Gaming

Genshin Impact 5.0: Natlan finally opens gates

Take your exploration to the next level as a Saurian

Published

August 30, 2024

Manila Connoisseur

The Version 5.0 update for Genshin Impact is finally live, with the sixth major nation of Natlan opening its gates for Travelers. This nation features local tribes, diverse landscapes, and rich legends, which players will discover as they explore along.

They can also experience an unprecedented playstyle with the agility and unique skills of local warriors and Natlan’s Saurians.

Joining the adventure in Natlan is open to all early and mid-game players. Those who have completed all Archon Quests in Mondstadt will unlock a Teleport Waypoint in Natlan.

Additionally, players can quickly use the Quick Start feature to begin Natlan’s Archon Quests upon reaching Adventure Rank 28 and completing all Archon Quests in Liyue.

Explore Natlan as Saurians

When already there, players may transform into Natlan’s dragons, the Saurians. This shall take the exploration to a whole new dimension.

Saurians are classified into Tepetlisaurus, Yumkasaurus, and Koholasaurus. Each type of Saurian possesses unique exploration abilities, tailored to navigate the nation’s diverse landscape.

The Tepetlisaurus can tunnel underground and scale cliffs. Meanwhile, the Yumkasaurus can pull themselves in the chosen direction and reach great heights with ease. Finally, the Koholasaurus is adept at moving swiftly on water and even across liquid Phlogiston.

Three new characters

The adventure in Natlan is also taken to another level with three new playable characters: Mualani, Kinich, and Kachina. Each of them introduce exciting new playstyles with enhanced mobility.

Mualani, a five-star Hydro catalyst wielder, can mount a Sharky Surfboard to surf across various surfaces and deliver powerful bites to her enemies.

On the other hand, Kinich debuts as a five-star Dendro warrior wielding a claymore. He uses a
grappling hook to swing through the air and perform devastating Loop Shots.

Lastly, Kachina, is a four-star Geo polearm wielder who can ride her Turbo Twirly to engage in combat and climb cliffs with ease.

In Version 5.0’s Event Wishes, Mualani and Kachina will debut in the first phase alongside a rerun of Kaedehara Kazuha. Kinich, meanwhile, will make his debut in the second phase with Raiden Shogun.

Further Version 5.0 updates

Aside from exploring Natlan, Genshin Impact Version 5.0 offers players a wealth of rewards and system optimizations. That’s also as part of the title’s fourth anniversary.

Players can invite a free five-star character from the Standard Wish lineup. They can claim up to 10x Intertwined Fate in the daily login event, as well as 1,600 Primogems. On top of those, they can get two exclusive gadgets and more via in-game mail.

In addition, the update features mor on the Character Event Wish, Weapon Event Wish, and a new tool that allows players to obtain an Artifact with some custom affixes.

Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Shadows gets Attack on Titan-themed content

The story is available only until December 22.

Published

November 26, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Ubisoft is no stranger to quirky DLCs, especially for the Assassin’s Creed franchise. One of its most infamous is Assassin’s Creed III’s The Tyranny of King Washington, which imagines an alternate reality (or as alternate as an Assassin’s Creed entry can get) where George Washington became a dictator. Now, the franchise is getting even wackier with an official tie-up with Attack on Titan.

Assassin’s Creed Shadows is the ongoing entry for the series. The title has players go on a journey of revenge in medieval Japan as the stealthy Naoe and the brutal Yasuke. Since launching, the game has gotten an expansion which adds an epilogue to the story. Today, a new update adds more content and a timed story.

A chunk of the update was already revealed previously. It contains a new story that has Naoe and Yasuke learn each other’s skills (or a version of them, at least). Adding to that story is a new quest tied to the popular Attack on Titan series. It also comes with custom gear and mounts based on the series.

Naoe and Yasuke travel to the enigmatic Crystal Cave to help a strangely garbed woman named Ada. A cult is threatening to initiate a deadly experiment on one of Ada’s friends, which might see the arrival of an actual Titan in medieval Japan. The story’s trailer ends with a brief tease on the aforementioned monster.

Though most of the update is for keeps, the Attack on Titan content will be available only from now until December 22.

Entertainment

Ubisoft confirms Far Cry live-action anthology series

Published

November 26, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Months ago, Ubisoft accidentally announced that it is working with FX on a live-action adaptation of the Far Cry series. Today, the publisher finally confirmed the news and attached some notable names to the project.

Confirmed directly by the publisher via an official announcement, Ubisoft announced that FX has ordered a series based on the first-person adventure series. The show will be an anthology series with different characters and stories for every season. With that description, it sounds a lot like The White Lotus but with more guns.

The games themselves follow this same format. Each game has a different setting and set of characters. The last, for instance, featured Giancarlo Esposito as Anton Castillo, the dictator of a fictional South American country named Yara.

Helming the live-action project are two big names for Hulu: Noah Hawley and Rob Mac. Hawley recently earned his flowers through the recently concluded first season of Alien: Earth. Meanwhile, Rob Mac has been earning success after success with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

With those two helming the series, the upcoming Far Cry adaptation has the potential to make a name for itself in the videogame adaptation scene. These days, adaptations are rocking the airwaves with notable adaptations including Fallout and The Last of Us.

Gaming

Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 bags record-breaking 12 nominations at Game Awards

These include Game of the Year and three Best Performance nods.

Published

November 18, 2025

Luigi Leonardo

Gamers today will rightly point out that Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 is the game that will most likely bag the coveted Game of the Year award for 2025. Ahead of December 11, the popular turn-based RPG has not won yet. However, the nominations have just been announced, and it’s now safe to say that Expedition 33 has a real shot for the award.

The annual Game Awards has a lengthy list of awards it usually hands out. Of course, the highlight is Game of the Year. Besides Expedition 33, five other titles are vying for the crown: Death Stranding 2: On the Beach, Hades II, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Donkey Kong Bananza, and Kingdom Come: Deliverance II.

Besides the coveted award, Expedition 33 also got 11 other nominations, totalling 12, which is the most a single game has gotten in the twelve-year history of The Game Awards. This includes Best Game Direction, Best Narrative, Best Art Direction, Best Score and Music, Best Audio Design, Best Independent Game, Best Indie Game Debut, and Best RPG.

If you’ve been counting, that’s just nine nominations. The remaining three of the 12 need their own spotlight. For Best Performance, the game single-handedly got three nominees in: Ben Starr, Charlie Cox, and Jennifer English. That’s half of the list, rounded out by Ghost of Yotei’s Erika Ishii, Silent Hill f’s Konatsu Kato, and Indiana Jones’s Troy Baker. Notably, even 2023’s Baldur’s Gate 3 didn’t get multiple nominees in the category.

While Expedition 33 has a real chance with running away with a good chunk of the awards, viewers can control 10 percent of the vote via the fan voting process already up now. Plus, the awards will soon include a Players’ Voice award, which goes up on December 1.