the first game, Silksong looks likely to convey most of its story via NPC dialogue and lore found in the environment. A story is definitely there if you want to and it, but perhaps takes less of a spotlight when compared to other facets of the game. What we do know is that there will once again be a variety of bosses to take down, friends to meet, and subtle choices to decide on while you play. There’s still a lot to learn about the story in Silksong, but we’re betting most of it will be kept a mystery, right up until the game is in the hands of players.
Hollow Knight Silksong gameplay
(Image credit: Team Cherry)
Players will play as Hornet in Hollow Knight Silksong, who is a pretty stark contrast when compared to the Knight from the first game. She is much more agile, able to dart and grapple around the world, with her needle weapon in hand. Once again, players will be able to find new abilities as they progress, giving them options for customizing Hornet.
So far, we’ve yet to see too much gameplay for Silksong, but what’s been shown looks to be a continuation of the platforming/boss fighting of its predecessor. You’ll explore different zones, slowly unlocking the map. It’s a Metroidvania game once again, meaning that certain areas are locked behind ability upgrades, with lots of backtracking involved. Boss fights look to be a big part of Silksong, with the gameplay trailer released last year having shown off a couple of the main foes we’ll be taking on.
Generally, if you played Hollow Knight, it seems as though you’ll be right at home with the gameplay in Silksong. We’ll have to wait and see just how many new bells and whistles are included this time around, but, for now, the action is looking like more Hollow Knight – which is certainly not a bad thing.
Hollow Knight Silksong latest news
Hollow Knight Silksong delayed out of ‘first half of 2023’
In a Tweet, Team Cherry’s Marketing Director announced that the game will no longer hit its release window of the ‘first half of 2023’. No update has since been given on a new release date.
That’s everything we know about Hollow Knight Silksong so far. For more on what’s coming to Xbox consoles, be sure to check out our new Xbox Series X games list. For more on Hollow Knight, read why we named the first game one of the best of the last generation.
Hulu and Sony delay new movie and TV show releases over strikes – and you should prepare for more bad news
The world’s biggest studios have started to tweak their release schedules amid ongoing industrial action.
Prepare yourselves, entertainment fans, because your most anticipated film and/or TV show of 2023 might not arrive this year after all. With the writers’ and actors’ strikes seemingly set to run for a long time, the world’s biggest studios have begun to delay numerous new movies and TV series.
Per Variety, Sony Pictures is the first major film studio to push multiple movies into 2024, including Spider-Man spin-off flick Kraven the Hunter and Ghostbusters: Afterlife‘s sequel. Meanwhile, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse‘s follow-up – Beyond the Spider-Verse – has been removed from Sony’s theatrical line-up entirely, meaning its release has been delayed indefinitely.
Things are starting to look shaky in the streaming world, too. According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), forthcoming Hulu TV show A Murder at the End of the World has also had its release date pushed back to November. It was originally slated to launch on August 29. THR suggests the limited series’ release delay is down to Hulu’s hope that the strikes will be resolved by the fourth quarter of 2023, which might allow its cast and crew to promote the series.
A Murder at the End of the World won’t land on Hulu until November. (Image credit: FX/Christopher Saunders)
There’s potentially worse to come on the release date front. Earlier in July, Variety reported that Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) was weighing up whether to delay some of its biggest films of the year until 2024. That could include the hotly anticipated sci-fi epic Dune Part 2, the final DC Extended Universe (DCEU) film in Aquaman 2, and possible Oscar contender The Color Purple.
The release schedule switches come as the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) continue their industrial action against the Alliance of Motion Pictures and Television Producers (AMPTP). The unions want assurances from the AMPTP – and the studios it represents – over better pay and working conditions, which include the use, or lack thereof, of artificial intelligence (AI) in the industry. Numerous shows and films have already been seriously impacted by the strikes, including Stranger Things season 5 and Marvel‘s Deadpool 3.
