'Unalloyed Malenia' is, fittingly, a creation by MiquellaTheUnalloyed over on NexusMods. It's a complete overhaul of the base game boss that seeks to "significantly" increase the difficulty via brand new phases, animations, attacks, and more for what was one of Elden Ring's toughest bosses in the first place. 

"I've been working on this Malenia... It's hard to say how long, probably more than half a year, though it didn't have a specific beginning and end," the modder writes on NexusMods. They've actually learned modding "almost from scratch" for this creation, and the general goal is to make Malenia a challenge for anyone who thinks they've got her down to a science in the base game.

Enter LetMeSoloHer. The famed Elden Ring player became known the world over for hopping into other players' Elden Ring playthroughs and decimating Malenia, often without taking a single hit. They became really famous roughly a year after Elden Ring first launched, and they're so legendary that publisher Bandai Namco went and sent them a freaking sword. 

LetMeSoloHer faced off against Unalloyed Malenia roughly a month ago, and the fight was nothing short of terrific. The player calls them "the strongest boss I've faced," and in the video below, you can see why - in modded Malenia's first phase alone, there are plenty of new attacks to grapple with, including one that shoots deadly spears up in a line from the ground. 

The entire thing is basically a game of executing perfect dodges for over 10 seconds before Unalloyed Malenia pauses briefly, and LetMeSoloHer can land an attack. The modded boss' basic attacks are pretty much a variation of the infamous Waterfowl Dance attack, but chained together near-endlessly so it gives the player barely any chance to strike back. 

The second phase is nothing short of overkill. It's like Malenia's normal second phase, but with a ton of area-effecting attacks going on, one of which is Scarlet Rot, which LetMeSoloHer occasionally has to take a moment to stave off with some Preserving Boluses. You can definitely see why this is the strongest boss that LetMeSoloHer has ever faced.

If LetMeSoloHer is finding Unalloyed Malenia this hard, you can probably imagine how everyone else is faring. One streamer on Twitter wrote that they "hated" the boss, while the streamer below shows how Unalloyed Malenia parried them and then proceeded to stab their Tarnished to death. It's rough out there.

Elden Ring's Shadow of the Erdtree DLC releases later this month on June 21. I really hope there's something in there that can give these sickos something to rival Malenia.

Elden Ring archeologists are still finding unused content hidden in the action RPG's files, seemingly revealing that one popular NPC was almost given a completely different voice.

Reality check, though: it's not been a brilliant EOFY so far. Things cost more in general in 2024, and PS5 games aren't receiving the steep discounts you'd normally expect at this time of year. There are exceptions, however, and four of the biggest games released during the last 12 months are all currently at record lows. 

We wrote about Dragon's Dogma 2 and Final Fantasy VII Rebirth getting huge new discounts last week (and those still apply at AU$69 and AU$75.95 respectively) but now Star Wars Jedi: Survivor and Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora have both also received record discounts. You can grab Star Wars Jedi: Survivor for AU$44 at the moment, while Avatar: Frontiers of Pandora can be had for AU$53. Both have recommended retail prices of AU$109.95.

Check out the list below for the best PS5 deals going during EOFY:

While all of the above listed are at their lowest recorded price, of those we reckon the Dragon's Dogma 2 deal is probably the best. Why? Because normally it takes a while for a game to get so drastically discounted; to pick up one of the year's best RPGs at such a cheap price, only a couple of months after release, is a bargain.

Still, if you're after bang-for-your-buck, Star Wars Jedi: Survivor is a good cheap option. It vastly improves on its predecessor, and will, of course, please anyone who can't get enough of the interminable space battle.

Looking for the best price on PS5 in Australia? Keep an eye on our guide to where to buy a PS5 in Australia.

Pretty much as soon as Konami and developer Bloober Team revealed the new Silent Hill 2 remake trailer and October 8 release date, fans were debating about the new character designs, particularly Maria and Angela's. Amongst the chatter, some fans were learning for the first time, thanks to the redesign, that Angela is only 19 in the original Silent Hill 2 and not in her 30s or 40s as they'd assumed due to the dated graphics. There was also some noise about Maria being less overtly sexy in the remake, but I'm frankly too tired to dig too much into that discourse so late in the day.

