Adventures set inside of a computer is nothing new, but Narita Boy does it with a powerful sense of style that makes it impossible to ignore. The 2D narrative action game is the debut title by Studio Koba, and was successfully Kickstarted with the help of over 5,000 backers. After watching the game's slick debut trailer, it's easy to see why people would get behind the project: it looks very cool, and the presentation nails the technology and era that inspires it.
Narita Boy transports players inside of a old computer and drops them into the Digital Kingdom. At the behest of the kingdom’s ruler, the Motherboard, players will take on the Stallions, rogue code seeking to enslave the Digital Kingdom. Players will defend a colorful cast of characters using the legendary Techno-Sword, a transforming weapon that can also take the form of a shotgun and fire laser beams.
Click here to watch embedded mediaOn top of slicing or blasting apart digitized enemies, expect puzzle-solving and plenty of platforming across the pixelated landscapes. Along the way, players will also experience the memories of the Digital Kingdom’s human creator. The 80s style presentation looks great, and the soundtrack composed of analogue synthesizers only enhances Narita Boy’s nostalgic appeal.
If Narita Boy catches your eye, you’ll be happy to know the game is coming sooner than later. It’s scheduled to release this spring for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Switch, and PC. Narita Boy will also come to Xbox Game Pass on console and PC at launch.
On the back of Narita Boy’s announcement, Publisher Team17 is launching the Saving The Arcade World campaign, a great cause aimed at raising awareness for the struggling arcade industry and helping preserve and protect that scene with help from The Strong: National Museum of Play, The National Videogame Museum in the UK, and Spain's Arcade Vintage: Museo del Videojuego. You can learn more about the cool campaign at Team17’s website.
Dungeons & Dragons continues to evolve, and a lot of times that evolution includes pop culture inclusions from fans to spice things up a bit. With Netflix's The Witcher season one's positive reception and the excitement for season two high, Geralt of Rivia has been on everyone's minds, including Dungeons & Dragons players. But what class would Geralt be if he did his handy portal trick in that universe? Most say Rogue, but Netflix heartily disagrees and playfully harnesses the power of the "Change my mind" meme to invite discussion.
The Netflix adaptation of Geralt's story is based on the books that inspired the games by CD Projekt Red. In the show (like the books), Geralt's skills are a blend of brute strength, dexterity, and durability with the flare of otherworldly attributes thrown in there via his Witcher abilities. With the common discussion of D&D fans centering around Geralt being a Rogue, Netflix says "nay" with its own classification based on the in-game classes for our white-haired hero:
Geralt is a Cleric and not a Rogue. Change my mind.
— NX (@NXOnNetflix) February 3, 2021
What makes this interesting is that there are actual official (as well as not-so-official) classes and subclasses that are inspired by the Witcher himself. For those wanting to go the official route, technically both sides are wrong because he would be classified as a Fighter (Eldritch Knight) or a Blood Hunter.
Not sure what an Eldritch Knight is? Here is the official description courtesy of Twitter user @SirenFluxx:
The archetypal Eldritch Knight combines the martial mastery common to all fighters with a careful study of magic. Eldritch Knights use magical techniques similar to those practiced by Wizards. They focus their study on two of the eight schools of magic: abjuration and evocation. Abjuration spells grant an Eldritch Knight additional protection in battle, and evocation spells deal damage to many foes at once, extending the fighter's reach in combat. These knights learn a comparatively small number of spells, committing them to memory instead of keeping them in a spellbook.Personally, I'm going to have to go with the good 'ol Eldritch Knight with fighter base because that does fall more in line with Geralt himself. I don't think Cleric would necessarily work given that he's not religious by nature unless we're including the school of philosophy behind Witchers as a whole. Some argue that he's a Ranger with his ability to track monsters, but honestly? He's a well-rounded character, and there are quite a few classes that apply to him if we felt like being super serious about it.
Dungeons & Dragons is serious business, friends, so we've gotta ask: Do you agree with Netflix or do you have an entirely different class to put Geralt in? Sound off in the comment section below!
Earlier this week, Sony officially announced MLB The Show 21 with the young and exciting Fernando Tatis Jr. as the cover athlete. While Sony is looking forward to the future of baseball with Tatis Jr. on the cover of its standard editions, it is honoring one of the most important historical figures in American sports with its Collector's Edition. Sony San Diego has announced that Jackie Robinson is the cover athlete for the Collector's Editions of MLB The Show 21.
Robinson was the first person to break the Major League Baseball color barrier in 1947 and is one of the most iconic players in baseball history. In addition to serving as a symbol of breaking down racial barriers, Robinson played for the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1947 to 1956. There, he was named Rookie of the Year in 1947, made a six-time All-Star, and garnered a Most Valuable Player award before earning a World Series Championship just prior to his retirement. In 1962, Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on his first ballot.
In addition to placing Robinson on the cover of the Collector's Editions of MLB The Show 21, PlayStation has also announced that it will donate $1 to the Jackie Robinson Foundation for every copy of the MLB The Show 21 Collector's Editions sold in the United States through the end of this calendar year. This includes the Jackie Robinson Edition, the Jackie Robinson Deluxe Edition, and the Digital Deluxe Edition.
All of the Collector's Editions grant you early access to the game, letting you play MLB The Show 21 on April 16 instead of the standard release date of April 20. The Jackie Robinson Edition ($85) is available at retail in physical form and includes the game, a limited-edition steelbook case, and various Diamond Dynasty packs and other digital goodies including double daily login rewards for the entire life cycle of MLB The Show 21. The Digital Deluxe Edition ($100) is available digitally and includes last-gen and current-gen access as well as even more digital goodies. The Jackie Robinson Deluxe Edition ($100) is available at retail in physical form and includes all the aforementioned DLC and physical bonuses of the Jackie Robinson Edition, but also includes a physical and in-game hat (pictured above).
MLB The Show 21 is the first game in the Sony-developed baseball franchise to be made available on a competing platform. The deal for multiplatform release was announced in 2019, but no timetable was given for the transition, and no specific platforms were named. The announcement earlier this week confirmed that MLB The Show 21 is coming to Xbox platforms in addition to PlayStation. If you're new to the series and want to learn more about the current state of the franchise, check out our review of last year's entry, MLB The Show 20.
MLB The Show 21 launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on April 20.