Over the next few days, we will reveal what we believe are the 10 best games of 2019, organized by release date. Then, on December 17, we will reveal which of the nominees gets to take home the coveted title of GameSpot’s Best Game of 2019. So be sure to come back then for the big announcement, and in the meantime, follow along with all of our other end-of-the-year coverage collected in our Best Games of 2019 hub.

Disco Elysium is unlike anything else we played this year. It takes traditional CRPG mechanics and puts a psychological spin on them, with your skills feeding into how conversations unfold in clever and unexpected ways. To that end, it has some of the best writing we’ve seen in a game to date–at once unavoidably bleak and effortlessly funny, both a brilliant detective game and an incredible work of existential fiction besides.

While the bulk of the game is reading, Disco Elysium’s inventive twist on traditional RPG systems sets it apart from a regular novel. A lot of the text you read consists of the main character’s interior monologue, and the loudest voices are the skills you spec into–things like empathy, logic, and even electrochemistry, the part of him that’s addicted to drugs and alcohol. How you craft your amnesiac, alcoholic cop transforms how conversations play out, what responses are available to you, and the kinds of clues you pick up on in relation to the murder investigation at the core of the story. Logic might tell you that a locked door must have a key somewhere, while electrochemistry might encourage you to do the drugs you confiscated from a kid and empathy will suggest that you look into his clearly troubled home life.

Whether you listen to any of these inner voices is up to you. Sometimes they’re wrong; there are always skill checks being rolled in the background, and if, say, your empathy isn’t high enough for a particular situation, it might suggest something inaccurate or insensitive instead of helpful. While you are afforded some freedom in how you roleplay the detective–including whether he’s a communist or a fascist, for instance–a lot of the time, you are instead deciding whether to act on his impulses or not, and that makes him feel more human.

Because of that, you really do feel like a detective, even if the detective you control is a bit of a disaster. A passing observation early on can lead to an unexpected revelation down the line, leaving you to wonder what you might have missed. The side activity that seems like a distraction may very well lead back to the case, if only because it gives you a fuller picture of the city you’re in and the people who live and die there. Seemingly unrelated events and interactions come together in surprising ways. And crucially, the story isn’t tied up with a neat bow–events and people intersect in believable ways that make Disco Elysium’s world feel lived-in, and while the murder mystery has its satisfying aha moments, it’s also beautifully messy.

The game finds humor in flaws, too. Choose too many non-committal answers and you’ll unlock an achievement mocking you for being a centrist. Fail a critical skill check while trying to crack a joke and everyone will just stare at the detective blankly. He can even die from sitting in an uncomfortable chair for too long (heart attack–the alcoholism has done a number on his body). Often incisive comedy provides much-needed levity in Disco Elysium’s darkness: the immense emotional pain the detective feels but can’t identify, the ills of late capitalism and corruption that rot its world, the frank descriptions of human decay during an autopsy.

It’s a testament to the quality of Disco Elysium’s writing that the sheer volume of it doesn’t get overwhelming. It’s a dense game, both in the number of words and the depth and breadth of the subject matter, but no words are wasted. Not everything has a direct purpose–you might inspect something suspicious-looking at the behest of your drama skill to discover it’s obviously unrelated to the murder case, for example–but every conversation, observation, and interaction provides something for your trouble. It might be a deeper insight into the world, its inhabitants, or yourself, or it might just be a witty joke, but regardless, taking the time to read and explore in Disco Elysium always yields something worthwhile.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/best-games-of-2019-disco-elysium/1100-6472234/

When Red Dead Redemption 2 arrived on PC last month, it came with some additional content not available in the console versions, including a Photo Mode and some exclusive story missions. Along with the Moonshiner update that Rockstar dropped for Red Dead Online today, the developer has now brought the game’s PC-exclusive content to PS4.

Players on Sony’s console now have access to Red Dead Redemption 2’s Photo Mode, which lets you snap images, edit them with filters, text, or stickers, and share them with other players via Rockstar’s Social Club. On top of that, several new horses and trinkets have been added to the game’s story mode, along with a handful of new Bounty Hunter missions, treasure maps, and more.

Here’s all the new content that’s now available in the PS4 version, courtesy of Rockstar’s blog:

• Story Mode Bounty Hunter Missions: track down wanted criminals Herman Zizendorf, Camille de Millemont and Bart Cavanaugh
• Story Mode Gang Hideouts: Take on the deadly Del Lobos gang at Gaptooth Breach and Solomon’s Folly
• Story Mode Treasure Maps: Landmarks of Riches and The Elemental Trail
• “To The Ends of The Earth” Story Mode Mission
• Weapons Added to Story Mode: M1899 Pistol, Evans Repeater, High Roller Revolver and LeMat Revolver
• Horses Added to Story Mode: Warped Brindle Arabian, Few Spot Appaloosa, Perlino Andalusian and Red Chestnut Arabian
• Hidden Trinkets Added to Story Mode: Hawk Talon, Cat Eye, Shark Tooth, Turtle Shell and Crow Beak

Xbox One players won’t be left out for long; Rockstar says that all this content will arrive on Microsoft’s platform on January 21, along with the timed-exclusive PS4 content that rolled out today as part of the aforementioned Moonshiner update. That includes a new hideout, Beaver Hollow, as well as a handful of new emotes and apparel. You can read more about the latest batch of timed-exclusive content for PS4 on Rockstar’s website.

