game journey blogspot

thatgamecompany

life’s companions

Experience the wonder in this anonymous adventure where you travel on a life’s passage, with the chance to connect with companions along the way.

a mysterious world

Alone and surrounded by miles of burning, sprawling desert, you soon discover the looming mountaintop is your goal. The passage will not be easy but this experience of a lifetime will help you discover who you are, what this place is, as you arrive at your purpose.

beautiful art and music

Soar above ruins and glide across sands as you explore the secrets of a forgotten civilization.  Featuring stunning visuals, haunting music, and unique online gameplay, Journey delivers an experience like no other.

The release of Journey attracted over 100+ industry awards and media accolades, with some naming the game as their ‘Game of The Year’ in 2012.

"A glorious, thoughtful, moving masterpiece"

- entertainment weekly, "mysterious and beautiful", "an incredible, emotional game", "one of the most amazing game experiences of my life", - gamesradar.

© 2012 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by thatgamecompany. Journey is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC.

Journey Wiki

Journey's 12th Anniversary Poster Winner! Congratulations Kbak! Join players around the world in celebration of Journey's 12th Anniversary fan event on March 13th!

• View history

Journey is an adventure game developed by ThatGameCompany and released by Sony Computer Entertainment in 2012 on PlayStation 3, as a Sony Exclusive title.

Due to its ongoing success, it got ported to several platforms:

• See Release dates

Since the very start, the game had a very strong community, people that fell in love with the game and playing it all over again. Over the years, they discovered many interesting things and are still playing it. Journey is a very special game, it's best enjoyed "blind", with no knowledge about it before playing it for the first time.

The Journey effect [ ]

"According to Chen (one of the founders of TGC), the company focuses on creating video games that provoke emotional responses from players." [1]

You will be thrown into a scary, yet, wonderful new world, with no idea who you are or what you're doing, besides one singular goal.

Even worse: there is no guidance, no helpful hints to bail you out: you have to find out everything by yourself and make your way through the what seems like an endless desert.

The stunning visuals (best enjoyed on a big screen, played with a controller) and the Grammy nominated soundtrack will do their part to cause a wide variety of emotions.

Beware: Journey is a beautiful game, but it often manages to cause emotions like despair, confusion, fear or sadness too. This is part of the experience.

Journey is all about empathy and respect. Upon meeting a figure like you, you are forced to make decisions. Sometimes, they want to go further or go on an endless exploration. If both are stubborn, they will part ways.

Just like finding a new friend in life, you might walk for a while, lose contact or stay friends until the very end. You will enjoy the time spent together and probably respect each others flaws.

Journey is also a game about sand, cloth, and various creatures you meet on the way.

The more you play Journey you will discover slight differences or see things, that seem new. It may be hard to describe, but here are some expressions from longterm fans of Journey :

• Does this look different now?
• This never happened before.
• It's so scary.
• I have never seen this.
• It is a hard game. (meaning not only gameplay, often the game causes emotions and not all are "nice", just like experiences in life)
• I want to learn more about this.
• Interactive zen video. So relaxing.
• Everytime something new.
• It's so funny.

Journeys success continues through the years, it received over 100 awards. Several "Game of the Year", many BAFTA awards, the soundtrack got nominated for a Grammy (Best Score Soundtrack for Visual Media ) and so on.

Wikipedia link to awards: Journey (2012 video game), Reception .

Game support [ ]

This wiki does not provide technical support for Journey .

If you have any technical support questions or concerns, please contact platform support teams:

• PlayStation versions: Sony Computer Entertainment
• PC and iOS versions: [email protected]

As of mid-2021 it appears that technical support and updates have ceased from SCE and Annapurna Interactive

https://thatgamecompany.com/journey/

Trailer [ ]

Further reading [ ]

For further hints about approximate game length, bug warnings, settings etc. Read this Guide .

ThatGameCompany

• Homepage: https://thatgamecompany.com/journey/
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thatgamecompany

Annapurna Interactive

• Homepage http://annapurna.pictures/interactive/
• Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annapurna_Interactive

See also [ ]

• System requirements
• Guide: Your first Journey , general hints about setting, length etc, without saying more about the game itself. It will lead you to further guides and provide links to useful articles at the start of your journey through Journey .
• How to play guide for Journey
• Category: Gameplay Basics

References [ ]

• ↑ Wikipedia

• View history

Journey is a PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 game by thatgamecompany , that is distributed over PSN and was released on March 13, 2012. The player plays as a robed person journeying towards a distant mountain through a sandy desert. The game has a multiplayer component, in which players can interact on their journey and assist each other. As of May 29th 2012, it has become the fastest-selling PSN game ever.

• 1.1 Multiplayer
• 2.1 Features
• 2.2 Trailer
• 3 Reception
• 4 Development team
• 6 References

Gameplay [ ]

The players take the role of a robed figure traveling through a desert towards a large mountain. The player is not given any instructions on how to play the game or what the game's goal is, nor any map of the game's world.

There is no spoken dialogue besides the chirping call of the player, and the cutscenes are shown without any words. It is up to the player to interpret the storyline of Journey, leading to many theories as to what exactly is taking place.

Multiplayer [ ]

If the player is playing online, they can encounter other players while on their way, called companions . However, players cannot speak to each other (neither via voice nor text), nor are identified by any username, gamertag or avatar. They can communicate only via a wordless shout, and have symbols on the front of their robes, so players can identify whether they have already encountered a given fellow traveler or not. They can, however, assist each other.

According to the game's designer, Jenova Chen:

Items that players can find in the desert include pieces of cloth that they can fly on for a short period of time. There are also magical items and ruins including Glowing symbols , Ancient Glyphs , and Cloth Creatures . Easter eggs from other thatgamecompany games are a Hidden Desert Flower and a Mysterious Creature .

Collectors Edition [ ]

Journey Collectors Edition is the first retail disc release for thatgamecompany . It features Journey as well as the studio's previously released flOw and Flower and more. It was released August 28th, 2012 for the PlayStation 3.

Features [ ]

• 30-minute behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Journey
• Creator Commentary play-throughs of all three games
• Three exclusive mini-games from thatgamecompany
• Concept art and screenshot galleries for all three games
• Original soundtracks for all three games
• PS3 dynamic themes and wallpapers
• PSN avatars including 8 exclusive new Journey avatars never released before
• Official game trailers and developer diary videos
• Reversible cover art
• One-month trial subscription of PlayStation Plus

Trailer [ ]

Reception [ ]

Journey received critical and commercial success worldwide. After its release, it became the fastest-selling game to date on PlayStation Store in both North America and Europe. [1] Review aggregator Metacritic scored the game at 92/100 for both PS3 and PS4 versions. [2] [3] Most critics praised the visual and auditory art direction, IGN even described the game as "the most beautiful game of its time", [4] while Slant community collectively agreed that the game offers a simple but really enjoyable gameplay. [5]

Development team [ ]

The development team of Journey on Christmas 2011. The scarves were hand-crafted by Robin Hunicke (bottom row center) and Matt Nava (leftmost) with a unique symbol for each team member. [6]

19 people participated in the creation of the game. [7]

Gallery [ ]

References [ ]

• ↑ Chen, Jenova: Journey Breaks PSN Sales Records . Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Metacritic: Journey for PlayStation 3 . Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Metacritic: Journey for PlayStation 4 Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Clements, Ryan: Journey Review . Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Slant: Journey - What are the best PS4 exclusive games? Accessed on February 2, 2018.
• ↑ Kellee Santiago's blog post . Accessed on January 9, 2017.
• ↑ The Journey page on thatgamecompany's website , the "Development team" section. Accessed on January 9, 2017.
• 1 The Traveler
• 2 White Robe
• 3 Walkthrough

The Golden Age Arcade Historian

A blog dedicted to the history of arcade video games from the bronze and golden ages (1971-1984).