It’s unclear if other major film releases, such as The Marvels, Napoleon, Rebel Moon, and Wonka, will have their theatrical launches – or, in Rebel Moon‘s case, arrival on Netflix – pushed back. But, as studios contend with potentially huge gaps in their release schedules in 2024, more delays seem inevitable.
The waiting game begins
The Marvels should keep its late 2023 release date, but other films might not be so lucky. (Image credit: Disney)
There are a few options available to the world’s biggest studios amid the strike action – but only one of them is a solution that’ll benefit all parties.
The first and most likely choice is to delay more of their upcoming projects. If film studios and the world’s best streaming services want its stars and creators to promote their productions, altering their launch dates is an obvious call to make. Doing so, though, will impact their profit margins. Studio CEOs, then, will be under pressure from shareholders to release their tentpole films and TV series to bring in cash and ensure their revenue streams don’t dry up.
Streaming giants face a similar issue with their TV show lineups. Netflix, Prime Video and company could shunt their forthcoming series’ releases back, but subscribers would likely cancel their subscriptions if there’s no new content to watch. That would also eat into their profit margins and draw probing questions from concerned investors during each company’s quarterly earnings calls.
Barbie has earned almost $800 million worldwide since July 21. (Image credit: Warner Bros. Pictures)
Another alternative is for studios to reintroduce the divisive day-and-date plan that was used during the Covid-19 pandemic. WBD and Disney were among the studios that released hugely anticipated movies, such as Tenet and Dune on HBO Max (now known as Max), and Black Widow on Disney Plus, in 2021. However, doing so would mean a film’s cast and crew can’t promote their projects. This day-and-date scheme also drew fierce criticism from directors like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve, who hit out at WBD for allowing audiences to stream their new films at home instead of watching them on the biggest screen possible.
Sure, releasing new films on a streaming platform may drive sign ups to said service, but at what cost to a movie’s box office haul? Just look at the cultural phenomenon known as ‘Barbenheimer’. Barbie and Oppenheimer have earned WBD and Universal $774.5 million and $400.5 million globally (at the time of writing) since their joint July 21 launches. Would the studios have seen similarly impressive incomes if they had released their films on streaming services? Not even close, in my view. Okay, ‘Barbenheimer’ is a cinematic event unlike anything we’ve seen before or will see again. But I refuse to believe that Barbie would have earned WBD almost $800 million in streaming service subscriptions if it launched on Max as well as in theaters.
The best option available to studios, then, is to simply return to the negotiating table and thrash out deals with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. Nobody wants this to drag on any longer, least of all those who work tirelessly on projects that they’ve squeezed every ounce of passion and creativity into.
Release schedule delay tactics will only work for so long before audiences start to get tetchy about wanting something new to stream or watch in theaters. And, while studios may think they can wait out the industrial action – some companies are reportedly (and disgustingly) prepared to hold out until industry workers start losing their homes – I think they’ll blink first. After all, Hollywood lives and dies on the amount of money that its studios make. As soon as their finances start taking serious hits, they’ll have no choice but to reopen talks with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA. Here’s to hoping something positive happens sooner rather than later.
In the meantime, read up on some of the shows that are still coming this year, including Loki season 2, Invincible season 2, and Star Wars: Ahsoka.
TCL’s new 98-inch 4K TV is as ridiculously cheap as it is ridiculously big
98-inch TVs are plummeting in price thanks to the latest models from TCL.
It is a truth universally acknowledged that big TVs mean big price tags, but TCL doesn’t seem to have gotten the memo. Following in the footsteps of its C735 and R754, affordable 98-inchers for Europe and the US, respectively, and its relatively affordable 98-inch mini-LED for Japan, it’s launched yet another 98-inch TV in Europe – and this one’s the cheapest yet.