Red Dead Online’s Moonshiner update is available now on PS4, Xbox One, and PC, and it’s coming to Google Stadia later this month. Headlining the update is the titular Moonshiner Frontier Pursuit, which lets you open and run your own bootlegging business.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/red-dead-2-on-ps4-gets-pc-exclusive-content/1100-6472230/

Microsoft made a splash at The Game Awards by showing off its next-generation console, the Xbox Series X–previously known by its codename, Scarlett. The company also shared a ton of technical specs and details exclusively with GameSpot, but one big question remains if you’re currently plunking coins into your piggy bank: how much will it cost?

Though Microsoft hasn’t revealed a price for Series X yet, it has talked quite a bit about how it’s approaching the price tag. In June, Microsoft’s Jason Ronald said the company is keenly aware of what consumers see as “reasonable” for price, while stressing that it will be a high-end piece of hardware. Xbox head Phil Spencer echoed those sentiments in November, suggesting that the company had learned a hard lesson from being both significantly more expensive and less powerful than the competition.

“I would say a learning from the Xbox One generation is we will not be out of position on power or price,” Spencer said. “If you remember the beginning of this generation we were a hundred dollars more expensive and, yes, we were less powerful. And we started Project Scarlett with this leadership team in place with a goal of having market success.”

All of that suggests a price that is on the higher-end of normalcy. One report with purportedly leaked specs in October claimed the higher-end model would be $500, which fits that criteria. However, it’s unclear if Microsoft is pursuing a strategy of two models at launch, so that report could be inaccurate. Spencer did mention in the Series X reveal that the name “gives us the freedom to do other things with that name so that we can create descriptors when we need to.” That implies a strategy around multiple models, at least long-term.

One reason Microsoft hasn’t talked more openly about price could be that the decision is still in flux. Spencer said in June that the price could be impacted by a lot of factors, including President Donald Trump’s trade war with China.

“The price will be important. Clearly, price is one of those things that people want to know,” he said. “As we’re watching how the cost of the components are coming in, and things like tariffs and other things, trying to figure out what that price is going to be next year. We have a price point in mind; I think we’re going to hit that. But we want to make sure everything comes in right. We’ll get price out as soon as we can.”

Finally, we may not know the price yet, but Microsoft is offering a roundabout way to start paying in installments. The Xbox All Access program returned for the holiday season, letting you essentially make monthly payments on a new Xbox One along with Game Pass Ultimate, which includes both the subscription service and Xbox Live Gold.

The subscription model, similar to cell phone payment plans, has you pay off your console over 24 months. If you go for the highest tier–which includes an Xbox One X–by the end of 2019, you can upgrade to the Xbox Series X after 12 months. At that point, your 24-month payment plan will reset, and Microsoft hasn’t detailed what those monthly payments will be. Assuming Microsoft wants to move its All Access customers neatly over to the new console without raising their monthly rate, the new console would need to be priced at roughly the same point as a current Xbox One X–which is $500.

For more on the Xbox Series X, check out everything we learned.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/xbox-series-x-price-everything-microsoft-has-said-/1100-6472229/

Microsoft’s Xbox Series X, formerly known as Project Scarlett, is an unconventional-looking games console. The hardware was shown off for the first time during The Game Awards and seems to evoke a PC tower-like design. However, speaking to GameSpot, Xbox boss Phil Spencer said that owners will still have the freedom to position the console how they want.

“The first thing I wanted to say is the [Xbox Series X’s] design works vertical or horizontal, just like the Xbox One S and Xbox One X,” he said. “We think that it’s not our job to dictate the orientation of our console in your home. That is up to you.”

During our interview, we asked Spencer what his first reaction to seeing the console was, and he went on to reveal that, despite its striking design, the Xbox Series X can fade into the background–it doesn’t demand attention or have to become the focal point of a room.

“When we set this design goal for the power that we wanted to put in, I was not sure what the [team was] going to be able to come back with because we really pushed the envelope on what we thought a home console could do. And I was really impressed with what they came back with.

“Now it sits in my home [and] it just kind of goes away. It’s quiet, it sits on the shelf–to be fair, I have mine laying on its side–and just where it sits in my setup, it just goes away. And that’s exactly what I wanted it to do.”

Despite that, the Xbox Series X also wears its power on its sleeve, according to Spencer. “When my daughters were over for Thanksgiving and they came down to see it–they know what dad does–they said they thought it looked powerful. They were just like, ‘That is cool.’

“So I was happy that we were able to challenge some of the preconceptions of what it should look like and then really impressed with what they were able to land given the performance that we wanted out of the box.”