Tuesday, August 28, 2012

The story of journey - the video game.

4 comments:

Nice! Obviously still working my way through the blog, but this makes me want to see your book. I'd heard the camera and body parts anecdote, but the rest was largely new to me.

Great history to read about this classic video game, thanks !!! :-)

A Pink Floyd: The Wall game . . . The mind boggles at the thought of that. (Hopefully it was more than a Breakout clone ;-)

It reminds me of tron a bit in that it really is multiple games in one. And it is a really hard game too. It gets slagged but I think it's gameplay alone if you can forget about the band tie in definitely stands up well alongside other games of the era

Why Journey is one of the greatest games ever made

Redefining movement

Here's what you need to know about Thatgamecompany's Journey: It's short. It's got kind of an exploration-heavy puzzle-platformer vibe, with splashes of adventure game. What else? It's pretty, it sounds good. Oh, and it understands human emotion on such a basic, fundamental level that it knows how players will react to any given situation, and respond accordingly. Every developer, irrespective of their discipline, can learn from it, and every person is better off for having played. It signifies a watershed moment for the game industry; it is our Citizen Kane . All of this is to say, Journey's easily one of the greatest games ever made.

Editor's note: Journey is best experienced with little to no prior knowledge of it. If you haven't yet played this game, may we suggest bidding adieu to GamesRadar, booting up your PS3, and we'll see you again in a couple of hours? Great.

One of Journey's greatest achievements is the way in which it redefines movement, that basic and original tenet of games. In many ways, Journey is a game about movement--a palpable traversal of environments to elicit emotion--and this is evident from the get-go. Journey's opening sequence drops the player at the foot of a sand dune. A hill must be climbed, and as you ascend, a toil sets in for each step taken.

When you reach the summit, two things happen. First, you see an intimidating expanse situated between you and a majestic mountain, the climbing of which puts your current accomplishment to shame. The second thing you notice is that your movement is unencumbered, a feeling made all the more delightful as you speedily zip down the other side of the hill. So just to review, there's feelings of hardship, accomplishment, satisfaction, awe, foreboding, delight, and curiosity, all from just walking up one side of a hill and sliding down the other.

Journey's also an aesthetic masterpiece, from a purely technical perspective. However, calling out the quality of its textures or music is to miss the genius--the way sight and sound couple with movement to further heighten and convey emotion.

There is the above example, yes, but take for instance a sequence early in the game, where you find yourself sliding down a hill at an increasingly alarming rate, unable to slow or stop. Around you fly ethereal beings, eagerly urging you along in your descent. You hit a tunnel, and the camera flips to a side-scrolling angle. The color palette transitions to darker, lusty reds, and your mountain goal appears, closer, illuminated like a beacon by the sun. You feel swept away, excited, joyous, and also a bit fearful over the loss of control. You think of the first time you fell in love.

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Journey – review

A long with LittleBigPlanet developer Media Molecule, thatgamecompany is one of the best examples of Sony's willingness to invest in new ideas. It's a studio focussed on making games that resonate emotionally, drawing on its staff's background in multimedia art. So far the studio has made Cloud, flOw and Flower: Cloud is a wonderfully relaxing flight through blue skies and drifting cumulus; flOw lets you be a micro-organism in the primordial ooze, munching others as you float; Flower is a gorgeous if rather heavy-handed meditation on the relationship between the urban and the natural in which you literally play a cloud of petals. They are beautiful, whimsical creations, but they have always stopped short of profundity.

These are all games that have tried to push the boundaries of what interactive entertainment can express, but Journey tries harder – and Journey succeeds. Journey is profound, or at least it can be. The studio describes it as an interactive parable, the story of a lone traveller and their path through life told in the form of a voyage that starts in the vast expanses of a desert and ends … well, to tell you how it ends would spoil it. You think you know what Journey is going to be about after the first five minutes, but you don't. I came to it expecting something charming, visually stunning and perhaps even mildly edifying. I left thinking that it may well be, in many ways, the best video game I have ever played.

You play a traveller swaddled in red robes, beginning atop a desert sand dune with a view of a shining mountain on the horizon. You're given no direction; instead you're guided by the natural impulse to move towards that looming, distant beacon. Control is intentionally simple and unobtrusive; you can only walk, jump and sing, but Journey still crafts some astounding scenarios from those bare gameplay ingredients. It has you surfing down sand dunes in the fading light, scaling towers, flying on the wind and cowering in underground ruins as you slowly uncover what could have happened to the civilisation that must have once lived there.

It's steeped in vague religious imagery; shrines, billowing robes, a solitary desert setting that can't help but evoke the Old Testament from time to time. Gentle puzzles and hidden scraps of material that extend your fluttering scarf and let you stay airborne for longer provide the only traditional gameplay elements to be found in this adventure. Instead, the enjoyment comes from inhabiting and admiring its world.

You will rarely play a game that makes you feel so much like you're actually there as Journey does. There is not the slightest inconsistency in its art direction, and this, together with extremely clever sound design and natural signposting, absorbs you in the game's world entirely. High dunes act as boundaries, and your eye is always instinctively drawn towards where you're supposed to be headed next, whether through lighting, camera direction or. At no point was I pulled out of Journey's world through clumsy design or a single frame of unnatural animation.

It helps that Journey doesn't overstretch itself; it's about 90 minutes long, which is enough time to get you absorbed in its premise but not enough time for you to start questioning the substance behind its beauty. A lack of nuanced gameplay mechanics is hardly a problem for a game of this length. But the thing that really energises Journey, the thing that makes you want to play it through over and over again, is that you don't play it alone.

From time to time, you'll see another traveller huddled down into their robes just off in the distance. Journey has ambient multiplayer that drops people into your game from time to time. You can either interact with them – by singing, or running around in circles together, by sticking with each other through to the game's conclusion and supporting each other – or leave them be to wander off into the sands again. Journey's emotional impact, which is not inconsiderable when playing along, is multiplied exponentially by sharing the experience with a stranger. It manages more meaningful communication with one button than most can with endless text and voice.

There are probably some players for who the trick won't work, and for who this journey will be a beautiful but ultimately hollow one – aesthetically stunning, but perhaps not meaningful. For me, though, Journey has moved me as much as any other piece of art or entertainment has.