The new TV is a 98-inch 4K LCD TV with the product model number P745, and when it launches in late August or early September it’ll be priced at €2,800. That works out as roughly $3,100 / £2,400 / AU$4,600, which massively undercuts anything at this size in the market – Samsung’s 98-inch QLED 4K TV costs $7,999.99 in comparison.
TCL P745 – specifications and key features
TCL says that unlike its smaller siblings in the same model range (the P745 comes in sizes ranging from 43-inches to 95-inches), this TV is getting a 100/120Hz LCD panel with HDMI 2.1 ports and 144Hz VRR. There’s HDR 10, HDR10+, version 11 of the Google TV OS and Dolby Vision as well as Dolby Atmos decoding/passthrough.
Whenever you see an affordable TV the first question is: which corners have been cut? Here, the obvious omission is LED local dimming – so if you’re looking for the ultimate big-screen HDR experience then this isn’t going to be the big TV for you.
However, if you’re looking for an absolutely enormous television that doesn’t also have an absolutely enormous price tag this looks like good value, and the inclusion of HDMI 2.1 is handy if you’re planning some big-screen console gaming too.
However, if like me you simply don’t have the room for a 98-inch TV, TCL also makes some really good TVs for more modest sized apartments. Check out our guide to the best TCL TVs you can buy today to find out more.
Volvo EX30 first look: The compact electric SUV we need
As we slowly shift towards electric vehicles, there’s a growing number of big, fancy battery-powered SUVs. However, for those looking for something smaller, the options are a lot more limited. But with the upcoming EX30, Volvo has created a compact electric SUV with a ton of premium features and a surprisingly affordable price. After getting to check one out in person at its North American debut, it’s clear we need more electric vehicles like this in the market.Due out sometime in the summer of 2024, a base EX30 will start at just $35,000 for a single-motor setup with around 275 miles of range. Granted, that’s a bit more than a gas-powered alternative like a Honda CR-V (which starts at just under $30,000) or a Subaru Crosstrek (around $25,000). But when you consider the average price of a new electric vehicle is over $53,000, Volvo is definitely helping make EVs a bit more affordable.On top of that, a base EX30 appears to be well-equipped, with Volvo including things like a 12.3-inch touchscreen based on Android Automotive (with support for wireless Apple CarPlay), cyclist detection, Pilot Assist and rear passenger detection as standard. And as you’d expect from Volvo, you get a very Scandinavian minimalist interior made from a range of recycled and sustainable materials. Now some may take issue with a few of the components Volvo is using like the speckled panels on the dash – which kind of remind me of a fancy gym mat. But in a car sporting a slick modern design, I think it works.That said, if you don’t mind spending a bit more, the EX30 is also available with an upgraded dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration that boasts a 0 to 60 time of just 3.4 seconds. Not only does that make the EX30 faster than bigger and more expensive electric SUVs like a Tesla Model Y Performance, it’s also the fastest Volvo ever (across both electric and ICE vehicles).The EX30 feels rather roomy in the front, with Volvo simplifying its interior by using a soundbar that runs the width of the windshield instead of multiple individual speakers. The company has also moved a lot of common controls for stuff like the windows to the center console to help streamline the interior. And Volvo put an emphasis on storage, with the EX30 featuring a lot of handy cubby holes including a center-mounted glove box and a dishwasher-safe removable tray (with a cute little moose graphic) for rear seat passengers. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of power options for your devices with two USB-C ports in the front, another two in back, and a built-in dual phone wireless charging pad between the driver and passenger seats.When sitting in the rear, things do feel a bit tighter, though that’s somewhat expected for a car that’s only a few inches longer (166) and a couple inches (61) shorter than a Chevy Bolt. As someone who’s six feet tall, there’s very little legroom if the front seats are pushed all the way back. And in the truck, you get a surprising amount of cargo space at 31.9 cubic feet if you include the extra room underneath the load flat floor.Photo by Sam Rutherford/EngadgetSo while I haven’t had a chance to take it for a drive, all told the EX30 looks to offer a great blend of premium features and decent range in a compact size. Not to mention excellent performance, just so long as you’re willing to pay for it. And coming from someone who lives in the city, the EX30 seems like a great EV for getting around town while still being easy to park on the streets, which is something we need more of among electric SUVs.Reservations for the EX30 in the U.S. are available today with a $500 refundable deposit before the car arrives at dealerships sometime next summer. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/volvo-ex30-first-look-the-compact-electric-suv-we-need-100013835.html?src=rss
As we slowly shift towards electric vehicles, there’s a growing number of big, fancy battery-powered SUVs. However, for those looking for something smaller, the options are a lot more limited. But with the upcoming EX30, Volvo has created a compact electric SUV with a ton of premium features and a surprisingly affordable price. After getting to check one out in person at its North American debut, it’s clear we need more electric vehicles like this in the market.
