All posts tagged in online multiplayer
May 18, 2022
Fall, Struggle, and Get Yeeted in the Most Whimsical Obstacle Course Ever With All of Your Friends!
Mediatonic, the creators behind Fall Guys, an online multiplayer racing game with colourful beans, just announced that they’re going free-to-play! Starting June 21st, 2022, you can play Fall Guys for free on Epic Games, Xbox (all gens), PS5, and the Nintendo Switch! Furthermore, all players will have cross-platform, cross-play, and cross-save capabilities!
Existing players of the PS4 and Steam versions, will continue to receive all updates (new seasons, patches, and new features). However, new players will no longer be able to purchase the game for Steam. Rather, you will have to go to the Epic Games Store to play on PC. Moreover, if you already own the game, make sure to sign up for the Legacy Pack before the new release date. The Legacy Pack will contain a nickname, nameplate, the Regal costume, the Veggie Dog costume, the Feisty Dwarf costume. It also will have a Season Pass for Season 1 (Free For All) for, well…for free.
Pre-Register on the Epic Games Store for the June 21st, 2022 Free Release
If you buy the Season Pass, via Show-Bucks (in-game currency), you’ll get new unlockables, and 100 new levels at launch. If you pre-register now through Epic Games right here, you can get lots of goodies! Awards will later be handed out on June 27th, 2022. For more information, check out the announcement trailer below!
- Dec 27, 2019
I had a chance to look back at all of the games I’ve reviewed this year and started off with the Most Wholesome Farming Sims of 2019. There have been some great first-party Nintendo Switch games as well as so many great indie gems I had the chance to play thanks to all the amazing indie developers and publishers! Below is a list of games I’ve played the most that are both online and local multiplayer, which you can play with family and friends during the holidays!
Luigi’s Mansion 3
It’s been really great that Nintendo has been adding a cooperative feature to their latest games and Luigi’s Mansion 3 was a wonderful surprise with the addition of Gooigi. This game is so much more fun with another player and adds some unique puzzles and maximum vacuum power! Want to play with even more players? You can do so with 8 others online or locally with ScareScraper and ScreamPark modes.
Unravel Two
Unravel Two technically released for the first time on PC, PS4 and Xbox One back in late 2018. However, I played it upon its March 2019 release on the Nintendo Switch. It’s only a 2-player game but with features like PlayStation’s Share Play and Steam’s Remote Play Together, you can play locally or online. This game has the highest review score I have ever given for its fantastic physics-based mechanics and cooperative play when it comes to platforming and solving puzzles!
Tools Up!
I’ve only had this game on the Nintendo Switch for a short while but I still find myself thinking about it foundly and hoping for some DLC or extra levels. Play up to 4 players on local co-op and renovate homes according to the blueprints! Much like Overcooked, it can be chaotic but extremely rewarding when you perfect your coordination. It’s available for Steam’s Remote Play so you can play online with friends.
ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove
This remastered classic is just as silly and laid-back as ever now on PC and all major consoles. Play this locally with 2 players or online with 4 players if you want something a bit more relaxing and without puzzles. I recommend ToeJam & Earl: Back in the Groove for younger kids to play this holiday season!
Of course, all of those games mentioned above are the games I had a chance to play in 2019. There are still so many cute wholesome games available now, and more multiplayer games to look forward to in 2020 like Trash Sailors, Pile Up!, and Grabimals. Stay tuned for more reminiscing!
- Dec 18, 2019
Luigi’s Mansion 3 is one of Nintendo’s best Switch games this year, even earning my vote and ultimately winning the award for Best Family Game during the Game Awards 2019. Nintendo has just announced today, December 18th, 2019, that Luigi’s Mansion 3 DLC is available for pre-order now and releasing in 2020! The Multiplayer Pack will be releasing in 2 separate parts; Part 1 on April 30th, 2020, Part 2 on July 31st, 2020.
Luigi’s Mansion 3 has local co-op with the main story where the second player can take control of Gooigi. There’s also a local or online multiplayer mode with up to 8 players called the ScareScraper where you work together to clear floors of ghosts. Since then, there’s been an additional multiplayer versus mode called ScreamPark which allows up to 8 local players to play various mini-games against each other.