Journey's visual and sound design sets new standards for interactive entertainment. This alone makes it an extraordinary work, but it's the way that these aesthetic elements come together with beautifully subtle direction and storytelling to create a lasting emotional effect that elevates this to one of the very best games of our time.

• PlayStation

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Journey Media

JOURNEY | 10 Year Anniversary Trailer

JOURNEY | PC Launch Trailer

Journey Launch Trailer I Coming July 21 I PS4 Exclusive

Critic Reviews for Journey

Three years later, Journey remains one of the most powerful games in recent memory.

Read full review

Metro GameCentral

Less is most definitely more in this beautifully understated co-op adventure, that dares you to make sense of its enigmatic voyage.

Game Informer

An artistic tour de force of limited interactive complexity

Journey has only improved with time, earning its status as one of the best games ever created.

Game Revolution

At the end of the campaign, you'll most likely be surprised to find that the one person who hung out with you was really three, or four, or more. What's more surprising was that seeing all the people I'd come into contact with hits me emotionally. I don't know them, but I 'know' them.

Hobby Consolas

‎If you are one of those who did not play it on PS3, you have before you a unique adventure of its kind, of those that without words says it all. And if you have it, thanks to the Cross-Buy you can enjoy it on PS4 without costs and with visual improvements. The remasters like that, YES.‎

Review in Spanish | Read full review

Firing up Journey on PS4 is a delight. It's so gorgeous and fluid in 1080p and 60 frames-per-second. Even though that's really the only thing different about it, it's a wonderful experience.

‎A beautiful journey, unparalleled in the history of the video game.‎

OpenCritic Coverage

Journey is now available for steam, comes with a free game.

Journey has been released on Steam, and comes with a free game when purchased Read more

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Sony has announced the Stay At Home Initiative, through which they will give out free games Read more

Journey is Making Its Way to Steam

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James Gurney

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Saturday, may 4, 2024.

 A reader asked:  “How is your thought process different at the beginning of a plein-air painting compared to the end?” At the beginning of a painting, I think about the concept or feeling that I want to convey. That intention guides the choice of framing and the colors I may choose. The thought process always comes before the painting, and if it’s a studio illustration, I work it out in sketches. If I were to start drawing or painting without a clear idea, it’s likely to be a dud. My first goal is to make a foundation in simple lines drawn with a brush, graphite pencil or watercolor pencil. If my goal is to capture the subject fairly literally or accurately, I might do some measuring and checking. Other times I may just use the elements in front of me to build an idea that’s half formed in my head. Either way, my goal at the outset is to place the big elements.

Sunday, April 28, 2024

Denison in his study.

From Dinotopia: Journey to Chandara

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J.C. Leyendecker, during his student days in Paris, wrote home to Chicago describing the work he was doing in the Académie Julian under Benjamin-Constant, Lefebvre, Bouguereau, and Laurens:

"Thoroughness is the principle upon which the French Art Schools have won their success. It doesn't take long to discover that style and dash will not make a drawing or painting go here as it will an illustration back home. Serious work—getting right down to the foundation principles—is the demand which is laid upon every student over here. 

If I learned anything it was that a picture is really only valuable for the thought behind it. There is little talk of 'handling' and of the catch tricks of the trade, and much emphasis upon a deep and serious significance in everything attempted." 

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Friday, April 19, 2024

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by James Gurney (@jamesgurneyart)

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Tronies exhibit in dublin.

  Not all head paintings are intended as portraits of specific individuals.

Joos van Craesbeeck, 1605/6-1660/1  The Smoker

Sometimes the goal is to capture a facial expression, a character type, a weird angle, an exotic costume, or an exploratory lighting arrangement.

Adriaen Brouwer,  The Bitter Potion , 1636-1638,  Städel Museum, Frankfurt, Germany.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Dutch and Flemish painters developed a whole series of experimental modes of head painting.

Frans Hals,  Laughing Boy , 1625, Mauritshuis, The Hague, Netherlands.

There’s a lot of fun mixed in with serious art-making.

On Tuesday we visited the National Gallery of Ireland in Dublin, which is hosting an exhibition of these amazing head paintings, known by the Dutch and Flemish artists as  tronies.

Johannes Vermeer,  Girl with a Red Hat , 1665, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

The name of the exhibition is  Turning Heads: Rubens, Rembrandt and Vermeer .

The exhibition includes head paintings by other well known painters of the day, including Anthony van Dyck (above), who painted this head study between 1618 and 1620.

Several of Rembrandt’s tronies explore characters in exotic costumes lit by strange, mysterious lighting.

The show will be on view through the 26th of May, 2024.

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“Journey stands as a prime example of the truly remarkable things that can be done via this medium.” 10/10 – Giant Bomb “The mechanics are simple, but they establish a direct connection to the heart.” 10/10 – Gamespot “Journey's visual and sound design sets new standards for interactive entertainment. This alone makes it an extraordinary work, but it's the way that these aesthetic elements come together with beautifully subtle direction and storytelling to create a lasting emotional effect that elevates this to one of the very best games of our time.” 10/10 – The Guardian

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About This Game

System requirements.

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10
• Processor: Intel Core i3-2120 | AMD FX-4350
• Memory: 4 GB RAM
• Graphics: Nvidia GTS 450 | AMD Radeon HD 5750
• Storage: 4 GB available space

© 2012-2020 Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Journey is a trademark of Sony Interactive Entertainment LLC. Developed by thatgamecompany. Conversion development by Inline Assembly Ltd. Published by Annapurna Interactive.

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How Journey Tells Story Using Game Mechanics

If you are interested in game narrative and game design, Journey is a must play game. This title highlights telling a story through in-game actions and systems.

So it’s a great introduction into:

• ludonarrative harmony- how the game tells the story through the player not to the player
• mechanics design – how to structure game mechanics within a world
• narrative design – how to flesh out the environment to represent larger narrative themes

Download your own copy of my 2016 GDC Game Narrative Review to learn more about these concepts.

PREVIOUS STORY

• First Released Mar 13, 2012 released

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AFK Journey: Arcane Labyrinth Guide (& Best Teams)

Arcane Labyrinth is a lucrative yet challenging mode in AFK Journey that might confuse beginners unless they use a comprehensive guide.

Quick Links

Arcane labyrinth battle mode explained, the best team for completing the arcane labyrinth stages, tips & strategies for arcane labyrinth in afk journey.

Arcane Labyrinth is one of the more complex Battle Modes in AFK Journey , partially because it allows players to pick their paths—with each path leading to a rather different outcome.

To better clarify things for players and help them complete the mode’s enemy-filled dungeons, this guide explains everything there is to know about Arcane Labyrinth in AFK Journey and offers tips on assembling the best teams and strategies for conquering it.

AFK Journey Arena (PvP) Guide

Arcane Labyrinth is a Dungeon Crawling maze in AFK Journey . In this mode, the goal is to clear as many stages of the dungeon floors as possible with fixed HP and Energy. At the start, players pick ten Heroes who will substitute for each other until no one’s alive.