Due out sometime in the summer of 2024, a base EX30 will start at just $35,000 for a single-motor setup with around 275 miles of range. Granted, that’s a bit more than a gas-powered alternative like a Honda CR-V (which starts at just under $30,000) or a Subaru Crosstrek (around $25,000). But when you consider the average price of a new electric vehicle is over $53,000, Volvo is definitely helping make EVs a bit more affordable.
On top of that, a base EX30 appears to be well-equipped, with Volvo including things like a 12.3-inch touchscreen based on Android Automotive (with support for wireless Apple CarPlay), cyclist detection, Pilot Assist and rear passenger detection as standard. And as you’d expect from Volvo, you get a very Scandinavian minimalist interior made from a range of recycled and sustainable materials. Now some may take issue with a few of the components Volvo is using like the speckled panels on the dash – which kind of remind me of a fancy gym mat. But in a car sporting a slick modern design, I think it works.
That said, if you don’t mind spending a bit more, the EX30 is also available with an upgraded dual-motor all-wheel-drive configuration that boasts a 0 to 60 time of just 3.4 seconds. Not only does that make the EX30 faster than bigger and more expensive electric SUVs like a Tesla Model Y Performance, it’s also the fastest Volvo ever (across both electric and ICE vehicles).
The EX30 feels rather roomy in the front, with Volvo simplifying its interior by using a soundbar that runs the width of the windshield instead of multiple individual speakers. The company has also moved a lot of common controls for stuff like the windows to the center console to help streamline the interior. And Volvo put an emphasis on storage, with the EX30 featuring a lot of handy cubby holes including a center-mounted glove box and a dishwasher-safe removable tray (with a cute little moose graphic) for rear seat passengers. Thankfully, there’s no shortage of power options for your devices with two USB-C ports in the front, another two in back, and a built-in dual phone wireless charging pad between the driver and passenger seats.
When sitting in the rear, things do feel a bit tighter, though that’s somewhat expected for a car that’s only a few inches longer (166) and a couple inches (61) shorter than a Chevy Bolt. As someone who’s six feet tall, there’s very little legroom if the front seats are pushed all the way back. And in the truck, you get a surprising amount of cargo space at 31.9 cubic feet if you include the extra room underneath the load flat floor.
So while I haven’t had a chance to take it for a drive, all told the EX30 looks to offer a great blend of premium features and decent range in a compact size. Not to mention excellent performance, just so long as you’re willing to pay for it. And coming from someone who lives in the city, the EX30 seems like a great EV for getting around town while still being easy to park on the streets, which is something we need more of among electric SUVs.
Reservations for the EX30 in the U.S. are available today with a $500 refundable deposit before the car arrives at dealerships sometime next summer.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/volvo-ex30-first-look-the-compact-electric-suv-we-need-100013835.html?src=rss
TikTok’s Berberine Fad Is About More Than ‘Nature’s Ozempic’
Berberine went viral as a weight loss wonder pill. Its success on social media shows how broken the supplement industry is.
Berberine went viral as a weight loss wonder pill. Its success on social media shows how broken the supplement industry is.