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Developers working on the highly anticipated RPG Baldur’s Gate 3 have taken to Reddit to answer some burning questions about the upcoming game. Many of these regard the game’s take on DnD 5th Edition, while other curious fans have sought clarity on how much Baldur’s Gate 1 and Baldur’s Gate 2 will impact the story.

Creative director Swen Vincke has addressed fans’ concerns that Baldur’s Gate 3 would have little to do with the first two games, which were both developed by BioWare. “We really don’t want to spoil anything but we wouldn’t call it Baldur’s Gate 3 if there wouldn’t be a link,” Vincke said. “Let me just say that we touch upon the story of BG 1 & 2 in meaningful ways, there are returning characters and what happened in BG 1/2/[Throne of Bhaal] leads to what happens into BG3. You won’t necessarily see that at the start of the adventure but you will quickly understand once you get further into the game.”

Both Baldur’s Gate 1 and 2 were based on the Advanced Dungeons and Dragons 2nd Edition, while Baldur’s Gate 3 will be based on 5th Edition: a more accessible ruleset that has led to a huge boost in DnD’s popularity.

Vincke has previously referred to Baldur’s Gate 3 as a 5th Edition campaign where Larian is the player’s dungeon master, and the AMA reveals just how much effort has gone into adapting the DnD rulebook.

Some key takeaways from the AMA include that all 12 classes in the 5th Edition rulebook will be playable in Baldur’s Gate 3, though only half–Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Warlock, and Wizard–will be in the early access launch.

Long rests and short rests are being implemented in a way that makes sense to the video game format. “To take a long rest the whole party needs to go to the camp and spend the night there,” lead systems designer Nick Pechenin said. “This will restore and reset any features normally tied to a long rest in 5e and also give the party a moment to reflect on recent events.” Short rests, on the other hand, will be counted every time players have a break between combat encounters.

Other players have questioned how reactions are going to be implemented in the game–by the sounds of it, this has been complicated for the developers too, as reactions won’t immediately be available in early access. “While it’s not going to be in [early access] immediately, the features and mechanics that allow a character to perform an action as a reaction will trigger automatically,” Vincke said. “The players will be able to control which reactions they want to enable in anticipation of enemy actions. E.g. a wizard would disable their Attack of Opportunity but enable their Shield spell, which will be cast automatically whenever the wizard is targeted by an attack or Magic Missile spell.”

For more on how Larian has approached making a game with all the freedom that 5th edition offers, check out our in-depth interview with creative director Swen Vincke.

Baldur’s Gate 3 currently doesn’t have a release date for either early access or its full launch, but will be coming to PC and Stadia when it’s ready. Due to the game’s huge scope, it will be unlikely to release on consoles.

Call of Duty: Warzone, the free battle royale game, has reached a new player milestone. Activision has confirmed that the game passed 15 million players on March 14, so it’s surely climbed higher since.

The battle royale game reached 6 million players in its first 24 hours following release on March 11, so it’s clearly growing at a solid clip.

For comparison, EA’s Apex Legends, had 2.5 million players in its first 24 hours and 25 million players during its first week, so it’ll be interesting to see how Warzone compares after its first week.

In terms of what’s to come in the future for Warzone, Activision has said fans can look forward to new DLC and live events that will keep you guessing. This will be on top of the content headed to Modern Warfare’s standard multiplayer mode.

Additionally, Activision is developing a brand-new Call of Duty game for release later this year. It hasn’t been officially announced yet, but rumors peg it to be Black Ops 5 from developer Treyarch.

Celeste is one of the most critically beloved indie games of this console generation, thanks to its smart mechanics, beautiful soundtrack, and challenging-but-fair gameplay and level design. It’s the sort of small, polished experience that a lot of obvious thought and care went into–and now, thanks to a Twitter thread from one of the game’s designers, we have some more insight into how it all works.

Matt/Maddy Thorson, one of the game’s designers, has posted a thread of “game-feel things” that they built into Celeste, explaining the allowances the game makes for players and how they made the game more enjoyable to play. As Thorson admits in the first tweet, these aren’t necessarily new concepts or ideas they invented–just mechanics that fit into Celeste well.

In their thread, Thorson shared a total of 10 examples of “game-feel” from Celeste. In the first example below, “coyote time,” players can still make their jump for a moment after leaving the ledge–just like Wile E. Coyote.