Stages & Difficulties

Arcane Labyrinth consists of 160 Floors divided into eight different difficulties (each difficulty level has 20 Floors). After clearing 15 Floors in Arcane Labyrinth, players must battle an Elite Challenge Boss , which is often stronger than regular foes. Once this match is successfully concluded, the difficulty level of the maze increases automatically.

Arcane Labyrinth is the best resource for Epic Invite Letters , as these items are the primary reward for “1st clear” of each difficulty. However, players are also rewarded with other Hero Recruitment and Level-Up resources, such as Essence , if they manage to explore deeper dungeons.

At any stage of the exploration, the explorer can stop the process and settle for the current rewards. Also, it is important to note that all progression in Arcane Labyrinth is reset every Monday at 00:00 UTC, which would be Sunday at 8:00 PM in the US.

Battles & Carried-Over Stats

Heroes’ HP and Energy won’t reset after each battle. Plus, defeated enemies won’t respawn, and if the player has killed, say, four of them, the rematch will only start with one enemy (the last man standing).

This is not to say that Healing is not an option. Any buff to HP and Energy in the previous match carries over.

Relics & Crests

Relics are stat boosters granted for each victory in Arcane Labyrinth. Crests, however, are passive abilities earned for collecting two, four, six, or eight Relics of the same type. Players get to choose what Relic to fight for at the start of each match. However, Crests are only selectable once the required number of Relics is achieved.

The best Relics are Warmth (which increases HP after each victory), Fortitude (which boosts the overall HP of the team), and Guard (which enhances Physical and Magic DEF). As for the Crests, players are advised to go with Legendary options whenever possible. Though, choosing the right Crest depends on the current synergies of the team.

Fitz’s Store, Items, & Currencies

At some stages, Fitz shows up with a series of Items players can trade for Pure Crystals . He sells Items such as Relic replicas and Resurrection Potion, which players can use to buff the team or revive a lost Hero.

Deep Labyrinth

Once a player reaches Floor 15 of any difficulty level, they get to enter the Deep Labyrinth, a ranked mode with no rewards. In this stage, they fight an Endless Boss, which will never die. However, players will be ranked based on the damage they inflict on this creature.

As a general rule, players are recommended to have at least two Healers, one Tank, and one DPS in their formation. However, in terms of the best team and comp, the ideal options are as follows: Smokey , Hewynn , and Rowan as Support ; Cecia as Marksman ; Thoran and Antandra as Tank ; Brutus and Florabelle as Warrior .

Before entering the dungeons of Arcane Labyrinth, AFK Journey players should take note of these useful tips:

• Switch Healers in and out: When the team’s HP is low, substitute a DPS with a Healer to recover health. (The Healer could be removed before the next match to increase DMG or DEF.)
• Invest in Resurrection Potions: Fitz’s most valuable item revives one of the dead Heroes. Having access to this item becomes incredibly handy in the final stages of the Labyrinth.
• Start with the weakest team: Early dungeons are not challenging. Use the least potent allies during these levels to save the critical characters for higher difficulties.

AFK Journey

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• May 4, 2024
• AFK Journey

AFK Journey: New Journey Unfolds!

Published today, a new video for the upcoming season “Song of Strife” showcases its new characters and game modes, adding more details to what is to come. In this blog post, we will go over a summarized version of the video, and clear up some questions players may be wondering about.

“Song of Strife” will begin to roll out on May 10th for servers who are 42 days old.

GIFT CODES: (Valid until June 30th)

• AFKJUPDATE (100 Diamonds, 10k Gold)
• AFKJCCPROGRAM (100 Diamonds, 10k Gold)
• AFKJCREATIONFEST (200 Diamonds, 50k Gold)

New Hero: Alsa

• Faction: Mauler
• S Tier Mage
• Magic Attack Type, with a range of 6

Alsa is a Control focused mage, who can create terrain and balance attack and defense by making use of teleportation and shields.

Ultimate: Twirling Rocks

Cooldown 0, Rage 6, Energy 300. Enters [Combat Stance], gaining flexibility in dealing damage and dodging attacks.

Skill 1: Stone Barrier

Cooldown 8s, Range 6 Alsa deals damage to an enemy and creates earth pillars on the field.

Skill 2: Rolling Boulder

Cooldown 12s, Range 6 Alsa deals damage to all enemies who recently suffered from control effects.

Exclusive Skill: Don of Terra (Mythic+)

The more Alsa rolls in the [Combat Stance] state, the stronger the subsequent impact, and the more she avoids damage.

Character Overview

Alsa is a character who can make the most of her kit on control-focused teams, regardless of the other heroes being melee or ranged. That’s thanks to her skill 2, “Rolling Boulder”, being her biggest source of damage.

The rest of her kit isn’t to be taken lightly, either. “Stone Barrier” creates stone pillars behind the target, occupying 3 tiles and dealing damage. These pillars can be destroyed, but will certainly be useful to disrupt enemy formation, as well as in combo with certain other heroes.

Meanwhile, when triggered, “Twirling Rocks” will move Alsa to the target’s location, dealing damage within range. She then enters [Combat Stance] and gains access to two new abilities. The first allows her to curl into a ball, stunning the target before returning to her original location. The second, costs energy but grants Alsa a shield and relocates her after taking a certain amount of damage.

At Mythic+ Alsa’s exclusive skill stacks bonuses the more she uses her [Combat Stance] abilities. This makes Alsa well suited for long-duration clashes.

New Hero: Soren

• Faction : Mauler
• A Tier Rogue
• Physical Attack Type, with a range of 1

Ultimate: Whirlwind Swing

Cooldown 0, Rage 2, Energy 0 Rushes to the selected target and knocks back nearby enemies, dealing extra damage and stunning them if they collide with other entities.

Skill 1: Repel Sweep

Knocks down the target enemy, stunning them. (More details TBA)

Skill 2: Deflecting Swing

When Soren receives a single-attack damage that exceeds 10% of his max HP, reduces the damage from this attack by 70% and triggers Repel Sweep. This trigger doesn’t affect the cooldown of Repel Sweep.

Exclusive Skill: Dusk Rejuvenation (Mythic+)

Increases Haste and recovers HP and Energy when his HP is low.

Enhance Force (Supreme+)

Increases the knockback distance of the next Repel Sweep when triggering Deflecting Swing, dealing extra damage.

Soren is a defensive hero who plays similarly to Korin, in the sense that he’s able to deal damage while protecting his teammates through displacement abilities. His kit has perfect synergy with Alsa’s, with Whirlwind Sweep, Repel Sweep and Deflecting Swing all enabling Alsa’s “Rolling Boulder”.

On the other hand, Alsa’s kit enables Soren’s capabilities as a DPS as well. Soren deals more damage when an enemy collides against any other entity, be it other heroes, walls or even the edge of the arena. With Alsa constantly creating new earth pillars, the siblings are able to keep the enemy team under high pressure while maintaining their own survivability.

New Game Modes

Bestial brawl.

Bestial Brawl is a new puzzle type triggered whenever the player encounters monsters called ironjaws around the map. Ironjaws can’t be fought directly, and will charge towards the player until the player leaves their territory. This can be used to lure the ironjaws into destroying obstacles and giving access to hidden areas with treasure chests.

