The best PlayStation Store Holiday Sale deals you won’t want to miss

We’ve rounded up some of the best PlayStation Store holiday deals, from Alan Wake and Baldur’s Gate to indie gems and more

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The PlayStation Store holiday sale deals have begun, with big discounts on some of the best PS5 games of 2023, old classics, and hidden gems you might’ve missed in a year crammed with releases. There’s a discount for everyone, whether you’ve been waiting for Jedi Survivor or Cyberpunk 2077 to go on sale or want to try out award winners such as Sea of Stars and Alan Wake 2Red Dead 2 is on sale, as always, and Larian even threw in a little Baldur’s Gate 3 price cut as a treat – emphasis on “little.”

We’ve rounded up some of the best PlayStation Store holiday deals below. The sales are live now through Jan. 17, 2024.

Mass Effect lead writer on why ME Legendary Edition inspired him to leave BioWare

Former BioWare employee and lead Mass Effect writer Mac Walters explained why he left the company after nearly two decades

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Former BioWare employee and lead Mass Effect writer Mac Walters explained why he left the company after nearly two decades. Walters left the company of his own volition earlier in 2023, though BioWare laid off other long-time writers, including some who worked on the hit space game trilogy with Walters and on Dragon Age as well.

Walters told the MinnMax show that he decided it was time for a change after working on Mass Effect Legendary Edition, the remastered package that brought all three Mass Effect games together for modern consoles (thanks, Eurogamer). Walters said that, unlike BioWare’s other projects, Legendary Edition was comparatively unplanned and only had a “small, scrappy” team working on it, something that reminded him of days gone by.

“That process reminded me a lot of early BioWare, we were a small scrappy team and people wearing lots of different hats,” Walters said. “The way to make that successful was really for me to be little bit rogue, a little bit sort of entrepreneurial in how we were going to build this out with the people we had and people we could get without disrupting other teams in the meantime.

“This is the future – this is how AAA gaming needs to go when you look at how complex and challenging it is,” he said. “And so a lot of that was reminding me of… y’know, call it the good old days, or whatever.”

Walters said he wanted to work on new projects and fresh IP, but that there wasn’t any room at EA for his plans. When it became clear that the opportunities he envisioned just weren’t possible at BioWare anymore, he said he realized it was time to move on.

Walters founded a new studio with NetEase after he left, Worlds Untold, and is currently working on an unannounced sci-fi project. BioWare, meanwhile, is still teasing Mass Effect 5 and Dragon Age 4, both of which aren’t anywhere near launching after several years of development.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

All Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC version exclusives

Our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet versions exclusive lists all DLC Pokemon you can only get in one game, including Legendary exclusives

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Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC version exclusives are a thing just like they are in every other mainline game. The Indigo Disk expansion brings dozens of critters from previous Pokemon games back, including regional variants such as Alolan Vulpix and even some new legendary Pokemon. As always, the only way to get a Pokemon from a version you don’t own is to trade for it, so if you have friends with a different version, consider offering them an exclusive trade for one of theirs.

All the Pokemon starters are in both versions, so you can get Squirtle, Fennekin, and all the rest no matter which version you’re playing.

Larian wanted Paladin as BG3’s default class, but Lae’zel happened

Larian Studios considered making Paladin the default Baldur’s Gate 3 class, but ran into a few snags with player choice and Lae’zel

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Larian Studios considered making Paladin the default Baldur’s Gate 3 class, but ran into a few snags – the biggest of which was Lae’zel. Or, more accurately, the Tieflings who put her in a cage.

Swen Vincke, head of Larian, and lead writer Adam Smith explained how they moved away from the idea of a base class early in the project during a recent interview with IGN.

“We started thinking about it and said, actually that’s bringing us in a lot of narrative problems, so we’ll let them make that choice themselves,” Vincke said. “But we’re not going to plug it in like that because it actually does have issues in role-playing.”

One of those issues pops up shortly after the Nautiloid crashes in the prologue. You find – or not, if you go the other way – a few Tieflings have captured Lae’zel, put her in a cage, and suspended it off the ground. I always just chased the Tieflings off and saved Lae’zel without violence, but apparently, people had a habit of murdering them to rescue the Githyanki warrior.

“One of my favorite things I saw recently was someone described the Teflings that have Lae’zel in the cage [as] Paladin kryptonite because if you kill them you break your oath even though they’re threatening somebody in a cage,” Smith said. “So Paladins often get into that and go, ‘Oh, I’m going to rescue this companion, recruit.’ It’s like, ‘Oathbreaker.’ And they’re like, ‘Oh no.’” 

“It’s also very hard to keep your oath if you’re the Dark Urge.”

The Dark Urge faces checks at certain points that involve murdering innocent people, which is about as un-Paladin as you can get if you fail. It’s also partly what makes the Dark Urge a unique character – and one of Larian’s favorites – regardless of class, with a story that can be devastating or deeply emotional depending on the choices you make.

