Game Rant Recap for 04/29/24 – 05/05/24

Today, Game Rant’s weekly recap takes a look at some of the most notable headlines from the past week: Helldivers 2 followed an announcement of a new Premium Warbond by stirring a ton of controversy in its community, Elden Ring’s Shadow of the Erdtree may not have a follow-up DLC the way Dark Souls 3 did, and Batman: Arkham Shadow is announced as a VR-exclusive title. All that and more in this week’s roundup of games industry news.

A new Batman: Arkham game was suddenly announced with a full reveal slated for Summer Game Fest next month. To the dismay of some, however, Batman: Arkham Shadow is a VR-exclusive and therefore expectations should be checked for anyone hoping for a standard action-adventure installment.

Elden Ring Not Slated for More Expansions After Shadow of the Erdtree

Shadow of the Erdtree is quickly approaching its release date of June 21 and while it’s exciting as an expansion for Elden Ring, it comes along with bittersweet news. Not every FromSoftware Soulslike needs multiple expansions, but knowing Elden Ring won’t have future DLC after Shadow of the Erdtree insinuates that the studio will be moving onto other games, if not a sequel to Elden Ring—which is apparently on the table.

Helldivers 2 Enforcing PSN Account for PC Players

Helldivers 2 was enjoying a hot streak of positivity and adoration since its launch, but that all seems to have changed overnight. Helldivers 2 now requires a PSN account linked for PC players, meaning players in over 100 countries are suddenly unable to play on PC anymore, and has drawn a line in the community. It seems that this is a Sony decision, and meanwhile many distressed players have been pointing their anger at Arrowhead.

Star Wars: Hunters Scheduled for Summer 2024

Star Wars: Hunters’ new release date has been announced following multiple delays. Unless further delays occur, the free-to-play, squad-based arena shooter is now scheduled to launch in a month on June 4 on Switch.

New Balatro Update Releases

Balatro is currently undergoing a ton of bug fixes, performance improvements, and gaining new features as part of its latest update.

Features

Marvel Rivals’ closed alpha test begins this upcoming week and, while it’ll probably be a bit until news is shared about actual in-game events after its official launch, it’s exciting to imagine what comics-inspired seasonal content could look like in the 6v6 hero shooter.

Movies & TV

X-Men ’97 is a treasure trove of nostalgia and classic references, but what it’s introduced and how authentically it tells an original story should be commended. Part of that authenticity is also bringing in characters or antagonists who’ve yet to make a major impression outside of comic books.

Guides

Like any Soulslike-inspired action game worth its salt, Stellar Blade has multiple endings and all are meaningful to the narrative.

Game Rant Exclusives

Certainly one of the more out-there games released lately, Indika is a great exploration of psychological storytelling when it isn’t pushing players through walking-sim sequences.

Helldivers 2

Helldivers 2 is a third-person cooperative shooter developed by Arrowhead Games Studios for the PC and PlayStation 5 where players take control of a Helldiver set to protect the citizens of Super Earth by traveling to hostile alien worlds and destroying threats. Players undergo missions, defeat enemies, and use special items called Stratagems to help turn the tide of battle in this punishing release.

Franchise

Helldivers

Released

February 8, 2024

Developer(s)

Arrowhead Game Studios

Genre(s)

Shooter

Multiplayer

Online Co-Op

ESRB

M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood and Gore, Intense Violence

Metascore

83

Platforms That Support Crossplay

PC & PS5

Number of Players

1-4

PS Plus Availability

N/A