In the late 1990s, following the success of Tomb Raider and Perfect Dark, a developer called Bits Studios set to work carving itself a slice of the “third-person action-puzzler starring an attractive polygonal lady” pie. Nintendo were all set to publish the game, which was called Riqa, and even showed it off at E3 in […]
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Blasphemous dev reveals that Baldur’s Gate 3 studio Larian quietly backed the game on Kickstarter for $1000 and never asked for anything in return
In a welcome bit of feel good industry news, Blasphemous level designer Enrique Colinet revealed on Twitter that Larian Studios was one of the game’s biggest backers on Kickstarter, and that the studio never made a big deal of it or asked for the backer rewards such a contribution would entail. “Not many people know […]
Read MoreBlasphemous dev reveals that Baldur’s Gate 3 studio Larian quietly backed the game on Kickstarter for $1000 and never asked for anything in return
In a welcome bit of feel good industry news, Blasphemous level designer Enrique Colinet revealed on Twitter that Larian Studios was one of the game’s biggest backers on Kickstarter, and that the studio never made a big deal of it or asked for the backer rewards such a contribution would entail. “Not many people know […]
Read MoreGTA 6 fans spend a week in Miami to painstakingly recreate the trailer shot-by-shot—sans a certain bikini scene that would’ve cost $4,733
Even just the trailer for GTA 6 is a landmark for gaming, hitting an obscene 60 million views on YouTube in 12 hours. Since then it’s been scrubbed through shot-by-shot by enthusiasts to try and pull out every little detail, including whether Bikini Girl is secretly Lucia or not. Personally I still think she’s Aicul, […]
Read MoreCan somebody go check up on Silksong fans after the Triple-I Initiative’s tongue-in-cheek loading screen tip, I’m worried about them
The Triple-I Initiative‘s debut showcase had a lot of great games lined up. Personally, I’m psyched out of my gourd for Slay the Spire 2, but I’m also eyeing up Rogue Prince of Persia, an unexpected announcement that’s wall-running right up my alley. Silksong fans, however, are none too pleased. Some context: Silksong, the successor […]
Read MoreThe Rogue Prince of Persia revealed: a slick 2D roguelite coming to Steam in May
I was a little surprised to learn that Ubisoft is publishing a second 2D Prince of Persia game so soon after The Lost Crown, meaning both were in development simultaneously. This one is a bit different though: It’s not developed by a Ubisoft studio, and it’s releasing on Steam in early access this May, which […]
Read MoreHunt down a crazed sniper in a major new content update for our favorite voxel-based Deus Ex-like detective sim
We had a lot of positive things to say about the immersive sim Shadows of Doubt since its (sadly no-longer-available) demo arrived in early 2023, much of it comparing the game to Deus Ex—which, in case it’s not clear, is very high praise indeed. Its voxel-based world grows bigger today with the release of the […]
Read MoreI respect a bloody arcade shooter with the courage to have a name as blunt as ‘Kill Knight’
I have to hand it to the developers of Kill Knight for their choice of title: How can I not want to know more about an arcade shooter called Kill Knight? It is, as you’d hope and expect, about a knight who kills. It’s fast, violent, and coated in red, not unlike Doom Eternal. Developer […]
Read MoreStar Wars Outlaws’ $110 and $130 editions prompt a collective sigh from potential players tired of season passes and ill-advised early access periods
I’m genuinely excited for Star Wars Outlaws, especially since the trailer debuted earlier this week. It might not set the world on fire, or anything, but I like my blasters, I like my freaky aliens, and I like making ticks in an open-world checklist. I am not above the ‘Ubisoft Game Loop™’. I am, however, […]
Read MoreRat smashers stay winning as Warhammer: Vermintide 2 gets another free update—a whole new map and enemy type
Warhammer: Vermintide 2 might be seven years old, but it’s still getting free content updates. There’s that long-awaited versus mode, of course, though that’s still in testing—in the meantime, says Fatshark, here’s a free map and a new enemy type, because why not? A Parting of the Waves makes to round out the Karak Azgaraz […]
Read MoreEA’s Iron Man game is making ‘excellent progress’ but still sounds like it’s a long way off