What’s in it and is it Worth the Price?
For the price of $9.99, Part 1 of the DLC will include the following: 3 new mini-games for ScreamPark mode, 6 new Themed Ghosts, 3 new outfits for Luigi to wear, and 3 new floor themes in co-op ScareScraper mode. Part 2 will come with additional new features and content for both ScareScraper and ScreamPark modes but has yet to reveal exactly what those are. Nintendo has showed off Luigi’s Mansion 3 Luigi outfits and one of them has him dressing up as Elvis! The other two is a suit of armor and mummy wraps.
If you want to pre-purchase Luigi’s Mansion 3 Multiplayer Pack, you can go to the official website here. As a special bonus for purchasing this DLC, you’ll immediately get the new in-game Flashlight Type-P that shows Polterpup’s adorable face on on the walls when illuminated! New players of Luigi’s Mansion 3 can access this item only after meeting Professor E. Gadd and when he establishes his lab (Gallery). I love Polterpup so much so it’s worth the price just for that flashlight!
- Dec 10, 2019
Thanks to Nintendo’s live-stream today of Indie World Showcase, we got to see some pretty exciting indie games coming in 2020. My favorite announcement was a new survival game set in the Escapists Universe: The Survivalists, created by Team17. You can play alone or in co-op with up to three friends and explore, build, and craft together! Survive the island, a procedurally generated sandbox world, on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and Steam in 2020.
The best part about The Survivalists is that you can tame monkeys and have them help you with building or fighting off enemies! Managing these adorable monkey employees working for bananas properly will make all the difference in braving the wilderness! Also, look at the little monkeys with their little spears and coconuts. Look at ’em!
About The Survivalists
The island is alive! Your newfound home will change with day/night cycles as you explore and uncover its secrets. Hunt (or be hunted by!) animals for food and meet the local inhabitants, who aren’t necessarily pleased to see you. Get quests from a Mysterious Stranger or find them washed up on the shore. Prepare to trek into a procedurally generated wilderness, with a variety of biomes, for an adventure that’s unique to every player.
Build Together, Survive Together
Finding the perils of island life too much or just looking to share your building expertise with friends? The Survivalists has you covered! Complete joint adventures, gain loot, trade and ultimately survive together and as you and up to three fellow castaways explore an island paradise.
Monkey See, Monkey Do
If you’re in need of a builder, a lumberjack or even a soldier, the monkeys on the island can be tamed and trained to help you with everyday tasks or back you up on raids to a fanatic camp! The Mimic System means a wide variety of functions can be performed by your banana loving friends, with monkey management becoming key to surviving the island’s challenges.
Get Crafty
The secret to survival is to make the most of the resources around you. Whether that’s piecing together a primitive axe to chop wood or mixing up a refreshing fruit smoothie to keep the hunger at bay, you can discover recipes and expand your options across food, item or structure crafting trees.
Run the Gauntlet
Looking for an epic sword to hang on your hut wall or want to lay waste to encroaching hostiles? What you seek could be in one of the many temples scattered around the island. However, getting your hands on the loot won’t be easy so any would-be raiders will need to prepare for their treasure hunting crusade.
Wishlist The Survivalists on Steam right here!
- Dec 6, 2019
I’ve been following this creature-collection MMO, created by Crema, for quite some time now. It may seem very similar to the beloved Pokemon series however it does offer some unique differences such as designing your own home interior, and fertility values for breeding and player emotes for online fun! Since I’ve really been enjoying Pokemon Shield’s multiplayer online features, I can’t wait to discover a variety of new monsters in a game completely designed for online!
Become the best Temtem tamer and explore the six islands of the Airborne Archipelago! Thanks to a new announcement trailer, we can do just that very soon as Temtem will be available in Early Access January 21st, 2020 on Steam here and Humble Bundle here. The developers note that the Early Access will contain the following: “50% of the story content, three different islands (each with its own unique biomes), co-op campaign, player customization, breeding, Luma hunting, and a competitive rule-set.”
Don’t worry if you’re not a PC gamer as Crema still has plans to launch Temtem on all major consoles sometime in Q4 2020.