GameSpot got to see the Xbox Series X before its unveiling and hear about the hardware, its new controller, and Phil Spencer’s vision for what it represents. You can learn about that in our exclusive Xbox Series X reveal feature.

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/yes-you-can-lay-the-xbox-series-x-flat/1100-6472232/

When Bungie detailed Destiny 2‘s latest season, the Season of Dawn, a big part of its rundown concerned Solar character subclasses. As with Arc subclasses last year, Bungie revamped a bunch of Solar subclass abilities and perks to make more character builds and strategies useful in the game and viable to players. For the first visit of the season for weekend Exotic vendor Xur, Bungie has carried on the Solar theme–the Agent of the Nine’s entire inventory is geared toward Solar subclasses. Time to try out some new strats.

Here’s where you can find Xur and everything he’s carrying.

Xur Location

Xur is located on Nessus in the Watcher’s Grave area, offering Prometheus Lens as his Exotic weapon this weekend. For Hunters, he has Young Ahamkara’s Spine gauntlets; for Titans, it’s the Hallowfire Heart chest armor; and for Warlocks, it’s the Wings of Sacred Dawn chest armor.

To find Xur’s location, spawn in at the Watcher’s Grave transmat zone, jump on your sparrow, and head north. You’ll see Calus’s golden barge floating above the landscape ahead. Climb aboard and look for Xur hanging out near the edge of one side.

What Is Xur Selling?

Unfortunately for veterans but perhaps fortunate for New Light players, Xur’s entire haul this weekend consists of Year One Exotics. Your weapon from Xur this week is an oldie but a goodie: Prometheus Lens. The Exotic trace rifle fires a powerful Solar beam, and if you want a fun Solar weapon to use for Zavala’s seasonal Strike missions to earn the Buzzard ritual gun, the new shader, and the new emblem, Prometheus Lens isn’t a bad choice.

If Xur’s wares aren’t compelling, you can always roll the dice on the expensive Fated Engram he brings with him. This gives you a single Exotic from the limited pool of ones you haven’t already earned, for the price of 97 Legendary shards. If there’s something you’re missing from your collection and you want it sooner rather than later, it can be a good deal–starting with the Season of Dawn, all Exotic Engrams are Fated Engrams, but you’ll have to level up your Season Pass or wait for a random drop to get some. Be sure to purchase it on the character who’s missing the Exotic, and note that you can only get one per week, so choose wisely which of your characters makes the buy. If you’re a PC or Xbox One player taking advantage of cross-save, you can now potentially get Wavesplitter from the Fated Engram as well.

Xur Item Lineup (December 13-17)

• Prometheus Lens (Exotic trace rifle)
• Young Ahamkara’s Spine (Exotic Hunter gauntlets)
• Hallowfire Heart (Exotic Titan chest armor)
• Wings of Sacred Dawn (Exotic Warlock chest armor)

Prometheus Lens

There was a time when Prometheus Lens was a beastly Crucible weapon that needed nerfing. These days, it’s still a handy trace rifle that can do some serious damage from long distances, thanks to its perfectly straight laser trajectory. It fires a Solar beam that creates an expanding heat field on whatever you hit, which grows larger the longer you hold down the beam to do more damage. Landing kills with Prometheus Lens gives the gun ammo from reserves, too, so the more havoc you wreak, the longer the beam will last.

Young Ahamkara’s Spine (Hunter)

If you like Tripmine Grenades, you’ll love Young Ahamkara’s Spine. The gauntlets increase your tripmines’ duration and blast radius, which can make them extremely deadly–and great for setting traps in the Crucible. You can also get your grenades back faster with the gauntlets, since any ability kills will give you Tripmine Grenade energy.

Stats:

• Mobility: 10
• Resilience: 3
• Recovery: 11
• Discipline: 10
• Intellect: 6
• Strength: 6
• Total: 46

Hallowfire Heart (Titan)

Titans get to set a lot of things on fire with Hallowfire Heart. The Exotic chest armor has a simple function: It improves the recharge rate of all your Solar abilities–especially when your Super is fully charged. Go forth and burn the bad guys down.

Stats:

• Mobility: 8
• Resilience: 7
• Recovery: 10
• Discipline: 6
• Intellect: 12
• Strength: 6
• Total: 49

Wings of Sacred Dawn (Warlock)

Now that Solar subclasses have been updated, flying around as a Warlock is a much more viable strategy than it has been in the past. Wings of Sacred Dawn feed into that plan, since the chest armor buffs you as you soar through the air. When airborne, aiming down sights causes you to hover in place briefly, where you get increased damage resistance, increased accuracy, and reduced flinch. You can also extend the effect by landing weapon hits.

Stats:

• Mobility: 14
• Resilience: 6
• Recovery: 7
• Discipline: 6
• Intellect: 12
• Strength: 6
• Total: 51

from GameSpot – Game News https://www.gamespot.com/articles/where-is-xur-today-destiny-2-exotic-location-weapo/1100-6472228/