Other examples given in the full thread include jump buffering (allowing you to jump, then jump again on the exact frame you land by holding down the jump button), jump corner correction (a mechanic that allows you to avoid bumping Madeline’s head when jumping into objects) and lift momentum storage (when jumping from a fast-moving platform transfers momentum to your jump).

It’s a cool thread, and a great reminder to go back to Celeste for the post-launch Farewell DLC that released last year.

In GameSpot’s 9/10 review of Celeste, Oscar Dayus praised the game for its story and gameplay. “It’s a testament to convincing writing and ingenious design that after playing Celeste I felt like I’d been on the same journey as Madeline. Her struggle is one made easy to empathize with, her low points painful to watch, and her high notes exhilarating to experience. Her tale is delicately told and beautifully illustrated, confidently coalescing with the satisfying, empowering game it lies within.”

If you’re a long-time Xbox Live Gold subscriber, odds are that you have the game on Xbox One–it’s definitely worth playing.

For more on how games are made, check out GameSpot’s Audio Logs series–we talk to the folks behind games like Disco Elysium, Control, Devil May Cry 5, and Death Stranding. Our video on Dead Cells, and how it similarly employs tricks to keep you going, is above.

Control is getting its first of two major expansions on March 26 with The Foundation, and a first trailer has just been released. That date only applies to the PC and PS4 versions of the game, though–thanks to a timed exclusivity deal with Sony, Xbox One owners will have to wait until June 25.

The expansion will see Jesse heading into the eponymous location to stop the Astral Plane, which is threatening to consume the Oldest House. She’s seeking Helen Marshall, who has was presumed missing in the original campaign, and who pops up briefly in the trailer below.

Along with this expansion, a free update will also be dropping for all versions of the game. It will add a new ability, Shield Rush, as well as the option of reassigning your Ability Points to change your build mid-game. There are some general quality of life changes and an upgrade to the map visuals coming for all players.

For fans of Remedy’s earlier game, Alan Wake, the really exciting DLC news has been that the Alan Wake story will continue in Control’s second expansion. It’s not yet known when that will release, however. On the back of Control’s success, Remedy also has multiple other games in development.

Control received an 8/10 in GameSpot’s review, and reviewer Peter Brown had plenty of praise for it: “Sure, it’s a faulty metroidvania in some respects, but there are so many exceptional qualities afoot that Control handily deflects any momentary ire. I can’t wait to take part in discussions about the game, to see what others have figured out, and to better understand where it all fits into Jesse’s story.”

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has ordered all NYC movie theaters to close due to the threat of the global coronavirus pandemic. The decree, which will go into effect Tuesday, March 17 at 9:00 AM ET, was posted by de Blasio on Twitter.

“This is not a decision I make lightly,” wrote de Blasio. “These places are part of the heart and soul of our city. They are part of what it means to be a New Yorker. But our city is facing an unprecedented threat, and we must respond with a wartime mentality.”

The order includes nightclubs, movie theaters, small theater houses, and concert venues; all must close.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has also issued instructions for all LA entertainment venues to close until March 31, unless extended.

The NYC and LA cinema closures follow similar shutdowns across Europe, including cinemas in Italy, Poland, Denmark, Norway, Greece, Spain, and France.

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The news follows the lowest US box office weekend in 20 years and a string of movie delays, including Mulan, No Time to Die, The New Mutants, and Fast 9.

The European box office is also expected to take a big hit due to COVID-19.

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Luke is Games Editor at IGN’s Sydney office. You can find him on Twitter every few days @MrLukeReilly.

As Phantasy Star Online 2‘s North American beta finally approaches, the team has announced the Ragol Edition, a pack that will include classic PSO outfits, Mag devices, accessories and more for $29.99.

The pack will launch with the Xbox One open beta on March 17, and is just one of many cosmetic packs that will be offered in the free-to-play game. Players on the Xbox One X will benefit from 4K graphics and an expanded UI display.

It’s no wonder Sega are catering to nostalgic players, with the original Phantasy Star Online no longer playable outside of private servers, and the wait for a PSO2 outside Japan stretching for over 8 years. Some lucky fans got their hands on the closed beta in February, but the play test lasted less than two days.

The good news for western players is that the game will release with Episodes 1-3 available, consisting of more than three years worth of expanded content, balancing, and fixes, according to Forbes. The Japanese version of the game is currently up to Episode 6, meaning western players will have much more content to look forward to.

While only Xbox versions of the game have so far been announced outside of Japan, Microsoft’s Phil Spencer has said the game will not be exclusive to their platform.