- Dec 3, 2019
We haven’t even finished with the special event of increased chances to find Gigantamax Butterfree, Drednaw and Covirknight in Max Raid Battles until early January 2020 in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. Now there’s another one! Starting tomorrow on December 4th, 2019, check out the Wild Area and the dens for a Gigantamax Snorlax, complete with a new look (giant berry tree on its tummy) and G-Max move called Replenish. This special move doesn’t merely deal damage to targets, it can also restore any Berries that Gigantamax Snorlax’s allies have eaten during the battle!
TYPE: Normal, ABILITY: Immunity / Thick Fat, HEIGHT: 114’10″+, WEIGHT: ????.? lbs. About Gigantamax Snorlax
The Berry seeds and small rocks that were tangled in its belly fur have undergone explosive growth thanks to the power of Gigantamaxing. With a tree sprouting upon its belly, this gigantic form of Snorlax has the majesty of a great mountain.
Whether because of the great weight of its stomach or its unchanged natural disposition, this Gigantamax Pokémon almost never moves. When the time comes to do battle, it lifts its upper body by just a tiny amount and attacks by flailing with its arms and legs. At first glance, you might think it’s not very serious about battling—but these actions pack a tremendous punch. In fact, Gigantamax Snorlax is said to be one of the strongest Dynamax Pokémon discovered.
To learn more about Max Raid Battles and online multiplayer, check out my article here, and to find a list of all Gigantamax Pokemon to date, go here. It’s exciting to wait and see what other new Galar Region Pokemon The Pokemon Company may release!
- Nov 26, 2019
The Wild Area and online options become accessible early on in Pokemon Sword and Pokemon Shield. If you don’t like spoiling new 8th generation Pokemon or like to catch as many Pokemon on your own before trading, I recommend getting all of your badges in the main game to fully enjoy everything the online multiplayer feature has to offer. You must have all 7 Gym Badges (last one is the Dragon Badge) in order to find Gigantamax Pokemon in the Wild Area. I go into more details and which select few Pokemon have Gigantamax forms here. See below for more information about playing with other players and ongoing official competitions by Nintendo for rewards and bragging rights!
Link Battles and Link Codes
Link Battles are between you and other players online. If you only want to play with your friends specifically, you can set up a Link Code. A Link Code is a 4-digit password that your friends will have to input in order to join. This is set up this way because everything you do is broadcast live via Stamps (more on that later). Link Battles allow you to choose Single Battle for one-on-one battling and Double Battle where two players can send out 2 Pokemon at one time. Finally, there’s Multi Battle which is similar to a Double Battle but four players are involved and get to control one Pokemon each.
Link Trades and Surprise Trades
Link Trades are the way to go if you have a certain Pokemon in mind that you want to trade with a friend. You can also connect with someone randomly online and both come to an agreement for a trade. If there’s a Pokemon you know you don’t need anymore, Surprise Trades can be really fun! Select the Pokemon that you want traded and go about your business in-game until your Y-Comm alerts you that they found you someone and the trade is complete. As adorable as Skwovet is (the pudgy-cheeked squirrel), you’ll probably come across it often in Surprise Trades as it is the new Ratata. Other times you’ll be pleasantly surprised with what players send out there!
The Victory Station
Go to your menu and click on VS (Victory Station) which displays stats such as whether Shield players or Sword players are winning in categories like “Hatched the most eggs” and “Cooked the most while camping” by comparing numbers with 100 players online. From there, you can select either Battle Stadium for various online competition options or Live Competition to host or participate in battles via LAN.
Battle Stadium
- Casual Battles: Anything goes in single and double battles and it’s all just for good fun or to just test your skills as a Trainer.
- Ranked Battles: Compete for the highest rank with other players around the world. You’ll be matched up with others in your tier so that the battles are fair. At the end of each season you’ll get in-game rewards based on your position in the Leaderboards.
- Online Competitions: These are limited live and official ongoing competitions. Check out the announcement here for details on the very first competition, Galar Beginnings. You’ll want to sign up now for the period between December 6th-8th, 2019. All players will receive a Participation Gift after completing at least one battle.
- Rental Teams: This new feature allows you to share your Battle Team for the public to use, or “borrow” someone else’s to play around with in battles.