Treasure Quest

Another new puzzle gameplay mode. Whenever players find Treasure Hamsters around the map, they can trigger “Treasure Quest”. In this mode, it’s possible to add a limited number of Loot Detectors in a determined area. Thus, revealing the location of a buried treasure.

Raging Duel

In this new battle mode, both teams have a “Rage” bar, that can be filled by fulfilling specific conditions. Once full, it will give the entire team a set of buffs until the battle ends. This mode will only be triggered in some levels, not all battles will feature this mechanism.

Dura Trials and Magic Charms

Each hero can equip up to 3 charms, each of which can provide Extra Bonus Stats. Magic Charms come in five qualities: Rare, Elite, Epic, Legendary or Mythic. By equipping the charms of the same or higher quality, you can activate the hero’s [Seasonal Prowess] , a passive that will be unique for each season. Higher Quality charms also mean a stronger passive.

Charms can be acquired through the Dura’s Trials PVE mode. A tower that drops chests specific to each class. Finishing all floors also grant additional rewards.

Supreme Arena

In this new PvP mode, open from Wednesday to Sunday, you can set up 3 teams and challenge players from other servers in a “best of three”. Servers will be grouped into Districts, and unlike the current PvP modes, in Supreme Arena, you won’t lose points when losing a match. Another distinctive feature are the new maps, some with asymmetrical tiles, while others have tiles that allow “hiding heroes” (first team in the screenshot below).

Seasonal Skills and Artifacts

Both being brand new and exclusive to each season, Seasonal Skills and Artifacts intend to keep things fresh. [Season Skill] gets unlocked at Seasonal Level 51, and will gradually increase with the Season Level. At the end of the season, all Season Levels will be cleared and converted into Essence, which can be used for upgrading Resonance Synergy.

Meanwhile, each season will also introduce 8 new artifacts exclusive to that season, and they can be obtained through Season Journey and various game modes. Like Season Skills, they will also be limited to use only within the season.

The infamous “Fear of Missing Out” (FOMO), powercreep and the inability to access older event content and stories are probably the three biggest worries in the gacha gaming landscape. AFK Journey attempts to address these issues through its Seasons system. Although seasonal content only becomes available after a server is 42 days old, all seasonal content will remain available in the “Temporal Nexus”.

That means that even if you take a break from the game or join a newer server in the future, you will still have access to past seasons and content any time you want. The only thing “missed” are the limited-time rewards.

On the other hand, we have Magic Charms and Seasonal Skills addressing both the possibility of powercreep and shuffling the meta during the game’s lifespan. How much the developers will be effective on that objective, however, remains to be seen. If you wish to know more about the season, you can check out the Dev Update and Q&A [HERE] .

so sad soren isnt an S tier character REALLY wanted him to be even saved diamonds only and used everything else so dying inside but getting such a big and cool new area a month into the game is just fantastic cant wait!!!

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Galvanize your Legend in Season 4: Loot Reborn

The forges burn with renewed vigor, stoked by braziers to hone the steel of Sanctuary’s finest. Across the land, Hell’s expanded Legions gather and multiply, marshalling their strength to ambush wanderers that fall prey to their Helltide.

Fresh from our first Public Test Realm in Diablo IV, Season 4: Loot Reborn begins on May 14 at 10 a.m. PT . Use the Itemization overhaul on new systems, Tempering and Masterworking to change a noteworthy blade into a force to be feared. Across all World Tiers, Helltide is reborn: slay monstrosities to fill your threat meter, marking you as prey for the Hellborne . Prepare to fight side by side with the Iron Wolves —a seasoned mercenary company of brethren aiming to quell the demons.

Itemization Reforged: Masterworking, Tempering and More

Helltide reborn, andariel joins the fray & tormented echoes, your greatest challenge: the pit of artificers, fight with the iron wolves, earn rewards with the season journey and battle pass, acquire fabled threads from tejal’s shop, community guides for season 4, stay up to date with diablo iv news.

Seasons within Diablo IV bear their mark on Sanctuary in the Seasonal Realm, unearthing new quests and fresh mechanics to explore and master. Season 4: Loot Reborn takes on a new theme, overhauling many core game systems to refresh how items are earned, how they function, and how they improve as you level through World Tiers during the season.

Unlike previous Seasonal themes that affect only the Seasonal Realm, with Season 4: Loot Reborn, these Itemization changes persist beyond the Seasonal Realm and affect the Eternal Realm as well. Read on to learn how Itemization will change the way you loot and reap your way across all of Diablo IV.

All updates to our new items, Classes and Skills will be available in our Season 4 Patch Notes, which will be available here following our Developer Update stream on May 2.

General Item Updates

One of our several goals for the Itemization changes is to make it easier to understand which items are upgrades when they drop. We reduced the number of affixes on items (down to 3 on Legendary items, 2 on Rare items) and made these affixes more effective. Instead of seeing an affix that relies on conditional values (+10% damage on non-injured Elites), you'll see affixes such as base increases to your Movement Speed, Max life, or single ranks of a Core Skill. Dropped Items are now simpler to evaluate, and we've moved their complexity and customization to our new crafting systems, Tempering and Masterworking, which we will describe in more detail below. We've also increased the overall values of these affixes, so they should feel more powerful!

This screenshot displays an item under the Itemization changes with a Greater Affix.

Item affixes after Itemization changes, with Tempering and Masterworking applied.

By making items more individually impactful, we’ve significantly decreased the number of items that drop when slaying Monsters. The goal here is to spend more time obliterating and less time sorting through the many items that drop. The result is that fewer items will drop overall, but those items will be more likely to be valuable. To compensate and stay on par with the norm, materials gained from Salvaging and Crafting have been adjusted to match this change. Also, Forgotten Souls can now be earned from Whisper bounties and are a rare drop from all Elites. The Gold cost to re-roll items when Enchanting now has a maximum, and we’ve cut down on the materials needed to perform all activities when at the Blacksmith.

Additionally, which World Tier you play in will directly affect the rarity of the items you earn. Sacred items or higher only drop in World Tier III, and only Ancestral items will appear in World Tier IV. Similarly, Legendary items dropped from enemies over Level 95 will always have a value of 925 Item Power.

However, keep an eye out for Uniques—some have a chance to appear starting in World Tier I and II. All Uniques have a chance to drop starting in World Tier III, and Uber Uniques can start appearing as once you’re killing monsters that are Level 55 at max Item Power level.

Codex of Power Updates

Extracting Aspects from Legendary items now stores them in your Codex of Power to be used indefinitely. Instead of taking up space in your inventory, the Codex of Power is a library that stores your most-powerful extracted version of that Aspect, which can be used as many times as you want.

The Codex of Power displays all available Aspects, so you can spend more time seeking the highest Aspect rolls possible. Once the Aspect with the maximum potential value is extracted, a specific border indicates the Aspect has been completed.

