This is a good week to be subscribed to PlayStation Plus. Three new PS Plus Essential games just became available, one of which should be a must-play for subscribers this weekend. And with Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered poised to launch next week, PS Plus Premium subscribers can prepare for it by playing the two other Legacy of Kain games that are new additions to PS Plus Premium’s Classic Catalog this weekend.
Josef Fares’ Hazelight Studios is known for making story-driven co-op games that thematically lean into the fact that they need to be played with someone else. The studio’s latest game is It Takes Two, a 3D platformer that follows a married couple with relationship problems who get trapped inside dolls’ bodies. Their journey to repair their relationship is equal parts hilarious, heartfelt, and engaging as both a story-driven game and co-op experience. It Takes Two won Game of the Year at The Game Awards 2021 for a reason, so you should check it out if you haven’t already. Playing It Takes Two will also hype you up for whatever Fares is making next.
It Takes Two is available on PS4 and PS5 as a PlayStation Plus Essential title until January 6. It’s also available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S as part of Xbox Game Pass as well as Nintendo Switch.
Before you play Legacy of Kain: Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered, which was announced during the last State of Play event, you must try out the game that started it all. Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is the origin story of Kain, the series’ namesake, and follows his quest to get revenge after becoming a vampire on those who killed him. While Blood Omen’s top-down action gameplay feels dated nowadays, the game was way ahead of its time on the narrative front. It’s impressive to see a PS1 game confidently flow between cutscenes and gameplay and go as far as to feature narration from the main character during gameplay. Check out this game, and you’ll feel more comfortable and familiar with the lore and characters featured in Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered.
The PS1 version of Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain is available on PS4 and PS5 to PS Plus Premium subscribers. It’s also available to purchase by itself for $10.
After two Souls Reaver games, Blood Omen got a sequel of its own. Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain is a full-fledged 3D action-adventure game, once again starring Kain, that bridges the gap between the events of Blood Omen and Soul Reaver 1. Blood Omen 2 is worth playing before Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered if you want to experience the series chronologically, and thankfully, it was added to PS Plus Premium’s classic catalog ahead of that remastered collection’s release. Play through all of the Legacy of Kain games, and you’ll surely become a fan of this series that seems poised to make a major comeback if Soul Reaver 1 & 2 Remastered is successful.
The PS2 version of Blood Omen 2: Legacy of Kain can be bought on PS4 or PS5 for $15 or played for no additional cost if you’re a PS Plus Premium subscriber.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.