Ranked Battles
Nintendo just announced that Ranked Battle Season 1 is now under way until the end of December 2019. During this time, the rules listed will remain the same with restrictions to Pokemon that you can use. Another season will be starting on January 1st, 2020. For this time around, you’ll be entering in Double Battles, using only 4 Pokemon from your team, and all of your Pokemon will be at Lv. 50. At the end of the season, if you’ve competed in at least one match, you can get the following rewards from the Mystery Gift menu.
- Master Ball Tier: 3 Gold Bottle Caps and 600 Battle Points.
- Ultra Ball Tier: 1 Gold Bottle Cap and 300 Battle Points.
- Great Ball Tier: 3 Bottle Caps, 1 Ability Capsule, 1 Jolly Mint, 1 Timid Mint, and 100 Battles Points.
- Poke Ball Tier & Beginner Tier: 1 Ability Capsule, 1 Jolly Mint, 1 Timid Mint, and 50 Battle Points.
Battle Points, or BP, can be spent by talking to an NPC in the Pokemon Center in Hammerlocke in exchange for special items.
Y-Comm and Searching Stamps
Going to your Y-Comm and changing your Local Communication to Internet will allow you to see what everyone online is currently up to by displaying Stamps at all times on the bottom left of your screen. This includes Link Trades, Surprise Trades, Link Battles, and Max Raid Battles. In your Y-Comm menu, it is possible to filter your Stamps if you are looking for specific battles to join or only want to see the Stamps of your friends. I usually set mine to Max Raid Battles and pay attention to the specific red ones as they are the “incredibly/massively strong Pokemon” ones. If someone else found a rare Gigantamax Pokemon, you can join in with a total of 4 players. You’ll want to act fast as this can fill up quickly.
If you find your own Gigantamax Pokemon, I recommend Inviting Others as it’s a very tough battle to fight alone or the three other NPCs given at random can be pretty terrible. You’ll come across a few Magikarp that will often faint and then come back after a few turns at full health, only to faint again.
In every Max Raid Battle, any Pokemon can faint up to 4 times before you lose and get kicked out of the den. You also lose if you go over 10 total turns. Therefore, either set up a Link Code for your friends, or wait the full 3 minutes to give players the chance to join. It is possible to have a mixture of players and NPCs if you can’t fill out all four slots.
Playing with Others Keeps Things Interesting for a Long Time to Come
Even if you have finished the main game of Pokemon Sword and Shield, there are still competitions to enter for rewards and your Pokemon to show-off. If you want to fill out your Pokedex, you’ll need to spend some time in the Wild Area, and to trade for version exclusive Pokemon. Hosting or joining others in Max Raid Battles and Dynamaxing Pokemon is also another fun way to share in the experience and to get the most out of your game.
Of course to do all that you’ll need a Nintendo Switch Online account. You can find the pricing plans here, however, I recommend getting an Amazon Prime account now as you get Twitch Prime and 12 months of Nintendo Switch Online at no extra cost. Find out more about that amazing limited time offer here.
- Nov 21, 2019
I’ve been playing Pokemon Shield (for that Galarian Ponyta) since it released for the Nintendo Switch on November 15th, 2019 and loving it so much! There are new features that we’ve discussed here, including Cooking, Camping, Dynamaxing, Max Raids, along with 8th generation Pokemon for the Galar Region (94 new Pokemon).
Other new changes include: using your bike to get around (rather than Pokemon), no more HMs, Flying Taxi system early-on (fast-travel), a mix of random encounters and visible Pokemon on your map, being able to access your Pokemon Boxes anytime (not just at the Pokemon Centers), customizing your League I.D. card, finding Pokemon with better stats (yellow auras), spinning your joystick to strike a pose (and to evolve Milcery), and much more! What you may not know is how to obtain certain Pokemon and certain things about the Wild Area which you can read about below!
How to Get Mew
The Poke Ball Plus first released for Pokemon GO to help catch more Pokemon faster. When you take your Pokemon for a “stroll” and come across a Pokemon you can catch, the Poke Ball Plus will light up and vibrate in your hand. If you haven’t bought and used one already, you can do so for Pokemon Sword and Shield and receive Mew! Mew is inside all Poke Ball Plus toys and you can transfer it to either Pokemon Let’s Go Eevee/Pikachu or Sword/Shield only once. Just connect to the internet, connect your Poke Ball Plus to your Switch, and go to your Mystery Gift menu. There’s no other way to obtain a Mew in-game. Keep using your Poke Ball Plus because you can obtain free items every time such as Great Balls, Ultra Balls, and Stardust.