Aspects can now be favorited within the Codex of Power, and a tooltip will denote whether you already have that Aspect equipped when searching within the Codex. Note that in the Seasonal Realm, when the Season ends, your Codex of Power will reset and retain those learned affixes for the Eternal Realm. If you already have the same Aspect learned in the Eternal Realm, the Codex of Power will keep the higher of the two.

Tempering: Sharpen your Steel and make it Sing

As you find and learn Tempering Manuals, Blacksmiths across Sanctuary will be able to use these manuals of craftsmanship to shape the qualities of your equipment. Tempering allows you to add potent affixes to your item.

Crafting Manuals can be found as a regular item throughout the game. Once learned, they can be used as many times as desired (like the new Codex of Power changes). Each Crafting Manual contains a small number of affixes, and typically correspond to six different categories: Weapons, Offensive, Defensive, Mobility, Utility and Resource. Simply head to a Blacksmith to Temper your item and add one of the available affixes, greatly reducing the time it takes to ensure your weapon has the affix you desire. Note that Ancestral items can have two Tempered affixes from different categories!

Remember, the Tempering Durability indicates how many times you can Temper an item…even the most battle honed blades can lose their edge. The manuals you learn on the Seasonal Realm last until the end of the season, and manuals learned on the Eternal Realm will be known permanently.

Masterworking: Refine your Weapon to Untold Prowess

Using the rarest of materials found within the deepest mines and caverns, improve your weapons to the absolute pinnacle of their potential. Masterworking is an end-game crafting system, using materials earned from The Pit of Artificers to upgrade your weapons.

Masterworking improves the overall strength of all affixes on your weapon, and at every 4th tier, massively upgrades one of your equipped affixes. The affix that receives the bonus will turn Blue. If the same affix is improved again, it will change to Yellow, and in rare cases, it will turn Orange if improved a third time.

If you hit the max level of Masterworking on a given weapon and you’re unsatisfied with the improvements on your weapon, you can reset and begin the process again.

Greater Affixes

Appearing only on Ancestral Legendary and Unique Items, Greater Affixes are 1.5x more powerful versions of normal affixes. Items with Greater Affixes drop with a distinct audio cue, alerting you to their presence, and have a unique icon both in the world and within your inventory. Each affix on an item has a chance to be a Greater Affix in World Tier III and IV. You cannot Enchant an affix into a Greater Affix—their awesome power may only be discovered.

Gems are simpler, streamlined and more effective across your Character’s journey. Crude Gems have been removed, and crafting levels have been shifted back. Normals Gems are available at Level 51, Flawless at 71, and Royal at 91. Diamonds have had their All Resistance values increased. Topaz now provide increases to Intelligence, and Sapphires increases to Willpower. Amethyst increases your Strength, and Emeralds now provide bonus Dexterity.

Back to Top

The legions of the Burning Hells regroup to coordinate a most formidable display of force in a Helltide reborn. Inspired by the Vampiric Blood Harvest in Season of Blood, your ferocity in combat draws the attention of increasingly dangerous foes. Only the strongest and most well-prepared can survive this potent onslaught. Unless otherwise noted, these Helltide changes affect both Eternal and Seasonal realms and persist beyond the end of Season 4: Loot Reborn.

Threat Levels and Becoming Hell-Marked

As you cleave your way through Helltide, you will now generate Threat. Threat is earned based on the difficulty of the monsters you slay and how often you’re opening Tortured Gifts within Helltide. There are three Threat Levels in total, with each level increasing the danger and frequency of ambushes. Once you hit Level 3, you will become Hell-Marked.

When you’ve been Hell-Marked, you’ll be besieged by a frenzy of densely packed monsters. If you make it out alive, a Hellborn will come for you: one of Sanctuary’s most formidable fallen warriors, now an immensely powerful agent of Hell. The Hellborn can embody one of the classes in Diablo IV. Your Threat Level resets once the Hellborn ambush has been activated, or if you succumb to the overwhelming forces of Hell and perish.

Unholy Blasphemy: Accursed Ritual

At a scene of shocking gore, the Accursed Ritual is the ultimate testament to the disturbing lengths these manic Cultists will go to appease their dark desires. It is here where you can begin the Accursed Ritual.

Baneful Hearts can be earned by opening Tortured Gifts throughout Helltide and by defeating Hellborn enemies. Deposit three Baneful Hearts to begin the ritual, which will commence with a swarm of demonic enemies. This ambush will end with the arrival of the formidable Blood Maiden, an immensely powerful demon who offers great reward upon her death.

Contributing any Baneful Hearts to initiate this dark ritual will grant you increased rewards as a contribution bonus.

Helltides in World Tier I and II

To get your feet warmed up to the awesome threat of Helltide earlier on in your character’s journey, Helltide is now available in World Tier I and II. The overall Monster density will be suited relative to these World Tiers, and no roaming bosses will be present.

Additional Hellish Changes

For the wanderer that want to push the limits of Helltide, an exceptionally valuable new elixir called Profane Mindcage is available to up the ante. Consuming a Profane Mindcage increases the level of Helltide Monsters by 10 and boosts Cinder drop rates. These are a guaranteed drop after killing Hellborne. You will see diminishing returns on boosted Monster levels closer to level cap—keep progressing in World Tiers to retain the same benefit from this potent elixir. The Profane Mindcage will only last until the end of Season 4: Loot Reborn.

Fresh demonic events have been added to Helltide, including new encounters with the fabled Iron Wolves. Stay vigilant for these encounters of demonic treachery.

As a recent change since our Public Test Realm for Season 4: Loot Reborn, Doomsayers no longer drop Chests of Doomsaying. Instead, they now drop the equivalent rewards that a Chest of Doomsaying would have granted on death—entirely removing the Cinder cost it previously held.

There are rumors that there are strange varieties of ore deep within the network of dungeons crisscrossing the north of Sanctuary, perfect for crafting exceptionally-made armor using secret Horadric techniques. However, the horrors that lay in wait for intrepid wanderers seeking to unearth these riches are unspeakably terrible.

Upon entering World Tier IV, you’ll receive a priority Quest to complete a Tier 46 Nightmare Dungeon. Upon completion, you’ll begin to collect Runeshards by playing through different Endgame activities. They’ll appear when you encounter Helltide Chests, World Bosses, Legion Events, Nightmare Dungeons and Whisper Bounties.

Collect Runeshard to activate the Obelisk in Cerrigar, allowing you to descend into the beckoning depths of The Pit. Your task is to slay enough monsters before your 10-minute time limit runs out to summon a final boss. Each player death removes time from the clock: first death removes 30 seconds, second death removes 60 seconds, third and subsequent deaths will remove 90 seconds.

After enough monsters are slain, a portal materializes, transporting you to the boss’s arena. Slay the boss before the timer expires to earn coveted Masterworking materials… and the next brutal tier of The Pit. If you can manage to kill the boss with time left on the clock, the benefit increases. With 4-6 minutes to spare, you skip a level and unlock an additional Tier of the Pit. Killing the boss with 6 or more minutes to spare grants you two additional Tier unlocks. The Pit has 200 total levels of difficulty to try and conquer, if you dare face the challenge.