The reason we're here is because of Sato and his early sketches of Maria and Angela, in which there's an obvious resemblance to the remake's new character models. In the below Reddit thread, fans are comparing the original sketches to Angela's new design, and the resemblance is undeniable, particularly in the shape of the face.

It seems like the remake’s Angela, is based on Sato’s sketches. from r/silenthill

In a separate conversation on Twitter, horror streamer @Chemi_Ro shared side-by-side images of the original Maria sketches and the remake's character model, and again, it is hard to deny the latter seems to have been inspired by the former. Here, the difference mostly comes down to Maria's outfit, which is made up of a low cut top and a blazer combo instead of the button-up shirt we see in the original.

None of this is likely to move the needle much when it comes to the debate around Maria and Angel's redesigns, but it does strongly suggest Bloober Team didn't change the way the characters look on a whim. If anything, it's proof the studio is studying the source material closely, which is a good thing! We'll see if the remake can live up to the original's legacy in October.

There's a reason Silent Hill 2 is one of the best horror games ever made.

"Btw, if you choose to set your guardian to 'helmet off', you can see your newly customized face animated in a bunch of the cines in The Final Shape," cinematics director Jimmie Myers says on Twitter. "Your call! But wanted you to know it’s an option."

Destiny 2 now allows you to customize your Guardian's appearance at any time, so if you've secretly been using helmets to cope with how much you hate what you did to your character's face all those years ago, you're no longer stuck with it. There hasn't been any big overhaul to how faces look in the expansion, but the new customization option might just be enough to tempt some players to look at their character's face in cutscenes again.

Myers says helmet-off cutscenes are a priority at Bungie in a follow-up tweet. "Sometimes there are complicated reasons we can’t," Myers explains, "but we almost always put in the extra work for both options."

If you've managed to stay spoiler-free so far, you might want to go dark for the last few hours leading up to The Final Shape. A few days ago, Bungie warned of "spoilers being shared online" after a bizarre PS5 streaming leak seemingly outed the whole expansion.

Check out our guide to the best MMORPGs around. 

Obviously this Steam page hasn't outed any big unannounced surprises for the event, but it has confirmed a few notable titles that'll be a part of the Geoff Keighley spectacular - and the list is still "updating" with further additions. Those games include the Persona veteran-helmed JRPG Metaphor: ReFantazio, Budokai Tenkaichi revival Dragon Ball: Sparking Zero, and Warhammer 40,000 Space Marine 2.

Capcom also wasn't apparently done with MonHun news after dropping the bombshell that Monster Hunter Wilds is giving players multiple weapon slots this time around, as it's also on the list. The other familiar titles on the main list are, in fact, very familiar - it looks like we can expect updates on games including Palworld, Party Animals, and The Finals. There's no guarantee we'll see major updates on any of these games this week, but they're connected with the show in some capacity. 

• Dragon Ball: Sparking! Zero
• Party Animals
• Mecha Break
• Neva
• Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2
• Metaphor: ReFantazio
• Palworld
• The First Descendent
• Monster Hunter Wilds
• Battle Crush
• Once Human
• The Finals

The Day of the Devs lineup is, for my money, usually the highlight of Summer Game Fest week, and this year's collection looks just as vibrant and creative as ever. Highlights include the after-hours zoo horror game Zoochosis, story-driven puzzle RPG Arranger, and Screenbound, the mind-bending "5D" puzzle-platformer where you use an off-brand Game Boy to manipulate your world.

The game I'm most delighted to see here, however, is UFO 50. Announced way back in 2017 by Spelunky dev Derek 'Mossmouth' Yu, the project is a collection of NES-style retro games built by an array of indie developers. The games range from full-on 8-bit JRPGs to experimental golf-pinball party games. I've been fascinated by the project since it was first announced all those years ago, and I've got my fingers crossed we'll be seeing a lot more of it soon.

• Hello Again
• Koira
• Psychroma
• Phoenix Springs
• UFO 50
• Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure
• Tom the postgirl
• While Waiting
• Karma
• After Love EP
• Zoochosis
• Building Relationships
• Screenbound

That's at least one name among the 15 games we really want to see at Summer Game Fest.