EA Motive studio director Patrick Klaus has written about what’s going on at the studio in an update post that touches on both the studio’s upcoming Iron Man game and the wider situation with the Battlefield series. What we already know about the Iron Man game is what you’d expect. EA calls it a “third-person, […]
Read MoreSonic co-creator found guilty of insider trading breaks silence to accuse Square Enix producer of being ‘the kind of person who would submit lies to court’
Sonic co-creator Yuji Naka has had something of a varied career since leaving Sega, initially focusing on his own company Prope before teaming up with Square Enix to direct the ill-fated Balan Wonderworld. The latter wasn’t a great game, and ever since release Naka and the publisher have been engaged in something of a moral […]
Read MoreStar Wars Outlaws is out this August, and wow does it look more jam-packed full of aliens than any Star Wars game I can remember
Last year we wrote that Star Wars Outlaws looked like the best thing Ubisoft has made in years, and it hinted at a big enough scope that I was a little skeptical it would actually be released in 2024. But not only is it truly coming this year, it’s coming this summer: Ubisoft announced an […]
Read MoreThis slick and experimental soulslike takes about 15 seconds to get you feeling empathy for a triangle
As the technology of videogame graphics has grown and evolved over the decades, developers have been able to imbue their characters with more and more life and humanity. Subtle animations and mo-capped facial expressions give heroes and villains a believable inner life that enables more emotionally resonant stories to be told. But that’s all a […]
Read MoreLeague of Legends is getting a Vampire Survivors-style PvE mode later this year
Bullet heaven games are essentially the reverse of bullet hells: Instead of trying to dodge endless, nigh-impenetrable waves of enemy projectiles, you are the source of those projectiles, using them to mow down endless, nigh-impenetrable waves of enemies. I’m pretty sure Vampire Survivors wasn’t the first game of the type, but it was definitely the […]
Read MoreTroy Baker says it’s not him in GTA 6, and recalls when Todd Howard said ‘I don’t want Troy Baker in our game because he’s in every game’
Omnipresent videogame voice actor Troy Baker, known for major roles in everything from The Last of Us to Metal Gear Solid and Far Cry, has revealed he is not behind one of GTA 6’s main characters (widely referred to as Jason, but yet to be officially named). Following the release of GTA 6’s first trailer […]
Read MoreThere’s a Dragon’s Dogma 2 mod to make pawns shut the hell up and thank goodness for that
“Look, Arisen, a ladder! We should climb it, Arisen! I think, Arisen, there may be something to discover atop yon ladder, after we climb it, mayhaps?” At first, I liked my main pawn. At least, after I changed her vocation from the entirely useless archer to the far more valuable mage. But then she and […]
Read MoreLast Epoch cracks down on item duplicates and gold exploit: ‘We don’t think it’s a very controversial statement to say that abusing an exploit, ruining the game for all players is not acceptable, and that doing so should result in a ban’
The curse of the online action RPG strikes again: real-money trading and gold exploits. Lost Ark was plagued by it and now Last Epoch is too. Last Epoch developer Eleventh Hour has posted a statement on the subject, saying, “We take exploits within Last Epoch very seriously and ensure that any time an exploit comes […]
Read MoreSplinter Cell fans are getting excited about a possible update on the remake in June
It’s been more than two years since Ubisoft announced that the original Splinter Cell is getting a full remake, and we’ve heard virtually nothing about it since then. But eager fans are hoping that void will finally be filled during the next Ubisoft Forward showcase happening in June. Ubisoft announced its next online showcase on […]
Read MoreThis base-building automation game looks like Factorio in space with bullet hell combat and Dyson spheres
Ever watch a game trailer and think “I don’t know what the hell is going on here but I know I like it”? That’s how I feel about Final Factory, which looks like a Factorio-style automation game, only set in outer space, and it also has bullet hell combat, plus a space station design system, […]
Read MoreStar Wars Outlaws story trailer will debut next week
Brace yourselves, Star Wars fans: A new trailer for Ubisoft‘s upcoming Star Wars Outlaws is set to debut on April 9. Ubisoft described the reveal as the “story trailer world premiere,” which is interesting because a world premiere trailer that provided at least the outlines of the story rolled out in 2023: Kay Vess, scoundrel, […]