The Difference Between Dynamax and Gigantamax
These new phenomenon for Pokemon Sword and Shield may have you a bit confused early on. Dynamax Pokemon will appear in Gyms and in Max Raids which are basically just larger versions of Pokemon that have better stats and special moves. For the Gigantamax Pokemon, there are only a small number of Pokemon that not only become better and larger, but have a distinctive new look and can use G-Max moves. I’ve provided a list below, although there may be some version exclusives.
- Pikachu (free gift for playing Let’s Go Pikachu)
- Eevee (free gift for playing Let’s Go Eevee)
- Meowth (limited-time Mystery Gift)
- Charizard
- Butterfree
- Machamp
- Gengar
- Kingler
- Lapras
- Garbodor
- Corviknight
- Orbeetle
- Drednaw
- Coalossal
- Flapple/Appletun
- Sandaconda
- Centiskorch
- Hatterene
- Grimmsnarl
- Alcremie
- Copperajah
- Duraludon
If you’ve read this article here, then you know there is currently an event where certain Gigantamax Pokemon are more likely to appear. When you see a glowing red light from Max Raid dens that shoot upward, there’s a Pokemon in there. When you check to see which one it is, there’s only a silhouette and type. If you’re good at recognizing silhouettes, you’ll notice a slight variation in the Gigantamax ones. They are harder/rarer to find and they will sometimes avoid capture. Therefore, make sure to bring Ultra Balls with you and that you are at a high enough level to fight a 5-star battle. To literally speed everything along, make sure to speak to the NPCs in the Wild Area that will trade Watts for bike upgrades.
If you’re not sure if you have a Pokemon that can Gigantamax, you’ll see in your Pokemon’s summary that there’s a large pink/red X in front of their name. Also, don’t forget to claim your free Mystery Gift Meowth as you only have until early January 2020!
There are Rarer Shiny Pokemon to Catch
Catching Shiny Pokemon are hard enough as it is because there’s only a 1 in 4,096 chance you’ll find them with a different color. Now, if you’re a Shiny collector, you’ll have to spend even more time in the grass fighting the same Pokemon as there are even rarer Shinies to find! What you need to look out for if you’re not sure about the color difference is to look for shiny flying squares coming from the Pokemon once you’ve entered a battle with it. This is opposed to the usual yellow stars. See below for an image of an adorably Shiny black sheep Wooloo.
How to Cook Curry and Joining Other Players
If you go into your Y-Comm and switch your Local Communication for Internet, you’ll be able to see players from all over the world in the Wild Area. Talk to them to get either free items that you can sell or ingredients to cook with at your camp. You’ll need to shake some Berry trees to add to your dishes and the rarer the berry, the better the dish.
It’s hard to know exactly what makes a higher ranking dish since there is no recipe book, but if you play the cooking mini-game well (sparkles above pot, throw heart in when you hit the light-green circle), choose several Berries in keeping with the flavor of your ingredient choice, and also increase the amount of Berries used, you should be able to at least get a ranking high enough to fully heal all of your Pokemon. Here’s a list of flavor types:
- Spicy: Tanga, Cheri, Tamato
- Dry: Leppa, Chesto, Passho, Chilan, Kebia
- Sweet: Salac, Pecha
- Bitter: Coba, Rawst, Aguav
- Sour: Salac, Aspear, Wiki, Iapapa, Colbur
- Neutral: Sitrus, Lum, Hondew
When you’re online, you might see another player’s tent, If you enter it, you’ll get the chance to cook together which is really helpful if you’re trying to make better curry. Don’t forget to play with your Pokemon before leaving your tent as they will gain a lot more EXP this way. When you “unlock” more curries, you can go and talk to the Camping King before entering Motostoke and he will give your more toys to play with your Pokemon.
Let me know if I’ve missed anything and how you’re enjoying the game!