"Today, we regretfully announce the closure of two of those locations: New York and Montreal," reads a statement from the studio. "This means we’ll be parting ways with around 50 valued friends and colleagues, which represents roughly nine percent of Avalanchers worldwide."

Not to be confused with the Hogwarts Legacy studio Avalanche Software, Avalanche Studios is best known for the open-world action-adventure series Just Cause as well as the 2015 Mad Max game and 2019's Rage 2. The studio is currently working on the largely elusive co-op game Contraband for Xbox, promising a "co-op smuggler's paradise" and the studio's "most ambitious and spectacular game" yet. It's as yet unclear how the layoffs and closures will impact the game's development.

This resizing is of course just the latest in a barrage of layoffs, studio closures, and game cancelations shaking up the industry following the pandemic boom, including at EA, Sony, Riot, Rockstar, Microsoft, Microsoft again, and many more. The closures at Avalanche are of particular note considering one of the shuttered studio's was opened less than a year ago, but nonetheless the company says "it's necessary to ensure a stable and sustainable future for the company."

"Our focus is now on supporting all Avalanchers through this challenging time," the statement continues. "We’re grateful for the invaluable contributions of those leaving and remain committed to creating incredible gaming experiences for our players."

Cozy MMO Palia seemingly on the rocks after studio goes through a third round of layoffs, this time affecting 40% of staff.

Dark Souls: Redemption was announced by surprise on social media by publisher Yen Press, which also shared a pre-order page for the manga, which is due out in August. And it's a welcome surprise indeed for FromSoftware fans who may have been hoping for something different from Elden Ring's manga adaptation, which cranked the game's inherent silliness to 11 for an adventure that put comedy and parodies first.

In the case of Dark Souls: Redemption, writer Julien Blondel and artist Shonen will tell the tale of a woman whose dive into the brutal, uncompromising world of Dark Souls somewhat mirrors the path followed by players - but with a strange twist that's a perfect fit for the creeping dread that characterizes the atmosphere of the games.

"Doomed by a past long forgotten, resolved to save what she once held dear. The flame is lit. A nameless woman wakes. Roused from the tomb by a past she cannot recall, she sets out into a barren, unfamiliar landscape," reads Yen Press' description of Dark Souls: Redemption.

"The protector follows. Bound by oath and honor, he safeguards her against the dangers that draw near with the same ferocity he does the secrets of his past," it continues. "The Gray Cinders gather in their tower, called by the fire to complete their solemn duty. A colossus, incarnate of death, stirs with the bones beneath the scarred grounds. And a nightmare-scourge of a bygone era-returns to exact its toll. The fate of this land hangs in the balance, as their journey unfolds in this original Dark Souls story!"

Even better for fans hungry for more Dark Souls content, Yen Press is billing this as Dark Souls: Redemption Vol. 1, presumably indicating at least at the likelihood of a second volume on the horizon.

Dark Souls: Redemption Vol. 1 goes on sale August 27.

There's plenty of creepy manga (and western comics) on our list of the best horror comics of all time.

In a tweet, Ubisoft Toronto announced that it's "joining the development of the remake of Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. We're excited to rewind time and bring our studio’s creativity, expertise and updated tech to refresh this beloved classic with our partners at Ubisoft Montréal."

For what seems to be a fairly straightforward refresh, The Sands of Time remake has had an unusually long and turbulent development since it was announced back in 2020. It was originally in development at Ubisoft Pune and Ubisoft Mumbai with an anticipated January 2021 release. That obviously didn't happen and the project was moved to Ubisoft Montréal in May 2022 and delayed indefinitely in June 2022. A few months later Ubisoft canceled all existing pre-orders but affirmed the remake was still in development at Ubisoft Montréal.

Just before last year's not-E3 showcase blitz, Ubisoft got ahead of the inevitable questions around the Sands of Time remake by confirming it was still "very much alive" but was back "in the conception phase." Then, in January of this year, there was a resurgence of a weird phenomenon in which trophies for the unreleased project appeared on the PSN database. This happened once in November 2022 and again in January, and it's still unclear whether a playable version of the game was somehow accessed ahead of launch or if it was just a glitch in the system.