Read More10 years on, leaks have given us a long look at the canned Batman game that became Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Middle-earth was always a bit of an odd setting for Monolith’s Shadow of Mordor, the 2014 game that introduced the absolutely brilliant (and criminally under-imitated) nemesis system. Subjecting the game’s orcs to harrowing physical and psychological warfare as a one-man guerilla army was great fun, but it didn’t exactly fit with the high-minded, mythical tone […]
Read MoreBeat Slayer scratches both my Hi-Fi Rush and Hades itches, even if its functional soundtrack is short a few bangers
It’s not a surprise that I’ve enjoyed what I’ve played of Beat Slayer so far. I like roguelikes, I like action games—and while I’m not much of a rhythm fiend, I adored Hi-Fi Rush. After taking Beat Slayer’s demo for a whirl, I’m already impressed, even if it doesn’t quite fire on all cylinders. You […]
Read MoreThe black sheep of the Thief series is free on Epic Games Store, and at that price, it deserves a second chance
I have to admit that I was surprised to see the hooded figure of Garrett, Master Thief, reaching covetously for me from the free game section of the Epic Games Store, not least because Epic’s giveaways tend to focus on relatively recent games (barring bona fide classics), but also generally well-liked ones. And scouring through […]
Read MoreCuba’s ‘first major indie game’ is a gorgeous platformer about bad decisions and environmental catastrophe, so long as you can get over the checkpoints
Saviorless is beautiful, which is handy, because I’ve had to look at the same parts of it again and again in the few hours I’ve spent with it to write this piece. Released this week on Steam and Epic by Cuban studio Empty Head Games and billed irresistibly as the country’s “first major indie game,” […]
Read MoreDiablo 4: How to get Stygian Stones and summon Tormented Echoes
Those playing the Diablo 4 preview of season four in the public test realm might be a little curious as to how the new Tormented Echoes work. These supercharged versions of regular bosses are significantly tougher to beat, but offer better rewards, such as a Resplendent Spark for uber unique crafting the first time you […]
Read MoreFormer Dragon Age creative director says ‘I just desperately don’t want to overhype anything’ in his new studio’s first game
After over a decade in leadership on the Dragon Age series at BioWare and a brief stint at Ubisoft, Mike Laidlaw co-founded Yellow Brick Games in 2020, and has been quietly working on his first project for four years. Yellow Brick finally revealed Eternal Strands yesterday, but just a couple weeks ago during an interview […]
Read MoreOpen-world wuxia game Where Winds Meet is holding its first beta test in North America later this month
We got our first look at Where Winds Meet when it was revealed at Gamescom in 2022, shortly after which executive editor Tyler Wilde said he was particularly looking forward to getting a real job in its “wuxia-style Assassin’s Creed” open world. (Hey, to each their own.) Later this month he’ll have his first shot […]
Read MoreDiablo 4 Tempering: How to add affixes to gear
If you’re currently trying out the Diablo 4 public test realm and its preview of season four, you might be curious about how the new Tempering and Masterworking mechanics function. While gear in the game currently drops with all its affixes, in season 4 you’ll be able to Temper an item at the blacksmith, adding […]
Read MoreFormer Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw finally reveals his next game: A physics-based action-adventure ‘in which the world becomes your weapon’
In 2020, former Dragon Age creative director Mike Laidlaw joined with Ubisoft veterans Jeff Skalski, Frédéric St-Laurent B, and Thomas Giroux to launch a new studio called Yellow Brick Games. Today, three and a half years later, they’ve finally revealed what they’re getting up to: A new action-adventure called Eternal Strands. Eternal Strands follows the […]
Read MoreMy first look at Monaco 2 made me think that maybe crime could pay
Andy Schatz, the creator of Monaco, admits that Monaco 2 is “the ambitious version” of what the team tried to do with Monaco, the two games reading like the minimalist and maximalist version of the same design document. This heist-’em-up Monaco 2 might look shinier, but it’s channelling the exact same manic energy that made […]
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