The Pit can be entered in groups of up to four players, with the player who spends the Runeshards to open the Pit earning the lion’s share of materials. Only the player who opened The Pit has the chance to receive tantalizing Stygian Stones used for summoning Tormented Echoes—Level 200 variants of the summonable bosses found in Diablo IV. The further you descend into levels of The Pit, the more frequent these Stygian Stones will appear.

The Maiden of Anguish has returned in all her tormented glory. She joins the boss ladder at the same tier as her brother Duriel, with the same Uber Unique drop rate. With a mix of Shadow, Fire, Lightning, and her iconic Poison attack, Andariel stands ready to face all who dare fathom to bring about her demise.

Found east of Tasarak, in Hanged Man’s Hall, you’ll need summoning materials from both Lord Zir and Beast in Ice to fight Andariel.

Tormented Echoes

All summonable bosses are now available at Level 200 as Tormented Echoes. Summonable with their regular summon Materials alongside Stygian Stones—which can be found deep within The Pit—these bosses cost more to summon but drop far more rewards. To summon a Tormented Echo, simply go to their typical summon location and select the Tormented Echo variant. Note that to summon the Beast in Ice, you’ll need to craft a different Nightmare Dungeon Sigil.

All items dropped from Tormented Echoes will be Item Level 925. Defeating your first Tormented Echo drops one Resplendent Spark as a first-time reward (account bound).

Seek out the battle-hardened and stalwart Soudeh the Anvil, a stoic field commander of the Iron Wolves. The Iron Wolves are a band of noble Mercenaries in the South, seeking to protect the common people of Sanctuary and hold themselves to a higher code of honor than other mercenary companies of similar mettle. Mysteriously, members of their ranks have been dying under suspicious circumstances—seek out the source of this slaughter to earn the Iron Wolves’ favor.

Meet Soudeh in Khejistan to start your journey to uncover this deadly plot. Working with the Iron Wolves will earn you several Tempering Manuals, which are key to unlocking the potential of your items in Season 4: Loot Reborn.

Any Iron Wolf Events that occur in Helltide will persist past the end of Season 4: Loot Reborn.

As you fight side by side to vanquish demons with the Iron Wolves, you’ll earn rewards from the Season Journey and Battle Pass.

The Season Journey is broken into Chapters with tasks to complete. As you progress through the Journey, you’ll earn rewards befitting Sanctuary’s defenders, such as new Legendary Aspects, and 3 Scrolls of Amnesia, which provide a free Skill Tree and Paragon Board reset. The Journey also provides Favor—the resource used to climb through the Battle Pass’ Tiers— also earnable simply by playing aspects of the game.

The Season 4: Loot Reborn Battle Pass begins on May 14, 10 a.m. PT and hosts 90 Reward Tiers (28 Free Tiers and 62 Premium Tiers).

If you get the Premium Battle Pass , not only will the rewards of the Free Tiers be yours to wield, but Awoken Demigod Armor Sets , Platinum, and more also await you, including the Awoken Demigod Plating Mount Armor , Purified Demigod Thoroughbred Mount , and Divine Banner Mount Trophy , which unlocks at Tier 90 .

The Accelerated Seasonal Battle Pass also contains 20 Tier Skips and the Wings of Hell’s Legion Emote.

Smoldering Ashes earned from the Free Tiers can be spent on Season Blessings that provide helpful bonuses to beat back Hell’s armies. There are three new Blessings for Season 4: Loot Reborn:

• Urn of Nightmares: Boost Paragon Glyph XP earned in Nightmare Dungeons.
• Urn of Iron: Boost your reputation with the Iron Wolves from Helltide activities.
• Urn of Burning Obols: Boost the amount of Obols you can find in Helltide chests, which contain Obols during this season.

The bonuses gained from the five Season Blessings only last until the end of Season 4: Loot Reborn.

We’re dialing up the heat in the Shop with new Equipment, Armor, Accessories, Mount and Mount Armor bundles that will have you slaying in style. Starting on May 14, pay Tejal a visit to browse her wares—remember to check back often, as she’ll update her stock throughout Season 4: Loot Reborn. One such rarefied find from the far reaches of Sanctuary is the the Demon’s Heart Bundle for the barbarian, which contains the Demonheart Armor Set and 2 Demonheart Weapon Cosmetics.

If you need sage guidance in your Character’s journey throughout Season 4: Loot Reborn, look to our Community guides for tips and insights on builds for every class. From levelling in World Tier I, all the way to end-game builds for The Pit.

Visit our trusted Community resources here:

On May 2 at 11 a.m. PT , there will be a Developer Update Livestream, which will take a deep dive into Season 4: Loot Reborn. Join community director Adam Fletcher and members of the development team as they discuss the many learnings from the Season 4 Public Test Realm, system features, balance updates, and more.

Watch the Diablo IV Developer Update Livestream on our Twitch or YouTube Channels on May 2 .

Master the forge and flame to conquer emerging threats in Season 4: Loot Reborn!

-The Diablo IV Team

Next Article

Mount up for the northrend cup, featured news, hotfixes: may 3, 2024, this week in wow: may 3, diablo iv patch notes, catch up on our latest developer update, director's take - empowering tanks in midseason, confront xal’atath when dark heart arrives on may 7, dragonflight: dark heart content update notes, the cataclysm classic pre-expansion patch is now live, get up to 33% off select classic game services, diablo immortal bug fixes and patch notes for all platforms, step right up at the darkmoon faire, arena world championship returns may 3, floral fancies festoon may’s trading post, this week in wow: april 26, 2024, cataclysm classic: leveling in a shattered landscape, an update on this year’s blizzcon and blizzard’s 2024 live events, 29.2.2 patch notes.

Paris organizers take delivery of Olympic flame at Greek venue of first modern Games

ATHENS, Greece — The  Paris Olympics  flame was formally handed to French organizers on Friday in the all-marble stadium where the first modern Games were held in Athens in 1896.

Greek water polo player Ioannis Fountoulis, the last in a long line of torchbearers, used the flame to light a cauldron at the Panathenaic Stadium. From there, it was delivered to Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet.

A few moments of suspense followed as assistants struggled to light the lantern that will carry the flame to France.

“It wants to stay in Greece,” Estanguet joked.

Safely in the lantern, the flame will depart for France on Saturday on a 19th century sailing ship across the Mediterranean Sea, to make landfall 12 days later in the southern port city of Marseille.

The flame was  kindled on April 16  at Olympia in southern Greece, where the ancient games were held for more than 1,000 years from about 776 B.C. to A.D. 393.

From Olympia’s ancient stadium, a relay of torchbearers carried it along a 5,000-kilometer (3,100-mile) route through Greece, which included several islands and  an overnight stop  on the ancient Acropolis.

The Olympic flame will be housed overnight in the French Embassy, to leave Athens’ port of Piraeus on Saturday on the  Belem , a French three-masted sailing ship built in the year of the first modern games in Athens.

The Belem is due in Marseille on May 8, ahead of a relay through France leading to the opening ceremony in Paris.

The Games run from July 26-August 11.