So, there you have it. You can thank Lae’zel, the mighty Gith fighter, getting captured by a bunch of unarmed refugees, for having the option to pick your own class at the start of BG3.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

All Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC starter locations

Our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC starter locations guide points out where to look for each starter, with images to pinpoint habitat areas.

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Getting to the point where you can start finding Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC’s starter Pokemon works a bit differently than you might expect. While the expansion’s trailer showed the likes of Squirtle and Treecko wandering freely, you actually have to put some effort into making that happen. There’s also some guesswork involved in determining which Pokemon shows up in a given biome, as there aren’t any type rules or patterns at play.

Our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet DLC starter locations guide points out where to look for each starter, with images to help pinpoint exact habitat areas.

 

How to find Meloetta in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet The Indigo Disc

Our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Meloetta guide lays out everything you need to do to find Meloetta’s location and catch the Legendary Pokemon

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Finding the Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Meloetta location is a tough challenge, and not just on account of the melodic ‘mon’s good hiding place. Once you find where Meloetta is, you have to coax them to appear, something the game is happy to make you struggle to figure out for yourself. Once you finally meet all the criteria and make yourself worthy for Meloetta to perform in front of, you’ll get a chance to catch the elusive legendary.

Our Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Meloetta guide lays out everything you need to do to reach that point.

All Pokemon GO Winter Holiday research tasks

The Pokemon GO Winter Timed Research tasks are here, with plenty to keep you busy as the year draws to a close

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The Pokemon GO Winter Timed Research tasks are here, with plenty to keep you busy as the year draws to a close. Niantic is offering the first round of Winter Timed Research tasks for free for all players in the Pokemon game, though if you want to tick every box, you’ll have to pay for it. Some of the tasks are only available as paid research and cost $1.99 and $4.99 in the in-game shop. Niantic is also running Winter Wishes and Frosty Festivities alongside the main event, two separate quests with even more rewards to earn.

There’s quite a bit to do in the free tasks and a chance to earn rewards, find rare spawns, and more, though, so if you’re keen on keeping your money in your wallet, you won’t be getting shortchanged.

HoYoverse finally reveals Genshin Impact’s Cloud Retainer as playable character

After almost a year of leaks and speculation from fans, HoYoverse finally revealed Genshin Impact’s Cloud Retainer as a playable character

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After almost a year of leaks and speculation from fans, HoYoverse finally revealed Genshin Impact’s Cloud Retainer as a playable character. Sort of. The name Cloud Retainer uses in her human form – and her official name on the character banner – is Xianyun.

Xianyun is a 5-star Anemo character who, assuming HoYoverse’s usual pattern of teases and reveals holds true, will debut in Genshin Impact 4.4, sometime in February 2024. That’s plenty of time to save up Primogems if you’re keen on adding Cloud Retainer to your team.

It puts Xianyun in the Lantern Rite period, an annual in-game festival celebrating the new year in Liyue, and it’s a fitting period for her.

Cloud Retainer first turned up in her human form during a touching sequence in Lantern Rite 2023, where her friend and fellow adeptus Madam Ping reminisced about days gone by and lost friends.

Xianyun’s kit leaked right before HoYoverse made the announcement, and assuming the leaks are accurate, it looks like she’ll occupy her unique role. Xianyun’s skill reportedly lets her use plunging attacks with ease, and her burst provides healing or attack boosts.

HoYoverse also revealed Gaming – not pronounced like you think it is – another new 5-star character set to debut alongside Xianyun. He has a Pyro vision, though there aren’t as many reliable leaks about his kit just yet.

Meanwhile, Genshin Impact 4.3 is about to launch, bringing with it Navia, Chevreuse, and Fontaine’s first-ever film festival.

Written by Josh Broadwell on behalf of GLHF

How to evolve Duraludon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

We lay out how to evolve Duraludon and where to find Metal Alloy in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet’s Indigo Disc DLC

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How to evolve Duraludon in Pokemon Scarlet and Violet takes a fair bit of work, unless you have friends with the Pokemon game willing to do it for you. Duraludon’s evolved form Archaludon featured in the Indigo Disc’s pre-release trailers, but you likely won’t have a chance to get it until fairly late in your Blueberry Academy adventure. The new evolution item Duraludon needs only comes from one place, and it’ll cost you. The effort is worth it, though. Archaludon’s dual Dragon and Steel typing makes it unique, and it comes with a powerful move right out of the gate.

Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Super Spicy Sandwich trial tips

Our Scarlet and Violet Spicy Sandwich Trial guide lays out who you should battle and trade with and how to put the final product together

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The Pokemon Scarlet and Violet Super Spicy Sandwich Trial sets you a riddle before letting you challenge the Indigo Disc Elite Four, and the answer is pretty vague if you’re not sure what to do. You need to prepare a spicy sandwich using a specific set of ingredients that you can only obtain in the right order. Sandwich ingredients are hardly a rarity in Scarlet and Violet, but even with an encyclopedic knowledge of which ingredient does what, the order you should obtain them in is tough to guess initially.

Our Scarlet and Violet Spicy Sandwich Trial guide lays out who you should battle and trade with and how to put the final product together in the Switch game.