Ubisoft Toronto, meanwhile, is the internal studio created back in 2010 by Jade Raymond, known for helping to lead the creation of the Assassin's Creed and Watch Dogs series. The studio has gone on to make and contribute to games such as Splinter Cell: Blacklist, Far Cry 5, Starlink: Battle for Atlas, Watch Dogs Legion, and most recently Far Cry 6. Right now it's working on the Splinter Cell remake, which coincidentally we also haven't heard anything about for some time.

In the meantime, here's how to play the original Prince of Persia games in 2024.

The leak in question dates back to 2017, when images of a trailer for the then-untitled Yoshi's Crafted World hit Reddit shortly before the game's official reveal. In the comments, the poster of that thread said "My friend work at google and he send this photo to me. It's a video that it's already in Nintendo channel and is going to be in public after the reveal." The image included an 'admin.youtube.com' URL, which certainly suggested that this particular call was coming from inside the house.

Now, 404 Media has published a breakdown of several privacy incidents at Google based on internal reports at the company, including this one. The employee, apparently a former temporary contractor, was able to "download video with admin account, and shared unreleased Nintendo feature with friend," Google's internal report concluded. "GI interview concluded non-intentional. Reactive comm sent."

The community has long suspected that many notable leakers get their information from sources like unpublished YouTube videos, and this report would appear to confirm that - at least in this instance. Judging by the admin URL in the leak screenshot, I'd wager this particular leaker had no intentions of this image being widely spread. But then, you'd also hope that your friends are cautious enough to keep you shielded from Nintendo's ire, too.

Industry analyst Daniel Ahmad says he's "heard this is how a number of game leakers operate today still," but some of those leakers are quick to suggest they've got other sources. Prolific Nintendo leaker Pyoro says they've provided info that couldn't be pulled from YouTube, for example. With the Summer Game Fest schedule for 2024 coming up in hurry, there's certain to be a lot of interest in leakers and where their information is coming from over the next few days.

As for Google, though, 404 Media is reporting on some much more serious privacy breaches than leaked video game announcements. The report notes incidents between 2013 and 2018 where Google Street View transcribed and stored license plate information, where a Google speech service logged an "estimated 1K child speech utterances," and where subsidiary Waze leaked the trips and home addresses of users of its carpool app.

These reports, again, come from Google's internal review process, and the company says in a statement that "every one was reviewed and resolved at that time. In some cases, these employee flags turned out not to be issues at all or were issues that employees found in third party services."

Predicting the games of Summer Game Fest 2024 is a lot easier when it's all leaking. 

Emilie is the first Dendro user we've seen since May 2023 and the release of Kirara, as well as the first Dendro character from the region of Fontaine. This follows a spree of Dendro characters in the 3.X Sumeru patches, with the element now enjoying eight unique characters not including the Dendro Traveler – a larger roster than the long-dormant Geo element prior to the recent release of Geo users Navia and Chiori. 

Where update 4.7 features two new five-star units, Clorinde and Sigewinne, alongside new four-star Sethos, Emilie will be the only new character in update 4.8. This, coupled with the fact that Sethos is on the way and we rarely see new four-stars back-to-back, suggests Emilie will be a five-star Dendro character.

This is the first we've seen of Emilie, who is described through her work: "Fresh, floral, fruity... Such are the scents of Emilie's perfumes, meticulously crafted, exquisitely presented, dazzlingly displayed on the shelves of Fontaine's Quartier Lyonnais," a post from the official Genshin Impact Twitter account reads. 

"If you've never before heard of a 'forensic cleaner,' you might at first struggle to imagine what such a profession entails. But if you're lucky enough to become acquainted with Emilie, feel free to ask her a question or two. She is both an excellent listener and an exemplary respondent, so you'll no doubt receive a satisfactory answer." 

The recent release of an artifact set that grants a damage bonus when fighting Burning-afflicted enemies sparked community speculation that Genshin Impact is due for a Burning-centered Dendro user, as the reaction has gone largely overlooked until now. Emilie's fighting style remains to be seen, but the timing of her release certainly raises an eyebrow. 

In a stunning commitment to playing RPGs your way, Genshin Impact player spends 3 years min-maxing the worst character: "I usually advise others not to build her".