The Associated Press

• Category: Games

Free Play Days – Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Headbangers: Rhythm Royale  

Let’s kick off May the right way with Free Play Days! Headbangers: Rhythm Royale is available this weekend for Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members to play from Thursday May 2 at 12:01 a.m. PDT until Sunday, May 5 at 11:59 p.m. PDT.   

Additionally, Star Wars: Survivor   is free to try for all Xbox members during the same time (Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate not required) with a 5 hour gameplay trial.   

Game Pass Core will give players access to our advanced multiplayer network, a select collection of over 25 games to play with friends around the world, and exclusive member deals! Read more about Game Pass Core at Xbox Wire . 

How To Start Playing

Find and install the games on each of the individual game details page on  Xbox.com . Clicking through will send you to the Microsoft Store, where you must be signed in to see the option to install with your Xbox Game Pass Core or Xbox Game Pass Ultimate membership. To download on console, click on the Subscriptions tab in the Xbox Store and navigate down to the Free Play Days collection on your Xbox One and Xbox Series X|S.

Keep The Fun Going

Purchase the game and other editions at a limited time discount and continue playing while keeping your Gamerscore and achievements earned during the event! Please note that discounts, percentages, and title availability may vary by title and region.

Free Play Days For All

STAR WARS Jedi: Survivor™

Electronic Arts

Star Wars Jedi: Survivor   The story of Cal Kestis continues in Star Wars Jedi: Survivor™, a third person galaxy-spanning action-adventure game from Respawn Entertainment, developed in collaboration with Lucasfilm Games. This narratively driven, single player title picks up five years after the events of Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order™ and follows Cal’s increasingly desperate fight as the galaxy descends further into darkness. 

Free Play Days (Game Pass Core or Game Pass Ultimate Required)

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale

Headbangers: Rhythm Royale Ever wanted to be a dancing pigeon? Well, this is your chance. Headbangers: Rhythm Royale will see you and 29 other pigeons battle it out to find out who is the ultimate Master Headbanger. With Season 3 the game has been expanded to include a 1v1 mode alongside classic Royale gameplay. Take on a rival pigeon in a dance-off with a difference. Hit the beat, show off your moves, and utilize various powerups to get an edge over your feathered opponent. Songs get progressively more challenging, until finally, one pigeon fails and the survivor reigns victoriously. 

Don’t miss out on these exciting Free Play Days for Xbox Game Pass Core and Xbox Game Pass Ultimate members!  Learn more about Free Play Days here  and stay tuned to Xbox Wire to find out about future Free Play Days and all the latest Xbox gaming news. 

LIVE BLOG: Cavaliers eliminate Magic in game 7

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - It wasn’t pretty but the Cleveland Cavaliers eliminated Orlando 106-94 Sunday in game 7 at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.

Cleveland advances to face Boston in round 2, which begins Tuesday (7 p.m., TNT). It’s Cleveland’s first playoff series win without LeBron James since 1993.

Donovan Mitchell led the way with 39 points in 44 minutes.

He scored 89 points in games 6 and 7.

The Cavs trailed by 18 points early but outscored Orlando 63-41 in the second half.

Paolo Banchero scored 38 for the Magic but Franz Wagner (1-for-13) and Jalen Suggs (2-for-13) both struggled from the floor.

The Cavs are wearing all-black uniforms, Orlando is in white with blue trim.

Cavs center Jarrett Allen is out again for the 3rd straight game (rib).

Jarrett Allen is in "excruciating" pain, I was told today. He originally took a hit to the ribs in Game 1 from Franz Wagner, then had the rib pierced on another hit from Wagner in Game 4. He previously played in 81 straight games (reg season and playoffs) before the injury. — Jason Lloyd (@ByJasonLloyd) May 5, 2024

Orlando is the 4th-youngest team in the NBA and 2nd-youngest still alive in the playoffs, behind only Oklahoma City.

4TH QUARTER

The Cavs lead 81-74 with 8:04 left in the game.

Darius Garland hit a key 3 to put Cleveland up 88-77 with 5:52 to go, it was just his second make of the day (2-for-11).

Cleveland now leads 92-83 with 4:01 remaining, Mitchell is up to 37 points.

The Cavs now lead 97-85 with 2:06 remaining, Orlando is 9-for-30 from three.

3RD QUARTER

The Cavs opened with a 14-8 run, cutting the Orlando lead to 61-57 with 6:58 left in the third.

Mitchell had 9 in the run, Max Strus had the other five.

J.B. Bickerstaff tells his team in the huddle, “We’re gonna be small,” implores them to make the effort plays needed to win.

Garland (1-for-9) is on the bench with 4 fouls.

Mitchell is putting the team on his back with 17 points in the quarter; he’s now up to 32 overall as Cleveland leads 68-66 at the 2:44 mark.

Strus nailed three 3-pointers in the quarter, lifting Cleveland to a 76-68 lead after 3 quarters.

Franz Wagner (1-for-12) has just 4 points for the Magic.

2ND QUARTER

Orlando has jumped out to a 31-18 lead with 9:43 left in the quarter, prompting another timeout from J.B. Bickerstaff.

Banchero is up to 14 points.

The Cavs have missed their first 4 shots.

in game 7 with a starter out you really shouldn’t be going 10 deep and just trying stuff it’s so embarrassing — martin rickman (@martinrickman) May 5, 2024

Evan Mobley and Mitchell are coming back into the game.

The building is eerily quiet as Orlando has increased the lead to 47-29.

Franz Wagner of Orlando picked up his 3rd foul and will likely sit the rest of the half.

Strus and Darius Garland also have 3 fouls and are on the bench.

A 10-2 Cavs run has cut the margin to 49-37 with 2:38 to go in the second. Mitchell has 14 points but no other Cavalier is in double figures.

Orlando takes a 53-43 lead to the break.

Banchero has a game-high 24 points.

Paolo Banchero was a FORCE in the 1st half of Game 7 in Cleveland 🪄 24 PTS 8 REB 2 STL 2 3PM Banchero has the most points EVER in the 1st half of a Game 7 by a player 21 years of age or younger 🤯 pic.twitter.com/yEw1z3OuCZ — NBA (@NBA) May 5, 2024

Cleveland is shooting 35% overall and just 2-for-11 from three.

1ST QUARTER

Orlando jumps out to a 16-10 lead at the first media timeout.

The Magic hit 4 of their first 7 three-pointers; Banchero made his first two from deep.

The Cavs start out 3-for-10 overall, 0-for-2 from three.

Orlando leads 20-12 with 1:49 left in the opening quarter.

The Cavs have 5 early turnovers and are shooting just 25% overall (0-for-6 from three).

Georges Niang is talking about how rowdy #Cavs fans can get on the Jumbotron during the timeout but it was hard to hear him since those same fans started booing loudly. — Evan Dammarell (@AmNotEvan) May 5, 2024

Marcus Morris Sr. is the first sub off the Cleveland bench.

Orlando leads 24-16 after one quarter; Banchero has a game-high 10 points.

Mitchell leads the Cavs with eight, followed by Caris LeVert with six.

Copyright 2024 WOIO. All rights reserved.

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